People saved things. What people saved to remember the american revolution, why they save them. What things grew out of that tradition. Im delighted to welcome our guest today it will talk about some themes that are very similar to what is an art exhibit. He comes from another museum that has a significant collection of George Washingtons items. It ties in very well to our collection. Im delighted to introduce the curator at tudor place to store historic home and gardens. Prior to coming to tudor place, he was the assistant curator of collections at the James Madison and worked for nearly nine years on the mansion interiors Initiative Team to research and furnish the Market Leader mansion following is architectural restoration. Prior to his arrival, he was the staff archaeologist at james monroe house on long island. He has a master of arts in anthropology with a concentration in historical archaeology from the university of south carolina. Please look at me grant uetermous. Grant q [applause] mr. Quetermous good afternoon. I want to thank heidi their and katie for the invitation to speak today. My talk directly relates to this exhibition as im focusing on how members of the peter family of tudor place commemorated the revolution and their familial connections to george and Marcia Martha washington. 30 objects that displayed at tudor place, the objects that comprise the washington collection. At the end of my talk, i will briefly discuss longtime tudor kace resident brittania innons memberships in the dar. I want to do highlight some of the ephemera and documents from our archives relating to hurt position as an Office Holder in the organization. Tudor place located in the georgetown neighborhood is the home of the peter family from 1805 until 1983. The house designed by William Thorton and featuring its iconic temple portico was completed in 1816. Yes, this year we celebrate our bicentennial which we are very happy about. The bicentennial of the completion of the house. Before i start discussing the objects found, i want to highlight the familys connection to george and Martha Washington. It is through Martha Custis peter. Martha and thomas were the original owners of tutor place. Martha was Martha Washingtons granddaughter, one of the 4 children of marthas son. Martha was a widow with two children when she married George Washington in january of 1759. 10 years before, martha married her first husband. Daniel park custis. Four children were born to the marriage with two dying at a young age into surviving. Daniel himself died in 1757, leaving martha a young widow. Her surviving children, her son jackie and a daughter martha notice patsy to the family were then adopted by George Washington and raised as his own. In the spring of 1773, 19yearold jackie announced his engagement to 15yearold eleanor talbot. They were married the following year, linking the custis family to the calvert of maryland. Jackie and eleanor had seven children, four of which survived. Martha who in 1776, i will focus on as the matriarch of the peter family, born in in 1777 given 1777. Room atas born in the mount vernon on december 31, 1777 and she is the only one of the four grandchildren to be born at mount vernon. Upon hearing news of her birth, George Washington wrote to his stepson jackie congratulating him on the birth of another daughter. Less than three years later Jackie Custis died in november , 1781 and the children were split. The two eldest remained with their mother eleanor while the two younger children went to mount vernon where they lived with their grandparents. Less than two years after jackies death, his widow eleanor remarried. Dr. David stewart, her new husband and marthas stepfather, was in alexandria physician and family friend of George Washingtons. Eleanor and dr. Stewart had an additional 13 children from their marriage. Although martha remained at the plantation, she was a frequent visitor to mount vernon. In 1785, Robert Edge Pine arrived at mount vernon, intending to paint a portrait of washington. The artist produced portraits of washington grandchildren, including this portrait of martha at about seven or eightyearsold. When martha was 16 she accompanies her step grandfather to the federal city for the ceremony ceremonial laying of the cornerstone of the capital building. On september 18, 1793. In a january 6, 1795, martha became first of Martha Washingtons grandchildren to marry when she wed thomas peter of georgetown. The wedding took place at ho park the Fairfax County , plantation where her mother and stepfather resided. Thomas peter was the eldest son of prominent maryland merchants , land owner and former mayor of georgetown robert peter. Robert peter had immigrated to america from scotland in 1746, eventually ending up in georgetown and working as an agent for john glass for it and company. After peter purchased glass for chair of the local tobacco trade and began buying large quantities of land. Both plots in georgetown and property in the surrounding counties that he later sold for substantial profits. Thomas peter was a successful businessman. And a large landowner in Montgomery County, maryland. At the time of marthas 1795 marriage, George Washington asked her what she might like as a wedding present. She replied she wanted a likeness of him. George presented her with this portrait. It was clearly a cherished memento depicting washington and his military uniform. I should note martha peter frequently wore this miniature even after washingtons death. In february 1812, Pheobe Morris wrote in a letter to her sister describing a ball she attended. There, she observed martha peter wearing two portrait miniatures as large as warming pans. One representing