Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

I am attaching hereto a report on the Ludwell-Paradise House (block 18, colonial lot 45), prepared by Mary Stephenson.

Philip Ludwell III's advertisement in the Virginia Gazette, offering two dwellings in Williamsburg for rent, ran from August 8 through October 17, 1755. Later references to Ludwell's property indicate that the second building, described in the newspaper as a "very good Dwelling-House, well accommodated with Out-Houses, Garden, Well, Fine large Stable and Coach-House, &c. Situate on the main Street, the lower Side of the Market Place," referred to the Ludwell-Paradise House.

LUDWELL-PARADISE HOUSE
(Block 18 Colonial Lot 45)
TABLE OF CONTENTS

LOCATION:North side of the Main Street on the block east of the Market Square
HISTORY:Chronological history from 1700 to 1948 -	pp. 1-21
SUMMARY:Concise account of house and lot based on sources in history of lot -	pp. 21-22
APPENDIX:Illustration #1 -Maps
Illustration #2 -Biographical material
Illustration #3 -Land tax and personal property tax records
Illustration #4 -Bibliography on John and Lucy Paradise
#5 Inventory of Wm Rind, 1773

LOCATION:

The house known as the "Ludwell-Paradise House" is located on colonial lot 45, north side of Duke of Gloucester Street, in the block east of the Market Square. (See Tyler's adaptation of the College Map, Illustration #1.)

HISTORY:

To trace the title to the Ludwell-Paradise House and lot is to follow a long line of the Ludwell family and their descendants, who held this property from 1700 to about 1820. The Ludwells were distinguished people, long prominent politically and socially in the Colony. Their country seat was "Green Spring"¹ near Jamestown in James City County.

The earliest information concerning colonial lot 45 in Williamsburg appears in a deed of September 1700:

September 23, 1700.

Trustees City of Williamsburg
to
Ludwell, Col. Phillip²
Consideration: 1 shilling

Three certain lots of ground in the city of Williamsburg designated in the plot of the said city by the figures 43,44, 45, bounded as follows: Beginning at the Market Place on the North side of Duke of Gloucester Street running East ¼ North along Duke of Gloucester Street 10 poles ¾, thence North a ¼ West 16 poles to Nicholson Street, thence West ¼ South 17 poles to the Market Place where Nicholson Street and Scotland 2 Street cross each other, thence South ¼ East 11 poles along the Market Place, thence South ¼ North 6 poles along the Market Place, thence South ¼ East 5 poles along the Market Place to the Duke of Gloucester Street y^e place first began. (York County Records, Deeds, Bonds, II, p. 30.)

In the above noted deed, lot 45 is definitely located. Apparently, this was deed of lease to Ludwell for three lots.¹ The usual stipulation was required by the city that the buyer should "within the space of 24 months build and finish upon Each Lott one good dwelling house or houses according to an Act of Assembly 1705." (York County Records, Deeds, Bonds, III, pp. 149-150.) The supposition is that lots 43 and 44 escheated to the city, because houses had not been built on them within the two years.² At any rate, Colonel Ludwell and his descendants held lot 45 for many years.

It is not known exactly when Ludwell built the brick house in Williamsburg. As the lot did not escheat to the trustees of the city, Ludwell must have erected a building on lot 45 within twenty-four months after the date of the deed of release (June, 1702). By 1718 his town house was known as "a common rendezvous"^{Ludwell Mansion Block 28} for the anti-Spotswood element in the Council, although Greenspring was not a long ride from Williamsburg as the following items from William Byrd's Diary will indicate:

1709, September 14. [Williamsburg]
". . .Then I went to take leave of the President and Mr. Bland and rode to Colonel Ludwell's, whom I overtook on the road. . ."

October 5.
". . .I rode to Green Springs. . . The Colonel had been at general muster and brought home two of his captains with him."

1710, July 4.
". . .About 5 o'clock Mrs. Harrison came home and we had just 3 time to take leave of her and proceed to Green Springs, where we arrived as soon as it was dark. The Colonel was melancholy because his daughter was sick. . ."

1711, July 6. [Williamsburg]
"The Doctor was gone to York and I resolved to go, sick as I was, to Colonel Ludwell's in order to go home the next day in Captain Posford's boat. I asked the President to lend me his coach, but he made several excuses. . . I went away a little after 5 o'clock and before 7 got to Colonel Ludwell's where they took great care of me. . ."

November 14.
". . .about 3 o'clock we got to Green Springs but neither the Colonel nor his Lady were at home and therefore we stayed but half an hour and then went on to Williamsburg where we got about 5."

1712, June 11.
". . . About 6 we went in the Doctor's coach to Green Springs where we found several people. Here we went to bed for two hours. . ."

December 8.
"Colonel Ludwell invited me to go to Green Springs but I excused myself notwithstanding several pretty women were there."

