Evening star., 1932-03-27

In 1928 Bellevue was purchased from Mrs
Cresson Newbold of this city by the National
Society of Colonial Danes of America and
rechristened Dumbarton House, and subse-
quently carefully restored under the advice of
Fiske Kimball of the Pennsylvania Museum
of Art. AS it stands today, it is an excellent
example of early Federal period. The
general style of the building floor plan and
architectural details of the period from 1890
to 1910 have been closely followed in its fur
nishings OF special note are the exquisite
plaster cornices and friezes in the hall and
the two rooms the west side the first
floor
DGmbarton House is one of the real show
places of Georgetown
What is known as the Decatur House is at
28l2 N street. and here it is likely Mrs. Decatur,
widow of Commodore Stephen Decatur, made
her home. The reader will probably recall
that Commodore Decatur was killed in a duel
with Commodore James Barron in 1920. and
was inferred in the old Barlow Kalorama
vault from which his body was later removed
to st. Peters Church yard in Philadelphia.
He resided at the southwest corner of Jackson
place and H street, and it was he who was
the author of the celebrated toast: "Our
country! In her intercourse with foreign
nations. may she always be in the right but
our country, right or wrong" Mrs. Decatur
made her home for while at Kalorama Man
sion and evidently-for the writer has nothing
definite before him-later moved to the George
town residence.
Not long since because of building opera
tions at Georgetown University. abandoned
burial plot was discovered in which rested
the remains of Susan Decatur, widow of the
commodore, and of Jane Brent. daughter of
Robert Brent, Washhgton's FIRST mayor. OF
this The Star said at the time:
From their recently discovered resting place
on wooded knoll near the new dormitory
building at Georgetown University the bones
OF a score or more of the early residents of
Washington will be removed to a permanent
location ina burial plot in Cedar Hill Gene
tery, if the offer Of the cemetery is accepted
by officers of Georgetown University
Among the graves recently discovered while
workmen were excavating for the build
ing at Georgetown University were those of
Susan Decatur, widow of Commodore Stephen
Decatur of early naval fame and Jane Brent
daughter Of Robert Brent first mayor of Wash
ington. Many other graves, almost all over
grown with weeds and nearly obliterated with
the passage of time, were found in the for
gotten graveyard high on the hills above the
Potomac River Some OF the gravestones were
1decipherable, but most of them the in
'scriptions were so weather-beaten they were
not readable.
THE grave of Susan Decatur was restored
in 1904 by Decatur Parsons of New York a
granddaughter of Commodore Decatur. The
naval officer died March %, 1929, few hours
after he had fought a duel the historic
1ueling ground at Bladensburg with Commodore
James Barron.
Cedar Hill Cemetery where it is proposed to
RENTER the bones of these old Washington
residents without charge to Georgetown Uni
yersity, or to any individual. is located in
Maryland, near the District line in line with
the extension of Pennsylvania avenue south
east. P. w. Calfee one of the officials of the
cemetery has written letter to Georgetown
University, Offering to remove the bodies"
1t was too bad that the remains of Mrs.
Decatur were not placed beside those of her
illustrous husband in the Philadelphia ceme-
terry.
THE Bodisco home-3322 street.-The writer
] spoke about a year more ago, but the
marriage of the o,d baron and the youthful
Miss Williams will never lose any of its in
terest, nor viii the old home where they spent
their hnnavr,nnnn Rndisco WAS the Russian