President's House Historical Report, Block 16 Building 2Originally entitled: "The President's House, College of William and Mary"

Helen Bullock

1930

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library Research Report Series - 1318
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library

Williamsburg, Virginia

1990

Photograph of House

April 16, 1931


Re: President's House

Perry, Shaw and Hepburn

Williamsburg, Virginia

Dear Sirs:

With this letter we are sending several pages of accounts from the old account book found in the Barlow house. These accounts are for work on the President's House and the main building. Information deduced from it may be of help in the restoration of the present building.

Very truly yours,

Harold R. Shurtleff, Director
Department of Research & Record.

hdb/ab
Letter by: Helen Bullock
cc: P.S.H., Boston
Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin

THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE, COLLEGE OF WILLIAM & MARY
December 18, 1930

Obsolete

The following data from various sources had been gathered to date about the President's House, and in general the amount of material available is very limited:

From Lyon G. Tyler's, "Williamsburg", p. 138, 140-

"And on July 31, the foundations of the president's house, opposite to the Brafferton building, were laid by the same builder (Henry Cary), the president, Mr. Dawson, Mr. Fry, Mr. Stith, and Mr. Fox laying the first five bricks in order, one after another.

'July 31. The foundations of a common brick House for the President were laid opposite to Brafferton. It is to be finished for£650 current money by Oct., 1733, according to the articles of agreement. These two buildings will appear at a small distance from the East front of the College, before which is a Garden planted with evergreens kept in very good order. The Hall and Chapel, joining to the West Front towards the Kitchen Garden form two handsome wings.' (from a letter of Dawson to Bishop of London, August 11, 1732.)

"Both chapel and president's house, like the Brafferton were built in the Flemish bond."

William & Mary Quarterly, 2nd Series, Vol. 8, 1928, p. 240.Resolved: That Major R. Taliaferro's Proposal -------- & also that he repair the President's house in a proper manner.(from Journal of Meetings of the President and Masters of William & Mary College, August 29, 1754.)
(ibid) p. 246

(1781) Whilst those buildings were those occupied by them (the French) the President's house and a portion of the building were destroyed by fire and some out buildings extensively injured.

The rebuilding of the President's house was not completed until sometime in the late fall of 1786, and the income of the College was so lowered by the Revolution that it was unable to complete the repairs on the other buildings.

(from a paper submitted to Congress in behalf of claim of William & Mary College for damages to buildings.)
2
William & Mary Quarterly, 2nd Series, Vol. 8, 1928, p. 256: Ordered: That the committee of repairs cause the fire places in the President's house Rumfordized. The President was authorized to have a partition fence made in the yard belonging to the President's house.
From Tyler's, "Williamsburg", p. 168:In June, 1781, Lord Cornwallis arrived with his army in Williamsburg and made the president's house his headquarters. And shortly after his surrender in October, the house was occupied by the French and much damaged by a fire, but at once repaired at the expense of the French army.
From, Comment on Federal Occupation:---- and the enclosures around the President's house and college yard being removed and burnt up.
From Richmond Whig, about May 1, 1879:The president's house attached to William & Mary College caught fire on Thursday, April 24, from sparks from a burning chimney, and narrowly escaped destruction. The fire broke out in two places at once, and owing to the steep French roof and no ladder, it was difficult to control. The students and citizens worked faithfully and prevented a disaster. Among the most conspicuous workers was Mr. R. A. Lively, whose prompt attendance with a patent pump arrangement probably saved the building. This house was built in 1732 and was accidentally burnt by the French troops under Lafayette, on their way to the battle of Yorktown in 1781. It was then rebuilt by Louis XVI out of his private funds, and has survived the fires which have since then so often destroyed the college. It is the only house in Virginia built by a reigning sovereign.
From Magazine of American History, September 1881, p. 207-209:"Our friend Madison and his lady (they have lost their son) were turned out of their house to make room for Lord Cornwallis. Happily the College afforded them an asylum. They were refused the small privilege of drawing water from their own well."(Letter from St. George Tucker to his wife, dated July 11th, 1781.)
(ibid) p. 207-209"Our friend Madison" was the Bishop of Virginia, at that time President of William & Mary College. He 3 resided at the President's House, which stands in the college grounds, to the left of the college itself, and but a short distance from it. In the above letter it is stated that he was ejected to make room for Lord Cornwallis, from which I infer that the Earl made this building his headquarters. I have searched various authorities on the subject, but can find no mention of such an occurrence. Bishop Madison and Judge Tucker were intimate and strong friends, both before and after the Revolution, as the letters that passed between them testify, and on that account, if no other, I consider these Revolutionary letters good authority in this instance. The President's House is a building of great historic interest. Its foundation was laid on the 31st of July, 1732. The Rev. Mr. (Commissary) Blair, then President of the college; the Rev. Thomas Dawson, afterwards Commissary of Virginia and fourth President of the college; Joshua Fry, Professor of Mathematics, and afterwards a Colonel, under whom Washington served; the Rev. William Stith, who became the third President of the college, and wrote a history of Virginia; and a Mr. Fox, Master of the Indian School, placed the first five bricks in regular order, one after another. During the Revolution it was occupied at different times by the British, French and Americans. While it was in the hands of the French it was burned, although the walls were not materially injured. Louis XVI, however, caused it to be restored, and at the same time made a handsome donation of five or six hundred volumes to the College library. These volumes, together with "many curious and rare books, with some manuscripts, chiefly presented by Kings, Archbishops, Bishops and Governors, and the cabinet of apparatus, in which were instruments more than a century old, the gift of the Colonial House of Burgesses," were destroyed in 1859, when the college was for the second time consumed by devouring flames. The President's House is, I believe, the only building in this country erected at the private cost of a reigning sovereign.
From John S. Charles', "Recollections of Williamsburg, Virginia":The only buildings, except Steward's Home, on the College Campus in 1861 were the Main Building; President's House and Brafferton.

