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Title: Old Buildings of New York - With Some Notes Regarding Their Origin and Occupants
Author: Anonymous
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Old Buildings of New York - With Some Notes Regarding Their Origin and Occupants" ***
Old Buildings
_of_
New York City
OLD BUILDINGS
OF
NEW YORK CITY
WITH SOME NOTES REGARDING
THEIR ORIGIN AND OCCUPANTS
NEW YORK
BRENTANO’S
MCMVII
_Copyright, 1907, by Brentano’s_
THE TROW PRESS, NEW YORK
Subjects
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
PAGE
NUMBER SEVEN STATE STREET 19
FRAUNCES’S TAVERN 23
SUB-TREASURY AND ASSAY OFFICE 27
BANK OF NEW YORK 29
ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL 33
CITY HALL 39
ASTOR LIBRARY 43
LANGDON HOUSE 45
ST. MARK’S CHURCH 49
RUTHERFURD HOUSE 53
KETELTAS HOUSE 57
RESIDENCE OF EUGENE DELANO 59
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 61
FORMER RESIDENCE OF THE LATE JAMES LENOX 63
FORMER RESIDENCE OF THE LATE ROBERT B. MINTURN 65
GRACE CHURCH 67
SOCIETY LIBRARY 69
CRUGER HOUSE 73
ABINGDON SQUARE 77
GRAMERCY SQUARE 81
Residence of John Bigelow 83
Former Residence of the Late Luther C. Clark 85
Former Residence Of the Late James W. Gerard 87
“The Players”--Former Home of Edwin Booth 91
Former Residence of the Late Samuel J. Tilden 93
Former Residence of the Late Rev. Dr. H. W. Bellows 97
Former Residence of the Late Dr. Valentine Mott 99
Rectory of Calvary Parish 101
Former Residence of the Late Stanford White 103
Former Residence of the Late Cyrus W. Field and the Late
David Dudley Field 105
FORMER RESIDENCE OF THE LATE PETER COOPER AND THE
LATE ABRAM S. HEWITT 107
GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 111
FORMER RESIDENCE OF THE LATE WILLIAM C. SCHERMERHORN 115
CHURCH OF THE TRANSFIGURATION 117
RESIDENCE OF J. PIERPONT MORGAN 121
FORMER RESIDENCE OF THE LATE THEODORE A. HAVEMEYER 123
FORMER RESIDENCE OF THE LATE SENATOR EDWIN D. MORGAN 125
THE OLD ARSENAL 127
CLAREMONT 129
HAMILTON GRANGE 139
JUMEL HOUSE 143
GRACIE HOUSE 151
BOROUGH OF THE BRONX
GOUVERNEUR MORRIS HOUSE 157
VAN CORTLANDT HOUSE 167
BOROUGH OF QUEENS
BOWNE HOUSE 171
BOROUGH OF RICHMOND
BILLOP HOUSE 175
Old Buildings
_of_
New York City
Introductory
Recently a writer in a periodical stated that “No one was ever born
in New York.” It can be safely said that this is an exaggeration.
Nevertheless it showed the confidence of the writer that the statement
was not likely to startle his readers very greatly.
Probably not one in a hundred of the men in the street know or care
anything about the town of fifty or sixty years ago. Still the number
of those who were familiar with it then is large, however small in
comparison with the whole number. In fact, the number of those whose
predecessors were living here when there were not more than a thousand
people in the whole place is much greater than is generally supposed.
It was for people belonging to the two latter classes that these
pictures were taken. They may even interest some who have known the
town for only a generation.
When a man has traversed the streets of a city for fifty years, certain
buildings become familiar landmarks. He first saw them perhaps on
trudging to school with his books, and has seen them nearly every
day since. He experiences a slight shock whenever such buildings are
destroyed. There appears something wrong in the general aspect of
the town. Of late years these shocks have followed one another so
continuously that he may well wonder whether he is living in the same
place.
It occurred to the writer that it would do no harm to preserve the
pictures of some of the landmarks still standing, especially as they
are getting fewer in number all the time, and may shortly disappear
altogether.
He regrets that he is unable to show a photographic presentment of many
buildings that have disappeared in the last fifty years, or even during
the life of the present generation. Some buildings that had a certain
historical interest have been razed in the last twenty-five years, as,
e. g., the Kennedy house,[1] No. 1 Broadway, taken down to make way
for the Washington Building, overlooking the Battery Park, or the old
Walton house[2] in Pearl Street near Franklin Square, removed in 1881,
or the Tombs prison, removed in 1899.
Among buildings that will be recalled to memory by the older citizens
it would have been a satisfaction to have been able to show pictures
of the Brick (Presbyterian) Church, that stood, with its yard, on
Park Row, taking in the block bounded by Spruce, Nassau, and Beekman
streets; or Burton’s Theater in Chambers Street; the Irving House,
later Delmonico’s, on the corner of Broadway and the same street; of
the old New York Hospital on Broadway near Thomas Street, standing far
back with its beautiful lawn and grand old trees; of the St. Nicholas
Hotel near Spring Street; of the old Coster mansion (later a Chinese
museum), built of granite in the style of the Astor House, near Prince
Street; and Tiffany’s place across the way, with the same Atlas
upholding the clock over the door; of the Metropolitan Hotel on the
next block with Niblo’s Garden; of Bleecker Street with Depau Row;[3]
of Bond Street with the large Ward (later Sampson) residence on the
corner; the Russell residence on the corner of Great Jones Street; the
famous old New York Hotel; the Lorillard mansion at Tenth Street; the
large brownstone residence of Judge James Roosevelt, near Thirteenth
Street, famous for the hospitality of its owners, and the red brick
residence of Cornelius V. S. Roosevelt, grandfather of the President,
on the corner of Union Square, having the entrance on Broadway.
The older resident can recall Union Square when the buildings were
nearly all private residences, conspicuous among which were the Parish
house on the north side and the Penniman (later the Maison Dorée) on
the south. He can recall the stately appearance of Fourteenth Street
westward of Union Square: the Haight residence on the corner of Fifth
Avenue and Fifteenth Street, with its large winter garden;[4] the
brownstone house of Colonel Herman Thorn in Sixteenth Street, west of
the avenue, standing in its wide grounds (now nearly filled by the New
York Hospital); the residence of Mr. and Mrs. August Belmont (so long
leaders in society), on the avenue, at the corner of Eighteenth Street,
extending with its picture gallery a long distance on the street;
the Stuart residence, which shared the block above Twentieth Street
with a church; and then the Union Club house at Twenty-first Street.
Perhaps of all the landmarks taken down during the time of the present
generation, none was so well known as the Goelet house at Broadway and
Nineteenth Street, with the grounds extending eastward toward Fourth
Avenue. Thousands of people passed every day in the short stretch
between the two squares. Mr. Peter Goelet’s penchant for rare and
beautiful birds was a never-ending delight to every passing child and
adult, and a number were always standing gazing past the iron railing.
Peacocks white and blue, Chinese golden pheasants, and many other
varieties found a comfortable home in the grounds.
The appearance of the entire city now gives the impression of life
and bustle. With the exception of Gramercy Square and Irving Place,
there is hardly a spot in the lower part of the city that now has any
appearance of repose. Thirty years ago the city presented a wholly
different aspect. Fifth Avenue, from Washington to Madison Square,
was, in the opinion of the writer, one of the finest residence streets
anywhere. At most hours of the day the people on the sidewalks were
comparatively few and there was a very small proportion of business
wagons and trucks that used the roadway as compared with the numbers
that do so to-day. University Place was a street of nearly the same
character, as was also Second Avenue from Seventh Street to Stuyvesant
Square. This street had a charm of its own. Lined as it was on either
side with spacious residences, it gave the impression of a street of
homes. The façades of the largest houses were simple and unpretentious,
forming a marked contrast to some of the houses uptown to-day.
As regards the matter of repose, it may be said that twenty-five years
ago the palm would clearly have been given to Lafayette Place. This
short street also had a character of its own. From the Langdon house
on the east side near Astor Place to old St. Bartholomew’s Church at
Great Jones Street, and from the Langdon (Wilks) house on the west side
to the Schermerhorn house opposite the church, almost every building
had its individuality. The street was marred by three or four ancient
buildings, which for some reason were not removed, such as the stable
between the Langdon house and the Astor Library, once the favorite
Riding Academy. The Library still (1906) stands, as does a part of the
old Colonnade, but an earthquake could hardly have wrought greater
changes than has the march of trade.
The large mansion of the first John Jacob Astor stood separated from
the Library by a gateway and broad alley reaching to the stables in
the rear. Adjoining was a group of houses of the style of those in
Washington Square, broad and “high-stooped.” Opposite, on the corner of
Fourth Street, stood a church whose portico of granite Ionic columns
(each a monolith brought with great trouble from Maine) was one of the
wonders of the town. Almost adjoining was the Swan residence, since
converted into the Church House of the diocese, and then the Colonnade
with its long row of granite Corinthian columns, considered a marvel
in its day. Next to these was the “English basement” house of the late
Charles Astor Bristed, with arch and driveway leading to the rear,
and on the corner the Langdon (Wilks) house, when it was built, the
finest in town. Being a short street, blocked at one end and leading
only to Astor Place at the other, the drivers of very few vehicles
ever took the trouble to turn into it, except the driver of a private
carriage, perhaps a closed coach drawn by heavy horses (for the cobble
stones were rough); the coachman on a vast hammercloth embellished
with fringes and tassels, as was frequently seen forty years ago, the
footman sometimes standing behind, his hands grasping two leather loops
to hold himself in place. So quiet was the street that on a pleasant
afternoon the youngsters who dwelt in the neighborhood carried on their
game of ball undisturbed. Perhaps it was this feature of quiet repose
which suggested the suitability of establishing there the Library, the
churches, the Columbia College Law School, and the Church House.
The writer might go on and refer extensively to other ancient streets
and the changed aspect of other places throughout the city, but that is
not his present purpose.
There are a few old landmarks that are likely to stand, for example the
City Hall, in the opinion of some the most successful building, as to
architectural design, in the country.
Abandoned to materialism as the city is and lacking sentiment,
nevertheless any proposal to take down the City Hall, or even to alter
it ever so slightly, meets with vigorous protests.[5]
Possibly people might object if it were proposed to destroy St. Paul’s
Chapel, the oldest church edifice in the city, and so with a few other
buildings; but the majority of the landmarks must go and hideous
skyscrapers arise, “monuments to greed” as they have been termed, half
ruining adjacent properties.
It was with a view of preserving the appearance of some of these
landmarks that may be torn down any day that these pictures were taken.
Endeavor has been made to present those that have been in existence
about fifty years. With two exceptions the buildings represented are
now (1906) standing.
Mistakes and errors no doubt appear in the text, and these the writer
would be glad to correct. The notes in no sense profess to be thorough.
They are, for the most part, mere skeletons of what may be said upon
the subjects dealt with.
[Illustration]
Number Seven State Street
This house was built by Moses Rogers, a prominent merchant of the
latter part of the eighteenth and the first part of the nineteenth
century. He was a native of Connecticut, his mother being a daughter of
Governor Fitch of that State. He was in business as early as 1785 at 26
Queen (Pearl) Street. In 1793 the firm name was Rogers & Woolsey, his
partner being William Walter Woolsey, his brother-in-law, Mr. Rogers
having married Sarah Woolsey, a sister of the wife of President Dwight
of Yale College. In that year he was living at 272 Pearl Street, near
Beekman, “in a large house with hanging garden extending over the yard
and stable.”[6]
Mr. Rogers was a merchant of high character and public spirit. In 1793
he was an active member of the Society for the Manumission of Slaves.
He was a governor of the New York Hospital from 1792 to 1799, and in
1797 treasurer of the City Dispensary. From 1787 until 1811 he was a
vestryman of Trinity Church, and in 1793 was a member of the Society
for the Relief of Distressed Prisoners.[7]
In the year 1806 he was living in the house here presented. His sister
had married the celebrated merchant and ship owner, Archibald Gracie.
His children were: (1) Sarah E. Rogers, who married the Hon. Samuel
M. Hopkins; (2) Benjamin Woolsey Rogers, who married Susan, daughter
of William Bayard; (3) Archibald Rogers, who married Anna, daughter
of Judge Nathaniel Pendleton; and (4) Julia A. Rogers, who married
Francis Bayard Winthrop.[8] In the year 1826 Benjamin Woolsey Rogers
was living in the next house, Number Five State Street, but after his
father’s death he moved to Number Seven and lived there until 1830.[9]
William P. Van Rensselaer, grandson of General Stephen Van Rensselaer,
married successively two of the daughters of Mr. Rogers. The house
during the ownership of the Rogers family was the scene of many notable
entertainments. These entertainments were frequently referred to by
older members of society who have now passed away. In 1830 the house
was occupied by Gardiner G. Howland.
