II

Courtesy of J. R. Lipinoott Company

EVENING PUBLIC

Colonial Philadelphia By HAROLD DONALDSON EBER-

LEIN and CORTLANDT VAN DYKE HUBBARD

No. 14—Cedar Grove

SINCE 1927 Cedar Grove has been one of the Colonial and post-Colonial houses preserved In Fairmount Park. At that time it was taken down, stone by stone, removed from Its original site at

Harrogate, near Frankford, and with meticulous care re-erected on

Lansdowne Drive, hard by Memo-rial Hall.

In 1714, Thomas Coates, of Philadelphia, bought and farmed nearly 300 acres of land, adjoin-Ing the lands of Chalkley Hall on the east. At his death in 1719, the Inventory of his property shows, this farm at Harrogate was well stocked with domestic animals and Implements but had no dwelling except farmer's quarters. Eliza-beth Coates, who inherited a part of her father's Harrogate prop-erty, married Joseph Paschall in 1721 and built the oldest part of Cedar Grove, three principal rooms —the parlor or living room (now the dining room), the bedroom above, and the original kitchen in the one-story extension at the rear.

Rest Shelter Small and unpractical, it was

not intended for a dwelling, merely a shelter for rest and refreshment when the owner or any members of the family spent the day at the farm.

Mrs. Paschall's accounts for ma-terials bought and work done show that she made substantial addi-tions to Cedar Grove in 1752. In 1767 Elizabeth Coates Pasehall's son Isaac married Patience Mu-fun and Cedar Grove ultimately went to their daughter Sarah, who married Isaac Wistar Morris in 1795. It was at this time that Cedar Grove took its present form.

A joint in the masonry up the middle of the front indicates the width was doubled and six win-dows provided across the upper floor. On the ground floor of the new part were a parlor and, back of it, a large kitchen; the upper floor provided two more bedrooms, with an attic. The former living-

room became the dining room. reached through the old kitchen; the latter became the "ironing room" and its great fireplace

dwindled to a much smaller open-ing with a mantelpiece.

Stayed the Night By 1795 the prejudice against

spending the night In country air had disappeared, and Cedar Grove was thenceforth the family resi-dence during much of the year.

An amusing chapter might be written about the festivities that took place at Harrogate Inn near-by. In Its heyday, rosy-cheeked, fair-haired German lads and lasses, for whom Monday was the hebdomadal holiday, resorted thither weekly. They usually ar-rived in the morning, drank beer and danced.

In the afternoon an Irish con-tingent from Port Richmond would appear, previously forti-fied for the long journey from beyond Gunnars Run (something more than a mile) by repeated imbibings of whisky. Their aim was to cut out the "Dutchies," as they called them, gain for themselves the smiles and favor of the Teuton maids and supplant the German waltz by the Irish jig.

Named for Waters Confusion and heartaches, if

nothing worse, always resulted; and worse almost invariably fol-

lowed and added the testimony of broken plates to the unwisdom of mixing drinks. The name Har-rogate was given because the analysis of the springs there was the same as that of Harrogate waters In England.

Until 1888, when the rapid en-croachment of the ctiy, with its smoke - belching factories and screaming railroads obliged the great-great-grandchildren of Eliz-abeth Coates Paschall to vacate Cedar Grove, neither cookstove nor boiler ever found their way into the house; all the cooking was done over an open wood fire in the great fireplace where hung a full complement of cranes, caul-drons and all other antique cook-ing paraphernalia.

When Cedar Grove was re-erected In Fairmount Park, Miss Lydia Morris—the last surviv-ing member of her branch of the family—replaced in the old house all the furniture, so that all the rooms are now equipped exactly as they were when occupied by the family of Harrogate. This is true even to the least item of kitchen equipment.

The next article on Colonial Philadelphia will be about Mill Grove.

Colonial Philadelphia - - - No. 21, Laurel Hill By HAROLD

DONALDSON EBERLEIN and

CORTLANDT VAN DYKE HUBBARD

CONSPICUOUS among the old couritryseats in Fairmount Park on the east bank of the Schuylkill is Laurel Hill. Not far from Wood-ford and Strawberry Mansion and separated from Ormiston by a deep, wooded combe, it stands on a high bluff overlooking the river, com-manding a unexcelled view up and down stream.

