A Philadelphia Microcosm

Home , History of Philadelphia, Horace Binney, William Tilghman

BLUEBLOODS AND LOCAL SOCIETIES: A PHILADELPHIA MICROCOSM

ALTHOUGH several scholars including Neil Harris, Oliver Larkin, A Russell Lynes, Lillian G. Miller and Russell B. Nye have studied the relationships of artists and art patrons to such diverse subjects as politics, tastemaking, commercialism, and patriotism, little attention has been given to the patron's social position within the local community or the degree of involvement in local organizations.' A study which explores the ties of the layman art patron to such organizations helps identify 19th century American art patrons by more than name and aids in understanding motivation. Beginning in the early decades of the 19th century and continuing at least to the Civil War many Americans organized and joined a multitude of societies. Although many historians have argued that these organizations embraced citizens of all classes,' more recent studies show that, in the main, it was the rich and eminent who founded and guided these societies and often made up the bulk of the membership. : The Philadelphia elite were typical of the national urban elite. In turn, the leaders of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts were typical of Philadelphia elite' and, like their contemporaries in

1. Neil Harris, The Artst in American Society (New York, 1966); Olivei Larkin, Art and Life in America (New York, 1949); Russell Lynes, The Tastemnakers (New York, 1949); Lillian B. Miller, Patrons and Patriotism (Chicago, 1966); Russell B. Nve, The Cultural Life of the New Nation (New York, 1960). 2. Sam Bass Warner, Jr., The Private Cit4: Philadelphia in Three Periods of its Growth (Philadelphia, 1968), p. 61; Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy int Alieria (New Yorki 1954), 2:114; Edward Pessen, Riches, Class and Poiser Belore the, Civil 11 nai(Lexiigtois, Mass., 1973), p. 251. 3. Pessen, Riches, pp. 252-253. 4 The word "elite" in this article is used to describe those Philadelphians ofSt l)- stantial means and income or those who had come from or married into families of

251 252 PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY

other cities, were to be found in the forefront of social activism. They organized, promoted, and directed philanthropic, educational, scientific, religious, cultural, fraternal, and patriotic organizations. Investigation proves that the influence and power wielded by these gentlemen of substance and standing through their many urban institutions were proportionate to one's wealth and status in society, and those who founded and led the Pennsylvania Academy were invariably to be found in the leadership of other local civic and social organizations. As such, the Academy leadership was a microcosm of both city and institutional leadership.' No matter how lofty their stated aims, how pious their ideals, how humanitarian their concerns, or how patriotic their slogans, 19th century voluntary cultural institutions were useful instruments to maintain and transmit values of the urban elite. Civic, cultural, patriotic, and social clubs became important meeting places for the establishment and cementing of social and business alliances. From London to Philadelphia, Boston, New York, and Charleston, these social organizations were another link in the chain of institutions which fostered elitist cultural patterns within upper class society, transmitted such values to their offspring, and set the example of "C~correct" social behavior for those of lesser status. To test this thesis we have only to examine the histories and membership rolls of early local institutions.6

wealth and standing and were thus regarded by each other as equals and thereby acceptable partners for intermarriage. They also saw themselves as possessors of a prestige that set them apart and above the majority of society and were admired and envied by the masses of citizens in lower class divisions. See G. William Domhoff, Who Rules America (Englewood Cliffs, NJ., 1967), p. 4; Pessen, Riches, pp. 127-128, 166; Joseph A. Kahl, Comparative Perspectives on Stratification (Boston, 1968), p. x; Robert A. Dahl, Who Governs (New Haven, 1961), p. 229; Joseph Schumpeter, "The Problem of Classes," in Reinhard Bendix and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds., Class, Status, and Power (Glencoe, Ill., 1953), p. 77. Also, for an explanation of the term "Old Wealth" and 18th-century background of the Philadelphia "aristocracy," see Eric Foner, Tom Paine and Revolutionay America (New York, 1976), pp. 21-23. 5. Lee L. Schreiber, "The Philadelphia Elite in the Development of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1805-1842" (Ph.D. dissertation, Temple University, 1977), Appendix A and B. 6. BarbaraJeanette Howe, "Clubs, Culture and Charity" (Ph.D. dissertation, Temple University, 1976), pp. ii, 618-623; James Mease, M.D., The Picture of Philadelphia. ... , (Philadelphia, 1811), pp. 199 passim.; Frank Thistlethwaite, The Anglo-American Connection in the Early Nineteenth Century (Philadelphia, 1959), pp. 17, 79 87, 98; Sam Bass Warner, Jr., The Private City (Philadelphia, 1968), pp. 10- 11; E. Digby Baltzell, Philadelphia Gentlemen (New York, 1958), pp. v, 5-69, passin. BLUEBLOODS AND LOCAL SOCIETIES 253

