By Dan Murphy
The most important and difficult task in writing a book is to find a topic that is both interesting and not yet published. Many of our Westchester readers may know Mary Calvi as the former anchor for News 12, or
watch her early morning and at noon as the anchor for CBS-NY-TV news (my mom is a loyal viewer). Calvi, who is also married to Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, has picked an interesting topic for her first book, “Dear George, Dear Mary: A Novel of George Washington’s First Love.”
Before he became our nation’s first president, George Washington fell in love with a young woman from Westchester and Yonkers. Her name was Mary Philipse, who hailed from a wealthy family that derived a large stake of landholdings based on its loyalty to King George III.
George met Mary on Valentine’s Day 1756 at a dance at Philipse Manor Hall, which still sits in the middle of downtown Yonkers. They fell in love, and the turns there romance took is intertwined with the birth of the United States of America.
Calvi, born and raised in Yonkers, came up with the idea for the book based on her lifelong fascination with Philipse Manor Hall. “As a young girl I visited Philipse Manor Hall a number of times and became curios about the Philipse family,” she said. “When my husband had his inauguration at the manor, which was the original City Hall in Yonkers, I became fascinated and curious, and wanted to find out if it was urban legend or truth that George Washington courted Mary Philipse here in Yonkers. When I couldn’t find out that answer, I decided to delve into it further.”
Between her busy schedule as a television news anchor, wife and mother, Calvi conducted research over a few years from Harvard University, the Library of Congress, New York Historical Society, the New York Public Library on 42st Street, and museums.
“I started with a biography of George Washington by Henry Cabot Lodge (former U.S. senator), who did write that George Washington did fall in love with Mary Philipse, and I thought, I’m onto something,” she said. “As I continued, I was happy to find that most of the primary documents still existed centuries later.”
As with most authors, Calvi became engulfed in her historical research and wanted to learn more. “I became passionate about this project and really was caught up in it,” she said. “I wanted to finish the puzzle. So I would come home and put dinner on and get back into it. The excitement about this for me made me find the time to do it.”
In 1750s colonial America, the Philipse family was one of the richest – if not the wealthiest family in the colonies, and Mary was the heiress to her family’s fortune. “Philipse Manor Hall became the heart of social society at the time, for banquets. It was the place to be,” said Calvi.
A young George Washington met Mary Philipse during this time and the two fell in love. “I was surprised to find that there was a painting of the two of them together, and that George wrote passionate love letters and poetry. He was a true romantic,” said Calvi.
As history tells us, George and Mary never married. Did either one of them, or both, regret not spending their lives together as husband and wife? “I think Mary was waiting for George to return to her but he never did,” said Calvi. “She waited a good amount of time, but there came a point when she was in her mid-late-20s and waited as long as she could.”
Certainly history could have been different if George and Mary were married. But the Philipse family, loyal to the king and to Britain, ended up on the wrong side of the Revolutionary War, and George Washington became our first president and perhaps most important American.
Calvi’s book tells the story of Mary Philipse that most of us don’t know. We will leave that part of the story for you to learn about by reading the book, which is being published by St. Martin’s Press in time for both Valentine’s Day and President’s Day.
Calvi will be making a few upcoming appearances in Westchester, where her books will be available for purchase. On Sunday Feb. 10, Calvi will be at Anderson’s Book Store in Larchmont. On Wednesday, Feb. 13, Calvi will offer a public talk at the Riverfront Library in Yonkers at 6 p.m. This free event is sponsored by The Foundation for the Yonkers Public Library. The talk will be followed by a book signing with the author. Books can be pre-ordered at www.foundationforypl.org and picked up at the event, with a portion of the proceeds supporting The Foundation for the Yonkers Public Library.
On Feb. 14, Calvi will be at the Barnes & Noble on Central Avenue in Yonkers from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. This Valentine’s Day discussion and book signing coincides with the day that Washington came to Yonkers, on Feb. 14, 1756.
On Friday, Feb. 15, Calvi will return to the room where it happens, Philipse Manor Hall, in downtown Yonkers, as the Friends of Philipse Manor Hall will host a reading and book signing to celebrate the book launch. Step back in time and experience an evening much like the one
George Washington and Mary Philipse encountered on Valentine’s Day so many years ago.
Colonial re-enactors, demonstrations of authentic music and dance and period-inspired refreshments are all part of this enchanted evening.
Tickets are $45 for general admission and $35 for members of the Friends of Philipse Manor Hall. All proceeds will go toward continued programming at the house. Philipse Manor Hall is located at 29 Warburton Ave,., Yonkers. For more information, call 914- 965-4027.
The book will also be “pre-released” in Yonkers and Westchester. Calvi’s book gives us a positive and historical perception of Yonkers.
