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 [Reprinted from The Records of The Columbia Historical Society, 
 
 Vol. 20, 1917.] 
 
 EECOLLECTIONS OF A BOYHOOD IN 
 aEORGETOWX. 
 
 By WILLIAM A. GORDON. 
 (Read before tlie Society, April 18, 1916.) 
 
 At the present time when Washington has grown to 
 be a large city, when improved housing and better sani- 
 tation have made living more pleasant and life safer, 
 and when lifelong residents know even by sight but few 
 of those passed on the street, it is difficult to picture 
 what were the surroundings, what the life, and what 
 the manners and customs of the people who lived here 
 sixty or seventy years ago. Thanks to the research of 
 students and the many books which have been written, 
 we are well informed as to the Colonial and Revolu- 
 tionary history of our people. This Society has done 
 J^ much in collecting and preserving interesting and val- 
 •^ liable historical data relating to the District, especially 
 i of the period since it was set apart for Federal pur- 
 •< poses. Little, however, has been written about the 
 U4 daily life and customs of the people who lived here. 
 If someone equipped for the work and enthusiastic on 
 the subject would undertake to tell us of the life, man- 
 ners and customs of the people of this District during 
 the early part of the nineteenth century, as Macauley j "A ,^ (^ 
 did for the English people, it would be a valuable con- ^^^ 
 tribution to local history and make interesting reading. 
 Though feeling hesitation in taking up the time of 
 this Society with matters of lighter character than are 
 contained in the papers usually read before it, I will 
 with your permission and craving your forbearance, 
 tell you of some things which made ;in indelible inipres- 
 
 121 
 
 2795 H) 
 
 M 
 
 <l 
 
 O 

 
 122 Becords of the Columbia Historical Society. 
 
 sion ou my miud during a childhood and early youth 
 passed in my native town of Georgetown. 
 
 When I was a child Georgetown was a town of less 
 than eight thousand inhabitants; an active commercial 
 center with business reaching far into the neighboring 
 States and commerce into distant seas. Its people 
 were industrious, intelligent and enterprising; good 
 citizens, self-reliant, and proud of their town. Life 
 was quiet and homelike, and as travel to distant points 
 was rarely undertaken and the summer hegira to water- 
 ing places unknown, there was a wider acquaintance 
 amongst the people, and a closer bond of neighborly 
 friendship and intimacy than now exist. Like most 
 towns in Maryland and Virginia the houses in the older, 
 or western part, were of brick, built directly on the 
 street, and except in few cases without grounds either 
 in front or on the sides, the gardens for the sake of 
 privacy being located in the rear. I mention these 
 things to show the surroundings in which I passed my 
 early years. 
 
 Negro slavery existed in the town until the time of 
 the war between the States, and most of the domestic 
 servants were slaves, hired by those not owning them 
 generally by the year at moderate wages, with neces- 
 sary clothing and medical attention added. When a 
 little boy I was much with the servants who lived in 
 the house and were recognized as members of the 
 famih\ They were proud of the family to which they 
 belonged, were acquainted with its traditions and loved 
 to relate them. Many were aristocratic in their ideas, 
 to whom changes in social position made no difference, 
 as they classed everyone socially according to their 
 recollection of what the person's ancestor had been. 
 In every family there was a nurse, or "mammy," who 
 cared for and exercised despotic authority over the
 
 Gordon: Recollections of a Boyhood in Georgetown, i 23 
 
 children, and would permit no interference with them 
 except from the parent. They dearly loved "their chil- 
 dren," as they affectionately called them, and were 
 loved by them. Eelations of mutual interest and affec- 
 tion existed between the members of the family and the 
 servants in the house, very different from relations 
 which now exist, where service only is regarded on the 
 one side and pay on the other. This feeling of friend- 
 ship existed not only between the family and those liv- 
 ing in the house, but extended to those who had be- 
 longed to the family or had formerly lived with them. 
 At Christmas all felt at liberty to come and partake of 
 the holiday cheer, most of whom expected and received 
 something in the way of a gift ; whilst those of the im- 
 mediate household hung up their stockings on Christ- 
 mas Eve just as the children did. 
 
