Collections : [The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon]

The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon
3600 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway
Mount Vernon, VA 22121
Primary Collecting Areas:
George and Martha Washington, Mount Vernon, Founding Era and Early Republic, Historic preservation, Decorative arts, Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
Description:

The Fred W. Smith National Library includes general collections, special collections and archives as a resource for scholars, students, and those interested in George Washington, colonial America and the Revolutionary and founding eras.

The library's general collections include secondary source materials on the Washington and Custis families, and the colonial and founding eras.

The Special Collections materials highlight the lives of George and Martha Washington as well as their descendants through correspondence, financial materials, and original books from George and Martha Washington's library.

The archives of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association holds the historic institutional records of the organization dating back to its founding in 1853.

POC: Reference services
Phone: (703) 780-3600
Start Over Repository The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon Subjects Condolence notes
The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

Peter family papers, 1722/1932

12 Linear Feet 46 boxes

This collection consists of papers collected by various members of the Peter families. It includes letters from George Washington, letters of condolence to Martha Washington after George Washington's death, estate documents, Major George Peter's military papers, land plats and surveys, photo albums, letterbooks, and notebooks that tell of the life of this prominent family in Virginia and the City of Washington.

Top 3 results view all 28
The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

Historic manuscript collection, 1601/1933

approx. 60 Linear Feet

This collection of historic manuscripts dates from 1607-1933, with the bulk of materials dating from 1738-1868. The correspondence, journals and diaries, legal and financial records, estate documents, and printed ephemera in the collection primarily relate to the Washington and Custis families, the Revolutionary War, and society life in antebellum Washington D.C. and Virginia.

3 results

Letter, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney to Tobias Lear, 1799 1 pages Box 34, Folder 1799.12.17

Autograph letter signed with integral address panel. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney writes from Harper's Ferry three days after George Washington's death offering his condolences for this "irreparable loss" to Tobias Lear at Mount Vernon, Martha Washington, and Nelly Parke Custis Lewis.

  1. Series 1. Documents and Manuscripts
  2. Manuscripts Box 34, 1799

Letter, John S. Wright to John Augustine Washington III, 1855 Box 74, Folder 1855.09.23

Autograph letter signed by prominent Chicago machinery producer J. S. Wright. He writes to John Augustine with condolences on the death of his mother, Jane C. Washington. He writes that his mother and John Augustine's were alike: "Both were eminently kind. Religion made both cheerful, animated, companionable... we have known & tried a Mother's love."

  1. Series 1. Documents and Manuscripts
  2. Manuscripts Box 74, 1855/1857
The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

John Augustine Washington III and family papers, 1789/1994

approx 4 Linear Feet 15 boxes

This collection contains correspondence, legal documents, financial records, and other documents related to John Augustine Washington III and his family, especially his son, Lawrence, as well as his granddaughters, Anne and Patty. The bulk of the correspondence series are letters sent to John Augustine Washington III and concern family affairs and the management of various family plantations, including Mount Vernon.

1 result
The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

Martha Washington collection, 1761/1802

1.25 Linear Feet

This collection contains letters to and from Martha Washington that have been acquired by the MVLA since 1858. For more information, see content note for individual items. The collection grows organically as new items are acquired.

2 results

Letter, from Julia B. & the Society of Females, 1800 Box 5, Folder 1800.02.14

"Hoping that their condolence letter is not taken to be presumptuous, four women write to Martha Washington that their fathers fought with George Washington--therefore they request a lock of his hair, however small, as a memento--in a postscript, they also request a lock of Martha Washington's hair. (See: copy of Martha Washington's reply, dated March 12, 1800)."

  1. To Martha Washington, 1774/1800
The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

George Washington collection, 1654/1799

approx. 25 Linear Feet

This collection contains letters to and from George Washington that have been aquired by the MVLA since 1858. For more information, see content note for individal items. The collection grows organically as new items are acquired.

1 result

Content Warning

ARVAS is an aggregator of archival resources. ARVAS does not have control of the descriptive language used in our members’ finding aids.

Finding aids may contain historical terms and phrases, reflecting the shared attitudes and values of the community from which they were collected, but are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical or mental ability; religion; sex; and sexual orientation and gender identity.

Many institutions and organizations are in the process of reviewing and revising their descriptive language, with the intent to describe materials in more humanizing, inclusive, and harm-reductive ways. As members revise their descriptive language, their changes will eventually be reflected in their ARVAS finding aids.