John Augustine Washington
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John Augustine Washington Sr. (January 13, 1736 – January 8, 1787) was an American planter and politician best known as the younger brother 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 ...
and the father of Supreme Court Justice
Bushrod Washington Bushrod Washington (June 5, 1762 – November 26, 1829) was an American attorney and politician who served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1798 to 1829. On the Supreme Court, he was a staunch ally of Chi ...
. He was also the grandfather of John Augustine Washington Jr.


Early life

The third son of Mary Ball, the second wife of prominent planter Augustine Washington was born according to various sources either in Stafford County or what was then Prince William County (and is now Fairfax County). His father died when he was an infant, and his eldest half-brother Lawrence Washington assumed responsibility for the family, including seeing that his younger brothers received educations. John Washington married Hannah Bushrod (1735-1801) in 1756, when he was not yet 20 years old. Within four years, they had two daughters, Mary (1757-1762) and Jane (nicknamed Jenny, 1759-1791) probably both born at Mount Vernon as discussed below.Wayland p. 109 Hannah Washington then bore three sons, all probably at Bushfield in Westmoreland County. The eldest was named for his maternal grandfather and ultimately became United States Supreme Court Justice
Bushrod Washington Bushrod Washington (June 5, 1762 – November 26, 1829) was an American attorney and politician who served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1798 to 1829. On the Supreme Court, he was a staunch ally of Chi ...
. His brother Corbin was named after the family of his maternal grandmother and inherited the western Virginia property, and the youngest brother William Augustine Washington (1767-1784) did not reach adulthood.Glenn p. 37 Jenny Washington married her half first cousin, William Augustine Washington, and her youngest sister, Mildred C. Washington (1769-1805) became the second wife of the widower Thomas Lee.


Career

By his father's will, John Augustine Washington inherited at the "head of Maddox" ( Mattox Creek is a navigable tributary of 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 ...
) in Westmoreland County, which had been the first land the Washington family had owned in Virginia and on Bridges Creek (that become the George Washington Birthplace National Monument long after his death). Both Westmoreland County estates were about 20 miles from Bushfield, the plantation operated by his wife's family. As a young man, John Washington managed
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 ...
for his brother George, who was active in surveying western lands, and he brought his wife Hannah there in 1756, although both moved to Bushfield in 1759, in part because her father had fallen ill (and would die the following year), and in part because George Washington married Martha and chose to settle at Mount Vernon. John Washington and Richard Corbin became the executors of John Bushrod's will, which left land, furniture and 35 slaves to Hannah, and three slaves each to her daughters Mary and Jenny Washington. John Washington also held an estate sale at Mount Vernon on September 21, 1761. John Augustine Washington also inherited then in Frederick County (later in Berkeley County and now in
Jefferson County, West Virginia Jefferson County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located in the Shenandoah Valley in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,701. Its county seat is Charles T ...
) from his father and called that estate "Prospect Hill." In February, 1766, at Leedstown in Westmoreland County, John Washington (and his brothers Samuel and Charles) joined over 110 other men in signing the "Westmoreland Resolves", which created an association to oppose the Stamp Act passed by Parliament the previous year. When the port of Boston was closed because of protests in the Massachusetts colony, John Washington became chairman of the relief committee in Westmoreland County and forwarded 1092 bushels of grain. His brother George visited Bushfield many times, and John also visited Mt. Vernon. In 1768 John posted an advertisement that his slave Tom had run away, likely to the
Great Dismal Swamp The Great Dismal Swamp is a large swamp in the Coastal Plain Region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the eastern United States, between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It is located in parts of t ...
. During the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
John Augustine Washington served on Westmoreland County's Committee of Safety and as the Chairman of the County Committee for Relief of
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. He was listed as a Virginia militia colonel in 1775, so the title was more than honorary, although his wartime contributions would be mostly administrative, with his sons serving in the military. Westmoreland County voters also twice elected John Augustine Washington as one of their representatives to the
Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
, in 1776 and again in 1779; both times he served with Richard Lee and was succeeded by Richard Henry Lee. He also was founding member of the
Mississippi Land Company The Mississippi Land Company was a land company formed in 1763 following the British victory in the French and Indian War (1754–1763) in North America. The company was formed to acquire land grants in the vast former New France region between th ...
. And two years before his early death was elected a vestryman of Cople Parish in Westmoreland County.


Death and legacy

John Augustine Washington died unexpectedly at Bushfield on the 8th or 9 of January 1787, and a messenger rode to Mount Vernon with the news. He and his widow Hannah are believed buried on the grounds of Bushfield, but no stone remains to mark their graves in the family plot. A stone in his honor was erected by the
Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...
in the churchyard of Pohick Church in 1986. Bushfield was burned by the British during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
, but rebuilt, and is now on the National Register for Historic Places, although it remains a private residence.


References


External links


Mount Vernon biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, John Augustine 1736 births 1787 deaths American people of English descent American planters American slave owners People from Westmoreland County, Virginia People from colonial Virginia John Augustine Members of the Virginia House of Delegates 18th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly