A Year With George Washington
On April 12, 1743, George Washington’s father, Augustine, died at the age of forty-nine, leaving his eleven-year-old son, George, Ferry Farm, a parcel of land on the Potomac called Deep Run, several lots in Fredericksburg, and ten slaves. Washington would later remark how, not just his father but all his male ancestors, while vigorous men, died young. He would later remark that, “Tho’ I was blessed with a good constitution, I was of a short-lived family.”
Though Washington outlived his father by some 18 years, expiring at 67 rather than 49, he would die in much the same way. Like his father, he would ride on horseback during a frigid storm, endure a short illness as a result, and then pass away quietly in the night.
His father’s early death would affect George in myriad ways. For one, unlike his older half-brothers, he would not be sent to England for his education. Another impact on his life was being thrust into adulthood at a very young age. His mother, Mary, burdened by several young children in addition to George, did not remarry as would have been customary in the eighteenth century. Finding a husband would not have been difficult, given the shortage of women in the colonies at the time, but she chose to rely on George to shoulder the burden of man of the house and to provide support as his late father would have.
Mary, though the lone parent, was strict in raising her children. Her approach to life left lasting imprints on George’s character and mode of living. His habits of waking early, being on time, and not frittering away the day were all learned under his mother’s watchful eye. He entered the realm of manhood early and never relinquished it. As the English poet, William Wordsworth, wrote in his celebrated poem, My Heart Leaps Up, “The Child is Father of the Man.”
For George Washington, this is no doubt true.
