EEVERMAY, on Montgomery (28th) Street, is one of the show-places of Georgetown. Its fascinating garden is shown every spring for the benefit of Georgetown Children's House by its owner, the Honorable F. Lamot Belin, at one time Ambassador to Poland. He removed the cream-colored paint from the old house, revealing the lovely old-rose brick, and built the wall and the lodge at the gate when he bought the place in 1924. Evermay used to extend all the way down to Stoddert (Q) Street. The original boundary is the little old stone in the corner of the property of Mrs. Thomas Bradley on Q and 28th Streets.
EVERMAY, on Montgomery (28th) Street, is one of the show-places of Georgetown. Its fascinating garden is shown every spring for the benefit of Georgetown Children's House by its owner, the Honorable F. Lamot Belin, at one time Ambassador to Poland. He removed the cream-colored paint from the old house, revealing the lovely old-rose brick, and built the wall and the lodge at the gate when he bought the place in 1924. Evermay used to extend all the way down to Stoddert (Q) Street. The original boundary is the little old stone in the corner of the property of Mrs. Thomas Bradley on Q and 28th Streets.
Evermay was built by Samuel Davidson with proceeds from the sale of property to the United States government. This included land for the northern part of the "President's Square," (the David Burns-Davidson property line passing directly through the White House) and adjacent Federal property including Lafayette Park. He willed his estate to Lewis Grant, a nephew in Scotland, upon condition of his assuming the Davidson surname.
Samuel Davidson is buried in the portion of Oak Hill Cemetery which was formerly part of the estate. Mr. Davidson must have been rather a strange person; certainly he was determined not to be bothered by people, for this is the advertisement he published:
Evermay proclaims,Take care, enter not here,For punishment is ever near.Whereas, the height called Evermay, adjoining this town, is now completely enclosed with a good stone wall in part and a good post and rail fence thereto, this is to forewarn at their peril, all persons, of whatever age, color, or standing in society, from trespassing on the premises, in any manner, by day or by night; particularly all thieving knaves and idle vagabonds; all rambling parties; all assignation parties; all amorous bucks with their dorfies, and all sporting bucks with their dogs and guns.My man, Edward, who resides on the premises, has my positive orders to protect the same from all trespassers as far as in his power, with the aid of the following implements, placed in his hands for that purpose, if necessary, viz:—Law, when the party is worthy of that attention and proper testimony can be had, a good cudgel, tomahawk, cutlass, gun and blunderbuss, with powder, shot and bullets, steel traps and grass snakes.It is Edward's duty to obey my lawful commands. In so doing, on this occasion, I will defend him at all risques and hazards. For the information of those persons who may have real business on the premises, there is a good and convenient gate. But Mark! I do not admit mere curisoity an errand of business. Therefore, I beg and pray of all my neighbors to avoid Evermay as they would a den of devils, or rattle snakes, and thereby save themselves and me much vexation and trouble.June 2, 1810Samuel Davidson.
Evermay proclaims,Take care, enter not here,For punishment is ever near.
Whereas, the height called Evermay, adjoining this town, is now completely enclosed with a good stone wall in part and a good post and rail fence thereto, this is to forewarn at their peril, all persons, of whatever age, color, or standing in society, from trespassing on the premises, in any manner, by day or by night; particularly all thieving knaves and idle vagabonds; all rambling parties; all assignation parties; all amorous bucks with their dorfies, and all sporting bucks with their dogs and guns.
My man, Edward, who resides on the premises, has my positive orders to protect the same from all trespassers as far as in his power, with the aid of the following implements, placed in his hands for that purpose, if necessary, viz:—Law, when the party is worthy of that attention and proper testimony can be had, a good cudgel, tomahawk, cutlass, gun and blunderbuss, with powder, shot and bullets, steel traps and grass snakes.
It is Edward's duty to obey my lawful commands. In so doing, on this occasion, I will defend him at all risques and hazards. For the information of those persons who may have real business on the premises, there is a good and convenient gate. But Mark! I do not admit mere curisoity an errand of business. Therefore, I beg and pray of all my neighbors to avoid Evermay as they would a den of devils, or rattle snakes, and thereby save themselves and me much vexation and trouble.
June 2, 1810Samuel Davidson.
Lewis Grant's daughter married Charles Dodge, they being one of the four couples who had the very early morning wedding at Francis Dodge's home on the corner of Stoddert (Q) Street and Congress (31st) Street. Apropos of this there is a prized letter of four closely written pages from Charles Dodge to his father, announcing that he had reached the age of twenty-one and asking the parental gift of what might be "his due." He ended bysaying he "hoped he approved of his engaging in the estate of Holy Matrimony, for without that blissful comsummation his life would be void of happiness forevermore." His father's concise reply was in four lines: "Attend carefully whatever business you engage in, put off your marriage as long as possible, and get religion!"
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Dodge did not live always at Evermay. It was sold to Mr. John D. McPherson, and the Dodges went to live in the old frame house opposite the gate of Tudor Place.
For many years the McPhersons leased Evermay to Mr. William B. Orme and, certainly, during those years the spectre of the inhospitality of its first owner was laid, for the Ormes were noted for their delightful parties and there, too, were June weddings with charming brides.
