USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Centennial history of the city of Washington, D. C. With full outline of the natural advantages, accounts of the Indian tribes, selection of the site, founding of the city to the present time > Part 11
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Almost immediately after the meeting at Georgetown, which resulted in the agreement with the original proprietors of the lands to be occupied by the Federal City, General Washington took steps to procure from the State authorities of Virginia the funds voted by that State to aid in the erecting of the city. It appears from a letter written by him as early as May 7, 1791, to the commissioners, that difficulties were already obstructing the progress of those gentlemen; for he says, writing from Charleston: "I have received your letter of the 13th of last month. It is an unfortunate circumstance in the present stage of the business relating to the Federal City, that diffi- culties unforeseen and unexpected should arise to darken, perhaps to destroy, the fair prospect which it presented when I left Georgetown, and which the instrument then signed by the combined interest [as it was termed] of Georgetown and Carrollsburgh so plainly describes. The pain which this occurrence occasions me is the more sensibly felt, as I had taken pleasure during my journey throughout the several States to relate the agreement, and to speak of it on every occasion in terms which applauded the conduct of the parties, as being alike conducive to the public welfare and to the interests of individuals. When the instrument was presented, I found no occasion to add a word with respect to the boundary, because the whole was surren- dered upon the conditions which were expressed. Had I discovered a disposition in the subscribers to contract my views, I should then have pointed out the inconveniences and impolicy of the measure. Upon the whole, I shall hope and expect that the business will be suffered to proceed, and the more so as they cannot be ignorant that the further consideration of a certain measure in a neighboring State [alluding to the payment of the funds voted by Virginia] stands postponed; for what reason, is left to their own information and conjecture."
IIe alludes in this connection by name to Messrs. Young, Peter,
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Lingan, Forrest, and Stoddert as the discontented proprietors. How- ever, it appears that after the difficulties had been overcome, negotiations were effected with tolerable ease with all the proprietors except David Burns. With him the commissioners failed to effect any arrangements for the surrender of his property, and the President was told that he alone could bring him to terms. The farm of Mr. Burns lay directly south of where the President's House now stands, and extended cast as far as the Patent Office. It contained six hundred acres, and was patented to William Langworthy by an instrument dated July 5, 1681.
Upon the failure of the commissioners, President Washington made his way to the Burns cottage, and causing Uncle David to sit down on a rustic seat under a clump of trees, used all his powers of persuasion to bring about a sale. But "obstinate Mr. Burns," as President Washington often called him afterward, yielded not a jot. Washington's efforts appear to have been repeated several times, and upon one of these occasions, when Washington was trying to convince him of the great advantage it would be to him, Uncle Davy testily replied :
"I suppose you think that people here are going to take every grist that comes from you as pure grain; but what would you have been if you had not married the rich Widow Custis?"
At length, after frequent interviews, Washington lost his patience. Ile gave Mr. Burns to understand that he had been authorized to select the location of the National Capital, and said: "I have selected your farm as a part of it, and the Government will take it; and I trust you will, under the circumstances, enter into an amicable agree- ment."
When the President asked again, "Upon what terms will you surrender your plantation?" Mr. Burns replied, "Upon any terms that your Excellency may choose to name."
In the New York Daily Advertiser, a newspaper of that day, under date of February 24, 1789, appeared a communication from Baltimore, which was as follows:
"There are already subscribed for the erecting of buildings in this town for the use of Congress, TWENTY THOUSAND POUNDS. When we reflect on the present state of population in the United States, nothing can be more preposterous and absurd than the idea of fixing the seat of Congress in a village, or the raising a new city in a wilderness for their residence. Before we give in to such fancies, we should consider whether we have such a surplus of people and trade as is necessary for the erection and maintenance of a new city. If we have not, the
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new city must necessarily draw from our present towns their wealth, trade, and people to compose its greatness. I believe no considerate man will venture to say that a new city can be established by any other means than by attracting the wealth, trade, and inhabitants of the old ones; or that it is consistent with the interests of the United States to adopt a measure so pregnant with injury and desolation. The contest for the seat of Congress will, therefore, and must necessarily, be between New York and Baltimore."
