Samuel Fraunces
Encyclopedia
Samuel Fraunces was the owner/operator of Fraunces Tavern
Fraunces Tavern
Fraunces Tavern is a tavern, restaurant and museum housed in a conjectural reconstruction of a building that played a prominent role in pre-Revolution and American Revolution history. The building, located at 54 Pearl Street at the corner of Broad Street, has been owned by Sons of the Revolution in...

 in New York City. During the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, he provided for prisoners held during the British occupation, and may have been a spy for the American side. It was at his tavern, on December 4, 1783, that General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 said farewell to his officers at the close of the war. Fraunces was later steward of Washington's Presidential household in New York City, and in Philadelphia
President's House (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
The President's House in Philadelphia at 524-30 Market Street was the third Presidential mansion. It was occupied by President George Washington from November 1790 to March 1797 and President John Adams from March 1797 to May 1800....

.

Portraits

Various images of a Samuel Fraunces are known to exist. The oil on canvas portrait (above) hangs in the Fraunces Tavern Museum
Fraunces Tavern
Fraunces Tavern is a tavern, restaurant and museum housed in a conjectural reconstruction of a building that played a prominent role in pre-Revolution and American Revolution history. The building, located at 54 Pearl Street at the corner of Broad Street, has been owned by Sons of the Revolution in...

 in New York City. The portrait is referenced as "acquired old portrait of Samuel Fraunces" in 1913 by Henry Russell Drowne. A 1920s-or-earlier photograph of the oil portrait is at the New York Public Library, and a cropped version has been published.
Rodman de Kay Gilder described the oil portrait at Fraunces Tavern Museum in 1936:

"With his pleasant dark face and his brown eyes, curls, soft mouth and tapering fingers, and the beginnings of a double chin, looking as if he himself appreciated the good food and drink for which he was famous."

A sketch of Fraunces (see left) was published in 1900, then in the possession of his great-great-granddaughter, Edith Bucklin Hartshorn Mason;

The time line for these portraits:

1900 Alice Morse Earle Stagecoach Inn and Tavern Days: Sketch of Sam Fraunces page 184 owned by Mrs. A Livingstone Mason ( Edith Bucklin Hartshorn Descendant of Andrew Fraunces) Newport R.I. mother of Lion Gardiner Mason. This is a line to Abraham Gardiner, Asa Bird Gardiner
Asa Bird Gardiner
Asa Bird Gardiner was a controversial American soldier, attorney, and prosecutor. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the American Civil War in 1872, it was rescinded when the supporting documentation was not found...

 is from a George Gardiner. They are not the same line.

1905 New York Times April 15, “Colonial Portraits: Interesting Special Exhibit of Bygone Worthies” Fraunces mother and sister.

1911 New York Times July 16, No Portrait of Samuel Fraunces reported available in the NY Times article.

1913 The portrait is referenced as "acquired old portrait of Samuel Fraunces" in 1913 by Henry Russell Drowne. Unlike the other portraits referenced there is no provenance
Provenance
Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used for works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing...

 given.

1914 Flushing Times April 25, 1914 No portrait available of Samuel Fraunces. “Unfamiliar faces: Historical Characters of Whose Looks We Know Nothing: They Left No Portraits”

1914 The Ellensburgh Capital Sep 3, 1914 No portrait available. “Historical Characters of Whose Looks We Know Nothing: They Left No Portraits”

1917 special/1st edition, Rodman Gilder 1936 "The Battery" Portrait at Fraunces Tavern Museum and he describes in "The Battery" as a portrait of a man with dark skin, brown eyes and brown curly hair.

1970 June 17 Reading Eagle By Clark Kinnaird page 47, this article had a cut out version of a portrait which accompanied it his ethnic description in this article is Negro-French.

Taverns

At different times, Fraunces was the owner and/or operator of The Mason's Arms, The Queenshead Tavern which was later named Fraunces Tavern and Vauxhall Gardens
New York Vauxhall Gardens
The New York Vauxhall Gardens was a pleasure garden and theater in New York City. It was named for the Vauxhall Gardens of London. Though the venue passed through a long list of owners, and suffered buyouts, closings, relocations, and re-openings, it lasted until the mid-19th century.In the...

