The
Alexandria Chronicle
A publication of monographs about historical Alexandria, Virginia.
A
LEXANDRIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Y INC.
201 South Washington Street • Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Editor: Linda Greenberg
Fall 2013
Miss Mary Jane Stewart: Eye Witness
to History
by Richard Klingenmaier
On a late summer day in 1855 workmen began to
the house for its salvage value.3 As a favor to friends
who knew the history of the house, Waters allowed them
to remove samples of the structure’s frame work as souvenirs “... for preservation or to be manufactured into
cases and other articles of ornament and use.”4 “When
the demolition was completed, regrading of the site contributed to the almost complete obliteration of any structural remains.”5
dismantle a small one-and-a-half story frame dwelling
house on Cameron Street in Alexandria, Virginia. As one
early neighborhood resident subsequently described it,
“The house was not imposing nor, indeed, a handsome
structure. A steep, outside flight of wooden steps led to
the parlor floor. A rough stone half-story formed the
kitchen, which had a brick floor and a wide outside chimney. There were narrow inside stairs also leading to the
parlor floor. Above the stone foundation the house was
of wood. The two rooms on the parlor floor were of
moderate size and a narrow hall and staircase led to two
rooms above. The mantel in the parlor was high and simply carved. There were two small dormer windows on
the roof, and a crude, board fence around the entire lot,
with a gate on Cameron Street, near the house.”1
The property, located on the south side of Cameron
street between Pitt and St. Asaph Streets, was owned by
Mr. Benjamin Waters a local business man who resided
next door in the three-story brick house that would become 506 Cameron Street.2 For many years prior to this
September 5th, Waters had rented out the lower stone
basement portion of the house to “poor pensioners,” even
though he knew the upper frame portion was in a dangerous condition. City officials eventually declared the
entire structure unsafe for habitation and gave Waters notice to make necessary structural repairs or tear it down.
Apparently in financial distress and unable to find anyone else to finance the repairs, he decided to demolish
THE MYSTERY HOUSE ON CAMERON
STREET
For over one hundred years this lot of ground remained vacant, except for the planting of a garden by the
owner of the property next door. The history of the small
frame house that once stood there, as well as why it was
torn down, soon faded into Alexandria’s historic past.
Only a few historians were aware of the site. None however, knew exactly what the house had looked like.
Sometime in the early 20th century, a small bronze plate,
sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce, was
placed on the fence bordering the garden, identifying the
former site of General George Washington’s town house.
GEORGE WASHINGTON’S TOWN HOUSE
1
In his will dated July 9, 1799, George Washington
wrote: “ To my dearly beloved wife, Martha Washington,
...my improved lot in the Town of Alexandria, situated
on Pitt & Cameron Streets, I give to her and her heirs
forever...” This “improved lot,” comprising a half acre
in all, essentially covered a quarter of the block at the
southwest corner of Cameron and Pitt streets. The lot
was listed as #118 when he purchased it in 1763 for
about 30 pounds.
By the fall of 1769, Washington was making regular
monthly trips to Alexandria to check on the status of his
“new house,” then under construction on the Cameron
Street property. His ledger A entry for January 17, 1770
reflects a payment of 22 pounds, 5 shillings, 2 pence to
Richard Lake “...for Work done on my House in Alexandria...” Additional payments to other laborers followed
in April, June, and August. By January 1771, the interior
walls had been plastered and the exterior painted. It appears that by March 18, 1771, the house was ready for
occupancy, as Washington noted in his diary that he
“...went to Court” (Fairfax County Courthouse in Alexandria) and “...stayd all Night.” The lack of a housing expense in his account book or any reference in his diary
to residing with friends, would indicate he occupied his
new town house.
A careful study of Washington’s diary and ledger entries, as well as his correspondence for the following
twenty some years, provides a more detailed picture of
his town house property.6 Besides the small stone and
frame dwelling house that stood adjacent to the western
end of the lot, there was also a stable with “a Rack &
manager...” and “...ye Necessary...” constructed of
“weatherboarding.” By 1794, in preparation for renting
the property to Mrs. Fanny Washington, the widow of
his nephew, Washington had directed that the entire lot
be enclosed by “...White Oak Posts and Rails well executed” in preparation for a garden, and “...to secure her
wood from being pilfered.” For work done inside the
house, he was subsequently billed for: “...digging well
in cellar, ... carrying sand in cellar & paving one of ye
rooms...”. Of particular note is Washington’s purchase
of expensive “Prusian (sic) blue” paint pigment at 2
pounds, 6 shillings for the interior trim of the house, as
well as wall paper “for the two lower Rooms...”, i.e., the
parlor and the hall/bedroom on the main level. When the
town house was first constructed, “...it stood on the brow
of a hill...” with the front entrance nearly level with the
ground. However, when Alexandria’s streets were graded
after the American revolution, most of the stone foundation, originally below grade, was exposed. This necessitated the subsequent construction of wooden stairs and a
high porch at the street entrance, as well as “...digging
down [the] bank at ye Road to go in to (the) yard.”7
the existence of a long lost pencil sketch of Washington’s
town house. The woman who drew the sketch from
memory, long after the house’s demolition, lived for
many years diagonally across the street from the site. She
subsequently gave the sketch and a written description of
the house to Mrs. Martha Harrison Chatham, then residing in the three story brick dwelling house at 506
Cameron street, adjacent to the vacant lot. Mrs. Chatham
placed the sketch in an envelope for safe keeping and it
too “disappeared” for nearly 50 years. The rough pencil
sketch and accompanying written description were discovered in 1932 by Mrs. Chatham’s grandson then residing at 506 Cameron Street. The woman who drew that
sketch was identified as Miss Mary Jane Stewart.9
THE JOHN A. STEWART FAMILY OF
ALEXANDRIA
Mary Jane Stewart was born in Alexandria, Virginia
in 1832. She was the daughter of Irish immigrants. Her
maternal grandparents, William and Ann Greer, née
Crawford Dunlap, born 1771 and 1774, respectively, emigrated to the United States in 1801, landing in
Charleston, South Carolina, and subsequently settling in
Alexandria, Virginia by 1808. They arrived in the
United States with their four children, all born in Ireland
-- Esther Ann (died 1858); James (died 1842); John
(died 1835); and Elizabeth, aka “Eliza.” Eliza Dunlap
was destined to become Mary Jane Stewart’s mother.10
On November 9, 1824, Eliza Dunlap married John
Ainsworth Stewart, a forty-six year old bookseller and
stationer, who had a small shop in Alexandria. John A.
Stewart was also of Irish birth, born in Belfast, Ireland in
1778. He emigrated to the United States sometime prior
to 1799. By then he was serving as a twenty-one year
old Lieutenant of the 106th Virginia Militia and Adjutant
to the unit’s commanding officer, Colonel George Deneale.11 On Tuesday, 17 December 1799, General Washington’s secretary, Tobias Lear, mentioned Lt. Stewart in
his diary as ensuring that the snow covered grounds at
Mount Vernon were cleared for General Washington’s
burial procession the following day. It was Stewart’s military unit that played a prominent role in Washington’s
burial service on December 18th.
