Tucked away on page 3, column 2, of the Tuesday, November 26, 1816 edition of the "Telescope", Columbia, SC newspaper is this little story entitled:
The Edgeworths.--Maria Edgeworth is one of a constellation of female geniuses, which now adorns England and illumines the literary world. She probably holds an equal rank with Jane Taylor, and is second only to Hannah Moore. We are informed that a Brother of hers, named Rich'd Lovel Edgeworth (the name also of their father) resided a few years since in Lancaster or Chesterfield District in this State (South Carolina)-- and that his widow now lives in Anson county, N. C. He appears to have been an imprudent and dissipated man, whom parental authority could not govern, nor sisterly affection restrain. Several of maria's letters to him are now in possession of his widow, who is said to be a worthy and amiable woman, in straitened circumstances. The family is rendered more interesting to us, from the circumstances, that Maria Edgeworth is the daughter of celebrated Honora Sneyd (afterwards Mrs. E.) who inspired the unfortunate Major Andre with a passion which she was not permitted to reward; and which is considered by common fame, the cause of his having become a soldier. The fact of this lady's being the mother of Miss Edgeworth, the reader will find authenticated in an appendix note to her admirable treatise on female education, where she corrects an alleged misrepresentation in Miss Seaward's monody on the death of Major Andre. Mr. E. founded a town in N. C. at the head of navigation of the PeDee, which, in honor of Maria's mother, he named Sneydsborough.
Sneydsborough: A Ripple in the River Outdoor Drama is produced annually in the Anson County area by the South Piedmont Communtity College. The main setting is the Knox Inn a local landmark during the existance of the town and the drama narrator is the ghost of Richard Edgeworth, who died in 1796.
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[1]Story transcribed as it appeared in the "Telescope", Columbia, SC, 26 November 1816, Page 3, column 2
[2] monody--- mon-o-dy - noun, - a poem lamenting a person's death.
