Northern New York Gambling

David Parish’s grandfather was an English merchant with interests in Scotland.  Seeking  a better business environment he moved his base of operations to Hamburg, Germany, where David was born in 1778.

David seeking business opportunities in his own right emigrated to Philadelphia in the United States in 1806.  A couple of years later he acquired 200,000 acres in the beautiful valley of the St. Lawrence River along the New York/Canadian border.  This he hoped to sell as farm land to potential settlers in the area.  He made his headquarters in the village of Ogdensburgh which was the scene of a French fort built in 1749.

Elena Vespucci was born November 29, 1804 in Florence, Italy one of six children, she was considered “indocile and unmanageable” by her parents.  Before her trip to America in 1841she had lived as the mistress of some dozen men.  To make herself more endearable to Americans she borrowed the name of her younger sister Ameriga, exchanged the G for a C and went merrily on her way, no longer known as Elena, but now America Vespucci, or on occasion Maria America Vespucci.

President Martin Van Buren’s son, John, soon became the benefactor of the beautiful temptress and she traveled through the States with him, dancing at fancy balls in Boston, Washington, and other major cities.  There came a night in the village of Evans Mills, New York when a high stakes poker game commenced.  Several men of means were engaged in the not-so-friendly card game.  Late in the evening only two players remained.  They were the aforementioned John Van Buren and George Parish a descendant of David.  John, down several thousand dollars, offered to George the hand of the beautiful America, bet against $5,000, on the flip of a coin.  George the inveterate gambler took the offer, the coin was tossed, George won, and America went with George to his mansion in Ogdensburg, where she lived for 18 years, from 1842 through 1859.  When she was 56 years old George sent her off to Paris never to return, and it is said she wept bitterly upon her departure.

The old Parish mansion is presently used as the Frederick Remington Art Memorial.