One morning in 1905 a group of Georgetown ladies met at Evermay and formed a little literary club (which is still in existence) composed of thirty-five members. It still bears the name of The Evermay Club. It met there regularly once a month as long as it was the home of Mrs. Orme, but nowadays the club moves from house to house. One summer the Ormes rented Evermay to a Hawaiian princess, who enjoyed it with her family.
Just across the street from Evermay is what is known as Mackall Square. The old mansion sits so far back in the middle of the square and is so embowered in trees that it is not easily seen from either Montgomery (28th) or Greene (29th) Street. It is a simple and lovely colonial brick with old wooden additions on the back, and has been there a long, long time. But it is not the first house that was on that spot, for the one that was there was the framehouse which was moved over opposite the gate of Tudor Place.
Benjamin Mackall married a daughter of Brooke Beall, and with the money inherited from her father's estate they bought this property and built the house.
In 1821 a trust was placed on the property, and in the title is recorded "no encumbrance except a small wooden house in which Mrs. Margaret Beall now lives, in which she has her life interest."
Benjamin Mackall was a brother of Leonard Mackall. Their father owned large estates in Calvert and Prince Georges Counties in Maryland, and his products were sent to the Georgetown market; so it happened that his sons met the daughters of Brooke Beall, one of the important merchants shipping grain and tobacco to England.
This land was part of the Rock of Dumbarton, and Benjamin's wife was named Christiana. I wonder if by any chance they could have given her that name in commemoration of another Christiana who is spoken of in an old, old surveyor's book thus:
Surveyed for George Beall 18 January, 1720. Beginning at the bounded Red Oak standing at the end of N. N. W. tract of land called Rock of Dunbarton on the south side of a hill near the place where Christiana Gun was killed by the Indians.
Surveyed for George Beall 18 January, 1720. Beginning at the bounded Red Oak standing at the end of N. N. W. tract of land called Rock of Dunbarton on the south side of a hill near the place where Christiana Gun was killed by the Indians.
The Old Mackall HouseThe Old Mackall House
Louis Mackall, their son, was born in this house and inherited the place in 1839. He was a well-known physician, but a large part of his life was spent at the old country home of the Mackalls, Mattaponi, in Prince Georges County, and there his son, Louis, was born in 1831. His father brought him to Georgetown when he was under ten years of age, and entered him in Mr.Abbott's school, from whence he went to Georgetown College and Maryland Medical University. He established a large practice in Georgetown and married Margaret McVean. Their home was not here but on Dumbarton Avenue and Congress (31st) Street, and they had a son, again Louis, who also went into the medical profession.
This house was vacant when I was a girl and I remember very distinctly going to a dance there one heavenly moonlight night in June when it was loaned to the O. T. That was a little club of boys about my own age—"Only Ten"—but the meaning of the name was a secret then. During the next two years they followed the example of the I. K. T. by giving dances in Linthicum Hall during the Christmas holidays.
The I. K. T. was a group of boys two or three years older than the O. T. My brother was one of them, and when I asked him a year or two ago what the letters meant he said he couldn't tell; it was still a secret, like a fraternity. They had a pin somewhat like a fraternity pin. I still have the engraved invitations that both clubs sent out for their dances, with the names of the members underneath.
After having been vacant for years this place was bought by Mr. Hermann Hollerith in the early 1900's. He did not make his home here but built a house farther down on Greene (29th) Street, where his family still live. They continue to rent the old house. Hermann Hollerith was the inventor of the tabulating machine which is used by the International Business Machine Corporation, and his work was done in a little house down on Thomas Jefferson Street. His wife was Miss Lucia Talcott.
Immediately opposite the steps on Greene (29th) Streetwhich lead up to this dear old place are other high steps which lead to a place called Terrace Top. Here it was that in the winter of 1920-'21 two very charming people came to rest in what they considered the most attractive of American cities. They were Julia Marlowe and E. H. Sothern.
While they were here Miss Marlowe was honored by George Washington University at its one hundredth anniversary, on February twenty-second, by receiving the degree of D. D. L., a most unusual honor for a woman. This house is now the home of Mr. Herbert Elliston, editor of theWashington Post.
All of this land was still, of course, Beall property, and somehow it all seemed to pass down through the women, for the next place to the west originally belonged to Miss Eliza Beall, a daughter of Thomas Beall of George, who married George Corbin Washington, great-nephew of General Washington. He was a grandson of John Augustine Washington and Hannah Bushrod. He was president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, member of Congress from Maryland, and a prominent candidate for the Vice-Presidency at the time Winfield Scott was nominated for President.
Their son was the Lewis Washington who was living near Harper's Ferry at the time of John Brown's raid, and was taken prisoner by him and held as a hostage until released by Colonel Robert E. Lee and his United States troops when they arrived on the scene.
Miss Eleanor Ann Washington, the daughter of the house, was skilled in painting and did miniatures of her mother and of other members of her family. She alsoused to sketch in the beautiful woods north of her father's home, which soon after became Oak Hill Cemetery, and she was the first person to be buried in its grounds.
George Corbin Washington married a second time, a girl who had been almost like a daughter in his house, Ann Thomas Beall Peter, of whom his wife had been very fond. Both of the wives of George Corbin Washington were descended from the Reverend John Orme, a distinguished clergyman of Maryland in colonial days.
