constitution, there were processions in different places, notably
Philadelphia, Boston, Charleston and New York. The New York procession was
the last and grandest, surpassing anything of its kind ever seen before in
the country. It was held on July 23d, in honor of the adoption of the
constitution by ten states, New York not having yet given in her adhesion.
There were over six thousand in the line. What added greatly to the beauty
and novelty of the parade was the ship Hamilton, a full-rigged man-of-war,
carrying thirty guns with a crew of thirty men, complete in all its
appointments, drawn by twelve horses and under the command of Commodore
Nicholson. It was in the center of the procession and attracted great
attention sailing down Broadway, the canvas waves dashing against its
sides, the wheels of the car being concealed. At ten o'clock in the
morning, a salute of thirteen guns was fired from the ship, and the
procession passed down Broadway from the Fields, and then through the
principal streets into the Bowery to Bayard's grounds, where two oxen
roasted whole and other viands had been prepared. Tables were set for five
thousand persons. The entire day was given up to festivities.
[Sidenote: The Eleventh Pillar]
While New York was in intense excitement, produced by these extensive
demonstrations, news reached the city on Saturday evening about nine
o'clock that the constitution had been adopted at Poughkeepsie on Friday,
July 25th. New York was called the "Eleventh Pillar." "The bells in the
city were immediately set to ringing, and from the Fort and the Federal
Ship Hamilton were fired several salutes." The merchants at the Coffee
House testified their joy and satisfaction by repeated cheers. The
newspapers state that "a general joy ran through the whole city, and
several of those who were of different sentiments drank freely of the
Federal Bowl, and declared that they were now perfectly reconciled to the
new constitution."
[Sidenote: Anniversaries of Two Great Victories]
The surrender of Earl Cornwallis and the army under his command at
Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19, 1781, which marked the close of active
hostilities, was a notable event in the history of the country, as was
also the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga on October 17, 1777. The
anniversaries of these two great victories for the American cause were not
far apart, and there were many in the city who had taken part in one or
both of them and were quite willing and anxious for a reunion of their
companions-in-arms. Accordingly on Monday, October 20, 1788, "a number of
officers of the late American army and several gentlemen of distinction"
dined together at the Coffee House in commemoration of these two great
events. The following are the toasts drunk at this dinner, as reported in
the newspapers:
1. The memorable 5th of September, 1774. Meeting of the First
Congress.
2. The memorable 17th of June, 1775. Battle of Bunker Hill.
3. The memorable 4th of July, 1776. Declaration of Independence.
4. The memorable 26th of December, 1776. Battle of Trenton.
5. The memorable 17th of October, 1777. Capture of Burgoyne.
6. The memorable 6th of February, 1778. Alliance with France.
7. The memorable 16th of July, 1779. Stony Point taken by General
Wayne.
8. The memorable 17th of January, 1781. General Morgan defeats
Tarleton at Cowpens.
9. The memorable 19th of October, 1781. Capture of Lord Cornwallis.
10. The memorable 3d of September, 1783. Definite treaty of peace.
11. The memorable 25th of November, 1783. Final evacuation of the
United States by the British.
12. The memorable 17th of September, 1787. New Constitution.
13. General Washington.
[Sidenote: Reception of Washington]
The constitution had been adopted by eleven states. George Washington had
been elected the first president of the United States and great
preparations had been made to receive him in New York, then the capital of
the Nation. On April 23, 1789, a Federal salute announced that he had
arrived and was coming up the East River in the splendid barge which had
been built especially for the occasion, accompanied by a large escort of
boats, to Murray's Wharf, where an ornamented and carpeted stairway had
been constructed to make his landing easy, safe and comfortable. At the
City Coffee House, as it is termed in the newspapers, with a salute of
thirteen guns, he was received by the governor and the officers of the
state and corporation. The procession then formed and proceeded, with a
military escort, from the Coffee House into Queen Street and then to the
house which had been prepared for him. The Daily Advertiser, the next day,
stated that: "On this great occasion the hand of industry was suspended
and the various pleasures of the capital were concentrated to a single
enjoyment." The illumination of the city in the evening was brilliant and
remarkable. On Saturday, the 25th, the Chamber of Commerce met at the
Coffee House, and headed by John Broome, Theophylact Bache and John Murray
proceeded in form to the house of the president-elect to present their
congratulations.
