Transcripts For CSPAN3 The Presidency Martha Washingtons Papers 20221023

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Good evening. My name is kevin butterfield. Im the executive director of the washington library. Its my great pleasure to welcome you here tonight on behalf of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association and to our annual Martha Washington lecture. The event was created to share scholarship and insights into the life and times of Martha Washington and is made possible through a generous grant from the Richard S Reynolds foundation of richmond, virginia. Tonights Exciting Program celebrates the publication of an important new book, the papers of Martha Washington, one many years in the making actually part and related to a much bigger project, the papers of george at the university of virginia and sponsored by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association. Since 1968, the project began with the ambitious aim of publishing all of George Washingtons correspondence, but its since expanded to include other members of his family, allowing us to know so much more about the personal lives and associates of this remarkable founding family at this time, id like to thank each of the donors of the papers of Martha Washington project. Hold your applause to the end, because there are several the Richard Reynolds foundation. Id like to particularly thank major and pam reynolds, who are likely watching us virtually tonight. Thank you for all of your support. The dr. Shaw foundation, the founders Washington Committee for historic mount vernon, karen buchwald, right. Julia colby cook. Jacqueline b mars. The honorable paul michael and miss p brooke england. Mr. And mrs. C ashton newell. Miss kate schuster. The h. W. Wilson foundation and the Mount Vernon Ladies Association of the union. Please join me in thanking them. Tonight. Its going to be a lot of fun because when were done, were going to walk out into the reception area and continue the conversation and the celebration. Copies, copies of the papers of Martha Washington, along with for fraziers Award Winning book, the washingtons will be available for purchase. Ive seen many people lining up already for will be signing copies of her book. Miss washington is not here to sign her book. We were serving rum punch and authentic 18th century recipe from the book dining with the washingtons. Well have several original letters written by Martha Washington on view in a display case, so be sure to track those down. Well also be and you would have seen it as you came in the handsewn reproduction of Martha Washingtons childrens games quilt, which is an exact copy of the original in our collection expert quilter cecilia anne masterly completed it after two years of meticulous work, a process that uncovered ms. Washingtons remarkable skill and eye for detail. Cecilias passionate about sharing the craft and history of quilting and will be available to answer your questions now to welcome our wonderful speakers. And there will be a Panel Following where youll have an opportunity to ask questions of both of them. For frazier, as a professional writer and historian, his career began with apprenticeships under her grandmother and mother, both well known historical biographers. Shes written numerous historical biographies of her own, including princesses the daughters of george, the third, the unruly queen, the life of queen caroline, venus of empire. The life of pauline bonaparte, and of course, the washingtons, george and martha, joined by french crowned bivalve, which received 2016 George Washington book prize for it was also mt. Vernon georgian papers fellow where she worked at Windsor Castle and the archives on her forthcoming biographies of the jacobite heroine Flora Macdonald and lord horatio nelson. After a presentation by four frazier, Katherine Geren come to the podium. Shes a Research Editor at the papers of George Washington. And the center for digital editing at the university of she holds degrees from Bowling Green State University and Sarah Lawrence college, and she was one of the team of editors who completed the papers of Martha Washington and is now working on the Digital Edition of the papers of bush. Rod washington. I also want to say this broom and the 200 and i think 300 people who are watching us virtually is just such an exciting celebration of what weve been able to do across years. Weve been diving into this project to better understand Martha Washington and women in the 18th century. This Martha Washington lecture is just such a success. Im to see so many people here. I know there are a few hundred more watching us virtually. Thank you so much for being here. Now, please me in welcoming our first speaker for a frazier. Thank you, director, and thank you very much director and all mount vernon for hosting me here it always such a pleasure to speak to the many distinguished guests who come from all over region and beyond. And i very much forward to answering any. You may have a later or just discussing Martha Washington which i love to do so. Oh. Let me just. See and. Well all of a slides are a background and what i really oh it may be a blank background owing to my technical income pittance, but when i first had the opportunity have viewing these this volume the papers of Martha Washington i felt like keats on looking into chapmans homer then felt i like some watcher of the skies when the new planet swims into his can. It really is a most remarkable addition to. 18th century and founding era scholarship. This this volume. And i have to congratulate everyone. Catherine and all her team who worked on it and i believe have supplied a very worthy companion to the papers of George Washington. And now. Marthas first marriage to Daniel Custis was, all important in her story. And indeed, in washingtons the daughter, a Virginia Court clerk, she persuaded this irascible. But prominent Virginia Council member john custis to let her be daniels. And in she made such a success she persuaded him this irascible man who hated her uncle, a fellow member of the ruling council, that daniels father said hed rather daniel marry her than than any woman in in virginia. Those thats the sort of woman that martha was. She was redoubtable. She was persistent. And throughout the papers of of Martha Washington, you see these powers of persuasion when shes a first wife living close to her own family on the poor monkey river and then when shes the wife of George Washington here, mount vernon, and bringing up two children, jackie and patsy, her children she had with daniel and. You see it when shes lady washington can going effectively into battle for the republican cause or you could say she is coming to come and give solace to washington the general and commander in chief in his wintering campaigns. So this is young martha and the first section of the papers Martha Washington shows her. In total control as a young widow. How marthas father husband and two of her infant children have died. But in the space to have. I think its three years and bear that in mind because she has a well you could say she does death very badly all her life and well see that later but this in her twenties she is a act as her first husband executor as the administrative two of her young sons infant sons estate until. He can assume a control of them on his majority and she does it with almost perfect composure and authority. 