Evening star., 1941-02-16

dinner and returned Immediately
after to George Town, where DR.. T.
stopped at the bridge and We pro-
ceeded to the church, where after a
prayer and hymn Mr.. Balch deliv-
cred a funeral sermon. The people
of the City and George Town joined,
to show their respect to the late Gen.
Washington; the society is too small
for them to equal in pomp the other
cities, but they did their best-there
were about 1000 people assembled at
the church"
At that time Gen. Washington had
only recently passed into the great
bevond. for he died on December IA,
1899, and the people throughout the
country were still mourning his
death. and the words of Gen. Henry
Lee-"First in war, first in peace and
first in the hearts Of his country
men"-were still ringing in the ears
of a grateful people. But from then
on and for a number OF years the
celebration of the anniversary OF
this great mans birth seems to have
been overlooked, to an extent at
least. in the city he founded and
which today bears his illustrlouS and
distinguished name.
But not SO today, for now Wash
ington, the Capital, celebrates the
birth of Washington, our foremost
American, with a reverence due his
matchleSs sacrifice and service to
this Republic as soldier, patriot and
President. and whose sterling char
acter all might we'll study and imi-
tate today.
Relative of Founder.
When the Association OF the
Oldest Inhabitants of the District
of Columbia was formed, December
7, 1865, one Of its pioneer members
was Col. Peter Grayson Washing
ton. who was also one of its original
vice presidents, and who presided at
it's two succeeding meetings. Col.
Washington was the son OF Lund
Washington, who became post
master of washington in 1796. Peter
GraySon Washington, whose sister
married Lewis Washington, was dis
tantly related to the first President,
through his father, who waS-ac-
cording to the records OF Edward
NICE. Lewis. son of Edward S. Lewis,
a genealogist of the Washington
family-a nephew of Lund Wash
ington. who looked after the Mount
Vernon estate while Gen. Wash
ington was serving in the American
Revolution.
Through the relationship between
Col. Peter G. Washington and the
Washington of Revolutionary fame
was evidently quite remote, yet the
former had evidently inherited
much of the patriotic fervor dis
played upon all occasions by Gen.
Washington, and so, at the third
meeting of the association, we find
DR.. j. B. Blake moving that Col.
Washington be requested to read
Washington's farewell address at
the meeting of February %, 1866.
And the practice of the association
of celebrating this notable day in
American history, with the reading
of the farewell address, has been
continued from year to year to the
present time. Indeed, from the be-
ginning of the organization, the
constitution has provided that in
addition to its regular meetings,
three special meetings be held jan
uary 1, February % and July 4.
The following year, February %,
1867. with Col. Washington in the
chair, Joseph H. Bradley read a
poem written by citizen of Wash
ington in 1927, and Donald B. Nc
Leod. a wen-known educator and
eloqutionist of his day, read the
farewell address, and this meeting
was attended by w. w. Corcoran,
who was given a seat on the plat
form.
First Invocation.
At the meeting of February %,
1869. invocation was probably pro-
nounced for the first time at these
meetings, the officiating clergyman
being Rev. Septinus Tustin.