Progress on the portrait in the Stuart style, and a question for the experts! & insight into how Stuart painted

Jeanne Grimsby is painting the portrait of my gt grandmother Carrie [Martin] Cory, gt grandaughter of the twin sister of Samuel Meeker, following as much as possible the style of Gilbert Stuart.  As a reminder, Samuel Meeker gifted Phoebe, his twin sister, the Gilbert Stuart portrait of himself to celebrate their 40ieth birthday.  I am sure there was a fancy dance ball at their Schuylkill estate, Fountain Green on this occasion. (click on the link for more information, or also enter into the search box on right.)  I have written Jeanne that I am certain Carrie would have been so thrilled with this project!

Now for the big news, a question for the experts in fact.

Was Gilbert Stuart left-handed?  As far as I know, this has not been discussed as a possibility.

It is amazing that with this project, Jeanne has proposed this insight!

Below is the latest communication and report on the progress of the portrait, with insights into how Stuart {might have} painted~

Jeanne has so kindly offered me the painting, I feel like this is a replay of what happened when the twins turned 40 years old...... but with only a slight variation...

Thank you Jeanne, for such a wonderful, amazing project!

A [dizzying] Summary: Phoebe Meeker marries Job Brookfield (second marriage), daughter Mary Brookfield (b. 1804-after 1856) m. John Ludlum Martin (b.1796-1856), son Thomas Mulford Martin (b.1831-1917) m. Mary C. Ayers & has 3 daughters Carolyn (Carrie)(b.1862-1937), Jane and Emma. Carrie inherited the painting as her two sisters were childless. The GS portrait comes to Ca. Carrie's son Benjamin Hyde Cory is my grandfather, he passed in 1983. His daughter Carolyn Cory Ahrens is still with me, my mother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~note to me from Jeanne~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Today was another productive painting day. The result of using the portrait of Sally Otis, with her smooth, pale complexion,  as a model for color and shading was that Carrie was looking about 18. So today's task was to age her a bit. Now she looks in her 40s, which I think is correct for her hair and dress style. I resisted the temptation to put some gray in her hair, although the photo seems to show some unruly gray hairs sticking out at her temples. If you would prefer that I add that detail, let me know.

Today was also my first attempt ever at painting a lace jabot, and I think it turned out well for the first time. I think I would have to paint a few more portraits in Stuart's style to really assimilate it all. The jabot is from his John Adams portrait, as is the blue velvet jacket she is now wearing. In reality, she probably would have removed her jacket when sitting for her portrait, but I thought just having a white blouse occupy such a large area of the picture would be a distraction, so she has a jacket on.

Stuart was a very "loose" painter, very modern in his approach. In his Adams portrait. the canvas shows through in places. Because I didn't see that in the beginning, my painting is a bit overworked, especially in the background. I have also used the background from the Adams portrait (the National Gallery has a great downloadable high-resolution image of it). The background is a shaded brown, a great way to use up the brown paint left on the palette at the end of the day. Brown paint dries very quickly, so there is no keeping it for the next day. If you look at the background of the Adams portrait you can see that it is not all one color - it is painted in sort of cloud-like forms. That is done using a long-handled bristle brush, and sort of scrubbing the paint on using your whole arm - which brings me to today's discovery - that Stuart was left-handed. If you look at the background of the Adams portrait you can see curved shapes made by a left-handed painter. I tried to duplicate them, and couldn't because I am right-handed. Similarly there have been other places where I have had difficulty painting certain things the same way because Stuart painted them left-handedly. 

Anyway - I expect to finish the painting in the next couple of weeks.  I'll send you another photo when it is done. After that, it will need to dry thoroughly before it can be varnished. That will be at least another 3 months. If you like it and want me to send it to you, the earliest I could ship it out would be mid to late August. 

Jeanne

Mrs. Harrison Gray Otis (nee Sally Foster) & ....Jeanne's fascinating project, to paint the gt grandaughter of Phoebe Meeker in the style of Gilbert Stuart

