Elizabeth Willing Powel
Elizabeth Willing Powel was an American socialite and a prominent member of the Philadelphia upper class of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The daughter, later sister and then wife of mayors of Philadelphia, she was a salonnière who hosted frequent gatherings that became a staple of political life in the city. During the First Continental Congress in 1774, Powel opened her home to the delegates and their families, hosting dinner parties and other events. After the American Revolutionary War, she again took her place among the most prominent Philadelphian socialites, establishing a salon of the Republican Court of leading intellectuals and political figures.
Powel corresponded widely, including with the political elite of the time. She was a close friend and confidante to George Washington and was among those who convinced him to continue for a second term as president. She wrote extensively, but privately, on a wide range of subjects, including politics, the role of women, medicine, education, and philosophy. Powel is said to be the person who asked Benjamin Franklin, "What have we got, a republic or a monarchy?", to which he reportedly replied, "A republic... if you can keep it", an often quoted statement about the Constitution of the United States. The exchange was first recorded by James McHenry, a delegate of the Constitutional Convention, in his journal entry dated September 18, 1787. Powel's exchange with Franklin was adapted over time, with the role played by Powel all but removed in 20th-century versions and replaced with an anonymous "lady", "woman", or "concerned citizen". The setting of the conversation was also revised from her home at the Powel House to the steps of Independence Hall.
Her husband, Samuel Powel, one of the richest people in Philadelphia was twice elected mayor of the city. He died in 1793 and left almost his entire estate to Powel, who went on to manage the family business dealings. She built a home for her nephew and chosen heir, John Hare Powel, on the country estate which she inherited from her husband. She sold the Powel House and lived on Chestnut Street near Independence Hall for the last three decades of her life; she died on January 17, 1830, and was buried beside her husband at Christ Church. More than a century later, the Powel House was acquired by the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks. It was renovated and opened to the public as a museum in 1938. Two rooms from the house were reconstructed as exhibits at museums in Philadelphia and New York City. The Powels' country estate later became part of Powelton Village in Philadelphia. Hundreds of her letters and several of her portraits survive.
Biography
Early life
Elizabeth Willing was born in Philadelphia on, to Charles and Ann Willing. The family lived in a house on the corner of Third Street and Willings Alley in Philadelphia. Charles had immigrated to the city from England, at the age of 18, as a merchant in foreign trade. He was elected as mayor of Philadelphia in 1748 and 1754. Ann came from a Quaker family of successful merchants who had immigrated to the Colonies from England three generations prior. While the details of Elizabeth's education are unknown, according to historian David W. Maxey, the family was wealthy enough to afford private tutoring, and the content of Elizabeth's writing indicates a quality education.Elizabeth had five elder siblings, Thomas, Ann, Dorothy, Charles, and Mary, and five younger siblings, Richard, Abigail, Joseph, James, and Margaret. Dorothy was married to Walter Stirling in 1753, Mary to William Byrd III in 1761, and Ann to Tench Francis Jr. in 1762. Thomas inherited the family home after their father's death in 1754, a year after Margaret was born. He became mayor of Philadelphia and married Ann McCall in 1763. When they began to have children and the house became more crowded, there was increased pressure on Elizabeth, the eldest of her unmarried sisters, to find a suitor and begin a family. Rumors in 1768 spoke of Elizabeth's supposed engagement to John Dickinson, a man ten years her senior and author of the widely circulated Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania. Elizabeth denied any such relationship in private letters to her sister Mary, assuring her that, should such a connection exist, Mary would have been among the first to know.
Marriage and children
Elizabeth married Samuel Powel. Also of Quaker ancestry, he was among the richest people in Philadelphia; at 18 years old, he had inherited the fortune of his grandfather Samuel, who was among the first settlers of the Province of Pennsylvania. 's son, also named Samuel and father to Elizabeth's husband, died in 1747, only after having found success as a merchant and shortened his surname to Powel. Elizabeth's husband graduated from the College of Philadelphia in 1759, before he embarked on a seven-year tour of Europe to study art. He went to Rome where he sat for a portrait by the painter Angelica Kauffman and had an audience with Pope Clement XIII. In England, he was baptized into the Anglican Church like John Morgan, his companion on the tour, was before him.Samuel and Elizabeth's marriage brought together two of the most prominent mercantile families in the city. Their wedding on August 7, 1769, was held at Christ Church and officiated by Jacob Duché. Five days before, Samuel purchased for his new family a home later known as the Powel House. Originally built in 1765 for Charles Stedman who never lived in it, the house is located on South Third Street, just south of Elizabeth's childhood home. Neighboring the Powel House to the north was the home of her sister Mary.