80 in august 1757, the papers is open with this. This is the first communication we have from Martha Washington that that extent she writes to a merchant in london to whom shes consigning the years tobacco. I shall yearly ship a considerable part of the tobacco i make to you. And i hope you will your in endeavors to get me a good price. Shes a very, very businesswoman. And thats what you see all the way through. And as the as the. Papers show and as the editors note had a good grasp of loans which were an important part of the tobacco economy and in in virginia at that time and but you could say that with two small children, with with these these are the largest states to that. And two very small children to manage the advent of a certain George Washington coming down to to bear her and the children of north was not unwelcome and and you could say also that the wealth that martha brought washington was not unwelcome. And indeed mount vernon was in banished in advance of their marriage. But it continued a while washington had the use of of marthas money for his life to certainly a very a very. Important part. And as we know John John Adams in a sour mode said would washington George Washington ever become commander in chief and president had it not been for his marriage to the rich. Mrs. Custis. As i say, john was in a silo mood that day well, this is a copy the earlier one, but i think the copy shows how dear this portrait of the children and was, and how very dear these two children were to both george and Martha Washington and who were not to have Children Together and through. I particularly like the the cardinal, but the symbol of virginia. I hope it is a cardinal. A modern jack is hand, but but. This is a different phase of marthas life. And the section in the papers that dwells on this on this period of a happy a happy married life a happy, educative experience for jackie at home and here he is as he grows and a and im afraid martha him which is perfectly plain both from the papers of George Washington and and if you look at marthas correspondence with sister nancy plain there to and here is paul patsy this heiress and im not sure if you can see but she is first wound with expensed jewelry from london but that perhaps doesnt doesnt entitle early detract or if you like it cant do away with that very pale and frail appearance which has washington and martha seeking everywhere for remedies or cures for these fit and in her teens these fit what historical postmortems the difficult did for our. Daisy but epileptic fits is a fair of i guess and without without. And so when she would the age of 16 and 17 being courted by every young young man in search of a rich bride in the region. She stayed at home dancing on the terrace when when when she was when waup to it. And but this apparently bucolic and peaceful existas we know, in the 10 his gave gave way to deep, dissatisfied action with. The not least with the tobco merchants in london on the part of those Virginia Farmers who were really quite sick of being taken to the cleaners time they sent over some tobacco and asked for the best goods possible back and got you know last year frocks if they were lucky and carriages which didnt roll and so on. I mean ive always thought that was part of you know there are niggles as well as the great. Affairs of state that trigger a final. Of a final decision to throw off those traces and washington as we know, it was late to declare himself ready to go to war for his principles. But when he went, martha went him. As i say, she she became this if you like this battle ax of the republic and lady washington, they would cry when she came into and that actually does have in the at least one of the original all in print i think its the one in yale the the the a contemporary print. And it has lady underneath and. So there was the general and then there was lady washington and she came to the first winter ha caught us to cambridge achusetts and of course it wasnt just that wasf the few places is where martha ha came to cheer washingtons life, where she was ac within a hearing of a battle field. If you like wi the of of boston and. She writes a like a rather Like Washington himself wrote saying it was wonderful to hear the the bullet bullets singing around my my my my my head in the in an earlier war. Well she caused splendid with her sister nancy, who still was married and lived so down on the poor monkey. And nancy marthas correspondence with nancy comes singing out that this book that nancy was her favorite sister is the person in all marthas life that i think she unburdened herself to whether it was about her children, whether it was about politics. And you see and in in her charisma, on her letters to nancy, we dont have nancys to her that. Every woman in war was political and martha was, well, very conservative in other ways. And in in fact, of want in the the american cause to succeed she was ferocious and i think in it would be very interesting to see what what other the pay what papers of other women of this period emerge which in one part of her letter theyre talking about their children or the sewing or the cooking and then theyll have a paragraph of absolute you know the news as its being made. Well, course it wasnt only other american who martha met, but her circle broad dinners as the papers show, and those lafayette first coming as a volunteer who she meet in the winter at valley forge and then there the young women Betsy Schuyler and of course we know about that courtship and marriage, but there were many others, many other of these women and many of them much younger than martha lucy flack and knox, a remarkable woman. And we do her correspondence with her husband, henry, in the gilda lamb and institute. But there was a kitty, catherine littlefield, green. And so but martha would gather these women at in these in encampments and provide a of atmosphere of normality as as was possible. And then of course, she was not involved in the in the in the summer campaigns and went back to mount vernon. But im sorry, but the war too was a time of terrible loss again for martha and she lost not only her sister, nancy, and she did write to her. Brother in law a verbal basset and say, im after nancys death and say i must own that she the greatest favorite i had in the world. And i think this was this idea of, friendship and friendships comes really startlingly. The papers many the papers here are to be found elsewhere, but its when theyre together and the focus is on martha that you really see how they they gel together. And, of course, forth of her children. Jackie dies in the hour of victory. Hes not an officer, but hes in attendance at yorktown and dies of camp fever. And and martha is at the lowest ebb. Washington couldnt have been more more, more keen to console her and. But jackie is left out. A wife whos sweet but a bit of a and four children, thankfully for the park custis estates theres a son and but there are three daughters and so we find when inevitably after a period at mount vernon, when the washingtons have time to take stock and see what being away for eight years has done, despite marthas efforts, despite the efforts of land, washington washington georges cousin, as to keep the estates going