member me to Unde Josq>h and to all the rest of n^ friends. We are all vcfy
well and Father and Mother desire to be remembered to you.
L.M-"
u In describing his emotiops on leaving Washington, after the sale of his
residence there, he writes: "If Washington had not been the dty of my birth,
it had been the theatre of my eariy studies, of my youthful anticipations, my
ardent desires, my fiist and strongest attachments." (L. H. M. io A. W. M.
Jmm IS, 1857.)
» A letter from L. H. M. to Senator Rives of ^rginia, September 12,
1836, addresses him as ^the repr^enUtive oi that State where are still my
earliest and strongest associations."
» A letter to L. H. M., dated August 15, 1S59, from S. Haydcn, who was then
writing or revising a book on George Washington as a mason thanks L. H.
M. very warmly for a letter containing his persoruJ recollection of the ceremonies.
^* An essay "On Female Education," written in January, 1909^ b extant*
^* EBs "Speech in defence of Junius Brutus who presided over the trial of
his sons for treason," which is among my tether's papers, was composed in
1807.
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MRS. ANN MACHEN 7
1809. The personal estate conssted of a few negroes,
household effects, one or two horses and cattle, and of little
or nothmg dse.*' Levris H. Machen was, in consequence,
left with his mother and three unmarried sisters dependent
upon hun for support. Thus reduced to the necessity of
earning a livdihood at once, he obtained enq>]oyment as
engrossing deik in the oflke of the Secretary of the Senate.**
Although he devoted his q>are time to studying law, in the
hope of becoming a practising lawyer, yet he never f eh able
to forego his saJary, and retained a connection with the
office of the Secretary of the Senate for nearly fifty years.
Within eig^t months, on February 13, 1810, his mother,
Mrs. Ann Machen, died. Not long afterwards, his eldest
sister married, and moved, first to Tennessee and then to
Koitucky whither his youngest sister, Rebecca either ac-
companied or followed her. The third sister, Mary, to
whose memory my grandfather was deeply devoted, as shown
by the loving w<mls quoted above, died of tuberculosis at
about the same time.** My grandfather, writing to one
>*See tombstone in Congressional Cemetery, Washington. The Latin
epitaph, evidently selected by L. H. M. is pathetic:
"Heul genitorem
Omnis come casusqne levamen amitto. "
>' See inventory in office of Register of Wills, Washington, J). C. L. H. M.
wrote his mm: **Viy father was ruined and his family impoverished by a con-
frfing verbal partnersh^)." (L. H. M. to J. P. M., January 1$, 1858.)
>* ''It is nearly twenty years, since, more from necessity than choice, I
CBtered upon the duties of the office whidi I hold. Even then I felt how greatly
I haiairded the objects which I had in view, and nothing but a strong moral
aeccssity, even greater than that which has induced me to remain, prompted
OK to take it, for the benefit of dioee who had a claim to my protection and
(Letter L.H.U, to SMoior Rives, Sepimiber 12,1836.) A voucher
; my grandfather's papers shows that he entered up6n his duties on Nov-
r 27, 1S09, at a salary of $1000 a year.
^ According to a memorandum purporting to be a o^y of a copy of some
cailier record, the date of her death was November 15, 1812, and the month
of her birth was October, 1785. But according to a reiterated statement in
my grmnd&ther's own huidwriting, she died on Sunday the 19th of the
BMOth (the year and the name of the month not given) and in the 24th year
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8 LEWIS H. MACHEN
£. M. Lowe,^ described her last illness and death:
L. H. Machen io E. M. Lcwe.
(Undated)
The energy and strength of mind never forsook [her]. Her
judgment continued cool and dedsive, and her memory taoadous.
Never did she repine at the dispensations of Providence, or in
periods of the greatest suffering discover the least peevishness,
impatience or discontent But, after life had long ceased to
offer any source of enjoyment, and all she could hope was to
mitigate the pangs of a protracted decease, she would appear to
withdraw her mind entirely from herself, and enliven her friends
by sallies of gaiety, or instruct them by the weight of her remarks.
Equally removed from the frivolity of mirth, and the gloom ci
despondency, she always endeavoured to diffuse happiness, by a
cheerful, serene and tranquil disposition.