 There were mam' interesting customs amongst the 
 negroes. Ordinarily they were not allowed on the 
 streets after the town bell rang at nine o'clock at night, 
 but at Christmas this restriction was removed, and as 
 midnight approached bands of them would go through 
 the streets singing hymns and carols before the houses 
 of their white friends. I well remember how excited I 
 was when waked up, taken from bed, wrapped up 
 snugly, and carried to the window to listen to them. As 
 many of the men had good voices the singing was un- 
 usually sweet. The following morning the leader of 
 the band would call at the house and receive a token of 
 appreciation in the way of small coin. 
 
 The annual May-day parade of the negro drivers 
 should also be mentioned. In connection with the busi- 
 ness of the town there were many carts, drays and 
 wagons driven by negroes. On the first of May all of 
 them had holiday and paraded the streets with vehicles 
 and horses adorned witli bi-ight-colored papers, ribbons
 
 124 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 
 
 and flowers ; the drivers in their best with long white 
 aprons decorated with huge brilliantly colored rosettes. 
 Headed by a band they would march over the town, and 
 then go to some neighboring wood to pass the day in 
 feasting, dancing and singing. 
 
 As much time was passed within doors everything 
 connected with the household was a matter of interest. 
 There was no gas or running water in the house; no 
 range or cook stove in the kitchen. Water was ob- 
 tained either from wells or cisterns in the yard or from 
 the public pumps on the street corners. Everyone had 
 barrels or hogsheads in which rain water was collected 
 for washing purposes, the breeding places of mos- 
 quitoes innumerable. The coop in which chickens and 
 other fowls were kept and fattened was a necessary 
 equipment. Light was furnished from candles, or from 
 lamps fed with sperm or lard oil. Generally there was 
 also a lantern for use out of doors when visiting at 
 night, for the streets were but poorly lighted if at all. 
 With the exception of a hard-coal open-grate fire in the 
 parlor, sometimes supplemented by a bright cheerful 
 wood fire in the then popular ''Franklin" stove, the 
 fires were of wood in the open fireplaces or in small air- 
 tight stoves. The halls were generally very cold and 
 except in large mansions unheated. Wood was sup- 
 plied by country wagons and sawed into proper sizes 
 by old negro men who followed the trade of "wood- 
 sawyers." In the kitchen was a large open fireplace 
 with wide hearth, in which was a swinging crane upon 
 which the pots and kettles hung. In addition there 
 were numerous ovens of various sizes, with griddles, 
 frying pans and other cooking utensils ; also a large tin 
 "kitchen" placed on the hearth in front of the fire in 
 which turkeys, fowls and roasts of beef were cooked. 
 Generally on the side of the fireplace were hooks on
 
 Gordon: Recollections of a Boyhood in Georgetoxcn. 125 
 
 wliicli Potomac herring, strung upon long sticks, were 
 hung to dry, "Johnny-cake, ' ' made of cornmeal dough 
 spread on barrel-head boards, was cooked by being 
 propped up before the fire. The hot "Johnny-cake" 
 and the roe herring of those days, which cannot be had 
 by the present method of cooking, was food fit for the 
 gods, and the delight of our childhood. We had abun- 
 dance of molasses, not the tasteless syrups and things 
 now called by that name, but thick golden New Orleans 
 molasses, good to the taste and sight. In summer there 
 was abundance of fruit, berries of all kinds, apricots, 
 plums, peaches, pears and melons. Fish of every kind 
 were abundant, as the town was a great fish market ; in 
 fact food of every kind was plentiful and moderate in 
 price. 
 
 Christmas was the great day of the year, and for 
 weeks housekeepers were busy preparing for it. Every 
 variety of cake and every kind of sweets were made 
 (for there was no confectioner to call upon), which 
 with ham, turkey and other substantial, were spread 
 out in the dining room. Open house was kept and 
 friends and neighbors were expected to call. There 
 was much holiday visiting amongst the children, in fact 
 it was considered a slight if one's plajTnates failed to 
 come in and partake of the "goodies" and admire the 
 simple but no less prized presents. At all times of the 
 year there was much hospitality, and whenever visitors 
 called cake and wine, and on winter afternoons tea and 
 thin wafers, were handed around by the servants. 
 
