On Water Street, one lot removed from the west side of Market Street, was the home of Colonel Presley Neville. While a very young man, living in his native Virginia, he had served as an officer in the Revolutionary War. During this period he married the eldest daughter of General Daniel Morgan. In Pittsburgh Colonel Neville held many public positions. He had been inspector of the Allegheny County brigade of militia, agent for the United States for receiving and storing whisky taken in kind for the excise, a member of the Legislature,[155] and was now surveyor of Allegheny County,[156] and was engaged in selling town lots, and lands in the adjacent townships.[157] In 1803, he was a candidate for chief burgess, but his vote was a tie with that of his opponent, Colonel James O’Hara, who had also been an officer in the Revolution The determination of the case being with the governor, the decision was in favor of Colonel O’Hara,[158] but under the law Colonel Neville became burgess.[159] Below Colonel Neville’s house, at the northwest corner of Water and Ferry streets, was a large two-story frame building set in a garden. This was the town house of General John Neville, the father of Colonel Neville. Like his son, he was a former Revolutionary officer; he had been Inspector of the Revenue under the excise law, during the Whisky Insurrection. The burning of his country home by the Insurgents was one of the events of the short-lived revolt. On Water Street, one door above Redoubt Alley, was the frame tenement house of Major Isaac Craig. The building had become historic. It was here that Alexander Hamilton, Judge Richard Peters of the United States District Court for Pennsylvania, together with the United States District Attorney, and the United States Marshal, who accompanied the army of General Lee into Western Pennsylvania, held court and interrogated Hugh Henry Brackenridge, and others suspected of fomenting the Whisky Insurrection.
West of Major Craig’s home, a short distance east of West Alley, was the large frame dwelling of Colonel O’Hara. O’Hara was the most enterprising citizen in the town, and an important factor in its early development. At one time he was engaged in almost a dozen enterprises. He was also the largest owner of real estate both in Pittsburgh, and Allegheny County, resident in the borough. Among the older merchants were William Christy, John Irwin, and William Irwin. They had formerly been partners, but the partnership had long since been dissolved,[160] and each now had a store of his own. Christy’s establishment was at the northwest corner of Market and Water streets. He sold all kinds of cloths and velvets, cassimeres, corduroys, and flannels, teas, sugar, and “common groceries of every denomination.”[161] During the Virginia régime, he was a lieutenant in the Pittsburgh militia, and in 1802 was town clerk.[162] Adjoining Christy’s store was that of Dr. Andrew Richardson. Richardson was a physician. At this time physicians not only prescribed medicines, but prepared and sold them, and Richardson was no exception. His advertisement reads like that of a latter-day druggist: “Oil of Vitriol. I have for sale at my medical store a quantity of oil of vitriol which I will sell low for cash. Also a variety of drugs and medicines which I will sell wholesale or retail at the same terms.”[163]
He was prominent in many respects. Besides being a physician, he was a justice of the peace, and a leader in politics. In January, 1800, Governor McKean appointed him Register and Recorder of Allegheny County in place of Samuel Jones, his Federalist father-in-law,[164] but he soon relinquished the office. He was likewise a prominent Freemason, being secretary of Lodge No. 45, and was well known as a public speaker. At the dinner given on the first anniversary of the inauguration of President Jefferson he was one of the two presiding officers.[165] On St. John the Evangelist’s Day, December 27, 1798, he delivered an oration before Lodge No. 45, which was considered of such importance that the lodge procured its publication in the Pittsburgh Gazette.
The style was florid. Richardson was high in the councils of the Republican party, yet his argument was that of a Federalist. It was a panegyric on Freemasonry, and an expression of hope for universal peace and love. Opening with a review of the conflict convulsing Europe he launched out into a severe denunciation of the course that France was pursuing. “Already hath nation arisen against nation in lawless oppression,” the orator proclaimed. “Already hath our infant country been threatened with a final subjugation.” Continuing he asked: “And who are those who dare to usurp a superiority over us? The French! Once the boast of history, the pride of the smiling page; but now a band of robbers, dead to every feeling of humanity, lost to every virtue; a band of robbers whose lawless acts have drawn upon them the just resentment of our virtuous brother, the illustrious Washington, who, though loaded with the oppressive weight of sixty-six years, stands ready once more to unsheath his conquering sword to save his country from rapine and murder. Shall he stand the war alone? No, every Masonic heart will rush like lightning to his standard, with him conquer, or with him die!”[166]
Richardson’s outspoken views appear to have caused an estrangement with the local Republican leaders, and in 1801, when he was a candidate for the State Senate, they were arrayed against him. He was charged with the unpardonable sin of reviling Thomas Jefferson, the idol of American public life. The Pittsburgh Gazette and the Tree of Liberty contained frequent references to the incident. Richardson himself published a card, which was at once evasive and apologetic. He was accused of having three years before drunk a toast, “Damnation to Jefferson and his party,” in Marie’s tavern. He admitted having been in the tavern on the occasion referred to, but added: “This much I will say, that if such a toast was given by me, it was improper, and I must have done so on the impulse of the moment. I cannot say whether it was given at all.” The Republican tide was too strong and he was defeated, and was again defeated in 1802, when a candidate for representative to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives,[167] and he met with a like fate when a candidate for the same office in 1803.[168] In August of 1809 he died, a disappointed man.[169]
In the same block with Dr. Richardson, at the southwest corner of Market and Front streets, were the cabinet-makers and upholsterers, Dobbins & McElhinney.[170] Directly across Market Street from Dobbins & McElhinney, was the establishment of the Chevalier Dubac. The sign gave no inkling of the noble birth of the proprietor, reading simply, “Gabriel Dubac.”[171] He had recently removed to this corner from Front Street.[172] He has been described as the most popular citizen of the village.[173] With his wines, dry goods, and groceries, he sold confectionery. His dog “Sultan,” and his monkey “Bijou,” were the joy of the children. He was an accomplished scholar, and possessed most polished manners. When he closed his shop and entered society, he was the delight of all with whom he associated. He was in the habit of dining on Sundays at the home of General Neville. When the French princes, the Duke of Orleans, afterwards Louis Philippe, King of France, and his two brothers, the Duke of Montpensier and the Count of Beaujolais, visited Pittsburgh in 1797, it was the Chevalier Dubac who assisted in making their stay agreeable.
REFERENCES
Chapter V
[137] “A Sketch of Pittsburgh,” The Literary Magazine, Philadelphia, October, 1806, p. 252.
[138] Cramer’s Pittsburgh Almanac for 1809.
[139] “A Sketch of Pittsburgh,” The Literary Magazine, Philadelphia, October, 1806, p. 254.