The following piece of doggerel from one of the papers of the day exhibits the feeling which pervaded the many communications with which the city papers were then flooded, in relation to the removal of the Government from New York, where the Council had gone to considerable expense in fitting up the City Hall for the recep- tion of Congress. It stood in Wall Street, at the head of Broad, the site of the present Custom House.
" THE WAITING-GIRL IN NEW YORK, TO HIER FRIEND IN PHILADELPHIA.
"Well, Nanny, I'm sorry to say, since you writ us The Congress and court have determined to quit us. And for us, my dear Nanny, we're much in a pet, And hundreds of houses will be to be let. Our streets, that were quite in a way to look clever, Will now be neglected, and nasty as ever. Again we must fret at the Dutchified gutters, And pebble-stone pavements, which wear out onr trotters.
My master looks dull, and his spirits are sinking; From morning till night he is smoking and thinking, Laments the expense of destroying the fort, And says your great people are all of a sort. He hopes and he prays they may die in a stall, If they leave us in debt for Federal Hall. In fact, he would rather saw timber, or dig, Than see them removing to Connogocheague, Where the houses and kitchens are yet to be framed, The trees to be felled, and the streets to be named."
It will be remembered that General Washington himself, when the insubordination and intolerable conduct of Major L'Enfant had rendered that officer's dismissal imperative, expressed his fears that the friends of the discharged engineer would trumpet the whole plan as an abortion, and do all they could to hinder the successful completion of his design in regard to the Capital City. These were only a few of the occurrences that combined to dampen the ardor and chill the enthusiasm of the men who had undertaken the work of
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building up a great city in a forbidding wilderness. It was a gigantic undertaking; and when we consider the circumstances that surrounded the project, the conditions with respect to all the appliances that entered into the successful erection of such a city at that early day, while we are amazed at the conception of the idea, we are more amazed at the spirit and energy which carried that idea into practical effect. It must be remembered that two of the States, at least, had offered towns - one its State capital, with such concessions as to jurisdiction as Congress might deem essential-as places in which might be arranged the permanent residence of the Government; and it is reasonable to conclude, from what we know of the actions of other States and cities, that no difficulty would have been encoun- tered, had Congress manifested a desire in that direction, to have found not only a fit residence prepared to hand, but also commodious and fitting buildings for the accommodation of the Federal offices. But Congress feared most of all things the unbridled license of a mob. A lesson had been taught by those mutinous soldiers at Phil- adelphia, and by the timid, irresolute action of the authorities of that city and the State of which it was a part, that could not be erased from the minds of the men who had the affairs of the Nation in their hands. No argument, no persuasion, could induce them to subject themselves again to that peril. These and other motives were so controlling in their effects that, turning a deaf ear to harsh criticism, doleful predictions, and public ridicule, they persisted in their work, and upon that beautiful lap of earth on the banks of the Potomac, in the midst of forbidding swamps, country brooks, thriving cornfields, and all the desolation we can imagine must have marked the spot in those days, they planned the city, of which more need not be said than that it is worthy of the name it bears. We who live to-day cannot fail to have our pride as Americans amply gratified as we gaze on the beauty and grandeur of our country's Capital. Here has Congress completed nearly a century of its deliberations, free from interruption save only when a band of ruthless invaders destroyed the public buildings, disturbed for a short time the peace of the com- munity, and sent their own names down to posterity with a heritage of unending disgrace.
CHAPTER V.
PIONEER LIFE.