 C'hildren of the same age played together, and when 
 quite young the little negroes were welcome compan- 
 ions. Generally the playgrounds were in the enclosures 
 about the houses, though occasionally the neighbor- 
 hood was visited in search of adventure, and to climb 
 up into the loft of a stable and roll over in the sweet
 
 I 26 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 
 
 smelling hay was a special deligiit. In our neighbor- 
 hood there was much to interest little boys. Nearby 
 was the large and airy shop of a builder, who employed 
 many skilled carpenters, where shutters, doors, window 
 frames and other things, now manufactured by machin- 
 ery, were made. Here, conditioned upon good be- 
 havior, the boys were permitted to go and watch the 
 workmen; and the smell of the woods and shavings 
 pleased as much as the skill of the men astonished. In 
 this shop coffins were also made, and this branch of the 
 business interested more than any other. I do not 
 know what ambition filled the minds of all the boys, 
 but I do know that some of them were so impressed 
 with the mystery and fascination of coffin-making that 
 they determined to be undertakers in after life. There 
 were also several tanneries and a mill for grinding 
 bark nearby. The vats, skins and everything connected 
 with the tanneries, especially the gruesome stories of 
 men who had been drowned in the vats, interested ; but 
 not so much so as the bark mill with the patient horses 
 traveling around the ring and supplying the motor 
 power. The mill was presided over by a rosy-faced, 
 loud-voiced, kind-hearted giant, a pleasant host to the 
 visiting boys. On work days they liked him, but on 
 parade day, when as pioneer of one of the volunteer 
 military comiDanies he appeared in brilliant uniform 
 with huge bear-skin hat on head, white sheepskin apron 
 around waist, and glittering broad-axe on shoulder, he 
 was simply magnificent, and considered by them a kind 
 of demi-god. 
 
 The little bovs were of course greatlv interested in 
 everything engaged in by those older and larger, and 
 to be allowed to go with them or take part in their sport 
 was considered a special favor. Generally the big boys, 
 while they did not wish to be bothered with the little
 
 Gordon: Recollections of a Boyhood in Georgetown. 127 
 
 ones, were kind and there were but few if any cases of 
 bullying. Of course there was some fighting amongst 
 the small boys, doing no harm so long as stones were 
 not used, and under the code amongst them it was not 
 considered the fair thing for boys in the same crowd to 
 use stones. 
 
 As the boys grew older there was much fighting be- 
 tween the ''crowds" living in different sections of the 
 town, and between the boys of Washing-ton and George- 
 town. It was dangerous for a boy from one section of 
 the town to venture alone into another, an attack and 
 sometimes severe beating being the almost invariable 
 result, the free use of stones adding an additional dan- 
 ger. Crowds from one part of the town would invade 
 another part, armed with sticks and stones, and shriek- 
 ing party cries. At first the march was unopposed, but 
 rapidly the boys of the invaded district gathered and 
 drove the enemy from the field. The severest conflicts, 
 however, were between the boys of the two cities of 
 Washington and Georgetown at the Paper Mill Bridge 
 over Rock Creek, for possession of which they fought 
 with great desperation. As there were only two or 
 three constables to preserve peace by day and a like 
 number of watchmen to giiard property by night, these 
 encounters were seldom interfered with. In our part 
 of the town the constable was a large, powerful, dark- 
 featured man, who was believed to have been a circus 
 performer and to have killed his man. All the boys 
 were afraid of him and would retire into the house on 
 his approacli. Tlie niglit watchman was a small, round, 
 jolly man, with kind words to the children, who were 
 fond of and regarded him as their protector. lie 
 patrolled the town by niglit and called out the hours: 
 "One o'clock, a fair bright night, all's well," or "Four 
 o'clock, a sharp cold morning, all's woll. 
 
 }}
 
 I 28 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 
 
 Children were then clothed very differently from 
 now. Boys under eight years of age wore dresses with 
 skirts to below the knees, buckled around the waist with 
 belts, legs covered with stiff white paddies reaching to 
 the ankles, and head with little velvet or cloth skull 
 caps. Later their dress would be a cloth roundabout 
 or jacket, generally worn open, adorned with brilliant 
 brass buttons, and covered at the neck with huge stiff 
 linen collars, and narrow trousers reaching to the 
 ankles. The head dress would be straw hats in summer 
 and cloth *caps with stiff leather visors in winter. In 
 spite of this uncomfortable costume they no doubt had 
 equally as good a time as the boys of the present day. 
 
 The little children were sent at an early age to what 
 were known as "Dames Schools," where they learned 
 to read and write. The subjects taught were of the 
 simplest nature, and I now believe the little ones were 
 sent to these schools not for what they would learn but 
 to be taken care of. As they grew up the boys went to 
 the higher schools, where the hours were long and the 
 holidays few and far between, at the head of which 
 were men whose reputations as scholars and adminis- 
 trators extended far beyond the limits of the District. 
 Here close and lifetime friendships between the stud- 
 ents were made. When the war between the States 
 commenced many of them went into the Confederate 
 and a lesser number into the Union army. At the end 
 of the contest the survivors came home and old inti- 
 macies were resumed, and I do not know of a single case 
 where friendships between them were interfered with 
 in the slightest degree. 
 
 One of the first things I can remember is in connec- 
 tion with the Mexican war. The negro servants, though 
 they knew nothing about Mexico nor about war, did 
 know that a war was going on and that many men from
 
 Gordon : Recollections of a Boyhood in Georgetown. 1 29 
 
 the town were engaged in it. It was a topic of continual 
 talk amongst them, and of course the children heard 
 them talk. They would jDoint to the long line of crows 
 winging their way south in the morning and homewards 
 in the afternoon, and tell us they flew to the battlefields 
 of Mexico to feast upon the bodies of soldiers who had 
 been killed. These superstitious people as well as the 
 credulous children believed this to be true. Later the 
 volunteers, clad in their light blue uniforms and caps, 
 returned from Mexico, many of them marching through 
 Bridge Street on their way home, and though very 
 young we were taken to see them. They generally 
 crossed the river over the aqueduct bridge and were 
 entertained by George Washington Parke Custis at the 
 great spring on his Arlington estate. Just before or 
 after his election to the jDresidency, General Zachary 
 Taylor was entertained by the people of the town at the 
 Union Hotel, where I saw the then popular hero, and 
 can distinctly recall his appearance. Many officers who 
 had taken part in the war visited- the town, and the 
 children were delighted to see and hear them, though I 
 doubt if much was heard about their military deeds, 
 soldiers generally being modest and little given to talk- 
 ing about their personal achievements. 
 
 Children had bi^t little money in those days, but in 
 spite of the fact that there were no soda-water foun- 
 tains, slot machines, nor moving-picture shows, they 
 had but little difficulty in getting rid of their pennies. 
 In many of the small one-story brick houses, peculiar to 
 old Georgetown, negro "Aunties" were ready to wel- 
 come and furnish them with sweets at the universal 
 price of one cent. Honey cakes, thin and intensely 
 sweet, horse cakes of gingerbread in shape resembling 
 no animal in nature or mythology, large l^alls of black 
 taffy and long twisted sticks of yellow taffy, were at- 
 9*
 
 130 lircords of the Cohimhia Historical Society. 
 
 tractive on account of quantity rather than quality. 
 Being made from pure materials they were probably 
 less injurious than the low-priced sweets now sold. 
 
 As in all river towns the water front had great fasci- 
 nations for the boys and along it much of their time was 
 passed in summer. They learned to swim when very 
 young, and as they grew older became perfectly at 
 home in the water and expert divers. At the wharves, 
 which extended along the whole front of the town, were 
 generally numbers of vessels loading and unloading. 
 Water Street, which was occupied by the wholesale 
 merchants, offered many attractions. It was a busy 
 place, the street crowded with carts and drays, and at 
 certain seasons of the year with lines of large covered 
 wagons, drawn by four or six horse teams with bows 
 of bells on shoulders, and loaded with produce from 
 Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia; the warehouses 
 filled with flour, tobacco, whiskey, salt, grain and other 
 merchandise. One place was a source of never-ending 
 delight, the old warehouses on the western part of the 
 street near the aqueduct bridge, which in the early 
 days of the town had been used as depots by the Indian 
 traders. From time to time the iron-bound doors were 
 opened and the boys allowed to rummage around. By 
 digging in the moist dirt floors they were able to find 
 Indian beads and bells. The beads were like sections 
 of pipe stems about an inch long made of highly glazed 
 earthenware, and in color red, blue, white and parti- 
 colors, and being of varied degrees of rarity had estab- 
 lished value amongst and were used for trading pur- 
 poses by the boys. Almost in front of these warehouses 
 on the river bank was a large saw-mill of heavy tim- 
 bers, not enclosed, where the logs which had been 
 floated down the river were hauled up and sawed into 
 lumber. Next to this mill was an iron furnace or
 
 Gordon: Recollections of a Boyhood in GeorgetOiCn. 
 
