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Elizabeth "Betty" Washington Lewis (1733–1797)

Role

Elizabeth Washington Lewis was Bushrod Washington's aunt.

Description

Elizabeth "Betty" Washington, the only sister of George Washington to reach adulthood, was born on 20 June 1733 at Pope’s Creek, the family estate in Westmoreland County, Virginia. She was sixteen when she married the widower Fielding Lewis, her second cousin, in May 1750. Within several years they settled at Kenmore, situated in 1,300 acres on the outskirts of Fredericksburg. Fielding’s frequent absences meant Betty was often in charge of running and maintaining their property.

Citations

Rebecca A. Johnson, "Betty Washington Lewis," Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington (George Washington’s Mount Vernon).

"From George Washington to Betty Washington Lewis, 13 September 1789," Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-04-02-0017. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 4, 8 September 1789 – 15 January 1790, ed. Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1993, pp. 32–36.]

"To George Washington from Betty Washington Lewis, 16 September 1790," Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-06-02-0213. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 6, 1 July 1790 – 30 November 1790, ed. Mark A. Mastromarino. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1996, pp. 460–461.]

"To George Washington from Betty Washington Lewis, 14 May 1792," Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-10-02-0250. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 10, 1 March 1792 – 15 August 1792, ed. Robert F. Haggard and Mark A. Mastromarino. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2002, pp. 383–384.]

"George Washington’s Last Will and Testament, 9 July 1799," Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/06-04-02-0404-0001. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Retirement Series, vol. 4, 20 April 1799 – 13 December 1799, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999, pp. 479–511.]

Elizabeth "Betty" Washington Lewis at Find a Grave.

Betty Washington at FamilySearch.