A portrait of Ben. Franklin painted by Robert Fulton of steamboat celebrity. On the back of the canvas is written “R. Fulton, Pinxt, 1787.” The history of this rare picture is distinctly traceable back thirty-three or thirty-four years, at which time it was sold at auction for twenty-five cents. For thirty years it hung without frame in the sitting room of a Rhode Island farmer. At another timeit was used as a barrel cover in a farmer’s garret, and still later ornamented an engine house. The Rev. Henry Baylies found it in a photograph gallery in Fall River, Massachusetts. Mr. Baylies sold it in 1891 to C. F. Gunther, of Chicago.
A portrait of Ben. Franklin painted by Robert Fulton of steamboat celebrity. On the back of the canvas is written “R. Fulton, Pinxt, 1787.” The history of this rare picture is distinctly traceable back thirty-three or thirty-four years, at which time it was sold at auction for twenty-five cents. For thirty years it hung without frame in the sitting room of a Rhode Island farmer. At another timeit was used as a barrel cover in a farmer’s garret, and still later ornamented an engine house. The Rev. Henry Baylies found it in a photograph gallery in Fall River, Massachusetts. Mr. Baylies sold it in 1891 to C. F. Gunther, of Chicago.
Among the prominent citizens to whom Franklin introduced young Robert Fulton was John Ross, a successful merchant, who in friendly interest suggested that the artist should make a specialty of crayon likenesses of the young ladies in society. To set the fashion, Mr. Ross ordered portraits of his two daughters, Margaret and Clementina.
Mr. Ross was devoted to Clementina and when summoned to Paris on business for the government, wished her to accompany him; but Mrs. Ross, knowing that the ocean was infested by pirates, feared that their daughter might fall into their hands and raised so strong an objection that Clementina stayed at home. So Mr. Ross had her crayon portrait copied on ivory and carried the miniature as traveling companion.
Fulton’s portrait shows Margaret Ross in fancy dress, with tall jeweled head-gear, holding in her hand a full-blown rose.
Perhaps the daintiest bit of work ever accomplished by Fulton was an exquisite miniature of a certain Mary West, so tiny that it is set, as a jewel,in a finger ring. The likeness, oval in shape, is surrounded by brilliants. According to family tradition, Fulton painted the ring that Mary West’s brother might wear it at the Court of St. James in London. Her father, William West, came to live in Philadelphia about 1750 and was probably related to Benjamin West, the artist.
It is easy to see that, by reason of hard work, Fulton was already on the highway to success. He persevered at his profession and gained not merely money but also the esteem and confidence of his friends. Unfortunately, constant labor began to tell upon his health and, when he was twenty years old, a heavy cold fastened so severely upon him that he fell ill with inflammation of the lungs, followed by symptoms of the dread disease, consumption.
He consulted an eminent doctor, by whose advice he immediately left the city, with a proposed ocean voyage in view for the benefit of his health. He journeyed first by stage-coach to the famous Hot Springs of Virginia, where it is said some of his father’s relatives had taken up land. This change did him great good. He not only gained strength but made many new friends. Their advice deepened his desire to go to Europe to view the art treasures of the old world, and, with the doctor’sprescription of an ocean voyage in mind, he began to plan to cross the Atlantic.
During his stay in Philadelphia, nearly four years, he had grown from a country lad, eager to earn his livelihood, into a young man of ability, whose friendship with intelligent men, coupled with his unremitting study, had given him mental poise and an easy manner of deportment. No longer was he awkward and shy, but ready to mingle with men and women of culture and feel himself, as indeed he was, one of them. He had, moreover, proved the fact that he could earn his living by art, for he had saved a substantial “nest-egg,” as the result of his industry. With the happy optimism of youth he looked on the bright side of life and was eager to see the old world across the seas. It was a wise decision. His mind was open to receive impressions and keen to recognize universal needs, which he could later help science to provide.
One anxiety alone clouded the prospect; not his ill health,—for already he felt stronger and was assured that he was on the way to complete recovery,—but tender thought for his widowed mother. Up to this time he had been able, from time to time, to send her gifts of money; now he took counsel with his friends as to how he might best provide for her future comfort.
A family who owns its home is free from the monthly bill of rental to a landlord. A “roof over the head” is of prime importance to ease of mind. Possibly Fulton’s remittances of money had been devoted to house rent; be that as it may, he decided before he set sail for England to provide his mother with a home of her own. She was fond of a garden, and flowers were her delight; so he decided that a small farm, where food could be produced for the family of growing girls and the younger brother, would prove to be the best and wisest gift he could bestow. Our next chapter will tell of the pleasant farm on which Fulton established his mother and family before he set sail for the old world.
Did you ever hold a camera film to the light? All things are turned about; the right side becomes the left, and the first object in view appears to be the last, at the extreme end of the picture. So it seems when we take a mental review of the past,—the point of contact is reversed and we can balance accurately the lights and shadows that appear.
To the mind of Robert Fulton, about to make a venture which called for courage,—a voyage to an unknown land,—the chief aim of his life was the care of his mother, whom he must leave behind. The longer he thought, the more was he convinced that better than a sum of money, which might be lost or stolen, would be the gift of a farm-home where she could settle down to enjoy an old age of security and peace.
We can well imagine that he cast about in his mind properly to determine the best location for this purchase. It appears that a relative, the Rev. Joseph Smith, had been called to the pastorateof the Presbyterian Church in the town of Hopewell, Washington County, Pennsylvania. In order that his mother might have the care and protection of this relative, Robert Fulton decided to buy the new home in Hopewell. He selected a farm of more than eighty acres on Cross Creek, a fertile spot near running water, not unlike the farm which had been his mother’s earlier home and his own birthplace.
