USA > Virginia > Manors of Virginia in colonial times > Part 13
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BERRY HILL Country-seat of the Bruce family
BERRY HILL
Heart all the cold Season without the help of any Fodder. Nor have the low Grounds only this advantage, but likewise the Higher Land, and particularly that which we call the Highland Pond, which is two miles broad and of a length unknown.
" I question not but there are 30,000 Acres, at least, lying Altogether as fertile as the lands were said to be about Babylon, which yielded, if He- rodotus tells us right, an increase of not less than two or three hundred for one. But this hath the Advantage of being a higher, and consequently a much healthier Situation than that. So that a Colony of one thousand families might, with the help of moderate Industry, pass their time very happily there.
" Besides grazing and Tillage, which would abundantly compensate their Labour, they might plant Vineyards upon the Hills, in which Situ- ation the richest Wines are always produc'd.
" They might also propagate white Mulberry Trees, which thrive exceedingly in this climate, in order to the feeding of silk-worms, and making of Raw Silk.
" They might, too, produce Hemp, Flax, and Cotton, in what quantity they pleas'd, not only for their own use, but likewise for Sale. Then
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they might raise very plentiful Orchards, of both Peaches and Apples, which contribute as much as any fruit to the Luxury of Life. There is no Soil or Climate will yield better Rice than this, which is a Grain of prodigious Increase, and of very wholesome Nourishment. In short, every- thing will grow plentifully here to supply either the Wants or Wantonness of Man."
This seemingly incomparable tract was granted the North Carolina Commissioners for their services, and from them Colonel Byrd pur- chased it, calling it " the Land of Eden." Colo- nel Byrd sold part of the land to Richard Bland, who in turn conveyed it to Governor Benjamin Harrison, of Berkeley.
An old deed is still preserved at Berry Hill, giving the documentary history of the estate from the time of Colonel Byrd. This deed was given by Governor Harrison to the Honorable Isaac Coles, and states that the lands therein sold were formerly " the property of the Honorable William Byrd of Westover, and by him sold and conveyed to Richard Bland, Esq., bearing date the sixteenth day of April, seventeen hundred and fifty-one."
The Honorable Isaac Coles, the grantee of the aforesaid deed, sold the plantation to his nephew,
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Isaac H. Coles, who left it to his nephew, Gen- eral Edward Carrington, a son of Mildred Coles and Judge Paul Carrington, of Revolutionary fame. The tombs of these last are still to be seen at Berry Hill. About 1785 the estate was bought from General Carrington by James C. Bruce, son of James Bruce, whose wife, Sarah Coles, was the sister of General Carrington's mother, and it is under the Bruce régime that its fame has been established.
The ancestry of the Bruces can be traced back to Scotland, from which place came James Bruce, the friend, and some say relative or connection, of Governor Spotswood. This James Bruce, while perhaps not the first of the name in Amer- ica, was descended from Edward, Baron Bruce, the favorite of King James I. and ancestor of the families now possessing the titles of Elgin and Aylesbury. By marriage with one of the Earls of Devonshire, the daughter of Edward Bruce brought the family into still greater prominence.
This Earl of Devonshire was actively inter- ested in the affairs of the London Company, so it seems probable that Walter, William, and George Bruce, who came to Virginia about the middle of the seventeenth century, were induced
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to emigrate at the advice of their kinsman. As the name of Lady Devonshire was " Christian," one rather unusual for a woman, but which appears frequently among the Kinloss Bruces, and as the same name was borne by a grand- daughter of George Bruce, of the Northern Neck of Virginia, another link in the chain of evidence proving the families of the same blood seems to be established.
George Bruce was born in 1640, and the first record of him in Virginia is in 1668, when he pur- chased from William Pierce 180 acres of land in the Northern Neck. Several old papers show the names of his children, and among them that of Hensfield points to the belief that his wife was a daughter of Captain Robert Hensfield, of Salem, Massachusetts. His will states, "My plantation whereon I now live, with all the land, houses, orchards, fences, and other appurtenances whatsoever, thereunto belonging," are bequeathed to his youngest son, John. As the rest of his children had been provided for during his life- time, their inheritance consisted of one shilling each. John was also bequeathed all his “ per- sonal estate, household goods, cattle, horses, mares, hoggs, debts, creditts, goods and chattells of what nature or kind soever."
