St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-08-31
Home. Sweet Home.
THE TRUE STORY OF THE IMMORTAL SONG
TOLD FOR THE FIRST TIME

lhE TRUE STORY OF IHh lhMORIAL SONG
TOLD FOR THE FIRST TINE.
Some things there are which by COM
mon instinct mankind holds sacred. Among
these are the scenes of heroic deeds, the
precincts of patriotic graves, and the birth
place of sublime thought, in proof Of
which need only to be mentioned such
names as Lexington, Mount Vernon and
independence Hall And within the Dis
trict of Columbia there is spot which the
American people, if familiar with its asso
Citations, would not deem unworthy of men
ton in connection with those named.
Half century ago George w. Talburtt,
then young man and unmarried, was the
owner by Inheritance of q plantation of
two hundred and thirty one acres, lying
just across the east branch of the Potomac
from Washington, his fee simple domain
touching the river at q point opposite the
navy yard. Here he lived in elegant leis-
ure, having about hundred slaves, and
to digress for moment, the visitor may
still see near his home row Of graves,
from which are pointed out the particular
resting places of some more distinguished
than their companions for humble virtues.
One is remembered as the "colored
nanny" of person since raised to emf
timacy with several family generations.
This young man, possessed OF ease and
att uence, was boon companion of John
Howard Payne, whose dust has since be-
come so sacred. The old home still stands,
as it then stood, in an Eden bower ON the
bank of the river, and here, under VEN
cradle chestnut tree, sitting on a rustic
seat that encircled its trunk, Payne and
Talburtt used to drink their mint julep.
sing their merry songs and talk of the
lives they were to lead. Talburtt had
promised Payne that whenever he wanted
home it should be built on the planta
ton, and they would spend their bachelor
lives together. Much of the old planta
ton is now within the modern suburban
village of Anacosta, and on an elevation
that commands view of the National
Capitol and its surroundings, which quite
ravishes the eye with it's beauty, stands
the house, now owned and occupied by
Mr. H. A. Griswold, built in ful6llment Of
this promise The site was selected by
Payne himself before departing on his for
eign mission, but he never returned to en-
Joy the home of which he sang; and thus
absolved from his VOW of celibacy Mr..
Talburtt afterwards married and himself
occupied the new house, in which children
were born to him, one of whom, still a
resident of the village, is the mother of J.
Harry Shannon, widely known as the
juvenile orator. But the chief point of
interest is yet to be told, for, notwith-
standing the claim that "Home, Sweet
Home" wasssswritten in TunisIor in a Lons
don garnet, the original manuscript, in the
handwriting of the illustrious author him
self, and bearing his own interlineation,
is still in the possession of the family
Mr. Talburtt having died in 1865-and it
was on the rustic seat under the chestnut
tree, ON the bank of the east branch of the
Potomac. so near the mouth as to be prac-
tically on the main river, and little more
that mile east of south from the Capitol
building, that John Howard Payne, with
his own inspired genius and an aid de-
camp of mint julep, drafted this immortal
composition. The rustic seat, held as a
precious heirloom, is preserved in the at
tic of the old home and the chestnut tree,
| now partly dead, with it's top cut away
and much of it's bark clipped off as me
mentoes, still marks the birthplace of this
song, that will live while the English
tongue is spoken or matched roof covers
the head of humble inhabitant of the
earth Washington Star.