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Show PROMINENT PEOPLE The One Hundred and Seventy-Sixth Anniversary of Washingion’s Birth 5 focmoococOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOIC- OLDEST EX-CONGRESSMAN Gen. Ephraim R. Eckley of Carrollton, is the oldest living ex-member of congress. ἢ or as a spectator He has lived under the administrations of every president save Washington, 1dams and Jefferson He cast his first vote when Jackson was a candi date for president and has never missed voting KG even at a primary contest in his home village. He remembers the report of Napoleon's downfall at Waterloo, and wondered at the time what it was all about Later on, when Napoleon's By VALERIE HOPE «Ὁ» y= aS Copyright, 18, by W. @. Chapman now 96 and remains in vigorous health, mentally 4 tional conventions either as a delegate THE LOVE AFFAIRS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON Ohix He alert and interested in all that is doing in state and national poliitcs He never misses e local or state convention of the Republican party, and for many years has been a notable figure at na- death at St. Helena was reported, the future congressman understood Gen. Eckley did not seek office until 1843, when he was elected to the state senate as a whig. Six years later he was again chosen to the senate and later to the lower branch of the legislature. Then he was on the ticket with Sam F. Vinton as a candidate for lieutenant governor but was defeated In 1853 the whigs of Ohio picked Eckley as the candidate for United States senator, but failed of election. Upon the downfall of the old whig party he became active in the organization of the Republican party and was a delegate t6 the first convention at Philadelphia in 1856, when Fremont was made the nominee. George the Washington banks of I reland mo 22, ary was the Potomac county Virginia born on in West on Febru 1732 At the age of 16 he was a good surveyor and at 19 he was adjutant of one of the Virginia militia districts, with the rank of major At the age of 21 he was selected by Gov. Dinwiddie of Virginia as a person of distinction,” under orders of the British government, to de-| delivered over to the vestry on y 27, 1773, the construction » begun January 1, 1767. ington was one of the first 1 trymen of the church, and on Feb hav Col ves the day that it was turned over by the builders he purchased pew No. 5 for the sum of £36 10 shillings, agree ing also to pay an annual rental of £5 for the same The ch h was consecrated by Bishop Claggett of Maryland on June This ancient and historic 14, 1814 edifice is still used as a place of worship. It is kept open every week day, and is annually visited by thousands. A small admission fee is charged for the purpose of defraying the expense of keeping it open to the public. In mand an explanation of the French, | who were forming settlements in the | | northwest and in the Mississippi valley. | | At the age of 93 he was commissioned as colonel in the British army, and from that time, when as a“soldier of the king” he became distinguished the rear of and on the south side is on the fleld, until he took leay > During the Lincoln campaign Gen. Eckley was very active, and when war was declared he immediately offered his services, although 50 years old, He began as lieutenant-colonel and became a brigadier before the year was ended In 1862, while he was fighting in the western part of Kentucky, he was nom inated and elected to congress, but he did not resign his command until the congress was called to meet July 4, 1863. Then he stood up with Blaine, Garfield and Allison to be sworn in. They were beginning their congressional Gen life, and Garfield had also been elected during his service in the army Eckley served three terms FIGHTS SENATOR PENROSE Wi iam linn who has entered the lists against United States Senator Boies Penrose as the Republican leader in Pennsylvania claims to be ἃς: tuated only by altruistic motives He does not want to succeed Penrose as senator, he says, but he objects to Penrose on the ground that his leadership has served only to perpetuate the tyr ij anny established by “Mat” Quay, and that the public interests demand a newleader Penrose is the son of wealthy parents, and his way in life has been made smooth for him, while Flinn is the son of poor Irish immigrants, and had to fight his own battles, He is said to be worth $15,000,000 now, but be that as it may, he began life with nothing, he inherited nothing, and has never been charged with cheating anybody, The one man was sent to college and re- ceived a classical education, the other got his education in the public schools, and supplemented his slender stock of learning by his own efforts in later days. . Flinn was elected to the state legislature in 1878, serving three terms in the house and three in the senate. For 18 years he was delegate to every Republican state convention, and to five successive national Republican conventions. He was also chairman of the Republican city committee of Pitts- burg for 18 years. It has been said of Flinn that he is an intermittent reformer, but even that is something more than is claimed for his opponent. It was Flinn