Title: [August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Augt. 1. Dined at my Mother’s. Went over to Fredericksburg afterwards & returnd in the Evening back again.

2. Met the Officers of the first Virga. Troops at Captn. Weedens where we dined & did not finish till abt. Sun set. Mrs. Washington & Patcy dind at Colo. Lewis’s where we lodgd.

   Meeting a day later than scheduled, the officers and representatives of officers who were present accepted William Crawford as surveyor for the veterans’ bounty lands and resolved that GW should make a journey to the Ohio Valley with Crawford and Dr. James Craik to locate the best areas for the surveys. It was also agreed that the costs involved would be divided proportionately among the officers according to their original ranks, the field officers paying the most and the subalterns the least. GW was empowered to begin collecting the money immediately (minutes of the officers of the Virginia Regiment, 5 Mar. 1771, DLC:GW; General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 322).

3. Dined at my Brother Charles’s—spent the Evening there & lodgd at Colo. Lew⟨is⟩.

   Charles Washington was now a leading citizen of Fredericksburg, being both a vestryman of St. George’s Parish and a Spotsylvania County justice. He owned at least 759 acres of land in the county outside Fredericksburg, and in Aug. 1761 he had bought lots numbered 87 and 88 in town for £80 from Warner Lewis of Gloucester County (deed of Charles and Mildred Washington to Thomas Strachan, 20 April 1780, and deed of Lewis to Charles Washington, 3 Aug. 1761, crozier [2]William Armstrong Crozier, ed. Spotsylvania County, 1721–1800: Being Transcriptions, from the Original Files at the County Court House, of Wills, Deeds, Administrators’ and Guardians’ Bonds, Marriage Licenses, and Lists of Revolutionary Pensioners. New York, 1905., 222, 353). Located on Fauquier Street between Princess Ann and Caroline streets, those lots include the site of the Rising Sun Tavern, which according to popular tradition Charles Washington built and operated (wayland [1]John W. Wayland. The Washingtons and Their Homes. 1944. Reprint. Berryville, Va., 1973., 153–55).

   GW today paid James Hunter of King George County £10 5s. for “Mill spindles Gudgeons &ca.” to be used in his new mill. This sum was apparently the balance due for the parts, because about six weeks earlier GW had sent Hunter £15 on account of the mill (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 318, 319).

4. Dined at the Barbicue with a great deal of other Company and stayd there till Sunset.

5. Went to Church (in Fredg.) and dind with Colo. Lewis.

   St. George’s Church, built in 1732, had as its minister at this time James Marye, Jr. (1731–1780), who had succeeded his father as parish rector in 1767 (meade [1][William] Meade. Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia. 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1857., 68–69).

6. Dined with Mr. James Mercer.

   James Mercer (1735–1793), a younger brother of Lt. Col. George Mercer but no relation of Hugh Mercer, was a prominent Fredericksburg lawyer. Educated at the College of William and Mary, he served 1762–76 as a burgess from Hampshire County, where he owned land (garnett [1]James Mercer Garnett. “James Mercer.” William and Mary Quarterly, 1st ser., 17 (1908–9): 85–99, 204–23., 90). During 1769 he had bought five lots in Fredericksburg: two from GW, and three, including the ones on which his house and his study stood, from Fielding Lewis (deed of Lewis to Mercer,

4 Sept. 1769, and deed of GW to Mercer, 13 Oct. 1769, crozier [2]William Armstrong Crozier, ed. Spotsylvania County, 1721–1800: Being Transcriptions, from the Original Files at the County Court House, of Wills, Deeds, Administrators’ and Guardians’ Bonds, Marriage Licenses, and Lists of Revolutionary Pensioners. New York, 1905., 268–70). James Mercer had probably attended the meeting at Weedon’s tavern on 2 Aug., because although he had not been a member of the original Virginia Regiment, he was now handling the affairs of his brother George, who had joined the regiment in 1754 and was now living in England.

7. Dined at Colo. Lewis’s—Colo. Dangerfield & Lady & Miss Boucher comg. there to see us.

   colo. dangerfield & lady: possibly Col. William and Sarah Taliaferro Daingerfield, of Belvidera, just south of Fredericksburg. But more likely they are Col. William’s first cousin, also a Col. William (d. 1781), and his wife, Mary Willis Daingerfield, of Coventry in Spotsylvania County. It was this William who served with GW in the Virginia Regiment (see entry for 3 May 1762). Mary Willis Daingerfield was a granddaughter of GW’s uncle by marriage, Col. Henry Willis. The Daingerfields’ daughter Catherine later married George Lewis, son of Fielding and Betty Lewis. Miss Jane Boucher (1742–1794) lived with her older brother, Rev. Jonathan Boucher.

   While the Washingtons were in Fredericksburg they purchased clothing and other items. Today GW bought silk and earrings for Patsy, paid George Weedon £6 for a tent and a marquee, and had a watch repaired for 5s. He also visited a barber and clubbed at Weedon’s tavern in the evening (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 319).

8. Dined at Colo. Lewis’s.

   GW apparently clubbed at Weedon’s again this evening and played cards, winning 5s. (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 320).

9. Breakfasted at my Mothers—dined at Dumfries & came home by Night.

10. Rid to Muddy hole—Doeg Run and the Mill.

11. Rid into the Neck.

12. Rid to Belvoir after Dinner to see Sir Thos. Adams who was sick there.

   Adams’s frigate, the Boston, returned to Hampton Roads without him, while he tried to recover his health at Belvoir. He rejoined the vessel in early September and sailed her soon afterwards to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he died in October (Va. Gaz., P&D, 6 Sept. and 18 Oct. 1770, and R, 1 Nov. 1770).

13. Rid to Muddy hole Doeg Run and the Mill.

14. At home all day writing Invoices and Letters.

   GW was again preparing invoices to be sent to Robert Cary & Co. in London. In his covering letter dated 20 Aug. 1770, he complained about the cost and quality of goods he had received from the company and about the prices paid for tobacco from the Custis plantations. He also noted that some of the items on his enclosed invoices were currently prohibited by the Virginia association and were to be sent only if the Townshend Acts were totally repealed before his goods were shipped, “as it will not be in my power to receive any Articles contrary to our Non-Importation Agreement, to which I have Subscribd, & shall religiously adhere to, if it was, as I coud wish it to be, ten times as strict” (DLC:GW).

15. Rid to the Mill—by the Ferry and returnd to Dinner. Miss Betty Dalton came here.

16. Rid to the Mill and to the Ditchers.

17. At home all day.

18. Rid to the Mill—Ditchers—Doeg run and Muddy hole.

19. Went to Pohick Church. Calld in our way at Belvoir to take leave of Sir Thos. Returnd to Dinner.

20. Went up to Alexandria to Court. Returnd in the Evening with Jacky Custis & Mr. Magowan.

   The August court was in session 20–23 Aug. (Fairfax County Order Book for 1770–72, 49–77, Vi Microfilm).

   Jacky came from Annapolis to attend dancing lessons that Christian was to give during the next few days at a neighbor’s house. On his way home he had visited Magowan on the West River, and his former tutor had then accompanied him to Mount Vernon (GW to Jonathan Boucher, 15 Aug. 1770, excerpt, American Art Assoc. Catalogue, 21–22 Jan. 1926, item 294; Jonathan Boucher to GW, 18 Aug. 1770, DLC:GW).

21. Went up to Court again and returnd in the Afternoon. Found Mr. Beal here along with Mr. Magowan.

   Many members of the Beall family were living at this time in Prince George’s and Frederick counties, Md. (brumbaughGaius Marcus Brumbaugh. Maryland Records: Colonial, Revolutionary, County and Church, from Original Sources. 2 vols. 1915 and 1928. Reprint. Baltimore, 1975., 1–89, 177–257). The Mr. Beall who was at Mount Vernon today was probably Samuel Beall, Jr. (1740–1825), of Frederick County (see main entry for 27 Aug. 1770; mason [2]Robert A. Rutland, ed. The Papers of George Mason, 1725–1792. 3 vols. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1970., 1:xxxiv; beallFielder M. M. Beall. Colonial Families of the United States Descended from the Immigrants Who Arrived Before 1700, Mostly from England and Scotland, and Who Are Now Represented by Citizens of the Following Names, Bell, Beal, Bale, Beale, Beall. Washington, D.C., 1929., 79–82).

22. Mr. Beal went away after Breakfast. I continued at home all day.

23. I went up to Alexandria calling by Mr. Jno. Wests going & coming. Returnd again at Night—with Mr. B. Fairfax.

   GW was again going to court, arriving there near the end of this day’s proceedings (Fairfax County Order Book for 1770–72, 76, Vi Microfilm).

24. Went out a huntg. with Mr. Fairfax. Killd a young fox without running him and returnd to Dinner. Doctr. Rumney dind here & lodged.

25. Mr. Fairfax—Doctr. Rumney—Mr. Magowan and Jacky Custis all went away after Breakfast. I rid into the Neck and to Muddy hole.

   Jacky was returning to school in Annapolis.

26. At home all day alone.

27. Went by my Mill & Doeg Run to Colchesters—there to settle a dispute betwen. Doctr. Ross & Company & Mr. Semple.

   In Feb. 1763 Dr. David Ross of Bladensburg, Md., became a partner with Richard Henderson of Bladensburg and Samuel Beall, Jr., and Joseph Chapline (d. 1769), both of Frederick County, Md., in a company that built and operated the Antietam (or Frederick) ironworks on the Potomac River near the mouth of Antietam Creek (singewaldJoseph T. Singewald, Jr. The Iron Ores of Maryland with an Account of the Iron Industry. Baltimore, 1911., 144–45). By 1770 John Semple was selling pig iron from his Keep Triste furnace to the forge at the Antietam works, and those sales may have led to this dispute with Dr. Ross and his company (proposal of John Semple on Potomac navigation, c.1770, MnHi). But the quarrel probably concerned rights to ore deposits or land, possibly the Merryland tract Semple had bought from Thomas Colvill in 1765 (GW to John Rumney, 24 Jan. 1788, DLC:GW). GW was assisted in arbitrating the dispute by George Mason; Robert Mundell, a merchant from Port Tobacco, Md.; and Hector Ross of Colchester, who was no relation to Dr. Ross. After meeting for six days the arbitrators were unable to resolve the matter and adjourned until 24 Jan. 1771.

