Mr. Rogers was a merchant of high character and public spirit. In 1793 he was an active member of the Society for the Manumission of Slaves. He was a governor of the New York Hospital from 1792 to 1799, and in 1797 treasurer of the City Dispensary. From 1787 until 1811 he was a vestryman of Trinity Church, and in 1793 was a member of the Society for the Relief of Distressed Prisoners.[7]
In the year 1806 he was living in the house here presented. His sister had married the celebrated merchant and ship owner, Archibald Gracie. His children were: (1) Sarah E. Rogers, who married the Hon. Samuel M. Hopkins; (2) Benjamin Woolsey Rogers, who married Susan, daughter of William Bayard; (3) Archibald Rogers, who married Anna, daughter of Judge Nathaniel Pendleton; and (4) Julia A. Rogers, who married Francis Bayard Winthrop.[8] In the year 1826 Benjamin Woolsey Rogers was living in the next house, Number Five State Street, but after his father’s death he moved to Number Seven and lived there until 1830.[9] William P. Van Rensselaer, grandson of General Stephen Van Rensselaer, married successively two of the daughters of Mr. Rogers. The house during the ownership of the Rogers family was the scene of many notable entertainments. These entertainments were frequently referred to by older members of society who have now passed away. In 1830 the house was occupied by Gardiner G. Howland.
The queerly shaped front was to a certain extent a necessity. State Street takes a sharp turn and the house was built at the apex of an angle. The interior was doubtless an improvement on other houses. The ceilings were high, and the staircase, instead of being in the hall as in older houses, is at the side. It is winding, of an oval design, with mahogany balustrade. The skylight was of stained glass, made in England, showing the coat of arms.
During the Civil War, the house was taken by the Government for military uses, and afterwards became the office of the Pilot Commissioners.
It is now the house of the mission of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Fraunces’s Tavern
In the year 1671 Col. Stephen Van Cortlandt built a cottage on the corner of Broad and Pearl (then Queen) streets, to which he brought his bride, Gertrude Schuyler. The house overlooked the waters of the river and bay. In the year 1700 he deeded this property to his son-in-law, Etienne de Lancey, probably wishing to retire to his manor on the Hudson. De Lancey was a French Huguenot of rank who had left his native country on the revocation of the edict of Nantes. He came to New York where he established himself as a merchant. On these premises he built a hip-roofed mansion several stories in height, of small yellow bricks imported from Holland. In dimensions and arrangement it ranked among the best in the colony. The property descended through his son James to his grandson Oliver. This part of the town having by that time become the business quarter in 1757, the house was abandoned as a residence and became the warehouse of De Lancey, Robinson & Co. On January 17, 1762, the building was transferred to Samuel Fraunces, who converted it into a tavern under the name of the “Queen’s Head,” and announced that dinner would be served daily at half-past one. In April, 1768, in the long room, the Chamber of Commerce was inaugurated with John Cruger as president.