The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-03-29
HAM LION GRANGE.

NAMED in the Hamilton family for many
years. When General Hamilton died his
eldest son was l6, and his youth was passed
In the CHEEKY country home.
In all these years the trees grew and
hourisaed, not enc of them having died
Finally the block upon which they stand
came into the possession of Amos Getting,
who had come 20 love the trees and the old
house. Upon the block bounded by One
Hundred and Forty-first and One Hundred
and FOrty-third streets he permitted no i'm
proyements TO be- made, because he in
tended converting the property into public
park. lie was also anxious that the old
house should be preserved. To that end. he
presented it to st. Luke's Episcopal Church
four years ago, aud ever since then services
have been held In the house, but now fine
church 10 nearly completed on the corner
When ii is finished the house will be occu-
ped as rectOry BY the Rev. Gouverneur
Morris wilkins, the rector, whose an-
cestor, Gouyerneur Morris. pronounced the
eulogy upon General Hamilton.
Tradition has il that just before General
Hamilton died he named the trees, aud they
have grown as the States have grown New
York Is the largest and finest of the trees as
1t Is largest and most Important of the
original States. Its trunk il 8 feet In
diameter aad IL is 100 feet high. OF all the
trees that he named Rhode Island is the
smallest. Many years ago. during the war,
it is said bolts Of lightning struck the trees
named South Carolina, North Carolina. Vir-
giDia and Georgia. South Carolina suffered
more severely. but all were shattered. But
the trees we're not killed. New branches
have grown out. The marks of the light
ming are there and the trees are not as SYM
metrical as the others. but they have grown
as strong as ever.
One OF the curious things in connection
with the trees is that each autumn hundreds
of owls flock there. They remain for about
two weeks, making the neigh borhood hide
The death ofSMr. Getting prevented the
carrying out OF his plan 10 convert the prop
erty into park. and John l.. and w. Emlen
Roosevelt, his trustees, were bound by law
TO sell the property.
Many feared that some real-estate man
would buy the land and cut down the his
toric trees to make room for buildings
When Auctioneer Thomas began the sale
last Tuesday afternoon the first piece of
land offered was one that runs from Convent
avenue ITO feet along One Hundred and
Forty-second and One Hundred ana Forty
third streets, and which has frontage of
200 fees on Convent avenue. L. was divided
into Ia lots. The trees stand near the Con-
vent-ayenue end OF this piece. The aue-
tioneer explained that the IA lots were
offered In one batch In order to sell the old
property and the trees together.
How much am 4 offered?" asked the
auctioneer.
'One hundred thousand dollars" came
from q DIG, gray-OtarQed man In tie crowd
in front of the auctioneer's desk. He was
Orlando b. Potter. A few spectators
raised the bid to $4,000, but Dir. Potter
went them 5000 better. AS the raising
went on Mr.. Potter increased the bids 5000
until the price went up to $4,000. Then
some one increased that figure $3.50
Five hundred" promptly spoke MIR.
Potter.
The crowd saw by this time that Mr.
Potter was determined to buy the land, and
his bid was not raised. The Ii lots were
sold to him for $40 $50. After drawing a
check for that amount he quietly left the
exchange.
He told sun reporter that he went to the
exchange determined to buy The ground on
which the trees stand. no matter what the
price might be. Mr. Potter is a member of
the Sons of the Revolution, and when he
had left the Real-estate Exchange it was
said there that he bought the trees for that
organization.
81 represented no one but myself" said
Mr.. Potter. land therefore | have not
bought the trees for the Sons of the Revolu-
ton. 1 have not determined yet what l
shall do with the property. except that the
trees shall not be destroyed. III the Sons of
the Revolution wish TO buy them 1 am pre-
pared to hear from them"