George Washington Marries on 3 Kings Day
George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis on 6 Jan 1759. That day isn't random. That happens to be a special day. That day happens to be the 12th day of the Twelve Days of Christmas. If you count Christmas Day as Day One of the Twelve Days of Christmas, then 6 January is the 12th day.
That 12th Day is also known as 3 Kings Day, when the 3 Wise Men came to see baby Jesus. That 12th Day is also known as Epiphany. Epiphany is sudden knowledge. Sudden knowledge of what? This author will leave that to the reader who probably knows already.
So was this 12th Day widely observed then?
Yes it was.
In some ways it was more celebrated than Christmas Day, the 1st of the 12 Days of Christmas. See sources for that claim.
So where was the wedding held?
It was held at Martha's house. Her house was in New Kent County VA . It was known as the White House.
Why not Mount Vernon? Mount Vernon was still a mess. Construction was still going on.
Another reason for the wedding site
was simply proximity to the House of Burgesses.
The Day before the wedding, George Washington collected payment for his military service from the House. And that pay was short. Also, the House of Burgesses February Session was coming up fast. And there was a matter of the inheritance to handle. George had to at least stay until he applied as executor to oversee the inheritance for Martha and her children in April 1759.
The newly weds didn't go to Mount Vernon
until 2 April 1759. When they did, they rode there in style in Martha Dandridge Custis' carriage. Once there they pretty much stay at Mount Vernon until the October session of the House of Burgesses beckons them back to Williamsburg.
Another matter of moment, Spanish Fly. George Washington ordered it.
Source is page 98, Ron Chernow's Chapter "The Man of Mode,' from his book "Washington: A Life." published 2010.
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Compiled and authored by Jim Moyer November, December 2022, updated 10am, 144pm, 247pm, 4pm - 1/8/2023, 3/26/2023
Table of Contents
Christmas in the colonies
Here is how Christmas Day itself was celebrated by the Virginia Regiment at Fort Loudoun and Fort Cumberland:
Here is how the 12th Day, January 6 was celebrated:
Nicholas Cresswell, an Englishman who spent years in Virginia
and kept a journal, wrote while in Alexandria on December 25, 1774:
“Christmas Day but little regarded here.” Cresswell did, however, attend a ball on Twelfth Night:
There was about 37 Ladys Dressed and Powdered to the like, some of them very handsom, and as much Vanity as is necessary. All of them fond of Dancing. But I do not think they perform it with the greatest elleganse. Betwixt the Country Dances they have What I call everlasting Jiggs.
A Couple gets up, and begins to dance a Jig (to some Negro tune) others comes and cuts them out, these dances allways last as long as the Fiddler can play. This is social but I think it looks more like a Bacchanalian dance then one in a polite Assembly. Old Women, Young Wifes with young Children on the Laps, Widows, Maids, and Girls come promsciously to these Assemblys which generally continue til morning. A Cold supper, Punch, Wine, Coffee, and Chocolate, But no Tea. This is a forbidden herb. The men chiefly Scotch and Irish. I went home about Two Oclock, but part of the Company stayd got Drunk and had a fight.
The following Christmas he was in Frederick County where he noted
“Christmas Day but little observed in this Country except it is amongst the Dutch.”
Philip Vickers Fithian
of New Jersey, tutor to the Carter family of Nomini Hall in Virginia, recorded his first Virginia Christmas experience December 18, 1773:
“Nothing is now to be heard of in conversation, but the Balls, the Fox-hunts, the fine entertainments, and the good fellowship, which are to be exhibited at the approaching Christmas. I almost think myself happy that my Horses lameness will be sufficient Excuse for my keeping at home on these Holidays.”
On Christmas, Fithian noted that “Guns are fired this Evening in the Neighbourhood, and the Negroes seem to be inspired with new Life.”
During the holiday season, Colonial Williamsburg doors and windows are wreathed in arrangements fashioned of natural materials. This boxwood construction is accented with holly, pine, apples, and feathers. Among other popular accents are oranges, pineapples, and seashells.
