aes OS SGN oe Ss ¢ a + =a a a eer Gane Lin a een a incabeeet na re a ae rd ae a teeseet oo Ie onda S agar oe < ae SNe Lae Ase pelpiecedes eg heen ae oa cro ae. Cre aS cz Pin aris: ™) sere ae bes Srey sa0 en = Lp eh ers pease tog eee a fe ay en iss Pgh cle mena Sn epicearines ny ca — g 74 Cy CopyRIGHT, 1925 By CHESTER HALE SIPE PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY THE ZIEGLER PRINTING Co., IN« 117 E. NortH STREET BUTLER, Pa. ss Unis? Ca If not obtainable from your dealer, this book will be sent postpaid upon re- ceipt of one dollar by the author, Chester Hale Sipe, P. O. Box 536, Butler, Pa.— eee a MO RA I I I EN ———= Preface HE PURPOSE of this book is to tell clearly, con- cisely, and accurately the leading facts in George Washington's ancestry, his youth, his household, and his Mount Vernon Estate; and it is confidently assert- ed that more information concerning these subjects 1s siven herein than can be found elsewhere in a like space. The very gratifying reception given former editions of this work during the past year, and the many requests for a more detailed treatment of the subjects appearing in the former editions, are the reasons for the work now appearing in a larger form. Among the authorities consulted in the preparation of the volume are: Washington Irving’s “Life of Washington’, Schroeder-Lossing “Life of Washington”, Sparks’ “Life of Washington”, Headley’s “Life of Washington’, Headley’s “Washington and His Generals’, Snowden’s “Some Old Historic Landmarks of Vir- einia and Maryland”, Ford’s “True George Washington”, Wilstach’s “Mount Vernon”, | ossing’s “Mount Vernon’, and Callahan’s “Washington, The Man and Mason”. The volume is sent on its mission with the hope that its readers may be led to a more extensive study of the life of George Washington, of whom the great Gladstone said: “HETS THE RURESR FIGURING EI SiTi@ Raves CHESTER HALE SIPE, July, 1925 Butler, Pennsylvania.GONTENTS : Origin of the Name “Washington” Ancient Home of the Washingtons pee John Washington, the Immigrant 3 eee ; Lawrence Washington, Grandfather of the General Augustine, the Father of Washington Mary, the Mother of Washington The Brothers and Sisters of Washington Childhood and Youth of Washington The Young Surveyor Messenger to the French Forts Marriage and Household of Washington Early History of Mount Vernon later History of Mount Vernon... Be ees Last Days at Mount Vernon pn er Bs Past lOULS Ole WASNINOTONe ee Mt. Vernon’s Hallowed Tomb.................-.- ae Complete indexes Se ene Sn a eeeEIS OF TELO SiN AHONS Mount Vernon Mansion with Insets of George and Martha Washington sip ee Old Banneat Mount -Vernonee. eee Monument at Grave of Washington’s Mother. Betty Washington. :.225 2455 a eee Athenzum! Portrait of Washineton= === Portrait of the Washington Family Martha Washington lide! Bushrod Washincto nme ees Old Picture of Mount Vernon Rear View of Mount Vernon Mansion Old Tomb at Mount Vernon New Tomb at Mount Vernon........ ee es The Houdon Statue of Washington. 64 10ERRATA In line 6, page 18, read “1698” in- stead of “1798. In line 11, page 54, read, “Stafford County” instead of “Stratford Coun- tyes——————— Mount Vernon and the Washington Family Origin of the Name “Washington”’ The Washington family is of English origin. In the year 1183, the noble Knight, William de Hertburn, a Chevalier in the train of the Count Palatinate, Bishop of Durham, received a grant of the manor of Wessyngton, in the County of Durham in the northern part of England. As was usual in those days, the de Hertburn family took the name of the estate and was called de Wessyngton. By degrees the seignioral sign “de” disappeared from be- fore the family surname. In like manner the orthography of the surname passed through modifications of “Wessyng- ton”, “Wassington’”, “Weschington’’, and “Wasshington’, and eventually attained its familiar modern form of Washington. From this William de Hertburn, or de Wes- syngton, have descended the various branches of the Washington family in England and America. Although George Washington’s pedigree was one of which any person could be proud, yet he manifested very little interest in the same. His attitude toward the sub- ject of pedigree finds expression in the words of Daniel Webster: “No one but a shallow minded pretender would either make distinguished origin a matter of personal merit or obscure origin a matter of personal reproach.” After Washington was elevated to the presidency of the United States, he received a letter on the subject of his ancestry from Sir Isaac Heard, then Garter King at Arms in London, who was anxious to inquire into the family line of the great American. Washington replied 1]thanking Sir Isaac for the trouble he had taken in making the genealogical collections relative to the Washington Family, but stating: “This is a subject to which, | con- less, | have paid very little attention. My time has been so much occupied in the busy and active scenes of life, [rom an early period of it, that but a small portion could have been devoted to researches of this nature, even if my Inclination or particular circumstances should have prompted to the inquiry.” He was unable to trace his ancestry further than his great grandfather, the John Washington mentioned in an- other statement in his reply to the letter of Sir Isaac Heard: “In the year 1657, or thereabouts, and during the usurpation of Oliver Cromwell, John and Lawrence Washington, brothers, emigrated from the north of Eng- land, and settled at Bridges Creek on the Potomac in the County of Westmoreland. But from whom they descend- ed, the subscriber is possessed of no document to ascer- tana Ancient Home of the Washingtons Sulgrave Manor, in Northamptonshire, in the central part of England, was the home of some of George Wash- Ington’s remote ancestors for a number of generations In 1538 Lawrence Washington, of Gray’s Inn, who was at one time Mayor of Northampton, received a grant of the Manor of Sulgrave after Henry the Eighth’s dissolu- tion of the priories: Sulgrave, on account of its being the home of the Washington family, was called “Washington's Manor.” The Manor house is still standing and is visit- ed by thousands of tourists. Lawrence Washington, the first proprietor of Sulgrave Manor, was the great great-grandfather of the first ol 12Washington's ancestors to come to America. Huis _ son, Kobert Washington, of Sulgrave, was the father of lawrence Washington, also of Sulgrave; and _ this | awrence was the father of Reverend Lawrence Washing- ton, Rector of Purleigh, in Essex in the southeastern part of England, whose son John Washington, emigrated to the Colony of Virginia. lo such persons as may desire to trace George Wash- ington s paternal ancestry beyond Lawrence Washington, the first proprietor of Sulgrave Manor, it may be interest- ing to know that this Lawrence was the eldest son of John Washington, of Wharton, who was the son of John Washington, of Whitfield, in the County of Lancaster, whose father was John Washington, also of Whitfield. \mong Washington's English ancestors were man) persons of note—men who won fame as scholars and sol- diers. In addition to William de Hertburn, there were the following distinguished members of the Washington family in England William Washington, a loyal and de- voted defender of Henry the II]. in the wars of the Barons; Sir Stephen de Wessington, one of the Chevaliers of Edward II]; Sir William, of the Privy Council of Dur- ham; John the learned prior of the Benedictines, author of “De Juribus et Possessionibus Ecclesae Dunelm”™ | ieutenant-Colonel James \\ ashinegton, a loval subject of (Charles |. who died for his king at the siege of Pontefract: Joseph Washington, an eminent lawyer who _ translated one of Milton’s political treatises and a part of “Lucian’s Dialogues’; and Sir Henry Washington, famous for his daring at the storming of Bristol and the seige of Worces- ter. \s we shall find when we trace the history of Wash- ington’s American ancestors, the military qualities of the English Washingtons were perpetuated by their Ameri- 13can descendants, from the very first one who emigrated to the new world John Washington, the Immigrant As stated above, the first of the Washingtons to come to America, was John, son of Rev. Lawrence Washington. [he father was educated at Oxford, held the degree Master of Arts, and was rector of Purleigh to which parish a very good living was attached. He was a Royalist, and, in the political upheaval attendant upon the decline of the Stuart dynasty and the rise of the Puritan power, his fortunes waned. Finally the Puritan Parliament ejected him from his comfortable living, and he was obliged to serve as rector at Brixted Parva, a. parish where the living was “such a poor and miserable one that it was with difficulty that any one was persuaded to accept It.” [he rector with his good wife Amphillis Rhodes and their issue of six children now facing poverty, the eldest son John, the great-grandfather of the immortal George Washington, early left home, and later, with his wife and two children, emigrated from South Cave in the East Riding of Yorkshire, near the city of Beverly, in the northeastern part of England. Arriving in Virginia In 1658, he patented a large tract of land in Westmoreland County, a little over seventy miles down the Potomac from our present National Capital. His brother Lawrence and a sister also came to Virginia, but whether they accom- panied him or arrived shortly after 1s not clearly estab- lished. John Washington is known in history as “John Wash- ineton, the Immigrant’. He first settled on a plantation between the Rappahannock and the Potomac giving the name of “Washington” to the parish in which he resided. 14Soon after his arrival, his wife and two children died. In 1660, he married a second wife, Anne Pope, the daughter of a neighboring planter. Some authorities assert that she had been married before to Walter Brodhurst and was a widow at the time of her marriage to Washington \fter his second marriage, Mr. Washington took up his permanent residence at Bridges Creek, Westmoreland County, near where this stream flows into the Potomac on a plantation later named “Wakefield”. [he estate stretched along the Potomac more than a mile between Pope's and Bridge’s Creek, and consisted of more than one thousand acres “Wakefield” was destined to be the ancestral home ot the American Washingtons and the birthplace of George Washington. Here John Washington, “the |mmuigrant’, died in 1677, and here his dust reposes. Here were born all his children by his second marriage lawrence, the eldest, grandfather of George Washington, born in 1661; John, born in 1663; Elizabeth, born in 1665, and Anne, born in 1667. Here also reposes the dust of Lawrence Here all Lawrence’s children were born; John, born in 1692; Augustine, father of the Revolutionary General, born in 1694; and Mildred, born in 1696. Augustine’s dust, too, reposes in Wakefield's hallowed soil. tlere George Washington first saw the light of day on February, 22, 1732. (Old Styles kebuuany ul) a une family Bible contains the following record: “George Washington, son of Augustine and Mary, his wife, was born the I 1th day of ebru- ary, 1731-2, about 10 in the morning; and was baptized the 3” of April following: Mr. Beverly Whiting and Captain Christopher Brooks, God- fathers; and Mrs. Mildred Gregory, Godmother.” 15Mildred Gregory, the Godmother at Washington's baptism, was his aunt, a sister of his father. She was the wife of Roger Gregory. Not a vestige of the house in which George Washing- ton was born now remains. It was a primitive farmhouse of Virginia, having a steep roof which sloped down into low projecting eaves. It contained four rooms on the first floor, and others in the attic, and had an immense. chim- ney at each end. In it, as above stated, both his father and his grandfather were born. It was delightfully situ- ated about seventy miles down the Potomac from the Capital, commanding a beautiful view of the majestic and historic river and the Maryland shores beyond. A suitable monument, erected in 1895, now marks the spot where the house stood, but for many years the site was marked by a slab of freestone, lying horizontally, and placed there in June, 1815, by George Washington Parke Custis, bearing the following inscription: “Here THE 1ITH OF FEBRUARY, 1/32, GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS BORN. | \ final word as to John Washington, “the Immigrant . He became a man of wealth and prominence in the colony, taking a leading part in the commercial, political and military affairs of Virginia. He was an extensive planter and proprietor of several large plantations. In 1670 he and Nicholas Spencer became associated 1n an enterprise with the mother country in bringing one hundred settlers into the virgin wilds of the colony. In consideration ol the valuable services rendered to the colony in this pro- ject, he and Spencer received from | homas, Lord Cul- pepper a grant of five thousand acres of land on the Potomac between Dogue Run, or Epsewasson, and Little 16Hunting Creeks—a tract which was later divided between his heirs and the heirs of Spencer, as will be more fully shown when we relate the history of Mount Vernon, the part thereof allotted to the Washingtons since becoming known throughout the civilized world as “Mount Vernon on the Potomac’’, the home of George Washington and the shrine of America \bout 1665 he was elected to the LHouse of Burgesses and was commissioned a Colonel in the colonial militia. His most important military service consisted in leading an expedition of fifteen hundred Virginia and Maryland militia against a force of twenty-five hundred Indians of Virginia and Maryland who had committed outrages 1n Virginia and, when pursued, entrenched themselves with an allied tribe, on a high bluff overlooking the Potomac on the present site of Fort Washington. Colonel Washington dislodged the savages and drove them over “the great wall” into the valley of the Shennandoah L pon his death he willed the homestead at Wakefield and his share in the Epsewasson, or Mount Vernon tract, to his eldest son Lawrence, whose fortunes we shall nov trace. We shall make no effort to follow the diverging lines of descent through each of the children of John Washington “the Immigrant” but shall follow the direct line from him to the “Father of his Country’, digressing now and then as side lights of our narrative may require Lawrence Washington, Grandfather of the General lawrence lived on the ancestral plantation all his lite. He married Mildred, daughter of Colonel Augustine Warner, of Gloucester County, and died at Wakefield in March, 1698, at the early age of thirty-seven years. Hs 7children, as stated on page 15, were all born on the ancestral plantation; but only one of them, Augustine lather of the Revolutionary General, found a grave in its soll Lawrence Washington was a man of wealth. By _ his will probated March 30th, 1798, he divided the rest of his personal property after making a number of bequests to friends and relatives, equally among his wife and _ three children. He willed his real estate as follows lo his eldest son John he gave the ancestral home at Wakefield; to Mildred he gave his share in the twenty-five hundred acre tract on Hunting Creek, later known as Mount Vernon, and to Augustine he gave the rest of his landed estate After the death of Lawrence, his widow moved to [-ngland, where she married George Gale, of Whitehaven Cumberland County, at which place she died in January, 1701. In her will probated March 18th, 