The Early Settlers of the District of Columbia-Daniel Carroll, of Duddington - David Burns - Marcia Burns-John P. Van Ness-Notley Young- Benjamin Oden- Robert Peter-The Removal of the Government to Washington -Officers Who Came Here at That Time-Samuel Meredith-Thomas Tudor Tucker-Joseph Nourse - Richard Harrison - Peter Hagner-John Steele-Gabriel Duval - William Simmons-Thomas Turner- Abraham Bradley, Jr .- Thomas Munroe-Roger C. Weightman-Stephen L. Hallett -- Dr. William Thornton -George Hadfield - Ben- jamin Henry Latrobe-Pierre Charles L'Enfant - Samuel Harrison Smith - Andrew Ellicott - Benjamin Bannecker.
Y our last chapter, we have shown how the site upon which the Capital City was to be erected was finally determined upon, and how the Government was established in what was to be its future resi- dence. Before proceeding further in the history of the city, it appears appropriate to dwell for a few moments upon the history of those men who were the proprietors of the plantations selected for the proposed site of the city. The entire area selected for this site of the seat of government belonged apparently to a few proprietors-we mean the entire area north of the Potomac; for, inasmuch as that portion in Virginia which, for about half a century, belonged to the Federal Distriet was, in 1846, ceded back to that State, it is not deemed necessary in this connection to make special mention of the original proprietors of the lands once included in the District south of the Potomac River.
First among the men owning the lands originally forming a part of and still constituting the District of Columbia, was Daniel Carroll, of Duddington. He was a fine specimen of the gentleman of the regime - pure, patriotic, hospitable, and kind. He was a delegate from Mary- land to the Continental Congress from 1780 to 1784, being first elected when only thirty years of age, and was a signer of the Articles of Confederation, and also of the Constitution of the United States. From 1789 to 1791, he was a Representative in Congress from Maryland, and was appointed by General Washington one of the commissioners for surveying and limiting the site of the Federal Distriet, and entered upon the duties of that office immediately upon
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the expiration of his term as Representative. He was the owner of a considerable tract of land within the limits of the territory selected by General Washington for the Federal District, which was allotted to him in the partition of a larger tract belonging to the historical Carroll family, and known as Carroll Manor. Hle resided upon his farm in a substantial, and for those days, elegant residence. Ilis mansion is spoken of by those who were first among the officials of the General Government to come to the new Capital from Philadelphia as being really comfortable in all respects, surrounded by a garden and other useful appurtenanees. He was the owner of all that portion of the District bordering upon the Anacostia or Eastern Branch of the Potomac, and embracing within its limits the hill upon which the Capitol building was subsequently erected, and stretching out to and beyond the boundary of the city in an easterly direction. His posses- sions included the town of Carrollsburgh, so named from a project of forming a town in the neighborhood, but which project was of course swallowed up in the far greater project of the establishment of a city, which was to be at the same time the capital of a nation; though so far as our information goes, this town site was improved by the erection thereon of some few dwelling houses. But if this state- ment should hereafter be proved slightly incorrect, the fact will still remain that the town itself was projected as early as 1770, and it is a matter of record among the ancient land records of Prince George's County, Maryland, that at that early day the town was subdivided into village lots, and the owners of the town site were authorized by said deeds to establish a town thereon, to be named Carrollsburgh, they themselves being known as grantees of Duddington Manor and Dud- dington Pasture. These grantees were Charles Carroll, Jr., Henry Rozer, Daniel Carroll, and Notley Young.
The land of Daniel . Carroll, of Duddington, was beautifully situ- ated upon the high table land that skirted the low grounds between Georgetown and the Anacostia. They included, as has been said, the hill upon which the Capitol building was afterward erected, and were evidently selected for the site of that building because they offered the most eligible location for that purpose, and perhaps because they were above the malarial influences of the marshy lands upon either bank of the Tiber. The fact that the Capitol building has for its eastern front its most imposing presentation, would seem to indicate that its designers anticipated that the city would first extend in that direction. In addition to this, the fact that the Anacostia or Eastern Branch was a stream navigable for many miles of its course, and that upon this
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stream at that early day was selected a site for a navy yard and an arsenal, both of which were expected to be of very considerable im- portance in the future growth of the city, also points to the existence of the same anticipation.
