We Ought to Say – “If the Lord Wills”
James 4:13-15
God sees down the
road and around the corner. He is always there before we even think about
going. In theological terms we call this God’s omniscience and God’s
foreknowledge, what comfort it is to know Jesus holds all of our tomorrows.
Martha Washington, Biography, Facts, Significance, APUSH
Martha Dandridge was born on June 2, 1731, in New Kent County, Virginia. She grew up in a traditional 18th-century household and received an education that focused on domestic skills and academics. When she was 18, she married Daniel Parke Custis, a wealthy plantation owner who was significantly older than her. Together, they had four children, but two of them died in infancy.
In 1757, Martha became a widow when Custis died, leaving her with substantial wealth and the responsibility of caring for their two surviving children. It was during this time that she caught the attention of a rising military and political figure named George Washington.
Martha and George Washington were married on January 6, 1759, marking the beginning of their lifelong partnership. As George’s military and political career progressed, Martha supported him both privately and publicly. During the American Revolutionary War, she joined him at military encampments such as Valley Forge, Morristown, and Newburgh.
After the war and the ratification of the United States Constitution, George Washington was elected as the First President of the United States. Martha, known as the First Lady, embraced her role as a gracious hostess and supported her husband during his presidency. She lived with him in New York City and then Philadelphia.
Following his second term as president, Martha and George retired to Mount Vernon. Among their visitors were the Marquis de Lafayette and Catharine Macauley.
Unfortunately, President Washington passed away in 1799, leaving Martha a widow for the second time. She outlived her husband by a few years and passed away on May 22, 1802, in the presence of her granddaughter.
Martha Washington is important to United States history because of the role she played as the wife of George Washington, the first President of the United States. During the American Revolutionary War, she supported her husband, joining him at military encampments and helping provide comfort to the soldiers. As the nation’s first First Lady, she established the social customs and expectations for the position.
Short Bio for
George Washington
https://share.america.gov/how-george-washington-became-father-of-his-country/
Article written on February 11, 2026
Like the
monument standing in the U.S. capital that bears his name, George Washington’s
place in American history is towering. As a general, his commanding presence
inspired the Army that won independence from Britain. As a statesman, he
presided over the Constitutional Convention that shaped the United States. And
as the country’s first president he established lasting traditions, forging a
reputation as “the father of his country.”
Washington’s journey to greatness was no coincidence. When he showed up for the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia in his militia uniform in 1775, Washington helped the other delegates to see him as a natural choice for Army commander.
Though he resigned his commission after the Revolution, he stayed involved in political affairs, arguing for a stronger national government. This made him a natural choice to lead the Constitutional Convention. “He was the moving force for the Constitution,” says Edward J. Larson, a law professor at Pepperdine University and author of George Washington, Nationalist. Other delegates had trust in Washington, according to Larson, and that trust moved the effort along. Washington’s central role in developing the Constitution, in turn, would make him a favorite choice for president among the leaders in attendance.
Early Life
Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the first child of Augustine and Mary Washington, who would have five more children. At the time George was born, they lived in Pope’s Creek. Raised in Virginia by his mother and brother, Washington succeeded as a surveyor on the state’s frontier.
In 1735, the family moved to Little Hunting Creek Plantation, on the Potomac River. The Plantation would eventually be renamed Mount Vernon. They lived there for a short time, and moved to Ferry Farm on the Rappahannock River, across from Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1738. Washington spent most of his youth at Ferry Farm, although very little is known about his childhood.
His father
died when he was 11, and he became the ward of Lawrence Washington, his
half-brother. Augustine had three children with his first wife, Jane, who died
in 1729. Lawrence inherited Little Hunting Creek Plantation. Lawrence was
married to Anne Fairfax, the daughter of Colonel William Fairfax. Fairfax had
political connections and had been an appointee of the British Crown in the
Bahamas and the Colonies.
At the of
16, in 1748, Washington helped survey Virginia’s western frontier. He spent the
next few years surveying land and received an appointment as the official
surveyor of Culpepper County, Virginia.
