Samuel Washington

Samuel Washington (November 16, 1734 – September 26, 1781) was an American planter, politician, and military officer. He was born at Wakefield Plantation on Pope's Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia, the second son of Mary Ball Washington and Augustine Washington. His elder full brother was George Washington, the first President of the United States. Samuel also had elder half-brothers from Augustine Washington's first marriage, Lawrence Washington and Augustine Washington Jr. His other full siblings included Elizabeth Washington Lewis, John Augustine Washington, Charles Washington, and Mildred Washington, who died young.

Samuel Washington’s father died when Samuel was approximately eight years old. Unlike his half-brothers, he did not travel to Britain for education but received schooling in the local area, as there were no public schools in the era. From 1735 to 1738, he resided at Mount Vernon with his family, after which the family moved to Stafford County, where Samuel was raised on Ferry Farm. He suffered from tuberculosis for much of his life and died from the disease at the age of 46. Three of his four sons who reached adulthood also died of tuberculosis.

Upon reaching legal age, Samuel Washington inherited two parcels of land from his father: a 600-acre tract in northern Stafford County near the Potomac River watershed, and a 1,200-acre undeveloped tract in the Rappahannock River watershed southwest of Fredericksburg. He eventually sold these properties and invested in land in the Shenandoah Valley, acquiring 2,500 acres by September 1770, in what was then Frederick County, which later became Berkeley County in 1772. His landholdings surrounding the Harewood plantation grew to a total of approximately 3,800 acres.

Washington held various public offices in Virginia. He served as a justice of the peace in Stafford County from November 1766 until July 1767, likely influenced by his opposition to "taxation without representation" exemplified by his signature as the fifth of 115 on the Westmoreland Resolves against the Stamp Act of 1766. He also served as a vestryman and was elected warden of St. Paul's Parish and later of Norborne Parish. On February 5, 1771, he took the oath of office as a justice of the Frederick County court, and on April 17, 1772, he was appointed by Governor John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, as a justice of Berkeley County's court. He served as sheriff of Berkeley County in 1773 and 1776.

Beginning in 1775, Washington served as a colonel leading the Berkeley County Virginia Militia, but he resigned due to ill health in April 1777. He was also involved in architecture; he commissioned John Ariss to design and build Harewood, a Georgian-style mansion completed around 1770 near Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia). The estate hosted notable visitors, including his brother George Washington, Louis Philippe (later King of France), and members of European aristocracy, as well as James Madison's marriage to Dolley Payne Todd.

Samuel Washington died at Harewood in 1781, at the age of 46, from tuberculosis. He is believed to be buried on his estate in an unmarked grave. At the time of his death, many of his children were minors, and his estate was found to be encumbered with significant debts. His brother John Augustine Washington and George Washington contributed to the preservation of Harewood, which remains listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In his personal life, Samuel Washington married five times, surviving four wives, and had nine children who reached adulthood. His first marriage was around 1754 to Jane Champe, who died in 1755. His second marriage was in 1756 to his first cousin, Mildred Thornton, who died around 1762; they had two children, Thornton George Washington and Tristram Washington. His third marriage to Lucy Chapman in 1762 produced an infant who died in the same year. His fourth marriage was to Anne Steptoe in 1764, producing four children before her death in 1777. His fifth marriage, in 1778, was to Susannah Perrin Holden, with whom he had a son who died young.

Through his son George Washington, Samuel was the grandfather of Samuel Walter Washington (1799–1831), who married Louisa Clemson, sister of Thomas Green Clemson, the founder of Clemson University.

[Note: The "Ancestry" and "References" sections are placeholders indicating additional sources and genealogical information, which are not detailed in the provided material.]