Named for Foliage Laurel Hill takes Its name from

the luxuriant growth of laurel that once covered the bluffs along the ______ •. ;' ,". river at that point. It should not .. . S

be confused with the Laurels, the . country seat of Joseph Sims nearby, J I demolished when that property was taken for Laurel Hill Cemetery in

3 Laurel Hill, though not so large as some of the neighboring houses, is a striking example of Georgian architecture, At the northern end of the house, a trans- verse wing with semioctagonal ends relieves the angularity of the ex- Cou, teS of .1 B. Lippincott Company

tenor and affords opportunity for an Rawle and Shoemaker families measures against the Loyalists and apartment of noble elegance. This divided their time in Summer be- Mr. Shoemaker's property was wing Is of later date. The east or tween Laurel Hill and Mr. Shoe- among the first to claim their no-front door opens directly into a gal- maker's own estate in Germantown, tice. State agents seized Laurel Hill lery or hall extending across the continuing to spend much of their and allowed the President of the front of the house. At one end is time at Laurel Hill until the British State, General Joseph Reed,to oc- the stair, turning in several flights: Army occupied Philadelphia. cupy the premises. His active ani- at the other a door opens into the When British forces occupied Phil- mosity had already been visited parlor, a room of splendid dllmeri- adeiphia in the Autumn of 1777, at upon the Shoemakers and Rawles, slons with semloctagonal bays at the request of Sir William Howe, Mr. and their letters and diaries speak the ends. On the long north side Shoemaker, along with his friend, of him with scant regard. is a handsome fireplace' a door cn Joseph Galloway, took -charge of the When zeal against the Loyalists the opposite side balancing the city's civil affairs. Because of his had somewhat abated the authori-door from the hail opens into the helping to administer the city under ties viewed the matter of Laurel Hill dining room . which overlooks the Howe, the Pennsylvania State g- more calmly and saw that the title river. The interior woodwork Is ad islature declared Mr. Shoemaker and was still vested in Mrs. Shoemaker. mirably wrought and wellreserye ,. other prominent citizens guilty of After some negotiations with Major

Joseph Shute who owned much high treason and all their estates Parr and the Chevalier, the estate land round abut Is said to

forfeit unless they surrendered was restored to its rightful owners. built Laurel Hill about 1748 I themselves by April 20, 1778. This After this, Mrs. Shoemaker con- Frances Rawle bought the

'Mr. Shoemaker did .not do. Just trnued to occupy Laurel Hill; Mr.

his countr seat an es a for before the British Army evacuated Rawle had his own seat, Harleigh,

to flo'ure in his'to Inl ace ,Jegan Philadelphia in June, 1778, he sailed nearby. In 1828, as trustee under his

Rawle had mar1 5Francis with the fleet for New York. William mother's will, William Rawle sold

daughter e Rebecca, , the Rawle, then 19, and about to begin Laurel Hill to Dr. Philip Syng g r 0 war Warner. He died his legal studies, accompanied his Physick. From him the estate passed

in 1761 in a hunting accident, leav- stepfather, to his descendants, the Randolphs. ng Laurel Hill to his wife. Estate They retained it until the city Seized bought it to include in Fairmount Families Combined Directly the Revolutionary au- Park in 1869

In 1767 Mrs. Rawle married thorities returned to Philadelphia. Samuel Shoemaker, and the united they directed strenuous confiscation Tuesda.y—BeUalr

EVENING PUBLIC LE

Colonial Philadelphia : 2. The Hope Lodge

BY HAROLD DONALDSON EBER-LEIN AND CORTLANDT VAN

DYKE HUBBARD HOPE LODGE, in the White-

marsh Valley close by St. Thomas' Church, is on the Bethlehem Pike just northeast of its junction with the Skippack Pike. In Its ample dignity and in the purity of its early Georgian architecture, it is second to none in the neighbor-hood of Philadelphia. In every particular it is typical of the phase prevalent at the era when it was built; it is likewise typical of the sort of large brick country seat peculiar to Southeastern Pennsylvania.

An avenue of overarching trees leads from the road to the house, Which stands on a slight rise. A little to the southwest is St. Thomas' Hill, thrice held by sol-diers during the Revolutionary struggle. In front, to the north-east across the pike, the Wissa-hickon winds through peaceful meadows; beyond, rises the long slope of Militia Hill—every rood of land full of historic memories. By the banks of the stream, with moss-grown dam and placid leat, is an ancient stone mill that once ground corn for all the Colonists, far and near.