In no other field were the city leaders more apt to demonstrate their commitment to social activism than in the realm of education. Concerned always with self-improvement and dissemination of knowledge, prominent Philadelphians from the early 18th century formed societies to advance specialized information. Later, these same citizens created libraries and academies to educate the sons of the "better sort." Pennsylvania Academy founders and activists were always among those who organized and guided these enter- prises. The earliest educational association in Pennsylvania still in existence, the Library Company of Philadelphia organized by Ben- jamin Franklin in 1731, had fourteen PAFA charter members on its rolls. By 1835 no less than forty names of Academy founders or members of the board of directors were inscribed on the pages of the Library's membership register. 7 In 1815, a small group of gentlemen formed another library society in Philadelphia. The new society, named the Athenaeum of Phila- delphia, was planned as a combination gentlemen's reading room and museum of history and natural science. Three of the incorporators, including the first President and Vice-President, were also PAFA incorporators. Other Academy directors were on the board of directors. During its formative years no members were more influential than the PAFA members in building the new society.' Within five years from its founding the Athenaeum, headed by PAFA officers, grew into one of the most viable organizations in the city. Its reading rooms became select meeting places for its members and their friends. During the early years of existence thirty-two PAFA activists enrolled as stockholding members of the society.9

7. Catalogue of the Books Belonging to the Library Company of Philadelphia, to which is pre- fixed, a Short Account of the Institution with the Charter, Laws, and Regulations (Philadelphia, 1835), pp. ix-xiii; "Papers Relating to Morning Sessions," 11 June 1811, Norris Manuscripts, 46-49, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, hereafter referred to as HSP; "Memorial to Library Company," 5 February 1812, Norris Manuscripts, 49, HSP; "Chronological Register of the Library Company of Philadelphia," Archives, Library Company. For complete listing of names of PAFA activists for Library Company and other organizations in this article, see Schreiber "Phila. Elite," Appendix A. 8. Charter and Bylaws of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1817) p. 17; The 75th Annual Report of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia(Philadelphia, 1890); "Extracts from the Minutes," Box #73, v. 1, HSP; "Rough Minute Book," Archives, The Athe- naeum; Charterand By-Laws of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia . . . (Philadelphia, 1820), pp. 3-4, 20-24. 9. "Rough Minute Book," 1815-1836, Archives, The Athenaeum; "Athenaeum Stockholders" in Charter and By-Laws of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1820). 254 PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY

But, self-education and the advancement of knowledge for the few were not enough for civic and educational leaders. Bolstered by 19th century optimism and the idea that all men were capable of learning, Academy men were to be found in the vanguard of every movement seeking to extend the benefits of education to the less privileged. When over 400 Philadelphians responded to the call to establish the Apprentices' Library in 1820,'° the most distinguished citizens of the area, including many Pennsylvania Academy directors, were listed among the charter members. The Library incorporators elected the eminent jurist and PAFA director Horace Binney as its first president." Founders and directors of the Academy of the Fine Arts were also active in the development and management of the University of Pennsylvania. Three PAFA founders had attended the College of Philadelphia, the forerunner of the University, prior to the American Revolution. By 1800 there were twenty-three PAFA graduates of the University. Fourteen PAFA activists served as trustees for the growing university while Joseph Hopkinson, the long-term president of the PAFA and P. F. Glentworth, the long-term PAFA director, were both particularly active in the College administration.'2 Perhaps no division of educational institutionalism was more attractive to the urban upper class than those organizations known as "learned societies." And no learned society could rival the prestige of the American Philosophical Society. From the original charter of 1780 which bore the name of George Clymer, the first president of the PAFA, to the death of the PAFA's second president, Joseph Hopkinson in 1842, forty-six of the 112 PAFA founders and directors were elected to membership in this most influential scientific study group. 13

10. John Frederick Lewis, History oftheApprentices'Library of Philadelphia(Philadelphia, 1924), pp. 81-88. 11. Ibid., "List of Members of the Apprentices' Library Company," in Report of the Managers of the Apprentices' Libray (Philadelphia, 1823). 12. Biographical Catalogue of the Matriculates of the College and University of Pennsylvania, 1794-1893 (Philadelphia, 1894), pp. xi-xx, 1-515. 13. Daniel J. Boorstin, The Lost World of Thomas Jefferson (1948; rpt. Boston, 1972), p. 11; The American Philosophical Society, Year Book, 1975 (Philadelphia, 1976), pp. 37, 43; Early Proceedings of the American PhilosophicalSocietyfrom the Manuscript Minutes of its Meetings from 1744-1838 (Philadelphia, 1884); "Reprint of the Original Charter, Granted in 1780" in The American PhilosophicalSociety, Year Book, 1975 (Philadelphia, 1976). BLUEBLOODS AND LOCAL SOCIETIES 255

