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However,
the effects of the international turmoil
centered in Afghanistan are also felt by residents of the Valley because
of the activity surrounding Camp David. Since colonial times, when iron
furnaces made the Catoctin area important to national growth, presidents
have traveled throughout Western Maryland.
In
the 1790s, President George Washington visited Fredericktown and spoke to
the residents after the Revolutionary War. President Washington thanked
the citizens and said, "I am about to leave your good land, your
beautiful valleys, your refreshing streams and the blue hills of Maryland
which stretch out before me…When in the darkest hours of the Revolution,
of doubt and gloom, the succor and support I received from the people of
Frederick County always cheered me." |
At
the time of President Washington’s visit, Elizabeth Ann Bayley was still
living in New York. The young socialite enjoyed the benefits of her father’s
position in Manhattan. Her marriage to William Magee Seton occurred during
the prosperous first years of the New Republic. The joys of Elizabeth Ann’s
early life were accompanied by years of stress, loss of close family
members, and the illness of her own father who had added the care of the
poor sick immigrants to his medical practice.
Biographical
studies of the saint during the early years of her marriage
reveal her trust and confidence in God. She was able to
share her gifts of confidence and faith with friends and
family as her situation became more difficult.
Continued
on page 2
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