USA > Virginia > City of Richmond > City of Richmond > Virginia, especially Richmond, in by-gone days; with a glance at the present: being reminiscences and last words of an old citizen > Part 8
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He furnished building-lots to various gentlemen, thus forming a good neighborhood around him, and I can recall, among those who first constituted it, the names of James Penn, John A. Chevallie, Thomas Wilson (mayor), David Bullock (mayor), William Price, Carter B. Page, and Robert Gwath- mey ; and in later years, General Pegram, Presi- dent of the Virginia Bank, and that eminent law- yer and excellent man, Samuel Taylor, both vic- tims to casualties. I may also name G. W. Mun- ford, Secretary of the Commonwealth, and J. R. Anderson, of iron fame, truly a man of metal, whose locomotives run on many a Southern and Western road, and whose cannon serve to arm our ships and forts. Mr. Rutherfoord's sons have clus- tered around the paternal mansion, which was par- tially destroyed by fire while in the occupancy of Jno. Y. Mason, now Minister to France, who became the purchaser and embellisher of it, but by a sub-
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sequent sale it has reverted to a member of the Rutherfoord family .*
I will presume on Mr. Mason's indulgence to give an instance of his coolness during the hot fire that was consuming his effects. The family had escaped in their night clothes and were watching the progress of the conflagration from the porch of an opposite neighbor ; Mrs. M. was bewailing their loss, and deeply distressed, when her husband thus consoled her : "My dear, you know you dis- liked that ugly roof and wished it changed; now your wish will be gratified. The walls will be ready to receive a new roof, and the house be greatly improved." And such was the result. (Mr. Ma- son died in Paris, in 1859, while filling the office of Minister Plenipotentiary from the U. States.)
The name of John A. Chevallie has only been mentioned incidentally, but it merits a more special notice. He was a gentleman of the most scrupu- lous politeness, of fine literary attainments, and of extensive and varied information. He was brought up in the ante-revolutionary days of French society, and his manners conformed to it. He came to this country as an agent for the cele- brated Beaumarchais, who had, either as a secret
* I must apologise to the member here alluded to, or rather, to his wife, for saying, in the first edition, he was the eldest, as he has senior brothers, but I will not imperil myself with their wives by designating the eldest.
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agent of Louis XVI., or at his own outlay, fur- nished a large quantity of arms to the United States during the Revolutionary war. After many years of constant exertion, Mr. Chevallie partially succeeded in his object, if my memory serves.
The house of Mr. and the second Mrs. Che- vallie, (a daughter of Judge Lyons) was the home of hospitality and cheerfulness, and a favorite resort of old and young. Previous to their resi- dence near Mr. Rutherfoord, they occupied the house of John Hopkins, Commissioner of Loans, on Broad street, corner of Seventh, now demol- ished, but then embowered in fine elms and syca- mores, as already noticed.
I heard this anecdote from Mr. Chevallie, among many others :- Beaumarchais, although an elegant courtier, had been a watchinaker, and of course was not of the old nobility. One of these sought to mortify him at court, by handing an elegant watch to him, saying it did not keep time, and he wished Beaumarchais to see what was amiss. Taking it in his hands and attempting to open it, he let it fall on the floor. He then expressed his regret, adding, that he had been so long out of practice he had become awkward, and bowing politely, retired .*
* " Beaumarchais and his Times," by Leoménil, appeared a few months after the 1st edition of this book was published, and relates this anecdote more fully.
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West of Mr. Anderson, and just beyond the line of the city, stands a large dwelling, erected by Pey- ton Drew in the "flush times," from whom it soon passed to Thomas Richardson, a son-in-law of our old friend Mr. Pollard, and then to John Mutter, the father of Dr. Mutter, Professor of Surgery in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, which chair he has just resigned (June, 1856), bestowing on the College his extensive museum, and endowing it with a fund for its further exten- sion. After Mr. Mutter's death his house was suc- cessively purchased by David Bullock, and its present owner, Mr. George Palmer, under whom it is likely to see its palmiest days in the way of embellishment.
The handsome dwelling at the corner of Leigh and Eighth, with extensive grounds, now the resi- dence of Mr. McCance, was originally, in plain garb, that of Dr. Hayes, from whom it passed to Thomas Green, who decorated it highly and intro- duced the Heathen Deities into the grounds, where they still preside. During the snowy months of winter, they looked decidedly cool at each other. Goddesses even will do so when they are uncom- fortable; but Flora after a while brings about a reconciliation.