1701, she divided the rest of her estate equally among her husband and three children after first giving the husband a specific be- quest of one thousand pounds. The husband, who became her executor and the guardian of his three step-children, placed the two boys, John and Augustine Washington, in the school at Appleby, near his home In 1712 Mr. Gale emigrated to Maryland, bringing the step-children with him. A few years later John mar- ried Katherine Whiting, of Gloucester County, Virginia, where he settled on a plantation called “Highgate” on the Pianketank River. He became a colonel in the Virginia militia. He, like his ancestors, was a churchman, being a vestryman in Petsworth parish. He died on September Ist, 1746. His son, Warner, married Hannah, daughter of William Fairfax, of Belvoir, near Mount Vernon Mildred married first Roger Gregory, of Stafford 18County, Virginia, and second, Colonel Henry Willis, who founded the City of Fredericksburg \s the wife of Roger Gregory, she was the Godmother at the Baptism ot her nephew, George Washington. We shall now trace the history of Augustine Augustine, the Father of Washington \ugustine Washington, as stated above, was the second child of Lawrence Washington and his wite Mildred Warner. He resided on the ancestral plantation at Wakefield until 1735, having purchased this farm from his brother John of “Highgate” in Gloucester County [hen he moved to the Hunting Creek, or Mount Vernon estate, purchased from his sister Mildred, where he resided until 1739, in which vear he took up his abode on his Pine Grove” plantation on the Rappahannock Augustine Washington was twice married. His first wile was Jane, daughter of Caleb Butler, of Westmoreland County, whom he married on April 20, 1715, and who died at Wakefield on November 24, 1728. His second wite whom he married March 6, 1730, and who became the mother of George Washington, was Mary, the youngest daughter of Col. Joseph Ball, of Lancaster County, whose plantation was near the mouth of the Rappahannock By his first marriage, Augustine was the father of the following children Butler, born in 1716; Lawrence, born in 1718; Augustine, born in 1720, and Jane, born in 1722 \ll these children were born at Wakefield Augustine's children by his second marriage were George, born February 22nd, 1732; Elizabeth (Betty), born June 20, 1733; Samuel, born November 16, 1734; John Augustine, born January 13, 1736; Charles, born May 2, 1738, and Mildred, born June 21, 1739. 19George, Elizabeth, and Samuel were born at Wakefield: John Augustine, Charles and Mildred were born at Mount Vernon. \ugustine was a Virginia planter of the better class. He was a man of liberal attainments, having been educat- ed at Appleby School in England. He took an active part in the affairs of the Colony, and was a member of the House of Burgesses. His landed possessions were large, } CURTESY C. H CALLAHAN OLD BARN AT MOUNT VERNON Very likely built by Washington’s father, Augustine Washington Including the ancestral home at Wakefield, an estate on the east side of the Rappahannock, nearly opposite Fred- ericksburg, and the estate on the Potomac later called Mount Vernon. He was, in truth, a good man and deeply interested in the children’s moral and religious education, being devout- ly attached to the English Church. He was also a man ot strong mind, with great energy of purpose. In appearance, he was noble, with uncommon height, ?()and great muscular power. His thoughts and feelings were under the control of practical religion. On his death- bed he made the following utterance which honors his memory -1 thank God that, in all my life, I never struck a man in anger; for, 1f | had, | am sure that from my remarkable muscular powers | should have killed my antagonist, and then his blood, at this awful moment, would have lain heavily upon my soul. As it is, | die at peace with all mankind.” He died April 12, 1743, aged forty-nine years, on his “Pine Grove” plantation on the Rappahannock, to which the family had moved in 1739, as stated elsewhere; and his body was taken back to Wakefield, and placed in the ancestral vault His immortal son, who was Visiting his cousins, Robert and Lawrence Washington, at Chotank during the father’s fatal illness, reached home too late to hear his father utter a blessing, or a farewell, and just in time to receive a last feeble glance of recognition. Augustine's children living at the time of his death were lawrence and Augustine by his first wife, Jane Butler; and George, Elizabeth (Betty), John Augustine, Charles and Samuel, by his second wife, Mary Ball. He willed his estate as follows: lo Lawrence he gave the Hunting Creek, or Mount Vernon estate, and a tract of land on Maddox Creek in Westmoreland County. To Betty he gave two Negro children, with the provision that Lawrence was to pay her four hundred pounds in cash. To Augustine he gave the old homestead at Wakefield. To George he 2] gave his Pine Grove plantation on the Rappahannock. lo Samuel he gave six hundred acres of land on Cho- tank in Stafford County, together with an interest in land lying on Deep Run. To John Augustine he gave seven hundred acres of land on Maddox Creek, above named, and to Charles he gave seven hundred acres 1n Prince William County. The rest of his estate he divided between his wife, Mary Ball, and her children. He also gave her the crops then growing on his plantations at Wakefield, Pine Grove, and Chotank In a codicil to his will he gave George “one lot of land in the town of Fredericksburg.” Mary, the Mother of Washington \s said elsewhere, the mother of Washington was Mary, youngest daughter of Colonel Joseph Ball, of Lan- caster County, Virginia. She was born on the banks of the Rappahannock in 1707 or 1708, and grew into lovely womanhood amid the sylvan scenes of her birthplace. When she married Augustine Washington in 1730, she was so celebrated for her beauty that she was known as the ‘Rose of Epping Forest.” She was the mother of six children, whose names are siven elsewhere, and five of whom survived their father [he widowed mother was eminently qualified, by nature and religion, to fulfill all her duties to her family. She constantly sought to form the hearts and minds of her children according to the teachings of the New lesta- ment, and tradition tells that she frequently read to them select parts of Sir Matthew Hale’s “Contemplations, Moral and Divine,’ a work abounding in maxims of wisdom and piety. Therefore it was the lot of George 9?Washington to receive from his mother the advantages o a sound religious education \fter the death of her husband, she continued to reside on and manage the Rappahannock plantation until 1775 when her son George bought her a house 1n l-redericksburg neal “Kenmore”, the resi- dence of her daughter Betty , the wife of! % Colonel Fielding Lewis = Here she spent the re- ; mainder otf her days \fter her more than illustrious son had reached the highest pinnacle of fame in having led the Patriot Armies to Victor) through the fire and blood of the Revolu- tionary War, she said to Lafayette, “I am not surprised at what George has done: he was always a vood be )\ g mas SI ‘ 5 ‘ | ie rec : | Share "A 12 t In | Jecember, | 4 onF 5, 1789 Washington visited his mother in Fredericksburg. He had just resigned his com- mission as Commander-in-Chief of the American armies, and, as a private citizen, had come to pay a visit to his mother and the friends of his childhood. Military and civic )3organizations turned out to do him honor. There were parades and the booming of cannon. The ceremonies were closed by a grand ball, which has gone down into history as the “peace ball”. The mother of Washington attended, accompanied by her son, now the foremost man on the American continent. On the occasion of this visit he made an address in which he spoke of the honored matron as “my revered mother, by whose maternal hand, early deprived of a father, | was led to manhood.” She passed away August 25, 1789, and is buried within sight of her home in Fredericksburg, at a beautiful spot where she spent many hours in reading, meditation and prayer, in the latter years of her life. Above her grave ts a granite monument, fifty feet high, bearing the simple Inscription: “MARY, THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON” George Washington was not present at the time of her death, being at the seat of government in New York City Shortly before his departure from Mount Vernon in April, 1789, to take up his duties as the first president of the United States, he paid a visit to his mother, when he then saw her for the last time. Upon hearing of her death, he wrote thus to his sister, Betty: “Awtul and affecting as the death of a parent is, there is consolation in knowing that Heaven has spared ours to an age beyond which few attain, and favored her with full enjoyment of her faculties, and as much bodily strength as usually falls to the lot of four score. Under these circumstances, and in the hope that she 1s translated to a happier place, it is the duty of her 24relatives to yield submission to the decree of the Creator. When I was last at Fredericksburg, | took a final leave of my mother, never expect- Ing to see her more.” The Brothers and Sisters of Washington As shown elsewhere, George Washington had_ three brothers of the half-blood and one sister of the half- blood; also three brothers of the full-blood and two sisters of the full-blood. The dates of their birth have already been told. All of them preceded him in death. On learn- ing of the death of his brother, Charles, in the autumn of 1799, whom he survived but a short time, he said ol was the first and am now the last of my father’s children, of the second marriage, who remain. When I shall be called upon to follow them is known only to the Giver of Life. When the summons comes | shall endeavor to obey It with good grace.” His half-brother, Butler, died in childhood, at Wake- field, and his half-sister, Jane, died at Mount Vernon on January 17, 1735, in her thirteenth year. His full-sister, Mildred, died October 23, 1740, on the father’s ‘Pine Grove’ plantation on the Rappahannock, aged a little more than one year. All the other brothers and sisters of both the half-blood and full-blood reached maturity. Washington’s half brother, Major Lawrence \\ ashing- ton, was a man of much prominence in the Colony of Virginia. He was one of the organizers of the “Ohio Company” formed for the purpose of exploring and settling the western country along the Ohio River. Fif- teen years older than George, he took the place of a father to the fatherless boy. He inherited Mount Vernon, upon the death of the father, which he named in honor of 5i BETTY WASHINGTON, SISTER OF THE GENERAL She married Colone] Fielding Lewis, of Fredericksburg She was striking] her brother in face and form Died March 31, 1797. 0\dmiral Vernon, under whom he had fought at Cartagena in South America, and it was his home from 1743 until his death. He married Anne, eldest daughter of Hon. William Fairfax, July 19, 1743. George took up his permanent residence with him here in the autumn of 1747 Nevel strong physically, his health gave way while yet in young manhood, and 1n 1751, accompanied by George, he went to the Island of Barbadoes in search of health. During their stay on the island, George contracted smallpox, which left his face pitted for life. Lawrence’s search for health was In vain, and he hurried home by way of Bermuda in the summer of 1752 “in time to die under his own roof, (July 26, 1752), surrounded by his family and friends.” He was laid to rest in the family burying ground at Mount Vernon by the side of his three infant children, and thei bodies were later placed In the old vault lo his half-brother, Augustine, in the only letter that now remains, Washington wrote: “The pleasure of your company at Mount Vernon always did and always will afford me infinite satisfaction.” This letter is signed “Your most affectionate brother.” Augustine married \nn Aylett in 1743, and died in 1760 at Wakefield, where he is buried His sister Betty was strikingly like him in face and figure. She married Colonel Fielding Lewis, as_ stated elsewhere. Between her and Washington there existed a strong attachment. During the Revolutionary War, she wrote him thus: “Oh, when will that day arrive when we shall meet again. Trust the Lord it will be soon,—till then you have the prayers and kind wishes for yout health and happiness of your loving and sincerely affec- tionate sister.” Her husband was a man of large fortune and great prominence in the Colony. During the Revolu- 7 mftion, the Virginia Assembly appointed him Chief Commis- sioner for the Manufacture of Small Arms. Washington was a frequent visitor at ““Kenmore’, the home of the Lewises, at Fredericksburg. Betty Lewis died, March 31, 1797, while visiting her daughter at Western View, Cul- pepper County, Virginia, and is buried at that place. Samuel, the eldest of his brothers of the full blood, seems to have had extravagant tendencies, which got him into pecuniary difficulties. He made many requests for loans from his brother which seem to have been always eranted. It is clear that these requests were annoying to George. In 1781, he wrote to another brother, ‘In God's name how did my brother Samuel get himself so enor- mously in debt’’”’ These loans were not paid back at the time of George Washington’s death, and, in his will, he discharged the estate of Samuel from obligation to pay them. Samuel first temporarily resided in Westmoreland County, but about the year 1768, he moved to the Valley of Virginia, taking up his abode in Berkeley (now Jeffer- son) County, West Virginia, where he died on his planta- tion called ‘“‘Harewood” in 1781, where he is buried. He was a vestryman in Norborne Parish and a member of the Justice Court in 1771. He also served in the Revolution- ary War, as Colonel. Samuel was married five times. His first wife was Jane Champe; the second, Mildred Thornton; the third, Lucy Chapman; the fourth, Anne Allerton, and the fifth, Susanna Perrin. Washington’s brother Charles at first resided in West- moreland County, and in 1768 moved, like Samuel, to Berkely (now Jefferson) County, West Virginia, where he built a mansion called ‘““Mordington.” He took a promi- nent part in the affairs of his adopted county. In 1786, he and several associates founded the City of Charlestown, 28West Virginia, which was located on his land and named for him. Charles married Mildred Thornton He died at ““Mordington” in 1799, just a few months prior to the death of his illustrious brother. His dust reposes at \Miordington”’ His full-brother John Augustine, Washington describes In his will as “the intimate companion of my _ youth, and the friend of my ripened age.”” With this brother he always corresponded, addressing him affectionately as “Dear Jack” and signing himself “Your loving brother’. While Washington was away from Mount Vernon during the French and Indian War he left the plantation in charge of this brother. They frequently visited each other, and during one of the darkest periods of the Revolutionary War, Washington wrote him as follows: ‘‘God grant you health and happiness. Nothing in this world would con- tribute so much to mine as to be with you.” When John \ugustine died in 1787, George Washington wrote in his diary his undisguised grief over the death of “my beloved brother’. John Augustine married Hannah Bushrod: died at Bushfield on Nomini Creek, Westmoreland County, Virginia, in February, 1787, where he is buried. As will be seen elsewhere, George Washington