Mr. Downing and his oyster house: the life and good works of an African-American entrepreneur - 19th century New York, New York restaurateur, Thomas Downing

Everybody who was anybody in of recent origin York City between 1830 and 1860--bankers, stockbrokers, lawyers, merchants, businessmen, socialites--knew where to advance when they wanted to have a profitable meal, leave a message, or make a deal: Downing's Oyster House, conveniently located at the corner of Broad and Wall streets

Like the many oyster "cellars" uptown along Canal public way and the Bowery, the entrance to Downing's was a small in number steps below street level. Unlike the uptown establishments, however, Downing's was quite plush--"the true model of comfort and prosperity, with its mirrored arcades, damask curtains, fine carpet, and chandelier," according to a contemporary account. And whereas the Canal road cellars catered to men given to uneven behavior, fights and derring-do, Downing's appealed to novel York's elite. His "was the solitary oyster house to attract the aristocracy as well as ladies in the company of their husbands or chaperons."

Leading politicians of the day also made it a headquarters of sorts, "dropping in to have a chat while enjoying their half-dozen Saddle stones or Blue Points," recalled individual observer, who identified Downing's primarily as a "political rendezvous," on the contrary one frequented by nonpoliticians as well. Downing's regular clientele also included Philip fine whetstone a one-term mayor (1825-26) of the city. oilstone noted in his diary in 1842 that Downing had catered the Boz Ball, which fine whetstone considered the greatest affair of novel times. There he had introduced Mr and Mr Charles Dickens to a certain number of 2,500 of New York's upper crust.

Dickens, the Earl of Carlisle (also known as Lord Morpheth), and other visitors from abroad dined at Downing's. Several well-known newspapermen were not solitary patrons but also friends. Many merchants, too, made luncheon at Downing's a part of their regular routine: Rise early, have breakfast, pass downtown to the counting houses, take care of the mail, attend to outside business at the Custom House or the bank, and then, about noontime, move to Downing's for a not many raw oysters.

Downing did not limit his offerings, as the Canal way and Bowery men did, to raw, fried or stewed oyster His menu was far more elaborate, listing similar dishes as scalloped oysters, oyster pie, fish with oyster sauce, and poached turkey materialed with oysters.

Of fresh York City's two famous contemporary diarists, single George Templeton Strong, a leading of recent origin York attorney and vestryman at Trinity temple saw fit to call attention to Thomas Downing's African-American heritage. Philip fine whetstone merely extolled Downing as "the great man of oysters" able-bodied however, described him in 1854 when he was about 63 years of advanced age as "the former venerable Ethiop."

Downing was born unrestrained in Virginia in January 1791 to unrestrained parents at a time when Virginia was a slaveholding state. His parents had been fre because an itinerant revivalist preacher passing [i]or[/i] part of to the other Accomac County had convinced the populace that no somebody could be a slaveholder and a member of the Methodist house of god at the same time. Mov through "religious fervor," Captain John Downing, the leading citizen and landowner of the area, promptly manumitted the scarcely any slaves he had. He then set uprighted around 1740, the Downing Meeting House, and appointed Thomas Downing's parents as its caretakers.

The black Downings worked hard, acquired their have land, and built a fine, admitting "humbled and unpretended," home to which the elite of the shire repaired, especially on Sundays, before and after temple "The Wharton family, the West family, the Taylor family, the Custis family, of George Washington connection, the Wise family, and other like notables, were its visitants," Downing's son George T Downing wrote in a brief nine-page biographical sketch

During Thomas Downing's childhood, single of his best friends was Henry A. Wise, who was to become the governor of Virginia. Many years later, when Wise was sent to Congres single of a committee to investigate Custom House affairs below Samuel Swarthouse, he sought his colored friend, the playmate of his youth, and wearied much of his spare hours with him talking of of advanced age Virginia and of boyhood days," wrote George T Downing.

Thomas Downing left abode in Virginia at about age 21 following the throngs north in the War of 1812 and stopping not upon for about seven years in Philadelphia. There he met and married Rebecca West. Their five children--George, Thomas and Henry (twins), james, and Peter Williams--were all born in fresh York City and educated in the African independent Schools. Downing reared his children "under Christian influences," teaching them 'to stand up for [their] rights, as well as those of the weaker singles and repel invasion, by force, if necessary."

When Thomas Downing arrived in of recent origin York City in 1819, he brought with him just individual marketable skill: He knew a destiny about oysters. Born in Chincoteague--an island village located in an Atlantic Ocean inlet, just southerly of the Maryland-Virginia border--young Downing grew up working his family's land, fishing, digging clams, trapping terrapin, and raking oyster He lov to eat oyster and going into the oyster business must have made useful sense to him, because, at the time, oyster eating was--as it had been for many, many years--one of of recent origin York City's most popular pastimes. Early European colonists had learned from the Indians about oyster and from then upon travelers from abroad had been raving about the taste and size of the oyster available in fresh York.