The Sunday Oregonian., February 21, 1909, Section Six, Page 4, Image 54

Or p nf Them Will Probably be the
BY JOHM S. HARWOOD.
ONE hundred and twenty years ago,
when the United Spates was en
gaged In paying- oft the debts of the
Revolution with land ftrants 'conferring
title to tracts In the then Northwest Ter
ritory, three surveys, among others, were
assigned to General George Washington.
They were not occupied immediately, and
the Land Office, some few years later.
Issue duplicate titles for the tracts to
the heirs of General Neville and to one
Henry Massle. When the duplication of
title was discovered, Bushrod Washing
ton presented a claim asking for the
restoration of the property to the Wash
ington estate, or a reasonable financial
reimbursement. '
The dispute has extended Into many
courts, and during the last century lias
been dragged out until It threatens to
resemble that of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce.
Recently encountering a statute of lim
itation In the courts, the Washington
heirs have petitioned Congress to correct
the matter by original legislation. A bill
has been prepared and now Is In a favor
able staler before both houses of Con
gress. Robert E. Ie, Jr.. represents
the family In the matter, and an Inter
esting feature of the case has been the
unearthing of collateral descendants of
George Washington all over the country,
many of whom have come Into communi
cation with the Virginia branch of the
family for the first time. They appear
In many curious walks of life which
probably would surprise the distinguished
Father of His Country should he become
acquainted with them. While none, so
far as is known, has achieved any great
eminence (indeed, there Is not a Wash
ington in "Who's Who"), the average of
distinction and respectability of the list
Is very high.
The present Lawrence Washington,
who has devoted a great deal of time
and effort toward helping Mr. Lee obtain
data concerning the family to aid him
in prosecuting the claims before Con
gress, estimates that there probably are
about 1300 living descendants of Wash
ington's six brothers and sinter, the
greater part of them being descended
from Betty Lewis, the sister. The pres
ent headquarters of the family is at
Harewood, near Charlestown, In West
Virginia, which was the home of Colonel
Sam Washington, George Washington's
brother. There are half a hundred de
scendants of Sam and John Augustine
In the neighborhood. Since the holdings
of the family at Mount Vernon have been
absorbed by the Nation, nearly all of the
members of the family who are located.
In Virginia have drifted into the neigh
borhood of Harewood and Charlestown.
The members of the family who have
wandered from the Old Dominion are
pursuing; various, occupations In all parts
of the Union. Almost every large city
and state and nearly every possible kind
of employment are represented. Several
are In the Government service, many are
lawyers, a majority farmers, there Is a
miner or two, some lumbermen, but af
ter agriculture, the present generation
mms to run mostly to the commercial
pursuits of real estate and stockbroking.
If there Is a Washington descendant in
your town he Is probably marked by the
use of one of the family Christian names,
for Lawrences. John Augustines and
Bushrods abound In the list. There has
been a refreshing modesty on the part of
the family toward naming their offspring
after their most illustrious member. So
Jar as Is known In the family there Is
only one living George among the de
scendants. He Is George S. Washing
ton. ' a merchandise broker of Philadel
phia. .. The oldest living member of the fam
ily is "Uncle" Richard Washington, of
Charlestown. W. Va. He Is nearly 90
and unbroken In health. It Is a tradi
tion in .the family that he Is the only
one of the Washington who ever has
reached an advanced age, most of them
not having filled out the quota of years.
ST. which was that of the Nation's first
President. There Is every prospect, how
ever, of Uncle Richard living at the head
of the clan for many years to come. He
Is a perfect chronicle of the history of
the family. Although slightly bowed with
the weight of his years, he preserves the
stature, and. In a measure, the personal
ai.pearancr of the Father of His Country,
whose great nephew he Is. Incidentally,
Ik
most of the living members of the fam
ily are not of great height.
The one other descendant who is said
to resemble the General Is William D.
H. Washington, a well-known hydraulic
engineer, who lives at the Calumet Club
In New York City. Those of the family
who have not come by It naturally make
no effort to Imitate the appearance or
the mannerisms, either of the General.
