highly unconventional for the time, she blazed her own trail and never remarried. She raised her four surviving children alone and imparted a strong value system to them. Her tireless devotion to her family and to her community at large has left a legacy that lives on today in Lancaster County through the Mary Ball Museum and in Fredericksburg through Mary Washington College.
Robert “King” Carter of Corrotoman
Bank headquarters
with a fair complexion, brown hair and fine grey eyes.” They must have made a very handsome couple and George Eskridge (as a guardian, father figure and friend) must have been delighted with his part in all of this!
The Birth of a President
In 1732 Mary Ball Washington gave birth to her first born child. Surely, George Eskridge must have made quite an impression upon the fatherless Mary Ball and also upon the previously widowed
Augustine Washington. Together, they named their firstborn son George— in honor of the man who had brought them together. George Eskridge passed away in 1735. He never lived long enough to know what greatness would become of this union that he had such a hand in arranging and that his namesake would one day take the oath of office as the very first President of the United States of America in 1789.
In 1743, Augustine Washington passed away, leaving Mary a widow of considerable means. Although it was
One of the most ambitious and intriguing individuals in Lancaster County history and in Colonial Virginia was Robert “King” Carter (1663–1732). He acquired his vast land holdings and fortune through political alliances, skilled negotiation and well mastered ambition. I suppose in today’s world he could be compared to real estate mogul Donald Trump. Obviously pragmatic as well as a visionary, he was surely larger than life during his time, just as “The Donald” is today. The Northern Neck of Virginia
presented unique opportunities for this enterprising and astute cavalier.
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July/August 2011
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