UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

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GALEN C. HARTMAN LIBRARY FUND

MEMOIRS

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VOLUME IV.

GEORGE WASHINGTON

AND

MOUNT VERNON.

BROOKLYN, N. Y.: PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY.

1889.

L84-

OFFICERS

OF THE

Con0 JslantJ historical Soctetg

1889-90.

President, - - - EICHAED S. STOKRS, D.D., LL.D.

First Vice-Presidmt, - - - HON. JOSHUA M. VAN COTT.

Second Vice-President, SAMUEL McLEAN.

Foreign Corresponding Secretary, - HON. BENJAMIN D. SILLIMAN. Home Corresponding Secretary, - - CHAELES H. HALL, D.D.

Recording Secretary, FREDERIC A. WARD.

Chairman of the Executive Committee, - THOMAS E. STILLMAN.

Treasurer, JOHN JAY PIERREPONT.

Curator of the Museum, ELIAS LEWIS, Je.

DIKECTORS.

RICHARD S. STORRS, D.D., LL.D., HON. JOSHUA M. VAN COTT, SAMUEL McLEAN, CHARLES H. HALL, D.D., JAMES R. TAYLOR, GEORGE I. SENEY, A. ABBOT LOW, ALEXANDER M. WHITE, HENRY SHELDON, WALTER T. HATCH, JOSEPH E. BROWN, JOHN JAY PIERREPONT,

HON. BENJAMIN D. SILLIMAN, TEMPLE PRIME, THOMAS E. STILLMAN, JOHN GIBB, ALEXANDER E. ORR, ELIAS LEWIS, Jr., FREDERIC A. WARD, BRYAN H. SMITH, HENRY D. POLHEMUS, JOHN CLAFLIN, CHARLES M. PRATT, C. DELANO WOOD.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

THOMAS E. STILLMAN, Chairman. HENRY SHELDON, SAMUEL McLEAN,

JAMES R. TAYLOR, JOSEPH E. BROWN,

ALEXANDER E. ORR, WALTER T. HATCH.

COUNSELLOES.

KINGS COUNTY.

HON. J. S. T. STRANAHAN,

DAVID M. STONE,

REV. CHARLES CUTHBERT HALL,

WILLIAM B. LEONARD,

JULIUS W. BRUNN,

JOSEPH F. KNAPP,

HON. JASPER W. GILBERT, FREDERICK A. FARLEY, D.D., PROF. DARWIN G. EATON, T. MORTIMER LLOYD, M.D., GEORGE L. NICHOLS, FLAMEN B. CANDLER.

QUEENS COUNTY.

A. N. LITTLEJOHN, D.D., D.C.L., WILLIAM FLOYD JONES, EDWARD W. OILMAN, D.D.,

JOHN A. KING, BENJAMIN D. HICKS, CHARLES B. MOORE.

SUFFOLK COUNTY.

HON. JAMES H. TUTHILL, PROF. EBEN N. HORSFORD, CHARLES R. STREET,

EPHER WHITAKER, D.D. WILLIAM NICOL, HON. JOHN R. REID.

AiIHIEM©l©lfo

FROM THE ORIGINAL BY C. W. PEALE. IN POSSESSION OF REV. MASON GALLAGHER.

GE<'::"£

MOD"

KKI]

i

GEORGE WASHINGTON

AND

MOUNT VERNON

A COLLECTION OF WASHINGTON'S UNPUBLISHED AGRICULTURAL AND PERSONAL LETTERS

EDITED WITH HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION

MONCUKE DANIEL CONWAY

Author of "Omitted Chapters of History disclosed in tlie Life and Paper of Edmund Randolph"

BROOKLYN, N. Y.

PUBLISHED BY THE LONG ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY

1889

COPTKIGHT, 1889, BY

LONG ISLAKD HISTOEICAL SOCIETY.

I BOOKBINDING COMPANY,

PREFACE.

This volume is not only a monument of the first president of the United States, but, in a sense, of the first president of the Historical Society by which it is published. For it is the munificence of the late James Carson Brevoort which adds this contribution to the Centenary of Washington's inaugura- tion. He whom the nation calls Father was as deeply inter- ested in the literary and scientific, as in the industrial, culture of the country, and his homage was especially given to men who promoted both. Of these Mr. Brevoort was a remarkably fine type. From the infant school in Xew York, where he was born (in Bloomingdale, 10 July 1818) he passed to the Round Hill School, Northampton, Mass., where he was under the care of George Bancroft and Joseph Cogswell ; his edu- cation was continued in Paris, then in Switzerland — at Baron Fellenberg's School, Hofwyl ; this being followed by a three years' course at the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures^ in Paris, from which he received a diploma as Civil Engineer. After studying railway-construction in France and England he returned to jS^ew York in 1838, and for nearly a year was employed at the West Point foundry, in which his father was interested. In 1841, as surveyor, he accompanied Prof. James Renwick, one of the Commissioners of the I*s^orth-east Bound- ary Survey. In 1842 he accompanied Washington Irving, United States Minister to Spain, as private secretary and at-

vi PREFACE.

tacM of the Legation, An intimate friendship between Mr. Brevoort and Washington Irving continued until the latter's death. In 1845 he married Elizabeth Dorothea, daughter of the Hon. Leffert Lefferts, first Judge of King's County, and first president of the Long Island Bank, — the earliest incor- porated bank in Brooklyn. After Mr. Brevoort's marriage he made Brooklyn his home, and became actively interested in whatever concerned the welfare of that city. As a member of the Charter Convention (1847), as a member of the Board of Education, and of the Board of Water Commissioners, as a trustee of Greenwood Cemetery, his services were of much value. In 1863 he took an active part in the formation of the Long Island Historical Society, was its President until 1873, Chairman of its Executive Committee until 1876, and Director until his death, 15 December 1887.

Mr, Brevoort's services were by no means limited to any locality. For twenty-six years (1852-1878) he was a trustee of the Astor Library, and for two years its superintendent. His scientific and historical contributions were recognized by honorary membership in many American Societies, and in the Archaeological Society of Madrid. In Natural History he was especially interested in Ichthyology ; his collections were ex- tensive and his writings on that subject have high authority. His " Is'otes on some Figures of Japanese Fish by Artists of the United States Expedition to Japan ;" his "Early Spanish and Portuguese Coinage in America ; " and " Verrazzano, the Navigator ; or Notes on Giovanni da Yerrazzano, and on a planisphere of 1529, illustrating his American Yoyage in 1524;" are monographs of much value. His thorough ac- quaintance with ancient and modern languages opened to him original sources of information, which he was always willing to impart, selfishness being unknown to his nature.

PREFACE.

By many learned Societies Mr. Brevoort was honored ; by his associates of the Long Island Historical Society he was beloved as well as honored ; and these Washington Papers, of his donation, are affectionately inscribed to James Carson Brevoort, from whom the patriot and the student will receive them as a bequest.

With the exception of the papers collected by the editor, and used in the Introduction and the Appendix, this volume consists of 127 Washington MSS., of which nearly all are letters to the manager of his Mount Vernon estates during his absence while President. They were bought from the family of that manager, William Pearce, by the Hon. Ed- ward Everett, to whose eloquence the purchase and preser- vation of Mount Vernon are mainly dne. Mr. Everett had intended to edit and publish them, but the task was never undertaken. At his death they passed to a member of his family, from whom they were purchased by Mr. Brevoort and presented to his cherished Long Island Historical So- ciety.

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

A LEGEND relates that Augustine Washington planted seeds which, when they grew, wrote the name of his child — George Washington. It sounds like a fable of Mount Yernon, in whose growths is perennially repeated the name of Washing- ton. The present volume bears to the world a finer fruitage of that estate, in letters genuine as its oaks, fresh as its sward, sweet as its brier roses. Here is the man. Not in the battle- field, nor in the executive chair, shall we be intimate with the heart of Washington, but at Mount Yernon, where he wrote on the landscape what near life's close he repeated on paper: "The more I am acquainted with agricultural affairs the better I am pleased with them ; insomuch that I can no- where find so great satisfaction as in these innocent and use- ful pursuits. In indulging these feelings I am led to reflect how much more delightful, to an undebauched mind, is the task of making improvements on earth, than all the vain glory which can be acquired from ravaging it by the most uninterrupted career of conquests."

The visitor at Mount Yernon still finds a charm no art alone could give, in trees from various climes, each a witness of the taste that sought, or the love that sent them, in fields which the desolating step of war reverently passed by, in flowers whose root is not in graves, yet tinged with the life- blood of the heart that cherished them from childhood to old age. On those acres we move beneath shade or shelter of the invisible tree which put forth whatever meets the eye.

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'li'X

X HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

and has left some sign on each object, large or small. Still planted beside his river, he brings forth fruit of his season. '*''<!! ^< Nor does his leaf wither. It is still a living inqniry — how

■ '^ 1 '■' grew Washington himself ? The inquiry is appropriate for this

volume, largely concerned with local and family details, and some contribution towards its satisfaction must be attempted. But for the present every such contribution must amount mainly to the collection of neglected materials, by aid of which the tree, to continue the similitude, may be distinguished from its mythical mosses, and freed from parasitic traditions. • Much of the "Washington Mythology is a folklore such as

must always invest the founders of nations or the man of the people. Washington is entitled to his Washington-lore, by which, indeed, he is rather draped than disguised. It is the fashion to smile at Parson Weems's romances of Washington's early life ; but the quaint " Rector of Mount Yernon," as he called himself, to whom Washington in his last year wrote a kindly letter, needs only more time-perspective to be seen as an humble Homer reciting to Virginia villagers legends and ballads of their great men. One would travel far to surprise him reading the Bible to the negroes in their cabins, then tuning his fiddle for their dance ; or to observe the lank figure beside his ancient buggy and bony horse, attracting his court- green audience with his music, and selling his patriotic leaf- lets. The very sonl of his time, picturesque as it recedes, is in his ballad of Lord Fairfax, who, on hearing that Great Britain had surrendered to his surveyor, said, in Weems's recitative : " Come, Joe, I'm sure 'tis high time for me to die."

" Then up rose Joe, all at the word,

And took his master's arm, And to his bed he softly led

The lord of Greenway farm : There oft he called on Britain's name,

And oft he wept full sore, And sighed ' Thy will, O Lord, be done ! '

And word spake never more."

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. xi

The legends of Washington's physical strength connect him with the race of heroes whose moral greatness gained traditional expression in a symbolism of size. When Henry II. would terminate the superstition of his Celtic subjects tliat King Arthur was not dead, but would reappear to expel the Saxons, he arranged that certain large animal bones should be discovered at Glastonbury and buried with pomp as those of Arthur. Ordinary human bones would have been popularly repudiated. The tale of Washington's father plant- ing seeds which in springing up wrote his son's initials in green shoots, and suggested a sermon on creative design, does not lose interest by being borrowed from Dr. Beattie's sketch of his son. There were legends to suggest the contrivance to Beattie, stretching back as far as that of the infant Hilde- brand who arranged the chips with which he played into the prophetic sentence, " Dominabitur a mare ad mare." Arthu- rian and Gregorian mythology that has migrated across the seas and twined round the childhood of a certain Virginian is not to be explained as falsehood nor dismissed as rubbish. Augustine Washington compelling the growing seed to write his son's name turns out to be Weems and others planting old stories to spring up as Washington-glories. The nation out- grows that particular folklore ; it can not linger in the nur- sery Mdiere Washington's name is written in goody-goody stories ; but it is not mature enough to dispense with the mythological figure altogether. It clings to the fable that Frederick the Great sent Washington a sword, with homage of " the oldest general in the world to the greatest," to the legend that our flag was evolved from his coat of arms, and the tradition that he never laughed.

By varieties of portraiture, pictorial and historical, Wash- ington's individuality was made by one and another pious or political party into its own image, with result of the com- posite effigy with which the real personality revealed by re- search has to contend. To restore Washington to the place

XU HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

occupied bj this conventionalized Holy Picture Las become the necessity of political history. The literary manipulation of Washington's writings, now generally condemned, was only part of a system of pious suppression and conventionaliza- tion. The great need of the world is a complete and critical biography of Washington, but to write it would require a cour- age equal to his own. And indeed, for the present, it is on Washington's own courage that the truth of liis history is mainly depending. He has fearlessly left to the certain in- spection of mankind, diaries and letters, in which his public and private life are faithfully recorded. These remains, more than 4,000, mainly preserved by his own drafts, amount to an autobiography so candid that, when fully published, other biographies will be shelved.

It is natural that some should have misgivings concerning this complete publication of Washington. The historiog- rapher of the Diocese of Virginia, Dr. Philip Slaughter, (whose eloquent centennial discourse in Washington's church at Alexandria all should read) wrote to me last year : " What a terrible ordeal Washington's character will have to endure at the many hands now plying their scalpels and critical glasses to its dissection. To have all one's doings and say- ings in the abandon of private life proclaimed upon the house-tops is a trial through which no one could pass un- scathed save that peerless person who stood alone with noth- ing like to him." Since this was written (18 Dec. 1888) fragmentary publications of the intimate correspondence of Washington, often with ignorant inferences, have subjected his fame to an unfair ordeal. The danger now lies rather in partial than in full publicity. When Washington appears as delineated by himself in his simple record some small haloes may fade ; but it will be found that such haloes have ob- scured a greater brain than is commonly recognized, a larger heart, a life more pathetic, a character formed by the eigh- teenth century of America which in turn he largely formed.

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. xiii

At any rate, it is inevitable that every word of Washington shall be brought to light. American history is not yet really written, and cannot be written, nor our future stand firmly on the shoulders of the Past, unless we can freely study this man both as an individual and a type of his time, instead of a supernatural avatar. And this emancipation from thral- dom to a mere name is a final service done by the pen of him whose sword liberated us from the previous superstition of royalty.

There is a further reason why Washington alone can reveal his true self beneath his traditional efiigy. He was an un- witting party to his own conventionalization. His patriotism and his humility induced him to sacrifice his preferences, in ceremonial matters, to statesmen more learned than himself, but often less wise. American society was under sway of courts for some time after political independence was achieved. " It was expected," wrote Edmund Kandolph, " at the commencement of our revolutionary government that these gaudy trappings would be abandoned. They were re- tained indeed by usage, not by any authoritative recognition, nor yet from any admiration of the empty baubles in the country of our origin, or an anti-republican tendency in the people ; but they may be ascribed to a degree of pride which would not suffer the new government to carry with it fewer testimonies of public devotion than the old." By such in- fluences Washington was induced to accept, as President, a ceremonial regime which he disliked, — his wife declaring her environment of etiquette a virtual imprisonment. Washing- ton also attitudinises in heroic portraits through submission to their painters. Such irksome concessions helped to diffuse a misconception of his character which, had it not been erro- neous, might have made him a king. Yet just this consti- tutes what one may almost call a Washingtonology. He stands like an obelisk, whose substance tells the story of a geologic formation, but is yet less important than the symbols

XIV HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

and histories engraved on it. Washington is our eighteenth century.

At Wakefield, the birthplace .of Washington, I have found, on a document of 1695, a seal with modifications of the Washington arms which maj shed light on the genealogical problem. For their appreciation the reader will find the fol- lowing facts important, and, indeed, of interest apart from the question of pedigree.

In 1785 the Countess of Huntington, a connection of the l^orthamptonshire Washingtons, claimed relationsliip with the General, whom she sought to enlist in her scheme for In- dian evangelization. In 1791 Sir Isaac Heard, Garter King of Arms, enclosed to Washington a genealogical statement on the same theory. In his reply (2 May 1792) Washington says : " I liave often heard others of the family, older than myself, say, that our ancestor, who first settled in 'this coun- try, came from some one of the northern counties of Eng- land ; but whether from Lancashire, Yorkshire, or one still more northerly I do not precisely remember. Tlie arms en- closed in your letter are the same that are held by the family here ; though I have also seen, and have used, as you may perceive by the seal to this packet, a flying griffin for the crest."

The seal here referred to was no doubt Washington's pri- vate seal, now in possession of Kobert J. Washington of Westmoreland, to whom I am indebted for the impression here given. The Sul- grave crest has a raven instead of a griffin. Notwithstanding Washington's suggestion of a more northerly origin the pedigree of the family from that of Northamptonshire had been generally ac- cepted until 1867. In that year Col. Joseph L. Chester, in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register^ proved that the John

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

and Lawrence Washington of !N"ortliamptonsliire, previously identified as the Virginia immigrants, never came to America.

Washington used a curious variety of seals. The " private seal " differs from another, used at the same period, in its foliations, being also without the motto, " Exitus acta jpro'bat^'' which occurs on two other seals. At what time Wash- ington began to use the arms, — three mullets in chief, and two bars, — is un- certain. His early seals had no armorial character. Ey the favor of Mr, Howell, of the JN". Y. State Library, and skill of Miss Sutermeister, his assistant, I am enabled to present fac-similes of Wash- ington's watch-chain (reduced from 7f in. to 6) and two seals (full-sized), pur- chased by ]^ew York from the estate of Lewis W. Washington. The earlier, or " silver seal," was lost on Braddock's field and

euver t>eai.

there found by Daniel Boone Logan in 1842. The "golden seal" no doubt succeeded the other.

Dr. A. M. Hamilton of

New York owns a very

old china plate from

Mount Vernon, with the

letters " Geo. and M. W."

Gold Seal.

beneath a spread eagle with thunderbolts in its talons. This ap- pears to me earlier than the mirror and silver plate, in the National Museum, on

XVI HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

which the Sulgrave arms are represented. In a letter of 6 June 1768, to Robert Gary & Co., London, ordering a chariot, Washington directs that it shall be decorated " with my arms agreeable to the impression here sent." This is his earliest mention of arms. In vol. I. of Washington's Letters (State Department) p. 701, a letter to Hancock, 18 May 1776, bears traces of a seal that may have had some armorial character ; but the earliest certain use of any device by Washington is a griffin, which seals a letter to Robert Morris, 27 Jan. 1777. {lb. vol. IIL p. 509.) In the same volume, p. 571, the arms occur on a letter of 3 March 1777 to Messrs. Morris, Clymer, and Walton, Members of Congress. The shield is here, as on the furniture in the ]S^ational Museum, of the "heater" (flatiron) shape. As yet no motto ap- pears. In 1777 Washington used other seals : on July 31 he seals a letter to Hancock with an urn (vol. IV. p. 471) ; on Sep. 13 and 16, to the same, he seals with a dove bear- ing an olive branch over a flood, and motto " La Pax " (vol. Y. pp. 55, 67).

From an early period Washington appears to have gener- ally used some kind of envelope, and the rarity of examples of his seals may thus be partly accounted for ; but he also often used wafers. On four letters only of the present volume are there arms. On the letter (1779) to Lund Wash- ington, p. 320, the crown and griffin alone appear ; this also is the seal on a Letter to Bushrod Washington 15 Jan. 1784 in this Introduction. A letter (1796) to Pearce, p. 269, has the Sulgrave arms as engraved above, with the crooked shield, but with the motto added ; such is also the seal on the letter (1797) to Bushrod Washington, p. 339. The foliations around this motto-shield are different from the "private seal." The earliest use of the latter which I have found is on a leave of absence to Major L'Enfant 16 Oct. 1783. Sir John Sinclair engraved the same on two of his facsimiles of Washington's letters to him (20 Oct. 1792, and 6 Nov. 1797).

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. xvii

The Sulgrave arms appear on the frame of an engraved portrait of Louis XYI. sent by him to Washington (in the IS'a- tional Museum) ; also in the Columhian Magazine, Feb. 1787, under a portrait of Washington, who is decorated as if to satisfy monarchists of the Constitutional Convention. This represents the only publication I can iind of the arms, which some have strangely supposed to be the origin of our stars and stripes !

At what time Washington began to use his motto I cannot discover, but apparently late in life. Mr. Cabot Lodge (George Washington, II. p. 386) relates that "he said to one officer, 'I never judge the propriety of actions by after events'" — which precisely reverses his motto Exitus acta jyrohat. Mr. Garnett of the British Museum sends me a let- ter of Washington to "Mrs. Wright in England," 30 Jan. 1785, which is unique in having the motto under the private seal (p. xiv.) and the raven crest, — this, however, different from the Sulgrave raven in Sparks I. 174.

The originals of the Wills of the earlier Washingtons of Virginia being lost, it was with but little hope that I resolved on an exploration of records in Westmoreland. But under the hospitable roof of Wakefield, residence of Mr. and Mrs. John E. Wilson — the latter a descendant of Col. Wm. Aug. Washington — was made the discovery to which I have re- ferred. Among Mr. Wilson's papers is an Indenture of Lewis Markham, dated 28 May 1695, convey- ing land to " Lawrence Washington Gentl," to complete which he borrowed Lawrence's seal. The shield has the three mullets in chief, two bars, and no crescent. Crest a helmet (I think), supporting coronet, and eagle issuant, Wakefield seai One significance of this Crest is tlmt the eagle (^xactsize). is used by the German Washingtons who come of the Ad- wick-le-Street branch. This makes a third coincidence with the German family, which uses the griffin and motto also.

xviii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

In the Historical Magazine (III. p. 83) tlie Adwick brancli is traced to the family which named AVashington parish, Dnr- liam— the only parish so named save that in Virginia. On the marriage of their heiress Dyonis Washington with Sir William Tempest, of Stndley Koyal, the minor brancli dis- persed. In 1577 James Washington owned the manor of Adwick-le-Street. John Washington came to Virginia from South Cave, and it may be noted that the castle there was thirty years ago owned by an heiress named Lawrence.' Another member of the family founded a family in Ger- many. To Baron Von Washington of Munich the President wrote, 20 Jan. 1790 : " There can be but little doubt, Sir, of our descending from the same stock" {Hist. Mag., IV. p. 86).'

1 That John Washington emigrated from South Cave (30 miles from Ad- wick-le-Street) is a tradition, but with many probabilities in its favor. Wakefield, which reappears as name of the Virginia homestead, is also in Yorkshire. As to the name " Lawreuce," so much used by the American family, it may be mentioned for what it is worth that in the early annals a marriage is recorded of Sir James Lawrence of Trafford, Lancashire, with Matilda, heiress of one John Washington. The name " Lund " also appears at the head of the Adwick-le-Street pedigree in Sparks (I. 554). It should be borne in mind that the coronet from which a crest issues signifies noth- ing in the way of rank.

