Seaport in Virginia / George Washington's Alexandria

Under the note "t" the property is further described: "For this lot though unimproved, I have refused $3500.—It has since been laid off into proper sized lots for building on—three or 4 of which are let on ground Rent—forever—at three dollars a foot on the street,—and this price is asked for both fronts on Pitt & Princes Street."[177]

These lots were included in the estate left to his wife for her lifetime. Martha Washington died on May 22, 1802. On June 7, 1803, the executors of Washington's estate sold this half-acre lot divided into nine lots, Nos. 1 to 4 on Pitt and Nos. 5 to 9 on Prince. An alley ten feet wide separated the Prince Street lots from those on Pitt. Only one lot was unimproved. The executors submitted this sale along with others made the same day to be recorded at Fairfax July 15, 1811.

The lot at the intersection of Pitt and Prince, bearing the number 5 in the division, was sold to L.A. Washington for $1,613.33, bringing more by nearly four hundred dollars than any of the other eight.

Lawrence Augustine Washington's deed for this property was dated August 7, 1804, and calls for "twenty-five feet four inches on Prince Street, beginning at the intersection, running in depth parallel to Pitt eighty-three feet to a ten-foot alley, and all Houses, Buildings, Improvements, Streets and Allies."[178]

On the death of Lawrence A. Washington the little houses and the lot on the corner of Prince and Pitt Streets became the property of his son, Robert W. Washington. He in turn sold the property to Alexious Johnson, at whose death it was sold at public auction by Samuel Bartle, commissioner, to William Gregory for $605.00 on July 11, 1844. Three years later, September 13, 1847, Will and Mary Gregory sold the same property to Benjamin Huges. Benjamin and Susan Huges divided the property, selling 30 feet 10 inches on Pitt Street to Joseph Francis Cook on July 15, 1874, and on July 26, 1887, the Huges sold the house and lot on the corner of Prince and Pitt, running 25 feet west on Prince and 52 feet north on Pitt to J. Frank Taylor. On July 17, 1874, Joseph Francis Cook and his wife, Georgeanna, conveyed to Taylor the part they had previously bought from the Huges.

On April 20, 1897, J. Frank Taylor conveyed this same property to Walter G. Rogers, and on April 20, 1900, Walter G. Rogers and his wife, Matilda A. Rogers, sold to George T. Klipstein. In 1935 the property was purchased by Charles B. and Gay Montague Moore, and in 1945 the property was again divided, and the house on Pitt Street was sold to Mr. Charles Francis Alexander, and the Prince Street House to Colonel Hubbard.

In England a Georgian Cottage, but in Alexandria a great house

Chapter 21

The Georgian Cottage

[711 Prince Street. Owner: Mrs. Andrew Pickens.]

Alexandria was never a large town. The thrifty merchants of this Scottish trading center built well, and their dwellings abound in architectural interest, but really great houses are rare. On the 700 block of Prince Street, behind a picket fence, guarded by a tall magnolia and several gnarled box trees stands what is called in England a "Georgian cottage," which in Alexandria is an important house.

On November 2, 1797, William Thornton Alexander and Lucy, his wife, sold to James Patron, of Fairfax County, half an acre of land situated in Fairfax County in the state of Virginia, adjacent to the town of Alexandria and bounded as follows:

This was subject forever to a ground rent of £30 in good and lawful money of Virginia. On this lot James Patton erected a type of house well known locally as a "flounder," because of its narrow width. Such a building was usually set back from the street, anticipating fuller architectural development when the flounder became the ell of the larger house. Patton's home, though diminutive, was comfortable and it had convenient gardens and pleasant surroundings. Here he lived until overtaken by that ogre of all Alexandria shipping merchants—compound interest.

He became indebted to the firm of Marsteller & Young to the amount of ten thousand dollars and sundry notes discounted for his use at the Bank of Alexandria to the amount of nine thousand dollars. To afford full indemnity, he sold in November 1809, to Robert I. Taylor, twenty-five shares of Potomac Bank stock, six shares of Little River Turnpike stock, ten shares of Great Hunting Creek bridge stock, a house and lot on Fairfax Street, and two squares of ground under the charter of Alexandria, adjoining Spring Gardens, bought of Jesse Sims, and the brig John of Alexandria. Also relinquished to Taylor in the settlement of his debts was the half-acre on Prince and Columbus Streets "with the buildings and improvements thereupon erected."[180]

A year later William Fowle with "the consent and concurrance of all parties," purchased the said lot of ground and improvements from James Patton at the price of $6,550.

William Fowle had come to Alexandria in 1800 from Boston to enter, as a partner, the important shipping firm which became Lawrason & Fowle. He married Miss Esther Taylor, daughter of George Taylor of Broomalaw and they are purported to have had eighteen children, eight of whom they reared to maturity. Fowle's father-in-law is remembered as the last gentleman in Alexandria to hold to the fashion of knee breeches and silk stockings. As he lived well into the nineteenth century, his figure clad in "short clothes" and leaning upon a high cane (similar to those associated with the Court of Louis XVI) was a familiar sight upon the streets of Alexandria long after such a costume had become a curiosity. Taylor entertained no idea of giving up the habits of his ancestors, nor of complying with any such folderol as high choker collars and pantaloons so tightly strapped under a gentleman's gaiters that someone had to invent a machine for jumping into them.

