Inspired by a new book by Sue Kovach Shuman, I had a fun walk this morning through parts of Mantua, a neighborhood located between the Beltway and Fairfax. Accotink Creek, Crook Branch and Long Branch are saving graces which run through the green oasis. Like a lot of places in suburbia where the only thing left from the past are the water fingers, folks may not realize there is enough of a demolished past here to cover in a book.
Much is owed to Richard Chichester (1736-1796), who obtained the patent in 1776. His mother was Ellen Ball Chichester, a cousin to George Washington. His second wife was Sarah McCarty. They lived previously at Newington, which stood from 1760 to 1875 as the second Truro Parish Glebe House. Sarah’s father was Daniel McCarty of Mount Air. Their story is emblematic of a shifting economy away from tobacco to wheat. The Chichesters built their mill on Long Run near where it flowed into the Accotink. A good guess is they wanted to be closer to Alexandria but Beth Mitchell’s map of 1760 shows a number of mills already established west of Alexandria.
Images of America books are of a varying quality. Shuman gets an A plus for her full on research, knowledge and insight. She covers the large petroleum leak (1990) from the storage facility on Pickett Road. The company settled a lawsuit brought forth by the 110 homeowners. Shuman points out this was the first time a company did so with homeowners rather than the EPA. She also tells us Leroy Eakin’s donation of 15 acres in 1950 created the first park in the county system. We bet he would be proud to see Mantua today, a community protecting the natural beauty, and balancing its needs in a good way.
Alexandria is a city that has produced leaders, elected officials, captains of commerce and industry, clergy, veterans, educators, and others. When it comes to those who shined with their words and pens, the list sure looks tiny, at least those from the nineteenth century. The novelist Constance Cary Harrison of Vaucluse comes to mind, but she bought her ink in Richmond and up north.
Several months ago, when we were looking at lost homes on Washington Street, we came across Sarah Whittlesey (1824-1896). Quite frankly, I had never heard of her or any others from that family. From 1848 to 1896, she lived at the southeast corner of Duke and S. Washington (torn down in the 1960s). Whittlesey became a poetess and novelist of some note, but her story is long forgotten.
Here is a brief history of her life. We include her brother Oscar and a few other Whittleseys.
The searcher of information on the Whittlesey family can find the book, “Genealogy of the Whittlesey-Whittlesey family” by Charles Barney Whittlesey. The author tells us the name was taken by persons living in Cambridgeshire, England on the Whittlesea Fens from the tenth century.
“Memorial of the Whittlesey Family in the United States” tells the reader John Whittlesey was the immigrant, who became a farmer and shoemaker at Saybrook, Connecticut. For generations, a branch of the Whittleseys lived in the "Constitution State." Their names can be seen chiseled on a number of stone war memorials in public spaces. In Old Saybrook, the John Whittlesey Jr. House and the Ambrose Whittlesey House are both listed on the National Register for Historic Places. The oldest part of the former is from 1693. The NRHP form tells us the family played an important part in the development of the Ferry District in Saybrook. John Whittlesey and his son were ferryman there.
The latter tells the story of Ambrose Whittlesey. The Whittleseys were “wealthy landowners and farmers, but also involved in the merchant trade and shipbuilding.” Ambrose sailed on the high seas as a captain.
Through the years, the Whittlesey family produced a number of notable citizens. They must have been incredibly proud of Charles W. Whittlesey (1884-1921). In the story of the “Lost Battalion,” he led his infantry troops in the Argonne Forest in December 1918. Outnumbered and cut off for five long days, Major Whittlesey refused to surrender. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions.
Like Sarah, Eliphalet Whittlesey (1821-1909) came from the Connecticut line. Born in New Britain and educated at Yale, his was a uniquely remarkable life. Eliphalet rose to become a pastor, a professor, and then a one-star general. He came to Washington after the war and helped found Howard University, as well as providing leadership to the Freedman's Bureau and the Board of Indian Commissioners. Whittlesey was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
Research by Donald Dahmann, historian at the Old Presbyterian Meeting House (“From the Close of the Civil War to the Closure of the Congregations at the Close of the Century), adds to our knowledge of Eliphalet Whittlesey. He was a Congregational Minister at the historic church on S. Fairfax Street, serving as a long-term supply minister during the late-1880s. Whittlesey had commanded an African American regiment in the Union Army during the Civil War.
Charles Whittlesey (1819-1874), born in Salisbury, Connecticut, made quite a name for himself in Alexandria. After the Civil War was over, he became active in Reconstruction efforts and practiced law. He lived on the 200 block of Prince Street, known today as "Gentry Row." This would have placed him in high circles in the seaport.
In May, 1866, the Unconditional Union Republican Party held a state-wide convention in Alexandria. Along with other members of the Presbyterian congregation such as Lewis McKenzie, Whittlesey served as a convention delegate. Whittlesey also served briefly as Attorney General of Virginia (Sep 1869 - Jan 1870).
In April, 1868, Charles Whittlesey, also a member of the congregation at Old Presbyterian Meeting House, attended a lecture on education at Liberty Hall. The Alexandria Gazette reported the place was “packed by the colored people of the city to listen to a lecture by John. M. Langston" (1829-1897), who became the first black man to represent Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives and a Civil Rights legend.
In 1869, Charles Whittlesey ran as the Republican candidate for U.S. Congress from Virginia's Seventh District. The race received a lot of press coverage. The Gazette hammered Whittlesey repeatedly as a Radical Carpetbagger. Although Whittlesey won in Alexandria, Stafford, and Louisa County, McKenzie (Conservative) defeated him 15,878 to 11,073.
Sarah Whittlesey’s life began in Williamston, North Carolina. The small town lies in Halifax County in the eastern part of the state, about 80 miles east of the capital in Raleigh. Like Alexandria’s early years, Williamston's lifeblood owed something to being a port on the river and the cultivation of tobacco using enslaved humans.
Sarah’s parents were Luman Whittlesey (1795-1868) and Elizabeth G. Peale Whittlesey (1806-1868). Luman was born in Washington, Connecticut, where he married, in 1818, Sarah Johnson Cogswell (1797-1821). They had two sons, Edgar Augustus Whittlesey (b. 1819) and Joseph Adolphus (b. 1820). A newspaper article in the Litchfield Inquirer (Nov. 1831), indicates a David Whittlesey of Washington, Connecticut was their guardian. Not much is known about Edgar and Joseph. Edgar might have gone to Texas.
Sarah had two handfuls of aunts and uncles on the father’s side. Luman’s brother, Harvey (1788-1861), lived in Farmington, Connecticut. Ralph (1801-1850), also might have gone west.
After his first wife passed away in 1821, Luman moved to Williamston. In 1823, he married Elizabeth G. Peale, a native Tar Heel. Luman taught at the Williamston Academy. Sarah was born in 1824. Two years later came Oscar Columbus.
In 1839, Luman wrote a letter to his brother, Harvey, who was living in Farmington. Luman gave him, “a very condensed account of my movements since I left Connecticut.” He farmed, taught school, and worked as a blacksmith. The hot work of the latter was probably to supplement his income.
Understandably, there is a paucity of newspaper coverage on the Whittleseys during their time in North Carolina. Richard Walser ("Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Volume 6") fills in gaps. He tells us Luman had a farm and store in Palmyra, a rural community near Williamston.
Luman and his family returned to Williamston in 1841, before moving to Edenton five years later. The town lies on the banks of Albermarle Sound and shares a look and feel with Old Town Alexandria. Edenton had its own newspaper. Luman taught there for two years.
The men of the Whittlesey family could choose from a number of traditional roles and occupations. For women like Sarah, it was slim pickings. Education was the main road out of the rut. Sarah graduated from La Vallee Female Seminary in 1841. The school was located about 20 miles west of Halifax. In addition to the basics, students were taught Latin and French, music and science. Some of Sarah’s stories contain conversations in French.
The UNC University Libraries tells us the Seminary:
... was run out of a small building behind what is now known as the Gray-Brownlow-Willcox House. The school building had two floors in which there would have been space for classes to be conducted and for students to eat meals and socialize, and an attic area which was likely the living quarters for the students. La Vallee Female Seminary was forced to close in 1850.
Image from Edenton Sentinel, June 2, 1860.
Perhaps Sarah visited Halifax, famous for the Halifax Resolves, which urged the state’s delegates to vote for independence from Great Britain in April, 1776. On his Southern tour, George Washington stayed overnight there on April 16, 1791.
In 1842, at age 18, Sarah married Harry A. Smith of Massachusetts. The North Carolina Digital Collections tells us their union was “brief and disastrous.” She left Smith in 1846 and the divorce was drawn up four years later.
