The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1886-05-27
For the VIRGINIAN.l
The History Of the Weeping Willow

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| Messrs. Editors Your readers will. I
am sure, feel grateful to us for placing be-
fore them the history of this, the most
beautiful tree in America. that ought to
be more appreciated than it is.
copy it from the 263d page of 1.-THE
Life and Adventures of Milburn Waters,
Inc famous hunter and trapper of White
Top Mountain, embracing early history of
southwestern Virginia, sufferings of the
Pioneers, &C., by Chas. B, Coale, for thirty
years editor OF the Abingdon Virginian :
Rlchmond, G. w. Gary g Co., 1873"
may say the book is throughout thrillingly
Interesting.
In one of the early numbers of Scrib-
ner's Magazine the writer read very in
teresting history of this beautiful tree,
(salix babylonica) and it's introduction on
our continent. The article was written
by Benson F. Losing, the celebrated pic
torlal historian, who says that the willow
is native OF Babylon and was known in
no other part of the world till hundreds of
years after the captive Jews hung their
harps upon it and refused to sing the songs
OF Zion in a strange land.
Mr.. LOSING, in tracing its history, says
that the first willow in England was sent
by a gentleman in Egypt to the great En-
gllsh poet, Alexander Pope. two hundred
years ago, in this wise: He sent Mr.. Pope
box of figs, in which the latter found a
green twig that did not belong to the fruit
and being fond OF exotics he planted it in
a marshy spot in his garden at Twicken-
ham on the Thames and in few years it
became a beautiful and fourishipg tree.
In 1779, during the American revolution,
a British officer, on his departure to the
New World, and supposing the colonies
would soon be conquered and that he would
become possessed of a princely estate be-
longing to some wealthy rebel, plucked
a tWlg from POpe's tree to plant upon his
anticipated estate on this side of the
water. During the war he became
acquainted with Mr.. John p. Curtis, the
step-son and aid of Gen. Washington, who
often visited the British headquarters
under a flag OF truce, and warm friend
ship grew up between them. At the evac-
uation OF Boston, and finding that his
dream of acquiring an estate by conquest
in America had been dissipated, the officer
presented Mr.. Curtis with the tWig care
FULLY wrapped in piece of oiled silk. The
latter soon after married. and the account
says he planted the twig on his estate at
abingdon, Virginia.
After it grew to some size he gave Gen
eral Gates two tWigS who planted them on
his estate in New York.
Some twenty years after hearing this
remarkable history, says Mr.. LOSING, he
was at Arlington, then the residence Of
Mr.. Geo. w. 2. Curtis, the son of the
gentleman already named, and while con-
versing with him upon the subject, the old
gentleman pointed to a magnificent
willow in the yard and remarked. THAT is
a child of tie tree at Abingdon. =
The writer, on seeing this in Scribner's
Magazine, and having no knowledge of any
other Abingdon in Virginia besides our
own In Washington county, and feeling
interested in learning something rurther
upon the subject, entered into q CORE
spondence with Mr.. LOSING in the course
OF which that gentleman ascertained that
the Abingdon spoken of by Mr.. Curtis was
his father S estate on the Potomac above
Arlington. This dissipated the fond
dream that our Abingdon had been the
favored spot for propogating the first
willow upon American soil, but it led to
an investigation that satisfied him that it
was introduced in what was then called
the 'sHolsten settlement soon after the
Revolution as the following facts will
attest The writer learns from one of the
oldest citizens of the county that two
willow trees were growing upon the estate
of General Tate, at the Broad Ford, six
miles above the Salt Works, as far back as
1906, one of them quite large. In 1894,
the writer has learned from good author
ity, David and Michael Shaver each came
into the possession of twig, perhaps from
the trees at Broad Ford and planted them
at their mothers residence, five miles
south of Abingdon, now owned by Mr..
David Parks. About the beginning of the
present century, Mr.. William King, the
original owner of the salt works, who died
in 1908, planted a willow twig in the back
yard of his residence at Abingdon, and
which was standing there as late 1885.
So, although another Abingdon than onr
own is entitled to the credit Of introducing
the first Egyptian tree on the American
continent, there is very strong ground for
supposing that Washington county pro
duced the second. ANTIQUARY