The Washington herald., 1910-05-08

is being washed away and overgrown.
and the fragments Of the old bridge
stand alone in picturesque decay.
There are now three large farms and
one small one upon this western Taft
land and all are owned by descendants
OF the family. all are highly cultivated
and all are kept in the finest order. The
houses are furnished with interesting
old relics. and traditions OF bygone Tafts
can be culled from ancient records and
family stories These are model farms.
most pleasant to visit.
The farm situated farthest south is
owned by Mrs. W. a. L. Bazeley, a de-
scendant Of Daniel II is occupied by
her now as a summer residence. The
house was built by Daniels son, Baza-
leel, and has been owned since by his
direct descendants. Mrs. Bazeley's lit
tie daughters represent the fifth genera
ton that has lived in the old house
The adjoining farm is the property
Of the Henry C. Taft estate. This also
IS open only in the summer. farmer
being in charge during the winter
The land occupied by the next farms
was originally the property Of Joseph.
the ancestor Of President Taft. A small
portion OF his houselot is now in pos
session OF Mrs. Eugene Farnum. who
lives there I'm an attractive little house
with her family.
The last farm is the spot in CxbTidge
most closely connected with President
Taft, for it was there that the house Of
his great-great- grandfather stood. No
remains Of the house are now there, but
near the supposed site is the cellar OF a
barn that was standing within the men,
DRY of man. This cellar was probably
that Of one of Josephs buildings. The
farm is now divided by the main road
running between Providence and Wor-
cester. Across the road from the cellar
stands the house OF the farms present
owner George Zadoc Taft. He is a de-
scendant OF Aaron, who was a brother Of
the Presidents reat-grandfather
Peter.
Scattered throughout Uxbridge are the
homes Of countless Tafts. all descendants
of the first Robert. on every hand are
SASAlS u Ailtll UNIT anu lAlAASAA
The Taft homestead that has attracted
the most attention in the past is that
owned by Miss Sarah F. Taft. Here
George Washington stopped over night
during his first presidency The story
of this has been told so many times that
it is hardly necessary to repeat it here.
The best account of the old house is con-
tained in pamphlet written by Miss
Taft, called The Old Taft Tavern" :"
This was published by the Deborah
Wheelock Chapter. D. a. r.. of Tx
bridge
The Thayer Memorial Building, the
home Of the Uxbridge Free Public LII
brary. was given by Edward c. Thayer
in memory Of his father and his Taft
mother. The walls of the building are
hung with portraits Of the representa-
tive men and women Of past genera
tions, and the majority of these bear
the name Of Taft. In the building now
also hangs one of the Taft family trees.
loaned by Arthur R Taft This tree was
drawn in 1862 by Dr. Jonathan Taft Of
Cincinnati. The plate was shortly after
ward destroyed by fire. so that it is no
longer possible to get copies of the
original 1t has, however, been photo
graphed by E. A. Adams of Whitinsville.
Mass
And so, in these villages Of old Mas
sachusetts-
"Old Roberts stock Is strong and sound,
And while the waters
This vine shall spread its roots around
And bud and blossom on