The Art Academy activists elected to the Philosophical Society were not members in name only. Society minutes demonstrate that they were active in the organizational programs, delivered scholarly papers, and wrote articles for publication. Many became officers. William Tilghman, Peter S. DuPonceau, and John K. Kane were elected as presidents. Joseph Hopkinson, George Clymer, and Zac- cheus Collins were vice-presidents. John Vaughan, Dr. Charles D. Meigs, Dr. John R. Coxe, and Dr. Thomas C. James were elected as secretaries. Charles Willson Peale acted as Curator from 1789 to 1811 and John Vaughan as the Librarian from 1803 until his death in 1841.'4 The men of the PAFA were among the founders and activists of every organization devoted to education or the general promotion of science. For example, from its origin in 1785 until the 1850s, thirty- four Art Academy directors or incorporators were active in the Phil- adelphia Society For Promoting Agriculture. 15 The Linnean Society, forerunner of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, included several PAFA activists as members in both organizations, including three naturalists, Zacceus Collins, Dr. Thomas C. James, and C. W. Peale. 16 The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsyl- vania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, familiarly known as "The Franklin Institute," had fifteen PAFA directors among its original sponsors in 1824 including two of the original officers.17 Three years later, on its premises, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society was formed. Four of the first officers were from the PAFA and several Art Academy directors were elected as Society officers over the ensuing years. 1I History was as important as science to the PAFA patricians. Con- sistently conscious of their status as inheritors of history-making ancestors, Art Academy members, like most city elite, became nostal- gic collectors of mementos recalling past days of glory. They were

14. APS Year Book 1975, pp. 64-97. 15. "Honorary and Resident Members 1785-1935" in Sketch ofthe History of the Phila- delphia Sociey for Promoting Agriculture (Philadelphia, 1939), pp. 198-228. 16. The Act of Incorporation, Constitution and By-Laws of the Philadelphia Linnean Society (Philadelphia, 1817); Edward J. Nolan, A Short Histo-y of the Academy of Naturral Sciences of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1836). 17. Charter of Incorporation, Constitution and By-Laws of the Franklin Institute ofthe State of Pennsylvaniafor the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts (Philadelphia, 1824). 18. James Boyd, A Histoiry of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society 1827-1927 (Phila- delphia, 1929), pp. 348-354. 256 PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY also self-conscious of their own continuing role as makers of history As such they accumulated vast collections of correspondence, records and souvenirs, built large libraries pertaining to the founding of the state and nation, and collected art portraying early settlers, Revo- lutionary War heroes, and contemporary civic leaders.'9 Consequently, sculptures of Benjamin Franklin and other distinguished Pennsylvanians were purchased by or donated to the PAFA. Portrait painters and sculptors vied to obtain commissions to portray the features of American war heroes and statesmen. Academy directors joined those artists who petitioned to immortalize Lafayette after he returned to this country in 1824. In addition, city patricians had their own likenesses reproduced for posterity and commissioned portraits of noted contemporaries. These portraits were then fre- quently donated to a historical or learned society.20 The year 1824 gave Philadelphians an unique opportunity to recall their city's Revolutionary history. On 29 July, civic leaders extended an invitation to General Lafayette to be their guest while on his triumphal tour through the nation. The celebration heralded as "the great public event of the year" was planned by an Arrangements Committee made up of politicians and representatives of Philadel- phia's blueblooded families. Again PAFA leaders were in the vanguard supervising the gala events. Art Academy director and politician William Rush was most active in the civic sections while Academy director General Thomas Cadwalader headed the military phases of the celebration. Academy activists could be found in all aspects of the proceedings and on every level of participation. Academy board member Richard Peters was Lafayette's carriage

