In addition to the two Red Cross citations awarded Miss Grace Roberts, as described in last week’s column, there is still another one, given in February, 1945. On this occasion, Miss Roberts was a special guest of honor, at a luncheon given at the Philadelphia Headquarters of the Southeastern Chapter, American Red Cross, to mark the 28th anniversary of the opening of the production workrooms in the Chapter. Since Miss Roberts had been in the Production Corps of Red Cross since 1917, it also marked a 28th anniversary for her.

The citation was signed by Dr. George P. Rea, then chapter chairman, and by Mrs. Thomas Potter, chapter secretary, who had organized the production corps in 1917. It was presented to Miss Roberts “in recognition of 28 years of unremitting service in the Production Corps of the Southeastern Chapter.”

Even before that eventful date of April 6, 1917, when the United States entered World War I, Miss Roberts was active in community service work.

In 1915 she was chairman of the Neighborhood League’s Harvest Home Fete, given on the Charles S. Walton estate in St. Davids, which cleared over $4,000 for the local relief work of that organization. Later, the Wayne Needlework Guild gave her charge of packing boxes for the needy of Europe.

A clipping from a June, 1915, issue of “The Suburban,” preserved among Miss Roberts’ mementos, shows that a total of 4,975 articles had been shipped to Europe over a period of the previous four months. Made by the willing hands of many workers in Wayne, this list comprised such articles as fracture pillows, rolled bandages, slings and knitted sponges and abdominal bandages, crutch pads, surgical shirts and many other articles to be used in army hospitals abroad.

This work for Europe’s hospitalized in the first World War was but a prelude to what was done when the United States had entered the conflict in April, 1917.

Among Miss Roberts’ most vivid memories are those of the first headquarters, established in the summer of 1916, in a ground floor apartment of what had once been the Pinkerton family home, on the southeast corner of Lancaster and Louella avenues. With volunteers in charge, these rooms were open every morning and afternoon for the enrollment of Red Cross members, and public meetings were held monthly. Among the volunteers in charge were Mrs. Henry Smaltz, Mrs. T.T. Watson, Miss Marion Mulford, Mrs. Robert G. Wilson, Mrs. William V. Alexander, Mrs. Wm. Henry Brooks and Miss Roberts.

In addition to rolling bandages, which was the first class to be started by the new branch, instruction in first aid was offered.

Within two months these first headquarters were outgrown. Larger quarters were obtained on the floor of the house at 105 East Lancaster avenue, then occupied as both office and residence by Dr. A.H. O’Neal. This house had been known for many years as the home of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Cook, old time residents of Wayne. Soon still larger quarters were needed and in January, 1918, the branch moved to the Bonniwell house at 120 West Lancaster avenue.

(To be continued)

Not only is 40 years of continuous service in Red Cross a record in itself, but in the case of Miss Grace C. Roberts, that record is augmented by several other factors. She was one of the eight women who were present at the meeting held on July 3, 1916, for the organization of the Wayne Branch of the American Red Cross, as told in last week’s column, held by order of President Taft, as part of the reorganization of the National Red Cross Society, so that this group might be prepared to do its part at home and abroad in World War I.

At that meeting, Miss Roberts acted as secretary pro tem. At the next meeting, held a week later, she was elected corresponding secretary, an office which she was to hold continuously for the next 32 years. When she resigned from that position at the annual board meeting in January, 1948, she was named a director of the Board, an office which she still holds. The picture shown above was taken at this time.

At the 1948 meeting, Mrs. Allen Hunter White, then Branch chairman, presented Miss Roberts with a leather bound portfolio, designed to hold the various citations Miss Roberts had received from the American Red Cross, and other data. Ornamenting the outside of the portfolio is a handpainted replica of the red, while and gold administration pin of the Red Cross, a pin that Miss Roberts has been entitled to wear ever since it became the official insignia of Red Cross office.

