Early in his life George Washington discovered the two things that are necessary for a full and satisfying life; WORK AND LOVE. When he was a small boy his family was, like many of his neighbors, Virginia tobacco farmers. George was the oldest of a second marriage and was fortunate enough to have a good relationship with his loving mother and older half brother. His father was a good manager whose farming and investments allowed him to accumulate 10,000 acres and about 50 slaves. He died when George was eleven years old and most of the property went to his half brother, Lawrence, who passed the estate on to George when he died a few years later .
George Washington helped his father and older brother farm during his boyhood. His education lasted only until he was fifteen years of age when he dusted off his father's old surveying instruments and started working as an assistant surveyor. When he had gained enough experience he became an official surveyor and began to buy more land until he was the largest land holder in the country.
When he was nineteen he went with his brother to Barbados where Lawrence hoped to regain his health. After returning George fell in love with a neighbors sixteen year old daughter, Betsy Fountleroy, but she refused his proposal. He even enlisted the support of her father but she still refused. A few years later, after serving as an officer in the French and Indian wars, Washington married his beloved Martha, the wealthy widow of a fellow officer.
The life of our first president seems stranger than fiction. A rag tag citizen's army, under his able leadership, fought the well-trained British to a standstill until they were joined by the French and won the war for independence. When the representatives of the colonies met to form a new government they turned to Washington to mediate their many differences. After the states struggled to survive under the Article Of Confederation, Washington called for the famous Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia where our constitution was hammered out under his leadership.
When the electoral college met in New York City in February of 1789, George Washington was unanimously elected President. He accepted "With more reluctance than I ever experienced in my life." He successfully lead the new nation through what he described as "untrodden ground" such as adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution and mediating the differences between the northern and the southern colonies. When his second term had ended he refused a third one just as strongly as he had squelched the movement to crown him King George Washington when the nation was newly formed.
Throughout his life our first President remained a faithful and active Christian. He belonged to the Anglican ( Episcopal) church and attended services in Williamsburg. His personal conduct was greatly influenced by 110 Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation which he copied when he was a thirteen year old schoolboy. The teachings of Jesus and the 110 Rules gave Washington a dignity and bearing that demanded personal respect.
On the snowy morning of December 14, 1799, he awoke with a very sore throat. Doctors came and applied the usual remedy of bleeding. As he grew weaker he realized that he was dying and strained to whisper orders to his secretary who was alone with him in the room.
"When I am gone wait till after three days to bury my body" he said. The secretary seemed to hesitate before answering and the President managed to speak a little louder. "Do you understand?"
"Yes sir" He answered and later conveyed the message to the grieving widow. It seems that he might have held a belief shared by many that the spirit remained near the body for three days before taking leave.
At about 10:00 P.M. that evening George Washington died and four days later his body was buried in the family vault at Mount Vernon. Carved in marble above the door of the vault that now contains the bodies of our first president and his wife is the promise that Jesus made to another Martha; "I am the resurrection and the life ...and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."