[Diary entry: 27 April 1786]

Thursday 27th. Acknowledged in the General Court a Deed to James Mercer Esqr. for the Lotts he and I bought at the Sale of his deceased Brother Colo. George Mercer and received a reconveyance from him of my part thereof.

Road with the Lieutt. Govr. Randolph, the Attorney General, and Mr. George Webb, to view the cut which had commenced between Westham and Richmond for the improvement of the Navigation of James river. Going late, and returning to dinner left but little time to view the work, or to form a judgment of the plan of it.

Dined, and spent the evening at the attorneys. Lodged again at Formicalos.

As president of the Council of State (1783–88), Beverley Randolph (1754–1797), of Cumberland County, acted as lieutenant governor in the absence or indisposition of the governor. His cousin Edmund Randolph was attorney general of the state 1776–86. George Webb (b. 1729), who lived in the Bassett-Dandridge-Custis neighborhood in New Kent County, served as treasurer of Virginia during the Revolution and was appointed to the Virginia Council of State in 1780 (MCILWAINE description begins H. R. McIlwaine, ed. Official Letters of the Governors of the State of Virginia. 3 vols. Richmond, 1926–29. description ends , 2:123; Va. Mag., 25:100).

In Aug. 1785 the James River Company was formed to open navigation of that river above the falls at Richmond, for which several canals were cut (HENING description begins William 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. description ends , 11:450–62).

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Source Project: Washington Papers
Title: [Diary entry: 27 April 1786]
Author: Washington, George
Date: 27 April 1786

Reference

Cite as: “[Diary entry: 27 April 1786],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/01-04-02-0003-0004-0027. [Original source: The Diaries of George Washington, vol. 4, 1 September 1784 – 30 June 1786, ed. Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1978, pp. 318–319.]