1855 ca AMERICANA Revolutionary War Constitution Stock Exchange letter Edw King

Description

[AMERICANA ASSOCIATIONS REVOLUTIONARY WAR, SIGNER OF CONSTITUTION, ETC; LETTER BY RELATIVE OF RUFUS KING] ESWARD KING, 1833-1908, DESCENDANT OF SIGNER OF THE CONSTITUTION RUFUS KING, PRESIDENT OF N. Y. STOCK EXCHANGE, 1872, 4-page handwritten letter signed with folds as mailed with envelope present, 4-1/2” x 6-3/4”/about 400 words, dated New York Feb. 9th [no year/est. 1855
from comparison to other letters in the group and references in the letter], Edward King writes to Mr. W. Gaston Pearson, Cambridge, Massachusetts, who he would have met when they were students at Harvard and also known from being members of leading American families of the period involved in government and political affairs, King is leaving for Baltimore with a Charles [?] and then going to Washington where he invites Gaston who will be at the home of his prestigious family to met them…besides outlining his itinerary, Edward King writes about noted individuals of mutual acquaintance and his own recent activities…in general Edward King’s letter gives a picture of the network, activities, and lifestyle of leading American families of the northeast with roots going back to the Revolution, the founding of the United States, and the formation of various institutions…excerpts from the letter, “We mean to take a trip on to Washington…you can met us…You appear to be enjoying your wagon and horses…There are beautiful rides and drives around Washington…I went up to Albany last week to a wedding at the Van Rensselaer’s and saw Miss Justine [Townsend, wife of Dr. Howard Townsend]…a great friend of my sister Frederica…My sister and cousins and Mr. Duer and I went up on Wednesday morning by the Hudson River Railroad…My principle amusement since I have been in New York has been going to Wallack’s Theatre”…
signature authenticated by seller with a lifetime guarantee, provenance is a group of letters by Pearson family members
plus many others received from others such as this one by Edward King
///// NOTES:
EDWARD KING
, 1833-1908, grandson of Mary (Alsop) King and Rufus King…member of the New York Stock Exchange and its president in 1872…president of the St. Nicholas Society of the City of New York…in 1873 chosen as president of the Union Trust Company of New York, a position he held until his death…his sister Frederica Gore King Davis, 1829-1916, married John Chandler Bancroft Davis;
WILLIAM GASTON PEARSON:
1834-1861, member of a prominent Washington, D. C., area family…infirm for most of his life…spent much time traveling throughout the U. S. and Europe looking for cures;
RUFUS KING
, 1755-1827, Edward King’s paternal grandfather, Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress and the Philadelphia Convention…signer of the United States Constitution in 1787…son of a prosperous Massachusetts merchant, Rufus King studied law before volunteering for the militia in the American Revolutionary War;
HOWARD TOWNSEND
, 1823-67, Albany, NY, physician…son of Peter Townsend, owner of the Stirling Iron Works which forged the Hudson River Chain that prevented the British Royal Navy from sailing up the river during the American Revolution, in 1853 his son Howard married Miss Justine Van Rensselaer (1828-1912), daughter of General Stephen Van Rensselaer
///// CONDITION:
well preserved, legible except for a couple of words, short tears at outer edges of two folds, stampless envelope with mostly effaced postmark.