USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Historic homes in Washington : its noted men and women and a century in the White House > Part 14
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Chicago had neither habitation nor name; to-day it numbers one and a half million souls. The first world's exposition was in London, not 50 years ago. The great- est exposition of the world was celebrated in Chicago in 1893. In its suburbs arose the "White City," an apoca- lypse in architecture, a poem in fairy palaces. The nations walked in the light of it and the kings of the earth brought their glory unto it.
Our cities, our homes, charities, churches, universities, public schools and libraries speak with a tongue not misunderstood. By energy, thrift, true manhood and a pure patriotism we have commanded the respect of the world, but we have reached a strategic point in Nation making, and it will require statesmanship of a high order to hold the things attained, and true leadership to repre- sent the responsibilities of the hour, in our foreign policies and civic aspirations. And such it is believed we have in President Mckinley and the Cabinet he has chosen. With such men as the following he has wise advisers: Senator John Sherman for Secretary of State and Judge Day his Assistant; Lyman J. Gage, of Chicago, as Secre- tary of the Treasury; Russell A. Alger, of Michigan, as Secretary of War; John D. Long, of Massachusetts, at the head of the Navy; Cornelius N. Bliss, Secretary of the Interior; Joseph McKenna, of California, Attorney- General; James A. Gary, of Maryland, Postmaster- General, and James Wilson, of Iowa, as Secretary of Agriculture.
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They will find that the seed planting is done; that the blade has appeared, also the ear, and the full corn in the ear, and the question for statesmen to solve is how the harvesting shall be done. How shall it be made free to all? How shall every man have his share in the work, and no one be left without the power of bringing happiness to himself by doing something, making or creating some- thing that will help to fill the National garners of the incoming century?
This Administration took the reins when a blight had swept over the country; when industries were stagnant, manufactories silent, farmers disheartened, citizens un- employed, and our finances gone wool-gathering.
Through the guidance of the Ship of State by President Mckinley the broken cords of a dismembered people-a disorganized industrial condition-was taken up and attached once more to the wheels of Commerce and Prog- ress. The smoke from the valleys tells us that the fur- naces are in blast; the whirr of the spindles are again heard; the farmer is sowing and reaping, and renumer- ated for his labor; the capitalist is seeking the laborer and the artisan, and the wage-earner is recompensed for his service.
The policy planned by Hamilton, advocated by Wash- ington, secured by Mckinley, will again bring the hand- maidens of Peace and Prosperity to reign in the land. The first century in the White House is ended. How short the cylce appears compared with the histories of the old world, and yet, when measured by the things done in God's universe, how long the span.
When the glad morning of a new century is ushered in, this Republic, founded on the rock of freedom, blessed with every gift of nature, laden with the richest possi- bilities, will stand in the sunshine of its glory ready to lead the Republics of the world in their march toward liberty. Through all this hundred years the sun has sent its morning kiss on the crest of the waves of the old Atlantic to the shores of this Christian Republic, and for half a century when it has sunk behind the sunset sea its rays have tipped its good-night through our Golden Gate
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of the great Pacific. At the end of this roo years, with the Antilles in the East, and the Golden Gate, the Hawaiis, and our Philippines in the west, we have reached the hour when the sun never sets in our domain, and it is always morning in our Republic. A grateful Republic will not forget in the closing days of the igth century what it owes to Wm. McKinley, President of these United States.
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CHAPTER XVII. HOMES ON LAFAYETTE SQUARE.
THE WHITE HOUSE THE FIRST BUILT ON THE SQUARE -- ST. JOHN'S CHURCH-DECUTAR'S SERVICE TO HIS COUNTRY -- JEROME BONAPARTE-AN TTISTORICAL PARTY -- THE FATAL DUEL-AN HISTORIC ESTIMATE-HENRY CLAY IN THE DECATUR MANSION. EDWARD LIVINGSTON-OTHER MEN OF NOTE-THE SICKLES HOME-SUCCESSIVELY THE HOME OF THREE SECRETARIES OF THE NAVY-RESIDENCE OF DOLLY MADISON-FAMOUS MEN PASSED ITS PORTALS-GEN. MCCLELLAN'S HEADQUAR- TERS-HOME OF OGLE TATLOE-SEWARD MANSION AND ITS TRAGIC. REMINISCENCES. -
The White House was the first house built on Lafayette Square. It was completed in 1800. No other house was erected on the Square until after the War of 1812.
As late as 1812 the whole space from 15th to 17th streets was a neglected common, entirely destitute of trees, and was the parade-ground for the militia muster.
There was but one house between this common and the "Seven Buildings." The only houses north of the con- mon were one that occupied the site of the present Riggs residence, and an old rickety house on the northeast angle of the Square on Vermont avenue, which was suc- cessively owned by Mr. Corcoran and Mr. Riggs.
In the primitive days, when this Square was but a" waste place, at its west angle there was an oval race- course; and the Avenue at 17th and 20th streets was the home-stretch, with the judge's stand near the residence of Mr. William T. Carroll, on F street.
The original plan of the city, it is said, embraced the whole area from 15th to 17th street in the Presidential grounds, but under the direction of Mr. Jefferson they were reduced to their present dimensions, forming the streets 15th and 17th, and cutting off Lafayette Square.
At the conclusion of the War of 1812, St. John's Church was built. The first private house was built by Commo- dore Decatur in 1819. He purchased the lot on the corner of H and 16th streets, and Latrobe was the architect of the house. It was expected that the other Commodores,
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Rodgers and Ridgely, would build houses similar on opposite angles of the Square.
Commodore Decatur's first home was one of the "Seven Buildings." He was a man of high renown and did his country noble service. He was an eminently patriotic man, as is manifested in his celebrated toast: "My country, may she always be right; but, right or wrong, my , country."
Mrs. Decatur was a woman of rare accomplishments. She was the daughter of Mr. Wheeler, an eminent mer- chant of Norfolk. He gave her every advantage that money could bring. She left school with high honors, and for years was the reigning belle of Norfolk.
It is said that her hand was sought by Jerome Bona- parte; but by the advice of her friend, Robert G. Harper, she rejected him. Mr. Harper predicted, what afterward turned out to be the case with his marriage with Miss Patterson, that Napoleon would repudiate the marriage.
The history of Decatur's life was written in the decora- tions on the walls of this house. There were paintings of celebrated battles and trophies of war, gold medals and gold swords, the gifts of Congress, articles of virtu, ser- vices of plate, gifts from the Cities of Baltimore and Phila- delphia, bits of oriental furniture purchased or captured in conflicts in Barbary, or on the high seas. In these spacious rooms the grand assemblies gathered down to the Saturday night before the fatal duel was fought.
This party was given in honor of Mrs. Gouverneur, the daughter of President Monroe, then a bride. Commodore Decatur, cognizant of the affair of honor which awaited him, was the same affable host, his wife, even, being un- conscious of the cloud that hung over them.
The next week Commodore Porter was to give a similar party. During the evening Decatur said to his confidant, Commodore Porter, "I may spoil your party."
The following Wednesday, at the dawn of day, De- catur arose, walked silently out of the house, crossed Lafayette Square, and proceeded to Beale's Tavern, near the Capitol, where he and his seconds breakfasted. The duel was fought at Bladensburg, at 9 o'clock. Decatua
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was mortally wounded, and was brought to his home, where he died in the basement room of the house on the evening of the day of the duel.
Excitement ran high, and Commodore Barron, although maimed for life, was the recipient of anathemas from hearts tortured with agony for the noble Decatur dead. But since then many a naval officer has changed his mind in regard to this unfortunate affair.
There is a period which elapses after the death of any hero when he passes out of patriotic into historic estimate; and there are many to-day who believe that Decatur's renewed and unrelenting pursuit of Barron was the cause of the duel.
It is related by those living near, that Mrs. Decatur lived on in this house three years, secluded and alone, and then removed to Kalorama, where her husband was buried. Here she entertained with great display. Her last days were spent in Georgetown, and she died in the Convent in 1855. -
After Mrs. Decatur left her home she rented it to the Russian Minister, Baron Tuyl. His name and fame seem to have been founded upon his being an epicure, his liberal hospitality and the excellence of his dinners.
When he left Washington, John Quincy Adams was President, and his Secretary of State, Henry Clay, occu- pied the Decatur house. Here he sustained his social position and added dignity to the hallowed memories of this home.
Martin Van Buren succeeded Mr. Clay as Secretary of State, during President Jackson's Administration, and occupied this house. With his love of show, he was not outdone by Henry Clay in the style of his entertainments.