The Fowles were agreeable hosts and the Georgian cottage was the scene of many gay gatherings and fine dinners. The family took part in all the festivities of the town—balls at Gadsby's, the theatre; trips to Boston, doubtless in their own ships, were frequent. William Fowle was senior warden at Christ Church for many years.

Elegance and grace, harmony and beauty in brick and wood and iron. Regency at its best in Alexandria

Thirty-six years after Fowle moved to Alexandria the following notice appeared in one of the papers. It is interesting to observe that the firm was now "William Fowle & Co."

The stair sweeps up, circular wall, window and door in hall

William Fowle was a man of taste as well as means. He improved his garden by acquiring adjoining property and extending his grounds as far east as Washington Street and as far north as King, adding several new outbuildings. Nor did he stop with horticulture. He took up architecture and deftly transformed his home to the ample size and satisfactory design all admire. The earlier flounder house became one of the fine houses of Alexandria—and one of the loveliest. By the addition of a wing to the left of the present doorway, a beautiful Palladian window, and new entrance porch set in a gabled bay, Fowle changed the front façade into the latest mode. The house has an individuality and appeal unlike anything else in town.

The outstanding architectural interest is in this entrance. Inside as well as out the design and wood carving are chaste and elegant. Four slender columns support a shallow balcony whose grace and lightness is produced in a great measure by the fragile spindles carrying the weight of the projection. The delicate inclosure of wrought iron is Regency at its best in this medium. It is said he imported the plans for this arresting doorway from New England. The interior focal point is again the doorway, for here the beauty in design and wood carving equal the elegance of the exterior. An added interest is the circular wall, window and door in the entrance hall.

The drawing room mantel is of gray marble, early Empire in design, a style which dominates the lower floor. The walls support the original old whale-oil lamps, complete with engraved shades and prisms. Interesting family portraits and fine furniture have occupied the same places for over a century and a quarter. The Sheraton sideboard is exceptional.

In the garden court, box bushes cluster close to the doorway, perfuming the air after a summer's shower. Enormous pink poppies, phlox, and roses grow in riotous abandon, while old-fashioned periwinkle covers the roots of ancient trees.

It is a satisfactory thought that Fowle's descendants still inhabit his house, using many of his possessions, for this is one of the few old residences in Alexandria still in the family. Five generations have called it home. Two wings, or dependencies, of this house have been demolished and the garden reduced by time and the inroads of "progress." What is still a large city garden, no longer touches Washington and King Streets.

Chapter 22

The Vowell-Snowden House

[619 South Lee Street.]

Presently the residence of Mr. Justice and Mrs. Hugo L. Black, this house has been known in Alexandria for about a hundred years as the Snowden home; and so it was from 1842 to 1912 when it passed from the hands of that family.

The Snowdens have long been prominent in the old town. Samuel Snowden became sole owner and editor of the Alexandria Gazette in 1800, a paper that traces its ancestry back to 1784, and boasts of being the oldest daily newspaper printed continuously, still in circulation in the United States. Edgar Snowden succeeded his father as editor, at the age of twenty-one years. Active in civic affairs, interested in politics, he was the first representative of Alexandria to the Virginia Assembly after the retrocession of Alexandria to Virginia in 1846. He ran for Congress on the Whig ticket when Henry Clay was defeated for the Presidency and went down with his party.

He was mayor of Alexandria in 1841, and Mrs. Powell states in her History of Old Alexandria that in a collection of silhouettes in London is one of "Edgar Snowden, Mayor of Alexandria."

Snowden married Louisa Grymes of the prominent family of Grymesby, Brandon, and Marmion on the Rappahannock. From this union there were three sons, Edgar, Jr., Harold and Herbert, "each of whom in turn upheld the traditions and honor of the old paper."[181]

The Vowell-Snowden House. The widow's walk is missing

Edgar Snowden purchased the Lee and Franklin Streets property from Lawrence B. Taylor, who had the house from Thomas Vowell Jr. In a deed granted August 29, 1798, William Thornton Alexander and Lucy, his wife, let this property with all houses, buildings, streets, lanes, alleys, and so on, to Thomas Vowell Jr., for the yearly ground rent of $61.66. The fact is cited that William Thornton Alexander had the property from his father, John Alexander. In 1802 Thomas Vowell was released from this obligation upon payment of £200.

In 1826, in a deed of trust, the house is referred to specifically as a two-story brick dwelling, with other buildings and improvements. There is doubt as to whether the present house was built by Alexander or by Vowell. William Thornton Alexander mentions in the deed of 1798, "all houses, buildings, streets, lanes, alleys, Etc." The front of the house is a typical federal house, hardly earlier than 1790 to 1798, and similar to the New City Hotel, built in 1792. The doorway is almost a replica of the doorway taken from the tavern to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and since restored. The transom above the entrance door, in a deeply recessed arch, is interesting in design. The unusual cornice excites attention.

Thomas Vowell, in partnership with his brother, John, operated for a long while a successful mercantile business. The firm of John & Thomas Vowell owned a large wharf on the east side of Union between Prince and King Streets and sent out its own ships to the far corners of the earth, advertising its wares upon their return. George Washington ran an account with the Vowells and receipts preserved at Mount Vernon tell of purchases made by James Anderson, his manager. One of Anderson's dockets, dating from 1798, reaffirms in the inscription the age-old system of barter, "For Lint seed Sold them & Salt in Exchange." Lean and hard times were Thomas Vowell's lot. He overreached himself in speculation—buying and selling property until "by reasons of losses and misfortunates in trade" we find him mortgaging his warehouse and wharf, even his house; finally he was forced to part with his home.

Thomas Vowell's first wife, Mary Harper, died in 1805, aged twenty-three years, and was buried in the old Presbyterian meetinghouse graveyard. She was the daughter of Captain John Harper; her sister, Margaret, married Thomas Vowell's brother, John. The graves of the two sisters lie near the north wall of the church, while their father's remains rest within.

The Vowell-Snowden house, in splendid condition, stands flush with the street, surrounded by a half-acre of garden, defying the elements as well as the hand of time. Much of the fine woodwork has been removed or destroyed, but the perfect proportion of the rooms is indestructible. The hall arch and stairway remain untouched and convey some idea of the former beauty of the woodwork and elegance of the house.

There are people still living in Alexandria who as children played on the "Widow's" or "Captain's Walk" that formerly topped the old mansion. A magnificent view up and down the Potomac River could be had from that vantage spot, long since disappeared.

Chapter 23

The Edmund Jennings Lee House

[428 North Washington Street. Owners: Mr. and Mrs. Franklin F. Korell.]

Many of the citizens of this community bore the greatest names in the Commonwealth. Henry Cabot Lodge's description of Virginia society in the eighteenth century might aptly be applied to Alexandria: "We must go back to Athens to find another instance of a Society so small in numbers and yet capable of such an outburst of ability and force."

Among the great Virginia names closely associated with Alexandria is that of Lee. Virginia's (and America's) patriot, Arthur Lee, was born at Stratford, in Westmoreland County, on December 20, 1740, and died at his residence, Lansdown, in the old town of Urbanna, Middlesex County, on December 12, 1792. These fifty-two years he filled with deeds and action. His primary education was gotten at Eton. From there he went on to the great University of Edinburgh to study medicine. For a while he practiced this profession in Williamsburg, but in 1766 we find him reading law at the Temple in London. By 1770 he had begun his role as a barrister in London and there he practiced until 1776. For five years of this time he acted as London agent for Virginia and Massachusetts. Thus began his diplomatic career. With Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane he was one of the commissioners to France in 1776, and from this he went on to other negotiations between America and Europe.

Arthur Lee returned to America in 1780, and from 1782 to 1785 he served as a member of Congress. During these years he entered somewhat into the real-estate business in Alexandria. When his will was probated, he left to his niece, Hannah Washington, wife of Corbin, a half-acre lot on Washington and Oronoco Streets.

Hannah and Corbin Washington sold a half-acre lot to Charles Lee on March 19, 1796. It is described as beginning at the intersection of Washington and Oronoco on the southwest side, running west on Oronoco 123 feet 5 inches and south on Washington 176 feet 7 inches.

Charles Lee and Anne, his wife, sold this property to their brother, Edmund I. Lee, for five thousand dollars in January 1801. Part of the lot was rented at that time to Henry Zimmerman, subject to a ground rent, and part to Howard Beale, and there were houses, ways, advantages, and so on.

Edmund Jennings (always called Edmund I., following the eighteenth century usage of I for J) Lee was born just prior to the Revolution in 1772, when great events were stirring. He grew to young manhood in the post-Revolutionary days, and developed into an able lawyer, one of those stalwart citizens, giving his time and energy to his family, his church, and his city. He has been overshadowed by his more famous brothers, "Light Horse Harry" and Charles Lee, Attorney General in Washington's cabinet, and his immortal nephew, Robert Edward Lee.

At twenty-four, Edmund Jennings Lee married Sarah Lee, daughter of Richard Henry Lee of Stratford, his near cousin, and that same year, 1796, settled in Alexandria. Nearly everyone of local prominence dined at Mount Vernon on some occasion or another—and so did Edmund Lee and his wife. Washington's diaries record three dates when the former was present and one when the latter accompanied Attorney General Charles Lee and his wife. Mrs. Edmund Lee as "Miss Lee" had visited General and Mrs. Washington innumerable times with her father. As a matter of statistical interest, the General's diaries enumerate more than one hundred visits of various Virginia Lees to Mount Vernon.

Edmund I. Lee is remembered in his native city for saving the Glebe lands for Christ Church. Glebe lands were property belonging to the Church of England, and used for the support of the rector and the needs of the parish. After the Revolutionary War the Virginia Assembly confiscated these lands for the use of the poor. On behalf of the Alexandria church, now called Christ Church, Edmund I. Lee took this case to the United States Courts in 1814, protesting the unconstitutionality of the act. His eloquence, legal knowledge and labors resulted in the return of the Glebe lands to Christ Church. The case was won on a technicality, i.e., the Virginia Assembly had no jurisdiction over the District of Columbia, and Alexandria lay in the District.

In 1810 Lee was president of the common council of the city, a thankless task which he performed faithfully and cheerfully. The year 1832 saw "his house and half an acre lot at Washington and Oronoco Streets in which he now resides for sale or rent." It was not sold, for in his will, Lee left this dwelling and lot to his two daughters, Sally Lee and Hannah Stewart, jointly. To his son he left the family Bible and a cane-bottom settee, formerly owned by William Lee of Green Spring, and a house and lot at the "bottom of his garden" on Washington Street, and the "arm-chair" from his drawing room. His son, Cassius Lee, fell heir to his father's home and there brought up a large family of handsome children.

Family tradition names Edmund I. Lee as the builder of his home, which would fix the date of the house at 1801 or later. Everything about the house is typical of a late eighteenth century federal building. It is certain that Charles Lee built the mansion around 1796 and that Edmund I. Lee lived there from the time of his marriage. The price of five thousand dollars at the time of purchase is also indicative of a substantial and elegant residence.

This house is a fine federal example and is handsomely fitted out. The Lee family seems to have had a leaning toward brass hardware, and like the hinges in the great hall at Stratford, unusual brass latches and locks are here plentiful. Unquestionably the handsomest brass locks in Alexandria are in this house. A rare latch in addition to the great locks is attached to the Washington Street door. This double doorway, deeply recessed, in a hand-carved Georgian frame, arched and paneled, challenges the attention of every passer-by. The colonnaded rear gallery is hung with festoons of wisteria and is the most picturesque and lovely spot when the great lavender bunches of bloom are scattered and draped around the vine and against the white columns and railings. The woodwork throughout the house is in keeping with the dignified exterior. The rooms are large and inviting; the mantels' trim and stairway are better than pleasing.

Edmund I. Lee's doorway, an inviting entrance

Robert E. Lee was first cousin to Cassius Lee. They grew up together, were of the same age and generation, devoted and sympathetic friends throughout their lives. For advice and counsel they sought each other.

On April 21, 1861, the Sunday following General Lee's resignation from the United States Army, he attended Christ Church in Alexandria, and left his carriage and horses at Cassius Lee's house. Sometime during the morning, commissioners sent by the Virginia convention arrived at Arlington House and found General Lee gone to church in Alexandria. They followed him to the home of Cassius Lee, and there awaited his return from church. When the two Lee gentlemen, who had walked home from church together, entered the house, they found the waiting delegation. Realizing at once that only grave considerations had brought these gentlemen to his home, Cassius Lee left the room, and dispatched his family of children to the house of his sister, Mrs. Lloyd. General Lee had written to General Scott only the day before—on April 20:

For this purpose the commissioners from the governor and convention had come, to ask Robert E. Lee to draw his sword—to accept the office of commander in chief of the Virginia forces.

General Lee arrived in Richmond on April 22, and the next day accepted from the Secession Convention the command just offered him:

EPILOGUE

PART THREE

Five Sketches of the Nineteenth Century

Chapter 24

The Yeaton-Fairfax House

[607 Cameron Street. Owners: The Misses Crilly.]

William Yeaton was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1766, and migrated to Alexandria to enter the shipping business when a young man. In the early nineteenth century he launched into the building trade—an "undertaker" he would have been called in the eighteenth century—an architect and contractor today.

On July 15, 1805, he purchased from Cuthburt Powell a part of a lot, granted unto Levin Powell by James Irvine in a deed dated September 10, 1795, and described as situated at the intersection of Cameron and St. Asaph Streets, running west on Cameron for the distance of one hundred feet and north on St. Asaph for ninety-eight feet. The consideration involved one thousand one hundred dollars.

Recessed and panelled doorway to my Lord Fairfax's town house

The elegant three-storied square brick house which William Yeaton erected upon his land is a monument to his talent as a designer. His residence is an individualized interpretation of the best Georgian traditions. The façade of the house is broken in the middle by a long recessed shallow arch, beginning flush with the first belt line, and continuing nearly to the modillioned cornice. In this recess the middle, second and third story windows, are centered, giving the effect of a very high Palladian window. Large arched windows flank each side of the entrance, while windows of the second and third stories are quite ordinary, save in proportion. Every window has outside shutters and molded iron holdbacks.

Washington's Tomb at Mount Vernon. From a sketch appearing in a letter of William Yeaton to Lawrence Lewis under date of April 4, 1835.
(Courtesy Mount Vernon Ladies' Association)

The entrance, a flat arch flush with the house, opens into a deeply recessed and paneled vestibule. Side lunettes, leaded transom, double doors supported by reeded half columns, and an elaborate fret decorate the arch and door trim, making the doorway a very important element of the design. Stone front steps and double flights of outcurving steps, banded by iron railings, contribute emphasis. The watersheds and belt lines are white, as is the recessed arch, adding a dramatic touch to the dull red masonry.

To the right, upon entering, runs a long room the entire length of the house; to the left a small chamber faces the street. A large arch frames a graceful stair, which winds up to the third floor in a circular movement. Newel post and stair ends are carved. While woodwork throughout the house is elaborate, the difference between the first and second floors is marked. That of the first floor is massive, rather more dull than interesting, but the second floor, especially the large room, is startling in that mantel, door trim, chair rail, and baseboard are carved with the delicate lightness of Adam. The feature of this room is, of course, the mantel which is centered between two large shell-like shallow recessed arches, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. The room might have been done by McIntire at his best.

In 1814 the Yeatons sold their home to a man who immediately disposed of his interest in the property to the Bank of the Potomac for ten thousand dollars. Sixteen years later, on December 9, 1830, the house was purchased as a town residence by Thomas, Ninth Lord Fairfax, for five thousand dollars, and remained in the Fairfax family for thirty-four years. Thomas, Ninth Lord Fairfax, in 1800 married Margaret Herbert, eldest daughter of William and Sarah Carlyle Herbert and granddaughter of John Carlyle. They had ten children. Mrs. Robert E. Lee (née Custis) was an intimate of the girls of this family and a frequent visitor in the house.

