Biography of Stephen Girard by Henry W. Arey

(As a preface to his Biography of Stephen Girard (1852),  Henry W. Arey
wrote the following:)

No contribution hitherto made in this country to the great cause

of human charity, has excited more general interest, or become

more widely known, than the Bequest of Stephen Girard to establish

and maintain a College for orphans. The character of the

benevolence, the magnitude of the fund, and the splendor of the

building, have all contributed to bring his institution prominently

before the public eye, and to make it the object of pride to every

citizen, and of attraction to every stranger.

The history of any man, whose kind heart could conceive, and

whose vast means could accomplish a purpose fraught with so

much good, would be interesting ; but the life of Mr. Girard is

more than this, it is instructive. It teaches us what we can do

in the face of obstacles, when we are patient, zealous, and self-reliant;

it shows that there is at least a partial omnipotence about

the human will, that can supply the want of wealth, of friends,

and of education ; but above all, it exemplifies how the hard toil

of a life-time, and the thirst for gold, may be elevated and sanctified

by being devoted to the claims of humanity.

Although comparatively humble in his origin, and without the

advantages of wealth or education  and the influences of friends,

he has reared to his memory the proudest and most enduring of

monuments. Yet splendid as is the marble structure which stands

above his remains, it yields in beauty to the moral monument.

The benefactor sleeps among the orphan poor, whom his bounty

is constantly rearing. Thus for ever present, unseen but felt, he

daily stretches forth his " invisible hands "

to lead some friendless child from ignorance and vice, to usefulness

and perhaps distinction.

And when, in the fullness of time, many homes have been made

happy, many orphans have been fed and clothed and educated, and

many men rendered useful to their country and themselves, each

happy home, or rescued child, or useful citizen will be a living

monument to perpetuate the name and embalm the memory of the

dead "Mariner and Merchant'."

The retiring disposition and unobtrusive character of Mr. Girard,

refused to gratify the curiosity, which was not unfrequently

expressed during his life-time, to learn something of his early history.

It is not therefore remarkable that hitherto, in the absence

of all means of knowledge, no reliable information, particularly of

this portion of his life, has existed, and that many erroneous statements

have been so frequently made.

(Arey goes on to describe the will of Stephen Girard and the deposition of his papers

And comments on the early life of Girard.)

 Among the provisions of his will is the direction,

that his books and papers shall be deposited in a room of his

College, and be therein carefully preserved. Fortunately these

musty records have afforded in a material degree the light which

has hitherto been wanting, and to them the writer has "been principally

indebted for the materials of this brief Biography.

Stephen Girard was born in Bordeaux on the 21st day of May

1750. He was the eldest of five children who were descended

from Pierre Girard, described in the registry of Baptism, now

preserved in that city, as a sea-captain, and Mlle. Lafargue his wife.

Without wishing to trespass upon the sacred privacy of domestic

life, it is painfully evident even from the scanty light afforded

by his letters, that the early life of Stephen was by no means a

happy one. In every one of the few references which are found

in this portion of his history for it was a subject that he seldom

referred to, there is the same proof, that his childhood had no

pleasant or sweet remembrances.

Sixty-three years afterwards, Girard thus wrote of this portion

of his history: "I have the proud satisfaction to know that my

conduct, my labor, and my economy have enabled me to do

one hundred times more for my relatives, than they altogether

have ever done for me since the day of my birth. While my

brothers were taught at College, I was the only one whose

education was neglected. But the love of labor, which has

not left me, yet, has placed me in the ranks of citizens useful

to society."

The correct cause of this unhappiness is now difficult

to ascertain, but one reason is at least suggested in that not infrequent

source of similar difficulties, a second marriage by his father.

In a letter written in 1789, he thus again refers to this

period of his life: “I was very young when my father married again,

-and since then, I can say with truth, I have made my way

alone, with means gained from my nurse, the sea."