It was in a more remote part of the city in old times (the locality is neither here nor there), that a connubial parting scene occurred between a pair of
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loving birds, as their names denoted. The wife was pious, the husband may speak for himself. "My dear," said Mrs. P. to her husband, on his death- bed, " when you are gone, have you any objection to my marrying brother G .? " "Marry and be d-d," replied her dying spouse-and he died and she did.
Eastward from Dr. Hayes' (now Mr. McCance's) and at the corner of Leigh and Ninth streets, was the residence of Judge Spencer Roane, President of the Court of Appeals, and eminent as a lawyer and politician. He had a controlling influence in the Democratic ranks, which he exercised largely through the columns of "The Enquirer," and thus issued what might almost be called his edicts. He was the autocrat of the Democracy. To look at his stern and commanding aspect, one might think it would be hazardous to disobey them. He removed from Studley, his farm in Hanover, to Richmond, about 1816, after building the house above mentioned, to which were attached extensive grounds. For many years past it has been the residence of Mr. Lewis Webb, and the city has pur- chased an extent of hill-sides south and east of it for a public square-a spot well adapted to test the skill of a landscape gardener .*
* Scarcely was the ink dry which wrote the above, when the step-fathers of the city decreed that the grounds should be
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I must trespass on the patience of my readers a few moments longer, to mention the residences of some old citizens on Church Hill, &c., which should not be overlooked in story, as they cannot be in eminence of locality.
The Adams family, the original proprietors of the eastern portion of the city, occupied several of the squares in their own domain. The three brothers, Richard, Samuel and John, who resided there fifty or sixty years ago, but lived at a later period, have long since. gone to their last homes, near to their first; but those they occupied in life have been improved in appearance under tasteful residents, as has that of their distinguished neighbor and connexion, William Marshall, a brother of the Chief Justice and a lawyer of almost as great talent, which was partially obscured by his indo- lence.
Streets were laid out on Adams's, now Church or Richmond Hill (for it is known by all these names), to correspond with those in Byrd's plan, but the very large portion north of Broad street is not included in the city limits, and its numerous
divided in lots and sold, thus healing the pockets at the ex- pense of the lungs ; and instead of opening the streets leading to the grounds previous to the sale, a large portion of the money obtained is expended for that purpose, and the lots thereby much enhanced in value, to the gain of the buyers, but loss to the city.
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residents are exempt from city taxes. The city is courting them to its embrace, but finds them very соу.
This hill is divided by little dells into a succes- sion of spurs, forming a cluster of heights over- looking the river, the city and the surrounding country. The proprietor assigned to each of his sons and married daughters one of these promi- nences. The eldest son, Richard Adams, pos- sessed the fine old family mansion, now Mr. Ellett's. John erected his mansion east of it, now Mrs. Van-Lew's ; William Marshall, who married a Miss Adams, built yet further east, and his house is now the centre of a row, as it was once of an open square, on Franklin, Grace, Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh streets. South-east of Mr. Mar- shall, another son-in-law, George W. Smith, placed his residence, a neat wooden building, on Franklin, Main, Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth. This gentleman was Governor of Virginia at the time that the Theatre was burned, and was one of the victims, in consequence of his efforts to save others. Samuel G. Adams, the youngest of the sons, erected the building on the western slope of the hill, on Broad street, now the Bellevue Hos- pital. The possessions of the Adams family in Richmond and elsewhere gave them a prospect of great wealth in the natural course of things ; but impelled by an enterprising spirit, the two younger
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brothers sought to hasten the event. The chapter on "Flush times" gives the result.
George Nicolson, once mayor of the city (as was also Dr. John Adams), resided on one of the adja- cent and most commanding heights overlooking the city and the surrounding country. The land west of it and south of Mr. Marshall's and Governor Smith's, embracing the slope of the hill, has recently been purchased by the city for a public square. Mr. Nicolson's residence was destroyed by fire some years ago. His descendants are among our worthy citizens.
