Evening star., 1919-10-05
The Rambler Writes Of the Br0adW

hOt III put
the Rambler knows that the
descendants of the colonial
Broadwaters may be numbered by
hundreds and that the collateral
kindred OF the good old Broadwater
family may be counted by the
thousand. 1t is a matter of pride
with many families In Virginia and
the District OF Columbia and Mary
land that they can trace their
descent from Charles Broadwater,
the English immigrant and his
illustrious son, Col. Charles Broad
water. who served his country in the
French and Indian war in the revo-
lutionary war and in various hon.
prabIe civil posts. The American
home Of the Broadwaters is within
? few miles OF Washington, and the
Rambler believes that but for the
tall. gnarled and hoary locust trees
and the giant lockwood trees that
grow around 1t. the Washington
monument and the towers OF the Ar
: Jington wireless station would be
Visible from the broad, deep porches
Of the old house. Almost within the
shadow Of this house is the eternal
resting place of many members of
the Broadwater family, and at three
graves the Fairfax county chapter
OF the Daughters of the American
Revolution has erected monuments.
X
The first of the Broadwaters to come
to Virginia was Charles, whose old
home was in Surrey England, near the
village of Godalmering. Charles was
a shipowner and shipmaster. Those
spirit. Besides facing the hazards of
sea and wind he took speculative
chances In trade. He sailed through
all the seas on which the sun and
stars shine and traded in all ports
which offered commerce, and very like
~ he encountered buccaneers and
pirates.
He was in command of his own
ship when he first sailed through the
capes OF the Chesapeake and up the
Potomac river. The name of that
ship seems to have passed from the
ken OF man, and not many Of the
current sort of biographical facts
have been recorded Of Capt. Charles
Broadwater. A family tradition, set
down In writing good many years
ago. was that Capt. Broadwaters ship
was the first large seagoing vessel
to come into the harbor. or to lay
alongside the wharf Of Belle Haven.
That he brought ship to Belle Haven
hxes approximately the time Of his
coming to Virginia. Belle Haven oc.
cupied part Of the river front later
covered by Alexandria. and this would
fix the date Of his coming between
the years 1880 and 1748. The first
date marks the beginning of Belle
Haven and the second the beginning
OF Alexandra. There lies before the
Rambler a souvenir booklet, entitled
Historic Alexandria-Past and Pres
ent." by Alexander J. Wedderburn.
which was issued in connection with
the sesqui-centennial Of Alexandria,
and from that little work is taken
the following about Belle Haven:
when Capt. John Smith ascended
the Potomac river in 1903 the site
OF Alexandria was part Of the Doag
Indians hunting grounds On Octo-
ber 81. 1863. Capt. Robert Howsen,
for bringing 120 colonists to Virginia,
was granted crown patent for $500
acres of land, extending along the
Potomac from Indian Cabin creek
Hunting creek) to a point opposite
My Lords Island. now Analostan
Island. This grant covered large
part of the present counties Of Alex
andria and Fairfax Capt. Howsen
SOLD this patent to John Alexander
OF Stafford county for $500 pounds
OF tobacco and some money, and Alex
ander, who had settled in Stafford
county about 1910, sent some settlers
to occupy it.
"In 1896 Simon Person who was
connected with the Alexanders by
marriage, located on Persons Island,
later called Dangerfields Island,
northwest of the present city. the
first permanent settlement north of
Hunting creek. A settlement was
made on Jones Point not long after
this date, but the names Of the per-
sons SO locating are not known. In
1880 a public tobacco warehouse was
established by the colonial authori-