The long journey through the wilderness which lay between the two settlements had to be made by coach or wagon. It was like a fresh start in life to Mrs. Fulton and her family, three growing daughters and the young lad, Abraham, now about sixteen years of age. The “big brother,” Robert, was looked upon with great admiration; his success in Philadelphia, his friendship with the famous Franklin and other prominent men of the country, and his tangible gift of the new home—all proofs of his industry—must have filled the mother’s heart with gratitude and pardonable pride, as she looked, with mingled joy and anxiety, at her tall son battling with ill health yet resolved to conquer that and every other obstacle to success. He must indeed have been a son and brother to be proud of!
The new home was in Hopewell Township, one mile northeast of the present little village of Buffalonear Pittsburgh. It was sold to “Robert Fulton, miniature painter of Philadelphia,” for about $400.00—not a large amount for a home, to be sure, but it was quite a sum in those days. We know the land had been cleared, cultivated, and planted, a great help toward its establishment as a productive farm. Upon it was a two-story peaked-roof dwelling having a central hallway and a kitchen extension. Chimneys at both ends provided generous hearths for winter comfort and a tall spreading tree in front gave grateful shade through summer heat. In an old colored print of the scene several cows are shown in the pasture near the creek and an adjacent log cabin was probably used as a cattle barn.
It has been stated that Robert Fulton gave the farm to his mother on his twenty-first birthday, a generous way to prove that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” Most of us are looking for gifts on similar happy occasions; it is another and a better way to celebrate them by a gift to the mother who gave us birth. The deed is dated May 6th, and Robert’s birthday did not occur until November 14th, but the actual taking possession of the home may have been deferred until the latter date.
During the month of September of the same year,Robert Fulton also purchased for seventy-five dollars four lots in the town of Washington, Pennsylvania, which, through the enterprise of its pioneer settler, John Hoge, had just been surveyed and mapped into streets. Washington seemed a promising field for investment and Mr. Hoge a man of integrity and good judgment. Fulton had great confidence in him, and while in England sent letters and remittances of money for his mother in Mr. Hoge’s care.
It appears that Fulton bought these four lots with the thought that they would provide home sites for his sisters and brother when they married. He later conveyed them to the three sisters, and in a letter to his mother, directed that the fourth lot be sold to pay the remainder of his indebtedness to Mr. Pollack for the purchase of the farm.
In 1786 Isabella Fulton married Peyton Cooke. In February of that year he obtained a deed for “a lot of ground and hewed logs for a home.” At the end of the document appear these words, “By Peyton Cooke’s direction, this deed is made for Robert Fulton.” Probably Fulton had advanced money for the transaction.
Some time later, Elizabeth Fulton, or Peggy as she was called in her brother’s letters, became the wife of a Mr. Scott, who probably died in a fewyears, for his wife and children made their home on the farm with her mother, and its ownership was secured to her by Robert Fulton’s will in 1815.
In 1790 Mary Fulton, or “Polly,” married David Morris, a nephew of Benjamin West. Mr. Morris was a man of local prominence and his intelligence seems to have rendered him the most companionable of Robert Fulton’s brothers-in-law.
Abraham Smith Fulton, the only brother, is said to have opened a school in the town of Washington. During his later life he was employed by his brother in running an early steamboat on the Ohio River. Some time after this, in overseeing the building of a log house, on a bluff not far from Pittsburgh, he was instantly killed by the collapse of the structure.
Building formerly occupied by Caleb Johnson’s School, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Building formerly occupied by Caleb Johnson’s School, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
This, in brief, is the story of the sisters and brother of Robert Fulton. Through eighteen years’ absence in Europe his love for them remained true; and when he made his will, in 1814, he left to each a legacy, and relinquished all right to money which he had at different times lent them.
Mr. Morris built the home for his wife, Polly Fulton, upon the lot adjoining Mr. Hoge’s home, given her by her brother. A letter, written by Robert Fulton to his mother, from London, June 14th, 1790, alludes to the happy event. It showsso clearly his unchanging love and generosity that I quote it in full:
Dear Mother;I have rec’d yours of January 29th, 1790, and am happy to hear of the good health of the family which is the first consideration and nearest my heart. May Heaven continue to Shed that blessing on you and I shall be happy.I can easy conceive your garden to be the best in Washington; Gardening ever was your delight, besides you have a taste for that kind of cultivation which perhaps the people of your Western Country are Strangers to.Be assured my Ideas often hover around the little spot. I think I see it improved by your Industrious hand whilst the flowers of Spring lend their aid to beautify the scene; but chief of all I think I see you on a Sunday evening contemplatively walking on the grounds and with Silent pleasure viewing the labours of the week. And thus each evening Reflect with pleasure on the past day. So shall time pass on and pleasure Crown the evening of life. Here I could enter into a Chain of those Ideas which Crowd upon a heart sensible of the feelings of a fond mother and the affection due from a child, but I must be silent and only answer your letter.It has given me much pleasure that you do not wish me to hurry home till I complete my study. Indeed it is of so much importance my gaining all possible knowledge that should I now return I might have it to repent of ever after. And our hearing so frequently from each other is some reason why we should be more easy in the subject.You tell me Polly is going to be Mar(r)yed. May she be happy, but I will write to her on the subject.…As for the pictures for Polly, she should have them with pleasure but I do not paint anything so Small and the carryage of any of my paintings would be very expensive but whenever I conveniently can I will send you my own picture.I am just getting ready to go to France for 3 months and am afraid I shall not have time to write to Abraham but give my best love to him and all friends and believe me to be with Continued affection,Your loving son,Robert Fulton.
Dear Mother;
I have rec’d yours of January 29th, 1790, and am happy to hear of the good health of the family which is the first consideration and nearest my heart. May Heaven continue to Shed that blessing on you and I shall be happy.
I can easy conceive your garden to be the best in Washington; Gardening ever was your delight, besides you have a taste for that kind of cultivation which perhaps the people of your Western Country are Strangers to.
