6 of 14: George Peabody (1795-1869): A-Z Handbook..., By Franklin Parker & Betty J. Parker, bfparker@frontiernet.net

6 of 14: George Peabody (1795-1869): A-Z Handbook of the Massachusetts-Born Merchant in the South, London-Based Banker, and Philanthropist's Life, Influence, and Related People, Places, Events, and Institutions. ©2007, By Franklin Parker & Betty J. Parker, bfparker@frontiernet.net

This work updates and expands Franklin Parker, George Peabody, A Biography (Nashville, Tenn.: Vanderbilt Univ. Press, ©1971, revised with illustrations ©1995), and the authors’ related George Peabody publications. Note: To read on your computer Franklin Parker’s out-of-print George Peabody, A Biography, 1995, as a free Google E-book copy and paste on your browser: http://books.google.com/books?id=OPIbk-ZPnF4C&pg=PP1&lpg=PR4&dq=Franklin+Parker,+George+Peabody,+a+Biography&output=html&sig=6R8ZoKwN1B36wtCSePijnLaYJS8

Background: Why these 1 to 14 blogs on George Peabody? The authors attended George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville (renamed Peabody College of Vanderbilt Univ. July 1, 1979). Franklin Parker’s doctoral dissertation, “George Peabody, Founder of Modern Philanthropy,” 1956, has been an ongoing research and writing interest for over 50 years. The authors’ intent is to perpetuate public memory of him.

George Peabody, now largely forgotten by scholars and the public, was significant as: 1-a Massachusetts-born merchant in the U.S. South, beginning as junior partner in Riggs, Peabody & Co. (1814-29); then head of Peabody, Riggs & Co. (1829-43), importing dry goods and other commodities worldwide for sale to U.S. wholesalers. He transformed himself from merchant into: 2-a London-based merchant-banker, George Peabody & Co. (1838-64), which helped finance the B&O RR, the 2nd Mexican War Loan, the Atlantic Cable, and by choosing Junius Spencer Morgan (1813-90) as partner Oct. 1, 1854, was a root of the JP Morgan international banking firm.

Merchant-turned-banker George Peabody finally became: 3-the best known U.S. philanthropist of the 1850s-60s, founding the Peabody Homes of London for the working poor; founder in the U.S. of 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), a model for all later larger U.S. funds and foundations.

Two tributes to George Peabody:

Historian John Steele Gordon called George Peabody the "Most Underrated Philanthropist.... Peabody is unjustly forgotten today, but his unprecedented generosity was greatly appreciated in his time." Ref.: American Heritage. Vol. 50, No. 3 (May-June 1999), pp. 68-69.

"The Peabody Fund, established in 1867 by George Peabody to assist southern education, is often credited with being the first foundation…." Ref.: Reader's Companion to American History, ed. by Eric Foner and John A. Garraty (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991). Internet: http://HistoryChannel.com/

End of Background. HTML symbols are intended for blogging (ignore). This 6 of 14 blogs covers alphabetically: Lee, Robert E. 1 to Moran, Benjamin. 108.

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 states to initiate this proposal. His stirring appeal to Va.'s General Assembly in 1895 led Va. state Sen. William Lovenstein on Feb. 1, 1896, to introduce a resolution calling for a GP statue. The Va. senate agreed to his resolution on Feb. 7, and the Va. House of Delegates agreed on Feb. 8. The Va. Senate then asked the Va. governor to write to other southern governors about securing funds for a GP statue. The S.C. and Tenn. legislatures and governor did the same in 1896, but without success. Ref.: "To Honor Peabody," Richmond Dispatch (Va.), Feb. 2, 1896, p. 12, c. 1.

Lovenstein, William. 3-Career. Born of German immigrant parents in what is now Laurel, Va., William Lovenstein attended local schools and then Dr. Lilienthal's Academy, NYC, two years. He returned to Richmond, Va., was a merchant, and served as a Confederate private under Gen. Henry Alexander Wise (1806-76), former Va. governor who, by chance met and was photographed with GP (Aug. 12), White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., summer 1869. After the Civil War William Lovenstein coedited Der Richmond Patriot, a German-language newspaper, was active in Richmond business and community affairs, was elected to the Va. House of Delegates (1869-80) and the Va. Senate (1881-96), where his Senate colleagues elected him President pro tempore, for the Dec. 4, 1895-March 5, 1896, session. Ref.: Manarin, pp. 225-226.

Lowell, John (1824-97), was a PEF trustee, chosen to succeed PEF trustee Robert Charles Winthrop (1809-94). He was a Harvard College graduate, a federal judge, served as trustee for a short time, attended only one meeting, and was succeeded as PEF trustee by George Frisbie Hoar (1826-1904). Ref.: Curry-b, p. 117.

Ludgate Hill, London. 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.

Ludington, Townsend, author of John Dos Passos: A Twentieth Century Odyssey (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1980), p. 456, indicated that U.S. writer John Rodrigo Dos Passos (1896-1970) used the PIB Library reference collection for research to write Three Men Who Made the Nation, 1957, and other books. See: PIB Reference Library.

Ludwig (Louis), King of Bavaria (1786-1868). GP, frequently ill, with a partner since 1854 (Junius Spencer Morgan, 1813-90), and wanting to retire, spent early 1863 visiting and resting in France (Paris, Lyons, Marseilles, and Nice). He gave a lavish dinner and concert in Nice in March 1863 in honor of the marriage of the Prince of Wales, which King Ludwig of Bavaria and others attended. See: Brougham, Lord. Cities named. Corcoran, William Wilson. Moran, Benjamin. Slade, William.

Lyceum, in 19th century U.S., named after Aristotle's 4th century B.C. school, was an organized adult education lecture and discussion series in town halls, libraries, and elsewhere. The first lyceum was organized in 1826 by Josiah Holbrook (1788-1854), a teacher in Millbury, Mass. By 1835 there were 3,000 U.S. town lyceums. Peabody Institute Libraries had lecture halls and lecture funds for lyceum speakers. For Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82) as lyceum speaker at the PIB, Jan. 2, 4, 9, 11, 1872, see Emerson, Ralph Waldo.

Lyell, Charles (1797-1875), British geologist, was visited by GP's nephew Othniel Charles (1831-99) while studying at the German universities of Berlin, Heidelberg, and Breslau in 1863-65. O.C. Marsh, whose studies were paid for by his uncle GP, was preparing for a career as the first U.S. paleontology professor at Yale Univ. See: Mash, Othniel Charles.

Lyman, Theodore (1833-97), was a PEF trustee. He was born in Mass., a Harvard graduate, a naturalist, served under Union Gen. George Gordon Meade (1815-72) in the Civil War, served in the U.S. Congress, and was active in civil service reform. Ref.: Curry-b, pp. 76, 101. Boatner, pp. 496-497.

Lyons, France. Somewhat relieved from George Peabody & Co., London, work burdens by partner (since Oct. 1, 1854) Junius Spencer Morgan (1813-90), GP vacationed more in the early 1860s to relieve his frequent illnesses. In early 1863 he visited and rested in Paris, Marseilles, Nice , and Lyons, France, and increasingly looked forward to retirement. In Nice in March 1863 he gave a lavish dinner and concert in honor of the marriage of the Prince of Wales, which King Ludwig of Bavaria and others attended. See: Brougham, Lord. Cities named. Corcoran, William Wilson. Ludwig (Louis), King of Bavaria Moran, Benjamin. Slade, William.

Lyons, James (1801-82), was a Richmond, Va., lawyer, judge and public education advocate. He met by chance, spoke 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. At this chance meeting, informal talks of later educational consequence took place on southern public education needs with Robert E. Lee (1807-70), then president of Washington College, Lexington, Va. (renamed Washington and Lee Univ., 1871), other former Civil War generals, and northern and southern educators and statesmen. See: Confederate Generals. Corcoran, William Wilson Corcoran. Peabody, George, Illustrations. Lee, Robert E.. Visits to the U.S. by GP.

M

Mac and Mc are interfiled as if both are Mac.

McCabe, James D. (1842-83). Author James D. McCabe, Great Fortunes and How They Were Made (Cincinnati: E. Hannaford & Co., 1871), p. 172, stated that Francis Todd, a Newburyport, Mass., merchant, sent 17-year-old GP his first consignment of goods on credit when GP left Newburyport with his paternal uncle John Peabody (1768-before 1826) on May 4, 1812, and opened a store in Georgetown, D.C., May 15, 1812. More reliable author Phebe Ann Hanaford (she used GP papers at the then Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.), recorded that GP approached Newburyport merchant Prescott Spaulding (1781-1864) whose letter of recommendation induced Boston merchant James Reed to give GP $2,000 worth of merchandise on credit. Ref.: Hanaford, pp. 42-43, 49.

PEF Trustee

Macalester, Charles (1798-1873). 1-PEF Trustee. Charles Macalester was a financier, one of the 16 original PEF trustees, and a member of the PEF Finance Committee. He was born in Philadelphia, the son of a Scottish-born immigrant to Philadelphia where he became a prosperous merchant and ship owner, trading with Europe and the East Indies. He attended Philadelphia public schools, spent a few years in Cincinnati, Ohio, married, and returned to Philadelphia in 1827. He was a member of Gaw, Macalester & Co., stock brokers. Ref.: Frederick, Vol. VI, pp. 543-544. Funk, pp. 46-47. Philadelphia Press, Dec. 10, 1873. John W. Forney, "In Memoriam: Death of Charles Macalester." "Decease of Charles Macalester, Esq.," Public Ledger, Dec. 10, 1873.

Macalester, Charles. 2-GP's Agent in Philadelphia. Charles Macalester visited London in 1842 and became GP's agent and business correspondent in Philadelphia. He was a director of Fidelity Insurance, Trust & Safe Deposit Co., director of the Camden & Amboy Railroad Co., and was successful in real estate investments in western cities, especially in Chicago. Charles Macalester and others were GP's guests when they arrived in Baltimore, Oct. 24, 1866, greeted by Mayor John Lee Chapman (1812-80) and city council members, taken to Barnum's City Hotel as guests of the city, to attend the Oct. 25-26, 1866, PIB opening and dedication ceremonies. Ref.: Ibid.

Macalester, Charles. 3-Founder, Macalester College, Minn. In politics Charles Macalester was a Jackson Democrat (1829-37); the trusted friend of U.S. Presidents Jackson, Van Buren, Polk, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln, and Grant. He was a friend and associate of such Whig leaders as Clay, Webster, and Crittenden. In the Civil War he supported the Republican Party and voted for Lincoln and Grant. He was an elder in Philadelphia's Second Presbyterian Church; was a trustee and supporter of the Philadelphia Presbyterian Hospital, the Philadelphia Medical College, and gave the Winslow House in Minneapolis, Minn., for an institute of higher education which Presbyterian Church trustees named Macalester College (1885), St. Paul, Minn. Ref.: Ibid.

On GP’s Broken Engagement

Macaulay, T. 1-GP's NYC Business Friend. T. Macaulay, a NYC business friend, wrote with concern and sympathy to GP about his broken engagement to Esther Elizabeth Hoppin (1819-1905) in early 1839. From Providence, R.I., she was in London for young Queen Victoria's coronation (June 28, 1838), where GP met her, fell in love, and they became engaged. Back in the U.S., she met Alexander Lardner (1808-48), a friend with whom she had been earlier (1835) infatuated. She broke her engagement to GP, returned his gifts through an intermediary, and married Lardner (Oct. 2, 1840). See: Hoppin, Esther Elizabeth. Romance and GP.

Macaulay, T. 2-Wrote Sympathetically to GP. T. Macaulay wrote sympathetically to GP, March 7, 1839: "While upon the subject of family affairs I have learned of matters connected with yourself, and as I should sincerely rejoice in any thing which would contribute to your happiness, did not fail to make myself acquainted with what had transpired since I left England--and I am fully convinced that you have acted as became your character for honorable and manly feeling in so delicate an affair--for although we may err in judgment we must never sacrifice these sentiments of delicacy and propriety upon which our happiness in such matters must rest. I should have expected it from you and I feel gratified that you have acted accordingly." Ref.: Ibid.

GP's Possible Financial Backing of a Electric Light Bulb, 1845

McCorkle, Joseph Walker (1819-84). 1-Early Electric Light Bulb, 1845. Sources state that "Judge J.[oseph] W.[alker] McCorkle [1819-84], late member of Congress from California, and Mr. P.P. Love, of Dayton, Ohio, furnished the money, about $3,000…" to financially back the invention of an early electric light bulb by John W. Starr (c.1822-c.1847); that "[Starr] took his invention to England to complete it, Mr. King [Edward Augustin King, Starr's lawyer] going as his agent;" that lawyer King had the invention patented in London in 1845; that "Letters of introduction were given to King and Starr to the American banker in London, George Peabody, who, when the subject was fully explained to him, agreed to furnish all the capital that would be required to promote the project to a successful and practical use, provided that the same was approved and sanctioned by the best and most celebrated electricians in Europe. Professor Faraday was chosen;" and that "had he [Starr] lived he might have proved as much of a genius as Edison." For documented account of GP's connection, See: Starr, John W.

McCorkle, J.W. 2-Biographical Sketch. J.W. McCorkle attended the common schools in his birthplace, Piqua, Ohio; attended Kenyon College; was admitted to the bar about 1842; practiced in Dayton, Ohio, where he was postmaster (1845-49) moved to San Francisco, Calif. (1849); was a member of the state assembly (1850-52); was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (1851-53); moved to Marysville, Calif., where he was a judge (1853-57); was a lawyer in San Francisco (1857-60), in Virginia City, Nev., (1860-70), and in Washington, D.C. (1870); died in Branchville, Md.; and is buried in Piqua, Ohio. Ref.: Internet "McCorkle, Joseph Walker."

McCormick, Cyrus Hall (1809-84). For McCormick's reapers and other U.S. industrial and art products, See: Great Exhibition of 1851, London (first world's fair).

PIB Gallery of Art

McCoy, John W. (1821-89). 1-Donated Clytie to PIB Gallery of Art. The PIB Gallery of Art began in 1873 when PIB trustee John W. McCoy donated Clytie, a life-size marble statue of a woman in classical Greco-Roman style, created by Md.-born sculptor William Henry Rinehart (1825-74). Ref.: McCoy, pp. 468-470.

McCoy, J.W. 2-Career. Born in Baltimore, John W. McCoy attended Baltimore College (a branch of the Univ. of Md.), was a journalist, an art historian, produced iron ore in N.C. for the Confederacy in the Civil War, returned to Baltimore as a partner in the commercial firm of W.T. Walters & Co., cofounded Baltimore’s Daily Evening Bulletin (1876), befriended and publicized the work of Md.-born sculptor William Henry Rinehart and, determined that Rinehart’s best known work, Clytie, remain in Baltimore, bought it from Rinehart for the PIB Gallery of Art. There is a portrait of John W. McCoy in the Peabody Art Collection. Ref.: Ibid.

GP as One of 29 Most Famous Americans

MacCracken, Henry Mitchell (1840-1918). 1-Created N.Y.U. Hall of Fame. Henry Mitchell MacCracken was New York Univ. chancellor during 1891-1910 who created its Hall of Fame, made possible by a $100,000 gift from Mrs. Finley J. Shepard (née Helen Gould, financier Jay Gould's [1836-92] daughter). GP was among the 29 most famous Americans elected to the Hall of Fame in 1900, 16th from the top of the list (or 15th if placed ahead of Henry Clay [1777-1852], with whom he tied). GP was one of two elected in the category of businessmen-philanthropists. See: Hall of Fame of NY Univ.

MacCracken, H.M. 2-GP Tablet and Bust. In 1901 a bronze tablet was unveiled in GP's allotted place with an inscription taken from his Feb. 7, 1867, PEF founding letter: "Looking forward beyond my stay on earth I see our country becoming richer and more powerful. But to make her prosperity more than superficial, her moral and intellectual development should keep pace with her material growth." When sufficient funds were raised, sculptor Hans Schuler (1874-1951) created the GP bust which was unveiled May 12, 1926, by GP's grandnephew Murray Peabody Brush (1872-1954) and John Work Garrett (1872-1942) representing the PIB trustees. The address was given by GPCFT Pres. Bruce Ryburn Payne (1874-1937). Ref.: Ibid.

McCullagh, William Torrens (1813-94), was an Irish-born barrister and independent Liberal MP during 1847 to 1885 who, in 1863, took his mother's surname, McCullagh. He favored the North in the Civil War and wrote on its behalf in the press. During Nov. 1861, when Thurlow Weed (1797-1882) was Pres. Lincoln's emissary to keep Britain neutral in the U.S. Civil War, he went to GP who introduced him to British leaders sympathetic to the North. These included MP Sir James Emerson Tennent (1791-1869) representing Belfast, Ireland, at whose home Weed met such British government leaders as Lord Clarence Edward Paget (1811-95), Foreign Secty. John Russell (1792-1878), and MP William Torrens McCullagh (referred to in this work as William W. Torrens). See: persons named.

Trent Affair

McFarland, J.E. 1-Confederate Emissary. J.E. McFarland was secretary to James Murray Mason (1798-1871) of Va. Mason and John Slidell (1793-1871) of La. were Confederate emissaries on their way to Europe to seek aid and arms from Britain and France. On the stormy night of Oct. 11, 1861, they and some of their family evaded the Union blockade of Charleston, S.C., reached Havana, Cuba, and there boarded the British mail packet Trent bound for Liverpool, England. On Nov. 8, 1861, in the Bahama Channel, West Indies, the Trent was illegally stopped by Capt. Charles Wilkes (1798-1877) of the Union warship San Jacinto. The illegal seizure of Mason, Slidell, and their male secretaries, and their being held at Boston Harbor's Fort Warren prison, provoked near-war hysteria between Britain and the U.S. Furor over the Trent affair lasted well into 1862, affecting GP in London. With his advisors and trustees, he had to postpone to March 12, 1862, press release of the letter founding the Peabody Donation Fund for model housing for London's working poor (total gift $2.5 million). See: Trent Affair.

McFarland, J.E. 2-British Sympathy. British sympathy for the Confederacy was partly based on class--the kinship upper and middle class Britons felt for the southern aristocracy. Britain's economic reason for Confederate sympathy was cutoff of southern cotton, essential for British textile manufacture. Historian Shelby Foote recorded that Union blockade of southern ports cost British cotton mills and ancillary industries two million jobs. Over half the 534,000 British cotton mill workers were without jobs and fewer than one-fourth worked full time. Ref.: Ibid.

McFarland, J.E. 3-British-built Confederate Ships. Without a navy, secret Confederate agents bought British-built ships, which were then armed as Confederate warships. The British-built Confederate Alabama, for example, sunk 64 Union ships. In international arbitration over the Alabama Claims, Britain paid the U.S. $15.5 million indemnity (1872). The seriousness of the Trent affair and other British-U.S. provocations worried GP and his advisors. Would the British government, press, and public accept or reject his London housing gift? Britain demanded release of the four prisoners and an explanation. U.S. jingoism calmed. Pres. Lincoln's cabinet met Dec. 26, 1861, disavowed Capt. Wilkes's action, and the four Confederates were released on Jan. 1, 1862. Ref.: Ibid.

McFarland, J.E. 4-GP's Trent Involvement. Another GP-Trent connection was with George Eustis (1828-72), secretary to Confederate emissary John Slidell, both from La. George Eustice was married to Louise Morris Corcoran (1838-67), the only daughter of GP's longtime business associate William Wilson Corcoran (1798-1888) of Washington, D.C. She was a favorite of GP, who had entertained Corcoran and his daughter, and sometimes the daughter alone, on European trips. Ref.: Ibid.

McFarland, J.E., 5-GP-Trent Involvement Cont'd. Capt. Richard Williams, Trent officer in charge of the mail, was asked at a dinner to give his version of what happened on the Trent. This version, published in the Liverpool Daily Post, Jan. 8, 1862 (p. 5, c. 1-2), was that when the San Jacinto's Lt. Donald McNeill Fairfax (1821-94) was sent to take Mason and Slidell into custody, they appeared before him with Slidell's daughter clinging to her father. When Lt. Fairfax tried to separate father and daughter, she slapped his face. The Daily Post article added that there was a contradiction to Capt. Williams' version from a member of Parliament who "had the contradiction from George Peabody, the well known banker and merchant." Ref.: Ibid.

McFarland, J.E., 6-GP-Trent Involvement Cont'd. The Daily Post article added that a Mr. Allen S. Kanckel (his last name, misspelled, was Hanckel), who claimed to have witnessed the Trent incident, told the editor "that Mr. Peabody, uninvited, called on Mrs. Slidell, and behaved ungentlemanly." The editor sent GP the news article along with Allen S. Hanckel's calling card. Hanckel wrote GP that the Daily Post editor had made a mistake, that it had been GP's partner, Junius Spencer Morgan (1813-90), who had burst uninvited into Mrs. Slidell's room. Hanckel added, "I shall certainly call upon you and hope to receive an explanation," but his visit never materialized. The Trent affair stirred passions. Ref.: Liverpool Daily Post, Jan. 8, 1862, p. 5, c. 1-2. See: Trent Affair.

GP & Episcopal Bishop of Ohio

McIlvaine, Charles Pettit (1799-1873). 1-GP's Longtime Friend. Charles Pettit McIlvaine was born in Burlington, N.J., graduated from the College of N.J. (1816, renamed Princeton Univ. since Oct. 1889), was Episcopal minister of Christ Church, Georgetown, D.C. (1821-25), chaplain of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point (1825), and religion professor at what is now New York Univ. (1831-32). He was elected Episcopal Bishop of Ohio (1832), was president of Kenyon College and its divinity school in Gambier, Ohio (1832-40), and was a member of the U.S. Sanitary Commission during the Civil War (to which GP gave $10,000 in 1864). A frequent visitor to London, McIlvaine attended and spoke at GP's May 18, 1853, dinner at the Star and Garter, Richmond, near London. Ref.: (McIlvaine): Smythe, VI, Part 2, pp. 64-65. See: Dinners, GP's, London. Morgan, Junius Spencer.

Peabody Homes of London

McIlvaine, C.P. 2-In London, Aug. 1858-March 1859. McIlvaine, in London, called at the U.S. Legation in London, on Aug. 20, 1858. He was thus described by Legation Secty. Benjamin Moran (1820-86): "…McIlvaine, Bishop of the Episcopal Church, of Ohio, a tall, venerable man, of about 60 has been here this morning. He is a slender figure, and stands nearly 6 feet high. The bishop's dress becomes him wonderfully. I have rarely seen so complete a bishop in appearance. He is staying at 162 New Bond St., & has a young clergyman with him…. We made an application today for permission for Bishop McIlvaine and party to visit Buckingham Palace…." Ref.: Wallace and Gillespie (eds.), I, p. 307, note 7; I, p. 412; and II, p. 920, note 4. See: Moran, Benjamin.

McIlvaine, C.P. 3-Adviser on London Gift. During this visit GP consulted McIlvaine about his still-unformed intended gift to London. At GP's request in early 1859, McIlvaine, who knew social reformer Lord Shaftesbury (Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl, 1801-85), asked Shaftesbury what the London poor's greatest need was. Affordable housing, Lord Shaftesbury replied. This advice led GP to abandon two earlier ideas for his London gift: 1-a network of drinking fountains, or 2-aid to charity schools for the poor through the Ragged School Union. See: Peabody Homes of London.

McIlvaine, C.P. 4-Peabody Homes of London. GP created the Peabody Donation Fund (now the Peabody Trust Group), London, which built and managed model housing for London's working families. The Peabody Trust Group, GP's most successful philanthropy, on March 31, 2006 owned or managed over 20,000 affordable homes in London housing over 50,000 low income Londoners (59% white, 32% black, and 9% others in 2002). These include, besides Peabody Trust-built estates, public housing units whose authorities chose to come under the Peabody Trust’s improved living facilities, playgrounds for the young, recreation for the elderly, computer centers, job training, and job placement for working adults. Ref.: Peabody Trust, London-c, annual reports since 1999.

GP & Pres. Lincoln's Emissary Bishop C. P. McIlvaine

McIlvaine, C.P. 5-Civil War and After. In Nov.-Dec. 1861 Pres. Abraham Lincoln sent McIlvaine and N.Y. state editor and political leader Thurlow Weed (1797-1882) as Union emissaries to keep Britain neutral in the U.S. Civil War. U.S. Legation in London Secty. Benjamin Moran recorded "(9 Dec. '61): Bishop McIlvaine has been to see us this morning,...he is over here for the purpose of correcting British opinion…. He is a refined man and will be useful to us here…." GP helped McIlvaine and Weed meet British leaders. McIlvaine was also the participating minister when martyred Pres. Lincoln's funeral train stopped in Cleveland, Ohio, April 28, 1865. On Nov. 6, 1866, GP donated $25,000 to Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio (where McIlvaine had been president), for a professorship of mathematics and civil engineering. Ref.: Wallace and Gillespie, II, pp. 920-921. See: Civil War and GP.

PEF Trustee C. P. McIlvaine

McIlvaine, C.P. 6-PEF Trustee McIlvaine, one of the original 16 PEF trustees from 1867, headed its executive committee and was its second vice chairman during 1867-73. He was present when PEF trustee Pres. Robert Charles Winthrop (1809-94) read aloud GP's Feb. 7, 1867, founding letter in an upper room at Willard's Hotel, Washington, D.C., on Feb. 8, 1867, to ten of the 16 original trustees at their first meeting. See: PEF.

McIlvaine, C.P. 7-With GP on Pres. Andrew Johnson's Visit. On Feb. 9, 1867, after press announcement of the creation of the PEF, Pres. Andrew Johnson (1808-75), his secretary, Col. William George Moore (1829-93), and three others called on GP at his Willard's Hotel rooms. With GP at the time were PEF trustees R.C. Winthrop, Bishop C.P. McIlvaine, and former S.C. Gov. William Aiken (1806-87); along with GP's business friend Samuel Wetmore (1812-85), his wife, and their son; GP's nephew George Peabody Russell (1835-1909), George Washington Riggs (1813-81), and three others. Ref.: Ibid. See: persons named.

McIlvaine, C.P. 8-With GP on Pres. Andrew Johnson's Visit Cont'd. Pres. Johnson shook GP's hand (GP was 72 and often ill) and said he thought to find GP alone, that he called as a private citizen to thank GP for his PEF gift to aid public education in the South, that he thought the gift would help unite the country, that he was glad to have a man like GP representing the U.S. in England, and invited GP to visit him in the White House. With emotion, GP thanked Pres. Johnson, said that this meeting was one of the greatest honors of his life, that he knew the president's political course would be in the country's best interest, that England from the Queen downward felt only goodwill toward the U.S., that he thought in a few years the country would rise above its divisions to become happier and more powerful. Ref.: Ibid.

McIlvaine, C.P. 9-Pres. Johnson Cabinet Reshuffle? Pres. Johnson faced impeachment by hostile radical Republicans in Congress angered by his conciliatory policy toward the former Confederate states. To avoid impeachment, Pres. Johnson's political advisor, Francis Preston Blair, Sr. (1791-1876), advised a complete change of cabinet, with GP as Treasury Secty., Gen. U.S. Grant (1822-85) as Secty. of War, Adm. D.G. Farragut (1801-70) as Navy Secty., Mass. Gov. John Albion Andrew (1818-67) as Secty. of State, Ohio Gov. Jacob Dolson Cox (1828-1900) as Interior Secty., and Penn. Sen. Edgar Cowan (1815-85) as Atty.-General. See: Congressional Gold Medal and Resolutions of Praise to GP. PEF. See: persons named.

McIlvaine, C.P. 10-Pres. Johnson Cabinet Reshuffle? Cont'd. But loyalty to his cabinet kept Johnson from this course. On April 25, 1867, GP visited Pres. Johnson in the Blue Room of the White House before his May 1, 1867, return to London. They spoke of the work of the PEF. Ref.: Ibid.

McIlvaine, C.P. 11-On GP's death. McIlvaine's daughter was with GP several times just before GP's death, Nov. 4, 1869, at the home of longtime business associate and friend Sir Curtis Miranda Lampson (1806-85), 80 Eaton Square, London. McIlvaine's account of GP's death, based on his daughter's descriptions, was the source of the description of GP's last days in philanthropic advisor R.C. Winthrop's eulogy given at GP's final funeral service, Feb. 8, 1870, South Congregational Church, Peabody, Mass., before burial that day in Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem. See: Death and Funeral, GP's. Winthrop, Robert Charles.

Bishop McIlvaine Vindicated GP as Union Supporter

McIlvaine, C.P. 12-Vindicated GP as Union Supporter. At GP's death some articles accused him of Confederate sympathies. Bishop McIlvaine sprang to GP's defense. He publicly endorsed Thurlow Weed's (1797-1882) vindication of GP as a Union loyalist published in the New York Times, Dec. 23, 1869. Weed, N.Y. state editor and politician, described GP's help in London in late 1861-early 1862 when he and McIlvaine were there as Pres. Lincoln's private emissaries to present the Union's view and to keep Britain neutral. Ref.: (Weed's vindication of GP's Union loyalty): New York Times, Dec. 23, 1869, p. 2, c. 3-4. Bishop Charles Pettit McIlvaine to Thurlow Weed, Dec. 24, 1869, quoted in New Haven Daily Palladium (New Haven, Conn.), Jan. 6, 1970, p. 2, c. 2-3.

McIlvaine, C.P. 13-Vindicated GP as Union Supporter Cont'd. GP helped McIlvaine and Weed meet and speak to British leaders. McIlvaine publicly endorsed Weed's vindication of GP as pro-Union. See: PEF. Weed, Thurlow.

Mackall, Leonard T. In 1935, Leonard T. Mackall of Savannah, Ga., correctly identified the seven former Civil War generals as photographed standing behind GP and others at White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. This photo, along with others, was taken Aug. 12, 1869, during GP's visit there, July 23-Aug. 30, 1869. The photo, described in the New York World, Sept. 14, 1869, p. 12, c. 2, by Gen. John Bankhead Magruder (1810-71), was preserved for over 40 years by Confederate veteran James Blair of Richmond, Va., with the generals' identity in dispute until correctly named by Leonard T. Mackall of Savannah, Ga., in 1935. For the names of the Civil War generals and others in the photos, see Corcoran, William Wilson. Confederate Generals. Peabody, George, Illustrations. Lee, Robert E. Visits to the U.S. by GP.

McKinley, William (1843-1901, 25th U.S. Pres., 1897-1901) was PEF trustee during 1899-1901, for two years. See: Conkin, Peabody College, index. Presidents, U.S., and GP.