, all in New York City. At the time of his death, he operated a tavern in Philadelphia.

Revolutionary War

The included visual is of Washington's Farewell
George Washington's Farewell Address
George Washington's Farewell Address was written to "The People of the United States" near the end of his second term as President of the United States and before his retirement to his home at Mount Vernon....

 which took place at Fraunces Tavern
Fraunces Tavern
Fraunces Tavern is a tavern, restaurant and museum housed in a conjectural reconstruction of a building that played a prominent role in pre-Revolution and American Revolution history. The building, located at 54 Pearl Street at the corner of Broad Street, has been owned by Sons of the Revolution in...

 one of the Tavern's owned by Fraunces. The building itself was torn down and rebuilt to represent a building/Tavern of the colonial period. The Sons of the Revolution not the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution own the building.

One distinction about Fraunces was his business and personal relationship with George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 and Martha Washington
Martha Washington
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...

. During the Revolutionary War, Fraunces and Washington are said to have dined in the comfortable atmosphere of one of America's oldest taverns, The Old 76 House
The Old 76 House
The 76 House was built with the founding of Tappan in 1686 and was expanded by the Mabie family to include additional tavern space in 1755. The earliest town meetings where held in this Dutch tavern and it remains the oldest example of Dutch public architecture in America...

 in Tappan, New York
Tappan, New York
Tappan is a hamlet in the Town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Old Tappan, New Jersey; east of Nauraushaun and Pearl River; south of Blauvelt and west of Palisades and Sparkill...

. In May 1783, he prepared a meal for Washington at the DeWint House
DeWint House
The DeWint House, or De Wint House, at Tappan, New York is one of the oldest surviving structures in Rockland County, New York and is an outstanding example of Hudson Valley Colonial Dutch architecture. It was built using indigenous sandstone in 1700 by Daniel DeClark, a Hollander, who emigrated to...

, also in Tappan, New York. Among the personal belongings of Martha Washington found at Tudor Place
Tudor Place
Tudor Place is a mansion in Washington, D.C. that was originally the home of Thomas Peter and his wife, Martha Parke Custis Peter, the step-granddaughter of George Washington, who left her the $8,000 in his will that was used to purchase the property in 1805...

 is a waxed carving of Hector
Hector
In Greek mythology, Hectōr , or Hektōr, is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. As the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, a descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy, he was a prince of the royal house and the...

 and Andromache
Andromache
In Greek mythology, Andromache was the wife of Hector and daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled...

 by Fraunces.

The Daughters of the American Revolution
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....

 number him among their patriots. His service is the part he played in helping feed and support the prisoners held by the British in NYC. More than 11,000 prisoners died and are remembered on the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument
Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument
The Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, is a memorial to the more than 11,500 prisoners of war who died in captivity, known as the prison ship martyrs. The remains of a small fraction of all those who died on the ships are in a crypt below...

. One of the survivors was Captain Philip Freneau, who wrote the poem "The British Prison Ship," and also wrote "Hugh Gaines Life" immortalizing Fraunces as "Black Sam". Specific reference include Jane Teurs
Jane Teurs
Jannetje Van Reypen Tuers was American Revolutionary War Patriot and had a role in confirming information about a British conspiracy with Benedict Arnold to take over West Point....

 and her part in the Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...

 case.

Death

Fraunces died in Philadelphia a year after his retirement. His obituary appeared in the October 13, 1795 Gazette of the United States:
DIED - On Saturday Evening last, MR. SAMUEL FRAUNCES, aged 73 years. By his death, Society has sustained the loss of an honest man, and the Poor a valuable friend.

At the time of his death Fraunces operated a tavern in Philadelphia. A Pennsylvania state historical marker at 2nd & Dock Streets marks the tavern's location.

On June 26, 2010, Samuel Fraunces was honored by having his name inscribed on an obelisk in the churchyard of St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia
St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia
St. Peter's Church is a historic church located on the corner of Third and Pine Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It opened for worship on September 4, 1761 and served as a place of worship for many of the United States Founding Fathers during the period of the Continental Congresses. The...

, where he is buried in an unmarked grave.

