Evening Star Newspaper, April 7, 1929, Page 92

‘Brightwood Is Linked BY JOHN CLAGETT PROCTOR. VERY indefinite sign which we are accustomed to see on the street cars running out Ninth street reads “Brightwood.” If one were to ask the conductor the locaticn of this place with the beau- tiful name, he would probably tell you it was at the car barn at Georgia ave- nue and Piney Branch road—the latter some day to be widened and called Colo- rado avenue. Today, this information might be quite satisfactory, and indeed almost as complete 2s if obtained from the most learned source, for after all Brightwood is an undetermined area extending over a wide territory. Just where this well known section begins and where it leaves off, no one is able to say. John Saul, who had his celebrated nurseries where is now the subdivision of Piney Branch Park— originally called Saul's Subdivision—al- ways recelved his mail addressed “Brightwood,” and so did the Rays, whose farm lay just north of Shepherd road and near Third street northwest It never had any definite metes and bounds, end any of the territory from Silver Spring south to Rock Creek Church road and from Chillum on the east all the way over to Rock Creek on the west, geographically, may have been regarded years ago as covered by this designation. Just when the name “Brightwood” ‘was given to this section or who gave it the name, no one knows with certain- ty. The credit is given to Archibald |sf White and Louls Brunett, who were probably responsible for so naming it some time toward the close of the Civil War. Prior to this time, in the vicin- ity of where old Piney Branch road joins Georgia avenue at the Masonic Temple, the name Crystal Springs gen- erally applied, particularly so close by the old Piney Branch race track, which stood undisturbed until about 20 years ago, and like so many of our historic places, gave way to progress. ' Crystal Spring took its name, as one might judge, from the crystal-like wa- ter which flowed, not from one spring. but from several nearby springs, one of the largest of which only ceased to ex- ist within the last year. This particu- lar one stood at the west side of the road, just where the Fourteenth street cars of the Capital Traction Co. make the loop at Kennedy street. It seemed to die of itself; something evidently having happened to its source, some- ‘where to the north. In 1802 John Tayloe laid out a race course on the Holmead farm. It wasa| mile track, and had its center about at Kenyon and Fourteenth streets and| approximately embracing the territory | from Tenth to Sixteenth streets. Here‘ at a very early period such horses as| Amanda. Florizel, Duroc, Lady Lightfoot and Tuckahoe Post Boy, | per- | HOME OF JOHN SAUL BEFORE IT formed in the presence of the most| notable pzople of the day, including no doubt all the Presidents from Jefferson to Tyler. N 1845 William Holmead announced | that he had divided his farm, in- cluding the race course, into lots of 5 to 50 acres, and from this time on until 1859, when the Crystal Spring course was laid out, racing events were held on other nearby tracks. The Crystal Spring course was only a half- mile track, but for many years it pros- pered and drew good crowds by adver- tising in The Star, of which the follow- ing is an example: “Stage coaches for Crystal Spring| and the race course. The undersigned | will run a stage coach for the above | places, making two trips a day (except Sunday, when three trips will be made), leaving National Hotel at 12 and 4 o'clock, and on Sunday at 10, 1 and 4 o'clock, stopping at the Metropolitan, Turner & Co.’s, No. 281 Pennsylvania avenue, Kirkwood and Willard's Hotel. Fare, round trip, 75 cents; children, half price. E. Ferguson, proprietor of Subsequently the Crystal Spring course became the Riney Branch course, and later—as many of us knew it—the Brightwood Trotting Park. * ok Kk % | Since there were several fine springs | near the race course, and as the sur- | rounding country was heavily wooded, | it made ideal picnic grounds, just as| the part nearest Rock Creek, now in | the National Park, does even today.