Fielding Lewis
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Fielding Lewis (1725 - 1781)

Colonel Fielding Lewis
Born in Warner Hall, Gloucester County, Colony of Virginiamap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 18 Oct 1746 in Gloucester, Virginiamap
Husband of — married 7 May 1750 in Fredricksburg, Virginiamap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 56 in Kenmore House, Frederickburg, Virginiamap
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Profile last modified | Created 21 Sep 2011
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Fielding Lewis resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776.
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Contents

Biography

1776 Project
Colonel Fielding Lewis performed Patriotic Service in the American Revolution.
Daughters of the American Revolution
Fielding Lewis is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A069909.

Fielding was born in 1725. He passed away in 1781.

Col. Fielding Lewis

Col. Fielding Lewis (Jul 7, 1725 - Dec 7, 1781) was a patriot and veteran of the Revolutionary War. Commissary General of Munitions during the American Revolutionary War.

He was a personal friend of Washington's, and married into the family twice. First to a cousin named Catherine Washington, then to the President's own sister Elizabeth "Betty" Washington.[1]

"Colonel Fielding Lewis settled near Fredericksburg, Va.; was a merchant, burgess, vestryman, etc. He was twice married — first, in 1746, to Catherine Washington, a cousin of General George Washington; she died in February, 1750. His second wife was Betty, the sister of General George Washington, whom he married in 1750."[2]

In 1769, Fielding Lewis and his wife Betty started construction of their plantation house, a large Georgian mansion, on the Rappahannock River outside Fredericksburg in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. "Many people lived and worked on the plantation, including the Lewises, 4 of their 8 surviving children, and over 80 slaves. The house was built by skilled tradesmen (some recent immigrants from England), indentured servants (most from Ireland), and enslaved African Americans."[3]

Children:

  1. Col. Thornton A. Washington, [4]
  2. Fielding Lewis, Jr.[5]
  3. Maj. George Washington Lewis[1]
  4. Warner Lewis
  5. Betty Lewis Carter
  6. Samuel Lewis
  7. Augustine Lewis
  8. Mary Lewis
  9. Charles Lewis
  10. Lawrence Lewis
  11. Robert Lewis[1]
  12. Howell Lewis[1]

Lewis died in Fredericksburg in 1781.

Vitals

b. 07 Jul 1725 [6] Warner Hall, Gloucester, VA[7]
d. 07 Dec 1781[6] Kenmore Plantation Frederickburg, Spotsylvania, Virginia

Family

On May 7, 1750, Betty Washington was six weeks shy of her 17th birthday when she married Lewis, 25, a widower with two young children. His first wife, Catherine, a cousin of George Washington's, died in childbirth along with the infant.
~ Kenmore House
m.1 18 Oct 1746 Catherine Washington (d.19 Feb 1750).
m.2 Elizabeth "Betty" Washington 1750 or 07 MAY 1750, Stafford Co., VA.

Kenmore Plantation

A historic landmark since 1969,[15] Kenmore estate purchased the property said to be "George Washington's Boyhood Home", Ferry Farm, to keep it from being developed. Both Fielding and his wife Betty are commemorated with street names in the nearby Ferry Farm subdivision (Fielding Circle and Betty Lewis Drive).
His great-granddaughter was Catherine Willis Gray who married into the Bonaparte family of France.

DAR Record

PROBLEMS WITH AT LEAST ONE PREVIOUSLY VERIFIED PAPER - SEE ANCESTOR’S FULL RECORD.[16]

SPECIFICALLY: "This code indicates that there is a problem with the lineage on at least one previously verified application or supplemental, but that there are other papers on this ancestor that are ok.

Those that are incorrect will be flagged with EL near the national number in the ancestor's full record. Also, the comment section on the ancestor's full record will usually provide a brief explanation. Please note that the error(s) may have been found anywhere in the lineage and not just with the ancestor's child or child's spouse. Please review the comments carefully."

Ancestor Comments:'

1) EL - ELIZABETH WHO MARR ALEXANDER SPOTSWOOD WAS GRANDDAUGHTER OF
2) THIS MAN, DAU OF HIS SON FIELDING LEWIS JR, A069906. THIS MAN'S
3) DAU ELIZABETH MARR CHARLES CARTER. SEE DATA CORRECTIONS FILE.