 131 
 
 smelter where to the delight of the boys the workmen, 
 generally naked to the waist, moved about in the glare 
 of the molten metal. Then there were the numerous 
 flour mills and a cotton factory which we were allowed 
 on rare occasions to visit, the intricate machinery of 
 which inspired admiration and astonishment. Another 
 place we liked to get permission to visit was Brown's 
 bakery, on the north side of the street, where the ship- 
 biscuit, or hard-tack, used in the United States Navy, 
 was baked. The place was clean and permeated with a 
 sweet moist smell, and to see the process of mixing the 
 flour, forming the dough in shapes, putting it into and 
 taking it from the ovens, and packing the biscuits, was 
 interesting; but to be presented with a large warm 
 newly-baked biscuit was a delight. A short distance 
 lower was the Corporation Fish Wharf, where thou- 
 sands of shad and hundreds of thousands of her- 
 ring were brought by the small river vessels 
 and sold. liere the fish were cleaned for salting 
 and packing by negro fish-women, rough and profane 
 of speech, but generally kind to the boys of their ac- 
 quaintance. In front of the wharf, which was a vile- 
 smelling place, the boys would fish, supplied witli bait 
 by the fish-women, and as great numbers of small lish 
 were attracted by the offal swept into the river, as 
 many as desired could easily be caught. Still lower 
 down was the Dodge warehouse, a never ending source 
 of delight. The firm was engaged in trading in tlieir 
 own vessels with the West Indies and South America, 
 and were large importers of sugar and molasses. Knch 
 year a sale took place, the whai'ves being covered with 
 hogsheads, and ])uyers from the large cities ol' tlu' 
 North attending. On these occasions, tlie boys were 
 allowed to move about lliiough the rows of liogslieads 
 supplied with long straws, which llicy would diji
 
 1 3- Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 
 
 tliroiig-h tlie biinghole oi^en for inspection and feast on 
 the molasses drawn out. The counting house was capa- 
 cious, and decorated with curios brought from the 
 tropics, such as flying fish, shark's jaws, and sword- 
 fish and saw-fish. On the sale days elaborate lunches 
 were served, with fine cigars and every variety of 
 drinkables for the guests. Out from the counting room 
 extended a wide platform overlooking the river, fur- 
 nished with chairs and benches, which on warm sum- 
 mer afternoons was used as a meeting and lounging 
 place by the friends of the jDroprietors. At that time 
 there was a great distinction between wholesale ''mer- 
 chants" and retail "shopkeepers," and a line distinctly 
 drawn, the former being within the magic social circle, 
 the latter outside of it. The captains of the trading 
 vessels were very kind to the boys, and on their return 
 from a voyage would give them sugar cane, oranges 
 and other tropical fruit; invite them to join at meals 
 (and how greatly enjoyed was what we considered 
 sailor's food) ; and loan them the small boats for row- 
 ing and sculling. 
 
 The river above the town as far as the Little Falls 
 bridge was often visited by way of the tow-path. This 
 took us past the celebrated Foxall Foundry, where 
 cannon for the United States Navy were made, and 
 around which in every direction castings of guns and 
 balls were scattered. And also past Edes Mill, situated 
 at the point where the canal of the old Potomac Com- 
 pany entered the river. At this latter place fish larger 
 than those to be found in front of the town could be 
 caught, and, as we were on friendly terms with the 
 miller's family and had the freedom of the grounds, it 
 was a charming spot to pass the warm bright days of 
 early summer. On the canal bank opposite the mill 
 lived a man, who on account of his great strength was
 
