Salona, Fairfax County, VirginiaAnderson, Ellen L.
History
Salona, Fairfax County, Virginia
Anderson, Ellen L.
Salona (McLean, Va.)
William and Harriotte had two daughters, both christened in the
Presbyterian Meeting House: Ann Lee, born March 23, 1804, and
christened on April 20, and Harriotte, born March 16, 1805, and
christened on April 17, 1805.[47] Harriotte died right after the
birth of the second daughter, probably on April 11 or 12, 1805,
because on April 12, Maffitt began paying rent to the three
Turberville heirs for the use of their property. This was recorded
for the first time in his accounts for 1805.[48]
That he had a school on the Chantilly estate seems highly probable,
because starting in 1805, he charged the two Turberville boys for
board and tuition, but not for transportation.[49] In 1805, Maffitt
was listed for the first time on the Fairfax County personal property
tax rolls.[50] In 1810, the county census listed him as having under
his roof two males under 10, five males between 10 and 16, one male
between 26 and 45, five females under 10, and one female between 26
and 45.[51]
The guardian accounts give some interesting insights into day-by-day
activities. Buying new shoes and mending old ones for the two boys
were constant expenses. Regular sums of money were sent to Mrs. Lee,
Harriotte's sister Sally, to pay for Cornelia Turberville's board,
education, and small purchases. Books and supplies were bought for
the boys. A large portion of the estate was rented out, and so were
some of the slaves. The chimney and cellar were repaired; a new barn
was built.[52]
The accounts also show that Cornelia Turberville was married to
Charles C. Stuart in 1817, rather than 1814, as some sources report.
Up to the time of the marriage, Maffitt referred to Cornelia as "C.
Turberville"; afterwards he formally termed her "Mistress Stuart." He
also listed money given George Turberville to buy articles to attend
his sister's wedding.[53] Historians credit Cornelia and her husband
with building a house named "Chantilly" in honor of the estate of her
grandfather, Richard Henry Lee, in Westmoreland County.[54] Yet the
Maffitt accounts specifically refer to "my rent of Chantilly" in
1814,[55] three years before the Turberville-Stuart marriage.
Moreover, a public sale was held "at Chantilly" in 1817,[56] with
cash paid to C. C. Stuart from its proceeds.[57]
Curiously, the accounts show that Maffitt continued to pay rent to
the Turberville heirs through 1814, the year when, for the first
time, we definitely know he was living at Salona. Does this mean that
Maffitt himself built Salona between 1812, when he purchased the
property, and 1814, or that the house already existed and was rented
to a tenant through the first part of 1814? That Maffitt was there in
August 1814 is proven by the documented fact that President Madison
stayed at Salona overnight with Mr. Maffitt.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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