provided in his will that Mount Vernon, after the death of Mrs. Wash- ington, should descend to John Augustine’s son, Bushrod Washington Childhood and Youth of Washington Until he was about three years old, Washin2ton resid- ed with his parents at the ancestral home at Wakefield. when the family, “on account of sickness,” took up their abode on the Epsewasson, or Hunting Creek estate, later called Mount Vernon, then in Prince Wil lam (now Fair- 0)fax) County. Here they dwelt until 1739, when they moved to the father’s plantation called “Pine Grove’ on the Rappahannock, where the father passed to eternal rest in April, 1743. Upon the death of his father, Washington went to live with his half-brother Augustine, who had married the wealthy Ann Aylett and was now residing on the old homestead at Wakefield. After a time, he returned to his mother, who still resided, after the father’s death, on the plantation on the Rappahannock Later in the autumn of 1747, he came to Mount Vernon to reside with his other half-brother, Lawrence, now the owner of that estate. who had married Anne, daughter of William Fairfax From this time Mount Vernon was his home. However, during his residence with his mother on the Rappahannock plantation, he made man) extended visits to his half-brothers Augustine at Wakefield and Lawrence at Mount Vernon While residing with his half-brother Augustine at Wakefield. he attended a school several months in_ the year, kept near that place by a certain Williams; and while residing with his mother on_ the Rappahannock plantation, he attended a school at Fredericksburg, kept by the Reverend James Marye. His favorite study was mathematics. He learned surveying, became a _ licensed surveyor of Westmoreland County, and followed the pro- fession for four years (1747-1751). During the year 1748 he assisted in the work of surveying the vast estates ol Chomas. Lord Fairfax, which lay beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. His instructors in sur\ eying were his half-brother Lawrence and his friend, George William Fairfax. Historians almost universally make the statement that Washington never studied any language except English, 3()but there is in existence a copy of Patricks Latin transla- tion of Homer, printed in 1742, on the fly-leaf of which is Written. In a round schoolboy hand, the tollowineg Hune WI~!? Gude SO ( bi Mlé | iT ) Lib: lim [Re dd §2 jorsan tenues repertun [ l bY las Gul $71771 Wait. / aude bY 1ptuii Est mihi nomen (;EORGIO \\ ASHINGTON (GEORGE WASHINGTON l-REDERICKSBUR‘ VIRGINIA. lt would seem. therefore that while attendin2 Reverend Marve’s School at EKredericksburg,. he must have studied the elements of Latin \s proots of his diligence as a student, manuscripts written by him in boyhood exhibit studies in geometry and trigonometry | hey are models of neatness. [| here still exist, also, specimens of his ornamental penmanship and fancy pen-sketch creations of birds. [here is also in existence a manuscript book of notes, bills of exchange bonds, deeds, etc , which he wrote at the age of thirteen to familiarize himself with proper forms for transacting busi- Ness But his studes as a boy were not all for the purpose ot acquiring intellectual attainments. He educated the heart as well as the head. He collected and copied in one of his manuscripts, “Rules of Behavior in Company and Con- versation. Among these rules are the following: “Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another, though he were your enemy.’ “Let your discourse with men of business be short and comprehensive.” 3 |“Wherein you reprove another, be unblam- able yourself.” “Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the disparagement of an) “In your apparel be modest, and endeavor to accommodate nature rather than to procure ad- miration. ‘Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation.” “Speak not ill of the absent for it 1s unjust.” “Let your recreations be manful, not sinful.” “Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called Conscience. ™ [hese and similar maxims he made a part of himself. Among his favorite recreations as a boy were lifting and throwing heavy weights, jumping with a pole, and wrestling. He was also noted for his fleetness in running foot races with his school fellows, and tradition says he surpassed them all in this sport. It is also said that so great was the power of his right arm in youth that he would often throw a stone across the Rappahannock at the lower ferry of Fredericksburg—a wonderful feat. As a horseman, also, he was unsurpassed. In 1746 an incident happened in the life of Washing- ton which is worthy of notice from its important bearing on his future. We refer to his purpose to join the British navy. His half-brother Lawrence, at that time a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and adjutant-general of his district, had served under Admiral Vernon and General Wentworth. A midshipman’s warrant, obtained through Lawrence’s influence, was put into the hands of the fourteen year old George, much to his delight. He made arrangements at once to embark on a man-ot-war 32then riding in the Potomac, and his baggage was put on the ship. All that remained to be done before his de- parture was to receive the approbation and blessing of his mother. But the mother did not take kindly to the idea of having her son, so young in years, taken away from her, perhaps forever. Also her brother Joseph in London, whose counsel she sought, urgently advised her against the navy as a fit place for her son. She refused her consent to the separation from her, and George unmurmuringly yielded to his mother’s wishes. Who will say that the Unceen was not present in the sympathies of that incident+ He who controls the fates of men had a higher service 1n reserve for this noble boy. As stated on page 30, George’s half-brother, Lawrence, married Anne, eldest daughter of Hon. William Fairfax [he fine estate of Belvoir, five miles down the Potomac from Mount Vernon, was the Fairfax home Hon. William Fairfax was a man of learning and culture. He had been Chief Justice of the Bahamas. The alliance of Lawrence with a daughter of such a person opened the way for George’s acquaintance with the Fairfax family, and later his close friendship with William Fairfax’s cousin, Thomas, the sixth Lord Fairfax, a man of educa- tion and great moral worth, a graduate of Oxford Univer- SIty. Lord Fairfax was a man of wealth and had formerly moved in the best circles of English society; but having been disappointed in-an affair of the heart, he sought seclusion in the forests of Virginia on the estates he had inherited from his mother. After coming to the colony he resided for some time with his cousin at Belvoir, en- joying its cultured atmosphere and participating with relish in the pastimes (mostly fox-hunting) of the local ventry. Later he took up his residence on a domain which 33he named “Greenway Court,” 1n the Shennandoah Valley, thirteen miles south of Winchester, Virginia. Here he died shortly after he heard the news of the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown—tidings that hastened his end: for despite his triendship tor Washington, he continued to the last hour of his life of ninety-two years, a loyal sub- ject of the King. Hs last words were spoken to his body- servant: Come, joe, carry me to bed: tor | m sure tis high time for me to die.””. His body was deposited under the chancel of the Episcopal Church at Winchester. When the young Washington first met Lord Fairfax, the latter had just come to Virginia, at the age of fifty- seven, to reside on his domain, and was at that time an Inmate at Belvoir. In the Belvoir Mansion at that time, also, was Hon. William Fairfax’s highly educated eldest son, George William, then about twenty-two years old, with his bride and her sister, accomplished daughters of Colonel Cary, of Virginia. In almost daily society of such persons, young Wash- ington enjoyed rare opportunities for intellectual growth and social culture. They appreciated his character, and he won their esteem. Lord Thomas especially became particularly attached to him. He and George were both fond of the chase, and were companions on many a fox hunt in the fields and forests of northern Virginia Beautiful Belvoir Mansion with its wide verandas was burned in the early part of the Revolution, and scarcely a brick remains to show where it stood. Hon. William Fairfax, the owner, and his wife, Deborah Clark, sleep in unknown graves in the edge of the forest near the location of their former home. Their son, George William, and his wife went to England just before the Revolution. Both died in the City of Bath, he in 1787 and she in ISI. 34FAMOUS ATHENAZUM PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON By Gilbert Stuart Stuart said that there were features in Washington’s face totally different from what he ever observed in the face of any other human being, the sockets for the eycs, yeing larger than any he had ever seen before. 35Washington carried throughout life the fondest recol- lections of his associations with the cultured family at Belvoir. After he returned to Mount Vernon at the close of the Revolution he wrote: “It 1s a matter of sore regret, when | cast my eyes towards Belvoir, which | often do, to reflect that the former inhabitants of it, with whom we lived in such harmony and friendship, no longer reside there, and that the ruins can only be viewed as the mem- entos of former pleasures. [he youthful Washington was not free from the throbbings of the tender passion. In one of his early manuscripts are found plaintive breathings of this nature, uttered for the relief of his “poor restless heart.’’ The ob- ject of his attachment was a “Lowland beauty,’ but what her name was will likely remain a matter of speculation. Some authorities contend that she was Miss_ Betsy Fauntleroy; others, Miss Mary Bland; and others, Miss Lucy Grimes, who became the mother of General Henry Lee, the famous “Light Horse Harry” of the Revolution. He was also said to have been an admirer of Miss Sally Fairfax, but there were three Sally Fairfaxes. First, there was the wife of his friend George William Fairfax, who as Sally Cary, had married young Fairfax in 1748. Second, there was Sally (Sarah) Fairfax, daughter of Colonel William Fairfax, who married Major John Carlyle of Alexandria, while Washington was still attending school. Third, there was Sally Fairfax, daughter of Bryan, eldest son of Honorable William Fairfax. Just which one of the three was the object of Washington’s tender regard will likely never be known. His name has also been connected with Miss Mary Cary, sister of the Sally Cary, who married George William Fairfax. He mentions both her and the “Low- 30)land Beauty” in an undated letter to a certain ‘Dear Robin’, evidently his cousin, Robert Washington, of Chotank: ‘My place or residence 1s at present at his lordships (Belvoir) where | might, was my heart disengaged, pass my time very pleasantly, as there's a very agreeable young lady in the same house (Mary Cary). But as that’s only adding fuel to fire, 1t makes me the more uneasy, tor by often and unavoidably being 1n company with her revives my former passion for your lowland Beauty; whereas, was | to live more retired from young women, | might eleviate in some measure my sorrows by burying that chaste and troublesome passion in the grave of oblivion or eternal forgetfulness, for as | am very well assured, that’s the only antidote or remedy that | ever shall be relieved by or only recess that can administer any cure or help to me, as | am well convinced, was | ever to attempt anything, | should only get a denial which would be only adding grief to uneasiness.’ Many authorities believe the “Lowland Beauty” was lucy Grimes, and if she actually was this lady, an ex- planation is thus afforded why Washington always regard- ed her famous son, “Light Horse Harry Lee’, with such particular favor—the great Virginian, soldier, orator and member of Congress from Washington’s Congressional district, who at the request of Congress, delivered the funeral oration on the death of Washington before that body assembled in the German Lutheran Church in Phila- delphia on December 26, 1799, in which he declared him 37to be “First in war, first 1n peace, and first 1n the hearts of his countrymen.’ —words that will thunder down the centuries until the end of time However, General Fitzhugh Lee, a great grandson of Lucy Grimes, believed that he satisfactorily identified the ‘Lowland Beauty” as Betsy Fauntleroy in his discovery of the following letter written by Washington to William Fauntleroy, Sr May 20, 1752 “To Wm. Fauntleroy, Sr Salih | should have been down long before this, but my business in Frederick detained me some- what longer than | expected and immediately upon my return from thence | was taken with a violent pleurice (pleurisy) which has reduced me very low; but purpose as soon as | recover mj) strength to wait on Miss Betsy in hopes of a re- vocation of the former cruel sentence, and see if | can meet with any alteration in my favor. | have enclosed a letter to her, which should be much obliged to you for the delivery of it. | have nothing to add but my best respts (respects ) to your good lady and family. GEORGE WASHINGTON. Betsy Fauntleroy was the only daughter of William Fauntleroy whose plantation was at Naylor’s Hold on the Rappahannock. She was born June 20, 1730. [hough the historian labors in vain to indentify the “lowland Beauty,” her memory will dwell sweetly in the heart of the world, with that of her illustrious lover until time shall be no more. Young George received military instruction. Two of his half-brother Lawrence’s old comrades, Adjutant Muse 38and Jacob VanBraam, were employed by Lawrence to 1n- struct the youthful Washington in the arts and artifices o1 war. Says Washington Irving in his classic Life of Washington “Under the tutelage of these veterans Mount Vernon, from being a quiet rural retreat, where Washington, three years previously, had indited love dit- ties to his ‘Lowland Beauty, was suddenly transformed into a school of arms, as he practiced the manual exercise with Adjutant Muse or took lessons on the broadsword from VanBraam. The Young Surveyor \s stated on page 30, Washington assisted in the work of surveying the vast estates of Lord Fairfax in 1/748 Accompanied by Hon. William Fairfax son, George William, he set forth on this hazardous expedition in March, 1748, just after he entered upon his seventeenth year. [hey crossed the South Branch of the Potomac and the Allegheny mountans, and entered the Shennandoah Valley. Ihe privations and experiences of this expedi- tion he recorded in a journal written by him at the time We quote the following extracts giving pictures of the scenes through which he passed: ‘March 13th (1748). Rode to his lordship’s quarter \bout four miles higher up the river Shennandoah, we went through most beautiful groves of sugar-trees, and spent the best part of the day 1n admiring the trees, and the richness of the land “14th. We sent our baggage to Captain Hite’s near Fredericktown, and went ourselves down the river about sixteen miles—the land exceedingly rich all the way, pro- ducing abundance of grain, hemp, and tobacco—in order to lay off some land on Cate’s Marsh and Long Marsh. 