Chapter VIII: Part II: Eighteenth Century (1)

_MURDERS IN STAFFORD_

Thomas Barton, of Stafford County, asked a neighbor to stay with his children while he and his wife went away for a day. The obliging neighbor, his wife and three children, came to the Barton plantation on a Sunday, June 16, 1700.

There were three children in the Barton family, and an orphan boy. On that peaceful June day all must have been drowsy contentment at the wilderness plantation--six children at play in the house, and the neighbor and his wife trying perhaps to take a nap. Only the orphan boy was outside, playing alone.

Suddenly the peaceful Sunday afternoon was turned into a nightmare. A party of Indian warriors swooped down in a sudden attack on the Barton place. All was over in a few minutes no doubt. Only the orphan boy escaped and ran to a neighboring plantation.

Meanwhile Barton was on the way home. His wife had probably decided to stay overnight wherever they had visited for he was alone. He stopped by a mill where he had left some corn to be ground and picked up his bag of meal. When he was almost home about twenty Indians started up from the woods and closed in about him in a "half-moon." They were naked and unarmed.

Barton had a good mount but the meal was heavy. He finally got the bag loose and threw it off, and then at full speed he "broke through the woods and got safe to a neighbor's house."

Colonel George Mason II, who was probably at the head of the Stafford militia, was notified of the outrage. When he and a "small parcel of men" arrived at the Barton place they found plenty of work to do. They "pulled out of the people and a mare, sixty-nine arrows." They also found five "ugly wooden tomahawks." Mason and the men buried the "poor people." Arrows had made holes in the roof of the house as "big as swan shot."

From the tracks about the house Mason judged that there had been at least forty Indians in the party. He was of the opinion that most of them had gone back to Maryland.

After Mason returned to his home he wrote a long letter to the governor in which he described the murders as the "horriblest that ever was in Stafford." These two plantations would be deserted for the year, he wrote, and he was afraid that all the people would leave their plantations. "I am afraid," wrote Colonel Mason, "that we shall have a bad summer, but ... if I can keep them upon their plantations, it will be some discouragement to the enemy ... but God knows what I shall do now, for this has almost frighted our people out of their lives."

In another letter written in July, Colonel Mason seemed to have gotten the situation well in hand: "The Rangers continue their duties ... they range ... four days a week, which is as hard duty as can be performed.... The inhabitants still continue from their homes, but the abundance are better satisfied since part of the Rangers are constantly ranging among them." The Rangers had been re-enforced by the sons of the planters and other young men.

_FREE SCHOOLS_

In 1652 the court of Northumberland County granted the petition of Richard Lee of Cobbs Hall "concerning a free school to be set up."

Francis Pritchard, 1675, Lancaster County, left a large estate for the establishment of a free school.

In 1700 William Horton endowed a free school in Westmoreland County.

In 1702 John Farneffold made provision in his will for a free school in Northumberland as early as August, 1672. In 1680 he was minister of St. Stephen's Parish, and remained such until his death in 1702. He was the son of Sir Thomas Farneffold of Sussex, England.

The provisions in John Farneffold's will concerning the free school were as follows:

"I give 100 acres where I now live for the maintenance of a free school, and to be called Winchester Schoole, for fower or five poore children belonging to ye parish and to be taught & to have their dyett, lodging & washing, & when they can read the Bible & write a legible hand, to dismiss them & take in more, such as my exors. shall think fitt, and for the benefitt of the said school, I give five cows and a Bull, six ewes, and a ram, a carthorse & cart and two breeding sowes & that my two mulatto girles, Frances and Lucy Murrey, have a yeares schooling & be free when they arrive at the age of 22 years, to whom I give a sow shoat to each, & for further encouragement of a schoolmaster, I give dyett, lodging & washing & 500 pds. of tobacco & a horse, Bridle & Saddle to ride on during his stay, the place where the school house is to be directed, my will is to have it neare my dwelling house, some part of which may serve for a school house til another may more conveniently be built. Item what schoole books I have in my study, I leave for ye benefit of ye schoole. Then my will is that some of my estate be sold for the maintenance of the said schoole except what my exors. shall think fitt to select necessary for use as bedding, potts, & pewter. My will is that Mr. Tarpley, Mr. Leo Howson, Richard Nutt and Edward Cole carry me to the grave, three to have guineas, and Richard Nutt a gold ring.... If the school fail for want of maintenance, which I hope it will not, give that hundred acres & all the rest of my land to Farneffold Nutt, son of Richard Nutt; to the minister who preaches my funeral sermon, my Preaching gown & Cassocke."

Another school was provided for by Daniel Hornby, of Richmond County. In his will, proved April 2, 1750, he made provision that a Latin master should attend Travers Colston, a relative, at twenty pounds per year, and that he should be obliged to teach ten children.

In 1770-71 Colonel Landon Carter of Sabine Hall, Richmond County, was supporting a free school in that county. William Rigmaiden was the master of this school.

_THE HOME IN THE FOREST_

Mary Ball was born on a plantation "up in the forest," which was the way the Northern Neckers described any place that was not on the water.

In this Neck where one is never far from the water, river plantations were the rule in colonial days, and it is an unusual fact that Colonel Joseph Ball established his seat in the forest. Lancaster was still a frontier county and there were only horse paths through the woods, for the rivers were still used as highways.