the general, the other of his lady. The portrait miniature of mrs. Washington that martha was wearing that evening was probably the 1772 portrait by Charles Wilson peel given peel. Was the warning of these miniatures a premier of devotion or was she making a statement as a proud federalist during the Madison Administration . During a time of the jeffersonian democrats for the party in power. As i will discuss momentarily, both thomas and martha peter were outspoken federalist and remained so even after the party fell out of favor. Regardless of her intent in wearing the miniatures the , robertson miniature of washington still retains its original red leather case and forms the foundation of the washington collection at tutor tudor place. Another significant object in the washington collection is this trunk that martha peter received around the time of her marriage. Sent from her grandmother containing parts of her wedding trousseau. Clothing and held so linens to be used in the new home. The leather trunk of this decorative brass tacks was made by Jesse Sharples of philadelphia and retains his label on the interior. After their marriage, thomas and martha made their home on k street. Thomass father had given the couple one of the town houses he construction near rock creek. Marthas younger sister wrote a friend in october 1795, stating martha expects a little one in a few months. She is now settled in the federal city most charmingly. She is perfectly happy. It was at the k street house the thomas and martha posted George Washington as a frequent overnight guest. An retired president took active interest in the new federal city, frequent the crossing the potomac they gauge the process of the building projects and staying with thomas and martha peter during his visits. Washingtons diary includes multiple Interest Rate he stayed with thomas and martha peter, who were frequent visitors to mount vernon and their names appear as dinner guests in washingtons diary. Martha peter last saw George Washington in late november 1799 when he lodged at their home about a month before his death. Martha was pregnant at the time. About the give birth to her son john park custis peter. Later in life, her daughter noted that martha sat on the steps and watch of the general now his horse and right away. Ride away. It was the last time she saw him when he died in december of 1799. Martha was not able to attend washingtons funeral. Her husband thomas attended to represent the family. Upon the terms of George Washingtons will, martha received 1 23 of his residual inheritance. It was valued at 8,000. Following George Washingtons death, the entire country went into a period of national mourning. There were parades, eulogies, tributes delivered in towns and cities from massachusetts to georgia. Also, engravings like this one pictured here were popular. People thought to memorialize the late president. On a more personal level, the lid of washington burned all the correspondence between she and her husband, wishing that part of their lives to remain high private. Martha washington only survived her husband by two years. She died in may of 1802. Among request was the gift of the family members was a gifted to objects to granddaughter martha peter. First an engraving of washington that formally hung in the passage of mount vernon and her writing table. The engraving of washington was sent to mount vernon in 1797 and based on one of his portraits of washington. Upon its arrival george and , martha hung it in the passage at mount vernon. Upon the completion of tudor place in 1816, the peter family placed the print on the west side of the drawing room. It has remained there for the past two centuries. The writing table made by a it was one of the pieces of french furniture George Washington purchased in new york city in 1790. The table was taken to the table was then taken to philadelphia. Then it came back to mount vernon where it was used by martha until her death. Here it is in the tudor place parlor about 1900. It too was at tutor place until 1911. It remained in the peter family and in 1939, returned to mount vernon. Might not seem overly important today but in an age where people were writing hundreds if not thousands of letters per year, this would have been a piece at which Martha Washington spent a great deal of time. Found within and behind a drawer were two letters from george to Martha Washington. This is significant because as i noted, martha burned all their correspondence following georges death. So did she save these letters because of their content or were they inadvertently omitted from the flames . Unfortunately, we do not know but one of those letters remains in our collection at tutor place while the second is now back at mount vernon. These are the only two letters that survive from george to Martha Washington with the exception of a short note discovered since they were found. The tutor place letter is especially significant dating to june of 1775 because it is the one in which washington writes to them either from philadelphia informing her he has been given command of the continental army. It is unknown when the peter family discovered the letters and the writing table but it didnt occur until because 1828 martha recounted the story of its discovery to jared sparks, the historian visiting tutor place to compile material. Aside from these specific bequests, like the engraving, the balance of Martha Washingtons estate were to be sold for money used to benefit the education of her nephews. Thomas peter, along with martha nephews and grandson or named executors of the estate. As an executor, thomas peter made a record of the sale, which survives today in the tutor place