[Sidenote: Washington at the Ball]
The next regular assembly after the inauguration of the President was held
at the City Tavern, then under the management of Edward Bardin, on
Thursday, May 7th, which Washington was requested to honor with his
presence. He accepted the invitation and was present as was also the
Vice-President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, most of the
members of both Houses of Congress, the Governor of New York, the
Chancellor, the Chief Justice of the State, the Honorable John Jay, the
Mayor of the city, the French and Spanish Ministers, Baron Steuben, the
Count de Moustier, Colonel Duer and many other distinguished guests. A
newspaper account states that "a numerous and brilliant collection of
ladies graced the room with their appearance." Mrs. Washington had not yet
arrived in the city. Among those present were Mrs. Jay, Mrs. Hamilton,
Lady Stirling, Mrs. Watts, Mrs. Duer, Mrs. Peter Van Brugh Livingston,
Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Duane, Mrs. James Beekman, Lady Temple, Lady Christina
Griffin, Mrs. Livingston, wife of the Chancellor, Mrs. Richard Montgomery,
Mrs. John Langdon, Mrs. Elbridge Gerry, Mrs. Livingston of Clermont, the
Misses Livingston, Mrs. William S. Smith, daughter of the Vice-President,
Mrs. Maxwell, Mrs. Edgar, Mrs. McComb, Mrs. Dalton, the Misses Bayard,
Madame de Brehan, Madame de la Forest and Mrs. Bishop Provost. It was a
notable gathering of the men and women of the period, then in New York.
The company numbered about three hundred. Washington was the guest of
honor. The festivities closed about two o'clock in the morning.
On the 4th of July, 1789, General Malcolm's brigade, under command of
Colonel Chrystie, paraded on the race-ground early in the morning and on
their way back to the city passed the house of the President. Washington,
though ill, appeared at the door in full regimentals. At noon a salute was
fired from the Fort and at four o'clock the officers dined at the tavern
of Sam Fraunces in Cortlandt Street. After dinner, at the third toast, to
the President of the United States, the company rose and gave three cheers
and the band played General Washington's March. The Society of the
Cincinnati met at the City Tavern. After the election of officers, a
committee was appointed to present its congratulations to the President,
Vice-President and Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Society
then went in procession, escorted by Bauman's Artillery to St. Paul's
Chapel, where an eulogium upon General Nathaniel Greene was pronounced by
Alexander Hamilton. A dinner at the City Tavern and the drinking of
thirteen toasts closed the Society's celebration of the day.
[Illustration: "GAMBLING WITH CARDS WAS PRETTY GENERAL"]
During the year preceding March 1, 1789, three hundred and thirty tavern
licenses were granted in the city and gambling with cards and dice was
pretty general. A game of cards called Pharoah seems to have been one of
the most popular for that purpose. Other games with cards were whist, loo
and quadrille. It seems to have been thought necessary to place some
restraint on gambling, for a law passed in 1788 prescribed the forfeiture
of five times the amount won for the winner of more than £10 at a sitting.
Tavern-keepers were subject to fine and imprisonment if they should allow
cock-fighting, gaming, card-playing, dice, billiard-tables or shuffle
boards in their houses; but the law was not completely effective.
Drunkenness was unlawful, but a popular failing.
[Sidenote: Simmons' Tavern]
In Wall Street, on the corner of Nassau Street, was the tavern of John
Simmons. In this tavern were witnessed the formalities which gave birth to
the new American city of New York. Here, on the 9th of February, 1784,
James Duane, at a special meeting of the City Council, having been
appointed by the governor and board of appointment, was formally installed
mayor of New York City and took the oath of office in the presence of that
body and of the governor and lieutenant-governor of the State,
representing the State Provisional Council, whose duties now ceased, the
city corporation being now restored in all its forms and offices. The
Regents of the University of the State met at Simmons' Tavern, at seven
o'clock in the evening on Monday, August 2, 1790. It is said that Simmons
was a man of such bulk that at the time of his funeral, the doorway of the
house had to be enlarged to admit the passage of his coffin. His widow
continued the business, and was still keeping the house in 1796.
