After William Maffitt's death, his widow must have found life difficult. She had to keep up the farm, care for the slaves, and support her children and stepchildren. There was an outstanding debt on Salona owed to her sister-in-law in Georgetown. William Maffitt had mortgaged the property with Margaret Whann for $6,000 in 1823, and had paid back almost half of the amount due prior to his death. [87]

Ann Maffitt's state of mind was clearly revealed in a letter written by her on July 22, 1828, to Col. George W. Hunter urging him to reconsider his refusal to become administrator of her husband's estate. She pleaded with him: " ... I shall send my dear fatherless (and I might almost add) friendless Son to you this morning who will say everything he can to beg you not to desert us in our great time of need...." [88]

Dr. William Maffitt, Jr., Major, U. S. Army.
Born November 14, 1811, in Virginia. Died October 7, 1864, St. Louis, Missouri.
He was Reverend William Maffitt's only son.

Apparently her appeal fell on deaf ears, for the court records show that Robert C. Jackson was administrator. Margaret Whann brought a chancery suit against the heirs of Maffitt in 1831 and bought Salona at auction through her agent, Joseph McVean, for $2,650, only partial repayment of the $3,716.54 still due her. Meanwhile, slaves and personal property were sold, and small debts repaid. George W. Hunter, the lawyer who had refused to serve as administrator, came to a sale on May 20, 1829. John Hill Carter (Ann's son by her first marriage), E. L. Carter (probably her youngest daughter, Elizabeth), Thomas B. Balch (husband of her daughter Susan), Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones (a close neighbor), and George L. Turberville (Harriotte's son by her first marriage) all bought some of the slaves and personal property. When the property evaluation was made, the estate was worth $1,822.87-1/2. The inventory of Maffitt's personal property, exclusive of his slaves, was $1,588.89-1/2. No total was given for the value of the slaves. The court-appointed appraisers were Nicholas Paine, William Swink, and Joseph Sewell. Although they prepared their inventory in 1828, it was not reviewed and accepted by the court until March, 1832.[89]

Margaret Maffitt had been born in Cecil County, Maryland, on April 7, 1780. According to Sarah Somervell Mackall, Margaret went to Georgetown to visit her eldest sister Jane, wife of William Whann. While there, Margaret met William's brother, David Whann, and they were married on November 16, 1807. Until 1804, David had been a purser in the U. S. Navy on the Essex. Later he became a paymaster and traveled widely abroad. A captain in the D.C. Militia, he died of sunstroke in May, 1813, while reviewing his men on the parade ground. His widow "never received any compensation from the government" and was left with two small children, a son and a daughter.[90]

Apparently Margaret permitted Ann Maffitt to remain at Salona until 1835 at least and possibly until 1842 when the property was sold to Chapman Lee. In any case, Ann Maffitt and the three Maffitt children did not sign a quitclaim to the property until 1835.[91] Margaret Whann probably hired a tenant to maintain Salona as a working farm. There are no indications that Mrs. Whann ever lived at Salona; the deed to Lee refers to her as being "of Georgetown in the District of Columbia."

Chapman Lee, who was living in Alexandria at the time of the sale, bought the property in 1842.[92] He held the property for three years, then divided it and sold 208 acres to Elisha Sherman "late of Fairfield County, Connecticut."[93] The balance was conveyed to James McVean and Samuel M. Whann. Eight years later, Elisha Sherman and Anna, his wife, late of Fairfax County and "now of Washington County, D.C.," sold to Jacob G. Smoot of Georgetown the tract "heretofore called Langley but now called Salona"—208 acres.[94]

The Maffitt grave is located in the Lewinsville Presbyterian Church cemetery, McLean. Photo by the author, 1975.