Macomb, William H. (1819-72), was Capt. of the corvette USS Plymouth, ordered by the U.S. Navy during Nov. 12-15, 1869, from Marseilles, France, to join British warship HMS Monarch at Portsmouth, England, and to accompany the Monarch in returning GP's remains from Portsmouth, England, to Portland, Maine, for burial in Salem, Mass. Capt. Macomb was born in Michigan, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., and was commissioned a lieutenant in 1847. He saw action on the Mississippi River during the Civil War; commanded a U.S. naval force in the bombardment and capture of Plymouth, N.C; was advanced in grade for repeated gallantry in action, and was commissioned captain of the USS in 1866. He was promoted to Commodore, June 1870; was assigned as a lighthouse inspector, a position he held until his death in Philadelphia. Ref.: Hamersly, p. 61. U.S Navy Dept., p. 186. See: under Internet, Macomb, William H., for E-mail information sent to the authors, Aug. 11, 2000, by Sr. Curator James W. Cheevers, U.S. Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, Md., cheevers@nadn.navy.mil See: Death and Funeral, GP's.

Madeira consists of small islands in the North Atlantic, north of the Canaries, belonging to Portugal. On Friday, Dec. 31, 1869, and Sat., Jan. 1, 1870, British warship HMS Monarch, carrying GP's remains from Portsmouth, England, stopped at Funchall Bay, Madeira, to take on 200 tons of coal; and sailed accompanied by USS Plymouth, across the Atlantic to Bermuda and north to Portland, Maine. Ref.: "Log of the Monarch," Admiralty 53/9877, Public Record Office, London. See: Death and funeral, GP's.

GP in W.Va.

Magruder, John Bankhead (1810-71). 1-Confederate General. John Bankhead Magruder, born in Winchester, Va., was a West Point graduate (1830) who resigned as U.S. army officer to become a Confederate general. A reference source (Freeman-a, 1935, appendix) is most likely in error in listing J.B. Magruder as having met, spoken to, and been photographed with GP, then visiting the mineral springs health spa at White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., July 23-Aug. 30, 1869. Ref.: Boatner, pp. 327-328, 501.

Magruder, J.B. 2-GP in W.Va., Summer 1869. At this chance meeting, informal talks of later educational consequence took place on southern public education needs with Robert E. Lee (1807-70), then president of Washington College, Lexington, Va. (renamed Washington and Lee Univ., 1871), other former Civil War generals, and northern and southern educators and statesmen. See: Corcoran, William Wilson. Peabody, George, Illustrations. Lee, Robert E. Visits to the U.S. by GP.

Maine Legislature. For Maine legislative wrangling over attending en masse the arrival of GP's remains aboard HMS Monarch at Portland on Jan. 25, 1870, and the cost to Maine of that reception, with sources, see Death and funeral, GP's.

British-Built Confederate Ships

Mallory, Stephen Russell (1813-73). 1-Confederate Navy Secty. Stephen Russell Mallory was the Confederate Navy Secty. who sent Confederate Naval Commander James Dunwody Bulloch (1823-1901) to England in May 1861 to purchase ships for the nonexistent Confederate Navy. Bulloch's best known purchase was the CSS Alabama, the most notorious of the British-built Confederate raiders which high jacked or sank 64 Union ships. See: Alabama Claims.

Mallory, S.R. 2-Britain declared its neutrality at the beginning of the U.S. Civil War. Still, Bulloch purchased from Britain's Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, England, the newly built "Hull No. 290," soon named the SS Enrica, which was subsequently outfitted for war and renamed the CSS Alabama at the end of July 1862. On June 23, 1862, U.S. Minister to Britain Charles Francis Adams (1807-86) wrote to British Foreign Office officials that by building the Alabama as a Confederate warship, Britain was breaking its neutrality. Minister Adams attached affidavits from involved seamen as proof of his charge. But British customs law officials ruled the evidence insufficient. Ref.: Ibid.

Mallory, S.R. 3-Alabama Intercepted. The Alabama was commanded by Capt. Raphael Harwood Semmes (1809-77). Semmes's first ship, the Sumter, had already severely damaged northern commerce before it was bottled up in Gibraltar in Jan. 1862. In the Alabama's rampaging two-year cruise (June 1862 to June 1864) covering 67,000 nautical miles, she hijacked or sank 64 Union ships. Her crew were largely pirate-adventurers from many nations, including Britain. Needing repairs, the Alabama entered the French harbor of Cherbourg on June 11, 1864. The USS Kearsarge, under Capt. John Ancrum Winslow (1811-73), intercepted the Alabama in Cherbourg, June 14, 1864. The Alabama came out to do battle. Ref.: Ibid.

Mallory, S.R. 4-Alabama Sunk. The two ships fired on each other and the Alabama was sunk on June 19, 1864. It was one of the last romanticized gunnery duels in the era of wooden ships, observed by thousands offshore. Capt. Semmes and some of his officers and crew were rescued by a British yacht, Deerhound, and taken to an English port. The Alabama's remains were not found until Oct. 1984, when some artifacts were raised from Cherbourg harbor. Ref.: Ibid.

Mallory, S.R. 5-Alabama Claims Commission. A special international Alabama Claims Commission which met in Geneva, Switzerland, Dec. 187l-Sept. 1872, awarded the U.S. $15.5 million to be paid by Britain for damage to Union shipping by British-built Confederate ships. The Alabama and several other British-built raiders destroyed 257 Union ships, compelled Union ship owners to transfer ownership of over 700 vessels to foreign registries, and hindered U.S. merchant marine activity for half a century. Ref.: Ibid.

Mallory, S.R. 6-Effect on GP. Some two years before his death, GP's name was mentioned as a possible arbitrator to serve on the Alabama Claims Commission. But because of age and illness his name was dropped. GP died in London Nov. 4, 1869, at the height of angry U.S.-British exchanges over U.S. lives and treasure caused by the CSS Alabama and other British-built ships. GP's will requiring burial in Harmony Grove Cemetery, near Salem, Mass., became known. British P.M. William Ewart Gladstone (1809-98) said publicly at a Lord Mayor's Day banquet speech on Nov. 9, 1869: "With Mr. Peabody's nation we will not quarrel." On Nov. 10, 1869, PM Gladstone's cabinet offered H.M.S. Monarch, Britain's newest and largest warship, as funeral vessel, to carry GP's remains from England for burial in the U.S. Ref.: Ibid.

Mallory, S.R. 7-Westminster Abbey. A funeral service for GP was held at Westminster Abbey, Nov. 12, 1869. His remains rested in the Abbey for 30 days, Nov. 12 to Dec. 11, 1869. HMS Monarch, with GP's remains aboard, escorted by USS Plymouth, a U.S. warship from Marseilles, France, crossed the Atlantic, to be met in Portland, Me., harbor, on Pres. U.S. Grant's orders, by a flotilla of U.S. ships commanded by Adm. David G. Farragut (1801-70). GP's unusual 96-day British-U.S. transatlantic funeral ended with final burial on Feb. 8, 1870, in Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem, Mass. See: Death and Funeral, GP's.

Mallory, S.R. 8-Career. S.R. Mallory was born in Trinidad, West Indies; grew up in Key West, Fla., where he practiced law (1839); was a judge; fought in the Seminole War; was U.S. senator from Fla. (1851 until Fla. seceded); was named Confederate Navy Secty (Feb. 1, 1861); was captured in flight with Jefferson Davis (1808-89), imprisoned for 10 months, and released (1866) in Fla., where he practiced law in Pensacola. Ref.: Boatner, pp. 503-504. See: Alabama Claims.

Manchester, William, author of Disturber of the Peace: The Life of H.L. Mencken (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1950), p. 292, indicated that Baltimore newspaper writer, author, and critic Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956) used the PIB Library reference collection to write some of his books. See: PIB Reference Library.

Manchester, England. During his first commercial buying trip abroad, Nov. 1827-Aug. 1828 (nine months), GP was in Manchester, England, Jan. 1828. See: Visits to Europe by GP.

Trent Affair

Mann, Ambrose Dudley (1801-89). 1-Confederate Agents. Ambrose Dudley Mann, Pierre A. Rost (1797-1868), and William Loundes Yancey (1814-63) were Confederate emissaries sent to Europe at the beginning of the Civil War to secure recognition, arms, and aid. Unsuccessful, they were succeeded by Confederate agents James Murray Mason (1798-1871) of Va. and his male secretary, and John Slidell (1793-1871) from La. and his male secretary. On the stormy night of Oct. 11, 1861, the four Confederates and some of their families, seeking support and aid in Britain and France, evaded a Union blockade at Charleston, S.C., got to Havana, Cuba, and there boarded the British mail steamer Trent bound for Southampton, England. See: Trent Affair.

Mann, A.D. 2-Trent Affair. One day out of Havana, on Nov. 8, 1861, the Trent was illegally stopped by the captain of the Union warship San Jacinto. The four Confederate emissaries were forcibly removed and held at Boston Harbor's Fort Warren prison. Ref.: Ibid.

Mann, A.D. 3-British-U.S. Angers. Seizure of the Trent created a furor in Britain and France and exultation in the U.S. North. Passions were aroused. Angry recriminations over the Trent Affair affected GP in London. He, his advisors, and trustees delayed until March 12, 1862, press announcement of his Peabody Donation Fund to build and manage model apartments for London's working poor ($2.5 million total gift). See: Peabody Homes of London.

Mann, A.D. 4-British Sympathy. British upper and middle classes favored the Confederacy, whose southern cotton, cut off by the Union embargo, led to loss of jobs in British textile manufacture. While a U.S.-British war seemed imminent, GP and his trustees feared that the British government, press, and public might reject his gift. Britain demanded an explanation, apology, and release of the four prisoners. U.S. jingoism calmed. Pres. Lincoln's cabinet met Dec. 26, 1861, and disavowed the seizure of the Trent. The four Confederates were released Jan. 1, 1862. See: Trent Affair.

Mann, A.D. 5-GP's Partner Visited the Eustices. Another GP connection with the Trent Affair involved his Washington, D.C., business associate William Wilson Corcoran's (1798-1888) only daughter, Louise Morris Corcoran (1838-67). She was married to John Slidell's secretary George Eustice (1828-72, of La.). Both Louise and George Eustice were on the Trent when it was seized. When the Eustices reached England, GP's partner Junius Spencer Morgan, went to see after the Eustices' welfare. Ref.: Ibid.

Mann, A.D. 6-Benjamin Moran's Journal. GP, Ambrose Dudley Mann, and the Trent Affair are also mentioned in U.S. Legation in London Secty. Benjamin Moran's (1820-86) journal. Moran, obsessively critical of GP, recorded in his journal in Feb. 1862: "George Peabody came in soon after me, and told us the Africa had arrived with news that the Europa had been detained until the 20th by Ld. Lyons [Richard Bickerton Pennell Lyons, 1817-87, British ambassador to the U.S.]. He [GP] had met Dudley Mann in the street and was exultant and sure war was inevitable, & Mann had the news as early as half past one." See: Civil War and GP. Moran, Benjamin. Trent Affair. Persons mentioned.

Mann, A.D. 7-Benjamin Moran's Journal Cont'd.: "Peabody either had been to see Mrs. Slidell, or was going to see her, and was certain there would be no war. His whole manner is that of a hypocrite, and he is carrying water on both shoulders, being determined to stand well on both sides, in any event." Ref.: Ibid.

Mann, A.D. 8-Career. In the 1840's Mann, from Va., was U.S. Consul, Bremen, and special commissioner to the German states for the negotiation of commercial treaties. He was U.S. Asst. Secty. Of State (1853-56), then promoted the economic independence of the South through a southern merchant marine and a steamship line from Europe to Va., was appointed (1861) special commissioner in Europe for the South, spending one unsuccessful year in England, three years in Belgium, and lived in Europe until his death. Ref.: Wallace and Gillespie, eds., I, p. 113, footnote 9.

Mann, Horace (1796-1859) was succeeded as Mass. State Board of Education Secty. by Barnas Sears (1802-80), first PEF administrator. See: Sears, Barnas.

Manning, Thomas Courtland (1825-87), was a PEF trustee. Born in Edenton, N.C., he was admitted to the N.C. bar (1848), member of the La. Secession Convention (1861), a Confederate officer and aide-de-camp to La.’s Gov. Thomas D. Moore (1861-63), Adj. Gen., La., Assoc. Justice, La. Supreme Court (1864-65, 1882-86), Chief Justice (1877-80), U.S. Minister to Mexico (1886-87), PEF trustee, and received the LL.D. (Hon.), Univ. of N.C. (1878). Ref.: “Manning,…," p. 331. See: PEF.

Mansel, Henry Longueville (1820-72), educated at Merchant Taylor's School, London, and St. John's College, Oxford Univ.; taught philosophy and religious history at Oxford; was dean at St. Paul's (1860-71). He wrote asking GP if he would accept an Oxford honorary degree. GP by letter on June 5, 1867, accepted. Ref.: Mansel, p. 836. For GP's honorary Doctor of Laws degree, June 26, 1867, See: Oxford Univ., England.

Manship, Paul (1885-1966), was a U.S. sculptor whose works were shown in a special exhibit at the PIB Gallery of Art in 1916. See: PIB Gallery of Art.

Mansion House, London. Residence of the Lord Mayor of the City of London. See: Cubitt, William. London, Freedom of the City of London, and GP.

Marcy, William Learned (1786-1857), U.S. Secty. of State during 1853-57, issued a "Dress Circular" requiring U.S. diplomats abroad to wear plain clothes rather than diplomatic uniform at foreign functions. In this democratized atmosphere, newly appointed U.S. Legation in London Secty. Daniel Edgar Sickles (1825-1914), an ultra patriot at a time of U.S. jingoism, refused to stand, as 149 others did, and red-gorged in anger, walked out of GP's July 4, 1854, U.S.-British friendship dinner in London because GP first toasted Queen Victoria before toasting the U.S. president. See: Sickles, Daniel Edgar.

Marguerite River, Canada. During GP's May 1, 1866-May 1, 1867, U.S. visit, he visited Montreal, Canada, and fished for salmon in the Marguerite River, July 7-22, 1866. See: Visits to the U.S. by GP.

Marine Corps, U.S., Maine state militia, U.S. and British seamen were all represented in the GP funeral ceremonies at Portland, Me. receiving port, Jan. 25-Feb. 1, 1870. See: Death and Funeral, GP's.

Mariposa, Calif. Explorer-politician John Charles Frémont (1813-90) and his wife Jesse, daughter of U.S. Sen. from Missouri Thomas Hart Benton (1782-1858), were in London to raise funds to finance mining on their Calif. Mariposa Estate. On April 7, 1852, as they were about to step into a carriage, Frémont was arrested for nonpayment of money he borrowed while acting governor of Calif. at the outbreak of the Mexican War, 1846-47. A victim of circumstances, he appealed to GP, who deposited the bail needed for his release the next day, April 8, 1852. Frémont soon after attended two GP dinners on June 17 and July 4, 1862. See: Frémont, John Charles.

Maritime history. See: Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass. Science: GP's Gifts to Science and Science Education.

Mark St., London. Sir Sidney Hedley Waterlow (1822-1906) first proved that low cost housing could be a philanthropic and commercial success in his block of model housing opened in Mark St., Finsbury borough, London, soon after publication of GP's March 12, 1862, letter founding the Peabody Homes of London. Waterlow wrote of the Peabody Homes of London: "Beyond all doubt they materially stimulated the Government of [the day in promoting measures, not merely to facilitate the work of public housing] but to compel railway companies and others destroying any large number of houses occupied by the poor to provide to a certain extent new and commodious tenements suitable for the working classes." See: Peabody Homes of London.

Marseilles, France. The USS Plymouth was in Marseilles, France, with the U.S. Naval European squadron when GP died in London, Nov. 4, 1869. After the British warship HMS Monarch was selected to return his remains for burial near his Mass. hometown, U.S. Secty. of State Hamilton Fish (1809-93) requested and U.S. Rear Adm. William Radford (1808-90) ordered the USS Plymouth from Marseilles to Portsmouth Harbor, England, to escort the Monarch on the transatlantic voyage. See: Death and Funeral, GP's.

Marsh, George (c1834-35), younger brother of Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-99), both GP's nephews, died in infancy soon after birth. See: Marsh, Othniel Charles.

Marsh, Mary (c.1829-c.52), GP's niece, daughter of GP's younger sister Mary Gaines Peabody (1807-34) and Caleb Marsh (b. c1800). Mary Marsh, the older sister of Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-99), died at age 22, after she married Capt. Robert Waters. See: Waters, Mary Marsh (c.1829-c.52).

Marsh, Mary Gaines (née Peabody) (1807-34), was GP's younger sister who married Caleb March (b.1800?) and was the mother of Mary Marsh (c.1929-c,52, immediately above) and of Yale paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-99). Mary Gaines Marsh died of cholera in Lockport, N.Y., Aug. 27, 1834. Ref.: Schuchert and LeVene. See: Marsh, Othniel Charles. Science: GP's Gifts to Science and Science Education.

GP’s Nephew O.C. Marsh

Marsh, Othniel Charles (1831-99). 1-GP's Nephew. GP's nephew, Othniel Charles Marsh, influenced his uncle's gifts to science and science education, particularly the founding of the Peabody Museums of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard (Oct. 8, 1866) and of Natural History at Yale (Oct. 22, 1866), and to a lesser extent the Peabody Academy of Science (Feb. 26, 1867), now the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass. Ref.: Schiff, p. 80.

Marsh, O.C. 2-Sister Mary's Son. O.C. Marsh was the son of GP's younger sister Mary Gaines (née Peabody) Marsh (1807-34). Mary Gaines was the seventh of eight children born to Thomas Peabody (1761-1811) and Judith (née Dodge) Peabody (1770-1830). GP, third-born and second son, was the enterprising family member who, a few years after his father's death (May 13, 1811), took on the family support. He paid for Mary Gaines to attend Bradford Academy, Bradford, Mass., during 1822-23, along with other siblings and relatives. See: Bradford Academy.

Marsh, O.C. 3-Mary Gaines (née Peabody) Marsh. In 1826 at age 19 Mary Gaines Peabody fell in love with 26-year-old Caleb Marsh (b. c1800), who taught school near Bradford, Mass. The Peabody and Marsh families had been neighbors in Danvers, Mass., with the Marshes more affluent. About to marry Mary Gaines Peabody and expecting financial or other help from GP, Caleb Marsh wrote to GP, busy traveling for his firm (Riggs, Peabody & Co.), asking help in getting started in the dry goods business. Ref.: (O.C. Marsh family background): Peabody Papers and the O.C. Marsh Papers at Yale Univ. Library Archives. Schuchert and LeVene.

Marsh, O.C. 4-Mary Gaines and Caleb Marsh. Aware of pitfalls for beginners, GP discouraged Caleb Marsh. Caleb Marsh then wrote GP asking for a dowry and under what conditions it would be given. GP provided a monetary settlement, with safeguards. Inept in several enterprises and said later "not to be the best of husbands," Caleb Marsh turned to farming near Lockport, N.Y. Ref.: Ibid.

Marsh, O.C. 5-Mary's Early Death. Mary Gaines (Peabody) Marsh died of cholera before her 27th birthday after giving birth to her third child, George Marsh (c1834-c35), who also died in his first year of life. Caleb Marsh was left with two children: Mary, age five, and Othniel Charles, approaching age three. Caleb lost heart, returned to Mass., remarried, started a shoe factory which failed, and returned with his second wife to his farm near Lockport, N.Y. There, he fathered six more children. Still inept, he squandered some dowry funds GP had given his sister. Ref.: Ibid. Wallace, D.R., pp. 24-25.

Marsh, O.C. 6-Erie Canal Fossils. O.C. Marsh, called "Othy" as a boy, lived sometimes with aunts and uncles, then on the Marsh farm near Lockport, N.Y., near the recently excavated Erie Canal. The oldest son in a growing family whose stepmother had little time for him, O.C. Marsh, expected by his father to help with farm work, resisted. He preferred to roam, hunt, and search for fossil-rich rocks in nearby Erie Canal excavations. These excavations attracted fossil collectors from far and wide, both professional and amateurs, including Col. Ezekiel Jewett (1791-1877) who about 1845, when O.C. Marsh was about age 14, befriended him and first turned the boy's interest toward science and paleontology. Ref.: Ibid.

Marsh, O.C. 7-Geologist Ezekiel Jewett. Born in Rindge, N.H., Ezekiel Jewett was an ensign in the 11th U.S. Army infantry, War of 1812, under Gen. Winfield Scott (1786-1866). Jewett was later promoted a second lieutenant and was a colonel about 1816 after serving heroically in Chile and other South American insurrections. The crusty soldier of fortune was also an enthusiastic and indefatigable collector of fossil rocks. A fellow geologist described him as: "Invincible in his search and accordingly successful; intelligent, quick of apprehension and understanding; [and] exquisitely and effectively profane...." Col. Jewett conducted a summer school in geology in Lockport for several years when he came to young Marsh's attention. Ref.: Ibid., p. 18. Clarke, p. 242.

Marsh, O.C. 8-Ezekiel Jewett Cont'd. Young Marsh first admired Col. Ezekiel Jewett's skill as a rifleman. Marsh later wrote: Col. Jewett was "the best shot in Western New York…. All envied him but I resolved to beat him…. One day I saw him collecting fossils near the locks…. I joined him occasionally…helped him collect, imbibing wisdom with every hour…. Take him all in all he was one [of the] grandest men I have ever met." Ref.: O.C. Marsh, "Col. E. Jewett & what he did for me as boy & man," U.S. National Archives, Record Group No. 57, from Archivist Barbara Narendra, Yale Univ.'s Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Marsh, O.C. 9-Ezekiel Jewett Cont'd. Col. Jewett became curator of the N.Y. State Cabinet of Natural History. Young Marsh went on to an erratic schooling at the Collegiate Institute, Wilson, N.Y. (1847-49) and the Lockport Union School (1850) before attending (at uncle GP's expense) Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., where he blossomed as a scholar. Ref.: Schuchert and LeVene, pp. 17-18, and Plate III (medallion portrait of Ezekiel Jewett). Clarke, pp. 241-243. Wells, John W., pp. 34-39. Ezekiel Jewett is listed in U.S. Census (N.Y.) 1840 Index, p. 494 and U.S. Census (N.Y.)1850 Index, Vol. 1, p. 933. (Internet) http://peabody.yale.edu/people/whoswho/MarshOC.html

Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.

Marsh, O.C. 8-Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. The death of his favorite sister Mary when she was 22 is said to have shocked O.C. Marsh into buckling down to hard private study. At age 21, inheriting $1,200 of his deceased mother's dowry from GP, Marsh enrolled at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. His fellow students, in their teens, called Marsh, in his early 20s, "Daddy," and "Captain" (he captained the football team), more in respect than ridicule. He soon became an academic achiever and did some summer fossil hunting. A classmate later recalled that O.C. Marsh made “a clean sweep of all" Phillips Academy honors. He also showed a shrewdness in being elected president of a school society in a strategy planned a year ahead. Ref.: Peabody Papers and the O.C. Marsh Papers at Yale Univ. Library Archives. Schuchert and LeVene. Wallace, D.R., p. 26.

Yale College

Marsh, O.C. 9-Marsh at Yale. GP, in London, pleased by good reports of his nephew Marsh's progress from his sister Judith Dodge (née Peabody) Russell Daniels (1799-1879), paid his expenses at Phillips Academy. Learning that young Marsh wanted to attend Yale College, GP agreed to pay for his schooling there. Marsh studied geology under Prof. James Dwight Dana (1813-95) and chemistry under Benjamin Silliman, Jr. (1816-85). Marsh was eighth in his graduating class of 109 students at Yale in 1860 (B.A. degree). Ref.: (Marsh's cost at Yale's Sheffield Scientific School, 1861-62): Jaffe, pp. 279-306, 565.

Yale's Graduate Sheffield Scientific School

Marsh, O.C. 10-Marsh at Yale Cont'd. With GP's approval and support, O.C. Marsh attended Yale's newly opened (1861) graduate Sheffield Scientific School. In two years he earned the M.A. degree in science (1862), at a cost to GP, according to science historian Bernard Jaffe, of $2,200. Ref.: Ibid.

Marsh, O.C. 11-Budding Scholar. In 1861 Marsh wrote a scientific paper read at a Geological Society of London meeting, published in its Transactions, and reprinted in U.S. and European journals. His summer vacation field work on fossils in Nova Scotia, Canada, brought praise from Harvard zoology Prof. Louis Agassiz (1807-73), world authority on fossil fishes. Agassiz wrote to Prof. Benjamin Silliman, Jr.: "A student from your Scientific School, Mr. Marsh, has shown me today two vertebrae...which has excited my interest in the highest degree." Ref.: (Agassiz on Marsh's 1861 paper): Louis Agassiz to Benjamin Silliman, Dec. 23, 1861, quoted in American Journal of Science, Vol. 33 (May 1862), p. 138.

Marsh, O.C. 12-Budding Scholar Cont'd. Marsh wrote proudly from Georgetown, Mass., to GP, London, June 9, 1862: "I was so fortunate during one of my vacations as to make a discovery which has already attracted considerable attention among scientific men." Ref.: (Marsh's 1861 scientific paper): O.C. Marsh to GP, June 9, 1862, Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass., and in Schuchert and LeVene, p. 45.

O.C. Marsh’s Doctoral Study in Germany

Marsh, O.C. 13-Planned Doctoral Study in Germany. Poor eyesight kept Marsh from serving in the Civil War. In that same June 9, 1862, letter to GP he added: "If the plan for completing my studies in Germany, which you once so kindly approved, still meets with your approbation, I should like to go in September next [1862]." GP approved and sent Marsh £200 ($1,000). Ref.: (Marsh's intended study in Germany): O.C. Marsh to GP, June 9, 1862, in Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass., quoted in Schuchert and LeVene, p. 48.

Marsh, O.C. 14-Aimed at Yale Professorship. Always anxious to please his uncle, Marsh was upset by an article his father sent him from the Lockport Journal and Courier, reprinted from a Danvers, Mass., newspaper. He wrote his father that he was "sorry that someone had no more discretion than to preface the notice with some statements which are calculated to do me more injury than...good. The published statement that I am expecting a Professorship at Yale would do not a little towards preventing my getting it. So also that my expenses at College were paid by Uncle George and that he intended to make me his heir, were certainly very injudicious remarks." Ref.: (Marsh to his father, Aug. 1862): Schuchert and LeVene, p. 47.

Marsh, O.C. 15-Marsh in Europe to GP. Marsh sailed for Europe in Oct. 1862. GP talked to his nephew in London about his [GP's] intended gift to Harvard Univ. Marsh described these talks in a letter to his mentor, Yale Prof. Benjamin Silliman, Jr. "I had a long talk with Mr. P. in regard to his future plans and donations.... I will tell you confidentially that Harvard will have her usual good fortune. So many of our family have been educated at Harvard that he naturally felt a greater interest in that institution than in Yale, of which I am the only representative. I can assure you, however, that I did [not] allow the claims of my Alma Mater to be forgotten...and I have strong hopes that she may yet be favored although nothing is as yet definitely arranged. The donation to H. [Harvard] is a large one and for a School of Design...." Ref.: (Marsh's Oct. 1862 talk with GP): O.C. Marsh, Liverpool, to GP, London, Oct. 10, 1862, in Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass.

Marsh, O.C. 16-Marsh in Europe to GP Cont'd. "I did not recommend an endowment for a similar object at Yale, partly because I did not feel so much interest in Art as in Science and partly because Mr. P. manifested so much interest in my scientific studies that I thought it not unlikely that he would be more inclined to that department. I did not propose any definite plan..., as I had then none to propose, but shall hope to do so before long as I do not intend to let the matter rest until something definite is decided upon...." Ref.: (Marsh to Silliman, Jr. about talks with GP): Schuchert and LeVene, pp. 75-76.

Marsh, O.C. 17-What Gift to Harvard? GP's first gift idea for Harvard in 1861 was an astronomical observatory. He discussed this idea in letters to distant cousin Francis Peabody (1801-68) of Salem and William Henry Appleton (1814-84) of Boston. The Harvard gift idea was also discussed with former Harvard Pres. Edward Everett (1794-1865). Everett thought Harvard needed a "School of Design" [i.e., art], more than an observatory. GP's Harvard gift idea thus changed from observatory to a School of Design (art) when he spoke to his nephew O.C. Marsh in London in mid-Oct. 1862. Ref.: (GP's early thoughts on Harvard observatory and school of design): Francis Peabody, Salem, to GP, Oct. 8, 1861, Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass.

Marsh, O.C. 18-Marsh Influenced GP toward a Peabody Museum at Harvard. Marsh's enthusiasm about science influenced GP, turning his Harvard gift idea toward science, and resulting in the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard (Oct. 8, 1866). Ref.: (Marsh influenced GP toward Harvard science museum gift): Schuchert and LeVene, p. 74, note 4.

Marsh, O.C. 19-Science at Yale. O.C. Marsh's letters from Germany evoked special interest among Yale's small band of scientists. By one account, Prof. Silliman, Sr., had years before sounded out GP about aiding science at Yale, but nothing came of it. Now, with O.C. Marsh as a budding Yale scholar, his Yale teachers had renewed hope of GP aiding science at Yale. Learning that Prof. Silliman, Jr., had worked out with Prof. James Dwight Dana a plan for a possible Peabody Museum at Yale, Marsh wrote on Feb. 16, 1863: "I shall see Mr. P. in the spring or early in the summer, and shall then try to bring the subject before him in a way best suited to ensure its success." Ref.: Schuchert and LeVene. See: persons named.

Marsh, O.C. 20-Marsh Explained Need for Yale Science Museum. At the Univ. of Berlin, on advice from his Yale mentors, Marsh specialized in vertebrate paleontology. When he met GP in mid-May 1863 in Hamburg, Germany, Marsh was better able to explain to his uncle the need for an endowed museum which would send out expeditions to find ancient animal and human remains and so reconstruct the antecedents and cultural history of man. Ref.: (Marsh presented Silliman, Jr.'s Yale museum plan to GP): O.C. Marsh, Berlin, to Silliman, Jr., Feb. 16, 1863, quoted in Schuchert and LeVene, pp. 77-78.

Marsh, O.C. 21-Suggested Yale Science Museum to GP. Marsh told his uncle that Yale's Sheffield Scientific School (founded 1861) had made such a beginning. He laid out Prof. Benjamin Silliman, Jr.'s, plan for a scientific Peabody museum at Yale. Satisfied that it was a sound idea, GP named five trustees: O.C. Marsh, Benjamin Silliman, Sr. and Jr., James Dixon, and James Dwight Dana. Ref.: Ibid.

