| − | He was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, the the son of John Augustine Washington, younger brother of [[General Washington]]. He graduated at William and Mary College in 1778; studied law in Philadelphia; practiced for a time in Westmoreland County county; and from 1780 until the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown served as a volunteer in Col. J. F. Mercer's troop of horse. | + | He was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, the the son of John Augustine Washington, younger brother of [[General Washington]]. He graduated in 1778 from William and Mary College where he was one of the original members of the Phi Beta Kappa society.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2TxLAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA344 The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information, Volume 28]</ref> After graduation, he studied law in Philadelphia and then practiced for a time in Westmoreland County county. |