Ancestry Fuels ‘Special Relationship’ with US in England

AFP/APP

Washington: “Welcome to the Original Washington,” road signs proclaim as drivers enter the ancestral hometown of George Washington’s family, near Sunderland in northeast England.

Although the Founding Father never set foot there—his great-grandfather emigrated to North America in 1656—he is omnipresent, with a school, hotel, and golf course named in his honor.

His family’s coat of arms, the basis for Washington DC’s flag and, some say, the American flag, is still faintly visible on a nearby 15th-century castle.

‘Powerful’ Ties

A few miles east of Washington, Hylton Castle can also lay claim to a small part in that centuries-evolving alignment. Built by the wealthy William Hylton shortly before 1400, it still features 20 coats of arms of local families—including the Washingtons—on its stone walls.

A family tree on the wall traces the 18 generations from Old Hall’s first owner, William, through to George, born in what is now Virginia in 1732.

One of Hylton’s grandsons emigrated to the US in 1621 on the ship The Fortune, which followed The Mayflower to America, beginning a lineage of settlers tracing their roots back to northeast England. Hylton descendants are among those now turning up.

 “They love the ancestry of it all—that there’s a castle they can come and see and touch and feel,” said Colin Burnicle, 66, a castle volunteer and trustee. “Many in this ‘huge network’ were ‘very proud of the link,'” added fellow trustee Susan Ord.

‘Intimate’ Relations

Others argue that focusing too heavily on leader chemistry can be misleading. “I don’t think the relationship is teetering on the brink,” London School of Economics professor Alexander Evans, a former British diplomat, told AFP.

 He described the US-UK ties as “multi-layered,” with strong political and military integration that surpasses short-term leader interactions.