Eugenia Washington

Eugenia Scholay Washington (June 27, 1838 – November 30, 1900) was an American historian and civil servant. She is known for co-founding the Daughters of the American Revolution and founding the Daughters of the Founders and Patriots of America.

Washington was born in 1838 near Charles Town, Virginia, in present-day West Virginia. She was the daughter of William Temple Washington, through whom she was a great-grandniece of George Washington, first president of the United States, and a grandniece of Dolley Payne Todd Madison. Following her family's relocation to Stafford County, she and her family witnessed the Battle of Fredericksburg first hand during the American Civil War.

Due to her family's limited financial resources after the war and her father's illness, Washington accepted a position as a clerk within the United States Post Office Department in Washington, DC, to support her family. There, Washington was one of the four co-founders of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (with Mary Desha, Mary Smith Lockwood, and Ellen Hardin Walworth). Washington had reportedly been inspired by her experiences during the American Civil War to found an organization for preserving the shared heritage of women from the North and South of the United States. Washington was the DAR's first Registrar General, and was made "number one" on the "grand roll" of the society's membership. In 1898, Washington founded another lineage society, the National Society of Daughters of the Founders and Patriots of America, with the broader goal of preserving the history of the American colonial era.

While visiting a relative in Louisiana around 1870, Washington attended a Roman Catholic mission. She later converted to Roman Catholicism from her Episcopal faith, after which she became a prominent lecturer of the Catholic faith. Washington never married, and she died in 1900. Washington was interred beside her mother at the Moncure family burial ground of her sister's estate, "Glencairne", in Falmouth, Virginia.

Early life, family, and ancestry Eugenia Scholay Washington was born on June 27, 1838, at "Megwillie" plantation near Charles Town in Jefferson County, Virginia (now West Virginia), to William Temple Washington (1800–1877) and his wife, Margaret Calhoun Fletcher (1805–1865). The name of the plantation on which she was born, "Megwillie", was a portmanteau of both her mother and father's nicknames.

Through her father, Washington was the granddaughter of George Steptoe Washington (1771–1809) and Lucy Payne Washington Todd (1772?–1846). She was also the great-granddaughter of Samuel Washington (1734–1781, younger brother of George Washington) and his wife Annie Steptoe, and the great-grandniece of George Washington (1732–1799). Her grandfather, George Steptoe Washington, was a "favorite nephew" of George Washington and was left an inheritance following Washington's death. Flechir's grandson and Washington's grandfather, Thomas Fletcher, served on the staff of General William Henry Harrison in the War of 1812. Thomas Fletcher married Nancy McIlhenney and was the son of Samuel Fletcher and Abigail West. Washington's father suffered from paralysis, and she cared for him from a young age.

American Civil War Following her family's relocation to Falmouth, Washington continued to live a "tranquil life" caring for her father until the American Civil War. During her last decade, Washington served as a clerk in the Dead letter office. The organization's founders emulated the Sons of the American Revolution, founded in New York City on April 30, 1889, which excluded women. On October 11, 1890, at 2 pm, the 18 founding members and these four men met at the Stratford Arms in Washington, DC, thus forming the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Washington was the DAR's first Registrar General, and her name appears as member "number one" on the "grand roll" of membership. Washington also served as secretary general, vice president general, and in 1895 she became honorary vice president general, an office which she held until her death. Washington ardently carried out the duties of her offices at DAR, despite suffering with a serious eye condition that made it difficult for her to write. After "careful study", Washington was received into the Roman Catholic Church. Prior to her conversion, Washington consulted with a clergyman at her Episcopal church, and in response to his concern, she replied: "Oh no, I must act up to my convictions and I shall pray hard that you may be given the same grace." Washington died at the age of 62 on Friday, November 30, 1900, at her home on 13th Street. On December 1, 1900, the funeral train left the Pennsylvania Railroad station in Washington, DC, for Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Fredericksburg Betty Lewis Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution "escorted" Washington's remains. A simple graveside service was performed by Reverend Dr. Smith, pastor of St. George's Episcopal Church in Fredericksburg. Following Washington's death, her sister Jean was the last surviving patrilineal descendant of William Temple Washington. In 1908, a "mourning pin" crafted on the occasion of the death of George Washington that had been given to Washington by her grandmother, Lucy Payne Washington Todd, was donated to the Memorial Continental Hall by Jennie White Hopkins. The Daughters of the American Revolution also maintained Washington's gravesite at "Glencairne", and in 1979 they installed a plaque honoring her. On October 13, 1999, a year after their own centennial, 21 members of the Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America met at the gravesite to unveil a larger memorial plaque honoring her.