The queerly shaped front was to a certain extent a necessity. State
Street takes a sharp turn and the house was built at the apex of an
angle. The interior was doubtless an improvement on other houses. The
ceilings were high, and the staircase, instead of being in the hall
as in older houses, is at the side. It is winding, of an oval design,
with mahogany balustrade. The skylight was of stained glass, made in
England, showing the coat of arms.
During the Civil War, the house was taken by the Government for
military uses, and afterwards became the office of the Pilot
Commissioners.
It is now the house of the mission of Our Lady of the Rosary.
[Illustration]
Fraunces’s Tavern
In the year 1671 Col. Stephen Van Cortlandt built a cottage on the
corner of Broad and Pearl (then Queen) streets, to which he brought his
bride, Gertrude Schuyler. The house overlooked the waters of the river
and bay. In the year 1700 he deeded this property to his son-in-law,
Etienne de Lancey, probably wishing to retire to his manor on the
Hudson. De Lancey was a French Huguenot of rank who had left his native
country on the revocation of the edict of Nantes. He came to New York
where he established himself as a merchant. On these premises he built
a hip-roofed mansion several stories in height, of small yellow bricks
imported from Holland. In dimensions and arrangement it ranked among
the best in the colony. The property descended through his son James to
his grandson Oliver. This part of the town having by that time become
the business quarter in 1757, the house was abandoned as a residence
and became the warehouse of De Lancey, Robinson & Co. On January 17,
1762, the building was transferred to Samuel Fraunces, who converted it
into a tavern under the name of the “Queen’s Head,” and announced that
dinner would be served daily at half-past one. In April, 1768, in the
long room, the Chamber of Commerce was inaugurated with John Cruger as
president.
On November 25, 1783, the day of the evacuation of the British, a grand
banquet was given by Governor Clinton to General Washington and the
French minister, Luzerne, and in the evening the “Queen’s Head” and the
whole town were illuminated. More than a hundred generals, officers,
and distinguished personages attended the banquet and thirteen toasts
were drunk commemorative of the occasion. Ten days later Washington
here met his generals for the last time. After a slight repast
Washington filled his glass and addressed his officers as follows:
“With a heart full of love and gratitude, I must now take my leave of
you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous
and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable.”[10] In
silence his former companions then took a final farewell of their chief.
This is one of the oldest buildings in the city, as the great fire
of 1776 doubtless swept away most of those of earlier date. During
the last century the building has gone through various vicissitudes,
mostly on the descending scale. A year or two ago the ground floor was
occupied by a saloon. Lately the building has been completely restored
by the Sons of the Revolution and now presents very nearly its original
appearance.
[Illustration]
Sub-Treasury and Assay Office
The Sub-Treasury is built on the site of the original City Hall. In
1789 this was altered and repaired for the use of the first Congress
and named the Federal Hall. The balcony of the Hall was the scene of
Washington’s inauguration as President, in commemoration of which the
statue was erected.
In 1834 the building was demolished and the present structure erected
for the Custom House and was used as such until 1862.
The Assay Office is the oldest building in Wall Street, having been
built in 1823, for the New York branch of the Bank of the United
States. It became the Assay Office in 1853.
[Illustration]
Bank of New York
The oldest bank in the country is the Bank of North America in
Philadelphia, incorporated by act of Congress, December, 1781, and by
the State of Pennsylvania a few months afterwards. Very great losses
had occurred from the repudiation of the Continental bills of credit.
All the States had issued bills of their own and kept on “making
experiments in finance which did not depend on specie as a basis.”
Currency was expressed in pounds, shillings, and pence and the currency
in circulation was a motley conglomeration of guineas, doubloons,
pistoles, Johannes pieces, moidores, and sequins. Thus arose the
necessity of a bank that should both assist the Government and benefit
the people at large.
On February 26, 1784, a meeting of the principal merchants and citizens
was held at the Merchants’ Coffee House. General Alexander McDougal was
chosen chairman, and it was unanimously decided to establish a bank.
Subscription books were opened at the offices of John Alsop, Broadway,
Robert Bowne, Queen Street, and Nicholas Low, Water Street, and the
shares were rapidly taken.
On March 15, 1784, the following officers were chosen: General
Alexander McDougal, president; Samuel Franklin, Robert Bowne, Comfort
Sands, Alexander Hamilton, Joshua Waddington, Thomas Randall, William
Maxwell, Nicholas Low, Daniel McCormick, Isaac Roosevelt, John
Vanderbilt, and Thomas B. Stoughton, directors; and William Seton,
cashier.
The bank commenced business at what was formerly the old Walton house
in St. George’s (now Franklin) Square. It stood on the east side of
Queen (now Pearl) Street, almost opposite the present establishment of
Harper Brothers, the publishers. The building (erected 1752) will be
remembered by many people to-day as it was only taken down in 1881,
but its appearance during its declining years gave a faint idea of its
original dignity. In 1787 the business of the bank was moved to Hanover
Square, Isaac Roosevelt having been chosen president in 1786.
In 1796 a lot was bought at the corner of Wall and William streets
from William Constable for eleven thousand pounds (New York currency).
Strange to say, there is no record of the dimensions of the lot, but
the present building doubtless stands on part of it.
Early in 1797 steps were taken to remove the house then standing and
to put up a new building, and the corner stone was laid by Gulian
Verplanck, then president, on June 27th. Mr. Verplanck died in 1799
and Nicholas Gouverneur was chosen president. The corner stone of the
present building was laid on September 10, 1856, and the building
completed in 1858.[11]
[Illustration]
St. Paul’s Chapel
This chapel built in 1764–66 is the oldest church edifice in the
city. The first rector was the Rev. Dr. Barclay, who was succeeded by
the Rev. Dr. Samuel Auchmuty. The steeple is in the style of one of
Wren’s designs. After the burning of Trinity in 1776, it was used as
the parish church. The pews that during the war held Howe, André, the
officers of the army of occupation, and the young midshipman who later
became King William IV were, when peace was concluded, occupied by the
former “rebels” Washington, Clinton, and their followers. After his
inauguration, in the Federal Hall in Wall Street, Washington and the
members of both houses came in solemn procession to St. Paul’s, where
services were conducted by Bishop Provost, Chaplain of the Senate, and
a _Te Deum_ was sung.
The square pew on the left with the national arms on the wall was the
one used by Washington as long as New York remained the capital. The
corresponding pew on the right, designated by the arms of the State,
was that of Governor Clinton. On the chancel wall are marble tablets
to Sir John Temple, the first British consul general, and to Colonel
Thomas Barclay, the eminent loyalist, son of the Rev. Dr. Barclay,
rector of Trinity Parish. Colonel Barclay succeeded Temple as consul
general of “His Brittanick Majesty.” There is also a tablet in memory
of the wife of William Franklin, Tory Governor of New Jersey, and
several others. The only other reminder of pre-Revolutionary days
is the gilded crest of the Prince of Wales over the pulpit canopy.
As everyone knows, at the east end of the yard facing Broadway are
monuments to three eminent Irishmen who rose to distinction in this
country--Emmet, Montgomery, and MacNeven, one at the bar, another in
the army, and the third in medicine. Emmet was the brother of the
Irish martyr, Robert Emmet;[12] Montgomery settled in New York before
the Revolution, married a daughter of Chancellor Livingston and fell
at Quebec;[13] MacNeven, like Emmet, had taken part in the Irish
rebellion of ’98, acting with him as one of the Directory of Three.
Both were imprisoned at Fort George in Scotland. He later served in
Napoleon’s army as surgeon.
George W. P. Custis, who was one of Washington’s family, spoke of St.
Paul’s as being “quite out of town.” No doubt the great fire of 1776,
which stopped when it got to the Chapel yard, left the Chapel standing
isolated from buildings below it; but Custis, to get there from St.
George’s (Franklin) Square, must have had to go some distance “down
town.” It tends to show that the water front of the city was covered
with buildings before the central part. The fact that the commissioners
for making a plan of the future city early in the last century arranged
for so many streets running to the water and for so few running north
and south would also seem to indicate that they thought easy access to
the rivers was of prime importance.
Mr. Astor, with his wonderful foresight, was the first man to realize
that the “backbone” of the island was, in after years, to show the
greatest advance in the value of real estate.
[Illustration]
The City Hall
The plans of the architect who designed the City Hall, John McComb,
were accepted in the year 1803, but the building was not completed
until nine years later.
It is not always an agreeable business to devote one’s time to
destroying a myth which has become lodged in the affections of the
people, but sometimes it rests on so slight a foundation that there
is nothing gained in keeping it alive. We have lately seen how the
tradition that Washington Irving used to live in the house on the
corner of Irving Place and Seventeenth Street had no foundation in
fact, except that he had a nephew who lived next door. And so the story
so often repeated in newspapers and guide books that the City Hall was
finished in brownstone at the back because the city fathers thought
that nobody of any importance would ever live to the north of it might,
it seems, be set at rest, although the attempt is not made for the
first time. The story reflects on the intelligence of the people of the
day. The reason was economy, but not joined to deficiency of foresight.
The Common Council of that day, instead of being obtuse on the subject
were quite the other way, and show by their records that they took
a highly optimistic view of what they call the city’s “unrivaled”
situation and opulence. They state their belief that in a very few
years the hall that they were about to build would be the _center_ of
the wealth and population of the city. It was at first arranged to
build entirely of brownstone, and the contractors got their work done
as far as the basement, as can readily be seen to-day. Then the views
of the Common Council underwent a change. A halt was made and McComb
was requested to make an estimate of the cost in marble.
From an interesting article appearing in the _Century Magazine_
for April, 1884, written by Mr. Edward S. Wilde, it seems that the
committee’s report states: “It appears from this (the architect’s)
estimate that the difference of expense between marble and brownstone
will not exceed the sum of $43,750, including every contingent charge.
When it is considered that the City of New York from its inviting
situation and increasing opulence, stands unrivaled ... we certainly
ought, in this pleasing state of things, to possess at least one public
edifice which shall vie with the many now erected in Philadelphia and
elsewhere ... in the course of a very few years it is destined to
be the center of the wealth and population of the city. Under these
impressions the Building Committee strongly recommend that the front
and two end views of the new hall be built of marble.”
The corporation then authorized the use of marble on three fronts. The
brownstone of the rear received its first coat of white paint only a
few years ago, as nearly anyone who reads this can testify. In 1858 the
cupola was destroyed by fire and was restored in a poor manner, but
Mr. Wilde says: “Notwithstanding this change and the damage done less
by time than by stupidity, the hall stands to-day unsurpassed by any
structure of the kind in the country.”
[Illustration]
Astor Library
The Astor Library was founded in accordance with the terms of a codicil
to the will of the first John Jacob Astor. It was opened in 1854. His
son William B. Astor added a wing to the original building (the present
central portion) and presented five hundred and fifty thousand dollars
to the library fund.
In 1881 another wing was added by his grandson, John Jacob Astor.
[Illustration]
The Langdon House
This house was usually called the Langdon house, although it was never
occupied by the family of that name. Mr. Walter Langdon’s house,
directly opposite, was built much later. About 1845 the first John
Jacob Astor wished to present his daughter, Mrs. Walter Langdon, with
a city residence and built this house for her during her absence
abroad. He built merely the shell of the house, and on his daughter’s
return gave her the sum of thirty thousand dollars for the purpose of
decorating it. _Carte blanche_ was given to a famous decorator of that
day, and he proceeded to finish it in a style hitherto unknown in the
city. The result was that in the end the cost of the interior had risen
to sixty thousand dollars, considered a very large sum at that time. A
great deal of attention was paid to plaster and stucco ornamentation
and woodwork. The most attractive feature of the house was the main
staircase, which was made in England especially for the house. This
staircase was rectangular and of a dark rich colored wood, was
beautifully carved and of a very graceful design. It was lighted by a
large stained-glass window overlooking Astor Place. The reception rooms
were on the left of the main hall with a conservatory in the rear. At
the right were the library, staircase, dining room, and offices. Mrs.
Langdon, however, returned to Europe and continued to reside there
until her death. Meanwhile it was arranged that the house should be
occupied by her daughter, who had married an English gentleman, Mr.
Matthew Wilks. Mr. and Mrs. Wilks continued to live there until the
house was taken down in 1875.
