Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1878-01-04
Jan. srd. 1878.

The MrLBURE FAMILy.-We pub
lished in ourissue ofthe 2Ist ult. some
interesting "reminiscences Of the Ameri-
can Carpenter family, with . brief ac-
Count Of the immense fortune said TO
have been accumulated by English an
cestcrs and now reported to be await
ing distribution in Englandamong Anne
si.an heirs Of that name. We genealo-
gize this week the history of the Mil
burns, (Iike the Carpenters. aSt. Ma
RVS county name with many living
representatives, in our midst and We
premise, in connection with this f&nfly,
that direct descendant, greatly dis
tinsuished In the world of letters and
DOW we believe a resident of New
York, will soon visit our county in
search of information bearing upon this
family tree.
Last Saturday, the body of DR.. Ralph
Melbourne Townsend was laid in the
vault OF his widows deceased father,
Elijah HolIingsworth, in the Whining
ton and Brandywine cemetery. The
prenoms of DIR. Townsend. "Ralph Mil
bourne" (which is also the name of his
son. are derived from his ancestor.
Ralph Milbourne, whose will isrecorded
nj Pnnce-s Anne, Somerset Md. Court
House, 1921. This Ralph Milbourne
of Somerset was a nephew. or near re-
latiye of Jacob Milbourne, of New York,
the Puritan leader, who had been exc
cuted in 1891 in the company of his
father-in-law, Jacob Leisler. The his
torical circumstances of that execution
are IN every school book. ~ te4
After the death of Leisler and Mill
bourne, who fell victims to political
cabal at the heard of which was Nicho-
las Bayard, the attaiEders and judg-
men;s against them were reversed in
England, on an appeal 10 the King by
Leisler's son. The con6seation Of their
estates having made 1.-The Leisler and
Milbourne families poor, a portion Of
them removed to st. Mary's county,
Maryland, where the father-ln-law OF
Jacob Leisler, Covert Loockermans,
had acquired large possessions in land.
This land had been settled in per-
son by Dr.. Jacob Loockcrmans about
1880. He was the uncle of Mary
Milbourne, daughter of Jacob Leisler.
From that stock grew up large family
of Milbournes and MAburns, many yet
resident II ST. Mary's county. Imme-
IdiS6sla&Rpposite st. Mary's across the
issxhay, sattIed one or more OF
gEnily and of these in late
generali6n, was Mary Milbourne, daugh-
ter of Ralph Milbourne (who died 1927
the mother Of George Alfred and Ralph
NJ. Townsend; and George Miibourne,
father of Mrs. Scion Bcr.and, wife oil
United States Senator Borland, of Ar
kansas. Another of the Milbourne
family emigrated from St. Mary's to
Kentucky, and the blind preacher, VIII
liam III. Milburn, Is his descendent.
Jacob Milborne, the political martyr,
pleaded law occasionally at New Cas-
tie about 1872, when Delaware was
yet under the government oil the Duke
Of York. His name appears on the re-
cords. The account OF his execution
by Hildreth is as follows:
"Leislrr's enemies. Bayard and Mich
OILS, delivered from imprisonment, were
sworn in as members Of the new Gov
ernor Sloughter's council. Leisler's
enemies we're burning for revenge and
a special court of eight members was
organized for the trial of the
prisoners. Leisler and Milbourne thus
Hildreth spells it) denied the jurisdic-
ton of this court and refused TO plead.
They we're found guilty, nevertheless,
and sentenced todeath. Slaughter hes
itated to order the execution, prefer
ring to await the decision Of the King.
But party hatred was not thus to be
baked.
AT a dinner party given for that very
purpose Slaughter gas insesgled, heated
with wine, INTO signing the fatal war;
rant; and while the revel was protracted
into morning, the two prisoners, sud-
denly separated from their weeping
wives and children, were hastily led
to execution. II was feared lest, when
Slaughter became sober, he might re-
call the warrant"
"The gallows stood without the city
wall. at the lower angle OF. what Is now
the Park. The towns people flocked
to witness this sad end OF their leader.
In spite of cold, drizzling rain, there
CAME. also, some Of the counsellors,
among the rest Livingston, eager 10 feast
their eyes on the death Of their victims.
More moved at his son-in-law's fate
than his own, Leisler admitted that he
might have fallen into errors through
ignorance and jealous fear. through
rashness and passion, through misinfor-
nation end misconstTuction, but he
died protesting his loyalty and good in
tentions. Robert Livingston 7 cried
the indignant Milbourne from the scat
fold. for this 4 will implead thee at the
bar or God 4 In spite of the rain,
which poured In torrents, the people
rushed forward TO obtain some last
of their leaders: pieces OF
their clothing, or locks of their hair.
. This judicial muir
der, IL il grati6ed enc faction. did but
exasperaie the other. The feud be-
tween the enemies and the friends Of
LeisleF became deeply interviewer with
the politics of New York, forming for
near a quarter of century the basis OF
! party division Of the fiercest and Bit
Ierest sort. An appeal to the King,
which the prisoners had taken. was