Washington's Birth-place. His Ancestors. Arms and Monuments. First Monumental Stone to the Memory of Washington The house in which his nativity took place was precisely the same in appearance as the family residence on the Rappahannock, delineated opposite, being of the better class of plain From that gentleman have descended the branches of the Washington family in England and America. The name is frequently mentioned in the local histories of England as belonging to persons of wealth and distinction. Sir Henry Washington was renowned for his bravery at the siege of Worcester against the parliamentary troops, and at the taking of Bristol. Monuments erected in churches with the name of Washington upon them, are proofs of their opulence. The ancient seat of the Washington family is said to be yet well preserved. It is built of stone of great solidity. The timber is chiefly of oak; and in several of the rooms, particularly in the large hall or banqueting-room, are remains of rich carving and gilding in the cornices and wainscoting. Over the mantel-pieces, elaborately carved, are the family arms, richly emblazoned upon escutcheons. The walls of the house are five feet thick. The entire residence is surrounded by a beautiful garden and orchards. The old family monument, erected to the memory of " SIR LAURENCE WASHINGTON, Nite," grandson of the first proprietor of the name, of Sulgrave, and the ancestor of General Washington, is in the cemetery of Gardson Church, two miles from Malmsbury. It is of the mural style, and bears the family arms. Sir Laurence Washington died in May, 1643. Two of his sons, John and Laurence Washington, emigrated to Virginia about the year 1657, and settled at Bridge's Creek, on the Potomac, in Westmoreland county. The eldest brother of the emigrants, Sir William Washington, married a half sister of George Villiers, duke of Buckingham. John Washington, soon after settling in Virginia, engaged in military expeditions against the Indians, and rose to the rank of colonel. He married Ann Pope, by whom he had two sons, Laurence and John, and a daughter. Laurence married Mildred WarARMS OF THE WASH- ner, of Gloucester county, and had three children, John, Augustine, and Mildred. Augustine first married Jane Butler, by whom he had three sons and a daughter. His sec INGTON FAMILY.* 1 This, and the picture of the residence of the Washington family on the Rappahannock, are from drawings by John G. Chapman, Esq. Under date of August 21, 1851, Mr. Custis kindly furnished me with an interesting account of the dedication of this first monumental stone to the memory of Washington. In June, 1815 (a few days before the corner stone of the Washington monument at Baltimore was laid), accompanied by two gentlemen (Messrs. Lewis and Grymes), he sailed from Alexandria in his own vessel, the Lady of the Lake, for Pope's Creek. Arrived at the hallowed spot with the inscribed tablet, they proceeded to deposit it in a proper place. "Desirous of making the ceremonial of depositing the stone as imposing as circumstances would permit," says Mr. Custis, "we enveloped it in the 'STAR-SPANGLED BANNER' of our country, and it was borne to its resting-place in the arms of the descendants of four Revolutionary patriots and soldiers-SAMUEL LEWIS, son of George Lewis, a captain in Baylor's regiment of horse, and nephew of Washington; WILLIAM GRYMES, the son of Benjamin Grymes, a gallant and distinguished officer of the Life Guards; the CAPTAIN of the vessel, the son of a brave soldier wounded in the battle of Guilford; and GEORGE W. P. CUSTIS, the son of John Parke Custis, aid-de-camp to the commander-in-chief before Cambridge and Yorktown. We gathered together the bricks of the ancient chimney that once formed the heartb around which Washington in his infancy had played, and constructed a rude kind of pedestal, on which we reverently placed the FIRST STONE, commending it to the respect and protection of the American people in general, and the citizens of Westmoreland in particular." The shield with the stars and stripes, in the lower part of the picture, forms the seal of General Washington. I have a copy of it, taken from the death warrant of a soldier. Early Life of General Washington. Virginia Residence of the Washington Family. Death of his Brother Laurence Virginian farm-houses. It had four rooms, with an enormous chimney at each end, on the outside. The estate on the Rappahannock was owned by his father, Augustine Washington. ond wife was Mary Ball, to whom he was married on the 6th of March, 1730. By her he had six children; the first-born was GEORGE, the subject of our memoir. He was the great-grandson of the first emigrant to America, and sixth in descent from the first Laurence of Sulgrave. He was born on the 22d (11th O. S.) of February, 1732. His parents soon afterward removed to an estate in Stafford county, near Fredericksburg, where his father died on the 12th of April, 1743, and was buried at Bridge's Creek. To each of his sons he left a plantation. To his oldest survivor he bequeathed an estate on Hunting Creek (afterward Mount Vernon), and to George he left the lands and mansion (pictured above) where his father lived. His mother had five young children to nurture and prepare for active life. It was a great responsibility, yet she performed her duty with entire success. To her guidance the world probably owes much of the good which has emanated from the career of her illustrious