[4] Augustine would return to Virginia months later and discover that his wife had died, leaving daughter Jane in the care of the extended Washington family in Westmoreland County.

In late 1738, Augustine moved his young family to Ferry Farm, which he had recently purchased, on the edge of Fredericksburg in King George County.

The company commanders were to be recruited in the colonies and Colonel William Blakeney was sent across the Atlantic with blank commissions, signed by King George II, to be distributed to the various governors.

Lawrence was fortunate, as he would later write to his father, to be appointed "Captain of the Soldiers acting as Marines" on board Vernon's flagship, the 80-gun HMS Princess Caroline.

"[8] Washington survived the Battle of Cartagena de Indias and expeditions against the seaport of New Granada and against Cuba and Panama, which suffered a high rate of casualties, mostly from disease.

The assault against Cartagena, in March–April 1741, proved a disaster, as over half of the British force fell ill and died of tropical diseases, chiefly yellow fever.

[9] The fever predominated amongst the newly arrived troop ships, while the crews on Vernon's warships, having already been in the Caribbean for one year, were largely inured against disease.

Not quite two years later, on 24 October 1742, the American survivors could muster only 17 officers and 130 enlisted men, who returned to North America in November and December, accompanied by 268 sick soldiers.

[11]Writing a history of British Settlements in North America in 1748, Bostonian Dr. William Douglas said that of 500 men sent from Massachusetts for the expedition, not over 50 returned.

[13] About the time of his marriage he began the rebuilding of a house on the site of his father's earlier residence on Little Hunting Creek, naming it Mount Vernon in honor of his wartime commander.

In 1747, he joined with his father-in-law and other prominent landowners and businessmen in the Northern Neck to create the Ohio Company of Virginia, with the intention of opening trade to the American interior linked to the Potomac River.

The site of Hugh West's tobacco warehouse, on the western banks of the Potomac near the mouth of (Great) Hunting Creek, was deemed a suitable location because its deep water access allowed ships from London to sail directly to the wharf.

[15] During the legislative session of 1748–49, Washington had the role of promoting the river site and securing the votes necessary to approve a new town on the Potomac, where it would best serve the interests of the Ohio Company.

"[16] Prior to the first public auction of town lots in July 1749, Washington sailed to London to conduct business on behalf of the Ohio Company, and to consult English physicians regarding his health.

In Barbados, George Washington contracted smallpox; although he suffered some scarring on his face, his survival meant he was immune to other attacks.

A group of American art experts – including James Flexner – were invited to Mount Vernon around 1966 to examine the many family portraits owned by George Washington.

In their brief examination of the unsigned, undated painting of Lawrence Washington, those social historians noted that his jacket lacked a collar, which was a style of dress popular in England in the 1730s.

[22] The Mason portrait is known to have been painted by the young Philadelphia painter John Hesselius in the spring/summer of 1750 to commemorate his 4 April wedding to Ann Elibeck.

Lawrence Washington appears in the 2014 Ubisoft action-adventure video game, Assassin's Creed: Rogue as a member of the Templar Order and the first target of the protagonist Shay Patrick Cormac, who kills him during a garden party at Mount Vernon.