Lawrence Washington

Lawrence Washington was a Virginia planter, soldier and colonial officeholder best remembered as the elder half-brother and early mentor of George Washington. Born in 1718 to Augustine Washington and Jane Butler, he inherited substantial property and served in the Virginia militia. In 1740 he joined the British expedition against the Spanish Caribbean during the War of Jenkins’ Ear and participated in the disastrous Cartagena campaign under Admiral Edward Vernon.

After returning to Virginia, Lawrence named his Potomac estate Mount Vernon in honour of Vernon and became an influential Fairfax County planter and politician. His marriage to Anne Fairfax connected the Washington family more closely to the powerful Fairfax network, relationships that later benefited the young George Washington. Lawrence suffered from tuberculosis and travelled to Barbados in 1751 with George in search of a healthier climate. He died the following year. After the death of Lawrence’s widow, George eventually inherited Mount Vernon, making Lawrence’s estate and connections central to his brother’s early advancement.

In Tim Holden’s Rule Britannia, Lawrence Washington is determined to improve his standing in a colonial society governed by land, family influence and imperial patronage. In Tim Holden’s Rivers Run Deep, Fifteen-year-old George Washington is still defined by the achievements of his elder brother Lawrence, but surveying, land speculation and service to influential patrons begin to draw him towards the western frontier.