Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-26

HISTORIC HOMES THAT ARE LANDMARKS IN THE CAPITAL CITY
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chased by Mr.. Writ, who as lawyer ana
writer had achieved considerable fame.
He entertained royalty, and such men as
John c. Calhoun. then Secretary or war
and Henry Clay, Secretary of State. were
frequent guests. 1t was while living IN
this house that Mr.. Writ prosecuted
Aaron Burr for treason.
When Cen Jackson was made President
Mr.. Writ rented his mansion to GOV.
Branch of North Carolina, who was APP
pointed Secretary of the Navy. After
ward it was rented to Lewis McLane.
Secretary Of the Treasury. Mr.. McLane
had served as senator from Delaware:
He also was minister to England and
afterWard became resident of Baltimore,
where he was for many years president
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Com
pany.
Mr. Writ sold this property to the
branch bank of the United States. which
was then i'm the building formerly used
by Riggs &, Co. The bank sold the prop
erty to Maj. Andresy of the army. after
which it was purchased by DR.. Thomas
Lawson. surgeon general or the army.
Dr. Lawson rented the house to the
French minister, Count de SartideS. who
became noted for the Inequalities dis
pensed during his long residence in
Washington.
The next person to occupy this house
was Aaron Brown. Postmaster General
under President Buchanan. After the
In a year the mansion next was used
as a fashionable boarding school. in
stituted by a Mrs. Smith In addition
to the usual exercises. she established a
riding school on the grounds. where young
women were instructed in horSemanShip.
King Edward VII. then Prince of Wales.
wher on a visit to this country was en-
tertained in this house at lunch by Mrs.
Smith.
The property was sold by the Lawson
Sow N1,oy, 90 f1,A
army and navy. 1t since has been used
as an office by tine government. The
house today stands a silent witness of
the have-b eens. and is filled with mourn
full echoes of the past.
A few blocks to the west Of this is a
three-story brick house, at the corner of
Goth and X streets. that at once strikes
the onIooker as house whose history
reaches back to the shadowy past. 1t
was built about the year 112S. by Col.
John Peters of Georgetown. whose son.
Thomas Peters. married Martha CustiS a
sister of Washington Parke Custis of
Arlington His mother was the beautiful
Eleanor Calvert of Mount Airy. Prince
George county, Md. the daughter of
Benedict Calvert and granddaughter
of the sixth Lord Baltimore. who had
married John Custis. a son of Mrs. Wash
ington by her first marriage.
or the famous homes that abound In
the vicinity of Lafayette Square little
need be said since they are known to
nearly all Washingtonians. There. in
stately majesty. dwelt Commodore De-
catur. who erected the first house on the
square. There. also in turn. dwelt Henry
Clay. Martin Van Buren,, Edward Liv
ingston and others of prominence.
AS neighbors there were Mrs. Madison.
the widow of the President: Attorney Gen
eral Crittenden. the Roosevelts and w. w.
Corcoran. 1t was there also that the life
tragedy of Secretary of State William II.
Seward was enacted. Later there came
into the neighborhood such illustrious men
AS Charles Sumner Roscoe Conklins, John
A. Logan and John B. Floyd.