Be assured my Ideas often hover around the little spot. I think I see it improved by your Industrious hand whilst the flowers of Spring lend their aid to beautify the scene; but chief of all I think I see you on a Sunday evening contemplatively walking on the grounds and with Silent pleasure viewing the labours of the week. And thus each evening Reflect with pleasure on the past day. So shall time pass on and pleasure Crown the evening of life. Here I could enter into a Chain of those Ideas which Crowd upon a heart sensible of the feelings of a fond mother and the affection due from a child, but I must be silent and only answer your letter.
It has given me much pleasure that you do not wish me to hurry home till I complete my study. Indeed it is of so much importance my gaining all possible knowledge that should I now return I might have it to repent of ever after. And our hearing so frequently from each other is some reason why we should be more easy in the subject.
You tell me Polly is going to be Mar(r)yed. May she be happy, but I will write to her on the subject.…
As for the pictures for Polly, she should have them with pleasure but I do not paint anything so Small and the carryage of any of my paintings would be very expensive but whenever I conveniently can I will send you my own picture.
I am just getting ready to go to France for 3 months and am afraid I shall not have time to write to Abraham but give my best love to him and all friends and believe me to be with Continued affection,
Your loving son,
Robert Fulton.
So Polly wanted some of her brother’s pictures to hang in her new home; and the home itself was built upon one of the four lots purchased by her generous brother.
But let us turn in thought to the young Robert Fulton bidding farewell to his mother and family, in that autumn of 1786. It is probable that he sailed from New York, for in a later letter he mentions friends in that city and also in Baltimore, where he had stopped on his way to Virginia.
He was not empty-handed; he carried forty guineas in his purse and one letter of introduction which was worth more than money, for it was from the great Benjamin Franklin to the American artist, Benjamin West, then at the height of his fame in London and soon to become president of the Royal Academy.
The vessel spread its white sails and turned forth upon the ocean for the long voyage to England; and one brave passenger, the Pennsylvania boy, Robert Fulton, set his face forward with eager hope toward a new world.
A voyage to England in a sailing ship took time; probably six weeks at least elapsed before Robert Fulton could discern the long gray coast line of “Mother England.” If anxious about the new venture, or lonely for the family he had left behind, he pushed aside all gloomy thoughts and made ready to meet the new conditions of a strange land.
He journeyed directly to London to present to Benjamin West the important letter of introduction which he carried from Dr. Franklin. The strong sea air and the long rest on shipboard had benefited his health, and he was thirsting to get to work as soon as possible.
His ease of manner and self-confidence had sufficed for the experiences of Philadelphia, yet it is reasonable to assume that his heart beat fast when he finally stood, letter in hand, at the imposing doorway of Benjamin West’s fine house, for it surpassed his expectation of grandeur. To his eyes it appeared a palace! The main house wasconnected by a long art gallery with the studio, a lofty suite of rooms, filled with sketches and designs for historical paintings; for West had specialized in this form of art and had already been favored by royal recognition. Approval by the king was the highest honor England could bestow, and in time West was elected president of the Royal Academy. If young Fulton had profited by his personal intercourse with Dr. Franklin and other men of genius in America, we may readily believe that he gained even greater mental stimulus from West, who, like himself, was a Pennsylvania farm-bred boy.
West and his wife gave the young American a hearty welcome and an invitation to stay in their home until he found suitable lodgings. He gladly accepted their kind hospitality and a strong bond of friendship was formed between the two men which endured throughout their lives. One of the finest portraits we have of Robert Fulton was painted by Benjamin West.
It is said of West that his work was never a burden to him but always a joy. He sat at his easel as though in sport, not in labor, and painted more than a hundred portraits, in addition to large canvases depicting historical scenes. In studying the life of any and every great man, his industry becomes our wonder. The same numberof hours—twenty-four—are allotted to us all, yet how sadly different are the results accomplished, how differing the totals! Hard and well directed work is always the secret of success.
It was not long before Robert Fulton’s easel was set up in West’s studio, and, under the tuition of the older man, the student was working with infinite pains. West must have seemed to Fulton like a king among men, and he endeavored to gain all possible profit from the master’s lessons.
His dear mother, on the Pennsylvania farm, must have been greatly cheered when she received letters from over the sea. She treasured the following, written by Fulton’s friend George Sanderson, of Baltimore. Yellow with age, it is still carefully preserved. It begins with old-time formality.
Baltimore, 25th July, 1788.Madam;I am happy in informing you that I arrived here a few days since from London where I had the pleasure of meeting with your son, Robert Fulton. He was when I left him in perfect health & what will I believe be pleasing information to you, that his improvement in the liberal art of painting is almost incredible. Add to this his personal accomplishments & prudent behavior has gained him many friends & those who have ability & inclination to befriend him.Mr. West, a Gentleman who is the King’s HistoricalPainter & a Man of independent Circumstances I am happy to inform you is number’d among his Friends & has in consequence of your Son’s ingratiating address & manners, patronized him.
Baltimore, 25th July, 1788.
Madam;
I am happy in informing you that I arrived here a few days since from London where I had the pleasure of meeting with your son, Robert Fulton. He was when I left him in perfect health & what will I believe be pleasing information to you, that his improvement in the liberal art of painting is almost incredible. Add to this his personal accomplishments & prudent behavior has gained him many friends & those who have ability & inclination to befriend him.
Mr. West, a Gentleman who is the King’s HistoricalPainter & a Man of independent Circumstances I am happy to inform you is number’d among his Friends & has in consequence of your Son’s ingratiating address & manners, patronized him.
He further speaks of “Bob’s regret that his friends have not dropped him a line since he arrived in England,” and offers to forward any letters that may come enclosed to his care in Baltimore. The letter, with its quaint phrases, gave good reason for joy in the quiet farm-house by Cross Creek.