From the letters of Governor Spotswood, one learns that Colonel Philip Ludwell was suspended as Auditor of the Colony of Virginia in 1716. From that time to his death in 1727 Colonel Ludwell was not sufficiently active in public affairs in the Colony to have necessitated erection of a house in Williamsburg for his use in public times. The brick house on the Main Street was a handsome house as houses in the city went. It seems reasonable to accept the estimated date of erection as prior to 1716 until further evidence comes to light.^{[illegible] Whiffen 18th C Houses, 113-4}

As has been noted, before 1718 Colonel Ludwell was using the town house as his residence, at least a part of each year. In one of the letters of Governor Spotswood to the Earl of Orkney the house of Ludwell in Williamsburg is mentioned:

. . . July 1, 1718. Virginia

It was surprising to see how barefacedly these Councillors proceeded in their extravagant measures; Ludwell's house 4 (wch. is close in sight of mine) was the common rendezvous of the disaffected Burgesses, and the Commissary [Blair] continually in their consultations, and it was remark'd that after a grand meeting there, many scurrilous and reflecting speeches were next day made in the lower House. . . (Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, America and West Indies 1717-1718, p. 290. Cecil Headlam, ed., London, 1830)

One cannot state positively that "Ludwell's house" mentioned by Spotswood as near his residence (the Palace) was the brick house on Duke of Gloucester Street. At the time Ludwell owned a wood "tenement" on Nicholson Street¹ also. However, the brick house was handsome and more pretentious than his wood "tenement" and it seems reasonable to assume that Ludwell entertained the "disaffected Burgesses and the Commissary" at this house.

At Colonel Ludwell's death in 1727, his son, Philip Ludwell III, was eleven years of age. No will of Ludwell has been found, but it is known that Philip Ludwell III² was the owner of the property in 1755. Apparently, the property had come into the possession of the son via the father.

^{First adv. for rent on Aug. 8, 1755
Same continued in V.G. until Jan. 23, 1756
(V.G. newspapers for 1755 were not [illegible]able when this report was done.}

On October 17, 1755, Ludwell offered the dwelling house for rent:

To be LET, and ENTERED on Immediately,
A Very commodious Dwelling-House, with a Well of very good Water, Out-Houses, Garden pailed in, and other Conveniences, in perfect good Order, and very Convenient for a private Family, or Lodgers, and situated in one of the most agreeable Parts of the Town: Also one other very good Dwelling-House, well accommodated with Out-Houses, Garden, Well, Fine large Stable and Coach-House, &c. situate on the main Street, the lower Side of the Market Place.
Philip Ludwell. (Virginia Gazette, Hunter, ed.)

The second house mentioned in the above advertisement is obviously the brick 5 house on lot 45, as the description notes it to be "on the main Street, the lower Side of the Market Place."

At the death of Philip Ludwell III in 1767, his property was divided among his three daughters. One daughter, Frances, unmarried, died in 1768. Evidently, the part of Ludwell's estate allotted to Frances at her death went to her sisters: Hannah Ludwell, who married William Lee,¹ and Lucy Ludwell,² who married John Paradise³ in 1769. Philip Ludwell's will was made in the city of Westminster, England, and probated on May 6, 1767. Excerpt follows:

...in trust for my daurs. Hannah Philippa L., Frances L. & Lucy L. in fee, to be divided as follows, the Green Spring part whereby I mean that part of my land that lies in James City County on the Western side of Powhatan Swamp (with slaves, stock, etc.) including Powhatan Mill & the Miller; the Rich Neck part whereby I mean all on Eastern side of the Powhatan Swamp & at Archers Hope & in Williamsburg; the Chipokes part whereby I mean all lands in the county of Surry; these to be made as equal as possible by adding part of one division to another and then Green Spring part to be conveyed to H. P. my Rich Neck part (with Rich Neck plantation therein) to F. at 21 or marr'd and the third part including Chipokes & my Surry lands to L. at 21 or marr'd — all in fee with Survivor's clause...⁴ (Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 32, p. 288)

In the process of division of Ludwell's estate, an item in the Virginia Gazette throws light on the way the estate was settled, though the Williamsburg property is not mentioned. It is included in this report because it indicates that Colonel Ludwell was maintaining a residence at "Green Spring," though living in England, at the time of his death: 6

Nov^r 12, 1767.

To be SOLD at publick auction, at Green Spring, the seat of the late PHILIP LUDWELL, Esq; deceased, on Thursday the 10^th of December next,
THE HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE, consisting of beds, and furniture thereto belonging, mahogany and black walnut furniture for halls and bedchambers, mostly new, and finished in the most elegant manner; also a parcel of china, and other useful furniture. And at the same time and place will be sold the library of the said Philip Ludwell, consisting of a large collection of the most valuable books now extant, neatly bound, gilt, and lettered...

(Virginia Gazette, Purdie & Dixon, eds.)