The property had a frontage of about two hundred and fifty feet on both
Astor Place and Lafayette Place (now Lafayette Street), from which it
was shut off by a high wall. The enclosed courtyard was laid out as a
garden, with large trees, and the rear was occupied by the stables. The
garden contained a ring large enough for riding purposes.
Of course during the Forrest-Macready riot in 1849 the house was almost
in what might be called the storm center. In the midst of it one of
the servants, who thought he had secured a perfectly safe point of
observation on the roof, was killed.
[Illustration]
St. Mark’s in the Bowery
When Stuyvesant retired from office, after the British occupation, he
withdrew to his “Bowerie” or farm near the site of the present church,
then two miles out of town. In 1660 he built a small chapel near his
house for the people of the little village that sprang up about the
farm, as well as for his own family and the slaves, of whom there were
about forty in the vicinity. This chapel was torn down in 1793, and
the Petrus Stuyvesant of that day offered to present the ground and
eight hundred pounds in money to Trinity parish if it would build a
church there. This offer was accepted. In May, 1799, the church was
finished and the body of it has remained intact to the present time,
but there was no steeple before 1828. One pew was reserved for the
governor of the State, and the corresponding pew on the other side for
“Mr. Stuyvesant and family forever,”[14] each pew being surmounted
by a canopy.[15] The negro servants (slaves) sat in the rear of the
congregation.
In a vault under the chapel the governor’s body had been placed after
his death, in 1672, and in 1691 the body of the English governor
(Sloughter) was also placed there.
In building the church Stuyvesant’s remains were removed and placed
in a vault beneath the walls of the new edifice. The stone which may
be seen fastened to the outer wall bears the following inscription:
“In this vault lies buried Petrus Stuyvesant, late Captain General and
Governor in Chief of Amsterdam in New Netherlands, now called New York,
and the Dutch West India Islands, died A.D. 1671–2, aged 80 years.”
In July, 1804, the church was draped in mourning for the death of
Hamilton, and was so kept for six weeks.
[Illustration]
Second Avenue
_Former Residence of the Late Lewis M. Rutherfurd_
Lewis M. Rutherfurd was one of the most noted astronomers that this
country has produced. As a young man, he began the study of the law
with William H. Seward, and was admitted to the bar in 1837 and became
associated with John Jay and afterwards with Hamilton Fish. But his
tastes were entirely in the direction of science, and he decided to
abandon the law and apply his attention to scientific research. With
ample means, he had full opportunity to devote his life to the pursuit
of his favorite study, astronomical photography. He spent several
years of study in Europe and, on his return, he built an observatory
in New York, the best equipped private astronomical observatory in
the country. He made with his own hands an equatorial telescope and
devised a means of adapting it for photographic use by means of a third
lens placed outside of the ordinary object glass. He was the first to
devise and construct micrometer apparatus for measuring impressions on
the plate. It is said that he took such pains in the construction of
the threads of the screws of his micrometer that he was engaged three
years upon a single screw. He worked for many years at the photographic
method of observation before the value and importance of his labors
were recognized, but in 1865 these were fully acknowledged by the
National Academy of Sciences. The remarkable results that he obtained
were all secured before the discovery of the dry-plate process. His
photographs of the moon surpassed all others that had been made. When
overtaken by ill health he presented his instrument and photographs to
Columbia College, and his telescope is now mounted in the observatory
of that university.
He was an associate of the Royal Astronomical Society, president of the
American Photographical Society, and was the American delegate to the
International Meridian Conference at Washington in 1885, preparing the
resolutions embodying the results of the labors of the conference. He
received many decorations and honors from the learned societies of the
world, but his dislike of ostentation was such that he was never known
to wear one of the decorations, emblems, etc., that were conferred upon
him.[16]
The Mansard roof has been added to the house since its occupation by
the Rutherfurd family and the entrance removed from the avenue to the
side street.
When the house and grounds of the late Hon. Hamilton Fish, on
Stuyvesant Square, were sold a few years ago, it was said that there
had been no transfer of the site except by devise or descent since the
time of the old Governor. The same might be said of this property.
Stuyvesant’s house, in which, it is said, the papers were signed
transferring the province to the British Crown, stood close to this
spot. The house is the property of Rutherfurd Stuyvesant, a son of
Lewis M. Rutherfurd.
[Illustration]
The Keteltas House
An example of an old Second Avenue dwelling, the residence of the
Keteltas family on the corner of St. Mark’s Place.
[Illustration]
Washington Square
_Residence of Eugene Delano_
This house was formed by uniting two of the fine old residences on
the north side of Washington Square. The interior has been admirably
reconstructed. The house was formerly occupied by Edward Cooper (son of
the late Peter Cooper), who was, at one time, Mayor of the City.
[Illustration]
First Presbyterian Church, Fifth Avenue
This church, representing the oldest Presbyterian organization in the
city, was formed in 1716. The building was erected in 1845.
[Illustration]
An Old Fifth Avenue House
_Former Residence of the Late James Lenox_
James Lenox was born in New York in 1800, and was the son of Robert
Lenox, a wealthy Scotch merchant. He graduated from Columbia College in
1820 and entered upon a business life, but on the death of his father
in 1839 he retired and devoted the rest of his life to study and works
of benevolence. The collection of books and works of art became his
absorbing passion, and eventually he gathered about him the largest and
most valuable private collection of books and paintings in America. In
1870 he built the present Lenox Library. The collection of bibles is
believed to be unequaled even by those in the British Museum, and that
of Americana and Shakespeareana greater than that of any other American
library, in some respects surpassing those in Europe. He conveyed the
whole property to the City of New York. He was the founder and the
benefactor of the Presbyterian Hospital.
[Illustration]
Another Old Fifth Avenue House
_Former Residence of the Late Robert B. Minturn_
Prior to the Civil War, the principal merchants and bankers were among
the most prominent men in the city. The multimillionaire had not then
appeared. The ships of Howland & Aspinwall, N. L. & G. Griswold, A. A.
Low & Brother, and Grinnell, Minturn & Co. carried the flag to the
farthest quarters of the globe, where their owners’ credit stood second
to none. For speed the American clipper was unsurpassed. These “vessels
performed wonderful feats--as when the _Flying Cloud_ ran from New York
to San Francisco, making 433¼ statute miles in a single day; or the
_Sovereign of the Seas_ sailed for ten thousand miles without tacking
or wearing; or the _Dreadnought_ made the passage from Sandy Hook to
Queenstown in nine days and seventeen hours.”[17]
Mr. Minturn was a philanthropist and one of the best citizens the town
ever had.
The house is now the residence of Thomas F. Ryan.
[Illustration: Grace Church, Broadway]
[Illustration]
The Society Library
In the year 1700 the Public Library of New York was founded under the
administration of the Earl of Bellomont, and seems to have progressed
as the city grew, being aided from time to time by gifts from
interested persons on the other side, several folio volumes now in the
Society Library having been presented by friends in London in 1712,
and in 1729 the Rev. Dr. Millington, rector of Newington, England,
having bequeathed his library to the Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel in Foreign Parts, it was presented to the New York Public
Library. The library, being in charge of the corporation of the city,
was evidently not managed in a manner satisfactory to the people in
general. In the year 1754 it was determined that a more efficient
library was a necessity. In that year the present Society Library
had its origin, and what had been the Public Library of the city
was incorporated with it. Mrs. John King Van Rensselaer[18] states
that it had its source in a movement started by Mrs. Alexander, who
suggested to some of her friends that a circulating library should
be established, the subscribers to collect sufficient money to send
to England for the newest and best books. A list was made headed by
Messrs. William Smith, Philip, William and Robert Livingston, John
Morin Scott and William Alexander. After subscription books had been
opened and the lieutenant governor (De Lancey) and council had “set
their official seal” on the venture, a considerable sum was raised and
an institution was regularly organized and later received a charter
from Governor Tryon. Down to the time of the Revolution, the collection
was constantly increased by the purchase of books, but during the
Revolution, with a large part of the city destroyed by fire and what
remained being under the control of a hostile army, the library
suffered greatly. Mrs. Lamb[19] states that “four thousand or more
books disappeared at the outbreak of the Revolution and were supposed
destroyed, but many were hidden away for safe-keeping and reappeared
after the war.”[20]
In December, 1788, a meeting of the proprietors was called, trustees
were elected, and the library again resumed operations.
The library was kept in a room in the Federal Hall in Wall Street and
was used as the library of Congress. The first building put up for its
use was on the corner of Nassau and Cedar streets in 1795, but the
growth of the city compelling a change, a new building was erected in
1840 on the corner of Broadway and Leonard Street. The Library has
occupied the present building in University Place since May, 1856.
The membership of the library has been from the start among the most
prominent and respectable citizens. Many of the original shares of
1754–58 have remained in the same families to the present time, as
those of the Auchmuty, Banyer, Beekman, Clarkson, Cruger, De Peyster,
De Lancey, Harrison, Jones, Keteltas, Lawrence, Livingston, Ludlow,
McEvers, Morris, Ogden, Robinson, Rutherfurd, Smith, Stuyvesant, Van
Horne, and Watts families; and from 1790–96 those of the Astor, Bailey,
Barclay, Bowne, Coles, Delafield, Fish, Gelston, Greenleaf, Jay,
Kemble, Kingsland, Lenox, Low, Lee, Le Roy, Oothout, Peters, Prime,
Ray, Remsen, Roosevelt, Sackett, Schermerhorn, Schieffelin, Swords,
Titus, Townsend, Van Zandt, Van Wagenen, Van Rensselaer, Verplanck,
Waddington, Winthrop, and Woolsey families.
[Illustration]
Cruger House
Many old New Yorkers remember the Cruger house in Fourteenth Street
about halfway between Sixth and Seventh avenues, when it was occupied
by the late Mrs. Douglas Cruger.[21]
The house, having a frontage of seventy-five feet, stood in the
middle of a courtyard extending on either side about one hundred
feet, separated from the street by a high wall. Now the courtyard
has disappeared and the house, crowded closely on both sides by high
buildings, seems completely dwarfed. Decorated with fire escapes
and signs it has fallen from its high estate, and the whole street,
formerly a quiet dwelling street, is now nearly given over to trade and
noisy bustle. The entrance hall, twenty-five feet in width, extended
from front to rear eighty-five feet, a wide staircase rising from the
center at the end, the conservatory at the rear being of the width of
the house. The rooms on either side were rather curiously divided,
losing somewhat in what might have made a more imposing effect, not,
however, enough to prevent their being an excellent place for the
disposition of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, which leased
the house in 1873 for five years. The house is described in the annual
report for that year as a “large and elegant building surrounded by
spacious grounds, upon which grounds new galleries may be built, should
they be required....”[22] The rooms certainly had more unobstructed
light than could be found in most private houses. It is now occupied by
the Salvation Army.
[Illustration]
Abingdon Square--Greenwich
The peculiarity of the Greenwich section of the town is that it has
retained an individuality that no other section has retained. It is
very much of an American quarter. The streets are lined with well-kept,
comfortable brick houses, dating back sixty years or more, many of them
with the elaborately ornamental iron railings and newel posts that are
disappearing so rapidly. There is a marked paucity of the conventional
tenement house, and although factories and warehouses are crowding it
on all sides, its people cling with a stolid determination to their
ancient homes.
This square is taken as representative of this quarter of the city,
although it is rather in the streets adjoining that the houses are most
representative of old dwellings of sixty or seventy years ago. Before
the arrival of Henry Hudson, there was an Indian village here near the
site of Gansevoort Market, but Governor Van Twiller turned the locality
into a tobacco farm. By 1727 it became covered with farms and was
joined to the city by a good road very nearly following the line of the
present Greenwich Street.
The region was always noted for its healthfulness and when an epidemic
of smallpox broke out Admiral Warren invited the Colonial Assembly to
meet at his house. This made Greenwich the fashion, and for nearly a
century when epidemics occurred the people flocked out of town to that
village. At one time the Bank of New York transferred its business
there.
No history of this part of the city can be written without some
reference to that bold Irish sailor, Admiral Sir Peter Warren. Post
captain at the age of twenty-four he, in 1744, while in command of
the squadron on the Leeward Islands station, in less than four months
captured twenty-four prizes, one with a cargo of two hundred and fifty
thousand pounds in plate. He also served at Louisburg, Gibraltar, and
elsewhere. When at length he tired of a seafaring life, although still
young, he decided upon making his home in New York, and proceeded to
anchor himself for a time at least by marrying a New York woman, Miss
De Lancey. He bought three hundred acres of land at Greenwich, built a
house and laid out the grounds like an English park. Here he resided
for some years, and then went to England and entered Parliament.
