Richard Worsam Meade I
Richard Worsam Meade (June 23, 1778 – June 25, 1828) was an American merchant and art collector, and the father of
Sometimes controversially outspoken, he lost favor and was imprisoned by political enemies after the Spanish government incurred large debts to him during the
Early life
Meade was born on June 23, 1778, in
Meade then went into business on
Merchant in Cadiz
At Cadiz the business prospered, with him being among the first to export
During the
His attempts to collect on the debt backfired. In 1812 he published a pamphlet accusing Treasurer-General Victor Soret of misappropriation: Scandalous Attempt by the Regency of Spain to Ruin Richard W. Meade. According to his own account
he published in warm and manly language a Pamphlet ... in consequence of said publication, he was seized at midnight by an armed force, and imprisoned in the common jail of the city[.][11]
Duke
In 1815 he commissioned an expensive full-length portrait by renowned court painter
Spain's debt to Meade embroiled him in a worsening conflict in 1814. The Consulado of Cadiz (a tribunal of commerce) had appointed him to manage the bankrupt estate of James W. Glass, a broker for Hunter, Rainey & Company of London. He had calculated that $52,000 was due to John McDermot, a representative of the firm. In February the Consulado ordered him to pay it to the treasury instead of to McDermot, which he did—but after a dispute over the legitimacy of the payment, it ordered him to pay the money a second time. On appeal the Spanish Council of War involved itself,[8] and on a pretext to avoid paying the government's huge debt, caused him to be imprisoned in the Castle of Santa Catalina on May 2, 1816.[19]
He wrote to U.S. minister
Unpaid claim
In 1820 a Spanish tribunal agreed that he was owed $491,153.62: for Peninsular War debt $298,879.88, for wrongful imprisonment $75,000, and $117,273.45 as agent for others.[26] However, the Adams–Onís Treaty, signed in 1819, would transfer all American claims against Spain to the U.S. government if it were ratified. Thus Meade returned to the United States in the late spring of 1820, moving from Philadelphia to Washington.[3] He clandestinely lobbied the Senate and the President to make ratification dependent on payment of his claim. This earned him the ire of its negotiator John Quincy Adams: "There was malice and treachery in the transaction, as well as intrigue and cupidity."[27][28]
The treaty was ratified regardless, and Meade filed a claim for $373,879.88 with the U.S. commission set up to hear the Spanish claims.[29] His claim was denied in 1822 because he had presented only the certificate of debt from the Spanish tribunal, not the original evidence of his losses (now in possession of the Spanish government).[3] Before he could obtain the documents, the commission disbanded on June 8, 1824, dismissing Meade's case without hearing the merits.[30]
Meade spent the rest of his life lobbying the government for payment, employing such famous attorneys as Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and Rufus Choate.[8] In 1827 a petition in his favor signed by 1100 people was submitted to Congress.[31] The political situation however was against him: John Quincy Adams rose to the presidency in 1824 while the Meades had supported Clay, and their sympathy in Congress quickly waned.[32]
After Meade's death in 1828 the cause was taken up by his widow, then his son Richard, then his daughter Margaret, as the claim became famous for its longevity. They petitioned every session of Congress until in 1856 it passed a joint resolution referring the matter to the newly created
Art collection
Meade used his merchant wealth to purchase paintings and statues, becoming one of the first American collectors of European art.
While in prison, Meade had sent much of his artwork to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. This included a copy by Mariano Salvador Maella of a contemporary portrait of Christopher Columbus, now lost. Another of the important canvases was Murillo's Roman Charity. The collection arrived in April 1818 and was installed in the Academy's southwest gallery, which came to be called the Meade Gallery. A fire in 1845 destroyed the original building as well as Roman Charity.[37]
To thank the government for negotiating his release, Meade gifted the U.S. legation in Madrid a copy of the
The Meade family art collection was dispersed when they sold it at auction in 1853.[39]
Hogan schism
After returning from Spain, Meade became a trustee of
A pamphlet defending the trustees was published by exiled priest John Rico, whom Meade had helped escape from Spain to the United States.[41] Meade became close friends with another parishioner, diplomat Manuel Torres, through whom he met the radical priest Servando Teresa de Mier. Mier quickly joined the St. Mary's controversy, while Torres tried to help Meade out with his financial problems.[42] When Torres died in 1822, the funeral procession left from Meade's house, and with William Duane he was the executor of Torres' estate.[43]
Personal life
Meade married Margaret Coates Butler in 1801. She was the daughter of Anthony Butler, a merchant of
He was the only son to pass on the Meade family name;[31] he and Margaret had 11 children, most of them born in Cadiz:
- Henrietta Constantia (1801–1831), who married Alexander J. Dallas
- Charlotte Hustler (1803–1843), who married U.S. Army officer James Duncan Graham
- Elizabeth Mary (1805–1872), who married banker Alfred Ingraham of Philadelphia[46]
- Richard Worsam II (1807–1870), who became a Navy captain
- Margaret Gordon (1808–1887), who became a clerk in the Department of War[30]
- Maria del Carmen (1810–1877), who married Army officer Hartman Bache[47]
- Salvadora (1812–1886), who married Navy officer John T. McLaughlin
- Catherine Hustler (b. 1814), who died in infancy
- George Gordon (1815–1872), who became a Union Army general famous for the Battle of Gettysburg
- Robert Leamy (1817–1841), who married Elizabeth Ricketts, sister of General James B. Ricketts
- Mariamne Williams (1822–1857), who married Navy officer Thomas B. Huger[48]
The "Gordon" middle name was in honor of James Gordon, a Scottish merchant in Spain; his daughter Catherine Gordon Prendergast was George's godmother.[49]
Meade was on the board of examiners of the American Classical and Military Lyceum, a Mount Airy school which George attended for two years.[50] The family's diminished finances due to the failed claim may be the reason that the younger Richard and George sought a free education as military officers.[51]
Meade died in the Washington suburb of Georgetown on June 25, 1828, at the relatively young age of 50.[3] In his will he left everything to his widow Margaret,[46] including properties valued at $68,251.99 when the estate was settled in 1832.[39] He was buried in the Meade family vault at St. Mary's Church.[52]
Notes
- ^ Campbell, History of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, p. 119.
