The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-09-23

new field aud earnestly desired to comDlete
the undertaking. Years came and went,
the war between the states broke out, and
this intended monument was an unlnten-
tioral target for the forces that filled Fred
ericksbnrg with dead men by the thousand.
No town in all the land suffered more than
did this from the scourge of iron hail or the
devastating march of both armies. 1t will
never fully recover from IL. During the
present year floods have destroyed crops,
wrecked two bridges across the river,
ruined the water power, put out the cleo
trio lights and left the community poorer
than ever.
WHAT OLD PEOPLE REMEMBER.
fredericksburg has failed to record her
traditions and the result is but little is left
| to posterity except the well defined facts
of its history as related TO our common
| country. There are some two or three very
! old people here who knew and talked with
people who associated with tho Washing
| tons Mr. A. K Phillips, now some Sc
wears of age. knew the Lucas family; they
| told Mr.. Phillips many things of Mary
Washington aud George Washington. Al
| though his mind is clear aud his memory
| fairly good he can not recall single thing
| that was told to him, except that Mary
Washington rode in a yellow chaise drawn
by one horse driven by a negro slave, and
that she always carried in her hand long
staff or cane
Mary Washington was the daughter of
Col Joseph Ball by his second wife, Mary
johnson. He married his first wife in Eng
| land who died there, leaving him son and
two daughters. He married Mary johnson,
| supposed TO be "a widow, who had one child
named Eliza at the time, as he mentions her
| in his will with a bequest OF 100 acres of
land Mary was the only child by this
marriage. 1t is very evident that feather
| beds, holsters and "bed clothes" were high
" treasured by our forefathers, as Mary
| Washington in turn willed "my best bed
stead and Virginia cloth curtains the same
that stands in my best ROOM, my quilted
blue and white quilt and my best dressing
glass" ito my son, Gen. George Washing
ton" Thus it was that these helrlooms
passed from generation to generation.
Mary Washington was born in 1905 Her
father died in June, I'LL, when she was 5
years of age. Her mother died in IT'S, with
| Nary full grown to womanhood. She accom-
panied her half brother to England, where
she resided for year or two, and was mar
ried to Augustine Washington, and soon
thereafter came to reside in Westmoreand,
on Pope's creek Here George, her first
child, and thereafter first in all things, was
born, Feb %, 1872. Four other children
were born to her, all five within the thirteen
years of married life, for her husband died
April II, 1743, at the plantation home here
ton of their homo at Westmoreland by fire
in 1885, they had moved here to other prop
erty, of which they possessed considerable
area.
A STRONG WOMAN CHARACTER.
Mary Washington is described as a
woman of very fine figure, rather tall, with
strikingly handsome features, showinggreat
character. Her eyes were blue and her
hair iaxen. Her feet and hands were well
proportional. Always inclined to reserve
and dignity, she carried herself erect and
walked with a firm step. This was char
acteristic of her all through life.
Writing to friends she spoke Of the diff
Guilty with which proper schooling could be
had. She had private tutor a part of the
time, but alludes to a young assistant rector
of the church of Eng land who had TO teach
to make competence as the small salary
of his church office did not provide suf1i-
cient means to maintain him. She was not
an educated woman in the common accept
ance of the term, and yet how well schooled
in the affairs of life is well known.
George was always affectionate and re-
spectful to her as a small boy, and as the
years Of manhood crowned him his heart
filled with filial love that seemed to increase
as the time drew her from him. 1t was on
the banks of the Potomac that the white
winged ships caught his boyish eye and
made him choose the sea for his field of ac-
ton. Mark her Influence as bearing on our
history just here. He had accepted a mid
shipman's warrant at Is years Of age His
baggage was all packed. Soon he would be
far from her on the waste Of waters She
could not give him up TO its dangers and
the separation of months and years Yield
ing to her wishes he declined at the last mo-
ment and at the age of II accepted the po-
sition as surveyor for Lord Fairfax in 1749.
The Rappahannock that she crossed 50
many times going to and from her planta-
ton after she moved to Fredericksburg was
as late as 1912 navigable to seagoing vessels
as far up to Falmouth, a mile above. She
came to reside on the opposite bank from
here in 1745, and therefore George was then
ID years of age He was noted for his ply
steal strength, and was able to throw stone
across the Rappahannock when Is years of
age-a remarkable feat. A very excellent
citizen of the place, in speaking of the cher
ry tree story, said, while he laughed at the
suggestion, that the cherry tree was fast
disappearing hereabouts, perhaps on ac-
count of the tales with which it had beer so
credulously linked,
THE STORY OF THE COLT.
1t is said that Mary Washington had a
fiery colt that could not be backed, that the
intrepid George accepted the banter of his
brothers and sisters and succeeded in
mounting. The high strung animal
| plunged ana reared ana klCkeil, ana IdllluR
to unseat him reared up and fell down dead
having burst blood vessel. At tea time
the mother inquired if they had seen her
pet colt. All the Others were dumbfounded
with fear of the probable wrath. George
frankly told the story of the death of .the
colt and was commended by his mother for
his frankness and honesty. | cannot but
admire the discretion of the other children.
for if it had been one of the other boys |
doubt if they had Jared SO we'll with the
maternal tribunal, for she dotted on George.
When the trying days of the Revolution
were beginning George persuaded his
mother to move over to Fredericksburg
her children were all past 30 and she was In
an unprotected position on the farm. He
left home in 1749 Her feeling of indepen-
dence ever predominating would not permit
her to occupy the hospitabIe quarters of
her daughter, Bette Lewis splendid home,
but she rather chose the humble cottage on