When the Jackson Cabinet was broken up, the accom- plished statesman, Edward Livingston, succeeded MIr. Van Buren in the Cabinet and in his home. This ap- pointment undoubtedly grew out of the warm attach- ment that sprung up between Gen. Jackson and Mr. Livingston at New Orleans.
Edward Livingston was the brother of the Chancellor of New York. He left his native State to make a home in
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the new domain of Louisiana. His marriage with the charming Madame Moreau, the midnight wedding in the chapel of the Ursuline Convent of New Orleans, the vicissitudes she and her family experienced, her exile from San Domingo, and her love for her adopted country, are well known incidents in history.
When Mr. Livingston first came to Washington as a member of Congress, Monroe was President. He was afterward sent as Senator, and then was tendered the portfolio of Secretary of State, which he relinquished when made Minister to the Court of France.
His beautiful wife and his daughter, Cora Livingston, made the Decatur house the social center of Washington society during the Jackson Administration. Mrs. Liv- ingston was a woman of rare endowments, and her mantle gracefully fell upon their worthy child. Cora married Thomas Barton, who was afterward Secretary of Lega- tion with her father. Both of these women spent their widowhood at the grand old mansion on the Hudson, Montgomery Place. Mrs. Livingston laid down her life in October, 1860, full of years and full of honor.
Years have waxed and waned since the beautiful Cora Livingston was the reigning belle of Jackson's Admin- istration. Her last visit to the city of her childhood's home, in 1871, brought back "Our Lady of the Manor," in clinging black robes, a quaint hood of black silk with its soft white rouche touching brow and cheek that were no longer young. And yet she was the center of at- traction and reverence wherever she appeared. She too - rests at the manor on the Hudson, and other lives have individualized the home on Lafayette Square.
Sir Charles Vaughan, the British Minister, lived here. He was a bachelor, but he made his house a center for refined and elegant society, and with his gracious manner and open hospitality entertained in true British fashion.
On his leaving the Decatur house, "mine host" of the National Hotel, Mr. John Gadsby, occupied it until his death.
The Baron Hyde de Neuville represented the French aristocrasy of the old regime, and the Decatur house was
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his home. They entertained royally; on receiving her guests the Baroness used to say:
"I am charming to see you."
For a time this house was rented by the Government and used for offices, and was afterward purchased by Gen. Edward Fitzgerald Beale. On this transfer the Decatur mansion fell into worthy hands. Gen. Beale was the grandson of Commodore Thomas Truxtun. Commodore Decatur was a Midshipman under Truxtun, and thus it came that the grandson of his old commander kept the charming halls and grand salons brilliant with the re- vived splendor of past days.
The next house built on the Square was the one known as the Stockton-Sickles house. It stands a few rods to the south of the Decatur house, and was built by Dr. Ewell, of the Navy. It successively passed into the hands of three Secretaries of the Navy, Smith Thompson, South- ard, and Woodbury, Mr. Woodbury living there while Secretary of the Treasury and the Navy.
William C. Rives, Senator from Virginia, was the next occupant, and then Dr. Harris, of the Navy. It was after- ward purchased by Mr. Stockton, Purser in the Navy. His wife was a niece of Mr. Decatur, and lived with him at the time of his death. Upon the death of Mr. Stockton, Daniel E. Sickles, then member of Congress from New York, rented the house, and into it took his young and inexperienced wife.
When Mr. and Mrs. Sickles lived there, Lafayette Square was in its infancy. The tall trees that are now towering to the tops of the houses, giving grateful shelter and shade, were then merely shrubs. The waving of a handkerchief could be seen distinctly at the club-house opposite. This was the signal used by the once innocent, then tempted and ruined, wife and Key. The betrayal and death by Sickles's hand came in quick succession. A shattered home only was left.
We gladly turn the pages of history and come upon sunnier days, when Schuyler Colfax, with his mother and sister, the incomparable host and hostess, reigned over the household gathered within these walls.
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On the corner of Lafayette Place and H street stands the house in which Mrs. Madison, for several years after her husband's death, held court. It was built by Richard Cutts, Mrs. Madison's brother-in-law. This was the sister Cutts upon whom this rhyme was written, after the ride with Mrs. Madison, when the White House was burned, in 1814: -
"My sister Cutts, and Cutts and I, And Cutts's children three, Will fill the coach, so you must ride On horseback after we."
