6 of 14: George Peabody (1795-1869): A-Z Handbook...., by Franklin and Betty J. Parker, bfparker@frontiernet.net
Following Background "Preface" below 6 of 14 blogs covers alphabetically: Lee, Robert E. 1 to Moran, Benjamin. 108.
Background: "Preface" 1 of 14 tells the why-when-where-how-findings-and-motives of the authors’ research on Franklin Parker’s doctoral dissertation, “George Peabody, Founder of Modern Philanthropy,” completed 1956 at George Peabody College for Teachers, adjoining Vanderbilt University, which on July 1, 1979, became Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Nashville.
George Peabody, so well known in the 1850s-60s but since sadly neglected, was a significant 19th century figure as: 1-a Massachusetts-born merchant in the U.S. South: Riggs & Peabody, later Peabody & Riggs (1814-38), who imported dry goods and other commodities (worldwide) for sale to U.S. wholesalers. George Peabody then became: 2-a London-based merchant-banker, George Peabody & Co. (1838-64), who financed in part the B&O RR, the 2nd Mexican War Loan, the Atlantic Cable, and with J.S. Morgan as partner, was the root of the JP Morgan international banking firm. Finally, this merchant-turned-banker became: 3-the best known philanthropist of his time (1850s-60s), who founded the Peabody Homes of London for the working poor; in the U.S. 7 Peabody Libraries and Lecture Halls; the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Baltimore; three Peabody Museums at Harvard (Anthropology), Yale (Paleontology), and the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA (maritime history); and founder of the Peabody Education Fund for the South (1867-1914), basis for all later larger U.S. funds and foundations. End of Background.
GP & R.E. Lee, W.Va., Summer 1869
Lee, Robert E.(dward) (1807-70). 1-GP and Lee. GP and Robert E. Lee met by chance at the Greenbrier Hotel, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., July 23-Aug. 30, 1869. The hot spring health spas of Virginia were the first gathering places of southern and northern elites, with White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., the most popular of the health spas. There GP and Lee ate together, walked arm in arm, were applauded by visitors, and were photographed together. See: Corcoran, William Wilson.
Robert E. Lee's Father
Lee, R.E. 2-Son of "Light Horse Harry." Born in Stratford, Westmoreland County, Virginia, Robert Edward Lee was the son of Revolutionary War hero Henry Lee (1756-1818), popularly known as "Light Horse Harry." Although Congress voted Henry Lee a gold medal for his American Revolutionary War exploits, he was a less than satisfactory husband, a poor family breadwinner, an absentee father to his five children, was several times imprisoned for debt, and was often hounded by creditors. Ref.: Thomas, Chapts. 1 and 2.
Lee, R.E. 3-Lee's Father. Outwardly impressive, Henry Lee was a Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress (1785-88), member of the Virginia Convention for the Continental Congress (1788), served in Virginia's General Assembly (1789-91), was Virginia Governor (1792-95), was appointed by George Washington to command troops to suppress the "Whiskey Insurrection," Western Pennsylvania (1794), served in the U. S. Sixth Congress (1799-1801), and last served in the War of 1812. Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 4-Lee's Father Cont'd. It was in Henry Lee's "Funeral Oration Upon President Washington," that he first used the famous phrase: "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen." But Robert E. Lee was age six when he last saw his father, who left to regain his health in the West Indies. Young Lee was age eleven when his father died. Robert E. Lee's biographer, Emory M. Thomas wrote: "All his life, Robert Lee knew his father only at a great distance." Ref.: Ibid.
Robert E. Lee's Military Career
Lee, R.E. 5-West Point Cadet. Robert E. Lee had attended private schools in Alexandria, Virginia. At age 18, with family finances prohibiting attending a private college, Robert E. Lee, bent on a military career, hoped for admittance to the tuition free U. S. Military Academy, West Point, New York. After Robert E. Lee applied to enter, petitions and letters of recommendation from his family and friends sent to Secretary of War John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), led to his admission. Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 6-West Point Cont'd. At West Point, Lee was exemplary, without a single demerit, and held every cadet post of honor. He graduated second in his class of 1829. He was assigned to the engineer corps where he soon won a high reputation. On June 30, 1831, two years after graduating, he married Mary Randolph Custis, daughter of a grandson of Mrs. George Washington (Martha Washington, 1731-1802). Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 7-Army Engineer. Distinguishing himself as chief engineer in river drainage and fort-building projects, he served in the Mexican War, where General Winfield Scott (1786-1866), valuing his military and engineering skills, constantly consulted him. Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 8-Oncoming Civil War. Lee was appointed superintendent of West Point (1852-55). He was the United States military officer ordered to put down the John Brown (1800-59) insurrection at Harper's Ferry federal arsenal, Virginia, October 16, 1859. Abolitionist Brown's fanatical attempt to steal federal weapons in order to arm slaves for an insurrection against the South helped precipitate the bitter four-year Civil War. Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 9-Declined Union Command. General Winfield Scott reportedly told President Abraham Lincoln that Lee was worth 50,000 men. Faced with the "irrepressible conflict," Lee was offered command of Federal forces, April 18, 1861, but declined. He told Francis Preston Blair (1791-1876), who approached him on behalf of President Lincoln: "…though opposed to secession and deprecating war, I could take no part in an invasion of the Southern States." . Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 10-Loyal to Virginia, Lee resigned from the United States Army, April 20, 1861. In Richmond Virginia, at the request of the Virginia Convention, he was placed in command of the Virginia forces, April 23, 1861. Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 11-Confederate Commander. Lee's organizing ability, military strategy, and integrity held out for four bitter Civil War years, against overwhelming Union strength in numbers, manpower, and economic resources. Faced by inevitable crushing defeat Lee surrendered to General U. S. Grant, Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, April 9, 1865. Ref. Boatner, 476-477.
Lee, R.E. 12-In Defeat. He told his defeated troops: "…You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed, and I earnestly pray that our merciful God extend to you his blessing and protection." Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 13-Washington College. At war's end Lee, hero of the lost Confederate cause, sought obscurity, and declined to lend his name to commercial ventures. When first invited to be president of small, obscure and struggling Washington College, Lexington, Virginia (August 1865), Lee hesitated. He wrote the trustees that he was "an object of censure" to the North, that his presence might "cause injury" to the college. Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 14-College President. Knowing that Lee's name and fame would attract students, the trustees persisted. Lee accepted. His biographer Emory M. Thomas wrote that Lee quickly "established himself as a presence in Lexington," and that in the five years of life left to him (1865-1870) became "the savior of Washington College," renamed Washington and Lee University, 1871, a year after his death. Ref.: Ibid.
Lee at the Greenbrier, W. Va., Summer 1868
Lee, R.E. 15-Lee at the Greenbrier Summer 1868. Lee, with heart trouble, needing rest, was an occasional visitor to the Va. health spas, particularly at the Greenbrier, where a hotel existed since 1780, long before West Virginia became a state in 1863. The Greenbrier was a favorite resort for southern elites who gathered there to meet relatives and friends, to rest and recuperate, and to drink and bathe in its healthful mineral springs.
Lee, R.E. 16-Lee at the Greenbrier Summer 1868 Cont'd. An incident of Lee visiting White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., in the summer of 1868 illustrates his character. That summer Lee heard that some young northern visitors were receiving a frosty reception. He asked the young southern women who surrounded him if one of them would go with him to greet and welcome the young northern guests. Ref.: Thomas, pp. 391-392, 447.