28. At Colchester all day—upon the same business.

29. Still at Colchester upon this Affair Colo. Lewis My Sister & Brothr. Chas. passd this in their way to Mount Vernon.

   On this date GW paid Dr. Ross £38 1s. 9½d. Maryland currency for about 3,000 pounds of iron (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 320).

30. Still at Colchester upon the business before mentioned.

31. At the same place and on the same business.


Title: [Diary entry: 1 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Augt. 1. Clear with the Wind very fresh from the So. West but very warm notwithstanding.


Title: [Diary entry: 3 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

3. More moderate—the Wind being Northwardly—cloudy with some thunder but no Rain.


Title: [Diary entry: 4 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

4. Warm again but no appearance of Rain tho the wind was favourable for it.


Title: [Diary entry: 6 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

6. Clear and Warm—with but little .


Title: [Diary entry: 7 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

7. Clear in the Morning but very cloudy and like for Rain afterwards—tho little or none fell. Wind Eastwardly.


Title: [Diary entry: 9 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

9. Clear and cool wind still continuing Northwardly.


Title: [Diary entry: 12 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

12. Warm and still with Clouds.


Title: [Diary entry: 13 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

13. Wind abt. So. West afterwards Shifting Eastwardly & blewg. fresh.


Title: [Diary entry: 14 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

14. Cloudy all day. In the afternoon a hard shower of Rain for a few Minutes.


Title: [Diary entry: 16 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

16. Some Rain again [in] the Night with hard winds.


Title: [Diary entry: 17 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

17. Showery in the Morning and abt. in Places all day but little here.


Title: [Diary entry: 18 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

 18. Very Cloudy all day at least the forepart of it but clear afterwards. Ground by this got thoroughly wet.


Title: [Diary entry: 19 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

19. Showers again with the Wind fresh from the southward.


Title: [Diary entry: 20 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

20. Very warm all Day. In the Night a good deal of Rain and a sudden change in the Air.


Title: [Diary entry: 21 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

21. Very Cool and Cloudy. Wind being Northwardly & Eastwardly.


Title: [Diary entry: 22 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

22. Cloudy & very cool all day. Being a close & constant Rain. Wind Eastwardly.


Title: [Diary entry: 23 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

23. Warmer, Wind being Southwardly. Morning Misty & cloudy all day.


Title: [Diary entry: 24 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

24. Misty Morning, and sometimes slight showers in the forenoon but clear & warm afternoon.


Title: [Diary entry: 28 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

28. Still warm but not so hot as yesterday. Raining most part of the Night.


Title: [Diary entry: 30 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

30. Very cool. Wind being at No. West.


Title: [Diary entry: 31 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

31. A Slight frost in the Morning but clear and cool all day.


Title: Acct. of the Weather in August [1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Augt. 1. Clear with the Wind very fresh from the So. West but very warm notwithstanding.

2. Again very warm with a brisk westwardly breeze.

3. More moderate—the Wind being Northwardly—cloudy with some thunder but no Rain.

4. Warm again but no appearance of Rain tho the wind was favourable for it.

5. Very warm but clear and little wind—that southwardly.

6. Clear and Warm—with but little .

7. Clear in the Morning but very cloudy and like for Rain afterwards—tho little or none fell. Wind Eastwardly.

8. Cool and Clear. Wind fresh from the Northwest.

9. Clear and cool wind still continuing Northwardly.

10. Something warmer with but little wind.

11. Warm again—with some slight appearances of Rain.

12. Warm and still with Clouds.

13. Wind abt. So. West afterwards Shifting Eastwardly & blewg. fresh.

14. Cloudy all day. In the afternoon a hard shower of Rain for a few Minutes.

15. Cloudy all day with a good deal of Rain about but little or none fell here.

16. Some Rain again [in] the Night with hard winds.

17. Showery in the Morning and abt. in Places all day but little here.

18. Very Cloudy all day at least the forepart of it but clear afterwards. Ground by this got thoroughly wet.

19. Showers again with the Wind fresh from the southward.

20. Very warm all Day. In the Night a good deal of Rain and a sudden change in the Air.

21. Very Cool and Cloudy. Wind being Northwardly & Eastwardly.

22. Cloudy & very cool all day. Being a close & constant Rain. Wind Eastwardly.

23. Warmer, Wind being Southwardly. Morning Misty & cloudy all day.

24. Misty Morning, and sometimes slight showers in the forenoon but clear & warm afternoon.

25. Cloudy generally through the day with the Wind pretty brisk from the Southwest especialy in the Morning.

26. Clear and Warm wind being still to the Southward.

27. Very Hot & even Sultry in the Evening with Clouds to the westward & some Rain.

28. Still warm but not so hot as yesterday. Raining most part of the Night.

29. Raining in the Morning but clear & cool afterwards.

30. Very cool. Wind being at No. West.

31. A Slight frost in the Morning but clear and cool all day.


Title: [Diary entry: 8 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

 8. Began to sow Wheat in the Neck in that Cut upon the Creek above Carneys Gut. The Ground here was tolerably clear and in Good Order the Grass and Weeds being Choped over.


Title: [Diary entry: 10–11 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

10 & 11th. I rid over all my Corn Ground as well that in the Neck as those at Muddy hole & Doeg Run, and was surprizd to see how much it had fired; especially in Land that was any thing Stiff and poor. It was observable also, that in most of these places there appeard no shoots upon the Stalks and upon the whole the prospect [was] exceedingly shocking. It is further to be observd, that the Corn, in flat stiff places was fired even where it had not been lately workd but more so where it was. Why Corn in so short a droughth shoud fire so badly is difficult to Acct. for Unless it is owning to the great and frequent Rains which fell all the first part of the year and at the same time that it made the Corn Luxurient & exceeding tender baked the Ground hard & prevented the frequent and constant working of it that it ought to have had. Nothing appears [more] clearly from the experience of this year than that a wet June is very injurious to both Corn and Wheat. The former is run too much into stalk by it—made tender & unable to stand the droughts which follow after & besides this is generally overcome with grass and Weeds. The Latter (that is Wheat) by being injurd in the blossom produces poor perished grain & but little of it—the head being subject to the spot & other defects. My Corn this year has not been so well cultivated as it ought wch. partly has been owing to two causes—first the exceeding wet weather all the Month of June prevented my Plows from working constantly where the Land was level and next my force of Horses was rather inadequate to the Task & I think more than 35 or 40 Acres of Corn Land (where it is any thing stiff) ought not to be allotted to a plow and two middling good Horses. Finishd Sowg. the Cut upon the Creek above Carneys Gut. Finished the Remainder of that Cut on the other side the Gut.


Title: [Diary entry: 17 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

17. Finished the Cut at Doeg Run abt. John Gists Houses.


Title: [Diary entry: 25 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

25. I examined my Corn fields & perceivd that the late Rains had made a great alteration for the better. Many stalks were

   putting out entire New Shoots with young and tender Silk—but as the Tassels of most of all the Corn (especially in that field in the Neck) was entirely dry. The question is whether the Corn for want of the Farina will ever fill. This is a matter worthy of attention & should be observd accordingly.


Title: [Diary entry: 29 August 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

29. The Rain that Fell last Night made the Ground too wet for plowing.


Title: Remarks & Occurances Augt. [1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Augt. 1. Began to Sow Wheat at Muddy hole—the Ground Grassy & in bad order.
Began to Sow Ditto at Doeg Run Quarter where the Ground was exceeding foul, Grassy, & hard.

8. Began to sow Wheat in the Neck in that Cut upon the Creek above Carneys Gut. The Ground here was tolerably clear and in Good Order the Grass and Weeds being Choped over.

   Carney’s Gut, named for GW’s former tenant John Carney, is on the east side of Little Hunting Creek a short distance above the creek’s mouth (see illus., p. 3).

10 & 11th. I rid over all my Corn Ground as well that in the Neck as those at Muddy hole & Doeg Run, and was surprizd to see how much it had fired; especially in Land that was any thing Stiff and poor. It was observable also, that in most of these places there appeard no shoots upon the Stalks and upon the whole the prospect [was] exceedingly shocking. It is further to be observd, that the Corn, in flat stiff places was fired even where it had not been lately workd but more so where it was. Why Corn in so short a droughth shoud fire so badly is difficult to Acct. for Unless it is owning to the great and frequent Rains which fell all the first part of the year and at the same time that it made the Corn Luxurient & exceeding tender baked the Ground hard & prevented the frequent and constant working of it that it ought to have had.
Nothing appears [more] clearly from the experience of this year than that a wet June is very injurious to both Corn and Wheat. The former is run too much into stalk by it—made tender & unable to stand the droughts which follow after & besides this is generally overcome with grass and Weeds. The Latter (that is Wheat) by being injurd in the blossom produces poor perished grain & but little of it—the head being subject to the spot & other defects.
My Corn this year has not been so well cultivated as it ought wch. partly has been owing to two causes—first the exceeding wet weather all the Month of June prevented my Plows from working constantly where the Land was level and next my force of Horses was rather inadequate to the Task & I think more than 35 or 40 Acres of Corn Land (where it is any thing stiff) ought not to be allotted to a plow and two middling good Horses. Finishd Sowg. the Cut upon the Creek above Carneys Gut. Finished the Remainder of that Cut on the other side the Gut.