Harold R. Shurtleff, Director
Department of Research & Records

HB/ab
Report by: Helen Bullock
cc: Dr. Tyler

WREN BUILDING OUTBUILDINGS
July 31, 1931

The following accounts in the manuscript ledger of Humphrey Harwood, the brickmason and builder, are charged to the account of the College of William and Mary. They indicate extensive repairs to a kitchen, laundry, smoke house, and lumber house:

1777 - Nov. 15. Ledger B - p. 16
To mendin plasterin at Colledge Kitching 5/. & 3 day labour a 2/6 0:12:6
1778 - June 27.
To 2½ days work 30/ Repairing Colledge Landary & Kitching 1:10:0
1778 - Novemb. 7
To whitewashing Lundaryes.
1784 - May 28. p. 61.
... repairing underpining to Lumber House 2/6
1786 - May 9.
To underping. Kitchen 22/6
To repairing Kitchen Chimney & Oven 6/-
1786 - May 9.
Landary 4 days labour a 2/6
1786 - May 24. p. 96
To laying Kitchen floor 15/ & do Landary 15/ & a small room 7/6
1786 - May 8.
To plastering 132 yds in Kitchen a & Landary & Little Room 2:15:6
1786 - July 1.
To 850 Bricks a 3/ to underpining Smoke House 12/6
1786 - July 9.
To repairing Larthing & plastering up the Kitchen Stairs 36/
1786 - Sept. 15.
Repair underping to Kitching & Do. Shead 10/
To Repairing Kitching Chimney 7/6 & do larthing & plaster. 36/
1786 - Dec. 20.
To Repairing Kitchen Chimney 7/6 & labours work 2/
2
1789 - Oct. 13. Ledger C. p. 25.
To repairing the Kitchen back 8

Harold R. Shurtleff, Director
Department of Research and Record

Report by:
Helen Bullock

BOTETOURT STATUE - NO. 3

Suggested changes:

  • 1. "was so greatly beloved in Virginia that the statue was cleaned for three years during the American Revolution at public expense." p. 155
    Source: "A Charge to the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1777, 1778 and 1779 for cleaning the statue." (Humphrey Harwood's Ledger, B, pp. 7, 31, quoted in Botetourt Statue, p. 15, and compared with Harwood Mss.) No other reference to the cleaning of the statue was found.
  • 2. Sometime between 1797 and 1801 the statue was moved from the Capitol to the College. (Isaac Weld, Jr., Travels through the States of North America, 1795-1797, Vol. I, p. 61, quoted in Botetourt Statue, p. 17; letter to St. George Tucker, Esq., from Henry St. George Tucker, August 8, 1801, quoted in William and Mary Quarterly, X, (2) p. 164.)
  • 3. Correction of spelling: "best of Governours and best of men" — the way it was printed in the Virginia Gazette, Purdie & Dixon, Oct. 18, 1770.
  • 4. Uncertainty: Was Botetourt buried beneath the Chancel of the College Chapel because of his friendship for the College? No source could be found for this point.

PRESIDENT'S HOUSE - NO. 4

Proofs of statements:

  • 1. Henry Cary, Sr. — Born 1650, died 1720; Henry Cary, Jr. - Born 1670 (?), died 1749. Tyler, Cyclopedia of Biography, Vol. I, p. 205. It seems impossible to establish by source material available data for the births, deaths and relationship of the two Carys.
  • 2.

    "Henry Cary, Jr. also built Ampthill in Chesterfield County" -

    In his will probated in Chesterfield County, May 27, 1748, Virginia Magazine, Vol. 32, p. 396, after leaving property to other members of the family, Henry Cary, Jr. leaves the rest of his estate to his son, Archibald Cary. Archibald Cary wrote from Ampthill on Oct. 30, 1775, to Thomas Jefferson. (Letter printed in William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. VI (2), p. 122)

  • 3.

    "And St. John's Church in Hampton" -

    William & Mary Quarterly, XX (1), pp. 169-170 quotes Elizabeth City County Records of January 17, 1727, as follows: "It is agreed by the Minister, churchwardens and Court to furnish Mr Henry Cary with wood…to burn bricks for the Church from the school Land". A footnote in the Virginia Magazine, Vol. 32, p. 254, says Henry Cary, Jr. built St. John's Hampton.

