Hamilton Hall and the Remonds

Margaret Moore in The Salem World of Nathaniel Hawthorne, says that in the nineteenth century that dances at Hamilton Hall were frequent (68). She says that "Mrs. Eben Putnam [who lived in Salem in the late nineteenth century] remembered the old Assemblies when dancing 'commenced at six and finished precisely at twelve'-even if in the middle of a dance" (88). Moore goes on to say that Hawthorne took dancing lessons in 1818 from William Turner who held an annual exhibition by his students, and again in 1820 from John M. Boisseaux (89), but there is no evidence that these lessons took place in Hamilton Hall.

Moore also reveals that the caterer at Hamilton Hall was John Remond. John and his wife, Nancy, were , says Moore, "one of the most noted black couples in Salem" (139). She goes on to say that " John Remond, a free black always called Mr. Remond, had come to Salem at the age of ten in 1798 on the ship Six Brothers" and that in Salem he worked for the brother of the ship's master who was a baker (139). She also says that Remond's wife, Nancy, had a reputation as an excellent cake maker when Remond married her and that the couple "was genuinely respected" (139). Moore notes that they lived in an apartment on the first floor of Hamilton Hall and managed one of the two stores located in the Hall. Finally, Moore mentions that two of the Remond children, Charles Lenox Remond (1810-1873) and Sarah Parker Remond (1824-1873) played important roles in the Abolition movement (139).