2 The account given by the Bavarian Barons Von Washington of their family is that their ancestor James Washington (brother of the Virginians) was involved in the Duke of Monmouth affair (1688-4) and fled to Hol- land. This corresponds with the Rotterdam merchant of that name men- tioned in Sparks" table of the Adwick-le-Street family. In the same table, besides this Rotterdam James, appears " John, drowned in 1661." Possibly John was not drowned. (Magazine of Am. Hist. Feb. 1879.) In Rietstap {Armorial General) the arms of the German family are given as follows: — "Washington. Bav. (Barons 8 dec. 1829). D'arg. a deux fasces ab. de. gu. ace. de trois etoiles du meme, ranges en chef. Cq. cour. C : une t6te et col d'aigle de sa. , tenent en son bee une rose blanche tigee et f euillee de sin. S : deux griffons de sa. D : Exitus acta probat. " It will be seen that this is sub- stantially the coat of arms on the Wakefield seal,— the crest also, excepting the white rose in the eagle's beak. This Wakefield eagle also seems to hold something in its beak. The Germans are the only other Washington family in which I can discover the use of the General's motto. His crest appears in their griffin supporters. In England the motto is used by several fam- ilies, and the three stars and two bars by the Freke family.

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. xix

In 1626 a Lawrence Washington li\^ed in Bermuda ; and Mr. Alexander Brown of Ya. has discovered the indictment of one George Washington at the Bermuda Assizes, Nov. 1648, for saying that "the King has sould his subjects to Popery" and " deserved to be hanged 7 years ago."

Whence came the griffin, as the Washington crest, I do not know. At Wakefield Mr. Wilson showed me an arbitra- tion (3 Dec. 17-42) between Augustine and John, — the Gen- eral's father and uncle — on their boundaries ; to this they have affixed, if we make it out correctly, each the same seal, — which appears to me a griffin, but with wings more dis- played than those used by the General, and more like the Yorkshire family's eagle. No arms are on this seal used by the brothers. Indeed Augustine does not appear to have been particular about his seal, and on an important Agree- ment of 1737 (owned by Dr. Emmet) his round seal, perhaps borrowed from a bystander, represents two Cupids playing M'ith hearts.'

The first Washingtons in Yirginia may therefore be re-

' After tlte above was in type I was favored by Mr, Dean, editor of the Neio England Historical and Genealogical Register, with sheets of an impor- tant contribution on the subject by Henry F. Waters, A.M. Tlie paper now appears in the October Register. It adds to our knowledge the fact that the younger of the Virginia immigrants, Lawrence Washington, was from Lu- ton, Bedfordshire. Twelve miles from Luton is Tring, Co. Herts, where Mr. Waters discovers the presence of a Lawrence Washington, and two sons — Jolm and Lawrence — who, at the time of immigration (1657) would be 23 and 24 years of age. Mr. Waters believes this Lawrence, the father, to be the one who was supposed, until Col. Chester's paper of 1867, to be him- self the immigrant ; that is the Rev. Fellow of Brasenose, Oxford, and rec- tor of Purleigh. This would restore the Sulgrave connection though in an- other generation. The theory, however, is doubtful. There is no certainty that Lawrence of Tring was a clergyman, and Mr. Waters does not explain why the sons of a rector of Purleigh, Essex, from 1632 to 1643, should he born at Tring, Herts, in 1634 and 1635. And these were young, in 1657, to have families. There were several Lawrence Washingtons of that generation, and it is not easy to identify the one at Tring, but Mr. Waters has shown prolDabilities that it is in that region we are likely to discover further traces of the brothers who migrated to Virginia, It may be hoped that Mr. Waters will find some seal at Tring to compare with that just found at Wakefield.

XX HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION,

garded as o£ the " minor gentry.'' The archives of Maryland {Hist. Mag. 2nd Series, I. p. 29) show that John Washing- ton, on his arrival, complained to Governor Fendall, of Mary- land, against Captain Prescott for having hung an alleged witch, Elizabeth Richardson, on the voyage. When the trial came on John excused to the Governor his non-attendance (30 Sept. 1659), " Because then, God willing, I intend to gett my young Sonne baptized. All ye Company and Gossips be- ing already invited." Col. John Washington's indignation against Prescott (who pleaded that he was not in command at the time, and that the crew were on the verge of mutiny) is some offset against his ferocity against the Indians, who called him Conotocarius, — town-destroyer, — a title which his famous grandson found fallen to himself when in youth he was sent on a peaceful mission to the Indians. The land which John occupied in Westmoreland is still called Indian Town. Washington village, Durham, was the place of the dragon which the Knight Lambton encountered, and John may have fancied he was fulfilling the tradition of his elders when he dragooned red men. John brought his first wife and two children with him from England. These having all died, he married Anne Pope of Pope's Creek, about 1660.

About the same time the other immigrant, Lawrence, mar- ried Mildred Warner (second wife) and reciprocally named his first son after his brother John, — whose first American son was named Lawrence.

These brothers were among the earliest settlers of West- moreland, Virginia, which is first mentioned in an act of July, 1653, as extending "from Achoactoke river where Mr. Cole lives : And so upwards to the ffalls of the great river of Paw- tomake above the Necostius towne." (1 Ilening 381.) Nor- thumberland had been formed seven years earlier, and Stafford is first mentioned in 1666. The brothers together held pat- ents for many acres, which they swiftly multiplied, — John on the Upper Potomac. Lawrence on the Rappahannock.

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. xxi

Although Major John Washington was rebuked bj Gov. Sir William Berkeley for his conduct towards Indians he was friendly among his neighbors. Mrs. Frances Peyton, widow of Col. Yalentine Peyton did, on the 21 July 1665, ordain her " trusty and well beloved friend Major John Washing- ton " to be her attorney for all purposes.

In General Washington's time the descendants of the im- migrant brothers do not appear to have known their degrees of relationship. In his letter to Sir Isaac Heard, Washington says the descendants of Lawrence were numerous, but that he is unable to give a satisfactory account of them ; and to two of them he leaves bequests with the words, " To the acquaint- ances and friends of my juvenile years, Lawrence Washington and Robert Washington, of Chotanck, I give, etc." By the assistance of Prof. Chapman Maupin (of the University School, Ellicott City, Md.), a descendant of this line, I am able to make the relationship clear. Lawrence (the immi- grant), a widower, married Jane (called Joyce) Flemming in Virginia : their son John married Mary Townshend (1691- 2) : of this last-named marriage the eldest son was John, who married Miss Massy, and the youngest Townshend, who mar- ried Elizabeth Lund. This last-named John had a son named Lawrence, and his brother Townshend a son named Robert ; and these first cousins were the two " acquaintances and friends" of Washington's juvenile years. A brother of Robert was Lund Washington, so long the manager of Mount Vernon, some of Washington's letters to whom are quoted in Appendix.

John, son of the immigrant, who married Mary Townshend, married a second wife (name not discovered). A grandson of this second marriage was Col. Bailey Washington, whose son William Augustine Washington was the hero of Cowpens. This Col. William Washington's admirable qualities won the esteem of General Washington, and there was even an in- timacy between them.

xxii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

For the following I am indebted to Dr. Toner of Washing- ton:

" Charleston S. C. Nov. 7"' 1790.

"Your Excellency's favor of March 25"' accompanied with a Medal struck by order of the late Congress I have received.

" This flattering mark of respect confered on me by the Eepresen- tatives of my Country will make a indelible impression of gratitude on my mind.

" The people of this State indulge themselves with the hope that your Excellency will pay them a visit the ensuing year, it will give me much pleasure if your Excellency and family will abide with me whilst in Charleston.

" Mrs. Washington flatters herself with the pleasure of your Lady's

company.

I am sir

With the greatest respect and esteem

Your Excellency's

Very obedi'' Servt.

W. Washington."

Col. William, it is said, declined the title " General," say- ing " there can be but one General Washington in America." His military career in the revolution was cut short by capture and parole ; but in 1Y98, when Washington was again made Commander (on the prospect of war with France) he ap- pointed Col. William Washington to the command of ISTorth and South Carolina and Georgia, with the rank of Brigadier General. Col. Washington was then living at Charleston, S. C, where he had married (a Miss Elliot), and where his de- scendants are numerous. To one of these I am indebted for a letter written by Brig. Gen. William Washington to General Washington 19 Oct. 1798, the closing paragraphs of which are as follows : —

" I had indulged the pleasing hope that I had made a final retreat into the peaceful shades of retirement, but at this momentous crisis I shall not hesitate when I shall have my appointment officially an- nounced (at present I know nothing of it, except what appears in the

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION, xxiil

public prints,) to obey the summons of my country, especially when I know that the army is to be commanded by a chief for whom I have had the highest respect and veneration.

"Please to make a tender of my best respects to Mrs. Washington. With the greatest respect and esteem, your very obedient servant."

The well-known paternal ancestry of Washington may be omitted in order to give more space to his maternal genealogy. For this, Capt. George Washington Ball of Fauquier, great- great-grandson of Mary Washington, has placed at my dis- posal his useful monograph on " The maternal ancestry and nearest of kin of Washington." The following is from an old MS. preserved in the Downman family of Virginia :

' ' Histo7y of the Ball family of BarJcham, comitat'is Berks, taken from the Visitation Booke of London, marked 0. 24 in the College of Arm^s :

"William Ball, Lord of the Manor of Barkham, com. Bei-ks, died in the year 1480.

"Robert Ball, of Barkham, com. Berks, his son & heir, died in the year 1543. He left two sons, William and Edward. To William he gave his personal estate, and he dwelt at Wokingham. Edward in- herited the landed estate.

"William Ball died at Wokingham in 1550, and was succeeded by his son John Ball, who married, first, Alice Haynes of Finchhamp- stead, by whom he had four children, William, Eichard, Elizabeth, Joane ; and, second, Agnes, daughter of Eichard Holloway of Bark- ham, by whom he had four children, John, Eobert, Thomas, and Eachel, and died in 1599.

" He was succeeded by his son John Ball, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Webb of Eascombe, com. Berks. He died in 1628 leaving five sons and sis daughters, William, Thomas, George, Eichard, & Samuel, Eachel, Elizabeth, Susan, Als, Dorothy, & Mary.

"William Ball of Lincoln's Inn, and one of four attorneys in the Office of Pleas in the Exchequer, was living in 1634.

" His son, Col. William Ball, emigrated to Virginia in the year 1657, and settled at 'Millenbeck' (his plantation) on the Eappahannock river, Lancaster County, Parish of Saint Mary's, White Chapel. He

xxiv HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

married Hannah Atherald (Atlierall ?) and died in 1680, leaving two sons, William and Joseph, and one daughter, Hannah, who married David Fox.

" Captain William Ball married Margaret, daughter of Eawleigh Downman, and resided at ' Millenbeck.' He died Sept. 30th 1694, leaving eight sons and one daughter, William, Eichard, James, Joseph, George, David, Stretchley, and Samuel. The daughter, Margaret, married her first cousin Raleigh Downman.

"Joseph Ball, second son of Col. William Ball, of 'Millenbeck,' lived at ' Epping Forest ' in Lancaster County, Va. He was married twice ; first to [several words illegible here, Miss Eogers is doubtless meant,] by whom he had one son, Joseph, and second to Mrs. Mary Johnson, by whom he had five daughters : Hannah, who married Mr. Ealeigh Travers, of Stafford ; Anne married Col. Edwin Conway ; Esther married Mr. Ealeigh Chinn ; Elizabeth married Eev'd Mr. Carnagie ; and Mary who married Mr. Washington, and was the mother of Gen'l George Washington.

" Joseph Ball died in June 1715 [1711] and is buried at ' Epping Forest,' [Va.] His son Joseph, by his first wife, was educated in Eng- land, became a Barrister at Law, and married Frances, daughter of Thomas Eavenscroft of London. He returned to Virginia, and re- sided, for some years at ' Aloratico,' in Lancaster County, but finally went back to England, and lived at Stratford-by-Bow, in Essex Co., where he died Jan. 10th 1760. He had only one child, Frances, who married Ealeigh Downman. They returned to Virginia in 1765, and lived at Moratico. They had three children : Joseph Ball Downman, Raleigh Wm. Downman, and Frances, who married James Ball of ' Bewdly,' Lancaster Co., Va."

This paper requires a correction : Mary was the only child of Col. Joseph Ball by his second wife ; the others were children of his marriage with IMiss Rogers.

The Ball arms are in Burke : Lion rampant, sable, holding in the dexter paw a fireball ppr. Crest : out of a ducal cor- onet a hand and arm embossed in mail, grasping a fireball ppr. Motto: "Coelumque tueri."

Concerning the widow Mary Johnson, Col. Joseph Ball's second wife, Washington's grandmother, history is silent. Capt. G. W. Ball, in his Monograph, prints the follow-

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. XXV

ing from a letter of Col. James Ball of Bewdly, 11 Sept. 1789:

" The death of old Mrs. Washington we had heard of before the re- ceipt of yours. I have according to your request made inquiry into her genealogy, but have gained very little satisfaction relative to her mother's family. Old Mrs. Sherman her niece, of whom I expected most, knows nothing more than that her [Mary Washington's] mother was an Englishwoman."

Mrs. Sherman's ignorance, even of the maiden name of Col. Ball's second wife, and some other circumstances, incline me to credit a rumor that the widow Mary Johnson had been a housekeeper in the family. Befoi-e the marriage her name appears as witness to the signature of Col. Joseph Ball, on a conveyance of land (12 Feb. 1703) to his son-in-law Chinn. Col. Joseph Ball's will, dated June 5, and admitted to probate July 11, 1711, devised lands and slaves to his five children by his first wife, and bequeathed to his " loving wife Mary Ball, the feather-bed, bolsters, and all the furniture thereto belong- ing, whereon 1 now lie in my own lodging chamber, as it stands now and is used, and all the chairs in the house which are single nailed." He also devises to her land, slaves, crops, horses, cattle, stills, chaise and harness, and an " Irish woman, by the name of Ellen Grafton, for the time she has to serve." To his daughter Mary he gives " 400 acres of land in Rich- mond County, in ye freshes of Rappahn. River." To his wife's daughter, Eliza Johnson, he gives a hundred acres.

Mary Ball was born in 1706 ; her husband, Augustine Washington, was born in 1694.

The estate on which George Washington was born, — some years subsequently called " Wakefield," — was a tract of 400 acres bought by Lawrence Washington, grandfather of the General, from Robert, Tiiomas, and Dorothy Listen, of Bris- tol. Their agent was Lewis Markham, and it was in this ' very transaction that he used the Washington seal already

XXvi HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

described. Among the papers at Wakefield is a note of Lawrence Washington to Markham (dated 16 June 1695) :

" Sir, — I herewith deliver youe a Coppey of your convaaiice of y* Liston's Land I bought ; and a CojDpey of youre bond ; by which youe will see wh' is to bee p'' for mee one your jDartt ; and when they make there assurances youe had best have your power Kenued for acknowl- ed'g itt & bring power from their wifes for dower ; & there bonds for defending y titell & recording itt ; soe hope you will Actte as securely for me as your Selfe ; Well knowing y' a hunderd pound is a great deale of money to lay outt one a peace of Land withoutt timber ; and houses tumbling downe. Nott doubting your Ceare, I wish youe a good voayge and subscribe your reayall freind.

Law : Washington."

The home of Washington, now known as Mount Yernon, is on a tract still earlier in possession of the family. In 1670 a tract of 5000 acres above Dogue Run was granted jointly to John Washington of Westmoreland, Ya., and Nicholas Spencer (of Bedford, England) from Gov. Berkeley. John Washington's moiety was between Dogue Run and Little Hunting Creek. His M-ill, dated at Bridge Creek, 26 Feb. 1675, was proved 10 Jan. 1677. He bequeathed his "Hunt- ing Creek plantation" to his son Lawrence Washington. The will of this son (Lawrence) is dated 11 March 1697. In it he bequeathes to his son Augustine (the General's father) the estate afterwards called AYakefield, and to his daughter Mildred all his "land in Stafford Co. [which then included Mount Yernon] lying upon Hunting Creek where Mrs. Eliza Minton & Mrs. AVilliams now lives, by estimation 2500 acres." But Mildi-ed died in infancy, and the Hunting Creek estate (Mount Yernon) became the joint possession of the widow and two sons, nntil it fell to the survivor of them all, Augustine, about the year 1730.'

' In his Will, Lawrence (the General's grandfather) desires burial beside his parents, brothers, sister, and children ; that his debts shall be " con- tented ; " a mourning ring to Wm. Thompson, clerk, and Mrs. Sarah

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION, xxvii

An Agreement, already referred to as in possession of Dr. Emmet, shows the General's father largely interested in the Spotswood iron enterprises of Virginia and Maryland, lie is described as "Captain Augustine "Washington of Prince William County." This is in 1737 ; and I am indebted to Dr. Slaughter for the information that in the same year Au- gustine went to England, returning in July " with convicts." On the voyage a passenger, Capt. Hugh French, died of "gaol distemper contracted on board," but " Captain "Washington " was reported in " good health." It appears probable that Augustine got his title by commanding some ship for a time. At any rate he had a more adventurous career than has hitherto been supposed, — unless by the author of " Lacon," who says that an accident in Cheshire, England, threw Au- gustine "Washington into the company of the lady who went to Virginia as his wife. It is possible that Joseph Ball, the London lawyer, was visited there by his father's widow and her daughter, and that Captain Augustine, after the death of his first wife (Jane Butler) in 1728, met and married Mary

Thompson, each, of 30/ price ; to his godson Law. Butler 2 cows ; to his "sister Ann Writt's children one man- servant apiece of 4 or 5 years to serve,'' 3000 lbs. tobacco to purchase the same when they are 20 yrs. of age ; to his sister Lewis a mourning ring, 40/ ; to his cousin John Washington of Staf- ford all wearing apparel ; to cousin John's oldest son Lawrence, his godson, when 20 yrs. 3000 lbs. tobacco to purchase a man servant ; to godson Law. Butler, and Lewis Nicholas tract of laud, 225 acres, adjoining Meridah Ed- wards and David White ; to the upper and lower churches, Washington parish, pulpit covers and cushions ; for funeral sermon 3000 lbs. tobacco ; his personal property to be divided between, wife, daughter, and sons, Jno. and Aug. ; to Jno. tract he lives on and another from mouth of Mochodock Ck. to Round Hills; to Augustine the Liston land, "lying between my brother and Baldridge's, (400 acres) also land that was Richard Hill's, and Markham's when M's family are deceased (700 acres.)" Then follows be- quest of the Hunting Creek land in text. To John his water mill ; also "that land which I bought of my brother Francis and Wright, being 200 acres near Stork's quarter." Executors: cousin Jno. Washington of Staf- ford, Sam'l Thompson and loving wife Mildred. Signed in presence of Robt. Readman, Geo. Weedon, Thos. Howes, and Jno. Rosier. Probate 30 March 1698 : Jas. Western, C. C.

xxviii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

Ball in England. There would be nothing in this to cast any doubt on George Washington's assertion that he himself was born in Virginia.

There is no foundation for the statement that Wakefield was burned soon after the birth of Washington therein. The fire did not occur until 1779. Nor is the generally accepted account true, that Augustine's removal, in 1735, was to the farm in King George Co. near Fredericksburg. He was from 1735 to 1739, a resident of Prince William. This county was formed from Stafford and King George in 1730. By this change the tract now known as Mount Yernon (in Fairfax) which had been successively in Westmoreland and in Stafford, became included in Prince William. The Truro Parish Yestry-Book — the invaluable possession of Dr. Slaughter, save one page with autographs of Washington, Mason and other great men which has found its way to the New York Historical Society, — bears witness to some surprising facts. Truro Parish (Prince William) was instituted in 1732, and Captain Augustine Washington was sworn a vestryman, 18 Nov. 1735. On Jan. 17 of this year he lost his daughter (by the first wife) Jane. He also represented in the House of Burgesses, as Prince William, the same county his brilliant son Lawrence represented later as Fairfax. In August 1736 Augustine signed the Parish "Minutes," and recommended Charles Green to the Bishop of London for orders. He was present at a Yestry of 13 August 1737, at which Rev. Charles Green was elected Rector. He also at- tended the Yestry in October, 1737, between which date and October 1739, there is a gap in the Truro MS.

Dr. McGuire, who married a granddaughter of Gen. Wash- ington's sister Betty, says that Augustine came to reside near Fredericksburg in 1739. This is confirmed by the fact that in 1740 he conveyed to his son Lawrence the 2500 acres which the latter afterwards named Mount Yernon. This deed, re- corded in the General Court Oflice, 23 Oct. 1740, was burned

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. XXIX

during the Civil War. The Will of Augustine, who died 12 April 1Y43, confirmed this gift. It was recorded in King George County, May lT-i3. From Lawrence the estate passed to George Washington,

It appears clear that Mount Yernon, on which Washington lavished his devotion, was a heritage from his first ancestor in Virginia, and the homestead of his own earliest recollections.

The hopeless loss of the Truro Registers may account for the absence of data concerning the children of Capt. Augus- tine and Mary Washington beyond the meagre entries of their Bible, — in which have been inserted some particulars concerning George, evidently after his celebrity.

" Augustine Wasliington and Maiy Ball was married the Sixth of March 17§^.

" George Washington Son to Augustine & Mary his Wife was Born ye ijt h j)ay of February 1731/2 about 10 in the Morning & was Bap- tiz'd the 3' ^ of April following M-- Beverley Whiting & Cap' Christo- pher Brooks Godfathers and M'' = Mildred Gregory Godmother.

" Betty Washington born 20' ^ June 1733 about 6 in j" Mornin. De- parted this life the 31st of March 1797 at 4 o'clock.

" Samuel Washington was born y« 16 of Nov. 1734 about 3 in j^ Momin.

"John Augustine Washington was born y" 13'^ of Jany about 2 in y Morn 1735/6.

" Charles Washington borne y« 2 day of May about 3 in y" Morne 1738.