son. Washington received few advantages from early school education. There were then few good schools in the colonies. The wealthy planters sent their children to England to be educated. The mother of George did not feel able to incur the expense, and he was obliged to rely upon her, a neighboring school, and occasionally a private tutor in mathematics, for his elementary knowledge. His practical mind developed nobly under even this deficient culture. He left school when almost sixteen years of age, pretty thoroughly versed in mathematics, and fully competent for the profession of a practical surveyor. When he was fourteen years old, his half-brother, Laurence Washington, having observed in him a fondness for military matters, obtained for him a midshipman's warrant, in 1746. That gentleman had served under Admiral Vernon at the siege of Carthagena, and in the West Indies, and kept up a friendly correspondence with his commander. He regarded the British navy as an attractive field, where his young brother might become distinguished. The mother of young Washington partly consented; but when the time approached, and the boy with buoyant spirits prepared for departure, her maternal feelings were too strong to allow a separation, and the project was abandoned. Laurence Washington married a daughter of the wealthy William Fairfax, who was for some time president of his majesty's council in the colony. When young Washington left school, he went to live with his brother Laurence at Mount Vernon, and his intimacy with the Fairfax family led to those initial steps in his public life which resulted so gloriously. He was employed to survey the immense tracts of land in the rich valleys of the Alleghany Mountains, belonging to Lord Fairfax, a relative of William. When only sixteen years and one month old, he set out with George W. Fairfax (whose signature, with that of George Mason, is on page 215) to survey these immense tracts. They suffered great privations, and encountered many dangers; but this expedition proved a school of immense advantage to the future hero. He executed his task very satisfactorily, and soon afterward received an appointment as public surveyor. He devoted three years to this lucrative pursuit. His talents, probity, and general intelligence attracted the attention of the authorities of Virginia. The encroachments of the French on the western frontiers of the state, caused the governor to divide the province into militia districts, over which was placed an officer with the rank of major, whose duty it was to drill the people in military tactics. Over one of these districts young Washington was placed at the age of nineteen, with the pay of $750 a year. He had just entered upon this duty, when his brother Laurence, on account of failing health, was advised by his physicians to make a voyage to the West Indies. He desired the company of George, and they sailed for Barbadoes in September, 1751: They remained there a few weeks; but hope for the invalid faded away, and he resolved to go to Bermuda, and send George home for his wife. While in Barbadoes, young Washington was sick three weeks with the small-pox. As soon as he recovered, he sailed for home. At first, an encouraging letter came from Laurence; the second was desponding, and, giving up all hope of life, he returned home He lingered a short time, and died at the age of thirty-four years. His estate of Mount Vernon, as I have elsewhere noticed, he bequeathed to George, in the event of his surviving daughter dying without issue. The Washington Farm. a 1848. Residence of the Mother of Washington. His early Military Career. several years before his marriage with Mary Ball (daughter of Colonel Ball, of Lancas ter), the mother of the illustrious patriot. It is nearly opposite Fredericksburg, in Stafford county, and when I visited that city, a it was the property of the Reverend Thomas Teasdale. The mansion-house, which stood near the present residence of Mr. King, a short distance below the rail-road bridge, has long since gone to decay and disappeared, and to the skillful pencil of J. G. Chapman, Esq., I am indebted for the accompanying picture. The storm continuing, and nothing of interest being left upon the soil known as "The Washington Farm," I did not visit it, but contented myself with a distant view of its rolling acres as I rode out of Fredericksburg to pursue my journey southward. On the northwest corner of Charles and Lewis streets, in Fredericksburg, is the house (the residence of Richard Stirling, Esq) where the mother of Washington resided during the latter years of her life, and where she died. There that honored matron, and more honored son, had their last earthly interview in the spring of 1789, after he was elected President of the United States. Just before his departure for New York to take the oath of office, and to enter upon his new duties, Washington, actuated by that filial reverence and regard which always distinguished him,' hastened to Fredericksburg to visit his mother. She was then fourscore and five years old, bowed with age and the ravages of that terrible disease, a deep-rooted cancer in the breast. Their interview was deeply affecting. After the first emotions incident to the meeting had subsided, Washington said, "The people, madam, have been pleased, with the most flattering unanimity, to elect me to the chief magistracy of the United States; but before I can assume the functions of