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THE LITTLE-KNOWN MOTHER OF GEORGE WASHINGTON At Fredericksburg, Virginia. the Memory of Mary Washnigton Is Aaron Hardy U1 tn in Dearborn Independent. "And up ihe street a Utile way is "he old home of Mary Washington," said the Fredericksburg man. who was pointing out the numerous places of historic interest in the quaint old Virginia town. "Mary Washington?" I answered, question ingly. "George Washington's mother," he explained, as if it was not unusual for strangers to be wholly ignorant, as I was, of Washington's maternal parent. I. perhaps, had read a paragraph or ' ?v>;_ FO about wasnmgioil S muiuvi in urographies of her son. But the mother of the greatest of Americans was a total stranger to me. Incidentally. I found later, when 1 went roaming through the book^p about her son. that few of the biographers of Washington allow more than a paragraph to his mother. John Marshall, whose monumental work uf five vdI nmes still is considered by many to be the best, gives her only a phrase: " a timid and affectionate mother " Some verge even on a sort of scorn in their treatment of her. Hastening to the small old-fashioned dwelling, now. thanks, to a group of patriotic Virginia women, preserved as a nublic shrine, where Mary Washington spent her latter days an;I died, I quickly came face to face with cnirt nf Washington's mother. In a way, her spirit still dominates the scenes she once ruled with iron will. Nearly all that is remembered of Washington's mother illustrates, among other things, that she always "had a mind of her own." The small house remains very much as it wwhen she died. The mahogany fourposter bed, with the steps neea-1'. for reaching its lofty heights, stands in ?-! :a .....c ine main room, il is wiui mw sive feather mattresses, overlaid by a counterpane. There are other relics of Mary Washington's day, some o:' which may have belonged +o her. The town's growth has caused streets to cut away the ample yard which once fronted the house, and only a moiety of the big garden in the rear remains. Therein, however,, you see a boxwood hedge that was set out by its revered occupant of nearly a century and a half ago. Cut off from the main house, as was the rule in that day, is the kitchen, preserved in its . original picturesqueness, with its wide fireplace and the tongs and hooks and long-handled cooking irons used in preparing meals over open fires. Lafayette went there alone, after the close of the Revolutionary war, to pay his respects to the mother of the chief he adored. Lafayette talked with her in the garden and in the house and immediately thereafter declared: "I have this'day spoken with a truly Roman mother." That's the impression one who look* into the little that survives about Mary Washington gets now. She evidently did not fit into her period with that nicety that was achieved by her graceful daughter-in-law, Martha Custis Washington. Yet if she lived today she might fit better than would Martha, as she would have excelled in the day of the Caesars or any other. For Mary Washington seems to have been of that rare type that fits with equal success into any period?a woman of the ages, as it were. However the historians may "damn her with faint praise,*' and regardless of how popular fancy has passed her by, the people of Fredericksburg, where she spent the greater part of her life, are very fond of Mary Washington. And-of all the many historicfigures associated with the community's past, they seem to like best to r\? VifV + nnrvofo f Vi V'A 11V UilVi C W 1 K? 1 i III vv * esting traditons that have come down, largely mouth to mouth, concerning her. Only a few blocks from the old home a modest monument stands in honor of Washington's mother. It is near a picturesque rock, which overhangs a tree-covered knoll and overlooks a beautiful meadow. Tradition says that in her latter years she spent much time sitting on that rock, reading and meditating. Near by she was buried and there her body rests today. The site of "Oratory Rock'' and the Mary Washington monument was once within the extensive grounds that surrounded "Kenmore.'' the home of Betty Washington, only sister of George Washington to reach maturity, after Betty became the bride of Colonel Fielding Lewis, one of the wealthiest men of that section during Revolutionary times. The house where Betty lived still stands. Mary Washington's home adjoined the grounds of Kenmore. Bungalows and cottages now separate the two places, but there yet stand a few of the 13 trees George Washington put cut there in honor of the !.