rneur, Mrs. Roswell
Randall Hoes, Mrs. William Crawford Johnson 310

AS I REMEMBER

CHAPTER I

EARLY LONG ISLAND DAYS

I do not know of a spot where, had I been accorded the selection, I
should have preferred first to see the light of day, nor one more in
keeping with the promptings of sentiment, than the southern shore of
Long Island, N.Y., where I was born. My home was in Queens County, on
the old Rockaway Road, and often in childhood during storms at sea I
have heard the waves dash upon the Rockaway beach. Two miles the other
side of us was the village of Jamaica, and from our windows we caught
glimpses of the bay that bore its name. My first home was a large
old-fashioned house on a farm of many acres, ornamented by Lombardy
poplars which stood on each side of the driveway, a fashion introduced
into this country by Lafayette. My maternal grandfather, Captain John
Hazard, who had commanded a privateersman during the Revolution,
purchased the place from "Citizen" Edmond Charles Genet, the first
Minister of France to the United States, and I have the old parchment
deed of transfer still in my possession. During the War of the
Revolution my Grandfather Hazard's ship was captured by Admiral George
B. Rodney, and I have often heard my mother tell the story she received
from his lips, to the effect that after he was "comfortably housed in
irons" on Rodney's ship he overheard a conversation in which his name
was frequently mentioned. The subject under discussion was the form of
punishment he deserved, and the cheerful remark reached his ear: "Hang
the damned rebel." This incident made an indelible impression upon my
mother's memory, which was emphasized by the fact that her father bore
the scars of those irons to the day of his death.

I have no recollection of my Grandfather Hazard, as he died soon after
my birth. Jonathan Hazard, his brother, espoused the English cause
during the Revolution. This was possibly due to the influences of an
English mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Owen, of Shropshire. I have
heard my mother say that her grandmother was a descendant of Dr. John
Owen, Chaplain of Oliver Cromwell. A piece of silver bearing the Owen
coat of arms is still in the possession of a member of my family. He
entered the British navy, changed his name to Carr, and soon rose to the
rank of Post-Captain. He eventually drifted back to America and died
unmarried at my grandfathe