The Pious Ladies slowly increased in numbers, keeping their school and struggling against poverty, all the time endeavoring to become established as members of the Visitation Order. At last their hope and ambition came to pass, and, in 1816, they were regularly established as the Georgetown Visitation Convent.
Across the street from the Convent grounds, a lovely big meadow until it was partly taken over in World War II for a housing project, are the Volta Bureau for the Deaf and two interesting houses.
Mrs. Gilbert Grosvenor, the daughter of Alexander Graham Bell, has very kindly given me this wonderful letter about them:
My grandfather, Alexander Melville Bell, lived on the corner of 35th Street and Volta Place in the house since occupied by Mr. Walter Lippman, (but not at present).
Following my father's removal to Washington in about 1879, his father and mother changed their residence from Brantford, Ontario, to Georgetown. With them were their three nieces, the Misses Symonds, who were my father's double cousins. At the back of the 35th Street property was an old stable which my father converted into a laboratory, and he carried on experiments there almost until the time of his death. He would come out nearly every afternoon to his laboratory and visit with his parents before returning home in the evening.
It was also our custom to have dinner with my grandfather and grandmother on Sundays. They were very jolly times and my grandfather always had a jar of candy for the grandchildren and games which we could all play. He was very popular with all the young people, being jolly, and looked a little like the usual idea of Santa Claus, with his gray beard and hair.
Shortly after my grandfather came to live in Georgetown, his brother, Mr. David Charles Bell and Mrs. Bell, followed him from Brantford to Washington and bought the house next door. With them at that time, keeping house for them, was Miss Aileen Bell. She was noted in the family as having turned down Bernard Shaw's offer of marriage in her young days, Bernard Shaw having been a great friend of her brother, Mr. Chichester Bell, and having visited with the family when they lived in Dublin, Ireland. Mr. David Bell had in his young days moved to Dublin to carry on the career of his father, Alexander Bell, as a teacher of elocution. His wife had a school for young ladies. Another son of the family was Mr. Charles J. Bell, later president of the American Security and Trust Company, who later married my mother's sister, Roberta Hubbard, and came to reside in Washington.
Mr. David Charles Bell was a very handsome man, but very irascible, and the young people were quite afraid of him. He and his brother had numerous vehement arguments as to whether Shakespeare or Bacon wrote Shakespeare's plays. My grandmother was eleven or twelve years older than her husband, so my grandfather did most of the marketing, and I understand it used to be quite a sight on Saturday morning to see the two old gentlemen, Mr. David and Mr. Melville Bell, going to market with baskets over their arms. Notwithstanding all their arguments, they were very devoted to each other.
Miss Aileen Bell was very musical and was one of the founders of the Friday Morning Music Club and other musical clubs. She was the organist and choir leader in Christ Church, Georgetown. She was always very punctilious in her attendance and I remember her talking about her church.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bell and their family also used to come out on Sundays to see their parents, but they usually came to supper. The family as a whole were very devoted. Mr. Chichester Bell, you may recall, was the co-inventor with my father and Mr. Tainter of the phonograph. The wax records that are used today are their invention and their company, the Columbia Phonograph Company, operated under their patents.