Alexandria, VA – April sits between Women’s History Month in March and Historic Preservation Month in June. The Gadsby’s Tavern Museum tour features the intersection of women’s history and the history of its two 18th-century buildings. Through The stories of female entrepreneurs, women who were enslaved and then earned their freedom, and travel journals that give us an idea of 19th-century travel, visitors have a chance to learn another side of Tavern history.
Any history of the Gadsby’s Tavern buildings would be incomplete without the story of Hannah Griffith, the proprietress of the Alexandria Coffee House from 1794 to 1800. Hannah was married to the Rev. David Griffith, a Revolutionary War hero and the rector of Alexandria Church, known today as Christ Church. David’s sudden passing in 1789 left Hannah without a husband, no income for her family of eight young children, and without lodging, since her husband’s former position included use of the rector’s house.
The family owned several lots in Alexandria, and she wisely leased some out. She also leased part of the newer 1792 building, now known as part of the Gadsby’s Tavern complex, and obtained a license to operate a tavern. Rather than operate a common tavern, Griffith opened a “Coffee-House.” Less common than taverns, coffeehouses usually operated in prosperous cities and catered to wealthy merchants. Owners of such establishments were given a higher level of social respect, and the overwhelming majority were men, although some women like Griffith succeeded as well.
Her wealthy clients found stimulating conversation and drinks at the establishment, while subscription fees worked to deter customers of the “lower sort.” Griffith sold her business at the beginning of the 19th century. She never remarried and died in her sixties in November 1811.
Also important to the Tavern’s history is Candas, an enslaved woman freed by building owner John Wise in 1796. The manumission, or release, signed by Wise states:
Whereas I purchased a Negro Woman, Candas, of Mr. Robert McRea, and her husband, London, served me a certain time for her freedom; I therefore desire that she be a free woman.
Research shows Candas’ husband was London Payne, also spelled Paine, a free African American carpenter and house-joiner. In 1795, Payne rented property on Queen Street. By 1796, London owned and rented out property on Duke Street.
It’s possible given Payne’s occupation that he completed work on the City Tavern in exchange for his wife’s freedom. Around the time Candas received her freedom, she might also have been pregnant. It is difficult to know with certainty, but if Milly, who is listed in the Alexandria Free Negro Registry, was Candas’ daughter, her status—free or enslaved—was dependent on her mother’s, based on a Virginia law enacted in 1662. Candas’ freedom meant any children she had would also be free.
While we don’t know what happened to the family, the records give us a glimpse into the efforts Candas and London went through to secure their family’s freedom.
Women not only worked in the Tavern complex, they also stayed as guests. While White upper-class women occasionally traveled, these sleeping arrangements would not have been their first choice. In cities, there were more appropriate alternatives, such as private homes or boarding houses.
Sometimes women traveling outside cities had to share a tavern room with men. Mrs. Elizabeth House Trist wrote of how she created some privacy during her travels along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in 1783:
we had a little partition run along the side of our bed, and we hung our great coats up at the foot, which made our berth very private.
The stories of Hannah Griffith, Candas, and Elizabeth House Trist highlight both general trends and discomforts of travel, hospitality, and labor in late 18th-century America, and circumstances unique to women in that era. You can learn more about these stories and others at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum.
