Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

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Weems, Mason Locke 1760-1825

Historian; born in Dumfries, Va., about 1760; studied

Mason Locke Weems.

theology in London; was rector several years of Mount Vernon parish (Pohick Church) at the time Washington attended there, and was for a long while a successful travelling agent for the sale of books for Matthew Cary, of Philadelphia, travelling extensively in the Southern States. He was eccentric, and, at public gatherings, would address crowds upon the merits of his books, interspersing his remarks with stories and anecdotes. He would also play the violin at dances, and preach when occasion offered. Weems wrote a pamphlet entitled The drunkard's looking-glass, illustrated with rude wood-cuts. This pamphlet he sold wherever he travelled. He entered taverns, addressed the company usually assembled in such places, imitated the foolish acts of an intoxicated person, and then offered his pamphlets for sale. His mimicry of a drunken man was generally taken as good-natured fun. He wrote lives of Washington, William Penn, Dr. Franklin, and General Marion, and was also the author of several tracts. His Life of Washington passed through nearly forty editions. He died in Beaufort, S. C., May 23, 1825.