Blossoms and Thorns - Mary Ball Washington - 400 Outstanding Women of the World (Revised)
400 Outstanding Women of the World - by Minnea Schmidt (1933) MARY BALL WASHINGTON (1708–1789) The Blossoms : Mary Ball Washington enters lore as a towering figure of maternal dedication, hailed as the "Rose of Epping Forest" for her youthful charm and striking presence. Some historians paint her asa controlling force, manipulative. Marrying Virginia planter Augustine Washington in 1730, she became the matriarch of an expansive household, giving birth to six children, with George Washington as her firstborn. Left a young widow at thirty-five, she stood against adversity, transforming her estate into an enterprise. She personally orchestrated her children's found ational education, molding George's early moral compass through religious texts and strict maxims. Her rigorous ways nurtured the boy who would become the general of the American Revolution and the first President of the United States, earning her the highest praise a mother could receive wh...
