USA > Virginia > Manors of Virginia in colonial times > Part 8
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demanded redress. He confided in the honor of a King, and went unattended to the interview, and was perfidiously slain. But 'the blood of the martyr was the seed of the church; ' and so it was here. That dastard King was constrained to reiterate the principles of Magna Charta and to proclaim the doctrines of the Bill of Rights, and Wat le Tyler takes his position on the his- toric pages alongside of the great benefactors of the Anglo-Saxon race. This man I have been content to recognize as the head of my immediate family, and have therefore looked upon most that the royalist writers have said of him as properly a part of their vocation, which is to defame the plebeian and to do worship to the monarch and aristocrat. Oh, no, my dear sir, I cannot sur- render an origin so glorious to the accomplished king-lover Hume, or to him of Sudbury. The error of Dickens, an error into which others have fallen, consists in the substitution of an a for a le, viz .: Wat a tiler for Wat le Tyler, as the name stood in 1311 in the case of Thomas le Tyler."
The first wife of Henry Tyler, the Immigrant, was Mary -, and the second Ann Orchard, she being the mother of Henry, the second of the name, who was a very prominent factor in the Colony. Besides holding many important
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offices, the second Henry Tyler took an active part in religious affairs; he it was who headed the petition circulated in 1710 for a new church, and undoubtedly his untiring interest and efforts were largely responsible for the erection of famous Bruton Church, which now stands at Williamsburg on the site of an older edifice. He was also the donor or seller of the land upon which the Governor's palace stood, and though the building has long since disappeared, the spot is still pointed out as the Palace Green.
Henry Tyler is supposed to have married Elizabeth Chiles, granddaughter of Governor John Page, who was the mother of all his chil- dren, though he afterwards married Edith Hardaway. His eldest son, John, married Elizabeth Low, and died a few years before he did, leaving five children, among whom John, the third of the name, was the principal heir. The latter, known as the Marshal, married Anne, daughter of Dr. Louis Contesse, a French Huguenot, and died August 26, 1773. His sis- ter was the famed Joanna Tyler, justly consid- ered " the handsomest woman in the Colony of Virginia," which fact is easily appreciated by one glance at the superb portrait now in the posses- sion of one of her descendants.
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John Tyler, the second son of the Marshal and Anne Contesse, was one of the foremost men of an important era, beginning his public career as Judge of the Admiralty Court in 1776. From that time on he was successively a member of the House of Delegates and of the Council, Vice- President of the Virginia Convention, Judge of the General Court, Governor of Virginia, and Judge of the United States Court. To his accurate and remarkable memory is credited the preservation of Patrick Henry's famous words, which Governor Tyler repeated to William Wirt: "' Cæsar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third '-(' Treason,' cried the Speaker; 'Treason, treason,' echoed from every part of the House) - may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it.'"
Having been born on February 28, 1747, Governor Tyler married in 1776, when she was but sixteen, Mary, daughter of Robert Armistead of Elizabeth City County, and was the renowned father of a celebrated son, John Tyler, tenth President of the United States.
President Tyler was born at Greenway, his father's country-seat, March 29, 1790, and married March 29, 1813, Letitia, daughter of
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Robert Christian, of New Kent County. In 1816 he became a member of Congress; in 1825 was made Governor of Virginia; in 1827 was elected to the United States Senate; was made Vice- President in 1840, and became President April 4, 1841.
Though he changed his residence more than once during these years, it was at Sherwood Forest that he finally cast anchor, spending the remainder of his life on this plantation, acquired in 1841. An interesting glimpse into the happy domesticity he enjoyed on the old estate is given in a letter written from there on Christmas Day, 1855:
" If you are half as merry as we are, then you are all as merry as I could wish you to be. It is on the morning of Christmas that one realizes the happiness of having a house well filled with children. All the barrels and boxes sent by the Roanoke reached us at four o'clock on yesterday, and the hobby-horse, coming unboxed, caught the eager eyes of the children. Time was scarcely given the wagon to reach the door before it had been seized upon, and, with the assistance of Andrew, was placed in the dining-room, and mounted in succession by each, Lachlan, of course, having the first ride, as the horse was his.
