Mildred Gale
Encyclopedia
Mildred Gale born Mildred Warner in the Colony of Virginia, was the paternal grandmother of George Washington
, the first president of the United States of America.
Through her sister's descendant Henrietta Mildred Hodgson
, she is an ancestral aunt of Queen Elizabeth II.
.
of Virginia. Her paternal grandfather, Colonel Augustine Warner
, was a justice
, a Burgess
and a member of the council of Gloucester County. Her maternal grandfather Colonel George Reade was also a member of the council. Her father Colonel Augustine Warner
was also a Burgess and Speaker of the House of Burgesses.
She was one of three daughters, the others being Elizabeth Warner and Mary Warner. All three married and left children.
(also spelled Laurence Washington
) in 1685, a union that produced three children John, Augustine
and Mildred. Augustine would become the father of George Washington
. Lawrence died in 1698, bequeathing to Mildred and the children shares in his estate, the profits from which were to be spent on their education.
, England
and Virginia
. She settled in Whitehaven
and became pregnant. However, she contracted a fever and made her will before the baptism of her child. Mildred died on 30 January 1701. Her will placed care of the Washington children in the hands of George , although this was later challenged in the Virginia courts by Lawrence's cousin John Washington, and their custody passed to him.
Her will left most of the property she had inherited from her late husband to George Gale. John Washington challenged this in court also.
. Their grand-daughter, another Mildred Porteus, married Robert Hodgson, of Congleton
, and was the grandmother of Henrietta Mildred Hodgson
(1805-1891), whose daughter Frances
married Claude Bowes-Lyon
, later Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
and became the grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II.
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, the first president of the United States of America.
Through her sister's descendant Henrietta Mildred Hodgson
Henrietta Mildred Hodgson
Henrietta Mildred Hodgson was an English lady with both royal and presidential genealogical connections.Through her Virginia ancestry, Queen Elizabeth II and her descendants are related to George Washington, the common ancestor of both being Augustine Warner, Jr.-Life and family:Born 6th January...
, she is an ancestral aunt of Queen Elizabeth II.
Early life
Mildred was born at Warner Hall, the family home in Gloucester County, VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Family
The men of Mildred's family took an active part in the local governmentLocal government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
of Virginia. Her paternal grandfather, Colonel Augustine Warner
Augustine Warner
Augustine Warner , was born in Norwich, Norfolk, to Thomas Warner and Elizabeth Sotherton. He was the progenitor of the Augustine Warner Family, who arrived in Virginia in 1628 at the age of seventeen, one of a group of thirty-four brought in by Adam Thoroughgood...
, was a justice
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, a Burgess
Burgess
Burgess is a word in English that originally meant a freeman of a borough or burgh . It later came to mean an elected or unelected official of a municipality, or the representative of a borough in the English House of Commons....
and a member of the council of Gloucester County. Her maternal grandfather Colonel George Reade was also a member of the council. Her father Colonel Augustine Warner
Augustine Warner, Jr.
Augustine Warner, Jr. was a Virginia politician and landowner. He served in the House of Burgesses 1666–77 and was its Speaker in two separate sessions in 1676 and 1677, before and after Bacon's Rebellion...
was also a Burgess and Speaker of the House of Burgesses.
She was one of three daughters, the others being Elizabeth Warner and Mary Warner. All three married and left children.
First marriage
She married Lawrence WashingtonLawrence Washington (1659-1698)
Lawrence Washington was a lawyer and planter in colonial Virginia who was educated in England. He was the paternal grandfather of George Washington.- Family :...
(also spelled Laurence Washington
Lawrence Washington (1659-1698)
Lawrence Washington was a lawyer and planter in colonial Virginia who was educated in England. He was the paternal grandfather of George Washington.- Family :...
) in 1685, a union that produced three children John, Augustine
Augustine Washington
Augustine Washington was the father of general and president George Washington. He belonged to the Colony of Virginia's landed gentry and was a planter and slaveholder.-Family:...
and Mildred. Augustine would become the father of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
. Lawrence died in 1698, bequeathing to Mildred and the children shares in his estate, the profits from which were to be spent on their education.
Second Marriage
In 1700, she married George Gale of Whitehaven, England, a prominent merchant who helped forge trade links between WhitehavenWhitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. She settled in Whitehaven
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
and became pregnant. However, she contracted a fever and made her will before the baptism of her child. Mildred died on 30 January 1701. Her will placed care of the Washington children in the hands of George , although this was later challenged in the Virginia courts by Lawrence's cousin John Washington, and their custody passed to him.
Her will left most of the property she had inherited from her late husband to George Gale. John Washington challenged this in court also.
Death
Mildred lies buried in the grounds of St. Nicholas' Church in Whitehaven. The exact whereabouts of her grave is unknown, due to several graveyard re-arrangements and a subsequent fire in the church in 1970, but a commemorative plaque is in the garden of the church.Royal connections
Mildred Warner's sister Mary married John Smith, and their daughter Mildred married Robert Porteus, who in 1720 moved his family from Virginia to YorkshireYorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. Their grand-daughter, another Mildred Porteus, married Robert Hodgson, of Congleton
Congleton
Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Dane, to the west of the Macclesfield Canal and 21 miles south of Manchester. It has a population of 25,750.-History:The first settlements in...
, and was the grandmother of Henrietta Mildred Hodgson
Henrietta Mildred Hodgson
Henrietta Mildred Hodgson was an English lady with both royal and presidential genealogical connections.Through her Virginia ancestry, Queen Elizabeth II and her descendants are related to George Washington, the common ancestor of both being Augustine Warner, Jr.-Life and family:Born 6th January...
(1805-1891), whose daughter Frances
Frances Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Frances Dora Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne was a British noblewoman. She was the paternal grandmother of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and thus a great grandmother of the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.Her father was Oswald Smith, of Blendon Hall , and her mother was...
married Claude Bowes-Lyon
Claude Bowes-Lyon, 13th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Claude Bowes-Lyon, 13th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne , styled The Honourable from 1847 to 1865, was a British peer. He was the 13th holder of the Earldom of Strathmore and Kinghorne....
, later Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
The title Earl of Kinghorne was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1606 for Patrick Lyon. In 1677, the designation of the earldom changed to "Strathmore and Kinghorne". A second Earldom was bestowed on the fourteenth Earl in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1937, the title being Strathmore...
and became the grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II.