19. A Summary Statement of the Origin, Progress and PresentState of the Washington Benevolent Society of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1816), pp. 9, 50-51, 63; Peter A. Grotjan, "Mem- oirs 1774-1850," 2:87-88, HSP; C[harles] J [ared] Ingersoll, A Discourse Concerning the Influence of America on the Mind (Philadelphia, 1823), pp. 5-24; "H." [Joseph Hopkinson], Two Letters on Slavery (Philadelphia, 1841), p. 3; J. Thomas Scharf and Thompson Westcott, History of Philadelphia: 1609-1883 (Philadelphia, 1884), 1:609; "Minute Book," 8 June 1831, Archives, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, hereinafter referred to as PAFA; Charles Chauncey, Speeches of Joseph Hopkinson and Charles Chauncey on the Judicial Tenure Delivered in the Convention of Pennsylvaniafor Revising the Constitution (Philadelphia, 1838), pp. 59-61. 20. "Minute Book," 26 December 1807; 12 June 1811; 8July 1811; 13 March 1816; 8 June 1831, Archives, PAFA; "Possibilities for 'Held in Trust' Summer, 1973," Inter- office Memorandum, TS, PAFA; Neil Harris, The Artist inAmerican Society: The Forma- tive Years 1790-1860 (New York, 1966), p. 84. BLUEBLOODS AND LOCAL SOCIETIES 257 companion during the parade and John K. Kane was one of the managers of the Lafayette Ball held on 4 October. 21 Other PAFA directors, perhaps excited by the spirit of history manifested that evening, met to commemorate the anniversary of the landing of William Penn. The celebration, originally scheduled for Penn's former home in Letitia Court, was somehow transferred to Doyle's Rising Sun Inn thereby providing the group with an opportunity to dine and exchange toasts. The convivial atmosphere and stirring speeches by PAFA leaders Dr. Thomas C. James and Peter S. DuPonceau resulted in plans for a permanent society. PAFA charter member DuPonceau was elected president of the permanent organization, the Society for the Commemoration of the Landing of William Penn. 22 Of more lasting significance that year was the first meeting of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Organized mainly by Pennsyl- vania Academy activists under the leadership of PAFA charter member William Rawle, the membership list became an honor roll of the city's most prestigious and wealthy families. As the Society's chief spokesman, Rawle was elected president the first year and continued in office until his retirement in 1836. As might be expected, he was succeeded by the ubiquitous Peter S. DuPonceau. 2 3 From its first call for members until the advent of the Civil War, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania continually enlisted PAFA activists as its leaders. During this period, nineteen Art Academy officers were also officers of the Historical Society, including eleven elected as president, vice-president, or councilor." 4 Paralleling the educational, professional, and learned societies were the many social and fraternal associations established by the local elite. Among those organizations open to the general public, the most influential was the Masonic Order of America. By 1730

21. Scharf and Westcott, Histoy of Philadelphia, 1:609; Paulson's Daily Advertiser, 28 September 1824; 4 October 1824. 22. Scharf and Westcott, History oflPhiladelphia, 1:615; Frederick P. Henry, The Standard Histoy of the Medical Profession of Philadelphia (Chicago, 1897), p. 142; John F. Watson, "Watson's Annals," p. 447, HSP. 23. Henry Simpson, The Lives of Eminent Philadelphians Now Deceased (Philadelphia, 1859), p. 830; Hampton L. Carson, A History of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1940), pp. 428-436. 24. The percentage of all Americans who fought in the Revolution is difficult to deter- nine. The figures here are calculated from those in Cornelius C. Vermeule, "The Number of Soldiers in the Revolution," New Jersey Historical Society, Collections, 5th Series, 7 (1922); 222-227. 258 PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY

,there were several lodges established, with the Grand Lodge locating in Philadelphia, "the Mother-City of Masonry in America."15 As the oldest and largest social organization in the nation Outside the church, with chapters spread throughout the city, with members drawn from every neighborhood, every occupation, and every reli- gion except Roman Catholic, membership in the Masonic Order was particularly important to politicians seeking public office. With ninety-two of the 112 PAFA leaders actively engaged in Pre-Jack sonian politics, this would be reason enough to account for the large Academy membership. Also the Academy members used Masonic meetings as an opportunity to forge family and social alliances. The intermarried sons and grandsons of PAFA members and their business associates became second and third generation Masons. 26 On the other hand, it was not out of character that Academy Free- masons, almost entirely members of the city elite and of a social class traditionally fearful of turmoil and disorder, would be among the first to resign their Masonic membership when Anti-Masonry reached its height during Jackson's presidency. Furthermore, those who did remain Masons were almost all, if not entirely, less wealthy Jacksonian Democrats. 27 The importance of family history to the patrician members of the PAFA has already been noted in this study. This concern with an- cestry and role as scions of distinguished Americans was a key reason for the local elite to develop societies to keep alive the ethnic origins of their forebears. Such societies, usually limited in membership to natives (or their offspring) of a particular nation and organized ostensibly for benevolent purposes, developed gradually into fraternal and social clubs. As time passed some clubs admitted "honorary members" who could not always meet the ethnic requirements. Eventually most of these fraternal associations became elitist strong- holds limited almost exclusively to the top echelon of city society. The earliest ethnic benevolent association of this nature was the Welsh Society. Conceived in 1729, it was not chartered until 1789

25. Scharf and Westcott, Hisiory of Philadelphia, 3:2062; Mahlon Addis, 200 Years of Ancient York Masonmy in the Western World 1758-1958 (Philadelphia, 1958), pp. 1-3, 7; Memoirs of Lodge No. 51, F& A. M of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1941), pp. 37-41. 26. Lodge No. 51, p. 53; Addis, 200 Years, p. 2; George R. Welchans and Andrew H. Hersey, History of Lodge No. 43, F & A. M. of Lancaster, Pennsylvania 1785-1935 (Lan- caster, Pa., 1936), pp. 414, 415; William R. Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons (1957), 3:207. 27. Addis, 200 Years, p. 29; Lodge No. 51, p. 220. TABLE 1 THE 41 NON-FOUNDER DIRECTORS AND THEIR POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS

FEDERALIST DEMOCRATIc-REPUBLICAN 1. Charles N. Bancker (Whig) 1. John Vallance (Dem.) 2. Thomas Biddle (Whig) 3. Samuel F. Bradford (Whig) 4. Cephus G. Childs (Whig) 5. Thomas Cadwalader (Whig) 6. Zaccheus Collins 7. James Craig 8. William Davidson (Whig) UNIDENTIFIED 9. Wm. P. Dewees 10. Griffith Evans 1. John Y. Clarke (Whig) 11. W. W. Fisher 2. Nathan Dunn (Whig) 12. Hyman Gratz (Whig) 3. H. D. Gilpin (Dem.) 13. Charles Graff (Dem.) 4. Isaac Jackson (Whig) 14. Levett Harris 5. Hartman Kuhn 15. Thomas C. James 6. Charles J. Wister 16. John K. Kane (Dem.) 7. C. Fraser 17. John Lardner 8. James McMurtrie 18. Reeve Lewis 9. Charles D. Meigs (Dem.) 19. Wm. D. Lewis (Whig) 10. Henry Inman 20. John C. Montgomery 11. John Neagle (Dem.) 21. A. G. Ralston (Whig) 12. Talbot Hamilton 22. Thomas C. Rockhill (Whig) 13. William Page 23. Joseph A. Smith 24. William Strickland 25. Thomas Sully 26. John Vaughan 27. William Wetherill (Whig)

SUMMARY

PRE-JACKSON POLITICS JACKSONIAN POLITICS

27 Federalist 14 Whig 1 Democratic-Republican 6 Democrat 13 Unidentified 21 Unidentified 41 41 TABLE 2 CHARTER MEMBERS, OTHER THAN "QUIDS," WHO SUPPORTED FEDERALIST CANDIDATES, 1805-1828

1. Andrew Bayard a 28. William Mereditha 2. Charles Biddle 29. James Milnor 3. William S. Biddle 30. Benjamin R. Morgan 4. Horace Binneya 31. Lewis Neill 5. Thomas Bradford, Jr. a 32. James Oldden, Jr. 6. Edward Burda 33. Edward Peningtona 7. Charles Chaunceya 34. Richard Peters, Jr. a 8. George Clymer 35. William Poyntell 9. John R. Coatesa 36. Henry Pratt 10. J. W. Condy 37. William Rawlea 11. John Redman Coxe 38. John Read, Jr. 12. Samuel Ewing a 39. Thomas Redman 13. George Fox 40. Joseph Reed, Jr. 14. Robert Frazer 41. William Rusha 15. James Gibson a 42. Samuel Shoemaker 16. P. F. Glentworth a 43. Charles Smitha 17. Simon Gratza 44. William Smitha 18. John Hallowella 45. Charles Swift 19. Charles W. Hare 46. James Tatem 20. Henry K. Helmutha 47. William Tilghman 21. John K. Helmutha 48. William H. Tod 22. James Hopkins 49. Peter Wager 23. Joseph Hopkinson a 50. Philip Wager 24. Wilson Hunt 51. John B. Wallacea 25. Henry Kuhla 52. Jacob S. Walna 26. William Lewis 53. David Watts 27. Joseph Lownes 54. Thomas B. Zantzinger

a Identified as Whig or Anti-Jackson after 1824. BLUEBLOODS AND LOCAL SOCIETIES 261

when its incorporators, including fourteen men who were to become founders of the PAFA, drew up its "Constitution and Bylaws." During the following decade ten other PAFA founders-to-be joined the Welshmen, thereby making a total of twenty-four among the