He died at the age of forty-eight and lies buried in Westminster Abbey,
with a fine monument by Roubillac above him. After Lady Warren’s death
the property was divided into three lots, one lot going to each of
the three daughters. The lot containing the house fell to the eldest
daughter, Lady Abingdon, and was sold by her to Abijah Hammond, who
afterwards sold it to the late Abraham Van Nest. The remainder was sold
off in small parcels after three roads had been cut through them,
the Abingdon, Fitzroy, and Skinner roads.[23] The first corresponds
to the present Twenty-first Street, the second was almost on a line
with Eighth Avenue, and the third was part of the present Christopher
Street.
Gramercy Square
Now that St. John’s Park has been destroyed, Gramercy Park is the
only private park in the city--that is, one restricted in its use to
owners of houses facing it. Fifty years ago it had more seclusion. A
high and dense hedge surrounded it on the inside of the iron fence.
For some reason this was removed and never replanted. Now people in
the park might almost as well be in the middle of the street. The
figure on the fountain was then a Hebe perpetually filling her cup with
water. In former days the children that played in the grounds had an
annual May festival on the first of the month. One of the young girls
was chosen queen. Dressed in white and crowned with flowers, she led
the festivities around the Maypole, under the trees. Later they all
withdrew to the house of her parents, where a collation was served
and the dancing continued until the children were sent home by their
parents and to bed.
A number of men who have been prominent in the city’s life are living
or have lived in houses about the square. We might mention John
Bigelow, Stuyvesant Fish, James W. Gerard, Edwin Booth, Samuel J.
Tilden, Dr. Bellows, Dr. Valentine Mott, Cyrus W. Field, and David
Dudley Field.
[Illustration]
Gramercy Square
_Residence of John Bigelow_
Mr. Bigelow, one of the best-known citizens of New York, was admitted
to the bar in 1839 and in 1850 joined William Cullen Bryant as editor
of the New York _Evening Post_. He continued as one of the principal
editors until 1861, when he was appointed consul at Paris, and on the
death of Mr. Dayton became United States Minister, remaining so until
1866.
While at Paris he published “Les États Unis d’Amerique.” This work
corrected the erroneous views of the French as to the relative
commercial importance of the Northern and Southern States and was
effective in discouraging the supposed desire of the French Government
for the disruption of the Union.
Mr. Bigelow also conducted the negotiations leading to the withdrawal
of the French army from Mexico. In 1875 he was elected to the office of
Secretary of State of New York. He has published “The Life of Samuel
J. Tilden,” of whom he was one of the three executors; “The Mystery of
Sleep” and numerous other works. He has been honored by degrees from
various colleges and universities.[24]
[Illustration]
Gramercy Square
_Former Residence of the Late Luther C. Clark_
For many years this house was the residence of Mr. Clark, the
well-known banker. It is now the house of the Columbia University Club.
[Illustration]
Gramercy Square
_Former Residence of the Late James W. Gerard_
Mr. Gerard was an eminent lawyer. Born in this city in 1794, of French
ancestry on his father’s side, he graduated from Columbia College in
1811, and in 1816 took the degree of M.A. and was admitted to the bar.
A man of great public spirit, he, in 1824, procured the incorporation
of the House of Refuge for Juvenile Delinquents, the first institution
of the kind in the country. Formerly, the police or “watchmen,” as they
were called, wore no uniforms. Occasionally, an ordinary looking man
would be seen wandering about the streets, and, if the wind happened
to turn aside the lapel of his coat, one might observe a small metal
shield. This was the only indication of his office. Mr. Gerard publicly
advocated the adoption of a uniform and by letters, addresses, and
persistent action accomplished his purpose. He wore the new uniform
at a fancy dress ball given by Mrs. Coventry Waddell, who occupied a
Gothic villa, with tower, turrets, etc., on Fifth Avenue, at the top of
Murray Hill, and entertained a great deal.
Mr. Gerard devoted much of his time to charitable institutions and
was especially interested in the public schools of the city. He was
a capital speaker. His speeches were witty and always in good taste.
That he was in constant demand, in his prime, at dinners both public
and private, is readily perceived by looking through the pages of Mayor
Philip Hone’s diary.
Gramercy Park was founded in 1831 and this is said to be the oldest
house facing it.
[Illustration]
Gramercy Square
“_The Players_”
Edwin Booth, perhaps the most distinguished American actor, was born
in Maryland in 1833. He made his first appearance in 1849 and was ever
after devoted to his profession, playing throughout this country and
also abroad.
He was crushed by the affair of the assassination of President Lincoln
and retired from the stage for a year, but never lost his personal
popularity. He opened Booth’s Theater in Twenty-third Street in
1869 and for thirteen years maintained the most popular revivals of
Shakespeare’s tragedies ever known in the city. Although forced into
bankruptcy in 1873, he retrieved his fortunes by earning two hundred
thousand dollars in fifty-six weeks.
In 1882 he went to Europe and was received with the greatest favor.
In 1888 he purchased the building here shown (formerly the residence
of Valentine G. Hall), remodeled and furnished it and presented it
to actors and the friends of the drama as “The Players,” a complete
gentleman’s club. Booth made his home at “The Players” from the date
of its opening until his death, which took place in this house June 7,
1893.[25]
[Illustration]
Gramercy Square
_Former Residence of the Late Samuel J. Tilden_
Mr. Tilden had a great reputation for skill as a lawyer. He was
also a thorough politician, being chairman of the Democratic State
Committee of New York for thirteen years. Nominated for President in
1876, he received a majority of the popular vote, but owing to the
fact that the votes of several States were disputed, the celebrated
Electoral Commission was appointed, consisting of senators, judges, and
representatives. The commission divided on party lines and gave the
disputed votes to Mr. Hayes. The house is formed by combining two, one
formerly having a front similar to that of “The Players,” and the other
with a front corresponding to the brick house adjoining on the west.
The larger house had belonged to the Belden family. Both the Hall and
the Belden houses once had ornamental iron balconies at the main floor
with canopies similar to those now seen attached to the fronts of the
houses on the west side of the square, and were alike in appearance,
excepting that the Belden house had the coat of arms carved in high
relief over the door. One of the beautiful Misses Belden married the
late Dudley Field, another the late Colonel Talmadge.
The gardens in the rear of these two houses were the largest in the
row, extending through the block to Nineteenth Street, a part near the
Belden house being formally laid out with box-edged walks and flower
beds, while the rest was turfed and shaded by large trees, a few of
which survived until a year or two ago, when they were cut down to make
way for the new building of the National Arts Club, the present owner.
Mr. Tilden, joining with the other owners on the square and the owners
of the houses on Irving Place, had all the wooden fences in the angle
formed by these houses removed and an open iron fence put in their
place. As there were no houses on Nineteenth Street, there remained an
unusual effect of greenery and trees for New York City.
[Illustration]
Gramercy Square
_Former Residence of the Late Rev. Dr. Henry W. Bellows_
Dr. Bellows was a distinguished clergyman. Born in 1814, he graduated
at Harvard and at the Cambridge Divinity School, and in 1838 became
the pastor of the First Unitarian Church, New York, and so continued
for forty-four years. Dr. Bellows was an accomplished orator, his
extemporaneous speeches being remarkable for their lucidity and style.
He published numerous lectures and pamphlets, but is best known
throughout the country for his work as president of the United States
Sanitary Commission during the Civil War. Under him the commission
distributed supplies amounting to fifteen millions of dollars in value
and five millions of money. The results of the experience of the
commission in their work of reducing the suffering in war have been
copied abroad.
[Illustration]
Gramercy Square
_Former Residence of the Late Dr. Valentine Mott_
Dr. Mott was a distinguished surgeon, and one of the best-known
citizens of the small town of sixty or seventy years ago. He previously
lived at the easterly end of Depau Row. For many years Dr. M. resided
in Paris, during the reign of Louis Philippe, whose physician he was.
In 1841[26] a ball was given for the Prince de Joinville at the Depau
Row house, and during the Civil War the Comte de Paris and brothers
were entertained at the Gramercy Square house.
[Illustration]
Gramercy Square
_Rectory of Calvary Parish_
This rectory has been the home of many clergymen celebrated in the
community. One of the early rectors was Dr. Francis Lister Hawks. Born
at Newbern, N. C., in 1798, he was ordained in 1827 and was conspicuous
in the church up to the time of his death in 1866.
In 1844 he became rector of Christ Church, New Orleans, and president
of the University of Louisiana, and in 1849 he became rector of this
parish. Being of Southern birth, he, at the outbreak of the Civil War,
withdrew to the South, but returned after the close of the war. He
published many works on ecclesiastical and other subjects. He declined
the bishopric of Mississippi and also that of Rhode Island.
The Rev. Dr. Arthur Cleveland Coxe was at one time rector. He
afterwards became the Bishop of Western New York. The Rev. Dr. Henry
Yates Satterlee was for many years the well-known rector of this
parish. He is now Bishop of Washington.
[Illustration]
Gramercy Square
_Former Residence of the Late Stanford White_
Mr. White was an eminent architect. It is now the house of the
Princeton Club.
[Illustration]
Gramercy Square
_Former Residence of the Late Cyrus W. Field and the Late David Dudley
Field_
Cyrus W. Field was a business man until about 1854–56, when with Peter
Cooper, Moses Taylor, and others he organized the Atlantic Telegraph
Company. Although the first cable was laid in 1858, it was not until
1866 that the enterprise was entirely successful, after Mr. Field had
crossed the ocean thirty times in the prosecution of the work. He
received the thanks of Congress and many other honors.
His brother, David Dudley Field, was conspicuous at the New York bar
for over fifty years. For forty years of this time he devoted all his
spare moments to the subject of the reform of the law and obtained a
marked success. The new system of civil procedure has been adopted in
many States and substantially followed in Great Britain. In 1873 he
was elected the first president of an association for the reform and
codification of the law of nations formed at Brussels in that year.[27]
The two houses owned by the brothers Field have been united by the
present owner, Henry W. Poor, banker and author of the statistical
work on American railways universally consulted by bankers and
investors throughout the country. The interior has been beautifully
reconstructed.
[Illustration]
Former Residence of the Late Peter Cooper and the Late Abram S. Hewitt
Peter Cooper was born in New York in 1791. His father being a man of
small means, he was at an early age put into business and contributed
to the support of his family.
He entered into the manufacture of glue and soon became the best-known
maker of that commodity. In 1828, when thirty-seven years of age, he
had acquired considerable wealth and was enabled to buy three thousand
acres of land within the limits of the city of Baltimore. Here he built
the great Canton Iron Works, and the entire investment soon proved
extremely successful. About the year 1830 he built, at the West Point
Foundry, N. Y., the first locomotive constructed in the United States
for actual service. Not long after he disposed of the Canton Iron Works
and erected enormous iron works at the city of Trenton, N. J. The firm
was a pioneer in the successful manufacture of iron and became one of
the largest of the kind in the country.
Mr. Cooper made many inventions in connection with this business.
He became associated with Cyrus W. Field in his efforts to lay the
Atlantic Cable, and the final success of that enterprise was in great
measure due to his coöperation. Mr. Cooper is perhaps best known as the
founder of the Cooper Institute, of which he commenced the construction
as early as 1853. The objects of this institution were to furnish free
schools in art and science and a free reading room and to provide free
lectures on scientific, artistic, and social subjects. Mr. Cooper died,
universally respected, in 1883.
Abram S. Hewitt, a native of Rockland County, N. Y., was the son-in-law
of Peter Cooper, and to him, in partnership with his son Edward
Cooper, he transferred that branch of his business connected with the
manufacture of iron. Mr. Hewitt was a man much interested in the great
social problems, being no mere theorist but a man ready to sacrifice
his own interests to the well being of his dependents.
It is a fact that for forty years the business at Trenton was carried
on with absolutely no profit beyond the amount necessary to pay the
wages of the three thousand men employed and the regular expenses
of the establishment. He stated at one of the meetings of the
Congressional Committee on the grievances of labor that from 1873 to
1879 the business was carried on at a loss of one hundred thousand
dollars a year. Of course, one object was to continue the business and
to prevent the deterioration of the plant, but the firm also aimed to
avoid throwing such a large body of men out of employment, although at
times they were placed on half pay.
Notwithstanding, the firm became wealthy through ventures not relating
to the iron business and also through investments connected with it.
As an example it may be mentioned that a large purchase of iron in
1879–80 resulted in a profit of a million dollars. In 1874 Mr. Hewitt
was elected a representative to Congress and served with the exception
of one term until 1886. In that year he was chosen mayor of New York.
