The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-08-28
In THE R.APPAHAxNoCK COUNTRY.
Mount Pleasant and Elmwood.

Mount Pleasant and Elmwood.
Ono OF the most attractive old
places in the Rappahannock country is
Mount Pleasant" the Garrett home.
stead. The large brick mansion stood
on the summit of high range of
hills which guarded the Rappahan-
nook Valley. 1t was built in 1884. and
was queen OF a thousand fertile acres.
Nature broke the grounds of this
fne place into charming knobs and
dells and all of virginia's splendid
forest trees lowered upon the lawn.
Tho tortuous Rappahannock was vis-
ible in It's broad and sinuous beauty
for many miles. land across the gilt
tertng waters lay the wide plains OF
| Westmorsiand county. extending back
to the elevated and forest-clad spine
of the Northern Neck OF Virginia"
In 1909 Muscoe Garnett lived at
Prospect HILL He had married
Grace Fenton Mercer, daughter of
John Mercer. of marlborough" in
Stafford county, and had five sons and
two daughters. His sons were James
Muscoe and William, twins. and Rob-
ert Selden Garnett. Ills daughters
| were Maria and Fenton.
James Mercer Garnett lived at Elm
wood" another splendid Essex estate;
John Mercer Garrett inherited Mount
! Pleasant; Muscoe lived at prospect
| HILL" while William and Robert went
| lower down the county, the former
calling his fine residence rose HILL.
and the latter named his place
"Champlatn.'' This branching out OF
families is most interesting; this null
tiplication of homesteads makes a
pleasing result of the old baronial life
Mount Pleasant" multiplied by IT.
self has Prospect HILL" "Elmwood,.
Rose Hilr' and "Champlain" for an
swer. and proves how beautiful was
the extension and reproduction OF
| plantation life under certain circurn
stances.
Maria Garnett married her cousin
James Hunter and was mother OF the
distinguished statesman, r. NJ. T.
Hunter. Grace Fenton married Muscoe
Garnett Hunter. the youngest brother
| of her brother-in-law.
i The Hunters and Garnetts inter
married continually and 1t Is well to
explain the constant recurrence OF
Muscoe In each family. It is derived
from one Salvador Muscoe, gentla-
man OF large means, who lived in
Essex county The Essex county
records are full of him. He is a gem
tieman who makes many deeds and
signs his papers with a handsome seal
His first name would suggest Italian
origin. We think of Salvador Rosa
and the rest.
Salvador Muscoe was a lawyer. and
he appeared in Essex county in 1902.
He was born in 1915. and his wife was
perhaps Mary. sister of Colonel VII
liam Beverley, but of this we are not
| sure.
His children were Elizabeth, Sarah
and Frances. Elizabeth married James
4 Garnett and introduced her popular
! maiden name into the clan of Car
netts and Hunters. The survival OF
names too, is a nice question Is 1t a
sign of the excellence of the individual
or the class? Or does a name repro
duce itself haphazard?
\ one thing is sure. Salvador Muscoe
had plenty of mopey-witness tho
! Essex records-and he represented
Essex county - the House OF Bur-
gesses, 1T3640
The Hunters with whom the Gar
aetts SO frequently intermarried were
also very gifted and interesting fam
I: ny. me family was Scotch, and the
i three first generations were merchants
of high social and financial position.
James, the emigrant. was born in
Dunse. in Scotland, in 1861, and his
family had amassed fortune both in
4 that country and In Virginia He had
4 William CD, Mary (2), James (2), and
/ Martha CD. William (2) Marie
Sarah, daughter of William and Anne
Garnett, and they lived at THE Stone
Chimney" which place. under the
name of "Champlain," was in later
years occupied by Robert Garrett.
1 William Hunter and Anne GARRETT
Ia roI
Taliaferro and Muscoe Garnett James
t3) Hunter married Maria Garnett,
daughter OF NIuscoe Garrett. OF
i Mount Pleasant" and they lived at
"Laytons" even now Well known
landing on the Rappahannock. They
had Maria, Muscoe Garnett, Martha
Fenton. James. Jane Swami. William,
Robert Mercer Taliaferro. and William
Garnet James Hunter married a
second time, Apphia Bushrod Rowzee,
who left one child, Sarah Harriet Ap-
phia- James Hunters Oldest daughter
married James Mercer Garrett and hi.
own son, Robert Mercer Taliaferrc
Hunter and the child of his daughter
Maria Muscoe Russell Garnett, were
two of the most brilliant men Of their
i day.
i OF r. M T. Hunter 1t was said by
his muse that she was fond of books
and lonesome in his ways he mar
ried Mary Evelina cambridge, of .Tef-
ferson county and lived at Font
HILL" another beautiful estate in
Essex county.
1t is said that John Esten Cook
i wrote "surry of the Eagles Nest" at
"Elmwood," the home of James Mercer
/ Garrett,
4 The emigrant ancestor of tha Gar
netts was John ID. of Gloucester
county The path of the early settler
is very distinct First at Jamestown,
then warlly passing across the Penin-
sula to York and Gloucester, eye and
ear open for the Indian.
/ John ~ Garrett lived in Gloucester
after the middle of tho seventeenth
century. The name of his Wife, as is
SO often the case witt, tEosa poor
/ early wives, is lost Hs had James
i to), who married three times-llrst,
/ Sarah Green; second, Elizabeth NDs-
cuc, and third Mary Joaos BY first
4 marriage he had John f;), who died
i! In 174s, and married elizabeth Evans,
James (al, M'iley (3l, and Thomas ta)
died young. William t3) died 1859.
married Anne Rowze; Reuben (3) and