To the Ladies: Reinterpreting Boscobel

By Sylvia Graham Olejniczaka

Historic sites and houses represent the essence of who we are. The preservation of our history through accurate interpretation is an important aspect of keeping these sites alive. This book provides multiple interpretations of the same historic house and its evolution from deterioration to dismantlement and reconstruction at a new site and the importance of its current location to American history, as well as insight into the lives of the women involved in the history of the eras in which it was built and later reconstructed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499060744

Sylvia Graham Olejniczaka

Sylvia grew up as the daughter of a Navy officer who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor and married an Army officer who fought in Vietnam.

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Copyright © 2014 by Sylvia Graham Olejniczak.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Cover: Photography by Sylvia Graham Olejniczak

Rev. date: 08/25/2014

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Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgement

To The Ladies

A.   Elizabeth Corne Dyckman’s World

B.   Boscobel since 1823

C.   The History of Boscobel Interpretations

D.   Reinterpreting Boscobel

E.   Endnotes

I. A Tribute to Elizabeth Corne Dyckman’s Life in the Hudson River Valley

A.   Elizabeth Corne Dyckman, Marriage Years

B.   Elizabeth’s Boscobel

C.   Elizabeth’s Mansion House

D.   Appendices

      1.   Appendix One: States Morris Dyckman’s work with the British Army:

      2.   Appendix Two: States Morris Dyckman’s family

      3.   Appendix Three: Elizabeth Corne Dyckman’s family history

E.   Endnotes

II. The Hudson Highlands, The Key to the Continent

A.   Indecision: New York and the Revolution

B.   The Revolutionary War

C.   States Morris Dyckman and the British Quartermaster System

D.   The Fortification of West Point

E.   United States Military Academy West Point, New York

F.   Appendix

G.   Endnotes

III. Decorative Arts at Boscobel: New York Federalist Architecture, Furniture and Décor (1808 - 1824)

A.   Preservation and Restoration of Boscobel

B.   History of the Grounds

C.   Architectural Significance

D.   Interior Furnishing and Décor

      Second Floor of Mansion

      Bedrooms

      Basement of Mansion

E.   Fate of Boscobel and Its Furnishings

F.   Endnotes

IV. Epilogue: Refinement of America: Remember the Ladies

A.   Women’s Right to Education

B.   Boscobel and the Guidelines for Refinement and Gentility.

C.   Endnotes

Annotated Bibliography

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Julian Michael Olejniczak, my husband and best friend. Without his encouragement and invaluable scholarly advice, this book would not have been possible.

Acknowledgement

I would like to extend my appreciation to Mr. Barnabas McHenry, Chairman of the Board, for providing access to Boscobel’s archives, which made this book possible. Special thanks go to Carolin C. Serino, Deputy Executive Director; Judith Pavelock, Curator and Collections Manager; and Renate Smoller, Museum Shop Manager for their kind assistance during my research at Boscobel.

To The Ladies

Reinterpreting Boscobel

"I desire you would Remember the Ladies and be more generous than your ancestors. Abigail Adams, March 31, 1776¹

Boscobel, in Garrison, New York, currently represents several different historical periods and restoration philosophies. A more appropriate historical background of Boscobel will emerge from a reinterpretation of documents that have been read only to emphasize the life of States Morris Dyckman (1755 -1806), an American Loyalist, who died in 1806, when only the foundation of the house was in place. It was his widow, Elizabeth Corne Dyckman (1776-1823), who supervised the construction of the house and managed their 240-acre farm until her death in 1823. The story of Boscobel will evolve from a fanciful interpretation based upon States Dyckman to a more realistic focus on Elizabeth’s life and actual influence on Boscobel.

When Boscobel opened to the public in 1961, the interior décor was not intended to be a true representation of Boscobel’s original interior design. The decorators purchased the finest late 18th and early 19th century English antiques and designed the interior of the mansion in English style. In the 1970s, when historical documents were found indicating that the décor and furnishings should be American (Federal period) and not English, these furnishings were sold and appropriate American antiques were purchased. The interiors were completely re-designed, again with the financial support of Mrs. Lila Acheson Wallace (co-founder with her husband, DeWitt Wallace, of The Reader’s Digest magazine).²

During the late 1950s through the early 1970s, Mrs. Wallace had been the primary voice in the Boscobel project, owing to her financial support of its preservation and restoration.³ Under her guidance, the historical focus of Boscobel was Hudson Valley History and not the mansion itself. In the latter part of the 1970s, when the interiors were furnished and redesigned with Mrs. Wallace’s financial support, she no longer took an active role in determining Boscobel’s public image because of her declining health. The new interpretations were developed by three men: Berry Tracy (curator of the American Wing of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, who had overseen the new American interpretation of the mansion).⁴ Frederick Stanyer (a former employee of Reader’s Digest Magazine who had worked in the magazine’s Art Department and was then Boscobel’s Executive Director)⁵ and James Abbott (Boscobel’s Curator).⁶ These men chose a story line that focused on States Morris Dyckman’s taste and connoisseurship of the English style of Robert Adam, while subordinating Boscobel’s actual history.