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BRUCE
CHARLES BRUCE
JAMES BRUCE
BERRY HILL
Charles, the brother of John Bruce, is heard of in 1731 as being in Richmond County, and in 1747 is spoken of as in "Brunswick Parish, King George County." According to family history, he married a Miss Pannill, leaving on his death in 1754 three daughters and two sons, Charles and William. Charles, who was born about 1740, resided at Soldier's Rest, in Orange County, an estate originally a part of that owned by Governor Spotswood and bought from his executors.
According to tradition, Charles Bruce was the manager of one of Spotswood's numerous plan- tations, at a salary of one hundred pounds sterling a year, and from this small beginning he accumulated a good estate. The handsome por- trait now in the possession of Mrs. Richards, of Knoxville, Tennessee, is probably of Charles of Soldier's Rest, or his father, Charles of King George, rather than of James Bruce, spoken of as the Immigrant. This portrait, which for nearly a century hung on the walls of Green Bank, the home of Mrs. Frances Bruce Banks in Stafford, was taken to Mississippi in 1837, when Mrs. Banks moved there. From her it was in- herited by a daughter, from whom it went to Mrs. William H. Richards. Being a portrait of
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extraordinary merit, it was undoubtedly painted abroad, and represents an extremely handsome man with clear-cut patrician features.
Charles Bruce of Soldier's Rest married twice, Diana Banks being his first wife, and Frances Stubblefield, daughter of Colonel George Stub- blefield of the Revolutionary Army, his second. The family Bible at Berry Hill records the birth of the sons of Charles and Diana Banks Bruce, James in 1763, Henry in 1764, and Charles in 1768.
James, the heir-at-law of Soldier's Rest, find- ing that Halifax County afforded more money- making advantages, moved there, where he spent the rest of his life. In August, 1799, soon after his arrival in Halifax, he married Miss Sally Coles, who was not only celebrated as a wit, but was the greatest heiress of that section of Vir- ginia, being the daughter of Walter Coles, Esq. This ceremony was performed hastily to gratify the wish of the bride's dying brother, her only relative. Among those who witnessed it was Mrs. Elvira Cabell Henry, widow of Patrick Henry, Jr., and as the time was too limited to secure another ring, her wedding-ring was used. Curiously enough, in 1819, Mrs. Henry became
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the second wife of Mr. Bruce, his first having died thirteen years previously.
On his death, in 1832, his estate was valued at more than $4,000,000, one of the greatest for- tunes in the country, which was left to his four children, one of the heirs being James Coles Bruce, who brought Berry Hill into the family.
Born January 26, 1806, James Coles Bruce was educated at the University of Virginia and at Harvard. At an early age he was brought into public life, where, though he never coveted political laurels, he was always prominent. Though the present Berry Hill mansion was built in Colonial days, it was remodelled by Mr. Bruce about 1840, after his marriage to Eliza Wilkins, daughter of William Wilkins, of North Carolina.
This dwelling, of purely Grecian lines, is one of the most superb examples of Colonial archi- tecture, not only of the South, but of America at large. The walls, three feet thick, extending from basement to roof, are of white cemented brick, and the eight massive Ionic columns up- holding the front portico rise from a series of stone steps seventy feet wide. The beautiful entrance-hall is twenty-five feet wide and forty
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deep, and claims the most striking feature of the interior, the impressive and graceful stairway which ascends from the heavy doors at either side. The solid mahogany staircase, with hand-turned balustrades, meets near the ceiling, continuing as one to the upper floor. In the drawing-room and library exquisite mantels of hand-carved Italian marble are particularly noticeable, and generations of family portraits gaze from the ample walls. In the former room hangs the likeness of the founder of the great estate, whose gentle, kindly face, with deep-set, intellectual eyes, is pictured long in the memory. The firm mouth and chin bear out what all the world says of this high-stocked gentleman of the old school.
Among other valuable treasures at Berry Hill is the great collection of silver, of finest and heaviest design. One writer states that even the bowls and pitchers of the sleeping-rooms boasted the precious metal. The same interesting writer tells us: "Here Mr. Bruce lived, like the lord of an English manor, in the midst of hundreds of slaves and adherents of all kinds-a sort of feudal chief on his great landed estate and in his county-where he was equally feared and admired."
