Augustine Washington

Augustine Washington
Posthumous 1867 lithograph by John C. McRae after a painting by G. G. White.
Born	November 12, 1694 Westmoreland, Westmoreland County, Colony of Virginia, British America
Died	April 12, 1743 (aged 48) Ferry Farm, Stafford County, Colony of Virginia
Nationality	British French (through Nicolas Martiau)
Occupation	Planter
Height	6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight	160
Spouse(s)	Jane Butler (m. 1715; d. 1730) Mary Ball (m. 1731)
Children	Butler Washington Lawrence Washington Augustine Washington, Jr. Jane Washington George Washington Betty Washington Lewis Samuel Washington John Augustine Washington Charles Washington Mildred Washington
Parent(s)	Capt. Lawrence Washington (father) Mildred Warner (mother)

Augustine Washington (November 12, 1694 – April 12, 1743) was the father of the first U.S. President George Washington. He belonged to the Colony of Virginia's landed gentry and was a planter and slaveholder.

Augustine Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Colony of Virginia, on November 12, 1694. He was the son of Capt. Lawrence Washington (1659-1698), a militia captain and a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, and Mildred Warner.

His paternal grandparents were Lt. Col. John Washington (c. 1631–1677) and his first wife, Anne Pope. His paternal uncle was John Washington II (1660–1698) and his paternal aunt was Anne Washington (1660–1697).

Augustine was only four years old when his father died. He inherited about 1,000 acres (4.0 km²) on Bridges Creek in Westmoreland County; his sister Mildred inherited what was called the Little Hunting Creek property; they both inherited slaves.

When Washington came of age (and into his inheritance) in 1715, he married Jane Butler, an orphan who had inherited about 640 acres (2.6 km²) from her father. The young couple settled on the Bridges Creek property. Washington was active in the Anglican Church and in local politics. He took the oath as justice of the peace for the county court in July 1716, and served as county sheriff.

In 1718, Washington purchased land on Popes Creek, abridging his property on Bridges Creek. About 1726, he had a new house built there (later called Wakefield). In the same year, he purchased the Little Hunting Creek property from his sister Mildred. Washington and his first wife, Jane Butler, had three children, only two of whom (Lawrence and Augustine, Jr.) lived to adulthood. In 1725, Augustine entered into an agreement with the Principio Company of England to start an iron works on Accokeek Creek in Stafford County. After Jane's death in 1730, Washington married Mary Ball in 1731, and in 1735, the family moved to the Little Hunting Creek property, which was closer to the Accokeek Furnace.