*> states he mainly was instrumental ir; creating. i The Lome in Fredericksburg was purchased for his mother l?y (leorge ; , Washington ju5t be!'.?ro he became | commander-in-chief ei' the Revola' tionary forces. Prior to that she lived on "Ferry faim," across the river : from FretJerivksbur:". It w:;>-. ov< tlvit f irm *ha* her i?>i?n >!"!I ->n st> '.i'.n-t of !i:o bo> hood. lr \v;?> lb re that ibe i !. ! ;. is < ! 'i>nt <?; . red. if it occurred at nil. for W.: \:n<: tons moved there when Gennre was between three and five years old. .While in Fredericksburg; 1 visited the place, still comprising nearly the same acreage owned by the Washington?. It now is owned and operated as a dairy farm by J. 15. Colbert. Virtually ai! vestures of the Washington era are gone. A few trees may have belonged to it. There's a small, cypress " 1 1 ' 1 * 11 i 1. rooted s.'ianiy. ciear:y very o;u. wmcn tradition says was once George Washington's workroom and office. It was there that Augustine Wash- . insrion died when the eldest son of his second wife. Mary, was only 11 years old, and it w:'s from there that Washington went to school at Falmouth, a few miles away, and at 1 Fredericksburg, near by. J Thouyh Mnrv Washington lived to , a very old age. dying1 within a few months after her son became the first; I president of the United States, there] survived only a meager amount ol , authentic data regarding her. Vnctb sd,(fsth ?Csr shrdl cmfwysc ; She was 22 when she became the ; second wife of Augustine Washing-; to*1. Hoi- father. .Tosenh Ball, was of the landed aristocracy of the "Nor-; thern Neck" region of tidewater Vir ginia, a region sometimes called the f "Athens of America." because of the j large number of famous men who1 were born th:*re. Excepting that she was the "Widow Johiison" when she married Colonel Ball and married fgain after Mary's father died, little i? known of Washington's maternal grandmother. It is probable that ; -T ... 1- __i ? ... l 1 _1 _ irom ner. w asningion s motner uerived and passed on to her son a strain which softened the stiff aristocracy of the Washington*. Mary almost certainly gave to him that stubborn will, which was among his most telling characteristics. On marrying, Mary Washington took over the management of her husband's household at Wakefield on the Potomac river, about (10 miles below Washington. The Wakefield place is now cut off from the customary lines of travel and but for a monument which marks the site of the house wherein George Washington was born, no memento of iv^ ui y xnxiaiiid vidwiu. i Nearly all that is known of Mary Washington's life and most that is Known of her first son's boyhood is associated with Fredericksburg and environs. After the Wakefield house? was destroyed by fire, ; i.; believed she induced her husbznd to move to' the Fredericksburg place because of the schooling advantages there afforded for her children, of which there ; were ultimately six, five of them surviving. i Just as Mary Washington will remain largely an unknown figure and the little that survives will be subject | to varying constructions, George, Washington's relations with his moth-; er, for the lack of data, will always be a subject, more or less, of mystery. The little of authentic nature which survives does not make one certain ! that they "got along: together" perfectly. There appears to have been throughout their lives a more or less | constant conflict of will between! them. This may be due to the fact that they were both strong-willed and determined, and in several other reI Epects quite different. There is no question about Washington's having had profound