Evening Star Newspaper, September 27, 1931, Page 75

#o this conclusion is the fact that John T. Frost and S. Birch endeavored, in 1814, to save the archives of the House of Representatives by storing them in “the house commonly called General Washington.” It would, indeed, seem quite logical that Frost would have taken the records to his own home for safekeeping. Inci- dentally, John T. Frost remained for many years as a clerk in the office of the House of Representatives, and his name appears in the city directory at least until 1843, when he was residing on the east side of New Jersey- avenue, between A snd B streets, now the site of the House Office Building. In 1817 the ruins were sold by George C. Washington, a grandnephew of the first Pres- ident, as trustee, to David English and W. S. Nichols, and soon afterward the forxer sold his interest to Peter Morte, who used the same walls in rebuilding the houses. In 1819, the tax ass’>ssment was made in the name of Nichols alone, and the assessment for 1824 zppears in the same nam-. ROM this fact it would appear that when Capt. Charles Le Compte Nevitte, father of Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth, lived in one of these houses, where the celebrated novelist wss born December 26, 1819, that he was boarding there. aithough the captain may have been running the boarding house himself. Referring to her birthplac>, Mrs. Southworth once said: “Here I was born in the very room designed to be tenanted by Gen. George Washington. “I was a child of sorrow from the very first year of my life. Thin and dark, I had no beauty except a pair of large, wild eyes—but even this was destined to be tarnished. At 12 months I wzs attacked by an inflammation of the eves that ended in total blindness—though happily temporary. Thus it was, my first view of life was through a dim, mysterious cathedral light in which every objsct in the world looked larger, vaguer, more distant and more impos- ing th3n it really was. “Among the friends around me, the imposing form and sympathetic face of my dear grand- mother made the deepest impression.” Mrs. Southworth’s mother, Susannah Wailes was the second wife of Capt. Nevitte, and was but 15 years of age when they were married; he being 45. About this period Gen. Henry Dearborn made his home in this fashionable boardire house. It may have been even earlier, or when he was, from 1801 to 1809, Secretary of War in the cabinet of Thomas Jefferson. This dis- tinguished American had served as captain in the Revolutionary War, and covered the retreat of the patriots at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He later came to Congress and in 1812 was ap- pointed senior major general in the United States Army, and rendered valuable service in the second war with Great Britain. In 1834 and again in 1839 this property was assessed in the name of Charles Wilkes, at that time commander in the united States Navy, who resided here, according to the city direc- tories, from 1843 to 1850. ANY will recall these buildings as the ones incorporated into the Hiliman House, which, in 1878, was being conducted by N. T. Judd and from 1879, for a decade or more by N. J. Hiliman, who, in 1885, advertised: “¢ * * one square from the Capitol and Baltimore & Ohlo depot, terms per day $2.50, $2 and $1.50, according to location of rooms, . 226 N. Cap.” Later the Hillman House became “the Ken- more,” and it was here that a famous homicide occurred in which a Georgetown University law ' student was killed by a married woman who made her getaway down the fire escape, and when smpprehended, was tried and acquitted. Later it became the Hotel Burton. A bronze tablet has been prepared to mark the site of the Washington houses, and the architect of the Capitol, David Lynn, has ies proper installation under consideration. Speaking of these houses which are no longer, reminds the writer that there are but two build- ings standing today occupied by Washington as & residence. Of course, there were many places he surely stopped for a day or so, and there are places standing today used by him as his headquarters during the Revolutionary War— the one at Chadd's Ford, near West Chester, Pa., being destroyed only within the last few days. But besides Mount Vernon, there is but one building standing today that was used for any considerable time by the illustrious Father of His Country, and maybe, in view ‘of the forth- coming Bicentennial of the birth of the first President, it might be interesting to say some- . thing of this other “Home, Sweet Home,” even if we do have to go outside of Washington for our story, for, after all, Washington spent but little of his time in the District of Columbia, and rarely came here except when business required his presence or in passing tihrough the Fedéral territory on his way north. Not that his attachment for the District was not very strong, for, after all, it was largely due to him that the site was selected for the National Capital. JNDEED, it was upon one of these trips, late in 1793, when Washington—then President— was returning to Philadelphia to be on hand at the opening of the first session of the Third Congress, December 2 of that year, that he rented, as a precautionary measure, what is usually, but inappropriately referred to as the Morris-Perot house, but which should more correctly be called the Deshler-Franks resi- dence, for the reason that it was built in 1772 by David Deshler and rented to the President by its then owner, Isaac Franks. The Perots did not come into the possession of the house until after the death of