Augustine Washington might have grown up in Whitehaven, England, had circumstances been different. But he stayed in Virginia and fathered America's first president. By Paula S. Felder George Washington's heritage

Date published: 3/26/2005

This is the second of two articles on a consideration of the legacy--in character and culture--that George Washington may have received from his parents, who lived in the Fredericksburg area in Colonial times. The first article, on George's mother, Mary Ball Washington, appeared in Town & County on March 12. Today's article deals with his father, Augustine Washington.

WHEN THE FORMAL settlement of Vir- ginia began in 1607, the colony's lower rivers were the early destination for thousands of mostly poor immigrants who fled on ships from London and Bristol to escape the overpopulation, depression and periodic plague in England.

Then in the middle years of the century, the overthrow and beheading of Charles I and the suppression of the aristocracy by Oliver Cromwell and his Commonwealth led to an exodus by the middle and upper classes.

The tidewater peninsulas above the York River became the Colonies' first frontier, rapidly receiving immigrants from all walks of life.

Although there continued to be a preponderance of indentured servants, the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck received also the first Carters, Lees, Pages, Washingtons, Warners and Corbins, who established large estates and became leaders in the newly created counties.

And their descendants became powerful players in Virginia's 18th-century history.

John Washington (1631-1671) arrived in the Northern Neck in the middle of the 17th century to escape the fate of King Charles' supporters in Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth. He became a prominent leader in the new county of Westmoreland; one of the first parishes was named after him.

By means of the ships sailing out of Bristol and London and also by visitation, Washington and his landed neighbors on the Potomac River continued in their former lifestyle and customs as much as possible.

John Washington's son Lawrence (1659-1698) followed in his father's footsteps, serving as a justice on the court, sheriff and a burgess for Westmoreland County in the Assembly at Jamestown. He received his education in England, and he represented some English merchants in the county court.

Date published: 3/26/2005