respect for his mother. It is known that even after he made his residence at Mount Vernon he visited his mother often and gave close attention to her affairs even up to her death, which occurred shortly after he was inaugurated president for the first time. However, from the beginning of the Revolutionary war 'J 1% ^ U AV Vfif f nl_ UJ I CliU iir liVV VI ca >v a. v x w * lowing the victory of Yorktown, Washington, with his staff and many French officers hastened to Frederiicksburg, and among the tirst person he went to see was his mother. .An .orderly preceded him and with great formality announced to Mary Washington, the heroine of the day: "Madame. His Excellency will be here within + he hour.'' "His excellency!" .she exclaimed. "Toll George 1 shall bo glad to see him." George Washington Parke f'ustis, grandson nf ^1 itt ?1_ ; ;A: :*iarma wasniiig.on, wmu;i^ oi ujc meeting between the gereral and his .mother said: '"The lady was alone, her aged hands employed in the works of do! mestics industry, when the good news ! ;was announced: and it was further told .that the good victor was waiting at the threshold. She welcomed him .with a warm embrace, rind by tho well i i remembered and endearing name ol 1:is childhood: inquiring as to hi: health, she remarked the lines \viiici mighty cares and many trials h:i< made on his manly countenance snoke much of old times and oh 1'ritnds, but of his glory?not : word." The tradition that she never ?h< \v any i :;f hu-iasni for her sot.- mil re now.'i ?('(',Mi." V-M 5iX? I I'l.'l i; nm>' in ha red on f.i.t . Washington visited hi-; mother fi" tit" las-? t;me ju-u before '* .?* Iff' foi Philadelphia to t:ik<* lhe oalh of of f.ce as president. She to!'! him tha they would never meet ajrain and : few months later she (V 11. Lawrence Washington. George" cousin and playmate, in his old a.^e wrote as follows of Mary : ''Of her I was 10 times more rfruit than I ever was of my own parents She awed me in the midst of ner kindness I have often been presen with her for.?, proper tall fellows, too and we were all as mute as mice; ami even now. when time has whitenec my locks and I am the grandparent o1 a second generation, I could nr-t be hold that remarkable woman withou feelings it is difficult to describe Whoever has seen that awe-inspivin.c air and manner so characteristic oj the Father of His Country will re member the mother as she apnearer when the presiding genius of hei we 1 J-orciered hou<ehold, commandir. and being obeyed." There are several reputed portraits - C 1 u,.4. ?^4 *i :. 1.? ? ux 11cri, u'.u nui uiic ui beyond all doubt to be hers. The house where Mary Washington lived was about to bo purchased froir. its private owner and carried to ihe Chicago exposition and there put or Jl o ? n . "s Saturdays These pric of 20 years z 3-8c the pom NO. 300 i Our No. 300 Moui lue. Saturdays and . N Our No. 200 Moui lue. Saturdays and I Mountain City L( and Monday specia NE? Shipment of Ne\ fast colors. The yar J. & P. Coats Spot numbers, the spool . C ij \ BI "Rlar>k T ;PcA want. Ask to see th EXTRA SPECL 10 pounds best Si N< r display, when the woman who rented ; and lived in it brought the* matter to 1 the atteneion t.*f !i :jd;j:vi Virginia w ?- . I men, who immediately raised funds ^ . for its purchase and saved it. i What everyone in Fredericksburg t : says, as well as the sparse data re- j corded in books, indicates that Wash- ; - ington's motiur was a truly mtcrr-i - j;'ir Itiul I!" <!'?'!'? V.'O Mi "III. ( T? ' * f !y i>v-*ir 1 t* . ' ; :? : : i ' : > (>i" .i grct'.o ii? ? v. :?> v. ' exchanging stories "J* adventure, "an i. only came down yciterd-iy. One % ( t morning last week I struck the trail ^ of a bear and followed it 1*1! about half-past four that afternoon before s . . . g:v;:r.v it up. "What made you quifafter patting; in a whole day's work?" asked one 1 of the listeners. s * ; "Well, to tell the truth.'' replied c the first speaker, shifting his weight r " ponderously from one leg; to the oth- I ' er. "it seemed to me the trail was 2 ' getting altogether too fresh.?Har1 per's Magazine. it r ! ?