Each of the Powels' four children died young. Their first son, born on June 29, 1770, was christened Samuel Jr. before he died of smallpox on July 14, 1771. Their second child, a girl, was stillborn on August 6, 1771, or as Elizabeth wrote "at most but just breathed". Another boy was stillborn on April 2, 1772. Their fourth child was christened Samuel C. but died after only two weeks on July 11, 1775. The death of her children and the resulting depression throughout her life was reflected in her correspondence. She kept a lock of hair from both her sons named Samuel and wrote often of her loss, lamenting her unfulfilled aspirations of motherhood.
Salonnière
During the 1774 meeting of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Powel opened her home to the delegates and their families, hosting dinner parties and events. Women were generally excluded from official roles in political institutions, and hosting prominent figures in domestic settings emerged as an opportunity to take a leading role in political discourse. Elizabeth's popular gatherings at the Powel House followed the conventions of French salons and became a staple of political life in the city. She encouraged political and philosophical discussion, and often opined on matters of state. Her sister, Ann Francis, wrote to their sibling Mary Byrd of the "uncommon command has of language and ideas flow with rapidity." French nobleman François-Jean de Chastellux recalled that, "contrary to American custom," rather than her husband as the foremost political thinker of the house, "she plays the leading role in the family". Chastellux also noted that Powel was "well read and intelligent; but what distinguished her most is her taste for conversation, and the truly European use that she knows how to make of her understanding and information."With her husband, Powel created events and gatherings in their Society Hill home that included discussions about important aspects of the founding of the United States government. She played host to contemporary elites, including Benjamin Rush, the Marquis de Lafayette, and John Adams. In at least one instance, Adams recalled enjoying what, from his Puritan perspective, was "a most sinful feast". His diary records the dishes served to guests: "curds and creams, jellies, sweetmeats of all sorts, twenty kinds of tarts, truffles, floating-island, sylabubs, etc., in fact everything that could delight the eye or allure the taste." After drinking a selection of "punch, wine, porter, beer, etc. etc.", he and others were inspired to admire a view of the city by climbing the steeple of a nearby church. His wife Abigail Adams noted Powel as "the best informed, most affable, very friendly and full of conversation, a woman of many charms."
American Revolution
When the Revolutionary War began in 1775, Powel and her husband remained in the city. He was elected mayor of Philadelphia and began his first term on October 3, 1775. The Declaration of Independence was signed in July 1776 and the city government dissolved, making him the last colonial mayor of Philadelphia. His loyalty was equivocal, and he seems to have had little interest in the outcome of the war. Elizabeth's allegiance during the war remains uncertain. She was concerned with the destruction of Philadelphia. As large fires burned throughout the city, she unsuccessfully attempted to save the furniture from her sister Ann's home.During the Philadelphia campaign, the Powel House was taken over by the British during their occupation of the city. Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle, used it as his headquarters while leading the Peace Commission, which unsuccessfully sought an end to the war. Carlisle and his staff remained for about ten days in June 1778, forcing the Powels to move to a wing of their home normally reserved for servants. Carlisle and the Powels often dined together and discussed politics; he found them "very agreeable, sensible people". When British troops withdrew from the city, Elizabeth emerged among the most prominent Philadelphian socialites of the post-revolution period, establishing the Philadelphia salon of the Republican Court from the leading intellectual and political figures of colonial America. As the foundations of the new nation were established, the Republican Court played a key role in facilitating political affiliation and communication, in addition to cementing the social status and personal reputation of the aristocratic elite, as they adapted to the emerging democratic society.