[Illustration: SIMMONS' TAVERN]
[Sidenote: Sam Fraunces the Steward of Washington]
When the new constitution had been adopted by eleven states and the
prospect was that New York would, at least for a time, be the seat of
government with Washington at its head, Sam Fraunces could no longer
remain in retirement on his Jersey farm. He came to the city and became
steward in the house of the President. He also opened a tavern in
Cortlandt Street, which was managed by his wife. This tavern at No. 49
Cortlandt Street had been kept, some years before, by Talmadge Hall, one
of the proprietors of the Albany Stages, who was succeeded in 1787 by
Christopher Beekman from Princeton, New Jersey. Beekman stated that the
house had been commonly known as the Boston, Albany and Philadelphia Stage
Office, and that he had agreed with the proprietors of the Albany and
Boston stages to make his house the public stage house. The Society of
Mechanics and Tradesmen held its anniversary meeting on the 6th of
January, 1789, at the tavern of Sam Fraunces in Cortlandt Street, and
indulged in a dinner at which one of the patriotic toasts was: "A cobweb
pair of breeches, a porcupine saddle, a trotting horse and a long journey
to all the enemies of freedom." The election of governor of New York in
1789 was energetically contested, but George Clinton, who was at the head
of the party yet strongly opposed to the new constitution, was elected,
although the vote in New York City was overwhelmingly against him. On the
5th of June he and his friends held a grand jubilee at Fraunces' Tavern to
celebrate their success. Sam Fraunces kept the Cortlandt Street house
until November, 1790, when, as he says, "through the advice of some of his
particular friends," he removed to a house in Broad Street near the
Exchange, formerly occupied by the Widow Blaaw, and solicited the
patronage of his brethren of the Tammany Society, and of the respective
Lodges of the city. This, as far as we know, was the last place kept by
Sam Fraunces in New York. He soon bid us a final farewell and left the
city.
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: Dinner to the Judges]
John Francis, who, we have supposed, was a son of Sam Francis, in August,
1785, opened the True American at No. 3 Great Dock, now Pearl Street. In
May, 1789, he removed to the historic building now known as Fraunces'
Tavern, on the corner of Broad and Pearl Streets. On February 2, 1790, the
Supreme Court of the United States was opened in the city by James Duane,
Judge of the district of New York, "in the presence of national and city
dignitaries, of many gentlemen of the bar, members of Congress and a
number of leading citizens. In the evening the Grand Jury of the United
States for the district gave a very elegant entertainment in honor of the
Court at Fraunces' Tavern on Broad Street." Among those present were John
Jay, of New York, Chief Justice of the United States, William Cushing, of
Massachusetts, John Rutledge, of South Carolina, James Wilson, of
Pennsylvania, Robert Harrison, of Maryland, and John Blair, of Virginia,
Associate Justices, also Edmond Randolph, of Virginia, Attorney-General of
the United States. It was the first Grand Jury assembled in this state
under the authority of the United States. In the list of jurors are the
names of many prominent men.
The promoters of the New York Manufacturing Society, for the encouragement
of American manufacturers, met at Rawson's Tavern, 82 Water Street, on the
7th of January, 1789, and chose the officers of the society. Melancthon
Smith was chosen president. Subscriptions were received for the
establishment of a woolen factory which was considered a very patriotic
undertaking. At a meeting held at the Coffee House on the 24th of
February, Alexander Robertson in the chair, a committee was appointed to
prepare the draft of a constitution and to report on a plan of operation.
The society was incorporated on the 16th of March, 1790, and appears to
have been the owner of a factory and bleaching ground at Second River, New
Jersey, but the business was not successful. The investment proved a total
loss.
On the corner of Nassau and George (now Spruce) Streets, was a tavern kept
by Captain Aaron Aorson, who had seen service during the war and was
present at the death of General Montgomery at Quebec. He was a member of
the Society of the Cincinnati. In his house was a long room suitable for
public gatherings. Notice was given that a lecture would be delivered here
for charitable purposes October 6, 1789, by a man more than thirty years
an atheist. Some years later this Long Room became the Wigwam and the
house the headquarters of the Tammany Society.
