On Sundays the family probably attended church at Upper St. Stephen's Parish[8], where Captain Hewes had been one of the vestrymen. There may have been some sort of a road from the plantation to the church over which a coach could be pulled, but if so it certainly did not travel at the lively speed of King Carter's! More than likely they rode there on horseback--little Mary sitting up in front of some older person. She doubtless learned to ride at an early age. [Footnote 8: NOTE: This church is said to have been located near the present village of Lottsburg.] Mary probably valued the feather bed left her by her father far more than she did the legacy of land. She had never even seen the land, but every night she could sink into the warmth and softness of the feather bed. Mary's childhood days at Cherry Point ended in 1721. The child's half-brother, John Johnson, and her mother both died in that year. Mary Ball was now an orphan, but her mother had planned it so that she would not be alone in the world. Mary Hewes had stipulated in her will that--"my said Daughter Mary Ball--be under Tutiledge and government of Captain George Eskridge during her minority." Colonel Eskridge was also named as executor of Mary's estate. She had received almost the whole of her mother's estate, consisting of lands, two horses and personal property. And she had received all of her half-brother's estate, consisting of land in Stafford County. Mary Hewes had chosen wisely in selecting her "trusty and well beloved friend George Eskridge" as guardian of her youngest child. Colonel Eskridge was not only a lawyer of distinction, an experienced business man, a leading man in his community, but he was also a gentleman. And Colonel Eskridge was "connected by marriage" with Mary Ball's half-sister Elizabeth Johnson who had married Samuel Bonum. Mary was therefore equally welcome to make her home at her guardian's plantation or at the farm of the Bonum's. [Illustration: _Mary Ball at Yeocomico Church._] _SANDY POINT_ Both the Bonums and the Eskridges lived in lower Westmoreland County, just across the Yeocomico River from Cherry Point. Colonel Eskridge's plantation, Sandy Point, was directly on the Potomac. Its name gave but a vague idea of the beauty of the beach and the sweep of river beyond. There was a feeling here of space. It was a place of restless sounds, made by the wind and waves. It was quite different here from the quieter waters and forest walls that Mary Ball had known. Bonum's Creek Farm, the home of Mary's half-sister, Elizabeth, was east of Bonum's Creek. The "home-place" was situated on the bank of the Potomac, in sight of Pecatone, the manor home of the Corbin family.