Marsh, O.C. 22-Yale Gift. GP told Marsh that he would soon add a codicil to his will endowing the Yale museum. Marsh wrote jubilantly from Hamburg to Prof. Silliman, Sr., May 25, 1863: "I take great pleasure in announcing to you that Mr. George Peabody has decided to extend his generosity to Yale College, and will leave a legacy of one hundred thousand dollars to promote the interests of Natural Science in that Institution." Marsh added: "Mr. Peabody suggests that the Trustees...decide upon a plan...best adapted to promote the object proposed, and to embody the main features of this plan in a clause to be inserted in his will." Ref.: (GP decided on Yale museum): O.C. Marsh, Hamburg, to Silliman, Sr., May 25, 1863, quoted in Schuchert and LeVene, p. 78.

Marsh, O.C. 23-Yale Gift Cont'd. GP also told Marsh in their May 1863 meeting in Hamburg that although he set the amount to Yale at $100,000, he might raise it and that Yale would receive the gift on his death. As it turned out, GP gave the museum gifts to Harvard on Oct. 8 and to Yale on Oct. 22, during his May 1, 1866, to May 1, 1867, U.S. visit, raising the amounts to $150,000 each. Ref.: Ibid.

Marsh, O.C. 24-Urged to do Further Study in Germany. Prof. Benjamin Silliman, Jr., urged Marsh to collect fossils, books, and scientific papers on paleontology. He explained that doing this would prepare Marsh for a Yale professorship in paleontology and would also make the need for a museum more evident to all. Prof. James Dwight Dana echoed Prof. Silliman, Jr.'s suggestion for Marsh to study further in Germany. Ref.: (Silliman, Jr., and Dana urge Marsh to study further in Germany): Schuchert and LeVene, op. cit. , pp. 52, 80-81
Marsh, O.C. 25-Science-Religion Conflict. Unlike the strong U.S. liberal arts tradition, teaching science was new and suspect after Christian fundamentalists denounced the theory of evolution in Charles Darwin's Origin of Species (1859). Fundamentalists feared that belief in evolution might supplant belief in divine Biblical revelation.

Marsh, O.C. 26-Science-Religion Conflict Cont'd. Amidst this conflict between science and religion, Yale's small band of scientists saw hope for their science disciplines in GP's intended museum gifts to Harvard and Yale, and also in the Morrill Act of 1862, which gave federal land grants to states' higher education for science and mechanic arts (engineering). The Conn. legislature in 1863 voted to allocate Morrill Act funds to Yale's Sheffield Scientific School. Prof. Dana remarked, "The fact is Yale is going to be largely rebuilt, and all at once! The time of her renaissance has come!!" Ref.: (Dana on Yale to be rebuilt): Schuchert and LeVene, pp. 82-83.

Yale Professorship

Marsh, O.C. 27-Yale Professorship. In July 1863 Marsh, studying at Heidelberg Univ., wrote to GP: "One...result of your [projected] donation to Yale has been to...realize my highest hopes of a position [there].... The faculty propose to create a new Professorship of Geology and Paleontology.... This Professorship...corresponds to that held by the great Agassiz at Harvard." Ref.: O.C. Marsh, Heidelberg, to GP, July 12, 1863, quoted in Schuchert and LeVene, p. 54.

Marsh, O.C. 28-Yale Professorship Cont'd. Marsh explained to his uncle that he needed a library and fossil collection: "Such a library and cabinet...can only be obtained in Europe.... The amount necessary...would be 3 or 4 thousand dollars.... I have felt some hesitation in asking you for this assistance in view of all you have already done for me, but I have thought it much the best way to state the whole case frankly and leave the matter with you." GP wrote Marsh from Scotland in Aug. 1863 that he would give him $3,500 to buy a library and specimens. Ref.: (GP paid for Marsh's books and rock collection): GP, Scotland, to Marsh, Aug 22, 1863, quoted in Schuchert and LeVene, p. 55.

GP Retired

Marsh, O.C. 29-GP Retired. Often ill and wanting to retire, GP cut his ties with George Peabody & Co. on Oct. 1, 1864. Having no son and knowing he could not control his firm after death, he asked that his name be withdrawn. Partner Junius Spencer Morgan (1813-90) urged GP to postpone retirement. Ref.: (GP to retire): GP, Scotland, to J.S. Morgan, Aug. 13, 1864, Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass.

Marsh, O.C. 30-GP Retired Cont'd. GP wrote J.S. Morgan politely but firmly: "...I can now make no change, for although the continuance of the firm for three or six months, which you suggest, may appear short to you, to me--feeling as I deeply do, the uncertainty of life at the age of seventy--months would appear as years, for I am most anxious before I die to place my worldly affairs in a much more satisfactory state than they are at present." Ref.: Ibid.

Marsh, O.C. 31-Firm's History. Thus was George Peabody & Co., London (1838-64), succeeded by J.S. Morgan & Co. (1864-1909), by Morgan Grenfell & Co. (1910-1918), Morgan Grenfell & Co. Ltd. (1918-90), and Deutsche Morgan Grenfell (since June 29, 1990), a German owned bank. Ref.: [Morgan Grenfell & Co. Ltd.]. Deutsche Morgan Grenfell (since June 29, 1990). Burk. Carosso. Steven Prokesch, "Germans to Buy Morgan Grenfell," New York Times, Nov. 28, 1989, p. 29, continued under title, "Deutsche Bank to Acquire Morgan Grenfell," p. 42. See: Morgan, Junius Spencer.

Marsh, O.C. 32-Marsh at Univ. of Breslau. Marsh expected his Yale professorship in June 1864, but was disappointed when it was postponed until June 1865. Being already in Germany, he wrote his uncle, he thought it best to study at the Univ. of Breslau (he was the first U.S. student to attend there). GP approved and paid his expenses. Ref.: O.C. Marsh, Univ. of Breslau, Germany, to GP, June 13, 1864, quoted in Schuchert and LeVene, pp. 59-60.

Marsh, O.C. 33-Marsh on GP's Retirement. O.C. Marsh wrote GP from the Univ. of Breslau Oct. 21, 1864: "I saw in the papers the announcement of your retirement.... Before I retire I should like to do for Science as much as you have done for your fellowmen; and if my health continues I shall try hard to do so." Ref.: O.C. Marsh, Univ. of Breslau, to GP, Oct. 21, 1864, in Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass.

Marsh, O.C. 34-Marsh's Books and Fossils. Marsh's library of books on geology and paleontology, paid for by his uncle, cost $5,000. GP arranged with agent-friend, Horatio Gates Somerby (1805-72), Newburyport, Mass.-born and a London-based genealogist, to ship Marsh's effects to the U.S. The books and fossil rock collection went through customs two years later weighing 2.5 tons. Marsh's fossil rock collection was the basis of the collection of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale. His books were the basis of its library collection in geology and paleontology. Ref.: (Marsh's books and fossil rocks, 2.5 tons): Schuchert and LeVene, p. 67.

Marsh, O.C. 35-Talked with Lyell, Huxley, Darwin. In Europe Marsh met and spoke with Sir Charles Lyell (1797-1875) and with French geologist Philippe-Èdouard Poulletier de Verneuil (1805-73). In London, when he was not with his uncle, he visited British Museum Keeper of Geology Henry Woodward (1832-1921). Marsh also talked with British scientists Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-95), and Charles Darwin (1809-82). Years later Darwin acknowledged to Marsh that Marsh's fossil findings had provided the best proof of his evolution theory. Ref. (Darwin): Penick, pp. 5-13.

Marsh, O.C. 36-GP's 1866-67 U.S. Visit. Back at Yale in March 1866, teaching Prof. Dana's classes in geology, Marsh wrote to his cousin-in-law Charles W. Chandler (d. 1882), a lawyer in Zanesville, Ohio (who married in 1862 GP's niece Julia Adelaide [née Peabody], b. April 25, 1835) that GP was about to visit the U.S. (May 1, 1866 to May 1, 1867). See: Visits to the U.S. by GP.

GP & Robert C. Winthrop

Marsh, O.C. 37-GP Consulted with Philanthropic Advisor R.C. Winthrop. GP arrived in NYC on the Scotia, May 3, 1866. He conferred May 9 and frequently thereafter with his philanthropic advisor, Robert Charles Winthrop (1809-94). Winthrop had been highly recommended to GP in 1862 in London by Thurlow Weed (1797-1882), politically powerful N.Y. State editor. Weed was in London in Nov. 1861-early 1862 as Pres. Lincoln's emissary to keep Britain from siding with the Confederacy in the Civil War. Ref.: (on Thurlow Weed): Weed Collection, Univ. of Rochester Library Archives. Barnes, Thurlow Weed.

Marsh, O.C. 38-Robert Charles Winthrop. Weed pointed out why Winthrop was uniquely qualified to advise and guide GP's philanthropy: 1-He was the distinguished descendant of early Mass. Bay Colony Gov. John Winthrop (1588-1649), 2-a Harvard graduate (1828), 3-trained in Daniel Webster's law office, 4-member of the Mass. legislature (1834-39, and its Speaker), 5-member of the U.S. House of Representative (1840-50, its Speaker during 1847-49), 6-was appointed to fill Daniel Webster's U.S. Senate seat (1851), and 7-had given the main address at the Washington Monument cornerstone laying (1848) (and would later speak at its completion [1885]) in Washington, D.C. See: Winthrop, Robert Charles.

Marsh, O.C. 39-Planned PEF. Known and respected by the U.S. political and academic power structure, Winthrop agreed to help plan GP's philanthropy after 1866. In 1867 Winthrop helped name the PEF trustees, was president of the PEF board of trustees, and guided the PEF to his death in 1894. See: Weed-a. Winthrop, Robert Charles.

Marsh, O.C. 40-Winthrop Amazed at Scope of GP's Gifts. When GP first laid before Winthrop his philanthropic plans (possibly on May 9, 1866, or in Oct. 1866), Winthrop expressed amazement at their size and scope. Winthrop later quoted GP's reply in his Feb. 8, 1870, eulogy at GP's burial. GP's words to Winthrop, italics added below, were later cut into the stone marker placed at the temporary grave site in Westminster Abbey where GP's remains lay in state 30 days (Nov. 11-Dec. 12, 1869).

Marsh, O.C. 41-GP Replied (Winthrop’s underlining): "Why, Mr. Winthrop, this is no new idea to me. From the earliest of my manhood I have contemplated some such disposition of my property; and I have prayed my Heavenly Father, day be day, that I might be enabled before I died, to show my gratitude for the blessings which He has bestowed upon me, by doing some great good for my fellow-men." Ref.: Curry-b, p. 18. Winthrop-a, II, pp. 312-315. Winthrop-b, pp. 3-11.

Peabody Museums at Harvard and Yale

Marsh, O.C. 42-Peabody Museum at Harvard. Winthrop had a series of meetings on the Peabody Museum of Harvard: with GP on June 1, 1866, at the Tremont House, Boston; on June 4 with GP's nephews, Yale Prof. O.C. Marsh and George Peabody Russell (1835-1909, Harvard graduate, class of 1856), at the Mass. Historical Society; and on June 17, 1866. GP urged Winthrop to consult confidentially with Harvard friends. Winthrop especially sought the advice and approval of Louis Agassiz (1807-73), leading U.S. scientist and Harvard zoologist; and of former Harvard Pres. James Walker (1794-1874, Harvard president during 1853-60). Ref.: (R.C. Winthrop consulted Harvard scientist Louis Agassiz): Winthrop-a, II, pp. 312-315. See: persons named.

Marsh, O.C. 43-Peabody Museum at Harvard Cont'd. Agassiz, Winthrop, and Walker knew that Harvard officials preferred new gifts of money to go to its library and to its Museum of Comparative Zoology rather than for GP's proposed museum. Pres. Walker said to Winthrop: "...When a generous man like Mr. Peabody proposes a great gift, we...had better take what he offers and take it on his terms, and for the object which he evidently has at heart.... There...will be, as you say, disappointments in some quarters. But the branch of Science, to which this endowment is devoted, is one to which many minds in Europe are now eagerly turning.... This Museum...will be the first of its kind in our country." Ref.: (R.C. Winthrop on Peabody Museum of Harvard): R.C. Winthrop Papers, Mass. Historical Society, Boston.

Marsh, O.C. 44-Peabody Museum at Harvard Cont'd. Winthrop communicated his conversation with Pres. Walker to GP on July 6, 1866. On Sept. 24 Winthrop again met with GP and his nephews, Prof. O.C. Marsh and G.P. Russell. On Sept. 28, 1866, Winthrop called the first meeting of the trustees of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard. The trustees accepted GP's gift of $150,000. Ref.: Ibid. See: persons named.

Marsh, O.C. 45-GP's Founding Letter. GP's founding letter, dated Oct. 8, 1866, ended with these suggestions: "...In view of the gradual obliteration or destruction of the works and remains of the ancient races of this continent, the labor of exploration and collection be commenced at as early...as practicable; and also, that, in the event of the discovery in America of human remains or implements of an earlier geological period than the present, especial attention be given to their study, and their comparison with those found in other countries." Ref.: (Oct. 8, 1866, founding letter): Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology Archives, Harvard Univ. Harvard Univ.-c, pp. 363-365. Boston Daily Advertiser, Oct. 19, 1866, p. 2, c. 3-4. Hall, pp. 276-297. Dixon, Chap. X, pp. 202-215.

Marsh, O.C. 46-Anthropology at Harvard. O.C. Marsh, a Yale man, influenced the founding of the first U.S. museum of anthropology in the U.S. at Harvard. It was endowed by GP nine years after the discovery in 1857 in Prussia of the Neanderthal Skull which renewed interest in man's origins. Ethnological items, long collected but unexamined, were soon donated to the new Peabody Museum at Harvard by New England societies, including the Mass. Historical Society. Ref.: Ibid.

Marsh, O.C. 47-Anthropology at Harvard Cont'd. When the Mass. Historical Society's ethnological items were transferred to the Peabody Museum at Harvard, former Harvard Pres. James Walker said, "For a long time Harvard has exhausted her resources on the traditional liberal arts. The time has come for her to advance scientific knowledge. Mr. Peabody shows great wisdom in facilitating cooperation between the Massachusetts Historical Society and his Museum at Harvard through trustees of the latter who are prominent members of the former." Ref.: (James Walker): Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings-a, pp. 359-367.

Marsh, O.C. 48-Historians of Anthropology. Historians of anthropology Charles Franklin Thwing (1853-1937) and Ernest Ingersoll (1852-1946) each wrote that the Peabody Museum at Harvard began the systematic study of anthropology in U. S. higher education. Pre-Columbian life in North America was largely unexplored; existing collections were slight and fragmentary. Ref.: (Thwing): Thwing, pp. 670-677. Ref.: (Ingersoll): Ingersoll, pp. 474-487.

Peabody Museum of Harvard’s Anthropologist Frederic Ward Putnam

Marsh, O.C. 49-Anthropologist Frederic Ward Putnam. Many early prominent scientists were officers of the Peabody Museum of Harvard, including Frederic Ward Putnam (1839-1915), its curator during 1874-1909, called by his peers the "Father of American Anthropology." While at the Peabody Museum of Harvard, he helped found the 1-Anthropology Dept. of the American Museum of Natural History, NYC, during 1894-1903; 2-the Dept. and Museum of Anthropology, Univ. of California, during 1903-09; and 3-was secretary of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, during 1873-98. Ref.: (Peabody Museum, Harvard): Willoughby, C.G., pp. 495-503. Ref.: (Putnam): Putnam, IX-XIII.

Marsh, O.C. 50-Franz Boas on Frederic Ward Putnam. Famed anthropologist Prof. Franz Boas (1858-1942) wrote that F.W. Putnam pursued the subject of early man in North America with "unconquerable tenacity." Putnam wrote over 400 anthropological reports, many of them on the culture of the "mound builders," ancient ancestors of the American Indians. At its centennial in 1967, Peabody Museum Director John O. Brew (1906-88) stated that its personnel had pioneered in studying the unique Mayan culture in Central America and had led a total of 688 expeditions worldwide to study early human life. Ref.: Ibid. Brew, ed.

Marsh, O.C. 51-North American Origin of the Horse. O.C. Marsh, a convinced evolutionist when he visited Charles Darwin (during 1862-64), won from Darwin 20 years later credit for finding the best fossil proof of the theory of evolution. Marsh also published fossil proof of the North American origin of the horse. It was previously believed that the horse originated in Europe and was brought to America with Christopher Columbus and the conquistadors. Ref.: Penick, pp. 5-13. Ref.: (Marsh on origin of horse in America): Rudwick, p. 252. MacFadden, pp. 29-32.

Marsh, O.C. 52-Marsh Convinced Huxley. Darwin's strongest defender, Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-95), on a U.S. tour, including lectures on the Eurasian origin of the horse, visited Marsh at Yale in Aug. 1876. Marsh, disputing this contention, cited evidence of the pre-Columbian origin of the horse in North America. Huxley's son Leonard later recalled: "Professor Marsh would simply turn to an assistant and bid him fetch box number so and so, until Huxley turned upon him and said, 'I do believe you are a magician; whatever I want you can conjure up.'" So convinced was Huxley by Marsh's horse fossil findings that he changed the content of his U. S. lectures, citing Marsh's proof. Ref.: (Huxley): Bibby. Wallace, D.R., p. 134. (Note: For an original poem in 1868 by a Yale graduate of the 1830s, extolling GP for his gift to Yale, See: Dole, George Thurlow).

Marsh, O.C. 53-Organized Field Work. As Yale Prof. of Paleontology and Director of Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History (1866-99), Marsh did not teach or receive a salary until his last years, when his private income (left to him by GP) was almost gone. He was an astute organizer of Yale assistants, directing their field work by telegraph and letter, overseeing their collecting and shipping of railroad cars of fossils. Ref.: (Marsh's contributions at Yale): O.C. Marsh Papers, Yale Univ. Archives. Schuchert and LeVene.

O.C. Marsh's Discoveries

Marsh, O.C. 54-Dinosaur Fossil Finder. At Yale Marsh assembled entire dinosaurs, toothed birds, and other extinct mammals. His enormous collection at Yale was still being catalogued in the 1990s. He made his major dinosaur fossil finds from 1868 through the 1880s in the rugged Rocky Mountain region of Como Bluff, eastern Wyoming, one of the first known mass dinosaur graveyards; in Canyon City, Colorado; and elsewhere in the U.S. West. He used Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History resources, student assistants; federal funds as chief vertebrate paleontologist, U.S. Geological Survey (1882-92); and his influence as honorary curator of vertebrate paleontology, U.S. National Museum (1887). Ref.: (Marsh's contributions cont'd.): Willoughby, E., pp. 67-72. McCarren. Schoch, pp. 4-14.

Marsh, O.C. 55-Marsh's Discoveries. O.C. Marsh found 1-80 new dinosaur species, 2-the earliest mammals then known, 3-the first fossil serpents, 4-the first flying reptiles in western America, 5-the reptilian origin of birds, and 6-the presence of early primates in North America. He wrote 1-Introduction and Succession of Vertebrate Life in America, 1877; 2-The Dinosaurs of North America, 1896; and 3-was National Academy of Science president, 1883-95 (the most prestigious U.S. scientific body). Ref.: (Marsh's contributions cont'd.): Dunbar, pp. 17-35. McIntosh, pp. 31-37. Plate. "Dedication of the Peabody Museum...," Yale Alumni Weekly, July 6, 1923, pp. 1249-1250.

Marsh, O.C. 56-Personal Style. Marsh lived like a Victorian gentleman in his 18-room New Haven, Conn., house, courting and entertaining U.S. and foreign scientists and politicians. On frequent trips to NYC Marsh was often seen in fashionable clubs. He was prominent in national science affairs and wielded influence in government and academic scientific circles. Ref.: (Marsh's contributions cont'd.): Drake, pp. 33-35. "Carl O. Dunbar 1891-1979: An Appreciation," Discovery, Vol. 14, No. 1 (1979), p. 44.

Marsh, O.C. 57-Criticized. Marsh was also criticized by some peers and at least one assistant, Samuel Wendell Williston (1852-1918), who achieved scientific renown after leaving O.C. Marsh's employ, for publishing his assistants' fossil findings as his own. Marsh's last years were marred by lack of money and loss of U.S. government support. Ref.: (S.W. Williston): Shor. (Note: O.C. Marsh is buried in Grove St. Cemetery, New Haven, Conn., where earlier, by coincidence, eccentric Shakespearean theorist who asked GP for help, Delia S. Bacon [1811-59], is also buried. Ref.:: http://www.askmytutor.co.uk/d/de/delia_bacon.html).

Marsh-Cope Rivalry

Marsh, O.C. 58-Marsh-Cope Rivalry. Marsh's chief scientific rival was Philadelphia-born and independently wealthy paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope (1840-97). Cope was the son of a wealthy Quaker ship owner and philanthropist. Like Marsh, Cope's mother died when he was three-years-old. Unlike Marsh, Cope grew up in a well-ordered household, did well in a Quaker school, and published his first scientific paper at age 18. Marsh did little until age 20 and published his first paper at age 30. Both studied science in Europe. Cope lived with his wife and daughter in Haddonfield, N.J. When his father died (1875), Cope at age 35 inherited a fortune which he used to finance his fossil finds. Unlike Marsh's ostentatious lifestyle, Cope lived simply.
Bakker, pp. 37-41, 164-165, 206-213, 298-305, 365-369. Bowler, pp. 130-141. Clinton, Chap. 3. Colbert-d, pp. 24-27. Colbert-a, pp. 28-37, 70-71, 86-87, 118-119, 146-149, 277. Colbert-c. Colbert-b, pp. 55, 66-97, 144-145.

Marsh, O.C. 59-Marsh-Cope Rivalry Cont'd. Marsh and Cope met in Berlin in 1862 and again for a friendly week in the U.S. in 1868. From then on they competed in a quarter-century race in the rugged West to find and identify new mammal fossils in scientific publications. Cope, of brilliant mind and wider natural history interests than Marsh, had no institutional connections until, financially depleted in his last years, he was a Univ. of Penn. professor. Marsh had the knack of management and made the most of academic and federal government connections. From this rivalry came much of what is now known about North American dinosaurs, 80 new kinds of dinosaurs found and described in publications by Marsh and 56 found and described in publications by Cope. Ref.: Desmond, pp. 30-37, 106-117, 138-139, 174-177. Diagram Group, pp. 52-53, 146-147, 210-211, 218-223, 246-249. Glick, ed., pp. 192-213. Gould, pp. 86-93, 139, 160-163, 170-177, 416-433. Howard, R.W.

Marsh, O.C. 60-Contribution to Science. Dinosaur displays attracted visitors, particularly young visitors, made science museums popular, and furthered science education. Marsh's biographers estimate that GP gave Yale directly and indirectly through bequests to Marsh close to half a million dollars. The Peabody Museums at Harvard and Yale, their collections, field exploration, exhibits, famous murals (particularly at the Yale Museum), and education programs are eminently the achievements of their directors and staffs. Yet GP's gifts to science education, influenced by nephew O.C. March, helped make later achievements possible. Refs. below.

Marsh, O.C. 61-Contribution to Science Cont'd. Ref.: Jaffe, pp. 279-306, 565. Lanham, pp. ix-xi, 79-164, 182-183, 218-267. MacFadden, pp. 29-33. Ostrom and McIntosh, pp. v-vi, 6-11, 28-43. Penick, pp. 5-13. Reingold, ed., pp. 236-241. Rudwick, pp. 252-255. Shor, pp. 3-7, 22-23, 64-71, 96-98, 117-123. Simpson, pp. 16-17, 40-41, 130-131, 270-271. Time-Life Books, pp. 75-83. Wallace, D.R. See: Science: GP's Gifts to Science and Science Education.

GP & Md.'s $8 Bond Sale Abroad

Md. Assembly (Legislature). 1-Bond Sale Abroad for Internal Improvements. On June 4, 1836, the Md. Assembly (legislature) authorized an $8 million bond sale abroad to finance internal improvements (Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, B&O RR). Three agents were appointed to sell its bonds on the world market. When agent Samuel Jones (1800-74) resigned to become a Md. state senator, friends suggested GP. He was selected, left for London Feb. 1837, and remained except for three U.S. visits. In the financial Panic of 1837 the other two agents, unsuccessful, returned. GP persisted, despite the stoppage of interest payments on bonds by Md. and eight other states during the depression that followed. See: Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale Abroad.

Md. Assembly. 2-How GP Succeeded. GP publicly urged Md. leaders to restore payments and assured foreign investors of such payments. He finally sold his share of the Md. bonds to the Baring Brothers banking firm. Md. recovered financially and restored interest payments retroactively. Ten years passed before GP's services as Md. agent finally came to public attention. In the face of great obstacles he had sold his assigned Chesapeake and Ohio Canal part of Md.'s bonds. And, while Md. was in economic trouble, he had declined the $60,000 commission due him. Ref.: Ibid.

Md. Assembly. 3-Resolutions of Praise. Gov. Thomas G. Pratt's (1804-69) annual message to the Md. Assembly (Dec. 1847) mentioned GP as "...a citizen of Maryland [and] now a resident in London [who] never claimed or received one dollar of compensation...Whilst the State was struggling with her pecuniary difficulties,...feeling himself sufficiently remunerated by the restored credit of his State." On March 7, 1848, both houses of the Md. Assembly voted him unanimous praise. The succeeding Gov. Philip Francis Thomas (1810-90) sent these resolutions to GP with a cover letter which ended with: "To you, sir,...the thanks of the State are eminently due." Ref.: Ibid.

Md. Assembly. 4-Md. on GP's Death. Marylanders were proud of GP's success as a banker in London, appreciated his 1857 PIB gift ($1.4 million total), and basked in his fame as philanthropist. After his death (Nov. 4, 1869) Md. sent two senators and two representatives to the ceremonies connected with the arrival of his remains from England at Portland, Me. (Jan. 15-Feb. 1, 1870). They attended his final funeral service and eulogy at Peabody, Mass., Feb. 8, 1870, and his burial that day in Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem, Mass. The Md. Assembly resolution on GP's death read in part: "...his name will stand preeminent in history...generations yet unborn will learn to venerate his memory...." See: Death and Funeral, GP's.

GP & the Md. Historical Society

Md. Historical Society, Baltimore. 1-GP's 1856-57 U.S. Visit. Returning to the U.S. after nearly 20 years in London (since Feb. 1837), GP declined public dinners before the Oct. 9, 1856, GP celebration in his hometown (South Danvers, Mass.). His sister Judith Dodge (née Peabody) Russell (1799-1879) wrote him while still in London that South Danvers had voted $3,000 for a public welcome for him, that they "will be extremely disappointed if they do not do much more than anyone else and do it first. They are tenacious of their right to you." Two gala receptions followed in Baltimore, Feb. 1867, as he prepared his PIB founding letter (Feb. 12, 1857). See: South Danvers, Mass., Oct. 9, 1856, GP Celebration.

Md. Historical Soc. 2-Baltimore Receptions. During Jan. 26 to Feb. 13, 1857, GP was in Baltimore where the Md. Historical Society and the Md. Institute for the Promotion of Mechanic Arts each planned receptions for him. GP's main concern was to plan with Baltimore advisors his Feb. 12, 1857, letter founding the PIB ($1.4 million total gift). The Civil War delayed the PIB's opening for nine years until Oct. 25, 1866. Divided loyalties in Md., a border state, also aggravated earlier differences between the Md. Historical Society trustees and PIB trustees over the PIB site, building costs, and which organization would manage the PIB. See: Eaton, Charles James Madison. Kennedy, John Pendleton. PIB.

Md. Historical Soc. 3-Baltimoreans Anticipated the PIB. These problems lay ahead. In Jan.-Feb. 1857, all was sweetness and light. Baltimoreans knew that GP was about to give them a unique educational institution: 1-a specialized reference library; 2-lecture hall, lecture series, and lecture fund; 3-music academy; 4-art gallery; 5-annual prizes for the best Baltimore public school; and 6-space for the Md. Historical Society trustees, who with the PIB trustees, would co-direct the PIB's cultural activities (largely J.P. Kennedy's conception, see below). It was time to honor Baltimore's adopted son and successful London banker. Ref.: Ibid.

Md. Historical Soc. 4-Why GP Was So Honored. Several factors explain GP's warm reception in the U.S., and particularly in Baltimore. 1-He lived, worked, and made many friends in Baltimore for 22 years, 1815-37, ages 20-42, as junior partner in Riggs, Peabody & Co. (1814-29) and as senior partner in its successor Peabody, Riggs & Co. (1829-48). 2-He went to London in Feb. 1837 and remained there to his death (Nov. 4, 1869), except for three U.S. visits: Sept. 15, 1866 to Aug. 19, 1857; May 1, 1866 to May 1, 1867; and June 8 to Sept. 29, 1869. He was London resident buyer for Peabody, Riggs & Co. 3-The Md. Legislature's March 8, 1848, resolutions of praise for his part in selling its $8 million bonds abroad for internal improvements, against great odds, has been mentioned above. See: Md. Assembly (Legislature) above.

Md. Historical Soc. 5-Why GP Was So Honored Cont'd. As Md.'s bond agent, GP had earned Md. leaders' appreciation, respect in London banking circles, and praise from the press. The London correspondent of the NYC Courier & Enquirer wrote: "...The energetic influence of the Anti-Repudiators would never have been heard in England had not Mr. George Peabody...made it part of his duty to give to the holders of the Bonds every information in his power, and to point out...the certainty of Maryland resuming [payment].... He...had the moral courage to tell his countrymen the contempt [because of repudiation] with which all Americans were viewed.... [He is] a merchant of high standing...but also an uncompromising denouncer of chicanery in every shape." This appreciation, plus advance knowledge of his forthcoming PIB gift, help explain the receptions for GP by the Md. Historical Society trustees on Jan. 30, 1857, and the Md. Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanical Arts on Feb. 2, 1857. Ref.: Ibid.

Md. Historical Soc. 6-J.P. Kennedy Journal Entries. Baltimore novelist and statesman John Pendleton Kennedy (1795-1870), who had planned the PIB, based on the British Museum model, recorded in his journal GP's arrival and activities: "Monday, Jany 26: ...I learned that Mr. Geo. Peabody who left London in September and has been spending his time in the North has arrived today in this city. He has been anxiously looked for some days, and preparations are made here to give him a most hospitable reception." "Tuesday, Jany 27: I call and see Peabody at Barnums [hotel]. The Historical Society have determined to give him an entertainment in their rooms on Friday night. I have subscribed 20 dollars for this purpose." See: Kennedy, John Pendleton.

