She did do something awful. Young George had his bags packed and at the door when she pitched a fit and kept him from accepting a commission. As an officer in the Royal Navy. Poor guy could have had a great military career, but noooo...
“Poor guy could have had a great military career, but noooo...”
Oh, wait...
I’ve read a recent biography of Mary Ball Washington (published within the past ten years or so) which you may be able to find in your library system and definitely on Amazon. Mary’s husband died leaving her with kids to raise, incl. George, and a small plantation to run, and as a single mother (widow who never remarried) she successfully raised the kids to adulthood. She didn’t want George to leave her to go to sea, it’s true, but a relative told her George, as a colonial American boy on a Royal Navy ship had little chance of advancement to officer in the Royal Navy where officer positions were bought or awarded based on a family’s influence and the relative told her young George would be used and abused on ship. The impression of Mary by generations of early biographers gave an impression of a controlling, smothering figure which modern biographers say was unjust.