Title: October 1797
From: Washington, George
To:

1. Began raining in the Night and contind. to do so, more or less, until Noon—when the Wind got to the Westward & cleard—Mer. 63.

2. Clear, warm & pleasant. Mer. at 66. Mr. Carter & Mr. Fitzhugh went away & Mr. Washington & Mr. Foot came to dinr. & returned afterwards.

   Mr. Washington undoubtedly is Lawrence Washington (1740–1799) of nearby Belmont, brother of GW’s cousin and wartime manager, Lund Washington (see entries for 10 Mar. and 27 July 1785). mr. foot: probably William Hayward Foote, usually called Hayward Foote. He was the son of Richard Foote (d. 1779) and Margaret Foote and was the nephew of both Catherine Foote Washington, Lawrence’s wife, and Elizabeth Foote Washington, the widow of Lund Washington. Elizabeth Washington called Hayward Foote her “adopted son”; he evidently lived with her and helped her manage the farm after Lund’s death (Fairfax County Wills, Book K–1, Vi Microfilm; Lund Washington’s Account Book, MdAN).

3. Clear & very warm. Wind Southerly—Mer. at 68. Doctr. Stuart came hear to Dinner. Washington Custis came home.

   George Washington Parke Custis was home after an unsuccessful year at the College of New Jersey at Princeton. His academic career was distinctly checkered and caused GW much concern. During the early years of the presidency, GW had sent the boy to a small private school in New York run by Patrick Murdoch (HAMILTON [2]Harold C. Syrett et al., eds. The Papers of Alexander Hamilton. 27 vols. New York, 1961–87., 7:25–26n). When the seat of government was moved to Philadelphia he enrolled young Custis at the “College, Academy and Charitable School” associated with the University of Pennsylvania. Even at this early date there was dissatisfaction with his progress (DECATURStephen Decatur, Jr. Private Affairs of George Washington: From the Records and Accounts of Tobias Lear, Esquire, his Secretary. Boston, 1933., 102, 169–70, 219–20). In 1796 young Custis matriculated at Princeton and, armed with much good advice from his grandfather, seemed for a time to be doing well. GW’s letters to him during the fall and early winter are full of

admonitions to exert himself in his studies and avoid bad habits; Custis’s replies give repeated assurances of his good intentions and progress (see CUSTISGeorge Washington Parke Custis. Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington. New York, 1860., 73–83). Soon after Custis’s return to Princeton from his spring vacation, however, GW received a letter from the president of the college, Samuel Stanhope Smith (1750–1819), which, GW wrote Smith, “filled my mind (as you naturally supposed it would) with extreme disquietude. From his infancy I have discovered an almost unconquerable disposition to indolence in everything that did not tend to his amusements; and have exhorted him in the most parental and friendly manner often, to devote his time to more useful pursuits” (GW to Smith, 24 May 1797, CUSTISGeorge Washington Parke Custis. Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington. New York, 1860., 83–84). Custis himself a few days later wrote GW a letter full of apologies and promises for improved conduct, and GW replied that he would “not only heartily forgive, but will forget also, and bury in oblivion all that has passed” (Custis to GW, 29 May 1797, and GW to Custis, 4 June 1797, CUSTISGeorge Washington Parke Custis. Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington. New York, 1860., 84–87). However, despite much good advice from GW and frequent assurances of good conduct from Custis during the next few months, Washington Custis’s homecoming on 3 Oct. marked the end of his schooling at Princeton. On 9 Oct., GW wrote Smith, acknowledging several recent letters regarding Custis’s deportment. GW expressed regret at “the conduct and behaviour of Young Custis” and made arrangements to pay his grandson’s outstanding accounts at Princeton (DLC:GW).

4. A Shower of Rain in the Morning & the wind very high from No. Wt. afterwards—Mer. at 65. Mr. B. Bassett & Mrs. Dunbar & Mr. McCarty came to dinner. The latter returned afterwards.

   Mrs. Dunbar may be Elizabeth Thornton Dunbar, wife of Robert Dunbar, a Scots merchant of Falmouth. She was a sister of Charles Washington’s wife, Mildred Thornton Washington. Mr. McCarty is Daniel McCarty, Jr. (1759–1801), son of GW’s former neighbor Daniel McCarty of Mount Air. The younger McCarty had served in the Revolution as a lieutenant in Grayson’s Additional Continental Regiment. He was now living at his grandfather Denis McCarty’s old home, Cedar Grove, and was married to Sarah Eilbeck Mason McCarty, daughter of Col. George Mason of Gunston Hall. McCarty was interested in moving west and tried to negotiate with GW for an exchange of his Loudoun County Sugar Lands for GW’s Kanawha lands, but he decided that he would prefer to have property in the Louisiana area. For the correspondence regarding the negotiations, see Daniel McCarty, Jr., to GW, 2 and 6 Nov. 1797 and 19 Sept. 1798, DLC:GW; GW to McCarty, 30 Oct. 1797, ViMtvL; GW to McCarty, 3 and 13 Nov. 1797, NN: Washington Papers.

5. Clear & very pleasant with but little Wind—Mer. at 62. Mr. Basset & Mrs. Dunbar wt. away after breakfast.

6. Warm & pleasant. Wind So. Mer. 65.

7. Calm, clear & warm in the forenoon with appearances of Rain afterwds. Mer. 66. Mr. La Colombe & a Doctr. Flood came here

to Dinner. The last returned. Mr. T. Peter & Mrs. Peter came in the Afternoon.

   Louis Saint Ange Morel, chevalier de La Colombe (1755–c.1800), had come with Lafayette to America in 1777 as an aide-de-camp. He was later made a captain of the King’s Dragoons and retired as a major in 1783. He also served in the French army in France, becoming colonel of an infantry regiment in 1791 and aide to the commander-in-chief, Lafayette, in 1792. He was arrested and imprisoned, but in 1794 escaped and came to the United States. Except for a brief return to France he lived in the United States the rest of his life (CONTENSONBaron Ludovic Guy Marie du Bessey de Contenson.  La Société des Cincinnati de France et la guerre d’Amérique, 1778–1783. Paris, 1934., 197). George Washington Lafayette, during the early part of his exile in the United States, probably stayed in La Colombe’s home (George Cabot to GW, 16 Sept. 1795, DLC:GW). Dr. Flood may be William Pinckard Flood, son of Dr. William Flood and nephew of Dr. Nicholas Flood of Richmond County. William Pinckard Flood was married in 1793 to Ann Peyton (Nancy) Washington and probably resided in King George County.

8. Clear, brisk Southerly Wind. Mer. 65. Mrs. Stuart & two of her daughters came to dinner as did Mr. Lear. Mr. La Tombe went awy.

   mr. la tombe: GW means Louis Saint Ange Morel, chevalier de La Colombe, who came on the previous day. He has confused the name with that of Philippe André Joseph de Létombe, the current French minister plenipotentiary to the United States.

9. Wind brisk from the No. Wt. & turning cold—Mer. 64. Mr. Lear & Mr. Peter went awy.

10. The Wind continuing at No. Wt. it brew colder—Mer. at 58.

11. Wind at No. Wt. & fresh after the Morning. Mer. at 56—Mrs. Stuart & Daughters & Mrs. Peters went after breakfast.

12. Cold & frosty Morning, Mer. 54. Mr. G. W. La Fayette & Mr. Frestal left this for Geo. Town to take the stage for New York to embark for France. I accompanied them to the Fedl. City.

   Young George Washington Motier Lafayette had received reports from correspondents in Hamburg that his father, together with his mother and sisters who had voluntarily joined him in prison, had been released from Olmütz and were on their way to Paris. GW was unable to persuade him to wait until the reports were confirmed. He and his tutor, Felix Frestal, sailed from New York for Havre de Grace on 25 Oct. on the brig Clio. Definite word of the release of the Lafayette family reached GW several weeks later (GW to chevalier de La Colombe, 3 Dec. 1797, DLC:GW; Eleanor Parke Custis to Elizabeth Bordley, 23 Nov. 1797, ViMtvL). There followed two years of exile for the Lafayette family in Hamburg, Holstein, and Holland (GOTTSCHALKLouis Gottschalk, ed. The Letters of Lafayette to Washington, 1777–1799. 1944. Reprint. Philadelphia, 1976., xxiii).

13. I returned home to dinner. Captn. Huie dined here & went away afterwards. Mer. at 5⟨ ⟩. Wind Southerly.

   Captain Huie may be Capt. James Huie of the Dumfries firm of Smith, Huie, Alexander & Co. (Fitzpatrick, DiariesJohn C. Fitzpatrick, ed. The Diaries of George Washington, 1748–1799. 4 vols. Boston and New York, 1925., 4:261, n.3).

14. Great appearances of Rain—but none fell. Wind Southerly—Mer. 54. Mr. McDonald & Mr. Rich Birth. Com. came to dinner. Christopher set out for Lebanon.

   mr. mcdonald & mr. rich: Thomas Macdonald and Henry Pye Rich, British commissioners under Article VI of the Jay Treaty. Article VI provided that the United States make full compensation for losses owed to British merchants and others “in all such Cases where full Compensation for such losses and damages cannot, for whatever reason be actually obtained had and received by the said Creditors in the ordinary course of Justice” (BEMIS [2]Samuel Flagg Bemis. The Diplomacy of the American Revolution. 1935. Reprint. Bloomington, Ind., and London, 1967., 460). Five commissioners were to be appointed; two British, two American, and the fifth by “unanimous voice of the other Four” (BEMIS [2]Samuel Flagg Bemis. The Diplomacy of the American Revolution. 1935. Reprint. Bloomington, Ind., and London, 1967., 461). The four commissioners met at Philadelphia and, after much disagreement, were forced to appoint the fifth member by lot. This choice fell upon an Englishman, and since the principles subsequently laid down by the commission majority proved unacceptable to the Americans, the commission disbanded. A compromise was finally reached in 1802 by which the United States agreed to pay the British government a lump sum of £600,000 sterling in three annual installments (BEMIS [2]Samuel Flagg Bemis. The Diplomacy of the American Revolution. 1935. Reprint. Bloomington, Ind., and London, 1967., 438–39).

   In August Thomas Macdonald wrote from Philadelphia informing GW that he was forwarding him a volume of reports sent by the British Board of Agriculture and entrusted to his care by Sir John Sinclair. He informed GW of the proceedings of the commission, stating his belief that an honorable agreement could be reached. He expressed the hope that he and his colleague Rich would be able to pay their respects to GW at Mount Vernon (19 Aug. 1797, DLC:GW). GW replied on 29 Aug. thanking him for the reports and assuring Macdonald that he and Rich would be welcome at Mount Vernon (DLC:GW). christopher: GW’s body servant, Christopher (sometimes called Christopher Sheels), was “on Monday last . . . Bit by a Small Dog belonging to a Lady in my house, then as was supposed a little diseased. And Yesternight died (I do think) in a State of madness. As soon as the Boy . . . was Bit application was made to a medical Gentleman in Alexandria who has cut out so far as He could, the place Bit, applyed Ointment to keep it open, And put the Boy under a Course of Mercury” (GW to William Henry Stoy, 14 Oct. 1797, WRITINGSJohn C. Fitzpatrick, ed. The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745–1799. 39 vols. Washington, D.C., 1931–44., 37:581). GW, upon hearing of the miraculous cures performed in such cases by Dr. William Henry Stoy (1726–1801) of Lebanon, Pa., sent Christopher to him for further treatment. Stoy wrote GW on 19 Oct. that the servant was in no further danger since he had taken his medicine (DLC:GW). Stoy’s remedy consisted of “one ounce of the herb, red chickweed, four ounces of theriac and one quart of beer, all well digested, the dose being a wine glassful” (KELLY [2]Howard A. Kelly and Walter L. Burrage. American Medical Biographies. Baltimore, 1920., 1177). Christopher survived Dr. Stoy’s treatment and lived to attend GW during his final illness and death.

15. Clear & pleasant calm in the morning—wind at No. Wt. afterwds. Mer. at 58. Mr. Potts & Mr. Keith dined here & returned.

   James Keith became a director of the Potowmack Company in 1793 (see entry for 15 Aug. 1786).

16. Clear & moderate with but little Wind—Mer. 55. Mr. Macdonald & Mr. Rich went away after breakfast. Mrs. Nichols & Mr. Nichols & wife & Doctr. Stuart came to Din. The 3 first returnd after it.

   Mr. Nichols and his wife are probably James Bruce and Mary Nichols of Fairfax County. Nichols may be the J. B. Nickolls who advertised in the Alexandria newspaper in 1797 as a broker “for the purchase of real and personal Estate, (negroes excepted) and procuring money on loan, &c.” (Columbian Mirror [Alexandria], 8 June 1797). The Nichols family lived on land adjoining Thomson Mason’s Hollin Hall farm (Fairfax IndexEdith Moore Sprouse, ed. A Surname and Subject Index of the Minute and Order Books of the County Court, Fairfax County, Virginia, 1749–1800. Fairfax County History Commission. Fairfax, Va., 1976., 53).

17. Clear and pleasant. Doctr. Stuart went away after breakfast. Mr. Law & Cap: Turner came in the Aftern. Mer.—58.

   cap: turner: probably Thomas Turner (1772-1839) of King George County.

18. Clear & pleasant—Wind West. Mer. 61. Mr. Law & Cap. Turner went away after breakfast & Mr. Geo. Calvert came to Dinnr.

19. Calm & very pleasant—M. 58.

20. Cloudy morning with the wind at No. Et. Abt. Noon it began to Rain & contd. to do so more or less all day. Mer. at 56.

21. Wind still at No. Et. & misting all day. Mer. at 56. Mr. Calvert went away after breakfast.

22. Clear all day. Wind at No. Wt. M. 57. Mr. Potts & wife & Mr. Smith & wife & Mr. Lear dined here.

   Mr. Smith may be Augustine Jaquelin Smith (1774–1830), son of Augustine Smith (1739–1774). Augustine Jaquelin Smith represented Fairfax County in the Virginia legislature 1796–98 and 1821–22. In 1796 he was married to Susannah Taylor, the daughter of Jesse Taylor, Sr., of Alexandria.

23. Very clear & pleasant—M. 56. Went with the family to dine with Mr. Potts in Alexandria.

24. Constant Rain from 8 in the Morning until 4 in the aftern. with the Wind at No. Et. then No. W. Mer. 42. Spanish Minister & Mr. Barry came to dinner.

   spanish minister: Don Carlos Martinez de Yrujo y Tacon, later marqués de casa, (1763–1824) came to America as Spanish minister in 1796, succeeding Don José de

      Jáudenes. In a previous visit, before his official reception, Yrujo  spent two days at Mount Vernon at GW’s invitation, and GW described him at that time as “a young man, very free and easy in his manners; professes to be well disposed towards the United States; and as far as a judgment can be formed on so short an acquaintance, appears to be well informed” (GW to Timothy Pickering, 4 July 1796, MHi: Pickering Papers). In 1798 Yrujo married Sally McKean, daughter of the chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

   Mr. Barry was James Barry, an Irishman and a partner of Thomas Law in the East India trade. Barry had earlier acted as Spanish agent and Portuguese consul for the states of Maryland and Virginia. He was a heavy investor in lands in the new Federal City (O’BRIENMichael J. O’Brien. George Washington’s Associations with the Irish. New York, 1937., 141–43). Barry had attempted to aid Yrujo in obtaining from the commissioners of the District of Columbia a site in the Federal City to put up housing for the Spanish representative, and GW had written the commissioners urging them to accommodate Yrujo. He thought such a move might persuade other countries to follow suit and thus stimulate the growth of the city (GW to Commissioners, 18 Sept. 1796, DLC:GW).

25. Wind moderately from So. Wt.—clear. Mer. at 52. The above gentlemn. went away after breakfast & Mrs. Craik & two sons & Mr. & Mrs. Harrison came to dinner.

   Mrs. Mariamne Ewell Craik, wife of Dr. James Craik, had three sons living at this time—James, Jr., William, and George Washington Craik; Adam Craik died in 1792. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison were Mrs. Craik’s son-in-law and daughter, Richard and Ann (Nancy) Craik Harrison, who were married in 1791 (see entry for 14 Oct. 1773).

27. Clear & pleasant—Wind Southerly—Mer. 56. Mrs. Crk. &ca. went away before dinner.

28. Lowering in the Morning, but clear & pleasant afterwards. Wind Southerly. Mer. at 60.

29. Clear & pleasant tho’ cool Wind getting to the No. Wt. Mer. at 55. Doctr. Stuart came to dinner.

30. Wind brisk from No. Wt. & cold. Mer. at 54. Doctr. Stuart went away after breakfast. Mr. Cottineau & Lady, Mr. Rosseau & Lady, the Visct. D’Orleans, & Mr. De Colbert came to Dinner & returned to Alexa. afterwards. A Mr. Stockton from N. Jerseys came in the afternoon.

   mr. cottineau & lady: Denis Nicholas Cottineau de Kerloguen (c.1745–1808) was a Breton officer who had served with the Continental navy during the Revolution. He had commanded the United States frigate Pallas, serving under John Paul Jones’s command during the fight between the Bonhomme Richard and Serapis, and had himself fought and captured the Countess of

Scarborough in the same battle. After the Revolution, Cottineau returned to his plantations in Saint Domingue but was forced to flee because of the insurrection there. He settled in Philadelphia and for a time became a shareholder and settler at the French Royalist colony of Azilum on the Susquehanna River. Later, he moved to Savannah. Although Cottineau was not qualified for membership in the Society of the Cincinnati, he had been made an honorary member of the Pennsylvania Society in 1795. Cottineau was married to Luce Moquet, a sister of Jean Bérard de Moquet, marquis de Montalet (HUMEEdgar Erskine Hume, ed. General Washington’s Correspondence concerning the Society of the Cincinnati. Baltimore, 1941., 412; MOREAU DE SAINT-MÉRYMédéric-Louis-Élie Moreau de Saint-Méry. Description Topographique, Physique, Civile, Politique, et Historique de la Partie Française de l’Isle Saint-Domingue. Edited by Blanche Maurel and Étienne Taillemite. 3 vols. Paris, 1958., 3:1470; Cottineau to GW, 7 Sept. 1788, HUMEEdgar Erskine Hume, ed. General Washington’s Correspondence concerning the Society of the Cincinnati. Baltimore, 1941., 335–37; chevalier d’Annemours to GW, 15 Feb. 1789, HUMEEdgar Erskine Hume, ed. General Washington’s Correspondence concerning the Society of the Cincinnati. Baltimore, 1941., 340–42). mr. rosseau & lady: Fitzpatrick says this is Jean Rosseau, a volunteer on the Bonhomme Richard (Fitzpatrick, DiariesJohn C. Fitzpatrick, ed. The Diaries of George Washington, 1748–1799. 4 vols. Boston and New York, 1925., 4:263). visct. d’orleans: GW may mean Louis Philippe, duc d’Orleans (1773–1850) or one of his brothers, Antoine Philippe d’Orleans, duc de Montpensier (1775–1807), or Louis Charles d’Orleans, comte de Beaujolais (1779–1808). The three Princes of the Blood were in exile in America and had visited GW at Mount Vernon for four days in April 1797, before starting on a three-month tour through the wilderness of Tennessee, Kentucky, western Virginia, and Pennsylvania. GW had at that time given them letters of introduction and a map of the roads they were to follow on their journey. The duc d’Orleans in 1830 became King Louis Philippe of France (see LOUIS-PHILIPPE [1]Louis-Philippe, Memoirs, 1773–1793. Translated by John Hardman. New York and London, 1977., xxi-xxxiii, and LOUIS-PHILIPPE [2]Suzanne D’Huart, ed. Louis-Philippe, Journal de Mon Voyage d’Amérique. Paris, 1976.). mr. de colbert: This is probably Édouard Charles Victurnien Colbert, chevalier de Maulevrier (1758–1820). Colbert later became comte de Maulevrier. He entered the French navy in 1774 and served in America during the Revolution. At the beginning of the French Revolution he commanded a French vessel, but he lost his command and was eventually forced to flee France. He spent a part of his exile in America, returning to France in 1814 at the restoration of the Bourbons (BIOG. UNIVERSELLEBiographie Universelle Ancienne et Moderne . . .. 45 vols. Paris, 1843–65., 8:562).

31. Wind still at No. Wt. but moderate. Mer. at 55. Mr. Stockton went away after breakfast and Mr. Ford & Lady & a Mr. Richards came to dinner & proceeded on their Journey to So. Cara. afterwards.

   Mr. Ford may be Timothy Ford (1762–1830), formerly of New Jersey. He served briefly in GW’s bodyguard during the Revolution and later studied law under Robert Morris. In 1785 he moved to Charleston, S.C., where he was a member of the legislature and a trustee of the College of Charleston. He was married first in 1793 to Sarah Amelia DeSaussure and later to Mary Magdalen Prioleau. mr. richards: GW may mean a member of the prominent Richardson family of South Carolina.


Title: [Diary entry: 1 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

1. Calm, clear & extremely pleasant. Mer. at 60.


Title: [Diary entry: 2 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

2. Calm, clear & pleasant as yesterday—Mer. at 60. Mr. Thomson Mason & Lady and Mrs. Nichols dined here.


Title: [Diary entry: 4 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

4. Cloudy Morning, drisling afterwards until Night when it rained closely. Mer. 70.


Title: [Diary entry: 5 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

5. Clear in the forenoon & raing. afterwards until Sun down by showers—when the Wind came out strong & cold at No. Wt. & the Mer. fell from 72 to 52 degrees.


Title: [Diary entry: 6 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

6. Variable in wind & weather Mer. Cold. 42. Wind in the afternoon at No. Wt.


Title: [Diary entry: 8 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

8. More moderate—wind still at No. Wt. clear. Mer. 48.


Title: [Diary entry: 9 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

9. Calm, clear & remarkably pleasant. Mer. 52.


Title: [Diary entry: 10 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

10. Wind at No. Et. & great appearances of a fall of weather but it held up. Mer. at 46. Dr. Keith & a Mrs. Forest came to dinner & stayed all night.


Title: [Diary entry: 11 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

11. A thick heavy fog all day but no rain till night, when it began to rain very fast. Mer. at 50. Mr. Keith &ca. went away & Mrs. Ratcliff & Son came to Dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 13 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

 13. Clear, calm & remarkably fine & pleasant—Mer. 55 a 65. The British Envoy Mr. Liston & his Lady—Mr. Marchant & his lady & her Son Mr. Brown and Mr. Athill Speaker of the Assembly of Antigua came to Dinner as did a Doctr. Pinckard. The last went afterwards.


Title: [Diary entry: 14 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

14. Remarkable fine morning but lowering & windy from No. W. in the afternoon. Mer. 58 & 42. Mrs. Ramsay, Mr. & Mrs. Potts Mr. Wilson, Mr. Harrison & Da[ughter] & son dined here. In the afternoon Majr. Pinckney & Lady arrived.


Title: [Diary entry: 15 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

15. Cold & windy with a little Snow just to whiten the grd. in the morning—clear afterwards. Mer.—38 & 48.


Title: [Diary entry: 16 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

 16. Very hard frost—Wind at No. wt. & clear. Mer. at . All the Compy. above mentd. went away & Mr. B. Bassett came to dinner & a Mr. Augs. Woodward came in the Evening.


Title: [Diary entry: 18 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

18. Very pleasant, & clear after the morning. Wind moderate Mer. 48 & 42. Mr. Woodford went.


Title: [Diary entry: 19 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

19. Clear & very pleasant—Wd. Southerly. Mer. 50 & 44—Mr. White came.


Title: [Diary entry: 20 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

20. Wind shifting to No. Easterly, it grew cold & threatned Snow. Mer. from 32 to 42. Mr. White went away & I went to Alexandria & returned.


Title: [Diary entry: 24 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

24. Clear & cold. Wd. at No. Wt. Mer. as above—A Mr. Welch from Greenbrier dined here.


Title: [Diary entry: 25 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

25. Moderate with the Wind Southerly—Mer. 41 a 49. Mr. Russel came here abt. 9 Oclock A.M.


Title: [Diary entry: 26 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

26. Wind fresh from No. West all day & clear. Mr. Russel went away after breakfast. Mr. Lear came to dinner & Mr. & Mrs. Law at Night.