A letter of William Lee's, dated March 15, 1769, in London, to his brothers, Richard, Henry and Francis Lightfoot Lee, refers to division of the estate in Williamsburg:

...They may divide the estate in such manner as to be much against my inclinations; as for instance I would not wish to have any part of the houses in Wmsburgh which I think should be alloted to Miss L. (Lucy) Ludwell. (Lee Manuscript Papers, V, pp. 45-46, copy from Virginia Historical Society, Richmond)

Detailed information as to the manner of division of the Williamsburg property is found in a letter, dated July 7, 1770, from Richard Henry Lee from Chantilly, Virginia (his home), to his brother William in London:

Dear Brother... I came a week ago from Williamsburgh, about 5 days before the assembly was prorogued, and I was present when the division was made between you and Mr. Paradise. The conveyances were not made, but Colo. Corbin promised they should immediately be set about by an able conveyancer, and the whole recorded at the next General Court. The houses in Williamsburg were divided by lot (having been first all valued by an experienced workman) and the large brick house that Rind lives in, the Mansion as it is called, where my Uncles family lived in Town; with the Blue Bell, a large house just behind the Capitol, fell to your share; and you were charged in account with their valuation. The first rents for £60 a year, the other 2 rent for £20 each, making £100 per ann. in the whole. With respect to them, I think fortune favored you, they being to be chosen in preference to the rest. The Green Spring lands, Governor's land excluded 7 were valued at 20½ pr. acre, the Surry land at 40/and some of the land in Miss Fanny's part, that was at £3. The whole land west of Powhatan, Mrs. Lee's by will, and so allotted her now, together with 164 shares, 217 head of cattle, 190 head of sheep, with 17 horses, 1 improved and 1 unimproved lot which was in Jamestown, and the above lots in Williamsburg were valued at £14997:6:0. When this was compared with the valuation of the Surry land, and the other estates there, the disproportion was so great in favor of Green Spring that it made necessary almost the whole of what was willed Miss Fanny to make the sisters equal. I would willingly have given up all the houses in Town, and some Negroes from Green Spring, in exchange for the lands near the Town. At length however they determined to take a few negroes from G. S. (your number remaining now as above, it being greater before) which added to the Balance, that would have been due you if Mr. Paradise hath been appointed to the whole of Miss Fanny's part, except Town houses; accomplished the purpose of having Mrs. Lee assigned 1000 acres of land, about the head of Rich Neck Mill, I think it is called; convenient for furnishing wood to the Town and on which a quarter has long been, and we still think of continuing as the land is good, and the teams will be there ready to supply wood in the winter for the Town. (Lee Manuscript Papers, Vol. IV, pp. 149-157)

From the same source is a memo reference to the estate inherited by William Lee's wife, Hannah Ludwell, and by Mrs. Paradise:

Mrs. Lee's Part

	£ S d
The lands at Green Springs with all the Improvements, slaves, stocks, etc	13697 6
Houses and lots in Williamsburgh viz Warrington Tenements where Col. Ludwell used to lodge	300
Brick House	750
Blue Bell	250
	£14997 6 -

Mrs. Paradise's Part

Rich Neck with Improvements, Slaves, Stock, etc	9553
Houses and Lots in Williamsburg- The Tenement adjoining the Speaker's & Red Lyon	125 (?)
Powels Tenements	50
Lands (?)	(?)
Add the four slaves to be taken from Green Spring	260
	16067 13 (?)

(Lee Manuscript Papers, Vol. V, pp. 36—61)

8

At the General Court held at the Capitol on the 6th of November, 1770, an indenture was acknowledged by the executors of Philip Ludwell, namely, "Richard Corbin his Majesty's Receiver General of Virginia, Robert Carter Nicholas Esquire Treasurer of Virginia, John Wayles & Benjamin Waller Esquires attornies at law in Virginia," giving Lucy Paradise and Hannah Lee full control of their part of their father's estate. (Uncatalogued Southall Papers, Library of College of William and Mary - copy in Research Department.)

According to the memorandum, previously noted, found in the Lee Manuscripts, the brick house fell to his wife as inheritance from her father. Lee, who was living in England, authorized his property to be rented. Letters and notations now in the Lee Papers at the Virginia Historical Society, indicate that Lee rented his property in Williamsburg. None identify the brick house or even the lot, but one knows that the property described was in the city:

Jan^y 21, 1771

Y^r houses in Wmsb^g are in bad repair always rented to bad tenants always nasty & few rents paid. (Lee Papers, Ms., Va. Historical Society, Vol. XV, p. 200 - Letter of Philip Lightfoot Lee to William Lee)

March 7, 1771

...Then add the rents of the houses in Wmsb^g deduct^g 10 p6 [sic] for repairs... (Ibid., p. 64 - Letter of William Lee to Richard Henry and Francis Lightfoot Lee)

April 23, 1772

As it appears that the houses in Wmsburg when tenanted do not let for 8pct on the value of wch they were appraised, wch is [?] pct. pr. an. less than what is common for houses; I sh^d think it w^d be best way to dispose of them all...& shall esteem it very kind in you to negotiate this business for me. That is, to sell all the houses in Williamsburgh not under the appraised price, nor w^d I have one house sold without the whole... (Ibid., p. 85 - William Lee to R. C. Nicholas)

In September 1773, the Lee property in Williamsburg was offered for sale in the Virginia Gazette (Purdie and Dixon, eds.): 9

FOR SALE
September 23, 1773.

