ENDORSEMENTS

In this bicentennial year of celebration, the new edition of Dr.Melville’sbiographyofElizabethAnnSeton is indeedanothercause forcelebration.Byherskillfulediting,BettyAnnMcNeil,D.C.,hasprovidedthe necessary revisions while respecting the scholarship and storytellingskillsofDr.Melville.ThisneweditionwillintroduceElizabethAnnSetontoyetanothergenerationofreaders.Hertimelessstoryoffaithandstruggle,loveandloss,actionandcontemplationwill ignite theimaginationofallwho meet her for the first time. Those familiar with her story will discover newinsightsandinspirationinthisedition.AllwillrejoiceinthelifeofthisAmericanwomanandthosewomenwhoretellherstorywithprecisionandpassion.

Mary Ann Daly, S.C.

ExecutiveDirectorSistersofCharityFederation

Itisanextraordinaryeventwhenabiographystandswellthetestsoftime.AnnabelleMelville’sbiographyofElizabeth Bayley Setonisonesuchvolume.ItsportrayalofthelifeandtimesofthisquintessentialAmericansaintstillprovidesthereaderwithimportantinsightsintotheearlyhistoryofCatholicismintheUnitedStates,theroleofwomenofministryinthatera,aswellastheintroductionintothiscountryoftheVincentiantradition.ThethoughtfulrevisionsandupdatesprovidedbythiseditionwillenablethisgenerationtocontinuetoenjoythispowerfulstorytoldsowellbythelateAnnabelle Melville.This volume is a very welcome addition to thebicentennialcelebrationofthe1809landmarkfoundationbySt.ElizabethAnnSetonoftheSistersofCharityofSt.Joseph’s,andthearrivalofthesaintandhercompanionsinEmmitsburg,Maryland,beginningtheSetonLegacyofCharity.

Rev. Edward R. Udovic, C.M., Ph.D.

VincentianStudiesInstituteoftheUnitedStatesDePaulUniversity

Chicago,Illinois

AlSO by ANNAbEllE MElvillE

John Carroll of Baltimore, Founder of the American Catholic Hierarchy.(NewYork:CharlesScribner’sSons,1955).

Rue the Reservoir.(Milwaukee:TheBrucePublishingCo.,1956).

Jean Lefebvre de Cheverus, 1768-1836. (Milwaukee: Bruce PublishingCompany,1958).

Louis William DuBourg: Bishop of Louisiana and the Floridas, Bishop of Montauban, and Archbishop of Besancon, 1766-1833. 2 vols.(Chicago:LoyolaUniversityPress,1986).

Elizabeth Seton: Selected Writings,EditedByEllinM.KellyandAnnabelleMelville.(Mahwah,NewJersey:PaulistPress,1987).

hg

Elizabeth bayley Seton

1774-1821

by

Annabelle M. Melville

Edited by

Betty Ann McNeil, D.C.

I am a citizen of the world! ElizabethBayleySeton,1817

The Sheridan Press

Hanover, Pennsylvania

2009

hg

hg

iv

hg

Elizabeth Bayley Seton 1774-1821ISBN 978-0-9824936-0-1

ScripturetextsinthisworkaretakenfromtheNewAmericanBiblewithRevisedNewTestament©1986,1970ConfraternityofChristianDoctrine,Washington,D.C.,andareusedbypermissionofthecopyrightowner.AllRightsReserved.NopartoftheNewAmericanBiblemaybereproducedinanyformwithoutpermissioninwritingfromthecopyrightowner.

© 2009 Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s, Inc.Emmitsburg, Maryland USA

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthecontentsofthisbookmaybereproducedwithoutthewrittenpermissionofthepublisher.

Cover design by Stephanie Mummert. Landscape of Saint Joseph’s Valley, featuring the Stone House and St. Joseph’s House (the White House) in 1810, is attributed to Edward Augustus Seton. The cameo of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is from the official portrait commis-sioned for her cause for canonization. Oil on canvas. Artist unknown, 1947.

hg

v

AbOuT ThE AuThORAnnabelle McConnell Melville (1910-1991)

A native of Minotola, New Jersey, thedaughter of the late Norman R. and Janet(Cunningham)McConnell,Dr.Melvillereceivedher undergraduate and master’s degree fromAlbany State College,Albany, NewYork, andher doctorate fromThe Catholic University ofAmerica, Washington, D.C. She was namedCommonwealth Professor and awarded thehonorary doctor of laws degree fromStonehillCollege,NorthEaston,Massachusetts. Melville held the Catholic Daughters ofAmerica Chair inAmerican Church History atThe Catholic University of America in 1978

and1979;atthattimeshewastheonlypersontoholdthatChairfortwoconsecutiveyears.ShealsoreceivedtheDistinguished Alumni AwardfromTheCatholicUniversityofAmericaandtheStateUniversityofNewYorkatAlbany.Dr.MelvilleretiredfromBridgewaterStateCollege,Bridgewater,Massachusetts,in1975. Melville was the first woman president of the American Catholic Historical Association. She received the John Gilmary Shea Prize forexcellence in American Catholic history from the American CatholicHistoricalSociety,andalsotheGeneral L. William Kemper PrizefromtheLouisiana Historical Society, the latter for her biography ofArchbishopDubourg. TheNationalShrineofSt.ElizabethAnnSetonconferredtheSeton Founder’s MedalonAnnabelleMelvillein1983.TheDaughtersofCharityand theAssociate Board of the Seton Shrine cited Dr. Melville for her“outstandingworksinkeepingalivethememoryandthespiritofElizabethAnn Seton, her community, and the founders of the Catholic Church inAmerica.”Msgr.JohnTraceyEllis,deanofAmericanCatholichistorians,was mentor for Dr. Melville’s doctoral dissertation on Elizabeth BayleySeton. In addition to the definitive Seton biography, Dr. Melville is also the biographerofJohn Carroll of Baltimore, Founder of the American Catholic Hierarchy(1955);Jean Lefebvre de Cheverus, 1768-1836(1958);andLouis William Dubourg,2vols.,(1986).

vi

DEDiCATiON In commemoration of the bicentennial of the establishment of theSistersofCharityofSt.Joseph’sbySaintElizabethAnnSeton,thiseditionof Elizabeth Bayley Seton 1774-1821 is dedicated with deep gratitude:

o ToAnnabelleMcConnellMelville,twentieth-centurySetonscholarand author of this work which is recognized as the definitiveSetonbiography.

o To all of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s spiritual daughters,associates, affiliates, devotees, collaborators, and colleagues of theSisters ofCharityFederation and the extendedVincentian familywho seek to love God and serve those who are poor throughcompassionatecare,qualityeducation,andadvocacyforjusticebyendeavoringtoencircletheglobeinanetworkofcharity.

oToallthosewhonurturedthegrowthofthe“littlemustardseed,”planted31July1809at theStoneHouse inSaintJoseph’sValleynear Emmitsburg, Maryland, and who have contributed to thegrowth,development,andexpansionof theSistersandDaughtersofCharitytoservethepeopleofGod.

Together may we continue the legacy of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton!

hg

vii

hg

When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls.Herhusband,entrustinghishearttoher,hasanunfailingprize.Herchildrenriseupandpraiseher;herhusband,too,extolsher.

Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;thewomanwhofearstheLordistobepraised.

Giveherarewardofherlabors,andletherworkspraiseheratthecitygates.

Proverbs 31

hg

viii

illuSTRATiONS

1.Saint Joseph’s Valley,EdwardAugustusSeton,1810.

2.Bayley-SetonWeddingMiniatures.

3.TheShrineofSaintElizabethAnnSeton,NewYorkCity.

4.Mother and Child,JosephDawley,1975.

5.TheMotherSetonHouse,Baltimore,Maryland.

6.Mother Seton Teaching Pupils,ElizabethProngas,1979.

7.Log Cabin on St. Mary’s Mountain,PaulH.Daubner,1940.

8.The Stone House,Rev.SimonBruté,S.S.,1818.

9.The White House,Rev.SimonBruté,S.S.,1821.

10.The Dormitory,Rev.SimonBruté,S.S.,1819.

11.PortraitureofSetonChildren,Rev.SalvatorBurgio,C.M.,1950.

12.St.Joseph’sCemeteryandMortuaryChapel,Emmitsburg.

13.DecreeofCanonizationofSaintElizabethAnnSeton,1975.

14.Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton,artistunknown,1947.

15.TheNationalShrineofSaintElizabethAnnSeton,Emmitsburg.

Cover

24

33

49

177

184

210

211

212

345

369

381

412

413

416

Illustrationsareusedwithpermission.TheBayley-SetonweddingminiaturesandMother and ChildbyJosephDawleyarecourtesyoftheArchivesSistersofCharityofNewYork,

MountSt.Vincent,Bronx,NewYork.AllotherillustrationsarecourtesyoftheDaughtersofCharityArchives,Emmitsburg,Maryland.

ix

CONTENTSAbout the AuthorIllustrationsForeword EllinM.KellyForeword (1951) JohnM.McNamaraPreface (1976) AnnabelleM.MelvillePreface (1960) AnnabelleM.MelvillePreface (1951) AnnabelleM.Melville

Acknowledgements

Editorial Introduction BettyAnnMcNeil,D.C.

Chapter1 TheBayleysandSetonsofNewYork Chapter2 ManhattanMatron Chapter3 FatherandDaughter Chapter4 ItalianInterlude Chapter5 ToOldSaintPeter’s Chapter6 NoRestingPlace Chapter7 God’sBlessedTime Chapter8 AHouseonPacaStreet Chapter9 MotherSeton Chapter10 WarsandRumorsofWar Chapter11 AngelsIntheValley Chapter12 TheAngeloftheMountain Chapter13 TheChildren Chapter14 Eternity

Epilogue BettyAnnMcNeil,D.C.

Appendix A.Bayley-SetonGenealogyB.FirstCommunionofElizabethBayleySetonC.CitizenshipofWilliamMageeSetonD.RoleofElizabethAnnSetoninCatholicEducationE.ResourcesforSetonStudies

Bibliography

Index

vviiixiiixvixix

xxii

xxv

xxvii

1336185

111139161177209251283311343381

412

420424426428430

440

451

x

FOREWORD Sixtyyearsagoin1949,AnnabelleMelvillecompletedabiographyof Elizabeth Bayley Seton under Rev. JohnTracy Ellis for her Ph.D. atCatholicUniversityinWashington,D.C.Twoyearslaterin1951,CharlesScribner’sSonspublishedhermanuscriptasElizabeth Bayley Seton 1774-1821. Appointed to the faculty of St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg,Maryland,in1947,AnnabelleMelvillehadaccesstoanextensivecollectionofElizabethSeton’slettersandotherwritingsgatheredatthesuggestionofFatherSimonGabrielBrutéafterMotherSeton’sdeath.Laterthatcollectionwasaugmentedby thegiftof133 lettersandnoteswritten toJuliaScottfrom1798 to1820andby theSeton-JevonsCollection from theMotherSetonGuild.WiththesedocumentsandthoseinthearchivesofotherSetoncommunities,Dr.MelvillecreatedadocumentedlifeofElizabethBayleySeton that has stood the test of time as the definitive biography. Reissued on several occasions, it became the starting point for any significant work onSaintElizabethAnnSeton. That1951publicationand itssubsequentreissuescreatednewinterestinthelifeofthisreligiousfoundress. Twonewbooksappearedinthelate1950s:AlmaPower-Walters’sMother Seton and the Sisters of Charity(1957)andRoseMarieLaverty’sLoom of Many Threads (1958). In the 1960s, anticipation of the beatification producedanewbiographybyJosephI.Dirvin,C.M.,Mrs. Seton, Foundress of the American Sisters of Charity(1962).InEuropethreenewpublicationsappeared:anItaliantranslationofDirvin’stext(1963),areissueofRaffaeleRicciardelli’s 1929 Elizabetta Anna Seton, updated for the beatification (1963),andMarie-DominiquePoinsenet’sJe ne cherche que Dieu et son Eglise(1967). The canonization in 1975 brought reissues with revisions ofMelville’sandDirvin’sbiographies,andLeonardFeeney’sElizabeth Seton, An American Woman(1938)retitledMother Seton: Saint Elizabeth of New York.RobertoAngeli’sLa Donna della SperanzawaspublishedinRome.Publicationsin1977includedVictorLanderas’Spanishtranslation,Isabel Seton ofPoinsenet’s1967book,andmyeditionofElizabeth Seton’s Two Bibles. In 1980, the American Broadcasting Company produced andofferedA Time for Miracles,amovieaboutSaintElizabethAnn’slifewithKateMulgrew,JohnForsythe,LorneGreene,andRossanoBrazzi.Inthefirst volume of Numerous Choirs (1981), I linked theyears ofElizabeth

xi

Seton’s lifewith the histories ofAmerica and itsCatholicChurch. The1986 publication Elizabeth Ann Seton: A Self Portrait by Marie CelesteCuzzolina,S.C.offeredanewperspectiveonherlife. Dr.Melvillecontinuedherscholarlywritingwiththreebiographiesessential for the early history of the Catholic Church in the UnitedStates: John Carroll of Baltimore, Founder of the American Catholic Hierarchy (1955), Jean Lefebvre de Cheverus, 1768-1836 (1958), andLouis William Dubourg, in two volumes (1986). But her interest in St.Elizabeth Ann Seton never wavered. I had the privilege of workingwithher for thePaulistPress edition,ElizabethSeton: Selected Writings(1987). Her descriptive introduction displays her sensitive insights anddeep appreciation for the spiritual aspects of the Elizabeth’s religiousfaith. Two years later, Dr. Melville was a distinguished scholar duringthe first triennial History of Women Religious Conference held in June 1989, at the College of St. Catherine in Minnesota. During the session“Telling the Story through Biography” Dr. Melville spoke on “WritingtheLife of a Future Saint: ElizabethAnn Seton,History, Hagiography.” Three new books appeared in the 1990s: The Soul of Elizabeth Seton by Joseph I. Dirvin, C.M. (1990), Praying with Elizabeth Setonby Margaret Alderman and Josephine Burns, D.C, (1992), A Retreat with Elizabeth Seton by JudithMetz,S.C. (1999), plus a revised editionof the play Elizabeth of New York by Francis Maria Cassidy, S.C.(1992). In 1995,ABC issued a video cassette of A Time for Miracles. Dr.MelvillediedonMay17,1991.Oneyearafterherdeath,herwritingsonSt.ElizabethAnnSetonplayedavitalroleintheSetonLegacy1992Symposium,“ElizabethSetoninDialoguewithherTimesandOurs”attwolocations:Dayton,Ohio,October22-25,andConventStation,NewJersey,November12-15,sponsoredbytheSistersofCharityFederation.PapersfromthesymposiumwerepublishedinVincentian Heritage,Vol.14(1993). As a result of that symposium, the Sisters of Charity Federationproposed a complete edition of Saint Elizabeth Ann’s writings. Theproject involved all known archival holdings and became the principlepublication of the new century’s first decade: Elizabeth Bayley Seton, Collected Writings,editedbyReginaBechtle,S.C.andJudithMetz,S.C.,VolumeI,“CorrespondenceandJournals1793-1808”in2000,VolumeII“Correspondence and Journals 1808-1820” in 2002, and Volume IIIa &IIIb“SpiritualWritings,Notebooks,andOtherDocuments”in2004.Twoother bookswere published in 2002: Elizabeth Ann Seton, a Saint for a New NationbyJulieWaltersand15 Days of Prayer with Saint Elizabeth

xii

SetonbyBettyAnnMcNeil,D.C.Editasca-LivernoinItalypublishedtwonewtranslationsforthebicentennialcelebrationofElizabethSeton’sItalianJourney.Il Viaggio in Italia: Lettere e Diari(2003)presentsPietroBindelli’stranslationsof the lettersanddiaries fromher journeyandvisit,October1803 toJune1804. Cari Ricordi: Diario in2004providesphotocopiesfromtheoriginalpagesof“DearRemembrances”on theevennumberedpages with Lara Bellagotti’s Italian translation on the opposing pages. AnnabelleMelvillehashadavital role inSetonpublicationsandactivitiesfrom1951to“TheSetonLegacyofCharity”bicentennialcelebrationcommemorating the foundation of theSisters ofCharity ofSt. Joseph’s,Emmitsburg, Maryland. This reissue of her definitive biography, updated where possible with references to specific volumes of Elizabeth Bayley Seton: Collected Writings, is a fitting tribute to St. Elizabeth Ann and her biographer.

Ellin M. Kelly, Ph.D. Evanston, Illinois 2009

hg

xiii

FOREWORD (1951) Withaview tomeeting thedemandsof scholarshipaswellasofjusticetoanamethatisheldinreverence,theauthorofthisbiographyhassparedherself no inconvenience in collecting and arranging thematerialpertainingtothelifeandcareerofElizabethAnnSeton.Happily,theresultofherpainstakingandexhaustiveresearchisastorehouseofhelpfulandreliableinformationwhichnofuturehistorianofMotherSetoncanaffordtoby-passinaquestforknowledgeoftheFoundressoftheSistersofCharityintheUnitedStates. Whileengagedinwritingthisbiography,theauthor,Mrs.Melville,whoisaconverttotheFaith,residedatSaintJosephCollege,Emmitsburg,where,amidscenesthatrecallthemostfruitfulyearsofElizabethSeton’slife, she pursued her laborious and inspiring task. From her place ofresidenceshecouldseeinthedistanceMountSaintMary’sCollegewhereMotherSetonandhercompanions,followingtheirarrivalinEmmitsburg,found lodgment in a log cabin with a dirt floor. The cabin has long since rottedintodust,butthelittlestonehouseinSaintJoseph’sValleytowhichshecamewhenitwasreadyforoccupancystillstandsasawitnesstothehardships which she and her associates endured for the cause they hadcometoserve.ThemountainswhichElizabethSeton lovedremainasofold.Attheirbaseisthecemeterywherewell-wornstonesrecordthenamesofheryoungcompanionswhowentdowntotheirgravesinthespringtimeoflife.ClosebythecemeteryaregnarledandknottedoaksthatmayhavebeenplantedbyElizabethSeton’shandandpaths thatknewthe treadofher feet.With these andothermementoesof thepast the author is quitefamiliar but, despite their appeal to sentiment, she has refused to departfromher purpose ofwriting a factual biography. In truth, her volume isintended for the critical as well as for the casual reader. Hence, her ap-proachtohersubjectisnotthatofonewhowouldwriteaeulogybutofanearnestanddiscriminatingscholarwhowouldsharewithher readers thefruitsofherstudyandresearch.Theevidenceofherpurposeandnotlessofherindustryisquiteapparentinthefactswhichshehasbroughttolightfromhithertounpublishedmanuscripts and in thenumerous annotations,thedelightofthehistorian,andatthesametimeawitnesstotheauthor’sresolve to produce a biography notable for its accuracy and reliability. SomereadersmayfeelthattheearlychapterswhichrelatethefactspertainingtothetryingordealthatprecededthereceptionofMotherSetonintotheChurchdonotconveythepoignancyofhersufferingorstressthespiritual intensity of her life. They will find, however, in these chapters

xiv

a vividdescriptionof the social and religiousbackground againstwhichtheymust seeElizabethSeton if theywouldappreciateher truespiritualstature. What is more, in the picture that emerges from the concludingchaptersofthebiographytheywillseeapersonofChrist-likecharityandcouragewhomightwellberegardedasamodelforCatholicwomanhood. InthereligiouslifeofNewYorkCitybeforeandaftertheAmericanRevolution, the Protestant Episcopal Church, because of the wealth anddistinctionofitsmembers,enjoyedespecialprominence.Ontheotherhand,theCatholicChurch,whichwasrepresentedbyoneloneparishconsistingfor themostpartof recentlyarrived immigrants,had littleofwealthandlessofprestige.ElizabethAnnSetonwasadevoutmemberoftheEpiscopalChurchandwasnevermorehappythanwheninattendanceatitsservices.Herco-religionistswereleadersnotonlyinsociety,butintheprofessionalandbusinesslifeofthecity.Smallwonder,then,thattheystoodaghastwhentheysawherdetachherselffromtheranksofthosewhowereontheirwaytoTrinityorSaintPaul’sEpiscopalChurchandfallinlinewiththemotleycrowdthatwasonitswaytoMassinSaintPeter’sChurch,BarclayStreet.ItwasadaringthingforElizabethSetontodo,butwhatmadeitespeciallydaringwasnotsomuchthephysicaldetachmentfromaparticulargroupof persons as the spirit of detachment with which she regarded the losssustained by the change in her religious affiliation. Socially and financially itwasagreatlossandbythesametokenaneloquentwitnesstothegreatnessof a soul that could speakof itonly in thewordsofSaintPaul: “I evenconsider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowingChristJesusmyLord.ForhissakeIhaveacceptedthelossofallthingsandIconsiderthemsomuchrubbish,thatImaygainChrist.”[Philippians3:8] BecauseshewasresolvedtomakeherwillonewiththeWillofGod,ElizabethSetonwasunusuallysensitivetothechallengeoftheCross.TherewasnohedgingonherpartinacceptingthetermslaiddownbyChristforonewhowouldbeHisdisciple:“Whoeverwishestocomeaftermemustdenyhimself,takeuphiscross,andfollowme.”[Matthew16:24]Inchoosingacourseofactionitwasnotherwaytoask,“Isiteasy?”Sheaskedonly,“Isitright?”Onceconvincedofitsrightness,shemadeherdecision,notcountingthecost.ExceptfortheHolyBible,therewasnobookthatspoketohersoulwithgreatereloquencethantheimageofChristontheCross.Itwasnotathing of metal or wood she saw when looking at her crucifix but the Face of the Crucified and her response to the challenge which she read in that Face was a life of heroic sacrifice. An apt pupil in the school of the Cross, Elizabeth Seton hadlearnedtosaywiththesaints:“InThywillismypeace.”[Cf.Luke22:42]

xv

Nearly one hundred and thirty years [1821-1951] have passedsinceMotherSetonbreathedforthhersoultoGodintheWhiteHouseatEmmitsburg.Today,pilgrimsfromhernativelandandvisitorsfromoverseasare beating a pathway to her tomb. Those who ridiculed her sacrifice are dead;theirnamesareasthoughtheyhadbeenwritteninwater.Butshelivesonnotonlyinthepagesofhistorybutintheheartsandlivesofnearlyninethousandspiritualdaughterswho,inschools,inorphanages,andhospitals,bearwitnesstothepowerandbeautyoftheidealthatdominatedherlife:“to serve the Church in its purpose of reflecting the image of Christ to all mankind.” In concluding an article on Mother Seton in his volume,Sanctity in America, the Most Reverend Amleto Giovanni Cicognani,Apostolic Delegate to the United States, has written these welcomewords: “Certainly the beatification of a distinguished woman born and reared in America will bring to the United States particular joy,prestige, and protection.” In response to the sentiments expressedby His Excellency, the many thousand admirers of Elizabeth AnnSeton will cry out from the fullness of their hearts a fervent “Amen.” May this timely and scholarly volume serve to hasten MotherSeton’shouroftriumph.Itisthefruitofmuchstudyandlabor,andmeritsthe recognitionwhichundoubtedly thispublicationwill receive from thehistorianandreadingpublicalikeasanoutstandingbiographyofagreatservantofGod.

John Michael McNamara Auxiliary Bishop of Washington, D.C. 1951

hg

xvi

PREFACE (1976) Onawarm,sunnySundaymorninginmid-September1975,somesixteen thousandAmericans crowding St. Peter’s Square inRome heardPopePaulVIpronouncethewords:

For thehonorof theMostHolyTrinity, for the exaltationof the Catholic Faith and the increase of the Christianlife,bytheauthorityofOurLordJesusChrist,oftheholyApostlesPeterandPaulandbyourauthority,aftermaturedeliberationandmostfrequentprayerfordivineassistance,havingobtainedthecounselofmanyofourbrotherbishops,we declare and we define that Blessed Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton isasaint,andwe inscribehername in thecalendarofsaints,andmandatethatsheshouldbedevoutlyhonoredamongthesaintsintheuniversalChurch.