All these things combined to give to the lands of Daniel Carroll, of Duddington, the very greatest importance in connection with the future development of the city, and it is not singular that all these circumstances combined should invest this tract of land with great speculative value in the estimation of its proprietor. It is not to be wondered at, then, that this worthy gentleman, trusting to what he considered the superiority of his lands over those of others, should have placed so high a price upon them that parties seeking building sites within the influence of the Federal Government were driven to seek other portions of the city upon which to build. The result was, that Mr. Carroll failed to make sales of his lands so beautifully situated, and the city was driven away from his property, to seek a permanent location on lands that were considered of little or of no possible value, far away to the westward. This was Mr. Carroll's great mistake; for the taxes levied upon his unimproved property involved him in difficulties which he never entirely overcame.
Another of the original proprietors of the lands within the limits of the Federal District was David Burns, to whom reference has been made in the preceding chapter. So far as is known, he was a humble Scotchman, who had inherited a considerable tract of land from his ancestors, and who lived the life of a simple farmer, tilling the soil for his daily bread, with the assistance of his slaves. Attaching to him was little or nothing of the prestige which dignified his neighbor of whom we have been speaking. He was evidently a man of but little consideration at the time of the selection of this location for the Federal District. However, he held on to his possessions with such obstinacy as to yield only when he became convinced that the power of the Government of the United States would be used to dispossess him, unless he should voluntarily agree to part with them on reason- able terms. His lands were very considerable in extent, embracing the site of the President's House and, in fact, a very large portion of the future Capital which lies nearest to Georgetown .. The several department buildings now stand on what was once David Burns's estate or patrimony. They also included the grounds south of the President's House, bordering on the Potomac and the Mall, as it afterward came to be called. The southern border of the Burns plantation was south of Tiber Creek and included that stream, and it extended northward
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beyond Pennsylvania Avenue. This became, within a short time, the most important part of the city of Washington. Besides being a planter and owning numerous slaves, David Burns was a justice of the peace. He lived in a small cottage, which stood a little back from the river, on the square now lying between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets. When President Washington came to select David Burns's patrimony for a portion of the seat of National Government, Mrs. Burns had but recently died, and Mr. Burns was bringing up his two children, a son and a daughter just approaching manhood and womanhood. The young man was intended for the law, but his health failing, he died soon after his mother, leaving young Marcia Burns the wealthiest as well as one of the most beautiful women in the land. The precise period of the death of David Burns is not now known, but it must have been in the early spring of 1802. Of the many suitors for his daughter's hand was John P. Van Ness, then a member of Congress from New York, a member of that aristocratic family occupying the magnificent country seat of Lindenwald, subse- quently owned by President Martin Van Buren, to whom she was married on the 9th of May, 1802, shortly after her father's death, which it is believed hastened her decision.
One of the first acts of General John P. Van Ness, as he after- ward came to be known, after his marriage with the beautiful heiress of David Burns, was to erect a most elegant mansion on or near the site of the ancient cottage, paying therefor out of the sales of lands to individuals and to the Nation. In its day, it was the most beautiful man- sion in the United States, and was at the same time the most expensive and the most hospitable. It was the first in which both hot and cold water were carried to all the chambers. Its cost was $75,000. La- trobe, the architect of the Capitol, drew the plans and superintended its erection. Beneath its spacious basements are the largest and cool- est wine vaults in the country, and it was in these dark recesses that it was rumored that it was the original intention of the conspirators who assassinated President Lincoln to conceal him, had they succeeded in their original plan of capturing him alive. Thus, for more reasons than one, the memory of this elegant and hospitable mansion is indis- solubly connected with the progress, preferment, and history of the city of Washington.