The Three following TENEMENTS in the City of Williamsburg, which formerly belonged to the Honourable Philip Ludwell, and are now held by William Lee, Esquire, of the City of London, in Right of his Lady; namely, the large wooden House, on the Back Street next Door but one to Mr. Speaker's; the Brick House on the Main Street, where Mrs. Rind¹ lives; and the House called the Blue Bell, below the Capitol, opposite to the Playhouse, and in which Mr. Brammer formerly lived, together with all the Lots and their Appurtenances. The Terms may be known of the Subscribers. If these Tenements should not, in the Mean [time], be disposed of, they will be offered at Publick Sale, before Mr. Southall's Door, on Friday the 29th of October, at Four O'Clock in the Afternoon.
RICHARD HENRY LEE.
FRANCIS L. LEE
RO. C. NICHOLAS

According to Francis Lightfoot Lee, in a letter to William Lee in London, "the Brick House on the Main Street, where Mrs. Rind lives" evidently had not been sold in December 1773:^{(See Wm. Rind's Inventory. Illust. #5}

...I was at W^msburg the last of October to attend the sale of your lotts and to meet Mr. A. Trent, he was not there and as there were few people in town the sale of the lots was put off until the 18th of this month. I have not heard whether they were sold. (Lee Papers, Vol. IV, pp. 25-26)

MAPS:

The Frenchman's Map (1782) seems to show a house with outbuilding in the rear. (See copy of Frenchman's Map in the Department of Research; also drawing therefore in Illustration #1 of the Appendix.) The College Map gives the name "Lee" on lot 45 and "Paradise" on lot 44. (See Tyler's adaptation of the College Map in Illustration #1.)

HISTORY: (Cont.):

In 1782, contemplating a return to Virginia, William Lee wrote from Brussells to F. L. Lee that his family consisted of "Mrs. Lee, one son William 10 Ludwell, 7 years old; two daughters Portia 5 years old, and Cornelia 2 years old." (Lee Letter Book, Vol. IV, p. 48.) On June 22, 1782, he wrote from Brussels to R. H. Lee: ". . .I wish to know as soon as possible what sort of education can be got for my son in Virginia. . .whether any of our houses in Williamsburg or that at Greenspring are in a proper habitable condition for use. . ." (Ibid., p. 66.) On October 11, 1782, William Lee again wrote R. H. Lee: ". . .write whether any of the houses in Williamsburg are fit to inhabit. If repairs of consequence are necessary what may be the expense of them, and what materials will be wanted from Europe. . ." (Ibid., p. 93.) When Lee returned to Virginia in July 1783, he settled at "Green Spring" and began the task of renovating the house long neglected and in the hands of overseers. (See letters from Lee Letter Book published in Virginia Historical Magazine, Vol. 38, pp. 41-50.)

In June 1784, Lee petitioned the House of Delegates for "injury done to certain houses of the petitioner in Williamsburg occupied by the troops of the Commonwealth during the late war." (Journal of the House of Delegates of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Saturday, June 12, 1784.)

A complete land tax report on the lots of William Lee can be found in Illustration #3 of this report. (Reference to land tax records noting transfer of property in 1812 will be made in chronology of this report.)

As far as is known from available records, William Lee continued to live at "Green Spring" near Jamestown and rented his property in Williamsburg to a series of tenants. Among the renters of Lee's brick house was Monsieur Dumois (spelled "Dormore", "Dermoy", "Dormoy" in various records). Dumois seems to have rented from Lee several years and then left without settling for the rent. Judgment was finally filed by Lee in 1792 to recover £51:6:8 then due him from Dumois.¹ One letter concerning Dumois from William Lee to 11 Joseph Prentis, Williamsburg, is dated Green Spring, July 21, 1785:

Sir: Inclosed you have Mr. Louis Dormore & Co. agreement for the Rent of my Brick house in Williamsburg... Mr. Dormore gave me to understand that he meant to leave the country and the house also... He lives at present at the House that was Mrs. Tarpleys nearly opposite to Mr. Blairs. He may have some wine in the sellar of my house but I believe nothing else except a few hatts. (Lee Letter Book, Vol. V, p. 187.)

The Paradises were in Virginia in the early part of 1788, having come in part to manage their property. William Lee, in a letter to A. Lee, dated January 1, 1788, from "Green Spring," wrote: "M^r. & M^rs Paradise have been with me here from the beginning of October till a fortnight ago and the hurry and bustle (?) of Xmas succeeding. . ." (Ibid., Vol. V, p.273.) The Paradises had spent about a week at Mount Vernon with Washington. On Dec. 30, 1787, Washington wrote in his diary: ". . .abt 11 Oclock Mr. Paradise and his Lady, lately from England but now of Williamsburgh, came in on a visit." (Diaries of George Washington 1748-1799, Vol. III, p. 289.)

John Paradise in 1788 is listed in the personal property tax records for Williamsburg as having 4 slaves over 12 years old, 5 horses and a post-chaise.¹ (Microfilm copy of records in Research Dept.)

William Lee died in June 1795 at "Green Spring." He had spent most of his life abroad until 1783 when he returned to Virginia to live on his plantation. Lee's will, made in February 1789, gives the following information as to his property and personal effects:

I, William Lee, of Virginia. . . give and devise and bequeath to my dearly beloved Son, William Ludwell Lee, and his heirs forever, all that estate real, personal and mixed, lying, being and situate in James City county, James Town, and the City of Williamsburg, which descended to his mother, my late dear wife, Hannah Philippa Lee, as 12 coheiress and legatee of her late father, the Honorable Philip Ludwell, and as coheiress to her late sister, Frances Ludwell... (Lee Lee Letter Book, Vol. III, pp. 949-50.)