society's membership. 28 The next ethnic association formed was the St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia, whose membership was limited to "the natives or sons and grandsons of men having been born in Scotland." Orga- nized in 1749, the society was incorporated in 1809. Among the charter members were six PAFA founders while five other Academy leaders joined the society after its incorporation. 2 9 The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, organized in 1771, admitted only natives and descendants of natives of Ireland to membership and had only one of the future PAFA founders on its rolls. However, when the society merged with a charitable organization, the Hiberian Society for the Relief of Emigrants from Ireland (founded in 1790), and admitted other than native Irishmen or their descendants to membership, many wealthy philanthropic gentlemen decided to join. By 1804, fifteen men destined to become PAFA activists became members of the charitable society. 30 The Society of the Sons of St. George, founded 1772 to keep alive the heritage of Englishmen in America, was organized by a small group of Philadelphia bluebloods including fourteen Academy leaders-to-be. The society continued to be pro-British long after the War of Independence. During the presidency of John Adams the

28. Horatio Gates Jones, Charter and ByLaws of the Welsh Society [Philadelphia] n.d., n.p. 29. Historical Catalogueof the St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia 1749-1907 (Philadelphia, 1907), pp. 27, 31; A List of the Resident Members of the St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia (November, 1847), pp. 4-9; Supplement to the Constitution of St. Andrew's Society of Phila- delphia [Philadelphia], n.d., n.p., pp. 3-8. 30. John H. Campbell, ed., Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and the Hibernian Society of Phila- delphia, 1771-1892(Philadelphia, 1892), pp. 9 3-94,181-182, 185-186, 193, 194. Unlike the Irish societies of most cities, the Hibernians of Philadelphia cannot be charac- terized as staunchly Jeffersonian in political feeling. Although many Republicans can be identified, including Pennsylvania Academy activists, many more can be listed as Federalist in their politics. Among the PAFA activists, the Republican Politician Peter A. Browne and the Federalist leader William Davidson were both Officers of the Irish society. Moreover, John Vaughn, the president of the notoriously pro-Federalist St. George's Society, was invited to attend and speak at a Hibernia banquet. After the election of Andrew Jackson the Irish association did, however, become a pro-Democratic political organization. See David Hackett Fischer, The Revolution of American Conservatism (New York, 1965), pp. 111-112. Also see Campbell, Friendly Sons, pp. 93-94, 181-182, 185-186, 193, 194. 262 PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY society became violently anti-Gallican and anti-Republican. Eleven of the fourteen PAFA sons of St. George became active participants in Federalist anti-Jefferson party politics.31 Although the St. George's Society and other fraternal organizations did develop into elitist social clubs, many city gentlemen seeking sport, amusement, or convivial surroundings joined other organizations created originally for just those purposes. The two oldest and most restrictive social clubs favored by the local elite were the Phila delphia Dancing Assembly and the Schuylkill Fishing Company of the State in Schuylkill. In the year 1732 some gentlemen from the first families of Pennsylvania regularized certain dining, drinking, and sporting groups into a formal organization later to be known as the Schuylkill Fishing Company of the State in Schuylkill. The descendents of these patrician Brownes, Lewises, Coateses, Fishers and Foxes who organized the Company were thereafter found continually on both the membership lists of the Company and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. 32 The other of the two social clubs organized before the American Revolution was the Philadelphia Dancing Assembly. The Philadel- phia group was the earliest organization of its type in the nation, dating from the winter season 1748-49, antedating the Saint Cecelia Society of Charleston by fourteen years. Invitations to the Assembly ball were limited, at first, to fifty-nine subscribers selected from blueblood city families. Membership in the Assembly soon became a coveted ticket of admission to upper class society. Managers of the Assembly balls were chosen from patrician families and usually were men who had made their mark in business or civic affairs. Since the families represented in the Assembly were the same families of the city elite, most of the PAFA founders were either enrolled in the dancing club or related to those who were. Many of the same family names are still found on Assembly programs today."3 One of the elite social clubs still extant is the Philadelphia Club. Organized entirely by younger sons of the city's first families, the

