Articles and Essays

Possible New Miniseries on the book, I Cannot Tell A Lie?

In the late 1940s, scattered rumors began to reverberate across the country that George Washington had fathered a son, West Ford, with a slave named Venus.... Read more...

Below is the Last Will and Testament of Hannah Bushrod, wife of John Augustine Washington, brother of George Washington (from private papers of LABH).  Hannah lived on the Bushfield Plantation where West and Venus (mother of West) were slaves. Mentions of West Ford and Venus and Jenny (Venus' mother) and Billey (Jenny's husband) are mentioned in bold. 

... Read more...

by Linda Allen B. Hollis

From the time humans first recognized their capacity to pass on characteristics to their offspring, they have wrestled with the puzzle of... Read more...

Historic Black communities are a symbolic monument to the perseverance and enduring spirit of the African American people. The state of Virginia, commonly called the "gateway to history," houses one such community.

Gum Springs was established in 1833 and named after a gum tree that once marked its location near historic Mount Vernon. The community was founded... Read more...

by Linda A. B. Hollis

 In a brief review of slavery in America, one would be remiss not to... Read more...

by Linda Allen B. Hollis

Author's Note:

From the time I was a little girl, I listened with relish as my mother shared the stories of my great grandfather, Major George W. Ford's exploits as an original member of the 10th Cavalry, Unit L, also known as the famed Buffalo Soldiers. Official reports state that the 10th regiment were poorly... Read more...

by Linda Allen B. Hollis

West Ford was born in 1784 or 1785 on the Bushfield Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, to Venus, a mulatto slave woman owned by George Washington's brother, John Augustine Washington and his wife, Hannah. According to Ford oral history, Venus told her mistress, Hannah, that George Washington was her child's father.... Read more...

By Angela Allen Henry

Genealogy: Is defined as a record or table of ancestry. 2. Direct descent from an ancestor. 3. The study of ancestry. [Lat. genealogical]

 Are You Tracing Your Family Tree?  

  1. Begin with the present and work your way back. The resources available to you now are: photo albums, family documents and especially... Read more...

To: Edward Pompeian
3/2/05
Interview:
Linda Allen B. Hollis

For The History Network

1.  What types of stories do cases like yours tell about America’s founding fathers, about Colonial American culture, and about the contributions of African... Read more...

First, I would like to give honor to God – who makes all things possible. 

My name is Linda Allen Hollis, and I am a direct descendant of West Ford. Many may not know that West was integral in the management of Mount Vernon for close to 60 years, guarding George Washington’s tomb and one of the caretakers of the slave... Read more...

The Paternity of West Ford
 
Following is a list of responses to several questions posed to the Ford family. This information was gathered and disseminated by Linda Allen Hollis as documentation of West Ford’s paternity. The information is listed in Appendix C: Documentation on