Archive for the ‘Research/Lectures’ Category

Mount Vernon’s 1797 edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica indicates that goldfish were first imported to England in 1691, but weren’t common there until 1728, when they were distributed around London by a man named Sir Matthew Dekker and eventually made their way across the country.

It appears George Washington was no stranger to the proliferation of the goldfish. On May 23, 1786, Josiah Parker, a naval officer and collector for the port of Portsmouth, wrote Washington to inform him that a few finned friends were en route:

“Captn[.] Nicholson has left with me a pair of Gold Fish which would have been sent to you before but feared to remove them dureing [sic] the Winter. I have now sent them to Genl[.] Weedons [sic] care; to whom I Sent [sic] a box from New York last winter for you …”

What makes us think at least one of these goldfish, an animal not known for being particularly hearty, may have survived the journey? A painting of the Washington bedchamber done by Alexandria artist John Gadsby Chapman circa 1834 portrayed a goldfish in a glass bowl atop Martha Washington’s desk. (This painting is not part of the Mount Vernon collection and is not the one portrayed above.) Although the depiction was made long after the Washingtons’ deaths, Chapman had interviewed a number of Martha Washington’s descendants who knew what had been in the room and owned pieces of furniture that had been there.

Estimated exportation dates vary for the American arrival of goldfish, which originally came from China, but the animal is not generally seen in American art until well into the 19th century. Although it originally seemed that Chapman’s goldfish could have been an anachronistic piece of artistic license, the little guy might just be one of the fish or a descendant of the fish that made an extremely long journey to meet the General.

Research for this article was conducted by Mount Vernon research historian Mary Thompson.

Every December Mount Vernon hosts its annual Evening for Educators, but it’s not every year that the evening is so exciting.

Area teachers are invited to attend our December 2 “Presidential Perspectives” program, which will include the nation’s first four presidents (yes, in-person as seen above) in a discussion hosted by journalist Cokie Roberts.

The presidents will explore their struggle to establish a nation as each traveled down the same road toward nationhood, but with very different ideas as to how to go about it in tow. The program, part of the “Fractured Union” series being created by Mount Vernon and the Fairfax Network, is set to air in February 2010.

In case you’re still not convinced, there will also be a cocktail reception and candlelight tours of the Mansion to follow.

The fun starts at 4:45 p.m. and lasts until 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 2. Due to filming, doors will close promptly at start time.

Reservations are required. To register email your name, phone number and school with “Evening for Educators” as the subject line to education@mountvernon.org. Seating is limited.

Update: Evening for Educators is now full. Thanks for your enthusiasm. If you would like to participate in the program, you can email and ask to be placed on the waitlist.

Beginning on April 24th, Mount Vernon’s Archaeology Dept. will begin an underwater archaeology project in the Potomac River next to Mount Vernon. We asked our Archaeology Director, Esther White, to give us the scoop for our GWW readers.

GWW: What are the boats doing?

EW: Mount Vernon is partnering with the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP), the Institute of Maritime History (IMH), the Maryland Historical Trust (Trust) and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) to conduct an archaeological survey of the Potomac River. The boats are using side scan sonar and a magnetometer to map the bottom of the river along Mount Vernon from Little Hunting Creek to the north, to Dogue Creek to the south.

GWW: What is side scan sonar? How about a magnetometer?

EW: The first is a sonar system used to map river or sea floors. The sonar detects objects protruding above the bottom. When stitched together these images provide a map of the river bed. By analyzing these maps nautical archaeologists can detect ship wrecks, wharves and other features under the water. A magnetometer measures magnetic fields to detect iron below the water.

GWW: What do they hope to find?

EW: The underwater survey is being done to see what’s there. IMH works to document and map stretches of the river and has chosen to partner with Mount Vernon to learn more about the waters around George Washington’s plantation. Shipwrecks are one thing the survey expects to document.

GWW: Any particular ship?

EW: The Federalist is one ship the crew would love to find. This boat was a gift from the merchants of Baltimore, MD in appreciation of Washington’s work with the Constitutional Convention. It was a fully rigged miniature ship, 15′ long, and was sailed to Mount Vernon by Joshua Barney, a Revolutionary War naval hero, in June 1788. George Washington recorded a hurricane in his diary on July 24, 1788. This severe storm succeeded in “driving the Miniature Ship Federalist from her Moorings, and sinking her.”

GWW: Will the underwater archaeologists scuba dive?

EW: If the archaeologists find anything of interest they might scuba dive to get a better look. This wouldn’t happen until later in the week.

GWW: What will happen to wrecks they find?

EW: Nothing immediately. The archaeologists will record the locations of the wrecks and other things they find. These archaeological sites will be registered with the Trust (Maryland controls the Potomac River) and the DHR (Virginia controls the mouths of the two creeks). In this way the archaeological sites will be preserved for the future.

Image by L. Toshio Kishiyama

Using George Washington’s personal journals and the Mount Vernon Ladies Association guest books, Mount Vernon’s historians are able to track the thousands of famous visitors that have visited Mount Vernon since the years when Washington himself would receive them at the door. Founding Fathers, such as Jefferson, Madison, and Patrick Henry, artists such as Jean Antoine Houdon and Charles Willson Peale, and even American lexicographer Noah Webster were amongst the hundreds of guests that the Washingtons would graciously welcome each year. In fact, much of what we know about Mount Vernon in the 1700′s is gleaned from the journals and letters of visitors who described everything from the music and food to the slaves and farms.

The American pilgrimage to Mount Vernon did not end at Washington’s death in 1799, however. Famous visitors have included the Roosevelts, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Brigham Young, Prince Charles, Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii, and Michelle Obama and her daughters. The Kennedys hosted a state dinner at Mount Vernon honoring the President of Pakistan in 1961. Countless celebrities from Barry Manilow to Harrison Ford have walked the same paths as Washington, all perhaps hoping to soak in a little bit of his greatness (admittedly, that’s just a guess). It’s clear that the hospitality of the Washingtons extends to Mount Vernon today, and the desire to see the home that Washington loved so dearly is still as strong as it was in the 18th century.