The embossed page of dedication in the front of the book is signed by many of the guests present at the luncheon, held in Miss Roberts’ honor following the meeting. The first citation is one signed by Woodrow Wilson as president of the United States. It was given “In recognition of service faithfully performed in behalf of the nation and her men at war.” On it Charles J. Hatfield, then chairman of the Southeastern Chapter of the American Red Cross, certified that between April, 1917, and December, 1918, Miss Roberts had given 2,800 hours of service to the work of that organization. This was presented at the close of World War I, only about a month after Armistice Day, November 11, 1918.

The second citation was presented on May 3, 1946, soon after the close of World War II. Signed by Harry S. Truman, President of the United States, and by Basil O’Conner, national chairman of the Red Cross, it reads:

The American National
Red Cross
to
Miss Grace C. Roberts
In recognition of meritorious
personal service performed
in behalf of the Nation, her
armed forces and suffering
humanity in the Second
World War.

Benjamin Rush, Jr., chairman of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Red Cross, added his signature to that of President Truman and chairman O’Connor.

These are but a few of the honors that Miss Roberts has received in the course of 40 years of Red Cross service. Others will be told in later columns.

(To be continued)

On Wednesday morning of this week, members of the Wayne Branch, American Red Cross, filled the large second floor assembly room of the Masonic Hall of Wayne Lodge on South Wayne avenue. All listened with interest to the reports of thousands of hours of work given in 1955 by Branch officers, chairmen and volunteers in various services and departments of one of the oldest branches of the National Red Cross to be organized in the State of Pennsylvania.

The dates of the organization and subsequent activity of the Wayne Branch are closely connected with those of World War 1, while the date of its expanded activities in its new headquarters coincided with the beginning of the second World War.

Back in 1916, Pennsylvania had had no representation in the National Red Cross Society until ex-President Taft, as chairman of its executive committee, determined to rouse more nation-wide interest in the organization. Pennsylvania at that time was being divided into sections for Red Cross purposes, as were many other states. Wayne became part of the large Southeastern Pennsylvania District, or Southeastern Chapter, as it is now called.

At the request of Mr. Taft, local organization meetings were called throughout Pennsylvania. In Wayne, it took place on Monday afternoon, July 3, 1916, at the home of Mrs. C.C. Harrison, in Devon. In addition to the hostess, those present included Mrs. Charles S. Walton, Mrs. William A. Nichols, Mrs. William Paul Morris, Miss Mary L. Walsh, Mrs. T.T. Watson, Mrs. Robert G. Wilson and Miss Grace Roberts, all representative women of the Wayne area.

At a subsequent meeting, officers were elected and plans made for the work of the branch. Officers included Mrs. William Henry Brooks as chairman; Mrs. C.C. Harrison, treasurer; Mrs. William V. Alexander, recording secretary and Miss Grace Roberts, corresponding secretary. Great emphasis was placed on the importance of local Red Cross enrollment, with annual dues set at $1.00. The use of a room in Radnor High School was granted for registration of new members. Mrs. Brooks, in her opening address to her group, asked that everyone register not only herself, but also carry with her at all times membership blanks for enrollment of others. Thus was launched the first Red Cross membership drive in Wayne, the forerunner of many others to come. The value of immediate publicity being evident, Mrs. Louis Jaquette Palmer was named chairman of that committee.

And then “as an initial step in practical work,” Mrs. Nichols invited everyone interested to meet at her house on the next Friday morning “to roll bandages,” initiating the work of making surgical dressings.

(To be continued)

Now about 50 years old, the tree pictured here was but a small fir when it was planted to the right of the main entrance to the Wayne Primary School. The planting was done at the instigation of a woman deeply interested in civic affairs, Mrs. William B. Riley, who lived for many years on Pembroke avenue.

In choosing the location for this tree, Mrs. Riley selected a spot where there would be ample space for carollers to gather around it, even after the tree had reached maturity. Though never a tree to be lighted at night, it created a center for outdoor Christmas music for several years. After it was deserted for a more centrally located community tree, it became the “birds’ Christmas tree,” decorated with tid-bits of food for the feathered friends of the school children. This trimming of the tree for birds remained a custom until a few years ago.

