By 1854 women in northern states expressed in newspapers their desire to be included in the movement to save Mount Vernon. Recognizing the need to avoid sectionalism as well as the need to establish legal status for the movement, Cunningham's November 1854 appeal ("Washington Circular: An Appeal for Mount Vernon, by the Mount Vernon Association of the Union, to the Daughters of Washington") requested that the title to Mount Vernon go to the Commonwealth of Virginia: "...the Legislature of Virginia to contract for the purchase of Mount Vernon, reserving to itself the title--but allowing the women of America to pay for it..." (See "Charters" for the purchase of the estate by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.)

Charters. The charters describe the evolution of the Association's purpose. The first charter, "An Act to Incorporate the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, and to Authorize the Purchase of a Part of Mount Vernon," was passed by the Virginia House of Delegates on 17 March 1856. It states that the "ladies of the United States, acting in the name and style of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, have undertaken to raise, by individual subscription, a fund to purchase and improve" Mount Vernon, which would "thereby be converted into public property, and forever held by the State of Virginia." That is, the Association would raise the money for the Commonwealth of Virginia to maintain Mount Vernon for the public. The second charter, "An Act to Amend an Act Entitled An Act to Incorporate the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, and to Authorize the Purchase of a Part of Mount Vernon, Passed March 17th, 1856," was passed by the Commonwealth of Virginia on 19 March 1858. Here it is stated that it will be lawful for the Association to "hold and improve" Mount Vernon and "to this end may receive from the owner and proprietor of the said land a deed in fee simple; and shall have and exercise full power over the use and management of the same." That is, the Association would, itself, purchase and maintain the property for the public.

It was in this same year, 1858, that the Association became a national organization. In her "An Appeal for Mount Vernon: Mount Vernon--the Property of the Nation," (published in the Mount Vernon Record: Devoted to the Purchase of the Home and Grave of Washington," July 1858), Ann Pamela Cunningham writes, "A call was made to the women of the South, to gather around his grave and become the vestals to keep alive the fires of patriotism. The motives were pure, the intentions generous; but they failed! Know ye not wherefore? Washington belonged not alone to the South! Again the call was made, and this time to the women of the Nation. Again it failed!--and wherefore? The title, and all the power, were to be given to a State; and Washington belonged not to one State alone! ...And ye, women of the North and of the South, of the East and West, will ye not rally to the work...?"

Contract. Mr. Washington, acting in accord with the instructions in his father's will, agreed to sell the property to the Association only after Congress and the Commonwealth of Virginia refused to buy it. Washington signed a contract in Richmond on 6 April 1858 to sell Mount Vernon to the Association for $200,000 plus "lawful interest." This contract directed the method of payment as follows: in addition to the $18,000 "cash in hand paid" at the signing of the contract, the Association agreed to deliver "four several Bonds sealed with the corporate seal of the said Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union...": One bond for $57,000 payable on or before 1 January 1859, a second bond for $41,666.66 payable on or before 22 February 1860, a third bond for $41,666.67 payable on or before 22 February 1861, and a fourth bond for $41,666.67, payable on or before 22 February 1862, "with lawful interest upon the said sums of money, to be computed from the date of the said several Bonds until paid, making when paid, in the aggregate (including the said sum of $18,000, paid in money to the said John A. Washington as hereinbefore acknowledged) the full sum of Two hundred thousand dollars of principal money."

Payments. The Association paid the bonds to John A. Washington through his bankers, Messrs. Burke & Herbert of Alexandria, Virginia. The amounts and dates of each payment and the interest on each bond are recorded on the back of each bond. All four of the bonds, written and signed by Cunningham, are in this collection, as are many of the cancelled checks that paid for them. The first bond, for $57,000, was paid on 2 December 1858 (a month early), plus $2,242 in interest. The second, for $41,666.66, was paid in four installments, ending on 22 February 1859 (a year early), plus $2,046.12 in interest. The third, for $41,666.67, was paid in seven installments, ending on 23 March 1859 (1 year and 11 months early), plus $2,323.06 in interest. The last, also for $41,666.67, was for the most part paid in seven installments ($40,000 of it), ending on 21 July 1860. As stated in the agreement between Washington and the Association, additional interest (a penalty fee) was added to payments that were "deferred," or not paid on time. The final payment of principal and interest was paid (to John A. Washington's heirs) on 12 May 1866 in the amount of $7,836.40. The "lawful interest" paid in addition to the $200,000 totaled $12,330.01.

The Association took possession of the property in February of 1860, although they began restoration of the buildings in July of 1859.

