The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1902-01-04
XIV of France, and his Bavarian
THE AMERICAN BLENHEIM.

allies.
THE AMERICAN BLENHEIM.
Having presented to the public a
brief description of England's 'Blen-
heim," we now cross the Atlantic
and find that here at Our very doors,
in Baltimore county, we also have a
historic colonial estate, called "B1en-
HEINZ" it being situated near the vii
1age of Sweet Air, and owned at the
present date by Mr.. Charles E. Weak
ley. The history of this estate is old
and very interesting, and is as fol-
lows:
The estate of which "Blenheim"
is the central point or original home
stead, was patented" about the latter
part of the seventeenth century. 1t
then contained about 5000 acres and
was named "Blythnia Cambria. "
In I7o5 it belonged to William Bla-
| den, who, in I7I5. sold it to a NJ
Clark. In 1887 Mr.. Clark sold what
then remained of it, about 72o acres,
to Major Thomas Franklin, an Eng
lishman, who changed its name to
"Blenheim," in honor of his personal
friend, the Duke of Marlborough, the
owner of the famous Blenheim estate
in England. From Major Franklin
it descended to his daughter, Mrs.
Smith, and from her to her son, Lar
kin H. Smith, who, in 1889, sold what
then remained of it, about $50 acres,
to DR.. Robert Agnew Gather of the
late DR.. D. Hayes Agnew, of Philadel-
phia. } and James N. Henderson,
both of Lancaster county, Pa. DIR.
Robert Agnew died there in 1858, and
James N. Henderson in 1888. By
sales the estate had then become re-
duced to about 24o acres, which was
sold at public sale the last named year
to its present owner, Mr.. Charles E.
Weakley.
The ancient "Blenheim" house,
partly surrounded by grand old trees
and grassy lawns, stands upon an
eminence which commands a beauti-
full view of the rolling country for
miles around. A part of it was built
prior to I7I6, and the "new part, i"
which is of brick said to have been
brought from England by Major
Franklin, was erected in 1852. The
paneled and moulded hardwood par
titions, stairs, cornices and doors and
window sash with small square glass,
show the style of interior finish of
that period.
On this farm, about 900 yards east
erly from "Blenheim House." is
graveyard containing the remains Of
several members of the families of its
early owners. One grave stone bears
the following inscription:
Elizabeth Heath Franklin, daugh-
ter of Thomas Franklin and wife of
Aquilla Paca."
Aquilla Paca was brother TO Will
liam Paca, who, with Chase, Stone
and Carroll, the patriotic representa-
t;ves of Maryland in the Continental
Congress at Philadelphia, on the 4th
of Jnly, 1916, in direct disobedience
of instructions from their constituents,
voted for the adoption of the ''Declar
alton of Independence" and who
each, on August ed following, signed
his name to that sacred parchment.
PRETTY BETTY MARTINA MARY
LAND BELLE WHO GAVE RISE
TO coUPLET.
So much for a brief sketch of the
American Blenheim. A sketch of
this old Maryland homestead would
be incomplete indeed if we did not
follow it with biography of a famous
belle of ye olden time pretty Betty
Martin who in the days gone
by" left her impress upon the pages
of its history.
In one of the glass cases under the
dome of the Government Building at
the Chicago Exposition of 1898, was
exhibited among other old relics, a
gold ring, with an amethyst setting,
to which was attached the following
inscription
"This ring belonged to Betty Mar
tin, the grandmother of Gov. Paca,
of Maryland. Loaned by F. c. Nor
gan"
The ring has doubtless been seen
and the inscription read by thousands
of visitors to tie Exposition without
exciting the slightest interest. But
the Maryland dame upon whose
shapely hand this ring was once worn
was a famous belle and beauty, whose
admirers were counted by scores in
both England and her colonies in
ante Revolutionary days, and whose
history is of such pleasant memory as
should not be forgotten.
Perhaps one-third of the persons
who have read and quoted the tradi-
tional couplet:
ssPretty Betty Martin, tiptoe fine.
Couldn't find husband to suit her mind,
Some too course and some too fine,
Pretty Betty Martin, tiptoe fine,"
are fully persuaded in their own
minds that Betty Martin is myth-a
the society of the old woman who
swept the cobwebs out of the sky, or
the respected dame who, with her
numerous and perplexing family, IN
habited the historic shoe. She has,
doubtless, been regarded as the type
of excessive and morbid fastidlous-
ness, who so exaggerates Gefects as
to leave all excellence unappreclated
She has been cited for generations as
an admoniticn to young ladies who
are esteemed by their guardians ane
matrimonial advisers as too "choice
in the selection of husband, and
warming to those candidates for ma
trimony who are rapidly approaching
the borderland which trenches s.
; closely upon the desolate and troze'
: plains of old maidenhood. And ye
: Betty Martin was no myth-no ldes
/ of feminine capriciousness or waywar
5 or short sighted procrastination-b'
: a woman of flesh and blood, who NJ
i cl 800 h,.chond tO SI1it h(