On Sunday evening, December 18, a large group of North Wayne residents gathered around their own Christmas tree, located in the “triangle” in the middle or Walnut avenue, where it joins North Wayne avenue. The tree, a radiance of multicolored lights, formed the center for a group of enthusiastic carol singers, many from beyond the immediate neighborhood of the North Wayne district. All joined in what has now become a traditional pre-Christmas celebration, sponsored by the North Wayne Protective Association. The tree will be lighted each evening until “Twelfth Night.”

The light from this fine Nordman fir tree first shone out four years ago. It was preceded by a temporary and very short-lived one, lighted in December, 1950. The permanent tree was finally chosen by a committee from the association after a tour of all the nearby nurseries had been made. And even then, the choice had to be verified by a second group.

Once purchased, this fir became a very personal possession of the neighborhood, as exemplified by the fact that during the dry summer of 1952, members of the North Wayne Protective Association took turns watering it through pipes sunk deep into the ground for that purpose.

Among the other trees in this vicinity that are lighted up each Christmas time is one in Wayne Terraces, sponsored by that community’s civic association. The annual Christmas celebration was held this year on Saturday morning, December 17, when Santa Claus arrived on a fire engine from the Radnor Fire Company.

(A Happy New Year to all the readers of this column from Mrs. Patterson.)

As the clear white light of the star of Bethlehem shone forth from the top of the big Douglas fir tree, in front of the Wayne Presbyterian Chapel last Friday evening, to mark the beginning of Christmas week, Wayne could rejoice for the fourth season in a community Christmas tree of its own.

Over the years there have been other trees, but, with the careful selection of both tree and site made in 1952 with a view to the longevity of both, this one should endure for many years. The tree is a gift to Wayne made by Mr. and Mrs. E. Mortimer Newlin in memory of their son, Frank Battles Newlin.

Several members of the Community Garden Club at Wayne were on the committee which selected the variety of tree which should be chosen and the site it was to occupy. Finally a Douglas fir, of the largest dimensions that could be transplanted was picked from the William H. Doyle Nurseries in Berwyn.

In deciding upon a location for the tree, many possible ones alone Lancaster pike had to be ruled out because of plans for the future widening of the highways. The one finally chosen is just to the left of the entrance to one of the community’s oldest churches, the chapel of the Wayne Presbyterian Church, built about 90 years ago on ground donated by J. Henry Askin, founder of Wayne.

With its twinkling, multicolored lights, below the clear white star at its tip, the tree is a beautiful sight, enjoyed alike by Wayne residents and the many passersby along the highway. It was dedicated on Sunday evening, December 14, 1952, as the group of carolers, young and old, sang, strains of “Oh, Come All Ye Faithful,” under the direction of Jesse Zerr, of the music department of Radnor High School.

This tree’s immediate predecessor was the well-remembered giant fir tree, located where Halligan’s toy store now stands. In December 1922, carol singers gathered around it when it was lighted for the first time. Edgar L. Hunt, then organist at St. Mary’s Church and music instructor at Radnor High School, led the group singing, a custom that was to continue for some years. Many felt that this tree and the ground around it should in some fashion have become the property of the township. But this was not to be.

A tree on the Louella Court grounds, located near the old mansion, was considered the community Christmas tree for some years before the one just described took its place. It was around the Louella Court tree that groups of young carollers had been accustomed to gather as they made their rounds along the streets of Wayne and St. Davids, before arriving at St. Mary’s Church in time for the Christmas midnight service.

The first Wayne Community Christmas Tree was one planned in the early 1900’s, on the grounds of the Wayne Primary School, at the intersection South Wayne avenue and Windermere avenue. The story of this tree will be told in next week’s column in addition to that of the handsome North Wayne tree and several others in the immediate area.

(Merry Christmas is extended to all her readers by Mrs. Patterson, who expresses her thanks for the many expressions of appreciation and enjoyment given throughout the year.)

Public interest in the future of the old King of Prussia Inn has been stirred anew in this area by recent newspaper reports that construction will begin shortly on a Howard Johnson restaurant at the northeast corner of Route 202 and 23, in the center of the King of Prussia area.

