MARRIAGE AND BUSINESS LIFE
(1840-1853)
"In the spring of 1840 I went into business for myself in Westfield,
Mass., as a manufacturer of paper, and on October 1st of that year I was
invited to become a partner in the firm of E. Root & Co., of No. 85
Maiden Lane, New York. I was not yet of age when I entered as a junior
partner in this house; the business of the firm was managed chiefly by
my senior partner. My part was to attend to the sales and manage the
business, principally away from New York, in Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Boston, Washington, and other places, making contracts and attending to
the business generally. On November 30, 1840, I was twenty-one, and two
days afterwards I was married to Mary Bryan Stone, of Guilford, Conn."
Mrs. Field's father, Joseph Stone, died of yellow-fever at Savannah,
Ga., July 9, 1822. He left a widow and three little children. Mrs. Stone
returned to her home and lived with her parents, and it was from their
home that her daughter was married. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler had been married
in 1776, and their house was built in 1784, and it was on account of
their age and to avoid all excitement for them that Mr. and Mrs.
Field's wedding was very quiet. The invitations were informal.
"NEW YORK, _November_ 25, 1840.
"_My dear Parents_,--I have only time to write a few lines, and will
come to the point at once.
"The writer of this intends to be joined in the bands of matrimony to
Miss Mary B. Stone one week from this day, that is, on next Wednesday
morning, December 2, 1840, at 10 o'clock A.M., and requests the pleasure
of meeting you both, with sister Mary, at the house of Mr. A. S. Fowler
in Guilford, at the above-mentioned time. David and Stephen will be
there. We expect father will perform the ceremony. I shall leave here
Tuesday in the New Haven steamboat, and you will find me Wednesday
morning at Bradley's Hotel in Guilford, where you had better all stop.
"There will be _only a very_ few friends at the wedding. Shall leave
immediately after the ceremony is over for New Haven, and from there
come to this city.
"If Henry is at home bring him with you, and send to Middletown for
Mary.
"With much love to all at home,
"I remain your affectionate son,
"CYRUS W. FIELD."
A cousin writes: "It is a long time to remember what passed fifty years
ago. It was a lovely morning, the 2d of December, 1840. Your dear father
came to our old home in Guilford. My memory says ten o'clock was the
hour for the ceremony, and it took place in the north room, now the
parlor. Your grandfather, Dr. Field, was the clergyman. I was
bridesmaid. Your dear mother and I wore dresses made alike of gray
cashmere. Lunches were an unheard of arrangement in those days; the
refreshment was three kinds of cake and wine. Then we drove to New
Haven; your uncle, Joseph Stone, lived there. I went to visit some
cousins; your parents went to a hotel, and came and spent the evening
with us."
Mr. Justice Field of the United States Supreme Court was groomsman for
his brother. Fifty years after this same group stood once more together
at the Golden Wedding on December 2, 1890. The married life thus begun
was singularly happy. It is impossible for the children of this marriage
to recall a word of unkindness as having been spoken by either father or
mother. Their little son's death in 1854 drew them closer to one
another. He writes that during his business troubles his wife was
perfectly calm, and that she looked upon the loss of money as but slight
in comparison to the happiness that had been left to her.
On December 3d Mr. and Mrs. Field left New Haven and came to New York by
boat; immediately on their arrival they drove to the house of Mrs. Mason
in Bond Street, and it was there that they boarded for the next two
years.
"In six months" (that is, on April 2, 1841) "E. Root & Co. failed, with
large liabilities, and though I was not the principal of the firm, yet
on me fell the loss and the burden of paying its debts. Such was the
condition in which I started in life, without capital or credit or
business, and with a heavy load of debt upon me. We were for many months
afterwards getting the affairs settled. I dissolved the firm immediately
and started on my own account. Some of the creditors came to see me, and
those that did not come I went to see, and on the best terms I could
settled and compromised and got released.
"My office at this time was in Burling Slip, and it was in 1842 or 1843
that the partnership of Cyrus W. Field & Co. was formed, the company
being my brother-in-law, Joseph F. Stone."
With characteristic regularity the home life as well as the business
life went on. I have on the table before me two account-books, which
show both how methodical were the young merchant's habits and how simple
was his life at the outset of his career.