" Mildred Washington was Born y* 21st of June 1739 about 9 at night.

" Mildred Washington departed this Life Oct' y« 23-^ 1740 being Thursday abt 12 a Clock at Noon, aged 1 year & 4 months."

An interesting inquiry is suggested by Capt. Augustine Washington's importation of " convicts." Tradition says that George Washington was taught in childhood by a sexton named Hobby ; but the only contemporary statement is that of Rev. Jonathan Boucher, teacher of Jacky Custis, who says Washington was " taught by a convict servant whom his

XXX HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

father bought for a schoolmaster." The sexton of Truro Parish in 1747 was a " convict " — William Grove. It may be that " Hobby " was this man's nickname, and that he had previously taught the Washington children ; or " Hobby " may have been another of the " convicts" — probably political.

Dr Slaughter's researches have led him, as he tells me, to the conclusion that " Hobby " was sexton of the church at Falmouth, and that the Washington children went to school there. Falmouth was founded, as a military station, in 1675. In 1732 the House of Burgesses ordered the erection of a church " in the new parish of Brunswick," " in the town of Falmouth." Fredericksburg was founded in 1727, and the church edifice there (St. George's) was not completed until sixteen years later. Education being in clerical hands, it may be assumed that between 1739 and 1743 (the year of Augus- tine's death) the nearest school was at Falmouth, two miles above the Washington farm, on the same side of the river.

The " Little Falls " farm on the Rappahannock, often men- tioned in Washington's diaries, was the maiden property of Maiy Ball, — the 400 acres devised, as we have seen, by Col. Joseph Ball. It was contiguous with the estate of her brother, Joseph, the London lawyer, and when bequeathed (1711) was in Richmond County. " Sherwood Forest," Jo- seph's portion, seems to have been a dowry of his daughter Frances Downman, and passed to Henry Fitzhugh, who married a Downman. The Ball homestead was " Traveller's Rest," so long occupied by Col. Burgess Ball, — possibly handed down from his great-grandmother. Col. Joseph Ball's daughter Anne (Conway), Mary Washington's half-sister. In the Will of John Augustine (date 19 liov. 1784, probate in Westmoreland 31 July 1787) we find : " Item, to my son Bushrod . . . my Laud in Staiford County conveyed to me by my mother Mrs. Mary Washington adjoining the lands of Downman's estate and Col. Burgis Ball in Rappahannock and containing 400 acres."

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION, xxxi

The Will of Capt. Augustine Washington, and its record, disappeared during the Civil War, but I have made out the following bequests. Augustine, probably his oldest son, re- ceived the homestead in Westmoreland ; Lawrence the Fair- fax land, then in a wilderness ; John Augustine was given "Bushfield" Westmoreland ; Samuel, Chotanck, Stafford (533 acres, which it cost his half-brother Augustine £600 to free from a claim) : he divided his iron shares between them : he gave his widow her own inheritance, 400 acres, and some land near the furnace on Accokeek (the furnace shares going to Lawrence,) also a bit on Deep Run, — near another iron forge (twenty miles above Falmouth on the Rappahannock) whose ruins remain. The daughter was excluded from the distribution of negroes. Although Mary Washington dwelt near her daughter, and depended on her unfailing devotion, Betty received by her Will only her horse and phaeton. Having given her farm down the river to her son John, she bequeathed in her Will (dated 20 May 178S) her remaining lands to the General, — swelling the forty thousand acres he already owned. It does not appear to have occurred to any one that there was injustice in this, except that a letter else- where quoted shows the General's surprise that Betty should not have had a child's portion of her father's negroes.

George Washington's inheritance of land, when he should come of age, is called in his Diary the " Upper Place." It was 280 acres, purchased by his father, 3 Nov. 1738, from Margaret Grant, executrix of William Strother. The Cap- tain may have added to the property, or he may have deemed its proximity to the new town as an equalization with the be- quests to the other sons by his second wife. But he seems to have been conscious of some meagreness in his bequest to George, since he devised Mount Yernon to him if Lawrence should be without issue. The value of George's inheritance may be inferred from a letter to his mother, four years after her husband's death, from her half-brother Joseph in Lon-

XXxii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

don. He warns her against sending George to sea, as "a planter tliat has three or fonr hundred acres of land and three or four slaves," niaj do better. It is probable, however, that Capt. Augustine knew that his wife would give the larger of her farms (that on the Accokeek) to George, as she did. Its size may be estimated by the fact that the General paid, in 1760, quit-rents for 1250 acres in that region. (Worthington Ford, in The Nation, 19 Sep. 1889). This included the Ac- cokeek lands, his own " Upper Place," opposite Fredericks- burg, and his mother's " Little Falls," two miles lower.

The topography has points of interest. George, writing from his mother's home, 5 May 1749, to his half-brother Lawrence (in the tlouse of Burgesses), says :

" As my mother's term of years is out at the place at Bridge Creek, she designs to settle a [Negro] quarter on the piece at Deep Eun, but seems backward in doing it till the right is made good for fear of accident. — It is reported here that Mr. Spotswood intends to put down the ferry at the wharf where he now lives, and that Major Francis Taliaferro intends to petition the Assembly to have it kept from his house over against my mother's quarter, and through the very heart and best of the land. Whereas he can have no other view in it, than for the convenience of a small mill which he has on the water-side, that will not grind above three months in the twelve, and on account of the great inconvenience and prejudice it will be to us, I hope it will not be granted. Besides, I do not see where he can possibly have a landing-place on his side, that will ever be sufficient for a lawful landing, by reason of the steepness of the banks. I think we suffer enough from the free ferry, without being troubled with such an unjust and iniquitous petition as that ; but I hoiDe, as it is only a flying report, that he will consider better of it, and drop his pre- tensions."

By the assistance of Judge Wellford of Richmond, whose ancestors belonged to the region, and William A. Little of Fredericksburg, I have made out the following facts. The Ferry alluded to by Washington is described in 6 Hening p. 18 as "from the wharf above the mouth of Massaponax Creek

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION, xxxiii

to the opposite landing upon Mr. Ball's land." The wharf on Spotswood's place " Nottingham " was fully four miles below Fredericksburg, and Taliaferro's ("Epsom") jiist above that, — both on the Spottsjlvania side. The " Ball's Land " (" Traveller's Best ") contained 600 acres ; Downman's (" Sherwood Forest ") north of it 900 acres ; next these being Mary Washington's " Little Falls," between which and the Wahsington Farm came the Strother Farm. Mr. A. K. Fhillips, of Fredericksburg, writes : " I remember when the Washington Farm contained between 600 and 800 acres, and belonged to Col. Hugh Mercer, son of the General, but it has been sold off to different parties. Mj father told me that when he removed to Fredericksburg in 1806 the Washington house was standing. It was a plain wooden structure of moderate size, and painted a dark red color. The Strother farm a few miles below the Farm is known as ' Albion.' It is thought that long years ago the Washington Farm was a part of the Strother Farm, because there was found on the Washington tract a stone inscribed : ' John Strother, Gentle- man,'— no doubt placed there by the old gentleman as a boun- dary mark. The Strother farm at present contains about 700 acres."

In the Will of Mary (of which a facsimile appears in the Mag. Am. Hist, March 1887) she bequeathes the General her " lauds on Accokeek Bun in Stafford County." These I have identified as part of a tract now called " Furnace," on which are still traceable cinders of the old iron- works in which Cap- tain Augustine Washington speculated so largely. It was one of five forges in Virginia and Maryland, which appear, by the Will of his son Lawrence, to be still bringing some profits in 1752. But Captain Augustine Washington might have made more by his ventures had he not died prematurely (aged 49). At any rate his widow and her five children were left poor. The half-brothers, who had been left the main properties, acted handsomely. Augustine took George, now

XXxiv HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

twelve years, to the old home in Westmoreland, and there sent him to school, — it is said to a Mr. Williams. There, however, he seems to have become restless, and probably re- turned to his mother in the summer of 1745. The winters schooling was probably in Fredericksburg. It is certain that the summer of 1746 was passed at Mount Yernon, then re- cently built by his half-brother Lawrence, whose young wife was Anne, daughter of William Fairfax by his first wife, Sarah Walker.' This William Fairfax, kinsman and agent of Lord Fairfax, had married as his second wife Deborah Clarke, of Salem, Mass., with whom he settled in Westmoreland, Ya., in 1734. He and Capt. Augustine Washington had migrated to the upper Potomac about the same time, 1735, — Fairfax fixing his abode at Belvoir (which some called Beaver, i.e. Beauvoir). In the said summer (1746) George passed a happy week at Belvoir. A letter from Mr. Fairfax to Lawrence mentioning the visit, and saying that George had promised to be " steady," suggests that there had been some youthful de- claration of independence. George returned home and con- tinued at school in Fredericksburg.

Fredericksburg was mainly settled by relatives of the Wash- ingtons. Col. Harry Willis, chief founder of the town, m. first George's aunt, 2d. his cousin, — both christened Mildred Washington. This aunt had first m. Roger Gregory, their three daughters having in. three brothers Thornton in the neighborhood. Another founder of the town, John Lewis, was descended from Augustine Warner, whose daughter was

' " The family of Fairfax's in Virginia, of whom you speak, are also re- lated to me by several intermarriages before it came into this country (as I am informed) and since." — Washington to tlie Earl of Buchan, 22 April 1793. {Mag. Am. Hist. Feb. 1888.) That all parties concerned were rather late in discovering this relationship (if it existed) may be supposed from the tenor of Joseph Ball's letter from London (1747) to his half-sister, Mary Washington, advising her not to send George to sea. He could not hope to be more than a common sailor, every higher post being sought for there (in England) by " those who have interest, and lie [George] Ms

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. XXXV

Gen. Washington's paternal grandmother. Thus at fifteen George was schoohnate of many cousins. The newly built church, St. George's, was under charge of a brilliant French Huguenot, — Kev. James Marye, — who had taken orders in London. He would naturally have charge of the first school also, and probably taught it. Dr. Toner, in his excellent edition of the "Eules of Civility," found in Washington's boyish writing, with the date 1745, shows probabilities that they were mainly his own composition. Some of the " Eules," however, resemble those in the Latin work (of the Jesuit Mussipontarius) " ComTnunis VitcB inter homines sciia urbanitas.^'' Leonard Perin's translation of this book (1617) passed through several editions, and from it the Rev. James Marye may have instructed the boys of Fredericksburg in those rules of civility of which the school children of our own time are unfortunately left ignorant. On such basis the pre- cocious boy may have built his "Rules;" for, though we must not forget that we are here under Old Style, according to which Washington was born in 1731, and in 1715 was four- teen,— he certainly was precocious. Major Byrd Willis, — whose towering form was a striking figure in the Fredericks- burg of my boyhood, — grandson of Col. Harry Willis and Washington's aunt Mildred, says in a MS. (owned by his granddaughter Mrs. Tayloe of Fredericksburg) : " My father, Lewis Willis, was a schoolmate of General Washington, his cousin, who was two years his senior. He spoke of the Gen- eral's industry and assiduity at school as very remarkable. Whilst his brother and other boys at playtime were at bandy or other games he was behind the door ciphering. But one youthful ebullition is handed down while at that school, and that was romping with one of the largest girls ; this was so unusual that it excited no little comment among the other lads."

Perhaps this romp was with Jane Strother, in whom and her sister Alice (daughters of William) the Washington chil-

XXXvi HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

dren bad found their best playmates across tbe river. Jane married Hon. Tbomas Lewis of Augusta Co., and Alice Eobert Washington of Chotanck. Other neighbors were the Fitzhughs and the Alexanders. It may have been to one of the latter family that George wrote his boyish acrostic :

"From your bright sparkling eyes I was undone ; Eays yon have more transparent than the Sun Amidst its glory in the rising Day, None can you equal in your bright array : Constant in your calm and unspotted mind ; Equal to all, but will to none Prove kind, So knowing seldom one so young you'll find.' Ah, woe's me that I should love and conceal Long have I wished but never dare reveal, Even though severely Love's Pain I feel ; Xerxes that great wan't free from Cui)id's dart, And all the greatest Heroes felt the smart."

" Alexa," however, was the abbreviation of Alexandria, and possibly the acrostic may be on some fair Fanny of that town. Various young ladies have been traditionally named as objects of George Washington's youthful love, but I can discover no evidence of any early passion save for his " Lowland Beauty ;" and it is tolerably certain that this was either " Francis Alexa " of the acrostic, or Betsy Fauntleroy. The youthful letters which have raised so many fair claimants to the honor of having rejected Washington are known only in their writer's drafts. They are without date but bear indications of early 1749 (N. S.) when Washington was near seventeen. The similar phrases and allusions in the three letters prove them written about the same date. The Mrs. Fairfax al- luded to was the Sally Gary, whose legendary love-affair with Washington is thus shown to have been impossible be- fore her marriage, which occurred 17 Dec. 171:8. Another hypothesis, that her sister Mary (who m. Edward Ambler in 1752) was the " Lowland Beauty," is disproved by the refer-

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION, xxxvii

ence to her in the very letter containing that famous phrase, — the letter to "Dear Robin." The letter preceding this may have been to John, the son of Townshend Washington of " Greenhill " (now "Panorama," near the head of Cho- tanck Creek), grandson of Lawrence the immigrant. The Lawrence alluded to in it may have been John's twin brother, but more probably his (John's) first cousin Lawrence of Cho- tanck, mentioned in Washington's will as a fiiend of his juvenile years. The entire rough draft is given.

" Dear Friend John,

" As it is the greatest mark of friendship and esteem you can show to an absent Friend In often writing to him so hope youl not deny me that Favour as its so ardently wish't and desired by me. its the great- est pleasure I can yet forsee of having in fairfax to hear from my friends Particularly yourself was my a£fections disengaged I might perhaps form some pleasures in the conversasion of an agreeable young Lady as theres one now lives in the same house with me [c7^ossed out : but as that only serves to make me more dull by putting me oftener in remembrance of the other] but as that's only nourishment to my former affec* for by often seeing her brings the other into my remem- brance whereas perhaps was she not often (unavoidably) presenting herself to my view I might in some measure eleviate my sorrows by burying the other in the grave of oblivion I am well convinced my heart stands in defiance of all others but only she thats given it [a'ossed out : too much] cause enough to dread a second assault and from a different Quarter tho I well know let it have as many attacks as it will from others they cant be more fierce than it has been I could wish to know whether you have taken your intended trip downwards or not if you with what success as also to know how my friend Law- rence drives on in the art of courtship as I fancy you both nearly guess how it will respectively go with each of you."

The next letter is addressed to " Dear friend Robin," — probably Robert Washington, of Chotanck, remembered in Washington's Will.

"My place of residence," he writes, "is at present at his lordship's, where I might, was my heart disengaged, pass my time very pleasantly as there's a veiy agreeable young lady lives in the same house (Col.

XXXviii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

George Fairfax's wife's sister.) But as that's only adding fuel to fire, it makes me the more uneasy, for by often and unavoidably being in company with her revives my former passion for your Lowland beauty ; whereas, was I to live more retired from young women, I might elevi- ate in some measui-e my sorrows by burying that chaste and trouble- some passion in the grave of oblivion or etearnall forgetfulness, for as I am very well assured, that's the only antidote or remedy that I ever shall be relieved by or only recess that can administer any cure or heli3 to me, as I am well convinced, was I ever to attempt anything, I should only get a denial which would be only adding grief to un-

The next letter is to a female confidant, — who may have been, Kev. Horace E. Hayden writes me, either of his young contemporaries and relatives, Sarah Ball, Sarah (Ball) Jones, or Sarah Conway (niece of Col. Edwin Conway, who married Mary Ball's half-sister). The fair alluded to was probably that of June, though there was also an aimual October fair in Fredericksburg. The entire draft is here given.

" Deak Sally

' ' This comes to Fredericksburg fair in hopes of meeting with a sjjeedy Passage to you if your not there which hope youl get shortly altho I am almost discouraged from writing to you as this is my fourth to you since I receivd any from yourself. I hope youl not make the Old Proverb good out of sight out of Mind as its one of the greatest Pleasures I can yet foresee of having in Fairfax in often hear- ing from you hope you'l not deny it me.

"I pass the time of much more agreable than what I imagined I should as there's a very agreeable young Lady lives in the said house where I reside (CoP. George Fairfax's wife's sister) which in a great measure chears my sorrow and dejectedness tho' not so as to draw my thoughts altogether from your Parts I could wish to be with you down there with all my heart but as it is a thing almost Impractakable shall rest myself where I am with hopes of shortly having some Minutes of your transactions in your Parts which will be very wel- comely receiv'd by your "

We have, however, a letter of "Washington in which is found the only name with which his youthful affections can

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. XXxix

be safely associated. It is addressed to " William Faiintleroy Sr. in Richmond," (i.e. Richmond County, in which was ISTaylor's Hold, seat of the Fauntleroys).

" May 20, 1752. "Sib,

" I should have been down long before this, but my business in Frederick detained me somewhat longer than I expected, and immedi- ately upon my return from thence I was taken with a violent pleurise which has reduced me very low ; but purpose as soon as I recover my strength, to wait on Miss Betsy, in hopes of a revocation of the former cruel sentence, and see if I cannot obtain an alteration in my favor. I have enclosed a letter to her, which should be much obliged to you for the delivery of it. I have nothing to add but my best respects to your good lady and family, and that I am. Sir,

" Y'r most ob'd't humble servant,

"G. Washington."

The first courtship of Betsy Fauntleroy, to whose grand- father this letter was written and sent (the original was once owned by Gov. Fitzhugh Lee) must have occurred before 2S Sept. 1751, when Washington accompanied his invalid brother Lawrence to the Barbadoes, — from which he returned in 1752, reaching Wakefield March 4, his mother the 5th ; (jour- neying next day to Mount Vernon to bear Lawrence's wife tidings of her husband, and, it would appear, going to Fred- erick soon after to see after Lawrence's estates there). It will be seen then that having courted and been rejected by Miss Betsy when he was little over nineteen, if not earlier, there is good reason to identify her with the " Lowland Beauty " be- loved at seventeen.

Betsy Fauntleroy, great-granddaughter of the famous cava- lier Moore Fauntleroj^, of Naylor's Hold, was in every re- spect a " Lowland Beauty." She married an Adams, and be- came the mother of the Hon. Thomas Adams. It is said that when, after her marriage, she saw her rejected lover, — now master of Mount Yernon and a famous Colonel, — riding into Williamsburg, — she fainted. But there is no reason to

xl HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

suppose tliat she ever regretted her choice. To tliis disap- pointment we may ascribe the other sonnet by Washington :

" Oh Ye Gods why should my Poor resistless Heart

Stand to oppose thy might and Power At last surrender to Cupid's feather'd Dart

And now lays bleeding every Hour For her that's Pityless of my grief and Woes,

And will not on me Pity take. I'll sleep among my most inveterate Foes

And with gladness never wish to wake, In deluding sleepings let my Eyelids close

That in an enraptured dream I may In a rapt lulling sleep and gentle repose

Possess those joys denied by Day."

The little poem was written by a poor youth, uneducated as compared with the Fauntleroys, wdio were graduated in Scottish universities. George Washington had been com- pelled to leave school at sixteen and earn his living. In this same pathetic little book is his first entry of a survey, "March 11, 1747/8." Then we have such notes as these : —

" March y= 15, 1747/8. Sui-vey'd for George Fairfax Esq"" a Tract of Land lying on Gate's Marsh and Long Marsh." " Kead to the Keign of K : John." " In the Spectator Kead to 143." " Memorandum of what clothes I Carry into Fairfax. Eazor.

7 Shirts 2 D° Cari-^ by Mr. Thornton

6 Linnen Waistcoats

1 Cloth Do

6 Bands

4 Neck Cloths

7 Caps."

" M. The regulator of my watch now is 4 m : and over the fifth from the Slow end."

•' Twas perfect Love before ) ^ ,, ,, . „

T5 . T J 1 [^- Young M : A."

But now I do adore )

" Whats the noblest Passion of the Mind, Qy.'"

fflSTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. xli

Tradition has made Washington's mother a "belle " in early life, and a saint in later years. President Jackson, who dedi- cated her monument at Fredericksburg (May, 1833), had received from Washington himself and others ample informa- tion. " She acquired and maintained," he said, " a wonder- ful ascendency over those around her. This true character- istic of genius attended her through life ; and even in its decline, after her son had led his country to independence, he approached her with the same reverence she taught him to exhibit in early life. This course of maternal discipline no doubt restrained the natural ardor of his temperament and conferred upon him that power of self-command which was one of the remarkable traits of his character." Mary Wash- ington hated to display any of her emotions, George Kiger, well remembered by the present writer, used to relate how he galloped a long way to bear a letter from Washington to his mother, in the latter part of the revolution. He found her in her garden in her usual short yellow gown, occupied with lier vegetables. Kiger waited, but the old lady went on with her work, without opening the letter. At length the youth exclaimed, " Madam, this whole community is interested in that letter." Thereupon she opened the despatch, ■which an- nounced a victory ; but all the news she vouchsafed the mes- senger was the smiling remark, " George generally carries through anything he undertakes." The anecdote recalls one concerning the General, who had just begun a sitting for his portrait when despatches were brought. He glanced at them, and continued the sitting without remark. The despatches announced the capture of Burgoyne.

Historians, by the way, have overlooked a remarkable in- stance of Washington's self-command. When Cornwallis surrendered Washington saved him the humiliation of per- sonally delivering up his sword ; but Gen. O'Hara, who per- formed this task, repaid the magnanimity by offering the sword to Rochambeau, who stood at the head of a file of

Xlii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

French soldiers on the left, while Washington headed the Americans on the right. The Frenchman promptly refused ' to touch the sword, and O'Harathen offered it to Washington, who did not touch it, but said coldly, " Pass on." O'Hara was compelled to pass on between files of angry soldiers and deliver up the sword to a distant subaltern.