- ^ Bache, Life of General George Gordon Meade, pp. 1–2; Atzbach, Portraits in Conversation, at 49m50s.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Frederick, "Meade, Richard Worsam".
- ^ Frederick has "the island of Santo Domingo".
- ^ De Cunzo, "An Historical Interpretation", p. 132.
- Gross Domestic Product deflatorfigures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
- ^ Atzbach, Portraits in Conversation, at 39m37s.
- ^ a b c d Johnson, "Meade, Richard Worsam".
- ^ "The Secretary [of the Navy] carried on extensive correspondence with a varying number of such agents, who acted as purchasing agents and performed other services in the principal ports, receiving as compensation a commission on transactions." Cunningham, Process of Government, p. 132.
- ^ Stowe, Philadelphia Gentleman, pp. 43–45; Atzbach, Portraits in Conversation, at 40m16s.
- ^ [Sergeant?], The Case of Richard W. Meade, p. 6.
- ^ 1 ducat of exchange was equal 1.01492 U.S. dollars, Torres, Exposition of the Commerce of Spanish America, p. 26.
- ^ Atzbach, Portraits in Conversation, at 56m10s; Stowe, Philadelphia Gentleman, pp. 47–48.
- ^ Atzbach, Portraits in Conversation, at 57m43s.
- ^ Atzbach, Portraits in Conversation, at 58m20s.
- ^ a b "Collections – Recent Acquisitions". Meadows Museum. n.d. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012.
- ^ Atzbach, Portraits in Conversation, at 51m10s.
- ^ Atzbach, Portraits in Conversation, at 58m43s.
- ^ Stowe, Philadelphia Gentleman, pp. 49–51.
- ^ "H. Doc. 15-67 - Message from the President of the United States, transmitting, pursuant to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the twenty-third Dec. last, information relative to the detention in confinement of Richard W. Meade. January 30, 1818. Read, and ordered to lie upon the table". GovInfo.gov. E. De Krafft. January 30, 1818. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
His majesty's treasury has the money in question; Mr. Meade is suffering in prison under his majesty's authority! What can be more simple, than the course pointed out by justice in this case?
- ^ Cleaves, Meade of Gettysburg, p. 5–6; affirmed by Stowe, Philadelphia Gentleman, p. 51.
- ^ [Sergeant?], The Case of Richard W. Meade.
- ^ Stowe, Philadelphia Gentleman, p. 52
- ^ Representative John Trimble offered a stronger proposal, to authorize the retaliatory imprisonment of a Spanish consul. Annals of Congress 32, 1699–1713.
- ^ Cleaves, Meade of Gettysburg, p. 5–7. He notes that Clay imported merino sheep on Meade's ships.
- ^ U.S. Court of Claims, Reports, p. 225; Frederick.
- ^ Adams, Memoirs V, p. 272.
- ^ Cleave, Meade of Gettysburg, p. 8.
- ^ Apparently excluding the amount due to others.
- ^ a b c "People Who Never Tire. Old Government Claims and the Claimants". New York Times. August 11, 1878. p. 2. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- ^ a b Meade, "George Meade," p. 219.
- ^ Stowe, Philadelphia Gentleman, pp. 57–58.
- ^ U.S. Court of Claims, Reports. The case spans 818 pages.
- ^ Meade v. United States, 76 U.S. 691, ¶ 101 (1869).
- ^ See e.g. Hackett, The Meade Claim—a concise overview in favor of a relief bill.
- ^ "72 Cong. Rec. (Bound) - July 2, 1930". GovInfo.gov. U.S. Government Printing Office. July 2, 1930. p. 12371. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
By Mr. Graham: A bill (H.R. 13280) for the relief of the estate of Richard W. Meade, deceased; to the Committee on Claims.
- ^ Atzbach, Portraits in Conversation, at 1h03m00s.
- ^ "Washington, Schlepped Here". Whereas: Stories from the People's House. History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives. February 12, 2016. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
- ^ a b Stowe, Philadelphia Gentleman, p. 60.
- ^ Warren, "Displaced 'Pan-Americans'", pp. 351–352.
- ^ Warren, "Displaced 'Pan-Americans'", p. 352.
- ^ Bowman, "Manuel Torres in Philadelphia", p. 20.
- ^ Bowman, "Manuel Torres, a Spanish American Patriot", p. 53, "Correspondence of Duane", p. 111.
- ^ Stowe, Philadelphia Gentleman, p. 42.
- ^ Meade, "George Meade," p. 208
- ^ a b Cleave, Meade of Gettysburg, p. 9
- ^ Majewicz, "Friends of Franklin", p. 9.
- ^ Hughes, American Ancestry, pp. 110–111.
- ^ Stowe, Philadelphia Gentleman, p. 48.
- ^ Stowe, Philadelphia Gentleman, p. 62.
- ^ Bache, Life of General George Gordon Meade, pp. 8–9.
- ^ Maitland, "St. Mary's Graveyard", p. 258.
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