After the death of Mr. Washington the place was sold and became the home of Senator Jesse D. Bright, of Indiana, who was deprived of his seat in the Senate during the Civil War because of his sympathy with the South.
For a long time this place belonged to Columbus Alexander, but in recent years it has changed hands several times. It had been leased by the Honorable Dwight Morrow to be his home while Senator from New Jersey, but his sudden death the summer before of course changed that arrangement.
During World War II it was the home of General William (Wild Bill) Donovan, head of OSS, and is now the home of Mr. Philip Graham, publisher of theWashington Post.
All of this property of The Heights belonged, as I have said, to Thomas Beall, and after 1783 it was rapidly being "developed," as they say nowadays. It is interesting to follow out how it all happened and how relatives wished to live one another.
Directly across Washington (30th) Street, a large piece of land was sold by Thomas Beall in 1798 to William Craik, who was the son of that Dr. Craik who attendedGeneral Washington in his last illness. He evidently intended to build a home here, but Mrs. Craik died and he soon followed her. She was Miss Fitzhugh, a sister of Mrs. George Washington Parke Custis, of Arlington.
How I wish there were in existence a picture of the house which David Peter built in 1808 when he bought this piece of land. The house must have stood among handsome trees, for it was called Peter's Grove, and we can look at the oaks still standing in near-by places and visualize those which surrounded this house.
David Peter was a son of Robert Peter. He married Sarah Johns, and had two daughters and one son, Hamilton. After his death Mrs. David Peter married John Leonard, and the place was sold, in the thirties, to Colonel John Carter, Representative in Congress from South Carolina. His wife was Eleanor Marbury, one of that large family of girls in the old house on Bridge (M) Street. The house was then renamed Carolina Place.
For a while it was occupied by the Honorable John F. Crampton, Minister from England. It was during this time that a treaty was settled by him with Daniel Webster concerning the Newfoundland fisheries. A little later Count de Sartiges, the French Minister, lived here.
About that time the house was destroyed by fire and the land was sold by John Carter O'Neal, of the Inniskillen Dragoons, son of Anne Carter who had married an Englishman, to Henry D. Cooke.
The western part of this square was bought in 1805 by Mrs. Elisha O. Williams. She was Harriot Beall, daughter of Brooke Beall, the third of these sisters to settle on The Heights, and she also bought her home with money inherited from her father's estate.
Home Of Brooke WilliamsHome Of Brooke Williams
Six months after buying the property Mrs. Williams was left a widow. She built a home and lived there with her small children, and thirty years later gave the northern part of her land to her son, Brooke Williams and his wife, Rebecca. It was on the spot where the Home for the Blind now stands.
Mrs. Rebecca Williams was a very beautiful woman and all her children inherited her beauty. The daughter who was named Harriot Beall for her grandmother became the most famous girl who ever grew up in Georgetown. The romantic story of her marriage to Baron Bodisco, the Russian Minister, runs thus:
It all started with a Christmas party which the baron gave for his nephews, Waldemar and Boris Bodisco. To this party all of the boys and girls were invited, and great bonfires lighted the way, for there was little gas in those days.
It all started with a Christmas party which the baron gave for his nephews, Waldemar and Boris Bodisco. To this party all of the boys and girls were invited, and great bonfires lighted the way, for there was little gas in those days.
Among those who came was Harriot Beall Williams, the beautiful sixteen-year-old daughter of Brooke Williams, senior. Baron Bodisco, a bachelor of sixty-three, became completely enamored of Miss Williams that evening, and it is said that the next morning he walked up the hill to meet and escort her to school—the school, of course, being the same Seminary of Miss English.
My story is copied almost entirely from Miss Sally Somervell Mackall'sEarly Days of Washington, for nothing could improve on that:
Miss Williams' family were much opposed to the marriage, and at one time the engagement came near being broken. She told Mr. Bodisco that "her grandmother and everybody else thought he was entirely too old and ugly." His reply was that she might find someone younger and better looking, but no one who would love her better than he did.They were married in June, 1849, at four o'clock in the afternoon, at her mother's home on Georgetown Heights. Only the immediate relatives and the bridal party witnessed the ceremony, after which there was a brilliant reception. The wedding party formed a circle and just back of them on a sofa sat a row of aged ladies in lace-trimmed caps, among them her grandmother, Harriot Williams and her three sisters, Mrs. Benjamin Mackall, Mrs. William Stewart, senior, and their cousin, Mrs. Leonard Hollyday Johns, senior, all of whom were between seventy and eighty years of age.The mariage ceremony was performed by her cousin, Reverend Hollyday Johns, the second. Her trousseau came from abroad, and her bridal robe was a marvel of rich white satin and costly lace which fell in graceful folds around her; the low-cut dress showed to perfection her lovely white shoulders and neck. On her fair brow and golden hair was worn a coronet of rarest pearls, the gift of the groom. The effect was wonderfully brilliant. As her father was not living, her hand was given in marriage by Henry Clay.The groom wore his court dress of velvet and lace. All the bridesmaids, seven in number, were beautiful girls about her own age. Their gowns were figured