Evening Star Newspaper, April 27, 1930, Page 89

e ——— lar event I have in mind. Washington, return- ing to Mount Vernon, took no hasty step, but caluly deliberated. Then, as throughout his cai cer, he illusirated the old saying attributed w .ord H ax: ‘The man who is master of patience is master of everything.’ ~He conferred with the citizens of the county and most closely with his neighbor and friend, George Mason of Gunston Hall, and brought about at Alexandria, then a small but flourish- Ing town, on July 18, 1774, what was styled ‘a general meeting of the freeholders and ine habitants of the County of Fairfax.’ The meet- ing, over which Washington presided, adopted the Fairfax r solves. They were drawn by Mason, who spent the afternoon and night before the meeting at Mount Vernon, and they expressed Washington’s views. They were from the pen of th: remarkable man who was soon o prepare the Virginia constitution with a bill of rights at its front, the first constitution ever written containing a complete system of government; the man whose thought and words run like a golden thread through the F:deral Constitution and the constitutions of all the States of the Union, and it is not too much to say through the Declaration of Independence, “The Fairfax resolves became the basis of the action of the Virginia convention in August, of which Washington was a member, and they likewise became, to a large extent, the basis of the action of the first Continental Congress, of which he was also a member. “One more thing of supreme interest: It is not inaccurate to say that the Federal Constitu= tion had its origin at Mount Vernon. The agony and bloody sweat of the Revolution had passed, but discord among the 13 States threat= ened to turn into ashes the fruits of the suc= cessful struggle. No one was more solicitous than Washington. At Mount Vernon he con= ferred with leading statesmen and from there his influence swept into every quarter. “I have referred to Mason. At nearly every step he and Washington were together. They were together during the long stretch of years marked by— “‘Many a grim and haggard day, Many a night of starless skies'— in which the very souls of men were tried. They were never apart except on the question as to whether the Constitution should be ratified without change. On that question Mason and Patrick Henry were, as we now clearly perceive, unwisely at variance with Washington. But there was no bitlerness. He and Mason re- mained friends while they both lived, and to Henry as President he offered the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.” HE Fairfax County resolves, as they are gen- erally called, make a long document, con- sisting of 26 separate resolutions, of which the preamble and the first resolution are here given: “At a general meeting of the frecholders and other inhabitants of the County of Fairfax, at the court house, in the town of Alexandria, on Monday, the 18th day of July, 1774, “George Washington, Esq., chairman, and Rob rt Harrison, gentleman, clerk: “1. Resolved, That this colony and Dominfon of Virginia cannot be considered as a conquered country, and, if it was, that the present in- habitants are not of the conquered, but of the conquerors. That the same was not settled at the national expense of England, but at the private expense of the adventurers, our ancestors, by solemn compact with, and under the auspices and protection of, the British crown, upon which we are in every respect as dependent as the people of Great Britain, and in the same manner subject to all his majesty’s just, legal and constitutional prerogatives; that our ancestors, when they left their native land and settled in America, brought with them, even if the same had not been confirmed by char- ters, the civil constitution and form of gov- ernment of the country they came from and were by the laws of nature and nations en- titled to all its privileges, ymmunities and ad- vantages, which have descended to us, their posterity, and ought of right to be as fully enjoyed as if we had still continued within the reaim of England.” Who were the “freeholders and other in- habitants of the County of Fairfax” who met in Alexandria on Monday, July 17, 1774? This is, indeed, a question the writer would like to be able to answer, especially for the benefit of the descendants of those sturdy patriots who now live within the boundaries of what was then Fairfax Ccunty. But the only names forming a part of this famous document are those appearing in resolution No. 25, and they are: “George Washington, John West, George Mason, William Ramsay, William Rumney, George Gilpin, Rob. Hanson Harrison, John Carlyle, Robert Adam, John Dalton, Philip Alexander, James Kirk, William Brown, Charles Broadwater, William Payne, Martin Cockburn, Lee Massey, William Hartshorne, Thomas Trip- let, Charles Alexander, Thomas Pollard, Towns- hend Dade, jr., Edward Payne, Henry Gunnell and Thomas Lewis.” THE nearest published list of the inhabitants of Fairfax County to 1774, the date of the meeting called to consider the “resolves,” is that of 1782 and includes ever so many family names still familiar in the northern part of