ing to secure a legacy which he converted into gold
and brought back with him. He landed in England at Dover, which he
described as being "about the size of George Town," the voyage having
taken nearly two months--from October 6th to December 3rd. In his
journal he wrote of having gone to the House of Commons to hear "Mr.
Pitt open the budgett, Mr. Fox followed, and then Mr. Sheridan replied
to Mr. Pitt."

Of John Threlkeld, an old paper states that "he was well and very widely
known as a fine scholar and a man of great benevolence." He was mayor of
George Town in 1793 and a personal friend of Thomas Jefferson. He was
remembered as a handsome figure on horseback, even in his late years,
and his love of following the hounds is a family tradition. The comments
made by him in this connection during his stay in England are
interesting. After describing the journey by coach past fine estates
with "one-half the fields as green as spring with grass," he added, "and
but one horse have I seen in the course of thirty miles at pasture, and
here I must take notice of their boasting in America of their hunters
leaping the five-bar gates." He goes on to explain how the measurements
were taken, and concludes, "but still their horses vastly surpass ours."

John and Elizabeth Threlkeld had four children, but the only son died in
infancy, so the name disappeared, and the family is represented only by
the descendants of their daughter, Jane, who married John Cox.

[Illustration: COLONEL JOHN COX]

Chapter IX

_Along First Street (N) from Cox's Row to High Street (Wisconsin Ave.)_

On the northeast corner of First Street (N) and Frederick (34th) Street
stands the row of houses which John Cox built. Colonel Cox was for many
years most prominent in all the affairs of Georgetown, serving as its
Mayor longer than any other one man from 1823 to 1845--22 years. John
Cox was of English descent. He was born in 1775 during the Revolution,
was the youngest of four children, and being left an orphan as a small
child, was raised by an uncle who was a banker in Baltimore. He later
lived for a while in Philadelphia, and from there came to Georgetown. He
first married Matilda Smith, a sister of Clement Smith, well known as
the first cashier of the Farmers' & Mechanics Bank, later its president.
They had three children, one of whom was named Clement. By his second
marriage to Jane Threlkeld he had seven children.

In the War of 1812 he serv