Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-08

Brumbaugh, registrar general or the Or
ganization.
I'VE expect Mrs. Brumbaugh said
that the Falls Church Chapter of the
D. A. R., which is endeavoring to aid
the officials of Fairfax county to recover
the will from Mr.. Morgans collection of
historic documents. will ask the ma
tional board for assistance, financial,
perhaps, as well as moral support. What
the board will do, I cannot, Of course,
say at this time, but the matter is GER
tain to come up for consideration in
some form or other
Great Interest in Will.
Interest in the eventual disposition
of the last will and testament of the
wife of the first President of the United
States is growing rapidly not only in
Washington and Virginia. but through
out the country, and it was pointed out
today that if the national organization
lof the Daughters Of the American Revo-
luton begins a campaign for the sur
render of the document by Mr.. Morgan
a degree of public sentiment is likely
difficult to resist, Notwithstanding the
view he is quoted in dispatches as hav-
ing expressed to the effect that the
stolen will constituted war loot, which
L
ST., was justified in purchasing and hold
ing, in accordance with the custom of
nations and the consequence of war.
While those who are interested in the
eventual disposition of the document are
awaiting the Introduction in the Vir-
ginia legislature of. a measure proposed
by State Senator r. Ewell Thornton of
Fairfax. Va, calling on the Virginia
Morgan, dispatches are coming from va
rious sections of the country in regard
to the will and similar cases of missing
historic documents.
Will Seek Part of Estate.
Direct descendants of Martha Wash
ington are said to have held a reunion
in st. Louis yesterday. to make arrange
ments to file a claim to part Of the es-
tate left by the wife of the first Presi-
dent, based on evidence which they de-
clare is now available through the find
ing of the will in Mr.. Morgans library.
Martha Washington was one of the
wealthiest women of her time. and Miss
Anita Bourgeoise of st. Louis is said to
be about to file claim against the es-
tate, and to be about to endeavor to COM
pei the production Of the will in court.
Fairfax Court House lies ten miles
north of the battlefield Of Bull Run, and
the headquarters of the Union army, un
der Gen. Mcdowell, was located there,
number of other important historical
documents were carried off. Gen. Nc
Dowell is said to have punished a num-
ber of his soldiers, but to no avail. One
of the records so carried off and later
returned proved to be the minute book
of the colonial court for the year 1850.
and in it, on page 463, there Is a report
of grand jury which is considered by
some to be a reflection of George Wash
ington's veracity. The following Is
copy of that record:
MAY q, 176O. We present George Will
liam Fairfax. George Washington. John
Carlyle, George Mason and Abraham
Jones for not entering their wheeled car
riages agreeably to the law, as appears
to us by the list delivered to the clerk
of the county,.
Word Meant Indict.
According to Walter Oliver, Fairfax
lawyer, the word present was tech
nical word Of the old colonial law and
was equivalent to the word 'indict' now
in use.
"The 'presentment' of these men for
failure to enter their carriages, Mr..
oliver said, was the colonial equiva-
lent of a modern indictment for tax
dodging.
iThe George William Fairfax mentioned
was cousin of Lord Fairfax. The
George Macon mentioned was the cele-
brated author of the Virginia bill of
rights
The old minute book weighs thirty
pounds It was carried off by a Pennsyl-
yania soldier. Several years ago he
wrote to J. B. Richardson. county clerk
of Fairfax county. and offered to return
It for $780, The offer to pay money
for it was refused. Later, when the SOL
dier died, the book was returned by the
probate judge who had administered his
estate Learning the source of the book,
he had peremptorily ordered 1t returned
in hiS nf ha
apparently knows how the Martha Wash
ington will got in Mr.. Morgans collec-
tions. 1t is supposed that one of Gen.
McDowell's soldiers stole 1t.
State Seeks Documents.
The state of Virginia in recent years
has been constantly on the alert for docu-
its official repositories, and there now is
pending case closely resembling that of
the Martha Washington will.
A New York auction company in the
sprius of 1912 offered collection of his
torical documents from the library of the
late Benson j. LOSING, the American his
torian. Among them were letters written
by Gen. Washington and the MARQUIS de
LAFAYETTE to members of the house of
burgesses of the Old Dominion. A repre-
sentative of the Virginia attorney gen
erals Office went TO rev YORK, inspected
| the documents as cata(ogued and claimed
them in the name of the commonwealth
Mrs Helen Losing johnson, executrix
and daughter of the historian, said that
she did not desire to engage in any litiga-
| t;on over the matter and 1t was proposed
| that it be referred to arbitration The
| nronerty remained In the keeping of the
p, auction company, where it still is, and
| the arbitrators have SO far done nothing
| about it..
| When a similar question came up be-
tween the estate of Mr.. LOSING and the
state of Virginia twenty years ago a
compromise was reached by the estate
and the commonwealth dividing be-
| tween them the documents in dispute
| This method Of settlement was not
| considered by the present authorities
| Of Virginia, who maintain that they
are entitled to all the papers. and that