Joseph Ball had inherited his forested lands from his father, William Ball, the founder of the Ball family in Virginia. William came to Virginia, probably as a merchant, in 1650, but he did not settle until about 1663, at which time he purchased land in Lancaster County and established his seat on the east side of the Corotoman River, where it empties into the Rappahannock. This location, which he called Millenbeck, became the county seat.

Joseph Ball followed in the footsteps of his father as a man of prominence in county affairs. He was Lieutenant-Colonel in the militia, and vestryman of St. Mary's White Chapel. This chapel was known as "the Balls' church" just as Christ Church was known as the "Carters' Church." Both churches were in Christ Church Parish.

Joseph Ball was married twice. Just before his second marriage he gave to the children of his first marriage certain portions of his estate, reserving the right of dower for his second wife.

Little is known of Joseph's second wife, Mary Johnson, except that she was a widow. When Mary Ball was born to Joseph and Mary, probably in the winter of 1708 or 1709, there was nothing to indicate that she was destined to become the most important woman of the Northern Neck. She was at that time just another baby born into the gentle, distinguished and religious Ball family.

Joseph Ball, who was no longer a young man, died when Mary was about two years old. In his will he left Mary four hundred acres of land near the head of the Rappahannock River, three slaves, fifteen cattle and "all the feathers in the kitchen loft to be put in a bed for her."

Within about one year, Mary Johnson Ball married again. Her third husband was a prominent merchant-planter, Captain Richard Hewes, who lived on his plantation Cherry Point in the upper part of Northumberland County, in the neck between Yeocomico and Coan Rivers.

When Mrs. Hewes went to Cherry Point to live she took her son by her first marriage, John Johnson, and Mary Ball with her. Thus Mary at three years of age had few, if any, memories of her birthplace "up in the forest" of Lancaster County.

Several generations later this Ball plantation became known as Epping Forest. It was named, it is believed, for a Ball estate in England.

_CHERRY POINT_

Mary Ball's first memories were probably of the fields and rivers at Cherry Point. It was a pleasant place to remember. The responsibility of the plantation soon fell on Mary's mother, for Captain Hewes died in 1713.

There were few toys then. Mary may have had one of those wooden dolls with stiff joints and staring eyes. She probably played out-of-doors and had animals for pets.

There were no childrens' books then. A Mother Goose book was published in Boston in 1719, but that was too late for Mary. She probably had only a horn-book from which to learn her A B C's. Perhaps there was an indentured servant who could teach her a little.

On Sundays the family probably attended church at Upper St. Stephen's Parish[8], where Captain Hewes had been one of the vestrymen. There may have been some sort of a road from the plantation to the church over which a coach could be pulled, but if so it certainly did not travel at the lively speed of King Carter's! More than likely they rode there on horseback--little Mary sitting up in front of some older person. She doubtless learned to ride at an early age.

[Footnote 8: NOTE: This church is said to have been located near the present village of Lottsburg.]

Mary probably valued the feather bed left her by her father far more than she did the legacy of land. She had never even seen the land, but every night she could sink into the warmth and softness of the feather bed.

Mary's childhood days at Cherry Point ended in 1721. The child's half-brother, John Johnson, and her mother both died in that year.

Mary Ball was now an orphan, but her mother had planned it so that she would not be alone in the world. Mary Hewes had stipulated in her will that--"my said Daughter Mary Ball--be under Tutiledge and government of Captain George Eskridge during her minority." Colonel Eskridge was also named as executor of Mary's estate. She had received almost the whole of her mother's estate, consisting of lands, two horses and personal property. And she had received all of her half-brother's estate, consisting of land in Stafford County.

Mary Hewes had chosen wisely in selecting her "trusty and well beloved friend George Eskridge" as guardian of her youngest child. Colonel Eskridge was not only a lawyer of distinction, an experienced business man, a leading man in his community, but he was also a gentleman. And Colonel Eskridge was "connected by marriage" with Mary Ball's half-sister Elizabeth Johnson who had married Samuel Bonum. Mary was therefore equally welcome to make her home at her guardian's plantation or at the farm of the Bonum's.

_SANDY POINT_

Both the Bonums and the Eskridges lived in lower Westmoreland County, just across the Yeocomico River from Cherry Point.

Colonel Eskridge's plantation, Sandy Point, was directly on the Potomac. Its name gave but a vague idea of the beauty of the beach and the sweep of river beyond. There was a feeling here of space. It was a place of restless sounds, made by the wind and waves. It was quite different here from the quieter waters and forest walls that Mary Ball had known.

Bonum's Creek Farm, the home of Mary's half-sister, Elizabeth, was east of Bonum's Creek. The "home-place" was situated on the bank of the Potomac, in sight of Pecatone, the manor home of the Corbin family.

Mary now had the choice of these two delightful places for her future home. She probably divided her time between the two. Perhaps Mary Hewes had this in mind when she left Mary a "good Pacing horse together with a good silk plush saddle," thus taking care of the problem of transportation.

Among the other things "bequeath unto" Mary by her mother were two gold rings, the "one being a large hoop and the other a stoned ring," a trunk and "all the rest of my wearing apparel." So when Mary went to her new homes she had a trunkful of clothes which would come in handy as she grew older, for it took a long time to receive an order from England, and ships were being taken by pirates during these years. It was lucky that fashions did not change much then, and that clothes were made to last.

Mary had a maid, who probably looked after her and her wardrobe. Mary had enough income for her needs, therefore she was more fortunate than most orphans of that time.

