Samuel Osgood House (New York City)

Samuel Osgood House
First Presidential Mansion, occupied by George Washington, April 1789 - February 1790
General information
Address	1 Cherry Street
Town or city	New York, New York
Country	United States
Coordinates	40°42′34.3″N 74°00′05.4″W / 40.709528°N 74.001500°W / 40.709528; -74.001500Coordinates: 40°42′34.3″N 74°00′05.4″W / 40.709528°N 74.001500°W / 40.709528; -74.001500
Construction started	1770
Demolished	1856
Client	Walter Franklin

The Samuel Osgood House (demolished in 1856), also known as the Walter Franklin House, was an eighteenth-century mansion at the northeast corner of Pearl and Cherry Streets in Manhattan. It served as the first Presidential Mansion, housing George Washington, his family, and household staff, from April 23, 1789 to February 23, 1790, during New York City's two-year term as the national capital.

The owner, Samuel Osgood, was a Massachusetts politician and lawyer, who settled in New York City. He married Maria Bowne Franklin, widow of Walter Franklin, the merchant who had built the house in 1770.^[1] Congress rented it for Washington's use, and the President-Elect moved in a week before his April 30, 1789 inauguration as first President of the United States. In addition to living quarters, the Osgood House contained the President's private office (the equivalent of the Oval Office) and the public business office (the equivalent of the West Wing), making it the first seat of the executive branch of the federal government.

The Samuel Osgood Papers, at the New York Historical Society, list purchases made to prepare the mansion for Washington occupancy.

"I went the morning before the General's arrival to look at it. The best of furniture in every room, and the greatest quantity of plate and china I ever saw; the whole of the first and second stories is papered and the floors covered with the richest kinds of Turkey and Wilton carpets. There is scarcely anything talked about now but General Washington and the Palace."^[2]

The Washington Family by Edward Savage (1789-96). Savage painted this near-life-size group portrait from sketches he made at the Osgood House in December 1789 and January 1790.

Steward Samuel Fraunces, former owner of nearby Fraunces Tavern, managed a household staff of about 20: wage workers, indentured servants, and enslaved servants. Slavery was legal in New York, and Washington brought seven enslaved Africans from Mount Vernon to work in his presidential household: William Lee, Christopher Sheels, Giles, Paris, Austin, Moll, and Oney Judge.^[3]

Two of Martha Washington's grandchildren were part of the First Family: Nelly Custis (b. 1779) and "Wash" Custis (b. 1781).^[4]

Soon after his inauguration, Washington became seriously ill with a tumor on his thigh (possibly caused by anthrax poisoning). Cherry Street was cordoned off to prevent his being disturbed.^[5]

The house was rented for one year at an annual rent of $845, but the president vacated it after ten months when a larger residence became available. Washington moved to the Alexander Macomb House at 39-41 Broadway, which he occupied from February 23 to August 30, 1790.

Under the July 1790 Residence Act, the national capital moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a 10-year period, while the permanent national capital was under construction in the District of Columbia.

The Osgood House was demolished in 1856.^[6] A bronze plaque where Pearl Street crosses under the Brooklyn Bridge approach marks its location.^[7]

References

Decatur, Stephen, Jr., The Private Affairs of George Washington (1933).
Hoffman, Henry B. "President Washington's Cherry Street Residence." The New-York Historical Society Quarterly Bulletin, vol. 23 (January 1939): 90-103.
Miller, Agnes. "The Macomb House: Presidential Mansion." Michigan History, vol. 37 (December 1953): 373-384.
Wharton, Anne H. "Washington's New York Residence in 1789." Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, vol. 43 (1889): 741-745.

