Evening star., 1922-04-30
RARE OLD VOLUME GUIDES RAMBLER
IN STUDY OF BLADENSBURG HISTORY

Later Associated With
Name of Calvert.
E return to Parthenon, the
AN/ fine old house which looks
" v down from it's hill site on
the village of Bladens-
burg and over the upper valley Of
the Eastern branch. Last Sunday the
Rambler told you good deal about
this house and the man. DR.. James
Webb Rogers. who bought it in 1884.
You were also given a sketch of Dr.
Rogers distinguished son, DIR. James
Harris Rogers. who owns the old
home, but is living at a later Rogers
place which bears the name of Fir
wood, at Hyattsville and about d mile
from Parthenon.
It was some time after removing TO
Mr.. Rogers bought the old property
which he named Parthenon. He kept
Parthenon for time as his summer
home and then made it his only home.
There the large family lived in hap
piness. The children Of James Webb
Rogers and Cornelia Harris were
James Harris Rogers. the scientist;
James Charles Rogers. who has put
number OF villages on the map OF
Maryland and the District Of Column
bia: William Shepherd Rogers, DR..
John Whitson Rogers. A. Mae Rogers,
Cora Rogers and Joseph Rogers. John
Wfitson Rogers. a doctor OF medi-
cine, is dead. and Joseph Rogers. a
poet and writer of shining worth and
brilliant promise, died at Parthenon.
Cora is now Mrs Phillips Clarke.
James Charles Rogers married
Blanche Mattingly. soloist of the
choir of ST. Patrlck's Church, and
whose talent and beauty are known
to many thousands of the people OF
Washington. William Shepherd Rog-
ers lives in an ancient octagon house
on Locust avenue in Hyattsville. and
Locust avenue was a part of the first
road between Baltimore and George
town. TIE Rambler stumbled into the
garden of that octagon house quite
| by accident, without knowing who
lived there or that there was any
connection between 1t and Parthenon.
! We got acquainted and got along ia
mously. Willie and the Rambler talk
! ed about hunting dogs and cunning
| and fishing, and-this is the most i'm
portant thing-Willie has three of as
charming daughters as you ever met.
He also has some sons, but sons are
only sons. The young ladies' names
are Martha or Patsy" Mary and An
nabelle, and the Rambler finds that
it will be necessary for him to go
back to that octagon house several
times in search of new material. You
know, whenever you are attracted to
place you can use as an excuse to
go back that you need few more
notes and photographs.
At the beautiful old house Firwood
at Hyattsville Miss Mae Rogers. Sis
ter of the wireless wizard. lives
That is another place to which the
Rambler must go back to get more
notes and photographs.
NOU may remember. il you have fol-
lowed these rambles. that the
Rambler took the trouble of looking
up the act Of the Maryland assembly
authorizing in 1742 the creation Of
town to be called Bladensburg. Be-
fore that he told you there was at
that point on the Eastern branchI a
small settlement and shipping point
called Garrisons Landing. We can
now go back for a moment to a time
before there was such place as
Garrisons Landing and to the time
of the original grant Of the wild
land on which Bladensburg stands.
The Rambler found this information
in an old book which was among the
possessions of James Webb Rogers
of Parthenon, and which Is preserved
by one of his children. 1t is one Of
the commissioners books and its date
is 1897. The commissioners. or board
of governors Of the town of Bladens-
bound. ledgerlike tomes-in which
they set down brief accounts Of the
public business coming before them
and of their decisions.
The commissioners book of 1887
contains some data relating to the
tract on which Bladensburg stands.
There was a resurvey and evidently
an extension of the limits Of Bladens-
burg in May Of that year, and one OF
the commissioners wrote that in 1896
a tract Of land was granted to Ninian
Beall and that he named the tract
! Bealls Meadows. BeaH, who had evil
IDENTIFY taken up this patent of land
| for speculation, as he did number
Of other grants in the vicinity of
! washington and on the site of Wash
! ineton. sold Bealls Meadows to John
| Gerard. Charles Calvert. by mar
riage with a daughter of John Ger
rard. became possessed Of part of
| the Bealls Meadows tract. and resur-
veyed the portion which came to him
from his wife. He called the new
| tract "Charles and Rebecca." TIE in
/ ference from this is that his wife's
name was Rebecca Gerard. The date
of record of the survey of the tract
Charles and Rebecca was January
%. 1723.
TT was on this tract that Bfadens-
1 burg was mapped out in 1742.
urLo&har Carrisnns Landing was in