Augustine Washington Sr.

Augustine Washington Sr. (1694 – April 12, 1743) was an American planter and merchant.

Born in Westmoreland, Virginia, he was the father of ten children, among them the first president of the United States, George Washington, soldier and politician Lawrence Washington, and politician Charles Washington. Born into the planter class of the British colony of Virginia, Washington owned several slave plantations, from which he derived the primary source of his wealth. He also speculated in land development and owned an iron mine. Although Washington never sat in the House of Burgesses, as did his own father and son, he served in various government positions in the counties where he owned land.

Early and family life

Augustine Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1694, to Mildred Warner and her husband, Capt. Lawrence Washington, a militia captain and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.

His paternal grandparents were Lt. Col. John Washington (c. 1631–1677) and his first wife, Anne Pope. His maternal grandparents owned Warner Hall and associated plantations in Gloucester County. Augustine was four years old when his father died. His mother remarried and moved her family to England, where she died when all were still children; although their mother's will named their stepfather George Gale as their guardian, their cousin John Washington fought to have himself named the children's guardian and brought them back to Virginia.

When Washington came of age (and into his inheritance) in 1715, he married Jane Butler, another orphan, who had inherited about 640 acres (2.6 km2) from her father, Caleb Butler. The young couple settled on the Bridges Creek property and had four children, only two of whom (Lawrence and Augustine Jr.) lived to adulthood. After Jane's death in November 1728 or 1729, Washington married Mary Ball in 1731, and the couple had five children who survived to adulthood – George, Betty, Samuel, Charles, and John Augustine – and a daughter named Mildred who died in infancy.

Children (by Jane Butler)

• Butler Washington (1716–1716)
• Lawrence Washington (1718–1752)
• Augustine Washington Jr. (1720–1762)
• Jane Washington (1722–1735)

Children (by Mary Ball)

• George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
• Elizabeth Washington (1733–1797)
• Samuel Washington (1734–1781)
• John Augustine Washington (1736–1787)
• Charles Washington (1738–1799)
• Mildred Washington (1739–1740)