John Stewart may have been employed as early as
1797 by Peter Cottom, an Alexandria merchant who
owned a book and stationary store on Royal Street and
later on the north side of King Street between Royal and
Pitt Streets. Cottom was a member of the Alexandria
Washington Masonic Lodge and also attended George
Washington’s burial. Stewart may have completed his
apprendiceship under Cottom’s tutelage. By 1798, Stewart had joined Cottom as a partner in the firm Cottom and
A LONG LOST SKETCH
In July, 1932, an article entitled “A Mystery House
in Alexandria” appeared in Daughters of American Revolution Magazine.8 The author revealed for the first time
2
was intent on doing more then simply selling books; he
sought both wealth and reputation.
In 1810, he was listed as “Stationer, King Street,
Head of Household.” Whether Head of Household indicated he was married at this time remains unclear; although at the time of his marriage to Eliza Dunlap in
1824, he was already 46 years of age, which would suggest the liklihood of an earlier marriage. Interestingly,
“The First Presbyterian Church Register of Baptisms,
Marriages and Funerals” for October 2, 1797 does record
the marriage of a “John Stewart” to a “Mary ‘Polly’
Dougherty.” However, whether that John Stewart was
in fact Mary Jane’s future father cannot be substantiated,
as there were several John Stewarts residing in Alexandria at that time and additional information regarding
Polly Dougherty is so far unavailable.
By July, 1815, Stewart was renting a two-story brick
dwelling house and kitchen on the north side of Prince
Street, between Royal and Pitt Streets.19 He was now the
sole proprietor of the the nearby J.A. Stewart stationary
store on King Street, near the intersection with Pitt.
Given his Irish immigrant background, it is not surprising that he was also active within that community as
a member of the Hibernian Society. Founded in Alexandria in 1823, the society offered aid and assistance to
needy Irish immigrants. He served on its governing
board as manager in 1826 and 1836, respectively. He
was also active in his church, serving on a Presbyterian
Meeting House Committee in 1821 that prepared an appropriate inscription for the marble slab over the grave
of the Rev. Dr. James Muir, the former well-known pastor
of the Meeting House.
Stewart.12 He was to eventually take over this business
as sole proprietor after their partnership was dissolved in
1813.13 Cottom subsequently moved to Richmond, Virginia, where he died on June 8, 1849.14
As would be expected, Washington’s untimely death
had a pronounced effect on his home town of Alexandria.
It was here that memorials to his special place in America’s history were among the first to appear. In February
1800, an advertisment in the local Alexandria Gazette advised: “...just published and for sale at Messrs. Cottom
and Stewart’s bookstore music, a march played by the
Alexandria band at the funeral of George
Washington...adapted to the harpsichord.”
Cottom and Stewart, for many years the sole stationary shop in town, sold a large variety of items from their
Royal and King Street stores; these included books,
primers, spelling books, note books, 22,000 English
quills, black lead pencils, “paper hangings and borders”
(wall paper), “hot pressed playing cards,” razors and pen
knives, German and Virginia almanacs, “Roman prayer
books,” writing paper, school books and stationary.15
One Alexandria school girl, Mary Louisa Slacum, born
in 1802, described Cottom and Stewart’s store on King
Street in 1811 as a “little one story frame magazine.”
“This store...was the armory where we gathered the utilities for preparation of mental work.” There “I found my
slate clumsily and heavily bound in board, my motto
stamps, ... large sticks of stamped London red sealing
wax, ...[and] my copy books (containing] words... and
...attractive moral phrases and sentences in copper plate
printing, to be copied by the learner.”16
As a young businessman, Stewart recognized the
importance of not only establishing his business credentials, but his place in Alexandria’s social order. He was
among the first members to join The Washington Society
in January 1800, an elite social organization formed to
pay homage to the memory of George Washington.
Among his esteemed fellow members were George Deneale, William Herbert, Dr. Elisha Cullen Dick, Charles
Simms, Reverend James Muir, Edmund Jennings Lee,
George Washington Parke Custis, and Chief Justice John
Marshall, all prominent in Alexandria society.17
The Alexandria city tax register for 1803 shows that
Stewart, only 25 years old, was already well on the way
to acquiring investment properties that were to figure
prominently in his financial future. He was taxed for four
(4) tithable properties that year.
By 1816, Stewart had joined the Relief Fire Company, serving through at least 1818.18 Alexandria’s fire
companies were both functional as well as social in nature. Their membership roles contained both the political
and business elite of the community. Clearly, Stewart
THE STEWART
STREET
FAMILY
ON
PRINCE
By 1834, John and Eliza Stewart were residing on
the north side of Prince Street, between Water (now Lee)
and Fairfax Streets, renting a three-story brick house
owned by one Thomas Sanford, at what is now 209
Prince.20 By this time they had two children, a son,
William Dunlap Stewart, born in 1825, and a two year
old daughter, Mary Jane. Sea Captain John Harper had
constructed this house among several others on this block
in the late eighteenth century. Dr. James Craik, personal
physican to George Washington, resided at this location
briefly from 1789-90, and possibly to as late as 1796.
Mary Jane’s childhood and young adult years were
spent in this large commodious home, along a section of
Street today referred to as Gentry Row. In the late eighteenth century, this was the neighborhood of sea captains,
wealthy merchants, and tradesmen. Many of these individuals not only lived in these stately dwellings but also
3
presbyterian upbringing. As one writer has noted, the influence of Presbyterian Church clergy “...extended far beyond the church walls”, wielding “...a powerful
influence on the community’s moral, social, patriotic, and
educational affairs.”27 The 1856 Washington birthday
celebration was particularly impressive with artillery
salutes, a massive parade, and a special address at the
Lyceum by the Reverend Dr. Elias Harrison of the First
Presbyterian Church. As would be said of her many
years later, Mary Jane Stewart was a “consistent member
of the Presbyterian Church.”28 It is very likely that she,
along with her parents and brother, regularly participated
in church-related activities. She probably attended the
“Sabbath school” (Sunday school) of the Meeting House
which, besides providing regular Bible studies, also offered children access to books and literature unavailable
elsewhere. With this attendence also came the opporturnity to meet children of different social classes where the
sons or daughters of prominent Alexandria families “...
could rub elbows with the child of a mill worker.”29
As a young girl, though, she would not have been
aware that the once very prosperous seaport town she
called home was in slow economic decline, its reliance
on foreign trade suffering “sporadic ups and downs” beginning in the late 1780s with a post-war recession, and
further exacerbated by President Jefferson’s trade embargo of 1807. By the late 1830s only twenty to thirty
foreign vessels a year were entering and clearing the port,
compared with 1,000 foreign vessels prior to 1800.30
Coastal shipping, fortunately, remained somewhat stable,
thereby off-setting to some degree what would have been
an even more serious decline.31 As one observer noted
by 1840, “The people here call it a dull place.” Many
Alexandrians remembered a far different city, “as almost
the queen city of the south, as the busy, bustling, beautiful, crowded, fashionable city, where were congregated
the men of wealth, of leisure and business.”32 Clearly,
the latter image -- whether exaggerated or not -- was no
longer accurate. The nearby, booming port of Baltimore
was rapidly surpassing Alexandria as its chief commercial rival. By the 1840s, Baltimore siphoned off the lucrative flour trade of the Shenadoah Valley by
construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad through
Virginia to Winchester.”33 Flour had been one of Alexandria’s most important foreign exports. Between 1801 and
1810 alone, Alexandria had shipped 613,895 barrels of
flour to foreign countries such as Portugal (Madeira Islands), Spain, and the West Indies.34
Alexandria’s status as part of the District of Columbia
at this time was also working against its best interests.
