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"$400George Town July 25 1820Sixty days after date I promise to pay B. English or orderFour Hundred dollars forvalue rec'd.G. Washington"
At the time Lydia S English was only 16 years old, and this may have been the original funds used to build the finishing school for young women that later became the go to place for Washington elites.
George Corbin Washington (1789-1854) was a prominent American politician and a member of the Washington family. Born on August 20, 1789, in Westmoreland County, Virginia, he was a grandnephew of George Washington, the first President of the United States. He served as a U.S. Representative from Maryland and was involved in various political and business ventures throughout his life.
Washington was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-first through Twenty-fourth Congresses (1829-1837) and as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth Congress (1839-1841). He played a significant role in the political landscape of his time, contributing to legislative processes and representing the interests of his constituents.
Apart from his political career, George Corbin Washington was also known for his involvement in agricultural and business activities, maintaining the family legacy and estate. He passed away on July 17, 1854, and was buried in the Washington family vault at Mount Vernon, Virginia.
It appears that “B English” refers to Lydia S. English, who founded the Georgetown Female Seminary in 1826, Originally called the Lydia S English Seminary for young ladies. The seminary was an American school for young women located in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Lydia S. English started the school when she was only sixteen years old, and it quickly expanded to serve the daughters of Washington politicians1. The seminary was located in a building from 1820 to 1861, which suggests that the building itself might predate the establishment of the seminary. Lydia S. English is a notable figure in the history of education for women in the early 19th century.
