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247:'s piece about Alexandria, Virginia, including a section about the Female Stranger. This telling includes a doctor sworn to secrecy, two French maids, and a reclusive English husband who would not allow anyone to see his wife's face or attend her funeral. The author touches on how Alexandria was a wealthy trading port at the time, and it would not be odd for foreign diplomats to land there. In addition, perhaps the wife had another jealous lover, or she was a famous American such as Theodosia Burr Alston.
256:(which was later published nationally) that while the legend is well spread, it has only helped to further tangle the story and add to the confusion. The author's version of the story was that a noble couple, seemingly English, arrived by ship with a valet. The wife was a voluptuous blonde with large eyes and a small mouth. She became ill in Alexandria while the couple lived at the "leading hotel" at the time.
319:, due to the image on the establishment's sign). The man, assumed to be the husband, found the best room at the tavern and sent for the doctor. The doctor was sworn to secrecy, and the woman's face remained covered. Two women staying at the hotel were also sworn to secrecy and helped to nurse the sick woman.
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The grave is the resting place of an unnamed individual who died in 1816 and was elevated to national intrigue by the mysterious headstone and romanticized tale. Accounts of the stranger increase in oddity over time and help to incite further speculation as to the identity of the person buried in the
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Seymour's sources are not explicitly named. She implies that she took interest in the cemetery first and then began to ask questions about the interesting gravesite. This pattern of discovery closely mirrors her earlier poem. Furthermore, Seymour speculates that the tombstone inscription was written
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In
Seymour's account, the Stranger had been a young, foreign woman with a tearful face and a pale complexion. The woman also seemed ill and troubled. The Stranger's male companion appeared inauthentic to the locals as her husband. True to form, the man quickly left after the Stranger was buried. The
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The husband, valet, and doctor were the only ones to see her during the illness. She died in her husband's arms locked in a kiss. Further, only the husband and the valet were present at the burial. The husband left by ship, and was later reported to have been seen in New
Orleans. He is rumored to
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The husband alone witnessed the death, prepared the body for burial, and sealed the coffin. He disappeared but returned every fall to put flowers on the grave. At some point, the grave fell into disrepair and three elderly people appeared at the site. When questioned by the church sexton, they
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writer states that the woman who arrived was indeed a beautiful woman of a pale complexion and further elaborates on her grace and the admiration of those around her. The author adds that the man's surname was "Clermont," and that after his sudden departure, it was revealed that the $ 1,500 in
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reported that two elderly people visited the grave and told church superintendent Webb that the female stranger was a "connection" of theirs, an
English noblewoman who ran away with a British officer for love. They also said that they would visit again with more details, but never returned.
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en route from
Halifax, Nova Scotia, to the West Indies diverting her course for the Potomac River and letting off a small lifeboat carrying a man and a woman. A sick woman covered in a black veil was lifted out of the boat and carried to "Bunch-of-Grapes Tavern" (a misnomer for
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The most modern retelling of the story is recorded perhaps as early as 1913, and is quite elaborate given that it was published nearly one hundred years after the
Stranger had died. A large spread, including a dramatic illustration, was featured in the
500:"Grave of the ‘Female Stranger’" Originally from Ladies' Home Journal, Volume 30. January 1913. Republished in the Alexandria Gazette on August 29,1913; appearing on pages 1 and 4. Accessed from GenealogyBank May 17th, 2022.
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rather boldly published in
January 1893, that the grave was Theodosia Burr Alston's and that her husband, Governor Alston (misspelled as Ashton), was seen visiting the grave approximately seventy years prior to the article.
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Lawrence Hill was indeed a businessman living in
Alexandria at the time. He sold his house in Alexandria in 1830, and moved to New York. He died of cholera in New York in the spring of 1849.
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Many subsequent accounts have included all or most of these elements. There is also an addition of two local women, also sworn to secrecy, helping the
Stranger during her illness.
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English currency he had used to pay his bills was counterfeit. Lawrence Hill, one of the men to whom the money was owed, purportedly confronted
Clermont sometime later at
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The story has sparked conjecture that has continued for more than two centuries. In addition to various articles and reports, there have also been novels including
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Another account stipulated that the woman was indeed
Theodosia Burr Alston and the supposed husband was a pirate. Another theory suggests that the woman was
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These accounts are detailed in many urban legends from the 21st century with relatively few changes from the original details written in 1913.
334:, who may have been forced to marry a British naval officer. However, the unknown author further acknowledges that this is "pure speculation."
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who was lost at sea. However, this idea seems contrived and the dates given for Theodosia and the Stranger are not consistent.
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have returned to Alexandria in the dead of night with a crew of seamen and exhumed the body, taking it with him.
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475:"The Grave of Theodosia Burr. ‘A Female Stranger’" Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) Monday, January 16, 1893.
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In the 1890s, the concept of the couple being star-crossed lovers was first introduced. In May 1898, the
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revealed that they were relatives of the woman, and that she had married a British officer.
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The earliest appeal to the national audience was in 1836 when columnist "Lucy Seymour" of
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published a response to an article about the Female Stranger written in the
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in a manner "strangely calculated to awaken interest and elicit sympathy."
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is a famous historical oddity, local landmark and visitor's attraction in
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Since the 1880s, there has been speculation that the woman may have been
516:. American legends. Charleston, SC: The History Press. pp. 95–97.
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only person that the Stranger confided in was a local pastor.
185:. Lucy Seymour was the pen name of Susan Rigby Dallam Morgan.
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Historical oddity in Alexandra, Virginia, US (1793–1816)
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grave. The reported location of the woman's death, Room 8 at
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National Register of Historic Places in Alexandria, Virginia
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The second to last stanza was intended to be taken from
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By 1887, Col. Fred D Massey of Alexandria wrote to the
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491:(Washington DC) Thursday, June 2, 1898, p. 11.
86:This stone is placed here by her disconsolate
582:Unidentified decedents in the United States
577:Tourist attractions in Alexandria, Virginia
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106:Tis all thou art and all the proud shall be
60:(1883) by William Francis Carne, author of
136:Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady
174:published his wife's poems posthumously.
100:How loved how valued once avails thee not
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88:Husband in whose arms she sighed out her
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310:for January 1913. It tells of the brig
115:through his name whosoever believeth in
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95:did his utmost even to soothe the cold
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587:Unsolved deaths in the United States
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104:A heap of dust alone remains of thee
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143:though there are some differences.
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183:The Philadelphia Saturday Courier
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62:George Washington's Boyhood
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510:Mills, Charles A. (2021).
83:Aged 23 years and 8 months
39:St Paul's Episcopal Church
164:Susan Rigby Dallam Morgan
181:recorded the account in
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126:. 10th Chap. 43rd verse.
58:Narrative of John Trust
485:"Affairs in Alexandria"
387:"The Female Stranger".
347:List of unsolved deaths
276:Washington Evening Star
237:In September 1886, the
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170:when her husband Rev.
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450:"Old Virginia Town".
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456:. September 4, 1886.
437:Alexandria, Virginia
416:Alexandria, Virginia
395:Alexandria, Virginia
374:Alexandria, Virginia
307:Ladies' Home Journal
297:Alexandria, Virginia
109:To him gave all the
43:Alexandria, Virginia
429:"News of the Day".
397:. December 3, 1836.
35:St. Paul's Cemetery
432:Alexandria Gazette
418:. August 14, 1848.
411:Alexandria Gazette
408:"A Reminiscence".
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369:Alexandria Gazette
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366:"Poetry".
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