Samuel Morris, the son of Morris Morris, a Welsh Quaker who lived near Abington, bought 500 acres from Edward Farmer—who held extensive land there-abouts by grant from William Penn—and built Hope Lodge to receive an expected bride. Never-theless, Samuel Morris lived and died s bachelor. And this was why: His mother, Susannah Heath Morris, a prominent minis-ter among Friends, was given to making "religious visits." Samuel went with his mother on a "re-ligious visit" across the Atlantic and became affianced to a young Quakeress in England. The be-trothed pair fell to planning their future home, and the design of the house has been attributed to Sir Christopher Wren. Thoughhe

looked about and exclaimed, "I've got the pen; all I want now is the sow." This indelicate speech got to the ears of his betrothed and she promptly broke the engage-ment. The story of Morris' blasted betrothal was well known in the eighteenth century, and in 1753 some verses were written alluding to It. The repentant Morris seems to have lived an exemplary life afterward; he be-came a Justice of the Peace in Whitemarsh and was an overseer of Plymouth Meeting. He died in 1770, leaving various charitable bequests; the estate went to his brother, Joshua, who, in 1776, sold It to William West, a relative of the Lords de la Warr, who had settled in Pennsylvania about 1750 and become a shipping merchant.

At Hope Lodge, the alarms of war frequently interrupted any peace and quiet of retirement Mr. West had expected. The house is only a stone's throw from St. Thomas' Hill and when the Brit-ish forces were encamped round about and Howe had mounted his cannon in the windows of the old church, it could not have been any too pleasant for the Wests. Tra-dition says that Hope Lodge served as an emergency hospital after the Battle of Germantown.

Mr. West is said to have been a Loyalist, though of that there is no certainty. He was given to generous hospitality and there Is little doubt that Washington was a guest at Hope Lodge more than once while the Continental Army

Courtesy of J. B. Lippincott Co,rpan,

lay at Whitemarsh. It was prob-ably due to the 'good entertain-ment" extended by his hospitable host that Washington gave the protection to Mr. West's woods, shown by an order still extant; the soldiers were forbidden to fell trees on the property and ordered to seek their supplies of wood elsewhere.

After Mr, West's death his executors sold the property, in 1784, to Henry Hope, of the famous London and Amsterdam banking firm of Hope & Co. Henry Hope never lived in the house and ultimately deeded the property to his second cousin, James Horatio Watmough. It was Mr. Watmough who named the house Hope Lodge. James Horatio Watmough's second daughter, Margaretta, married John Ser-geant, the eminent lawyer, after-ward a Representative in Congress and in 1832 Whig candidate for Vice President on the ticket with Henry Clay.

In 1832 Hope Lodge was sold to Jacob Wentz and the Wentz fam-ily continued in possession until 1922, when William L. Degn bought the property. For a long time before Mr. Degn bought Hope Lodge the house had been falling into disrepair and it was even In danger of being demolished. Mr. Degn has put It in thoroughly good order and maintains it with praiseworthy regard for Its his-toric character.

Thix is the Second of series on Philadelphia Colonial Homes.

in

Courtesy of J. B. Lippncott Company

EVENING PUBLIC LET

Colonial Philadelphia No. 11. Chalkley Hall. I by Harold Donaldson Eberlein and

Cotilandt Van Dyke Hubbard

THE upper part of Chalkley Hall is visible from the windows of trains on the New York division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, just after passing Frankford Junction, going toward New York. It is down

I in the Y formed by the embank-ments of the New York division and the branch turning off to the Delaware River Bridge. Before the encroachments of railways and Industrial plants it was one of the stateliest seats in all the region round Pnhladelphia. It is now dis-mantled and surrounded by manu- facturing establishments—doomed, unless civic pride can compass its removal and restoration. Restored and re-erected, it would be a inag- niflcent addition to the chain of ancient houses in Fairmount Park.

The main part of Chalkley Hall, built about 1776, is a rectangular structure of cream-colored Man- chester stone brought from Eng-land as ballast. There is not a finer piece of ashla' masonry to be found anywhere in England; it is unique in America. Its hipped roof Is topped by full-throated square chimneys. A range of five windows extends across its three-storied front; the projecting central por- tion of the facade embracing the three middle windows, supports a pediment rising as high as the deck f the main roof. At the cor-ners of the centrai projection and of the building, pilasters rise from ground to cornice; belt courses be-tween the stories traverse the field of the wall. Within the great hail was once at' exceptionally hand-some stair, now removed to a mu-seum; spacious rooms open from each side of It.

