Augustine Washington Jr. (1720 – May 1762) was an American planter, military officer and politician best known for being the half-brother of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

Early and family life

A member of the

Washington family The Washington family is an American family of English origins that was part of both the British landed gentry and the American gentry. It was prominent in Colonial history of the United States, colonial America and rose to great economic and p ...

. He was the third and youngest son of

Augustine Washington Augustine Washington Sr. (1694 – April 12, 1743) was a Virginian planter and merchant. Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, he was the father of 10 children, among them the first president of the United States, George Washington, soldier an ...

and Jane Butler, and an elder half-brother of

.Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, ed
''Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography''
Volume 1. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915. . Retrieved July 15, 2011. p. 352. Augustine Washington Jr. married Anne Aylett at " Nominy Plantation." She was the daughter and coheiress of William Aylett of

Westmoreland County, Virginia Westmoreland County is a County (United States), county located in the Northern Neck of the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population sits at 18,477. Its county seat is Montross, Virginia, Montross ...

. The couple had four children, of whom William Augustine Washington would follow in his father's footsteps as a planter and during 1788 represented Westmoreland County in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Career

According to the will of his father, Augustine Washington Sr., the land now known as

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

first was willed to this man's elder brother Lawrence Washington. However, the will instructed that in the case Lawrence should die without an heir the property would go to Augustine Jr., provided that he gave the Popes Creek property, known as "Wakefield", to George Washington. Augustine decided instead to keep the Popes Creek property and so George got the property now known as Mount Vernon. Westmoreland County voters elected Augustine Jr. as one of their representatives in the

Virginia House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...

following the death of Robert Vaulx on August 24, 1754, and then elected him to the following term, so he served (part-time) from 1754 to 1758.Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 85, 87 He also was a member of the

Ohio Company The Ohio Company, formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia, was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country (approximately the present U.S. state of Ohio) and to trade with the Native Ameri ...

. In 1753, he inherited his brother Lawrence's share in Accokeek Furnace near

Stafford, Virginia Stafford, also known as Stafford Courthouse, is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Stafford County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,370 as of the 2020 census. It lies north of Fredericksburg, approximately sout ...

Notes

References

* Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, ed
''Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography''
Volume 1. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915. . Retrieved July 15, 2011.

External links

Photo of Augustine Washington II's grave marker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Augustine Jr. 1720 births 1762 deaths American people of English descent American people of French descent Slave owners from the Thirteen Colonies People from colonial Virginia Augustine Jr. People educated at Appleby Grammar School 18th-century American planters