| Naturally in ye olden days there was a | tavern connected with the race course. the proprietor, being, from about 1863 to | 1880, Frederick G. Rohr. Later, for | some years, it was conducted by his widow, Mrs. Annie M. Rohr. In 1860, | before taking over property, Mr. Rohr had been employed at Brown's Hotel, now the Metropolitan, and in his day was a very popular man, and just such a one as would succeed in business most anywhere. The writer | knows his daughter, Miss Lena Rohr, | very well. After the race course was estab- lished !t was common for many Ger- man families to come out to Crystal Spring on a Sunday for the purpose of spending a pleasant day in the woods. As the creek was nearby, the men and boys would go in bathing and indulge in base ball and other sports while the good wife spread the lunch for all hands, after which, no doubt, some S o WAS REMODELED 22 YEARS AGO. Washington Suburban Area of the race course ' THE PROPRIETOR. A\ ' Indefinite Bounds Was Associated With Several Families Frominent in District. Stansbury Lodge Established There and Occupied Several Homes in That Section—Some Church History. ONT OF THE CRYSTAL SPRINGS RA SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, ith Memories of Crystal Spring Track | one played the accordion or the con- | certina while the grown-ups waltzed to the tune of the “Blue Danube,” or | some other delightful German air. It | is quite plausible that it was these | pienics which created the idea of estab- |lishing the Schuetzen Park about 1866, where the Washington Schuetzen Ver- | ein, for many years after, held annual festivals. | Toward the latter part of its exist- |ence the Brightwood Trotting Park sort of lost caste, and few, if any, first-class | attractions were held there. Indeed, just | before it was closed up entirely, only an | occasional mule race was run on fits | track, Mat Myers’ mule usually winning | the event. | It was in what was probably the orig- |Inal dwelling connected with the old Crystal Spring race course that Stans- | bury Lodge, No. 24, F. A. A. M., was here for many years, and was the head- quarters during the Civil War of Gen. Alexander D, McCook during the battle of Fort Stevens, July 11 and 12, 1864. | In 1888 a substantial addition was made [to the south of this building, the | financing being materially assisted by a fair held in the old skating rink on E | between Sixth and Seventh streets | northwest. The credit for the success of this fair was given to the Ladies’ Auxiliary of Stansbury Lodge, the same women be- | ing later” responsible for the successful | | launching at this corner, in 1892, of the local Order of the Eastern St: which now has grown into 40 existis chapters, with a combined membership around 12,000. Only a few years back the entire cor- | ner was again cleared and the present D. C, APRIL T, FEARS STOOD ON COLORADO AVENUE A LITTLE SOUTH OF KE! K. PHOTO TAKEN IN THE EIGHTIES, WHEN FREDERICK occupled the grounds. Shortly after- ward—perhaps 20 years ago—the main building, then facing east on Colorado avenue, about 200 feet south of Ken- {nedy street, was removed, and the ground subdivided into building lots, and the area where until lately stood | | the Brightwood Trotting Park is now largely built up with handsome resi- dences and & few apartment houses. In one of these homes happens to reside today a lady friend of the writer, ,and a close acquaintance as well of himself and family. In speaking of the old race course to her the other day, he suggested that if she were inclined | to having nightmares, it might be due | to the fact that she was living upon | ground formerly used as a race track, | which joke was, of course, greatly en- | joyed by her, for it has been well said | formed in the early part of 1873, and it | structure erected, the corner stone be- | that “a little nonsense now and then |is said that, in connection with the |ing laid with Masonic ceremony, the|is relished by the best of men,” and, | services of instituting this lodge, the present Governor of New York, Frank- | of course, the ladies are no exception. | Rohr family Bible, printed in German, |lin D, Roosevelt—then Assistant Secre- | | was used, and continued in the service | of the lodge for some time thereafter. Only a few meetings were held in the old building, when the lodge moved into the newer building, or what is better known as the old Piney Branch Hotel, the proprietor, Frederick G. Rohr, being |a charter member. Dr. Benjamin W. Summy, a vice president of the Associa- tion of Oldest Inhabitants, was also a charter member, and is now the oldest living past master and charter member