Md. Historical Soc. 7-J.P. Kennedy Journal Entries Cont'd. "Wednesday, Jany 28: I am obliged to go to the rooms of the Historical Society to accompany the committee of which I am a member to wait on Mr. Peabody. I attend them to Barnums where we sit with the Lion about an hour.... Tonight I am invited to Wm. B. McKims--a supper given to Peabody--but finding that I have taken a cold by my exposure this morning I decline going." "Thursday, Jany 29: Very disagreeable weather.... I am invited to dine tomorrow with Mr. Mayhew--a dinner to Peabody--I am obliged to decline [has a cold]." "Friday, Jany 30: A splendid reception this evening at the Md. Hist. Society rooms. Much speaking. Latrobe takes my place, as I cannot attend." Ref.: Ibid.

Md. Historical Soc. 8-MHS Reception, Jan. 30, 1857. At 8 P.M. prominent Baltimoreans gathered in the picture gallery of the Athenaeum Bldg., Saratoga and St. Paul Sts. At 8:45 P.M. GP arrived, escorted by William McKim and others. GP spoke to old merchant friends. Md. Historical Society Pres. John Spear Smith (1790-1866) introduced him to members he did not know. At 10 P.M. the company moved into the library where six long table, set for 200 people, were decorated with flowers and laden with food and confectioneries. Ref.: Sun (Baltimore), Jan. 31, 1857, p. 1, c. 5.

Speeches about GP, Md. Historical Soc.

Md. Historical Soc. 9-Speech by J.H.B. Latrobe. Md. Historical Soc. Pres. John Spear Smith introduced the society's founder (1847) and B&O RR lawyer John Hazlehurst Boneval Latrobe (1803-91), who thus addressed GP: "Mr. Peabody, this Society and your friends welcome you here tonight. While we cannot claim you as a native son of Maryland, here you lived and here you served in the War of 1812." "Circumstances took you to England and there you always showed esteem for your country and affection for your countrymen. I myself can witness for your generosity to Americans in London. How happy we are to have you as the guest of the Maryland Historical Society." Ref.: Ibid.

Md. Historical Soc. 10-Speech by James Morrison Harris. MHS member James Morrison Harris (1817-98) spoke of GP: "Mr. Peabody is a liberal friend of our Society. He donated some of our most valuable books and aided us in the erection of this building. I express for the people of Maryland thanks to him for sustaining our credit abroad during our darkest hour. I was in London twelve years ago and know personally of Mr. Peabody's hospitality. I saw with my own eyes the credit of our state assailed and then saved by our friend." Ref.: (J.M. Harris): Sun (Baltimore), Feb. 2, 1857, p. 1, c. 4-5. See: Harris, James Morrison.

Md. Historical Soc. 11-Speech by Mayor Thomas Swann. Mayor Thomas Swann (c1806-83) said: "I, too, am one of thousands of American citizens who partook of Mr. Peabody's hospitality in London. When repudiation of our bonds was the unfortunate order of the day, he believed and caused others to believe in the ultimate redemption of Maryland's obligation. He is a Marylander at heart and an American all over. I give you a sentiment: To George Peabody--the best representative we ever had in a foreign court." Ref.: (Mayor Swann): Ibid.

Md. Historical Soc. 12-After the Reception. Thus in friendship and praise, the Jan. 30, 1857, Md. Historical Society reception ended. Three days later, Feb. 2, 1857, the Md. Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts reception followed. In between and after, with John Pendleton Kennedy and others, GP drew up a list of PIB trustees and drafted his PIB founding letter of Feb. 12, 1857. For details and sources on the PIB from its Feb. 12, 1857, origin to its Oct. 24-25, 1866, opening, See: Civil War and GP. Eaton, Charles James Madison. Kennedy, John Pendleton. PIB.

GP & the Md. Institute, Baltimore

Md. Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, Baltimore. 1-Background. Mechanic Institutes, a 19th century U.S. adult workers education movement, came from England's industrial revolution. Early mechanic institutes appeared in Birmingham (1789), Glasgow (1823), and London (1823); and spread in the U.S. to Boston, Philadelphia, NYC, and elsewhere. The Md. Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, Baltimore, was founded in 1826. Its library was founded in 1847 by John Hazlehurst Boneval Latrobe (1803-91), B&O RR lawyer who also founded and was president of the Md. Historical Society.

Md. Institute. 2-Appreciation for GP. GP came to the Md. Mechanic Institute officials' special attention in the favorable publicity surrounding his $15,000 loan to U.S. exhibitors at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, the first world's fair. This loan, made without guarantee of repayment by the U.S. Congress, enabled over six million visitors to see U.S. arts and industry to best advantage. This proud showing of U.S. industry pleased the Md. Institute trustees, dedicated as they were to the industrial education of adult workingmen. Baltimoreans were also impressed by favorable press reports of GP's two U.S.-British friendship dinners given in London in connection with the Great Exhibition, the first dinner on July 4, 1851, with the Duke of Wellington as honored guest; the second dinner to departing U.S. exhibitors on Oct. 27, 1851. See: Great Exhibition of 1851, London (first world's fair).

Md. Institute. 3-GP's 1851 Gift to Md. Institute. GP, in London, had been made an honorary member of the Md. Mechanic Institute. Its Pres. William H. Keighler (1804-85) wrote GP (Sept. 1, 1851) describing the need for funds for a chemistry laboratory and school. GP wrote Pres. Keighler (Oct. 31, 1851): "My numerous engagements have caused me to defer an answer to your favour dated 1st ulto. calling my attention to the importance of a Maryland Institute for the promotion of the Mechanic Arts in the City of Baltimore." Ref.: GP, London, to William H. Keighler, Baltimore, Oct. 31, 1851, Garrett Papers, Library of Congress ms, also quoted in American and Commercial Daily Advertiser (Baltimore), Nov. 27, 1851, p. 2, c. 1. Baltimore Patriot and Gazette, Oct. 28, 1851, p. 2, c. 1.

Md. Institute. 4-GP's Oct. 31, 1851, Letter Cont'd.: "I have since had all your views and opinions confirmed by my friends David S. Wilson Esq., General Stewart, and others, and believing that the Institution is intended to promote the best interests of the state of Maryland and the City of Baltimore, I have sent with this letter, through my friend Wm. E. Mayhew Esq. one thousand dollars as a donation, which I trust will be received as a small token of gratitude toward a State from which I have been mighty honored, and a City in the prosperity of which I shall ever feel the greatest interest." GP later gave $500 annually in prizes to graduates of the Md. Institute's School of Design. Ref.: Ibid. Ref.: (GP's $500 annual prizes to Md. Institute's School of Design): Howard, G.W., p. 980.

Md. Institute. 5-Feb. 2, 1857, Md. Institute Reception. GP was in Baltimore, Jan. 26-Feb. 13, 1857, mainly for his Feb. 12, 1857, letter founding the PIB. Beforehand, however, he was honored and fêted, first by a Md. Historical Society reception with speeches, on Jan. 30, 1857 (see above), and by the Md. Institute for the Promotion of Mechanic Arts, with speeches, on Feb. 2, 1857. Baltimorean John Pendleton Kennedy (1795-1870), chief planner and trustee of the PIB, wrote in his journal of the Mechanic Institute's reception: "There is to be a very elaborate proceeding tonight at the Maryland Institute for the reception of Peabody there. I am invited, but cannot go." Ref.: (J.P. Kennedy's journal): John Pendleton Kennedy's Journal, VIIj (Aug. 1, 1855-March 14, 1857), entry dated Monday, Feb. 2, 1857, Kennedy Papers, PIB.

Md. Institute. 6-Feb. 2, 1857, Md. Institute Reception Cont'd. At 8 P.M., Monday, Feb. 2, the band struck up a popular tune as Baltimore Mayor Thomas Swann (c1806-83) and merchant Enoch Pratt (1808-96) escorted GP into the Md. Institute's great hall. The large gathering arose, the audience of mostly working men cheered, and the women waved handkerchiefs. Pres. Joshua Vansant explained the work of the Md. Institute, described its School of Art Design, Chemistry Dept. (to which GP had contributed $1,000 in 1851), library of 10,000 volumes, School of Bookkeeping, and annual lectures on science. Ref.: New York Daily Times, Feb. 4, 1857, p. 1, c. 2. Sun (Baltimore), Feb. 2, 1857, p. 2, c. 1; Feb. 3, 1857, p. 1, c. 4-7; and Feb. 4, 1857, p. 1, c. 1-4.

Speeches about GP at the Md. Institute

Md. Institute. 7-Feb. 2, 1857, Pres. Vansant. Pres. Vansant referred to the Great Exhibition of 1851, told how the U.S. ship St. Lawrence arrived at Southampton, 70 miles from London, told how U.S. exhibitors had no funds to move U.S. products to the Exhibition Hall, London, or to display them to best advantage. Pres. Vansant then spoke directly to GP. Ref.: Baltimore Dispatch, Feb. 7, 1857. Scharf-a, p. 552. Historical Magazine, Vol. 1 (1857), p. 77.

Md. Institute. 8-Feb. 2, 1857, Pres. Vansant Cont'd.: "By this act national disgrace was averted. Congress should have promptly repaid this loan but did not. I know you did not present a claim on the government for the sum expended. The U.S. Senate at the first Session of the thirty-third Congress voted to reimburse Edward Riddle to whom your loan was made but the House of Representatives struck it out because of some constitutional obstruction." Ref.: Ibid.

Md. Institute. 9-Feb. 2, 1857, Pres. Vansant Cont'd.: "I was a member of that congress, but voted for reimbursement, otherwise I could not now honorably address you. How glad I was when the next Congress (thirty-fourth) finally approved reimbursement to Mr. Riddle, thus enabling him to repay you." Pres. Vansant continued: "Sir, the mechanics and artisans of the United States owe you thanks for enabling their productive skill to be proudly shown to the world. In their name and in the name of the Maryland Institute I bid you cordial welcome." Ref.: Ibid. See: Great Exhibition of 1851, London (first world's fair). Lawrence, Abbott.

Md. Institute. 10-Feb. 2, 1857, GP's Reply. Applause followed Pres. Vansant's reference to GP's part in the first world's fair. GP stepped forward and said: "My heart is filled with gratitude for the warm welcome of this immense gathering. You graciously magnify the little service I rendered. My aid to the Americans in the world's fair came from personal feelings. As an American I was proud of our products and wanted the world to see them." Ref.: Sun (Baltimore), Feb. 3, 1857, p. 1, c. 4-7.

Md. Institute. 11-Feb. 2, 1857, GP's Reply Cont'd.: "They say that affection at twenty is stronger than at any other age. I held Maryland in high regard at that age and was myself panic struck and embarrassed that her pecuniary situation made her briefly think of repudiating her debts. But your energy, enterprise, and honor overcame every difficulty." Ref.: Ibid.

Md. Institute. 12-Feb. 2, 1857, GP's Reply Cont'd.: "Commerce, agriculture, and the mechanic arts go hand in hand.... It gives me great pleasure to see so many of the working men of Baltimore this evening.... I am myself a working man--my success in life is due to work, and my sympathies are with labor.... When I first went to England, thirty years ago, a Mechanics Institute was generally regarded with indifference....now in that old aristocratic country...members of the most distinguished families annually lecture at these institutes." Ref.: Ibid.

Md. Institute. 13-Feb. 2, 1857, Mayor Swann. Cheer after cheer shook the auditorium. Here was a banker who appreciated labor, identified himself with it, and clothed it with dignity. He had struck a chord that pleased. Mayor Swann said: "It is a compliment to you, Mr. Peabody, to witness the spontaneous expression of 5,000 of the mechanics and workingmen of Baltimore. "In addition to Baltimore workingmen, both branches of our city council present join me in saying that the city owes you special welcome. In the commanding position you have occupied abroad you have done much for our State and City. By supporting the character of Maryland you maintained its fame." Ref.: Ibid.

Md. Institute. 14-Feb. 2, 1857, GP's Reply. GP stepped forward again to speak: "You confer on me so much honor my heart tells me I must look to the future to compensate for it and not to the past. "While it is true I said Maryland's bonds were good, her means ample, and her citizens honorable, Marylanders themselves justified all I said and to their conduct all credit is due. "Thank you...for the honor conferred upon me this evening. While I live it will never be forgotten." For GP's part in selling part of Md.'s $8 million bond sale abroad for internal improvements, see Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale Abroad and GP.

Md. Institute. 15-Feb. 2, 1857, Banquet. With the assembly program over GP moved through the hall for the banquet to follow. Old friends and fellow merchants pressed forward to shake his hand and to introduce their wives and children. After the meal a bouquet was presented to GP by a Mrs. Watson. GP replied: "I shall prize this beautiful bouquet as long as it lasts.... I am not too old to admire the ladies, though they look better at a man of twenty than of sixty." Ref.: Ibid.

Md. Institute. 16-Feb. 2, 1857, J.B. Seidenstricker's Speech. John Barnhart Seidenstricker (b.1809), former Baltimore City Council member (1835-38) and former Md. General Assembly member (1839-40) then spoke of GP's part in selling Maryland's bonds abroad: "I was then a member of the state legislature and knew well the difficulties connected with levying a tax to uphold our bond sale abroad. George Peabody in Europe and John J. Speed in Maryland upheld public confidence in Maryland's credit. "The name of Peabody in Europe, and the writings of Speed in Maryland had accomplished the great work of freeing our State from repudiation." Ref.: Ibid.

Md. Institute. 17-Feb. 2, 1857, Mayor Swann. Mayor Swann then told of GP's connection with the B&O RR. Swann, connected with the B&O RR during its expansion westward to Wheeling, [W.] Va., said: "I tell you that the first man who gave an impetus to the mammoth undertaking was George Peabody. We held the bonds of the State, but they could not be negotiated, and the first man I wrote to was our guest of this evening; he came promptly to our assistance, and I tell you, gentlemen, that without his aid, we could not have laid our tracks ten miles beyond Cumberland or pushed forward through the Alleghenies to the threshold of the great West." Ref.: Ibid.

Md. Institute. 18-After the Receptions, The speeches went on past midnight and GP retired. Thus ended the two receptions for him in Baltimore (Md. Historical Society, Jan. 30, 1857; and Md. Institute, Feb. 2, 1857). With these behind him, he conferred with John Pendleton Kennedy, Charles James Madison Eaton (1808-93), and Mayhew. The PIB was about to be born (founding letter, Feb. 12, 1857). Ref.: Ibid. For the Jan. 30, 1857, Md. Historical Society reception, see Md. Historical Society (above). For the full PIB story, see Civil War and GP. Eaton, Charles James Madison. Kennedy, John Pendleton. PIB.

Md. Room of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, has several Baltimore newspaper clipping albums and book accounts of GP activities in Baltimore.

GP as Md. Bond Agents

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale Abroad (1837-47) and GP. 1-Canals & Railroads. In the expansive 1820s-30s, Md. and other states rushed to build canals and railroads to win a greater share of trade with new western towns and cities. The U.S., then a developing nation, needed European investment capital through bond sales abroad to finance internal improvements. Md.'s act of March 6, 1836, authorized $500,000 to develop the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Co. Another act authorized an equal amount to build the B&O RR. Further authorizations went to the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad. To raise this capital, Md. on June 4, 1836, authorized an $8 million bond sale abroad. Ref.: Hidy, M.E.-c, pp. 150 ff. Maryland, State of. Laws Made...1835,...1836, Chapter 395, Section II. Maryland, State of. Journal...House of Delegates...December Session, 1837, p. 111.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 2-Three Md. Bond Agents. Three commissioners were appointed to sell Md.'s bonds in Europe. When commissioner Samuel Jones, Jr. (1800-74), resigned to become a Md. state senator, friends suggested GP to replace him. GP told a business friend that he thought he could negotiate Md.'s $8 million loan abroad. That friend reported GP's remarks to Md.'s governor, adding, "If you knew Mr. Peabody as I do, you would believe he could to it." In Jan. 1837, GP actively sought the appointment. Samuel Jones backed GP. Baltimore business friends Osmond Capron Tiffany (1794-1851), Thomas W. Hall, and others urged legislators in Annapolis to support GP's candidacy. Ref.: Ibid. See: persons named.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 3-GP to Md. Governor's Council Member Gwinn Harris. In seeking to replace Samuel Jones, Jr., as Md. bond agent GP wrote to the Md. Governor's Council member Gwinn Harris (1780-1837): "It is my intention to embark for Europe in a few weeks and many of my friends think my services...would be useful in negotiating the Eight Million [dollar] loan authorized by the act of the last session of the Legislature. I have consequently concluded to become a candidate for commissioner to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Samuel Jones, Jr. Esqr. recently elected to the Senate." Ref.: GP, Baltimore, to Gwinn Harris, Port Tobacco, Jan. 12, 1837, Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass. See: Harris, Gwinn.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 4-GP to Gwinn Harris Cont'd.: "My name will probably be brought before the governor and Council at their next meeting and if, on ascertaining my fitness for the office, you should think proper to afford me your powerful influence and support, I trust, if appointed, to be able to perform any duties that may devolve on me to the satisfaction of all parties interested. "N.F. Williams Esqr. of the Council, I have reason to believe, will support my claims, but I have addressed no one but yourself on the subject. Very truly & Respectfully, Your Obt. Svt. Geo. Peabody." Ref.: Ibid.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 5-Selling Md. Bonds Abroad. Despite opposition, GP was appointed commissioner. His young cousin Adolphus William Peabody (b. 1814, son of GP's paternal uncle John Peabody, 1768-1827) congratulated GP (Feb. 14, 1837): "...at your being appointed commissioner. To have won it after being so opposed greatly enhances the honour.... You[r] being away, the friends of the defeated were there, raising objections, and endeavoring to influence the council to reconsider the vote, saying that you were absent, and could not accept, that you had not taken an active part in politics of the state, that you were a non-resident, etc.... The Govr. is very firm, is convinced that he has appointed the best, and some members of the council say, they would resign, rather than reconsider the vote." Ref.: Hidy, M.E.-c, pp. 150 ff.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 6-Md. Bond Agent in London. GP arranged his affairs for his fifth trip abroad. Besides partner Samuel Riggs (d.1853, Elisha Riggs Sr.'s [1779-1853] nephew), GP relied on two Peabody, Riggs & Co employees: his younger cousin Adolphus William Peabody (b. 1814 and 22-year-old Henry T. Jenkins (b. c1815). Both later became partners in Peabody, Riggs & Co. GP left NYC early Feb. 1837 on the Mediator under Capt. C.H. Champlin, which landed in Portsmouth, England, Feb. 19, 1837. As on previous voyages he was seasick and lost weight. Ref.: (GP's arrival, Portsmouth, England): British Home Office: Aliens.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 7-Economic Downturn. Md. bond agents GP, John Buchanan (1772-1844), and Thomas Emory (who joined them in London, mid-Aug. 1837) were unsuccessful with English and French capitalists. GP and Buchanan secured passports from the U.S. Legation in Paris (Sept. 23, 1837), went to Amsterdam, but were again unsuccessful. An economic downturn made European capitalists wary of U.S. state securities. By Oct. 8, 1837, agents John Buchanan and Thomas Emory gave up and returned to the U.S. GP remained in London to negotiate the bond sale alone. Ref.: (John Buchanan): McCormick, III, p. 214. Ref.: (Thomas Emory): Thomas Emory to GP, Aug. 28, 1837, Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass. Ref.: (Passports): Passport No. 183 issued John Buchanan and servant; Passport No. 184 issued GP, U.S. Legation in Paris, Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass. Ref. Hidy, M.E.-c, pp. 151-152, 162.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 8-Threat of Repudiation. Later, from Baltimore agent Thomas Emory wrote GP (March 29, 1839) that the legislature in Annapolis was under pressure to refuse interest payments on the Md. bonds. GP, in London, had difficulty selling the bonds. Out of this difficulty eventually came opportunity: GP's transformation from Baltimore-based merchant to London-based banker dealing in U.S. state bonds. 2. Ref.: Thomas Emory, Md., to GP, March 29, 1839, Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass.

GP & the Panic of 1837

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 9-Panic of 1837. Interlocking events led to the Panic of 1837: a-The first ever federal treasury surplus in 1837 was returned to the states in proportion to their members in congress, without regard to normal channels of trade, disrupting credit conditions. b-Banking instability and over speculation in western lands during Pres. Andrew Jackson's administration (1829-37) caused a pyramiding of credit and inflation. c-Business failures in England created a demand for U.S. debt payment. Many U.S. states, building their economic hopes on sales of their bonds abroad, were in financial trouble, causing eight states (Md., Ill., Ind., Mich., Miss., La., Ark., Fl., and Penn.) to repudiate in part or whole their bond interest payment (1840-45). Ref.: Hidy, M.E.-c, pp. 77-78, 80.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 10-Panic of 1837 Cont'd. In Oct., 1838, Md. agent Thomas Emory urged GP to return to Annapolis to aid the Md. legislature on its loan decisions. GP replied that he was so busy with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Co. portion of the $8 million bond sale that he could not leave "for a long time to come. American stocks are becoming more difficult to sell because there are so many on the market. It will take several years for the Companies to dispose of the 8 millions in Europe unless they submit to a very low price." As it turned out he remained in London the rest of his life (Feb. 1837-69), 32 years, except for three U.S. visits, Sept. 1856 to Aug. 1857, May 1, 1866 to May 1, 1867, and June 8 to Sept. 29, 1869. Ref.: GP, London, to Thomas Emory, Baltimore, Nov. 5, 1838, Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 11-Panic of 1837 Cont'd. In London amid financial panic, GP faced two difficulties: a-to sell the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Co. portion of the $8 million bond sale; and b-to save William and James Brown, a Liverpool firm, major source of his credit in England. Business friend Richard Bell of the dry goods house of Gibson, Bell & Co. had earlier warned GP to "prepare for a gale...as sure as fate evil times are coming on us." Ref.: Hidy, M.E.-c, pp. 77-78, 80.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 12-Panic of 1837 Cont'd. GP had made a great effort to collect debts and gain credits. His younger cousin Adolphus William Peabody made a collection trip in the West and in Cincinnati met merchants from eastern cities doing the same thing. He let GP know that business conditions were very bad, that banks were failing, and goods were selling at very low prices. He wrote GP: eventually "you must sustain a heavy loss." GP knew that he had to help save the Browns of Liverpool, whose failure would adversely affect him. Ref.: Adolphus William Peabody to GP, March 22, 1837, Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass.

Saving the Browns

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 13-Saving the Browns, Liverpool. The Browns appealed for a loan to the Bank of England which required guarantees. By traveling 500 miles in less than five days in face to face meetings, GP helped get the guarantees. He himself subscribed £15,000 (about $75,000) toward the guarantees. He also wrote on behalf of the Browns to the London bankers, Denison and Co.: "I know that they have heretofore been proverbial for prudence and foresight...." Ref.: (Saving the Browns, Liverpool): Hidy, M.E.-c, pp. 86-90.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 14-Saving the Browns, Liverpool Cont'd. The guarantees were secured by June 22, 1837. The Bank of England paid all of the Browns' debts. William Brown (1784-1864) wrote GP from Liverpool: "To you my dear Sir I feel much indebted for the lively interest you have taken & Friendship you have shewn throughout a Crisis that has almost killed me with anxiety." Ref.: Ibid.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 15-Saving the Browns, Liverpool Cont'd. William Brown was one of three sons of Alexander Brown (1764-1834) who left Ireland to found Alexander Brown & Sons, Baltimore (1800). Younger son James Brown (1791-1877) established Brown Brothers & Co., NYC; and another son, John Brown established Brown Brothers & Co., Philadelphia; and eldest son William Brown was sent to establish a branch of the firm in Liverpool, England. This William Brown, who wrote sympathetically about GP’s broken engagement (Jan. 1839) to Esther Elizabeth Hoppin (1819-1905), became an MP from Liverpool, spoke at GP’s July 4, 1856, London dinner, and was honored with a knighthood. Ref.: (Alexander Brown): Kent, Vol. 2, Part 1, pp. 101-103. (James Brown): Vol. 2, Part 1, p. 126-127. See: Brown, William. Dinners, GP’s, London. Hoppin, Esther Elizabeth.


Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 16-Saving the Browns, Liverpool Cont'd. In saving the Browns GP saved his own firm, Riggs, Peabody & Co., saved other firms that would have gone down with the Browns, and enhanced his reputation with merchant-banking firms in Britain and the U.S. GP then faced the task of selling his portion of Md.'s bonds abroad. Ref.: Ibid.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 17-Sold to Baring Brothers. GP went to his chief competitor, the Baring Brothers, Britain's oldest and most powerful banking firm. By giving Baring Brothers exclusive resale rights, GP was able to sell them the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Co. share of Md.'s $8 million bonds. "The price is low," he wrote to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Co. president, "but [considering] the almost total discredit of all American securities in Europe...I feel a relief...that words cannot express." Ref.: ("The price is low..."): Hidy, M.E.-c, p. 167.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 18-Looking for a Scapegoat. Md.'s credit in Europe remained shaky during 1837-47. Yet her expansive public works needed funds from the bond sale. Some involved Baltimoreans, distraught at their loss, looked for a scapegoat, blamed GP for the lack of sales before his contract with Baring Brothers. Some blamed him because the selling price to Baring Brothers was low. Some blamed him after the sale because the value of Md.'s bonds rose. Yet against great odds GP helped uphold Md.'s credit in Europe. By so doing he also bolstered the credit of other states. Baring Brothers profited. Ultimately GP benefited, although Md. took almost 10 years to realize and thank him for his contribution. Ref (Criticism of GP's sale of Chesapeake & Ohio Canal bonds): Myers, p. 538.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 19-Emory to GP: Secure Your Commission. Former fellow Md. agent Thomas Emory wrote GP, March 24. 1840, that many were incensed at the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Co.'s mismanagement: "...your efforts and your services have constantly been thrown as a barrier between these reckless men and the interests of the State which you have constantly sought to protect..." . Emory urged GP to "secure whilst in your power the commissions you are entitled to [$60,000]. [The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Co.] is now in the most imminent straits." The legislature, Emory wrote, has adjourned without acting on its $8 million bond obligation. Ref.: Thomas Emory, Poplar Grove, Md., to GP, Moorgate St., London, May 24, 1840, Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 20-Never Claimed his Commission. GP never claimed the $60,000 commission due him. Maryland's financial recovery took 10 years (1837-47). When GP's role in upholding Md.'s credit became known and when it was realized that he had declined his commission because of Md.'s financial plight--he won public praise from Md.'s governor and legislature (1847-48). Ref.: Thomas Emory, Poplar Grove, Md., to GP, Broad St., London, March 24, 1840, Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass.

Interest Payments on Md. Bonds Abroad Stopped

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 21-How GP Fought Repudiation. GP assured British and other investors that the states would pay their bond debts retroactively. His letters from London to politically involved Baltimore lawyer John Joseph Speed (1797-1852) constantly urged Md. officials to resume bond interest payments. Speed published GP's letters in U.S. and British newspapers. GP explained to J.J. Speed that U.S. state bonds were held by a wide range of middle class British purchasers who were being hurt by nonpayment of their bond interest. His example was the Oriental Club in London, 300 of whose retired officers from the India service held U.S. state bonds from which interest income had been cut off. Ref.: GP-J.J. Speed letters): London Sun, Jan. 13, 1843, p. 3, c. 1-2; Zanesville (Ohio) Gazette, April 5, 1843, p. 1, c. 5; London Morning Post, Jan . 9, 1843.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 22-How GP Fought Repudiation Cont'd. GP wrote to Speed: "I trust the time is not far distant, when our country and her people will once more regain their former high character for honor and integrity which Repudiation has so unfortunately tarnished." Speed replied: "...the Maryland Legislature is moving toward...resuming payment on her debts. I have faith in her honor that all who own her bonds will receive their accumulated unpaid dividends." The London Morning Post, which published the GP-Speed correspondence, referred to GP as an eminent American merchant in London brave enough to tell Americans the truth. Ref.: Ibid.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 23-Withdrawing from Peabody, Riggs & Co. As early as April 1839 GP wrote of his intention to withdraw from Peabody, Riggs & Co. when its current partnership expired. In 1840 he wrote, "Business does not go on as in good old times." As his trade in dry goods and other commodities declined, he dealt more and more in U.S. state bond as head of George Peabody & Co. from an office ("counting house") at 31 Moorgate St., London (from Dec. 1838). Funds left in his care drew good rates of interest. He was increasingly a safe, convenient, and influential securities broker and banker. Ref.: Hidy, M.E..-c., pp. 9-96, 106-113, 130-135, 144.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 24-End of Peabody, Riggs, & Co., 1843-48. The Panic of 1837 and its aftermath took its toll. Partner Samuel Riggs wrote GP in disgust in 1842 that he might leave business and live in the country "on Milk and Bread." Riggs wrote that he would have been better off to have been asleep during the depression of 1838-42. "Old Houses," GP earlier wrote to business friend William B. Bend, "after a series of years of success, get indolent and do not make great exertions to obtain business." Ref.: (S. Riggs "Milk & Bread"): Samuel Riggs to GP, Jan. 28, 1842, quoted in Hidy, M.E.-c, p.130. Ref.: GP to William B. Bend, March 3, 1837, quoted in Hidy, M.E.-c, p.135.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 25-End of Peabody, Riggs, & Co., 1843-48 Cont'd. GP withdrew his capital from Peabody, Riggs & Co. in 1843. The firm kept his name until 1848. Samuel Riggs withdrew to NYC, where he again entered the drygoods business. The two young partners, GP's young cousin Adolphus W. Peabody and Henry T. Jenkins, went into other businesses. Peabody, Riggs & Co. had flourished, declined, and ended (1829-48). In its place arose George Peabody & Co., London, root of the house of Morgan. See: Morgan, Junius Spencer. Morgan, Sr., John Pierpont.

Md.’s Recognition & Praise for GP

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 26-Md. Gov. T.G. Pratt on GP. By 1847 Md. came out of the depression, taxed its citizens for revenue, and resumed its bond interest payments. Gov. Thomas G. Pratt's (1804-69) annual report to the Assembly (legislature) mentioned GP as: "a citizen of Maryland, who has been for many years past, and is now a resident of London.... Under the...Act of 1835, two [commissioners] received the compensation to which they were entitled: but Mr. George Peabody...has never claimed or received one dollar of compensation...." Ref.: Maryland, State of. Annual Message...(Governor Thomas G. Pratt)...December Session, 1847, Document A, p. 11.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 27-Md. Gov. T.G. Pratt on GP Cont'd.: "Whilst the State was struggling with her pecuniary difficulties, he felt unwilling...to add to her burdens; and I am now officially informed that he relinquishes his claim to compensation, feeling himself sufficiently remunerated for his services by the restored credit of his State." Ref.: Md. Gov. T.G. Pratt's Annual Message...December Session, 1847, Document A, p. 11 (quoted in American and Commercial Daily Advertiser [Baltimore], Dec. 29, 1847, p. 2, c. 3-6; and in Scharf-b, III, pp. 216-217).