Sandy Point was doubtless the scene of many larks after Mary joined the Eskridge girls who lived there. In the evenings there was probably much talk around the fireplace--of pirates and witches and houses where mysterious lights flitted at night. And much giggling and chatter upstairs after the candles had been put out.

In 1726 Mary's life was again saddened, this time by the death of her brother-in-law, Samuel Bonum. In his will he left her "a young gray dapple horse."

While at Sandy Point Mary attended Yeocomico Church, where her guardian was a vestryman. She rode there on horseback, tradition says. In cold weather she probably wore a red cloak, and a hood or scarf to protect her head and face.

The simple church, cloistered in the virgin forest, invited worship, but the churchyard on Sundays was a festive place in those days. And it was a noisy place--there was the rattling of wheels, the cracking of whips, the neighing of horses and the chattering of the people, who were so glad to see each other. There were "rings of Beaux chatting" around the girls in their bright mantles.

It was cold inside the church in winter, sometimes too cold to have even the usual short sermon. The high-backed pews shielded their occupants from drafts, and some people had their servants bring in little stoves of perforated tin containing coals, or hot bricks to place under the feet.

After the service there was more "visiting together" in the churchyard, and the men had business transactions to make.

Near the church there was a spring, and a kiln where the bricks had been burned for the church when it was built in 1706.

Mary Ball lived among the gentle people of this region until she was married. There are no early portraits of Mary Ball, but tradition says that at the time of her marriage she was "a healthy orphan of moderate height, rounded figure and pleasant voice, aged 23."

_AUGUSTINE_

Augustine Washington was "connected by marriage" with Colonel Eskridge. He probably met Mary Ball on one of his visits to Sandy Point.

Sandy Point was an ideal place for romance but there is not even a traditional account of the courtship of Mary Ball. Even the scene of her marriage is not known, but it was probably at Sandy Point or at the Bonum home. Mary Ball and Augustine Washington were married by the Reverend Walter Jones, on March 6, 1731. Ministers at that time usually received "for marriage two shillings."

Mary's new husband was "blond, of fine proportion, great physical strength and stood six feet in his stockings, and had a kindly nature." He was called Gus by his friends.

Gus took his bride to his home on Popes Creek, in upper Westmoreland County. Mary was not the first mistress at Popes Creek, for Augustine had been married before, to Jane Butler, half-sister to Colonel Eskridge's second wife. Jane had been dead for about three years.

At Popes Creek now there were the servants and little Jane, who was about nine years old. Augustine's other two children were teen-age boys, Lawrence and Augustine, who were then at Appleby's School in England. Gus himself had been educated at that school.

Augustine Washington, while not a man of great wealth, owned land and buildings in at least three counties, and he was part owner of two iron furnaces. He was prominent in his community, having held at various times the positions of Justice of Westmoreland County court, Captain in the county militia, Sheriff of Westmoreland County, and he was a vestryman in the church. Although he was not one of the wealthiest planters in the Northern Neck, he was on an equal footing with them socially.

_POPES CREEK_

When Mary came to Popes Creek to live she had some housefurnishings of her own to bring with her. There was the feather bed, and her mother had left her a bedstead to go with it, a quilt and a pair of blankets. She had also left Mary two table-cloths "marked M. B. with inck," two pewter dishes, two basins, one large iron "pott," one frying pan, one "Rugg" and "one suit of good curtains and fallens" (valance). It must have been with great joy that Mary arranged these things in her own home.

The house at Popes Creek was not a magnificent residence such as Stratford Hall or King Carter's manor at Corotoman. It is believed to have been "a simple abode," but it was comfortable and it had a quality that was lacking in the splendid mansions--it was homely. It was the kind of place where a planter could sit with his family in the evening and feel close to them and close to his earth.

The house was situated on the west side of Popes Creek, about three-quarters of a mile from the point where the creek emptied into the Potomac. About a mile to the northwest was the last habitation of John Washington, the immigrant, and near it was the family burying ground.

Augustine had bought his tract of one hundred and fifty acres of land on Popes Creek from Joseph Abbington in 1718. David Jones, a local builder and undertaker, had contracted to build the home for five thousand pounds of tobacco with extra amounts in cash for incidentals. He was probably assisted by Augustine's slaves and indentured servants. The house was completed and occupied by Augustine and his first wife about 1726, so it was still rather new when Mary came to live there.

Mary probably found it not too difficult to assume her duties as mistress of the plantation for the farm activities at Popes Creek were about the same as those she had known before her marriage on the plantations in lower Westmoreland.

Many years later the Popes Creek plantation became known as Wakefield.

_THE WAR PATH_

The Shenandoah Valley was the historic war trail of the Six Nations of Indians of the north in their warfare with the southern Indian tribes. These wars had commenced before the settlement of Jamestown. There is no evidence to show that the Valley was inhabited to any extent by Indians immediately before the coming of the white man to the New World. Scattered burial mounds prove that Indians lived there at an early period but their history has been lost.

Governor Spotswood believed that this migration of Indian warriors from north to south would hold back the settlement of Virginia. He called a conference which was attended by the northern Indians and the governors of New York and Pennsylvania, and himself and other representatives from Virginia. At this conference the Indians were persuaded to limit their travel. In the Treaty of Albany, signed in 1722, the northern Indians promised to let the southern Indians live in peace, and agreed that their warriors would not cross Virginia without a passport. Disregard of this treaty was punishable with death or transportation to the West Indies and sale into slavery.