To the north is a long low two-story wing, its front lighted by a row of seven square windows. This wing is Ine older part of the house and was built prior to 1723 by Thomas Chalkley, merchant, ship owner and Quaker missionary, who established his plantation "in order to be more retired and for health's sake." His diary sheds a reveal-ing light on the 'plain" Quaker attitude of ills era. He writes:

I was borne . 1675, in South-wark and descended of honest and religious parents (the strict- est of Friends) who were very careful of me and brought me up In the fear of the Lord; and oftentimes counseled me to so- briety and reproved me for wan- tonness; and that light spirit which is incident to youth they were careful to rip in the bud.

When between 8 and 10 years of age, my father. sent me . . o school in the

. sub-

urbs of London I went mostly by myself, and many and various were the exercises I went through by beatings and stonings along the streets, being distin- guished to the people by the badge of plainness which my parents put upon me. . . About this time the Lord began to work strongly on my mind by his grace, insomuch that I could not forbear reproving those lads that swore . one time I remember being among some men, one of whom i had reproved. . . Being convinced in their consciences that what I said was true, they were all silent and wondered that I, being so young, could speak in such a manner; in which, I remember, I had great peace and good satisfaction. I remember that, unknown to my parents, I had bought a pack of cards, with intent to make use of them when I went to see my relations in the country. . . I went to see them, and . . on my way went to a meeting . . at which . minister . . declared against the evil of gaming, and particularly of cards . . From this meeting at Wanstead I went to the house of my relations. The time drawing near that we were to go to our games, my uncle called . . to me . . to come and take a game at cards; at which motion I had a strong conviction upon me not to do it, as being evil; . . lifting up my eyes I saw a Bible lie in the window, at the sight of which I was glad. . I took it and sat down and read to myself, greatly rejoicing that I was preserved out of the mare . . So their sport for that time was spoiled

as soon as I came home I of-fered my new and untouched pack of cards to the fire." Priggish, tormented little

Thomas Chalkley survived this un-natural childhood; despite his joyless, leaden-gray youth he ar-rived at vigorous, though eccentric manhood. In 1701 he settled in Philadelphia and became a suc-cessful merchant. Like many of the old merchants, he often went with his ships to trade in foreign parts. With his mercantile jour- neys he combined his missionary work; his diary affords an amaz-ing record. On one of these busi- ness-missionary expeditions he died, In 1741, in the Island of Tor-tola. He appears an "uneasy" person who could not sit long at home. In his diary he devoutly thanks Providence that he has a wife and children and a fine coun- try estate; then he whisks off preaching for two or three months, seemingly unmindful of all home ties. Oftentimes he, en-tertained the Indians and had them camped around his house, just as James Logan did at Sten-ton. Thomas Chalkley's only surviving

child, Rebecca, was married to Abel James, merchant, in 1747. Abel James, senior member of the firm of James & Drinker, was one of the consignees of the tea ship Polly. This recalls the fact that opposition to the Tea Act began in Philadelphia, not in Boston as so many imagine. The dramatic as-pects of the Boston Tea Party— and the fact that American his-tory has been mostly written in

New England—have thrown the Philadelphia beginnings into the shade. When the tea tax was re-duced to 3d per pound, there seemed to be a general disposi-tion to pay it. The expected ar-rival of a fresh consignment from the East India Company, however, prompted William Bradford to gather at the Coffee House a num-ber of citizens whom he knew were unalterably opposed to the tax in any form. They forthwith drew up a set of spirited resolutions. At the State House the following Saturday, October 16, 1773, a "large and respectable town-meeting," presided over by Dr. Thomas Cadwalader, enthusias-tically adopted these resolutions. In Boston the opposition was weakening from a growing fear that it would not be heartily sup-ported by the other Colonies. En-couraged by Philadelphia's action, a Boston town-meeting on No-vember 5, 1773, adopted the same resolutions nearly word for word.