Elizabeth is not alone in being left in the shadows of history by interpreters of the Colonial period. During this period of American history, women were more successful in different activities and prominent in professional and public life than they would be again until the 20th century.⁷ Because of the Revolutionary War, women faced the challenge of managing without their husbands, fathers, brothers, or sons. They worked in the fields, ran the shops, managed the farms, and still took care of their homes and children. Women did their best to ensure that there would be something left for the men to come home to.⁸

The omission of Elizabeth’s life in the current interpretation is surprising since her importance had been noted in a memo, dated 9 May 1977, sent by Frederick Stanyer, Boscobel’s Executive Director from 1961 to 1993, to Boscobel’s docent staff. Stanyer wrote that, far from being a rather passive and colorless spouse, Elizabeth was a capable, self-disciplined and intelligent woman, in some ways better able to manage her affairs than her husband, especially in money matters. She was very much the product of the prevailing attitudes toward women and their role in society. He also goes on to write, "Although States Dyckman probably planned Boscobel, the construction was barely begun at the time of his death, and Elizabeth actually supervised the building with assistance from Mr. Vermilea [States’ cousin]. Our historian, Mrs. Bielenberg, informs me that nowhere in the Dyckman correspondence does States write to Elizabeth of his ‘plans to build her a dream house overlooking the Hudson."⁹

Elizabeth Corne Dyckman’s World

If we revisit Elizabeth’s life from the early days of her marriage to the construction of Boscobel, the true heroine of this beautiful mansion is revealed.

Elizabeth lived with her grandfather, Peter Corne, in Peekskill, New York. States Morris Dyckman owned a nearby farm called King’s Grange. During his visits, Elizabeth, although twenty years younger, was impressed by this well-dressed, well-mannered man, who entertained her with stories about the elegant parties he had attended in London.¹⁰

States and Elizabeth were married on 1 February 1794, but owing to his excessive debts, he soon had to sell King’s Grange. States and his bride then moved into a much smaller house, located next door to her grandfather’s farm.¹¹ He felt that Corne was enjoying his plight.

He already had sold his home, the sawmill, the stream, the woodlot and the river land, but soon even the small house in which they were living had to be sold. Almost all of the objects that he had brought from London, such as his prized library of 1,400 volumes, were gone. Desperation drove him to borrow $3,000 from George Douglas, the husband of Elizabeth’s aunt, Margaret Corne Douglas.¹²

Finally, a letter arrived from the son of General William Erskine, States’ principal patron in London. Erskine’s son agreed to meet the obligations that his father had made to States, but it would be a while before payment to States could be made. It appears that States felt his sanity was actually at risk, due to his lack of ability to satisfy the mounting demands of his numerous creditors. He believed he was on the verge of insanity and that to linger even one year longer could carry him with a broken heart to a cold grave.¹³ Recognizing the stress of his situation, Elizabeth agreed that it was best for him to return to England in order to facilitate improving their financial situation. In 1799, States borrowed $4,000 from Peter Corne, in part to finance his trip.¹⁴

Elizabeth wanted to accompany him to England, but she had just given birth to their second child, Letitia, and there was insufficient money for her to accompany him. He had promised to be back in a year, but it was likely that his business would take longer. Nevertheless, Elizabeth also realized that her husband’s state of mind was adversely affected by their financial plight. She wrote, in a letter to him on his departure, that she hoped on his return, I may once more see your brow unclouded with care. In that hope and no other was I persuaded to part with you.¹⁵

States sailed for England in May 1800, arriving in London in July. During August of that year, their 18-month old daughter Letitia died of fever. Elizabeth also was primary care giver for States’ mother, who had been ill for several years.¹⁶ Unfortunately, Elizabeth’s fears that States would not return in one year, as promised, were well founded, and at times she felt overwhelmed by her responsibilities. On 11 April 1802, she wrote begging for his return, I seem to be alone with nobody to advise nothing goes right and I fear you will lose as much here by staying away as you gain there in short Dear Liffee this absence is intolerable.¹⁷ States continued to extend his stay, always with the justification that he would rather bear the separation than live in poverty. In her letters to her husband, Elizabeth reveals a sensitive young woman who was required to be sole parent, estate manager, farm worker, and care giver as well as complete any other task that confronted her.

While his original reason for returning to England was the reinstatement of the annuity from the Erskine estate, he found that The Commissioner Appointed To Examine the Public Accounts of the Kingdom was once again investigating the Quartermaster Department accounts regarding expenditures during the Revolutionary War. States quickly took the opportunity to offer his services.¹⁸ States finally was to receive all of the money that he expected from the Erskine estate and other money that was to be paid over a period to time. In accomplishing this, he had extended his stay to four years.¹⁹

Once he returned from England, States immediately started purchasing material to build his mansion. But Elizabeth’s warning that he might be giving up more by his absence than he was to gain by his extended stay in England proved to be correct, since he died in August of 1806. All the annuities that he had fought to restore ceased with his death.²⁰

During his absence, Elizabeth had retained receipts, bills, and invoices from 1800 to 1808, which, along with their personal correspondence, provide evidence of Elizabeth’s skills in managing the farm and supervising the construction of Boscobel. The probate inventories of States Dyckman (1806) and Peter Corne Dyckman (1824), who died the year after his mother (1823), provide additional proof that she had managed their finances well.

Boscobel since 1823

Upon Peter’s death, his sizable estate went to his wife, Susan Whetton Dyckman, until their only child, Eliza Letitia, came of age in 1838. Boscobel remained in family hands until 1888. From that time until 1923, it was owned by a succession of families.²¹ In 1924, the Parks Commission of Westchester County acquired the land surrounding Boscobel for development as a public park. The Commissioners decided to demolish the house in 1941, but a private group provided funds for maintenance and liability insurance to save it from destruction. This group, called Boscobel, Inc., disbanded in 1947, when the Veterans Administration bought the land as the site for a hospital and indicated that they would utilize and