Evening Star Newspaper, October 4, 1936, Page 58

< RESTORATION IS SUGGESTED Tradition Has Surrounded Island With Romantic Setting and Early American Leaders Gave Emphasis to Importance of Mason Family-Louis Philippe, Guest. By John Clagett Proctor. HAT a fine thing it would‘ be—the writer thought, as | he gazed at old Amlostnn] Island, from the Frmcis' Scott Key Bridge, a few years ago—if we could restore that island | to its former grandeur; to the n-; mosphere of that celebrated Mason | family of Virginia, the older members | of which have long since departed | from this world, but who have left| their impression indelibly fixed upon the scroll of history of this great and glorious Republic. Of course, the fact that it is planned to make it a shrine to the | memory of Theodore Roosevelt, and | has been renamed in his honor, must | be taken into consideration. But to| ghow respect to the Mason family | could never, in the least, detract from | or add to the esteem in which the{ late President is held, and it would, | unquestionably, greatly enhance the value of the shrine from every angle, besides restoring and preserving the building and grounds of the place as they existed in the early days of the Nation's Capital. H Indeed, there are many who can #till recall the more recent history of this old place, once the garden spot | of the Potomac, replete with events of three centuries—the seventeenth, | Maryland shore in 1748, and by this medium Gen. Braddock and the Brit- | ish army, including, of course, our own beloved crossed the Potomac River at this point when on their way to the Battle | very wise expression, that there was | aside as he walked up to the register | something wrong, and when he nve;nnd wrote in a plain, bold hand, Williamsburg, where Braddock and orders to the carpenter to build & ‘Carlos Savoy, Twickenham Park, of the Monongahela. his army arrived in two warships in | February, just before his famous de- | feat by the Indians, is being restored | to what it was in the Colonial and Revolutionary days, a very commend- able and worth-while thing to do; Mount Vernon Boulevard connects the | Capital with Mount Vernon and his- | toric places on the way: Fredericks- burg is not altogether being neglected | and some historic shrines throughout | Virginia and Maryland are being re- | stored, that the present generation, | and the generations to come, may | feast their eyes upon scenes made sacred by the pioneers of this coun- try; by those who helped to establish American independence, and by those | who have continued to preserve it to the present day. so. IT seems, in order to make & worthwhile job of Analostan | Island, or Roosevelt Island, such as| would receive the hearty approval of | Col. Roosevelt were he alive, the| old buildings which once stood on this estate should be again erected| just as they stood in bygone days—in- | deed, on the same foundations. if such are still in existence. And how in- | structive it would be to erect a build- | ing there in which to exhibit speci-| mens of the fauna and flora of the | island in Colonial days. For we are told it was once visited by deer, and that here could once be found land and water turtles, the muskrat, wild turkey, canvas-back duck, wild goose, the catbird, humming bird and many other forms of animal life, and Gen. | John Mason even did much to the | introduction and breeding of Merino | gheep on his estate—once equally well known as Mason's Island. Its vegeta- tion was profuse, and, in addition, its owner, up to 1816, cultivated a species of cotton for the use of his family, eaid to have been of the color of nankeen. The Indian quarry or workshop, where the aborigines shaped their {mplements of husbandry and war- fare, on the adjacent Virginia shore, could be restored as a typical ethno- logical exhibit of the days when the Potomac and its tributaries were flrsti explored. The “flat boat of rude construction, awkwardly impelled by an oar, placed | near each extremity,” which con- veyed the passengers between the island and the mainland, a distance of about 200 yards, might well again form a part of what was once a gen- tleman's Colonial home. Indeed, this early ferry, for that is all the flat- boat was, must have proved profit- able to Gen. Mason, for he rented it out for $700 a year—a good sum in those days, SOMEHOW, much of the glory of | the past is soon forgotten, and few | can realize that at one time this old | {sland, with its mansion, outbuildings, gardens, native and imported trees and shrubs, roads and winding walks, | second to none in this section of the | country, ever existed. Truly it is dif- | ficult to visualize the Southern hos- pitality once dispensed here. Mrs. William Thornton, wife of the archi- | tact of the Capitol, records that she | dined here in June, 1800, and was| forced to decline a similar invitation | the following month. Mrs. Samuel | Harrison Smith, wife of the publisher | of the National