Carrie [b. Martin] Cory was born in 1862 in New Jersey.  Her father was Thomas Mulford Martin, grandfather was John Ludlum Martin and grandmother Mary [Brookfield] Martin; the mother of Mary Brookfield was Phoebe Meeker, twin sister of my Samuel Meeker.  Thus Phoebe Meeker was the great grandmother of Carrie.  Carrie is MY gt grandmother. {Thereby is the Provenance of the Samuel Meeker painting.}
Carrie moved to Fresno Ca after she married Lewis Cory who was born in San Jose Ca in 1861. The two were formally married in New York City in Oct of 1882.  The Cory family was established in New Jersey before later descendents (Dr. Ben Cory) took the trek across the plains and established his practice in the Pueblo of San Jose in late 1847 (just before gold was discovered).
Now one of my readers has begun an exciting project, after seeing photos of my gt grandmother (scroll down to see the photos, and click here for more on Carrie.)  She is attempting to paint this descendant of the Meeker twins in the style of Gilbert Stuart.  What a fascinating idea, and this piece of artwork will be posted when it is finished!  Just below is the latest email from Jeanne, who provides technical details about the work in progress.  For those of you who love GS, or who love portrait painting for that matter, read on!
At the end of this post, you can view the GS portrait of Sally [Foster] Otis that Jeanne references.  It is truely the work of a master. Stuart painted other Otis family members so I will post more information and other portraits of her family in the near future.
For me, this project is a special one; and I can only point to my Gilbert Stuart blog, for having a reader bless my ancestor with a portrait.  I'm sure that Carrie would be highly pleased.  Her life as a housewife [albeit wealthy housewife] in Fresno Ca was probably not as exciting as the life of the Meeker twins in early Philadelphia at the turn of the century.  Although Fresno at the time was supposed to be the next San Francisco.... 

FROM JEANNE:

Just thought I'd send an update on the progress with Carrie's portrait. I think you may be surprised, as I am, at how her appearance is developing. The face is well along, although not glazed yet, and she looks somewhat different than I had expected. I wanted to explain a bit about why that is the case.

Although Stuart would have used the "sight-size" method of developing his likenesses, we don't have the luxury of Carrie sitting in person. What we have is two somewhat blurry photos (they are still a whole lot better than similar photos from my own family). In a case like this, the way I get a likeness is to enlarge the photo(s) to full size and make a careful tracing on clear acetate. I transfer the outline to the painting surface, which in this case is a gessoed panel. I keep the acetate tracing taped to the side of the panel during painting so I can periodically flip it over the painting to check for accuracy. So I know that Carrie's image is a true one.

The photo I traced was the hatless one, because it shows her forehead and hair. When that photo was enlarged, it was just barely possible to locate and draw the correct contours of her eyes, especially the lower lids. What initially appeared to be outer edges of her lower eyelids in the photo are actually their shadows. The eyelids themselves are shaped as you would expect from their appearance in the other photo. In addition, she had very excellent bone structure with a strong brow ridge. My older daughter has the same feature, and when she is photographed outside in bright sunlight, her eyebrows disappear. That is what happened to the outer portions of Carrie's brows in the first photo, so I did have to shape them as they appear in the second photo. Between those two refinements to the photo, her appearance is somewhat different than you will have expected. I think she looks quite pretty.

As I had mentioned in earlier email, the light source in the photo was not as perfect as I had originally thought. Looking through Stuart's work (and that of other artists too, like Reynolds for example), I have discovered that nearly all of them have the light source on the "near" side of the subject's face, illuminating the shape of the nose so that the shadow of the nose is on the "far" side of the face. Among the few exceptions to this in Stuart;s work are his Jefferson portraits. So I had to find a Stuart painting with a female sitter to use as a model for the shading on Carrie's face. There are not many good closeup photos of Stuart's portraits, which is sort of odd I think. But I did find the portrait of Sally Otis at the Reynolda House website, and I am using that as a guide for shading and color. 

As you can guess, I am having a lot of fun with it all, and learning a few tricks as well. Today, I'm going to start on the lace blouse, which will probably bring its own challenges.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeanne mentions the Stuart portrait of Sally Otis, so I thought it would be interesting to include her portrait in this post.  The portrait descended through family members, and was acquired by the Reynolda House from Vose Galleries in Boston in 1967.

courtesy of Reynolda House 

Mrs. Harrison Gray Otis

1770-1836

FROM LAWRENCE PARK VOL

Mrs. Harrison Gray Otis 1770-1836

She was Sally, daughter of William and Grace (Spear) Foster of Boston.  She married, in 1790, Harrison Gray Otis.

Boston c.1809. Panel, 32 x26 in.  Half-length, life-size, seated in an Empire armchair, upholstered in blue damask, upholstered in blue damask, her body turned three-quarters left, her head nearly three-quarters, and her brown eyes directed to the spectator.  Her brown hair is parted with small curls on the forehead and in front of the ears and done high on her head, with a small jeweled pin showing.  She wears a simple white muslin dress, low-necked, high-waisted, and with very short, slightly puffed sleeves.  Her waist is confined by a narrow white girdle fastened in front with an oval gold pin.  Over her right shoulder is a light reddish-brown India shawl with embroidered design, which falls upon her lap, and surrounding her, appears behind her left arm and lies upon the chair arm.  About the upper left arm is a chased gold amulet.  She sits with her body slightly inclined forward, with her hands lying lightly clasped in her lap.  The backround is of dark tones of greenish-browns and grays.  A close inspection of the background shows indistinctly the head of a child which has been painted out.  In addition to this visible evidence, there is documentary evidence that when first painted Mrs. Otis was shown holding her son, Alleyne Otis (1807-1873), in her arms.  This evidence is given by a letter written to Mrs. Charles Davis of Boston to her mother, Mrs. Benjamin Bussey, under date of Oct. 13, 1809, referring to a visit which she had made a few days before to Stuart’s studio. “Mrs. Otis’s picture is as perfect as it can be.  She is taken with her younger son in her arms and a most beautiful one it is.  I asked Mr. Stuart how it was possible to get a correct likeness of children, who are always in motion.  ‘I shoot flying,’ was the answer.”  Of this picture Mr. Charles Henry Hart wrote: “Its dignified and graceful pose and its delicate and pure color make it one of the painter’s great achievements.”