Lee, R.E. 17-Lee at the Greenbrier Summer 1868 Cont'd. The young lady who accompanied him, Christina Bond, asked, "General Lee, did you never feel resentment towards the North?" She recorded his quiet reply, "I believe I may say, looking into my own heart, and speaking as in the presence of my God, that I have never known one moment of bitterness or resentment." The next summer of 1869 at the Greenbrier he would meet, for the first and only time, George Peabody. Ref.: Ibid.
Elite Gathering at the Greenbrier, W. Va., Summer 1869
Lee, R.E. 18-A Gathering of Elites. Thus, when Lee-and GP met at the Greenbrier Hotel, W.Va., summer 1869, each had symbolically turned from Civil War bitterness toward reconciliation and the lifting power of education. Present, also by chance that summer of 1869, were southern and northern political, educational, and former Civil War military leaders. Their informal talks about the education needs of the South set a precedent for later Conferences on Education in the South (1898-1903), which led to vast foundation aid to southern education, agriculture, and health. See:. Corcoran, William Wilson.
Lee, R.E. 19-Resolution of Praise, July 27-28, 1869. GP's presence, illness, and confinement to his cottage prompted a meeting on July 27 at which former Va. Gov. Henry Alexander Wise (1806-76) drew up resolutions of praise read to GP July 28 in the "Old White" hotel parlor (in part): "On behalf of the southern people we tender thanks to Mr. Peabody for his aid to the cause of education...and hail him 'benefactor.'" GP, seated, replied, "If I had strength, I would speak more on the heroism of the Southern people. Your kind remarks about the Education Fund sound sweet to my ears. My heart is interwoven with its success." Ref.: Ibid.
Peabody Ball, Aug. 1, 1869, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.
Lee, R.E. 20-Peabody Ball, Aug. 11, 1869. Merrymakers at the "Old White" held a Peabody Ball on Aug. 11, 1869. Too ill to attend, GP heard the gaiety from his cottage. Historian Perceval Reniers wrote of this Peabody Ball: "The affair that did most to revive [the Southerners'] esteem was the Peabody Ball...given to honor...Mr. George Peabody.... Everything was right for the Peabody Ball. Everybody was ready for just such a climax, the background was a perfect build-up. Mr. Peabody appeared at just the right time and lived just long enough. A few months later it would not have been possible, for Mr. Peabody would be dead." Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 21-Barnas Sears on GP's Presence. Barnas Sears (1802-80), the PEF's first administrator, was at White Sulphur Springs that July 23-Aug. 30, 1869. Sears recorded why GP's presence there was important to the PEF's work in promoting public education in the South. Sears wrote: "...both on account of his unparalleled goodness and of his illness among a loving and hospitable people [he received] tokens of love and respect from all, such as I have never before seen shown to any one. This visit...will, in my judgment, do more for us than a long tour in a state of good health...." Ref.: Ibid.
Historic Photos, W. Va., Summer 1869
Lee, R.E. 22-Famous GP-R.E. Lee Photos. GP, Lee, and others were central figures in several remarkable photos taken at White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., on Aug. 12, 1869. In the main photograph, the five individuals seated on cane-bottomed chairs were: GP front middle; Robert E. Lee to GP's right; longtime business associate William Wilson Corcoran (1798-1888) to GP's left; at the right end Turkey's Minister to the U.S. Edouard Blacque Bey (1824-95); at the left end Richmond, Va. judge and public education advocate James Lyons (1801-82). Ref.: Ibid. See: Persons named.
Lee, R.E. 23-Famous GP-R.E. Lee Photos Cont'd. Standing behind the five seated figures were seven former Civil War generals, their names in dispute until correctly identified in 1935 by Leonard T. Mackall of Savannah, Ga., from left to right: James Conner (1829-83) of S.C., Martin W. Gary (1831-81) of S.C., Robert Doak Lilley (1836-86) of Va., P.G.T. Beauregard (1818-93) of La., Alexander Robert Lawton (1818-96) of Ga., Henry Alexander Wise (1806-76) of Va., and Joseph L. Brent (b.1826) of Md. There is also a photo of GP sitting alone and a photo of Lee, GP, and Corcoran sitting together. Ref.: Ibid. See: Confederate Generals. Peabody, George, Illustrations. Persons named. Visits to the U.S. by GP.
GP’s Gift of Va. Bonds to Lee’s Washington College
Lee, R.E. 24-GP's Gift to Lee. That Aug. 1869 GP gave Robert E. Lee a small private gift of $100 for Lee's Episcopal church in Lexington, Va., in need of repairs (W.W. Corcoran also gave $100). GP also gave to Lee's Washington College Va. bonds he owned worth $35,000 when they were lost on the Arctic, a Collins Line steamer, sunk with the loss of 322 passengers on Sept. 27, 1854, 20 miles off Cape Race, Newfoundland. GP's petition to the Va. legislature to reimburse him for the lost bonds had not been granted when he gave Lee's college the value of the bonds for a mathematics professorship. See: Arctic (ship). Edgar Collins, Knight. Collins Line. Science: GP's Gifts to Science and Science Education. Washington and Lee Univ.
Lee, R.E. 25-GP's Gift to Lee Cont'd. Eventually the value of the bonds and the accrued interest, $60,000 total, were paid by Va. to Washington and Lee Univ. With wry humor Lee's biographer C.B. Flood described GP's gift: "It was generosity with a touch of Yankee shrewdness: you Southerners go fight it out among yourselves. If General Lee can't get [this lost bond money] out of the Virginia legislature, nobody can." Ref.: Flood, pp. 215-216.
Lee, R.E. 26-GP's Death. GP left White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., Aug. 30, 1869, on a special railroad car provided by B&O RR Pres. John Work Garrett (1820-84). Lee rode a short distance with him. This 1869 meeting was GP's only contact with R.E. Lee, who died Oct. 12, 1870. GP headed north from White Sulphur Springs, recorded his last will (Sept. 9, 1869) in NYC, arranged for his burial at Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem, Mass., and boarded the Scotia in NYC for London, Sept. 29, 1869. He landed at Queenstown, Ireland, Oct. 8, 1869, and went to rest at the London home of longtime business friend Sir Curtis Miranda Lampson (1806-85), where he died Nov. 4, 1869. See: Death and Funeral, GP's.
Lee, R.E. 27-Lee Sent His Photo. On Sept. 25, 1869, at the request of Peabody Institute Librarian Fitch Poole (1803-73, Peabody, Mass.), Lee sent Poole a photo of himself, adding that he would "feel honoured in its being placed among the 'friends' of Mr. Peabody, who can be numbered by the millions, yet all can appreciate the man who has [illumined] his age by his munificent charities during his life, and by his wise provisions for promoting the happiness of his fellow creatures." Ref.: [Poole, Fitch].
Lee on GP's Death
Lee, R.E. 28-Lee on GP's Death. Reading of GP's death in London on Nov. 4, 1869, Robert E. Lee wrote (Nov. 10, 1869) to GP's nephew George Peabody Russell (1835-1909), who had been with GP in White Sulphur Springs and there met Lee: "The announcement of the death of your uncle, Mr. George Peabody, has been received with the deepest regret wherever his name and benevolence are known; and nowhere have his generous deeds--restricted to no country, section or sect--elicited more heartfelt admiration than at the South. He stands alone in history for the benevolent and judicious distribution of his great wealth, and his memory has become entwined in the affections of millions of his fellow-citizens in both hemispheres." Ref.: Robert E. Lee, Lexington, Va., to George Peabody Russell, Nov. 10, 1869, quoted in Salem Gazette (Salem, Mass.), Nov. 30, 1869, p. 2, c. 1.