_? *? Harsh Sentence ; ' i Ave Cory brought the following! ' story over from New York the other * P day: I i A negro charged with stealing a | j watch l:ad boon arraigned before the' ' court. The judge was not convinced . 1 that he was guilty and said: !c :: "You are acquitted, Sam." I "Acquitted," repeated Sam daubt-|c 5 fully. "What do \#ou mean, judge?" !\ 1 ''That's the sentence; you are ac-; r quitted." |t Still looking somewhat confused, p i S. m rlau: "Judge, does dat mean I jo h::ve to give the watch back?"?Chris-i n i ti.-.n Evangelist. |c es quoted below i?Q when Cotton nd, MOUNTAIN CITY ELE/ ntain City 36-in Bleaching, Mondays specials. 10 yd. 1 O. 200 MOUNTAIN CIT5 itain City 36-in. starchless Mondays extra specials. 9y< LONG CLOTH )ngcloth. Velvet Finish. 2Is. 10 yd. limit. Yard / SPRING DRESS GINGfc _ i ' ' ^ - rn ..i " v spring vjiugnams, ioil v d SPOOL COTTON j! Cotton, black and white, SHIPMENT NE^ FOI Black Ki< ^ 1-bick- K if] Ox for \ rubber heel at, pai Brown O Dark Brown Oxfc rubber heel at, pair ... Black On< Black one strap Slii :mcl toe, $4.00 value, sj Black S Black Satin, Baby L< ^ Ki'ippendorf Dittman 1 .ACK PATENT LEATHE ther, 2 straps, medium bee tern. \L FOR SATURDAY A igar for swberry, S. Fitting Text A colored preacher in Alabama had ! it one time served a short jail sen- ; ence and was fearful lest his con<rreraticn discover the fart. a> in his la- i er vears hi> had been a model of ree- i I itude. One Sunday, risinp to be.sin i r"> sermon, his heart sank to see a i .. .< it, <! <> front i'f . ;* : t vi'ii.i 11^ ii< .J. . kw..v , - *w. Quid; ihiul:w is ???"* ' arv. i ' l .i'v-; . . > ??n :n unv. romo *i:? 1 I"vu-:i, : ai'iiounvf. sol-: iy: "Ah takes mah is.'V1, d s ! it>**i:?i" froiir si:<-'y fo'th rhap*ah tnd fo' hundredth verse of de hook >f Job. which says: 'Dem as sees and cnows me, and says nothin' dem will \h pee later/ "?The Argonaut. Hnc! Inrr Off I r? O! fl OlOS ~ Man went into Gorman butcher; hop and asked the price of pork > i hop?. To the reply of 30 cents a >ound. he remonstrated that the i mtcher across the street asked only !0 cents. "Why don't you buy them there.! hen?"' asked the German. "I would, but he's out," said the ; nefnm ov uciumv i . "Oh, veil, ven I'm oud, I sell 'em or only 10 sends a pound." New Memory System I "How is it you have such a jjood ! nemory, Norah?" her mistress in[uired. "Well. mum. I'll tell ve. Since me i ! hildhood, never a lie have I told, and i v*hen ye don't have to be taxin' yerj nemory to be rememberin' what ye' old this one or that, or how ye ex- j J lained this or that, sure ye don't j verwork it an' it lasts yc, good a; | ien*, til! ye die."?Christian Aavc- ; ate. . I ?j ers i _ I k - i! j remind you sold for 8. j ^CKING I; starehless, 25c va- ;" imit. Yard 15c ( Bleaching, 25c vail. limit. 9 yds. $1.00 3c value. Saturday 15c JAMS ie Nord, guaranteed 25c full 150 yards, all 5c N SPRING OX- : RDS f d Oxfords da, medium toe and r $2.98 xfords I ; >rds, medium toe. i $2,98 | ,1 I i ; Strap pper, medium heel fecial price ....$2,98 I r ' -atm ; juis Heel, 2 straps, idnd, all sizes. I ,R 1, just the kind you ND MONDAY j 50c mhi Store !! c. I j I J I I I FOR S i ? ? ? m ii in i i i ? | 1089 Tickets ! Each ticket wi i 9.11 AfMciW* i?Jz rkl'?il:.yi2'b s /n si j If the sale ( sumpsshil if will me.a V<HV V WA/A ??? a w i nasium and a new for the College next 1 Tickets go en Sale ! Contributed Member Newberry Cham I bmmmbwmw? ? # < s Don't Spare I in time of sicknes medicine must b get well again, bu depend upon the A 4. the medicine the : Bring your doctoi tion here and jou what his order ca up of the purest ? drugs, with consu and skill, yet char reasonably. Prom Mayes Drui Newberry, M cmbci Newberry Chambe r j 3 admit to (jHIR S St fa, 151923 j - 3 I 'H }f tickets prove m a npw fivm LAI iA. ?1V "T ^ J "** Athetotic Field fall. Feb. 20,11922 by ber of Commerce ' I .11 J ' -3 A K ; it!9 Spoon ? s. Doses of e taken to t a lot will ; quality of spoon holds, r's Drescrio ~ X * will get just lis for, made and freshest inmate care ged for most ct service. I Store South Carolina : i I r of Commerce. 'S3 :|