Images of 17th century Virginia locales

Here are some images which help us to visualize the surroundings of our Pope, Washington, Wright, and Haynie ancestors, in what is called the Northern Neck of Virginia.

There are two Park Service photos taken near Popes Creek, location of the George Washington Birthplace National Monument.  Popes Creek is named after our ancestor Nathaniel Pope, father of Anne Pope Washington.  (It looks big enough to have been called a river!)

The interior images are from one of the very few surviving 17th century Va. homes.  It's called Bacon's Castle, as some of the rebels congregated there in the 1670s; it was not owned by the Bacon family.

Best of all, perhaps, is the Yeocomico Church, because it was actually attended by our Wright ancestors in the 1600s and early 1700s.  I learned that the Yeocomico River or Creek is the dividing line between Northumberland and Westmoreland Counties, where all of these various ancestors of ours lived.

One more Washington-Haynie connection

In the 18th century there was a young girl named (Sarah) Sally Ball Haynie; she and her mother Elizabeth Haynie were related to George Washington's mother, the former Mary Ball, and fell on hard times.  Washington helped to provide for her, including leaving her $300 in his will, which was quite a large sum in 1799.

This young woman was undoubtedly a cousin to our Haynie forebears.

Here is a link to a transcribed letter of personal advice written by the retired President to Miss Haynie in 1798:

http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/marriage/haynie.html

Washington surname

Historically, the name Washington came from Wessyngton, which in turn was the Norman French rendition of an earlier Middle English version of an Anglo-Saxon place name:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Old_Hall

George Washington kinship

This month was George Washington's 280th birthday, and I've learned recently that we are related to him on both sides of the family!

Our Wright ancestors (Haynie side) include Anne Washington, great aunt of the father of our country, who married Major Francis Wright in the 17th century, Westmoreland County, Virginia. Anne's father John Washington, great-grandfather of General George Washington, was the family member who acquired the land where Mount Vernon is located, south of Alexandria, Virginia. Lt. Col. John Washington (born circa 1632) served in the House of Burgesses for Westmoreland County, in the colonial capital of Jamestown; as did our ancestor Capt. John Haynie (b. circa 1624) of Northumberland County, just a few years earlier (1660s and 1650s, respectively). Their home counties are adjacent to each other along the Potomac River, with Northumberland County being situated closer to Chesapeake Bay.

Our Smith ancestors (Tillett side) include Elizabeth Warner and her husband John Lewis. Elizabeth was another of George Washington's great aunts, sister of his grandmother Mildred Warner. Mildred married Lawrence Washington, brother of the above Anne! (Mildred and Lawrence were the parents of Augustine Washington, who in turn - with his second wife Mary Ball - became the father of George.) The Warner-Lewis estate is called Warner Hall and is located in Gloucester County, Virginia.

So, all four of George Washington's paternal great-grandparents appear in our family tree: John Washington, Anne Pope (Washington), Augustine Warner, and Mildred Reade (Warner). Their graves have been preserved, in Westmoreland County and Gloucester County, respectively. The Washington burial site was incorporated into the George Washington Birthplace National Monument; while the graveyard at Warner Hall is maintained by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, or Preservation Virginia, as it's now called.

Elizabeth and Mildred Warner's father and their grandfather, both named Augustine Warner, served for many years in the colonial assembly and also on the royal Council. The elder Warner is said to have arrived in Virginia in 1628 at the age of seventeen. His son, having been educated in England, represented Gloucester County in the House of Burgesses and served as Speaker of the House in 1676 and 1677.

During Bacon's Rebellion (1676), which came about because of differences of opinion in how to handle conflicts with Indian tribes, Warner and other leaders of the Jamestown government temporarily evacuated the area. The rebel leader commandeered and looted the Warner home, for which Speaker Warner sought compensatory damages against William Byrd I, an associate of Bacon, as Nathaniel Bacon had suddenly died. The following year Warner was appointed to the King's Council, where he served until his rather premature death in 1681. The information concerning Warner's efforts to obtain compensation for damage to their home is found in the book Speakers and Clerks of the Virginia House of Burgesses 1643-1776.

The image of Colonel Augustine Warner (born 1642), attached here with that of his great-grandson President Washington (b. 1732), is the earliest portrait we have, to date, of any of our American ancestors!

In addition to the kinship with George Washington, the Warner and Lewis families also connect us genetically to Meriwether Lewis (Corps of Discovery), General Robert E. Lee, and even Queen Elizabeth II.

Historical anniversaries

This blog has been on hiatus for quite a while, but I don't want the year to close without noting a couple of important anniversaries which have been commemorated in 2011:

175 years since the conclusion of colonial Texas' rebellion against Mexico (1835-36), including the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence, the tragic Alamo siege and the Goliad massacre, and the victorious Battle of San Jacinto. That series of events transpired only sixty years following the American Declaration of Independence and resulted in nearly a decade of independence for the Republic of Texas, which is yet a source of pride today. (The Texas Capitol building is actually taller than the U.S. Capitol, and the State has the right to fly its "lone star" flag at the same height as the "stars and stripes.")

150 years since the start of the Civil War (1861-65), which in the 19th century was known by other names such as the War Between the States, the War of Secession, the War of Northern Aggression, or the War for Southern Independence. For the first time, this year I was able to view Ken Burns' multi-part documentary film "The Civil War" in its entirety. It's hard to comprehend the massive effect this conflict, and its aftermath, had on our country.

2012 will mark the beginning of the bicentennial for the War of 1812 (1812-15).