George Steptoe Washington

George Steptoe Washington
Born (1771-08-17)August 17, 1771
Harewood, Berkeley County, Virginia, British America
Died January 10, 1809(1809-01-10) (aged 37)
Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation Planter, Militia officer
Spouse(s) Lucy Washington (1793-1809, his death)
Children George Washington II
Samuel Walter Washington
William Temple Washington
George Steptoe Washington II
Parent(s) Samuel Washington
Anne Steptoe
Relatives George Washington and John Augustine Washington (uncles)
Ferdinand Washington
Frederick Augustus Washington
Lucinda Washington
Lawrence Augustine Washington
Harriet Washington
Thomas Washington (six full siblings and several half-siblings)
Eugenia Washington (granddaughter)

George Steptoe Washington (August 17, 1771 - January 10, 1809) was a planter, militia officer and nephew of the first President of the United States George Washington.

Early life

George Steptoe Washington was born August 17, 1771 at Harewood, his father's plantation in Berkeley County, Virginia (now Jefferson County in West Virginia) the fourth of seven children (but the eldest surviving son) born to Samuel Washington and his fourth wife, Anne Steptoe.

George Steptoe Washington was named for his uncle, President George Washington, while his middle name came from that of his mother's family. George had four brothers and two sisters (as well as several half-brothers and sisters):

After his father's death, he, along with brother Lawrence Augustine and sister Harriot, went to live with their uncle George Washington for a time. The future president paid for him and his brother to be educated at Georgetown academy, where according to historian Ron Chernow, "they were wild and uncontrollable and a constant trial to Washington".[1]

Master of Harewood

George would, after his father's death in 1781, eventually inherit the plantation of Harewood,[2] as well as other properties in what is now West Virginia. While, for a time, he would study law in Philadelphia with Edmund Randolph, the young George Steptoe Washington would serve as his uncle's secretary. The younger Washington was a source of some worry and much expense to his uncle (who supported him and his younger brother Lawrence, and paid for their education),[3] who sent letters of encouragement and, occasionally of reproof.[4]

Family

While in Philadelphia in 1793, George, who was twenty-two years of age, eloped with Lucy Payne, a sister of future First Lady Dolley Madison. Lucy was only fifteen, and a member of the Society of Friends, who disowned her because of her marriage. The families reconciled, and later Lucy's mother Mary Coles Payne, would bring the younger Payne children to Harewood to live with the Washingtons. The parlor of Harewood was the site of the marriage of James Madison and Dolley Payne Todd in 1794.[5]

George and Lucy had four children:[6]

Richard Blackburn Washington was the great-grandson of John Augustine Washington who was a younger brother of George and Samuel Washington and the uncle of George Steptoe Washington. Richard B. Washington was therefore Christian's third cousin.[7] After his father (John Augustine Washington II)'s death in 1832, Richard inherited the plantation of Blakeley in Jefferson County, West Virginia, but, in 1875, would sell Blakeley and move to Harewood.[8]

Planter and Militia Officer

George Steptoe Washington was actively involved in the operation of his Harewood plantation, and bought and sold a number of parcels of land in Virginia and elsewhere.[9] He also served in the militia, rising to the rank of Major.

Death

On January 10, 1809, George Steptoe Washington died of consumption at the age of thirty-seven in Augusta, Georgia, where he had gone to establish another plantation. His widow subsequently married Judge Thomas Todd, who was an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Their wedding was the first ever to be held in the White House. Todd died in 1826, and Lucy died at the age of 74 in 1846.

References

  1. ↑ Chernow, Ron (2010). Washington: A Life. Penguin Press. p. 464. ISBN 978-1-59420-266-7.
  2. ↑ Wood, Don C., " Harewood: A Washington Family Legacy," Berkeley County Historical Society, dated March 5, 2009, http://journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/516632/Harewood--A-Washington-family-legacy.html?nav=5004
  3. ↑ Last Will and Testament of George Washington, as found at http://www.pbs.org/georgewashington/collection/other_last_will.html
  4. ↑ "I think it incumbent on me as your uncle and friend, to give you some advisory hints, which, if properly attended to, will, I conceive, be found very useful to you in regulating your conduct and giving you respectability, not only at present, but thro’ every period of life. You have now arrived to that age when you must quit the trifling amusements of a boy, and assume the more dignified manners of a man". George Washington to George Steptoe Washington, March 23, 1789, Mt. Vernon, Va., as found at http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=350
  5. ↑ Washington, John Augustine (Washington Family Historian), "The Washingtons of Jefferson County", August 3, 2001, as found at http://biztechsource.com/justjefferson.com/09jaw.htm
  6. ↑ Hardy, Stella Pickett: Colonial Families of the Southern States of America (originally printed 1911) (Baltimore, 1991)
  7. ↑ Washington, John Augustine (Washington Family Historian), "The Washingtons of Jefferson County", August 3, 2001, as found at http://biztechsource.com/justjefferson.com/09jaw.htm
  8. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
  9. ↑ Wood, Don C., " Harewood: A Washington Family Legacy," Berkeley County Historical Society, dated March 5, 2009, http://journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/516632/Harewood--A-Washington-family-legacy.html?nav=5004
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