This newest link in the restaurant chain will cost $100,000, and is scheduled to be completed by April 1, with a seating capacity of 88. The site for this building will be the Alexander H. Crockett property, on which another historic building already stands. Possible demolition of this building is one of the motivating factors for a group of interested neighbors in Montgomery County to seek a temporary injunction against the erection of the new structure.

This is but another angle to the general problem created by the transformation of the comparatively quiet crossroads of yesterday by today’s introduction of feeder highways to the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Schuylkill Expressway, with the fate of the historic King of Prussia Inn the main matter of concern. This old inn, which is now left standing on the island between Routes 202 and 23, was recently sold to the Pennsylvania State Highway Department by its former owner, Mrs. Anna P. Waters. At first the inn was slated for destruction in plans to widen Route 202. Later rulings permitted it to remain on its original site. The present state highway ruling, as your columnist understands it, is that the building may be sold for a nominal sum to any responsible group who will provide proper future care for it. There is much current interest among a large group of Montgomery County residents to see this plan consummated.

Since only brief allusions to the history of this hostelry have been made in this column in the past, this time of renewed interest in its future seems an appropriate one in which to attempt such a history. Much valuable information in regard to it has been furnished by Dr. Robert W. May, president of the newly organized King of Prussia Historical Society, who has made available material from the Montgomery County Historical Society and other sources.

The picture shown with today’s column is a remarkably clear one, lent to the writer some time ago, with the information that it was probably taken about 1890. Seen at the extreme left in the picture is the Inn’s old signboard, hanging at that time just under the eaves of the shed adjoining the main building. In later years it was moved to the front of the building itself.

This sign is described by Elise Lathrop in her book, “Early American Inns and Taverns,” as supposedly painted by Gilbert Stuart, “showing the King of Prussia somewhat marred by wind and water, astride a horse, decidedly wooden as to legs.”

Whether the sign was really painted by Stuart seems as open to question as the date of the building of the Inn, a date which varies from 1700 to 1769, according to different authorities. It seems to be generally conceded, however, that it was originally built at approximately the first date mentioned, and remodelled, or perhaps rebuilt, on the second date.

One story reads, “the stone tavern gained its names from a native of Prussia who built it in 1700. He was so pleased that his native land was changed from a duchy into a kingdom that he named the Inn after the first king of Prussia. He also painted a picture of the portly king, mounted on his noble steed, and hung the signboard over the front entrance. The Inn was first remodelled in 1769 by David Thompson, a free Quaker who spent eight years in Washington’s army. It was a merry hostelry for Washington and his troops during the winter of 1777. On a few occasions Washington met there with members of Masonic Lodge No. 8, who did a lot to support him against plotters and conspirators.”

(To be continued)

Last week’s column was based on a sketch written by Mrs. Martha Wentworth Suffren, of Strafford, under the title, “An Old Time Doctor in Pennsylvania, 1810-1892.” Much of this story contained Mrs. Suffren’s own personal recollections of Dr. Henry DeWitt Pawling, a country doctor with his office and dwelling both located in the building that now houses “Peacock Gardens” at King of Prussia. At the time she was writing, Mrs. Suffren said:
“More than 50 years have passed since Dr. Henry DeWitt Pawling was laid to rest in Montgomery Cemetery. Yet there are still old cronies who like to put their silver heads together and refresh their memories of a beloved physician.

“For many years he was the family doctor of the King of Prussia section. The chief alleviation of one’s woes was the fact that Dr. Pawling would be sent for. A tall, sturdy figure – a long beard flecked with gray, surmounted by a closely shaven upper lip, a strong, straight nose, and a pair of the most quizzical, piercing brown eyes, ‘eagle eyes,’ as Dr. Drake, of Norristown, characterized them, he was always dressed in black – a sort of frock coat, buttoned high in the neck and having huge pockets in the back.