Mr. Hewitt was extremely honest and independent. He was neither a free
trader nor a protectionist. He was a reformer but not a radical one,
and at his death the nation, and especially the Democratic Party, lost
a wise statesman and counselor.[28]
[Illustration]
The General Theological Seminary
_Chelsea_
Some time about the year 1750 Captain Clarke, a veteran of the
provincial army, who had seen considerable service in the French war,
built a country house, two or three miles north of the city, to which
he gave the name of Chelsea. He gave it this name because he said it
was to be the retreat of an old soldier in the evening of his days.
It has been thought that the name of Greenwich was given to the
neighboring estate by Admiral Warren for a corresponding sentimental
reason, but Mr. Janvier, in that very entertaining book, “In Old New
York,” shows that the name of Greenwich was in use long before the
admiral’s advent. Captain Clarke, unfortunately, was not destined long
to enjoy the house he had built. During his last illness, the house
caught fire and the captain came very near being burned with it, but
he was carried out by neighbors and shortly after died in an adjacent
farmhouse. Mrs. Clarke rebuilt the house on the crest of a hill that
sloped down to the river about three hundred feet distant.[29] The
estate descended to her daughter, the wife of Bishop Moore, and in
1813 it was conveyed to their son, Clement C. Moore,[30] by whom the
old house was considerably enlarged. The house was taken down when the
bulkhead along the river front was constructed by the city. Mr. Moore
gave the whole of the block bounded by Twentieth and Twenty-first
streets and Ninth and Tenth avenues to the General Theological Seminary
of the Episcopal Church, and it became known as Chelsea Square. The
building here shown was built about 1835 and is constructed of a gray
stone. The modern buildings, however, are of brick and stone, of a
Gothic style and, with the old trees remaining and the stretches
of green lawn, produce, especially in summer time, a suggestion of
English seclusion and repose quite at variance with the bustle and the
crudeness of that part of the city.
[Illustration: Former Residence of the Late William C. Schermerhorn]
[Illustration]
Church of the Transfiguration
It is difficult to realize the position held forty years ago by the old
Wallack’s Theater at Broadway and Thirteenth Street. It was in a way a
city institution. The company remained nearly the same for years, with
occasional changes, and its members were, one and all, accomplished in
their profession. The receipts of the theater were as regular as those
of a bank.
The elder Wallack, a well-bred Englishman, was a finished actor of the
old school. His son, Lester Wallack, was an extraordinarily handsome
man of the romantic type, well suited for the more sentimental drama
of the day, although his wealth of curly black hair and whiskers would
violate our modern canons of taste. By his father’s desire when a young
man he became an officer in the British army, but after serving two
years resigned and adopted the profession of the stage. His wife was a
sister of Millais, the artist.
George Holland was a short, thickset man with a rather large head,
who was seldom cast for a very prominent part, but his humor and his
evident geniality and honesty made him a favorite with the public.
Consequently when the story of his funeral became public, there was
some indignation expressed.
It is fair to the Rev. Dr. Sabine, however, to say that it is claimed
that when approached by the parties having charge of the funeral, he
told them that the Church of the Incarnation was undergoing repairs,
that the aisles were crowded with workmen and scaffolding, and that
it would prove an inconvenience to all parties to hold the services
in that church. The late Rev. Dr. Houghton, rector of this parish for
forty-nine years, was a clergyman held in the highest esteem by the
people of this city.
[Illustration: Residence of J. Pierpont Morgan]
[Illustration: Former Residence of the Late Theodore A. Havemeyer]
[Illustration]
Former Residence of the Late Edwin D. Morgan
Edwin D. Morgan, born in Berkshire County, Mass., in 1811, came to
New York in 1836 and founded a mercantile house which became very
successful. In 1858 he was elected Governor of the State of New York,
and as he continued to hold that office during the first years of the
Civil War he is frequently referred to as “The War Governor.” In 1861
he was appointed major general of volunteers and placed in command, but
refused to receive any compensation for his services. In 1862 he was
chosen United States Senator and occupied that office until March, 1869.
President Lincoln offered him the position of Secretary of the
Treasury. The same position was offered him by President Arthur in
1881, but on both occasions he declined the honor.
He was a most generous benefactor to charitable institutions during his
lifetime and also by virtue of his last will and testament.[31] The
grounds attached to this house are extensive for New York City.
[Illustration: The Old Arsenal--Central Park]
[Illustration]
Claremont
The view of the Hudson, on a fine day, to a person looking northward
from Claremont is one of the best on the river. Being on a high point
that juts out somewhat into the stream, the spectator appreciates the
river’s breadth. In former days the site of Claremont was remarkable
for its magnificent trees, pine, oak and tulip, of extraordinary girth,
height and spread, but the building of the railroad (which spoiled so
many country seats) sounded its death knell in respect to its being a
place of residence with appropriate surroundings. What is now known
as Claremont appears at an early period to have been composed of two
properties, the upper or northerly one being called “Strawberry Hill,”
or “Claremont,” and the lower or southerly, one “Monte Alto.” Some of
the early deeds were not recorded and the writer has not ascertained
when or how the division was made.
A tract of land including that on which the house stands was conveyed
in 1774 to Nicholas de Peyster, and in August, 1776, was sold by him to
George Pollock, an Irish linen merchant.
Pollock endeavored to improve the place by clearing and cultivation,
as is shown by the statement in a letter mentioned below, in which
he says: “I have long considered those grounds as of my own creation,
having selected them when wild, and brought the place to its present
form.” He named the place “Strawberry Hill.” After living there for
some years and after the loss of a child (said to have occurred by
drowning) he withdrew to England.
Almost everyone who has visited Grant’s Tomb remembers the marble
funereal monument in the form of an urn inclosed within an iron railing
near the top of the hill. The inscription, much blurred by time, reads:
“Erected to the memory of an amiable child, St. Claire Pollock, died
15th. July 1797 in the 5 year of his age.” Then follow some lines of
verse. In a letter written from England by Mr. Pollock to Mrs. Gulian
Verplanck, who had become the owner of that or the adjoining place,
dated July 18, 1800, he writes: “There is a small enclosure near your
boundary fence within which lie the remains of a favorite child,
covered by a marble monument.... The surrounding ground will fall
into the hands of I know not whom, whose prejudice or better taste
may remove the monument and lay the enclosure open. You will confer a
peculiar and interesting favor upon me by allowing me to convey the
enclosure to you, so that you will consider it a part of your own
estate, keeping it however always enclosed and sacred. There is a white
marble funereal urn to place on the monument which will not lessen its
beauty. I have long considered those grounds as of my own creation,
having selected them when wild, and brought the place to its present
form. Having so long and so delightfully resided there, I feel an
interest in it that I cannot get rid of by time.”[32]
In July, 1803, a tract of over thirty-one acres was conveyed by John
B. Prevost, former Recorder of the city, to Joseph Alston, of South
Carolina, planter. Alston[33] seems to have held the property about
three years and then to have sold it to John Marsden Pintard. This deed
conveys the tract known as “Monte Alto.” In November, 1808, a release
was recorded, executed by Theodosia Burr Alston in favor of Michael
Hogan, gentleman, Hogan having bought Monte Alto from Pintard.[34]
There is no record of any conveyance of Claremont, by Gulian Verplanck
or his executors, to Hogan,[35] but a deed made by Robert Lenox, Jacob
Stout, and John Wells, trustees, to Michael Hogan, dated July 21, 1819,
reconveys to him all property not disposed of in the execution of their
trust, which is referred to as having been imposed by _two_ previous
deeds of assignment or conveyance dated July 25, 1811. It is here that
it is generally thought a vagueness and uncertainty as to the true
owner exists. It was about this time that Claremont was occupied by a
rather mysterious individual, an Englishman named Courtenay, who, it is
said, in after years, inherited the title of the Earl of Devon.
Mr. Haswell,[36] in his “Reminiscences of an Octogenarian,” says, page
25: “West of Broadway, between Eleventh and Twelfth avenues and One
Hundred and Twenty-third Street, there was a large country residence
occupied by an Englishman, a Mr. Courtenay, with but one man servant
and a cook. He lived so retired as never to be seen in company with
anyone outside of his household and very rarely in public.
“There was, as a consequence, many opinions given as to the occasion of
such exclusiveness. The one generally and finally accepted was that he
had been a gay companion of royalty in his youth, and that his leaving
England was more the result of expediency with him than choice.”
Lossing’s[37] account differs somewhat from this. He says: “When the
War of 1812 broke out he (Courtenay) returned thither (to England)
leaving his furniture and plate, which were sold at auction....
Courtenay was a great lion in New York, for he was a handsome bachelor,
with title, fortune, and reputation--a combination of excellencies
calculated to captivate the heart desires of the opposite sex.
Claremont was the residence for a while of Joseph Bonaparte, ex-King
of Spain, when he first took refuge in the United States, after the
battle of Waterloo and the downfall of the Napoleon dynasty. Here
too Francis James Jackson, the successor of Mr. Erskine, the British
Minister at Washington, at the opening of the War of 1812, resided a
short time.... He was politically and socially unpopular, and presented
a strong contrast to the polished Courtenay.” Courtenay disappeared
at the time of the war between this country and Great Britain, after
having greatly embellished the place. It has always been a tradition
in the Post family (who owned the property for nearly fifty years)
that Courtenay built the present house. In March, 1812, Hogan joined
with the above-named trustees in conveying the property “commonly
called Claremont” to Herman Le Roy, William Bayard, and James McEvers,
trustees. By some it has been supposed that while the legal title was
in trustees, there may have been an unrecorded declaration of trust,
by which Courtenay became the equitable owner. The grantees[38] in the
last-mentioned deed first leased Claremont and several years later
sold it to Joel Post, February 12, 1821. Later, Mr. Post (brother of
the distinguished physician of the last century, Dr. Wright Post, who
also resided at Claremont) purchased the property adjoining on the
south, Monte Alto, and united the ownership of the two places, although
Monte Alto was for many years occupied as a country seat by the McEvers
family.[39] In 1868 the house and a portion of the place were acquired
by the city from the heirs of Mr. Post.
It seems to have been pretty well shown that the battle of Harlem
Heights was not fought in this locality. It is only in recent years
that Morningside Heights have been spoken of as Harlem Heights. In
conveying Claremont it is described as in Bloomingdale and according
to the map (Mrs. Lamb’s “History of the City of New York,” vol. II,
p. 129) the westerly line of Harlem excluded all Morningside Heights
except a few feet at the base of the high ground at Manhattanville.
The high ground was known as Vandewater Heights, and if the battle had
taken place there it would have been known by that name. It is more
probable that most of the fighting (which was widespread) took place
at the base of the Point of Rocks, south of the Convent of the Sacred
Heart, and also along the high ground to the west and north. Day’s
Tavern stood a little to the northeast of the Point of Rocks, and there
Knowlton and the Connecticut troops were stationed.
Major Lewis Morris, Jr., wrote to his father on September 28th: “Monday
morning an advanced party, Colonel Knowlton’s regiment, was attacked on
a height a little to the southwest of Day’s Tavern.”
Morningside Heights would have been considerably more than “a little”
to the southwest of Day’s Tavern. The detachment sent out before
daylight under Knowlton by General Washington was not his regiment
but a small body, probably a single company, and was sent to make a
diversion upon the enemy’s rear. It is probable that they followed the
river’s edge as far south as Ninety-fourth Street, much below Claremont
and Morningside Heights. The actual battle did not begin until late
in the day. The resolution of Congress passed October 17, 1776, was
“Resolved, That General Lee be directed to repair to the camp on the
Heights of Harlem with leave,” etc.
Washington had no camp on Morningside Heights. His camp was on the high
ground between the Point of Rocks and the Harlem River.
Finally “nowhere on Manhattan Island, to my knowledge, beyond the limit
of the city, have there been found the remains of so many English and
Hessian soldiers, as shown by buttons, cross-belt buckles, bayonets,
and portions of other arms, as have been excavated, from time to time,
in the neighborhood of Trinity Cemetery. There could have been no
fight at this point unless it was at the battle of Harlem, while the
neighborhood about Columbia University, where it is claimed the battle
was fought, has been particularly free from all such evidence.”[40]
Claremont is now a public restaurant.[41] The adding of the huge
inclosed piazzas has produced an effect that is nondescript.
[Illustration]
Hamilton Grange
Alexander Hamilton, although born in another colony, was identified
with the city from boyhood and married into a New York family.[42] The
genuine New Yorker seems always to have had a certain regard for the
memory of Hamilton, ascribable perhaps to his untimely taking off, to
a sentiment of having been, as it were, robbed of the services of a
great man, and to the strong light thrown upon the contrast between his
traits and those of his distinguished and brilliant antagonist.