A codicil was added later devising the property in the case of his son's death:

February 4, 1795.

...In case my said son Wm. Ludwell¹ departs this life before he arrives at the age of twenty one years, then and in that case, I give and devise to my daughter, Cornelia and her heirs forever... all these two tracts or parcels of land, lying and being in the said county of James City, commonly called and known by the names of Hotwater, and New Quarter, all my Houses and lots in the City of Williamsburg, and all my Lands in Loudoun or Prince William County... (Ibid., p. 958.)

The above will mentions lots and houses in Williamsburg but does not refer to the "Brick house" specifically.

In December 1795, news reached Williamsburg that John Paradise had died in London. The Gentleman's Magazine (Vol. LXV, p. 1059) carried the following obituary notice:

In Titchfield-street, died John Paradise, esq. L.L.D. of the University of Oxford, and F.R.S. He was born at Salonichi, brought up at Padua, and by far the greatest part of his life resided at London; was passionately fond of learned men, and opened his house to all descriptions of them. He was naturally silent and reserved in conversation, owing to an excess of modesty, which made him pay greater deference to the opinions of others than his own. He spoke many languages with facility, the modern Greek, Latin, Turkish, French, Italian, and English; and was as amiable in his manners as he was eminent in his literature. It has been said of him, by a distinguished person, c'est la probite meme; to which may be added, revetue des formes douces de la sensibilite.

Thus passed from the scene John Paradise, scholar, intimate of Dr. Johnson, and world citizen.

13

In 1803 William Ludwell Lee died at "Green Spring." He was buried on January 24th in the Jamestown Churchyard near his father. William Ludwell Lee bequeathed his entire library, except the family Bible, to Bishop Madison, manumitted his slaves and provided for them, and devised the remainder of his estate to his sisters, Portia (who married William Hodgson of White Haven, England) and Cornelia (who married John Hopkins).¹ The property continued in the name of William Lee's Estate in the Williamsburg Land Tax Books for some years. (See Illustration #3 of the appendix.)

In 1805, Mrs. Lucy Ludwell Paradise, then living in London after the death of her husband, John Paradise, decided to return to Virginia to live. On February 24, 1805, Mrs. Paradise wrote to Littleton W. Tazewell, Norfolk, Virginia, relative to her return to Williamsburg:

London N^o 29 Howland Street
Fitzroy Square
24 of February 1805.

Sir
Having been honoured with Some Letters from you and knowing you to have been the particular Friend of my dear nephew Ludwell Lee I beg leave to acquaint you I shall leave England on or before the 24th of April if M^r B Waller Sends me the Remittance I have written to him to Send me from my Corn and Wheat if I do not receive this remittance than I must Stay until I do receive the Remittance as I have No Money and very Great Debts to pay. I cannot Say what Ship and Captain M^r Rennolds will send me in but I have an opinion M^r Rennolds will take care to send me by a good Ship² and Captain. I shall land at Norfolk and than proceed to Williamsburg. I have not the honour of knowing you only by Name therefore I am a Stranger in my native Country. I shall bring my Coach³ and Furniture with me but no Servants. When I am Settled in my house in 14 Williamsburg I hope you will honour me with your
Company. I am now waiting for my remittance—

I am Sir
With Respect
Your most obliged
Lucy Ludwell Paradise
this will be the last Letter
I shall write you from England

(Ms. Collection, Colonial Williamsburg)

It is not known just what Mrs. Paradise meant when she wrote Jefferson on August 5, 1805: "Mr B Waller has written to me he has taken a house for me in the City of Williamsburg as I desired him..." (Jefferson Ms., Massachusetts Historical Society, quoted in Shepperson's John Paradise and Lucy Ludwell, p. 436.) The inference is that Waller had rented a house for Mrs. Paradise. It is probable that Mrs. Paradise was permitted the use of the brick house at that time owned by her two nieces, Mrs. Hopkins and Mrs. Hodgson. At any rate, Mrs. Paradise occupied the brick house until ill health placed her in the Hospital for the Insane in Williamsburg in 1812.¹ Deeds of the period mention the Paradise House lot as a boundary, noting that the house was occupied by Mrs. Paradise:

Commissioners of estate of Robert H. Warburton to Samuel Sheilds, jr., April 8, 1811- ...a house and lot on the Main Street in the city of Williamsburg, bounded...on the West by a brick tenement occupied by Mrs. Paradise and on the North by the Back Street which said lot Robert H. Warburton purchased of —— Prentis.² (York County Records, Deeds, VIII, p. 257)

William P. Vass... to Samuel Sheild, jr., July 13, 1815- ...Convey their several shares in the house and lot commonly called the "Brick Store," the lot whereof is bounded on the East by the land which separates it from the house occupied by Doctor —— Dufort, on the South by the Main Street, on the West by the lot late in the occupation of 15 Lucy L. Paradise, decd. and on the North by —— Street, and which is the same house and lot sold to the said Robert H. Warburton by William Prentis and Mary, his wife... (York County Records, Deeds, VIII, p. 502)

Evidently, Lucy Paradise was considered an oddity from the time she arrived from London in 1805 to the day of her death. Susan Bowdoin of Williamsburg had a decided opinion of Mrs. Paradise which she voiced in a letter to Joseph Prentis of Suffolk, dated March 5, 1806:

...And yesterday a parade of light-Horse &c, at Night a Grand Ball at the Raleigh which cannot give you any accurate account of, not having seen any person who was there— I shall only add that Mrs Paradise was to be there which I can venture to pronounce was as great a curiossity as any they had... (Webb Letters, typed copies in Research Dept.)

