George Gilfert
George Gilfert is thought to have been born in Prague on July 1, 1757. Though Gilfert is commonly an English surname his son Charles was also said to have been born in Germany.
The music and theatre industries are where Gilfert is most recognized. He may have arrived in Philadelphia first where he was known there as an organist in the German Reform Church. By 1786 he was voted into the New York City German Society and appears in the New York City Directory as an organist living on Nassau Street. He soon became President of the New York Musical Society. In 1791, he established a tavern at 66 Chatham, and in 1795, he served as the organist at the New Dutch Church located a few blocks away.
In 1796 he started the Gilfert & Company Musical Magazine and published music at 177 Broadway. It quickly expanded into a music store.
The music and theatre industries are where Gilfert is most recognized. He may have arrived in Philadelphia first where he was known there as an organist in the German Reform Church. By 1786 he was voted into the New York City German Society and appears in the New York City Directory as an organist living on Nassau Street. He soon became President of the New York Musical Society. In 1791, he established a tavern at 66 Chatham, and in 1795, he served as the organist at the New Dutch Church located a few blocks away.
In 1796 he started the Gilfert & Company Musical Magazine and published music at 177 Broadway. It quickly expanded into a music store.
In 1804 he had also added playing cards to his inventory.
Gilfert quickly became very well known for the music he published and his son Charles was also making a name for himself. Charles was a composer and teacher of music and became a manager of concerts and oratorios. Eventually, he led the orchestra of the Park Theatre in New York City and was the conductor of the Musical-fund society.
George also built pianofortes. The pianoforte has leather-covered hammers and thin, harpsichord-like strings. It has a much lighter case construction than the modern piano. Their range was about four octaves at the time of its invention and gradually increased. Mozart wrote his piano music for instruments of about five octaves. Gilfert's pianofortes are very collectible.
A George Gilfert Pianoforte
In 1810 George decided to sell his own playing cards and opened up a playing card factory at his store at 13 Maiden Lane.
When his son Charles moved to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1811 he advertised playing cards there. Were they his father's?
What did his cards look like? I have no idea. I could not find a collector that knew of him or a collection that listed him. Is there one out there somewhere?
Three weeks before Christmas in 1814 George passed away at age 57 from bladder stones. This is usually caused by an enlarged prostate gland and is very painful. Nowadays it is not life-threatening.
George was buried at the Dutch Middle Church Cemetery at Nassau and Liberty Streets.
The Reformed Dutch Church and Middle Church Cemetery
But, George is no longer there. In 1844 the Middle Dutch Church building on Nassau Street was leased to the United States government and converted into a post office. The following year, the church obtained permission from the city’s Board of Aldermen to remove remains from the churchyard to their new property on Lafayette Street, but it is unclear if removals were made at this time. When the U.S. government sought to purchase the Nassau Street property in 1860, the title was disputed because many of the vaults surrounding the building were still tenanted and owners were actively using them for the interment of family members. Some families were surprised to find that their vaults had been emptied without their permission and accused church trustees of boxing up and removing remains “stealthily and at night to a distant part of the city.”
Coffins and human remains were found in several of the old burial vaults in 1877 when the post office was converted into shops. Workers removed 49 boxes of human remains from the site between November 1882 and January 1883 when the building and vaults were demolished to make way for the Mutual Insurance Company building. These remains were transferred to a plot at Greenwood Cemetery. Most of these burials could not be identified. Today One Chase Manhattan Plaza stands atop their former burial ground.
Coffins and human remains were found in several of the old burial vaults in 1877 when the post office was converted into shops. Workers removed 49 boxes of human remains from the site between November 1882 and January 1883 when the building and vaults were demolished to make way for the Mutual Insurance Company building. These remains were transferred to a plot at Greenwood Cemetery. Most of these burials could not be identified. Today One Chase Manhattan Plaza stands atop their former burial ground.