There was a tavern on Broadway just above Murray Street which, before the
Revolution, had played a conspicuous part in the conflicts with the
British soldiers over the liberty pole. During the latter part of the war
John Amory had been its landlord. In June, 1785, Henry Kennedy announced
that he had taken the well known house lately "occupied by Mrs. Montanye,
the sign of the Two Friendly Brothers," but in 1786 or soon after it again
passed into the hands of a member of the De La Montagnie family, after
which we find it at times kept by Mrs. De La Montagnie, Mrs. Amory or
Jacob De La Montagnie. In the Directory of 1795, Mary Amory and Jacob De
La Montagnie are both set down as tavern-keepers at 253 Broadway.
In December, 1791, the members of the Mechanics' and Traders' Society were
notified that the anniversary of the society would be held on the first
Tuesday of January next at the house of Mrs. De La Montagnie, and that
members who wished to dine should apply for tickets, and were further
requested to attend at 9 o'clock in the morning for election. In 1792, the
house appears to have been kept by Mrs. Amory and known as Mechanics'
Hall. The Mechanics celebrated Independence Day here that year, and it was
probably their headquarters. In June, 1793, Mrs. Amory, heading her
announcement--"Vauxhall, Rural Felicity"--gave notice that on the 25th,
beginning at five o'clock in the afternoon, would be given a concert of
instrumental music, consisting of the most favorite overtures and pieces
from the compositions of Fisher and Handell. The notice states that, "At
eight o'clock in the evening the garden will be beautifully illuminated,
in the Chinese style, with upwards of 500 glass lamps," and that "the
orchestra will be placed in the middle of a large tree elegantly
illuminated." There was to be tight rope dancing by Mr. Miller, and
fireworks on the tight rope, to be concluded with an exhibition of
equilibriums on the slack rope. Tickets for admission were four shillings
each. The triangular piece of open ground in front of the tavern, called
the Fields or Common, had been, since the war, enclosed by a post and rail
fence and had assumed the dignity of a park. The neighborhood was rapidly
improving.
[Sidenote: The Bull's Head Tavern]
On the post road, in Bowery Lane, stood the Bull's Head Tavern, where the
Boston and Albany stages picked up passengers as they left the city. This
had been a well known tavern from a period long before the Revolution,
much frequented by drovers and butchers as well as travelers. It was a
market for live stock and stood not far from the slaughter house. Previous
to 1763, it was kept by Caleb Hyatt, who was succeeded in that year by
Thomas Bayeaux. From 1770 until the war of the Revolution, Richard Varian
was its landlord, and also superintendent of the public slaughter house.
In a petition to the common council after the evacuation, he states that
he had been engaged in privateering until captured near the end of the
war, after which, he returned to the city and found his wife in prosperous
possession of the old tavern. He was the landlord of the house the year of
Washington's inauguration and we find that in 1796 he was still the tenant
of the property, then belonging to Henry Ashdor, a well-to-do butcher of
the Fly Market, who resided a little north of the tavern. As appears by
petitions to the common council, Henry Ashdor, or Astor, as the name
sometimes appears, was accustomed to ride out on the post road to meet the
incoming drovers and purchase their stock, thus securing the best, and
obliging the other butchers to buy of him at a profit, which was
characterized by the butchers in their petitions as "pernicious
practices." The Bull's Head Tavern remained the meeting place of the
butchers and drovers until 1826, when Henry Astor, associating himself
with others, pulled it down and erected on its site the New York Theatre,
since called the Bowery Theatre, the mayor of the city laying the corner
stone.
[Illustration: THE BOWERY THEATRE]
XI
THE TONTINE COFFEE HOUSE
[Sidenote: The Tammany Society]
Long before the Revolution, there had been various societies in New York
under such names as St. Andrew, St. George, St. David and St. John, all of
which professed the most fervent loyalty to the King of Great Britain.
