Stratford, the seat of my forefathers, is a place of which too much cannot be said, whether you consider the venerable magnificence of its buildings, the happy disposition of its grounds, or the extent or variety of its prospects.... What a delightful occupation did it afford me to trace the family resemblance in the portraits of all my dear mother's forefathers.... It was with difficulty that my uncles, who accompanied me, could persuade me to leave the hall to look at the gardens, vineyards, and lawns which surrounded the house.

-Thomas Lee Shippen, grandson of Thomas Lee, on a visit to Stratford in 1790