Historic Shrines Of America - free ebook by John T. (John Thomson) Faris

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Historic Shrines Of America

John T. (John Thomson) Faris

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HISTORIC SHRINES OF AMERICA

HISTORIC SHRINES OF AMERICA

BEING THE STORY OF ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY HISTORIC BUILDINGS AND THE PIONEERS WHO MADE THEM NOTABLE BY JOHN T. FARIS Member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and Fellow of the American Geographical Society Author of "Real Stories from Our History," "Old Roads Out of Philadelphia," etc. ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY Copyright, 1918, By George H. Doran Company Printed in the United States of America...

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FOREWORD

FOREWORD

Circular tours have long been popular in England. There was a time—as there will be a time again—when American visitors felt that to make the rounds of the cathedral towns or the historic castles or the homes and haunts of great men and women, was a necessary part of seeing the tight little island. "What a pity it is that we in America have no such wealth of historic places," one returning tourist was heard to remark. "Oh, of course, there are a few spots like Independence Hall and Concord and L

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THE OLD STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

THE OLD STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

FROM WHOSE BALCONY THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS PROCLAIMED Thirty-three years after Captain John Smith sailed into Boston Harbor, the first Town House was built. This was in 1657. The second Town House, which was built on the same site, was erected in 1712. In 1748 the third Town House, later the Old State House, followed the structure of 1712, the outer walls of the old building being used in the new. Since 1689, when Governor Andros' tyranny was overthrown, the old building has been in

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PAUL REVERE'S HOUSE, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

PAUL REVERE'S HOUSE, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

WHERE THE MERCURY OF THE REVOLUTION LIVED AND TOILED Thus wrote Paul Revere, the Boston goldsmith, on the back of a bill to Mr. Benjamin Greene for "Gold buttons," "Mending a Spoon," and "Two pr. of Silver Shoe Buckles," which was made out one day in 1773 in the old house in North Square, built in 1676. To this house he planned to lead as his second wife Rachel Walker; his eight children needed a mother's care, and he wanted some one to share the joys and the burdens of his life. Before his firs

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FANEUIL HALL, BOSTON

FANEUIL HALL, BOSTON

"THE CRADLE OF AMERICAN LIBERTY" Andrew Faneuil was one of the Huguenots who fled from France as a result of the Edict of Nantes. By way of Holland he came to Boston. It is a matter of official record that on February 1, 1691, he was admitted by the Governor and Council of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Within a few years the refugee was looked upon as a leader both in the French church and in business. Copies of invoices of merchandise consigned to him show that he was a dealer in all kinds of s

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THREE HISTORIC CHURCHES OF BOSTON

THREE HISTORIC CHURCHES OF BOSTON

THE STORY OF OLD NORTH, OLD SOUTH, AND KING'S CHAPEL The First Church of Boston would have been large enough for all its members for many years longer than they worshipped together, if they had been of one mind politically. But the differences that separated people in England in the troublous days of Charles I were repeated in Boston. For this reason some of the members of the First Church thought they would be better off by themselves, and in 1650 they organized the Second Church. Later the chu

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ELMWOOD, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

ELMWOOD, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

WHERE JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL WAS BORN, AND WHERE HE DIED When Thomas Oliver, Lieutenant Governor and president of George III's provincial council, built his house in Cambridge about 1767, he did not dream that within nine years he would have to abandon it because of his allegiance to the same George III. But so it proved. He was a Tory, and his neighbors would not suffer him to remain among them. On September 2, 1774, he wrote his resignation of the offices he held, adding the statement, "My house

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THE CRAIGIE HOUSE, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

THE CRAIGIE HOUSE, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

MADE FAMOUS BY GEORGE WASHINGTON AND HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW " Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country seat. Across its antique portico Tall poplar-trees their shadows throw; And from its station in the hall An ancient timepiece says to all,— 'Forever, never! Never—forever.'" The clock of which Longfellow wrote stood on the stair-landing of the old Craigie House, Cambridge, Massachusetts, which he bought in 1843, after having occupied it a number of years. Here

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THE ADAMS HOUSES, QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS

THE ADAMS HOUSES, QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS

WHERE TWO PRESIDENTS WERE BORN John Adams was born and spent his boyhood in a simple farmhouse near Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts. It has been described as a "plain, square, honest block of a house, widened by a lean-to, and scarcely two stories high." This house, built in 1681, Daniel Munro Wilson says was "the veritable roof-tree, under which was ushered into being the earliest and strongest advocate of independence, the leader whose clear intelligence was paramount in shaping our free

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THE QUINCY MANSION, QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS

THE QUINCY MANSION, QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS

THE HOME OF THREE DOROTHY QUINCYS Among the settlers to whom Boston granted large allotments of outlying lands were William Coddington and Edmund Quincy. In 1635 they went, in company with their associate settlers, to "the mount," which became Braintree, now Quincy. By the side of a pleasant brook, under the shade of spreading trees, Coddington built in 1636 his house of four rooms. Downstairs was the kitchen and the living room, while upstairs were two bedrooms. The upper story overhung the low

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FERNSIDE FARM, HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS

FERNSIDE FARM, HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS

THE BIRTHPLACE AND BOYHOOD HOME OF JOHN G. WHITTIER The first house built by Thomas Whittier, the three-hundred-pound ancestor of the poet Whittier, and first representative of the family in America, was a little log cabin. There he took his wife, Ruth Flint, and there ten children were born. Five of them were boys, and each of them was more than six feet tall. No wonder the log house grew too small for the family. So, probably in 1688, he built a house whose massive hewn beams were fifteen inch

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THE DUSTON GARRISON HOUSE, HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS

THE DUSTON GARRISON HOUSE, HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS

FROM WHICH HANNAH DUSTON WAS CARRIED AWAY BY THE INDIANS The attention of visitors to Haverhill, Massachusetts, is attracted to a great granite boulder set in a place of honor in the old town. When they ask about it they are told the story of Hannah Duston, heroine. Thomas and Hannah Duston were married in 1677, and at once built a humble house of imported brick on the spot where the boulder now stands. Frequently one of the bricks is uncovered on the site; those who examine it marvel at the tho

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THE OLD MANSE AND THE WAYSIDE, CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS

THE OLD MANSE AND THE WAYSIDE, CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS

TWO HOUSES MADE FAMOUS BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE Nathaniel Hawthorne was thirty-eight years old before he was able to begin the ideal life of Adam with his Eve, to which he had looked forward for many years. "I want a little piece of land that I can call my own, big enough to stand upon, big enough to be buried in," he said to a friend when he was thirty-four years old. Lack of money delayed the realization, but it is a curious fact that the marriage to Sophia Peabody took place just after he had m

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THE ROYALL HOUSE, MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS

THE ROYALL HOUSE, MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS

FROM WHOSE ROOF MOLLY STARK SIGNALLED TO HER HUSBAND One who is familiar with the old plantation houses of Virginia is tempted to rub his eyes when he first sees the Royall House at Medford, Massachusetts, for this relic of Colonial days has the outbuildings, the slave-quarters, and other characteristics of so many Virginia houses. True, it has not the low wings and the stately columns at the entrance, but the doorway is so chaste and dignified that this is not felt to be a lack. Those who enter

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BROADHEARTH AND THE BENNET-BOARDMAN HOUSE, SAUGUS, MASSACHUSETTS

BROADHEARTH AND THE BENNET-BOARDMAN HOUSE, SAUGUS, MASSACHUSETTS

TWO REMARKABLE SPECIMENS OF THE OVERHANG HOUSE "Thomas Dexter of Lyn, yeoman," was the first owner of much of the land on which Lynn, Massachusetts, is built. Evidently he was land poor, for on October 22, 1639, he "mortgaged his fearme in Lyn ... for two oxen &amp; 2 bulls upon condition of payment to Simon Broadstreet of Ipswich £90 the first day of August, the next following with a reservation upon the sale of the said fearme to give the said Dexter the overflow above the debt and damages

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THE COLONEL JEREMIAH LEE HOUSE, MARBLEHEAD, MASSACHUSETTS

THE COLONEL JEREMIAH LEE HOUSE, MARBLEHEAD, MASSACHUSETTS

THE HOME OF ONE OF THE EARLIEST MARTYRS TO THE CAUSE OF THE COLONIES Marblehead was a comparatively insignificant port when Jeremiah Lee came to town. At once he made a place for himself among the humble fishermen and other seafaring men of the place. He was a member of the Board of Firewards in the town's first fire department, and he served on important committees. When, in 1768, he built a wonderful mansion that cost more than ten thousand pounds, the most wonderful house in Massachusetts at

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THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH, NEWBURYPORT, MASSACHUSETTS

THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH, NEWBURYPORT, MASSACHUSETTS

WHERE GEORGE WHITEFIELD, THE GREAT EVANGELIST, IS BURIED More than one hundred years after the organization of the First Church of Newburyport, Rev. George Whitefield, then a young man of twenty-six, preached in the community. "The Great Awakening," which followed, spread all over New England, and more than thirty thousand were converted. Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, the Tennents, and others led in the work that had such wonderful results. Five years after Whitefield's visit to Newburyport the

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THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

THE OLDEST BAPTIST CHURCH IN AMERICA When Roger Williams, Welshman, left England for America because he could not find in the Church of England freedom to worship God according to his conscience, he came to Salem, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. There he joined others who had sought America for the same purpose, but to his disappointment he found that his ideas of liberty of worship did not agree with theirs, and he was once more adrift. On October 9, 1635, the authorities of the Colony ordered

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THE MORRIS-JUMEL MANSION, NEW YORK CITY

THE MORRIS-JUMEL MANSION, NEW YORK CITY

WHERE WASHINGTON ESCAPED FROM THE BRITISH BY A FIFTEEN MINUTE MARGIN "A Pleasant situated Farm, on the Road leading to King's Bridge, in the Township of Harlem, on York-Island, containing about 100 acres, near 30 acres of which is Wood-land, a fine piece of Meadow Ground, and more easily be made: and commands the finest Prospect in the whole Country: the Land runs from River to River: there is Fishing, Oystering, and Claming at either end...." When, in 1765, Roger Morris, whose city house was at

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THE PHILIPSE MANOR HOUSE, YONKERS, NEW YORK

THE PHILIPSE MANOR HOUSE, YONKERS, NEW YORK

THE HOME OF MARY PHILIPSE, IN WHOM GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS INTERESTED At first glance one would not think that the name Yonkers was derived very directly from the name of the first settlers of the region, de Jonkheer Adriaen Van der Donck. When, in 1646, he secured a large tract of land bounded by the Hudson, the Bronx, and Spuyten Duyvil Creek, this was called "Colen Donck" (Donck's Colony) or "De Jonkheer's" (the Young Lord's). As the Dutch "j" is pronounced "y," the transition from Jonkheers to

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ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL, NEW YORK CITY

ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL, NEW YORK CITY

WHERE WASHINGTON ATTENDED SERVICE ON HIS FIRST INAUGURATION DAY In the New York Gazette of May 14, 1764, appeared this notice concerning St. Paul's Chapel: "We are told that the Foundation Stone of the third English Church which is about erecting in this City, is to be laid this day. The church is to be 112 by 72 feet." For two years those who passed the corner of Broadway and Partition (Fulton) Street watched the progress of the building. On October 30, 1766, it was ready for the first service.

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FRAUNCES' TAVERN, NEW YORK CITY

FRAUNCES' TAVERN, NEW YORK CITY

WHERE WASHINGTON TOOK LEAVE OF HIS SOLDIERS The subscribers of the Pennsylvania Packet , on the morning of December 2, 1783, read the following pleasing despatch from New York City, which was dated November 26, 1783: "Yesterday in the morning the American troops marched from Haerlem, to the Bowery lanes. They remained there until about one o'clock, when the British troops left the fort in the Bowery, and the American troops marched in and took possession of the city.—After the troops had taken p

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THE GRANGE, NEW YORK CITY

THE GRANGE, NEW YORK CITY

WHERE ALEXANDER HAMILTON SPENT HIS LAST YEARS After nineteen years of moving from house to house and from city to city, Alexander Hamilton made up his mind to have a home of his own. In 1780 he had taken Elizabeth Schuyler from a mansion in Albany that was, in its day, almost a palace; and in 1799 he felt that the time had come to give her a home of corresponding comfort. At this time he was commander-in-chief of the army of the United States, a service that was made notable, among other things,

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THE VAN CORTLANDT HOUSE, NEW YORK CITY