39“15th. Worked hard till night, and then returned. After supper we were lighted into a room; and I, not being so good a woodsman as the rest, stripped myself very orderly and went into the bed, as they called it, when, to my surprise, | found it to be nothing but a little straw matted together, without sheet or anything else but only one threadbare blanket, with double its weight of vermin. | was glad to get up and put on my clothes and lie as my companions did. Had we not been very tired, | am sure we should not have slept much that night. | made a promise to sleep so no more, choosing rather to sleep in the open air before a fire. “18th. We traveled to Thomas Berwick’s on_ the Potomac, where we found the river exceedingly high by reason of the great rains that had fallen among the Alle- ghenies. They told us it would not be fordable for sev- eral days, it being now six feet higher than usual, and ris- ing. We agreed to stay till Monday. We this day called to see the famed Warm Springs. We camped out in the field this night. “20th. Finding the river not much abated we in the evening swam our horses over to the Maryland side. “21st. We went over in a canoe, and traveled up the Maryland side all day, in a continued rain, to Colonel Cresap’s over against the mouth of the South Branch, about forty miles from our place of starting in the morn- ing, and over the worst road, | believe, that ever was trod by man or beast. “23rd. Rained till about 2 o’clock, and then cleared up, when we were agreeably surprised at the sight of more than thirty Indians coming from war, with only one scalp. We had some liquor with us, of which we gave them a part. This, elevating their spirits, put them in the humor of dancing. We then had a war dance. After clearing a 40)large space and making a great fire in the middle, the men seated themselves around it, and the speaker made a grand speech, telling them in what manner they were to dance. After he had finished, the best dancer jumped up as one awakened from sleep and ran and jumped about the ring in a most comical manner. He was followed by the rest. Then began their music, which was performed with a pot half full of water and a deerskin stretched tight over it, and a gourd with some shot in it to rattle, and a piece of horse’s tail tied to it to make it look fine One person kept rattling and another drumming all the while they were dancing. “25th. Left Cresap’s and went up the mouth of Pat- tersons creek [here we swam our horses over the Potomac, and went over ourselves in a canoe, and traveled fifteen miles, where we camped. “26th. Traveled up to Solomon Hedge’s, Esquire, one of his Majesty’s Justices of the Peace in the county ol Frederick, where we camped. When we came to supper, there was neither a knife on the table nor a fork, to eat with; but, as good luck would have it, we had knives of our OWN. “28th. Traveled up the South Branch—having come to that river yesterday—about thirty miles to Mr. J. R.’s (horse-jockey), and about seventy miles from the mouth of the river. “20th. This morning went out and surveyed 500 acres of land. Shot two wild turkeys. “30th. Began our intended business of laying off lots. “April 2d. A blowing, rainy night. Our straw, upon which we were lying, took fire; but | was luckily preserved by one of our men’s awakening when it was in a flame. We have run off four lots this day. “4th. This morning Mr. Fairfax left us with the 1n- + |tention to go down to the mouth of the river. We = sur- veyed two lots and were attended with a great company of people—men, women, and children—who followed us through the woods, showing their antic tricks | hey would never speak English, but when spoken to they all spoke Dutch. This day our tent was blown down by the violence of the wind “oth. The last night was so intolerably smoky that we were obliged to leave our tent to the mercy ol the wind and fire. Attended this day by the aforesaid company. 7th. This day one of our men killed a wild turkey that weighed twenty pounds. We surveyed 1,500 acres of land and returned to Vanmeter’s about | o'clock. I took my horse and went up to see Mr. Fairfax. We slept in Cassey’s house, which was the first night I had slept in a house since we came to the Branch. “Sth. We breakfasted at Cassey’s and rode down to Vanmeter’s to get our company together, which, when we had accomplished, we rode down below the Trough to lay off lots there. The Trough is a couple of ledges of moun- tains, impassable, running side by side for seven or eight miles and the river between them. You must ride round the back of the mountains to get below them. We camp- ed in the woods and after we had pitched our tent and made a large fire, we pulled out our knapsack to recruit ourselves. Every one was his own cook. Our spits were forked sticks, our plates were large chips. As for dishes, we had none. “10th. We took our farewell of the Branch and traveled over hills and mountains to Coddy’s, on Great Cacapheon, about forty miles. “12th. Mr. Fairfax got safe home; and [| to my brother’s house at Mount Vernon; which concludes my journal.” +2On July 20, 1749, Young Washington procured a com- mission from the president of William and Mary College appointing him a public surveyor of Westmoreland Coun- ty [he original record of his appointment 1s still extant His experience as a surveyor in the forests and moun- tains of Virginia established his reputation as a youth of energy, ability and integrity He might have lingered among the social pleasures of Mount Vernon and Belvotr, for his society was the delight of his half-brother, Law- rence, and he was always welcome at Belvoir; but he made the manly choice to fulfill the duties of his chosen occupa- tion as a land surveyor—an employement that yielded him rich returns in developing his vigorous frame and acquainting him with the habits and opinions of the sturdy yeomanry of the backwoods. While making his surveys he frequently visited his old friend, Lord Fairtax, at “Greenway Court” and availed himself of the use of the latter's well-selected library Messenger to the French Forts In 1753, Washington, then a Major in the Virginia militia, was sent by Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia to the commandant of the French Forts on the headwaters of the Allegheny river, bearing the governor's message de- manding that the French withdraw their forces from the territory claimed by the English. This was a_ perilous journey through more than five hundred miles of wilder- ness among hostile Indians and in the dead of winter. Among his companions on this journey were his old fenc- ing master, Van Braam, and Christopher Gist. Van- Braam acted:as French interpreter, and Mr. Gist, an experienced scout and backwoodsman, as guide. On the return trip, Washington had two thrilling adventureswhich are told in every school history in the United States —the first when he was fired upon by an Indian, near the present site of Evans City, Butler County, Pennsylvania, and the second when he was almost drowned in the Allegheny river within the present limits of Pittsburgh. We quote the following extracts from his journal telling in his own words the account of these adventures: “The day following, December 27, 1753, just after we had reached a place called Murdering Town (where we in- tended to quit the path and steer across the country for Shannopin’s Town), we fell in with a party of French In- dians who had lain in wait for us. One of them fired at Mr. Gist or me not fifteen steps off but fortunately missed. We took this fellow into custody and kept him until about 9 o'clock at night, then let him go and walked all the re- maining part of the night without making any stop that we might get the start so far as to be out of the reach of their pursuit the next day, since we were well assured they would follow our track as soon as it was light. “The next day we continued traveling until quite dark, and got to the river (Allegheny) about two miles above Shannopin’s. We expected to find the river frozen, but it was not, only about fifty yards from each shore. The ice, | suppose, had broken up above for it was driving in vast quantities. “There was no way for getting over but on a raft which we set about with but one poor hatchet and finished just after sunsetting. This was a whole day's work; we next sot it launched then went on board of it and set off. But before we were half way over we were jammed in the ice in such a manner that we expected every moment our raft to sink and ourselves to perish. | put out my setting pole to try to stop the raft that the ice might pass by, when the rapidity of the stream threw it with so-much 44violence against the pole that 1t jerked me out into ten feet of water, but | fortunately saved myself by catching hold of one of the raft logs. Notwithstanding all our efforts we could not get to either shore but were obliged as We were near an island to quit our raft and make to it. ‘The cold was so extremely severe that Mr. Gist had all his fingers and some of his toes frozen, and the water was shut up so hard that we found no difficulty in getting off the island on the ice in the morning and went to Mr. Fraziers. We met here with twenty warriors who were going to the southward to war, but coming to a place on the head of the Great Kenhawa where they found seven people killed and scalped (all but one woman with very light hair), they turned about and ran back for fear the inhabitants would rise and take them as the authors of the murder. I hey report that the bodies were lying about the house and some of them much torn and eaten by the hogs. By the marks which were left they say they were French Indians of the Ottaway nation who did it. “As we intended to take horses here and it required some time to find them, | went up about three miles to the mouth of the Youghiogheny to visit Queen Aliquippa, who had expressed great concern that we passed her in going to the fort. [| made her a present of a matchcoat and a bottle of rum, which latter was thought much the better present of the two. ‘Tuesday, the Ist day of January, (1754), we left Mr. I-razier's house and arrived at Mr. Gist’s, at Mononga- hela, the second, where | bought a horse and saddle. The sixth, we met seventeen horses loaded with materials and stores for a fort at the Fork of the Ohio, and the day after some families going out to settle. This day we arrived at Wills Creek, after as fatiguing a journey as it 45is possible to conceive, rendered so by excessive bad weather “From the first day of December to the fifteenth there was not one day on which it did not rain or snow 1n- cessantly, and throughout the whole journey we met with nothing but one continued series of cold, wet weather, which occasioned very uncomfortable lodgings, especially after we had quitted our tent, which was some screen from the inclemency of It. On the eleventh, | got to Belvoir where I stopped one day to take necessary rest, and then set out and arrived in Williamsburg the sixteenth, where | waited upon his Honor the Governor, with the letter | had brought from the French commandant, and to give an account of the success of my proceedings.” [his expedition was the foundation of Washington's fortunes. It showed him to be a youth of wonderful tact, sagacity, and self reliance. From now on, he was the rising hope of the Colony of Virginia. Van Braam also accompanied Washington on the first campaign of the French and Indian War, and was the interpreter when Washington was compelled to surrender to the French at Fort Necessity, July 4, 1754, in the moun- tains near Uniontown, Pennsylvania—his first and only) surrender. His limited knowledge of French in translating a certain word in the articles of capitulation as “death” in- stead of “assassination” laid Washington under the charge of having admitted that his force had “‘assassinated” Jum- onville, the leader of the French, who was killed in the first engagement of that long and bloody war—a battle in which Washington is said to have fired the first gun. [his engagement took place in an almost inaccessible rocky glen in the Allegheny mountains near Uniontown, Pennsyl- vanla. 46[It not being the purpose of the author to write a com- plete biography of our principal subject, we now take leave of the youthtul Washington Marriage and Household of Washington Washington was married on January 6, 1759, to Martha Dandridge Custis, widow of Colonel Daniel Parke Custis, of York County, Virginia. Most histor- Gen. Washinetor1 \Iirs. Washingtor Geo. W. P. Custis Nellie Custis Wm. Lee SAVAGE’S PICTURE OF THE WASHINGTON FAMILY lans state that the marriage was solemnized at the “White House,” the home of the bride on the Pamunky River in New Kent County, while others give St. Peter’s Church, nearby, as the place of the nuptials. The first three months of their married life were spent at the “White House,” after which they took up their residence at Mount Vernon. Martha Washington was the daughter of Colonel } iJohn Dandridge, of New Kent County, Virginia. She had married Daniel Parke Custis at the age of seventeen, and had been a widow a little over two years when she married Washington. She was the most wealthy woman in_ the Colony of Virginia, having a large landed estate and thirty thousand pounds sterling, together with numerous slaves. Washington met his future wife when making a jour- ney on military business to Williamsburg, the capital of the Colony of Virginia, in the spring of 1758. His biographer, Washington Irving, tells the story of this first meeting as follows: “He set off promptly on horse-back attended by Bishop, the well-trained military servant, who had served the late General Braddock. It proved an eventful jour- ney, though not in a military point of view. In crossing a ferry of the Pamunkey, a branch of the York River, he fell in company with a Mr. Chamberlayne, who lived in the neighborhood, and who, in the spirit of Virginian hos- pitality, claimed him as a guest. It was with difficulty Washington could be prevailed on to halt for dinner, so impatient was he to arrive at Williamsburg, and accom- plish his mission. ‘Among his guests at Mr. Chamberlayne’s was a young and blooming widow, Mrs. Martha Custis, daughter of Mr. John Dandridge, both patrician names in the prov- ince. Her husband, John Parke Custis, had been dead about three years, leaving her with two young children, and a large fortune. She is represented as being rather below the middle size, but extremely well shaped, with an agreeable countenance, dark hazel eyes and hair, and those frank, engaging manners, so captivating in South- ern women. We are not informed whether Washington had met with her before; probably not during her widow- 45hood, as during that time he had been almost continually on the frontier ‘It was not until the next morning that he was a the saddle, spurring for Williamsburg. Happily the \White House, the residence of Mrs. Custis, was in New Kent County, at no great distance from that city, so that he had opportunities of visiting her in the intervals of business. On July 20, 1758, when on his way to join the army O} General Forbes, which was advancing against the French at Fort Duquesne, he wrote the following love letter t Mrs. Custis from Fort Cumberland “To Martha Custis “We have begun our march for the Ohio \ courier is starting for Williamsburg, and | em » brace the opportunity to send a few words to one whose life is now inseparable from mine. ince that happy hour when we made our pledges to each other, my thoughts have been continually eoing to you as to another sell That an All Poweriul Providence may keep us both in safety is the prayer of your ever faithful and ever affec- tionate friend, G. Washington. Mrs. Custis was the mother of four children Frances, Daniel, John Parke and Martha Parke, “Patsy”, was affectionately called. Only John Parke