***

I am honored at this request; my great grandmother Carrie and her similarity to my Samuel Meeker portrait. My answer? Yes, of course.

I received an interesting email, see below.  Carrie [Martin] Cory, my great-grandmother, brought the Samuel Meeker portrait to California from New Jersey.  The portrait was passed to her through her father (Thomas Mulford Martin), both direct descendents of Phoebe Meeker (twin of Samuel who received the portrait as a gift on their 40ieth birthday.)  For more on Carrie's story and provenance of the painting, click here.   My great-grandfather Lewis Cory and wife Carrie Cory are of course in the history of provenance of the Meeker painting, as I am, now.

Does Carrie have an incredible resemblance to Samuel Meeker?  I say, yes!  It is simply astonishing.

After marrying Lewis, Carrie left New Jersey, to live in Fresno California.  Lewis was one of the first practicing attorneys there having received his law degree from Columbia.  She received the portrait because there was no male sibling, and her two sisters remained childless.
Phoebe Meeker was Carrie's great-grandmother.  Carrie is my great-grandmother.

Good morning,

Just looking through your blog again for a Gilbert Stuart boost for my day, observing his use of color on foreheads, cheeks, and eyes, which I think is the most obvious characteristic that we notice first when looking at a possible Stuart. 

The photo of Carrie Martin in your post from June 24, 2014 struck me as being lit and composed very much as Stuart would have set up a sitter for having a portrait done. The main difference I think is that her head is not turned quite as much as Stuart would have done, so her eyes are then turned more to look directly at the photographer. 

Which brings me to a question that you will probably think is odd. What would you say to the idea of a painting of Carrie in Stuart's style? I am an (amateur) artist - you can check out a few of my pieces on facebook - and doing a painting in Stuart's technique would be tremendous fun and great practice for me. I am not suggesting that you commission a work. It is just an idea that intrigues me, but I would not use your photograph for such a purpose without your permission.

If you are OK with the idea, I'll go ahead, though at a somewhat smaller size than Stuart would have done. Would you be able to tell me what color Carrie's hair and eyes probably were? In the photo, her hair looks light brown or auburn and her eyes look possibly light blue. 

Please let me know what you think.

Jeanne Grimsby

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yes Carrie's hair would have been auburn, and quite possibly her eyes were blue.  Her son (my grandfather Benjamin Hyde Cory) had blue eyes, as does my mother Carolyn [Cory] Ahrens. Ben and his daughter (my mom) are also in the provenance of the painting; another amazing story!  Although Ben could have inherited his blue eyes from Lewis.

Samuel Meeker was a "good gentleman" as described by the Wall St Journal today!

Apparently Philadelphia is incurring a shortage of Calvary soldiers, our military activities have depleted the ranks!  My 'good gentleman' ancestor Samuel Meeker of course participated in this Calvary; remember he was an exceptional horse rider, housing his horses at his country villa Fountain Green, and who was a member of the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club (according to the article, a source for members of the Cavalry).  All indications are that he was adept and vigorously active socially, it has been my own speculation that he threw a wonderful ball at his villa on his 40ieth birthday--most likely gifting the GS portrait to his twin sister during this bash.  It didn't hurt that my ancestor is good looking.  He and his sister were surely coveted guests at any social gathering!

more on the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club
“ The Gloucester Fox-Hunting Club—This pleasant association was composed of many highly respectable gentlemen, resident chiefly in Philadelphia…Elegant society was then comparatively limited; while the city Friend could give a delightful repast, the country Friend could promise good sport from horses, dogs, and a fox.  In 1800 there were about forty members, and it flourished until 1818, when Captain Charles Ross, the last master-spirit, died, and with him the club ceased to exist… 

The hunts usually lasted from one to five or six hours, and sometimes even for eight or ten hours. 