THE VAN CORTLANDT HOUSE, NEW YORK CITY

AT THE EDGE OF THE MANHATTAN "NEUTRAL GROUND" In 1699 Jacobus Van Cortlandt bought the first fifty acres of the ground now included in Van Cortlandt Park, New York City, and for one hundred and ninety years the property remained in the Van Cortlandt family. Until fifty-three years before the first of the Van Cortlandts acquired it, the Indians were the undisputed possessors of the plot. Adriæn Van der Donck, the first settler to acquire title, lived until his death in the bouwerie or farmhouse,

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THE HASBROUCK HOUSE, NEWBURGH, NEW YORK

THE HASBROUCK HOUSE, NEWBURGH, NEW YORK

WHERE THE CLOSING DRAMA OF THE REVOLUTION WAS STAGED During the entire period of the Revolution the country about Newburgh was an important centre of military operations. West Point was fortified in 1776, that the British might not be able to carry out their design of separating New England from the middle colonies. Many officers had their headquarters within a few miles of these fortifications. Lafayette was at the Williams House, three miles north of Newburgh, while Generals Green, Gates, and

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THE FRANKLIN PALACE, PERTH AMBOY, NEW JERSEY

THE FRANKLIN PALACE, PERTH AMBOY, NEW JERSEY

THE HOME OF THE SON OF WHOM BENJAMIN FRANKLIN VAINLY TRIED TO MAKE A PATRIOT There was a time when Benjamin Franklin was proud of his son William, and was glad to have his name coupled with that of the young man. The first year of the father's service in the Pennsylvania Assembly William was appointed clerk of that body; this fact is mentioned with pride in the Autobiography. When General Braddock was sent from England to America to oppose the union of the Colonies for defence, "lest they should

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THE CHURCH AT CALDWELL, NEW JERSEY

THE CHURCH AT CALDWELL, NEW JERSEY

WITH GLIMPSES OF THE FIGHTING CHAPLAIN CALDWELL The trying days of the Revolution would not seem to be a favorable time for the beginning of a church, especially in the section of New Jersey which was so often overrun by the soldiers of both armies. Yet it was at this critical time that many of the people of Horseneck (now Caldwell), New Jersey, near Montclair, were looking forward to the organization of a church and the building of a house of worship. Timbers were in fact drawn and framed for c

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OLD TENNENT CHURCH, FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY

OLD TENNENT CHURCH, FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY

ON THE BATTLE FIELD OF MONMOUTH One of the bas-reliefs on the monument commemorating the decisive Battle of Monmouth, which has been called the turning-point of the War for Independence, represents the famous Molly Pitcher as she took the place at the gun of her disabled husband. In the background of the relief is the roof and steeple of Old Tennent, the church near which the battle raged all day long. Tennent Presbyterian Church was organized about 1692. The first building was probably built of

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THE FORD MANSION, MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY

THE FORD MANSION, MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY

FROM WHICH ALEXANDER HAMILTON WENT COURTING New Jersey, which was the scene of so many battles during the Revolution, was also the scene of what was perhaps Washington's pleasantest winter during the war. From December, 1799, to June, 1780, the Commander-in-chief lived at the Ford Mansion with his "family," as he was fond of calling Mrs. Washington and his aides. During these months he was busily engaged in making plans for the later successful conduct of the war, yet he took time for those soci

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NASSAU HALL, PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

NASSAU HALL, PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

WHERE THE CONGRESS OF 1783 MET FOR FIVE MONTHS Where the College of New Jersey, as Princeton University was officially known until 1896, erected its first building at Princeton, the far-sighted trustees arranged what was long ago the largest stone structure in the Colonies. The records of early travellers on the road between Philadelphia and New York tell of their amazement at the wonderful building. In 1756 the college abandoned its rooms in the First Presbyterian Church of Newark, New Jersey,

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THREE HISTORIC HOUSES AT PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

THREE HISTORIC HOUSES AT PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

MORVEN, THE MERCER HOUSE, AND WASHINGTON'S ROCKY HILL HEADQUARTERS "Sollemnity &amp; Distress appeared almost on every countenance, several students that had come 5 &amp; 600 miles &amp; just got letters in college were now obliged under every disadvantage to retire with their effects, or leave them behind, which several through the impossibility of getting a carriage at so Confused a time were glad to do, &amp; lose them all, as all hopes of continuing longer in peace at Nassau

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THE SPRINGFIELD MEETING HOUSE, NEW JERSEY

THE SPRINGFIELD MEETING HOUSE, NEW JERSEY

WHOSE PSALM BOOKS FURNISHED WADDING FOR THE CONTINENTAL GUNS "One pint of spring water when demanded on the premises" was the strange payment stipulated by the donor of one hundred acres of land given in 1751 to the trustees of the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, New Jersey, to be for the use of the minister of the parish. The church records do not state that the rent has been paid regularly, but they do state that the woodland enabled them for many years to furnish the free firewood t

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THE LETITIA PENN HOUSE, PHILADELPHIA

THE LETITIA PENN HOUSE, PHILADELPHIA

WILLIAM PENN'S FIRST AMERICAN HOME When William Penn, English Quaker, met Guli Springett, he fell in love with her at once. In 1672 they were married. Ten years later when, as Proprietor of Pennsylvania, Penn was about to sail in the Welcome for America, he wrote a letter of which the following is a portion: "My dear wife and children, my love, which neither sea, nor land, nor death itself, can extinguish or lessen toward you, most tenderly visits you with eternal embraces and will abide with yo

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CARPENTERS' HALL, PHILADELPHIA

CARPENTERS' HALL, PHILADELPHIA

CALLED BY BENSON J. LOSSING "THE TEMPLE OF FREEDOM" Philadelphia was but forty-two years old when a number of builders in the growing town decided to have a guild like the journeymen's guilds of London. Accordingly they formed, in 1724, "The Carpenters' Company of the City and County of Philadelphia," whose object should be "to obtain instruction in the science of architecture; to assist such of the members, or the widows and children of members, as should be by accident in need of support," as

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ST. PETER'S CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA

ST. PETER'S CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA

WHOSE BUILDING IS PRACTICALLY UNCHANGED AFTER MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS There were but fifteen thousand people in Philadelphia when, on March 19, 1753, the suggestion was made to the vestry of Christ Church that a new church or Chapel of Ease of Christ Church be built for the accommodation of the people in the southern part of the city. Thomas and Richard Penn gave a site for the building of the new church, and on September 21, 1758, the corner stone was laid. In 1761 the church was

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CLIVEDEN, GERMANTOWN, PHILADELPHIA

