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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01076 4691
JOHN LEE CARROLL
FOUNDER AND FIRST PRESIDENT ( 1889-1893) OF THE SONS OF THE REVOLUTION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
BORN SEPTEMBER 30, 1830-DIED FEBRUARY 27, 1911
Exegi monumentum aere perennius
The Society
of
The Sons of the Revolution
in the
District of Columbia
1775
WASHINGTON
1920
COMPILED under the Direction of the Board of Managers by the following Committee:
Doctor MARCUS BENJAMIN, Vice President, Chairman REEVES T. STRICKLAND, Registrar, and CHARLES P. LIGHT, Secretary
Corrected to October 1, 1920
3
SONS OF THE REVOLUTION
1415249
PRESIDENTS
of the
SONS OF THE REVOLUTION
in the
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
(Since its incorporation December 18, 1889.)
Elected.
Retired.
1889
JOHN LEE CARROLL
1893
1893
DAVID JOSIAH BREWER
1893
1893
LEWIS JOHNSON DAVIS
1895
1895
JOHN GRIMES WALKER
1898
1898
GREEN CLAY GOODLOE
1899
1899
WALTER WYMAN
1900
1900
ARCHIBALD HOPKINS
1902
1902
HARRY CLAY TAYLOR
1904
1904
FRANCIS PRESTON BLAIR SANDS
1905
1905
FREDERIC WOLTERS HUIDEKOPER
1908
1908
WILLIAM STONE ABERT
1909
1909
BENJAMIN REEVES RUSSELL
1910
1910
LEONARD WOOD
1911
1911
HENRY LOWRY EMILIUS JOHNSON
1912
1912 RANDOLPH HARRISON MCKIM
1913
1913
HENRY MAY
1914
1914
ALBION KEITH PARRIS
1915
1915
GAILLARD HUNT
1916
1916
GEORGE RICHARDS
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SONS OF THE REVOLUTION
OFFICERS of the GENERAL SOCIETY
General President JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY 108 Water Street, New York City.
General Vice-President CHARLES CURTIS HARRISON of Pennsylvania.
Second General Vice-President
EDMUND HAWES TALBOT of Massachusetts.
General Secretary WILLIAM LIBBEY Princeton, N. J.
Assistant General Secretary
WILLIAM HALL HARRIS, JR. 255 Title Building, Baltimore, Md.
General Treasurer
GEORGE RICHARDS Washington, D. C.
Assistant General Treasurer
ROBERT PATTERSON BENEDICT 30 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, 111.
General Chaplain REV. GEORGE HEATHCOTE HILLS, D. D. Cincinnati, Ohio.
General Registrar JOHN BARBER WHITE Kansas City, Missouri.
General Historian
ORRA EUGENE MONNETTE 619 Citizens National Bank Building, Los Angeles, California.
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SONS OF THE REVOLUTION
OFFICERS (For term expiring December, 1920.)
President GENERAL GEORGE RICHARDS Headquarters U. S. Marine Corps.
Vice-President DR. MARCUS BENJAMIN U. S. National Museum. S
Secretary CHARLES P. LIGHT 741 15th St. N. W.
Treasurer EDWARD F. RIGGS 815 15th St. N. W.
Chaplain REV. JOHN VAN SCHAICK, JR., D. D. 1417 Massachusetts Avenue.
Registrar
REEVES T. STRICKLAND Evans Building.
Historian REV. WILLIAM TAYLOR SNYDER 1317 19th Street N. W.
Marshal J. MILLER KENYON Cosmos Club.
. Board of Managers (Terms expire December) Dr. S. Brown Muncaster (1920). Frank B. Martin (1920). Frederick W. M. Graham (1920) Henry B. Byrd, Sr. (1920). Major Frederick W. Matteson, U. S. A. (1921). Walter C. Clephane (1921). Charles V. Wheeler (1922). Dr. John Van Rensselaer (1922). Armistead Peter (1922).
