Obituary

Death of Martha Washington

Early in May of 1802, Martha Washington fell sick with a stomach ailment, a complaint that at the time was called “bilious fever.” She remained ill through the rest of the month and apparently felt that death was near, as various groups of family members journeyed to Mount Vernon to be with her. She died on May 22. This obituary appeared soon after in a newspaper in Georgia (image courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).

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Letter, Martha Washington to John Parke and Eleanor Custis, March 19, 1779

Martha Washington as the General's Wife

Martha Washington wrote this letter to her son and his wife from the Continental Army’s winter camp at Middlebrook, New Jersey (she accidentally misdated it 1778). Martha’s displeasure at not having received letters recently from the couple is evident (image courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).

Martha Washington

1779-03-19

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Letter, Martha Washington to Elizabeth Dandridge Henley, August 20, 1797

Martha Washington as Mistress of the Household

Elizabeth Henley was Martha Washington’s youngest sister. Her daughter Frances “Fanny” Henley (not to be confused with Martha’s other niece Frances “Fanny” Bassett Washington Lear, who had died a year earlier) came to Mount Vernon for a visit in the summer of 1797. This letter informs Henley that Fanny had arrived safely. Martha also laments that she has had to take up housekeeping chores that would normally have been left to slaves. Earlier in the year, just before the Washingtons left Philadelphia at the end of George’s second Presidential term, two slaves, Ona Judge, Martha’s bodyservant, and Hercules, the cook, had both run away from the household (image courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).

Martha Washington

1797-08-20

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Letter, Martha Washington to Fanny Bassett Washington, November 30, 1794

MW writes Fanny about the unexpected expenditure of wine on visitors while MW and GW are away in Washington.

Martha Washington

1794-11-30

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Letter, Martha Washington to Eleanor Parke Custis, n.d.

This undated letter was written in the mid-1790s, most likely in 1795, during George Washington’s second Presidential term. In it, Martha Washington offers feminine advice to her granddaughter Nelly regarding her attire for an upcoming formal ball. Nelly, who grew up in the Washington household, turned sixteen in 1795, and it is possible that this was her first ball (image courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).

Martha Washington

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Letter, John Parke Custis to Martha Washington, October 12, 1781

Custis family news, escaped slaves

This letter was written by John Parke (Jacky) Custis to his mother Martha Washington from the camp of the Continental Army in front of Yorktown. Very late in the war, Jacky joined the army as a civilian aide to General Washington. In the postscript, Jacky mentions his efforts to locate escaped slaves who had run away from Mount Vernon. He also depicts the terrible mortality that had taken place among the large numbers of African-Americans present at the siege, presumably in large part a result of smallpox.

John Parke Custis

1781-10-12

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Postscript, Martha Washington to George Washington, March 30, 1767

Correspondence between Martha and George Washington

Appended to a letter from Lund Washington to George Washington, this brief note is significant primarily because it is one of two surviving communications from Martha to George Washington. After George’s death, Martha destroyed their correspondence; only a handful of letters survived. The note expresses Martha’s pleasure that George had safely arrived in Williamsburg, where he had journeyed to attend a session of the House of Burgesses (image courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).

Martha Washington

1767-03-30

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Reply to invitation from Samuel and Elizabeth Powel, April 24, 1793

The Powels were important figures in upper-class Philadelphia and good friends of the President and his wife.  This note is a reply to an invitation to join the Powels at a circus (in fact, the first documented circus in America).  President Washington and other members of the household attended, but Martha was unfortunately ill and had to stay at home (image courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).

George Washington

1793-04-24

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Invitation to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Porter, May 18, 1788

This invitation dates to the brief period the Washingtons spent at Mount Vernon between the Revolution and the Presidency. The Porters were among the hundreds of houseguests that Mount Vernon hosted every year (many of them uninvited). Thomas Porter was a merchant in the port town of Alexandria, less than twenty miles from Mount Vernon. His wife Sarah was from the prominent Ramsay family (image courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).

1788-05-18

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Letter, Martha Washington to Elizabeth Powel, May 20, 1797

Martha Washington as Mistress of the Household

In this letter to her Philadelphia friend Elizabeth Powel, Martha Washington refers to her search for additional slaves to assist in the kitchen at Mount Vernon. It is notable especially for a paragraph alluding to the suspect trustworthiness of slaves. George Washington apparently drafted the letter which Martha then sent out with her own signature (image courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).

Martha Washington

1797-05-20

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