there is not wrack and ruin but but they martha feels strongly that they have earned the right that washington has earned the right to enjoy retirement. But as we know, he is called to new york to be the first president of thetas. And with them go on ft marthas grounds and washington, gegeasngton park is known as wash or, wash or indeed tub. I leave you to work out and eleanor or nellie and so ey have to make a Republican Court whh must both satisfy americans as beingemrat not monarchical but also satfy visiting envoys, ambassadors from the courtofurope. So and a ts is something they are doing over the next seven or seven years as washingtons serves two terms at the same time the bringing up in effect and educating a new generation and of course as children and theyll not theyre not Spring Chickens and im glad to say that with nellie, they succeed and washes very much. His fathers son and spoiled rotten by by Martha Washington despairs of him but he cant despair all over again. And im saying he washes his hands of him but its but they leave new york thats a later house. But on this side, Cherry Street in new york and in in philadelphia. Oh, here, martha, really does have some she she makes some very interesting friendships, as does as does washington and not always with those in government, many of whom were with them in the in the war. But with the philadelphians and mrs. Powell and samuel powell, that interesting couple. And Samantha Snyder here is at work on a book, a biography of elizabeth will willing polled so looking forward to that and so many more of these mercantile professional families and so martha again expands her circle as does george but but she she does it always quite natural really. And she has a gift for whether shes in the cramped revolutionary sort of pot house in in in valley forge entertaining or at a at one of these drawing rooms. As her reception are called, even liston, the British Ambassador or envoy extraordinary wife who comes not to well, anyway, possibly with a critical a gives us not only gives us a very Detailed Analysis of the Republican Court, but makes quite clear that that marthas receptions and martha as the first first lady is is doing an exceptional job. It is not, however, a job that martha. And it is undoubtedly with relief that and washington himself says when they leave he finishes his second term they return to mount vernon and he says sweetly that they are more or less painting mount vernon and being like the young married couple because theyre just so happy to be back and looking forward to years of sort of renovating this this estate which has again gone to not and ruin, but the it certainly needs the watchful eye of washington but unfortunately its that watchful eye which is washingtons undoing and in december. 1799, as im sure you are aware better than i it carol fine. Caroline branham, an enslaved maid who has been at mount vernon for. Since birth, i think, or know shes a mary thompson. Any of those who worked on that magnified and extraordinary the mount vernon slavery date database of which the which the papers draws on and builds, will tell me whether she, caroline is a diverse custis slave, but caroline is called early in the morning by martha when she comes in to make up the fire in the washingtons bedroom to call washington secretary and, to call the doctor and. He washington have gone out ridden round the estate and and and an inflamed throat was there was nothing to be done and martha here in this miniature which in which she had done for to show her every day face for her grandeur children so that it was the the informal martha and she turns her face to the wall. She no more to to be in a World Without washington because she was since her marriage to washington although am still young and pretty when she married him from that moment to honor a one man woman and all those who visit her and. Meri thornton, the architecture of the capitals wife Abigail Adams, mrs. List and all that she is undone. She talks only of going to to meet washington and she has a no one. Martha no one of those whove who were with her at the start of her journey. She has the the lovely nellie who the toast of washington of philadelphia and then in fact, the toast of the federal city when she went in to visit her, her her sisters, you could say she threw herself away on her husband, but nellie was there. But martha retreated and is very old, very sure of negative. K it is of the bedroom room hert was imagine and not as it is now. Renser erupted does it was that ts just gives me the feel of martha having turned her face to the wall and the papers a give of such an extruding record no logical tour. Doris on of Martha Dandridge Custis Washingtons a life that i can only say as as in another republic concord in england in the 17th century. Oliver cromwell all told mr. Lilly, a court painter, to remark all these rough roughness is when you paint my picture pimples, warts and everything as you see me. Otherwise will never pay you a farthing for in the papers of Martha Washington. I guarantee you we have a picture truly like her roughness, if not warts and all. This is a remarkable addition to the scholarship of the founding era. I repeat. And those universities, Public Libraries and other that acquire copy will spend. They will spend their farthing wisely and well thank you. One moment, please. Okay okay. So that. All right. Hello. Thank you very much for coming. Thank you very much for your kind introduction. I am going to repeat you for a moment and next. Thank you to of our generous donors who made papers of Martha Washington possible it would not exist without the support of mount vernon, without our donors, without the Mount Vernon Ladies Association. So i just want to thank once again all of those folks. I also want to make sure. Next, please. I am a representative of the team of family papers, editors that put together this volume. So i wanted to make sure that we thank all of the people who worked on this. This is a team of incredibly hardworking people who, put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into the volume. So thank you very much to all of my wonderful colleagues who were not able to make it tonight. Next, please. Ill talk a little bit about book. I dont i floors are given us a wonderful introduction to Martha Washington in and beautiful details about her life. Im going to focus on what i did, which is edit the volume of her papers. Next, please. So first of all, this is not biography of Martha Washington. This is an edited, edited collection of Martha Washingtons letters. We include letters to, to and from martha, her financial and legal documents. Our goal was to create the definitive scholarly edition of Martha Washingtons papers. However we wanted this tool to be both. We wanted this book to be a tool for historians, but also something that was accessible to a general audience. So we included things, essays and timelines and directories to make it so that. Even if youre just curious about martha, you can pick up this volume and read it and, learn something about her. So its not just a dry collection of her letters. Theres other stuff there as well. So what, i mean, when i say that we edited her letters, actually got an angry email from someone talking about, how dare we edit the papers of George Washington . But its quite