It was the culmination of the Cause first conceived in 1882, and it elicitedintheweeksthatfollowedcommentary,bothoralandwritten,ofmanysorts.TheApostolicDelegatetotheUnitedStates,theMostReverendJean Jadot, remarked on more than one occasion that he found it veryinteresting that the first native-born American saint [of the United States] wasawoman.aInthesameveinothersfoundthenewsaint’scanonizationtobemostappropriately timed to takeplace inayearcommemoratingaworldwide rise in women’s influence. The National Catholic Bishops’ Com-mitteefortheBicentennial[oftheUnitedStates]rejoicedthattheirsupportfor canonization had come to fruition amid the nation’s two hundredthanniversary celebration. [TheUnitedNationshaddeclared1975 asTheInternationalYearoftheWomanandthefollowingtenyearsastheDecadeoftheWoman(1976-1985).]TheWall Street Journal wassurethetimingwas“apoliticaldecision;”andoneCatholicjournalistcommentedsardonicallythattheeventwassimplyanattemptonthepartofthesovereignpontifftobolsterthesaggingmoraleoftheChurchintheUnitedStates. Whether intended to impute motives or to find in the ceremonies ofSeptember14thsomerelevancetothelargercontemporaryscene,thesespeculationsarelessimportanttothesoberbiographerthanthedemonstrablesequenceofevents,particularlythoseofthedecadeandahalfbetweenthelastprintingofthisworkandthecanonizationin1975. Inordertobringup

a St. Rose of Lima (1586-1617), who was canonized in 1671, is the first native-born saint of the Americas. SaintElizabeth Ann Seton is the first native-born saint of the United States of America although in 1938 SaintFrances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917) became the first United States citizen to be canonized.

xvii

todatetheoutlineoftheProcessorCauseofElizabethBayleySetonanewprefaceseemsadvisable. Following the declaration of the Sacred Congregation of RitesonDecember18,1959, thatMotherSeton’svirtueswereheroicand thatshe should be called “Venerable,” the work of authenticating miraclesaccelerated. One case alleging the cure in Louisiana of a Daughter ofCharity, Sister Gertrude Korzendorfer (1872-1942), whose cancer of thepancreashadvanishedinJanuary1935,hadbeenunderinvestigationsinceNovember23,1945.AsecondinvestigationbeganinBaltimore,Maryland,onFebruary14,1961,whenevidencewaspresented to support the curenine years earlier of a four-year-old girl,Ann Theresa O’Neill (1948-),sufferingfromacuteleukemia.TheresultsofthesetwoinvestigationswereforwardedtoRomeandonDecember14,1961,theSacredCongregationof Rites issued a Decree of Validity subsequently confirmed by Pope John XXIIIinhisDecreeDe Tuto. With two valid miracles attested, Beatification was certain to follow, and with this in mind on October 26, 1962, an official exhumation of Mother Seton’sremainswasmade.FromtheirrestingplaceunderasmallGothicchapel in the original graveyard of the Sisters of Charity, St. Joseph’sCemetery,Emmitsburg,Maryland,theywereenshrinedintheSistersChapelatSaint JosephCollegeandplacedabove themainaltarApril18,1963.On Saint Patrick’s Day, 1963, the actual Beatification took place inside St. Peter’sBasilicainthepresenceoftwothousandAmericanswhohadarrivedbywhattheNew York Herald Tribune called“thelargestair-liftpilgrimageinhistory.” OrdinarilytwomoremiraclesarerequiredtocompletetheProcess.One was claimed almost immediately. In the fall of 1963, a Protestantworkingman, Carl Eric Kalin (1902-1976), was admitted to St. Joseph’sHospitalinYonkers,NewYork,dyingofararediseasetermed“fulminatingmeningo-encephalitis complicated by primary rubeola.” Only five such cases hadpreviously been recorded inmedical history, and in each casethediseasehadproved fatal.Kalinwasnot expected to live through thenight.Instead,onOctober16heawakenedwithtemperatureandothersignsbacktonormalandbyNovember2couldbedischargedasfullyrecovered.On December 13, 1973, the medical investigators were unanimous inpronouncing Kalin’s recovery miraculous, and a year later—lacking aday—PopePaulVIconcurred.OnDecember12,1974,heannouncedthatasecond post-Beatification miracle could be dispensed with in Mother Seton’s

xviii

caseandthatshewouldbeproclaimedasaintamidthespecialceremoniesoftheHolyYearof1975.TheProcesswasthuscompleted. Inthelightofthemoreextensiveinterestinhercareergeneratedbyherelevationitismorethaneverpropertohaveavailableastraightforward,carefullydocumented,historicallifeofthisfamousAmerican.

Annabelle McConnell MelvilleBridgewater, Massachusetts

1976

hg

xix

PREFACE (1960) In a sermon delivered on the occasion of a pilgrimage from theArchdiocese ofWashington to the tomb of Elizabeth Seton on June 14,1959,theRightReverendJohnTracyEllisremarked,“TheChurchintheAmerican Republic has indeed made giant strides in both spiritual andmaterial development, but there still remains something unfulfilled in the Catholic life of this land. No native-bornAmerican has as yet beendeclaredblessedorbeencanonizedasasaint.”Hislistenerswereinnowisedowncast,however,bythisstatement;norneedtheyhavebeen.Onlysixmonthsearlier,onDecember18,1958,thenewpontiff,JohnXXIII,inhisvery first consistory had delighted the four new American cardinals present byincludingonthathistoricoccasionthepleadingofMotherSeton’sCausebyAdvocateConsistoraleFrancescoSaverioParisi.Andayearlater,totheverymonthandday,intheConsistorialHalloftheVatican,waspubliclyread thedecreebywhich theSacredCongregationofRitesdeclared, thevirtuesofElizabethSetonheroicandthatMotherSetoncouldhenceforthbecalled,“Venerable.”Thus,inthesesquicentennialyearofherfoundationoftheSistersofCharityatEmmitsburg,Maryland,ElizabethSeton’sCausehad successfully passed the first of three major stages in the process of canonization. It is perhaps only natural that a biographer of Elizabeth Setonshouldmuse over the eventswhich intervened between the death of theAmericanfoundressandthehappyportentof1959; to theuninitiated,orthosewhorecallthatintheearlierChurchcanonizationcouldresultalmostimmediatelybyacclamation,thelapseintimemaybeequallyperplexing.Somesummaryinretrospectisalmostinevitablewiththere-issueofamajorhistoricalstudyofElizabethSeton’scareer. There is littledoubt that thosecontemporarieswhoknewMotherSetonbest believedher tobeof extraordinary sanctity.Archbishop JohnCarrollusedtheword“saint”whenwritingofhertoamutualfriend;BishopJohnCheverusexclaimed,“Whatanimpressionmustshenotmakeontheyoung studentswith themiracles of grace and the sanctity towhich shewitnesses!”Herconfessor,SimonBruté,laterBishopofVincennes,wroteinthesummerfollowingherdeath,“Iwillsaythat,asaresultofmylongandintimateacquaintancewithMotherSeton,Ibelieveher tohavebeenoneofthosetrulychosensoulswho,ifplacedincircumstancessimilartothoseofSaintTeresa[ofAvila]orSaintJaneFrancesdeChantal,wouldbeequallyremarkableinthescaleofsanctity.”ItwasBrutéwhoadmonishedtheSistersofCharitythattheyshouldtreasureeverythingMotherSetonleft

xx

behind.“Preserveallcarefullyandgatherupthefragmentslestanybelost,”heinsisted,“forsomedayhowprecioustheywillbe.” Nevertheless,almostacenturyelapsedbeforetheCausewasformallybegun.OnlytwotangibleeffortsweremadeintheinterimtopreservetheheroicmemoryoftheAmericanfoundress:theerectionin1845ofamarblemonumentoverherremains,andthepublicationin1853ofthefull-lengthbiographybyCharlesIgnatiusWhite.True,JamesCardinalGibbonsdid,onAugust3,1882,proposetotheEmmitsburgCommunitytheintroductionoftheCauseforCanonization;butitwasnotuntilanotherquarterofacenturyhadpassedthattheproposalmaterialized. Then, in 1907, the first session of an ecclesiastical court created for that purpose began an investigationof themerits of theCause,with theVeryReverendEdwardR.Dyer,S.S.,actingasJudexDelegatus.Thuswasundertaken the first active promotion of the “Fama sanctitatis.” By 1914 the process,“DeScripturis”wasaccomplishedandtwelvevolumesofMotherSeton’swritingswerepresentedtoRomebytheVeryReverendCharlesL.Souvay,C.M.But1914wastheyearthatWorldWarIerupted;onceagaintheCauselanguished. Itwasnotuntil1931 thateffective stepswere taken to reactivatethe process. That year, however, witnessed four influential events. On July 9, 1931, a pilgrimage of American women representing the FederationofCatholicAlumnaeand theCommitteeonMotherSeton left forRometopetitionPopePiusXIonMotherSeton’sbehalf;in1931aplaquewasinstalledatSt.Peter’sChurchinNewYorkcommemoratingtheconversionofMrs.Seton; inNovemberof thatyear theAmericanhierarchyat theirannualmeetingvotedunanimouslytoapprovetheCause.Mostimportantofall,1931wastheyearinwhichPiusXItookactiontoremovetheimpedimentstemmingfromtheformerrequirementintheInformativeProcessoflivingwitnesses.AnHistoricalSectionoftheSacredCongregationofRiteswascreated;newlifewasgiventotheCause.ByJanuary15, 1936,theformalexaminationofMotherSeton’sownwritingswascompleted;twoyearslater,tofacilitateresearchintotheotheraspectsofthehistoricalbackground,theReverendSalvatorM.Burgio,C.M.,wasnamedAmericanVice-PostulatoroftheCauseofMotherSeton.TheMotherSetonGuildcameintobeing.In spite of the outbreak of another war, World War II, on February 28,1940,adecreeoftheCongregationofRitesatlastintroducedthecauseofbeatification and canonization at Rome. BeforethewarwasoverthesixdifferentcommunitiesofSistersofCharitywhotracetheirrootsdirectlytotheSistersofCharityofSt.Joseph’s

xxi

at Emmitsburg and constitute “Mother Seton’s Daughters” were holdingthe first of an annual series of conferences to stimulate the progress of the Cause; and in February, 1947, the superior of the Daughters of CharitywhoseProvincialHouseisatEmmitsburg,Maryland,gavetheimpulsetoamodernhistoricalstudyofMotherSeton,astudywhichwasdestinedtobecome the definitive biography of the Emmitsburg foundress. Onecouldnotforesee,ofcourse,in1947thattheworkauthorizedbySisterIsabelToohey,D.C.,ProvincialSuperioroftheEasternProvince,would return from Rome stamped with the approval of the SacredCongregationofRitesonJanuary5, 1950.Norcouldithavebeenexpectedthat when the author visited that Congregation in July 1951, the official in chargeofdocumentingMotherSeton’sCauseshouldcomment,“Wewishwemighthavehadyourmanuscriptsooner.Itisofgreatassistance.”Evenless couldonehaveanticipated the jubilant, if slightly tingedwithLatinhyperbole,wordsoftheVice-PostulatoroftheCausewhenhewrotefromEmmitsburgonJune7,1957,“When inRomeIwasable toprocure theDocumentationoftheCause.Yourheartwillexaltinthefactthatyouareenshrinedinthisbookforalltimes.YourhistoricaleffortshavebeenhighlyappraisedinRomeandyouhavecontributedmuchintheprocess.” ThesubsequentactiontakeninRomein1958and1959wascertainto gladden the heart of any biographer of Elizabeth Seton. For the first time since the Informative Process was introduced a substantial hope flourishes that the beatification of Mother Seton may soon follow, and that in due time the thirdand last step, canonization,willbea reality.With this renewedinterest in the woman who well may be the first American-born saint in the Church in the United States, the need for a definitive evaluation of her life is perhaps even greater than it was in 1951 when this biography was first made availabletothegeneralreader. Indeed,itistobehopedthatElizabethSetonneverlosesherattractionforthebiographer,editor,novelist,playwright,orpoet.Agreatwomanisapubliclegacyandshouldbeenjoyedbyallagesandinmanyguises.Never-theless,averyreal,particularpersonhelpedtoshapeourhistorybetweentheyears1774and1821.AndwiththemodesthopeofpresentingagaintheactualElizabethBayleySeton,thisnewprintinggoesforth.

Annabelle McConnell MelvilleBridgewater Teachers College

Bridgewater, Massachusetts, 1960hg

xxii

PREFACE (1951) When Tennyson’s Ulysses said, “I am a part of all that I havemet,”heunwittinglypronouncedtheprimaryprincipleofmuchofmodernbiography.InthisgenreofhistoricalwritingtheauthornolongerwritesofhisheroastheprotagonistofaGreekplay,inwhichplotpredominatesandbackgroundremainsinchoate.Rather,thetaskofcontemporarybiographyis todestroythevacuumwhichtimehasplacedaroundtheevent,andtorevivifythescenethroughwhichtheheroactuallystrode.Inthisrhetoricalresurrection the author arbitrarily assumes the functions of qualification and limitation.Thoseeventswhichdelimitthecourseofhishero’slifemustbeincluded; but those which, however significant in other aspects, do not cross thepatternofthenarrativemaybe,andoftenmustbe,discarded. Thebiographeris,insomecases,furtherconstrainedtodispelacloudof sentiment, illusion, and positive error which legend, deliberate fiction, carelessresearch,andwishfulthinkinghavecreatedandwhichobscuretheexactproportionsoftheheroasheorshewas.ItwaswiththesedualpurposesinmindthatanewbiographyofElizabethBayleySetonwasundertaken.ThenumerousexistingbiographieshavehithertobeenconcernedprimarilywithMrs.Setonasawomaninreligion;thispresentworkseekstopresentherasanAmericanwomanoftheearlyRepublic,awomanwhosecareerwas immediately influenced by the exigencies of its infancy. Her material fortunes,andthoseofherfamily,roseandfellwiththefortunesofthenewnation.Thedevelopmentofhercharacterand theexpansionofherworkillustrate theoperationof forcesandpowerswhichwere theyeastof thefermentationoftheUnitedStatesintheearlynineteenthcentury.ElizabethSetonwasineverysenseawomanofAmerica,thoughshewastobecomea“citizenoftheworld.” The second justification for a new biography lies in the necessity for establishing, as accurately as present sources allow, the exact detailsof Mrs. Seton’s life.Although there exists a good-sized shelf of printedworkspertainingtoherlife,notsince1853,whenCharlesIgnatiusWhite(1807-1878) published his first edition, has there been a careful attempt made towrite thewhole story ofMrs. Seton.TheWhite biographywastranslated,withsomeadditions,intoFrenchbyMadameHélèneRoedererBailly de Barberey (1823-1898) and appeared in 1868 in two volumesunderthetitle,Elizabeth Seton et les commencements de l’eglise catholique aux Etats-Unis. AfterthisFrenchworkwentthroughsixeditions,JosephBernardCode(1899-1980)in1927translatedthedeBarbereyworkbackintoEnglish,usedsomeletterswhichhadcometo light in themeantime

xxiii

tocorrectmanyerrorsindates,andprintedSimonBruté’saccountofMrs.Seton’slastdays,notincludedintheFrenchedition.Needlesstosay,somedeviationsfromtheWhiteaccountandtheoriginaldocumentsitcitedcreptin during these two translations.These twoEnglishworksofWhite andCode have become the basis formost subsequent biographical sketches,plays,novels,andpoetry. In1917,SisterMaryAgnesMcCann,SisterofCharityofCincinnati,(1851-1931), in the first volume of her ambitious History of Mother Seton’s Daughters brought to the public eye many letters from the BaltimoreCathedralArchivespertaining toMrs.Seton’s affairs, and somematerialpreservedattheSistersofCharityofCincinnatiArchivesatMountSaintJoseph’sinOhio.The Life of Mother Elizabeth Boyle of New York, bySisterMariaDodge, (1832-1893), Sister ofCharity ofNewYork, published in1893, added some letters, especially one of Mrs. Seton written in 1820andexcerptsfromthoseofJohnMoranvillétoElizabethBoyle.Nosinglework,however, sinceWhite’s in1853,hasmadeuseofall thematerialsnowavailabletothebiographer.AmererevisionofWhite’sbookisnottheanswer to the demand for a definitive biography. A new biography is not onlywarrantedbutindispensableinthefaceofanincreasinginterestinthisgreatAmericanwoman. The writer acknowledges with warm appreciation the valuableassistanceandunfailingcourtesyofthecustodiansofthearchivaltreasures,particularlytheRightReverendJosephM.Nelligan,thenChancelloroftheArchdioceseofBaltimore,theReverendsThomasT.McAvoy,C.S.C.,oftheUniversityofNotreDame;WilliamJ.O’Shea,S.S.,St.Mary’sSeminary,RolandPark,Baltimore;WilliamC.Repetti,S.J.,GeorgetownUniversity;Hugh J. Philips, Mount Saint Mary’s College, Emmitsburg; Salvator M.Burgio,C.M.,MotherSetonGuild,Emmitsburg.TotheSistersofCharity,especially at Mount Saint Joseph’s, Ohio, Mount Saint Vincent’s, NewYork, and Saint Joseph’s Central House, Emmitsburg, the writer owesan immeasurable debt of gratitude for the cheerful assistance given insearchingout the truth, evenwhencherished tradition sometimes fellbytheway.TotheReverendJohnTracyEllis,professorofAmericanChurchhistoryintheCatholicUniversityofAmerica,whodirectedthisstudy,thewriterisimmeasurablyindebtedforhisunfailingencouragement,exactingcriticisms,andseasonedjudgments.Thewritercanbenolessappreciativeof the reading and criticisms of John T. Farrell, associate professor ofAmerican history, and Sister Marie Carolyn Klinkhamer, O.P., assistantprofessorofAmericanhistoryintheCatholicUniversityofAmerica.Tothe

xxiv

ReverendHenryJ.Browne,archivistoftheCatholicUniversityofAmerica,whobrought thewriterandhersubject togetherandofferedinnumerablehelpful suggestions along theway, thewriter iswarmly grateful.To thelibrariansoftheNewYorkPublicLibrary,theNewYorkHistoricalSociety,theLibraryofCongress, theEnochPrattLibraryofBaltimore, theNewYorkStateLibraryofAlbany,andtoallthosewhohelpedbringthisworktoaconclusion, thewriter is sincerelygrateful.TheworkwasoriginallypublishedonmicrocardsbytheCatholicUniversityofAmericaPress.

Annabelle McConnell MelvilleSaint Joseph College

Emmitsburg, Maryland1951

hg

xxv

ACkNOWlEDgEMENTS ManypersonshavecontributedtothepublicationofthiseditionofElizabeth Bayley Seton 1774-1821.WhiletheresponsibilityfortheaccuracyofupdatesandrevisionsofAnnabelleM.Melville’sworkrestssolelywithme,Iwouldliketothankthefollowingindividualsandinstitutions. I would like to first express my appreciation to Sister Mary Clare Hughes, D.C., who envisioned the possibility of this revision years agoandwhose interest andprayerful support helped transform this idea intoreality. IamgratefulforthegenerousenthusiasmandmeticulousresearchandtechnicalassistancerenderedbythestaffoftheDaughtersofCharityArchives at St. Joseph’s Provincial House, Emmitsburg, Maryland. NorequestwastoodemandingnorweretimeconstraintstoodauntingforthemwhomIcountamongmyfriendsandcolleagues,BonnieWeatherly,SelinJames,andMaryAnneWeatherly.SisterEleanorCasey,D.C.,wasalsoveryhelpfulbydoingpreliminaryresearchregardingpublicationandcopyrighthistory. Her findings elucidated the tasks ahead. IwishtoexpressmyheartfeltappreciationtoKatherineM.Marshallforherwholeheartedandgenerouslegalconsultation;toSimon&Schuster,successor to the original publisher Charles Scribner’s Sons, for theiramicablecooperation;toEllinM.Kelly,Ph.D.,forherkindassistance;andtoElizabethJ.BarthandPaulM.Callahan,whosegraciouscollaborationmadethispublicationpossible. IamindebtedtoV.Rev.MarkT.Cregan,C.S.C.,President,StonehillCollege;ThomasP.Looney,C.S.C.,VicePresidentforMission,StonehillCollege and V. Rev. David O’Connell, C.M., President, The CatholicUniversity ofAmerica, for clearing the way for acquisition of rights tothisworkandforitspublicationbytheDaughtersofCharity.Iappreciatethe invaluable assistanceofV.Rev.Michael J.Carroll,C.M.,ProvincialSuperior, Congregation of the Mission, Eastern Province, and Rev. PaulDoyle,C.S.C.,UniversityofNotreDame,andSisterJoanKeating,D.C.,whogreatly facilitated theprocess. Weappreciate theSistersofCharityof New York permitting the publication of the Bayley-Seton weddingminiaturesandthepaintingbyJosephDawleyfromtheArchivesofMountSt.Vincentforillustrationsinthiswork. Manyindividualslenttheirtime,talent,andresearchskillstolocatemissingdataandclarifyhistoricalissues.Iwouldespeciallyliketothankthefollowingindividualsfortheirhelpfulness:SheridanHarvey,ReferenceSpecialist/Women’s Studies, Humanities and Social Sciences Division,

xxvi

LibraryofCongress;WilliamKevinCawley,Archivist,UniversityofNotreDameArchives;TriciaPyneandAlisonM.Foley,Archivists,AssociatedArchives, St. Mary’s University, Baltimore; Shawn Weldon, AssistantArchivist,PhiladelphiaArchdiocesanHistoricalResearchCenter;ReginaSeigfried,A.S.C,andtheHistoryofWomenReligiousnetwork;Rev.AlbertH.Ledoux;SisterKathleenFlanagan,S.C.,Professor,DirectorofGraduatePrograminTheology,CollegeofSt.Elizabeth,Morristown,NewJersey;andDoloresLiptak,R.S.M. TheDaughtersofCharityCommunicationsDepartmenthasrenderedtimelyandhigh-qualityserviceintheproductionanddesignofthisedition.I am grateful to Lori L. Stewart, Director, for her creative insights, andto Stephanie Mummert, Graphic Designer, for her expertise and willingspirit.Norequesthasbeentoominutefortheirconsideration.ThisrevisionrepresentsateameffortwhichutilizedthediverseexperienceofnumerouspersonsdedicatedtoVincentianstudies,Setonianscholarship,anddevotiontoSt.ElizabethAnnSeton.Iwishtocommendthefollowingindividualswho untiringly and astutely reviewed and corrected several versions ofthismanuscriptandprovidedconstructiveinput:SisterJoanAngermaier,D.C., Sister Regina Bechtle, S.C., Sister Francine Brown, D.C., SisterVincentiaGoeb,D.C.,SisterJudithMetz,S.C.,MaryAnnOsborne,Rev.JohnE.Rybolt,C.M.,andRev.EdwardR.Udovic,C.M.TheadviceandsuggestionsofNathanielMichaud,PublicationsEditor,VincentianStudiesInstitute of the United States, DePaul University, has resolved many aneditorialdilemma,forwhichIammostgrateful. IthankSisterMaryAnnDaly,S.C.,ExecutiveDirector,SistersofCharityFederation,andRev.EdwardR.Udovic,C.M.,Ph.D.,VincentianStudiesInstituteoftheUnitedStates,DePaulUniversity,Chicago,Illinois,fortheirkindwordsofendorsement. SisterClaireDebes,D.C., and herProvincialCouncil, andSisterVincentiaGoeb,D.C.,DirectorofHeritageMinistries,mademyinvolvementinthisinitiativepossibleandsupportedthehardworkoftransforminganideaintoreality.IwouldliketothanktheDaughtersofCharityatMotherSetonHouseinEmmitsburg,Maryland,whoprovidedmewithalisteningearalongwithsisterlysupportandencouragementduringthisproject. InthewordsofSaintElizabethAnnSeton,“Godonlycanmeasuremyjoyandgratitude.”b

Betty Ann McNeil, D.C.b7.19,ElizabethSeton toAntonioFilicchi,22April1816,ReginaBechtle,S.C.,andJudithMetz,S.C.,eds.,

EllinM.Kelly,mss.ed.,Elizabeth Bayley Seton Collected Writings,3vols.(NewCityPress:NewYork,2000-2006),2:390.

xxvii

EDiTORiAl iNTRODuCTiON PublicinterestinSt.ElizabethAnnSetonasawife,mother,andsainthasgrownsincehercanonization.Simultaneouslytheclassicpublication,Elizabeth Bayley Seton byAnnabelleM.Melville,became less availableinbookstores.Itwaslastreprintedin1985.Yetthisbiographyremainsthedefinitive historical study of the first canonized saint native to the United States. Two hundred years ago a tiny, faith-filled woman from New York cametoMarylandandfoundedtheSistersofCharityofSt.Joseph’sinanold,stonefarmhouseinSt.Joseph’sValleynearEmmitsburg,Maryland.InordertohonortheSetonlegacyofcharitywhichherspiritualdaughters,associates and affiliates share, it is fitting that Elizabeth Bayley Setonbeupdatedandpublishedanew. Annabelle M. Melville remains the Seton scholar par excellenceofthe20thcentury.HerfriendandcolleagueEllinM.Kelly,whohasalsocontributed her time, talent, and expertise to Seton scholarship kindlyacceptedtheinvitationtowritethe2009Foreword.The2009editionwouldbeincompletewithoutalsoincludingDr.Melville’sownprefacesandthe1951contributionofJohnM.McNamara,auxiliarybishopofWashington,D.C.,andstaunchadvocatefortheSetoncauseforcanonization.ThisfrontmaterialoffersawealthofinformationaboutSaintElizabethAnnSetonandherpathtocanonizationbyPopePaulVI,14September1975. The 2009 edition reflects appropriate updating and revisions, particularly to annotations but still retains the meticulous research,organization, and insights originally presented by Dr. Melville in 1951.Significant changes appear in brackets in this edition. In a few instances, recentresearchhaselucidatedsomenewfactsandnuancesoftheSetonstoryasMelvilleunderstooditfromtheresourcessheused.The2009editionhasbenefited from technological advances, archival developments, increased access to information, recent research, and thepublicationby theSistersofCharityFederationofElizabeth Bayley Seton Collected Writings,whichcontainsthecorpusoftheSetonpapers.Suchprogresshasmadeitpossibletoenhancethehistoricalcontextpresentedinthiswork.Timeconstraintsdidnotpermitthepursuitofsomeillusivefactsandintriguingquestions.Weleavethatandotherlacunaeforafuturegenerationtoaddress. The2009editioncontainsthecorrectedtextofquotationsbasedonareviewoftheoriginalSetondocumentsand/orauthenticatedtranscriptions,whereas inmany instancesDr.Melville only had typescripts rather than

xxviii

original documents for her use. Discrepancies of Seton quotations havebeen resolved in this edition using the definitive texts published in Elizabeth Bayley Seton Collected Writings.AlthoughElizabethSetonwasahighlyliteratewomanforhertime,thewrittenwordintheearlynineteenthcenturywas not yet governed by the literary conventions of our day. For theconvenienceofmodernreadersthemajorityofnineteenth-centuryquotationshavebeeneditedtoconformtocurrentstandardsofspelling,punctuation,andgrammarexceptforcapitalization.InorderforreaderstogaininsightintotheintensityandrangeoffeelingswhichElizabethSetonexpressedinherwritings,wordswhichsheemphasizedthroughcapitalizationhasbeenretained. Another significant change in this edition appears in the numbering ofchapters.Theoriginalchapter6waslengthyandappearsastwochaptersin the 2009 edition: Chapter 6, No Resting Place and Chapter 7, God’sBlessedTime. Theorganizationandtypeofannotationshasalsochanged.Melville’soriginal annotations have been updated and relocated in some instancesforgreaterclarityandconvenienceofreaders.Thenumberofexplanatoryfootnoteshasincreased.Theseappearbelowatthebottomofthepagewiththerelatedtext.Endnotes,whichusuallyrefertothesourcedocumentandrepository,appearat theconclusionofeachchapter. Thedocumentationfor the majority of the notes appears in the endnotes unless given in afootnote.TwolengthyannotationsoncomplexissuesofElizabethSeton’sfirst communion in the Protestant Episcopal Church and the citizenship of WilliamMageeSetonhavebeenmovedtotheAppendixinthisedition. WhenDr.Melvillewasdoingheroriginalresearchinthelate1940’s,theSetonpaperswerescatteredandheldbydifferentrepositoriesthanatpresent.Someoriginaldocumentswerein theFilicchifamilyarchives inItaly,somewiththevariousbranchesofSistersandDaughtersofCharityintheUnitedStatesandCanada.Asaresultofthepreliminaryworkrequiredto prepare Elizabeth Bayley Seton Collected Writings for publication, acomprehensiveinventoryofallextantSetondocumentswasdeveloped.Theannotations in this biography reflect the current repository for each citation and also are in accord with the identification and location of documents in Elizabeth Bayley Seton Collected Writings. The2009edition is also thefruit of modern scholarship since Dr. Melville first published this classic biography in 1951. It is my sincere hope that this edition will provideenjoyable reading and reflection on Elizabeth Bayley Seton. It is my

xxvii

sincere hope that this edition will provide enjoyable reading and reflection onElizabeth Bayley Seton. May readers gain an understanding of the life, mission, andlegacy of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton and enhance their appreciation ofher as a real person and rolemodel for today and awomanof faith forallages.Maythebicentennialcelebrationcommemoratingthefoundationof the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s in St. Joseph’s Valley be aninspiration forothers to join incontinuing theSetonLegacyof Charity.

Betty Ann McNeil, D.C., EditorArchivist

Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de PaulEmmitsburg, Maryland

25 March 2009

hg

xxix

xxviiixxx

1

ChAPTER 1hg

ThE bAylEyS AND SETONS OF NEW yORkThe August heat hung over the city as the delegates from

MassachusettstouredNewYorkCity,wheretheyhadstoppedoffontheirwaytoPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania.Itwasthesummerof1774.OnlyafewweeksearlierNewYorkCityhadchosenPhilipLivingston,IsaacLow,JamesDuane,JohnJay,andJohnAlsop,Esquires,torepresenttheprovinceattheContinentalCongress.NowtheircolleaguesfromBoston,Massachusetts,afterabrief respiteatHull’s signofTheBunchofGrapes,werecastingtheircriticaleyesaboutthethrivingisland.TheyvisitedTrinityChurchandthe new St. Paul’s, which had cost a good eighteen thousand pounds inYorkmoney.ItistobehopedthattheseproperBostoniansdidnotdiscoverthat close by the consecrated grounds of St. Paul’s some 500 “ladies ofpleasure”keptlodgingsandoffereddistractionstothestudentsapproachingKing’sCollege.Thecollegewasonlynowconsideringareportonaroyalconstitution“constitutingtheSeminaryandUniversity.”

The city offered some impressive sights with its three hundredsailofshippingshowing in theharborandslipsand thepublicbuildingsspreadingoutlikeafanfromtheBattery.a Between twenty-five and thirty thousand inhabitants thronged the busy streets, and even though one-fifth of thepopulationwasAfrican-American,thewhitemajoritywasaugmentedregularly by the fresh adventurers from Britain and Ireland who weredisgorged almost daily from the wooden bellies of the ships. The cityhad already drawn the boundaries for seven wards, and the more refined families were pushing out into the country in their search for exclusivedwellingplaces.TheMassachusettsdelegatesrodethreemilesfromthecitytobreakfastwithJohnMorinScottathisexcellentcountryseat.Scottwouldonedaybethefather-in-lawofJuliannaSitgreaves(1765–1842),butJuliawasstillagirlandherdearestfuturefriendwasbornthisverymonth.bTheywouldallmakehistory,andBoston,Philadelphia,andNewYorkwouldallbepartofthepattern.

aThesouthernshorelineofManhattanIslandhasbeencalledtheBatteryforgenerationsandhaslongbeenapopularpublicarea.Itsnameisderivedfromgunbatteriesthatonceprotectedthecity.

bJulia Sitgreaves Scott, daughter ofWilliam andSusannaDeshonSitgreaves,was born in Philadelphia. Shemarried LewisAllaire Scott, who succeeded his father as Secretary of State of NewYork.After beingwidowed in March 1798, Julia returned to live in Philadelphia and was a lifelong confidante andbenefactorofElizabethSeton.

2

ElizabethAnn Bayley was born on 28August 1774.Aside fromherparentage,littleisknownaboutherbirth.1ItisnotpossibletoidentifywhereElizabethBayleywasborn inNewYork.cThereareno recordsoftheevent,nobaptismalrecordsextant,notevenacitydirectorytoindicateherparents’residence.TrinityChurch,whereshemayhavebeenbaptized,lost its records in the fire of 1776. The first directory of New York City waspublishedin1787.EventherecordsofSt.Andrew’sChurchonStatenIsland, New York, reveal no clue.2 She was the second daughter of Dr.Richard Bayley (1744–1801) and his first wife, Catherine Charlton Bayley (?–1777). The mother, who died when Elizabeth was only three yearsold,wasadaughterofMaryBayeuxCharltonand theReverendRichardCharlton,d for many years the rector of St. Andrew’s Church on StatenIsland.3The father,RichardBayley,was theelder sonofWilliamBayleyofHoddeston,Hertfordshire, inEngland,whohad come toNewYork in1726.4WilliamBayleymarriedSusanneLeCompteofNewRochelle,NewYork,e and of this union two sons were born. Richard was born in Fairfield, Connecticut,about1744;5WilliamLeComptewasbornon8August1745.6

RichardBayleycametoNewYorkCityfromNewRochelleattheageoftwentytostudyunderthesocietyphysician,Dr.JohnCharlton.Charlton,whohadstudiedinEnglandandhadbeenratherprominentatthecourtofGeorgeIII,hadmarriedMarydePeyster,thedaughterofAbrahamdePeysterandMargaretvanCourtlandtdePeyster.EveryoneinNewYorkknewbysightthestocky,ruddy-facedlittlemanwho“seemedquitereadytoparadehimself and horse for the benefit of inquisitive folk.”7Dr.Charltonlivedat100BroadwaywithineasycalloftheJays,whereheandhisladydinedonoccasionatsmall“enfamille”repasts.HisfamilyconnectionsalonekeptDr.Charltonwithathrivingpractice.8Butthiskindofprofessionalexperiencedid not satisfy the eager young Bayley, and after marrying his mentor’ssisterin1767,hewenttoLondonwherefortwoyearshestudiedunderthefamousWilliamHunter.9OnhisreturntoNewYork,Dr.BayleypracticedmedicinewithDr.Charlton,andtogethertheysharedthehonorofbeingthefirst physicians to ride to visit their patients.10By1774,theBayleyshadtwocIn1817ElizabethSetonreferstoNewYorkas“mynativecity.”7.103,ElizabethSetontoRev.SimonBruté,

S.S.,1August1817,ReginaBechtle,S.C.,andJudithMetz,S.C.,eds.,EllinM.Kelly,mss.ed.,ElizabethBayley Seton Collected Writings,3vols.(NewCityPress:NewYork,2000–2006),2:494.HereaftercitedasCW.

d The Reverend Richard Charlton (1706–1777) was rector of St. Andrew’s (1747–1777). The son of JohnCharltonofLongford, Ireland,Richardhadgraduated fromTrinityCollege inDublin andwas sent as amissionarytoNewWindsor,NewYork,in1730.In1733hewasmadecatechistoftheAfrican-Americansof New York City and served in that capacity until he was appointed rector of St.Andrew’s Church,24 November 1747. He married Mary Bayeux. Dr. Charlton died of dysentery on 7 October 1777.HiseldestdaughtermarriedJohnDongan;hissonwasphysician,Dr.JohnCharltonofNewYorkCity.

eLeComptealsoappearsasLeConte.

3

daughters,andDr.Bayleyhadanavidinterestinthecausesofcroup.In1775helefttheformertopursuethelatter,andagainwenttoLondontostudywithHunter.WhenthewarforindependencebrokeoutinAmerica,BayleyreturnedonboardaBritishman-of-war, a surgeon in thearmyofMajorGeneralWilliamHowe.BayleywassenttoNewport,RhodeIsland,inthefirst year of the war, and it was there he met the Hessian military surgeon, Dr.ChristianFriedrichMichaelis,whoseinterestincrouprivaledBayley’sown.11ItwasatNewportthatBayleybecameincreasinglyinterestedinthepathologyofdiseaseandanatomy,andwildrumorseventuallyreachedNewYorkthathewasperformingcruelexperimentsonthesoldierstosatisfyhisscientific curiosity.12

RichardBayley’scareerasanarmysurgeonwascutshortbyanurgentsummonstoNewtown,LongIsland,wherehiswifelaydying,probablyasa result of childbirth, in the springof 1777.Left awidower inhis earlythirties,hefoundhimselfwiththeresponsibilityofthreelittlegirls,fandhisthirst for medical experiment still unquenched. It is not surprising to find himremarryingscarcelymorethanayearlater.AgainRichardBayleyalliedhimselftogoodfamiliesofNewYorksociety,thistimetheBarclaysandRoosevelts,byhismarriageon16June1778,toCharlotteAmeliaBarclay(1759–1805), the daughter of Andrew and Helena Roosevelt Barclay.13Withhischildrennowgivenasecondmother,Dr.Bayleyturnedagaintohisprofessionalinterests,gandtheRoyal Gazette for5July1780,carriedthisadvertisement:

Mr.BayleypresentshiscomplimentstothegentlemenwhodidhimthehonorofattendingtheoperationinsurgerylastwinterandwillbehappytoseethemathishouseonFridaythe7that5o’clockP.M.14

Two years later he performed the first successful amputation of an armattheshoulderjoint.Hisfamewasgrowing.

RichardBayley, like the elderWilliamSeton (1746-1798),was aconsistent loyalist throughout thecourseof the revolutionarywar.15NewYorkCitywastheonlyporttoremaincontinuouslyinBritishhandsfromfThesedaughterswereMaryMagdalen,ElizabethAnn,andinfantCatherineCharltonBayley.gMostbiographersofElizabethBayleySetonhavestatedthatDr.BayleywascloselyconnectedwithSirGuy

Carleton during theAmerican Revolution. They probably based their statements on a claim made byRobertSetoninAn Old Family thatDr.Bayley“beganlifeasstaff-surgeontoGeneralSirGuyCarletoninNewYork.”RobertSeton,An Old Family, (Bretano’s:NewYork,1899),275.Theearliestbiographerof Bayley,Thacher, states that Bayley resigned from the army in 1777. Sir Guy Carleton did not takecommand in NewYork City until May 1782.A search of the Report on American Manuscripts whichcontainstheCarletonorDorchesterpapersshowsnotasinglementionofRichardBayleyinanycapacity.Itmay be thatRobert Seton drew erroneous conclusions from the name ofDr.Bayley’s youngest son,GuyCarltonBayley,bornin1786.Yettheboy’sownmotherspelledhisname“GuyCharlton”inherwill.

4

October 1776 to November 1783 and it thus became the natural MeccaforloyalistscravingtheprotectionoftheBritishcrown.TheevacuationofPhiladelphiaalonedirectedsome3,000pilgrimstoNewYork.AmongtheregularresidentsofthecitycertainlymanywhowereneutralinsentimentbecameToryinpublicpracticeforreasonsofexpediency.16Athirdportionoftheloyalistpopulationcomprisedthemerchantsandprofessionalclasses,towhompoliticswilleverremainsecondarytoprivateeconomicorsocialmotivation. Commerce, justice, and humanitarianism tended, rightly, tocut across the national or imperial boundaries of the time.The loyalismofamerchantSetonorasurgeonBayleyrequiresnoponderouspolemic.

Fromitsvariedsources the loyalistpopulationgrewbyleapsandbounds.AtthetimeoftheabortiveAmericanoccupationscarcelyaking’smanexistedwithinthecity;yetimmediatelyfollowingtheBritishentranceinOctober1776,welloverathousandmaleinhabitantsassembledatthecityhallinWallStreettotakeanoathofallegiancetothecrown.ByFebruaryofthefollowingyearthisnumberhadswelledto3,000,anditisestimatedthatofthe27,000peopleinNewYorkCityin1781,practicallyallwereclassedasloyaltoHisMajesty’srule.17

Richard Bayley’s loyalism was on occasion at odds with hishumanitarianism.AfterGeneralJamesPattisonbecamecommandantofthecity the corruption and cruelty of British rule horrified many of the citizens bytheexcesseswhichweretolerated.Pattisonhimselfrarelyletadaypasswithoutoffendingsomeone.OnedaywhenBayleyhappenedtobepassingthrough thestreetshe sawadrunkensoldier thrown fromacartand runover by a carelessAfrican-American driver. Bayley got down from hischaise, administered first aid, and notified the hospital. For his pains Bayley received a call from theProvostMarshal the followingday,was throwninjail,deniedaccesstoPattison,anddidnotgetreleaseduntilteno’clockthatevening.SuchtreatmentsoenragedBayleythathethreatenedtoquitthe city rather than live under such military rule. Pattison, fortunately,was succeeded the following year and Bayley remained to practice hisexperimentsinsurgery.18

None of the problems of allegiance concerned the four-year-olddaughterofDr.Bayley,however,asshesatinthedoorwayoftheirhouseonedayinOctober1778.InsidethehouselaythestillformoflittleCatherineCharltonBayley,deadattheageoftwo.Theseriouslittlegirlonthedoorsteplookedat thecloudsscuddinggreylyoverheadand tried toworkout thepuzzleof thedeathandheaven,as she longed foramother she scarcelyremembered.19WhileDr.Bayleyperformedhissurgicalexperimentsin1780

5

hisdaughterElizabethwasintriguedbyothermoreabstractconsiderations,andclimbedthegarretstairswithEmma,herbabyhalf-sister.Peeringouttheatticwindow,showingherthesettingsun,Elizabethtoldher,“Godlivedupinheavenandgoodchildrenwouldgoupthere.”20

ElizabethBayley’sstep-motherwasbusyduringtheseyearsrearinga family of her own. In the first eight years of her marriage she had six children and was often in “great affliction.”hYetshefound time to teachElizabeththe23rdpsalm,“theLordismyShepherd”whichallthroughherlife was Elizabeth’s favorite psalm.21 Sometimes, perhaps to relieve theburdened woman, the daughters of the first Mrs. Bayley were sent to New RochelletostaywiththeBayleyrelativesthere.iAtNewRochelleElizabethlovedtoplayalone,orwanderaboutthecountryside.ItisquitepossibleshewasthusoccupiedwhentheBritishevacuatedNewYorkCity.22

TwomonthsafterElizabethAnnBayley’sninthbirthdaytheNewYork journals and gazettes carried vivid descriptions of the elaborateceremoniesandnoisydinnerswithwhichtherevolutionarypatriotscelebratedtheevacuationofNewYorkbytheBritish.BesidesGeneralWashington,GovernorGeorgeClinton,andMajorGeneralKnox,achangingculturewasushered in 25 November 1783, which was to exert a tremendous influence on ElizabethBayley’slife.TheretiringBritishleftbehindthemmoreproblemsto be solved than the irritating greased flagpole at Fort George.23Thecitywas a shambles. The devastating fires of 1776 and 1778 had laid waste one-quarterofthecityproper.Roadswerenearlyimpassable,whilewatertraffic was decreased by the deteriorated conditions into which docks and wharveshadfallenfromdisuse.Asiftoaddhersneeringcomment,naturevisitedsouthernManhattanthatfallwithanearthquakesevereenoughtothrowgentlemenfrom their seatsandsendchinaandglasswarecrashingto the floor. There was no clairvoyance to predict that from these ashes the Phoenixofthenineteenth-centurymetropoliswouldrise.

Wartakesapartialtollindeferredpayment,andtheRevolutionleftits own residue of disintegration in a weakened moral fiber accompanied by overt modifications of organized religion. Nowhere was the decline in publicandprivatemoralitymoreinevidencethaninthelargercities.Onesurfaceindicationwastheincreasedpopularityofdueling.JohnPaulJones’refusaltomeetPierreLandaisafteradisgracefulencounterinNewYorkinh Although the births of all these children are not definitely dated, the children were Charlotte Amelia (called

Emma), Richard, Guy Carlton, Mary Fitch, WilliamAugustus, andAndrew Barclay.A seventh child,Helen,wasborn10June1790.

iElizabethSetonsaysin“DearRemembrances”:“NewRochelleat8years”then“12yearsold...homeagainatmyFathers.” If shewerecontinuouslyatNewRochelle fromeight to twelveyearsofage, shewasnotpresentfortheevacuationofthecityin1783.

6

October1787wasanexceptiontothegeneralhumor.MoretypicalwastheattackmadebyJamesJonesonBrockholstLivingstonin1798,infullviewof thepromenadersof theBattery.ThatJoneswaskilled in the resultingduel seemsnot tohavemateriallyaffected thepopularityof thismethodof establishing honor, so lately borrowed from the French officers of the Revolution.24Dr.RichardBayleywashimselfapartytoalongandacridcontroversywhichensuedwhenWrightPost (1766–1828) andMonsieurP.Micheauquarreledin1788.MicheauchallengedDr.Post,whodeclinedtomeethisopponent,but friendsofbothparties took theaffair topress,and “a number of affidavits relating to it appeared in the public prints of thecity.”25 Thematterwasonlyendedby thedepartureofMicheau forEngland,whichlefttheyoungdoctorfreetoturntothoughtsofmarriageandMaryMagdalenBayley(1768–1856).j

At a lower level of society vice and crime emanated from theunsavorynooksandcranniesof“CanvasTown,”theareaencompassedbyBroad and Whitehall Streets, the legacy left by the great fires. Respectable citizenswereattackedandrobbed;andsome,likeIsaacWilletts,tookthelawinto their own hands and fired upon suspicious characters.26PublicaswellasprivatemoralitygaveevidenceoftheinroadsmadebytheRevolution,and Chancellor Livingston wrote to Washington in 1783, lamenting thedepravitypervadingthemassofpeoplewhoseemedtoconsidernationalfaithandhonoroflittlemoment.27 In this same decade the wave of financial speculationinthereputationofthenewrepublicreacheditspeak;andinMarch1788,theagentsofWilliamSeton,andthatmastergambler,WilliamDuer,werefoundasfarsouthasNorthCarolinawheretheywerebuyingup all the certificates they could command.28 Back in New York Cityresolutionswerebeingpassedtopenalizethepublictaxcollectorsfortheirdelinquencies,andthegovernorwarnedthecitizenrytobeonguardagainstcounterfeitedfederalnotes.29

Organized religion was also undergoing change. Before theRevolution religious affiliation and political power had frequently gone hand inhand.Fourmajorgroupshadviedforpower,withtheAnglicansusuallymonopolizing civil offices. Their only serious rival had been the more numerousPresbyterians.TheDutchReformedgroupwasstillstrong,butitsenergieswerebeingdissipated.TheLutheranswereinfourthplace,whilethe remaining denominations exerted no perceptible political influence.30

jDr.WrightPost(1768–1856)marriedBayley’soldestdaughter10June1790.NewYorkJournal and WeeklyRegister, 19June1790.Thecouplehadthefollowingchildren:Edward,Lionel(Leo),CatherineCharlton,RichardBayley,Eugene,MaryElizabeth,andEmily.

7

DuringtheRevolution,Anglicanismwasrathergenerallyasynonymforloyalism.BeforetheadventoftheBritishoccupationtheAnglicanshadsuffered briefly at the hands of the Whigs, and their churches had been closed inAugust1776.ForamonthnoserviceswereheldatTrinity,St.Paul’sorSt.George’s;butthearrivaloftheBritishreversedthesituationandSt.Paul’sresumedserviceson22September1776.BothSt.Paul’sandSt.George’sremainedopenforthedurationoftheBritishoccupation,butTrinity, razed in the conflagration which accompanied the patriot retreat, wasnotrebuiltforanotherdecade.By1782thetwoAnglicanchapelsweresoovercrowdedthatworshipershadtomakeuseofthecityhall.31Britishoccupationsawtheriseofdiscriminationagainsttheothersects,anditisnot particularly surprising to find the Presbyterians suffering most severely. Churcheswereseizedandconvertedintobarracks,hospitals,andprisons.Thatmuchof this appropriationwasmilitary necessitymaybe assumedfromthefactthatevenSt.George’sChapelwasconsideredasapossibleHessian hospital in 1779, and only the spirited protests of Dr. CharlesInglispreventedtheevent.32 Certainly the churches so used were unfit for divineworshipatthewar’send.ItwasnotuntiltheclosingdecadeofthecenturythatanyseriousarchitecturalretortwasmadetotheAnglicanthreatofmonopoly,andaFrenchtravelercouldremark that thecityseemedtocontainasmanychurchesasshops.33

The peace ushered in by the Treaty of Paris in 1783 found theAnglicans, or Episcopalians, still leading the political parade. “If theToriesof1776couldbecalledEpiscopalians,thesametitlecouldbeusedwithfarbetterrightfortheFederalistsof1788.”34Butchangeswithintheframeworkofthechurchmustbenoted.Aseriesoflawsin1784provideddisestablishmentinNewYorkandlegalizedtheincorporationofallreligiousbodies. Under this latter provision Trinity Church was incorporated on17April 1784. Within the body ecclesiastic a Whig junta succeeded insubstitutingtheReverendSamuelProvoostfortheardentTory,BenjaminMoore,asrectorofTrinityParish.TheProtestantEpiscopalChurchintheUnitedStatesseparateditselffromtheAnglicanChurchin1785.Provoost,formerly assistant of Trinity Church, became its pastor and the first bishop ofthecityin1787.35UnderhisepiscopaleyethecornerstoneforthenewTrinityChurchwaslaidon21August1788,andthededicationsolemnizedin1790.ItwasBishopProvoostwhopresidedatSt.Paul’sintheservicefollowingWashington’s inauguration in1789,36and itwasProvoost, too,whowitnessed themarriageofElizabethAnnBayley toWilliamMageeSetonk (1768–1803) on 25 January 1794.37Although the politics of thekThemiddlename“Magee” is fromamerchantofLondon,hisbaptismalsponsor,who lefthima legacyof

1000Britishpoundsand1500Britishpoundstohisfather.

8

BayleysandSetonsarelesscertain,thereisnodoubtthatthesetwofamiliesandtheirconnectionsbelongedtotheEpiscopalianmajorityofthepostwarera.

The evacuation of NewYork City in 1783, led to other changeswhichwouldaffectthelivesoftheBayleysandSetons.Thepositionoftheformer loyalists was for a time precarious. Large numbers of them fled, and NewYork lost such dignitaries asGovernorWilliamTryon, SirAndrewElliott,JudgeThomasJones,ThomasBarclay,WilliamBayard,andsomeofthedeLanceys,nottomentionsuchchurchmenasDr.InglisandMylesCooper.“Notonlydidthecitysufferadeprivationofmenandtalent,butthe fleeing Tories carried with them a not inconsiderable amount of wealth, despite their heavy financial losses.”38TheloyalistswhochosetoleavethecityhadbeenorderedbytheSonsofLibertytobegoneby1May1784;but“loyalismwasofsomanyshades,andtiesofbloodweresonumerous,thatthegreatmajorityremainedtomakethebestofthenewsituation.”39

Thisnewsituation,attheoutset,wasnotcharacterizedbylenience,asthelegislationofthedaybearstestimony.Restrictionswereplaceduponcollections of debts due to Tories; suits for damages to patriot propertywereinstituted;doctorswereboycotted,andlawyersdisbarred.Anactof27 March 1778, had excluded Tories from public office elsewhere in the state;thisdiscriminationreachedthecityafter1783.InMay,thefollowingyear, loyalistswhohadbornearmsweredisenfranchisedforever;but theeffectsofthislastenactmentwerenotlonglived,sincethelawwasrepealedin1786.40

IfRichardBayleysufferedfromboycottingafter1783,thereisnoevidence of it; but his wartime sympathies may account for the lack ofdataconcerninghisactivitiesfrom1782–1787.By1787,however,hewaslecturingonanatomyinthevirtuallyabandonedcityhospitaltosucheagerlistenersasWrightPostandDavidHosack.Thereisevenarecordofhishavingoperatedonpatientsthere.41Thisbuildingwasthescene,in1788,oftheworstriotthecityhadyetwitnessed.

