Antonio Corradini: Modesty (1752)

İnterior of a Kitchen (1815) by Martin Drölling (French, 1752-1817), oil on canvas, Louvre Museum (Paris, France)

Breakfast, Jean-Etienne Liotard, 1752

A map of Philadelphia and parts adjacent: with a perspective view of the State-House, 1752.

Modesty - Antonio Corradini - 1752

24 Days of La Fayette: December 8th - William Constable

William Constable is one of the reasons why I liked this research so much. When I first sat down to write this post, the name sounded rather generic to me, I had never heard it before. Not in connection with La Fayette or anyone else. I expected a few bites in letters, maybe a grave marker and a few listings in genealogy books – as it turns out, Donald G. Tailby (later associated Professor at the University of Georgia) wrote his PhD about the early career of William Constable (the dissertation can be partly read here) and the papers of the Constable family are for the most part held by New York Public Library.

William Kerin Constable was born on January 1, 1752, in Dublin, Ireland. The family originally hailed from France, but they moved to England for unknown reasons. William’s paternal grandfather, also named William Constable, moved from England to Ireland “in the King’s service”. In Ireland he met and married Elizabeth Owen (probably of Welsh descent). Together they had three surviving daughters and one son. The son’s name was John Constable, and he was born in Dublin in 1728. He married Jane Kerin, born 1731, daughter of William Kerin and Jane Ewer on February 6, 1749 in Dublin. Their son William (our William) was born on January 1, 1752 in Dublin, their daughter Eweretta was born in 1754. Two other children, Elizabeth and George, died young. A fifth child, Henriette, was born in Montreal in 1761. The couples last child, John, was born in North America in 1764.

There is considerable uncertainty when and how the family left Dublin. Before they came to North America, they settled for some time in Montreal. Family records imply that they moved there around the year 1754, shortly after Eweretta’s birth. John Constable was a regimental surgeon in the British Army and the city of Montreal was under French control until 1760 when the French surrendered the city to the British during the French and Indian War. It is highly unlikely for a British, non-Catholic family with a husband and father that works for the army to move into a French city during a war between France and Britain. Far more likely is the scenario that either the whole family moved to Montreal in 1760/1761 or that in 1754 John Constable was in Montreal with the army and his family joined him there in 1760/1761.

Anyway, by 1762 the family had moved to Schenectady in New York. John Constable was still employed as a military surgeon but earned his money mainly as a private physician. It appears as if William Constable was send back to Dublin to receive a formal education before returning to Schenectady. His younger sister Eweretta had married James Phyn in 1768. Phyn was one of the partners of the fur-trading firm Phyn & Ellice. James Phyn offered his brother-in-law an apprenticeship in his firm in 1769 and William started working there as a clerk despite his fathers wishes for him to study law. William met many of his lifelong friends and business partners during his time by Phyn & Ellice. Between 1773/1774 and 1777 he was sent by the firm to England. Little is known about his time in England, but soon after his return to North America, he joined the Continental Army and took his Oath of Alliance in Philadelphia.

It appears that during the Revolutionary War, Constable was not only La Fayette’s aide-de-camp but prior to that also an aide-de-camp to General John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg. Founders Online currently has two letters written by Constable during this time and in both cases, the editors of Founders Online describe him as Muhlenberg’s aide-de-camp. The last of these letters was written on April 7, 1781 and the first connection that appears between Constable and La Fayette is a letter from April 28, 1781.

While with La Fayette, Constable appears to have been often tasked with coping letters or taking dictations. Between April 28, 1781 and July 25, 1781 there are fifteen letters in Constable’s hand that survived. But Constable was doing more than simply copying letters. La Fayette wrote to the Baron von Steuben on May 31, 1781:

I am to beg your pardon for opening your letter, but I was gone from the place when they arrived and Mr. Constable who had remained behind hearing that Tarletons Horse were on his route to join me unsealed every letter on public Service that in Case he should destroy them he might know their Contents.