  • 4.

    "As well as the Chapel of the Wren Building."

    William & Mary Quarterly, Vol. XI (1), p. 175, secondary source. "Building of the chapel was awarded to Henry Cary, father of Archibald Cary, of the Revolution, and the original contract signed by him was preserved at the college till a few years ago when it disappeared on a sudden."

    A footnote to this information prints a letter dated March 26, 1728, from James Hughes to the Governors of the College of William and Mary asking for the contract. Reprinted in Wren Building, p. 54.

  • 5.

    "The President's House became the headquarters of Lord Cornwallis when the British forces occupied Williamsburg in 1781, Bishop Madison being forced to leave the dwelling."

    Letter of St. George Tucker, Williamsburg, July 11, 1781, printed in Mary Haldane Coleman's St. George Tucker, p. 66 — "Our friend Madison [Rev. James Madison became President in 1777, died in 1812 — History of the College of William and Mary, 1874, p. 80] and his lady … were turned out of their house to make room for Lord Cornwallis. Happily the College afforded them asylum. They were refused the small privilege of drawing water from their own well."

  • 6.

    Proof for "accidentally burned" —

    [The President's house] "was accidentally burnt by the French troops under Lafayette on their way to the battle of Yorktown in 1781." Richmond Whit, about May 1, 1879, printed in William & Mary Quarterly, X, (2), p. 86.

    2

    "The French troops took possession of the college buildings and used them for a hospital from that time [1781] to the month of May A.D. 1782. Whilst those buildings were thus occupied by them the President's house and a portion of the building were destroyed by fire". From a paper submitted to Thirty-first Congress, Wren Building, pp. 66-67.

Suggested changes:

  • 1.

    "Later the House became the Headquarters of the French Physician General during the Siege of Yorktown" —

    In J. E. Lane's Jean Francois Coste, p. 12, General Washington in a letter of October 7, 1782 addressed Coste as "Physician General to The Army of H. E. Count de Rochambeau".

  • 2.

    "It was repaired with payments made by the French army" —

    At a meeting of the president and professors on June 3, 1782, it was resolved, "that the Bursar be authorised to negotiate the Bills of Exchange received from the French army for the destruction of the President's House." William & Mary Quarterly, Vol. XV (1), p. 266.

THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE

The first bricks in the foundation of the President's House were laid on July 31, 1732, by the Rev. James Blair, president and the four professors of the College. Henry Cary, Jr., son of the Henry Cary who directed the building of the Capitol, and much of the work on the Palace, was the contractor or the "Undertaker" for the President's House. This contract called for its completion by October, 1733.

The Reverend James Blair, first president of the College, lived in the house from the time of its completion until his death in 1743. Other presidents of the College who occupied the building in the colonial period were Rev. William Dawson, Rev. William Stith, Rev. Thomas Dawson, Rev. William Yates, Rev. James Horrocks, Reverend John Camm, and Reverend James Madison.

When Williamsburg was occupied by Cornwallis's Army in 1781, prior to the battle of Yorktown, President Madison and his wife were "turned out of their house to make room for Lord Cornwallis," according to the letter of an indignant citizen, St. George Tucker. President and Mrs. Madison were lodged at the College.

After the battle of Yorktown, when the main college building became a hospital for the wounded French soldiers and officers, the President's House became the headquarters of the French Physician-General. At this time the house was accidentally burned, but it was repaired with funds furnished by the French Army.

The President's House again presents its eighteenth century appearance — certain more recent features having been removed when its restoration was undertaken by Colonial Williamsburg, Inc.

THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE
College of William and Mary

Restored

On July 31, 1732, the "foundation of the Presidents house at the College was laid, the President [James Blair], Mr. Fry, Mr. Stith, and Mr. Fox, laying the first five bricks in order." Henry Cary, Jr., son of the Henry Cary who directed the building of the Capitol and Palace, was the "undertaker" for the work, which he was ordered to complete by October, 1773.

The Rev. James Blair, founder and first President of the College, lived in this house from its completion until his death in 1743; and, except for intervals during the Revolution and the War Between the States, it has continued to house the presidents of the College up to the present time.

In June, 1781, when the British occupied Williamsburg, President Madison and his wife were "turned out of their house to make room for Lord Cornwallis," according to the letter of an indignant citizen, St. George Tucker. A short time later, during the Siege of Yorktown when the Wren Building was used as a hospital for wounded French soldiers, the President's House became the headquarters of the French physician general. It was accidentally burned while used by the French army, and was repaired with funds furnished by the French government.

The house escaped the fire which destroyed all but the exterior walls of the College building in 1859. It also escaped the fire which again gutted the main building in 1862, after the battle of Williamsburg. However, its interior woodwork was much damaged at that time, when the house was used by Federal troops stationed in Williamsburg. The house was repaired in 1865, and although it narrowly escaped burning in 1879 when sparks from a chimney caught the roof, it has survived without further mishap. It has been restored to its eighteenth century appearance by the removal of late nineteenth century porches.

[MG Oct. 1950 - For Mrs. Southworth for 1951 Garden week hostesses]