The first biography of Washington was written in 1800 by Mason Locke Weems (Parson Weems)

The first biography of George Washington was written by Mason Locke Weems, also known as Parson Weems. He had served as the clergyman for Truro Parish chuch which George Washington attended before Weems went on to become a bookseller. While criticized for being fanciful in the stories he wrote about George Washington, including the story of Washington chopping down the cherry tree, Weem's biography of Washington is nevertheless important in helping us to understand the reverence in which George Washington was held by the country after his death.