Identifier: historicbuilding00sin (find matches)
Title: Historic buildings of America as seen and described by famous writers;
Year: 1906 (1900s)
Authors: Singleton, Esther, (from old catalog) ed
Subjects: Historic buildings Historic buildings
Publisher: New York, Dodd, Mead & company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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ed from itsoriginal appearance. It was erected about 1735 by theDelancey family, then one of the most distinguished andopulent in New York, and was considered equal in sizeand architectural display to any at that period in the city. As a tavern, it was the most noted in New York andwas the resort of the bloods of that day, who formed them-selves into social clubs, and among whom were some of themost active and distinguished men of the Revolution.Samuel Fraunces, or as he was familiarly called, BlackSam (in consequence of his swarthy complexion), was ofFrench extraction, and appears to have been a prince of apublican. He purchased the house in 1762, from OliverDelancey, for ;^2,ooo, provincial currency, but did notopen it as a public house until some time afterwards. The first notice of Sam that we have been able to dis-cover, is an advertisement in Parkers Post Boy^ February * This is the manner in which he signed his name, and is thus recordedby him in the Deed of Conveyance in 1785.
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Z FRAUNCES TAVERN 35 5, 1761, by which it appears that he not only acted aslandlord but did considerable business as a dealer in differentkinds of preserves. Here is the advertisement: To be sold at a very reasonable rate, by Samuel Francis,at the Sign of the Masons Arms near the Green, NewYork, a small quantity of portable soup, catchup, bottledgooseberries, pickled walnuts, pickled or fryed oisters, fit togo to the West Indias, pickled mushrooms, a large assort-ment of sweetmeats, such as currant jelly, marmalade,quinces, grapes, strawberries and sundry other sorts. The Masons Arms was very popular under the manage-ment of Sam as a Mead and Tea Garden, places much fre-quented by both sexes on pleasant afternoons. On pur-chasing the Broad Street house, Sanft sold out this, and it isthus announced in the same paper: May 13, 1762, John Jones—Begs leave to acquaint thepublick. That he has removed to the house formerly keptby Samuel Francis, at the Sign of the Masons Arms, nextto Mr. D

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