CLIVEDEN, GERMANTOWN, PHILADELPHIA

ON THE FIELD OF THE BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN In the days before the Revolution there were many residents of Philadelphia who had, in addition to a sumptuous town house, a country house, to which they could resort in the summer or at other times when they wished relief from the cares of daily life. Germantown, the straggling village five miles from the town of William Penn, was one of the popular places for such establishments. Samuel Chew's town house was at Front and Dock streets when he built Cliv

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OLD PINE STREET CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA

OLD PINE STREET CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA

WHOSE PASTOR INSPIRED JOHN ADAMS TO PLEAD FOR INDEPENDENCE There were four thousand, seven hundred and seventy-four houses in Philadelphia in 1767 when the Pine Street Presbyterian Church, the third church of this denomination in the city, was built. The subscription paper, still in existence, shows that £1,078 "in money or otherwise" was subscribed for the purpose. The sum needed to complete the building was raised by a lottery, which yielded £2,500. In the proceeds of the lottery the Market St

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INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA

INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA

WHERE AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE WAS BORN William Penn was a man of vision. When, in 1682, Thomas Holme surveyed for him the site of Philadelphia, the Quaker pioneer gave instruction that "the Centre Square," one mile from the Delaware, be set apart for the public buildings of the city and colony. But for many years after the founding of the city, Centre Square was far out in the country. During these years temporary public buildings were provided for official meetings, including the Assembly, but in

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THE DAVID RITTENHOUSE HOME, NEAR PHILADELPHIA

THE DAVID RITTENHOUSE HOME, NEAR PHILADELPHIA

THE HEADQUARTERS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'S FRIEND AND CO-LABORER "See the sage Rittenhouse with ardent eye Lift the long tube and pierce the starry sky! He marks what laws the eccentric wanderers bind, Copies creation in his forming mind, And bids beneath his hand in semblance rise With mimic orbs the labors of the skies." This was Barlow's way of telling of the achievement of David Rittenhouse, the colonial astronomer, in fashioning the marvellous orrery, the mechanical representation of the movem

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THE HEADQUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE, PENNSYLVANIA

THE HEADQUARTERS AT VALLEY FORGE, PENNSYLVANIA

WHERE WASHINGTON LIVED DURING THE WINTER OF 1777-78 A few rods from the beautiful Schuylkill River, at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, twenty-four miles from Philadelphia, is the quaint stone house where Washington spent nearly six months of the most trying year of the Revolution. While the British troops were occupying Philadelphia Congress was in session at York, Pennsylvania. Valley Forge was accordingly a strategic location, for from here it was comparatively simple to guard the roads leading ou

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THREE HEADQUARTERS OF WASHINGTON

THREE HEADQUARTERS OF WASHINGTON

PENNYPACKER'S MILLS, DAWESFIELD, AND EMLEN HOUSE, NEAR PHILADELPHIA During the closing months of 1777, one of the darkest times of the Revolution, Washington made famous by his occupancy three houses, all located within a few miles of Philadelphia. The first of these, Pennypacker's Mills, is the only building used by the Commander-in-Chief during the war that is still in the hands of the family that owned it when he was there. Pennypacker's Mills is delightfully situated in the angle formed by t

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SWEETBRIER-ON-THE-SCHUYLKILL, PHILADELPHIA

SWEETBRIER-ON-THE-SCHUYLKILL, PHILADELPHIA

THE HOME OF THE FATHER OF THE FREE SCHOOLS OF PENNSYLVANIA When Samuel Breck was fifty-eight years and six months old—on January 17, 1830—he wrote: "My residence has been ... for more than thirty years ... on an estate belonging to me, situated on the right bank of the Schuylkill, in the township of Blockley, county of Philadelphia, and two miles from the western part of the city. The mansion on this estate I built in 1797. It is a fine stone house, rough cast, fifty-three feet long, thirty-eigh

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MILL GROVE AND FATLANDS, NEAR PHILADELPHIA

MILL GROVE AND FATLANDS, NEAR PHILADELPHIA

THE HOMES OF JOHN J. AUDUBON AND OF HIS BRIDE, MARY BAKEWELL About two hundred years ago, there lived in France a poor fisherman named Audubon, who had nineteen daughters and two sons. One of the sons was sent away to make his fortune when he was twelve years of age. His entire patrimony was a shirt, a suit of clothes, a cane, and a blessing. For five years he was a sailor before the mast. Then he bought a boat. He prospered and bought other vessels. After many years he had large wealth, and was

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WAYNESBOROUGH, NEAR PAOLI, PENNSYLVANIA

WAYNESBOROUGH, NEAR PAOLI, PENNSYLVANIA

THE HOME OF "MAD ANTHONY" WAYNE Captain Isaac Wayne, who commanded a company at the Battle of the Boyne, came from Ireland to Pennsylvania in 1722. Two years later he bought sixteen acres of land in Chester County and built Waynesborough. His son Isaac, who was a captain in the French and Indian War, enlarged the mansion in 1765. While a wing was added in 1812, it presents much the same appearance to-day as it did at the time Anthony Wayne left it to go to war with General Washington, even to th

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THE MORAVIAN CHURCH, BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA

THE MORAVIAN CHURCH, BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA

A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY WHOSE FOUNDERS WERE TRUE PATRIOTS The Unitas Fratrum or Church of the Brethren arose in the fifteenth century in Bohemia and Moravia. In 1727 intolerance led its leaders to begin to plan an emigration to America. A colony was sent to Pennsylvania in 1734, while a second colony went to Georgia in 1735. Late in the year 1740 the remnant of the emigrants to Georgia joined forces with the Pennsylvania contingent, and settled on five thousand acres of land in the "Forks of the D

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HISTORIC LANDMARKS AT NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE

HISTORIC LANDMARKS AT NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE

THE FIRST LANDING PLACE OF WILLIAM PENN How many students of United States history would be able to answer the question, "What town has had at least seven different names and has been under the flags of four different countries?" There is such a town, and but one—New Castle, Delaware. The Swedes laid it out in 1631, and called it New Stockholm. In 1651 the Dutch built a fort there, and called it Fort Kasimir. Sandhoec was a second Dutch name. When the Dutch West India Company ceded it to the cit

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THE RIDGELY HOUSE, DOVER, DELAWARE

