Betty Washington Lewis

Betty Washington Lewis
Portrait belongs to Mount Vernon Ladies Association

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Researching the Lewis and Washington Families

Everyone has a story to tell…but what makes it worth the time for someone else to read? If genealogy is void of details surrounding events it becomes sterile. Family history is lost unless someone makes the commitment to share the history with existing and future generations.

A resource often used as a starting point for persons with possible ties to the Lewis and Washington families is a book by Merrow Egerton Sorley entitled Lewis of Warner Hall: The History of a Family Including the Genealogy of Descendants in Both the Male and Female Lines, Biographical Sketches of Its Members, and Their Descent from Other Early Virginia Families, published by Genealogical Publishing Company. Merrow Egerton Sorley’s research is respected within the genealogical community. His research provides a foundation to verify genealogical information.

In our electronic age, reliable resources including birth, marriage, and death records as well as census and military records are just a few items available on the web site Ancestry.com for a fee. However, the fee is worth the investment to discover more about one’s family heritage. Caution should be used to insure the information obtained from the internet is verified with supporting primary documentation.

Most family genealogists are willing to share and especially exchange information regarding family lines as often the motivation is to keep the family members connected.

As Merrow Egerton Sorley states in the introduction to his book “…many migrating branches of the family lost all contact with their original home and their relatives; and not only did the later generations of these relatives grow up in ignorance of their distant cousins, but in many cases the migratory group which had settled in Texas or Missouri lost all knowledge of its early ancestry; there are today, no doubt scores of Lewis descendants who do not know that they are connected with the family.” This was the case with part of the Texas branch and thus resulted in my conducting detailed research on the various branches of the family directly descended from Betty Washington Lewis. Every effort was made to link original and supporting documentation to the correct individual. Should you be interested in exchanging information, contact can be established by clicking this link.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

The Lewis Plantation: Yes! George Washington slept here!


Letters and diaries of George Washington document his visits to Fredericksburg, Virginia, as he notes “dining at my Sister Lewis’s” and “lodging with Col. Lewis.”

On 7 May 1750, Betty Washington married Fielding Lewis (born 7 July 1725 and died 10 December 1781) as his second wife. He was previously married on 18 October 1746 to his cousin Catherine Washington (born 11 February 1723/4 and died 19 February 1750) with whom he had three children:

            John Lewis (born 22 June 1747 and died 23 November 1825)
Francis Lewis - Little is known about this daughter that could have married and lived to approximate thirty years of age. (born 26 November 1748 and died between 1765 and 1781)
            Warner Lewis (born 27 November 1749 and died 5 December 1749)

Eleven children were born to Betty Washington (born 20 June 1733 and died 31 March 1797) and Fielding Lewis with six surviving to adulthood:

            Fielding Lewis Jr. (born 14 February 1751 and died 5 July 1803)
            George Lewis (born 14 March 1757 and died 13 November 1821)
            Betty Lewis (born 23 February 1765 and died 9 April 1830)
            Lawrence Lewis (4 April 1767 and died 20 November 1839)
            Robert Lewis (born 25 June 1769 and died 1 January 1829)
            Howell Lewis (born 20 December 1771 and died 26 December 1822)

On 26 February 1752, two years following the marriage of Betty Washington and Fielding Lewis, George Washington surveyed land consisting of 861 acres that was purchased by Fielding Lewis and prior to the American Revolution, Colonel Fielding Lewis, began construction of a home situated on this parcel of land that in combination with land he inherited as well as purchased consisted of almost 1,300 acres.

Letters between Fielding Lewis and George Washington indicate artisans including a stucco man and painter were shared between the Lewis Plantation and Mount Vernon. The stucco man created three decorative ceilings at the Lewis Plantation in the Drawing Room, the Dining Room, and the Chamber, as well as a chimney piece in the Dining Room with “The Aesop’s Fable.” It is believed that George Washington suggested the legend of the Fox and the Crow as a reminder to his nephews and niece to beware of flattery.

The Lewis’ grew tobacco that was shipped to England. Such an effort did include the use of slaves and indentured servants.

Fielding Lewis died in December 1781. As a widow with four minor children, Betty Washington Lewis maintained the estate. Her step-son, John Lewis, was tasked with executing the estate of his father as well as settling the debts that remained. It was a struggle to settle debts of her husband. Prior to her death, Betty Washington removed from the Lewis Plantation and shortly after her death in March 1797 the property was sold.

The property changed ownership several times. It was the Samuel Gordon family who purchased the property in 1819 that was responsible for the name “Kenmore.” In 1922, concern regarding the fate of the home resulted in the purchase of the property by the Kenmore Association, now known as The George Washington Foundation, 1201 Washington Avenue, Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401; telephone (540) 373-3381.

Monday, October 18, 2010

The National Society of the Washington Family Descendants

George Washington Had A Sister?

Not only did George Washington have a sister, he was the fifth child of Augustine Washington (born 1694 and died 12 April 1743). Augustine Washington’s first marriage to Jane Butler (born 24 December 1699 and died 24 November 1729) produced four children: 
            Butler Washington (born 1716 and died before 1739)
            Lawrence Washington (born 1718 and died 22 July 1752/3)
            Augustine Washington (born 1720 and died 1762)
            Jane Washington (born 1722 and died 17 January 1754/5)
Lawrence Washington as oldest surviving son inherited the property that he later name Mount Vernon. It was half-brother Lawrence Washington who mentored George Washington after the death of their father. George Washington was barely twelve years old when Mary Ball became a single parent of five. The bond between George Washington and his older half-brother resulted in George Washington inheriting Mount Vernon when Lawrence Washington’s widow died without heirs.

The second marriage of Augustine Washington to Mary Ball (born November 1708 and died 25 August 1789) after the death of his first wife produced six children. Thus, George Washington not only had a sister, Betty Washington, sixteen months his junior, but he had five additional siblings. Augustine Washington and Mary Ball were the parents of:
            George Washington (born 11 February 1731/2 and died 14 December 1799)
            Betty Washington (born 20 June 1733 and died 31 March 1797)
            Samuel Washington (born 16 November 1734 and died 26 September 1781)
            John Augustine Washington (born 13 January 1735/6 and died 17 February 1787)
            Charles Washington (born 2 May 1738 and died 16 September 1799)
            Mildred Washington (born 21 June 1739 and died 23 October 1740)
Although George Washington had no children of his own, those individuals who can trace their lineage to Washington family members are eligible to apply for membership in a family organization called The National Society of the Washington Family Descendants. The members gather once a year for fellowship and a weekend focused on activities to gain a better understanding of the family heritage.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Are you a collector of relics from George Washington or a historian interested in the family?

Over the past two years, I have spent time at various research institutions to compile information regarding the sister of George Washington...Betty Washington Lewis and her family...four of her sons were employed by George Washington and there is much to tell about this colonial woman and her children! However, there are still many gaps in the story that I desire to share. If you have an interest in this subject, I am anxious to hear from you!