After the Philadelphia meeting of October 16, committee waited upon the consignees of the tea to procure the resignation of their commissions to distribute it. The firm of James & Drinker de-murred at the popular demand. Close upon this, a crowd of citi-zens visited Abel James at his warehouse and insisted upon his resignation. Then and there he guaranteed word and property that the tea should not be landed and pledged his little daughter, Rebecca, who was perched on top of her fathers hogsheads, as a surety for the performance of his promise.

Abel James was one of the mer-chants whose Loyalist sym-pathies brought his affairs vir-tually to a standst4l during the Revolution. "When thrown out of business by the . .war, he kept up his spirits as long as he could find employment for half the neigh-boring village of Frankford, in re-building" the seat his wife had In-herited from her father. As a matter of fact, very little rebuild-ing took place. Mr. James refur-bished Thomas Chalkley's old

house to some extent, but he chiefly busied himself with the addition that became the main part of the house.

Chalkley Hall was on debat-able ground while the British held Philadelphia aad its occupants had some thrilling experiences. Once Mrs. James had provided an ample dinner for some half-starved American soldiers who had come to the Hall to ask for food. While they were in the midst of their meal came the alarm "Red Coats!" The Con-tinental soldiers hastily fled by one door while the British entered by another. Instead of pursuing their predecessors, they sat down and finished the viands prepared for their American cousins.

After the death of Abel James, Chalkley Hall passed into the pos-session of the Yorke family and was the scene of much social gaiety, especiaJy when Philadel-phia was the National capital. In 1817 the Wetherills became the owners of this old Frankford plantation and worthily sustained its reputation for the generous hospitality that had been a tradi-tion of the house from its earliest days. Rumor tells of a great feast on one occasion, when covers were laid for eighty guests and each guest ate from a silver por-ringer. The poet Whittier was the one known visitor to Chalkley Hall who failea of an hospitable reception; he himself oppcced the obstacle. One day, in 1838, a strange man was seen leaning on the gate, looking steadfastly at the house. Mr. Wetherill went down the drive and invited him to enter. When he learned who the stranger was, he pressed him to come in. But the poet, seized with an unaccountable fit of shyness, gazed a few minutes and then walked away. His verses on Chalkley Hall appeared not long after, alluding to the missionary labors and good deeds of Its first builder.

The next article on Colonial Philadelphio will be about Ted-morden Hall.

EVENING PUBLIC LEDGER—

Colonial Philadelphia No. 13. Ury House

Courtesy of J. B. LppOtcott comvanz,

By Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Corttandt Van Dyke Hubbard URY HOUSE, on Pine Road near

the old village of Fox Chase, em- bodies one of the earliest structures —if not, indeed, the earliest—in all Pennsylvania. In just what year the oldest part of the house was built, it is impossible to say. All existing evidences and tradition, however, point to a date some-where about 1645 for the building of the Swedish fort or blockhouse, the nucleus around which the rest of the structure has grown.

The story goes that a Swedish ship bearing colonists to settle in New Sweden, coming up the Dela- ware at night, unwittingly sailed past the intended landing at the mouth of the Christlana. At day- light, the colonists found them-selves opposite the mouth of Pen- nypack Creek. They landed and camped on the first rising ground beyond the fiats along the river bank. Here they built the fort which became the heart of the present Ury House.

In the cellar of the house there was a forge, a bake oven was set In the kitchen wall, and there were sleeping quarters In the upper story. Thither the settlers came from their surrounding cabins to bake their bread, shoe their horses, weld their farm Implements and mold their leaden bullets. When need arose, the fort gave refuge from hostile Indians, or—what is much more likely—from interlop-ing Dutchmen from the Hudson. The Swedes usually preserved friendly relations with all the In-dians.

For many years in one of the fireplaces there was an ol" Swedish iron flreback bearing the arms of Gustavus Adolphus, but this has disappeared. The fort was so mas-sively built of stone that In 1899, when it was necessary to make some interior changes In Ury House, the workmen had to use dynamite to make any impression on the masonry.

The first addition to the original building was made in 1728.

Miers Fisher set about improve ments when he established him-self at Ury soon after the Revolu-tion. He built the parlors on the west side of the house, with the bedrooms above them, and made sundry other additions. To give some degree of uniformity to the north front, with its two older three-story buildings at the . east and center, he tried the expedient of a row of sham windows at the west of what is now the entrance hail.

