George Braxton Jr. (1734–1761) was a merchant, planter, and politician in King and Queen County, which he represented in 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 ...

for at least two terms. However, he is often confused with his grandfather and possibly also with his father of the same name (both of whom also served as burgesses and died within a year of each other), and overshadowed by his younger brother,

Carter Braxton Carter Braxton (September 10, 1736October 10, 1797) was a Founding Father of the United States, signer of the Declaration of Independence, merchant, and Virginia planter. A grandson of Robert "King" Carter, one of the wealthiest and most powerf ...

, who became a

Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colon ...

Early and family life

This man was born to Mary Carter (1712–1736), one of the five daughters of "King" Carter, probably the wealthiest man in the Virginia colony. Thus, his maternal grandfather was a land agent for Lord Fairfax, and now considered as founder of one of the

First Families of Virginia The First Families of Virginia, or FFV, are a group of early settler families who became a socially and politically dominant group in the British Colony of Virginia and later the Commonwealth of Virginia. They descend from European colonists who ...

. Many of his cousins would also serve in the House of Burgesses, and hold high offices in the colony, as well as like his brother Carter Braxton become patriots for independence. Mary Carter brought a 2,000 pound sterling dowry when she married George Braxton (1705-1749) in late 1732 (or early 1733, the marriage banns having been postponed because of her father's death), although because of a hard money shortage in the colony, it was not paid at the time of the marriage but years later. Mary had given birth to this son two years after her marriage and died in 1736 giving birth to

. His father did not remarry, but lived at the family's main Newington plantation as did his father (this boy's paternal grandfather) George Braxton, Sr.. The grandfather died in 1748 and his father died just over a year later, while this boy was still too young legally to inherit Newington or other property. His father was the son of Elizabeth Pallin, his grandfather's first wife and had been educated locally, then traveled to

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

where he was a student at the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest instit ...

in 1720. His will indicated he wanted his sons educated, and George began attending the college in 1753 and with his brother (and an enslaved attendant) in 1754. Because neither boy had reached legal age when the two older men named George Braxton died, Speaker John Robinson (the colony's most powerful politician at the time), and their scholarly merchant neighbor Humphrey Hill served as guardians for both this boy (who inherited Newington and various lands in King and Queen and Essex County) and his brother Carter Braxton (who inherited 25,00 acres of land in Orange and Albemarle Counties to the west). George Braxton III married Mary Blair of Williamsburg on December 6, 1753. Her Blair ancestors also had emigrated from Scotland, and become extremely influential in the colony's capital, Williamsburg, where James Blair had helped found the College of William and Mary. Her father was that man's nephew and heir, John Blair Sr.. Sources differ as to her first name, one naming her as Ann and another as Mary, and also disagree as to the identity of their three children who reached adulthood. All agree the couple had a son also named George ("Georgie") Braxton IV and a daughter Elizabeth ("Betsey") Braxton (1759-1818) who married Henry Whiting (1748-1786), the son of a burgess, who moved westward to Jefferson County and continued the family line. George Braxton IV was living in Richmond by 1781 and never had children. One genealogy lists their other child as Robert Carter Braxton, but he was the 13th son of this man's brother Carter Braxton, who purchased

Elsing Green Elsing Green Plantation, a National Historic Landmark and wildlife refuge, rests upon nearly along the Pamunkey River in King William County, Virginia, a rural county on the western end of the state's middle peninsula, approximately northeast ...

from William Dandridge with his inheritance when he reached legal age. Another names a daughter as "Molly", the diminutive of Mary, but both the couple's daughters named Mary died as children.

Career

His paternal grandfather became one of the largest landowners in the

Northern Neck of Virginia The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula) ...

and probably one of the 100 largest in the colony, although considerably less wealthy and powerful than his maternal grandfather sometimes referred to as King Carter. The Braxtons' main plantation was Newington, on the bluffs above the

Mattaponi River The Mattaponi River is a tributary of the York River estuary in eastern Virginia in the United States. History Historically, the Mattaponi River has been known by a variety of names and alternate spellings, including ''Mat-ta-pa-ment'', Matap ...

about 18 miles upstream from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, the county seat at the stream's confluence with the York River. However, the French and Indian War depressed tobacco prices, so he tried to grow indigo as a second cash crop, but he also spent money on racehorses as well as a landscape gardener. Because of

entail In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust, established by deed or settlement, that restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents that property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise ali ...

, which limited inheritance to the male line and was repealed years after his death, Newington was inherited by his brother Carter Braxton rather than his daughter. His father and grandfather owned a ship, "Braxton", and leased others to carry on a

triangular trade Triangular trade or triangle trade is trade between three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come. It has been used to offset ...

with the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and Britain. About once a year, the Braxtons served as commission agents for cargoes of enslaved Blacks. Either his grandfather (or a combination of his grandfather and father according to one biographer) represented King and Queen County in the

for about three decades. Neither older Braxton was alive during two extended sessions sometimes incorrectly attributed to him, so King and Queen county voters at least twice elected this man as a burgess. Braxton Jr. served alongside his former guardian John Robinson, who would become the family's major benefactor, although a scandal erupted after Robinson's death.

Death and legacy

Braxton suffered from pleurisy and died in 1761, shortly after Speaker Robinson, and was probably buried at Newington plantation, though he may have been buried at Mattaponi Church nearby with his mother.Carlton p. 430

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braxton, George Jr. House of Burgesses members 1734 births 1761 deaths People from King and Queen County, Virginia Merchants from colonial Virginia 18th-century American merchants