Library of Congress Social life in the early republic vii PREFACE peared to them, or recall the quaint figures of Mrs. Alexander Hamilton and Mrs. Madison in old age, or the younger faces of Cora Livingston, Adèle Cutts, Mrs. Gardiner G. Howland, and Madame de Potestad. To those who have aided her with personal recollections or valuable family papers and letters the author makes grateful acknowledgment, her thanks being especially due to Mrs. Samuel Phillips Lee, Mrs. Beverly Kennon, Mrs. M. E. Donelson Wilcox, Miss Virginia Mason, Mr. James Nourse and the Misses Nourse of the Highlands, to Mrs. Robert K. Stone, Miss Fanny Lee Jones, Mrs. Semple, Mrs. Julia F. Snow, Mr. J. Henley Smith, Mrs. Thompson H. Alexander, Miss Rosa Mordecai, Mrs. Harriot Stoddert Turner, Miss Caroline Miller, Mrs. T. Skipwith Coles, Dr. James Dudley Morgan, and Mr. Charles Washington Coleman. A. H. W. Philadelphia, October, 1902. ix CONTENTS Chapter Page I— A Social Evolution 13 II— A Predestined Capital 42 Social life in the early republic http://www.loc.gov/resource/lhbcb.29033 Library of Congress III— Homes and Hostelries 58 IV— County Families 78 V— Jeffersonian Simplicity 102 VI— A Queen of Hearts 131 VII— The Bladensburg Races 161 VII— Peace and Plenty 179 IX— Classics and Cotillions 208 X— A Ladies' Battle 236 XI— Through Several Administrations 267 XII— Mid-Century Gayeties 296 xi ILLUSTRATIONS Page Mrs. Richard Gittings, of Baltimore (Polly Sterett) Frontispiece From portrait by Charles Willson Peale, owned by her great-grandson, Mr. D. Sterett Gittings, of Baltimore. Mrs. Gittings eyes are dark brown, the hair dark brown, with lighter shades through it; the gown of delicate pink, the sleeves caught up with pearls, the sash of a gray shade. The whole effect of the costume is soft pink and gray, like a sunset cloud, which tones in well with the out-of-door background of pale-blue sky, trees, and grass. Social life in the early republic http://www.loc.gov/resource/lhbcb.29033 Library of Congress Mr. James Greenleaf 30 From original portrait by Gilbert Stuart, owned by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Mrs. John Jay, of New York (Sarah Livingston) 36 From portrait in oil copied from a miniature in a bracelet by Daniel Huntington, owned by Miss Elizabeth Clarkson Jay, of New York. A Family Group of the Children of Benjamin Stoddert 40 From painting by Charles Willson Peale, owned by Mrs. Harriot Stoddert Turner, of Washington, D.C. The elder girl, Elizabeth Stoddert, married Dr. Thomas Ewell; the baby in the wagon, Harlot Stoddert, was afterwards Mrs. George W. Campbell, and the boy was Benjamin Forrest Stoddert. xii Duddington, Washington, D. C. 48 Built by Daniel Carroll about 1793, pulled down 1886. From picture owned by Dr. James Dudley Morgan, of Washington, D.C. Andrew Ellicott 54 From miniature on ivory by James RAPH. Peale, owned by Mr. Edwin T. Evans, of Buffalo. Benjamin Stoddert, of Georgetown, First Secretary of the Navy 54 From miniature painted on ivory. This miniature is signed “R. F. 1798” and is owned by Mrs. Campbell Brown, of Ewells, Tennessee. Gray or powdered hair, queue at back, hazel eyes, blue coat with brass buttons, white shirt, and full white necktie. Social life in the early republic http://www.loc.gov/resource/lhbcb.29033 Library of Congress Mrs. Elbridge Gerry (Ann Thompson, Daughter of James Thompson, of Ireland, and Catherine Walton, of New York) 64 From miniature on ivory by John Ramage, in possession of grand-niece, Mrs. John W. Clay, Marysville, Campbell County, Virginia. Mrs. Isaac Coles (Catherine Thompson) 64 Mrs. Coles was a sister of Mrs. Elbridge Gerry; she married Colonel Isaac Coles, of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, in January, 1790. The miniature of Mrs. Isaac Coles, by John Ramage, was painted about 1789, and was left by her granddaughter, Miss Mary Coles Whittle, of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, to the Society of Colonial Dames in the State of Virginia. Archbishop John Carroll, Founder of the “Academy At Georgetown” 84 From portrait by Gilbert Stuart, owned by the Georgetown University. xiii The Misses Murray, Daughters of Dr. James Murray 86 This portrait by Bouchét in 1794 represents two young girls dressed in white crowning with a wreath and decorating with flowers the bust of their father's friend, Dr. Scott. The picture was painted in Dr. Murray's garden at Annapolis, with the Severn in the distance. Sallie Scott Murray, born 1775, married Governor Edward Lloyd, of Maryland, and Anna Maria Murray, born 1776, married General John Mason, of Virginia. Portrait used through the courtesy of the Misses Dorsey, of Washington, great-granddaughters of Mrs. John Mason. The Highlands, on the Tennleytown Road 88 Social life in the early republic http://www.loc.gov/resource/lhbcb.29033 Library of Congress Built by Mr. Charles J. Nourse, and in 1902 the residence of his son and