David Cadwallader Colden (1797-1850)
Principal Host of Charles Dickens during his first American tour (1842)
He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1819 and visited England in 1840 where he became friendly with the famous author, Charles Dickens. He was deeply interested in promoting the growth and prosperity of the fine arts in the U.S. He was President of the St. David's Society in New York, founded in 1801 to assist needy immigrants from Wales to America and which by Colden's time in 1842 had embraced the temperance movement. Despite Dickens’ distaste for prohibition, he wanted to support his friend Colden, and asked him to make a toast on his behalf with a glass of water.