"No. 1, Cyrus W. Field, 1840, '41 and '42," and
"No. 2, Cyrus W. Field, 1843."
The following are extracts from No. 1:
"EXPENSES ACCOUNT
1840 Dr.
Dec. 2, to carriage to New Haven $ 7 00
" 2, to 50 newspapers 1 00
" 2, to gate fee 25
" 3, to expenses at the Pavillion 9 50
" 4, to porter 25
" 4, to New Haven to New York 4 00
" 4, to newspapers 12
" 4, to hack 1 00
" 4, to cartage 44
1841
Jan. 15, to bill for board for 2 months 120 00
" 29, to bill for vaccination 1 00
" 31, to figs and crackers 17
" 31, to oysters and laudanum 22
Feb. 7, to doctor's bill--one visit 1 00
" 18, to one box of pencil-leads 5
May 25, to one umbrella 1 00
" 28, to repairing silk hat 88
Sept. 8, to letter from Mrs. Field 13
Oct. 20, to paid Dr. Catlin in Haddam 5 00
Nov. 13, to Mrs. Nolan's bill 27 50
" 15, to one willow cradle 2 00
---------
Dec. 1 $1,467 12
"The above are our expenses for one year, from December 2, 1840, to
December 2, 1841.
"CYRUS W. FIELD."
From this time until 1842 the accounts were kept with the same
exactness; some of the items for this latter year are:
"1842
June 13, to cutting coat, vest, 2 pair pants $ 1 75
" 15, to soap, 8 cents; pepper, 5 cents; tobacco and linen 32
July 4, to Niblo's Garden, M. E. F., M. S., and C. W. F. 1 50
" 6, to Dr. Paine, $1; pill, 6 cents 1 06
Aug. 7, to letter to and one from Mrs. Field 25
Oct. 1, to W. H. Popham, 7 tons coal 37 75
Nov. 18, to shoestrings, 5 cents; tacks, 19 cents 24
" 22, to _Tribune_, 2 weeks 18
---------
Dec. 1 $1,482 79
"The above were our expenses for one year, December 2, 1841, to
December 2, 1842.
"CYRUS W. FIELD."
And on December 1, 1843, at the end of the book we read:
---------
"1843 $1,654 91
Less
Dec. 1, boarding ---- from October 8,
1842, to date, 59-6/7 weeks @
$3 $179 57
" 1, cash over to date[A] 6 30 185 87
---------
$1,469 04
[A] This amount is for sundries sold, and entered the past year in our
expenses, and for which I refund back the money.
"The above are our expenses for one year, from December 2, 1842, to
December 2, 1843.
"CYRUS W. FIELD."
In 1842 he rented a house in East Seventeenth Street, No. 87, and his
brother Dudley questioned the wisdom of his living so far up-town, and
said that he must not look for frequent visits from him, that he could
only go to him on Sunday. He lived in this house for ten years, and in
the interval his brother Dudley moved to one immediately in the rear,
and Mrs. Robert Sedgwick and Mrs. Caroline Kirkland were near neighbors
and dear friends.
For many years Mr. Field took his breakfast by lamplight, and his dinner
and supper down-town. His children saw him only on Sunday. At this time,
he wrote long afterwards, "I was an ardent admirer of Henry Clay, and in
politics a Whig," and accordingly he took a warm interest in the
election of 1844.
"In 1844 I was not worth a dollar. What money I had made had all gone to
pay the debts of the old firm. My business was conducted on long credit;
we did a general business all over the country. I built up a first-rate
credit everywhere. All business intrusted to me was done promptly and
quickly. I attended to every detail of the business, and made a point of
answering every letter on the day it was received."
Mr. Schultz said of him at the dinner already referred to:
"But, sir, I do recall the early days of Mr. Field. I remember him
when he was first a clerk and then a merchant.... He had
peculiarities then as he has always had. One I recollect was, he
had over his desk 'Are you insured?' For no one that was not
insured could get credit of him. He could not afford, he said, to
insure himself and others too. Thus in all his transactions he had
ideas and principles to carry out, but always good principles and
ideas. I well remember when he came into the Mercantile Library
Association; he had his own ideas, which did a great deal to add
to the dignity and usefulness of that institution. In all his early
life he was what he has been since--useful, practical."
