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Augustine Washington and Mary Ball was Married the Sixth of March 1730

George Washington, Son to Augustine of Mary his Wife was Born on the 11th Day of February 1734 about 10 in the Morning & was Baptized the 5th of April following Mr. Beverly Whiting and Captain Christopher Brookes godfathers and Mrs. Mildred Gregory Godmothers.

Betty Washington was Born the 20th of June 1733 about 6 in the Morning. Departed this life the 31 of March 1797 at 4 o’clock

Samuel Washington was Born on 16 of November 1734 about 6 in the Morning.

Jane Washington, Daughter of Augustine and Jane Washington, Departed this life January 17th 1734.

John Augustine Washington was Born on 13th of January about 2 in the Morning 1735

Charles Washington was Born of 1st Day of May about 3 in the Morning 1730

Mildred Washington was Born on 21st of June 1739 about 9 at night

Mildred Washington [same as above] Departed this Life October 23rd 1740 being Thursday about 12 o’clock at noon aged 1 Year 4 Months

Augustine Washington Departed this Life of 12th Day of April 1743. Aged 49 Years

Look at the different names listed in this section of Washington's Bible

  • Why would Washington write the names of his mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, etc.? Why do you think Washington chose this specific book to do so?
    • Look at the amount of siblings Washington had. Why do you think families were so large in the 1750s? How would children be helpful in a household?
  • Why would Washington own a Bible? What does this say about Washington's environment and beliefs?
  • What is the oldest date you can find? What was the most recent date written?
  • This specific picture was taken in the 1960s with microfilm. Why do you think historians would want to take high-definition pictures of artifacts like these?

Classroom Materials downloads are ZIP files that include, when available: document images (JPEGs), document transcripts (PDF as well as Word and/or Excel files), and ready to use classroom resources (activities, discussion prompts, lesson plans, etc.). These materials are available for educational uses only. If you would like to reproduce them in any other medium, please contact Dawn Bonner, Manager of Visual Resources.

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This is one of the pages of Washington's Bible. It was located in the middle of his Bible, in the book of Jeremiah. Washington most likely wrote these names into his Bible just before the American Revolution and updated it as family members died. Since the Anglican Church controlled many essential records, it was important for families to record the names of their ancestors in their Bibles. This was so families could easily reference genealogy and show that their family was listed in the holy book. 

Note that most of these dates were written before Britain adopted the Gregorian Calendar, so the exact date and month may be different than today's dates.