Maria Margueretta DeRieux

She was the daughter of Marie "Petronille" (Hautefeuille) Martin and her first husband, Joseph Martin (sometimes spelled "Martini"), of London. Marie's second husband, step-father to Maria, was Philip Mazzei, a close friend and confidante of Thomas Jefferson.

Maria spent her teenage years growing up on Mazzei's estate "Colle" in Albemarle County, near Monticello. She married Justin Pierre Plumard, Comte de Rieux, in Paris in 1780. They came to Virginia in 1783, by way of South Carolina, and settled at "Colle" for a time. Evidently unsuccessful at farming, Derieux and Maria ultimately made their home in Prince Edward County and found employment at teaching languages and music to the school-aged children of Virginia planter families.

The names and dates of birth of the eleven children of Justin and Maria Derieux are recorded in their family Bible, now in the manuscripts collection at the Virginia Historical Society.

A Richmond newspaper death notice for Mrs. Maria M. Derieux observed, "Died--yesterday (at the residence of her son-in-law, Mr. John A. Lancaster), after a short but painful illness, Mrs. Maria M. Derieux. This lady was greatly admired by those who had the pleasure of her acquaintance, for her extensive literary acquirements. She resigned her soul to her God, with that exemplary Christian fortitude and resignation, which marks the demise of one who obeyed through life His Holy Law."

Although a recent (2015) visit to St. John's failed to discover her gravestone, a memoir published by Maria's great-grandson Edwin R. Lancaster, "Our French Ancestors and How They Came to Virginia" (1917), states: "Mrs. Derieux died in Richmond Dec. 13, 1826, aged 65, and was buried in St. John's Churchyard." Her bones may rest beneath one of the many gravestones which have been worn smooth with age.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Aug 4 2018, 15:24:34 UTC

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Maria Margueretta Martin DeRieux
BIRTH 17 May 1762
Greater London, England
DEATH 13 Dec 1826 (aged 64)
Richmond City, Virginia, USA
BURIAL
Saint John's Episcopal Churchyard
Richmond, Richmond City, Virginia

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/132012872/maria-margueretta-der...