Both Georgetown and the capital city were becoming
economic competitors. To encourage growth within the
conducted their business there as well. In early American
towns, residential and commercial areas were really one
in the same. It was not unusual for the owners to rent out
portions of the building, usually the ground floor or cellar, to a variety of business ventures, to include brewers,
bakers, and candle maker., etc. This commingling of residential and commercial use meant that street noises from
draymen dragging their carts over the cobblestone streets
and from many unpleasant smells were daily aspects of
domestic life regardless of the wealth of the residents
above or next to these shops. One fairly well-to-do
Philadelphia woman, Elizabeth Drinker, commented on
24 June 1806 that “We have a Windsor chairmaker next
door to us, who I think, by the smell, is boiling varnish
this day.”21 In addition, Alexandria’s waterfront, a mere
one block away, contributed its own share of unpleasant
odors, including the ever-present smell of steaming pine
tar.
As a child, Mary Jane’s world evolved around the
cobblestone streets of Prince, Royal, and Water Streets,
and perhaps included visits to her father’s book store, as
well as to musical performances at a local theater on
Cameron Street. She would have accompanied her
mother on shopping trips to the nearby market house located north of King Street between Fairfax and Royal
Streets. There her mother would purchase fresh meats,
fish, and seasonal fruits and vegetables brought to town
each morning by local farmers. Here, too, Mary Jane
would have been captivated by the hourly chimes of the
large clock in the tower high above the market house. As
described by one early traveler, the market house “ was
the greatest piece of architecture in the town, characterized by a splendid cupola of hexagon figure, ornamented
with a lofty steeple. The squares of the cupola present
six faces of a single clock, which shows the hour of the
day to vast distances.”22 The clock mechanism and “a
bell weighing 1500 pounds.”23 in the cupola “strikes so
loud as to be heard over the town.”24
As she grew into early adulthood, Mary Jane likely
enjoyed an active social life that included patriotic observances such as the Fourth of July and George Washington Birthday parades, two very important holiday
celebrations for Alexandrians. Among other antebellum
activities, Alexandrians of all social classes and both
sexes enjoyed picnics, excursions, and other events organized by numerous social and religious societies.25 In
1851, the Masons sponsored an excursion to Mount Vernon as part of their celebration of St. John the Baptist
Day. Commercial amusements such as circuses and road
shows offered additional entertainment for both children
and their parents.26
Mary Jane’s formative years were influenced by her
4
sewing, and basic mathematics that “prepared them for
motherhood and household management.”39 Alexandria
newspapers in the early 19th century carried many advertisements for ladies’ academies, seminaries, and “in
home” tutoring services offering this level of curriculum.
The importance of a moral upbringing for young
women was not restricted to the home. Early educators
recognized the critical role females played in educating
their future children. Local churches often provided educational opportunities for the children of their parishioners. The Reverend James Muir of the Presbyterian
Meeting House in Alexandria was also the principal of a
female academy that operated from 1790 until his death
in 1820. The academy continued to be maintained by his
three daughters well into the 1830s.40 Mary Jane may
have benefited from a similar church-sponsored program.
In light of Miss Stewart’s later profession as “a
teacher of drawing and painting,” her education most certainly included some specific training in the arts. The
quality of her surviving art work clearly suggests some
formal training. This training may have been received as
part of her “finished education” or perhaps, it involved
private tutoring at her home.
While the Dames schools of the eighteenth century
focused heavily on “...fancy needlework as a desirable
female accomplishment,” by the early 19th century
drawing and painting took on a greater prominence in female education. Landscape drawing and flower painting
by many amateur female artists served to record scenes
of everyday life that would have been otherwise lost to
history. 41 As Erasmus Darwin, a British educator, noted
in his A Plan for the Conduct of Female Education in
Boarding Schools, Private Families, and Public Seminaries,
“Drawing as an elegant art belongs to
the education of young ladies, and
generally facilitates the acquirement
of Taste. Drawing...consists in using
the pencil as language to express the
forms of all visible objects...which cannot in words alone be conveyed to others
with sufficient accuracy.”42
capital itself, restrictions were imposed on development
across the river in Alexandria. While administratively
part of the District of Columbia, Alexandria did not benefit from this arrangement. Beginning as early as 1820,
it took twenty-six years for supporters of retrocession to
convince the U.S. Congress to authorize a change. On
September 2, 1846, the citizens of Alexandria began a
three day celebration with “... parades, oratory, bonfires,
and illuminations” as the city voted to rejoin the Commonwealth of Virginia.35 But even this change was too
little, too late; civil war and four years of military occupation were soon to arrive on the city’s door step, further
contributing to the port city’s economic decline and its
gradual transition to a quiet southern town by the end of
the century.
But for Mary Jane, her brother William, and their
childhood friends, the sporadic activity along the Potomac River wharfs still conjured thoughts of far-flung
places they could only imagine. The realities of an adult
world were still beyond the horizon.
Mary Jane probably received a typical female education at one of the many private schools or academies
in Alexandria during the pre-civil war era. As was quite
common for the time, her education likely did not exceed
a couple years of formal schooling. While presumably
the daughter of an Alexandria merchant would have attended one of the better private academies for young
ladies, family finances, following her father’s death, may
have dictated otherwise. Unfortunately, details of Mary
Jane’s early life were not recorded; therefore, we can only
presume the level of education she may have received,
as well as where she obtained it, based upon what was
offered to other young ladies in antebellum Alexandria.
As one researcher has pointed out, “Young women
living in Alexandria during the antebellum period experienced a range of educational opportunities.”36 While
“reform and change in female education came slowly and
unevenly to Alexandria,” by the 1830s, parents began to
find broader opportunities available for their daughters
that did not involve sending them to boarding schools in
the north. A few private schools, such as The Alexandria
Female Seminary, offered “...fully illustrated lectures in
natural philosophy, chemistry, and astronomy.”37 However, in many cases, the earlier prejudices still prevailed
when it came to providing female students as broad an
education in “the higher branches” of learning as provided to young gentlemen. The “concern” was that a
young woman educated on a par with her male counterpart, “might forsake...the tranquil enjoyment of the
home.”38
For most young ladies from families of the middle
class, “a finished education” included reading, writing,
By the late 1830s , a number of advertisements began
to appear in local newspapers offering specialized classes
in drawing and painting. The Alexandria Gazette of
March 16, 1835 carried the following advertisement:
“Mr. Seager, Artist from England, working
to obtain Classes in DRAWING, in this City
and neighborhood, will be happy to take
charge of any Ladies or Gentlemen, in
5
of additional forced sales of his real estate holdings were
to occur over the following four years, long after his
death.