It seems odd now to be reminded by the sight of old letters that at this
time envelopes were not in use. The sheets of paper were large, of
letter size; three sides were closely written on, and then it was folded
into nine, and it was not permitted to enclose even a slip of paper in
this sheet; the postage was usually thirteen cents. The currency was
puzzling; there was the short or "York" shilling of eight to the dollar
(that is, twelve and a half cents), and the New England or long shilling
of six to the dollar (sixteen and two-thirds cents). So rooted was each
kind of currency in its own section as often to cause travellers
annoyance and confusion.
The first and part of the second page of the New York _Tribune_ for
August 26, 1844, is most interesting. There is given an account of "The
Berkshire Jubilee," held at Pittsfield, Mass., on August 22d and 23d.
The paper mentions among those present, Dr. Orville Dewey, of New York,
William Cullen Bryant, Miss Catherine Sedgwick, Dr. Mark Hopkins, Mr.
Macready, the actor, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Mrs. Fanny Kemble, Dr.
D. D. Field, and David Dudley Field. This "Jubilee" lasted for two days.
There were forty-four vice-presidents appointed, and forty-four tables
were laid to accommodate the three thousand people who dined together.
On the first day, at two o'clock in the afternoon, Dr. Hopkins preached
a sermon on Jubilee Hill, west of the village, and Dr. D. D. Field
"offered up an eloquent prayer."
After dinner on the 23d there were speeches and singing.
"A young lady, as amiable as she is beautiful, and as intelligent as she
is both amiable and beautiful, gave the following sentiment by proxy:
"'You scarce can go through the world below
But you'll find the Berkshire men,
And when you rove the world above
You'll meet them there again.'
"At the close of Dr. Holmes's speech he read the poem that appears in
his works under the title of 'Lines recited at the Berkshire Festival,'
beginning:
"'Come back to your mother, ye children, for shame,
Who have wandered like truants for riches or fame;
With a smile on her face and a sprig on her cap
She calls you to feast from her bountiful lap."
And it appears from the report that "the recitation of this poem was the
most popular exercise of the day."
We have a book of French exercises with page after page written by Mr.
Field. They begin with "Avez vous le pain?" and the last sentence is,
"Votre ami a-t-il le miroir que vous avez ou celui que j'ai? Il n'a ni
celui que vous avez ni celui que j'ai, mais il a le sien." He never
spoke French, but one can fancy that these exercises were written before
he went to Europe, in April, 1849, and in preparation for the exigencies
of intercourse with the natives that might arise.
Mr. and Mrs. Field sailed for England in a packet-ship commanded by
Captain Hovey. They were eighteen days in crossing, and landed at
Plymouth, and posted through Cornwall. This journey was taken by the
advice of his physician. The excitement and work of the past fourteen
years had told very decidedly upon him, and perfect rest was imperative.
Their four little girls were left under the care of an aunt in New
Haven, Conn., and on arriving in England the parents' first thought was
of their children; and great was the joy with which these hailed the
advent of a box of toys, and in it was a blue-and-white tea-set which
gave unusual happiness. Here is one of the messages that came back
across the sea:
"_Precious Little Isabella_,--What are you about just now? Can
mother guess?
"Well, Belle is singing her German song.
"No. Does Belle say no? She is rocking her doll to sleep, and she
is making a nice dress for dolly.
"I have put up a little bundle of pieces for Grace, Alice, and
Isabelle, and now you can make a great many dresses. Mother wishes
much to see her little Belle and Fanny, and to give them a good
number of kisses. Mother always wished to kiss all her little girls
before she went to bed, but now she cannot reach them.
"Will Belle kiss her sister for her mother and will she kiss her
cousins, too?
"Mamma hopes Belle will always mind her aunt, Miss Oppenheim, her
cousins, and Anne.
"Anne loves Belle and is very kind to her and does all for little
Belle that she can.
"Now, dear little Belle, good-bye, and do not forget
"MAMMA.
"Mother sends Belle her bird in the cage."
Some of the reminiscences of this journey come back quite distinctly.