THE RIDGELY HOUSE, DOVER, DELAWARE

A BOYHOOD HAUNT OF CÆSAR RODNEY, THE SIGNER On the Green in Dover, Delaware, is one of the most striking houses of the quaint old town—the Ridgely house. The date of its erection is not certain, but it is an interesting fact that on one of the bricks is the date 1728. Originally there were but two rooms in the house; subsequent enlargements have been so harmonious that one who sees the place from the Green must pause to admire. Admiration turns to delight when the interior of the house is examin

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REHOBOTH CHURCH ON THE POCOMOKE, MARYLAND

REHOBOTH CHURCH ON THE POCOMOKE, MARYLAND

THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA The Pocomoke River rises in southern Delaware, forms a part of the eastern boundary of Somerset County, Maryland, and empties into Pocomoke Sound, an inlet of Chesapeake Bay. On the banks of this stream, not far from the mouth, Colonel William Stevens, a native of Buckinghamshire, England, located in 1665, taking out a patent on what he called the Rehoboth plantation, the name being chosen from Genesis 26:22. "And he called the name of it Rehoboth. And he

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DOUGHOREGAN MANOR, NEAR ELLICOTT CITY, MARYLAND

DOUGHOREGAN MANOR, NEAR ELLICOTT CITY, MARYLAND

WHOSE OWNER WAS THE LAST SURVIVING SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE It is true that when Charles Carroll was about to sign his name to the Declaration of Independence he added the words, "of Carrollton," but the story that he added the words there that he might be distinguished from a second Charles Carroll is an error; he had been writing his name thus since 1765. It would have been just as true a description if he had used the name of another of the numerous Carroll estates, Doughoreg

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THE UPTON SCOTT HOUSE, ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

THE UPTON SCOTT HOUSE, ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

WHERE, AS A BOY, THE AUTHOR OF "THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER" WAS A FREQUENT VISITOR When Colonel James Wolfe was campaigning in Scotland in 1748 to 1753, one of the surgeons in his command was Upton Scott, a young Irishman from County Antrim. At that time began a friendship between the two men that continued through life. Another friend made at this time by the young surgeon was Horatio Sharpe. In 1753, when Sharpe planned to go to America, Dr. Scott decided to go with him, though it was not easy t

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THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON

THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON

THE BEGINNINGS OF WASHINGTON CITY, AND THE STORY OF THE HOME OF CONGRESS The selection of parts of Virginia and Maryland as the site of the Federal District in which the National Capital was to be located was made only after many years of discussion. In 1779 some of the members of Congress talked of buying a few square miles near Princeton, New Jersey, as a site for the government's permanent home. Four years later, the trustees of Kingston, New York, sought to interest Congress in that location

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THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON

THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON

THE HOME OF EVERY PRESIDENT SINCE WASHINGTON When, in 1792, James Hoban suggested to the commission appointed to supervise the erection of public buildings at Washington that the Executive Mansion be modelled after the palace of the Duke of Leinster in Dublin, his proposition was accepted, and he was given a premium of five hundred dollars for the plan. More, he was engaged, at the same amount per year, to take charge of the builders. No time was lost in laying the corner stone. The ceremony was

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THE OCTAGON HOUSE, WASHINGTON

THE OCTAGON HOUSE, WASHINGTON

IN WHICH DOLLY MADISON LAVISHED HOSPITALITY IN 1814 John Tayloe, the wealthiest man in the Virginia of the late eighteenth century, had his summer home at Mt. Airy. His plantation, the largest in the State, was worked by more than five hundred slaves. When he wanted a winter home, he thought of building at Philadelphia. But George Washington, eager to secure him as a resident of the young Federal City on the Potomac, asked him to consider the erection of a house there. So Mr. Tayloe made an inve

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MOUNT VERNON, VIRGINIA

MOUNT VERNON, VIRGINIA

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON George Washington was twenty years old when he became the owner of the Mount Vernon estate on the Potomac, in accordance with the provisions of the will of Laurence Washington, his half-brother. At that time the house contained but eight rooms and an attic, four rooms on each floor. There were twenty-five hundred acres in the farm. As a boy Washington had tramped over every acre of the estate. When he was sixteen he made a plot of the region around Mt. V

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ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

FROM WHICH ROBERT E. LEE WENT TO BATTLE FOR THE SOUTH After the death of George Washington the Mt. Vernon family was gradually broken up, one after another going elsewhere for a home. George Washington Parke Custis, Washington's adopted son, and grandson of Martha Washington, decided to build a home on a hill overlooking the Potomac, opposite Washington City. There were eleven hundred acres in the estate of which Arlington, the mansion he built in 1802, was the central feature. It has been said

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CHRIST CHURCH, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA

CHRIST CHURCH, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA

WHERE WASHINGTON HAD A PEW "AT THE UPPER PART OF THE CHURCH" George Washington was chosen one of the vestrymen of Fairfax parish in 1764, when this was formed by the division of Truro parish, although he was already a vestryman in Pohick Church at Truro. The records of the new parish show that in 1766 it was decided to build Christ Church at Alexandria, and a second church at the Falls of the Potomac instead of the old church there. The members of the parish were asked to pay thirty-one thousand

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THE MARY WASHINGTON HOUSE, FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA

THE MARY WASHINGTON HOUSE, FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA

WHERE WASHINGTON'S MOTHER SPENT HER LAST YEARS The first property mentioned in connection with the name of Mary Ball, who became the mother of George Washington, was on the tract of four hundred acres "in ye freshes of Rappa-h-n River," bequeathed to her in her father's will before she was six years old. Her father, Colonel Joseph Ball of Epping Forest, Lancaster County, thought he was about to die, but he lived some years longer. Ten years later an unknown writer spoke of Mary Ball in pleasing

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GREENWAY AND SHERWOOD FOREST, VIRGINIA

GREENWAY AND SHERWOOD FOREST, VIRGINIA

TWO OF THE HOMES OF JOHN TYLER A little girl was responsible for the fact that John Tyler, who became the tenth president of the United States, was born, not at Marlie, but at Greenway. Marlie was the name chosen by Judge John Tyler for his James River estate, but his young daughter, Anne Contesse, as soon as she began to talk, insisted on calling it "Greenway," "because the grass grows so green there." The fact that Anne's name displaced that chosen by her father is an indication of his great l

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TWO HISTORIC COURTHOUSES OF VIRGINIA