Fundraising for the purchase. The $212,330.91 was raised through a variety of ways, including printed appeals, lectures, plays and other performances, and many "galas." For example, pamphlets were printed and distributed of speeches given for the cause, such as the "Address of Past Grand Master R.K. Call, delivered at the Capital of Florida, by Request of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, on the 24th of June, 1859, for the Benefit of the Mount Vernon Purchase." Printed advertisements appeared in an effort to raise money, such as a double-sided newspaper insert entitled, "Aid to the Mount Vernon Fund, For the Purchase and Restoration of Washington's Home, Stuart's Gold-Mounted Oil Portrait of Washington," ending with the motto, "Send for this Picture! Everybody should possess such an admirable portrait of the immortal Washington." Currier & Ives prints of George Washington, some of which were embossed with "In Aid of the MVLA," were sold. And, there were the printed appeals by the Vice Regents to the residents of their respective states, in the form of pamphlets, broadsides, newspaper articles, and circulars.

Edward Everett, famed Massachusetts orator, gave many lectures, such as the one on the invitation in this collection, labeled: "You are respectfully invited to take a seat on the platform on the occasion of the Address on the Character of Washington to be delivered by the Hon. Edward Everett, at the Academy of Music, on Thursday, May 12, 1859, at 8 o'clock." Plays were performed for the Association's benefit by actors like Edwin Booth ( Catherine and Petruchio, Richmond, Feb. 1858). There were parties such as the one held in New York in December 1858, in which Isaac McLellan delivered his eight-stanza poem, "Ode for Mount Vernon Gala Festival, New York...," (the manuscript of which is in this collection). Mrs. Isaac Morse of Louisiana persuaded her state to give their usual fund for Fourth of July celebrations to the MVLA cause, and other Vice Regents also encouraged their states to contribute public funds to rescue Mount Vernon.

Numerous individuals contributed, from President James Buchanan to school-children to authors such as Washington Irving. During these two years of fundraising, the Association kept the country informed of the progress of the movement, including individual contributions, through The Mount Vernon Record, published by Messrs. Devereux and Co. of Philadelphia.

Growth of the Board. The first meeting of the Association after its incorporation in 1856 was held in Richmond on 25 June 1858. At that time the board was comprised of the Regent from South Carolina, Vice-Regents representing 12 other states, a treasurer, and a secretary. By 1859 there were representatives from 30 states. In 1874, 29 states were represented.

Endowment Fund. After the Association met its initial goal of raising the money to purchase Mount Vernon, its purpose evolved to raising money for the estate's continued repair and maintenance. An endowment fund was begun in 1869. Contributions between that date and 1874 came from several Vice Regents, Governor Ward of New Jersey, the Martha Washington Tea Party of Baltimore, the Board of Brokers of New York, the MVLA's own secretary Miss McMakin, a colonial ball held in Richmond, a George Washington birthday ball held in Cincinnati, a concert held in Sweet Springs, Virginia, and contributions from Masonic organizations. Printed appeals include Cunningham's "An Appeal from the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union," of 1868 which begins, "Rich men and rich women of the country, our appeal is to you!"

Restoration of the estate. The board made each decision concerning restoration with care and frequently sought the advice of well-known professionals, as when in 1859 it requested and adopted a recommendation by the engineer Walter C. Meigs to build a proper wharf where there had been only a landing for visitors who arrived by boat. Instead of accepting propositions from landscape designers who wanted to lay out the grounds according to their own ideas, the Association attempted to find the original lines of George Washington's gardens and walks by uncovering and clearing off old walks and pathways. The Association was aided in this by a servant who had lived at Mount Vernon and remembered how they used to look.

The outbuildings were restored to house workmen employed by the Association to carry out its preservation efforts. In some other plantations outbuildings have not been saved, because they served as a reminder of slavery. Cunningham said in her farewell address that visitors wanted to see Mount Vernon just as it was when Washington was here, and Mount Vernon's outbuildings were not razed.

Restoration continued on various parts of the estate. A June 1860 contract with Joseph Hinemann and Henry Reed for three hundred thousand bricks were to be made on site, presumably used for repairs to foundations and walls. An 1861 financial account shows four days' work done on George Washington's old tomb. A November 1870 contract with S. Greenhalgh showed work to be done to "tin" the roof of the portico, the gutters and the dormers of the mansion, and the gutters around the "four out-buildings, two each side of the mansion;" to build cisterns, furnish pumps for the cisterns, and to furnish a hydraulic ram by the springs at the foot of the lawn. (The cisterns and the hydraulic ram were built for the purpose of fire protection, for which a committee had just been formed.)

A June 1874 receipt from David Clair records work done on fences, while a September 1874 bill from F.A. Whelan shows 33 days' work painting the cupola and windows of the mansion house, butler's house, and dairy. A March 1875 bill from Thomas Craig shows 3 days' masonry work at the green house laying flue, and 2 1/2 days' work on fireplaces in the kitchen and on patching walls.

