...found strength and great solace in her lifetime habit of rising at dawn to spend the first hour of her day in silent thought and prayer to prepare herself for the family worship and the day's events. With the death of the father, she required George to conduct family prayers and say...

...following comments are interesting, though traditional: "It was her [Washington's mother's] life long habit to rise at dawn and spend the first hour of the day in silent thought to prepare herself for the family worship and the day's events. Her eldest son, George, was only eleven...