The Washingtons trace their ancestry back to William de Hertburn
in twelfth-century England where their family owned a manor
estate called Wessyngton─the Norman spelling of Washington.
William de Hertburn changed his name to William de Wessyngton.
The first Washington to come to America in Joseph Washington’s
line was John Washington, who immigrated to Surry County,
Virginia, in 1658. One of John’s cousins also named John
immigrated to Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1656. This John
Washington was the great-grandfather of President George
Washington. Joseph Washington came to Robertson County,
Tennessee in 1796 and established Wessyngton Plantation, which
he named in honor of his ancestral home. Tags: Ancestral Home,
Ancestry, President George Washington, Sulgrave Manor, Surry
Washingtons, Washington family, Washington genealogy, Wessyngton
Manor, Westmoreland Washingtons, William de Hertburn, William de
Wessyngton