Gen. Washington, and Morris not until even later. This house, still standing at 5442 German- town road, now Main street, Philadelphia, is in excellent condition and a beautiful piece of colonial architecture, and as late as 1912 was owned by Elliston Perot Morris, it having been in his family from 1804, when it was purchased by Elliston and John Perot. Washington had very good reasons for rent- ing this house, for from the middle of August, 1793, yeliow fever had been raging in Phila- delphia, and the President’s residence being in the downtown part of the city, where the .the war, THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGION, D. C, SEPTEMBER 27, 1931. The Deshler Franks House, Germantown, Pa., occupied b.y President Washing- ton during the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, 1793 to 1794. number of stricken persons was greatest, the Executive would naturally have been unduly exposed to the disease had he returned there at the commencement of Congress, which met for its first scssion that December, and for that reason he remained away.as long as he could. However, as the time approached when he would have.to be in Philadelphia he wrote to his Attorney General, Edmund Jennings Randolph: *“Time presses, and the malady, at the usual place of meeting, is becoming more and more alarming.” The President was averse toward accepting favors which might put him under obligations to any one, and this he in substance told the Attorney General. He said rather than accept such hospitality he would prefer engaging some rooms even in a. tavern if he could be retired in them. This was easier said than done, for while Washington was staying at a safe distance, at Mount Vernon, from the epidemic in -Phila~ delphia, the people of that city who had the means took up their residence elsewhere, and Germantown was particularly crowded at the time Washington was seeking a healthy place near the Capital City in which to live. Since having purchased from the estate of David’ Deshler the residence on Germantown road Col. Isaac Franks had lived there with his wife and family. This officer of the American Revolution joined the Continental forces in June, 1776, and fought in Col. Lesher’s regiment in the battle of Long Island, that regiment having been annexed to the Army of the United States under the command of Gen. George Washing- ton. He was captured at Long Island and made his escape and again joined the Army, and in 1778 became forage master of the gar- rison at West Point, serving intil the close of His title of colonel was given him in 1794, when he was appointed lieutenant colonel of militia. ~ T the time Washington was looking for a residence in a healthy place near Phila- delphia he learned that his forage master, Col. Franks, had left his home in Germantown road and had gone with his family—for more per- fect safety—to Bethlehem to live. Through his secretary, the agent for the property was ap- proached, but Col. Franks was not inclined to rent the house furnished, and then the price did not suit, and beside, Col. Franks was not desirous of renting the house at all. Washington, however, was put to it, and the house suited him and was just what he wanted, and so he sent a personal note to the colonel requesting the privilege of renting the house, and the man who had followed his fortunes throughout the Revolutionary War could not longer turn to him a deaf ear. He immedi- ately hired a tea n of horses and, together with Mrs. Franks, drove to Germantown to put the house in condition for the President’s recep- tion. ¢ Isaac Franks was a Hebrew, and the son of Moses and Sarah Franks of New York, where he was born May 27, 1859. Naturally he had been brought up to strict business principles, and so we find him making an inventory of the furnishings of the house previous to the President moving in. Today this list comes in very handy with those who seek to know the furnishings of a near Colonial home, and, as copled from the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, is-as follows: “Pirst right-hand room—Curtains, 2 blinds, 2 winer blinds, do., do. curtains, one looking glass, 6 chairs with chintz bottoms, 1 lcoking glass, 1 dining table, 1 breakfast table, 1 open stove, 1 pair of plated candlesticks, double set of Nankin china, 72 pieces; 1 large waiter, 1 large waiter, 1 pair hand iroms, shovel and tongs, 1 plated goblet pint cup with 2 handies 2 large pictures. “Pirst left-hand room—2 chintz window curtains, 1 green blinds, 1 looking glass, 2 ger- Col. Isaac Franks, a revolutionary patriot, who rented his Germantown, Pa., residence to President Washington, during the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, 1793 to 1794. - andoles, 1 dining table, 2 mahogany armchairs, 8 mahogany stuffed bottom chairs, 1 peir large hand irons, shovel and tongs, 2 gerandoles, 4 pictures, 1 pair plated candlesticks, 1 set mantel china, 82 rails, 15 posts. “In the back room adjoining—1 C. table, 4 window chairs, 2 small pictures. China in the closet: 9 china plates, 2 plates, sauce boats and china chocolate pot; 1 plated castor, 1 large china tureen, 1 china punch bowl, 1 china sugar dish, 1 pair of hand irons, shovel and tongs (brass). “In the first kitchen—1 English guttered gridiron, 3 flat brass candlesticks, 1 spit, 1 flesh fork, 1 egg slice, 1 cullender, 3 iron ladles, 1 iron ladle and dredging box, 2 funnels, 2 grat- ers, 1 pair of snuffers, 1 quart tankard, 1 pint mug, 9 flat irons and stand, 1 cheese toaster, 1 iron fcrk, large; 3 patty pans. “Upstairs, in the bed chamber on the right hand—1 bedstead and curtains, one