University of Virginia Library

"I was only ten years old when I lost my dear father. He was a Scotchman
descended from a French ancestor, who fled among the first Protestants
who left France in consequence of the persecution that took place
soon after the Reformation. He had an excellent education, and had made
considerable progress in the study of medicine, when an invitation to seek
an establishment in Virginia induced him to cross the Atlantic, and his
first engagement was in Northumberland county, where he lived two years
in a gentleman's family as private tutor. During that time, although teaching
others, he was closely engaged in the study of divinity, and, at the commencement
of the third year from his first arrival, returned to Great Britain
and was ordained a minister of the then Established Church; came back
to Virginia and engaged as curate to your great-uncle, Alexander Scott,
who at that time was minister of Overwharton parish, in Stafford county,
and resided at his seat of Dipple. Your uncle died a short time after, and

my dear father succeeded him in his parish and resided at the glebe-house.
Your grandfather, the Rev. James Scott, who inherited Dipple, continued
there until he settled at Westwood, in Prince William. He was my
father's dearest, kindest friend, and one of the best of men. Their intimacy
brought my father and my mother acquainted, who was sister to
your grandmother Scott. Old Dr. Gustavus Brown, of Maryland, my maternal
grandfather, objected to the marriage of my father and mother.
Although he thought highly of my father, he did not think him an eligible
match for his daughter. He was poor, and very delicate in his health.
Dr. Brown did not, however, forbid their union, and it accordingly took
place. The old gentleman received them as visitors and visited them
again, but would not pay down my mother's intended dowry until he saw
how they could get along, and `to let them see that they could not live on
love without other sauce.'[32] I have often heard my dear mother relate the
circumstances of her first housekeeping with tears of tender and delightful
recollection. They went home from your grandpapa's, where they were
married, with a slenderly-supplied purse and to an empty house,—except
a few absolute necessaries from their kind friends. When thus arrived,
they found some of my good father's parishioners there: one had brought
some wood, another some fowls, a third some meal, and so on. One good
neighbour would insist on washing for them, another would milk, and
another would tend the garden; and they all delighted to serve their good
minister and his wife. Notwithstanding these aids, my mother found much
to initiate her into the habits of an industrious housewife, and my father
into those of an active, practical farmer and gardener, which they never
gave up. When the business of preparing their meal was over, a small
writing-stand was their table, the stair-steps furnished one a seat, and a
trunk the other. Often, when provisions were scarce, my father took his
gun or his fishing-rod and with his dog sallied forth to provide their dinner,
which, when he returned, his happy wife dressed; and often would she
accompany him a-fishing or fowling, for she said that they were too poor
to have full employment in domestic business. Though destitute of every
luxury, they had a small, well-chosen library which my father had collected
while a student and tutor. This was their evening's regale. While
my mother worked with her needle he read to her. This mode of
enjoyment pleasantly brought round the close of the first year. When
the minister's salary was paid they were now comparatively rich. My
dearest father exchanged his shabby black coat for a new one, and the next
year was affluent. By this time the neighbouring gentry found out the
value of their minister and his wife, and contended for their society by
soliciting visits and making them presents of many comforts. Frequently
these grandees would come in their splendid equipages to spend a day at
the glebe, and bring every thing requisite to prevent trouble or expense to
its owners,—merely for the enjoyment of the society of the humble inhabitants
of this humble dwelling. In the lapse of a few years, by frugality
and industry in the management of a good salary, these dear parents
became quite easy in their circumstances. My father purchased a large
tract of land on the river Potomac. He settled this principally by tenants;
but on the most beautiful eminence that I ever beheld, he built a good
house, and soon improved it into a very sweet establishment. Here I was
born: my brother and two sisters, considerably my seniors, were born at the
glebe. My brother, who was intended for the Church, had a private tutor
in the house. This man attended also to my two sisters, who previously
to his residence in the family were under the care of an Englishman, who
lived in the house, but also kept a public school under my father's direction
about a mile from his house. Unhappily for me, I was the youngest,
and very sickly. My father and mother would not allow me to be compelled
to attend to my books or my needle, and to both I had a decided
aversion, unless voluntarily resorted to as an amusement. In this I was indulged.
I would sometimes read a lesson to my sister or the housekeeper, or,
if their authority was resisted, I was called to my mother's side. All this
amounted to my being an ignorant child at my father's death, which was a
death-stroke to my dearest mother. The incurable grief into which it plunged
her could scarcely be a matter of surprise, when the uncommonly tender
affection which united them is considered. They were rather more than
middle-aged when I was first old enough to remember them; yet I well recollect
their inseparable and undeviating association. They were rarely seen
asunder. My mother was an active walker and a good rider. Whenever she
could do so, she accompanied him in his pastoral visits,—a faithful white
servant attending in her absence from home. They walked hand in hand,
and often rode hand in hand,—were both uncommonly fond of the cultivation
of flowers, fruits, and rare plants. They watched the opening buds
together,—together admired the beauty of the full-blown blossoms, and
gathered the ripening fruit or seed. While he wrote or read, she worked
near his table,—which always occupied the pleasantest place in their chamber,
where he chose to study, often laying down his pen to read and comment
on an impressive passage. Frequently, when our evening repast was
over, (if the family were together,) some book, amusing and instructive,
was read aloud by my dear father, and those of the children or their
young associates who could not be silent were sent to bed after evening
worship,—which always took place immediately after supper. Under the
void which this sad separation occasioned, my poor mother's spirits sunk
and never rallied. The first six or eight months were spent in a dark,
secluded chamber, distant from that formerly occupied. The management
of the family devolved on my brother and second sister. My eldest
married two or three years previous to this period. I was left pretty much
to my own management. The education of my brother and sister was
so far finished that they not only held what they had acquired, but continued
to improve; but alas, poor me! I as usual refused every thing like
study, but became, unfortunately, immoderately fond of books. The key
of the library was now within my power, and the few romances it contained
were devoured. Poetry and a botanical work with plates came
next. This gave me a useless, superficial knowledge of what might have
been useful, but what in this indigested way was far otherwise. The
Tattler, Guardian, and Spectator were the only works I read which contained
beneficial instruction; and of these I only read the amusing papers;
and, taking the beautiful and sublime allegories which abound with moral
instruction in a literal sense, I read them as amusing tales. This kind
of reading made up a pernicious mass of chaotic matter that darkened
while it seemed to enlighten my mind, and I soon became romantic and
exceedingly ridiculous,—turned the branches of trees together and called
them a bower, and fancied I could write poetry, and many other silly
things. My dear mother suffered greatly toward the close of her life with a
cancer: for this she visited the medicinal springs, and I was chosen to attend
her. It was a crowded and gay scene for me, who had lived almost entirely
in seclusion. I did not mix in its gayest circle; yet it was of service to
me, as it gave me the first view of real life that ever I had. My beloved
parent was not desirous of confining me; but I rejoice at the recollection
that I very seldom could be prevailed on to leave her. There I first
became the favourite and devoted friend of your most excellent mother.
Forgive the vanity of this boast, my dear cousin, but I cannot help
observing that she afterward told me that it was the manner in which
I discharged this duty that won her esteem and love. At this place I
first met with General Wood, who visited me soon after my return home,
and became my husband four years after."