Usually about one-half of the club were habitual or efficient hunters.  Among the most enterprising and leading members were—Mr. Morris, president, and Messrs ….Davies, Price, Denman, …Humphreys, Harrison, S. Meeker…”

Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania: being a collection of memoirs by John Watson published Parry and M’Millan 1879 Philadelphia  pps 158-9

more on the Volunteer Regiment of Cavalry:

Samuel Meeker was the Lieutenant Commandant of "The Troop of VOLUNTEER GREENS" of the Third Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry.  The year was 1810, and war with the mother country was looming on the horizon. "...the air was electrified with the military spirit...all felt war was speedily approaching..." from THE SECOND TROOP PHILADELPHIA CITY CAVALRY by  W.A. Newman Dorland 1903

from the article "Philadelphia is Looking for a few Good Gentlemen" by M M Phillips Oct 15, 2014

"What Spc. Connell dreaded, however, was the horse-riding requirement, a fear put to the test when the soldiers gathered for a steeplechase at a trooper's horse farm in West Chester, Pa.  A highlight of the day was the cavalry skills competition, in which the troopers practiced attacking a watermelon with a saber.

      The expert riders, such as Sgt. Llewellyn Hunt, the descendeant of French generals and a student at Sciences Po in Paris, cantered past the post where the watermelon was mounted, slicing it neatly in two.

       Spc. Connell, who had never ridden before, was helped into the saddle of an easygoing horse, who ambled toward the enemy fruit.  Spc. Connell took a mighty swing and nicked off a piece as he knocked the melon to the ground.

     After Spc. Connell dismounted, the other troopers initiated him into one final cavalry tradtion: Opening a bottle of champagne with a saber...."

Meeker would have not have approved such LOW SKILLS as not being able to slice a watermelon in half, as well as the limited number of volunteers to this special Cavalry, .....but the final tradition....would have secured the pleasure of his evening!!

Carolyn (Carrie) Ayers Martin, direct descendant of Samuel Meeker's twin sister Phoebe Meeker

my great grandmother Carrie Marin m. Lewis L. Cory (b. San Jose, Ca settled in Fresno, Ca)

born 23 Feb 1862 Rahway, NJ
d.16 Mar 1937 Fresno, Ca

Carrie was the Jersey maiden who brought the portrait of Samuel Meeker to California.  (Carrie had two sisters with no children, so she inherited the portrait.)  Her father was Thomas Mulford Martin, his mother was Mary Brookfield who was the daughter of Phoebe Meeker.
Phoebe Meeker was the twin sister of Samuel Meeker, sitter in the portrait.  Through logic and events, I have deduced that Samuel gifted his portrait by Stuart to his twin sister on their 40ieth birthday.  Most likely at a celebration/ball at their country estate on the Schuylkill, Fountain Green.

NOTE THE SIMILARITY of Carrie's lips to the shape of Samuel's mouth.  The shape of the face, the cheekbones, the chin...  Astonishingly distinctive!  This not only offers validation of the family provenance, but also of Stuart's amazing ability to nail the image of the sitter.

*

*

Dr. Ben Cory's son Lewis marries Carrie Martin from the Westfields NJ & ...a remarkable genetic similarity to the Stuart portrait!

The text above "The Cory Brothers Modernized Medicine in SC County" (written by me) was just recently published in the March/April medical Bulletin of the Santa Clara County and Monterey County Medical Association (click on it for a bigger view). The brothers Drs Ben and Jack were instrumental in developing public health early on in Santa Clara county California (aka silicon valley.)  Dr. Ben Cory's son Lewis (b. 1861 San Jose California) was the first lawyer in Fresno Ca, he married Carrie Martin  (b. 1862 Rahway NJ) pictured above, who grew up in the Westfields New Jersey. Carrie is the gt gt grandaughter of Phoebe Meeker who was gifted the Stuart portait of her twin brother Samuel Meeker on their 40ieth birthday. Carrie eventually inherited the portrait and brought it to Fresno California where she and Lewis raised their family including son Ben Cory my grandfather. Notice the genetic similarities between Samuel in the portrait and the photo-portrait of Carrie.  Stunning.


Carrie is the daughter-in-law of Dr. Ben Cory, and my gt grandmother. More on Carrie and her family in the next post!
~click here for the provenance of the portrait~ 

The semblance slays me. Pops and Samuel.

My grandfather Benjamin Hyde Cory (1896-1983). Born in Fresno, Ca.
Here he is as a young man, most likely during his undergrad years at Princeton. He later graduated from Harvard Law and returned to California. Add about 20 years, turn his face in the same direction as Meeker.
The lips, the nose, the forehead, the sleepy lidded eyes. Bit of a wave to the hair. His great great grandmother was Phoebe Meeker, twin sister of Samuel.

July 4th, 1811: "The first regiment of the Pennsylvania Cavalry--always ready in the defence of their country's rights!"