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 28-Md. Legislature Praised GP. On March 7, 1848, both houses of the Md. Assembly passed unanimously a resolution of praise for GP: "Whereas George Peabody, then of Maryland, now of London, negotiated a loan for this state and refused to apply for compensation allowed him; because he was unwilling to add to the burden of Maryland when she was in need--It is unanimously resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland to tender the thanks of the State to Mr. George Peabody for his devotion and interest." Ref.: "Maryland Resolution to George Peabody," Bankers' Magazine, pp. 394-396. Maryland, State of. Journal...House of Delegates...(1847), p. 420.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 29-Md. Gov. P.F. Thomas to GP. Baltimore lawyer John Joseph Speed forwarded the resolutions to GP in London, including a cover letter from recently elected Md. Gov. Philip Francis Thomas (1810-1890, governor during 1848-51): "Instances of such devotion on the part of a citizen...are of rare occurrence, and merit the highest distinction which a commonwealth can bestow....The legislature, in the passage of these resolutions, has not misconceived the sentiments of its constituents." Ref.: (J.J. Speed to Gov. Thomas): "George Peabody and His Service to the State," Maryland Historical Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Dec. 1910), p. 327. Ref.: (Gov. Thomas to GP): Daily National Intelligencer (Washington, D.C.), Nov. 27, 1848, p. 3, c. 4. Baltimore Patriot, Nov. 21, 1848. Scharf, op. cit., pp. 216-217.

Md.’s Thanks to GP

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 30-Md. Gov. P.F. Thomas to GP Cont'd.: "The credit of Maryland is thus fully restored, her public honor redeemed, every suspicion of bad faith removed, and no reasonable doubt remains as to her ability to maintain the proud and elevated position which she now occupies." Gov. Thomas ended with: "To you, sir, ...the thanks of the State were eminently due." Ref.: Ibid.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 31-Lawyer J.J. Speed to GP. J.J. Speed had the resolution of thanks and the governor's letter printed in Baltimore newspapers. They were widely reprinted, including in GP's hometown Danvers Courier. Speed added in his own letter to GP in London: "When you reflect that these Resolutions convey the thanks of a Sovereign State--one of those that laid the foundations of this Republic--for services [to] her reputation abroad you will not fail to prize the distinction.... Your country fully appreciates your services." Ref.: Danvers Courier (Danvers, Mass.), April 21, 1849, p. 1, c. 4-6.

GP as a "merchant of high standing"

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 32-"merchant of high standing." News that Md. had resumed interest payments on its bonds and that GP was partly responsible echoed in financial circles on both sides of the Atlantic. The London correspondent of the New York Courier & Enquirer wrote: "...the energetic influence of the Anti-Repudiators would never have been heard in England had not Mr. George Peabody...made it a part of his duty to give to the holders of the Bonds every information in his power, and to point out...the certainty of Maryland resuming [payment].... He...had the moral courage to tell his countrymen the contempt [because of repudiation] with which all Americans were viewed.... [He is] a merchant of high standing...but also an uncompromising denouncer of chicanery in every shape." Ref.: Supplement to the NYC Courier & Enquirer, Jan. 21, 1848, p. 1, c. 4-6.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 33-GP to Md. Gov. P.F. Thomas. In London GP gratefully acknowledged receipt of Md.'s resolution of praise. He thanked Gov. Thomas: "In authorizing a Baltimore friend last year to relinquish any claim I might have upon the State as one of the Commissioners for negotiating the loan of 1835, I did not expect any public acknowledgment for the act, having been prompted solely by what I considered a duty to Maryland in which a large portion of my business life has been successfully passed...." Ref.: GP to Md. Gov. P.F. Thomas, Dec. 28, 1848, Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass.

Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale. 34-Public Praise; Personal Fortune. Thus, 10 years after marketing Md.'s bonds abroad, GP reaped the reward of public praise. The marketing of Md.'s bonds abroad also led to his transition from merchant to securities broker to investment banker. It also laid the basis of his fortune, making possible his philanthropic gifts. Twenty-one years later, leaving White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., GP was interviewed by physician John Jennings Moorman (1802-85), who published GP's remarks. Moorman asked, "When did you make your money, Mr. Peabody?" GP replied, "I made pretty much of it in 20 years from 1844 to 1864. Everything I touched within that time seemed to turn to gold. I bought largely of United States securities when their value was low and they advanced greatly." Ref. (J.J. Moorman interview): Aug. 22, 1869, letter, quoted from Baltimore Sun, Dec. 2, 1869, in Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass.

Trent Affair

Mason, James Murray (1798-1871). 1-Confederate Agents Mason and Slidell. James Murray Mason of Va. and his male secretary, along with John Slidell (1793-1871) and his male secretary, were Confederate emissaries bound for England and France for arms and aid. On the stormy night of Oct. 11, 1861, the four Confederates and some of their family evaded a Union blockade of Charleston, S.C., got to Havana, Cuba, and there boarded the British mail steamer Trent bound for Southampton, England. One day out of Havana, on Nov. 8, 1861, the Trent was illegally stopped by the Union warship San Jacinto seamen. See: Trent Affair.

Mason, J.M. 2-Illegally Seized, Removed, Jailed. Forcible seizure and removal of the Confederates to Boston Harbor's Fort Warren prison created a furor in Britain and France and exultation in the U.S. North. Passions were aroused. Britain sent thousands of troops to Canada, in case a U.S.-British war erupted. Angry recriminations over the Trent affair lasted well into 1862, affecting GP in London. Ref.: Ibid.

Mason, J.M. 3-Trent Affair. Britain demanded release of the four prisoners and an explanation. GP and his trustees hesitated to announce his Peabody Donation Fund to build and manage model apartments for London's working poor ($2.5 million total gift). They feared that the British government, press, and public might reject his gift. British upper and middle classes generally favored the Confederacy. Cutoff of U.S. southern cotton caused British cotton mill closings and job losses. Luckily, U.S. jingoism calmed. Pres. Lincoln's cabinet met Dec. 26, 1861, disavowed the illegal seizure of the Trent, and the four Confederates were released Jan. 1, 1862. Ref. Ibid.

Mason, J.M. 4-Career. James M. Mason, son of George Mason (1725-92), Fairfax Co., Va., a contemporary of George Washington, was born in Georgetown, D.C.; was a Univ. of Penn. graduate (1818); studied law at William and Mary College; practiced law in Winchester, Va. (1820); served in the Va. legislature (1826-27, 1828-31); served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1837-39) and the U.S. Senate (1847-61). A staunch southerner, he drafted the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, advocated secession, and was appointed Confederate Commissioner to England when he was seized with John Slidell on the Trent. In Britain, he was not recognized officially and failed to get British aid. Ref.: Boatner, p. 517.

Mason, John Young (1799-1859). 1-July 22, 1858, Dinner. John Young Mason, U.S. Minister to France (1853-59), was guest of honor at GP's July 22, 1858, dinner at the Star and Garter Hotel, Richmond, near London. Among the 60 Americans and 30 Britons present were Henry Jarvis Raymond (1820-69), first editor of the New York Times, who toasted "the Press" and John Pendleton Kennedy (1795-1870) of Baltimore who toasted "the City of London." See: Dinners, GP's, London. Moran, Benjamin. Persons named.

Mason, J.Y. 2-Career. J.Y. Mason was born in Greenville, Va., educated at the Univ. of N.C., admitted to the bar (1819), was a judge in state and federal courts, served in the Va. assembly, was a member of Congress (1831-37), was a U.S. judge in Va. (to 1844), was U.S. Navy Secty. (1844), and U.S. Minister to France. See: Ibid.

Mass. governors. See: Governors, U.S. States, and GP.

Mass. Historical Society, Boston, founded 1791. GP, honorary member (Aug. 9, 1866), gave the MHS a $20,000 publication fund gift (Jan. 1, 1867), its largest gift to that date. He earlier gave a $20,000 publication fund gift to the Md. Historical Society, Nov. 5, 1866; and still earlier gave a $20 publication fund gift to the Historical Society of Phila. Ref (MHS): Tucker, L.L., pp. 517, 77.

Mass. Legislature. GP's philanthropic advisor Robert Charles Winthrop (1809-94) during 1866-69 had been a member of the Mass. legislature (1835-41) and its House Speaker the previous three years. See: Robert Charles Winthrop.

Mass. State Board of Education. PEF first administrator Barnas Sears (1802-80) during 1867-80 was earlier (1848-55) the second secretary of the Mass. State Board of Education, succeeding Horace Mann (1796-1859). See: Sears, Barnas. PEF.

Mastai-Feretti, Giovanni Maria (1792-1868), Pope Pius IX. During Feb. 19-28, 1868, GP and his philanthropic advisor Robert Charles Winthrop (1809-94) visited Rome, Italy; had an audience with Pope Pius IX; and GP gave a $19,300 gift to Rome's San Spirito Hospital via Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli (1806-76). See: Pope Pius IX. San Spirito Hospital, Rome, Italy. Persons named. Winthrop, Robert Charles.

Mathew Brady Photo of GP

Mathew Brady Gallery, NYC, has an illustration of GP standing, in old age, from below the waist upward, left hand resting on chair, with the following description: "Imperial salted paper print, 46" x 38.9," National Portrait Gallery 76.87 ca. 1860" Mathew Brady (1823-96) made photographs of the 16 original PEF trustees with GP in the Brady NYC studio on March 23, 1867, after the trustees' second meeting at the NYC's Fifth Avenue Hotel, March 19-22, 1867. See: Mathew Brady. John Chester Buttre. David Glasgow Farragut. Ulysses Simpson Grant. PEF. (Note: The GP standing illustration may be a Brady photograph; or, as the authors believe, is a photographed copy of a painted portrait; Internet (seen April 9, 1999) http:www.npg.si.edu/exh/brady/gallery/75gal.html).

John Mayall's Portraits of GP

Mayall, John Jabez Edwin (1810-1901). 1-U.S. Born Photographer in London and Brighton. John J.E. Mayall was a successful Philadelphia, Penn.-born photographer with studios in London and Brighton. He made several life-size 8 ft. x 5 ft. photographs of GP which were overpainted by French artist Aed Arnoult to resemble oil paintings. Mayall-Arnoult portraits of GP, with slight variation of pose, are in the a-PIB and in the Peabody Libraries in b-Peabody, Mass., c-Danvers, Mass., and Thetford, Vt. Ref.: [Arnoult, Aed, active 1866].

Mayall, John. 2-Photography Historian Larry J. Schaaf. L.J. Schaaf's 1985 article, "Life-Size Portraits of George Peabody," recorded that "fellow Baltimorean and acquaintance of Peabody, Professor David Acheson Woodward [b. 1823] of the Maryland Institute, invented a solar enlarger [camera with enlarging lens using the sun as light source] that made the portrait[s] possible." American daguerreotypes (photographic art of the time), in which Woodward and Mayall experimented, were featured in the U.S. exhibits, Great Exhibition of 1851, London, in which GP played a small part. The U.S. Congress, which authorized U.S. participation, neglected to vote funds for display; GP's $15,000 loan saved U.S. exhibitors from embarrassment, allowing over six million visitors to see U.S. art and industry to best effect. Ref.: Schaaf, pp. 279-288. See: Corcoran, William Wilson. Great Exhibition of 1851, London, and GP.

Mayall, John. 3-Larry J. Schaaf Cont'd. Woodward, in Europe, met with Mayall three times, June 1859, and also called on GP. Schaaf's illustration Figure 4 shows a normal size photo Mayall made of GP in a standing pose, in Brighton, England., with his signature and "1866" written on the bottom. Copies of this 1866 photo were used as carte-de-visite (visiting cards). Figure 5, the other side of this normal size photo read: "Photographed from Life by Mayall, 224 Regent Street, London, 90 King's Road, Brighton." Ref.: Schaaf, pp. 279-288.

Mayall, John. 4-Larry J. Schaaf Cont'd. Knowing that the public preferred colored oil portraits, photographer Mayall, used Woodward's invention to enlarge the negative of GP's visiting card photo about 30 to 40 times. The enlarged photograph was then painted over by artist Aed Arnoult to resemble an oil painting. Schaaf's illustration of the Mayall-Arnoult portrait of GP for the PIB read: "Figure 1. George Peabody, 1866, photograph by John Mayall, painted over by A. Arnoult. 248 x 150 cm. (The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore." (Note: The PIB became part of Johns Hopkins Univ., July 1, 1982). Ref.: Ibid.

Mayall, John. 5-Larry J. Schaaf Cont'd. When exhibited in Mayall's studio in Aug. 1866 the Brighton Gazette judged the GP portrait for the PIB "a great success" and reported that it was "to be exhibited free to the working classes, on Saturday next, at the Town Hall." The portrait arrived in Baltimore for the Oct. 24-25, 1866, PIB dedication and opening at which GP spoke. Later, nephew George Peabody Russell (1835-1909) quoted his uncle to the PIB board of trustees that the "Portrait [was] enlarged from a Carte de Visite, by Mayall, and finished by one of the Queen's best portrait painters [Aed Arnoult]." Little is known of artist Aed Arnoult (presumably French and sometimes listed as Aet Arnould). Ref.: Brighton Gazette, Aug. 23, 1866, p. 5. George Peabody Russell to PIB Board of Trustees, Oct. 18, 1866, PIB Archives (John Mayall): Browne, Turner, and Partnow, p. 401. (Aed Arnoult): Schaaf, pp. 279-288. See: Peabody, George, Illustrations.

Mayall, John. 6-Larry J. Schaaf Cont'd. Mayall exhibited a full-length GP portrait, "painted for the Mansion House, London, at the Southern Counties Association Exhibition at the Brighton Pavilion in 1867, but it is believed that this copy was destroyed in the Second World War." Historian Schaaf also refers to a public dinner in Brighton, Nov. 21, 1868, when GP was there with two longtime friends, Reverdy Johnson (1796-1876), then U.S. Minister to Britain (1868-69), and MP Sir James Emerson Tennent (1791-1869). The head table at the dinner (GP, then ill, did not attend) "was flanked by Mayall's splendid life size oil photographs…On the one side was the likeness of Prince Albert [Albert of Saxe-Co-burg-Gotha, 1819-61], on the other a portrait of Mr. George Peabody….the portrait of Mr. Peabody was a replica of that specially painted by Mr. Mayall for presentation by the illustrious philanthropist to his native town [Peabody Institute Library, now Peabody, Mass." Ref.: Schaaf, pp. 279-288.

Mayall, John. 7-Mayall's Portrait of GP, Peabody Library, Thetford, Vt. GP donated Mayall's life-size oil portrait of himself to the Peabody Library, Thetford, Vt., Sept. 1866, in memory of his visit to his maternal grandparents who lived there, winter 1810, age 15. Printed on the back: "This portrait of George Peabody Esq. was first photographed by Mr. Mayall at his studio in Brighton, England, in March 1866. Then magnified by the Polar Camera to its present size, the outline traced on canvas, and painted in oil. The sittings for colour being given by Mr. Peabody in May 1869." Ref.: Internet site (seen) March 18, 2000): http://www.valley.net~conriver/V13-7.htm Baldwin, J. A. pp. 12-15. See: Concord, N.H. Peabody, George, Illustrations. Persons named. Post Mills Village, Thetford, Vt. Stickney's Tavern, Concord, N.H.

Md. Historical Society

Mayer, Brantz (1809-79). 1-Pres., Md. Historical Society. Brantz Mayer was president of the Md. Historical Society, Baltimore, when he wrote in 1870 after GP's death on GP's future fame: "George Peabody's fame or ignominy lies with the men and their successors who guide and direct his philanthropic bounty. If they catch his vision they will elevate the race. If they fail they doom his substance and memory to ruin and ignominy." Ref.: Md. Historical Society-b, p. 15.

Mayer, Brantz. 2-Career. Brantz Mayer was born in Baltimore, was educated at Saint Mary's College, Baltimore, studied law at the Univ. of Md., was admitted to the bar (1829), was U.S. Legation Secty. in Mexico (1843), and wrote Mexico as it Was and as it Is (1844). He helped found the Md. Historical Society (1844), was its president during 1867-71, had earlier been president of the Library Co. of Baltimore, directed the erection of the Athenaeum Bldg. (1846), contributed to and was one of the editors of the Baltimore American, and encouraged the study of local history. He sided with the Union in the Civil War, was U.S. Army paymaster (1863-71), was the author of many books, the best known being Captain Canot, a factual story of the slave trade. Ref.: Wheeler, VI, Part 2, p. 449.

Mayer, Brantz. 3-Md. Historical Society-PIB Clash. At GP's urging, Baltimorean John Pendleton Kennedy (1795-1870) planned the PIB during 1854-57 to consist of a reference library, lecture hall and fund, art gallery, music conservatory, and prizes for Baltimore best public school students. The PIB was to house the Md. Historical Society, whose trustees would govern jointly with PIB trustees. Differences over building site, design, cost, and governance were aggravated by the Civil War (Md. was a border state). On Feb. 12, 1866, the PIB trustees asked the Md. Historical Society trustees to withdraw from the original plan. The Md. Historical Society trustees initiated legal action. See: Charles James Madison Eaton. Md. Historical Society. PIB.

Mayer, Brantz. 4-GP's Resolution. GP in London acknowledged the legal right of the Md. Historical Society, humbly asked for reconciliation, and as a personal favor to him the Md. Historical Society trustees withdrew. GP then asked for the privilege of contributing $20,000 to the Md. Historical Society Publication Fund (Nov. 5, 1866). Ref.: Ibid.

Mayhew, William Edwards (1781-1860), was a prominent Baltimore merchant, long time GP friend, and original PIB trustee, intimately connected with its origin. GP asked Mayhew by letter in 1854 to join Baltimore leaders Reverdy Johnson (1796-1876) and John Pendleton Kennedy (1795-1870) to help plan what became the PIB (GP's founding letter of Feb. 12, 1857, total gift $1.4 million). The PIB was largely J.P. Kennedy's creation. William Edwards Mayhew's portrait is in the PIB Archives Stack Room. See: Eaton, Charles James Madison. Harding, Chester (for Wm. Edwards Mayhew's daughter Mrs. Charles R. Weld who gave artist Chester Harding's portrait of GP to the Md. Historical Soc.). Kennedy, John Pendleton. PIB.

Mayne, Very Rev. Michael Clement Otway (1929-), was the Dean and Chapter of Westminster who received the Lord Mayor of Westminster (believed to have been Councilor Alan Bradley), at the "Bicentenary Service of Thanksgiving for the Life and Work of George Peabody, 1795-1869," in London's Westminster Abbey, Nov. 16, 1995. A graduate of King's School, Canterbury, and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Univ., the Very Rev. M.C.O. Mayne was asst. curate and vicar of several churches before becoming Dean of Westminster (1986-96). Ref.: New York Times, July 16, 1995, section XIII-CN, p. 17, c. 1. (Career): Seen Dec. 9, 1999: Internet http://www.knowuk.co.uk See: GP Bicentennial Celebrations (Feb. 18, 1795-1995).

GP & Herman Melville

Melville, Gansevoort (1815-46), the older brother of U.S. novelist Herman Melville (1819-91), was U.S. legation secretary in London when he died. GP knew Gansevoort Melville before his death and shared his remembrance with novelist Herman Melville during the latter's visit to London on Nov. 24, 1849. See: Melville, Herman (below).

Melville, Herman (1819-91). 1-Novelist in London, Nov. 1849. The author of Moby Dick, on his only trip abroad, was in London in Nov. 1849 to market his manuscript of White Jacket. He had dinner (Nov. 24, 1849) at the London home of U.S.-born Joshua Bates (1788-1864). Also at the dinner were GP and Henry Stevens (1819-86), Vt.-born London resident rare book dealer and bibliographer. Ref.: Melville, p. 47. Leyda, p. 338. See: persons named.

Melville, Herman. 2-Joshua Bates's Career. Born in Weymouth, Mass., Joshua Bates went to London in the early 1800s, became agent, partner, and head of Baring Brothers, Britain's powerful banking firm specializing in U.S. trade. Bates, an influential U.S. resident in London in the 1840s, became a naturalized British subject, and as head of Baring Brothers, was GP's friendly business rival. Ref.: Ibid.

Melville, Herman. 3-Melville's Journal Entry on GP: "On my right was Mr. Peabody, an American for many years resident in London, a merchant, & a very fine old fellow of fifty or thereabouts. "I had intended to remain over night...but Peabody invited me to accompany him to town in his carriage. I went with him, along with [John Chandler Bancroft] Davis [1822-1907], the Secretary of Legation.... Mr. Peabody was well acquainted with Gansevoort when he was here. He saw him not long before his end. He told me that Gansevoort rather shunned society when here. He spoke of him with such feeling." Ref.: Ibid.

Melville, Herman. 4-Older Brother. Gansevoort Melville (1815-46), Herman's older brother, had been U.S. legation secretary in London and had helped get his brother Herman Melville's book, Typee, published in England. GP and Henry Stevens, who both knew Gansevoort before he died in May 1846, were able to share with Herman Melville their remembrances. Ref. Ibid. Parker, W.W., pp. 83, 126.

Georgetown, Mass.

Memorial Church, Georgetown, Mass. (1867-68). 1-Birthplace of GP's Mother. GP's mother Judith (née Dodge) Peabody (1770-1830) was born in Georgetown, Mass. (called Rowley in her youth), 28 miles northeast of Boston, not far from GP's birthplace of Danvers (renamed Peabody since April 13, 1868), Mass. GP's sister Judith Dodge (née Peabody) Russell Daniels (1799-1879) lived in Georgetown, Mass., with her first husband, Jeremiah Russell, a lawyer. They married in 1831. Jeremiah Russell died sometime before Dec., 1860, in debt, with his affairs in disarray. GP took over Jeremiah Russell's debts (about $16,000). Because Jeremiah Russell had handled family legal affairs, GP asked his friend Horatio Gates Somerby (1805-72), Mass.-born genealogist and London resident, then visiting the U.S., to go over Jeremiah Russell's books. See: Daniels, Judith Dodge (née Peabody) Russell (GP's sister).

Memorial Church. 2-GP's Sister Judith. GP's sister Judith, a widow for two years (1860-62), married her second husband, Robert Shillaber Daniels (b.1791). GP used sister Judith's home on Main St. in Georgetown as home base while in Mass. during his second U.S. visit (May 1, 1866 to May 1, 1867). Ref.: (Sister Judith née Peabody Daniels' Georgetown, Mass. home described): New York Herald, May 11, 1866, p. 4, c. 6; and May 20, 1866, p. 3, c. 6

Memorial Church. 3-Split over Doctrine. A split had occurred in the orthodox Congregational Church in Georgetown, Mass., of which Judith was a member and of which their mother had been a member. Some 85 parishioners differed with the pastor, the Rev. Charles Beecher (1815-1900), over doctrine. On Jan. 17, 1864, the dissenters formed a separate congregation, met in a small chapel, and lacked money to build another church. Judith sympathized with the dissenters, wrote her brother GP about what had occurred, and suggested that he might like to build a memorial church in Georgetown in honor of their mother. See: Daniels, Judith Dodge (née Peabody) Russell (GP's sister). Beecher, Rev. Charles.

Memorial Church. 4-Memorial Church Begun. Thus in May 1866, soon after he arrived in NYC from London (May 1, 1866), GP had a site selected and named a building committee (consisting of Judith's son, George Peabody Russell [1835-1909], and a family friend, George J. Tenney). Ground was broken on June 19, 1866. The cornerstone was laid on Sept. 19, 1866. Ref.: [Memorial Church, Georgetown, Mass.].

Memorial Church. 5-GP's Speech in Georgetown. Since GP was to return to London May l, 1867, Georgetown citizens chose April 18, 1867, to bid him farewell. He said to Georgetown schoolchildren, whom he asked particularly to be present: "This reception is gratifying.... Here, since the earliest days of New England, my maternal ancestors lived and died. More of my family connections live here now than any other place. More than sixty years ago, I distinctly remember, a promised visit to Rowley was one of my brightest anticipations. Here my mother was born, she whom I loved so much, whose memory I revere. Here she passed her childhood and therefore these scenes are to me consecrated ground." Ref.: New York Times, April 21, 1867, p. 6, c. 1-2. Boston Post, April 19, 1867. New York Herald, April 20, 1867, p. 8, c. 6. Boston Daily Advertiser, April 19, 1867, p. 1, c. 7.

Memorial Church. 6-GP's Speech in Georgetown Cont'd.: "The church will soon be completed which will preserve my mother's name. While I have the most kindly feelings for all religious societies in this town, I will place this church under that affiliation in which she worshipped [Orthodox Congregational].... It is now and has always been my belief that nothing is as depreciating as unkindly feelings in matters of religious differences. In our country all religious denominations and political parties may enjoy their beliefs. The church and library now being built, I hope, will be an influence in this direction." Ref.: Ibid.

Memorial Church. 7-GP's Speech in Georgetown Cont'd.: "Religion and education should go hand in hand. The library and the church should assist each other in the great work of teaching men mortal and immortal things, of life here and life hereafter. No education is complete which does not extend to eternity. The buildings envisioned here, I earnestly pray, will fulfill this mission." "Now I turn to the children.... On you I rely for success in what I am attempting to do. The management of the church and library will in time fall to you. I pray that you use it as an instrument of great good.... Farewell." Ref.: Ibid.

Memorial Church. 8-Dedication, Jan. 8, 1868. The Memorial Church, Georgetown, Mass., was dedicated on Jan. 8, 1868. After the invocation and scripture reading, the Rev. George W. Campbell of Bradford read poet John Greenleaf Whittier's (1807-92) specially written poem, entitled "Memorial Hymn," given in full below. His poem was followed by the sermon. After the sermon, GP's letter written in London Oct. 18, 1867, was read by his nephew, George Peabody Russell, Judith (née Peabody) Daniels' son. Ref.: New York Times, Jan. 11, 1868, p. 5, c. 2.

Memorial Church. 9-GP's Oct. 18, 1867, Letter. "...In the building of this church my sister and I desire two things, to consecrate the memory of our mother and to build a house of worship to Almighty God in the Orthodox Congregational faith to which she belonged." His letter continued: "We convey this building to you subject to four conditions: that it always be called 'The Memorial Church' in memory of our mother; that it exclude political and other subjects not in keeping with its religious purposes; that the minister shall be chosen from the Orthodox Congregational Church; and that tablets be installed to commemorate our mother and your former pastor...." Ref.: Boston Daily Advertiser, Jan. 9, 1868, p. 1, c. 8-9. Haverhill Gazette (Haverhill, Mass.), Jan. 10, 1868, p. 2, c. 2.

Poet John Greenleaf Whittier & GP

Memorial Church. 10-John Greenleaf Whittier's "Memorial Hymn" was read at the Jan. 8, 1868, dedication of the GP-built Memorial Church to his mother's memory, in Georgetown, Mass.:

"Memorial Hymn"
by John Greenleaf Whittier

"Thou dwellest not, O Lord of All:
In temples which Thy children raise;
Our work to thine is mean and small,
And brief to thine eternal days.

Forgive the weakness and the pride,
If marred thereby our gift may be,
For love, at least, has sanctified
The altar which we rear to Thee.

From sunken base to tower above;
The image of a tender thought,
The memory of a deathless love!
And though should never sound of speech
Or organ echo from its wall,
Its stones would pious lessons teach,
Its shade in benedictions fall.

Here should the dove of peace be found,
And blessing and not curses given;
Nor strife profane, nor hatred wound,
The mingled loves of earth and heaven.

Thou, who didst soothe with dying breath
Thy dear one watching by Thy cross,
Forgetful of the pains of death.

In sorrow for the mighty loss;
In memory of that tender claim
O mother-born, the offering take,
And make it worthy of Thy name,
And bless it for a mother's sake!"
Ref.: Whittier, IV, pp. 188-189.

Memorial Church. 11-Poet Objected. When he learned of GP's condition that the church "exclude political and other subjects not in keeping with its religious purposes," John Greenleaf Whittier objected. A New York Independent article entitled "A Marred Memorial" stated that the poem would never have been written nor the poet's name lent to the occasion had Whittier known of this restriction. Ref.: "A Marred Memorial," NYC Independent, Jan. 24, 1868, p. 2, c. 1-2. Quoted in Higginson, p. 89.

Memorial Church. 12-Poet Objected Cont'd. Whittier published a similar statement in the Boston Daily Evening Transcript saying that he wrote the "Memorial Hymn" for the sole purpose of paying a son and daughter's tribute to their mother. He thought this tribute was beautiful but had since learned with surprise and sorrow of GP's restrictions. Thus the matter ended. The well intentioned Memorial Church gift to honor his mother, to which GP gave $70,000, was among his lesser known and less appreciated gifts. Ref.: Boston Daily Evening Transcript, Jan. 24, 1868, p. 2, c. 1-2.

Memorial Church. 13-Poet's Career. John Greenleaf Whittier was born in Haverhill, Mass.; was a Quaker, abolitionist, fighter for peace, temperance, and woman's suffrage. He served in the Mass. legislature (1834-35). After the Civil War he turned from politics completely to poetry. His "The Barefoot Boy" is a perennial favorite and "Snowbound" is his most famous poem. See: Whittier, John Greenleaf.

Mencken, Henry Louis (1880-1956), was a well-known Baltimore newspaper writer, author, and critic. His Letters of H.L. Mencken; Selected and Annotated by Guy J. Forgue (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1981), p. 422, indicated that he used the PIB reference collection for research and to write some of his books.

Mennin, Peter (1923-83), was PIB Conservatory of Music's fifth director during 1958-62 (four years). See: PIB Conservatory of Music.

Mental Hospital, London. GP gave $100 to London's Mental Hospital in 1864.

Metropolitan Association for Improving the Dwellings of the Industrial Classes (royal charter in 1842) was the first private group formed to improve housing conditions in England. See: Peabody Homes of London.