William Yeaton produced this fine Federal Mansion. A sample of the interior woodwork

Doctor Orlando Fairfax succeeded his father as owner from 1848 to 1864. He bore the title of the "Beloved Physician." The following advertisements, taken from the files of the Alexandria Gazette, give a brief glimpse of his activities in the 1830s:

In 1829 Dr. Fairfax had married Mary Randolph Cary, daughter of Wilson Jefferson Cary. They had nine children.

Arch and staircase in the Yeaton-Fairfax House

In a deed of April 14, 1864, the fact is revealed that this property was condemned according to an act of Congress in 1862 "to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and rebellion to seize and confiscate property of Rebels and for other purposes."[184] It further records that on the preceding day, April 13, 1864, Gouverneur Morris, attorney for Patsy J. Morris, of Westchester County, New York, purchased for four thousand dollars, he being the highest bidder therefor, all the right, title, interest and estate of Dr. Orlando Fairfax.

Gouverneur Morris was a brother-in-law of Dr. Orlando Fairfax, and while living in France sent the Fairfaxes from the palace at Versailles a very large and elegant mirror which hung in the drawing room, filling one of the alcoves from floor to ceiling. This mirror is still in existence and in the possession of Dr. Fairfax's granddaughter, Mrs. Donald MacCrea.

Mrs. Burton Harrison in her Recollections, Grave and Gay, relates the wartime experiences of her uncle and his family who were forced to seek refuge in Richmond, of their sufferings and privations, and of the death of the young son of the family, Randolph, barely twenty, killed in action in mid-December 1862.

During the years of Fairfax occupancy, this mansion was one of the social and cultural centers of the town; the Fairfaxes were the important noble family of the "upper reaches of the Potomac." They intermarried with the Carlyles, Washingtons, Herberts, and Carys. Their contribution to Alexandria cannot be overrated, for in their personal lives and public service, they set an example of chivalry and courage. They have been distinguished by handsome men and beautiful women, by gentleness and courtly bearing. They have had great wealth and used it generously; have lost great wealth and borne it nobly. The family is represented in England today by Thomas Brian, Thirteenth Lord Fairfax, great-great-grandson of Thomas, Ninth Lord Fairfax.

Let us return to William Yeaton, builder of the mansion on Cameron Street. It is of vital interest that he was the designer and contractor for the inclosure of the Tomb of the Pater Patriae.[185] The archives at Mount Vernon contribute a number of papers dealing with this construction. Here is the proposal which Yeaton addressed to Major Lawrence Lewis, of Woodlawn, General Washington's nephew and the executor who supervised the work:

This addition was completed by the end of the year at a cost just slightly in excess of the original six-hundred-dollar estimate. Designed primarily as a protective wall to inclose the burial vault built in 1831, it contributed an appropriate architectural character to the tomb lot. The Gothic arch of the completed entrance was in sympathy with a funereal scene enhanced by willowlike foliage observable in certain views of the period.

Alterations were made in 1837 which created a vestibule between the vault and the outer wall and gateway constructed by William Yeaton. It is not known whether Yeaton again participated in the construction. It was in 1837 that the bodies of General and Mrs. Washington were removed from this closed vault behind and permanently entombed in marble sarcophagi, which the visitor views today in the outer chamber at Mount Vernon.

William Yeaton, builder and "undertaker" (architect) of Alexandria.
By Saint Mèmin.
(Courtesy Corcoran Gallery of Art)

Chapter 25

The La Fayette-Lawrason-Cazenove House

[301 South St. Asaph Street. Owners: Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Wallack.]

The presence of La Fayette was nothing new to Alexandria, yet his official visit in 1824, as the nation's guest, created a turmoil in the town. As soon as the news was received of his arrival in New York (it took two days to reach Alexandria) Captain A. William's company of artillery arose before dawn to fire a national salute at sunrise, and at noon the same company fired seventy-six rounds. During the day the harbor presented the spectacle of all ships displaying their flags at masthead. When the Marquis reached Baltimore, on October 8, representatives from the Alexandria city council were on hand to extend an invitation (in the form of an address) to visit the town, which the distinguished visitor was pleased to accept.

He was met on the south side of the Potomac River on the 16th by that same Captain Williams and his company, firing a salvo in salute, and was addressed in a "neat and handsome" manner by General Jones and suite. He "then entered a splendid barouche, drawn by four fine grays, with postilions dressed in white with blue sashes," and thus was escorted by a company of cavalry under the command of Captain Andrews and a civilian escort led by Captain James Carson, dressed in blue "with sashes of the same color." To this splendor add marines, fire companies, the Alexandria Battalion (1,500 men) all saluting, firing salvos, presenting arms—two bands playing, reception committees, constant alighting from and entering the barouche, and you have some idea of the excitement as the procession passed under the triumphal arch spanning Washington Street.