I have your letter by Peter yesterday, and the day
before I had one from Mr. Scott, who sent up Gustin Brown on purpose
with it. I entirely agree with Mr. Scott in preferring a funeral sermon at
Aquia Church, without any invitation to the house. Mr. Moncure's character
and general acquaintance will draw together much company, besides
a great part of his parishioners, and I am sure you are not in a condition
to bear such a scene; and it would be very inconvenient for a number of
people to come so far from church in the afternoon after the sermon. As
Mr. Moncure did not desire to be buried in any particular place, and as it
is usual to bury clergymen in their own churches, I think the corpse being

deposited in the church where he had so long preached is both decent and
proper, and it is probable, could he have chosen himself, he would have
preferred it. Mr. Scott writes to me that it is intended Mr. Green shall
preach the funeral sermon on the 20th of this month, if fair; if not, the
next fair day; and I shall write to Mr. Green to morrow to that purpose,
and inform him that you expect Mrs. Green and him at your house on the
day before; and, if God grants me strength sufficient either to ride on
horseback or in a chair, I will certainly attend to pay the last duty to the
memory of my friend; but I am really so weak at present that I can't walk
without crutches and very little with them, and have never been out of
the house but once or twice, and then, though I stayed but two or three
minutes at a time, it gave me such a cold as greatly to increase my disorder.
Mr. Green has lately been very sick, and was not able to attend
his church yesterday, (which I did not know when I wrote to Mr. Scott:)
if he should not recover soon, so as to be able to come down, I will inform
you or Mr. Scott in time, that some other clergyman may be applied to.

"I beseech you, dear madam, not to give way to melancholy reflections,
or to think that you are without friends. I know nobody that has reason
to expect more, and those that will not be friends to you and your children
now Mr. Moncure is gone were not friends to him when he was living,
let their professions be what they would. If, therefore, you should find
any such, you have no cause to lament the loss, for such friendship is not
worth anybody's concern.

"I am very glad to hear that Mr. Scott purposes to apply for Overwharton
parish. It will be a great comfort to you and your sister to be so
near one another, and I know the goodness of Mr. Scott's heart so well,
that I am sure he will take a pleasure in doing you every good office in
his power, and I had much rather he should succeed Mr. Moncure than
any other person. I hope you will not impute my not visiting you to any
coldness or disrespect. It gives me great concern that I am not able to
see you. You may depend upon my coming down as soon as my disorder
will permit, and I hope you know me too well to need any assurance that
I shall gladly embrace all opportunities of testifying my regard to my deceased
friend by doing every good office in my power to his family.

