235-237 Radcliffe

To the right of the Church is a one-and-a-half story duplex, originally built as a single dwelling. The house was constructed prior to 1791 and is a frame building with a modern brick façade. When the US capitol was located in Philadelphia from 1790 to 1800, this house once served as the residence of the second Spanish Ambassador Don Luis de Onís, who was later instrumental in the American acquisition of Florida and the Gulf Coast. According to Bristol historian Doron Green, the ambassador’s daughter was married here in this house in the first known wedding by proxy in the United States. A proxy marriage is one in which either the bride or groom is not physically present for the wedding. During the solemnization of the marriage, a stand-in, or proxy, acts on behalf of one of the parties.