My George Washington

 
My George Washington, The Father of Our Country
By Nancy Quillin Long
19 Feb 2026

 

My ties are through his wife Martha Dandridge, daughter of John Dandridge II and Frances Orlando Jones.

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.

 

From Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, I go up a generation to her mother Frances Orlando Jones. Frances 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 1^st First Lady of America.

 

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 6^th 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.

 

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!

 

 

https://share.america.gov/how-george-washington-became-father-of-his-country/

Washington became ‘the father of his country’

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.