Anne wrote: "I hate to burst your bubble but...George Washington's earliest 
ancestor was John Washington who came to Northern Neck as a ship's mate, 
and married well...."


Actually, no.

John Washington was only George's earliest ancestor named Washington--not 
his earliest American ancestor. That was Captain Nicholas Martiau (spelled 
various ways, including "Marten") Martiau was a French Huguenot who arrived 
in 1620 on the Francis Bonaventure. He was a French military engineer, a 
Justice of the Court of York, a member of the House of Burgesses, and a 
signer of the rebuttal concerning living conditions in the colony from 1607 to 
1619. In 1640, he was granted 1,300 acres (a fairly large tract in those days). 
He called his home "York," which is part of today's Yorktown.

Martiau also built a fort, called "Martiau's fort," the subject of a 1989 dig. In 
its report, the APVA states, "The fort was likely constructed c. 1630 by 
Nicolas Martiau, a trained French military engineer and owner of the land were 
the fort was situated."

In 1635, Martiau was a leader in the uprising against Royal Governor John 
Harvey, an important event in Virginia's early history. The meeting which 
eventually led to Harvey's ousting took place, ironically, near Martiau's house 
and likely just a few hundred yards from the site of the later surrender of 
Cornwallis to General George Washington, Martiau's great-great-great 
grandson at Yorktown.

A stone marker, dedicated in 1631 by Gen. Pershing, reads:

SITE OF THE HOME OF

NICOLAS MARTIAU

THE ADVENTUROUS HUGUENOT

HE WAS BORN IN FRANCE 1591

CAME TO VIRGINIA 1620

AND DIED IN YORKTOWN 1657

HE WAS A CAPTAIN IN THE INDIAN UPRISING

A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES

JUSTICE OF THE COURT OF YORK

IN 1635 A LEADER

IN THE THRUSTING OUT OF GOVERNOR HARVEY

WHICH WAS THE FIRST OPPOSITION

IN THE BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY.

THE ORIGINAL PATENTEE FOR YORKTOWN

AND THROUGH THE MARRIAGE

OF HIS DAUGHTER ELIZABETH

TO COL. GEORGE READ HE BECAME

THE EARLIEST AMERICAN ANCESTOR OF BOTH

GEN. GEORGE WASHINGTON

AND GOVERNOR THOMAS NELSON


Like his grandson, Martiau was a leader of his time.


Connie Lapallo
Author of 
DARK ENOUGH TO SEE THE STARS IN A JAMESTOWN SKY
And its upcoming sequel
THE SUN IS BUT A MORNING STAR IN A JAMESTOWN SKY
www.ConnieLapallo.com

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