That is. since the death of an old gen
tleman of the Ball . family, descended
from Betty Lewis, who was a doorkeeper
at the Pension Office in Washington. He
somewhat resembled the General, was
inordinately proud of that fact and on
gala occasions was wont to perform the
onerous duties of his office In Colonial
costume and wig.
The Lewis family, through their col
lateral, furnish to many direct descend
ants names far removed from that of
Washington. Conrad Lewis, the brilliant
young commonwealth atttorney of
Clarke County. Va.. and James Lewis,
a broker In New York City and con
nected with the Stevens family, of Cas
tle Point, Hoboken. N. J., are closely
related to the Father of His Country, as
Is Uncle Richard himself.
There are not as many descendants of
the Washington tribe as there would have
been had there been no Civil War in
the '60s. Some two dozen of the de
scendants were in the war. and, so far
as is known, with one exception, were
in the service of the Confederacy. All of
them fought bravely, and, although none
achieved high rank, the name appears
frequently on the records in the list of
killed and wounded and of distinguished
gallantry. Uncle Richard was wounded
at the first battle of Bull Run, and the
father of the present Lawrence Washing
ton, who is In the Library of Congress,
was a Lieutenant-Colonel on Robert E.
Lee's staff, and killed near Philip! In the
Fall of 1S61.
Two Bushrods Civil AVar Heroes.
Bushrod C. "Washington, now the sec
retary of a building and loan associa
tion In Spokane, Washington State, served
through the war and worked his way up
to an officer's position in the Confed
eracy. The family point to his record
with great pride. He was wounded many
times, and in one fight had his hat rid
dled with bullets.
The only member of the family of
whom there is a record In the Northern
service during the war la another Bush
rod Washington, now living In Good
man. Mo.
The sLory is told by his Southern rela
tives with some rancor that he stole Into
t tie Confederate lines about Vlcksburg
and made tracings of Pemberton's earth
works which were of great value to Gen
eral Grant an act which he quite re
deemed, even In the Virginian's eyes, by
carrying them back Into the Union lines
amid a storm of shot and shell.
The commercial activities of the living
Washingtons. as already noted, are
varied. The present John Augustine Is
in ryal estate and insurance In Charles
town, W. Va.: another, Richard B. Wash
ington, Is a manager for a lighting con
cern; another, William D. H. Washington
(there are three living of this name), is
engaged In the promotion and develop
ment of some copper mines at Johnson,
Ariz. William Lanier Washington is a
well-known stockbroker In New York
City; Lloyd W. Washington is in business
in Chicago; Henry Washington Is In the
employ of the Southern Railroad at Ro
anoke, Va.; John C. Washington is in the
lumber business In Washington State;
three members of the Alexander family,
who are direct descendants of Sam
Washington, form the leading real es
tate firm of Charlestown, W. Va.;
Roger Chew, of the same line. Is em
ployed by the Standard Oil Company at
Its refinery, at Bayonne, N. J. R. W.
Willis is a civil engineer in St. Louis,
Mo., and an Augustine Lewis is the man
ager of a coal mine at Winifred, in West
Virginia.
There are several lawyers In the fam
ily, all of whom seem to have achieved
a competence and consideration in their
communities, and some of whom bid
fair to become distinguished in a broader
field. A Wrilliam A. Washington, who is
a Judge In Kankakee. 111., is tho only
one on the bench. Robert J. Washing
ton, who served through the Civil War,
Is established In a lucrative practice In
Westmoreland County, Virginia. Nat W. i
5
err svznxs iw ostt
Washington Is a member of the bar In
Washington. State. In Charlestown, W.
Va.. S. W. Washington and Forrest W.
Browne represent the attorneys in the
family. Forrest Browne is the leading
attorney of that section of the state, lias
been Commonwealth Attorney and fre
quently is spoken of as the candidate
of his party for Congress. So far as can
be learned none of the living descendants
has received any political preferment.
In the Government service, however,
there have been from time to time sev
eral "members of the clan. The William
D. H. Washington, of New York, who
has been mentioned, was President Cleve
land's Consul-General to London, On
tario, Can. R. B. Washington is the
present Consul to Plauen, in Germany.
Lawrence Washington, who has been
mentioned as being in the Congressional
Library, is the assistant in charge of
the document room. There is a Thomas
Washington who is employed aa a clerk
at the Washington Navy-Yard.
