In 1732, 125 years had passed since the founding at Jamestown of the
first successful English colony in America. The county of Westmoreland
had been established for 79 years, and three-quarters of a century had
gone by since Augustine's grandfather, John Washington, had settled in
Virginia. Williamsburg had been the capital of the colony for 33 years,
and William and Mary College was in its 40th year. Some of Augustine's
older friends remembered Bacon's Rebellion, which had flared up and had
been extinguished by Governor Berkeley 56 years earlier. Augustine
himself certainly remembered news of the fight between Blackbeard's
pirates and Virginia sailors, for only 14 years had gone by since the
ruthless pirate leader had been killed off Ocracoke Island on the Outer
Banks of North Carolina. Augustine also remembered accounts of the
expedition Governor Spotswood had led to the distant Blue Ridge
Mountains in 1716, for this adventuresome exploit was still discussed by
the tidewater planters who coveted the little-known lands beyond the
distant mountains.
[Illustration: _Washington family coat of arms._]
[Illustration: _Ball family coat of arms._]
There were only two towns in Virginia of any considerable
size--Williamsburg and Norfolk--by 1732. The population of the colony
was estimated at 114,000, of which 76,000 were whites and 38,000
Negroes. George Gooch was Lieutenant Governor of the Royal Province and
George II was in the 6th year of his reign.
In 1732 William Byrd of "Westover" and Peter Jones were surveying the
North Carolina-Virginia boundary line, and another year was to go by
before Petersburg and Richmond would be laid out as townsites. There was
not a single newspaper in Virginia in 1732; Augustine may have read _The
Maryland Gazette_ (published in Annapolis by W. Parks at 15 shillings a
year) or one printed in London.
Tobacco was the important money crop, and almost every ship that sailed
from a plantation wharf carried hogsheads of the "delightful weed" in
its hold. Many other commodities, too, were shipped to the mother
country as well as to New England, the middle colonies, Barbados,
Madeira, Bermuda, and Jamaica. Exports from one Virginia shipping
district--Porth South Potomac--in 1732 included (besides tobacco)
staves, timber, corn, wheat, peas, beans, masts, pig iron, feathers,
pork, cotton, earthenware "parcels," woodenware "parcels," bacon, hides,
deerskins, beaver skins, oak and walnut logs, cider and cider casks,
beef, wine pipes, snakeroot, tallow, pewter and brass "parcels," and
copper ore casks. Items imported included rum, salt, Irish linen, fish,
chocolate, molasses, sugar, earthernware, "woodware," millstones,
Madeira wine, cheese, rice, ironware, and "parcels from Great Britain."
The latter "parcels" included furniture fabrics, rugs, pottery and
porcelain, silver, pewter, copper and brassware, and other household
furnishings and accessories needed by the colonists.
_George Washington_
On February 11 (Old Style), 1732--when jasmine and jonquils were
beginning to bloom and dark purple berries were forming on the native
"cedar" trees--Mary Ball Washington gave birth to her first child, a boy
she named George. The time was about 10 o'clock in the morning. At a
later date the event was recorded with brevity in the family Bible:
George Washington son to Augustine & Mary his Wife was Born ye 11th
Day of February 1731/2 about 10 in the Morning & was Baptis'd the 5th
of April following Mr. Beverley Whiting & Capt Christopher Brookes
godfathers and Mrs. Mildred Gregory godmother.
The date, "11th Day of February," was "Old Style." By the Gregorian
calendar, adopted by Great Britain in 1752 and now in use in the United
States, the date was February 22, 1732, "New Style."
The place where George was baptized on the 5th of April is unknown,
although the christening probably took place in the Popes Creek home. If
not there, it may have occurred at Mattox Church (located at Church
Point about 2½ miles away) or at Round Hill Church about 16 miles from
the Popes Creek home by road. The Reverend Roderick McCullough was the
minister in charge of the Episcopal churches in Washington Parish in
1732, but of his actual administering of the rite there is no record.
Very little is known about the godparents. A Beverley Whiting served as
a burgess from Gloucester County, and a Christopher Brooke was captain
of a Virginia ship, the _Cambridge_, but there is no evidence that these
men were the ones, with similar names, recorded in the family Bible. The
godmother, Mildred Washington Gregory, was George's aunt.
The first 3½ years of George's life were spent at the Popes Creek
plantation. At some unknown date between March 25 and November 18, 1735,
Augustine Washington moved his family up the Potomac River about 50
miles to his farm on Hunting Creek (known today as Mount Vernon). Three
years later Augustine purchased a 288-acre farm near Fredericksburg, and
about December 1, 1738 (when George was almost 7 years old) moved there
with his family.
In 1742 Augustine acquired another tract of land between Popes Creek and
Bridges Creek--within sight of the home where George was born. With the
exception of one piece of property on the river all of the Popes
Creek--Bridges Creek peninsula was now owned by George's father.
In 1743, a few weeks after George's 11th birthday, Augustine Washington
was stricken with a stomach disorder, and died on the 12th of April. He
was interred in the family burying ground at Bridges Creek, where his
father, Lawrence, and grandfather, John, were buried. Augustine left the
Popes Creek--Bridges Creek plantation to his second son and namesake,
Augustine, Jr. (one of George's elder half brothers).
After his father's death it appears that George resided variously with
his mother on her farm near Fredericksburg; at Mount Vernon with another
half brother, Lawrence; at "Chotank" in King George County with other
relatives; and at his birth home on Popes Creek with his elder half
brother, Augustine, Jr.
The frequency and length of these visits of George to Popes Creek are
not known, but there is ample evidence that he stayed with his elder
brother and sister-in-law on many occasions for long periods. During
such visits he must have become familiar with every nook and cranny in
his birth home, as well as with its outdoor attractions--the green
fields of tobacco, corn, and wheat; the sweet-scented herb garden; the
domestic animals, and other aspects of farm life beloved by all boys
fortunate enough to know them.
[Illustration: _Survey of Bridges Creek area by George Washington at
the age of 15._]
[Illustration: _A copy of a chain, compass, and scale drawn by
George Washington when he was 14 years old._]
Beyond the cultivated fields grew the dense forest, which only a century
before had been the hunting ground of the Indians. The dominant trees in
the majestic woods were the broadleaf species--oak, maple, walnut,
hickory, chestnut, holly, dogwood, persimmon, and
tulip-poplar--interspersed with a few conifers, including cedar and
several species of pine. Wild animals were abundant and young George
probably hunted deer, bear, turkey, and other woodland creatures.
Tranquil Popes Creek must have had a special appeal to the growing boy,
for along its edge, ducks and wild geese searched for food, and in its
waters swam large turtles and many kinds of fish. More inviting than the
creek, however, was the broad Potomac River--an invitation to fish,
swim, and sail boat.
All was not play at the Popes Creek plantation. For when George visited
his elder brother he undoubtedly helped with the numerous farm chores.
Then, too, he may have attended the school Henry Williams conducted near
Mattox Creek, although no direct evidence of this has been found. There
is, however, reliable evidence that he mastered his first lessons in
surveying while visiting his birthplace, for an existing survey of the
Bridges Creek area was made by George in 1747, when he was only 15 years
old.
[Illustration: SOME EARLY FOUNDATIONS UNEARTHED _at_ WASHINGTON'S
BIRTHPLACE]
_12'x12' Foundation of 17^th century building located ¼ mile northeast
of the Washington Family burying ground. Believed to be a building
constructed by Henry Brooks, who patented the land in 1657. Excavated in
1934._