Evening star., 1921-09-18

ing out OF office she would leave the
city, but she will not. She hopes
satisfied with having the cabinet
broken up and virtuous and in
tellisent foreign minister recalled
and many of our first citizens frown-
ed upon by our President. our society
is in sad state. Intrigues and para
sites in favor, divisions and animosi-
ties existing. I" Yet no one can
deny that the Presidents weakness
originates in an amiable cause-his
devoted and ardent friendship for Gen.
Eaton"
You can read there that the "old
and aristocratic families. of Wash
ington at that time were considerably
wrought up.
When Congress and the rest of the
government came to Washington in
one else in Washington. had lodgings
to let" His house was on the north
side of / street between Goth and
21et streets and he advertised in the
National Intelligencer that he had
accommodations for three or four
gress." The advertisement read that
he was located in 'The Three Build
ings near the Navy Office" At that
time little Margaret, or Peggy" was
four years old. By 1913 ''O'Nears Ho-
TEL" or "O'Nears Tavern which was
situated at the northeast corner OF
Pennsylvania avenue and 21st street
and which was called the Franklin
House. had becme one of the principal
places of the kind in the young capi-
tai. When Eat ton came to Washington
as senator in 1918 he put up at
O'Nears and during his service in the
Senate for eleven years lived at
O'Neal's.
When he came to Washington Peggy
was twenty-five years old. She had
he nf nh y
Timberlake. and had a little baby.
| Wilhelmus Boeardus Bryan. in his
| History of Washington" reprints
the announcement in the National In
| telligencer. June 30. 1876. of the mar
riage by Rev. Stephen B. Balch of
! John E. Timberlake, a purser in the
| Navy, and Miss Margaret O'Neal. In
what way Senator Eaton was atten-
! tive to Mrs. Timberlake is not to be
read in any of the material which
the writer of this sketch has seen.
As an old boarder in the house. he
may have sat at the proprietor's table.
| or he may have taken the proprietor's $
| daughter to the theater-the Old
| Washington Theater-or danced with
| her in ball given in the dining: room
| of the hotel after supper. 1t is quite
easy to see that the Washington So
ciety of that time was scandalized.
and when the proprietor's daughter.
| on the death of her husband, became
the wife of a United States senator
| one can see that native and imported
/ aristocrats of Washington village
were shocked, but when this same
| proprietor's daughter became cabi-
net lady. and friend of the President.
g from whom most of the local aristo-
i Gratis wanted favors, or expected ia
vors, or hoped for favors, it is quite
easy to understand that the village
nobility was horrified and ffabber-
| gasted.
/, A BOUT 1920. the fortunes Of the
Franklin House began to decline.
The popular hotels were around the
Capitol or in the neighborhood of the
Avenue and Az and 9Th streets.
owed money on the property. The
trust was held by the Bank of Wash
! iington, and trustees sale was or
dered. At the sale Eaton bought the
property. That was in 1928. II he
bought the property because Of his
friendship for his old host, William
O'Neal. who will qquarrel with. him
for that? II he bought it because
he had sentimental feelings toward
Williams daughter Peggy. why, most
men will approve She was charming
and otherwise an Intelligent young
| woman. Nearly all men who amount
! to shucks want to help a beautiful
woman. but this United States senator
put up real money to buy in the prop
4 erty, and perhaps he blocked the plan
! of more than one hard-flsted tight
wad of a prominent citizen who ex-
pected to buy at this mortgage sale
| a piece Of property for one-half Its
value. At a later date Eaton sold
the O'Neal Hotel to John Gadsby, and
Gadsby made it q famous place. II
was Gadsby's introduction to the
/; hotel business in Washington. He
came to Washington from Baltimore.
where he was the proprietor Of the
Indian Queen Hotel. which. at later
time, became Barnum's Hotel.
In Oak Hill cemetery there is a nonu-
ment inscribed: -:John H. Eaton, born
June Is, 1890, died Nov. II. 1856.
Was u. S. Senator from the state
of Tennessee for Is years, Secretary
of War, Governor of Florida and
minister to the court of Madrid"
| Mrs. Eaton was buried by the side
of that monument in 1879. slt her
name is not on the stone In the
same lot IL q tomb, inscribed: Sacred
Ito the memory OF John B. Randolph.
lieutenant u. S. Navy born March
t13, 1918, died July 20, 1854; Margaret
R., wife Of John B. Randolph. born
March 16. 1895; died March "a. 1855.
BY her fond mother The man writ
ing this believes that Margaret Ran