In1771,GeorgeIII,throughroyalletterspatent,hadpermittedtheformationofthe“SocietyoftheHospitalintheCityofNewYork.”42Thisgroup erected a costly building on the west side of Broadway betweenDuane and Worth Streets, only to have the building razed by fire in 1775. Althoughitwasrebuiltthefollowingyear,thewarcircumventedtheplansof the founders, and the building served successively as a barracks forpatriotsorHessians,ahavenforimmigrants,andameetingplaceforthestatelegislature.JacquesPierreBrissotdeWarvillenoticedin1788thatit

9

was in bad condition, not fit for the lodging of sick people; but he added, “Thebuildingisvast;itisofbrickandperfectlywell-situatedonthebankoftheNorthRiver.”43Dr.Bayleyfounditanexcellentplacetohousehisspecimensandperformhisexperiments.

Itwasfromthisbuilding,oneAprilSundayafternoonin1788,thatabrashyoungmedicalstudentdisplayedanarmfromacadaver tosomeyoungboyshangingaboutandtauntedthemwiththewords,“See,hereisyourmother’shandthathascuffedyourearsmanyatime!”Itwasagrimcoincidence that one of the boys had recently lost hismother andwhenareportof theremarkreachedhisfather theaffairveryquicklyassumedalarmingproportions.AmobofoutragedcitizensassembledtoattackthehospitalandBayleywithhisstudentswasbarelyrescuedintime.Thedoctorwasplacedinprotectivecustodywithothermedicalmenwhowererescuedduringthesameriot.44

Themob,afternursingtheirwrathovernight,onMondayattackedthe jail. John Jay and Baron von Steuben, the revolutionary hero, triedto quell the rioters; and, in themelee, Steubenwas knocked down.Theirate veteran cried out to the mayor, “Fire, Duane, fire!” The militia took this as an official command and fired into the crowd, causing several fatalities. This temporary setback only served to deflect the attention of the moband they turned their attention to thehomesof thedoctors.Privatedwellings were wrecked and valuable collections of medical specimenswere destroyed. Elizabeth Bayley, who was home again at her father’shouse,l passed the night “in a sweat of terror saying all the while OURFATHER.”45Atthelast,thecitycalledoutGeneralMalcolm’sbrigadeandColonel Bauman’s regiment of artillery before peace was finally restored.46

The “Doctors’ Riot” was not unique, but rather the first of its kind inNewYork.ItwasapowerfulprotestagainstthepracticesoghoulishlydescribedinRobertLouisStevenson’sTheBody Snatcher (1884). Medicalstudents had for some time been secretly removing corpses from thepotter’s field and the African-American burying ground; and the suspicion wasgrowingthatsupposedlymorerespectablegraveswerenotinviolate.In the affidavit which Dr. Bayley published on Tuesday, 15 April, in the NewYorkJournal and Patriotic Register, hedenied that therehadbeenanysurreptitiousacquisitionofbodiesfromchurchyardsorplacesofhighsocialcharacter;yetthedenialwassophrasedastoleaveunansweredtheargument as regarding the potter’s field. The riot produced two immediate lTheBayleyslivedat15SmithStreetin1787andat49SmithStreetfrom1791–94.Therewasnodirectoryfor

1788; but in 1789Dr.Bayleywas listed at 60KingStreet, and in 1790 at 51WallStreet. It is thus quiteimpossibletodeterminewheretheBayleyslivedinApril1788.

10

resultsinthisconnection.On6January1789,astatelawwaspassedgivingthecorpsesofcriminalstosurgeonsforthepurposeofadvancingmedicalscience;afederal lawof30April1790,gavejudgesdiscretionarypowerto add to sentences for convicted murder the post-mortem dissection.ThatBayley’spioneeringwasnotuniversallydeploredisevidencedintheeditorialcommentof theNewYorkPacket of15April1788,whichsaiddryly:

Itissincerelywishedthatourfellowcitizenswouldmanifesttheirzealagainstviceandwickedness(asitaboundsinthecity) which kill men’s souls, and be less zealous for thepreservationofthedullerpart.47

The governing board of the hospital was less philosophical andpromptly disclaimed any responsibility in the affair. They presented theunfortunate doctors with a bill for ₤22:7:10, and forthwith ousted them from thepremises.48

Dr.Bayleyseemedtofeelthatanothertripabroadcouldbemadeconveniently while heated passions were allowed to cool, and so heproceededtoputhisaffairsinorderbeforeleavingforEngland.Hemadeawill leavinghisfarminWestchesterCountytohismother,andtherestofhis“estatebothrealandpersonalofwhatnatureorkindsoever”tohiswife.49TheolderBayleygirls,ElizabethandMary,whohadbeeneducatedat“MamaPompelion’s”wheretheylearnedtoplaythepiano,speakFrench,andadmirestoriesabout“menwithgirlishmodesty&reservecombinedwith manly strength & fortitude,”50 now returned once more to NewRochelle.51Heretheyvisited“UncleBayley,”thedoctor’sbrotherWilliamandhiswife,SarahPellBayley,whiletheyawaitedtheirfather’sreturn.52By1790theenergeticDr.BayleywasbackinNewYorkeagerlyattackingthepublichealthproblemsoftherapidlygrowingcity.m

AlthoughNewYorkCity’sstreetsweresuperiortothoseofmanyothercrowdedareasand,accordingtoJohnAdams,“vastlymoreregularandelegantthanthoseinBoston,”theattendingproblemsofsurfacewaterandsewagepresentedanodiousaswellasodorousconundrum.53Thenightlyparade ofAfrican-Americans, bearing offal tubs to the waterfront, soonprovedinadequatetothegrowingcity’srequirements.54TheopenwoodenchuteswhichcarriedsurfacewaterfromFlyMarkettotheEastRiverhadtobereinforcedwithstoneandbridgedwithheavyarches.StatelyWallStreetdemandedstonesewersofitsown.55ButthestreetsaroundtheshedsofthemIn1790BayleywasoneofthepromotersoftheNewYorkDispensaryestablishedinthatyeartogivemedical

caretothepoor.

11

soapmakersandcandlemakerscontinuedtoplaguethesensitivitiesofthemore refined population.

More pressing were the threats of epidemicsn which periodicallyinvaded the city. Diseases which were most commonly feared in theeighteenth century were tuberculosis, sore throat “which when putrid ismortal,”malaria (which could be combatedby a liberal use ofPeruvianbark,butyieldedmost readily to the remedyofa trip to themountains),influenza, and the awe-inspiring yellow fever.56Littleheadwaywasmadeagainstconsumption,osincethedoctorsofthatdayattributeditscausetosuchhabits as the excessiveuseof hot tea and coffee, lying too long inbed,eating toomuch,orsleeping in feather ticks.Womenwerebelievedto be more subject to the ailment because “they take but little exercise,whichistheonlypowerfulremedyagainstthestagnationofthehumors.”Quakerwomenwerethusdoomedtoconsumptionbecauseoftheir“habitofgravityandimmobilitywhichtheydevelopedinearlylife.”57Inspiteofallheractivity,ElizabethBayleymayhavesuccumbedtothediseaseatlastin1821.

Malariawasprevalentintheeighteenth-centurymetropolis,althoughin recent years it would seem an oddity to find it so far north. In Bayley’s timeNewYorkCitywassurroundedbysizableareasofswampland,andtheregionbetweenthepresentEighteenthandTwentiethStreetsonBroadwaywas all swamp when it was granted to Sir PeterWarren in 1745. JacobRoosevelt’sleatherindustrycenteredinBeekman’sSwamp,anditwasfromthis fetid location thatheextracted thefortune,partofwhichwas left toAmeliaBarclay,Bayley’ssecondwife.58TheCollector“FreshWaterPond”intheheartofthespreadingcitybecamemoreandmoreofanuisance,whenitwasnotanoutrightmenace.Thecitypurchaseditin1791,butitwasnotuntil after 1800 that it was filled in.59Inaddition,manyofthelowcoastalareasremainedpartiallysubmergedandfurnishedexcellentbreedingplacesformosquitoes.

Byfarthemostdreadedofallepidemicswerethoseofyellowfever,andmanyofNewYork’smostfamousinstitutionsrelatedtopublichealthtracetheiroriginstothefranticeffortsmadetocombatthefever.In1791,for the first time since the Revolution, a virulent form appeared. In 1793 it recurred,andbythetimethesecondvisitationwasfeltthecityhadalreadybegun to make plans to isolate fever patients at Governors Island. Thisfeeble action on the part of the city officials was not sufficient to prevent nSmallpoxwasdeclininginseverityasaresultofinoculation.ElizabethBayleySetonmakesfrequentreferences

totheinoculationofherchildreninhercorrespondence.oTuberculosiswasreferredtoasconsumptioninthe19thcentury.

12

generalhysteria,andthepaceofpreparationhadtobeaccelerated.Alawof1794madeGovernorsIslandtheregularplaceofquarantineinsteadofBedloe’sIslands,whichhadbeenusedintermittentlyforthatpurposeeversince 1738 when a temporary quarantine had been necessary to combatsmallpoxcomingfromSouthCarolinaandtheIndies.60Inthesameyear,1794,theBellevuepropertywaspurchasedforthepurposeofestablishingahospital.Scarcelyhadtheseplansgottenunderwaywhenthescourgeof1795sweptoverNewYork.

Those who could, fled the city. Those who could not, and the public-spirited citizens who would not, remained to fight. Among these last was, quitenaturally,Dr.Bayley.BayleyhadreturnedtoNewYorkafterabriefstayinEngland,hadhelpedpromotetheNewYorkDispensaryin1790togivemedicalaidtothepoor,andhadtakenahouseat51WallStreet.In1792hejoinedthefacultyofColumbiaCollegeasalecturerinanatomy,whilehis son-in-law,Dr.Wright Post, held the chair in surgery.During Post’sabsence in Europe during 1792–1793 Bayley gave lectures in both fields, but upon Post’s return the two doctors exchanged positions and Bayleyreturnedtosurgery.Althoughhisresidencechangedfrequentlyduringthefollowingyears,Dr.Bayley’sinterestinpublichealthremainedconstant.In1794hewasoneofthegroupwhichreorganizedtheMedicalSocietyundertheleadershipofDr.JohnCharlton,thepresidentofthatsocietysince1792.Bayley held office as censor until 1798, and the minutes of the society show that he served time and again on committees chargedwith investigatingthecausesofepidemicsandtheirrelationtoimmigration.61Hiscommitteehad petitioned early in 1795 that themayor and aldermen providemoreadequateprotectionagainstthevisitationsofyellowfever.

Thesummerof1795wasadreadfulone.TheepidemicbeganinthemiddleofJuly,andbyNovembermorethan700peopleweredeadofthedisease. Bellevue was used for the first time, but the drinking and quarreling of the nurses was a scandal, and undoubtedly contributed little to thewelfareofthepatients,two-thirdsofwhomdied.62ThedayofthanksgivingproclaimedbyGovernor Jayon26Novembermusthavebewildered theIrish immigrantswhosedecimated ranksboremournful testimony to thepestilential force. In February Bayley was appointed to a committee toinvestigate the full implications of the epidemic, and his findings were publishedinareport.An Account of the Epidemic Fever Which Prevailed in the City of New York During Part of the Summer and Fall of 1795.63TheReverendRichardChanningMooreofStatenIslandwroteDr.Bayleyforhisfurtheropinionsonyellowfeverduring thesummerof1796,and

13

Bayley’s reply so impressed him that, with the doctor’s consent, MooreforwardedthelettertotheeditorpofMinerva.64

MeanwhileGovernorJaysoughttheadviceoftheMedicalSocietyinregardtoestablishingalazarettoandquarantineinNewYorkHarbor.qOn28November1796,BayleywrotetoJaya“ReportontheSubjectofYellowFever” in which he summarized his findings in the earlier report, cited the opinions of ship’s captains he had consulted, and described the horribleconditionsintheregionofWhitehallandthenewdockswhichpreventedpeoplefromopeningtheirwindowsunlesstheyhadstrongstomachs.65BythistimeBayley’sopinionscarriedweightbecausehewasnowthehealthofficer of the newly created Board of Health Commissioners. When the board waslaterreducedfromseventothreememberstherewasasimultaneousenlargement of its powers, and among these was the health officer’s right tocleanupthecity.SinceBayleybelievedthatthecausesforepidemicslaywithinthecityitselfhewelcomedtheopportunitytoprovehistheories.

The vigorous action taken by the health officer to improve the streets, fill in the swamps, and guard the slips and docks from contagion was not welcomedbytheentirepopulation.ElizabethBayleySeton,writingtoDr.BayleyatAlbanyinFebruary1797,warnedhimthat“thesoapboilersandtallowchandlers talkofpetitioning the legislature for the removalof theHealth Officer.”66Thisoppositiontotheclean-upcampaignwastocontinue,andBayleyhimselfin1800wrotehumorouslytohisfriend,thelieutenant-governoratAlbany:

Permitmetotellyouthatnumeroustinkerstailors,coopers,shoemakers and soothsayers have forwarded a petition toAlbany(Iknownottowhomdirected)toremovethehealthofficer, etc., etc. The applicants are the most violent of the DemocraticJunta—Sic Res Zeritur. It would be very flattering toyourveryhumbleservantifhewouldbemadeacquaintedasspeedilyaspossiblewiththedateofthepetition.Muchisnecessary tobedone to forward theviewof theHealthestablishment, but nothing effective can take place untilfinal arrangements are determined for the operations of the ensuingyear.67

p Probably Daniel Webster who began New York’s first daily newspaper, American Minerva(laterknownasTheCommercial Advertiser), and edited it for four years. One of the ironies of history is that this sameReverend Moore officiated at Dr. Bayley’s funeral after the physician died of the disease he had so eagerlystudied.

qAlazarettoreferstoaninstitutionorplacetoquarantinepersonswithcontagiousdiseases.

14

Regardlessof theoppositionfromsomequarters,RichardBayleycontinued to hold public office until his death. When Jay’s proposal of a lazaretto began to take substantial form, Bayley was the man who wasconsidered the logical doctor to be made the quarantine officer. Temporary arrangements were first used at Bellevue, then at Bedloe’s Island.r InFebruary1797,thestateappropriated$4,500towardanewlazaretto,andaddedanotherappropriationin1798.Thequestionofsitecausedthemostconsiderable controversy, but Dr. Bayley was finally able to write from Albany, “Staten Island—yes, it’s more than probable. What then? Why,privateconsiderationsmustbemadetoyieldtothemoreinterestingones,thepublicwelfare.”ThestatecapitalhadmovedtoAlbanyinJanuary1798.Dr.BayleyusuallystayedinWatervlietwhenhemadehisannualtripstothelegislature,1798–1801.HereceivedhismailincareofLieutenant-GovernorStevenvanRensselaer.68AyearlaterhisdaughterElizabethwroteafriend:

MyfatherhasobtainedpermissionfromtheLegislaturetoperformalltheplanshehascontemplatedonStatenIsland—Heisbuildingahospitalanddwelling house,butIfearnottoreceivehisfamily.69

WhileDr.Bayley’spubliclifewasprogressingsatisfactorily,leavingarecordfairlyeasytofollow,hisprivatelifeduringthisperiodseemstohave been more confusing; certainly its course is shrouded in mystery.SomefamilydisagreementsappeartohavereachedacrisisaboutthetimeofhislasttriptoEngland.ThedaughtersofCatherineCharltonBayleywenttoNewRochellein1789becauseofthistrouble.Twentyyearslater,whenMaryMagdalenBayley(1768–1856)revisitedNewRochelle,shewrotehersisterElizabeth:

IcanscarcelydescribetoyouthestateofmindIwasthrownintobyrecallingscenesandpersonsthateveryyearofmylifeseemstohavebeensomehowconnectedwith.BeginningwiththeunhappysituationofourMother—ourtakingrefugeinthesameplaceonourFather’sgoingtoEngland—theveryvery painful events that succeeded our leaving there untilwemarried.Eventhateventfulstepscarcelyenabledustoshakeoffallthatwasdisagreeablyattachedtooursituationbefore.70

MaryBayleydidnothaveaverylongperiodof“painfulevents,”however, for in June of the year her father returned, she married Dr.

rBedloe’sIslandhadbeencededbythecommoncounciltothestateandwasusedafterSeptember1796.

15

WrightPostandsoonafterwenttoliveinJohnStreet.sHeryoungersister,Elizabeth, had a longer period of confusion and unhappiness. She wasonlyfourteenwhenherfatherwenttoEnglandandalthoughshelovedthecountrysideofWestchesterCounty,herlonelyheartsufferedathisabsence.Herjournalrecordsatypicalspringdayoftheyear1789inthesewords:

Theairstillaclearbluevaultabove,thenumberlesssoundsof spring melody and joy—the sweet clovers and wildflowers I had got by the way...Still I can feel every sensation thatpassedthro’mysoul...IthoughtatthattimemyFatherdidnotcareforme—well,GodwasmyFather—myall. Iprayed—sanghymns—cried—laughedintalkingtomyselfofhowfarHecouldplacemeaboveallsorrow—thenlaidstilltoenjoytheHeavenlyPeacethatcameovermysoul.71

Elizabeth Bayley was beginning to be aware of that conflict between the sensual and the spiritual so disquieting to all ages, but especiallydisturbingtoyouth.Shetook“pleasureineverything:coarse,rough,smoothoreasy.”72ShereadtheBibleandMilton,andyearnedtobecomeaQuaker“becausetheyworesuchprettyplainhats.”73Sometimes she was filled with “transports of first pure enthusiasm” at the sight of the stars and felt that she wasforeverexuberant.Atothertimesthecrueltyoftheyoungpeopleabouthercausedherpain,andfamilydisagreementscastherdown.Butalwaysher heart was “as innocent as a human heart could be,” filled as it was with youthful“enthusiasticloveto[sic]Godandadmirationofhisworks.”74

ButshecouldnotstayinNewRochelleforever,andsoonElizabethwas back in New York City facing an uncertain future. The two yearsbeforehermarriageweretrying.Sheseemstohavehadnoplacewhereshecouldstay,andspentpartof the timeonStatenIslandwithhermother’srelatives,theDongans,andmuchofhertimewithhersister,MaryBayleyPost.Shedreamedofalittlehomeinthecountrywhereshecouldgatherlittle children around her and “teach them their prayers and keep themclean and teach them to be good.” When she read stories of EuropeanconventsshewishedpassionatelythatthereweresuchplacesinAmerica,“where people could be shut up from the world and pray, and be goodalways.”75 Sometimes this longing for escape brought her to the vergeofdespairandshereasoned,inherwretchedness,thatGodwastoogoodto condemn her to such a life.Her tersewording reads: “Thiswretched

sTheNewYorkCitydirectoriesshowWrightPost’sresidenceas180WaterStreetin1791,butJohnStreetfrom1792–98.

16

reasoning—Laudanum—thepraiseandthanksofexcessivejoynottohavedonethehorriddeedt—thethousandpromisesofEternalgratitude.”76

Themelancholymoodsdidnotpersist.Elizabethwas tooyoung,andNewYorktooengaging,toallowapermanentgloom.NewYorksocietyin the last decadeof the eighteenth centurywasmadeupof three fairlydistinct classes. The first was composed of “the constituted authorities, government officers, divines, lawyers, and physicians of eminence, with the principalmerchantsandpeopleofindependentproperty.”Thesecondwasmadeupofthelessermerchants,retaildealers,andsubordinategovernmentclerks;thethirdconsistedof“theinferiorordersofpeople.”77TheBayleysand Posts belonged to the first group, although not at its very top level, andwerewelcomedattea,aneveningofmusic,ordancingatthehousesof theSadlers, theWilkeses, theCharltons,andotherprosperoushomes.The livelyElizabeth enjoyedmusic and dancing.Many years afterward,whenshewasadvisingherowndaughteronthesubjectofsocialbehavior,ElizabethSetonsaidofdancing:

WhenIwasyoungIneverfoundanyeffectfromitbutthemost innocent cheerfulness both in public and private—Iremember remorse of conscience about so much, muchtimelostinit,andmytroubleatbeingsounabletosaymyprayers—seeingalwaysmypartners, insteadofmyGod...alsomyvexationat the timeit tooktopreparedressesforballs.78

AlthoughRichardBayleywasunabletoprovideaserenehomeforhisdaughter,hewasmostconcernedaboutherhappinessandheradjustmenttolife.Thedoctor,whomBrissotdeWarvilleoncecharacterizedasamanof good abilities but perhaps, too inflammable and too caustic,79knewonlytoowellthedisadvantagesofpossessingarecklessnature.HetriedtoshowElizabeththevirtueinmoderation,andadvised:

Calmthatglowingofyoursoul,thatwarmemanationofyourchest,foramoretemperateclimate,impressionsonthatcasewillbelessreadilyadmittedbuttheireffectswilllastlonger...Objectspresentstrokes[sic]ourmindmoreforciblythanIhopemoreatadistance.Thusweintendonethingtoday,wearediverted fromit tomorrow, thenextdaynewIdeasoccurandourformerintentionsareforgotten—Thiscursed

t Some biographers interpret this passage to indicate that Elizabeth Bayley contemplated suicide. Melville finds“the horrid deed” an insufficient description to serve as conclusive evidence of such an intention. [It ispossible that an adolescent depression prompted thoughts of suicide but the fact is that Elizabeth said“No”totakingadrugoverdoseoflaudanum,anopiumderivativeusedtocalmcolickybabies,Ed.]

17

dysenteryofthemindhasbeenentailedonbothsexeswitharemarkableconstancyfromthetimeofAdamandEve.80Bayleyhadseenenoughoftheextremesofhisdaughter’semotions

andmoodstomakehimfearhersensibilities.Evenafterhermarriagehecontinuedtoadvocateprudenceinpreferencetoexaggeratedexpressionsoffeeling.“Guardagainstthesuddenchangeofweather,”hewrote.“Neverdwell on triffle, be mistress of yourself, then I am convinced you will always havethecreditofactingwell.”81Onanotheroccasionheaskedhertolearntolaughatimaginaryevilslesttheycheapenherpathoflife.82

In addition to her unevenness of disposition, Bayley noticed inhis second daughter a tendency toward introversion. At the age of fifteen Elizabethhadbegunkeepingherthoughtsinwriting,alongwithselectionscopiedfromauthorsshewascurrentlyreading.Herthoughtwastopleaseherfather,andshekept the journal“withgreatdelight.”83But thedoctorsawsomedangerinthispreoccupationwithjournalingandhecalledtoherattention that “most of us are tinctured with a little of the selfish,” and hers might be this habit of corresponding chiefly with herself. He approved of suchamodeofcorrespondence,hesaid,onlyif“anewstockofinformationandusefulknowledgewereaddedfromtime to time.”84Dr.Bayleysoonfoundhisworriesinthisrespectatanend.In1793WilliamMageeSetonbecame theobjectofElizabethBayley’s interestand the recipientofhercorrespondence.

YoungSetonwasthesonofWilliamSetonoftheParbroathbranchofthefamousAnglo-Scottishfamily.TheelderWilliamwasbornon24April1746,whilehismotherwasonavisittoScotland.HisboyhoodwasspentinKirkbridgeinYorkshire,andwithrelativesinSanlucar,Spain.Followingacommoneighteenth-centurypatternthisdescendantofalong,illustriouslinewasimpelledbythedoubleforceofeconomiccircumstancesathomeandlureoftheNewWorldoverseastofollowhisrelativesabroad.Abrother-in-law,AndrewSeton,wasalreadysettledonLongIsland,NewYork,andmayhaveencouragedWilliamtocomeover.Atanyrate,by1763,hehadcrossedtheAtlanticandfoundhiswaytoNewJersey.InlessthanfouryearshehadremovedtoNewYorkCity,acquiredthe“MohawkLands”intheinteriorofNewYorkprovince,andhadmettheCursonudaughters,twoofwhomhewastomarry.85

u The Curson sisters were members of the family of the Curson-Gouverneur firm. During the Revolution thisfirm was located at St. Eustatius, the Dutch Colony, which was notoriously open to American commerceuntil its capture by Rodney in 1781. After the Revolution the Curson family centered chiefly at Baltimore.ThenamealsoappearsasCurzon.

18

WilliamSetonmarriedRebeccaCursonon2March1767,andafterherdeathespousedhersister,Anna-Maria in1776.86 By the first alliance five children were born; the eldest, William Magee, like his father before him,interruptedafamilyjauntoffthecoastofCapeHenry,Virginia.TheSetonfamilyBiblerecords:

Born20thApril1768,35minutesafter4P.M.,onboardtheshipEdward,CaptainThomasMiller(long.68.30,lat.36.)Baptized,8thofMay,atNewYork.87

AlthoughthesecondmarriagehadtobemadeoutsidetheChurchofEnglandandtheProvinceofNewYork,v itwasevenmoreproductiveof progeny.At least eight children reached maturity and others died ininfancy.Thosewere,indeed,“dayswhenpeopleinNewYorktookwivesunto themselveswith the praiseworthy intentionof increasing the nativepopulationofthecity.”88

The firm of Seton & Curson was already a thriving concern when the NewYorkGazette of 15 April 1771, had notified the public of its removal fromDockStreet“toHunter’sQuay,oppositeMr.Gouverneur’s.”DuringtheAmericanRevolution,Seton,likeBayley,remainedloyaltotheBritishcrown,andwas rewardedforhissentimentsbybeingmadesuccessivelyassistantwarehousekeeperon27July1777,anotarypublicin1779,andassistantin1782toAndrewElliott,whoheldthedualpositionofchiefofpoliceandsuperintendentoftheportofNewYork.89ThatSetonperformedtheworkrelatingtotheportisobviousfromevenacursoryglanceattherecords.ThevesselentriesareallexecutedunderSeton’shands;whileforconclusiveproofthereremainstheletterofElliotttoSirGuyCarleton,of15November1783,relatingto thedisposalofcertainportrecordsin theeventofBritishevacuation.Elliottwrote,“Iwouldproposelodgingthem[records]withMr.Seton,whoremainshere,andhasalwaystransactedthebusiness of this office and to whom such a reference would naturally be made.”90

The experience Seton acquired during his incumbency was toservehimwellinlateryears.UnderhisshrewdgazetheportofNewYorksustainedmanychanges.When theBritish tookover in1776 therewereabout 500 vessels in New York harbor, four-fifths of which were merchant ships.Almostimmediatelythereaftertradingwasactivelyresumed.Inspiteof the restrictive decrees of 1777 commerce spread out in “its normallycomplicatedfashion.”91NewYorksuppliednotonlyitsowncitizens,butvTheceremonywasperformedbyaPresbyterianministeratBrunswick,NewJerseyon29November1776.

