Archibald Robertson (1765 - 1835)

Born 8 May 1765 in Monymusk, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Descendants

Died 6 Dec 1835 at age 70 in New York City, New York County, New York, United States

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Biography

Archibald Robertson is Notable.

Liza Abramse, born July 7, 1776, married, December 16, 1793, Archibald Robertson, born May 8, 1765, at Monymusk, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He was the eldest son of William Robertson, of Aberdeen, son of James Robertson, of Drumnahoy, parish of Cluny, Aberdeenshire, and Jane Ross, daughter of Alexander Ross, of Balnagowan, Ross-shire, Scotland, In early youth Archibald Robertson manifested a great love for the fine arts, and (when his education was completed, at Aberdeen College) he attached himself to them asa profession, In 1782 he went to London and studied at the Royal Academy, where he painted under Sir Joshua Reynolds, He afterward returned to his native home to practise his profession, and during the successful exercise of his art he was invited by Chancellor Livingston, Dr. Samuel Bard, and Dr. Kemp, of Columbia College, New York, to cross the Atlantic and make his home in this city. These gentlemen had heard him highly recommended by Dr. Gordon, of King’s College, Aberdeen, and they were anxious to secure his servicesr., Robertson felt great reluctance at first even to think of such a thing as to reside in such a barbarous country as the United States, which then appeared to him as a "Terra Incognita." With a love for romantic adventure, he finally decided to cross the sea, but not with any serious intention of remaining here. x‘He arrived in New York, October 2, 1791, and found this country to be something else besides a scene of savage life. He was the more agreeably disappointed by reason of his previous prejudices. He therefore formed the determination of making New York the home of his choice and the land of his hopes. He came under favorable circumstances, for he brought with him letters from his friend and patron, the Earl of Buchan, one of which was addressed to General George Washington, then first President of the United States. Lord Buchan at the same time sent to General Washington, by Archibald Robertson, the noted snuff-box made of wood from the tree which sheltered Sir William Wallace. This box, at the death of Washington, was returned to the Earl of Buchan by the executors of General Washington, for reasons given in his will. Robertson, describing his first interview with the President, says: "Although familiarly accustomed to intimate intercourse with people of the highest rank and station in my native country, I never experienced the same feelings as I did on my first introduction to the American hero. The agitation was evidently obvious to Washington, for, from his ordinary cold and distant address, he declined into the most easy and familiar intercourse in conversation."

This description is then given of a family dinner at the executive mansion; "The General, anxious to familiarize his guest, engrossed much of the conversation at the table, and so delighted the company with humorous anecdotes that he repeatedly set the guests in a roar of laughter." This account of the dinner is accompanied by a diagram of the table, which shows that the party consisted of General Washington, Mrs. Washington, Mrs. General Greene, Miss Helmer Custis, Archibald Robertson, Colonel John Trumbull, Colonel Tobias Lear, and Major Jackson. The two gentlemen last named, as is well known, were the secretaries of General Washington.

Colonel Trumbull, by his artistic skill, has given a second life to some of the most affecting and grandest scenes of the Revolutionary War, in which he himself was a distinguished actor. The enthusiasm for his art never quenched the fire of his patriotism, and the merit of his paintings has stood and will stand the test of time. Who is there, with an American heart in his bosom, who can cast his eye upon those martyrs to their country’s cause, upon that self-devotion sanctified by the sacrifices of life, of Warren at Bunker’s Hill, and of Montgomery before the walls of Quebec—who can pass through the Rotunda of the Capitol at Washington, and not find his eyes involuntarily drawn upon the triumphs of Saratoga and Yorktown? Who can look upon that "Declaration of Independencer"” which forms an epoch in the history of the human race, and upon that "Surrender by Washington of his Commission to the Congress of Annapolis," without feeling that the artist has spread a fresh blaze of splendor over those scenes? In the words of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, "Every eye that beholds them identifies the immortality of his own name with the imperishable honors of his country."

