Evening star., 1925-10-25
SON. ROCK CREEK CEMETERY

CRAVESTONE OF DAV
several papers on THE Boundary
Stones of the District of Columbia"
The letter of DIR. Brooks, inclosed
by Mr.. Woodward. follows:
"BROOkLAND, DC.
June Is. 1906.
My Dear Mr.. Woodward: You were
right about seeing those slabs over
the graves of David Burns. his wife
and son. | believe they were actually
buried there, but cannot give you any
particulars. During the war between
the States the soldiers took the bricks
to build their fire 1ues in their tents
and otherwise desecrated the graves,
so my father. who was unable to pro
tect them, wrote To Gen. Van
Ness of New York who had married
David Burnes' only daughter, about
it, but never received any reply. Gen
Van Ness died in l846l When the
property was sold the graves were
still there. so the syndicate. | think
by subscription. bought Il lot in Rock
Creek Cemetery and they We're re
moved there. Mr.. Il. +. Leighton can
perhaps give you all the data. l was
away from home at the time.
Very truly yours etc
j. HENRY BROOKS, NJ. D."
THE attention of the Rambler has
been called to a paper written by
Allen c. Clark, president Of the Co
lumbia Historical Society. read before
that society November &c, 1918. and
printed III volume % of the society's
racnrdG Of 80
General John Peter Van Ness, a
Mayor Of the City of Washington,
His Wife Marcia and her Father
David Burnes." Pertinent to the sub
Ject L write of. ! present to you the
following extract from Mr.. Clark S
paper:
Anne Burnes wife of David
Burnes) was Anne Wight. She was
born within the Ten Miles Square.
The Wightts lived on the farm with
the patent name Inclosure.' Her
brother John owned it. From him it
descended to the Queen family and
from the Queen family to the Brooks
family-however. all of the same fam
lily Of different names because of the
men the daughters admitted into it.
The tract is the suburb Brookland
of rose culture fame.
when the Wight Queen Brooks
tract was being cut up to make Brook
land, under group of dreary pines
in All isolated spot, just where Mon
roe avenue and Twelfth street inter
sect, We're found three graves. The
Van Ness family was informed. wit h
the result that Eugene Van Ness pur-
chased, April 26, 1883, three sites in
Rock Creek Cemetery (Nos. !. ,, and
3 in reservation adjoining No. 19l,
section c. to which they We're re
moved"
Mr.. Clark gives the epitaphs as
follows: David Burnes Esqr OF the
City of Washington, died the Sth of
May 1900. Aged GO years. months
and "A days. Mrs. Anne Burnes, Wife
of David Burnes Esqr.. Died on the
2Sth of January 1907 Aged &c years,
II months and days. Mr.. John
Burnes. Son OF David Burnes Esqr.
died in the year 1892 aged 20 years.
He was youth amiable intelligent,
who promised fair to become an honor
to his friends and an ornament to his
Country"
Mr.. Clark makes the following COM
ment: The inscriptions were writ
ten by Gen. Van Ness, as the tribute
TO the son is almost identical with an
EXPRESSION in his letter to Martin Van
Buren,. The inscriptions are in, the
same style of lettering and ornamental
ton and We're apparently chiseled un-
der one order. The dates are singu-
larly Inaccurate. Mr.. Burnes died May
Z. 1888. The son was living October
10, 1898"
Continuing. Mr.. Clark writes: THE
Brooks mansion and it's grounds is a
Brookland block. Over the entrance
gate lis Saint Benedict Academy.
Jehiel Brooks married Ann Queen, and
Ann was the daughter of Nicholas l..
Queen, the boniface of Queens Hotel,
the favored dining place of congress
men and like celebrities. just east of
the Capitol, and Mr.. Queens wife was
g. Wight. And the oldest part of the
Brooks mansion may have been the
home of Ann Wight when her David
Burnes came counting. From associ-
ations and circumstances the writer
gives his opinion that Mr.. Burnes gave
allegiance to the sect of the Scotch
immigrants who located hereabout, the
Presbyterian, and that Mrs. Burnes,
whose maiden name was spelled like
I the Isle Of Wight with an additional
t. was of the Church of England.
The opinion is given for nothing else
than historic details. as the form of
worship is but shadow and unim-
portant."
GIVE thanks to Fred Woodward
and Allen Clark for writing so
much Of this ramble for me. 1t is the
best have turned out. I was talking
with Mr.. Clark an hour ago about
David Burnes. A number of persons,
unfortunately having learned to read
and write, have written historical es-
says on David Burnes. They have
called him a Scotchman and even a
'canny Scot" 1 would defend him
against this accusation. These histo-
rians have described him as hard-na-
tured, tight listed and unlettered-sort
Of a hard nut. They have even said
that he drank hard liquor, as though
that were an evil thing to do. Mr..
Clark said: David Burnes has been
shamefully misrepresented. He. con-
trary to the writer's, was cultured and
educated. His communications to
President Washington and to Secre-
tary Jefferson were in exDrpSSiOn and