Governor Spotswood bound the bargain by dramatically handing the interpreter his "golden-horseshoe," which had been pinned at his breast, and bidding him to give it to the speaker and to tell him that "there was an inscription on it which signified that it would help him to pass over the mountains; and that when any of their people should come to Virginia with a pass, they should bring that with them."

After this treaty was signed the Northern Neck could be opened to settlers westward. And the planters could now patent immense tracts of land.

_FALMOUTH_

About this time there was considerable trade between the Northern Neck and both Ireland and Scotland. It has been said that Virginia tobacco helped Glasgow, Scotland, to prosperity. A street in that city was named for Virginia, and at one time Virginia merchants "thronged that street and were regarded with such respect that other men gave way that they might pass." Among these gentlemen were some of the planters from the Potomac. In 1720 George Mason III, was given the freedom of the city of Glasgow, in the form of a parchment "Burgess Ticket."

Falmouth, in Stafford County, was founded in 1727 by Scotch merchants. Boats from Scotland came directly to this trading village situated near the head of the Rappahannock River. Something of this once thriving trading center of the Neck is told in a letter written by a visitor by the name of Ellen Gray. The undated letter was written to her friend, Rose Douglas of Loch Lomond, Scotland. It says:

"Dear Rose:

"Falmouth is on a river that empties into Chesapeake Bay. The
houses are perched on declivities and hills. There are mills. I
love water wheels when they glisten.... We saw scenery much
wilder than any in Scotland. It consisted of islands in the
Rappahannock, lying above Falmouth. We gazed on them from a
long plank bridge. What a pity the Virginians will span their
streams with plank instead of stone! A stone bridge overgrown
with moss is a bewitching sight. Several Scotch families have
lived in Falmouth, tho the place is called Fal from a river in
England. Among its most successful merchants was Basil Gordon.
He arrived a poor boy in Falmouth. He died a millionaire after
a life of patient industry."

Basil Gordon is believed to have been one of America's first millionaires.

_BURNT HOUSE FIELD_

It was a cold night in January, 1729. Thomas Lee was ready to go to bed. He had probably checked the doors and windows and all seemed well at Matholic.

His family were already asleep but perhaps Thomas lingered awhile, thinking about his new home, Stratford, which he was building on his own plantation twenty miles away. How good, he may have thought, it would be to have something of his own. For Matholic, this ancestral Lee estate in Westmoreland where he was now living, did not belong to Thomas. He was leasing it from his older brother, the third Richard Lee.

Thomas Lee was a younger son and therefore he had received little in the way of a heritage; even his education had been neglected. His older brothers had received the customary classical education, while Thomas learned only reading, spelling and ciphering, probably from an indentured servant. He had been ashamed of his lack of education. To pass in the elegant society to which his family were accustomed it was necessary to have a knowledge of Latin and Greek. After he was a mature man he studied long hours alone until he had mastered these subjects.

Thomas' father, the second Richard, had thrown at least one crumb in the direction of his younger son. When he was compelled by age to resign as naval officer of the Potomac, in 1710, the elder Lee persuaded Governor Alexander Spotswood to give this post to his son, Thomas. So, before he was twenty-one, Thomas was reporting on the maritime trade of his district, and collecting fees from the ships' captains.

Through his uncle, Edmund Jenings, Thomas had acquired the position of manager of the Northern Neck proprietary. His uncle, who was then in England, had a lease on the proprietary at that time. Thomas had opened a land office at Matholic. He also traveled on horseback all over the Northern Neck so that in this way he well knew the lands of that vast domain.

By the time Thomas was established, and thirty-two years old, his thoughts turned to marriage. He went "a-courting" down at Green Spring, near Jamestown, and won the hand of young Hannah Harrison Ludwell. When Hannah came as a bride to Matholic she added to the family fortune with her dowry of six hundred pounds sterling.

Things were going well with Thomas Lee. Now, on this winter's night, he probably went up to bed with a contented mind.

Sometime during the night Thomas awoke suddenly to find the house in flames around him. He shook Hannah and they grabbed up the children from their beds and started for the stairs only to find that it was too late to get down that way. The heat was hot on his back when he helped Hannah over the window sill and watched her fall to the ground--fifteen feet. He dropped his small children and then jumped himself. Just in time, too, for he was hardly on the ground before the roof caved in--too late to save the twelve-year-old white servant girl who was asleep in the house.

Shivering in their night clothes the family watched the barns and outbuildings burn to the ground, shocked into silence by the loss of the little servant.

Later the ashes of the house were searched for Hannah's silver. When not a trace of it was found the origin of the fire seemed evident--burglars had broken in, stolen the silver and other valuables, and then set fire to the house.

The villians who burned the house were never caught. There were at large a number of English convicts who had been transported to Westmoreland as indentured servants. They had joined together and formed a lawless gang--they frightened and robbed the citizens of the countryside. Thomas Lee in his line of duty as a local magistrate had no doubt at some time given them reason to want revenge. These convicts may have burned the house.

As naval officer of the Potomac, Thomas had to prevent smuggling. A year before Matholic was burned his life was threatened by the crew of the _Elizabeth_. No doubt some of his enemies made in the line of his duties were at the bottom of this outrage. At any rate the Lords of Trade in London thought so, for they sent him a bounty, three hundred pounds of which was from the privy purse of Queen Caroline. Tradition says that this bounty helped Thomas Lee to finish building his home, Stratford.

