ADDRESS.

There having been, as appears by the records of the "Historical Society of Pennsylvania," an uncertainty as to the precise ground where stood the Residence of General Washington during the years of his Presidency; and as it is believed that the subject may be one of considerable interest to the Society and to others, the writer, holding papers which are amply decisive of the matter, respectfully submits the following memoranda and extracts from those papers, and will be happy to give to any one so desiring, or to a committee of the "Historical Society," access to the same, for further elucidation and settlement.

An address, on the subject of the Washington Mansion in Philadelphia, can, in the nature of things, contain little or nothing that is new or original; it must consist almost solely of extracts from musty parchments and from records of the olden time.

And yet, it seems clearly a duty incumbent on the holder of those parchments, as he only has the power to do so, to collate for you such portions as may illustrate our subject, and may also be an humble contribution to the increasing activity and energy of our Historical Society-which have been so marked of late years-that the Society, as it looks kindly and lovingly upon the labors of its members, may very truly say, in the words of an old motto,

"SENESCO, NON SEGNESCO."

The first paper to be noticed is, naturally, the patent, to John Kinsey, then Chief Justice of the Province, recorded August 30th, 1738, in part, as follows:

"John Penn, Thomas Penn, and Richard Penn, true and absolute Proprietaries and Governours in chief of the province of Pennsylvania and counties of New Castle, Kent and Sussex, on Delaware, to all unto whom these presents shall come send greeting:

"WHEREAS, Our late Father, William Penn, Esquire, deceased, then Proprietary and Governour in chief of the province aforesaid, by his indenture of lease and release bearing date respectively the third and fourth days of July, in the year sixteen hundred and eighty-two, for the consideration therein mentioned, did grant, bargain and sell unto Thomas Harley, of Kingsham Court, in the county of Hereford, in that part of Great Britain called England, Esquire, and to his heirs and assigns forever, five thousand acres of land, in the province of Pennsylvania, in right of which purchase the said Thomas Harley, in his lifetime, and Thomas Harley, of the middle temple, Esquire, son and heir of the aforesaid Thomas Harley, became entitled to a lot of ground on the Front street in the city of Philadelphia, in the province aforesaid, and whereas the said Thomas Harley, the son, by his deed poll, bearing date the fifteenth day of August, in the year one thousand six hundred and ninety-nine, for the consideration mentioned, did grant, bargain and sell the said five thousand acres of land and lot or piece of ground aforesaid, unto Thomas Fairman, his heirs and assigns, forever" (this right afterwards passed to George Fitzwater, and after sundry clauses the deed proceeds), "and the surveyor general, on the twelfth day of September, in the year aforesaid, in lieu and recompense for the said Front street lot, before that time granted to our Sister Leetitia, did survey and lay out unto the aforesaid George Fitzwater all that lot or piece of ground situate on the South side of the High street of the city of Philadelphia, between the Fifth and Sixth streets of

the same city, bounded on the North with the said High street, eastward with a lot then in the tenure of Elizabeth Britton, southward with Chestnut street lots, and westward with a lot formerly Thomas Mayleigh's, being in breadth one hundred and twenty feet, and in length three hundred and six."

The patent then recites further transfers, and finally vests the property in John Kinsey.

On January 1st, 1761, I find a deed of James Kinsey (son of the above John Kinsey, and Chief Justice of New Jersey) and others, to John Lawrence, Esq.

A daughter of this John Lawrence, as I believe, had married William Masters, and in October of the same year, 1761, I find a deed of John Lawrence and wife, to their now widowed daughter, Mary Masters.

On the 19th of May, 1772, is recorded a deed reciting that "whereas, the said Mary Masters hath built on the aforesaid lot of ground, a messuage or dwelling house, and made other very valuable improvements thereon: Now know ye that the said Mary Masters, in consideration of the natural love and affection which she bears toward her eldest daughter, Mary Masters, hath given, granted and confirmed to her said daughter," etc., the lot as received by her from John Lawrence.

Whether captivated in part by the solid charms of the lady, or not, the Hon. Richard Penn married this Mary Masters, the daughter. I am unable to say whether he and his wife occupied the house built, as we have just seen, on this lot, by Mary Masters, the mother, but I believe it was this Mr. Penn who built and occupied the Landsdowne property until 1795.

During the possession of Philadelphia by the British forces,

Gen. Howe held his headquarters here, and it is also said that Gen. Arnold, when in command of the city, occupied it.

Among the interesting papers of this period, is the original letter of attorney from the Hon. Richard Penn to Tench Francis, empowering him to sell all his lands.

We come next to a deed of August 25th, 1785, of Mary Masters, the mother, Richard Penn and wife, and Sarah Masters, to Robert Morris, well-known in Revolutionary times, of a plot of ground on Market or High street, commencing, as appears by the papers, at a distance of sixty feet from Sixth street, "containing in breadth, on said (High) street, forty-eight feet, and in depth one hundred and eighty feet . . . . and whereas, the capital messuage erected on said lot was, on or about the 2d day of January, 1780, for the most part, consumed by fire and rendered uninhabitable, whereupon the said Richard Penn, by letters under his hand, directed the said Tench Francis, whom he had constituted his attorney, with power to sell and convey all his real estate in America, to sell the ruins of the said messuage, together with all and singular the lots of ground herein-above described, which were and had been customarily used with the said messuage, to any person willing to purchase the same, and thereupon the said Tench Francis, as attorney to the said Richard Penn, contracted with the said Robert Morris for the absolute sale and conveyance of the said messuage and lots of ground, for the price of 3750 pounds, sterling money of Great Britain, which sum the said Robert Morris secured to be paid to the said Richard Penn upon the perfecting the title to the said Robert Morris, and thereupon the said Robert Morris received possession of the said ruins and lots of ground, and hath since caused them to be rebuilt and repaired, and hath made