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FXBG’s Baby Mary Washington- Abandoned Newborn Baby (1926)

dogwoodandironrese
Mar 7
3 min read

Updated: Jul 25

Author: Sarah Dye | March 2026


Exactly 100 years ago, on January 4th, 1926, C.H. Graube’s wife came out to their front porch in the morning to see why their collie was barking and to her surprise she found a cardboard box with a black-haired baby girl abandoned. The baby had only a woolen cap and a diaper on, but was well wrapped in a man’s woolen shirt, piece of cheese cloth, and a very worn cotton blanket. She was lying on a small pillow on the bottom of the box. Even though abandoned, it was clear someone had taken great care to ensure she was safe in the cold January weather. The Graube’s called Sgt. J.C. Chichester who became responsible to finding the parents and ensuring the baby’s welfare. He took the baby to Mary Washington Hospital on the corner of Fauquier and Sophia Streets and then offered a $100 reward for the information on the baby’s parents.


Original Mary Washington Hospital 1896-1930 (Spotsylvania Memory)
Original Mary Washington Hospital 1896-1930 (Spotsylvania Memory)

At the hospital, the baby was looked over and weighed about eight pounds. The nurses believed she was about 12 hours old. She was expected to survive with no ill effects from her short time on the Graube’s front porch.


By the end of January, she was still at the hospital and the nurses unofficially christened her as Mary Washington. Her case created a lot of interest in the city and many donations of clothes, and all the necessities were provided while she awaited a long term home. Sgt. Chichester was still looking to identify her parents to arrest for abandonment but had no leads. He held the official position of legal guardian of the city’s delinquent children so he was in charge of either finding the parents or a long-term solution.

In March, there was a break in the case! The baby’s parents were identified but the Sgt. wouldn’t provide their identities other than they were not from Fredericksburg or the surrounding areas. Now that they know who the parents are, the authorities must decide what to do. The parents wanted the child back, but they weren’t sure if they should give her back over considering the abandonment and were concerned, they would repeat the offense again. They also had to determine if they will consider it a criminal. The matter was expected to make its way to the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in FXBG before being resolved.

In the end, charges were not brought to the courts, and the baby was reunited with her parents. Their identity or residence is still unknown, but the story of how this baby ended up in this situation is interesting and raises more sympathy for the parents than judgement.


The couple was poor and I imagine very young. The mother was very ill when the baby was born and they weren’t certain she’d be able to care for the baby. Sadly, with the lack of quality healthcare, this was an all-too-common situation parents found themselves to be in. They decided the father would bring the baby to FXBG to be cared for. The mother knew he was taking her and thought she would be taken directly to the hospital. When she heard that he just dropped her kid off on some stranger’s doorstep she freaked out and demanded he go to get her. The husband (no doubt was now panicking) went straight to the city police and told them what happened. He had no idea abandoning the baby on a doorstep would warrant criminal charges. From March to April they visited often and the city determined they would take care of her and the mother had recovered.


Unfortunately, we will never know who this baby is or who she grew up to be. With little information on this family, I’d like to The mother being very ill and having to go through childbirth most likely alone with just her husband to help her. If a mother was present they would most likely not have felt they needed to give her up. So this poor young father  does what he thinks is best and then the poor mother freaks out knowing her brand new baby was dropped on a porch! I wish I knew who they were, their situation, and the name of the baby, but alas, we are left to wonder and enjoy this sweet story of FXBG’s very own Baby Jane Doe lovingly named Miss Mary Washington and who was the first baby registered in the city’s 1926’s vital records.

 



Sources

The Daily Star. (April 23, 1926). . Newspapers.com. Retrieved January 1, 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-star/187969114/

Spotsylvania Memory, Facebook, Retrieved, January 1, 2026.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

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