Title: [Diary entry: 27 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

27. Wind in the same place & cold. Mer.  No acct. taken.


Title: [Diary entry: 28 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

28. Wind still at No. Wt. & cold. Mer. neglected again.


Title: [Diary entry: 29 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

29. Wind in the same quarter & equally cold and spewing frost. Mer. 22 a 32.


Title: [Diary entry: 30 November 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

30. Wind & weather as yesterday—Mer. 24 a 34.


Title: November 1797
From: Washington, George
To:

1. Calm, clear & extremely pleasant. Mer. at 60.

2. Calm, clear & pleasant as yesterday—Mer. at 60. Mr. Thomson Mason & Lady and Mrs. Nichols dined here.

   Thomson Mason (1759–1820), son of Col. George Mason of Gunston Hall, lived at Hollin Hall, just north of GW’s River Farm. The house had been built on land given Thomson by his father. He was a justice of Fairfax County and later served as a state senator (1800–4) and a delegate (1808–9) from Fairfax to the Virginia General Assembly. Mason married in 1784 Sarah McCarty Chichester, daughter of GW’s neighbor Richard Chichester.

3. Calm, Clear & pleasant—Mer. at .

4. Cloudy Morning, drisling afterwards until Night when it rained closely. Mer. 70.

5. Clear in the forenoon & raing. afterwards until Sun down by showers—when the Wind came out strong & cold at No. Wt. & the Mer. fell from 72 to 52 degrees.

6. Variable in wind & weather Mer. Cold. 42. Wind in the afternoon at No. Wt.

7. Cold Morning—ground froze Wind at No. Wt. Morng. Southerly afterwards. Cold 41 deg[ree]s.

8. More moderate—wind still at No. Wt. clear. Mer. 48.

9. Calm, clear & remarkably pleasant. Mer. 52.

10. Wind at No. Et. & great appearances of a fall of weather but it held up. Mer. at 46. Dr. Keith & a Mrs. Forest came to dinner & stayed all night.

   dr. keith: GW may mean James Keith. He calls the man “Mr. Keith” when he leaves Mount Vernon on the next day.

11. A thick heavy fog all day but no rain till night, when it began to rain very fast. Mer. at 50. Mr. Keith &ca. went away & Mrs. Ratcliff & Son came to Dinner.

   mrs. ratcliff: may be either Louisiana (Lucian) Bowling Ratcliff, wife of Richard Ratcliff (Ratcliffe; c.1750–1825), or her daughter-in-law, the wife of Richard’s son John Ratcliff (b. 1766). Richard Ratcliff was a justice and coroner of Fairfax County, served as a commissioner of the tax, and was deputy sheriff for Fairfax. John Ratcliff was a merchant in Alexandria.

12. Raining all the forenoon with a strong So. Et. Wind. Clear afterwards—Mer. 55.

13. Clear, calm & remarkably fine & pleasant—Mer. 55 a 65. The British Envoy Mr. Liston & his Lady—Mr. Marchant & his lady & her Son Mr. Brown and Mr. Athill Speaker of the Assembly of Antigua came to Dinner as did a Doctr. Pinckard. The last went afterwards.

   Robert Liston (1743–1836) served as British minister and ambassador at several important posts before being appointed in 1796 as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the United States. He served in this capacity until 1800. In Feb. 1796, just before coming to this country, he married Henrietta Marchant, “daughter of the late Nathaniel M. esq. of Antigua” (Gentleman’s Mag., 66 [1796], 254). Nelly Custis characterized Mrs. Liston as having “kind & friendly manners” and seemed fond of her, but she refused an invitation to spend part of the winter with the Listons in Philadelphia because of her reluctance to leave Mount Vernon and especially her grandmother (Eleanor Parke Custis to Elizabeth Bordley, 23 Nov. 1797, ViMtvL). mr. marchant: Mrs. Liston’s brother, Dr. Nathaniel M. Marchant (d. 1804) of Antigua. His wife was Mary Marchant. According to Nelly Custis, Mrs. Marchant was “a sweet beautiful engaging Woman, her husband very pleasing & entertaining. I am really sorry that his health is so very precarious. . . . Mr. Brown is a very genteel young man, I am sorry he has left Philadelphia, as I am sure the Belles will feel his loss—he was in my opinion one of the most elegant & pleasing young men last Winter” (Eleanor Parke Custis to Elizabeth Bordley, 23 Nov. 1797, ViMtvL). Mr. Brown was Frank Brown, Mrs. Marchant’s son of a former marriage. Mr. Athill is James Athill, speaker of the Antigua legislature (information from Mrs. Alexandra Lee Levin, Baltimore, Md.; Fitzpatrick, DiariesJohn C. Fitzpatrick, ed. The Diaries of George Washington, 1748–1799. 4 vols. Boston and New York, 1925., 4:263). Nelly Custis thought him “a sensible agreeable man.” The Listons were to accompany the Marchant family and Mr. Athill by water as far as Norfolk, from whence the Marchants, Brown, and Athill were to embark for Antigua (Eleanor Parke Custis to Elizabeth Bordley, 23 Nov. 1797, ViMtvL).

14. Remarkable fine morning but lowering & windy from No. W. in the afternoon. Mer. 58 & 42. Mrs. Ramsay, Mr. & Mrs. Potts Mr. Wilson, Mr. Harrison & Da[ughter] & son dined here. In the afternoon Majr. Pinckney & Lady arrived.

   Maj. Thomas Pinckney (1750–1828), of South Carolina, was the son of Charles and Eliza Lucas Pinckney and brother of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. Reared and educated in England, Pinckney attended the Inner Temple and was admitted to the bar in 1774. He returned to America and served in the Continental Army, receiving a promotion to major of the 1st South Carolina Regiment in 1778. From 1792 to 1796 he served as minister to Great Britain and from 1794 to 1795 was in Spain as special commissioner and envoy to settle the outstanding differences between the United States and Spain. In 1796 Pinckney was the Federalist candidate for vice-president. At the present time he was a member of the House of Representatives from South Carolina. Pinckney’s first wife, Elizabeth Motte Pinckney, had died while he was in England, and on 19 Oct. 1797 he had married her sister, Frances Motte Middleton, widow of John Middleton. The Pinckneys were undoubtedly on their way to Philadelphia for the new session of Congress.

15. Cold & windy with a little Snow just to whiten the grd. in the morning—clear afterwards. Mer.—38 & 48.

16. Very hard frost—Wind at No. wt. & clear. Mer. at . All the Compy. above mentd. went away & Mr. B. Bassett came to dinner & a Mr. Augs. Woodward came in the Evening.

   Augustus Woodward, of Greenbrier Court House, stopped at Mount Vernon on his way to Philadelphia with a “draft” from George Alderson, sheriff of Kanawha County, for taxes due for the years 1791–96 on four tracts of GW’s land lying on the Kanawha River in Kanawha County (Alderson’s draft to GW, Aug. 1797, NjMoHP). Since his knowledge of the county’s tax laws was sketchy, GW declined to pay until he could make further inquiry. Woodward informed him that the necessary information could be obtained from the treasury or auditor’s office in Richmond, and GW requested his nephew Bushrod Washington, then living in Richmond, to investigate (GW to Bushrod Washington, 18 Dec. 1797, DLC:GW). On 9 Jan. 1798 Bushrod informed his uncle that Sheriff Alderson was substantially correct, but that some of these lands and two lots in Berkeley County had also been returned for nonpayment of 1788 taxes and 1795 taxes, respectively, “with a view under a late Law, of subjecting them to forfeiture and future appropriation by any other person, or to be sold by the public.” This, he urged GW, was the more urgent matter, and payment should be made at the treasury or the auditor’s office promptly. The taxes due for the last six years should be paid directly to the “Sheriff or Collector of the County where the Lands lie” (ViMtvL). Woodward stopped at Mount Vernon on 14–15 Jan. 1798 on his way home from Philadelphia and received the full amount of the taxes requested by the sheriff of Kanawha County. GW sent the amount due at the auditor’s office promptly to Bushrod Washington for payment (GW to Bushrod Washington, 19 Jan. 1798, DLC:GW). See also GW to Bushrod Washington, 30 Jan. and 7 Feb. 1798, DLC:GW; Bushrod Washington to GW, 1 Feb. 1798, ViMtvL; schedule of GW’s western lands, Jan. 1798, DLC:GW.

17. Snowing very fast from So. Et. until 9 Oclock when it ceased—grd. covered abt. 2 Inchs. Mer. 44. 36.

18. Very pleasant, & clear after the morning. Wind moderate Mer. 48 & 42. Mr. Woodford went.

   mr. woodford: GW means Augustus Woodward, who came on 16 Nov.

19. Clear & very pleasant—Wd. Southerly. Mer. 50 & 44—Mr. White came.

   Mr. White is Alexander White, commissioner of the Federal City (see entry for 31 Dec. 1789).

20. Wind shifting to No. Easterly, it grew cold & threatned Snow. Mer. from 32 to 42. Mr. White went away & I went to Alexandria & returned.

21. A little Snow in the morning with a very heavy sleet all day.

Mer. from 36 to 48. A Mr. Lister introduced by Mr. Robt. Morris came here dined & returned.

   Robert Morris wrote GW that Daniel Lister was “an English young Gentn.” on a tour of the United States and “could not return contentedly without seeing the Saviour of this country, Thus you see that your well earned Fame subjects your time & attention to be taxed by Strangers” (6 Nov. 1797, DLC:GW).

22. Misting, & at times raining all day. The sleet was so heavy as to break down all the Willow Trees. Mer. 48 & 34.

23. Such a day as yesterday but more rain. Mer. as above. Mr. Bassett & Fanny Henly went away.

   Mr. Bassett is probably Burwell Bassett, Jr. He wrote GW from Richmond three days later indicating that he had recently talked to GW about a cook and housekeeper for Mount Vernon (DLC:GW). fanny henly: Nelly Custis wrote a friend, “My cousin left me this morning for her Home. I regret the loss of her society much, as she was great company for me, she is an affectionate amiable girl” (Eleanor Parke Custis to Elizabeth Bordley, 23 Nov. 1797, ViMtvL).

24. Clear & cold. Wd. at No. Wt. Mer. as above—A Mr. Welch from Greenbrier dined here.

   James Welch of Rockingham County, now living in Greenbrier County, arrived at Mount Vernon armed with a cautious letter of introduction from Daniel Morgan. He had no money but had a grandiose scheme for leasing GW’s 23,000 acres of land on the Kanawha River and dividing it into small farms for sublease. On 29 Nov., Welch submitted a definite proposition for leasing the land with an option to buy. GW wrote Dr. James Craik in Alexandria to try to find out more about him before carrying negotiations any further (COOKRoy Bird Cook. Washington’s Western Lands. Strasburg, Va., 1930., 71–73; PRUSSINGEugene E. Prussing. The Estate of George Washington, Deceased. Boston, 1927., 119, 464–65).

25. Moderate with the Wind Southerly—Mer. 41 a 49. Mr. Russel came here abt. 9 Oclock A.M.

   mr. russel: probably William Russell (1740–1818), a merchant and reformer of Birmingham, Eng., who engaged in an export trade from Birmingham and Sheffield to Russia, Spain, and the United States. In 1795 he came to the United States to clear up matters dealing with his American trade and to check on a family estate in Maryland. He stayed for five years. On 8 Sept. 1798 Russell wrote GW from Middletown, Conn., thanking him for the hospitality shown him at Mount Vernon and promising to send the ram and the recently completed chaff machine he had promised as soon as appropriate shipping could be had (DLC:GW). Owing to various delays, the sheep and the chaff machine did not arrive until May 1799. Russell also sent GW a gift of a new type of hoe and a new implement called a ground borer, designed for digging fence post holes but which could be put to military use making

	   chevaux-de-frise (GW to Russell, 28 Sept. 1798, 6 Jan. and 26 May 1799, and Russell to GW, 11 May 1799, DLC:GW; Russell to GW, 20 Dec. 1798, ViMtvL).

26. Wind fresh from No. West all day & clear. Mr. Russel went away after breakfast. Mr. Lear came to dinner & Mr. & Mrs. Law at Night.