Intelligencer, also visited the Mason home in 1802, and at other times. | Later, writing from Brookfield, Md., under date of August, 1813, Mrs. Bmith referred to Mrs, Armistead Thomson Mason, then residing at | Analostan Island, saying: ‘Mrs. Gen. Mason, that lovely woman whom you know, is likewise lying dangerously 11l. Her husband was in the engage- ment and her anxiety has rendered & common fever dangerous.” The en- gagement referred to was the Baftle of Bladensburg, from which he was sble to get away intact, but was later killed in a duel, by John M. McCarty, his brother-in-law. They fought with muskets at six paces on the famous Bladensburg dueling grounds. In 1811 we find it recorded that Mrs. Mason gave a rural dance at the island to the friends and ac- quaintances of her son, on the eve of his departure for France, and that the young people danced on the lawn. “Tea, coffee, cakes, fresa and preserved fruits were presented to | the guests, who zat or walked about | conversing, or silently admiring | dances under the shade of the trees, | {lluminated by lamps which were half | obscured by the bright light of the | moon.” THIS, of course, is history. As to tradition (or fiction, if you wish to call it that), we have the in- teresting _story of the Strathmore family, as recorded in the diary of the Rev. Rufus K. Hartwood, snd ) | published in The Star of April 25, : heart could wish for. or, at least, thlt\ 1881, which goes like this: “Toward the close of the last cen- tury there arrived in Georgetown, per schooner Albatross from Liveroool, an English gentleman, accompanied by his wife and two daughters. He was unknown here, and from his reticent manner it was evident he did not care about forming new acquaintances. Arrivals from abroad were not as frequent then as now and people of an inquisitive nature were considerably disappointed at not being able to learn something of his | history. “About a month after his arrival he purchased the property now known as Analostan Island, and during the six months that followed it was the scene of wonderful transformations. Vessels were dispatched for lumber, upon the arrival of which building commenced at once. Men were put to work clearing the wild growtn of timber, laying out walks and drives, digging a well and cistern, making an ice house, a landing for boats and such other improvements as the owner desired. “The latter part of November Mr Strathmore and family took posses- sion of their beautiful home. The dwelling—a two-story frame—was situated in the center of the island, facing Georgetown. from England. * * * “Of course, this sudden and seem- ingly extravagant expenditure of so George Washington, | much money was the topic of general | Indian, with every indication of Her- comment. Some remarked, with a board fence, 12 feet high, close It contained 14| eighteenth and nineteenth; for history | jarge rooms, quite a number of which | but one passenger, & man not more records that George Mason established | were magnificently fitted up With | than 30, of fair complexion, golden a ferry between this island and the|fyrpjture and works of art imported | curly hair, heavy mustache, merry money could command. "JUDGXNG from his appearance, he was & man about 65 years of age, tall and well proportioned, with fine | features, straight hair and full béard, slightly gray. His wife was probably not over 50; a handsome, matronly brunette, upon whom time and the cares of life evidently had rested lightly. “Their youngest child, a girl of per- haps 15, a very pretty little blond, seemed to be the pet of the family and a great favorite in the household. Eileen, the oldest daughter, 25 years of age, was, unquestionably, the most beautiful woman that ever visited this part of our land. * * ¢ “One evening in the early part of | December a crowd of men were sitting in the little tavern in Georgetown, | awaiting the arrival of the Baltimore | stage coach. As usual, their conver- sation was confined to the current | subject—the Strathmores. Each one in his turn had some startling piece of neiws as to what had transpired | lately on the island. One man was | relating what Mrs. So-and-So had | heard from somebody’s servant, who | was well acquainted with the man }who helped build Mr. Strathmore's | ferry boat. “When the coach arrived, there was | blue eyes with long lashes, exquisitely | curved eyebrows, and in stature above the medium height, erect as an | culean strength. The people stepped | England.” An outbuildi:g on Analostan Island, showing Georgetown in the distance. he knew of any one who understood the Indian langusge, as spoken by a tribe called the Analostans, and upon being informed that he had a half breed in his employ who often acted as interpreter, Mr. Savoy con- tinued: “‘Can I see him tonight?’ “‘Sartinly you kin; I'll go and call him’ and with that the pro- prietor bowed himself out of the dooe®' e “DURING the 10 days that fol- lowed, Mr. Savoy remained at his guest, after locking the door, drew & chair close to his and in a low tone inquired: ‘Can you keep & secret?” “‘I reckon I kin if I choose.” “‘Suppose I was to loan you 100 pounds, without security, for an in- definite period, would that strengthen your resolution to keep my se- cret? s o o “‘I swar,’ replied the landlord, clapping his right hand over his heart, and holding the left high in the air. “‘Now,’ continued Mr. Savoy, ‘tell me, first, is there a minister or priest between here and Alexandria, near the hotel, talking with no one and ex- | the main road?’ hibiting no interest in any thing or ! “‘None that I knows of, ‘cept the Crowning the Queen of Love and Beauty on Analostan Island, about 1875. around the entire island, with only one gate near the boat landing, the majority of those who had been in doubt regarding his character decided at once that he was a criminal of some kind. “Occasionally Mr. S. accompanied by some of his family, would drive in | Virginia, but never this side of the river. That he was wealthy no one could contradict. His horses and yacht were the fastest in the country, and his retinue of servanis (most of whom he sent to England for) supe- rior to any ever introduced here; in fact, he seemed to possess everything “After supper he remarked to the landlord: “‘I understand s gentleman by the name of Strathmore has purchased | property in your neighborhood. Can you tell me where it is situated, and | the nearest road by which I can reach it “The landlord answered his ques- tion, delighted at .the thought that at last he had met some one who could and would give him reliable information regarding the owner of the isle . % ““After the guests had all retired that night, he inquired of the landlord if any person except the interpreter. In company with him he would drive to the Indian camp every night, often not returning until nearly daybreak. The afternoon of the eleventh day an Indian sauntered into the hotel and inquired for the half-breed, Who‘l after a few words with him, took him to the Englishman's apartments. “That night was one probably never forgotten by the old residents of Georgetown. Soon after dark a serv- ant informed the landlord that Mr. Savoy wished to see him in his room. Upon entering he was requested to take a seat near the fireplace, while one to Falls Church, a leetle mor'n 5 miles outer your way.' “‘Very well. I want a earriage, the best you have, with two of your fastest horses, to meet me at precisely 11 o'clock tonight on the opposite side of the river, at the little blacksmith shop. Don't let the driver come a minute before the time. I will be there with a lady. I shall then drive to the church, and from there to Alexandria, where you can send for your team tomorrow. Can I depend upon you?" “‘You sartinly kin, stranger, but you haint tole me that ar secret vet.' Ls The Mason Home, erected on Analostan Island prior to 1800, From a water color owned by the family of Mrs, S. Cooper Dawson. “‘My good man, you have heard all the secret I care to tell you. See that you keep your word to me, and here the proof that I will keep mine, and Mr. Savoy took from his valise the promised £100 and handed it to him. AT EXACTLY 11 o'clock the car- riage was at the blacksmith shop, and so were Eileen Strathmore and Carlos Savoy. They drove to the rector's house, near the old church, were married, and then proceeded to Alexandria, where a vessel was wait- ing to take them to Boston. “Just before daylight, the ery of fire was heard coming across the river, and the people on this side soon be- held a sight never before or since seen | there. Every building and the fence were in a blaze. Boats were at once filled with strong, brave men, who, upon reaching the island, used every effort to extinguish the flames, but | without success. “From the half-breed it was learned that Mr. Savoy had employed an Indian to deliver a letter to Miss Eileen. He was to bring an answer, but he failed to return. A second messenger was sent by the chief, and he also never was seen again. A third | was dispatched and so on until nine | had gone, and none came back: when | the chief himself found a way to deliver a note, and returned with a reply, unseen, in safety. They now had their revenge. Nine of their best | warriors had been killed by, or| through the orders of, Mr. Strathmore. | To burn him out seemed to them their | duty, and they did it. The family | remained in Georgetown until the island was sold, when they returned | to England.” “From Mr, Hartwood's diary,” con- tinues the story, “I find that several | vears before Mr. Strathmore came to | this country his daughter Eileen was engaged to Mr. Savoy, the only son of | a wealthy London banker. But a few | weeks before the marriage was to | have taken place Mr. Strathmore be- | came insane upon the one subject.! His mania was that she should marry | | & member of the royal family or re- main single. He would not listen to reason and his