white satin, cut low in the neck with short sleeves and trimmed with blond lace; their hair was simply dressed without ornaments. The bridesmaids were: her sister Gennie Williams, Sarah Johns, Jessie Benton, Ellen Carter, Eliza Jane Wilson, Emily Nichols, Mary Harry, and Helen Morris, daughter of Commodore Morris. Each bridesmaid was presented with a ring set with her favorite stone. The groomsmen were Henry Fox, the British Minister in scarlet court dress; Mr. Dunlop, Minister from Texas; Mr. Martineau, Minister from the Netherlands; Mr. Buchanan, who had been Minister to Russia, and was then Senator, and afterwards President of the United States; Baron Saruyse, the Austrian Minister; Martin Van Buren; Mr. Kemble Paulding, whose father was Secretary of the Navy at that time; Mr. Forsythe, whose father was Secretary of State. Each minister had his own carriage and attendants dressed in livery. Thehouse and grounds were thronged with noted guests, strolling amid sweet-scented flowers and lemon trees hanging with rich golden fruit.Among the distinguished guests were President Van Buren; Daniel Webster; all the Diplomatic Corps and a host of other notables, including James Gordon Bennett ofThe New York Herald.The bride was taken to her new home in Mr. Bodisco's gilded coach with driver and footman in bright uniform, drawn by four horses. The same afternoon, Mr. Bodisco gave a dinner to just the bridal party. At nine o'clock the same day he gave a general reception for the families of the attendants. The morning after the wedding the bridesmaids took breakfast with the bride and, girl-like, as soon as breakfast was over, went on an investigating tour. In her boudoir they found many beautiful things, among them an old-fashioned secretary, with numerous drawers, one was filled with ten dollar gold pieces, another with silver dollars, another with ten-cent pieces, another with the costliest of jewels, and still another with French candy.The next week Mr. Bodisco gave a grand ball, on which occasion Madame Bodisco wore her bridal robe. Shortly after the wedding, President Van Buren gave a handsome dinner at the White House in honor of Madame Bodisco and Mrs. Decantzo, another bride. To this dinner all the bridal party were invited. Madame Bodisco wore a black watered silk, trimmed with black thread lace and pearl ornaments. President Van Buren sent his private carriage and his son, Martin, to escort Ellen Carter (an adopted daughter of Jeremiah Williams who was an important shipping merchant of the town) to the dinner. The President thought Miss Carter like her Aunt Marion Stewart of New York, to whom he was engaged while Governor of that State. At the dinner table he drank wine with her, and again in the reception room. Miss Carter afterwards married Paymaster Brenton Boggs of the United States Navy.Madame BodiscoMadame BodiscoOn another occasion at one of the diplomatic dinners given at the White House, Madame Bodisco wore a rich, white watered silk, the sleeves, waist and skirt embroidered with palerosebuds with tender green leaves. Her jewels were diamonds and emeralds.
Miss Williams' family were much opposed to the marriage, and at one time the engagement came near being broken. She told Mr. Bodisco that "her grandmother and everybody else thought he was entirely too old and ugly." His reply was that she might find someone younger and better looking, but no one who would love her better than he did.
They were married in June, 1849, at four o'clock in the afternoon, at her mother's home on Georgetown Heights. Only the immediate relatives and the bridal party witnessed the ceremony, after which there was a brilliant reception. The wedding party formed a circle and just back of them on a sofa sat a row of aged ladies in lace-trimmed caps, among them her grandmother, Harriot Williams and her three sisters, Mrs. Benjamin Mackall, Mrs. William Stewart, senior, and their cousin, Mrs. Leonard Hollyday Johns, senior, all of whom were between seventy and eighty years of age.
The mariage ceremony was performed by her cousin, Reverend Hollyday Johns, the second. Her trousseau came from abroad, and her bridal robe was a marvel of rich white satin and costly lace which fell in graceful folds around her; the low-cut dress showed to perfection her lovely white shoulders and neck. On her fair brow and golden hair was worn a coronet of rarest pearls, the gift of the groom. The effect was wonderfully brilliant. As her father was not living, her hand was given in marriage by Henry Clay.
The groom wore his court dress of velvet and lace. All the bridesmaids, seven in number, were beautiful girls about her own age. Their gowns were figured white satin, cut low in the neck with short sleeves and trimmed with blond lace; their hair was simply dressed without ornaments. The bridesmaids were: her sister Gennie Williams, Sarah Johns, Jessie Benton, Ellen Carter, Eliza Jane Wilson, Emily Nichols, Mary Harry, and Helen Morris, daughter of Commodore Morris. Each bridesmaid was presented with a ring set with her favorite stone. The groomsmen were Henry Fox, the British Minister in scarlet court dress; Mr. Dunlop, Minister from Texas; Mr. Martineau, Minister from the Netherlands; Mr. Buchanan, who had been Minister to Russia, and was then Senator, and afterwards President of the United States; Baron Saruyse, the Austrian Minister; Martin Van Buren; Mr. Kemble Paulding, whose father was Secretary of the Navy at that time; Mr. Forsythe, whose father was Secretary of State. Each minister had his own carriage and attendants dressed in livery. Thehouse and grounds were thronged with noted guests, strolling amid sweet-scented flowers and lemon trees hanging with rich golden fruit.
Among the distinguished guests were President Van Buren; Daniel Webster; all the Diplomatic Corps and a host of other notables, including James Gordon Bennett ofThe New York Herald.
