PATERNAL ANCESTRY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
Col. JOHN WASHINGTON
Born 1632, founder of Washington family in Virginia, 1656-57.
Died Sept. 1677.
ANNE POPE
Daughter of Lt. Col. Nathaniel Pope.
Married 1658, died 1669.
Capt. LAWRENCE WASHINGTON (1)
Born Sept. 1659, Westmoreland Co., Va.
Died 1698.
MILDRED WARNER, GEORGE GALE (2)
Daughter of Augustine Warner.
Married 1690, died 1701.
Capt. AUGUSTINE WASHINGTON
Born 1694.
Died 1743.
(1) JANE BUTLER
Born 1699.
Married 1715.
Died 1729.
Butler, died young.
Lawrence, of Mt. Vernon.
Augustine, inherited Wakefield.
Jane.
(2) MARY BALL
Daughter of Joseph Ball.
Born 1708.
Married 1731.
Died 1789.
GEORGE WASHINGTON
Born February 11, 1732 (Old Style); or February 22, 1732 (New Style).
Married Jan. 19, 1759.
Died Dec. 14, 1799.
MARTHA (DANDRIDGE) CUSTIS
Widow of Daniel Parke Custis.
Elizabeth.
Samuel.
John Augustine.
Charles.
Mildred.
Wine bottle seal found near homesite of John Washington, and drawing of a bottle of the period.
The third and last period of the story covers the years when the Federal Government, various individuals, and patriotic organizations became interested in preserving the historic site; a period culminating in the preservation of the ancient plantation by the Wakefield National Memorial Association and the United States Government.
John Washington
In late 1656, or early 1657, John Washington, about 24 years old, arrived in the Potomac River in Westmoreland County, Va., as mate of the Ketch, Sea Horse of London. Owing to a disagreement with the owner and captain of the vessel, Edward Prescott, John decided to remain in Virginia.
Of John’s early history little is known. He was born in England about 1632, son of the Reverend Lawrence Washington (M.A., B.D., Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford, Rector of Purleigh, Essex) and Amphillis Twigden of Northamptonshire. In November 1640, Charles I presented John with a “scholar’s place” at Sutton Hospital (Charterhouse School), but owing to a long waiting list he did not receive an appointment and appears to have been educated elsewhere.
A year or two after his arrival in Virginia, John married Anne Pope and, in 1659, was given land on Mattox Creek by his father-in-law, Col. Nathaniel Pope. Here their first son, Lawrence (George’s grandfather), was born in September 1659. John quickly took rank with the important men of his community. In 1661 he was elected a vestryman of his church. The same year he was appointed coroner, and in 1662 he was made justice of Westmoreland County Court. In 1664 a distinct honor was accorded him—the changing of the name of Appomattox Parish in Westmoreland County to Washington Parish, the one it bears today.
On December 3, 1664, John Washington purchased from David Anderson 100 acres on the east side of Bridges Creek (only a short distance from its confluence with the Potomac River), and there he and Anne established their second home. Known as the Bridges Creek plantation, it was the first tract of land acquired by a Washington on the area which today is designated as George Washington Birthplace National Monument. There John and his family lived and prospered, and there he developed his tidewater plantation and carried out many important duties for his King and colony. (Seventy-eight years after John acquired the Bridges Creek property it was purchased by George’s father, Augustine Washington, and for the first time became a part of the plantation which later became known as “Wakefield”.)
About 1672, John was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the county militia and, in 1675, was directed to raise troops to conduct a campaign against the Doeg Indians in Maryland who had made forays into Virginia and murdered three citizens. On at least two occasions, John represented his county in the Virginia House of Burgesses and attended its sessions at Jamestown, the “Capital Cittie” of the colony. In 1676 he actively supported Royal Governor William Berkeley against rebellious Nathaniel Bacon and his followers, and later was awarded 9,950 pounds of tobacco for his part in raising forces to aid in suppressing the rebellion.
By importing servants whose land “headrights” he could claim by purchase, by original patent, and by taking up grants of deserted land, John yearly added to his holdings, and at the time of his death owned several thousand acres of land in tidewater Virginia, including the property on the Potomac which later became known as Mount Vernon. John died in 1677 and was buried in the family cemetery at Bridges Creek, about 1¼ miles northwest of the site where his illustrious great-grandson, George, was born 55 years later.
Lawrence Washington
Lawrence Washington was 5 years old when his parents moved from Mattox Creek to the Bridges Creek plantation. Except for a few months when he may have attended grammar school in England, he lived at Bridges Creek until early manhood. He was 18 when his father, John Washington, died; being the eldest son, he inherited the largest share of the land. As he grew and matured, he became a man of means, culture, and ability, and during his short life-span of 39 years he was honored with the highest political offices which the citizens of Westmoreland County could bestow.
The memorial house built in 1931 by the Wakefield National Memorial Association to commemorate the birthplace of George Washington.
Ax and hoe of the 17th century unearthed at Bridges Creek, near where John Washington lived, 1664-77.
Following in his father’s footsteps, he served as justice of the Court of Westmoreland County, as an officer in the county militia, and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. He was first elected to the latter office when only 25, serving four terms as a burgess in the Colonial Assembly at Jamestown. Another position he held for several years was sheriff of Westmoreland County.
In 1690 Lawrence married Mildred Warner of Gloucester County, Va., daughter of a prominent planter, Augustine Warner, who at one time had been speaker of the House of Burgesses and a member of the Governor’s council. Their second son, Augustine, born in 1694, was destined to become the father of George Washington.
Lawrence Washington died in 1698, and was interred in the family cemetery at Bridges Creek. He left a sizeable estate to his wife and three children (his personal property alone consisted of £406 and 32,509 pounds of tobacco), and to each of the two Anglican churches in Washington Parish he provided for “a Pulpett Cloth & Cushion.”
The Popes Creek-Bridges Creek Plantation (known as Wakefield about 1773) & adjacent lands where the early Washingtons lived & prospered.
GEORGE WASHINGTON BIRTHPLACE NATIONAL MONUMENT
—area—
Mattox Creek Farm
John Washington, great-grandfather of George and founder of the Washington family in Virginia, landed near here in 1656-57. Here John and his wife, Anne Pope, were given land by John’s father-in-law, Col. Nathaniel Pope. Here their first son, Lawrence (George’s grandfather), was born in 1659. Lawrence inherited the Mattox Creek farm when his father died in 1677.
The Bridges Creek Farm
John Washington (George’s great-grandfather) purchased 100 acres of land here in 1664 and established his second home in Virginia, where he lived for 15 years—until his death in 1677. Here Lawrence Washington (George’s grandfather) lived as a boy. George’s father, Augustine Washington, acquired the land in 1742. Here John Washington, the emigrant, established the family burying ground; and in the cemetery are buried George’s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
Here young George made one of his first surveys—in 1747, at the age of 15.
Church Point
Mattox Episcopal Church was located here about 2½ mi. from Popes Creek where Geo. Washington was born. George may have been Baptized here on April 5, 1752.
SCHOOL HOUSE
George Washington may have attended the school Henry Williams conducted here near Mattox Creek, but no direct evidence of this has been found.
POTOMAC MILLS
Mill owned by George’s father, Augustine Washington. Acquired by him in 1728.
Popes Creek Farm
(Wakefield)
Augustine Washington, George’s father, purchased 150 acres here in 1717-18 from Joseph Abbington. Here he built a brick home between 1723 and 1726. Here George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. The home burned to the ground in 1779.
Part of the court record in a suit over the building of Washington’s birthplace. From Westmoreland Records and Inventories, 1723-46.