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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02263 5228
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/chroniclesofgeor00jack_0
THE CHRONICLES
OF
GEORGETOWN, D.C.
FROM 1751 TO 1878.
BY RICHARD P. JACKSON, A NATIVE OF GEORGETOWN, AND MEMBER OF THE WASHINGTON BAR.
" I loved her from my boyhood-she to me Was as a fairy city of the heart."
WASHINGTON, D. C. : R. O. POLKINHORN, PRINTER, 1878.
WOTJOROOD
1912.820
Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1878, By RICHARD P. JACKSON, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
TO
MY ELDEST SON, WILLIE LIE S. JACKSON,
A. PRINTER BY OCCUPATION, TO WHOM I AM GREATLY INDEBTED FOR THE FAITHFUL
PUBLICATION OF THIS WORK; AND TO THE CITIZENS OF GEORGETOWN,
I RESPECTFULLY DEDICATE THIS VOLUME.
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PREFACE.
o compile this book, during my leisure hours, has been more a labor of love than an expectation of gain; to snatch from oblivion what otherwise would be lost, and to refresh the memories of our citi- zens of the facts and events that have transpired in a lifetime, and leave to the rising generation a history of the town (though imperfect) to which reference can be made to learn how our ancestors struggled amidst adversity to build a city, with churches and institutions of learning, that should be a credit to themselves and a benefit to posterity.
What little knowledge I possess I have gleaned from the citizens of Georgetown, among whom I was born and reared; and what little property I enjoy I owe to their patronage. The older citizens of the town were well acquainted with the father of the Chronicler .- He was no general; he never com- manded an army and slew thousands of men and gained a victory ; neither was he the governor of a . province, and starved the peasantry to feed an idle court, but a peaceable, quiet citizen, a store-keeper by occupation ; and when he died, he left the Chronicler, then thirteen years of age, an heir to his good repu- tation.
To the Lady Superior of the Academy of the Visi- tation, and to General Humphreys and Major Weiss of the Engineer Department; to Colonel Theodore Samo, of the Washington Aqueduct; to Benjamin Fawcett, clerk of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Con- pany; to Rev. J. S. Sumner, S. J., editor of the College Journal; to Josiah Dent, president of the Linthicum Institute, and Charles M. Matthews, Joseph Libbey, William Shoemaker, M. D., William W. Winship, secretary to trustees of Presbyterian Church, and other citizens, I feel grateful for their kind assistance to me while compiling this book.
THE CHRONICLER.
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. PAGE.
INDIAN HISTORY 1
HOW THE TOWN WAS LAID OUT 3
COPY FROM A LAND PATENT 6 TEST OATII
6
DIVISIONS OF THE TOWN AND REFERENCE TO THE DEED BOOKS IN WHICH THEY ARE RECORDED. 7
CHARTER AS AMENDED, AND IN FORCE FROM 1789 TO 1871 ... 9
SKETCH OF THE TOWN AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 28
WHO FRAMED THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION. 34
WILLIAM WIRT. 35
LUDICROUS SCENES
37 38
DUELS
DEPRESSION IN BUSINESS 39 40
BEGINNING OF THE CANAL
CHANNEL OF THE RIVER 43
CONTEST FOR THE UPPER AND LOWER ROADS LEADING TO FALL'S BRIDGE 45
THE HOLLAND LOAN 46
OPPOSITION TO THE ALEXANDRIA AQUEDUCT. 46
BASIS OF AN AGREEMENT FOR THE CONSOLIDATION OF WASH- INGTON CITY AND GEORGETOWN
47
SKETCH OF ITS LEGISLATION 53
OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION 57
NAMES OF THE STREETS 60
ILLUMINATING .THE TOWN 61
ANTS FROM THE WEST INDIES 62
A BREEZE IN TOWN 63
VIII
LONG BRIDGE 64
POPULATION
68
CHAPTER II.
POTOMAC RIVER 69
ICE-FLOES 71
THE CAUSEWAY 72
FRESHETS
74
COLD WINTERS
75
SEVENTEEN-YEAR LOCUSTS
78
CHAPTER III.
