George Washington was born in 1732 at Bridges’ Creek in Virginia.
He was the oldest of five children of Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. He had a younger sister and three younger brothers. Because Augustine had been married previously, George also had two older half brothers. When George was six, the family moved to Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia, where George learned to ride horseback and to fish and go boating on the nearby Rappahanock River. He often went across the river to explore the docks and wharves of Fredericksburg. When George was 11, his father died. With his father’s death, George became closer to his older half brother Lawrence. He went often to visit Lawrence on his farm called Mount Vernon, and at age 16 he went to live with him. At Mount Vernon, a new and different kind of life opened up for George.
