It was said that he would sharpen his pen knife on his shoe and then open a boil with it. He and his family lived here for a good many years. One of his daughters, Mrs. King, was matron for many years in the time of Mrs. Preston. Dr. Anderson resigned in 1876 and the lease was in the name of his wife, Mrs. Julia Anderson, in 1878. But they must have kept it as a summer home.

He was still here when Bishop Gailor took the next lot in 1884 as he gave one-half from his lot and Bishop Gailor the other half from his, to make the road which is now called North Carolina Avenue.

After the Andersons left, the house was rented to various people for a few years and then in 1895 it was bought by Dr. Barton and he and his family lived in it until his death in 1926...

After that it was rented again to various people but was standing vacant when it caught fire and burnt in 1943. It was said that it caught fire from soldiers from Camp Forrest who hung out on the back porch smoking after the movie. This was the big fire after Dr. Guerry's fire engines and they saved the front arcade of the house which stood for several months, looking just as usual. Visitors got a shock when they drove down North Carolina Avenue and saw nothing behind it. This was when the fire engine was an old limousine bequeathed to the University which would not turn left. So fires had to be approached carefully.

The Barton Barracks were built with war salvage material from Camp Forrest. They were renovated by a gift from Edmund Orgill, a Regent from 1947 to 1953, and they were pulled down in 1965. They were very popular with the students as dogs could be kept there and one student even kept snakes-a barrel full.]]>

The next residents were Mrs. Elliott, her three daughters and two sons. Mrs. Elliott was the widow of Bishop Robert Elliott, the first bishop of West Texas. She and the children came to live in Sewanee and bought this house in 1888. Their house was a center of social life and activity until Mrs. Elliott’s death in 1894.

Lionel Colmore, an Englishman, was Commissary of the University when he bought this house in 1905. Although he and his family arrived in the area in 1895, they lived in other houses while his three sons went to Sewanee. Colmore was very popular with the students, who called him “General.” When he died in 1922, he left the house to his daughter Dora; both she and her sister Eva lived there. Dora, a well-known cook, built a flourishing catering business during the Guerry regime. Eva died in 1948 and Dora, an invalid for several years, died in 1963. The house was a summer rental for several years and was then purchased by Mrs. Jean Tallec in 1966. Mrs. Tallec, her daughter, Christi Ormsby, and the two Ormsby boys lived there until the home burned down on Dec. 16, 1971.

A modern home has since been built on the site by the Rev. Herbert Wentz.

]]>

Bishop Robert Elliott, the first bishop of West Texas died in 1887 at the age of 47. His widow came to live in Sewanee and bought this house in 1888. She came with her family of three daughters and two sons. The house easily became a center of social life and activity. Mrs. Elliott died in 1894.

Lionel Colmore, an Englishman, had been "Commissioner" of the University in 1895. He lived in several other houses before he bought this one in 1905. He was then Commissary of the University. His three sons had finished college and never lived in this house. Harry had been killed in an accident, Charles was later bishop of Puerto Rico, and Rupert a physician in Chattanooga. Colmore was very popular with the students, who called him General. He died in 1922, leaving the house to his daughter Dora. Both she and her sister Eva lived here. Dora, a famous cook, built a flourishing catering business during the Guerry regime. Eva died in 1948 and Dora lived on, an invalid for several years until her death in 1963. The house was rented in the summer for several years and was bought by Mrs. Jean Tallec in 1966. Mrs. Tallec, her daughter, Christi Ormsby, and the two Ormsby boys lived there until the home was burned down on December 16, 1971.

A modern home has since been built on the site by the Rev. Herbert Wentz, called the Wentz House.

]]>

C. Houston and Jessie Beaumont were next to live there. Houston Beaumont was executive vice president of Tennessee Consolidated Coal Company and Jessie was a local artist. She made “Belleek” porcelain and would show her creations at the spring and fall arts and crafts fair in Sewanee. Her specialty was Nativity scenes. Jessie began making Belleek porcelain at the insistence of her late son, known as “Bink,” who studied art at Saint Andrew’s School. Using his molds, she started the hobby and has perfected her craft through trial and error. She built a garage adjacent to this house to have a kiln room. She also has a talent for poetry and her book of poems, “Reflections in Rhyme” has been printed by the University Press. Many of the poems relate to childhood memories, others to seasons, one is on being a grandmother. In the late 1970s the couple moved to Destin, Florida, selling the house to the University. In 1984 Evelyn and William Brown Patterson bought the house. A Rhodes Scholar and professor of history at Davidson, Mr. Patterson became a dean of the University in 1980. Dean Patterson has been honored by the National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship for younger scholars; a first-year graduating fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies; the visiting fellowship at St. Edmund’s House, University of Cambridge; the Folger Shakespeare Library’s short term fellowship; and a fellowship from the University of Wisconsin’s Institute for research in the Humanities. Evelyn Patterson was also a scholar, educated in classics at Smith College and Harvard University.

]]>

Sewanee Office of Public Relations, personal communication, 1980.
]]>