Lee, R.E. 29-Lee on GP's Death Cont'd.: "I beg, in my own behalf, and in behalf of the Trustees and Faculty of Washington College, Va., which was not forgotten by him in his act of generosity, to tender the tribute of our unfeigned sorrow at his death. With great respect, Your obedient servant R.E. Lee." Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 30-Will Lee Attend GP's Funeral? The last GP-Lee connection was over Lee's possible attendance at GP's final funeral service and eulogy, South Congregational Church, Peabody, Mass., followed by burial in Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem, Mass., Feb. 8, 1870. Lee was invited to attend the funeral service but ill health forced him to decline. See: Corcoran, William Wilson.
Lee, R.E. 31-Will Lee Attend GP's Funeral? Cont'd. Lee explained in a Jan. 26, 1870, letter to Corcoran: "I am sorry I cannot attend the funeral obsequies of Mr. Peabody. It would be some relief to witness the respect paid to his remains, and to participate in commemorating his virtues; but I am unable to undertake the journey. I have been sick all the winter, and am still under medical treatment. I particularly regret that I shall not have the pleasure of seeing you. Two trustees of Washington College will attend the funeral. I hope you can join them." Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 32-Will Lee Attend GP's Funeral? Cont'd. The same day Lee wrote to Corcoran (Jan. 26, 1870), one of the two Washington College trustees who planned to attend also wrote Corcoran: "I first thought that General Lee should not go, but have now changed my mind. Some of us believe that if you advise the General to attend he would do so. Use your own discretion in this matter." Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 33-Will Lee Attend GP's Funeral? Cont'd. Robert Charles Winthrop, who was to deliver GP's funeral eulogy Feb. 8, 1870, was also concerned about rumors that Lee might attend. He and others feared that a demonstration against Lee might mar the ceremony. On Feb. 2, 1870, Winthrop wrote two private and confidential letters, the first to Baltimorean John Pendleton Kennedy: "There is apprehension here, that if Lee should come to the funeral, something unpleasant might occur, which would be as painful to us as to him. Would you contact friends to impart this to the General? Please do not mention that the suggestion came from me." Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 34-Will Lee Attend GP's Funeral? Cont'd. Winthrop also wrote to Corcoran: "I write to you in absolute confidence. Some friends of ours, whose motives cannot be mistaken, are very anxious that Genl. Lee should not come to the funeral next week. They have also asked me to suggest that. Still there is always apprehension that from an irresponsible crowd there might come some remarks which would be offensive to him and painful to us all. I am sure he would be the last person to involve himself or us, needlessly, in a doubtful position on such an occasion. The newspapers at first said that he was not coming. Now, there is an intimation that he is. I know of no one who could [more] effectively give the right direction to his views than yourself. Your relation to Mr. Peabody & to Mr. Lee would enable you to ascertain his purposes & shape his course wisely.... I know of no one else to rely on." Ref.: Ibid.
Lee, R.E. 35-Will Lee Attend GP's Funeral? Cont'd. On the same day as Winthrop wrote his letters (Feb. 2, 1870), Lee wrote his daughter Mildred Childe Lee (1846-1904) that he was too ill to attend: "I am sorry that I could not attend Mr. Peabody's funeral, but I did not feel able to undertake the journey, especially at this season." Corcoran replied to Winthrop that Lee had no intention of coming. He could not imagine, he wrote, that so good and great a man as Lee would receive anything but a kind reception. Corcoran himself was ill. He wrote to Lee his regret that he could not attend to pay his respects to "my valued old friend." Both Lee and Corcoran read with sad interest accounts of Winthrop's eulogy and of GP's final burial. Ref.: Ibid. See: Death and Funeral, GP's.
Leghorn, Italy. On GP's second business trip to Europe (April 1830 to Aug. 15, 1831) he wrote his sister Judith Dodge Peabody (1799-1879) of traveling to "Turin in Italy--to Genoa-Lucca-Pisa...Leghorn, Rome" and elsewhere. See: Daniels, Judith Dodge (née Peabody) Russell (GP's sister).
Leicestershire, England. Leicestershire County Record Office, England, has the wills of John Paybody, 1520, and four other of GP's paternal ancestors who lived there in the 16th century. Ref.: Parker (Dissertation), p. 4.
Lexington Monument, Peabody, Mass. Local Danvers (renamed Peabody April 13, 1868), Mass. citizens had raised $700 of a needed $1,000 for a Lexington Monument to commemorate the opening battles of the American Revolution at Lexington and Concord, Mass., April 19, 1775. In 1835, learning of the financial need, GP gave the needed $300, his first philanthropic gift to his hometown. The Lexington Monument is on Main and Washington Streets, Peabody, Mass. Ref.: Wells, p. 4.
GP’s Lost Va. Bonds
Lexington, Va. 1-Pres. R.E. Lee, Washington College, Va. Robert E. Lee (1807-70) was president of Washington College, Lexington, Va., during 1865-70 (renamed Washington and Lee Univ. in 1871). GP joined his business friend William Wilson Corcoran (1798-1888) at White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., well known mineral waters health spa, during July 23-Aug 30, 1869. There by chance GP met and talked with Lee, other former Civil War generals, and with northern and southern political and educational leaders. The informal talks about southern educational needs led to later important education conferences. See Corcoran, William Wilson. Lee, Robert E. (above). Visits to the U.S. by GP. White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
Lexington, Va. 2-GP's Gift of Va. Bonds to Lee's College. GP gave Lee's Washington College Va. bonds later redeemed at $60,000 for a professorship of mathematics. The value of the bonds, lost on the Arctic, a Collins Line steamer sunk in 1854, was given to Washington College by the Va. legislature in 1872, plus the accrued interest value in 1881 ($60,000). GP also gave a small gift of $100 for repairs to Lee's Episcopal church in Lexington. Lee and GP dined together several times and left White Sulphur Springs together by train on Aug. 30. There was some talk that Lee might attend GP's final funeral service in Peabody, Mass., Feb. 8, 1870, and some fear of an anti-Lee incident. But Lee was too ill to attend. Ref.: Ibid.
Leyda, Jay, author of The Melville Log, a Documentary Life of Herman Melville 1819-1891, described the dinner in 1849 at the home of Joshua Bates (1788-1864) near London, attended by Herman Melville, GP, Henry Stevens (1819-86), and others. See: Davis, John Chandler Bancroft. Persons named.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. For GP related unpublished papers and documents, See: Preface, Sources, and Overview (beginning of book) and References, b. U.S. Library. (back of book), under Library of Congress.
Lie, Jonas (1880-1940), U.S. artist whose painting, Harbor in Winter, was in the PIB Gallery of Art. See PIB Gallery of Art.
Lilley, Robert Doak (1836-86). 1-Met GP, Summer 1869. Robert Doak Lilley was a Va.-born Confederate general who by chance met, talked to, and was photographed with GP (Aug. 12), then visiting the mineral springs health spa at White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., July 23-Aug. 30, 1869. Gathered there by chance were key southern and northern political, military, and educational leaders. See: Corcoran, William Wilson.
Lilley, R.D. 2-GP, ill and three months from death, was in W.Va. to rest and recuperate. He and Robert E. Lee talked, dined, walked arm in arm, were publicly applauded, and photographed with other prominent guests. Informal talks of later educational consequence took place on southern public education needs. Ref.: Boatner, p. 483. See: Confederate Generals. Peabody, George, Illustrations. Persons named. Visits to the U.S. by GP. White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
Lima, Peru. In 1830, GP's younger brother Thomas Peabody (1801-35) worked in Lima, Peru, as bookkeeper to the resident agent for Alsop, Wetmore & Co., a firm with which Peabody, Riggs & Co. did considerable mercantile business. Improvident and unsuccessful, brother Thomas gave up this job, worked his way to the U.S. as ship's clerk, lived in Zanesville, Ohio, for a time and in Buffalo, N.Y., where he met a tragic end on April 16, 1835. See: Peabody, Thomas (GP's brother).
