The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-09-26
TELL OF PAST GLORY |Northeners Now In Vir-
 ginia Mansions, STATELY DIGNITY REMAINS Breath Spirit Of Traditions Of
 Southland. Aiong Jsmes River Are Plantations Rich in Memorie. of Happy Aate-
 Beilnm Day. in Dixie.

Beilum Days in Dixie.
 Philadelphia North American. &
 The rich Northeruer, has his fortune made and his ambition rampant to own country seat with historic associa- lions made to order. Is invading the South nowadays and sometimes pick ing up bargain.
 While some of those imposing and famous plantations are undergoing the transformation of modern innovations at the eager pleasure and the doubtful taste of Northern newcomers, the ma tority remain. especially in Virginia, to be the delight of generations in the fu- ture and. to those favored few who are admitted to the hospitality of their owners, lesson in the art of living as 1t was known to the leading families of the South when fortune was at flood.
 Virginia houses are to he seen and rejoiced in now that were the centers of whole communities in Colonial days the days when they builded for the centuries to come.
 Tkeir stately dignity their graceful proportions. their air of generous se- renity and leisurely living tell even to the most indifferent observer fascinat- ing stories of the men and women their walls have sheltered.
 Some AIong the James.
 Along the James glimpses are to he had of these old places that have with stood the weather and the changing social and political conditions.
 There is Westover. the home of the Byrds, for example. at which former President Roosevelt and his wife were entertained on the casion of one of their visits to Jamestown. Few places are richer in historic memories. Built by the second William Byrd-one of the most notable men of Colonial days. member of the kings council, a scholar and writer of distinction. feI- low of the Royal Society, receiver gem eral of the royal revenues, and the rep resentative of the colony of the Eng fish court-the house has witnessed many notable gatherings. Colonial governors, officers. and leaders in the war of the Revolution. statesmen deeply concerned with the problems of the young republic. the leaders of the opposing forces in the war between the States, have all been sheltered be- meath It's roof.
 Then there Is Bekeley, the home of the Harrisons, the birthplace of Gen w. H. Harrison and the place to which he retired to write his inaugural ad- dress after his election to the Dresi- dency. .ia.l4 S-ua. ..lA.l ,a-
 Near by is sheriey. patented in the seventeenth century to Col. Edward Shirley, the home of the Hills, the Car ters, the Lees. the birthplace of Annie Carter Lee, who was the wife of Light Horse Harry Lee of Revolutionary fame and the grandmother of Robert E. Lee.
 Not far distant is Malvern Hills, the grant for which was obtained by the Cockes in the seventeenth century. The house Is in excellent preservation, and is a fine specimen of Colonial architec- ture. The place Is now the home of the Halls, It was here that one of the mostly hotly contested battles of the civil war was fought in July 1882, beween the forces of Gen. Mcclellan and those of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston.
 Brandon an Ancient Estate.
 Brandon, on the opposite shore of the James dates its beginning to Co., lonial days, also. patented in 1917 to Capt. John Martin, member of the first council 1t passed eventually into the possession of the Harrisons, and is still occupied by descendants of the Colonial owners.
 After three quarters of a century of changes. Westover is the homestead once more of a descendant oe the Byrds It passed into the possession of strangers on the death of the widow of the third William Byrd, in 1914, and for half a century it was occupied by various owners, remaining longest in the hands of the Seldens. who lived there for thirty years.
 During the civil war the place was occupied by Gen. Pope and other Fed eral officers. and 1t served successfully as headquarters and as a storehouse for the commissary department. The close of the war found 1t sadly scared The fields were desolate; the great gates had been leveied; the left wing and corridor had been pulled down to build fortifications; the interior was marred and battered.
 But better days ensued when 1t De- came the property of Maj, A. Il Drewry, the hero of Drewrys Blun' whose wife was Miss Harrison. a member of a collateral branch of the old family. With infinite care Maj. Drewry restored the grounds and buildings to their old-time condition bringing back its beauty and charm.
 within the last decade the place has become the home of MT. and Mrs. Will liam McCreory Ramsey, who have com pleted the rehabilitation begun by Maj. Drewry. The old wing has been rebuilt the gardens are abloom again and the whole plantation Is In a fine state of cultivation. Mrs. Ramsey is a ltneal descendant of the Maryland branch of the family and purchased the pro perty a short time before her marri- age. The restoration has ben labor of love, and It has ben carried out so faithfully that 1t has been said that if Col. Byrd could return he would find the place just as 1t was in his day.
 William Byrd, the first of the Byrds of Westover. acquired the estate by purchase in 1888, but the estate and its owners figure in history from the beginning of the colony. In 1919 the place was selected by Capt Francis West as the site for the lands Of Henry West fourth Lord Delaware the son of Lord Delaware. the hrst royal governor of Virginia. In the great Indian massacre, three years later westover suffered with It's neiEhbors at the hands of the saw ages.
 Patented in 1887.
 In 1887 Capt Thomas Pawtett patent ed 2.00O acres of the estate known as westover. and the plantation re mained in the Pawiett family until