The dinner, served at three o’clock in the afternoon, is described as being plain but suitable for a family in affluent circumstances. There was nothing especially remarkable at the table, unless it may be said that the General and his wife sat side by side, he on the right of his lady. The gentlemen were on his right-hand side and the ladies on his left. It being Saturday, the first course was mostly of Eastern cod and other fresh fish, A few glasses of wine were drank during the dinner, with other beverages. The whole closed in about three-quarters of an hour, with a few glasses of sparkling champagne, when the General and Secretary Lear retired, leaving the company in high glee about Lord Buchan and the Wallace box. An admirable description of this event is given by Elizabeth Bryant Johnston in her excellent work entitled "Original Portraits of Washington," published by Osgood & Co., Boston, in 1882. When Robertson was ready to execute his commission for the earl, he spent six weeks by invitation of General Washington at the executive mansion. He deemed it advisable (it having been left to his own discretion) to make his first attempt in miniature on ivory, and in water-colors. He painted, at the same time, a miniature of Mrs. Washington. These he retained, leaving them to remain in his family as an heir-loom, and memorial of his veneration for the great and successful champion of American liberty. They have descended to his granddaughters, Mrs. S. M. Mygatt, of New York, and Mrs, Charles W. Darling, of Utica, N.Y. These miniatures are remarkable for their beauty and finish as works of art, and are considered as among the finest efforts of this distinguished artist. After succeeding so happily in miniature, Robertson painted a large portrait in oil, corresponding in size to those of a collection of portraits of the most celebrated characters in liberal principles and useful literature, in the possession of Lord Buchan at Dryburgh Abbey. When finished, the portrait received Washington’s approbation and was sent to Scotland in April, 1792, in care of Colonel Tobias Lear. It was delivered to the Earl of Buchan and welcomed by him with cordial approval. Major-General B. W. Black, K.C.B., a valued friend of the writer, stated, in a letter received, that this portrait is yet in the Buchan gallery in Scotland. Robertson also painted in oil, on a small slab of marble nine by twelve inches, a cabinet miniature of Washington, It is half-length, three-quarters view, coat of snuff-color, with an exuberance of shirt-ruffle. In the "Narrative and Critical History of America," by Justin Winsor, reference is made to two other miniatures of Washington, painted by this artist, one of which was presented by Washington as a wedding gift to a granddaughter of his wife. It belongs to Edmund Law Rogers, of Baltimore, Md., having descended to him from his grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Parke Law, who married a son of Lord Ellenborough. The head is in half profile, and drawn with exceeding skill. The dress is the Continental uniform, the hair powdered and worn in a queue, and the ribbon tying it is visible over the right shoulder. The colors are so fresh and beautiful that it seems as if it might have been painted within the present year. The other miniature, differing from the former in size, being a trifle smaller, was inherited by Mrs. Beverly Kennon.

The following extract from an article by Colonel Trumbull, president of the American Academy of Fine Arts, written in 1824, indicates the esteem in which the portraits of Archibald Robertson were regarded by his contemporaries: "If we wish to behold Washington when he began to wane, in the latter years of his life, when he had lost his teeth, but yet possessed a full vigor of eye, we must see Robertson’s portrait of him." Archibald Robertson was distingushed also as a great linguist. He spoke with fluency English, French, German, and Spanish, and was familiar with Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

He died, December 6, 1835, at the age of seventy-one, and was buried from his residence, 97 Liberty Street, New York.

His widow departed this life, April 5, 1865, at her residence in Thirty-fourth Street, New York.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, New York, July 1893, Vol XXIV, No 3; Paulding, Irving, Halleck, Cooper, Bryant, and Other New York Authors, Pg 104-107; Antoine L'Espenard, the French Huguenot, of New Rochelle, and Some of his Descendants; Also https://archive.org/details/antoinelespenard00darl

• Darling, Charles William. Memorial To My Honored Kindred (Fierstine & Gifford, Utica, N.Y., 1888) Page 112

• Find A Grave: Memorial #129623920