Feb 27, 2007 - Sale 2105

Sale 2105 - Lot 363

Price Realized: $ 8,400
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 12,000 - $ 18,000
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT, SIGNED TWICE BY TOUSSAINT TOUSSAINT, PIERRE. Last Will and Testament. Seven folio sheets written recto and verso to make 14 pages, with the codicil an additional three folio sheets written recto and verso to make 6 pages; gathered with black and blue ribbons and wax seals; folded; some light soiling to sheets; still very good overall. [New York], 15 September 1842 and 3 December 1852
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Additional Details

Important, detailed last will and testament, with attached codicil, of Pierre Toussaint (1766-1853), an African American remembered especially for his philanthropy and religious faith, and nominated for sainthood in 1968. The will, written in an unknown hand, and signed in 1842 by Toussaint, directs that his wife Juliette is to receive "all my household furniture, plate and wearing apparel, together with any money which may be in the house which we occupy at the time of my death." But as Juliette predeceased Toussaint by two years, all provisions in the will that pertained to her (and to her mother, who also died before Toussaint), became inoperative.
The original will lists as legatees the Trustees of St. Peter's church (later St. Patrick's) in New York City, Francis Myer, Ann Cottenet (a diamond ring), and Mary Anne Schuyler (a miniature of Toussaint and his adopted daughter Euphemia, who also predeceased him). The will further names Robert Schuyler and George L. Schuyler as trustees and administrators of the remainder of Toussaint's estate, including all real property and investments. Toussaint also directed the trustees to try to locate within two years any living "child or children" of one "Mary Boquement formerly of the Island of St. Domingo, who died in the City of New York" and bequeath to them the sum of "four hundred dollars" in equal parts. The codicil to the will, additionally signed by Toussaint, was written more than a decade later, after the death of his beloved wife Juliette.

Born into slavery in Haiti in 1766, Toussaint early showed unusual intelligence and talent. He was fortunate to be a member of a devout Catholic household where he was taught the rudiments of reading and writing. In the aftermath of several slave revolts on the island, Pierre and his sister Rosalie arrived in New York City with the family of his master, Jean Jacques Berard, in 1787. Pierre trained as a hairdresser and due to his social graces, pleasant conversation and discreet nature, he quickly became a favorite of leading society matrons, including the wife of Alexander Hamilton and the daughters of Revolutionary War General Philip Schuyler. Toussaint had the gift of confidence with people: women and men, rich and poor, white and black --all sought his company and counsel, especially in times of personal crisis. Disaster befell the family when Toussaint's master, Berard, died unexpectedly while making a trip to Haiti, leaving his widow without means of support. It fell to Toussaint, who earned a substantial living as a hair stylist, to act both as breadwinner and manager of the upper-class household of Madam Berard. Upon her death in 1807 he received his freedom. Soon after he married Juliette Noel, a Haitian woman he had known for many years. They offered shelter and help to many African Americans, especially orphans, in Haiti and New York. Toussaint also purchased the freedom of several members of his family. He collaborated with Elizabeth Ann Seton, founder of the Catholic Sisters of Charity, to establish an orphanage in New York City and he contributed funds to the building of St. Peter's on Barclay Street in lower Manhattan, and several Catholic schools. In 1968 New York's Cardinal Cook introduced Toussaint as a candidate for canonization.