AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



September, 1907 



was carried by Evelyn Byrd when 

 she was presented at court in 

 England. 



Over the mantel in the dining- 

 room is a portrait of Governor 

 Alston, by Benjamin West, and 

 around the room, beginning on 

 the right, are portraits of the 

 Duke of Argyll (Jeanie Deans' 

 friend), Benjamin Franklin, Mrs. 

 Taylor, Colonel Byrd's wife's 

 sister, Sir Robert Walpole, the 

 Duke of Albemarle, Colonel 

 William Byrd, Mr. Randall and 

 Mr. Waltho. All told, a goodly 

 company of notable men and 

 women, painted, for the most 

 part, by painters of distinguished 

 eminence. 



At some distance to the west of 

 the house are brick buildings in- 

 tended for the storage of pro- 

 visions. Beyond them is the family 

 burying ground. The tombs, 

 however, are mostly modern, ex- 

 cept those of Benjamin Harrison 

 and his wives, which were brought 

 here from Old Brandon Church. 

 On the way thither one passes the 



old block house, in which the families of the plantation found 

 refuge when an attack by Indians was impending. It is built 

 of red brick, laid in 



Flemish bond. The 



provisions were 

 storetl in the cellar 

 and the families oc- 

 cupied the upper 

 part of the struc- 

 ture, rhe small 

 black spots shown 

 in the photograph 

 are the gun holes 

 through which the 

 attacking force 

 could be shot. The 

 cessation of the In- 

 dian wars, however, 

 did not lessen the 

 military dangers 

 which beset Bran- 

 don. It was the seat 

 of considerable mili- 

 tary activity in the 

 Revolution, and the 

 bullet holes made 

 during the Civil 

 War still deface the 

 moldings of the 

 outer doorways and 

 the adjoining walls. 

 Much internal in- 

 jury was inflicted at 

 the time, but the 

 family portraits 

 and household ef- 

 fects were trans- 

 ported to Richmond, 

 and hence many 

 priceless relics were 

 safely preserved. 



The first Benja- 

 m i n Harrison in 



The Communion Service Presented by John Westhrope to 

 the Parish of Martin's Brandon. Date about 1659 



The Quaint Staircase in the North Wing 



Virginia, while the owner of large 

 estates, does not appear to have 

 been connected either with Bran- 

 don or Berkeley, the famous seats 

 of this family on the James River. 

 His son, Benjamin Harrison the 

 Second, was born in Surry County, 

 Virginia, in 1645. Colonel Na- 

 thaniel Harrison, the son of the 

 second Benjamin, became the 

 owner of Brandon, and was the 

 first of the family to be definitely 

 associated with the estate. He 

 was born in 1677 and died in 

 1727. It was his son, likewise, 

 named Nathaniel, who built the 

 present mansion, or at least its 

 oldest parts. He was born in 

 1738. He was succeeded in the 

 ownership of Brandon by his third 

 son, Benjamin Harrison, whose 

 portrait still hangs on the walls of 

 the drawing-room of the mansion, 

 together with the portraits of his 

 two wives, the first of whom was 

 Anne, daughter of William Ran- 

 dolph, of Wilton, and the second, 

 Evelyn Taylor, the daughter of 

 Colonel William Byrd, of West- 

 over. All these gentlemen filled important public offices in 

 their day, in addition to conducting the large aftairs of their 



estates. The latter 

 could at no time 

 have been unimpor- 

 tant, for the acre- 

 age of the planta- 

 tion of Brandon 

 was at all times im- 

 m e n s e , requiring 

 not only constant 

 oversight, but many 

 men and women for 

 its successful culti- 

 vation. 



To know the old 

 Virginian inti- 

 mately, one must 

 go to his ancient 

 home, be greeted 

 by his hospitable de- 

 scendants, eat and 

 drink from his old 

 plate, cultivate an ac- 

 quaintance with his 

 family portraits 

 and wander among 

 the ruins of his 

 garden. Afterward 

 you must take a 

 walk across the 

 park to his family 

 graveyard, and de- 

 cipher the arms and 

 inscriptions of t h e 

 many tombs inclosed 

 therein. Even then, 

 unless you have 

 Southern blood in 

 your veins, you may 

 not be able to ap- 

 preciate the V i r - 

 ginian cavalier. 