 Gordon: Recollections of a Bat/hood in Georgetown. 133 
 
 known as "Bull" Frizzle. On him the boys always 
 turned admiring looks as in their estimation he was a 
 hero, having on the occasion of an accident at the Little 
 Falls bridge crawled under a huge beam, and unas- 
 sisted prized it up by the strength of his broad back, 
 thereby saving the life of the man pinned beneath it. 
 Above the mill were several fishing shores, and it was 
 a delight to watch the boats buffeted by the swift rapids 
 and see the well-filled nets dragged to shore. In times 
 of floods the lower part of the town was in a state of 
 great excitement; merchants busy in removing goods 
 to places of safety, sailors working to secure vessels at 
 the wharves from being carried away, and fishermen 
 and dwellers on the waterside risking their lives in se- 
 curing valuables coming down in the current or sup- 
 plies of drift wood for the winter. When the water 
 was unusually high every point of vantage was crowded 
 with spectators. 
 
 Just west of Georgetown College and north of the 
 canal road was a large and beautiful sheet of water 
 known as "College Pond," the favorite skating place 
 of the young people, and older ones also, living in the 
 western part of the town. This is mentioned for the 
 reason that but few of the present generation know 
 anything of this beautiful pond which no longer exists, 
 having gradually been filled with washings from the 
 surrounding hills. 
 
 Much of the time was passed in the country nesir tlic 
 town, more along the valley of Rock Creek than else- 
 where. Our wanderings took us long distances up that 
 stream and over the tracts now covered by \ho pnvk, 
 and though always beautiful its beauty did nol llicn 
 impress me as it now does. '^I'lic land jjordering on the 
 creek was held in large ])Mrf'els mthI occu))ied as homes 
 by the owners, which in a great measure accounts for
 
 1 34 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 
 
 tlio fact that the woods were not destroyed nor the 
 natural beauty interfered with. 
 
 During the Fall great droves of cattle and flocks of 
 sheep from western Virginia were driven through town. 
 Gathered together at Drovers Rest about two miles 
 west of the town, they were driven to Baltimore and 
 eastern cities. Some days they numbered many thou- 
 sands and filled West (now P) Street from early morn- 
 ing to late afternoon. Generally there was no trouble, 
 but occasionally a wild steer ran amuck to the general 
 alarm. In addition large flocks of turkeys, hundreds 
 of them, were driven from lower Maryland. Their slow 
 and deliberate movements and constant gobbling never 
 failed to attract attention. When any one wished a 
 turkey for dinner, it was only necessary to go to the 
 enclosure where they were kept, select a bird, and pay 
 for it what would now be considered almost nothing. 
 I doubt if a drove of turkeys has come to this District 
 within the past fifty years or more. 
 
 Of course there were fires and a fire company, and 
 nothing caused greater excitement amongst the boys 
 than the wild clanging of the alarm bell, which hung 
 in the belfry of the engine house and was heard all over 
 the town. They considered '^The Old Vigilant" the 
 greatest engine and its men the bravest crew in the 
 whole country. Though not permitted to run with the 
 "machine," they would run along near it, and watch 
 and criticize every movement of the men. This was 
 before the days of a paid fire department, and the 
 members of the company were all volunteers. There 
 were two machines, a suction and an engine ; the former 
 drew in the water and the latter threw it upon the fire ; 
 both were drawn through the streets by hand and also 
 worked by hand. In cases of large fires the Washing- 
 ton companies came over to assist, and whilst during
 
 Gordon: Recollections of a Boyhood in Georgetown. 135 
 
 the progress of the fire all worked harmoniously to- 
 gether, so soon as it was extinguished fighting between 
 the rival companies almost always began. These en- 
 counters were topics of conversation for weeks after 
 the event. 
 
 The subject of politics would from time to time dis- 
 turb the pleasant relations existing between the boys, 
 as they were as fixed in their political leanings and as 
 ardent Democrats or Whigs as their elders. During 
 national campaigns feelings ran very high, each boy had 
 a pole in his yard from which floated a party flag, and 
 the abuse and vituperation indulged in by the two 
 parties passed freely between them. When the election 
 was over, peace returned and politics were banished 
 from their discussions. Partisan feeling in those days 
 ran very high and frequent political meetings were 
 held, but being at night the boys saw but little of them. 
 After an important election, however, the victors gave 
 expression to their joy by torch-light processions, 
 illumination of residences and great bonfires in various 
 parts of the town, to which the children were taken and 
 which they enjoyed more than the grown folks. 
 