Although Fulton stayed for a time with Mr. and Mrs. West in their delightful home, the burden of self-support was before him. He soon found lodgings in the vicinity, but a “guinea a week” was too great a price for his slender purse and he made another change; in fact, he made several during the succeeding years, “to suit his convenience” as he terms it in a letter to his mother, but he always arranged to reside near Mr. West.
You will notice that George Sanderson spoke of “Bob’s personal accomplishments andprudent behavior.” It is well to make a special mental note of this latter fact, for many a temptation comes to a youth in a strange land, yet there never echoes a whisper of reproach against Fulton’s conduct.This “prudent behavior” was a safeguard to his character; he was merry-hearted and had many friends but all of the right kind.
On April 14th, 1789, Fulton wrote his mother that he was in perfect health and had good prospect of succeeding in his profession. He confessed that “painting requires more study than I at first imagined, in Consequence of which I will be obliged to stay longer than I expected. But,” he adds, “all things work together for good and I am convinced my exertions will have a good tendency.” There is brave hope in the letter but a touch of home-sickness: “In your next letter,” he continues, “please to give me a very particular account of everything you know, particularly how you like the little farm,—if you have a good garden, and what kind of neighbors you have got. And in fact I should like to know everything that will give you pleasure or promote the happiness of the family. There is nothing interrupts my happiness here but the desire of seeing my relations, but time will bring us together and I hope at my return to see you all happy as the day is long.”
It is a very human letter, just such as any fond son might write from a strange land. The constancy of affection, the admission of loneliness, the confession that his task is hard and long, yet withal,the brave faith in the Bible promise taught by his good mother that “all things work together for good,” is stronger than any note of weakness.
It was not long before Fulton’s winning manner gained him a host of friends in London, for in West’s studio he met many prominent men, and they in turn introduced him to others. With one of these, Mr. Henry Fulton, a distant kinsman, he became intimate and arranged that all his letters should be sent in this gentleman’s care, for he was a London merchant and well known. Mails were very irregular in those days, and it was uncertain whether a letter, even when properly started, would reach its destination. Postage rates were high and kindly friends who were crossing the ocean carried packets of letters which they passed on to other travelers, until the missives finally reached the persons for whom they were intended.
At this point we may let Fulton tell his own story, for none could tell it so well. The letters which follow are intimate; they confide the secrets he withheld from those about him and confided to his mother only when times brightened and his success as an artist became certain.
Although happy in forming new friendships in a new land, Fulton could not forget the comrades of his early days. The fifty letters he so casuallyalludes to in the following letter probably represent but a few of the many friends whom he cherished in memory and desired to touch with that far-reaching wand, the pen of remembrance.
The letter to his mother was written from London on July 31st, 1789.
Affectionate Mother;With pleasure I imbrace every opportunity to write you and these letters will be carryed to Phila. by Mr. Benjamin Barton; but as I wrote you some time ago in answer to letters which I Rec’d from you and Polly, to which Letters I have as yet had no answer, this must be a short one In which I must only give you some account of private affairs. My health is perfect: this Climate agrees well with me; my Prospect is good and In Short I am very happy as I have many Respectable Friends. But the Emence desire to see you, together with the rest of my Family gives me many anxious hours And but for this I could sit myself down with Content in England. But I love my Country and Friends And no Consideration shall separate me from them—this is my present Resolution. But why do I make this promise?Alas I am possessed of no more fortitude than other Men, and some unforseen Stroke may separate us for ever; but hope is ever by my side and I hope ere long to have the pleasure of seeing all of you.…As I am frequently changing my Lodgings to Suit my Convenience I Shall now give you new directions for your letters. It is to a permanent Merchant’s house, a namesake and Intimate friend of mine, and the letters will be muchmore likely to find him than me in which case I shall allways get them. You must direct them exactly thusMr. Robert Fulton,Painter,To the care of Mr. Henry Fulton,No. 9 Watling Street,London.I beg you’l pay particular attention and have them precisely in the above manner and if they come to London I am sure to get them.…You must excuse the shortness of this letter as I am under the necessity of writing to my Phila., Virginia, New York, Lancaster and Baltimorien friends, which in the whole makes 50 letters of much the same length as this. Therefore to conclude this I shall (torn place in paper) be very particular and let me know every thing that you possibly can when you write—to write small and close that you may say a great deal in small compass for the ships often put the letters ashore at the first port they make, they come post to London And I have often paid half a guinea for a small package of letters. The better to accomplish this you better buy letter paper as it is thin for we pay according to the weight and not the size so if you can send me a pound of news upon an ounce of paper I shall save allmost a guinea by it.I have just left myself room to wish all of you every happiness and love and Compliments to Mr. Smith, Polly, Abraham, Bell Peyton and all Friends And believe me to be everything that is dutifull and affectionate in a Son, Brother and Friend,R. Fulton.
Affectionate Mother;
With pleasure I imbrace every opportunity to write you and these letters will be carryed to Phila. by Mr. Benjamin Barton; but as I wrote you some time ago in answer to letters which I Rec’d from you and Polly, to which Letters I have as yet had no answer, this must be a short one In which I must only give you some account of private affairs. My health is perfect: this Climate agrees well with me; my Prospect is good and In Short I am very happy as I have many Respectable Friends. But the Emence desire to see you, together with the rest of my Family gives me many anxious hours And but for this I could sit myself down with Content in England. But I love my Country and Friends And no Consideration shall separate me from them—this is my present Resolution. But why do I make this promise?
