The Lewis Legacy Descendants of Betty Washington and Fielding Lewis
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The Lewis Legacy Descendants of Betty Washington and Fielding Lewis Lewis Coat of Arms: Kenmore VOL. 6, NO. 1 Publisher: Michael Frost, PhD Editor: Sandra Duffy WINTER 2015 Dear Lewis Family, Washington Foundation that owns both Kenmore and the boyhood home site of George and Betty I am Larry Holmes, President Washington. Mr. Garner and his archaeologist General of the Lewis Family showed us the excavated location of the home Descendants. I was elected where Betty and George were raised by Mary President General at the Ball, after the death of Augustine Washington. meeting of the Lewis Family After visiting the Washington home known as at Kenmore, home of Betty Ferry Farm, we traveled to Pope Creek, the birth Washington and Fielding place of Betty and George. The views of the river Lewis, Sr., in Fredericksburg, at that point were magnificent, just as similar Virginia, this past June. views are appreciated at Mt. Vernon. We The 2014 Heritage Weekend was a very exciting thoroughly enjoyed each other and the Lewis and time, as we met in Betty and Fielding’s mansion Washington family locations. for two dinners: one in the museum’s conference We hope to see you at this summer’s Heritage room, and the other dinner in a wedding tent Weekend. within the north garden. After dinner, Saturday Best regards, night in the rose garden, we walked to the west lawn of the mansion where we enjoyed a Larry Holmes Shakespearean play Macbeth by residents of President General Fredericksburg. The audience of several hundred sat in lawn chairs for the performance. We visited the grave of Betty Washington at SAVE THE DATE Western View and the newly restored plantation of James Madison. This year, we traveled in a Next LFD Heritage Weekend large, comfortable bus, and really enjoyed the June 11-14, 2015 time together as we went from location to location Thursday through Sunday between Culpeper and Fredericksburg. We met Location to be announced soon. with Bill Garner, President of the George Table of Contents President General’s Message............................ Page 1 Crib .................................................................. Page 3 Lewis Family Descendants Officers ................. Page 2 Photos / Lewis Family Heritage Weekend ......... Page 4 “Lewis Legacy” Spotlight ................................ Page 2 Ancestors of Our Members................................ Page 5 Notes on Reading Old Manuscripts ................. Page 2 Stuart Painting of George Washington ............... Page 6 Books You May Enjoy..................................... Page 2 The Octagon ..................................................... Page 6 Did you know .................................................. Page 3 George Washington’s Troublesome Teeth ......... Page 7 Profile Portrait of Eleanor Parke Custis ............ Page 3 Marmion Estate ................................................. Page 8 P a g e | 2 Notes on Reading Old Manuscripts Lewis Family Descendants Officers 2014 – 2016 Whether you’re reading the Declaration of Independence or family documents, you might consider the following. President General Lawrence Tayloe Holmes 1st Vice President General John Fielding Lewis, Jr. In part due to the English language’s rich and complex history, the spelling of English words took a long time 2nd Vice President General Stephen Patrick Holmes to become standardized. 3rd Vice President General Sandra Duffy Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary, a major aid to the Past President General Michael David Frost, Ph.D. standardization of modern English, was first printed in Secretary John Fielding Lewis, Jr. 1755. Many of our family’s events occurred long before that date. Treasurer Stephen Patrick Holmes Registrar Michael David Frost, Ph.D. Sometimes not only the spellings of words but the forms of the letters themselves present challenges. Chaplain Samuel “Sandy” Frierson Take, for example, the “long s.” In the Declaration of McDonough, Jr. Independence, you will see the word “necessary” Historian Linda Reilly spelled in letters that look like “necefsary.” That is because the first “s” is written as a “long s.” This was a Editor: The Lewis Legacy Sandra Duffy holdover from an earlier style of writing used with Web Master John Fielding Lewis, Jr. Latin and various other European languages. It generally tended to be used in the middle of a word, so it is less common to find one at the end or the beginning of a word. It gradually faded from use as printing The Lewis Legacy Spotlight became more common, and was hardly used at all by the second half of the nineteenth century. The Lewis Legacy Spotlight, for this issue, shines on Elizabeth “Betty” Whitlock. Books you may enjoy… Betty descends from Warner Lewis, Citizen Washington