Martha Washington

Letter, George Washington to Martha Washington, October 1, 1782

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:05:26 +0000

Dublin Core

Title

Letter, George Washington to Martha Washington, October 1, 1782

Subject

Martha Washington

Description

One of three surviving letters addressed from George to Martha Washington, this brief note is an introduction for a Mr. James Brown, who was traveling sourth, to Martha at Mount Vernon. It was a way for George to assure Martha that the bearer was a gentleman. The letter was never delivered, as Brown went no further than Baltimore (image courtesy Rhode Island Historical Society).

Creator

George Washington

Source

[no text]

Publisher

[no text]

Date

1782-10-01

Contributor

[no text]

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[no text]

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[no text]

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[no text]

Language

eng

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[no text]

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[no text]

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Provenance

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Citation

Letter, George Washington to Martha Washington, October 1, 1782. Rhode Island Historical Society.

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[no text]

Rights Holder

Rhode Island Historical Society

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[no text]

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Text

Verplanks point 1st Oct 82

My dearest

If this letter should ever reach your hands, it will be presented by Mr Brown, - son to a Gentlman of that name in Rhode Island, from whom I have received civilities, & to whom, or his connections I could wish to make returns. - As he has thought of going into Virginia I recommend him to your notice & attention

I am most sincerely &
affectionately - Yrs
Go: Washington

[address leaf]
To Lund Washington
at Mount Vernon
Virginia

Note 2 on pp. 188-189 of Fields: "...The verso of the letter has the following notation: 'James Brown Son of John & Sarah his wife received this letter at Verplanks Point on the river Hudson about 40 miles distant from N York City in October 1782 being then on his way to the South....But as this journey to the South extended at that Setting out no further than Baltimore this introductory letter from George Washington was never delivered - Afterwards in 1786 during the month of December He stopped at M. Vernon the immortal Man and his very kind & hospitable Lady were there, and the attention he recd while there from all the family made an impression so strong and so agreeable, that it never can be erased from the Tablet of Memory..."

Original Format

letter

Van Braam cup and saucer, c. 1795

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:54:45 +0000

Dublin Core

Title

Van Braam cup and saucer, c. 1795

Subject

Martha Washington as first lady

Description

In the mid-1790s, Dutch merchant Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest designed a Chinese porcelain service specifically to present as a gift to First Lady Martha Washington. This cup and saucer is one of the few remaining pieces of the service. The cup is emblazoned with Martha’s initials, and both pieces display the linked names of the fifteen states of the Union. A Latin inscription under Martha’s initials translates as, “Our Union is our Glory, and our Defense against Him [i.e. England’s King George III].” Image courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.

Creator

[no text]

Source

[no text]

Publisher

[no text]

Date

1795

Contributor

[no text]

Rights

[no text]

Relation

[no text]

Format

[no text]

Language

eng

Type

[no text]

Identifier

W-1497/A&C

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[no text]

Additional Item Metadata

Provenance

[no text]

Citation

[no text]

Spatial Coverage

[no text]

Rights Holder

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

Temporal Coverage

[no text]

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

china

Physical Dimensions

[no text]

Martha Washington's calling card and case

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:19:19 +0000

Dublin Core

Title

Martha Washington's calling card and case

Subject

[no text]

Description

As First Lady, Martha Washington entered into an important and new public role. Just as with the President, there was debate over what her official title should be. Suggestions included “Lady” and “Marquise.” Early on, Martha herself decided that she should be addressed simply as “Mrs. Washington,” which was printed on her official calling cards. One of these is pictured here, along with an elaborate calling card case owned by Martha. (Courtesy of Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial.)

Creator

[no text]

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[no text]

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[no text]

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[no text]

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[no text]

Rights

Courtesy of Arlington House, the Robert E.
Lee Memorial.

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[no text]

Format

[no text]

Language

eng

Type

[no text]

Identifier

[no text]

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[no text]

Additional Item Metadata

Provenance

[no text]

Citation

[no text]

Spatial Coverage

[no text]

Rights Holder

Mount Vernon

Temporal Coverage

[no text]

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

card and case

Physical Dimensions

[no text]

Garnet necklace

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:49:48 +0000

Dublin Core

Title

Garnet necklace

Subject

Martha Washington

Description

This garnet necklace dates to the beginning of Martha’s marriage to George Washington. It was probably part of a shipment of jewelry from London that arrived in 1759. Garnets were common among the jewelry Martha purchased in the 1750s and 1760s, as they were one of the most fashionable of gemstones at the time (image courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).