The bride was taken to her new home in Mr. Bodisco's gilded coach with driver and footman in bright uniform, drawn by four horses. The same afternoon, Mr. Bodisco gave a dinner to just the bridal party. At nine o'clock the same day he gave a general reception for the families of the attendants. The morning after the wedding the bridesmaids took breakfast with the bride and, girl-like, as soon as breakfast was over, went on an investigating tour. In her boudoir they found many beautiful things, among them an old-fashioned secretary, with numerous drawers, one was filled with ten dollar gold pieces, another with silver dollars, another with ten-cent pieces, another with the costliest of jewels, and still another with French candy.
The next week Mr. Bodisco gave a grand ball, on which occasion Madame Bodisco wore her bridal robe. Shortly after the wedding, President Van Buren gave a handsome dinner at the White House in honor of Madame Bodisco and Mrs. Decantzo, another bride. To this dinner all the bridal party were invited. Madame Bodisco wore a black watered silk, trimmed with black thread lace and pearl ornaments. President Van Buren sent his private carriage and his son, Martin, to escort Ellen Carter (an adopted daughter of Jeremiah Williams who was an important shipping merchant of the town) to the dinner. The President thought Miss Carter like her Aunt Marion Stewart of New York, to whom he was engaged while Governor of that State. At the dinner table he drank wine with her, and again in the reception room. Miss Carter afterwards married Paymaster Brenton Boggs of the United States Navy.
Madame BodiscoMadame Bodisco
On another occasion at one of the diplomatic dinners given at the White House, Madame Bodisco wore a rich, white watered silk, the sleeves, waist and skirt embroidered with palerosebuds with tender green leaves. Her jewels were diamonds and emeralds.
Alexander de Bodisco was born in Moscow on the 30th of October, 1786, and died at his residence in Georgetown on the 23rd of January, 1854, having filled the post of Russian Envoy to the United States for about seventeen years. He was in Vienna in 1814 during the famous Congress which settled the affairs of the continent, and was afterward charge d'affaires at Stockholm. At his funeral his two nephews, Boris and Waldemar, both very handsome and dressed in white uniforms, marched on either side of the hearse, accompanied by attachés of the legation and members of the household in uniform.
All during my childhood the Williams house stood gaunt and untenanted, the personification of a haunted house. If only a place with such a history could have been renovated and kept, instead of disappearing entirely from Georgetown.
On the next block at 3238 R Street is the house, now somewhat changed, where lived General H. W. Halleck, chief-of-staff of the army during the Civil War. After the war General U. S. Grant made it his home until he became president. Later, until about 1900, it was the home of Colonel John J. Joyce, a picturesque figure with his leonine head and long white hair and mustache and black sombrero. It was said he had been the Goat of the Whiskey Ring. In the last years of his life a lively dispute arose between him and Ella Wheeler Wilcox as to which was the author of the lines
Laugh, and world laughs with you,Weep, and you weep alone!
Mount Hope. The William Robinson HouseMount Hope. The William Robinson House
It was much discussed in the newspapers at the time. Colonel Joyce's tombstone in Oak Hill bears a likeness of him carved upon its face.
In the early days of the New Deal this house was rented by a group of young men, among them Tommy Corcoran and Ben Cohen, who were responsible for helping to frame much of the legislation of that eventful time. It was known then as the "Big Red House on R Street."
The southwest corner of Road (R) Street and High (Wisconsin Avenue) was the land owned by Thomas Sim Lee, who had been Governor of Maryland. Every winter he came from his estate, Needwood, to spend several months in Georgetown, in his house on the northwest corner of Bridge (M) Street and Washington (30th) Street, which was for a long time the headquarters of the Federal Party. He died in 1819 before he could build here the mansion he contemplated.
Until about 1935 the old reservoir sat here, high up like a crown, until the Georgetown Branch of the Public Library was built.
The little street below here which runs west from Valley (32nd) Street, now called Reservoir Road, was originally named the New Cut Road, due to the fact that it was cut through to connect with the Conduit Road, now renamed MacArthur Boulevard which covers the conduit bringing the water from Great Falls to Washington.
On the southwest corner of Road (R) Street and High (Wisconsin Avenue) stood the imposing mansion of Mr. William Robinson, who was a very fine lawyer in the middle of the nineteenth century. He was a Virginian who had settled in Georgetown. He called his homeMount Hope and a wonderful situation it had, commanding a view of the entire city and the river. At that time the western wing was the ballroom, with domed ceiling circled by cupids and roses.
Mr. Robinson's beautiful daughter, Margaret, married Thomas Campbell Cox, son of Colonel John Cox, and they lived at Mount Hope until they moved to Gay Street. I remember Mrs. Cox as an old lady, still beautiful, and regal in bearing. The Weaver family lived there after that until the early 1900's, when this place was used as the Dumbarton Club. It had very good tennis courts, and for a while a nine-hole golf course where the suburb of Berleith is now.
Then Mr. Alexander Kirk, Ambassador to Egypt, bought the place and made a good many changes, including the addition of a swimming-pool.
Afterward Mrs. Evalyn Walsh McLean purchased it and renamed it Friendship, after the former estate of the same name out on Wisconsin Avenue, where many famous parties had been given. Here she continued her lavish entertainments and during World War II contributed generously to the pleasure of members of the armed services.