Virginia, a few of which are: Adams, Anderson, Balil, Blake, Bowling, Baker, Bradley, Darne, Donald- son, Dublin, Earp, Edwards, Frizell, Follen, Gunnell, Goldup, Harle, Hollinsberry, Hurst, Hunter, Hopkins, Jeakins, Self, Jackson, Walk~ er, Lee, Mattenly, Magruder, Minor, Moore, Moxley, Owens, Pipes, Payne, Robertson, Rich- ards, Rucksley, Sand, Shortridge, Swain, Scott, Sutton, Simpson, Swink, Smith, Trammell, Thrift, Turberville, Thomas, Wren, Williams, Whittle, Huzy. According to this enumeration there were then living at Mount Vernon 30 white persons and 188 slaves, and there were 39 dwellings there on the place and 21 other buildings. Washington's friend, George Mason, at Guns- ton Hall, had on his plantation 18 white per- sons, 1 dwelling, 30 other buildings and 38 slaves, while Bryan Fairfax had but 1 dwelling and owned 10 slaves. William B. G. Fitzhugh was the next largest slave owner in this county % Gen. Washington, having in all 122 With what luxury these people must have THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, APRIL 27 1930. s e o been surrounded! We, who live in the year 1930, no doubt often think how very far ahead we are of those who lived 100 or 150 years ago, but really, the man with money today can obtain a very little bit, if any, more pleasure and com- fort than could the wealthy planters of old Vir- ginia. Indeed, one can easily imagine this, after seeing some of the old Colonial mansions like Mount Vernon and Gunston Hall, the latter built by Col. Mason shortly after he married Anne Eilbeck, doughter of William Eilbeck of Charles County, Md., in 1750. Undoubtedly, #s one of the indirect results of the Civil War, this old mansion was allowed to become greatiy run down, and in this condi- sold to ' dramatist and author, Paul Kester. At somc !'w: after it had gone out of the hands of i*2z Mason family its restorers made additions, bui /% is about the most nearly intact old hoge in ihis part of the country, and is, indeed, most luscinating to the lover of Colonial Virginia. Hlltx visited many of America's great including Washington, Jefferson and fayette, and here lies close by all that is mortal of the patriot, George Mason, who helped form the Constitution of the United States, but who, 3 (;rm‘vs in Pohick Churchyard. The iron fence is of unexcelled workmanship. were around it, while Washington and others advocated a more central and convenient one. The question was left unsettled and another meeting for its decision appointed. Meanwhile Washington surveyed the neighborhood, and marked the houses and distances on a well drawn map and, when the day of decision ar- rived, met all the arguments of his opponent by presenting this paper, and thus carried his point. In place of any description of this house in its past or present condition, I offer the following report of a visit made to it in 1837: “‘My next visit was to Pohick Church, in the vicinity of Mount Vernon, the seat of Gen. Washington. 1 designed to perform service there on Saturday as well as Sunday, but through some mistake no notice was given for the former day. The weather, indeed, was such as to prevent the assembling of any but those who prize such occasions so much as to be deterred only by very strong considerations. “‘It was still raining when I approached the house, and found no one there. The wide< open doors invited me to enter—as they do in- vite, day and night, through the year, not only the passing traveler, but every beast of the fieild and fowl of the air. These latter, however, seem to have reverenced the house of God, since few marks of their pollution are to be seen throughout 6. The interior of the house, having been well built, is stiil good. The chancel, communion table and tables of the law, etc., are still there and in good order Gunston Hall in George Mason’s time. like Patrick Henry, was conscientious enough to oppose its ratification because he felt it did not go far enough in the interest of the people. He urged the election of the President for a term of seven years, with ineligibility after- ward, together with wise conditions, which seem to be more and more desirable as time goes on. Like Washington, he sought no reward for his services, and even after being elected as the first Senator from Virginia, declined to serve. His grave remained unmarked for 77 years, until 1869, when the Sons of the Revolution marked his resting place with a granite shaft. Between Gunston Hall and Mount Vernon is old Pohick Church, or Mount Vernon Church, as it was called at an early period, erected in 1773. George Mason was a vestryman. Washington's part in founding this church has been well told by Bishop Meade, and as so many Washingtonians and visitors wander down that way, and even more will come year after next, the writer believes that what this divine has sald might well be repeated hfre as a bit of valuable and authentic history. The bishop says: “The old Pohick Church was a frame building and occupied a site on the south side of Pohick Run, and about 2 miles from the present, which is on the north side of the run. When it was no longer fit for use, it is said the parishioners were called together to determine on the lo- cality of the pew church, when old Mr. Mason (probably father of George Mason, the com- patriot of Washington) advocated the old site, pleading that it was the house in which their fathers worshiped, and that the graves of many ing the lofty pulpit, forbear to ask, “And is this the house of God which was built by the Washingtons, the Masons, the McCartys, the Grahams, the Lewises, the Fairfaxes?