of the lodge. | | | * kX K | Lodge started building its own hall | at the corner of Piney Branch road and | Georgia avenue, the corner stone being |1aid June 30, 1873, and to the Bright- |wood Hall—by which name it was | tary of the Navy—participating. | “On the northwest corner of this | thoroughfare was for many years a | Fourteenth street, facing east, is still of which is now in existence. About in the center of the block, | between Longfellow and Madison streets and Colorado avenue and T 1929—<PART 7. DY STREET, IN . ROHR WAS THE It was severely remodeled then and now bears no resemblance. to its former ap- pearance. Mr. John A. Saul tells me that when his father bought the land from Richard Wallach in 1854 the house upon it was quite small. To this he later added a central portion and a wing to correspond with the original structure, and here he lived the remain- ?ltr &rfiu days and died here on May | * X ¥ * RICHARD WALLACH was mayor of Washington from 1861 to 1867, and probably only used the 80 acres—known | |as Maple Grove Farm and which he | transferred to Mr. Saul—as a gunning | retreat or as a place to which he might | go for seclusion and rest, since the | house that went with the land did not | |size up to the requirements of a man | |of his importance. The farm fronted | lon two roads, the east front being on |the "old Seventh street pike—later | | Brightwood avenue and now Georgia | | avenue—and the west front being on | Piney Branch road, only a short section | It ex- | | | crossroads store run by A. G. Osborn, | standing an old square brick house |tended on the south to the farm of | who was also the postmaster and jus- | early owned and occupled by Stephen |John A. Ruppert, a well known butcher | very old family in this neighborhood, | know whence they came or when they came. As the writer recalls him, how- | ever, he was a particularly good citizen |and K streets northwest. Yost was | so old, indeed, that no one seems to German born, while his wife was Swiss, | and -tradition has it that one of the forelgn Ministers resided here for a while during or shortly after the close tice of the peace as well, when Bright- | Yost, who, in 1866, was conducting a |of half a century ago, and on the north | wood had such offices. He was of a|wholesale liquor store at Twenty-first |to the Patterson tract. | |~ The old Ruppert home stood until a | year or two ago at the northwest corner | of Upshur street and Kansas avenue. | | The District government bought this | | property quite a while ago and here was | { and was always active for the good of | of the Civil War. Gustav H Kuhn, a |raised a large part of the trees used to| | the community. His widow, Mrs. Annie | C. Osborn, still lives in Brightwood on { well known plano dealer, bought_this ‘ house about 1883, and lived in it for a |adorn_our city’s streets. The Junior | High School, facing Iowa avenue nearby, | OON after its formation, Stansbury a part of what was once the Osborn | number of years. Today it looks as|is on the Ruppert farm, as is also, quite | farm, which included, to a large ex-!good as new, though it may be re- |likely, the Tuberculosis Hospital. | tent, the field upon which was fought | garded as one of the olq houses of | the Battle of Fort Stevens. ‘When the District government needed | the race course property for the reser- | Brightwood. | “Another old residence is the John Saul home, which originally faced east, known—it moved within a year after it| voir, which is still there, it naturally but which was shifted about when was chartered. This hall replaced the| meant the destruction of the course Saul's Subdivision was laid out and now | Farther out on Georgia avenue Mr. Saul purchased, in 1872, 35| acres from John H. McChesney and | others, the tract being known as “Girls’ Portion.” He later increased his hold- | ings here to 40 acres, and here he| !old Moses Hotel or tavern which stood ' and the stables and outbuildings which | faces north at 1290 Crittenden street. | grew practically every tree adapted to this climate. His principal place, how- ever, was the Piney Branch Park tract, and here, in 1885, he had as many as 20 greenhouses, as the following adver- tisement discloses: “John Saul, Florist, Nurseryman and Seedsman, offers an immense stock of | Flowers, Plants, Dutch Bulbous Roots, Fruit Trees, &c., Cut Flowers, Floral Designs For Punerals, &c., From Choice Exotics, at Low Rates. Immortelles and Grasses In Wreaths, Crosses, Bouquets, Baskets, &ec., Imported direct from Europe, have just been received and are exquisitely beautiful. Dutch Bulbous Roots (Imported direct) are to hand in finest order, viz.: Hyacinths, Tulips, Lilies, &c., &c. New and Rare Plants, a superb collec- tion, suitable for Amateurs, Florists, &c. An extensive stock of well-grown Trees, viz.; Pear, Apple, Cherry, Peach, Apri- cot, Plum, Grape, &c. 120 Acres in Fruit and Ornamental Trees. 