"I am, with my wife's kindest respects and my own, dear madam, your
most affectionate kinsman,

In reply to your inquiries concerning the Old Potomac
Church and its neighbourhood, I give you the following statement, founded
in part upon tradition and partly upon my own recollection. My maternal
grandfather, John Moncure, a native of Scotland, was the regular minister
both of Aquia and Potomac Churches. He was succeeded in the ministry
in these churches by a clergyman named Brooke, who removed to the
State of Maryland. The Rev. Mr. Buchan succeeded him: he was tutor
in my father's family, and educated John Thompson Mason, General
Mason, of Georgetown, Judge Nicholas Fitzhugh, and many others.
Going back to a period somewhat remote in enumerating those who lived
in the vicinity of Potomac Church, I will mention my great-grandfather,
Rowleigh Travers, one of the most extensive landed proprietors in that
section of the country, and who married Hannah Ball, half-sister of Mary
Ball, the mother of General George Washington. From Rowleigh Travers
and Hannah Ball descended two daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah Travers:
the former married a man named Cooke, and the latter my grandfather,

Peter Daniel. To Peter and Sarah Daniel was born an only son,—Travers
Daniel, my father,—who married Frances Moncure, my mother, the daughter
of the Rev. John Moncure and Frances Brown, daughter of Dr. Gustavus
Brown, of Maryland. The nearest and the coterminous neighbour
of my father was John Mercer, of Marlborough, a native of Ireland, a
distinguished lawyer; the compiler of `Mercer's Abridgment of the Virginia
Laws;' the father of Colonel George Mercer, an officer in the British
service, and who died in England about the commencement of the Revolution;
the father also of Judge James Mercer, father of Charles F. Mercer,
of John Francis Mercer, who in my boyhood resided at Marlborough, in
Stafford, and was afterward Governor of Maryland; of Robert Mercer, who
lived and died in Fredericksburg; of Ann Mercer, who married Samuel
Selden, of Selvington, Stafford; of Maria Mercer, who married Richard
Brooke, of King William, father of General George M. Brooke; and of
another daughter, whose name is not recollected,—the wife of Muscoe
Garnett and mother of the late James M. Garnett.

Proceeding according to contiguity were Elijah Threlheld, John
Hedgeman, who married a daughter of Parson Spencer Grayson, of
Prince William; Thomas Mountjoy, William Mountjoy, and John Mountjoy,
the last-mentioned of whom emigrated to Kentucky, having sold
his farm to Mr. John T. Brooke, the brother of the late Judge Francis
T. Brooke, and who married Ann Cary Selden, daughter of Ann Mercer
and grand-daughter of John Mercer. Next in the progression was the
residence of John Brown, who married Hannah Cooke, daughter of Elizabeth
Travers and grand-daughter of Hannah Ball, wife of Rowleigh
Travers. Next was the glebe, the residence of the Rev. Robert Buchan.
Adjoining this was the residence, (in the immediate vicinity of the church,)
called Berry Hill, of Colonel Thomas Ludwell Lee, who possessed another
plantation, on the opposite side of Potomac Creek, called Bellevue. The
son of the gentleman last named, and bearing the same name, removed to
London. Of his daughters, one married Daniel Carroll Brent, of Richland,
Stafford, and the other Dr. John Dalrymple Orr, of Prince William. Next
to Berry Hill was the plantation of John Withers, on the stream forming
the head of Potomac Creek. Crossing this stream were those of John
James, Thomas Fitzhugh, of Boscobel, Major Henry Fitzhugh, of Belle
Air, Samuel Selden, of Selvington, the husband of Ann Mercer, and lastly,
Belle Plaine, the estate of Gaury Waugh, and, after his death, of his sons,
George Lee Waugh and Robert Waugh. I have thus, sir, without much
attention to system or style, attempted a compliance with your request,
and shall be gratified if the attempt should prove either serviceable or
gratifying. I would remark that the enumeration given you, limited to a
space of some eight or ten miles square, comprises none but substantial
people, some of them deemed wealthy in their day, several of them persons
of education, polish, and refinement.

Williams, Alexander, Mason in great numbers, Osburn, Fitzhugh in
great numbers, Buckner, Thompson, Withers, Maddocks, Massey, Anderson,
Waugh, West, Hoe, Washington in great numbers, Sumner, Jameson,
Dade, Harrison, Storkey, Broadwater, Linton, Berryman, Farrow, Thornton,
McCarty, Triplett, Grigsby, French, Aubrey, Hedgeman, Markam,
Lee, Carter, Brent, Fowke, Bernard, Foote, Doniphan, Peyton in numbers,
Grant, Daniel in numbers, Scott, Walker, Waller, Chapman, Mercer,
Strother, Stewart, Stith, Seldon, Moncure, Bronaugh, Edrington, James,
Adie, Brown, Banks, Mountjoy, Hewett, Vowles, Morson, Hood, Nicholas,
Eustace, Ficklin, Richards, Botts, Wallace, Fox, Brooke, Bristoe, Lewis,
Lane, Seddon, Tolson, Voss, Crutcher, Forbes, Skinker, Rose, Beale,
Grayson, Hill, Cooke, Norman, Briggs, Morton, Bowen, Kendall, Conway,
Green, Benson, Chinn, Browne, Stone, Irvine, Slaughter, O'Bannon,
Harding, Hickerson, Clift.