History of District of Columbia United States of America

The right to vote in the District of Columbia for President of the United States and other national officers, which was extant at the time the territory embraced in the District was ceded to Congress, was exercised by the qualified voters in the District in the Presidential election of November, 1800. It remained in force until the first Monday in December, 1800, when, as announced in the opinion of Justice Cranch, the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress over the District took effect.

The qualifications of voters in the portion derived from Maryland were at that time as follows:

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, a small tract of territory set apart as the site of the capital of the United States, was ceded to the general Government by the State of Maryland, by which it is bounded on all sides except the S. W., which is washed by the Potomac river. The capitol in Washington is in lat. 38° 53´ N., lon. 77° and 2´ W. from Greenwich. American geographers, however, often compute longitude from this place. Originally, the District of Columbia was 10 miles square, or 100 square miles; but, by the retrocession of Alexandria county to Virginia in 1846, it was reduced to 60 square miles, or 38,400 acres, 16,267 of which are improved.

Population: The District of Columbia had 14,093 inhabitants in 1800; 24,023 in 1810; 33,039 in 1820; 89,834 in 1830; 43,712 in 1840, and 51,687 in 1850, of whom 18,548 were white males, 19,479 do. females, 4210 free colored males, 5763 do. females, and 1422 male, and 2265 female slaves. Of the free population, 24,967 were born in the District, 17,989 in other parts of the Union, 32 in British America, 622 in England, 2873 in Ireland, 162 in Scotland and Wales, 1404 in Germany, 80 in France, 234 in other countries, and 77 whose places of birth were unknown; 19 were deaf and dumb, of whom 2 were free colored and 1 a slave; 23 blind, of whom 8 were free colored, and 1 a slave; 22 insane, of whom 8 were free colored, and 1 a slave, and 11 idiotic, of whom 4 were free colored. In the year ending June 1st, 1850, 846 deaths occurred, being about 16 in every one thousand persons.

Counties: The entire district constitutes the county of Washington.

Cities: Washington, the capital of the United States, population, 40,000, and Georgetown, 8336, include nearly the entire population of the district.

Surface: The surface is generally undulating, with some marshes. There are eminences of sufficient prominence to command fine views and give variety to the scene.

Rivers: The Potomac river separates the district from Virginia, which, except a small tributary called the East branch, and Rock creek, separating Washington from Georgetown, is the only stream of importance.

Productions: The district has very little agricultural importance. Products in 1850, 17,370 bushels of wheat; 5509 of rye; 65,230 of Indian corn; 8134 of oats; 28,292 of Irish potatoes; 14,872 pounds of butter; 2279 tons of hay, with some tobacco, peas, beans, sweet potatoes, barley, buckwheat, wine, cheese, beeswax, and honey. Value of live stock produced, $71,643; do. orchard products, $14,843, and do. market garden, $67,222.

Manufactures: In 1850 the District of Columbia had 1 cotton factory, employing $85,000 of capital, and 41 male and 103 female hands, consuming raw material worth $67,000, and producing 1,400,000 yards of stuffs, valued at 100,000; 1 woollen factory, employing $700 capital, and 2 male hands, consuming raw material worth $1630, and producing 10,000 yards of stuff, valued at $2400; 2 furnaces, employing $14,000 capital, and 80 male hands, consuming raw material worth 18,100, and producing 512 tons of castings; &c., valued at $52,695; $12,000 were invested in the manufacture of malt and spirituous liquors, consuming 5000 bushels of barley, and producing 1350 barrels of ale; and 2 tanneries, employing $25,000 capital, consuming raw material worth $25,600, and producing leather valued at $40,000.

Internal Improvements: A few miles of the Washington and Baltimore railroad are in the District of Columbia, and the Chesapeake and Ohio canal has its terminus at Georgetown. These constitute the internal improvements of the district.

Commerce: The imports of 1851?2 amounted to $54,142, and the exports $79,005; tonnage entered, 901; cleared, 2014; belonging to the district; 26,197, of which 3827 86/95 was steam tonnage, and number of vessels built, 27, the tonnage of which was 1995 43/95.

Education: There were in 1850, 2 colleges in the district, with an aggregate of 235 students, and 32,300 volumes in their libraries; 1 medical school with 40 students; and 2611 children taught in common schools, by 29 teachers, at an expense of $11,677.

Religious Denominations: Of 46 churches the Baptists owned 6, Episcopalians 8, Friends 1, Lutheran 2, Methodists 16, Presbyterians 6, Roman Catholics 6, and Unitarian 1, making about one church for every 1109 persons; value of church property, $363,000.

Government: The District of Columbia is under the direct government of the Congress of the United States, and without any representation in the national Congress, or any vote for president. The judiciary consists, 1. Of a circuit court, with one chief and two associate judges, the former receiving $2700, and the latter $2500 each per annum. 2. Of a criminal court, presided over by one judge, receiving $2000; and, 3. Of an orphans' court, with a judge receiving $1500 per annum. Assessed value of property in 1850, $14,018,874. In January, 1852, there were in the district four banks, with an aggregate capital of $1,182,300, a circulation of $350,000, and $300,000 in coin.

