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Story
February 25, 1887
The Midland Journal
Rising Sun, Cecil County, Maryland
What is this article about?
Article presents an unromantic view of Martha Washington as a plain, robust, non-intellectual woman who knitted often, was frugal, proud of her husband, and secluded herself in grief at Mount Vernon after his death.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
ABOUT MARTHA WASHINGTON.
Somebody in a late Lippincott's Magazine is responsible for the following rather unromantic statement in regard to the wife of Washington. We are not prepared to vouch for the correctness of the picture drawn. Martha Washington, the magazinist says, was a very pretty girl, but not a very good looking old woman. As she matured she grew stout; and, though her pictures represent her as a beauty, the current history of the times says she was a plainly dressed, robust old woman, who looked older than her husband. She was not noted for her social, nor for her intellectual qualities. She could not spell, and probably did not read a book from one end of the year to the other. She was a sort of a goody-goody woman, who almost always had knitting needles in her hands, and who thought she did a great thing when she saved the ravellings of a lot of old black stockings and worn out chair covers and wove them into a dress for herself. She was very proud of her husband; and they show the little room in the second story of the home at Mount Vernon in which she secluded herself after his death, seeing no one for months, and allowing only a cat to enter the room through a hole which was cut under the door.
Somebody in a late Lippincott's Magazine is responsible for the following rather unromantic statement in regard to the wife of Washington. We are not prepared to vouch for the correctness of the picture drawn. Martha Washington, the magazinist says, was a very pretty girl, but not a very good looking old woman. As she matured she grew stout; and, though her pictures represent her as a beauty, the current history of the times says she was a plainly dressed, robust old woman, who looked older than her husband. She was not noted for her social, nor for her intellectual qualities. She could not spell, and probably did not read a book from one end of the year to the other. She was a sort of a goody-goody woman, who almost always had knitting needles in her hands, and who thought she did a great thing when she saved the ravellings of a lot of old black stockings and worn out chair covers and wove them into a dress for herself. She was very proud of her husband; and they show the little room in the second story of the home at Mount Vernon in which she secluded herself after his death, seeing no one for months, and allowing only a cat to enter the room through a hole which was cut under the door.
What sub-type of article is it?
Biography
Curiosity
What themes does it cover?
Family
Misfortune
What keywords are associated?
Martha Washington
Biographical Sketch
Personal Habits
Mount Vernon
Widow Grief
What entities or persons were involved?
Martha Washington
Washington
Where did it happen?
Mount Vernon
Story Details
Key Persons
Martha Washington
Washington
Location
Mount Vernon
Event Date
After His Death
Story Details
Martha Washington was described as a pretty girl who grew stout and plain, plainly dressed and robust, not noted for social or intellectual qualities, often knitting and frugal with materials; she was proud of her husband and secluded herself in a room at Mount Vernon after his death, seeing no one for months except a cat.