Genealogy and Race


Another puzzling question is that of Samuel Fraunces’ racial identity. Fraunces was nicknamed “Black Sam”, leading to the assumption by many that he was black. Other than the appearance of this nickname, there are no known 18th century references where Fraunces is described as a black man.

The use of “black” as a prefix to a nickname was not uncommon in the 18th century and did not necessarily indicate African heritage of an individual. For instance, Admiral Richard Lord Howe (1762- 1799), one of Britain’s best known and respected seamen – and a white man – was commonly called “Black Dick,” a nickname his brother Sir William Howe gave to him as descriptive of the Admiral’s swarthy complexion. The nickname continued into the 19th and 20th centuries including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ father, a white man with a swarthy complexion, who had the nickname “Black Jack” Bouvier.

The issue of Samuel Fraunces’ racial identity is still a passionate topic of discussion to this very day. As debate rallies on for conclusive evidence, the actual truth is that we may never know for sure. Similar unknowns exist in countless ways for many other people, communities, and elements in the study of the past. Books such as Phoebe the Spy and those by the Collier brothers are wonderful works of historical fiction to get a sense of what life was like in early America, but it should be remembered that they are fictional in regards to specific aspects of many characters, places, and things in the storylines. When using teaching materials such as these pieces for young audiences, it is important to articulate this point so students are not quick to accept these aspects at face value. Additionally, full knowledge and understanding of these stories’ elements can bring a positive sense of empowerment to students by encouraging them to ponder their own “what if’s” in history and perhaps pursue these questions through creative writing or historical research in the future. For all of us, this emphasizes the need for never ceasing to wonder and inquire about the past.


— Jennifer Patton, Director of Education, Pre-Visit Materials 2011, Fraunces Tavern Museum, New York City.http://www.frauncestavernmuseum.org/mus_education.html



Samuel Fraunces was born in Jamaica. The year of his birth when calculated from the baptismal records of a "Mulatto Samuel" with no last name, but from the same parish as Samuel Fraunces, is placed at 1734 by biographer C.R. Cole; however, there is no confirmation that this Samuel was a Fraunces and it has a 12-year discrepancy from his year of birth, 1722, as calculated from his published obituary (see "Death" section above).

Samuel Fraunces married Elizabeth Dalley, the daughter of Hendrick Dailey and Sarah Gifford, on November 30, 1757 at Trinity Church, New York
Trinity Church, New York
Trinity Church at 79 Broadway, Lower Manhattan, is a historic, active parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York...

. Sarah Gifford's father had been bound to Lewis Morris (governor). The children of Samuel and Elizabeth Dalley Fraunces named in his Will of Samuel are: Samuel, Sophia, Hannah, Andrew G., Elizabeth Thompson, Sarah Campbell and Catherine Smock. The children were all baptized or married at Trinity Church in New York City, St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia
St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia
St. Peter's Church is a historic church located on the corner of Third and Pine Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It opened for worship on September 4, 1761 and served as a place of worship for many of the United States Founding Fathers during the period of the Continental Congresses. The...

, or Christ Church, Philadelphia
Christ Church, Philadelphia
Christ Church is an Episcopal church located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1695 by members of the Church of England, who built a small wooden church on the site by the next year. When the congregation outgrew this structure some twenty years later, they decided to erect a new...

. Elizabeth Dalley was the sister of Gifford Dalley
Gifford Dalley
Gifford Dalley was a United States House of Representatives officer from 1789 to 1795. He served as the House Doorkeeper for the First, Second, and Third United States Congresses...

 who managed City Tavern
City Tavern
The City Tavern is a historic building located at 138 South 2nd Street, at the intersection of Second and Walnut Streets of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Called the "most genteel tavern in America" by John Adams, it was the favorite meeting place of many of the Founding Fathers and was the unofficial...

 and London Coffeehouse
Coffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...

 both in Philadelphia.

Samuel's daughter Elizabeth and her husband Atcheson Thompson lived in Philadelphia. Atcheson operated a Boardinghouse. Daughter Hannah remained in Philadelphia and married there.

