The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1897-06-22

me Nephew OF Barbara Frritcb'e
Denies the Story of Winters Fa-
nous Poem.
H. has been oft n denied that IL ere
was any foundation for the s,o,y ahout
Barbara Freitchic, OF FrcdcricH MI
ana The 10 loving from thu New York
Herald clinch,s the denial from a
OF her own family
Up from the meadows rich with corn.
learn me cool September morn,
me clustered spires of Frederick stand
"reen walled by the hills of MARYLAND,
VINO has not read the story of Bar
para tr, itchi made famous in verse
by whittier ? Who cannot repeat the
~n'norta Lines which tell how old
b trbara, 0"
Bowed with her fourscore years and
ten; ~
Braves OF all in Frederick town.
'ae TOOK up the flag the men hauled
mere Is living in philadelphia to-
Gay u nephew of Barbara Freitchie.
rms young man, for he is only - years
Ola, according 10 his own statement.
ana ne does not look a day older, is
lNooert ID. Roth, and he is a Junior
meu'cal stuuen at the Hahneman
oo'leeSe; Robert is u nat We Of Fred.
oi.ch' Mu, where his ancestors on
elCher side V lived for more than a
century, and have been honored citi-
zens.
Ills tather, Anon a. Roth, is a pros
peiou and leading p~ractiotinecr in
trederlck. Before the war he spent a
lew years in Harrisburg, this State.
ltoOt. ltoth's mother was a Freitchie.
or freitchey, as be says is the proper
way OF spelling it, and she was a sister
OF Barbara. The young man himself
Is q typical product Of the South,
poilsned aud rctiocd in manner and
speech, and although to-day "a thorough
american ne does not hesitate to dis
cuss with glowing interest what
might have becn"had the Confederate
army possessed more supplies and men
at the critical period when Grant an.
nounccd the terms Of unconditional
surrender at AppomattoX.
Inc war Is a thing Of the past, and
are no more loyal citizons in the
United States than are t. he found in
the South today, he said, as in com.
pany with Il reporter he watched a
procession of bcgrilzled and battle
Scared veterans pass on their way to
u cemetery.
But of the story Of Aunt Barbara.
u was purely and simply a stretch OF
i'poi'h, III d~tCOFuanco, | sun
pose, with Il license that all writer's OF
verse have or take To themselves Ol
course the battle Of Frederick was
fought before my birth, but lam famil.
ar with what did actually take place,
Tor the matter has been discussed by
my parents and others Of our families
many times since. There is no truth
In the story that Aunt barbara waved
the stars and stripes AS StonewaI
JacKson's army came through the
streets. h was sick ut the time and
TOO weak to have made the cfr)r,
even had she had the disposition
Another thing about the story that |.
untrue Is That Stoncwall Jackson rod,
AL Inc mead OF the rebel troops. a,
whittier has it. He came through
Frederick at t O'clock in the mornine
and visited u family named Ross
Ihey were old friends and he cane t,
ay his respects. He never went pca,
the street in which Aunt Barbar;
lived
Aunt barbara was a maiden lady
and doubtless possessed many if no,
all the peculiarities and ecccntricities
OF persons in her sphere Of life. Sh(
was not -four score and ten as Whittie,
has 1t In his poem, but | suppose h,
used the expression for cuphony O,
rythmical effect. All Of Aunt Barbara,
relatives, including my mother, wer,
honest sy~mpathlZers with the Confcd
crate cause. Aunt Barbara WAS no,
sessed Of maidonish whims and WA,
inclined to be opposite ia her view,
regarding many questions. hav,
heard my parents say that perhap,
scVeral times during the war She SUI
gcsted Il desire for the success of tn,
Union army. At other times she WA,