A Portrait of Old George Town Part 11

In later years he moved over to the city, his house then being in the neighborhood of Nineteenth, M and N Streets. He had a wife and children, many friends, and all was going well with him until the election year of 1812. General Lingan was a Federalist in politics. The party organ was _The Federal Republican_, published in Baltimore and edited by Alexander Contee Hanson, whose wife was a near relative of Nicholas Lingan, the brother of James.

War with England was declared on Friday, the 19th of June, 1812, and next day an editorial appeared in _The Federal Republican_, which was like a match set to a powder train. On Sunday, public meetings were held advocating the suppression of the paper, and on Monday, three or four hundred men and boys a.s.sembled at the office of the paper at Gay and Second Streets, in Baltimore, and destroyed the furniture and the house.

The staff then removed to Georgetown where, although it was threatened from both Baltimore and Was.h.i.+ngton, it continued to publish the paper until July 26th, when Mr. Hanson went back to Baltimore to a small house on South Charles Street, accompanied by General Lingan, John Howard Payne, General Henry ("Light Horse Harry") Lee, and others. On the following day the paper was issued from that office, though it had been printed in Georgetown. It contained an attack on the State authorities for the outrage of June 22nd. This time the mob that gathered brought arms and ammunition. The twenty-seven gentlemen a.s.sembled in the office were also armed, "to defend the rights of person, and property, and the liberty of the press." At first only stones were used by the a.s.sailants, answered by volleys of blank cartridges. After scenes almost fantastic in fury, the gentlemen were finally overcome and marched to gaol for safety. But after dark another mob gathered round the gaol, and overcoming the guard, broke in. Mr. Gwynn pushed his way through a group of fifty men to General Lingan who was being knocked down by clubs, then jerked up to be knocked down again, while the outside ring of men bellowed, "Tory! Tory!" The only word General Lingan spoke to the mob was, when tearing open his s.h.i.+rt, he displayed the mark of the Hessian bayonet, still purple, and exclaimed, "Does this look as if I was a traitor?" Just then a stone struck the scar and he fell. As the last breath left his body, he murmured to a friend near by, "I am a dying man--save yourself."

On this side of Bridge (M) Street, adjoining what was then Bank Street stood the Bank of Columbia, when it moved from a few blocks east. From old pictures, it looks much more like a stately home than a bank, and part of it was used as his home by William Whann, the cas.h.i.+er. Set far back on the hill, with columns on its facade and a Greek pediment, it was very handsome. Its first president was Samuel Blodgett; its second, General John Mason of a.n.a.lostan Island. Across the street he had his town house.

To this bank one day late in 1814, while he was Secretary of State, came James Monroe, on horseback, and asking for William Whann, told him that the government was entirely out of funds, and wanted a loan with which to dispatch General Andrew Jackson to New Orleans. Mr. Monroe pledged his own private fortune that the debt would be paid, and the money was turned over to him. The government at that time was not strong enough to levy heavier taxes for the conduct of the war with England, which was very unpopular in the New England States.

The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815--two weeks after peace had come--for a Treaty of Peace had been signed on Christmas Eve, and the great loss of life on the English side might have been avoided.

Just beyond here on the corner, Mr. Thompson had a residence, and still a little further lived Mr. Warren. Just opposite, at number 3350, is one of the oldest houses in Georgetown and one of the most notable, for here Colonel Uriah Forrest was living in 1791 when on March 29th he gave that memorable dinner, referred to by General Was.h.i.+ngton, when the arrangements were made for the purchase of land on which to build the new City of Was.h.i.+ngton.

What a scene that must have been! One can imagine the turtle soup, the fish and terrapin caught fresh from the river, wild ducks and ham with shoulders of mutton and all the vegetables and hot breads and other delectable foods for which Maryland is famous--for Uriah Forrest, himself a Marylander, had a Maryland wife, Rebecca Plater, the daughter of Governor Plater, whose home was Sotterley, in Saint Mary's County.