History: In 1790, Maryland and Virginia ceded 100 square miles to the United States. This tract was named the District of Columbia, in honor of the great discoverer of America. This district, about two-thirds of which was on the Maryland shore of the Potomac, was designed for the site of the capital of the nation, and, in accordance with this intention, a city was laid out, public buildings erected, and in 1800 the government officials removed thereto. During the war of 1812, the British forces took Washington, and burned the capitol, (including the library of Congress,) and the president's house. In 1846, Alexandria county was retroceded to Virginia.

Biographies:

Thomas Scott Fillebrown, naval officer, was born in the District of Columbia, Aug. 13, 1834. He entered the U.S. navy as midshipman, Oct. 19, 1841, and served through the war with Mexico. He was promoted passed midshipman, Aug. 10, 1847; lieutenant, Sept. 15, 1855; and lieutenant-commander, July 16, 1862. He was in active service during the civil war, commanding the steamboat Chenango in 1863; the ironclad Passaic in the assault on Fort Sumter in May, 1864; the iron-clad Montauk, operating against Battery Pringle, S.C., in July, 1864; and the steamer Sonoma of the South Atlantic blockading squadron, 1864-65. He was promoted commander, July 25, 1866; captain, Jan. 6, 1874; commodore, May 7, 1883, and was on special duty in the navy department at Washington, D.C., 1866-83. He died in New York city, Sept. 26, 1884.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Francis Munroe Ramsay, naval officer, was born in the District of Columbia, April 5. 1835; son of Gen. George Douglas and Frances Whet-croft (Munroe) Ramsay. He entered the navy as a midshipman, Oct. 5, 1850, served on board the Preble, 1851, and the St. Lawrence, Pacific station, 1851?55; was graduated from the U.S. Naval academy, June 20, 1856; served on the Falmouth, Brazil squadron, 1857, and the Merrimac, Pacific squadron, 1857?60. He was promoted acting master, June 24, 1857; master, Jan. 22, 1858; lieutenant. Jan. 23, 1858; lieutenant-commander, July 16, 1862. He served on the Saratoga, 1860?62; commanded the ironclad Choctaw of the Mississippi squadron, 1863?64; and took part in the engagements on the Yazoo river in 1863, including Haines's Bluff, April 30?May 1; Liverpool's Landing in May, and Milliken's Bend, June 7. He was in charge of a battery at Vicksburg, June 19?July 4, 1863; commanded the 3d division of the Mississippi fleet, 1863?64; served at Trinity and Harrisonburg, La., March, 1864; took part in expeditions up the Black, Ouachita, Red and Atchafalaya rivers in the spring of 1864; was engaged at Simmsport, La., June 8, 1864; commanded the gunboat Unadilla of the North Atlantic squadron, 1864?65; was present at the storming of Fort Fisher, and of several Cape Fear river forts, including Fort Anderson, and was in the James river flotilla in the capture of Richmond, Va., in 1865. He had charge of the department of gunnery at the Naval academy, 1865?66; was promoted commander, July 25, 1866, and served on navigation duty at the navy yard, Washington, D.C., 1866?67; as fleet-captain and chief of staffer the South Atlantic squadron on the flag-ship Guerri?re, 1867?69, and as commander of the Guerri?re, June and July, 1869. He was married, June 9, 1869, to Anna, daughter of Patrick and Mary (Powers) McMahon of Ireland. He served on ordnance duty at the navy yard, Washington, D.C., 1869?72; in the bureau of ordnance in 1872, and as naval attach? in Europe, 1872?73. He commanded the Ossipee on the North Atlantic station, 1873?74; was at the Philadelphia naval asylum, 1875?76, inspector of ordnance in New York, 1876?78; promoted captain, Dec. 1, 1877; commanded the torpedo station, Newport, R.I., 1878?81; the Trenton, European station, 1881; was superintendent, Naval academy, 1881?86; a member of the board of examiners, 1886?87, and commanded the Boston on special service, 1887?89. He commanded the New York navy yard and stations, 1889; was promoted commodore, March 26, 1889; chief of the bureau of navigations, 1889?97; was promoted rear-admiral, April 11, 1894, and having reached the age of sixty-two was placed on the retired list, April 5, 1897, making his home in Washington, D.C., where in March, 1903, He was still residing.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Aaron Ward Weaver, naval officer, was born in the District of Columbia. July 1, 1832; son of Lieut. William Augustus (1797-1846) and Jane (Van Wyck) Weaver; grandson of William and Rachel Van Wyck of Columbia county, N.Y. The Van Wycks came from Holland to Dutchess county early in the eighteenth century. His father was midshipman on the frigate Chesapeake when she was captured by the Shannon, June 1, 1813; was discharged from the naval service, Nov. 27, 1824, and was employed in the state department, Washington, D.C. Aaron Ward Weaver was appointed midshipman in the U.S. navy, May 10, 1848; served on the St. Louis and on the Congress, Coast of Brazil, 1848-50; was graduated from the U.S. Naval academy in 1854; promoted passed midshipman, June 15. 