James W. Hale House

132 West 13th Street | West Village | built 1842

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Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1842

    The Remsen estate completes a row of twelve Greek Revival houses on West 13th Street

    The estate of John Remsen, a descendant of an old Dutch family, put up twelve brick Greek Revival houses along this block in 1842, and No. 132 was one of them. Only six kept some of their old look. At No. 132 the stoop was removed for a basement entrance and the attic was raised to allow taller windows.

    “In 1842 the Estate of John Remsen, wealthy descendant of an old Dutch family, built twelve fine Greek Revival houses of brick…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1843

    Express pioneer James W. Hale lives here while running a Wall Street letter office

    James W. Hale, born in Boston in 1801, lived in the house when it was numbered 108 West 13th Street, and his business address was a letter office at 70 Wall Street. An 1893 article in the Express Gazette remembered him as the originator of cheap postage and a promoter of the express system. In 1843 he advertised in Boston that he would carry letters to New York for six cents each.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  3. 1846

    December 22

    Hale tells the Board of Aldermen he is not worth the $2,000 the assessors put on his estate

    On December 22 the city's Board of Aldermen recorded Hale's petition to cut the 1846 valuation of his personal estate at 108 West 13th Street from $2,000 to $1,000, since he had sworn he was not worth that sum. The house's chronicler doubts it, given his thriving express business and fine home. His frugal streak also shows in an 1847 ad seeking a cook who would do the washing and ironing as well.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  4. 1860

    Rev. William Allen Hallock, a founder of the American Tract Society, moves in

    After the Hale family left, the house became home to Rev. William Allen Hallock, who had founded the American Tract Society in 1825 and served as its secretary from 1826. His daughter Fanny and her husband lived with him, and their son was born in December 1860 and died five months later, with his funeral in the parlor. Hallock began a large family genealogy while living here and died in 1880 at age 86.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  5. 1889

    May 22

    Cotton merchant Edward LeMoyne dies of a heart attack on his way downstairs

    Edward Mitchell LeMoyne, whose family firm shipped cotton to France, bought the house after the death of its previous owner. On the morning of May 22, 1889, the 55-year-old was heading downstairs to leave for work when he suffered a heart attack and died within minutes. His funeral was held in the parlor three days later, and the Budd family bought the house for $18,000.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

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