Lawrence Washington (September 1659 – February 1698) was a
colonial-era Virginia planter, slave holder, lawyer, soldier and politician. He was the paternal grandfather 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 life and education
Lawrence was born in September 1659, on his father's estate at Mattox Creek and when he was five years old, the family moved to a nearby plantation on Bridges Creek, in
Westmoreland County,
Colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776.
The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...
. He was named to honor his paternal grandfather, former Oxford don and
High Church Anglican Rector Rev.
Lawrence Washington. His father,
John Washington
John Washington (1633 – 1677) was an English-born merchant, planter, politician and military officer. Born in Tring, Hertfordshire, he subsequently immigrated to the English colony of Virginia and became a member of the planter class. In add ...
, had emigrated from
Essex, England
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
and married Anne Pope. His mother (who died when Lawrence was a child) was the daughter and heiress of Col. Nathaniel Pope, a merchant and planter who had emigrated first to Maryland, then to Virginia's Northern Neck decades earlier. Col. Pope had given his son-in-law start-up capital and the property as a marriage present, and died shortly before his first grandson's birth. Before her death, Ann Pope bore two more children who survived to adulthood: John Washington (c. 1660 – 1698) and Anne Washington Wright (c. 1660 – 1697). The widower John Washington married twice more, both times to widows, with whom he did not have children but substantially increased his landholdings.
After a private education in Virginia as befit his class, Lawrence was sent to
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
to complete his studies, including training as a lawyer.
Career
As the Washington family's eldest son, Lawrence received the benefits of
primogeniture
Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...
. Upon his father's death when Lawrence was 18 years old, he inherited two substantial estates on the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
:
Mattox Creek (1,850 acres) and
Little Hunting Creek
Little Hunting Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 primarily tidal tributary of the Potomac River located in Fairfax County, Virginia, not to be ...
(2,500 acres) (which would eventually be renamed
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 ...
by Lawrence's grandson and namesake,
Lawrence Washington). Washington did not add substantially to either property during his lifetime, which some historians believe indicates his greater interest in politics and the law rather than plantations, although he also left personal property to support his widow and children, including 406 pounds sterling and 32,509 pounds of tobacco.
Lawrence Washington assumed public responsibilities in Westmoreland County based on his landownership, and three times (first in 1684) won election to the
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 ...
to represent Westmoreland County's interests. Thus, he served for about a decade, with the exception of the 1688 session that was suppressed. He had begun his county service as one of the justices of the peace in 1680, and in 1684 Lawrence Washington became colonel of the county militia. He also served two years as the county Sheriff.
Lawrence Washington also continued his father's roles as the county coroner, and took special interest in guardianships and estates, serving as trustee of the estate of Thomas Pope, the orphan Jan Hay, and Daniel Lisson's daughter born after his death.
Family life
In 1688, Lawrence married
Mildred Warner, one of three daughters of Mildred Reade and the wealthy
Gloucester County planter
Augustine Warner Jr.["Washington Family: Third Generation"](_blank)
, Genealogy.com During the decade of their marriage, they had three children:
*John Washington III (1692–1746)
*
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 ...
(1694–1743)
*Mildred Washington (1698–1747)
Death and legacy
Lawrence died at the age of 38 in February 1698, and was interred in the family cemetery at Bridge's Creek.
[Norris p. 151] His widow Mildred Warner Washington married George Gale, who moved the family to
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. Mildred survived her husband by three years, dying in 1701 at age 30 following a difficult childbirth.
["Washingtons"](_blank)
, Genealogy, The George Washington Foundation Her will named Gale as her children's guardian, but in 1704 Lawrence's cousin John Washington successfully petitioned to have custody transferred to him. At that point, the three Washington children returned to Virginia, where they lived near Chotank Creek. John Washington thus had the use of the lands and personal property they had inherited while he acted as their guardian.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Lawrence
1659 births
1698 deaths
17th-century American merchants
House of Burgesses members
People from Westmoreland County, Virginia
Lawrence (1659–1698)
Mount Vernon
Merchants from colonial Virginia