Rootseekers press release
Monday, May 16, the Rootseekers Genealogical Society met at the Tri-County Library to hear Priscilla Berry speak about Ferry Farm, George Washington’s boyhood home.
George Washington, the first President of the United States, was born on February 22, 1732 to parents Augustine and Mary (Ball ) Washington in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the first child of Mary but the third son of Augustine, his having been married before. There were five other children born to this marriage after George. From 1732 to 1735 they lived at Pope’s Creek. When George was 3, in 1735, they moved to Little Hunting Creek, on the Potomac River, later renamed Mount Vernon by elder half-brother Lawrence after he inherited it. They lived there only until 1738, when George was 6, at which time they moved to the Home Farm, later renamed Ferry Farm, on a ridge above the Rappahannock River. The farm was named after a free ferry that crossed the Rappahannock River on Washington land to Fredericksburg. The family did not own or run the ferry, but that is how the Washington children got to school in the early years and how the family traveled to Fredericksburg. Here is where George’s father, Gus, as he was called then built their house.
Little is known about George’s early childhood. On Christmas Eve, 1740 the house was damaged by fire. While it was being repaired the family lived in the kitchen area of the house. When George was 11 his father died. Gus Washington left a parcel of land to each of his sons, with George inheriting Ferry Farm and 10 slaves, which he would take possession of when he was 21. His mother managed the farm and continued to live at Ferry Farm until 1772, when she moved to Fredericksburg to live closer to her daughter, Betty. One account stated that George went to live at Mount Vernon with his half-brother Lawrence and another states he lived at Ferry Farm until he was in his early 20s. Lawrence died at the early age of 32 and George bought Mount Vernon from his widow.
After Mary Washington moved from Ferry Farm in 1772, the farm was sold to a family friend, Dr. Hugh Mercer. Dr. Mercer owned an apothecary shop in Fredericksburg. Dr. Mercer intended to make some improvements to the structures on the property and to live there, however the Revolutionary War interrupted his plans. Brigadier General Mercer died from wounds he received at the Battle of Princeton. The family never occupied Ferry Farm, but leased it out instead.
In 1846, Mr. Winter Bray purchased the property, which remained in his family until 1872. During the Civil War, Ferry Farm was used as a staging ground for the Union offensive against the Confederate held city of Fredericksburg. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln toured Ferry Farm because he was curious about the myth that Washington “barked” his father’s favorite English Cherry Tree with his new hatchet. In the 1870s the Carson family bought the property, and in the early 1900s it was purchased and farmed by James B. Colbert. Over the years there have been many who wanted to preserve Ferry Farm as a memorial.
Samuel and Irma Warren later bought the land and wanted to get it zoned as commercial property so they could sell it to Walmart but there was huge opposition from homeowners and DAR. The George Washington Foundation purchased the land in 1996 and was able to get it declared a National Historic Landmark and now they have an archaeological field school at the site where thousands of artifacts have been found. In 2008 they uncovered the remains of the house where George was raised.
Priscilla was born in Washington D.C. and lived in Virginia most of her life near Ferry Farm. She attended Mary Washington College graduating with a degree in Liberal Studies with a major in business. In 2007 she and her husband Joe move to the Cedar Creek area. She is chaplain of the Sarah Maples Chapter of DAR, is head of the Prayer Blanket ministry and the Power Point committee, as well as a Shepherd Group leader and member of the bell choir at Payne Springs United Methodist Church. She also works with the Care and Share food pantry in Gun Barrel City.