One of them was the indignation of an Irishman at being asked the name
of the river they were passing, which, unluckily for the questioner,
happened to be the Boyne. Another was of a service at a kirk in
Scotland, during which an old lady said to Mrs. Field, "Remember that
you are in the house of God." Her offence was that she had offered to
share her book of psalms with her husband. Indeed it must have seemed
impossible for those who did not know to believe that they were husband
and wife and that they had been married nine years, for both looked very
young at this time.
They travelled rapidly during the following five months. They visited
Manchester, York, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, and London,
Paris, Geneva, and from there to Milan over the Simplon, to Leghorn,
Florence, Rome, Naples, Venice, Vienna, Dresden, Berlin, from Frankfort
down the Rhine to Cologne, to Brussels, back to England and Liverpool,
and from there by the steamship _Europa_ to Boston, and to their home in
New York in September.
They had been interested spectators of the events succeeding the great
uprising of the people in France, Germany, and Italy, and of their
failure to free themselves and obtain self-government.
Mr. George Bancroft was a fellow-passenger on the voyage home. He had
made an engagement to dine in Boston on a certain day, and while at sea
was troubled lest he should not arrive in time; but as Mr. and Mrs.
Field drove to the train they passed Mr. Bancroft on his way to dinner,
and he waved his hand to them. On his return to New York, Mr. Field
amused his friends by stating the characteristic fact that the first
word he learned of each new language, as he crossed from one country to
another, was "faster."
Mr. and Mrs. Field lived simply. The summer outings were short,
sometimes for only a few weeks were they and their children away from
the city, but their children look back with pleasure to the drives that
they took, during the long summer days, to Hoboken (the Elysian Fields),
to Astoria, to Coney Island, all very different places from those of the
present time. And the family cow was driven each morning to pasture on
land that is now known as Madison Square.
January 24, 1850, a son was born. Dr. Field, supposing that he was to be
named Cyrus, addressed the following letter, superscribed:
"Master Cyrus W. Field, Jr.,
"Of the Firm of Cyrus W. Field & Co.,
"No. 11 Cliff Street,
"New York."
"HIGGANUM, _January 28, 1850_.
"MASTER CYRUS W. FIELD, Jr.:
"_Dear Grandson_,--We were happy in hearing of your safe arrival
last Thursday morning, and hope you will be a great honor and
blessing to your parents and to your delighted sisters. Your
grandmother sends you much love, and says she hopes you will make
as good a man as your father.
"Give our love to your parents, to Grace, etc., etc., and by-and-by
come up and see whether Higganum pleases you as well as New York.
The Lord bless you and all your friends. Tell them that we are well
and happy.
"Your affectionate grandfather,
"DAVID D. FIELD."
And Mrs. Kirkland sent a note beginning:
"A boy! a boy!
I wish you joy!"
She also wrote: "The pleasantest thing I have to tell you is that Miss
Bremer promises me a visit, and will probably be here in two or three
weeks." The visit was paid and gave great pleasure. Mrs. Field told of
one evening passed at Mrs. Kirkland's, when the Swedish novelist was
quite unconscious that from her cap hung a paper on which was written
2/6.
The autumn of 1850 was long remembered by parents and children. Early in
September the two-seated covered wagon and buggy were filled by the
entire family, who left New York for a drive of four weeks; first to
Guilford, Conn., then to Stockbridge, returning from Hudson to New York
by the night boat.
It was Mr. Field's custom to give an annual supper to his clerks. That
which took place in December, 1850, was signalized by the proceedings
thus officially recited:
A meeting of the salesmen in the employ of Messrs. Cyrus W. Field &
Co. was held December 20, 1850. S. Ahern was appointed to preside.
After the objects of the meeting were made known by the chairman in
a few brief and appropriate remarks, the following resolutions were
unanimously adopted:
_Resolved_, That in consideration of the innumerable acts of
kindness manifested towards us by Cyrus W. Field, Esq., we deem it
expedient to acknowledge them, not alone in expressions of
gratitude, but by tangible proof of our appreciation of them.
_Resolved_, That a committee of three be appointed to decide upon
an appropriate testimonial of our esteem, to be presented to Cyrus
W. Field; and that Augustus Waterman, John Seaman, and James Barry
be appointed said committee.
_Resolved_, That Augustus Waterman, in view of his long services to
Cyrus W. Field, be deputed in behalf of himself and fellow-salesmen
to make such presentation as the committee shall decide on.