17. Finished the Cut at Doeg Run abt. John Gists Houses.

25. I examined my Corn fields & perceivd that the late Rains had made a great alteration for the better. Many stalks were

   putting out entire New Shoots with young and tender Silk—but as the Tassels of most of all the Corn (especially in that field in the Neck) was entirely dry. The question is whether the Corn for want of the Farina will ever fill. This is a matter worthy of attention & should be observd accordingly.

29. The Rain that Fell last Night made the Ground too wet for plowing.


Title: [Diary entry: 1 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Septr. 1st. Returnd from the Arbitration at Colchester. In the Evening my Brothr. Saml. & his wife & children came hither from Fredericksburg in their way to Frederick.


Title: [Diary entry: 2 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

2. At home all day with the Company before Mentioned. Mr. Adam’s Miller came here & went to see my Mill.


Title: [Diary entry: 4 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

4. Rid to My Mill and back to Dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 5 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

5. At Home all day playing Cards.


Title: [Diary entry: 6 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

6. Rid to the Mill with Colo. Lewis &ca. returnd to Dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 7 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

7. Went a fishing into the Mouth of Doegs Creek.


Title: [Diary entry: 8 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

8. A Fishing along towards Sheridine Point. Dined upon the Point.


Title: [Diary entry: 9 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

9. Colo. Lewis, my Sister & Brother Charles went away. At Home all day.


Title: [Diary entry: 10 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

10. My Brothr. Saml. & self rid to the Mill & Back to Dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 12 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

12. Rid to the Mill & Ditchers. Mr. Christian & his Scholars came here to Dancing.


Title: [Diary entry: 14 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

 14. Rid to the Mill and Ditchers in the forenoon with my Brother. In the Afternoon went a fishing.


Title: [Diary entry: 16 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

16. At home all day. My Brothr. Sam. and his wife set of in my Chariot for his House in Fredk. Mr. Renney came here this afternoon.


Title: [Diary entry: 17 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

17. Went up to Court, and returnd in the Evening with Mr. Nash & Mr. Peachy.


Title: [Diary entry: 19 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

 19. Rid to the Mill & Ditchers & come home to Dinner.


Title: [Diary entry: 21 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

21. Rid to the Mill and Ditchers. Doctr. Rumney went away.


Title: [Diary entry: 22 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

22. Rid to my Mill in the forenoon & afternoon. James McCarmack came here last Night & returnd today.


Title: [Diary entry: 23 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

23. At Home all day Mr. Campbell and Captn. Sanford dind here.


Title: [Diary entry: 24 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

24. At home all day alone.


Title: [Diary entry: 27 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

27. Rid to the Mill and Ditchers. In the afternoon Doctr. Rumney came here.


Title: [Diary entry: 28 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

28. Rid to the Mill and Ditchers. Doctr. Rumney here Sick.


Title: [Diary entry: 29 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

29. At Home all day—Doctr. Rumney still here Sick.


Title: [Diary entry: 30 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

30. At home all day. Mr. Wr. Washington came in the Evening. Doctr. Rumney still here.


Title: [September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Septr. 1st. Returnd from the Arbitration at Colchester. In the Evening my Brothr. Saml. & his wife & children came hither from Fredericksburg in their way to Frederick.

   Samuel Washington moved his family about this time to Harewood in Frederick County, where he lived until his death in 1781 (see “Remarks” entry for 6 Oct. 1770). His present wife was his fourth, Anne Steptoe Washington, daughter of Col. James Steptoe of Westmoreland County and widow of Willoughby Allerton (d. 1759), also of Westmoreland. The children who came today were probably Thornton Washington (c.1760–1787). Samuel’s son by his second wife Mildred Thornton Washington, and Ferdinand Washington (1767–1788), his eldest surviving son by Anne Steptoe Washington, but there may have been others (wayland [1]John W. Wayland. The Washingtons and Their Homes. 1944. Reprint. Berryville, Va., 1973., 143).

2. At home all day with the Company before Mentioned. Mr. Adam’s Miller came here & went to see my Mill.

3. Went in the Evening a fishing with my Brothers Saml. & Charles.

4. Rid to My Mill and back to Dinner.

5. At Home all day playing Cards.

6. Rid to the Mill with Colo. Lewis &ca. returnd to Dinner.

7. Went a fishing into the Mouth of Doegs Creek.

8. A Fishing along towards Sheridine Point. Dined upon the Point.

   Sheridine Point (now called Sheridan Point) is on the Potomac about a mile above the mouth of Little Hunting Creek. Part of GW’s Clifton’s Neck property, it was apparently so named because it was part of the plantation that John Sheridine, Sr., was renting from GW. The point was at this time the site of a fishing landing.

9. Colo. Lewis, my Sister & Brother Charles went away. At Home all day.

10. My Brothr. Saml. & self rid to the Mill & Back to Dinner.

11. Rid to the Mill and Ditchers again.

12. Rid to the Mill & Ditchers. Mr. Christian & his Scholars came here to Dancing.

   Jacky Custis had again come home from Annapolis for dancing lessons (John Parke Custis to GW, 30 Aug. 1770, PHi: Gratz Collection).

13. Rid to the Mill Ditchers & Morris and Muddy hole—also the Mill in the Afternoon. Mr. Christian went away this afternoon.

14. Rid to the Mill and Ditchers in the forenoon with my Brother. In the Afternoon went a fishing.

15. Rid to Alexandria with my Brothr. & returnd to Dinner.

16. At home all day. My Brothr. Sam. and his wife set of in my Chariot for his House in Fredk. Mr. Renney came here this afternoon.

   Rev. Robert Renney (d. 1774) served St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster Parish, Anne Arundel County, Md., 1767–74 (rightmyerNelson Waite Rightmyer. Maryland’s Established Church. Baltimore, 1956., 209).

17. Went up to Court, and returnd in the Evening with Mr. Nash & Mr. Peachy.

   The court met 17–20 Sept. (Fairfax County Order Book for 1770–72, 78–97, Vi Microfilm). In Alexandria on this day Hector Ross put some of John Ballendine’s property up for sale to the highest bidder to settle debts that Ballendine owed him. To be sold were 17 slaves, including 9 skilled craftsmen, and a tract of about 400 acres of land near the Little Falls of the Potomac (Va. Gaz., P&D, 30 Aug. 1770).

   mr. nash: probably one of the several Nashes living in Richmond County at this time, but he could be Col. John Nash, Jr., a prominent citizen of Prince Edward County (richmond county“Marriages, Births and Deaths in Richmond County, Extracts from North Farnham Parish Register Kept in the Clerk’s Office at Warsaw.” William and Mary Quarterly, 1st ser., 13 (1904–5): 129–32, 182–92., 186–87; hennemanJ. B. Henneman. “Trustees of Hampden-Sidney College.” Parts 1 and 2. Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 6 (1898–99): 174–84, 288–96, 358–64; 7 (1899–1900): 30–38., 6:175). mr. peachy: probably Col. William Peachey (1729–1802) of Richmond County, but possibly one of his brothers: Samuel Peachey (b. 1732) of Prince William or Essex County; Thomas Griffin Peachey (1734–1810), clerk of Amherst County; or LeRoy Peachey (b. 1736), clerk of Richmond County. William Peachey had been a captain under GW in the Virginia Regiment and was now adjutant general of militia for the colony’s Middle District, the area between the James and Rappahannock rivers east of the Blue Ridge (kemperCharles E. Kemper, ed. “Notes to Council Journals.” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 33 (1925): 25–46., 38–41 n.33; Va. Gaz., P&D, 11 May 1769; R, 15 Feb. 1770; and R, 14 Feb. 1771).

18. Mr. Renny & Jacky Custis set out for Annapolis. Mr. Nash &ca. went home & I to Court again & returnd in the afternoon.

   Jacky had received 17s. pocket money on the previous day (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 320). GW was late in arriving for this day’s court session (Fairfax County Order Book for 1770–72, 81, Vi Microfilm).

   GW today began to rent from John West, Jr., the undisputed part of the land near Mount Vernon that West had earlier promised to sell him. The rent of this tract of about 200 acres was fixed at £12 10s. a year, and GW was to be allowed to take timber off the land as he pleased. West’s earlier agreement to sell all the land to GW at 43s. an acre, after the conclusion of West’s suit with Posey, was still in force, and West today specifically reaffirmed his promise to include Posey’s small strip in the sale if he should recover it. The case was to be heard before the General Court in Williamsburg this fall (agreement of West with GW, 18 Sept. 1770, PHi: Gratz Collection).

19. Rid to the Mill & Ditchers & come home to Dinner.

20. Rid to the Mill & Ditchers again & went by Poseys. Doctr. Rumney came.

21. Rid to the Mill and Ditchers. Doctr. Rumney went away.

   Before Rumney left, GW paid him for services and medicines furnished since February: £6 4s. 6d. on his own account, £5 1s. for Patsy Custis, and £1 for Fielding Lewis (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 320).

22. Rid to my Mill in the forenoon & afternoon. James McCarmack came here last Night & returnd today.

   On this day GW docked Jonathan Palmer £5 for “Six Weeks lost by Sickness and going to Loudoun Court” (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 294). He then renegotiated his contract with Palmer, which was renewed annually through 1773. In June 1774 Palmer returned to help bring in the wheat harvest at a wage of 5s. per day (General Ledger BGeneral Ledger B, 1772–1793. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 28).

   James McCormack (died c.1789) had served under GW in the Virginia Regiment during 1754 and now lived with his wife Mercy, widow of Joshua Hains, on Bullskin Run in Frederick County (virkusFrederick Adams Virkus, ed. The Compendium of American Genealogy: The Standard Genealogical Encyclopedia of the First Families of America. 7 vols. Chicago, 1925–42., 5:471; torrenceClayton Torrence, comp. Virginia Wills and Administrations, 1632–1800: An Index of Wills Recorded in Local Courts of Virginia, 1632–1800, and of Administrations on Estates Shown by Inventories of the Estates of Intestates Recorded in Will (and Other) Books of Local Courts, 1632–1800. 1930. Reprint. Baltimore, 1972., 271).