Themarriagetoadeceasedwife’ssisterwasfrownedupon.

19

becametheentrepotfortheillicittradeengagingsomanypatriots.UpstateNewYorkwasrapidlydrainedofgoldbypurchasesofBritishmanufactures;NewJerseyopenlysetupshots to facilitate theexchangeofproduceforBritish goods; while on Long Island and Connecticut shores, merchantsstolethroughthedarknessofnighttoanappointedrendezvouswhereenemyenticementswaitedinwhaleboatswhoseultimatedestinationwasfar-offHartford or Wethersfield. LuxurioustastesdevelopedrathergenerallythroughoutthecolonialcitiesduringtheRevolution,butnowheremoresothaninNewYorkCity,where in 1777 Queen Charlotte’s birthday was marked by an elegantexhibition of fireworks at Whitehall Slip,wandLordHowe’ssuper-ballinhonorofhisinvestitureasKnightoftheBath.HeresuchnotablesasPrinceWilliamHenry,SirHenryClinton,andLordCornwalliswerewinedanddinedinthegovernor’sspaciousdiningroomoverlookingtheBattery;andiftheyoungprinceonoccasionhadtobecarriedaboardhisship,thePrince George, it cannot be considered a reflection upon his host’s prodigality.92

Lesser lights burned proportionately bright and Captain RalphDundas, R.N., wrote home to England in March 1782, that his relativeWilliamSetonwas“likedandesteemedbyeveryoneandnotspendinglessthan sixguineas aday.”CharlesWilkes,whowithhis brother JohnwassponsoredbySetononhisarrivalfromEngland,wrotebackgratefullytoMissBerry“forhavingintroducedhimtothemostagreeablehouseinNewYork.”93

Theendofthewarbroughttothemerchantclasssweepingchangesnot the least of which involved the confiscation of loyalist properties, with thecityofNewYorkprobablycontributingone-sixthofthetotal incomethestatederivedfromthesaleoftheselands.Yetnotableexceptionsweremade, andTheophylact Bache,Thomas Buchanan, JohnVanderbilt, andWilliamSetonwereamongthosewhoretainedthebulkoftheirholdings.RobertEastsuggeststhat“probablythenepotismofrelativesandfriends,aprimefactorinworldlyaffairs,protectedthefortunateones.”94AlexanderFlickarguesthatathoroughgoingpersecutiontothepointofdecimationofmerchantclasswasnotfeasible.“ThemajorityofpersonsinsouthernNewYorkhadbeenloyalistsandtheysimplycouldnotbeeliminatedoutright;though they were made to endure vindictive taxes.”95 The fine lines of nationalismorevenpatriotismwerenotyetdistinctlydrawn,andloyalismw[AlthoughMelvillegavetheoccasionasthebirthdayofQueenMarycitingRodmanGilder,acontemporary

accountof“HerMajesty’sBirthDay”publishedintheNew-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury,20January1777, doesnotmentionQueenMary. “HerMajesty” in1777wasQueenCharlotte,wifeofGeorge III.There were benefit birthday balls held in Queen Charlotte’s honor during January every year. Ed.]

20

couldbe lesscondemnedon thegroundof treason than tolerated for thesake of expediency. A final explanation may lie in the American custom, in postwarperiods,ofattackingthefamousfortunes,thespectacularswindlers,the notorious profiteers, while the little man goes serenely about his minor affairs.Thetokentollinthe1780’swastakenoftheCrugers,theBarclays,theBayards,anddeLanceys;thenthecityturnedherfacetothefuture.Thusthe representatives of the former colonial firms: the Gouverneur-Curson-Seton, and Ludlow-Crommelin-Verplancks continued, and commercialnewcomers like Craigie, Duer, and Sands entered the partially clearedarena.96

TheremovaloftheBritishin1783presentedNewYorkmerchantswith theharsh factofanowhostileEnglishmercantilism.Notonlywastheir port the scene of the heaviest British “dumping” in the first three years of peace; but the Hessian flyxruinedthegrainearmarkedforexport.97TheBritishWestIndieswereclosedtoAmericantrade,andthespecialtradingprivilegesformerlyaccordedbytheFrenchandSpanishwererevoked.Thegravityofthesituationmaybegaugedbythefactthatatleastone-thirdofNewYork’sprewartonnagehadbeeninvolvedinthisWestIndiantrade.

Meanwhile the French, in what was, perhaps, an attempt topalliate thepolitical rebuffof the separate treaty, tried to capturepartoftheAmericanAtlantictrade.“Hector”St.JohndeCrèvecoeur,inspiteofhavingsupportedtheloyalistscauseintheearlyyearsoftheRevolution,was sent by France in 1783 as first consul to New York. Fortunately, for the Frenchman,aformerfriend,WilliamSeton,wasatthedocktogreethimonhisarrival.UponinquiringforhiswifeandchildrenwhomhehadleftinAmerica,Crèvecoeurlearnedthathishomehadbeenburned,hiswifewasdead,andhischildrenvanished.Afterwardshewrote,“Ishouldhavefallentothegroundbutforthesupport,atthisinstant,ofmyfriendMr.Seton,whohadcometoconductmefromtheFrenchvesseltohishouse.”98

Whether from friendship, or a desire to capitalize upon Seton’swartime shipping experience, Crèvecoeur includedWilliam Seton in hisschemetooperateapacketserviceyunderFrenchauspicesbetweenLorientzandNewYork.SetonwastobeinchargeoftheNewYorkterminusoftherun,andtheRoyal Gazette of10December1783,ranhisadvertisementasx The Hessian fly or barley midge, (Mayetiola destructor), is a significant pest of cereal crops and was transported

from Asia into Europe and later into North America, possibly by Hessian troops who used beddingduringtheAmericanRevolution(1775–83).

yApacketwasaboatwhichcarriedmailandcargoalongwithpassengers.z Lorient, or L’Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in northwestern

France.TheFrenchEastIndiaCompany,foundedin1664andcharteredbyKingLouisXIV,establishedshipyardswhichgaveanimpetustothedevelopmentofthecity.

21

deputy agent of the French Packet, with an office at 215 Water Street. The first vessel to reach New York under such auspices was the Sylphe, whicharrivedinMarch1784.Thecareerof“thismeritoriousenterprise”wasshort-lived,however;anditremainedfortheSeton-Crèvecoeurfriendshiptobeperpetuatedinanotherform:thededicationoftheLetters of an American Farmer.99

HoweverthefailureofthepacketprojectmayhavedisappointedtheFrench,WilliamSetonwasatnolossforbusinessinterestsduringthecriticalperiod.HeseemsnottohavejoinedtherevivedChamberofCommerce,aabuthebecame in1784 thecashierof thenewlyorganizedBankofNewYork.100Thisinstitutionwastheculminationofseveralseparatemovementstowardtheestablishmentofastatebank.AlthoughitscriticsaccuseditofbeingTory,itisfairlysafetoassertthatnosinglefactiondominatedthebankin 1784. Such notables asAlexander Hamilton, Isaac Roosevelt, JoshuaWaddington,andJohnVanderbiltwereontheboardofdirectorschosenon15March1784.Hamiltonwrotethebank’sconstitution.101SetonwassenttoPhiladelphiatogetwhatbankinginformationhecouldfromtheBankofNorth America, since few of the newly-elected officers knew much about bankingpractices.OnWednesday,9June1784,thebankformallybegantodobusiness at its first location in the Walton Housebbat67St.George’sSquare. OfSeton’sappointmentascashierHenryDomettwrote:

He was especially fitted for the office...by his sterling business qualifications, his diligent, precise, and methodical habits,andbyanamiabilityandcourtesywhichmadehimvery popular. His appointment as an officer of the bank with General(Alexander)McDougal,theearlyleaderoftheSonsofLiberty,showstheesteeminwhichMr.Setonwasheldbytheliberalpartyatthecloseofthewar.102

Brissot de Warville, in his New Travels Performed in 1788,commented:

TheBankofNewYorkenjoysagoodreputation;itiswell-administered.ItscashierisMr.WilliamSeton,towhomM.deCrèvecoeurhasaddressedhisletters;andwhatwillgive

aaTheChamberofCommercewasorganizedin1768atFrauncesTavern.WilliamSetonwasanactivememberfrom1768-1781.WhentheChamberwasrecharteredin1784onlyfourmembersandthePresidentwereTories.Soonafterthissixotherloyalistswereadmitted;butitwasnotuntil1787thatoldgrudgesweresufficiently forgotten to allow the passage of a motion to readmit all old members who were citizens of thestate.ThismaypartiallyexplainSeton’sfailuretobelongafter1784.

bbTheWaltonHouseinlowerManhattanat828Pearl(formerly68Queens)StreetwasbuiltbyWilliamWaltonin1757.AWaltondaughtermarriedintotheRooseveltfamily.IsaacRooseveltwasthepresidentoftheBankofNewYorkin1784.

22

youagoodideaofhisintegrityisthathewaschosentoanimportant place notwithstanding his known attachment totheEnglishcause.103

Althoughthebankwaskeptwithoutacharteruntil1791,becauseofthepublicfearofmoniedinstitutions,itloanedmoneytothestateandfederalgovernments,aswellastoprivateenterprise.Itfurnishedthefundsfor the remodeling of the city hall according toMajor PierreL’Enfant’splan,whenthecitybecamethenation’scapital,andin1790itbecametheagent for the United States for the sale of 200,000 guilders.104 WilliamSeton remained as cashier for the first ten years of the bank’s history, and was undoubtedly instrumental in securing the appointments of CharlesWilkes as teller andWilliamMageeSetonas clerkofdiscount.105 AfterAlexanderHamiltonwasmadeSecretaryoftheTreasury,theelderSetonbecame involved in Hamilton’s financial plans for the federal government.106When the capital removed to Philadelphia Seton was one of Hamilton’schief informants on money conditions in New York. Because of hisconnectionswiththestateinstitution,Hamiltonopposedtheestablishmentof a branch of the Bank of the United States. When, over his protest,such a branch was opened in 1792, Hamilton encouraged co-operationbetween the two financial agencies, and Mr. Seton and his directors were “farfrombackward”incallingupontheSecretaryoftheTreasuryforaidor leniencywhen they found the competition of theBank of theUnitedStates hard to meet, or treasury drafts coming at inconvenient times.107

Itwas throughHamilton thatSetonbecame interested inS.U.M.,ortheSocietyforEstablishingUsefulManufactures,whichwasNewJersey’sfirst corporation. When William Pearce came from England to work with ThomasMarshallontheprojectoferectingmillsontheArkwrightplan,ccPearceboreletterstothePresident,toJefferson,andtoSeton.ItwasSetonwho,onJefferson’sreassuranceofrepayment,furnishedthepassagemoneyandsentPearceonhiswaytoHamilton.Oncemorethedesigningmajor,CharlesPierreL’Enfant,wascalledintoservice,andatPassaic,NewJersey,laidoutplansforthemostpretentiousbusinessschemeofthedecade.108

In1794WilliamSetonresignedascashierofthebankattheannualJunemeeting,andhesawhisgoodfriendCharlesWilkesreplacehim.Thereasonforthisresignationprobablyhaditsrootsintheappearanceforthefirst time, in that same year, of the firm, Seton, Maitland, & Company of cc Richard Arkwright developed the first successful water powered cotton spinning mill at Cromford in

Derbyshire,England, in1771.Hissystempioneeredthedominanceofmachinery,factory,andmillasawork ethic over skill-based, family-driven, common work. This achievement provided the trueblueprintforfactoryproductionwhichwasreplicatedintheUnitedStatesandelsewhere.

23

61StoneStreet.109TheelderSetonwasamanwithagreatsenseoffamilysolidarity.Althoughhisfamilytraitbecameinlatergenerationssomethingofanobsession,withWilliamSetonitexpresseditselfinconcernfortheeconomic welfare of his children. He used to say, “Let all come to mystrong boxwhile I am alive, andwhen I amgone youwill take care ofeachother.”110YearsaftertheelderSeton’sdeath,ElizabethBayleySetonrecountedhisgenerosity and toldher son, anotherWilliamSeton,ofhisgrandfather,“whowasincessantlyemployinghimselftoprocureeaseandconvenienceforothers,neverinhisbedafterdaylightorinittillnight,andsoindifferenttoeveryeaseorindulgenceforhimself.”111Themarriagesofhis two eldest sons may have influenced Seton’s resignation from the bank, andhissubsequentconcentrationonthemercantilepursuitsofthefamily.JamesSeton,thesecondson,marriedMaryGillonHoffmaninMarch1792,andbroughthisbridetohisfather’shouse;WilliamMageefollowedthispattern in January 1794. The reorganized firm and enlarged family, was foundat61StoneStreetalthoughtheSetonpropertyranthroughtoMillStreetandthecountinghouseofSeton,Maitland&Companywaslistedat38MillStreetafter1795.112 It was at Mill Street that the firm offered for salesuchluxuryitemsas:“marblechimneypiecessuperby(sic)wrought,”fine wines from France and Italy, damasks from the East, “Florence oil,” andraisins.113

TheyoungmaninwhomElizabethBayleybecameinterestedafterher return fromNewRochellehadbeen thoroughlyprepared to share inhis father’s business affairs.WilliamMageeSetonhadbeen educated inEnglandforsixyears,114 and he had served briefly in the Bank of New York. In1788hisfatherhadsenthimabroadtovisitthevariouscountinghousesand ports of importance on the continent. From Barcelona and Madridhe went to Genoa, Leghorn, and Rome.At Leghorn he “received muchattention”becauseofhisfriendshipwithPhilipFilicchi.Hewentfrequentlytotheoperaandmetmany“handsome”ladies,butnonewhoappealedtoAmericantaste.Hewrotehomethatmarriagesabroadwerealwaysmadefor fortuneandnever for love.115AtCremona,youngSetonpurchasedaviolin and brought home to New York what was probably the first genuine Stradivariusinthecity.116LoveformusicwasoneofthethingshefoundincommonwithElizabethBayleywhenhemether.

Sometimein1791youngSetonmetElizabethBayley.Itwasnotacase of love at first sight; instead, Seton told his brother:

24

It iscurrentlyreportedandgenerallybelievedthatIamtobemarried toMissBayleyddbut I shall think twicebeforeIcommitmyselfinanydirection.ThoughImustconfessIadmirehermentalaccomplishmentsverymuch,andwereIinclinedtomatrimony[itis]notatallimpossiblebutwhatImightfallinlovewithher;andIhavenodoubtshewillmakeanexcellentwifeandhappythemanwhogetsher.117

ButastimewentonSeton’spassionateappraisalofwomenbecamesomething warmer, and Elizabeth Bayley was courted in the approvedeighteenth-centurystyle.Herbillets-douxtoyoungSetonwereconcernedwithmeetingsat thehomesofmutualfriends.Abouthereveningvisit toMrs.Wilkes, Elizabeth wrote thatWilliam Magee “may have the honorof seeing me.”118 Likewise the evening that Mrs. Sadler did not attenda concert Elizabeth informed him that she “wishes very much to see ustherethisEvening”butwarnedhim“donotbetoolate.”119Oncewhen“anunavoidable something” obligedMrs. Sadler to cancel a tea party, planswerehastilyrearrangedandMissBayleywrotearchly,“Ifyouareanxiousto see your Eliza, you will find her at Mrs. Atkinsons, at the piano.”120Again,whenastyemighthavedeterredamorereluctantbeauty,shewrotewithalltheimperiousnessofcertainty:

YourEliza’s eye is veryuglybut notverypainful,butitwillpreventthepossibilityofmygoingout—thereforeyoumustdevotea great deal of your time to me—Come asearlyaspossible.Weshalldineatone todayas Post is going out of town.121

It was not long beforeWilliamSeton tried to seekoutDr.Bayleytoasktheimportant

question. He was not at first successful in catching thebusydoctor,andElizabethwrote:

MyFatherdinedwithusandhasgoneIdon’tknowwhere—Idonotthinkyouwillmeethimuntilevening.Yourapologyisalreadymadeby onewho ismost earnestly interested in his

Elizabeth Ann Bayley,Miniature exchanged on

Wedding Day.

William Magee Seton,Miniature exchanged on

Wedding Day.dd [It isnotknownwhy the1976editionof thisworksubstitutedMaryHoffman insteadofElizabethBayley

whose name clearly appears in the source Melville cited in the first edition (1951) of this work. Thechangeisinexplicable.AlthoughtheoriginalletterfromwhichRobertSetonquotedisnolongeravailableforconsultation,inthiseditiontheparagraphnamesElizabethBayleyasdidRobertSeton.Ed.]

25

goodopinionofyou—Your E. will be on Wall Street by five o’clockandyoushallthenknowmoreonthesubject.122

But lovewill be served, and theNewYorkWeekly Museum of1February 1794, announced that on Sunday evening last were married“bytheRev.BishopProvoost,Mr.WilliamM.SetontoMissElizaAnneBailey[sic]—bothofthiscity.”ee The Seton family Bible was a trifle more detailedandrecorded:

WilliamMageeSeton,on25th Jan.1794,byRev.Bishop[Samuel]Provoost,inJohnStreet,toE.A.Bayleyaged19years and five months, daughter of Richard Bayley, M.D. of NewYork.123

eeItwouldappearthattheceremonywasperformedatthePosthome,sinceDr.Bayleyin1794waslistedat46Broadway.At no time did the Bayleys live on John Street. The name Bayley was frequently spelled“Bailey”duringthisperiod.

26

ChAPTER 1. ThE bAylEyS AND SETONS OF NEW yORkNotes

1[SeeAppendixA.Bayley-SetonGenealogy.Ed.]2AthoroughsearchwasmadebythelateCharlesL.Souvay,C.M.Catholic

Historical Review, V(July–October,1919),231.3J.J.Clute,The Annals of Staten Island from its Discovery to the Present

Time(NewYork,1877),264;The Correspondence of John Henry Hobart(NewYork,1912),III,515-7.

4 For further identification of William Bayley, see Sister M. Hildegarde Yeager, C.S.C, The Life of James Roosevelt Bayley, First Bishop of Newark and Eighth Archbishop of Baltimore, 1814–1877 (Washington,1947),1-2.

5RobertSeton,An Old Family (NewYork:Bretano’s,1899),277.Setonstates “The church records and registers were burnt during theRevolution,hencetheuncertaintyofthedate.”

6 “Recordof theBayleyFamily inAmerica,”Archivesof theUniversityofNotreDame,NotreDame,Indiana.HereinaftercitedasUNDA.ThistypedmanuscriptwaspreparedbyRobertSeton,thegrandson

ofElizabethBayleySeton.7JamesJ.Walsh,History of Medicine in New York (NewYork,1919),I,56.8 James GrantWilson, Memorial History of the City of New York (New

York,1893),III,101.9CatherineCharltonBayleydidnotaccompanyherhusbandtoEngland.

JamesThacher,American Medical Biography (Boston,1828),I,157.10Walsh,I,54.11HenryR.Viets, “RichardBayley,” Dictionary of American Biography

(NewYork,1929),II,74-5.Bayley’sviewsoncroupwereexpressedinalettertoHunterin1781,andwerepublishedinRichter’sSurgical Repository. MichaelisgavewaytoBayley’sideas.HowardA.KellyandWalterBurrage,Dictionary of American Medicine, Biography (NewYork,1920),51.

12Ibid.13 Names of Persons for whom Marriage Licenses were Issued by the

Secretary of the Province of New York Previous to 1784 (Albany,1860), 21.This record shows no license taken byBayley for hisprevious marriage in 1767, although William Seton’s license tomarryRebeccaCursonthatsameyearappearsingoodorderonp.346.

14Walsh,I,53,reprintsthisadvertisement.SeeArthurBurns,“NewLighton Mother Seton,” Historical Records and Studies of the UnitedStates Catholic Historical Society, XXII (1932), 98. If there was

27

any connection between Dorchester and Bayley, it was probablyunofficial.

15LorenzoSabine,The American Loyalists (Boston,1847),devotesonehalfpagetoBayleyandgivesSetontwolines.

16OscarBarck,“TheOccupationofNewYorkCitybytheBritish,”History of the State of New York (NewYork,1933),IV,39-43.

17Ibid.,43.18NewYorkHistoricalSociety,WilliamSmithPapers,VI,Diary,4October1779.19 10.4, “Dear Remembrances,” Regina Bechtle, S.C., and Judith Metz,

S.C.,eds.,EllinM.Kelly,mss.ed.,Elizabeth Bayley Seton Collected Writings,3vols.(NewCityPress:NewYork,2000-2006).HereaftercitedasCW,3a:510.Thisnotebookwascompiled in later lifebyElizabethSetontorecordtheoutstandingeventsofherlifeassherecalledthem.

20Ibid.2110.4,“DearRemembrances,”CW,3a:510.22Ibid.23 The incident of John Jacob Van Arsdale’s climb up the flag pole to substitute

theStarsandStripesfortheBritishcolorsistoldintheNewYorkTimes, 26November1934,andRodmanGilder,The Battery (Boston,1936),102-3.Foralistofsourcesfortheevacuationofthecity,seeIrvingPomerantz,New York, an American City, 1783–1803 (NewYork,1938),16,n.4.

24 T.E.V. Smith, The City of New York in the Year of Washington’s Inauguration, 1789 (NewYork, 1889), 69 ff.; Evarts B. Greene,The Revolutionary Generation, 1763–1790 (NewYork,1943),286.Pomerantz,299-300.

25W.W.Pasko,Old New York (NewYork,1889),I,373.26 Gilder, 121-2. Willet was robbed of over £500. He fired upon some

suspects, but his aim was poor and the ruffians seized him, beat him, andmadeoff.

27 Livingston to Washington, 9April 1783. Livingston Papers, BancroftTranscripts,II,intheNewYorkPublicLibrary.

28NewYorkHistoricalSociety,DuerCorrespondence,WilliamSteele toWilliamDuer,6March1788.

29E.WilderSpaulding,New York in the Critical Period, 1783–1789 (NewYork,1932),13.

30GeorgeW.Edwards,New York as an Eighteenth Century Municipality, 1731—1776(NewYork,1917),57-8.

31Barck,156-7.FineoldprintsdepictingthesetwochapelsarereproducedinHenryC.Brown,Old New York (NewYork,1917),139, 183.

28

32Ibid.,162.33FrankMonaghan,“TheResultsof theRevolution,”The History of the

State of New York (NewYork,1933),IV,346.34Spaulding,33.35Pomerantz,374.BenjaminMooresucceededProvoostin1801andserved

activelyuntilincapacitatedbyparalysisin1811.36Wilson,III,19,54.37NewYorkWeekly Museum,1February1794.Theweddingtookplaceon

Sundayevening.38Pomerantz,77.39AlexanderC.Flick,“TheLoyalists,”History of the State of New York,

III,356-7.Probablyone-thirdofthecity’spopulationin1784wascomposedofformerTories.

40Pomerantz,81.41FrancisR.Packard,History of Medicine in the United States (NewYork,

1931),I,236.42Edwards,101.Thename“TheSocietyoftheNewYorkHospital,”was

adoptedin1810,buttheinstitutionhasalwaysbeenpopularlycalledtheNewYorkHospital.

43 J.P.BrissotdeWarville,New Travels in the United States of America Performed in 1788(Dublin,1792),161.

44New York, a Metropolitan City of America (NewYork,1853),157-160.The author of this book signs himself simply, “A New Yorker.”W.J.Bell,Jr.,“Doctors’Riot,NewYork1788,”Bulletin New York Academy of Medicine, December 1971,47(12):1501-03.

4510.4,“DearRemembrances,”CW, 3a:511.46JoelT.Headly,Great Riots of New York (NewYork,1873),56-65;Walsh,

II,378-84;Pomerantz, 401-2.SomeofthebestpressaccountsontheriotaretobefoundintheNewYorkletterstoPhiladelphiaandBoston.Seealso,CW,3a:511,n.7foradiscussionoftheDoctors’Riotof1788andibid.,1:425,n.7,regardingtheHighbinders’Riotof1806.

47CitedinWalsh,II,382.48Packard,I,236.49Surrogate’sCourt,NewYorkCity,Liber43,490.Thiswillmaybefound

intheHistorical Records and Studies, XXII,(1932),97.50MaryBayleyPosttoElizabethSeton,NewYork,12June1815,Daughters

ofCharityArchives,SaintJoseph’sProvincialHouse,Emmitsburg,Maryland,ASJPH1-3-3-11:21.HereaftercitedasASJPH.