that office, I have come to bid you an affectionate farewell. So soon as the public business which must necessarily be encountered in arranging a new government can be disposed of, I shall hasten George was one of his brother's executors, and the duties incumbent thereon occupied the principal part of his time. When Governor Dinwiddie came to Virginia, he apportioned the colony into four grand military divisions, over one of which he placed Major Washington. He exercised the functions of his office with great skill and fidelity, and when the continued encroachments of the French and Indians called for a military expedition, Major Washington was sent to reconnoiter, and collect all possible information. In this perilous business he was successful, and so pleased was the governor and council, that they appointed him a commissioner to visit the French posts on the Ohio, and, in the name of the King of England, to demand an explicit answer to the inquiry, "By what right do you invade British territory ?" The particulars of this expedition will be noticed hereafter. Washington was then only twenty-one years old. He not only faithfully executed the instructions of the governor, expressed on the face of his commission, but obtained a great amount of information respecting the numbers and resources of the enemy. For eleven weeks he suffered great hardships with his few companions, when he appeared at Williamsburg, and laid his report before the governor and his council. War was deemed necessary, and arrangements were made accordingly. The other colonies were called upon for aid. Washington was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Virginia forces destined for Ohio, and in April he marched toward the Alleghanies. Some severe conflicts ensued, and finally, the expedition was defeated. The conduct of Washington was highly approved. When Braddock undertook an expedition against the enemy in the spring of 1755, Washington, at his request, accompanied him as one of his military family. In the battle at the Great Meadows which ensued, Braddock was killed. Colonel Washington behaved with the greatest bravery, and by his skill the army was saved from entire destruction. He returned to Mount Vernon, and continued in the military service until 1759, when he was elected a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses for Frederick county. He was married the same year to Mrs. Martha Custis, widow of Daniel Parke Custis. This event is noticed elsewhere. The estate of Mount Vernon having come into his possession, he established himself there three months after his marriage. From that period until his election as a delegate to the first Congress in 1774, his time was devoted to agriculture, and to the duties of a state legislator. He early espoused the cause of the colonists in their disputes with Great Britain, and when the crisis arrived, he was appointed, as we have noticed on page 563, volume i., commander-in-chief of the Continental army. From that time his life forms an important portion of the history of our Republic. His final retirement to Mount Vernon after the war, and his death, will be noticed hereafter. It is related that on one occasion, during the Revolution, his mother was with him at a large social gathering. At nine o'clock in the evening the aged matron approached her son, placed her arm in his, and said, "Come, George, it is time for us to be at home; late hours are injurious." With the docility of a child the general left the company with his mother; "but," as Mrs. Hamilton said to me, when speaking of the circumstance, "he came back again." Washington's last Interview with his Mother. Her Death, and unfinished Monument. Corner stone laid by President Jackson. to Virginia, and-" Here the matron interrupted him with, "You will see me no more. My great age, and the disease which is fast approaching my vitals, warns me that I shall not be long in this world. I trust to God I am somewhat prepared for a better. But go, George, fulfill the destiny which Heaven appears to assign you; go, my son, and may Heaven's and your mother's blessing be with you always." Washington wept; the great man was again a little child, and he kissed the furrowed cheek of his parent with all the tender affection and simplicity of a loving boy. With a full heart he went forth to " fulfill the destiny" which Heaven assigned him, and he saw his mother no more. She died in the autumn of 1789, and was buried on a beautiful knoll upon the estate of her son-in-law, Colonel Fielding Lewis,' within sound of the busy hum of the city. In the midst of the thickly-falling sleet, I made a pilgrimage to the grave of the mother of Washington, and sketched the half-finished and neglected monument which was erected over it a few years ago. It stands near a ledge of rocks, where she often resorted in fine weather for private meditation and devotion. Years before her death she selected that spot for her grave. The monument is of white marble, and, even in its unfinished state, has an im posing appearance. The corner-stone was laid by TOMB OF THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON. Andrew Jackson, then President of the United States, on the 7th of May, 1833, in the presence of a great concourse of people. He went down the Potomac from Washington City on the 6th,' and was met at Potomac Creek, nine miles from Fredericksburg, by the Monument Committee of that city. He was also met by a military