POTOMAC CANAL 80
FALLS BRIDGE 81
MILITARY COMPANIES 87
CONTESTED ELECTIONS 89
BANKS IN GEORGETOWN
93
CHAPTER IV.
POST-OFFICE AND CUSTOM-HOUSE 99
LIST OF POSTMASTERS 101
COLLECTORS OF CUSTOMS 101
MARKET HOUSE
102
FIRE COMPANIES 104
DESTRUCTION BY THE FLAMES
106
METROPOLITAN RAILROAD 108
LIST OF NEWSPAPERS
110
LITERATI
110
CHAPTER V.
POOR-HOUSE, AND WILL OF JOHN BARNES 112
DONATION OF W. W. CORCORAN 117 COMMERCE 118
ALEXANDRIA AQUEDUCT
126
WASHINGTON AQUEDUCT 130
.
IX
CHAPTER VI.
CATHOLIC TRINITY CHURCH 140
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 143
ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH 163
CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 183
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 204
METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH 205
GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH
209
BAPTIST CHURCH
213
COLORED CHURCHES 214
CHAPTER VII.
GEORGETOWN COLLEGE 215
THE MONASTERY AND ACADEMY OF THE VISITATION. 226
GEORGETOWN COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE 230
PEABODY LIBRARY
230
LINTHICUM INSTITUTE
238
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
244
CHAPTER VIII.
OAK HILL CEMETERY-GENEROSITY OF W. W. CORCORAN ... 264
HOLYROOD CEMETERY 268
PRESBYTERIAN BURYING-GROUND 268
METHODIST BURYING-GROUND
270
CHAPTER IX.
HISTORY OF POTOMAC LODGE, NO. 5, F. A. A. M. 271
SKETCH OF THE CHESAPEAKE & OHIO CANAL 297
THE OUTLET LOCK 333
ACT OF CONGRESS PROVIDING A FORM OF GOVERNMENT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA .. 335
CHRONICLES OF GEORGETOWN.
CHAPTER I.
INDIAN HISTORY-HOW THE TOWN WAS LAID OUT-COPY FROM A LAND PATENT-TEST OATH-DIVISIONS OF THE TOWN AND REF- ERENCE TO THE DEED BOOKS IN WHICH THEY ARE RECORDED- CHARTER AS AMENDED, AND IN FORCE FROM 1789 TO 1871- SKETCH OF THE TOWN AND ITS SURROUNDINGS-WHO FRAMED THE ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION-WILLIAM WIRT-LUDICROUS SCENES-DUELS-DEPRESSION IN BUSINESS AND BEGINNING OF THE CANAL-CHANNEL OF THE RIVER, AND CONTEST FOR THE UPPER AND LOWER ROADS LEADING TO FALL'S BRIDGE-THE HOLLAND LOAN, AND OPPOSITION TO THIE ALEXANDRIA AQUE- DUCT-BASIS OF AN AGREEMENT FOR THE CONSOLIDATION OF WASHINGTON CITY AND GEORGETOWN-SKETCH OF ITS LEGISLA- TION-OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION-NAMES OF THE STREETS -ILLUMINATING THE TOWN-ANTS FROM THE WEST INDIES- A BREEZE IN TOWN-LONG BRIDGE-POPULATION.
The original inhabitants of Maryland, out of which the District of Columbia was carved, were Indians. According to a letter written by Captain John Smith in 1626, to Queen Anne of Great Britian, who had been sent to America to explore the Chesapeake Bay, and the coast of Maryland, reported that more than forty tribes of Indians inhabited the shores of Mary- land and Virginia. . The principal tribes were the Manahoacs, the Powhatans, and the Monacans. It is generally believed that the Powhatans occupied that space of country between the Chesapeake Bay
2
INDIAN HISTORY.
and the Patuxent River in Maryland; the tribes call- ed the Manahoacs and Monacans are supposed to have roamed the shores of Virginia, between York and the Potomac Rivers; the Shawances are supposed to have inhabited that tract of land lying between the Chesapeake Bay and the Alleghany Mountains. Mr. Elliot, in his history of the District of Columbia, says: "that the tribe called the Susquehanocks lived on the banks of the Susquehanna River; the Tock- wocks and others occupied Kent, Queen Anne, and Talbot Counties; the Manahoacs and Monacans were in alliance with each other and waged perpetual war against the Powhatans." It is generally admitted that they were the occupiers of the territory which forms the District of Columbia.
