The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1875-03-19
George WashingtOn's Family.
Some Interesting Facts-PrObableO origin
of the American Flag.

The Washington's were North of Eng
land people. who some time lived II
Durham, then in Lancashire, and finally
in NOrthamptonshlre. It is safe to &c
back to the reigns of the seventh and
eighth Harrys for a founder. and we
find him in Sir Thomas Kitson, one OF
| the great merchants who developed the
wool trade. The first OF the family to
settle in the rich pasturage of the mid
land county of Northampton was Law.
renee Washington, whose mother was a
| KltsOn. Lawrence was a barrlster, but
gave up his profession of the law for
| the good end ancient reason, perhaps,
that though he was bred to the law, the
law was not bread for him, and so he
retired to the corln&ry to look after bis
uncle Kitson's focks Of merinOs. Law
renee must have been man of some
significance, for he was made mayor of
Northampton, and when Bluff Hal
raided the monasteries, Lawrence being
identified with the cause of reformation,
came in for q share of what in vulgar
parlance might be called "swag," in
other words, the king made a grant to
Kim of the monaetic lands of Sulgrave.
Near this was Althorp, the family seat
of the Spencers, and the Lady Spencer
of that day was the daughter of Sir
Thomas Kitson. and consequently the
first cousin of Lawrence Washington.
The rector of the parish was DR.. Lay
ton, who was Lord Cromwell's prime
commissioner for the dissolution of
monasteries, by which we reach another
cause, in addition to his blood relation
ship to the Spencers, of why the lands
of Sulgrave should have been given to
Lawrence Washington.
For three generations the Washing
tons held SuIgrave, taking rank among
the nobility and landed gentry of the
country, but after that their fortunes
waned. Sulgrave was sold, and the
family retired to the parish OF Brington,
under the care and patronage as it were
of poor relationship of the Spencers.
Prosperity however came to them here
quickly, and it came in a way to prove
the lespectability of their lineage. The
eldest son of the family married the
half-sister Of George Vllliers, duke of
Buckingham, and thus We see the
Washingtons intermerrying with two of
the best families IN all England. The
Washington who emigrated to America
in 1857 was the grandfather of the hero
who sleeps on the banks of the Poto-
mac. In 1862 he was knjghted by
James l., and it is known that he was
on the most friendly terms with the
Spencers down to the very eve of the
civil war. In that struggle the Wash
ingtons drew their swords for the king.
Sir Henry Washington led the storming
party at Bristol, and defended Worces-
ter. Sir Henry held the rank of col
onel, and was man SO noted for his
bravery that it became proverb in the
army when difficulty arose: "Away
with it." quoth Washington.
In Brington church are two sepul-
chral stones, one bearing the date of
1916 over the grave of the father of
Washington, the emigrant, in which
his arms appear impaled with those of
his wife. The other stone covers the
remains of his uncle, and presents on a
bass the simple family shield with the
crescent appropriate to a younger
brother. We have before us a tran
script of this shield, and from it we are
constrained to believe that the United
States flag as seen now very certainly
took its origin. In this shield are FIVE
horizontal stri pes, of alternate gules
and white, as are those of the national
flag, while the three stars in the upper
stripe have the parallel peculiarity of
being fve-pointed. All this may not
be of interest to those who care very
little whether George Washington had a
grandfather or not, but then again there
may be others who will not think any
the less of the father of the great repub-
lie because his ancestors fought against
Cromwell and his Ironsides to keep
Charles head upon his shoulders.-T.
Louis Republican.