TWO HISTORIC COURTHOUSES OF VIRGINIA

OLD DOMINION COUNTY BUILDINGS AT HANOVER AND WILLIAMSBURG A momentous announcement appeared in the Williamsburg, Virginia, Gazette on March 16, 1769: "The Common Hall having this day determined to build a commodious brick court-house in this city and having appointed us to agree with and undertake to build the same, we do hereby give notice that we shall meet at Mr. Hay's (the Raleigh Tavern) on Tuesday, the 4th of April, to let the building thereof; we are also appointed to dispose of the prese

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ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, RICHMOND

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, RICHMOND

WHERE PATRICK HENRY SAID, "GIVE ME LIBERTY, OR GIVE ME DEATH" In 1611 Sir Thomas Dale founded his town of Henricopolis, the second established settlement in Virginia. It was named in honor of Prince Henry, the eldest son of James I. A church was soon after built. The bounds of Henrico parish, to which it belonged, were quite large until 1634, when the parish was made to include the present Chesterfield, Powhatan, and Goochland counties. Soon after the marriage of Pocahontas she moved to the plan

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THE NELSON HOUSE AND THE MOORE HOUSE, YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA

THE NELSON HOUSE AND THE MOORE HOUSE, YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA

MADE MEMORABLE BY THE BATTLE OF YORKTOWN AND THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS One day in 1740 a baby a little more than one year old, whose name was Thomas Nelson, stood by the side of his father, William Nelson, as the father was about to lay the foundation of his new home in York, Virginia. The babe had been stationed there that the brick for the corner might be placed in the little hands; then it could be said in later years that the babe had helped in the exercises of the day. The little fellow b

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THE JOHN MARSHALL HOUSE, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

THE JOHN MARSHALL HOUSE, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

WHERE THE CHIEF JUSTICE CARED FOR HIS WIFE AND ENTERTAINED HIS FRIENDS An old book, "Richmond in By Gone Days," says that John Marshall was noted in Richmond for his unpretending manner. "His dress was plain even to negligence. He marketed for himself and might be seen at an early hour returning home with a pair of fowls, or a basket of eggs in his hand, not with ostentatious humility, but for mere convenience." It is related by Flanders that Marshall "was one morning strolling through the stree

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FIVE OLD HOUSES OF TIDEWATER, VIRGINIA

FIVE OLD HOUSES OF TIDEWATER, VIRGINIA

SABINE HALL, WESTOVER, SHIRLEY, BRANDON, AND CARTER'S GROVE The five houses mentioned briefly in this chapter are noteworthy, not only because of their beauty, but because the stories of those who lived in them show how the leading families of old Virginia intermarried until the various relationships became a puzzle that delights the genealogist. On the Rappahannock, in Richmond County, Virginia, Landon Carter, son of Robert ("King") Carter, the ancestor of the Carter family of Virginia, built S

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GUNSTON HALL, VIRGINIA

GUNSTON HALL, VIRGINIA

THE HOME OF GEORGE MASON, "THE PEN OF THE REVOLUTION IN VIRGINIA" Four miles from Mt. Vernon, on the Potomac, is the well-preserved mansion, Gunston Hall, built in 1758 by George Mason, the great-grandson of George Mason, who fled to America after the Battle of Worcester, where he was in arms against the king of England. The first mention of the name of this George Mason occurs in the Virginia patent of land which he secured in March, 1655. George Washington and George Mason were not only near n

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THE WASHINGTON COLLEGE BUILDING, LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA

THE WASHINGTON COLLEGE BUILDING, LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA

HOW GEORGE WASHINGTON SOLVED A DELICATE PROBLEM Even before the treaty of peace with Great Britain was signed, George Washington was making plans for the development of the West. He was especially impressed with the possibilities of the Potomac and James rivers, if improved by canals, as a means of communication with the Ohio. Companies were organized to the work. In both enterprises he was a stockholder. On August 13, 1785, he wrote to Edmund Randolph: "The great object for the accomplishment o

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BRUTON PARISH CHURCH, WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA

BRUTON PARISH CHURCH, WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA

"THE COURT CHURCH OF COLONIAL VIRGINIA" Jamestown was the capital of Virginia until 1699. Then Williamsburg became the seat of government. Six years earlier the latter town had taken on some importance because of the founding there of William and Mary College, and for more than sixty years efforts had been made to persuade the people to make their homes in the place. The records of the Colony show that in 1632 rewards were offered to those who would locate in what seemed a promising situation fo

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WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE, WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA

WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE, WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA

THE ALMA MATER OF THOMAS JEFFERSON, JAMES MONROE, AND JOHN TYLER Three years before John Harvard left a legacy for the founding of the college that bears his name, the first bequest for public education made by a resident of Virginia was recorded, though this was used for a secondary school, rather than for a college. The project of a college, proposed in 1617 and 1618 by the London Company, and in 1619 at the first session of the General Assembly, languished until 1685, when Rev. James Blair ca

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THE MONUMENTAL CHURCH, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

THE MONUMENTAL CHURCH, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

ON THE SITE OF A THEATRE WHOSE BURNING MOVED THE ENTIRE COUNTRY "Last night the playhouse in this city was crowded with an unusual audience. There could not have been less than 600 persons in the house. Just before the conclusion of the play, the scenery caught fire, and in a few minutes the whole building was wrapt in flames. It is already ascertained that 61 persons were devoured by that most terrific element. The Editor of this paper was in the house when the ever-to-be-remembered, deplorable

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MONTPELIER, ORANGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA

MONTPELIER, ORANGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA

THE LIFELONG HOME OF JAMES MADISON James Madison was born at the residence of his mother's parents, at Port Conway, Prince George County, Virginia, but before long he was taken to his father's house, Montpelier, which was the first brick house built in Orange County. And Montpelier continued to be his home to the day of his death. Much of his life was spent in Washington, but his heart was always turning to the old Virginia plantation where he had spent his boyhood, and he took advantage of ever

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OAK HILL, LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA

OAK HILL, LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA

THE HOME OF JAMES MONROE'S OLD AGE James Monroe, at twenty-eight, wrote from New York to Thomas Jefferson, with whom he had studied law: "I shall leave this about the 1st of October for Virginia—Fredericksburg. Believe me, I have not relinquished the prospect of being your neighbor. The house for which I have requested a plan may possibly be erected near Monticello; to fix there, and to have yourself in particular, with what friends we may collect around, for society is my chief object; or rathe

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RED HILL, CHARLOTTE COUNTY, VIRGINIA

