St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-02-22
HOME OF THE WASHINGrONS

1OmE Or III w AS hin " IONO
During visit to England in 1890. the
thought occurred to me that it would be
pleasant to celebrate our national holt
day at the ancestral home of the Wash
ingtons. 1t was with difficulty that we
learned how to reach it, as the place is
not spoken of in any guide book, neither
is it on the railway maps. Howe yer,
we finally learned how to go, and start
ed early on the morning OF the Fourth
of July. Leaving Pancras station, Lon
don. at in The morning. changing cars
al Bletcbley, and again at Ellsworth, we
arrived at HelmdOn in about two and
half hours. The day was perfect, and a
walk Of two miles brought us to the
little town of Sulgrave. There are about
400 inhabitants in this village, where the
houses are all matched roofs, except the
Washington manor house, which is of
stone. The church is beautifully stu
ated on hill. and was the first place
we visited. Finding it locked, we i'll
quired at neighboring house, from
: which a woman came with the key to
+, the church door. After she unlocked
: the door and entered, we followed, and
there saw stone slab In the aisle OH
which is marked, Here lieth the bodies
of Laurence Washington, Gent, and
aimee, his wife, by whom he had issue
four sons and seven daughters. Lau-
renee died - day of = AIMEE de-
ceased the sixth day of October. A. ID.
1864" The bls nix spaces were evidently
left, expecting that his heirs would
piously fill them up.
The duty was never done. and for
nc nj Ch
ing the fallacy Of human expectation.
AS Laurence Washington had been
twice lord mayor of Northampton, there
is an effigy of him in his mayors robes,
which is of brass, and is below the in
scription; near it is the shield with the
stars and stripes. So that OH the floor
of st. Mary's church, Sulgrave, North
ampton, is the origin of our American
flag. We knelt in the Washington fam
lily pew (Which is under the large will
dow near the chanceD, and prayed for
our country. On the wall above the
pew was beautiful brass tablet with
the same inscription that is On the slab
covering the tomb; also the shield with
red stripes, and the stars outlined with
blue, the eenterS of them also of blue.
On the lower part of the tablet are the
words directed by Representatives of
the Family in America" This tablet
had only been placed there fortnight
before. The lettering on the stone slab
is very much worn. and doubtless the
tablet was made to perpetuate the in
scription.
The Washingtons came into posses-
sion of Sulgrave at time when Henry
VIII. had cast his eyes on Anne Boleyn.
and, wanting to get divorce from
Queen Katherine. had taken possession
of all church property, distributing it
among his friends, of whom laurence
Washington, shrewd lawyer of, Gray's
Inn. London. and man OF powerful
influence, was one. and received the
gift of the manor of Sulgrave Over the
door to the ancient manor house of the
Washlngtons the family arms is cut in
| stone. so that we again saw the stars
and stripes. our flag in embryo. It is
presumed that the American eagle was
taken from the crest of the Washing
tons, as our first president had on the
panels of his carriage and on his watch
seal both the arms and the crest, the
| latter being that of bird. During the
military career of Gen. Washington he
presented to Mrs. Ross. of Philadelphia.
the ideas for the flag which was adopted
by congress, who took the Washington
arms III honor Of the father OF our eoun-
try.
Mrs. Ross. being skilled in needle
work, was given the pleasure of making
the first flag. We were shown all over
the manor house. which is kept fur
nished and scrupulously clean, although
the owners are seldom there. Going up
a short flight of steps which led from the
sitting room. we entered dark closet.
large enough to contain set of bed
room furniture, where it is said that
Queen Elizabeth once entered on horse
back and secreted herself to escape
pursuers. We wisely prepared
luncheon before leaving London, which
we ate on the lawn in front of the manor
house. AS there were no shops at the
village. it was well for us that we were
fortified for the long tramp. Our party
of three were objects of curiosity to the
villagers, who came to the doors to look
at us; we were as good as a circus to
those quiet people. | wonder some en-
terprising Englishman does not pur-
chase the manor house and advertise 1t.
making some arrangement whereby it
could be more accessible to tourists.
o
About eighteen miles from Sulgrave
members of the Washington family.
At the village of Little Brington is
cottage where the Washingtons lived.
Over the entrance to it are the words
1.-The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh
away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
Constructus 1906" At Great Brington,
two miles from the Washington cottage.
is the parish church, in which are the
tombs of some of the Washingtons and
their kindred, the ancestors of Lord
Spencer. There is wealthy Minnesota
family who trace their lineage from
Lord Spencer's antecedents. Many
years ago Charles Sumner visited
Brington. and was much interested
in seeing a monument in the
chaneel of the church to the last
lineal ancestor of George Washington
who lies buried in England. Tn the
Brington church lies buried Robert. son
of Laurence Washington of Sulgrave.
whose son Laurence IS also buried
there. The second son of the Lau-
renee Washington buried at BringtOn
was named John, who emigrated to
America, settling at Bridges Greek,
Va. He married Ann Pope, by whom
he had a son named Laurence. who
married Mildred Warner. Their son
was named Augustine. who married
twice, first to Jane Butler, who died
leaving three children, and secondly to
Mary Ball, by whom he had six chill
dren. The eldest son of this second
marriage was George Washington.
who died childless that the nation
might call him father" E. p. III.