Octavia Walton Le Vert

Octavia Walton Le Vert (August 11, 1811 – March 12, 1877), née Octavia Celestia Valentine Walton, was an American socialite and writer. She became one of the first female Southern writers to achieve national recognition. Although largely faded from history today, she was a well-known figure during her own time. From the 1830s through the 1850s she was noted for hosting gatherings of prominent politicians, noted literary figures, and professionals of all types. She was friends with a variety of prominent 19th century figures.

LeVert was born in Augusta, Georgia, and moved with her parents to Mobile, Alabama, in 1835, where she married Dr. Henry Strachey Le Vert in 1836. During her travels to Europe she was presented at the courts of several countries. She also received an audience with the Pope during her time there. Following her last European tour and return to the United States, she took on a role in the successful national campaign to purchase and restore Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. Following the American Civil War, with her husband dead and much of her fortune gone, she returned to her birthplace of Georgia and embarked on an ultimately unsuccessful lecture tour. She was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1990.

Early life Octavia Walton was born on August 11, 1810, at her maternal grandmother's home, Belle Vue, near Augusta, Georgia. Her parents' first home, Meadow Garden, was nearby. Her parents were George Walton Jr. and Sally Minge Walker. George Walton, Jr. was educated at Princeton University, eventually becoming a prominent lawyer and Georgia state representative. After her death, a poem, the text of which was authenticated as being written in Poe's hand, was found in one of her personal albums. The date "May 1, 1827" was written in her hand on the poem.

During another East Coast trip during the early 1830s, Walton met Washington Irving while traveling on a stagecoach. The two became friends and remained so until Irving's death. Irving encouraged Le Vert to express herself through writing. She spent several seasons in Washington, D.C.. During this time she attended congressional debates and met Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, and Henry Clay, becoming friends with all three, but developing an especially close friendship with Clay.

Encouraged by Lady Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, Le Vert embarked on a tour of Europe in 1853 with her husband and oldest daughter. While there, she visited the courts of the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy. She was presented to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom by Lady Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie. Her visit to the former home of the Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto and seeing how well it had been preserved inspired her to join the cause of saving Washington's Mount Vernon estate in Virginia. She joined the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association and was appointed as the fourth vice regent in 1858, serving until her death.

Later life Le Vert's life took a turn for the worse with the outbreak of the American Civil War. She was not a strong supporter of the secession of Alabama from the United States and had conflicted feelings towards the institution of slavery. Once war broke out, however, she and her daughters served as nurses in the Confederate hospitals. Her husband died in Mobile on March 15, 1864, and was interred in Magnolia Cemetery alongside their children.

It was widely known that she gladly received the news of the end of the war and then entertained occupying Union soldiers in her home following the surrender of Mobile. This caused her to be ostracized by many in the city, who saw her as a traitor. Her fortune was gone after the war and she soon left Mobile for good. She visited New York City and Washington, D.C., but eventually returned to her birth state of Georgia and attempted a lecture tour. She took up residence in Augusta on Monte Sano Avenue near the corner of Bellevue Avenue, a block away from her grandparents' former Belle Vue estate. She also wrote Souvenirs of Distinguished People and Souvenirs of the War, but neither book was ever published. In the end, she was forced to depend on the charity of her cousins. Le Vert died in Augusta on March 12, 1877, and was buried in the Walker Family Cemetery on the grounds of the Augusta Arsenal. A later owner of her Monte Sano Avenue home dubbed the wood-frame house as "Chateau Le Vert". It was demolished during the 1960s.