He had faults, but they were very human ones, while those of his
adversary tended toward the incarnation of selfishness. His career
is probably more familiar to the people than that of any of the
other characters connected with the State of New York during the
Revolutionary era. The site of the house (named after the estate of his
grandfather in Ayreshire, Scotland) was chosen by him in order to be in
proximity to the house of his friend, Gouverneur Morris, at Morrisania.
The situation at that time, like that of the Jumel house, commanded an
extensive view of the Hudson and Harlem rivers and Long Island Sound.
It was then about eight miles from town, so that it was his habit to
drive in every day. It was not to this house that he was brought
after the disastrous event of July 11, 1804. His friend William Bayard
had received an intimation of the proposed encounter, and was waiting
when the boat containing him reached the New York shore. Hamilton was
carried to his house and died there the next day. His wife and children
were with him. One daughter, overcome by two such dreadful events
in the family within a short period, lost her reason.[43] The whole
city was affected. Business was suspended. Indignation was universal.
Burr’s followers walked in the funeral procession. Talleyrand said of
Hamilton: “Je considére Napoleon, Fox, et Hamilton comme lest trois
plus grande hommes de notre époque, et si je devais me prononcer entre
les trois, je donnerais sans hesiter la première place a Hamilton.”
[Illustration]
The Jumel House
This house was built in 1758 by Captain (afterwards Colonel) Roger
Morris of the British army, who had been an aide of General Braddock.
Morris married a daughter of Colonel Philipse. The Philipse estate
embraced a great part of the present Westchester and Putnam counties.
The manor hall erected about 1745 (the oldest part probably about 1682)
now constitutes the City Hall of Yonkers.[44] In that house, on July
3, 1730, was born Mary Philipse, and in the drawing-room on Sunday
afternoon, January 15, 1758, she was married to Captain Morris by the
Rev. Henry Barclay, rector of Trinity, and his assistant, Mr. Auchmuty.
A paper on “The Romance of the Hudson,” by Benson J. Lossing,
published in _Harper’s Magazine_ for April, 1876, gives the following
account of the wedding: “The leading families of the province and the
British forces in America had representatives there. The marriage was
solemnized under a crimson canopy emblazoned with the golden crest of
the family.... The bridesmaids were Miss Barclay, Miss Van Cortlandt,
and Miss De Lancey. The groomsmen were Mr. Heathcote, Captain Kennedy,
and Mr. Watts. Acting Governor De Lancey (son-in-law to Colonel
Heathcote, lord of the manor of Scarsdale) assisted at the ceremony.
The brothers of the bride ... gave away the bride.... Her dowry in her
own right was a large domain, plate, jewelry, and money. A grand feast
followed the nuptial ceremony, and late on that brilliant moonlit night
most of the guests departed.
“While they were feasting a tall Indian, closely wrapped in a scarlet
blanket, appeared at the door of the banquet hall, and with measured
words said: ‘Your possessions shall pass from you when the eagle
shall despoil the lion of his mane.’ He as suddenly disappeared....
The bride pondered the ominous words for years ... and when, because
they were royalists in action, the magnificent domain of the Philipses
was confiscated by the Americans at the close of the Revolution, the
prophecy and its fulfillment were manifested.”[45]
While in New York in 1756 Washington stayed at the house of his friend,
Beverly Robinson, who had married a sister of Miss Philipse, and there
is no doubt that her charms made a deep impression upon him, but there
is no evidence that she refused him.
[Illustration: MANOR HALL, YONKERS, 1682]
After the Revolution Colonel Philipse withdrew to Chester, England,
died there in 1785, and was buried in Chester Cathedral, where there
is a monument to his memory. Some of his descendants are now living in
England, as well as descendants of Colonel and Mrs. Morris. “A part of
the Philipse estate was in possession of Colonel Morris in right of his
wife, and that the whole interest should pass under the (confiscation)
act, Mrs. Morris was included in the attainder.”[46] It is believed
that Mrs. Morris and her sisters were the only women attainted of
treason during the Revolution. “In 1787 the Attorney General of England
examined the case and gave the opinion that the reversionary interest
was not included in the attainder,” and was recoverable, and in the
year 1809 Mrs. Morris’s son, Captain Henry Gage Morris, of the royal
navy, in behalf of himself and his two sisters, sold their reversionary
interest to John Jacob Astor for twenty thousand pounds sterling. In
1828 Mr. Astor made a compromise with the State of New York by which
he received for these rights five hundred thousand dollars, with the
understanding that he should execute a deed with warranty against
the claims of the Morris family, in order to quiet the title of the
numerous persons who had bought from the commissioners of forfeitures.
This he did.
In 1810 the property was bought by Stephen Jumel, a wealthy French
merchant. There he entertained Louis Philippe, Lafayette, Joseph
Bonaparte, Louis Napoleon, and Henry Clay. After Jumel’s death it came
into the possession of his widow. Aaron Burr, in his old age, married
Madame Jumel. After he had made away with a good deal of her money,
she got rid of him. He withdrew to other fields of action and died
somewhere on Staten Island.
During the Revolution Washington had his headquarters here from
September 16 to October 21, 1776, and revisited it, accompanied by his
cabinet, July, 1790.
The house is now in the control of the Department of Parks and is shown
to the public.
[Illustration]
Gracie House--East River Park
Archibald Gracie, a native of Dumfries, Scotland, of an old Scotch
family, came to this country about the time of the close of the
Revolutionary War and established himself as a merchant. He became
one of the largest if not the largest ship owner in the country, his
ships visiting, it is said, every port in the world. He was a man of
the highest character. Oliver Wolcott said of him: “He was one of
the excellent of the earth, actively liberal, intelligent, seeking
and rejoicing in occasions to do good.” Washington Irving wrote
(January, 1813): “Their (the Gracies’) country place was one of my
strongholds last summer. It is a charming, warm-hearted family and the
old gentleman has the soul of a prince.” Mr. Gracie lost greatly as a
result of the Berlin and Milan decrees, over a million dollars, it is
said. It is believed that he was the largest holder of the celebrated
“French Claims,”[47] which Congress with outrageous persistence refused
or neglected to pay for generations. He married Esther, daughter of
Samuel Rogers and Elizabeth Fitch, daughter of Thomas Fitch, Governor
of Connecticut.
There was an old house at Gracie’s Point belonging to Mrs. Prevoost,
and this he either altered and enlarged or else removed entirely and
built the present structure, but at what time it is not known. In the
year 1805 Josiah Quincy was entertained there at dinner. He describes
enthusiastically the situation, overlooking the then terribly turbulent
waters of Hell Gate. He said: “The shores of Long Island, full of
cultivated prospects and interspersed with elegant country seats, bound
the distant view. The mansion is elegant in the modern style and the
grounds laid out in taste with gardens.”[48] Among the guests at that
dinner were Oliver Wolcott, Judge Pendleton, Hamilton’s second, and Dr.
Hosack, who later married Mrs. Coster.
William Gracie, the eldest son, married the beautiful Miss Wolcott,
daughter of Oliver Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury under Washington.
A great reception was given by Mr. and Mrs. Archibald Gracie to the
bride at this house. All the bridesmaids, groomsmen, and a large
company were assembled when the bride died suddenly of heart disease.
His daughter Hester was married in the parlor of the house to William
Beach Lawrence, afterwards Governor of Rhode Island. Another daughter
married James Gore King, the eminent banker, and another Charles King,
afterwards president of Columbia College, both being sons of Rufus
King of Revolutionary fame. On one occasion during the Napoleonic wars,
a French vessel was chased by an English frigate into the neutral
harbor of New York. The Englishman lay in the lower bay ready to attack
the Frenchman when he should return through the Narrows. Being sure of
his prize he was off his guard. The French captain, taking a skillful
pilot, slipped up the East River, a feat believed impossible for so
large a vessel. In rounding Gracie’s Point a sailor on a yardarm was
swept from his perch by the overhanging branches of a great elm that
was standing on the lawn as late as 1880. With wonderful agility, the
sailor seized the limbs and swinging from one to another reached the
trunk, down which he slid to the ground. Charles King, calling to the
Frenchman, rushed to the other side of the Point, put him in his boat
and followed the man-of-war, although it had then swung over to the
other side of the river. By skillful management he reached the vessel
and the sailor scrambled aboard. Anyone who remembers the waters of
Hell Gate before the rocky bottom was blown up by the Government will
admit that Mr. King did some vigorous rowing. The man-of-war escaped by
way of the Sound, much to the chagrin of the English.
Many distinguished people were entertained in this house. When Louis
Philippe was here in exile he was invited to dine with Mrs. Gracie.
The carriage and four were sent to town to bring the royal visitor,
and when he arrived the family were assembled to receive him. One of
the little girls exclaimed aloud, “That is not the king, he has no
crown on his head,” at which the guest laughed good-naturedly and said:
“In these days, kings are satisfied with wearing their heads without
crowns.” An early picture shows an ornamental balustrade on the roof of
the house and also on that of the piazza, relieving the present rather
bare appearance.
[Illustration]
BOROUGH OF THE BRONX
The Gouverneur Morris House[49]
Gouverneur Morris was one of the most interesting characters of
the Revolutionary era, interesting because he had an individuality
that distinguished him from the other worthies of the time. Though
crippled,[50] his versatility and activity of mind and body were very
great. An orator of the first rank, when but a few years past his
majority he swayed the Continental Congress with his views upon matters
of finance, a subject for which he had an especial aptitude throughout
his career. Resolving, when a young man, to be the first lawyer in the
land, he became so. By reason of his connections, his education and
abilities, during his long stay abroad he associated on intimate terms
with a vast number of the most influential personages living at the
time. The unfortunate King and Queen of France sought his advice and
aid in their troubles, as did Lafayette and many others.
His diary published in 1888 (now out of print), written in Paris during
the early days of the French Revolution, although evidently for his
own use, is comparable with those other letters and memoirs of the
eighteenth century when writing of the sort was cultivated as a fine
art.
His father’s will states: “It is my desire that my son, Gouverneur
Morris, may have the best education that is to be had in England or
America.” Great pains were taken that this should be carried out, so
that he should be fitted for any career that might open to him.[51]
He was a member of the Provincial Congress of New York, in 1775,
“serving on the various committees with such well-balanced judgment
as to command the respect of men of twice his age and experience.”
Twice elected to the Continental Congress, he was a chairman of three
committees for carrying on the war,[52] wrote continually on all
subjects, especially that of finance, and at the same time practiced
law, doing all this before he was twenty-eight years of age. After
five years of devotion to public affairs, he became a citizen of
Philadelphia and settled down to the practice of his profession.
In 1787, as a delegate from Pennsylvania, he took his seat in the
convention which met to frame the Federal Constitution. He had been
connected in certain financial ventures with William Constable of New
York, which had been eminently successful, and in November, 1788,
led partly by matters relating to these and partly by the desire to
travel, he decided to visit France. His life on the other side became
so crowded with interesting and important events that this visit
was prolonged far beyond his intention. It was ten years before he
returned. He was furnished by Washington with letters to persons in
England, France, and Holland. He was present at the assembling of the
States-General at Versailles, which has been called the “first day of
the French Revolution,” and from that time on was _au fait_ with all
the important events of that exciting period. At times he was in almost
daily communication with the Duchess of Orleans, Madame de Staël,
Talleyrand, and hosts of others equally important.
He was soon recognized as applying a clear brain to the solution of
any important question submitted to him, and we find him writing a
memoir for the guidance of the king and the draught of a speech to be
delivered before the National Assembly. The Monciel scheme, usually
mentioned in the biographies of Morris, was a well-conceived plan to
get the king out of Paris. Monciel, one of the ministry, consulted
Morris as to the details of the plan, and the king deposited with
him his papers and the sum of seven hundred and forty-eight thousand
francs. Everything was discreetly arranged and success nearly assured
when, on the morning fixed for the king’s departure, he changed his
mind and refused to budge. Later the money was nearly all withdrawn,
leaving a small balance in Morris’s hands which he returned to the
Duchess d’Angoulême.[53]
In 1789 Washington had written him a letter requesting him to visit
England and endeavor to facilitate the carrying out of the terms of the
treaty between the two countries, but the English governing class at
that day had no desire to facilitate anything in which this country was
interested. He had many interviews with Leeds and Pitt, but was always
met with a policy of vagueness, postponement, and unlimited delay, so
that he accomplished little. It was partly on this account that when
Washington nominated him as Minister to France in 1791, the nomination
was opposed. His views also regarding the condition of France were well
known. He did not deem that country fitted for a radical change of
government nor for the development of the wild theories of government
that were there rampant.[54] The sanity of these views was proved by
subsequent events, but many senators did not regard him as suitable
to represent this republic. He was, however, confirmed by a moderate
majority. He continued to be Minister until Genet was recalled at the
request of Washington. Then France requested his recall on the ground
of “reciprocity.”