Left: Thomas Lawrason, builder, and the first owner of the La Fayette House.
Right: Mrs. Thomas Lawrason née Elizabeth Carson

This arch was a masterpiece. It has been described by Benjamin Hallowell in his Autobiography and by the Alexandria Gazette at the time, and memories of it linger in old tales told in many homes. Built in three sections, a large arch spanned the street, with smaller ones the sidewalks. The columns were decorated with portraits of Washington and La Fayette. Noble and patriotic sentiments were inscribed: "Welcome La Fayette—A Nation's Gratitude Thy Due"—"For a Nation to be Free, it is Sufficient that she wills it." A fully rigged ship hung beneath the central span, and the whole was decorated with cedar, laurel and oak, set off by a Liberty cap and "a real mountain eagle which had been politely furnished by Mr. Timothy Mountford of the Museum." When the column passed under the arch, the eagle "politely furnished" opened wide his wings and gave a mighty screech, produced, 'tis said, by a small boy and a pin placed in close proximity for this very purpose. From the windows of the houses ladies waved handkerchiefs and threw nosegays in fiesta fashion.

The doorway to the elegant house built by Thomas Lawrason and loaned by his widow to La Fayette

When the parade reached Royal Street and Gadsby's Tavern, we are told that a ceremony took place there which, "in sublimity and moral effect surpassed all." "One hundred young girls and one hundred boys from seven to twelve years of age were arrayed in lines extending to the Reception Room." They were neatly dressed, the "females" in white with blue sashes and badges and leghorn bonnets, the boys in blue with pink sashes and badges. As the General approached, a little girl, Rosalie Taylor, stepped out and "spoke with becoming grace and manner" a poem several verses long that began:

Fayette, friend of Washington.
Freedom's children greet thee here;
Fame for Thee our hearts has won
Flows for thee the grateful tear.
Chorus
Happiness today is ours;
Strew, ye fair! his way with flowers!

After being wined and dined at Claggett's Hotel, formerly Gadsby's, the barouche was again brought forward and General La Fayette, escorted by the procession, "moved on to the house which had been procured for his accomodation."[186]

And so we arrive at the home of Mrs. Thomas Lawrason, the most elegant house of its day and time in Alexandria, lent by this charming Irish lady to the great Frenchman, thereby endowing it with imperishable fame as the La Fayette house.

On August 5, 1779, the executors of John Alexander sold to Thomas Wilkinson "a half acre lott lying and being upon the South side of Duke Street and the West Side of St. Asaph Street and described by the number 175," the ground rent of which was £14 10s. In September 1795, William Thornton Alexander, one of the heirs of John Alexander, released Benjamin Shreve and James Lawrason from this ground rent upon the payment of the sum of £300, and in this indenture of September 14, the fact is cited that this was the property sold by Thomas Wilkinson and that Shreve and Lawrason divided the property.

The hall

On September 27, 1819, in an indenture between James Lawrason and Alice, his wife, and Elizabeth Lawrason, widow of Thomas Lawrason, son of the said James, lately deceased, and their five children, the fact is cited that Thomas Lawrason bought for five hundred dollars the lot at the intersection of St. Asaph and Duke Streets, described as running "West on Duke 120 feet to an alley 6 feet wide 10 inches to be held in common with the heirs of Benjamin Shreve, thence on said alley South 55 feet, thence East, parallel to Duke 120 feet to St. Asaph and thence on St. Asaph North to the beginning." This same document further described that "the said Thomas entered on said lott and erected thereon a three story brick tenement and other buildings and improvements and afterwards departed this life intestate without having received a deed for the same," which deed James was at this time executing, conveying this property to his son's widow and orphans.

The three-story brick tenement, built by Thomas Lawrason for his young wife, is one of the important federal houses in this ancient seaport. High upon the roof a white railing incloses the "Captain's Walk" from which point of vantage the Fowle & Lawrason ships could be sighted far down the Potomac. The doorway is the outstanding feature of the house. The fanlight over the door is a true fan in shape and design, and the lunettes on each side of the double doors are unique. The interior of the mansion is commodious and comfortable with well proportioned rooms of agreeable size and beautiful woodwork.

James Lawrason of Sussex County, New Jersey, married Alice Levering. Their son, Thomas Lawrason, builder of the house, was born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1780. The Lawrasons lived for a while in Canada, where life for those with Tory sympathies was more agreeable, but after the Revolution, and prior to 1795, the family returned to Virginia and settled in Alexandria, where the senior Lawrason was associated for a time with Benjamin Shreve.

Thomas Lawrason, a member of the important shipping firm of Lawrason & Fowle, married Elizabeth Carson, the sixteen-year-old daughter of Dr. Samuel Carson of Armagh, Ireland, in October 1808. To them were born five children: Samuel Carson, October 18, 1809; James Thomas, July 28, 1811; William Wilson, 1814; George Carson, 1816; and Anne Carson, 1818.

Thomas Lawrason died on June 7, 1819, before he could enjoy his fine, new home, leaving Elizabeth to struggle with a house and family. She never remarried, remaining in Alexandria until her children were reared and settled in life. Then she followed her youngest son, George Carson Lawrason, to New Orleans. An entry in the family Bible reads: "Elizabeth Lawrason, consort of Thomas Lawrason died at the residence of her son George C. Lawrason in New Orleans on the 11th of April, 1851, aged 59 years." A curious and sad sequel to her death is that some years later her grave was washed away and swallowed by the Mississippi. When General Lee's body lay in state at Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) her grandson, Samuel McCutcheon Lawrason, then a student at Virginia Military Institute, was one of the bodyguards at the bier.

The rear parlor. These rooms are spacious and well proportioned, the woodwork in style of McIntire after Adam is worthy of the master builders

The original portraits of Elizabeth and Thomas hang in the Lawrasons' Louisiana plantation home at St. Francisville. Some of the family silver, made in Alexandria by I. Adam, belongs to her granddaughter, Mrs. Kirkpatrick.

