Kissin' Cousins


burgess. Despite his persistence, Betsy refused to return his attentions. In New York, Washington fell for Mary Philipse, a lady who owned fifty thousand acres and later married the Tory Roger Morris. After these two failures, Washington fell in love and began a correspondence with Sarah Cary Fairfax, a young bride of one of his neighbors. When his letters went unanswered, Washington went as far as to enlist the aid of Sally's brother and sister in his (lost) cause. Despite a marked lack of response from Sarah and a warning from her sister-in-law to desist in his wooing, Washington continued to entreat Sarah for a response. That response came when she wrote to congratulate him on his engagement to Martha Custis, which caused George to pour out his feelings for Sarah, uttering sentiments never heard by Martha (whom he called his affectionate friend and worthy partner.)

Little is known of their courtship, except that they married less than a year after the death of Daniel Parke Custis and that Washington visited White House (the Custis's home) two times before their engagement. (Their grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, has written of love at first site but there is no evidence to support this claim.) The wedding of George and Martha Washington was the social event of 1758/5 in Virginia. Although this was truly a marriage of convenience (Washington gained land and social standing, Martha gained a husband needed to run the plantation and business dealings), the couple never quarreled and seemed genuinely fond of each other. Although they never had children of their own, George raised Martha's two children from her first marriage. During the first year of his marriage, Washington wrote to a friend "I am now I believe fixd at this Seat (Mt. Vernon) with an agreeable Consort for life..."

For further reading:

Courtship (in colonial America)

Earle, Alice Morse "Customs and Fashions in Old New England" Corner House Publishers, Williamstown MA c. 1983

Fields, Joseph E. "Worthy Partner" Greenwood Press, Connecticut c. 1994

Garrison, Webb "Love, Lust, and Longing in the White House” Cumberland House, Tennessee. C. 2000

Miller, John C. "The First Frontier, Life in Colonial America", University Press of America Lanham, MD c. 1966

Taylor, Dale "The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Colonial America' Writers Digest Books, Cincinnati, OH c. 1997

The copyright of the article Kissin' Cousins in Colonial United States is owned by Jeannine Dugan. Permission to republish Kissin' Cousins in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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