Fortunately, Ann Pamela Cunningham saved original details and features of the mansion and tried to compare that information with documentary evidence. For example, she found seven layers of wallpaper in a bedroom, the innermost of which was yellow. She compared this information with a letter by George Washington in which he mentions a yellow and a blue room, and concluded this must be the yellow room to which he referred.

Acquiring original furnishings. The only original objects in the mansion when the Association purchased it were George Washington's terrestrial globe, the terra cotta bust of Washington made by Jean-Antoine Houdon, and the key to the Bastille, given to Washington by Lafayette. The Association began searching for additional original furnishings and acquired in 1859 the harpsichord that had belonged to Nelly Custis, given to the Association by Mrs. Lorenzo Lewis (Nelly Custis's daughter-in-law). They also had to buy furniture that would serve the basic needs of the few people who lived in the mansion, since the former owners had left it almost completely empty.

Civil War. In December of 1860, Ann Pamela Cunningham went to South Carolina to take care of her plantation "ere the storm breaks." (It was six more years before she returned to Mount Vernon, due not only to the difficulties of the war but also to her ill health. Cunningham had suffered a horse-riding accident as a teenager which left her disabled and caused her great pain for the rest of her life. This condition, however, did not dampen her enthusiasm for the restoration of Mount Vernon. )

During the Civil War, there were only a few people working at Mount Vernon: a superintendent, two secretaries, and a varying number of paid servants who resided at Mount Vernon (an 1867 account states that "Mr. Herbert employs six Negroes and one white man for ALL the work of every kind on the place this includes Nathan who attends to visitors."). Union headquarters was in nearby Washington, D.C. The war interfered with the operations of the Association by obstructing travel by land to and from Alexandria, the nearest city; by the government's commandeering the boat that carried visitors to Mount Vernon; by the occasional visit of armed troops, purportedly to protect it, which caused great disruption; and by delaying mail delivery. Getting the proper passes to travel to Alexandria was so difficult that on one occasion in 1861 Sarah Tracy, one of the secretaries, visited President Lincoln himself to straighten out the problem. Tracy and Upton Herbert, the superintendent, alternated as guide and guard during this time. On 8 March 1869 Congress finally granted the Association's claim for $7,000 lost due to the commandeered tourist boat during the Civil War--but on condition that it be used only for repairs and expended under the supervision of a government appointee. The passage of this bill was one of the Cunningham's last accomplishments for the Association.

First meetings. The first meeting of Council, as the meetings were called, was held in April of 1858 in Richmond. (No meetings were held between 1859 and 1863.) The next meeting was held on 22 February 1864, in Washington, D.C., while the third was also held in Washington on 25 February 1865. It was at this latter meeting that the Association entered into a contract with a photographer to take pictures of the estate to be sold only by the Association at Mount Vernon. Cunningham had insisted on these terms in order to raise money to continue the restoration efforts. An 1867 statement shows "profits on photographs, from June 1866 to Oct. 1867 $308.34."

In 1866 the meeting was held again in Washington, this being the first one the Regent attended since 1858, since she had been unable to travel due to wartime conditions. The 1867 meeting opened at Mount Vernon but moved the next day to Washington, D.C., while the meetings of 1868, 1870, and 1872, were held at Mount Vernon (no meetings were held in 1869 or 1871). The meeting of 1873 was held at Washington, D.C.; the meeting of 1874 was held at Mount Vernon. This was to be Cunningham's last meeting.

Cunningham's resignation. Cunningham announced to the Vice Regents at the Council of 14 May 1873, held at the Imperial Hotel in Washington, that she would soon retire if her health did not improve. She named Mrs. J. Scott Laughton, the Vice Regent for Pennsylvania, as her successor. The Regent's letter announcing her retirement, now known as her "farewell address," was read at the Council in 1874, when Laughton was unanimously voted the next Regent. The last paragraphs of Cunningham's letter have been reprinted in each annual report and minutes since 1907:

Scope and Contents

The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association records for 1853 to 1874 consist of correspondence, minutes, contracts, charters, newspaper clippings, ledgers, receipts, cancelled checks and photographs, documenting the activities of The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.

The bulk of the collection consists of fundraising letters and other correspondence in the records of The Regent and Vice Regents, staff, and treasurer. Major correspondents represented in the collection include Ann Pamela Cunningham, Sarah Tracy, Anna Cora Ritchie, Edward Everett, and George Washington Riggs.