Creator

[no text]

Source

[no text]

Publisher

[no text]

Date

1759

Contributor

[no text]

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[no text]

Relation

[no text]

Format

[no text]

Language

eng

Type

[no text]

Identifier

W-2212

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[no text]

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Provenance

[no text]

Citation

[no text]

Spatial Coverage

[no text]

Rights Holder

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

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[no text]

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

jewelry

Physical Dimensions

[no text]

Custine tea service

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:43:53 +0000

Dublin Core

Title

Custine tea service

Subject

Daily life at Mount Vernon

Description

This tea service was presented as a gift to the Washingtons in the early 1780s from the Comte de Custine-Sarreck, who had served under George Washington and General Rochambeau at Yorktown. It was designed specifically for the Washingtons and made at Custine’s own porcelain factory in Niderviller, France (image courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).

Creator

Niderviller pottery and porcelain factory, France

Source

[no text]

Publisher

[no text]

Date

1783

Contributor

[no text]

Rights

[no text]

Relation

[no text]

Format

[no text]

Language

eng

Type

[no text]

Identifier

W-2322

Coverage

[no text]

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Provenance

[no text]

Citation

[no text]

Spatial Coverage

[no text]

Rights Holder

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

Temporal Coverage

[no text]

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

china

Physical Dimensions

[no text]

The Bull-finch; being a choice collection of the newest and most favourite English songs which have been sett to music and sung at the public theatres & gardens

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:45:02 +0000

Dublin Core

Title

The Bull-finch; being a choice collection of the newest and most favourite English songs which have been sett to music and sung at the public theatres & gardens

Subject

Washington Family Life

Description

This collection of popular songs was well-known both in England and in colonial America. In 1758, Martha Custis ordered the work from Robert Cary, one of her London agents. The collection would have been used for communal singing as part of social or family gatherings at Mount Vernon. It is inscribed with Martha’s name in the hand of George Washington.

Creator

[no text]

Source

[no text]

Publisher

R. Baldwin

Date

1775

Contributor

[no text]

Rights

[no text]

Relation

[no text]

Format

[no text]

Language

eng

Type

[no text]

Identifier

ML 137-W

Coverage

[no text]

Additional Item Metadata

Provenance

[no text]

Citation

The Bull-finch; being a choice collection of the newest and most favourite English songs which have been sett to music and sung at the public theatres & gardens. London: printed for R. Baldwin, 1758. Mount Vernon, ML 137-W.

Spatial Coverage

[no text]

Rights Holder

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

Temporal Coverage

[no text]

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

book

Physical Dimensions

[no text]

The Bull-finch; being a choice collection of the newest and most favourite English songs which have been sett to music and sung at the public theatres & gardens" width="100" height="100"/>

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

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:31:27 +0000

Dublin Core

Title

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

Subject

[no text]

Description

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

Creator

Martha Washington

Source

[no text]

Publisher

[no text]

Date

1794-11-30

Contributor

[no text]

Rights

[no text]

Relation

[no text]

Format

[no text]

Language

eng

Type

[no text]

Identifier

[no text]

Coverage

[no text]

Additional Item Metadata

Provenance

[no text]

Citation

The Martha Washington Collection, Mount Vernon.

Spatial Coverage

[no text]

Rights Holder

Mount Vernon

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Text

Partial transcript:

"...the President seemed a good deal surprised - at the quantity of wine that you have given out, as it never was his intention to give wine or goe to any Expence to entertain people that came to Mount vernon out of curiosity to see the place; if it is continued - we shall have but very little for ourselves if we should come home..."

Original Format

[no text]

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

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:16:52 +0000

Dublin Core

Title

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

Subject

[no text]

Description

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).

Creator

Martha Washington

Source

[no text]

Publisher

[no text]

Date

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Contributor

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[no text]

Relation

[no text]

Format

[no text]

Language

eng

Type

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Identifier

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Additional Item Metadata

Provenance

[no text]

Citation

The Martha Washington Collection, Mount Vernon.

Spatial Coverage

[no text]

Rights Holder

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

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[no text]

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[no text]

Original Format

[no text]

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

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:33:00 +0000

Dublin Core

Title

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

Subject

[no text]

Description

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).

Creator

George Washington

Source

[no text]

Publisher

[no text]

Date

1793-04-24

Contributor

[no text]

Rights

[no text]

Relation

[no text]

Format

[no text]

Language

eng

Type

[no text]

Identifier

[no text]

Coverage

[no text]

Additional Item Metadata

Provenance

[no text]

Citation

The Martha Washington Collection, Mount Vernon.

Spatial Coverage

[no text]

Rights Holder

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

Temporal Coverage

[no text]

Document Item Type Metadata

Text

[no text]

Original Format

[no text]

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

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:28:41 +0000

Dublin Core

Title

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

Subject

[no text]

Description

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).

Creator

[no text]

Source

[no text]

Publisher

[no text]

Date

1788-05-18

Contributor

[no text]

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[no text]

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[no text]

Format

[no text]

Language

eng

Type

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Identifier

[no text]

Coverage

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Additional Item Metadata

Provenance

[no text]

Citation

The Martha Washington Collection, Mount Vernon.

Spatial Coverage

[no text]

Rights Holder

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

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Original Format

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