In 1792 Colonel Forrest was mayor of George Town. Not long after this, Colonel Forrest purchased a large tract of land lying north of the town and there he built a country home which he called Rosedale, and to which he eventually retired for his permanent home. His descendants, the Greens, lived on at Rosedale until not so very many years ago. One of them, Mr. George Green, sold to President Cleveland, in his first administration, a stone cottage on the Rosedale estate which the President remodeled and made his summer home. It was called Red Top, from its turreted red roof, but its real name was Oak View. From it, the suburb, Cleveland Park, derives its name.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WILLIAM MARBURY]

Mr. Cleveland, in his second administration, used Woodley for his summer home. It had been a part of the Rosedale tract, and the house was built by Philip Barton Key, a brother-in-law of Colonel Forrest, for he also had married a Miss Plater.

Mr. Key moved out of town and resided at Woodley, where he dispensed lavish hospitality until his death in 1817. Thomas Plater also had moved out from George Town and lived near by. He was the executor for Philip Barton Key. After Mr. Key's death, his widow went back into town and took up her residence on the corner of Gay (N) and Congress (31st) Streets.

After Colonel Forrest left the house on Bridge (M) Street, it was bought by William Marbury, who had come to Georgetown from Annapolis. He was a justice of the peace, a very responsible and honorable office in those days. It was in connection with his reappointment to the office that the controversy arose which resulted in the famous law case of MARBURY _versus_ MADISON, as James Madison, in his capacity as Secretary of State to Thomas Jefferson, was the Madison involved. The prominence of the case was because it was the first of those great opinions handed down by Chief Justice John Marshall in which he decided that the Supreme Court has the power to declare an act of Congress unconst.i.tutional.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PHILIP BARTON KEY]

[Ill.u.s.tration: MRS. PHILIP BARTON KEY (ELIZABETH PLATER)]

In 1814 Mr. Marbury became the first president of the Farmers and Mechanics Bank when it was organized; its cas.h.i.+er being Clement Smith, who, after the presidency of Thomas B. Beall, from 1817-1821, became the third president, and the only one in the history of that inst.i.tution to be promoted to that office. Not many years ago, Mr. Marbury's picture, in his old-fas.h.i.+oned costume, was printed on the bank checks to impress the public with the antiquity of the inst.i.tution.

He was a very imposing looking gentleman, as was his son, John Marbury, who was eight years old when the family moved to Georgetown. Some years ago, one of his great-grandsons heard the family talking about "Grandfather's Bourbon nose." A little later he was found standing, gazing intently at the portrait of the old gentleman, and when asked, "Why such sudden interest?" he replied, "Where is the 'burb' on his nose?"

John Marbury married and lived for some years on Gay (N) Street, near Market (33rd) Street. After his father's death, he moved to the old house on Bridge (M) Street in order to keep his mother company. He had a very large family, seven sons and six daughters. All of the daughters attended Miss English's Seminary, walking to and from school all winter wearing low-necked and short-sleeved dresses, covered only by a little cape. Not a case of poverty, I a.s.sure you, but of fas.h.i.+on! I was told this not long ago by a descendant, and of how they used to have to melt their gum shoes to get them on in cold weather. I think the names of a trio of their friends very amusing--Jerry Berry, Hetty Getty, and Jimmy Finney.

The house had a large garden in the rear and s.p.a.cious rooms where they entertained a great deal. Not long ago, I saw a fascinating drawing of a party in Georgetown in the fifties. It represented four musicians intent upon playing a ba.s.s viol, a cello, a violin, and a flute; a few of the company standing near by with curls and puffed coiffures, and among them a tiny man, side-whiskered, so short that he barely reached the shoulders of the ladies. He must, of course, have been Prince Iturbide. There was never anyone quite like him. He was a Mexican, here in the diplomatic service, and had married Miss Alice Green, a granddaughter of Uriah Forrest.

