Wednesday 19th. Thermometer at [ ] in the Morng. [ ] at Noon and [ ] at Night.
Wind which had been at No. Wt. yesterday, & clear, had now shifted to the So. Et. and lowered till Night, when it began to rain; which it did more or less through the Night, the wind blowing fresh.
Immediately after breakfast I set out for my return home—at which I arrived a little after Noon. And found my Brother Jno., his Wife; Daughter Milly, & Sons Bushrod & Corbin, & the wife of the first—Mr. Willm. Washington & his wife & 4 Children & Colo. Blackburn—to whom was added in the Evening Mr. Willm. Craik.
Mr. Houdon having finished the business which brot. him hither, went up on Monday with his People, work, and impliments in my Barge, to Alexandria, to take a Passage in the Stage for Philadelphia the next Morning.
Sowed (after making good the vacancies of the former) about a pint of the Cape of Good hope Wheat, sent me by Mr. Powell of Philadelphia, in 14 rows alongside of the other in the enclosure behind the Stables.
Also—sowed about a table Spoonful of the Buffaloe or Kentucke Clover sent me by Doctr. Stuart alongside of the Guinea grass at the foot of the above Wheat & continuance of the rows thereof.
the wife of the first: Bushrod Washington was married on 13 Oct. to Julia Ann (Nancy) Blackburn (1768–1829), daughter of Col. Thomas Blackburn, of Rippon Lodge.
GW’s nephew, William Augustine Washington, and his wife, Jane, usually called Jenny, were now living at Blenheim in Westmoreland County. This house was only a short distance inland from Wakefield, their former residence, which had burned in 1780. Shortly after this visit, the Washingtons moved again, to Haywood, across Bridges Creek from Wakefield. Their four children living at this time were Hannah Bushrod Washington (1778-1797), Augustine Washington (c.1780–1797), Ann Aylett Washington (1783–1804), and Bushrod Washington, Jr. (1785–1830).
mr. powell of philadelphia: Samuel Powel (1738–1793) held several political offices in Philadelphia and was for many years mayor of the city. He strongly supported the Revolution and had subscribed £5,000 for the support of the Continental Army. Powel was a member of the American Philosophical Society, a founder of the University of Pennsylvania, a manager of the Pennsylvania Hospital, and president of the newly founded Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture. Powel and his wife, Elizabeth Willing Powel, became intimate friends of the Washingtons during GW’s presidential years.
buffaloe or kentucke clover: Trifolium stoloniferum, a native perennial found in open woodlands and prairies from West Virginia to South Dakota.