Christmas day was spent quietly, but Fithian said he “was waked this morning by Guns fired all round the House.” He gave slightly more than three shillings to the servants for a “Christmas Box, as they call it.” He thought the dinner was “no otherwise than common, yet as elegant a Christmas Dinner as I ever sat Down to.” On December 29th Fithian reopened his school after a five-day holiday, and he recorded that they had a large pie “to signify the Conclusion of the Holidays.”
When 12 Days of Christmas started
In the 9th century, during the reign of King Alfred, the Christmas celebration was extended by 12 days, ending on Epiphany, January 6th. Early in the 11th century the term Christes maesse, or festival of Christ, entered the English language, and early in the next century Xmas had come into use
Source:
More on 12 Days of Christmas
More by Nicholas Cresswell
Sunday, January 7th, 1775. Last night I went to the Ball. It seems this is one of their annual Balls supported in the following manner: A large rich cake is provided and cut into small pieces and handed round to the company, who at the same time draws a ticket out of a Hat with something merry wrote on it. He that draws the King has the Honor of treating the company with a Ball the next year, which generally costs him Six or Seven Pounds. The Lady that draws the Queen has the trouble of making the Cake. Here was about 37 ladies dressed and powdered to the life, some of them very handsome and as much vanity as is necessary.
So reads an entry in the diary of Nicholas Cresswell, a British visitor to colonial Virginia. The occasion was the biggest event of the Christmas season and of the seasonal year—the Twelfth Night Ball. Christmas itself in the Old Dominion was no big deal: there was church, dinner—the American turkey had already replaced the traditional English roast beef—afternoon visitations, a display of greenery, games, a fox hunt, and other entertainment sprinkled about the two-week season. "None was meant for kids, and the youngsters were cordially not invited to attend," wrote Colonial Williamsburg historian Emma Powers.
On occasion, Twelfth Night Balls could become raucous. Cresswell said:
Betwixt the Country dances they have what I call everlasting jigs. A couple gets up and begins to dance a jig (to some Negro tune) others comes and cuts them out, and these dances always last as long as the Fiddler can play. This is sociable, but I think it looks more like a Bacchanalian dance than one in a polite assembly. Old Women, Young Wives with young children in the lap, widows, maids and girls come promiscuously to these assemblies which generally continue till morning. A cold supper, Punch, Wines, Coffee and Chocolate, but no Tea. This is a forbidden herb. The men chiefly Scotch and Irish. I went home about two o'clock, but part of the company stayed, got drunk and had a fight.
Source:
Source of painting
Junius B. Stearns
Junius B. Stearns' Painting of the Marriage of George Washington and Mrs. Custis Identifier:032731
Title:
Junius B. Stearns' Painting of the Marriage of George Washington and Mrs. Custis
Creator:
Description:
The marriage of George Washington and Martha Dandridge Custis is beautifully portrayed by Junius B. Stearns. The known facts regarding the marriage have been adhered to, and likenesses faithfully depicted. The two sisters of the bride, her children, and General Washington's sister Betty, afterward Mrs. Fielding Lewis, are easily recognizable. The delicate colors and rich fabrics worn at that time are brought out in delightful detail. The bride and groom are shown in the attire of the period, the bride in satin without a veil, as was customary with widows marrying a second time. The lithograph from which this copy was made was executed in Paris in 1854 by Regnier, Imp., Lemercier, and is considered a remarkable reproduction of the original painting. "The marriage of George Washington and Mrs.. Custis," which took place on January 6, 1759.
What did they really wear?
Ron Chernow in his bio on GW, writes:
"George was presumably resplendent in the blue velvet suit he hadd had specially shipped from London, while Martha made a fetching impression in a gown of "of deep yellow brocade with rich lace in the neck and sleeves' accompanied by purple satin shoes."