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SONS OF THE REVOLUTION
TRIENNIAL CONVENTION, GENERAL SOCIETY, 1920
Delegates :
Rev. Randolph H. McKim Gaillard Hunt
Reeves T. Strickland Frederic L. Huidekoper Ernest Wilkinson
Alternates: Dr. S. B. Muncaster Lieutenant Colonel Charles L. Frailey, U. S. A. Dr. Marcus Benjamin Charles P. Light
STANDING COMMITTEES
Extension BEN DEM. MILLER, Chairman CAPTAIN LEE W. WRIGHT, U. S. M. C., Vice-Chairman. with the following additional members:
Henry B. Byrd, Sr. Wm. R. Chapline Ralph W. Lee Harry M. Wheeler
Hugh M. Southgate Rev. Wm. T. Snyder J. Miller Kenyon Albion K. Parris
Eugene C. Copenhaver
Harry L. Dunwoody
Captain Edwin T. Pollock, U. S. N.
John J. Higgins H. Ralph Burton
Publicity ALBION K. PARRIS, Chairman Dr. Adolphus B. Bennett, Jr. Charles T. Tittmann
Church Service DR. MARCUS BENJAMIN, Chairman Thomas W. Lockwood, Jr. Dr. Ralph Jenkins Beale R. Howard
A. K. Parris
Ex-Officio GENERAL GEORGE RICHARDS, President REV. JOHN VAN SCHAICK, JR., Chaplain
ยท
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SONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Finance MAJOR FREDERICK W. MATTESON, U. S. A., Chairman Frank B. Martin Charles V. Wheeler
Admissions REEVES T. STRICKLAND, Chairman
Theodore C. Johnson
Robert R. Bennett
Stewards MAJOR ALEXANDER M. WATSON, U. S. M. C., Chairman Nevil Monroe Hopkins J. Miller Kenyon Clarence A. Aspinwall
Color Guard
Henry May, Dr. Ralph Jenkins George Richards
Hampson Gary William P. Meredith Edward F. Riggs
Americanization
Henry B. Byrd, Sr.
William F. Ham
Barry Bulkley
William V. Cox
Rev. John Van Schaick, Jr.
Historical Documents and Entertainments GAILLARD HUNT, Chairman
Ernest Wilkinson
Archibald Hopkins
John C. Copenhaver
Frank W. Hackett
Rev. William Taylor Snyder, Historian ( Ex-Officio)
L
BIRTHPLACE OF THE SOCIETY OF THE SONS OF THE REVOLUTION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, DECEMBER 3, 1889
9
SONS OF THE REVOLUTION
THE PROCEEDINGS AT A STATED MEETING OF THE SONS OF THE REVOLUTION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
APRIL 19, 1917
The Mason House, 1606 Twentieth Street, N. W., Washington, D. C.
The meeting was convened at 4 o'clock P. M. with Brigadier- General George Richards, U. S. M. C., President of the Society, in the Chair.
GENERAL RICHARDS: I will ask the Rev. Dr. Smith to deliver the invocation.
INVOCATION
By the Rev. George Williamson Smith, D. D.
Almighty God, Father of the spirits of all flesh, Whose way is in the sea, Whose paths are in the great waters, and Whose footsteps are not known, Who brought our fathers through the great deep to a land which Thou has preserved for them through the long genera- tions, that they should found and establish a state built upon the principles of freedom and equality which were revealed by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and Who hath given to Thy servants the sea for a rampart and a defense, grant unto the President and Con- gress and all authorities to whom the destiny of this Nation is en- trusted, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, that they may per- ceive and know what things they ought to do for the security of our land and its institutions, and also make them strong and powerful to discharge their duties dutifully and justly.
And grant unto us who are here assembled for the aid and further- ance of the work of those, Thy servants, and to all kindred associa- tions, a ready mind, a clear understanding and a pure purpose, to per- sist in all good works for the welfare of our country, that Thy will may be done upon earth for all generations.