31. An Historical Sketch of the Origins and Progress of the Society of the Sons of St. George 1772-1897 (Philadelphia, 1897), pp. 73-104. 32. A History of the Schiykill Fishing Company of the State in Schuylkill 1732- 1888 (Phila- delphia, 1889), pp. 5, 27-32, 339-442; History of the First Troop City Cavalry (Philadel- phia, 1875), p. 2. 33. "Treasurer's Book of the Philadelphia Assembly," HSP; Thomas Willing Balch, The PhiladelphiaAssemblies (Philadelphia, 1916), pp. 14, 98-99; Joseph Jackson, Encyclopedia of Philadelphia (Harrisburg, Pa., 1931), 1:173, 179. BLUEBLOODS AND LOCAL SOCIETIES 263

original founders bore the same names found among the PAFA board of directors. In March 1834, they held their first recorded meeting and helped to keep out those of lesser wealth by requiring an initiation fee of forty dollars plus annual dues of thirty dollars. 3 Family status was most important to this select social club. Through the years the membership rolls of the Philadelphia Club, like those of the Dancing Assembly, have been a list of contemporary entrenched city elite. From Bayard to Zantzinger almost all of the blueblood names among the 112 men comprising this study can be found on the rolls of the Philadelphia Club during the nineteenth

century. 3 Until the end of World War II probably no social organization became better known to Philadelphians than the First City Troop. Organized in 1774 as a body of light-horse cavalry to aid in the antic- ipated revolution, the twenty-eight who met included three members from the Continental Congress, eight from the Committee of Safety, three from the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania and four from the Pennsylvania Assembly. Four of these were later leaders of the PAFA and their descendants continued the tradition of leadership in both groups.36 Although the social-political leaders of the city could be found in all community organizations, some tended to devote most of their time, energy and ability to certain areas of interest. Some worked almost exclusively in organizations created to advance commercial and business activities. Some were involved with politics to the ex- clusion of most other concerns. Some were impassioned soul-savers. Others, including the majority of those who formed and guided the Pennsylvania Academy, were intellectual and cultural leaders of the community, organizing and directing institutions to elevate the musical, visual, and literary arts. They were often skilled, though non-professional, painters, sculptors, poets, musicians, critics, editors, and authors. While participating in other social activities they were also members of a select group who tended to find their closest per- sonal attachments among those of like interests within their social

34. The Philadelphia Club 1834-1934 (Philadelphia, 1934), pp. 12, 14, 81-143; Rules and Regulations for the Government of the Philadelphia Club (Philadelphia, 1834), pp. 3, 12, 16. 35. Rules and Regulations of the Phila. Club, pp. 73-74, 81-143. 36. Lippincott, Early Philadelphia, p. 285; History of the First Troop City Cavalry (Phila- delphia, 1948), p. 1; Book of the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry 1774 1914 (Phila- delphia, 1915), pp. 289-332; By-Laws, Muster-Roll, and Papers Selectedfromi the Archives Of the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavaly 1774-1856 (Philadelphia, 1856), pp. 74-82. 264 PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY stratum. The result of this common intellectual and cultural Outlook was the growth of various special social clubs. The oldest and most admired of these intellectual social clubs was the Wistar Party, which originated about the person and home of Dr. Casper Wistar about 1800. Dr. Wistar, the recognized leader of the scientific community, established his salon while professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania and defacto president of the American Philosophical Society. When Jefferson resigned the presidency of the society in 1816 the doctor succeeded him as president in name as well as fact. Under Wistar's leadership, the society became world famous, attracting men of learning from everywhere to meet with their Philadelphia counterparts."T With the hospitable doctor's premises only three doors from Philo- sophical Hall, the Sunday evening soirees became "the center of the literary and scientific society of the city." The number of guests varied from about ten to fifty and "regulars" could bring others as their guests. Among the first regular members were PAFA leaders William Rawle, William Tilghman, George Clymer, Peter S. DuPonceau and John Vaughan. 3 8 After the decease of Wistar in 1818, Vaughan, aided by his PAFA associates, reorganized the club. Probably the most exclusive of all the local intellectual societies, the active participation of seventeen PAFA leaders during this reorganizational period indicates again the interlocking membership within elitest social societies." One reason for this high proportion of Academy activists was probably the large number already enrolled in the American Philo- sophical Society. Since the first informal gatherings of the Wistar Party, the doctor's home had been known as the "weekly resort of the literati." Included in these gatherings were Academy men already known as writers of poetry, articles, and critical reviews. More than one-third of the Academy charter signers were authors of books or contributors to contemporary journals.4 0 The most influential, by far, of the contemporary literary journals was the Port-Folio, first issued 3 January 1801, by Joseph Dennie in