Local traditions say that Mary Washington could never think of George as other than " her boy," and that he either felt the same or humored her. On one occasion her servant told her that " Mars' George " had put up at the tavern. " Go and tell George to come here instantly ! " she cried. The General presently appeared with his baggage, meek before her reproach, explaining that he could not feel certain that his sojourn with her would be convenient. Her small house in Fredericksburg could not accommodate Washington's family, and it had no stables ; but he was careful, on proper occasions, to alight with his wife at his mother's door, the chariot being quietly taken around to Kenmore (the Lewis residence) where they also lodged.

An instance of his mother's habit of domestic dependence on Washington is shown in his letter to her from the camp at Will's Creek, in June 1755, while on the great Braddock campaign (printed by E. E. Hale):

"Hon'd Madam," he writes, "I was favored with your letter, by- Mr. Dick, and am sorry it is not in my power to provide you with a Dutch servant, or the butter, agreeably to your desire. We are quite out of the part of the country where either is to be had, there being few or no inhabitants where we now lie encamped, and butter cannot be had here to supply the wants of the army." "I hope," he also says, " you will spend the chief part of your time at Mount Ternon, as you have proposed to do, where I am certain every thing will be or- dered as much to your satisfaction as possible, in the situation we are in there."

In a letter to her brother Joseph, in London, 26 July 1759, the mother writes : " There was no end to my troubles while

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. xHii

George was in the army, but he has now given it up/' {Am. Hist. Mag., i. p. 413.) Another letter to the same (loaned me by Dr. Emmet) contains interesting items.

" July the 2, 1760. " Dear Brother, this Corns by Cap' Nickelson You Seem to blam me for not writing to you butt I doe a Shour you it is Note for wante of a very great Eegard for you & the family butt as 1 Dont Ship tobacco the Captins Never Calls one me Soe that I Never knows when tha Come or when tha goe. I believe you have got a very good overseer at this quarter now Cap' Newton has taken a large peace of grownd from you which 1 dear say if you had been hear your Self it had not been Don Mr. Dauial & his wife & family is well Cozen Hannah has been married & Lost her husband She has one Child a boy pray give my Love to Sister Ball & Mr. Downman [Joseph Ball's son-in law] & his Lady & am Dear Brother

Your Loving Sister

Makv Washington."

The " Mr. Danial " alluded to in the above note was Mr. Peter Daniel, a magistrate of Stafford County^ who resigned rather than enforce the Stamp Act ; he married the daughter of Hannah (Ball) Travers, Mary Washington's half-sister. The " Newton Farm " is still known in the neighborhood.

The next letter was sent me by my late brother, Eichard M. Conway. It is without date, and addressed to her son John Augustine Washington, Bushfield, Westmoreland, Ya.

" Deae Johnne, — I am glad to hear you and all the family is well, and should be glad if 1 could wiite you the same. I am a going fast, and it, the time, is hard. I am borrowing a little Cornn — no Cornn in the Cornn house. I never lived soe poore in my life. Was it not for Mr, French and your sister Lewis I should be almost starved, but I am like an old almanack quite out of date. Give my love to Mrs. Washington — all the family. 1 am dear Johnne your loving and af- fectionate Mother.

"P.S. I should be glad to see you as I dont expect to hold out long."

xliv HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION

Dr. Toner, on my account of this letter, suggests that it was written in the troubled year preceding the revolution, before her children persuaded her to move into Fredericks- burg. I have not been able to trace her on the farm across the river later than 1772, but she certainly remained there long after her children had left, and despite their desire that she should dwell with them.' In the grumbling letter is reflected her horror of dependence. The house in Fred- ericksburg, still standing, is small but preserves traces of the neat home arranged for her. The lot adjoins Kenmore. As the place is not mentioned in her Will it probably be- longed to Col. Fielding Lewis or the General. A chariot, phaeton, three horses, and six negroes were among her be- quests.

A few hundred yards from Kenmore Mary Washington was buried. It is a picturesque place, witli a cluster of trees shading gravestones, chiefly of the Gordons, wlio so long oc- cupied Kenmore. Tradition points out a rock overlooking the vale as the spot where the aged mother of Washington was wont to repair for meditation. Near this stands her monument, whose unfinished condition gave rise to a maga- zine romance which some have taken seriously. It is said that a maiden of Fredericksburg plighted her troth on con- dition that her suitor should build a monument over her relative, the Mother of Washington ; but before it was com- pleted her lover was jilted and the work stopped. As a matter of fact the work was generously undertaken by Mr, Burroughs, a citizen of New York, whose failure in business caused the cessation of work. The monument stood in a

1 By his first wife, Jane Butler, Augustine Washington had children : 1. Butler (fZ. infant) ; 2. Augustine {m. Anne Aylett) ; 3. Lawrence (m. Anne Fairfax) ; 4 Jane {d. infant). Of the issue by Mary Ball, George m. Martha Dandridge Custis ; Betty m. Col. Fielding Lewis ; Samuel m. successively Jane Champe, Mildred Thornton, Lucy Chapman, Anne Steptoe, Mrs. Perrin, — dying in 1781, aged 47; Jno. Augustine m. Hannah Bushrod ; Charles m. Mildred Thornton ;— the 6th child, Mildred, d. infant.

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. xlv

centre of the battles which raged in and around Fredericks- burg, during the Civil War ; it is of pretty design, and strik- ing in the distance, but scarred with shot and shell, — a dismal memorial indeed. Beside it lies the long marble spire which in May 1833 a procession, headed by President Jackson, fol- lowed to the spot with patriotic rejoicings.

It may be that from his mother and plebeian grandmother (as I suppose) the Widow Johnson, Washington derived a certain strain of blood which, at the first gun of indepen- dence, was strong enough to bid farewell to his aristocratic friends at Belvoir and Williamsburg palace, and take the side of the people.

Mary Washington has been suspected of " Toryism " be- cause she hated war ; declared " this fighting and killing " a bad business, and wished that " George would come home and attend to his plantation." The spirit which animated her crude utterances was Washington's best inheritance from his mother. It is a fine omen on the new world's horizon that its great commander was a man of peace. An arbitrator of the playground in boyhood, his first commissions were for peaceful negotiations with the Indians and the French. There was, indeed, a spirit of adventure in him ; but it found satis- faction in the chase, and in exploring the wilderness. Miss Jessie Stabler, of Sandy Spring Md., sends me an extract from the letter-book of her great-great-grandfather, Edward Stabler, a leading Quaker at Petersburg Ya. in the last cen- tury. Under date of " 12 mo : 20th. 1756," he writes to English Friends :

"In tlie Spring there was an Act made for Drafting the Militia by Lot, in which Friends were not exempted but on whomsoever the Lot fell upon were obliged to go as Soldiers or pay £10 to hire another man in their stead, & 1 am sorry to say the generallity of Friends complyed with it. Except seven young men who would not comply to go nor hire another in their stead, & so were taken by Force & carried over the Mountains to the Army, & after they had been there

xlvi HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

some time I understood tliey were like to meet with cruel usage if they did not comply to bear arms & tho' most Friends acknowledged it would be right for some to visit them yet none seemed forward to go as it appeared dangerous to travail over the Mountains at that time, the Indians having done much mischief in them parts yet I could not be easy in my own mind without going myself, & use what endeavours I was capable of for their release out of Prison where they had been kept close confined for about 10 weeks, I had several good opper- tunities with Coll. Washington to open our principles to him & rea- sons why we could not be active in the caiTying on of War. he seemed very moderate before we parted & inclined to favor them, but said as they were sent to him by the Government he could not release them and had rec'd orders from the Gov."" to have them Whipped every day 'till they would comply. I requested him to omit putting the Gov'' orders in execution 'till I could go & speak with him (w.''' was upward of 250 miles part of the way through an uninhabited country & over very high Mountains) & four more Friends accom- panied me to the Gov."' we had a great deal of Discourse w"" him & he promised us he would write to Coll. Washington to be favourable to them, w.'^ ^ he did— I got them releas'd out of Prison when I was there, & to have liberty to go to some Friends Houses that liv'd about 5 or 6 miles distant upon being bound for their ajDpearance there when the Coll. rec'd other orders from the Gov.'' but they were not called upon afterwards nor anything required of them."

In sending the above Miss Jessie Stabler adds :

"I heard Mr. Henry Stabler of this neighborhood tell another story of Washington and the Friends. Warner Mifflin was on a committee to remonstrate with President Washington about War, and during the conversation, remarked that the advantages gained by War do not compensate for the loss of life and limb. Washington thought for some minutes and then said, ' Mr. Mifflin, there is more in that than most people are willing to admit.' "

When Washington and his wife met, the days of romance were perhaps over for both of them, but they grew together. At her " Six Chimney House," Williamsburg, where the honeymoon passed, Martha planted a Yew which remains, and is a fair symbol of her never-failing loyalty and devotion.

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION, xlvi'i

"A most amiable woman," wrote S. Johnston to James Iredell (1790) ; " if I live much longer I shall at last be rec- onciled to the company of old women for her sake." Her husband's frank admirations excited no jealousy. The Hon. Jasper Yates writes to his wife : " Mr. Washington once told me, on a charge which I once made against the President at his own table, that the admiration he warmly professed for Mrs. Hartley was a proof of his Homage to the worthy part of the Sex, and highly respectful to his wife." But she was, in the old sense homely as she was comely. While following her husband, to the field she longed, even amid plaudits, for home. She writes to her brother from Philadelphia (2 Nov. 1778) :

" I am very uneasy at this time — I have some reason to think that I shall take another trip to the northward — the poor General is not likely to come to see ns, from what I can hear. I expect to hear cer- tainly by the next Post. If I doe I shall write to inform you and my friends. If I am soe happy as to stay at home I shall hope to see you with my sisters as soon as you are at leisure. Please to give Patty a kiss for me. I have sent her a pair of shoes. There wasn't a doll to be got in the city of Philadelphia or I would have sent her one."

Mr. Ferdinand Dreer of Philadelphia has a letter of Mar- tha Washington (it appeared in Harper's Magazine. April 1889,) written, the year after her marriage, to her sister Anna (Mrs. Burwell Bassett) congratulating her on the birth of a girl — " I wish I could say boy as I know how much one of that sex was desired by you all " — she adds : " I think my- self in a better state of helth than I have been in for a long time and dont dout but I shall present you a fine healthy girl again when I come doun in the Fall which is as soon as Mr. W ns business will suffer him to leave home."

This longing for a daughter at the moment of desiring for her sister a son is pathetically suggestive. The great soldier loved to have little Patsy and Nelly nestling at his side, and

xlviii HISTORICAL AND GEXEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

the unsatisfied paternal longing of his great heart was keenly felt by his wife.'

The following was written to Mrs. Fanny Washington, then keeping house at Mount Yernon :

New York Oct. the 22d 1789 " My Dear Fanny, — I have by Mrs. Sim-s sent you a watch ; it is one of the cargoe that I have so long mentioned to you, that was expected, I hope is such a one as will please you — it is of the newest fashion, if that has any influence on your tast, the chain is of Mr. Lears choosing and such as Mrs. Adams the Vice presidents lady and those in the polite circle wear.

" Mrs. Sims will give you a better account of the fashions than I can — I live a veiy dull life hear and know nothing that passes in the town — I never goe to any public place — indeed I think I am more like a State jDrisoner than anything else ; there is certain bounds set for me which I must not depart from — and as I cannot doe as I like, I am obstinate and stay at home a great deal.

" The President set out this day week on a tour to the eastward ; Mr. Lear and Major Jackson attended him — my dear children has had very bad colds but thank god they are getting better. My love and

' Washington's tenderness towards children is traceahle in many a flower along the track of war. One instance which has not been published I have found among the papers of Gen. Artemas Ward, in the possession of his de- scendant Mr. Alfred Dix of New York. At a time when the British in Bos- ton were using non-combatants to convey correspondence to abettors outside, Washington made a rigid order that none should enter or come out of tlie city. But one day an appeal came to Cambridge that a little child might be taken into Boston to receive medical care. The order was returned: " His Excellency desires that when Mr. Loring's child is brought in order to go into Boston that you will have its cloaths examined lest there should be letters concealed in them." The poet who so long wrote hymns of peace in Craigie House, where Washington gave that order, would have left us a lyric of the incident, had he known it. Washington was known to have gone out of his way to warn children, eager to gaze at the soldiers, that they were in danger,— generally patting them kindly on the head. In the biog- raphy of Judge Phillips of Andover, it is related that when Washington breakfasted in that town (5 Nov. 1789), "he asked the little daughter of Deacon Abbot to mend his riding-glove for him ; and when she had done it, took her upon his knee and gave her a kiss; which so elated Miss Pris- cilla that she would not allow her face to be washed again for a week." But a similar story, glove included, is recorded of his visit to Haverhill !

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. xlix

good wishes attend you and all with yon— remember me to Mr. and Mrs L. Wn [Lund Washington] how is the poor child — kiss Marie I send her two little handkerchiefs to wipe her nose. Adue."

The Lewis family, so intimately connected with Washing- ton, is not of any known relationship to the Lewises who founded Augusta Co. Ya. Its ancestor in "Virginia was Gen. Robert Lewis, of Brecon, Wales, who in 1650 obtained a grant in Gloucester Co. Ya. of 33,333|^ acres. His son John, educated in England, married Elizabeth (daughter of Augus- tine and Mildred) Warner, and built " Warner Hall " — the great mansion of twenty-six rooms in Gloucester. Major John Lewis, eldest son of John of " Warner Hall," m. Frances Fielding (supposed surname) who d. 1731 ; her husband lived until 1754. This Major John Lewis was the lawyer with whom Chancellor Wythe studied, and a member of Council, He was the " John Lewis, Gentleman," who, with Col. Harry Willis, laid out the site of Fredericksburg in 1727. Major John and Frances (Fielding) Lewis had four sons : Warner, I. 7 Oct. 1720 ; John, I. 1723 ; Fielding, l. 7 July 1725 ; Charles, l. 25 Feb. 1729.

Col. Fielding Lewis of " Kenmore," third son of Major John, became an active citizen of Fredericksburg in its early days, and is said in its official annals to have owned nearly half of the town. In 1746 he m. Catharine Washington, — great-granddaughter of the above-named Augustine Warner, his (Fielding's) great-grandfather. (Lawrence Washington, the General's grandfather, m. Mildred Warner.) Issue of Col. Fielding and Catharine (Washington) Lewis :

1. John, h. 22 June 1747 ; his uncle John Lewis and Charles Dick, Godfathers ; and Mrs. Mary Washington and Mrs. Lee, Godmothers. He m. five times, — 1st (1768) and 2nd (1770) widows named Thornton, his cousins ; 3, (1773) a daughter of the eminent lawyer Gabriel and Margaret (Strother) Jones ; 4, (1785) Mrs. Armistead, nee Fountaine ; 5, Mrs. Mercer dau. of Landon Carter. By three of these wives he had families, and his descendants are numerous, especially in Ken- tucky, where he settled. — Col. Fielding and Catharine (Washington) Lewis had 2. Frances, h. 25 Nov. 1748 ; Fielding Lewis and George

1 HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

Washington, Godfathers ; Miss Hannah Washington and Mrs. Jackson, Godmothers. Without issue. 3. Warner, b. 29 Nov. 1749; his uncle John Lewis and Capt. Bagley Seaton, Godfathers ; Mrs. Mildred Sea- ton, Godmother. Died 5 Dec. 1749.

Some entries in the Lewis Family Bible at Marmion were made after the adoption of New Style (1752), and this must be borne in mind to avoid confusion. Thus, Catharine Lewis cl. 19 Feb. 1749-50 ; but on 7 May 1750, Col. Fielding Lewis m. his second wife, Betty Wash- ington. A year must be added to that and the birth dates of the next two children. Issue : 1. Fielding, b. 14 Feb. 1751 ; George Washing- ton and Robert Jackson, Godfathers ; Mrs. Mary Washington and Mrs. Frances Thornton, Godmothers. Married in Fairfax settled in Fred- erick Co., Va. ; his son G. W. Lewis mentioned in Washington's diary as visiting Mount Vernon 1787. 2. Augustin, b. 22 Jan. 1752 ; his uncles Charles Lewis and Charles Washington, Godfathers ; his aunt Lucy Lewis, and Mrs Mary Taliaferro, Godmothers. Died infant. 3. Warner, b. 24 June 1755 ; his uncle Charles Washington and Col. John Thornton, Godfathers; Mrs. Mildred Willis and Mrs. Mary Willis, Godmothers. Died infant. 4. George, b. 14 March 1757 ; Charles Yates and Lewis Willis, Godfathers ; Mrs. Mary Dick and his mother, Godmothers. He married (1779) Catharine Daiugerfield of Spottsylvania, was distinguished as a soldier, and was bequeathed one of Washington's swords, now in the possession of his grandson, Capt. Heniy Howell Lewis of Baltimore. Mr. Byrd Lewis, an eminent lawyer of Washington, is his great-grandson. 5. Mary, b. 22 April 1759; Samuel Washington and Lawrence Washington, Godfathers; Mrs. Washington and Miss Mary Thornton, Godmothers. Died in- fant. 6. Charles, b. 3 Oct. 1760; Gen. George Washington and Roger Dixon, Godfathers ; Mrs. Mary Washington and Mrs. Lucy Dixon, Godmothers. 7. Samuel, b. 14 May 1763 ; Rev. Musgrave Dawson and Judge Joseph Jones, Godfathers ; Mrs. Dawson and Mrs. Jones, Godmothers. Died infant. 8. Betty, b. 23 Feb. 1765 ; Rev. Thomas Kice and Warner Washington, Godfathers ; Mrs. Hannah Washington and Miss Frances Lewis, Godmothers. Married Charles Carter of Culpeper Co. 9. Lawrence, b. 4 April 1767 ; Charles Washington and Francis Thornton, Godfathers ; Mrs. Mary Dick, Godmother. Mar- ried Nelly Custis. His descendants live chiefly at " Audley," Clark Co., Va., the Hon. Edward P. C. Lewis, late Minister to Portugal, being his grandson. 10. Robert, b. 25 June 1769 ; George Thornton and Peter Marye, Godfathers ; Miss Mildred Willis and Mrs. Ann Lewis, Godmothers. See, in this Volume, pp. 53, 305. He died in

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HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. li

1829, the 4th year of his mayoralty of Fredericksburg, during which office he -welcomed Lafayette {Mag. Am. Hist., Jan. 1888). 11. How- ell, h. 12 Dec. 1771 ; Judges Joseph Jones and James Mercer, God- fathers ; Miss Mary and Miss Milly Dick, Godmothers. See, in this volume, pp 10, 293.

It is one of the many curiosities of Washington porti-aitnre that the portrait of Betty Lewis at " Marmion " (probably by Woolaston) should be going about tlie world as that of Martha, General "Washington's wife ! There are portraits representing Martha Washington at all ages, and it appears inconceivable that any one could discover a resemblance be- tween her and the portrait published as hers in Sparks (i. p. 106), in the " Republican Court," and even in the centennial Century Magazine, April, 1889. How this delusion origi- nated one can hardly conjecture. I have asked several artists whether they could imagine the Martha Washington in the last volume of Sparks identical at any period of her life with her so called in the first, and they have declared it unimagin- able. The accompanying copy of the misnamed picture in Sparks bears an inscription from the late Col. Lewis W. Washington, written in the home and in the presence of my friend Frederick McGuire of Washington. In 1855 Col. Lewis Washington made a special study of the family por- traits, and his judgment as well as his information are trust- worthy. He corresponded with many members of the Wash- ington and Lewis families then living and comparatively near to the sources of information ; among others with G. W. Parke Custis, who lias been supposed, no doubt erro- neously, to be responsible for the mistake of Sparks. In one of his letters (4 Aug. 1855) Mr. Custis says : " Mrs. Lewis, the only sister, whom I very well remember, was the most majestic and imposing-looking female I ever beheld, and she was very dearly beloved by the great man. There is a good portrait of her." The portrait alluded to is certainly that copied in this volume. The original at Marmion (the Lewis

lii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

homestead in King George), is beside its companion -picture, that of Col. Fielding Lewis. Fine copies of both are in the possession of Captain Williams of New York, a descendant of the family. Another copy of Betty Lewis's portrait, now at Mount Yernon, is probably that alluded to by Col. Lewis Washington as in his possession, — placed there, I believe, by his widow, Mrs. Ella Bassett Washington, a vice-Regent of Mount Yernon.

In another letter (4 March 1857) to Col. Lewis Washing- ton, Mr. Custis tells the following anecdote :

" When in 1781 tlie Chief, accompanied by the Count de Eocham- beau, was en route for New York, following close upon the rear of the French army, he halted in Fredericksburg, and, having consigned the Count to the best hotel of the village, the Commander-in-Chief hast- ened to the residence of his sister. The lady had gone out to visit a neighbor. Judge of her surijrise when, on her return, she saw that her pleasant mansion and the area around it — the abode of peace, do- mestic happiness, and liberal hospitality — had suddenly assumed ' the pomj) and circumstance of glorious war.' She entered the mansion, where her servants, struck dumb with amazement, could only point to her chamber door. She rushed in, and there discovered her beloved brother stretched upon her bed and asleep. She uttered a wild ex- clamation of surj)rise and joy."

In 1773 Col. Fielding Lewis was chosen a member of the House of Burgesses. The defect in his eye prevented his entering the field in the Eevolution. His title "Colonel" was probablj^ earned by his activity in the manufacture of arms at the " Gunnery " established by the Assembly in his town, whose patriotic ladies made cartridges while their male relatives were in the field. Col. Lewis freely advanced his means in this work and was never repaid except in depre- ciated paper. However he had large lands in the West. He died in Jan. 1781, and was buried in the vestibule of St. George's Church, of which he was a vestryman. Washington's diaries and letters show his affection for this brother-in-law, and con-

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. ]iii

fidence in his judgment. The portrait of Col. Fielding Lewis at Marmion, a companion to that of his wife, shows that his veracity would not allow the artist to omit the defective eye. He was an able man, and his descendants, known in every part of this country, are generally persons of character and influence.