It is matter of regret that we know so little of Notley Young, whose lands embraced that portion of the city south and southeast of those of David Burns. They bordered on the Potomac, extending down to the point where the Potomac and Anacostia meet, otherwise
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known as Greenleaf's Point. All that appears to be known of Mr. Young is, that, at the time of the selection of his estate as a portion of the Federal City, he lived in a handsome residence, surrounded by the most elegant grounds in this region. This residence is referred to by Mr. John Cotton Smith, one of the members of the first Congress that assembled in Washington, as one of the most comfortable resi- dences of the locality. Mr. Young, like Daniel Carroll, had some difficulty with the autocratic and irascible Frenchman, Pierre Charles L'Enfant, arising out of the fact that his residence occupied one of the streets of the city, as laid out by that great engineer.
Of the other original proprietors of the lands forming the Federal District, Samuel Davidson, of whom we know but little, resided at Georgetown. The lands belonging to him embraced that portion of the city now lying between Ninth and Seventeenth streets north of Pennsylvania Avenue- at this time the site of many magnificent private residences.
About Benjamin Oden, whose property was bounded by what was known as Goose Creek, a continuation of the Tiber, and embraced the property upon which is now situated the Baltimore & Ohio Rail- road Depot, and several adjacent squares, we know almost nothing.
Conspicuous among the owners of property within the District was Robert Peter, who resided in Georgetown, and who was one of the men who offered to the Continental Congress the town of George- town as the site for the Capital City. The lands belonging to him embraced a large portion of that now beautiful quarter of the city intersected by Massachusetts and Connectient avenues, where are found many of the finest modern residences.
It is unfortunate that we have so little information of a reliable nature, and that is of interest to the general reader, concerning the men who were the original proprietors of the lands from which the District of Columbia was selected. There were also a number of other proprietors of whom we have comparatively no knowledge. Their holdings were, however, comparatively small, and it is not deemed essential to attempt any further account of them.
The first duty imposed upon those who selected the site for a Federal District was the preparation of it for the residence of the Government. The legislation of Congress with reference to this mat- ter required that such public buildings should be erected as were necessary for the accommodation of Congress and the President, his cabinet, and the other officers of the Government, and it was deter- mined that the Government of the United States should occupy these
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new buildings as early as June, 1800. At this time, John Adams was President, John Marshall Secretary of State, Samuel Dexter Seere- tary of War, Benjamin Stoddard Secretary of the Navy.
It is thought worthy of record as a part of this history that some notice should be taken of those men who accompanied the Govern- ment in its removal to the Federal City, many of whom afterward became permanent citizens of the Capital, and whose descendents are still inhabitants of that city.
Of these we proceed to give such an account as is now possible from the biographical data they have left.
Samuel Meredith was appointed by President Washington Treas- urer of the United States at the organization of the Federal Govern- ment, and held the office until 1801, when he resigned. IIe was one of the first to espouse the cause of the Revolution, distinguished himself at the battles of Trenton and Princeton, served in the Colonial Legislature of Pennsylvania, and was a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1787 and 1789.
Thomas Tudor Tucker was Treasurer of the United States from 1801 to the time of his death, in 1828. He had formerly been a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1787 and 1788, and was a Representative from South Carolina in Congress in 1789 and 1793.
Joseph Nourse was the first Register of the Treasury of the United States, and held that office from 1789 to 1829. IIe was born in London, England, and emigrating to Virginia, entered the Revolu- tionary army in 1776. He was clerk and auditor of the Board of War from 1777 to 1781, when he was appointed Assistant Auditor- General.
Richard Harrison was First Auditor of the Treasury from 1791 to 1836, a period of forty-five years, and died in Washington in 1841.
Peter Hagner was the son of Valentine Hagner, who served with credit in the War of the Revolution. He was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1792 received from President Washington the appointment of accountant of war. He accompanied the Government to the city of Washington, and in 1817 was appointed by President Monroe Third Auditor of the Treasury Department, which position he continued to hold until the date of his death in 1850, under every President from Monroe to Taylor. He erected for himself a handsome residence in the city of Washington, and it is worthy of note that at this day this residence is occupied by one of his sons, who is a leading physician of the city, and that adjoining it are the residences of two other sons, one a retired general officer of the army,
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