Cliveden: the Chew Mansion in Germantown
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CLIVEDEN THE CHEW MANSION IN GERMANTOWN Nancy E. Richards December, 1993 Cliveden of the National Trust 6401 Gerrmantown Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19144 215-848-1777 www.Cliveden.org 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Cliveden, the Germantown estate built between 1763 and 1767 as a summer retreat for Philadelphia lawyer and jurist Benjamin Chew, stands today as a monument of Philadelphia Georgian architecture. The merits of the building alone make the study of the property worthwhile. The Historic Structures Report (HSR) for Cliveden, ably prepared by Martin Jay Rosenblum and Associates, documents the building and modifications to the structures over the years. The assignment to chart the social history of Cliveden offered the rare opportunity to study the use of the property over a two hundred year period. Planned as the companion to the HSR, this volume seeks to add a human dimension to this important dwelling. It also serves as resource for Cliveden's guiding staff in interpreting the site. Unlike most projects of this type, there is a wealth of primary material on which to draw. The eighteenth-century house survives with relatively few modifications to the original structure. Additions and changes to the primary buildings on the site──the house, dependencies, and coach house and stable──are well documented. The Chew family's penchant for preserving the records that chronicle their domestic life provides the window for understanding the family's use of the property. Most of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century documents are in public repositories in Philadelphia, Maryland and Delaware. Much of the twentieth century material remains in family hands. I am especially grateful to the Chew family for allowing me access to this material. The study also benefitted immeasurably from oral history interviews with several family members──the late Anne Chew Barringer, the late John Thompson Chew, Richard W. Barringer, Jr., Elizabeth Chew Bennett and Lowry Chew Stephenson──and former Chew family employees Russell and Elmira Saunders. A project of this magnitude cannot be carried out in isolation. The staff of the Manuscript Library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania──Linda Stanley, Louise Jones, Ellen Slack, Gloria Thompson, Toby Gearhart, and others──were extraordinarily helpful. They remained cheerful through the onerous task of retrieving the 250 boxes of Chew Papers──over and over and over again. The Tilghman Family Papers at the Maryland Historical Society provided background on some of the Chew family's activities in Maryland. Although the full collection had not been catalogued, Jennifer Bryan made the early material available for study. Without the help of the reference staff at the Library Company of Philadelphia──Mary Anne Hines, Philip Lapsansky, and Denise Larrabee──and the librarians of several special collections in the Winterthur Museum Library──Neville Thompson, Richard McKinstry, Bert Denker, and Heather Clewell──many questions about life in Philadelphia and Germantown in the eighteenth- and nineteenth centuries would have remained unanswered. The advisory committee for the project──Karin Calvert, Barbara Carson, Barbara Martin, Elizabeth McLean, Peter Parker, George Siekkinen, and Anthony F. C. Wallace──provided much needed expertise. I 3 appreciate their generosity in answering specific questions and in keeping me headed in the right direction. I had the good fortune to share responsibility for the research on this project with Mark Reinberger of Martin Jay Rosenblum and Associates. Mark remained unfailingly cheerful in the face of our monumental task. I am especially grateful for the help he and Peter Copp gave me in interpreting the construction data they discovered. It added immeasurably to the texture of this report. I also wish to thank Anne Yentsch for sharing her observations on Cliveden's changing landscape and the archaeological evidence included as part of her Historic Landscape Report. The success of this project is due in great measure to my colleagues at Cliveden, both staff and guides. They asked the hard questions and provided a forum for exploring the material I found. The support and encouragement of the Cliveden staff──Jennifer Esler, Elizabeth Laurent, Sandra Mackenzie Lloyd, Jean Mitchell, and Anne Roller──throughout the project was greatly appreciated. Sandy and Elizabeth merit special thanks for their meticulous editing. Their critical review and insightful comments greatly enhanced the substance of the paper. The final appearance of the manuscript owes a great deal to the keen eye of Anne Roller. A number of other colleagues and friends were kind enough to read all or part of the manuscript in its various stages. I am especially grateful for the perspectives they brought to the study. Finally, I wish to thank the Pew Charitable Trusts for providing the funds that made this project possible. Through their support, a new chapter can be written about life in Philadelphia