Alas I am possessed of no more fortitude than other Men, and some unforseen Stroke may separate us for ever; but hope is ever by my side and I hope ere long to have the pleasure of seeing all of you.…
As I am frequently changing my Lodgings to Suit my Convenience I Shall now give you new directions for your letters. It is to a permanent Merchant’s house, a namesake and Intimate friend of mine, and the letters will be muchmore likely to find him than me in which case I shall allways get them. You must direct them exactly thus
Mr. Robert Fulton,Painter,To the care of Mr. Henry Fulton,No. 9 Watling Street,London.
I beg you’l pay particular attention and have them precisely in the above manner and if they come to London I am sure to get them.…
You must excuse the shortness of this letter as I am under the necessity of writing to my Phila., Virginia, New York, Lancaster and Baltimorien friends, which in the whole makes 50 letters of much the same length as this. Therefore to conclude this I shall (torn place in paper) be very particular and let me know every thing that you possibly can when you write—to write small and close that you may say a great deal in small compass for the ships often put the letters ashore at the first port they make, they come post to London And I have often paid half a guinea for a small package of letters. The better to accomplish this you better buy letter paper as it is thin for we pay according to the weight and not the size so if you can send me a pound of news upon an ounce of paper I shall save allmost a guinea by it.
I have just left myself room to wish all of you every happiness and love and Compliments to Mr. Smith, Polly, Abraham, Bell Peyton and all Friends And believe me to be everything that is dutifull and affectionate in a Son, Brother and Friend,
R. Fulton.
He adds in postscript:
I was happy to hear by your last letter directed to Mr. West that you were down in the Country among our old friends and that they together with my good old Grandmother were in good health.
I was happy to hear by your last letter directed to Mr. West that you were down in the Country among our old friends and that they together with my good old Grandmother were in good health.
This letter fairly depicts Fulton’s hopes, longings, and accomplishments during his student days in London. They were days of anxiety and of hard work; for hours he would ponder over the “ways and means” of life, and had it not been for the friendship of kindly acquaintances he might have yielded to despair, or have been tempted to set aside the chosen career. In poetic terms he speaks of “Poverties’ cold wind and freezing rain”; and it is evident that he suffered, as far as his happy nature could permit, the pangs of loneliness and of almost actual hunger. Yet he pressed on with his work, and in time the magical wand of industry wrought a welcome change.
So passed the first four years of his stay in England, years of fresh impressions, strict economy and untiring labor. Added to his anxieties were the entreaties of his mother to return home, for he writes, November 21st, 1790, “You must not be uneasy at my not returning home as soon as I first intended for it is of the utmost importance mycontinuing to prosecute my studies in London, and were I to return I must live in Phila. or New York, which would still be distant from you. Besides the certain method by which we have letters from each other ought to make us easy.”
His joy was great when in 1791 he attained the honor and pleasure of admission of two of his canvases to the Royal Academy and four others to the Exhibition of the Royal Society of British Artists; the former were portraits of young gentlemen, the latter more ambitious works similar to West’s—a study from the Bible story, “Elisha Raising the Widow’s Son,” and “Priscilla and Alladine” from Spenser’s “Faerie Queen.”
It was natural that he should take up the study of English history at this time, and two paintings, “Mary Queen of Scots” and “Lady Jane Gray” are interesting and beautiful examples of his art. Both were painted in 1793. No doubt West encouraged and instructed him in this sort of work, and Fulton dreamed of a brilliant future like that of his teacher.
We are grateful for the light which the letters already quoted cast upon the years Fulton spent in England, for, until their discovery, this period was obscure. After he had attained fame, his letters and drawings were treasured, but as ahumble student in a strange land, it was difficult to follow his routine of life. At the close of a hundred years, when the city of New York celebrated the discovery of the Hudson River and Fulton’s successful steam navigation upon it, descendants of Fulton’s sisters lent to the New York Historical Society for exhibition, these interesting documents which throw some light on the early years of the inventor’s life. They had been treasured by his dear old mother on that distant Pennsylvania farm, and handed down through several generations to the present owners.
If you had been working very hard, and suddenly received an order from an influential man to do a responsible piece of work for him, you would be very happy over it. Such a pleasure came to Robert Fulton in 1791, when Lord Courtenay, the Earl of Devon, invited the young artist to visit his famous country estate, Powderham Castle, during the vacation month of June, to paint his lordship’s portrait.
The castle in Devonshire, which is one of England’s most beautiful counties, was about two hundred miles from London. There the Earl lived in princely grandeur, and admitted to his court only persons of equal rank; all others were entertained by his steward, a gentleman of birth and education.
This visit proved a turning-point in Fulton’s life. With high hope he made the journey by stage-coach, reveling in the springtime glory of the wooded country-side. The study of the art treasuresin the castle, and his appreciation of them, led to a later tour of other famous country-estates in England, and he became familiar with the great masterpieces of painting which hung in the spacious private galleries of the nobility, for Lord Courtenay, pleased with Fulton’s fulfilment of the intrusted commission, introduced him to all his friends.
It was a novel and valuable experience for the young man. Devonshire is noted for its scenic beauty and healthful climate: so the trip not only gave the hard-worked student a beneficial change of air and scene, but also put money in his purse, and quieted the fears of possible failure which had occasionally disturbed his peace of mind.
