Richard Varick, Mayor 1789-1801: Varick (1753 – 1831) served as George Washington’s aide-de-camp and private secretary and has been described as “The Forgotten Founding Father.” Varick manumitted Jenny (or Jin) and Frank in 1810, and Peter Anthony, age 32, in 1812.[1]

Census records reveal he had enslaved people in his household in New York City and later in New Jersey: 

• 1790 Census: East Ward: one enslaved person.[2]
• 1800 Census: Ward 1: three enslaved persons.[3]
• 1810 Census: Richard Varick, Esq., New York Ward 8, four enslaved persons.[4]
• 1820 Reconstructed Census Records: Bergen County, NJ: one enslaved person.[5]
• 1830 Census: Richard Varick, Jersey City, Bergen, New Jersey, “Free Colored Persons:2” [6]

Jury Ward Census:

• 1816: 108 Broadway, Gentleman, Personal Estate of $150, Freeholds of $150, Freeholder of 100 pounds and upwards, Age 63,1 enslaved man, 1 female and 1 male “colored inhabitants not slaves” one male and three females “white inhabitants”[7]
• 1819: 110 Broadway, Gentleman
• 1821: 110 Broadway

In 1789, Varick’s taxable wealth was $2,425. At that time, taxable wealth was real and personal property recorded on assessment lists.[8] He left to his wife, Maria, “the remaining term of service of my servant Kingston Tappen…” It is unclear who this servant is, their name does not appear in federal census records around that time.[9]

Varick was married to Maria Roosevelt. Her father, Isaac, was the patrilineal great-great-grandfather of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Isaac owned a sugar refinery in New York that imported sugar from plantations that relied on enslaved labor.

[1] Yoshpe, p.91 and New York City Conveyances, 1809–1810, viewer p.489, and 1811-1812, viewer p.618, FamilySearch

[2] 1790 Census search, Ancestry.com

[3] 1800 Census search, Ancestry.com; There is another Richard Varick in Ward 7, but his age is 16-25

[4] 1810 Census search, FamilySearch

[5] 1820 Census search, Ancestry.com

[6] 1830 Census search, Ancestry.com

[7] NYC Archives, Jury Ward Census, 1816, Ward 3, image 16

[8] Democratic Dividends: Stockholding, Wealth and Politics in New York, 1791-1826, Eric Hilt & Jacqueline Valetine, NBER, link

[9] New York County, New York, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1658-1880 (NYSA), Probate Date, 13 Sep 1831

Copyright 2025 Paul Hortenstine