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Their anxiety to see the contents of the boxes became intense, but was only partially gratified. Julia's doll was roused up from its repose, and was in a short time opening and shutting its eyes amid constant exclamations of surprise. Then came a strong desire on the part of us all to see your contributions to the Fair. The room was crowded with an anxious group, and upon the opening of boxes containing the needle-cases and pin-cushions, all united in expressions of admira- tion. The doll was only so far uncased as to exhibit her face and feet and a portion of the dress, and Mrs. Beckman's taste and skill were pronounced to be unmatchable. Julia will follow your instructions in regard to the display and disposition of the articles, and thinks of dispos- ing of the doll by raffle if auction does not succeed.
" The children last night hurried to bed at an early hour, in order to sleep away the tedious hours which were to elapse before the dawning of day; but I went into Gardie and Alex.'s room at near eleven o'clock, and sleep had not visited their eyes. They were watching for Santa Claus, and complained of his tardiness. Being told that Santa Claus objected to being seen, and did not
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SHERWOOD FOREST The country-seat of President Tyler
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like boys to watch for him, they finally went to sleep; but the day had not fairly dawned when their exclamations filled the whole house.
" Having dispatched the sweet things, they then opened their toy boxes. Gardiner is still (eleven o'clock) carrying on the siege of Sebas- topol; Alex. is busily engaged with ' Whittington and his Cat;' Julia arranges her furniture; Lachlan spurs up his horse; and Lionel (last, though not least) calls for his drummer. A happier concern you rarely ever saw. I only wish that all of you were here to look upon the scene.
" Julia was so very much fatigued yesterday as to devolve on me the task of writing. The Fair comes off to-morrow, and she will give you a full account of it. Governor Floyd and his lady have not reached us, and I suppose will not. We have had bad weather, and the mist is still excessively dense."
The central portion of the simple, rambling manor-house at Sherwood Forest was built by the Minges in the latter part of 1700. The wings and corridors were added by President Tyler about 1844, thus giving the mansion an extrava- gant frontage of three hundred feet. The main
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dwelling is two and a half stories, the remainder one, and one and a half, while the entire house is but the depth of one room. A wide Colonial hall runs from door to door of the double-fronted mansion, and on the right of the land entrance is the library, where the old-fashioned furniture and family portraits breathe into the present a delightful air of the past. Healy's likeness of the President is the most conspicuous object in the room, representing him in an attentive, lis- tening mood. His right elbow rests upon a large book of laws, and his hand lends support to his slightly tilted head. The high white collar and black stock bespeak the age of the accompanying loosely cut coat, but the pin adorning the white shirt-front is a trifle out of the ordinary. Hang- ing near by is a life-sized portrait of the second Mrs. Tyler at the age of eighteen, who was the daughter of the Honorable David Gardiner of New York, one of the victims of the Princeton calamity. The portrait, painted by Giovanni Thompson, depicts a saucy-faced maid with great blue eyes. Her dark hair, which is brought down over her ears, is braided about the crown of her head, being held in place by a bandeau of ex- quisite pearls. Quaint ear-drops and a necklace
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of the same pure jewels are in perfect accord with the diaphanous gauze gown, the sleeves of which are caught below the shoulders with rosettes of white satin.
Mrs. Tyler was spoken of as "a woman of elegance, refinement, education, and strong char- acter," as well as being exceedingly handsome, with an extraordinary retention of her youthful appearance. Fanelli's portrait of her as a bride hangs in the White House, where also may be seen that of sweet-faced Mrs. Letitia Christian Tyler, the President's first wife.
In the old days the library at Sherwood Forest was used as a ball-room, and many and gay were the scenes enacted there. Across the hall is the dining-room, from which a spiral stairway ascends to the upper floor. Though the simple white frame mansion is not so imposing as some of the old homesteads in the James River section, the air of hospitality and homelike comfort lends to Sherwood Forest a charm never attained by cold structural magnificence. And being near Williamsburg, fancy easily pictures the many and noble men and women who in the early age proved the hospitality of its walls, for here were wont to gather Presidents, Governors, Chief-
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Justices, Cabinet Officers, signers of the Declara- tion of Independence, and the like.
