Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-09-21
Authentic Copy Found by
Hepburn In a Second
Hand Book Store.
"HE last will and testament of
George Washington Is to be
presented In senate docu-

Gle Sans press soon. just before the
/ last session of congress closed Senator
| Hepburn of Idaho discovered an au-
/ thentic copy of the will in a second
/ hand book store in Washington. So
much interested was the Idaho sena-
! tor that he purchased the copy and
] then obtained the permission Of the
senate to have the document publish
ed at the expense of Uncle Sam.
In none of the other writings Of the
! first president Of the country are his
character, his iirmness and his fairness
better eNemplitied than in this same
will and testament, which in the edi-
ton which is to be published by the
senate is quantity entitled "The Last
! Will and Testament Of George Wash
| lngton of Mount Vernon"
I; The original will be kept at the Fair
!. fax county courthouse IN Virginia,
! where it was originally filed by Cen
eral Washington himself The docu-
ment is jealously guarded by f. d.
Richardson. the clerk of the court. 1t
is kept In a steel fireproof safe, and
when visitors come to the out Of the
. way courthouse the will is taken from
Its resting place and proudly exhibit
/ ed. 1t has been bound in handsome
leather binding and may be scanned
easily by the visitors
Written IN 1899.
The will was written by General
Washington himself at Mount Vernon
July o. 1899. 1t was presented for pro-
bate in the Fairfax county courthouse
Jan. 20, 1900. little over six months
after General Washington had COM
pleted writing the document
There are forty-two pages of manu-
script in the will. including the actual
will and notes made by General Wash
hgton for the better explanation of
provisions of the will. At the bottom
OF each page Washington signed his
name, by this means obviating the ne
cessity Of having the will witnessed.
The first thought Of the Father of His
! Country when he made. his last will
was that all Of his debts should be
paid, and after the first paragraph. in
which he states his name and that he
was "lately president Of the United
States" he says:
CALL Of my debts, Of which there are
but few and mono of any magnitude,
are to be punctually and speedily
paid"
The first item Of the will, however.
is as follows:
ITO my dearly beloved wife. Martha
Washington. give and bequeath the
use. profit and benefit of my whole es-
tate. real and personal. for the term of
, her natural life. except such parts
thereof as are especially disposed of
| hereafter
Views on Slavery.
| The very next item in the will shows
beyond peradventure that General
Washington was inclined to do away
with slavery in this country He says:
Upon the decease Of my wife it is
my will and desire that all the slaves
which l hold in my own right shall
receive their freedom. To emancipate
them during her life would, though
earnestly wished by me, be attended
with such insuperable difficulties, on
account Of their intermixture by mar
riages with the dover negroes as to
excite the most painful sensations, IL
not disagreeable consequences. from
the latter, while both descriptions are
; in the occupancy of the same proprie
. tor. 1t not being in my power under the
! tenure by which the dover negroes
are held to manumit them. And,
whereas among those who will receive
! freedom according to this devise
there may be some who from old age
or bodily infirmities and others who
on account of their infancy that will
be unable to support themselves, it is
my will and desire that all who come
under the first and second descriptions
shall be comfortably clothed and fed
by my heirs while they live and that
such OF the latter description as have
no parents living. or If living are un-
able or unwilling to provide for them.
shall be bound by the court until they
+ shall arrive at the age Of twenty five
years. and in cases where no record
can be produced whereby their ages
/ the court upon its own view of the
subject shall be adequate and final.
/ "The negroes thus bound are (by their
masters or mistresses) to be taught to
! read and write and to be brought up
! to some useful occupation. agrceably
to the laws Of the commonwealth Of
Virginia providing for the support Of
orphans and other poor children. and
! hereby expressly forbid the sale or
Transportation out Of the said com
flonwealth Of any slave may die
Possessed of. under any pretense what
soever"
! Gave $4,000 to School.
General Washington bequeathed s4.-
600 toward the support of free school
established at and annexed to the
Alexandria academy.
! The value Of inland waterways to
the United States was foreseen by
General Washington. In his will he
mentions tho fact that Of hi, .,,.,ros