The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1908-09-26
MORE ABOUT KING GEORGE
Other Beautiful Estates in the Grand Old County
Described

Another ancient c-tate in King George
Is W Nalsinghnm. the scat oi the Turner
family since 1850 10 originally contain
ed 80. 900 acres The house. whirh was
burned ia 1891, dated from the ea-lv
part of the eighteenth centur, 10 stood
close To Port Conway.
The Turner blood seems % hn the tto
that binds many ~ the prom nrut FAINT
lie- hereanoutH FnriuStAnce. from Val
-inghan was cut on "sAuxAtiro" about
$50 Tor Grurge TURNER; "OaLrutfu,,
about lNlo. for adaughtcr. Mr-. thari,-
IaN ioc. aud "Woodiawn. about th.
same date, for Richard Turner. Ir These
handsome houses ARE sjiu standing and
IN the iamily,' except "Oasrnbr0v ."
his noble brick mansion, una com
mandng hull, built by Mr Tnyloe.
dercenucd l. his daughter. Mr. Thomas
N1ring. at whose death. in 1901. with
out heirs, il Iass.d into the d .uds - DR.
Thomas Low, ut Chicago The elegant
furnishing. including the iamiis portraits
done hy Suly, We're sold a. auction.
being bid IN, however, hy "a. next ui
kin DR.. Low has expended large sums
In restoring tie pristine beauties of the
place.
At the picturesque little Port Conway
church Is the tombstone OF N tilr Hsrrv
Turner, OF Smiths Mount. another
early Turner settlement lowe down the
rlver. the inscription stat shat he
passed away in 1880. his wife ia I1ll.
and that the three children therein in.
TERED ''all dyed in infancy" The monu-
ment is chiefly interesting for the finely
carved coat ufarms OF the Turner family.
which Is well preserved.
Canning was once part u the
'Cleve' estate. In the early iorties il
was acquired by Lieutenant William
Smith, OF the old navy. whose wife was
one oil the Nv alsinghsm' Turner'S He
himself came OF the well-knOWn Hunt
inX Greek family of Fairfax county.
Lieutenant Smith was one Of those true
sons of the Old Dominion WIN resigned
from the service at the outbreak OF the
Civil War to offer his sword tohis native
State. The first spacious Canning"
house was burned In 1889, but il has
been replaced by "a handsome modern
residence. The situation, on high hill.
is the finest perhaps in the county, and
the estate under the progressive manage
nneht OF the present owner, Allen Smith,
Esq, is a model of excellent farming.
"Millbank,' close to the river. as the
name would suggest, was built in l736
by one OF the Carriers 1t passed. by in.
heritance, toRMr. SkinkeT: TO his daugh
ter, Mrs. Augustine Fitzhugh: to her
daughter, Mrs. George Turner, and To
Mr.. turner's nephew, Edward Smith, by
whom IL was sold 70 the late Francis
Redwood, of Baltimore, whose widow is
now in possession. The beautiful old
house was consumed by firein 1900. and
has been replaced by pretty, but much
less pretenuous, establishment
Belle Grove" Is the handsomeet old
mansion still standing on the water
front. Its broad white columned facade
Is a most attractive feature OF the land
scape. 1t was built by John Bernard.
whose tomb, In the front yard, states
that he died in 1919 Tor 1919: 10 Is some. |
what illegiblel. The body OF the house
Is more than "a hundred years old as are |
also, doubtless, the deliberately carved |
stone steps on front aad rear The tine
porticoes and wings were added by MIR |
CarOlinus Turner about 1910. Laterly |
lt has been the residence Of Mr. Taylor |
Thornton; and, two years ago, together |
with adjoining "Walsingham. it was /
bought by the South and West Company.
'of California, which is making there an |
experiment on very large scale Ia the |
planting Of alfalfa.
Cleveland" the property OF some
early Fitzhugh, was purchased about
the middle OF the last century by Roy
Mason, whose wife was one oi the IAN
ming" Smiths. The Misses NJ 4son were
among the Virginia girls who made
some OF those famous "war matches" ."
they and their cousins marrying, res
pectively, General Dabney Maury, Col.
c. X. Collins, General {. W Fields Major
Hampton Gibbes. OF South Carolina, and
General +. i. Alexander, OF Georgia
tRnVUhatap - pvarlaaEfuu a.. |
was built by Colonel Edward Tayloe
about 1910. 1t Is one OF the most In
viting old mansions. Colonel TayIoe
and his brother Charles, Of "Oaken-
brow were of the mt. Airy family In
Richmond county.
by Tar the most interesting house from
the standpoint Of age still standing In
the county, perhaps, Is "Marmion, D."
midway between the rivers. lt was
built by John FitShugh. some say In
1860, others as late as 1880. and was
named for the real Lord Marmfop. 81
connection OF the Fitzhughs-not, az
supposed, for Scott's famous poem. com
posed century later. For so many
generations has It been in possession OF
the Lewis family that Is thoroughly iden-
titled with the name. Here may be seen
the original portrait OF Fielding Lewis
and OF his wife. Betty. the sister of
Washington. The beautiful wall deco
rations Of the parlOr were done by a
HessiaR prisoner during the Revolution.
The present owner is the widow Of
Fielding Lewis.-Robt. Mcmillan Ken
nedy.
Descriptions Of other places will ap-
pear In a later issue.