The large house, number 3406, in the middle of the next square, was built in the early 1800's by Leonard Mackall, one of the two sons of Benjamin Mackall of Prince Georges County, Maryland, who came to Georgetown. He married Catherine Beall, another daughter of Brooke Beall. Mr. Beall, as seems to have been the custom in those days, had given this square to his daughter and her husband. The place was bought by Dr. Charles Worthington's family when they left their home on Prospect Street and was held by his descendants, the Philips, for many years, although the latter part of the time none of them lived there, but rented the place.
It has been for a good many years now the home of Mrs. Frank West, who has made a beautiful rose garden and christened it Century House. The house itself has charming rooms, all opening to the south, as so many old-fashioned houses had, and several porches.
I have spoken of Colonel Cox and the row of houses he built on First (N) Street and Frederick (34th) Street, where he lived for a while in the house on the corner. That must have been in the period of his first marriage to Matilda Smith, who was a sister of Clement Smith, well-known as the first cashier of the Farmer's and Mechanic's Bank, later its president. Colonel and Mrs. Cox had three children, one of whom was named Clement.
After his marriage to Jane Threlkeld they built a lovely house on part of the old Berleith estate next door to the old Threlkeld home, which had been burned. They called their home The Cedars. It stood where the Western High School now stands, and it is difficult to realize that there, in my memory, was a home most delightfully private and charming.
Turning back eastward along Road (R) Street just opposite Mount Hope, the pretty old light brick house is where the Marburys lived after they moved up on The Heights. He called himself Mr. John Marbury, junior, to the day of his death, in spite of having a long, white beard. Although his family never moved from this house, in the course of a few years they had three different addresses. At first they were living on the corner of Road and High Streets, then on the corner of U and 32nd Streets, and finally on the corner of R Street and Wisconsin Avenue.
The Oaks (Now Dumbarton Oaks)The Oaks (Now Dumbarton Oaks)
MontroseMontrose
Across High Street (Wisconsin Avenue), the house sitting high on the bank was for many years the home of Mr. William Dougal and his family of one son and four lovely daughters. His wife was Miss Adler, and this house was built on part of her father's property. The old brick house, which was back of it some distance north, was the home of Morris Adler. A small frame house nearer Road (R) Street was where his son, Morris J. Adler, lived, until he built a house on West (P) Street.
A little way eastward on the same side of Road (R) Street is the famous Dumbarton Oaks. The land was first bought from Thomas Beall in 1800 by William H. Dorsey, first judge of our Orphan's Court, who was appointed by President Jefferson. Mr. Dorsey had previously been living in the old part of the town, for I find an advertisement of the sale of his property before he came up here, and from the minutes of a meeting of the Corporation of Georgetown on October 24th, 1801, we find the following: "William H. Dorsey writes to ask if his removal to his present place of residence will disqualify him from serving on the Corporation. They are of opinion it does not disqualify him as a member thereof."
He built this house, named it The Oaks, and lived in it for four years. His first wife was Ann Brooke, the daughter of Colonel Richard Brooke, of Oak Hill, Sandy Spring, whose wife was Jane Lynn, the daughter of David Lynn. In 1802 Mr. Dorsey married Rosetta Lynn, who was the aunt of his first wife.
William Hammond DorseyWilliam Hammond Dorsey
William Hammond Dorsey was born at Oakland, in Howard County, and died at Oakley, near Brookeville, in 1818. He was a very handsome man and was nicknamed "Pretty Billy" by his Quaker neighbors of Sandy Spring.
In 1805 the place was bought by Robert Beverley of Essex County, Virginia. His wife was Jane Tayloe, a sister of Colonel John Tayloe, who built the famous Octagon House. Mr. and Mrs. Beverley owned the place until 1822. During that time their son James was married to Jane Peter, the daughter of David Peter of nearby "Peter's Grove," and this place became their home. They did notremain here long, but went back to Virginia and established themselves near The Plains.
The next owner was James E. Calhoun, of South Carolina. He loaned it to his distinguished brother, John C. Calhoun, who made it his home for some of the time he spent at the capital in the various offices he held. He was Secretary of War in the cabinet of President Monroe; Vice-President with John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson, and Senator from South Carolina. From here he wrote that the leisure of the office of Vice-President gave him a good opportunity to study the fundamental questions of the day called "The American System." At this time the place was known asAcrolophos(Grove on the Hill), a most descriptive name. Later it became Monterey, after the war with Mexico made that battle so famous.
It was in 1846 that the estate was bought by Edward M. Linthicum, and I think it must have been during the time he owned it that the mansard roof was added which, fortunately, has been removed by the present owners. In Mr. Linthicum's day it is described thus:
The house which has been changed, but not improved in appearance, by the addition of a mansard roof and other alterations, was a large, two-story brick, with hall from front to rear "wide enough for a hay wagon to pass through," on either side of which were great parlors beautifully proportioned. The east parlor opened into a bright, sunny dining room, which in turn looked out upon a well-filled greenhouse, with flower gardens on the east, wooded lawn in front, grove of forest trees on the west, and gently sloping well-sodded hills in the rear, all of which were kept in perfect order. During the life of Mr. Linthicum, "The Oaks" was the show place of the District.