Sources:
Washington: A Life is a biography of George Washington, the first president of the United States, written by American historian and biographer Ron Chernow and published in 2010, page 97. Ron Chernow sites Cadou, George Washington Collection show in link below:
Mount Vernon boasts the largest collection of Washington material in the United States. This new book highlights the outstanding fine and decorative art ... Carol Cadou, vice president of collections and senior curator at Mount Vernon.
https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-George-Washington-Collection-by-Carol-Borchert-Cadou-Mount-Vernon-Ladies-Association-of-the-Union/9781555952686
Site of Wedding
On Jan. 6, 1759, George Washington was married to Martha Dandridge Custis [Martha's house called the White House] by Rev. David Mossom, rector of Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church, New Kent County, Virginia. The White House no longer survives. it's remains can be seen by satelite. See Sources.
Washington: A Life is a biography of George Washington, the firstpresident of the United States, written by American historian and biographer Ron Chernow and published in 2010, page 97.
Dispute over site
Caption for this picture --- Life of George Washington, The Citizen, lithograph by Claude Regnier, after Junius Brutus Stearns, 1854, depicts the marriage of George Washington and Martha Dandridge Custis at White House Plantation in New Kent County. Courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.
Shinn in his 1889 book says a"traditional" account states the wedding was held at St Peter's Episcopal Church. "Traditional" implies a lack of proof.
Chernow disagrees with that 1889 book and sources Cadou, George Washington collections, page 244. Chernow allows for no such dispute because of those collections. The 1889 book could tend towards hagiography.
One thing is not in dispute and may have caused the confusion. The Rector of that church did preside over the wedding.
The 1889 book mentioned here is this one:
King's Handbook of notable Episcopal churches in the United States by Shinn, George W. (George Wolfe), 1839-1910
This is the source Chernow sites:
Page 244 of The George Washington Collection: Fine and Decorative Arts at Mount Vernon Hardcover – November 1, 2006
by Carol Borchert Cadou (Author)
And then there is Douglas Southall Freeman:
He does rely on word of mouth tradition but his sources are more specific than the 1889 book sited above. The 1889 book mentions no specific source even for word of mouth.
Footnote provided by Douglas Southall Freeman:
Mossom, born in London in 1690, had come to Virginia from St. Michael’s Church, Marblehead, Mass., where he had served for ten years as missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. See Goodwin, Colonial Church in Virginia, v. 2, p. 295; Brydon, Mother Church, 219. His introduction to the Virginia parish was through a letter from Robert Carter to the vestry of St. Peter’s, June 13, 1727, entered in St. Peter’s Vestry Book, 207.
For four reasons
the marriage ceremony is believed to have been performed at the home of the bride,
rather than at the church:
First,
it would have been inconvenient and uncomfortable to have the nuptials solemnized in midwinter at a church to which participants and guests would have been compelled to ride or to drive over at least three miles of heavy roads.
Second,
on the death in 1882 of Mrs. Margaret Anderson Young, aged 95, it was stated ( Richmond Dispatch, June 2, 1882, p. 1) that she had been married in 1806 at the White House in the very room where Martha Custis had become the bride of Washington. As Margaret Anderson’s father was employed at Mount Vernon before becoming manager of the White House property, this tradition of Washington’s marriage on the Pamunkey estate dates probably from the lifetime of Washington himself.
Third,
Mrs. Hartwell Macon, who resided near the White House and
Source
From Douglas Southall Freeman's Young George Washington, Volume 3, Footnote 1 on Pages 1 and 2, published 1948, Charles Scribner's Sons:
This dispute between the "traditional" account sited in an 1889 book mentioned above and the Cadou book documenting the collections at Mt Vernon is mentioned here due to John Maass, Former Historian at U.S. Army Center of Military History
Updated 1/6/2024
Here's where Martha's home, The White House, was located.
Source
Washington: A Life is a biography of George Washington, the firstpresident of the United States, written by American historian and biographer Ron Chernow and published in 2010, page 97.
Martha's home
"After being widowed for a year and a half, Martha remarried on January 6, 1759 to Col. George Washington. They married at her home in New Kent and spent the first three months of their marriage at Custis Square in Williamsburg."
Rev David Mossom married them
The Church near Martha's home
Look through the years
to see boundaries
of New Kenty County Virginia
Pay for Military Service
The day before the wedding Colonel George Washington received his pay for his military service.
Founders Online Footnote 1.