One of his daughters married Carter B. Page, an enterprising man; another was the wife of Robert Gwathmey, a merchant of eminence in Liverpool and in Richmond; a third was the wife of the distinguished lawyer and politician, Chap- man Johnson; and the fourth and surviving one has been a mother to the orphans of her sisters.
On Main street, near the foot of Church Hill, stood in old times and until lately, the residence of Friend Couch-a neat house, with a large garden attached. In my younger days this square was shaded on two sides by a number of spreading elms, the only row of trees on a mile of street. It was like an oasis in a desert, and furnished a refreshing shade to the pedestrian on a hot sum- mer day-of which I can speak from experience. It was said that there were attractions also within
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the walls, but these it was not my good fortune to discover till late in life. The house, the elms, the spacious garden with its flowers and bee-hives, have all disappeared ; even the soil itself on which they stood, has been deeply excavated, to furnish bricks for the erection of other structures. But some of the former occupants who cultivated those flowers still flourish, if not in immortal youth, in ripened years, engaged in social and benevolent avocations.
John Foster, a useful public servant, was one of their nearest neighbors; his residence yet stands, partially restored from the dilapidations of time _ and fire. John Strobia, a worthy father of a worthy and yet surviving son, * Friend Clarke, and Col. David Lambert, father of the late Mayor, were also their neighbors, but more remote. Their residences may yet be traced, and also some of their descendants, in other parts of the city.
A short distance east of where Seabrook's Ware- house is built, was the pleasant and rural-looking residence of Adam Craig, Clerk of the Hustings Court. The green slope in rear of the house was washed at its base by a clear rivulet, which now flows, mixed with less pure waters, through a culvert to Shockoe creek; but the house remains with its fine trees and hedges of box. The Clerk's
* This gentleman died in October, 1856.
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office was in the small Dutch-roofed house, at the corner on Grace and Eighteenth streets. Here Andrew Stevenson, who was successively Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, of the Con- gressional House of Representatives, and Minister to Great Britian, acquired the elements of legal lore. Robert Stanard, his cotemporary, a distin- guished lawyer and a Judge of the Court of Ap- peals, married a daughter of Mr. Craig. Mr. Stevenson died in 1857. Judge Stanard in 1846.
A most worthy couple, residing at the foot of Church hill near Rocketts, should not be forgotten. The home and good works of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Rowlett are coeval with the century, and while I write this, his good works have just ceased, and he has gone to his reward, after attaining to nearly fourscore and ten years. He was the first to engage in the occupation of ship-broker in Richmond, and pursued it for more than half a century ; but his charitable offices were of longer duration.
A neighbor of Mr. Rowlett at Rocketts, was Richard Young, City Surveyor, but who did not limit his investigations, to the surface of the earth. He was an instance of the pursuit of knowledge under difficulties. He would have been a Geolo- gist, Zoologist, and all the other logists from A. to Z., had his education and opportunities favored such acquirements. His desire to make them
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obtained for him the title of Philosopher Young. His accurate knowledge of the localities of Paris, acquired by studying the map, was remarkable. He quitted this sublunary sphere, many years ago, but his widow and her sister, whose lives have been devoted to good works, still pursue the occupation at an advanced age. The widow though childless, has been a mother to many orphans, and her fire- side has rarely, if ever been without such an object of her benevolence. The father of these ladies was a steward to General Washington for many years, and their early life was spent on the Mount Vernon estate. They are probably the only sur- vivors of those who lived there cotemporaneously with that great and good man. I trust they will pardon this intrusion on their privacy, but such examples should be commemorated that they may be imitated. Mrs. Y. saw, in 1860, Rossiter's picture of Washington at home, and declared the likeness to be excellent.
The ascent of Church Hill in old times, and even lately, could be attained by carriages on only one route-the road from Main street directly to the church-yard-and even this was "a hard road to travel," especially by funeral processions. The first time that I ascended it was on the solemn occasion of a funeral pageant, a few days after the death of Washington, when with other lads I fol- lowed at the close. Small as the population of
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the city then was, I doubt if a funeral procession of greater length has extended along the street than on that occasion, except at the funeral of Washington's friend and biographer, Judge Mar- shall, many years after.
CHAPTER IX.
THE MAYOR.