Monroe arrived in Paris in August, 1794. Morris intended to return,
but changed his plans and decided to spend another year in Europe
visiting some of the principal courts and traveling[55] through various
countries, but events were so interesting and produced so much stir and
excitement that it was fully four years before he returned.
While in England he was presented at court, November 25, 1795.[56]
Finally in October, 1798, he sent his steward to New York with all his
“books, liquors, linens, furniture, plate and carriages,” and soon
after followed himself.
On his mother’s death in 1786, the estate of Morrisania devolved on his
eldest brother, Staats Morris; but he, having no intention of living
in this country, willingly sold it to him, including his father’s
house, in which he was born. The house he found in poor condition,
and at once set about the task of repairing and adding to it. After
its restoration, he settled there, and for the rest of his life the
house became the scene of a continuous hospitality, not only to the
most eminent Americans of the day, but to nearly every foreigner of
distinction that came to this country.
He was elected a United States Senator and was always interested in
public affairs. He is said to have been the originator of the Erie
Canal. In December, 1809, he married Miss Randolph of Virginia. In May,
1804, he was present at the deathbed of his friend, Alexander Hamilton,
and later delivered the funeral oration.
Sparks[57] says: “The plan of his house conformed to a French
model, and though spacious and well contrived was suited rather
for convenience and perhaps splendor within than for a show of
architectural magnificence without.” To a friend he wrote: “I have
a terrace roof of one hundred and thirty feet long,[58] to which I
go out by a side or rather back door, and from which I enjoy one of
the finest prospects while breathing the most salubrious air in the
world.” The parquet floors of all the rooms were brought from France.
The library, wainscoted and ceiled with Dutch cherry panels, also
imported, was in the early days hung with white and gold tapestry. The
room contained the mahogany desk, still preserved, trimmed with brass
(said to have been a present from one of the royal family), at which he
carried on his correspondence with so many distinguished personages,
correspondence often relating to loans of money to the Duchess of
Orleans, Madame de Lafayette, Louis Philippe, and hundreds of others.
The reception room, twenty-two by thirty feet and fourteen feet high,
was also a paneled room with mirrors set in the wall in the French
style. It contained a number of pieces of gilt furniture, originally
covered with white silk embroidered in gold, with designs from Boucher
which he had brought with him from France. The dining room of peculiar
shape (a half octagon) was paneled in dark wood and contained a curious
reminder of life during Revolutionary days, a dumbwaiter placed near
each guest so that servants need not be admitted to overhear the
conversation.[59]
Morris died on November 6, 1816, in the room in which he was born.
Almost the last letter he wrote was to plead with the Federal Party
to “forget party and think of our country. That country embraces both
parties. We must endeavor therefore to save and benefit both.” What
statesman to-day would put forth such a sentiment?[60]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Van Cortlandt House
The property on which the house stands belonged in the seventeenth
century to the Hon. Frederick Philipse and was sold by him in the year
1699 to his son-in-law, Jacobus Van Cortlandt, who had married his
daughter Eva. The house was built in 1748 by Frederick Van Cortlandt,
only son of Jacobus, who married Frances Jay, daughter of Augustus Jay,
the Huguenot. His will, dated October 2, 1749, states: “Whereas I am
now finishing a large stone dwelling house on the plantation in which I
now live, which with the same plantation will, by virtue of my deceased
father’s will, devolve, after my decease, upon my eldest son, James,”
etc.[61]
During the Revolutionary War the neighborhood was constantly the scene
of conflicts. Washington visited the house in 1781, and on the hill to
the north disposed part of his army, which lighted camp fires while
he was quietly withdrawing the rest of his troops to join Lafayette
before Yorktown. There was a bloody engagement near the house on August
31, 1778, between the British, under Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe, and
a body of Stockbridge Indians. The Indians fought with great bravery
and desperation, dragging the cavalrymen from their horses, but were
ultimately dispersed, their chief being killed.[62]
Washington slept here the night before the evacuation of the city by
the British, November 25, 1785. The estate has been bought by the city
and is now known as Van Cortlandt Park. It contains 1,070 acres. There
is a lake covering sixty acres and a parade ground for the National
Guard on a level meadow of 120 acres.
The house is used as a museum and is crowded with interesting relics.
[Illustration]
BOROUGH OF QUEENS
The Bowne House--Flushing
This house was built in 1661 by John Bowne, a native of Matlock,
Derbyshire, England, in whose church he was baptized in the year 1627.
About 1672 George Fox, founder of the sect of Quakers or Friends,
visited Flushing and held meetings there. Bowne’s wife[63] frequently
attended the meetings, and after a time joined the sect. As a result
of this, Quakers were often entertained at the house. Governor
Stuyvesant had Bowne arrested for “harboring Quakers,” and he was
thrown into jail. Prior to this Henry Townsend, of Oyster Bay, had been
subjected to the same treatment. Bowne, being a man of considerable
independence, remained obdurate. He was then banished to Holland. He
presented his case to the Dutch West India Company in such a manner
that he was returned in a special ship with the following rebuke to
the Governor and Councils of the New Netherlands, 1663: “We finally
did see from your last letter you had exiled and transported hither a
certain Quaker named John Bowne, and although it is our cordial desire
that similar and other sectarians might not be found there, yet, as
the contrary seems to be the fact, we doubt very much if vigorous
proceedings against them ought not to be discontinued, except you
intend to check and destroy your population, which, however, in the
youth of your existence ought rather to be encouraged by all possible
means, wherefore it is our opinion that some connivance would be useful
that the conscience of men, at least, ought ever to remain free and
unshackled.
“Let everyone be unmolested as long as he is modest, as long as his
conduct, in a political sense, is irreproachable, as long as he does
not disturb others or oppose the Government.” Signed, “The Directors of
the West India Company, Amsterdam Department.”
The house has always remained in the possession of the descendants
of the first owner. House and furniture are in a good state of
preservation; they are in charge of a caretaker and shown to visitors.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
BOROUGH OF RICHMOND
The Billop House
For more than a century Staten Island was practically in the control of
the Billop family. The Billops for several generations had led active
and valiant careers in the service of the sovereign. One, James, in
the sixteenth century, is said to have won the friendship of Queen
Elizabeth by risking his own life in order to save hers. They had
favors also from the Stuart line.
Christopher, born in 1638, received a naval training by command
of Charles I. He was commissioned captain and made important and
adventurous voyages, in one of which he was wounded, captured by
Turkish pirates and abandoned, to be later rescued by a passing ship.
In 1667, whether by order of Charles II or on his own account it is
not known, he sailed from England in his vessel, the _Bentley_, and
came cruising in the waters of the New Netherlands. The tradition is
that the Duke of York, to determine the ownership of the islands in
the bay, decided that any island that could be circumnavigated in
twenty-four hours belonged to the province of New York, and Billop,
having proved that Staten Island was so included by sailing around it
in the required time, was presented with 1,163 acres in the southern
part of the island. On this tract he built in 1668 the stone house here
presented. The stones and lumber were obtained in the vicinity, but the
cement was brought from England and the bricks from Belgium.
In the early records his name appears as showing that he had several
public positions, but apart from that little is known about him except
that he held a military command and had a controversy with Governor
Andros to his disadvantage at first, but later he succeeded in having
the governor recalled to England.
In the year 1700 he sailed for England in the _Bentley_, but was never
heard of again. By some writers it is thought that he was ordered
back, inasmuch as a pension was assigned to his widow by the king.
Captain Billop married a Miss Farmer, sister of a Supreme Court judge
in the neighboring province of New Jersey. They had one child, a
daughter, who married her cousin, Thomas Farmer, and he, succeeding
to the manor of Bentley, changed his name to Billop. Both died young
and their tombstones are to be seen at the house to-day. Christopher
Billop, their only son, born 1735, was a prominent man in public
affairs throughout his life. In the Revolution he was intensely loyal
to the crown, and became a colonel in the British army. Twice he was
captured. The New Jersey colonists were especially bitter toward him,
and once by keeping men stationed in the steeple of St. Peter’s Church
at Perth Amboy they observed him going into his house. Immediately
they took boats, crossed the river and made him prisoner. By order of
Elisha Boudinot (Com. Pris. of New Jersey) he was thrown into jail at
Burlington, hands and feet chained to the floor and fed only on bread
and water. Here his companion in captivity was Lieutenant-Colonel
Simcoe of the Queen’s Rangers, probably the same Simcoe who was in
the engagement near the Van Cortlandt house. Billop was exchanged for
a captain who had been on the prison ship. The second time he was
taken he was released by Washington at the solicitation of Lord Howe,
commander in chief of the British forces.
After the battle of Long Island, Howe thought it an opportune time
to offer favorable terms to the colonists if they were willing to
lay down their arms. Accordingly he dispatched General Sullivan
(then a prisoner) to Congress requesting them to send a committee
to negotiate. This committee, composed of Benjamin Franklin, Edward
Rutledge, and John Adams, met Howe at the Billop house. “Along the
sloping lawn in front of the house, long lines of troops that formed
the very flower of the British army were drawn up between which the
distinguished commander escorted his no less distinguished guests.”[64]
The conference was held in the northwest room on the ground floor. It
resulted in nothing, the colonists refusing to accede to any terms not
involving their independence. About 1783–84 Billop withdrew to New
Brunswick, and joined that army of estimable persons who, despoiled
of their possessions, were driven from the land for their loyalty to
their king. There for years he held prominent offices in the Assembly
and in the Council and died at St. John, March 23, 1827, at the age of
ninety-two. At his funeral the highest honors of the town were paid to
his memory.
Billop was evidently a complete type of the country gentleman and tory
squire. According to Mr. Morris, in his “Memorial History of Staten
Island,” the following description of him was given by a friend:
“Christopher Billop was a very tall, soldierly looking man in his
prime. He was exceedingly proud and his pride led him at times to the
verge of haughtiness. Yet he was kind-hearted, not only to those he
considered his equals, but to his slaves as well as to the poor people
of the island. No one went from his door at the old manor hungry. It
was his custom to gather the people of the island once a year on the
lawn in front of his house and hold a ‘harvest home.’... Passionately
fond of horses, his stable was filled with the finest bred animals in
the land. He was a magnificent rider and was very fond of the saddle.
He was an expert shot with the pistol, which once saved his life when
he was attacked by robbers. Christopher Billop was not a man to take
advice unless it instantly met with his favor.... Lifelong friends
pleaded with him to join the cause of independence at the commencement
of the Revolution, but he chose to follow the fortunes of royalty. He
was a good citizen, a noble man!”
Before the Revolution the house was noted for its hospitality and
gayety in the Colonial society of the day. The owner entertained
lavishly and at the time of the war he received there Generals Howe,
Clinton, Knyphausen, Cleveland, Cornwallis, Burgoyne, and many others.
The interior of the house is extremely plain. Presumably in the year
1668 the house decorator had not made his appearance. The walls are
three feet thick and the woodwork as sound as on the day it was built.
There is of course a ghost room, with “that spot on the floor that
cannot be washed out” where murder is said to have been done. Below
there is a dungeon with massive iron gate, and the marks are still
visible where prisoners, American and then British, tried to cut their
way out through the three-foot wall and arched ceiling.[65] It is said
there was an underground passage leading to the river.
In the basement Fenimore Cooper laid one of the scenes in his novel of
the “Water Witch.”
The grounds, once laid out with parklike lawns and flower beds, are now
in the last stages of dilapidation.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Built some years before the Revolution by Captain Archibald
Kennedy, R.N. (later Earl of Casillis), who married Miss Watts. It
was the headquarters respectively of Generals Howe, Cornwallis, and
Carleton.
[2] The property of William Walton, brother of Admiral Walton, built
in 1752. It was one of the best, if not the best house in town.
The gardens extended to the river. This house was mentioned in the
debates in Parliament to indicate the ability of the colonists to pay
more taxes. What might in some respects be called the mate to this
house, the Walter Franklin house, occupied by Washington during his
Presidency, stood at the north end of the square. It was taken down in
1856, “and the only bit of it known to exist is the President’s chair
of the N. Y. Historical Society, which is made of wood taken from the
old house” (“Historic New York,” p. 298).
[3] Depau Row was an attempt to introduce the Parisian dwelling or
hotel. The houses were entered by driveways, running through them to
large interior courtyards. They were taken down to make way for the
Mills Hotel for men.
[4] It is a little remarkable that none of our multimillionaires have
added this feature to their new houses uptown.