Mexican War (1846-48). GP in London helped sell part of the second Mexican War loan in collaboration with the firm of Corcoran and Riggs of Washington, D.C. For more on Corcoran & Riggs and the Riggs National Bank, Washington, D.C., see, under References: Ruane, Michael E., "Checks and Balance Sheets of a City's History," Washington Post National Weekly Edition, Vol. 23, No. 40 (July 24-30, 2006), p.34.

Middlesex Hospital, London. Dr. Jesse Weldon Fell, M.D., a friend of U.S. Legation in London Secty. Benjamin Moran (1820-86) active in the short-lived American Association of London (1858), was a U.S.-born physician resident in London who experimented with a cancer cure at Middlesex Hospital, London. See: Fell, Jesse Weldon. Moran, Benjamin.

Milan, Italy. GP's second 15 months' European buying trip abroad, April 1830-Aug. 15, 1831, was with an unknown American friend, by carriage with frequent change of horses, covering 10,000 miles in England, France, Italy (including Milan), and Switzerland. See: Daniels, Judith Dodge (née Peabody) Russell (GP's sister).

Mills, Robert (1781-1855). 1-Architect. Robert Mills was the architect who designed the Washington Monument in Baltimore (1815) at Mt. Vernon Place, where the PIB building was erected during 1859-66. Robert Mills also designed the obelisk-shaped Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. (cornerstone laid July 4, 1848), toward whose construction GP donated $1,000 on July 4, 1854. See: Corcoran, William Wilson.

Mills, Robert. 2-Career. Robert Mills was born in Charleston, S.C.; worked as an architect in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Baltimore; and was associated at different times with Pres. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (1764-1820), first professional U.S. architect. Robert Mills was state engineer and architect in Charleston, S.C.; was appointed U.S. Architect by Pres. Andrew Jackson (1836); and supervised construction of the Treasury Building (1836), the Patent Office, and the Old Post Office (both done in 1839). He also designed the Bunker Hill Monument and the Monumental Church in Richmond, Va. See: Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. End of References. g. Internet (World Wide Webb) under Mills, Robert (1781-1855).

Mineralogy. See: Marsh, Othniel Charles.

Ministers to the Court of St. James (Great Britain). See: U.S. Ministers to Britain.

Mississippi State Bonds, GP's. GP's $2 million PEF gift was actually $3,484,000 but $1.1 million in Miss. state bonds was repudiated by that state in 1870 and $384,000 in Fla. bonds was repudiated by the state of Fla. The PEF trustees, having unsuccessfully requested payment, briefly withheld grants to those two states but relented and included them. See: Curry-b, pp. 141-146. Florida State Bonds, GP's. PEF. Rosen. Barnas Sears.

Missouri, Univ. of, at Rolla. See: Univ. of Missouri-Rolla's "The Order of the Golden Shillelagh"…

Mitchell, Mr., of Bond Street, was a professional master of ceremonies who conducted GP's July 4, 1851, dinner, Willis's Rooms, London, in connection with the Great Exhibition of 1851, the first world's fair, at which the Duke of Wellington was guest of honor, with some 800 guests at dinner, followed by a ball. See: Dinners, GP's.

Mobile, Ala. During GP's Sept. 15, 1856-Aug. 19, 1857, U.S. visit, his first return to the U.S. after nearly 20 years' absence in London (since Feb. 1837), he visited Mobile, Ala., March 15, 1857, where he stayed at the Battle House for a few days to recover from illness. For GP's March-April 1857 travel itinerary, See: Augusta, Ga.

Monarch, HMS (British warship, 1868-1904), was used to transport GP's remains from Portsmouth, England (Dec. 1869), to Portland, Maine (Jan. 25, 1870), accompanied by USS Plymouth. See: Andrew Carnegie. (Described most fully in) Death and Funeral, GP's. Farragut, David Glasgow. g. Internet, under Monarch, HMS (1868-1904).

Monroe Doctrine. In early March 1861 an anonymous letter writer in Boston and NYC newspapers stated that in his opinion Civil War would be good for business. He wrote that if the North compromised with the South it would ruin the national credit. Because some newspaper writers inferred that the unknown letter writer might be GP, he wrote to the Boston Courier editor, March 8, 1861: "I do not know who wrote this letter. My remarks would be the opposite. The threat of war has already lost the European market for United States securities. Concession and compromise alone would reinstate our credit abroad. I hope conciliation will prove successful. If not and war comes it will destroy the credit of North and South alike in Europe. Worse, our prestige and pride will disappear. Second rate powers may insult our flag with impunity and first rate powers wipe away the Monroe Doctrine. May Providence prevent this." See: Civil War and GP.

Mont Blanc, French Alps. In an Aug. 25, 1831, letter to his sister, Judith Dodge Peabody (1799-1879), GP described the Alps and other sights he saw on his second European buying trip (April 1830 to Aug. 15, 1831) when with an unknown commercial traveling friend he covered 10,000 miles in England, France, Italy, and Switzerland. See: Judith Dodge (née Peabody) Russell Daniels (GP's sister).

Monteagle, Lord (1790-1866, Thomas Spring-Rice, first Baron Monteagle of Brandon in Kerry). Arthur Helps (1813-75) began as private secty. to Lord Monteagle, who was Chancellor. of the Exchequer from April 1835. Helps, later clerk of the Privy Council (1860-75) and advisor to Queen Victoria, acted as intermediary between the Queen and GP in their exchange of letters just before GP's death on Nov. 4, 1869. See: Helps, Arthur. Victoria, Queen.

Montgomery County, Md. Elisha Riggs, Sr. (1779-1853), GP's first partner in Riggs, Peabody & Co. (1814-28), was born in Montgomery County, Md. See: Riggs, Sr., Elisha.

Montreal, Canada. GP visited Montreal, Canada, Oct. 15 to Nov. l, 1856 (he suffered gout attacks on this visit) and on July 7-22, 1866, when he traveled on the Saguenay River and fished for salmon on the Marguerite River. See: Quebec, Canada. Visits to the U.S. by GP.

Moody, Dwight Lyman (1837-99), the religious evangelist, in 1901, spoke at the 25th anniversary of the founding of Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore (founded 1876). He said that he heard from the son of B&O RR Pres. John Work Garrett (1820-84) how Garrett brought together GP and Johns Hopkins (1795-1873) during GP's 1866-67 U.S. visit. Garrett, intimate with both men, knew that Hopkins desperately sought a philanthropic purpose for his wealth. For GP's talk to Hopkins that led to the founding of the Johns Hopkins Univ., hospital, and medical school in Baltimore See: Hopkins, Johns.

GP as Merchant-Banker

Moody, John, & G.K. Turner. 1-GP's Merchant-Banker Career. Authors John Moody and George Kibbe Turner offer insights into GP's career in the first of their three articles, "The Masters of Capital in America. Morgan: The Great Trustee," McClure's Magazine, Nov. 1910. Moody and Turner note that the early 19th century great private bankers--the Rothschilds of Frankfort, Barings of London, and Morgans of London and NYC--began as merchants. They followed the tradition of the East India Co. as merchants to trade in the raw materials that people needed, beginning with cotton manufactured and sold as cloth and clothing. Ref.: Moody & Turner, p. 4.

Moody & Turner. 2-On GP at Ages 16-17: "In 1811 a sixteen-year-old dry-goods clerk, George Peabody was thrown out of employment by the burning of his brother's little store in the old shipping town of Newburyport, Massachusetts. He went with an uncle to Georgetown, the suburb of Washington, D. C., and opened a dry-goods store there; moved to Baltimore; established branches in Philadelphia and New York; and finally in 1837, a man of forty-two, founded in London the great merchant banking house of George Peabody & Co., later J. S. Morgan & Co." Ref.: Ibid.

Moody & Turner. 3-On Transition: Merchant to Banker (quoting from H.R. Fox Bourne's 1868 Famous London Merchants, A Book for Boys): "In London, and all parts of England, he [GP] bought British manufactures for shipment to the United States; and the ships came back freighted with every kind of American produce for sale in England. To that lucrative account, however, was added one far more lucrative. The merchants and manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic who transmitted their goods through him sometimes procured from him advances on account of the goods in his possession long before they were sold. At other times they found it convenient to leave large sums in his hands long after the goods were disposed of, knowing that they could draw whenever they needed and that in the meantime their money was being so profitably invested that they were certain of a proper interest on their loans. Thus he became a banker as well as a great merchant, and ultimately much more of a banker than a merchant." Ref.: Ibid. Bourne.

Moody & Turner. 4-On Selling U.S. State Bonds Abroad: "George Peabody reached London at the beginning of the greatest single revolution in human affairs, the change from man and animal power to steam power," Moody and Turner continued (condensed): Aggressive U.S. state legislatures in the 1820s determined to build canals for steamboat-borne travel, trade, and wealth (as Md.'s Chesapeake and Ohio Canal). Canals gave way to steam engine railroads from the 1830s (as Md.'s B&O RR). Such enterprises required large foreign capital raised by selling state bonds abroad. GP went to London on his fifth trip abroad in Feb. 1837 as merchant and as one of three agents to sell abroad Md.'s $8 million bond sale abroad.

Moody & Turner. 5-On Selling U.S. State Bonds Abroad Cont'd. The financial panic of 1837 led the other two agents to return to the U.S. without success. GP persisted and founded George Peabody & Co., London, Dec. 1838, selling American state securities abroad. When the panic caused Md. and eight other U.S. states to stop interest payments on their bonds sold abroad, foreign investors were angry. GP publicly decried repudiation, urged retroactive resumption of interest payments, and bluntly told state leaders that Americans were being denounced abroad as dishonest sharpsters. See Md.'s $8 Million Bond Sale Abroad. Ref.: Ibid.

Moody & Turner. 6-GP Vindicated. By the mid 1840s when the nine repudiating states had resumed interest payments, GP was publicly vindicated. In transmitting to GP the Md. legislature's resolutions of praise passed on March 7, 1848, Md.'s Gov. Thomas's cover letter added, "To you, Sir,...the thanks of the State were eminently due." Interviewed 21 years later, GP was asked on Aug. 2, 1869, two months before his death: "When did you make your money, Mr. Peabody?" GP replied, "I made pretty much of it in 20 years from 1844 to 1864. Everything I touched within that time seemed to turn to gold. I bought largely of United States securities when their value was low and they advanced greatly." Ref.: Ibid.

Moody & Turner. 7-On GP's Firm and Retirement. Moody and Turner quoted the London Times' statement about GP's firm at his death: "...in honor, faith, punctuality, and public confidence the firm of George Peabody & Co. stood second to none." On retirement (Oct. 1, 1864) and knowing he would no longer exert control, GP asked that his name be withdrawn from the firm. This decision, Moody and Turner state, disappointed his partner Junius Spencer Morgan (1813-90). But J.S. Morgan & Co. continued its predecessor's success, culminating in a $50 million loan to France during the l871 Franco-Prussian War. J.S. Morgan's son, John Pierpont Morgan's (Sr., 1837-1913), whose banking career was truly phenomenal, built on what GP started and J.S. Morgan continued. Ref.: Ibid.

Moore, George (1806-76), was one of the deputation from the Fishmongers', London, who called on GP, April 18, 1866, to offer him honorary membership. Others in the deputation were Walter Charles Venning (d. 1897), Prime Warden; William Flexman Vowler (d. Feb. 7, 1877); and William Lawrence (1818-97). GP gratefully accepted, explaining that he was leaving April 21, 1866, for a visit to the U.S. ). It was decided to admit him to honorary membership as of April 19, 1866, and to send to him in the U.S. the membership scroll in a gold box worth 100 guineas (about $525), making him the 41st honorary member and the first U.S. citizen to be admitted to the Fishmongers' Co., whose ancient charter had been endorsed by 23 British monarchs. The membership scroll and box, mailed to him in the U.S., are among his honors in the Peabody Institute Library, Peabody, Mass. See Fishmongers' Co., persons named.

Proposed Cabinet Reshuffle

Moore, William George (1829-93). 1-Pres. Andrew Johnson's Secty. Pres. Andrew Johnson (1808-75), his secty., Col. William George Moore, and three others called on GP at his Washington, D. C., Willard's Hotel rooms, Feb. 9, 1867. The visit followed press reports of GP's founding of the PEF (Feb. 7, 1867, $2 million total) to advance public education in the former Confederate states. Pres. Johnson and his entourage found GP with guests: PEF trustees Robert Charles Winthrop, Episcopal Bishop of Ohio Charles Pettit McIlvaine (1799-1873), and former S.C. Gov. William Aiken (1806-87). Also present were GP's business friend Samuel Wetmore (1812-85), his wife, and their son; GP's nephew George Peabody Russell (1835-1909), George Washington Riggs (1813-81), and three others. See Congressional Gold Medal and Resolutions of Praise to GP. Persons named.

Moore, W.G. 2-Pres. Johnson Thanked GP. Pres. Johnson took GP by the hand (GP was 72 and often ill) and said he had thought to find GP alone, that he called simply as a private citizen to thank GP for his PEF gift to aid public education in the South. Pres. Johnson said he thought the gift would help unite the country, that he was glad to have a man like GP representing the U.S. in England. He invited GP to visit him in the White House. Ref.: Ibid.

Moore, W.G. 3-GP Replied. GP thanked Pres. Johnson with some emotion, said that this meeting was one of the greatest honors of his life, that he knew the president's political course would be in the country's best interest, that England from the Queen downward felt only goodwill toward the U.S., that he thought in a few years the country would rise above its divisions to become happier and more powerful. Ref.: Ibid.

Moore, W.G. 4-Pres. Johnson's Impeachment. Besides genuine appreciation for GP's gift as a national gift, Pres. Johnson had another motive. He faced impeachment by hostile radical Republicans in Congress angered by his conciliatory policy toward the former Confederate states. To avoid impeachment, Pres. Johnson's political advisor, Francis Preston Blair, Sr. (1791-1876), advised a complete change of cabinet, with GP as Treasury Secty. But loyalty to his cabinet kept Johnson from this course. Ref.: Ibid.

Moore, W.G. 5-GP's White House Visit. Before his May 1, 1867, return to London, GP called on Pres. Johnson in the Blue Room of the White House on April 25, 1867. They spoke of the work of the PEF. With GP at the White House were B&O RR Pres. Robert Work Garrett (1820-84) and Samuel Wetmore's 16-year-old son. GP told Pres. Johnson of young Wetmore's interest in being admitted to West Point and Pres. Johnson said he would do what he could for the young man. Ref.: Ibid. Johnson, Andrew. PEF. Persons named.

GP’s First Office in London

Moorgate Street, No. 31, London. 1-GP's First London Office. On Dec. 1, 1838, GP leased an office at 31 Moorgate St., in London's inner city not far from St. Paul's Cathedral where business houses occupy odd nooks and crannies. He installed desks, chairs, a mahogany counter, a safe, and employed as clerk Charles Cubitt Gooch (1811-89, later a partner). Thus began George Peabody & Co., London (1838-64). By April 1839, having had trouble with his landlord over excessive charges on furniture and other items, he asked Irish-born fellow merchant and friend Richard Bell's help in settling what he owed. He wrote Bell: "I find it unpleasant to have any transactions with my landlord, Mr. Hunter & wishing to avoid a personal interview, must ask the favor of your kind service in affecting a settlement of his account against me.…" Ref.: Lease between William Hunter, owner, and GP, renter, at 31 Moorgate St., London, Dec. 1, 1838. GP, 31 Moorgate, London, to Richard Bell, April 1, 1839, both Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass.

Moorgate St., No. 31, London. 2-Later Office Addresses. George Peabody & Co. moved from 31 Moorgate St. (Dec. 1, 1838-c.1845) to 6 Warnford Court, Throgmorton St. (1845-55), then moved to 22 Old Broad St. (1855), all in London's inner city near the Royal Exchange and near Threadneedle St., where GP's seated statue by William Wetmore Story (1819-95) was unveiled by the Prince of Wales, July 23, 1869. See streets named. Statues of GP. Story, William Wetmore.

Moorgate St., No. 31, London. 3-Partner Junius Spencer Morgan. In May 1853, GP first met his future partner, Boston merchant Junius Spencer Morgan (1813-90), at George Peabody & Co.'s then location at 6 Warnford Court, Throgmorton St., London. The ten year partnership with J.S. Morgan (Oct. 1, 1854, to Oct. 1, 1864) ended when GP retired and withdrew his name from the firm. J.S. Morgan & Co. (1864-1909) was renamed Morgan Grenfell & Co. (1910-18), Morgan Grenfell & Co., Ltd.(1918-90), and Deutsche Morgan Grenfell (since June 29, 1990), a German owned banking firm. J.S. Morgan's then (1857) 19-year-old son John Pierpont Morgan (Sr., 1837-1913) began his financial career as the NYC agent for George Peabody & Co. See Morgan, Junius Spencer.

Moorgate St., No. 31, London. 4-William S. Albert. In 1870, after GP's death, Baltimorean William S. Albert recalled his having lived in the same house with GP in London in 1838. He wrote: "In 1838 when on a visit to London, I lodged in the same house with him for several weeks. Under the same roof were assembled mutual friends from the city of his adoption [Baltimore], upon whom he took pleasure in bestowing those marks of attention so grateful in a foreign land, making the house a home to us all." Ref.: (W.S. Albert): Md. Historical Society-b, p. 29.

Moorgate St., No. 31, London. 5-William S. Albert Cont'd. The exact circumstance of William S. Albert's London visit is not known. GP had left NYC on his fifth trip to London in early Feb. 1837 and arrived at Portsmouth, Feb. 19, 1837. He remained as the London resident of Peabody, Riggs, & Co. (1829-43), importer of wholesale dry goods and other commodities, and also as one of three agents commissioned by the Md. legislature to sell the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal part of Md.'s $8 million bond issue abroad to finance internal improvements. GP had to sell the bonds during post-Panic of 1837 depressed economic conditions that lasted through most of the 1840s. The situation was aggravated when Md. and eight other states, in financial difficulty, could not pay interest on their bonds sold abroad. Ref.: Ibid.

Moorgate St., No. 31, London. 6-William S. Albert Cont'd. In this fiscal difficulty, GP traveled much in late 1837 and early 1838 in England, France, and Holland, sometimes with the other two Md. commissioners--John Buchanan (1772-1844) and Thomas Emory. Unsuccessful in selling the Md. bonds, the other two commissioners gave up and returned to the U.S. GP remained in London for the rest of his life except for three U.S. visits: 1-Sept. 15, 1856 to Aug. 19, 1857; 2-May 1, 1866 to May 1, 1867; and 3-June 8-Sept. 29, 1869. In 1838, when Baltimorean William S. Albert later wrote: "I lodged in the same house with him for several weeks," GP lived in bachelor's quarters on Bread St. with Irish-born U.S. fellow merchant Richard Bell. Ref.: Ibid. See persons named.

J.J. Moorman , M.D., on GP

Moorman, John Jennings (1802-85), M.D. 1-Resident Physician, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Dr. John J. Moorman, M.D., was the resident physician at White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., during GP's visit there July 23 to Aug. 30, 1869. GP, then ill and three months from his death (Nov. 4, 1869), consulted Dr. Moorman several times. As physician at a prominent resort visited by the rich and famous, Dr. Moorman took an interest in his high profile patients and recorded his remembrances of them. He wrote of GP in Aug. 1869, in his "Memoir," not published until 1980.

Moorman, J.J. 2-Moorman on GP, 1869: "The wealthy banker and great philanthropist, George Peabody, was a native of Massachusetts. Merchandised for some years in Baltimore, then moved to the city of London, where by energy, economy and a thorough knowledge of business he acquired a large estate supposed to amount in the aggregate to about $15,000,000, the whole of which with the exception of liberal legacies to his nephews and nieces, he bestowed in charities in England and America." Ref.: Moorman-b, pp. 15-17.

Moorman, J.J. 3-On GP, 1869, Cont'd: "In 1869, Mr. Peabody came to the United States as he had often done before, and being in bad health came to the White Sulphur [Springs] in the hope of obtaining some benefit from the use of its waters. My professional services were engaged by Mr. Peabody immediately after his arrival at the Springs, and I attended him regularly for four or five weeks while he remained there. During the whole time, he was much confined to his room, but occasionally rode out, or walked short distances." Ref.: Ibid.

Moorman, J.J. 4-On GP, 1869, Cont'd: "At this time, Mr. Peabody was a subject of general interest both in this country and in England. He had just made an unprecedented donation for the benefit of the poor of London, and a very large and generous arrangement for the promotion of education in the southern states of America; besides numerous large donations to various literary and scientific institutions in various parts of the United States." Ref.: Ibid.

Moorman, J.J. 5-On GP, 1869, Cont'd: "Mr. Peabody was a man of fine sense, with a great deal, indeed, of what is commonly called 'good hard common sense.' He was a stern man, with as much determination and will as distinguished General Jackson himself. He was in no sense of the term a sensationalist--and mere sensations had little or nothing to do with his numerous and munificent gifts. Their bestowment was the result of his judgment controlled by benevolent feelings and a strong conviction of duty. I suppose that he gave very little, if anything at all, to mere sensational appeals. His judgment had to consent before his purse strings were drawn. I had some evidence of this." Ref.: Ibid.

Moorman, J.J. 6-On GP, 1869, Cont'd: "A rollicking drunken mountaineer from the neighborhood came to the Springs and was exhibiting in his hands to an idle crowd, a live rattlesnake, during which the snake bit him very severely. The man came under my treatment, and by the following day was relieved from all danger. The occurrence excited quite an amount of sensation and sympathy, among the visitors, and a paper was carried around for subscriptions for his benefit, and pretty liberally subscribed to by many. It was taken to Mr. Peabody, under the impression that he would give promptly and liberally. But he withheld any subscription until his mind was satisfied of the propriety of his making it, and for this purpose he sent his nephew, Mr. Peabody Russell, to my office to inquire of me whether or not I thought the man who was snakebit was then [an] object of charity." Ref.: Ibid.

Moorman, J.J. 7-On GP, 1869, Cont'd: "On one occasion while he was at the Springs, I advised that he should ride out. A carriage was sent for. I assisted him to, and in the carriage. After taking his seat, he said to his servant, 'John, pay the man before we start.' The servant asked the owner his charges. He said $5. Mr. Peabody, hearing this, said, 'That is too much, sir, $3.00 is enough, and if you do not take that, I will get out immediately.' He took it, and it was enough for the distance he was going to ride. Now this was not penuriousness in Mr. Peabody, but manifested a determination not to be defrauded." Ref.: Ibid.

Moorman, J.J. 8-On GP, 1869, Cont'd: "He told me, rich as he was, that he had never kept a servant until he employed the one he then had with him upon his last arrival from Europe." "On my observing to him on one occasion that he had great cause for gratitude to God for having been made the instrument of doing so much good for his fellow man, he replied, and with much more than his usual animation, 'I never fail to take that view of it, and always in my prayers, thank God that he has enabled me to do what I have done.' He said that the attention he receives from the world seems strange to him, that he 'feels himself to be a very humble individual and is able only by the attentions and opinions of the world in reference to his acts, to regard himself as differing from others." Ref.: Ibid.

Moorman, J.J. 9-On GP, 1869, Cont'd: "He remarked to me that his main motive in making his last (present) trip from Europe to this country was to perfect arrangements for the successful prosecution of his scheme for affording educational facilities to the southern states, which he remarked 'lies very close to my heart.'" "It was absolutely necessary that Mr. Peabody should reach a warm climate before the cold weather set in that he might have the slightest chance of lengthening his days, and his mind being somewhat balanced between Florida and the South of France, he formally submitted it to me as his physician to decide the question. In comparing all the advantages and disadvantages of the two places for his winter residence, I preferred the South of France and the city of Nice."

Moorman, J.J. 10-On GP, 1869, Cont'd: "He promptly adopted my advice and hastened his departure in that direction. He did not reach Nice, however, but died at his friend's Sir Curtis Lampson's [Sir Curtis Miranda Lampson, 1806-85] in London on his way there, then aged about seventy-six years." (GP was 74 and seven months old at his death on Nov. 4, 1869). Ref.: Ibid.

Moorman, J.J. 11-On GP, 1869, Cont'd: The Baltimore Sun, Dec. 2, 1869, published Dr. Moorman's letter dated Aug. 22, 1869, in which he asked GP how and when he made most of his money. Dr. Moorman quoted GP as saying: "I made pretty much of it in 20 years from 1844 to 1864. Everything I touched within that time seemed to turn to gold. I bought largely of United States securities when their value was low and they advanced greatly." Ref.: Ibid.

Moorman, J.J. 12-Ref.: Dr. Moorman wrote A Directory for the Use of the White Sulphur Waters; with Practical Remarks on their Medical Properties, and Applicability to Particular Diseases (Philadelphia: T.K. & P.G. Collins, 1839) and other works. Letter from John J. Moorman, Aug. 22, 1869, quoted from Baltimore Sun, Dec. 2, 1869, in Peabody Papers, PEM, Salem, Mass. For details of GP's July 23-Aug. 30, 1869, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. visit, and sources, see Corcoran, William Wilson. Greenbrier Hotel. Lee, Robert E. Old White. Visits to the U.S. by GP.

GP & U.S. Legation Secty. Benjamin Moran

Moran, Benjamin (1820-86) 1-U.S. Legation, London, Secty. Benjamin Moran worked at the U.S. Legation, London, for some 20 years as clerk (1853-57), assistant secty. (1857), and secty. (1857-75). He kept a private journal, valuable for its detailed, frank, often prejudiced, views of people and events, including criticism of GP. Ref.: Wallace and Gillespie, eds.

Moran, Benjamin. 2-Journal Entries Critical of GP. Most accounts of GP's life and influence praise him. Moran's entries about GP, until GP's death, showed vitriolic dislike. Benjamin Moran was born in Penn., 1820, of an English father, educated at the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia (opened 1824), and was an apprentice printer in publisher John Grigg's Philadelphia printing firm. When publisher J.B. Lippincott (1816-96) took over the John Grigg (1792-1864) firm, Moran went to England, wrote articles on what he saw and heard, later published as a travel book (1854), married an older English girl, Catharine Goulder (1811-57, who died of cancer), returned to the U.S., where he was unsuccessful, returned to London, and worked in the U.S. Legation during 1853-75. He began at the U.S. Legation in London as private secretary to U.S. Minister to Britain James Buchanan (1791-1868). Ref.: (Moran's travel book): Moran.

Moran, Benjamin. 3-Cautious View of Moran's Journal. Later, historian Henry [Brooks] Adams (1838-1918), private secretary to his father, U.S. Minister to Britain Charles Francis Adams (1807-86, Minister to Britain during 1861-68), wrote cautiously of Benjamin Moran: "On the staff of the American Legation in London was Benjamin Moran, an assistant secretary. He was a man of long experience at the Legation and one who became a sort of dependable workhorse to fill in for any duty that might come up from the changing personnel. He had an exaggerated notion of his importance; he was sensitive to flattery, and easily offended. He kept an extensive diary and while it must be read from the point of view of his character, it throws an interesting light on the Legation scene." Ref.: (H. Adams on Moran): Adams, H.B.-b, p. xxxiv.

Moran, Benjamin. 4-Journal Found in Philadelphia, 1915. Library of Congress Manuscript Division head Worthington Chauncey Ford (1858-1941), after a long search, found Benjamin Moran's journal, 41 manuscript volumes, in Philadelphia, 1915, and purchased them for the Library of Congress. Ford found Moran's journal invaluable for his work, A Cycle of Adams Letters, 1861-1865 (1920). Ref.: Wallace and Gillespie, eds., I, p. vii.

Moran, Benjamin. 5-Moran's Journal. Moran's journal covers the years 1857-75, with entries for 1857-65 published in 1948 in two volumes. Editors of the published part of Moran's journal, Sara Agnes Wallace and Frances Elma Gillespie, described Moran as an overworked, ambitious, and thwarted underling afraid of losing his job with each change of U.S. ministers. Daily for some 20 years Moran shut his dispatch case, locked his dingy basement office door, and recorded in his secret journal what he had seen, done, and overheard at the Legation. By castigating his peers, his editors state, Moran eased his troubled spirit. He wrote with unrestrained prejudice, in hot indignation, and with a taste for scandal. Ref.: (Moran's published journal): Wallace and Gillespie, eds., I, p. x.

Moran, Benjamin. 6-Critical of GP. Moran's ill will toward GP relented only during GP's last illness (Oct. 1869) and death (Nov. 4, 1869), when Moran's better nature surfaced. As will be seen, Moran's journal entry for Nov. 12, 1869, described with surprising eloquence the solemn GP funeral service in Westminster Abbey where his remains were temporarily buried for 30 days, Nov. 12 to Dec. 11, 1869. See below (Nov. 4, 1869). Death and Funeral, GP's.

Moran’s First Critical Entry on GP

Moran, Benjamin. 7-First Entry on GP, Aug. 31, 1857. Moran's first entry on GP was made a week after GP's return to London, following his year's U.S. visit (Sept. 15, 1856 to Aug. 19, 1857), his first return home after nearly 20 years' absence in London. Moran wrote (all his underlining): "Monday, 31 Aug ('57)...George Peabody, the puffing American note shaver has returned to London from a tour of self-glorification in the United States. This is the fellow who gives private dinners on the Fourth of July at public taverns to which he invites everyone in a good suit of clothes who will applaud him and then publishes the proceedings, toasts, and all, in the public journals." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 123.

Moran, Benjamin. 8-First Entry, Aug. 31, 1857 Cont'd.: "It is worth noting that he pays his clerks less and works them harder than any other person in London in the same business, and never gave a man a dinner that wanted it. His parties are advertisements, and his course far from benevolent. He never gave away a cent that he didn't know what its return would be. He has no social position in London and cannot get into good Society. He generally bags the new American Minister for his own purposes and shows him up around the town, if he can, as his puppet to a set of fourth-rate English aristocrats and American tuft-hunters who eat his dinners and laugh at him for his pains." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 123.

GP & Panic of 1857

Moran, Benjamin. 9-Panic of 1857. Moran wrote of the Panic of 1857 when hundreds of business firms in the U.S. and Britain failed. He described George Peabody & Co. as severely threatened. The financial crisis came from overspeculation in western U.S. lands, poorly managed railroads needing large capital, and overbuying of goods in eastern U.S. cities. Financial collapse was hastened by poor U.S. wheat sales abroad, the sinking of a packet ship with $1.6 billion in California gold bullion aboard, and the failure of some railroads, banks, and insurance companies. Ref.: Hidy, R.W.-c, pp. 456-465.

Moran, Benjamin. 10-Panic of 1857 Cont'd. Moran described the crisis in his journal entry for Nov. 6, 1857: "The news from the United States indicates a commercial panic of the most disastrous nature. Each arrival brings us worse news than the last, and now starvation seems to threaten unemployed workmen, fifty thousand of which are in New York alone." Ref.: Wallace and Gillespie, eds., p. 162.

