Q: This picture of cutout figures was made by Marion W. Washington, the last living relative of George Washington. He didn’t have any children of his own and Marion was a niece. On the back of the picture it says, “Made for Billy Smith by Minnie Washington (1939).” What is it worth?
A: Cut paper silhouette pictures are a form of folk art called “scherenschnitte” by the Pennsylvania Dutch. A 1939 picture is not old for this type of art. The relationship to George Washington adds a little value. It could sell for about $100 to $200.
Though Washington had no direct “descendants” (biological children)… there are many relatives of his alive today. I share in common as ancestors the maternal great-grandparents of George Washington… Col. William Ball and his wife Hannah Atherold… whose son Col. Joseph Matthaus Ball and second wife Mary Johnson Ball had daughter Mary Ball who was the second wife of Augustine Washington, with whom she had six children, the first of whom was George Washington.