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Mary And Martha: The Mother And The Wife Of George Washington
Mary And Martha The Mother And The Wife Of George Washington Author:Benson J. Lossing Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: At their Stafford home Augustine and Mary Washington enjoyed their sweet domestic life for eight years longer, and there three more children were born—John Augus... more »tine, in January, 1736 ; Charles, in May, 1738; and Mildred, in June, 1739. Mildred died in the autumn of the next year. Nearly eighty years after the birthplace of George Washington was destroyed, his foster-son, the late George Washington Parke Custis, placed a memorial stone on the site of the dwelligg, bearing the following inscription : It was on a beautiful June day in 1815 when Mr. Custis and three other gentlemen sailed from Alexandria in his own little vessel, with the memorial stone wrapped in an American flag, and landing at a convenient place, bore it to the destined spot. They gathered a few bricks from the ruins of one of the ancient chimneys and constructed a rude pedestal on which they laid the stone in a recumbent position. With a few words Mr. Custis commended this first monument erected to the memory of Washington to the care of the American people and the citizens of Westmoreland in particular. DEATH OF WASHINGTON'S FATHER. 31 When I visited the spot many years ago, it was a scene of desolation. There was a solitary chimney standing like a guardian of the place. The memorial stone was broken and almost concealed by tangled vines, briers, and rank weeds, and all around the hallowed spot were wild shrubs, the remains of some fig-trees, with here and there a stunted cedar sapling. The vault of the Washington family, at Bridge's Creek, nearly a mile distant, was in an open field, and so dilapidated that some of the remains were exposed to view; and near by were broken slabs with the names of some of the Washingtons inscribed upon them, which had been set up as mementos of affection and respect. ...« less