the opposite. Next, please. The job of a documentary editor to try to recreate the manuscript page of someones writings as close as to that page. So our job was to collect as many of Martha Washingtons papers possible to collect images of those documents, transcribe them them, and eventually publish them all together in one volume. We dont keep all of the the papers sometimes when i say i work for the papers of George Washington, people assume we have all of them. Thats the job. An archivist. Its a different feel. Our job is to transcribe, put them together. So we take a page that looks like this. Next, please. And we turn it into something that looks like this next. Please, so you can see it. We do include when theres rips and tears in the paper. We put that in. We mention where its mutilated and things are ripped because we are so close to document and were able to tell basically whats in there. Thats thats how we this usable for historians and people looking at these letters. Youll notice we have footnotes. We identify people. We identify with their rips and tears, and we try to provide a clear transcription. So next, please, i thought i would address some frequently asked questions that i get when people find out that i work for this project. Next, please didnt washington burn all of her letters . Kind. Rtha washington did. After during her last illness. We have annt fromerard sparks, whos one of the first people to try to publish all of George Washingtons letters, where two of mtha washingtons granddaughters informed him that on her deathbed during her last illness, she requestedhaall of her papers with washington be burned, which is a huge loss to story. But its not unusual. Thomas jefferson also burned all of his correspondencwi his wife. I think the thinking behind it was people who were big public figures in the 1800s. Th knewhat their papers were going to be important to people and that people would want to read them. And for a side of their life that was so deeply personal and private too like letters between husband and wife, they wanted to keep them for themselves. So martha took that route, decided keep those papers private. Now the quote that i have up here says that two letters seem to escape by accident that were fod a drawer or ide. But we are actually to publish four letters between george and rtha washington. One of them is quiteho. Its a brief little note, but i think its interesting that in all of the surviving correspondence, not very much. They refer to one another as my dearest or my love. So what did we publish if she burned all of her letters with George Washington . She wrote other people to Martha Washington, had a large extend family. So flora already brought off. She had brought up a close relationship with her sister, nancy and after nays death martha picks up right away with her daughter, frances bess at waington. So this is waingtons niece, who martha was very close with. We have a numbeof letters between them that tell you a lot about mount vernon. And shes also writing sort of a ws who of early american women. Mercy otis warren, who was a poet and a historian, the American Revolution. Martha was in correspondence with her. Also, Elizabeth Willi powell, a philadelphia social aid. Weve got lters between them. So we have quite a few letters from Martha Washington, just unfortunately, its a sad loss that dont have her papers witgeorge. But we were able to see with the letters that do survive, sort a side of martha, apart from george marthas own personal that its very revealing. Next slide, please. Another letter that i get is having papers already been published. And again, the answer is yes, kind of. This is a actually edition that was put together in the nineties by joseph fields, who just on his own is a labor of love. Hes not a professional doctor. Mary ed hearst, historian. He put together a really solid collection of Martha Washingtons papers, and its actually whats been used by historians for years. And even the people at the papers of George Washington have been using this collection, but it has issues. Some of the letters printed out of order. There are typographical errors. Sometimes he doesnt cite source which nothing so egregious as like this letter came to me in a dream but sometimes he doesnt tell you where the letter comes. So it was do we were due for another collection. And so we that was part of what we were trying to address when we worked in this project. So next slide, please. This is a sort of quick numerical comparison of the volume fields published about 80 financial and legal documents, and we were able to find 180, which we dont publish in full. We summarize them just for space reasons, but we point out where you can take a look at them. Also, fields published 300 letters. We were able to add 80 more letters to publish in this volume, which considering that only thats a pretty sizable chunk of letters and fields chose to publish about six additional documents. We publish about 37, sometimes fleshing out areas where there are silences and just adding a little bit more detail to the volume. So theres quite a lot of information in there. And next slide, please. So volume inclhorough annotation, biographical directories. So you know who shes writing in a lot ofhese cases . Timelines. Seven editorial essays and lengthy appendices, which a lot of really valuable information about marthas estate after she dies, including the enslaved people who were separated after her death from the dower slaves. Were able to add a lot of information about them in the appendices. So next, please. Challenges that we faced in putting the volume together. This is an example of how people would save space in writing letters. Sometimes they would just turn it sideways and just keep going. So we didnt deal with a lot of that, but sometimes that turns up. Next slide, please. So the documents search people have been looking for, George Washingtons letters for a very long time. I mentioned earlier jared sparks putting together a collection of his letters. Thats the 1820s. Its been a long time historical interest in martha has been a little bit more recent. So we didnt we wanted to make sure we did a very thorough search to find letters. So we ended up contacting over thousand archives. We really dug through historical newspapers, auction houses, private collectors. We tried to comb for as many papers as possible, put together this volume, and that was fairly time consuming. Next slide, please. We also had to deal with the problem of silences in letters. If you have using the papers of George Washington, there are so many washington papers that survive that. Usually a 650 page volume might cover a and a half of his life with martha. We have whole years. Theres maybe three letters so that theres a lot of very important, significant things that arent covered. So we have to cover those in another way, which either is too editorial essays or Something Like that. But so that that was an we had to face as were putting the volume together and were trying to make it something, you know, cohesive. Next slide, please. The cast of characters, the people who martha is writing are a little bit obscure. Youre working on a president s pape or youre working on a politicians papers. Politicians left a huge paper trail that its easy to identify people for somebody like some