Limerick, Ireland. Seeking relief from gout attacks, GP, during June-Aug. 1865, rented a lake on the Standish O'Grady estate, County Limerick, Ireland, where he fished for salmon. The owner at the time is believed to be a descendent, Paget Standish (1835-77), 4th Viscount. In June 1867 and July 1868, and perhaps at other times to relax and to fish, GP rented the Castle Connell, Limerick, Ireland. His guest there on the two dates listed, MP John Bright (1811-89), recorded his visits and his impression of GP. GP made an unusual and little known gift of a stone-based metal railing in front of the Catholic Church, Limerick, Ireland, in the late 1860s, amount given not known. See: Bright, John. Castle Connell, Ireland.
Lincoln, Abraham (1809-65). Of the four statues of U.S. nationals in London, England, 1-GP's statue by U.S. sculptor William Wetmore Story (1819-95) was unveiled July 23, 1869; 2-U.S. Pres. Abraham Lincoln, 1920; 3-U.S. Pres. George Washington, 1921; and 4-U.S. Pres. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1948. See: Presidents, U.S., and GP. Statues of GP.
Lind, Edmund George (1828-1909), was a British-born architect practicing in Baltimore who built the PIB in 1866. See: PIB.
Commemorative GP Glassware
Lindsey, Bessie M. 1-Collected GP Commemorative Glassware. Bessie M. Lindsey wrote American Historical Glass (Rutland, Vt.: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1967), which has on pp. 372-373 Photo 372 showing an embossed "GP" memorial mug or cup and Photo 373 showing an embossed "GP" memorial bowl. The introductory note by Walter Risley related that while the author's husband served as a surgeon in World War I, Bessie M. Lindsey was an X-ray specialist in a large Chicago hospital. Later, while living in Forsyth, a rural community north of Decatur, Ill., she became an accomplished antique glassware collector. She took and published photos of her antique and commemorative glassware in her early work, Lore of Our Land Pictured in Glass, volume one published privately in 1948, volume two published in 1950. Her 1967 American Historical Glass contains all the material of the two volumes, has a revised index, and an introductory note by Walter Risley. See: Sykes, Gordon.
Lindsey, Bessie M. 2-GP Memorial Glassware. GP memorial glassware was manufactured and sold in Britain from Dec. 1869, just after the vast publicity accompanying his Nov. 4, 1869, death, 96-day transatlantic funeral, and final burial on Feb. 8, 1870, in Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem, Mass. Ref.: Ibid.
PCofVU Predecessor
Lindsley, John Berrien, M.D. (1822-97). 1-Pres. & Chancellor, Univ. of Nashville. John Berrien Lindsley, born in Princeton, N.J., came to Nashville, Tenn., at age two when his father, Philip Lindsley (1786-1855, below), became president of the Univ. of Nashville during 1824-50. J.B. Lindsley graduated from the Univ. of Nashville (1839), earned a medical degree from the Univ. of Penn. (1843), was ordained a Presbyterian minister (1846), and was minister to the poor and the slave. He helped found and was first dean (1850-56) of the Medical Department, Univ. of Nashville, the first medical school south of the Ohio River, which enrolled 400 medical students under his deanship. Ref.: Windrow. Nichols, Vol. VI, Part 1, pp. 279-280. Harwell-b, p. 543. Conkin, Peabody College, index.
Lindsley, J.B. 2-Later Career. Succeeding his father, who resigned as president in 1850, Dr. John Berrien Lindsley was elected Chancellor, Univ. of Nashville (1855-70). He was also post surgeon of Nashville hospitals during the Civil War and protected the Univ. of Nashville library and laboratories during Union troop occupation. He was also superintendent of schools in Nashville, 1866, resigned as chancellor in 1870, taught at the medical school to 1873, and continued to advance public education, public health, and prison reform. Ref.: Ibid.
Lindsley, J.B. 3-Creating Peabody Normal College. In June-July, 1867, Chancellor John Berrien Lindsley and his trustees discussed a normal school plan with PEF's first administrator Barnas Sears (1802-80). Sears offered PEF funds of $1,000 or more annually if the state of Tenn. would establish one or more normal schools. Legislation to establish a state normal school failed to pass in 1868, 1871, and 1873, even though Sears offered in 1873 $6,000 in PEF funds annually to match state funding. See: PCofVU, history of. PEF. Sears, Barnas.
Lindsley, J.B. 4-Creating Peabody Normal College Cont'd. Rather than lose Nashville as a normal school site, Sears proposed $6,000 annually in PEF funds if the Univ. of Nashville trustees gave land and buildings for a normal school in place of its moribund Literary Dept. Glad not to spend state funds, the Tenn. legislature amended the Univ. of Nashville's charter to allow it to establish a normal school. Ref.: Ibid. For PCofVU's six predecessor colleges and their 19 chief administrators, see PCofVU, history of.
Lindsley, J.B. 5-Creating Peabody Normal College Cont'd. The new State Normal School (1875-89) opened on the Univ. of Nashville campus Dec. 1, 1875, and was renamed Peabody Normal College (1889-1909). Disappointed that the Tenn. legislature defeated appropriation bills for the State Normal School in 1877 and 1879, Sears considered moving the State Normal School from Nashville to Georgia. Threat of this move prompted Nashville citizens to guarantee $6,000 by April 1880 to keep State Normal School in Nashville. Ref.: Ibid.
Lindsley, J.B. 6-Creating Peabody Normal College Cont'd. Stung into action, the Tenn. legislature gave Peabody Normal College annual appropriations totaling $429,000 (1881-1905). The PEF gave Peabody Normal College a total of $550,730 (1875-1909). On dissolving the PEF (1909-14), its trustees endowed GPCFT with $1.5 million, requiring matching funds which came from Nashville ($200,000), Davidson County ($100,000), Tenn. ($250,000), and elsewhere. GPCFT (1914-79) was rechartered as PCofVU, from July 1, 1979, and has been a top ranking U.S. graduate schools of education in the 1990s. Ref.: "Best Graduate Schools," p. 69. See: also Davidson Academy. Sears, Barnas.
Lindsley, Philip (1786-1855). 1-Pres., Univ. of Nashville. Philip Lindsley was born near Morristown, N.J., attended a nearby academy (ages 13-16), graduated from the College of N.J. (1804, renamed Princeton Univ., Oct. 1896), taught in N.J. (1804-07), was connected with the College of N.J. (1807-24) as tutor, theology student, language professor, secretary to the trustees, librarian, vice president, and president during his last year there. He was president of the Univ. of Nashville during 1824-50, and was succeeded by his physician son John Berrien Lindsley, M.D. (see above). Philip Lindsley then became prof., New Albany Theological Seminary, New Albany, Ind. (1850-53). Ref.: (on Philip Lindsley and physician son J. Berrien Lindsley): Nichols, Vol. VI, Part 1, pp. 278-279. Conkin, Peabody College, index.
Lindsley, Philip. 2-Second Wife Niece of Yale Science Prof. Philip Lindsley's second wife (married April 19, 1849, his first wife having died) was Mrs. Mary Ann (née Silliman) Ayers, niece of Benjamin Silliman, Sr. (1779-1864), Yale Univ. chemistry professor who had (before 1860) asked GP for a gift to science at Yale. GP's nephew Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-99), whose education and career as first U.S. paleontology professor at Yale GP's financial help made possible, was a student of Benjamin Silliman, Jr. (1816-85). Ref.: Ibid. (On Philip Lindsley): Wooldridge, ed., pp. 386, 531-532, 615-619. See: Marsh, Othniel Charles.
Lippincott, Joshua Ballinger (1813-86), was a Philadelphia bookseller and founder of J.B. Lippincott, publisher (1836). When J.B. Lippincott bought the Philadelphia printing firm of John Grigg (1850), Benjamin Moran (1820-86), a printer for John Grigg, took his savings and went to London as a freelance writer. At the U.S. Legation in London, Benjamin Moran was legation clerk (1853-57), assist. secty. (1857), and secty. (1857-75). His private journal, part of which was published (1948), has many mostly critical entries on GP. See: Moran, Benjamin.
Lippincott, Sara Jane Clarke (1823-1904), was an American writer of stories for young people who wrote under the pen name of Grace Greenwood. Her poem about GP is among the 40 items of her papers at the Univ. of Va.'s Special Collections. She was born in Pompey, N.Y., died in New Rochelle, N.Y.; edited a children's magazine, The Little Pilgrim; lectured against slavery before the Civil War and later spoke on other reform movements. For her unpublished poem on GP, see Greenwood, Grace.
Little, Anna (1772-1826), GP's aunt, married John Peabody (1768-1827), GP's paternal uncle with whom, following the Great Newburyport Fire of 1811, GP, then age 17, left Newburyport, Mass. (May 4, 1812) for Georgetown, D.C., where they opened a store (May 15, 1812). See: names and towns mentioned.
Little, Elbridge Gerry (1807-1880) was a physician married to GP's youngest sister Sophronia Phelps (née Peabody) Little (b.1809, d. ?). Ref.: Virkus, ed., I (1925), p. 691. See: Little, Sophronia Phelps (née Peabody) (below).
GP’s Youngest Sister Sophronia
Little, Sophronia Phelps (née Peabody) (b. Nov. 4, 1809-d. ?). 1-GP's Youngest Sister. Sophronia Phelps Peabody, GP's youngest sister, married physician Elbridge Gerry Little (1807-1880). GP wrote to his sister Sophronia Phelps Peabody on April 16, 1828, of the poverty he saw in rural Ireland on his first nine-month commercial buying trip to Europe (Nov. 1827-Aug. 1828). Ref.: GP, Paris, to Sophronia Peabody, April 16, 1828, quoted in Schuchert and LeVene, pp. 70-71. See: Dublin, Ireland. Ireland. Visits to Europe by GP.
Little, Sophronia Phelps (née Peabody). 2-GP on Poverty He Saw in Ireland. GP wrote: "As soon as you leave this city [Dublin] the inhabitants of the smaller towns and villages are in the most deplorable state of Poverty and wretchedness. It was not unusual, on leaving a public house in a country town, to be [surrounded] by 20 or 30 beggars at a time, which always excited in my mind feelings of congratulations, that I lived in a country where such things are unknown, but where industry and economy never fail to procure the comforts of life." Ref.: Ibid.
Little, Sophronia Phelps (née Peabody). 3-Her Four Children. Before leaving London for his first U.S. visit in nearly 20 years absence (since Feb. 1837), GP asked his younger sister Judith Dodge (née Peabody) Russell (1799-1879) to list the children of their brothers and sisters; i e., his nieces and nephews. In a March 25, 1856, letter to GP she listed youngest sister Sophronia Phelps (née Peabody) Little's (she then lived in Portland, Me.) four children: 1-George Peabody Little, born 1834, then in Portland, Me. 2-Jeremiah Russell Little, born 1836, then attending Medical College, Albany, N.Y. 3-Allen Fitch Little, born 1838, then living in Pembroke, N.H. 4-Henry Peabody Little, born 1842, then living in Pembroke, N.H., "a paralytic cripple." Ref.: Mrs. Judith Dodge (née Peabody) Russell, Georgetown, Mass., to GP, March 25, 1856, Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass.
Liverpool, England. William Brown (1784-1864), merchant and MP from Liverpool, England, was GP's business and personal friend, as was his father before him, Alexander Brown (1764-1834), who left Liverpool to head Alexander Brown & Sons, Baltimore. The William Brown-GP connections include: 1-William Brown's concern over GP's 1839 broken engagement to Esther Elizabeth Hoppin (1819-1905) and 2-William Brown's speech at GP's July 4, 1856, U.S.-British friendship dinner honoring U.S. Minister to Britain George Mifflin Dallas (1792-1864). See: Brown, William. Persons named.
Liverpool, England, Daily Post. Allen S. Hanckel's letter to the Liverpool, England Daily Post editor (Jan. 8, 1862, p. 5, c. 1-2) described his view of the forced removal from the British mail ship Trent of four Confederate agents seeking aid and arms abroad. Hanckel's letter also mentioned GP. See: Trent Affair.
Livery companies. Two ancient guilds granted GP honorary membership following his March 12, 1862, letter founding the Peabody Donation Fund, London, to build and manage model apartments for London's working poor (total gift $2.5 million): The Clothworkers' Co. of London on July 2, 1862, and The Fishmongers' Co. of London on April 19, 1866. See: Clothworkers' Co. of London. Fishmongers' Co. of London.
Loan, GP's, to U.S. exhibitors, 1851. See: Great Exhibition of 1851, London (first world's fair).
Lock (Hobbs's unpickable locks). See: Hobbs, Alfred C. Great Exhibition of 1851, London (first world's fair).
GP’s Nephew O.C. Marsh
Lockport, N.Y. 1-Nephew O.C. Marsh's Birthplace. GP's younger sister Mary Gaines Peabody (1807-34) married Caleb Marsh (b. c1800) on April 12, 1827. Using the dowry GP gave his sister, Caleb Marsh bought a farm near Lockport, N.Y. Their son Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-99) grew up near Lockport and was influenced toward science by local geologist Col. Ezekiel (1791-1877) who hunted fossils in the Erie Canal area. GP paid for nephew O.C. Marsh's education at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.; at Yale College; at Yale's newly opened (1861) graduate Sheffield Scientific School; at the German universities of Berlin, Heidelberg, and Breslau; and paid for O.C. Marsh's science library and fossil rock collections. See: Marsh, Othniel Charles. Science: GP's Gifts to Science and Science Education.
Lockport, N.Y. 2-O.C. Marsh's Career. O.C. Marsh became the first U.S. professor of paleontology at Yale Univ., the second such professor in the world, discoverer of the winged bird, the American origin of the horse, and leading dinosaur fossil finder. Charles Darwin credited O.C. Marsh with finding the best proof of the theory of evolution. Marsh influenced his uncle's founding of the Peabody museums of Harvard and Yale universities and what is now the PEM, Salem, Mass. Ref.: Ibid.
London, City of, Hospital for Diseases of the Chest. GP gave $165 to this hospital during 1850-55. See: City of London Hospital for Diseases of the Chest.
London Coffee House. GP's Oct. 27, 1851, U.S.-British friendship dinner to departing U.S. exhibitors to the Great Exhibition of 1851, London (first world's fair), was held in the London Coffee House, Ludgate Hill, where Benjamin Franklin as American ambassador had met friends to discuss affairs. See: Corcoran, William Wilson. Dinners, GP's, London.
London Donation Fund. See: Peabody Donation Fund. Peabody Homes of London.