[5] It seems rather strange that some architect has not taken this
façade or some portion of it (as, e. g., the east or west end) as a
design for the front of one of the palaces that are now springing up
throughout the land.
[6] “Old Merchants of New York City,” vol. II, p. 318.
[7] Before and after the Revolution, the Hall of Records lately removed
was used as the debtors’ prison. There were usually about one hundred
and fifty prisoners. It is said that they were allowed only bread and
water by the State and depended largely on the kindness of benevolent
people to relieve their wants.
[8] “Lamb’s History of the City of New York,” II, p. 735.
[9] “The Old Merchants of New York,” vol. II, p. 319.
[10] New York _Herald_, May 6, 1906.
[11] “Domett’s History of the Bank of New York.”
[12] Robert Emmet, member of an old English family that settled
in Ireland during Cromwell’s time, was one of the purest and most
disinterested of rebels. He is now believed by his family, and with
very good reason, to have been instigated to rebellion by a secret
emissary of Pitt in Paris, where he had resided since leaving college,
as part of an evil scheme to withdraw attention from the disordered
condition of English politics at the time. (_Vide_ “Ireland under
English Rule, or A Plea for the Plaintiff,” by Thomas Addis Emmet,
1903.)
[13] Richard Montgomery, son of Thomas Montgomery, of Convoy House,
Donegal, had been a captain in the British army in the French and
Indian War. “On his return to England he is said to have formed
friendships with Fox, Burke, and Barre, and became strongly imbued
with their ideas about the rights of the colonies, and when he was
superseded and disappointed in the purchase of a majority, he left
England forever.” When in America it had happened that on their way
to a distant post, he had come on shore with all the officers of his
company at Clermont, the Livingston place on the North River, and
there met Janet Livingston for the first time, and on his return,
with the full approbation of her parents, he married her in July,
1773. Soon after his arrival he bought a farm at Kingsbridge, near
New York, but after his marriage he arranged to build a house at
Barrytown-on-the-Hudson on the Livingston property.
The house, known as “Montgomery Place,” was built from designs of his
nephew, an architect, son of his sister, the Viscountess Ranelagh. Some
relics of the general, including his sword, etc., are still preserved
there. When war broke out, Congress appointed him a brigadier general,
and such was the confidence in him that he was given _carte blanche_
as to all the officers under him. He fell at the head of his troops in
the assault on Quebec, December 31, 1775, at the age of thirty-seven.
The estimation in which he was held by his wife’s family continued to
the time of his death. In July, 1818, when the State of New York had
his remains brought from Quebec, they were interred under the monument
now seen at the east end of St. Paul’s Chapel. Forty-three years had
elapsed since Mrs. Montgomery had parted with her husband at Saratoga.
She was notified by Governor Clinton of the day on which the steamer
_Richmond_, carrying the remains, would pass down the river. She was
left alone upon the piazza of the house. The emotions with which she
saw the pageant were told in a letter written to her niece:
“At length they came by with all that remained of a beloved husband
who left me in the bloom of manhood, a perfect being. Alas! how did he
return? However gratifying to my heart, yet to my feelings every pang
I felt was renewed. The pomp with which it was conducted added to my
woe; when the steamboat passed with slow and solemn movement, stopping
before my house, the troops under arms, the Dead March from the muffled
drums, the mournful music, the splendid coffin canopied with crepe and
crowned with plumes, you may conceive my anguish!” After the vessel had
gone by it was found she had fainted.
[14] By resolution of the Vestry, August 26, 1803.
[15] Removed in 1835.
[16] “Nat. Cyclo. of Am. Biog.,” vol. VI, p. 360.
[17] “King’s Handbook of New York,” p. 38.
[18] Goede Vrouw of Man-a-hata.
[19] _Magazine of American History._
[20] The British took possession of the City Hall and “they also
plundered it of all the books belonging to the subscription library,
and also of a valuable library which belonged to the corporation, the
whole consisting of not less than sixty thousand volumes. This was done
with impunity and the books publicly hawked about the town for sale by
private soldiers” (“Lamb’s History of the City of New York,” vol. II,
p. 134).
[21] Mrs. Cruger spent her summers at that quaint castellated
structure, Henderson House or Home, seven miles from Richfield Springs,
the grounds being part of twenty thousand acres received by letters
patent from the English crown.
[22] “Bulletin of Metropolitan Museum,” January, 1907.
[23] Named after the three daughters, Countess of Abingdon, Lady
Southampton (Fitzroy), and Mrs. Colonel Skinner.
[24] “Natl. Cyclo. of Amer. Biog.”
[25] “Natl. Cyclo. of Amer. Biog.”
[26] “Diary of Philip Hone,” vol. II, p. 101.
[27] “Natl. Cyclo. of Amer. Biog.”
[28] “Natl. Cyclo. of Amer. Biog.”
[29] “In Old New York,” by Thomas A. Janvier.
[30] Remembered as the writer of that popular poem, “’Twas the night
before Christmas,” etc.
[31] “Natl. Cyclo. of Amer. Biog.”
[32] “N. Y. Standard Guide,” p. 112.
[33] Joseph Alston became Governor of South Carolina. Mrs. Alston,
the daughter of Aaron Burr, met with a tragic fate. On December 30,
1812, she sailed from Charleston in a small schooner, _The Patriot_,
accompanied by Mr. Green, a friend of her father’s, her physician
and her maid. The vessel never reached its destination. Forty years
afterwards, three men, two in Virginia and one in Texas, made deathbed
confessions that they had been members of the crew, that the crew had
mutinied and murdered all the officers and passengers, Mrs. Alston
being the last to walk the plank. The expression of her face, one man
said, haunted him the rest of his life.
[34] Pintard was a very prominent man in the first part of the last
century, the founder of the New York Historical Society and many other
city institutions.
[35] The author of “The Old Merchants of New York City” gives this
account of Hogan, written in his peculiar style: “Now look back
forty-eight years ago to 1805, and there was but one Hogan in New York.
His name was Michael Hogan, and he had only landed in the city a few
months, but what attention he received from all the leading men of that
day! Robert Lenox at that time lived in good style at 157 Pearl Street.
He sent an invitation to the distinguished stranger the second day of
his arrival. He was such a man as did not arrive in the then small city
of New York every day. Michael Hogan brought with him in solid gold
sovereigns four hundred thousand pounds, equal to two million dollars,
and he had a wonderful history. What would I not give if I could write
it all out! All these 160 Hogan families alluded to above, mostly
Irish, are kith and kin of the great nabob, for such he was when he
arrived here in 1804, with his dark Indian princess wife. Michael Hogan
was born at Stone Hall, in the County of Clare, Ireland, September 26,
1766. ‘So he was thirty-eight years old when he landed in New York,
with his dark-skinned lady and his fabulous amount of gold. But what
scenes he had been through in these eventful thirty-eight years! He had
been a sailor; he had commanded ships bound to ports in every quarter
of the world--in Asia, Africa, America, and Europe; he had been to
North as well as South America; and he had voyaged to the West as well
as to the East Indies; he had made successful voyages to the almost
then unknown land of Australia. In the East Indies he had married a
lady of great wealth. This was the story that was talked about when
Captain Michael Hogan came here.”--Fourth Series, p. 115.
[36] Who lately died at the age of ninety-eight.
[37] “The Hudson from the Wilderness to the Sea,” p. 388.
[38] It has been suggested that these trustees, being relatives, held
the property in trust during the minority of Gulian C. Verplanck, who
in later life became the noted Shakespearian scholar.
[39] Miss McEvers married Sir Edward Cunard.
[40] “The Battle of Harlem Heights,” by Thomas Addis Emmet, M.D.,
_Magazine of American History_, September, 1906.
[41] During the War of 1812, defenses were erected in this section as a
protection against anticipated attacks by the British. Mrs. Lamb says
(“History of the City of New York,” vol. II, p. 661): “On the bank of
the Hudson, near the residence of Viscount Courtenay, afterwards Earl
of Devon, was a strong stone tower connected by a line of intrenchments
with Fort Laight.” Fort Laight was at the north on an eminence
overlooking Manhattanville.
[42] Mrs. Hamilton was the daughter of General Philip Schuyler.
[43] Some time before this his eldest son had lost his life in a duel.
[44] This is one of the best examples of a Colonial manor house
now standing with wainscoted walls, ornamental ceilings, carved
staircase, mantels, etc. The establishment was a large one for the
time, maintaining thirty white and twenty colored servants.--“Bolton’s
History of Westchester County.”
[45] “Bolton’s History of Westchester County,” vol. II.
[46] At the outbreak of the Revolution the manorial families of
the province held various sentiments regarding the relations with
the mother country. Families like those of Philipse and De Lancey
were loyal to the crown and lost everything. Others, like those
of Livingston and Schuyler, espoused the cause of the “rebels” or
“patriots.” Again, there was a third class, embracing families like
those of Van Cortlandt and Morris, that had representatives on either
side. The Patroon, being a minor, was legally incapable of choosing and
saved his vast estate.
[47] The Government of France had certain claims against this
Government. An agreement was made to release these claims upon the
express consideration that the United States would pay _their own
citizens_ the claims that they had against France.
[48] Mrs. Lamb’s, “History of the City of New York.”
[49] This picture is from a sketch by permission of the New York
_Herald_.
[50] While living in Philadelphia during the war he was thrown from his
carriage in trying to control a pair of runaway horses. The accident
necessitated the amputation of a leg.
[51] Diary, p. 2.
[52] Commissary’s, Quartermaster’s, and Medical Departments.
[53] A laconic entry in the diary gives a hint as to the life of terror
which the ill-fated family were leading: “Go to court this morning
(August 5th). Nothing remarkable, only they were up all night expecting
to be murdered.”--Diary, p. 569.
[54] M. Esmein quotes Taine: “Quatre observateurs, écrit Hippolyte
Taine, ont dès le début, compris le caractére et la portée de la
Revolution française--Rivarol, Malouet, Gouverneur Morris et Mallet
du Pan, celui--ci plus profondement que les autres;...” but Esmein
says “contre l’auteur illustre et respecté des _Origines de la France
contemporaine_, j’oserais revendiquer pour Gouverneur Morris, la
plupart des titres qu’il reconnait a Mallet du Pan.” (“Gouverneur
Morris, un temoin American de la revolution Française,” by A. Esmein,
membre de l’Institut, Paris, 1906.)
[55] “Partout où il a porté ses pas, en Angleterre comme dans l’Europe
continentale, il etait accueilli avec une faveur marquée par les hommes
d’État les plus en vue; les ministres en charge, les ambassadeurs les
plus influents, le consultaient voluntiers et le renseignaient en meme
temps.
“Il a su recueillir partout des information abondantes et sûre, et
très souvent ses prédictions se réalisaient.... Voici le compliment
que lui adressait le 2 Juillet, 1790, M. de la Luzerne, ambassadeur de
France à Londres--‘vous dites toujours des chose extraordinaires qui se
réalisent’” (_idem_).
[56] The king: “Pray, Mr. Morris, what part of America are you from?”
Morris: “I am from near New York, sir. I have a brother who has the
honor to be a lieutenant general in your Majesty’s service.” The king:
“Eh! what! You’re a brother of General Morris? Yes, I think I see a
likeness, but you’re much younger.”
Diary, vol. II, p. 135. Some years prior to the Revolution, his elder
brother, Staats Morris, had married the Duchess of Gordon and was a
lieutenant general in the British army. He was the first lieutenant
colonel of the Eighty-ninth Regiment of Highlanders, the duke being a
captain, and his brothers, lieutenant and ensign.
[57] “Life of Morris,” vol. I, p. 477.
[58] Diary, vol. II, p. 418.
[59] “The Homes of America,” p. 119.
[60] The house was taken down in 1905 to make way for the tracks of the
New York & New Haven Railroad Company.
[61] Surrogate’s Office, New York, fol. XVIII, 62.
[62] “Bolton’s History of Westchester County,” vol. II, p. 622.
[63] Daughter of Lieutenant Robert Feake, patentee of Greenwich, Conn.,
and his wife Elizabeth, niece of John Winthrop.
[64] Morris’s “Memorial History of Staten Island.”
[65] New York _Herald_, April 15, 1906.
Transcriber’s Notes
Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a
predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they
were not changed.
Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation
marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left
unbalanced.
Inconsistent use of small-caps in the “Subjects” (Table of Contents)
has been retained here.
Misspelled French words were not corrected.
Photographs of the buildings usually are just above the chapters
referring to them, and the Table of Subjects refers to the chapters,
not to the photographs.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Old Buildings of New York - With Some Notes Regarding Their Origin and Occupants" ***
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