Evening star., 1937-03-21

lie oIdI Telling Ol JQe sale Oh
the Friends Meeting House and
L the SidWell Friends School, for
the purpose of erecting hospital on
the site, is especially interesting on &C
count of the historic background of
the meeting house and the prominence
of the school, particularly because of
the large number of persons who have
attended there and who afterward be-
came prominent in national and in
world affairs.
The meeting house, of course is
much older than the school, for the
latter was only begun in 1883, when
Thomas Watson Sidwell came here
from the Friends School in Baltimore
and opened the school, which still
bears his name and which has gained
for itself and for its founder repu-
tstion that any educator might well
be proud of.
The Society of Friends, which in a
way controls the school, though it is
IN no way SeCtarlan, was organized in
Washington at a very early date. and
on February 81, 1903, purchased two
posed to erect the hospital.
After obtaining title to the property
# did not take the Friends long to
erect on the ground substantial house
of worship which was evidently COM
peted prior to June 3, 1903, for on
this date the first marriage ceremony
was performed, as indicated by a mar
in 10
National Intelllgencer, and which
reads,
"Married-On Fourth day morning,
at the Friends Meeting House, Jesse
Talbot. of Alexandria. to Hannah
Little, Jun, of this city, being the first
marriage solemnized by that society in
the City of Washington
THE Quakers-of which the Society
of Friends forms considerable
part-are not much on advertising
what they do and so it is difficult to
outline the history Of this society IN
the District Of Columbia. since access
to its early records would mean trip
to Baltimore, where It is understood
its old books and papers are stored in
vault for preservation.
However when the street lots were
bought in 1908, the transfer was made
to William Morgan, Isaac Briggs
Gerard Brooke, Samuel Lukens and
Samuel SnoWden. The statement has
been made that George Washington
was credited" with donating this
property TO the society, but such gift
is hardly possible, and, so far as pres
ent records go. there is nothing avail
able to bear out in whole or in part
such a statement. Naturally. every
body knows. or should know, that the
first President was an Episcopalian
and that he died at Mount Vernon
December IA, 1899.
Washington's real estate transac-
tions in the city bearing his name are
well known by those. who have in.
vestigated the subject. A little more
than a year before his death he pur-
chased lot l6 now lot 39) in square
634. it being on the west side of North
Capitol street between B and c streets
Upon this land he soon thereafter be-
gan the erection of two houses, winch
were not quite completed at the time
of his death. Prior TO this, in Sep
tember. 1898, he purchased four lots
in what had been the town site OF
Carrollsburg, the location of which
would be about from Third street
southwest to First street southeast ano
from N street south to the Eastern
Branch The following year he bought
the west half of square 81, bounded by
Twenty fifth, TWenty-slXth, D and z
streets northwest, and subsequently he
also purchased the remaining half oi
this square.
EGARDING that North Capito
street ground, he wrote from
Mount Vernon to DR.. William Thorn
ton under date of December 20, 1913
Dear Sir: Inclosed is a check on the
Bank of Alexandria for $500 to enable
Mr.. Blagden, by your draft, to proceed
in laying in materials for carrying or
my buildings in the Federal City.
ct saw a building in Philadelphia Of
about the same front and elevation
that are TO be given to my houses
which pleased me. 1t consisted alst
of two houses united-doors in tht
center, a pediment in the roof anc
dormer window on each side of it lr
front, skylights m The rear.
IF this is not incongruous with rules
of architecture, I should be glad te
have my two houses executed in thi
style. Let me request the favor of yol
to learn from Mr. Blagden what thu
additional cost will be-"
When the British burned the Cap
itol in 1914 these two houses Wer,
among the private property partly de
stroyed, the reason assigned beinI
that Government property was store'
there. This seems TO have been in
way true. Fortunately, however. man
of the records placed there for safe
keeping we're removed before the
houses were burned.
For many years these houses Wer
occupied as a residence by Commo
dore Charles Wilkes, who owned ther
and lived there from about 1840 t
1880. Later they were combined an
used for hotel and boarding hous
purposes, a business that for about
years, from 1876. was conducted b
N. j. Hillman under the name of tn
Hillman House, after which it becam
the Kenmore.
In one of these houses the cele
brated school teacher-a -authoress, Mr.
Z. D. E. N. SouthWorth, was born.
THE Quakers who bought the
street property and who erecte
the meeting house there, if not frol
the beginning at least later on, be
came adherents of Elias Hicks, VIII
is referred to by some as a ''progres
sive" Quaker and his followers 6
Hicksites But at least he was mo-
active in fTthering the principles {
the Society of Friends and in tn