The manor-house is placed a mile from James River, down to which the meadows of the 1200 acre estate roll. The far-reaching lawn is shaded with mammoth oak-trees, and the old garden is still glorious with the beauty and fragrance of moss and damask roses. Sweet tendrils of honeysuckle caress one at every turn, and holly- hocks, lilacs, and other old-time blossoms smile from everywhere. Along the richly wooded roadways wild roses, Scott's cherished eglantine, bloom in pink luxuriance, and even before the first trees have budded, the trailing arbutus, that bravely dainty patriot's flower, creeps shyly from under the carpet of rushes that guards it from the snow.
Many and romantic associations cling and cluster about the old estate, now in the possession of the President's son, Judge David Gardiner Tyler. One cannot spend an hour amid these surroundings without feeling that he has reached a higher plane and breathed a purer air, for Sherwood Forest seems far away from the pres- ent, and a realistic bit of the past. The atmos- phere is refreshing and stimulating, and the con- trast between yesterday and to-day is marked.
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In its first days the estate was one of the centres of the social life of Virginia, and but for a few war-swept years has always been. At the home- like manor-house sorrow has struck its blows, but the wounds have now almost healed. Not even a scorch of the wars is visible, but in its place is a grateful, quiet serenity worshipped by those who have lived there and envied by the less favored who can only see.
CARTER'S GROVE
MONG the numerous lands patented by King Carter was a tract on the north shore of James River, near its outlet to the Chesapeake. In 1634
a palisade was built around a portion of these lands, which were used as a cattle and corn reservation, being closely and constantly guarded from the Indians, who at that time were causing great trouble.
This plantation, which was a part of Martin's Hundred parish, established in 1618, was given by King Carter to his daughter Elizabeth as her dower when she married Nathaniel Burwell, of Gloucester County.
The distinguished family of Burwells were well known in Bedford and Northampton, Eng- land, the first of the name, Lewis Burwell, having come to Virginia about 1640. An old deed in York County, dated July 28, 1648, conveys a number of acres from Dorothy, daughter of
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William Bedell of County Huntingdon, Eng- land, and widow of Roger Wingate, Treasurer of Virginia, to Lewis Burwell, her son by her first marriage to Edward Burwell of Harling- ton, Bedford County. This Edward Burwell seems to have been a grantee under the charter of 1607 from James I., and is also thought to have been the one whose name appears in the second charter to the Virginia Company, given May 30, 1609.
Lewis Burwell, the Immigrant, was born March 5, 1625, and married Lucy, daughter of Captain Higginson, one of the most renowned Colonial commanders during the crusade against the redskins. Major Burwell settled at Fairfield, now known as Carter's Creek, Gloucester County, and there still may be seen his tomb, inscribed :
"To the lasting memory of Major Lewis Burwell, of the County of Gloucester in Virginia, gentleman, who descended from the ancient family of the Burwells, of the counties of Bed- ford and Northampton, in England, who, noth- ing more worthy in his birth than virtuous in his life, exchanged this life for a better, on the 19th., day of November, in the 33rd year of his age, A. D. 1658."
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Lewis Burwell, the only son of the Immigrant, married first Abigail Smith, the niece and heiress of Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., for whom their third son, Nathaniel, born about 1682, was named. Through this marriage the Virginia Burwells trace their descent from eleven English Kings, including Alfred the Great, while through the same source they are connected with the Kings of Burgundy and Navarre as well as the Dukes of Gascony.
According to the old tombs at Carter's Creek, Lewis Burwell married secondly Martha, daugh- ter of John Lear, Secretary of the Council, and widow of Colonel William Cole, who died in 1705, and was evidently the mother of the Miss Burwell who won the peppery heart of Governor Nicholson, the story of which has come to us from the apt pen of Bishop Meade:
" The second Lewis Burwell had nine daugh- ters, one of whom completely upset what little reason there was in Governor Nicholson of famous memory. He became most passionately attached to her, and demanded her in royal style of her parents. Neither she, her parents, nor other members of the family were disposed to compliance. He became furious, and for years persisted in his design and claim. All around
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felt the effects of it. The father and sons, Com- missary Blair, and the Rev. Mr. Fouace, min- ister of an adjoining parish, were the special objects of his threatened vengeance.
" To the young lady he threatened the life of her father and brothers if she did not yield to his suit, which caused a friend in England to write a letter of remonstrance, in which he says, 'It is not here as in some barbarous countries, where the tender lady is dragged into the Sultan's arms just reeking in the blood of her nearest relatives, and yet must strangely dissemble her aversion.' To Commissary Blair he declared that he would cut the throats of three men, (if the lady should marry any other man than himself,) viz .: the bridegroom, the minister, and the justice who issued the license. The minister of the parish, the Rev. Mr. Fouace, in a letter to the Lord Commissioners in England, complains of being assaulted one evening, on his return from a visit to the family, (the Major being sick), by Gov- ernor Nicholson, and commanded never again to go into this house without leave from himself. It seemed that the Governor was jealous of him. Besides abusive language and other indignities, he pulled off the minister's hat, as being disre- spectful to him, the Governor, for one to keep
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on his hat, even on horseback. Such was the misconduct of the Governor, in this and other respects, that the Council and some of the clergy united in a petition to the Crown for his removal, and the petition was granted. All this and much more, is on record in the archives of Lambeth Palace."
After Nathaniel Burwell married Elizabeth Carter, he moved to Carter's Grove, where he died in 1721. The estate was then inherited by his son Lewis, born in 1710, who married Mary, daughter of Colonel Francis Willis. Up to the time of his death in 1772 Lewis Burwell was very prominent in the affairs of the Colony, having been both President of the Council and acting Governor of Virginia.
The plantation next went to his son, Carter Burwell, who married Lucy, daughter of the Honorable John Grymes of Middlesex County, and it was under their stewardship that the orig- inal dwelling was replaced by the present stately manor-house in 1746, some years before the death of his father.
The road which winds from the main highway, over which so many Colonial notables rolled in their gilded coaches on their frequent visits to the mansion, is mostly through woodlands
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BURWELL
CARTER'S GROVE Built by Carter Burwell in 1746
CARTER'S GROVE
whitened in April by dogwood and sheeted with arbutus, violets, and frail anemones, while the gorgeous yellow jessamine, that first flower of the South, flings its golden streamers from limb to limb of the smallest shrubs and greatest trees. One is in the midst of a riot of sweet-scented color, which fades only when the lawn is reached. Crossing a picturesque ravine, the broad drive- way merges into an avenue about one quarter of a mile in length, bordered by cedars of mag- nificent growth which spring from the thick turfing. Just before the grounds are entered the cedar avenue gives place to one of locusts, which continues through a wonderful grove of the same graceful trees to the circular stone steps on the north front.
The substantial brick dwelling is situated di- rectly on the James, upon a high bluff, and commands a very beautiful water view, the river here being seven miles across. The lawn is ter- raced on the water front, ending in a sunken garden which extends quite to the beautiful beach.
The manor-house is set in the midst of a grove of notable trees, which named the place, and though the wings did not originally adjoin the main building, the east, used as a kitchen, has
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since been connected with it, the west serving the purpose of office.
Crossing the steps now mossy with age, the hall is entered, where the touch of latter-day gold evident about the estate is appreciated rather than censured, for the historic marks have been carefully preserved, notwithstanding the luxurious additions that have been made. This great hall is heavily panelled with walnut, and claims a stairway of the same wood which is famous in the historic and architectural annals of America. The hand-carved balustrade still shows the scars left by the swords of Tarleton's hasty troopers when the mansion was British head- quarters during the Revolution, and up the broad steps the reckless soldiers are said to have even ridden. Under the stewardship of a former owner, in a burst of mistaken patriotism, the handsome wood-work of the hall was painted the national colors, and until a few years ago the mellow tones of the old walnut were lost under the glaring coating of red, white, and blue.
The dominant feature of the interior is the ex- quisite wood-work, all the rooms being panelled up to the ceiling with oak and walnut, while the heavy doors of solid mahogany swing upon silver
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THE HALLWAY, CARTER'S GROVE 1 The stairway of which still bears the marks of sabre cuts from Tarleton's troopers
CARTER'S GROVE
hinges, their knobs and locks being of the same precious metal.
The old kitchen in the east wing measures forty-two by twenty-three feet, and boasts light from ten large windows. Hard wood beams and rafters support the cement walls, and though modern comforts and conveniences have supplanted antique methods, there is still left enough to show the quaint kitchen of Colonial days.
