Edward Washington

-- These are my notes (or I credit others) which I have seen copied without reference to me. Feel free to use, but please cite where you got it so others can track updates --

"In the middle of the 1600's, not one, not two, but three different and distinct Washington families were founded in Virginia, by different immigrants named Washington.

"The first to come and best known was started by John Washington, who settled in Westmoreland County, in northern Virginia, in the winter of 1657. Soon thereafter his younger brother Lawrence came, then returned to England for a few years, finally returning by 1667 to Virginia to stay. These two brothers both died about 1677 and left families. The older brother, Col. John Washington (ca. 1634-1677), was the great-grandfather of Gen. George Washington.

"By 1663 there had settled, in the same Westmoreland County, oddly enough, an Edward Washington, who was too old to have been a child of either of the other Washingtons. He was burnt in the thumb for "murthering a man," (It is presumed to say involuntary manslaughter), and he later become Constable. He survived until 1710 and left a family of numerous descendants. It seems inconceivable that he could have been related to John and Lawrence. John was justice of the county court, led, with the rank of Lt. Col., a Virginia expedition against the Indians, owned several thousand acres of land, and clearly was the leading citizen of his area. There surely would have been some mention of this Edward by either or both brothers but there is none.

"Meanwhile in 1658, far away in southern Virginia, in Surry County, there occurs another John Washington. In that year he married Mrs. Mary Ford, and by 1660 he had died, when his widow was remarried to Henry Briggs. He did leave one son, Richard Washington, who lived to marry and have thirteen children and numerous descendants. His most distinguished descendant perhaps was the poet, Sidney Lanier.

"The European parentage of most immigrants in the 17th century to what is now the United States is completely unknown. Only in a rare exceptional case has the origin been preserved or later recovered. George Washington did not have any idea where his great-grandfather John Washington had come from, except that he thought (mistakenly) it was one of the northern counties of England."

The above is from John A. Washington's interesting summary of the three early Washington families in Va. These are his first paragraphs. The whole is at "The National Society of the Washington Family Descendants" .

All three of these Washington families appear in these notes, Edward's directly as I descend from him, but also the other two through intermarriage with branches of my own family.

Now, back to Edward Washington.

Edward was in Va. by 2 October 1663, because on that date Robert Pitt patented some 2000 acres in Accomac Co., Va., using forty fifty-acre headrights, one of which was Edward's. He may have already been in Va. for several years by then, since most planters waited to use their head right land grants of fifty acres per person until they had enough to get a large block. Planters received fifty acres for each person whose passage they paid to Virginia. (For a good discussion of headrights, see Douglas S. Freeman's 'Washington,' volume 1).

Edward is believed to have been at least 21 when he arrived, before or during 1663. Soon after arriving, he went to Westmoreland Co., where it is assumed he travelled to see John Washington, who had been settled there for some time. Many believe that Edward may be a nephew or cousin of John, but there is no certainty. John is the great grandfather of President George Washington, through Lawrence and Augustine, his son and grandson. Others, failing to find a shred of evidence of Edward's descent, and noting that the Lansdownes were of Irish descent, say that our Edward was from Ireland. There were Washingtons in Ireland as early as the 16th century, I am told, and so he might well have arrived from there.

Edward is known to be at the plantation of Nicholas Lansdowne in Westmoreland Co., Va. by 1670, when he married Mary Lansdowne, Nicholas' daughter. The Lansdownes resided in Nominy Parish, Westmoreland Co., Va., and in his 1664 will Lansdowne names his wife Alice and minor daughter, Mary as heirs. The will was proved 29 June, 1665. (See Westmoreland Will Book, vol. 1, p. 260.) Col. Valentine Peyton and John Whetstone were named as overseers of the estate. John Washington's first plantation in Va.," Maddox," where his children were born, came in part from land which had been owned by Nicholas.

Edward Washington is recorded as surrendering himself into the hands of the sheriff of Westmoreland for having "contributed to the cause of (Will) Norcott's death." As the county had no jurisdiction, the matter was referred to the General Court, the Legislature of the Colony, then sitting at Williamsburg. "At a court held 12 Oct., 1675... Edward Washington indicted for murdering Wm. Norcott was found by the petty jury to be guilty of manslaughter, for which he was burnt in the hand." Jackson notes that the verdict signalled the lack of severity in the eyes of the court, and she calls it "practically an acquittal," saying that the killing must have been accidental. He later served a term as Constable of Westmoreland, but otherwise seems absent from public life. He continued in Westmoreland Co. for years after 1700, but there is very little in the records of him until the appearance of his son Lansdown in 1724. Edward is thought to be dead prior to 1734, by which time both his sons had left the county. Lansdown went to Prince George Co., Va., and Edward to Prince William Co., Va.

