FACSIMILES OF LETTERS BY THE PRESIDENTS. FACING PAGE George Washington to James Madison (last page). Martin Van Buren to Fitz-Greene Halleck James Knox Polk to Mrs. Sarah C. Polk (last page) Franklin Pierce to William L. Marcy James Buchanan to Aaron V. Brown Abraham Lincoln to John S. Stuart Andrew Johnson to David D. Patterson (last page) James Abram Garfield to James H. Rhodes ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. Portrait and Autograph of Mrs. Mary Washington The Birthplace of George Washington Drawing of the Locality by General Sherman Portrait and Autograph of Washington in Early Life Portrait of Washington, by Du Simitière The Tomb of George Washington, at Mount Vernon The Washington Obelisk, in Washington, D. C. . Arlington House, near Washington, D. C. Portrait and Autograph of Mrs. E. P. Lewis Houses in which John Adams and his Son were born. Early Portrait and Autograph of John Adams Monticello, the Home of Thomas Jefferson Portrait and Autograph of Martin Van Buren Portrait and Autograph of Mrs. Angelica Van Buren Portrait and Autograph of Benjamin Harrison, the Signer Portrait and Autograph of Mrs. Abigail Fillmore . Wheatland, the Residence of James Buchanan Portrait and Autograph of Mrs. Harriet Lane Johnston Lincoln's Residence in Springfield, Ill. . Statue of Lincoln, by St. Gaudens, in Chicago Lincoln's Statue, by Henry K. Browne, in New York. . Death Mask of Lincoln, taken by Leonard W. Volk President Lincoln's Tomb, Springfield, Ill. Portrait and Autograph of Mrs. Mary Lincoln Portrait and Autograph of Robert T. Lincoln Andrew Johnson's Workshop, Greenville, Tenn. Portrait and Autograph of Mrs. Eliza M. Johnson Birthplace of General Grant, Mount Pleasant, Ohio Portrait of Grant as a Lieutenant, and Autograph Grant's Last Portrait, taken at Mount McGregor. McLean House, the Scene of Lee's Surrender Gold Medal voted by Congress to General Grant. House at Mount McGregor where Grant died Equestrian Statue of Grant, by Rebisso, in Chicago Eastern Façade of the Structure and Statue. Portrait and Autograph of Mrs. Lucretia R. Garfield Tomb of President Arthur, in Rural Cemetery, Albany, N. Y. Portrait and Autograph of Mrs. Mary A. McElroy Northeast View of the White House, Washington, D. C. Gray Gables, Grover Cleveland's Summer Residence Portrait and Autograph of Mrs. Francis Cleveland Benjamin Harrison's Portrait and Autograph LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS. GEORGE WASHINGTON. GEORGE WASHINGTON, first president of the United States, born at Pope's Creek, near Bridge's Creek, Westmoreland co., Va., 22 Feb., 1732; died at Mount Vernon, 14 Dec., 1799. Of his English ancestry various details are given in more than one formal biography of him, and very recently several questions of his genealogy have been satisfactorily solved by Mr. Henry F. Waters, Mr. Moncure D. Conway, and Mr. W. C. Ford, which had eluded even the labors of the late Col. J. L. Chester. It is perhaps too early to regard his English ancestry as beyond all further question. At all events, this memoir may well be allowed to begin with his American history. His earliest ancestor in this country was John Washington, who had resided for some years at South Cave, near the Humber, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, and who came over to Virginia, with his brother Andrew, in 1657. Purchasing lands in Westmoreland county and establishing his residence at Pope's Creek, not far from the Potomac, he became, in due course, an extensive planter, a county magistrate, and a member of the house of burgesses. He distinguished himself, also, as colonel of the Virginia forces in driving off a band of Seneca Indians who were ravaging the neighboring settlements. honor of his public and private character, the parish in which he resided was called Washington. In this parish his grandson, Augustine, the second son of Lawrence Washington, was born in 1694. By his first wife Augustine had four children. Two of them died young, but two sons, Lawrence and Augustine, survived their mother, who died in 1728. On 6 March, 1730, the father was again married. His second wife was Mary Ball, and George was her first child. |