The La Fayette-Lawrason association rightfully includes the name Cazenove to commemorate the role played by Alexandria's noble French-speaking citizen on the happy occasion of La Fayette's visit. Really his name was De Cazenove for his family was both Huguenot and noble. They had fled France in 1688 and settled in Geneva, Switzerland, where they were prominent bankers for over one hundred years. When the French Revolution broke out, the radical Swiss threw the French aristocrats into jail; then, becoming frightened at their tyranny, they released the patricians. Among those incarcerated were the De Cazenove family. After their release Antoine Charles de Cazenove and his elder brother were sent by their parents to America to avoid the Revolution. They landed in Philadelphia and were the guests of some cousins there by the same name. The two brothers married sisters, the Misses Hogan of Philadelphia.

Later, the elder brother returned to Geneva. Antoine Charles Cazenove (for by this time our young Frenchman had become imbued with the spirit of republicanism and dropped the De as un-American), moved to Alexandria about 1794 and founded the banking house of Cazenove & Company. Head of a large shipping business, he maintained his own wharf and warehouses; was French consul; one of the founders of the Alexandria Water Company and of the cotton factory; and an active member of the old Presbyterian Church. He owned three or four black slaves who spoke only French. During the yellow fever epidemic in 1803, when forty to fifty people were dying in a day, Cazenove refused to leave Alexandria. He contracted yellow fever and was one of the few persons to have the disease and survive.

After Mrs. Lawrason put her Alexandria home at the disposal of General La Fayette, Antoine Charles Cazenove was invited to act as host. When the Alexandrians crowded outside the Lawrason house demanding a sight of and a speech from La Fayette, Cazenove introduced him. La Fayette was "chez lui"; the whole visit passed off with great éclat.

The great General on departure referred to his entertainment in Alexandria as "the most pleasing hours of his life." A gratified city council presented Mrs. Lawrason with a silver cup in recognition of her generous and hospitable act. This, duly inscribed, is cherished to this day by her great-granddaughter, Mrs. Donald M. Hamilton of Georgetown, in Washington, D.C.

Chapter 26

Enter the Quaker Pedagogue: Benjamin Hallowell

Benjamin Hallowell came to Alexandria in 1824 to open a school for boys. He was then twenty-five, with no fortune, a large debt, a dependent mother, a new and young bride.

For his first school he rented the building on the northeast corner of Oronoco and Washington Streets, next to the house where the widow of General Harry Lee resided!

Alexandria was in a turmoil of hospitality, welcoming the Marquis de la Fayette. Hallowell and his wife of a few hours stood in their front door the morning after their marriage and saw the famous Frenchman paying his devoirs to Mrs. Lee. Hallowell's autobiography pictures the occasion: "When he got opposite," he wrote, "he looked at us, took off his hat, and made a graceful bow, not knowing it was to a lady who had been married the day before." Nor that his liking for a fresh smiling face inspired the schoolmaster to immediately express his emotions in the following verse:

Each lover of Liberty surely must get
Something in honor of LaFayette
There's a LaFayette watch-chain, a LaFayette hat,
A LaFayette this, and a LaFayette that.
But I wanted something as lasting as life
As I took to myself a LaFayette wife.[187]

The school of Benjamin Hallowell filled slowly at first. The ninth boy to enroll was Mrs. Harry Lee's son, Robert Edward. Edmund Lee and Thomas Swann sent their boys, who were "ten dollar" scholars. The time was to come when Hallowell would turn away more than a hundred applicants, but that was after Robert Edward Lee had gone to West Point and distinguished himself.

At the end of his year in Alexandria, Hallowell's child was born. Both he and the mother were very ill, "seemingly with bilious fever." Then, for the first time, Hallowell heard that the "situation on Oronoco Street, on the edge of town as it was, had always been regarded as unhealthy."[188] He could not bear the idea of his wife and family continuing in a place that was so evil, or of inviting his scholars to share such an environment. Then it was that he got in contact with the widow Hooe, made arrangements to give up his first schoolhouse and immediately engaged the more healthy situation on Washington Street.

The house which was so "unhealthy" is a replica in almost every respect of Mrs. Harry Lee's house, but there is no record of Mrs. Lee complaining of the situation nor of the health of her boys.

The new schoolhouse, so commonly spoken of as the Lloyd House [220 North Washington Street.] by Alexandrians, was built by John Hooe in 1793. In 1826, Benjamin Hallowell rented it from the widow Hooe and in the spring vacation with his ill wife in his arms, moved into this building so admirably adapted to his purpose.

"My school room," he tells us, "was on the first floor, north end, all across the house. I having obtained permission of my Landlady, in our arrangements, to remove the partition on condition of replacing it by one with folding doors, when I should leave the property, which was done. My lecture room was the back room over the school room.... The very day the quarter's rent was due the widow Hooe's carriage was at the door, and this continued to be her custom as long as she lived. If I had not the money, which was generally the case, I would frankly tell her so, and add that the first money I could get, and could possibly spare, I would take to her, with which she was always satisfied. She never said a word like urging me, or being disappointed in not getting the rent due, and I did take her the very first I received, never permitting it to be in my possession over night."[189]

The frail Mrs. Hallowell opened a school for girls in the front room over the schoolroom, and Hallowell lectured to her scholars. Money being very scarce with them at this time, they could not afford two stoves, so Hallowell and the servant, Nancy, carried the stove from schoolroom to lecture room as needed.