Most likely looking for greener pastures, Luman moved his family to Alexandria in 1848. They lived in a house on the southeast corner of Duke and Washington. The brick dwelling, demolished in the 1960s, stood out with a two-story veranda facing Washington Street. The census of 1850 shows Luman and Oscar as tutors. Sarah is listed as S.J.C. Whittlesey.
Photo: Left to right: Lafayette House, Duke and S. St. Asaph; site of Whittlesey House (bank at Duke and Washington); and Janney House, across Washington Street.
It’s hard to know what the family thought of Alexandria when they arrived. It seems they would have been impressed and pleased by its cosmopolitan nature as a seaport and being close to the nation’s capital. There's no doubt they were pleased by less of a wait for mail from Connecticut.
The town had grown from the smaller one of three by seven blocks that George Washington had known in colonial days. After the turn of the century, Virginia’s population stagnated, as farmers and others sought opportunities to the west. Alexandria’s glory days as a bustling seaport with tall ships was fading.
Nevertheless, in the 1850s, the Whittleseys would witness what Harold Hurst (“Alexandria on the Potomac”) details as a remarkable change. Factories and railroads brought jobs and paychecks. Victorian style architecture added to the stock of Georgian and Federals and occasional "Flounder."
The Whittlesey family lived in Alexandria from 1848 to their passing, as follows: Lunan and wife Sarah (1868), Sarah (1896) and Oscar until 1901. This was a distinct period of growth in the second half of the nineteenth century. T. Michael Miller described some of it as (The Alexandria Chronicle, Spring/Summer 1996):
Fine dwellings, modest wooden or brick row houses, and noisome manufactures were intermingled in an unzoned welter.
The Alexandria world the Whittleseys first saw can be seen in a color lithograph, "View of Alexandria, Virginia in 1845." The classic image has been used in a number of prominent books about Alexandria. The E. Sasche & Company of Baltimore provides a north to south orientation of the town.
For a more detailed look, we provide this marked map.
The Whittlesey home at Duke and Washington stood on the northern edge of the "Bottoms" or "Dip" neighborhood, and the western edge of a core of mostly residential homes that to this day maintains that distinction. The large swale that begins its downhill run from Duke southward is the first hint at the Bottoms neighborhood.
This portion of, "Bird's Eye View of Alexandria, 1863" by Charles Magnus gives the reader an idea of the area where the family lived. Their home stood one block below where one sees the horse and buggy at Duke and S. Columbus.
The family had a bird's eye view themselves of both the attractive homes to their west and The Bottoms to their south. They stood in contrast to each other. The Bottoms had drainage problems and most of its residents were low on the income range.
This dichotomy still exists today in that the homes south of King, east of Washington and north of Wilkes can fetch more than a million dollars. Zoning there is almost all single family residential, while the Bottoms is a mix.
While many homes were razed during the “Dip Renewal” phase of Urban Renewal, a few markers provide a glimpse into its past. 601 Wilkes is the site of the Alexandria Pottery, which provided employment to African Americans. The home at 408 S. Royal was once the dwelling of George L. Seaton. This part of Alexandria was Hayti, a smaller community within the Bottoms.
The Bottoms does shine its historic landmark, Alfred Street Baptist Church. Residents and worshippers take great pride in its past, present and continued bright future. A state highway marker tells the reader the church is:
is home to the oldest African American congregation in Alexandria, dating to the early 19th century. It has served as a prominent religious, educational, and cultural institution. In 1818, the congregation, then known as the Colored Baptist Society, began worship services here in the midst of the Bottoms, a free black neighborhood. By 1820 the church created its educational branch, providing religious and secular opportunities for both black children and adults. In 1855, free black craftsmen probably designed and built the brick church. Alterations to the building occurred in the 1880s and in 1994 the church constructed a new sanctuary.
Another distinct feature of Sarah’s world was S. Washington Street. Like today, landmarks include the Lyceum, churches and Lloyd’s Row of brick homes (photo by author). One might still call it Sanctuary Row
The Whittlesey home stood one block to the west of the corner of Duke and S. St. Asaph. Commodious brick homes built there and nearby before and during the Whittlesey's arrived stand today as sentinels of Old Town's beauty. In particular are the Lafayette House and the Dulany House. Some of Alexandria’s most impressive home lie on the nearby blocks. There's no doubt Sarah and her family would have enjoyed this part of the city, and perhaps made friends there.
Politically, Alexandria had first given their hurrahs and humphs to the Federal Party. Conservative Democrats held sway until the 1850s when the town, always putting business needs and internal improvements first, became a “Whig citadel.” Two years before the Whittleseys arrived, Alexandrians had voted 763 to 222 to retrocede back to Virginia. Of course, by laws hammered out by the planter-legislators, enslaved African Americans held no civil rights.
As in North Carolina, the Whittleseys would have seen both enslaved humans and free blacks. Their house stood on the northern edge of the “Bottoms” or “Dip” neighborhood, one of a number of African American communities. There was no greater contrast in the United States than free African Americans in Alexandria becoming successful citizens and raising families, and the horrible institution of selling off slaves that took place five blocks to the west of the Whittlesey home at the slave pen on Duke Street. They probably saw the wretched site of enslaved humans tied in coffles being marched to the waterfront, nevermore to be seen.
Also in their immediate vicinity stood a tannery (site Wilkes and S. Washington), and a Lancastrian School (site near Wolfe and S. Washington), where Luman found employment as a teacher. Steamboats plied the waters of the Potomac, about a half a mile to the east. Sarah surely took in plays at the theaters, and observed life at the market square, during parades and elsewhere. King Street was an emporium, and offered a number of book stores, including ones that would sell her poems and novels.
Sarah and her family lived just two blocks north from the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, which chugged through the Bottoms neighborhood on Wilkes Street. One block away towards King Street stood the Lyceum, a Greek Revival beauty finished in 1839 on S. Washington Street.
In April, 1852, at the Lyceum, her brother Oscar was selected as a member of a committee established to organize a Library Association. Also at the table were several distinguished citizens including Richard L. Carne, a father at St. Mary’s Catholic Church and brother of William, the city’s de facto historian.
Oscar tutored and also wrote some poetry. In August 1850, an ad appeared in the Gazette for:
“LaValle Seminary, just below the Exchange Bank, near the corner of Price and Water (Lee) streets. Messrs L. & O.C. Whittlesey respectfully announce to their patrons, and the public generally, that they will resume the exercises of their school, on the 2d day of September next.”
They also might have ran a school out of their home and Sarah might have taught the females.
One thing is for sure. Competition would have been keen. Alexandria had a stellar reputation for its academies and private schools, perhaps the reason Lunan moved the family to Alexandria. From 1828 to 1842, Benjamin Hallowell, the famed educator, set the bar high with his “Brimstone Castle” School for Boys on N. Washington Street. Also laudatory was the Alexandria Academy, just one block south of the Whittlesey home. Hurst also praises other such as the Alexandria Female Academy and the Belle Haven Institute.
Oscar got quite involved in the administration of Alexandria, becoming clerk of the Common (City) Council, serving on the Health Board, and a Trustee for the City School Board. After the war, he stepped into the fiery arena that was Reconstruction. He joined up with the Organization of the Union Republic Association, which the Gazette labeled the “Radical Caucus.” Lewis McKenzie served as President, Oscar as Secretary.
In 1871, the Alexandria Gazette showed Oscar as an examiner for annual inspection of the Snowden School. The “colored school house” was on S. Pitt between Gibbon and Franklin. Oscar was in high company that day with William F. Carne, the city’s de facto historian. The successful African American businessman George Seaton was also in attendance. Oscar and Carne “expressed themselves as greatly pleased with the examination.”
Readers of the Gazette had seen the Whittlesey name in the paper now and then. Elisha Whittlesey (1783-1863), was born in Washington, Connecticut and served as a member of the US House of Representatives (Ohio) from 1823 to 1833. In 1847, he was appointed General Collector for the Washington National Monument Society.
Readers of the Gazette first learned of Sarah Whittlesey in March, 1848 when the Gazette published her poem, “The Loved and Lost.” Seen in the upper left hand of page 4, the byline said, “Sarah J.C. Whittlesey Smith.” Her poem stood out in the seven-column page. (Note: Once Sarah got divorced, the Smith name was dropped. The most common use of her name was Sarah J.C. Whittlesey, with S.J.C. Whittlesey also used).
In April came “The Lily and the Rose.” followed by “Adolphus.” Oscar’s poem, “Analogical Musings,” was published in May 1848. More poems followed in 1849, 1850, including a few more by Oscar.