In April 1840, Robert J. Taylor, a practicing attorney
in Alexandria since 1798 as well as a member of the City
Council, “and others, forced a (final) sale of Stewart’s estate.”44 The holdings included “... a tenement and lot of
ground on the north side of King Street, between Royal
and Pitt; a lot of ground and buildings on the south side
of Prince street and the east side of Pitt; and a 2 story
brick dwelling house and lot on the north side of
Cameron st., between Pitt and St. Asaph sts.”* How
much the liquidation of these investment properties actually benefited John’s widow and his children is speculation. Given later events it would appear that most if
not all of the proceeds went to creditors. (*This latter
property on Cameron street appears to be what is now
509 Cameron. Land tax records as early as 1826 show
John A. Stewart as owner of this property, with a renter
named Page.)
The Stewart family’s financial difficulties may have
resulted partly from the economic crisis of1834 which
led to a panic and recession throughout the country by
1837. President Jackson’s war against the Second National Bank, “...which he considered too powerful and
anti-democratic...,” involved his ordered withdrawal of
some $10 million from the National Bank and its transfer
to several state banks. The National Bank responded by
calling in commercial loans. One of the casualties may
have been the Bank of Alexandria, which failed in 1834.45
This bank may have been one of Stewart’s major creditors.
all the several branches of DRAWING,
water or oil coloring, either singly or in
classes, by attending them at their homes.
For terms apply to him at Miss Ashton’s,
Fairfax street.”
Other institutions such as the Alexandria High School
for Young Ladies, the Alexandria Academy, and the
Alexandria Female Academy operated by teacher James
S. Hallowell, offered a curriculum, that included “Drawing and Painting,” sometimes as an extra charge. In August 1856, the Pitt Street Academy for Young Ladies,
operated by S. King Shay in his residence on south Pitt
street, offered the “...usual branches of an English education by Mrs. and Miss Shay. Music and Painting and
drawing by professors.”43
“DEATH IN THE FAMILY’
Family life for the Stewarts took a drastic turn when
Mary Jane was only five years old. On March 14, 1837,
her father died at the age of 59 after a “painful and protracted illness.” His obituary in the Alexandria Gazette
on March 15th announced his “...funeral [to take place]
this evening at 3’o’clock from his late residence on
Prince Street, below Fairfax street.”
There is more than sufficient evidence to suggest that
Mary Jane’s father had financial difficulties in the years
before his death. Like his contemporaries in the business
community, Stewart acquired a substantial number of investment properties in Alexandria during his life time. A
notice in the Alexandria Gazette in May 1836 announced
a “Marshal’s sale” of several of these properties that included a wheelwright’s shop, blacksmith shop and
dwelling house. This “forced” sale would indicate he
owed money to creditors or was in need of money to support his family. A subsequent notice in October of that
same year announced the further sale of Stewart’s book
bindery on King Street between Royal and Pitt streets.
The sale included “...tools of presses, ruling machine,
hand letters and types, rolls, blank and gilding stamps,
etc..” It does not appear, however, that the “book
bindery” was his actual book and stationary store, since
the sale was limited to equipment used in the bindery
business. The bindery function may have been carried
on in a separate, adjoining or nearby structure. Its sale a
full half year before his death clearly suggests serious financial troubles. In fact, his protracted illness may have
been instrumental in this “forced” sale. If he could no
longer attend to his business, then perhaps he could no
longer afford to support his family or pay his creditors.
Just how long he may have been unable to effectively
operate his business due to illness is not known. A series
THE STEWART FAMILY ON CAMERON
STREET
Eliza Stewart continued to reside on Prince Street
with her daughter Mary Jane following her husband’s
death. Her son William had moved out of the family
home by 1847. He is shown on Land Tax Ledgers for
that year renting a two-story frame dwelling house on the
north side of what is now the 500 block of Cameron
Street from owner Elizabeth Kennedy.* (*Note: Site of
what would be 503 Cameron Street. Street numbering
did not begin until the 1870s. At that time, the Cameron
Street house was numbered 105; by the 1880s, the same
property was re-numbered 503, as it would be today.)
This frame house, built prior to 1810, probably by one
William Gardner, was small compared to its neighbors to
the east and west. The main block of William Stewart’s
residence was only one room deep, although likely three
bays wide. It was attached to a one-story frame structure
behind it containing both a sitting room and a kitchen
6
with a large chimney stack probably serving as a fire
place in each room. While the lot in earlier years must
have contained several outbuildings to accommodate at
least some of the six horses, one cow, and three twowheel carriages owned by renter Thomas Flowers as
early as 1815, by 1885 these structures had disappeared.
The 1896 Sanborn city map, however, depicts a rela-
and separated by a narrow walkway, stood a Federal,
two-and-a-half story, brick, three bay, side hall, dwelling
house. The front entrance opened into separate entry and
stair halls providing access to two adjoining parlors on
the ground level, two chambers on the second level, and
a small garret above. This main block, fronting the street,
was built by Dr. John Richards, a physician of Irish birth,
in 1804. He and his wife Jane resided
there for over twenty years. A small,
two story brick flounder of earlier construction, probably on the site by 1796,
was attached to the rear. It contained
the kitchen and what was likely originally a small bedroom on the first
floor, as well as two small unheated
chambers above. Attached to the rear
of the flounder and completing the
structure’s overall foot print, were two
frame, one-story lean-to structures.
The smaller of the two probably served
as a kitchen larder and scullery, providing both additional work space as well
as storage for kitchen equipment and
perhaps fire wood. The larger of the
two lean-tos served as a stable.46 (See
Illustration 2.) Dr. Richards owned
both a horse and a cow, and subsequent residents no doubt had similar
needs.47 While a privy would normally
have been located at the rear of the lot,
as was typical in an urban environment, late nineteenth century city maps
do not show such a feature. This raises
Illustration 1: Note Martha Chatham’s three-story townhouse, left arrow, next to the possibility that the necessary may
“508” lot where George Washngton’s home was once located.
have been located within one of the two
frame lean-tos.
This house, now 505 Cameron street, is known today
tively small frame, shed-like structure at the rear of the
as the Ramsay-Snowden House. The lot on which this
lot bordering the alley that may have served as a stable
dwelling house stands was given in trust to Hannah Ramor a privy, or possibly both. (See Illustration 1.)
say by her father William Ramsay in 1765. William was
Adjoining the Stewart residence on the east, and sitone of the original founders and trustees of the town
uated on the immediate northwest corner of Pitt and
in 1749. Hannah married Michael Madden, a local merCameron Streets, was a towering, three-and-a-half story
chant in 1784.48 and they most likely constructed the earbrick dwelling house built about 1816, probably by
lier flounder portion of the house before selling the
William Wright (currently 501 Cameron). In the 1820s,
property in 1796. Both died in 1799. In 1940, Miss Edith
it was the residence of Colonel Humphrey Peake, ColAshby Snowden, born in Alexandria in1888 at the Snowlector of the Port of Alexandria, and by 1831 the home
den family residence at 611 South Lee Street, purchased
and office of Dr. Orlando Fairfax, a local physician. For
the Cameron Street house and resided there until her
many years afterwards and well into the second half of
death on October 4, 1983, at the age of 95. She was the
the twentieth century, it served as a boarding house and
last direct decendent of Samuel Snowden, founder of the
was subsequently converted into apartments. It is once
again a private residence.
