Sunday 23d. Thermometer at 50 in the Morng. 56 at Noon and 59 at Night.
Fine & pleasant all day, with the Wind at South. No frost as was expected.
My Brother, his wife Daughter and Son; Mr. Willm. Washington his wife & 4 Children; Mr. Bushrod Washington & wife; and Mr. Scott all went away after Breakfast. Mr. Jno. Bassett & Mr. Shaw came home in the forenoon and Mr. Fitzhugh of Chatham, Genl. Spotswood, Mr. McCarty of Pope Creek, and a Colo. Middleton of South Carolina came here to dinner, & went away afterwards.
Perceived the Orchard Grass Seeds which I sowed on the 8th. Instt. in the same Inclosure of the Turneps, to be coming up thick & well.
William Fitzhugh (1741–1809), of Chatham in Stafford County, was the son of Lucy Carter and Henry Fitzhugh (1706–1742) of Eagle’s Nest. He had been a member of the House of Burgesses 1772–75, the Virginia conventions of 1775 and 1776, and the Continental Congress 1779–80. He served in the House of Delegates 1776–77, 1780–81, and 1787–88 and in the Senate 1781–85. Fitzhugh was one of the foremost enthusiasts in Virginia of breeding and racing horses.
mr. mccarty of pope creek: The second son of Speaker Daniel McCarty, named Daniel McCarty (d. 1744), remained at the original family home, Longwood, at Pope’s Creek, Westmoreland County. He was a neighbor of the Augustine Washington family during their years at their Pope’s Creek home, and Augustine and Daniel named each other as executors in their wills. This Daniel had one son, also named Daniel (d. 1795), of Pope’s Creek, who appears here. A contemporary of GW’s, he is often confused with his first cousin and GW’s close neighbor, Colonel Daniel McCarty of Mount Air in Fairfax County.
Arthur Middleton (1742–1787), of Middleton Place near Charleston, had been in the South Carolina militia during the Revolution. He served in the South Carolina assembly, was a member of the council of safety, and in 1776 had been on the committee which prepared the South Carolina constitution. Middleton served in the Continental Congress for several terms.