Elizabeth "Betsy" Adams

Betsy Fauntleroy, daughter of William Fauntleroy b: ABT 1713 in , Richmond Co., Virginia, & Elizabeth his wife, was born 26 Jun 1736 in , Richmond Co., Virginia and died in 1792. She married 1) Bowler Cocke 2) Thomas Adams.

She refused her hand to General George Washington.

From page 36 of Washington: The Man and the Mason. By Charles Hilliard Callahan

Betsy Fauntleroy was a veritable “Lowland Beauty,” residing at Naylor’s Hold, on the Rappahannock, about fifteen miles from Wakefield. She was the only daughter of William Fauntleroy and was born June 26, 1736. As the letter of George Washington was written just after his return from the Barbadoes, March 4, 17 52, and speaks of not having been able to visit the F auntleroys on account of illness, he must have received his “cruel sentence” from Miss Betsy before the voyage (September, 1751), which would make him nineteen years of age and the young lady sixteen. There can be little doubt, then, since the discovery of this letter, of the identity of the famous “ Lowland Beauty,” around whom has gathered the most impenetrable mystery and the deepest sentimental interest for more than a century and a half. That he survived this incipient, boyish passion and lived happily with his future wife for nearly half a century, constantly writing and speaking of her in the most endearing terms, is convincing

proof that many of the stories woven around the precocious hero's youth were flights of fancy and ridiculous exaggerations.

• http://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I02245... ! (1) "The Fauntleroy Family," by Robert H Fauntleroy (Washington DC, 1952) p.25, 76. Cites: (a) Mary Emily Fauntleroy (1858-1952). (b) Col. Powell C. Fauntleroy (1869-1933). (c) "Col. Moore Fauntleroy, his Ancestors and Descendants," by Juliet Fauntleroy (Altavista, VA). (d) "Early Fauntleroy Homes and Lands," by Juliet Fauntleroy (Altavista, VA). (e) Letter from George Washington dtd 20 May 1752 published in the "Alexandria Gazette" by Gen. Fitzhugh Lee. (f) Alfred Bagby Jr., "The Daily Record," Baltimore, MD, rpt. "Northern Neck News," 14 Jun 1929.

! Birth: (1) d/o Col. William FAUNTLEROY/Elizabeth. 26 Jun 1736. Marriage to Bowler COCKE: (1)

 Marriage to Thomas ADAMS: (1) "It is said that he was a suitor of Betsy FAUNTLEROY prior to her first marriage and was rejected. In 1762 he went to England. He returned after the death of Bowler COCKE, renewed his suit, and they were married."

 Death: (1) 1792.

(1f) George WASHINGTON visited Elizabeth FAUNTLEROY at her home near Naylor's Wharf on the Rappahannock River and called her the "Lowland Beauty."
(1e) 1752, 20 May: George WASHINGTON wrote to her father Col. William FAUNTLEROY. "Sir: I should have been down long before this, but my business in Frederick detained me somewhat longer than I expected and immediately upon my return from thence, I was taken with a violent pleurice which has reduced me very loe; but purpose, as soon as I recover my strength, to wait on Miss Betsy in hopes of revocation of the former cruel sentence, and see if I can meet with any alteration in my favor. I have enclosed a letter to her, which should be much obligated to you for the delivery of it. I have nothing to add by my best respects to your good lady and family." Signed George WASHINGTON.
(1) Her portrait hands in the George Washington Masonic Memorial, Alexandria, VA.
Sources:

1. "Old Churches, Ministers, and Families of Virginia," Bishop William Meade, 1857, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1966

• Reference: RootsWeb's WorldConnect - SmartCopy: Nov 1 2016, 4:05:09 UTC
• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Nov 1 2016, 4:35:51 UTC

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Anecdotal family history: She married Colonel Cocke instead of George Washington. Cousin Shelton Hardaway Short III had a letter George Washington wrote to her father regarding marriage.

She is my 7th great grandmother.

From News and Observer, Raleigh, NC newspaper December 27, 1962 -

University Receives Washington Letter

The University of Virginia Wednesday received a letter, valued at $5,000, which pictured a young George Washington as the suitor of a teenaged girl who rejected him twice.

Clem D. Johnson of Roanoke presented the letter to the University's library collection of historical manuscripts. It was written in 1752 when Washington, at the age of 20, imagined himself in love with the Richmond County girl.

Historian Douglas Southall Freeman said the letter apparently was written after the lad who was to become the father of our country had been repulsed in his first attack to gain the heart of Betsy Fauntleroy of Naylor's Hole, then came down with pleurisy. Young Washington in writing to the girl's father said,

"Sir, I should have been down long before this, but my business in Frederick detained me somewhat longer than I expected, and immediately on my return from thence, I was taken with a violent pleurisy which has reduced me very low, but purpose as soon as I recover my strength, to wait on Miss Betsy, in hopes of a revocation of the former cruel sentence, and see if I can meet with any alteration in my favor.

I have enclosed a letter to her which should be much obliged to you for the delivery of it. It (sic) have nothing to add but my best respects to your good lady and family."