Back to book
Boyhood Days
After emancipation, the family moves to Malden, West Virginia, where young Washington labors in a salt furnace and coal mine, teaches himself the alphabet, and picks the surname ‘Washington’ on the spot when a schoolteacher asks his name.
Move to Malden, West VirginiaSalt-furnace and coal-mine child laborLearning to read from a Webster's spelling bookChoosing the surname 'Washington'