News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-08-28
NEW YORK C0LORED FOLKS
A HALF HOURS STUDY OF THEM
WITH SKILLED MASTER.
A Household in WaverIey PIace-The King
of Thompson Street. who Struck il Rich
Mt Monmouth Park-The Gay Whirl.
IFrom the New York Sun.l


spective air, "and I've been particularly
struck with the vast improvement which
has taken place in the condition OF the
people within that time. Ten years
is not very long period for race OF
down trodden people to assert them
selves in. 1t has served to give them a
big start upward. OF course, everybody
is aware that there are among the col
ored people of New York many men of
learning and ability. The names of
several colored lawyers and of great
many colored clergymen are familiar to
the newspapers all over the country.
But what the newspapers seldom see,
and what the public at large knows
nothing at all about, is the manner in
which the better kind of colored citizens
! live. I've seen some mighty comfortable
homes among the colored people of New
York. They are home-loving people
by nature, and take great satisfaction in
making their rooms attractive. In the
district south and west of Washington
square, and Just west of Sixth avenue
in Twenty-sixth, Twenty-seventh and
| Twenty eighth streets are to be found
many comfortable and deliberately fur
nished flats inhabited by colored people.
"I know one family who live in Wa
verley place, whose apartments are par
! ticularly noticeable on this account.
| They have fiat of six rooms, and it is
as neat as q pin from one end to the
| other. Every bit of brass or silver work
| in the place is polished as brightly as
the steam gauge in the engineers room
of an ocean steamer. The three little
children are dressed neatly and are as
well behaved as any white children /
ever saw. They all go to school, and
stand well in their classes. The head of
the family is porter and under janitor
in downtown mercantile house; has
contract for furnishing luncheons for
the clerks, and makes, altogether about
$50 month. He has nice little bank
account, and sets a good table, His
wife is slim little woman who has
made good deal of money in her time,
and does yet occasionally as a profess
sional nurse, and who has been literally
taught. She is a full blooded negress,
and looks with a good deal of contempt
on mulattoes, and all of her people of
lighter shade. I called at the fat one
day when was casting about for man
who was wanted, and stayed so late that
finally took dinner with them. I have
eaten a good many curious dinners, and
have dined with no end of strange people.
l must say that better cooked and
better served plain dinner I never ate
than the one served to me that day.
The master of the house was one of the
jolly class of Georgia's darkeys, who
was unable to restrain his high spirits,
even under the severe gaze of his wife,
who wore glasses, and who was unques-
tionably the head of the household.
She cooked the dinner in the kitchen,
and then laid off her apron and came in
and sat down at the table. There were
three children, none of them over IA
years of age, and it was the custom of
the house to have them. take turns in
waiting upon the table every night at
dinner. This was the fathers idea,
who wanted them to know how to act
when they went out to service. 1t was
the Oldest girls turn to aid the night 1
was there, and she did it almost as we'll
as one of those bald headed walters at
Delmorico's. Everything was neatly
and carefully served. noticed in going
through the flat that the monogram of
the lady of the house was worked upon
all the pillow cases, tablecioths, nap
kins and towels. She was q thorough
paced housekeeper.
81 know of another home in Sullivan
street, where the family occupies small
house. There is the grandfather, grand
mother, the man and his wife, two Sous
aud daughter. There are no servants,
the women doing the work themselves,
and yet they never seem TO be worried
or overworked, and their home is in the
most perfect condition imaginable. l
have to go there a good DEAL" added the
detective with q smile Ct amusement,
con account of the youngest son, who is
the black sheep of the family. He is
what is commonly known as a sporting
mig and is the blood of the family.
His father owns three trucks and has a
considerable money, and the boy has q
situation as light porter and attendant
in Wall street Office. He is as sharp
as steel trap, well taught and reckless.
The broker for whom he works has a
great deal Of style, and not unfrequently
the young colOred man accompanies him
to the races and off on his yacht as a
valet. The boy-his name, by the way,
is Michael-has most tremendous ideas
Of high life and spends all his money on
horse races, cards and clothes. He is
the king of Thompson street, and refus-
es to recognize more than three or four
of the best of his people there. The
beggar has struck two or three lucky
winnings at horse races and the effect
of them has been almost too much for
him. For instance, about two years ago
he made q successful combination on
some horses at Monmouth Park, and
won $500 on an investment of SIS or Sc.
The effect was almost disastrous. He
came home, hired a coach, bought three
or four bottles of champagne and started
up Broadway. Whenever he found
tailor's sign that pleased him he would
go in and buy a suit of clothes. By the
time he got home he had bought six
suits and was wearing his seventh.
Then he hired brass band which was
playing on Blocker street to come
around and play in front of his house all
the evening Tor S. and then disappeared
from the house for three days. Mean
while the whole family and considera-
BILE part of the church across the street
were praying for his redemption. When
he returned he had more money than
ever before; he had struck another win
ner at the races and had played keno
successfully up town. The result was
that lower New York wasn't big enough
to hold him. He drank nothing but
champagne, and the other young men
4 in Sullivan and Thompson streets fol-
lowed him with longing and respectful
| eyes from across the way. A night or
two afterward he got into a fight, was
robbed of all his money, subsequently,
assaulted n DOlicoman and was arraste6
Ever since that time he has been push
ing his luck. He CANDLES with every
cent he gets, AMI isths bane OF his re-
spectacle old fathers life."
"lhe colored people uptown consider
themselves bit superior to the Thomp-
son street residents, do they not ?"
"Why, yes. The wealth and fashion,
so to speak, now live uptown; but there
are few of the aristOcrats of the negro
colony that still cling to the lower ward.
They are the old settlers, the thoroughly
respectable church members, the solid
men of their people. Many of them
hold situations OF trust in banks and
other big institutions, and all of them
bring mp their children to be useful men
and women. They are great believers
in education. But the more snowy
members of the colony now live up
town. They -are drawn this way by the
attractions of Sixth avenue. As you can
see, this is the great promenade for the
negroes of New York after nightfall.
The man and woman coming down here
arm-in-arm are fair illustration of the
uptown negro and his wife. [ know
him. He has a small shop in Twenty
u OH on1 hn 1naa RaIGoO1inipCy