of martha, more obscure nies and nephews, not the case. Its a little bit harder to find an example that i have of somebody who is partilarly difficult was Martha Washington actually had a niece who was named washington dandridge . So yore trying to find Martha Dandridge. Washingtons Martha Washington dandridge. Things can be a little bit tricky. So. So next slide, please for the next bit. I just thought i would talk about some of the things that we worked with with, the importance of accurate transcription, which is a lot of what i did with the project with editing. Next, this is i kw the writings very small. You dont have to worry about reading all of that, but this is a transcription of a letter as apprs in the rctio and private memoirs of washington by George Washington besen, ltis edited 1861 by its a letter from james power, whos a lawyer for New Kent County to Martha Washington first husband, Daniel Custis. So i underlined the line. It says, i stayed wi all niprented jack with my little jacks, horse, bridle and saddle. Next slide, please. So this is what the man script says. It says, i stayed with him a good part of last night. So thats already slightly different. And. Something crossed out. Something crossed out. Jack with my little jacks horse, bridle and saddle. So whats out there . Part of our editorial method is if somethings crossed out, if its something, we try to read it through the out. And if its something significant, which is to Say Something thats not just repeated later in the same sentence, we try to include it in footnotes. So if you take a look next slide, please. I zoomed. I know its going to be hard to read, even though its a pretty big. But this actually isnt a very, very detailed cross out. And if you really look at it, you can see the first. You can see that sort of of the y that first letter. And its definitely a capital b is the first letter of the second word. So if you really look at it and youre able to really blow it up and Pay Attention to it, the way we are, its actually the words your brother. So why is this significant . Next slide, please because jack, in that letter is daniel parker. Justices mixed race. Half brother daniel park custis. His father, john custis, had a child, an enslaved woman who he acknowledged as his son, which was unusual at that time. He left him property. He wanted to leave from the house. He freed him. He management at him. And the fact that a lawyer at this time is writing to daniel park custis and acknowledging him as your brother is very historically significant. Even if its crossed out and whether it was crossed out by him or later is not quite as clear. But you can see why. Accurate transcription can make a difference. Next slide, please. This is an example from marthas handwriting. It says, i have had a very dull time. I had a very dark time. Is fields transcription of this. And if you take a close look. Next slide, please. Its blurry. Im sorry. I know its so big, but if you take look at the end of where that key is, if thats the word dark. Compare that to the k in another part of the letter with i think those look different. And if you looked, we have to look at every single letter trying to see it. Its possible that she just sort of blurred together the a and the r for dark. But if you think of it as a u and those as two ls, then thats just the word dull. You can see dull there as well. So we transcribe this as dull time. And next slide, please. So and i also want to, if you can see it up here. Its a since i come home, i believe it was oing so she spells oh i n g classic washington. So next slide, please. So we transcribehis as ive had a very dull since i come ho. I believe it was owingo the Severe Weather we have had. Its its a slight change. Its changing one word, but it changes the meaning of the ntce. If youre saying ive had dark time owing to the Severe Weather, that almost sounds like she had seasal depression or something ke that. But ive had a dull time since. Coming home is the weather was bad. People couldnt comeisit or she couldnt go outside. So its a slight change, but it changes the significance. Next slide, please. So i wanted to talk a little bit about what this collection, martha, in her own words, what you can learn about martha by looking at her own words. So next, please. You can learn that shes a very competent businesswoman. Flora already mentioned this a bit, but this is one of my favorite quotes. Shes writing to her lawyers, or shes writing merchants in england who have informed her that she just lost a legal case. And e says, m advised my lawyers here that if there was no mismanagement, custis was ry uornate in losing so good a cause. I make no doubt the matter will turn out in my favor. So shes sayi, u better make it turns out in my favor. Next slide, please. I also think that she has a very strong sense of humor that comes in her letters that you dont always hear about Martha Washington. I like the way she teases grandchildren. So i hope when nellie has a little more gravity, she will be a good girl at present. She is, i fear, half crazy. On a darker note Martha Washington. Not in a way that is different from George Washington. She writes more bluntly slavery and her feelings about slavery. So this quote, the next quote, the blacks are so bad in their nature that they have not the least gratitude for kindness that we have showed to them. This helps to demystify attitudes about slavery at mount vernon and of slaveholders at this time and. The fact that shes so blunt about it in the volume is valuable. Historical context and knowledge. Next, please. This is a famous Martha Washington quote, but i give you an example. I think what you can learn sort of on a personal level about martha during the president s, she was very lonely during the presidency as she was wasnt able to see the people she wanted to see. And this Fairly Famous quote, she says, there are certain bounds set for me which i must not depart from. And as i cnot do as i like, i am obstinate and stay a great deal. So she says she feels like a state prisoner. And in response, shes a little bit stubborn about it, which is from my work with the papers of Martha Washington. It seems very fitting with her character. So next slide, please i just wanted to finish with Martha Washingtons papers. Give us a different, distinctly feminine perspective of the early american republic. And i hope that by presenting her words exactly as she wrote them, we can learn more about this time period, more about Martha Washington as a person. You very much for coming. Now to continue our conversation and to also take questions from you momentarily. Let me introduce our professor, kate hallman, an associate professor of history at american university, the author of the politics of fashion in 18th century america. Shes working on a new book on monumental motherhood, Mary Washington and the founding pastor in the 19th century, which investigates long afterlife of mary ball. Washington, georges mother in american commemoration. Kate worked on this important new project, a fellow at our library in the most recent class of fellows. So, kate let me hands over to you. Thank you very. Oh, there we go. Hot mike. Thank you. Thank you, kevin. I thank you all for being here. And thank you for this invitation to be here. Part of this great opportunity, this occasion. And