23. At Home all day Mr. Campbell and Captn. Sanford dind here.

   Capt. Lawrence Sanford, a shipmaster who had been sailing out of Alexandria for the past six years, currently commanded the brig Swift of Alexandria owned by Joseph Thompson & Co. (Sanford’s deposition, 19 Oct. 1779, naval office“Naval Office on the Potomac.” William and Mary Quarterly, 2d ser., 2 (1922): 292–95., 294–95; ship lists for South Potomac Naval District, P.R.O., C.O.5/1450, ff. 39–41, and C.O.5/1349, f. 207). He had taken a shipment of fish to the West Indies for GW during the previous year and today was arranging to take some herring jointly owned by GW and Matthew Campbell to Jamaica for sale (GW to Sanford, 26 Sept. 1769, DLC:GW). On 26 Sept. GW instructed Sanford by letter to bring him some West Indian goods on the return voyage: a hogshead of rum, a “Barrel of good Spirits,” 200 pounds of coffee, 200 pounds of sugar, and 100 or 200 oranges “if to be had good.” Those items were to be paid for out of GW’s share of the herring sales, his balance to be rendered in cash (DLC:GW). The Swift returned with GW’s goods a few months later, but GW received no cash balance, because the cost of his goods, £50 10s. 1d., exceeded his eventual proceeds from the deal, £40 15s. 9d. (Robert McMickan to GW, 7 Dec. 1770, MiU-C: Haskell Collection; Robert McMickan & Co.’s account with GW, 6 Dec. 1770–16 Feb. 1771, ViMtvL).

24. At home all day alone.

25. Rid to the Mill and Ditchers in the forenoon.

26. Rid by Posey’s and to the Mill & Ditchers again.

27. Rid to the Mill and Ditchers. In the afternoon Doctr. Rumney came here.

28. Rid to the Mill and Ditchers. Doctr. Rumney here Sick.

29. At Home all day—Doctr. Rumney still here Sick.

30. At home all day. Mr. Wr. Washington came in the Evening. Doctr. Rumney still here.


Title: [Diary entry: 1 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Septr. 1st. Cool & clear—wind being still Northwardly.


Title: [Diary entry: 2 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

2. Cool but rather Inclind to be Cloudy Wind being also fresh from the Eastward.


Title: [Diary entry: 3 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

 3. Rain in the forenoon but clear afterwards with but little wind.


Title: [Diary entry: 4 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

4. Showery with the wind at East.


Title: [Diary entry: 5 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

5. Clear and tolerably warm and still.


Title: [Diary entry: 6 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

6. Flying Clouds with the Wind tolerably fresh—but no Rain.


Title: [Diary entry: 7 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

7. Clear with the Wind tolerably fresh from the North North East.


Title: [Diary entry: 8 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

8. Still, Calm, Warm, and clear.


Title: [Diary entry: 9 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

9. Clear and Calm but not so cool as yesterday.


Title: [Diary entry: 10 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

10. Clear and tolerably Cool Wind being at No. East.


Title: [Diary entry: 11 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

11. Cloudy with appearances of Rain but none fell.


Title: [Diary entry: 12 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

12. Rain in the Morning & cloudy afterwards & warm.


Title: [Diary entry: 13 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

13. Still Cloudy with some Shows for Rain but none fell.


Title: [Diary entry: 15 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

15. Clear and warm with but little wind & that Southwardly—warm.


Title: [Diary entry: 17 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

17. Rain in the Fore & afternoon & Cloudy all day.


Title: [Diary entry: 18 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

18. Clear and cool Wind at No. West.


Title: [Diary entry: 19 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

19. Clear and very cool. Wind still continuing Northwardly.


Title: [Diary entry: 20 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

20. Still cool—but warmer than yesterday—a remarkable great Fog & Dew.


Title: [Diary entry: 21 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

21. Clear & tolerably warm Wind being Southwardly.


Title: [Diary entry: 22 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

 22. Showery in the forenoon with the Wind at Southwest. Clear afterwards.


Title: [Diary entry: 23 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

23. Clear and Cool—Wind Northwardly & westwardly.


Title: [Diary entry: 24 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

24. Raining all day with variable Wind.


Title: [Diary entry: 25 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

25. Raing. a little in the Morning and a good deal in the afternoon and very warm.


Title: [Diary entry: 28 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

28. Something warmer and Cloudy with appearances of Rain.


Title: [Diary entry: 13 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

13. Sett 3 Negroe Men, to Wit Harry, George & Frank to Work upon my Mill Race.


Title: [Diary entry: 14 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

14. Two more men came to work on it from the Neck—to wit—Neptune and George. Morris at Doeg Run began to sow his third Cut of Wheat.


Title: [Diary entry: 20 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

20. Finishd Sowing Wheat in the Neck. Also at Muddy hole. This day also Dominicus Gubner a Dutch Smith set into work at the Rate of £32 pr. Ann he to be found when at Work here and to have the Plantn. on which John Crook livd (to settle his Family at) & Work in any thing he pleases rent free.


Title: [Diary entry: 22 September 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

22. Receivd from Edwd. Snickers the Millstones he was to get for [me] which were thinner by two Inch⟨es⟩ than what were bespoke.


Title: Remarks & Occurs. in Septr. [1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Septr. 4th. Got on the 2d. Floor (or rather the last Floor the walls being at their Height) of my Mill.
The Hound Bitch stately brought 7 Puppies viz 2 dogs & 5 Bitches 1 of the former dead—remaing. 1 dog & 5 Bitches.

13. Sett 3 Negroe Men, to Wit Harry, George & Frank to Work upon my Mill Race.

14. Two more men came to work on it from the Neck—to wit—Neptune and George.
Morris at Doeg Run began to sow his third Cut of Wheat.

20. Finishd Sowing Wheat in the Neck. Also at Muddy hole. This day also Dominicus Gubner a Dutch Smith set into work at the Rate of £32 pr. Ann he to be found when at Work here and to have the Plantn. on which John Crook livd (to settle his Family at) & Work in any thing he pleases rent free.

   Before this date GW had employed Gubner as a blacksmith on a daily basis, paying him 3s. a day for each of 19 days that he had previously worked in the shop at Mount Vernon (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 325). Under the terms of the one-year contract signed today, Gubner agreed to do blacksmithing for GW on a regular basis, attending to his business in GW’s shop “at all hours & seasons that is customary & proper for a Smith to work at” and making up all time lost “by negligence, Sickness, or any private concerns of his own” (DLC:GW). The plantation on which John Crook had lived was apparently part of the Mount Vernon tract; it was first rented by Crook from GW in 1755, two years before GW began to acquire other lands in the area. Crook ceased to live there after 1767 (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 71, 128, 244). Gubner occupied the plantation and worked for GW until the fall of 1773, his contract being twice renewed with no changes in terms (General Ledger BGeneral Ledger B, 1772–1793. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 34).

22. Receivd from Edwd. Snickers the Millstones he was to get for [me] which were thinner by two Inch⟨es⟩ than what were bespoke.

   GW paid Snickers £20 for these stones when he stopped at Snicker’s ordinary 30 Nov. 1770 (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 329).


Title: [Diary entry: 1 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Octr. 1. Rid to my Mill and the Ditchers with Mr. Warnr. Washington. Colo. Fairfax dind here. The Doctr. Rumney still here. Mr. Carr came in the Eveng.


Title: [Diary entry: 2 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

2. At home all day. John Savage formerly a Lieutt. in the Virga. Service & one Wm. Carnes came here to enter their claim to a share in the 200,000 acres of Land. Wr. Washington & Doctr. Rumney here.


Title: [Diary entry: 3 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

3. At home all day. Mr. Washington—Mr. Carr—Savage & Carnes went away after Breakfast. The Doctr. still here.


Title: [Diary entry: 6 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

6. Bated at old Codleys. Dind and lodgd at my Brother Sam’s.


Title: [Diary entry: 8 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

8. Vale. Crawford joind us, & he and I went to Colo. Cresaps leaving the Doctr. at Pritchards with my boy Billy who was taken sick.


Title: [Diary entry: 9 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

9. Went from Colo. Cresaps to Rumney where in the afternoon the Doctr. & my Servant & Baggage arrivd.


Title: [Diary entry: 10 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

10. Bought two Horses & sent one of my Servants (Giles) home with those I rid up. Proceeded on our Journey and lodgd at one Wise (now Turners) Mill.


Title: [Diary entry: 11 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

 11. Set out about 11 Oclock and arrivd at one Gillams on George Creek 10½ Miles from the North Branch & same diste from F[ort] C[umberland].


Title: [Diary entry: 12 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

12. Started from Gillams between Sunrising & Day Break and arrivd at the Great crossing of Yaugha. about Sun set or before.


Title: [Diary entry: 13 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

13. Left this place early in the Morning and arrivd at Captn. Crawfords (known by the name of Stewarts crossing) abt. ½ after four Oclock.


Title: [Diary entry: 14 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

14. At Captn. Crawfords all day.


Title: [Diary entry: 15 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

15. Rid to see the Land he got for me & my Brother’s.


Title: [Diary entry: 18 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

18. Dined in the Fort at the Officers Club.


Title: [Diary entry: 19 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

19. Dined at Colo. Croghans abt. 4 Miles from Pittsburg & returnd.


Title: [Diary entry: 21 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

21. Got abt. 32 Miles further and Incampd abt. 3 Miles below little Bever Ck.


Title: [Diary entry: 23 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

23. Stayd at this place till One Clock in the Afternoon & padled abt. 12 Miles down the River & Incamped.


Title: [Diary entry: 24 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

24. We reachd the Mouth of a Creek calld Fox Grape vine Creek (10 Miles up which is a Town of Delawares calld Franks Town) abt. 3 Oclock in the afternoon—distant from our last Camp abt. 26 Miles.


