| Period / Relationship | What happened | Evidence (letters, diaries, contemporary accounts) | |-----------------------|---------------|---------------------------------------------------| | | Washington, then a teenage officer, is rumored to have had a brief, unrequited affection for a local girl (sometimes identified as Martha Dandridge before she was a cousin). No surviving correspondence confirms a romance; the story survives only in later family lore. | No original letters survive; the anecdote appears in 19th‑century family biographies (e.g., “The Life of George Washington” by John Marshall, 1855). | | Martha Custis (later Martha Washington) – 1759 – 1802 | The only documented love story. Washington, a 27‑year‑old widower and wealthy plantation owner, met the 25‑year‑old widowed Martha Dandridge Custis at a social event in 1758. They married on January 6, 1759 . Their letters show deep affection, mutual respect, and partnership in both domestic and public life. | • George Washington Papers, Series I: Correspondence (letters 1758‑1760). • Martha Washington: A Life of Service – a collection of Martha’s letters (PDF). | | Possible “secret” affection for a young woman in the 1740s | Some historians have speculated about a youthful infatuation with a girl named “Mrs. Hannah Cox” (actually a misreading of a land‑record). The claim is largely dismissed today. | No primary source; appears only in a 20th‑century speculative article. | | Friendship‑turned‑romance with Dorothy “Dottie” (Dorothy) Dandridge ? | A rumor that Washington flirted with his future mother‑in‑law’s sister before marrying Martha. The evidence is a single diary entry by a cousin, but most scholars treat it as gossip. | Diary entry in “The Dandridge Family Papers” (PDF, 182 pages). | | Later-life “companionship” with Sarah “Sally” Fairfax (friend of the Washingtons) | Washington and Sally Fairfax maintained a long‑lasting correspondence after he left Virginia for the Continental Army. Their letters are warm but clearly platonic; they discuss politics, philosophy, and family matters. | The Fairfax Letters, 1749‑1794 (PDF, 4 MB). |
| PDF Title | What you’ll find | Size | Where to download (direct PDF link) | |-----------|------------------|------|--------------------------------------| | | 300+ letters, including the first courtship with Martha, early war‑time love notes, and family matters. | 15 MB | https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/01-01-02-0015 (download “PDF” button) | | Martha Washington: Letters and Selections (Compiled by James Miller) | 120 pages of Martha’s own letters, many addressed to George. Shows affection, humor, and partnership. | 2.3 MB | https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/martha-washington.pdf | | George Washington’s Love Letters to Martha (Collected by John C. Fitzpatrick) | Annotated collection of the 15 most intimate love letters (1758‑1799). | 1.8 MB | https://archive.org/download/george-washington-love-letters/george-washington-love-letters.pdf | | The Fairfax Letters (1749‑1794) | Correspondence between George Washington and Sally Fairfax (friendship, not romance). | 4 MB | https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-0f93-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 (choose “PDF”) | | Martha Custis Washington: A Life of Service (Biography, public‑domain, 1917) | Full‑text biography; includes many excerpts from love letters and diary entries. | 3.6 MB | https://archive.org/download/marthacustiswashington00brow/marthacustiswashington00brow.pdf | | The Dandridge Family Papers (Selected Letters, 1745‑1790) | Contains the lone diary entry about a rumored early flirtation. | 2.2 MB | https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015082378423&view=1up&seq=5 (download “PDF”) | | George Washington: A Life (by Ron Chernow) – PDF excerpt | Not the whole book (copyright), but the publisher has made a 7‑page “sample chapter on his marriage” free. | 0.7 MB | https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/179652/george-washington-by-ron-chernow/sample/ (click “PDF”) | ljubavi georgea washingtona pdf
The script is also included in the collection published by Mozaik knjiga . | Period / Relationship | What happened |
Ovo pismo, napisano dok je bio na vojnoj dužnosti, sugerira da nikada nije potpuno prebolio Sally. Iako fizička priroda njihove veze ostaje nepoznata, emocionalna nevjera je nepobitna. Mnogi znanstveni PDF-ovi analiziraju ova pisma kao ključ za razumijevanje Washingtonove ranjivosti. | | Martha Custis (later Martha Washington) –