In my everongoing sleuthing on my ancestor Samuel Meeker, I have discovered that most likely he left the family home of the Westfields NJ for residence in Philadelphia as early as 1787, when he was 24. Why? Possibly to join the army! I now know that in that year he was a private in the 'First Company, Second City Battalion, Colonel James Read.' Within 6 years he started his own business (surely with the help of family money, his father [aka Captain Samuel Meeker] could be considered wealthy as he owned a travelling chair--no easy bank lending back then!), a partnership with Alexander Cochran who was the husband of Samuel's twin sister (my gt gt gt gt grandmother) Phebe.
Phebe was married to Mr. Alexander Cochran on Feb. 26, 1792 in the prominent “Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia.”
Notably the marriage, as many marriages of well-to-do citizens in Philadelphia at this time, was recorded in the “Centinel.”
Who knows which came first, Phebe's divorce or the breakup of this partnership, but in September of 1797 the Meeker Cochran business was dissolved. (I am descended from Phebe's second marriage to Brookfield). A new business partnership Meeker, Denman & Co was formed and located at No. 20 South Front St, Philadelphia.

Yet during all of these busy and tumultuous years, Meeker rose through the ranks to finally become captain of the Third City Troop, or "Volunteer Greens"--part of a voluntary cavalry consisting of nearly three hundred men, and a proud remnant of the revolutionary army. By the summer of 1811, with war against the mother country looming on the horizon (War of 1812, recall that Stuart's portrait of Washington was saved from being burned by the British by Dolly Madison!), the air was electrified with a military spirit. On the 4th of July, 1811, Captain Samuel Meeker proudly proclaimed in a toast in front of the troops:

"The first regiment of the Pennsylvania Cavalry--always ready in the defence of their country's rights!"

The Second Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry W. A. Newman Dorland

The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 54, No. 2 (1930), pp. 175-185

~

Who commissioned the Lansdown portrait of George Washington? Why, the belle of Philly, Anne Willing Bingham! & the meaning of "Landsdown"

Anne Willing Bingham 1797 by Gilbert Stuart in private collection

wearing a pendant portrait of her husband and acclaimed by Abigail Adams as "taken altogether... the finest woman I ever saw."

The Landsdown portrait of George Washington

by Gilbert Stuart

In the post-Revolutionary period, Anne Willing Bingham became the arbiter of fashion and intellectual conversation at her home in Philadelphia. “....the house [not Landsdown] along with its formal gardens ocupied most of the ground west to Fourth Street and north to Willing’s Alley. Its marble stairs among similar features gave the house the “Roman air” now in fashion. [Note; recall the Roman statues in the garden of Fountain Green, country estate of Meeker?] ‘The chairs in the drawing-room were from Seddon’s in London of the newest taste, the back in the form of a lyre, with festoons, of yellow and crimson silk. The curtains of the room a festoon of the same. The carpet, one of Moore’s most expensive patterns. The room papered in the French taste, after the style of the Vatican in Rome’ The mirrors lining the parlors reflected social gatherings rivaling in prestige those of the president’s mansion itself.” {quote from “Houses and Early Life in Philadelphia” by Grant Miles Simon}

(con.) The lady of the house, Anne Willing Bingham, had married in 1780, when she was sixteen and her husband twenty-eight. From 1783-1786 the Binghams had traveled in England and on the continent, where Anne captivated and was captivated by the courts of St. Jame’s, Versailles, and the Hague. Rich, attractive, intelligent, shrewd, witty, and elegantly dressed, Mrs. Bingham was welcomed to the fashionable salons of the European capitals and began to form the notion of presiding over a salon of her own in Philadelphia." (from “Philadelphia a 300-year history” W.W. Norton & Co. N.Y. 1982)

Landsdown country estate

Lansdown (from “Country seats of the United States” William Russell Birch) “Lies upon the bank of the Pastoral Schuylkill, a stream of peculiar beauty, deservedly the delight and boast of the shores it fertilizes. The house was built upon a handsome and correct plan by the former governor Penn. .... William Bingham and wife, Anne (nee Willing) rented Landsdown as their country house in the summers. The Binghams were among the wealthiest citizens of the new republic and central figures in the “Federalist Court” of George Washington’s tenure in office in Philadelphia. They purchased the property in 1797 at a sheriff’s sale [Note; Meeker also bought Fountain Green on the banks of the Schuylkill at auction in 1799 upon financial distress of the previous owner] after speculator James Greenleaf had to liquidate assets to meet his creditor’s demands. ......The house was largely destroyed by fire in the middle of the nineteenth century and was demolished completely before the Centennial.”

Captain Samuel Meeker, father of the sitter (con.)

Captain Samuel Meeker (c.1738/9-c.1800+)

son of Samuel Meeker (1716-1757) & Rachel

4 children with wife Mary Clark---> Mary (1761) never married, William (1762-1831) m. Sarah Hays, Samuel (1763-1831) and Phebe (1763-1814), the twins.

