|
Early life (1732–1753)
Further information: Ancestry of George Washington
George Washington was the first child of Augustine Washington and his second wife Mary Ball Washington, born on their Popes Creek Estate near Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was born on February 11, 1731, according to the Julian calendar and Annunciation Style of enumerating years then in use in the British Empire. The Gregorian calendar was adopted within the British Empire in 1752, and it renders a birth date of February 22, 1732.
Washington's birthplace
Washington was of primarily English gentry descent, especially from Sulgrave, England. His great-grandfather John Washington immigrated to Virginia in 1656 and began accumulating land and slaves, as did his son Lawrence and his grandson, George's father Augustine. Augustine was a tobacco planter who also tried his hand at iron manufacturing, and later he was the Justice of the Westmoreland County Court. In Washington's youth, his family was moderately prosperous and considered members of Virginia's "country level gentry" of "middling rank," rather than one of the leading wealthy planter elite families.
Six of Washington's siblings reached maturity, including older half-brothers Lawrence and Augustine (from his father's first marriage to Jane Butler Washington), and full siblings Samuel, Elizabeth (Betty), John Augustine, and Charles. Three siblings died before adulthood; his sister Mildred died when she was about one, his half-brother Butler died in infancy, and his half-sister Jane died at age 12, when George was about two. A fire destroyed his father's Popes Creek Estate.
Washington's family moved to a home on Ferry Farm, Stafford County, Virginia near Fredericksburg when he was 6 years old, where he spent much of his boyhood.[14] The main farmhouse was "a fairly common English building with some regional variations,"[14] 1½ stories high with several cellars; it was considered architecturally elaborate for its time and place.[14] The family kept 10 slaves in the main farmhouse and outbuildings, and another 20 near the farm. Washington is said to have damaged his father's cherry tree on Ferry Farm, according to American folk legend.
Washington's father died of a sudden illness in April 1743 when George was 11 years old, and his half-brother Lawrence became a surrogate father and role model. William Fairfax was Lawrence's father-in-law and the cousin of Virginia's largest landowner Thomas, Lord Fairfax, and he was also a formative influence. William Fairfax's son George William Fairfax was a close friend and associate of Washington. His wife Sally was also a friend of Washington and an early romantic interest, and he wrote her love letters even after she had married. Lawrence Washington inherited a plantation from their father on the Potomac River at Little Hunting Creek which he named Mount Vernon in honor of his commanding officer Vice Admiral Edward Vernon. Washington inherited Ferry Farm upon his father's death and eventually acquired Mount Vernon after Lawrence's death.
The Washington family
Coat of Arms
The death of his father prevented Washington from an education at England's Appleby Grammar School such as his older brothers had received. He achieved the equivalent of an elementary school education from a variety of tutors, as well as from a school run by an Anglican clergyman in or near Fredericksburg. His education totaled seven or eight years, while he lived with relatives at various places that included the Westmoreland and the Chotank regions of Virginia, as well as Ferry Farm and Mount Vernon. He was trained in mathematics, trigonometry, and surveying that developed a natural talent of draftsmanship and map making. He was also an avid reader and purchased books on military affairs, agriculture, and history, as well as the popular novels of his times. There was talk of securing an appointment for him in the Royal Navy when he was 15, but it was dropped when his widowed mother objected.
In 1751, Washington traveled with Lawrence to Barbados (his only trip abroad)[27] in the hope that the climate would be beneficial to Lawrence's health, as he was suffering from tuberculosis. Washington contracted smallpox during the trip, which left his face slightly scarred but immunized him against future exposures to the disease.[28] Lawrence's health failed to improve, and he returned to Mount Vernon where he died in the summer of 1752.[29] His position as Adjutant General (militia leader) of Virginia was divided into four district offices after his death, and Washington was appointed by Governor Dinwiddie as one of the four district adjutants in February 1753, with the rank of major in the Virginia militia.[30] He also became a freemason while in Fredericksburg during this period, although his involvement was minimal.[31]
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