20 Greenhouses.” * kK ok JOHN SAUL was a native of Ireland, having been born at Carey’s Wood, Castlemartyr, County Cork, on Christ- mas day, 1819, and died in his old home | at. his nursery May 11, 1897. In some | notes which he wrote of his coming to this country he says: ‘I was married to Rosina M. Law- ley, September 24, 1850, in the Cath- lolic Church, Pierrepont place, Bath, |England. My wife (Rosina M. Saul), |my brother William and myself sailed | from Liverpool, England, February 11, |1851, in the steamship ‘City of Glas- gow,’ and after a tempestuous voyage of 19 days arrived in Philadelphia, where my brother Andrew met us; re- mained two days in Philadelphia, when we proceeded to New York and New- burgh. We remained in the latter place until May, when I proceeded to Wash- ington in company with the late A. J. Downing, arriving in Washington May 5, 1851, where I took charge of the improvement of public grounds— the Mall, Smithsonian Grounds, square south of President’s, Lafayette Square. THE SAUL FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHED IN FRONT OF TH HOMESTEAD ABOUT 1894. FRONT ROW, L SISTER OF RE ORGE J. MAY, MIS FT_TO RIGHT: JOHN A WHITTON, MAY, MRS TANDING, 1 AUL, REV. D. 1SS TERES. BANKER, AND PRESENT WHEN THE PHOTOGR Birthplace of N BY JOYCE SATER. ILLIE CUSTIS, the adopted daughter of George Washing- ton and the granddaughter of Martha, was born at Abingdon | house 150 years ago, on March | 21, 1779. Thg shell of the house, which | is also the hdmestead of the Alexander | family, after which the old historic town | of Alexandria, Va., is named, is still standing. It is not so far gone that it cannot be restored with the help of a Rockefeller, a Henry Ford, or by a pa- triotic-minded society. ‘The house is about half way between ‘Washington and Alexandria and is on the new Mount Vernon Memorial Boule- vard, which the Bureau of Public Roads will construct within the next three years. The boulevard will virtually run across its front yard, which had a ter- raced lawn, gravel walks bordered with box bushes and a shaded lane leading to the river. The 15-mile highway will begin at the Virginia end of Arlington Memorial Bridge and will follow the Potomac River as closely as possible to Mount Vernon. Thousands will motor over the boulevard, and will pass the birthplace of Nellie Custis every year. ‘The old house is rich in memories of its close association with Mount Vernon, and with such old and distinguished families as the Masons, the Alexanders, . Lewises, the Stuarts, the Calverts} and the Fairfaxes. According to one historian, it is the oldest house still standing in this vicinity. It is claimed 1o have been constructetd prior to 1677 by John Alexander. The first owner of | the ground on which it stands was prob- | ably Robert Howsing, a Welsh sea cap- tain, who received, in 1659, a patent of 6,000 acres of Jand on the “freshes of | the Potomac, for introducing into the golony of Virginia 120 persons to in- abite.” Later he sold the land for 600 pounds | of tobacco to John Alexander, a sur- veyor of Stafford County, who settled upon it a number of families, connected with him by ties of blood and marriage. The Pearsons, Wests and Chapmans claim to have been the first to settle here, closely followed by the Dades, Stuarts, Hooes and Harrisons. John Alexander died in 1677, and it is claimed that several years before his death he bust upon the u‘:per part of his patent a homestead cal lled “Abing- don.” It was built of lumber hewn by slaves from the native forests, and the Joists on the ground floor were the size of a man’s body. 1 “While the house was not very large according to the his or imposing, torian, Charles H. Callahan, “it was beautifully ted on the south side W. by | Miss Calvert. Wi weddin, NELLIE CUSTIS. George Washington Parke Custis, Nel- lie’s brother. . e