512.7JournaltoRebeccaSeton,entryof1December1803,CW,1:264.ThecontextindicatesNewRochelle.ElizabethmentionsbeinginNewRochelle in 1788.She andher sister remained therewithBayleyrelativesuntil1790.10.4“DearRemembrances,”CW,3a:511.

29

52MaryBayleyPosttoElizabethSeton,NewYork,1August[1808],ASJPH1-3-3-11:3.

53ThebeststudyofNewYorkCityduringthisperiodisthatofSidneyI.Pomerantz,New York, An American City, 1783-1803,338-355;395-416aredevotedtohealthproblems.

54Smith,9.55Edwards,169-170.56BrissotdeWarville,346-7.57Ibid.,347.58 The will of Jacobus Roosevelt, probated 5 June 1776, is reprinted in

Pasko,I,365.59Wilson,III,141.60Pomerantz,340-342;Edwards,100.61Walsh,I,59-60.62 “Dr.Anderson’sDiary”gives an accountofBellevue in theplagueof

1795.Pasko,II,217-226;284-301.63Thisreportwaspublishedin1796byT.J.Swords,printerstotheFaculty

ofPhysicofColumbiaUniversity.64Medical Repository and Review (NewYork,1801),I,119.65NewYorkHistoricalSociety,JohnJayPapers,II,9,BayleytoJay,New

York,28November1796.Bayleydidnotbelieveyellowfeverwasbroughtinfromoutsidebutwasfosteredbyconditionswithinthecity.

66 1.10, Elizabeth Seton to Dr. Richard Bayley, NewYork, 13 February1797,CW,1:14.

67Dr.RichardBayleytoVanRensselaer,Esqr.,NewYork,19March1800,ASJPH1-3-3-9:101.

68Dr.RichardBayleytoElizabethSeton,NewYork,[1798],ASJPH1-3-3-9:100.

691.41,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,NewYork,15March1799,CW,1:65.ThelazarettowaslocatedatTompkinsvilleontheisland.In1800twosmallerbuildingswereaddedtoreceiveyellowfeverpatients.

70MaryBayleyPosttoElizabethSeton,NewYork,1August[1808],ASJPH1-3-3-11:3.

712.7,ElizabethSetontoRebeccaSeton,entryof1December1803,CW,1:264.

7210.4,“DearRemembrances,”CW,3a:511.73Ibid.,CW,3a:512.742.7,ElizabethSetontoRebeccaSeton,entryof1December1803,CW,1:264.7510.4,“DearRemembrances,”CW,3a:512.7610.4,“DearRemembrances,”CW,3a:513.ThereisnodoubtthatElizabeth

Bayleysuffereddeeplyatthistime.6.71,WritingtoHenrySetonon19February1811,inreplytohisquestionwhetheritwasacrime

30

tolamentthathislifewassavedfromshipwreck,ElizabethBayleySeton recalled “the moment twenty years ago in which I askedmyself the samequestion,dictatedby that anguishof soulwhichcan find no relief,” CW,2:175.Emotions recollectedafter twentyyearswereprobablyextremelyvividwhenoriginallyfelt.

77MarthaJ.Lamb,History of the City of New York (NewYork,1877),II,440.7810.3,“CatherineSeton’sLittleRedBook,”CW,3a:492.79BrissotdeWarville,352.80Dr.RichardBayleytoElizabethSeton,n.p.,TuesdaymorninginJune,

ASJPH1-3-3-9:105.81Dr.RichardBayleytoElizabethSeton,n.p.,n.d.,ASJPH1-3-3-9:97.82Dr.RichardBayleytoElizabethSeton,n.p.,n.d.,ASJPH1-3-3-9:107.831.171,ElizabethSetontoAnnaMariaSeton,[1803],CW,1:219.84Dr.RichardBayleytoElizabethSeton,NewYork,29May1793,ASJPH

1-3-3-9:92.85 Robert Seton, An Old Family, 255.Another Seton genealogy, George

Seton’s A History of the Family of Seton during Eight Centuries (Edinburgh,1896),hasaveryfaultyaccountoftheAmericanbranchofthefamilyandisoflittleuseinthisconnection.E.B.O’Callaghan,Calendar of Historical Manuscripts in the Office of the Secretary of State (Albany,1866),LXXXVIII,5March1760, shows that aWilliamSeton,merchantofNewYork,ownerofasloopOrleans petitionedforacommissionforone,JosephDagget, tocommandthevessel.ThiswouldsuggestthatSetoncametoAmericaearlierthan1763.

86SeeJ.FranklinJameson,“St.EustatiusandtheAmericanRevolution,”American Historical Review, VIII(July,1903),683-708.

87RobertSeton,Memoir, Letters and Journal,I,32.TheotherchildrenwereJames,JohnCurson,HenryandAnnaMaria.SeeGenealogy,TheSetonLine,CW,2:xxvii.

88Ibid.89ElliottreplacedRobertsonasgovernorin1783.SeeBarckintheHistory

of the State of New York, IV,45.90Report on American Manuscripts in the Royal Institution of Great Britain

(Hereford,1907),IV,457-58.JohnA.Stevens,Colonial Records of the New York Chamber of Commerce, 1768-1784 (NewYork,1867),161-163.ThebiographyofSetoncontainedinthesepageswasbasedonfactsfurnishedbyhisson,SamuelWaddingtonSeton.TheletterofElliotttoCarletoniscitedinBarck,252.

91RobertE.East,Business Enterprise in the American Revolutionary Era (NewYork,1939),184.

31

92JamesRobertsonreplacedTryonasciviliangovernor in1780.AndrewElliottsucceededRobertsonin1783.Gilder,94-100.

93RobertSeton,An Old Family, 261.TheArchivesoftheUniversityofNotreDame,Indiana,possesstranscriptsmadebyRobertSetonofexcerptsoflettersfromWilliamSeton’smotherinEngland,toWilliamSetoninNewYork,from2September1779toMay1797.TheseexcerptsprovethatbothJohnandCharlesWilkesweregivenassistancebySeton.A letter of 4December1780contains the reference to thegratitudeofCharlesWilkes.AnoriginalletterofElizabethSetonofChiswicktoWilliamSetonofNewYork,datedOctober1780ispre-servedintheArchivesoftheSistersofCharityofNewYork,MountSt.Vincent.HereaftercitedasAMSV.

94East,222.95Flick,Loyalism in New York During the American Revolution (NewYork,

1901),165-166.96East,223,230.97RobertG.Albion,“ThePortofNewYork,”The History of the State of

New York, VIII,170.98St.JohndeCrèvecoeur,Sketches of Eighteenth Century America, edited

byHenriL.Bourdin,RalphGabriel, andStanleyWilliams (NewHaven,1925),11.

99LudwigLewisohn, in the introduction toCrèvecoeur’sLetters from an American Farmer (New York, 1925), x-xiv, clarifies the subject of Crèvecoeur’s dedications. The first edition of the Letters, printedinLondonin1782,wasdedicatedtoAbbéRaynal.AsecondEnglisheditionwasprintedinPhiladelphiain1793byMatthewCarey.Intheinterim,Crèvecoeurhad“translated”thelettersintoFrenchin1784anddedicatedthiseditiontoWilliamSeton,Esquire.ThisFrencheditionwasrepublishedagainin1787.

100 See J. A. Stevens, Colonial Records of the New York Chamber of Commerce (NewYork,1867),303,161-3.

101HenryWilliamsDomett,A History of the Bank of New York, 1784-1884 (Cambridge,1884),1-11.

102Ibid.,17.103BrissotdeWarville,171.104Domett,39;Pomerantz,234-5.105Directory of the City of New York, 1786.106Duringthecrisisof1791-1792theBankofNewYorkmadepurchaseson

Hamilton’sordersofsmalllotsof6%issuestoprovidethetemporaryreliefthemarketdesperatelyneeded.SeeJosephS.Davis,Essays in the Earlier History of American Corporations (Cambridge,1917),297-311.

32

107Ibid.,421.108Ibid.,401.109New York City Directory and Register, 1791.1107.69,ElizabethSetontoWilliamSeton,CW,2:459.Copy.Theoriginal

isatAMSV.1116.194,ElizabethSetontoWilliamSeton,17June1815,CW,2:314.112“SetonandCompany,Merchants”waslocatedatNumber12,Hanover

Square prior to the enlargement of the firm. See New York City Directories, 1787-1793.113Commercial Advertiser, 1October1797.114RobertSeton,An Old Family,274-5.115WilliamMageeSetontoWilliamSeton,Leghorn,28December1788,

Daughters of CharityArchives Marillac Provincialate, St. Louis,Missouri,#446-451.HereaftercitedasAMP.

116RobertSeton,An Old Family, 275.117RobertSeton,Memoir, Letters and Journal, I,13.1181.1,ElizabethAnnBayleytoWilliamMageeSeton,n.d.,CW,1:2.1191.3,ElizabethAnnBayleytoWilliamMageeSeton,n.d.,CW,1:3.1201.5,ElizabethAnnBayleytoWilliamMageeSeton,n.d.,CW,1:4.121 1.4,ElizabethAnnBayley toWilliamMageeSeton, CW, 1:3. “Post”

wasDr.WrightPost.ElizaBayleywaslivingwithhersister,MaryBayleyPost,at18JohnStreet.

1221.6,ElizabethAnnBayleytoWilliamMageeSeton,n.p.,n.d.,CW,1:4.123RobertSeton,Memoir, Letters and Journal, I,14.SeeDirectories of City

of New York, 1786-1801.

hg

33

ChAPTER 2hg

MANhATTAN MATRONWilliamMageeSetonbroughthisyoungbridetohisfather’shouse

on Stone Street that January 1794. He was very proud of the ease withwhichshecharmedhisfather,brothers,andsisters.TheelderSetonquicklycame to admire and respect his first son’s wife. To her he confided many of the details of his own career.He showed her family letterswhich hetreasured,withthewords:

You are the first of my children to whom I have submitted a perusal of them, and I request you will return them to

me unsullied by the eye ofimpertinent curiosity. Let noone look at them.The parentalaffectionIeverfeltformydearWilliam, your husband, youwill find strongly marked in every letter.Thiswill giveyoupleasure, but when I add thatthisaffectionhasincreasedeversince,IthinkeverypagewhereI mention him will be doublydeartoyou.Thatyoumaylong,

verylongenjoyeveryblessingtogetheristhesincereprayerofyouraffectionateandfondfather.1

Whentheyoungcouplemovedtoahomeoftheirownthebondwasinnowayweakened.Thespringof1796whichtookthemtoPhiladelphia,ona tripcombiningbusinessandpleasure, left theolderSeton impatientfortheirreturn;andhewroteElizabeththenewsofthecity,butdemandedtoknowtheexacthouroftheirexpectedreturn.“Noheart,”hesaid,“willrejoicetoseeyoubothmore.”2Elizabeth,forherpart,wasequallyfondofherfather-in-law.Ofteninlateryearssheusedhisexampletoinspirehersons,andsheoncewrotetoayoungerWilliam:a

aWilliam M. Seton (25 November 1796–14 January 1868) is believed to have been named after his father,WilliamMagee.Extant documents bear the youngerSeton’s signature as “WilliamM.Seton.”Williamtook Vincent for his confirmation name and later sailed with the United States Navy. Married to EmilyPrime(1832),thecouplehadninechildren.Williamdiedinhisseventy-secondyearandisburiedintheoriginalcemeteryatMountSaintMary’sUniversitynearEmmitsburg.

The Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton on siteof former Seton residence, New York City.

34

ItisnecessarytohaveseenhimintheseveralsituationsofHusband, Father, Friend, Protector, to form any just ideaof the perfections of his character; which bright exampleimpressindeliblyonyourmind.Youbearhisname—andIpraytoHeavenwithallthefervorofaMother’shopesthatyouwillpreserveitunblemishedandyieldittotheauthorofyourbeingasspotlessashedid.3

The first years of marriage were for Elizabeth Seton blessed in manyways.Herhusbandhadmarriedforlove,andnotforfortune,andhecherishedhislivelylittlewifewithallthedevotionathiscommand.Whenhe had to leave her, to go on the firm’s business to Newark, Trenton, and Philadelphia, he wrote daily letters home, urging her to spend whateversheliked,butpleading,“BeasmuchatmyFather’sasyoucan.”4Hewasdelighted to find a picture of her tucked away in his shaving case, and he proudlydisplayedittohisfriends.His“darlingtheme”onalloccasionswashisbeautifullittlewifeathomeinNewYork.5OneyearhetookElizabethand their infant daughter,Anna Maria,b with him as far as Philadelphia,wherehiswifepreferredtoremainwithfriendswhileWilliamwentontoDelaware.FromthecapitalcityofDelawarenowlocatedatDover,hewroteherofhissister’scdisappointmentthatElizabethandthebabyhadnotcomealltheway.6

Elizabeth’slovematchedhisown,andshetooktothepenwithevengreater easeduring their brief separationsby addressingmany an ardentmissiveto“mydearesttreasure.”Sheconfessed,however,toWilliam,“yourpictureissomelancholythatIdon’tlovetolookatitinyourabsence.”Somenightsshecouldnotfallasleepuntilthreeo’clock,andwouldtakeherBibleandreaduntilsleepcame.7Herlovefromtheverybeginningwastincturedwithsadness,forherhusband’shealthwasuncertain.WilliamMageeSetonmusthavecontracted tuberculosisasaveryyoungman.His letters fromEuropein1788and1789containfrequentreferencesto“paininthebreast,”andElizabethwasawarefromthestartthatherhusbandwassubjecttothesepains.Theworryhadasoberingeffectonherenthusiasticdisposition,and

bAnnaMariaSeton (3May1795–12March1812)wasnamedafterherpaternal aunt and step-grandmother.HermotherusuallyreferredtoherasAnnabutaftertheirreturnfromItalyin1804,shewasoftencalledbytheaffectionatenameofAnnina(LittleAnna).OnherdeathbedSisterAnninamadevowsasaSisterofCharityanddiedatagesixteen.SheisburiedinSt.Joseph’sCemetery,originalgraveyardoftheSistersofCharityatEmmitsburg.

cThesisterwasAnnaMariaSetonVining,wifeofSenatorJohnVining,wholivedat“TheOakes,”nearDover,Delaware.

35

shematuredveryrapidlyinthoseearlymonthsofmarriage.ShewrotetoElizaSadlerdinParis:

IhavelearnedtocommunewithmyownHeart,andItrytogovern it by reflection, and yet that Heart grows every day moretenderandsoftened,whichingreatmeasureIattributetothestateofmyWilliam’shealth.ThathealthonwhichmyeveryHopeofHappinessdepends,andwhichcontinuesmeeither[in]themostperfectHumanfelicity,orsinksmeinthelowestdepthsofsorrow.8

Marriage was for Elizabeth Seton a continual growth as well asa constant lesson in self-denial. As her husband’s responsibilities grewheavier, she tried toput asideherownwishes.She told JuliaScott,e herfriend fromgirlhood, that all considerationsmust “yield toAffection formyWill,andwhenIconsiderhisvexationsandcaresIblessmyGodwhoallowsmetoshareandlessenthem.”9Whenyellowfeverthreatenedthecityin1798Elizabethrefusedtoleavebecause“PoorSetonischained,”assheexplainedittoJulia,“andwhereheis,thereamIalso.”10Theneighborhoodwasdeserted,onlythreedoorsawaydeathhadcometoonevictiminthestreets.Herfather,Dr.Bayley,wasspendingeveryhourinthehospitalandlazaretto.Butwhileherlovedoneswere“somuchexposed”ElizabethSetoninfinitely preferred remaining near them.11

NexttothedeeplovewhichexistedbetweenthetwoyoungSetons,the greatest joy Elizabeth found in the early months of marriage wasderivedfromhavingahomeofherown.Afterthebitteryearsofinsecurityimmediatelyprecedingherwedding,theyoungbridefoundtheprospectofthehouseonWallStreettoogoodtobetrue.Yearslater,lookingbackatthatfallin1794,ElizabethSetonrecordedinher“DearRemembrances:”f

Myownhomeat20—theworld—thatandheaventoo,quiteimpossible!Everymomentcloudedwiththatfear,“MyGod,if I enjoy this I lose you”—yet no true thought ofWhom

d Eliza Sadler was the wife of Henry Sadler, merchant, and was one of Elizabeth Seton’s closest friendsthroughout her life. Mrs. Sadler was in Paris in 1796 but after her return, the Sadler residence was atCourtlandtStreet.Thenameissometimesspelled“Saidler.”

eJuliaSitgreaveshadbeenJuliaSitgreavesbeforehermarriage.Herbrother,SamuelSitgreaves,wasamemberof the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania in the fourth and fifth sessions of Congress. As Mrs.LewisA.Scott,Juliahad livedseveralyears inNewYorkCity.LewisAllaireScott,sonofJohnMorinScott,wasSecretaryofStateofNewYorkin1791.ElizabethBayleyhadknownher.AtthetimethisletterwaswrittenMrs.ScottwasawidowandlivedinPhiladelphiawithhersister,Mrs.JamesCox.

fThisretrospectivememoirisfoundinalittlevolumewhichwasanotebookstartedforAnnaMariaSeton,butafterherdaughter’sdeathMrs.Setonusedthepagestorecordthehighlightsofherownlife.Theselastpagesarecommonlycalled“DearRemembrances.”

36

Iwould lose, rather fearofhelland[being]shutout fromheaven.12

TheWallStreet of the1790’swas a far cry from theWallStreetoftoday.JustpriortotheRevolutionthestreethadbeguntogivewaytosplendidprivateresidences;theVerplanckmansionreplacedtheoldBayardsugar refinery, to cite one instance. The revival of Wall Street was considered oneof thewondersof thepostwarperiod.The treeswhichhadbeencutdown for fuel during the cruelwinter of 1788werebeing replaced.ThewallsofthenewTrinityChurchroseafter1790togracetheupperendofthestreet.ThebeautyoftheremodeledcityhallmadethecenterofWallStreetthe focal point of all civic and official life; while Tontine Coffee House, nearCoffeeSlip,madeafaintpredictionofthestreet’sfuture.

Although she lived there only four years, 27WallStreetwas thesceneofmanyhappyeventsinthelifeofElizabethSeton.gItwasherethather first daughter, Anna Maria, was born on 3 May 1795; and news of the event quickly reachedPhiladelphiawhere Julia andher sister,Charlotte,enjoyed every word ofWilliam Seton’s proud announcement, “even theparent’simpartialaccount”ofthelittlegirl’sattractions.13Thelittleworldcontained within its walls quite subdued the former “reigning passion”Elizabethhadhad“toseetheworldandEuropeansinparticular.”Thesightof William playing “Rosy Dimpled Boy,” “Pauvre Madelon,” “ReturnEnrapturedHours,”and“Carmignol,”allasfastastheviolincouldsoundtheminsuccession,coupledwiththeknowledgethatacertainpairofeyes,“muchnearerblackthananyothercolor,”wereshutfastinsleep,inaroomnearby,broughtdeepcontentmenttoherheart.ElizabethconcludedalettertoElizaSadlerwith thehomelywords, “Myhusbandbegins togap, theclock strikes ten, and my fingers are cold.”14

ThreechildrenwereborninthehouseonWallStreet.AfterAnnaMaria came William Seton, who was born on 25 November 1796. This first sonheldaplaceinElizabeth’sheartthatcouldneverbeusurped.Hiseveryillness filled her with terror and after one such crisis in his first year, she wroteto“Sad,”herfriendElizaSadler:

My Father thought he could not recover. Could I speakto you in the language of my feelings? Should I attemptto express what passed in my Heart in any moment ofthat time while his recovery was uncertain, you would

g The New York City Directory, 1795, givestheaddressas“17Wall,”butthiswasthesamehouseasthatlistedas27WallStreetinthedirectoriesof1796,1797,and1798.AftertheSetonsreturnedtoStoneStreetin1798 theWallStreethousewasoccupied for a fewyearsby theWrightPosts.There isnoevidence toshowwhethertheSetonseverownedthishouseornot.

37

lament thatHeavenhadallowedmetheprivilegeofbeinga Mother. For what is there in the uncertainty of humanhappiness to repay the agonizing convulsion of thosetwenty-four hours in which I witnessed his sufferings?15

AboutthesametimelittleAnnawasbeginningtoshowsignsoftheBayleydispositionandElizabethsaidruefullythatAnnaMaria“possessesfromherMotheramostungovernabletemper.”WilliamMagee,herhusband,leftalldisciplinetothechild’smother;Dr.Bayleyrecommendedconquestthroughgentleness,whileDr.PostandMarysuggestedwhipping.ThislastseemedtoElizabeth“anunnaturalresource”andthelastshewouldresortto.16FortunatelyMrs.SetoncouldshareherworrieswithhersisterMary.Thesummerof1797foundthemescapingfromthecity’sheattoahouseontheEastRiver,oppositetheBatteryandfacingGovernorsIsland.Thepleasurethewivestookinreceivingtheirhusbandstogetherintheevening,andthecompanionshipandprotectiontheysharedduringthedaywhilethemenwereaway,counterbalancedanyinconveniencethat“aunionoffamiliesalwaysoccasions.”17The crises of the summerpassed and the proudmother satdowntopracticewritingalettertoherhusband’sgrandmotherinEngland,assertingthat“neverweretheretwosweeterchildren”thanlittleWilliamandAnnaMaria,“ourheart’sdelightandalreadyourcompanion.”18

The third child born at Wall Street was Richard Bayley Seton,hwhosearrivalon20July1798nearlycosthismotherherlife.TheyoungSetonshadundergoneasevereblowearlierthatsummerinthedeathoftheirbelovedfather,theelderWilliamSeton.Mr.Setonhadsufferedabadfallontheicewhileescortingaguesttohiscarriagethepreviouswinter.ByJuneitwasquiteobviousthattheoldermanwasseriouslyill,andallthoughtsof leaving thecitymustbeabandoned.ThenewsofSeton’s illnessevenreachedGermany,andElizaSadlerwrotefromHamburgofherconcern,adding,“HislifeissointerestingtoallwhoknoworhaveheardofhimthathishealthisasubjectofanxiousinquirywheneverAmericansmeet.”19

hRichardBayleySeton(20July1798–26June1823)wasnamedafterhispaternalgrandfather.Whilesailingwith the Navy off the coast of Liberia, Richard contracted a contagious fever from the United Statesconsul whom he had nursed back to health there. The fever was fatal and Richard died at age twenty-five.Heisburiedatsea.JehudiAshmunwastheUnitedStatesrepresentativetoLiberiain1822.AshmunhadbeenanagentoftheAmericanColonizationSocietywhichpromotedthesettlementofblacksatMonrovia,Liberia.

38

ThomasGreenleaf’sNew Daily Advertiser, althougherringinregardtoSeton’sage,igenerallyrepresentedpublicopinionwhenitnotedthat“hewasrankedamongthemostrespectablecitizensofthecommunity,andhasleftthirteenchildrentolamentthissadbereftmentofatenderparent.Theloss of this valuable citizen is universally regretted.”20The death of thisparentwasagreatshocktothewholefamily,butespeciallysototheeldestson,WilliamMageeSeton,andtohiswife.OfthesevenyoungestchildrenonlyRebecca,whowaseighteen,wasoldenoughtoacceptresponsibility.ForElizabeth,whosodearlylovedquietandhersmallfamily,tobecomeallatoncethemotherofsixmorechildren,andtheheadofanevenlargerfamily,wasafrighteningprospect.Butherowndismaywasovershadowedbyherhusband’s,who foundhehadnotonly losthis closest friend,butwas now faced with the responsibility of adjusting and managing thebusiness affairs of the firm, Seton, Maitland & Company. His wife was hischiefsupport,andforfourweeksthepenwasscarcelyoutofherhand,WilliamMageekepthersobusywith thearrangementsof familypapersand business letters. As her pregnancy progressed the approach of herconfinement found Elizabeth Seton “woefully fatigued, and so unwell.”21

ItwasphysicallyimpossibleforElizabethtomovetothefamilyhomeonStoneStreetbeforeAugust.TemporaryarrangementsweremadeforthebereavedSetonchildreninConnecticut,andatCragdon.jElizaMaitland,WilliamMagee’ssister,wasspendingthesummeratthelatterplace,andtookchargeintheemergency.ThecombinedburdensofworkandworryresultedintheneardeathofElizabethSetoninJuly.Herconditionwassogravethatbothmotherandchildwereforsomehoursinaverydoubtfulstate;andinordertosavethemotherthechildwasnearlylost.Elizabethsawfromunderheavyeyelidsherfather,Dr.Bayley,onhiskneesblowingbreath into the baby’s inert lungs.The little boy was very appropriatelynamedafterhisgrandfather,wholiterallygavehimthebreathoflifethatday.22Thebaby’sfatherreceivednewsofhisbirthatPhiladelphiawherehehadgoneonbusiness.WilliamMageeSetonhadfullyexpectedtobehomebefore theeventandwrote fearfully thathe suspectedElizabethwasnot“aswellasusual.”HeaskedhertohavehissisterRebeccawriteatonceto

i William Seton, senior, was fifty-two when he died on 9 June 1798. He was buried in Trinity churchyard,“attendedbyaprocession,which, fromitsnumbersandrespectabilityspokeaneulogiumasstrongandsympatheticaswordscaneasilyconvey.”Commercial Advertiser.[HisburialrecordatTrinityChurchisno longer extant. Ed.] [TheArgus,orGreenleaf’sNew Daily Advertiser,wasestablished in1766. JohnHolt was succeeded as publisher by Thomas Greenleaf in 1790 until 1810 when the paper wasdiscontinued.Ed.]

jCragdonwasacountryhomewhichtheelderWilliamSetonhadleasedandfurnished.Thenameisreminiscentof Seton roots in Scotland and is derived from the Celtic word carraig, a rock, and theAnglo-Saxon Dunor Don,ahill.

