Mary Ball Washington

Married life Augustine Washington had sailed to England on business (and to visit his sons who had been sent to school there) but on his return, he discovered that his first wife, Jane Butler Washington, had died. George Eskridge supposedly arranged an introduction between his friend, Washington, and his ward Mary Ball,

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

Augustine died in 1743 when his son George was 11 years old. Unlike most widows in Virginia at the time, Mary Ball Washington never remarried. When George was 14, his older half-brother Lawrence Washington, arranged for young George to become a midshipman in the Royal Navy. However, Mary's half-brother, Joseph Ball (1689–1760), wrote in reply to her letter requesting advice, that the Navy would "cut and staple him and use him like a negro, or rather, like a dog."

Mary managed the family estate and 276 acres of Ferry Farm (a plantation) with the help of others until her eldest son came of age and well beyond. She lived to see that her son, George Washington, commanded the Continental Army to independence and was inaugurated as the first president of the United States in 1789. After learning that he had been elected president in April 1789, George Washington traveled from Mount Vernon to visit his mother in Fredericksburg. He knew his mother was suffering from breast cancer, the disease to which she eventually succumbed.

Death After a lengthy illness, on August 25, 1789, Mary Ball Washington died of breast cancer at her home in Fredericksburg, Virginia. there is no credible source to support that legend. The facts are that other than her son George who was Commander in Chief of the Continental forces (Army and Navy), Mary's other three sons Samuel, John Augustine, and Charles, all served in the Virginia Militia. Her son-in-law Fielding Lewis (husband to her daughter Betty), was in charge of the Fredericksburg Gunnery or Gun Manufactory. The gunnery works made muskets for use by American Revolutionary forces, and ended up almost bankrupting Lewis in the process. During the Revolutionary War, Mary Washington met the Marquis de Lafayette at her home in Fredericksburg. The two enjoyed a warm relationship for the remainder of her life.

Another legend about Mary Washington was that she petitioned the Government of Virginia claiming, in response to a Virginia government notice to citizens to do so, asking to be reimbursed for farm animals, horses and cattle that she gave to support the American war effort.

Descendants

Her third son, John Augustine Washington, was the father of Bushrod Washington, who was nominated by President John Adams to the U.S. Supreme Court, and confirmed by the Senate in 1798. Charles Town, West Virginia, is named for her fourth son, Charles Washington.

Legacy and honors Several monuments have been erected to Mary Ball Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where she lived from 1772 until her death in 1789. The Mary Washington House in Fredericksburg has been preserved by Preservation Virginia (formerly known as the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities) who, in mid-2012, signed an agreement passing ownership to the "Washington Heritage Museums." The residence is open to the public and operated as a historic house museum. It contains a fine collection of antique furnishings, some with Washington family provenance. A monument to Mary Ball Washington was erected in 1833 and dedicated by President Andrew Jackson. It was left unfinished until the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, a women's organization formed in the late nineteenth century raised money for the monument. The National Mary Washington Memorial Association used social events and balls to raise money for the cause. The new memorial was dedicated by President Grover Cleveland in 1894 near her possible grave site. The University of Mary Washington, a public university in Fredericksburg, Virginia, was named for her. The Mary Washington Hospital, located in Fredericksburg, is named for her. In November 2019, the Fredericksburg Nationals minor league baseball team introduced a Mary Washington logo at an event at the Mary Washington House on her 311th birthday, describing the logo as "the first female logo in baseball history to be a part of a team's permanent and original branding."