John Augustine Washington III and family papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon
The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon
3600 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway
Mount Vernon, VA 22121
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Reference services
Phone: (703) 780-3600
Restrictions:

This collection is open for research during scheduled appointments. Researchers must complete the Washington Library's Special Collections and Archives Registration Form before access is provided. The library reserves the right to restrict access to certain items for preservation purposes.

Preferred citation:

[Name and date of item], John Augustine Washington III and family papers, [Folder], Special Collections, The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon [hereafter Washington Library], Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
approx 4 Linear Feet 15 boxes
Creator:
Alexander, Hannah Lee Washington, 1811-1881, Alexander, Judith Ball Blackburn, 1796-1866, Alexander, William Fontaine, 1811-1862, Washington, Anne Madison, 1882-1966, Washington, John Augustine, III, 1821-1861, Washington, Lawrence, 1854-1920, and Washington, Patty Willis, 1880-1971
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Name and date of item], John Augustine Washington III and family papers, [Folder], Special Collections, The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon [hereafter Washington Library], Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains correspondence, legal documents, financial records, and other documents related to John Augustine Washington III and his family, especially his son, Lawrence, as well as his granddaughters, Anne and Patty. The bulk of the correspondence series are letters sent to John Augustine Washington III and concern family affairs and the management of various family plantations, including Mount Vernon.

Biographical / historical:

John Augustine Washington III (1821-1861): John Augustine Washington III was the great-grand nephew of George Washington and the last private owner of Mount Vernon. The fourth of five children, he was born on May 3, 1821 to John Augustine Washington II and Jane Charlotte Blackburn Washington. John Augustine spent his childhood at his parents' Blakeley plantation near present day Charles Town, West Virginia. After the deaths of Bushrod Washington and his wife Julia in 1829, the Mount Vernon estate became the possession of John Augustine Washington II. After John Augustine Washington II passed away in June 1832, the estate was left to his widow Jane Charlotte. John Augustine Washington III graduated from the University of Virginia in 1840, returning to Mount Vernon in September 1841 with a proposition to manage the estate for his mother. She agreed, loaning him twenty-two slaves and contracting his employment for five hundred dollars per year for seven years. Upon Jane Charlotte's death in 1855, as the oldest living male heir, John Augustine Washington III became the last owner private owner of Mount Vernon.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized in the following series and subseries:

Series 1. Correspondence (Three subseries: John Augustine Washington III, Lawrence Washington, Washington Family)

Series 2. Legal, Financial, and Real Property (including surveys, deeds, receipts, etc)

Series 3. Miscellaneous (typed manuscripts, various papers relating to genealogy research or publications)

Series 4. Prints and Photographic Materials

All series are arranged chronologically, with undated materials listed last.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard