The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-11-05
IRE ANlShY BOGgESS ANCESTRY

so far s hk1p%, VINO fecoNects 10
have heard OF the consideration for
that conveyance. The topography Of
THE old Gray farm tbeing nearly level
land the name OF the original owner
combined to render both appropriate
and suggestive the old name 'Gray's
Flats" And when / drove up Pawpaw
creek Ave years ago and learned that
the postofice had been removed
across the hill to what. in my boyhood
days. was +"Toothman's store and that
that place In the hills was called
"Gray's F1ats,'' / thought: Great Lord,
what a misnomer and how people do
forget"
Put to get back to the old Borgess.
Aa.le at the Great Falls OF the Poto.
mac: Grandfather Borgess. had told
nc when a boy about revisitlng the
old home at the Falls. us well as
Alexandria. In 1910 and again in 1920
mailing both tips on horseback;
had described With great accuracy the
canal around the Falls, the old mill on
the canal, and ut the Falls and the
locks bailtsto lower the canal boats
down to the river below the Falls
all planned, constructed and engineer.
led by George Washington In 1885. So
when ! went from Washington up to
the Great Falls, on the new trolley
line on the Virginia side. for the srst
tine last month, | had no difficulty IN
locating the ruins OF the old mill and
canal. I;pt strangely enough, no ma.
tive knew Just where the canal locks
were. The entire valley below the
falls Is now covered with dense under.
i growth, rs well as large forest trees,
and it was not until my third visit.
; early III this month. that finally
found the locks. There they stand to-
day. in solid masonry. in splendid
preservation. Just as grandfather had
told me hnl just as the great and
many sided Washington built them
over 100 years ago. In talking this
o!cr with competent judges after my
! return to Washington 1 was assured
that It would he difficult to find a civil
engineer In America today who could
plan and construct such n canal and
locks with greater skill than that dis.
played by the Father OF his country
lin that far away time.
From Grandfather Borgess. / also
Horned that the first Virginia home of
Lord Fairfax tburied at Winchester)
was near the Great Falls; that while
%lirihE there he was visited by an old
friend. a retired English sea captain,
who was given to saying and doing
things. all Of which lie religiously re.
corded in his daily journal; that in
his wanderings around over the coun.
! try. this old yea dog called the woods
between uinicult Creek and the an.
! cent town Of Drainsville "Terrapin
!. Moods because he there found more
land terrapin than he had ever before
seen; and named that creek "Difi-
exit because he attempted to cross It
once when he and the creek were both
full and came near losing his life
-"DiMcult" TO cross, nc doubt. Well,
these names unto this day, but II any
citizen of Fairfax now knows why, }
did not find him. What a vast pity
TT now is that our pastoral, pleasure
loving. genial and hospitable Virginia
ancestors did not follow the example
of their Pupritan contemporaries and
preserve and hand down to us a clear
and accurate history of themselves
and their times.
While in Virginia visiting our PEG.
pie at the close OF the civil war, Aunt
Nirlinla Boggess,Atkinson. OF Alexan.
: dria. tborn February Ii, 17SS, aud
Youngest child Of Henry and Mary
Ann Lindsay Boggess), showed me a
letter. written to her by grandfather
cher nephew In 1900. recalling in a
most humorous way all the incidents
of n glorious time they had In 1901,
in their efforts to drown a cat In DIN.
cult creek.
In the scant literature now In print
as to early days at the Great Falls, 1t
Is said that the old colonial Dickey
mansion house. near the Falls, is the
last remaining house in the old town
OF M~atildasville. which was also
founded and doomed by the immortal
George. But Just about n hundred
yards below the Dickey mansion still
stands In fair preservation. an aban.
doned two story, double hewn log
house. chinked and lauhed after the
manner Of two hundred years ago, and
this house. from grandfather's' descrip-
ton, must be the old Borgess. home