Colonel John WASHINGTON

  General Notes:

John Washington, the Emigrant 1633 - 1677

John was the son of the Reverend Lawrence Washington (who was born at Sulgrave in 1602). Lawrence was married, aged about 33 in December, 1633 to Amphilis Twigden born in Spratton, Northants, of a similar age. The exact date of John's birth is not known but it is always stated as 1633/34 (ie between Jan and March in 1634 in modern terms) which makes it close on the marriage.

John is unlikely to have been born at Sulgrave; Lawrence, and probably Amphilis, were in Purleigh in 1633 and the birth is more likely to have been either there or at Amphilis' family home at Tring - where there is reputed to have been a house on Frogmore Street in which the Rev. Lawrence and his family resided from 1630 to 1650. It was not unusual for rectors at the time to live away from their parish and it is possible that Lawrence lived at both places for part of each year.

At the age of 8 years in 1640, young John Washington was enrolled in the prestigious Sutton's Hospital in London (later to become Charterhouse School) based on a nomination by King Charles I. His future looked very promising - though he had to wait his turn. Which never came. We do not know where or whether he was educated but it has been suggested that he may have been trained in London where there were family connections.

In 1643, during the English Civil war Rev. Lawrence was accused as a "Malignant Royalist" and "oft drunk", and was ejected from his living as Rector of Purleigh which is in south east Essex near Maldon. Lawrence was forced to move from Purleigh to the nearby lesser parish of Little Braxted, Essex, probably through the patronage of Thomas Roberts, who was Lord of the Manor at Little Braxted until his death in 1680. Amphillis Twigden is believed to have returned to her mother's home with her children.

With the Parliamentary victory, John's promising and comfortable future abruptly disappeared. Next we hear of him is in Feb 1656, aged about 22, when, some eighteen months after her death, he completed the formalities as his mother's executor. The long gap between her death and this completion is used to argue that he was out of the country - possibly trading in Barbados. Through his grandfather's brother, Lawrence's marriage to the widow, Mary Argall, John had a distant cousin, Samuel Argall, who was active in the colony from 1609 and was Deputy-Governor of Virginia in 1617-19. The Washington family also had links through marriage to Sir Edwin Sandys who had led the Virginia Company during the important years in which 4,000 colonists were sent, the Virginian headright was originally and full male suffrage temporarily established. For a young man with a surname identified with the Royalist cause, who had grown up near the Essex coast, with family connections in trade, Virginia and the tobacco trade must have looked a natural career.

Later in 1656 he left England answering a summons from Edward Prescott to become the second master on The Sea Horse, one of dozens of ships devoted almost exclusively to the growing trade for the one of the most profitable crops then available. At one time it was believed that John was married to Edward Prescott's sister but more recent authorities have discounted that tale.

John's first trip was to Danzig, from where he sailed to Lubeck and Copenhagen and was sent overland to Elsinore to sell tobacco. From here they sailed to Virginia probably with a cargo of household and other supplies to exchange there for tobacco. He sailed as 'second man' i.e. as an experienced sailor capable of taking charge of the ketch, the Sea Horse of London, with the expectation of receiving part of the profits of the voyage.

The ships sailed up the rivers, making every frontier plantation an international port of call. The hundreds of miles of Bay tributaries were the highways of the time, but were poorly mapped, and often hazardous. The Sea Horse, on its return voyage in early 1657, met a fate in the Potomac like many others before and after - it ran aground, then was sunk by a winter storm. John helped to save the ship and then decided to stay in Virginia. April and May were spent in law courts disputing with Prescott who owed who what. The two partners embarked on a period of conflict and accusations. Prescott sought legal remedy against John Washington for his abandonment of their partnership and the subsequent loss of capital. At one point John Washington, in a Maryland court, retaliated by accusing Prescott of a witch hanging aboard his ship. John's fortunes turned for the better when he was befriended by Nathaniel Pope, a well established land owner in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Pope bailed young Washington out of his debts, and assisted him in severing ties with Prescott. Nathaniel Pope was one of the magistrates hearing the case and seems to have decided that John would be useful to him and John, deciding the same, perhaps, decided to stay in Virginia.

Nathaniel Pope had been the richest man in Maryland, moving to Virginia (as a result of a complex political scene) in 1649 and setting up as a trader and planter in the Northern Neck. Why he chose John Washington for his 20 year old daughter Ann - in a colony where there were at least three men for every woman and where Ann, as native born and rich, was eminently marriageable - is not clear. It argues that young John had a certain sort of something about him! John and Ann married in the last quarter of 1658 after John had been 18 months in Virginia.

For their wedding present in 1658 Nathaniel gave his new son-in-law John Washington and his bride Ann 700 acres of land on Mattox Creek near his own home where John had been residing (Hoppin I, p213). John Washington built a home on Mattox creek and began his new life with his bride Ann.