T will be remembered that when Gen. ‘Washington married Martha Custis, the 25-year-old comely and wealthy (in those days) widow of Col. Daniel Parke Custis, she had two children living, Martha, affectionately known as Patsy, and John Parke, likewise known as Jacky. Col. Custis left his widow and children a large sum of money, va ously stated as 30,000, 35000 and 45,000 pounds sterling, and large land interests. Under the wise management of George Washington the legacies in- creased in value. When Martha, aged 17, died on June 19, 1773, John Parke inherited her share, which made him a well-to-do young man—in fact, at 21, he was independently weaithy. John Parke, while a student at An- napolis, at the early age of 18, fell des- rately in love with Eleanor Calvert, a utiful girl of 16. She was the sec- ond daughter of Benedict Calvert of and George opposed did the Calvert family, extreme youth of the couple. John was sent to King’s. now Columbia, College, New York. While there, sister Martha died and there was much grief the college, returned to Mount Vernon, and on February 23, 1774, he married ‘ashington attended the ot too bereaved at For two years the young couple lived at Mount Vernon. Then they moved into the Abingdon house, the abode of a very happily married couple. Four children were born to this union, all during the Revolutionary Wal Elizabeth, born on August 21, 1776, married- Thomas Law and lived | in Washington, D. C., on the site of the | present War College; Martha, born De- | cember 31, 1777, married Thomas Peter and lived at Tudor place, Georgetown, | D. C.; Eleanor (Nellie), born on March 1779, married Lawrence Lewis, the | favorite nephew of Washington; and George Washington Parke Custis, born on April 3, 1781, built Arlington House and le: memorable book to posterity | in the “Recollections of George Wash- ington,” which was compiled under the supervision of his daughter, Mrs. Robert E. Lee. The first three children were born at Abi on. George Washington Parke h":a e at Mount Airy, the home of mother’s parents. Du the siege of Yorktown, John Custis, while on duty as a special aid to Washington, contracted a malignant case of camp fever and died, at the early | age of 27, on November 5, 1781. He was, buried at Eltham, not far from | Yorktown. : ! Upon his death Washington adopted | the two younger of his children, Eleanor !or Nellie, who was between 2 and 3 years old, and his namesake, who was by Washington Is Recalled. just 6 months old, and took them to Mount Vernon. About two years later their mother married Dr. David Stuart (sometimes spelled “Stewart”), a personal friend of ‘Washington's, whom he appointed one of the first Commissioners of the Dis- trict of Columbia. It was this David Stuart who, with Daniel Carroll, estab- lished the boundary line and fixed the original metes and bounds of the Dis- trict in 1791 and 1792. ‘Washington in his diaries tells of the frequent visits of the Stuarts of Abing- don to Mount Vernon. In fact, almost every week end found some of them at Mount Vernon or Nellle Custis visiting her mother and sisters at Abingdon. Thus this old place is linked with Mount Vernon, not only because it is the birth- place of Nellie Custis, but also_because of the close freindship between Dr. Stu- art and Washington. Dr. Stuart was one of the three doctors at the beside of Washington when he died. Nellie « Custis was known, for her beauty, wit and personal charm. She grew into lovely womanhood at Mount Vernon. A visitor there writes of Nellie: “Miss Eleanor Custis has more perfec- tion of form, of expression, of color, of softness and of firmness of mind than 1 have ever seen before.” LI WASHmeN loved Nellie as if she were his own daughter. In his daliy rides about his n‘rm she was | constant and congenial companion. Of the letters he wrote to her during the busy days of his presidency in Phila- delphia, perhaps the most remarkable is the following: 2 “PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 16, 1795. “Your letter, receipt of which I am acknowledging, is written correctly and in fair character, which is an evidence that you command when you please a fair hand. Possessed of these advan- tages, it will be your own fault if you "do not avail yourself of them, and, at- tention being paid to the ehoice of your subjects, you can have nothing to fear from malignancy of criticism, as