She had been ever a firm believer in the truths of Christianity,
and felt its practical influence and divine consolations. Sensible
of her approaching dissolution, she on the evening of the 18th
requested the administration of the sacrament whkh was given
by Mr. B. Feeling only pity for those she left bdiind, without
manifesting the least attachment to life or dread of futurity,
she employed the remaining period in making the necessary de-
positions of her property, distributing mementoes with her own
hand to those of her friends who were present,^ endeavouring to
console and tenderly bidding them adieu, and so &r from dis-
covering anything like anxiety or apprehension, looked forward
with joy to the termination of suffering.
of her age. She certainly survived her father, who died in Blay, 1809, and
the received a share of his estate, in October, 1911.
*' Perhaps her fianc^
^ Among these was a lock of her hair, which, in a paper inscribed "Mary
Machen, taken from her head the day before she died," was sent to my grand*
fakther years after with the following letter, the signature whereto is undedpher"
able, dated Washington, April 28, 1854: ''My dear Sir:— In overhauling some
papers I have again come across a little parcel herewith sent you. It is the hair
of your late sister Mary, given to Mjss Borrows the day before she died. "hDm
Susan intrusted me with it some time since with a request that I would hand
it to you, remarking that you would no doubt value it as a memento of a
sister long since departed, but whose memory and many virtues are with her
as green and fresh as ever." The hair is still of a beautiful chestnut cotoor.
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MARY L. MACHEN 9
The following poem was coiiqx>sed by ^'G. W/' for the
NaUonal InUUigencer^ though apparently never actually
published:
T# tim MnMTf of Mary L. Mackm who died cf a Pu lm o nmy Cm uwmpH on ol
tfn Early Ag^
Weq>y weep, Cdumbia't viighiB weep;
Tbe lovely Kary't fate deplore,
Oowd in glim death's etenud sleep,
Maiy now rests to sighno more.
In yoath's gay mOm this tender flower,
That flourished sweet to every eye,
Death tore from friendship's genial bower
And left to wither and to die.
Life's bauble joys her heart ne'er knew,
Save those wfaidi childhood's dreamt bestow;
In pain from tender youth she grew,
The child of long protiacted woe.
Perhaps Hope's visbns danced a^^ile
In fancy's wild and wixzard q)here.
Provoked gay pleasure's warmest smile.
And banished sorrow's painful tear.
Yet this was but life's hectic glow,
The short wild throb of transient joy;
While nought remained but gloom and woe
To wound her peace, her bliss destroy.
Now death's last lingering pain is o'er,
The angel spirit's fled on hic^
Life's feverish dream she feels no more.
She died to live, no more to die.
Ye fairy elves that nightly play
Along the winding murmuring stream,
That love the moon's pellucid ray,
And flutter in the orient beam:
Oh, sport not on the grassy bed.
Where low in peace loved Mary lies.
Let Mendship then, by sOence led.
Breathe to her manes his saoed sighs.
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10 LEWIS H. MACHEN
And wtok fwieet twiUfl^t't mdlow
Appean with ckmds ol varied hue.
Oh, let affectkm haunt her green,
And bid the noisy world adieu.**
On October 15, 1812, Lewis H. Machen married Bfiss
Cynthia Pease, daughter of Lewis and Hannah Pease, of
Connecticut." There was no issue of this marriage. Short-
ly afterwards, on June 29, 1814, he purchased a small farm
comprising about seventy acres in Prince George's County,
Maryland, some eight miles from the Capitol and near the
boundary of Montgomery County*^ Hare he established
his residence.
An earnest advocate of a vigorous prosecution of the War
of 1812 he was commissioned by President Madison, on
May 6, 1813, a Captain of Infantry in the First Regiment
of the Militia of the District of Columbia, but on establish-
hig his residence on his farm in Maryland in the summer of
1814, he automatically lost his command.
A few weeks ater, on the approach of the British to Wash-
^ ington, by his energy, good' judgment and presence of mind,
the archives and secret documents of the Senate were re-
moved from the Capitol, and thus prevented from falling
into the hands of the enemy, or, from destruction in the
conflagration whidi omsumed the Capitd. He himsdf , in a
letter written in 1836 to set forth his claims to appointment
as Secretary of the Senate, gives the following vivid narrative
of this incident:
'* These verses were found carefully pceierved foruKMe than a hundred yean,
among some private papers belonging to L. H. M. Endosed in the paper
3^ow with age» was an evidently contemporaneous and faded wreath made
of the spurs of larkspur.
* The date and the names of her parents are taken from iriiat purports to
be a copy of a copy of a family record.
** See Land Records of Prince George's County.
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RESCUE OF SENATE RECX)RDS 11
L. H. M^ckm to Wm. C. Ems.
Wadiingtoii, September 12, 183d.