daughters. From a photograph taken through the courtesy of the Misses Nourse, by Elizabeth Worthington Trescot, of Washington, in 1900. Marquis de Casa Yrujo 114 From portrait by Gilbert Stuart, owned by Mrs. Thomas McKean, of Fern Hill, Germantown, Philadelphia. Blue eyes, light hair, blond complexion; rich court suit of silk, coat lined with satin, decorated with several Spanish orders. Marchioness de Casa Yrujo 114 From portrait by Gilbert Stuart, owned by Mrs. Thomas McKean, of Fern Hill, Germantown, Philadelphia. Dark eyes and hair; white gown, the sleeves looped with pearls, a pearl necklace, and pearls in the hair. Luther Martin 126 From miniature on ivory, owned by Dr. W. H. Crim, of Baltimore. xiv Mrs. Laurence Keene (Maria Martin, Daughter of Luther Martin) 126 From miniature on ivory, owned by Dr. W. H. Crim, of Baltimore. Mrs. James Madison 132 From miniature painted by James Peale in Philadelphia, before her marriage to James Madison, owned by grand-niece, Mrs. Moorfield Storey, of Boston. Eyes dark blue or gray, hair dark, and complexion fair and florid. Mrs. James Monroe 132 Social life in the early republic http://www.loc.gov/resource/lhbcb.29033 Library of Congress From miniature on ivory, painted in Paris by Sené, in 1794, in possession of Mrs. Charles Wilmer, of Baltimore. Mrs. Richard D. Cutts (Anna Payne) 142 From portrait by Gilbert Stuart, with the artist's profile outlined in the background, in possession of son, Dr. H. M. Cutts, of Brookline, Massachusetts. Mrs. Samuel Ringgold (Maria Cadwalader, of Philadelphia) 146 From miniature on ivory, owned by Mrs. William Woodville, Georgetown. Simple muslin gown, with a jewelled ornament in the hair, which is light brown. Mrs. Moses Poor (Charlotte White, of Boston) 146 From miniature on ivory, painted by Edward Greene Malbone, owned by granddaughter, Miss Charlotte Webb, of Washington, D.C. Eyes dark blue, light brown hair, delicate complexion; gown of thin dotted muslin, showing the white neck and shoulders; background of a delicate pink, with shades of gray. The Van Ness Mansion 150 Built by General John P. Van Ness prior to 1814; still standing (1902) between Seventeenth and Eighteenth Streets, south of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. xv John Randolph 152 From portrait by Gilbert Stuart, owned by grand-nephew, Mr. Charles Washington Coleman, of Washington, D. C. Eyes brown, complexion florid, hair light brown; the coat is gray, with velvet collar, the vest light gray. Mr. Randolph is sitting near a wall, with trees in the background. This is one of the most beautiful of Gilbert Stuart's portraits. Social life in the early republic http://www.loc.gov/resource/lhbcb.29033 Library of Congress Colonel John Tayloe, of Mount Airy, Virginia, who Built the Octagon, Washington, D.C. 176 From portrait painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1804, in Tayloe Collection at Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C. Eyes gray and hair gray or powdered. Mrs. John Tayloe (Ann Ogle) 176 From portrait painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1804, in Tayloe Collection at Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C. Eyes brown, brown hair with auburn shades; white gown. Mrs. George Washington Campbell (Harriot Stoddert) 194 From portrait painted in Russia by George Dawe, R.A., owned by Mrs. Campbell Brown, of Ewells, Tennessee. Tudor Place, Georgetown Heights 204 Built by Mr. Thomas Peter, and in 1902 the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Beverly Kennon, a great-granddaughter of Martha Washington. Photograph taken by Elizabeth Worthington Trescot, of Washington, in 1901. Edward Greene Malbone 230 From portrait of the artist painted by himself, in permanent collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C. The flesh tints of this portrait are fine and delicate, the eyes blue, and the hair powdered xvi Mrs. Lucius J. Polk (Mary Eastin, of Tennessee) and Madams Pageot (Mary Lewis, Of Nashville, Tennessee) 258 From portraits owned by Mrs. Campbell Brown, of Ewells, Tennessee. Social life in the early republic http://www.loc.gov/resource/lhbcb.29033 Library of Congress Mrs. Andrew Stevenson (Sally Coles) 268 From portrait, three-quarters length, painted in London, by G. P. A. Healy, in the dress in which Mrs. Stevenson was presented at the Queen's drawing-room. The portrait was exhibited in London, and now belongs to Mrs. Stevenson's family in Virginia. Miss Abigail Fillmore 308 From portrait painted by W. Le Clear, of Buffalo. Fair hair, delicate complexion; simple white gowns without ornaments. Mrs. Alexander Hamilton 308 From crayon-sketch made by Charles Martin in 1851, used through the courtesy of Mr. Philip Schuyler, of Irvington, New York. Mrs. Gardiner G. Howland (Mary Dulany) 316 Mrs. Gardiner G. Howland was a daughter of Grafton Lloyd Dulany, of Baltimore. Picture used through the courtesy of her family.