551[Diary entry: 4 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
4. Mr. Burwell and Mr. Piper both went away after Breakfast. I rid to the Mill.
552[Diary entry: 5 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
5. Rid by the Ferry Plantation to the Mill—from thence to Muddy hole & so home to Dinner. In the Afternoon rid to the Mill again.
553[Diary entry: 6 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
6. At home all the forenoon. In the Afternoon went to Belvoir with Mrs. Washington & P. Custis, & returnd in the Evening.
554[Diary entry: 7 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
7. Rid into the Neck in the Morning early & from thence to the Mill. Mr. Crawford came here in the Aftern.
555[Diary entry: 8 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
8. At home all day. Mr. Crawford went away after breakfast.
556[Diary entry: 9 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
9. Rid to the Mill—from thence to Doeg Run Qr. & by the River Plantation home.
557[Diary entry: 10 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
10. Rid to the Mill in the Forenoon. Mr. Thoms. Triplet dind with me. In the Afternoon set of for Fredericksburg and lodgd at Colo. Harry Lees. The purpose of this trip was to make final arrangements for Mary Washington, now about 63 years old, to move from the Ferry Farm plantation to a house in Fredericksburg, where she could spend her latter years in comfort, free from the cares of the...
558[Diary entry: 11 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
11th. Reach’d my Mother’s to Dinner after Bating at Peyton’s.
559[Diary entry: 12 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
12. Rid all over the Plantn. at the Ho[me] House, & then went to the Quarter and rid all over that & returnd to Dinner Colo. Lewis & my Brothr. Charles being there. In the Afternoon went over to Fredg. the plantn. at the ho[me] house : Ferry Farm. At this time it consisted of about 600 acres of land, and by the terms of Augustine Washington’s will, it was legally GW’s to do with what he wished...
560[Diary entry: 13 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
13. Returnd to my Mothers to Breakfast and Surveyd the Fields before Dinner, returnd to Town afterwards. The survey covered about half of Ferry Farm, extending from the top of the Rappahannock riverbank, where the main house stood, several hundred yards northeast to a fence along a cornfield. GW apparently never platted this survey, but a plat based on his survey notes was drawn in 1932 for GW...
561[Diary entry: 14 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
14. Rid with Colo. Lewis to his Mill before Dinner. After it went over to my Mother’s & stayd all Night. GW today advanced his mother £4 12s. 6d. on the money that he was to pay her under their agreement (Mary Washington’s account with GW, 14 Sept. 1771–30 Mar. 1775, PHi : Gratz Collection). The exact amount he owed her was not set until 15 Oct., when Fielding Lewis and Charles Washington...
562[Diary entry: 15 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
15. Set of home. Din’d in Dumfries and got up by Sun set.
563[Diary entry: 16 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
16. Rid by the Ferry Plantation to the Mill. Lund Washington returnd from Dr. Craiks this Eveng.
564[Diary entry: 17 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
17. Rid to the Mill—from thence to Doeg Run, and Muddy hole before Dinner. After Dinner Rid into the Neck.
565[Diary entry: 18 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
18. Went up to Court. Dind at Arrells and Lodgd at Mr. Jno. Wests. The court met 16–19 Sept.; GW attended only the last two days (Fairfax County Order Book for 1770–72, 274–93, Vi Microfilm). Richard Arell’s tavern in Alexandria was frequently patronized by GW on his visits to the town between 1764 and 1774 and had apparently been the scene of his election ball on 1 Dec. 1768 ( General Ledger...
566[Diary entry: 19 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
19. Went to Court again. Dind at Arrells & come home in the Afternoon. Found young Mr. Wormely here. Ralph Wormeley (1744–1806) of Rosegill, Middlesex County, was the eldest son of Ralph Wormeley (1715–1790) of Rosegill. Young Wormeley had been educated in England at Eton and Cambridge University and earlier this year had been appointed to the governor’s council in Williamsburg ( VA. EXEC....
567[Diary entry: 20 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
20. Went with Mr. Wormeley to Belvoir on a Morngs. Visit, & returnd to Dinr.
568[Diary entry: 21 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
21. Set out with Mr. Wormeley for the Annapolis Races. Dind at Mr. Willm. Digges’s & lodgd at Mr. Ignatis Digges’s. The fall racing at Annapolis was an annual highlight of both the sporting and social seasons for the Chesapeake gentry, being an occasion not only for indulging in “the pleasures of the turf” but for going to dinners, balls, and plays in the city ( EDDIS William Eddis. Letters...
569[Diary entry: 22 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
22. Dind at Mr. Sam Gallaway’s & lodged with Mr. Boucher in Annapolis. Galloway belonged to the Annapolis Jockey Club, and on 24 Sept. he would race his horse Selim, for which he had paid £1,000 as a yearling in 1760 ( Md. Gaz. , 26 Sept. 1771). Jonathan Boucher and Jacky Custis were living in the St. Anne’s Parish parsonage on Hanover Street. Jacky had written to GW on 18 Aug ., extending an...
570[Diary entry: 23 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
23. Dined with Mr. Loyd Dulany & Spent the Evening at the Coffee Ho[use]. Lloyd Dulany (1742–1782), son of Daniel Dulany the elder and his third wife, Henrietta Maria Dulany, had recently returned to Annapolis after studying law at the Inns of Court in London. About this time he built a handsome brick house on Conduit Street that reportedly cost him £10,000 ( LAND Aubrey C. Land. The Dulanys...