27. Wind in the same place & cold. Mer.  No acct. taken.

28. Wind still at No. Wt. & cold. Mer. neglected again.

29. Wind in the same quarter & equally cold and spewing frost. Mer. 22 a 32.

30. Wind & weather as yesterday—Mer. 24 a 34.


Title: [Diary entry: 3 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

3. Wind hard and cold all day from No. Wt. Mer.—From 28 to 18.


Title: [Diary entry: 4 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

4. Excessively Cold wind in the same quarter—Mer. 10 to 18. All the creeks & great part of the River froze.


Title: [Diary entry: 6 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

6. Mer. 18–32. River all most closed. Mrs. Forbes our House keeper arrived here this day. Wd. South.


Title: [Diary entry: 7 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

7. Wind Southerly but still cold. Mer. from 26 to 32. Doctr. Fendall went away, & Docr. Stuart came.


Title: [Diary entry: 8 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

8. Lowering, but moderate—Wind Southerly. Mer. 32.


Title: [Diary entry: 10 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

10. Wind variable—Mer. 26 a . Mr. Burwell came to dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 11 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

11. Calm & pleasant—Wind Southerly—Mer. 28 a 34. Mr. Burwell went away after breakfast & a son of Colo. D. Henley came to dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 12 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

12. Lowering Morning, but fine afternoon, Mer. 32 a 42. Mr. Henley went up to Alex. Revd. Mr. Fairfax dined he⟨re⟩.


Title: [Diary entry: 15 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

15. Little or no Wind in the forenoon brisk So. Easterly & constant Rain afternoon. Mer. 38 a 50.


Title: [Diary entry: 16 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

16. Wind at No. Wt. but not very hard or cold. Mer. 26 a 40.


Title: [Diary entry: 18 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

18. Wind shifted to No. Wt. in the Night & grew cold. Mer. from 18 to 32. Went up to Alex. & finished my business w. Mr. Welch.


Title: [Diary entry: 19 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

19. Wind got to the Southward again but was very cold not with standing. Mer. 26 to 34. Genl. Huntingdon went away after breakfast.


Title: [Diary entry: 20 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

20. Wind Southerly in the Morng. with appearances of Snow No. Wt. in the afternn. & Cold Mer. 28 a 38. Doctr. Stuart came to Dinn.


Title: [Diary entry: 21 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

21. Very cold—Wind at No. W. Mer. 9 a 28. Doctr. Stuart went away after breakfast.


Title: [Diary entry: 23 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

23. Wind in the same quarter but not so hard. Mer. 10 a 26.


Title: [Diary entry: 26 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

26. Cloudy morning, & rainy afternoon—wind at So. Et. as it was yesterday. Mer. 32 a 36. Mr. Dandridge went away.


Title: [Diary entry: 27 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

27. Clear—wind having got to No. Wt. again. Mer. 20 to 25. Mr. Lear & Mr. W. Dandridge came to dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 28 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

28. Clear with but little Wind. Mer. from 15 to 34. Mr. Lear went away after breakfast. Began to fill my Ice house.


Title: [Diary entry: 29 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

29. Clear with very little wind. Mer. from 20 to 41.


Title: [Diary entry: 30 December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

 30. Just such a day as yesterday—Mer. 20 to 40. Mrs. Washington came here and Mr. Wm. Dandridge to do business for me in the way of writing.


Title: [December 1797]
From: Washington, George
To:

1. More moderate—wind still at No. Wt. Mer. 29 & standing there.

2. Wind at So. Wt.—raining and misting all day. Mer. from 32 to 33. Doctr. Fendall came in the afternoon.

3. Wind hard and cold all day from No. Wt. Mer.—From 28 to 18.

4. Excessively Cold wind in the same quarter—Mer. 10 to 18. All the creeks & great part of the River froze.

5. Wind shifted Southerly but still very cold. Mery. as above.

6. Mer. 18–32. River all most closed. Mrs. Forbes our House keeper arrived here this day. Wd. South.

   The steady stream of visitors to Mount Vernon put quite a strain on Mrs. Washington. There was no steward or housekeeper at Mount Vernon, and to make matters worse, their slave cook, Hercules, had run away sometime in the early fall. GW wrote several friends requesting them to help him find either a housekeeper or a steward and a cook, either slave or for hire. He also inserted an advertisement in the newspaper for a housekeeper “competent to all the duties of that office in a large family—for such, one hundred and fifty dollars per annum will be allowed. OR In place of a house-keeper,

a household steward, well acquainted with the duties of a Butler, and skilled in the art of cookery (the manual part of which would not be required of him) would be employed at the above, or greater wages, if his qualifications entitled him to them” (Columbian Mirror [Alexandria], 12 Aug. 1797). The choice fell upon Mrs. Eleanor Forbes, a 50–year-old English widow who had served as housekeeper for Robert Brooke during his term as governor of Virginia. Mrs. Forbes was, according to Brooke, “active & Spirited in the execution of her business—sober & honest—well acquainted with Cookery & . . . capable of ordering & setting out a table . . . her appearance is decent & respectable & such is her general deportment” (Bushrod Washington to GW, 8 Nov. 1797, ViMtvL). Mrs. Forbes was due to come to Mount Vernon immediately but was unable to come until December (GW to Bushrod Washington, 22 Nov. 1797, DLC:GW; Bushrod Washington to GW, 8 and 26 Nov. 1797, ViMtvL). She proved satisfactory and remained at Mount Vernon until after GW’s death.

7. Wind Southerly but still cold. Mer. from 26 to 32. Doctr. Fendall went away, & Docr. Stuart came.

   Dr. Benjamin Fendall of Cedar Hill in Charles County, Md., was a dentist. He probably came to see Mrs. Washington, who was to have some new teeth made. GW wrote Dr. Fendall several months later, “Mrs. Washington has been long in expectation of receiving what you took away unfinished, and was to have completed and sent to her; and prays that it may be done with out further delay, as she is in want of them, & must apply elsewhere if not done” (6 Mar. 1798, DLC:GW). Over a year later Fendall wrote GW that he had been able to finish Mrs. Washington’s teeth and was sending them by a servant. Whether these are the same ones GW had inquired about is not known. Fendall wrote, “They are—as nearly as I can now recollect, like the old ones—as there are so many ways, to make, & shape Teeth—’twoud be almost impossible, to make ’em, exactly alike—after some time, without having the old ones present. The Model, I took, has, also, by accident, sustain’d some injury. I am extremely sorry, indeed, yr. Lady has been obliged to wait so long owing to my long absence from home and my Illness after I had arriv’d at Cedar-Hill” (10 Aug. 1799, DLC:GW).

8. Lowering, but moderate—Wind Southerly. Mer. 32.

9. Wind cold again from the No. Wt. Mer. 24 a . Mr. Law & family & Doc. Stuart went away after breakfast & Mr. Welch came to Dinner & returned afterwards.

   James Welch had come to Mount Vernon to deliver his final proposal for the Kanawha lands. There had been correspondence back and forth since his original proposal on 29 Nov., and GW had received some rather disquieting reports about Welch. However, Welch’s offer of his 99,995–acre tract on Elk River in Randolph County (now W.Va.) to be held in trust by GW as security for payment induced GW to agree to Welch’s latest proposal. He wrote James Keith the next day to draw up the necessary papers. Welch was to have a 30–year-lease on GW’s four tracts of land on the

Kanawha River “to commence on the 1st. day of January next (1798) at the Rent of $5,000 for the first year . . . for $8,000 the next year, and from thence untill the expiration of the 30 yrs. for $11,143 annually, and for 99 years thereafter on an annual Rent of $22,286” (GW to Keith, 10 Dec. 1797, DLC:GW). If he so desired, Welch was to have the right to purchase the land in fee simple in four yearly installments beginning in 1804. The land was to be divided into tenements of 50 to 300 acres, with the usual specifications regarding improving the land (PRUSSINGEugene E. Prussing. The Estate of George Washington, Deceased. Boston, 1927., 119–20, 466–71).

10. Wind variable—Mer. 26 a . Mr. Burwell came to dinner.

   Mr. Burwell is probably either Lewis Burwell, Jr., son of Col. Lewis Burwell (1716–1784) of Kingsmill, or Lewis Burwell (1764–1834) of Richmond, son of Lewis Burwell (1737–1779) of Fairfield, Gloucester County.

11. Calm & pleasant—Wind Southerly—Mer. 28 a 34. Mr. Burwell went away after breakfast & a son of Colo. D. Henley came to dinner.

   Col. David Henley was at this time War Department agent to the Southwest Territory. He and his wife Sarah Hesilrige Henley (d. 1786) had two sons, Arthur Hesilrige Henley (b. 1782) and David Henley (b. 1784). For information on the Henley family, see WYMANThomas Bellows Wyman. The Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, in the County of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1629–1818. 2 vols. Boston, 1879., 1:493–94.

12. Lowering Morning, but fine afternoon, Mer. 32 a 42. Mr. Henley went up to Alex. Revd. Mr. Fairfax dined he⟨re⟩.

   Late in 1789 Bryan Fairfax had been ordained a minister in the Episcopal church, and on 15 Mar. 1790 he was inducted as rector of Fairfax Parish. He served as rector for only two years, retiring on 16 July 1792. In 1790 he moved his residence from Towlston Grange to Mount Eagle, a home he built on 329 acres he had purchased near Alexandria. There is some evidence that GW may have named Fairfax’s new residence (KILMERKenton Kilmer and Donald Sweig. The Fairfax Family in Fairfax County: A Brief History. Fairfax, Va., 1975., 39–42).

13. Soft & moderate—Wind Southerly. Mer. 42. a 46. Mr. Lear dined here & Mr. Lawe. Lewis returned.

14. Just such a day as the preceeding one. Mer. 46 a 52.

15. Little or no Wind in the forenoon brisk So. Easterly & constant Rain afternoon. Mer. 38 a 50.

16. Wind at No. Wt. but not very hard or cold. Mer. 26 a 40.

17. Moderate with very little wind Mer. from 30 to 34. Gen. Huntingdon came to dinner.

   gen. huntingdon: Maj. Gen. Jedediah Huntington (see entry for 18 Oct. 1789, n.3) had recently built a home in New London, Conn., which he called Mount Vernon (CROFUTFlorence S. Marcy Crofut. Guide to the History and the Historic Sites of Connecticut. 2 vols. New Haven, 1937., 2:729).

18. Wind shifted to No. Wt. in the Night & grew cold. Mer. from 18 to 32. Went up to Alex. & finished my business w. Mr. Welch.

   GW and James Welch signed the papers drawn up by James Keith for the Kanawha lands (PRUSSINGEugene E. Prussing. The Estate of George Washington, Deceased. Boston, 1927., 471). See entry for 24 Nov. 1797.

19. Wind got to the Southward again but was very cold not with standing. Mer. 26 to 34. Genl. Huntingdon went away after breakfast.

20. Wind Southerly in the Morng. with appearances of Snow No. Wt. in the afternn. & Cold Mer. 28 a 38. Doctr. Stuart came to Dinn.

21. Very cold—Wind at No. W. Mer. 9 a 28. Doctr. Stuart went away after breakfast.

22. Very cold Wind fresh at No. Wt. Mer. 8 a .

23. Wind in the same quarter but not so hard. Mer. 10 a 26.

24. Calm but still cold. Mer. 8 a 28.

25. Appearance for Snow in the Morning but clear afterwards & moderate—Mer. 24 a 32. Mr. W. Dandridge came.

   William Dandridge was a son of Martha Washington’s brother Bartholomew Dandridge (1737–1785) and Mary Burbidge Dandridge (d. 1809). Young Dandridge had purchased garden seeds for GW at Georgetown (GW’s Cash Memoranda, 1 Sept. 1797–20 Feb. 1799, RPJCB).

26. Cloudy morning, & rainy afternoon—wind at So. Et. as it was yesterday. Mer. 32 a 36. Mr. Dandridge went away.

27. Clear—wind having got to No. Wt. again. Mer. 20 to 25. Mr. Lear & Mr. W. Dandridge came to dinner.

28. Clear with but little Wind. Mer. from 15 to 34. Mr. Lear went away after breakfast. Began to fill my Ice house.

29. Clear with very little wind. Mer. from 20 to 41.

30. Just such a day as yesterday—Mer. 20 to 40. Mrs. Washington came here and Mr. Wm. Dandridge to do business for me in the way of writing.

   William Dandridge probably did not stay long at Mount Vernon. The only mentions of him in the accounts after this date are an entry for $25 on 3 Feb. 1798, “By Cash given to Mr. Wm. Dandridge,” and a similar entry on 11 April (GW’s Cash Memoranda, 1 Sept. 1797–20 Feb. 1799, RPJCB). GW probably did not approve of the young man’s requests for such sizable sums of money in so short a time after his employment.

31. Clear & pleasant all day with but little Wind. Mer. at 30 or thereabouts.

   GW has written this last entry for 1797 on a page inadvertently headed “January.”


Title: [Diary entry: 1 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

1. Much rain fell last night & a thick fog, with a Southerly Wind continued all the forenoon, clear afterwards. Mer. abt. 32.


Title: [Diary entry: 4 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

4. Wind at No. Et. and constant Rain all day, with a Sleet; Mer. at 30 in the morning, & continued thereat all day.


Title: [Diary entry: 7 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

7. Morning calm & clear. Mer. at 28; in the evening it lowered with the wind at No. Et. Mer. at 34.


Title: [Diary entry: 9 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

9. Very foggy with little or no Wind in the morning. Mer. at 32—at the highest 42 and at Night 30 the Wind having got to No. Wt. abt. Noon.