John and Ann had 5 children, of whom two died young with little known about them. The fact that they are recorded in their father's will as being buried with their mother in the Bridges Creek burial ground, implies that they died after its purchase in 1664. His eldest son, Lawrence, was born late September 1659, with Ann born between 1660 and 1665 and John between 1660 and 1666.

In 1659 and 1660 John purchased an additional 1,000 acres to his already extensive 700 acres at Mattox Creek. John took advantage of the "headright" system through which an English land owner in the Virginia colony would receive 50 acres for every indentured servant he agreed to receive in the colony. In 1664 John purchased acreage at Bridges Creek where he made his permanent home. His largest single purchase was in 1674 at Hunting Creek across the Potomac River from the "Piscataway Indian Towne" in Maryland. This land would obtain everlasting fame as the location for Mount Vernon. By 1668 and in a span of 10 years, John Washington by use of headright and shrewd investment had increased his land holdings to 5,000 acres.

John Washington and family established a home a Bridges Creek where he lived until his death in 1677. With John enjoying the comforts of family life and the prosperity of farming and land ownership, he began to rise as a leader of Westmoreland County. He was elected as county judge and coroner. This post was offered only to the leading members of the community. As a dedicated member of the Church of England, John Washington also served as vestryman in the local Episcopal parish which would eventually be renamed in his honour - Washington Parish. During this period he also transacted legal work for friends, in addition to his activities in maritime commerce with England, in the buying and shipping abroad of tobacco and other products. In return he received general merchandise from England which he sold in Virginia. John received a commission in the Virginia Militia and rose to the rank of Colonel. All of this civic honour culminated with John Washington's appointment to the Virginia House of Burgesses. His service in Jamestown would lead to a friendship with Virginia Governor Berkley.

Bacon's Rebellion and the seizure of John's home

In 1675 raids by the Doeg (Dogue) Indians began to plague Virginia plantations, especially on the frontier of the colony. Compounding this problem was frustration by lower income planters towards trade with Indians. Bacon's Rebellion occurred when this sizable group of Virginians attempted to seize or stop trade with Indians. Governor Berkley supported the trade with the Indians (some believe he privately profited from such trade). At the request of the Governor, Colonel John Washington was called to arms to investigate Indian raids on the Northern Potomac. Leading a unit of Virginia militia, Colonel John Washington met with Maryland militia members. The armed men were met by a couple of Dogue tribe members seeking to avoid bloodshed. The site of the encounter is believed to be modern day Washington D.C. Colonel Washington welcomed a peaceful solution, but before progress could be made, members of the Maryland Militia proceeded to execute the Indians.

There is some evidence that the Indian raids were carried out by members of the Seneca tribe who were willing to blame to the Dogues. With some justice given to the Indians, the Marylanders were punished. While Colonel Washington was quelling Indian conflicts, his home at Bridge Creek was overtaken by Bacon supporters led by Daniel White who physically constrained servants from loading or selling any tobacco or other trade items. By 1676 Bacon's rebellion failed, and Daniel White was ousted by John Washington from Bridges Creek. White was handed over the courts for proper trial. There is some evidence that he was hanged for his misdeeds.

Ann Pope died about the time of John's dispatch with the militia. Luckily the Washington children were in their teen years and were able to take care of themselves probably somewhere removed from Bridges Creek (perhaps in England). John remarried a second time to Ann Gerrad who soon thereafter died, and then John married a third time to Ann's sister Frances. Two years after Ann Pope's death, and perhaps only a year after the short marriage to Ann Gerrad and later Frances Gerrad, John Washington died at Bridges Creek in 1677 at the age of 46; by the time of his death, he owned more than 8,500 acres.

http://www.sulgravemanor.org.uk/history/john.htm

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John Washington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Washington (c. 1631-1677) was an English Virginia planter and politician . He was the immigrant ancestor and great-grandfather of George Washington , first president of the United States of America .

Early life and family
Washington, son of Lawrence and Amphillis Twigden, was born in Purleigh , Essex , England around 1631 and emigrated to the Colony of Virginia in 1656. He had been second officer on a merchant ship that foundered in the Potomac River , but left after the ship was refloated. [1]

Arriving in the Colony of Virginia
He first came to Virginia in 1656 and stayed at the house of Col. Nathaniel Pope, a plantation owner. During this stay, he fell in love with his host's daughter Anne. Washington married Anne Pope in 1658, and the couple eventually had three children: Lawrence , John, and Anne. Their wedding gift from Pope consisted of 700 acres (2.8 km²) on Mattox Creek in Westmoreland County of Virginia 's Northern Neck . [1]

Washington became a successful planter. He served in the Virginia House of Burgesses . [1] During the events leading to Bacon's Rebellion , he was appointed a Colonel in the Virginia militia and led a company of men to back a group of Marylanders during a supposed parley. Six chiefs of various tribes were killed, and retaliations increased. [2] He was criticized for this by William Berkeley , but received popular support. [3]

The local parish of the Anglican Church (the established church in Virginia, and thereby a tax district of the county) was changed to Washington in his honor. [1]

He is buried along with his wife at the George Washington Birthplace National Monument in Colonial Beach, Westmoreland County Virginia. His vault is the largest in the small family burial plot.