In June 1851, the Gazette published, “The Smile, From Mrs. Whittlesey’s Magazine.” Perhaps they thought Sarah was the author. In fact, Abigail Goodrich Whittlesey (1788-1858) penned the story. Born in Goodrich, Connecticut, she founded and edited Mother’s Magazine.
Sarah’s first book came out in 1852. “Heart Drops from Memory’s Urn,” was a collection of her poems. The Spirit of Age, a newspaper in Raleigh, the capital city of North Carolina, published it in their Poet’s Corner. The poem, written for “Sophie,” has this middle stanza.
Dearest, like the heaven’s seeming,
As life’s winding way;
Overcast, and brightly beaming,
Till the perfect day;
But when we are safely landed
Over Jordan’s tide,
When Time’s Army is disbanded,
On the other side.
G.E. French and Robert Bell on King Street sold the book with a price of $1.15, “handsomely bounded in muslin-gilt edges $1.50.” Ads were also seen in the Richmond newspapers and The Cecil Whig in Elkton, Maryland. The Gazette wrote:
“This lady’s poems, we trust, will meet with a favorable reception. Many of her productions have been highly complimented.”
Sarah had fans and readers in both North Carolina and Virginia. The Greensboro Times serialized some of her short stories, including “The Hidden Heart,” “Reginald’s Revenge,” “The Broken Vow,” and “Southern Field and Fireside.” The newspaper told its readers her first literary production had been published in the Edenton Sentinel in the summer of 1846. In that issue (June 2, 1860), they included a sketch of Sarah. Such images of her are rare.
Sarah developed a style that Walser describes as “genteel, false-feminine sentimentality.” The Living Writers of the South points out:
Miss Whittlesey is strongly Southern in her feelings, tastes, and style generally. In a lyric, she gives the following literal vent to that partiality.
And I long to go back to the beautiful ways
Of my beautiful South;
I’m weary of waiting, and wrathful days,
And woe’s wide mouth!
Other than the serialization of her poems in the papers, Sarah’s readers had to wait seven years for her next publication. “The Stranger’s Stratagem or The Double Deceit and other Stories” featured seven short stories, with an average of about 50 pages long. Sarah’s book was sold by three bookstores in town -- French’s, Robert Bell and George Siggers.
Also on the shelves were The Farmer’s Almanac; magazines by Harper and Frank Leslie; "Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington," by George Washington Parke Custis; "The Rivals, A Tale of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton;" "Life of Andrew Jackson;" "History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion Virginia;" and "Heroines of History."
Readers of The Greensboro Times had gotten the first look at the book in the spring before. "Reginald’s Revenge" was promoted as, “A Prize Story written expressly for the Times.” The first five columns of the front page of April 17, 1858 issue was Chapter Five of the book.
W. Dodd of New York published the book. The stories were, The Stranger’s Stratagem, Reginald’s Revenge, Italia Alma, Lilia Rosely, The Drunkard’s Daughter, Eva Evylin, and The Gem.
The Gazette wrote:
We have received a handsome volume, published by Miss Sarah J C Whittlesey. A large number of our citizens have subscribed to the book in advance…. in one handsome volume, price $1.25 plain, with gilt edges and sides, 1.50 Robert Bell.
They also said:
“… a lady whose genius and accomplishments have been shown in various emanations of her mind, and her friends confidently anticipate that her present work will be most favorably received by the public. We trust it may not only be acceptable to readers, but add to the fame and increase the worldly prosperity of the fair author.”
Also that year, Southern Literary Messenger published a collection of poems, including Sarah’s “Summer is Over.”
Summer is over, and soon will close
The volume of Nature, fair.
Let us then read while the sunlight glows,
What they have written us there;
Emblem of life are the beautiful flowers,
Springing in Summer’s soft tread,
Blooming today in its sunlight and showers,
Tomorrow lie faded and dead.
Early in the morning on May 24, 1861, and less than 24 hours after Alexandria had voted to ratify the "Ordinance of Secession," Union troops marched into the city of 12,000. Colonel Elmer Ellsworth did his part by leading the 11th New York Zouave Regiment. Civil War buffs have discussed whether or not the appropriate words are an "invasion," an "occupation," or something else.
Image from historical marker at King and S. Pitt streets.
No matter. That morning, at King and Pitt streets, about five blocks from the Whittlesey House, hotel owner Jesse Jackson shot and killed Colonel Ellsworth. Seconds later, one of the Zouves killed Jackson. Blue uniforms would pepper the seaport for the next four years.
It’s hard to know what Sarah did during the Civil War. Like many white Alexandrians, she likely seethed behind the curtains at the site of Union soldiers, mourned when they heard of rebel losses, and cheered the victories of Robert E. Lee. The town was under full control of the Union army from May 1861 to the end of the war in 1865.
There’s no doubt Sarah would have been sad in 1865 at the sight of what Smith and Miller ("A Seaport Saga") described as the return of the "tattered remnants of the Seventeenth Virginia Regiment." In 1862 and 1863, she would have seen the influx of a large number of contraband, African Americans who had fled their owners and found an early form of freedom in Union-controlled Alexandria.
Almost directly across the Whittlesey home on S. Washington Street stood a two-part dwelling that was used during the war to assist contraband persons. In her book, "A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time, Julia Wilbur's Struggle for Purpose," Paula Whitacre tells us how Wilbur and Harriet Jacobs raised money and collected clothing for the needy new citizens. The brick building also served as living quarters at times. Still standing, it can be seen on the cover of "Alexandria, Images of America." It is thought that Wilbur and Harriet are part of the group that day. Perhaps Whittlesey witnessed the taking of the photo.
It's hard to know how much Sarah knew about Harriet Jacob and vice versa. On the surface, they did not have much in common. Both, however, had lived in Edenton and both escaped bad situations. Sarah was the victim of an arranged marriage to a man named Harry Smith of Massachusetts. As the NC Encyclopedia points out:
Four years later she abandoned Smith because of his "jealous tyranny," assisted in her escape by her friend D. William Bagley, who arranged to bring her and her trunk down a ladder from her locked room on the second floor of the house, and who transported her to a Roanoke River vessel making an instant departure.
The scar on Harriet’s psyche had cut much deeper. She endured enslavement and sexual harassment. After seven years of torturous hiding, Harriet also escaped by boat from Edenton.
Among the remarkable things she did in her life, Harriet penned “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, written by herself.” It was published in 1861. The following summer, Harriet traveled to Washington to help with the plight of the contraband. She wrote a letter to William Lloyd Garrison, vividly describing the terrible conditions for them in Alexandria. There were some caring people such as a Mrs. Dagans, but not enough.
Another place, the old school-house in Alexandria, is the Government headquarters fro the women. This is I thought, the most wretched of all the places. Anyone who can find an apology for slavery should visit this place and learn its curse. What but the love of freedom could bring these old people hither?
In October 1865, with the war over, Sarah picked up her pen and wrote, "The Three Bells."
The final stanza was:
Oh, soul, on ocean sailing
In Time’s storm-beaten barque,
Faith, Hope and Love — the Three Bells—
Will reach thee at the dawn,
And save thee from the sea-swells —
Hold out your light till morn!
That same month, Sarah wrote a letter to President Andrew Johnson. The reader today will shake their head at her prejudicial words and beliefs. Sarah slammed “negroes” as “a lazy people” and said that Northerners treated them cruelly. In line with what other conservative whites felt towards "carpetbaggers," she also said, “We should get along smoothly together, if Northern men would not interfere.”
Sarah’s next book was “The Bug Oracle,” a 96-page novelette. Irwin’s P. Beadles, a New York publisher, sold it in 1866. For some reason, Walser does not mention the book.
The Southland Writers tells us:
In 1866, the publishers in New York of a series of Dime Novels appropriated one of the Miss Whittlesey’s stories, The Bug Oracle, and published it without her knowledge or consent.
In January 5, 1867, Field and Fireside (Raleigh) published some of Sarah’s, “Bertha, The Beauty.” It appeared on pages 1, 2 and some of 3.
The “bug” makes an appearance in Chapter VII:
In solemn Indian file they marched down the long hall towards the pantry, where in obedience to Mr. Redmond’s directions, Aunt Cora, the cook, had placed the shell-bug on a blue plate, thinly sifted with flour, with another plate bottom up over to prevent its escape, and above all was smoothly spread a snowy napkin.
The Bug Oracle was a warm up for ”Herbert Hamilton, or the Bas Bleu" (1867). The setting is in Virginia. The Alexandria Gazette wrote:
The plot and story are interesting, and the whole production highly creditable to the talents of the fair writer.
