of Topping Castle, Caroline County, Virginia. They established 

 a home near Fredericksburg, Virginia, and there, in 1793, their 

 eldest son, John Minor Maury, was born and there, also, was born, 

 on January I4th, 1806, their fourth son, Matthew Fontaine 

 Maury, each to add honor and distinction to the annals of the 

 American Navy. 



It was from this Spotsylvania home, in 1810, that Richard 

 Maury, heeding the call of the West, set out with his family, by 

 the wagon trail, for the Blue Grass Region of Tennessee, and set- 

 tled on the Big Harpeth River near Franklin. That tedious jour- 

 ney of more than 500 miles may be more easily imagined than 

 described, but at last it ended on the borderland of the Golden 

 West. They were again domiciled father, mother, and eight 

 children, all except John Minor, a lad of seventeen, already four 

 years a midshipman in the United States Navy. 



Work in plenty awaited them, and to the question, Where- 

 withal shall we be fed and clothed, came the answer in the 

 abundant harvests garnered by father and sons and in the spin- 

 ning, weaving and knitting of the mother and daughters. No 

 material needs were unsupplied, but schools were few and, in the 

 remote country districts, mainly of the "Old Field" variety and 

 in session only when inclement weather suspended agricultural 

 operations. 



However, the light on the home altar was never extinguished. 

 "The Psalter for the Day" was read morning and evening, "verse 

 and verse about," and so it was that young Matthew, day by day, 

 reverently acquired a profound knowledge of the truths, style 

 and literature of the Bible, which, in later years, lent grace and 

 charm to his life and writings. Nor was^ this all. Family records 

 were carefully preserved, and family traditions loyally cherished ; 

 moreover, the mails sometimes brought letters from the East, and 

 from the sailor lad, now advanced from warrant midshipman to 

 a commissioned officer in the Navy. These letters kindled a wan- 

 derlust in the heart and brain of his younger brother which no 

 discouragement could damp; on the contrary, insignificant trifles 

 and even dire accidents became stepping-stones to more schooling 

 and the coveted midshipman's warrant; the mysterious "x-fy's" 

 of the ambitious country cobbler determined Matthew to emulate 



