Letter, Jane Charlotte Blackburn Washington to John Augustine Washington III, 1847

Containers:
Box 68, Folder 1847.12.24
Creator:
Washington, Jane Charlotte Blackburn, 1786-1855
Scope and content:

Letter written by Jane C. Washington from Blakeley near Charlestown, West Virginia at Christmas time to her son John Augustine Washington III at Mount Vernon. Jane worries over John's recent illness with "chill fever" and reminds him "You now have an overseer, and it surely cannot be so necessary for you to go out at the dawn of day, and expose yourself to the inclemencies of weather in attending to farm business."

Jane writes "I am now quite alone, dear little John A. left me this morning; he is a happy cheerful fellow, and has been with me for some time. I have endeavoured to teach him, and think he has mad some progress both in reading and knitting, with which he is excedingly pleased declaring, he 'was never lonesome since he learned to knit,' the most monotonous and dullest of all employments."

Speaking of the enslaved persons of Blakeley plantation, Jane says "Christmas as you know always occasions considerable excitement, particularly with the poor Negroes, to whom it is a season of temporary freedom and feasting."

Language:
English.

Access and use

Location of collection:
The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon
The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon
3600 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway
Mount Vernon, VA 22121
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Reference services
Phone: (703) 780-3600
Parent restrictions:
This collection is open for research during scheduled appointments. Researchers must complete the Washington Library's Special Collections and Archives Registration Form before access is provided. The library reserves the right to restrict access to certain items for preservation purposes.