A prominent citizen of the West Fields, Captain Samuel Meeker, father of the sitter Samuel Meeker in the Stuart portrait, was a timber trader and cabinetmaker; the family resided at Short Hills on the edge of Springfield, NJ. Captain Samuel was married in the Westfield Presbyterian Church on December 14th, 1760 to Mary Clark. At least one of his sons, William was baptized in the Westfield Presbyterian Church in 1762.

Despite the recent ravages of the American Revolutionary War, that Captain Samuel Meeker was well-to-do is indicated by the rateables of 1779 which describe him as “owning one hundred and thirty–six acres, three horses, seven head of cattle, and a riding chair.” In addition, Samuel’s son William (1762-1831), was shown to own (by the rateables in the years 1778 and1780), 140 acres and one-third of a sawmill in the Mendham Township. It seems likely that Captain Samuel had bought timber land in that area which was just opening up as well as a third interest in the sawmill, under William’s name. William may have been sent there to look after the family interest, but was back in Springfield in June of 1780, taking part in the Battle of Springfield. On March 31, 1782 he married Sarah Hays of Westfield in the Westfield Presbyterian Church.

Captain Meeker also served in the Revolutionary War as a first lieutenant and as vice-captain in the Essex County Troop of Light Horse. When the British retreated in the Battle of Springfield in 1780, burning and looting, Samuel’s house also went up in flames.

The “New York Gazette” on July 5, 1779, reported: "Last Tuesday night a detachment from his Majesty's 37th Regiment with a party of Col. Barton's and some refugees, went over from Staten-Island to a place called Woodbridge Raway, where they surprised a party of rebels in a tavern, killed their commanding officer Captain Skinner of a Troop of Light Horse, and another man and took the following prisoners, viz: Capt. Samuel Meeker...” …… “but by the timely exertions of a few militia, who collected immediately, they were released...”

***

Slavery had obtained legal sanction in New Jersey under the proprietary regimes of Berkeley and Carteret (c. 1665.) Captain Meeker and Thomas Jefferson had something in common

from 221. The Pennsylvania Journal, and the Weekly Advertiser (Philadelphia), #1066,
May 12, 1763 ---"Run away from Samuel Meeker, a Negro Man, Sampson, about 6 feet 4 inches, aged 24 Years, speaks good English: Had on when he went away two dark colour’d homespun Jackets, Leather Breeches, brown Stockings. Whoever takes up and secures said Negro so that his Master may have him again, shall receive Twenty Shillings Reward and all reasonable charges paid by Samuel Meeker."
"Pretends to be free": runaway slave advertisements from colonial and revolutionary New York and New Jersey By Graham Russell Hodges, Alan Edward Brown 1994

"Quite a number of slaves were held in this community [Westfield]. It was the custom, and few questioned the right for years .... Slaves were kept in many of the best Westfield families. They were well treated and happy. Many of them became members of the Presbyterian church. In the old session book of the Presbyterian church of Westfield the pastor, Benjamin Woodruff, writes as follows: “August 12 1759. Baptized my negro child......... and “November 8, 1778. Baptized a negro woman belonging to Samuel Meeker, N. Dorcas.”
History of Union County, New Jersey, Volumes 1-2 By Frederick William Ricord East Jersey History Co. Newark, NJ 1897 p.523

Philadelphia 1828

Samuel was 65.
Twin sister Phebe Meeker Cochran/Brookfield is already deceased (1814), the portrait of Samuel Meeker is now in the hands of her daughter Mary Brookfield ~click here for family tree~ And therefore back in New Jersey, most likely in the Westfield area.

July 9, 1828 -- Gibby's death in Boston.



~

History of the ownership (PROVENANCE) of Mr. Meeker ...& lovely Edith, and a bit more of my own story

Edith (sister of my grandfather Ben Cory) moved back into the old Victorian in Fresno after my gt grandparents both were passed away, and she then by default was in possesion of Mr. Meeker. My first memory of the portrait was when it was with Edith but by then, unfortunately, the old Victorian which had taken up a block in downtown Fresno had been torn down and Edith was living on a farm in the nearby countryside, in Clovis. In her older age she was taken care of by two "Oakies." My mom told me that yes Edith did get married, but she had fallen out of a carriage and could not have children. (For the story of my first memory of the portrait click here.)

PROVENANCE with notes

•Given by the sitter Samuel Meeker to his twin Phebe Meeker (1763-1815) Phebe married 1) Cochran (merchant, first business partner of Samuel) and a second marriage to 2) Job Brookfield. [It can be presumed that the portrait was gifted, and not inherited, as Samuel lived many years longer than Phebe. At Phebe's death the portrait was in her posession and passed to...