RED HILL, CHARLOTTE COUNTY, VIRGINIA

WHERE PATRICK HENRY SPENT HIS LAST YEARS Patrick Henry was only fifty-eight years old when he retired for rest and the enjoyment of family life to his 2,920-acre estate, Red Hill, in the Staunton Valley, thirty-eight miles southeast of Lynchburg. Just before he made this move he wrote to his daughter Betsy, "I must give out the law, and plague myself no more with business, sitting down with what I have. For it will be sufficient employment to see after my little flock." He had served his country

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POHICK CHURCH, TRURO PARISH, VIRGINIA

POHICK CHURCH, TRURO PARISH, VIRGINIA

THE HOME CHURCH OF GEORGE WASHINGTON Both Truro parish and George Washington were born in 1732, and Washington's connection with Truro Church began in 1735, when his father, Augustine Washington, became a vestryman, and it continued throughout his life, though during his later years, when services were seldom held there, he went to Christ Church at Alexandria. When Washington was a boy he had to make a round trip of eighteen miles, frequently over extremely rough roads, when he wished to attend

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MOUNT AIRY, RICHMOND COUNTY, VIRGINIA

MOUNT AIRY, RICHMOND COUNTY, VIRGINIA

THE PLANTATION HOME OF COLONEL JOHN TAYLOE The purchase for £500 of three thousand acres of productive land in Charles County, on the Potomac, gave a big boost to the fortunes of the Tayloe family of Virginia. This shrewd purchase was made by Colonel John Tayloe, the son of William Tayloe (or Taylor) who came from England in the seventeenth century. William Tayloe was a member of the House of Burgesses in 1710. His son John became a member of the Colonial Council in 1732, while his son John, who

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TWO OF VIRGINIA'S OLDEST CHURCH BUILDINGS

TWO OF VIRGINIA'S OLDEST CHURCH BUILDINGS

ST. LUKE'S, IN SMITHFIELD, AND ST. PETER'S, IN NEW KENT COUNTY Captain Smith in 1607 wrote of his discovery of the Indian kingdom of Warrosquoyacke. Soon settlers were attracted to its fertile lands. Twenty-seven years later the more than five hundred residents were organized into Isle of Wight County. In 1632, the ancient brick church near Smithfield was built. The tradition fixing this date was established in 1887, when the date 1632 was read in some bricks that fell from the walls. The builde

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MONTICELLO, NEAR CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA

MONTICELLO, NEAR CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA

THE HOME OF THOMAS JEFFERSON "Oh, my young master, they were all burnt, but ah! we saved your fiddle!" So the negro servant replied to Thomas Jefferson who, on returning from a trip, learning that his home at Shadwell had been burned, asked after his books. To the negro's mind the fiddle was the most important thing in the house. Fortunately the new mansion, Monticello, near Charlotte, which he had designed, was so nearly completed that he was able to take up his residence there. Two years later

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THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA AT CHARLOTTESVILLE

THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA AT CHARLOTTESVILLE

THE CHILD OF THOMAS JEFFERSON'S OLD AGE When Thomas Jefferson retired from the Presidency he was surrounded at Monticello by his daughter, her husband, and eleven grandchildren. Daily association with the young people made him more anxious than ever to carry out a plan that was the growth of years. He wanted to see other children as happy as were those in his own home, and he felt that the one thing he could do to increase their happiness would be to see that the State made provision for their e

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THREE OLD CHURCHES IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

THREE OLD CHURCHES IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

ST. MICHAEL'S, ST. PHILIP'S, AND THE HUGUENOT CHURCH, RELICS OF COLONIAL DAYS The oldest church building in Charleston, South Carolina, St. Michael's Protestant Episcopal Church, is a relic of three wars. At the beginning of the Revolution the rector and the vestry disagreed; the rector was a loyalist and most of the members were patriots. Accordingly the rector resigned. Later the beautiful tower, which is unlike any other church tower in America, was painted black, lest it become a guiding bea

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THE HOUSE OF REBECCA MOTTE, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

THE HOUSE OF REBECCA MOTTE, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

THE SPARTAN MATRON WHO HELPED BURN HER OWN PROPERTY Charleston, South Carolina, was only about thirty years old when the Englishman, Robert Brewton, and the Huguenot exile, John de la Motte, took up their residence there. In 1758 Robert Brewton's daughter Rebecca married Jacob Motte, grandson of the Huguenot. Three daughters came to the Motte home, and the family lived quietly until the outbreak of the Revolution. In 1775 Mrs. Motte's brother, Miles Brewton, sailed for England with his family, i

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THE INDEPENDENT CHURCH, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

THE INDEPENDENT CHURCH, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

FOR WHICH KING GEORGE II MADE A LAND GRANT When George II, of his "special Grace, certain knowledge and meer motion," gave a deed for a lot in Savannah, "in our province of Georgia," he declared that it was "for the use and benefit of such of our loving subjects ... as are or shall be professors of the Doctrines of the Church of Scotland, agreeable to the Westminster Confession of Faith." The further stipulation was made that the annual rent, if demanded, should be "one pepper corn." The date of

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THE CABILDO OF NEW ORLEANS

THE CABILDO OF NEW ORLEANS

WHICH SAW THE TRANSFER OF LOUISIANA TO THE UNITED STATES When Count Alejandro O'Reilly, Irish Lieutenant-General of Spain, entered New Orleans on July 24, 1769, he came as the avenger of the disorders that followed the transfer of Louisiana to Spain by the Treaty of Paris. After putting to death some of the leaders in the revolt, he reorganized the civil government. Among other innovations he instituted the Cabildo as the law-making body for the province, to take the place of the French superior

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THE ALAMO, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

THE ALAMO, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

"THERMOPYLÆ HAD HER MESSENGER OF DEFEAT: THE ALAMO HAD NONE" Early in the eighteenth century the Spaniards built in Texas, then a part of Mexico, a number of staunch structures that were designed to serve not only as chapels but also as fortresses. The mission that at length became known as the Alamo was first built on the Rio Grande in 1710, and during the next forty-seven years was rebuilt four times in a new location, before it was given a final resting-place at San Antonio, on the banks of t

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THE HERMITAGE, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

THE HERMITAGE, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

ANDREW JACKSON'S RETREAT IN THE INTERVALS OF HIS PUBLIC SERVICE Andrew Jackson was a pioneer. From North Carolina he crossed the mountains to what was then the Western District. He was a lawyer, but he wanted to be a farmer also. His first land purchase was made in 1791. This land was lost in the effort to pay the debts of another. The second effort at farming was more successful. This was begun in 1804, when he bought a tract of some twenty-eight thousand acres, six thousand acres of which he r

