Evening star., 1937-02-14
Bv John Claeeff Proctor.


town near Washington that you have
to detour after heavy downpour of
rain, and though the latter is quite
true, sometimes, yet the former is
only true in part, for there are many
things which the residents Of this part
Of nearby Maryland might point to
With pride that few people today know
anything about, and one of these, in
particular, is its pioneer residents.
Most every town or section of the
country can single out some one or
more Of its early citizens who reflected
great credit upon his native soil, and
Bladensburg Is not an exception IN
this respect, for it has been the birth
place of several men whose names
have gone down in history, and who
will be recalled for their acts and
their outstanding ability for many
centuries to come. And of these the
writer has especially in mind William
Writ, author and celebrated tourist,
who served as Attorney General of
the United States during the admin
istrations Of James Monroe and John
1917 to 1929, and who was candidate
for the presidency in 1882.
WILLIAM WRIT was born In
wv Bladensburg. November 8. 1772,
his father having been Jacob Writ. q
native of Switzerland, and his mother,
Henrietta Writ. of German birth.
Jacob Writ and his brother, Jasper
Writ, are recorded as having settled
In this village some years before the
Revolution. but they were not among
the original settlers who bought the
sixty 1-acre lots which constituted the
town as created in 1742, as we shall
zee by reading over the following list
which also includes the numbers Of
the lots:
Richard Snowden, jr, purchased lot
4; Samuel Thomas. lot q; Stephen
Msrtin, lot 3, and then, in numerical
order, were Samuel Snowden, Ma
thaniel Folsom, Osborn Sprigg, Ninian
Marcarte, Edward Lowndes g. Co.,
Thomas Waring, Michael Higgons,
Matthew Hopkins, Edward Trafford,
John Skinner and Thomas CAN'T, jr.
Lot is was reserved for Miss Calvert,
proprietor Of the land, and lots Is to
20 were purchased in order by Francis
Lowndes, George Scott, Dr. George
Riddle, DR.. David Ross, Nicholas
Baker, william Diggs, Thomas Chit
tam. Thomas williams, ST.; Capt.
James Edmonston, Thomas Snowden,
Thomas Owen, John Needham and
Thomas Cramphin.
Lot 80 was reserved for Miss
Calvert and 81 to 46 were sold to
Nicholas Diggs. William Hillary. John
Cuttings, Samuel Beall, jr.: DR.. George
Cook, James Haddock Waring, Rich
ard Gildert, Francis Finn. Maj.
jeremiah Belt, Samuel Galloway, Will
liam Thomas. John Hawkins. jr.; Will
liam Murdock, John Row, jr.: Joseph
Belt, son Of John, and John Brashears
The name Of the party to whom went
lot At Is not given. Kennedy Farrall
got lot 48, Benjamin Young, esq, lot
40; John Row, ST., lot so; Charles
Riggs. lot ST.; Christopher Lowndes,
lot 50, and Nehemiah Ogden, lot SO.
Owner Of lot 81 is not indicated. Lot
IS went to William Mauduit. Lot 56
not indicated. Lot 81 sold to Col Ed
ward Sprigg. SO to Thomas Hilleary,
So to Thomas Butler and lot 60 to Ed
ward Sprigg. Sd.
The cheapest lot sold for S shillings;
the highest for pounds and 10
shillings.
Jacob Writ owned several pieces of
property in Bladensburg, where he
kept q tavern, and he later built a
house on lot No. S, but just where the
tavern was or where the house was
located is still matter of conjecture.
Jacob Writ was the father of six
children. three boys and three girls,
Of whom William was the youngest,
and he, it is said, was born in the
tavern. The names Of the other chill
dren were Jacob, Uriah Jasper, Eliza
beth. Catharine and Henrietta, and
these, too, were undoubtedly born
somewhere in the town. Jacob, the
eldest of the children, when grown to
manhood, went to sea to seek his
fortune, being accompanied by his
cousin, the son Of his uncle, Jasper
Writ. They never returned and were
never heard from afterward.
Jacob Writ, ST., died when his son
William was about two years old, and
his wife, Henrietta Writ, died about
1870. The census Of Maryland for
1790 lists but two heads of families
named Wirt-Thomas Of Cecil County
and E. Writ Of Dorchester County
probably not related.
A s is so generally the case, William
- Writ In his memoirs begins with
his early school days-the old school
house at Bladensburg and the austere
school master, upon whom he looked
with so much awe.
"The school house was across the
street." he says, "at the farther cor
ner Of the square. The schoolmaster
was Elisha Crown. an Englishman; a
middle-sized man, stoop-shouldered
spare, rather thin-faced and of a dark
complexion. He wore a suit of blue
cloth, coat, waistcoat and small
clothes, with black horn buttons, and
old-fashioned cock-and- pinch hat,
the pinch in front, far projected and
sharp; pair Of silver shoe buckles,
and was a very respectable -looking
old-fashioned gentleman"
The schoolmaster was not so old or
% stopped as was the impression
formed Of him by young Writ. He
was, according to the census OF st. |
Johns and Prince Georges parishes,
taken In 1776, thirty-three years Of |
age, while his wife. Elizabeth, daugh-
ter Of Jasper Writ, uncle Of young |
William, was only twenty-one.
CONTINUING his reference to his |
old early school days, William |
Writ tells US:
'"Fhe school was transferred about |
. mile into the country, on what was
khen the mad frnm RIadenSbIir0 tn |