your ideas are lively and your descriptions agreeable. “Let me touch a little now on your Georgetown ball, and happy, thrice happy, for the fair who were assembled on the occasion that there was a man to spare, for had there been 79 ladies and only 78 gentlemen, there might, in the course of the evening, have been some disorder among the caps, not- withstanding the apathy which one of the company entertains for the ‘youth’ of the present day, and her determina- uneasiness on account of any of them. “A hint here: Men and women feel the same inclinations to each other now that they always have done, and which his | they will continue to do until there DON HOUSE, THE BIRTHPLACE OF ELIZABETH, MARTHA AND NELLIE CUSTIS, fi = : A tion ‘never to give herself a moment's | is a new order of things. and you, as| others have done, may find, perhaps, | that the passions of your sex are easier | | raised than allayed. Do not, therefore, boast too soon or too strongly of your insensibility to, or resistance of, its powers. In the composition of the hu- man frame there is a good deal of in- | flammable matter, however dormant it may lie for a time, and, like an inti- | mate acquaintance of yours, when the torch is put to it, that which is within | you may burst into a blaze; for which reason, and especially, too, as I have entered upon the chapter of advices, I will read ‘you a lecture drawn from this text. ! “Love is said to be an involuntary passion and it is, therefore, contended that it cannot be resisted. This is true in part only, for, like all things else, | when nourished and supplied plentifully | with aliment, it is rapid in its progress; | but let these be withdrawn and it may be stifled in its birth or much stinted | in its growth. For example, a woman | (the same may be said of the other sex) all beautiful and accomplished will, | while her hand and heart are indis- | posed of, turn the heads and set the . circle in which she moves on fire. Let her marry, and what is the conse- quence? The madness ceases and all is quiet again. Why? Not because there is any diminution in the charms of the lady, but because there is an end of hope. Hence it follows that love may and therefore ought to be under the guidance of reason, for, although we cannot avoid first impressions, we may | ssuredly place them under guard; and are to show you, while you remain; Eleanor Parke Custis, spinster, and re- tain the resolution to love with modera- tion, the rropriety of adhering to the latter resolution, at least until you have secured your fame and the way by | which it may b: accomplished. * % ¥ “WHEN the fire is beginning to kindle and your heart growing warm propound these questions to it | Who is the invader? Have I a compe- | tent knowledge of him? Is he a man ‘;;rmha character, a man of sense? never be happy been his walk of life? Is he a spendthrift or drunkard? tune sufficient to maintain me in the manner I have been accustomed to live and my sisters do live and is he one to whom my friends can have no reason- able, objection? tories can be satis- “If these interrogat factorily answered there will remain but | 1 my motives for treating on this subject |, ellie Custis Among Oldest of American Homes Abingdon House, Homestead of Family Which Gave Name to Alexandria, Is on New Mount Vernon Memorial Boulevard—Rich in Memories of Nation’s Early Leadership—Striking Letter Written ‘Whilst thus occupled under Mr. Down= irg and in conjunction with W. & Brackenridge, we planted ihe Smithe sonian Grounds, Lafayette Square, eve. 1 remained in this position until t¥s Spring of 1853. A. J. Downing having been drowned in the Hudson River in the Summer of 1852, and the appro- priation of Congress becoming exbaust- ed, the improvement ceased, and I left Government employ. * * ¢ “Since which time T have been & permanent resident of Washington. I rented on my arrival a house on the corner of H and Seventh streets north- west, where I resided and carried on the seed business to the Spring of 1866. On April 10 of that year I purchased the residence 861 Seventh street, op- posiie Patent Office. This I pulled down in the Autumn of 1873 and re- ?:;Xstvghe store, now standing, November, Throughout the United States John Saul was widely known as an importer and grower of evergreens, ornamental trees, fruit trees, shrubs and greenhouse plants. Of the fruit trees, his