Title: [Diary entry: 10 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

10. Clear fine morning—Mer. at 29. At Noon it lowered very much & towards night Spits of Snow fell. At night the Mer. was at 30 & its greatest height 34.


Title: [Diary entry: 11 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

11. Clear, with the wind fresh all the forenoon from No. Wt. Mer. at 25 in the Morng.—36 at its greatest height & 27 at Night. Mr. Lear dined here & returned.


Title: [Diary entry: 12 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

12. Clear, & wind Southerly. Mer. at 24 in the morning—42 greatest height and 32 at Night.


Title: [Diary entry: 13 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

13. Clear & no wind in the morning. Mer. at 28—greatest height 48—in the evening at 43. Calm & pleasant all day.


Title: [Diary entry: 14 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

14. A little lowering all day with but little wind and that Southerly. Mer. at 36 in the Morning 46 at Night & 48 when highest. Mr. Lewis Burwell came to dinner & Mr. Woodward in the evening.


Title: [Diary entry: 15 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

15. Southerly Wind—Soft morng. thin clouds. Mer. at 46 at Sunrise—50 at Noon & 50 at Night. Slow rain from 12 oclock with the wind Southerly. Mr. Burwell & Mr. Woodward went away & I went to Alexandria to a meeting of the Stockholders of that Bank to an Election of Directors.


Title: [Diary entry: 16 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

 16. Clear morning & brisk Southerly Wind. Mer. at 43 in the morning—53 at its highest and 51 at Night. Day clear throughout & very pleasant.


Title: [Diary entry: 17 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

17. Clear & pleasant wind Southerly. Mer. 30 in the Morng.—56 at the height and 48 at Night. Abt. noon the Wind came out at No. Wt. but died away. Very clear & pleast.


Title: [Diary entry: 19 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

19. More lowering & likely to snow than yesterday. Wind still Northerly—And Mer. at 26 in the morning—the same at Night & only raised two degrees in the course of the day. Afternoon threatned Snow much.


Title: [Diary entry: 20 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

20. Still likely for Snow—A small sprinkle, but not enough to cover the ground in the Morning. About 10 Oclock it cleared & became remarkably pleasant wind Southerly. Mer. at 26 in the Morning—40 at highest & 32 at Night. Mr. G. W. Craik came here to dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 21 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

21. Morng. clear & wind at No. Wt.—Mer. at 30. Clear all day. Mer. at 40 & fallen to 39 at night.


Title: [Diary entry: 22 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

22. Very cloudy & heavy. Wind Southerly. Mer. 32 in the Morn.—40 at Noon & 42 at Night. About two oclock it began to rain & continued to do so about 2 hours when it ceased but remained cloudy.


Title: [Diary entry: 23 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

23. Snow, just sufft. to cover the ground, fell in the Night. Wind at No. Wt. in the Morning & Mer. at 30—at Noon 25 & at night 20. Wind fresh all day. Mr. Howell Lewis came to Dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 24 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

24. Wind at No. Wt. in the morning—at noon 28 and at Night 22. Clear all day & afterno[o]n the wind was Southerly. Mr. Jno. Hopkins & Mr. Hodgden came to dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 25 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

25. Wind Southerly all day & much like Snow in the forenoon—clear afterwards. Mer. 26–32 & 32. Mess. Hopkins & Hodgden went away after Breakfast.


Title: [Diary entry: 28 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

28. Snow about an Inch deep. Clear & wind at No. Wt. & Mer. at 20 in the Morning—33 at its highest & 20 at Night. Mr. Craik & Mr. Howell Lewis went away after breakfast.


Title: [Diary entry: 29 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

29. Cold, raw & likely for Snow in the Morning. Mer. at 20 & wind at No. Et. Clear Afternoon with but little wind. Mer. 31 at highest & 27 at Night.


Title: [Diary entry: 30 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

30. Lowering—in the Morning, Wind still at No. Et. Mer. 24. Afternoon calm, clear & pleasant. Mer. at 42 at its height & 37 at Night.


Title: [Diary entry: 31 January 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

31. Clear with the Wind at No. Wt. and Mer. at 31 in the Morning—lowering towards night. Mer. 45 when highest and 35 at Night.


Title: Remarks in January [1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

1. Much rain fell last night & a thick fog, with a Southerly Wind continued all the forenoon, clear afterwards. Mer. abt. 32.

2. Clear with the Wind (tho’ not much of it) at No. Wt. Mer. abt. 30. A Mr. Elliot came to dinnr. and stayed all Night.

   mr. elliot: Barnard Elliott, Jr. (c.1777–1806), only son of Lt. Col. Barnard Elliott (d. 1778), a former member of the King’s Council in South Carolina and an officer of the South Carolina Regiment of Artillery in the Revolution. Young Elliott was at Mount Vernon to solicit GW’s aid in securing a claim against the government for land for his father’s service in the war. GW wrote a letter to Secretary of War James McHenry on this day asking him to aid the young man if possible in pressing his petition. A claim for seven years’ half pay was finally approved in 1810 (GW to McHenry, 2 Jan. 1798, DLC:GW; S.C. Hist. & Geneal. Mag., 17 [1916], 150–51, 50 [1949], 70, 63 [1962–63], 128).

3. Mrs. L. Washington & Mr. Elliot went away after breakfast, & Mrs. Washington, myself &ca. went to Alexandria & dined with Mr. Fitzhugh. Morning clear but lowering afterwards. Mer. about 28. Wind No. Easterly.

4. Wind at No. Et. and constant Rain all day, with a Sleet; Mer. at 30 in the morning, & continued thereat all day.

5. Little or no wind all day. In the evening it sprung up at No. Wt. Mer. from 30 to 36. A Mr. Fisk who came here on Wednesday evening went away this morning. Last night there fell about three Inches of Snow. Thawing all day.

6. Wind pretty brisk from No. Wt. Mer. from 33 to 40 and thawing.

7. Morning calm & clear. Mer. at 28; in the evening it lowered with the wind at No. Et. Mer. at 34.

8. Wind at So. Et. in the Morning and lowering. Mer. at 28. Abt. Noon it began to rain & contd. to do so all afternn. Mer. 30 at

Night. A Mr. Marshall Music Master came here—Tuned Nelly Custis’s Harpsicord & returned after din⟨ner⟩.

9. Very foggy with little or no Wind in the morning. Mer. at 32—at the highest 42 and at Night 30 the Wind having got to No. Wt. abt. Noon.

10. Clear fine morning—Mer. at 29. At Noon it lowered very much & towards night Spits of Snow fell. At night the Mer. was at 30 & its greatest height 34.

11. Clear, with the wind fresh all the forenoon from No. Wt. Mer. at 25 in the Morng.—36 at its greatest height & 27 at Night. Mr. Lear dined here & returned.

12. Clear, & wind Southerly. Mer. at 24 in the morning—42 greatest height and 32 at Night.

13. Clear & no wind in the morning. Mer. at 28—greatest height 48—in the evening at 43. Calm & pleasant all day.

14. A little lowering all day with but little wind and that Southerly. Mer. at 36 in the Morning 46 at Night & 48 when highest. Mr. Lewis Burwell came to dinner & Mr. Woodward in the evening.

   Burwell requested a letter of introduction for a trip to inspect land in the Genesee country of western New York State (GW to Charles Williamson, 19 Jan. 1798, WRITINGSJohn C. Fitzpatrick, ed. The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745–1799. 39 vols. Washington, D.C., 1931–44., 37:581).

15. Southerly Wind—Soft morng. thin clouds. Mer. at 46 at Sunrise—50 at Noon & 50 at Night. Slow rain from 12 oclock with the wind Southerly. Mr. Burwell & Mr. Woodward went away & I went to Alexandria to a meeting of the Stockholders of that Bank to an Election of Directors.

   GW on this day, “By Cash (in a check on the Bank of Alexa.) paid George Alderson Sheriff of Kanhawa Cty., his draught in favour of Augustus Woodward, taxes on four tracts of Land lying on the Kanhawa River for the years 1791. 2. 3. 4. 5 & 1796 pr. the said Woodwards receipt—£101.10. 3¾” (GW’s Cash Memoranda, 1 Sept. 1797–20 Feb. 1799, RPJCB). See entry for 16 Nov. 1797.

   GW attended a meeting to elect nine directors of the Bank of Alexandria for one-year terms under the charter granted by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1792 (Columbian Mirror [Alexandria], 4 Jan. 1798; HOWECharles E. Howe. “The Financial Institutions of Washington City in Its Early Days.” Records of the Columbia Historical Society 8 (1905): 1–42., 1–9).

16. Clear morning & brisk Southerly Wind. Mer. at 43 in the morning—53 at its highest and 51 at Night. Day clear throughout & very pleasant.

17. Clear & pleasant wind Southerly. Mer. 30 in the Morng.—56 at the height and 48 at Night. Abt. noon the Wind came out at No. Wt. but died away. Very clear & pleast.

18. Lowering, with the wind pretty fresh from the Northward in the morning. Mer. then 38–32 at Night & 38 at its highest. Cold, raw & cloudy all day.

19. More lowering & likely to snow than yesterday. Wind still Northerly—And Mer. at 26 in the morning—the same at Night & only raised two degrees in the course of the day. Afternoon threatned Snow much.

20. Still likely for Snow—A small sprinkle, but not enough to cover the ground in the Morning. About 10 Oclock it cleared & became remarkably pleasant wind Southerly. Mer. at 26 in the Morning—40 at highest & 32 at Night. Mr. G. W. Craik came here to dinner.

21. Morng. clear & wind at No. Wt.—Mer. at 30. Clear all day. Mer. at 40 & fallen to 39 at night.

22. Very cloudy & heavy. Wind Southerly. Mer. 32 in the Morn.—40 at Noon & 42 at Night. About two oclock it began to rain & continued to do so about 2 hours when it ceased but remained cloudy.

23. Snow, just sufft. to cover the ground, fell in the Night. Wind at No. Wt. in the Morning & Mer. at 30—at Noon 25 & at night 20. Wind fresh all day. Mr. Howell Lewis came to Dinner.

   Howell Lewis (1771–1822), of Culpeper County, was the youngest child of Fielding and Betty Washington Lewis. In 1793 he served GW as an interim manager of Mount Vernon until GW found and hired William Pearce.

24. Wind at No. Wt. in the morning—at noon 28 and at Night 22. Clear all day & afterno[o]n the wind was Southerly. Mr. Jno. Hopkins & Mr. Hodgden came to dinner.

   mr. jno. hopkins: probably John Hopkins (c.1757–1827), commissioner of continental loans for the state of Virginia (1780–c.1794) and a merchant and

banker of Richmond. In 1806, after moving to Alexandria, Hopkins married Cornelia Lee (1780–1815), a daughter of William Lee of Greenspring.

25. Wind Southerly all day & much like Snow in the forenoon—clear afterwards. Mer. 26–32 & 32. Mess. Hopkins & Hodgden went away after Breakfast.

26. Mer. at 30 in the morning. Wind Southerly & raining until Noon, when it ceased but continued cloudy with the Wind in the same place. Mer. rising to 37 by Night.

27. Raining with the wind at No. Et. Mer. at 32 in the morning—33 at Noon & 28 at Night. About 4 O’clock the Wind came out at No. Wt. & the Rain changed to Snow.

28. Snow about an Inch deep. Clear & wind at No. Wt. & Mer. at 20 in the Morning—33 at its highest & 20 at Night. Mr. Craik & Mr. Howell Lewis went away after breakfast.

29. Cold, raw & likely for Snow in the Morning. Mer. at 20 & wind at No. Et. Clear Afternoon with but little wind. Mer. 31 at highest & 27 at Night.

30. Lowering—in the Morning, Wind still at No. Et. Mer. 24. Afternoon calm, clear & pleasant. Mer. at 42 at its height & 37 at Night.

31. Clear with the Wind at No. Wt. and Mer. at 31 in the Morning—lowering towards night. Mer. 45 when highest and 35 at Night.


Title: [Diary entry: 1 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

1. Clear wind about So. Wt. & Mer. 28 in the Morning. Pretty brisk from No. Wt, about Noon & calm towards night & clear all day. Mer. 40 at Night & 45 when highest. A Mr. Lad & a Mr. Gibbes from Rhode Island dined here & returned to Alexandria.