The 1790 United States Census for New York, page 63 of the Dock Ward lists Samuel Fraunces as a free white male with four females and one enslaved individual in the household. Fraunces's daughter Elizabeth was married in 1789. His son Andrew and daughter Catherine were both married by 1785. Still living at home in the 1790 census were daughters Sophia, Sara, and Hannah and their mother Elizabeth.

According to Trinity Church, NYC, records, there is a Samuel Francis (black man) who marries an Elizabeth "Betsy" Stevens (a black woman) on October 5, 1794. Author C.R. Cole contends that this man is the son of Samuel Fraunces and follows his life through the 1820 census.When searching Trinity church records electronically under marriage records using the name Samuel 1202 are returned of those two are Samuel Fraunces(Francis) once is the marriage of Elizabeth Dalley and Samuel "Francis" the other is the marriage of Samuel "Francis" to Elizabeth Stevens.

In some accounts Samuel Fraunces Jr. is confused with Samuel Mifflin Francis son of Turbutt Francis
Turbutt Francis
Colonel Turbutt Francis born 1740 Philadelphia died before 1797 Pennsylvania.Turbutt Francis was the son of Elizabeth Turbutt and Tench Francis, Sr. He served as an officer in the Pennsylvania Troops during Pontiac's War and achieved the rank of Colonel. In 1769 he was stationed at Ft. Augusta, or...

 also found in St. Peter's church records of Philadelphia. Samuel Mifflin Francis married to Suzanne Chevalier died in Philadelphia in July 1799. Samuel Mifflin Francis is named in his Grandfather Samuel Mifflin's Will Samuel Mifflin was at one time Mayor of Philadelphia. A portrait of Samuel Mifflin was done by Charles Willson Peale
Charles Willson Peale
Charles Willson Peale was an American painter, soldier and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolution, as well as establishing one of the first museums....

. Samuel Mifflin Francis is named in Sarah Connolly's his mother's Will. The Will was written in 1795 but not filed until 1800. Sarah Mifflin Connolly was also painted by Charles Willson Peale the portrait of Sarah and Rebecca Mifflin has also erroneously been reported as the Samuel Fraunces mother and sister in the past.

Samuel Fraunces, Jr. is always listed, enumerated and recalled as Negro in church records and on census records. In the 1800 census A. Francis(Andrew estranged from Sarah Pye Fraunces) is counted as mulatto with 5 enslaved individuals(Samuel Jr's family). In 1810 and 1820 Samuel Jr. is listed as a free black head of household. His sister Sophia married Abraham Gomez and in 1840 as a widow she is enumerated as a free black. In 1840 Sophia lived next door to her sister-in-law Betsy Stevenson Fraunces and one house away from Samuel Fraunces III, all of whom are enumerated as free blacks. In 1850 Elizabeth "Betsy" Stevens Fraunces is enumerated next to her her daughter Elizabeth Fraunces DeHart.

Some historians point to the fact that Samuel Fraunces voted to refute his racial identity as African. As a property owner he had the right to vote. Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...

 points out in his work that restrictions were not always placed on voting. Ironically it is Hughes who makes the argument that Fraunces voted.

Others have stated that Trinity Church had no African American members. There are many negro noted among the records of Trinity Church.

References to Samuel Fraunces as a Freemason are used to refute his racial identity as Negro or African. However, the Masons at both lodges have on record that as belonging to in New York and Philadelphia are NOT among those refuting this origin. In the book 10,000 Famous Freemasons Vol II copyrighted in 1958 by William R. Denslow, forward by Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

, P.G.M. Fraunces is noted as "a West Indian Negro" where his entry reads as follows: Samuel Fraunces (1722?-1795) Revolutionary tavernkeeper and patriot. A West Indian Negro who was the keeper of "Fraunces Tavern," New York City, between 1762–65 and 1770-89. From 1789-94 he was household steward to George Washington. Member of Holland Lodge No. 8, New York City.

On September 7, 1785 George Washington wrote to Samuel Fraunces to ask him to help him with his search for a housekeeper/household steward. Fraunces is referred to in writings to and from Washington over 20 times.

Washington's adopted son, who was Martha's grandson, George Washington Parke Custis
George Washington Parke Custis
George Washington Parke Custis , the step-grandson of United States President George Washington, was a nineteenth-century American writer, orator, and agricultural reformer.-Family:...