Moran, Benjamin. 11-Panic of 1857 Cont'd. Business firms failed in Glasgow, Liverpool, and London. GP had given large credit to Lawrence, Stone and Co. of Boston, which could not repay him. Meanwhile, the London banking firm of Baring pressed GP for $750,000 (£150,000) he owed them. Gathering his assets, GP applied for a $4 million loan from the Bank of England (which seldom made such loans). See: Morgan, Junius Spencer Curry, J.L.M.

Moran, Benjamin. 12-Moran on GP's Bank of England Loan. Moran's Nov. 6, 1857, journal entry stated that he had heard that the stability of George Peabody & Co. was in grave danger. Moran's entry (Nov. 21, 1857): "My friend, Phil, went over to George Peabody & Co. the other day to withdraw all his father's deposits, having heard that house would fail unless relief in the form of a tremendous loan arrived." Breaking precedent, the Bank of England lent GP more than was needed. Moran's entry (Nov. 21, 1857): "I…learned that the American firm [which] obtained a million pounds from the Bank of England is that of Peabody & Co. This I expected. They are doubtless rotten: and I have noticed that the Great George has not given a public dinner since his return from the U.S….. This [the loan], it appears, has been secured and once more the great American money swaggerer is able to hold up his head: but will he give dinners?" (Note: Philip N. Dallas, 1825-66, was U.S. Minister to Britain George Mifflin Dallas' [1892-64] son and Legation secty. Moran, who initially worked under P.N. Dallas, gradually took over most secretarial duties). Ref.: Wallace and Gillespie, eds., I, pp. 162, 181.

Moran, Benjamin. 13-GP "dared them to cause his failure". During GP's negotiations for the Bank of England loan, some unscrupulous financiers saw a chance to force GP out of business. GP's partner Junius Spencer Morgan (1813-90) was approached and was told that certain individuals would guarantee a loan to George Peabody & Co. if the firm ceased business in London at the end of 1858. Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry (1825-1903), the PEF's second administrator, is the source for GP's reaction: "When Mr. Morgan brought this message to Mr. Peabody, he was in a rage like a wounded lion, and told Mr. Morgan to reply that he dared them to cause his failure" [Italics added]. Ref.: Curry-b, p. 7. See: Morgan, Junius Spencer.

Moran, Benjamin. 14-"Our credit...stands as high as ever before." GP repaid the Bank of England loan on March 30, 1858. He wrote Washington, D.C., business friend William Wilson Corcoran (1798-1888), "My business is again quite snug.... Our credit...stands as high as ever before." Ref.: (GP to Corcoran): GP, London, to William Wilson Corcoran, Washington, D.C., April 16, 1858, Corcoran Papers, Library of Congress Ms.; also quoted in Corcoran, pp. 168-169.

GP & the Am. Assn. in London

Moran, Benjamin. 15-Am. Assn. in London. GP's July 4th U.S.-British friendship dinners, began in 1850, were taken from his hands under strained circumstances (1858-62) by a group of newer American residents in London. Chief organizers of the Am. Assn. in London, a social club to help destitute Americans in London, included Benjamin Moran, Dr. Jesse Weldon Fell, M.D., who had attended Mrs. Moran until her death, and a few others. Dr. Fell, an American resident in London, had experimented with a cancer cure at Middlesex Hospital. He wrote A Treatise on Cancer, and its Treatment (London, 1857). Ref.: Wallace and Gillespie, eds. (on Dr. Fell), I, p. 30; (on Am. Assn. in London), I, pp. 259, 265.

Moran, Benjamin. 16-Am. Assn. in London Cont'd. Moran (not present) recorded what Dr. Fell told him of the new club's first meeting, March 1, 1858: "There were nine persons present but I did not get all their names.... Peabody the Great was elected President and that is enough to damn the thing eternally. Myself and...others are to be the Managing Committee.... Neither Peabody nor Croskey was present. Bates refused to cooperate, alleging that private charity was the best. It came out that as he had failed to get up a Club he was averse to anyone else doing it." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 265. (Note: Joseph Rodney Croskey of Penn. was Consul at Cowes, Isle of Wight, Consul at Southampton [1850-57], and later a promoter of cable, steamship, and railroad lines. Joshua Bates [1788-1864] was Weymouth, Mass.-born head of Baring Brothers, London's most important international banking firm). Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 4 footnote 7).

Moran, Benjamin. 17-New vs. Old U.S. Residents in London. A list of officers and a statement of purpose of the club were published. There was dissension from the first. Newer U.S. residents in London were at odds with the older, mostly commercial U.S. residents, like GP, Joshua Bates, and U.S.-born merchant Russell Sturgis (1805-87). The older residents were very much Victorian gentlemen themselves. They fitted unobtrusively into English social life and business. The newer Americans, different in age, social level, and outlook, were more assertive, more critical of British society. Benjamin Moran represented the new group's ambition to enjoy the rights and privileges of the old U.S. residents. Inevitably, envy, jealousy, and ostracism emerged. Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 18-New vs. Old U.S. Residents in London Cont'd. To give the new club distinction and official sanction, the new Americans offered figurehead leadership to the old Americans. GP, Joshua Bates, and others declined. Involved in its success, Moran recorded the club's difficulties (March 17, 1858): "Dewey had a petition asking Peabody to act as President, which I refused to sign, & told him Fell had assured me Peabody had been spoken to & would act without hesitation if elected. I declined to be an officer and declared my disinclination to vote for Peabody. The thing will be a fizzle." (Note: Dewey, Moran's American-born friend, is not identified). Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 269.

Moran, Benjamin. 19-New vs. Old U.S. Residents in London Cont'd. Piqued because GP and Bates spurned the new club, Moran vented his anger (March 20, 1858): "Mr. Dodge came to see me last night about the Club. Old Peabody goes, with Bates and others of their stamp, against it, as I expected. They are a mean souled set, who dislike all of decided character who will not follow them, and consequently oppose this, as they know it will put them in the background. Both Bates and Peabody are selfish and heartless men. They have led people heretofore & hate this scheme because it will destroy their rule. A new meeting is to be held, & I shall try to give it proper shape." (Nathaniel Shattwell Dodge [1810-74], asst. commissioner to U.S. exhibitors, Great Exhibition of 1851, London, remained in London to 1861). Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 270.

Moran, Benjamin. 20-Moran's Envy. Moran's March 22, 1858, journal entry: "After he [Frank Campbell, believed to be a Legation courier] had poured out his surplus steam, I answered, and gave him my opinion of the sneering, insolent & proud Americans--Bates, Sturgiss [sic], Peabody and Co. who always cry down such movements, and think everything wrong and vulgar but what emanates from them. These are sore that the movement is likely to succeed. They are a set of unprincipled, selfish & deprecatory men, who turn to ridicule, jeer, and...treat with coldness, all Americans who do not tie themselves to their [ear]. I'll give them a wide berth." Ref.: Ibid., I, pp. 271-272.

Moran, Benjamin. 21-Moran's Envy Cont'd. "Mr. Bates has known me in connection with the Legation for 4 years, & yet he has never spoken to me or even noticed me. He belongs to the class of my countrymen in London who look upon me as a Clerk, & in their republican simplicity, sneer at clerks as having no position. The truth is, that I out rank them all, & hold my Commission from the same authority as the Minister." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 22-Moran's Ill-will Continued. Moran referred to GP in his journal as "a rascal." When a destitute Mrs. Salter from Boston asked for a loan at the Legation, Secty. Moran recorded: "I sent her to Peabody--but he'll do nothing." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 321.

Moran, Benjamin. 23-"I had a cold bow from his magnificence." GP went to the Legation on May 28, 1858, to arrange with U.S. Minister George Mifflin Dallas to take 50 friends the next day by steamboat on the Thames to see the Leviathan and then to dinner at Blackwall's. This large British passenger ship lacked funds for completion and was open to visitors for a fee. Of GP's Legation visit, Moran recorded: "Geo. Peabody has been here to-day & I had a cold bow from his magnificence, wh.[ich] I as stiffly returned." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 328.

Moran, Benjamin. 24-GP's June 19, 1858, Dinner. Of GP's June 19, 1858, dinner at the Star and Garter at Richmond, Moran wrote: "Peabody gives a 'great dinner' at Richmond this evening. All the Dallases are going--of course." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 353. See: Dinners, GP's, London.

25-GP's June 19, 1858, Dinner. Three nights later Moran dined with a U.S. friend at the same place. Moran learned from one of the waiters that 60 people attended GP's dinner, including U.S. Minister Dallas and his family, at £2 each ($10). Moran carefully asked if GP had reserved the room for the Fourth of July and was told that GP had not. Moran was interested because the Am. Assn. in London club meant to sponsor the 1858 Fourth of July dinner. Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 354.

Moran, Benjamin. 26-Am. Assn.'s July 4, 1858, Dinner Confusion. Without support from the old U.S. residents the Am. Assn. in London club limped along. Club members disagreed on plans for their intended July 4, 1858, Independence Day dinner. Moran recorded (June 25, 1858): "Dr. Fell has the impudence to wish to preside at our Fourth of July dinner. Dodge and I have determined he shall not. He is an ignoramus and would disgrace us irretrievably." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 356.

Moran, Benjamin. 27-Am. Assn.'s July 4, 1858, Dinner Confusion Cont'd. Moran described the club meeting on June 30, 1858: "Last night the Association met, & there was the usual flare up. Fell behaved very foolishly, & insisted upon presiding at that Dinner.... I put a resolution asking for a committee of three to whom the choice of a chairman should be left;...it was carried." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 358.

Moran, Benjamin. 28-GP Approached. The Am. Assn. in London committee of three wanted to smooth relations with GP. They wrote to him on June 30, the gist of which follows: The members of the Am. Assn. in London were aware that you might not understand the purpose of the Association. They passed a resolution that this letter be written to explain the purpose of the club, to invite your participation, and to urge you to take the chair at the coming Fourth of July celebration. The purpose of the Association is to give relief to Americans in distress. Its by-laws were composed by some of your warmest friends. To you above all others, the Association wished to show its appreciation by offering you the office of President. The members intended to consult your wishes regarding the dinner. We feel that you naturally, but erroneously, misapprehended our intentions. Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 368.

Moran, Benjamin. 29-GP Approached Cont'd.: "The Association, even at this late date, invites you to take the chair at the dinner and promises you their support. Such a course on your part would show new proof of your attachment to your country and friends." "If you can accept the invitation your wishes for the dinner will be consulted and any number of tickets you desire for your friends shall be forwarded to you." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 30-GP Declined. GP declined the presidency of the new club. The gist of his letter stated: I received your communication and your resolution inviting me to take the chair on the approaching celebration of American Independence. I'm gratified to learn that no hostility to me personally or the course of my previous Fourth of July dinner prompted the measure you adopted. He ended: "…taking into consideration all the circumstances connected with your arrangements and the late period of your explanation, I most respectfully decline…." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 369.

Moran, Benjamin. 31-"feeble minded & mean spirited man." Moran recorded plans for the forthcoming dinner, without GP (July 1, 1858): "Dodge told us Gen'l Campbell [Robert Blair Campbell, d.1862] would preside. As I was coming away Peabody drove up. He is sore about the dinner and refuses to come, pretending to think that the Association was gotten up to prevent him giving dinners. He is a weak feeble minded & mean spirited man." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 361.

"We shall kill him with kindness"

Moran, Benjamin. 32-"We shall kill him with kindness. Moran's comment on GP's declining (July 3, 1858): "…Peabody will not be present. We did all we could to induce him to come & his [declining] will prove damaging to him. We sent him first a written invitation, and got a note declining. Then we appointed a committee to invite him with power to return his note; but he would not accept, & the error is therefore his. We shall kill him with kindness however, & toast him in spite of himself. If not there to respond it will look bad in print." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 363.

Moran, Benjamin. 33-Am. Assn.'s July 4, 1858, Dinner Went Well. The July 4, 1858, dinner without GP went well and was favorably reported in London press. Moran recorded more gossip about GP's reaction (July 12, 1858): "I called to see Gen'l Campbell, and learned from him that Peabody's chagrin grew out of the fact that he considers that nobody but him has a right to give the Fourth of July Dinner in London. He asked the General if official influence had been employed to get the Queen's picture, and when assured that it had not been exercised, was much chagrined." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 370.

Moran, Benjamin. 34-"selfish, vindictive, and narrow minded." [Moran cont'd.]: "He told the General that it was his intention to have given a Fourth of July dinner at a cost of £500, and that he had considered since 1851 that to him, & him alone, belonged the right of giving such entertainments in London. The Association had taken this out of his hands, & altho' he did not say it in so many words, he conveyed to the General's mind the fact that it was solely on that ground that he did not accept the invitation to preside at our dinner. At best, Mr. Peabody is a selfish, vindictive, and narrow minded man." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 35-GP's July 9, 1858, Dinner. GP still entertained. On July 9, 1858, he gave a banquet at the Crystal Palace for 50 Americans, including U.S. Minister Dallas and family and visiting Baltimorean John Pendleton Kennedy (1795-1870). One Englishman, London Times editor Marmaduke Blake Sampson [d.1876], also attended. The previous day, Moran recorded (July 8, 1858): "Peabody was here this morning to invite the Dallases to his fête at the Crystal Palace to-morrow; but he would not take a seat when I asked him." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 367. Ref.: (GP's July 9, 1858, Crystal Palace dinner): New York Times, Aug. 4, 1858, p. 2, c. 1-2; and Aug. 8, 1858, p. 2, c.1-2. John Pendleton Kennedy's journal entry, July 9, 1858, Kennedy Papers, PIB. See: Dinners, GP's, London.

Moran, Benjamin. 36-GP's July 22, 1858 Dinner. On July 22, 1858, GP gave another dinner at the Star and Garter, Richmond, near London, attended by some 30 Britons and 60 Americans. The guest of honor was John Young Mason (1799-1859), then U.S. Minister to France (during 1853-59) and former U.S. district judge in Va. John Pendleton Kennedy of Baltimore toasted "the City of London." Henry Jarvis Raymond (1820-69), editor of the New York Times, toasted "the Press." Ref.: Kennedy's journal, entry July 22, 1858, Kennedy Papers, PIB. See: Dinners, GP's, London.

Moran, Benjamin. 37-"the littleness of the miserable driveller." After Mason's visit to the Legation, Moran recorded (July 24, 1858): "Judge Mason...and family...are staying at Richmond at Peabody's expense." The same day he saw Mason, Moran, hearing that GP refused to donate to the American Association in London, recorded: "...that worthy flatly refused on the allegation that the association is opposed to him. This shows too plainly for contradiction the littleness of the miserable driveller." Ref.: Wallace and Gillespie, eds., I, pp. 380-381.

Moran, Benjamin. 38-On GP's July 22, 1858, Dinner. Moran read with glee a New York Herald article critical of GP's July 22, 1858, dinner honoring U.S. Minister to France John Young Mason. Moran recorded (Aug. 31, 1858): "The New York Herald of the 15th inst. just at hand has an article ridiculing Peabody's dinner to old Mason at Richmond on the 29th of July [July 22, 1858, Moran's error], and very properly says Peabody is not admitted to good Society here, that the titled snobs who [sit] at his table are merely nobodies & only go for a dinner, & that any nobleman would consider himself insulted to receive an invitation to dine at a tavern. This is a sore cut to the old fool." Ref.: (GP's July 22, 1858, dinner, Star and Garter, Richmond, for J.Y. Mason): New York Times, Aug. 8, 1858, p. 2, c. 1-2. London Times, July 29, 1858, p. 12, c. 3. New York Herald , Aug. 15, 1858, p. 1, c. 4-6. Ref.: (Moran on New York Herald 's criticism of GP's July 22, 1858, dinner for J.Y. Mason): Wallace and Gillespie, eds., I, p. 419.

Moran, Benjamin. 39-On GP's July 22, 1858, Dinner Cont'd.: "The Herald has the proper idea. Americans are not received as equals here into what is called 'society,' and yet those of them who meet a set of titled paupers at P.'s table, go home and boast of the Aristocracy they met in London. What glory it must be to an American to meet a few old snuffy dowagers at a dinner table! Let the diners at Peabody's gussles tell." Ref.: Ibid. See: Dinners, GP's, London.

Moran, Benjamin. 40-More Criticism. A Mrs. Smith who claimed to be from Boston and in need came to Moran for aid. He sent her to some U.S. residents who helped, including Russell Sturgis, who sent her to GP. Moran wrote (Dec. 13, 1858): "…he [GP] refused to see her unless she brought a note from Sturgis. He wrote and told Peabody the woman was Boston born, had for two years supported herself in London by her needle and now was in need of aid, when the magnificent George, the god of American Snobs and lickspittles gave the poor woman the mighty sum of Five Shillings! This is the exact size of the heart of the Great American Banker in London, George Peabody!" Ref.: Wallace and Gillespie, eds., I, p. 478

Moran, Benjamin. 41- Am. Assn. Limped Along. Moran's enmity continued in 1860. He recorded (March 5, 1860): "The immortal George Peabody was here today, and condescended to be civil to me for the first time in his life." The day after he saw GP, Moran attended an Am. Assn. in London meeting. He recorded its difficulties (March 6, 1860): "The Am. Assoc. had a meeting last evening, and it was almost determined to dissolve. The fact cannot be denied that we have failed. So far as I am able to account for this, the cause is simple. Our distinguished minister here and his hopeful son give the organization no approval, & Mr. Bates, Sturgis and others follow suit. These people shrug their shoulder when the Club is mentioned & cry it down: and as they disapprove, our countrymen follow their humane example and the Asso'n. has thus obtained a bad name for no earthly cause beyond the fact that it did not originate with these poor fools." Ref.: Ibid., I, pp. 643-644.

Moran, Benjamin. 42-Am. Assn.'s July 4, 1860, Dinner. The Am. Assn. in London sponsored the July 4, 1860, dinner, charging about $5.25 per person. GP, Joshua Bates, and Russell Sturgis did not attend. Moran wrote of two Americans who declined to come when they found that they would have to pay for the dinner (July 4, 1860): "J.B. Goddard, from N.Y., called this morning and talked loudly of celebrating the day, but his patriotism fizzled out when he discovered it would cost him 25/-. Another person, a Mr. Tappan, of Boston, was alike ardent, but he collapsed also. He thought invitations should be sent to Americans, & could not understand paying for his dinner. This is the way. All of these fellows are willing to eat at your expense; but won't do it at their own. The meanness is decidedly Bostonian." Ref.: Ibid., I, pp. 689-690.

Moran, Benjamin. 43-Am. Assn.'s July 4, 1860, Dinner Cont'd. The Am. Assn.'s July 4, 1860, dinner went well. Moran was pleased that one of the complimentary toasts was to him. Of the old uncooperative U.S. residents, Moran wrote (July 5, 1860): "The Dinner of the Am. Asso'n in celebration of American Independence took place last evening at London Tavern, and passed off very well. It is most disgraceful to the patriotism of Bates, Sturgis, Peabody and such like persons that they never come to these demonstrations. They are, however, snobs: and they individually or collectively do all they can to injure our society by sneering at its objects and slandering its members. Never having done an unselfish act themselves they seem to think everybody else incapable of an act of disinterestedness. The trouble of getting up these dinners is very great; and as I have nearly all of it, I am getting tired." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 690.

Moran, Benjamin. 44-Civil War. Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th U.S. president, Nov. 1860. S.C. seceded from the Union, Dec. 20, 1860. Six southern states followed by Feb. 1, 1861. Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, S.C., was fired on April 12, 1861, precipitating the Civil War. Hearing on April 3, 1861, that Charles Francis Adams (1807-86) would replace U.S. Minister Dallas, Benjamin Moran, knowing that the Dallases disdained him, recorded (May 16, 1861): "Well, the last of the Dallas family has gone. I part with the whole lot with joy." Ref.: Ibid., I, p. 812. Ref.: Bailey, p. 340.

Moran, Benjamin. 45-New Minister Charles Francis Adams. Worried about his job with each change of ministers (Moran was kept on as a legation secretary), Moran wrote bitterly of GP (April 17, 1861): "It seems old Peabody and his friends in the city have made several attacks on me of late, charging that I have used my position here to advance my own interests. This man is one of the most malicious I ever knew, & his attacks on my character are all prompted by envy. He is heartless, and has never given a farthing in charity that he did not expect three fold return. All his benevolence is based on future personal gain." Ref.: Ibid. (Moran's April 3, 1861, entry), p. 795. Ref.:: Wallace and Gillespie, eds. I, p. 799.

GP Charged as Pro-Confederate

Moran, Benjamin. 46-Moran Believed GP Pro-Confederate. Benjamin Moran, a staunch Unionist, believed GP to be a Confederate sympathizer. Without proof but believing GP had interfered in the purchase for the Union of saltpeter, a gunpowder ingredient, Moran recorded: "[Lammot] DuPont [1831-88, of Delaware, chemist, inventor of blasting powder] came here lately to purchase saltpeter, and had a heavy credit on Barings for the purpose. For prudent reasons he transferred his account to another house, & old Peabody hearing this, & finding it did not come to him, induced Sampson [Marmaduke Blake Sampson, London Timess editor, d. 1876] the Traducer of the U.S., who writes the money articles of The Times to get up a cry against the export of the articles & stop it. This has succeeded, as Gov't has issued an order in Council on the subject. The saltpeter was a private speculation, but to make powder for our Govt. and this avaricious old rogue Peabody has prevented it leaving the country through spite." Ref.: Ibid., II, p. 918.

Moran, Benjamin. 47-British Built Confederate Ships. U.S. residents in London were sensitive to increasing U.S.-British friction over U.S. Civil War events. Union blockade of southern ports cut off needed southern cotton from British textile mills, causing two million British job losses. Officially neutral in the U.S. Civil War, upper-class and some middle class British sympathy was with the southern aristocracy. Without a navy, Confederate agents secretly bought British-built ships and outfitted them as Confederate raiders. One such British built Confederate raider, CSS Alabama, cost Union lives and treasure. A Geneva international court required Britain to pay the U.S. $15.5 million in reparations (1871-72). See: Civil War and GP. Alabama Claims.

Moran, Benjamin. 48-Trent Affair, 1861. On Nov. 8, 1861, the captain of the Union warship San Jacinto forcibly stopped the British mail ship Trent in the Bahama Channel, West Indies. Four Confederate emissaries removed and imprisoned were: James Murray Mason (1798-1871, from Va.), John Slidell (1793-1871, from La.), and their male secretaries. They were headed for Britain and France to raise funds and secure arms. This illegal seizure put Britain on a war footing. Britain sent 8,000 troops to Canada, in case of war with the U.S. Britain demanded and won the release of the prisoners from Pres. Lincoln's cabinet on Jan. 1, 1862. See Trent Affair. Persons named.

Moran, Benjamin. 49-Trent Affair, 1861, Cont'd. GP had two peripheral connections with the Trent Affair. GP's Washington, D.C., business friend William Wilson Corcoran's (1798-1888) only daughter, Louise Morris Corcoran (1838-67), was married to John Slidell's secretary George Eustice (1828-72, of La.). She was on the Trent when her husband, George Eustice, was seized. When she reached England, GP's partner Junius Spencer Morgan (1813-90) went to see after her welfare. Also, Trent Affair tensions postponed the announcement until March 12, 1862, of GP's gift for model apartments for London working families. Ref.: Ibid. See: persons named.

Moran, Benjamin. 50-"carrying water on both shoulders." Soon after the Trent Affair, Moran recorded (Dec. 30, 1861): "George Peabody came in soon after me, and told us the Africa had arrived with news that the Europa had been detained until the 20th by Ld. Lyons [Richard Bickerton Pennell Lyons, 1817-87, British ambassador to the U.S.]. He had met Dudley Mann [Ambrose Dudley Mann, 1801-89, Confederate emissary to get arms and aid from England] in the street and was exultant and sure war was inevitable, & Mann had the news as early as half past one. Peabody either had been to see Mrs. Slidell, or was going to see her, and was certain there would be no war. His whole manner is that of a hypocrite, and he is carrying water on both shoulders, being determined to stand well on both sides, in any event." Ref.: Wallace and Gillespie, eds., II, pp. 932-933 [See: John Bigelow, mentioned on p. 933, note 16, as questioning GP's Union loyalty. For doubt cast about Bigelow's criticism about GP's loyalty, see John Bigelow and "Bigelow, John…" in References end of book]. See: persons named.

Peabody Homes of London

Moran, Benjamin. 51-Peabody Homes of London. Before the March 12, 1862, public announcement of the Peabody Donation Fund, GP conferred with U.S. Minister to England Charles Francis Adams. Benjamin Moran recorded (March 8, 1862): "Old Peabody was here to-day to arrange the preliminary of a charity of £100,000 [raised to £150,000 by March 12, 1862; total gift $2.5 million] he is about to establish for poor English people in London." Ref.: Ibid., II, p. 964.

Moran, Benjamin. 52-Peabody Homes of London Cont'd. Moran, irked by favorable press reports following GP's March 12, 1862, letter founding the Peabody Homes of London, wrote (March 26, 1862): "A transaction came to my notice yesterday wh. [which] as it is destined to occupy a prominent place for some time in the public mind, calls for some comment. This is a donation of £150,000 made by George Peabody, the American note shaver and stock speculator here, to the Poor of London. The thing has been done in the most ostentatious manner, and, altho' professedly as an act of stupendous benevolence, is in reality, nothing but a piece of vain self-glorification." Ref.: Ibid., II, p. 972.

Moran, Benjamin. 53-Peabody Homes of London Cont'd.: "This man Peabody is thoroughly heartless, narrow minded, envious, and malicious. In all the time I have been in the Legation, he has never given a farthing to a deserving countryman, or woman, in distress: and would not to-day, if one were starving at his door, notwithstanding this enormous gift. He has always seemed to think that the American Minister was here for no other purpose than to add to his importance, and when the Envoy failed to see this with Mr. Peabody, a system of covert slander and petty envy towards him was at once adopted." Ref.: Ibid., II, p. 972.

Moran, Benjamin. 54-Peabody Homes of London Cont'd.: "This gift has not a shadow of charity in it; and the very form it assumes proves this, but is simply the price he chooses to pay for notoriety. Of course he will be applauded, and flattered; be made a god of, but the man's real motive cannot remain concealed when the dust of the furor it will raise shall have passed away. He has given the money without fixing the manner of its application, and some time must pass before a plan can be matured. If he meant honest benevolence, why did he not mature his plan before announcing the gift? Our Minister is to be one of the Trustees, & the trouble it will bring will result in no small number of curses, or I am no prophet." (Note: As of March 31, 1999, 34,500 low income Londoners [59% white, 32% black, and 9% others] live in 17,183 affordable Peabody apartments in 26 of London's boroughs, making the Peabody Homes of London his most successful gift]. Ref.: Ibid., II, p. 972. Ref. Peabody Trust, London-c, annual report, 1999.

Moran, Benjamin. 55-Peabody Homes of London Cont'd. Moran recorded (March 29, 1862): "This Peabody gift is already fermenting. A Frenchman has been here to get a contract to build model cottages, and we get ten letters on an average daily from people who want their share of the money by return mail." Benjamin Moran and his friends held their July 4, 1862, dinner at the Crystal Palace. GP held another the same day at Richmond. Moran saw new provocation in this act. He wrote (July 4, 1862): "The man Geo. Peabody always tries to create dissensions among his countrymen. Altho' he knew there would be a dinner of all his fellow citizens to-day at the Crystal Palace, he was so malicious as to get up one in opposition, and got Mr. Adams to go to it, at the scene of his former folly at Richmond." Ref.: Ibid., II, pp. 973, 1032.

Moran, Benjamin. 56-Peabody Homes of London Cont'd. Moran recorded sarcastically (July 21, 1862): "George Peabody called and left his card on me! Wonderful." On Nov. 4, 1862, Moran described a poor woman who asked at the Legation for a few shillings from the Peabody Donation Fund: "A truly deplorable object was among the crowd this morning. She was a poor decrepit widow who had known happier times.... Her visit here was for a few shillings from the Peabody fund—that undigested and undefined contribution to the aid of the London Poor--the appropriation of which arose from a selfish vanity solely, unattended by a shade of benevolence, and which will never benefit those for whose use it was so pompously announced to be intended." Ref.: Ibid., II, pp. 1044, 1086.

Moran, Benjamin. 57-Peabody Homes of London Cont'd.: "I had to send the poor old lady with a shilling or two to meet her immediate wants, and could not avoid the reflection as she left that the man whose sordid vanity prompted him prematurely to announce his benevolence with a flourish for his own glorification, thus exciting the hopes of the poor, doomed never to be realized, was really a tormentor, and instead of the applauce [sic] deserves the contempt of mankind." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 58-Peabody Homes of London Cont'd. When Moran again had to deal with a request for aid from the Peabody Donation Fund, he recorded (Dec. 20, 1862): "An old Englishman by the name of Foster has been here applying for some of Peabody's fund. It appears nothing has been done with the money yet, nor is it likely any of the poor of this generation will ever benefit in the slightest from it." Ref.: Ibid., II, pp. 1098-1099.

GP, a Rebel?

Moran, Benjamin. 59-GP a Rebel? Moran spoke to a Legation visitor, Sir John R. Potter (b.1815), a Manchester merchant and former mayor (1848-50). Sir John Potter claimed, according to Moran, that he heard anti-Union pro-rebel talk from GP in the summer of 1863. Moran recorded (Dec. 2, 1863): "We have had a visit this morning from John R. Potter, Esq. of Manchester, a warm friend of ours during this great struggle.... In the course of our conversation he stated he had been in Scotland during the summer and there he met the inflated Mr. George Peabody. Supposing him to be loyal, as a matter of course, he spoke to him freely in favor of the Government; but was astonished to find him lukewarm and faithless to his country. In fact, his sentiments were of that class that are always indulged in by hypocrites in trying times. His tone was denunciatory of the Government and its policy, and had a greater effect in favor of the rebels than a speech of Slidell or Mason would have had." Ref.: Ibid., II, p. 1242.