He inherited Mount Vernon in 1752. Lawrence died in July from tuberculosis. Soon after, his only heir, his daughter Sarah, also died. This left the estate to Washington. He was 20 years old at the time. Adding to his responsibilities, Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor, Robert Dinwiddie, appointed him as major in the Virginia militia.
As a young militia leader in the French and Indian War (1754–1763), he overcame early setbacks and led British forces to safety during the Battle of the Monongahela after their general was mortally wounded.
Washington’s heroics — surviving the Monongahela, despite four bullets passing through his coat made him an obvious choice to lead the Continental Army in the American Revolution. Believing in his own suitability for the job and arriving at the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia wearing his militia uniform, Washington inspired confidence. The Congress founded the U.S. Army on June 14, 1775, and named him commander in chief the next day.
The next year, on Christmas night 1776, Washington led his soldiers, weary from defeats, across the freezing Delaware River for a surprise attack that brought victory and a morale boost for his men. A few years later, in 1781, Washington deceived the British into anticipating an attack in New York and instead moved south to Virginia, capturing thousands of British troops at Yorktown.
On March 15, 1783, in Newburgh, New York, officers under Washington’s command met to discuss whether to mutiny because the Continental Congress had not paid them. Instead of having them arrested, Washington came to address them. He began reading his prepared speech, which would chide the conspirators. At some point he paused to put on his glasses, saying, “Gentlemen, you must pardon me, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in service to my country.”
By that
action, the conspiracy died. Later that year, Washington resigned his
commission as commander of the Continental Army. When British King George III
was informed that Washington would resign, rather than take over leadership of
the new country, he was reported to have said, “If he does that, he will be the
greatest man in the world.”
Yet in 1789, Washington was unanimously elected the first U.S. president. His decision to serve only two four-year terms set a precedent that lasted more than a century and influenced a 1951 constitutional amendment that set a two-term limit for future presidents.
At his funeral in 1799, Washington’s friend Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee described him as, “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”
How George Washington became 'the father of his country' - ShareAmerica
Article by Charles Hoskinson
Feb 11, 2026
Like the monument standing in the U.S. capital that bears
his name, George Washington’s place in American history is towering.
As a general, his commanding presence inspired the Army that won independence from Britain. As a statesman, he presided over the Constitutional Convention that shaped the United States. And as the country’s first president he established lasting traditions, forging a reputation as “the father of his country.”
Washington’s journey to greatness was no coincidence.
When he showed up for the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia in his militia uniform in 1775, Washington helped the other delegates to see him as a natural choice for Army commander.
Though he resigned his commission after the Revolution, he stayed involved in political affairs, arguing for a stronger national government. This made him a natural choice to lead the Constitutional Convention.
“He was the moving force for the Constitution,” says Edward J. Larson, a law professor at Pepperdine University and author of George Washington, Nationalist. Other delegates had trust in Washington, according to Larson, and that trust moved the effort along.
Washington’s central role in developing the Constitution, in turn, would make him a favorite choice for president among the leaders in attendance.
My ties to George Washington are through his wife Martha Dandridge, daughter of John Dandridge II and Frances Orlando Jones. My connection to Martha Dandridge is through her mother's mother. Frances Orlando Jones was the daughter of Orlando Jones and Martha Macon.
Frances O Jones married John Dandridge and their first born child was the aforementioned Martha Dandridge, the Martha who became the 1st First Lady of America.
George Washington married Martha Dandridge. George was her
second husband. They had no children together.
Martha Dandridge’s first husband was Daniel Parke Custis. Together they had four children and two other children who died in infancy.
Now back to Frances Orlando Jones. Frances was the daughter of Orlando Jones and Martha Macon.
MARTHA MACON was the sister to ANNE MACON (Anne is where my line connects.)
Anne Macon 1685-1728 married Charles Massie 1678 – 1749
Their son Nathaniel Massie Sr 1727-1802 married twice.
Elizabeth Watkins and Ann Clark.
With his first wife Elizabeth Watkins, he had 11 children.
