years old he passed away, leaving her an inheritance that included 400 acres of land on the Rappahannock River, in Stafford County. As a small child, Mary attended
St. Mary’s Whitechapel Parish, which endures today as one of the few active colonial churches still in use in Virginia. This church was built on land owned by David Fox. He and other founding members named the church after St. Mary’s Whitechapel in England. Mary Ball’s ancestors are buried in the church cemetery which dates back well over 300 years. At the age of twelve, Mary endured the loss of her mother, who had appointed George Eskridge as her daughter’s guardian before her death. As the mother of a young daughter, I cannot imagine how heart wrenching it was for her to know she would have to leave Mary behind and not be able to guide her through life. It must have been a great comfort to know that her daughter would be cared for and protected by a man of such noble character and integrity. It is written that George Eskridge was a very capable, astute and thoughtful man who concerned himself with the affairs
of others. He served, in a distinguished capacity, in the House of Burgesses from 1705–1735 and was vital to the development of Virginia as a colony. The respect and trust that Mary’s mother had for Mr. Eskridge was evident by her selection of him as a guardian for her beloved daughter. He handled all of Mary’s affairs with absolute integrity and provided for her every need while she lived with family members at nearby Cherry Point. When Mary was fourteen, she inherited another 600 acres of land from the passing of her half-brother, making her a young woman of considerable means. She had been through many changes throughout her young life and had experienced how precarious life could be. This produced the resilience, depth, graciousness and dignity that she was known for throughout her life.
It’s a Small World, After All
In all of our lives there are those special moments when we find out what a small world it really is. It is a delightful experience to meet a new friend only to
realize the commonalities and connections that immediately bind you together! As fate would have it, Augustine Washington and the much younger Mary Ball shared common bonds and mutual associations on more than one front. The one man who was aware of the significance of these connections was none other than Mary’s guardian, George Eskridge. At just the right moment he introduced Mary to his good friend Augustine Washington, knowing that it was destined to be a good match from the outset. Ironically, Washington owned a significant amount of land and a mining operation adjacent to the land holdings that Mary had inherited years before. In another strange twist of fate, Washington had previously been married to George Eskridge’s sister-in-law, who had passed away suddenly in 1729, while he was away on business in England. In 1731, Augustine and Mary were married and moved to Wakefield, which was Washington’s plantation at Pope’s Creek in Westmoreland County. It is said that Mary was “blonde and beautiful” and that Augustine was “a noble looking man, of distinguished bearing, tall and athletic,
The House & Home Magazine
45
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