Augustine Washington Jr. (1720 - abt. 1762)

Born 1720 in Bridges Creek, Westmoreland, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Ann (Aylett) Washington — married before 1744 in Old Rappahannock, Virginia

Descendants

Died about May 1762 at about age 42 in Wakefield, Westmoreland, Colony of Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: John Akard [send private message]

Biography

Augustine Washington Jr. is the half-brother of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Augustine Jr. is the son of Augustine Washington Sr. and Jane Butler, his first wife. Augustine Jr is also the younger brother of Lawrence Washington, the builder of the Mt. Vernon estate.

Augustine Washington Jr. (1720–1762) was an American soldier, planter, and politician. He was the second and youngest son of Augustine Washington and Jane Butler, and George Washington's half-brother. ^[1][2]

Augustine Washington Jr. married Anne Aylett at "Nominy Plantation." She was the daughter and coheiress of William Aylett of Westmoreland County, Virginia. They are both buried is the same common grave. ^[3]

They had three children: ^[4]

1. Elizabeth who married Alexander Spotswood and had issue;
2. Lawrence Washington, born 1745 , died as an infant.
3. Augustine Washington, born 1747 and died as an infant,

(According to Wikipedia, the couple (Augustine & Ann) had four children, who are not named in the article.) ^[5]

After inheriting his father's Westmoreland County farm Augustine, Jr., presumably lived at Popes Creek in the birthplace house until his death in 1762. The farm then passed to William Augustine, son of Augustine Washington, Jr., who took title in full when his mother, Ann, who had a dower life interest in the estate, died in 1774.

William Augustine Washington was living in the birthplace house when it burned accidentally during the Revolutionary War. Indirect evidence and tradition give some basis for believing that the house was destroyed on Christmas Day, 1779.^[6]

Birth

Birth: 1719/20

Place: Bridge's Creek, VA

Death

Died: May 1762, Wakefield, Westmoreland, Virginia at age 42 1224

Buried: Bridges Creek Washington Family Cemetery (Westmoreland County, Virginia, USA)

Will

According to the will of Augustine Washington Sr., the land now known as Mount Vernon first was willed to Lawrence Washington (brother of Augustine Jr.). However, the will instructed that in the case Lawrence should die without an heir the property would go to Augustine Jr. if he would be willing to give the Popes Creek property to George Washington. Augustine decided instead to keep the Popes Creek property and so George got the property now known as Mount Vernon.

Date: 18 Sep 1758

Prove Date: 25 May 1762

Washington, Augustine, 18 Sept. 1758. Son William Augustine negroes and other per. est. at age of 21 years; decd. bro. Lawrence Washington; daus. Betsey, Nancy and Jane £1000 each; wife Jane to be exx. with Fielding Lewis, Richard Henry Lee, my bros. George and John Washington. Codicil, 16 Feb. 1762. My wife being delivered of a son named George; wife in descent from her grandfather Col. Ashton; my bros. Samuel and Charles; children of my sister Lewis and of my sister in law Mrs. Booth wife of William Booth. ^[7]

Inventory: 30 Nov 1762 Personal property including 81 named Slaves.^[8]

Accokeek Iron Furnace Historical Marker

This marker is located directly in front of Colonial Forge High School, in Stafford County. The High School was named Colonial Forge because it was built on land occupied by the former iron works.

In 1724, John England, Iron master at the Principio Iron Company (in Cecil County, Maryland), learned there were rich iron deposits in Stafford, Virginia. These rich deposits were located nearby along the Accokeek Creek. John England then conferred with Augustine Washington concerning the supervision and mining of the ore.

In an agreement with Washington, ore was mined on his land and processed in a blast furnace constructed here. The iron was then sent to Maryland for refinement in Principio’s forges. For a time, the Accokeek ironworks proved profitable. In 1750, it shipped over 410 tons of pig iron to England, about one-fifth of the entire tonnage exported from Maryland and Virginia. As ore deposits diminished, shipping pig iron from to Maryland for forging became less practical and operations at this site ceased around 1753.

By 1729, Augustine Washington held a one-twelfth interest in the Principio Company and oversaw operations at the Accokeek ironworks. Part of his agreement was that he bear one sixth of the cost of it’s operation. One of the main reasons he acquired nearby Ferry Farm and moved his family there was to be able to personally manage the Accokeek iron furnace. When he died, his share in the company passed on to his son Lawrence.^[9]

Slaves

See: Slaves of Augustine Washington Jr, Virginia

Research Notes

There appears in the records of the Westmoreland County Court an accounting made by the Estate of Col. Augustine Washington who acted as the Adminstrator of Edward Carter, dec. and as the Guardian of James Carter prior to Col. Washington's death.

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_Washington_Jr.
2. ↑ https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4821226
3. ↑ Find A Grave Augustine Washington
4. ↑ BURKE'S Presidential Families of the United States of America.1st Ed.(London,Burke's Peerage Unlimited.MCMLXXV)
5. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_Washington_Jr.
6. ↑ National Park Service
7. ↑ Lineages, Inc., comp.. Westmoreland County, Virginia Wills, 1654-1800 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
8. ↑ Inventory and Appraisal of Col. Augustine Washington, Gent. 30 Nov. 1762, Westmoreland County Court, Virginia
9. ↑ Accokeek Iron Furnace; Historical Marker Database

• William and Mary Quarterly. Norman S. Fitzhugh, "Captain John Ashton of Westmoreland County, Virginia, and Some of His Descendants," series 2, vol. 14, p. 151ff.

• Index to marriages of old Rappahannock and Essex counties, Virginia, 1655-1900; Wilkerson; Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc.; Baltimore; 1976; Pg's. 12 & 244.