who led the revolt against Quay during the session of 1899. Flinn is a man who was born to fight. He has the reputation of never saying yes when he means no. mg) a his officers on November 28, 1783, after having overthrown the royal government, he was the most impor- tant factor in the affairs of the new country, Ending an eventful and successful military career, he retired to his home at Mount Vernon, Va, fom which place in 1784 he wrote {ο Lafayette: “I have become a_ private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, and under the shadow of my own vine and fig tree, free from the bustle of the camp, ...I1 amsolacing mywelf with those tranquil enjoyments of which the soldier who is ever in pur- suit of fame, the statesman .. . und At the time Washington wrote Senator James B. McCreary of Kentucky, who proposes to pay all our ex-presidents (we have only one) a salary of $10,000 a year and have them serve on all international exposition commissions, is one of the best examples of tenacity in American public life. He had been for over 30 years a leader in Democratic politics in Kentucky Senator McCreary is an imperialist in a sense; he is no parochial politician with an outlook bounded by the limits of his native town. In the 12 years he sat in the lower house of congress he had more to do with international questions than probably any other man. He devised the scheme of uniting North, South and Central America with a railway; and if there is ever a road built to connect Hudson's bay with the Straits of Magellan it will be a monument to his memory. He was the author of the resolution declaring against European control] of any canal in American territory connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific. He fathered the bill authorizing the president to retaliate upon foreign vessels for injuries to American fishing vessels. He was the author of two bills to settle international disagreements concerning the fur-bearing seals of the Behring sea. He was the organizer of the Pan-American medice) congress, which met in Washington in 1896, He brought about the passage of some important amendments to the Geary Chinese exclusion law and some legisiation concerning Hawaii. Finally he may be regarded as the father of the new navy, for it was due to a ruling of his that the construction of that navy was made possible Senator McCreary was born in Madison county, Ky., in 1838. When the a οyt = - HadPiins Woodlawn Mansion, Westmoreland County, Virginia, One of Washington’s Earliest Homes, the courtier , . . can have little conception.” WOULD PAY EX-PRESIDENTS the quoted words to Lafayette he had no thought that he would be called as the president of the republic, the living reality of which he had created. But so, and on the 30th day of April, 1789, having been elected on the 6th day of the same month, he took the oath of office in New York city, having journeyed to that place from Mount Vernon in his private carriage. Washington served his country as its first chief executive for a period of eight years—two terms—and declined a third term. No other president since Washington has enjoyed that distinction. The national government, in conjunetion with the states, has undertaken to do honor to his memory by making his birthday a national holiday and by erecting monuments of marble pointing skyward, but the grandest and most expressive tribute is embraced in the lettering: “First in War, First in Peace, First in the Hearts of His Countrymen,” as chiseled on the statue which stands an old burial ground, and some very old tablets, antedating the construction of the church, are still standing, and are in a remarkable state of preservation, The square pew, with open door, on the right of the pulpit and under the balcony, is pew No, 5, which was oc- | cupied by Col. Washington when at- | of his death; he never changed his membership from the church. A silver plate, bearing his autograph, is | on the top of the pew door. Originally all the pews in the church were built in a square form, but later, with the exception of the Washington pew, were changed to the present-day style of construction. On the east wall, under the baleony and to the right of the pulpit, is a memorial tablet placed to the memory of Gen. Washington. A similar tablet, placed to the memory of Gen. Robert E. Lee, occupies similar space on the wall to theleft of the pulpit. Gen. Lee was a vestryman of the church at the commence ment of the civil war, and the pew occupied by him is across the aisle from and a little to the rear of the Washington pew. This pew is indicated by a silver plate showing his autograph. Washington received his commis- sion in 1755, as a colonel in the British army, from Gen. Braddock, in the Carlyle house, at Alexandria, Va. This house was erected in 1732 by John S. Carlyle on the browof a hill, and its base rests on an old fort built in 1615 by Capt. John Smith on oneof the occasions when he came up the Potomac to trade with the Indians. Originally the house was reached bya fine flight of stone steps from a beautiful lawn reaching to Fairfax street and adorned by 16 Lombardy poplars ar. FAVORS NEW CANAL ὦ 777 pes yy TY) le yy — Gj 4 4 Frederick