This house came later into the possession of Mrs. Madi- son, who was compelled, for economy's sake, to rent it in turn to Attorney-General Crittenden, Hon. William C. Preston, and Mr. Roosevelt, of New York. Here the ac- complished Mrs. Roosevelt did honor to the home of Mrs. Madison by entertaining in true Knickerbocker style.
The last years of Mrs. Madison's life was spent in this house. Her New Year's and Fourth of July receptions were honored by the same throng of visitors, dignitaries and strangers who had previously made their official visit to the President. After her death her house was purchased by Commodore Wilkes, who captured Mason and Slidell.
During the war it was the Headquarters of Gen. Mc- Clellan. A sight of frequent occurrence in those days was the General with his Chief of Staff, Gen. Marcy, his Aids, Count de Chartres and Comte de Paris, with Prince de Joinville at their side, in full military costume, mounted, ready to gallop off over the Potomac hills.
For many years it was rented to the French Claims Commission, and, at last, was purchased by the Cosmos Club. Under their supervision it underwent extensive repairs, and is now the cheerful headquarters of the literati of Washington.
A few rods to the south of this is the house once owned and occupied by Benjamin Ogle Tayloe. It was com- pleted in 1828, but owning to a want of affiliation with the
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incoming Administration of Gen. Jackson, the house was leased by Thomas Swan, an eminent lawyer of Washing- ton, and father of Gov. Swan, of Maryland.
Mr. Swan owned the house that has long been known as the home of W. W. Corcoran, and was leased to the Russian Minister, Baron Krudener.
When Mr. Tayloe came into possession of his house, for 40 years he dispensed a liberal and elegant hospitality. He entertained under this roof the most eminent of his countrymen and the most distinguished foreigners that have visited this land.
The last visit made by Gen. William Henry Harrison to any private house was to that of Mr. Tayloe, to whom he announced his intention of making his brother, Ed- ward Tayloe, United States Treasurer.
His long residence abroad as Secretary to Minister Rush, at the Court of St. James, did not alienate him from his love for his native land. His friends and his corre- spondence prove this. From a characteristic letter to his friend, R. R. Wormeley, of Newport, R. I., in 1850, we quote the following (President Zachary Taylor had just died):
"I deeply regret the demise of the late President and highly rejoice in that of his Cabinet.
"There's a sweet little cherub that sits up aloft, To keep watch for the life of poor Jack.
A union of lakes, a union of lands,
A union of States none can sever;
A union of hearts, a union of hands,
The American Union forever,'
will be my toast whenever called upon for the issues of my heart."
In the latter part of February, 1859, when the tragical event took place of the shooting of Philip Barton Key by Gen. Sickles, the former was carried into the home of Mr. Tayloe, who was a relative of Key, where he died a few moments after.
Mr. Tayloc was married in Troy, N. Y., in 1824, to Miss Julia Maria Dickinson. She was by birth and educa-
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tion fitted to adorn such a home. In the Summer of IS55 she passed away. In years after, Mr. Tayloe married Miss Phoebe Warren, of Troy. He died in Rome, and upon the death of his wife, which occurred only four years ago, the Corcoran Art Gallery came into possession of all the works of art that adorned this beautiful home, the gift of Mrs. Tayloe. A fine library, pictures, bric-a- brac and specimens of clyptic art comprise this collection.
Near the middle of the block stands the most historic building in the Square. The ground upon which this house was built was once owned by Henry Clay.
It is told that he came into possession of it by the exer- cise of the profession which Mrs. Clay said did not dis- turb her, because he always won. He exchanged this lot with Commodore Rodgers for a jackass which he had brought from a foreign port. The beast was transferred to his celebrated stock farm in Kentucky, and there is a tradition that the mules for which old Kentucky is so famous owe their origin to this braying grandfather of Lafayette Square.
The house was built by Commodore Rodgers, who was known as the Nestor of the Navy. After his death it was the home of Roger B. Taney while Secretary of the Treas- ury; then of Mr. Paulding, Secretary of the Navy. It subsequently became a club-house, and was afterward sold, repaired, and rented to ex-Gov. William H. Seward, then Secretary of State.