Title: [Diary entry: 25 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

25. Incampd in the long reach abt. 30 Miles from our last lodge according to my Computation.


Title: [Diary entry: 26 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

26. Incampd at the Mouth of a Creek about 4 Miles above the Mouth of Muskingham distant abt. 32 Miles.


Title: [Diary entry: 28 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

28. Meeting with Kiashuta & other Indian Hunters we proceeded only 10 Miles to day, & Incampd below the Mouth of a Ck. on the west the name of wch. I know not.


Title: [Diary entry: 29 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

29. Went round what is calld the Great Bent & Campd two Miles below it distant from our last Incampment abt. 29 Miles.


Title: [October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Octr. 1. Rid to my Mill and the Ditchers with Mr. Warnr. Washington. Colo. Fairfax dind here. The Doctr. Rumney still here. Mr. Carr came in the Eveng.

   William Carr (d. 1791), a Dumfries merchant, dealt in wheat and flour. He had been a trustee of the town since 1761 and in 1765 served as a commissioner to divide Fairfax Parish from Truro Parish (Carr to GW, 17 Dec. 1770, DLC:GW; heningWilliam Waller Hening, ed. The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature, in the Year 1619. 13 vols. 1819–23. Reprint. Charlottesville, Va., 1969., 7:424–28, 8:157–59).

2. At home all day. John Savage formerly a Lieutt. in the Virga. Service & one Wm. Carnes came here to enter their claim to a share in the 200,000 acres of Land. Wr. Washington & Doctr. Rumney here.

   Savage was commissioned a lieutenant in the Virginia Regiment 9 Mar. 1754 and promoted to captain in Sept. 1755 but resigned from the regiment the following spring (va. troops“Virginia Troops in French and Indian Wars.” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 1 (1893–94): 278–87, 378–90., 284; GW orders, 17 Sept. 1755, DLC:GW; GW to Robert Dinwiddie, 25 June 1756, DLC:GW). He may be the John Savage (d. 1791) who settled on Knobly Mountain, Hampshire County, about 1778 (sage and jonesClara McCormack Sage and Laura Sage Jones. Early Records, Hampshire County Virginia, Now West Virginia, Including at the start most of known Va. aside from Augusta District. Delavan, Wis., 1939., 132; simsEdgar B. Sims. Sims Index to Land Grants in West Virginia. Charleston, 1952., 226). Carnes (Carns) was a private in the Virginia Regiment as early as 9 July 1754 (va. troops“Virginia Troops in French and Indian Wars.” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 1 (1893–94): 278–87, 378–90., 279).

3. At home all day. Mr. Washington—Mr. Carr—Savage & Carnes went away after Breakfast. The Doctr. still here.

4. In the afternoon Doctr. Rumney went away & Doctr. Craik came.

5. Set out in Company with Doctr. Craik for the Settlement on Redstone &ca. dind at Mr. Bryan Fairfax’s & lodged at Leesburg.

   Several factors induced GW to make the arduous journey through western Pennsylvania and the Ohio country in the fall of 1770. Among the most pressing was the question of locating bounty lands on the Kanawha and Ohio rivers for the officers and soldiers of the Virginia Regiment (see main entry for 30 July 1770). GW felt a special sense of urgency about this business because rumors had recently reached Virginia of a newly established land company in England whose proposed claims appeared to overlap those of the Virginia veterans (see “Remarks” entry for 8 Oct. 1770, n.1; GW to Lord Botetourt, 5 Oct. 1770, PPRF). Furthermore, GW noted, “any considerable delay in the prosecution of our Plan would amount to an absolute defeat of the Grant inasmuch as Emigrants are daily Sealing the choice Spots of Land and waiting for the oppertunity . . . of solliciting a legal Title under the advantages of Possession & Improvement—two powerful Plea’s in an Infant Country” (GW to Lord Botetourt, 9 Sept. 1770, CLU-C). See also William Nelson to Lord Hillsborough, JHBH. R. McIlwaine and John Pendleton Kennedy, eds. Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia. 13 vols. Richmond, 1905–15., 1770–72, xxii-xxiii.

   GW’s own land interests also induced him to make a first hand investigation of conditions in western Pennsylvania. In Sept. 1767 GW had instructed William Crawford, his western land agent, to “look me out a Tract of about 1500, 2000, or more Acres somewhere in your Neighbourhood. . . . Any Person . . . who neglects the present oppertunity of hunting out good Lands & in some measure Marking & distinguishing them for their own (in order to keep others from settling them) will never regain it” (GW to Crawford, 21 Sept. 1767, DLC:GW). Crawford proceeded to have a considerable tract

of land surveyed for GW in the area of Chartiers Creek (see main entry for 15 Oct. 1770). “When you come up,” he informed GW, “you will see the hole of your tract finisht” (Crawford to GW, 5 May 1770, DLC:GW).

   There are two sets of diary entries for those portions of Oct. and Nov. 1770 covering GW’s trip to the Ohio country. Both entries for a day should be consulted.

6. Bated at old Codleys. Dind and lodgd at my Brother Sam’s.

   GW’s expenses at Codley’s (Caudley’s) were £6 (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 329). Codley’s was located at Williams’ (later Snickers’) Gap in the Blue Ridge. It was near the site of present-day Bluemont, some 15 miles from Samuel Washington’s home at Harewood.

7. Dind at Rinkers and lodgd at Saml. Pritchards.

   Casper (Jasper) Rinker’s house was located approximately ten miles from Winchester on the Winchester-Cumberland road. Rinker, a member of a family of early German settlers in the Shenandoah Valley, was given a grant of land, 2 June 1762, in what is now Hampshire County, W.Va., on the basis of a survey by GW (Northern Neck Deeds and Grants, Book K, 443, Vi Microfilm).

   Samuel Pritchard resided on the Cacapon River some 40 miles from Samuel Washington’s establishment. Pritchard was a resident of Frederick County as early as 1758, when he cast his vote against GW for burgess (Va. Mag., 6:169).

8. Vale. Crawford joind us, & he and I went to Colo. Cresaps leaving the Doctr. at Pritchards with my boy Billy who was taken sick.

   Thomas Cresap’s establishment was at Shawnee Old Town (now Oldtown, Md.). See entry for 21 Mar. 1748. Billy is GW’s mulatto body servant William, whom he had bought in 1768 from Mrs. Mary Lee of Westmoreland County, the widow of Col. John Lee, for £61 15s. (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 261). Billy had assumed the surname Lee, and was also referred to by GW as Will or William. He was to accompany his master throughout the Revolutionary War.

9. Went from Colo. Cresaps to Rumney where in the afternoon the Doctr. & my Servant & Baggage arrivd.

   The town of Romney on the South Branch of the Potomac River was established in 1762 (heningWilliam Waller Hening, ed. The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature, in the Year 1619. 13 vols. 1819–23. Reprint. Charlottesville, Va., 1969., 7:598–600). Here GW apparently met John Savage again, for he today recorded receiving £6 from Savage as part of his share of the surveying costs for the Virginia Regiment’s land (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 329).

10. Bought two Horses & sent one of my Servants (Giles) home with those I rid up. Proceeded on our Journey and lodgd at one Wise (now Turners) Mill.

   On this day GW paid £16 for a bay and £13 10s. for a gray (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 329). Wise’s Mill was on Patterson’s Creek.

11. Set out about 11 Oclock and arrivd at one Gillams on George Creek 10½ Miles from the North Branch & same diste from F[ort] C[umberland].

   gillams: probably Joseph Gillam who lived on a branch of George’s Creek, a little more than ten miles from the North Branch of the Potomac River. Fort Cumberland is now Cumberland, Md.

12. Started from Gillams between Sunrising & Day Break and arrivd at the Great crossing of Yaugha. about Sun set or before.

   The Great Crossing of the Youghiogheny is near present-day Addison, Pa. GW spent 16s. there (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 329).

13. Left this place early in the Morning and arrivd at Captn. Crawfords (known by the name of Stewarts crossing) abt. ½ after four Oclock.

   Stewart’s Crossing was on the Youghiogheny River below present-day Connellsville, Pa. The site was named for William Stewart, who settled there in 1753 (cookRoy Bird Cook. Washington’s Western Lands. Strasburg, Va., 1930., 15). Braddock’s army had crossed the Youghiogheny at this ford in June 1755 on the way to Fort Duquesne. The area was included in the tract of land on the Youghiogheny surveyed and occupied by William Crawford in 1769 (WHi: Draper Papers, E–11).

14. At Captn. Crawfords all day.

15. Rid to see the Land he got for me & my Brother’s.

   This land, which William and Valentine Crawford had surveyed for the Washingtons in 1769, is in the vicinity of Perryopolis, Pa., in what is now Fayette County, Pa.

16. At Captn. Crawfords till the Evening—then went to Mr. John Stephenson’s.

   John Stephenson was William and Valentine Crawford’s half brother. After the death of the Crawfords’ father, their mother, Onora Grimes Crawford (d. 1776), married Richard Stephenson, by whom she had five sons and one daughter (butterfield [1]C. W. Butterfield, ed. The Washington-Crawford Letters. Being the Correspondence between George Washington and William Crawford, from 1767 to 1781, Concerning Western Lands. Cincinnati, 1877., 93). John Stephenson had served in the French and Indian War and settled in the vicinity of the Great Crossing of the Youghiogheny about 1768. He was involved from time to time in the Crawfords’ land activities.