1854; commissioned master, Sept. 15. 1855; lieutenant, Sept. 16. 1855, and served on the steamer Fulton, West Indies; steamer Walker, Mississippi Sounds; steamer Arctic, Newfoundland, surveying for the first Atlantic cable: sloop Mario, off the west coast of Africa, 1858-59, and Susquehanna, on the Mediterranean, 1859-61. In 1861 he was assigned on blockade duty on board the Susquehanna the first war vessel to arrive home after the attack on Fort Sumter; took part in the bombardment of Forts Hatteras and Clark; in the battle of Port Royal and the capture of Forts Beaureguard and Walker. He took part in the engagement with the batteries on Sewells Point, Va.; was commissioned lieutenant-commander, July 16, 1865, and commanded the steam gun-boat Winona in the Western Gulf blockading squadron. He took part in the engagements below Port Hudson before and after its surrender: commanded the gunboat Chippewa in the North Atlantic blockading squadron, and took part in the first attack on Fort Fisher. He commanded the monitor Mahopac in the final attack on Fort Fisher, in January; 1865, and in the fall of Richmond. He was married, February, 1864, to Ida, daughter of Alpheus and Harriet Hyatt of Baltimore, Md. He was stationed at the Boston navy yard after the war: was promoted commander, July 25, 1866, and was senior officer of the double-turreted monitor Terror in Havana harbor, 1870-71, during the excitement following the execution of the Spanish students. When war was threatened with Spain, owing to the Virginius affair in 1873, he was in command of the iron-clad Dictator. He was commissioned captain, Aug. 8, 1876; was equipment officer at Norfolk navy yard, 1879-80, and captain of the navy yard, 1880-81. He commanded the steam sloop Brooklyn on the South Atlantic station, 1881-84; was a member of the naval and retiring board, 1885-86, and president of the board, and commandant of the Norfolk naval station, 1890-93. He was promoted commodore, Oct. 7, 1886, and rear-admiral, June 27, 1893, and was retired on his own request, after forty years of service, Sept. 26, 1893.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Alexander Hugh McCormick, naval officer, was born in the District of Columbia, May 9, 1842; son of Alexander and Eliza (Van Horn) McCormick; grandson of Alexander and ??? (Quirk) McCormick and of William and Alethea (Beall) Van Horn. He was appointed to the U.S. Naval academy from Texas in 1859, and was ordered into active service in April, 1861. He was attached to the Quaker City and served in the Chesapeake bay blockade, June to September, 1861; on the receiving-ship North Carolina, October to December, 1861, and on the steamer Norwich of the South Atlantic blockading squadron from January, 1862, to April, 1863. He was appointed a volunteer acting master in April, 1862; participated in the bombardment of Fort Pulaski and of the fort in Winyaw Bay, S.C., in 1862, and was promoted ensign, Dec. 22, 1862. He took part in the second occupation of Jacksonville. Fla., in 1863; served on the Housatonic off Charleston, S.C., April to July, 1863; on the Wabash, July to September, 1863, and was promoted lieutenant, Feb. 22, 1864. He served on the steam sloop Iroquois on special service from March, 1864, to October, 1865; on the Chattanooga, February to August, 1866, and was promoted lieutenant-commander, July 25, 1866. He was instructor in mathematics at the U.S. Naval academy, 1866-69; attached to the Macedonian, June to September, 1867; to the flagship Lancaster on the east coast of South America, 1869-72, and to the Portsmouth, July to September, 1872. He was an instructor in astronomy and navigation at the U.S. Naval academy, 1872-75; cruised on the steamer Fortune, July to September, 1773, and was attached to the Pensacola, flagship of the Pacific station, 1875-76. He was promoted commander, Sept. 30, 1876; served on duty in the bureau of ordnance at Washington, D.C., 1877-81; commanded the Essex in a cruise around the world, 1881-85; was inspector of ordnance at the navy yard, Washington, D.C., 1885-88, and on duty in the bureau of ordnance at Washington, 1888-89. He was inspector of ordnance at the navy yard, Brooklyn, N.Y., 1889-92; was promoted captain, April 3, 1892; commanded the Lancaster on the Asiatic station, 1892-94; was captain of the Norfolk navy yard, 1894-97; commanded the battle-ship Oregon in the winter of 1898, and commanded the navy yard at Washington, D.C., from Oct. 17, 1863, to March 26, 1900. He was promoted rear-admiral Sept. 9, 1899, and was retired after forty years' service, March 26, 1900.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of District of Columbia

Local History Notes:

Biographies:

Local History and Genealogy Links: