Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1885-10-10
"reminiscences of the Eastern Shore.

richer in historic interest than the
strip Of scabouud soil comprising
the counties of Accomac and Nor
Hampton. whicIlis familiarly known
as the Eastern Shore, and which
has Just been brought into a wider
public notice by the construction
Of the new all rail route from this
CITY by way of Norfolk. The first
land sighted by the adventurous
Captain John Smith from the deck
of his ship was Cape Charles and
the first Indians seen by the Eng
lsh were the tall natives of what
is now .Accomac county. There nj
so was born the unfortunate Up
Shnr. whose tragic death on board
the Princeton shocked the nation
as have few other events of peace
iul times.
Not far from the birthplace of
the famous Henry A. Wise was
planted the first seeds of PreSby
tcraniSm in the United StateS.-
Francis Mckenzie WAS the Asbury
of The Presbyterian church and or
gained its first congregation in
this country on the Eastern Shore
of Virginia. lie died and was
buried in Accomac county, which
is thus, through him, the birthplace
of tie American Presbyterian
church. Down in NOrthamptOn, Il
few miles from quaint EaStvllle
ccurt house, is the ancestral home
of he Gusts family-the original
Arlington estate. from which the
heights above Washington take
their name. Here the ancestors of
Martha Washington lived i'll Co
lcnial Splendor when the country
WAS loyal TO the King. Parts of
tile ancient burial ground of the
Gusts family still remain, and one
marble slab, ivy mantled and black
eupd by time and the elements, has
this curious inscription:
Under this tomb lies We body of
NE HONORABLE JOHN GUSTS,
Ot tie City of Williamsburg and Pau
lSh OF Benton,
Formerly of llunger'S Parish,
On the Eastern Shore Virginia,
and County of Northampton,
The place Of his nativity,
Aged II, ard Vet lived but years.
VI llch was the space Of time he kept
Bachelors House, ut Arlington, OIL the
Eastern Shore OF Virginia.
The paradox which concludes
this inscription is variouSly eX-
planned, but traditions say that the
paor fellow married viXer, who
lr, him d sad dance through life.
He had spent SevenyearS with none
int his servants at Arlington, a
careless bachelor, happy to ride
across country and keep late hours
WITH the young bucks Of the day
over a bottle OF rum and the Solac
lis influence of Il pipe and tobac
CO. When he finally became a
Benedict he lost his liberty and
conn,ed himself dead flom that
day.
\ halfScore of miles below Ac-
comac court house. Oh the bend Of
All ill.kept country road as it emer-
GEES from il forest Of pines, is one Of
tie landmarks of the country-a
battered, storm beaten mill. The
summer tourist who goes out ofhiS
way to visit this Anticipated struc-
ture is at once impressed by the
tranquility OF The scene. The twit
ter OF a bird, the almost inaudlble
splashing of the little stream fall
Ing over the dam, or the melan-
choly murmur OF the breeze pass
ing through the high tops Of the
pines are the only sounds 20 be
l.-ard. AS for motion, except the
lazy turning Of the great moss
covered waterwheel, moving its
green and shiny fukes with solemn
slownesS, as if protesting against
such unseemly haste, there Is none
The old mill itself is almost a ruin,
but il Is still used by the neigh.
borS to crush their grain, and there
Is miller there at times, and flour
of primitive kind may be manu-
Jactered beneath its tumbled shin
giles ard falling brick walls; bnt, as
the tourist generally finds it, its
only inhabitants are the the musk
rats and the owls and its most i'm
portant use appears to be to afford
principal and striking feature Of
this bit of picturesque Eastern
Shore landscape.
The dwelling house connected
with this old relic long since Gisap
Feared. More than hundred years
ago its roof protected little black
eyed girl, the story of whose TO
mantle career makes one of the
most interesting chapters of Ameri-
can history. This girl, born within
the shadow Of this old mill, became
in a curious manner the wife oil one
OF the most conspicuous and inAu-
entail public men of this century.
She died upon the threshold of the
White Honse, the mistress Of
WHICH had she lived a few months
longer she would have become
One of the most famous duels that
ever occurred in this country was
fought to the death for a breath
upon her honor. Altogether she
became a famous woman, and the
fact that she loved to smoke /. clay
pipe with the great man who be
came her husband has no: lesSened
the regard in winch posterity will
will ever hold her.
Rachel Donaldson, was born
eleven years before the Declara-