and “Patsy were living at the time of their mothers marriage to Washington. Frances and Daniel had died young, and were first buried in Marsden Cemetery near the White House. Later their bodies were removed to, Bruton Churchyard in Williamsburg. John Parke and —Patsy™ 1)were brought to Mount Vernon, and Washington became their guardian. “Patsy” was a delicate child. As she grew to girl- hood she developed epilepsy. In 1769 Washington took her over the mountains to the “Warm Springs” in the hope that she might receive benefit from the health-giving waters. He sadly notes in his diary that she received “little benefit.” After four years more of suffering she died June 19, 1773, and with marble face upturned to the glorious summer sky, was laid away from sight in_ the tomb at Mount Vernon until the heavens be no more. Then Washington wrote with a heavy heart: “Ihe Sweet Innocent Girl entered into a more happy and _ peaceful abode than she has met with in the afflicted path she has hitherto trod. It is an easier matter to conceive than to describe the distress of this family over the death of dear ‘Patsy Custis.” John Parke Custis was tutored by the Reverend Mr. Boucher, and, for some time attended King’s College (nov Columbia), in New York City. While pursuing his studies he had become deeply enamored of Eleanor, second daughter of Benedict Calvert, (a descendant of Lord Baltimore) of Mount Airy, Maryland, to whom he was married on February 3, 1774. Mrs. Washington, still deeply grieving over the death of “Patsy”, was unable to attend her son’s wedding, but wrote her new. daughter as tollows: “My dear Nelly: God took from me a daughter, when June roses were blooming—he has now given me another daughter, about her age when winter winds are blowing, to warm my heart again. I amas happy as one so afflicted and so blest can be. Pray receive my benediction 5()and a wish that you may long live the loving wife of my happy son, and a loving daughter ot Your affectionate mother, M. WASHINGTON.» Young Custis and his bride resided at Mount Vernon for about two years [hen they moved to Abingdon, their beautiful estate on the Potomac above Alexandria. During the Revolution, Mr. Custis became an officer in the Virginia militia, and was an aide to Washington dur- ing the siege of Yorktown. He contracted camp fever during the siege, and was removed to Eltham, the resi- dence of Mrs. Washington's sister in New Kent County, at which place he died on November 5, 1781, aged twenty- seven years. He is buried at Eltham John Parke Custis was survived by his widow and four small children Eliza, born August 21, 17/6; Martha, born December 31, 1777; Eleanor, born March 21, 1779; and George Washington Parke, born April 30, 1781. The two younger, Eleanor and George Washington Parke, were adopted by Washington, upon the death of their father, and reared in his household at Mount Vernon Eliza (Elizabeth) and Martha not having been part of the household at Mount Vernon, we shall not trace their history further than to state that Eliza became the wife of Mr. Thomas Law and Martha married Mr. Thomas Peter. Eleanor (Nellie) Custis became a lady of rare charm of manner and beauty of person. She was a great favorite of her grandmother and her foster father. She shed much sunlight in the Mount Vernon home. When she attained marriageable age, she had many suitors, among them be- ing a son of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, Maryland; but George Washington’s nephew, Lawrence Lewis, son of Betty Washington and Colonel Fielding Lewis, of Fred- >|ericksburg, was the favored one. He had made many visits to Mount Vernon, and in the latter years of Wash- ineton’s life, had been invited by his uncle to make that place his home. On Washington’s birthday, 1799, the last birthday that was ever to dawn on Washington, Nellie and Lawrence were married at Mount Vernon. That night Washington recorded the event in his diary: “Miss Custis was married about candle light to Mr. Lawrence Lewis” Nellie and Lawrence resided at Mount Vernon until after the death of Mrs. Washington, when they removed to a tract of land consisting of about two thousand acres, a part of the Mount Vernon estate, given to Lewis by) George Washington in his will. Here in 1804, Lawrence erected on this tract, on a site selected originally by the General, one of the most imposing homes in that part ol Virginia which he named “Woodlawn.” Tradition says that Washington designed the stately structure. For nearly forty years, Nelly was mistress of “Wood- lawn.” Here her four chldren were born \enes, the eldest, dying at school in Philadelphia; Frances Parke who married General E. G. W. Butler; Lorenzo, her only son: and Eleanor Angela, who married Hon. C. M. Con- rad, of Louisiana. On November 20, 1839, Major Lawrence Lewis died at Arlington, and his body was laid away in the tomb at Mount Vernon. After his death Nellie moved to “Audley”, one of her husband's estates, near Berryville, in Clarke County, Virginia. Here she died July 15, 1852, and her body was brought to Mount Vernon and buried beside the tomb wherein lie the bodies of her foster- parent, her grandmother, and her husband. W. H. Snowden, in his excellent work, “Some Old Historic Land Marks of Virginia and Maryland”, thus 59desc1ibes the long journey of “Nellie Custis” back to Mount Vernon to sleep the last long sleep amid its hallow- ed associations: 'o the watcher from farm house and village, that must have been a lonely and mournful funeral procession indeed. as it slowly wended its course down the long Vir- oinia highway from the Shennandoah to the Potomac [he hearse containing the remains of the aged grand- mothe ind a solitary carriage accompanying, with th {wo surviving grandsons, one of whom was lately living to tell of the impressive circumstances of the event. Late at night their journey was finished, and the coflined form of Nelly was placed in the parlor at Mount Vernon where. more than fifty vears before, crowned with bridal 1 eaths. the ‘fairest lady of the land,’ Washington himsell iad affectionately given her in marriage, and commen her to the protecting care Ol the one tavored claimant ol Ice, and whe re she had received the congratulations blessings of so many of her kinstolk and friends Manv of the citizens of Alexandria and Washington and the surrounding country came to pay their tributes of fond remembrance and regard to ‘Nelly’ as she lay in state In : \\ Toy 1 LLeTS Down in the family burial place, just by the w. of the river on whose pleasant banks she had passed so many happy days of childhood and youth, her dust 1s very near to that of her kind and loving guardians. A marble monument marks her last resting place with the tollowing Inscription ~ SACRED tO THE MEMORY OF ELEANOR PARKE CUSTIS, GRAND- DAUGHTER OF MRS. WASHINGTON, AND ADOPTED DAUGHTER OF GENERAL WASHINGTON. 53‘“Reared under the roof of the Father of his Country, this lady was not more remarkable for the beauty of her person than for the superiority of her mind. She lived to be admired, and died to be regretted, July 15, 1852, in the seventy-fourth year of her age.” George Washington Parke Custis was taught by pri- vate tutors at Mount Vernon, and later attended the Col- lege of New Jersey (Princeton), the College of Philadel- phia, and Annapolis. In 1804, he married Miss Mary Lee Fitzhugh, daughter of William Fitzhugh of Chatham, Stratford County. Chatham Mansion is still standing opposite Fredericksburg. He inherited Arlington where he lived until his death, October 10th, 1857, and is buried by the side of his wife on the slopes of that beautiful estate, now the Arlington National Cemetery. Reared under the roof of the ‘““Father of His Country, ” he enjoyed the advantages of the cultured society and com- panionship of this home. In later years he became a writer and orator of ability. He wrote a biography of the General, called “Recollections of Washington,” which carries the reader into the inner circle of the home at Mount Vernon. On June 30, 1831, his only surviving child, Mary Ann Randolph Custis, was married at Arling- ton House to Robert E. Lee, son of the famous “Light Horse Harry” and grandson of Lucy Grimes, the probable “Lowland Beauty” of Washington's early love. Early History of Mount Vernon The history of “Mount Vernon on the Potomac” goes back to 1674 in which year Thomas, Lord Culpepper con- veyed to George Washington's great-grandfather, John Washington, the Immigrant, and Nicholas Spencer 5000 acres of land situated on the Potomac River between 94Epsewasson (as Dogue Creek and neighborhood were called in the language of the Indians who roamed the hills and vales of this region) and Little Hunting Creeks. Ihe consideration of the grant was services rendered the Colony of Virginia by Washington and Spencer in bring- ing one hundred immigrants into its virgin wilds John Washington, upon his death in 1677, devised his share in the tract to his son Lawrence, the grandfather ol George. In 1690, a division of the tract was made by) which Lawrence received 2500 acres lying to the north and east on the Potomac and Hunting Creek. lawrence Washington, upon his death in 1698, devised his half of the tract, thus set apart, to his daughter Mildred, describing it in his will as “all my land in Stafford County, lying upon Hunting Creek . as estimation 2500 acres.” Mildred married Roger Gregory, and she and_ her husband conveyed the tract to her brother Augustine Washington, George’s father, by deed of May 20. 17260, for the consideration of one hundred and eighty pounds. Augustine and his family resided on the estate from 1735 to the latter part of 1739. During this period, he built a grist mill on the banks of the Epsewasson (Dogue Run) two miles west of the Mansion, which was in con- tinuous operation for more than one hundred years. It was built on a 200 acre tract which Augustine added to the estate by purchase from the heirs of Nicholas Spencer. Some portions of the foundation are still intact, and marks of the mill race can be traced. William H. Snowden, in “Some Old Historical Land- marks of Virginia and Maryland,’ pays the following beautiful tribute to Washington's mill: “But go there, reader, as the writer has gone many a time, if your sympathies and reverential inclinations are 55lor objects like these, and take your seat in the drowsy quiet of a midsummer day under the shadowy branches of one of the oaks still remaining of the olden forest: and while you gaze on the briar grown ruins and listen to the murmur of the dwindled stream which goes hurrying on In 1ts course to join the waters of the majestic bay but a mile or two beyond, the mystic veil which hides the van- ished years of a century and a half will rise, and lo! all around you will throng the faded scenes and forms of the eaily days. Ihe fallen stones will move from the scatier- ed heaps uncer the straggling vines and brambles and take their places in the walls again phe muillso} a [on ee aan \ugustine and George Washington will be itself once moie. Ihe water will come pouring down over the moss) You will hear the clattering of the grinding gear w hee and the plantation swains will bring in and carry away their burdens “You will see the dusty miller taking his tolls and fill- ing the bin. ~A horseman will ride up, and hitching his steed by the door, go in and hold parley with the millet and you will not need to ask who he 1s, for his stately mien and dignified bearing will at once proclaim him the pro- prietor. You will see, too, the trading schooner waiting at the landing for its cargo for Jamaico or Barbadoes | he early pioneers in rough home-spun garb and quaint vehicles will pass along the old highway by you in toil- some march for the new Canaan of their imaginations, there to fix their landmarks and lay the hearthstones \non, you will see straggling companies of provincial troops dressed in kersey or buckskin, with heavy flint lock muskets on their shoulders, hurrying up to the camp at the new born hamlet of Alexandria. General Braddock and Governor Dinwiddie, Commodore Kepple and General St. Clair will ride along in the pomp and viceregal chariot 50and dashing retinue and guards of British re2ulars in showy scarlet uniforms and bright with gilding and tinsel War's wild alarm has been sounded, and the frontiers must be held against the encroachments of the French and their murderous Indian allies cA - j | a Among other passers up the highway you will see stripling wagon boy in homely workman's garb driving his Ovun team in like Le ¢ O n \ SE) 1g to the camp. He has been f ears ie iploy oOo ) ] f lohn Ballandine, haulin n oO oy | it { ‘ \ C Lt I i| Lille CIT Ul 1) i () Ln Li VU Li i i | rumors oO r have opene ion ot | yiure spirit to oil uties and other lines on | O Ing to offer his team to Braddock’s qi ermaster to ha supplies for the army « r the yuntains \ obscurt | 1 : j r low | 1d triendless \ this wagon boy then. b that h mM ‘NT)] Hirt rT) b rc] mn rr) UU “rm «i . it - ; 4 lal LOTTE Dun SN An¢ UCKSKIN Cap WCTE cnhE «LION Neat and comprehensive intellect which when, ere lon ? Opportunities came to him, were to win for him a renown lier and commander, world wide and imperishabl« AS a soli lhe boy who plodded over the weary roads of the Occoquan with his loads of ore for the furnace became in alter years the strategic and trusted soldier, the intrepid leader of the riflemen of Virginia and t le swaying spirit and hero of Quebec, Saratoga and Cowpens—Daniel Mor- gan. [t is highly probable that Augustine built the old brick barn still standing near the present Man- sion house, though some claim that it was erected by his son Lawrence. He also built the first house on the estate, but the exact location of this hallowed fireside about which the parents of our Washington listened to the childish prattle of their immortal son will most likely) remain forever unknown... Some place it in the vicinity s /CURTESY C. H. CALLAHAN MARTHA WASHINGTON Died at Mount Vernon on May 22, 1802. Her body rests beside that of George Washington in the vestibule, in front of the new tomb at Mount Vernon. 