The Living Writers of the South wrote:
She has written a great deal for the periodical press and has repeatedly carried off prizes for stories adapted to serial publication a la feuilleton.
After the war Oscar went to work for the Freedmen’s Bureau. In October, 1866, he was assigned to taking a census of the “negro inhabitants of this county.” Given that a significant number of “contraband” and Freedmen had poured into the city during the war, Oscar would have been quite busy this way. He joined up with the "Organization of the Union Republic Association," which the Gazette called the “Radical Caucus.” Lewis McKenzie, mayor (1861-1863) and powerful business magnate, served as President. Oscar was the Secretary. Charles Whittlesey, the lawyer, was assigned to preparing a constitution.
Sad news reached the Whittlesey family in January, 1868. Luman had passed away at the family home in Alexandria. His obituary in the Gazette included noting his graduating from Yale and living in Williamston as a teacher. Other sources note he taught at the Lancastrian School.
Elizabeth joined Luman in June. Her funeral took place at the family home on Duke Street. They were both laid to rest in the Trinity United Methodist Cemetery at the end of Wilkes Street. Their pair of tombstones lies just a few steps from the brick wall separating the cemetery with the Alexandria National Cemetery.
Perhaps because of her sadness and grief, Sarah did not write her next novel ("Bertha, the Beauty") until 1872. Walser (The North Carolina Encyclopedia) wrote the book is:
“Miss Whittlesey’s glory, This lengthy autobiographical novel has a detailed narrative of the struggles of the long-suffering heroine with her wicked husband.”
The Gazette wrote:
…”is a tale of truth, in the rose-hue of romance. The scene is laid in North Carolina, with glimpses of the five year’s war in Virginia, along with the moving panorama of historical facts.”
And:
“many of the scenes and incidents related, concerning the late war, occurred in this place and neighborhood, and will be recognized and remembered by our citizens.”
The New Orleans Republic wrote:
"The author has woven a rather entertaining, gossipy story of a North Carolina girl of half Yankee parentage and remarkable beauty."
In December 1866, Field and Fireside (Raleigh) had reported:
Our Great Serial, Bertha the Beauty, which has been written especially for us, by one of our most popular and accomplished Southern authors, Miss Sarah J.C. Whittlesey, will be commenced in our first issue in January. This is the most powerful and thrilling novel which it has ever been our honor to present to the readers of the journal.
The Philadelphia Inquirer advertised her book in September, 1871, noting the publisher was Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger of Philadelphia.
Sarah also made the news in February 1872. Reporting on George Washington’s annual Birthday celebration, still a big deal in Alexandria, the Gazette said:
Mayor Latham presented to the Chief Marshal, as the representative of the fire department, a beautiful wreath, as a tribute of gratitude from Miss Sarah J.C. Whittlesey, whose property was recently saved from destruction by the firemen, and read a very pretty and appropriate poetical address.
As Reconstruction continued to unfold, Charles Whittlesey continued his work to help African Americans in Alexandria. In April 1868, he attended a lecture on education at Liberty Hall. The Gazette reported the place was packed by the colored people of the city to listen to a lecture by John M. Langston, a "colored lawyer and employee of the Freedmen’s Bureau." Langston would go on to much fame. The US House of Representatives Archives writes:
One of the most prominent African Americans in the United States before and during the Civil War, John Mercer Langston was as famous as his political nemesis, Frederick Douglass. One of the first African Americans to hold elective office in the United States (he became Brownhelm, Ohio, township clerk in 1855), Langston topped off his long political career by becoming the first black man to represent Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 1869, Charles Whittlesey ran as the Republican candidate for U.S. Congress from Virginia's Seventh District. The race received a lot of press coverage. The Gazette hammered him repeatedly as a "Radical Carpetbagger." Although Whittlesey won in Alexandria, the Stafford, and Louisa County, McKenzie defeated him 15,878 to 11,073.
Sarah dropped off the radar screen after "Bertha, the Beauty." In 1889, J.B. Lippincott published, "Spring Buds and Summer Blossoms.” It included Oscar’s “Idle Hours.”
Sarah and Oscar dedicate their book to: “Our Father and Mother, who have crossed over the river and rest in the shade of the Tree of Life.”
The book includes a photograph of the two, with the latin phrase, Sumus soli duo. Oscar has his left arm touching Sarah’s right arm, with her right hand laying softly in his.
Pages 9 to 216 are Sarah’s poems. Pages 219 to 250 are Oscar’s poems.
One of the poems is titled, "To S.J.C.W. of Alexandria" by Arthur W. H. of Washington, DC. The next poem is Sarah’s response to Arthur W. H. This to and from also occurs for R.G.S. of Portsmouth. Another title is "To: Katy, of North Carolina."
The Gazette wrote the book was handsomely printed and bound. "The writings are far-famed, and this volume will be highly appreciated by the muse."
Sarah’s fans in Edenton read in the Fisherman and Farmer —
A lady friend has placed in our hands for notice a book of poems by Sarah J.C. Whittlesey, and Idle Hours by O C Whittlesey. Its 250 pages contain many touching lines written upon subjects of living interest, for the most part and expressive of tender emotion as well as great and reverential regard for the memories of other days.
It’s hard to know what Sarah did in her sunset years. Perhaps she and Oscar acquired or used the modern convenience of the telephone. By 1891, about 100 homes subscribed to the services of Southern Bell. Maybe she was one of the many Alexandrians who cheered on the arrival of the first electric trolley which rolled down King Street in 1892. It seems likely she attended the unveiling in 1889 of John Elder’s Appomattox memorial at Washington and Prince, just one block north of her home.
Sarah took her final breath at the family home in 1896. Her obituary in the Gazette pointed out:
Her father will be remembered by many who have now arrived at the middle-age sign post of life as their pedagogue in the old Lancasterian school on the site of which the present Washington building stands.”
It acknowledged her as:
“an educated lady and was possessed of a literary taste. Some of her productions showed that the writer possessed the spark of genius.”
The funeral took place at her home. Rev. Mr Williams, pastor of the ME Church South, conducted the services, and the interment was in, "the old Methodist church cemetery."
Note: I was unable to find where Sarah was laid to rest. As mentioned, her father and mother’s tombstone lies in the Trinity United Methodist Church.
After trying so hard as a reformer in Alexandria, it seems very likely Oscar would have been saddened in his final years. In the landmark decision, Plessy v. Ferguson, the Chief Justices voted 7 to 1 against Plessy. This solidified Jim Crow laws across the south.
In Alexandria, Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas had been hanged in 1897 and 1899. Both took place within steps of where Oscar had served as clerk of court.
One bright moment for Oscar might have been the appearance of Frederick Douglass, who spoke at Lannon's Opera House in September, 1894. This turned out to be one of the lion's last roar, as the great one passed away the following April.
Oscar drew his last breath in February, 1901. The Washington Post (Feb 23) wrote:
Oscar C. Whittlesey died at Alexandria Infirmary this morning at age 75. He was born in Connecticut and came here early in life with his father, who was a well-known educator. During the Civil War deceased was one of the collectors of taxes, later clerk of the common council. recent years he had been one of the magistrates of the Fourth Ward. Brother of Sarah, who attainted considerable literary fame. The deceased was also literary in his tastes.
After the turn of the century, Alexandria finally saw significant growth in its population. World War II brought jobs to Washington and fueled the massive wave of suburbia all around the city. Alexandria’s population of 18,000 in 1920, which was only 4,000 more than when Sarah and Oscar had passed away, leapt to 61,000 in 1950. As part of the Lost Cause, historical markers pointed out the stories of the Confederates. Jim Crow laws were not dismantled until the 1960s.
Marker-wise, the city is making an excellent effort to tell more and more of the stories of the past, with a notable push to include the struggles and successes of African Americans. The Appomattox memorial and historical marker that stood just one block from Sarah’s house was taken away in early 2021.
All these things are appropriate and needed. We must, however, be careful to not push aside the stories of Alexandrians such as Sarah Whittlesey.
Quite frankly, the chances for a marker for Sarah seem slim. Paired with her brother Oscar, however, a marker would give the reader insight into the world they lived in. And, as far as we know, there are no markers for any novelists in Alexandria, much less for a woman.
There might be nothing more emblematic of the Fourth of July than a small community parade. Yesterday, about 50 residents of Groveton, a suburban neighborhood about two miles south of Alexandria, waved flags and strolled along three streets in the heart of the neighborhood.
The Fairfax County Fire Department participated, bringing excitement for the kids and a big slash of red to the streets of Collard, Arundel and Ridge.
