A Georgetown life : the reminiscences of Britannia Wellington Peter Kennon of Tudor Place /
Britannia Kenyon (1815-1911) was a great-granddaughter of Martha Washington and owner of Tudor Place from 1854 until her death in 1911. Starting around 1890 her grandchildren began prompting Britannia to describe her childhood in Georgetown, her memories of Tudor Place during the Civil War, and reco...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Washington, D.C. :
Georgetown University Press,
[2020]
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | Britannia Kenyon (1815-1911) was a great-granddaughter of Martha Washington and owner of Tudor Place from 1854 until her death in 1911. Starting around 1890 her grandchildren began prompting Britannia to describe her childhood in Georgetown, her memories of Tudor Place during the Civil War, and recollections of George and Martha Washington and Mount Vernon that had been told to her by her mother, Martha Custis Peter (1777-1854). The grandchildren carefully wrote the information down exactly as Britannia recounted it, sometimes on scraps of available paper, and then carefully recopied the information in legible form. These memories and anecdotes form the manuscript compilation known as The Reminiscences of Britannia W. Kennon. The document, which has never been published before, is a significant primary resource containing eyewitness accounts from someone who lived in Georgetown for nearly 96 years and interacted with a number of significant historical figures. The political and social prominence of the Peter family in Georgetown and greater Washington ensured that Britannia met Presidents of the United States, and dignitaries such as Lafayette, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton and Daniel Webster. Of equal importance is the information Britannia conveys about slaves at Tudor Place. Recalling many of the individuals by name, Britannia describes both Custis dower slaves inherited by her mother following Martha Washington's 1802 death, as well as former Tudor Place slaves who continued to live in Georgetown following the emancipation of slavery and were still residing there in the 1890s when she began to recount her memories of them to her grandchildren. Britannia married Commodore Beverley Kennon, commandant of the Washington Navy Yard. Widowed after only sixteen months of marriage following Commodore Kennon's death aboard the U.S.S. Princeton in February 1844, Britannia returned to Tudor Place with her four-month old daughter Martha and remained for the next sixty-seven years. During that time, she raised two generations of the Peter family and preserved Tudor Place and the significant collection of objects found within the house. The family's collection included pieces her parents acquired at Mount Vernon after Martha Washington's death. Following the publication of an article about Britannia and her collection in Century Magazine, she became a sort of celebrity as the only living great-granddaughter of Martha Washington. In the midst of the wave of nostalgia accompanying the Centennial of 1876, Britannia W. Kennon became a living link to the colonial past as someone who lived with a household of possessions formerly used at Mount Vernon by George and Martha Washington. Once published, The Reminiscences will become a valuable primary source document for researchers and historians of 19th century American history. The edition of The Reminiscences as outlined in this proposal would be an exact transcription of the original copy in the hand of Armistead Peter Jr. It would be checked against the notes taken while Britannia was telling her stories as well as a later typescript version also compiled by Mr. Peter. The published edition also will include annotations with details about the people, places, and events noted by Britannia in the narrative. A biographical essay of author Britannia Kennon would provide an introduction to The Reminiscences and help to contextualize her within the world in which she lived for the first fifty years of her life, as a slave-owning woman of the antebellum south. A second essay describes the creation of The Reminiscences, including the efforts of Britannia's grandchildren to record her stories and memories and Britannia's other endeavors to preserve the family's history and collection"-- |
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| Physical Description: | xi, 250 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 21 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781647120412 1647120411 |