catalogue contained upward of 276 varieties of apples, 282 varieties of pears, 85 of cherries, 83 of plums, 164 of peaches and 150 varieties of grapes. Before coming to this country he had a wide experience as & nurseryman, and ft was only natural that he should produce many new plants and trees. His ship- ping orders to outside places were con- siderable, large quantities of trees and plants going even as far west as Cal- ifornia, and the statement has even been made that much of the fruit-bear- ing trees and flowering plants for which that State prides itself today, actually originated right here in the Saul nur- series on Georgia avenue. * x * % FMOHY M. E. CHURCH SOUTH is ~ the oldest place of worship around Brightwood: indeed it is the oldest land- mark in this neighborhood that the writer knows of. It dates back to 1832, when “A. G. Pierce, esq., gave a Iot of ground containing half an acre for the purposes of a schoolroom and & church for the convenience of the neighbor- hood.” ‘The present pastor of the church, the Rev. Daniel L. Snyder, who has given the church history con- siderable thought, tells us that the first church stood just a few yards to the south of the present building. It was two stories high. The school was taught for several years by John Pickett in the first story, which was built of logs. At first the school and church were managed by the same board of trustees, but in 1846 separate ' Continued on Sixth Page.) 1E OLD '0 RIGHT: MRS. . STAFFORD; » THE Y WERE NOT APH WAS MADE. RUINS OF A FIREPLACE IN ABINGDON HOUSE. yours must proceed from the man to render it permanent and valuable, and nothing short of good sense and an easy, unaffected conduct can draw the line between prudery and coquetry. “It would be no great departure from truth to say that it rarely happens otherwise than that a thorough-paced coquette dies in celibacy as a punish- ment for her attempts to mislead others by encouraging looks, words or actions, given for no other purpose than to draw men on to make overtures that they may be rejected. “This day, according to our informa- tion, gives a husband to your elder sis- ter, and meets, it is to be presumed, her fondest desires. The dawyn with us is bright and propitious, I hope, of her future happiness, for & full measure of which she and Mr. Law have my ear- nest wishes. “Compliments and congratulations on this occasion, and best regards are pre- sented to your mamma, Dr. Stewart and family; and every blessing, among which a husband when you want and deserve one, is bestowed on you, by yours, affection: i * Kk ok WHIN ‘Washington returned to Mount Vernon from Philadelphia, he in- vited his favorite nephew, Lawrence Lewis, to make his home there and asked him to assist in the entertaining of friends in the evenings. Lawrence ted the invitation, and thus it was the roof of the old mansion house romance of t the and Law- 199, In |_resulted s birthday, diary, Wash~ ington made the simple entry: “The Rev. Mr. Davis and Mr. George Calvert came to dinner and Miss Custis was married about candlelight to Mr. Law- rence Lewis.” In his will, Washington left this cou= ple some 2,000 acres of the Mount Ver- non estate, and suggested a site about 3 | miles back of the mansion house for a home. Nellie and Lawrence built the house in 1804 and named it Woodlawn. | Here they lived for about 35 years. After | their death, the house fell into decay, was restored and was the home of the late Oscar Underwood. Both Lawrence and Nelite are buried at Mount Vernon. ‘Washington purchased Abingdon qur- ing the Revoluntionary War and paid for it in Continental money. After the close of the war, the heirs of Alexander brought suit to set aside the sale, and after years of litigation, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and Abingdon went back to the Alexanders. It was then sold to a Mr. Wise, who transferred it to Gen. Alexander Hunter, a decend- {ant of the Alexanders, who willed it to his brother, Maj. Bushrod Washington Hunter. During the Civil War, both Alexander Hunter and his father served in the Confederate Army, in view of which Abingdon was confiscated by the Fed- eral Government. But through the ef- forts of James A. Garfield and Judge Black, it was Hunter. it again out of the Hunter family, and ted it 'm:"l the became stripped thmuhl" A{lefim&len. It - o ormer charm, largely vandalism, Y