Charlotte Brown, Groveton’s historian, author of "Groveton," Images of America, and long-time resident, provided this photograph of the Groveton Block Party on July 4, 1967.
The Weather Committee came through with splendid conditions, enjoyed by all the participants and a smattering of spectators, including pets and children. Some were long-time residents of the neighborhood, whose suburban era began in the 1930s. New residents in recent years have given the community a fresh look and how about those beautifully maintained lawns.
Yesterday everyone put down their cell phones and chore lists. It was all about having patriotic fun and rekindling a summer-time tradition on top of Beacon Hill.
Happy Fourth Groveton! Great job everybody!
Every July, Alexandria celebrates the anniversary of its founding in 1749. The city also has a pre-history. One of the best accounts of it can be found in “Alexandria’s Forgotten Legacy,” a series of articles written by historian William Carne in the Alexandria Gazette and reprinted by T. Michael Miller.
We pick up the story in the late seventeenth century when the northward movement of the planters and settlers along and near the Potomac began to reach what became Fairfax County in 1742 and Alexandria in 1749. We offer this condensed and annotated version of Carne’s Chapter III, “Civilization Crosses Great Hunting Creek.”
1690. When the last decade of the seventeenth century was reached, the tide of population was steady above the Occoquan…
The Occoquan River became the southern boundary of Fairfax County in 1742.The land above it was Stafford County from 1664 to 1730 and Prince William from 1730 to 1742. Fairfax County initially included what became Alexandra, Arlington and Falls Church.
Image: Virginia and Maryland as it is planted and inhabited this present year 1670, Herrman, Augustine, 1621 or 1622-1686. Published, [London] : Augustine Herman and Thomas Withinbrook, 1673.
… the land embraced with Howson’s Patent became capable of being made the permanent abode of civilization.
In 1669, Captain Robert Howson emigrated from England.He brought with him about 120 people to live in the colony.Governor William Berkeley granted to Howson, 6,000 acres of land “upon the freshes of Potomac River…”
Image: Alexandria portion of the Howson Tract.
It has been narrated in former chapters that John Alexander, the purchaser of the Howson patent land…
Shortly after Howson gained the tract, John Alexander (1603-1677) acquired it from him for 6,000 pounds of tobacco. A native of Scotland, he had emigrated from England in 1653. Alexander was the founder of Alexander family in Northern Virginia and a planter and merchant in Stafford County. It is believed the town was named for him and/or the family.
… gave his land to his sons, Philip and Robert Alexander.
Philip inherited the lower portion (south of Four Mile Run).Robert (1633-1704) inherited the upper part (north of Four Mile Run.In 1741, one of their descendants, Captain Philip Alexander, owned the majority of the land that would become Alexandria. The Mitchell map shows ownership in 1760.
Image: Beth Mitchell's interpretive map of 1760.
As the lands now grew to be of considerable value, the first actual survey with chain and compass was made sometime about 1692 by Theodorick Bland, one of the most celebrated land surveyors of his time.
Bland (1663-1700) also surveyed Williamsburg in 1699.
The lines fixed by him began at a hickory tree on the marsh ground lying on the side of the marsh into which Hoff’s Run now empties, which was called at that time West's Pocoson, and within more modern times, "Pompey Gales Marsh."
Comparing the Bland/Jennings survey with the modern day map, a guess of the site of the hickory tree is just south of the Carlyle Mill Apartments on Mill Road. Before it silted up, Great Hunting Creek was wider than it is now. Tall ships could reach the village of Cameron, whose site is believed to be near this point and near the Eisenhower Metro Station. Note: For some odd reason, Hooff's Run is labeled Four Mile Run on Google maps.
Bland ran his line in a direction generally north until he reached the mouth of the “Wankapin” Run; nearly opposite the southern point of Analostan Island…
Most of the land west of this line is hilly, today’s neighborhoods such as North Ridge, Aurora Hills, and Arlington Ridge and Arlington National Cemetery.
Oxford Dictionary gives the origin of Wankapin as — Mid 19th century; earliest use found in John P. Kennedy (1795–1870), novelist and politician.
Wankapin Run is marked on Beth Mitchell’s Map of 1760. It probably ran just south of Netherlands Carillon.
Analostan Island, currently known as Theodore Roosevelt Island, is located just south of Georgetown and east of Rosslyn. Other names through the years were My Lord’s Island and Mason’s Island.
... and thence came by the river shore to Piper's Island (Jones Point) and thence went up Hunting Creek to the beginning.
Jones Point was shaped like a dog leg until landfill in the 1930s. Some of the river side land that was Howson’s Tract also changed during dredging and landfill.
This survey completed, the land was, it seems, divided between Robert and Philip Alexander, the former taking the upper portion near Four Mile Run, and the latter, that on which the city now stands, and near Hunting Creek.
No copy of the Bland survey had been found. Daniel Jennings resurveyed the Howson Patent in 1746. It is this map that is available and used.
Alexander family members owned portions of the land north of Alexandria for many years, including the Abingdon plantation (site National Airport). An interpretive panel in Potomac Yard tells some of their story. Four Mile Run serves as the border between Alexandria and Arlington.
A portion of this land was leased to Thomas Pearson, the son-in-law of Philip Alexander…
Pearson's Island can be seen in the Mitchell map.
Thomas Pearson (c.1663 - c.1710) married Sarah Alexander (c.1667 - c.1705), the daughter of John Alexander (1603-1677). Research by Jim Bish tells us the Pearson family, along with the Alexander, West and Harrison families, was prominent and influential in the area. By marriage, the children of Simon Pearson (probably the son of Thomas Pearson) became related and “tightly bound” to George Washington and his family members. Simon Pearson owned more than 4,000 acres at one point. Simon (d. 1733) inherited some of these lands from his father Thomas.
A portion of these Pearson lands would be acquired by the West family, including the foot of Oronoco Street (West’s Point) that would become a tobacco shipping point in the 1730s and 1740s and then the northern most part of Alexandria in 1749.
… and in 1696, by the date of this lease we may fix the 15th of February 1696, as the day on which was begun the permanent settlement beyond Hunting Creek.
Archaeology has shown that Native Americans had hunted and fished in these lands for many years.
He (Thomas Pearson) probably cleared the river side lands from Hunting Creek to a considerable distance northward and left his name on the island now called Daingerfield’s, but which all the old maps and charters designated as Pearson’s Island. This was probably the first permanent settlement in Alexandria county.
Pearson’s Island is now known as Daingerfield Island. It lies just south of National Airport. It is not an island now, in that its western portion just east of the George Washington Parkway is land. Earlier maps shows this as wetlands. This jutting land is occupied by a sailing marina and small National Park Service offices.
Thus in 1696, civilization stepped across Hunting Creek and commenced to clear off the primitive forest and make way for the pleasant old town of Alexandria.
As others did and still do, Carne sometimes shortened Great Hunting Creek to Hunting Creek. Great Hunting Creek today forms a natural boundary between Alexandria and Fairfax County. Its mouth was once wider than now. Hunting Creek flows into the Potomac near Mount Vernon.
The population of the Potomac region at this time had grown sufficiently numerous to require what in modern days are called mail facilities and accordingly when a public post was established in 1695 throughout a portion of the colonies the route was made from Potomac through Annapolis to Philadelphia. By this conveyance letters could be sent northward — eight times a year.
In his article, “The Colonial Post-Office,” (The American Historical Review, Jan, 1916, JSTOR) William Smith writes that prior to the establishment of the colonial mail service in Virginia, the colony had arranged that “all letters superscribed for the public service should be conveyed from plantation to plantation to the place and person named.” There was no systematic service for private letters.
That same year, Maryland plantations having more than kept pace with those upon the Virginia side of the river, the upper portion of Charles County was cut off and erected into a separate shire under the now familiar name of Prince George’s County.
Maryland was also a planter society using enslaved humans. The most prominent plantation across the river from what became Alexandria was the Addison plantation. John Addison built a brick manor home there on Oxon Hill in about 1705. The landmark dwelling burned down in the 1890s. Its site is the MGM Resort at National Harbor. A number of interpretive panels tell some of the story.
1699. At that time, the Indians had all been driven out. All that remained this side of the Blue Ridge were more like the docile Africans, then being brought by shiploads into the colony. It is more than probable that the remnant of the Dogue Indians, on the westward trail that formerly roamed here, passed through “Indian Thoroughfare” as Thoroughfare Gap was then named in 1676. There is no recognizable trace of them after that year.
There are a number of gaps in the mountains west of Alexandria, including Thoroughfare Gap (I-66, Bull Run Mountains), Snickersville Gap (Route 7 near Bluemont), Ashby’s Gap (Route 50) and Keyes Gap (Route 9).
