George Hume (surveyor)

George Hume was born in 1698 at Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, Scotland. He belonged to a noble family, the feudal barons of Wedderburn, with deep roots in Scottish history.^[2]

His father, George Home of Wedderburn (1667–1720), married his cousin, Margaret, daughter of Sir Patrick Home, 1st Baronet of Lumsden.^[6]

Hume's grandfather, George Home (1641 – c. 1716), presumably succeeded as 2nd Baronet of Wedderburn. This title had been created circa 1638 by King Charles I for his second great-grandfather, Sir David Home of Wedderburn (d. 1650), in recognition of loyalty during the Covenanting struggle. Upon his death circa 1716, the baronetcy or its entitlement passed to Hume's father, but was forfeited through attainder due to his conviction for high treason in the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion, resulting in the loss of the family's title and estates.^[7][8][c]

Earlier in the family's history, Hume's third great-grandfather, Sir George Home of Wedderburn (1552–1616), briefly served as Comptroller of the Scottish Exchequer under James VI, showcasing the family's early administrative prominence. The Home family had a long tradition of service to the Scottish crown, holding significant lands and influence in the Border country of Scotland until the rebellion's consequences.^[9]

His cousin, Patrick Hume, 1st Earl of Marchmont,^[10] was Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1696 to 1702. The Humes were royalists with a history of military and political service to the Stuart monarchy.^[9]

The Hume family had a strong naval tradition alongside George's surveying career. His brother Patrick served as a surgeon aboard HMS Sandwich under their brother, Captain John Hume, in 1746–47, but ill health forced him to retire ashore and farm in Berwickshire.^[10] John commanded the Sandwich as a guard ship for about a year and a half before being paid off; persistent gout ended his seagoing service, and he died of the disease on August 30, 1758.^[10] Another brother, Commander James Hume, captained the fireship HMS Pluto during the Seven Years' War and was killed in the Bay of Biscay on April 7, 1758 while engaging a French corsair.^[10][11]

George Hume's heritage was symbolized by his coat of arms.

His seal, from a 1739 deed in the Orange County Circuit Clerk's Office, bears the arms of the Humes of Wedderburn: quarterly, 1st and 4th: vert, a lion rampant argent, armed and langued gules, for Hume; 2nd: argent, three papingoes vert, beaked and membered gules, for Pepdie of Dunglass; 3rd: argent, a cross engrailed azure, for Sinclair of Herdmanston and Polwarth. The crest features a unicorn's head and neck, couped argent, maned and horned or, collared with an open crown. The mottoes are "Remember" above the crest and "True to the End" below the arms.^[1]

The Hume family's loyalty to the Stuart cause was exemplified during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, which sought to restore the exiled James Francis Edward Stuart (the "Old Pretender") to the British throne. George Home of Wedderburn, Hume's father, was a committed Jacobite who supported the uprising, part of the broader movement to return the Stuarts to power.

The 1715 rebellion ended in failure, and many Jacobites, including the Humes, faced severe consequences. The family's estates were confiscated, and Hume was imprisoned for two years at the age of 17. He was then exiled to Virginia as an indentured servant, being placed aboard a Glasgow slave merchantman, but was later exchanged.^[12] His uncle Francis, who was also sentenced to Virginia as a prisoner, was freed by his cousin, Lieutenant Governor Spotswood, and was made a 'gentleman' in 1716. Francis then went on the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition.^[4]

In 1721, Hume immigrated to Virginia in poor health.^[13] On October 16, 1727, Hume married Elizabeth Proctor, a daughter of tobacco plantation owner, George Proctor.^[14]

Spotswood, who had served as the lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1710 to 1722, enrolled Hume in the College of William and Mary from 1722 to 1723, where he became a licensed surveyor. In 1727–1728, he was responsible for laying out the present-day city of Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he was surveyor for Spotsylvania County. A year later, Hume served as a lieutenant in the Colonial Troops of Spotsylvania County under Captain William Bledsoe, producing his commission in open court and taking the oath on September 2, 1729.

Spotswood secured Hume a position as a deputy surveyor for the Northern Neck Proprietary, a vast land grant in Virginia owned by the Fairfax family; later he was promoted to surveyor for Lord Fairfax from 1743 to 1750.^[15]

Hume quickly proved his worth as a skilled surveyor and became the surveyor for Orange, Frederick, Spotsylvania, and Culpeper counties. His work was essential in the orderly settlement and development of large tracts of land in Virginia. He was responsible for surveying significant portions of the Northern Neck, as well as other frontier areas that were being opened to European settlement.

In particular, Hume's work in St. Mark's Parish, coterminous with the future Culpeper County, was notable. It was here that his expertise as a surveyor had a lasting impact, not only in the physical development of the land but also in the training and mentorship of future surveyors, including George Washington.^[16]

In 1748, Hume began mentoring George Washington, then 16, who served as his deputy in the region that became Culpeper County. In 1749, Washington, now 17, was appointed the county's surveyor, a role shaped by Hume's guidance as one of Virginia's most experienced surveyors. Washington's early Fairfax land surveys directly reflected this training.^[5] This mentorship is often cited as a critical element in Washington's development, both as a leader and as a figure of national importance.