The two Washington families-- John and Edward-- are known to have associated with each other, and it is conceivable they were acquainted in England. Jackson says "The associations between the descendants of Col. John Washington of Washington parish and Constable Edward Washington of Cople parish, Westmoreland are recorded in Prince William and Fairfax counties and the tradition, current for the last three generations, (is) that the earlier members of these two Washington families were cousins in some degree, though what that degree was could not be stated by any of these two Washington families in 1780 when both were residing in Truro parish, Fairfax Co."

Sources: Mary M. Chambless, who in turn quotes "Cavaliers and Pioneers," and the work "Edward Washington and His Kin," by Cordelia Jackson, 1934.

Terisa Washington Baker most kindly sent this in Jan., 2003: " Continuing under the first Edward, the Westmoreland Co, Va. Deeds, Patents, Etc. 1665-1677 Part 4 which is appended WC, Va Deeds & Wills No. 4 1707-1709, pg. 72 a deposition is given by John Mothershead on a surveyor in the company of a John Lord re: the road that runs from a plantation called Vaulx quarter towards Nominy between the said plantation and EDWARD WASHINGTON'S run. I made a copy from the historical atlas of Westmoreland Co. patents and it shows the Vaulx property and it does align with the Rappahannock Creek (which is referred to in property purchased by Edward in another document.) "

Mary Chambless notes in 1999 that Edward and Mary Lansdown had children: Edward, Lansdown, Lawrence, Thomas (for sure), William (maybe), and Elizabeth.

From Margaret Thompson: See "An Examination of the English Ancestry of George Washington by Henry F. Waters, A. M," 1889. "....Others of the name Washington than the famed brothers John and Lawrence Washington appear in the annals of Virginia..." He mentions Robert Washington and then "Edward Washington, convicted of manslaughter and ordered to be burnt in the hand" October 12, 1675, records of General Court of Va. It goes on further to list some grants from State Land Registry. Then it says ".....Neither Robert, Edward, Richard, John, or Arthur Washington appear to have been of the family of John and Lawrence Washington, from the records preserved of these brothers....(R. A. Brock)"

• Parents: unknown.

"By 1663 there had settled, in the same Westmoreland County, oddly enough, an Edward Washington, who was too old to have been a child of either of the other Washingtons. He was burnt in the thumb for "murthering a man," (It is presumed to say involuntary manslaughter), and he later become Constable. He survived until 1710 and left a family of numerous descendants. It seems inconceivable that he could have been related to John and Lawrence. John was justice of the county court, led, with the rank of Lt. Col., a Virginia expedition against the Indians, owned several thousand acres of land, and clearly was the leading citizen of his area. There surely would have been some mention of this Edward by either or both brothers but there is none."

The citations in the profile at https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Washington-375:

• White, Jim. Washington : 25 Generations October 19, 1781. Lulu Press, Inc., March 13, 2013. < AncestryImage >. Jim White is not a reliable source. His books on the Buchner’s have been noted as containing fabulations. And in any event, White wrote on page 2: “We cannot delve into the Washingtons of Ireland without receiving further incentive.” Also on page 6: “Anything more definitive as to the degree of relationship waits upon inquiry in the British Isles.”
• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L2KL-RHC claiming “Edward a son of Rev. Lawrence Washington II, was 35 and his mother, Amphyllis Roades Twigden”. is a mistake (at best), nor is there supporting data in the FamilySearch tree for Edward’s origins.
• Amphyllis Washington & Reverend Lawrence Washington had three sons, John & Lawrence, and a William with no further information. No Edward.
• A fairly reliable source for the Northern Neck of Virginia is Mike Marshall’s database called “ Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties”. His profile, with data extracts, is https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I2978..., with the comment: “close neighbor not related to Lawrence and John Washingon.”

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References

• http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/t/e/Pat-M-Stevens-iv/G...
• Edward Washington and his kin AncestryImage