Lieutenant-Commander Thomas Wash
ington, now in command of the Dolphin
in the West Indies, and Captain Mervyn
Buckey of the Army, stationed at Fort
Casey on Puget Sound, represent the
family in the military and naval estab
lishments. The records of both have
beep brilliant.
The Rev. Henderson George Tucker,
president of St. John's, the Episcopal
missionary college at Toklo, in Japan, Is
a descendant of John Augustus Washing
ton, and recently came into prominence
during the 'famine. He was selected as
a member of the relief organization and
Is said to be the only foreigner ever In
trusted by the Mikado's government with
the distribution of Japanese funds. He
has been In the Orient for several years
and is an authority on Japanese affairs.
He is a son of the Rev. Beverly Tucker,
bishop of Southland, and a third mem
ber of the family, Dr. Augustine Wash
ington Tucker, Is located in Shanghai,
In China.
Distinguished aval Officer.
Lieutenant - Commander Washington's
service has been varied and distinguished.
His record in efficiency In the Navy De
partment Is marked away above par. He
is a young man, was graduated well in
his class, and probably will reach the
highest grades in the service. While
there 1s not likely soon to be another
General Washington In the family, it
perhaps will not be more than a decade
or two until there is an Admiral Wash
ington,' for the first time.
Commander Washington was graduated
from the Naval Academy in 1S89 and as
signed to service with the United States
Coast Survey, and later on the Terror.
He early became Interested In naval law
and admiralty and was selected to serve
In the Judge Advocate's office of the
Navy Department. He frccjueDlly hasjjuile a striking resemblance to the first
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held high staff assignments in the Bureau
of Navigation and with the Asiatic squad
ron. While proficient in the technical and
staff branches of his profession, he has
not been by any means a desk soldier.
During the Spanish War lie served
aboard the battleship Indiana, and was
in command of the third division of her
gun batteries at the battle of Santiago,
which resulted in the sinking of Cervera's
fleet. His bravery and the accuracy of
his shooting was commended officially
by Captain Taylor, in command of the
battleship, which, it will be recalled,
played a prominent part in the fight.
There were many shots directed by this
collateral descendant of George Washing
ton in tne shattered hulls of the Spanish
fleet.
Commander Washington,, in command
of the dispatch boat Dolphin, is doing,
a tour of sea service in the West Indies
and is one of the youngest officers of
the Navy to have so important an as
signment. He will be promoted shortly
to the full rank of commander, having
passed through every grade from naval
cadet to that rank.
Like practically all of the living de
scendants of the great George, Com
mander Washington is unassuming: to the
point of effacement. According to one
who served with him for several years In
the geological survey, he seldom can be
brought to talk about his family, and at
no time has he let the fact that he can
trace back collaterally to the first Presi
dent of these United States obtrude itself.
At one time In his naval career Com
mander Washington, then a midshipman,
saw service In Europe, and about the
only time he ever mentions his great de
scendant to his friends even, is when he
laughingly tells how his name affected
some of the people whom, he met while
abroad. Some persons insisted upon re
garding him as rather of a curiosity and
would ask singular questions about his
great relative and himself. In England
many folk whom he met insisted upon ad
dressing him as "Lord" Washington,
much to his mingled amusement and
disgust, as befits a genuine American
born and bred.
Commander Washington, like many of
the other living descendants, has an
exceedingly pleasing personality and is
courteous in a dignified. Southern. Wash
lngtonlan way which is very delightful.
The "personages' whom from time to
time he has taken on board the Dolphin
as guests of the Government, all have
come away with the expression of their
gTeat admiration for the Commander.
When he was younger he Is by no means
out of the "young" class 'today and be
fore his face had filled out so much and
he had no mustache. Commander Wash
ington, according to his old friends, bore
Navy's First Admiral Washington;
What
V
.A.
President, who might have played a far
different part in history had he accepted
the commission in the British navy which
was offered him when a young man.
Another Washington in the Navy at the
present time is a brother of Commander
March 7 Is Fixed for Pledge to Jesus
Cleveland Movement to Be Taken Up In Churches All Over the World
CLEVELAND, O., Feb. 6. (Special.)
