Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Mary Ball - George Washington's Mother

George Washington's mother was Mary Ball. She was the daughter of Captain Joseph Ball and Mary Bennett Johnson and the second wife of Augustine Washington. While little is known of her mother, the Balls were a prominent Virginia family. Orphaned when she was young, Mary Ball Washington was raised by her uncle. Like her son George Washington, she was an excellent horse rider, teaching her son the love of horses. After her husband Augustine Washington died, she raised her children on her own with the help of her eldest son, George Washington. She lived at Ferry Farm outside of Fredericksburg, Virginia until she became elderly and moved to a house in Fredericksburg. Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia is named after her.