Evening star., 1925-08-16

Archibald Magruder. The Duckett
home, years ago. comprised several
acres. but the land has been sold.
The home of the old Ducketts is in
the forest of Prince Georges county,
near Glendale, on the Pennsylvania
and Baltimore line. 1 would like in
conclusion to say that the descend
ants of Basil 7. Duckett have in their
possession a history of the Duckett
family written on sleeps skin. 1t
was owned by Mrs. Alexander d. Hall
and was highly priced by her. The
home has been sold but the grave
yard was reserved All the old
buckets are buried there"
10 from Washington to Bladens-
- burg and turn right at the World
War memorial cross. You are on
Sand street. 1t is a Bladensburg way
that was given the name lS3 years
ago. The street name is as old as
Bladensburg and before it was called
Sand street it was a road To Garrison's
Landing on the Eastern Branch from
Upper Marlboro and and the rest of
Maryland between the Potomac, Pa
tuXent and the bay.
Sand street is paved with cement
and autos roll there now instead Of
OK carts, carryalls, family chariots
and the stage coach. Hold your
course east on Sand street and cross
the single track of the Baltimore and
Ohio. which leads from Hyattsville
to Shephard's Landing. A little east
of the railroad look TO the left and you
will see plain and old house framed
in lawn, trees and sky. The house is
about a hundred feet back of the
building line and a clay and pebble
footway parts the grassy yard and
L.,
to the porch steps. On the right.
tal honey locust, bound with ivy.
grows, and on the left, nearer the
house, is white pine tree, old but
strong. The kitchen end of the house
is one and a half stories high. writ h
dormer windows in the shingled roof
and the other part of the house is
two stories high, with a Shingle roof
and with porch across the front.
In other years. the Rambler told
you much of Bladensburg, but you
have forgot it, and many persons who
look at the heading of these rambIes,
yawn and turn TO other pages. have
come to Washington since that time.
The act of the Maryland legislature
establishing Bladensburg was passed
in 1742, and its title was AN act for
laying out and erecting town on
the south side of the Eastern Branch
county near a place called GarrisonS
Landing" The following is an extract
from the act: Whereas, several in
habitantS of Prince Georges county
by their petition to this general as
sembly have set forth that there is a
convenient place for a town at the
head of Eastern Branch of the Po-
tomack on the south side of said
branch near the forks thereof, and at
or nearS a place called Garrison's
Landing, and prayed that 60 acres of
land may be there laid out and erected
into a town:
BE it therefore enacted by the
Right Honorable, the Lord Proprietary
by and with the advice and consent of
his lordship's governor and of the
upper and lower houses of assembly
and the authority of the same, that
Mr.. James Edmunson. Mr.. Osborn
Sprigg, Mr.. William Maudit, Mr..
Thomas Gaunt, jr., and Mr.. Thomas
Warren shall be and are hereby ap-
pointed commissioners for Prince
Georges county and are hereby author
lied and empowered as well as to buy
and purchase 60 acres of land at the
place aforesaid where it shall appear
to them or the major part of them
to be most convenient for a town, as
to survey and lay out or cause the
same to be surveyed or laid out, in
the best and most convenient manner
into so lots to be erected into town"
Further along the act gives the
name of the proposed town as Blad-
ensburg but sticks to the site south
of the Eastern Branch near the forks
thereof" The town was not laid out
on that site but on the other side of
the stream. In an old brewing
ground southeast of the closely settled
part of Bladensburg are several
Mauduit tombstones and one of them
reads: I'm memory of William