Entrance to Benjamin Hallowell's first school. A fine type of Georgian doorway

"On the 17th of Ninth month, 1830," the autobiography continues, "commenced giving private lessons to Angela Lewis, daughter of Major Lawrence Lewis (who was a nephew of General Washington, and it was said a good deal resembled him in appearance). These lessons continued through the year, for which I charged fifty dollars, and the Major promptly sent me his check for the amount. Eleanor Lewis, Angela's Mother, always attended at her daughter's recitations in English Grammar, Parsing, Natural Philosophy, etc., so that her influence, which she afterwards exerted in my favor, and her praise of my method of teaching, was of greater value to me than the amount I received in hand for teaching her daughter."[190]

The Lloyd House and Benjamin Hallowell's second school

In the meantime, he struggled along with debt, with illness, with sorrow. Scarlet fever wiped out three of the four little Hallowells in nearly the same number of weeks. He witnessed the cholera in Alexandria and had the unhappy experience of seeing a man drop dead of the plague before his eyes; he heard the market square echo to the feet of soldiers mustering and drilling in preparation for war in Mexico.

This man had the most singular relationships in his business dealings. When he bought the lot and buildings of his school from the bank, it was two years before any papers were signed, interest paid, or deed given, although he had made extensive improvements during that time. He never failed to meet an obligation although at the beginning it took him ten years to pay back the two hundred dollars plus five per cent interest, that he had from his Uncle Comly in Philadelphia. Everyone trusted him, the merchants in Philadelphia from whom he had his school supplies and chemical apparatus; his grocer in Alexandria, John P. Cowman, not only never dunned him, but invited him to come to his store and get what was necessary, and never sent bills unless requested.

When the blast of winter chilled the great rooms at Woodlawn the Lawrence Lewises came into warmer quarters in Alexandria and occupied this cottage. 'Twas here that Benjamin Hallowell came to improve the mind of Nelly Custis' daughter

Hallowell was city surveyor, but accepted no fee because it afforded a fine opportunity to instruct his pupils in "Field Practice with the Odolite and Level." He was something of an architect, improving every place he occupied, and building two fine structures in the town.

In 1831 the widow Hooe died and in the spring of 1832 the house which he had acquired for a school in 1826, was put up at auction. Hallowell hoped to possess this property, having put both his time and money into the remodeling. He had already enlarged and improved a sugar house adjacent to the building. His school was growing in reputation and size, he becoming more prosperous. Gathering together all the cash he could put his hands on, he attended the auction where he had the misfortune to be outbid. The property was purchased by John Lloyd, and remained in the Lloyd family for nearly one hundred years.

Early nineteenth century mantel in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ford Swetnam at 815 Franklin Street. The original use of reeded work to form a beautiful design, the shell-like ornamentation and diagonal bands make this an attractive piece of wood carving. (Nelly Custis Town House)

Ancient mahogany filled the rooms, portraits of ancestors lined the walls. General Lee was a frequent visitor in this house. The Lloyds intermarried with the Lees, and Mrs. Lloyd was General Lee's first cousin. His daughter, Miss Mary Custis Lee, always stayed here when visiting in Alexandria. The last Lloyds to live in this house were two very old ladies. What follows will serve to reveal why their neighbors considered them "quaint."

Following the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's consort, a fashion grew up in Virginia affecting widows. At the death of the husband a real Victorian Virginia lady simply went to bed and awaited death. It did not always follow that a broken heart put her in her grave as readily as was anticipated, and many of these brokenhearted widows lived to a ripe old age. Such was the case with one of these piously saddened ladies. When she heard the doorbell, she at once put herself between the sheets of her high poster and covered herself to the chin. Under the cover went such things as high button shoes, a "reticule" and any other regalia that was in service at the moment. If the caller was familiar, or after the formalities had been observed, proper sympathy for the heart palpitating between the sheets, the head languishing upon the pillow noticed and condoned, the sufferer would arise, hop out of bed fully clothed and partake of cookies and wine passed by the black dwarf, Selena. This small creature, after fulfilling her part in the social amenities, seated herself upon a small stool, joined in the conversation, and when amused (which was often) broke into a high falsetto laugh. In the last years of these two ladies she gained a most unholy influence over her charges and took cruel advantage of their helplessness.

Another peculiarity of this household was the fashion of being admitted to the mansion. After repeated ringing of the bell, a second-story front window would open—those not in the know often left—and in a leisurely fashion a grape basket was lowered by a long string. Inside the basket, those who were familiar with the proceeding would find the front-door key, a large, heavy iron affair, somewhat like that to the Bastille, now on display at Mount Vernon, and with this they let themselves in.

The Lloyd house, a large rectangular brick building, divided by a central hall with rooms on each side, is two and a half stories high. Three dormer windows pierce the roof, front and back, and four great chimneys rise from the gable ends. Flush with the street, on a corner, with a handsome garden behind a pale and paneled fence adjoining to the left, the house is a model federal town mansion. Pedimented doorway, window caps, keystones, cornice and dormer trim follow the best mid-Georgian tradition. This house is one of Alexandria's finest homes. It was for many years the residence of Mr. and Mrs. W.A. Smoot.