bed bols- ter and pillows, 2 blankets, a green rug and a white counterpane, 1 looking glass, 1 bureau Thallium, Rare Element, Finds Wide Use THALL!UM is one of the rarer elements which so far has taken no great part in industry, yet the application which it has had has been over a great field, varying from use in an alloy resistant to the corrosive action of sulphuric, nitric and hydrochloric acids, to use in a remedy for certain kinds of tuberculosis and ringworm, from use as a depilatory and an _ eradicator to use in a thermometer. Because development of thallium for com- mercial purposes has been slow, its production is measured in pounds rather than in tons, and at its present- price of from $10 to $12 4 pound, it seems that a pound basis is less frightening financially. Physically it closely resembles lead, and .in its chemical properties it is much like the baser metal. Its bluish-gray tinge is paler than that of lead, although, like lead, it is of a bright, metallic luster when first cut. Exposure to air dulls this quickly, however. Being softer than lead it is easily cut with a knife and can be scored deeply with the finger nails. It is readily malleable and can be squeezed into a wire, although its lack of tenacity pre- yents its being drawn into wire. According to the Bureau of Mines there are no commercial ores of thallium, but it is found as a salt with other elements. Originally it was obtained from the flue dust of sulphuric acid plants which employ pyrites in the manu- facture of the acid. Now, however, it comes largely from the recovery of cadmium, which in turn is the by-product of other metal in- dustries. The most important commercial outlet of " thallium at present is in the preparation of poisons for rodents and insecticides for ants. The sulphate of thallium, being tasteless and odorless, is ideal for this use. Optical lenses of high refracting power are sometimes made in part of thallium because of its high refrac- tive power. . Thallium has also found some use in anti- knock compounds for internal combustion en- gines. A liguid amalgum containing 8.5 per cent of thallium has registeréd a temperature as low as minus 60 degrees. The discovery of thallium was an accident, as so many scientific discoveries are. A chemist named Crookes working in the Hartz Moun- tains was looking for tellurium when he dis- covered in the spectroscope a bright green line of an unknown element. To this he gave the name of thallium from the Latin word thallus, often used to describ§ the bright green of fresh vegetation in @pring. ,7i ——— 1 pair hand irons, shovel and tongs, table, 1 armchair, 4 chairs with covers, 1 mahogany chest and drawers, 1 1 chair and 2 benches and 1 tamil; & 1 picture, 1 coffee mill, & coffee pots, 1 tin, 1 china, 1 decanters, 9 elegant wine d saucers, 1 milk pot, 1 mus- 1 tin kettle with cover, 2 gravy tureens, 1 i $12 “for the hire of a ngi:t ‘tvo-hnrne wagon and driver for six days, at $2 per day, for conveying miyself and Mrs. house and furniture in a situation to accom- modate the President.” items of $18 for “expenses attending the jour- ney”; $12 “for the hire of beds, furniture, etc., to accommodate the family during the time.the President - occupied mine:” $10 for a trip he made to ascertain how long the President in- tended to keep the house; $2.50 paid for clean-~ ing the house “and putting it in ‘the same con- dition the President rec’d it in.” Added to this was a charge of $66.66 for two months’ house rent at the rate of $400 a year, making the entire bill $131.56. However, this amount, as small as it might seem today, was evidently disputed, since. the bill was not paid for nearly four months later, and them until it had been pared down to $75.56. Evidently no one got angry ¢« ment of the bill, for following year we who built the Arlington House. Evidently, Washington,” llb¢ Lincoin, was riage, or talking freely with them. Mrs. Wash- ington, too, was neighborly, and is recorded as having been seen leaning out of the Mttle window on the stair landing, talking to Mrs. Bringhurst, in the adjoining garden. Sir William Howe as his headquarters, and-here, it has been stated, he was visited William Henry, later King William land, but this is incorrect, since not enter the Navy until 1779, come to American watefs until New York Harbor with Admiral OL. ISAAC FRANKS, ton's landlord twice who married a British Army officer named Henry Johnson, was a first cousin, as was Miss Abagail Franks, who marriec®¥/illiam Hamilten of the Woodlands. A painting of Col. Franks by Gilbert Stuart hangs in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia. In June, 1782, we find Col. Franks asking for a furlough, and on July 9 following its granting he was married in the Swedes’ Church, Phila- delphia, to Mary, the daughter of Commodore Samuel Davison, whose other children included - John, Eleanor, who martied Alexander Nelson, and Robert. The issue of Col. Franks and his wife, Mary (Davison) Franks, included Samuel Davison Franks, a Pennsylvania judge, and major gen- eral of Militia in 1822, and Sarah Eliza Franks, who married John Huffnagle, and whose de- scendants are numerous. g ‘Theodore Franks, son of Judge Samuel D. Franks, became a clerk in the General Land Office here in 1860, and of his children, Mary married Willlam Wall, probably of the firm of A brother to Theodore Pranks, Richard In 1925 when the writer was motoring frem Toronto, Canada, to Washington he stopped long enough in Philadelphia to see the Dashler- Franks house in Main street—the White House upon two separate occasions during President