It may pediaps be said that the higher offices of the govemment,
or indeed the appointments such as the one I now solicit, should
be filled by those only who have some daim i^>on the country,
or who have had the fortune to obtain an enviable reputation. In
point of reputation, I can make no boast, for it has never yet
been my fortune to be placed in a sphere where fame was to be
acquired. But perhaps on the score of service, I may be allowed
to put in, on tUs occasion, an humble daim. It is to nfc, prov-
identialfy, that the Senate and the Country are indebted for
the preservation of records, the loss of which no money could
restore, and which, if lost, would have reflected a deq)er and
more inddible discprace than the burning of a hundred capitols
or the capture of every seaboard dty of the land.
It woidd be tedious and unprofitable to dwell on all the cir«
cumstances of an event too deeply impressed i^>on my mind ever
to be forgotten. Its prominent points, however, I will briefly
rdate.
In the spring of the year 1814, I was induced to purchase a
farm and residence in the country, eight mUes distant from Wash-
ington, as a means, not only of recreation, but of sui^x)rt, in aid
<d my salary; and when the militia of the City was called out
during the summer of that year, my residence in Maryland pre-
vented me from legally holding and exeidsing the commission
of Captain. Thus debarred from militia duty in Washington,
ezoqyt as a volunteer, and not enrolled in Maryland, I hesitated
whether to join the ranks of the Company I had commanded, or
to keep mysdf at liberty to assist, if necessary, in any duty whidi
the office might require. I determined on the latter.
A few days before the invasion of Washington by the enemy,
in riding to the office I met a waggoner whom I knew, and enquir-
ed nether in case of an emergency I could obtain or hire the
waggcm which he drove. He gave me an affirmative answer.
The Monday preceding the ai^roadi of the British, all in the
City was doubt, confusion and dismay. The male dtizens were
under arms. Business was suqpended. Every means of trans-
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12 LEWIS H. MACHEN
portation was either engaged or in use: and no certain intdligence
ot the enemy was either communicated or known.
The executive offices still remained untouched No one ap-
peared to give directions for the removal of anything pertainin|f
to the CapitoL The Secretary of the Senate had recently died:
the Principal Gerk was absent at the Springs, and Mr. McDonald
and mysdf, who were alone in charge, were both young men,
naturally unprepared for an emergency like this.
In this situation, I proposed to him, early in the morning of
that day, steps for the removal of the papers. He hesitated, and
we agreed to wait for further intelligence. About 12 o'clock, I
told him that my mind was made up; and that if he did not con-
cur with me in removing the papers, I would assume the entire
responsibility on myself. He then assented to the removal, but
said that the means were wanting. I informed him of what had
passed between Mr. Schofidd's waggoner and m3rself. I then
proceeded to Mr. Schofield's residence near the Eastern turn-
pike gate. Mr. Schofieid was from home; the waggoner equivo-
cated or refused. I informed the waggoner, whom I well knew,
that the case would admit of neither denial nor delay; and that
if he did not willingly comply with his engagement, I would im-
press it on the part of the United States. Supposing that I had
some authority, he yielded, and I then foimd that the horses had
been secreted. By thus going myself instead of sending, the
waggoner was ready at the Capitol at two o'clock.
Mr. McDonald, when I left him, departed to make some pro-
vision for his &mily, who then resided about two miles distant
from the Capitol; and he was prevented from returning during
the day.
Aided only by the waggoner, and the faithful messenger, To-
bias, I succeeded, with all the personal effort which the emergency
demanded, in filling the waggon with the records and piq)er8
which I considered most valuable. The first object of attention
were the original files and manuscript records. The second, the
printed books. When the body of the waggon was entirely f ull,
I departed for my residence in the country, just as the sun was
approaching the western horizon.
When near the old Bank of the United States on F street, my
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RESCUE OF SENATE RECORDS 13
sensatioxis cannot well be described at perceiving that an over-
load had occasioned one of the wheels to give way. With some
difficulty and after some delay, I procured another, which hap-
pened to be at a deserted blacksmith's shop in thevidnity.
