WICKHAMFORD AND THE WASHINGTONS
The Rev W H Price, Vicar of Badsey and Wickhamford, writes to “The Times” in reference to the tomb of Penelope Washington, viewed by Mr Balfour and also by the Gloucestershire Archaeologists in Wickhamford Church this week. The Vicar says:
Penelope Washington was the daughter of Colonel Henry Washington, Governor of the City of Worcester, who died in 1664. He is believed to have been the cousin of John Washington, one of the original emigrants to America, and thus forms a link between the English Washingtons and the family of George Washington, the first President of the United States. I know the fact that George Washington was descended from the Northamptonshire family of Washingtons has been disputed, and it is with a view to obtain further information on this point that I should be glad if you would kindly allow this letter to appear in your columns. The subject has been treated by Mr Henry F Waters in his book, “The Ancestry of Washington” from which I chiefly have gathered my facts. Perhaps some of your readers will be able to throw more light on this subject, which is of special interest to me, as the Church of Wickhamford contains the tomb of Penelope Washington. I should add that the arms of the Washington family, from which it is sometimes said the Stars and Stripes of America are derived, are to be seen on Penelope’s tomb. I should be glad to know if there is any ground for such an opinion.