Jane Butler Washington

A black silhouette of a woman
Significance: First wife of George Washington’s father, Augustine Washington Sr.

Date of Birth: December 24, 1699, Virginia

Date of Death: November 1729, Westmorland County, Virginia

Place of Burial: Washington Family Cemetery

Jane Butler was the first wife of Augustine Washington, George Washington’s father, and the mother of George’s half-siblings. A local of the Mattox Neck, her marriage linked two prominent lineages in the area.

Jane Butler Washington was born in 1699 to Caleb Butler and his wife, Mary Foxall. Her family was well-connected in society and owned extensive tracts of land throughout the region. Her grandfather, John Foxall, was an English immigrant who owned several hundred acres adjacent to the Washingtons' holdings along Mattox Creek, which were passed down from John Washington to Lawrence Washington. Her great-grandfather, Thomas Butler, was originally from Kent Island and moved up the Potomac, where he married into the Baldridge family, who owned land at the mouth of Mattox Creek. Jane’s mother, Mary, outlived her first four husbands, resulting in Jane having several half-siblings in the area, including members of the rising Vaulx family. Notably, Jane’s father, Caleb Butler, was Mary’s fourth husband, and he was also her maternal uncle. Although intrafamily marriages were often strategic for maintaining property within the family, this uncle/niece marriage was less common.

Caleb Butler served as a longtime justice of the court and was a significant figure in county politics. He operated an extensive tobacco-growing and shipping business with merchant firms based in Bristol, England. Upon his passing in 1707, Caleb’s estate was divided between Mary and Jane. In addition to half of his land, Jane inherited six enslaved Africans: Philip, Sarah, Jack, Joe, Bess, and Dick. After Caleb’s death, Mary married her fifth and final husband, Reverend John Bagge. Mary passed away in 1713, leaving Jane under the guardianship of her stepfather. Jane’s inheritance from her mother included items such as an “emerald ring with ten diamonds surrounding the emerald” and six silver spoons, as well as “one Negro man named Tony.” With Mary now deceased, Jane also received her share of Caleb’s inheritance, meaning that at the age of 14, she inherited land and no fewer than seven enslaved Africans. Her large estate was entrusted to Joseph Bayly (Jane’s uncle by marriage) for security until she came of age or married. Bayly was also involved with the Washington estate, and both Augustine and Jane filed claims in court on the same day regarding their respective inheritances.

In 1715, Augustine Washington came of age and took possession of his land on Bridge’s Creek. Almost immediately after becoming legally independent, he married 16-year-old Jane Butler on April 20, 1715. They shared a similar background as wealthy orphans.

The newlyweds made their first home on the west side of the mouth of Bridge’s Creek, on the old Lisson property. Here, Jane bore their first child, Butler, who did not survive infancy. In 1717, Joseph Abbington, a bachelor and one of the last descendants of Henry Brooks still living 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 and for a total price of 280 pounds sterling, Abbington sold Augustine just under 200 acres of land situated between “the Dancing Marsh” and Popes Creek. What had once been a patchwork of land was now consolidated under Augustine Washington’s ownership, and for the next 100 years, a large part of the Mattox Neck—and almost all the land of George Washington Birthplace National Monument—was owned by the Washingtons.

The couple made their home along Popes Creek where Jane had three more children: Lawrence (1718), Augustine Jr. (1720), and Jane (1722). In 1718, a planter named Thomas Spellman passed away, requesting that Augustine care for his children, which meant there were additional orphans under Jane’s care. Daughter Jane would pass away in 1735 at the age of 13, but Lawrence and Augustine Jr. would live to adulthood and would and became older half-brothers to George Washington.

Jane Butler Washington passed away in November 1729 while her husband was in England on business. She was 30 years old, which may seem young by modern standards, but it was not unusual for an 18th-century Virginian to die at that age. The cause of her death was not recorded. Her remains were interred in the Washington family plot near the site of John Washington’s home, which by that time had long been gone, with fields filled with crops in its place.

All the information provided in this article comes from our Historic Resources Study, Upon This Land by Philip Levy, where you can explore more stories connected to the Washington family and the residents of Popes Creek.

Last updated: December 27, 2024

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