Sarah McCarty (c.1748- 1826), to whom the letter in this collection is addressed, was the second wife of Richard Chichester (1736-1796). They lived at “Newington” in Fairfax County, Virginia near present day Fort Belvoir. Newington was the name given to the second Truro Parish Glebe House completed around 1760 but it became the private residence of Richard and Sarah Chichester after their 1766 marriage. The plantation consisted of 385 acres and the house later burned in 1875. The couple had several children together, one of which, Richard McCarty Chichester, was the godson of George Washington. According to the 1810 census, the Chichester household consisted of 57 members, 55 of which were slaves. Sarah died at Hollin Hall on June 25, 1826 and was buried in the family cemetery which can be found at 6270 Newington Road.

Little is known of her daughter, Mary Symes Chichester Hooe (1767-1815), who wrote this letter. She married Bernard Hooe (1763-1810), and they had 8 children. They lived at Locust Grove in Prince William County, Virginia. Mary S. Hooe died on April 24, 1815 at Newington. The Hooe surname has also been spelt as Howe, as evidenced in this letter.

This letter was written on December 8, 1812 by Mary Symes Chichester Hooe in Locust Grove to her mother Sarah McCarty Chichester in Newington. She expresses regret to her mother on how she was unable to visit with her due to the weather and the business concerning her two “head men” who have been distressing her with threats they have been “throughing out in the neighborhood”. She is looking to dispose of them and asks her mother to keep this information a secret so they don’t give her the slip. She also writes that her daughter, Clarissa Hooe, sends her love.

Edith Sprouse purchased this letter in 1985 at the Washington Antique Show. The Fairfax County History Commission had it framed and preserved before donating it to the Virginia Room later that year.