C. Stevens, superintendent of public works of New York state,seemstohave a mania for canal building. In his official capacity he has charge of the building of the new Erie canal, which is to cost $101,000,000; he is the financial backer of William J. Oliver, contractor for the Panama canal, and now he is urging the United States government to join with the state of New York in building a new canal from Lake Ontario to the Hudson river, to place New York city in direct communication with the great lakes, ena: 2 bling that city to retain its supremacy as a shipping port, a supremacy that will be threatened by Montreal if the Canadian government's Jeorgian Bay-Ottawa river canal goes through. If the United States acts on his advice, it ig quite likely that Mr. Stevens will have direction of the construction of the newest canal, and thus be intimately connected with three of the greatest engineering enterprises of the kind in the world. Mr. Stevens never sought the position he holds in New York state; it was thrust upon him by Goy. Hughes. Being a multi-millionaire, he took a merely academic interest in politics, and served a few terms in the state senate. He was instrumental in getting a reduction of the price of gas for the people of New York and compelling insurance reforms, and would have compelled an Washington's Headquarters While Directing Survey of Washington City, 1791, on the plaza at the east of the cap. itol. Washington was a very enthusiastic Mason, and was identified with the lodge in Alexandria, Va.. which was chartered in 1783 under the Pennsyl- ranged in four parallel rows. The poplars and lawn have long since disappeared, and long ranges of rooms of the present Braddock house occupy their site, and the house is only visible to the public from the eastern or rear side investigation of state banking but for the combined influences of the money power. It was resolved that so dangerous a man had to be crushed, and Con- vania Alexandria- It was also in this house that the gressman James W. Wadsworth, son-in-law of the late Secretary Hay and Washington lodge, No. 22, and Washington was named as worshipful master in the charter. unfortunate expedition against Fort Duquesne was arranged by Gen. Braddock and the governors of Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Pennsyl- defender in congress of the Chicago packers, got Mr. Stevens’ district gerryStevens is a mild-mannered man, mandered in such a way as to oust him. but when the treachery was disclosed to him he vowed to have Wadsworth's scalp, and he got it. jSurisdiction. but was rechartered as the in 1788 it Christ church, Alexandria, Va., ivy and moss covered, was completed and We are so accustomed to pictures | In a soft lulling sleep and gentle repose Possess those joys denied by Day of George Washington in a rigid atti There is a letter on record in which tude, with sternly compressed lips Washington asked Mr Fauntleroy's and generally forbidding expression, permission to make a proposal] of mar that we forget he was ever young and riage to his daughter “in the hope of a human being of flesh and bloodlike a revocation of a former cruel sen the rest of us tence.” But the father’s reply was Instead of being a cold-blooded unfavorable, as usual, and Miss Betsy prig Washington was magnetic in perafterwards married Thomas Adams of sonality and a great social favorite Williamsburg. It is a_ tradition of He was the finest horseman in Virthat town that after her rejected suitginia, an exceedingly graceful dancer or became famous and visited Wiland a dandyin ruffles, gold lace, vel liamsburg as the guest of the people vet, silk stockings and diamond she watched the triumphant pageant buckles, who caused a flurry in femifrom a window and when the great nine hearts whenever he appeared. hero saw her he waved his sword and Young Washington was always fall saluted her, whereupon the lady fainting in love, and after his engagement ed away. to Mrs, Custis was announced his On another occasion he fell in love mother wrote to a friend: “I have had with Miss Mary Phillipse, the beautia great deal of trouble with George, ful daughter of a wealthy Englishman but it is all over now.” His first atwho lived in a superb mansion on the tack of the heart occurred when he Hudson near West Point. Washingwas 15 years old, and the object of ton promptly proposed, but was told his affections was Miss Frances Alexthat somebody else’s coquette was alander, aged 17, whose father’s ρίβη- ready engaged to be married. Washtation adjoined Mount Vernon. ington said afterward that he thought Imagine him pining and sighing and things might have resulted differently grating his teeth in despair, just like if he had waited “till the lady was in any young American lover in these the mood.” There was a tragic end days! It is amusing now, but at that ing to this remance years after, when time it was a very serious matter to the haughty creature who had spurned George Washington! Not much is the hand of the commander of the known of this courtship, and soon American forces was arrested as an after he lost his heart to Miss Lucy English spy. She was thrown into Grymes, whom he often referred to prison and all of