Alexandria Gazette.49
Eliza Stewart and her daughter Mary Jane moved
On the west side of the Stewarts’ small frame house
7
from their Prince Street residence about1850 to join
William Stewart in his home on the north side of
Cameron Street.50 All three would reside there for the
next ten years. On July 11, 1860, Eliza Stewart died and
was buried in the Stewart family plot next to her husband
in the 1809 Presbyterian Cemetery.
Mary Jane and her brother William would continue
to reside at the Cameron Street address for the next 36
been employed by one of the many merchants in town,
perhaps even by the very prominent James Muir Stewart
(no known family connection) who had more than one
retail shop along King Street. The United States Census
for 1880 lists William’s occupation simply as “Clerk At
Store,” which would suggest a modest income at best.
William, as were many of the Scots-Irish in Alexandria, was a long time member of the Alexandria Wash-
Illustration 2: 1891 Alexandria City Map
years. Neither married. Whether Mary Jane was actively
teaching drawing and painting in a local school or academy at this time remains unclear. If unemployed, she and
her brother were, in all likelihood, relying entirely on his
income for rent and living expenses.
William Dunlap Stewart, as his father before him,
was in the merchantile business. There is no evidence
however, that he owned a business, or in fact had real estate holdings like his father. He is listed in city documents as a “Clerk, Dry goods Merchant.” He would have
ington Masonic Lodge #22 where he served two terms as
Worshipful Master of the Lodge, 1873-1876 and 18941896.
While William continued to rent the two-story
frame house on Cameron Street after his mother died, tax
records by 1870 show that he had become part owner of
the house with one George Burton. This collaborative
ownership may have been intended to make full ownership possible at some point for William Stewart. Indeed,
by1890, Burton is no longer listed as co-owner. William
8
terest to federal authorities because of loyalty concerns.
This was not the case for others considered active sympathizers or supporters of the southern confederacy. As
one visitor from England observed as early as the spring
of 1862, “...the citizens of Alexandria showed their dislike of the Federal Army of Occupation by every means
in their power.”51 This open hostility led Brigadier General John P. Slough, the military governor, to declare
Alexandria a “...city in rebellion.”52 Determined to bring
about stability in the face of an increasingly hostile population, by mid-1863 he was recommending that certain
“disloyal persons,” along with their family members, be
deported to City Point, Virginia. On July 9, 1863, 120
men, women and children “huddled in the rain at the
Prince Street wharf” awaiting deportation. All the adults
had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the federal
government. Among those placed on the disloyalty list,
though apparently not among those on the Prince Street
wharf, was Edgar Snowden Jr., editor of the Alexandria
Gazette. For reasons never fully explained, the order for
evacuation was countermanded at the eleventh hour by
Secretary of War, E.M. Stanton. All those on the wharf
were allowed to return to their homes.53
Among those citizens who signed an oath of allegiance to the Union between 1862 and 1865 was “Stewart, Mary Jane” ...of... “Alexandria, Virginia.”54
Illustration 3: First Presbyterian Church. Original
pencil sketch by Mary Jane Stewart about 1880.
is identified as the sole owner, with his sister Mary Jane
as co-occupant.
Identifying where Mary Jane may have been employed as an art teacher during the antebellum years immediately prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, if in fact
she was, has been particularly frustrating. Teaching institutions at that time usually identified only key teaching
staff by name. Others were identified only by their particular teaching skill, as illustrated by the 1856 advertisement for the Pitt Street Academy for Young Ladies:
“...Painting and Drawing by professors.” Local newspapers and city directories for the pre-war years are equally
devoid of any mention of Mary Jane Stewart as an artist
and/or teacher.
A TEACHER OF DRAWING & PAINTING
Mary Jane Stewart is listed in the United States Census for 1880 as a “Teacher of Drawing & Painting.” This
title would seem to confirm her status as a teacher in the
local academy/school system, or at minimum, her employment as a private tutor as further suggested by her
listing in the City of Alexandria Directory for 1881:
“Stewart, Mary J Miss, Artist, h n s Cameron 1 w Pitt”
(house north side of Cameron one lot west of Pitt).
During this post-war period, she appears to have focused her talents as a landscape artist, although very little
of her art work so far has been identified. It was during
this time frame that she completed several surviving pencil sketches of particular importance to Alexandria’s early
history.
Around 1880, Mary Jane drew the first and likely,
most accurate sketch of what the original First Presbyterian Meeting House, located on south Fairfax Street, may
have looked like prior to a destructive fire in July 1835.
(See Illustration 3.)
At least one other similar sketch of the original meeting house appeared in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine
in 1880; the artist of that sketch is not identified. While
there appears to be some simularity between these two
versions, as one source points out though, “the Harper’s
A MILITARY OCCUPIED CITY 1861-1865
During the Civil War years, and throughout Alexandria’s occupation by Union military forces, the Stewarts
probably remained in their Cameron Street residence, unlike many other families who felt they, and particularly
female members, would be safer in the countryside. Life
in occupied Alexandria must have been uncertain for the
Stewarts, as it was for others who chose to remain in the
city. Presumably William was able to maintain his employment as a store clerk. Perhaps his employer even
benefited from the war time economy.
There is no indication that the Stewarts were of in9
print shows doorways with what appear to be arched fanlights, taller window frames in the second story, a six bay
front, and corbeled cornices. The Stewart sketch shows
flat arches over the doorway, three bays on the front and
sides, and simple overhanging eaves.”55 Differences in
the cupola and belfry also are evident. These significant
variations in detail would strongly suggest that Mary Jane
was not the artist of the Harper sketch. In both pencil
sketches, the Meeting House is depicted with a hipped
roof topped by a cupola and belfry containing a bell, the
very bell that announced the death of George Washington
in December 1799. Today’s structure, as reconstructed
in 1837, again assumes a Georgian style, but no longer
has a hipped roof topped by a cupola. Instead, the meeting house has a straight roof, with a bell tower, constructed in 1843, attached to the western end of the
meeting house adjacent to the burial ground.
Mary Jane was too young to have remembered the
appearance of the original meeting house. If as tradition
records, Mary Jane did not make the sketch until the
1880s, she likely relied on other early Presbyterian
church members who were still living at that time. In any
event, Mary Jane’s pencil sketch, if completely accurate,
also reveals the still “semi-pastoral setting” of the churchyard’s location in the 300 block of south Fairfax Street,
“long considered to be...at the end of the Street’s builtup portion” in the 1830s.56
Two additional sketches, and perhaps the most notable of her known, historically relevant art work, were
those she drew of George Washington’s town house on
Cameron Street, as she personally remembered it prior to
its demolition in 1855. At the time she drew the first
sketch, she was residing across the street at what would
be 503 Cameron Street. (See Illustration 4.)
Next door to the former site of Washington’s town
house (now 508 Cameron), lived part of the Chatham
family of Alexandria. Their three-story brick home (now
506 Cameron) was built about 1840 -1850. The Chatham
brothers, Henry and James, were very active in Alexandria’s real estate development, acquiring lots in the area
of Queen, Pitt and Cameron Streets and constructing
houses on those lots in the years prior to the Civil War.
The Chatham family owned seven of the fourteen homes
in the 300 block of Queen Street.57 Henry was also the
proprietor of a livery stable on the southeast corner of
Pitt and Cameron Streets. His residence was also there.