At a party one evening at the Marbury's, a dispute arose between him and Baron Bodisco, the Russian Minister, who was also a resident of Georgetown. It ended in the prince calling the baron a liar, whereby the baron immediately knocked Prince Iturbide down. The little prince sprang onto a sofa and bounced up and down, shouting over and over again, "He knocked an Iturbide down; he knocked an Iturbide down!" as if he expected Mr. Marbury to straightway haul the baron off to be beheaded, at least. It was the last party given at the old house for many a day, as Mr. Marbury considered that they had been disgraced by their guests.

Years after, when Madame Iturbide was left a widow in Mexico, the Emperor Maximilian wished to adopt her son, to which she gave her consent, but finding later that it meant complete separation from him, she kidnapped him and escaped to America.

For two whole days after the Battle of Bull Run, the "d.a.m.n Yankees," as the Marburys called them, poured over the nearby bridge from Virginia at a dog-trot and dropped from exhaustion on the steps of this house and the pavement. Mr. Marbury ordered all of the shutters to be kept tightly closed during that dreadful time.

A little granddaughter of his, living there, went one day with a friend of hers to place flowers on the grave of a child of Jefferson Davis in Oak Hill Cemetery. They were arrested, and when it was discovered who she was, soldiers were sent to search the house. Mrs. Marbury had some letters from her nephews in the Confederate Army, and she hurriedly sewed them up in a chair, for she said the boys might be killed and she hated to destroy their letters. Many, many years after, on a summer day in the garret of an old house, not far from Leesburg, Virginia, three of Mrs. Marbury's great-grandchildren ripped them out of their long hiding place.

Just a few doors west of this interesting old house stood another, somewhat smaller, which, until a few years ago, was in its original state of preservation. Now it has gone! It was the home of the author of our National Anthem. Here Francis Scott Key lived for twenty years. Here his eleven children were born, while he served three terms as District Attorney and engaged in the private practice of law.

Everyone knows the story of how, hearing of the arrest of a friend, Dr.

William Beanes, by the British, in the War of 1812, Mr. Key made the trip to Baltimore to see what he could do to help the old gentleman, who had done some very rash talking down in Prince Georges County. Mr. Key was a connection of Mrs. Beanes', who was a member of the Plater family.

Mr. Key went on board the British man-of-war, under the command of Admiral c.o.c.kburn, called _The Red Devil of the Chesapeake_, lying opposite Fort McHenry, but was told by the captain that he would have to spend the night on board as a bombardment was about to take place.

Imagine his sensations all through the night--no wonder that he burst forth into such a poem of love for his flag when he came on deck in the early morning and saw it "still there!"

[Ill.u.s.tration: HOME OF FRANCIS SCOTT KEY]

Poetry was only a side issue with Mr. Key. I have often thought how interesting it is that a man may work all the days of his life at his profession or vocation, and some avocation, like verse-making, may carry his name down to posterity; like Izaak Walton, who had an insurance business in London, but is remembered now only as a fisherman.

Don't you imagine Mr. Key would have been amazed if he could have had a vision of the years to come, when on parade grounds all over this great land at sunset, every day, troops stand immovable at attention while the emblem of their country is being lowered for the night, and the strains of the music of his poem thrill all who hear it? "The Star-Spangled Banner" was first read by Mr. Key at a meeting of the George Town Glee Club.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FRANCIS SCOTT KEY]

Francis Scott Key was a nephew of Philip Barton Key, and a vestryman, like his uncle, of Saint John's Church. He was a fine, humanitarian gentleman. In a recent book, called _Father Takes Us to Was.h.i.+ngton_, he is accused of having treated his dozen slaves in a terrible manner. His great-grandson has just come out with a refutation of such treatment and said that Mr. Key freed all of his slaves before his death in 1843 and that he was one of the founders of the American Colonization Society, which had for its purpose the freedom of the Negroes and their colonization on the West Coast of Africa. Of course, it was in James Monroe's administration that Liberia was founded and its capital named Monrovia.