Sir Walter Raleigh and Captain Smith were the great navigators who visited the New World and made maps and charts of the same, especially of the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River, and learned the habits of the Indians. One habit Raleigh carried with him to England was, the habit of smoking tobacco; he introduced it at court, and it became fashionable among all of the nobility. On one occa- sion Raleigh made a bet with Queen Elizabeth that he could tell the weight of smoke from his pipe of tobacco. The Queen covered his bet; when Raleigh filled his pipe with tobacco. IIe then emptied the same into a pair of delicate scales, and after weigh- ing it, he returned it to his pipe, and, setting fire to the same, commenced smoking. After the tobacco was consumed, he emptied the ashes into the scales,
i R
3
HOW THE TOWN WAS LAID OUT.
and substracting the weight of ashes from the tobacco, he told the Queen the weight of the smoke. The Queen remarked that she had seen many a man con- vert gold into smoke, but this was the first time she had seen smoke converted into gold.
Frederick County, in Maryland, was formed by an act of the Legislature in 1748. Montgomery County in 1776, was carved out of Frederick. An act was passed by Congress, July 16, 1790, to establish the permanent seat of Government of the United States, and on the 30th day of March, 1791, President Wash- ington, then in Georgetown, issued his proclamation concerning the permanent seat of Government of the United States as being located in the District of Co- lumbia. This proclamation closes as follows:
"In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these presents, and sign the same with my hand.
Done at Georgetown, aforesaid, the 30th day of March, in the year of our Lord, 1791, and the Inde- pendence of the United States the fifteenth.
By the President:
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
GEORGE £ WASHINGTON."
HOW THE TOWN WAS LAID OUT.
The beginning of Georgetown was, by legislative enactment, of the then province of Maryland.
The Legislature of Maryland, by act of May 15, 1751, authorized Henry Wright Crabb, John Needham, John Clagett, James Perry, and David Lynn, Com- missioners, to lay out and erect a town on the Poto-
Į
4
HOW THE TOWN WAS LAID OUT.
mac River, above the mouth of Rock Creek, in Fred- erick County, Maryland, and empowered them to pur- chase sixty acres-part of the tracts of land belonging to George Gordon and George Beall, at the place aforesaid, where it shall appear to them to be most convenient-and to survey the same into eighty lots, to be erected into a town, and to be called George- town.
The Commissioners met September 18, 1751, and chose Alexander Beall to be Clerk and Surveyor, and Josiah Beall, Coroner.
Mr. Gordon and Mr. Beall refusing to sell to the Com- missioners the tract selected by them as " most con- venient;" it was appraised, and two hundred and eighty pounds, currency, were awarded to the said Gordon and Beall as damages, by the following jury, viz : William Pritchett, Ninian Magruder, Nicholas Baker, James Beall, Nathaniel Magruder, Charles Clagett, Thomas Clagett, James Holman, Charles Jones, Zacha- riah Magruder, James Wallace, Basil Beall, William Williams, Alexander Magruder, William Wallace, and John Magruder, son of Alexander.
The survey and plat was completed February 27, 1752, and the Commissioners named the lots, streets, and lanes; and the eighty lots were assessed at two hundred and eighty pounds, currency.