Eliza Prentis, sister of Joseph Prentis, gave her impressions of Mrs. Paradise in a letter from Williamsburg, June 28, 1807:

Mrs. Prentis is making great preparations for the 4^th of July, at the Rawleigh Tavern. On that day she gives a Dinner to the Light Horsemen, and the gentlemen of the town, and at night she gives a Ball to the inhabitants. I suppose she thinks these great actions will immortalize the name of Col^l Ludwell's Daughter... (Ibid.)

For seven years Mrs. Paradise, often called "Madam Paradise" or "Lady Paradise" because of her foreign manner, and apparent consciousness that her family had held the social and political reins in Virginia for three generations, held her court in the little city of Williamsburg. Many are the stories of her peculiarities and obsessions. One of the best known stories is of her penchant for borrowing the new clothes of her friends, especially hats. Another, is the story of how she had her coach placed in a room of her house. On occasions she would enter the coach in state and take a ride in doors. When Monroe with his family visited Williamsburg, Mrs. Paradise in a most dramatic manner rushed up to the Colonel exclaiming: "Sir, we have determined 16 to make you President."¹ (Tucker-Coleman Collection, letter of Lucy Tucker to Frances Coalter, December 18, 1807-Research Department.)

Early in January 1812, it became necessary to commit Mrs. Paradise to the Hospital for the Insane in Williamsburg. (Southall Papers, Folder 297, College of William and Mary.) An inventory was taken of her estate the same month. The inventory of negroes and household furniture belonging to Mrs. Paradise at her house in Williamsburg, as taken by the subscribers January 23, 1812, follows:

	Age
Henry (dead)	50
Letty	40
Mary	50
Suckey	30
Sally	2

1	Gold mourning Ring	1	Silver Fish Knife
1	pr Gold Brassletts	2	pr Salt Ladles
1	Gold Chain & 2 crosses	2	pr Sugar Tongs
1	Gold Necklace	1	Tea Strainer
1	pr Sword pin	1	pr Ladle
1	pr Ear Rings	1	Silver Tea Pot
2	pr plain gold do	1	Cream Jug
1	pr Ear Drops	2	Cream Soup Ladles
1	Gold & 1 Silver Seal	1	Cream Mustard Pot
3	pieces Silver Coin	3	Plated Candlesticks
2	pr broken Necklace	1	Silver Caster Rim
1	Ladies Steel Watch Chain	1	Sett Rim & Caster
1	silver Spectacles	(Second Colum)
1	Silver Thimble	1	Gold picture of Mr Paradise
3	Steel Kne [sic] Buckles	6	Curld Hair Mattrasses
7	Decanter Labels	2	Curtain Bedsteads and Curtains
17	Silver Table Spoons	4	Bed Blankets
6	Large Desert Spoons	2	Mahogany Sophas & 4 Covers
17	small Desert	1	Wash Stand and Bason
	Gravy Spoons	3	Closed Night Chairs
	Tea Spoons	1	Small pine Table
		2	Mahogany Tea Table
		1	Portable Writing Desk
		1	Piano Forti

17 The inventory continues on another page:

6	Mahogany Chairs (3 broke)	2	Large Pine Presses
1	Carpet, and 3 small pieces	1	Pine Table
1	doz. Ivory handled Knives & Forks	1	small Bookease
1	doz. Knives desert do	1	Large Tea Board
15	Knives & 32 Forks, old gun handle	2	small Tea Board
2	Oyster Knives	2	Bread Baskets
1	Lott Queens Ware broken Setts	1	Plate Warmer
1	Large looking Glass	1	Box Tin Ware
2	dressing Glasses	4	Wire Fenders
1	dressing small Glasses	1	Small Clock 1 small Chest
1	Mahogany Dining Table	1	Plate Basket 1 Pine Press
2	Large Tin Boxes & 3 small	2	Setts fire Irons 1 Trunk Books
1	Large Painting (America)	1	Large Safe 2 Easy Chairs
1	Large Painting the Picture of Peter Paradise	2	covers for 2 Easy Chairs
		A	parcel broken furniture
1	Large Painting of Thomas Jefferson	1	four Wheel Carriage
1	Large Painting small Genl Washington	3	Iron Pots
1	Large Painting of Lord Hawke	2	Spits
3	small Pictures	1	Frying Pan
1	Sett Common Drawers	1	Dutch Oven
3	small Pine Presses	2	Coal Scuttles
		1	Copper Kettle
		1	pr Pot Hooks

W^m McCandlish
Ja^s Lee

(Negative photostat, Department of Research-original in Virginia Historical Society)

Williamsburg Land Tax Accounts for 1812 indicate that the property had changed ownership:

"John Hopkins via Lee——1 lot—[value]$ 45
William Hodgson via Lee—1 lot—[value]$100" (Microfilm of Land Tax Records for Williamsburg, Research Department)

As has been stated before, Mrs. Paradise resided in the brick house. The statement which has been made that "she willed the House to her Grandson, Philip, the Son of Count Barziza," must be erroneous since the court records state that she died intestate in May 1814. An appraisement of her estate was ordered. (Southall Papers, Legal Estates, Folder 297, William and Mary College.) The husbands of her nieces, John Hopkins and William Hodgson, took out letters of administration on the estate. In 1815, her grandson came to Virginia to claim her estate. (Randolph Reports give a full 18 account of the decisions in the suit which followed.) However, the estate of Mrs. Paradise did not cover the brick Ludwell-Paradise House, then owned by Hodgson. The property was sold in 1818 to James Lee:

James Lee——l lot——[value]$100 "via Walter Jones, trustee on behalf of Walter Hodgson & wife to James Lee, house and lot in the city of Williamsburg, formerly charged to the said Hodgson." (Microfilm copy of land tax records for Williamsburg in Research Department)

James Lee was probably a member of the Ludwell-Lee family. His son, Philip Ludwell Lee, a student at William and Mary College, session 1832-33, gave his residence as Williamsburg. (William and Mary Quarterly, series 2, Vol. III, p. 270.) James Lee's daughter Virginia married Parkes Slater. At the time of Lee's death (1845?) he owned "the brick tenement lying and being on the main street in the city of Williamsburg known as the 'Lee House'..." (Williamsburg and James City County Court Records, Deed Book I, pp. 30-31; Deed Book II, pp. 259-60.) As Virginia Lee Slater was sole heir to James Lee, the property passed to her husband, Parkes Slater, by the "courtesy right." (Ibid.)

Slater held the property for some years giving deeds of trusts and assignments several times to cover his indebtedness. (Ibid.) The tax accounts for 1861 indicate that Parkes Slater was the owner of 1 lot, with buildings valued at $2700 and buildings and lot valued at $3000. (See Illustration #3 of the appendix.)

A citizen of Williamsburg, Mr. John S. Charles, in his "Recollections of Williamsburg" (p. 42), during the Civil War period, describes the Paradise House thus:

The next house was the Paradise house, called the Slater house in more recent year. These premises present now a far more attractive appearance than ever. The old house, as remembered by the writer, had no front porch as it had a few years ago, and the steps came down from the front door straight to the side-walk instead of 19 on the side, as now. The writer remembers that when the old mansion was repaired, some years ago, the owner, Mr. Slater, showed him a piece of plastering from the upstairs wall on which was pasted a part of a newspaper, that contained accounts of things occurring in the Revolutionary War, also notices in regard to runaway slaves.

Another citizen of Williamsburg, Mrs. Victoria Lee, writes her impressions of the city in "Williamsburg in 1861." Her description of the Paradise house (p. 77) follows:

The Paradise house, except for the entrance, looks as it did during the war. Stone steps, with proportionate cheek blocks as those of the Baptist Church, led straight up from the street. Lady Paradise presented this house to her nephew, the well known Count Barziza.¹ He came over to this country to take possession of his newly acquired property. Soon after his arrival in town, he was invited to a ball at the old Raleigh Tavern. . . One of the belles of the town, a Miss Bellette,. . . married the nobleman. They lived in the Paradise house and reared ten children.

It appears from the Land Book of Williamsburg for 1865, page 6, that Parkes Slater of Richmond was charged for taxes on a house and lot in Williamsburg, location not designated, the buildings being assessed at $2700 and the lot including buildings being assessed at $3000. Slater held this property by "right of courtesy" which would indicate that his wife, Virginia Lee Slater, was deceased at this date. (See title to this property in Accounting Department, Colonial Williamsburg.

In April 1887 (recorded March 30, 1888) the apparent heirs of Virginia Lee Slater conveyed to J. Calhoun Slater "a certain lot of land together with the buildings thereon, situate and being in the City of Williamsburg, and being the same lot together with the buildings thereon whereof the late James Lee died seized and possessed and which at his death passed to 20 his only daughter and sole heir, Virginia H., who had previously intermarried with one Parkes Slater, and at the death of the said Parkes Slater (who had been holding possession of the same by courtesy) the said house and lot descended to the heirs of the said Virginia H. Slater and Parkes Slater in right of their mother. The said lot is bounded as follows: South by Main or Duke of Gloucester Street; east by lot of B. D. Peachy, formerly Parsons or Minson's lot; north by Street; west by lot held by C. W. Coleman, Trustee, for C. B. T. Coleman and her children."

By will dated March 10, 1896, probated May 9, 1898, by order of court of James City County and the City of Williamsburg, J. Calhoun Slater devised to his wife, Catherine D. Slater, "all of my estate of whatsoever nature, personal, real and mixed and wheresoever situated and located."

