New-York tribune., 1894-01-07

DINING ROOM NNl' NV wa 90
twelve persons I'm the lr,~inr-room can D." seen
q Great many household .llunhief l"f' lr PRESIDENT
Monroe. which w.r. permitted 20 remain nnhtrm''
bv tho Tnion soldiers. vino 80 frcqT 1'iy occupied
.. durlng fh. war. There is l.re" mahogany
hackpamrnon- table presented - Mr. M"nf'" dur
ing his Presidency h} iir American Mln .i'r -
Paris The playing Iieo"'. f-"'l from 'i'ii'h'7
tusl.s are about sis inches ln cr'iniI' renee '"l
heavy marble slab surrounds the table. Beneath
,his s,oh within the pli} inr-ho.rl. Wa Mr. Fair
c,v,s royorite place during the war for c1ur"Aliug
b.r irv.elrv while the house was bong .'ir'h''l
several times IN the dad of night ih" "''n-
uants Of oak Iili werr awakened hr fNIi'.'
l,o, kim, ON the front door aud thr pounding ~
guns and s,brcs against th" doors ana Windows;
marie tl,,n ,ua,l. on one ~ the outer doors may st
III. soen admission woull be- hastily granted -
,bo soldiers ami the soldiers would proc 'I - help
Themselves 10 f,od. Many a so'd.ef while ih"
bous. was being searched has rested ims II upon
tbo rnarbl. top Of this quaint oil table. never
dreaming Of the wealth beneath IT, or that 1t was
other. than n common pl t"bl"
e,anJin, o., the front porch Of oak lin one can
e,el,. SOC for twenty miles around. To the north
east are the Caioctin mountains. to the left IS Sng-
ar Loaf Mountain. reaching nearly 1@" feet
,h,ve the waters Of the Potomac. The famous
p,ro rIaec forms ;he western horizon. while 10
the south the mountains of Iiul Run hd" from
view the river and the battlefield tAlt bears that
Iarnc
One of the notable occurrences connected With
Oak II1I WAS the reception and entertainment Of
General Lafayette. who came 10 the United States
in ts2, ot the invitation Of Pr 'sIdcn Monroe After
h returned from his celebrated tou- THROUGH the
country the hospitality II oak Ilill was cNiondcl
., hin, and he was escort ii ihiher from Iecsburg
~, court Of honor. consisting Of the youth and
oh,,.,irv Of Old virginia. lie was 81 armed with
,be hcautv OF the place. and loft many memonios
~ his visit. The mantcls OF both the dining AMI
drawing rooms were gifts from General Lafayette
, president Monroe. one can well understand the
continents and feeling with which the great Cen
oral became an intimate Of the hom" of the Mon
roos and recall how many years before Mrs. Mon
ro. had effected the release Of Nine. de Lafayette
vhon the latter confined in tho prison Of La
rorcc. hourly expecting to be executed.
ur Monroe retired from the Presidents office In
1907 and during the six years that remained OF his
ufe devoted his time between his home at oak lin
and the residence Of his daughter. Alra. Samuel l..
couvcrncur wife Of tine nan Of that name who
,,os New Yorks Postmaster for nine years. and
,bose marriage was performed at the White
rI,,se IN Washington. Mrs. Monroe died at oak
nm septcmbcr %. 1880. and was buried IN the
lawn near the house. Her grave and that OF her
d,ugb,er are carefully and sacredly kept by the
nrcsent owner OF the property. AS Is well known.
president Monroe died on July l. 1851. at the house
- hls daughter In New-iork and oak Iii.l passed
into the possession of Mr. GouvcrneGr. who. In
1879 sold the property to Colonel John Walter Fair
,,x father OF the present owntr. Henry Fairfax.
The Fairfax family identified with this historic
bouse is not related To the ord Fairfax family OF
fame and story. not at least in this country. and
the ancestor Of this line OF the FdirfaXcs. Thomas
Fairfax came to America from England in 1861.
lie settled in Calvert County. Md. and his
descendants remained in that province for three
gene ra tiOns. AS VIII be observed Icy the dates.
Thomas Fairfax had been n this country "A quarter
~ n century before Lord Fairfax born and
eight years before the latter cmlgratei
Virginia The births and deaths In this family
ali carefully recorded in the old Durham Parish