Chase’s Lower School Meets George Washington’s Ancestor

On Friday morning, September 26, Martin Sirot-Smith, alias Lawrence Washington of Sulgrave Manor in England, visited the fifth grade of Chase Collegiate School in Waterbury for a special presentation. In a magnificent costume and in character as one of George Washington’s grandfathers, he spoke about the Washington family and their ancestral home, built in 1539. In addition, he described the Tudor period, including what people wore, what they ate, and their health.

The students are currently studying immigration and learned about the reasons George Washington’s grandfather undertook his journey to the United States, and what that long trip was like.

Mr Sirot-Smith comes to the United States at the invitation of the Connecticut Society of Colonial Dames, who is part-owner of Sulgrave Manor, Washington’s family home in England. Judy Kellogg Rowley ’53 of Middlebury, a Trustee of the School and an active Colonial Dame, helped to bring the event to Chase.