“A hand on your forehead was enough. He needed no clinical thermometer of later invention to know how high the fever ran. Your tongue was ordered out for inspection. And out it came, although you had been taught that to do so was the height of bad manners in any child. A few questions, and then the doctor got into action.

“From a side pocket he drew a roll of white papers. One of them he folded carefully and tore into a dozen or so little squares, which he laid along the side of a nearby table. From the bulging coat-tail pocket he drew a large bundle wrapped in black oil-cloth ancl tied with black tape. When opened, it displayed a lot of packets, all labelled and containing his favorite remedies. With a point of a broad short knife, he estimated exactly the proper amount of the drug he wanted, perhaps adding another kind, too. Then he folded each dose in its own little paper, and gave them to your mother with instructions. No fuss – no prescription – what would have been the use, with the only drug store six miles off, and only a horse to carry you there? Now a little chat – a couple of jokes – and he was off.

“Transportation was a problem in those days,” she writes. “The doctor was so often begged to give a lift that it finally became a serious tax upon his horses. So he had a narrow little buggy made, holding only one person – himself! And that was that.

“He remembered all the babies he assisted into the world, and carried candy and pretzels for them in hls capacious pockets. Hundreds of the boy babies were named after him by proud and grateful fathers.

Mrs. Suffren continues, “He was of a nervous temperament, and could be a bit gruff at times. Too busy to attend to collection, he employed a Mr. Murray to do this work. One night, very late, as the weary man went to shut his office door on the last of the night’s crop of patients, in came another one, a man who had little the matter with him, yet haunted the office. The over-wrought doctor turned on him, saying, ‘What makes you come here all the time? Don’t you know you are going to die anyway?’ The poor fellow faced about and went out. Then he encountered Mr. Murray coming in. The latter noticed his woeful countenance and asked him what was the matter. After Murray had consoled the patient he took him back into the office when the doctor only laughed and asked if we were not all going to die sometime. Much cheered up, the patient left. And Mr. Murray gave Dr. Pawling a good scolding together with the day’s collection.

“The money gathered by Mr. Murray was always put into a big box, as the doctor did not believe in banks. And it was freely spent upon the household, and the best of everything was on the table. Dr. Pawling was most kind and generous to his family, which was comprised of three sons and five daughters, now all passed away, except for one daughter. Miss May Pawling.”

And thus Mrs. Suffren ends her sketch of “an old time doctor,” except for one closing paragraph which reads:
“Dr. Pawling was recognized as ‘a high authority in medicine.’ But he could go into the kitchen of a humble house, and teach a young girl who was trying to care for her mother, ill of pneumonia, how to make wine whey and flaxseed poultices… his kindly ways, no less than his great skill, endeared him to his people.”

(Mrs. Patterson is searching for a picture of Dr. Pawling, as well as the history of the house in which he lived, which dates back to 1728, according to the marker on “Peacock Gardens.” Her telephone number is Wayne 4569.)

In the several interviews that the writer has had during the past few years with Mrs. Martha Suffren, “the grand old lady of Strafford” who has just celebrated her 97th birthday, the latter has recalled from memory many fascinating stories of her childhood in Strafford.

Today’s column is founded on Mrs. Suffren’s written recollection of one of the best known local physicians of his time, Dr. Henry DeWitt Pawling, who at the age of 26 took up his residence and established his practice at what is now known as “Peacock Gardens,” just across the road from historic King of Prussia Inn. The inn has figured prominently in the news of late, since its proximity to the new State Highway makes its preservation a matter of much uncertainty.

Dr, Pawling, “an old time doctor in Pennsylvania,” as Mrs. Suffren has described him, was born in 1810 and lived to the good old age of 82. His home and his office were both in what is now “Peacock Gardens.” The side door, “the one with an arched top,” Mrs. Suffren recalls as the door to his surgery.