Thou^ the opening of the hub was too small, I was enabled to
paroceed by removing the iron cleats from the axle. Anxiety
for the papors induced me to proceed with the waggon imtil be-
yond the suburbs of the City. I then left the waggoner, with
directions to follow to my dwellings arriving there about ten
o'clock at nij^t. I listened to every sound, but I heard no tread
of approaching horses. After a feverish and sleepless night, I
arose early in the morning; still the waggon had not come. It
was then and not before that I felt the full weight of the respon-
abiUty I had assumed. Proceeding immediately in the direction
of the place where I had departed from it, I found it, two miles
distant fn»n my residence, overturned and crippled; — an accident
jHToduced by one wheel running over a stump in descending a
hin. Here I was joined about ten o'clock by Mr. McDonald.
For some hours we scoured the country around in quest of a
suitable vehicle, and at length obtaining one, Mr. McDonald
accompanied the psq)ers to Brookeville, as a place of greater se-
curity than my own residence. There they remained until the
approaching meeting of Congress.
Among the papors thus preserved were the confidential and
executive proceedings of the Senate, and if I do not greatly mis-
take they constituted, at that time, the only evidence in existence
of the executive doings and votes of the Senate for a period of
twenty-five years. The value of these books, files and documents
thus i»:eserved, was partially discovered in the recent compila-
tion and publication ordered by the Senate of the Executive
Journal' and Congressional documents. The Capitol has been
restored, the library more than equalled, but what would have
been said at home and abroad — ^what would have been the tinge
of every American coimtenance — ^if the executive history of the
Senate for a period of twenty-five years had been blotted forever
from the memory or knowledge of man?
It is far from my wish to assume to myself more than may be
proper. From the merit of Mr. McDonald I wish not to detract.
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14 LEWIS H. MACHEN
A train of fortunate, or rather providential, drcumstanoes in-
duced and enabled me to procure perhaps the only conveyance
at that time obtainaUe. All that was saved was deposited in
the waggon by my exertions and by my dkecHoms; and it is certain
that if the impending danger had proved less real, and the con-
fidential papers of the office (one of which I knew to contain the
number and portions of the entire American Military Force) —
thus withdrawn from the {dace of legitimate deposit, and exposed
in an open waggon to the contingencies of transportation by
ni^t,— iiad been subjected by my means to damage and loss
without competent orders from a superior, the full weif^t of
responsibility would have fallen on me, and the motives with
which I acted would not have provided a shield against puUic
oiqirobrium, if not dq>rivation of office.
On October ISth of the following year, 1815, my grand-
father's first wife died.**
After remaining a widower for a little over a year, he mar-
ried my grandmother. Miss Caroline Webster, a native of
New Hampshire. Her father, Toppan Webster, wbs residing
at the time in Washington.** Her mother, n£e Elizabeth
Flagg, was the daughter of John Flagg, of Waterville, Mas-
sadiusetts.*' Bom on November 2, 1788, she spent her
childhood in Portsmouth, N. H., in the family of an aunt or
unde, as her father and mother were sqMurated, and ulti-
mately divorced. Her husband referred to her as ''the best
of wives,'* and she possessed in an eminent degree the ad-
miration as well as the affection of her children. Her calm
^mit, ''In trials unperplexed,'' and the soundness of her
intuition, as well as the purity and strength of ha religbus
faith, were perhaps her truest charactmstics.
*> Taken from a memofandum In L. H. ML't handwriting*
^ He was bom In Chester, N. H., in 1756, and was the ton of CoL John
Webster, (bom 1714, and died 1784) and Saiah, his wife, n6e Toppan. Toppaa
Webster died on September 25, 1821, and was buried in the Cbogresiional
Cemetery in Waahington.
^ Bom October 20, 16M.
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TOPPAN WEBSTER, ABOUT JS06
From a Portrait by St. Mimin
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'\ A .«. t . • •:. ,,.;r, ' t â–
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Digitized by LjOOQIC
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MISS CAROLINE WEBSTER 15
In wnting to a oouain, in the latter part of the year 1816,
she announced her engagement and approaching maniage,
and described her future husband:
MissCaroUne Webster io Mrs. SorahJeweUOrne.
Waahrngton City, October 3, 1816.
.... We have had a good deal of sickness and trouble since
I last ^vrote you, my dear cousin. I was absent from home near
six months on account of indisposition. The journey had a very
beneficial effect, and I am now much better. Soon after my return
my Father's wife was taken ill, and died about a month since. She
was mudi afSicted for many years, and I must say I thought it a
blessing lAitu the breath Idft the body, as I have not a doubt but
it was a hai^y change for her. She was a practical Christian.
