George Washington

Ancestor Number

A121962 »

Date of Birth

February 22, 1732

Place of Birth

Wakefield, Westmoreland County, Virginia

Date of Death

December 14, 1799

Place of Death

Mount Vernon, Virginia

Spouse(s)

Martha Dandridge Custis

American Revolution Service

Led the Continental Army to victory in the nation's War for Independence from Great Britain

State of Service

The American Colonies

Donor

George Washington Chapter Galveston, TX

George Washington was a Virginia plantation owner who served as a general and commander-in-chief of the colonial armies during the American Revolutionary War.

He later was elected the first president of the United States serving from 1789–1797. Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Wakefield, Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the oldest of six children born to Augustine and Mary Ball Washington, and was homeschooled from the age of 7 to 15. His father died when he was 11 and he was raised by his half-brother Lawrence. By his early teens he had mastered growing tobacco, stock raising and surveying.

Portrait painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1796

Washington Crossing the Delaware River by Emanuel Leutze

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In 1752, with the death of Lawrence, he became the heir apparent of the Washington lands and one of Virginia’s most prominent citizens.
He married Martha Dandridge Custis and took over the estate of Mount Vernon raising Martha’s two children from her former marriage. They never had children of their own. He was elected to the Virginia legislature.

Washington was a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress which voted to fight the British for independence. In May 1775, he was appointed general of the Continental Army. Over the course of the next six years Washington led the army to victory over the British. His most notable victories were the famous crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas 1776, and the final victory at Yorktown, Virginia, where the British surrendered on October 17, 1781.

The two terms that Washington served as president were peaceful times. He helped build and guide the formation of the actual U.S. government from the words of the Constitution. His administration also established several peace treaties with American Indian tribes and approved a bill establishing the nation’s capital in a permanent district along the Potomac River.

George Washington was not only considered a military and revolutionary hero, but a man of great personal integrity, with a deep sense duty, honor and patriotism. George died on December 14, 1799. He freed his slaves in his will.