Once again Fulton himself shall tell us, through this quaint and delightful letter to his mother, of the pleasant change which had befallen him:
Devonshire, Jan’ry 20th, 1792.My dear Mother,This morning I rec’d a package of letters from Philadelphia among which were one from you, one from Abraham and two from Mr. Morris, one of which was for Mr. West. In Consequence of my leaving London on June last for to do some business for Lord Courtney In Devonshire which is about 200 miles from London The letters by some accident have not reached me till now. As you rely on it I should have answered them by the first Conveyance—But I Rec’d them with Infinite pleasure as they come from youand Informed me of your good health. And now I will attend to the particulars As I am well convinced every Incident Relative to my life will Communicate pleasure to you. You express much desire to know how my pictures were Rec’d at the Royal Academy—this I believe I answered before but possibly the letter has miscarryed You will be pleased to hear that I sent eight pictures which Rec’d every possible mark of Approbation that the Society could give, but these exertions are all for honor—there is no prophet (profit) arising from it. It only tends to Create a name that may hereafter produce business.My little tour through France proved very agreeable and was of some service to me as a painter in as much as I saw the works of some of the most able masters in the art, which much improved my eye and taste.Mr. West and me are on a very familiar footing and when he is in town pays me much attention which is extremely agreeable as we live near each other.… And I must now Give Some little history of my life since I came to London. I brought not more than 40 Guineas to England and was set down in a strange Country without a friend and only one letter of Introduction to Mr. West—here I had an art to learn by which I was to earn my bread but little to support whilst I was doing it. And numbers of Eminent Men of the same profession which I must Excell before I Could hope to live. Many, many a Silent solitary hour have I spent in the most unnerved Studdy Anxiously pondering how to make funds to support me till the fruits of my labours should be sufficient to pay them. Thus I went on for near four years—happily beloved by all who knew me or I had long ere now been Crushed by Proverties Cold wind—and Freezing Rain—tilllast summer I was Invited by Lord Courtney down to his Country seat to paint a picture of him which gave his Lordship so much pleasure that he has introduced me to all his Friends. And it is but just now that I am beginning to get a little money and pay some debt which I was obliged to Contract so I hope in about 6 months to be clear with the world or in other words, out of debt, and then start fair to Make all I Can.You see dear Mother this is very different from being Rich(?) not that I can say I ever was in absolute want. Heaven has been kind to me and I am thankfull—hoping now to go on Smooth and happy as the absence from my friends will admit of—I am happy to hear that all my relations are well. I shall write to them separately. I enjoy excellent health which I hope will Continue till I may have the happiness of seeing you. Please to remember me kindly to Mr. Smith and all friends And may Heaven Continue its blessings towards you is the most unfeigned wish of your Obedient Son,Robert Fulton.
Devonshire, Jan’ry 20th, 1792.
My dear Mother,
This morning I rec’d a package of letters from Philadelphia among which were one from you, one from Abraham and two from Mr. Morris, one of which was for Mr. West. In Consequence of my leaving London on June last for to do some business for Lord Courtney In Devonshire which is about 200 miles from London The letters by some accident have not reached me till now. As you rely on it I should have answered them by the first Conveyance—But I Rec’d them with Infinite pleasure as they come from youand Informed me of your good health. And now I will attend to the particulars As I am well convinced every Incident Relative to my life will Communicate pleasure to you. You express much desire to know how my pictures were Rec’d at the Royal Academy—this I believe I answered before but possibly the letter has miscarryed You will be pleased to hear that I sent eight pictures which Rec’d every possible mark of Approbation that the Society could give, but these exertions are all for honor—there is no prophet (profit) arising from it. It only tends to Create a name that may hereafter produce business.
My little tour through France proved very agreeable and was of some service to me as a painter in as much as I saw the works of some of the most able masters in the art, which much improved my eye and taste.
Mr. West and me are on a very familiar footing and when he is in town pays me much attention which is extremely agreeable as we live near each other.
… And I must now Give Some little history of my life since I came to London. I brought not more than 40 Guineas to England and was set down in a strange Country without a friend and only one letter of Introduction to Mr. West—here I had an art to learn by which I was to earn my bread but little to support whilst I was doing it. And numbers of Eminent Men of the same profession which I must Excell before I Could hope to live. Many, many a Silent solitary hour have I spent in the most unnerved Studdy Anxiously pondering how to make funds to support me till the fruits of my labours should be sufficient to pay them. Thus I went on for near four years—happily beloved by all who knew me or I had long ere now been Crushed by Proverties Cold wind—and Freezing Rain—tilllast summer I was Invited by Lord Courtney down to his Country seat to paint a picture of him which gave his Lordship so much pleasure that he has introduced me to all his Friends. And it is but just now that I am beginning to get a little money and pay some debt which I was obliged to Contract so I hope in about 6 months to be clear with the world or in other words, out of debt, and then start fair to Make all I Can.
You see dear Mother this is very different from being Rich(?) not that I can say I ever was in absolute want. Heaven has been kind to me and I am thankfull—hoping now to go on Smooth and happy as the absence from my friends will admit of—I am happy to hear that all my relations are well. I shall write to them separately. I enjoy excellent health which I hope will Continue till I may have the happiness of seeing you. Please to remember me kindly to Mr. Smith and all friends And may Heaven Continue its blessings towards you is the most unfeigned wish of your Obedient Son,
Robert Fulton.
You will notice that Fulton says that Lord Courtenay had introduced him to all his friends. Among them were two men of rank and high intelligence, the Duke of Bridgewater and Earl Stanhope, whose influence at this time seems partly responsible for a sudden change in Fulton’s line of thought.
The Duke of Bridgewater owned vast coal mines. He sold their product in the growing town of Manchester where coal was in demand for the manyfactories; but every load had to be carried upon the backs of pack horses and the transportation was slow and difficult. The duke had been trying to find an easier way and, by the advice of a clever workman, he had opened a canal through his land, and shipped the coal on barges. This plan worked well and wealth began to pour into the duke’s coffers. This led to his desire to dig canals throughout England so that produce from farms might easily be sold. The idea was not new, for such waterways had already been used in Europe and in Asia; but the duke’s way of building them was somewhat novel, and one of the great difficulties he encountered was that of overcoming the many different water levels.
When we recall the old-time methods,—stage-coaches lumbering their slow way along post-roads; sailing vessels tacking their roundabout paths across the oceans; and harvests wilting on the ground because farmers had no way to send them to the cities where the hungry would gladly have bought them;—when we remember all this we can quickly realize why the thoughtful men of the world were beginning to try to plan new and better ways of transportation.