In later life, Francis Scott Key moved to Frederick, Maryland, where he lies buried. The beautiful new bridge, only a stone's throw from his home, bears his name. It replaces the aqueduct bridge which was built about 1880, and before that, there was a bridge which carried the ca.n.a.l across the river to continue on its way to Alexandria. I cannot remember it, but I have been told that, looking across from the Virginia side, it was a very picturesque sight with its long arches reaching above the bridge, carrying its dripping load beneath, and standing against the western sky, the towers of Georgetown College.

Chapter VIII

_High Street, Prospect Avenue, the College, the Convent, and the Threlkelds_

Up the hill from Bridge (M) Street on the east side of High Street (Wisconsin Avenue), a door or two above where the Farmers and Mechanics Branch of Riggs Bank now stands, was a fine old house where the Potomac Fire Insurance Company had its first home. But long before that, it was the home of Mrs. Caperton, whose son, Hugh Caperton, became a well-known lawyer here.

At the present 1239 Wisconsin Avenue, where Becker's Paint Store has been for a good many years, was the house which Robert Peter gave to his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, when, at the age of sixteen, she married her cousin, James Dunlop, in 1787. This old letter gives some news about the wedding.

It is addressed to: John Davidson, Esq., Merchant, Annapolis:

George Town August 17th, 1787

Dear Sir:

Without any ceremony or preamble I have undertaken to enclose you the measure for a pair of Stays, not that I suppose that you are to make them, but that you may undertake to engage Mrs. Davidson's interest to undertake the direction of them.

They are for a daughter of mine who is tollerably nice, and she will not consent to trust the business entirely to the Staymaker, nor, it seems, to any other Lady in Annapolis but Mrs. Davidson, so that you see what a deal of trouble I have brought her into, by having often observed in my daughter's hearing how that Mrs. Davidson seemed to me to be in all things about her Family, in short the Girl has taken it into her head that she is old enough to become a wife, and does not only beg of Mrs. Davidson to direct as to her Stays, but wishes she would take the trouble of procuring some Paterns of silks fit and suitable for what they call a Wedding Gown, with the prices paid or annexed to the Patterns, and when the choice is made I suppose the next favor will be of Mrs. Davidson to direct as to the making of it. Mrs. Davidson must take the cause of all this trouble to herself, for if she did not merit the charge she would not have had the trouble. I am just now interrupted by receiving a further commission, to wit for a crepe cus.h.i.+on made by the best and most fas.h.i.+onable Barber in Annapolis, and a lock of the color wanted is enclosed. I want everything good and fas.h.i.+onable, but you know we old Fellows like everything as cheap as they can be got to have them good. I leave everything to yours and Mrs. Davidson's good management, but, at the same time, it would appear as if there was some expedition. The samples and prices of the silk I will be obliged by your sending by post, the Stays and Cus.h.i.+on perhaps you may be able to forward by Miss Patty Lingan who will be coming down in nine or ten days, as I am informed. I am just now tortured with black guard consignment business and therefore I conclude by remaining Your Very Humble Servant,

ROBERT PETER.

They were married in October and had eight children, all but one of whom lived to maturity.

In 1792, five years after their marriage, James Dunlop bought an estate of 700 acres known as "Hayes," seven miles out in Montgomery County; this later became their permanent residence. It had been built in 1762 by the Reverend Alexander Williamson, rector of Rock Creek Church (now St. Paul's), until he resigned in 1776, being a Tory. In history, he is called the "Sporting Parson" because of his love for fox-hunting and c.o.c.k-fighting.

The back lawn of this house was the bowling green and the old b.a.l.l.s are still in the attic there. Also, there is still there an old rose bush bearing small white roses, which was planted by Elizabeth Peter Dunlop.

This was my summer home when I was a girl and is now in possession of my eldest brother.

Just above number 1239 is the crook in High Street (Wisconsin Avenue) and, until a few years ago, I never knew why it was that way: actually, it follows the line of the grant of the Rock of Dumbarton, which was surveyed that way. The reason the streets on the west side of High Street (Wisconsin Avenue) don't match those on the east side is because they were laid out by different owners.