Clinton-Genêt family collection, 1781-1908
Using These Materials
- Restrictions:
- The collection is open for research.
Summary
- Creator:
- Clinton, Cornelia Tappan, 1744-1800 and Genet, Edmond Charles, 1763-1834
- Abstract:
- The collection primarily consists of personal correspondence between Cornelia Tappan Clinton Genêt (1774-1810) and Edmond Charles Genêt (1763-1834), both before and after their marriage, as well as letters to and from members of the Clinton-Genêt family. Correspondence covers personal and family matters as well as commentary on political figures and events.
- Extent:
- 37 items
- Language:
-
English
French - Authors:
- Collection processed and finding aid created by Cari Griffin, July 2018
Background
- Scope and Content:
-
The Clinton-Genêt family collection is made up of 30 letters and drafts, one partially printed invitation, one manuscript epitaph, two printed images, and three pins/ribbons related to Cornelia Tappan Clinton Genêt (1774-1810) and Edmond Charles Genêt (1763-1834). While the collection spans from 1781-1908, the bulk of the letters begin in 1781, during the waning years of the American Revolution, and continue with regularity through 1810. The collection includes a draft of Edmund Genêt's epitaph, two-tone reproductions of George Clinton and of Gov. Clinton's home in New York, as well as ribbons and pins honoring Governor George Clinton on May 28, 1908. For details about each item, see the complete inventory in the "Detailed Box and Folder Listing" below.
- Biographical / Historical:
-
Cornelia Tappan Clinton was born June 29, 1774, in New Windsor, New York to George and Cornelia Clinton, née Tappan. Influential, well-connected, and fervent Patriots, the Clinton family's prominence afforded Cornelia access to a wide circle of distinguished figures that shaped early American events. Abigail Adams Smith noted that fourteen-year-old Cornelia was, "as smart and sensible a girl as I ever knew: a zealous politician and a high anti-Federalist" (Young, 359).
Cornelia met French Republic Minister Edmund Genêt, by mid-late 1793. The two connected politically as well as romantically. In a December 1793 letter, she conveyed to Edmond that, "notwithstanding your worth . . . I do not think I could have been attached to you had you been anything but a Republican" (Kerber, 93). The two married on November 6, 1794. Cornelia Clinton Genêt died on March 23, 1810, at the age of 35.
Edmond Charles Genêt, known as Citizen Genêt, was born in Versailles in 1763. An accomplished linguist with fluency in six languages, Genêt served as a translator for the French court and in a diplomatic capacity to courts in Berlin, Vienna, and St. Petersburg. Dismissed from Catherine II's court in 1792 for his Republican views, Genêt briefly returned to France before travelling to Charleston in April of 1793. Serving as the first minister from the newly formed French Republic to the United States, Genêt met with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson in an effort to renegotiate terms of the 1778 treaty that existed between United States and France. Not only did Genêt's efforts prove unsuccessful, his defiance of Washington's anti-privateering policies resulted in his dismissal as minister. Genêt, recalled to France where a warrant for his arrest awaited him, was instead granted political asylum and allowed to remain in the United States.
In 1794, Genêt married Cornelia Clinton, daughter of New York's first governor, George Clinton. The family eventually settled near Albany, New York. Genêt assumed the role of a gentleman farmer and attained U.S. citizenship in 1804. Following Cornelia's death in 1810, Genêt married Martha Brandon Osgood, daughter of Samuel Osgood, the first Postmaster General of the United States, in 1814. Genêt died in 1834 in Schodac, New York.
- Acquisition Information:
- 2016. M-6028 .
- Arrangement:
-
The items are arranged chronologically, with printed items and realia housed at the end.
- Rules or Conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Related
- Additional Descriptive Data:
-
Bibliography
Albany Register, Albany, N.Y., 1810 March 30, p. 3.
Ammon, Harry. "Genet, Edmond Charles (1763-1834), French minister to the United States" in American National Biography (2000): doi-org.proxy.lib.umich.edu/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0200141.
Bathe, Greville. Citizen Genet, Diplomat & Inventor. Philadelphia: Press of Allen, Lane, and Scott, 1946.
Greenleaf's New York Journal & Patriotic Register, [New York, NY], 1794 November 8, p. 3.
"GSBC Family Files -- Page 273." The Genealogical Society of Bergen County, NJ (July 2017): www.njgsbc.org/files/familyfiles/g0/p723.htm#i20612. Accessed 16 July 2018.
Kane, Robert B. "Genêt, Edmond-Charles" in The Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Early American Republic, 1783-1812: A Political, Social, and Military History, Vol. 1, edited by Spencer C. Tucker, vol. 1, 268-269. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2014.
Kerber, Linda K. Toward an Intellectual History of Women: Essays. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001.
Minnigerode, Meade. Jefferson, Friend of France, 1793; The Career of Edmond Charles Genet, Minister Plenipotentiary from the French Republic to the United States, as Revealed by his Private Papers, 1763-1834. New York: G. P. Putnams's Sons, 1928.
Rafuse, Ethan S. "Clinton George (1739-1812), Soldier, Governor of New York, and Vice President of the United States" in American National Biography (2000): doi-org.proxy.lib.umich.edu/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0200077.
State of New York. Laws of the State of New-York, : Passed at the Thirty-sixth, Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Sessions of the Legislature, Commencing November 1812, and Ending April 1815, Vol. III. Albany: Printed by Websters and Skinners, 1815.
Young, Alfred F. The Democratic Republicans of New York: The Origins, 1763-1797. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1967.
Subjects
Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.
- Subjects:
-
Child rearing--United States--History--19th century.
Children of governors--New York (State)
Courtship--United States--History--18th century.
Republican Party (U.S. : 1792-1828) - Formats:
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Invitations.
Letters (correspondence)
Pins (jewelry)
Reproductive prints.
Ribbonwork (visual materials) - Names:
-
Fauchet, Joseph, baron, 1761-1834.
Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804.
Washington, George, 1732-1799.
Clinton, George, 1739-1812--Homes and haunts.
Clinton, George, 1739-1812.
Clinton, Maria.
Clinton, Mary Dewitt.
Doll, Cornelia Tappan.
Genet, Edme Jacques, -1781.
Hale, Cornelia T.
Tappan, Maria. - Places:
- United States--Politics and government--1783-1809.
Contents
Using These Materials
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
The collection is open for research.
- USE & PERMISSIONS:
-
Copyright status is unknown
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
Clinton-Genêt Family Collection, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan