Margaret Agnew Blennerhassett

Margaret Agnew Blennerhassett (1771 – June 16, 1842) was an English-American poet and aristocrat.

Margaret Agnew was born in 1771, in Bishop Auckland, England. Her father, Robert Agnew, was the lieutenant governor of the Isle of Man. Margaret defied social and religious conventions by marrying her maternal uncle, Harman Blennerhassett, a wealthy Irish aristocrat. They shared a 7,000-acre estate in County Kerry until 1795, when their union and Harman's revolutionary ideals prompted them to sell the estate and immigrate to America.

Margaret is said to have been above average height with brown hair and blue eyes. She often wore her hair bound in a silk headdress. She wrote and spoke French and Italian fluently. She would often accompany her husband on hunting trips and enjoyed horseback riding.

The couple left London and sailed to New York City in America. Once there they traveled south to Pittsburgh, PA and then chartered a boat down the Ohio River. The couple settled briefly in Marietta, Ohio. In 1797, they purchased 174 acres of land on an island in the upper Ohio River, in Wood County, Virginia (now West Virginia). The island is located two miles below present-day Parkersburg, West Virginia, a town which was named Newport until 1810. This land originally belonged to George Washington. The 7,000-square foot Blennerhassett Mansion was constructed between 1798 and 1800. In the meantime, the couple lived in a blockhouse near their property.

At the Blennerhassett Mansion, Margaret entertained travelers of the Ohio Valley in the mansion with dancing, music, and readings of poetry and Shakespeare. Among the most famous guests was former vice president Aaron Burr, who sought the financial support of numerous wealthy landowners including Harman Blennerhassett. Between 1805 and 1806, Harman and Burr took part in a treasonous conspiracy to either annex Texas or form a new country in the western United States. While Margaret was in Marietta, Harman and his associates boarded boats and escaped down the river into the Mississippi Territory. The following day, the militia of Wood County, Virginia, ransacked the mansion, despite Margaret's pleas to spare their home. She was forced to flee down the river with her two children in tow.

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