Our famify now is very small, and I think it probable will soon be
leas, as I have some thou^t of leaving it. From the letter I wrote
Ifrs. FkuTotte a few weeks ago, I suppose you have learnt there was
something of the kind on foot. Yes, Sally, it is decreed that I am
to be Caroline Webster but a short time longer. The courin I am
going to give you I think you will not be ashamed to acknowledge
should you ever see him, which I most sincerdy hope you may.
Did I know how, I would describe him to you; but love they say is
bhnd, so very likely I should give you a too flattering picture. He
is a Virginian by birth,^ but is now a resident of Washington, and
has a dericship in Mr. Cutts' office. He is just about my age, was
married when very }roung to an amiable but very delicate girl, who
was also a Yankee. He has been a widower eighteen months.** I
was introduced to them both soon after my arrival in the City, and
frequently visited at the house. Should never wish to enjoy more
perfect happiness than they did. He has been trying for about
ei^t months past to ingratiate himself into my &vour. So, after
duly considering the matter, I have consented to take him for better
or for worse. The time when is not yet determined on, but eipect
' the period is not very distant. He has been in Philadelphia since
this day wedL. Have had two very interesting letters from him,
*• An ioaocniaqr. See ntpia, pp. i, and 5-6.
*• A alifl^t engseiatkm.
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16 LEWIS H. MACHEN
and expect to see him in a few dajrs. I will give you his name at
Jarge, it is Lewis H. Machen.
You see, my dear Sally, I am treating you with a little more con-
fidence than you did me on a similar occasion. But I forgive you;
only write and tell me you are perfectly happy, it is all I ask.
I should be very sorry to leave Father, if I had not every reason
to think he will soon have his loss made up. I don't believe he wiU
live single six months. Should he marry the person I think he will,
I promise m3rself much pleasure and satisfaction from the con-
nexion. She is a very pretty, amiable girl, a cousin to his. last
wife. We have been intimate friends for some time. She has been
with me ever since her death, and I expect will stay till after I am
married.
For a few years after his second marriage, my grandfather
lived with his growing family in a rented house, althou^ at
the same time he was somewhat active, to the extent of his
limited means, as a purchaser and seller of real estate in
Washington. In 1819 or 1820, he acquired half of the
"square" bounded by Maryland Avenue, 10th, Uth and C
streets, southwest. He bou^t in that location because he
believed— unfortunately for him erroneously— ^that Mary-
land Avenue, leading from the Capitol to Virginia, the most
important State in the Union, was destined to be the chief
street in the City. So confident was he of this, that in order
to obtain funds for the purchase he sold land which has
since become incalculably more valuable in other parts of
Washington.
In 1821-1822, he proceeded to erect upon this lot, embrac-
ing about half an acre of ground, a commodious brick double
house at a cost of $4,585.89.*^* He subsequently made im-
provements to the house and garden bringing the total cost
to $5,775.13. The ground stood him $2,775. The house,
was still standing twenty-five or thirty years ago, but has
** With chaimcteristk oiderlineai, he preserved all the bills for the work ftiid
a memoraiidiuii showing the total cost
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RESroENCE IN WASHINGTON 17
DOW been torn down, and a block of dwelling houses erect-
ed on its site. The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad now
runs in front of the lot on Maryland Avenue.
In this house Lewis H. Machen and his growing family
lived for more than twenty years. Here my father and
his brother James were bom, and spent their childhood.
Here, too, their father gathered his notable library; and in
the ample grounds by which the dwelling was surrounded,
indulged his fondness for agriculture by planting vines and
fruit trees. In particular, the apricots and crab-apples
(used in making crab-apple jelly) always evoked unmeasured
encomiums, in after years, from both his sons. A letter
from a friend written in 1835 gives the following picture of
this homestead in the marshy ground along the Potomac:
A. /. Stansbury io L. H. Machen.
Phikddphia, Match 31, 1S35.
My thou^ts very naturally run about in the frog swamp, and as
naturally strike my neighbour's hospitable door. I ascend the steps
which Mrs. Durity has often trod, and there I find the philosopher
in his study, the antiquarian amidst his books, the kind and beloved
parent in the happy circle of his children. I see little Arthur with
tasseHed cap, and honest James with his bluff face and deliberate
pace, to say nothing of a younger personage, of whom my chief
knowledge is that he takes Morison's pills. I see also a retiring
lady, who 'Moes good by stealth and blushes to find it fame," a
kind ndghbour and a very skillful doctress. I see a noble piano too,
with extra keys, that wants nothing but somebody to play on it."