The age-herald., 1901-03-24


 shenid properly reco8aize the great sleep- CT underneath. That movement failed because of objections by the owner of the place, who claimed ownership Of the grave and the right of way toNtt. Ar- rangements were finally made, and a few years after a resolution was passed by Congress appropriating ten thousand dol lars for erecting a suitable monument. During the pending of this resolution Miss Sarah N. Randolph. a descendant of Jef- ferson, made to a member of Congress full statement of the condition of the graveyard and the title to 1t by the fam fly. The following is a part of this state ment:
 "The little graveyard at Monticello, on- ly one hundred feet square, is all of the ten thousand acres of land owned by Jeff ferson when he entered public life which is now left in the possession of his de- scendants He sleeps amid scenes of surpassing beauty and grandeur on that lovely mountain side, surrounded by the graves of his children and grandchildren to the fifth generation. At his side lies his wife whom he loved with singular devotion. A fewsfeet from him rests the cherished friend of. his youth. young Dab lfey Carr. whose motion in the Virginia House of Burgesses to establish commit tees of correspondence between the sister colonies, leading as 1t did to the meeting of the First Congress has given his name an enviable place in American history A little farther off lie the remains of an other devoted and distinguished friend Governor Wilson Cary Nicolas of Vis- ginia while at his feet sleeps another Governor of the old commonwealth, his son-ln-law, Thomas Mann Randolph. The modesty of the spot is in striking contrast with the celebrity of it's dead and there are perhaps few in America of greater historic interest or more deserving of the nations care. Soon after the appropria- tion was made by Congress, MT w. w. Corcoran. the distinguished phlanthro- pi3t with characteristic munifcence, en- dowed q profcssorship of natural history in the University of Virginia on condition that the institution should take care of the graveyard at Monticello, thus very appropriately placing the care of Jeffer- sons tomb in the hands of this child of his old age and the last creation of his genius. E'
 At last a fitting monument marks his resting place, erected, as 1t should be, by the nation he did so much to create. A fitting enclosure is also made of the sa- cred place and a suitable provision for its care."i
 In a lowly unmarked grave eight miles below Columbia s. C., lie the remains of the heroic girl, Emily Gerger, who, when the woods of her native State were filled with Tories. volunteered to take a mes sage from General Greene to General Sumter. a distance of many miles. With his precaution, Greene communicated the contents of the letter to the young wo- man verbally. fearing she might lose the written message on the way. Mounting a swift horse, the brave girl pressed on to Snmter's camp. On the second day of her journey she was captured by Tory scouts taken to a house on the edge of the swamp and searched. Being left kl. search, she ate up Greene's- letter piece by piece, and when the search was made nothing was found. With many apologies from her captors, Emily was allowed to pursue her journey. She reached Sum ter's camp, communicated Greenes mes sage, and soon Rawdon was flying before theN Americans. Surely her native State owes this brave girl a fitting monument.
 Fourteen miles from Charleston stands the old colonial church of St. James. Goose Creek, built in Ill. Above the high pulpit and quaint sounding board still stands the royal arms of Great Britain. the identical decoration which preserved the little temple from desecration during the Revolutionary war This historic church Is considered the most interesting relic of colonial times principally from its being kept in good repair with every thing about 1t in days of yore, when stately danes in four-horse coaches roll ed up to it's door, and with their attend ant cavaliers on horseback, filled the sev- enteen straight-back mahogany pews. The floor of the church is of stone. In front of the pulpit, set in the floor is a tablet to the memory of the first rector ot the parish, the Rev. Francis Le Jan, D. D., of Trinity College, Dublin, who died in 1717.
 Among the curiosities to the lizard hatchment, said to be the only one in this l ,tr,~- .cI ID-I.~ this hatchment was borne before the body into the church, where it has hung ever since. in accordance with the English custom. It was in the parsonage of this quaint old church that Mad Archie Campbell one of the British garrison at Charleston, with pistol in hand, com pelled the parson to marry him to his un- willing bride.
 In the old graveyard, fortified by a wall and ditch, are many old gray tombs with their lichen-covered inscriptions so nearly obliterated that it would take an old Mortality to decipher them Old land groves lie here who have been moul- dering since 1894. One of these land groves. Thomas Smith, Governor of the province in 1894, was the first person to plant rice in South Carolina.
 The neighborhood round about this church is truly a classic region, and is suggestive of many traditions and adven- lures of ye olden time. Here were the residences of many of the wealthest fam lilies of colonial times, who spent their winters upon their splendid estates, re- taining much of the style to which they had been accustomed across the sea. Here Marion and his men bivouacked time and time again, and many a fair colo nial dame waved a farewell to her hus- band or lover from the windows of the mansions now in ruins, or fired a gun through the portholes at their assailants.
 The name of any of these Revolution ary patriots is enough to illustrate an era or distinguish a nation; yet we find most of them without monuments or even memories of their eventful lives.
 We have been content to enjoy the lb- erty and independence achieved through their suffering and bloodshed, but have manifested an unpardonabe Indifference to the perpetuaton of their memories.
 Now that the Colonial Danes" and ''The Sons and Daughters of the Revolu- tion" have organized societies whose key note is perpetuation of historic spots, we hope soon to see the sacred resting places