571[Diary entry: 24 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
24. Dined with the Govr. and went to the Play & Ball afterwards. GW probably attended the races before dinner on this and the following three days. The track adjoined the town on the west, and because of the beautiful autumn weather “there was a prodigious concourse of spectators and considerable sums were depending on the contest of each day” ( EDDIS William Eddis. Letters from America ....
572[Diary entry: 25 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
25. Dined at Doctr. Stewards and went to the Play and Ball afterwards. Dr. George Steuart (d. 1784) was a member of the Maryland council and one of the two judges of the proprietary land office who issued land warrants and decided land disputes. A Scotsman, he had been educated at the University of Edinburgh and had immigrated to America in 1721. His wife was Ann Digges Steuart, sister of...
573[Diary entry: 26 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
26. Dined at Mr. Ridouts and went to the Play after it. John Ridout (1732–1797), another member of the council, lived on Duke of Gloucester Street. He was born in England and after studying for six years at Oxford came to Maryland in 1753 as a secretary to Gov. Horatio Sharpe ( NORRIS [2] Walter B. Norris. Annapolis: Its Colonial and Naval Story . New York, 1925. , 106–7).
574[Diary entry: 27 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
27. Dined at Mr. Carrolls and went to the Ball. Charles Carroll of Annapolis lived in a comfortable brick mansion on Spa Creek. His son Charles Carroll of Carrollton also resided there, and GW probably saw both of them on this occasion ( ROWLAND [1] Kate Mason Rowland. The Life of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, 1737–1832, with His Correspondence and Public Papers . 2 vols. New York, 1898. ,...
575[Diary entry: 28 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
28. Dined at Mr. Bouchers and went from thence to the Play and afterwards to the Coffee Ho[use].
576[Diary entry: 29 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
29. Dined with Majr. Jenifer and Suppd at Danl. Dulany Esqrs. Daniel Dulany the younger (1722–1797), son of Daniel Dulany the elder and his second wife, Rebecca Smith Dulany (c.1696–1737), was one of the most important men in Maryland at this time, being both a councillor and secretary of the colony. Even his antagonist Charles Carroll of Annapolis admitted in 1765 that “He is a man of Great...
577[Diary entry: 30 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
30. Left Annapolis, & Dind and suppd with Mr. Saml. Gallaway.
578Acct. of the Weather in Septr. [1771] (Washington Papers)
Septr. 1. Wind fresh from the Eastward. Afternoon Cloudy & Night Raining. 2. Ground now for the first time since the Rains abt. the 25th. July Wet. Very warm and but little Wind. 3. A Breeze from the Northwest but very sultry notwithstanding—quite clear. 4. Still warm & clear—Wind Southerly. 5. Warm and clear with but little Wind & that Southerly. The Afternoon Showery with some thunder. 6....
579[Diary entry: 1 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
Septr. 1. Wind fresh from the Eastward. Afternoon Cloudy & Night Raining.
580[Diary entry: 2 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
2. Ground now for the first time since the Rains abt. the 25th. July Wet. Very warm and but little Wind.
581[Diary entry: 3 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
3. A Breeze from the Northwest but very sultry notwithstanding—quite clear.
582[Diary entry: 4 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
4. Still warm & clear—Wind Southerly.
583[Diary entry: 5 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
5. Warm and clear with but little Wind & that Southerly. The Afternoon Showery with some thunder.
584[Diary entry: 6 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
6. Misting more or less all day & somewhat Cool, what Wind there was being westerly.
585[Diary entry: 7 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
7. Very Cloudy in the Morning and raining more or less all day—fine Rain—Wind being about No. East.
586[Diary entry: 8 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
8. Cloudy all day but clear in the Evening with but little Wind but Cool notwithstanding.
587[Diary entry: 9 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
9. Clear and pleasand, rather warm with little Wind.
588[Diary entry: 10 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
10. Warm, with appearances of Rain but none fell here.
589[Diary entry: 11 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
11. Cool Wind fresh from No. West. Afternoon Warmer—Weathr. Clear.
590[Diary entry: 12 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
12. Clear and Warmer. Wind Southerly.
591[Diary entry: 13 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
13. Very warm with but little Wind and that Southerly. Clear.
592[Diary entry: 14 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
14. Very Cloudy & cool. Wind Northerly but not much of it.
593[Diary entry: 15 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
15. Cloudy all day, & cool with the Wind Easterly. In the Afternoon and Night Rain.
594[Diary entry: 16 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
16. Raining very close & constant till about 10 Oclock—then clear & calm.
595[Diary entry: 17 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
17. Clear & pleasant all day, Wind Westerly, but neither fresh nor cool.
596[Diary entry: 18 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
18. Clear but cool, very cold wind fresh from the No. West.
597[Diary entry: 19 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
19. A small frost, but to do no Injury Weather still cool and clear, but not so cold.
598[Diary entry: 20 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
20. Clear and pleasant, weather much warmer.
599[Diary entry: 21 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
21. Clear and warm with very little Wind.
600[Diary entry: 22 September 1771] (Washington Papers)
22. Much such a day as yesterday.