39

Brunswickksothathemighthavenewsonhiswayhome.23Elizabethwas,indeed,greatlyweakenedfor the remainderof thesummer,andhereyesinparticulartroubledher.Butherspiritsrefusedtobekeptdown,andshewrotehappilytoJuliaScotton20August:

SinceIlastwrotetoyoumyJulia—myPainsandAchesareallover and Ihaveoneof the loveliestBoys to repaymethatmyfondimaginationcouldhaveformed.[Heis]notalittleadditionallydeartomeforbearingthenameofRichardBayleywhichsoftenedbySetonattheendaresoundswhichverymuchdelightmeandare thepromiseofmuchfutureHopeandComfort.24

After a brief trip to Bloomingdalel—in the last week ofAugust,Elizabeth expected to settle down to face the problems of her enlargedfamily.25

TheSetongirls,mWilliam’syoungersisters,wereallwithElizabethSetonduringSeptember.ElizabethfoundthemverylittletroubleandtoldJulia, “It is impossible to meet with more amiable dispositions.”26 WallStreetwaspracticallydesertedatthistime,fortheyellowfeverepidemicof1798wasspreading.MovingtoStoneStreetbeforeNovemberwasoutofthequestion,sinceitwasintheverycenteroftheinfectedarea.Dr.Bayleywasspendingallhistimecaringforvictims,andforaweekatatimehisdaughterdidnotcatchaglimpseofthebusyman.BothMaryandWrightPostsufferedmildattacksoffeverandwenttoLongIslandtorecover.ButuntilWilliamsuccumbedElizabethremainedcourageouslyinthecity.Herhusband’sillness,noticedonaweekendatCragdon,causedallheroldfearstorevive,andElizabethdeterminednottogobacktoWallStreetuntilcoldweatherremovedalldanger.27

LifeatCragdonwasfarfromrestful.Therewere“eighteeninthefamily, in a house containing only five small rooms.” Wherever she turned, Elizabethheardsomesmallvoicecalling“Sister”or“Mother.”Sheseldomhadaminutetoherself,whatwithbeingconstantnursetolittleDick;andwhen hewas not in her arms, the “two paddlers”were always close onherheelsbeggingtogotothegarden,thewoods,or“thebreadandbuttercloset.”Williamwasveryweak,eventhoughconvalescing;whiletheolderkNewBrunswick,NewJersey.l Cragdonwas located inBloomingdale,whichwas then aboutwhere 78th Street,NewYorkCity, is located

today.ElizabethSetonwentthereinAugust1798,summonedbytheillnessofhertwoolderchildren,whohad been sent there during her confinement prior to the birth of her third child. The infant Richard did notflourish under the changed conditions at Cragdon and the Setons returned to the city about 29 August.

mThesegirlswereRebecca,Mary,Charlotte,Henrietta(Harriet),andCecilia.Theboys,SamuelandEdward,attended the Cheshire Academy in Cheshire, Connecticut, where Dr. John Bowden was principal(1796-1802)ofthisepiscopalschoolforboys.

40

girlsbegantocatchcoldsasOctoberprogressed.28ByNovembershewasonlytoogladtoreturntoNewYork,inspiteofthetrialswhichawaitedherthere.

Thesightofherownhomeagain, thecheerfulnessof theblazingfire, her treasured piano answering her touch with its sweet tone, were morethanshecouldbearwithequanimity,andElizabethsanktoherknees,crying briefly and bitterly for the past joys the room had shared. “Who,” she wondered,“canhelplookingbackonInnocentandpastpleasurewithoutsorrow, I canmore forceably saywithoutanguish?”29But itwasnotherwaytolookbackwardlong,andsheturnedtothemoreimmediateproblemofpreparingthehouseonStoneStreetforfalloccupancy.Thehousewaspracticallyempty.WilliamMageeSeton,ontheadviceofhisfriends,andwiththeconsentofthefamily,hadsoldmostofhisfather’sfurnishings.nThe greater part had been in use since the elder Seton’s first marriage, and further, family disputes might have arisen if one son had kept thefurniture.30ElizabethandWilliamhadanabundanceoftheirownatWallStreetwhichwouldbemovedtothefamilyhouse,afterpapering,painting,andwhitewashinghadremovedalldangeroffever.TheenergeticlittleMrs.Setonattackedpantries,closets,store-rooms,andcellarlikeacommandinggeneral.SoontheplacewasreadytoreceivethefamilyfromCragdon,andlifeatStoneStreetsettleddownintoitswinterpattern.CharlotteandMarySetonwentofftoboardingschoolatBrunswick,NewJersey;owhileRebeccaSetonandElizabethtookchargeoftheyoungerchildren,Harriet,Cecilia,Anna Marie, and the little boys. It was Elizabeth Seton’s first experiment atteachingandsheenjoyedit.Thesethreeyoungpupilswhocameearlyunder her influence were indelibly marked with her stamp. They followed her physically and spiritually, throughout their lives.All three lie buriednearhergraveinMaryland.Butthatstorywillbetoldinanotherchapter.

RebeccaSeton,WilliamSeton’ssister,provedagreatblessingtohersister-in-lawduringthehecticdaysofreadjustmentinfamilylife.BeforeElizabethknewherwell,shehadbelievedBectobearatheruninformedgirl,possessingsomegoodqualities,butthesemuchneglected.31NowshediscoveredBectobeacharmingyoungwomanofexceptionalvirtues.Fromthisperiodon the twowomen,whowere sixyearsapart inage,becametheclosestoffriends.ElizabethSetonwasirresistiblydrawntovirtueandnThe articles, such as silver,whichwere not soldwere valued by competent judges and divided among the

children.WilliamSeton,senior,leftnowill.o Miss Sophia Hay, an Englishwoman, opened this school in 1798, probably in a house on Burnet Street in

presentdayNewBrunswick.Theschoolcontinueduntilatleast1815andwaswellknowninitsdayasa“fashionable institutionof learning,”anddrewstudentsfromprominentfamilies in theNortheast.SeeMary Demarest, “Some Early New Brunswick Schools for Girls,” New Jersey Historical Society Proceedings,”53(1935),163-185.

41

latersaidofRebecca thatwhileshe livedshe taughtpeoplehowto live,andatherdeathshowedthemhowtodie.Elizabethinherturnexertedanenormous influence over the life of her sister-in-law. The two women were kindredspiritswhoshareddeepspiritualbonds.

Rebecca, like William, suffered from the Seton complaint,tuberculosis, and although the disease was not understood, the frequentattacksoffeverandweaknesswerearealsourceofanxietytothefamily.WhenBecwasforcedtotaketoherbedinthespringof1799Elizabethwassorelytried.Calamitiesseemnevertocomesinglyinlargehouseholds,andBec’sillnesswasaccompaniedbythatofbabyRichard’s,thearrivalhomeofSamandEdwardforthespringvacation,tobefollowedbythegirlsfromNewJersey.BythemiddleofMayeveryoneofthethirteenchildrenhadhadthe“intermittentfever”exceptlittleWill.32ButtheendofMaybroughtrelief.Theboysandtheirsistersreturnedtotheirrespectiveschools,andthistimeHarrietSetonaccompaniedMaryandCharlotte.Itwashopedthata trip southward would benefit Bec, and so in the company of young Cecilia andescortedbyJackSeton,theirbrother,theinvalidleftNewYorkon3June1799forDelaware.33

ElizabethandRebeccamissedeachotherduring themonths theywereseparated,andafter theyoungmotherwentagain toCragdonforachangeshewrotelonginglytoher“soul’ssister”:

I never sweep the hall, or dress the flower pots, or walk around thepeartreewalk,butyouareasmuchmycompanionasifyou were actually near me, and last evening finding myself accidentallybythegardenfenceattheheadofthelanewhereweoncestoodatsunsetlastFallanticipatingwhatwewoulddothissummerifWillyhiredCragdon,IwassostruckwiththerecollectionandtheuncertaintyofwhenIshouldseeyouagain, thatIhadaheartycryingspell,whichisnotaverycommonthingforme.34

Itwas,perhaps,oneofthepenaltiesofherardentnaturethatcausedElizabethSeton,surroundedbysomany,toreachoutinlongingfortheotherswhoweregone.SheoncewrotetoJuliaScott,“SurelythenextblessinginourfutureexistencetothatofbeingneartheSourceofPerfectionwillbetheenjoymentofeachother’sSocietywithoutdreadofinterruptionfromevil.”35Rebecca,forherpart,wasaseager tobewithElizabeth,andshewroteinJuly,“Theideaofmyspendingthewinterawayfromyoumakesmemiserable.”36

42

Nevertheless,thewintermonthsfoundBecstillawayandthemailsbetweenNewYorkandDoverwerekeptbusy.Elizabethreportedall thehappenings,theprogressofthechildren,herhusband’sattacksof“fever,”and vacation problems of the older children. She described Bec’s rosy“Ricksy”whoshuthislittleeyeswhenthewindblewinhisfaceand“laughsasheusedtowhenyoublewathim.”37Sherelatedthedetailsofthesewingsession in which bolts of dimity, flannel, and calico were transformed into wardrobesforMaryandhersisters.Shereportedtherebellionoftheyoungladies when Elizabeth insisted on head coverings for evening, and thecompromise for “muslin of finer quality” in the place of the objectionable jackonetkerchiefs.Sheaddedwryly:

I mention this particularly to you as you may also haveanotheraccountofitfromthosewhothoughtit“foolishtomuffle girls like old women.” Well, I think we are all muffled nowandshallnotbepuzzledtofollowthefashion!38

WhenBecgottheseamusingaccounts,andheardfromhersistersinBrunswickwhowrote“inecstasyofthehappyhoursathome,”shelongedthemoretoreturn.Butwinterweatherwastooseverefortravelingandshecontentedherselfwithsuchqueriesas“WhatareyourplansforNewYear’sDay?Doyoualldinetogetherasusual?”39NotuntilthefollowingMaydidthetwofriendsmeetagain.

Althoughherfamily’sdemandsuponhertimewereunusuallyheavy,ElizabethSetonhadmanyotherinterestsaswell.TheSetonhouseholdwasneverwithoutservantsandconveyances,so that theyoungmatroncouldindulge in civic and social affairs while the Seton fortunes flourished. Althoughinlaterlifeshewrotepthatsheturned“withabhorrenceonlyata remembrance of the effect the frequentation of the theatre had on mypassions,andtheextravagantideasIimbibedinit.”ElizabethSetonasayoungmarriedwoman“sharedthepleasuresofherassociatesinattendingtheperformancesoftheday.”40TheoldJohnStreetTheatrehadbeentheonlytheatreuntiltheParkTheatreopenedin1798.Afterthistimetheatregoingbecame increasinglypopular.41Elizabeth sometimeswentwithhersister,MaryPost, andonceaviolentApril thunderstormcameupas thesistersemergedfromthetheatre.Theyfoundthemselvesinthecenterofatraffic snarl, with coachmen quarreling and driving their hacks against each other’swheels.Elizabeth,whenrecountingtheincidenttoJuliaScottsaidwhimsicallythatshenowhadfullproofofthedoctrineoftheangels,forp Catherine Seton’s Little Red Book, waswrittenbyElizabethSetonforherdaughter,CatherineCharlton,also

calledCatherineJosephine(afterMarchof1810)orsimplyJosephine,containsadvicewrittenbyamothertoheradolescentsometimeafter1816.

43

herownguardianhad landedhersafe inWallStreet“withoutonesingleHysterick.”42 In later years, it was the danger within the theatre whichfrightenedhermore,andElizabethwrote:

ThePassionsrepresentedonatheatre[stage]arerepresentedin quite a different form from their reality.We know thatthey are the secret springs of the human heart and thesource of all our evils, yet on the stage it would appearthat the spirit of dominion, pride, resentment, vengeance,etc.,proceedfromgreatnessofsoulandtheelevationofanoblemind,while a veil is thrownover the corruption oftheheart,andthehorridconsequencestheydrawusin—43

Elizabeth Seton had other diversions than thoughtless pleasures,however.In1797agroupofpublic-spiritedwomenmetatthehomeofMrs.IsabellaMarshallGrahamtoformasociety toaiddestitutewidowswithchildren.Mrs.Graham,aScotswoman,hadbeeninNewYorkCitysince1789andwasalreadythedirectressofaschoolforgirls.44ElizabethSetonandmanyofherfriends:qSarahHoffman,CatherineMannDupleix,ElizaLivingston,RebeccaSeton,SarahClarkeStartin,andElizaCraigSadler,took an active part in this benevolent enterprise which included manyQuakers.45Elizabethbecametreasurerofthesocietyrandspentmuchtimeandenergytoassistthewidows.46The“continualcontrast”shesawbetweentheirlotandhersmadeherfeelverygrateful,andshetriedtoresignherownblessingstoGodinordernottooffendHim.47Evenwhenherownfortunesbegantowane,ElizabethSetonwroteRebecca:

Ihavecutoutmytwosuitstodayandpartlymadeone,[then]heard all the lessons, too, and had a twohours visit frommy Poor Widow, [Mrs.] Veley—[who has] no work—nowood—child sick, etc...Should I complain with a brightfire within—bright, bright MoonovermyshoulderandtheDarlingsallwell,hallooing,anddancing?48

Meanwhile the society grew. In 1812 it received a charter, andin March 1803 the officers and managers petitioned the New York State legislatureforpermissiontoconductalotterytoraise$15,000forlow-renthousingforthewidowsandaschoolfortheirchildren.49ElizabethSeton

qElizabethcalledherclosestfriendsbynick-names:“Dué”wastheformerCatherineMann,nowMrs.GeorgeDupleix,and“Sad”wasformerlyElizaCraig,nowMrs.HenrySadler.TheystoodbyElizabethafterherconversionandtheirfriendshipcontinuedthroughoutherlife.

r Mrs. Seton’s name does not appear as an officer of the society after 1804. She became a widow herself in1803, and was sorely in need of assistance for her own children. [There is no extant record that shereceivedassistance.Ed.]

44

busiedherselfcollectingmoneyandvisitingtheunfortunate.ShereportedhappilytoBec:

WhoshalldaretodistrustHismercy?Thismorning’sSunfoundmewithoutaPenny. ItisnowsettingandWeareworth20DollarsinpossessionandtheLadieshavetorefundme10tomorrow,thenweshallhave30—delightful.The cruses does not fail [Cf.1Kings17:14-16].50

The charitablework she engaged induring thisperiodhad a far-reaching influence upon Elizabeth’s life; and although her connection with theNewYorkwidows’societywasbrief,sheneverlostherinterestintheprogressofsuchworkinhernativecity.51

AtthesametimethatElizabethengagedinanactivelifeofgoodworksandfamilyduties,shewasalsointerestedintheintellectualcurrentswhich ebbed and flowed through New York at the close of the eighteenth century.ThegreateraofAmericanDeism,whichextendedfrom1789toaround1805,wasatitspeak.OrganizedreligionaftertheRevolutionfacednot only changes within its administrative framework, but had to copewiththechallengetoitstenetswhichDeismwasinsidiouslyasserting.TheFrenchphilosophershad,of course,beenknown inAmericaprior to thewar.Voltairewasreadratherwidelyafter1763,butRousseau’s“prudentskepticism”wasevenmoreinharmonywiththemilderDeismofAmerica.52In1794,NewYorkershadfoundedasocietydevotedtothespreadofFrenchrevolutionaryprinciples,andinthewinterof1796–1797adeisticalsocietywasorganized.53TheattacksonChristianitywereledbyThomasPaine,andwere not confined to any one class of society. The Age of Reason couldbefound innearlyeveryvillage.From1797 to1800,“theskepticalcurrentsweptforwardsorapidlythatChristianityitselfseemedabouttobeengulfedinaseaofdeisticoblivion.”54Itisnotsurprisingthattherecedingwavecaught theattentionofElizabethBayleySeton,whoseclose friendElizaSadler had returned from France in January 1799, filled with enthusiasm forFrenchcultureandRousseau’sEmile.Rev.SimonGabrielBrutétinlateryearswroteindistress,“NeverletgothatpoorMother[Setonwas]pervertedtoRousseauandEmiliusbyherunhappyfriendMrs.Sadler.”55

During the summer of 1799 William Magee Seton traveled toBaltimoreandhiswiferetiredtoCragdon,atBloomingdale,forthehottestweather.Elizabeth tookwithheracopyofRousseau,and invitedSad tovisitherwiththewords:sAcruseisasmallcontainerforliquid,suchaswateroroil.tRev. Simon Gabriel Bruté de Remur, (1779-1839), a Sulpician priest from France and later first bishop of

Vincennes,Indiana,wasMrs.Seton’sconfessorandspiritualdirectorinthelasttwoyearsofherlife.

45

My William continues his determination of going toBaltimore, I cannotbe left alone, and ifdearJ. Jacques Ifind it—Rousseau!!! and youaremycompanyIshallhaveareproachtomakemyself[which]Ineverfeltbefore,thatofbeing satisfied in his absence.56

ElizabethexplainedheruneasyinteresttoElizaSadlerbysaying:YourJ.J.[JeanJacques]hasawakenedmanyideaswhichhadlongsincebeenatrest.IndeedheisthewriterIshallalwaysrefertoinaseasonofsorrow,forhemakesmeforgetmyselfwhilereading,butleavesthemostconsolingimpressiononeverythought—Ihopeweshallenjoyhissocietytogether.57

There was real danger in this reading which elicited therapturouspraise:

EveryhalfhourIcancatchgoestoEmilius—threevolumesIhavereadwithdelightandwereItoexpresshalfmythoughtsabout it—particularly his Religious Ideas—I should losethatcircumspectionIhavesolonglimitedmyselftoandbeE.A.B.insteadofE.A.S.DearJ.J.Iamyours.58

Years after the first flush of elation produced by this intellectual expeditionhadcooled,ElizabethSetonwasinformedofthelasthoursofafriend who died in despair, denouncing the influence of these same writings. Recallingherowndangerin1799,ElizabethSetonsaidsorrowfully:

I, too, have felt their fatal Influence and once they composed my Sunday devotion—dazzled by the glare of seductiveeloquenceshowmanynightsofreposeanddaysofdeceitfulpleasurehaveIpassedinthecharmoftheirdeceptions—Mrs.W.isgone—hopelessandconvincedthereisnomercyforher—Iremain,thedailysubjectofthatboundlessMercy—themistsofnightanddarknessdispersed,andifevenattheeleventh hour,Yet permitted to share in the vineyard andgatherthefruitsofEternalLife—glory,glory,glory,forever,forever,andforever—59

ButElizabethSeton’sdelusionin1799wasonlypartofthegeneraltrendinwhichmoresoberChristianssawajustcauseforthevisitationsofyellow fever which, oddly enough, grew proportionately with infidelity. It remainedforthenineteenthcenturytousherinarevivalofreligiousfervor;andthissameardentadvocateofRousseaubecametheapologistforpurest

46

orthodoxy. In the serene securityof a religious community inMaryland,ElizabethSeton received the followingaccountofThomasPaine’sdeathwrittenbyaJesuitpriest:

I wish it were in my power to rejoice your pious andcompassionate heart with a consoling account of TomPayne’s[sic]deathbutitseemsthatunfortunatewretchhadvomitedtoohorriedblasphemiesagainstthemostHighandhis only Son, as to deserve the most signal of all graces,that of the death of the just. He died as he had lived, anunbeliever,animpious,andaccordingtoallappearances,areprobate;incallingtoyourmindthetragicendofVoltaire,youmayformsomeideaofthatofPayne.Wewereindeedcalledupontovisithim,but,helas[alas],hecouldnotbearhearing[us]speakofGodandFuturity.Why?Hesaid,areyou come to disturb me? Worried in his mind, afflicted in his body, and unwilling to suffer, in fine given up to all the horrorsofdespairherequestedusrepeatedlytoretireandtolethimalone.Nopersuasionwouldreceivehiscorpseintoitschurchyard.Therewasnotonesingleperson,Iamtold,toattendhisfuneral.60

TheSetonshadmorepracticalproblemstofacein1799.Elizabeth’sfirst reaction as the New Year was ushered in, was one of relief “that the terrible ninety-eight” was past.61Accompanied by the death of the elderWilliamSeton,ithadbeenayearofreversalofthefamily’shighesthopes.Theheavyburdenrestinguponherhusband,asheadoftheSetons,wastopress even more painfully if Elizabeth had but known it. The Seton financial situation was definitely critical in 1799, owing to a variety of causes. The progressofthe“undeclaredwar”withFrance,therapidlydeclininghealthof William Magee Seton, and his failure as head of the firm to exert the sameforcefulpressuresthattheelderSetonhadknownhowtoapply,allconspired against the firm. Failures among their connections in Hamburg andLondon dismayedWilliam, andElizabeth had to use every exertionshecouldsummontokeephisspiritsupandpreventhimfromretreating“to theback woods wherewe shall not calculate the dollars per load.”62

InDecember1799Elizabethwrote toRebecca thatMaitlands inLondonhadstoppedpaymentsoftheSeton-MaitlandobligationsinEngland.JamesSetonwasnearlycrazywithworry,butafterconsultationwiththeirfriends,andthedirectorsofthebanks,thebrotherswereadvisedthatstoppageofpaymentswouldbeanecessityonthissideoftheAtlanticaswell.63William

47

Setonwasfrantic,partlyfromtheshockhehadreceivedand“partlyfromthenecessityofimmediatepaymentsofaccounts,etc.whichisnecessaryforhispersonalhonorand thesatisfactionofhis friends.”64Whatwas tobecomeofhisfather’sfamilyHeavenonlyknew,forasprincipalpartnertheestateoftheSetonswouldbearthebruntoftheclaimsagainstthecompany.Nevertheless, William decided to let matters stand until the partnershipexpired in June; he refused three different offers of money which confidence in the integrity of the firm elicited.65NeitherElizabethnorherhusbandquiterealizedyetthefullextentofthedisaster.

TheNewYear,1800,wasusheredinatStoneStreetinrathersomberfashion.OnlyGeorgeBusch,afriendofWilliam’saugmentedthefamilygroup.TheSetonstriedtoacttowardeachotherasifeachdidnotmakesilentcomparisonswithhappierdays.WithWilliam,thiswasonlyatemporaryattitude,sincehismoodsvariedfromthosewhenhebelievedallwouldworkout,tothosewhenheenvisionedonlystateprisonanddirestpoverty.66WithElizabeththelittleshamwasmorenearlysincere;shereallybelievedthatwherehopeandaffectionexistednothingwasquiteirreparable.ToheritwasnotthemostunpleasantNewYear’sDayshehadeverpassed.67DisastersproducedintubercularSetonapatientapathyalternatingwithdespair.Hiswife,onthecontrary,wasrousedtoenergeticattack.AssheexplainedtoSad,“Troublealwayscreatesgreatexertionsofmymind,andgiveitaforcetowhichatothertimesitisincapable.”68ShewasmoreinclinedtotheviewRebeccatookoftheirmisfortuneswhenshewrotefromAlexandria,“Theblessingsoflifeareonlylentusandweoughtnottorepinewhentheyaretaken fromus.”69Althoughat timesher courage threatened todesert herin the face of William’s “constant reflections on what is to become of us,andthatussuchanumber,”Elizabethwasmoreofteninclinedtoexclaim,“Whatavailsmelancholyforebodings,andanindulgenceoffeelingswhichcanneveraltertheEventofthings!”70

The firm of Seton & Maitland dispatched two men abroad to seek some solution of the confusion of their affairs. Stone went to Leghorn,Ogden sailed forLondon.Mr. Stonewas an eccentric old bachelorwhoworked for the firm but little is known about him, not even his first name. Abraham Ogden, Jr., was a member of the prolific Ogden clan. Charlotte Setonlatermarriedhisbrother,GouverneurOgden.71Elizabethtookoverthe correspondence of the firm and wrote far into the night. She apologized forneglectingherfatherwiththeexplanation:

Ihaveoflatebeensomuchengagedincopyingmercantilecorrespondenceandassistingmyfriendinmakingstatements

48

to his Partner in London that your letter was absolutelynecessarytorestoremythoughtsintheirusualchannel.72

Although she was expecting another child in June,u Elizabethwelcomedtheonerousletterwritingasadistractionfromherowndiscomfort,andshetoldJuliathetaskhelpedhertoknow“thewhysandwherefores”of thebusiness,andmadeherabettercompanionforherhusband inhistrials. With Ogden and Stone away, she was his only confidant.73 JamesSeton seemed interested in his own affairs exclusively, and had justpurchased a handsome three-story house in Greenwich Street. Elizabethadded,pointedly,“Thankheavenwearenotallsinking”whensherelatedthenewstoBec.74Besidestheeveningcorrespondencetherewasthedaytimesewing. The children had reached that periodic stage where everythingseemed to demand replacing at once. A dozen shirts needed ruffling, and therewasalwaystheJuneeventtoberemembered,andElizabethnot“halfready.” Dr. Bayley was already trying to find a place on Long Island for the summer confinement of his daughter.75

As March went by the firm’s affairs grew steadily more grave. When the full truth seemedno longer repressible,Elizabethwrote to theSetongirlsinschoolatBrunswick,andexplainedmorefullytoBec:

HowIwishIcouldwriteyoua longletterwithoutsayingone word of affairs for in their present state they are toomelancholytothinkabout,andthatnotfromanyimpressionI have received from my William for never did a mortalbear misfortune and all the aggravated distress of it withso much firmness and patience as he does. I say aggravated forvesselaftervesselarrivesandcorrespondentsinLondonandHamburgnotifyhim thathisbills are refusedandhispropertydetainedthere,andnotonelineofexplanationfromMaitland—eithergoodorbad—andherewearewithfundsdetainedononesidethewater,andtransferredtheother,forheisobligedtomakeovereverythingintrusttohisfriends,nothingcomingin,andone[legal]suitalreadyagainsthimgives[us]buttoomuchreasontoexpectmore—76

ElizabethwasrelievedtoreceivefromMarySeton,atMissSophiaHay’sschool,“suchanansweraswoulddoyourheartgood,”buthergreaterjoywasfeltoverBec’sdecisiontoreturnhometoNewYorkinMay.BecuElizabethSetondeliveredherfourthchild,CatherineCharltonSeton28June1800whileonStatenIslandat

thehomeofherfatherinwhatbecameTompkinsville.