James Chatham owned nearly a quarter-block at the
southwest corner of Pitt and Cameron Streets that included the sites of 506 and 508 Cameron, and in fact, incorporated nearly all of George Washington’s original
property at that intersection. James resided with his wife
Martha at 506 Cameron Street until his death on April 7,
Illustration 4: Sketch of George Washington’s town house
by Mary Jane Stewart. This crude drawing was rediscovered in 1932.
1885.
Henry Chatham died a wealthy man. At the time of
his death at age 85 in December 1865, he owned at least
15 properties; these were held in trust for his three daughters -- Mary, Jane, and Fanny. Mary eventually married
Scottish sea captain John Graham. Her trust included
five houses and lots, of which only 505 Cameron Street
stands today.58 (Note: In a subsequent deed transaction,
505 Cameron was transferred to her sister Fanny). Jane
married Nathaniel Bousch; her inheritance included several houses and lots, including the family home and stables on the corner of Pitt and Cameron Streets. Daughter
Fanny married John A. Dixon, who like his in-laws, was
involved in real estate and construction. Fanny’s trust included several houses and lots, as well as a warehouse.59
It would appear Mary Jane Stewart and Martha Harrison Chatham, the wife and subsequent widow of James
Chatham, were close friends as well as Cameron Street
neighbors. It was this friendship that likely led Mary
Jane to give to Martha a sketch of George Washington’s
town house, possibly at Martha’s request, as a keepsake.
The vacant lot, formerly occupied by the town house, was
owned by the Chathams at that time. It is not absolutely
certain when Mary Jane drew the initial sketch; it is generally thought to have been made during the 1880s.
Martha Chatham’s death in 1889 would dictate a time
prior to that date. A brief comment in the Alexandria
Gazette on September 25, 1889 advised: “Mrs. Martha
Chatham continues extremely ill at her home on Cameron
Street.” She died within days.
The sketch given to Martha Harrison Chatham was
10
Illustration5: Miss Mary Jane Stewart’s original hand-colored pencil
sketch of George Washington’s town house in Alexandria, Virginia, as published by the Alexandria Washington Lodge No. 22 in 1899.
a very crude pencil drawing. (See Illustration 4.) Its simplicity would appear to contradict any Stewart attribution.
We can only assume that the sketch, if in fact drawn by
Mary Jane, was created on the spur-of-the-moment for a
friend and neighbor, and certainly without any thought
given to future publication. Indeed, it wasn’t until about
fifty years later in 1932, that this original crude sketch
reappeared, as noted earlier.
However, in 1899, a refined, finished sketch of
George Washington’s town house was published by the
Alexandria Washington Masonic Lodge as an illustration
in a new lodge publication entitled: The Lodge of Washington - A History of the Alexandria Washington Lodge,
No. 22, A.F. & A.M. of Alexandria, Virginia, 1783-1876
by F.L. Brockett. Included in an appendix, embracing
the period 1876 to 1900, was “A Half-Tone of Washington’s Town House, Sketched by Miss Mary Jane Stewart,
Sister of Our Late Brother, William Dunlap Stewart,”
confirming that in deed Mary Jane was the creator of this
historically important sketch.60
Mary Jane had been commissioned to create the
sketch by Alfred G. Uhler a senior member of the Alexandria Washington Lodge. He was serving as a Master
Mason by 1879. Uhler was a partner in the Lumber
Company of S.H. Wimsatt and A.G. Uhler, founded in
1874, with headquarters, lumber yard and
mill in Washington, D.C., though he
resided in Alexandria, Virginia.61 He was
also an active member in the Presbyterian
Church General Assemby where he served
on the Committee of Ministerial Education and Relief as late as 1907.
This same finished sketch was subsequently illustrated in a documentary study
of the reconstructed Washington town
house prepared by the Historic American
Buildings Survey (HABS) in 1961.62 The
sketch is labeled “Washington’s Town
House Or Office, Copyrighted 1899, by A.
G. Uhler.” (See Illustration 5.) According
to the HABS author, Worth Bailey, the
copyrighted sketch was identical to an
original, hand colored pencil sketch in the
collection of the George Washington National Masonic Memorial Museum in
Alexandria, Virginia. Indeed, that original, hand-colored sketch, minus any copyright notation, remains to this day on
permanent exhibit in the museum and can
be viewed in the fourth floor exhibit hall.
It measures approximately 3” x 4,” it is
matted, and is enclosed in a simple gilded
wood frame. It is attributed to artist Mary
Jane Stewart.
“DEATH IN ITS WAKE”
Mary Jane and her brother William were still residing at 503 Cameron Street in 1895, where according to
the Alexandria City Directory she continued her career
as an “artist.” By late September of the following year
though, their home for over forty years would suddenly
disappear.
Alexandria, Virginia has experienced epidemics,
floods, and disastrous fires in the years since its founding
in 1749, but perhaps none of these disasters were as devastating as the storm that hit the city on September
29,1896. The late evening storm, accompanied by very
strong winds and heavy rain, soon developed into a meteorological disturbance of horrendous velocity. Before
the storm subsided early the following morning, it had
left a wide path of destruction as “fully two hundred
buildings,” many of them private homes, were damaged
or destroyed. Two residents were killed. As the Alexandria Gazette of September 30th further reported,
“Alexandria passed through an experience last night
which will be remembered so long as the present generation lives - - a midnight scene creating consternation and
11
panic which threw women into hysterics, caused children
to cry out in alarm and strong men to stand aghast at the
devastation.” As the wind changed directions from northeast to east and then southeast to south, “the work of destruction began.” Chimneys were falling, roofs were
being carried from houses, tin was being rolled up as
scrolls, walls crushed, debris sailing through the streets,
shutters twisted from their fastenings, window sash
blown in, trees uprooted, and power lines downed. “It
was a midnight storm with death in its wake.”
While many inhabitants of Alexandria had already
retired for the evening before the worst of the storm hit,
Mary Jane and her brother were still in their back sitting
room, William reading the Bible, according to one
source.63 Around midnight, as a very heavy rain continued to fall and the winds changed direction and increased
in velocity, suddenly and without warning, their old
frame dwelling house began to collapsed on top of them.
The hurricane force winds striking the windward, east
side of the adjoining three-story brick building at 501
Cameron shattered the upper windows, aided no doubt
by wind-borne debris, causing a rapid increase in internal
pressurization of the upper part of the building. This dramatic breach effectively doubled the interior pressure
causing the roof and the upper portion of the west gable
end to literally explode. The wall of falling bricks and
debris coming into contact with the large chimney of the
Stewart house below cast tons of brick and mortar on the
old frame structure, “...crushing it as an egg shell and instantly killing Mr. Stewart...”64 Mary Jane, who had just
stepped out of the room, was knocked to the floor and
covered by debris. Although injured, she was able to pull
herself free from the rubble and seek help from her neighbors. With the storm still raging about them, the neighbors were able to locate and remove William Stewart’s
lifeless body. He had suffered an horrific blow to the
back of his head, crushing his skull. Although no specific
account of Mary Jane’s injuries and any subsequent hospitalization has survived, according to her later obituary,
she never fully recovered from the event, and apparently
was hospitalized on several occasions in the years ahead.