↑ "A Historic Home Marked", The New York Times, May 2, 1899
↑ Sally Robinson to Kitty Wistar, 30 April 1789, from www.MountVernon.org
↑ Biographical sketches from www.ushistory.org
↑ George Washington Parke Custis later became the father-in-law to Robert E. Lee.
↑ "While his doctors debated what steps to take, Cherry Street was blocked to traffic to spare the president its distressing noise. Then suddenly, the growth abscessed and the doctor lanced and drained the lesion." John E. Ferling, The First of Men: A Life of George Washington (University of Tennessee Press, 1988), p. 378.
↑ ."A Piece of History Stands Hidden on Brooklyn Bridge", New York Sun, June 30, 2006
↑ "George Washington slept here?!", The Bowery Boys: New York History, January 7, 2008

George Washington

1st President of the United States, 1789–1797 Senior Officer of the Army, 1798–1799 Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, 1775–1783 Second Continental Congress, 1775 First Continental Congress, 1774

Military career Revolutionary War	Military career French and Indian War Jumonville Glen Battle of Fort Necessity Forbes Expedition Washington and the American Revolution Commander-in-chief, Continental Army Boston campaign Siege of Boston New York and New Jersey campaign Delaware River crossing Battle of Trenton Philadelphia campaign Valley Forge Battles of Saratoga Yorktown campaign Siege of Yorktown Culper spy ring Newburgh Conspiracy Newburgh letter Established, Badge of Military Merit Purple Heart Aides-de-Camp Commander-in-Chief's headquarters Morristown and Ford Mansion Horses: Nelson and Blueskin

Other U.S. founding events	1769 Virginia Association Continental Association 1774 Fairfax Resolves Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture 1785 Mount Vernon Conference Chairman, 1787 Constitutional Convention

Presidency	United States presidential election, 1788–89 1792 First inauguration inaugural bible Second inauguration Title of "Mr. President" Cabinet of the United States Secretary of State Attorney General Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of War Judiciary Act of 1789 Nonintercourse Act Whiskey Rebellion Militia Acts of 1792 Coinage Act of 1792 United States Mint Proclamation of Neutrality Neutrality Act of 1794 Jay Treaty Pinckney's Treaty Slave Trade Act of 1794 Residence Act Thanksgiving Proclamation Farewell Address State of the Union Address 1790 1791 1792 1793 1796 Cabinet Federal judicial appointments

Views and public image	Presidential library The Washington Papers Religious views Washington and slavery Town Destroyer Legacy

Life and homes	Early life Birthplace Ferry Farm boyhood home Mount Vernon Gristmill Woodlawn Plantation Samuel Osgood House, First Presidential Mansion Alexander Macomb House, Second Presidential Mansion President's House, Philadelphia Germantown White House Custis estate Potomac Company James River and Kanawha Canal Mountain Road Lottery Congressional Gold Medal Thanks of Congress President General, Society of the Cincinnati Washington College Washington and Lee University Electoral history of George Washington

Memorials and depictions	Washington, D.C. Washington state Washington Monument Mount Rushmore Washington's Birthday Purple Heart The Apotheosis of Washington George Washington (Houdon) George Washington (Ceracchi) Washington Crossing the Delaware Unfinished portrait Lansdowne portrait The Washington Family portrait Washington at Princeton painting George Washington University Washington University Washington Masonic National Memorial George Washington Memorial Parkway George Washington Bridge Washington and Jefferson National Forests Washington Monument, Baltimore Washington, D.C. statue List of monuments List of places U.S. Postage stamps Washington-Franklin Issues 1932 bicentennial Currency Washington quarter Washington dollar Cultural depictions George Washington (1984 miniseries 1986 sequel)

Related	Bibliography Founding Fathers of the United States Republicanism Federalist Party Federalist Era Virginia dynasty Coat of arms Cherry-tree anecdote River Farm Washington's Crossing 1751 Barbados trip Category Syng inkstand General of the Armies American Philosophical Society American Revolution patriots Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

Ancestry and family	Martha Washington (wife) John Parke Custis (stepson) George Washington Parke Custis (step-grandson, adopted son) Eleanor Parke Custis (step-granddaughter, adopted daughter) Augustine Washington (father) Mary Ball (mother) Lawrence Washington (half-brother) Augustine Washington Jr. (half-brother) Betty Washington Lewis (sister) Samuel Washington (brother) John A. Washington (brother) Charles Washington (brother) Lawrence Washington (grandfather) John Washington (great-grandfather) Bushrod Washington (nephew)

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Samuel Osgood House (New York City)

See also

References