From the rear of the mansion a colonnade of
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THE CELEBRATED STAIRWAY AT BERRY HILL
BERRY HILL
two hundred feet extends, the floor, in common with that of the basement, like the steps, being of stone quarried on the place. Equidistant from the front of the mansion, presenting a dignified and classic effect, are the billiard-room and office, which, placed on either side, are miniature repetitions of the manor-house, to which they are linked by great boxwood hedges.
The grounds of this estate of 3600 acres are approached through a long line of stately ailan- thus trees, the boughs of which droop pro- tectingly over an artificial lake. The gently undulating lawn is enclosed in a picturesque stone wall, over which Virginia creeper riots in rich profusion and woodbine clambers with envious hold. But the pièce de résistance of the grounds and gardens is the wonderful lilac hedge of unknown age which interlines the boundary wall, casting a wealth of fragrant glory from white and purple blossoms when the May sun shines its brightest. Pebbly walks and wider driveways lead everywhere, under oaks of every description, maples and lindens, elms and syca- mores. Hardy hickory and giant pecan trees, waxen-leaved hollies and gnarled catalpas, lend their shade, in contrast to the delicate mimosa, which shrinks at the merest touch. Off by itself
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in one corner, a proud old oak of century growth is swathed and draped with English ivy, which clings to the farthest spreading branches and affectionately clasps the monster trunk.
The twenty acres of the vast lawn roll on all sides of the mansion, finally losing themselves in the forests and fields beyond. Violets and anemones, whispering pines and myriad birds, convince the most obdurate pessimist that this is truly the valley of Eden, the true land of man's delight.
Mr. Bruce was not only successful from a pecuniary point of view; wherever he was known his name stood for all that was best and noblest. A distinguished contemporary speaks of him as " the justest and most honorable man " he ever knew. At the beginning of the war his estate was valued at millions of dollars, one item alone being more than 3000 slaves. Just before the close of the war the master of all these fair lands
died with few regrets, saying that he " felt a grim satisfaction in leaving the world at that time, as he knew that nothing but ruin was in store for his class." Berry Hill was inherited by his third son, Alexander, who married Mary Evelyn Anderson, a famous beauty, the daughter of Judge Francis T. Anderson of Lexington, and
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she it is who is now chatelaine of the hospitable manor-house.
Standing in the shade of the classic portico which has been trodden by the great men of a century dead, the world is at one's feet; the mountains range like heavy billows, while the deep and shadowy valleys spread between. The fields and woods are in an eternal rivalry of charm, and over all the unbroken arch of the heavens melts into illimitable space through gradations of gray or blue.
In the Berry Hill mansion and acres, so well cherished and preserved to-day, are still seen traces of the early owner's thought, who by his life disproved the old proverb that the most diffi- cult of all tasks is to live life well in a palace.
OATLANDS
N picturesque Loud- oun County, that sec- tion of Virginia dear to the hearts of hunts- men, on the old turn- pike, about six miles west of Leesburg, lies the 5000 acre estate of Oatlands, another of the famous Carter home- steads. These lands were part of a 63,093 acre tract bought by Councillor Robert Carter from Lord Fairfax in 1776.
The history of the Carter family is too well known to be sketched but briefly here, Councillor Carter having been the son of Robert Carter and Priscilla Churchill, and the most renowned grandson of the " King." He married Frances Tasker, the notice of the wedding which ap- peared in the old Maryland Gazette of Thursday, April 4, 1745, reading: " On Tuesday last Mr. Robert Carter of Westmoreland in Virginia was married by the Rev. Mr. Malcolm to Miss Frances Tasker, youngest daughter of the Hon.
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OATLANDS
Benjamin Tasker, Esq., a fine young lady with a genteel fortune."
The vast estates of Robert Carter, which ex- tended along the Potomac and Rappahannock through many counties, made him one of the largest land-owners of Virginia, and though for part of every year his office caused him to live in Williamsburg, his happiest months were those spent on his superb domain.
Councillor Carter is described as a man of ample qualifications seconded by great wealth. In religion, though a bit fanatical, he was thor- oughly sincere. Many stories are told portray- ing his noble charity, and he it was who proved the unchanging friend of poor Selim, the pic- turesque Algerian whose life is sketched by Bishop Meade.
From old letters and manuscripts still in the possession of the family, his most intimate associates are seen to have been the Washingtons, George Wythe, Peyton Randolph, Governor Fauquier, and John Page.
