Significance of a Birthplace

Significance of a Birthplace. . George Washington’s father, Augustine Washington, purchased this land in 1718. Augustine, his second wife Mary, and their children lived here with British indentured servants and enslaved individuals of African descent. , In addition to growing tobacco and managing the business of the plantation, Augustine owned an iron furnace and held several leadership positions in the community. Mary was equally busy raising children, managing the activities of enslaved and indentured servants, and ensuring the household ran smoothly. , Augustine moved his family upriver when George was a toddler and died when George was eleven. George would have been old enough, though, to watch how his father handled the business of a plantation and iron furnace, as well as how both parents made decisions and interacted with a variety of people of varying social status. , Young George also observed how his mother chose not to remarry, a somewhat unusual choice for a woman in the 18th century. Her decision not to remarry meant responsibility for running a plantation and providing for the family fell largely on her shoulders, but it also legally protected her children's inheritance. , George's childhood experiences, Augustine’s and Mary’s examples, and the culture into which he was born shaped George’s worldview and influenced the person he became. , Would George Washington be the man we know if he had been born anywhere else?