Mary Ball Washington

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Portrait of Mary Ball Washington, by Robert Edge Pine , 1786.

Mary Ball Washington (* 1708 in Lively , Lancaster County , † August 25, 1789 in Mary Washington House in Fredericksburg) was the second wife of Augustine Washington and the mother of George Washington .

Life

She was born as Mary Ball and was the only child of Joseph Ball (1649-1711) and his second wife, the widow Mary Johnson, whose maiden name and origin are unknown. Her father died when she was three years old; when she lost her mother at the age of twelve, according to her mother's last will, the lawyer George Eskridge became her guardian.

On March 6, 1731, she married the widower Augustine Washington. Augustine already had four children from his first marriage to Jane Butler, only two of whom reached adulthood. From 1738 they lived on what is now the Ferry Farm . The couple had six more children together:

  • George Washington (1732–1799)
  • Betty Washington Lewis (1733–1797)
  • Samuel Washington (1734–1781)
  • John Augustine Washington (1736–1787)
  • Charles Washington (1738–1799)
  • Mildred Washington (1739-1740)

Augustine died in 1743. Unlike most Virginia widows of the time, Mary Ball Washington did not remarry. She saw her son George Washington sworn in as President of the United States.

Washington's relationship with his mother was very strained throughout his life. Though by no means poor, she regularly complained to outsiders that she was destitute and neglected by her children, much to George's embarrassment. In 1772 he bought her a house (today's Mary Washington House ) in Fredericksburg, where she lived until her death. The animosities between mother and son continued until they died of cancer in the first year of his presidency. As a token of mourning, the members of the Congress wore a black armband for 30 days and decided to erect a memorial in their honor.

Mary Ball Washington was buried on the Lewis Plantation in Kenmore , the home of her daughter Betty and son-in-law Fielding Lewis, near the "Meditation Rock". According to tradition, this was their preferred retreat to read, pray and meditate.

The Mary Washington House in Fredericksburg

Commemoration

  • There are many monuments to Mary Ball Washington in Fredericksburg
  • The Mary Washington House , which was acquired by George Washington for her, was approved by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities preserved and accessible today as a historical museum to the public. It contains a collection of antique furniture, some of which comes from the Washington family.
  • The University of Mary Washington , a public university in Fredericksburg, was named after Mary Washington.
  • The Mary Washington Hospital , with 437 beds, was also named after her.

literature

  • Martha Saxton: The widow Washington: the life of Mary Washington , New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2019, ISBN 978-0-8090-9701-2 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Washington, Mary Ball
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mary ball
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mother of George Washington
DATE OF BIRTH 1708
PLACE OF BIRTH Lively, Lancaster County (Virginia)
DATE OF DEATH August 25, 1789