For most of the following letters of Washington and the Lewises I am indebted to Luther Kountze, Esq. The letters of Col. Fielding Lewis are both to Washington. In the first (6 March 1776), he says :

" Our nine Eegements are nearly compleat and our people seem to be fond of entring into the service. Col" [Patrick] Henry has resigned his Commis" which I believe most people are well pleased with, as his acquaintance in the military service was little. Clinton has been here with his men, stay'd a few Days, & is gone it's said to S° Carolina & taken some of the Kings Ships that were here with him. We ex- pect Lord Dunmore is recalled as he has offer'd his service and request to be sent home as a mediator. Our Committee of Safety are too well acquainted with his Lordships abilitys and friendship for this Colony to intrust a matter of so much importance to one of his insig- nificancy, nor would they were his Ability ever so great take a step of that sort without the sanction of Congress. Norfold is totally dis- troyed not one House remaining. Gosport Mr. Sprowls seat has shared the same fate. Portsmouth is safe ; we have men at the great Bridge & Kemps Landing, little for them to do. The opinion for in- dependentcy seems to be gaining ground ; indeed most of those who have read the Pamphlet Common Sense say it's unanswerable. Our Manufactory has not yet made one Musquet; the Hands have been imployed in repairing the old Gunns from the Magazine which L'' Dunmore took the Locks from, and repairing the Gunus belonging to the several Companys that have passed thro' this Town. We have a great many Barrells ready forged which we are now preparing for the Stockers ; our men had the business to learn, begin to be expert at Lock making about Thirty of which pr week we now make that are equal to the English ; and what Barrells are ready I think are better. The Tory Factors are leaving of us daily, few will remain in a month, or two. Mrs. Lewis joins me in our Love to Mrs. Washington & the Family. I am Dear Sir your most Affectionate &c.

liv HISTORICAIi AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

" In my last I requested you would furnish George with any Cloths &c. he may have occasion for and yr. order should be paid for the amount on sight." [His son Major Geo. Lewis was in the army.]

In connection with the following letter one of Washington (owned by the K. Y. Hist. Soc, published in Mag. Am. Hist., August 1879), Morristown 5 May 1780 will be found interest- ing. In it he writes Col. Fielding Lewis of a letter received from Col. Fairfax, who had heard his property was confis- cated, which Washington pronounces, if true, " a cruel pro- ceeding as the uniform tenor of his conduct has been friendly to the rights of this country — his going to England the result of necessity and before hostilities either commenced or were thought of, and his return with his family in a manner im- practicable."

The letter of Col. F. Lewis is dated 4 April 1780.

"I wrote you about eight Days since before I rec"^ yours of the 1st & 2d March which came by the Post last Fryday. You judged right with regard to our paper Currency, as I find by a late resolution of Congress that it's reduced to one fortieth part of it's nominal value. This regulation I suj^pose was necessaij, however unjust it may appear to the world ; after the assurances lately given by Congress in their publication, I did not expect so great a discont as forty for one would have so soon taken jilace, altho' I expected something of the sort must have happened for the preservation of the Landed Interest which never could have paid the enormous debt we now are involved in & daily increasing. I cannot say but I shall be among the sufferers on this occasion, alltho' I have in some manner lessen'd it by the purchase of Thirty Thous'' Acres Land to the westward where my son John now is, in order to locate and secure it for me. I have some thoughts of purchasing Twenty Thous"^ acres more before our Assembly meets, alltho' I am apprehensive that "Warrants have allready issued sufficient to secure allmost the whole of the valuable Lands in that Country from Pittsburg to the Green Eiver. I suppose five million of acres are allready granted ; never was so fine a Country sold for so trifling a sum as those Lands will bring into the Treasury, beside the great injury this State will sustain by the great numbers of our most active men going those who should have remained here for the defence of

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Iv

the State and assisted in the present dispute with G. Britain. We have a report here that a vessel is just arrived from the Havanna the Cap' of -w^ ^ reports that six days before he sailed a Fleet with 4000 Soldiers had sailed from thence either for Pensicola or S. Carolina, we have no late news from the Southward.

" I wish it was in my power to render any service to Col" Fairfax by superintending his business ; my bad state of health prevents my paj'- ing that attention to my own that it requires, therefore cannot under- take his, as it would not be in my power to do him any tolerable jus- tice. I believe little has been done for the Colonel since he left the State, and I am fearful that it will be a difficult matter getting that Estate under good management ; from the Candor of Mr. Francis Whiting (who managed Mr. Fitzhughs Est. at Eavensworth) if he will undertake the matter I think that Estate would soon be brought under better management ; and Col" Fairfax paying a generous price for such service will be for his advantage. I do not know another man that I think will answer the purjDose so well if he will undertake it, being a good judge of those matters. If I can be of any service in prevailing on Mr. Whiting or any other person that you, or I may think capable of serving Col° Fairfax I will cheerfully undertake the matter ; at present I don't know but it may be necessary to change those who have at present the direction of that business, if it can be done at this late season for another Croj). Mrs. Lewis joins me in our Love to you & Mrs. Washington ; she is obliged to Mrs. Wash- ington for the trouble in sending her muslin to Bethlehem."

The next letter is from Betty Lewis to her brother, at the time when he was recovering from a carbuncle. It appears that their mother — who died a month after this letter was written — suffered something of the same kind. The address on the letter is : " George "Washington. President of the United States. New York.— Fav'd by Mr. C. Urquhart."

" July 24 : 1789. •' My Deae Brothek

" We have been extreamly concern'd at hearing of your late ill- ness, but the arrival of Eoberts last letter brought us the agreable information that the Doctors had Pronounc'd you would shortly be able to ride out. — When I had last the Pleasure of seeing you I

Ivi HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

observ'd your fondness for Honey ; I have got a large Pot of very fine in the comb, which I shall send by the first oppertunity,

" I am sorry to inform you My Mother's Breast still continues bad. God only knows how it will end ; I dread the Consequence ; she is sensible of it & is Perfectly resign'd— wishes for nothing more than to keep it easy.— She wishes to hear from you ; she will not believe you are well till she has it from under your hand. — The Doctors think if thay could get some Hemloc it would be of Service to her Breast ; if you Could Precure som there Mr. Urquhart will bring it for her, there is none to be got hear. — Your Eelations all join me in love and good wishes to you and Sister Washington & believe me Your Affe"^^ Sister

Betty Lewis."

" New York, Oct. 12' >• 1789 " My Dear Sistee,

"Your letter of the first of this month came duly to hand. — I believe Bushrod is right with respect to the distribution of the negroes — When I gave my opinion that you were entitled to a child's part it did not occur to me that my Mother held them under the will of my Father who had made a distribution of them after her death. — If this is the case, and I believe it is, you do not come in for any part of them.

"I thought I had desired in my former letter that all personal prop- erty not specifically disposed of by the will had better be sold. This is my opinion as it is from the Crops and personal Estate that the Debts must be paid. — The surplus, be it more or less, is divided among her children ; and this I presume had better be done in money than in Stock, old furniture or any other troublesome articles which might be inconvenient to remove, but in one or the other of these ways they must be disposed of, as they are not given by the Will. — If there is anything coming to the estate it ought to be collected. — In a woid, all the property except Lands and negroes is considered as personal, and after the Debts are discharged is to be equally divided into five parts one of which five you are entitled to.

"A sort of epidemical cold has seized every [illegible] under it — hith- erto I have escaped and propose in two or three days to set out for Boston by way of relaxation from business and re-establishment of my health after the long and tedeous complaint with which I have been afliicted, and from which it is not more than ten days I have been recovered, that is since the incision which was made by the Doctors for this imposthume on my thigh has been cured.

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Ivii

" Mrs. Washington joins me in every good wish for you and our other relations in Fredericksburg. And I am My dear Sister

Your most affectionate Brother

G°. Washington."

The next letter has been sent me by Capt. George Wash- ington Ball. Both of the gentlemen to whom it w^s written liad mai-ried nieces of Washington : Col. Burgess Ball m. dau. of Charles Washington ; Charles Carter, Jr., m. dau. of Betty Lewis.

'« New Haven 18' ^ Oct. 1789 '• Deak Sirs :

" Having set out on a tour through the Eastern States, it was at this place your letter of the 8' '' inst. over-took me.

"Not having my father's will to recur to, when I wrote to my sister, nor any recollection of the Devises in it, I supposed she was entitled to a child's part of the negros, but, if they were otherwise disposed of, by that Will (as I believe is the case) she is certainly excluded, and the sons only and their representatives come in. — In this manner the division must be made. —

" Everything of personal property not specifically disposed of by my Mother's Will, had better be sold — with the proceeds of which, and the crops, the Debts must be paid. The surplus, if any, must be di- vided among the heirs.

"Being well convinced that the Gentlemen who were so obliging as to examine and set a value uj^on my Lots, acted from their best judg- ment, I am j)erfectly satisfied with their decision, and beg my thanks may be presented to them for the trouble they have had in this busi- ness.

"If they are not already sold, I am willing to allow three, instead of two years credit for the payment of the purchase money. Interest be- ing paid. In a word, as I do not want to tenant them, I should be glad to sell them on any reasonable terms : as that kind of property, at a distance, is always troublesome, and rarely productive.

"I did not mean to give Mr. Mercer the trouble of stating any formal opinion — All I had in view was to know if the formalities of the law, with respect to Inventorying, appraising &c. could be dispensed with, — If it could, I was sure no other difliculty would arise, as I knew my

Iviii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

Mother's dealings were small, and the business consequently easily closed.

" I am exceedingly sorry to hear of the loss the Country has sus- 'tained from frost. The crops of corn in this State (Connecticut), along the road I have travelled, are abundantly great.

" I offer my best thanks to you for your kind services — and my best

wishes to my nieces, and your families, — and, with sincere esteem and

regard,

I am your most obed' and aflfect^'^ H'''^ servt.

G : Washington."

Although it was necessary that Washington, as his moth- er's executor, should recognize the fact that his sister had been somewhat left in the cold by their parents' Wills, he gave her the only assistance she needed — namely, a helping hand to her sons. To Mr. Howell L. Lovell, Covington, Ky., a great-grandson of Betty Lewis, I am indebted for the following letter to her youngest son, — Howell, then just entered on his twenty-first year :

" Philadelphia April 8«' , 1792. "My Dear Sister,

" If your son Howell is living with you, and not usefully employed in your own affairs ; — and should incline to spend a few months with me, as a writer in my office (if he is fit for it) I will allow him at the rate of Three hundred dollars a year, provided he is diligent in discharg- ing the duties of it from breakfast until dinner — Sundays excepted. — This sum will be punctually paid him and I am particular in declar- ing beforehand what I require, and what he may expect, that there may be no disappointment, or false expectations on either side. — He will live in the family in the same manner his brother Kobert did. — If the ofifer is acceptable he must hold himself in readiness to come on immediately uijon my giving him notice. — I take it for granted that he writes a fair and legible hand, otherwise he would not answer my purpose ; as it is for recording letters, and other papers I want him. — That I may be enabled to judge of his fitness let him acknowledge the receipt of this letter with his own hand, and say whether he will ac- cept the ofi'er here made him, or not. — If he does, and I find him qualified from the specimen he gives in his letter I will immediately desire him to come on which he must do without a moments delay, or I shall be obliged to provide another instead of him.

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. lix

" M" Washington unites with me in best wishes, and love for you and yours and

I am — My dear Sister

Your most affecte Brother

G» Washington."

" 21st November, 1798 "I believe you have been informed of my wish to have some appoint- ment in the army — young in the art of war, my views are by no means ambitions ; to you I submit it, to place me in any situation, that in your judgment shall be best. Should I be fortunate enough to obtain an appointment ; I can affirm a full determination of doing my duty, for by so doing only, can a Officer expect to gain respect. My health is much as it was when you left us, every now and then having a re- turn of the ague which prevents my gaining flesh or strength tho I am happy to inform you I am nearly restored to the perfect use of my eye.

"The family joins me in best wishes for your health, and safe returne. I am dear Uncle your affectionate nephew

Lawrence Lewis."

The next letter of Lawrence to Washington is dated 10 Jan. 1799 at Charlestown, — which was founded bj Charles Washington.

' ' I have this day been to see my Uncle Charles and family ; was happy to find his health much better than it had been rej^resented to me on the Eode up, he has been very unwell ever since the Winter commenced, but at present is as well as his mode of living will ad- mit. My Aunt is in good health ; and with my Uncle desires to be remembered to you and my Aunt.

" As I now flatter myself, no objection as to the state of health can be made to my union with Miss Eleanor on the 22ud of Feb'' y (the day first fixt on by us) that my dear uncle's concurrence will not be want- ing as to the time proposed and that he will excuse my appearance one week sooner at Mount Vernon, than the time which was thought necessary for my journey."

Lawrence's desire to be married on the General's birthday was fulfilled.

Ix HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

The next letter was written to Kobert Lewis while he was at Mount Vernon, date Pliiladelphia 7 March 1793.

"I would not have you seek (at least apparently) Major Harrison ; but if you should, or could conveniently fall in with him soon, and without forcing the conversation, talk to him again on the subject of his land adjoining me, and extract anything farther from him on the subject thereof that might be useful to me, I should be glad to know it. The enclosed letter to Mr. (?) from Mr. Chichester, the only per- son (except Thomson Mason, his son in law, who also has poor ten- anted land adjoining Harrisons) that can in my opinion step forward as a competitor, shows his ideas of the value of it ; — but altho' this may be the intrinsic worth, yet, circumstances considered, I would give more for it, if it is unincumbered with leases, than the sum therein ment'' or would give by way of Exchange lands in Kentucky for it.

"I expect to be at home before the S"" of April — and shall probably take Fairfax Court (which I think is on the 15 "" of that month) on my way back to this city — between these dates if Mr. Harrison would call upon me at Mount Vernon with his Papers the bargain if made at all might be concluded. I cannot, as I expect to take the meeting of the Commas of the Federal District at George Town (about the first of Apr' ) will be at home before the S"', nor will public business allow me to stay there longer than the 15'^'' ; The last being necessary on ace' of the Will of my dec' Nephew Major Washington which I expect will be proved at that time. I shall come home alone, for these purposes and to look into some matters of my own which re- quire attention."

After leaving Mount Yernon Robert Lewis resided in Fau- quier, and was Washington's financial agent and collector. The following is an extract from one of Washington's letters to him :

" Mount Vernon 7"> Ocf 1795 " As land has risen so much, and so suddenly in its price, and my rents bear no proportion thereto ; I shall insist, and beg that you will see, not only that the rents are punctually paid, but that all the cove- nants in the leases, with res}Dect to buildings, planting orchards, mak- ing meadows, reserving certain proportions of the land in wood &c. &c. are strictly comjjlied with — and I further desire that in cases of life leases, where the occupant can give you no satisfactory evidence

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Ixi

of the existence of tlie lives of the persons therein named, that ejectm' may be brought in order to make them come forward with their proofs ; — for these leases will never expire if vague information is received & credited, of the lessees being in Kentucky, or the lord knows where. — Another thing too I would have minutely looked into, and that is, where there has been a change in the occupants from the original Lessees to know by what authority it has happened ; for if I recollect the terms of my Leases there can be no alienation of the property without the consent of the landlord under his hand (and I believe) seal."

"When her youngest son Howell, against her wishes, insisted on going to the Kanawha, Betty Lewis gave him a box on the ear with her right hand and a well-filled purse with the other. She was alone at 63, and went to reside with her daughter Betty (Mrs. Charles Carter) at " Western Yiew," Culpeper. " I am persuaded," Washington wrote her (7 April 1796) you will enjoy more ease and quiet, and meet with fewer vexations where you are now than where you did live. It is my sincere desire that you should do so and that your days should be happy. In this Mrs. Washington joins." I am informed by Capt. H. Howell Lewis of Baltimore, her great- grandson, that Betty Lewis, while superintending some work on a mill, one stormy day, contracted a cold, and died 31 March 1797. Her grave is at Western Yiew. Her daughter Carter died in 1829 at " Audley," residence of her brother Lawrence Lewis.

The Old Yirginia gentleman was driven by a hunger for land difficult of modern comprehension. It was a time in which estates voted, rather than men. Washington was brought up under the influences that stimulated the passion for land. The marriage of his half-brother, Lawrence, with a Fairfax brought him in contact with the grand estate of the landed proprietary of the ^Northern Neck. While sur- veyor of Lord Fairfax he made acquaintance of the finest lands, many of which he ultimately owned.

Lawrence, son of Capt. Augustine Washington, mari'ied in

Ixii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

tlie year of his father's death. He (Lawrence) d. 1752 leav- ing a wife and child {dau.\ the latter dying soon after. In accordance with Capt. Augustine's Will the estate thus passed to George, but the widow of Lawrence, who presently m. Geo. Lee, Clork of Westmoreland, had a life-interest in it. She d. 1761. In Liber C, p. 822, of the Land Kecord Books of Fairfax Co., Ya., is recorded a Deed dated 17 Dec. 1754 between Geo. Lee and Ann his wife, and Geo. Washington of King George County.

"We parties of the first part grant to the party of the second part the life interest of Ann Lee, widow of Lawrence Washington, in two parcels of land, one situate on Little Hunting Creek, the other on Dogue Creek in Fairfax, of which Lawrence Washington died seized, also one Water Grist Mill, also certain Slaves — in consideration that Geo Washington during the natural life of Ann Lee, do each year pay to her husband, Geo Lee— on the 25th December the sum or quan- tity of fifteen thousand pounds of tobacco in fifteen hogsheads, to be delivered at one or some of the Warehouses in the Co of Fairfax, or as much current money of Virginia in lieu thereoff as will be equal thereto at twelve (12) shillings & six pence current money, for every hundred weight of tobacco. At the election of the said Geo. Wash- ington, his heirs or assigns (the first rent to grow due 25 Dec.) " Then follows a provision for reduction in case any of the negroes die.

This drain of nearly a hundred pounds, during the first seven years of his occupancy, helped to keep Washington's purse low, notwithstanding the fortune brought him by the widow Custis in 1759. This has been estimated at $100,000, and was certainly large, yet Washington writes (1763) that his expenses had swallowed up "all the money I got by marriage, nay more, brought me in debt, and I believe I may appeal to your own knowledge of my circumstances before."

This letter (printed in Ford's " Writings of Washington ") is written to Eobert Stewart to explain his inability to raise £400. In the Nation (19 Sep. 1889) Mr. Ford shows that in 1760 Washington paid quit-rents on 6,431 acres in the Northern Neck, and in 1769 on 12,260. But at this time

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Ixiii

Washington himself could hardly have told what his "Western lands amounted to. At his death he possessed 41,523 acres, 6 lots in Washington City, and others in Alexandria, Win- chester, and the Berkeley Springs. His lands lay in Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and ISTew York; these with his town lots, are estimated in his will at $489,135. Washington's supposed wealth, and his reputation for sagacity as a purchaser, became inconvenient. He had only to inquire the price of a piece of land to enhance its price. He was driven to stratagems. " Upon the whole," he writes to his brother Charles, " as you are situated in a good place for see- ing many of the Officers at different times I should be glad if you would (in a joking way rather that in earnest, at first) see what value they set on their lands." These lands were those donated by Gov. Dinwiddle to officers who had served against the French and Indians, — 200,000 acres. Washington's por- tion was 15,000 acres, on the Kanawha, and he purchased as much more from fellow-claimants. The claims were, indeed, of doubtful value, and even their validity was in suspense when the revolution broke out. For some years before the trouble began, Washington was anxious to sell some of his lands. In 1773, when the scheme for a trans- Allegheny em- pire was afloat, he advertised for sale 20,000 acres on the Ohio and the Kanawha, recommending them on account of "their contiguity to the seat of government which, it is more than probable, will be fixed at the mouth of the Great Ka- nawha."

It was at a later period that Washington came into posses- sion of his 5,000 acres in Green County, Kentucky. Writing in 1795, he speaks of the deeds having issued " several years ago." Both there and on the Kanawha his claims were some- times disputed and involved lawsuits, — one of these being with Col. Cresap, whose family always maintained that the famous speech of the Indian chief Logan, charging Cresap with the massacre of his family, was invented to prejudice

Ixiv HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

the case. To his nephew and agent in that region, Major George Lewis, he writes (27 Jnly 1795) concerning a rumor that somebody had sold a piece of his land :

"Mine I shall relinquish but for the full value of the land ; and if that value would be increased by the purchase of the 300 acres be- longing to Mr. "Wodron I hereby authorise you to make purchase uiDon the best terms you can."

It is interesting to note that Washington, conjointly with his friend Andrew Lewis, owned the first natural gas issue discovered.

" It is," Mr. Hale (Charleston, W. Va.) writes me, "on the line of a geological anticlinal axis, which crosses the river (Kanawha) and the valley at that point. All along the break in the strata, on this anticli- nal, the gas issued in larger or smaller quantities through the soil in the bottoms, and up through the river, and in Burning Spring Creek. It could be set afire and burn on the surface of the water. The Burn- ing Spring was the largest of any single issue of gas."

Washington and Andrew Lewis bought the tract (250 acres) on account of this curiosity. Traditions of his early visit to that region are still vivid there, — where indeed a num- ber of his near relatives settled and have left descendants.

There is at Berkeley Springs, W. Ya., a White Elm, of 21 ft. 6 in. circumference, — the survivor of two said to have been planted by Washington. Mr. E. B. Pendleton of that place writes me :

"The Berkeley Springs were granted by Lord Fairfax to Virginia about 1765, and some ten years later a town was laid out. A number of persons of note, among them Washington, purchased lots and built upon them. My own house is built upon the exact spot on which stood the house of Charles CaiToU, and the Washington lot is imme- diately across the street, — within my recollection a portion of the chimney was standing. Washington visited the Springs many sum- mers, coming in a coach-and-four, and with his servants. My two gi'andfathers, one of whom was an original trustee named in the Act of Assembly as to the Springs, also my father, visited the Springs

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Ixv

annually. They knew Washington in daily life. I am now seventy, and from infancy was brought every year to the Springs— so I am not so very far from the shadows of those days."

At a later period of life Washington's early visions of Westward empire abated somewhat, and he was only willing- to purchase land near Mount Yernou. This estate of 2,500 acres grew under him to 10,000 acres, with a river front of 10 miles.