These windows were the occa-sion of much merriment and many witticisms, based on the absence of window glass, and the wags expressed constant surprise that a man so noted for his hos-pitality as Miers Fisher should greet his guests with champagne and no glasses. The Fishers presumably used the

ground floor of the old Swedish fort as the kitchen; what is now the hall (in the 1728 addition) was their dining room.

Since the alteration and raising of the ceiling, the Swedes' Hall has been the dining room.

One of the best things Miers Fisher did at Ury was to plan and establish the "six-square" garden, to the southeast of the house and sheltered by it from the sweep of the northwest winds. Many of the old gardens were laid out in four compartments; six is a rather un-usual number. This garden, sym-metrically arranged, is inclosed by a high, thick boxwood hedge. A box-edged walk, shaded by a grape-covered trellis, runs the en-tire length of the garden from east

to west and divides it into equal parts.

Besides founding the garden, Miers Fisher planted a splendid double avenue of white pines from the gate to the house, and did much else to make Ury House a well-appointed country seat of the day. Some of the white pine trees in the avenue still remain. Miers Fisher entertained at Ury the lead-ing men and scientists of Philadel-phia, and the eminent strangers who frequented the city during the years when it was the capital of the United States. Among these came Thomas Jefferson and planted on the south lawn a pecan tree, which bore prolifically until It was blown down by a Winter's storm in 1928. General Washing-ton, too, visited at Ury and had an untoward experience at supper. It was early in June, when the straw-berries from the garden were at their best. Unfortunately, in the excitement over the distinguished guest, somebody mistook salt for powdered sugar, and the great man got his berries "sugared" with salt.

In 1841, Stephen Rowan Craw-ford—the grandfather of the pres-ent owners—bought Ury House and made further extensive changes and additions. In 1860, Mrs. Craw-ford started a boys' boarding school at Ury and continued It until 1881, when it was moved and became St. Luke's, Bustleton. It was afterward moved again and became St. Luke's, Wayne, the immediate pro-genitor of the present Valley Forge Military Academy.

The next article on Colonial Philadelphia will be about Cedar Grove.

EVEKLNG PUBLIC, LEDGER— pITILADEL:;

Man to Manl Colonial Philadelphia 4. Belmont

By G. A. HENHOEFFER

:r€8!Fi5EE1E€ .71

men, comes out strongly against the Sports jacket for town wear. Jaunty - -- suiting in boulevard attire makes -. . him see red. Of course, Mr. Menjou Is, at heart, a sartorial purist, al- , .• . ,, .. . though we've often wondered about his great attachment for sharp- pointed, yellow shoes.

We suppose somewhere there is a . . man's ensemble that requires yel- low shoes as a correct complement. We've just never seen it. But, as -.

. ' .- . - - Franz Liszt once remarked after a • I .

kingly utterance interrupted one of his piano recitals: "When the Czar , of all the Russias speaks others must be silent." Mr. Menjou is somewhat of a Czar in dictating men's modes.

Still, there will be legions of col- -, lege men this Fall whose clothes are r I

likely to shock Menjou all over the r lot. They'll be wearing sports suits I I when they damn well niease. On the campus, the dormitory, along the avenue, at the grog shops. We hope .. Mr. Menjou doesn't lapse into a gray - brood over It all. -

Some swell stuff is being shown - at the medium and better tailors. Courtesy of J. B. Lippincott Co. So unleash that courage and let it fly in choosing your sports suit—or wardrobeif the budget can stand it. By HAROLD DONALDSON lBLR- It seems to have been built some- and constant hospitality; while

Point for' plaids, hand-woven Shet- LEIN AND CORTLAND VAN where within the first three dee- ades of the eighteenth century.

Philadelphia was the seat of Fed- eraGovernment e chief states- lands and heavy tweeds. They'll

the + W . y

s s fabrics. DYKE HUBBARD At the end of this original strue- men, diplomats and foreign nota-

isse i,ovat, weave, which is a Iciflu BELMONT was made famous ture William Peters added a .' semiocagon bay of two stories bles were frequent guests there. + e Judge dearly loved 0 sur- of color t k p ars nc y

n the spores jacket or suit. It's . , 4 , y e on. Richard Peters, e

"Judge," nephew and namesake . . and ouup of cu stone, with an . , 4

. round himself with is friends, O' ..1

predominantlywith inter- . , , , 0 e v. Richard Peters an arched window. was in is . oldestporuon or me name ulac an is politicalprominence, is intellectual brilliance an above mixture o blue ue anu gray.

e corn ma ion soun s like a The combination d l• son or the Hon. William Peters.

