The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1940-02-28
KEY WEST WOMEN
Their Homes and Gardens
BY MYRTLE COSGROVE
MRS. LOUIS CASS BRINTON
AND HER HOME

AND HER HOME
It is always a compliment
when retired army and navy Of
ficers come here to make their
homes, for it graciously implies,
that, after seeing what the world
has to offer, Key West looks best
to them. Among the late addi-
tions to the military colony are
| Colonel and Mrs. Louis Cass
Brinton, who last Spring erected
an attractive home at 1880 John
son street. They have taken the
best of the Cape Cod colonial
type of architecture and cleverly
adapted it to meet climatic condi-
tions. Snug and compact as a
New England house should be, it
nevertheless harmonizes perfect
ly with its tropical setting of
palms and flowers. The Brinton
home has aptly been called THE
Treasure Box, for every nook
and corner is filled with treasures
garnered from many lands. The
furnishings of the rooms are
beautiful combination of the do
nestle and exotic. Amid the fine
old pieces of mahogany are scores
of Oriental objects of aria feast
for the eyes. Notable are the
tables. There is a nest of them
in deliberately carved teakWood,
another brilliantly lacquered. In
front of Victorian sofa, a fam.
lily heirloom, is a striking Chin
csc chow bench used for serving
coffee. A rare OK blood pot
pourri jar and a blue Chinese
Buddha provide vivid spots of
color. There are several unique
lamps, a pair of FURNISHED brass
vases and a number of delicate
figurines that were picked up in
Europe. A wall bracket of teak
wood contains dainty bits of
ivory, intricately and eXquisitely
carved. One seldom sees so
lovely collection of glass as that
which Mrs. Brinton has CLEANED
from her travels. With a knack
of showing her cherished posses
sions to the best advantage, she
has arranged them on shelves
across a window in the living
room where the unvarying north
ern light enhances the brilliant
hues. . Most interesting of the
display is a candy jar shaped, like
a Liberty Bell which came from
the Philadelphia Centennial in
1876. Not only is Mrs. Brinton
native of Key West, but her fam
lily have lived here for genera
tions. Raymond Guthrie, her
grandfather, left Scotland in
1910, settled here and married
Miss Johnson, a British subject
from Nassau. Previous to the
building of the u. S. Naval Sta
ton, then home was located at
Eaton and Thomas streets. They
had one daughter, Harriet. In
the days of 40 thousands flocked
to California to seek gold. Mr..
Guthrie, in order to avoid the
long, dangerous trek across the
plains, went by way of the
Isthmus Of Panama. Although he
was successful in reaching the
land of his desire, he died shortly
after from chagres fever contract
ed in Panama. Claude Babcock,
Mrs. Brinton's father, was a des-
cendant Of the Babcock family,
who came to Rhode Island from
England in 1912. During the
Civil War, he was an officer
aboard the U.S.S. Seminole, un-
der Admiral Farragut, who was
at that time engaged in blockad-
ing southern ports. When the
struggle between the states drew
to a close, Mr.. Babcock married
Harriet Guthrie, whom he had
met while his ship was stationed
at Key West. Shortly after his
marriage he left the navy and
built large home on Duvai
street, next to where Kress' store
lnow stands. Here Mrs. Brinton
was born. When the big fire of
1886 started in the old San Car
los Hall, Babcock's was the first
residence to burn. :. Mr.. Babcock,
who resumed his profession of
civil engineering after the war,
engaged in a number of enterpris-
es, all tending to develop Key
West. IE 1866 he assisted in the
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