archives. Thomas and martha attended that july 1802 sale at mount vernon, purchasing 800 worth of its goods ranging from furniture and table wares to artwork and livestock. The cows they purchased there. Among the easily identifiable items on the list are a halfdozen stools. Also, a pair of wall brackets. Presumed to be those washington purchased in 1790 one from James Reynolds in philadelphia. Also in our collection, a hanging griddle, which are according to peter Family Tradition was used to make the , hotcakes of George Washington enjoyed. The list of Historical Documents is fascinating. Some items can easily be identified while others have such generalized description that is impossible to establish its exact identity. Arecially intriguing several lost sundries, including here that cost 29. One this a price comparable to what thomas and martha paid for the english chest from the washingtons bedchamber. The items purchased at the sale were used at the home until 1800 1805 when thomas and martha peter purchased tutor place. At the time they purchase the property, the house looked much different than it does now. Thomas, martha, and their children resided in the west wing and soon began talking to dr. William thorton about designing a house to be the centerpiece of their property. The house was completed in 1816 and would serve as the home for subsequent generations of the peter family until 1983. He mount vernon object thomas and martha acquired can be found within tutor place. The prince decorated the walls, the china used at the table, and the furniture was found throughout the house. For the almost 200 years the family lived at tutor place, they lived among these washington objects. When josiah quincy, the federalist politician in massachusetts, visited in 1813, he was presented with George Washingtons gorgeous gorge it. The copper gorge it is one that is visible and Charles Wilsons 1772 portrait depicting washington in his uniform of a colonel in the virginia regiment. Martha noted she had received it upon washingtons death in 1799 and mr. Quincy honored to receive such a gift asked marthas approval to present it to the Washington Society in boston in her honor. After the society ceased to exist, it came back and do his and to his ownership and can now be found in the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society representing one of the few washington objects that left the peter family in the 19 th century. Remember i mentioned thomas and martha peter were federalists. They named their three daughters columbia washington, america pinckney, and brittania wellington. When harvard professor George Ticknor visited tutor place, he noted that bidders were of the boston stamp in politics, an allusion to their political affiliation as federalists. Thomas peter died in 1834 and for the next 20 years, martha was the owner of tutor place. Though the house was typically home to multiple generations of families. 1842, when marthas daughter america died in buffalo, her husband sent their children to tutor place to be raised by their grandmother. Similarly, marthas daughter brittania returned to tutor place with her sixmonthold daughter in february of 1844. And brittania is one of the most fascinating characters in the tutor place story, born in the winter of 1815, just months after the british burned washington. She was a young girl of nine years old in she vividly 1824. Recounted that occasion for the rest of her life. Captain. She met a navy naval was a decorated officer and had an impressive family lineage. They were married in the tutor place drawing room the following year. On february 28, 1844, Commodore Kenyon and a number of other prominent cabinet members were aboard the uss princeton to see a demonstration of the ships peacemaker. The gun exploded, killing six. Commodore canon, the secretary of state, and the secretary of the navy were among the victims. Brittania was aboard the ship that day when her husband was killed. She along with a number of other ladies and dignitaries were below deck when the gun exploded. They were spared when the gun exploded. So at 29yearsold, brittania buried her husband and returned to her mothers house accompanied by her sixmonthold daughter and for the next 67 years, she would reside at tudor place helping to raise additional generations of the peter family. This shows brittanias mother about 70yearsold with her daughter and you can see martha is holding that portrait miniature of George Washington in her hands, the same one she received as a gift upon her marriage and that is what i love about this photo. Martha peter is the link that ties together five generations of the family. This is the only other image of martha peter besides that portrait painted when she was 7yearsold. Martha would live until 1854 and in her will, she bequeathed her tutor place to brittania. George washington peter was the owner of a large estate in Montgomery County and received a substantial inheritance upon the death of his father but as a widow with a young daughter, brittanias future would be uncertain without property of her own. She received instructions to sell the northernmost portion of the property that bounded our road street and to use the funds generated to provide for the orphan daughters of her deceased sister america. Brittania state at the house, even turning the house into a boarding house to prevent the house from being seized and turned into a hospital. Her ownership continued well into the first decade of the 20th century and i like to call her the first curator on tutor place. After the civil war, the house returned to its role as a private home. By this time, markey had grown into a young woman. The following year, she married