Title: [Diary entry: 2 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

2. Clear, moderate & pleasant all day with but little wind & that Westerly. Mer. 32 in the Morning—56 at highest & 52 at Night.


Title: [Diary entry: 3 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

3. Wind brisk from No. Wt. & Mer. 42 in the Morning—clear and but little of it afterwards. Mer. 44 at highest & 38 at Night. A Mr. Adamson from Hamburgh & Doctr. Stuart came to Dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 6 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

6. Clear, with a brisk Southerly Wind. Mer. at 29 in the morning—46 at highest & 41 at Night.


Title: [Diary entry: 7 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

7. Wind Southerly in the Morning but shifted before 10 oclock & turned very cold. Mer. 31 in the Morng. Went to a meetg. of the Potomak Co. in George Town. Dined at Colo. Fitzgeralds & lodged at Mr. T. Peters.


Title: [Diary entry: 9 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

9. Returned home to Dinner—hard freezing the three last

Nights. Weather still cold. Wind No. Easterly. Mer. at night 20. Found Mr. Geo. Calvert here.


Title: [Diary entry: 10 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

10. Clear morning with but little W. Mer. at 18. Pleasant all day. Mer. 28 at Night. Mr. Calvert left this after breakfast. Wind freshened from the Southward. In MS “left” is written “let.”


Title: [Diary entry: 12 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

12. Clear—Mer. at 35 and Wind at No. Wt. in the Morning—little or none afterwards—& at Night lowering. Went with the family to a Ball in Alexa. given by the Citzen[s] of it & its vicinity in commemoration of the Anniversary of my birth day.


Title: [Diary entry: 13 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

13. A sprinkle of Snow fell in the Night. Wind at No. Et. Raw & threatning a fall of Weather all day. Returned home to dinner. Mer. 30 at Night.


Title: [Diary entry: 14 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

14. About an inch deep of Snow fell last Night. Weather cloudy & cold. Wind at No. & Mer. 25 in the morning—Clear afterwds. Mer. 33 at Night. Mr. Alexr. Spotswood & Wife & Mr. Fieldg. Lewis & Mr. Lear came to dinner. The latter returned afterwards.


Title: [Diary entry: 15 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

15. Clear morning—wind still at N. W. & Mer. at 24—the evening—32 & at highest 36. Afternoon clear & evening lowering. Mr. Fieldg. Lewis went away after dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 16 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

 16. Cloudy, & Wind No. Westerly & Mer. at 30 in the Morning. No. Easterly afterwards. Mer. 28 at Night & 32 at highest. Cloudy most part of the day. Mr. & Mrs. Spotswood left us after breakfast.


Title: [Diary entry: 18 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

18. Quite clear & little wind, Mer. 21 in the morning—Wind at No. Et. afterwards. Mer. 24 at Night & 34 at highest. Doctr. Stuart came in the evening.


Title: [Diary entry: 19 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

19. Mer. at 22 in the morning. Wind at No. Et. & extremely cloudy. About 4 O’Clock it began to Hail. At Night Mer. was at 21 & at highest 24. Doctr. Stuart went away after Breakt.


Title: [Diary entry: 20 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

20. An extremely heavy Sleet—with little or no wind. Mer. at 28. A mixture of Hail & rain had fallen in the Night. Abt. noon the Wind came out, but not hard at No. W. Cloudy all day. Mer. 32 at Night—as high as it had been in the day.


Title: [Diary entry: 21 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

21. Mer. at 32 in the Morning & very cloudy—the wind at No. Et.—where it remained all day. In the evening it began a steady rain. Mer. stood at 32 all day.


Title: [Diary entry: 22 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

22. About an inch of Snow fell last Night—Mer. 32—morning clear. Wind So. Westerly till 10 Oclock—then No. Wt. & fresh. Mer. 42 at Night & 50 at highest.


Title: [Diary entry: 23 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

23. Heavy morning—no wind. Mer. 32 very cloudy all day—wind at So. Et. & in the aftern. fine Rain. Mer. 36 at Night & not more all day.


Title: [Diary entry: 24 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

24. Very foggy Morng. & Mer. at 36. Cloudy all day without Wind. Mer. at 40 at Night & at highest.


Title: [Diary entry: 25 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

25. Rain fell last Night. Morning cloudy & heavy—Wind Easterly & Mer. at 36. No. Wt. in the afternn. Mer. 44 at higt. & 40, Night.


Title: [Diary entry: 28 February 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

28. Clear morning & very white fr. No wind—Mer. at 30. About 10 Oclock the wind came out at No. Et. clouded up immediately & at 12 began to snow & contd. to do so until night, by which the grd. was covered about 4 Inches. Mer. contd. at 30 all day.


Title: February—1798
From: Washington, George
To:

1. Clear wind about So. Wt. & Mer. 28 in the Morning. Pretty brisk from No. Wt, about Noon & calm towards night & clear all day. Mer. 40 at Night & 45 when highest. A Mr. Lad & a Mr. Gibbes from Rhode Island dined here & returned to Alexandria.

   John G. Ladd was a merchant in Alexandria. GW was possibly referring to George Gibbs (1776-1833) of Newport, R.I., a well-known mineralogist (Brady, Beautiful NellyPatricia Brady, ed. George Washington’s Beautiful Nelly: The Letters of Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis to Elizabeth Bordley Gibson, 1794–1851. Columbia, S.C., 1991., 46, 50). Of Mr. Gibbes from Rhode Island, Nelly Custis later remarked: “I do not know what subjects he discusses with gentlemen . . . as I have seen too little of him, to fathom his scull, yet his conversation to Ladies is composed of . . . Hearts, darts, hopes,

fears, heart achs, & all the etcetera superfluous of the tender passion” (Eleanor Parke Custis to Elizabeth Bordley, 20 Mar. 1798, ViMtvL).

2. Clear, moderate & pleasant all day with but little wind & that Westerly. Mer. 32 in the Morning—56 at highest & 52 at Night.

3. Wind brisk from No. Wt. & Mer. 42 in the Morning—clear and but little of it afterwards. Mer. 44 at highest & 38 at Night. A Mr. Adamson from Hamburgh & Doctr. Stuart came to Dinner.

   William Adamson wrote GW a letter on 5 Feb. 1798 thanking him for “the polite & kind reception” that he had received at Mount Vernon (DLC:GW).

   Dr. David Stuart was at Mount Vernon to discuss with GW what was to be done with Washington Custis. After young Custis’s return from Princeton in October (see 3 Oct. 1797), GW made out a schedule of study with the intention of having the boy pursue his education at Mount Vernon (7 Jan. 1798, DLC:GW). The results, as may have been expected, were not satisfactory. GW wrote to Stuart on 22 Jan. to see if he and Custis’s mother could find out what the boy wanted to do (MH: Autograph File). Stuart replied on 26 Jan. that Custis himself “found his habits of indolence and inattention so unconquerable, that he did not expect to derive any benefit from the plans pursued in [a college].” Stuart promised GW that he would be at Mount Vernon soon to talk over the situation (DLC:GW). He came again on 18 Feb.

4. Wind Southerly, & weather lowering. Mer. at 31 in the morning. 44 at Noon, & at Night. Afternoon clear. Mr. Adamson went away after breakfast & Mr. Craik & Mr. Marshall came to dinner—the latter returned after it.

5. Wind violent at No. Wt. in the morning & Mer. at 40–46 at highest & 37 at Night. Clear all day & wind ceasing towards Night. Doctr. Stuart went away after breakfast.

6. Clear, with a brisk Southerly Wind. Mer. at 29 in the morning—46 at highest & 41 at Night.

7. Wind Southerly in the Morning but shifted before 10 oclock & turned very cold. Mer. 31 in the Morng. Went to a meetg. of the Potomak Co. in George Town. Dined at Colo. Fitzgeralds & lodged at Mr. T. Peters.

   This was a special meeting of the Potowmack Company shareholders, called to try to shore up the crumbling financial condition of the company (see entry for 7 Aug. 1797). The president (Tobias Lear) and directors (James Keith, John Mason, and John Templeman) were authorized “to borrow not more than 100 shares from the proprietors to mortgage for loan, said stock

to be returned on or before August, 1800.” A report was read which told of unsuccessful attempts to procure further aid from the Virginia and Maryland legislatures. However, the two legislatures had passed a law allowing the company to collect additional tolls, and the time for completion of the work had been again extended until 1802. Although the president and directors had obtained “on their notes, for the use of the Potomac Company, from the Bank of Columbia, $4500, and from the Bank of Alexandria $1500,” in order to carry on the work at Great Falls, the financial condition of the company became increasingly precarious (BACON-FOSTERCorra Bacon-Foster. Early Chapters in the Development of the Patomac Route to the West. Washington, D.C., 1912., 95–97).

8. Visited the Public buildgs. in the Morng. Met the Compy. at the Union Tavern & dined there—lodged as before. Weather very cold. Wind Northerly.

   Visitors to the Capitol and the president’s residence in Feb. 1798 found the buildings well along. At the Capitol the superintendent reported “the freestone work on the outside is raised as high as the top of the Corinthian capitals all round the building. . . . The brickwork is also raised as high as the roof, and the naked flooring of the building is almost entirely laid.” At the “President’s House” the stone work was almost finished, the chimneys were up to the roof, which was finished except for the laying of the slate, and the doors “of the two principal stories” were all framed, “and some of them are panelled” (Columbian Mirror [Alexandria], 27 Feb. 1798).

9. Returned home to Dinner—hard freezing the three last

Nights. Weather still cold. Wind No. Easterly. Mer. at night 20. Found Mr. Geo. Calvert here.

10. Clear morning with but little W. Mer. at 18. Pleasant all day. Mer. 28 at Night. Mr. Calvert left this after breakfast. Wind freshened from the Southward.
In MS “left” is written “let.”

11. Clear—Mer. at 30, & wind Southerly in the Morning. 47 at highest & 40 at Night. Towards Night the Wind shifted to the No. Et. & the weather became lowering.

12. Clear—Mer. at 35 and Wind at No. Wt. in the Morning—little or none afterwards—& at Night lowering. Went with the family to a Ball in Alexa. given by the Citzen[s] of it & its vicinity in commemoration of the Anniversary of my birth day.

   Feb. 11 was GW’s birthday according to the Julian (Old Style) calendar, but in 1752 the corrections of the Gregorian (New Style) calendar were adopted by England, Ireland, and the colonies, and GW’s birthday became 22 Feb. The citizens of Alexandria chose to celebrate GW’s birthday on the Old Style date, but it fell on a Sunday in 1798, and consequently the ball was held on Monday, 12 Feb. (see entry for 11 Mar. 1747/48 for a discussion of the transition from the Julian to Gregorian calendar). Nelly Custis accompanied GW’s party to the ball, where she found her old music “master for singing” from Philadelphia who “performed with the band . . . and his clarinet sounds as sweetly as ever.” She also found “the room . . . crouded, there were twenty five or thirty couples in the first two setts . . . we danced until two o’clock” (Eleanor Parke Custis to Elizabeth Bordley, 20 Mar. 1798, ViMtvL).

13. A sprinkle of Snow fell in the Night. Wind at No. Et. Raw & threatning a fall of Weather all day. Returned home to dinner. Mer. 30 at Night.

14. About an inch deep of Snow fell last Night. Weather cloudy & cold. Wind at No. & Mer. 25 in the morning—Clear afterwds. Mer. 33 at Night. Mr. Alexr. Spotswood & Wife & Mr. Fieldg. Lewis & Mr. Lear came to dinner. The latter returned afterwards.

15. Clear morning—wind still at N. W. & Mer. at 24—the evening—32 & at highest 36. Afternoon clear & evening lowering. Mr. Fieldg. Lewis went away after dinner.

16. Cloudy, & Wind No. Westerly & Mer. at 30 in the Morning. No. Easterly afterwards. Mer. 28 at Night & 32 at highest. Cloudy most part of the day. Mr. & Mrs. Spotswood left us after breakfast.

17. Mer. at 24—Wind at No. cold & fresh in the morning & all day. Mer. 30 at Night & 36 at highest—clear.

18. Quite clear & little wind, Mer. 21 in the morning—Wind at No. Et. afterwards. Mer. 24 at Night & 34 at highest. Doctr. Stuart came in the evening.

19. Mer. at 22 in the morning. Wind at No. Et. & extremely cloudy. About 4 O’Clock it began to Hail. At Night Mer. was at 21 & at highest 24. Doctr. Stuart went away after Breakt.