For more than a century veritable princes reigned in this stately manor-house, dispensing a lavish hospitality that has formed the theme of many fantastic stories and much historic lore. Here in Virginia was born the social life of the new-found world. Williamsburg with its balls and festivities was but a transplanted bit of the Court of St. James, just as old Bruton Church and graveyard were to the Colonists a miniature Westminster Abbey. The romantic atmosphere which pervades the mansion conjures up vividly an imaginary picture of the red-coated Tarleton and his troops lawlessly dashing down the wind- ing stairway to the tune of cruel sabre cuts.
It was at Carter's Grove that Jefferson wooed the "fair Belinda," Rebecca Burwell, born in
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1746, and here the haughty maiden, who after- wards married Jaquelin Ambler, rejected her sandy-haired suitor, who later taught two coun- tries what one man's brain could do. It was during this memorable courtship that Jefferson wrote to his friend, John Page: " In the most melancholy fit that ever any poor soul was, I sit down to write to you. Last night, as merry as agreeable company and dancing with Belinda in the Apollo could make me, I never could have thought that the succeeding sun would have seen me so wretched as I now am! I was prepared to say a great deal. I had dressed up in my own mind such thoughts as occurred to me in as mov- ing language as I knew how, and expected to have performed in a tolerably creditable manner. But, good God! When I had an opportunity of venting them, a few broken sentences, uttered in great disorder, and interrupted with pauses of uncommon length, were the two visible marks of my strange confusion."
It was the daughter of Rebecca Burwell and Jaquelin Ambler who married Chief-Justice Marshall.
The few tombs still visible at Carter's Grove are much scarred and defaced by time, and though there are records existing of those buried
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there, one can now decipher neither names nor epitaphs.
When Carter Burwell died, at the close of the century, the homestead passed to his son Na- thaniel, who married his first cousin, Susanna Grymes, of Middlesex. Their son Carter, born in 1773, owned the estate until 1819, when it became the property of his half-brother, George Harrison Burwell, the son of Nathaniel Burwell by his second wife, Lucy Page, daughter of Lucy Page Baylor, widow of Colonel George Baylor and daughter of Mann Page of Mansfield.
George Burwell was the last of his name to own Carter's Grove, which was sold only to change hands many times. Unfortunately the records of these various sales were destroyed when the old Court House in Williamsburg was damaged by fire, so the thread of ownership ,can- not be again picked up until about thirty years ago, when the estate was bought by Dr. E. G. Booth, in whose possession it remained until 1905, when it was purchased by Mr. Percival Bisland, of Mississippi, Mrs. Margaret Buchan Bisland being the present owner.
History in general repeats itself, but never again will America know such halcyon days as those of the Colonists, when the plantations were
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little kingdoms ruled over by haughty grandees, who were veritable princes in their rights and fortunes.
Carter's Grove seems very far away from the present, a bit or a glimpse of the past; for as year follows year, and century climbs over century, its peaceful atmosphere of age and comfort gains in vivid contrast to this restless, struggling to-day.
THE NELSON HOUSE
N a little corner of Virginia, on the south- west bank of old York River, lies a sleepy town of age and his- tory called Yorktown, where an ancient Church, a battle-field, the country's first custom-house, and an aristo- cratic old mansion are all that is left to tell the story of its quondam days of glory.
The old mansion, known as the Nelson House, is the first of these historic sights to greet one, situated as it is on the main street, or, better still, highroad, overlooking the river, and guarded by a mossy brick wall topped with a giant hedge of box.
The progenitor of the Virginia family of Nel- sons was Thomas, the son of Hugh and Sarah Nelson of Penrith, England, where he was born February 20, 1677. Owing to the proximity of his birthplace to Scotland, Thomas Nelson, who came to Virginia about 1700, was always called
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" Scotch Tom." Settling in York County, he married about 1710 Margaret Reid, and on her death contracted a second alliance with Fanny Houston, the widow of a Mr. Tucker of Ber- muda, in 1721. His name has always been closely affiliated with Yorktown, which place he founded about 1705, building the first brick house in that section in 1715.
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