 In the extreme western part of the town, near the 
 Catholic Church and College and Convent, dwelt the 
 Irish, a wild-looking, undisciplined and tui-bulcut ])eo- 
 ple, different in every way from tlicii- couiitrymcii 
 amongst us at the present day, both iiicii mikI women 
 being much given to fighting and di-inkiiig. 11 wns be- 
 lieved, and was ])rol)nbly true, tlial no one could coiili-ol 
 them except their piiests. St. Pntrick's Day was the 
 great occasion of the year with them, when. Iicadrd by 
 a band, decorated with gi-cen regalia, and bearing ban- 
 ners, they parad(!d tho streets. Many were Ihe lights 
 which took place along the line of inai-ch, for they were 
 impatient of criticism or derisive remarks, especially 
 
 279,510
 
 136 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 
 
 after having imbibed a little. Frequently when the 
 morning of the "Day" dawned a ''stuffed paddy" 
 would be found hanging from a tree or sig-n ; the figure 
 a suit of clothes stuffed with straw, surmounted by a 
 dilapidated beaver hat, with a string of fish and pota- 
 toes around the neck, an empty whiskey bottle sticking 
 from the pocket, and generally labeled "Paddy got 
 drunk on fish and potatoes." The sight of one of these 
 figures on St. Patrick's Day was to an Irishman more 
 infuriating than a red handkerchief to a mad bull. 
 
 The Fourth of July was a great day, and for many 
 years was celebrated at Parrott's Woods, now the site 
 of Oak Hill Cemeterj^ All the Protestant Sunday 
 Schools participated. In the morning they met at the 
 various churches, and then uniting marched to the 
 grounds headed by a band. Each school had a dis- 
 tinctive color, red, blue, green, yellow and white, and 
 each scholar was decorated with a rosette of the same. 
 Each school had its banner, and to be a banner bearer 
 was considered a great honor. Heading the different 
 schools were two boys, called "pivot boys," bearing 
 small flags, and on turning a corner these boys crossed 
 their flags and the schools marched under them. On 
 arriving at the woods the day was celebrated. Patriotic 
 songs were sung, the Star Spangled Banner never 
 being omitted, and addresses made by young college 
 graduates. Later in the day speeches were made by 
 the elders. Townsmen of all classes participated, and 
 barrels of lemonade and abundance of eatables of every 
 kind were provided ; everything was free and all were 
 welcomed. After a somewhat strenuous day parents 
 and children returned home tired out but patriotically 
 happy. 
 
 The needs of the town required many taverns, and 
 on High Street (now Wisconsin Avenue) were several
 
 Gordon: Recollections of a Boyhood in Georgetozem. 137 
 
 much frequented by teamsters, drovers and small 
 farmers. Attached to each were large courtyards with 
 extensive stabling where the many wagons and teams 
 could be cared for. In the late afternoon these taverns 
 were busy and hustling places. In addition there were 
 a number of hotels, the principal one being the Union 
 Hotel, formerly Crawfords, which occupied the north- 
 east corner of M and 30th Streets, with additions ex- 
 tending northwardly to Olive Avenue, which in its day 
 was a famous hostelry and as such continued for many 
 years after the war. In the days before my birth it 
 was the stopping place of the most distinguished men 
 in public life. William Wirt in a letter written to his 
 wife from Georgetown on October 1-4, 1814, not two 
 months after the British had burned the Capitol, says : 
 
 "Here I am at Crawfords. I am surrounded by a vast 
 crowd of legislators and gentlemen, assembled here for the 
 races, which are to commence tomorrow. The races? amidst 
 the ruins and desolation of Washington." 
 
 In my day it was the home of many ladies and gentle- 
 men, friends of our family, and I went there frequently. 
 The main building differed but little from others, but 
 north of this and running north upon 30th Street to 
 the next street was a wing of one or two stories high 
 and one room deep, the doors opening into a covered 
 corridor supported by brick arches, beyond which was 
 a large courtyard paved with stone. The rooms along 
 this corridor were occupied entirely l)y gentlemen, 
 many being planters from the lower river counties of 
 Maryland and Virginia. On the opposite side of the 
 courtyard was a large buihliug in which was a fine hnW- 
 room known as ''Pompean Ilall" from its mural dec- 
 orations in which j)ublic entertainments and functions 
 were held. In the older days on more than one occasion 
 parties had gone from these festivities to the duelling
 
 ijS Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 
 
 groinid, resulting in one instance at least in the death 
 of a participant. In the rear of the court were stables 
 in which carriages owned by or for the use of guests 
 were kept. 
 
