The Life of General Frances Marion

Mason Locke Weems (1756-1825), generally known as Parson Weems, was an American printer and author. He is best known as the source of some of the apocryphal stories about George Washington, including the famous tale of the cherry tree (I cannot tell a lie, I did it with my little hatchet). The Life of Washington (1800), Weems' most famous work, contained the story. He studied theology in London and was ordained in the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1784. Financial hardship forced Weems to seek other employment, leading to his second career as a book agent and author. He had a small bookstore in Dumfries, Virginia that now houses the Weems-Botts Museum. Other notable works by Weems include The Life of General Francis Marion (with Peter Horry) (1805), The Life of Benjamin Franklin, With Essays (1817), and The Life of William Penn (1819). He was also an accomplished violinist.