For two weeks 11,000 young men and
women of Cleveland lived "as Christ
would." The results of the probationary
period were so remarkable that an inter
national movement has been organized
with headquarters In this city and its
spread will be urged all over the world.
"As Christ would do," is a motto that
is expected to create a new religious
speech. Every city and village in this
country, and many as far away as Aus
tralia, will take it up and young people
in countless numbers will attempt to
make their lives conform to it.
Under the leadership of a Cleveland
student, March 7 has l.een set aside as
the day when young and old, of every
church and every denomination In the
United States and abroad can uuite to
dedicate for two weeks, or forever, their
lives "as Christ would live."
The growth of the "Jesus movement"
as It has come to be known, throws an
Interesting sidelight on the present-day
religious tendencies. It Was wholly a
spontaneous outgrowth, of a desire to
live cleaner and better lives.
Early In January, at a meeting of the
Epworth League of one of the Cleveland
churches, Willard D. Price, a young col
lege student, suggested that the members
of the organization bind themselves to
put Christianity on trial in their daily
lives. The idea met with great favor and
a meeting of all tne young people's so
cieties of all the city's churches was
called that the trial might be given in
a wider field.
Eventually, 11.000 members of these so
cieties, comprising shop employes, clerks,
stenographers, business and professional
men and women, and, In fact, representa
tives of every walk in life, enlisted for
two weeks to live as Jesus would. At the
end of the two weeks, a mass meeting
was held that extended through Sunday
afternoon Into Sunday night. Hundreds
of stories were told of the experiences
that were crowded into the two weeks
and it was decided to spread the move
ment all over the country. The inter
national heads of the church societies of
fered their co-operation, and It is planned
that on March 7 every church in every
state in the Union shall devote the day to
pledges of consecration. These pledges
may be given for two weeks, or for life.
Early In the two weeks' probationary
period in this city, tiny buttons made
their appearance on lapels of coats and
jackets. The buttons are cream with a
narrow red border. The word "Jesus"
appears in the center nothing more. In
a few days they could be seen every
where. Girls behind the counters in the
department stores wore them conspicu
Others Are
V
Thomas. Lieutenant Pope Washington.
He is one of the officers that is engaged
In the task of bringing the battleship
Georgia across the Atlantic on the last
leg of its world-encircling voyage with
the Atlantic fleet.
Xotable Army Representative.
Captain Mervyn Buckey, whose mother
was a descendant of Colonel Sam Wash
ington, of Harewood, has well represented
the family in the Army. He was gradu
ated from West Point, well up in his
studies, In 1S97, and assigned to the Artil
lery Corps, in which he has served ever
since. He has displayed especial profi
ciency in the scientific part of his duaes
and is an authority on submarines, mines
and the use of electricity in connection
with artillery. He helped to install the
mine system which guards the harbor of
New York, and is at present engaged on
similar work at the entrance to Puget
Sound.
At the beginning of the Spanish War
Captain Buckey was stationed at Fort
Slocum, In Long Island Sound, and was
ously on their waists. Lawyers, appear
ing In court, wore them on their coats.
Motornien and conductors on streetcars,
mechanics In the factories, everywhere
one could see the buttons.
When the movement was only a few
days old Inquiries began to pour into the
city from other churches and other cities
asking for details of the plan. A force
of clerks was necessary to answer all
this correspondence and spread the gos
pel of a Christ-life in the Oth century.
New York, Washington. Chicago, St.
Louis and dozens of other places have
already followed the lead of Cleveland,
but not until March 7 will the National
movement be formally launched.
The success of the plan was not un
marred by failures. Stenographers who
enlisted in the cause grew discouraged
and withdrew their pledges. Girls from
stores said they could no longer be firm
in their efforts to live the perfect life
and retain their positions. Complaints
were numerous that the requirements of
the business world would not permit an
observance of all the Biblical laws, but
in general the added experience of two
weeks, said- the leaders, proved conclus
ively that even in the day of commercial
Ism It is possible to follow in the foot
steps of Christ.
"I tried it and failed." said Miss Agnes
Burrows, private secretary to a well
known business man. "We pledged our
selves to an observance of the ten com
mandments, There is one that says
'Thou shalt not lie.' The rest might be
comparatively easy, but I do not believe
any one can be a part of the business
world and refrain from telling a lie. t
tried, and tried hard, but It was a case
of lie or lose my position. ,
"People came Into our office frequently
to see my employer. It may be he Is
busy, or perhaps he does not care to talk
with them. I must say he is out. I lie.