AMBITION prevails in every sphere, and although it may have no room. " to expand itself," will seek to be the centre of a circle even of very limited circumference. Aspirants for city honors, though then devoid of emolument, were as ambitious in former days as they are in the present. Among them was a worthy Irish blacksmith, who by dint of perseverance attained to the mayoralty, and his administration deserves to be recorded by the pen of a Knickerbocker. He was of the genuine Irish-Bull breed, but his attainments in public speaking fell far short of some modern city ora- tors, of the Malaprop and Ramsbottom school, in amusing his hearers.
Butler's description of his hero, would apply to
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ours, for Mayor M. was also captain of militia ; he was
"Chief of domestic knights and errant, Either for chartel or for warrant; Great on the bench, great in the saddle, That could as well bind o'er as swaddle; Mighty he was in both of these, And styl'd of war as well as peace. But here our authors make a doubt, Whether he were more wise or stout ; Some hold the one and some the other. But howsoe'er they make a pother, The diff'rence was so small, his brain Outweighed his rage but half a grain; Which made some take him for a tool That knaves do work with, call'd a fool.
He was a strict constructionist ; and on one occasion when applied to by an old woman for a search warrant to recover a turkey stolen from her, he referred to the magistrate's book of forms, in which he could find no mention of turkeys; but there was a form of a warrant to search for a stolen cow. After stating to the old lady the legal difficulty, he reflected a while and thus overcame it : " I will give you a warrant for a cow, and if in searching for a cow you find the turkey, you may take possession and bring it and the thief before me." Could Sancho Panza have been more judi- cious ?
The worthy dignitary, by various similar exer-
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cises of his judicial functions, retained and in- creased his popularity, not only by administering justice, but by furnishing amusement to his con- stituents.
I can call to mind a practical joke played on him by a facetious member of the municipality, who asserted as a curious fact, that a bottle could not be broken in an empty bag. The Mayor expressed his disbelief; and after an argument, in which various reasons were assigned, pro and con, the result was a bet of a bowl of punch capacious enough for all the members of the Common Coun- cil, the Mayor being the champion of fracture. A fat Dutch humorist, who lived at the corner oppo- site to the market, (where boots, shoes, bread and Brandreth's pills, have of late years shod, fed and physicked the market folks,) agreed to furnish the implements wherewith to decide the wager.
A large corner-stone, planted to protect the sidewalk from cart-wheels, was selected as the antagonist to the bottle. The winning parties, (those who were to quaff the punch,) assembled, and a crowd of curious philosophers surrounded them.
Mr. Darmsdadt produced the bag and the bottle, turned the sack inside out and blew into the bottle, to show that all was fair. The bottle was then bagged, and the mouth of the bag was securely tied. The Mayor seized the sack with both hands,
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just below the ligature, and swung it as he had formerly swung a sledge-hammer. He then brought it down with all his might upon the stone. The glass rattled and the Mayor ex- claimed, " VICTORY !" but the judges were desired to open the bag, when, lo and behold ! it was found not empty ; and his honor had to stand the punch and the laugh.
In old times the municipality, consisting of Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council, met as one body, and there being no City Hall for their sessions, they convened in an apartment rented for that purpose, in the square south-west of the mar- ket bridge, and commanding a view of Manchester on the opposite side of the river.
On one warm summer day the city fathers had met in council, and their labors for the public weal had rendered them drouthy. In those primitive days the practice adopted in New York of eating, drinking and smoking at the expense of many thousands to their constituents, had not been thought of by our unpaid commonalty ; and in order to assuage their thirst with some pleasant beverage, Michael Ryan, one of the members (an author whose works are extinct), proposed a wager for a flowing bowl, and in deference to the Mayor he offered to make it with him. The Mayor replied, that Mr. Ryan had already played him one trick, and he should not catch him again.
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"But," said Ryan, "if you are sure of winning this time, you'll take me up-and so to give you a chance, I will bet you that I can prove from your own admission, you are on the other side of the river." "I'll take that bet," said his honor. The wag, pointing to Manchester, asked if that was not one side of the river. " Certainly," replied the mayor. " And is not Richmond on the other side ?" "Yes." "Are you not in Rich- mond, and consequently on the other side ?" The Mayor was stumped, and ordered the beverage, but swore he would never make another bet. "I'll take you a dozen of porter on that," said Ryan. " Done !" cried the excited Mayor, and no sooner said than done he was.