37. Nicholas B. Wainwright, ed., A Philadelphia Perspective: The Diary of Sidney George Fisher Covering the Years 1834-1871 (Philadelphia, 1967), p. 10; Hampton L. Carson, The Centenary of the Wistar Party with the Roll of Members 1818-1918 (Philadelphia, 1918), pp. 3-6. 38. Lippincott, Early Philadelphia, pp. 295-297. 39. Carson, Wistar Party, pp. 14-16; Schreiber, "Phila. Elite," Appendix B. 40. Ibid. BLUEBLOODS AND LOCAL SOCIETIES 265

partnership with the publisher Asbury Dickins. Dennie, the editor, was an outspoken Federalist and Anglophile from Boston who settled in Philadelphia in 1799 after his New Hampshire publishing venture collapsed. Ever faithful to his New England Federalist friends, the Hartford Wits, Dennie's anti-democratic, anti-Jefferson bias was evident in his pre-publication prospectus. Naturally, he found im- mediate support among the Philadelphia Federalist elite.41 Dennie quickly assembled a literary social group, the Tuesday Club, made up of sixteen of his closest friends. Six of the group were PAFA charter signers, including the two often regarded as Dennie's favorites, Joseph Hopkinson and Samuel Ewing. The latter's nephew, Harrison Hall, later became editor of the Port-Folio.4 2 Before the demise of the journal in 1827, a dozen Art Academy founders and directors had contributed scores of articles, poems and literary reviews. 43 Another Philadelphia cultural magazine of the period was Stephen Cullen Carpenter's monthly Mirror of Taste and Dramatic Censor, a journal concerned chiefly with drama. The publisher, PAFA charter member Thomas B. Zantzinger, succeeded in producing four vol- umes of six numbers each, beginning in 1810. The magazine con- tained articles pertaining to the dramatic arts, portraits of performers, and "interesting and valuable criticism" of the stage and theatrical life. Twenty-eight PAFA activists were listed in the original subscription book.44 The versatile men of the Academy shared an interest in all cultural achievement and most contributed in some manner to more than one division of the arts. Although concerned mainly with the literary and visual arts, many were also accomplished musicians, composers, and students of classical music who met regularly to perform and to learn. 45

41. Albert H. Smyth, The Philadelphia Magazines and Their Contributors: 1741-1850 (Philadelphia, 1892), pp. 90-92; Randolph C. Randall, "Authors of the Port-Folio Re- vealed by the Hall Files," American Literature, 11 (1940):379. 42. Smyth, Philadelphia Magazines, p. 115; Randall, "Port-Folio Contributors," pp. 379-385. 43. Lodge No. 51, P. 93; Randall, "Port-Folio Contributors," pp.3 79 -385; Smyth, Phila- delphia Magazines, p. 115. 44. Frank Luther Mott, A History of American Magazines 1741-1850 (Cambridge, Mass., 1938), p. 166; "Subscribers Names" listed in "The Mirror of Taste and Dramatic Censor: Published by Thomas Barton Zantzinger & Co., Phila.," Sub- scription Book, Zantzinger Papers 1810-1812, HSP. 45. Louis C. Madeira, Annals of Music in Philadelphia and History of the Musical Fund Society (Philadelphia, 1896), p. 57. -

266 PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY

Among those who met each Wednesday night were several directors of the PAFA. Gradually this group became concerned with the financial plight of some local professional musicians and eventually called a public meeting on 7 January 1820 to set up a fund for their relief. The organization arising from the efforts of this call, the Musical Fund Society, elected Pennsylvania Academy directors Dr. William P. Dewees as president and John K. Kane as secretary. Other Fund directors were selected from the ranks of Academy activists. During the next three decades twenty-four Academy men were active in the Musical Fund, eight serving as officers. " Since all of the 112 men covered in this study were either founders or directors of the PAFA, it is obvious that they all shared some degree of interest in the visual arts. Eighteen of the group were either ama- teur or professional artists, and at least another eight were serious collectors. A minimum of twenty-three of the group were engaged in literary endeavors. Twelve have been identified as contributors to the literary journal, The Port-Folio.Twenty-eight were also among the original subscribers to the Mirrorof Taste and DramaticCensor. More than two dozen were devotees of serious concert music while several were concert performers. Like the elite of other American cities during the nineteenth century, their Philadelphia counterparts were instrumental in the founding and development of various social organizations. Academy activists, typical of the Philadelphia elite, were to be found in great number among those gentlemen who organized, nurtured and led institutions of educational, scientific, fraternal, patriotic, and cultural purpose. The greater their wealth and status in city society, the greater the likelihood that they would be among the organizers and officers of varied-purpose voluntary organizations, be it a Pennsyl- vania Academy of the Fine Arts or any other local social institution.

46. Madeira, Annals of Music, pp. 57-59; 79-195; Centenary Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia 1820-1920 (Philadelphia, 1920), P. 18. Madeira gives the date of organization of the Society as 29 January 1820; Centenay Music Fund ... states 3 February 1820.