Captain Reuben Thom, of the Confederate Marine Corps, was the son of
"Postmaster Thom" and was born in Fredericksburg. He entered the war at
Norfolk in 1861, and in 1862 was in command of the Marines on the famous
Merrimac in the battle of Hampton Roads. Captain Thom took part in the
engagement at Drury's Bluff. After the war Captain Thom moved to Baltimore
where he died.
[Illustration: BETTY WASHINGTON'S HOME
_"Kenmore" Where George Washington's Sister Lived After Her Marriage. Her
Mother's Home Is Close By_]
_Unforgotten Women_
_Some of Many Who Left a Record of Brilliancy, Service or Sacrifice._
The stars that shine in the galaxy of the heavens do not all glow with the
same lustre. One is gifted with a steady and dependable splendor, another
scintillates and fades to shine afresh. So, it is, that the women of
Fredericksburg have in their individual ways added to the glories of the
town and well sustained its deserved reputation, as being the home of
capable, brilliant, and beautiful women. A distinguished French officer
once said, after meeting one of the women of Fredericksburg, "If such are
the matrons of America, well may she boast of illustrious sons." This was
at the great Peace Ball, given in the town in 1783, to which, of course,
the mother of Washington was especially invited. The simple manner and
appearance of the great woman, surprised the gallant officers present, and
provoked from one of them the remark.
Clad in a plain but becoming garb, that characterized Virginia women of
her type, she received the many attentions paid to the Mother of the
idolized Commander-in-Chief with the most unaffected dignity and courtesy.
Being accustomed to the pomp and splendor which is attached to Old World
royalty, it was a revelation to them to behold such a woman. How could she
live in the blaze of glory which irradiated her illustrious offspring, and
still preserve her simple dignity of manner, so barren of self pride and
hauteur!
[Sidenote: _The "Rose of Epping Forest"_]
But this daughter of Colonel Joseph Ball, of Lancaster County, this "Rose
of Epping Forest" which budded into existence on March 6, 1708, this
unassuming woman, who on the anniversary of her natal day in 1730, gave
her heart and hand to the master of Wakefield, this thrifty and systematic
young housewife and widowed mother at Pine Grove, in Stafford County, this
matron of Fredericksburg, possessed qualities individual to her who
became the author of the being of the greatest and best loved character
figuring on the pages of American history. Her last home selected for her
by General Washington, stands today, on the corner of Charles and Lewis
Streets, the same home with the characteristic simplicity of years ago.
The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, to which
Society it now belongs, has restored in part the interior with its
wainscoting and paneling and its period furniture. The interesting old
brick floored kitchen, with its huge fireplace, and its crane, iron pots,
skillets and equipment of former days, all seem today in perfect accord
with her reception of her cherished offspring in 1783. After an enforced
cessation of visits to his aging mother for a long period of seven years,
she at length was told by an orderly that "His Excellency" had arrived,
and was at her very door. Turning quietly to her faithful, ebony maid, she
said with her habitual self control, "Patsy, George has come, I shall need
a white apron." But beneath this calm exterior, her embrace of her first
born son was overflowing with fervent mother-love, and hidden away in the
deep recesses of her heart was the swelling pride in his glory. Senator
Daniel truthfully said, "The principles which he applied to a nation were
those simple and elementary truths which she first imprinted upon his mind
in the discipline of home."
The splendid granite monument, erected to her, with its simple
inscription, "Mary, the Mother of Washington," and on the reverse side:
"Erected by her Countrywomen," rises from a massive foundation to a
distance of 59 feet. Her ashes lie beneath, in a spot of her own
selection, (which in her lifetime was a part of the Kenmore estate) and
her favorite resting place. Nearby are the two rocks upon which she used
to sit and read her Bible. These are known as "Meditation Rocks."
[Sidenote: _Susan Savage and Anne Maury_]
The name of Susan Metcalf Savage will always be held in the highest
veneration by those of Fredericksburg who realize and appreciate the many
sacrifices, heart-aches, self-denials and home-longings experienced by
those who give their lives in heathen lands. Brought up in an atmosphere
of love and unselfishness, and herself devoted to every call of duty, it
was no surprise to her many friends to learn that soon after her marriage
to Reverend Dr. Savage in 1838 she would sail with him for tropical
Africa, one of the first woman missionaries from our land. Though her life
in this then unusual field of usefulness was less than two short years,
her labors were not in vain, and her works and her example will live for
years to come.
Ann Herndon, who became the wife of the great scientist, Matthew Fontaine
Maury, was born in the house on the corner of Princess Anne and George
Streets, erected by her father, Dabney M. Herndon. Her loveliness of face
and character was equalled by her charming manner, and attractive
personality, and whether in Fredericksburg, or Lexington, Va., whether in
Washington or London, her home was the spot where the savant, the
scientist, the literati and men and women representing every phase of
culture and social distinction, were wont to assemble. The beautiful
jewels presented to her by the crowned heads of Europe, (her illustrious
husband, being an officer in the United States Navy, was restricted from
accepting gifts, else his admirers would have showered them upon him),
were deservedly famous. After the death of Commodore Maury a plan was
conceived by a member of one of the royal courts of Europe, and initiatory
steps had already been taken, to raise a munificent sum of mony with which
to honor the widow of the man to whom all educated nations were to pay
homage. But when their project reached her ear, she refused to accept it,
though recognizing and appreciating fully the compliment to her devoted
husband.
[Sidenote: _President Arthur's Wife_]
One of the captivating belles of the town was Ellen Lewis Herndon,
daughter of the Naval Commander, Captain William Lewis Herndon, who in
1857 met his death in the Gulf Stream. Being possessed of a rich
contralto voice, Miss Herndon made frequent visits to the National
Capitol, and delighted the congregations at old St. John's Church with her
sweet, rich tones. It was here that the young attorney, Chester A. Arthur,
afterwards President, became infatuated with the pretty young singer.
Those old days were the parents of these days, and many were the whispers
of conjecture and surmise as to the outcome of those frequent visits of
the handsome Mr. Arthur to the home of Ellen Herndon, (that still
strikingly pretty residence on Main and Charlotte Streets), and shortly
before the War between the States, a pretty wedding was solemnized in New
York City, and Ellen Herndon became the bride of Chester A. Arthur.
In the heart-rending times of 1861-'65, the women of Fredericksburg with
untiring energy and courage, in the midst of the agony of war, assumed the
laborious task of ministering alike to soldiers in blue and gray, and many
burdens of sorrow were in some way lightened and many a physical pain
lessened or a soul cheered. Perhaps the women of Fredericksburg were
inspired to great deeds by the example of that splendid specimen of
womanhood, Clara Barton, who for sometime was stationed near Chatham,
carrying on her splendid ministration to the sick and suffering Federal
soldiers.