George Washington's father, Augustine Washington, was born at Mattox
Creek, Westmoreland County, Va., in 1694. He remembered little of his
father, as Lawrence Washington died when Augustine was only 4 years old.
Two years later his mother married George Gale, and during the autumn of
1700, the family moved to England. Their family life abroad was
short-lived, however, as Augustine's mother died a year later, when he
was only seven. His stepfather, who seems to have been a kindly man,
sent Augustine and his brother, John, to Appelby School. Their
schooling, too, was cut short, for a year or two later the boys returned
to Virginia to live with their elder cousin, John Washington of
"Chotank," whose plantation was located on the Potomac, about 20 miles
up the river from Bridges Creek. While little is known of Augustine's
teen-age activities one can surmise that he enjoyed plantation life to
the utmost while living with various relatives whose farms were located
on the wooded south shore of the Potomac River.