Back To The Classics… New York Governors And Scandal

By DEACON MIKE MANNO

(The Wanderer) – If you are a frequent, or even semi-frequent, reader of this column you know that I am a notorious history and political buff. Bring me a good story from history or politics and I’m an eager listener. That may be why I — like so many others — am intrigued by the stories surrounding that Emmy Award-winning governor of New York and bestselling author of American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, which is currently an Editors’ Pick as “best nonfiction” on Amazon, Andrew Cuomo.

It appears that all his greatness may be evaporating in the wake of a couple of, shall we say, missteps. Apparently, his fictional account of how he single-handedly battled the dreaded COVID wasn’t exactly his strength. But naturally big media and big tech weren’t really that concerned about the 23,000 plus who died as a result of his experimental “leadership.” That didn’t matter, but he did put on a good show, hence the Emmy.

But what seemed to get Mr. Cuomo into real trouble was his — how shall we say? — women’s issues, where he is accused of trying to kiss and not tell. But he’s not the first caught in this web, and who knows, he might be innocent of trespassing against women who said “no” which would allow his record as a hero of the COVID wars to stand as unblemished as Ted Kennedy’s heroics at the Battle of Chappaquiddick.

Anyway, this is not the first time a New York governor has acted in a way that besmirched his reputation. And, in fact, it is not even the most interesting. Not by a long shot.

You see, back in May of 1702, an English gent by the name of Edward Hyde arrived at Manhattan to assume his new duties as the 14th colonial governor of New York. Hyde, better known as Lord Cornbury, was appointed and served under his cousin Queen Anne. Apparently Cornbury had an exemplary record as a military commander of the Royal Dragoons and as a result was given a seat in Parliament.

In 1701 he was appointed to his New York post by King William III, who died before Cornbury took up his responsibilities. But William’s successor Anne ratified the appointment, thus Cornbury entered his office and served under a woman which has some relevance to this story, because, you see, Cornbury was a transvestite.
And, since he “represented” a woman, he found no difficulty in dressing like one, much to the dismay of the people he governed.

Now sometimes it’s hard to determine what actually happened in history since, as is often said, it is written by the winners. He did, however, create many enemies not only by his dress but by executive actions he took, such as confiscating a Presbyterian church for the Anglicans — the Church of England — to use. So, while reports of Cornbury’s actions may be tainted by his political enemies, the story, exaggerated or not, is simply too juicy to ignore.

The story might be best told by author and journalist Shelley Ross in her book of scandals, Fall from Grace: Sex, Scandal, and Corruption in Politics from 1702 to the Present.

Ross suggests that in addition to being a crossdresser, Cornbury was also a “thief, a bigot, a grafter, [and] a drunk.” She wrote:

“The combination of public and private wrongdoings was so outrageous that Lord Cornbury fanned the fires of revolution and later served as an inspiration for the articles of impeachment in the United States Constitution. Never again would anyone have to endure such a despicable or corrupt leader without a legal recourse for removal from office.”

Cornbury often supplemented his income by throwing grand balls, inviting the local aristocrats, and then charging them admission. His wife apparently went shopping in people’s homes and whatever she wanted she would send for the next day.

When His High Mightiness, as he preferred to be called, was honored at a banquet, he told his guests of the sensual beauty of his wife’s ears, then invited all in attendance to come forward and touch Lady Cornbury’s ears to see for themselves.

Opening the New York Assembly in 1702 he arrived, according to Ross, “in drag, clad in a hooped gown and elaborate headdress and carrying a fan, much in the style of the fashionable Queen Anne.” When questioned about his attire, he is said to have replied, “You are all very stupid people not to see the propriety of it all. In this place, and on this occasion, I represent a woman, and in all respects I ought to represent her as faithfully as I can.”

A watchman once told the story that one night he discovered what he thought was a drunken prostitute prowling on the grounds of Cornbury’s residence. When he stopped the woman, he shockingly found that it was His High Mightiness himself who giggled then pulled on the watchman’s ears.

But if it was only Cornbury’s strange behavior and fetishes, the people might have just accepted him as a colorful, but harmless character. But he was also corrupt, giving his friends large, illegal land grants for cash. One such grant was larger than Connecticut. Another he gave away to a group of friends, who returned the favor by naming the land Hyde Park, after His High Mightiness’ family. Two hundred years later the land was purchased by the family of the future president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, as a homestead, a place now very familiar to historians.

He persecuted Quakers and claimed to have “secret information” that the French were going to attack and asked the Assembly for funds to build protective forts. The Assembly passed Cornbury’s measure to tax the people for the fortifications. When the French attack did not materialize, His High Mightiness build a new house for himself with the funds.

When his wife died in 1707, he showed up at her funeral in drag. During his five years as governor only nine laws were passed and six were vetoed in England. Finally the queen acceded to calls to remove him. His replacement arrived in 1708 and Cornbury was arrested and placed under house arrest over

Lord Cornbury?

outstanding unpaid debts.

Shortly after his dismissal and imprisonment, his father died, and he inherited the title Earl of Clarendon, which allowed him to cancel his debts and to return to England. There he served briefly in a number of positions and was a member of the House of Lords until 1720. He died three years later inMarch of 1723.

Currently there is a painting in the New York Historical Society of a man dressed in formal drag. The artist is unknown, but it was painted between 1705 and 1750, which is thought by many to a posthumous portrait of Cornbury. There is a similar portrait in the Dallas Museum of Art.

In a couple of hundred years I wonder what Mr. Cuomo’s portrait will look like. On the other hand, I guess we’ll know since it’s bound to end up shortly in the Emmy Hall of Fame.

(You can reach Mike at: DeaconMike@q.com, and listen to him every Thursday morning at 10 CT on Faith On Trial on IowaCatholicRadio.com.)