thank you both for these incredibly insightful presentations. And what a special what a special occasion it is. Doug bradburn earlier said, were here for martha. And i think that that captures the spirit the night. Flora, your presentation so beautifully linked the themes in your book, the washingtons to the the the new work or some of the discoveries the papers. And i, i guess i first want to say congratulations because i know brown because it is such a. Truly i mean, what can i say than buy this book . It is tonight. And it truly just a signal accomplishment of documentary editing of scholarship. And it really it is incredibly transform it. So i would definitely say congratulations and get yourself a copy and then the marthas words alone are worth it. But the introductory essays and the editorial apparatus are just truly remarkable. So i know im going to save plenty of time for questions. I know there are many inquiring minds in this room as well as our virtual audience, but i do have some questions of my own that i would like to begin with and i want to pluck a line actually from from the introduction. And maybe these were your own words of the of the papers. And that is i think its i think its theres that there is not one Martha Washington or one Martha Washington does not exist when Martha Washington does not exist. So you kind of gave us a little bit of a of a taste of that in your talk. And i wanted to know if you would if you could explain that a little bit or unpack it little bit for us. Its not one Martha Washington. I, i believe that that quote came from my colleague robin robin. Oh, sure. I think that quote came from my colleague, lynn robins is a fabulous historian. I get the. But what do we mean by theres no one. Martha washington is in some ways Martha Washington become so much of a symbol that she is more than just a person she is many things to many different people over different time and even in her own life she starts out as a young plantation mistress. She first lady of the united states. She changes so much that its difficult to pinpoint who exactly Martha Washington is. Shes many things over many different years. Is this you know, you talked about her character. And so that that kind of evokes a certain continuity or stability of flora. Does that resonate with you . There is not one Martha Washington or one Martha Washington does not exist. I i think its a very its a very shrewd remark. I just want to check. Can you hear me . I think thats a very shrewd remark. I think there are certain elements of martha that. You cut the papers or have different had a different identities, and you have the same resolute, almost. But sometimes almost pugnacious. You know, shes shes shes feisty and. And people respond to that. They like it, whether its incompetence at mount vernon or. So i think that theres that. But think that i think she inhabits different worlds and thats what is so extraordinary the way she appears to me to be adaptable or as you pointed out she says, i dont like this role being first lady. Im just to sit here all the in philadelphia. She she definitely starts to party. But but i thats right. That she these a very its a very, very fast moving those decades she lived through in in america and in virginia. And she has she adapts and adapts and doesnt adapt in in ways that we we saw with her words about the enslaved community at mt. Vernon. In her view, a particularly the custis dower community, the those she feels its her sacred trust to pass this community on her. I thought about that a lot to her as an enslaver and a slave in the different ways that comes out in in the papers, is treated. Can katie kidd like feisty and party the parting martha in philadelphia can you is there another example of that that strikes you from from the papers . Well, one of my i wish my sorry i when martha and george were just a young married couple in virginia, they to one ball where, they didnt serve enough food and they referred to it as the bread and butter ball. Its not a polite way, but they said as a married couple, they had tickets to the bowls and they would go to these events and she was a very sociable person. You see. Shes as you in philadelphia. Shes shes definitely visiting with the upper crust of philadelphia. But do you get the sense that she feels that as initially is an obligation and is then kind of cottons to it more . Or is that what have is there a transformation there thats these decades of incredible transformation transformation . I, i dont know what you think, but i think she she sees there a job to be done in new york, in philadelphia. And she she does it to as she does everything really to it to the utmost of her abilities. But at the same time, you see in her letters with with fanny, her niece, who as you, nancy, her sisters daughter, becomes immediately her correspondent. But fanny, is this younger woman and oh, martha gets off to her. Will you get caroline to take down the curtains and put them away . And, you know, she knows its not being done right. And shes in philadelphia and and so theres this longing to be home and and shes getting older. And i think its its in a way, very touching in the papers of Martha Washington because you see her and george genuinely growing, but an aging through and feeling in a were they too old to go to to be this the figurehead power couple the power coupled. But then you know as we know Abigail Adams on becoming just about to become first lady gave this you know abigail spoke as she felt and and i dont think that it was an ideal complement when she said you know no one could have done this as well. And they established that role those roles for all time. You can see its so interesting that the humor that comes through. But then this very exacting nature when it came to things such as we talked a little bit about something that comes through her, is that sensibility, her orders. Youre talking about some of and some of those financial papers, receipts. Yes. One of my favorite letters with martha is ordering right into merchants demanding better quality goods that she said she could have in philadelphia for half the cost and, twice the quality. So she she says what she thinks and theres that wonderful. Is it a letter when she writes or perhaps its george who one of them writes to . Is it tilbury, the the the dressmaker and says, i had five ladies from alexandria here. And we looked at this place and we all agreed that it was quite inferior. I imagine this sort of sewing bee looking, i think it was for patsy, wasnt it . It was for patsy. And, you know, i would like i mean, she could be a tough immigrant in her business dealings. And im sure with with with those who worked in the house, whether they were hired or or enslaved. Not fun being marthas employee. That exacting, demanding nature. Yeah. Through in many of our interactions, i wondered if there was anything in particular that surprised either you about her and your research new discoveries or something this totally unexpected that you ran across. I guess, i dont know if its surprising, but one of my favorite Martha Washington moments is, um, shes being little bit reluctant to go up to new york after George Washington becomes president and tobias lear, whos George Washington secretary, writes a letter trying to lure Martha Washington up, and he says, i know