Sophia Allegre Gallatin
Gallatin's First Wife
Albert Gallatin met Sophia Allegre while staying at her mother's boarding house in Richmond, Virginia, during the mid-1780s. Against her mother's wishes, Sophia married Albert on May 14, 1789.
As the newlyweds travelled to their wilderness home at Friendship Hill, Sophia wrote to her mother, "...forgive dear mother, and generously accept again your poor Sophia,...Could you then form a wish to destroy the future peace of your child: and prevent her from being united to the man of her choice? He is perhaps not a very handsome man, but he is possessed of more essential qualities, which I shall not pretend to enumerate,..."
Tragically, Sophia fell ill five months later and died at Friendship Hill. At her request, Albert buried Sophia in an unmarked grave atop a hill overlooking the Monongahela River.
Within a wooded glen 100 yards down this trail lies a low stone wall which, according to local tradition, encloses Sophia's final grave.
Beyond Sophia's grave the trail winds through an old-growth, mixed-oak forest, a remnant of Pennsylvania's wilderness.
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Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Settlements & Settlers • Women. A significant historical date for this entry is May 14, 1789.
Location. 39° 46.503′ N, 79° 55.881′ W. Marker is near Point Marion, Pennsylvania, in Fayette County. Marker is on the Friendship Hill National Historic Site grounds, about 100 feet south of the house. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 223 New Geneva Road, Point Marion PA 15474, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Preserving the 1910 Landscape (within shouting distance of this marker); Monongahela River (within shouting distance of this marker); Friendship Hill Trail System (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Stone Cistern (about 400 feet away); Friendship Hill (about 400 feet away); Albert Gallatin (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Friendship Hill Trail System (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Friendship Hill Trail System (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Point Marion.
Also see . . .
1. Friendship Hill National Historic Site. (Submitted on September 13, 2019, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
2. Sophia Allegre Gallatin at Find A Grave. (Submitted on September 13, 2019, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
Credits. This page was last revised on April 16, 2022. It was originally submitted on September 13, 2019, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 506 times since then and 50 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 13, 2019, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. 3. submitted on April 15, 2022, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia.