Look with favor, we beseech Thee, upon the Navy of the United States, and grant that all in authority and under authority may dis- charge their respective duties acceptably to Thee. Bless their service for the security and welfare of our country.
Let Thy people rest in peace and safety upon the sea, upon their lawful vocations.
May we ever act to the glory of Thy name before all the peoples of the world.
All this we ask in the name of Him Who hath taught us to pray.
(The Rev. Dr. Smith then led the audience in repeating the Lord's prayer).
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SONS OF THE REVOLUTION
ADDRESS BY GENERAL RICHARDS
The Sons of the Revolution in the District of Columbia are assem- bled here with the General Officers of their National Society, the representatives of the Navy League and invited guuests, to com- memorate their organization. We are to dedicate in the memory of our founders a tablet marking the house where our initial meeting took place. Here, 28 years ago, lived Lieutenant Commander Theo- dorus Bailey Myers Mason of the United States Navy. His memory the Sons of the Revolution shall forever cherish; his mind conceived our origin, his thought was translated into deeds. Appointed to the Navy in 1864, his record of thirty-five years is replete with evidence of marked ability, great professional attainments, devotion to duty and success in every field of naval endeavor. The Emperor of Brazil con- ferred on him the Order of the Rose; the King of Italy awarded him a silver medal; the New York Benevolent and Life Saving Institution a gold medal, all for saving life at the risk of his own. The Presi- dent of the United States and two Secretaries of the Navy com- mended him for valuable services to his country. Honored at home and abroad, this patriot descendant of sires of the Revolution assem- bled his friends on an evening historical to us in the winter of 1889, to form a Society consecrated to true Americanism, to foster the mem- ories of the Revolutionary period, to inspire in the community a respect for the principles for which our fathers contended. On this day, in recalling the circumstances of our origin, let us not forget for what we were established.
One hundred and forty-two years ago today, on April 19, 1775, at the Battle of Lexington, American blood was first shed in the cause of liberty. This was one phase of a great movement involving the destinies of the human race which began with the Reformation in Europe in the Sixteenth Century and continues to these times. To- day the American Nation, the oldest of Republics, stands united with all other great Democracies of the world, including, Thank God, the new-born Russian Democracy, in the self-same cause for which our fathers gave the fullest measure of sacrifice and devotion. Here on American shores their blood purchased for all mankind religious, intellectual, civic and economic freedom. Here they established a form of government, where the people, all powerful, were not sub- jects but citizens ; where the State was created for the people, respons- ible to them as their servants. This institution, the best system of free representative government the world has ever seen, is now sub- jected to the great test of war. Upon this generation falls the duty of preserving what has been bequeathed us. Arrayed against us are the hosts of other nations, whose instituted government is different from ours. They are the great autocracies. With them power rests not with their people but with their privileged few, responsible only to the conscience of their ruler. In their system the State comes
ARCHIBALD HOPKINS PAST PRESIDENT (1900-1902) (SURVIVING FOUNDER)
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SONS OF THE REVOLUTION
first and is everything; the people are its "subjects," its servants or slaves, trained only to obey. This autocratic system, backed by effici- ently organized force has pitted itself against free governments, against democracies. This war is to determine if civilization can permanently progress with the people under one system slaves, and under the other free men; that issue is clear and distinct. The spokesman of the world's free people, our President, has sounded the call to arms! This war is one to save our institutions. The cause of human liberty must either be advanced in this ordeal by battle, or be crushed abso- lutely. The world will become all the one thing or all the other, all slave or all free.
Sons of the Revolution, that priceless inheritance purchased for mankind by the blood of our fathers is not ours; we hold it only in trust with a solemn obligation to pass it on to our children and our childrens' children, not impaired but enriched. The autocratic form of government must disappear. Today, before this consecrated home of our founder, more recently re-dedicated to patriotism through the noble work of the Woman's Section of the Navy League, let us renew our pledge to the purpose for which we were ordained. The institu- tions our fathers created must be vindicated. Let us take inspiration from words of the immortal Lincoln "and highly resolve * * * that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth."