•Daughter Mary Brookfield (1807-after 1856) m. John Ludlum Martin a physician in Rahway, NJ

•Son Thomas Mulford Martin (1831-1917) of Rahway NJ [a bookbinder, see his photo here]

•Oldest daughter Emma Martin of Princeton, NJ (lends portrait to Philadelphia Museum of Art, see sticker on back of painting regarding this) presumably upon her death the portrait goes to sister Carrie Martin Cory (1862-1938) & portrait is taken to California. Carrie is married to Lewis L. Cory of San Jose, Ca. Lewis Cory (Princeton and Columbia Law) was a prominent corporate litigation attorney in the city of Fresno, Ca. He argued cases before the US Supreme Court. [for a family photo of Carrie and her husband Lewis Lincoln Cory click here] Lewis was second son of Benjamin Cory, who traversed the plains (click here for his story and an original letter) in 1847 and was the first doctor in San Jose, Ca.

•Daughter of Carrie and Lewis (pictured at the top of the post), Edith Cory (1884-1976) (no issue)

•Niece Carolyn Elizabeth Cory (1928-) [daughter of Edith's brother Benjamin Hyde Cory (1896-1983) my grandfather]-Carolyn is my mother, {click here to see marriage photo} , who met my dad John Ahrens at Stanford University. They were married in the spring of '49 in Carmel, Ca.

•Daughter Elizabeth Ahrens-Kley (me); Santa Cruz, Ca. I married a German Willy Kley, now a professor of astrophysics at the University of Tuebingen, Germany. Our daughter Lily lives with me here in Santa Cruz. She is now applying to different Universities, Princeton will be one as that is where Pops (Benjamin Cory) and his dad (Lewis Cory) both graduated.

I have two brothers John and Paul, but neither were interested in the old portrait. Too bad for them, but lucky for me! ...and lucky for Samuel, for who knows where he could have ended up, without my research!! To discover an unknown Gilbert Stuart at this late date, how cool is that!

~

~

~

For graphic of the family tree from Carrie to Samuel Meeker click here (note that the father is also a Samuel Meeker.)

~

Descendants, direct from Phebe Meeker (twin sister of Samuel)

Samuel Meeker, although married twice, had no children.

He gifted his portrait to his twin sister Phebe on their 40ieth birthday, is my *best* speculation (more on why, later). Of course it would have been a grand celebration! Gifting an image of one's self, whether a simple silhouette, small miniature, or full-sized portrait, to a loved one, was common, and popularized even more by our Gilbert Stuart. Before I was aware of this, I had thought that perhaps Samuel and his cousin William Meeker had had their portraits done to hang in their business office! That the twin siblings Samuel and Phebe were close can be easily surmised, as they migrated over to Philadelphia from the home state of New Jersey, and Phebe was first married to Samuel's business partner Alexander Cochran.

Thus we are direct descendants of Phebe Meeker Brookfield (see post from April 2 2009 which depicts family tree.)

Pictured are my daughter Lily at far left, & my niece (Katie) and nephews (Christopher, Patrick, John, and Peter [Ahrens]) children of my two brothers. The photo is taken at Shaver Lake the summer of 06. Our family has gone to Shaver Lake, in the Sierra mountains of Ca, every summer since the kids were little.

~

Major Samuel Meeker, Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea)

detail

family tree book "Pedigree of Major Samuel Meeker"click for bigger view

As I have previously mentioned, the family tree book which traversed the generations alongside the portrait, erroneously bestowed the name of Major Samuel Meeker to the sitter in the portrait. This family tree book I now believe was compiled by Emma Martin, sister of Carrie Martin my gt grandmother. (In the image on the lefthand side, one can see that the tree begins with the three Martin sisters of Rahway New Jersey, Jane, Emma and my gt grandmother Carrie.)

If the book had been compiled even earlier, for example by Mary Brookfield (see image upper/center), chances for misnaming the sitter might have been reduced. However Mary was young when her mother Phebe passsed away and I believe it was at this time point that information on the portrait became vague; but the most important fact was preserved, the name “Samuel Meeker.”

Emma (mom's "gt auntie"), bless her, tried to compile the tree back to Samuel as best she could, but determined that Samuel Meeker was the father of Phebe. [As I know now, Samuel and Phebe were twins.] Emma thus placed the time of the portrait a generation back in time. Which is why she/other family members most likely thought it was by Peale (a famous portrait painter in Philadelphia but a bit earlier than Stuart.) Possibly Emma had come across the more renowned MAJOR Samuel Meeker in the history books of the region, and plausibly thought that such an ILLUSTRIOUS war hero would be interested in having his portrait done to preserve his likeness for posterity.

And in fact the Major DID have a daughter Phebe, solidifying (Emma's) identification of this person as being the sitter in the Portrait.

Major Samuel Meeker achieved his fame by skirmishing with the famous half Indian JOSEPH BRANT (a.k.a. Thayendanegea), Mohawk leader and British military officer during the American Revolution.

Stay tuned!

