Carter, Betty Lewis, 1765-1830. Washington family papers [manucript], 1773-1915.
Title:
Washington family papers [manucript], 1773-1915.
The papers consist of a miscellaneous collection of letters and documents relating to the family and heirs of George Washington, particularly descendants of his younger brother John Augustine. Earliest items consist of sheets from a ledger kept by Thomas Jett listing accounts with Jane Washington and estate accounts for Augustine Washington through Mrs. Anne Washington and her estate, 1773, and 1770-1785; and a ledger sheet containing an account of a sale of 160 hogshead of tobacco of Washington, Butler and Nevison, received by the ship Washington, Capt. Blackwell, by Thomas Stoddert, agent and broker. Items pertaining to Corbin Washington and William A. Washington include two letters from Corbin Washington to William A. Washington, 1788 Feb. 24, and 1791 May 5, concerning the settlement of debts; a receipt from Henry Washington to William Augustine Washington, 1792 Dec. 16, for an order drawn on William by a David Donaldson and for William's payment on a horse racing purse at the Annapolis Jockey Club; a receipt and bond for the sale of land in Carrollsburg to William A. Washington, by Thomas Ringgold, 1791, pertaining to lots in the new city of Washington; the text for a newspaper advertisement or broadside for a sale at Chantilly, the estate of Richard Henry Lee, ordered by his executors Corbin and William A. Washington; and a retained copy of a letter from William A. Washington to William Russell, 1799 Oct. 15, concerning the Principio Company's Accokeek lands and a possible deal involving General Henry Lee together wih a legal copy of a deed of mortgage from Henry Lee to William Russell, 1801 Mar. 4, pertaining to Principio Company land in Stafford County, Va. The document is also signed by Dan Reintzel, mayor of George Town. Additional items pertaining to Corbin Washington and William A. Washington include a letter from J. P. DeGruchy, 1806 Jul. 25, directing William A. Washington to William Russell's agent, Hugh Robert and enclosing Russell's address in France; and a letter from William A. Washington to William Russell, 1809 Sep. 1, concerning the Accokeek lands of Henry Lee and requesting power of attorney to dispose of the lands to the best advantage for Lee (who was incarcerated for debt). A brief letter from Benjamin Henry Latrobe to Martha Washington, circa 1795, thanks her for some assistance to a Mrs. Jones and mentions plans for a social evening to include Colonel Thomas Blackburn. There is also an account sheet of Lawrrence Lewis's bond to Martha Washington and subsequently her executors with payments concluded in 1803. Items pertaining to the settlement of the estate of George Washington include a surveying report, 1804 Oct., by Robert McKee for land in Mason County held by the estate; a draft indenture between surviving executors, 1814, to allot Lawrence Augustine Washington lands which he claims were bequeathed to him by Washington; a document, 1819 Dec. 10, by which Charles Carter and Betty Lewis Carter ceded claims against the estate in return for a cash payment; and most importantly, the sole surviving copy of commissioner Joseph Eaches' report on the balance of accounts in the case of the administrators of Thomas Hammond's estate vs. the estate of George Washington. Items pertaining to John Augustine Washington include a bank draft, 1820 Feb. 4, and letter to John Lloyd, 1822 Jan. 22, concerning the shipment of flour and an advance. Items pertaining to John Augustine Washington, Jr., include a fragment of a schoolboy letter to his mother announcing his class standing; a letter from the University of Virginia, 1839 May 9, describing a visit to Weyer's Cave, dining at professor Tuckers, Hessian fly damage to the wheat crop, asking for $100, enquiring whether he should attend another session and when he should return home, and conveying family news; and a letter from his brother Richard Blackburn Washington, 1845 Mar. 10, reporting on a 19 year old mulatto slave blacksmith his brother wishes to buy, and sending farm news. Additional John Augustine Washington, Jr., items include a letter from G[eorge] C[orbin] Washington, 1852 May 14, regarding Ohio land mentioned in George Washington's will, and enclosing notes by Spotswood Augustine Washhington who researched the matter; a letter from William L. Powell, no year, June 25, on a slave permanently injured by childbirth and consequently devalued to $125-150; a memorandum of agreement for the hiring of a slave named Mitty, 1857 Jan. 1; a bond, 1857 Dec. 25, from Samuel E. Nevitt and William Nevitt combined with hiring agreement for the slave "Jenny," and a signed itemized receipt, 1860 Jan. 6, recording fees charged for medical visits to slaves by Dr. J. M. G. McGuire. The collection also contains a series of six letters, 1858 Mar. 10 to 1860 Aug. 22, from Samuel Phillips Lee concerning family and friends and including one comment (Jan. 8) expressing his belief that the Union would be preserved "notwithstanding the present tempest in the presidential teapot." Civil War items pertaining to John Augustine Washington, Jr., include three letters from his daughter Eliza containing family news, 1860 Apr. 17, and 1861 Jun., and Jul. 6; a letter from W. Lippitt, 1860 Nov. 7 concerning family matters, photographs by Brady, and the excitement in Washington over possible dissolution of the Union; a letter from Edward C. Turner, 1861 May 24, on the staffing situation in the Confederate Army; a note from Walker W. Vest, 1861 Jul. 29, concerning a bill with greetings to Robert E. Lee and Walter H. Taylor; and a poem memorializing him after his death in September, 1861. There are also two newspaper clippings, 1957 and 1958, "The death of Gen. Lee's aide," and "When Lee's men failed to fight." Items pertaining to Lawrence Washington include a letter from Samuel Phillips Lee regarding a commission for the purchase of horses, 1893 Sep. 28; and a letter from Henry T. Thurber, the private secretary to Grover Cleveland, 1896 May 11, enclosing a petition to Cleveland recommending the appointment of Washington as Register of Wills of the District of Columbia. Signers of the petition included Robert E. Lee, Jr., and Leigh Robinson. Also a letter from Robert W. Hunter discussing a land appraisal and allotment and a presentation of a portrait of John Augustine Washington by Colonels Walter H. Taylor and Arthur Herbert. Twentieth century documents relating to the settlement of George Wahington's estate pertain to a petition of the Estate represented by Robert E. Lee, Jr., for reimbursement by Congress for Ohio lands Washington lost due to conflicting grants. These include three printed items "Evidence before the Comittee on Claims of the House of Representatives, 1909 Jan. 14, the arguments of Greenlee D. Letcher and Nelson W. Evans; bills in the House and Senate to reimburse the estate, 1911 May 26 and 1915 Dec. 7 introduced by Henry Flood and Thomas S. Martin; a resume of facts and arguments, a mimeographed copy of Lee's summary of various grants, titles and claims in the case and his argument of restitution; and a typed draft of a Congressional bill prepared by attorneys Evans and Crawford, 1913. The collection also contains photographs of well known oil portraits of family members including Jane Charlote Blackburn Washington, George Corbin Washington, and Lawrence Washington, as well as Edmund Randolph. There is also a cabinet card photograph of an unidentified woman. Miscellaneous items of interest in the collection include Francis Corbin's copy of his letter to Tench Coxe, 1813 Apr. 7, concerning his nephew Henry who might settle in Philadelphia and leave "the land of slavery," relating family genealogy, and describing in detail a visit with George and Martha Washington in Princeton in 1783 to whom he delivered a letter from Henry Laurens and also mentioning Alexander Hamilton and commenting on the state of banking in the country. Also a letter to Robert E. Lee from John [Slogel?], 1846 May 18, honoring his request to pay Mary Lee $100.
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46 items.
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