“U.S.G.” Cup
Any visitor to Campbell House will hear the story of the friendship between the Campbell family and the Ulysses S. Grant family.
How the families became acquainted is unknown. Robert almost certainly knew Julia Grant’s father from St. Louis business circles and Julia Dent Grant and Virginia Campbell had very similar backgrounds and upbringings.
In 1869 Grant appointed Robert Campbell to the newly-formed Indian Commission. The Grant and Campbell families regularly socialized after this time. The Grants hosted the Campbells at the White House in 1871 and the Campbells hosted dinners and receptions for the Grants at Campbell House in 1871 (article below), 1873, 1874 and 1875.
Included in the Museum’s collection is a small silver-plated cup bearing the initials “U.S.G.” The cup was donated to the Museum’s collection in 2008 by a family whose ancestors had worked as a housekeeper for the Grant family in the 19th Century. The cup is on display in the Butler’s Pantry. It was made about 1875 by the Meriden Britannia Co. in Meriden, Connecticut.
From the ‘St. Louis Daily Democrat’, April 25, 1871
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