LEWIS, FIELDING SR:Ancestor #: A069909
Service: VIRGINIA
Rank: PATRIOTIC SERVICE
Death: 12-7-1781 FREDERICKSBURG SPOTSYLVANIA CO VIRGINIA
Service Source:WM & MARY QTRLY, SER 1, VOL 5, P 249; VOL 27, PP 253-256; ABERCROMBIE & SLATTEN, VA REV PUB CLAIMS, VOL 3, P 869
Service Description: 1. CHAIRMAN OF SPOTSYLVANIA CO COMMITTEE OF SAFETY;


2. JOINT COMMISSIONER & FINANCIAL SUPPORTER, FREDERICKSBURG ARSENAL; FURNISHED SUPPLIES

Residence: FREDERICKSBURG, SPOTSYLVANIA, VIRGINIA
Spouse: m.1 KATHARINE WASHINGTON

m.2 ELIZABETH WASHINGTON

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Correspondence and Other Writings of Six Major Shapers of the United States, …," Founders Online (https://founders.archives.gov/).
  2. "Genealogy of the Lewis family in America, from the middle of the seventeenth century down to the present time" by William Terrell Lewis publ 1893 p 16" https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89062356233;view=1up;seq=28
  3. "Kenmore History," The George Washington Foundation (https://web.archive.org/web/20200127005450/http://www.kenmore.org/kenmore/history.html).
  4. "The Swords of Washington," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 48 (1894):25 (in particular part); digital images, HathiTrust (accessed 2014).
  5. DAR Record.
  6. 6.0 6.1 DAR Genealogical Research System.
  7. Wikipedia: son of John Lewis (1694-1754) and Frances Fielding (c.1702-1731). third of seven children. One of his father's brothers, Robert Lewis (1704-1765), was the grandfather of explorer Meriwether Lewis.
  8. Lewis of Warner Hall: The History of a Family. pp.131.
  9. John (22 Jun 1747 - 1825 Logan Co., Kentucky) m. Lucy Thornton. Issue: 1 (dau. Mildred Gregory Lewis b. 12 Mar 1770 m. William Minor) See: Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol.30, P,68

    Francis b. 26 Nov 1748, died in infancy. See: Pg.136. Lewis of Warner Hall: The History of a Family.

    Warner (27 Nov 1749 - 05 Dec 1749) See: pp.136. Lewis of Warner Hall: The History of a Family,
  10. dau. of John Washington and Catharine Whiting, therefore first cousin to George Washington. Also Lewis' second cousin.
  11. Fielding, Augustine, Warner, George W., Mary, Charles, Samuel, Elizabeth (Betty), Lawrence, Robert and Howell.
  12. His second marriage was to another second cousin, Betty Washington, the sister of George Washington, on May 7, 1750. The marriage produced 11 children, including Lawrence Lewis, who married Eleanor Parke Custis, George Washington's adopted daughter and step-granddaughter. Betty outlived Fielding, passing in 1797.
  13. Concerns have been raised that the 07 May 1750 marriage date is not valid, based on questions surrounding the authenticity of the supposed Lewis Family Bible. Other sources do cite that date, while some make the claim for 1750. If possible, add more info for better dating and sources in the marriage section.
  14. "Field Lewis Letter," The George Washington Foundation (https://web.archive.org/web/20200116171353/https://kenmore.org/collections/documents/lewis_letter.html). The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series (W. M. Abbott, Editor, University of Virginia Press.)
    Quote: Also includes accounts, 1816-1846, of his father George Lewis, son of Col. Fielding Lewis and Betty Washington (sister of George Washington). There is a letter [1801 ?] of a 'slave to John A. Lomax and other correspondence of the John Tayloe Lomax family of "Menokin", Richmond County, Virginia. Correspondents include William F. Grymes, John Taliaferro, and Henry T. Washington.
  15. "History Registers, City of Fredericksburg (Northern Region)," Virginia Department of Historic Resources (https://web.archive.org/web/20180618124348/http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Cities/register_Fredericksburg.htm).
  16. DAR

See also:





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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Fielding by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Fielding:

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.



Comments: 15

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in may 2nd, 1752, George Washington writes in a letter that the only living children of his sister Elizabeth were, Lawrence, Fielding jr., Howell, Robert, George, and Betty. page 164 of this free ebook-

The Pedigree and History of the Washington Family Derived from Odin, the Founder of Scandinavia, B.C. 70, Involving a Period of Eighteen Centuries, and Including Fifty-five Generations, Down to General George Washington, First President of the United States By Albert Welles · 1879 https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Pedigree_and_History_of_the_Washingt/dZw-AAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

posted by Wendy Browne
I have replaced all of these but one with a Wayback Machine link. All of these Kenmore.org links are to a website largely intended for tourists, with some history also included. Not saying it is unreliable, but links to websites like this are anything but "stable" links.