The saying that Washington was denied children that the nation might call him Father has far-reaching significance. From the hour in which he took command of the Colonial armies at Cambridge a paternal sentiment towards his soldiers is discoverable, and to his officers, as if all belonged to the circle of his Aids which he called " My Family." But for the personal sympathy with his soldiers in their grievances, while he repressed their rebellions, the revolution might have recoiled on itself. He thanks Col. Return Jonathan Meigs (26 May 17S0) for suppressing a meeting of soldiers, but adds:

"Meeting, as you very properly observe, cannot in any case be justified, but still, if the Commissaries, by a partiality of issues, have in any degree given ground of complaint, they shall be called to an account, and made to answer for it."

Another letter loaned me by John Meigs Esq. was in reply to a request from Col. Meigs for leave of absence, which was for the purpose of marriage, though that was not stated hi the request. It is dated at Peek's Kill, 4 Aug. 1780.

" I have received Your letter of this date and am exceedingly sorry that any events should occur to require you to be absent from the Army. I am convinced that those on which you have founded your request are of a delicate and interesting nature, or that you would not have made it. In this view I cannot but consent to your going home, and I will not undertake to limit the day of your return. I am persuaded it will be as soon as circumstances will admit and I have

Ixvi HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

only to add my wislies, tliat you ray find that to be such, as to justify it immediately."

ISTotliing can exceed the delicacy of these notes, and the personal sentiment playing between the sentences. Long after the revolution was over Washington cherished the intimate relations established with his comrades, consulting them in domestic matters, and manifesting personal gratitude to' them. Among these was Col. Tench Tilghman, several of Washing- ton's letters to whom are in the memoir of that officer (Al- bany: J. Munsell. 1876). A letter of Washington to his brother, Jno. Augustine, loaned me by Walter R. Benjamin of Xew York, touches his friendship with Col. Tilghman, and other matters and persons mentioned in this volume. It is from Mount Yernon 30 June 1784, and relates to his brother's wish to have his son Corbin enter on mercantile life.

" On Sunday last I received an answer from Mr. Morris to the letter I wrote him whilst you were here. Enclosed is an extract of it with a copy of the letter referred to. [Damaged.] Whether New York would be equally agreeable to you as Philadelphia — and whether the terms of Mr. Constable are usual and pleasing, is with you to determine, — and the sooner you can do this the better. Had Mr. Morris carried on business in the manner I expected, and as he formerly did, the ad- vantage of entering your son with him most undoubtedly would have been great, because his mercantile knowledge and connections really exceed that of any other person's upon this Continent. . . . There is a Gentleman there, [in Maryland] also connected with Mr. Morris in Trade, at Baltimore, who I know to be as worthy a man in every point of view as any that lives ; but whether he is moving upon a large scale or a small one — whether he has an opening that would admit a youth — and upon what terms, I am ignorant. — The Gentleman I mean is Lieut. Col° . Tilghman who was in my family as an Aid de Camp and Secretary the whole War ; and in the mercantile line many years be- fore it. — If he can oblige me, with any kind of convenience to himself, I am sure he would ; and if you approve it, and I should upon enquiry, find he is not in a i^iddling way (which can scarcely be presumed from his connection with Mr. Morris) I would write to him on the subject and shall be sure of a candid decision.

HISTOEICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Ixvii

"My family, at present, are all well but our intermittent months are not yet arrived. — I have come to a determination if not prevented by unforeseen events to make a visit to my Lands on the western waters this Fall, and for that purpose shall leave home the first of September. — Many are hinting their wishes and others making direct applications to be of the party, but as I neither [a clause illegible] others to follow me in these pursuits — nor satisfaction to myself to be in company with those who would soon get tired and embarrass my movements, besides rendering them inconvenient. — Thus much in general — but if Bushrod's health will permit, and it does not interfere with his studies, or j^lan of settlement for the practice of the Law, I would take him with me with pleasure — Only Dr. Craik besides, will go with me. — He would require only a Servant and a Blanket or two — everything else I shall provide unless he should chuse to carry a Gun for his amusement as he would more than probably see abundance of Game."

The lands to which Bnshrod accompanied his uncle — Dr. Craik and his son William being also of the party — were those on the Kanawha and Ohio, The journey is vividly de- scribed in Washington's Diary. He parted from his company several times, and several times lost his way. The following entries will be found interesting :

1784. Oct. 2. I set of very early from Mr. Lewis's who accompanied me to the foot of the blew ridge at Swift run gap, 10 miles, where I bated and proceeded over the mountain — dined at a pitiful house 14 miles farther where the roads to Fredericksburg (by Orange C House) and that to Culpeper Court House fork. — took the latter, tho in my judgment Culpeper Court House was too much upon my right for a direct course. — Lodged at a widow Yearly'" 12 miles fur- ther where I was hospitably entertained. 3d. Left Quarters before day and breakfasted at Culpeper Court house which was estimated 21 miles, but by bad direction I must have travelled 25, at least. Crossed Normans ford 10 miles from the Court H° and lodged at Capt° Ashby's. 4th. Having Capt" Ashby for a guide thro' the intricate part of the Eoad (which ought tho' I missed it to have been by Prince William Old Court H.) I arrived at Colchester, 30 miles, to Dinner, and reached home before sundown ; having travelled on the same horses since the first day of September by the computed distances 680 miles.

Ixviii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

" The widow Yearly " spoken of in this Diary is probably of the same family with Gen. Early. Concerning this dis- mal journey of Washington the story is told that he was com- pelled by the rain and darkness to ask shelter of the first liouse he reached. Its owner said they had no room, " but," he added, "you will find a doggery two miles farther." But just after the General had started on, the inhospitable forester caught sight of the servant. " What's your master's name ? " he asked. " General Washington." " Good God ! " cried the man, and bounding after Washington he entreated him to return. " You shall have my own room," he urged. " I'd rather go on to the doggery," was the reply. But he concluded to try an alternative of the doggery, and some miles farther knocked at a cottage. A maiden answered that their home was small, but she and her mother would do what they could. The travellers were made comfortable, Washington made himself entertaining, but not until morn- ing did he reveal his name. He then gave the young lady a gold guinea. Miss Early married in the West, where she was murdered for her ear-rings, which were made of Wash- ington's guinea.

The love of Washington for Mount Vernon recalls ro- mances of Charlemagne's attachment to his home at Aix-la- Chapelle, which was explained by the talisman given his'\ Queen to attract his love, and after her death lost in his park. / The fervor of a disappointed love seems to have transferred itself to this home of his childhood. On 6 Jan. 1759 he married the widow of Daniel Parke Custis, and daughter of John Dandridge. In reply to an invitation from Richard Washington to visit England he replies (20 Sept. 1759) : " I am now I believe fixd at this seat with an agreable Consort for Life. And hope to find more happiness in retirement than I ever experienced amidst a wide bustling world." He entered M'ith ardor into agriculture ; he invented a new plough ; he rode about his woods with a hatchet, not to cut

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Ixix

down trees but to mark such as appeared graceful enough to be planted near Mount Yernon mansion. His diary of 1760 is charming : Mrs. Washington with the measles, doctored by the llev. Charles Green (the same that Augustine had nomi- nated rector of Truro in 1737) ; the disorderly oystermen ; his carpenter, " Richd. Stephens " found actually at work — " very extraordinary this ! " the " Bread and Butter ball at Alexandria " ; the 3'oung woman " whose name was unknown to any body in this family " dining there ; his pretty regu- lar attendances at church, but never any remark on the ser- mons ; " my Young peach trees were wed according to order " ; — every sentence is alive !

When he is dragged away by war from his beloved home his heart still roams there. He still hopes to drive about the old roads, and in a good American chariot, — the gilded Eng- lish one of 1768 having proved an imposition, — and to have his paper money all turned to gold. So he, and his wife dream in the dark days at Morristown, whence (15 April 1780) he writes to his dear Lund :

" I have ordered a chariot to be made in Phil". — The price £210 in specie, or Paper equivalent — have you any ways or means of coming at the former by your traffic with Mr. Hooe or other ? The difierence between specie and Paper in Phil* some little time ago was 60 or 70 — I have heard it is now 50, but if you could engage the first, that is specie, by your produce I should think it much more eligible than to do it with Paper — not only because the latter is so fluctuating but because it must (in the nature of things) grow better if it continues to pass. . . . Things in this quarter are nearly in the situation as when I last wrote. Mrs. Washington joins me in best wishes to you and yrs."

The " Old Brick Barn " at Mount Yernon is traditionally, and no doubt truly ,^ of an antiquity beyond 150 years. It may even have been built by the General's grandfather. AYhere his father dwelt it is difficult now to conjecture, as the General would allow no dilapidated buildings to remain. An

Ixx HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

old house stood where Washington built his greenhouse in which possibly the four years of his childhood there were passed. The central part of the mansion was built by Law- rence, his half-brother (1743-4) for his bride, Anne Fairfax. In 1784 the General began his reconstructions, — in the inter- est of beauty mainlj'. His respect for solid things sometimes checked his aesthetic sentiment, as is shown in a letter (sent me by Prof. Maupin), dated 15 Jan. 1784, to Bushrod Wash- ington.

"When I came to examine the Chimney pieces in this House, I found them so interwoven with the other parts of the Work, and so good of their kind, as to induce me to lay aside all thoughts of taking any of them down — for the only room which remains unfinished I am not yet fixed in my own mind, but believe I shall place a marble one there. — at any rate I shall susj^end the jmrchase of any of those men- tioned in your letter, and would not wish Mr. Eoberts to hold either of them in exiiectation of it."

Mrs. Broadwell, Yice-Kegent of Mount Vernon for Ohio, has had copied for me a neat drawing made by Washington of the piazza floor, with indication of the tiles needing repair. He was pained by any article that was not beautiful. When entertaining at Princeton the president of Congress and other eminent guests in his marquee, after the tidings of peace, the wine was served in cups. Some one remarked that the maker of the cups had turned Quaker preacher : Washington regretted that he had not turned Quaker preacher before he made the cups. From sheer taste Washington took under his own charge tlie costuming of the family, the china, the furniture. A letter to Gen. Robert Ridgvvay (in the Wo- burn Mass. Library), written from Princeton 12 Sep. 1783, just after using the ugly cups, goes minutely into particular kinds of wine glasses, finger glasses, decanters, butter-boats, tureens, and other wares desired for Mount Vernon.

But Washington loved to have these small objects around him significant in a high sense. I remarked on the cufE-but-

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Ixxi

tons engraved for bis inauguration only twelve stars. Prob- ably wben tliey were ordered he supposed that only Rhode Island, and not North Carolina also, would be out of the con- stitutional galaxy. . Mr. Dreer showed me a note to Col. Tench Tilghnian, Baltimore, desiring him to meet an in- coming ship (from China) and buy for him dishes, bowls, muslin, handkerchiefs, to each of which is added an asterisk, and the words, " With the badge of the Society of the Cin- cinnati—if to be had." A good many small objects were presents, of course, such as the button with " G. W." at the centre of thirteen rings, and the motto " Long live the Presi- dent ! " preserved, with his draped funeral candles, in the Masonic Temple, Alexandria. Washington sought far and near for new things, — new ploughs, vegetables, trees, pigs, — and nothing that might adorn Mount Yernon escaped his far- reaching eye. He writes to his dear Gen. Knox (28 Feb. 1785 :)

" In tlie course of your literary disputes at Boston (on the one side to drink tea in company and to be social and gay, on the other to im- pose restraints which at no time even were agreeable and in these days of more liberty and indulgence never will be submitted to) I perceived and was most interested by something which was said respecting the composition for a public walk, which also ap^Dears to be one of the exceptionable things."

He makes minute inquiries about this composition, being on the lookout for something of the kind, with the probable result that the " Lovers Walk " of Boston Common was an- ticipated at Mount Vernon.

During all the improvements Mount Yernon appears to have had room for guests. There was a steady invasion of Mount Yernon by the English, after the Revolution, and among these were literary visitors whom Washington always welcomed. "Mrs. Macauley Graham and Mr. Gra- ham and others have just left this after a stay of about ten days. A visit from a lady so celebrated in the literary

Ixxii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

world could not but be very satisfactory to me." (To Gen. Knox 18 June 1785.) From the defects of early education "Washington, with his genius for writing, set the highest value on literature. This led to his friendship with Jon- athan Boucher, and made him hold the Harvard tutor of the Custis children (Tobias Lear) as equal of the most eminent guest, — introducing him to Arthur Young as one for whom he had " a particular friendship." In this di- rection Mount Yernon was ahead of other grand mansions. It is probable that the honor most valued by Washington was his Chancellorship of William and Mary College in 1778, — the year in which a student of his name (Bushrod Washing- ton) for the first time appeared on the catalogue. Apart from the momentous matter of Slavery Washington was re- markably advanced in his social ethics. In his contempt for duelling, his exaltation of the educator, a fear of formalism (insomuch that grace was not said at his table), a taste for elegance in dress and decoration, and in his cosmopolitan ideas generally, Washington was all the more singular because of the association of these things in him with a just appreci- ation of etiquette, dislike of finery, and religious reverence. His conservatism outside of his mental habitat, — for instance in politics, — has caused him to he misjudged. Otherwise lie had little sympathy with those who, as he wrote Landon Car- ter, were content to tread the path their fathers trod. One thing should be mentioned as an anticipation of higher civil- ization : the Mount Vernon Doctor gained nothing by his patients — he was salaried. His cosmopolitan ideas are repre- sented in many letters, among them in one to Dr. Priestley (14 April 1796) in which he expresses the opinion that the Act of 1793 " to promote the progress of useful arts " should be altered so as to extend equal advantages to foreigners.

The following selections from Washington's Diaries convey an idea of his Mount Yernon life, and have bearing on the persons and places elsewhere mentioned in this volume.

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Ixxlii

1760. Jan. 5. Mrs. Washington appeared to be something better — Mr. Green, however, came to see her abt. 11 o'clock, and in an hour Mrs. Fairfax arrived. [This physician was that same Kev. Mr. Green who was made Eector of Truro on the nomination of Washington's father, as already related, remaining such from 1737 to 1765.]

12th. Set out with Mrs. Bassett on her journey to Port Eoyal. . . . Lodgd at Mr. McCraes in Dumfries sending the horses to the Tavern. Here I was inform' d that Col. Cocke was disgusted at my House and left it because he see an old negi-o there resembling his own Image.

[The Diary shows Washington leaving Mrs. Bassett with her hus- band at Port Eoyal, then setting out with the Eev. Mr. Gibourne, who married a Fauntleroy, dining at Col. Carter's, lodging at Col. Champe's.]

16th. I parted with Mr. Gibourne, leaving Col. Champes before the Family was stirring, and abt 10 reachd my mothr. where I break- fasted and then went to Fredericksburg with my brother Sam who I found there. . . . was disai^pointed of seeing my sister Lewis. . . . returned in ye Evening to Mother's ; all alone with her.

25th. [at Mount Vernon] Wrote to my old servant Bishop to return to me again. [This was the man confided by Braddock to Washing- ton.]

Feb. 15. Went to a ball at Alexandria, where Musick and dancing was the chief Entertainment however in a convenient room detached for the purpose abounded great plenty of bread and butter, some biscuits, with tea and coffee which the drinkers of could not dis- tinguish from hot water Sweetened. I shall therefore distinguish this ball by the stile and title of the Bread & Butter Ball.

April 4 Made another plow the same as my former [one of his own invention] excepting that it has two eyes and the other one.

April 9. Doctr Laurie came here, I may add drunk. [Dr. L. at- tended Washington's hands for £15 per annum.]

10. Mrs. Washington was blooded by Doctr Laurie who stay'd all night.

1763. March 21. Grafted 40 cherrys, viz. 12 Bullock Hearts (a large black May Cherry), 18 very fine May Cherry, 10 Cornation. Also grafted 12 Magnum Bonum Plums. Also planted 4 Nuts of the Med- iterranean Pame in the Pen where the Chesnut grows — sticks by East. Note, the Cherrys and Plums came from Coll" Mason's Nuts from Mr. Gr [een's.] Set out 55 cuttings of the Madeira Grape. . . . These ^ from Mr. Green's. [Other entries are of the grafting or j^lanting of Si^anish Pears, Butter Pears, Black Pear of W^orcester, " Bergamy

Ixxiv HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

Pears," New Towu Pippins, — from Col. Mason wlio had them "from Mr. Presid' Blair," — and " grajjes from Mr. Digges."j

1770. Aug. 2 [Fredericksburg.] Met the officers of the first Virg.» Troops at Cap' Weedon's, where we dined, and did not finish till about sunset. Mrs. Washington and Patsy dined at Col. Lewis's where we lodged.

4. Dined at the Barbecue with a great deal of Company and stay'd there till sunset. [On another occasion he sisends "ye evening at Weedons at y^ Club," in Fredericksburg.]

1772. Sep. 14. Set out for Fredericksburg about 7 o'clock. Dined and Fed my Horses at Peyton's on Acquia, and reach'd Fredericksburg abt Dusk. Lodged at my Mothers.

15. Eid to my two Plantations on the Kiver [Eap'k] and returned to Mr. Lewis's to Dinner. Spent ye evening at Weedons.'

1785. Oct. Sunday 2. "Went with Fanny Bassett, Burwell Bassett, Doct^ Stuart, G: A. Washington, Mr. Shaw, & Nelly Custis to Po- hick Church ; to hear a Mr. Thompson preach, who returned home with us to Dinner, where I found the Eev^ Mr. Jones, formerly a Chaplain in one of the Pennsylvania Regiments. After we were in Bed (about eleven o'clock in the Evening) Mr. Houdon, sent from Paris by Doct'. Franklin and Mr. Jefferson to take my Bust, in behalf of the State of Virginia, with three young men assistants, introduced by a Mr. Parin a French Gentleman of Alexandria, arrived here by water from the latter place."

[He observes and gives an extended descrijotion of Houdon's prep- aration of the ' Plaister of Paris.' Houdon finished his work and left on the 19th.] ^

26th. Having received by the last Northern Mail advice of the ar- rival at Boston of one of the Jack asses presented to me by His Cath-

' These entries of 1772 suggest that his mother was then residing in Fred- ericksburg.

'^ An earlier bust, by Wright, is mentioned in the letter to Mrs. Wright referred to on p. xvii. "If the Bust which your son has modelled of me, should reach your hands and afford your celebrated Genii any emplo\'ment, that can amuse Mrs. Wright, it must be an honor done me.^ — and if your inclination to return to this Country should overcome other considerations you will, no doubt, meet a welcome reception from your numerous friends : among whom, I should be proud to see a person so universally celebrated, and on whom nature has bestowed such rare and uncommon gifts." The wonderful bust by Echstein, made late in Washington's life, is owned by Frederick McGuire, of Washington.

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Ixxv

olic Majesty, I sent my overseer John Fairfax to conduct him and his Keeper, a Spaniard, home safe.

Dec. 7. Capt". Sullivan, of a Ship at Alexandria, agreeably to my request, came here to dinner to interpret between me and the Spaniard who had the care of the Jack ass sent me. My questions and his answers resi^ecting the Jack are committed to writing.

1785. Dec. 17. "Went to Alexandria to meet the Trustees of the Acade- my in that place — and offered to Vest in the Lands of the said Trustees when they are permanently established by charter, the sum of one thousand pounds, the Tuterest of which only to be apijlied toward the establishment of a Charity School for the education of Orphans and other poor children. — which offer was accej)ted ; returned again in the evening — Roads remarkably wet and bad.

1786. March 19. (Sunday) A Gentleman calling himself the Count de Cheiza D'artiguan Officer of the French Guards came here to din- ner ; but bringing no letters of introduction, nor any authentic testi- monials of his being either ; I was at a loss how to receive or treat him.— he stayed dinner and the evening.

Tuesday 21st. The Count de Cheiza D'artignan (so calling himself) was sent, with my horses, to-day, at his own request, to Alexand' .

May 5. Surveyed 4 mile run tract accdg to a Plat made by Jno Hough 1766 in presence of Col. Carlyle & Jas Mercer. Staid night at Abingdon. [Trespassers on this tract are mentioned.]

May 29. About 9 o'clock Mr. Tobias Lear, who had been previously engaged on a salary of 200 dollars, to live with me as a private Secre- tary & precepter for Washington Custis a year came here from New Hampshire, at which place his friends reside.

June 4. Sunday. Eeceived from on board the Brig Ann, from Ire- land, two servant men for whom I agreed yesterday — viz — Thomas Eyan, a shoemaker, and Cavan Bowen a Tayler Redemptioners for 3 years service by Indenture if they could not pay each the sum of £12 ster? which sums I agreed to pay

Western Lands attended to by Major Freeman.

Sept. 16. On my return home found the Attorney General [Ed- mund Randolph] his Lady and two children ; and Mr. Charles Lee here. — the last returned to Alexandria after dinner under a promise to come down to dinner tomorrow and that he would ask Mr. Herbert, Col" Fitzgerald & others to dine here also. [The Randolphs left on the 18th.]

Nov. 11. [Learns of arrival at Baltimore of 3 asses and some Chinese pheasants and French partridges from France sent by Lafayette.]

Lxxvi HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

25. Bought the time of a Dutch family, consisting of a man by pro- fession a Ditcher, mower &c» — a "Woman his wife a Spinner, washer, milker, and their child— names : Daniel Overdursh, Margaret Over- dursh, Anna Overdursh.

1787. Jan. 10. I received by express the ace' of the sudden death (by a fit of the Gout in the head) of my beloved Brother Col° Jno. Aug" Washington. At home all day.

March 3. The Eev. M. Weems and y" Doct' Craik who came here yesterday in the afternoon left this about Noon for Port TobS

March 6. On my return home found Col" [Burgess] Ball here — and soon after dinner Mr. G. W. Lewis son to Mr. Fielding Lewis of Frederick came in.

April 24. Major G. "Washington's Child which had been sick since Sunday, and appearing to be very ill occasioned the sending for the Eev. Mr. Massey to christen it who arriving about 5 o'clock performed the ceremony. 25. The Major s child dying betw° 7 & 8 o'clock a.m. Mr. Massey stayed to bury it.

26. Eeceiving an express between 4 & 5 o'clock this afternoon in- forming me of the extreme illness of my Mother and Sister Lewis's I resolved to set out for Fredericksburgh by daylight in the morning.

