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The Washington family is an American family of English origins that was part of both the British landed gentry and the American gentry. It was prominent in colonial America and rose to great economic and political eminence especially in the Colony of Virginia as part of the planter class, owning several highly valued plantations, mostly making their money in tobacco farming. Members of the family include the first president of the United States, George Washington (1732–1799), and his nephew, Bushrod Washington (1762–1829), who served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
| Washington | |
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 Pedigree and arms of the Washington line until George Washington | |
| Current region | Colony of Virginia |
| Earlier spellings | de Washington; earlier, de Wessyington |
| Etymology | Derives from Wessington (Washington) in the County of Durham |
| Place of origin | Washington Old Hall, England |
| Founded | 12th century |
| Traditions | Anglicanism / Episcopalian |
| Motto | Exitus acta probat (Latin) (The outcome is the test of the act) |
| Estate(s) | Washington Old Hall, Mount Vernon, Abingdon (plantation), Arlington House, Beall-Air, Blakeley (West Virginia), Blenheim (Wakefield Corner, Virginia), Bushfield (Mount Holly, Virginia), Cedar Lawn, Claymont Court, Germantown White House, Fairfield (Berryville, Virginia), Ferry Farm, Harewood (West Virginia), Kenmore (Fredericksburg, Virginia), River Farm, Sulgrave Manor, Tudor Place, Washington Bottom Farm, George Washington Birthplace, Mary Ball Washington House, White House (plantation), Woodlawn (Alexandria, Virginia) |
The family's roots can be traced back to the 12th century in Washington, in the historic County Palatine of Durham in northern England, where their ancestral home was Washington Old Hall. In the 16th century, a branch settled at Sulgrave Manor in Northamptonshire. John Washington, born 1631 in Tring, Hertfordshire, England, arrived in the Colony of Virginia in 1657 after being shipwrecked.[1][2]
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The Washington family are descended from Crínán "the Thane" of Dunkeld (†1045), lay abbot and son-in-law of Malcolm II of Scotland.[3][4][5] In 1183, his descendant Sir William de Hertburn (originally William Bayard)[6] traded his manor of Hertburn (modern-day Hartburn) for that of Wessyington in County Durham near the River Wear. According to post-Conquest noble custom, his family adopted the name of the estate as an Anglo-Norman surname, "de Wessyington", which later became "Washington".[4][7][8][9][10] Wessyington was an Old English placename and probably refers to the estate of a man named Wassa.[11] On this site were relics of Saint Cuthbert, transferred to Durham from its shrine at Lindisfarne, as a saint invoked in combat against the Scots (compare Kirkcudbrightshire), and a symbol of the importance, privileges, and feudal obligations of the illustrious Bishop of Durham and his vassals, including the Washingtons.[7]
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The Washington family held the manor house at Washington Old Hall from 1180 to 1613, as part of the landed gentry of the County Palatine of Durham.[1][9][12]
In the early 14th century, Robert de Washington, a descendant of William de Wessyngton, settled in Warton, Lancashire. Lawrence Washington, a descendant of Robert, moved from Warton to Northamptonshire in 1529, where he became a prosperous wool merchant.[10] He acquired Sulgrave Manor, formerly owned by St Andrew's Priory, Northampton, during the dissolution of the monasteries and constructed a new manor house there.[13]
Sulgrave Manor was completed in 1560 and remained in the Washington family until 1610.[10]
Lawrence Washington's great-grandson, Lawrence Washington (1602–1652), was a rector.[10] His brother Sir William Washington married the half-sister of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham.[1][14] The Washington family supported the Royalists during the English Civil War and were dispossessed of their lands following their defeat.[13] This may have motivated Lawrence's son, John Washington, to leave England and seek better prospects in America.[13]
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First generation
The Washington family arrived in the Colony of Virginia in 1657,[15] when John Washington was shipwrecked. John sailed on the ship the Seahorse.[16][17] He was a planter, soldier, and politician in colonial Virginia in North America and a lieutenant colonel in the local militia. He settled in Westmoreland County, Virginia.
