"Calling" in New York: A New Year's Day Tradition

Mrs. Pegu, and drawing-room, are all laid out in state to receive New Year's calls.  Thirty-two young gentlemen make a brief appearance at the door, and recite the following shibboleth:  "How d'ye do, Mrs. Pegu.  Happy New Year.  Can't stay a minute.  Made seventy-six calls this morning; got thirty more to make. Adoo! Adoo!" The young gentlemen vanish, to be succeeded by others. 

The Washingtons in New York: The Nation, the Publick, and the Enslaved

George: "Mary, Please come with me to New York!"
(Illustration by Norman Rockwell, 1932)

On April 23, 1789, just one week before being sworn in as the first president of the United States, George Washington and his staff settled into the country's first executive mansion, located at 10  Cherry Street in New York City. For nearly two years, before being moved to Philadelphia, the seat of the U.S. government would be located in New York City; and Manhattan would be home to the President and First Lady. The new nation was just starting to recover from the long years of war, and nowhere was this better in evidence than in Manhattan.