William Rysam Gracie (1802-1873)
"King William V of England" died at the Washington Hotel, New York
He was born in Long Island City, New York, and was not related to the 'merchant prince' Archibald Gracie. His sister, Mary, married Judge Michael Ulshoeffer and he married Sarah Middagh. They had one daughter and for many years they lived in Brooklyn. However, husband and wife are not buried in the same cemetery. He died at the Washington Hotel in the Bronx in 1873 when his death was reported not only in the New York Herald, but also in England, France, Germany, and even Australia:
'An old gentleman has just passed away in America who, it seems, claimed the right to sit on the throne of England... For fifty years of his life, Mr. Gracie believed himself to be the lineal descendant of the great and unfortunate as well as royal houses of Stuart and Sobieski; and, many well-informed people in New York and Europe had an abiding faith in his claims to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland. Mr. Gracie, who called himself William the Fifth of England, was not unlike the late Mr. Horace Greeley in appearance, but "his features and carriage were of the true Stuart stamp". It is perhaps as well that he never succeeded in establishing his claim to the Crown; for although he is described as "being in manner a perfect gentleman, full of courtesy and chivalrous notions, and courageous in character as no Stuart ever failed to be," it is doubtful whether, from his habits and temperament, he would ever have made a good constitutional monarch.
Under his pillow for years he had concealed an old rusty one-barrelled pistol and a huge clasp-knife, with which he declared he would defend his life agains the whole English army. In conversation he would frequently speak of the practicability of landing troops at different points to march to London to seize the Tower with the Crown jewels and the regalia, and, he also, "when under the influence of of liquor," had a mania for borrowing money for which he really had no need. About twelve months ago he had "a difficulty" with a man larger than himself, and who is not more than 35-years of age. It occurred in the Washington Hotel. "The commingled blood of Arabella Stuart and John Sobieski rose to fever heat," and the aged monarch knocked his opponent flat on the ground and choked him vigorously. The remains of William the Fifth now rest in Woodlawn Cemetery.'
'An old gentleman has just passed away in America who, it seems, claimed the right to sit on the throne of England... For fifty years of his life, Mr. Gracie believed himself to be the lineal descendant of the great and unfortunate as well as royal houses of Stuart and Sobieski; and, many well-informed people in New York and Europe had an abiding faith in his claims to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland. Mr. Gracie, who called himself William the Fifth of England, was not unlike the late Mr. Horace Greeley in appearance, but "his features and carriage were of the true Stuart stamp". It is perhaps as well that he never succeeded in establishing his claim to the Crown; for although he is described as "being in manner a perfect gentleman, full of courtesy and chivalrous notions, and courageous in character as no Stuart ever failed to be," it is doubtful whether, from his habits and temperament, he would ever have made a good constitutional monarch.
Under his pillow for years he had concealed an old rusty one-barrelled pistol and a huge clasp-knife, with which he declared he would defend his life agains the whole English army. In conversation he would frequently speak of the practicability of landing troops at different points to march to London to seize the Tower with the Crown jewels and the regalia, and, he also, "when under the influence of of liquor," had a mania for borrowing money for which he really had no need. About twelve months ago he had "a difficulty" with a man larger than himself, and who is not more than 35-years of age. It occurred in the Washington Hotel. "The commingled blood of Arabella Stuart and John Sobieski rose to fever heat," and the aged monarch knocked his opponent flat on the ground and choked him vigorously. The remains of William the Fifth now rest in Woodlawn Cemetery.'
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The Pall Mall Budget - Being a Weekly Collection of Articles Printed in the Pall Mall Gazette from Day to Day, with a Summary of News ยท Volume 9 - 1873 (page 20)