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 Creator Washington, Martha, 1731-1802
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.

Top 3 results view all 63

Bill of Sale, with Lawrence Lewis, 1800 Box 2, Folder 1800.03.00

Sale of eleven mules, three sheep, eight oxen, one cow and calf, two heifers, three cows, one riding horse, a quantity of plank, scantling and barrel staves and all the plantation [ ] Farm called Dogue Run, standing property lately sold to Lewis, amounts to $1279.40; Lewis to pay yearly sum of $90 till her death then either return it or pay George Washington's executors the above amount.

  1. From Martha Washington, 1761/1802
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.

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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.

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Letter, from Lund Washington, 1767 Box 17, Folder 1767.03.30

Lund writes about crops and planting. Washington in Williamsburg at Burgess meeting, then onto Dismal Swamp. Martha includes a postscript at the end of the letter. One of only two extant examples of correspondence from Martha Washington to George Washington, Martha penned this six line postscript with news and greetings on the second page of a letter from Lund Washington to George on March 30, 1767.

  1. Series 2. To George Washington, 1755/1799

Letter, to David Stuart, 1789 Box 5, Folder 1789.09.21

Advises Stuart, as administrator of estate of John Parke Custis, to let Mr. Alexander have disputed land [J.P. Custis' "Abingdon" estate] back and pay him a fair rent for the time it was out of his possession -- has no time to give reasons -- Martha Washington adds her approval at bottom of letter in short note and signature.

  1. Series 1. From George Washington, 1654/1799
The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

Esther Maria Lewis Chapin collection of Washington family documents, 1743/1852

1.5 Linear Feet (5 Boxes)

This collection was originally assembled by Esther Maria Lewis Chapin, who inherited some of the Washington and Custis papers but was also an avid collector. She reassembled family materials that were being dispersed nationwide, much of which was purchased at Anderson Galleries, sale 22001, 28-29 November 1927. The collection contains correspondence, legal documents, and financial records related primarily to the Custis and Lewis families. Much of the financial and legal materials focus on the construction of the New Tomb at Mount Vernon, as well as settling George Washington's estate.The dates of the material in this collection ranges from 1743-1852, with the bulk of the material dating between 1818-1829.

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