General Samuel Hopkins Chapter
of
Henderson County, Kentucky

GEORGE WASHINGTON BICENTENNIAL INFOLINE
JANUARY 1999

INAUSPICIOUS BEGINNINGS

    January is always a time for reflection and a time for making new beginnings. So it is in January, 1999 that we consider the early chapters in the life of George Washington.

    If you visited Mount Vernon, George Washington's home plantation, you would be Impressed with the simple yet fine architecture and furnishings, which seem luxurious compared to the frontier homes and furnishings of early Kentucky with which we are familiar. Yet, neither the home nor the furnishings approach the richness of those seen at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home.

    Because Washington was such a great and influential leader, it ia natural to assume that he was born and raised by wealthy Virginians who had acquired lands and political advantage i.n Colonial Virginia. Perhaps he was expected from birth to uphold some family tradition of leadership and public servitude. Surprisingly, these were not the circumstances of George's birth family. While not impoverished, they were not among the first tier of colonial Virginian society.

    George's great grandfather had left England and settled in Virginia in 1637. Washington's grandfather Lawrence did serve in the Virginia House of Burgess and was Sheriff of Westmoreland County, Lawrence's son Augustine was first married to Jane Butler and they had three children , including sons Lawrence and Augustine Jr, After the death of his first wife, Augustine married Mary Ball with whom he had five children, the eldest being George Washington,

    George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. His early childhood years were spent on a farm across the Rappahannock river from Fredericksburg, Virginia. Historical records reveal that this family was of moderate circumstances. Their farm was near the spot where the ferry boat crossed over to the town. There was a lot of traffic on this river, including transatlantic vessels and the Washington home was sometimes a shelter for busy travelers. When Washington was about three years old, the family moved to the site of the future Mount Vernon. This farm was much larger and more rural than the home on the Rappahanock, Here, George learned to ride horses and regularly hunt for the game that graced the family table. George's father encouraged George to accompany him to oversee the work of the plantation and to learn management skills.

    At the age of five, George was introduced to his half-brothers Lawrence and Augustine Jr. when the young men returned from schooling in England. In all likelihood, George would have been privy to such an education. However, his father died when George was only eleven, and any dreams of schooling in England faded. Instead, George was tutored by a series of teachers who taught him mathematics and surveying. On his own and with the support of his brother Lawrence, George learned the manners and customs of polite society from texts such as Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior This knowledge became a great asset in Washington's future endeavors.

    His father's untimely death helped push Washington into taking responsibilities at an early age. indeed, he was earning wages for himself as a land surveyor by the age of sixteen. His mother Mary and his half-brother Lawrence continued to be very influential in George's life.

    Thus, while George was reared in modest surroundings and never received the kind of formal education that even he might have longed for, perhaps the training he did enjoy suited him even better for the rigors of self-discipline and decision-making required by the man who would lead this infant nation,

Flexner, James Thomas. Washington: The Indispensable Man. Little, Brown and Company, Boston. 1969.

Randall, Willard Stern. George Washington: A Life. Henry Holt and Company, New York. 1997.