her property was afterward as his “Lowland Beauty.” confiscated About this time Washington wrote Washington was too wise to turn a letter to “Dear Sally,” in which he into a woman hater merely because said: “I am almost discouraged from he had been thrown downthree times writing to you as this is my fourth to in succession. He knew there were you since I recd any from yourself, I plenty of pretty fish in the aquarium hope you'll not make the Old Proverb and that it would be only a matter of good out of sight out of Mind as it’s | time when he'd make a good catch one of the greatest pleasures in living That time came just two years after in Fairfax in often hearing from you he was jilted by Miss Phillipse, and and hope you'll not deny me. it happened in this way: Col. Wash“I pass the time much more agreeington was on his way to Williams bler than what I imagined I should as burg on official business, and while there’s a very agreeable Young Lady crossing Williams ferry was accosted Lives in the same house where I re by a hospitable old gentleman, who tending services there until the date | civil war broke out he enlisted in the Kentucky cavalry as a private. He was lieutenant-colonel when the end came. He participated in the weleome Kentucky gave her returning troops. His dreams of political life, which had been laid aside while the war lasted, returned to him and he proceeded to make them realities. TT : « ποῖ OOOOOOOOOOOOODLOOOOOOOOSOOOOOOOOOOOH vania and Virginia, in 1755. side (Miss Mary Cary**+*st-ia < great asked him to rest a while at his home measure cheats my sorrow and dejectin the neighborhood. The colonel edness tho’ not so as to draw my answered that his pressing business thoughts from your Parts. I could would not permit the time. But, as wish to be with you down there with an inducement, the old gentleman all my heart but as it is a thing almentioned that among the guests at most impractakable, I shali rest myhis house was the handsomest young self where I am with hopes of shortly widow in all Virginia! That changed having some minutes of your transacmatters. The youpg colonel smiled, tions.” hesitated, and then—well, then he So we find the susceptible George decided that he had more time than interested in three fair damsels at he had supposed! once: “Sally,” the “Lowland Beauty” Upon reaching the house he was inand Miss Mary Cary, which recalls the troduced to the fascinating widow, story of the man who could never | Mrs. Martha Parke Custis, and we shoot a bird, because just as he had | can imagine the coy glances of this aimed and was ready to shoot at one enticing young ( ture, for it was a bird another bird flew in the way. case of love at first sight. And inIn 1753 Lucy Grymes, the Lowland | stead of getting away in a few hours Beauty, married Henry Lee and beas he had intended, old Rishop, the came the mother of “Light-horse colonel’s servant, held his horse in Harry,” the Custer of the révolution. readiness for hours and hours. But One of Washington's most serious his master didn't come. In fact his love affairs was with Miss MaryCary, delighted host had little difficulty in and there is no doubt that she was in persuading him to stay until the next love with him, but her father preday. vented the marriage by handing out Washington had just returned from the Alaskan negative. | a brilliant campaign, was gallant, Miss Cary afterwards married a young and handsome, and the clever widow didn't lose any time bringing young swell, Edward Ambler, who down her geme! A few days Jater Col. died young, and his pretty widow was often a guest at Mount Vernon after | Washington visited Mrs. Custis at her own beautiful home and this time he Washington’s marriage. The Cary offered his heart and sword with suc romance extended over several years, It is quite evident that a probut in the meantime there were | cess. pitious reception awaited him, for on others. It is consoling to know that the way to the house he asked a slave Washington was human enough to ocif Mrs. Custis was at home, and he casionally do something amateurish, said, “Yes, sah, I reckon you'’se the and the thing he fell down on hardest what's ‘spected.” They was writing poetry. The following gen'leman was composed when he was a major did not meet again till their marriage and about 20 years old. It was ad- six months later. dressed to Miss Betsy Fauntleroy: “Oh, ye Gods why sistless Heart should my Poor Re- Stand to oppose thy might and Power, A ast surrender to Cupid's feathered Dart And nowlays bleeding every Hour For her that’s Pityless of my grief and woes, and will not on me pity take, inveterate 116 sleep παι my most Foes And with Gladness never wish to wake In deluding sleepings let my eyelids close ‘ That in an enraptured Dream I may 97 At that time Martha Custis was 27 years old—just three months younger than her fiance. She was short, had eyes that snapped, her manner was very gay, and she was thought by some te be the most beautiful woman in America. She was the wealthiest woman in the old dominion and the mother of four children, two of whom were living. The marriage took place | at the homeof the bride in January, The exact date is uncertain. \ 1759. |