—the names are yet to be seen on the doors of those now deserted pews? Is this also destined to moulder piecemeal away, or, when some signal is given, to become the prey of spoilers, and to be carried hither and thither and applied to every purpose under heaven?” “‘Surely patriotism, eor reverence for the greatest of patriots, if not religion, might be effectually appealed to in behalf of this one temple of God. The particular location of it is to be ascribed to Washington, who, being an active member of the vestry when it was under consideration and in dispute where it should be placed, carefully surveyed the whole parish and, drawing an accurate and hand- some map of it with his own hand, showed clearly where the claims of justice and the interests of religion required its erection.” “It was to this church that Washingten for some years regularly repaired, at a distance of 9 e e = 6 or 7 miles, never permitting any company to prevent the regular observance of the Lords day. And shall it now be permitted to sink into ruin for want of a few hundred dollars to arrest the decay already begun?” IT is too bad that this good old bishop could not have lived long enough to see this sacred house of God put in good repair as it is at present, through the excellent work being care ried on throughout the country by the Daughe ters of the American Revolution. Several years ago the writer got an early start one Sabbath morning, and, together with his good wife, drove down to this historic old church and attended the religious service. He felt fully repaid for any trouble he might have put himself to. A few days ago he made an- other pilgrimage to this sacred and holy spot for the purpose of securing a good photograph or two and to look over the old tombstones, only a few of which are left. One large stone close to the church, surrounded by a wrought- iron fence of exquisite design, has a queer story attached to the one who lies beneath it. It is the grave of Susanna Mills, and the story is to the effect that, either from jealousy or some other cause, she warned her husband, be- fore passing away, that if he ever remarried or did anything els- to displease her when she was gone she would surely come back and haunt him. When she died she was buried somewhere in Alexandria, where her husband was a mer- chant, and her earthly consort proceeded to do the very things he had been warned not to do, with the result that the departed returned, as promised, naturaily to his great distress, when he decided to remove her remains to Pohick Church to avoid any further visits from her restless spirit. Whether she ever returned to bother him after the change was made mo one seems to know. The lettering on the stone, which is an un- usually large one, reads: “To the Memory of Mrs. Susanna Mills Wife of Mr. John Mills, 1774, Aged 39 Years. What'er she was forbear to say, 'Twill best be known om that great day. Where you and all and everyone Must give an account eof what they've dome; To say no more—she lived approved Died lament and beloved.” In the same inclosure are two other stomes, one erected to the memory of Elizabeth Massey, who was the wif: of the rector of the churel. It reads: . “In memory of Elizabeth Massey Wife of the Reverend Lee Massey Who departed this life the 3d of Feb. 1805, Aged 66 years, 3 months and 6 days.” The other one is brief and bears this simple inscription : “In memory of Jeremiah Bronaugh Who died the 11th of November 1749 Aged Forty Seven.” BAcxhtheerolthechuchm is another stone that has the bronze marker of Susan Riviere Hetsel Chapter, D. A. R. B is a flat marbie slab, placed there to mark the grave of a Revolutionary soldier, and reads es follows: Hospitals of the United States) Who died on the 11ith day of Jan'y. 1798 in the 44th year of his age This Tablet is inscribed by His affectionate and afflicted widow. His smeal & fidelity as a patriot, his patience, diligence & skill a8 a physician, his benevolence, courtesy & integrity as a mam Secured him the applause of his Country, The honor & emolu- ments of his Profession, the respect of the wealthy, and the veneration of the poor. Let the gratefulwitness of his virtues in domestic Life and that as a Husband, Father & Master he was tender, instructive & humane, that he lived without guile, and died without reproach.” Adjoining this is the grave of an Alexander, at an early date one of the largest holders of land in the northern part of Virginia. Im appearance it would strike one as being a very old stone, but apparently it is the more recemt of those copied. It reads: “In this spot rest the mortal remains of d Mrs. Susan P. Alexander + Consort of Wm. Discharge of every duty as & wife, a mother, and & friend and so with the graces of a meek and holy Spirit