Samuel Fraunces information

Samuel Fraunces (1722/23^{[note 1]} – October 10, 1795) was an American restaurateur and the owner/operator of Fraunces Tavern in New York City. During the Revolutionary War, he provided for prisoners held during the seven-year British occupation of New York City (1776-1783), and claimed to have been a spy for the American side.^[3] At the end of the war, it was at Fraunces Tavern that General George Washington said farewell to his officers. Fraunces later served as steward of Washington's presidential household in New York City (1789–1790) and Philadelphia (1791–1794).

Since the mid-19th century, there has been a dispute over Fraunces's racial identity.^[4] According to his 1983 biographer, Kym S. Rice: "During the Revolutionary era, Fraunces was commonly referred to as 'Black Sam.' Some have taken references such as these as an indication that Fraunces was a black man. ...[W]hat is known of his life indicates he was a white man."^[2]^{: 147–148} Some 19th- and 20th-century sources described Fraunces as "a negro man" (1838),^[5] "swarthy" (1878),^[6] "mulatto" (1916),^[7] "Negro" (1916),^[8] "coloured" (1930),^[9] "fastidious old Negro" (1934),^[10] and "Haitian Negro" (1962),^[11] but these date from at least several decades after his death.^[12] As Rice noted in her Documentary History of Fraunces Tavern (1985): "Other than the appearance of the nickname, there are no known references where Fraunces was described as a black man" during his lifetime.^[13]^: 27

The familiar oil-on-canvas portrait, long identified as depicting Samuel Fraunces and exhibited at Fraunces Tavern since 1913, was recently discredited by new evidence. German historian Arthur Kuhle found a portrait of the same sitter in a Dresden museum in 2017, and suspects that the sitter had been a member of Prussian king Frederick the Great's royal court.^[14]

^ "Portrait of Samuel Fraunces" in Rice, Kym S. (1985). A Documentary History of Fraunces Tavern: The 18th Century. New York: Fraunces Tavern Museum. Appendix B, pp. 33-34.
^ ^a ^b "Samuel Fraunces" (biographical sketch) in Rice, Kym S. (1983). Early American Taverns: For the Entertainment of Friends and Strangers. Chicago: Regnery Gateway. ISBN 978-0-89526-842-6.
^ Cite error: The named reference memorial was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Booker, Bobbi (2009-03-22). "Racial identity of "Black Sam" debated". Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
^ "Biographical Sketch of Captain Samuel Cooper". Southern Literary Messenger. 4 (8): 522–523. August 1838. Retrieved 2013-12-28. Emphasis in original.
^ Joseph Nerée Balestier, Historical Sketches of Holland Lodge, with Incidental Remarks on Masonry in the State of New York (1878), p. 38.
^ Frederic J. Haskin, The Washington D.C. Evening Star, August 11, 1916, p. 10.
^ National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, The Crisis (December 1916), p. 85.[1]
^ James Weldon Johnson, Black Manhattan (Perseus Books Group, 1930).
^ William Hornor, Jr., The Philadelphia Bulletin, February 22, 1934, p. 8.
^ Charles Henry Thompson, The Journal of Negro Education, vol. 31 (1962), p. 475.
^ Blockson, Charles L. "Black Samuel Fraunces: Patriot, White House Steward and Restaurateur Par Excellence". Temple University Libraries. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
^ Rice, Kym S. (1985). A Documentary History of Fraunces Tavern: The 18th Century. New York: Fraunces Tavern Museum.
^ Phillips, Jessica B. (2017). "Samuel Fraunces: Revealed?". Fraunces Tavern Museum. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-06.

Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

[1] "Portrait of Samuel Fraunces" in Rice, Kym S. (1985). A Documentary History of Fraunces Tavern: The 18th Century. New York: Fraunces Tavern Museum. Appendix B, pp. 33-34.

[Rice1983-2] "Samuel Fraunces" (biographical sketch) in Rice, Kym S. (1983). Early American Taverns: For the Entertainment of Friends and Strangers. Chicago: Regnery Gateway. ISBN 978-0-89526-842-6.

[memorial-4] Cite error: The named reference memorial was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Booker-5] Booker, Bobbi (2009-03-22). "Racial identity of "Black Sam" debated". Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 2017-04-17.

[Cooper-6] "Biographical Sketch of Captain Samuel Cooper". Southern Literary Messenger. 4 (8): 522–523. August 1838. Retrieved 2013-12-28. Emphasis in original.

[7] Joseph Nerée Balestier, Historical Sketches of Holland Lodge, with Incidental Remarks on Masonry in the State of New York (1878), p. 38.

[8] Frederic J. Haskin, The Washington D.C. Evening Star, August 11, 1916, p. 10.

[9] National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, The Crisis (December 1916), p. 85.[1]

[10] James Weldon Johnson, Black Manhattan (Perseus Books Group, 1930).

[11] William Hornor, Jr., The Philadelphia Bulletin, February 22, 1934, p. 8.

[JNE-12] Charles Henry Thompson, The Journal of Negro Education, vol. 31 (1962), p. 475.

[Blockson-13] Blockson, Charles L. "Black Samuel Fraunces: Patriot, White House Steward and Restaurateur Par Excellence". Temple University Libraries. Retrieved 2016-01-06.

[Rice1985-14] Rice, Kym S. (1985). A Documentary History of Fraunces Tavern: The 18th Century. New York: Fraunces Tavern Museum.

[Revealed?-15] Phillips, Jessica B. (2017). "Samuel Fraunces: Revealed?". Fraunces Tavern Museum. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-06.

Samuel Fraunces information

and 22 Related for: Samuel Fraunces information

Samuel Fraunces

Fraunces Tavern

Samuel Osgood House

List of the oldest restaurants in the United States

Gifford Dalley

Greenwich Street

1795

Taverns in North America

Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York

Stephen Delancey

1795 in the United States

DeWint House

Sons of the Revolution

Jane Tuers

New York Vauxhall Gardens

Wilton Circle

Eric Jay Dolin

Samuel Daniel

Committees of correspondence

Congress of the Confederation

Book of Negroes

Nick Bunker