Robert Fulton could look back in thought to his boyhood days in Lancaster, and recall the story ofthe enrichment of certain farmlands by a clever Swiss settler, who had watered a whole range of hitherto barren land, by simply cutting trenches along the side of a hill, wherein water was conducted, from upper springs, to the thirsty lands below. The digging of channels to form watercourses was not new; it had proved its value.
Inspired by the need of the Duke of Bridgewater, and impressed by the money earned by his simple device, Robert Fulton set himself to study out a better way to build canals.
In fact, about this time he appears to have been pondering on many practical methods to simplify work. He visited the stone and marble quarries in Devonshire and found that the digging and raising of the heavy products was extremely hard work. His first invention was a mill for sawing marble and stone, which proved so successful that when Fulton returned to London in the autumn he sent his model to the Society of Arts, Commerce and Manufactures and received a silver medal and the thanks of the society.
Two talents were now striving for expression in Fulton’s active mind, art and science. One or the other had to have his full devotion; and about this time he seems to have laid aside his brushes, with all their charm and the rewards which he was justbeginning to realize, and to have deliberately taken up the practical problems of invention.
This change was not because he did not love art, for throughout the remainder of his life he continued, from time to time, to paint portraits; he was ever a devoted patron and friend of art, but there was not time for both professions, and that of the inventor now made the stronger appeal.
The everyday needs were those which won Fulton’s earliest attention. He made a machine for spinning flax, perhaps in thought of his patient mother at home, working at her old-time spinning-wheel; and he next produced a machine for making rope. It stood in a room forty feet square and could be worked by one man, twisting cordage of any size and winding rope yarn on spools.
In these inventions Fulton saw an opportunity to help mankind to better and easier methods of work, and also a way of securing a competence. His vision was wide; humanity was one family, and the round world provided a vast field for labor. It is not probable that he could have gained this view of life if he had tarried in quiet Lancaster.
The Washwoman.The earliest known drawing by Robert Fulton. Owned by the Estate of Joseph Bringhurst.
The Washwoman.
The earliest known drawing by Robert Fulton. Owned by the Estate of Joseph Bringhurst.
He stayed in Devonshire nearly two years, although he returned to London for occasional visits. From Devonshire he went to Birmingham, a town of industrial importance, where he studiedthe method of the Duke of Bridgewater for building canals from that point to the seaports of England. From that time on his mind was concerned with plans for better means of transport. The years 1792 to 1796 were filled with new activities, new plans, new friends, new places of residence. He visited France, he toured Devonshire, he went to Birmingham and Manchester, the most important manufacturing centers in England where machinery of the highest type then known was in use.
By 1794 Fulton had invented an inclined plane for use in canals, by means of which boats could be lifted by upright hoists or rails to different levels of water; his hope was to avoid the complicated system of locks. He patented it in London, and described himself “Robert Fulton, late of the City of Exeter, but now of the City of London, Gentleman,” which indicates that he had laid aside his former titles, “miniature painter,” and “painter.”
During his stay in Manchester Fulton met young Robert Owen, the manager of Drinkwater’s Mill, the first mill to use steam power. Owen was a fellow of fine intelligence and the two young men found many interests in common.
With other well-chosen comrades they formed a club which met on winter evenings to debate allsorts of subjects,—chemistry, science and religion. They called themselves “philosophers”; and so interesting were their meetings that they were very popular and well attended.
One of the members was John Dalton, who later became a noted chemist, and another was the fine poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, then a student at Cambridge, so he could only come during vacation times.
In 1794 Fulton and Owen formed a partnership for Inclined Planes and Canal Excavations. Owen promised to advance the money and Fulton “to apply his whole time and exertions to the said business.” But the following spring, after a disappointment through the postponement of digging a canal at Gloucester, the two men dissolved the partnership by mutual consent. An unbroken friendship continued between them, and in old age Owen referred with pleasure to the fact that he had been able to advance Fulton in a career which later was of such benefit to the world.
In 1796 Fulton wrote to Owen that he had made an improvement in the “tanning business” and that it promised to pay well. This goes to show how many plans he carried in his fertile brain, but at this time he was chiefly concerned in canal work.
During this year he produced his first publication, “A Treatise on the Improvement of Canal Navigation,” and signed it “R. Fulton, Civil Engineer.” Much time was spent over this production for he illustrated it with seventeen plates and sent it broadcast to the distinguished men of the world. In several instances he wrote personal letters to accompany the book, by which he hoped to awaken wide interest.
He sent one letter to Governor Mifflin of Pennsylvania, another to Napoleon Bonaparte, and a third to George Washington, then President of the United States. This letter is interesting as showing how great a system of canal extension Fulton had in mind:
London, Sept. 12th, 1796.To His Excellency, George Washington, President of the United States:Sir;By my Friend, Dr. Edwards, I beg leave to present you with this publication; which I hope will be honored with your Perusal at a leisure hour: the object of which is to Exhibit the Certain mode of Giving Agriculture to every Acre of the immense Continent of America By Means of a Creative System of Canals:When this Subject first entered my thoughts, I had no Idea of its Consequences: But the Scene gradually opened and at length exhibited the most extensive and pleasingprospect of Improvements; hence I now Consider it of much national Importance; and View it like the application of those particular principles which produce certain effects:Thus the discovery of the Mariner’s Compass Gave Commerce to the World.The Invention of printing is dissipating darkness and giving a Polish to the Mass of Men.And the Introduction of the Creative System of Canals as certain in their effects will give an Agricultural Polish to Every Acre of America. I therefore Beg Leave to Submit to your Contemplation the Last Chapter with the Supplement; which Exhibits the specific System for America: And hoping that your Excellencies Sanction will awaken the Public attention to the Subject; I Remain with all possible respect, Your ExcellenciesMost Obedient and Very Humble Servant,Robert Fulton.