escort, and conducted to the residence of Doctor Wallace, where he was entertained. A large military and civic procession was formed the following day, and proceeded to the grave, where the imposing ceremonies were to be performed. Mr. Basset, in behalf of the citizens of Fredericksburg, first addressed the president on the character of her whom they sought to honor. president made an eloquent reply; and, as he deposited an inscribed plate in the hollow corner-stone, he said, "Fellow-citizens, at your request, and in your name, I now deposit this plate in the spot destined for it; and when the American pilgrim shall, in after ages, come up to this high and holy place, and lay his hand upon this sacred column, may he recall the virtues of her who sleeps beneath, and depart with his affections purified, and his piety strengthened, while he invokes blessings upon the memory of the mother of Washington." Referring to this event, Mrs. Sigourney thus beautifully wrote for the Fredonia Arena: "Long hast thou slept unnoticed. Nature stole In her soft minstrelsy around thy bed, The 1 Colonel Fielding Lewis married Elizabeth, the sister of Washington. He was proprietor of half the town of Fredericksburg, and of an extensive territory adjoining. During the war, in which his feelings were warmly enlisted, he superintended the great manufactory of arms in his neighborhood. He was a local magistrate for many years, and often represented his county in the Legislature. He died in December, 1781, at the age of fifty-five years. His son George was at one time a captain in the Commander-inchief's Guard, and his other three sons were active public men. His daughter Elizabeth marrried Charles Carter, Esq. 2 While the boat was lying at the wharf at Alexandria on this occasion, Lieutenant Randolph, who had lately been dismissed from the navy, went on board, and proceeding into the cabin, where the venerable president sat at table reading and smoking, made a brutal and cowardly attack upon him. Randolph was instantly seized by the captain, when a number of his friends, who accompanied him, rescued him, and bore him to the wharf. A citizen of Alexandria hearing of the outrage, was so greatly incensed that he said to the president, "Sir, if you will pardon me in case I am tried and convicted, I will kill Randolph, for this insult to you, in fifteen minutes." "No, sir," responded the president, "I can not do that. I want no man to stand between me and my assailants, nor none to take revenge on my account. Had I been prepared for this cowardly villain's approach, I can assure you all that he never would have the temerity to undertake such a thing again " The unfinished Obelisk for the Tomb of Washington's Mother. Departure from Fredericksburg. General Mercer's Son. Spreading her vernal tissue, violet-gemm'd, She bade bright Summer bring Building no temple in her children's hearts, For the might that clothed The "Pater Patria"-for the glorious deeds We know not-Heaven can tell." Almost twenty years have passed away since the imposing pageant at the laying of the corner-stone was displayed, and yet the monument is unfinished. Still may Spring, and Summer, and "Stormy Winter speak Sternly of man's neglect ;" for the huge marble obelisk, as it came from the quarry, lies there yet, defaced and mutilated by rude hands, and silently appealing to local pride and general patriotism to sculpture its ornaments, and place it where it was designed to be. Year after year the dust of the plain has lodged upon the top of the half-finished pile, and the seeds of wild flowers have been borne thither upon the wings of the zephyrs; and where the base of the noble obelisk should rest, Nature, as if rebuking insensate man, hath woven green garlands, and hung flowery festoons. Upon the broad tablet whereon was to be inscribed the beautiful memorial," MARY, THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON," dark green fungi have made their humiliating record instead. I left Fredericksburg at two o'clock, with the intention of lodging at Bowling Green, in Caroline county, twenty-two miles distant. The post-road is one of the finest I ever traveled; broad, and in good condition. It passes through a gently rolling, fertile country, and apparently well cultivated. When within about twelve miles of my destination I passed a farm-house, from which two men, with a span of horses and a rickety market wagon, This is a sketch, from the original design of the monument, of the obelisk and its surmountings, intended to be placed upon the present structure. Why half-hewn marble has been allowed to remain so long unfinished that Vandal relic-seekers have ruined it, I can not comprehend. Is there not public spirit enough in Virginia to complete this memorial of her most honored daughter? Independent of the reflected glory of her son, she was a noble woman, because truly excellent in all her relations in life; a sincere Christian; kind and benevolent; and a mother who, like Cornelia, regarded her children as her jewels, and cherished them accordingly. 2 It is to me a matter of sincere regret, that when I was at Fredericksburg, I was not aware that Colonel Hugh Mercer, the son of the lamented General Mercer, who was killed at Princeton, was a resident of that city. Educated at the public expense, by order of Congress, his name and character belong to history A portrait of this "foster-child of the Republic" will be found on page 668. |