The time may have been the mid-1800s, and the location may have been the site of a Revolutionary War battle, but historic Cliveden in Germantown was at its core the summer home for a family with everyday problems.
There was the son with a drug addiction, the elderly mom who was failing, the fights between siblings over money and politics, and estrangements that lasted until death was the final arbiter.
The Chew family (as in Chew Avenue), despite their prominence and wealth, struggled with them all, and because their disagreements landed before a judge, the records of family turmoil are preserved in black and white.
The family’s drama will be the subject of a tour Saturday, Aug. 5, at Cliveden, part of a three-year program called The Turmoil of Transition: A Dramatic Experience. The program, funded by the Haley Foundation, explores the mid-19th century travails of the Chew family at a pivotal time in U.S. history when the economy was in crisis and the nation was careening toward the Civil War.
The tour will feature an appearance by actor Jahzeer Terrell portraying James Smith, the Chew family’s longtime coachman. He will offer tour-goers an insider’s view of the Chew family drama and also talk about his life story. Before working for the Chews, Smith was enslaved, purchased his freedom in Maryland and traveled north to Pennsylvania.
Terrell Smith is the third Chew “insider” this year to pay a visit to tour-goers as part of “The Turmoil of Transition” program. Earlier this year, actors Elizabeth McElroy playing Mary Bowman, a longtime family servant, and Alex Vrinceanu portraying Henry Banning Chew, a son of Benjamin Chew Jr., also made appearances during tours at Cliveden.
Benjamin Chew Sr. was a prominent lawyer, enslaver, friend of George Washington and chief justice of the Province of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court. He built Cliveden as a summer home for his family and shortly after it was completed, with the family away from the house, the estate became the site of the Battle of Germantown. The British seized the house and won the battle, defeating Washington and his troops.
Years later, the Chews returned to Cliveden, which would remain in the family for generations. But it was the death of Chew’s son Benjamin Jr. that would thrust the family into turmoil.
Chew dies in 1844 “and the family falls apart,” said Nancy Van Dolsen, chief executive officer of Cliveden of the National Trust. “He established five executors of his will and they fight amongst themselves.” and at least once, the fight turned physical.
The executors were Chew Jr.’s wife Katherine, nearly 80 and failing; eldest son Benjamin 3d, who wants all the money for himself, the aforementioned Henry; son William, who struggled with depression, daughter Anna Sophia Penn Chew, who spoke out against slavery; and son-in-law James Murray Mason, an official of the Confederacy.
The battle over the estate ruptured the family and wound up in court, where documents of the proceedings offer a vivid glimpse inside Cliveden.
On the tour, the insiders portrayed by actors use information from court documents to help shine a light on the period and examine the Chew family.
“A lot of the issues we find in everybody’s families, and we find that makes space for the period to come alive and allows people to have a better understanding of life then,” Van Dolsen said.
Johnnie Hobbs Jr., who directed the tour’s acting performances, said he collaborated with the actors to illuminate the historic period and family story, and also highlight the perspective and personal biographies of each character that is portrayed.
For Saturday’s acting performance by Terrell as James Smith, Hobbs said. “ I want people to know him. And that he has something to say.”
The Turmoil of Transition: A Dramatic Experience - James Smith will be held noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 5, at Cliveden of the National Trust. Tour is $20. For tickets and information, visit cliveden.org. Cliveden is at 6401 Germantown Ave.