_Resolved_, That a copy of the foregoing resolutions accompany the
presentation, and that said presentation and resolutions be
presented on the occasion of the annual supper given by Cyrus W.
Field to his employés, and that they be accepted by him as a faint
token of our esteem.
AUGUSTUS WATERMAN,
JAMES BARRY,
SIMEON J. AHERN,
ANDREW CAHILL,
JOHN CAHILL,
JOHN SEAMAN (per A. W.).
The testimonial took the form of a silver pitcher suitably inscribed.
Early in June, 1851, Mr. and Mrs. Field left New York, and made quite an
extended journey over the then Southern, Western, and Northern States.
First to Virginia, where they had the pleasure of staying with Mr. and
Mrs. Hill Carter at their plantation, Shirley, on the James River; then
to the Natural Bridge, and it was while there that Mr. Field asked Mr.
Church to make a sketch for a picture, and suggested that it would be
wise to take a small piece of the rock back to New York. This Mr. Church
did not think necessary, but Mr. Field was so intent upon having the
color exactly reproduced that he put a bit in his pocket. When the
oil-painting was sent to his house he found the piece, and there had
been no mistake made in the color. From Virginia the party went to the
Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. It was in the course of the trip either up or
down the Mississippi, on one of the famous high-pressure boats of those
days, that the stewardess coolly remarked, when some of the passengers
expressed alarm at the racing, that it made no difference whether or not
the boat they were on happened to blow up, since it was in any case her
last trip. In the ardor of the race the fires were fed with any fuel
available: even the hams that formed part of the cargo were sacrificed.
At St. Paul they heard that a treaty was to be made with the Indians,
and Mr. Field immediately hired a boat for $400 to take him to the
scene. As many others were anxious to go he allowed the captain to sell
tickets at $10 to as many people as the boat would accommodate, and the
captain made a handsome profit, as he was required merely to reimburse
Mr. Field for his outlay. The Indians were frightened at the advent of
the party and at the noise of the whistle, and the treaty had to come to
a standstill until the boat could be sent out of sight.
Mr. Field was again at St. Paul in 1884, when the changes he found
seemed to him marvellous. Mr. F. E. Church, the artist, who had
originally been of the party, but had left it before the arrival at St.
Paul, wrote early in August:
"I am delighted that you were able to be at the Indian treaty,
which, from the description in your letter and the numerous letters
published in the daily prints, convinces me that the occasion must
have been one of extraordinary interest....
"I am telling marvellous stories here of our adventures to gaping
audiences, and exhibiting my blind fishes with tremendous
effect....
"All accounts from the children in Stockbridge bring alarming
intelligence; it is said that they are getting fat, and nothing
which has been tried has succeeded in stopping the spread of the
complaint. I recommend a month on a Western steamboat in hot
weather."
One of the party, a lady, was not at all times a pleasant travelling
companion. The stage drive, one morning in Kentucky, began at four, and
by six o'clock the sun poured down against the side of the coach in
which the lady was seated. As the heat increased, in the same degree her
irritability was manifested. At last she asked a Southern gentlemen who
was by her to let down the curtain. His answer was: "With pleasure,
madam, if you won't look so damned sight cross." This proved to be the
remedy required; from that time she was good-natured.
From a letter written to a New York paper this is copied:
"NIAGARA FALLS, _August 11, 1851_.
"Among the recent arrivals at the Clifton House are Mlle. Jenny
Lind and Cyrus W. Field and family....
"Jenny Lind arrived yesterday from New York by way of Oswego. She
keeps strictly private, and has her meals served in her own room.
Last evening she was amusing herself by singing, accompanied by Mr.
Scharfenberg, in her own rooms, with closed doors. Soon a crowd of
a hundred had gathered round her door, without a whisper being
heard. She sang for about half an hour, when, suddenly opening her
door, she stepped in the hall for a candle, and then you would have
laughed outright to see the people scamper, she looking so
indignant."
When Mr. Field built the house on Gramercy Park, which was at first
numbered 84 East Twenty-first Street, that and the one next to it were
the only ones between Lexington and Third avenues, and the east side of
Gramercy Park was a large vacant lot. This house was afterwards known as
123 East Twenty-first Street, and there forty happy years were passed.