17. Arrivd at Fort—dining at one Widow Miers at Turtle Creek.

   GW had arrived at Fort Pitt. The Widow Myers’s tavern was probably at Sycamore and Sixth streets within the boundaries of present-day Pittsburgh. It frequently served as a rallying point for frontier militia and was still operating

   in the 1790s. GW spent 3s. 9d. at the tavern (General Ledger AGeneral Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers., folio 329). Turtle Creek enters the Monongahela above the site of Fort Pitt.

18. Dined in the Fort at the Officers Club.

19. Dined at Colo. Croghans abt. 4 Miles from Pittsburg & returnd.

   George Croghan was living at Croghan Hall near Pittsburgh. He and GW were old acquaintances from the 1754 campaign against the French, in which Croghan had agreed to provision the Virginia troops. At that time GW had been highly critical of his efforts (GW to William Fairfax, 11 Aug. 1754,

DLC:GW). After the French and Indian War, Croghan acquired, on paper at least, an empire of some 250,000 acres of land in New York and 200,000 acres in Pennsylvania. By 1770, however, his pyramid of land speculation was crumbling and his creditors were pressing him for payment. In July 1770 he returned from his New York lands to his establishment near Fort Pitt, hoping to confirm title to his Pennsylvania holdings and sell them before returning to develop his tracts in New York. Exaggerated reports of land sales sent out by his agents had evidently reached GW, since at their meeting in mid-October they discussed the possibility of his purchasing a tract from Croghan. He wrote Croghan, 24 Nov., from Stewart’s Crossing on his return from the Ohio, that he would be willing to buy a single tract of 15,000 acres. Since Croghan had had difficulty in securing an uncontested title to the Pennsylvania lands he had acquired from the Indians, GW added cautiously that the acres would be purchased only when legal title could be confirmed (DLC:GW). Croghan was optimistic after GW’s visit: “I am likely to sell another Tract to Col. Washington and his Friends—if I do that, I expect to have One good Nights Rest before Christmas, which is more than I have had for eight Months past I assure you” (Croghan to Samuel Wharton, Jr., 25 Oct. 1770, PHi: Sarah A. G. Smith Family Papers). However, GW soon began to have serious doubts about the validity of Croghan’s title and by late 1771 decided against purchasing the tract (William Crawford to GW, 2 Aug. 1771; GW to Crawford, 6 Dec. 1771, DLC:GW).

20. Set out for the Big Kanhawa with Dr. Craik Captn. Crawford & others. Incampd abt. 14 Miles off.

21. Got abt. 32 Miles further and Incampd abt. 3 Miles below little Bever Ck.

   Little Beaver Creek empties into the Ohio from the north, about 42 miles from Fort Pitt (pownallThomas Pownall. A Topographical Description of the Dominions of the United States of America. Edited by Lois Mulkearn. Pittsburgh, 1949., 166).

22. Reachd the Mingo Town abt. 29 Miles by my Computation.

   Mingo Town (now Mingo Junction, Ohio) was an Indian village several miles below Steubenville, Ohio. “This was the only Indian village in 1766 on the banks of the Ohio from that place to Fort Pitt; it contained at that time 60 families” (cramerZadok Cramer. The Navigator: Containing Directions for Navigating the Monongahela, Allegheny, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers . . . and a Concise Description of their Towns, Villages, Harbours, Settlements, &c. 7th ed. Pittsburgh, 1811., 25n). Mingo Town appears on Thomas Hutchins’s 1778 map of the Ohio.

23. Stayd at this place till One Clock in the Afternoon & padled abt. 12 Miles down the River & Incamped.

24. We reachd the Mouth of a Creek calld Fox Grape vine Creek (10 Miles up which is a Town of Delawares calld Franks Town) abt. 3 Oclock in the afternoon—distant from our last Camp abt. 26 Miles.

   Fox Grape Vine Creek, also called Captina Creek, flows into the Ohio from the west. Frank’s Town was a well-known Delaware village about six miles

from the Juniata River. Originally called Assunepachla, it was referred to as Frank’s Town, for the Pennsylvania trader Frank Stevens, as early as 1734. Apparently it was deserted by the Delawares before Braddock’s Defeat in 1755. A Delaware village called Frank’s Town on Captina Creek does not appear on early maps but it is possible that the Delawares had established such a settlement in the area. It may have been another name for the Grape Vine Town. “As late as 1772 the Rev. David Jones, a Baptist missionary, on his way to preach to the Ohio Indians, met a Frank Stephens at the mouth of Captina Creek (on the west side of the Ohio River, twenty miles below Wheeling). This man was an Indian, who had received his English name from that of Frank Stevens, the Trader. Possibly he may have been a half-blood son of the trader” (hannaCharles A. Hanna. The Wilderness Trail: Or The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path: With Some New Annals of the Old West, and the Records of Some Strong Men and Some Bad Ones. 2 vols. New York and London, 1911., 1:259–60).

25. Incampd in the long reach abt. 30 Miles from our last lodge according to my Computation.

   The “long reach” of the Ohio is a section of the river with relatively few curves stretching approximately from Paden City to Raven Rock, W.Va. Its length is 18 to 20 miles.

26. Incampd at the Mouth of a Creek about 4 Miles above the Mouth of Muskingham distant abt. 32 Miles.

   The Muskingum River joins the Ohio River from the Ohio side at Marietta.

27. Incampd at the Mouth of great Hockhocking distant from our last Incampment abt. 32 Miles.

   The Little Hocking enters the Ohio from the west about 19 miles below Marietta. The Great Hockhocking is now the Hocking River. It flows into the Ohio at Hockingport, Ohio, some 26 miles below Marietta.

28. Meeting with Kiashuta & other Indian Hunters we proceeded only 10 Miles to day, & Incampd below the Mouth of a Ck. on the west the name of wch. I know not.

   GW had met Guyasuta during his journey to the French commandant in 1753 (see entry for 30 Nov. 1753, n.49). After joining the French in 1755, Guyasuta had actively engaged in hostilities against the British during the French and Indian War and was a leader in Pontiac’s rebellion. After the war he was again friendly to the English and aided the firm of Baynton, Wharton, & Morgan in opening up the Illinois trade. He maintained his allegiance to the British during the Revolution and participated in the attack against Hannastown, Pa., in 1782. After the Revolution he settled in the area of Pittsburgh and died there about 1800.

29. Went round what is calld the Great Bent & Campd two Miles below it distant from our last Incampment abt. 29 Miles.

   The Great Bend of the Ohio is in the region of Meigs County, Ohio.

30. Incampd Early Just by the old Shawna Town distant from our last no more than 15 Miles.

   Shawnee Town appears on Lewis Evans’s 1766 map of the middle colonies just north of the confluence of the Ohio and the Great Kanawha rivers. It is not the Lower Shawnee Town at the mouth of the Scioto River.

31. Went out a Hunting & met the Canoe at the Mouth of the big Kanhawa distant only 5 Miles makg. the whole distance from Fort Pitt accordg. to my Acct. 266 Miles.

   GW’s calculations on the distance from Fort Pitt to the mouth of the Great Kanawha at present-day Point Pleasant, W.Va., agree substantially with those of Capt. Harry Gordon, chief engineer of the Northern Department in North America. In Gordon’s table of distances it is logged as 266¼ miles (pownallThomas Pownall. A Topographical Description of the Dominions of the United States of America. Edited by Lois Mulkearn. Pittsburgh, 1949., 166).


Title: [Diary entry: 1 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Octr. 1st. Wind Southwardly and warm with flying Clouds.


Title: [Diary entry: 2 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

2. Raining, Hailing, or Snowing the whole day—with the wind Northerly Cold & exceeding disagreeable.


Title: [Diary entry: 3 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

3. Clear but cold. Wind being very high from the Northwest.


Title: [Diary entry: 4 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

4. Clear and pleasant. Wind being fresh and very fresh.


Title: [Diary entry: 5 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

5. Clear, warm & remarkably pleasant with very little or no Wind.


Title: [Diary entry: 6 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

6. Again clear pleasant and still.


Title: [Diary entry: 7 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

7. As pleasant as the two preceeding days.


Title: [Diary entry: 8 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

8. Pleasant forenoon—but the wind Rising. About Noon it Clouded & threatned hard for Rain. Towards Night it raind a little & ceasd but contd. Cloudy.


Title: [Diary entry: 10 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

10. Cloudy with Rain & sunshine alternately.


Title: [Diary entry: 11 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

 11. Wet Morning with flying Clouds afterwards. Towards the Evening the Wind sprung out at No. West.


Title: [Diary entry: 14 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

14. Very pleasant but wind fresh in the Afternoon.


Title: [Diary entry: 16 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

16. Frosty Morning—but clear and pleasant afterwards.


Title: [Diary entry: 17 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

17. Exceeding warm & very pleasant till the Evening then lowering.


Title: [Diary entry: 18 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

18. Misty & Cloudy in the Evening. The Forepart of the day being very warm.


Title: [Diary entry: 19 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

19. Misty & Cloudy all day.


Title: [Diary entry: 20 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

20. Misty—but the Evening clear tho somewhat Cool.


Title: [Diary entry: 21 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

21. Cloudy & very raw & cold in the forenoon. About Midnight it began to Snow & contd. to do so more or less all the remaing. part of the Night & next day.


Title: [Diary entry: 23 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

23. Exceeding Cloudy & like for Snow & sometimes really doing so.


Title: [Diary entry: 24 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

24. Clear & pleasant Morning but cloudy & cold afterwards.


Title: [Diary entry: 27 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

 27. A little Gloomy in the Morning but clear, still, & pleast. afterwards.


Title: [Diary entry: 28 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

28. Much such a day as the preceeding one.


Title: [Diary entry: 29 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

29th. Pleasant forenoon & clear but Cloudy and Wet afternoon.