To Mr. Gordon and to Mr. Beall was allowed the privilege of first selecting two lots each. Mr. Gordon chose lots 48 and 52, but Mr. Beall, having refused to recognize in any way the proceedings of the Commnis- sioners, was notified that "if he did not make his
1
5
HOW THE TOWN WAS LAID OUT.
choice within ten days from the 28th of February, he could only blame himself for the consequences." Whereupon, after a week's reflection, Mr. Beall sent the following answer :
"If I must part with my property by force, I had better save a little than be totally demolished. Rather than have none, I accept these lots,-Nos. 72 and 79- said to be Mr. Henderson's and Mr. Edmonston's. But I do hereby protest, and declare that my accept- ance of the said lots, which is by force, shall not debar me from future redress from the Commissioners or others, if I can have the rights of a British subject. God save King George !
March 7, 1752.
GEORGE BEALL."
Many persons suppose that the name of Georgetown was given in honor of the commander of the army of the Revolution ; but this cannot be so, as General Wash- ington was born on the 22d day of February, 1732, and when the town was laid out, he was quite a young man engaged in the profession of surveying under Lord Fairfax, and had not established his great reputa- tion as a military man. Others, again, suppose that the name came from George Beall, who was an able soldier and a great fighter of Indians in the province, but more likely it took its name from George II, King of Great Britain, towards whom all the provinces in America were at that time loyal; but let the name come from whence it may, the town has grown and prospered under that name, and if it had been named differently, its adversity and prosperity would have been the same.
1
6
COPY FROM A LAND PATENT.
The original land patent issued by Henry Darnell, keeper of the great seals of the State of Maryland, November 18, 1703, to Ninian Beall for seven hun- dred and five acres Rock of Dunbarton, which tract of land is now covered by a portion of the city of George- town, has recently been examined and authenticated copies made for reference. The papers recite that the patent is made in consideration of there being due to Beall five hundred acres, under a warrant of the 19th of May, 1702, and the property is described as lying in said Prince George's County, beginning at the south- east corner tree of a tract of land taken for Robert Mason, standing by Potomac River side, at the mouth of Rock Creek, on a point running thence with said land N. N. West six hundred and forty perches, then east three hundred and twenty perches, thence south 63°, easterly four hundred and eighteen perches, then west twenty perches, then S. S. West one hundred and seventy-five perches, thence with a straight line by the creek and river to the first bound containing, and there laid out for, seven hundred and ninety-five acres.
TEST OATII.
When the town began to grow in size, and various offices were created, and citizens appointed to fill them, a test oath appears to have been required from all offi- cers. Among the records of the town, now in the Sur- veyor's office of the District of Columbia, is a quaint old document, which the chronicler copies for the bene- fit of his readers. It relates to a meeting of the com- missioners, February 24th, 1772, and appointing one
!
7
DIVISIONS OF THE TOWN.
Thomas Branan as flour inspector ; when there was administered to him the several oaths of office, he re- peated and signed the following :
"I, Thomas Branan, do declare that I do believe that there is not any transubstantiation in the sacra- ment of the Lord's supper, or in the elements of bread and wine, at or after the consecration thereof, by any person whatsoever.
THOMAS BRANAN."
No religious test is now required to fill the office of flour inspector, or any other office in the gift of the Government.
DIVISIONS OF THE TOWN AND REFERENCE TO DEED BOOKS IN WHICH THEY ARE RECORDED.
The town, as originally laid out, only consisted of sixty acres of land. Several additions have since been added, as follows:
Beall's first addition, known by the name of the Rock of Dunbarton, containing sixty-one acres, was added by act of Assembly passed at November ses- sion, 1783, and recorded in liber B, page 223, at Rock- ville, Md. Peter Beatty, Threlkeld & Deakin's ad- dition at November session, 1784, containing twenty acres, and divided into sixty-five lots, and recorded in liber K, No. 10, folio 31, District of Columbia. Beall's second addition, supposed to be recorded at Rockville, Maryland. Deakin & Bailey's, and Threl- keld's addition, liber W. B., No. 14, page 55 to 73; Deakin, Lee & Cazanove's addition A. F., No. 31, page 448 to 466; Holinead's addition, deed of partition O,
8
DIVISIONS OF THE TOWN.
liber 14, page 15; liber B, No. 2, folio 702, original plan of Georgetown; liber K, No. 10, from page 8 to 28, Beatty & Hawkins ; slip recorded in liber C, from 423 to folio 426; slip recorded in liber 13, liber S, No. 18, Corporation of Georgetown, to John M. Beatty and Charles A. Beatty ; liber T, No. 19, page 146, map of water lots; liber W. B., No. 59, Canal Condemnations ; liber W. B., No. 99, map of lots be- tween Bridge, Gay, High, and Congress Streets.