The five years before he took up his practice were exciting ones, filled as they were with much adventure as assistant surgeon on the frigate “Potomac.” Of these years Mrs. Suffren writes:
“He was just 21 when the merchantman ship “Friendship,” gathering its cargo of pepper on the coast of Sumatra, was attacked by Malays who rifled the vessel, threw overboard the few sailors who were not busy on shore and made off with the ship. When the news reached Washington, the frigate “Potomac,” was lying in New York harbor. President Jackson ordered the ship to proceed to Sumatra to punish the piratical Malays. When young Pawling took his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania he was listed as assistant surgeon on the frigate, where he served for the next four years. It was during the first part of this service that he was sent to Sumatra.

“A little silver plate, lying before me, was taken from one of a number of boxes made by members of the crew to hold young Pawling’s instruments. Dr. Drake has shown me one of these boxes. It is beautifully made with inlays of brass on the cover. The inscription on the plate reads: ‘Presented to Dr. Henry DeWitt Pawling, assistant surgeon, U.S. Navy, by “Potomac” as a testimonial of their esteem.”

Adventure for the young physician was past when, as Mrs. Suffren writes, “he settled down to the life of a country doctor. He chose his location at the crossroads of King of Prussia, but he had yet to win his spurs… to make himself known. He was then only 26. Frank Hughes, of Martin’s Dam, heard his father tell of seeing the young doctor called frantically out from among the congregation at the Port Kennedy church, as if the world were on fire. Another neighbor tells of seeing him ride curiously past her house on horseback, with a red and blue cape streaming out behind him. This she attributed to ‘advertising on his part’ and she told the story round about!

“Slowly, but surely, his practice grew until it covered a great part or the counties of Montgomery, Delaware and Chester. He never failed to respond to a call, whether from rich or poor. One Sunday morning, Dr. Drake, a younger physician looking at the immediate roads in the neighborhood of Dr. Pawling’s office, exclaimed that it looked as if a funeral were going on – all the four crossroads, for some distance away, were lined with buggies, surreys, dearborn wagons – every sort of conveyance, just so it was strong enough to carry its occupants to the old doctor’s office.

“There were always three fine horses ln Dr. Pawling’s stable. Often when the snow was drifted, he would have to plough through. Frequently, he would fall asleep in his buggy and trust to the horse to bring him home safely. One night, after 36 hours of work, dead weary, he was wakened from such a nap by a strange bumping. Opening his eyes, be found that he was travelling up the bed of the Valley Railroad, over ballast and ties. It was impossible to turn around, so he kept on until they met the next grade crossing… and all was well!

(To be continued)

Mrs. Martha Wentworth Suffren, of Strafford, has never missed voting at an election since the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified on August 26, 1920. This was the memorable amendment which read, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any state on account of sex.” It was an amendment for which no woman had worked harder than had Mrs. Suffren. And once the right to vote had been granted to her sex, she has consistently availed herself of its privilege.

More than 100 years ago, in July, 1848, the first Women’s Rights convention in all history was held at the home of Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton in Seneca Falls, N.Y., later adjourning to Rochester. It was a meeting called jointly by Mrs. Stanton and by Mrs. Lucretia Mott, one of Radnor township’s early settlers. This may be regarded as the beginning of the movement for woman suffrage, not only in the United States, but in the world.

Two years later this meeting was followed by a convention in Worcester, Mass., under the auspices of Lucy Stone and a distinguished group of suffragists. Then, in 1851, Susan B. Anthony with her dynamic force of personality joined her efforts with those of Mrs. Stanton in a crusade which lasted more than 50 years. After the deaths of these two women, their work was carried on by their successors in office, Dr. Anna Howard Shaw and Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt.

While living in Brooklyn in the early years of the 20th century, Mrs. Suffren became very active in the work of the Woman’s Suffrage Party in New York City. It was through their mutual interest in this movement that she and Mrs. Catt first formed the friendship that was to last for so many years. When Mrs. Catt became chairman of the Woman’s Suffrage Party of New York City, Mrs. Suffren was first her secretary, later her vice-chairman. The work which Mrs. Suffren accomplished during this period, she now calls the most important thing that she ever did in her life. Frequent were the trips she made to the State Capitol in Albany before 1917, when New York State, by a majority exceeding 100,000, voted for full suffrage to women. It was only three years later, in 1920, that complete and universal woman suffrage was the law of the land.