physicians advised him to travel. This he did, pleased with | the idea that he had broken off the engagement forever.” Tlfl Masons early gave up their residence on the island, due, we are told, to the unhealthy conditions on the place, resulting from the con- struction there of a causeway, which Warden says, in his description of the District of Columbia, printed in 1816, was erected by the Government for the purpose of stopping the current on this side of the island and thereby | increasing the depth of the water in the Georgetown channel. This cur- rent, according to the author, was considerably deepened in 1784 by the passage of an immense quantity of ice which flowed down the river after a sudden thaw. Not only did the causeway prove a decided failure, but it resulted in the forming of marshes around the island, where clouds of mosquitoes found it Just to their liking, but during certain seasons of the year living there was almost impossible, and in time Gen. Mason was forced to build a residence elsewhere, In 1834 W. W. Corcoran advertised the property for rent in the National | Intelligencer of September 15. During the same year, on July 4, there was a grand balloon ascension at “Analostan Gardens,” and an ampitheater to ac- commodate between 6,000 and 7,000 persons were erected. Nicholas J. Ash ascended in the balloon, which was of variegated silk, and a band of music was on hand to enliven the occasion. In 1842 the estate was transferred to John Carter, and William A. Brad- | ley, Mayor of Washington, 1834-5, be- came the owner in 1851. Very likely the former mayor bought the property for speculative purposes, for a year later we find printed in “The George- | town Advocate” the following state- ment regurding the property: “The island contains upward of 100 acres. The western part forms | the regular graduation to ‘Back River,’ formerly an arm of the Potomac River. * * * The permanent stone dam con- necting the island with the Virginia shore, erected at & cost of $30,000 or more, protects eventually ‘Back River'.” However, Mr. Bradley did not die until August 28, 1867, and was still possessed of the property up to that time. The deed for the property to Mr. Bradley, according to Miss Maud Burr Morris, describes it as “all that tract called Analostan Island lying in the Potomac River opposite George- town and originally patented by Charles Lord Baron of Baltimore, to Randolph Brunett in 1682, for 175 years, and conveyed by Francis Ham- mersley to George Mason in 1777, and devised by him to his son, John Mason, and conveyed by Richard Smith, trustee, to John Carter in 1842." John Marbury, executor of John Carter, conveyed to Bradley. MAYOR BRADLEY was one of the founders of The Association of the Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia and a vice president, and on October 3, 1866, the members of the associat®n were his guests at the | island, and subsequent to his death, the association held outings upon several occasions. Just whether the old mansion was still standing in 1866. is uncertain, though it is au- thoritatively stated to have been totally destroyed by fire in 1869. Dur- ing the Civil War, the First District of Columbia Volunteers (colored troops) were encamped there, and it | does seem quite likely—unless there is proof to the contrary—that it was destroyed about this time. From 1870, and until about 1892, the island was used for all kinds of sports, for picnics, entertainments, fairs, tilting parties and the like, and at one time the Columbia Athletic Club had the place covered with its ball flelds, tennis courts, running tracks, grandstand, and all the para- phernalia incident to out-of-door sports. When it was compelled to give THOSE WERE THE A\ X e VISIT OF ¥ 4 CHAMPION- SHIP TEAM YO WASHINGTON~ I869, YHE NATIONALS AND CINCINNATI RED STOCKINGS WITH “THE FAMOOS ACE PITCHING FOR THE'REDS] ASA U '1) GRAINARD, AO05-11-N.We Joun OLeARY, ROP WHERE SPoESMEN MEET Scone, Wi 5 MAGINE HUBBEL HAPPY DAYS! CRRL oLD “DEACON™ ROGERS, MATY YOoRSTON, 1M CREIGH~ ToN oR PABO * AWAY BACK N WHEN “THE FIRST GRAMES WAS S g:.v— 20" MONEY WAS SPECTATORS. OF “THREE CLAYED ON AND GATE REQUIRED OF =3 \858, SERIES 2 BEFORE A CROWD OF \,500 RABID FANS, NEW YorK AND BGROOKLYN BATTLED " AT “THE VASH\ON RACE 7 COULRSE,, LONG \SLAND, 'SCORE N.Y. 22- BROOKLYN-18 « “That Old Ball Game” —Bv Dick Mansfield O ST THROUGH or LISTEN NIA ADio To A QGAME LIKE ) THIS , ULY 22ZNo- 1867, WASH.NATIONALS 13- =Llovis, UNIONS,, 2@5,1:4979‘;' 0 DEFEATED THE EMPIRES- G372 MEMORY # se"™ RUYTA, PI\TCAING LONG— EST WORLO SERIES GAME ON REcOorRD ~— ) 4- INNINGS — AGAINS v S Herroo SMITH, BRooKIYN,| OCT. 91916 = Score: BOSTON- 2 LYN= \ WHAT D0 You REMEMSERS ANSWER TO LAST w::g, RUESTION, HAT BIG FIRE OCCURRED AT 3RO &7 STS. N.E. SUNE\O- | \@o4 2 ANSWER, ~— HE BORNING OF THE FAMous § GALES MANSION AND ECK- {NGTON HOTEL. IWHERE EXYT WEE WAS EAG'fg’flm.K? there | | up the island in 1892, it moved to the Van Ness property, where