Title: [Diary entry: 30 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

30. Raining in the Night. Raw cold & cloudy forenoon but clear & pleasant afternoon.


Title: [Diary entry: 31 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

31. Remarkably clear & pleasant with but little wind.


Title: [Diary entry: 5 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Octr. 5th.Began a journey to the Ohio in Company with Doctr. Craik his Servant, & two of mine with a lead Horse with Baggage. Dind at Towlston and lodgd at Leesburg distant from Mount Vernon abt. 45 Miles. Here my Portmanteau horse faild in his stomach.


Title: [Diary entry: 8 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

8. My Servant being unable to Travel I left him at Pritchards with Doctr. Craik & proceedd. myself with Vale. Crawford to Colo. Cresaps in ordr. to learn from him (being just arrivd from England) the particulars of the Grant said to be lately sold to Walpole & others, for a certain Tract of Country on the Ohio. The distance from Pritchards to Cresaps according to Computation is 26 Miles, thus reckond; to the Fort at Henry Enochs 8 Miles (road exceedg. bad) 12 to Cox’s at the Mouth of little Cacapehon and 6 afterwards.


Title: [Diary entry: 10 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

10. Having purchasd two Horses, and recoverd another which had been gone from me near 3 Years, I dispatchd my boy Giles with my two Riding Horses home, & proceeded on my journey; arriving at one Wises (now Turners) Mill about 22 Miles it being Reckond Seven to the place where Cox’s Fort formerly stood; 10 to One Parkers; & five afterwards. The Road from the South Branch to Pattersons C[ree]k is Hilly—down the C[ree]k on which is good Land, Sloppy to Parkers & from Parkers to Turners Hilly again.


Title: [Diary entry: 11 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

11. The Morning being wet & heavy we did not set of till 11 Oclock & arrivd that Night at one Killams on a branch of Georges

C[ree]k, distant 10½ Measurd Miles from the North Branch of Potomack where we cross at the lower end of my Decd. Brother Auge. Bottom, known by the name of Pendergrasses. This Crossing is two Miles from the aforesaid Mill & the Road bad as it likewise is to Killams, the Country being very Hilly & stony. From Killams to Fort Cumberland is the same distance that it is to the Crossing above mentiond, & the Road from thence to Jolliffs by the old Town much better.


Title: [Diary entry: 12 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

12. We left Killams early in the Morning—breakfasted at the little Meadows 10 Miles of, and lodgd at the great Crossings 20 Miles further, which we found a tolerable good days work. The Country we traveld over today was very Mountainous & stony, with but very little good Land, & that lying in Spots.


Title: [Diary entry: 13 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

13. Set out about Sunrise, breakfasted at the Great Meadows 13 Miles of, & reachd Captn. Crawfords about 5 Oclock. The Lands we travelld over to day till we had crossd the Laurel Hill  (except in smal spots) was very Mountainous & indifferent—but when we came down the Hill to the Plantation of Mr. Thos. Gist  the L[an]d, appeard charming; that which lay level being as rich & black as any thing coud possibly be. The more Hilly kind, tho of a different complexion must be good, as well from the Crops it produces, as from the beautiful white Oaks that grows thereon. Tho white Oak in generl. indicates poor Land, yet this does not appear to be of that cold kind. The Land from Gists to Crawfords is very broken tho not Mountainous—in Spots exceeding Rich, & in general free from Stone. Crawfords is very fine Land; lying on Yaughyaughgane at a place commonly called Stewards Crossing.


Title: [Diary entry: 15 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Monday 15th. Went to view some Land which Captn. Crawford had taken up for me near the Yaughyaughgane distant about 12 Miles. This Tract which contains about 1600 Acres Includes some as fine Land as ever I saw—a great deal of Rich Meadow and in general, is leveller than the Country about it. This Tract is well Waterd, and has a valuable Mill Seat (except that the stream is rather too slight, and it is said not constant more than 7 or 8 Months in the Year; but on acct. of the Fall, & other conveniences, no place can exceed it). In going to this Land I passd through two other Tracts which Captn. Crawford had taken up for my Brothers Saml. and John. That belonging to the former, was not so rich as some I had seen; but very valuable on acct. of its levelness and little Stone, the Soil & Timber being good. That of the latter, had some Bottom Land up on sml. Runs that was very good (tho narrow) the Hills very rich, but the Land in genl. broken. I intended to have visited the Land which Crawford had procurd for Lund Washington this day also, but time falling short I was obligd to Postpone it making it in the Night before I got back to Crawfords where I found Colo. Stephen. The Lands which I passd over today were generally Hilly, and the growth chiefly white Oak, but very good notwithstanding; & what is extraordinary, & contrary to the property of all other Lands I ever saw before, the Hills are the richest Land, the soil upon the sides and Summits of them, being as black as a Coal, & the Growth Walnut, Cherry, Spice Bushes &ca. The flats are not so rich, & a good deal more mixd with stone.


Title: [Diary entry: 16 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Tuesday 16. At Captn. Crawfords till the Evening, when I went to Mr. John Stephenson (on my way to Pittsburg) & lodgd. This day was visited by one Mr. Ennis who had traveld down the little Kanhawa (almost) from the head to the Mouth, on which he says the Lands are broken, the bottoms neither very wide nor rich, but covd. with Beach. At the Mouth the Lands are good, & continue so up the River; & about Weeling, & Fishing Ck., is according to his Acct. a body of fine Land. I also saw a Son of Captn. John Hardens who said he had been from the Mouth of little Kanhawa to the big, but his description of the Lands seemed

   to be so vague and indeterminate, that it was  much doubted whether he ever was there or not. He says however that at the Mouth of the Big Kanhawa there may be abt. 20 or 25,000 acres of Land had in a Body that is good—that you are not above five or 6 Miles to the Hills, & that the Falls of the Kanhawa are not above 10 Miles up it.


Title: [Diary entry: 18 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Thursday 18th. Dind in the Fort with Colo. Croghan & the Officers of the Garrison. Supped there also meeting with great Civility from the Gentlemen, & engagd to dine with Colo. Croghan the next day at his Seat abt. 4 Miles up the Alligany.


Title: [Diary entry: 19 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Friday 19th. Recd. a Message from Colo. Croghan, that the White Mingo  & other Chiefs of the 6 Nations had something to say to me, & desiring that I woud be at his House abt. 11. (where they were to meet) I went up and receivd a Speech with a String of wampum from the White Mingo to the following effect. That as I was a Person who some of them remember to have

seen when I was sent on an Embassy to the French, and most of them had heard of; they were come to bid me welcome to this Country, and to desire that the People of Virginia woud consider them as friends & Brothers linked together in one chain—that I wd. inform the Governor, that it was their wish to live in peace and harmy. with the white People, & that tho their had been some unhappy differences between them and the People upon our Frontiers, it was all made up, and they hopd forgotten; and concluded with saying, that, their Brothers of Virginia did not come among them and Trade as the Inhabitants of the other Provences did, from whence they were affraid that we did not look upon them with so friendly an Eye as they coud wish. To this I answerd (after thanking them for their friendly welcome) that all the Injuries & Affronts that had passd on either side was now totally forgotten, and that I was sure nothing was more wishd and desird by the People of Virginia than to live in the strictest friendship with them. That the Virginians were a People not so much engagd in Trade as the Pensylvanians, &ca., wch. was the Reason of their not being so frequently among them; but that it was possible they might for the time to come have stricter connections with them, and that I woud acquaint the Govr. with their desires. After dining at Colo. Croghan we returnd to Pittsburg—Colo. Croghan with us, who intended to accompany us part of the Way down the River, having engagd an Indian calld the Pheasant & one Joseph Nicholson an Interpreter to attend us the whole Voyage. Also a young Indn. Warrior.


Title: [Diary entry: 20 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Saturday 20th. We Imbarkd in a large Canoe with sufficient Stores of Provision & Necessaries, & the following Persons (besides Doctr. Craik & myself) to wit—Captn. Crawford Josh. Nicholson Robt. Bell—William Harrison—Chs. Morgan & Danl. Reardon a boy of Captn. Crawfords, & the Indians who went in a Canoe by themselves. From Fort Pitt we sent our Horses & boys back to Captn. Crawford wt. orders to meet us there again the 14th. day of November. Colo. Croghan, Lieutt. Hamilton and one Mr. Magee set out with us. At two we dind at Mr. Magees & Incampd 10 Miles below, & 4 above the Logs Town. We passd several large Island which appeard to [be] very good, as the bottoms also did on each side of the River alternately; the Hills on one side being opposite to the bottoms on the other which seem generally to be abt. 3 and 4 hundred yards wide, & so vice versa.


Title: [Diary entry: 21 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Sunday 21. Left our Incampment abt. 6 Oclock & breakfasted at the Logs Town, where we parted with Colo. Croghan &ca. abt. 9 Oclock. At 11 we came to the Mouth of big Bever Creek, opposite

to which is a good Situation for a House, & above it, on the same side (that is the west) there appears to be a body of fine Land. About 5 Miles lower down on the East side comes in Racoon C[ree]k at the Mouth of which, & up it appears to be a body of good Land also. All the Land between this Creek & the Monongahela & for 15 Miles back, is claimd by Colo. Croghan under a purchase from the Indians (and which sale, he says is confirmd by his Majesty). On this Creek where the Branches thereof interlock with the Waters of Shirtees Creek there is, according to Colo. Croghan’s Acct. a body of fine Rich level Land. This Tract he wants to sell, & offers it at £5 sterg. pr. hundd. with an exemption of Quitrents for 20 years; after which, to be subject to the payment of 4/2 Sterg. pr. Hundd., provided he can sell it in 10,000 Acre Lots. Note the unsettled state of this Country renders any purchase dangerous. From Racoon Creek to little Bever Creek appears to me to be little short of 10 Miles, & about 3 Miles below this we Incampd; after hiding a Barrl. of Bisquet in an Island (in Sight) to lighten our Canoe.