A customer writes complaining that a
bill of goods he has ordered has not been
delivered. To soothe his feelings, I write
that they were shipped and must have
strayed on the road, when I know all the
time they have never left our warehouse.
So I lie and preient the customer from
transferring his trade, in anger, to an
other house.
"Would Christ have done that? I don't
believe he would, but I am compelled to,
or seek another position. And I must re
sign my pledge to live like him." -
Miss Bertha Markwith Is a saleswoman
in one of the largest department stores.
"It Is Impossible for a girl to follow in
Christ's steps and work where I am
working." she says. "Not that our store
does not conduct its business as every
other store Is conducted. In our store,
nothing is done that Is called dishonest
from the standpoint of the business world.
Doing
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instrumental In getting up the celebrated.
Stock Exchange regiment, in which he
was to hold the position of Lieutenant
Colonel. The Colonel was his cousin, Wil
liam D. H. Washington, who has been
mentioned, and for a while there was a
possibility of New York being represented'
In the Spanish War by a volunteer regl-
ment whose two principal officers were
collateral descendants of the great'
George. It was found, however, that the
quota for New York state would not'
allow the acceptance of the regiment, i
and, after drilling for a few weeks, the
project was abandoned. Lieutenant
Buckey went to Cuba with his battery, .
and was selected by General Miles to;
command a dyramite gun detachment'
with the Porto RIcan expedition. Ac
cordingly, a collateral descendant of
George Washington was the first officer
of the American Regular Army to holat
the Stars and' Stripes on the Island of
Porto Rico. Later he served with credit
In the Philippines.
(Copyright, 11HMJ, by the Asocia,ted Literary,
Press.)
The manager ailvertises goods on sale
for il that he says are marked down
from J2.Su. I know their original price
was $1.50. If a customer asks me it the
goods are really reduced from $2.50 to Jl.
can I tell her 'no'? If I do, I not only
lose a sale to her. but she tells her
friends that the store's advertisements
cannot be depended on, and we lose the
business they had nil been bringing us.
If I were frank with her and did not lie
about the original price of tho ftoods, I
would lose my position instantly. I
pledged myself to live as Jesus would,
but I had to break my pledge the very
next day-"
Notwithstanding the defection of sev
eral hundred men and women placed In
positions similar to those of Miss Bur
rows and Miss Markwith, the 11.(100 young
people declare that the two weeks they
lived "as Christ would" prove that
Christianity is just as powerful a force
now as it was 2000 years ae;o.
As a message to other cities, to Bos
ton, where 10.000 have been recruited, to
New York, where Dr. Charles A. Eaton
has been gathering more thousands to
take the pledge, to the entire country,
young: Price is sending this: "It pays to
be good. It makes life plrasantc-r. brings
happiness, spreads happiness: it brings
comfort and peace. It is a practical
life and one full of content and Joy.
Borne people have said we have been
presuming to put Christianity on trial as
a mode of daily life. We have not. We
are putting ourselves on trial. We have
been testing ourselves to see if we can
be real and not merely professing Chris
tians. And tho trial has been a succeMS.
"We have succeeded, and it is possible
to follow Jesus; to take lilm for our ex
emplar of daily life. It Is a gospel we
can follow all through life."
Thry Might Be Worse.
Judge.
If all the flies had singers and If all th
dogs were cross,
If all our Joya were heartache and our every
gain was loss.
If every day were rainy or If every day wer
dry.
Then would there be aoma light excuse for
one to alt and cry.
If alt the trees wero Winter-killed and all the
eggs were stale.
If all the prune were wormy and If all our
plana should fall.
If all the roads were muddy and If all tho
hlllB were steep.
You would not he no roundly blamed whea
you sit down and weep.
But houefliejs are not hornets and most d"wp-
gies do not bite;
Two-thini of what we undertake turns out
exavtly right;
The weather's mostly wholesome, half the
eggs we buy are recent
Thing might h iuitA a whole (t wwre
thaa fully ball way decent.
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