The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1910-05-17
AN ANCIENT TITLE
Female Charity School Will Convey
the Property to Masonic lodge
RECALLS The DAYS OF LONG AGO

] az AAAN RNiItE hA hanover anu IflnCeSS
/ Anne streets. the lot fronting fifty feet
on Princess Anne street and running
back, easterly. between parallel lines.
along Hanover street TO the jail alley
I taking in the Hanover School building.
at present occupied by Miss Willie r.
Schooler. The Masonic Lodge directed
the trustees OF the lodge namely: t.
b. Whitehouse, w. J. Ford and Alvin
/. Embrey, to close the trade on be
half of the lodge. provided good title
70 the property could be secured. The
trustees examined the title TO the prop
erty and IN going over the title with
Judge A. W. Wallace, the representa-
tive of the Female Charity School, il
| was deemed best to bring a friendly
chancery suit for the purpose of quiet
ing the title, as the lawyers say, TO the
property.
In bill flied in the Corporation court
by Judge Embrey, attorney for the Fe-
male Charity School. notice of which
has been served on Mayor Wallace. a
great deal of ancient history concern
ing Fredericksburg. and especially an
Gent facts concerning the Female
Charity School. are set forth. 1t ap-
pears from the bill that prior to the
hrst year of the reign Of George the
second. Messrs. John Royston and Rob
crt buckner owned a considerable pOr-
ton OF the land on which the city Of
fredericksburg now stands, known at
that time as the lease-land, and by an
act OF the Burgesses. or General As
semb.y, established for the Colonies
of Virginia, begun and held at Will
hamsburg on the first day of February.
laZt, there was passed IAN act for
erecting a town in each of the counties
of Spotsylvania and King George ="
The said act directed that fifty acres
Of land should be taken for the town
and the title to said fifty acres
rs hereby vested in John Robinson.
Esq.; Henry Willis, Augustine Smith.
John Taliaferro. Harry Beverly, John
Waller and Jeremiah Clowder. Of the
county of Spotsylvania, gentlemen and
their successors, in trust" for the pur-
poses set forth in said act The trus-
tees were directed to lay out the fifty
acres into lots. not exceeding haIf-acre
each. ''and also TO set apart such por-
tons of the said land for church and
churchyard, market place and public
key and TO appoint such places upon the
river for public landings, as they shall
think most convenient" and the trus-
tees were to sell the said lots at auc-
ton so as no person shall have more
than two lots. -
The ancient town was plated. and il
extended from Wolfe street, on which
is now the present colored school
building. up to Lewis street. on which
Is now the white school building, and
ran from the river on the east To the
middle of the blocks between Princess
Anne and Charles streets on the west.
The public records at Spotsvlvania
Courthouse show the sale, by the trus-
tees. of all these lots. save those re
served for the church and churchyard,
the market place, and the public key.
and also save the land between the iail
alley and Princess Anne streets. on
which the Wallace Library, the court
house, the jail, the Masonic Lodge
building, and the Hanover School build
ing now are.
On August 18th, 1854, Archibald
McPherson,. citizen of Spotsylvania
| county, died and left certain sums of
| money 20 the trustees of Fredericks-
burg for the education Of the poor chill
dren in the town. The Hanover
School building was erected from this
tund, the trustees of the town put
ting up the building where it now
stands, on portion Of one of the
ancient lots that had not been sold.
In l1Sl, on the 9TH of November. after
the Colonies of America had achieved
their independence from Great Britain.
and after the Colonial Government had
| gwen place to the State government
under the Constitutions, the General
| Assembly of Virginia modified the
ancient act Of 1927. incorporating the
town of fredericksburg and providing
Tor Mayor and Common Council for
said town, and directed that the Nc
Pherson trust should be transferred to
the Mayor and Common Council.
! On December 13, 1896, the Male
N(,haritV School nf -, ..
incorporated by an act of the General
Assembly of Virginia, Benjamin Day.
Charles Yates, George French, William
Lowell, Fontaine Madry. and Elijah
Hau being the trustees of said Charity
School; and by said act it was further
provided that the Mayor and Common
atty OF the town of Fredericksburg and
their successors shall be and ARE here
by constituted and made to all intents
and purposes joint trustees of said
Charity School with those Incorporated
by this act. "
On December 26th, 1876, the Mayor
and Commonalty were displaced as such
, trustees of said Charity School. and
"the Mayor and Recorder and their
successors" were made joint trustees
OF said Charity School with those in
corporated by the act of December
18th, 1896.
The school seems to have run under
this joint management until 1897 when
the General Assembly of Virginia. on
the 2Sth day of December, passed an
act reciting the Archibald Mcpherson
donation, and reciting the wish of the
town of Fredericksburg to vest the Nc
Pherson donation in the trustees of the
Charity School, and the act provided
that the said donation should be vested
In the said trustees.
From 1877 the Male Charity School
held title TO the Hanover School House
and on November 23rd, 1914, the
General Assembly of Virginia passed An
act giving to the trustees of the Male
Charity School the lot on which the
Masonic Lodge now stands, fronting
h1ty feet on Princess Anne street. and
running back between parallel lines
along Hanover street sixty-six feet. this
gitt beng for the purpose ''of introdu-
sing the Lancastrian system of educa-
tion Tor the benefit of poor children. !"
In 1908 Miss Sophia Carter. a chari-
table lady of Berea, Prince William
county, left $4,000 for the benefit Of
the poor female children of Frederieks-
burg, and IN order to carry ont this
charity, the Legislature. in 1908 incor-
porated the Female Charity School.
OF Fredericksburg, and the present Fe'
male Charity School, situated on the
corner OF Main and Lewis steets, was