Joseph Darmsdadt, one of the actors in the scene, was as well known for many years as the market square on which he lived. He was, as his name imports, a Hessian, and came to this country as a sutler, with the troops that were sold by their prince, at so much per head, to fight the battles of despotism. It was, no doubt, a fortunate arrange- ment for those of the mercenary troops who, like Mr. Darmsdadt, escaping the perils of war and the clutches of their prince, obtained freedom in the land they were sent to enslave.
Our Hessian citizen established himself in Rich- mond, not long after he had renounced his foreign allegiance. He was a shrewd man, and the valley
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beyond the Blue Ridge being settled by Germans, his knowledge of the language enabled him to attract the custom of the farmers, who drove their wagons to Richmond, laden with the products of the dairy, the mill, the forest and the chase.
The social disposition of Mr. Darmsdadt brought him into society, even the best. His own enter- tainments were given daily. Almost all our citi- zens, in those days, went early to market, to fur- nish their larders ; and Mr. D. would have a large coffee-pot before his fire-place, of the contents of which, prepared by himself, many of his friends, judges, lawyers, doctors and merchants, partook, whenever they were so inclined-particularly on wet or cold mornings ; and here the chit-chat of the day was first heard, and much news was circu- lated from this social coffee-house. Its proprietor retained it and its customers some thirty or forty years, until his death. In his will, written by him- self and spelled as he pronounced, he left $5500 to charitable objects, including female friends who were in indigent circumstances, regretting he could not leave more in consequence of the depreciation of property in 1818. The rest of his estate he bequeathed to German relatives.
To recur to the subject of this chapter-the Worshipful Mayor-his first administration was marked by a distinguished honor, which he seems
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to have borne well, as the following record will show, and it merits preservation :
NOVEMBER 20th, 1784 .- Last Sunday, in the afternoon, came to this city, his Excellency General George Washington, Esq. The next day was ushered in with the discharge of thirteen cannon, when every countenance showed the most heart-felt gladness on seeing our illustrious and beloved General in the Capital of the State, and in the bosom of peace. In the evening, the city was illuminated and every demonstration of joy was shown on the pleasing occasion.
On Thursday, the merchants of this city gave an elegant dinner to his Excellency, General Washington ; the same day, came from Boston, the Marquis de la Fayette, accompanied with Captain Granshaw, of the navy of his most Christian Majesty, and the Chevalier Caruman.
The two Houses of Assembly appointed committees to wait upon his Excellency and the Marquis de la Fayette, who seve- rally addressed them.
Last night, the corporation of this city gave an elegant ball in honor to our illustrious and much beloved visitor, General Washington.
On Monday, the corporation of this city waited on his Ex- cellency, and presented him with the following address :
" To GEORGE WASHINGTON, Esq., late Commander-in- Chief of the American Army :
" SIR-Actuated by every sentiment which can inspire a grateful people, the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Common Councilmen of the city of Richmond, embrace this long wished for opportunity of congratulating you on your return to the bosom of peace and retirement in your native country, after so many years honorably spent amidst the toils and turmoils of war, which, through the smiles of Heaven on your exertions, has been productive of liberty, glory and independence to our extensive empire.
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" On seeing you, sir, in this city, we feel all that men can feel, who are indebted to you for every social enjoyment, and who are deeply impressed with a conviction that, if the late illus- trious leader of the armies of America, had not only possessed, but exercised every talent and every virtue, which can dignify the hero and the patriot, we might not at this day have dared to speak the language of free-born citizens, nor would we have seen commerce and navigation, with their fruitful train, libe- rated from their shackles, inviting the inhabitants of distant nations to seek an asylum and residence among us.
" When in the review of a few years, we behold you, not only forming soldiers, but also teaching to conquer ; when we con- template that prudence, courage, and magnanimity which, sur- mounting every difficulty, regardless of every danger, and con- temning every reward, excites not only the veneration of your country, but even commanded the admiration and applause of your enemies, and spread the fame of America to the remotest corner of the world, giving her rank and consequence among the kingdoms of the earth ; and when we think what we might have been if Washington had not existed, our hearts expand with emotion too strong for utterance ; and we can only pray that the Supreme Giver of all victory may crown you with his choicest blessings here, and never-failing glory hereafter.
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