John Washington married Anne Pope in 1658 and had the following children: Lawrence Washington (the paternal grandfather of President George Washington), John Washington Jr. and Anne Washington.[18] There were two additional children, names unknown, mentioned as deceased when he wrote his will on September 21, 1675.[2][18][19] Anne Pope was the daughter of Englishman Nathaniel Pope and Lucy Fox.[20]
Second generation
The family, especially Lawrence Washington, rose to great economic prominence, especially in regard to real estate, owning several plantations, mostly for tobacco cultivation.[2][18][19] Lawrence married Mildred Warner in 1686 and had three children, John Washington III (1692–1746), Augustine (1694–1743) and Mildred (1698–1747).[21] Mildred Warner (1671–1701) was a daughter of Augustine Warner Jr. and Mildred Reade. Her paternal grandparents were English settlers Augustine Warner Sr. and Mary Towneley.[22]
Lawrence died at age 38 in February 1698 at Warner Hall, Gloucester County, Colony of Virginia, in the same year his daughter was born. Following his death, Mildred Warner Washington married George Gale, who moved the family to Whitehaven, England, where Mildred died in 1701 aged 30 following a difficult childbirth.[23][24]
Third generation
Augustine Washington was born at Bridges Creek plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1694, to Capt. Lawrence Washington and Mildred Warner. Augustine married twice; his second marriage in 1730 to Mary Ball produced the following six children: George (eldest and first president of the United States), Elizabeth "Betty", Samuel, John, Charles and Mildred Washington.[25]
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Mary Ball (born c. 1707) was raised in the family Epping Forest estate, the only child of Joseph Ball (1649–1711), an English justice, vestryman, lieutenant colonel and burgess in the Colony of Virginia, and Mary Johnson (1672–1721).[26][27]
The Washington family owned land (on the banks of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia) since the time of Augustine's grandfather John Washington in 1674. Around 1734, Augustine brought his second wife Mary and children to the plantation called Little Hunting Creek when George was about two years old. Augustine began on an expansion of the family home that continued under their son George, who began leasing the Mount Vernon estate in 1754, becoming its sole owner in 1761.[28]
Fourth generation
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek, Virginia, British America and the oldest of six children to Augustine and Mary Washington. He became an American political leader, military general and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Washington died December 14, 1799, age 67, at Mount Vernon, the family's estate in Virginia.[29] Washington had no biological children. His wife Martha Dandridge had four children from her first marriage to Daniel Parke Custis (1711–1757). These stepchildren were Daniel Custis (1751–1754), Frances Custis (1753–1757), John "Jacky" Parke Custis (1754–1781) and Martha "Patsy" Parke Custis (1756–1773).[30]
Betty Washington
Samuel Washington
Charles Washington
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- Elizabeth "Betty" Washington (1733–1797), younger sister of George Washington, was the only sister to live to adulthood. She was born in Westmoreland County, Colony of Virginia.
- Samuel Washington (1734–1781) was a colonial American officer and politician in Popes Creek (Virginia).
- John Augustine Washington (1736–1787) married Hannah Bushrod (1735–1801) in 1756 and had six children including Bushrod Washington.[31][32]
- Charles Washington (1738–1799) was the youngest brother.
- Mildred Washington (1739–1740) youngest daughter and child
Fifth generation
- Bushrod Washington (1762–1829), son of John Augustine Washington and Hannah Bushrod, was a politician and nephew of George Washington.
Bushrod Washington
Modern era
Some of the closest-living relatives of George Washington are Paul Emory Washington (1926–2014) and his children Richard Washington, Bill Washington, Julianne Washington, and Jack Washington[33] who lived in San Antonio, Texas.[34] Julianne Washington had two children, Shelly Coons and Robert Coons. They are among 8,000 other living relatives of George Washington through his younger brothers, Samuel Washington (1734–1781) and John Augustine Washington (1736–1787).[35]
Many descendants of George Washington's immediate family and cousins are members of the National Society of Washington Family Descendants, Inc. Incorporated in the State of Virginia, members of this Society have to submit documentation to prove legal descent. There are over 1400 registered members of this Society to date.[36]
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