The portrait painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds when the Councillor was in London in 1749 represents him in a fancy costume of the Van Dyck period, the puckered satin of which is relieved by the priceless lace collar and high cuffs.
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The domino has slipped back from his shoulders, and the mask is held in one of his slender, taper- ing hands, the inheritance of his race. In the large portrait of his wife, Frances Tasker, the rich folds of the satin gown still shimmer from the canvas. Exquisite lace ruffles edge the elbow-sleeves, a bit of the same being introduced in the low-cut neck, and the chief touch of color is in the rich blue scarf thrown carelessly over her right shoulder.
Among the Carter letters, the most interesting of the Councillor's, from a view-point of history, was written in 1776, when Dunmore was trying to rob the planters of their slaves:
" Friday, 12th July, 1776: His Majesty's ship the Roe-buck and about 60 sail arrived in Potomack River; this fleet came to between the mouth of Yeocomico River and Saint Mary's River. Saturday, ye 13th of the same month, I, R. C., went to my Plantation, commonly called Cole's Point, situate upon Potomack River about nine miles above Yeocomico River, and directed Matthew Leonard, overseer, to collect together most of my slaves under him, to whom I made a speech, and I observed therein that the King of Great Britain had declared war against the peo- ple of the Colony of Virginia, New Hampshire,
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COUNCILLOR CARTER Portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds
GEORGE CARTER
OATLANDS
Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Castle, Maryland, North Carolina, South Caro- lina, and Georgia; that Lord Dunmore had the command of the King's Army and Fleet in Vir- ginia; that part of the said Fleet, consisting of about 60 sail, was now to be seen from Ragged Point; that many of the people in Great Britain disapproved of the present dispute between them and the 13 United Colonies in North America, and had refused to enlist as soldiers ;- therefore the King of G. B. had employed foreign soldiers to fight for him against us; that Lord Dunmore had called upon the black people in North America to join him, and he has declared that all white indented servants and slaves who may run away from their masters and enter into the King's service shall be free; that their masters shall have no further claim whatever against them. Question: If the King should be vic- torious in the present war, had Lord Dunmore honesty to perform that part of his Declaration respecting the Slaves, but will he not sell them to white people living in the West Indies who are now friends and subjects of G. B .?
" I further say that since the publication of Lord D.'s Declaration relative to Slaves and
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Servants, that numbers of both sorts have joined him .- Titles, appellations of dignity, given to some white people in Great Britain and else- where, the origin thereof explained. Question put to the black People: Do any of ye dislike your present condition of life, or do wish to enter into Lord D.'s service and trust to the conse- quences? Answer of the black People: 'We do not wish to enter into Lord D.'s service to fight against ye white People of the 13 United Provinces, but we all fully intend to serve you our Master, and we do now promise to use our whole might and force to execute your com- mands.'-The only order I shall now mention, is that if any of Lord Dunmore's party of men should land in Cole's Point tract of land, that ye black men take your wives, children, male and female acquaintances, clothes, bedding, and tools, removing all into private places away from the rivers Potomack and Machotoc, and send a person off to Nomony Hall immediately to ad- vise me at what place ye are gotten too, and I will then give directions tending for your immediate relief."
Of Councillor Carter Bishop Meade says: "Early in life his disposition was marked by a tendency to wit and humor. Afterwards he was
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OATLANDS One of the old Carter homesteads, now owned by William Corcoran Eustis, Esq.
OATLANDS
the grave Councillor, and always the generous philanthropist. At a later day he became scrupulous as to the holding of slaves, and manumitted great numbers. The subject of re- ligion then engrossed his thoughts. . .. All the while he was a most benevolent and amiable man. I might mention many others, of both sexes, with whom I have had personal and intimate acquaint- ance, who have been beautiful specimens of piety, without the versatility and inconsistency of Mr. Carter."
When George Carter, the youngest son of Robert Carter, became of age, in 1798, the Coun- cillor gave him the estate of Oatlands, and in 1800 George Carter erected the present palatial manor-house.
The bricks of which the mansion is built were made on the plantation, and are hidden beneath a wash of cement, laid in blocks. Being his own architect, Mr. Carter has left an unquestioned monument to his genius in that respect, as Oat- lands mansion is both substantial in appearance and more compact than most of the houses of that period. Crowning a terrace, the three-story central building is flanked with two-story wings attached directly to it on either side, and from each of these a pentagonal bow extends, the
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additions having flat-topped roofs in keeping with that of the main part. The impressive front portico is supported on six Corinthian columns, the same Grecian lines being repeated in the pilasters.