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ASHLAND, LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY

ASHLAND, LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY

THE HOME OF HENRY CLAY FOR FORTY-SIX YEARS Henry Clay's mother, having married Captain Henry Watkins, moved from Hanover, Virginia, to Woodford County, Kentucky, in 1792. As soon as the future statesman was admitted to practice in the Virginia Court of Appeals, he decided to follow her. Accordingly, in November, 1797, he became a resident of Lexington. Three years later the Kentucke Gazette , the first paper published west of the mountains, told of "an eloquent oration" that was "delivered by He

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SPORTSMAN'S HALL, WHITLEY'S STATION, KENTUCKY

SPORTSMAN'S HALL, WHITLEY'S STATION, KENTUCKY

THE HOME OF THE MAN WHO KILLED TECUMSEH "Then, Billy, if I was you, I would go and see!" Thus replied Esther Whitley of Augusta, Virginia, to her husband William Whitley, when, early in 1775, he had told her that he had a fine report of Kentucky, and that he thought they could get their living in the frontier settlements with less hard work than was required in Virginia. Whitley took his wife at her word. Two days later, with axe and plow and gun and kettle, he was on his way over the mountains.

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WHITE HAVEN, NEAR ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

WHITE HAVEN, NEAR ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

WHERE ULYSSES S. GRANT COURTED JULIA DENT Immediately after Ulysses Simpson Grant graduated from West Point, he was sent to Jefferson Barracks, at St. Louis. His military duties were not so arduous that he was unable to accept the invitation of Fred Dent, a former roommate at West Point, to go with him to the Dent homestead on the Gravois Road, four miles from the Barracks. The young second lieutenant did not have to be urged to repeat his visit. In fact he went so often that the road between th

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THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN HOUSE, SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS

THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN HOUSE, SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS

FROM WHICH PRESIDENT-ELECT LINCOLN WENT TO WASHINGTON IN 1861 When Abraham Lincoln entered Springfield, in 1837, he did not own a house; in fact he did not own much of anything. Joshua Speed is quoted by Ida Tarbell thus: "He had ridden into town on a borrowed horse, with no earthly property save a pair of saddle-bags containing a few clothes.... Lincoln came into the store with his saddle-bags on his arm. He said he wanted to buy the furniture for a single bed. The mattress, blankets, sheets, c

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THE GOVERNOR'S PALACE AT VINCENNES, INDIANA

THE GOVERNOR'S PALACE AT VINCENNES, INDIANA

WHERE "OLD TIPPECANOE" WELCOMED HIS GUESTS William Henry Harrison, son of Benjamin Harrison, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was a ward of Robert Morris. The great financier opposed the young man's purpose to enlist in the Ohio campaign against the Indians that followed the war of the Revolution, but when young Harrison applied directly to Washington he was appointed ensign and sent to the front. This was in 1791, and the new ensign was but nineteen years old. Gallant cond

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THE HOUSE OF GENERAL RUFUS PUTNAM, MARIETTA, OHIO

THE HOUSE OF GENERAL RUFUS PUTNAM, MARIETTA, OHIO

THE MAN WHO LED THE FIRST PERMANENT SETTLERS TO OHIO In 1775 General Washington decided that he must fortify Dorchester Heights, Boston, if he was to force the British to leave the country. But how was he to do this? The ground was frozen to a depth of eighteen inches, and the enemy's cannon commanded the coveted position. Lieutenant Colonel Putnam told the General that the seemingly impossible task could be performed. Washington was dubious, but he had learned that Colonel Putnam was to be coun

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MONUMENT PLACE, ELM GROVE, WEST VIRGINIA

MONUMENT PLACE, ELM GROVE, WEST VIRGINIA

THE PLANTATION HOME OF TWO MAKERS OF HISTORY At Shepherdstown, the oldest town in what is now West Virginia, Moses Shepherd was born on November 11, 1763. His grandfather had founded the town. When Moses was about seven years old his father, Colonel Shepherd, removed his large family to his plantation between Big Wheeling and Little Creek, which is now included within the limits of Elm Grove. On the banks of the creek he built Fort Shepherd, that the settlers for miles around might have a place

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THE CASTLE AT FORT NIAGARA, NEW YORK

THE CASTLE AT FORT NIAGARA, NEW YORK

THE OLDEST BUILDING IN THE NORTHERN UNITED STATES, WEST OF THE MOHAWK "The story of Fort Niagara is peculiarly the story of the fur trade and the strife for commercial monopoly," Frank H. Severance of the Buffalo Historical Society said in an address delivered at the fort in 1896; "and it is, too, in considerable measure, the story of our neighbor, the magnificent colony of Canada.... It is a story replete with incidents of battle and siege, of Indian cruelty, of patriot captivity, of white men'

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THE SCHUYLER MANSION, ALBANY, NEW YORK

THE SCHUYLER MANSION, ALBANY, NEW YORK

THE RALLYING PLACE OF THE CONSTITUTIONALISTS When Catherine Van Rensselaer married Philip Schuyler, on September 17, 1755, he was a soldier who had been engaged in the campaign against the French at Crown Point. She was glad when he resigned, in 1756, but he returned to army life in 1758 and at intervals for more than twenty years he continued his military service. Two days after the Battle of Bunker Hill Congress made him a major-general. During his three years in the army of the Colonies, he w

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THE WENTWORTH HOUSE, PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE

THE WENTWORTH HOUSE, PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE

THE SCENE OF THE ROMANCE OF LADY WENTWORTH When, in 1750, Governor Benning Wentworth began to rebuild for his mansion at Little Harbor, two miles from the business centre of Portsmouth a farm-house which dated from the latter part of the sixteenth century, he thought more of comfort than of architecture. Evidently those who later added to the house thought as little of architecture as the original builder; the product became such a strange conglomeration of wings and "L's" that it is difficult t

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THE WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW HOUSE, PORTLAND, MAINE

THE WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW HOUSE, PORTLAND, MAINE

WHERE HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW SPENT HIS BOYHOOD The old house by the linden Stood silent in the shade, And on the gravelled pathway The light and shadow played. I saw the nursery windows Wide open to the air; But the faces of the children, They were no longer there. The large Newfoundland house-dog Was standing by the door; He looked for his little playmates Who would return no more. They walked not under the linden, They played not in the hall; But shadow and silence, and sadness Were hangin

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