Matoaca Gay (1841 - 1915)Find A Grave accessed 28 September 2019 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31272542/matoaca-gay was an American writer and literary scholar. She was born in Henrico County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

to Edward S. Gay, and Catherine Tazewell Gay. Seventh in a direct line from Pocahontas Matoaka Rebecca Rolfe, for whom she was named, Matoaca was the eldest of six children. She moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in 1882, on the advice of her friend Sue Virginia Swearingen, the wife of Supreme Court Justice

Field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

. :File:Matoaca_Gay_-_Shakespeare_clipping.png

Society Writer

Matoaca Gay wrote a society column under the name of "Bric-a-Brac".

Shakespearean Scholar

Matoaca Gay became interested in acting when she lived in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. She contacted noted Shakespearean actor

Lawrence Barrett Lawrence Barrett (April 4, 1838 – March 20, 1891) was an American stage actor. Biography A native of Paterson, New Jersey, Barrett was born in 1838 to Mary Agnes (née Read) Barrett and tailor Thomas Barrett, Irish immigrants who had settle ...

, who provided books, advice, and became a life-long friend. Her long running private Shakespeare study group was made up of Washington society women. Among others: *

Josephine Ward Thomson Josephine Antoinette Ward was born in 1820 at Sing Sing, Westchester County, New York. She was the eldest child of Aaron Ward and Mary Watson Ward. Career She was a founding member of the Princeton Daughters of the American Revolution. She was ...

* Julia Peete Bate, wife of Senator

William B. Bate William Brimage Bate (October 7, 1826March 9, 1905) was a planter and slaveholder, Confederate officer, and politician in Tennessee. After the Reconstruction era, he served as the 23rd governor of Tennessee from 1883 to 1887. He was elected to th ...

* Mary "Polly" Condit-Smith The gatherings included lectures, group readings of the plays, and guest lectures from some of the leading Shakespearean actors of the time, including

and

Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American actor who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Theatre in New York. Some theatri ...

. By 1897 she was teaching Shakespeare at the Gunston Institute, a boarding and day school for girls in Washington D. C. https://books.google.com/books?id=NSQ7AQAAMAAJ&dq=%22miss+matoaca+gay%27&source=gbs_navlinks_s American College and Public School Directory page 322 accessed 29 September 2019 In 1906, she was quoted as saying that she had "taught Shakespeare to everybody in the world except the Pope and the President!"

Pocahontas Foundation

Because of her relationship to Pocahontas, Matoaca Gay was made the honorary president of the Pocahontas Memorial Association. This group began collecting money in 1906, to build the Pocahontas Memorial in Jamestown.https://books.google.com/books?id=X_HQQO69g4kC&pg=PA764&lpg=PA764&dq=pocahontas+memorial+association+matoaca&source=bl&ots=a6nVuvQdAF&sig=ACfU3U0PV4MEiRibjZvaS4zPSOtQHyNKPA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi9hPO2-vbkAhXNnOAKHaR3CREQ6AEwDnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=pocahontas%20memorial%20association%20matoaca&f=false>The New England Magazine, Volume 36; Volume 42 accessed 29 September 2019https://historicjamestowne.org/visit/plan-your-visit/monuments-pocahontas/>Jamestown Rediscovery - Pocahontas Statue accessed 01 October 2019

Notes

{{Authority control 1841 births 1915 deaths Shakespearean scholars Schoolteachers from Washington, D.C. People from Henrico County, Virginia