(Followed by applause).
Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me pleasure to present Colonel Archibald Hopkins (applause), the only survivor of the founders of our Society, who will describe the origin of the Society of the Sons of the Revolution in the District of Columbia.
ADDRESS BY COLONEL HOPKINS
A little more than 28 years ago on the 3rd of December, 1889, at the call of Lieutenant Commander Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason, a few gentlemen met in this room to form a District of Columbia Society of the Sons of the Revolution. General Nicholas Longworth Anderson was in the chair. The first business transacted was the election of officers, and the following were chosen: President, John Lee Carroll; Vice-President, Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason ; Board of Managers, Nicholas Longworth Anderson, Archibald Hopkins, and Daniel Morgan Taylor; Secretary-Treasurer, and Registrar, Arthur H. Dutton.
It seems not inappropriate on this occasion when a tablet commemo- rating the founding of our Society is unveiled to say a few words of the men then present who are no longer with us.
12
SONS OF THE REVOLUTION
The first president, John Lee Carroll, Governor of Maryland, was a great-grandson of Charles Carroll of Carrollton. He was in every way worthy of his patriotic and illustrious ancestry. Of distin- guished presence, excellent ability, and singularly attractive manners, he represented the highest ideal of what an American gentlemen can hope to be. After brief service as our president, he was elected to the presidency of the general society and his long incumbency there gave it increased prestige and success. High minded and patriotic, with an enviable record of unselfish service to the State and to his fellow men, he won wide respect, admiration and affection in his life and left behind him added luster to the name he bore.
The first vice-president, prime mover in the formation of our Society, was Lieutenant Mason in whose former home we are gath- ered. He came of distinguished New York lineage in combination with some of the best strains of New England and old Spain. It was significant of his self-reliant character that he made his way to Wash- ington alone, introduced himself to the Secretary of the Navy and secured from him an appointment to Annapolis where he graduated. When but twenty years old he jumped overboard at Rio and rescued two sailors, for which the Emperor of Brazil sent him the Order of the Rose. During his service in the Navy he saved many lives and Victor Emanuel gave him a silver medal for having gone with three sailors into the hold of an Italian ship which was on fire, loaded with powder and extinguished the flames. Mr. Mason had a varied ser- vice, of cruises in almost every sea, as instructor at Annapolis, as twice special aide to the Secretary of the Navy, and two tours of duty at the White House. He was the originator of the Office of Naval Intelligence and the first officer in charge, and he wrote and published a standard work on Ordnance. Mr. Mason possessed a charming and most attractive personality, combining to a rare degree an almost feminine grace and gentleness with robust manly virtues and conspicu- ous courage. He gave himself whole-heartedly to his duties as an officer and won highest merit for his zeal, intelligence and efficiency from all with whom he served.
It was a most happy thought of the gracious and generous lady, his sister, and in complete accord with his ardent patriotism to devote his home to training young people to share his love of country and to fit themselves for its service, in time of need. Fifteen hundred are now under instruction. Long may it stand to train the young for such service and to perpetuate the memory of him who dwelt within its walls and of her who has dedicated it to so noble a purpose.
Nicholas Longworth Anderson came of Revolutionary stock and was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati. He was a grandson of Richard Clough Anderson, a distinguished officer of the Continental Line, who took an active part in the principal battles of the Revolution, was wounded at Savannah, reached the rank of Colonel, and was
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SONS OF THE REVOLUTION
aide-de-camp for Lafayette at Yorktown. He was an original mem- ber of the Society of the Cincinnati. His grandson Nicholas was a graduate of Harvard and a lawyer. When Fort Sumter, which was commanded by his uncle, Robert Anderson, was fired on he enlisted and was made adjutant, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel of the Sixth Ohio Volunteers. He took part in the campaigns of Buell, Rose- crans, and Thomas, was three times wounded, and was brevetted brigadier and major-general for distinguished gallantry in action. General Anderson had a natural genius for command and early won the confidence and affection of his men and in his later life made legions of friends wherever he went. He was a cultivated gentleman, scholarly in his tastes, active, alert, and full of patriotic interest in public affairs, of a generous and genial disposition, an incisive ready talker, and a favorite in every social circle. His memory is warmly cherished by many friends.