In the meantime he built another house on the Matholic estate at a spot removed from the original house. The new house was called Mt. Pleasant.

The site of the destroyed house was ever after known as Burnt House Field. It was used as a family burying ground.

_STRATFORD HALL_

Long before Matholic burned Thomas Lee had started building his own home.

As a land agent for the Northern Neck proprietary he was well acquainted with its desirable lands, but the portion which he selected for his own belonged to the Pope family, and had been patented by Colonel Nathaniel Pope about 1650, before the proprietary came into being.

"I want to buy the Clifts," said Thomas Lee. This land was situated in Westmoreland County and bordered on the Potomac. Here the banks rose sharply above the River. We can imagine Thomas Lee standing at the edge of those bold cliffs, looking across the River while he dreamed of the manor house which he would some day build.

One day in 1716 a representative of the Pope family closed the deal by ceremoniously presenting Thomas Lee with a handful of earth and a twig--an ancient symbolic confirmation of the transference of the 1,450 acres of land called "the Clifts Plantation."

Thomas Lee built his home nearly a mile inland from the "clifts," where it would not be so open to an enemy attack from the River. Pirates were still roving the surrounding waters.

It took a long time to build the kind of house that Thomas Lee had in mind--a house with walls of brick two feet thick, that would stand for centuries. The thousands of bricks required for this undertaking had to be made there on the place.

Thomas Lee made a trip to England at the beginning of his project, some traditions say, and while he was there he doubtless visited the estate at Strat-by-the-Ford, once owned by his grandfather, Richard Lee, the immigrant. There could scarcely be any other reason why he would name his own home, Stratford.

Thomas Lee planned his house, it is said, after viewing the manor houses of England, and the result was that Stratford turned out to be a sort of medieval fortress. It was shaped like the letter H with pointed roofs. The crossbar of the H was the Great Hall, about thirty feet square.

On the roof of each wing arose a cluster of four great chimneys, which were joined together by arches of masonry. These clustered chimneys gave the appearance of two belfries, or towers. The space inside each group of chimneys was made into a summer-house. A member of the Lee family later described them thus:

"Eight chimneys formed the summer-house pillars, From which were seen Potomac's sea-like billows...."

In medieval times the use of the summer-house was functional, and so were these at Stratford--the activities of the plantation and on the Potomac could be seen from them.

At first glance Stratford appeared to be a one-story building, but its main floor was raised to the level of a second story. Thomas Lee had an idea of his own about architecture which was remarkably modern, that was to bring the beauty of nature inside. He did this by having long flights of steps leading directly from the lawn to the front and rear entrances of the Great Hall. Doorways and windows framed the fields, forest and lawn.

The manor occupied the center of a large square marked at the corners by four dependencies. A ha-ha wall ran across the front of the square, the purpose of which was to keep the cattle away from the house without obscuring the view.

Stratford Hall was built between 1725-30.

_GEORGE WASHINGTON_

It was about ten o'clock of a February morning in the year 1732,[9] when a baby's cry was heard in the dwelling at Popes Creek. A son had just been born to Augustine and Mary Washington.

[Footnote 9: George Washington was born "11th Day of February 1732, Old Style," or February 22, 1732, "New Style." The latter is the now accepted date.]

The baby was named George. It is believed that Mary's first born child was thus named in honor of her former guardian, Colonel George Eskridge.

Neighbors, godparents and the minister assembled, probably at Popes Creek, for the christening. A notation in Mary's Bible recorded the event: "... and was Baptised the 5th of April following." George's godmother was his aunt, Mrs. Mildred Washington Gregory.

George's first memories must have been happy ones--of woods, fields and water, and of animals, fowl and birds. His family loved him, and the dark faces were kindly.

George soon had a sister, Betty, to play with, and then Samuel. The first three and one-half years of George's life were spent at the Popes Creek plantation.

_EPSEWASSON_

In 1735, Augustine decided to move his family from Popes Creek to his farm about fifty miles up the Potomac.

This farm was part of the land acquired years before by John Washington, the immigrant, and Nicholas Spencer, husband of Frances Mottrom. Augustine had bought twenty-five hundred acres of it in 1726.

This property was located on Little Hunting Creek, which flowed into the Potomac. It was still called by the Indian name, Epsewasson.

Tradition says that the Washington family moved in March, as soon as "the ice cleared in the river." It was a new adventure for the children, but one of them was missing. Little thirteen-year-old Jane had passed away in January.

Epsewasson was still quite primitive; some of the land had never been under the plow. The Indians lived no longer in the forest, but the wild animals were still there.

At Epsewasson there was probably already a small dwelling, and Augustine had cabins built for the slaves and servants. And there had to be a mill--Augustine had one on Popes Creek and he built one here on Doeg Run.

Mary probably found life much harder at Epsewasson. The location was isolated, but she was never lonely for the children kept her company, and a fourth baby, John Augustine soon came to join his brothers and sister.

Thirty miles from Epsewasson was a place called Accokeek, where Augustine had interest in an iron-works. He seems to have been the only American actively interested in the iron enterprise, Principio Iron Furnaces. The rest of the company was owned by Englishmen.

Between Epsewasson and Accokeek there were several streams and marshes and Gus found that it was just as hard to get to as it had been from Popes Creek.

Little George may have gone to Accokeek with his father sometimes and watched the pig iron from the furnace being carried by cart to a landing six miles away on the Potomac. Augustine had men and oxen there for that purpose--"three hundred weight being a load for a cart drawn by 8 oxen."

1738 was an eventful year for the Washingtons. First, another baby, Charles, was born, and then, Lawrence returned from his school in England. He was a grown man now, with grace and polish. He immediately became George's hero, and remained so forever.

Augustine now made a decision--they must move out of the wilderness so that the children could have schooling and so that he could be closer to the iron works.

A place near Fredericksburg seemed to fill these qualifications. It was within easy riding distance of the iron-works, it was near a school, and it was situated between the land bequeathed Mary by her father and the land left her by her half-brother, John Johnson.

Augustine bought the property, which was known as the "Strothers estate," in 1738. They left Epsewasson, on Little Hunting Creek, which was later to become well-known as Mount Vernon.

NOTE: Epsewasson was sometimes spelled Eppsewasson, Ipsewason,
etc.

_FERRY FARM_

The Washington family moved to their new home in December, 1738. The "Strothers estate," or Ferry Farm as it was called then or at some later date, was located in what was then King George County but later became Stafford County.

The house was of moderate size, with the necessary farm outbuildings nearby. There were open fields and some woodland. The property was on the Rappahannock and at this part of the River it had dwindled to a small stream. It was not much of a river here when compared with the Potomac which the Washingtons had just left. The ferry which was operated not very far from the house must have been of especial interest to the children.

Ferry Farm was by no means luxurious, but it was adequate for the needs of the Washingtons. Here they lived a simple farm life.

The meals were probably served in the hall, as the custom had been in the seventeenth century. The china and linen were ample but in keeping with farm-living. There were twenty-six silver spoons but no silver plate.

The family doubtless arose early, maybe at dawn. After grace was said a simple breakfast was served. The main meal was served in the middle of the day and it was called dinner. Game, fowl, fish or hot meat and greens, vegetables and hot breads were included in this meal. The hominy may have been made in the Indian fashion with a pestle and a hollowed-out tree stump. Supper was a light meal.

The objects which were probably of the most interest to George were his father's surveying instruments, rifle and axe.

Mary's chamber, it was said, was directly in the rear of the hall downstairs. There were two beds in it, the trunk, a chest of drawers, four rush-bottomed chairs, and a tea table before the fireplace. The two windows had hangings. It was probably in this room that another baby girl was born in June, 1739. She was the last child born to Mary and Augustine.

October, 1740, was a sad month for the Washingtons. The baby died that month, and Lawrence sailed from the Chesapeake to a far-off war in Cartagena.

_FREDERICKSBURG_

The town of Fredericksburg was just across the Rappahannock from Ferry Farm. To the Washington children, straight from the wilderness, it must have been a source of delight.

Sloops lay at the wharf there, close to the public warehouses which were built in the shape of a cross. Near the wharf there was a quarry of white stone, and there were several other quarries in the river bank. There was one building in the town that was built of the stone, and that was the prison. Most of the buildings were of wood with wooden chimneys. In a few years the wooden chimneys were to be outlawed by the Burgesses.

Fredericksburg was a new town, and it was "by far the most flourishing town in that part of Virginia." It was "pleasantly situated on the South Shore of Rappahannock River, about a Mile below the Falls." It had been established in 1727 on a fifty-acre tract of land known as the Lease-Land.

The preamble of the act which established the town stated its purpose: "... good houses are needed and greatly wanted upon some navigable part of said river, near the falls, for the reception and safe keeping of such commodities as are brought thither from remote places with carriages drawn by horses or oxen."

When Colonel William Byrd of Westover visited Fredericksburg in 1732, he stayed at the home of its "top man," Colonel Henry Willis, whose wife was George Washington's aunt, Mildred.

Colonel Byrd relates that after a breakfast of beefsteak, his host walked him about "his Town." He saw the stone prison, the shops of the tailor, the merchant, the smith, and an ordinary. There was also Mrs. Levistone--"Who acts here in the double capacity of a doctress and coffee woman. And were this a populous city, she is qualified to exercise two other callings."

"Mrs. Levistone," or Susanna Livingston, was for some years the only physician in Fredericksburg. The vestry of St. George's Church paid her for attending the poor who were sick in the parish: "To Mrs. Livingston, for salivating a poor woman, promising to cure her again if she should be sick again in twelve month, 1,000 pounds of tobacco." It was not unusual then for a woman to be a "doctress."

Probably the most interesting place in Fredericksburg to the Washington children was the shop of William Lynn who sold, along with other things, brown and white sugar candy.

The same year that the Washingtons came to live at Ferry Farm, a law was passed that "fairs should be held in Fredericksburg twice a year, for the sale of cattle, provisions, goods, wares, and all kinds of merchandise whatsoever," and "that all persons attending the Fair at Fredericksburg were immune from arrest and execution during the fairs and for two days before and after them."

_SCHOOL DAYS_

It was Easter, 1743. George Washington was visiting his relatives at Chotank, in King George County. His vacation was interrupted by a messenger from Ferry Farm who told him that he was to return home at once as his father was ill.

Augustine Washington died on April 12, 1743. He was buried in the old family burial ground, near the banks of Bridges Creek, not far from his old home on Popes Creek.

Both of George's older half-brothers were now home; Lawrence was back from Cartagena, and "Austin" had returned from his school in England in June, 1742.

Augustine left Lawrence, his eldest son, the largest part of his estate, including all the property on Little Hunting Creek. "Austin" inherited the Popes Creek Farm. George was left the Ferry Farm and three lots in Fredericksburg. He was to receive his inheritance when he was twenty-one.

There is no definite proof as to where George lived after his father's death, but it seems that he lived at various times, at Ferry Farm with his mother, at Popes Creek with "Austin," and on Little Hunting Creek with Lawrence.

Tradition says that George had a convict-teacher named Hobby who taught him to read, write and "cipher," that he attended a school in Fredericksburg run by Reverend James Marye, and that while he was at Popes Creek with his brother Augustine, he attended Henry Williams's school near Oak Grove. These traditions have not been as yet verified.

It is known that "ciphering" was George's "absorbing interest." Tradition says that when he was attending school in Fredericksburg he usually worked at his figures while the other boys were playing bandy during recess, but one day he was "romping with one of the largest girls; this was so unusual that it excited no little comment among the other lads."

_THE INDIANS_

At the time of the founding of Jamestown in 1607 Powhatan had more than thirty Indian tribes under his rule. Eight of these tribes lived in the land between the Rappahannock and the Potomac Rivers:

Moraughtacund, on the bank of the Rappahannock River in the territory that was later Richmond and Lancaster Counties. Their main village was at the junction of the Rappahannock and the Morattico Rivers. Population about 300.

Onawmanient (Nominies), in the section later known as Westmoreland County, near Nominy Bay. Population about 375.

Pissaseck, on the bank of the Rappahannock River in the area that was later King George, Westmoreland and Richmond Counties. Its chief village or "Kings howse" was located just above the present Leedstown. A large number of surface artifacts found in late years indicate that it was a large village.

Patawomeke (Potomac), the principal village site, was in latter-day Stafford County at the mouth of Potomac Creek. (It was here that Pocahontas was kidnapped by Captain Argall in 1613.) Population about 750.

Rappahannock (Toppahanock), on the bank of the Rappahannock River, in Richmond County, from a short distance below Totuskey Creek to a point some distance above Rappahannock Creek (later known as Cat Point Creek). This was an important tribe with a rather large village at the mouth of Little Carter Creek. Population about 380.

Secacawoni (Cekacawon), in Northumberland County, along the Coan River near its entrance into the Potomac River. Population about 110.

Wicocomoco (Wighcocomoco), in Northumberland County on the Potomac River, near its entrance into the Chesapeake Bay. Their principal village was on Wicocomico River. Population about 490.

Cuttatawomen, one town by this name was located at the junction of the Corotoman and the Rappahannock Rivers, in what was later known as Lancaster County. Population about 115. The other town was on the Rappahannock at the mouth of Lamb Creek, in what was later King George County. Population about 75.

It is believed that the Yeocomico Indians moved to what is now Westmoreland County in 1634, after they sold their lands in Maryland to Calvert.

At the time of the settlement of the New World it is evident that there were more than two thousand Indians living in the land between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers. A century later the Indians were extinct along the Rappahannock. And in Northumberland in 1700, according to Beverley: "Wicomico has but few men living which yet keep up their kingdom and retain their fashion; yet live by themselves, separate from all Indians, and from the English."

By 1700, wars, white men's diseases, liquor and a general moral breakdown had caused the disappearance of most of the Indians east of the Blue Ridge. Some had moved westward or southwestward.

There was little left in the Northern Neck to mark the passing of the Indians except their ossuaries, an occasional tomahawk or arrowhead and the musical names of the waters.

_THE POW-WOW_

Friends and relatives had gathered at the Stratford Hall landing to watch the sloop _Margaret_ start on a trip down the Potomac. It was a May morning, in 1744. The forest was "a-bloom" with dogwood and redbud and the "pyne" was sending its fragrance across the water, just as it had when Captain John Smith traveled this way so many years before.

On board the _Margaret_, "seven flaming fine gentlemen," headed by Thomas Lee, were about to take off on the first lap of a history-making mission. Indian war drums were sounding. Thomas Lee and William Beverley had been appointed commissioners from Virginia to meet the chiefs of the Six Nations of the Iroquois at Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Amid shouts and laughter and the booming of cannon the sloop headed down the Potomac, in the direction of the Chesapeake.

The _Margaret_ sailed up the Bay toward Maryland and before noon the next day Annapolis had been reached. Here for five days and nights, the party was wined and dined. Philip Ludwell Lee, eighteen-year-old son of Thomas, danced until one in the morning with the pretty girls of Annapolis.

The remainder of the journey was by land. After four more days of travel the party was refreshed near Chester by a big bowl of lemon punch. In Philadelphia they were highly entertained for three weeks. While in that city Lee and Beverley marched in a procession to the market place to hear an official proclamation of a war between England and France. They were solemn now, for their mission was more important than ever. The colonists needed the Indians on their side.

This excursion was turning out to be an important diplomatic mission for the colony. It was to be Britain's first serious answer to French encroachments.

It was late in June when Lee's party finally reached Lancaster, a new and still raw town. The conference convened in the court-house, with Governor George Thomas, of Pennsylvania, presiding. On his right sat Lee and Beverley and on his left were the two commissioners from Maryland. The Indians occupied the space usually allotted to the audience, but the powerful chiefs, like Jonnhaty, Canasatego and Tocanuntie, met the white men as equals. A Pennsylvania Dutchman named Conrad Weiser, acted as interpreter. He was trusted by both sides.

The meeting was opened by the commissioners from Maryland, since they had issued the invitation to the meeting. This was in accordance with a rigid Iroquois custom.

The complaint of the Six Nations was that the white settlers were coming over the "Great Mountains" and moving into the Valley and trespassing on their ancestral lands. "You English have come settling on our lands like a flock of birds," said Canasatego.

The white men explained that when they entered the country west of the Blue Ridge it "was altogether deserted and free for any people to enter upon." To which the Indians replied: "We have the right of conquest, a right too dearly purchased and which cost us too much blood to give up without any reason, at all.... All the world knows we conquered the several nations living on Susquehanna, Cohongaranta and at the back of the Great Mountains."

Thomas Lee, when his turn came to speak, answered this charge by saying that the King of England held Virginia by right of conquest and that the bounds of the conquered land extended west as far as the Great Sea. However, he continued, the "Great King" was willing to pay them for certain lands. He was speaking, he told the Indians, for Assarogoa, Virginia's governor. Coming to the point, Thomas Lee laid down the customary string of wampum and said:

"We have a chest of new goods and the key is in our pockets. You are our brethren; the Great King is our common father, and we will live with you as children ought to do in peace and love. We will brighten the chain and strengthen the Union between us, so that we shall never be divided but remain friends and brethren as long as the sun gives us light."

The Indian spokesman replied: "We are glad to hear that you have brought with you a big chest of new goods, and that you have the key in your pockets. We do not doubt that we shall have a good understanding on all points and come to an agreement with you."

Each oration was ended with belts of wampum and "Jo-hahs." The great Iroquois chieftains no doubt understood what was happening, but the wampum and rum, the gifts of camlet coats and gold-braided hats, the festivities and ceremonial dances which accompanied the conference, must have caused them to shut their eyes to the truth. Or maybe they already saw the handwriting on the wall.

We can visualize the scene--the handsome and elegant Thomas Lee, in his crimson suit and flowing white wig, and the grave and eloquent Indian spokesman, in his equally gorgeous regalia. And the silent Indians, listening and smoking their pipes.

For 200 pounds in cash, and 200 pounds in knives, hatchets, kettles, jew's harps, and other "trucke," the Six Nations, said to have been the fiercest and most courageous of all the Indian tribes, finally put their marks on a piece of parchment which said that the white men could have all the country of their ancestors west of the "Great Mountains"--all the land between the Blue Ridge and the Ohio.

Thus it was that the red men surrendered their heritage to the white men in the town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on July 2, 1744.

_MOUNT VERNON_

George Washington probably liked visiting his brother Austin at Popes Creek, for there he was close to the Potomac where he could sail and fish and go ducking, as wild fowl were plentiful there. He no doubt rode and hunted and enjoyed the countryside just like any other Northern Neck boy.

Popes Creek was more luxurious than Ferry Farm. Austin kept a racing stud that he probably raced at the Fredericksburg fairs. His wife owned enough millinery and kid gloves to have been a "rather dashing figure at the races." She had been Anne Aylett, of Westmoreland, a young woman of birth and station.

Although George was not destined to receive an English education, as his father and brothers had, he learned, when he visited his brother Lawrence at Hunting Creek, to move in the society of polished gentlemen.

The old house at Epsewasson, where George had lived as a child, had either burned or Lawrence had torn it down. Lawrence had built a new home and he called it Mount Vernon, in honor of Admiral Vernon, under whom he had served as captain of marines at Cartagena.

Lawrence had married Anne Fairfax, daughter of Colonel William Fairfax, who was a cousin and agent of Lord Fairfax, the proprietor of the Northern Neck. Belvoir, not far from Mount Vernon, was the home of the Fairfax family.

While he was at Mount Vernon, George visited Belvoir and became friends with William Fairfax, the son of the house, who was seven years his senior. At Belvoir, in 1748, he also met Lord Fairfax. They became friends and hunting companions. Lord Fairfax remained at Belvoir, amusing himself with reading, fishing and fox-hunting, until he moved to his own home, Greenway Court, in 1751.

In the spring of 1748 a party of gentlemen were about to start for the South Branch of the Potomac for the purpose of surveying lands for Lord Fairfax. George Washington, then sixteen, and a big lad for his age, was invited to accompany this party.

George was glad of this opportunity for the training it would afford him, and because he enjoyed being in the company of polished gentlemen. He did not go on this expedition as one of the surveyors.

George Washington was not a rich boy but he was accustomed to nice things. When he and his friend, "Mr. Fairfax" (George William) set out upon this new adventure into the wilderness, he was dressed not as a frontiersman but in "some of the clothes of fashion," and he carried a watch.

_WASHINGTON WASHED HERE_

When George Washington came back from his trip with the surveying party, in June, 1748, he went down into the Northern Neck and visited his cousins at Chotank. He probably visited all of the neighbors near there and told them of his experiences in the wilderness--of the Indians and the frontier families. He probably stayed in the Neck for awhile.

About this time, while he was at Ferry Farm, he decided one day to "wash" in the Rappahannock. At that time in the Neck, and for many years after, to "wash" meant to bathe.