Charles Washington

Charles Washington (May 2, 1738 – September 16, 1799) was the youngest brother of United States President George Washington. He was a son of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington.

Charles was born at Hunting Creek in Stafford County (now Fairfax County) on May 2, 1738. He arrived in present Jefferson County, West Virginia between April and October 1780 and founded Charles Town. Charles married Mildred Thornton, daughter of Colonel Francis Thornton and Frances Gregory around 1761. Charles Washington served as a magistrate in Stafford County, Virginia before the Revolution. In 1766 with his brothers Samuel Washington and John Augustine Washington, he signed the Leetown Resolve to protest the British Stamp Act. During the Revolutionary War Charles Washington served as colonel of the Spotsylvania County, Virginia militia in 1780.^[1]

The home of Charles Washington, Happy Retreat, was erected in 1780. In 1786, on 80 acres (320,000 m²) of his adjoining land, Charles laid out the streets of Charles Town, naming many of them after his brothers and one after his wife, Mildred. He donated the four corner lots at the intersection of George and Washington Streets for public buildings of the town and county, provided the town become the seat of the county upon its separation from Berkeley County. Jefferson County was formed in 1801 as Charles anticipated. The county court house stands on one of these lots, as did the jail until 1919 when it was demolished to be replaced by the post office.

Charles Washington died sometime between July and September, 1799, only a short while before the death of his brother, George. Charles' and his wife Mildred's grave sites near Evitts Run have recently been located and surrounded by a stone wall.

Ancestry

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