I deleted the kenmore.org/index.html link and multiple ref tags to it from the biography. That was a generic landing page with an index. At one point it contained their announcement of the closing of the location due to COVID-19. Someone would have to dig in the Wayback Machine archives to figure out what if anything these ref tags were pointing to at the time, and whether they contained anything of genealogical value.

posted by Ken Spratlin
Have a question on unknow brother of Fielding Lewis. Could it be possible that brother left the area and settled further west as in Western Pennsylvania? Does anyone know if other brothers of Fielding or their descendants migrated to Pennsylvania? I ran across an obituary of a Dr. David Hamilton Lewis of Washington County Pa that claims Fielding Lewis was his great uncle. Dr. Lewis started out as a country Dr. and about 1870 built the home that my grandparents purchased in the 1930's. I think Dr. Lewis may have delivered my grandmother as a baby.

Dr. Lewis was born in Greene County Pennsylvania about 1851 to the parents of John (1820-1895) born Darkesville Va. and Cyrena or Serena Long Lewis (1819-? ) and died in 1920. According to J.H. Beers 1893 Biographical sketches of Washington County , John's father was Lewis Lewis who had a plantation near Winchester Va. The obituary states Dr. Lewis was from a pioneer family of Virginia and that his great uncle was Fielding Lewis who married George Washington's sister. Could this family connection possibly be true? If Dr. Lewis was born in 1850 and his parent born 1820 and 1830 this information could have easily been passed to David's parents and on to David.

Lewis is a some what common name and their were several early Lewis families in Washington and Greene County Pa. I have an Elizabeth Lewis (1770-1854) who married Ignatious Barnard. They both lived and are buried in in West Bethlehem Township Washington County Pa. Not sure if these two western Pa Lewis families tie together. It is possible as almost everyone in these two counties are related in some way. Any knowledge on the Fielding Lewis family with a tie to western Pa would be appreciated.

Thanks

Scott Horne

posted by Scott Horne
edited by Scott Horne
There is no Mary or Samuel in this family, they need to be removed ,

Fielding Lewis's First wife was Catherine lewis , they had the following children that lived to adulthood john lewis

Fielding Lewis's Second wife was Elizabeth (betty) Washington, (sister of george washington) he had the following children that lived to adulthood Fielding Lewis Jr. George Washington Lewis mary Lewis charles Lewis elizabeth Lewis Lawrence lewis robert Lewis howell Lewis

posted by Wendy Browne
Hi profile managers, can you please address who is "Betty" in the narrative. It's confusing because the 3rd paragraph is copied and pasted on Elizabeth Washington's profile. Helpful hint: Please add WikiTree ID templates and conform the dates to dd mm yyyy. Thanks so much.
posted by Paula (Hawkins) Reinke
edited by Paula (Hawkins) Reinke
Lewis-39458 and Lewis-4641 appear to represent the same person because: clear duplciate
posted by Robin Lee
What an interesting person to write a biography about it only one had the time!
posted by Scott Lee
cut from Elizabeth Warner's profile:

Elizabeth and John Lewis's grandson, Colonel Fielding Lewis of Belle Farm, married Catherine Washington, and after her death married Elizabeth Washington, also known as Betty, sister of George. He built beautiful Kenmore for her, in Fredericksburg.

apparently, source was http://home1.gte.net/mimieric/Augustine.html (which no longer appears to work) found via archive.org's WayBack Machine: Augustine Warner I (1610-1674) and Warner Hall

posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
Category: Slave-owner: Virginia is listed under misnamed categories. Shouldn't it be Category: Virginia Slave Owners instead?
posted by Greg Hays
I checked the DAR record again for Mr. Lewis. There was a notice added of a problem and to check his record. I have added it to his biography.

Thanks for your help.  :)

posted by [Living Stewart]
Mary it's OK. This page is sourced, linked and footnoted. Lewis the real deal, and so is Elizabeth and Catherine. There's no disputing his wives (see DAR screenshot). So the profile owners were correct, and he is linked to AJ (not so much by blood but in terms of what that project is doing ... ).

But Lewis is extensively documented by academics and more. So please read, collaborate, contribute more sources, and write content. If there's a contradiction, then as you say ... prove it with sources. It will help us all. Incidentally, you may want to research his relative's links to Lewis and Clark of the famed Louisiana Purchase. The man is actually quite interesting.

posted by [Living Ogle]
why was the link to the DAR removed? Was it because there was some invalid links of descendents to him? I belong to the DAR and can check his record again.
posted by [Living Stewart]
Note: Looking for Kenmore's slave list with names, if possible. So far I can only find numbers. Please add it as a link or citation if you run across it. Thanks in advance.
posted by [Living Ogle]
It was stated that he married 2nd cousins. Vic stated he changed the marriage dates to match the dates in bio. Where is source? Did you check the DAR source for a valid descendent? Where is the citation for the info on him being in the revolutionary war? Shouldn't these be in the bio as they are facts? Assumptions are not valid. As a genealogist, we know that facts must be based on valid sources. If there are no sources than the information is only heresay.
posted by [Living Stewart]