Conclusion
The land that would become Fairfax County in 1742 experienced a land boom from 1720 to 1732, with patents doubling to 163. Tenant farmers and enslaved humans made up some of the population of an estimated 4,000 in 1742. This included today’s Alexandria, Arlington and Falls Church.
Around the first part of the 1730s, a tobacco warehouse was built at the foot of what became Oronoco Street. Enslaved humans picked the leaf, stuffed it into hogsheads, and rolled them down primitive roads to what we today call West’s Point at the foot of Oronoco Street. Planters and prominent men such as John Carlyle, Laurence Washington, Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax, William Ramsey, and Hugh West helped found the town in 1749.
This July, the city of Alexandria will celebrate and commemorate its 272nd anniversary. As we have seen, stories took place during the prior decades.
NASA and NOAA satellites are fun to look at. They can also test our geographical knowledge of an area.
Here is the greater Washington region. Can you name these four places?
Note: The pin is placed to its right so you can see the full area of light.
Answers below.
Thus proceeds the wonderful pageant of the passing years, and with it comes the spectacle of a new community rising before us. The honk of the automobile is heard through the land, while the passing truck thunders by… — Mary G. Powell, The History of Old Alexandria, Virginia. 1928
A judge. An author. A general. A Quaker educator. A congressman. A sea captain. An historian. A physician. A baker. A philanthropist. A PTA founder. A pharmacist.
Candidates for an Alexandria Hall of Fame?
Certainly could be, but for our purposes, all these Alexandrians lived on Washington Street. And all of the homes they once lived in were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s.
When it comes to its older homes, Alexandria is fortunate. Wars, fires, and floods could have taken more much of a toll than they did, and residents galvanized in the first part of the 1960s when twenty downtown blocks were initially targeted for redevelopment. When the dust had cleared, three blocks of commercial buildings on King Street and some side streets met the wrecking balls during the Urban Renewal period.
The losses on Washington Street, however, seem to have been forgotten. This is somewhat of a paradox, given that Washington Street, a busy north to south artery through the heart of Old Town, is not an out-of-sight, out-of-mind place. Before the automobiles and trucks sped up the rat race and the desire for new swept across the country, Washington Street was a place of best addresses.
Places need revitalizing, and you can’t save everything. Nevertheless, I was struck by the fact that it takes more than two hands to count the losses on Washington Street. The three blocks between Cameron and Oronoco were a slaughterhouse row where eleven homes went down.
In most cases, these were not the sagging wood type of structures that made the fire chief nervous and help form the fabric of Old Town. To the contrary, these were illustrious brick homes, owned and lived in by prominent Alexandrians.
A handful of the older homes were saved, but the honks of the horns and the building of the George Washington Parkway did signal a change. People love new, and they got it on Washington Street. To retool for the times, commodious brick Colonial Revival buildings and parking lots went up in place of the old dwellings. Through the years they have served a purpose, but you won't find anyone taking a leisurely stroll along the noisy road and concrete landscape.
Here are twelve of the homes, the two churches, a brief bio and a map. Much is owed to the book “A Seaport Saga” and its two late authors, William Francis Smith and T. Michael Miller.
South Washington Street
1. The Shadows (Hill House)
617 S. Washington
There Now: Office, small business building
Loss Rating: :-( :-( :-( :-( :-(
Significance:
The Shadows was built in 1854 by Reuben Roberts, a member of the Quaker family who lived on a farm whose site is the Hoffman 22 Theaters in the Carlyle neighborhood. Captain Samuel Bancroft Hussey bought the three-story brick house in 1857 and gave it to his daughter, Melissa Ann, who married Robert Lewis Wood. George R. Hill and his heirs, including Malcolm Westcott Hill, owned the house from 1912-1963. Hill earned esteem as owner of the Hill Company, makers of crackers and biscuits. A small grove of trees surrounded the home until it was demolished. William Francis Smith visited inside and wrote, “truly a living museum.”
2. Whittlesey House
620 Duke (Northeast Corner of Duke and N. Washington)
There Now: Bank
:-( :-( :-(
Significance:
Home of the Whittlesey family in the late 19c. Sarah J.C. (Johnson Cogwell) Whittlesey (1824-1896) was an author and poet who moved from North Carolina and lived the rest of her life in this home with her parents. Perhaps her best known novel was “Bertha, The Beauty.” The Gazette printed some of her poetry, first in 1848. Half-brother also wrote poetry.
3. Daingerfield/Howard House
207 S. Washington
There Now: Atrium Building
:-( :-( :-( :-(
Significance:
Home to members of the Daingerfield family, who earned fame as merchants. John was a philanthropist. After 1911, Thomas Clifton Howard and his wife Minnie Stansbury Howard lived here. Howard was well-known in the merchandise brokerage business. Minnie was a civic leader who organized the first PTA in Alexandria in the 1920s and worked with the city youth.
Note: A flounder-style house was located next door at 211 S. Washington. It was the long time home of Dr. R.H. Stabler, whose father founded the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary on S. Fairfax Street. Christoper Martin’s paper on flounders identified a number of them in Old Town. Richard Hartshorne Stabler studied pharmacy at his father’s shop, and parlayed that training into becoming a Doctor of Medicine. He ran a drug store at the northwest corner of King and Washington. It was demolished in the 1960s.
North Washington Street
4. Methodist Protestant Church
112 N. Washington
Methodist Protestant Church
There Now: Retail Clothing Store
:-( :-( :-(
Significance:
Built in 1830, Gothic enlargement in 1890. Demolished 1950s when congregation moved to West Braddock Road. Renamed The Alexandria Church Bible. Building replaced by department store. Three-story brick house beside it also demolished, replaced by Parish Hall for Christ Church. Marker there says: “On this site between 1828 and 1952 stood the Methodist Protestant Church as a living testimony to the glory of God.”
Note: Issac Eichberg, “one of Alexandria’s most prominent citizens,” lived at 116 N. Washington (next to the Methodist Protestant Church). He was a dry goods merchant at King and Royal and President of Beth El Hebrew.
5. Powell House
201 N. Washington Street
There Now: Military Officers Association of America
:-( :-( :-(
Significance:
The Powell family lived here. Dr. R.C. Powell added third-story mansard roof in 1885. He was “one of the best known physicians” of Alexandria. Mary G. Powell, author of “History of Old Alexandria, Virginia,” and President, Mount Vernon Chapter of DAR, also lived here. Her son, Dr. Llewellyn Powell, lived here in the 1930s with his family and daughter, Grace, a local violinist and music teacher.
6. Two Italianate-style Houses
200 N. Washington
There Now: Four-story Colonial Revival, Offices, US Post Office
:-( :-( :-(
Significance:
The German Building Cooperative Association built these two houses in 1872. The designer was Benjamin Franklin Price, one of the city’s most renowned architects. GBCA’s leadership included Issac Eichberg, Justus Schneider, and E.E. Downham, The Alexandria Chapter of the Red Cross called the corner dwelling home during World War II. After the war, the building was used a tourist and rooming home.
7. Beth El Hebrew
206 N. Washington
There Now: Four Story Colonial Revival
:-( :-( :-( :-(
Significance:
From the marker: “On this site stood Beth El Hebrew Congregation’s synagogue, the first structure built as Jewish house of worship in the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1859, Beth El, the first reform Jewish congregation in the Washington area, is northern Virginia’s oldest Jewish congregation. Beth El built the synagogue here in 1871 and worshipped in it until 1954. A new synagogue on Seminary Road, Alexandria, was dedicated in 1957.”
A marker on King Street points out Jewish families operated retail stores there. The most famous was Joseph Hayman, whose department store was located at 526-530 King Street.
8. Hallowell-Carlin House
215 N. Washington
There Now: Two Story Colonial Revival, Offices and Small Businesses
:-( :-( :-( :-( :-(
Significance:
Greek Revival home built in 1855 by Benjamin Hallowell, famed Quaker educator, who ran School for Boys and helped found the Lyceum. Became Union hospital during the Civil War. Subsequent owners included Joseph Broders, business magnate, and Charles Carlin, Congressman. President Taft stepped inside in 1909.
9. Bryant House
306 N. Washington
There Now: “The 300 Building,” Seven-story Colonial Revival, Offices
:-( :-( :-( :-( :-(
Significance:
Second Empire house built c. 1881 by Herbert Bryant (1834-1914), who owned a large fertilizer plant. Graduate of VMI, Bryant passed away here. His wife was a daughter of Henry B. Claggett. Square central tower was a standout feature, rare example in Old Town. The Gazette observed: “Of all the residences in the city, none are more handsomer that the one recently erected by Captain Herbert Bryant.” Home to St. Mary’s Xavier Brother School for Boys from 1919 to 1934.
