Person:John Washington (2)

Col. John Washington was one of the Early Settlers of Colonial Virginia

Col. John Washington was the Great Grandfather of President George Washington.

Information on Col. John Washington

John Washington, born ca. 1633/4, died January 1677;sailed for Virginia in 1656 as mate and voyage partner of Edward Prescott, owner of the sea Horse of London, a ketch engaged in the tobacco trade;They arrived early in 1657. Having taken tobacco on board near Mattox Creek, they weighed anchor and set sail again, but the ketch sank; He bought land at Bridges Creek and settled there in 1664;Eventually he owned over 6,000 acres in Virginia, including the nucleus of the Wakefield and Mount Vernon estates;As a Colonel he led Virginian forces in the Indian War of 1675;Among civil offices, he was a member of the Virginian House of Burgesses for Westmoreland County;Married 2ndly December 1658 Anne Pope, widow of Walter Boadhurst and dr. of Lt.Col. Nathaniel Pope.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article John Washington.

1. ↑ John Washington, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Roberts, Gary Boyd. Ancestors of American Presidents. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009)
   1.

   Paternal great-grandfather of George Washington. Descended from King Edward I of England through his father. John Washington, prob. Purleigh, Essex c. 1634-prob. Washington Parish, Westmoreland Co. c. 1677, Westmoreland Co. 1 Dec. 1658 [m] Anne Pope. Parents Lawrence Washington and Amphyllis Twigden.

3.   Washington and his Neighbors, in William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine. (Omohundro Institute)
   4:1 (Jul 1895):28-43.

   ... Marriages of John Washington. - The will of Col. John Washington, the immigrant, speaks of a second wife; but it has been supposed that this wife (name unknown) preceded the marriage to Anne Pope. I am satisfied that the first wife of Colonel Washington was Anne Pope, and that the second wife was Anne, widow of Walter Brodhurst. But more than that, he had a third wife, whose existence has never been dreamed of - a widow, Frances, daughter of Colonel Valentine Peyton. Now for the proof: From the records it appears that Walter Brodhurst died between January 26 and February 12, 1659 - respectively the dates of making and of proving his will- and that Anne Pope was certainly the wife of Washington previous to May 11, 1659, when she received a gift from her father, Colonel Nathaniel Pope, under the name of "Anne Pope, alias Washington." But that she was not Walter Brodhurst's widow is shown by the record of a suit, September 20, 1659, in which this lady appears as "Anne, the relict and widow of Walter Brodhurst." Ten days later Washington wrote to the Governor of Maryland that " all the company and gossips were invited to see his young son baptized," which could not have been more than eight months after the death of Walter Brodhurst. The son was baptized during the marriage with Anne Pope; and it must be remembered that when Washington came to Virginia in 1656, aged about twenty-five years, he stayed at the house. of Colonel Nathaniel Pope, where, probably, his affections ripened for her, and a marriage shortly afterwards ensued.
   
   But in 1670 appears this entry under a statement of accounts :
   "Wee whose names are here underneath subscribed according to order of Westmrland Court bearing dat the 28th of Septembr 1670, having pused the Genll & Pticular Accounts Exhibited unto us by Lt Co1 John Washington who married Ann the relict of Mr Henry Brett late of ye County Deced, wee have Examined y whole Inventory Debts of ye said Henry Brett And we Doe finde that Mrs Ann Brett Washington hath paid beyond Assets the sum of sixteen thousand three hundred twentie five pounds of tobacco caske," etc., "as witness our hands this 3d of 9br 1670.
   John Ashton, William Horton.
   9th of 9ber 1670 This Report with ye account Annexed to it was Recorded. "
   
   In another place, under date of 31 May, 1671, Mr. Samuel Brett, of Plymouth, merchant, empowers certain persons to execute a discharge to "Lt. Coll. Washington who intermarried with Mrs. Anne Brett ye Relict administratrix of Henry Brett of Plimouth merchant deceased."
   
   An inspection of the will of Col. Washington, as published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, dated 21 Sept., 1675, and proved 10 Jan., 1677, clearly shows that the wife Anne therein mentioned was not the mother of the three children, Lawrence, John and Anne, but that the dead wife mentioned was.
   
   Now who was the Anne Washington of the will1? No other than Anne, the widow of Walter Brodhurst, that in the interval since his death had picked up Mr. Henry Brett, who, like most of the leading Virginia merchants, had business in both countries. This is shown by a letter of Col. Chester to Dr. R.A. Brock, which contains a copy of an old document in the Diocesan registry at Litchfield, dated 12 April, 1678, evidencing that Walter Brodhurst, her son, was granted administration of "the goods of Anne Washington, alias Brodhurst, late of Washington parish in ye Countie of Westmrland in ye Country of Virginia."
   
   Now in Westmoreland there is recorded a marriage contract between Col. John Washington and Frances Appleton, widow of Capt. John Appleton (née Frances Gerrard), dated 10 May, 1676, and of course Mrs. Anne Washington, the second, must have died previous to that date.
   
   The will of Henry Brett was probably recorded in England, and its discovery might lead to some further facts.
   
   In the letter to Mr. Brock, kindly furnished me, Col. Chester states that "one of his maxims is that there is nothing impossible in genealogy." And the narrative above seems to point that way.
   
   What right had John Washington, the ancestor of the Father of his Country, to worry the genealogist in the manner he has done? marry two Annes and then surreptitiously, as it were, slip in a third wife between the date and proof of his will?