The house which has been changed, but not improved in appearance, by the addition of a mansard roof and other alterations, was a large, two-story brick, with hall from front to rear "wide enough for a hay wagon to pass through," on either side of which were great parlors beautifully proportioned. The east parlor opened into a bright, sunny dining room, which in turn looked out upon a well-filled greenhouse, with flower gardens on the east, wooded lawn in front, grove of forest trees on the west, and gently sloping well-sodded hills in the rear, all of which were kept in perfect order. During the life of Mr. Linthicum, "The Oaks" was the show place of the District.
Mr. and Mrs. Linthicum had no children so they adopted a daughter, Miss Kate Mitchell, of Lower Maryland, who became the wife of Mr. Josiah Dent. Their son, Edward Linthicum Dent, inherited the place. In those days it was known as "The Oaks," the name I always heard it called by in my girlhood.
In 1891 it was bought by Mr. Henry F. Blount, who had made a fortune and came to Washington. In 1920 it was purchased by the Honorable Robert Woods Bliss, Ambassador to the Argentine. He and Mrs. Bliss remodeled the house and created the gardens, which comprise over thirty acres and are marvels of beauty. Many more acres at the back were allowed to remain in a delightfully wild condition.
The place was renamed Dumbarton Oaks, a museum was built as a wing on the west to house a library and a collection of Byzantine and pre-Christian material, and in 1940 the estate was given by Mr. and Mrs. Bliss to Harvard University, with the exception of the part along the stream at the back, which was donated to the District of Columbia as a park. The Dumbarton Oaks Conference which led to the formation of the United Nations was held here, beginning August 21, 1944.
Part of the land at the back is where the Home for Incurables was until it was moved farther out of town. I used to go there to visit some of the patients who were my friends, and for the simple Sunday evening services.
Lover's Lane, at the east of Dumbarton Oaks, separates it from Montrose Park. It is still, as it has always been, I am glad to say, completely unimproved, unspoiled, sweet and rambling and quiet, wending its way along the brook that empties into Rock Creek at the beginning of Oak Hill. I suppose there is hardly a soul of middle-ageliving in Georgetown who has not fond memories of Lover's Lane, for in the days of our youth we did walk with our lovers; no automobiles or movies filled our Saturday or Sunday afternoons, and very little golf.
Through Lover's Lane we went to Normanstone, the home of the two Misses Barnards and their sister, Mrs. Talcott. It was a quaint little house, which stood just about where the British Embassy now is. The name is commemorated by Normanstone Drive. Mr. Robert Barnard built Normanstone in 1830. It was a Devonshire cottage of clay, straw, and pebbles, with walls four feet thick.
The turreted stone mansion nearby was built by Mr. Elverson of Philadelphia. His daughter, Nelly, became the wife of Monsieur Patrenotre, the French Minister. This was in the days before our foreign envoys became Ambassadors.
Our first knowledge of the present Montrose Park was as Parrott's Woods. Richard Parrott conducted there a "rope walk." It seems that when they made rope it was necessary to have a long, even stretch where the rope-makers walked up and down manufacturing the hemp into rope. And, of course, in this town with all its ships, the making of rope was a lucrative business.
Mr. Parrott evidently was kind in loaning his property for picnics too, for again Mr. Gordon gives us vivid pictures of the Fourth of July annual picnic of all the Protestant Sunday schools. It seems to have been a huge affair, with flags and banners and rosettes of various colors adorning the scholars of the different schools.
In 1822 the property was bought by Clement Smith, ofwhom I have spoken before as being the first cashier of the Farmers and Mechanics Bank, afterwards becoming its president. He called the place Elderslie. In 1837 he sold it to Mrs. Mary McEwen Boyce, whose daughter, Jane, married George Washington Peter, son of Thomas Peter of Tudor Place. In a railroad accident, both Captain Boyce and another daughter were killed. Mrs. Boyce continued to live here the rest of her life.
It was a very sweet, homelike house, but not a particularly handsome one. There was a conservatory opening off of one of the rooms, for Mrs. Boyce seems to have been especially fond of flowers. A sweet little story was told me the other day about her. A friend paused one day to admire the roses blooming in front of the house, saying, "How lovely your roses are, Mrs. Boyce!" "They are not my roses," said she. At the surprised look on her friend's face she continued, "I plant them there for the public." And still, today, there are lovely roses blooming at Montrose for "the public," for after many, many years a movement was set on foot to buy this place with its marvelous old trees of numerous varieties for a park for the people of Georgetown.
Two historic events have taken place in Montrose Park. The first was long ago, on September 1, 1812, when the funeral services were held here for General James Maccubbin Lingan, after his tragic death in Baltimore. No church could be found large enough to accommodate the crowds which wished to attend. There were representatives from three cities and five counties, in those days of travel by foot, by saddle, by rowboat and by coach. General Washington's tent was spread over the stand on which were four clergymen, other dignitaries, and GeorgeWashington Parke Custis of Arlington, who delivered the oration.
The funeral cortege was escorted by Major George Peter's company. The General's horse was led behind the hearse, where his son walked as chief mourner, followed by two heroes of the Revolution, Major Benjamin Stoddert and Colonel Philip Stuart. Light Horse Harry Lee, who had been wounded at the time General Lingan was killed, was still too ill to be present.
