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Show if Yi 3 (f--W.U. i I .' .--- . 1 i ! Washington Statue in Boston Public Gardens n More About the English Home of the Washingtons 1 aK! . PROPOSITION seri-QCrA seri-QCrA ously engaging the at- v tention of the English W PeP'e and press is feV'-I Sulgrave manor, Northamptonshire, the home of George Washington's ancestors, an-cestors, shall be purchased by public subscription in both countries as a visible monument to the cordial relations rela-tions existing between the two great branches of the English-speaking race. Sulgraye is the place in England most closely associated with the name of Washington. It is true that George himself attached little importance to this fact. In the early days of the American republic, ancestry was despised de-spised much more than is now the case. In 1788 he refused to accept the dedication of a book on heraldry because a portion of te community were "clamorously endeavoring to propagate an idea that those whom they wished invidiously to designate by the name of 'well-born' were meditating medi-tating in the first instance to distinguish distin-guish themselves from their compatriots compat-riots asd to wrest the dearest privileges privil-eges from the bulk of the people." Ancestry An-cestry today is much more regarded in America than it was a hundred years ago. Washington knew very little about his own forefathers. Wrhen he was asked about them by the garter king-at-arms, he said the first of his family in' Virginia had come from one of the northern counties in England, Yorkshire or Lancashire, or even one still further north. Later there was much disputation about his family tree, hut it was finally agreed that the Washingtons of Sulgrave and Brington did actually spring from the Washingtons Washing-tons of Warton In Lancashire, a place on the Westmoreland border. Several Graves of Washington's Ancestors, Sulgrave, England. generations of Washingtons of War-ton War-ton are recorded, and one of these was the fatter of Laurence Washington, mayor of Northampton in 1532 and 1545. This Laurence Washington had for mother the daughter of Robert Kytson of Warton, and a sister sis-ter of Sir Thomas Kytson of Hen-grave Hen-grave in Suffolk. This proved a matter mat-ter of very considerable importance in their history, because it brought them into connection with the Spencers of Althorp and Wormleighton, through the marriage of Sir Thomas Kytson's (laughter, Catherine, to Sir John Spencer Spen-cer of Wormleighton, whose grandson, grand-son, Sir Robert Spencer, was created Baron Spencer of Wormleighton in 1603. In process of time the Washingtons Wash-ingtons of Sulgrave appear to have got into financial difficulties. Laurence Lau-rence Washington entered the wool trade, perhaps induced to do so by the fact that Lord Spencer was one of the great flock-masters of his day. This Laurence acquired great riches in the wool trade. In 1539 he became possessed pos-sessed of the manor of Sulgrave for the sum nf 321 14s. 10d and subsequently sub-sequently he purchased additional property. He had many sons, af , whom the oldest was Robert, the ancestor an-cestor of George Washington. He sue- I ceeded his father in 15S5, when he was of the age of forty. He does not seem to have been so prosperous as his father, and yet seems to have been able to send both his sons, Christopher Christo-pher and William, to Oriel college, Oxford, Ox-ford, where they were iu 15SS, the year of the Great Armada. Robert's eldest son was named Laurence, probably prob-ably after the mayor of Northampton, and in 1610 lie, in agreement with his son, agreed to sell Sulgrave to their M cousin, Laurence Makepeace. The ' second Laurence Washington then removed re-moved to Brington, near Northampton, his father, perhaps, going with him, though the latter was buried in the family vault at Sulgrave. Laurence Washington had seventeen children, two of whom rose to high positions and were knighted Sir William Washington Wash-ington of Packington in 1622, and Sir John Washington of Thrapston in 1623. But the younger members of the family fam-ily were becoming impecunious. This, then, was the connection of the family fam-ily of Washington with Sulgrave manor. man-or. It is a very interesting one. The manor could not be properly described as one of the stately homes of England. Eng-land. It was built at a good time, but it is not a very fine example of the period. Nevertheless, a single glance at the pictures of the really grand old place will show how essentially essen-tially English are the architecture and its surroundings. It would have been a very befitting action had it fallen to , the lot of the celebrants in Great Brit- ( tain to think first of Sulgrave and to have offered it as a free gift to the United States. The inhabitants of the latter could have made good use of it. It has long been the object of many a pilgrimage on the part of Americans in Europe, and it might have been a rallying ground and a center where objects of interest to them could be collected. Something of the kind may yet be done; but perhaps it is better that all of those who are interested in keeping the centenary of the signature sig-nature of peace should take a share in the acquisition of this memorial of Washington. |