- Fielding Lewis
Fielding Lewis (
July 7 ,1725 –December 7 ,1781 ) was aColonel during theAmerican Revolutionary War and the brother-in-law ofGeorge Washington .Lewis was born at Warner Hall in Gloucester County,
Virginia , the son of John Lewis (1694-1754) and Frances Fielding (c1702-1731). He was the third of seven children. [http://www.kenmore.org/LewisFamilyInfo/lewis_descendants.html Lewis Family Ancestors and Descendants] , Historic Kenmore, George Washington Foundation.] One of his father's brothers, Robert Lewis (1704-1765), was the grandfather of famed explorerMeriwether Lewis . [http://www.kenmore.org/LewisFamilyInfo/meriwether_lewis_connection.html The Meriwether Lewis Connection] , Historic Kenmore, George Washington Foundation.]Lewis married Catharine Washington on
October 18 ,1746 . She was his second cousin, daughter of John Washington and Catharine Whiting and first cousin to George Washington. The marriage produced three children. Catharine died onFebruary 19 ,1750 .His second marriage was to another second cousin, Elizabeth "Betty" Washington, the sister of George Washington, on
May 7 ,1750 . The marriage produced 11 children, including Lawrence Lewis, who marriedEleanor Parke Custis , George Washington's adopted daughter and step-granddaughter. Betty outlived Fielding, passing in 1797.Commissary General of Munitions during the
American Revolutionary War , Lewis held the rank ofColonel . [http://www.rbais.com/cfl-vassar/lewis.html Va Sons of the Revolution] ] He and his second wife resided nearFredericksburg, Virginia . In 1769, Fielding and Betty started construction of a large Georgian mansion, which was completed in 1775 at their estate, later named Kenmore House. It is now open to the public for viewing. Lewis died in Fredericksburg in 1781.The 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 andBetty Lewis Drive).His great-granddaughter was
Catherine Willis Gray who married into theBonaparte family of France.References
External links
* [http://www.kenmore.org/kenmore_homepage.html "Historic Kenmore"] , the "Kenmore" estate website.
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