ruro church and fifth in that of Fairfax. He drew the plans for a
new church in Truro, and subscribed to its building, intending "to lay the
foundation of a family pew," but by a vote of the vestry it was decided
that there should be no private pews, and this breach of contract angered
Washington so greatly that he withdrew from the church in 1773. Sparks
quotes Madison to the effect that "there was a tradition that, when he
[Washington] belonged to the vestry of a church in his neighborhood, and
several little difficulties grew out of some division of the society, he
sometimes spoke with great force, animation, and eloquence on the topics
that came before them." After this withdrawal he bought a pew in Christ
Church in Alexandria (Fairfax parish), paying L36.10, which was the
largest price paid by any parishioner. To this church he was quite
liberal, subscribing several times towards repairs, etc.

The Rev. Lee Massey, who was rector at Pohick (Truro) Church before the
Revolution, is quoted by Bishop Meade as saying that

"I never knew so constant an attendant in church as Washington. And his
behavior in the house of God was ever so deeply reverential that it
produced the happiest effect on my congregation, and greatly assisted me
in my pulpit labors. No company ever withheld him from church. I have
often been at Mount Vernon on Sabbath morning, when his breakfast table
was filled with guests; but to him they furnished no pretext for
neglecting his God and losing the satisfaction of setting a good example.
For instead of staying at home, out of false complaisance to them, he used
constantly to invite them to accompany him."

This seems to have been written more with an eye to its influence on
others than to its strict accuracy. During the time Washington attended at
Pohick Church he was by no means a regular church-goer. His daily "where
and how my time is spent" enables us to know exactly how often he attended
church, and in the year 1760 he went just sixteen times, and in 1768 he
went fourteen, these years being fairly typical of the period 1760-1773.
During the Presidency a sense of duty made him attend St Paul's and Christ
churches while in New York and Philadelphia, but at Mount Vernon, when the
public eye was not upon him, he was no more regular than he had always
been, and in the last year of his life he wrote, "Six days do I labor, or,
in other words, take exercise and devote my time to various occupations