IN MEMORIAM-MICHAEL IGNATIUS WELLER,

1846-1915

BY JAMES FRANKLIN HOOD.

(Read before the Society, April 20, 1915.)

"I count myself in nothing half so happy as in a heart rememb'ring my good friends.''

Michael Ignatius Weller was born in London, England, June 10, 1846. He was proud of his English descent and frequently referred to it, but he was prouder still of his American citizenship. His parents were Samuel and Mary (O'Brien) Weller. His father provided liberally for his education, sending him to no less than three noted schools in London, Boulogne, and Vienna.

Mr. Weller came to America in 1867. He married Rita Repetti, daughter of Joseph and Dorothea Repetti, June 12, 1871, in this city. In the following year he established his residence here. His wife's family being identified with the eastern section of the city he naturally turned his attention to that part. In 1875 he formed a partnership with his wife's brother, Mr. George R. Repetti, in the real estate business, making a specialty of east Washington property. This brought him into close touch with the people who, recognizing his energy and love of fair play, soon selected him as their advocate to obtain from Congress a proper recognition of "Capitol Hill" and a more just proportion of the moneys appropriated by that body for the systematic improvement of the city. He gave, in unstinted measure, of his time, his intellect and his influence in securing from Congress what the citizens living east of the capitol had striven unsuccessfully for long weary years to obtain, namely: the paving of Maryland Avenue, the paving and parking of Pennsylvania Avenue from Eleventh street to the Anacostia river and the building of a new bridge across that river in place of the old one, burned by

the British when they captured the city in 1814. It is said that his grandfather was of the attacking party on the eventful 24th of August of that fateful year, whose only check was at the bridge so gallantly defended by Commodore Barney and his men. It is noteworthy that, largely through the efforts of the grandson, the new structure became a fact decades later; and that he was of the famous Commodore, the biographer and eulogist. Congress appropriated for the new bridge seventy-five thousand dollars, a sum so inadequate that Mr. Weller went to members of Congress, secured an additional fifty thousand, and the completion of the handsome structure was made memorable by a great public celebration. His latest ambition was to have Congress provide for a statue of Commodore Barney in the Circle named for him at Pennsylvania Avenue and the Bridge.

He was also among the first to draw the attention of Congress to the reclamation of the Anacostia Flats, and agitated the project at every convenient opportunity. It was his ambition to initiate later the construction of a water-way by canal to Baltimore as a means of communication between the two cities.

The children of Washington should be taught to honor the name of Michael I. Weller because he was among the first to advocate public playgrounds. Again he went to Congress and because he had a definite request to make, that the site of the old engine-house at the intersection of Virginia Avenue and K Street, Southeast, be secured to the city for a playground, he succeeded. It was the first privilege of its kind granted to boys and girls of the national capital. What he advocated for the children he had himself been doing for Uncle Sam's sailors and marines, by giving them the free use of a large parcel of unimproved ground owned by him and adjoining the Navy Yard whereon to play ball and engage in other sports.

His devotion to the interests of the District of Columbia was recognized and appreciated by the District Committees of both the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States. He could always command the attention and coöperation of

the chairmen of those committees who are known to have said that "Mr. Weller is one of the very few men who comes before our Committee without a personal axe to grind."

One more achievement should be mentioned. Heeding the grim warning of the costly fire and attendant loss of life at the Hoboken Pier in New Jersey, Mr. Weller went to the District Commissioners and asked that a fire-boat for the protection of the water-front be included in that year's appropriation bill. The Commissioners refused, saying that the appropriation asked for was already large and that the purchase of such a boat must await another year. Mr. Weller again went to his friends in Congress and the item was secured.

The Columbia Historical Society had its official birth twenty-one years ago, April 12, 1894, but long before it was Mr. Weller's custom to drop into my office in the Pacific Building and talk over local affairs. His hobby, if he had one, was the collection of books and pamphlets concerning the District, and mine, if I had one, was the gathering of early local prints, maps and other historical material. Many pleasant half-hours were spent in the mutual appreciation of some rare picture or little known booklet. When we began to realize that many of the old landmarks were giving way to modern changes we felt it was time that a new society should be formed to preserve the history of the District. At about the same time we learned, as so often happens, that other similarly minded persons were indulging in the same thought; that Dr. Joseph M. Toner, Mr. Marcus Baker, Prof. W J McGee, Justice Alexander B. Hagner, Mr. Ainsworth R. Spofford, Dr. James C. Welling, and others had been considering the subject. The result was a conference on March 9, 1894, of a number of gentlemen, some, until then, unacquainted with each other but all interested in the history of the national capital. Of that conference this Society is the fruit. At a subsequent meeting officers were elected, including a Corresponding Secretary and a Curator who were annually reëlected to and including the election held in January of the present year, at which time the subject of this memorial and the writer of it were the only survivors.