Richard Worsam Meade I

Portrait by Vicente López y Portaña, 1815

Richard Worsam Meade (June 23, 1778 – June 25, 1828) was an American merchant, naval agent and art collector. His son was Civil War General George Gordon Meade. After growing up in his father's shipping business, he became successful in his own right in the American–Spanish trade. Meade lived at Cadiz, Spain, from 1804 to 1820. At first he became quite wealthy and as a consequence, one of the first American collectors of European art.

Sometimes controversially outspoken, he lost favor and was imprisoned by King Ferdinand VII after the Spanish government incurred large debts to him during the Peninsular War. Upon returning to Philadelphia he donated much of his art and became a trustee of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. Ultimately unable to receive compensation either from the Spanish or American government, he died poor.

Early life

He was born on June 23, 1778, in Chester County, Pennsylvania, during the British occupation of Philadelphia. His parents were George Meade, a Philadelphia merchant, and Henrietta Constantia Meade, the daughter of Barbados lawyer Richard Worsam. He grew up in the city attending private schools before entering his father's foreign trading company. In 1794 he served in the force that suppressed the Whisky Rebellion.^[1] As supercargo on board his father's ships he traveled to the West Indies, and in 1795 to Europe, returning the next year after touring England and France.^[2]

Meade went into business on Hispaniola^[3] for three years, returning to Philadelphia a wealthy man. He married Margaret Coates Butler of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, in 1801. While operating his own business he administered his now-bankrupt father's affairs. His voyage to Spain in 1803 to collect claims other merchants had against the Spanish government, which Meade estimated to be close to $1 million, was unsuccessful.^[4] However, he decided to move his business to the Spanish port of Cadiz, where his family relocated in 1804.^[2]

Merchant in Cadiz

He partnered with James Leander Cathcart,^[5] and at Cadiz their business prospered. One of his business interests was exporting merino sheep to the United States. Meade was additionally appointed the U.S. naval agent from 1806 to 1816.^[6] He used his wealth to purchase paintings and statues, becoming one of the first American collectors of European art.^[2] Sometimes accepting paintings to satisfy debts, he acquired works by Titian, Correggio, Veronese, Rubens, Van Dyck, Velázquez and Murillo.^[7]

Meade's rise to wealth did not come without controversy. In 1812 he published a pamphlet accusing the Treasurer-General of misappropriation: "Scandalous Attempt by the Regency of Spain to Ruin Richard W. Meade." Duke Pedro de Alcántara had Meade imprisoned for three months, and he was fined two thousand ducats for libel.^[8] The merchant wrote six different pamphlets while in jail in 1812–1813; one of them was Pasatiempos de Don Ricardo Meade ("Pastimes of Richard Meade"), a scornful response to the director of military provisions' purchase of a large amount of rotten cheese.^[9] Along with a series of rhyming insults, Meade calls the director the Campeón de Manchego—the champion of manchego cheese.^[10]

At Cadiz, Richard and Margaret had two noteworthy sons: Richard Worsam Meade II in 1807, who became a captain in the U.S. Navy; and George Gordon Meade in 1815, who became a Union Army general famous for the Battle of Gettysburg. The couple had 11 children in all.^[7] The family's diminished finances later on may be the reason they sought a free education as military officers.^[11]

Return to the United States

While in prison, Meade had gifted much of his artwork to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. This included a copy by Mariano Salvador Maella of a contemporary portrait of Christopher Columbus, now lost. Another of the important canvases was Murillo's Roman Charity. The collection arrived in April 1818 and was installed in the Academy's southwest gallery, which came to be called the Meade Gallery. A fire in 1845 destroyed the original building, as well as Roman Charity.^[14]

Back in Philadelphia himself, Meade became a trustee of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church just as its priest William Hogan was in a dispute with Bishop Henry Conwell. The trustees defied the bishop by keeping Hogan, who was excommunicated, as their priest. Meade believed that in a republic, where the people are sovereign, the trustees of a parish should have the right to appoint priests—in the same way that the Pope had granted European monarchs this right.^[15]

A pamphlet defending the trustees was published by exiled priest John Rico, whom Meade had helped escape from Spain to the United States.^[16] Meade became close friends with another parishioner, diplomat Manuel Torres, through whom he met the radical priest Servando Teresa de Mier. Mier quickly joined the St. Mary's controversy, while Torres tried to help Meade out with his financial problems.^[17] When Torres died in 1822, the funeral procession left from Meade's house, and with William Duane he was the executor of Torres' estate.^[18]

Death

Meade moved to Washington to better pursue his case. Initially his claim was denied by the U.S. commission in 1822 because he had presented only a certificate of debt from the Spanish tribunal, not the original vouchers. He was further stymied by the fact the treaty specified claims of unlawful seizure, while Meade's claims were rooted in voluntary transactions.^[19] Under the treaty the government's total liability was limited to $5 million, and this sum was spent before his claim was reheard.^[2]

He spent the rest of his life unsuccessfully lobbying the U.S. government for payment of his claim, before dying in Washington on June 25, 1828, at the relatively young age of 50.^[2] He is buried in the Meade family vault at St. Mary's Church.^[20]

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