Significance: Father to George Washington. Date of Birth: 1694. Date of Death: 1743, Ferry Farm. Place of Burial: Washington Family Burial Ground. NPS Image Augustine Washington, the father of George Washington, was born in 1694. Following the death of his father, Lawrence Washington, Augustine's mother, Mildred Warner Washington, remarried and relocated her children to Whitehaven, England, where Augustine attended the Appleby School. After Mildred’s death, a paternal relative in Virginia named John Washington of Chotank successfully petitioned for legal guardianship of the Washington children. Upon reaching adulthood, Augustine inherited his father’s property at Bridges Creek in 1715 and married 16-year-old Jane Butler. Both shared a similar background as orphans. In 1717, Joseph Abbington, a bachelor and one of the last descendants of Henry Brooks still residing on the family land, sought to sell his parcel along Popes Creek in order to retire in Maryland. He arranged to sell his property to his neighbors, Augustine and Jane Washington. Over the course of two sales in consecutive years, Abbington sold Augustine just under 200 acres of land situated between “the Dancing Marsh” and Popes Creek for a total price of 280 pounds sterling. What had once been a patchwork of land was now consolidated under Augustine Washington’s ownership. For the next 100 years, a large part of Mattox Neck—and almost all the land of George Washington Birthplace National Monument—was owned by the Washington family. It was here that the young family would build their new home and have three children: Lawrence (1718), Augustine Jr. (1720), and Jane (1722). While Augustine and Jane resided at Popes Creek, he sold “the plantation and tract of land whereon Augustine Washington now lives which he purchased of Joseph Abbington” to two associates, George Eskridge and Lawrence Butler. The sale was made for “the sum of five shillings of lawful money of Great Britain” and stipulated that the property was “to be for the proper use of Augustine and Jane Washington during their natural lives and the longest liver of them, and after their decease to the use of Augustine Washington, Junior, son of the aforesaid Augustine and Jane.” By essentially making himself a tenant in his own home, Augustine executed a shrewd business move to protect his children's inheritances from potential financial ruin. In addition to a tobacco plantation, Augustine owned an iron furnace and land containing iron ore deposits, which became the centerpiece of his business investments. Had his ventures failed and he fallen into debt, the land at Popes Creek could not be taken from him because he no longer owned it. Consequently, the land on which George Washington was later born was owned by his brother, with Eskridge and Butler serving as trustees until Augustine Jr. reached maturity. Jane Butler Washington passed away in November 1729 while Augustine was conducting business overseas in England. Introduced by George Eskridge, the widowed Augustine Washington married Mary Ball on March 6, 1731. Their first child was George Washington, followed by a daughter, Betty, and three additional sons—Samuel, Charles, and John Augustine. When George was three years old, Augustine moved his family further up the Potomac River to his property on Little Hunting Creek, later to be known as Mount Vernon. Shortly thereafter, he relocated again to Ferry Farm on the Rappahannock River. Augustine died at Ferry Farm in 1743, when George was eleven years old. At this age, George had been old enough to have observed how his father managed the business of a plantation and iron furnace, as well as how he held leadership positions in society and interacted with various members of their community. The Washington Family Burial Ground at George Washington Birthplace National Monument is the final resting place of Augustine Washington and Jane Butler. |
Last updated: June 10, 2025