Though built shortly after Colonial days, the influence of that delightful period is shown in the spacious rooms with lofty ceilings, while the arched entrance doorways of the centre hall are duplicates of those in the older houses. Rare furniture, old prints, and portraits adorn the interior, and though the hand of wealth has touched it, modernizing it as far as comfort is concerned, all of the old features have been either retained or restored, and to-day Colonial sim- plicity dominates the mansion in every way.
The entrance to the Oatlands grounds, which have much the appearance of an English park, is through a gateway of square brick columns sur- mounted by huge stone balls; through this the driveway passes, ending around the well-mown circle, in the centre of which a proud-crested magnolia rears its head. Trees of many varieties are dotted over the ample lawn, and some yards to the right of the house a grove of oaks and maples shades densely the thick turfing at its feet.
George Carter was a very cultivated man, to
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OATLANDS
whom the finer things of life appealed most forcibly. Being self-sufficient, and living in peace and comfort on his beautiful estate, he did not marry until the age of sixty, his wife being Kate Powell.
On his death, in 1846, the mansion and 3000 acres were inherited by his youngest son, of the same name. But troubles and debts came with the war, and when the manor-house and grounds were sold to Mr. Stilson Hutchins of Washing- ton in 1894, restoration was much needed throughout the place. The beautiful terraced gardens, the pride of the first George Carter's heart, and laid out by him, were a mass of tangled shrubbery and rose-vines. Here and there some quaint old flower still bloomed in shrunken glory, piteously pleading for a look of recognition or a touch of attention for auld lang syne. The crumbling walls and struggling blossoms served but to add to the atmosphere of romance, born of thoughts of the gay laughter which once rang through them and the high-heeled slippers that tripped merrily along.
Since the estate was acquired by Mr. William C. Eustis in 1903, it has responded to the touch of Midas, and now once more the garden terraces are free of all but the most perfect care.
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The upper terrace which surrounds the man- sion is enclosed in a balustrade of Italian design, and upon it grow stately Lombardy poplars, evergreen firs, and maple-trees, with rose-vines growing with reckless freedom everywhere. The brick wall dropping vertically to the second ter- race is fringed with ivy that hangs from above, and here the garden is a strangely beautiful affair. Boxwood hedges the precise little flower- beds, interlined sometimes with tufts of yellow cowslips. Honeysuckle rambles over balustrade and arbor, rendering the air fragrant throughout the summer months. Growing demurely in their box-bordered squares, violets, the daintiest prom- ise of early spring, are rivalled by golden jonquils that, once planted, bloom year after year when the trees first bud and the birds begin to nest. Sweet-peas spread joyously over their borders, while in the midst of the riot of color white lilies lift their pure faces in benediction over the less stately buds and blossoms. Pink- rosetted hollyhocks stand like sentinels guarding all. White althea and purple lilacs grow in clus- ters, among which here and there a snowball tree scatters a wealth of snowy petals in the wonderful month of May. 'And everywhere are roses, climbing, twining, blooming with reckless free-
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REAR VIEW AT OATLANDS Showing the hanging gardens
THE HALL AT OATLANDS
OATLANDS
dom, rendering parts of the garden a charming tangle of glowing bloom.
The wall which drops from the lower terrace to the lawn is of brick also, but upon a stone foundation. Ivy and ampelopsis festoon the wall and rocky bottom, clinging to the white balustrade that guards the terrace above. The entire grounds are now enclosed in a low fence in keeping with the balustrade, broken at regular intervals with red brick columns.
Mr. Eustis, who married Miss Morton, daugh- ter of the Honorable Levi P. Morton, Vice- President of the United States, in 1888, is one of the best-known figures in social, diplomatic, and hunting circles of the country.
The rich acres of Oatlands are now a famous stock-farm, where many imported and home-bred horses are shown with pride by their owner. And seeing the peace and plenty that envelop the estate on every side, one cannot but feel that the brilliant and eccentric Councillor, that early Virginian who had education, money, and time, would rest content could he but know the beauti- ful fate of his Oatlands acres under a mind and master whose talents and qualifications repeat his own.
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