Title: [Diary entry: 22 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Monday 22d. As it began to Snow about Midnight, & continued pretty steadily at it, it was about ½ after Seven before we left our Incampment. At the distance of about 8 Miles we came to the Mouth of Yellow Creek (to the West) opposite to, or rather below which, appears to be a long bottom of very good Land, and the Assent to the Hills apparently gradual. There is another pretty large bottom of very good Land about two or 3 Miles above this. About 11 or 12 Miles from this, & just above what is calld the long Island (which tho so distinguishd is not very remarkable for length breadth or goodness) comes in on the East side the River, a small Creek or Run the name of which I coud not learn; and a Mile or two below the Island, on the West Side, comes in big stony Creek (not larger in appearance than the other) on

neither of which does there seem to be any large bottoms or body’s of good Land. About 7 Miles from the last Mentiond Creek 28 from our last Incampment, and about 75 from Pittsburg, we came to the Mingo Town Situate on the West side the River a little above the Cross Creeks. This place contains abt. Twenty Cabbins, & 70 Inhabitants of the Six Nation. Had we set of early, & kept pritty constantly at it, we might have reachd lower than this place today; as the Water in many places run pretty swift, in general more so than yesterday. The River from Fort Pitt to the Logs Town has some ugly Rifts & Shoals, which we found somewhat difficult to pass, whether from our inexperience of the Channel, or not, I cannot undertake to say. From the Logs Town to the Mouth of little Bever Creek is much the same kind of Water; that is, Rapid in some places—gliding gently along in others, and quite still in many. The Water from little Bever Creek to the Mingo Town, in general, is swifter than we found it the preceeding day, & without any shallows, there being some one part or other always deep which is a natural consequence as the River in all the distance from Fort Pitt to this Town has not widend any at all nor doth the bottoms appear to be any larger. The Hills which come close to the River opposite to each bottom are steep; & on the side in view, in many places, Rocky & cragged; but said to abound in good land on the Top. These are not a range of Hills but broken, & cut in two as if there were frequent water courses running through (which however we did not perceive to be the case consequently they must be small if any). The River along down abounds in Wild Geese, and severl. kinds of Ducks but in no great quantity. We killd five wild Turkeys today. Upon our arrival at the Mingo Town we receivd the disagreeable News of two Traders being killd at a Town calld the Grape Vine Town, 38 Miles below this; which causd us to hesitate whether we shoud proceed or not, & wait for further Intelligence.


Title: [Diary entry: 24 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Wednesday 24th. We left our Incampment before Sunrise, and abt. Six Miles below it, we came to the Mouth of a pretty smart Creek comg. in to the Eastward calld by the Indians Split Island Creek, from its running in against an Island. On this C[ree]k

there is the appearance of good Land a distance up it. Six Miles below this again, we came to another Creek on the West side, calld by Nicholson Weeling  and abt. a Mile lower down appears to be another small Water coming in on the East side, which I remark, because of the Scarcity of them; & to shew how badly furnishd this Country is with Mill Seats. Two or three Miles below this again, is another Run on the West side; up which is a near way by Land to the Mingo Town; and about 4 Miles lower comes in another on the East at which place is a path leading to the settlement at Redstone. Abt. A Mile & half below this again, comes in the Pipe Creek so calld by the Indians from a Stone which is found here out of which they make Pipes. Opposite to this (that is on the East side), is a bottom of exceeding Rich Land; but as it seems to lye low, I am apprehensive that it is subject to be overflowd. This Bottom ends where the effects of a hurricane appears by the destruction & havock among the Trees. Two or three Miles below the Pipe Creek is a pretty large Creek on the West side calld by Nicholson Fox Grape Vine by others Captema Creek on which, 8 Miles up it, is the Town calld the Grape Vine Town; & at the Mouth of it, is the place where it was said the Traders livd, & the one was killd. To this place we came abt. 3 Oclock in the Afternoon, & findg. no body there, we agreed to Camp; that Nicholson and one of the Indians might go up to the Town, & enquire into the truth of the report concerning the Murder.


Title: [Diary entry: 28 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Sunday 28th. Left our Incampment about 7 Oclock. Two Miles below, a sml. run comes in on the East side thro a piece of Land that has a very good appearance, the Bottom beginning above our Incampment, & continuing in appearance wide for 4 Miles down, to a place where there comes in a smal Run & to the Hills. And to where we found Kiashuta and his Hunting Party Incampd. Here we were under a necessity of paying our Compliments, As this person was one of the Six Nation Chiefs, & the head of them upon this River. In the Person of Kiashuta I found an old acquaintance. He being one of the Indians that went with me to the French in 1753. He expressd a satisfaction in seeing me and treated us with great kindness, giving us a Quarter of very fine Buffalo. He insisted upon our spending that Night with him, and in order to retard us as little as possible movd his Camp down the River about 3 Miles just below the Mouth of a Creek the name of which I could not learn (it not being large). At this place we all Incampd. After much Councelling the overnight they all came to my fire the next Morning, with great formality; when Kiashuta rehearsing what had passd between me & the Sachems at Colo. Croghan’s, thankd me for saying that Peace & friendship was the wish of the People of Virginia (with them) & for recommending it to the Traders to deal with them upon a fair & equitable footing; and then again expressd their desire of having a Trade opend with Virginia, & that the Governor thereof might not only be made acquainted therewith, but of their friendly disposition towards the white People. This I promisd to do.


Title: [Diary entry: 29 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Monday 29th. The tedious ceremony which the Indians observe in their Councellings & speeches, detained us till 9 Oclock. Opposite to the Creek just below wch. we Incampd, is a pretty long bottom, & I believe tolerable wide; but abt. 8 or 9 Miles below the aforemend. Creek, & just below a pavement of Rocks on the

west side, comes in a Creek with fallen Timber at the Mouth, on which the Indians say there is wide bottom’s, & good Land. The River bottom’s above for some distance is very good, & continues for near half a Mile below the Creek. The pavement of Rocks are only to be seen at low water. Abt. a mile, or a little better below the Mouth of the Creek there is another pavement of Rocks on the East side in a kind of Sedgey Ground. On this Creek many Buffaloes use[d to be] according to the Indians Acct. Six Miles below this comes in a small Creek on the west side at the end of a small naked Island, and just above another pavement of Rocks. This Creek comes thro a Bottom of fine Land, & opposite to it (on the East side the River) appears to be large bottom of very fine Land also. At this place begins what they call the great Bent. 5 Miles below this again, on the East side, comes in (abt. 200 yds. above a little stream or Gut) another Creek; which is just below an Island, on the upper point of which are some dead standing trees, & a parcel of white bodied Sycamores. In the Mouth of this Creek lyes a Scycamore blown down by the wind. From hence an East line may be Run 3 or 4 Miles; thence a North Line till it strikes the River, which I apprehend woud Include about 3 or 4000 Acres of exceeding valuable Land. At the Mouth of this C[ree]k which is 3 or 4 Miles above two Islands (at the lower end of the last, is a rapid, & the Point of the Bend) is the Wariors Path to the Cherokee Country. For two Miles & an half below this the River Runs a No. Et. Course, & finished what they call the Great Bent. Two Miles & an half below this again we Incampd.


Title: [Diary entry: 30 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

Tuesday 30th. We set out at 50 Minutes passd Seven—the Weather being Windy & Cloudy (after a Night of Rain). In about 2 Miles we came to the head of a bottom (in the shape of a horse Shoe) which I judge to be about 6 Miles r[oun]d; the beginning of the bottom appeard to be very good Land, but the lower part (from the Growth) did not seem so friendly. An East

course from the lower end woud strike the River again above, about the Beging. of the bottom. The upper part of the bottom we Incampd in was an exceeding good one, but the lower part rather thin Land & coverd with Beach. In it is some clear Meadow Land and a Pond or Lake. This bottom begins just below the Rapid at the point of the Great Bent, from whence a N. N. Wt. Course woud answer to run a parrallel to the next turn of the River. The River from this place narrows very considerably, & for 5 or 6 Miles or more, is scarcely more than 150 or 200 yards over. The Water yesterday, except the Rapid at the Great Bent, & some swift places about the Islands was quite Dead, & as easily passd one way as the other; the Land in general appeard level & good. About 10 Miles below our Incampment & a little lower down than the bottom describd to lye in the shape of a horse Shoe comes in a small Creek on the West side, and opposite to this on the East begins a body of flat Land which the Indians tell us runs quite across the Fork to the Falls in the Kanhawa, and must at least be 3 days walk across. If so the Flat Land containd therein must be very considerable. A Mile or two below this we Landed, and after getting a little distance from the River we came (without any rising) to a pretty lively kind of Land grown up with Hicky. & Oaks of different kinds, intermixd with Walnut &ca. here & there. We also found many shallow Ponds, the sides of which abounding in grass, invited innumerable quantities of wild fowl among which I saw a Couple of Birds in size between a Swan & Goose; & in colour somewhat between the two; being darker than the young Swan and of a more sutty Colour. The Cry of these was as unusual as the Bird itself, as I never heard any noize resembling it before. Abt. 5 Miles below this we Incampd. in a bottom of Good Land which holds tolerably flat & rich for some distance out.


Title: [Diary entry: 31 October 1770]
From: Washington, George
To:

 Wednesday 31st. I sent the Canoe along down to the Junction of the two Rivers abt. 5 Miles that is the Kanhawa with the Ohio and set out upon a hunting Party to view the Land. We steerd nearly East for about 8 or 9 Miles then bore Southwardly, & westwardly, till we came to our camp at the confluence of the Rivers. The Land from the Rivers appeard but indifferent, & very broken; whether these ridges might not be those that divide the Waters of the Ohio from the Kanhawa is not certain, but I believe they are. If so the Lands may yet be good. If not, that which lyes of the River bottoms is good for little.