Evening star., 1921-02-27
THE RAMBLERS THIRD ARTICLE ON-== =,
EARLY HISTORY OF ANALOSTAN ISLANDl

title claims of the English and the
Indians overlapped and ciashed. anu
and richeE,, they won. They called the
indians OF the Potomac "savages.
but that isssan old epithet which men
frequently apply to other men who
nappen To uitfer with them on the
subjects OF dress and eating. You
that man is utterly impossible
Just because he gurgles his soup and
spills too much of it on his vest.
The Indians held title to Analostan
Island by prescription and occupancy.
Th.S named it. Perhaps their title
went back to the beginning OF human
ife on TINS continent. Perhaps. If our
indians came from Asia or elsewhere,
they took title to Analostan by dis
coverY and settlement. Perhaps on
Going here they overwhelmed some
oiuer race of men and took title by
right of conquest and by the extinc-
ton OF the heirs of the previous own
crS. The Rambler can see the gray
haired spirits OF some of these old In
dlaRs squattlng on the rocks along
the Potomac and can hear them
thuckling at the feeble boast of some
;,aIe skin upstairs that this land
naS been III our family Il hundred
years"
The title of the Barons Baltimore to
the island between 1882 and 1880 and
the title of Randolph Brandt and his
descendants and successors IRON 1880
to 1885 must have contained some ele-
ments of uncertainty. for it was not
until 1885 that the dispute between
Maryland and Virginia over their
rights in the Potomac river and over
the boundary dividing them was ad-
JuSted at a conference of commission
ers at Mount Vernon. Those COM
missioners were Daniel of ST. Thomas
Jenifer, Thomas Stone and Samuel
Chase. on the part of Maryland. and
George Washington, George Mason
and Alexander Henderson. on the part
of Virginia.
x X x
Examination might show that a vir-
ginia patent included Analostan Island
before the date of the Maryland grant
to Brandt. Perhaps sAnaloStan sla nd lay
within the tract of 5000 acres which
Sir William Berkeley of Virginia
granted on October 21, 1869, to Rob-
ert Howscn as recompenSe for
bringing settlers to the colony. and
which tract was sold by Howson to
John Alexander of Stafford county
for six hogsheads of tobacco. So far
as the Rambler has founder SO far
as the Rambler has been told-no
controversy arose over AnaloStan
Island. The reason for this may have
been that a Virginian obtained pos
SCSSioh OI tUe lSldHQ from the nelFS
of the Maryland patentee before the
lands in this neighborhood came to
be in much request by settlers. The
heirs of Randolph Brandt sold the
island to George Mason In 1917. That
George Mason was probably the
father of George Mason of Gunston
Hall, and it may be that he was the
grandfather of that great man. And
right here is a curious little thing:
George Mason of Gunston Hall. in his
will dated March 20. 1878. and pro-
bated at the ourt of Fairfax county
October 16. 1892. wrote this item: 81
also give and bequeath unto my said
son John Mason and his heirs forever,
my Island in the Potomack River op-
posite the mouth Of Rock Creek
which I had under a patent from the
Lord Proprietary of Maryland, by
the name of Barbadoes.' Now. the
fact is, as shown by the records of
Charles county and the files of the
Real Estate and Columbia Title COM
panies of Washington. that this island
was sold to George Mason by Fran
ois Hammersley August 81. 1717, and
that Francis Hammersley was the
husband of Margaret Martha Brandt,
daughter of Randolph Brandt. grantee
under patent from the proprietary of
Maryland.
You remember (and of course you
do not) that when the Rambler took
up the story of Analostan Island-he
wrote that James S. Shepherd. COM
missioner of the land office at An