The Association paid John Augustine Washington III the $200,000 price for Mount Vernon in one down payment and four bonds, three of which were made in several installments. All four of the bonds and many of the cancelled checks are in the financial documents section, as well as ledgers showing the wide variety of activities undertaken for income, subscription lists, and receipts. The minutes and reports of the annual Grand Council and some of the state organizations, assisted by additional women known as Lady Managers, detail fundraising efforts, repairs, personnel changes, and other activities. The job descriptions of early paid staff and their contracts with the Association are with the personnel files. Visitors to Mount Vernon came mostly by boat in the 19th century, and contracts with the boat company and with photographers who made souvenir stereo-views are among the collection of legal documents.The Association's 1856 and 1858 charters detail, among other things, John Augustine Washington III's rights regarding the family tomb and the requirement of visits from the Board of Visitors selected by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Mount Vernon Record, which was published on behalf of the Association by Devereux and Co. of Philadelphia, details contributions of individual subscribers, the activities of the Vice Regents, and various events in the life of George Washington. Appeals in the form of pamphlets written to the residents of states and to members of organizations and groups describe the wide variety of activities the Vice Regents arranged in order to draw people to their cause. Newspapers and broadsides illustrate the deep interest the public had in Mount Vernon, as well as show how heavily the Association relied upon those vehicles to communicate their message. Guidebooks published by the Association and by individuals such as Elizabeth B. Johnston of Washington, D.C., and Alex Wedderburn of Baltimore, Maryland, help to show the history of interpretation at Mount Vernon, the condition of the mansion and its furnishings, and 19th-century tourism in Virginia. Alexander Gardner was one of the early photographers the Association commissioned to take stereo-views to be sold as souvenirs. Some of these printed and photographic materials are quite rare.

The diary kept by the first secretary, Mrs. Pellett, is the only document that records the meetings of the fledgling Association prior to its incorporation in 1856. Guest registers starting with the period of John Augustine Washington III's residence at Mount Vernon show the large number of visitors Mount Vernon received every year. Scrapbooks made by Vice Regents and others show the developing story of the Association from the views of individuals. Subscription books kept by Vice Regents show the contributions of individuals from their states, even very small ones from children, that were printed in The Mount Vernon Record. These bound manuscripts, along with ledgers and subscription books kept by the Vice Regents are kept together, separate from the loose documents.

Speeches, biographies, histories of the Association, fragments, and other miscellaneous documents are in the Speeches, histories, and biographies section.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

For fragile materials the researcher will be shown a surrogate, such as a photocopy.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Mount Vernon Ladies' Association Records. [Sender, receiver, date of item.]

Acquisition Information

The collection has been assembled through gifts, purchases, and institutional transfers.

Processing Information

Most items in the collection were processed and cataloged at an item level upon receipt, by Beverly Runge, Barbara McMillan, and others. Processed at a collection level by Lisa Odum, October 2001.

Related Material

Researchers should note that a collection of the papers of John Augustine Washington III, outside of his official correspondence with the Association, is also part of the MVLA's collections. A photographic collection belonging to Sarah Tracy comprised of cartes-de-visite given her by people she met while working at Mount Vernon, is also part of the MVLA's collections.

Bibliography

Alexander, Edward P. "Ann Pamela Cunningham and Washington's Mount Vernon : The Historic House Museum" in, Museum Masters : Their Museums and Their Influence. Nashville, Tenn. : American Association for State and Local History, 1983. p. 179-204.

Dodge, Harrison Howell. Mount Vernon : Its Owner and Its Story. Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott, 1932.

Everett, Edward. The Mount Vernon Papers.New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1860.

Johnson, Gerald W. and Charles Cecil Wall. Mount Vernon : The Story of a Shrine. New York : Random House, 1953.

King, Grace. Mount Vernon on the Potomac : History of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. New York : Macmillan, 1929.

Muir, Dorothy Troth. Presence of a Lady. Washington, DC : Mount Vernon Publishing Co., 1946.

Page, Thomas Nelson. Mount Vernon and Its Preservation. Mount Vernon, Va. : Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1910 and 1932.

Rees, James C."Preservation: The Ever-Changing Frontier" in George Washington's Mount Vernon, edited by Wendell Garrett. New York: The Monacelli Press, 1998.

Sears, John F.Sacred Places: American Tourist Attractions in the Nineteenth Century.New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Svenin, Pavel. Traveling across North America 1812-1813 : Watercolors by the Russian Diplomat Pavel Svinin. New York : Harry N. Abrams, 1992.

Thane, Elswyth. Mount Vernon Is Ours: The Story of Its Preservation. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1966.

Waldsmith, R.M. "Mount Vernon Enshrined in Stereo" in Stereo World, 6 (Jan-Feb 1980): 4-13.Columbus, Ohio: The National Stereoscopic Association.

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.