The Coolidge examiner., 1931-04-17

IldmSDufS, WISHING the mouse OF
George Wythe, teacher of Thomas
Jefferson, John Marshall, James
Monroe, Henry Clay, and Edmund
Randolph; stopping at Bassett hall,
where Tom Moore wrote "The Fire
fly" and inspecting the John Page
home, where the plot of Mary John
stOn's Audrey" was laid. And one
regrets that space limitations per-
nit only a mention of ClaremOnt
Manor, Upper Brandon, WeyanOke,
Flower de Hundred, and Ampthill,
| colonial gems. come down through
the ages to us.
Above Richmond is Tuckahoe,
with its one-rOom schoOlhOuse
where Thomas Jefferson received
his grammer-grade schooling; with
its magnificent box maze. where he
played hide and seek with his little
! Randolph cousins; and its Htype
hOuse-One wing for the family and
the other for guests. On the up
per James, too, stand BremO and
Elk Hill, WiIliamsville and Hickory
Hill, rich in history and radiant
I Will
On the Upper Neck.
But the Northern Neck calls u.s.
Here is Sabin hall, with situation
as beautiful and a garden as de-
| lightful as can be found in ali
America. king" Carter built it
for his son Landon, one of whose
wives was Maria Byrd of West
over.
At Mount Airy. with its three
houses grouped about a centraI axis
and connected by curved. covered
ways, always have lived the Tay-
loes. intermarried with the Platers
and the Ogles of Maryland. The
race horses of Governor Ogle and
those of Colonel Tayloe were the
most famous of the early American
turf, and Colonel Tayloe's race
track brought the elite of two colo
MES together.
Farther up the Northern Neck we
come to StratfOrd, ancestral home
of the Lees of Virginia. From it's
precincts went two signers Of the
Declaration of Independence De-
vi IHC 'bWDGI
have included governors of Virginia
and Maryland, generals in four
wars, members of the constitutional
conventions, and many another
whose name graces the pages of
American history.
Today it stands as a pitiful relic
of sometime glory, but a COnnec-
~ Of n.,n Of
the COnfederacy has recently ac-
quired it and is making plans for
it's restoration to the aspect of the
days when Richard Henry Lee.
Francis Light.JOt Lee, Light Horse
Harry Lee, and Robert f. Lee were
born.
On the north bank of the Rap
pahannOck, at Fredericksburg.
stands Chatham. the home IF the
Fitzhughs. There George Washing
ton courted Martha Custis. there
Robert Z. Lee cOurted Mary Ran
dOlph Curtis. there Abraham Lin
coin visited the Army of the POto-
mac.
And across the river is the little
home where lived Mary Washing
ton. mother of the First President.
Where Mary Washington Lived.
When George Washington reached
maturity and left the Ferry farm,
where he had spent most of his
tender years after leaving Wake
field. his sister Betty invited their
mother to come to Kenmore, near
by. which Fielding Lewis had built
for his bride Her answer was:
My wants are few. feel perfect
ly competent to take care of my
self" She moved, instead. to the
little cottage because George
thought it best"
History raises the curtain and
gives us a glimpse of her life there.
Her daughter frets at not nearing
news of her brother George at the
front, and is admonished that 1.-The
sister of the commanding general
should be an example of faith and
fOrtitude.' Lafayette visited her.
He enters her garden by the side
gate and finds her raking leaves
and wearing a linSey-wOOlsey dress
and a brOad-brimmed hat over a
pleated undercap. She takes his
hand in both hers. "Ah, mar
quis," she exclaims, you have come
to see an old woman. But | can
make you welcome without chang
ing my dress"
Speaking of this visit later, La
fayette declared that he had seen
the only Roman mother living at
this day"