she likes seafood. Tell her how good the lobster is, new york and maybe thatll get her to go a little faster. I like that. Do you think it worked . Yes. Its just really delicious. But i couldnt get love that. Thats right. The the. I think. That there were two to two very rich veins. I felt in the well are many but in in the papers. One is a just how much martha controls washingtons painted image and and indeed sculpted image and she used come from a very artistic family her uncle Bartholomew Dandridge was a famous quote painter in london and painted the image both for prince of wales and her father, whose of Virginia County Court clerk has a portrait of at her richer uncle house. But its very unusual portraits at that. I mean, its its its theyre only just coming into into fashion. The idea that you have your portrait done. And so shes aware the power of portraits and throughout the papers shes having those miniatures we saw of her children shes having them put as in bracelets like a like a watch, a sort of the miniature set into a bracelet shes approving. One image of washington. Another, she says, isnt like him. She orders prince of the washington family. We saw the savage of the for the washington and martha with the two grandchildren, with the enslaved servant. So thats so we become very aware of of her taste and i think the papers are wonderful in that way. They build on the work. Many here at mount vernon and others have done. And you feel this is a woman with a tremendous esthetic sense, but who is also use can see using and washington come first you dont want to be painted but he comes to see that this is the way to the wants to see this is so interesting to this this power of portraiture and her sense since its ability her eye. Do you think that translate into that she had a sense. We think of washington self as having sense for his persona and his legacy in his own lifetime and sort of crafting that to some extent. Would you say the same for her and that she had a for herself and as well for him that there is a public persona, a public face presence . Yeah i think she approves of that that that represents portion of of her as in the washington in the president ial family that i think she approves, im not sure that she really approves the many of the other ones we see as it had to get and bigger until so had and. But but but used to. I think that a public persona when shes received at in new york and receiving in philadelphia her clothes or was it mrs. Who said to her close the plane but always of the best to and youre right from beginning with that wallace portrait of the young mrs. Custis you know that its shimmering and we have her wedding shoes, the red sequined red shoes. So she both loves fashion and shes a shes a material girl. But but but then she and washington become public figures. Yes. I think. I dont think she wants to put it portraits to herself forward. But but i think thats why that. Right. Yeah. Well, katie had said earlier that you wore a print tonight in honor of marriage and you did to to write that and some her friends i dont see her represented in a lot of it but indeed she she did like a. Oh yes. And some fun when when theyre friends at the fairfax says is leave belvoir and go to london and George William and Sally Fairfax whove been on washington sort of those the tea that he copies to and with with with so i mean puts to such good so that when the english comes and she says how did he get so grand and he moves magnificently he has all the she practically saying he would do he could be a nobleman at a european court. Well he learned it from the fairfaxs over. They go to acquire all the bed hangings and the, you know, they i think both they come together, george and martha in so many ways. The they the order did the jack jacksboro could eat no fat his wife could eat. And i mean hes told you to all these she she gets large but but they love mount vernon with a pipe they love this place and when you come here, you feel everything in the house, in the outside. It it was a it was a true love, a very beloved place for them both. I think both here even though it is so such a place. And then also in the papers, you see them and then her in particular as very much part this of of a wider world. You see the networks see that sort of pulling back curtain which leads me and were going to pivot to your in a moment here but i wanted to hear from each of you about about biography or how you think a biographical approach, the life of one person, any person this person enhances our historical understanding what is the power of biography, the one one life to them show something larger. I think particularly with someone like martha who was alive and lived through such a key, important era in american history, it makes it easier for us to understand. And bigger moments in history. When you see it through the perspective of one person. So i think seeing martha from growing in newton county, living through the American Revolution, being at so many winter encampments and traveling and then being through the presidency and all of that, think it helps to humanize both george and martha and just sort of give a strong perspective of that time period. I think it might be especially important in or differently important in Womens Womens histories. I mentioned its at a feminine perspective of the revolution. So shes there at the winter captains where theyre doing things like having balls and dances. Shes there during the warfare except for certain other moments, but so you get to see things from an interesting different. Yeah, i think the. What when i read it Historical Books history books im looking at it it might be a micro history book but but its still looking at a sweep of events and this a biography, a biographical approach and just great biography youll, seeing the unfolding of a mind and that mind is sometimes by events reacting and its the mind of one person that youll following from cradle to and its a its real privilege to to follow that mind and i love writing biography and i love reading it to it. Its a its its quite extraordinary feeling to be in someones mind for and i know theres another biography next for you ed before so quickly before before we do pivot. Whats next for flora . Whats next for you . And then whats next for you . And papers. So im publishing in. My next biography a pretty young rebel the life of a Flora Macdonald and she is another 18th century woman. She actually a rebel in the rebellion in scotland. Of 1745. And we separate not that. She was a loyalist. 