Her home of nearly 46 years damaged beyond repair,
Mary Jane moved next door to 505 Cameron Street
where she would spend at least four of the remaining thirteen years of her life.65 In her new residence she continued her career as an artist, and it was here in1899 that she
produced the surviving hand-colored sketch of George
Washington’s town house. Due to her age, she probably
was no longer teaching drawing and painting in private
or public schools, but perhaps still giving private lessons.
John A. Dixon, husband of Fanny Chatham Dixon,
was the listed owner of 505 Cameron Street in 1895.
Fanny had inherited the house from her sister Mary, as
previously noted. The house had long been a rental property, dating back to approximately the last decade of Dr.
John Richards’ ownership. Dr. Richards died in 1843.
The tenants in 1895 were Miss Mary Stewart (not Mary
Jane) and Miss Sarah Stewart. Mary Stewart was one of
three daughters of James Muir Stewart,* a prominent
Alexandria dry goods merchant, land developer and
builder until he retired and moved to Washington, DC
sometime around 1885. He died in 1890.66 Sarah Stewart
was his sister. By 1896, Mary Stewart had become the
owner of 505 Cameron Street. Sarah no longer appears
as a tenant; she may have died. ( *Note: The two Stewart
families do not seem to have been related. Mary Jane’s
father, John Ainsworth Stewart emigrated to the United
States from Ireland just prior to 1799, while James
“Muir” Stewart’s grand father, James Stewart, was already a resident of Alexandria by 1776, when in December
o f
that
Illustration 6: Author’s conjectural drawing of
the interior of George Washington’s town house.
year, he married Elizabeth “Betty” Ramsay, daughter of
William and Ann McCarty Ramsay. They had two sons,
12
William Ramsay Stewart and James Montgomery Stewart, both born in Alexandria prior to 1785. James Montgomery Stewart and his wife Elizabeth were
subsequently the parents of son James Muir Stewart, born
in 1810, and daughter, Sarah Stewart.)
Mary Jane Stewart never owned her new residence
at 505 Cameron Street. Now that she could no longer
rely on any support from her brother, and in all likelihood
inherited little from his estate, her financial resources
were likely quite limited. She probably rented one room
and shared the kitchen and other common areas of the
house with owner Mary Stewart. Both women were residing there as late as 1900. After 1900, neither city directories nor property tax records listed Mary Jane
Stewart at 505 Cameron, or for that matter, anywhere else
in town.
Ownership of the Cameron Street house once again
changed hands by 1905. A year later the new owner, Gordon Thomas, was residing there with three male tenant.67
Where Mary Jane spent the remaining few years of her
life is not recorded. Her health was probably declining
by this time, perhaps partly the result of lingering injuries
suffered in September 1896. She may have spent a good
portion of that unaccounted for time in the hospital.
Since she no longer had any surviving family members
to take care of her, perhaps she had moved in with
friends.
Mary Jane Stewart died in the Alexandria Hospital,
then located at the southeast corner of Pitt and Wolfe
Streets,68 on Thursday, November 18, 1909 after a long
illness. She was 77 years of age. Her obituary described
her as “...a gentlewoman of the old school - unselfish,
considerate,
courteous
and
lovable.”69
nated from the long demolished dwelling house. Exterior
paint colors, red for the wooden roof shingles and “stone”
for the frame siding, conformed to Washington’s diary
account. The interior, however, was redesigned for “20th
century living” and incorporated an open first floor plan
to accommodate formal entertaining. The original narrow entry hall was eliminated and the staircase giving access to both the attic spaces and the basement kitchen
level, was placed parallel to the back wall. The three fireplaces, one per floor, were installed on the west end of
the building as originally designed by George Washington in 1763.
Illustration 6 is the author’s conjectural drawing of
what the original town house interior may have looked
like, based on Washington’s diary entries and Mary Jane
Stewart’s written description of the house.
*
*
*
*
*
*
The author, Richard Klingenmaier, has an M.A. in International Relations and has served abroad in the Foreign Service with the U. S. Department of State. He is a
life-long student of early American history and has published two previous articles in the Alexandria Chronicle:
“Catherine’s Ring” and “The Burial of General George
Washington.” He and his wife Trish reside in Alexandria’s historic district where he serves on the Board of
Directors of the Alexandria Association.
SOURCES:
Gahn, Bessie Wilmarth. “A Mystery House in Alexandria.” Daughters of American Revolution Magazine.
July 1932. Note: The early neighborhood resident was
Miss Mary Jane Stewart.
2
“First 1000 Pipers.” Alexandria, Virginia Water Perits.
Permit issued to Benjamin Waters, “Occupant,” November 15, 1852. Special Collections, Alexandria Library,
Alexandria, Virginia.
3
Bailey, Worth. “A Documentary Study of George
Washigton’s Town House Alexandria, Virginia.”
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS No. VA 597).
National Park Service, 1961.
4
Gahn, Bessie Wilmarth.
5
Bailey, Worth.
6
Warren, Irene and Fletcher, Edith. “George Washington’s Alexandria Homes.” Mount Vernon Ladies
Association Reference Library.
7
Bailey, Worth
8
Gahn, Bessie Wilmarth.
9
Gahn, Bessie Wilmarth.
1
EPILOGUE
In 1960, Governor and Mrs. Richard B. Lowe reconstructed George Washington’s town house on its original
site at 508 Cameron Street.70 Governor Lowe, 1902 1972, had served as the 42nd Governor of American
Samoa (1953-1956), and the 8th Governor of Guam
(1956-1959). Upon his retirement from public life, Lowe
and his wife began restoring homes in the Washington,
DC area. George Washington’s town house was one of
their first projects.
Employing the results of on-site archeological research, information contained in George Washington’s
diary, letters, and accounts ledger, and Miss Stewart’s finished sketch, Lowe reconstructed the exterior of the
house as accurately as possible utilizing new building
materials, except for a few period bricks and other debris
uncovered on the property and presumed to have origi13
“A Day in Alexandria - Correspondence of the N.Y. Express.” Alexandria Gazette, February 29, 1840.
33
Hurst, Harold W.
34“
Discovering the Decades: 1800s.” Historic Alexandria,
City of Alexandria.Gov, On Line.
35
Hurst, Harold W.
36
Allen, Gloria Seaman. “Equally Their Own: Female
Education in Antebellum Alexandria, Part One.”
Historic Alexandria Quarterly. Summer 1996, Vol. 1
No. 2.
37
Hurst, Harold W.
38
Allen, Gloria Seaman - Part One.
39
Allen, Gloria Seaman - Part One.
40
Allen, Gloria Seaman. “Equally Their Due: Female
Education in Alexandria, Part Two.” Historic
Alexandria Quarterly. Late Summer 1996, Vol.1, No. 3.
41
Allen, Gloria Seaman - Part Two.
42
Allen, Gloria Seaman - Part Two.
43
Alexandria Gazette, August 20, 1856.
44
Alexandria Gazette, April 2, 1840.
45
“Discovering the Decades: 1830s.” Alexandria Archaelogy Museum. On Line.
