The Grave of the Female stranger legend is one of Alexandria, VA's oldest local tales. The basic story is that in 1816 a couple arrived at the Alexandria city Tavern also known as Gadsby's. They looked in all appearance to be a married couple traveling. Soon after their arrival the woman became very ill. The husband becoming more anxious as his wife's condition worsened kept her secluded from all and is said to have even threatened the doctor and nurses that attended his wife making them swear to secrecy at gunpoint. A few days later the woman died. She was quickly buried by her companion anonymously in St. Pauls Cemetery not quite a mile away from the tavern. A beautiful marble table top monument was erected over the mysterious
woman's grave. The inscription on the top reads:
To the memory of a
FEMALE STRANGER
whose mortal sufferings terminated
on the 14th day of October 1816
Aged 23 years and 8 months
This stone is placed here by her disconsolate
Husband in whose arms she sighed out her
latest breath, and who under God
did his utmost even to soothe the cold
dead ear of death
How loved how valued once avails thee not
To whom related or by whom begot
A heap of dust alone remains of thee
Tis all thou art and all the proud shall be
To him gave all the Prophets witness that
through his name whosoever believeth in
him shall receive remission of sins
Acts. 10th Chap. 43rd verse.
The monument cost about $1500 back then. The husband paid and immediately left town. Later it was discovered that the money the man had paid with was counterfeit but he was long gone by then. The mystery to this day has not been solved. But as with any great legends there are many theories and some great ghost stories!!
Wikepedia sites a poem in 1834 by a Susan Rigby Dallam Morgan as the first time the story was brought to a broader audience via the current local media the Alexandria Gazette. In 1836 Susan, under a pen name, wrote an account of the incident for a Philadelphia paper. In the account the woman who arrived that night in 1816 looked foreign and had a pale complexion. She also noted that her witness said the woman seemed to be unwell upon arrival. Susan never revealed her sources but noted that the gravestone had initially peaked her interest and she followed the story from there.
Some of the tall tales that have grown from the story include pirates kidnapping a local girl thought to be dead. Another tells the tale of the couple being con artist on the run. The couples appearance and nationality is mostly what varies in all of the different accounts.
In 1848 an article in the Alexandria Gazette was in response to an article published earlier in the Baltimore Sun. The author of the response article revealed that a gentleman named Lawrence Hill had been located and was one of the people involved in the burial of the mystery woman but had been given counterfeit money as payment. He apparently said that the "husband's" last name was Clermont and Hill had confronted him sometime later in life at Sing Sing
prison. The response letter also confirmed earlier accounts of the Female Strangers appearance of being pale complected and sickly.
Around 1888 the theory that the Female Stranger was Theadosa Burr Alston,
only daughter of Aaron Burr, Vice President to Thomas Jefferson and wife to Govenor Alston. She disappeared in 1813 when the ship she was on sunk. The pirate story comes into play here as some say Theadosa was captured by pirates, escaped and returned to Alexandria with a mysterious man.
The Goshen Times dated April 20, 1893 who's author is not named, states that when he visited the monument an elderly gentlemen was also visiting the grave. The old man asked the reporter if he knew who was in the grave. After replying no, the old man gave a detailed story about
the grave being that of Theadosa Burr Alston. He goes on to tell the story of the female stranger with the back story being that the couple arrived on a ship in Alexandria. He notes the "husband" as being obviously English, the "wife" American, very beautiful with a dark complexion. The rest
of his retelling followed earlier accounts of the basic story.
The New York Tribune dated November 1906 gives a very detailed telling of the story. The couple
in this version is French and spoke no English. Arriving in fall of 1815 on a ship from Bermuda, they made the local Tavern (Gadsby's)their home. They brought with them two servants. A valet and her ladies maid. Their servants, the husband and a doctor were the only ones to see the woman in her time in the Tavern. Six months later the woman became ill and died. The article states that the owner of the ship the couple came in on, John Dean, was the only one to know the true identity of the couple in question. If he did know, he took the secret to his grave.
In 1913 Ladies Home Journal published a very elaborate version of the story complete with a "dramatic illustration". Here we find the couple in question on a ship from Nova Scotia en route to the Caribbean but had to leave the ship in Alexandria because the woman was ill. The rest follows the basic story.
The grave site has gained notoriety over the last almost 200 years as the story appeared in newspapers across the country every so often. Varying details of the story mold and morph through out the different versions over time and the site is said to have drawn thousands of visitors.
Many attempts have been made to solve this romantic mystery. Micheal Pope, a reporter
for Virginia Public Radio and author of the book “Ghosts of Alexandria,” stated that the documentation just doesn't exist. From what I've gathered most of the above was learned by early newspaper articles written while witnesses to the actual happenings were still alive.
To this day some say the female stranger still lurks in Gadsby's Tavern where she died. The location is still standing. The Tavern was built in 1785 and the hotel completed in 1792. The establishment was the center of the city as during this time Alexandria was a hopping, thriving sea port. The hotel has notably hosted such famous figures such as George and Martha Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, James Monroe and the Marquis de Lafayette.
The two buildings are now a museum, restaurant and ballroom. Several people over
the years have reported seeing a young woman dressed in victorian garb roaming the rooms at Gadsby's.
A tour guide at Gadsby's attended a costume ball there sometime around 2016. He noticed a woman in 19th century clothing that just didn't seem to fit quite right with all the other people. He followed her into room eight at the tavern to find no one there, just a lit candle. He rushed out trying to catch the woman but found nothing. Upon entering room eight again the candle that had been lit was out and appeared to have never been lit but was warm to the touch!
Not long after this incident a young woman returning home for the summer from college took a position at Gadsby's. On her first night of work she went to the kitchen to pick up her customers order. When she turned around the victorian lady was right there in front of her. The girl screamed dropped all of the dishes and ran out the door never to return!
Others have reported seeing the same lady ghost appear and disappear through out the rooms in both buildings. The most active spot being room eight where the original mystery woman supposedly died. This particular room has been host to many of the accounts told by visitors and staff. Crying coming from the inside of the room, candles being lit and or moving around have been reported as is a woman looking out of the window. During the Halloween season Gadsby's hosts a haunted tour and serves a “Long Black Veil” black IPA
named after the apparition who haunts the halls and honoring the Female Stranger tale.
With all of the hype and retelling of the story the question "should it be solved?" has
popped up. This couple obviously went to great lengths to conceal their identity. They wanted their secret to remain as such.
The grave is well taken care of. It sits in St. Paul's Cemetery in the middle of an 82 acre cemetery complex made up of 13 cemeteries and 35,000 burials. . We visited the grave on June 2, 2024 and it looks as though it has had a recent cleaning as the inscription is perfectly clear. Tokens left by visitors lay on the old marble stone, a tribute to an unknown lady who has captured many hearts and been on many minds.
Gadsby's https://gadsbystavernrestaurant.com/
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