Charles Washington (May 2, 1738 – September 16, 1799) was a Virginia planter and government official in several counties, who founded a town in the
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...
which was named
Charles Town in his honor shortly after his death and that of his eldest full brother,
United States President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United State ...
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
.
Early and family life
Charles was born near
Hunting Creek
Hunting Creek is a cove and tributary stream of the Potomac River between the City of Alexandria and Fairfax County
Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commo ...
in
Stafford County, Virginia
Stafford County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a suburb outside of Washington D.C. It is approximately south of D.C. It is part of the Northern Virginia region, and the D.C area. It is one of the fastest growing, and highest ...
(now
Fairfax County
Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...
) to
Augustine Washington
Augustine Washington Sr. (November 12, 1694 – April 12, 1743) was the father of the first U.S. president, George Washington. He served as an officer in the British Navy during the War of Jenkin's Ear although he belonged to the Colony of Virg ...
(1693-1743) and his second wife,
Mary Ball Washington
Mary Washington (; born sometime between 1707 and 1709 – August 25, 1789), was the second wife of Augustine Washington, a planter in Virginia, the mother-in-law of Martha Washington, the paternal grandmother of Bushrod Washington, and ...
(1708-1789), an orphan and heiress of Col. Joseph Ball of
Lancaster County, Virginia
Lancaster County is a county located on the Northern Neck in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 10,919. Its county seat is Lancaster.
Located on the Northern Neck near the mouth of the Rappahannock Riv ...
. His father died when he was five years old. His eldest half-brother
Lawrence Washington Laurence or Lawrence Washington may refer to:
*Laurence Washington (MP for Maidstone) (1546–1619), Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidstone
*Lawrence Washington (1622–1662), MP for Malmesbury
*Lawrence Washington (1565–1616), Mayor of Northam ...
(1718-1752) returned from England (where he was being educated), took charge of most of his father's property as well as his underage half-siblings (including Charles, who would receive a private education locally, as was becoming the custom for children of his class), and also became the colony's Adjutant-General and one of Fairfax County's (part-time) representatives in the
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established ...
.
In 1757, having reached legal age, Charles married Mildred Thornton, daughter of Colonel Francis Thornton and Frances Gregory. They had four children: George Augustine Washington, Frances Washington, Samuel Washington and Mildred Gregory Washington.
Career
When Charles Washington reached legal age, he inherited 750 acres of land in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, per his late father's will. In 1761 he purchased two lots in the town of Fredericksburg, the Spotsylvania County seat, and built a house, which exists today but is known as the historic "Rising Sun Tavern." In 1773 he bought an additional 200 acres in Spotsylvania County. Though his parents' youngest son, Charles also inherited considerable property in what was then vast
Frederick County, Virginia
Frederick County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,419. Its county seat is Winchester. The county was formed in 1743 by the splitting of Orange County. It is Virginia's northernmost county. ...
, because his eldest half-brother, Lawrence Washington, died without any surviving children (and his widow died in 1761). Charles operated such of his property already developed into farms using enslaved labor, and would in 1780 move to the Shenandoah Valley and develop much of that property to farms also using enslaved labor.
Initially, Charles Washington lived in
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...
. He became a vestryman of the local Episcopal Church He arrived in present
Jefferson County, West Virginia
Jefferson County is located in the Shenandoah Valley in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. It is the easternmost county of the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,701. Its county seat is Charles Town ...
, between April and October 1780 and founded
Charles Town. There he erected a house,
Happy Retreat
Happy Retreat (also known as Charles Washington House and Mordington) is a historic property in Charles Town, West Virginia, which was originally owned and developed by Charles Washington, the youngest brother of George Washington and the founde ...
, the same year. In 1786, on of his adjoining land, Charles laid out the streets of Charles Town, naming many of them after his brothers and one after his wife, Mildred. He donated the four corner lots at the intersection of George and Washington Streets for public buildings of the town and county, provided the town become the
seat of the county upon its separation from
Berkeley County. Jefferson County was formed in 1801 as Charles anticipated. The county court house stands on one of these lots.
Death and legacy
Charles died sometime between July and September 1799, only a short while before the death of his brother, George. Although his son George Augustine Washington had predeceased his father (although leaving behind George Fayette Washington, Charles Augustine Washington and Maria Washington), his other son Samuel Washington was one of the named executors of the President. He also was survived by his widow (who died in 1804) and their daughters Frances Washington Ball (wife of Burgess Ball) and Mildred Hammond (wife of Thomas Hammond).
[Eugene Prussing p. 21] The grave sites of Charles and Mildred are near Evitts Run and have recently been located and surrounded by a stone wall.
Ancestry
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Charles
1738 births
1799 deaths
18th-century American Episcopalians
American planters
British North American Anglicans
American city founders
People from Charles Town, West Virginia
People from Fairfax County, Virginia
Virginia militiamen in the American Revolution
Charles .