is now the Pan-American Union Building, Seve enteenth street and Constitution ave- nue. Within the memory of many old residents there were a number of buildings at one time on Analostan | Island, including the mansion house | of John Mason, his outbuildings and | slave quarters, and about every luxury | and convenience a member of one of | the first families of Virginia could wish for. The owner was a man of consider- able standing and prominence in the community, and the son of George Mason of Gunston Hall, who, a month before the first Continental Congress met, had his Pairfax County resolves indorsed and approved at a meeting over which Washlngton presided, and who soon thereafter prepared the Vir- ginia constitution, with a bill of rights at its front, it being the first con- | stitution ever written containing a complete system of government. This patriotic document was adopted June 12, 1776, almost a month before the signing of the Declaration of Inde- | pendence, to which there is admittedi} some similarity. In 1793, Gen. Mason became an incorporator of the old Bank of Co- lumbia, at first located at the north- east corner of Twenty-ninth and M streets, and 11 years later on the north side of M street between Wis- consin avenue and Thirty-fourth streets. Later he served as president |of this bank, succeeding Benjamin | Stoddert when the latter became the first Secretary of the Navy in the cabinet of President John Adams. N 1802 President Jeflerson ap- pointed him brigadier general of the militia of the District of Colum- | bia, in which office he served until 1811, when he resigned. In 1815 when Henry Foxall decided to return to England to live, Gen. Mason pur- | chased his iron foundry and operated it for a number of years. He was also active in other directions, and at one time was a member of the firm of Fenwick, Mason & Co., merchants, Joseph Fenwick being in charge of the business at Bordeaux France, and Mason managing the Georgetown house. Just what important part, if any Gen. Mason played in the War of 1812 we do not know, but it is evident he be- lieved, as s0 many did, who fought in the Battle of Bladensburg, that “he who fights and runs away, ma: live to fight another day,” for we find the President retiring “from the mor- | tifying scene * * * on horceback, ac- companied by Gen. Mason and Mr | Carroll.” We also find it stated that on the 24th of August, President Adams, Mr. Jones_ then Secretary of the Navv; Gen. Mason of Analostan Island, Mr. Charles Carroll of Belle- vue and Mr. Tench Ringgold took pains to view the burning of Wash- ington at a safe distance, Gen. Mason had a host of friend- and admirers, and since he was fond of compeny, many were the gay par- ties held at his island home. Un- doubtedly Gen. Washington stepped in to say a word when he was taking the ferry over the river, and Thomas Jefferson purposely stopped in occa- sionally to talk matters over, when arranging for the seat of government Another of the many distinguished visitors to come to the island, at a v early date, was Louis Philippe | who left France, his native country when so many heads were being chopped off with the guillotine, in- cluding that of his own father, the Duke of Orleans, the richest man in Europe and chiefly noted for his reckless dissipation. Louis Philippe landed at Philadelphia after a most | harrowing experience, evading those who relentlessly sought him for the sole purpose of decapitation. Born of a father of boundless wealth, who embraced the infidel philosophy, King Louis, however, had the good fortune of having a mother noted for her piety and virtues and | who secured for him as tutor the cel- ebrated Mme. de Genlis, whose teaching, if religiously followed today, especially in the primary instruction of our youths, would unquestionably produce valuable results. Maggot Remedy Perfected. 'HE employment of maggots in the treatment of human afflictions is widely practiced now. This curing factor is an excretion of maggots known as allantoin. Means have been | perfected now to produce this sube stance without resort to maggots. All maggots, however, are not pos- sessed of this curative property. In fact, many are harmful to human beings and are the object of consid- erable concern on occasions. | For instance, the maggots of several | species of flies such as the flesh flies, the rat-tailed maggot and the little house fly enter the human system through food and cause severe intes- tinal pain. Then there is the nose bot fly which normally affects the sinuses of sheep and goats. They sometimes fly against the eyes of humans depositing eggs in the eye at the time of contact | with the maggots developing if the eye is not thoroughly cleaned. In the temperate sections of the country the larvae of parasitic flies often are deposited particularly on children. - The larvae burrow beneath the skin and produce boil-like erup- tions which clear up quickly, once the maggots are removed. 4