The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-04-29

Before the exodus Of the Indians fror,
the woodlands which have since become
the Capital of the American Republic. the
white man had made rough surveys and
obtained land patents from Maryland on
one side of the Potomac River. ard the
trees. amid which the Indians occasionally
sun prowied. we're "blazed" with thu
white mans marks that asserted the SOW.
erelgnty OF the King and the ownership
oil his subjects. On the west side Of tins
river the county Of Stafford. in Virginia.
extended to the falls. while on the Mary
land side the land which is now the Cant
tai was included in Charles county. In
1868 Francis Pope patented a tract OF land
on the Tiber Creek. which he called Rome
and Capt Robert Troop patented an ad-
joining tract, to which he gave the name
Of Scotland. Duddington Manor. budding
tons Pasture, New Troy. and the widows
Mite we're all under patent within the
bounds OF what is now Washington, when
Captain Howsen patented the land at the
south end Of the Long Bridge in October
1863, and month later disposed Of his
patent to Julius Alexander These were
tho years in which the plague ragged in
London, where was situated the suDrems
control Of all the lands hereabout.
The year 1876 may be accounted as the
date Of the entire extinction Of the Indian
power in the neighborhood Of Washington.
and after that date the land patents Of
Rome, Scotland. "DuddingtOn" etc.
became available as plantations The H.
dians who remained we're but few. and
those were the abject servants Of the whits
man. Territorial changes came with thu
new conditions. Prince George county
was cut off In Maryland above Charles
county in 1886, in pursuance Of an act OF
the Colonial Legislature Of Maryland,
passed in 1885. The Washington site was
included within the new county.
In the county the Hundreds" a district
of Piscataway and New Scotland, were
created. Piscataway Hundred was below
Oxen Branch, while New Scotland Hun
bred extended north from Oxen Branch TO
the Falls Of the Potomac and. Of course.
included the Washington and Georgetown
lands In this Hundred was created. In
1896. the first local government Of this
section, and it's officials were all minor
ones. These we're: David Ebbett. eonsta-
bile; Charles Beall pressmaster. and
Francis Prisby. Overseer Of roads. Ebbett
was thus the forerunner OF Major Sylves-
ter. with his captains. leutenants. SER
geants and hundreds Of policemen
Prisby was the herald of the Engineer De-
partment OF the District but Beall ths
pressmaster. has no follower, for it was
not the printing press that he mastered.
He was the official that headed the press
gang Of primitive Washingtcnians that on
order seized all Migrants and sent them TO
the Army, according to one version Of the
office. Another is that the pressmaster
was the master Of the public tobacco press,
where all the tobacco raised within tie
hundred was pressed fCr export, for the
tobacco grown on what is now the Capitol
Grounds and in other localities needed %
be tied into big bundles and then pressed
into smaller ones before it could 90 on
shipbOard.
The patents Of Francis Pope, for Rome,
and OF Robert Troop, for Scotland. were
long in the papers of the office of the
Mayor of Washington at the City Hall,
having been presented in April, 1887, by
R Y. Brent. esq. The description in
these patents shows either that the PO-
tomac in front OF what is now Washing
ton was at that time called the AnacOs-
tia River. or that these patents were
granted for land near the navy yard It
is not impossible that. at first, all the
river which flowed north Of AnaC0stia or
Aualostan Island and north OF the
marshes. which have since been filed up
and Crnamented. as well as the Eastern
Branch, was called the Anacostia River,
while that portion Of the stream which
flowed south Of AnalOstan Island. south
Of the marshes now known as the Viz
GINA channel, was considered the real Po-
tomac River. The researches Of Mr. Hugh
Taggart. Mr. Wineberger. Mr.. William
Bryan and other searchers into the past Of
this section will determine the fact in this
m after soCuer or later
The lower portion Of Scotland Hundred
and true site Of the city Of Washington
in Prince George county. until
by an act Of Assembly, December, 1I4s, tie
county was divided by a line which began
On the south side Of Rock Greek and ran
thence in a straight line to the east side
Of Seth Wyatts plantation This line was
about cOiucidenJ with the present
New Hampshire Avenue. East Of this line
in Prince George county and
west Of it the county of Frederick was
so that when Georgetown was in
,orpOrated in f751 it was located in Fred
=rick County at the tobacco warehouse
near the mouth of Rock Creek
During all this time, Alexandria. incOr-
1Orated in 174S. and Georgetown, incOrpOr-
ited in 175t had been growing as cities,
but the site Of Washington was mostly
given up to raising corn and tobacco
There we're. however. two small exceptions
10 the general agricultural character OF
unbuilt Washington. \ German, Jacob
Funck. had gathered a hamlet near the
south ends Of the present streets from
10 Twenty-third Street. This
settlement was first designated as Fun,k's
Town Mr. Funck was an entsrprising
man and in i711 made a plat OF town
to be called Hamburg with Arch, Per-
siumon. Locust. Walnut Mulberry. High
Market and Raven Streets. Mr.. Funck
granted land for a church in Hamburg
This curious paper Is still extant. IL
reads: BE :t remeambret that in the year
1865 I Jlc1b Funck laid out carting pece
Of groun ling between Rock erik and COOS
grick ON Petomk in prince georges County
MARYLAND into lots for town called Ham
burg I soi5 two lots in the year 1908 TO the
iuch earnings in sed town Of Ham
5urp one No Is to the searmiug prispoyer-
.res Cougrcg CATION for a chung and bearing
rrourd for witch seaid lot I have Recaved
five points corent money Of the aforesaid
it bedng in full for the above
ot And also lot No. 1S5 TO the gearman
Congregation f1r @ churgs & Bear
ing ground for which saad lot I recayed
i've pounts current money of the lutherins
congregation DC being in full for saed lot
Rec By Jacob Funck To the Gear OF adoni
go-ler and David ReiuzeL'
The C0ncordi1 Church on Twentieth and
G. Streets northwest. still keeps the ar
rhives and is the representative Of the
'prispoterirgs" church Of FunckstOwn, es-
.ablishel in 1868.
shortly before this. in 1770 Henry Ro-
zier. Daniel Carroll and Wesley Young
had laid out the town Of Carrollsburg at
the junction Of James Greek with the Eas-
tern Branch. CarrOllsburg had Middle,
L.. N-.r.h .hnrt md Iamas Sfraats