Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-09-27
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.

in the name Of Arthur Middleton, 4S
feet on Ninth, Charles NJ. McGregor;
"a feet on Ninth. Isaac Hill, and so
feet on Ninth assessed to the trustees
of the Fourth Presbyterian Church.
In the assessment of 1914 the ref
erences to land in this square. No. 375.
are: 1880 square feet at 121a cents
a foot. Washington Asylum CWashing
ton City Orphan Asylum; $3.50 feet,
burial place; 1900 feet, 1912 cents a
foot, Church uhe only designationJ;
197.0S2 feet, Arthur Middleton.
In the 1924 assessment opposite the
square No. 375 is this: "All 222.s12
feet. 21a cents d foot, David Burns
heirs. on acct of grave y'd."
x X
THE house of James Burnes, father
of David Burnes, stood close to
what is now the intersection of Tenth
and II, and II is likely that Burnes
family graveyard was where Marcia
Burnes-Ean Ness caused the Van Ness
Mausoleum to be built in 1924. The
Mausoleurn with its solemn relics was
taken down and rebuilt in Oak Hill
Cemetery in 1873. Old Washing
tonians knew the square as "Mauso-
leum Square" Marcia Burnes-Nan
Ness, noted for many charities. was
one of the founders of the Washington
City Orphan Asylum in 1915. The
first building occupied by the orphan
age was a small frame house on Tenth
near the Avenue. In 1861 the or
phanage occupied a frame house on
II near Tenth, and. the site of that
house was covered by brick building,
which was erected for the asylum In
lS2S-29. In 1922 the orphanage was
moved to a house on Seventh street
between II and /, and remained there
until the Summer of 1929. when II
was removed TO the new brick build
ing in Mausoieum Square. 1t re-
rnained there until 1867, when William
Gait bought the property.
Before going on let me say: You
have noticed that the Rambler spells
ly all our local historians, writing of
David Burnes' cottage, which was
where the Pan-American Building is,
spell the name Burns" The Ram
bier has no other authority for spell
ing it "Burnes" than the following
epitaphs in Rock Creek Cemetery:
David Burnes, Esq, of the City Of
Wa shin gton. Died the sth day Of May,
1900, 90 years months and "a days;
Mrs. Anne Burnes, wife of David
Burnes. Esq. Died the 2Sth of Janu-
airy, 1907. aged &c years II months
and 4 days: Mr. John Burnes, son Of
David Burnes, Esq. Died in the year
1892, aged 20 years. He was a youth
amiable and intelligent who promised
fair to become an honor to his friends
and an ornament to his country"
In "A History of the First Congre
gational Church" by Walter L. Cliff.
in a booklet 'Fiftieth Anniversary of
the Founding OF the First Congrega-
tional Church." published in 1913. is
the following account of the purchase
of the land: And then came up QS66,
the question of site-where should
the society erect a church building?
The Methodists offered us the corner
of Four-and a-HaIf and c streets, now
occupied by the Metropolitan Church,
for SIS, 900. but we wanted a more CEN
trail location for the only church of our
order. For IS years the Van Ness
family, the original owners of the
western half of Washington. had been
selling at city prices the pieces of their
old tobacco plantation. All had been
sold but one lot, and that lay on the
corner of Tenth and q streets. 1t was
promptly bought by the Congrega-
tional Church, but 1t was months be-
fore we could get the deed, because it
had to be sent to Rome, Italy, for
signature. So that the last piece of
land belonging to the original planter
family that lived by slave labor was
the first piece to be bought by an
anti-slavery Congregational Church
after slavery had been abolished
throughout the land"
THE Rambler has looked UP the
= deed to the property. The first
deed was made January 8, 1866, and
recorded February 3, 1866, between