58of the grist mill on the Epsewasson, while others believe it near or on the exact location of the present Mansion. But, wherever it stood, it was burned in 1739, whereupon Augustine and his family moved to his estate on the Rap- pahannock. It 1s also highly probable that Augustine, and not his son Lawrence, erected the middle part of the present Mansion at Mount Vernon as a residence for lawrence, as maintained by Mr. Charles H. Callahan in his volume on Washington. Augustine granted the estate, enlarged by above pur- chase, to his son Lawrence in 1740, and later confirmed the grant in his will in 1743, with reversion to his son George, “in Case my son Lawrence should dye without heirs of his body Lawfully begotten.” As stated elsewhere, it was Lawrence who named the estate “Mount Vernon” in honor of his old commander, Admiral Vernon. When Lawrence died in July, 1752 he devised Mount Vernon to his wife, Anne, for the term of her natural life, and, at her death, to his daughter, Sarah, with the provision that, should Sarah die without Issue, the estate should descend “unto my loving brother George Washington.” Sarah was less than one year old at the time of her father’s death, and she survived him only a few months. Anne, the widow of Lawrence, on December 16, 1752, married Mr. George Lee, and shortly thereafter, she and her husband conveyed her life interest to Gorge Washington, who, thus, at the age of twenty com- pleted his title to the estate. Later History of Mount Vernon Washington added to the estate by purchase until, in the latter years of his life, it was a plantation of over eight thousand acres with more than three thousand acres 59under cultivation. In order that 1t might be efficiently managed, he divided the plantation into five parts, called “Mansion House Farm,” “River Farm,’ “Union Farm, Muddy Hole Farm” and “Dogue Run Farm:’ Each ot these farms had an overseer to manage it, who sent weekly reports to Washington when he was away from home [he General took great pride in his mil! on the banks of the Epsewasson, which, it will be recalled, was built by his father. He said that the flour which he made there was of such “superior quality that it passed in English markets without inspection.: Le beautified the grounds about the Mansion, and twice enlarged it, first in 1760 and again in 1785 I he banquet hall at one end and library at the other were the additions made, together with another story to the whole During the Revolution, Mrs. Washington spent nearly half of the time with the General at the front; and at such times Mount Vernon was almost deserted. The mansion was quiet; the woods no longer echoed to the hounds and horn of the huntsman Llowever. the work of tilling the plantation went on under the supervision of Lund W ash- ineton. a distant relative of the General; and Washington directed him, as follows, in a letter written from Cam- bridge: “Let the hospitality of the house, with respect to the poor be kept up. Let no one go away hungry. lf any of this kind of people should be in want of corn, sup- ply their necessities, provided it does not encourage them in idleness: and | have no objection to you giving mj money in charity, to the amount of forty or filty pounds a year, When you think it well bestowed.” During the Revolution there were several alarms at Mount Vernon caused by rumors that British ships and troops were on their way to destroy the plantation; and OUalthough at one time, warships actually anchored off the Mansion, no damage was done by them Washington loved Mount Vernon with a_ passionate love. and how his soul must have yearned for the restful home during his longest absence from it, that of six years while fighting the battles of the Revolutionary War. He called it his “vine and fig tree,” his “goal of domestic en- joyment. | | had rather be at Mount Vernon with a friend or two about me,” he said, “than to be attended at | he seat of government by the officers of state and representatives of every power in Europe. - The following extracts from letters of Washington show his love for Mount Vernon In September, 1759, he wrote to Richard Washinaton a relative in London, England | am now, I believe fixed at this seat (Mount Vernon) with an agreeable con- sort for life; and hope to find more happiness 1n retire- ment than I ever experienced amidst.a wide and bustling world. \gain, he speaks of Mount Vernon in strong terms 01 praise in a letter to Arthur Young, the celebrated English farmer, in 1/93 “No estate in United America 1s more pleasantly situated than this. It lies in a high, dry, and healthful country three hundred miles by water from the sea, and, as you will see by the plan, on one of the finest rivers in the world. Its margin is washed by more than ten miles of tide-water, from the bed of which and the 1n- numerable coves, iniets, and small marshes with which 1t abounds, an inexhaustible fund of rich mud may be drawn as manure, either to be used separately or in a compost, according to the judgment of the farmer. It is situated in a latitude between the extremes of heat and cold, and 1s the same distance by land and water with good roads and the best navigation to and from the Federal City, Alex- 61andria and Georgetown, distant from the first twelve, from the second, nine, and from the last sixteen miles. [his river which encompasses the land the distance above mentioned, is well supplied with various kinds of fish at all seasons of the year, and in the spring, with the greatest protusion of shad, herring, bass, carp, perch, sturgeon, etc. Several fisheries appertain to the estate; the whole shore, in short, 1s one entire fishery. — \nd to the Marchioness de Lafayette, he wrote as fol- lows: “From the clangor of arms and the bustle of a camp, freed from the cares of public employment and the re- sponsibility of office, | am now enjoying domestic ease under the shadow of my own vine and fig tree; and in a small villa, with the implements of husbandry and lamb- kins around me, | expect to glide gently down the stream of life, till | am entombed in the dreary mansion of my fathers. [he eminent English writer, Charles Varlo, visited Washington in 1784, and has given the following inter- esting description of the life at Mount Vernon at that period: “I crossed the river from Maryland into Virginia, near to the renowned General Washington’s, where | had the honor to spend some time and was kindly entertained with that worthy family. As to the General, 1f we may judge by the countenance, he is what the world says of him, a shrewd, good natured, plain human man, about fifty-five years of age, and seems to wear well, being healthful and active, straight, well-made and about six feet high. He keeps a good table, which is always open to those of a genteel appearance. He does not use many Frenchified congees, or flattering useless words without meaning, which savor more of deceit than an honest heart, 62but on the contrary, his words seem to point at truth and reason, and to spring from the fountain of a heart, which being good of itself, cannot be suspicious of others “The General’s house 1s rather warm, snug, convenient and useful than ornamental [he size is what ought to suit a man of about two or three thousand a year in Eng- land. The out-offices are good, and seem to be not long built and he was making more offices at each wing, to the front of the house, which added more to ornament than real use. The situation is high, and commands a beauti- ful prospect of the river which parts Virginia and Mary- land, but in other respects the situation seems to be out of the world, being chiefly surrounded by woods, and fal from any great road or thoroughfare, and nine miles from \lexandria, in Virginia. The General’s lady is a hearty comely, discreet, affable woman, some few years * older than himself: she was a widow when he married her. He has no children by her. The General's house 1s open to poor travelers as well as rich. He gives diet and lodging to all that come that way “| have traveled and seen a great deal of the world, have conversed with all degrees of people, and have re- marked that there are only two persons in the world which have everyone's good word, and those are—the Queen of England and General Washington, which | never heard friend or foe speak lightly of.” When the Revolutionary General closed his eyes tor- ever on the familiar scenes of Mount Vernon, he devised that part of the estate on which the Mansion is located, consisting of 4000 acres, to his favorite nephew, Bushrod Washington, son of his brother, John Augustine, and at that time one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Bushrod came into possession at the \ ) ] j 1 \Irs Wa ington Wes thre months ounger than tft (;eneralJUDGE BUSHROD WASHINGTON o who the General willed Mount Vernon Mansion an ounding four thousand acres of land Bushrod Washin vas the General’s favorite nephew, the son of his brother, \ugustiné Judge Washington was one of the Justices ot Supreme Court of the United States, having been appoint this hgh office by President John Adams in 1708 Hi one of the greatest Nis1 Prius ju s our country has Died while attending court in Phil Iphia, November 26, aged sixty-seven years. Buried in to:nb at Mount \ ~ d. to Wad ha IS29, rnondeath of Martha Washington, which occurred on May 22, 1802. Judge Bushrod Washington left no children, and upon his death on November 26, 1829, he devised the Mansion and about 1225 acres of the adjoining land to his nephew, John A. Washington. John A. Washington, above named, died on June 16, 1832, and devised his entire estate to his wife, Mrs. Jane C. Washington; and she granted Mount Vernon to her son John A. Washington, by deed dated September 18, 1849. Mrs. Jane Washington died in 1855, and confirmed the deed to her son in her will. This John A. Washington was the last private owner of Mount Vernon. After offering Mount Vernon both to the State of Virginia and the United States, on their own terms, which offers were unaccepted, he sold the Mansion and about 200 acres of the adjoining land to the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union, for- mal possession being given February 22, 1860. The last private owner of Mount Vernon, was a man of noble nature. Tempting offers were made him by speculators for the purchase of the estate, but he firmly rejected them. He was offered three hundred thousand dollars for the property he sold to the Mount Vernon | adies’ Association of the Union for two hundred thous- and dollars. At the beginning of the Civil War, Mr. Washington threw his fortunes with his native state. He became an aide with the rank of colonel on the staff of General Robert E. Lee, and was killed in the engagement at Cheat Mountain, in what is now West Virginia, on September ID LS60lF The privilege of visiting the home of the Father of His Country and the satisfaction of knowing that it is to 05be preserved as a national shrine for all time, we owe to the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union, and beyond it, to that noble daughter of the Southland, Miss \nn Pamela Cunningham, whose high resolve and un- tiring labors brought the Ladies’ Association into being And let us not forget the aid given the Association, in the days of its early struggles, by the great American orator, Edward Everett, who turned over to its treasury) the proceeds of his lecture on Washington, in the sum of almost seventy thousand dollars. Hear his eloquent words on Mount Vernon: “There is a modest private mansion on the banks of the Potomac, the abode of George Washington and Martha, his beloved, his loving, his faithful wife. It boasts no spacious palace or gorgeous colonnades, no massive elevation or storied tower. . . . No arch nor column in courtly English or courtlier Latin sets forth the deeds or worth of the Father of His Country He needs them not. The unwritten benedictions of millions cover all the walls. No gilded dome swells from the lowly roof to catch the morning or evening beam, but the love and gratitude of united America settle upon it in one eternal sun- shine. From beneath that humble roof went forth the intrepid, unselfish warrior, the maglis- trate who knew no glory but his country’s good; to that he returned, happiest when his work was done. There he lived in noble simplicity; there he died in glory and peace. While it stands, the latest generations of the grateful children ol America will make this pilgrimage to 1t as to a shrine: and when it shall fall, if fall it must, the memory and the name of Washington shall shed an eternal glory on the spot.” OU)Last Days at Mount Vernon ‘We arrived here on Wednesday, March 15th, with- Out any accidents, aiter a tedadlous and fatiguing journeys yf seven days. Grandpa is very well and much pleased with being once more farmer Washington | hus wrote Nellie Custis from Mount Vernon to a friend in Philadelphia, upon Washington’s arrival at Mount Vernon, in the spring of 1797, to spend the remainder ol his days on his plantation, after his abundant labcrs as President of the United States. And farmer once more ie became. fis long loved Mount Vernon absorbed his attention more and more, and public life receded farthe Into the background of his memory. He daily rode to the extremities of the estate and stopped frequently at his grist mill on the banks of the Epsewasson. How the time passed with him, he tells in a letter to James McHenry Secretary of War, May 29, 1797 ‘| begin my diurnal course with the sun. [1 my hirelings are not in their place at that time, | send them messages expressive of my sorrow at their indisposition. Having put these wheels in motion, | examine the state of things further, and the more they are probed, the deeper I find the wounds are which my buildings have sustained by an absence and neglect of eight years. By the time | have accomplished these matters, break- fast (a little after seven o clock), is ready. This being over, | mount my horse and ride round my farms, which employs me until it is time to dress for dinner, at which | rarely miss seeing strange faces, come, as they say, out of respect for me Pray, would not the word curiosity answer as 67well? The usual time of sitting at table, a walk, and tea, brings me within the dawn of candle- light, previous to which, if not prevented by company, | resolve that, as soon as_ the olim- mering taper supplies the place of the great luminary, | will retire to my writing table and acknowledge the letters | have received; but when the lights are brought, | feel tired and dis- inclined to engage in this work, conceiving that the next night will do as well. The next comes, and with it the same causes for postponement, and effect, and so on.” In the above quoted letter he further states that he does not have as much time as he would like for reading, and that probably ‘before the nights grow longer,” he may ‘be looking in Doomsday-Book.”’ His house was constantly filled with guests of all classes, yet he made the daily round of his farms. His correspondence, too, was very great, necessitating the em- ployment of two secretaries to assist 1n this work, and also to copy and catalogue the enormous accumulation of his private and public papers. When war with France was threatened in 1798, and President Adams appointed Washington Commander-in- Chief of all the armies to be raised, he accepted the com- mand with the distinct understanding that he was not to be called from Mount Vernon for active service until hostilities made it absolutely necessary for him to take the field. November, 1799, was a month of expectation and preparation in the Mount Vernon home, and on the 27th, the first child of Washington’s nephew, Lawrence Lewis 0Sand his wife Nellie Custis, a daughter, was born in the Mansion. Early in December of the same year, Washington pointed out to Lawrence Lewis the spot where he intended to build a new vault to replace the old one which he had built shortly after the death of his half-brother, Lawrence and to which he had removed Lawrence’s body from the old burial ground on the estate He remarked to | awrence Lewis that the building of a new tomb would be the next improvement that he would make, adding, ° fot after all | may require it before the rest.” [hese pro- phetic words were soon to be fulfilled Last Hours of Washington \Vashington continued his custom of daily visits to his various farms until two days before his death. On lhursday, December 12, 1/99, he was caught in a storm of snow and rain, while visiting his farms, and the ex- sure caused an inflammation of the throat, from which QO ; he died on Saturday evening. December |4th His secretary, Mr. Tobias Lear, thus records the last hours of the Father of His Country: Mount Vernon, Saturday, December I4th, 1799 | his day being marked by an event, which will be memorable in the history of America and perhaps of the world, | shall give a particular statement of it, to which | Was an eye-witness. “On Thursday, December 12th, the General rode out to his farms about ten o'clock, and did not return home till past three Soon after he went out, the weather be- came very bad, rain, hail, snow falling alternately, with a cold wind. When he came in, I carried some letters to OY‘ae ' ; -* . ; ot ae TS w\9 W OF MOUNT VERNON MANSION a 4 4 FRONT VII latter days the ared pps a they grounds as and the mansion represents more nearly This pictur¢ hington Om an ral (,enhim to frank, intending to send them to the postoffice in the evening. He franked the letters, but said the weather was too bad to send a servant to the office that evening | observed to him, that | was afraid he had got wet. He said, No, his great-coat had kept him dry. But his neck appeared to be wet, and the snow was hanging upon his hair. He came to dinner (which had been waiting for him) without changing his dress. In the evening he ap- peared as well as usual } \ heavy fall of snow took place on. Friday, which prevented the General from riding out as usual. He had taken cold, undoubtedly from being so much exposed the day before, and complained of a sore throat. He, how- ever, went out in the afternoon into the ground between the house and the river to mark some trees, which were to be cut down in the improvement of that spot. He had a hoarseness, which increased in the evening; but he made light of it. “In the evening the papers were brought from the post office, and he sat in the parlor with Mrs. Washington and myself reading them, till about nine o'clock, when Mrs. Washington went into Mrs. Lewis’ room, who was confin- ed, and left the General and myself reading the papers He was very cheerful, and when he met with anything in- teresting or entertaining he read it aloud as well as_ his hoarseness would permit. He requested me to read to him the debates of the Virginia Assembly, on the election of a Senator and Governor; and, on hearing Mr. Madison's observations respecting Mr. Monroe, he appeared much affected and spoke with some degree of asperity on the sub- ject, Which | endeavored to moderate, as | always did on such occasions. On his retiring | observed to him, he had better take something to remove his cold. He answered, ‘No, you know I never take anything for a cold. Let it go as it came.’