On March 9, 1916, Catherine D. Slater authorized Joe Masinter to sell, as her agent, her "property known as the 'Paradise House' and then occupied by her as her residence, fronting about 70 feet on Duke of Gloucester Street and running back parallel lines to Nicholson Street at the price of $20,000." While portions of the lot were sold by Mrs. Slater, the Paradise House continued to be her property until her death. The will, dated July 29, 1901, with codicil dated April 1, 1931, is recorded in Williamsburg Will Book, vol. 3, pp. 151-152. She willed to "Virginia H. Dickinson for and during the term of her natural life the brick house and lot whereon I now reside, together with all furniture therein, and at her death I give, devise and bequeath the same to her two children, William Elmore and Louise Marie, to them and their heirs forever. . ." In 1926 Louise Dickinson Steuart and Frederick A. Steuart, her husband, conveyed to Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin the above described property. (Williamsburg and County of James City Deed Book, vol. 11, pp. 590-91.) Further details to the title can be found in the abstract of title (deposited in Accounting Department, Colonial Williamsburg.)

21

IN SUMMARY:

The earliest deed to colonial lot 45 known as the Ludwell-Paradise House and lot appears in the York County Records of date, September 23, 1700. At that time the trustees of Williamsburg gave title to three lots (43, 44, 45) to Colonel Philip Ludwell II, one of the original directors or trustees. The estimated date of the erection of the brick house on lot 45 is between 1702 and 1716. In 1718, Ludwell's town house was probably "a common rendezvous" for the "disaffected Burgesses" of the anti-Spotswood element in the Council. At the death of Ludwell in 1727 the property, apparently, came into possession of the son, Philip Ludwell III, then only eleven years old. Ludwell III held the house until his death in 1767. He had offered it for rent in October 1755, describing the property as "one other very good Dwelling-House, well accommodated with Out-Houses, Garden, Well, Fine large Stable and Coach-House, &c. situate on the main Street, the lower Side of the Market Place." William Lee by marriage with Hannah Ludwell inherited the brick house, holding it many years. At Lee's death in 1795 he devised his Williamsburg property to his son, William Ludwell Lee. The son lived until 1803, leaving his estate to his sisters, Portia (who later married William Hodgson) and Cornelia (who married John Hopkins). Mrs. Lucy Ludwell Paradise, an aunt of the Lee sisters, occupied the brick house from 1805 to 1812 when ill health forced her confinement in the hospital for the insane in Williamsburg. The Frenchman's Map (1782) indicates a house apparently facing upon the Main Street with an outbuilding to the rear. The College Map (1791?) gives the name "Lee" on lot 45 as does the Bucktrout Map (1803). Williamsburg land tax transfers for 1812 show that William Hodgson became the owner of one lot "via Lee," valued at $100. In 1818, the same records indicate that the lot was transferred to James Lee, valued at $100, "via Walter Jones, trustee on behalf of William Hodgson and wife to James Lee, house and lot in the city of Williams-burg formerly charged to the said Hodgson." In 1851 following the ownership 22 of James Lee, his daughter and sole heir inherited the house though the property was charged in the tax records and court records to her husband, Parkes Slater, by "courtesy right." The Slater family held the property until 1926 when it was conveyed to Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin, representing Williamsburg Restoration. (See abstract of title in Accounting Department, Colonial Williamsburg.)

APPENDIX

Illustration #1	- Maps
Illustration #2	- Biographical material
Illustration #3	- Land tax and personal property tax records
Illustration #4	- Bibliography on John and Lucy Paradise

^{June 2 1927 WARG wrote D. Chandler proposing giving the house to College etc etc
June 10 1927 J.D.R. Jr. approved transfer etc etc
July 8 1927 WARG sent deed to Dr. J.A.C.C. etc
June 19 1928 WARG to Col. Wood suggests getting house back}

Illustration #1
Ludwell-Paradise House
Block 18

PHOTOSTAT COPY OF THE WILLIAMSBURG PLAT IN "WILLIAMSBURG, THE OLD COLONIAL CAPITOL" BY LYON G. TYLER

Illustration #2

Illustration #3

Illustration #4

Bibliography on John and Lucy Paradise

• Boswell, James, The Life of Samuel Johnson, Vol. I, 22; II, 209, 290-1, 345, 348, 365
• Ellis, Anne Reine, ed.
  The Early Diary of Frances Burney, Jan. 16, 1784, Vol. II, 313-15 - Letter from Charlotte Burney to Mrs. Phillips (Susan Burney), "The story of Mrs P's [Paradise] rudeness on Twelfth Night."
• Shepperson, Archibald Bolling
  John Paradise and Lucy Ludwell of London and Williamsburg (1942)
• Williamsburg Scrap Book, chapters entitled "Paradise's Loss," pp. 37-40 and "Decimus Ultimus," p. 41
• Randolph, Peter, Report of Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of Virginia, Vol. II, 276-293 (Richmond, 1824
• William and Mary Quarterly, Series 1, Vol. V, 274-75 - Jefferson's letter introducing Lucy Paradise in Paris
• Ibid.,
  Vol. XIX, 199, biographical material
• Ibid.,
  Vol. VI, 58-59, Account Book of Lucy Paradise
• Ibid., Series 2, Vol. V, p. 7 - Bellini's remarks about Paradise
• Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. XXIII, 369 - Letter of Mars. Paradise to Mrs. Hodgson, her niece

Illustration #5