During the eight years that Mr. Seward occupied this house an elegant hospitality was extended that drew around him the foremost men of the land. He held an important place among politicians. His "Higher Law" and his "Irrepressible Conflict" stamped him among the great minds in politics.
When shadows penetrated this home in the attempted assassination of Mr. Seward, sorrow sat upon every threshold of the Nation. For months father and son languished on beds of suffering from the merciless blows of Payne. But the light of this home was not all dark- ened until the lovely daughter, companion, confidante and comforter of the father passed out of its portals to
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return no more forever. Always delicate, her fragile physique could not resist the shock of this crowning tragedy. With her going out only a memory and a wait- ing was left the illustrious broken-hearted father.
In the years that have come and gone, new graves have opened; father and daughter are joined in the better country, where nations cannot tremble and where affec- tions cannot be severed.
A little later and the grand saloon of the Seward house, with its tragedies and its shadows, presented new scenes and festive seasons. The halls re-echoed mirthfulness and the walls sent back sweet sounds. General and Mrs. Belknap repeated the festivities of the old regime. She was a social queen of rare endowment, but the summons came-there was a new-made grave over which the Win- ter winds moaned, and other hearts were made desolate. The shadows of grief again fell over the old mansion. In the year that followed the old associations revived for a day, but with a flickering light; and when the curtain fell again upon the festive scenes of the old home, it was to cover the weaknesses of human nature.
It has since been used as Governmental Head- quarters for the Commissary Department. And lastly, the ample halls and grand saloon were decorated and adorned with fresh frescoes and historic devices for the leading genius of the Republican party, James G. Blaine.
In 1862 Mr. Blaine took his seat in Congress. More than a quarter of a century has passed, and who is there among our public men to-day that could better tell our country's story?
In 1862 Abraham Lincoln, William H. Seward, Stephen A. Douglas, Charles Sumner, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, John A. Logan, Roscoe Conkling, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, John B. Floyd were among the living. All have since passed before the judge of all, and have answered for their mortal deeds.
Mr. Blaine saw the country pass from slavery to liberty; from a country bound in chains to a Nation robed in glory. In the changing kaleidoscope he saw the National Capital
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transformed from a miserable mockery of a city into a magnificent metropolis.
Not only was Mr. Blaine a witness to all these changes, but his finger was on the heart of the Nation, and he noted its every pulsation. He saw the political, social and intellectual revolution and watched its results, and noted that joy came to the multitude and sorrow by means of it to none. He saw candidates of party preferment come and go, like Clay, Webster, Seward, Calhoun and Douglas, and if he himself sometimes felt the sharp sting of dis- appointment, he was in illustrious company. His per- sonal magnetism, his dignified yet courteous bearing, his profound statesmanship brought to him the admiration of his friends and the respect of his political enemies.
This great man, whose fame needs no expansion from my pen, will ever remain at the top of the list of American statesmen. His services to his country are recorded in the annals of our time, and will prove an incentive to glorious endeavor to thousands of youth now living, as well as to thousands yet unborn.
The wondrous personal magnetism of this distinguished man is a theme upon which many pens have been exerted, only to prove their insufficiency. My own would figure in this list were I to attempt to describe the indescribable.
I have felt the charm of his manner in personal inter- view, and can only say that nothing more dignified, and yet more winning, have I met. His commanding person, his intellectual features, his agreeable voice, his amazing facility for saying the right thing at the right time, were points which leave all comparison with any statesman now living far behind.
His footstep was on the threshold of the Seward home; a fit occupant within those walls, sacred with National memories. No location in Washington was more at- tractive; opposite the waving green of Lafayette Square, the home of the Presidents on the left. In the atmosphere of homes of near a century's growth, he tock up the pen of history with hopes and honor, and added another page to his country's glory.
Not a century ago a corner of Lafayette Square was
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marked by the headstones of dead Powtomacs. Ancient apple trees spread their scraggy branches over truant boys, who munched the toothsome fruit to their hearts' content; now forest trees and velvet lawns beckon you to rest.
In the grateful shade, through the vista of green which casts lights and shadows on flowers and happy childhood, you see the manly form of the "Hero of New Orleans" mounted on his mettled charger. While sitting there, with the blue sky and the arcade of tender green over you, in the peacefulness of the moment, forget the burden of tragedy and tears that these homes surrounding this Square represent, the light threads and the dark that have been woven into the warp and woof of the country's history.
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