This induced the projectors of a new society, composed of many who had
belonged to the Sons of Liberty, of Stamp Act and Revolutionary times, to
select for their patron saint a genuine American guardian, and thus was
originated the Tammany Society, or Columbian Order, in May, 1789. At
first, it was strictly a national and patriotic society, "to connect in
indisoluable bonds of friendship American brethren of known attachment to
the political rights of human nature and the liberties of the country,"
and it remained so for many years.
Tammany, the celebrated chief of the Delawares, who has been described as
a chief of great virtue, benevolence and love of country, to whose actual
history has been added a great deal of legendary and mythical lore, was
cannonized as a saint and adopted as their guardian spirit. The members
of the society styled themselves the Sons of St. Tammany, and adopted
aboriginal forms and customs as well as dress. This was not the first
society that had claimed the patronage and adopted the name of that famous
Indian saint, but the new organization proposed a wider scope and added to
its title also that of "Columbian Order." It was organized also as a
contrast or offset to the aristocratic and anti-republican principles
attributed to the Society of the Cincinnati, the membership of which was
hereditary.
The birth of the new organization is set down as on May 12, 1789, which
was spent in tents erected on the banks of the Hudson River, about two
miles from the city, where a large number of members partook of an elegant
entertainment, "served precisely at three o'clock; after which there was
singing and smoking and universal expressions of brotherly love." During
the year 1789 its meetings were held at the tavern of Sam Fraunces.
In the year 1790, the 4th of July falling on Sunday, the anniversary of
Independence was celebrated on the 5th. The Society of St. Tammany
assembled early in the day, and, after a short address from the Grand
Sachem, the Declaration of Independence was read. There was a grand
military review. Colonel Bauman's regiment of Artillery appeared in their
usual style as veterans of the war. At one o'clock they fired a federal
salute and a feu-de-joie on the Battery, after which they escorted the
Society of the Cincinnati to St. Paul's Church, where an elegant oration
was delivered by Brockholst Livingston to a large audience, including the
President and Vice-President of the United States, members of both Houses
of Congress, and a brilliant assembly of ladies and gentlemen. The Society
of the Cincinnati dined at Bardin's, the City Tavern, and the Grand Sachem
and Fathers of the Council of the Society of St. Tammany were honored with
an invitation to dine with them. After dinner the usual thirteen toasts
were drunk with all the hilarity and good humor customary on such
occasions.
[Sidenote: Reception of the Indians by the Tammany Society]
Shortly after this, a most interesting event occurred, which created
considerable excitement among the people of New York and gave to the
Tammany Society an opportunity to make an impression on the public mind
not often presented, and which could not be neglected. Efforts had been
made by the government of the United States to pacify the Creek Indians of
the South and to make with them a treaty of peace and friendship. In
March, 1790, Colonel Marinus Willett was sent out on this mission, and
early in July news came that he was on his way to New York, accompanied by
Colonel Alexander McGillivray, their half-breed chief, and about thirty
warriors of the tribe, traveling northward at public expense and greeted
at every stage of their journey by vast crowds of people. They arrived on
the 21st of July. A boat was sent to Elizabethtown Point, under the
direction of Major Stagg, to convey them to New York and the Tammany
Society met in their Wigwam to make their preparations. This Wigwam, which
they used as their headquarters for many years, was the old Exchange
building at the foot of Broad Street. As the boat passed the Battery about
two o'clock a Federal salute was fired and when the Indians landed at the
Coffee House it was repeated. Here they were met by the Tammany Society,
dressed in full Indian costume, which very much pleased McGillivray and
his Indian warriors, and by General Malcolm with a military escort. They
were conducted in procession to the house of General Knox, the Secretary
of War, after which they had an audience with the President, who received
them in a very handsome manner. They were also introduced to the Governor
of the State, who gave them a friendly reception. They were then taken to
the City Tavern where they dined in company with General Knox, the
Senators and Representatives of Georgia, General Malcolm, the militia
officers on duty, and the officers of the Saint Tammany Society. The
Indians seemed greatly pleased with their friendly reception and a
newspaper states that "the pleasure was considerably heightened by the
conviviality and good humor which prevailed at the festive board." The
usual number of toasts were drunk after the dinner.
[Sidenote: Grand Banquet at the Wigwam]