GP Given the Freedom of the City of London
London, Freedom of the City of London, to GP. 1-Trent Affair. GP was the first American to be given the Freedom of the City of London on July 10, 1862. This honor came barely six months after the Trent Affair, a U.S.-British near war incident. U.S.-British angers over the Trent Affair forced GP to postpone publication in the press of his March 12, 1862, letter founding the Peabody Donation Fund to build model apartments for London's working poor (total gift $2.5 million). See: Trent Affair.
London, Freedom of the City. 2-Trent Affair Cont'd. The Trent Affair occurred on Nov. 8, 1861. Capt. Charles Wilkes (1798-1877) of the Union ship San Jacinto, on his own authority, illegally seized and forcibly removed from the British mail packet Trent in the Bahamas four Confederate agents seeking arms and aid abroad. They were held for seven weeks in Boston's Fort Warren prison while Britain seethed, demanded their release and an explanation, and sent 8,000 troops to Canada should a U.S.-British war erupt. Pres. Lincoln defused the situation, allegedly by telling his cabinet, "One war at a time, gentlemen," and had the Confederates released on Jan. 1, 1862. Ref.: Ibid.
London, Freedom of the City. 3-Offer of the Freedom of the City. After March 12, 1862, the London press praised GP's fund for housing London's working poor. It amazed Britons that a U.S. citizen gave a city and country not his own a small fortune for model workingmen's housing. The London Times printed citizens' letters urging some form of public honor for GP. On March 31, 1862, GP's longtime business friend and Peabody Homes trustee Curtis Miranda Lampson (1806-85) received a visitor from the Corporation of London. Knowing of their business and personal friendship, the City of London visitor asked Lampson to find out if GP would accept the Freedom of the City, if offered. Ref.: (Letters asking public honor for GP): London Times, March 29, 1862, p. 11, c. 5.
London, Freedom of the City. 4-Offer of the Freedom of the City Cont'd. Lampson immediately wrote GP: "I have just had a call from a gentleman connected with the Corporation who came to ask if you had any objection to have conferred on you the freedom of the city of London. This is a compliment paid to great and distinguished men only and I have to let the gentleman know.... Please write by return mail...." GP replied that he had no objection. Ref.: (Lampson): C.M. Lampson to GP, March 31, 1862, Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass.
GP & Charles Reed
London, Freedom of the City. 5-Charles Reed. Charles Reed (1819-81) was the Court of Common Council member who first suggested that the freedom of the city be offered to GP. When Reed recorded his intention to introduce his resolution on May 22, 1862, two aldermen urged caution. GP's gift, they feared, might have been incorrectly announced. GP's gift was in the form of securities. These might or might not be sound. The freedom of the city was an honor not to be hastily conferred. Ref.: (Charles Reed's intention of introducing resolution): London Times, April 8, 1862, p. 11, c. 3. Glasgow Citizen (Scotland), April 12, 1862, p. 7, c. 2.
London, Freedom of the City. 6-Charles Reed Cont'd. Reed made careful inquiries, was convinced GP's London housing gift was genuine, and on May 22, 1862, at the Guildhall, before the London Court of Common Council, said, in part: "The country rings with the name of a man hitherto little known among us. By an act of unparalleled generosity he lays this city and nation under deep obligation (Cheers)." Ref.: Ibid.
London, Freedom of the City. 7-Charles Reed Cont'd. Reed then described GP's first gift (June 16, 1852): the Peabody Institute Library, Danvers (renamed Peabody, April 13, 1868), Mass. (total gift $217,600); and GP's Feb. 12, 1857, letter founding the PIB (total gift $1.4 million). Reed reviewed the details of GP's intended model apartments for London's working poor. Reed said: "He desires to help workingmen live better by moderate rent near their work. Mr. Peabody draws a line between the idle mendicant and the industrious poor. He strives to help those who help themselves." Ref.: Ibid.
London, Freedom of the City. 8-Charles Reed Cont'd. Reed then mentioned GP's lesser known past contributions. He praised "the man who saved the credit of his country," referring to GP's sale in London to European investors during 1837-40s of U.S. state securities, including Md.'s $8 million bond issue for internal improvements. Nine states, including Md., hit hard by the Panic of 1837, suspended interest payments on their bonds sold abroad. GP publicly urged state officials to resume interest payments and assured foreign investors that such payments would be retroactive. See: Md. $8 Million Bond Sale Abroad and GP.
London, Freedom of the City. 9-Charles Reed Cont'd. Reed praised GP as the man "who aided the Arctic expedition under Dr. Kane in search of Franklin." GP gave a $10,000 gift for scientific equipment for the Second U.S. Grinnell Expedition (1853-55), under U.S. Navy Commander Elisha Kent Kane (1820-57), to search for lost British Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin (1786-1847). See: Corcoran, William Wilson. Persons named.
London, Freedom of the City. 10-Charles Reed Cont'd. Reed praised GP as the man "who once rebuked a highly placed official for refusing to toast the Queen." This reference was to GP's July 4, 1854, U.S.-British friendship dinner for 140 guests honoring incoming U.S. Minister to Britain James Buchanan (1791-1868, 15th U.S. president during 1857-61). Jingoistic U.S. Legation in London Secty. Daniel Edgar Sickles (1825-1914) refused to stand and walked out when the Queen was toasted before the Pres. of the U.S. Sickles criticized GP in the press for "toadying" to the English. GP, in turn, marshaled the facts in print so that Sickles was seen as a misguided super-patriot. See: Sickles Affair.
London, Freedom of the City. 11-Charles Reed Cont'd. Reed concluded: "I move that the honorary freedom of this city, in a gold box of the value of 100 guineas, be presented to Mr. George Peabody." The motion was seconded in a short speech by Alderman Benjamin Phillips (1811-89). A proposed amendment by Council member James Anderton (1785-18968), a solicitor (lawyer) to place a bust of GP in the Council Chamber in lieu of the freedom of London was defeated. The original motion was called, voted on, and carried with acclaim. Ref.: (May 22, 1862, Council meeting reported in): London Times, May 23, 1862, Issue 24253, p. 6, c. 1. See: Corcoran, William Wilson. Persons named.
London, Freedom of the City. 12-Reed and GP. Two days later, May 24, 1862, Reed received a visit from GP, who asked with surprise how Reed knew so much about him. Reed then explained that he had been a subcommissioner in London's Great Exhibition of 1851 (first world's fair). He knew that the U.S. exhibitors were embarrassed without funds from the U.S. Congress to transport U.S. products from the ship St. Lawrence in Southampton to the large U.S. pavilion in London's Crystal Palace Exhibition Hall. Nor had they funds to display U.S. industry and art products to best advantage in the U.S. pavilion. See: Great Exhibition of 1851, London (first world's fair).
London, Freedom of the City. 13-Reed and GP Cont'd. Reed said that he had been as surprised as the U.S. exhibitors when GP offered a $15,000 loan to transport the U.S. products and to decorate the display area, without guarantee that the U.S. Congress would repay his loan. Ref.: (Charles Reed and GP): Reed. Boase-b, Vol. 16, pp. 832-834. London Times, April 8, 1862, p. 11, c. 3. Glasgow Citizen (Glasgow, Scotland), April 12, 1862, p. 7, c. 2. Lowther, XVI, pp. 831-832. "George Peabody," Leisure Hour, Vol. 15, No. 761 (1866), p. 477. Peabody Donation, pp. 9-14. London Times, May 23, 1862, p. 6, c. 1.