27. About sunrise I commenced my journey as intended — Bated at Dumfries, and reached Fredericksburg before two o'clock and found both my mother and sister better than I expected — the latter out of danger as is supposed, but the extreme low state in W^ the former was left little hope of her recovery as she was exceedingly reduced and much debilitated by age and the disorder. Dined and lodged at my Sister's.

28. Dined at Mrs. Lewis's and Drank Tea at Judge Morcers ; — Gen' "Weedon, Col. Ch» Carter, Judge Mercer, and Mr. Jno. Lewis and his wife dined with me at my Sister's.

Sunday, 29th. Dined at Col° Charles Carter's — and drank tea at Mr. John Lewis's.

30th. Set out about sunrise on my return home.

[In "Washington's Journal while attending the Constitutional Con- vention the only extended entries relate to agricultural observations in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, and a machine of Dr. Franklin's, excepting an entry on the close of the Convention.]

1788 June 9. Capt" Barney, in the Miniature ship Federalist — as a present from the merchants of Baltimore to me arrived here to Break- fast with her and stayed all day & night. Eemained at home all day.

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Ixxvii

June 10. Between 9 and 10 o'clock set out for Fredericksburgh ac- companied by Mrs. Washington on a visit to my Mother — Made a visit to Mr. and Mrs. Thompson in Colchester— & reached Col« Black- burns to dinner, where we lodged — he was from home — the next morning, about sunrise we continued our journey — breakfasted at Stafford Court House and intended to have dined at Mr. Fitzhugh's of Chatham but he & Lady being from home we proceeded to Fred- ericksburgh—alighted at my Mothers and sent the Carriage and horses to my Sister Lewis's — where we dined and lodged — as we also did the next day, the first in company with Mr. Fitzhugh, Col" Carter, & Col" Willis and their Ladies, & Gen' Weedon — The day following (Friday) we dined in a large Company at Mansfield (Mr. Man Page's)— on Satur- day we visited Gen' Spotswoods dined there and returned in the Even, ing to my sisters — On Sunday we went to Church — the Congregation being alarmed (without cause) and suppos? the Gallerys at the N" End was about to fall were thrown into the utmost confusion ; and in the precipitate retreat to the doors many got hurt.' — Dined in a large Company at Col" Willis's — where, taking leave of my friends, we re- crossed the Eiver, and spent the evening at Chatham — The next morn- ing before five o'clock we left it — travelled to Dumfries to breakfast— and reached home to a late dinner and found Capt" Barney had left it about half an hour before for Alexandria to proceed in the Stage of Tomorrow for Baltimore.

28. [Attends rejoicing at Alexandria on ratification of the Constitu- tion by Virginia and New Hampshire.]

Nov. 14. [Engages a German gardener : beginning with £10, and adding a pound annually up to £15 ; house and food for himself and wife, — but no clothes.]

Sept. 17. This day agreed with my overseer Powell at the lower Plantation on Eappa'^ to continue another year on the same lay as the last provided the number of hands are not Increased — but, if I should add a hand or two more, and let him (as I am to do at any rate) choose 5 of the best Horses at that Quarter & the upper one he is in that case to receive only the 8"" of what Corn, Wheat, & Tob° he makes on the Plantation. [The " Little Falls " farm. See p. xxxii.j

' The gallery was new and one beam had not been properly fitted ; it fell into its place under weight of the crowd attracted by Washington, with a loud report. The late Judge Lomax remembered the calmness of Wash- ington, who remained seated ; tradition says that his quietness somewhat restrained the rush and prevented further injuries.

Ixxviii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

As some portions of Washington's letters to Pearce may suggest closeness in money matters, it should be stated that his charities were known to liis agents.

" I had orders from Gen. Washington," says Peake " to fill a corn- house every year, for the sole use of the poor in my neighborhood, to whom it was a most seasonable and precious relief, saving numbers of poor women and children from extreme want, and blessing them with plenty. . . . He owned several fishing stations on the Potomac, at which excellent herring were caught, and which, when salted, proved an important article of food to the poor. For their accommo- dation he appropriated a station — one of the best he had — and fur- nished it with all the necessary apparatus for taking herring. Here the honest poor might fish free of expense, at any time, by only an application to the overseer ; and if at any time unequal to the labor of hauling the seine, assistance was rendered by the order of the Gen- eral."

In the accounts of Robert Lewis, while his uncle's agent, (shown me by his grand-daughter Mrs. Ella B. Washington) strictness in demands is accompanied by considerate giving. On 22 Feb. 1795 he writes :

" Mrs. Haynie should endeavour to do what she can for herself ; — this is the duty of every one. But you must not let her suffer, as she has thrown herself upon me ; your advances on this account will be allowed always at settlement ; and I agree readily to furnish her with provisions ; and from the good character you give of her daughter, make the latter a present, in my name, of a handsome but not costly gown, and other things which she may stand mostly in need of. You may charge me also with the worth of your tenement on which she is placed ; and where perhaps it is better she should be than at a greater distance from your attentions to her."

On 26 June 1796 he writes from Mount Yernon :

"I am soiTy to hear of the death of Mrs. Haynie; and will very cheerfully receive her daughter the moment I get settled at this place. Let her want for nothing that is decent and proper, and if she remains in your family, I wish for the girl's sake, as well as for the use she may be to your aunt, when she comes here, that Mrs. Lewis would

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Ixxix

keep her industriously employed always, and instructed in the care and economy of housekeeping."

This Mrs. Haynie and her daughter were, indeed, distant relatives of Washington, but his cliarity was felt by many not his kindred.

It must be always borne in mind that extreme economy alone enabled Washington to meet the drain on his resources for cultivation of his estates, and for unstinted hospitalities which extended to the whole world. Moreover, though some- times impecunious Washington resolutely stood on his own legs. Judge Samuels of Virginia possesses a letter of Wash- ington to John F. Mercer soliciting a loan of $200, in order to pay a debt in Xew York. It was written in September

1786, when Washington was declining remuneration for his public services. In a letter to Warner Washington, 9 IS'ov.

1787, (owned by Herbert Washington of Philadelphia) he speaks of the "perplexed state" of his own affairs as pre- venting his acceptance of executorship under the will of Col. Fairfax. He borrowed money to go on to his first inaugura- tion.

On 15 March 1789 Washington answers an office-seeker :

" If the Administration of the New Government should inevitably fall upon me that I will go into oflSce totally free from pre-engage- ments of every nature whatsoever, and in recommendations to appoint- ments will make justice and the public good, my sole objects. Re- solving to pursue this rule invariably — I can add nothing more on the subject of your application until the time shall arrive when the merit and justice of every claim appears, when, so far as the matter dej^ends upon me, the principles above mentioned shall to the best of my judgment have their full operation."

This note (owned by Frederick McGuire of Washington) was only made more cordial for friends and relatives. He helped his young relatives forward but with avoidance of nepotism. He made them private secretaries, paid out of his own purse, employed them on his estates, but took them in

IXXX HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

public service only for posts of danger. When the President went out to suppress the " Whiskey Rebellion " five nephews went with him : Major George Lewis, Commandant of the Cavalry ; Major Lawrence Lewis, Aid to Gen. Morgan ; How- ell Lewis, in Capt. Mercer's troop ; Samuel, son of Col. Charles Washington, and Lawrence, son of Col. Samuel Washington, being light horsemen. In the diary of Surgeon General Wellford, (sent me by his grandson. Judge Wellford of Richmond) occurs the following entry concerning an inci- dent at Bedford :

" Sunday Oct. 19, 1794. The Cavalry this morning escorted the President about five miles from the Camp, when he requested his troops to return, and at taking leave spoke to Major George Lewis as follows : ' ' George, you are the eldest of five nephews I have in the army ; let your conduct be an esamjple to them, and do not turn your back until your are ordered." Major Lewis made a suitable reply ; but from this address of the President it was conjectured that the troops would not be entirely disbanded at the end of three months

Washington's relation to his kindred was patriarchal, even beyond those whom he may be said to have adopted, — namely his wife's two children and three grandchildren, and three children of his brother Samuel. The terms on which his nephews M^ere with Washington are illustrated by many humorous anecdotes.

The Rev. Dr. McGuire reports the following in the words of his father-in-law (Robert Lewis, nephew of Washington.)

" While acting as his agent I accidentally ascertained that he owned a tract of land in county, of which he had given me no ac- count. Some short time after the discovery, being on a visit to Mount Vernon, with my family, I mentioned the fact to him, at which he seemed to be at a loss, expressing his surprise that such a claim should have escaped him. "When the conversation had ended, I re- marked, in a jocular tone, that I had had a singular dream about that land, a few nights before. He asked me what it was. I replied that

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Ixxxi

I had dreamed he had made me a present of the tract. He smiled, and observed that my dreaming knack was a very convenient one, but why did I not dream at once that he had given me Mount Vernon ? A few days after this, in setting out for my residence, the General ac- companied myself and wife to the carriage, when, in taking leave of us, he jDut into my hands a small slip of paper, requesting me to ex- amine it at my leisure. Thinking it probably contained memoranda of some kind relating to my agency I put it into my pocket, and did not look at it for some time. When I did so, however, I was sur- prised to find that, in the space of six written lines, he had made me a conveyance of the land in county. The tract contained up- ward of eleven hundred acres."

Robert Lewis's grand-daughter, Mrs. Ella Bassett Wash- ington, tells me that this conveyance of six lines was kept framed, and often declared by lawyers as perfect a legal in- strument of its kind as could be written,

Washington's characteristic humility made demonstrative homage painful to him. Caleb Bentley walked behind the General in a procession, and, on his return home, said '• I felt as if in the presence of a God." This was told me by Mrs. Hichard Bentley, of Sandy Spring, Maryland, Caleb's daughter-in-law. I also heard that when Washington was riding through a village, where people had crowded to see him, he observed a little girl in distress because she could not get forward. He stopped his horse, and asked that the child should be brought to him ; he held her on his saddle, and she exclaimed, " Why he's only a man after all ! " Of course tradition has invented the appropriate reply, " Yes, child, a very imperfect man after all ! " The story has variants, and sounds like a fable of the humility and love of children ob- served in Washington. He would not claim any privileges. After he had retired from the presidency he was summoned for a petit jury in Fairfax, on an ordinary case, and served. The fact was not paraded, or noted, and is now, I believe, for the first time published.

The reader will have remarked, in a letter to Gen. Knox

Ixxxii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

{supra, p. Ixxi), Washington's comment on the censors of gaiety in Boston. It is wonderful that a man so fond of sports, of games and dances, should be popularly regarded as habitually grave, if not grim. It is this notion which re- moved him so far from us. Miss Ivatherine Wormeley told me that Washington had always been an un-mortal kind of being to her until she heard the aged Mrs. Lawrence Lewis (j^elly Custis) relate that once when she was sliding down the banisters he came out and "gave her a box on the cheek." That seemed to bring him closer. Kelly was his darling, he was paternally anxious lest she should be hurt, and the box was one of affection. In Washington's corre- spondence with Rev. Jonathan Boucher (printed in Lippin- eoWs Magazine, May 1889,) one may recognize the depriva- tions of his own early life in his anxiety that his adopted son John Custis shall be taught dancing, French, and all the polite accomplishments. The overmuch homespun of his boyhood is revealed in the fine costumes he orders from Lon- don for himself and others when he can afford it. He orders best house decorations, and a costly harpsichord for Nelly Custis. He was a whist player, a fox-hunter, and sometimes in late years amused himself with the land surveys once made for livelihood.

A valued correspondent, Dr. Cotton of Charleston, West Va., whose wife is a great-granddaughter of Augustine Wash- ington (the General's half-brother) permits me to print a let- ter of his (21 May 1889) though not written with that view. After stating that his wife's grandmother (Mrs. Fitzhugh) said it was spoken of at Mount Yernon as a popular error that Lawrence was the elder of Washington's half brothers, he writes :

I give you one of her reminiscences of Mt. Vernon. In her 12"' year she spent several weeks there in company with quite a number of young girls, her cousins, who with their mothers were invited guests of Mrs. "Washington. Every morning, precisely at eleven o'clock,

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Ixxxiii

" Lady Washington " would enter the drawing room, where all her guests young & old were expected to be present, waiting to receive her. In the most formal and dignified manner she would pass around the room shaking hands and addressing each one particularly ; then taking her seat would keep them just one houi* on their good be- havior. When the clock struck twelve she would arise, and bidding her guests good morning, ascend to her chamber, and again return, precisely at one, followed by a servant carrying an immense bowl of punch, of which each person was expected to partake before dinner. Now these young girls, curious to find out why her "Ladyship" in- variably retired to her chamber at this hour, secretly slipped out while she was entertaining their mothers, crej^t up stairs to her chamber, and hid under the bed. Presently Lady W. entered, and took her seat beside a large table in tlie centre of the room. Then came a man-servant bringing a large empty bowl ; with it also lemons, sugar, spices, and rum ; with which her Ladyship immediately proceeded to prepare the delicious drink with her own hands. The young people under the bed could not contain themselves, and by giggles made known their presence ; whereupon her Ladyship haughtily arose, in imperious tones demanded if their curiosity were fully satisfied, and ordered them out of the room. But they, retreating before her with backward steps, fell down the narrow, crooked, precipitous stairway, one of them breaking her arm. The impression left upon the mind of this young girl (afterward Mrs. Fitzhugh), never effaced up to her 91°' year, when she related this incident to her grandchildren, was that Mrs. Washington was too hard and overbearing to children, while, on the contrary, the General was always gentle with them, un- der the most trying circumstances. Often, when at their games in the drawing room at night, — perhaps romping, dancing and noisy — they would see the General watching their movements at some side door, enjoying their sport, and if at any time his presence seemed to check them, he would beg them not to mind him, but go on just as before, encouraging them in every possible way to continue their amusements to their hearts content.

Many letters show that Washington's young relatives con- snlted him on their intimate affairs. He was the confidant of their loves, and amid tremendous affairs of state found time to consider their romances. Here, for instance, is a note from his niece Harriot, whom he had adopted after lier father's

Ixxxiv HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

(Samuel Washington's) death, and who was living with her aunt Betty Lewis at Fredericksburg. Harriot writes (24 April, 1795) at the age of fifteen :

" How shall I apologize to my dear & Honor'd for intruding on his goodness so soon again but being sensible of your kindness to me which I shall ever remember with the most heartfelt gratitude in- duces me to make known my wants. — I have not had a pair of stays since I first came here if you could let me have a pair I should be very much obleiged to you and also a hat and a few other articles. I hope my dear Uncle will not think me extravagant for really I take as much care of my cloaths as I possibly can. I was very much pleased to hear by Mrs. Madison that you and Aunt Washington were perfect- ly well. I have been very sick lately with the ague and fever. Cou- sin Carter has been daingerously ill she was given out by the Doctors but is much better at present. Aunt Lewis joins me in love to you and Aunt Washington.

I am my dear and Honored Uncle

your affectionate Neice,

Harbiot Washington."

An interesting correspondence between Washington and his sister concerning this young lady is given in the Mag. Am. Hist. Jan., 1884. When Harriot consulted Washington about her desire to marry Mr. Parks he made careful inqui- ries about the gentleman. He consented, but regretted in a letter to his sister that Harriot could not have waited until his presidency was over, when she would have lived at Mount Yernon and enlarged her circle of male acquaintances.

Washington's camaraderie has already been mentioned. Masonic writers generally suppose that he was by distinction admitted to their Society before he was of age ; but the date, 4 Nov. 1752, was pretty certainly in the following year (N. S.) There was also a Club in Fredericksburg, mentioned in Washington's Diary as early as 1763, which met at " Wee- don's." Before the Eevolution Dr. Smyth, an English trav- eller, stopped at George Weedon's inn (" The Rising Sun ")

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. IxXXV

and found his host the head of a revolutionary circle. This no doubt was the Club. There Washington may have met in his time Gen. Hugh Mercer, Gen. Woodford, Gen. Weedon, Col. Wm. Fitzhugh, Col. Monroe, Col. John Spots- wood, Col. Fielding Lewis, Col. Burgess Ball, Major Charles Dick, Major Willis, and the Stafford Mercers, Masons, and Washingtons ; he no doubt met there young Paul Jones. Of these a goodly number survived the Revolution. Gen. Hugh Mercer (1720-1777) who had fought at Culloden, and by Washington's side under Braddock, had fallen at Princeton ; but in his old home at Fredericksburg, "The Sentry Box" (yet standing) his brother-in-law. Gen. Weedon, gathered the old comrades every year for a banquet in celebration of the capture of the Hessians. Gen. Hugh Mercer's little son, adopted by the nation, was brought in to sing to the veterans, responding with chorus, a ballad of " Christmas Day of '76." Among those who greeted Washington with especial warmth was Dr. Robert Wellford (afterwards Surgeon-General) founder of an eminent race. When the Revolution began Dr. Wellford had just begun practice in London. A Cabinet Minister, thrown from his carriage at the young surgeon's door, was so skilfully treated that he offered Wellford a po- sition with the army in America. He served with brilliant success in Philadelphia, during the British occupation of that city, but in consequence of orders he deemed inconsistent with his professional duties he resigned. Having saved the life of Col. John Spotswood he was persuaded to accompany him to Fredericksburg, — where he married. Thither he bore letters of Washington with results indicated in a let- ter before me, in which, on occasion of the Whiskey Re- bellion, Dr. Wellford offered gratuitous services — which were accepted.

"Eobert Wellford," says this letter, "can never forget a most re- spectfull regard for the President, nor can he relinquish but with niemoiy itself his gratitude for those introductory letters (to the

Ixxxvi HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

notice and friendship of Col. Fielding Lewis, Mr. Fitzhugh of Chat- ham, and other respectable characters) which settled him in life, and from which has resulted a practice in surgery and medicine which now enables him to support an amiable wife, two lovely daughters, and the means of educating six sons, every one of which, he hopes, at a future day will prove themselves valuable members of the United States."

Judge "Wellford of E-ichmond has shown me one of tliese letters, introducing his grandfather (6 July 17T8) to William Fitzhugh ; it speaks of "Wellford's "great humanity, care and tenderness to the sick and wounded of our army in cap- tivity."

Another name too little known to fame is Captain Bernard Gallagher, of maternal descent from Chancellor Nicholas Bacon. Disliking a parental plan for making him, the only son, a priest, he had escaped from Ballyshannon, Ireland, as a cabin boy, and when our revolution began, had risen to the command of his vessel. Captured by an American cruiser he adopted the cause of his captors. In 1T81 Capt. Gallagher, living at Dumfries, Prince William Co., Ya., loaded a vessel at Alexandria with corn to provision Yorktown, dropped down the river, and was chased by a British cruiser, which signalled that the cargo would be paid for if surrendered. But while parleying, the captain and crew scuttled their own ship. While attempting escape in the yawl. Captain Gal- lagher was captured, and held in chains at Halifax two years, in the prison ships, until the peace. Thereafter Washington was sometimes a guest of the Gallaghers, at Dumfries, and at the request of Mrs. Gallagher, {nee Strother,) sat for his por- trait.

It is this portrait, painted by C. W. Peale, which the gal- lant Captain's grandson. Rev. Mason Gallagher of Brooklyn, enables me to present in this volume. It was painted when Washington was fifty-five, his mouth being not yet dis- figured by the monstrous artificial teeth now in the Dental

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. Ixxxvii

Museum at Baltimore, by wliich tlie^standard portraits are affected.'

There were other old comrades in the neighborhood of Mount Yernon, — Dr. Craik, Col. Simms, Col, Fitzgerald, Col. Little, Lieut. Conway, and others who may be found in the Index of this work.

What sentiment Washington felt towards old friends is shown in many letters. The following from Philadelphia, 16 June 1793, is to William Fitzhugh Jr., and relates to his father, Col. William Fitzhugh of Chatham (known in the late Civil War as " Lacy's ").

" The China Bowl with which yotu- good Father was so obliging as to present me came safe and I beg you to assure him that I shall es- teem it more as a memento of his friendship than from its antiquity or size. — Not before the receipt of your letter, dated the 24th of last month, had I heard of the death of Mrs. Fitzhugh — on this melancholy event I pray you both to accept my sincere condolance. I also sin- cerely wish that the evening of his life although at present clouded de- prived of one of its greatest enjoyments, may be perfectly serene and haj)py : — that you will contribute all in your power to make it so I have no doubt. With great esteem and regard."^

In the last years of Washington's life the family was rep- resented in Westmoreland chiefly by a son of his half-brother Augustine, — William Augustine Washington. Bushrod, son of his brother John Augustine, was a rising lawyer in Rich- mond City ; and, since the separation from Edmund Ran-

' For the mask appended to this portrait the reader is indebted to Dr. Toner, by whom it was discovered while searching out a portrait for a medal in commemoration of the national monument. The medal was never struck, and the mask is here first published. It was used by Clark Mills, and is in the possession of one of his workmen. While Mills was making his equestrian statue, John Augustine Washington, the owner of Mount Vernon, loaned him Houdon's bust ; whether this mask was molded from it, or, as I think with Dr. Toner, an original matrix by Houdon, is not de- termined. But it is certaiialy an impressive representation of Washington.

^ For this and the remaining letters used In this Introduction I am in- debted to Mr. Luther Kountze.

Ixxxviii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

dolph, had attended to his uncle's law affairs. The two let- ters following relate to the selection of an academy for Will- iam Augustine's sons. He writes from Philadelphia (18 Feb. 1795) recommending Andover.

" There is a college at Carlisle in this State of which much is said but it is in much such a town as Fredericksburg, and liable, I presume to the objections you have made to the Academies in Virginia ; — that objection does not apply to the northern schools ; order, regularity and a proper regard to morals in and out of school is there very much attended to ; and besides Harvard College Boston is at hand for the completion of education if you should prefer it, and is, I am told, in high repute."

Andover was chosen, and Washington encloses (21 April 1795) letters of introduction to Hamilton and others.

"Enclosed I send you a few letters of introduction to some ac- quaintances of mine both in Boston and New York. I have not done this to the Governors thereof but think it would be proper that you should pay both the respect of Calling upon them. To get introduced could not be difficult with the letters that are enclosed."