General Lingan's widow was not able to be present because of a very unfortunate occurrence. While she was sitting by her window waiting for her carriage, a rough man, carrying a pike, stopped under her window and, thrusting up the weapon covered either with blood or rust, which had the same appearance, he let forth a torrent of brutal words. She was so overcome with an agony of shock and grief that she was obliged to remain at home.
The other historic event took place on the fifth of June, 1918, the day on which was inaugurated the draft for the soldiers of the World War I. All over this land that evening speeches were delivered on the subject, but I think none could have been more effective or impressive than the one staged in Montrose Park at sunset. Then Newton D. Baker, as Secretary of War, in charge of the whole operation, "elected to speak to his neighbors." A wonderful speech it was, and I shall never forget the sight as he stood outlined against the glow of the western sky.
Of Oak Hill Cemetery I have spoken again and again. It is almost like a refrain. It seems to be the natural resting place for Georgetonians when their work is done.
Its terraces leading steeply down the hill to Rock Creekare shaded by many stately oak trees and numerous gorgeous copper beeches, and are adorned in the spring by flowering shrubs.
There is the little ivy-covered chapel which can be seen from the street, and farther back is the little white Greek temple where Oak Hill's donor, Mr. Corcoran, rests. Also the larger circular mausoleum where Marcia Burns Van Ness is interred.
Many besides Georgetonians have been laid to rest within its borders, for there are Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War for President Lincoln; James G. Blaine, and many more, all prominent in their days. There, too, lies Peggy O'Neale, who, as the wife of Andrew Jackson's Secretary of War, Eaton, kept the social life of the Capital in an uproar for many a year and, it is said, also greatly influenced political matters.
Her very first triumph took place in Georgetown, when, at a school exhibition at the Union Hotel, the little girl with dark brown curly hair and pert red lips was crowned the "Queen of Beauty" by Mrs. Dolly Madison. Peggy was the daughter of the Irish landlord of a hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, and was married at sixteen to Mr. Timberlake, an officer in the United States Navy. He committed suicide in 1828.
After that began her career, when she was defended and supported in all that she did by Andrew Jackson, who had suffered bitterly from criticism of his own wife.
But the most famous person who lies buried in Oak Hill is the man whose song is known in every hamlet of this broad land: John Howard Payne, the author of "Home, Sweet Home." He had been in Georgetown in his youth,you remember, for he accompanied General Lingan on that trip to Baltimore from which the General never returned but to his funeral. Mr. Payne was then a young man of twenty-one and excited over the adventure, I suppose, like any one of that age. He was sent in later life as a consul to one of those little states on the northern coast of Africa which in those days made so much trouble for the United States. There he died and was buried. Years later his body was brought back by Mr. Corcoran, and there was quite a ceremony for his re-interment.
The stone placed over him in that distant land and brought back with his body has the seal of the United States carved at the top and reads:
IN MEMORYOFCOL. JOHN HOWARD PAYNETWICE CONSUL OFTHE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAFORTHE CITY AND KINGDOM OF TUNISTHIS STONE IS PLACEDBY A GRATEFUL COUNTRYHE DIED AT THE AMERICAN CONSULATEIN THIS CITY AFTER A TEDIOUS ILLNESSAPRIL 1, 1852HE WAS BORN AT THE CITY OF BOSTONSTATE OF MASSACHUSETTSJUNE 8, 1792HIS FAME AS A POET AND DRAMATISTIS WELL KNOWN WHEREVER THE ENGLISHLANGUAGE IS SPOKEN THROUGHHIS CELEBRATED BALLAD OFHOME, SWEET HOMEAND HIS POPULAR TRAGEDYOF BRUTUS AND OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTIONS
IN MEMORYOFCOL. JOHN HOWARD PAYNETWICE CONSUL OFTHE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAFORTHE CITY AND KINGDOM OF TUNISTHIS STONE IS PLACEDBY A GRATEFUL COUNTRYHE DIED AT THE AMERICAN CONSULATEIN THIS CITY AFTER A TEDIOUS ILLNESSAPRIL 1, 1852HE WAS BORN AT THE CITY OF BOSTONSTATE OF MASSACHUSETTSJUNE 8, 1792HIS FAME AS A POET AND DRAMATISTIS WELL KNOWN WHEREVER THE ENGLISHLANGUAGE IS SPOKEN THROUGHHIS CELEBRATED BALLAD OFHOME, SWEET HOMEAND HIS POPULAR TRAGEDYOF BRUTUS AND OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTIONS
This slab lies flat upon the ground. Adjoining it is a circle in the center of which is a monument bearing a bust of Colonel Payne, and on it is the following inscription:
INMEMORY OFJOHN HOWARD PAYNEAUTHOROFHOME, SWEET HOMEBORN JUNE 9, 1791DIED APRIL 9, 1852ERECTED ANNO DOMINI 1883"Sure when thy gentle spirit fledTo realms beyond the azure domeWith arms outstretched, God's angel said'Welcome to Heaven's Home, Sweet Home.'"
INMEMORY OFJOHN HOWARD PAYNEAUTHOROFHOME, SWEET HOMEBORN JUNE 9, 1791DIED APRIL 9, 1852ERECTED ANNO DOMINI 1883
"Sure when thy gentle spirit fledTo realms beyond the azure domeWith arms outstretched, God's angel said'Welcome to Heaven's Home, Sweet Home.'"
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