 Transportation was attended with considerable dis- 
 comfoi-t for those not blessed with their own convey- 
 ances. There were two or three public hacks driven 
 bj' old colored men, used on rare occasions or for funer- 
 als, though generally as a mark of respect all walked 
 to the graveyard. Two of these funerals where all at- 
 tending were on foot made an impression on my mind 
 which is still vivid. One, that of Archbishop Eccleston 
 of Baltimore, who was greatly interested in the educa- 
 tion of girls under the care of the Sisters of the Visita- 
 tion, and died in a small house on Fayette Street near 
 the Convent in 1851 during a visit to Georgetown. His 
 remains were borne through the streets, on the way 
 to the railroad depot on Pennsylvania Avenue near 
 the Capitol, attended by acolytes swinging censers, 
 lighted candles and many priests and church digni- 
 taries. An impressive and unusual sight ! The other, 
 that of Mr. Bodisco, the Russian Minister, in 1854, 
 when on the way to Oak Hill Cemetery his two nephews 
 Boris and Waldimer, both very handsome young men, 
 clad in white uniforms, marched on either side of the 
 hearse, accompanied by the attaches of his legation and 
 officers of his household, also in uniform. For those 
 who had business at the executive departments in 
 Washington, or **the city" as we called it, and were 
 too old or did not care to walk, there were omnibuses 
 which went over in the morning and returned in the 
 early afternoon; and later omnibuses which made 
 hourly trips. Stages ran every day to Rockville, and 
 once or more a week to Leesburg or neighboring towns. 
 A steamboat, the old Salem, made regular trips down
 
 Gordon: BecoUect'ions of a Boyhood in Geoi-getozcn. 139 
 
 the Potomac to the river landings, and the canal carried 
 many passengers np the river to the western country. 
 
 Of course things interested the boys more than per- 
 sons, but there were many characters in the town who 
 made an impression upon our minds by what appeared 
 peculiarities or by what was said about them. One or 
 two tottering old men said to have been Revolutionary 
 soldiers, old gentlemen still clinging to their knee 
 breeches, old ladies with turbans on head and canes in 
 hand. Then from time to time men distinguished in 
 the history of the country drove or rode through the 
 streets, the observed of all observers. To the boys, 
 however, the most interesting sight was the foreign 
 ministers, residing in the town, when on state occasions 
 they appeared in brilliant uniforms, and in the case of 
 the Russian minister seated in a gilded coach with 
 driver and footman clad in bright uniforms. Then 
 there were the high leather-spring coaches of residents, 
 and old-fashioned two-wheeled gigs driven by old gen- 
 tlemen. The people and surroundings were in almost 
 every respect different from those of the present day. 
 
 Perhaps you have wondered why I have said nothing 
 in regard to girls; but you must remember that the 
 boys to whom I have referred were under fifteen years 
 of age, and the fair sex, whatever the influence exerted 
 in later years, occupied but little of their attention. 
 They were real boys, not young gentlemen, who loved 
 the open, played in the streets free from automobiles 
 and motorcycles, and made tlieir excursions on foot 
 no matter how great the distance traveled. Nothing 
 was thought of tramping out to the house of some boy 
 friend in the country five or six miles from home, imd 
 after a strenuous day in the fields and woods tramping 
 back again, and many holidays were happily passed in 
 improvised camj^s where first lessons in simple cooking
 
 140 Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 
 
 were acquired. They were just boys, strong, kctive, 
 interested in and prying into everything, and though 
 full of mischief for the most part fairly good. The life 
 they led was in no way the life of the city' boy of the 
 present day, but rather that of boys in small country 
 towns. Their days were full of adventure and they 
 got much out of life. After many years it is pleasant 
 to recall the surroundings and occupation of my child- 
 hood days.
 
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