46
Sanborn Insurance Company Maps, Alexandria, Virginia. Special Collections, Alexandria Library, Alexandria, Virginia. Note: the November 1907 Sanborn Map
specifically shows the open partitions of the surviving
stable at 505 Cameron Street.
47
Richards, John. Land Tax Record - 1810. Special Collections, Alexandria Library, Alexandria, Virginia.
48
The Virginia Journal and Alexandria Advertiser, July
29, 1784. Marriage Announcement.
49
Evina, Frank J. “ Edith Ashby Snowden: Link to
Alexandria’s Gazette Past.” Alexandria Gazette,
Bicentennial Edition, February 6, 1984.
50
Land Tax Document - 1850. Special Collections,
Alexandria Library, Alexandria, Virginia.
51
Dicey, Edward. “Waterfront Travelers Accounts.”
Alexandria, Virginia. On Line.
52
Riker, Diane. “This Long Agony - A Test of Civilian
Loyalties in an Occupied City.” The Alexandria
Chronicle, Alexandria Historical Society. Spring No. 2.
2011.
53
Riker, Diane.
54
“Oath of Allegiance - Occupied Alexandria, Virginia,
May 1862 to 1865.” Index of those who signed an Oath
of Allegiance to the Union. On Line.
55
Lockard, John Michael. “The Old Presbyterian Meeting House, Alexandria, Virginia.” School of Architecture, University of Virginia, 1992 Special
Collections, Alexandria Library, Alexandria, Virginia.
56
“The Churchyard of the Old Presbyterian Meeting
House. On Line.
Brockett, F. L. The Lodge of Washington - A History of
the Alexandria Washington Lodge No. 22, 1783-1876.
Alexandria, Virginia, George F. French, Publishers, 1876.
11
Robey, Donald M. The Lodge of Washington and Its
Past Masters. Anchor Communications, LLC. Lancaster, Virginia. 2008.
12
Alexandria Gazette, July 10, 1798.
13
Alexandria Gazette, April 7, 1813.
14
Brockett, F. L.
15
Alexandria Gazette - January 1811; April 1813; May
1814; March 1815; July 1820.
16
Benham, Mary Louisa Slacom. “Antebellum Reminiscences of Alexandria, Virginia,” transcribed by Anna
Modigliana and Kelsey Ryan. Office of Historic Alexandria/Alexandria Archeology. City of Alexandria, 2009.
17
Columbia Mirror and Alexandria Gazette, January 14,
1800.
18
Alexandria Gazette, March 23, 1816; March 26, 1818.
19
“Virginia Mutual Assurance Society Fire Policy,” July
25,1815. Special Collections, Alexandria Library,
Alexandria, Virginia.
20
“Alexandria Land Tax Record - 1834.” Special Collections Alexandria Library, Alexandria, Virginia.
21
Garrett, Elizabeth D. “At Home - The American Family
1750 - 1870.” Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, New
York, 1990.
22
Royall, Ann Newport. “Sketches of History, Life, and
Manners in the United States, By a Traveler.” John
Reprint Corporation, New York. Printed for the Author,
1826.
23
Martin, Joseph. “Alexandria, Virginia and District of
Columbia.” Charlottesville: Mosley and Tompkins Printers, 1835. Article contained in “Travelers Accounts of
Alexandria - 19th Century, 1800s Alexandria Flourishes.” On Line.
24
Royall, Ann Newport.
25
Hurst, Harold W. Alexandria on the Potomac: A Portrait of An Antebellum Community. University
Press of America, Inc., Lanham, Maryland. 1991.
26
Hurst, Harold W.
27
Hurst, Harold W.
28
“Death of Miss Mary Stewart.” Alexandria Gazette,
November 19, 1909.
29
Hurst, Harold W.
30
Klingenmaier, Richard H. “Catherine’s Ring - The
Story of a Sea Captain and the Daughter of a Philadelphia
Potter in Alexandria, Virginia.” Alexandria Chronicle.
Alexandria Historical Society. Fall 2009.
31
Brown, Brian. “Travelers’ Accounts of Alexandria 19th Century.” Research article in Dorothy Kabler
File, Special Collections, Alexandria Library, Alexandria,
Virginia.
32
10
14
Burke, Marilyn W. “312 Queen Street - A History of
An 18th Century Alexandria House.” 1987. Special Collections, Alexandria Library, Alexandria, Virginia.
58
Burke, Marilyn W.
59
Burke, Marilyn W.
60
Robey, Donald M.
61
Coffin, John P. Historical Sketches of the Capital of
Our Country. Copyright 1887. Special Collections,
Alexandria Library, Alexandria, Virginia.
62
Bailey, Worth.
63
Robey, Donald M.
64
Alexandria Gazette, September 30, 1896.
65
Alexandria Gazette, September 30, 1896.
66
Alexandria Gazette, December 31, 1890.
67
Alexandria Property Tax List - 1906. Special Collections, Alexandria Library, Alexandria, Virginia.
68
Kaye, Ruth Lincoln. “The History of the Alexandria
Hospital. Alexandria Chronicle, Alexandria Historical
Society. Fall 1995.
69
Alexandria Gazette, November 19, 1909.
70
Bailey, Worth.
57
The Alexandria Historical Society
President, Bill Dickinson
Vice President, Program, Debbie Ackerman
Secretary, Ted Pulliam
Treasurer, Lisa Adamo
Directors
Katy Cannady
Dave Cavanaugh, Publicity
Jackie Cohan, Newsletter Editor
Sarah Coster, Web Master
Audrey Davis
Tal Day,
Paul Friedman, Membership
Linda Greenberg, Editor, Alexandria Chronicle
Julie Randle
Adrienne Washington
15
The
Alexandria Chronicle
A publication of monographs about historical Alexandria, Virginia.
A
LEXANDRIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
Y INC.
“ DEATH OF MISS STEWART.
Miss Mary Jane Stewart, an old and much
respected resident of this city, died about 5
o’clock yesterday afternoon at the Alexandria Hospital after a long illness.
Miss Stewart lived for many years with
her brother, William D. Stewart, on
Cameron street, near Pitt street, and had just
left him reading in the dining room when a
chimney crashed through the roof during
the tornado on September 29, 1896, and
killed him. Miss Stewart was only slightly
injured,but never fully recovered from the
shock and had been at the hospital during
recent years.
She was a gentlewoman of the old school
– unselfish, considerate,courteous and lovable. She was a consistent member of the
Presbyterian Church.” The Alexandria
Gazette, Friday, November 19, 1909.
201 South Washington Street • Alexandria, Virginia 22314
This issue of the Alexandria Chronicle tells
the story of Mary Jane Stewart, a “gentlewoman of the old school -- unselfish, considerate, courteous and lovable” - and her sketch
of the home built by George Washington in
Alexandria.
The mission of the Alexandria Historical Society is to promote an active interest in American history and particularly in the history of
Alexandria and Virginia. For information
about activities of the Historical Society and
for past issues of the Alexandria Chronicle
please visit the society’s web site:
www.alexandriahistorical.org. The Chronicle
is published through the support of the J.
Patten Abshire Memorial Fund.
In the next issue of the Chronicle Catherine
Miliaras documents the evolution of the
Parker-Gray Historic District in Alexandria. It
will be published in February 2014.