Alexandria’s Mysterious Female Stranger
The Female Stranger’s grave in Alexandria remains one of the most enduring mysteries in American burial history. In September 1816, a veiled woman and her husband arrived in Alexandria after a voyage from the West Indies and took rooms at Gadsby’s Tavern, insisting that their identities remain secret. Within weeks, the woman was dead, buried in St. Paul’s Cemetery beneath a monument that demanded silence—and sparked more than two centuries of speculation.
They were accompanied by a French-speaking valet and maid. Medical care was provided by Dr. Samuel Richards, with nursing assistance from Elizabeth Tretcher Steuart, who later described the patient as young, refined, and strikingly beautiful (her family’s story stretched as far as the Pacific). Despite every effort, the woman’s condition worsened.
She died on October 14, 1816, reportedly in her husband’s arms.
A Burial Shrouded in Silence
The grieving husband purchased a burial plot in St. Paul’s Cemetery and commissioned a tombstone bearing the now-famous inscription that deliberately withholds her identity and offers no explanation.
| 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 dear 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 Prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. Acts. 10th Chap. 43rd verse. |
The inscription visible today dates from a 1930 preservation effort. According to The History of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Alexandria, Virginia, it was re-cut in November 1930 by the Society for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Following the funeral, the husband, valet, and maid disappeared from Alexandria—never to be seen again.
Even more astonishing, the $1,500 paid to cover lodging, meals, medical care, burial expenses, and the monument—tendered in English currency—was later discovered to be counterfeit.
No official records identify the couple. The tavern keeper, the physician, and the nurse all stated they never learned the woman’s name.
The mystery was born.
Who was the Female Stranger?
Over the next century, Alexandria residents—and later the nation—would propose explanation after explanation. None can be definitively proven, yet each reveals something about how legend grows in the absence of facts.
Much of what is known—or assumed—about the mystery stems from later attempts to explain the Female Stranger’s grave in Alexandria, rather than from contemporary records.
A Lost Daughter of Aaron Burr?
One early theory claimed the woman was Theodosia Burr Alston, daughter of Aaron Burr, believed lost at sea in 1813. According to this speculation, she survived piracy only to die anonymously three years later in Alexandria. No contemporary evidence supports this claim, but it remains one of the most enduring identifications.
A Scandal’s Shadow
Another theory linked her to the infamous Reynolds Affair, suggesting she was the illegitimate daughter of Alexander Hamilton and Maria Reynolds. Still others claimed the couple were professional con artists—pointing to rumors that the husband later appeared in Sing Sing Prison under the alias “Claremont,” a name that appears on early cemetery maps near the grave.
Witnesses and Whispers: Rosena Fortney’s Role
One of the most compelling local connections to the Female Stranger comes from Rosena Fortney, who is said to have assisted quietly during the woman’s final days. According to tradition, Fortney carried soup to the sickroom and, sensing the gravity of the situation, stepped out to summon Dr. William H. Wilmer, rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, to provide spiritual comfort.
This account—passed down locally rather than through official records—adds a human dimension to the story and helps root the mystery within Alexandria’s own community.
Local traditions surrounding the Female Stranger’s grave in Alexandria emphasize community memory over documentation, preserving details that never made it into official accounts.
Rosena Fortney later appears in records as Rosina Duffey. Born Rosina Latz, she married Jacob Fortney in 1815; after his early death, she married George Duffey, accounting for the change in surname. Their family name also appears with variant spellings, including Forteney, in period records. Jacob Fortney, Jr., is buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery, just across Hamilton Lane from St. Paul’s, while Rosina Duffey was interred in the Methodist Protestant Cemetery—together underscoring how closely connected Alexandria’s residents were, even in death.
A Darker Legend: Brother and Sister
Among the most tragic—and disturbing—legends is the claim that the Female Stranger and her husband were siblings.
According to this story, the two were orphaned young and separated as children. They later met as adults, fell in love, and married—only for the bride to discover after the wedding that her husband was, in fact, her brother. Overcome with horror and despair, the story goes, she soon fell ill and died.
There is no documentary evidence to support this account, but it appeared frequently in late-19th-century retellings, reflecting Victorian fascination with forbidden knowledge, guilt, and secrecy.
“Claremont” and the Dulany Connection
The word “Claremont”, associated with the grave’s location, may not refer to an alias at all—but rather to property.
Claremont was the name of the family home of Mrs. Benjamin Dulany, a wealthy and influential member of St. Paul’s parish. Her husband died in 1816 and was buried on Shuter’s Hill, now the site of the George Washington National Masonic Memorial.
It has long been speculated that Mrs. Dulany—moved by compassion or circumstance—donated one of her own cemetery plots for the burial of the Female Stranger. If true, this act would explain both the grave’s placement and the enduring name “Claremont” without requiring deception.
The Hermit of Four Mile Run
One of the strangest legends claims that the skeleton of a hermit discovered in the woods near Four Mile Run was secretly buried in the Female Stranger’s grave.
This macabre tale likely reflects later folklore rather than fact, yet it demonstrates how the grave became a vessel for Alexandria’s collective imagination—absorbing mystery upon mystery over time.
When the Story Finally Emerged
By the late nineteenth century, the Female Stranger’s grave in Alexandria had become a subject of national curiosity, appearing in newspapers far beyond Virginia.
Remarkably, no public mention of the Female Stranger appeared until July 1866, fifty years after her death. Once revealed, the story spread rapidly.
One account appeared in the Washington Evening Star on June 2, 1898, describing a woman who claimed the Stranger was her relative and the wife of a British officer who defied his family to marry her. After her burial, the officer reportedly left Alexandria for France and never returned to England.
In 1912, Charles T. Johnson Jr. offered yet another version, claiming the woman was the ward of an English lord who died accidentally during a confrontation with her lover. The couple fled to America, lived near what is now Cabin John, and later came to Alexandria seeking medical help. Each year, the widower allegedly rowed up Cameron Run to place a flower on her grave.
The Female Stranger’s Grave in Alexandria: A Grave That Refuses to Be Forgotten
Regardless of the truth, the Female Stranger’s grave in Alexandria has become the most visited burial site in the city, particularly around the October anniversary of her death. Today, the site remains one of the most discussed and visited burial places, drawing historians, visitors, and storytellers alike. Though no surviving records confirm her stay at Gadsby’s Tavern, the story endures—woven from fragments of memory, rumor, and loss.
Some still insist her spirit haunts Gadsby’s Tavern.
Whether ghost or metaphor, the Female Stranger remains exactly what her monument demands she be:
Known—but never named.
Sources of Information
Kay, R. L. (1984). The history of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Alexandria, Virginia: November 12, 1809–November 12, 1984. Springfield, VA: The Goets Printing Company.
Miller, T. M., & Smith, W. F. (2001). A seaport saga: Portrait of Old Alexandria, Virginia (3rd printing). Virginia Beach, VA: The Downing Company Publishing.
Pippenger, W. E. (2014). Tombstone inscriptions of Alexandria, Virginia (Vol. 5). Berwyn Heights, MD: Heritage Books.
Powell, M. G. (2000). The history of Old Alexandria, Virginia, from July 13, 1749, to May 24, 1861 (W. E. Pippenger, Ed., new index). Westminster, MD: Willow Bend Books.
This post was updated in January 2026 to incorporate additional historical research and local accounts related to the Female Stranger’s grave in Alexandria.