The tale of Revolutionary War general Francis Marion generously sharing a dinner of sweet potatoes with a British officer was probably invented by Marion's biographer, Parson Weems, in the early nineteenth century. Another version of this painting survives at the National Gallery of Art. This painting was once part of the folk art collection of Elie Nadelman (1882-1946), the avant-garde sculptor. From 1924 to 1934, Nadelman's collection was displayed in his Museum of Folk Arts, located in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. The Historical Society purchased Nadelman's entire collection in 1937.

This painting depicts Mount Pleasant, the country estate built in 1763 by merchant James Beekman. Located near today's 51st Street and the East River, the mansion was demolished in 1874.

A native of New London, Connecticut, the subject graduated from Yale in 1874 and went on to attend Columbia Law School. He practiced law in New York for many years until he was appointed clerk of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second District, which included New York, Vermont, and Connecticut. His portrait was a gift to the Society from his sister.

Parkhurst, a native of Massachusetts, studied theology at Leipzig and was ordained in the Presbyterian ministry in 1872. From 1880 to 1918 he was the pastor of the Madison Square Presbyterian Church, and he is probably best remembered for the part his sermons played in arousing public and legislative action against corruption in New York, including the Lexow Committee investigation and the defeat of the Tammany Hall machine.

A native of New London, Connecticut, the subject graduated from Yale University in 1809 and went on to study medicine. After his marriage, in 1818, to Mary Ann Hitchcock of Vergennes, Vermont, he settled in Selma, Alabama, where he practiced medicine and ran a general store. The subject moved to New York in 1824 to attend the College of Physicians and Surgeons. His portrait was a gift to the Society from his granddaughter.

The subjects were the daughter and son of the artist, John Paradise. At the age of sixteen, the artist's son began to study engraving with Asher B. Durand. After mastering the craft, he became a well-known engraver of portraits painted by his father and other artists. He was also an engraver of bank notes.