by William Martin brother of Fielding Lewis. She traces This is a colorful, highly readable, factually-based her Lewis lineage through her father, fictional account of George Washington’s story. It is Fielding Lewis Marshall Jr. She was told as a memoir from several points of view. bornFielding in Montgomery, Lewis Marshall, Alabama. Jr. She was born in Montgomery, Alabama. House Divided by Ben Ames Williams In 1959, Betty married Bennett Clarke Whitlock, Jr. in This book is an excellent fictional account of the Mobile, Alabama. They have two children and five lives of the members of a Northern Virginia family grandchildren. during the Civil War. It presents details of the everyday life of the period which had not changed very much from the days of the founding settlements. You will Betty became a member of the Lewis Family recognize the area as familiar Lewis family territory. Descendants on March 16, 2010, and she attended the 2010 and 2012 Lewis Family Descendants reunions in Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin Virginia. This biographical account of Lincoln and his rival candidates for the Republican nomination of 1860 Not only is Betty a member of the Lewis Family presents the intricacies of the political situation leading Descendants, she is also active with the DAR and the up to the Civil War. Its descriptions of the war and the Washington Northern Virginia Chapter of Jamestowne atmosphere in Washington, D.C., provide a parallel Society. account of events shown in House Divided. (Cont’d page 3) http://lewis-family-descendants.com 3 | P a g e Books you may enjoy… Crib (Cont’d from page 2) a granddaughter of George W. Lewis, a son of Fielding Lewis,(Made Sr. in America, ca. 1799; Mahogany and Oak) The Civil War: A visual History by Dorling Kindersley This book has great timelines and summaries of action. It also works well with the two prior selections for our understanding of the actions in Northern Virginia. A Prince in Their Midst by A. J. Hanna Achille Murat was the son of Joachim Murat and Profile Portrait of Caroline Bonaparte, youngest sister of Napoleon. His Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis father was one of Napoleon’s greatest generals and was given many rewards for his service, including the throne (Drawn by James Sharples, ca.1796; Pastel on paper) of the Kingdom of Naples. However, all that came to an end when Napoleon was exiled for the second time. Achille decided, at age 21, to immigrate to America. Eventually, he crossed paths with and married Catherine Daingerfield Lewis Gray, a young widow. Catherine was a granddaughter of George W. Lewis, a son of Fielding Lewis, Sr. Did you know… Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis would come to be regarded as “the most brilliant and beautiful young woman of her day, the pride of her On George Washington’s last birthday, February 22, 1799, Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis married grandmother and the favorite of Washington?” Washington’s nephew, Lawrence Lewis. For a time, the couple lived at Mount Vernon, and according to family Profile Portrait of history, Martha Washington presented them with this crib Eleanor (Nelly) Parke Custis when their first child, Frances Parke Lewis, was born the Drawn by James Sharples, ca. 1796 following November. With classical columns, the crib Pastel on paper was fashionable as well as functional: a hinged side permits the crib to be placed adjacent to a bedstead, allowing for easy tending of the infant at night. Article excerpted from: http://www.mountvernon.org/research- collections/collections-holdings/nelly-custis-artifacts-in-the-mount vernon-collection/ English artist James Sharp le’s portrait of Nelly captures her beauty and vivacious spirit at age 17. Family tradition attributes her “wind-blow” appearance to the fact that she ran in from the garden to sit for the artist. One year later, the Washingtons would relocate , permanently, to Mount Vernon after George Washington’s second term as president concluded. Of their return, Nelly wrote, “When I look at this noble river, & all the beautifull prospects around – I pity all those who are in Cities, for surely a country life, is the most rational & happy of any – & all of the refinements of art and luxury are nothing in comparison to the Beauties of Nature.” Article excerpted from: http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/eleanor -nelly-parke-custis/ http://lewis-family-descendants.com P a g e | 4 Photos from the Lewis Family Heritage Weekend June 12-15, 2014 O Posing in front of some Washington tombs are (left to right) Janet Holmes, Valerie Reilly, Lawrence Holmes, Sandy McDonough, Stephen Holmes and Linda Reilly. Some Family Members in front of St. George’s Episcopal Church http://lewis-family-descendants.com 5 | P a g e 6 Members descend from 12 Members descend from Elizabeth