The town was incorporated by act of Assembly of Maryland, passed at November session, 1789, to which additional powers were given in 1797, and 1799 ; also by the act of Congress of 1802, chap. 52, March 3d; 1805, page 310, vol. 2d; also 1809, page 332; also 1813, vol. 3, page 1; also 1824, vol. 4, page, 75 ; also May 31st, 1830, vol. 4, page 420; also 1826, vol. 4, page 183; also March 3, 1826, page 140; also August 19, 1841, vol. 5, page 449 ; also July 27, 1842, vol. 5, page 497 ; also March 3d, 1843, vol. 5, page 629 ; also June 17, 1844, vol. 5, page 721; also August 11, 1856, vol. 11, page 321; also May 21, 1862, vol. 12, page 405.
This last relates to the distribution of Potomac water in which all the citizens are deeply interested. The legal style of the Corporation was known by name of the " Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen, and Common Coun- cil of Georgetown," which charter was as follows:
1
9
CHARTER.
CHARTER OF GEORGETOWN, AS AMENDED, AND IN FORCE FROM 1789 To 1871.
I. ORGANIZATION-II. JURISDICTION-III. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES-IV. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
[NOTE .- All clauses in brackets are from the acts of Maryland. ]
I .- ORGANIZATION.
[Georgetown shall be, and hereby is, erected, consti- tuted and made an incorporate town, consisting of a Mayor, Recorder,] and two branches; the first branch to be composed of five members and the Recorder, and to be called the Board of Aldermen; and the second branch to be composed of eleven members, and to be called the Board of Common Councilmen ; [which said Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen, and Com- mon Councilmen shall be a body incorporate and one community forever, in right and by the name of the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen, and Common Council of the said town; and shall be able and capable to sue and be sued at law, and to act and execute, do and perform, as a body incorporate, which shall have suc- cession forever, and to that end to have a common seal, and the same to alter and change at their pleas- ure.]
THE MAYOR.
On the fourth Monday in February, 1831, and on the same day biennially thereafter, the citizens of Georgetown, qualified to vote for members of the two boards of the corporation, shall, by ballot, elect some fit and proper person, having the qualifications now 2
10
CHARTER.
required by law, to be Mayor of the Corporation of Georgetown, to continue in office two years and until a successor is duly elected; and the person having at said election, which shall be conducted by judges of election appointed by the corporation, the greatest number of legal votes, shall be declared duly elected; and in the event of an equal number of votes being given to two or more candidates, the two boards in joint meeting, by ballot, shall elect the Mayor from the persons having such equal number of votes.
In the event of the death or resignation of the Mayor, or of his inability to discharge the duties of his office, the two boards of the corporation in joint meeting, by ballot, shall elect some fit person to fill the office until the next regular election.
No person shall be eligible to the office of Mayor unless he be a citizen of the United States, of the age of thirty years, a resident of the town for five years last past, and unless he shall have paid a tax to the corporation.
Before he acts as such, the Mayor shall make oath before some justice of the peace for the County of Washington, in the presence of both branches of the corporation, that he will well and faithfully discharge the several and respective duties of his office.
POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE MAYOR.
The Mayor shall have power, upon the application of at least five members of the corporation, in writ- ing, to convene said corporation, giving reasonable notice of such intended meeting.
11
CHARTER.
He shall have and exercise the powers of a justice of the peace in the said town.
He shall receive for his services annually, a just and reasonable compensation, to be allowed and fixed by the corporation.