10. Dixon-Nichol House
316 Washington
There Now: Two Story Colonial, Offices
:-( :-( :-( :-(
Significance:
John Dixon and his brother George O. operated a grocery store on lower King Street. George built this home in 1853. John also ran a grocery store on Prince and Pitt. John owned this home in the 1870s and 1880s. Later the home of Judge Charles E. Nicol, a distinguished judge of the Circuit Court of Alexandria County from 1895 to 1907, and president of Alexandria National Bank. Mrs. Nichol held luncheons here.
11. Brockett House
318 N. Washington Street
There Now: Two story Colonial Revival, Offices
:-( :-( :-( :-(
Significance:
Built in 1877, this was the home of the Brockett family. Robert (1751-1829) earned fame as a builder and brick maker. His son Robert (1792-1867) served as President of Common Council. His grandson Robert L. Brockett built a large boarding school at 603 Queen. That large dwelling and “Brockett’s Row” survive. 318 N. Washington included an older structure, probably built in early 18c. Mrs. Elizabeth Brockett passed away here in 1882.
12. Robert Hartshorne Miller House
311 N. Washington Street
There Now: Real Estate Office
:-( :-( :-( :-( :-(
Greek Revival home of Robert H. Miller (1798-1874), one of a number of Quakers who called Alexandria home. Miller, who sold china and ceramics on King Street, distinguished himself with top leadership roles with the Mount Vernon Manufacturing Company, Alexandria Water Company, First National Bank, and Female Orphan Society. Married Anna Janney, from another famed Quaker family, and had eleven children.
13. 414 N. Washington
Corse-Leadbeater
There Now: Sunrise of Old Town
:-( :-( :-( :-( :-(
Significance:
Owners included General Montgomery Corse and Clarence Leadbeater. “Lost Virginia” observed, “a finely crafted and superb example of urban Greek Revival architecture” and “handsomely proportioned.” A Seaport Saga says it was “probably Alexandria’s finest example of the Greek-Revival style.” Colonial Revival building that replaced it around 1960 torn down in 2020 to make way for the new residential there now. A new marker tells the reader about the house becoming a Union hospital during the Civil War but does not mention Corse and Leadbeater.
14. Mushbach House
418 N Washington
There Now: Senior Living Homes
:-( :-( :-( :-(
Significance:
Queen-Anne style built in 1886. Featured elaborate copper moldings and and long arched windows. Home of George A. Mushbach, prominent Alexandria lawyer and member of the Virginia General Assembly House of Delegates from 1877 to 1881 and state senator from 1891 to 1899. Second President of Old Dominion Boat Club. Built 1886, demolished 1982. William Seale tried to save it, saying, “the house is irreplaceable.” At that time, called the May House. Two years later, the Alexandria City Council changed the law to require approval by the Board of Architectural Review of all demolitions in the historic districts.
“In introducing the orator, Mr. Downham said Mr. Carne needed no introduction to an Alexandria audience.” — Centennial year celebration event (1880) of the City’s Municipal form of government at Serepta Hall on King Street. -- "A Concise History of the City of Alexandria."
Who published the first systematic inquiry into Alexandria heritage? The Herodotus of Alexandria was none other than Wm. F. Carne -- "Alexandria's Forgotten Legacy, The Annals of of Wm. F. Carne." T. Michael Miller
And what shall I say of the future? When we look ahead through a long period of time we must enlarge our vision. These hills, Mt. Eagle, Shuter's Hill, Federal Hill, Arlington, Georgetown Heights and the Highlands aback of Washington, and the Maryland Heights down to Oxon Hill lock us in with Georgetown, Washington and the neighboring communities. It is certain that with them our future is linked. -- William F. Carne, Annals of Alexandria, 1870s.
It’s been a while since we wrote about a deserving candidate for an Historical Marker. All credit goes to the city for continuing to erect them. Of course, as we have often noted, deep and rich is the history of the seaport.
The other day our attention turned to William F. Carne (1832-1909). “A Seaport Saga” does put him in the banquet room, but it’s a small table far from the dais, obscured by the puffs of cigar smoke from the city founders, patriots, businessmen, clergy, politicians, those in uniform, and others beloved by historical societies.
Nevertheless, Carne deserves our attention. About him, the esteemed city historian, T. Michael Miller wrote:
A prolific writer and newspaper reporter, William F. Carne 1840-1909, was Alexandria’s most notable 19c historian. Among Carne’s many writings, he compiled the first systematic history of Alexandria which he serialized in the Alexandria Gazette in the 1870s.
Carne also served in civic, education and leadership roles. But a ton of sand has poured through the hour glass since his passing, and no businesses or organizations carry on the family name. Our regard for hm is like that of other journalists who tell us what happened. We remember the story makers, but not the story tellers.
The Carne family story in Alexandria began with William F. Carne’s great grandfather, William F. Carne (life dates unknown). Like scores of other English men and women before him, he and his wife left their life behind for a new one three thousand miles away. The year was 1776. With the patriots and founders taking actions in Philadelphia and the war underway, one wonders what the Carnes were feeling when they landed in Baltimore.
William Carne and his wife had lived in Cornwall, a county in the western part of England where cold winds blow in from the North Atlantic. We will leave the Carne family stories in Britain to others. It was fun to find a blog about Anne Bronte. Nick Holland tells us:
Anne Carne was the maternal grandmother of the Brontës. She was born in Penzance, Cornwall, in 1744, the daughter of John Carne and his wife Anne (nee Reynolds). The Carnes were a leading family in Penzance society.
We also see that the writers for Poldark, the British historical drama television series based on the novels of Winston Graham, worked in a few Carnes.
Back on this side of the pond, one of the best sources we found on William F. Carne (1832-1909) is the "History of Virginia, Volume 6." His great grandfather’s 1776 voyage from the Mother Country was one he could never forget. His son, William Carne (1776-1812), was born on the ship.
We know nothing of the first William F. Carne’s life in America, other than that they landed in Baltimore. The Alexandria Daily Advertiser picks up the story of his son William F. Carne (1776-1812). He partnered with a Richard Libby and operated a hardware store.
Not much is known about this Carne, either. Founders Online tells us he was appointed Chairman at a meeting of the Democratic-Republicans of Alexandria in 1807. This was a new chapter in the seaport when the influence of the Federalist party began to wane. The meeting was held at Gadsby’s Tavern, ran by John Gadsby.
In Ethelyn Cox’s venerable book, “Alexandria, Street by Street,” we learn that in 1801, Carne and Richard Libby acquired the lot at the southeast corner of Jefferson and S. Fairfax streets from William Thornton Alexander. Carne probably lived there until he died in 1812. He bequeathed the property to his son, Richard L. Carne (1797-1867).
By that time, Alexandria was a bustling seaport. In 1780, the year William F. Carne (1832-1909) had referred to in his speech, the city had adopted a new form of government (Mayor, Alderman, and Common Council). Alexandria had grown from its initial layout of seven blocks wide. English greats like Gibbon still prevailed as street names, but Jefferson and Franklin had joined the mix.
Readers of the Gazette learned of Carne’s passing in December, 1812.
William Carne, native of England, but long a residence of this place, was a tender and affectionate parent, sincere friend.
With Alexandria’s prosperity as a seaport came opportunities for merchants. Richard L. Carne (1797-1867), father of William F. Carne (1832-1909) also became a seller of hardware. His store was located at the southeast corner of King and Fairfax. This would have been a prominent spot, first owned by Lawrence Washington and just two blocks from the waterfront. By the turn of the century, the city had banked out the small cliffs east of Fairfax Street, creating the land we know today from Lee (then named Water) to Union and the current waterfront.
In 1832, Richard L. Carne became Secretary for the Hydraulion Fire Department, which had been established five years earlier at 209 North Royal Street. He was now rubbing shoulders with the likes of Benjamin Barton and William G. Cazenove.
William F. Carne (1866-1909) came into the world on August 17, 1842. His father, Richard L. Carne, had married Cecilia Shakes (1804-1891). Carne's formative years came during a period of some excitement in Alexandria. Baltimore and the city of Washington had surpassed it in population, but the seaport would continue to make its own headlines.
Carne might have been one of the young adults on Union Street in 1851 when the Orange & Alexandria Railroad chugged its way into history, the first iron horse in the seaport. Emblematic of the town’s prosperity and civic pride, Pioneer Mill’s six stories stood proud on the waterfront. Gas and waterworks improved life, as did a number of academies and private schools. Lectures expanded and improved minds.