It was in this year that Mrs. Suffren returned to Strafford from New York to take up her residence again in the stately house on Homestead road which she and her husband had built in 1908. It is from this house that this remarkable woman, now 97 years of age, ventures forth to cast her vote every election day since woman’s suffrage was granted.

In a recent letter received by the writer from Mrs. Suffren, the latter urges that women consider the words of Mrs. Catt in the last speech the latter made to the League of Women Voters when she said, “Women must unite in something greater than national or race loyalty and that is – the motherhood of the wide world.” To this Mrs. Suffren adds her own word when she writes, “Women in governmental office were never more needed than now, with such matters as juvenile delinquency, narcotics, etc., the problems that they are.”

As told in this column last week, it was in this house that Martha Wentworth, now Mrs. Charles E. Suffren, was born on October 10, 1858. Mrs. Suffren still lives on Homestead Road, in a house on the property adjacent to her birthplace. Like the former, it is a handsome while edifice which was built by Mr. and Mrs. Suffren in 1908-09. Later they sold it when they went to New York state to live. However, when they returned to permanent residency in Strafford in 1920, they were fortunate enough to regain possession of their former home. Standing on an acre and a half of ground which is part of the 130 acres bought by Mrs. Suffren’s parents now almost a hundred years ago, it is the only part of the original large tract still in the possession of any member of the Wentworth family.

It is here that Mrs. Suffren lives with her companion, and it is here that her daughter, her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren come to visit her from time to time. The wide front door leads from the porch into a large square hallway, flanked on one side by the charming living room and on the other by a large dining room. A wide stairway leads to the upper stories which contain seven bedrooms and four baths. All windows look out onto a sweep of well kept lawn with trees on every side, many of them antedating Mr. Wentworth’s purchase of his 130 acres.

Mrs. Suffren, a delightful person with a keen sense of humor, still takes an active part in the management of her home. She enjoys its surrounding grounds even to picking up the fallen apples in the autumn just as she did when a little girl. Up until a few years ago she even did her own marketing.

Many of the small happenings in the quiet but happy childhood of this remarkable woman were told in last week’s column. But the memory of a day in the spring of 1865 was one of such outstanding tragedy throughout the nation that its sorrow touched even the little six and a half year old girl. In the 90 years and more that have passed since April 15, 1865, Mrs. Suffren has never forgotten the sorrow that was of such nationwide significance that it reached even into her quiet country home, affecting the lives of all who were there. For it was on the evening of that day that John Wilkes Booth shot president Abraham Lincoln from the back of the presidential box in the Ford Theater in Washington.

The next morning Lincoln died. And it was then that the Wentworth family heard the sad news from the lips of Dr Henry Pleasants, their family physician, who had stopped by on his horse and buggy round to tell them. Mrs. Suffren still remembers the scene in the big front hall and can visualize where each one sat and stood. Her mother’s tears as she sat on the bottom step were the first that the small Martha, standing just behind on the stairs, had ever seen her shed. The entire household assembled there had been praying for Lincoln’s recovery, as had their fellow countrymen across the nation.

A few days later, neighbors from far and near gathered with the Wentworth family on the front lawn to watch the Lincoln funeral train as it made its slow and solemn way from Washington to Springfield, Ill., where Lincoln was laid to rest in Oak Ridge Cemetery. In her mind’s eye Martha Suffren can still see that train as she saw it coming slowly into view along the railroad tracks in front or her home. One soldier stood at the head of the casket and another at the foot in the railroad car with its sides made of glass so that the casket might be visible to all onlookers along the railroad right of way. The group of Wentworth friends and neighbors stood in silence as the train passed out of sight. That was 90 years ago in April of this year.

On the high white columns of their stately home, the Wentorth family had draped two large black shawls. Small Martha thought they looked very beautiful and wished that her father might leave them there. And as with everything else that touched the life of that small girl in the tragic death of Lincoln, Mrs. Suffren can still visualize those black shawls on the tall white pillars of her home.

(To be continued)