Peg Leg Pete, the Penman, Devil Dan, and Willie
In the recent POTUS Pop Quiz in my newsletter, I asked what Peter Stuyvesant, Gouverneur Morris, and Daniel Sickles have in common. I had a very specific answer in mind, but the guesses sent me exploring.
They all lived in New York! That’s not what I was going for. I even had a fourth person in mind to share with the answer, William Astor Chanler. Guess what? Also lived in New York.
But, more to the point, all of them had one leg.
Correlation or causation or coincidence? Who is to say. Certainly not me. I’m not a scientist. I’m a mere presidential doodler who finds odd things to compare and contrast and likes to make little motion graphics about them and hope they are not offensive in any way.
Not to be self-congratulatory, but this was a particularly challenging post for me. Plenty of things are named for Peter around here, but I still can’t spell his name. One of the variations I opt for often is “Stuyvescent” and if there were a Stuyvescent, maybe it would smell like tobacco. Like Peter Stuyvesant cigarettes. I spent an unreasonable amount of time watching racy and several-minutes-long commercials. Yikes. Can’t spell Gouverneur either.
There were more overlaps than I anticipated with this one; it was incredibly fun to dig into.
New York
All of them lived in New York.
Stuyvesant: the last director-general of New Netherland (before it went under England’s control)
Morris: born in New York City, but he considered himself an American above all else (which was unusual among his peers)
Sickles: born in NYC
Chanler: born in Rhode Island, but raised in New York. Lived both in New York and France as an adult, as far as I can tell
Stuyvesant, Morris, and Sickles all died in New York. (Chanler died in France.)
Politicians
Stuyvesant: Director-General of New Netherland*; governor…? (to be honest, I’m very confused about the political structure of New Netherland)
Morris: Founding Father, US Senator, Constitutional Convention delegate, diplomat; not a governor
Sickles: NYS Senator, diplomat, Congressman
Chanler: NYS Assemblyman, Congressman
*While looking for a map of New Netherland in an effort to sound like I know what I’m talking about here, I stumbled on one by Nicolaes Visscher II … which got me wondering if that’s where the name of a little hamlet not far from me got its name. It was named after his son, Eldert Vischer and my mind is blown. it took me to tangents not relevant for this post but FYI: New Netherland included present-day New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut and tiny parts of Pennsylvania and Rhode-Island.
Centuries lived
1600s: Stuyvesant
1700s: Morris
1800s: Morris, Sickles, and Chanler
1900s: Sickles and Chanler
Nicknames
Three had spectacular nicknames, which I did not give them so if they are offensive I’m merely the messenger here.
Stuyvesant: Peg Leg Pete; Old Silver Nails
Morris: Penman of the Constitution; the Eternal Speaker; the Gentleman Revolutionary
Sickles: Devil Dan
Chanler: I didn’t want him to feel left out, so I’m just going with Willie. Not nearly as fun, but at least I’m not making something up.
All lived abroad
Stuyvesant: born in the Netherlands (neither here nor there: his dad’s name was Balthazar. I met my first Balthazar last week!)
Morris: Minister to France (under George Washington)
Sickles: Minister to UK (under James Buchanan); Minister to Spain (under Ulysses S. Grant)
Chanler: had a home in France
Two were related
Stuyvesant was related to:
Chanler (great-grandfather several times over)
Hamilton Fish, which means he’s also related to Hamilton Fish III who made my list of 100 Centenarians (dying at 102 years old). Apparently, he was born Hamilton Stuyvesant Fish (to his dad Hamilton Fish II, who was born to Hamilton Fish) but when his cousin Hamilton Fish (who served with Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders), as killed in action this Fish’s name was changed to honor him. He was also 6’ 4”, meaning I had to amend my list of tall people. Sadly, he’s dethroning Dale Pontius — also 6’ 4” and a centenarian. Dale died at 104 though, so I guess he wins. I knew very little of this guy previously and what I did know didn’t cast him in the best light — but I just learned he led the Harlem Hellfighters in World War I and now I need to know more.
Did Hamilton Fish III know Harlem Hellfighter Henry Johnson…? I don’t know but I really want to look into this more.
They each lost their leg in a different century
Stuyvesant: lost his leg in battle in the Caribbean in the 1600s; cannon ball
Morris: lost his leg after a carriage accident in the 1700s, possibly in a post-coital dash to escape an angry husband…?
Sickles: lost his leg during the Civil War in the 1800s; cannon ball
Chanler: lost his leg under mysterious conditions in the 1900s (duel? car accident? something else entirely?)
Peter Stuyvesant
To be honest, I really don’t know much about him. He popped up twice in my reading recently, both times with Chanler referencing him (“a plain pegleg, like that of [my] ancestor Peter Stuyvesant”, or something like that).
According to his Wikipedia entry, he believed he was saved by God to do better things when he survived his leg injury and subsequent amputation.
Organized and led the first volunteer fire organization in the country. (Outlawed wooden chimneys because WTF wooden chimneys?!)
Yikes to a lot of really not-great things that I’m avoiding here.
Gouverneur Morris
Morris could not keep it in his pants. For all of the amazing Founding Father stuff he did, I still giggle whenever he shows up.
He was part of the Committee on Conspiracies along with Philip Livingston and John Jay, who wished Morris had “lost something else” other other than his leg. Losing his leg didn’t slow down his dalliances.
The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington, by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch
Theodore Roosevelt wrote a book about him. As far as I know, the contents of which go beyond the unbelievable number of affairs, his wife’s unreal backstory, and his death-by-shoving-a-whale-bone-up-there.
The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President, by Edward F. O’Keefe
Also, I just (re) learned that he was known as Tall Boy. He’s the second 6' 4" politician I learned about writing this that needed to be added to my Six four and more collection.
Daniel Sickles
OMG this guy keeps showing up. He was in four books I’ve read in the past few months:
Lincoln, by David Herbert Donald
The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln, by Stephen L. Carter
Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters: A Novel, by Jennifer Chiaverini (I’m pretty sure, anyhow. I didn’t take notes with this one. Honestly might have been a different novel, but my money is on this one)
New York's Secret Subway: The Underground Genius of Alfred Beach and the Origins of Mass Transit, by Matthew Algeo
His story is bonkers and I’m not quite sure who is more fascinating — Morris or Sickles. Both were tireless philanderers. Only one (that I know of!) murdered someone because of his wife’s philandering … which seems just a tad double-standardy IMHO.
Lincoln, by David Herbert Donald
William Astor Chanler
I first learned about him in a historical novel — Stephanie Dray’s The Women of Chateau Lafayette. I was delighted when he popped up again recently.
The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President, by Edward F. O’Keefe
And thus abruptly concludes my unexpectedly long post
Have I missed any other coincidences with these four gentlemen? Drop them in the comments below.
Correlation or causation or coincidence?