The "Pedigree Of Major Samuel Meeker" Chap. I

Without this book, esssentially outlining a tree to the sitter in the portrait and providing his name "Major Samuel Meeker", all would have been lost. Without this name, my interest in sleuthing a possible connection to me and my family would most likely have evaporated, since "Peale" meant nothing to me (see post "Misattribution" 3/4/2009). Until I actually was in possession of the portrait, I didn't even know this book existed...and it seemed more of an afterthought that my mom handed it to me. A musty old thing as quaint as the portrait itself, with names that meant nothing to me. There was no indication, by anyone including my mom, that this was OUR family that was depicted! The names were foreign gibberish. Then again, I had only just begun my jump into genealogy. My first revelation was recognition of the two great aunties, Emma, Jane, and their sister Carrie (my gt grandmother) Martin from New Jersey, from whence the tree was traced back to Samuel Meeker.
A HUGE step forward! How cool!

The Pedigree Of Major Samuel Meeker

So, the sitter was Major Samuel Meeker, painted by Peale.

What? Wow, a Major during the time of the American Revolution!!

The word went around in my family. However, much to my irritation, they mostly remained glassy-eyed as I excitedly related my latest discoveries, describing our connection to a Revolutionary War Hero! (It seems I am the only one bitten by the genealogy gene.)

But...hold on not so fast.... parts of the puzzle were simply not falling into place as I expected. But, I will tell a story about the Major, for I spent much time on this interesting character which included taking a trip back east on the quest to learn more.

the first page

the second page (click on photo for larger view)

March 1, 2009

Today is my Mom's Birthday, she turns 81. The family celebrated yesterday, and afterwards lovely Lily and I went over to my cousin Craig's to visit with family in San Francisco. There we talked, walked in Golden Gate park, and, then, well, I felt like Sir Joshua Reynolds--the Royal Academy president and principal painter to King George III, who sat for Stuart in 1784, when he was 61. To quote a description of this portrait from the book Gilbert Stuart by Barratt & Miles: "he [Joshua] is aged, weak in the jaw, obviously deaf, and shown without allusion to his profession. ...Sir Joshua rejected the image, protesting that ‘if [Stuart's portrait] was like him, he did not know his own appearance!’ ” Yet despite being discouraged with the piercing accuracy of Stuart's portrayal, it seems that this did not prevent Reynolds from later recommending Stuart to other customers, and from Gilbert Stuart... "On the contrary, the picture endeared Stuart to Reynolds."

But back to my mom for the moment. She is pictured above at her marriage in Carmel, Ca April 1949... Pops is behind her; who many years later lived with my parents before passing away, and because of his request, the Portrait was hung in my mom's small sitting room. These two are direct descendents of Phebe Meeker, twin sister of the sitter. Pop's mother Carrie brought the Portrait from New Jersey to California. Nowadays mom is healthy, reasonably wealthy, and certainly wise, and we had a great Mexican feast to celebrate.
Here is a small bio she wrote for the Senior complex where she now happily resides;
My name is Carolyn [Cory] Ahrens, and I’m a native Californian going back three generations. I was brought up in Carmel, attended Carmel High, UC Berkeley, and graduated from Stanford in 1949. There I met my late husband John, and we had three children before moving to Asia because of John’s job with Bank of Anerica. We lived a total of 17 years in Tokyo, Ashiya, Bangkok, Bombay, and Manila. I very much enjoyed exploring new cultures, making new friends, and travelling throughout Asia and Europe. After we returned, we settled in Menlo Park, and about a year ago I moved to Santa Cruz where all my children, and grandchildren are presently living. I enjoy family, bridge, reading, and taking walks with my dog Sophie.

Sketch by Craig Marshall, Feb 28, 2009

to continue: After the birthday lunch Lily and I went to Craig's, and my artist cousin proceeded to oblige me with a demonstration of his incredible talent. And I was obliged to reflect on how Sir Joshua Reynolds felt when he saw his portrait. My thoughts were ............I can relate !.....

What has happened to the lovely lushness of YOUTH ?
But, the sketch also has something super endearing about it.
I will frame it~

Gilbert Stuart painted The Skater and later Samuel Meeker; how old were our charaters of interest?

(see earlier entries to follow this story, note that all are PEERS)

At the time of the The Skater 1782
Gilbert Stuart 27
Phebe Meeker 19
Samuel Meeker 19
Johann Wilhelm von Goethe 33
Charlotte von Stein 40

At the time of the Meeker portrait 1803
Gilbert Stuart 48
Phebe Meeker 40
Samuel Meeker 40
Goethe 54
Charlotte von Stein 61

dl dl dl dl dl dl dl dl dl dl dl dl






Goethe’s age when he ran away from Charlotte 37

Note that scandal had not yet tainted the fame of Goethe when The Skater was conceived.