Martha Washington Star

Almost everything I know about George Washington is wrong. He didn’t really have wooden teeth. He certainly didn’t chop down a cherry tree and boldly say, “I cannot tell a lie.” He never threw a silver dollar across the Potomac. I know that today is his 279th birthday and that he was Martha Washington’s second husband. Her first husband was a wealthy man more than twice her age. When he died she became a rich young widow. Martha and George never had any children together, but he helped raise two of her four children. The other two died in childhood; a common occurrence then even in well-to-do families. Martha’s daughter and granddaughters were accomplished quilters. Some of their quilts survive as museum pieces. This Martha Washington Star is for them, for Martha, and for the first president of the United States.