20. An extremely heavy Sleet—with little or no wind. Mer. at 28. A mixture of Hail & rain had fallen in the Night. Abt. noon the Wind came out, but not hard at No. W. Cloudy all day. Mer. 32 at Night—as high as it had been in the day.

21. Mer. at 32 in the Morning & very cloudy—the wind at No. Et.—where it remained all day. In the evening it began a steady rain. Mer. stood at 32 all day.

22. About an inch of Snow fell last Night—Mer. 32—morning clear. Wind So. Westerly till 10 Oclock—then No. Wt. & fresh. Mer. 42 at Night & 50 at highest.

23. Heavy morning—no wind. Mer. 32 very cloudy all day—wind at So. Et. & in the aftern. fine Rain. Mer. 36 at Night & not more all day.

24. Very foggy Morng. & Mer. at 36. Cloudy all day without Wind. Mer. at 40 at Night & at highest.

25. Rain fell last Night. Morning cloudy & heavy—Wind Easterly & Mer. at 36. No. Wt. in the afternn. Mer. 44 at higt. & 40, Night.

26. Morning calm & heavy—clear afterwards. Wind at No. Wt. in the Morning & Mer. 36. Clear the remainder of the day & a little cool. Mer. 40 at Night & 43 at highest.

27. Morning clear. Wind at No. Wt. but not fresh—grd. a little froze & Mer. at 30. Clear & pleasant all day. Mer. 40 at Night & 44 at higt.

28. Clear morning & very white fr. No wind—Mer. at 30. About 10 Oclock the wind came out at No. Et. clouded up immediately & at 12 began to snow & contd. to do so until night, by which the grd. was covered about 4 Inches. Mer. contd. at 30 all day.


Title: [Diary entry: 1 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

1. Wind at East—Morning heavy. M. at 30. About 9 or 10 Oclock began a slow foggy rain which continued through the day. Mer. remained at 30.


Title: [Diary entry: 3 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

3. Cloudy with appearances of Snow. Wind at No. a little Easterly. Mer. 29 & ground frozen in the morning. Abt. noon it cleared, & the wind shifted to the Southward. Mer. 30 at Night & 34 at highest. Mr. G. W. Craik dined here & returned.


Title: [Diary entry: 4 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

4. Morning clear & calm—White frost—Mer. 26 grd. frozen. Clear & pleasant all day with the Wind at So. Mer. 41 at night & 43 at highest. Doctr. Stuart came to dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 5 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

5. Calm morng. with Indications of a change in the weather. Mer. at 30. Doctr. Stuart left this, to accompany Washington Custis to St. Johns College at Annapolis. Messrs. Bowne & Lawrence from New York & young Hartshone dined here & retd. Mer. 40 at N. 46.


Title: [Diary entry: 6 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

6. Morning clear—Wind No. Easterly M. 32. Afternoon wind South Easterly. Mer. 38 at Night & 46 at highest. Doctr. Craik dined here & went away afterwards.


Title: [Diary entry: 8 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

8. Cloudy, with the wind at No. Et. but not much of it & Mer. at 40 in the Morng. Clear afterwards & wind Southerly. Mer. 50 at Night & 60 at the highest. Colo. Heth—Colo. Fitzgerald & Mr. Patten dined here. The two last left it after dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 10 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

10. Morning—clear & smoaky—Wind at South & Mer. at 50. Clear all day & wind in same quarter. Mer. 62 at Night & 66 at highest. Ludwell & Geo. Lee Esqrs. & Mr. Robt. Beverly dined here & returned & Mr. & Mrs. Peter & Nelly Custis came after dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 11 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

11. Morning—thin clouds—brisk South wind Mer. at 57. In the afternoon Rain with thunder & lightening—Mer. at 55 & 63 at highest. Colo. Ball & Doctr. Stuart came to Dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 12 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

 12. Morning—High No. Wt. Wind—Mer. at 33. Clear all day. Mer. 42 at Night & 44 at highest. Calm evening. Colo. Ball & Dr. Stuart went after Bt.


Title: [Diary entry: 13 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

13. Morning—Cloudy, & but little Wind—Mer. at 40. Clear afterwds. with the wind at No. Wt. but not hard. Mer. 40 at Night & 46 at hig. Mr. Peter went away after breakt.


Title: [Diary entry: 14 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

14. Morning—Clear & pleasant—Wind Southerly—Mer. 38. Wind increased from same quarter—and in the evening lowered. Mer. rose to & stood at 56.


Title: [Diary entry: 15 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

15. Morning cloudy with but little Wind. Mer. at 46. Abt. Noon the Wind came out strong at No. Wt. & sprinkled Rain—after wch. it cleared & became calm. Mer. at 40 at Night & 46 at its height.


Title: [Diary entry: 16 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

16. Morning—clear, Wind at No. Wt. Mer. 38. Clear all day & wind pretty fresh. Mer. 41 at Night & 46 at the height.


Title: [Diary entry: 18 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

18. Morning—thick—Wind at No. East—Mer. at 38. Clear about Noon cloudy & much like rain afterwards wind still at No. Et. Mer. 39 at Night & 43 at highest. Mr. Steer Senr. & Junr. Miss Steer & Mrs. Vanhaver dined here & returned to Alexa. afterwards. Mr. Peter came in the afternoon.


Title: [Diary entry: 20 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

 20. Morning—Soft & cloudy without Wind—Mer. at 42. Raining at times from about noon with the Wind at No. Et. Mer. contd. at 42 all day. Mr. Lawe. Washington of Chotanck & Mr. Lawe. Washington of Belmont came to Dinner. Albin Rawlins came to live with me as Clerk.


Title: [Diary entry: 21 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

21. Morning—hard rain with thunder & lightening—wind at East & Mer. at 41. Showery until 3 Oclock when the wind came out violently at No. W. & cleared. Mer. 40 at Night & 46 at its height. Mr. L. Washington Belmont went away.


Title: [Diary entry: 22 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

22. Morning—Clear—Wind at No. Wt. Mer. at 35. Clear all day & wind hard until evening at same point. Mer. 40 at Night & 48 high.


Title: [Diary entry: 23 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

23. Morning—Clear & calm—Mer. 33. Lowering afterwards with a brisk So. Easterly Wind. Mer. 46 at Night & no higher all day. Mr. L. Washington of Chotanck & Mr. Peter went away after breakfast.


Title: [Diary entry: 25 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

25. Morning—clear & Wind So. Wt. Mer. 42. Squally afternoon, Wind shifting to No. Wt. Mer. 42 at Night & 48 at high. Mr.

Nichols & wife & Mr. Lear & family dined here. Mr. Peter returnd.


Title: [Diary entry: 26 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

26. Morning—Clear—Wind at No. Wt. & Mer. 40. Afternoon wind shifted to So. W. & lowered. Mer. 50 at Night 51 hight.


Title: [Diary entry: 30 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

30. Morning tolerably clear Wind abt. South Mer. 49. Clear & warm all day, wind in the same place. Mer. 64 at Night & 67 at highest. Doctr. Flood dined here.


Title: [Diary entry: 31 March 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

 31. Morning—Hazy & a little cloudy. Wind pretty fresh from South. Mer. 58. Clear afterwards—Wd. same place. Mer. 65 at Night 68 at highest. A Mr. Fevot—a French Gentleman recomd. by Count de Rochambeau dined here & a Mr. Freeman Member in Congress from N. Hamps. came in the afternoon & returned.


Title: March—1798
From: Washington, George
To:

1. Wind at East—Morning heavy. M. at 30. About 9 or 10 Oclock began a slow foggy rain which continued through the day. Mer. remained at 30.

2. A very thick fog & very little Wind. Mer. at 31 in the morning. In the afternoon the weather cleared & towds. Night the Wind came out fresh at No. W. Snow all gone. Mer. 33 at Night 40 at high.

3. Cloudy with appearances of Snow. Wind at No. a little Easterly. Mer. 29 & ground frozen in the morning. Abt. noon it cleared, & the wind shifted to the Southward. Mer. 30 at Night & 34 at highest. Mr. G. W. Craik dined here & returned.

4. Morning clear & calm—White frost—Mer. 26 grd. frozen. Clear & pleasant all day with the Wind at So. Mer. 41 at night & 43 at highest. Doctr. Stuart came to dinner.

5. Calm morng. with Indications of a change in the weather. Mer. at 30. Doctr. Stuart left this, to accompany Washington Custis to St. Johns College at Annapolis. Messrs. Bowne & Lawrence from New York & young Hartshone dined here & retd. Mer. 40 at N. 46.

   After much thought GW had finally decided to enroll Washington Custis in St. John’s College, a small nondenominational school opened in 1789 in Annapolis. Custis’s uncle George Calvert had recommended the college. GW thought the boy might like it better than a school farther from home and also he felt “there is less of that class of people which are baneful to youth, in that City, than in any other” (GW to David Stuart, 26 Feb. 1798, NN: Washington Papers). GW sent by Dr. Stuart’s hand a letter to John McDowell, president of the college, in which he warned McDowell of Custis’s

	   indolence. He added, however, that he knew of no vice in the boy. “From drinking and gaming he is perfectly free and if he has a propensity to any other impropriety, it is hidden from me. He is generous, and regardful of truth” (5 Mar. 1798, NN: Washington Collection). young hartshone: may be William Hartshorne, Jr. (Fairfax IndexEdith Moore Sprouse, ed. A Surname and Subject Index of the Minute and Order Books of the County Court, Fairfax County, Virginia, 1749–1800. Fairfax County History Commission. Fairfax, Va., 1976., 2:50).

6. Morning clear—Wind No. Easterly M. 32. Afternoon wind South Easterly. Mer. 38 at Night & 46 at highest. Doctr. Craik dined here & went away afterwards.

7. A very white frost—heavy fog. No wind & Mer. at 32 in the morning. Clear & at So. Et. afterwards though but little of it. Mer. at 46 at Night and 50 at highest.

8. Cloudy, with the wind at No. Et. but not much of it & Mer. at 40 in the Morng. Clear afterwards & wind Southerly. Mer. 50 at Night & 60 at the highest. Colo. Heth—Colo. Fitzgerald & Mr. Patten dined here. The two last left it after dinner.

   Col. William Heth (see entry for 22 Feb. 1788), of Virginia, was one of the officers GW preferred for the army formed in 1798 in response to the threat of war with France.

9. Morning—Sun rose red—thin gauz Clouds—Wind No. Et. Mer. 38. Clear afterwards & wind at So. Wt. Mer. 50 at Night 52 at height. Colo. Heath went away after breakfast.

10. Morning—clear & smoaky—Wind at South & Mer. at 50. Clear all day & wind in same quarter. Mer. 62 at Night & 66 at highest. Ludwell & Geo. Lee Esqrs. & Mr. Robt. Beverly dined here & returned & Mr. & Mrs. Peter & Nelly Custis came after dinner.

   Ludwell Lee was a first cousin of George Lee of Loudoun, who appears at Mount Vernon also on this day. robt. beverly: may be either the father or the brother of George Lee’s wife, Evelyn Byrd Beverley Lee. The elder Robert Beverley (1740–1800) lived at Blandfield in Essex County; his son Robert Beverley (1769–1823) inherited the estate upon the death of his father.

11. Morning—thin clouds—brisk South wind Mer. at 57. In the afternoon Rain with thunder & lightening—Mer. at 55 & 63 at highest. Colo. Ball & Doctr. Stuart came to Dinner.

   Col. Burgess Ball moved from his Spotsylvania estate in 1791 and was at this time living at Springwood in Loudoun County.

12. Morning—High No. Wt. Wind—Mer. at 33. Clear all day. Mer. 42 at Night & 44 at highest. Calm evening. Colo. Ball & Dr. Stuart went after Bt.

13. Morning—Cloudy, & but little Wind—Mer. at 40. Clear afterwds. with the wind at No. Wt. but not hard. Mer. 40 at Night & 46 at hig. Mr. Peter went away after breakt.

14. Morning—Clear & pleasant—Wind Southerly—Mer. 38. Wind increased from same quarter—and in the evening lowered. Mer. rose to & stood at 56.

15. Morning cloudy with but little Wind. Mer. at 46. Abt. Noon the Wind came out strong at No. Wt. & sprinkled Rain—after wch. it cleared & became calm. Mer. at 40 at Night & 46 at its height.

16. Morning—clear, Wind at No. Wt. Mer. 38. Clear all day & wind pretty fresh. Mer. 41 at Night & 46 at the height.

17. Morning cloudy—Wind at East & Mer. at 35. Clear afterwards with but little wind and that Easterly. Mer. 44 at Night & 49 at highest. Mr. Snow of Massachusetts dined here & returned to Alexa.

