Painted in 1858 is this miniature portrait, signed "J Hy Brown 1858" for John Henry Brown.
The sitter has been identified, with kind assistance from the Rosenbach Museum and Library, as Mrs Eliza Tessieire. John Henry Brown charged $180 to paint this portrait. Eliza Caroline Morgan married Anthony Tessieire on March 19, 1813 in Philadelphia.
John Henry Brown | Smithsonian American Art Museum
Eliza's mother, Mrs Geo. W Morgan is the sitter in a miniature by George Lethbridge Saunders elsewhere in this American 1 gallery. Based upon the census information in the attached comments, Eliza was born in 1798 and thus only 15 when she married, and 60 when this miniature was painted. She was widowed before 1850, but by 1870 she had a personal fortune of $200,000, equivalent to around $10,000,000 today!
Little is known about the Tessieire family, although on page 159 of "Salons Colonial and Republican", Anne Hollingsworth Wharton observes that a large number of the leading citizens of Saint Domingo immigrated to America when they were driven hither by the uprising in the island. These immigrants included the Tessieire (Tesseire) family and presumably Anthony was one of these. Although no relevant reference has yet been found, the Tessieire family presumably had also been slave owners in St. Domingo, and emigrated (or fled?) to the United States around 1804, i.e. after the Haiti Massacre.
The most significant slave uprising in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) was the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), a successful revolt against French rule that created the first free black republic. The 1791 rebellion, sparked by the French Revolution's ideals and led by figures like Toussaint Louverture, grew from localized unrest into a full-scale war for independence, ultimately succeeding where others failed.
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| Saint Domingo Massacre of 1804 |
The 1804 Haiti massacre was carried out by Haitian rebel soldiers, mostly former slaves, under orders from Jean-Jacques Dessalines against much of the remaining European population in Haiti, which mainly included French Colonists. The Haitian Revolution defeated the French army in November 1803 and the Haitian Declaration of Independence happened on 1 January 1804.
The name Teisseire is still a well-known French manufacturer of non-alcoholic flavored syrups, established in 1720. They produce a wide range of fruit and plant-based syrups (e.g., passion fruit, mango, mint, etc.), including a non-alcoholic rum flavor syrup, but none of the current product lines or historical products are named "Saint Domingo". However, given the similarity of name and the sugar based product. it seems likely that an earlier generation of the Teisserie family was sent to Saint Domingo to manage a sugar plantation or to purchase sugar syrup, for shipment back to France.
The Saint Domingo export business likely continued after the family left Haiti, and some profits from that and related activities, presumably still flowed to Eliza Tessierie in America, and explain why in 1870 she had assets of $200,000. The company was founded in Grenoble by Mathieu Teisseire in 1720. The Teisseire district in the city is named after the family. A distiller by trade, Teisseire originally manufactured vinegars and Ratafia de Teisseire, a type of cherry liqueur which he had invented and which made his family's fortune. The 18th-century Venetian adventurer Giacomo Casanova was particularly fond of Teisseire's ratafia and described it in his memoirs, Histoire de ma vie, as "the divine liqueur of Grenoble".He went on to write: "This excellent liqueur is composed of cherry juice, eau de vie, sugar, and cinnamon, and it would be impossible for the nectar of the gods on Olympus to surpass it in delicacy." The Teisseire business, which was located at Place Grenette in Grenoble, then passed to Mathieu's son, Mathieu II. With the death of Mathieu II in 1781, it was run by his widow and younger son Camille Teisseire whom he had named as his principal heir. For some time after Mathieu II's death, the company was known as Veuve Teisseire & Fils (The Widow Teisseire and Son) For more of the history of the company, see
Teisseire (company)
Mrs Eliza Tessierie is believed to be the mother of Antoinette Tessieire (Mrs John Ringgold Wilmer) who is the sitter in the adjacent portrait and of Mary Tessieire who married James Cowles Fisher. As can be seen from the census detail, there were various and continual misspellings of her surname.
This means there are three generations of sitters in the collection; Mrs Geo W Morgan as mother; Mrs Eliza Tessieire as daughter; and Antoinette Wilmer as granddaughter. It seems most likely that these three portraits, together with the one of Mrs James C Fisher had belonged to one of the children of James Cowles Fisher and Mary Tesseire Fisher, and were passed down until sold by auction in 2005. 1101
Later, a kind visitor advises;
1- The portrait miniature of 'Mrs Geo W Morgan - Grandmother Tessiere's mother' is of Hester Leib, wife of George Washington Morgan. George Washington Morgan was born in 1776; he was the son of
Gen Jacob Morgan of the American Revolution. The Morgans were merchants and heavily involved in shipping and the West Indies (sugar) trade. George Washington Morgan and Hester Leib had 4 surviving children: Eliza Caroline (m.Anthony Teisseire), Mary (m.Saturnius Destouet), Harriet Adelaide (m.Thomas Ashton Morgan), and George Leib Morgan (m.Lucretia Elizabeth Hamersley).
