The south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1879-1883, 1883-10-06
The Home OF Daniel Webster.

Few south-shore wanderings end
without visit to Green Harbor, the
former home of Daniel Webster. The
bays and lodges from Scituate south
ward were his favorite fishing grounds
when at home, and his tall figure,
habited in brown linen and capped
by a great hat, sitting motionless
in boat anchored over some ancient
ledge, was familiar sight for years to
the fishermen of the south shore. An
Cling was almost a passion with the
statesman; often he was known to set
out with his rod after five-o' clock
breakfast, and spend the whole day
in fishing, ranging the coast from
Gurnet to Scituate. Many boating
parties are made up to sail down to
Marshtield over his old course. 1t is
usually three hours sail, and for
nearly the whole way one has the tall
tower of the Standish monument on
Duxbury Hill for landmark. By and
by, rounding point. the boat turns in
land, and heads for grove of large
pines and naples, following little
creek that winds thither through
marshes; the creek ends in little cove
deeply shaded by forest trees. In front
is park of thirty acres, well-shaded,
green even in August, and bounded on
the west by country road. On the
left is a modern villa approached by a
drive which enters the park on the south,
sweeps around by the house, and makes
its exit on the north. This is Green Har-
Dor, the former home Of the great states
man. The present structure bears little
semblance to the long, rambling dwell
ing, half farmhouse, half country seat,
of Webster's day, which was totally de-
stroyed by fire in 1878; the park, how
ever, and farm, so much as remains,
are largely as he left them. The pres
ent house, unlike the old one, is not
open to visitors, and pilgrims content
themselves with rambles about the farm
and with visiting the statesman's tomb.
Webster's first purchase of land in
Marshfield was an old homestead of $50
acres, but he kept adding farm to farm
till he had an estate of nearly 1900
acres, much of it consisting of the wide,
grassy downs of the coast. The farm ex-
tended north and south from the home
stead, and was bounded by the ocean on
the east. The graveyard in which he
was buried is out on the bare downs in
sight and sound of the sea, and fully q
quarter of a mile from the highway, ac-
cess to it being had by a rude road through
the fields. 1t is one of those neighbour
hood cemeteries common to country dis
tricts, and holds the dust of perhaps a
score of the neighboring families.
A moss-grown wall Of stone surrounds
it on three sides, the fourth side being
inclosed by modern iron fence. The
Webster plot is in the entrance, and
consists of little cluster of eight or ten
tombs. A large mound of earth on the
north side of the plot, surmounted by a
plain marble slab, holds the dust of the
statesman. The stone bears this inscrip-
ton: "Daniel Webster, born January
Is, 1882, died October "a, 1852 Lord,
| believe, help Thou my unbelief,' y" and
beneath this an appropriate phrase from
his published utterances. Other graves
in the plot are those of Grace Fletcher,
his first wife; Julia, his favorite daugh-
ter; Major Edward, son who died in
the Mexican war, and Colonel Fletcher
Webster, the second son, who was killed
at the head of his regiment in the war of
the rebellion. 1t is a quiet, pastoral
scene that one looks upon from the
graves. Everywhere on the east is the
sea, on the south are fields and farm
houses with Duxbury hills in the dis
lance, and north and west downs and
pastures, with the spire of Marshiield
village two miles away peeping over the
trees. One can partly understand why
great spirit should choose it above all
others for his last resting-place. Cor.
N. Y. Evening Post.