It shall be his duty to see that the laws of the cor- poration are duly executed ; to report the negligence or misconduct of any officer to the said corporation ; and to lay before the corporation, from time to time, in writing, such alterations in the laws as he shall deem necessary and proper.
He shall sign all ordinances duly passed by both branches of the corporation, unless he objects thereto, within forty-eight hours after the time the same is pre- sented to him for his signature; and if he does so ob- ject, he shall immediately return the ordinance, with his objections, in writing, to the corporation. If it is afterwards passed according to law, he shall sign the same. If he shall not return the same within the time aforesaid, he shall sign the same.
No ordinance shall be passed unless approved by the Mayor, or passed under the provisions made in case of his objecting thereto.
[See also "IV. Miscellaneous Provisions."]
THE RECORDER.
On the first Monday of January in every year, the corporation shall, by a joint ballot of the said two branches present, choose some fit and proper person learned in the law, to be Recorder of the said corpora- tion, to continue in office one year.
12
CHARTER.
The Recorder, before he acts as such, shall make oath before some justice of the peace for the County of Washington, in the presence of both branches of the corporation, that he will well and faithfully discharge the several and respective duties of his office.
In the event of a tie vote upon any question in the Board of Aldermen, the Recorder shall have the cast- ing vote, and power thereby to determine the same to the same effect as if it had been determined by a ma- jority of the aldermen present.
In case of vacancy in the office of Recorder, the cor- poration shall, within five days thereafter, proceed to the choice of a fit person, qualified as aforesaid, to fill his place, in the manner hereinbefore provided.
The Recorder of the corporation is hereby declared to be a member of the Board of Aldermen, to all in- tents and purposes whatever.
THE TWO BRANCHES.
On the fourth Monday in February, 1806, and bien- nial thereafter, the free white male citizens of the United States, who shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, and shall have resided in Georgetown one year immediately preceding the day of election, and shall have been returned on tlie books of the corpo- ration during the year ending on the 31st of December next preceding the day of election, as subject to a school tax for that year-except persons non compos mentis, vagrants, paupers, and persons who shall have been convicted of any infamous crime-and who shall have paid the school taxes due from him, shall elect
7
13
,
CHARTER.
by ballot five fit and proper persons, citizens of the United States, residents of the said town one year next before the election, above twenty-one years of age, and having paid a tax to the corporation, to com- pose the Board of Alderman; and the five persons voted for as Aldermen, who shall have the greatest number of legal votes on the final casting up of the polls shall be declared duly elected for the Board of Aldermen, the said Board of Aldermen to continue two years,
On the fourth Monday in February in every year, the free white male citizens of Georgetown, having the qualifications prescribed for persons to be entitled to vote for members of the Board of Aldermen, shall elect, by ballot, eleven fit and proper persons, having the qualifications prescribed for members of the Board of Aldermen, to compose the Board of Common Coun- cil; and the eleven persons voted for as Common Council who shall have the greatest number of legal votes at the final casting up of the polls, shall be de- clared duly elected for the Board of Common Council, the said Board of Common Council to continue for one year.
In case of vacancy in either branch, a fit person or persons qualified as aforesaid, shall be elected by the people in the same manner, five days' notice being given of such election.
Each member of the two branches, before he acts as such, shall, in the presence of the corporation, take an oath to discharge the duties and trusts reposed in him with integrity and fidelity.
14
CHARTER.
POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE TWO BRANCHES, SEPARATELY.
Four members of the Board of Aldermen and seven members of the Board of Common Council shall form a quorum to do business.
Each board shall hold two sessions in each year, one to commence on the first Monday of March, and the other on the first Monday of December.
Each board shall have power to adjourn from day to day ; and five members of either branch may cause the Mayor to convene the two boards, by an applica- tion to him in writing.
Each branch shall judge of the elections, qualifica- tions, and returns of its own members ; and may com- pel the attendance of members by reasonable penal- ties.
The Common Council shall choose out of their own body a president.
Either branch shall have power to elect a president pro tempore in the absence of the one duly elected.
Ordinances may originate in either branch, and shall be passed only by a majority of both branches during the same session.
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