To George Washington from Christopher Cowper, 25 August 1794
From Christopher Cowper
Suffolk Virga August 25th 1794
Sir
By direction of Mr John Cowper of Gates County No. Carolina, I beg leave to enclose you four hundred & fifty dollars in Bank Notes ⅌ List at foot, which be pleas’d to pass to the credit of his bond granted to Mr John Lewis of Fredericksburg and assignd you;1 the receipt thereof please to acknowledge2—the balance to make one hundred & forty pounds Virginia Currency shall transmit you the first opportunity, or as soon as a bill of that amount can be obtained. With due respect I am Sir Your mo: ob. Servt
Chris. Cowper
for John Cowper
| 1 payable to Geo. Gale Baltimore | 50 dollars | No. 7883 | |
| 1 ditto | Do | 100 | 8751 |
| 1 do | Do | 100 | 8718 |
| 1 Do | Do | 100 | 8740 |
| 1 Do | Do | 100 | 8720 |
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. For the bond, see Indenture with John Cowper, 17 May 1791, n.1. The bond stemmed from Cowper’s purchase of land in North Carolina owned jointly by GW and the heirs of Fielding Lewis (see George Augustine Washington to GW, 7 Dec. 1790, and n.7). For GW’s attempts to collect the debt, see GW to John Cowper, 26 Oct. 1793, 9 March 1794, and 30 July 1794.
2. GW acknowledged receipt in his letter to Christopher Cowper of 4 Sept.: "By the Mail on Tuesday; I received your letter of the 25th Ulto; And do hereby acknowledge to have received therein, Four hundred and fifty dollars of the denominations, & numbers, as noted at the foot of the Said letter; which said sum is on acct of, and to be placed to, the credit of a bond given by Mr John Cowper to Mr John Lewis of Fredericksburgh" (ALS, NcU: Richard Green Cowper Papers).