2- The Destouet family ('portrait of Mary Morgan Destouet'). Saturnius Destouet and his two brothers, Bartholomew & John E, were merchants in Philadelphia under the name 'Destouet Brothers'. Bartholomew may have died or returned to France by the late 1820s; only Saturnius and John E show up in the later records. Their father's name was John; there were also two sisters, Adele and Zelie, born about 1802 and 1807 respectively. The father, John, along with Adele and Zelie, left the United States in 1831 to travel in Europe; I haven't found any record of their return to the US. Eliza Caroline Destouet, daughter of Saturnius & Mary (Morgan) Destouet, married her 1st cousin, Thomas Hamersley Morgan, son of George Leib & Lucretia Elizabeth (Hamersley) Morgan. The Rev Brockholst Morgan who married them was Thomas' brother.
3- The wives of John Ringgold Wilmer ('portrait of Antoinette Teisseire') were cousins. JRW's first wife was the daughter of Anthony and Eliza Caroline (Morgan) Teisseire. JRW's second wife, Marie Jeanne Nathalie de Chazournes, was the daughter of Felix and Marie Louise (Brugiere) Chazournes. Marie Louise (Brugiere) Chazournes was the daughter of Charles and Marie Antoinette (Teisseire) Brugiere. Marie Antoinette (Teisseire) Brugiere was the sister of Anthony Teisseire.
Charles Brugiere originally worked for the firm 'Tarascon Brothers, James Berthoud & Co'. They were Philadelphia merchants who later established the town of Shippingport, Kentucky. After the Teisseire family's arrival in Philadelphia in about 1800, Charles Brugiere and Anthony Teisseire established the firm of Brugiere and Teisseire.
In about 1843, Charles and Marie Antoinette (Teisseire) Brugiere's son, William, married Mary Morgan, daughter of Thomas Ashton and Harriet Adelaide (Morgan) Morgan, thus completing the circle of Morgan, Teisseire, and Brugiere.
One additional note - Thomas Ashton Morgan and his wife, Harriet Adelaide Morgan were also cousins. Thomas' father, Benjamin, was a brother of Gen Jacob Morgan. Gen Jacob Morgan was Harriet Adelaide's grandfather.
6 comments:
The family has been located living in Lower Dublin Township, Philadephia Co in the 1850 census, and where Eliza's name is incorrectly recorded as Elizabeth Tersaire. Living there were;
Elizabeth Tessieire 52f $2500, Jno R Wilmer 36m Merchant $15000, Antoinette Wilmer 26f (see adjacent miniature), James Fisher 26m None $30000 (this must be James Cowles Fisher),(blank) Fisher 24f (this must be Mary Tessieire (aka Mary Tesseire), William W Fisher 2 3/4m, and Tersaire Fisher 1f (first name also a misspelling). There were also at least eight servants living with the family, who were obviously wealthy, by their assets disclosed above.
In the 1860 census, Eliza is recorded as Eliza C Tressaire 62f $30000 $6000. She is still living with the Fishers, but now in the 10th precinct of the 23rd ward in Philadelphia: Jas Fisher 42m Gentleman $75000 $5000, Mary T Fisher 34f, William W Fisher 12m, A Tressaie (sic) 11f, James C Fisher 9m, Eliza C Fisher 7f, and nine servants.
In the 1870 census, Eliza is recorded with yet another name variation, now a very wealthy woman, and still living with the Fishers. This time as Eliza Tessar 72f $200,000, Jas C Fisher 50m Stock Broker $40000 $60000 Mary T Fisher 45f, William W Fisher 22m Farmer. Anthony T(essieire) Fisher 20m, James C Fisher 19m, bothe clerks in dry goods store, and Eliza T Fisher 17f, together with five servants.
Eliza is not living with James and Mary Fisher in the 1880 census and has presumably died by this date. James 62m and Mary 55f are living with two servants.
The Fisher property in what once was Lower Dublin Twp., Philadelphia County, is now the southern third of the massive, 63-acre Delaire Landing apartment/condo complex along the Delaware River on State Road in the Torresdale section of the City of Philadelphia. The old Dolan and Carson estates comprise the other two-thirds. Next the river, one out-building remains from the Fisher estate, as does the landing. On a 1910 map, Mary T. Fisher, who was 85 by that time, is listed as the owner.
History Buff, George W. Morgan (b.1776) enlarged the house and used the stones from the old bake house for the stable wall. is the outbuilding you speak of the stable?
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