Their first born was Mary Massie.
Mary Massie 1756 – 1820 married James Robards 1754 – 1803.
Their daughter Agnes Robards 1792- 1870 married Pleasant
Henderson.
Their son James Henderson 1818 – 1870 married Susan Sewell.
Their daughter Sarah M Henderson 1853 – 1922 married Mack
Manilus McNair
The rest is history…. down to me. The information above brings me to people who my living relatives knew.
Odd fact: As a child in the early 1960s, my favorite
doll was a troll doll that I named Massie. WHERE did that name come from when I
was only about 7 years old. I wrote an article titled TOYLAND in 2019, and I
highlighted my beloved Massie, a troll doll.
So many years ago, I read a biography of George Washington, after which I determined that he was my ultimate hero. Everything about him seemed top notch and full of character. Now today, I sit and trace my family heritage, and into the view, steps George Washington. Years ago, I was excited to see that a young George had surveyed land for my 6th great-grandmother, Sophia Pope Muse, who had inherited her father’s land when he died. I was excited to have such rich history and a small connection in some way to this young boy, George Washington, who would become the Father of our Country.
George
Washington only lived at Popes Creek to age 3, but returned in his teenage
years to stay with his half-brother Austin after the death of their father
and made an early survey drawing of the area when only 15 years old. The first
stake inland of the Berry survey in 1742 to clarify land lines on Popes Creek
was reportedly in the adjacent cornfield of John Muse. On the opposite side of
the creek at the point directly across from Longwood Swamp is the area now
called Muses Beach.
Ink sketch of young George Washington surveying the area at
the Popes Creek Plantation. (National Park Service)
Now today, with so many references at our fingertips via computer and DNA, I see that I actually have family ties to George Washington. It is a straight line back to Ann Macon when it goes sideways to her sister Martha Macon.
Nancy < Carolita Jones < Ava McNair < Charles
McNair < Sarah Henderson < James
Henderson < Agnes Robards < Mary Massie < Nathaniel Massie < Ann
Macon…. Ann is the sister of Martha Macon, who was the mother of Frances Jones.
Frances was the mother of Martha Dandridge who married George Washington.
It is no wonder now, as I look back, that these families all rubbed shoulders as they carved out the wilderness and moved forward with a common goal. These people helped build most of everything that was to become the United States of America. They came across the ocean with some recognition to their bloodlines. These were the hardy souls who shouldered all the victories and defeats of making America their home and the home of the following generations of people who have enjoyed living in the land of the free!
You know, snakes just do what they do. They sometimes will strike at you when you don't see it coming. If you are smart, you will keep your eyes wide open when on a hike especially in the spring, when new life is beginning and the warm sunshine begins to lighten your step after the dead of winter. Don't be surprised, though, because the snakes are there, too. You can be innocently walking along and your life will change instantly with a snake bite.
There is much to be said about that as an analogy of what happens in life. You can go along the path doing what you think is right and good and beneficial, trying to help others...and then WHAM...behold! the surprise attack from someone you love with no rhyme or reason. Maybe from their point there is a reason, but when you have been trying hard to help (when they will let you) and then you get slammed buy an accusation that you have no clue about, you should reevaluate the path you are walking down.
Most never die from a snake bite, but the memory of it pours through you long after the bite takes place. So....never let the snake bite you twice! Now that I have been bitten by a special person in my life, I hope to be more like the snake that sheds its skin. I am capable of letting them be them. I am capable of shedding that layer. I am also capable of shedding the layer of my assembled habits of trying to help. This will create space for me to call matters into question, whether it be within myself or with them. It's no longer acceptable for me to continue to be bitten by those I love the most!
Just as a snake sheds its skin, which I have done countless times in order to keep us all together, I will continue to shed my past over and over again....until my heart no longer hurts. I will also remember that no matter how many times a snake sheds its skin, it will always be a snake. These things must be remembered before letting people back into your life.
Moral of the story: If you don’t check the grass for snakes it’s hard to complain about being bitten.
