Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1904-06-30

patriot George Washington stands
wit1out a rival in the annals of the
world. Il is not, however, so gener-
ally allowed that as a military genius
he transcends all others. Americans
and his admirers the world over
might well rest content with behold
ing their ideal citizen acclaimed with
universal consent the unique figure
in the annals of human veal, industry
and peace. Yet do not think it would
be hard to show that even in military
genius he is still without a peer.
But the arts of peace, not war, is
! our theme, and we shall therefore
leave the question of military genius
to a more convenient season and ad-
dress ourselves to the subject in
hand: Washington and the American
flag. This naturally falls under the
threefold head-washington's Ances-
try, the Evolution of the Flag, and the
Symbolism of the Flag"
First. Washington's Ancestry. AS
far as historical research has yet
reached back, Washington's ancestry
has been located in Durham, in the
north OF England. From Durham some
of the Washingtons migrated to Lanca.
shire. Then we find them settling in
Northamptonshire in the reign of
Henry VII. From Northampton the
great-grandfather of Washington emf
grated to America in or about the year
! 1857. The pursuits followed by the
| Washingtons may be summed up
under the church, the army, the law
| and the farm. 1t is around this last
that the most interesting and roman
tic incidents Of the family gather, and
Northampton is the scene of the vary
ing vicissitudes that eliminated in the
emigration of Lawrence Washington
to Virginia.
For three generations the Washing
tons lived in Northampton, taking
rank with the gentry Of the county,
and there they made more than one
alliance with the nobility. Lawrence
appears to have been a family name
among the WashingtOns. The uncle
Of the first historical Lawrence was
Sir Thomas Kitson, one of the great
merchants who in the reigns of Henry
VII. and Henry VIII, developed the
wool trade of England.
Althorp, in Brington parish, was
the seat of the Spencers, and the
Spencers were connected by marriage
with the Kitsons, and therefore with
the Washingtons. Lady Spencer of
that day was Kitson, daughter of
Washington's uncle, and therefore
first cousin to Lawrence. But the rec
tor of Brington, the Rev. DR.. Legion
became, through the Spencers a friend
of Lawrence, and as DR.. Legion was
Cromwell's prime commissioner for
the dissolution of the monasteries, he
had it in his power to help his friends.
And he did help Lawrence Washing
ton by the grant of Sulgrave in North
ampton, where the Washingtons lived
for three generations. Lawrence was
interested in civic matters as well as
rural, and became for a time the
mayor of Northampton. At the end of
the third generation the Washingtons
failed, so they sold Sulgrave and went
to live in Brington. Here the eldest
son married a half sister of George
Villiers, Duke of Buckingham.
The Washingtons sided with the
King Charles ID in the civil war, and
one of them, Sir Henry, attained great
distinction for his dash and bravery
in his operations against the Cromwell
lians. He led the storming party at
Bristol and it was he who so calamity
defended Worcester. His bravery was
such that an expression of his became
proverbial in the army. When any
great difficulty arose it was customary
to say, Away with it! quoth Washing
ton"
; The emigrant, who was knighted by
James l., spent his younger days in
, Brington. In the parish church there
D are two sepulchral stones of absorbing
: interest to every American. One with
I the date 1916 is over the grave of the
emigrant's father. On it appears his
! arms "impaled" with those of his wife
The second covers the grave of ar
/ uncle, and has on a brass a simple
. family shield with the extraneou'
crescent appropriate to a younger son
But that which is of tTanscendant in
: terest to very American citizen is tha
here on the tombstone of the deaf
are emblazoned emblems sacred to {
great nation and which thrill the sou
Of a mighty people, the embryo of thu
National Flag-the Stars and Stripes
} The stars on the shield have thi
q popularity, they are FIVE pointed
3 whereas six points are the genera
r characteristic of heraldic stars. o.
, the coat of arms are three stars ant
two horizontal bars or zones will
B alternate gules and white"-gule
n being the word in heraldry for red-t
t. vertical position. Here we discove
o the nucleus. the fons ct origo, of tn
p American Flag.
Three years ago, when spending
- heightened vacation in England, ha
" charge of a parish not far from Bring
y ton. It was a source of never failin
. s,ra ti6cafion N visit Goods Acre - 4