London, Freedom of the City. 14-Reed and GP Cont'd. Reed told GP of their previous meeting. Not knowing each other, they once stood together on a busy public occasion in the hall of the Mansion House (Lord Mayor's residence). That hall, lined with busts and statues of eminent men, was full of people coming and going. A busy footman, not knowing he was being observed, casually hung a hat on one of the busts. Reed indignantly removed the hat. GP asked Reed why he had done that. Reed pointed to the bust and replied, "That is my father," referring to Dr. Andrew Reed (1787-1862). Ref.: Ibid.
London, Freedom of the City. 15-Reed and GP Cont'd. GP later learned that Charles Reed's father had been a Congregational minister (during 1811-61), had visited the U.S. to study its education and religious systems (1834), and as a philanthropist had founded asylums for orphans and the mentally handicapped, and a hospital for incurables. Charles Reed returned GP's visit. He was surprised at GP's simple lodgings (no servant or carriage; GP used public horse-drawn omnibuses). They became friends. Reed helped GP with speeches and advice. GP named Charles Reed one of the British executors of his estate. Sir Charles Reed (he was knighted in 1874 for his service as a member of Parliament) wrote of GP years later in his memoir: "as I recognized his simplicity and real goodness, I became assured that his was a pure and rare benevolence." See: Reed, Sir Charles.
Regal Pageantry
London, Freedom of the City. 16-Regal Pageantry. The regal pageantry took place at 3 p.m., July 10, 1862, in London's ancient Guildhall. Seated in long rows were scarlet robed aldermen and violet robed members of the Common Council. The public, including many women, filled the council room. They overflowed the hallway. With a flourish and a cry, "Room for the Lord Mayor," the scarlet robed Right Hon. William Cubitt (1791-1863) entered, wearing his ponderous gold chain of office, studded with jewels. He was preceded by two officials bearing the mace and sword of the city. Loud shouts and cheers arose when GP entered accompanied by Charles Reed and Alderman Phillips, who had proposed and seconded the resolution on May 22. Smiling and neatly dressed in black, GP took his seat to the left of the Lord Mayor. Present were the trustees of the Peabody Donation Fund. Ref.: Ibid.
London, Freedom of the City. 17-Regal Pageantry Cont'd. After preliminary business, the resolutions were read and GP was presented with the Freedom of the City of London printed on parchment enclosed in a gold box costing a hundred guineas (then about $525). Applause and cheers ensued. John Swell, officer of the Corporation, then stood to remind the audience that eight days before (July 2, 1862) GP had been elected a freeman and livery man of one of England's ancient guilds, the Honorary Company of Clothworkers. More shouts and cheers. Ref.: Peabody Donation, p. 28. London Times, July 4, 1862, p. 5, c. 5.
Speech on GP
London, Freedom of the City. 18-Regal Pageantry Cont'd. While GP stood, Mr. Scott, the chamberlain, recounted highlights of GP's career. He said: "Before inscribing your name as an honorary citizen of this ancient city I address you in the name of this Honorable Court. Early in your career you resolved that if your labours be blessed with success you would aid your fellowmen. You kept that resolve. (Hear! Hear!) I congratulate you on your business success and your remembrance of your resolve. (Cheers!) First Danvers, then Baltimore, now London received your bounty. You give while you live rather than bequeath a legacy. You give to London when relations between your country and ours are strained. In so doing you rise above nationality and above differences." Ref.: (Freedom of the City of London): London, Corp. of, pp. 158, 254, 263-266.
London, Freedom of the City. 19-Regal Pageantry Cont'd. Chamberlain Scott continued: "An American by birth you have always had kind feelings toward Great Britain. (Hear! Hear!) Once you publicly vindicated the respect due its Queen. (Cheers.) You fitted out an expedition in search of Franklin. (Renewed cheers.) Your gift shows more than words the common bonds of our countries. (Cheers.) We note with admiration that your gift excludes special adherence to any religious or political views. I offer you our hand of fellowship as the first American ever to be accorded honorary citizenship of this city. (Cheers!) Accept this gift and may the evening hours of your life be enjoyable in your own country." Ref.: London Times, July 11, 1862, p. 5, c. 3-5. Boston Daily Advertiser, July 26, 1862, p. 2, c. 3-6. New York Herald, July 26, 1862, p. 2, c. 4. Hill, R.H., p. 17.
GP's Reply
London, Freedom of the City. 20-GP's Reply. GP was handed the gold box and a handsomely illuminated manuscript containing the resolution. Visibly affected, his voice clear but charged with emotion, he said: "My Lord Mayor, gentlemen of the Corporation. I do not deserve the praise you attach to my gifts. For my success is due less to my efforts than to a kind Providence which favored me. I would neglect my duty if I did not use it to benefit others. (Cheers!)" Ref.: Ibid.
London, Freedom of the City. 21-GP's Reply Cont'd. "I am not a pioneer but a follower of other benefactors. I have always wanted to return a portion of my sustenance to those communities where I labored successfully. I could never forget your city where I have been treated with kindness. (Cheers!)" "From its birth my country has found encouraging friends in your country. I am glad if my gift at this time works to soften harsh feelings between our nations. I am glad you find favor with my views that distinctions of party and creed should not exist as a bar in aiding those less fortunate. Such distinctions fade away in the presence of the common claim of human nature. (Cheers!)" "My own early years had little opportunity and many privations. I wish to encourage the youth of this city and country to rely on their character and exertions to raise themselves in society. (Hear. Hear.)" Ref.: Ibid.
London, Freedom of the City. 22-GP's Reply Cont'd. GP concluded: "Let me thank you as a citizen of the United States and a resident of this city for the honor you bestow upon me. May the difficulties in my country be resolved in the permanent triumph of liberty and good government. While I live I will try to attain the character you give my humble name." Ref.: Ibid.
Cheers and Handshakes
London, Freedom of the City. 23-Cheers and Handshakes. An American reporter for the Boston Daily Advertiser listened carefully to GP's speech (above). Knowing that in some U.S. and London circles GP was thought to be pro-Confederate, the reporter was struck by GP's strong sentiments supporting the U.S. Of GP's remarks the reporter wrote: "These expressions of loyalty to the Union are a perfect refutation of the silly story lately put in circulation that Mr. Peabody is either a 'secessionist' or 'neutral'...." Ref.: Ibid.
London, Freedom of the City. 24-Cheers and Handshakes. GP held in one hand the illuminated manuscript on parchment and in the other hand the 6" by 4" by 2" deep gold box to contain it. He put these down to shake hands with the Lord Mayor and others on the platform. Retrieving his gifts he turned to leave. All of the City of London Councilmen stood along the aisle to the door. Each reached out for his hand. The large room of the Guildhall rang out with Cheers! and cries of Hear! Hear! GP had little time to rest. That evening he was the guest of honor at the Lord Mayor's dinner at Mansion House, the Lord Mayor's official residence. Ref.: Ibid.
Lord Mayor's Dinner for GP
London, Freedom of the City. 25-Lord Mayor's Dinner. The 300 guests assembled in the spacious Egyptian Hall, Mansion House, included Peabody Donation Fund trustees Sir James Emerson Tennent (1791-1869) and the Curtis Miranda Lampsons, U.S. Minister to Britain Charles Francis Adams (1807-86) and Mrs. Adams, GP's partner Junius Spencer Morgan (1813-90) and Mrs. Morgan, author Charles Dickens' daughter, Sir Henry Holland (1788-1873), Queen Victoria's physician, and other British and U.S. notables. A loving cup was passed around, a ceremony dating from Saxon times. One guest held open the cover while his neighbor drank. The cup went round the room until all 300 present had drunk. Ref.: (Lord Mayor's Guildhall banquet): "Journals of the Court of Common Council," July 10, 1862, Guildhall Record Office, London.
