Portrait of a Citizen: Encountering the Francophone World of Stephen Girard and His Circle, in Philadelphia and Beyond

Meet Alexander Lawrence Ames, Senior Director of Collections Engagement at the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia

The famous merchant Stephen Girard left his home near Bordeaux, France at a young age, never again to live in his native country. He eventually became a citizen of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the new United States of America. Yet the businessman’s French language and cultural identity remained important facets of his personality, and elements of his social and intellectual life.

In celebration of Le Mois de Francophonie 2026, this illustrated talk will explore how Stephen Girard emerged as a committed citizen of the new United States of America while maintaining aspects of French language and cultural identity in early national Philadelphia. Beyond Girard himself, the talk will showcase other examples of French language, literature, and culture present in the Mid Atlantic region and beyond, including in the libraries and archives of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours and Thomas Jefferson, which provide salient comparative examples to Girard’s cultural interests. We will also explore how Girard’s upbringing and economic roots in the French imperial Atlantic world of the eighteenth century may have influenced his views of race, labor, enslavement, gender, sexuality, and family relationships. 

The talk will be presented in English. Participants will receive reproductions of exemplar historic French-language documents from regional collections to review.

A Q&A discussion and signing will follow. Drinks will be served.

Cover of The Will of the Late Stephen Girard, Esq. with a Short Biography of His Life (Philadelphia: Thomas Deliver, 1849). Bound in Henry Simpson (1790 –1868), The Lives of Eminent Philadelphians, Now Deceased … (Philadelphia: William Brotherhead, 1859). The letter opposite the will was sent by Girard to F.D. Petit de Villers in Savannah, Georgia on November 18, 1809. Call no. A 859liv v.5. Rosenbach Museum & Library. Photo by Rasheena Wilson.

About the Presenter

Photo by Tracie Van Auken.

Alexander Lawrence Ames is Senior Director of Collections Engagement at the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia. He is the author of the new book Portrait of a Citizen: Stephen Girard, Mariner, Merchant, Banker, and Philanthropist of the Early American Republic, published by De Gruyter Oldenbourg of Berlin in February. He has taken eleven French courses, as well as private lessons in decoding eighteenth-century French manuscripts, with the Alliance Française de Philadelphie during the past four years. 

Event Information

Date: Friday, March 27, 2026
Time: 6:00pm-7:00pm
Location: Alliance Française de Philadelphie, 1420 Walnut St, Suite 700, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Language: English
Cost : Pay as you wish. Suggested donation $10

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