Paymaster Alexander Boyd paid GW money owed him for his service as colonel of the Virginia Regiment. It would appear that GW collected his salary on the day before his marriage on 6 January.
He received an additional £14.4.4 in April 1760 (Cash Accounts) that was still owed him for his military service. His salary as colonel was £1.10 a day. See GW to Robert Dinwiddie, 10 June 1757, n.5.
Founders Online Footnote 2.
Perhaps GW spent the night before his wedding playing cards at Chiswell’s ordinary, which was near Mrs. Custis’s house.
Source:
The Estate
This is about the long law suit
on the inheritance:
Written 10 or 21 oct 2021
A Fake Letter
Few letters between the two survive.
One letter alleged to have survived is a fake.
to Martha Dandridge Custis
from George Washington
20 July 1758
Worthington C. Ford printed the following as the text of a letter written by GW to Martha Custis on 20 July 1758:
“We have begun our march for the Ohio. A courier is starting for Williamsburg, and I embrace the opportunity to send a few words to one whose life is now inseparable from mine. Since that happy hour when we made our pledges to each other, my thoughts have been continually going to you as another Self. That an all-powerful Providence may keep us both in safety is the prayer of your ever faithful and affectionate friend” (Ford, The Writings of Washington, 14 vols. [New York, 1889–93], 2:53).
Either the printed letter is a forgery or it has been misdated and radically altered. GW was not expecting to march immediately to the Ohio at this time (but see GW to Bouquet, 21 July, n.1) or at any other time before November; and both the style and form of the printed document are quite unlike any of GW’s surviving letters of the period. The full case for rejecting the document is made by Douglas Southall Freeman, in his George Washington: A Biography, [ Douglas Southall Freeman. George Washington: A Biography. 7 vols. New York, 1948–57.description ends, ] appendix II–2, 2:405–6.
Source:
More on GW, wedding, vestryman
Quote from
[Note: We repost this link to show what you know already --- that the internet is an echo chamber of anything whether true or not. This article below quotes the fake letter debunked by Douglas Southall Freeman above.]
On July 20, 1758, in a letter to his fiancee, Martha Dandridge Custis, Colonel George Washington wrote from Fort Cumberland: We have begun our march for the Ohio. A courier is starting for Williamsburg, and I embrace the opportunity to send a few lines to one whose life is now inseparable from mine. Since that happy hour when we made our pledges to each other, my thoughts have been continually going to you as to another Self. That an All-Powerful Providence may keep us both in safety is the prayer of your ever faithful and ever affectionate Friend.”
,
On Jan. 6, 1759, George Washington was married to Martha Dandridge Custis by Rev. David Mossom, rector of Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church, New Kent County, Virginia. After having settled at Mount Vernon, George Washington became one of the 12 vestrymen in the Truro Parish, which included the Pohick Church, the Falls Church, and the Alexandria Church.
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The old vestry book of Pohick Church contained the entry: “At a Vestry held for Truro Parish, October 25, 1762, ordered, that George Washington, Esq. be chosen and appointed one of the Vestry-men of this Parish, in the room of William Peake, Gent. Deceased.”
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On Feb. 15, 1763, the Fairfax County Court recorded: “George Washington, Esq. took the oath according to Law, repeated and subscribed the Test and subscribed to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England in order to qualify him to act as a Vestryman of Truro Parish.”
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In his diary, George Washington recorded his attendance at numerous Church and Vestry meetings.
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Above excerpt from –
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not sure why this same letter shows Mary Cary instead of Sarah Cary?
Spanish Fly order
Washington: A Life is a biography of George Washington, the firstpresident of the United States, written by American historian and biographer Ron Chernow and published in 2010, page 97.
The Green Carriage
GW didn't order the lavish green carriage until 1768 and used it to travel to Williamsburg. They used the Custis carriage unitl then.
Washington: A Life is a biography of George Washington, the firstpresident of the United States, written by American historian and biographer Ron Chernow and published in 2010, ordering the green carriage page 140, using the green carriage to Williamsburg page 147.
Search string in Ron Chernow's bio of GW:
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