and Germantown in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements List of Illustrations Introduction I "The Enchanted Castle" Building Cliveden, 1763–1767 II Occupying the Summer Retreat Benjamin Chew and his Family at Cliveden, 1768–1779 III Out of Family Hands Ownership by Blair McClenachan, 1779–1797 IV The Family Seat Repurchased Benjamin Chew, Jr. and his Family at Cliveden, 1797–1844 V "Litigation that...appeared interminable" The Family Fight Over Cliveden, 1844–1857 VI "The house and grounds woefully out of repair" Anne Sophia Penn Chew Reclaims the House, 1858–1867 VII "Making Cliveden Comfortable" Anne Sophia Penn Chew Builds an Addition, 1867–1868 VIII "That most historic spot" Samuel Chew III Assures Cliveden's Place in History, 1870–1887 IX "Germantown's Greatest Private Park" Mary Brown Chew and her Son, Samuel Chew IV, Carry on the Tradition, 1892–1927 X Guardian of Cliveden Elizabeth Brown Chew Supervises the Property, 1927–1958 XI "Preserving the Past" Cliveden under Samuel Chew V, 1958–1971 Epilogue Illustrations Appendix Sources 5 ILLUSTRATIONS (not included in electronic version) Fig. 1. Portrait of Benjamin Chew (1722-1810), painted by James Reid Lambdin (1807-1889), 1874. Based on a silhouette from life. Fig. 2. Portrait of Elizabeth Oswald Chew (1732-1819), painted by John Wollaston (active 1736-1767), 1758. (Chester County Historical Society; photograph, courtesy of Chester County Historical Society, West Chester, PA) Fig. 3. Plot plan for Cliveden site showing land purchases. Land bought by Benjamin Chew from Edward Penington, 1763. (Adapted from Historic Structures Report, prepared by Martin Jay Rosenblum, R. A., & Associates, 1993) Fig. 4. Front facade of House. (Photograph by Jack Boucher for Historic American Buildings Survey, 1972) Fig. 5. Plan of first floor, 1763-1776. Kitchen extended c. 1765. Colonnade added c. 1776. (Adapted from HSR; drawing by Peter Andrew Copp). Fig. 6. Plan of second floor, main house, 1763-1776. (Adapted from HSR; drawing by Peter Andrew Copp). Fig. 7. Plot plan showing land bought by Benjamin Chew from Richard Johnson, 1765. (Adapted from HSR; drawing by Peter Andrew Copp). Fig. 8. Medal commemorating the British victory at Germantown and Lt. Col. Thomas Musgrave's defense of Cliveden, October 4, 1777. Engraved by John Milton, the medal was struck in England in 1780. It shows the landscape in front of the house. (British Museum; photograph, Philadelphia A 300-Year History) Fig. 9. Plot plan showing land bought by Benjamin Chew from Thomas Nedrow, 1776. (Adapted from HSR; drawing by Peter Andrew Copp). Fig. 10. Title page and illustration from the manuscript description of the "Mischianza," held in Philadelphia May 18, 1778, as a farewell fete for General Sir William Howe. Manuscript written by Major John André and sent to Peggy Chew, June 2, 1778. Fig. 11. Painting of the Battle of Germantown, by an unknown British artist, c. 1780-1800. Fig. 12. Miniature portrait on ivory of Blair McClenachan ( d. 1812), painted by Walter Robertson (c. 1750-1802), c. 1794-1795. (Historical Society of Pennsylvania; photograph, courtesy, The Winterthur Library: Decorative Arts Photographic Collection) Fig. 13. Plot plan showing land bought by Blair McClenachan from Matthew Raser, 1789. (Adapted from HSR; drawing by Peter Andrew Copp) Fig. 14. Miniature portrait of Benjamin Chew, Jr. (1758-1844), painted by an unknown English artist 6 while Chew was in London, 1784-1786. Fig. 15. Plot plan showing land bought by Benjamin Chew, Jr., from Jacob Clemens, 1817. (Adapted from HSR; drawing by Peter Andrew Copp) Fig. 16. Pastel portrait of Anne Sophia Penn Chew (1805-1892), drawn by an unknown artist, c. 1860. (Photograph, courtesy Frick Art Reference Library) Fig. 17. Photograph of Katherine Banning Chew (1770-1855), 1854. Photograph by F. Gutekunst, tinted by Spieler, Dec., 1864; taken from daguerreotype by Rehn, 1854. Fig. 18. Photograph of Samuel Chew (1832-1887), c. 1870s. Fig. 19. Photograph of Mary Johnson Brown Chew (1839-1927), taken in London, late 1880s. Fig. 20. Engraved portrait of James Murray Mason (1798-1871), taken from photograph by Whitehurst. (Gratz Mss. Collection, Historical Society of Pennsylvania; photograph, courtesy HSP) Fig. 21. Photograph of James Smith on the steps at Cliveden, taken by Mr. Moran, April 23, 1867. Fig. 22. Sketch of the proposed addition drawn by Anne Sophia Penn Chew, 1867. (Photograph, courtesy HSP) Fig. 23. Plan of first floor, north addition to the house, 1867-1868. (Based on plans by Cope & Stewartson, July 27, 1896; drawing by Peter Andrew Copp) Fig. 24. Plan of second floor, north addition to the house, 1867-1868. (Based on plans by Cope & Stewartson, July 27, 1896; drawing by Peter Andrew Copp) Fig. 25. The Lafayette Reception, painted by Edward Lamson Henry (1841-1919), 1874. Fig. 26. Cliveden during the Battle of Germantown, by Edward Lamson Henry (1841-1919), 1875. Fig. 27. Photograph of the Parlor taken about 1895 showing the Affleck sofa with "diamond button" tufted cushions. Fig. 28. Photograph of Anne Sophia Penn Chew (Alston) (1862-1931), by Hinkle of Philadelphia, June, 1882.