A full look at the life of William Carne is beyond our scope. We offer the following:
Photo from Tercentennial of Virginia. William F. Carne (1832-1909) is seated left with beard. Son Richard L. Carne, standing left, son William F. Carne, second from left, standing.
Born in the “old Carne homestead,” which was likely the Jefferson Street house.
Educator, journalist, author, historian, and lived entire life in Alexandria.
Wrote a number of books and articles including:
The Boyhood Life of George Washington
Washington as a Burgher
The Story of the Female Stranger
The Alexandria business book; a statement of the commercial and industrial interests of the city of Alexandria, with a summary of its history
History of Alexandria, including The narrative of John Trust; or, True story of the female stranger.
Celebration of the first centennial of the municipal government of the city of Alexandria, Virginia, March 9, 1880
Life and Times of William Cranch, Judge of the District Circuit Court, 1801-1855
George Washington’s School Days
Biggest contribution was a multi-part series published in the Gazette on the history of the city. T. Michael Miller put them together in the book titled, Alexandria's forgotten legacy--the annals of Wm. F. Carne.
Carne’s look back began with the native Americans and Captain John Smith’s visit and ended with the end of the Civil War. Carne knew who his audience was but he wrote sympathetically of the African Americans.
…. the fortunes of war had thrown over 3,000 colored people into our midst, waifs cast on our shore for guidance, help, and instruction.
He also acknowledged the post-war condition of Alexandria:
But late years have not been prosperous years. Who shall lift us from our low estate?
His "Annals" series also included a look at Alexandria in 1754, providing a description of each street.
In his final one, where he looked forward, Carne took an all-encompassing view of the area by praising not only Alexandria's institutions of higher learning, but also the University of Georgetown, Howard University, and the Corcoran school.
He also wrote:
And what shall I say of the future? When we look ahead through a long period of time we must enlarge our vision. These hills, Mt. Eagle, Shuter's Hills, Federal Hill, Arlington, Georgetown Heights and the Highlands aback of Washington, and the Maryland Heights down to Oxon Hill lock us in with Georgetown, Washington and the neighboring communities. It is certain that with them our future is linked.
Superintendent of Alexandria City Schools.
Worshipped at St. Mary's Catholic Church.
Member of the Fitzgerald Council, Knights of Columbus.
General Officer for the Hydraulion Fire Company.
On May 22,1861, Carne married Miss. E.V. Markell, also from Alexandria. Two days later, a regiment of the New York Zouaves crossed the Potomac from Washington and took control of the city.
After the war, Carne partnered with Reuben Johnson and opened a law office at the Market Building on King Street. His true love was journalism, so he returned to it.
In 1868, debated at the Alexandria Literary Association.
Carne family had a long association with the St. John's Academy, which was established in 1833, and was a military training school for boys.
Photograph in the Tercentennial Celebration pamphlet (1907) shows Carne and his two sons.
From 1853 to 1856, served as the Alexandria correspondent for the Washington Evening Star.
Helped organize “Grand Annual Excursion” for the Young Catholics Friend Society on the steamer Thomas Collyer to the White House.
A number of newspapers across the country used Carne as a vehicle to learn more about GW. In December 1884, a reporter for the Cleveland Leader traveled to Alexandria, “Chatting with the old citizens about George Washington.”
He acknowledged none were alive in 1799. The reporter spoke with Carne, who said:
It is very late to attempt to get authentic information about him. I was born in Alexandria and I have been engaged all my life studying Washington’s character, and have talked with all of the old citizens of Alexandria for the past thirty years and more in regard to him.
Gave keystone speech at the celebration of the 100th anniversary.
“In concluding his long speech, Carne formally acknowledged the end of an era and the beginning of what he hoped would be a new one. “This is our hope, when another century shall have passed, the orator of Alexandria’s next Centennial in 1980 shall tell you that when the good ship Alexandria was in 1880 ashore, rudderless, bilged and plucked by wreckers, her crew did not despair, but went ashore and set the land aflame, plucked prosperity with strong arms, and renewed the town.” — Centennial year celebration event of the City’s Municipal form of government at Serepta Hall. "Maritime Alexandria."
When Alexandria celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1899, Wedderburn and Carne providing leadership along with big names such as M.B. Harlow, William Smoot, and C.C. Leadbeater.
In 1889, a Washington Post reporter sat down with Carne, who he described as, “one of the oldest of newspaper men and was for a long time associated with the press of the National Capital in antebellum days and since."
Carne said:
“I wrote my first local article for the Star on the 24th of July, 1853 and became regularly attached to that paper in 1857.” The morning papers were the National Intelligencer and the Union. The afternoon papers were the Star and the States."
Later in his life, opened a book store at 703 King Street in 1897 (Currently, Magnolia Restaurant). A Seaport Saga tells us:
His daughters operated the business and in 1929, they purchased many rare newspapers from Mount Vernon. Many of these including issues of the old Alexandria Gazette, were sold to the American Antiquarian Society of Worcester, Mass. The Carne sisters with their sweet and gentle manners, operated this tiny shop well in the 1930s.
Obituary in the Evening Star:
Praised his work, saying he was one of the best known newspapermen in this section of the state, and one of Alexandria’s most widely known citizens.
Entered newspaper field in early youth served on staff of Alexandria Gazette and other Alexandria newspapers. For a short time before the Civil War, he served on the staff of the New York Herald, and New York Sun.
After war, joined Evening Star and at the same time represented a number of southern newspapers in the gallery of the House of Rep. For a number of years, he was associate editor of the National Republican, and for thirty years, was one of the Washington correspondents of the Baltimore Sun.
1882 to 1886 was superintendent of the public schools.
Fluent writer, wrote a number of books and pamphlets, and his works on the history of the city have been highly prized for their accuracy.
Died at home 703 King Street.
Newspaper that printed obituaries of notable figures did not usually also cover the funeral. The Washington Times did so for Carne, noting it took place at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. The services were conducted by Rev. Father H.J. Cutler. Carne was laid to rest at the church’s cemetery.
Laid to rest at St. Mary's Catholic Church Cemetery, alongside both wives, two daughters, and others.
Family
Brother, Reverend Father Richard L. Carne (1826-1911)
For many years led and taught at the esteemed St. John's Academy.
Alexandria’s first superintendent of schools.
President of Hydraulion Fire Company.
At age 66, ordained to the priesthood at St. Mary's Church. He continued to serve the parish until his death at the age of 84.
Image from St. Mary's: 200 Years for Christ. Published with permission.
First Wife, Emma Virginia Markell Carne, 1842-1874
Married on May 22,1861.
Daughter, Amanda Rosalie (1872-1950)
Lifelong resident of Alexandria.
Collected papers covering the history of Alexandria and her own family.
Managed with sister Mary, the book store until 1937.
Died at home, 703 King Street.
A valuable possession was manuscript copy of the Alexandria Trustees Minute Book, dated after 1767.
Son, William Francis Carne (1866-1939)
Educated at St Johns Academy, graduated 1882. Instructor there for seven years.
Alexandria Times, city editor for three years.
Editor-Publisher, 25 years with the Evening Star.
Editor and owner of Fairfax Herald. The paper had heavy circulation in Fairfax, Arlington Loudon Alexandria and DC.
In 1900, married Miss Annie Elizabeth Appich. The Appichs were well-known in town with restaurants on King Street.
Carne lived in “beautiful home situated on the northern edge of Fairfax, on the Vienna turnpike."
Member of Virginia Press Association.
Carne, Editor-Publisher, 25 years with the Evening Star.
Born in Alexandria October 1866, spent entire life in this area. Surviving are widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Appich Carne, a son, William L. Carne, two sisters and brother.
William F. Carne (1832-1909)
Second wife
Cornelia Stoutenberg Carne (1841-1912), born in Jamestown NY married 1875.
Son
Richard L. Carne, 1879-1948
An employee of the Washington Post for 37 years. Died at 124 Patrick Street.
Daughter
Mary A. Carne. Lived with her half-sister Amanda Rosalie in Alexandria.
William Lindsay Carne (1901-1971)
son of William F. Carne (1866-1939)
William Lindsay Carne succeeded his father as editor of the Fairfax Herald in 1939 and held the position for 27 years.
Conclusion
William F. Carne deserves an historical marker. His work, like that of all journalists, was not perfect, but it made important contributions. The best spot for one would be where his book store was located at 703 King Street.
Father Carne is mentioned briefly in the marker on N. Columbus. We recommend one for him at the southeast corner of S. Columbus and Duke. The building there was converted from the St. John's Academy to residential.
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