Another letter from Mount Vernon (17 Dec. 1797) re- minds us painfully of alienations in the last years of Wash- ington's presidency. It was Mrs. Washington's letter to Mrs. Elizabeth Powell in Philadelphia, but every word of it is in her husband's handwriting, and evidently his composition.

" It was indeed, with sympathetic concern, we heard of the late calamitous situation of Philadelphia, and indisposition of some of your friends : — These occurrences, however, are inflicted by an invis- ible hand, as trials of our Philosophy, resignation and patience ; all of which it becomes us to exercise. .

"Poor M" Morris! I feel much for her situation; and earnestly pray that M'' Morris may, and soon, work through all his difficulties ; in which I am persuaded, that all who know him heartily join me ; as they do that their ease, quiet and domestic enjoyments, may be per- fectly restored. M" Marshalls arrival must be a comfort to them all,

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. IxxxiX

however disappointed she herself may be, in the apparent reverse of their situation, since she embarked for Europe. . . .

M' Fitzhugh and family, have, within the last fortnight, become residents of Alex'' and we should, 'ere this, have made them a con- gratulatoiy visit on the occasion, but the bad weather in which they travelled, has indisposed M'^ Fitzhugh so much, as to confine her to her room with an inflammation, more troublesome than dangerous.

" I am now, by desire of the General to add a few words on his be- half ; which he desires may be expressed in the terms following, that is to say, — that despairing of hearing what may be said of him, if he should really go ofif in an apoplectic, or any other fit (for he thinks all fits that issue in death are worse than a love fit, a fit of laughter, and many other kinds which he could name) — he is glad to hear before- hand what will be said of him on that occasion ; — conceiving that nothing extra : will happen between this and theix to make a change in his character for better, or for worse. — And besides, as he has entered into an engagement with M"" Morris, and several other Gentlemen, not to quit the theati'e of this world before the year 1800, it may be relied upon that no breach of contract shall be laid to him on that account, unless dire necessity should bring it about, maugre all his exertions to the contrary. — In that case, he shall hope they would do by him as he would do by them — excuse it. At present there seems to be no danger of his giving them the slip, as neither his health nor spirits, were ever in greater flow, notwithstanding, he adds, he is descending, and has almost reached, the bottom of the hill ; — or in other words, the shades below. — For your particular good wishes on this occasion he charges me to say that he feels highly obliged, and that he recip- rocates them with great cordiallity.

. "Nelly Custis (who has been a little indisposed with a swelling in her face) off"ers her thanks for the kind expressions of your letter in her behalf, and joins the General and myself in every good wish for your health and happiness. — I am my dear Madam with the greatest es- teem

Your most affectionate

Martha "Washington."

There is, alas, bitterness in this laughter. At this time Washington was deeply interested in the building up of Washington City. In a letter to his friend

he

XC HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

encloses a check on the Bank of Alexandria for five hundred dollars, " to enable Mr. Blagden by your draughts to proceed in laying in materials for carrying on my buildings in the Federal City." He adds :

"I saw a building in Philadelpliia of about the same front and el- evation, that are to be given to my two houses, which pleases me. It consisted also of two houses united, — Doors in the centre — a pediment in the roof and dorma window on each side of it in front — skyliglits in the rear. If this is not incongruous with rules of Architecture, I would be glad to have my two houses executed in this style. — Let me request the favor of you to know from Mr. Blagden what the addi- tional cost will be."

A letter (5 April 1798) to Col. William A. Washington shows the farmer and the patriot both somewhat troubled.

" I feel obliged by your endeavours to discover the genealogical descent from Lawrence Washington, the younger brother of our an- cestor John; — and for your enquiries after flour barrel staves. — If any material information should be obtained relatively to the first matter, I shall be oblidged by the communication thereof.

"At a crisis like the present, and enveloj^ed as our foreign relations seem to be in clouds & darkness, it is not easy to decide on what to ask, or what to take, for the produce of our fields. — By the last acc*^^ from Paris, our Commissioners to that Eepublic had not been re- ceived, nor was it likely they would be ; and appearances, as far as it is to be infered from the Presid*^-^ message to Congress on the 19th Ult", indicated nothing good, and afiford no hope of redress for the in- juries we have received from violated Treaties, and the arbitrary and unjust measures of the French Directory. Under these circum- stances, and the present uncertain state of our jjolitical concerns, it would be hazardous to ofi:er you any advice with respect to the dis- posal of your Corn : but was I in your place, I should, I believe, be more inclined to take the best price I could obtain now than wait for a better market some time hence ; — and I should be more solici- tous to secure the filfilment of the contract than to enhance the price of the article if credit is given, and without giving it, the sale will be dull : — such is the state of mercantile transactions, occasioned by the outrageous spoliations it has sustained, & the consequent dis-

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION. xci

tresses of those who have suffered by them. — Under this view of the subject, and upon these principles too, I have disposed of my Flour : — the only article I had for market,

" In speaking of corn, and knowing that you raise a quantity every year for sale, it has occurred to me to ask, if you would be inclined to contract for 500 barrels annually, for the term of five or seven years, and at what jDrice. My lands are not congenial with this crop, and are much injured by the growth of it ; — having an under stratum of hard clay impervious to water, which penetrating that far and unable to descend lower, sweeps off the upper soil in the furrows — although the land is generally level — and runs it, in spite of all I can do to prevent it, into injurious and eye-sore gullies. — Nothing but the indispensable use of this food for my negros (and indeed for Hogs) has restrained me from discontinuing the growth of it altogether, or in small well improved lots only, but the uncertainty of obtaining a given quantity — at stated periods of the year — and from a person on whose ability & punctuality I could confidently rely."

On 14 Feb. 1799 he writes to ask if he cannot obtain an additional 100 bushels of corn per annnm. On 26 March he wishes to know if he can exchange whiskey for Indian corn in Westmoreland. " Capt. Bowcock has delivered more corn than he received from you ; of which Mr. Anderson my manager will give you the a/c — as he will also do of the whis- key ; the barrel of fish you will please to accept. — My best respects and congratulations in which my wife joins me, are offered to Mrs. Washington and yourself on your marriage. We shall always be glad to see you at this place." In June (10th) he complains of slow payments from tenants in Wash- ington and Lafayette counties (Pa.) Instead of an expected $6,000, due June 1, but $1,700 were received.

To this Col. William Augustine Washington the General made various bequests, but he appears to have entirely for- gotten the terms of his half-brother Lawrence's Will. Law- rence provided that in the event that either of his brothers should die without issue his inheritance should " become the property and right of my brother Augustine and his heirs." The General being without issue Mount Yernon would thus

xcii HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL INTRODUCTION.

pass to Augustine's heir,— naraelj, to William Augustine Washington. The General bequeathed it to Bushrod, nephew of his own brother, John Augustine.

I learn on good authority that Washington's widow wrote to Col. William Augustnie Washington asking him if he in- tended to break the will. He answered that although a wrong had been done he would not oppose the Will. He was given the first choice of swords under the Will.

In the last letter printed in this volume Washington says to a relative who had informed him of his brother Charles's death, " I was the first, and am, now, the last of my father's children by the second marriage, who remain. When I shall be called upon to follow them is known only to the Giver of Life. When the summons comes I shall endeavor to obey it with a good grace." The hour came a few weeks later, and how the man met it is known to the world, though hardly recognized in its sublimity. Washington counting his pulses as they were beating his funeral march is only less sublime than Washington counting his mental pulses, so to say, and facing the fact of their decline. (See letter to Gov. Trum- bull, Life of SilUma7i, ii. 385.) When his friends, and par- tizans in dread of defeat, implored him to accept a third presidency, his patriotism, — the ruling passion strong amid other decline, — answered, " Although I have abundant cause to be thankful for the good health with which I am blessed, yet I am not insensible to my declination in other respects. It would be criminal, therefore, in me, although it should be the wish of my countrymen and I could be elected, to accept an office under this conviction which another would discharge with more ability."

History has shown nothing more great in its lowliness than this answer of Washington, — noble enough to protect at last from genuine loyalty to himself the nation he had saved from superstitious loyalty to kings.

GEORGE WASHINGTON

MOmSTT YEENON

GEORGE WASHINGTON

MOUNT VEE]^Ol!T.

I.

To William Peaece, at Hopewell.' Sir, Philadelphia, Aug* 26'^ 1793.

I intended to have written to you somewhat sooner, but business of a public nature and pressing, prevented it until now. —

Although I have conviction in my own mind, that a hun- dred guineas p'' annum is more than my Mount Vernon Es- tate will enable me to give the Superintendent of it ; yet, the satisfaction (when one is at a considerable distance from prop- erty they possess, under circumstances which does not allow much thought thereon) of having a person in whom confi- dence can be placed as a Manager, is such, as to dispose me to allow you that sum ; provided other matters can be ad- justed to the mutual convenience, and satisfaction of both parties.

As you were about to depart in the Stage when I saw you (and which I knew could not wait) I did not go so much into

' Eastern Shore of Maryland. Pearce was secured for Wasliii>gton by his friend (Judge) Wm. Tilghman, whose relative, Col. Oswald Tilghman, tells me that a part of his estate at East on, Talbot Co., is still known as "Hope- well." (Appendix A.)

4 GEORGE WASHINGTON

detail as was necessary to place an agreement upon a basis to avoid mis-conception, and unpleasant disputes thereafter ; and besides, altlio' vou would be upon standing wages, which, in the opinion of some would make it immaterial (these being paid) what sort of an estate you overlooked ; yet my opinion of a sensible and discreet man is, that before he would finally engage, he would view the estate himself, and decide from that view, whether it possessed such advantages as would en- able him to acquire lionor as well as profit from the manage- ment thereof; — whether he could make it profitable to his Employer from its local situation ; from the nature of its soil, and means of improving it ; — the plans proposed ; or the condition in which it might appear to him. Whether the part of the Country, the accomodations, the water, &c* were to his liking ; — with other considerations which will admit no evidence equal to that of one's own observation, to decide ul- timately on what to resolve. —

Having stated a fact, and given my ideas of what I sup- pose would be most agreeable for you to do, I shall add, that if nothing more than I foresee at present should happen, I expect to be at Mount Yernon about the 20*''^ of next Month, for a stay of 8 or 10 days. — If then you are disposed to un- dertake my business, and wish to see the nature of it, and the present state of it ; I should be glad to see you there about that time, when every necessary arrangement may be made if we should finally agree.

From Baltimore to Mount Yernon by the way of the Fed- eral City, George Town, and Alexandria, is 59 measured Miles ; — and from Annapolis to the same place, crossing Pot- omac at Alexandi-ia, is 45 Miles ; but it might be reduced to less than 40 if there was a feri-y opposite to my house. — From Baltimore to Alexandria (through the above places) the regular Stages pass ; and set out every Monday, Wednesday and fri- day from the former, reaching the latter the same day ; from whence a horse could be hired without difficulty, I believe.

AND MOUNT VERNON. 5

to carry you to my house, distant 9 miles. I mention these things for your information, in case you should determine to go there.

If you resolve to meet me at Mount Vernon, give me no- tice thereof immediately ; and if business or any other cause should render it impracticable for me to be there, at the time, I will inform you, so as to prevent your setting out. —

I informed you at our meeting, that I had eight or ten Xegro Carpenters under the care of a worthless White man, whom I had forborn to turn away on account of the peculiar circumstances attending his family ; — But I suffer so much from his negligence ; — by his bad qualities ; — and bad exam- ples ; that I find it indispensably necessary to get some other workman to supply his place. — If it should be your lot to su- perintend my affairs, your own ease, as well as my interest, would induce you to look out for a successor to him, against New Years day ; — if not, and you could recommend a proper character for this business, it would be rendering me an accept- able service to do it. I am Sir —

Your H'^"' Serv*^

G" Washington.

IL

Mount Vernon, Octf 6^\ 1793. Mr. Pearce,

Enclosed is a copy of our agreement with my signature to it.—

Since you were here, Mrs. Washington the Widow of my Kephew,' who formerly lived at this place, has resolved as

' The widow of George Augustine Washington (m. 15 Oct., 1785), else- where in these letters spoken of as Mrs. Fanny Washington. After her husband's death (Feb. 5, 1792) Washington invited her to make her home at Monnt Vernon. She became the second wife of Washington's Secretary, Tobias Lear. She was a daughter of Col. Burwell Bassett and Anna Dan- dridge (Mrs. George Washington's sister), of Eltham, New Kent Co., Va. (Appendix B.) ■

6 GEORGE WASHINGTON

soon as we leave it, to remove to her Brother's in the lower part of this State, and will not, I believe, return to reside at it again. — This will make it more convenient and agreeable, both for yourself and me, that you should live the Winter, at least, at my Mansion house ; as it will allow more time for my carpenters to provide for Mr. Crow, and to put the place he lives at in better repair than it now is for yourself, if there should be occasion for you to go there ; — and this too, under your own inspection. —

The right wing to my dwelling house as you possibly may have noticed, and heard called the Hall, (being kept altogether for the use of Strangers) has two good rooms below (with tiled floors) and as many above, all with fire places. — This will ac- comodate your family (being a larger house) better than Crow's ; and by being here, you will have the use of my Kitchen, the Cook belonging thereto, Frank the House Ser- vant, a boy also in the House. — The Stable, Garden, &c*, tfec*^, without any additional expence tome; — at the same time that it will, by placing you in the centre of the business, ease you of much trouble ; for otherwise, the frequent calls from the Farms, — from workmen of different descriptions for Tools, l^ails, Iron, &c*^, from the Store — and the particular attention which matters ah^ the Mansion house will require, would have occasioned you many an inconvenient ride here, the necessity for which will be entirely superceded, as your mornings and evenings will, of course, be spent where your presence will be most wanting. —

As I am never sparing (with proper seconomy) in furnish- ing my Farms with any, and every kind of Tool and imple- ment that is calculated to do good and neat work, I not only authorize you to bring the kind of ploughs you were speaking to me about, but any others, the utility of which you have proved from your own experience ; — particularly a kind of liand rakeVhich Mr. Stuart tells me are used on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in lieu of Hoes for Corn at a certain stage

AND MOUNT VERNON. 7

of its growth — and a Scjthe and Cradle different from those nsed with us, and with which the grain is laid much better. — In short I shall begrudge no reasonable expence that will con- tribute to the improvement and neatness of my Farms ; — for nothing pleases me better than to see them in good order, and every thing trim, handsome, and thriving about them ; — nor nothing hurts me more than to find them otherwise, and tlie tools and implements laying wherever they were last used, exposed to injuries from Rain, sun, &c*—

I hope you will endeavor to arrange your own concerns in such a manner as to be here as much before the time agreed on as you conveniently can. — Great advantages to me will re- sult from this, by putting the business in a good train before the Fall operations are closed by the frosts of Winter, and all improvements are thereby at an end for that season. On the other hand, inconveniences to yourself may arise from delay on account of the Weather — Navigation, &c' ; there having been instances of this River's closing with Ice several days before Christmas which might prevent the removal of y'' things in time. — That your living at the Mansion may be attended with no more expence to you than if you had gone to the other place (at which Crow now lives) on account of Gentle- men, who now and then call here out of curiosity — as they are passing through the Country — I shall lay in such things as will be necessary for this purpose, and the occasions (which are but rare) may require. —

I expect to leave this place about the 28*^ of the Month for Philadelphia, or the neighbourhood of it ; any letter therefore which shall arrive before that time will find me here — after- wards it will have to go to Philadelphia where it had better be directed.'

I am your friend and Servant

G** Washington.

' The yellow fever was raging in Philadelphia, and it was not considered prudent that the President should resume his abode there.

8 GEORGE WASHINGTON

III.

Mount Vernon, 27*^ Oct. 1793. Mr. Pearce,

Your letter of the 19'^^ came duly to hand. — Tomorrow I leave this for Philadelp'' or the vicinity of it ; where, when you have occasion to Ma*ite to me, direct your letters. —

As you seemed to be in doubt whether a proper character could be engaged in y^ part of the Country you live in, to look after my Negro Carpenters ; and (having much work to do in their way, and not being willing to leave matters at an uncertainty) I have engaged the person who superintends them at present to look after them another year. — He is a good workman himself, and can be active ; but has little authority (I ought to have said command, for I have given him full authority) over those who are entrusted to him — and as he is fond of drink, tho' somewhat reformed in this respect, I place no great confidence in him. — He has, how- ever, promised so to conduct himself, as that there shall be no cause for complaint — I thought it was better, therefore, to engage him, than to run any hazard. — T have engaged no person to look after the house People, Ditchers &c* in place of the one now occupied in that business ; and unless a very active and spirited man could be had, it will scarcely be es- sential while you reside at the Mansion house yourself. — The old Man that is employed in this business is, I believe, hon- est, sober, well meaning, and in some things knowing ; but he wants activity and spirit ; — and from not being accus- tomed to ]S"egros, in addition thereto ; they are under no sort of awe of him — of course do as they please. — His wages are low, Twenty pounds p"" ann. only — under this statement of the case you may do as shall seem best to yourself. — If he is to go, he ought to know it seasonably : — his time is up at Christmas-; and nothing betw" us has past either as to his go- ing, or staying.

AND MOUNT VERNON. 9

I shall, before yon remove, or by the time you may arrive at Mount Vernon, give you full directions, and my ideas upon the several points which may, between this and then, occur to me. — In all things else you must pursue your own judgment — having the great outlines of my business laid before you.

After having lived the ensuing Winter at the Mansion house you will be better able to decide than at the present moment, how far your convenience, my interest, and indeed circumstances, may render your removal to the other place more eligable. — 1 shall readily agree to either. — Materials are now providing for building a house for Mr. Crow ; whose house it was first proposed you should live in, for him to re- move to. — There are a great number of Negro children at the Quarters belonging to the house people ; but they have Always been forbid (except two or 3 young ones belonging to the Cook, and the Mulatto fellow Frank in the house, her husband ; both of whom live in the Kitchen) from coming within the Gates of the Inclosures of the Yards, Gardens &c* ; that they may not be breaking the Shrubs, and doing other mischief ; but I believe they are often in there notwith- standing : — but if they could be broke of the practice it would be very agreeable to me, as they have no business within ; having their wood, Water, &c* at their own doors without. —

The season has been remarkably sickly, generally, but my family, except a few slight touches of the intermittant fever — chiefly among the blacks — have shared less of it, than I find from report, has been felt in most other places. — I am Your friend &c*

G° Washington.

10 GEORGE WASHINGTON

lY.

German Town, 24* Nov' 1793. Mr. Peaece,

On my way to this place (about the last of Oct"^) I lodged a letter for you in the Post Office at Baltimore, which I hope got safe to your hands, although I have not heard from you since.

I shall begin, now, to throw upon Paper such general thoughts, and directions, as may be necessary for your gov- ernment when you get to Mount Vernon ; and for fear of accidents, if transmitted to you thro' any other channel, will deposit them in the hands of my Nephew, Mr. Howell Lewis, who will remain (though inconvenient to me) at that place until your arrival there ; that he may put you in possession, and give you such information into matters as may be use- ful.—'

As ray farms stand much in need of manure, and it is dif- ficult to raise a sufficiency of it on them ; and the Land be- sides requires something to loosen and ameliorate it, I mean to go largely (as you will perceive by what I shall hand to you through Mr. Lewis) upon Buck Wheat as a Green ma- nure (Plowed in, when full in blossom) — for this purpose I have requested a Gentleman of my acquaintance in the County of Loudoun, above Mount Vernon, to send to that place in time 450, or 500 bushels of this article for seed. — And as I do not wish to go largely upon Corn, it is necessary I should sow a good many Oats ; — my calculation (allowing two bushels to the Acre) is about 400 bushels wanting. — Not

' Howell (1771-1822) was 11th, and youngest child of Washington's only sister, Betty, second wife of Col. Fielding Lewis, of Kenmore, Fredericks-, burg. He was (1792) the President's Secretary. He married Ellen Hack- ley Pollard, of Richmond, Va., 1795. In 1812 he went to reside on a tract of 1300 acres on the Kanawha (Mason Co.) inherited under Washington's will. (Appendix A.)

AND MOUNT VERNON. 11

more than the half of which can I calculate I have of my own, for Seed next Spring, and therefore if you could carry round with you two hundred, or even 300 bushels to be cer- tain ; of those which are good in quality, and free from Onions, I will readily pay for them and the accustomed freight. — That I may know whether to depend upon y' doing this, or not, write me word ; that in case of failure with you, I may try to obtain them through some other channel. — I am Your friend and Servant

G° Washington.

Y.

Philadelphia 18* Decem-- 1793. Mr. Pearce,

The paper enclosed with this letter will give you my ideas, generally, of the course of Crops I wish to pursue. — I am sensible more might be made from the farms for a year or two — but my object is to recover the fields from the ex- hausted state into which they have fallen, by oppressive crops, and to restore theui (if possible by any means in my power) to health and vigour. — But two ways will enable me to accomplish this. — The first is to cover them with as much manure as possible (winter and summer). — The 2'^ a judicious succession of Crops.

Manure can not be had in the abundance the fields re- quire ; for this reason, and to open the land which is hard bound by frequent cultivation and want of proper dressings, I have introduced Buck Wheat in the plentiful manner you will perceive by the Table, both as a manure, and as a sub- stitute for Indian Corn for horses &c*; it being a great ameliorater of the soil. — IIow far the insufferable conduct of my Overseers, or the difficulty of getting Buck Wheat and Oats for seed, will enable me to carry my plan into effect, I am unable at this moment to decide. — You, possibly, will be better able to inform me sometime hence. — CoP Ball of

12 GEORGE WASHINGTON

Leesburgh ' lias promised to use his endeavours to procure and send the first to Mount Vernon ; but where to get as much of the Latter as will answer my purposes (unless I send them from this city) I know not ; but before I can decide on the quantity it may be necessary for me to purchase, it is es- sential I should know the quantity grown on my own estate ; and which after I went to Virginia in September last I di- rected should no longer be fed away. — The common Oats which are brought from the Eastern Shore to Alexandria for sale, I would not sow — first,