Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-09

September !. 1888.
Stablerville should be the name Of the
pretty rural region roundabout this little
post office. but II is not Stableryille: IL is
Sandy Spring. There is plenty of sand
here especially during the long summer
droughts that occur now almost every
year. and there are cool. sparkling springs
In abundance, but there are Stablers all
over the rather indefinite section of this
part OF Montgomery county known as 'the
Sandy Spring neighborhood." There are
more Stablers than there are Brookes and
Bentleys. and that is saying a great deal.
Everybody in this neighborhood is related
In one way or another to a StabIer. and
consequently the Stablers are all uncles, or
aunts. or cousins. or nieces. or nephews. or
something to somebody else. The
Stablers are. moreover. honest industrious
weii-to-do citizens and good neighbors and
the chief Stabler Of them all is Uncle Jim"
Stabler. who has a warm place in the hearts
OF every dweler in the Sandy Spring neigh
borhood' and within a radius of many
miles outside
The portrait Of Uncle JIM given here
with Is a faithful likeness of the old gen.
tleman and will be at once recognized bv
hundreds OF people In Montgomery county.
II shows him In a favo-ite and Character
istc attitude. but while he loves to fondle
shotgun, he was never known TO do any
more serious damage than to Kill a squirrel
or put few bird shot under the skin OF the
pesky boys who play havoc with his
year.
His Home Life.
Uncle Jim lives about two miles from
Olney in a picturesque old house. built l6o
years ago. and where he first opened lbs
eyes to the light Of day in 1877. The house,
like Its owner. is becoming q little wealth
erbeaten now, and. in fact. some parts Of
It especially the roof OF the front porch,
are somewhat In the condition OF the home
OF the famous Arkansaw traveller II is
beneath the shelter Of this same roof how
ever. that Uncle Jim spends many hours of
these long. pleasant summer days. He has
given up farming on a large scale and de-
votes his hours chiefly to work in "the
SHOP, FOR he is a skilled machinist car
penter ana wheelwright and is universally
known as the best all-round mechanic IN
the county. In the shop he has a complete
set Of all the tools known TO modern me-
chanics and loves them Just as he loves
MS friends and their children who come to
see MIN, and the birds and the bees and
cats and dogs and squirrels, who always
feel at home on his lawn and in his garden
But II is when sitting on the front porch.
which is always dry on clear DAVIS that
Uncle Jim is in his element He Is n great
reader and delights to sit at his improyfsed
desk In corner OF the porch and read the
whose aad
turmoil he Keeps aloof.
The First of the stablers.
Sitting in his arm chair "a dav nv ,uo
ago. with his elbow and spec,aclas res,,,s
on the shelf Cor desk. as he calls io OF his
porch. his head in his hand and his coed
friend Captain Tom" Griffith by his side
uncle Jim told The Star reporter MANY
interesting things about the stab;ers
whose names have been so long interviewer
with the growth and prosperity OF SANDY
spring. and about things IN general. He
said among other things thai Ihe,e are
between fifteen and twenty families OF
Stablers In and about Sandy Spring com
prlslng about sixty persons IN all, and that
the founders of this big family were George
and Ann Stabler OF England AMI thar The
nrst or the name to come to America was
EDWARD Stabler, who settled In Peters
purg' va. and afterward in Cumberland,
Nd whence the family branch4d of into
Montgomery county. the advance t1lard
coming In 1871 After talking for a while
about these ancestors Uncle lin spread
OUT on his shelf the original grant OF land
TO the nrst Stabler In America from the
King OF England. a grant that covered
many miles of the section now occupied nv
the farms of the citizens Of Montgomery
county. The old gentleman takes great
pride in family matters and has on his mar
lor table genealogical tree with so MANY
branches and twiss and leaves that 81 is
hopelessly bewildering task to follow Il
Stabier twig that was added but 4 short
time ago.
Aunt Phoebe and the Pets.
Uncle Jim has no little Stablers himself,
but he has a dear old wife. known every
where as Aunt Phoebe" and a very
ancient white horse who has lived almost
as long as his master and who will stop
anywhere on the road at any time IL some
one calls. Whoa, Betty" Uncle Jim has
Nx-hs g, h. IL. III
Is sorrel mare now entering her fifteenth
year Every summer Uncle Jim saws he
thinks he will have her broke" but as
she has never been through this disciplin-
airy process she Is still entitled, of course TO
be called a colt. Perhaps because they have
no children, Uncle Jim and Aunt Phoebe
are very fond OF birds and beasts and fowls
and animals of all kinds, and IL a caller
asks to see their particular pets they will
say hush" and after a moments silence
few little ground squirrels will come
timidly peeping from their holes and tremb-
lingly approach the porch to get the crumbs
held out to them. Even the bees like Uncle
Jim and they yield him great boxes OF
honey every year. He has so little fear OF
them that he will conduct swarm from
the top % a tree back to the hive with as
little anxiety for his skin as he would
feel in feeding the chickens. The trees and
bushes on his pretty front lawn are COW
cred with picturesque little bird houses
that he has made in 1.-The shop" and during
the long summer DAYS their jewellers fiy
about the porch and lull the old man into
his afternoon nap. which he takes on the
parlor floor with his feet resting on the
door sill.
Unique Relies.
Uncle Jim is a good deal OF a relic
hunter too. with his other gentle vices,
and can show and say some very interest
ing things when he is in a reminiscent
| mood. His most unique relic Is a little
piece OF bone about inch In length.
| which, as is fully authenticated, is a sec
ton of the vertebrae Of Gen. Braddock,
who is buried near where one OF Uncle
Jim's ancestors lived. On the wall just IN
| side the porch door Is the original wooden
peg on which William Penn used to hang
his hat during the early days in Pennsyl-
vania. There is no official certificate that
| this peg is bona fde, but after hearing
Uncle Jim's detailed account Of how II came
| into his possession, the most thorough
| skeptic could no longer doubt that the old
broad brim hat Of the great Quaker rested
| thousand times on this historical hook
The Mysteries of Nature.
Uncle Jim is full Of philosophy. geology.
natural history. botany, bird lore. book
| lore, and wood lore. He can almost make
the birds talk, and can tell so much about
the flowers and fruits and grasses that
grow In such rich profusion about his old
home that one wonders how the head OF
| such a plain, practical old man can hold II