London, Sept. 12th, 1796.
To His Excellency, George Washington, President of the United States:
Sir;
By my Friend, Dr. Edwards, I beg leave to present you with this publication; which I hope will be honored with your Perusal at a leisure hour: the object of which is to Exhibit the Certain mode of Giving Agriculture to every Acre of the immense Continent of America By Means of a Creative System of Canals:
When this Subject first entered my thoughts, I had no Idea of its Consequences: But the Scene gradually opened and at length exhibited the most extensive and pleasingprospect of Improvements; hence I now Consider it of much national Importance; and View it like the application of those particular principles which produce certain effects:
Thus the discovery of the Mariner’s Compass Gave Commerce to the World.
The Invention of printing is dissipating darkness and giving a Polish to the Mass of Men.
And the Introduction of the Creative System of Canals as certain in their effects will give an Agricultural Polish to Every Acre of America. I therefore Beg Leave to Submit to your Contemplation the Last Chapter with the Supplement; which Exhibits the specific System for America: And hoping that your Excellencies Sanction will awaken the Public attention to the Subject; I Remain with all possible respect, Your Excellencies
Most Obedient and Very Humble Servant,
Robert Fulton.
The letter, hopefully sent by a friendly hand, was duly received and politely acknowledged by our first president, who, on the 14th of December, expressed his thanks and confessed “the subject is interesting and I dare presume is well treated but as the Book came to me in the midst of busy preparatory scenes for Congress I have not had leisure yet to give it the perusal which the importance of such work would merit. I shall do it with pleasure, I am persuaded, when I have.”
President Washington’s letter must have seemedsomewhat disappointing, after waiting five months, but optimism was Fulton’s strong point and he thrived on even a crumb of encouragement. Accordingly, the day after its receipt, we find that Fulton followed up the matter by another letter; it shows that the young American had, as a base for calculation, only the carriage rates from Lancaster to Philadelphia, yet with how sublime a faith he prophesies the extension of a canal from Philadelphia to Lake Erie,—the first prediction of the great Erie Canal! It was a brave flight of fancy but was actually realized during the early part of the next century,—Fulton having been the earliest to foresee its possibility.
He trusts that “His Excellency will soon have time to peruse his pamphlet on small canals ‘in tranquil retirement from the busy operations of a Public life.’” He confessed that the greatest difficulty in the plan was to devise a method to raise the vast sum of money for the canals. At first thought, he considered them “national works,” to be built at the expense of the government, but finally concludes that an incorporated company of subscribers should be formed who would pledge themselves to apply one half, or any agreed part, of their profits to extension as it would then be to their interest to promote the work and to guard the earnings.
Then Fulton includes other states in the calculation and predicts “a creative system which would fill the whole country and in less than a century bring water-carriage within the easy cartage of every acre of the American States, conveying the surplus labours of one hundred millions of men, and bind the whole in bonds of social intercourse.”
Fulton wrote also to the great Napoleon and presented his plan with considerable originality. He said that “fear of envy or the criticism of ignorance is frequently the cause of preventing ingenious men from making important discoveries;” and adds, “the mechanic should sit down among levers, screws, wedges, wheels, etc. like a poet among the letters of the alphabet, considering them as the exhibition of his thoughts, in which a new arrangement transmits a new Idea to the world.” He reminded Napoleon that “men of the least genius are the first to condemn and the last to praise a new idea, because they have not the sense to grasp the produce of genius when they see it.”
It was rather a daring deed for a young engineer to venture to offer to Washington and Napoleon, world-famous men of their day, a new idea to benefit their respective countries. He also tried to influence public opinion in England by thepublication in theLondon Morning Starof some essays on Canal Navigation.
It is to be hoped that these literary productions brought some money to Fulton’s pocket, for he was so interested in his canal project that he had not touched his painting for two years. He was on a fearless quest for new methods to solve world-wide problems. He dared to be original. Many a man who dared less has failed to bring valuable aid to humanity.
And so Fulton changed his career from art to invention, a turn in the tide of his thought which brought much good to the world. But he retained his love for beauty and his hand never lost its cunning; and later, in hours of leisure, he painted portraits as strong and expressive as in his younger days.
If we had time to trace all the events in Fulton’s life during these busy years, they would tell us that the way to fame is by slow plodding. When we read about great men we ought to remember that they did not rise like rockets from the darkness but by slow, patient effort climbed into the light of fame.
During the year 1797 Fulton was encouraged, by the acceptance of his plan to build a canal from Paris to Dieppe and Cambrai, to move from England to France. He had earlier visited France to study the art treasures in famous galleries, but his journey this time assumed quite another aspect, for the two countries had been at war for four years. At this time, however, they enjoyed a short armistice, or period of peace, and Fulton took the opportunity to obtain a passport from the Directory, or French Governing Board.
He began about this time to try to devise a way to end warfare between nations,—a dream enjoyedby many kindly men of this day, who have formed the Tribunal for Universal Peace at the Hague. With this thought in mind he planned to protect the seas, those vast waterways between continents. He urged Free Trade between nations, and wrote a paper on the subject to define his views. It shows how deeply he had studied that world-wide problem.
The age in which Fulton lived provided the tools to shape his life. When a boy, he had heard of the horrors of battles during the War of the Revolution, and had experienced later the joys of peace. Fulton was an ardent Republican and believed in the right of a people to rule their nation. When Great Britain began to lay claim to “supremacy on the sea” the statesmen of America felt some alarm. Not only had their ships to fear naval prowess, but there were pirates, whose plunderings were related with horror. These conditions caused Fulton to realize that the highways of the oceans must be made safe so that all the nations of the world could live in peace without fear of one another.
In 1798 Fulton wrote to a friend: