"Began My Journey"

February winds blew across Virginia's Potomac River and ruffled the waters of Popes Creek. Augustine Washington's home, nestled among tall trees, overlooked the creek. Gus had built the small house near lands first owned by his grandfather John Washington 75 years before.

Four generations of Washingtons lay buried nearby. Gus's first wife, Jane, rested there, too, beneath a gravestone already scoured by the wind. Jane's death had left Gus with two sons and a daughter to raise. He needed a new wife to help manage Lawrence, Austin, Jane, and Popes Creek farm.

A year after Jane's death Gus married Mary Ball. Around ten o'clock in the morning on February 11, 1732, Mary gave birth to another Washington son they named George.

Mary and Gus's family grew year by year. George, their oldest child, welcomed a sister named Betty and three brothers, Samuel, John Augustine, and Charles. George's half sister, Jane, died. When George was three Gus moved the family up the Potomac River to another farm, Little Hunting Creek Plantation. George's two half brothers, Lawrence and Austin, had left Virginia for school in England.

Home at Ferry Farm

Like most Virginians, Gus Washington earned his living as a farmer, or "planter." But he also worked as a partner in an iron works. In 1738 the family packed their wagons and moved again, this time closer to the Accokeek Iron Furnace. From his new home, called the Home Farm and later Ferry Farm, six-year-old George scampered down to the Rappahannock River, a playground for fishing, swimming, and skipping stones across the water. Beyond the river lay Fredericksburg, a growing village with a tobacco warehouse, a stone prison, a half-built church, a courthouse, and a few homes. Ships from England anchored along the wooden wharf that jutted into the river.

Two blows hit the Washington family in 1740. George's baby sister, Mildred, died and the family's home burned to the ground. Like most houses at this time, Ferry Farm's kitchen stood separate from the main house as a fire precaution. But with large open fireplaces providing a home's only heat and candle flames the only light, fire loomed as a constant hazard. With their home destroyed, George and his family crowded into the one-room kitchen while the house was rebuilt.

The Washingtons' new house had four rooms downstairs and two more above. They lived a comfortable life, but Gus was not considered a man of wealth, influence, or power. George Washington lived in a society where every person knew his or her place. The British king ruled at the top of society dressed in rich velvets and silks. A slave stood at the very bottom clad in rough-woven cloth. People believed a "gentleman of good fortune" or a "man of quality" or a "lady of the highest rank" were better than common folk. Colonists lived in a world where masters ruled over servants, men ruled over women, and parents ruled over children.

George must have gazed into one of the family's prized possessions — a mirror, or "looking glass." The looking glass in Ferry Farm's hall, the home's finest room, reflected a tall boy with reddish-brown hair, steely blue eyes, and a long, straight nose.

Only wealthy Virginians could afford real privacy. In most homes a family shared bedrooms and beds, and even a servant or two might snooze with the family. The Washingtons owned 11 bedsteads they could set up in any room, especially when visitors arrived. Three beds stood in the parlor. One four-poster bed sported long curtains that could be closed for warmth and a little privacy. To dress their beds, the family owned 6 pairs of good sheets, 10 "lesser" pairs of sheets, and 16 pillowcases.

Tobacco and Slave Culture

Virginians raised tobacco, the colony's main crop. People even used the dried leaves in place of money; Gus paid 5,500 pounds of tobacco to build Ferry Farm. Tobacco required hours of labor to baby the tender seedlings, weed the fields, pick greedy worms off the plants, then harvest and dry the tobacco leaves.

Once a year, workers packed the dried leaves into large barrels, called hogsheads. The hogsheads were then rolled or carted to waiting ships and transported to English markets. Planters hired London agents to sell their tobacco, order goods for them, and ship the merchandise and any leftover money back to Virginia. Barrels and crates of clothing, toys, dishes, books, food, farm tools, and even carriages, arrived in the colony the following year. But agents often cheated the colonists by charging for top-quality goods and then shipping cheap items back to their clients.

As planters cleared more acres to grow tobacco, the demand for field workers grew, too. Virginians first used British and African indentured servants to work the tobacco fields. An indentured servant worked in exchange for the cost of travel to America. Indentured men and women worked long hours grubbing in the tobacco fields. Cruel masters and mistresses often mistreated them. But after about seven years of labor the indentured servant earned his or her freedom.

By the 1670s African slaves carried more of the work burden. White Virginians viewed slavery as an economic bargain. An enslaved human being, once purchased, never gained his or her freedom but worked for life. A slave, like any piece of property, could be sold for quick cash or rented to another farm. Unlike indentured servants, who had some rights in court, a slave had no rights or protection. And a slave owner could acquire more slaves without any expense since a slave woman's child was also enslaved.

In young George Washington's world, Virginia's work and wealth depended on enslaved human beings. Gus Washington owned 20 slaves at Ferry Farm. Every day George saw African men and women planting, hoeing, and harvesting under the hot sun. Other enslaved people worked as house servants, washing clothes, cooking, or tending farm animals. For George, the enslaved workers living at Ferry Farm belonged to his father just like the looking glass in the hall.

Family Matters

George greeted the return of Lawrence and Austin from England with great excitement. About 20 years old, dark-haired Lawrence especially captivated his younger brother. Everyone thought George, like his father and older brothers, would enroll at Appleby School in England to finish his education. In the meantime, George probably did lessons at home with his father or a traveling teacher. He may also have attended a neighborhood school.

The year George turned eight Lawrence joined an American regiment in the British army. With England and Spain at war, Lawrence prepared to sail with 400 Virginians under British admiral Edward Vernon to the Caribbean. The sight of his brother — now Captain Washington! — in his scarlet uniform with...