Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-02-23
ANCIENT TOWN RECORDS.
Bladensburg in the Last Century-Fam-
lily Names which Still Survive.
BLADENsBURG, ND. Feb. %.

BLADENsBURG. Nd, Feb. %.
Among the records OF the town commission
ers of this ancient burg is a time-stnined vol
ume whose record goes back far beyond the
war of independence. The first record in the
piece of antiquity, its own sanetuation pre-
served, after stating that u previous book of
minutes had been mutilated so that copy had
to be made. goes on as follows:
A CENTURY AND HALF AGO.
Record book OF the town of Bladensburgh
Maryland, sst:
by virtue of an act of Assembly entitled an
act Tor the laying out. erecting sixty acres of
land into town. on the south side of the East
ern Branch of Potomac. called Bladensburgh
which SAID act empowers US. the subscribers,
as commissioners, to treat with the owner or
owners. person or persons, owning said lands.
for sixty acres to be laid out into sixty lots
for said town. and to dispose of them in manner
and form following:"
1t Is then stated that the commissioners met
on the land November 10, 174l, viewed it, aud
appointed Thomas Chettam their clerk.
Following is the next entry:
"On the seventeenth day of February, one
thousand seven hundred and forty-two, the
Following warrant was issued by order of the
commissioners and directed to the sheriff of
Prince Georges county. viz:
80 Prince Georges County, sst:
I've command you that you summon and
Il.
freeholders of your bailwick, to be and appear
at the Garrison landing on Friday, the 25th
day of February instant in order to inquire
and assess what damage recompense shall
be PAID and given to the owner or owners, per-
son or persons, owning the said sixty acres of
land now laid out for town called Bladens-
burgh, according to the directions of an act of
the assembly OF the province in that case made
and provided
"'Given under our hands and seal this sew
afE al,,
hundred and forty-two.
JAMES EDMoNsToN, [Seal.l
"'OsBoRN SPEIGG, (Seal.l
CIVILIAN MANDUIT, (Seal.l
"'THos. CAN'T, JUNK.. ISeal.1
"'To JoHS HEPBURN. esq, sheriff of county
Son the 9Th day of March, 1872 Capt James
Edmonston. MIR. Osborn Sprigg, Mr.. VIM.
Manduit, Capt Thos. CAN'T, and Mr.. Thos
Warning met on the land laid out for a town
called Bladensburgb, and made sale of the lots
to the several persons following
Here follows a list of the lots sold, with the
names of the purchasers, and the price paid
for each. The highest price paid was for No.
20, sold to Miss Calvert. 1.-The owner of the
land" for 81 10s., and for Nos. 81 and 80, sold
respectively to Nicholas Digs and William
Hilleary for the same price. The lowest was
for Nos. % and 20, sold respectively to John
Needham and Thomas Champion, for 2s. Cd
each. Among the names here exhibited are
many VI persons whose descendants are still
with us, as the Calverts, Thomases. Snowdens
Lowndeses, Warnings, Bakers, Cooks, Owens
Bealls. DC, but the names of more than half
are of families no longer here.
AN OLD FAMILY MANSION,
Mr.. Christopher Lowndes mentioned as the
purchaser of one of the original lots. was an
extensive merchant and ship-builder here.
and had a ship-yard ON the Eastern branch
just notwithstanding. His old brick man
sion, the ''Boslock house." is one of the many
monuments of those bygone days still here,
is singularly well preserved. and is at present
the property of the Stevens. On one of the
chimneys, up to a few years ago, was the fol-
lowing inscription in iron letters:
&C. l..
l746"
Recently the letters have fallen, but the date
is as clear rs 1t was one hundred and forty
three years ago. At this old mansion a grand
ball was given by Mr.. Lowndes to the officers
OF the French cavalry on their return from
Yorktown, and tradition says the old house
held high carnival on that occasion. OF the
old sire there is grandson. Mr. b. o. Lowndes.
here now. MIR. Lowndes is bfother-in-law of
the late Bishop Pinkney. and resides at "Blen-
helm" the home OF his father. beautifully
situated on hill overlooking Bladensburg and
the surrounding country. The William Man
dult, whose name appears as one of the COM
mIssioners at the time of the laying out Of the
town, Is beried in the old village graveyard
here. \ crumbhng tombstone records the
date of his death, 1149. His grave is the old
est one Of certain record therein. The next in
antiquity bears the following inscription:
MERCY CHEW.
Died 1775 aged 81"
At Garrison's Landing, where the act of the
assembly directed the town to be laid out
there was, up to q recent period, wharf.
where considerable cargoes used to be dis
charged. At present blacksmth's shop
stands on the site of the old landing. The
town was laid out during the administration of
CIR. Thos. Bladen, hence the name.
THE LAST RECORD
OF the old volume is the minutes of a meeting
held August "a, 1885, at which time Messrs. r.
I. Lowndes, c. c. Hyatt and Harrison Penn were
commissioners. Mr.. Hyatt, after whom thei
neighboring village OF Hyattsyille was named.
died only few years ago. The old book is in
fair state Of preservation and the writing
perfectly clear and legible. Mr.. Jas. II. vii.
son. member of the present board of town
commissioners. has recently made "a search for
the boundary stones of the acre lots of the
original survey and has succeeded in unearth-
ing many of them. The corner-stones have a
cross cut on the top of each and many'of them
still stand firm and erect