, recalls Fraunces by name.

W.E.B. Du Bois
W.E.B. Du Bois
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, and editor. Born in Massachusetts, Du Bois attended Harvard, where he was the first African American to earn a doctorate...

 in his research of black entrepreneurs noted that upon landing in New York City as an officer's cook on an English vessel, Samuel Fraunces settled in the Negro colony of the Wall Street District.

Many of the informants for the recollections of his life were children at the time of these events. His daughter Elizabeth and her contemporaries were only about 10 years old. George Washington "Wash" Parke Custis was about 9 years old.

Katharine Schuyler Baxter, the granddaughter of the god-daughter of George and Martha Washington recalls Fraunces as "a mulatto" in A Godchild of Washington, A Picture of the Past, (New York: F. Tennyson Neely, 1897). Baxter's reference preceded the references regarding Fraunces' race that were made at the turn of the 19th century in connection to the preservation of the Fraunces Tavern building. As the Fraunces Tavern was in danger of demolition the Daughters of the American Revolution went on record with protest to the demolition. The city of New York designated the area as a park. The Sons of the Revolution eventually acquired the site and rebuilt the structure we see today. Seen here Frances Tavern in 1867 looked very different from today's rendition.

As the reconstruction of the Fraunces Tavern took place, references regarding Fraunces' ethnicity began to change. At that point because the Phoebe named in Washington's service as a housemaid was noted as a woman of color, the earlier references linking Phoebe to Samuel as his daughter began to be called into question as well. Mrs. Melusina Fay Pierce of the Women's Auxiliary of Preservation of Scenic and Historic Places and Objects in New York City describes Fraunces thus: "This new owner was a West Indian and though from the swarthiness of his complexion commonly was called ‘Black Sam’ he was of French extraction", changing his established identity as Negro to that of 'swarthiness'.

Phoebe and the Poisoned Peas

There is a tradition that Phoebe Fraunces saved Washington's life during the Revolutionary War by having her father remove poisoned peas intended for Washington. There are multiple versions of this event and a fictional children's book. Recollections are printed in the editors notes by Rufus Rockwell Wilson for 1798 Colonel William Heath
William Heath
William Heath was an American farmer, soldier, and political leader from Massachusetts who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War....

. Jacob Corwin reports the events in his application for service pension. Jacob Corwin was the Pastor at Wading River Church in Wading River NY
Wading River, New York
Wading River is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, USA, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 7,719....

 and had been a witness to the execution of Thomas Hickey. The poison pea incident is then reported again by Benson John Lossing
Benson John Lossing
Benson John Lossing was a prolific and popular American historian, known best for his illustrated books on the American Revolution and American Civil War and features in Harper's Magazine. He was a charter trustee of Vassar College.-Biography:Lossing was born February 12, 1813 in Beekman, New York...

 in 1870 This story was relayed to Lossing by Peter Embry who was born about 1766 would be a contemporary of Elizabeth "Phoebe" Fraunces. Elizabeth "Phoebe" Fraunces was a 10-year-old in June 1776, the time of the Hickey execution.

Phoebe is identified as the daughter of Samuel Fraunces by Henry Russell Drowne in A Sketch of Fraunces Tavern and Those Connected with Its History (New York: Fraunces Tavern, 1919). According to Drowne she was employed as Washington's housekeeper at the Mortimer House on Richmond Hill in June of 1776. He credits her with uncovering a plot by one of Washington's guard, Thomas Hickey, to assassinate the Generals Washington and Putnam
Israel Putnam
Israel Putnam was an American army general and Freemason who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War...

. Hickey was executed for "mutiny, sedition and treachery"(Drowne, pages 7–8). Earlier in the book, Drowne also labels Samuel Fraunces as "a man of French extraction from the West Indies"

An editor of George Washington Parke Custis's works references Fraunces' daughter as Washington's housekeeper who thwarted the plot to poison the then General Washington by Thomas Hickey.

Charles L. Blockson (Author, Bibliophile, Historian, Museum Curator, Lecturer, Scholar, Professor, Essayist, Activist) says that "Phoebe" was the nickname of Samuel Fraunces's eldest daughter, Elizabeth.
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