Family
Children with Anne Pope.

Lawrence Washington 1659,

John Washington II 1661,

Anne Washington 1662.

References
^ ^{a b c d} Irvin Haas (1992). Historic Homes of the American Presidents . Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0486267512 . .
^ Abby Sage Richardson (1875). The History of Our Country: From Its Discovery by Columbus to the Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence . H. O. Houghton and Company . .
^ Henry Cabot Lodge (1917). George Washington . Houghton Mifflin . .

External links
George Washington artifacts
Washington of Adwick, Origin of the Washington Family, Rotherhamweb.co.uk
John Washington Lineage

  Research Notes:

... Item I give and bequeath unto John Washington, William Washington, Elizabeth Washington, Margarett Washington & Martha Washington (children of the said Amphilis Washington my daughter in Lawe) The some of Eight and Twenty poundes a peece of Curr' mony to be paid to them att theire seu'all & respective Ages of One and Twenty years, To be putt out in the meane tyme for theire best benefitt & advantage And my will and meaning is that if any of the said ffiue children viz' John, William, Elizabeth, Margarett and Martha Washington shall happen to die before his her or theire Legacie or Legacies shall become due & payable, That then the Legacie or Legacies of him, her or them soe dying shalbe equally divided amongst the rest of them the said five children surviving. ...
- from the will of Andrew Knowling of Tring, 1649

Source: An examination of the English ancestry of George Washington ..., Volume 165
By Henry Fitz-Gilbert Waters
Page 10

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John Washington (1633-1677) was about 19 years of age when his father died, and two years later when his mother died he went to London, probably taking his brother Lawrence with him. The brothers saw the new opportunities in trade with the American colonies, and John, already married, sailed for Virginia in 1656 as mate and voyage partner of Edward Prescott, owner of the Sea Horse of London. His first wife died, and he re-married the daughter of an American planter, Lieutenant-Colonel Nathaniel Pope. Their wedding present was a 700 acre estate at Mattox Creek where their eldest son , Lawrence, was born in 1659 and the American line of the Washington Family was established..

http://www.ancestryuk.com/WashingtonAncestry.htm

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The Washington Connection
The village of Warton is closely connected to the foundation of the United States of America, its first president and the design of the famous stars and stripes flag. There is a direct line from the Washington family who were important landowners in Warton from
about 1300 to Colonel John Washington who emigrated to America in 1656 and was George Washington's great grandfather. The last of the family in the village was the Rev. Thomas Washington who died in 1823. The also married into another local family, the Kitson's, and through them into the Spencer's of Althorp, and hence into the
family that begat Winston Churchill and Princess Diana.

The Washington coat of arms includes three red stars above two red stripes on a silver background. These arms were incorporated into the church when it was rebuilt and were removed inside for protection from the weather, where they are still ( see St Oswald's, above).

Because of this Washington connection the village gets regular visitors from the USA. In 1976 the village put on a week of festivities to mark the bicentenary of American Independence. Several touring American groups came to the village to give concerts and a Shakespeare play was performed by a visiting group in the Old Rectory ruins.

Source: http://www.lancaster.gov.uk - Warton Parish Plan

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Burials at George Washington Birthplace National Monument

Bridges Creek Washington Family cemetery

"In memory of Colonel John Washington, son of Lawrence Washington, A.M. (Oxon), Rector of Purleigh, Essex, England. Born in 1632, He came to Virginia in 1656. A Justice of Westmoreland County and a Burgess of the Colony of Virginia. Deid in the year 1677, and his first wife Ann Pope, mother of all his children. Born in St. Mary's Parish, Maryland. Died 1668/9. "

Source: http://www.nps.gov/archive/gewa/Page15bgraves.html

  Noted events in his life were:

• Emigration: to Virginia, 1656.

John married Anne POPE, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Nathaniel POPE and Lucy, on 1 Dec 1658 in Virginia. (Anne POPE was born in St. Mary's Parish, Maryland and died in 1668 in Virginia.)

John next married Anne GERARD, daughter of Dr. Thomas GERARD and Susanna, about 1670. (Anne GERARD died before 1676.)

John next married Frances GERARD, daughter of Dr. Thomas GERARD and Susanna, on 10 May 1676.

  Marriage Notes:

"In Westmoreland County is recorded a marriage contract between Col. John Washington and Frances Appleton, widow of Col. John Appleton and born Frances Gerrard. This contract is dated May 10, 1676, so, of course, Mrs. Anne Washington, the second, must have died before that date."
Source: Some Prominent Virginia Families By Louise Pecquet du Bellet, Edward Jaquelin, Martha Cary Jaquelin - Page 52