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 4, April 1, 1781–December 23, 1781, Cornell University Press, 1981, p. 150-151.

It appears as if William Constable never held a specific rank in the army because he always referred to as “Mr. Constable” and I could not find anything about potential commissions or further promotions.

After the war, Constable returned to his business endeavours. He was a merchant and a fur dealer, as well as land and debt speculator – he and his partner owned a tenth of the state of New York during their business’ peak years. Constable’s business endeavours were numerous and too complex to unfurl here in total, so a short summary has to suffice.

He was involved with such illustrious names like Robert Morris, Gouverneur Morris, William Duer and James Seagrove. He was a partner to Porteous & Company of New York, later Constable, Porteous & Company of Philadelphia. He had early business connections to Benedict Arnold during his time as military governor of Philadelphia and engaged together with James Seagrove in trade in France and Havana. He also entered a contract about the trading of tobacco with France. He is probably best known for his connections with the Morris’ and their combined endeavour to establish trade between America and China. During the early years of trade relations, few men were so actively engaged in the venture as Constable. He also had contracts with the government, especially as a partner at Constable, Rucker and Co. Beside Tailby’s PhD dissertation I also recommend his paper titled Foreign Interest Remittances by the United States, 1785-1787: A Story of Malfeasance.

Constable settled in Philadelphia and married Anna White. Together they had at least one surviving son, William Kerin Constable jr., who later settled in Constableville. The village was settled in 1796 and the older Constable was the sole proprietor after his partners pulled out. He sold parcels of land to people in France, England, and the Netherlands.

He died on May 22, 1803 in Greenwich near New York City.

Constable also had business and personal relations with Alexander Hamilton, especially in the late 1780s and early 1790s. Founders Online currently has twelve letters between the two of them. The Library of Congress has five letters written in William Constables handwriting, mostly parts of his correspondence with Tobias Lear.

George Washington Papers, Series 4, General Correspondence: William Constable to Tobias Lear, November 16, 1790, Manuscript/Mixed Material, Retrieved from the Library of Congress. (09/09/2022)

Reggia di Caserta

Jokes and Pranks: Here is the April Fools’ Day Origin Story | Ancient Origins

https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-important-events/jokes-and-pranks-here-april-fools-day-origin-story-009831

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Antoine WATTEAU. Livre de différents caractères de têtes… Paris, François Chereau, 1752.

2022 Daily drawing no.:291 Daily drawing no. to date.: 1,752 . . . . . . #day291of2022 #day1752 #1752 #october #october2022 #procreate #character #random #fall #onedrawingadaychallenge #onedrawingaday #dailydrawing #drawing #illustration #russellolsonart https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj4VRl-r8QS/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Pair of Partridges, Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory, 1750-52

Luis González Velázquez (Spanish, 1715-1763) Mercury and Argos, 1752 Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando

depending on when you headcanon the war/banishment of monsters in UT to have happened theres a prrrretty good chance none of them know what a gregorian calendar is nor the notation of it

20240321: the History of LEGO Castle day 081. 1752 / 1804 / 2891 Boat With Armour / Crossbow Boat / Thunder Arrow Boat (1996 / 1996 / 1998, 21 pieces, 11 different parts) This small Royal Knight boat has a black bottom, a red dull-sided hull, and a black rim with two dark gray crossbows mounted on the bow and a white ovoid shield with a yellow lion head with yellow crown and a black mane on red and white halved background with a blue border. The one minifigure for this set has a dark gray axe wielder helmet, a yellow minifigure head with black bangs and a mustache and black beard stubble, a red torso with white arms and a yellow lion head with yellow crown and a black mane on a white and red halved triangular shield with a blue border, and black legs with a red belt. 1752 is the small boxed version of this set, while 1804 is the polybag version, and 2891 is the polybag version inserted into boxes of Kabaya sweets and sold in Japan. Parts inventory for this set can be found at BrickLink and Rebrickable and a free download of the instructions is available at ToysPeriod.