“Between two and three o'clock on Saturday morning, he awoke Mrs. Washington, and told her that he was very unwell, and he had had an ague. She observed that he could scarcely speak, and breathed with difficulty, and would have got up to call a servant. But he would not permit her, lest she should take a cold. As soon as_ the day appeared, the woman (Caroline) went into the room to make a fire and Mrs. Washington sent her immediately to call me. | got up, put on my clothes as quickly as possible, and went to his chamber. Mrs. Washington was then up, and related to me his being ill as before stated. | found the General breathing with difficulty, and hardly able to utter a word intelligibly. He desired Mr. Rawlins (one of the overseers) might be sent for to bleed him be- fore the doctor could arrive. | despatched a servant 1n- stantly for Rawlins, and another for Dr. Craik, and re- turned again to the General’s chamber, where | found him in the same situation as | had left him. ‘A mixture of molasses, vinegar and butter was prepar- ed to try its effects on the throat; but he could not swallow a drop. Whenever he attempted it, he appeared to be dis- tressed, convulsed, and almost suffocated. Rawlins came in soon after sunrise, and prepared to bleed him. When the arm was ready, the General observed that Rawlins appeared to be agitated, said, as well as he could speak, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ And when the incision was made, he observed, ‘The orifice is not large enough.’ However, the blood ran pretty freely. Mrs. Washington, not knowing whether bleeding was proper or not in the General's situa- tion, begged that much might not be taken from him, lest it should be injurious, and desired me to stop it; but when | was about to untie the string, the General put up his hand to prevent it, and, as soon as he could speak, he said, ‘More, more.’ Mrs. Washington being still very uneas) thee tmlest too much blood should be taken, 1t was stopped after taking about half a pint Finding that no relief was obtained from bleeding, and that nothing would go down the throat, | proposed bathing it externally with sal vola- tile, which was done, and in the operation, which was with the hand. and in the gentlest manner, he observed ‘It is very sore.’ A piece of flannel dipped in sal volatile was put around his neck, and his feet bathed in warm water, but without affording any reliet In the meantime, before Dr. Craik arrived, Mrs \Washington desired me to send for Dr. Brown, of Port Tobacco, whom Dr. Craik had recommended to be called, if any case should ever occur, that was seriously alarming | despatched a messenger immediately for Dr. Brown, be- tween eight and nine o'clock. Dr. Craik came in soon after, and, upon examining the General, he put a bliste1 of cantharides on the throat, took some more blood from him, and had a gargle of vinegar and sage tea prepared; and ordered some vinegar and hot water for him to inhale the steam of it, which he did; but in attempting to use the gargle he was almost suffocated. When the gargle came from the throat, some phlegm followed, and he attempted to cough, which the doctor encouraged him to do as much as possible; but he could only attempt it. \bout eleven o'clock Dr. Craik requested that Dr. Dick might be sent for, as he feared Dr. Brown would not come in time. A messenger was accordingly despatched for him. About this time the General was bled again. No effect, however, was procured by it, and he remained in the same state, unable to swallow anything. “Dr. Dick came about three o’clock and Dr. Brown arrived soon after. Upon Dr. Dick’s seeing the General, and consulting a few minutes with Dr. Craik, he was bled again. The blood came very slow, was thick, and did 73 /“2+ a MOUNT VERNON MANSION (,reen Bowling the be yond a point from looking appears itnot produce any symptoms of tainting. Dr. Brown came into the chamber soon after, and upon feeling the General’s pulse, the physicians went out together. Dr Craik returned soon after. The General could now swal- low a little. Calomel and tartar were administered, but without any effect ‘About half past four o'clock he desired me to call Mrs. Washington to his bedside, when he requested her to go down into his room, and take from his desk two wills, which she would find there, and bring them to him which she did. Upon looking at them he gave her one which he observed was useless, as being superseded by the other, and desired her to burn it, which she did, and took the other and put it into her closet. “After this was done, | returned to his bedside and took his hand. He said to me: ‘I find | am going. My breath cannot last long. | believed from the first that the disorder would prove fatal. Do you arrange and record alk my late military letters and papers. Arrange mj accounts and settle my books as you know more about them than anyone else, and let Mr. Rawlins finish record- ing my other letters, which he had begun.’ | told him this should be done. He then asked, if | recollected anything which it was essential for him to do, as he had but a very short time to continue with us. | told him, that | could recollect nothing but that | hoped he was not so near his end. He observed, smiling, that he certainly was, and that, as it was the debt which we must all pay, he looked to the event with perfect resignation. “In the course of the afternoon he appeared to be in great pain and distress, from the difficulty of breathing, and frequently changed his posture in the bed. On these occasions I lay upon the bed and endeavored to raise him and turn him with as much ease as possible. He appear- /f >)ed penetrated with gratitude for my attentions, and often said, ‘| am afraid | shall fatigue you too much, and upon assuring him, that | could feel nothing but a wish to give him ease, he replied, “Well, 1t is a debt we must pay to each other, and | hope when you want aid of this kind, you will find it. “He asked when Mr. Lewis and Washington Custis would return. (They were then in New Kent.) I told him about the 20th of the month. “About five o'clock Dr. Craik came again into the room, and, upon going to the bedside the General said to him, ‘Doctor, | die hard, but | am not afraid to go. [| be- lieved, from my first attack, that | should not survive it. My breath cannot last long.’ The doctor pressed his hand, but could not utter a word. He retired from the bedside, and sat by the fire absorbed in grief. “Between five and six o’clock Dr. Dick and Dr. Brown came into the room, and with Dr. Craik went to the bed, when Dr. Craik asked him if he could sit up in the bed. He held out his hand, and | raised him up. He then said to the physicians: ‘I feel myself going; | thank you for your attentions; but | pray you to take no more trouble about me. Let me go off quietly. I cannot last long. They found that all which had been done was without effect. He lay down again, and all retired except Dr. Craik. He continued in the same situation, uneasy and restless, but without complaining, frequently asking what hour it was. When | helped him to move at this time, he did not speak, but looked at me with strong expressions of eratitude. “About eight o’clock the physicians came again into the room, and applied blisters and cataplasms of wheat bran to his legs and feet, after which they went out, except Dr. Craik, without a ray of hope. I went out about this time, /0and wrote a line to Mr. Law and Mr. Peter, requesting them to come with their wives (Mrs. Washington's grand- daughters) as soon as possible to Mount Vernon. ‘About ten o’clock he made several attempts to speak to me before he could effect it. At length he said, ‘| am just going. Have me decently buried; and do not let mj body be put into the vault in less than three days after | am dead.’ | bowed assent, for | could not speak. He then looked at me again and said, ‘Do you understand me?’ | replied, ‘Yes.’ “Tis well,’ said he. “About ten minutes before he expired (which was be- tween ten and eleven o'clock), his breathing became easier He lay quietly; he withdrew his hand from mine, and felt his own pulse. 1 saw his countenance change. I spoke to Dr. Craik, who sat by the fire. He came to the bedside. lhe General’s hand fell from his wrist. | took it in mine and pressed it to my bosom. Dr. Craik put his hands over his eyes, and he expired without a struggle or a sigh. “While we were fixed in silent grief, Mrs. Washington, who was sitting at the foot of the bed, asked with a firm and collected voice, ‘Is he gone?’ I could not speak, but held up my hand, as a signal, that he was no more. ‘lis well,’ said she, in the same voice, ‘All is now over; | shall soon follow him; | have no more trials to pass through.’ ~ Such was the passing of Washington. On the after- noon of Wednesday, December 18, 1799, all that was mortal of this Cincinnatus of the West was laid to rest in the old tomb at Mount Vernon. The faithful Mr. Lear thus describes the funeral: “Wednesday, December 18th. About eleven o'clock numbers of people began to assemble to attend the funeral, which was intended to have been at twelve o'clock; but, as a great part of the troops expected could not get down in time, it did not take place till three. AeEleven pieces of artillery were brought from Alexan- dria; and a schooner belonging to Mr. R. Hamilton, came down and lay off Mount Vernon to fire minute guns “About three oclock the procession began to move. [he arrangements of the procession were made by Colonels Little, Simms, Deneale, and Dr. Dick. The pall- bearers were Colonels Little, Payne, Gilpin, Ramsey, and Marsteller. Colonel Blackburn preceded the corpse Colonel Deneale marched with the military. Ihe proces- sion moved out through the gate at the left wing of the house, and proceeded around in front of the lawn, and down to the vault on the right wing of the house. Ihe procession was as follows: lhe Troops, horse and foot [he Clergy, namely, the Reverend Messrs. Davis, Murr, Maffitt, and Addison [he General's horse, with his saddle, holsters, and pistols, led by two grooms, Cyrus and Wilson, in black. [he body, borne by the Freemasons and Officers. Principal Mourners, namely, Mrs. Stuart and Mrs. Law, Misses Nancy and Sally Stuart, Miss Fairfax and Miss Dennison, Mr. Law and Mr. Peter, Mr. Lear and Dr. Craik, Lord Fairfax and Ferdinando Fairfax, Lodge No. 22, Corporation of Alexandria. \ll other persons; preceded by Mr. Anderson and the Overseers. “When the body arrived at the vault, the Rev. Mr. Davis read the service, and pronounced a short address. "9 1d[he Masons performed their ceremonies, and_ the body was deposited in the vault \fter the ceremony, the company returned to the house, where they took some refreshment, and retired in O( od order.” \fter the death of General Washington, the family in Miount Vernon consisted of Mrs. Washington, Major Lawrence Lewis, nephew of Washington, and _ his wife, Nellie Lewis (nee Custis), their infant daughter, born shortly before the General's death, Tobias Lear and \lbert Rawlins, the General’s secretaries. and young George Washington Parke Custis. Mrs. Washington was deeply affected by her husband’s death. She died, afte an illness of several weeks duration, on May 22nd, 1802 and was laid to rest in the tomb at Mount Vernon Lawrence and Nellie later removed to their beautiful mansion ‘Woodlawn’: and George Washington Parke Custis upon his marriage in 1804, took up his residence with his fair Virginia bride at Arlington, since famous as the home of his son-in-law, General Robert E. Lee. and the location of the Arlington National Cemetery) Mount Vernon’s Hallowed Tomb Washington’s will contained the following provision ~ the family vault at Mount Vernon requiring repairs, and being improperly situated besides, | desire that a new one, of brick and upon a larger scale, may be built at the foot of what is com- monly called the vineyard enclosure,—on the ground which is marked out—, in which my re- mains, with those of my deceased relatives (now In the Old Vault) and such others of my family \) /as may choose to be entombed there, may be de- posited.” The old tomb was “improperly situated” for the reason that, it was on a steep hillside at a place liable to slides. Besides, the tomb was damp, and its walls became parted by the roots of the trees which grew above it. The Gen- eral’s body lay in this tomb for almost thirty-one years, and during this time, the wooden covering of his leaden casket had to be replaced two times, owing to the damp- ness of the place. About the year 1830, a vandal broke into the tomb in an unsuccessful attempt to steal the body of Washington, and this event stirred the surviving executors to action in carrying out the long delayed direction in his will. In 1831, the new tomb was constructed, and Washington's body, that of his wife, and those of all other deceased members of the Washington family in the old vault, were removed to this new resting place. It was at the Old Tomb that Lafayette paid homage to the ashes of Washington, October 17th, 1824. On this occasion he was accompanied by his son George Washing- ton Lafayette, Major Lawrence Lewis and George Wash- ington Parke Custis. Mr. Custis presented him with a gold ring appropriately engraved and a lock of Wash- ington’s hair. His presentation speech was, in part, as follows: “Last of the Generals of the Army of Independence, at this awful and impressive moment when forgetting the splendor of a triumph greater than the Roman Consul ever had, you bend with reverence over the remains of Washington, the child of Mount Vernon presents you with this token containing the hair of him, who while living you loved, and to whose honored grave you now pay this oOmanly and affectionate tribute of a patriot and _ soldier's tear. Pressing the ring to his bosom the great Frencl replied | he feelings which at this awful moment oppress leave the power of utterance; | can only) thank you, my dear Custis, for your | pav silent homage to the tomb of the greatest and best ot men—my paternal friend. JThen he embraced M1 Custis and the other gentlemen, and with tears streaming cown his tace, kissed the door of th iult, ente nd pressed his lips to the leaden casket of his old Com- mande} Nothing,’ says Mr. Custis, “occurred to dis irb the reverential solemnity of this leave-takine at tl omb. - Not a soul intruded lhe old oaks which grew round the sepulchre, touched with the mellow lustre ot of Latayette. Not a murmur was heard save the strain of solemn music and the deep measured sound of artille: vhich woke the echoes around the hallowed heights o Viount Vernon.”’ In 1837, a vestibule was added to the front of Pennsylvania marble, and presented to the Washington amily by Mr. John Struthers, of Philadelphia, the bodies of General and Mrs. Washington. It was on October 7 1537, that Washington’s coffin was placed in its marble sarcophagus, since which time it has never been disturbed lhe Historian, Benson J. Lossing, describes this event as follows ~On entering the vault they found everything in con- fusion Decayed fragments of coflins were scattered about, and bones of various parts of the human body were seen promiscuously thrown together. Ihe decayed wood Was dripping with moisture lhe slimy snail glistened In the light of the door-opening. The brown centipede 5]was disturbed by the admission of fresh air, and the mouldy case of the dead gave a pungent and unwholesome OLD TOMB AT MOUNT VERNON RESTORED IN 1887 Lhe original vas built by George Washingtor snortiv altel death of his half-brother Lawrenc in L152 In it Wash negeton’s kody rested until 185] odor. The coffins of Washington and his lady were in the deepest recess of the vault hey were of lead, inclosed in wooden cases. When the sarcophagus arrived, the cof- fin of the chief was brought forth. The vault was first entered by Mr. Strickland, accompanied by Major Lewis (the last survivor of the first executors of the will of Washington) and his son. When the decayed wooden case was removed, the leaden lid was perceived to be sunken and fractured. In the bottom of the wooden case was found a silver coffin-plate, in the form of a_ shield, which was placed upon the leaden coffin when Washing- ton was first entombed. ‘At the request of Major Lewis, says Mr. S., ‘the fractured part of the lid was turned over QIon the lower part, exposing to view a head and breast of large dimensions, which appeared, by the dim light of the NEW TOMB AT MOUNT VERNON, BUILT IN 18381 The vestibule in front was added in 1837, and in it, in marble Sarcophagi, rest the bodies of General and Martha Washington Che remains ot many of the Washington and Custis families aré in the back part of the tomb. whi is separated from tl estibule by an iron door candles, to have suffered but little from the effects ot time. [he eye-sockets were large and deep, and the breadth across the temples, together with the forehead, appeared of unusual size. There was no appearance ol grave-clothes; the chest was broad, the color was dark, and had the appearance of dried flesh and skin adhering closely to the bones. We saw no hair, nor was there any offensive odor from the body; but we observed, when the coffin had been removed to the outside of the vault, the dripping down of a yellow liquid, which stained the marble of the sarcophagus. A hand was laid upon the 53THE FAMOUS HOUDON STATUE OF WASHINGTON Life-sized statue of Washington which adorns the State Capitol at Richmon Virginia. The sculptor was Jean A. Houdon, who was sent to America tro Paris, by Benjamin Franklin S4head and instantly removed; the leaden lid was restored to Its place; the body, raised by six men, was carried and aid in a marble coffin, and the ponderous cover being put on and set 1n cement, it was sealed from our sight on Sat- urday, the /th day of October, 1837. ..... the rela- tives who were present, consisting of Major Lewis, Loienzo Lewis, John Augustine Washington, George Washington, the Rev. Mr. Johnson and lady, and Mrs. Jane Washington, then retired to the mansion.’ | he proposal to move Washington’s body to Washinz- ton City and place it under the dome of the Capitol was agitated shortly after his death. President John Adams made such request of Mrs. Washington, and she consent- ed, but the project was shortly abandoned. Once more, in 1852, when the nation celebrated the centennial of his birth, Congress renewed the request made over thirty years before by President Adams; and a platform was piepared in the crypt under the dome of the Capitol upon which the sarcophagus of Washington was to rest: but his relatives refused to grant permission for the re- moval of the remains on the ground that the General had made it plain in his will that he desired his body to repose in the quiet of his beloved Mount Vernon. Vessels passing up and down the Potomac toll the bell \hen they come opposite the tomb of Washington. ‘This custom Is said to have originated on August 24, I814, When the British fleet sailed up the river. Instead of attacking Mount Vernon, Captain Gordon of the Royal Navy had the seven ships of his fleet to fire salutes as they came abreast, although at the time, England and the United States were at war. Also when war ships of the United States Navy come abreast the tomb, the crews 851ark of respect to the memory of Stand at attention as an the honored dead Here, then, in his unpretentious tomb, on his own farm. on the banks of his long loved Potomac, “after life's fitful fever, he sleeps well.” The centuries shall place I as d tributes on his bier and at his tomb. He shall abide power for all time. His image shall cast itself on the current of the ages as the mountain mirrors its form in the river that winds at its foot—the mighty fixing itsell immutably upon the changing. THE END - oOLN DEX \dams, President John, 85 \ncestors, Washington’s, I], 12, 13, aeeib = One los 1S eeZ0F 2) Arlington, 52, 54, 79 \unt, Washington's, 16, 19 \vlett, Anne, 27, 30 Ball, Col. Joseph, 19, 22 Ball, Mary, 19, 22 (See also Wash- ington, Mary) Baptism, Washington’s, 15, 19 Barb: idoes, 2; Belvoir. 33, 34. 37 Birthplace, Washington’s, 15 Bland, Mary, 36 Bridges Creek, 15 Bropie Christopher, 15 Brothers, Washington’s, 19, 21, 25, 27 23) 29 Brown, POCLCr oD alo Butler, Caleb, 19 Butler, Jane, 19 Calvert, Benedict, 50 Calvert, Eleanor, 50 Carroll, Charles, 5] Cary, Mary, 36. Cary, Sally, 36 Chotank, 21, 37 Culpepper, thomas, Lord, 16, 54 Graike Doctor /2) 79/0 e LL. Cunningham, Ann Pamela, 66 Custis, Daniel Parke, 47 Daniel, 49 Eleanor, (Nellie), 51, 52, 53., 79 Elizanile l-rances, 49 Geo!) Wo Pe 16.51.54: 79, 80: 81 John Parke, 49, 50, 51 Martha (See Washington, Martha) Martha Parke, 49, 50 Nellie (See Custis, Eleanor) “Patsy” (See Custis, Martha Parke) 87 Dick | Ti ywue Doctor, 73, 7/6 Run 16 p Ep | [- psewasson, 16, 55. 6; Everett, Edward, 606 Fairfax, Anne, 27, 33 George William, 34, 39 | homas, Lord, 33, 34, 39 l-arms, Washington’s, 60 l-auntleroy, Betsy, 36, 38 William, 38 Gist, Christopher, 43, 44, 45 Godfather, Washington's, 15 Godmother, Washington’s, 15, 19 Greenway Court, 34, 43 Gregory, Mildred, 15, 18, 19, 55 Roger, 18, 19, 55 Grimes, Lucy, 36, 37, 38, 54 Hale, Sir Mare, 22 LH: ae Highgate 3 19 House, First at Mount Vernon, 57 Hunting Creek Estate, 17, 18, 19, 21 Indians, 17, 40, 43, 44, 45 Irving, Washington, 39, 48. Kenmore Mansion, 23, 28 Lafayette, 23, 80, 81 Lear, Tobias, 69, 77, 79 lee, George, 59 Henry, 36, 37 “Light Horse Harry” (See Lee, Henry) Gen. Robert E., 54 lewis, Agnes, 52 Betty (See Washington, Betty) Eleanor Angela, 52 Coll ieldings 23: 27, 4 I-rances Parke, 54PIN DE x lewis. (Continued) Lawrence, 51, 92, 68, 79, SO 85. lorenzo, 52, 85 love for Mount Vernon, Washing- ton’s, 61, 62 “Lowland teauty 36. 37. 38. 54 Mount Vernon, 3/, 60 Washington's, 47 7 DO Mansion at Vi arriage, Mordington Morye, Rev. James, 30, 31 Mount Vernon (Look under special subjects relating thereto) Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union, 66 Pine Grove Plantation, 19, Pope, Anne, 15 Pope’s Creek, 15, Purliegh, 13, 14 Rawlins, Rose ol Epping Forest 22 Sisters, Washington’s, 19, 21, 25, 27 Spencer, Nicholas, 16, 54 Struthers, John, 81 Sulgrave Manor, 12 lomb at Mount Vernon, 27, 50, 79 8) S|] 82 85. 86 Uncle, Washington's, 18, 19 Admiral, 59 \W akefield, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 3() Warner, Augustine, 17 Mildred, 17, 19 Washington, Anne, aunt, 15 Augustine, George’s father, 15, 19, a) Ale oD \ugustine, 19, 27 Betty, George’s full sister, 19, 20, 51 Vernon, George's great George's half-brother, Washington, (Continued) Bushrod, George’s nephew, 29, 63 64 05 Butler, Georges half-brother, i9 25 Charles, George’s full-brother, 19, 28 Elizabeth, George's great aunt, 15 George, (Look under special jects relating thereto) Jane, George’s half-sister, 19, 25 sub- Jane C., wife of John A., Bushrod’s nephew, 6) John, “the Immigrant’, George's great grandfather, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 John, George’s great uncle, 15 John, George’s uncle, 15 John Augustine, George’s full-broth- er, 19, 29 John A., Bushrod’s nephew, 65 John A., last private owner of Mount Vernon, 6° Lawrence, first proprietor of Sul- grave, 12 lawrence, Reverend, Georges great great-grandtather, 13, 14 lawrence, brother of John, the Im- migrant, I4 lawrence, George’s grandfather, 15 alae oe lawrence, George's half-brother, 19¥ 2), 25,27, 59 | awrence, George’s cousin, 2] Martha. George’s wife, 47, 48, 49, 50 eee hail he / Marvy, George’s mother, 19, 22, 23 24 Mildred, George’s aunt, 15, 18, 19, 55 Mildred, George’s full-sister, 19, 25 Robert, George’s cousin, 2] Samuel, George’s full-brother, 19, 25 Sarah, George’s niece, 59 White House, home of Moretia Cus- tis, 47 Whiting, Beverly, 15 Williams, M., George’s teacher, 30Some Comments of the Press and Testimonial Letters after the appearance of the first Edition of this volume. “Mount Vernon and [Ihe Washington Family” is a concise handbook on the ancestry, youth and family of George Washington and the history of his home. It is written to fill the gap that has hitherto existed in litera- ture on Washington by reason of there being no short work on the history of his family, his home at Mount Vernon and his life there It gives all of Washington’s American ancestors, on both paternal and maternal lines; gives his paternal ancestors on English soil directly to lawrence Washington who-obtained grant of Sulgrave Manor in 1538: it traces the origin of the family to William de Wessyngton, or de Hertburn, who obtained grant of Wessyngton Manor in 1183; it gives the history of Mount Vernon through each generation of Washingtons from 1674 when grant was made to George Washington's great-grandfather to time of sale of estate to Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union, and also to date; there are over thirty different Washingtons mentioned in the text [he booklet is well written, printed in an easy readable type, and further enhanced by many full page half tone illustrations. It also contains a complete index [he author has been a student of Washington for years and has spent much time in painstaking search of records so that this work is historically correct. It is primarily intended for the busy ready who does not have time to peruse voluminous works on this most interesting subject—From Pittsburgh Legal Journal of July 5, 1924 | his work on the Washingtons and Mount Vernon has been praised by historical experts—The Literary Digest [he galaxy of men who were the leaders in the convention which adopted the Declaration of Independence, and in the Constitutional Con- OY} ention 1s not surpassed in humal istory; and in practical wisdon selfish devotion to the cause oT the colonies George \\ ashingto Surpass- ed then No doubt it was because of these two qualities that Gladstone said Washingto is the purest figure in history’; and it is this combina- ion tl causes America to honor and reverence Washington and to hold Mount Vernon as her one gre shrine | he thor of this little booklet, feeling this, has written CONCISE isto of the Washington family from 1183, when William de Hertburn received a grant of the manor of Wessyngton, which took on its f1 torn as Washington. He has also given a brief history of Mount Vernon [his booklet meets lack t is written in simple, concise language ind beautifully printed and illustrated ——-Boston / ranseri:p f August 23 1924 L nited LElson’s author ol Viodern historian History, and limes and ELSON, the noted on American HENRY W History Oo ts Side | igh as tollows saving and direct way ol conveys the meaning and Mount States lhe Living Past, writes 1 excellent piece ot work attracts the reader Your terse and clearly W ashingtons if? 1S; al Want to sav ot the the best account a large sale.” what you short It is intended ha\ eC Sccil Vernon that lt deserves EX-PRESIDENT WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, writes have read it with interest EARL SPENCER whose ancestral seat is Althrop Manor in North- amptonshire, England, only a few miles from Sulgrave Manor, the ancient home of the Washingtons, writes from Spencer House, under date ©: 1924 November 16, | am greatly interested in Mount Vernon and the Washington Family and have been greatly instructed by reading it, having learned a lot about the family.” QU)HON. W. H. S. THOMSON, Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, writes “| have read your little volume with great interest. Dealing with facts gathered from a wide field of research, you were evidently impressed with the thought that historical accuracy was the one thing needful. You have put in condensed form in logical arrangement, and with eloquent simplicity of expression, much that all Americans should know touching the life of this great historical figure. At once interesting and instructive, the volume deserves a verv wide circulation HON. THEODORE E. BURTON, Congressman and former United States Senator from Ohio, writes “Even though small, it contains much of interest to every American thoroughly) enjoyed it.” HON. ARTHUR CAPPER, Editor of Capper’s Weekly, and United States Senator from Kansas, writes “| have been very much interested in reading your booklet on the Washington family, and congratulate you upon the presentation of this reliable bit of true American history. Some of the facts related by you are new to me, and | enjoyed them greatly [his is a volume which it would be well for all Americans to read, and | hope it has an exceptionally wide circulation.’ |eS,es i a 5 atet —Aye f. YX OOL 174 970 UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA LIBRARY The return of this book is due on the date indicated below f | J a ) L nN : ‘ DUE DUE MICHIE CO Usually books are lent out for two weeks, but there are exceptions and the borrower should note carefully the date stamped above. Fines are charged for over- due books at the rate of ten cents a day; for reserved books the rate is twenty-five cents a day. (For de- tailed regulations please see folder on “Loan of Books.’’) Books must be presented at the desk if re- newal is desired.