   Mr. Snow is probably Gideon Snow, who settled in Boston, Mass. (see entry for 17 Sept. 1786).

18. Morning—thick—Wind at No. East—Mer. at 38. Clear about Noon cloudy & much like rain afterwards wind still at No. Et. Mer. 39 at Night & 43 at highest. Mr. Steer Senr. & Junr. Miss Steer & Mrs. Vanhaver dined here & returned to Alexa. afterwards. Mr. Peter came in the afternoon.

   Henri Joseph Stier (1743–1821), member of the States General of the Province of Antwerp, Belgium, fled the wars of the French Revolution in 1794 and brought his family to America, settling in Annapolis, Md. With him at Mount Vernon today were his son, Jean Charles Stier, his daughter Rosalie Eugenia Stier, and another daughter, Isabel, wife of Jean Michel Van Havre, who appears in the diaries 20 June 1799.

19. Morning—Raining slow—Wind at No. Et. Mer. at 37. Cloudy until late in the afternoon without rain, when it cleared; Mer. at 42 at Night, & no higher all day. Horns of the New Moon up. Dined with Mrs. Washington &ca. at Mr. Thomson Mason’s.

20. Morning—Soft & cloudy without Wind—Mer. at 42. Raining at times from about noon with the Wind at No. Et. Mer. contd. at 42 all day. Mr. Lawe. Washington of Chotanck & Mr. Lawe. Washington of Belmont came to Dinner. Albin Rawlins came to live with me as Clerk.

   GW, upon “finding it impracticable to use the exercise on horse back which my health business and inclination requires, and at the same time to keep my acots., and perform all the writing, which my late Public Occupations have been the means of involving me in, I resolved to employ a clerk,” preferably “a single man . . . on very moderate wages . . . [to] be content to eat with, and live in the same manner the Housekeeper does, having a room to himself to write in, and another to lodge in, over the same” (GW to William Augustine Washington, 27 Feb. 1798, DLC:GW; GW to Albin Rawlins, 31 Jan. 1798, DLC:GW; WRITINGSJohn C. Fitzpatrick, ed. The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745–1799. 39 vols. Washington, D.C., 1931–44., 36:150–51, 171–74). The clerk’s “principle employment” would be “to copy and record letters and other Papers, to keep Books (if required) and an account of articles received from and delivered to the Farms . . . to go . . . to such places as my business may require, to receive grain, and attend to the measurement of it, and other things when it is necessary to send a trustworthy person to see it done” (GW to Albin Rawlins, 12 Feb. 1798, DLC:GW; WRITINGSJohn C. Fitzpatrick, ed. The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745–1799. 39 vols. Washington, D.C., 1931–44., 36:164–66). After some dickering GW hired Albin Rawlins, of Hanover County, for $150 per year (see Rawlins to GW, 26 Jan. and 7 Feb. 1798, DLC:GW).

21. Morning—hard rain with thunder & lightening—wind at East & Mer. at 41. Showery until 3 Oclock when the wind came out violently at No. W. & cleared. Mer. 40 at Night & 46 at its height. Mr. L. Washington Belmont went away.

   belmont: GW wrote “Vermt.,” apparently a slip of the pen.

22. Morning—Clear—Wind at No. Wt. Mer. at 35. Clear all day & wind hard until evening at same point. Mer. 40 at Night & 48 high.

23. Morning—Clear & calm—Mer. 33. Lowering afterwards with a brisk So. Easterly Wind. Mer. 46 at Night & no higher all day. Mr. L. Washington of Chotanck & Mr. Peter went away after breakfast.

24. Morning—Storming with Rain & Wind at So. Et. Mer. 48. Abt. Noon the Rain ceased, & the wind shifted to the West of South. Mer. 50 at Night and 51 at highest.

25. Morning—clear & Wind So. Wt. Mer. 42. Squally afternoon, Wind shifting to No. Wt. Mer. 42 at Night & 48 at high. Mr.

Nichols & wife & Mr. Lear & family dined here. Mr. Peter returnd.

   mr. lear & family: Besides his son Benjamin Lincoln Lear and stepsons George Fayette Washington and Charles Augustine Washington, the Lear family may have included Lear’s mother, Mary Lear, who had come to care for the boys after Fanny Lear’s death. Lear’s stepdaughter, Anna Maria Washington (1788–1814), had gone to live with her uncle Burwell Bassett, Jr., at Eltham.

26. Morning—Clear—Wind at No. Wt. & Mer. 40. Afternoon wind shifted to So. W. & lowered. Mer. 50 at Night 51 hight.

27. Morning—Clear & pleasant with but little Wind from So. Wt. Mer. 46. Wind more westerly afterwards clear & still very pleasant and warm. Mer. at 53 at Night & 56 at highest. Mr. Charles Carroll Jun. & Mr. Willm. Lee came to dinner.

   Charles Carroll, Jr. (b. 1775), of Homewood, was the son of Charles Carroll of Carrollton. His attentions to Nelly Custis at an Alexandria ball the previous spring set off rumors of romance that were discounted by Nelly, who, although finding Carroll “a pleasing young man,” was left with the impression that he “unfortunately has been told too often of his merit and accomplishments, and it has given him more affectation than is by any means agreeable” (Eleanor Parke Custis to Elizabeth Bordley, 30 May 1797, ViMtvL). With this visit by Carroll the romantic rumors resumed, and to Nelly’s brother, George Washington Parke Custis, GW wrote: “Young Mr. C came . . . to dinner, and left us next morning after breakfast. If his object was such as you say has been reported, it was not declared here; and therefore, the less is said upon the subject, particularly by your sister’s friends, the more prudent it will be until the subject develops itself more” (15 April 1798, CUSTISGeorge Washington Parke Custis. Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington. New York, 1860., 102).

   willm. lee: probably William Lee (1775–1845), of Frederick County, Md., third son of Thomas Sim Lee and Mary Digges Lee.

28. Morning clear & calm—Mer. 42—So. East afterwards. 53 at Night & 56 at highest. Mr. Carroll & Mr. Lee went away after breakfast & the family here went to dine with Mr. Nichols.

29. Morning—heavy without wind. Mer. 50. Clear afternoon & Calm. Mer. 53, greatest 54.

30. Morning tolerably clear Wind abt. South Mer. 49. Clear & warm all day, wind in the same place. Mer. 64 at Night & 67 at highest. Doctr. Flood dined here.

31. Morning—Hazy & a little cloudy. Wind pretty fresh from South. Mer. 58. Clear afterwards—Wd. same place. Mer. 65 at Night 68 at highest. A Mr. Fevot—a French Gentleman recomd. by Count de Rochambeau dined here & a Mr. Freeman Member in Congress from N. Hamps. came in the afternoon & returned.

   Paul Ferdinand Fevot (b. 1756) was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, the son of Jean Samuel Fevot. Lausanne was at this time ruled by the Canton of Berne, and Fevot was “Lawyer at the Soverign Council of Berne.” He was, however, in ill favor with the French whose influence was strong in his country at this time and had come to the United States with a cautious, unsigned letter of introduction from Rochambeau, whose own position in France was extremely precarious. Fevot wrote GW a long, rambling letter a few days after this visit expressing disillusionment in general with people and conditions in America, and particularly dissatisfaction with GW’s reception and entertainment at Mount Vernon. “I was not surprised in beholding your reserved Countenance at first meeting, but I entertained a chearfull hope that it would clear up when I should have made myself better Known. I respectfully presented to You my note of recomandation, & Your Excellency told me You did not read French; upon which I took the Liberty to Express my hope that You Knew the hand writing; & Your answer was You rather thought it was! If I am still acquainted with the English language this expression is to carry with it if not a thourough doubt of an allegation at least a strong shade of it injurious in this instance to any honest man, and very ungenerous, very cruel indeed to a Stranger of a genteel appearance & behaviour; 1200 leagues distant from his native Country, who having exposed himself to run 400 more at a grievous expence for him, relying on a recomandation, does not get by it the least token of interest or protection but not even a Kind word!” He continued, “If to obtain in life a high Situation, if the worship of the Multitude is to be captivated by divesting oneself of humanity & generosity there is much more comfort in my [lowly] position than I thought.” Fevot added, however, that he found Mrs. Washington a civil and polite lady. GW was nonplussed by Fevot’s letter and replied on 15 April: “Not perceiving what has been your object in addressing such sentiments as your letter of the 4th inst. contained—and not being conscious of having merited the reprehension you have judged it expedient to inflict on me, I shall not give you the trouble of reading an answer in detail. I can not forbear observing however that as it is not usual with me, to treat any Gentleman with incivility or even with indifference (especially under my own Roof) I am unable to recollect any part of my behaviour which could give rise to such misconception of my motives” (Fevot to GW, 16 Oct. 1797 and 4 April 1798, and GW to Fevot, 15 April 1798, DLC:GW; Fevot’s certificate from the magistrate of Lausanne, 14 April 1797, MHi: Adams Papers: Adams Family Papers).

   Jonathan Freeman (1745–1808) lived in Hanover, N.H., where he farmed and served as treasurer of Dartmouth College for over 40 years. After holding a number of local and state offices he was twice elected as a Federalist to the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1797 to 1801.


Title: [Diary entry: 2 April 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

2. Morning—very heavy—Wind at No. Et. Mer. 56. Raining more or less from 10 oclk. Wind more Northerly. Mer 40 at Night. Mr. Law & the Gentlemen who came with [him] left this about noon.


Title: [Diary entry: 3 April 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

3. Morning—Raining—Wind fresh from No. Et. Mer. 39. Raining all day—wind in the same quarter. Mer. 38 at Night 42 highest.


Title: [Diary entry: 5 April 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

5. Morning—Heavy & misting, Wind at No. Et. Mer. 42—The same through the day. Mer. 46 at Night & no higher.


Title: [Diary entry: 6 April 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

6. Morning—Sun rose clear, but cloudy notwithstanding. Wind at No. Et. & Mer. at 46. Clear afterwards Wind still Easterly but moderate; Mer. 54 at Night—58 at highest.


Title: [Diary entry: 7 April 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

7. Morning thick & misting. Wind easterly Mer. 48. Clear at Noon & cloudy afterwards. Mer. 50 at night & 58 at highest.


Title: [Diary entry: 9 April 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

9. Morning—clear, calm & extremely pleasant. Mer. 46. Clear all day—wind first at No. Et. then Southerly. Mer. 53 at Night, &

56 at highest. Mr. Peter went away after breakfast—leaving Mrs. Peter behind him.


Title: [Diary entry: 11 April 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

11. Morning—Very cloudy havg. rained through the Night. Wind at So. Et. & Mer. at 52.


Title: [Diary entry: 12 April 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

12. Morning—Clear—Wind Southerly & Mer. 45. Wind variable and weather apparently unsettled. Mer. 47 at Night 52 at highest. Mr. Peter ret[urned].


Title: [Diary entry: 13 April 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

13. Morning heavy & lowering. Wind Southerly & Mer. at 44—variable appearances of weather thro the day. Mer. 48 at Night & 50 at highest. Genl. Lee came to dinner & Colo. Heath & son in the afternn.


Title: [Diary entry: 14 April 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

14. Morning—Clear & but little Wd. & that at No. W. Mer. 46. Wind varying from No. W. to So. W. & then back again with squalls without Rain. Mer. 45 at Night & not higher than 46. Genl. Lee & Colo. Heath went away after breakfast & Dr. Stuart came to D.


Title: [Diary entry: 17 April 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

17. Morning—Wind at No. Wt. & disagreeably cold—Mer. at 28. Clear and cold all day. A very severe frost—ground hard frozen. Ice sufficient to bear. Fruit supposed to be all Killed—leaves of trees bit &ca. Mer. 36 at night 37 highest.


Title: [Diary entry: 18 April 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

18. Morning—Clear & more moderate—Wind still at No. Wt. Mer. at 32. Clear all day & but little wind after morng. Mer. 50 at Night & no higher all day. Peaches not killed, & hoped other fruit not hurt. Points of the New Moon upwards. Mr. Fitzhugh & family left this after breakfast. Began to plant Corn at Union farm.


Title: [Diary entry: 20 April 1798]
From: Washington, George
To:

20. Morning—lowering—wind Southerly & Mer. at 54. Variable weather all day. Mer. 62 at Night, & 64 at highest. Mr. Peter went

away after breakfast and Mr. Townshend Dade & Mr. Nichs. Fitzhugh came to Din.