30 years later. But i think she had a touch. The rebel, a nice, pretty young rebel. Right . Right. Rebel. So forthcoming. Yeah. And then im working on an edited Digital Edition, the papers of bush at washington. So thatll be George Washingtons nephew who inherited mount vernon and was a Supreme Court justice. So that were were working on that project next more great family stuff and scotts stuff turned to north carolinian. Scotts again come so i believe in the back samantha and front stephen here there might be microphone somewhere floating around so if you want to find stephen here if you have any questions. First of all thank you. A very enlightening and enjoyable i was struck by the quote from her regarding the slaves. Is there anything in her writings that shows an abhorrence the institution of slavery or even a questioning of the morality . Slavery that unfortunately does not turn up . It seems that Martha Washington grew up in slave society. She surrounded by slavery her entire life, and it does not seem like she ever questioned it, that she she was in charge and as i mentioned, she sort of saw this as a financial transaction between herself and her heirs. So while George Washington he did free his slaves he he did a lot of thinking about the morality it and decided to free the people that he could free but the slaves who were completely under marthas control she she her her goal was to pass this what she saw as a financial asset onto her children. So as far as the actual harm that was being done to other human beings, she doesnt seem to question that at least from her writing. We have a. We have question from our online audience. Judy anderson asks, was it possible for you to determine how many letters that were signed by martha had actually been written or by george. Yes. So that is a big part of. Editing a volume is trying determine sometimes who is behind different letters, whos writing it. A lot of the letters that we transcribed were actually in George Washington handwriting. So sometimes a letter was a team effort between them where she would write a draft and then he would clean it up. You could tell it from her handwriting examples that i had that her spelling was not always accurate. Theres a lot of it. She had creative spelling you could tell, which meant phonetically, but so if she writing somebody that she wanted to she wanted to really impress sometimes youd have george go over it. Theres a great example, though, of George Washington drafting out a letter and then martha writing and, adding, because he had just mentioned the family as well. And martha in her draft of it, adding in, yes, my sisters had two children. Theyre doing great. Theyre going at it. So he didnt go into the amount of detail and bragging that she wanted to. And she added that in so it is included in the source notes to the letters what whose handwriting it then whether we think that this was somebody writing on other somebody elses behalf. And theres also certain George Washington that are in my handwriting because was helping him out during the American Revolution when he was making so many copies. These letters so. I really look as you mention, her father was a chronicler several times is a job of substance. Is she brought is she in a society of substance where she formed her taste and style. As a country county cork, the county courthouse was his place of work he was also a verger a colonel in the militia. He was definitely part of the local New Kent County society. And indeed, he was the best removed with marthas first husband, daniel so but the the i would say where she saw. What she might aspire to when she or at least was in her mind during her childhood was her uncle williams mansion. Elston green also the bank and there was a picture gallery. It was a much grander way of life he admired an heiress and so i think the. A very solid childhood with the seven siblings and her and but but it was the uncle william who had the if you like that they were. That they had a house where where she could really see. A sort of elegant elegant way live. I had a question question i didnt know lot more about her life with Daniel Custis, how she how she met him, how their marriage was was there. Many writings about or there werent that much before georges writings. I while i was researching i was able to come up with her. Her father was in the same vestry daniel park pestis and we do have accounts and some i believe william byrds diary mentions that Daniel Custis and John Dandridge Work Together so it seems as though they were so we dont have the exact account of their courtship, but they were in the same sort of circles and thats probably how they met. Theres we dont have any letters from this time. We have letters from daniel park custis, other people, and from then professes to him, but not between him and i think it might sense from the letters is that it was a it was a happy marriage. And she certainly married she she married very well. He was very wealthy man. But we just dont have a lot of detail. But where i think there is detail which has been elucidated the invoices that that that in the papers are so beautifully annotated give you a picture of what want what they want their life to be like what they order from london from in this consignment trade. Its really a silver theres a marvelous farouk wig for for mark with false curls but but its shes shes shes living at a much higher standard. You like her . She came from a third tier planter family. If daniels first is definitely second tier. So so i think those influences give us and we have them all of the married life. Yeah so that thats in a way a wonderful resource and his his financial accounts its in his handwriting up until he dies and then the handwriting switches and thats actually the earliest of her handwriting is from that account Book Building a fine life together in a way, we have another question from our online audience. So jamie arnold is about whether or not can tell the dollar amount of her wealth upon marriage. Is there like a modern comparison we can make . And if not, how do we understand the value of goods historically. This is this is outside of my wheelhouse. Ive got i wrote the number down of how much it was in her time, but i would feel confident saying i couldnt answer that question about her, but i would i would direct the. Questioner to the to the internet because their point there are calculate right here you can say okay this many pound sterling you know in this year what would that be equivalent to pounds today and then so there are various ways to convert money then into money now and you used to be i would say 20 years ago you could get 18th century multiply by 50. But you know but the the certainly in the papers of George Washington, i think there is some which be found. I dont mean theres already right no but oh and and of course land cash and in the case of. The virginia and other states the enslaved community who also for a financial asset they were all three different kinds of wealth. Thank you all for bringing forward this rich history for all of us to learn from. If either of you could sit down with the first two, first ladies and ask her a question, what would it be. Go ahead. Well, well, i. I would ask and this may seem a very basic question, jane, but i would ask. Did and did you and your second husband, washington, ever consult a doctor about the fact that you didnt have Children Together, even though you, martha had had four children and i would just be i would be very to know that. I think i would say tell me what you really think about Thomas Jefferson jefferson. I. On that note. What a great concluding question. Questions. Thank you all for being here. Thank you to katie and to flora and a round of applause to you. Thank you. Our conversation. Our conversation can continue out in the reception area. Im going to ask that for a phrase. Youll be allowed to walk up to the stairs because we do want to get her at a signing table before the crowd fills in for if you could start moving. Thank you so much, professor and katie guerin. Thank you for frasier. So wonderful that you could all be here