Evening star., 1925-05-24

led the Rambler to the cor
ner OF Eighteenth and f
streets. where a large brick
mouse stands. 1t is No. 1901 +
street Tobias Lear bought the cor
ner lot and those lots adjoining it
west and north. June 6, 1915. from
Jacob Wagner of Georgetown. The
Rambler wrote last Sunday: The
brick house on the corner was the
home for long time of Melville Wes-
ton Fuller. Chief Justice of the United
States. After looking at the tax rec
ords. the Rambler believes that IA
h.ick house was built on the corner
or eighteenth and + between 1910
AND 1850 by the owner of the proper
Iy then. His name is entered in the
assessment list OF 1854 and 1864 as
:. Sprigg. The Washington City di-
rnctories of those years do not contain
ttte name. Who :. SpriES was is for
the Rambler to find. Chief Justice
rulers house vas probably the s.
SprtgS house enlarged" from deeds
and wills in Our court house, rec rdS
Of Oak Hill Gene. cry and files of The
Star, the Rambler believes that IS.
SprigS" of the tax list vas Samuel
sprigg. governor of MarYllnd. 1919
-; that this property W.S inherited
by his daughter. Sallie SprigE. who
married William Thomas Carroll. for
many years clerk of the supreme
Court; that William Thomas Carroll,
had his home there when he died in
1863; that his widow lived there until
her death in 1895: and that one OF
the children of the couple WAS Maj.
Gen. Samuel Sprig" Carroll, who died
in 1898
There is some deduction used in the
construction OF this story and "a mis-
take may have been made. The fel-
1puy Ix-ha MIC ike *
one who never does anything or never
tries to.
When last Sundays ramble was
with The Stars proofreaderS, Ike
Field, proofreader, came to
the Rambler's room with message
from Mike Maher, another of The
Stars proofreader Ike said that
Mike would like to know if the Ram
bier would change the line Chief
, Justice Fuller's house was probably
the S. Sprigg house enlarged" so that
it would read Chief Justice Fuller'S
house was the Carroll house en-
larged." l called Mike on the phone
and asked him to send me any facts
he had about the house, and this note
came back: Dear Harry: My earli-
est recollection of the house, north
west corner Eighteenth and +, is that
it was occupied by Gen. Carroll. who
was either named Sprigg or had son
by that name. A daughter married
into the Esterhazy family"
Melville w. Fuller was appointed
Chief Justice in succession to Chief
Justice Waite in April, 1885, by Presi-
dent Cleveland. His first Washington
address was Belmont, Fourteenth
street extended" His address, 1891
1895, was 1900 Massachusetts avenue
In 1896 his address was 1901 f street.
Assuming that his deed might be
found in that year, the Rambler went
to the recorders Office. On April %,
1896, John Marshall Brown of Port
land, Me, executor Of the estate of
Sallie S. Carroll. sold to Mary L. Full
Ter of Chicago lots ]. 9 and Is, square
142 northwest corner Eighteenth and
F., with its improvements, for $50 200.
At the same time Mary E. Fuller and
her husband, Melville w. Fuller, both
Of Chicago. executed to Frederic d.
McKenny and Frederick E. Chaplin of
Washington deed OF trust to secure
$50 900 in promissory notes, to mature
in five years, given to John Marshall
Brown by Mary l.. anad Melville w.
Fuller.
GOING to the register of wills
office, the Rambler turned to the
will of Sallie S. Carroll, witnessed May
1917, anu DtDItdlcu D1lt 20, loJO
She set aside $1,000 ito keep in per-
feet order and repair my vault in Oak
Hill Cemetery from proceeds of the
sale of my property, corner of F and
Eighteenth" She bequeathed S10,0 900
to be invested to provide $500 a year
to her son, Charles H. Carroll, at
whose death 900 should go to her
grandson, Carroll Mercer, and $1,000
to her grandson, John Francis Mer-
Che IivanfoI f1S he in.
vested to give her daughter, Carolin
Ann Bolles, 5000 a year, and lat her
death to be divided, $4,000 to my
granddaughter, Sally Carroll Payson,
$3.50 to my granddaughter, Mary
Bruster Brown; 81 500 to my son, Gar
roll Brown, and $500 to my grand
daughter, Violetta Lansdale Brown,
and their heirs" she left $4,000 ito
be invested to pay my daughter. Sally
Virginia Esterhazy, $500 a year, and
at her death ito be divided between
my granddaughter, Catharine Dubois
Beal, and my grandson, Samuel Sprigg
Carroll, share and share alike"
She appointed her son-in-law, John
Marshall Brown, and her grandson,
John Wheeler Beal. executors. Wit
nesses were Kate T. Frick, JEANNE
Turnbull and Mamie T. Frick.
In a codicil, June 6, 1894, Mrs. Car
roll wrote: "As my will was made
before my property on the corner of
F. and Eighteenth was sold, and feel
ing sure that there will be something
over the demands of my WILL" she
directed that $500 be given her niece,
Mary Bowie Anderson, and the bal
ance partitioned among heirs named
in the will. She also wrote: ITO my
faithful servants, James Jackson and
Della Noonan, l give $500 each, to be
given to them as soon after | die as
it is possible"
A long list of household articles is
given, and to her daughter, Aida
Catherine Brown, she bequeaths my
silver sugar dish and cream pot to
match, as also the sugar tongs be-