Moran, Benjamin. 60-GP a Rebel? Cont'd.: "His [GP's] late hollow gift to the poor of London has made him an authority with English people, and as they know him to be a New England man, his opinions in favor of secession are regarded as just and adopted by many as conclusive. He did much damage to us in Scotland this summer. But he has been a disguised rebel all the way through, and his entertaining that miserable old slanderer Lord Brougham [Henry Peter Brougham, 1778-1868] last spring at Nice, ought to damn him through all time in the estimation of his countrymen." See: Corcoran, William Wilson. Brougham, Lord. Slade, William. Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 61-GP a Rebel? Cont'd.: "And yet, because the fellow has money and comes from Massachusetts, Mr. Adams practically endorses his treason by receiving him as a friend and failing to rebuke his sentiments. Mr. Potter says he as an Englishman, was placed in the strange position when in Scotland, of being obliged to defend a loyal president of the U.S. and this great war of freedom, against the attacks and misrepresentations of an American from Massachusetts, who while pretending to be a lover of his country, and a patriot, was by his language a confessed traitor and defender of falsehood, treason, slavery, and piracy. Mr. Adams eats this man's dinners, and receives also the hospitality of Russell Sturgis [1805-87], another Massachusetts rebel. If they were poor men from any other state with such sentiments, he would refuse to see them." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 62-GP a Rebel? Cont'd. (Feb. 5, 1864): "Wm. Evans [London banker who urged emancipation] has been up to know whether the U.S. Five-twenty bonds are or are not payable in coin. A great fight has been created by Peabody & Morgan putting into circulation a story in the city that they are not. This is part of the conduct of these hypocrites. Peabody is a rebel and does all in his power to destroy the credit of his Country, while Morgan practises [sic] treason covertly while openly professing loyalty. I gave Mr. Evans the law in which provision is made for the payment in coin of all our bonds. This he took with him to refute the slanderers named." Ref.: Ibid., II, p. 1261.

Moran, Benjamin. 63-GP a Rebel?, Cont'd. (Feb. 5, 1864): "So strong is the hold on American belief, that this man Peabody is loyal that no refutation will shake it, and he therefore goes on and does us ten times more injury that [sic] a flat rebel; because his intercourse with loyal men is a strong endorsement in the minds of Englishmen of the truth of his opinions on our affairs." Moran's record of another contact with GP was brief and to the point (April 16, 1865): "The famous Geo. Peabody came in and sat an hour talking to me. He is a rebel and don't [sic] conceal it." Ref.: Ibid., II, p. 1261, and II, p. 1411.

Moran, Benjamin. 64-GP's U.S. Visit, 1866-67. The Civil War ended. GP's long delayed year-long U.S. visit (May 1, 1866, to May 1, 1867) kept him out of Benjamin Moran's critical gaze. GP spent much time in Georgetown, Mass., staying with his sister Judith Dodge (née Peabody) Russell Daniels (1799-1879). He gave $70,000 for a Memorial Church in Georgetown in memory of his mother (his mother was born there when it was named Rowley). GP had a site selected, ground broken (June 19, 1866), and the cornerstone laid (Sept. 19, 1866). See: Visits to the U.S. by GP.

GP’s 1866-67 U.S. Visit

Moran, Benjamin. 65-GP's U.S. Visit, 1866-67, Cont'd. He visited Montreal, Canada; gave $30,000 for the Peabody Institute Library in Georgetown, Mass. (1866); $5,000 for the Peabody Library, Thetford, Vt. (Sept. 1866); founded the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard Univ. (Oct. 8, 1866), a $150,000 gift, and the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale Univ. (Oct. 22, 1866), also with a $150,000 gift. He presided at the dedication of the PIB (Oct. 26, 1866); added $40,000 to the Peabody Institute Library at North Danvers, Mass. (Sept. 22, 1866); gave $25,000 to Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., for a professorship of mathematics and natural science (Oct. 30, 1866); visited relatives and friends in Zanesville, Ohio, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 66-GP's U.S. Visit, 1866-67, Cont'd. GP gave $25,000 to Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, for a professorship of mathematics and civil engineering (Nov. 6, 1866); gave $15,000 each for a book fund for the public library, Newburyport, Mass. (Feb. 20, 1867) and for the Peabody Library Association of Georgetown, D.C. (April 20, 1867). He conferred often with philanthropic advisor Robert Charles Winthrop (1809-94) in founding the PEF to aid education in the 11 former Confederate states with W.Va., added because of its poverty (Feb. 7, 1867). Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 67-GP's U.S. Visit, 1866-67, Cont'd. In Washington, D.C., on Feb. 9, 1867, Pres. Andrew Johnson (1808-75) called on GP at Willard's Hotel. The call was partly in appreciation for the PEF as a national gift. Pres. Johnson's advisors also had GP in mind as possible Treasury Secty. in a Cabinet reshuffle to fend off threatened impeachment. But loyalty to his old Cabinet kept Pres. Johnson from this action. Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 68-GP's Influence on Johns Hopkins. During this 1866-67 U.S. visit B & O Railroad Pres. John Work Garrett (1820-84) brought GP and Baltimore merchant Johns Hopkins (1795-1873) together in his home near Baltimore (most likely April 25, 1867). Hopkins, wanting to write his will, sought advice on a philanthropic gift. Twenty four hours after listening to GP tell about his philanthropy, Johns Hopkins is said to have recorded his will establishing the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Univ., and Medical School. See: Hopkins, Johns.

Moran, Benjamin. 69-GP Called on Moran, 1868. A year after GP's return to London, he called on Benjamin Moran on May 28, 1868. The visit was about Horatio G. Ward (1810-May 1868), an old U.S. resident merchant in London who had just died. Moran, an executor of Ward's estate, recorded the purpose of GP's visit (May 28, 1868): "Mr. George Peabody came to tell me that Horatio Ward went out as super cargo for him more than 40 years ago; but that he [Ward] quarreled with him in London and afterwards apologised [sic] for his behavior. He said Ward was very unjust and abusive and might have left on record a statement of the quarrel. That was untrue. He saw I was one of the Executors and came to say how the matter stood, and if need be to show me Ward's apology. I said his statement was sufficient and the papers not needed." Ref.: Moran's Journal, Library of Congress Ms. See: Ward, Horatio G.

GP’s Last U.S. Visit, 1869

Moran, Benjamin. 70-GP's Last U.S. Visit: 1869. Gravely ill and five months from death, GP made his last U.S. visit, June 8 to Sept. 29, 1869, to put his philanthropic institutes in better order. Again he was out of Benjamin Moran's purview. In the U.S. GP attended (unannounced) the mid-June 1869 Boston Peace Jubilee, was recognized and applauded. He conferred with philanthropic advisor Robert C. Winthrop and the PEF's first administrator Barnas Sears (1802-80); visited friends in NYC, Philadelphia, and Baltimore; saw a photograph of the July 23, 1869, unveiling of his seated statue by U.S. sculptor William W. Story (1819-95) on Threadneedle St., near the Royal Exchange, London; added $400,000 to the PIB (Sept. 22, 1869), added $1 million to the PEF, and $750,000 to the Peabody Donation Fund, London. See: Visits to the U.S. by GP.

Moran, Benjamin. 71-GP's Last U.S. Visit: 1869, Cont'd. During July 23-Aug. 30, 1869, GP joined Washington, D.C., business friend William Wilson Corcoran at White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., a popular mineral springs health spa. Present there by chance were Robert E. Lee (1807-70), then Pres. of Washington College, Lexington, Va. (renamed Washington and Lee Univ. in 1871), former Civil War generals, and southern and northern political and educational leaders of note. In the glow of press publicity in doubling his PEF gift to $2 million (June 29, 1869), GP was honored, applauded, and resolutions of praise were read in his presence. He walked arm in arm with Robert E. Lee. A "Peabody Ball" was held in his honor (Aug. 11). Too ill to attend, he heard the merrymaking from his bungalow. See: Lee, Robert E. Visits to the U.S. by GP. White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.

Moran, Benjamin. 72-GP's Last U.S. Visit: 1869, Cont'd. Informal talks which took place on southern education needs set a precedent for later important education conferences. Rare photographs were taken of Lee, GP, and other dignitaries (Aug. 12). R.E. Lee and GP left the Springs by train together. GP gave Lee's Washington College Va. bonds for a professorship of mathematics (1869) which, when later redeemed by Va. totaled $60,000. Heading north, GP made out his last will (Sept. 9, 1869), arranged for burial at Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem, Mass., and sailed on the Scotia from NYC for London, Sept. 29, 1869. Ref.: Ibid.

GP’s Last Illness, London

Moran, Benjamin. 73-Back to London: Last Illness: Oct. 1869. GP landed at Queenstown, Ireland, Oct. 8, 1869, and hastened to London to rest at the home of longtime business friend Sir Curtis M. Lampson (1806-85). The Anglo-American Times, Oct. 30, 1869, reported: "Mr. Peabody has been lying all week very ill at 80, Eaton Square.... Everyone, from the Queen downward, has been making inquiries about the eminent American philanthropist." For Moran's journal entries on GP's funeral, and related funeral accounts, see Death and Funeral, GP's.

Moran, Benjamin. 74-Moran Called on Gravely Ill GP. On Oct. 27, from his sickbed, GP sent longtime friend and sometimes agent Horatio Gates Somerby (1805-72) to ask Benjamin Moran to call on him. Moran recorded: "Horatio G. Somerby came and said Mr. Peabody wished to see me. I promised to call and sent the old man my regards. But Somerby did not know how ill the old man is. The Times of to-day says he is in a dangerous state and Mr. Motley [U.S. Minister John Lothrop Motley, 1814-77] tells me he is really dying. A few hours must close his earthly career. Considering that Mr. Somerby is Peabody's private Secretary it is very, very odd that he did not know of his dangerous state.... I afterwards called at Mr. Peabody's and found him better." Ref.: Ibid.

GP’s Death

Moran, Benjamin. 75-GP Died Nov. 4, 1969. London press bulletins on GP's health constituted a veritable public death watch. The London Times of Oct. 27 announced that he was dangerously ill. The Edinburgh Scotsman, Oct. 29, reported that he was under the care of physician Dr. William Withey Gull (1816-99) and medical attendant William H. Covey. On Oct. 30, Arthur Helps (1813-75), Queen Victoria's Privy Council clerk, passed on to Lampson the Queen's invitation for GP to rest for a night or two at Windsor Castle. But it was too late. Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 76-Moran's Journal Entry on GP's Death. Moran's journal entry (Nov. 5, 1869) recorded GP's death: "George Peabody died at Sir C. M. Lampson's, 80 Eaton Square at 11:30 last night. The papers of to-day publish long accounts of his life; but I think shrewd people will wait until they see his will before they pronounce on his merits." For GP deathbed accounts (by Robert Charles Winthrop, Charles Pettit McIlvaine [1799-1873], and John Lothrop Motley), see Death and Funeral, GP's.

Moran, Benjamin. 77-Funeral Confusion. Sir Curtis Lampson, in whose home GP died, had to make funeral arrangements. He knew that GP's last will requested burial in Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem, Mass. He telegraphed GP's nephew George Peabody Russell (1835-1909, sister Judith's son). The nephew replied that he would leave immediately for England to accompany GP's remains back to the U.S. Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 78-Possible Westminster Abbey Funeral. Sir Curtis considered the appropriateness of a funeral service in England. He conferred with Benjamin Moran on Nov. 6, 1869, who recorded: "Sir Curtis Lampson came and asked me if it were possible to have a funeral service performed here over Mr. Peabody's remains in view of the fact that they are to be conveyed to the United States and I said yes, instancing at the same time the particulars in the case of Horatio Ward and Mr. Brown[e], better known as Artemus Ward [1834-67, U.S. humorist writer-lecturer who used the name Artemus Ward and died in London].... "These cases seemed to satisfy him and no doubt some funeral service will be performed here, probably in Westminster Abbey." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 79-Westminster Abbey Offer. Then came the official offer of a Westminster Abbey funeral service and temporary burial. Sir Curtis Lampson was unsure how to proceed. On Nov. 8, 1869, Sir Curtis called on Benjamin Moran who recorded: "Sir Curtis Lampson has been to see me. The Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey has asked that Mr. Peabody be buried in the Abbey. This can hardly be assented to: But a funeral service will no doubt take place there, and has been fixed for Friday, inst., at 1 o'clock [Nov. 12, 1869]." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 80-A Royal Vessel. The first mention of a Royal Navy vessel to return GP's remains to the U.S. was made by PM William Ewart Gladstone (1809-98) to Sir Curtis on Nov. 9. Gladstone may have considered this course as early as Nov. 6, the date on the printed letter used to call a meeting of the British cabinet on Nov. 10, 1869, 2 p.m. (GP funeral researcher Allen Howard Welch stated that Queen Victoria first suggested use of a Royal Naval ship to return GP's remains. Welch wrote: "The Queen, in fact, was personally grieved, and it was her own request that a man-of-war be employed to return Peabody to his homeland"). Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 81-Invitees to Westminster Abbey Funeral Service. The decision was then made to offer HMS Monarch as escort vessel. Sir Curtis called on Benjamin Moran Nov. 9, who recorded: "Sir Curtis Lampson called early to-day about the funeral ceremonies over Mr. Peabody in Westminster Abbey. He asked about inviting Mr. Morse [U.S. London Consul Gen. Freeman Harlow Morse, 1807-91] which was approved and on my suggestion Mr. Nunn [U.S. London Vice Consul Joshua Nunn] was included. Tickets for spectators will be issued, and the Legation is to have a large supply." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 82-Moran's Nov. 9, 1869, Entry Cont'd,: "At his own request Mr. Gladstone is to be present in the Abbey in his capacity of Prime Minister but he will not follow as a mourner. He spoke to Sir Curtis Lampson about sending the remains home in a ship of war and asked [if] Mr. Motley would approve, saying that he might bring the subject officially to his notice. The suggestion is no doubt from the Queen; but Mr. Motley can give no opinion one way or another as to the proposal, and has decided after consulting with me to refer the question if made to the Govt. at Washington for their instructions." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 83-Moran's Nov. 9, 1869, Entry Cont'd,: "It [use of a royal vessel] is without precedent, and as Mr. Peabody was a copperhead and never gave a cent to the institutions founded for the widows and orphans of the war, and moreover is a private citizen--it is placing the Minister in embarrassing circumstances to ask him if he will accept the tender of one of Her Majesty's ships to convey the body to the United States. To accept such an offer would be to commit his Government and that he cannot do. It seems to be that Her Majesty's Government should determine the case for themselves and not bother us about it at all." Ref.: Ibid.

Embalming GP’s Remains

Moran, Benjamin. 84-Moran on Embalming GP's Remains (Nov. 12, 1869): "Dr. Gull, Peabody's chief physician, told me today that he had the body embalmed by injecting arsenic into the veins and tanning, and that the result was very successful. The features will be recognizable for years." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 85-Lancet on Embalming of GP's Remains. British medical journal, The Lancet, published details of how GP's remains were embalmed: "The preservation of the remains of the late Mr. Peabody was entrusted to the hands of Dr. Pavy [Frederick William Pavy, 1829-1911, of Guy's Hospital, London]. The process carried out consisted in injecting the whole body through the arteries with a strong solution of arsenic, containing also some bichloride of mercury. Twenty-four hours afterwards another liquid, consisting of a saturated solution of tannic acid was thrown in, with the view of effecting the gradual conversion of the gelatinous structures into the tannogelatine, or the basis of leather." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 86-Lancet on Embalming of GP's Remains Cont'd.: "None of the viscera were removed or disturbed; and before the opening into the chest, required for the injection practiced through the aorta, was closed, an arsenical paste, or rather cream, consisting of arsenic, camphor, and spirit, was introduced into the thoracic cavity, and also through an opening in the diaphragm into the cavity of the abdomen, and freely distributed about. Death had taken place about two-and-a-half days before the process was commenced, and decomposition had set in so as to produce great distension of the abdomen; but the process was found to check all this, and when completed all signs of a tendency to decomposition were removed. We may add that under the silk shroud and upon the floor of the coffin there was placed a bed of well-burnt animal charcoal." Ref.: Ibid.

GP’s Westminster Abbey Funeral Service

Moran, Benjamin. 87-Moran: GP's Nov. 12, 1869, Abbey Funeral Service. Moran's private journal entries on GP since 1857 had invariably been critical. But in his entry on GP's Westminster Abbey funeral service Moran's better nature emerged. His account follows in full for its detail and rare eloquence (Nov. 12, 1869): "At about 12 to-day Mr. Motley and I arrived in his carriage at Sir Curtis Lampson's, 80 Eaton Square, where we met Sir Curtis [Miranda Lampson] and his three sons, J.S. Morgan, Russell Sturgis, Mr. [U.S. Consul in London] F.[reeman] H.[arlow] Morse [1807-91], Mr. [U.S. Vice Consul in London Joshua] Nunn, Drs. Gull and Covey, Horatio G. Somerby, and several other gentlemen, who were to act as mourners at the funeral of Mr. George Peabody in Westminster Abbey." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 88-Moran: GP's Nov. 12, 1869, Abbey Funeral Service Cont'd.: "Mr. Charles Reed [1819-81], M.P., did not reach the house on time, but we took him up in the street. Mr. Motley, Sir Curtis, Mr. Reed and I were in the first carriage. Two royal carriages [representing Queen Victoria] followed those of the mourners and the Minister's carriages were immediately behind that of the executors. The cortege of private carriages was very long. We left the house at about 1/4 to 1 and arrived at the Abbey in about half an hour, the streets all the way being crowded with spectators, the mass evidently being workingmen of the better class." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 89-Moran: GP's Nov. 12, 1869, Abbey Funeral Service Cont'd.: "The day proved fine. Mr. Motley and I followed closely to the coffin and entered the grand old Abbey from the West cloister, the procession taking a circuitous course into the Nave and then passing between crowds in solemn black. The sun's rays glanced in yellow beams over the grey stone of the aisles and improved the scene. We followed into the choir where many spectators were assembled, and the body was deposited under the lantern, with a wreath of white camellias on the coffin. I noticed...Mr. Gladstone, Lord Clarendon, Mr. Arthur Helps, the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs...in...the chancel...just in front of the tomb of Henry the Fifth. As we entered the Nave chanting to the organ began, and soon after the body entered the choir the burial service was proceeded with in all the solemnity peculiar to it. As the voices of the choristers rang out, my eyes involuntarily went with them up to the carved ceiling and then glanced over the choir, down the vaulted nave, across which a golden sunlight was streaming like a halo around the head of a Saint." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 90-Moran: GP's Nov. 12, 1869, Abbey Funeral Service Cont'd.: "The scene was sacred. Beholding it as I did--being one of the actors--it was impressive.... I thought of Peabody as I stood by his coffin and heard the priests chanting over his remains, and...mentally remarked that I could now forget that I had ever warred with the dust before me. And then I reflected on the marvelous career of the man, his early life, his penurious habits, his vast fortune, his magnificent charity; and the honor that was then being paid to his memory by the Queen of England in the place of sepulcher of twenty English Kings." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 91-Moran: GP's Nov. 12, 1869, Abbey Funeral Service Cont'd.: "The coffin was borne back through the choir to the grave near the great west door in the nave; and here the rest of the ceremony took place in a vast crowd of spectators. The grand music of Purcell [Henry Purcell, 1659-95, English composer] and Croft [William Croft, 1678-1727, English composer] was sweetly sung by deep voiced men and silvery voiced boys, the heavy tones of the organ blending with the human music and all rising like incense over the benevolent man's grave. The Prime Minister of England and the United States Minister stood near the head participating in the ceremony, while Mrs. Motley, Lady Lampson, Mrs. Morgan, and other American ladies were grouped at the foot." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 92-Moran: GP's Nov. 12, 1869, Abbey Funeral Service Cont'd.: "'Ashes to ashes,' said the priest, an anthem was sung, and the service was at an end--George Peabody having received burial in Westminster Abbey, an honor coveted by nobles and not always granted kings. "A wreath of immortelles was thrown into the lap of Peabody's statue the other day, and loud cries were made to call the new street in the city from the Bank to Blackfriars Bridge after him...." Ref.: Ibid. Moran's journal entry Nov. 12, 1869, Library of Congress Ms.

Moran, Benjamin. 93-Transatlantic Funeral. U.S. Minister to England Motley received two messages at the same time. 1-British Foreign Secty. Lord Clarendon (Nov. 13, 1869) stated that Queen Victoria wished to show her respect by transporting GP's remains to the U.S. on a British ship of war. 2-U.S. Secty. of State Hamilton Fish (Nov. 12, 1869) asked Motley to inform the British government that U.S. Rear Adm. William Radford (1808-90), commanding the U.S. Naval European squadron in Marseilles, France, was sending a U.S. vessel as funeral ship. See: Death and Funeral, GP's.

Moran, Benjamin. 94-On Minister Motley's Dilemma. Benjamin Moran recorded Motley's dilemma: "These communications threw Mr. Motley into one of his fits of indecision and when I arrived he hardly knew what to do. I advised that he should telegraph the substance of Lord Clarendon's note to Mr. Fish and ask for instructions. This he did and late tonight he received a telegram from Washington saying the President yielded to the Queen's Govt..... "And thus the matter for the present rests, more noise having been made over the old fellow dead than living. [Lord Clarendon] said that Her Majesty would have created Peabody a Peer had he been disposed to accept." Ref. Ibid. Moran's journal entry Nov. 13, 1869, Library of Congress Ms.

GP’s Funeral Gossip and Confusion

Moran, Benjamin. 95-Moran on Funeral Gossip and Confusion. Moran recorded (Nov. 15, 1869): "Mr. Motley has been in a worry all day about this business. Old Peabody has given us much trouble and it seems as if he never would be quiet.... I paid a visit to the Duchess of Somerset.... The Duchess was grieving about Peabody, and thinks the Queen should have created him a Duke. One of the Diplomatic Corps said to her that the English were making too much of the old man, at which her Grace was offended. I think the Diplomat was right." [Moran went to the Cosmopolitan Club that night and recorded:] "Peabody was discussed and Mr. Hughes said he was the only foreigner ever buried in Westminster Abbey. Others were naturalized." Ref.: Ibid. Moran's journal entries Nov. 15, 1869, Library of Congress Ms.

Moran, Benjamin. 96-Moran on Funeral Gossip and Confusion Cont'd. (Nov. 16, 1869): "Mr. Peabody haunts the Legation from all parts of the world like a ghost." Moran (Nov. 19, 1869): "Sir Curtis Lampson and Mr. George Peabody Russell came to see me about noon to-day.... G.P. Russell is a dull sort of young man, and by no means very polished. "Mr. Motley returned to town...and was very much excited because he must go to Portsmouth to deliver Peabody's remains.... He never knows his own mind ten minutes." Moran (Nov. 20, 1869): "Motley fidgety as usual--a note from Lampson about sending Peabody home." Ref.: Ibid. Moran's journal entries Nov. 16, 19, 20, 1869, Library of Congress Ms.

Moran, Benjamin. 97-Moran on Funeral Gossip and Confusion Cont'd. (Nov. 22, 1869): "Adm. Radford now says he don't know where the Richmond is and asks if he may send the Plymouth." [Discussion about the Alabama claims controversy:] "It looks to me as if even old Peabody's gifts to the London poor would not settle the feeling that in fact, exists between the two countries." U.S. Minister Motley, indiscreetly talkative, told Moran what was said at the Prince of Wales's dinner. Moran reported Minister Motley saying (Nov. 23, 1869): "And the Prince of Wales said it was rumored about that Lady Lampson was old Peabody's daughter. Thus the living great slander the dead." Ref.: Ibid. Moran's journal entries Nov. 22 and 23, 1869, Library of Congress Ms.

Moran, Benjamin. 98-Moran: "Will that old man ever be buried?" When Minister and Mrs. Motley were invited to dine with the Queen at Windsor, Moran recorded (Dec. 6, 1869): "But it delays the departure of old Peabody's remains. Will that old man ever be buried? Indeed it seems as if he would not. He gives trouble to all classes of officials, royal, republican, state, diplomatic, naval, consulate, military, ecclesiastic, and civil, and has stirred up commotion all over the world." Ref.: Ibid. Moran's journal entry Dec. 6, 1869, Library of Congress Ms.

Portsmouth Transfer to Monarch

Moran, Benjamin. 99-Portsmouth Dock to Monarch. Because of high tide, transfer of GP's remains from Portsmouth dock to HMS Monarch, first scheduled for Dec. 8, 1869, was rescheduled by the Admiralty for Dec. 11. Moran recorded (Dec. 8, 1869): "There is another hitch about sending away Peabody's remains. He must go on board the Monarch on Saturday morning [Dec. 11], or not for ten days to come, as the tide will not serve as to get the ship out of the harbor, except at night, and the Admiralty don't want the risk taking her away in the dark." Ref.: Ibid. Moran's journal entry Dec. 8 and 11, 1869, Library of Congress Ms.

Moran, Benjamin. 100-Portsmouth Dock to Monarch Cont'd. In gossipy style, Moran described the transfer of GP's remains on Dec. 11, 1869 (he was not present): "He [Mr. Motley] has gone by special train to Portsmouth...and if no hitch takes place--about which I am not so sure--we shall get rid of the old fellow on Monday and the people on the other side will then have their time.... Mr. Motley got back about 7:30 from Portsmouth...." Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 101-Portsmouth Dock to Monarch Cont'd. "As usual, Johnny Bull blundered in the arrangements.... Nobody knew what to do. Captain [John Edmund] Commerell [1829-1901, of HMS Monarch ] seemed frightened and nervous. The remains were put on board pretty much as you would embark a bale of goods, only there was no invoice.... When ready to leave for their return every official had disappeared.... Sir James Hope [1808-81], the Commandant, had left, no doubt, from fear he would be obliged to get them a luncheon and the consequence was that Minister, executors, and friends got refreshments at the railway station--the viands consisting of 'cakes and ale.' A tablet to Geo. Peabody is to be placed in Westminster Abbey." Ref.: Ibid.

Last Gossip about GP

Moran, Benjamin. 102-Last Gossip Entries on GP. Moran's last journal entries on GP (Dec. 13, 1869): "I dined at J.S. Morgan's in the evening [and] George Peabody Russell was there.... A dull fellow.... I called at the Duchess of Somerset yesterday and found Mr. [Hugh Culling Eardley] Childers [1827-96], First Lord of the Admiralty...there. Her Grace was full of lamentations for old Peabody; but rather exalted over the rumor that the 'great philanthropist' had left none of his money to Sir Curtis Lampson and his family--or next to none." Ref.: Ibid. Moran's journal entry Dec. 13, 1869, Library of Congress Ms.

Moran, Benjamin. 103-Last Gossip Entries on GP Cont'd. Moran (Dec. 15, 1869): "He [U.S. Minister John Lothrop Motley] is long winded about Old Peabody's embarkation, and somewhat prosy." Moran (Jan. 1, 1870): "I was told that Peabody had left Lady Emerson Tennent nothing and that she is in distress." Moran (Feb. 12, 1870): "Lord Derby (Late Lord Stanley) [Edward Henry Smith Stanley Derby, 15th Earl (1826-93)] was very cordial and laughed at the delay in burying old Peabody." Moran thus ended his journal entries on GP with gossip trivia. Ref.: Ibid. Moran's journal entries Dec. 15, 1869; Jan. 1 and Feb. 12, 1870, Library of Congress Ms. See: Death and Funeral, GP's.

Perspective on GP’s Funeral Honors

Moran, Benjamin. 104-GP's Funeral Honors in Perspective. Long critical of GP, Benjamin Moran was in the end touched by GP's life, death, and unprecedented transatlantic funeral honors. He witnessed 1-the Westminster Abbey funeral service (Nov. 12, 1869); knew of GP's 30 days temporary burial there (Nov. 12-Dec. 11, 1869); 2-the British cabinet decision (Nov. 10, 1869) to return GP's remains for burial in the U.S. on HMS Monarch, Britain's newest and largest warship; 3-the U.S. government decision (between Nov. 12-15, 1869) to send the corvette USS Plymouth from Marseilles, France, to accompany HMS Monarch to the U.S.; 4-the transfer (Dec. 11, 1869) from Westminster Abbey, London, on a special funeral train to Portsmouth dock, and impressive ceremonies in the transfer from Portsmouth dock to the Monarch. See: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 105-GP's Funeral Honors in Perspective Cont'd. Moran may not have known details of 5-the transatlantic crossing (Dec. 21, 1869-Jan. 25, 1870), from Spithead near Portsmouth, past Ushant, France, to Madeira island off Portugal, to Bermuda, and north to Portland, Me.; or 6-the decision (Jan. 14, 1870) placing U.S. Navy Adm. David Glasgow Farragut (1801-70) in charge of a U.S. Navy flotilla to meet the Monarch and Plymouth in Portland harbor, Me. (Jan. 25, 1870); or 7-the Monarch captain's request, on behalf of Queen Victoria, that the coffin remain aboard for two days as a final mark of respect, while Portlanders viewed the coffin in the Monarch's somberly decorated mortuary chapel (Jan. 27-28, 1870). Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 106-GP's Funeral Honors in Perspective Cont'd. Nor did Moran see the 8-lying in state of GP's remains in Portland City Hall (Jan. 29-Feb. 1, 1870); or the 9-special funeral train from Portland, Me., to Peabody, Mass (Feb. 1, 1870); or the 10-lying in state of remains at the Peabody Institute Library (Feb. 1-8, 1870); or hear 11-Robert Charles Winthrop's funeral eulogy, South Congregational Church, Peabody, Mass., attended by several governors, mayors, Queen Victoria's son Prince Arthur, and other notables (Feb. 8, 1870); or see 12-the final burial at Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem, Mass. (Feb. 8, 1870). Ref.: Ibid.

Moran, Benjamin. 107-Moran's Later Career. Benjamin Moran was appointed U.S. Minister to Portugal during 1874-76. He served there six more years as chargé d'affaires, was felled by a stroke in 1882, returned to live in England four more years as an invalid, and died in Essex, England, on June 20, 1886. Ref.: "Moran, Benjamin (1820-1886)," p. 358.

Moran, Benjamin. 108-Ultimate Meaning of GP's Death and Funeral. GP's funeral, unprecedented for an American without office or title, drew international press coverage and vast reader attention. While there was sincere appreciation for GP's philanthropy and for his U.S.-British friendship efforts, easing U.S.-British frictions over Civil War irritations was an important political factor in shaping the scope of the funeral. British officials led in this and largely shamed U.S. officials into following suit. Some anti-Confederate northern extremists looked with suspicion on GP's merchant years in the South, his southern friends, and his southern gifts ($1.4 million PIB in Md. and $2 million PEF for the South). These saw his funeral honors as vain, expensive, and trivial. Others, more balanced, with a larger view, saw nobility in what he tried to do, saw something of the hero in him, and were warmed by the grandeur of his funeral.

End of 6 of 14. Continued on 7 of 14. Send corrections, questions to: bfparker@frontiernet.net