. . f all mile ate houses now in pair- Judge Peters was uom. . alt his genial personality crew a visual hangover, but the colors are mount Park Belmont has suffered go

expertly blended it almost has

e adjoining uric structure, which completed what is now the

iie about him. are co Wash- ington and Lafayette were on

life You can get, t I th most at the hands of the vandal

d south wing, was built in 1745. terms of great intimacy with him. one of the secondary colors out- a view of the West Park, the OU 0 owe e prese as ing ton, ac or mg amue standing. Schuylkill and part of the city, main portion of the house, uUu .Dreca.

As demand easy and full its beautiful interior woodwork of brick and rubble, a symmetrical "When a morning of leisure per- flow over the shoulder blades, expan- and the remarkable ceiling of the two-stoned structure with classic mitted that great man to drive Elon pleats at the arms, and side- great hail, its chief attraction lies cornice, pedrmented projection on to Belmont. . It was his con- vents at the bottom of the coat. in the memory of the remarkable the river front, hipped roof and stant habit to do so. There, Belted backs are out. The patch man who dwelt under its roof balustraded deck on top. The pres- sequestered from the world, the pockets should be ample enough to through eighty-four years of an ent upper story, which destroys torments and cares of business, break the childhood rule against eventful life passed in a most the proportions of the house, is Washington would enjoy a viva- sticking your hands in, and still eventful period of our national a defacement added during the cious, recreative and wholly un- feeling comfortable. Be sure those history. Victorian era. The stair tower, ceremonious intercourse, with trousers aren't cut to lit your fat To visualize what Belmont once at the west side of the main struc- the Judge, walking for hours, uncle. Too many men droop badly was needs an active imagination. ture, was added about 1760. side by side, in the beautiful In the posterior, you know. There is some satisfaction in try- Richard Peters, educated In gardens of Belmont, beneath the

If you go for the cloth we were ing to do this, however, since Philadelphia, was graduated from dark share of lofty hemlocks. talking about, thank Lord Lovat, the there Is reason to hope that the the college In 1761. He was an ex- In these romantic grounds stood Scottish peer whose Parliament house and Its surroundings will cellent Latin and Greek scholar a chestnut tree reared from a speeches weren't worth a shilling, one day be restored to their erst- and well versed in both French Spanish nut planted by the hand Be was a dull thud on the rostrum, while condition when Judge Peters and German. After completing of Washington. Large, healthy but he knew how to drape the frame was the master. The Hon. wil- his law studies he was admitted and fruitful, it was cherished at for countrified comfort. It was all 11am Peters Richard's father, ac- to the bar and from his uncle, Belmont as a precious evidence his idea, this chameleon quality of

Peters. quirecl the In 1742. Be- who had so long been secretary of of the intiacy that subsisted

plumage. tween Penn's grant to John Bowles the Land Office, he obtained a between these distinguished With any sports outfit, the Raglan and David Skutten, in 1684, and valuable knowledge of land titles.

During the Revolutionary War, men."

was one of the topcoat goes well. If you favor plaids, the Coming of the Peters family, Judge Peters try to get the coat of a heavier the property had passed through Peters labored assiduously as courtliest of men and retained design than the suit or jacket. This the hands of several owners, none Commissioner of War throughout the ancient mode of dress long combination is perfect for country of whom had held it for any great the struggle. He toiled unceas- after others had abandoned it. wear, motoring—or plain sports length of time. One of them had Ingly to keep the army furnished To his dying day he wore knee- affairs, if you don't go in for the built upon it a small gambrel- with necessary ammunition and breeches and silver buckles on his hoity-toity stuff. Caps are coming roofed stone house which now supplies at a time "when wants shoes, always powdered his hair back, but, should you fear looking forms part of the south wing. were plenty and supplies lamen- and German. After completing like a Dillinger, a porkpie felt will do. From its gambrel roof, its low tably scarce." and dressed it in a queue.

- ceilings, its galleted mortar joints During Judge Peters' lifetime, This Is the fourth of a series of irti- and sundry other characteristics, Belmont was the scene of lavish des on Old Philadelphia Houses.