49

was someone to whom Elizabeth could open her heart freely, someonetowhomshecould turn todiscuss theproblemsof thefamilywhichshehatedtoaddtoherhusband’sheavyload.ItwasdecidedthattheSetonsatschoolshouldreturnagainaftertheirspringvacations,althoughMarySetonwas anxious to come home, now that the family finances were so strained. ElizabethunderstoodMary’sfeelingandtoldBec:

Marywishesverymuch tobewithyouand it is rightsheshouldbe...Itisnecessaryforherfuturecomfortinlifethathermindshouldbestrengthened...Tryto teachher to look

attheeventsoflifeastheyare,guidedby a just and Merciful Protector whoorders every occurrence in its timeand place, and often by his trials, anddisappointments, strives to turn thesoul to Him who is the Resource andComforter of the afflicted.77

BecalsokeptthehouseonStoneStreetrunning smoothly while Elizabeth went awayforthesummermonthstoawaitchildbirth.ThereturntoStoneStreetthatfallrevivedalltheoldanxieties, and inDecemberMr.GarretKillettarrived to make an inventory which presagedthebankruptcyaction.ChristmasthatyearwasasadtimefortheSetons.Alltheirpossessions,eventothechildren’sclothing,hadbeenlistedandthelistswereinthehandsofthebankruptcy

commissioners.Elizabethhadtowatchthedoortoforestallanyprematureseizures of their property by the sheriff’s officers. William Magee had been forcedtohandoverthekeytothecountinghousewhichfrontedonMillStreet.WiththekeythelastvestigeofcontrolpassedfromSetonhands.TheendoftheyearmarkedtheendofabusinessventurewhichhadmadetheSetonnamewidelyknown.Theabdicationofthesonhadfollowedonlytwoyearsandahalfafterthedeathofthefather.78ItwasthelastChristmasinStoneStreet,forinMaytheSetonsweretomovetotheBattery,nextdoortoCareyLudlow’sproperty,whichwasthenalodginghouse.79

During these first years of marriage Elizabeth Seton had changed fromanemotional,untriedgirlinherteenstoamature,courageouswoman.It is not difficult to understand the increasing incapacity of William Magee Setonascircumstancesofhealthandbusinessbeyondhiscontrolbecame

Mother and Child,Joseph Dawley, (1975).

50

aggravated.Itismuchmoreinterestingtoaccountfortheequanimitywithwhichhiswifefacedthefutureandacceptedeachtrialas“onemorelessonon theuselessnessof perplexing themindwith anxieties about fortune’sfavors.”80Aclueiscontained,perhaps,inthewidediversityofherinterests.Initssimplestreductiontheanswermaybethatshewastoobusytobecomemorbid.ShetoldJuliathat“itsometimeslessenspersonalsorrowtocompareourconditionwiththecaseofothers,”81andprojectingherselfintothelivesofthoseaboutherseemedtoincreaseElizabeth’sfortitude.Theproblemsof her children, father, husband, other relatives, and friends all receivedElizabethSeton’sattention.Themoreshedid,themoresheseemedabletodo.

Elizabethwasamotherwhoseverynaturemadeher enjoyeveryaspect of motherhood. She delighted in the infancy of her children andwatched their first steps with fond gaze, writing to Sad of Richard Seton:

ImagineDickrunningoverthegrassandgarden,[he]tumblesdownandturnstoseethecountenancethatiswatchinghimtoknowifheshouldcry,thenoffagainasmerryasabird.82

ThechildrenwereneverneglectednorlefttoMammyHuler,theirnanny,entirely.IfElizabethwereawayforanylengthoftime,onherreturnshelaughinglycomplained,

Mypreciouschildrensticktomelikelittleburrs;theyaresofearfuloflosingmeagain.ThemomentIshakeoneoffoneside,anotherclingsintheopposite,norcanIwriteonewordwithoutsomesweetinterruption.83

AlthoughElizabethadmittedthat“amotherseesthro’aveilwhichrenderstheobjectasshewishesit,”84shewastroubledbytheappearanceof any unusual traits of behavior in her offspring, and worried abouther daughterAnna Maria’s disposition. She began very early to make acompanionofthemoodylittlegirlandwhileAnnawasnotyetfouryearsoldthemotherwrotethisforheronthelastdayof1798:

The last, the first, and every day of the year my thoughts andtimeareyours,myAnna,butIenjoyapeculiarpleasureindevotinganhourgenerallyappropriatedtoamusements,to you my precious Child, in whom my greatest delightand amusements are centered.May theGiverof all good,grantHisProtectiontoyouandassistmeinmyendeavorsto promote your future good and advantage.The blessingandattentionsofthetenderestparentsandmostaffectionate

51

friendsareconstantlyyours,andbyyourconductyouwillconfer the gratification of our fondest wishes, or will inflict themostbitterdisappointment.InyouIviewthefriend,thecompanion,andconsolationofmyfutureyears—delightfulreflection.85

Itwasmoreofaprayerandaprophecythaneithermotherordaughtercouldforesee.Meanwhile,during thesummerwhichfollowed,ElizabethSeton welcomed Julia Scott and her daughter, Maria, whose example,Elizabeth confided to Sad, “answers all the good I had anticipated for my AnnawhocomesdowneveryMorningafterbreakfastwiththecleanhandsandFrockandgetsonherribbonbracersthensitsdownwithherneedle.”86AftertheScottsdepartedElizabethreportedhappily:

AnnaisaperfectAngel.Iamalmostpersuadedherfanciesaresomehowgovernedbythemoon,forsheisasdifferentfromwhatshewasasthepresentdarknessisfromthebeautifullightofthatperiodwhensheperplexed[us]themost.87

In addition to her own children, there were always Elizabeth’sSeton relatives to require attention aswell.Holidays from school in theeighteenthcenturydidnottakeplaceatChristmasandNewYear’sDay,sonumerousNewYear’scakes,honeycakes,raisins,kegbiscuits,andalmondshad to be shipped to Connecticut and New Jersey.As if Elizabeth werenotbusyenough,Dr.BayleydelegatedtoherthetaskofsendingfoodtoHelenBayley,oneofheryounger-halfsisters,whowasalsoatMissHay’sschool.Ontheoccasionswhenthegirlsforgottotaketheirstayswiththem,atrunkwasrequiredtocarrytheassortedgoods.88WhenthespringandfallvacationsarrivedtheSetonswereoftenaccompaniedhomebyguests,andStone Street became full to overflowing.

Nor was Elizabeth too busy to come to the aid of her friends introuble.DuringthesadMarchof1798,whenJuliaScott’shusbanddied,and thewidowhad tomakeplans forher twochildren, JohnandMaria,Elizabeth Seton never “left her night or day during the excess of herSorrows.”89ShehelpedJuliapackandcloseherhouseinpreparationforthemovetoPhiladelphia.Later,whenJuliasuccessivelylostherbrotherandfather,ElizabethSetonwroteletterswhichbroughtnewcouragetotheolderwoman.90JohnWilkes,too,hadreasontobegratefultoElizabethSetonforherkindnesstohiswife.MarySetonWilkes,adistantcousinofWilliamSeton,wastakenseriouslyillinJanuary1800,atherhomeat27WilliamStreetandElizabethsatuptwonightsatthestrickenwoman’sbedsideuntilthecrisiswaspast.91ButMaryWilkeswasnevercompletelywellagain,

52

andayearlater,inspiteofMrs.Seton’scare,Marygrewworse.On1March1801,ElizabethwroteherfatherthatMary’slastsighwasbreathedonFridaymorning,—andtoRebeccaSetonshesaid:

ThegroansandanguishofherpoorWilkesiseasilyconceived.HehasshedtearsallovermewhichIhopewillrelievehim...Oh,Rebecca,ifIdaredtowishhowgladlywouldIdrinkthecup—butMyGodknowsbest.92

In addition to the numerous affections and sympathies whichcrowdedherheart,ElizabethSetonwasalsoattractedby thebeautiesofnature. She never outgrew the close communion with the earth and skythathadcomfortedher in thosecrueldaysofadolescence.Thesummersat Cragdon offered solitary walks, while the others slept, and Elizabethdiscovered many beauties that quite escaped the other noisier explorers.OneSundaymorning,shetoldElizaSadler:

Iretracedthehoney-sucklewalkandtomygreatastonishmentfoundthatthosebusheswithbudsonthemwhichgrewnearthe honey suckle, and in great quantities in other places,bear the sweetest flower you can imagine with the greatest profusion. Its fragrance [is] beyond any flower I ever saw. Ibroughthomea loadof itonmyback...Ohow itwoulddelightmetosendyouabranchofit,forlikeothersweets,itsseasonispassing.93

After Staten Island replaced Bloomingdale as the Seton summerresidence Elizabeth became more interested in the sea and sights of theharbor. One evening in October she described what she saw while shewaitedforherfather.

The most beautiful mild Evening my eyes ever beheld,themoon perfectly unclouded—a large cloud like aBankof pure snowarises behind the fort andgradually spreadstowardsNewYork, retaining itswhiteness fromitscenter,but very dark beneath. Now and then [it was] lit up withlighteningwhile the skyoverour establishment andLongIsland is clearest blue spangled with bright stars—thiscontinuedaboutaquarterofanhourthemostperfectsceneimaginationcouldform—alightwindrises, the thunder isheard—thecloudsapproachandbydegreescoverthebrightmoon,passtoLongIslandandthefortiscoveredwithablueandspangledskyasbefore,whiletherainbeatsoverus.

53

Fathervisitingavesselwitha lantern inher shrouds.Thecloudsoverspreadthemoonashewentonboard,thestormvanishedand theskywasperfectlybrightagainbeforeheleftherandthewholetimeofhisbeingaboardwasnotmorethan5minutes.94

The third influence which kept Elizabeth Seton persevering in the faceofadversitywasherrecurringinterestinspiritualreadingandseriousthought. In later life she recalled those “evenings alone, writing, bible,psalms,inburningdesiresofheaven.”95Whenthesudden,violentattacksofchildhooddiseasebesetherchildrenElizabethsaid,“tho’timeandchanceandsorrowcomestoallandImusttakemyshare,theyallunitedwillonlydrawmenearertothatfriendtowhomIlookforcomfort...”96Whendeathremovedafriendshewouldruminate:

At this timewhenpainanda thousandnamelessanxietiesremindmecontinuallyofthathourinwhichthesoulwaversbetweenitsfutureanditspresentHome,mineistransportedat even the probability, for the bonds that hold it havescarcely strength to restrain it...and if reason and the bestaffectionsofthisworlddidnotwithholdanddrawbackwithmore than common force its flying propensities, I should haverenouncedeveryotherdesireandaimlongago.97

Whether her sober reflections were aroused by the sermons of Dr. BenjaminMooreatTrinityChurch,ortheneverquitesuppressedworryoverherhusband’shealth,ElizabethSetonasayoungwifeoftwenty-fourtoldJuliathatnothinginthisworld,“wereallitspleasurescombined,”wouldtempthertobemorethanapassengerthroughlife.98Thesesentimentsdidnotimplyadesiretoescape.Onthecontrary,Elizabethasserted“thislifeisworthpossessingifitwereonlybecausewhilewehaveitwearecandidatesforabetter,”99andwhileshelivedshewould“intendthebestandbethankfulforthepresent.”100

Elizabeth was very human, for all her fine sentiments. Leaving her beloved homeonWall Street cost her bitter tears. “I turn over thePagewith rapidity,” she toldJulia,“and looking towardsHeaven there fix my aim—there is no change.”101SometimesthecrowdedconditionsatCragdonalmost taxedherbeyond the limitsofenduranceandshe saidwearily toSad, “Patience—Resignation—heavenly virtues exercised in little thingsthatkeeptheSoulinasenseofitsdependentState,forIassureyouIdonotpossessthemonthisoccasionwithoutastruggle.”102Manytimeswhenthe

54

worry over financial matters harassed her, Elizabeth would turn her thoughts tothelittledailyblessings.InthedarkNovemberof1800shewrotetoJuliaScottthatinspiteofalltheheartachesthebankruptcyproceedingsentailed“howmuchreasonIhavehad[thistwelvemonthpast]toBlessmyMakerforhisgoodnesstomychildren,noneofwhomhavebeenill.”103Sheseizedtheoccasionalmomentofquiet,after thechildrenweresettleddownforthenight,toindulgeherfavoritepastime,sittingandreadingof“theHighandLoftyOnewho inhabitsEternity.”104 Itwasparticularlyherhabit tospend the last evening of the year, sitting before the fire, “contemplating and tracingtheboundlessmercyofGod.”Herreveriewouldrun:

Howpuretheenjoymentandsweet thetransitionofeverythought—thesoulexpandsallearthlyinterestsrecede—andHeavenlyHopesbecomeanxiouswishes—Mightnotthesemortal bonds be gently severed, loosed more easily thanuntying the fastening of a fine thread, at this moment without any perceptible changes, to find the soul at liberty—Heavenly Mercy—inThyPresenceandwoulditnottremble—orratheris it not forever under thy inspection can it be concealedfromThee—No,thounowperceivestit,oppressed,weighedand sinkingunder itsmortalburdenandalso thou seest itcan patiently, submissively submit to Thy Will, adoringin sweet confidence of Thy Mercy—preserve me but this Heavenly Peace, continue to me this privilege beyond allmortalcomputation,ofrestinginThee,andadoringTheemyFather—Friend—andneverfailingSupport.ForthisaloneIimplore,letallotherconcernswiththeirconsequencesbeentirelyandwhollysubmittedtoThee.105

Attentiontotheneedsofothers,loveofnature,spiritualreverie,allserved to produce in Elizabeth Seton a calm acceptance of the first great crisis which financial failure produced. She was quite sincere when she wroteJulia:

Setonisquietlywritingbymyside,inasperfecthealthashehaseverenjoyed—mychicksquietinbed,and[my]Fathersmilingover a list of bookshehad justmadeof thosehechoosestoretainasone ofourcreditors.Formyself,Ithinkthegreatesthappinessofthislifeistobereleasedfromthecaresandformalitiesofwhatiscalledtheworld—MyWorld

55

ismy family,andallthechangetomewillbethatIcandevotemyselfunmolestedtomyTreasure.106

56

ChAPTER 2. MANhATTAN MATRON

Notes1 William Seton to Elizabeth Seton, 28 February 1796, ASJPH 1-3-3-

18:53.2William Magee Seton to Elizabeth Seton, Oakes, near Dover, 15 May

1796,ASJPH 26-0-2, (6). Copy. The original is in theArchivesof theSistersofCharityofSetonHill,Greensburg,Pennsylvania.HereinaftercitedasASCSH.

3EulogyofWilliamSeton,Sr.,ASJPH1-3-3-18:1;see1.22,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,CW,1:35,n.1.

4 WilliamMageeSetontoElizabethSeton,NewArk[Newark],Wednesdaymorning,1794,ASJPH26-0-1,(2).Copy.TheoriginalisinArchivesSistersofCharityofCincinnati,MountSt.Joseph,Ohio.HereinaftercitedasAMSJ.

5 William Magee Seton to Elizabeth Seton, Philadelphia, 27 July 1794,ASJPH26-0-1,(2).Copy.TheoriginalisinAMSJ.

6WilliamMageeSetontoElizabethSeton,15May1796,ASJPH26-0-2,(6).Copy.TheoriginalisinAMSJ.

71.7,ElizabethSetontoWilliamMageeSeton,23July1794,CW,1:7.ThisandallotherlettersofMrs.SetoncitedinthischapterwerewrittenfromNewYork.

81.9,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,11August1796,CW,1:10.9 1.22, Elizabeth Seton to Julia Scott, 5 July 1798, CW, 1:36. See I. N.

Stokes,Iconography of Manhattan Island (NewYork,1915-1928),VI,102.

101.26,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,8September1798,CW,1:44.11Ibid.1210.4,“DearRemembrances,”CW,3a:513.13JuliaScotttoElizabethSeton,Philadelphia,9May1795,ASJPH1-3-3-

11:B22.141.8,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,8February1796,CW,1:9.151.12,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,1August1797,entryof15August,

CW,1:18.16Ibid.171.11,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,18June1797,CW,1:15.Thehouse

theSetonsandPostssharedwasownedbyaMrs.Livingstonbutthesourcesdonotidentifyher.

18 1.13, Elizabeth Seton to Mrs. John Seton, CW, 1:19. Elizabeth Setonusually wrote her formal letters in a rough draft before copying

57

them.Manytimesthisroughdraftistheonlyremainingevidence.Onlyafragmentofthisdraftsurvives.

19ElizaSadlertoElizabethSeton,13July[1798],ASJPH1-3-3-11:B7.20Greenleaf’sNew Daily Advertiser, 11June1798.Otherobituariesappeared

intheCommercial Advertiser, 11June1798;The Spectator, 9June1798,theWeekly Museum,6June1798.

211.22,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,5July1798,CW,1:36.221.25,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,20August1798,CW,1:42.23WilliamMageeSetontoElizabethSeton,23July1798,ASJPH1-3-3-18:54.241.24,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,20August1798,CW,1:40-41.251.25,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,30August1798,CW,1:42.26Ibid.271.27,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,28September1798,CW,1:45.281.28,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,14October1798,CW,1:46;1.30,

Ibid.,28October1798,CW,1:49.291.32,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,3November1798,CW,1:52.30ElizabethSetonto______,n.d.,ASJPH26-0-1,(2).Copy.Theoriginal

isinAMSJ.311.33,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,25November1798,CW,1:54.32 1.43,ElizabethSeton to JuliaScott, 20April and26April 1799,CW,

1:67;1.44,Ibid.,14May1799,CW,1:70.331.45,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,2June1799,CW,1:71.JackwasJohn

CursonSeton.HeremainedinVirginiaatthistimeandmarriedMissMaryWiseofAlexandria.

341.61,ElizabethSetontoRebeccaSeton,3August1799,CW,1:91.351.30,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,28October1798,CW,1:49.36RebeccaSetontoElizabethSeton,18July1799,ASJPH1-3-3-18:49.371.46,ElizabethSeton toRebeccaSeton,8June1799,CW,1:73.381.73,ElizabethSetontoRebeccaSeton,23December1799,CW,1:107;

1.69,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,20November1799,CW,1:102.39RebeccaSetontoElizabethSeton,NewYork,27December1799,ASJPH

1-3-3-18:50.4010.3,“CatherineSeton’sLittleRedBook,”CW,3a:491.41JamesGrantWilson,Memorial History of the City of New York (NewYork,

1893),III,146.TheParkTheatrewasoperatedbyWilliamDunlapandJohnHodgkinsonforatime.SeeWilliamDunlap,Diary, 1766-1839 (NewYork,1930)forinterestingdetailsofDunlap’scareer.

42ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,23April1798,ASJPH1-3-3-6:2.4310.3,“CatherineSeton’sLittleRedBook,”CW,3a:498.ElizabethSeton

wroteinthisconnection,“Poor,poorBetsyB[ayley]hadnomother

58

norevenprinciplestokeepherfromfolly,”44 Harris E. Starr, “Isabella Marshall Graham,” Dictionary of American

Biography (NewYork,1929),VII,474-475.45SidneyI.Pomerantz,New York an American City, 1783-1803 (NewYork,

1938),338;JohnCox,Quakerism in the City of New York, 1757-1930 (NewYork,1930),43.PomerantzstatesthatthissocietywasstartedbyQuakersbutCoxsimplycallsit“acharitableOrganiza-tionofQuakerMembership.”

46New York City Directory, 1803-1804,p.6.4710.4,“DearRemembrances,”CW,3a:513.481.150,ElizabethSetontoRebeccaSeton,n.d.,CW,1:198.49Petitionof4March1803,totheNewYorklegislature,copyoftheoriginal

inTheAmericanCatholicHistoryResearchCenterandUniversityArchives, The University Museum Collection of The CatholicUniversityofAmerica,Washington,D.C.,3120.

501.196,ElizabethSetontoRebeccaSeton,n.d.,CW,1:235.51 Eliza Sadler to Elizabeth Seton, 4 May 1816, ASJPH 1-3-3-11:B18.

ElizaSadlerwroteMrs.SetonofthebeginninginNovember1814,of an institution to aidpooroldwomen.Mrs.Sadler also sent toEmmitsburgacopyofMrs.Graham’smeditations,published thatyearbyherdaughter,Mrs.Bethune,underthetitle:The Power of Faith: Exemplified in the Lifeand Writings of the Late Mrs. Isabella Graham of New York. [The publication is no longer available atASJPH.SeeCW,1:27,n.3.Ed.]

52HerbertM.Morais,Deism in Eighteenth-Century America (NewYork,1934),50.

53Ibid.,131.54Ibid.,154.551.37,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,20January1799,CW,1:58.561.48,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,23June1799,CW,1:76.571.67,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,n.d.,CW,1:99.581.64,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,n.d.,CW,1:95.594.55,“SpiritualJournaltoCeciliaSeton,”CW,1:475.Thisentryisundated

and appears between entries for the 16th and 18th of September1807.

60Rev.AnthonyKohlmann,S.J.toElizabethSeton,NewYork,19July1813,ASJPH1-3-3-2:32.KohlmannwaspastorofSt.Peter’schurchonBarclayStreetwhenhewrote this letter.Mrs.Setonwasby thenthefoundressoftheSistersofCharityofSt.Joseph’s,Emmitsburg,Maryland.

59

611.36,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,3January1799,CW,1:57.621.69,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,20November1799,CW,1:102.631.73,ElizabethSetontoRebeccaSeton,23December1799,CW,1:106.641.74,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,3January1800,CW,1:108.65Ibid.661.75,ElizabethSetontoRebeccaSeton,3January1800,CW,1:109.67Ibid.681.67,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,n.d.,[October1799],CW,1:99.69RebeccaSetontoElizabethSeton,NewYork,29December1799,ASJPH

26-0-2,(6).Copy.TheoriginalisinASCSH.701.77,ElizabethSetontoRebeccaSeton,5February1800,CW,1:112.711.76,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,16January1800,CW,1:111.721.78,ElizabethSetontoDr.RichardBayley,12February1800,CW,1:114.

Dr.BayleywasinAlbanyonbusinessforthehealthdepartment.741.77,ElizabethSetontoRebeccaSeton,5February1800,CW,1:113.751.82,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,18March1800,CW,1:119.761.83,ElizabethSetontoRebeccaSeton,20March1800,CW,1:122.771.95,ElizabethSetontoRebeccaSeton,14August1800,CW,1:136.781.100,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,7December1800,CW,1:141;1.101,

Ibid.,26December1800,CW,1:143.791.108,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,10March1801,CW,1:151.801.91,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,26July1800,CW,1:130.811.100,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,7December1800,CW,1:141.821.66,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,2October1799,CW,1:99.831.14,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,27March1798,CW,1:21.841.11,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,29June1797,CW,1:16.851.35,ElizabethSetontoAnnaMariaSeton,31December1798,CW,1:56.861.60,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,n.d.,CW,1:90.AlettertoRebecca

Setondated3August1799saysJuliaScott“camelastSaturdaywithherdaughteraboutHarriet’sage.”

871.58,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,n.d.,[July1799],CW,1:88.881.75,ElizabethSetontoRebeccaSeton,3January1800,CW,1:109.891.14,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,27March1798,CW,1:21.901.26,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,8September1798,CW,1:43;1.101,

Ibid.,26December1800,CW,1:142.911.76,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,16January1800,CW,1:112.921.106,ElizabethSetontoRebeccaSeton,[27February1801],CW,1:147;

1.107,ElizabethSetontoDr.RichardBayley,1March1801,CW,1:148.931.57,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,[JulyorAugust1799],CW,1:86.948.6,“TheMostBeautifulMildEvening,”2October1800,CW,3a:19.

60

9510.4,“DearRemembrances,”CW,3a:513.961.12,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,15August1797,CW,1:19.971.19,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,16May1798,CW,1:30.981.18,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,9May1798,CW,1:29.991.28,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,14October1798,CW,1:47.1001.29,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,21October1798,CW,1:48.1011.32,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,3November1798,CW,1:52.1021.58,ElizabethSetontoElizaSadler,n.d.,[July1799],CW,1:88.1031.99,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,19November1800,CW,1:140.1041.38,ElizabethSetontoDr.RichardBayley,2February1799,CW,1:60.1058.4, “SittingonaLittleBench,”31December1799,CW, 3a:18.Neither

spellingnorgrammaticalconstructionwerestandardizedinherday.Fortheconvenienceofmodernreaders,editorialcorrectionshavebeenmade.

1061.100,ElizabethSetontoJuliaScott,7December1800,CW,1:141.

hg