The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: VA
Qualifying Service: Patriotic Service
Author: Scott Campbell
Elizabeth (Betty) Washington Lewis 1733- Betty was the wife of Col. Fielding Lewis, and the sister of Gen. George Washington. She supported her husband’s efforts as Quartermaster for the Continental Army while they resided in Fredericksburg, VA across the river from Gen. Washington’s (and Betty’s) mother. Several of her sons were active in the Revolution; one or more were members of the Commander-in-Chief Guards and one was a Captain in a Cavalry Regiment.
ADDITIONAL BIOGRAPHY SUBMITTED BY JAMES EDWARD MITCHELL, TXSSAR, 15 NOV 2016: Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Washington Lewis was born 20 Jun 1733 in Westmoreland County (Co.) Virginia (VA). 1 Her parents were Augustine Washington (1694-1743) and his 2nd wife Mary Ball a daughter of Col. George Eskridge (1665-1735). Betty was a 2nd child born to her parents, above. Her brother George Washington (1732-1799) gave the first inaugural address as President of the United States on Thurs., 30 Apr 1789.2
In a true sense, Betty Washington and her brother represent ‘America’s First Family’. Just shy of age 17, Betty married Fielding Lewis, a son of Col. John Lewis. This marriage logically at her mother’s residence in Fredericksburg, [Spotsylvania (Co.) formed 1720] VA, occurred in part based upon Mary Ball Washington’s approval of her daughter’s marriage. Fielding Lewis was age 25, and a notably wealthy Fredericksburg merchant. He was raised at his father’s estate in Gloucester Co., formed 1651 from York, VA.3
After Betty Washington’s marriage in 1750, the holy union produced 11 children together; among them were sons, *Fielding, Jr., George Washington Lewis, Lawrence and *Howell, and a daughter –*Elizabeth “Betty” Lewis Carter who survived to adulthood. Her marriage came at a critical moment during the Revolutionary War years between 1774 – 1783 as she raised and saw to the education of her sizable, growing family while supporting her husband’s Dec. 1775 appointment as a Member of the Cmte. of Safety by Edmund Pendleton, President of the Virginia Convention and Chmn. of the Cmte. of Safety for the Colony of VA.4
Additionally, Betty would directly encourage her husband’s daily grind and long hours spent as Superintendent of the Arsenal of Fredericksburg turning out small arms, lead and powder required initially by the Virginia Militia and later, by elements of the Continental Army until the British Surrender at Yorktown during Oct., 1781.
Elizabeth “Betty” Washington Lewis moved from the family’s Kenmore House in Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, after Fielding’s death during 1781. She had been visiting her daughter’s home named, Western View Plantation until her passing at age 64, wrote Eugene M. Scheel, a local historian and mapmaker . Betty died on 31 Mar 1797 and was buried upon the isolated family farm, ‘Western View’ near the town of Culpeper, VA. 5
Annually, the Culpeper Minute Men Chapter, NSDAR, which owns the grave, does routine maintenance and cleanup, assisted by the Culpeper Minutemen Chapter of the Virginia SAR. The grave is in a remote area, on a private farm mapped along Mountain Run. Please contact the Culpeper Minute Men Chapter, NSDAR, for access to the Betty Washington Lewis grave at Latitude: 38.458970 and Longitude: -77.938212; see: Find A Grave Memorial# 22154.
1 U.S., Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Texas Society Application For Membership for William Howell Cocke, Dec’d., SAR Nat’l. Number 88978, Texas Society State Number 1665 approved on 31 Aug 1962; this application appears ‘ticked’ i.e., check-marked with handwritten, ink remarks for proof of *children: *Howell b. c1750, *Fielding Jr., born VA 1751, m. Nancy (Ann) Alexander; and, *Elizabeth A. born c1753, m. Alexander Spottswood (sic).
2 Presidents: The Founding Presidents by Carter Smith for Smithsonian Institute, publ., 2006 by Barnes & Noble , New York, NY in an arrangement with Hylas Publ., pg 9.
3 Lewis of Warner Hall: The History of a Family…, And Their Descent, compiled by Merrow Egerton Sorley publ. by Genealogical Publ., Co., Inc., Baltimore (1937); Chapter 4, pgs 52-54 trace the (1715) the ancestry of Elizabeth Warner to John Lewis and Elizabeth his wife, a surviving daughter of Augustine Warner, pgs 51-53; Chapter 5, pgs 56-57 records the marriage of Col. Robert Lewis to Jane Meriwether, and John Lewis and his wife, Elizabeth Warner’s residence at Warner Hall in Gloucester Co., VA.
4 A Hornbook of Virginia History publ., at Richmond, VA in Sep., 1949 by The Division of History of the Virginia Dept. of Conservation and Development Compiled by J. R. V. Daniel Division Director, -Governors Under the Constitution (1776-1946) Notes – pgs 7 & 8.
Link to 2015 Muster Call: http://culpeperminutemen.weebly.com/blog/betty-washington-lewis-grave-clean-up
Grave is in circle, on private land. Betty Lewis’ grave is owned by the Culpeper Minute Men Chapter, NSDAR.
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