Editing George Washington (section)

==Early life (1732–1752)==
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{{Further|Washington family}}
[[File:Residence of the Washington Family on the Rappahannock.jpg|left|thumb|alt=Sketch of a cabin with the caption "Residence of the Washington Family"|[[Ferry Farm]], the [[Washington family]] residence on the [[Rappahannock River]] in [[Stafford County, Virginia]], where Washington spent much of his youth]]
{{George Washington series}}
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732,{{efn|name=fn1|Contemporaneous records used the [[Old Style and New Style dates|Old Style]] Julian calendar and the [[New Year#Historical European new year dates|Annunciation Style]] of enumerating years, recording his birth as February 11, 1731. The British [[Calendar (New Style) Act 1750]] implemented in 1752 altered the official British dating method to the Gregorian calendar with the start of the year on January{{nbsp}}1 (it had been March 25). These changes resulted in dates being moved forward 11 days and an advance of one year for those between January{{nbsp}}1 and March 25. For a further explanation, see [[Old Style and New Style dates]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The history of the calendar |url=https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/history-calendar-julian-gregorian-when-why/ |magazine=[[BBC History]] |date=January 2014 |archivedate=August 30, 2023 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830112331/https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/history-calendar-julian-gregorian-when-why/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}} at [[George Washington Birthplace National Monument|Popes Creek]] in [[Westmoreland County, Virginia]].{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=3–6}} He was the first of six children of [[Augustine Washington|Augustine]] and [[Mary Ball Washington]].{{sfnm|Ferling|2002|1p=3|Chernow|2010|2pp=5–7}} His father was a [[justice of the peace]] and a prominent public figure who had four additional children from his first marriage to Jane Butler.{{sfnm|Ferling|2009|1p=9|Chernow|2010|2pp=6–8}} Washington was not close to his father and rarely mentioned him in later years; he had a fractious relationship with his mother.{{sfnm|Ferling|2010|1pp=6&ndash;7|Rhodehamel|2017|2loc=2: Powerful Ambitions, Powerful Friends}} Among his siblings, he was particularly close to his older half-brother [[Lawrence Washington (1718–1752)|Lawrence]].{{sfn|Lengel|2005|p=7}}

The family moved to a plantation on [[Little Hunting Creek]] in 1735 before settling at [[Ferry Farm]] near [[Fredericksburg, Virginia]], in 1738. When Augustine died in 1743, Washington inherited Ferry Farm and ten slaves; Lawrence inherited Little Hunting Creek and renamed it [[Mount Vernon]].{{sfnm|Levy|2013|1pp=39, 55, 56|Morgan|2005|2p=407}} Because of his father's death, Washington did not have the formal education his elder half-brothers had received at [[Appleby Grammar School]] in England; he instead attended the [[Lower Church]] School in [[Hartfield, Virginia|Hartfield]]. He learned mathematics and land [[surveying]], and became a talented [[draftsman]] and [[Cartography|mapmaker]]. By early adulthood, he was writing with what his biographer [[Ron Chernow]] described as "considerable force" and "precision".{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=10–12|Ferling|2002|2p=14|Ferling|2010|3pp=5–6}} As a teenager, Washington compiled over a hundred rules for social interaction styled ''The Rules of Civility'', copied from an English translation of a French guidebook.{{sfn|Harrison|2015|p=19}}

Washington often visited [[Belvoir (plantation)|Belvoir]], the plantation of [[William Fairfax]], Lawrence's father-in-law, and Mount Vernon. Fairfax became Washington's patron and surrogate father. In 1748, Washington spent a month with a team surveying Fairfax's [[Shenandoah Valley]] property.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=10, 19|Ferling|2002|2pp=14–15|Randall|1997|3p=36}} The following year, he received a surveyor's license from the [[College of William & Mary]].{{efn|The college's charter gave it the authority to appoint Virginia county surveyors. There is no evidence that Washington actually attended classes there.<ref name=professional-surveys>{{cite web|title=George Washington's Professional Surveys|website=Founders Online|publisher=U.S. National Archives|url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-01-02-0004#document_page|accessdate=July 11, 2019|archivedate=November 6, 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106220101/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-01-02-0004#document_page|url-status=live}}</ref>}} Even though Washington had not served the customary [[apprenticeship]], [[Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron|Thomas Fairfax]] (William's cousin) appointed him surveyor of [[Culpeper County, Virginia]]. Washington took his oath of office on July 20, 1749, and resigned in 1750.<ref name=professional-surveys/> By 1752, he had bought almost {{convert|1500|acre|ha|-2}} in the Shenandoah Valley and owned {{convert|2315|acre|ha}}.{{sfnm|Fitzpatrick|1936|1loc=v. 19, p. 510|Chernow|2010|2pp=22–23}}

In 1751, Washington left mainland North America for the first and only time, when he accompanied Lawrence to [[Barbados]], hoping the climate would cure his brother's [[tuberculosis]].{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=24|Rhodehamel|2017|2loc=2: Powerful Ambitions, Powerful Friends}} Washington contracted [[smallpox]] during the trip, which left his face slightly scarred.{{sfn|Rhodehamel|2017|loc=2: Powerful Ambitions, Powerful Friends}} Lawrence died in 1752, and Washington leased Mount Vernon from his widow, Anne; he inherited it outright after her death in 1761.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=26, 98}}