Colonel Daniel Morgan Taylor was a great-great grandson of Colonel John Neville, Fourth Virginia Continental Infantry ; also great grandson of Lieutenant Colonel Presley Neville, aide-de-camp to Generals Lincoln and Lafayette; also of Lieutenant Charles Sims, Second Virginia Continental Infantry, and a great-great grandson of that sturdy and famous soldier, General Daniel Morgan, the rifle- man, whose name he bore. He graduated at West Point, entered the artillery, and was transferred to the Ordnance, where he reached the rank of Colonel, having served at several arsenals and been in com- mand of those at Augusta, Georgia, and Augusta, Maine. Colonel Taylor was a most accomplished and efficient officer of the same class as his distinguished brother, Admiral Henry C. Taylor. He won high commendation throughout his thirty-eight years of faithful ser- vice and was respected and beloved by his associates and a wide circle of friends.
No organization can fail to take pride in such a list of founders. They were every one descendants of patriots and were themselves patriots who gave gladly to their country the best that was in them, and it is only as their spirit and readiness to serve survives and is maintained that we can look for the permanence of the Republic which our fathers founded.
GENERAL RICHARDS: The first act of the Sons of the Revolution in the District of Columbia after its organization was to give ex- pression to its desire for a closer union with similar Societies in the States of New York and Pennsylvania. Delegates, appointed to con- fer with representatives of these Societies with that object, met at Philadelphia April 12, 1890, where the fundamental principles for the organization of the General Society, Sons of the Revolution, were determined. Mr. Clifford Stanley Sims, of New Jersey, was desig- nated to draft a Constitution. This compact received immediately the unanimous approval of the three Societies and Delegates were
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SONS OF THE REVOLUTION
appointed to perfect the organization of the proposed National body.
At Chamberlain's Hotel, in the city of Washington, twenty-seven years ago today, these Delegates met in our first General Convention. Mr. Frederick Samuel Tallmage, President of the New York Society, was the presiding officer. The General Society, Sons of the Revo- lution, there sprang into existence. John Lee Carroll, already the President of the Sons of the Revolution in the District of Columbia, was the first General President, and James Mortimer Montgomery, of the New York Society, was elected at that Convention Assistant General Secretary.
Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me much pleasure to present Mr. Montgomery, who is now the General President of our National body. That organization that has grown today to include thirty-two sepa- rate State Societies, with a total membership of over 8,000 descendants of Revolutionary Patriots.
MR. MONTGOMERY: Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is my privilege to express in behalf of the general society our apprecia- tion of your gracious permission to mark this spot, the home of our brother, an accomplished gentleman and patriot.
The ancestors of Commander Mason served in our war of the Revolution, the war of 1812, the Mexican and Civil wars. Very few officers have left a record of more efficient service than Comman- der Mason, a man of charming personality, ever courteous. "None knew him but to love, none knew him but to praise."
Mr. President, in marking the birthplace of this Society, I pay a fitting tribute to those men, to whose unfailing devotion we owe so much. They little realized at that initial meeting they were planting a seed that would bear perennial fruit and become no small part in forming one means that has acted in enlarging and preserving our national patriotism. They builded better than they knew.
