r cousin Fielding
Lewis came seeking her hand in marriage. Lewis had come up from
Gloucester three years previously with his wife and son. Mrs. Lewis died
in 1749. Shortly thereafter, Fielding started courting young Betty. They
were married in 1750, the bride being given away by her brother George,
and for a time they lived on a plantation adjoining Ferry Farm. In 1752
Lewis bought 861 acres of land, adjacent to Fredericksburg, the survey
being made by George Washington, who had been appointed government
surveyor in 1748. On this land, with its fine view of the countryside,
Lewis built Kenmore (called Millbrook at the time) in accordance with a
promise he had made to his bride.

As time went on, Fielding Lewis became closely associated with the
political life of Virginia. He was a member of the House of Burgesses
for many years. He also served in the French and Indian War and was
Colonel of the Spotsylvania County Militia. It is said that the
resolution endorsing Patrick Henry in his resistance to the tyranny of
Governor Dunmore, passed by the Committee of 600 in the Rising Sun
Tavern in Fredericksburg, was written by him in the Great Room of his
home, Kenmore, a paper which for all intents and purposes was a
declaration of independence.

Colonel Lewis was best known for the part he played in the War of
Independence. In 1776 he became Chairman of the Virginia Committee of
Safety. Previously, in 1775, the Virginia Assembly had passed an
ordinance providing for a "Manufactory of Small Arms in Fredericksburg,
Virginia." Five commissioners were appointed to undertake this project,
but Colonel Lewis and Charles Dick were the only two who took an active
part in the work. They were allotted L2,500 with which to secure land,
buildings and equipment. Soon thereafter they were at work
manufacturing arms. The first L2,500 were quickly spent, and Lewis and
Dick were obliged to draw from their own funds to carry on. Lewis
advanced an additional L7,000 and borrowed L30,000 to L40,000 more.
Lewis also built a ship for the Virginia Navy, _The Dragon_, and
equipped three regiments. Kenmore was heavily mortgaged to meet the
costs of all these patriotic enterprises. When Lewis died in 1781,
little of the estate was left.

Thereafter, Betty Lewis tried conducting a small boarding school at
Kenmore, but again money had to be raised and piece after piece of the
land was sold to obtain it. Finally, in 1796, the mansion and its
contents we