London, Freedom of the City. 26-Lord Mayor's Dinner Toasts. Several toasts were proposed, including one to GP from the Lord Mayor, who said (in part): "I now propose a toast to a distinguished gentleman who has won the esteem of the City of London and the approbation of the world. Mr. Peabody has performed the crowning act of an honorable career. How glad I am for Mr. Peabody to be here and I hope he may live long to see his noble deed prove a monument to his name and character." Ref.: Ibid.
London, Freedom of the City. 27-Lord Mayor's Dinner, GP Responded. Amid loud cheering, GP rose to reply (in part): "Persons in every station hope for success and tremble at real or imagined calamities, but none more than a merchant. From a full and grateful heart I say that this day has repaid me for the care and anxiety of fifty years of commercial life. I will not take up time from other speakers. I am no orator but ask that you accept my deeds for my words." Ref.: (Lord Mayor's Guildhall banquet): "Journals of the Court of Common Council," July 10, 1862, Guildhall Record Office, London.
London, Freedom of the City. 28-Lord Mayor's Speech. The Lord Mayor then spoke of the Peabody Donation Fund for housing London's working poor and proposed a toast to its trustees. Trustee Charles Francis Adams, U.S. Minister to Britain, responded to the toast. He said (in part): "The City of London does honour to Mr. Peabody to-day. Why? The reason is that Mr. Peabody has done honour to human nature (loud cheers!)." Ref.: Ibid.
London, Freedom of the City. 29-Minister Adams' Speech Cont'd. "I honour Mr. Peabody because he has done honour to his country. Born in America he went out to build his fortune, became successful in his own land and eminently more so on this side of the ocean. In twenty years he achieved his ambition. How did this happen? The answer is simple. It was by making an honest use of the friendly relations between the two countries. He drew benefit from the trade of both countries. His career teaches the advantage of good will. His success shows how mutual interests advance with peace. Now, with this gift he forms a new bond between two nations." Ref.: Ibid.
London, Freedom of the City. 30-Other Speeches. Long speeches followed by Lord Stanley and Sir James Emerson Tennent, who toasted the Lord Mayor. GP, as he enjoyed doing, gave the last toast to the Lady Mayoress. Ref.: Ibid. See: persons named.
Other U.S. Recipients of the Freedom of the City of London
London, Freedom of the City. 31-U.S. Recipients, Freedom of the City of London. GP was thus one of only six U.S. citizens to have been offered and the first of five U.S. citizens to accept the honorary Freedom of the City of London: Andrew Stevenson (1784-1857), then U.S. Minister to Britain (1836-41), was the first U.S. citizen offered this honor, Feb. 22, 1838, but he declined the honor as being inconsistent with his official duties. Ref.: Ibid.
London, Freedom of the City. 32-Other U.S. Recipients. GP was the second U.S. citizen offered and its 1-first recipient on July 10, 1862. 2-Ulysses Simpson Grant (1822-85) was the second recipient, awarded June 15, 1877 (U.S. general and 18th U.S. president during 1869-77). 3-Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) was the third recipient, awarded May 31, 1910 (26th U.S. president during 1901-09). 4-U.S. Gen. John Joseph Pershing (1860-1948) was the fourth recipient, awarded July 18, 1919. 5-Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) was the fifth recipient, awarded June 12, 1945 (U.S. general and 34th U.S. president during 1953-61). Ref.: (Six U.S. citizens offered, five given the Freedom of the City of London): Confirmed to authors by City Archivist, Corporation of London Record Office, Guildhall, London, March 24, 1995. See: persons named.
London, Freedom of the City. 33-GP Walked Home. Some news accounts after his death seven years later reported that GP walked home to save carriage fare after the Lord Mayor's banquet, July 10, 1862. The night being damp and foggy, he was reported to have caught cold. That news account may have been exaggerated. GP may have walked home filled with wonder. Officials of the world's largest city had given him its greatest honor. Ref.: (GP's walk home from banquet): Brighton Observer (Brighton, England), Nov. 12, 1869, p. 2, c. 2. See: Honors, GP's, in Life and after Death (in chronological order).
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (1807-82). On poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's third visit to Europe, 1842, he met German poet Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810-76). In the summer of 1854 Freiligrath managed the London branch of a failing Swiss bank and may have written Longfellow for employment assistance. Longfellow wrote Freiligrath: "Everyone speaks so highly of Peabody, that I hope you may find a place there in his house,--a door opening to fortune, or something like it.... I hear of a gentleman in Boston [Junius Spencer Morgan, 1813-90], who goes out in the Autumn as a partner in Mr. Peabody's house. Him I shall endeavor to see, and as far as proper urge your claims.... Ever yours, Henry W. Longfellow. P.S. I add a letter to Mr. Peabody, although I do not know him. Do as you please about presenting it." Although Longfellow's letter did not result in a position with GP, Freiligraph became a successful translator into German of U.S. and European poets. See: Freiligrath, Ferdinand.
Lord Mayor of London. See: Cubbitt, William. London, Freedom of the City of London, and GP.
John Lothrop Mentioned in Winthrop's Eulogy
Lothrop, John (1772-1820), Rev., D.D., "of Boston and Calcutta." 1-Pastor of Brattle St. Church, Boston. Rev. John Lothrop, pastor of Brattle St., Boston, was referred to by Mass. Statesman Robert Charles Winthrop (1809-94) near the end of his Feb. 8, 1870, eulogy for GP, South Congregational Church, Peabody, Mass.
Lothrop, John. 2-Winthrop's Eulogy of GP. Winthrop said in part: "And so was fulfilled for him [GP] a prophecy he heard once as the subject of a sermon, on which by some force of reflection lingered in his mind and which he more than once mentioned to me: 'And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear nor dark; but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, or night: but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light.'" Winthrop stated that GP told him he first heard this text, Zechariah 14:6-7, as a boy (date not known) in a sermon by the Rev. Dr. John Lothrop (1772-1820) of Brattle St., Boston. Ref.: Ibid. See: Death and Funeral, GP's.
Lothrop, John. 3-Historical Connection, "Old North Church." John Lothrop's father, also named John Lothrop (1739-1816), was pastor of Christ Church ("Old North Church") now Christ Church, Episcopal, Boston, erected in 1723, from whose steeple was hung lanterns, April 18, 1775, signaling Paul Revere (1735-1818) which route British troops took to Concord, Mass. Ref.: From Boston Athenaeum Reference Librarian, Oct. 27, 1999.
Louis (Ludwig), King of Bavaria (1786-1868), attended a dinner GP gave in Nice, France, in March 1863. See: Corcoran, William Wilson. Ludwig (Louis), King of Bavaria (below). Nice, France. Slade, William.
Statuary Hall, U.S. House of Representatives
Lovenstein, William (1840-96). 1-GP statue in Statuary Hall? William Lovenstein was a Va. state senator in 1896. During 1885-96 there were unsuccessful attempts to place a statue of GP in Statuary Hall, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Capitol Bldg., Washington, D.C., where each state has two statues of its notable citizens. The first such proposal, made in a conference of Va. Superintendents of Education, was recorded in the 1885 annual report of Va.'s Superintendent of Public Instruction. See: Honors, GP's, in Life and after Death (in chronological order).
Lovenstein, William. 2-GP Statue in Statuary Hall? Cont'd. PEF second administrator J.L.M. Curry (1825-1903) urged Southern s
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