As you have said, sir, you were the first Society to organize, thus enabling us to form our General Society, today stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Our first Society was organized in that long room in Fraunces' Tavern, which Mr. Wetmore has described as the scene of that pathetic and impressive party, when, with their cheeks wet with men's rare tears, they bade Washington and his friends farewell. Today, not only in that room, but in each of the meeting places of our Society the country over, we, the sons of those who then parted, meet not to part, but once again to work together for the same sacred cause, and shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand and heart to heart we fall in and move forward with hopes as bright as the stars in the sky, and a faith as deep as the sea and as abiding as the firmament.
Colonel Thompson, Sir, it is my privilege, on behalf of the General Society, to present this tablet to you as President of the Navy League of the United States.
THE INITIAL MEETING OF THE SONS OF THE REVOLUTION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OCCURRED IN THIS HOUSE DECEMBER 3,1889 WHEN THE FOLLOWING OFFICERS WERE ELECTED
PRESIDENT- JOHN LEE CARROLL VICE-PRES .- THEODORUS BAILEY MYERS MASON BOARD OF MANAGERS NICHOLAS LONGWORTH ANDERSON ARCHIBALD HOPKINS DANIEL MORGAN TAYLOR
SECRETARY TREASURER & REGISTRAR
ARTHUR HENRY DUTTON
TABLET ERECTED ON THE MASON HOUSE, APRIL 19, 1917
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SONS OF THE REVOLUTION
Whereupon, upon the invitation of Mr. Montgomery, Mrs. Cassie Myers Mason Julian-James, sister of the founder of the Society, un- veiled the tablet, while the Junior Defense Guard sang the Star Spangled Banner, the audience standing.
GENERAL RICHARDS: In our efforts to achieve the purposes for which we are instituted, it has been the policy of the Sons of the Revolution steadfastly to seek the cooperation of other organizations with similar objects.
I am happy, indeed, to testify that the officers of the Navy League have cordially and unselfishly assisted us in our patriotic duties. This was especially marked when, interested in the cause of National Pre- paredness, we sought the influence of that silent power upon which it has been found all true Government finally depends-the power of enlightened public opinion. We have with us today the President of the Navy League. I am sure you will all be delighted in hearing a word from Colonel Robert M. Thompson.
COLONEL THOMPSON: Mr. Chairman, and comrades: The Navy League accepts with great pleasure the tablet which you have here dedicated to the memory of the founders of your society, and in the name of the Navy League, and in the name of the Women's Section of the Navy League, and may I say, in the name of Mrs. Cassie Myers Mason Julian-James, I accept the tablet, and I promise you that noth- ing ever done in this house shall reflect upon the Society which has put that tablet there.
A patriotic society such as yours has in these days much to do. We, whose memory goes back to the great contest between the states, know of what patriotism, of what sacrifice, of what action, this country and its citizens are capable. We are going to be called upon in the years soon to come to make sacrifices. We are making them. We are going to be called upon to take great and serious action, to defend the great cause of liberty. We will take it, and when we enter actively into the war, the aggressor will know we are there!
Once more I thank you, and thank you and this Society for this tablet, and for this great dedication of this house to the work that was so dear to your brother.
GENERAL RICHARDS: I am going to ask the Rev. Dr. Smith to deliver the benediction.
The blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be amongst you and remain with you always, Amen.
(Announcement was made that Mrs. Julian-James would be very glad to receive her friends and the members of the Society in the adjoining house, whereupon, adjournment was taken at 4.30 P. M.)
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SONS OF THE REVOLUTION
SONS OF THE REVOLUTION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The Sons of the Revolution in the District of Columbia was insti- ted as a Society, March 11, 1889. Among its founders were John Lee Carroll, Samuel Rhoads Franklin, Nicholas Longsworth Ander- son, John Grimes Walker, Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason, Richard Rush, Daniel Morgan Taylor, John Schuyler Crosby, Arthur Henry Dutton, and Archibald Hopkins. These gentlemen, residents of the District of Columbia, were either members of, or applicants for admis- sion to, the Societies of the Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York or in the State of Pennsylvania, the only Societies styled "Sons of the Revolution" then in existence.
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