George Washington Papers

Cash Accounts, May 1775

Cash Accounts

[May 1775]

Cash
May  1— To Thos Cortee recd from him by the hands of Capt. Bradstreet (which with Two Bills of Excha. One Drawn by Lyonel Bradstreet on Wm Tippell of Londo. date 12th Apl for £40 Str. & another Bill Drawn by Thos Cortee on Mr Wm Mollison of the Same date for £40 Str.) is in full for the Briga. Farmer Sold the sade Cortee £283.6.8 Maryld Curry is [£]226.13. 41
To Bryan Fairfax Esqr. Int. of his Bond 12.19.10
3— To Capt. William Grayson on Accot of Paying for the Prince William Arms at Philadelphia2 100. 6. 0
16— To Colo. Pendleton on Acct of the Colony of Virga Vizt 25 H[alf] Joes @ 45/10½ V. Cy 57. 6.10 1/2
Contra
May  1— By William Johnson Muster Master (left with Mr John Muir) towards Buying him a Horse & for which he is to Accot 5 Gs.3 7. 0. 0
2— By Dinner & Club at Hawkins 0. 4. 7 1/2
By William McDaniel for taking up W. Webster4 6. 0. 0
By Mr Steph. Johnson for 5050 feet of 1¼ Pine Plank5 20. 4. 0
3— By William Skilling your order in favr of Thos Bishop 2.10. 06
 
4— By Exps. at the Alexandria Ferry7 0. 7. 6
5— By Servts at Marlbro & Exps. at Widow Ramsay’s 1. 1. 3
6— By Guide to Baltimore & Ferriage at Petopsco8 0.14. 0
7— By Exps. at Baltimore Servts Charity &c. <3.10.10>
Do at [John] Rogers [Rodgers] 0.15. 0
By Do at Cheyns 0. 7. 6
8— By Do at [William] Stevensons [Stephenson’s] 1. 6. 5
By Do at Charlestown 0. 5. 9
By Do at Christee [Christiana] Bridge 0. 4. 0
By Barber & Bleeding Horses 0. 1. 6
By Exps at Wilmington 1. 7. 7
9— By Do at Chester 0. 6. 7
By Horse hire 1. 5. 09
10— By Servts, Barber, Charity, &c. 0. 8. 3
By 8 Tooth Brushes 0. 4. 8
12— By Money Given away £4.5 Py. Curry is 3. 8. 0
15— By Club at [Daniel] Smith’s & Sundries &c. 18/7 P. Curry is 0.14.11 1/2
17— By a Pack of Message Cards10 0. 2. 0
By a Woman’s Steel Wat[c]h Chain 1. 0. 0
18— By Capt. Brown 1 Guinea11 1. 8. 0
20— By Subscription to Hanson’s Books 8 Setts12 2. 8. 0
By 2 Dozn Saucers, & 1 Dozn Cups £1.2.6 P. Cy is 0.18. 0
By 1 China Bowl 10/ 2 Dozn Glasses £1.4 P. Cy is 1. 7. 2 1/2
By a Box for Do 1/3 Postage of a letter 1/5 Servts &c. 1/10 0. 3. 7
22— By a Razor Strap 0. 6. 0
By 1 Dozn Scythe Rifles13 0. 9. 8 3/4
By Robt Morris Esqr. left with him to Purchase a Bill for Col: Fairfax14 200. 0. 0
24— By [ ] Palmer pd him for 40 Musketts for P[rince] W[illiam] Coy15 120. 0. 0
By Do Pd for the Muskett for Mr Custis 3. 0. 0
 
By 1 Dozn Window Screws 9/ 1½ Do Do 11/3 P. Cy 0.16. 3
26— By 1 Barrl Coffee 182 lbs. @ 1/ Py. Cy 7. 6. 3 1/4
28— By Exps. at the Provence Island 0. 6. 0
29— By 1 Quire Paper 2/6 Postage of a letter 1/3 1 Stick Seelg Wax 1/ 0. 3.10
30— By Postage of a letter 2/10 a large Ink Stand £2.10 a Smaller £2 3.13. 3 1/4
By a Travelling Razor Case 2. 0. 0
31— By Colo. Francis Peyton a Scale, Parallell Ruler & Protracter 1. 1. 0
By Messrs Willing & Morris Robt C. Nicholas Esqrs. Order being my Propn of his Dft 87.12. 016

D, Ledger B description begins General Ledger B, 1772–1793. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers. description ends , 192–94.

1This is Thomas Contee, rather than Cortee; the clerk who made the entries in the ledger after 10 Jan. 1774 made frequent mistakes in the names. See Contee to GW, 11 April, and note 1 of that document, and GW to George William Fairfax, 31 May.

5This may be the carpenter by that name who lived in Spotsylvania County.

6This is the last entry in GW’s Cash Memoranda, 1772-75 description begins “Pocket-day-Book or Cash-Memorandums,” 9 Aug. 1772–27 May 1773, 29 May 1773–22 March 1774, 26 Oct. 1774–3 May 1775. Manuscript in George Washington Papers, Library of Congress. 24 March-31 October 1774. Manuscript in Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, Calif. description ends for October 1774–May 1775.

7GW set out for the congress at Philadelphia on this day, probably accompanied by Richard Henry Lee (see Diaries description begins Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, eds. The Diaries of George Washington. 6 vols. Charlottesville, Va., 1976–79. description ends , 3:327). The ferry crossed the Potomac River at West’s Point, at the foot of Orinoco Street in Alexandria, to Thomas Addison’s land south of Oxon Creek in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Addison, who had run the ferry, had died a few months earlier, and the ferry with the land adjoining it was for rent. See Maryland Gazette (Annapolis), 1 June 1775.

8The Patapsco River is formed about twenty miles west of Baltimore by a junction of the North and South branches and flows about sixty-five miles southeast to the Chesapeake Bay.

9For GW’s trip to Philadelphia and his stay there, see Diaries description begins Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, eds. The Diaries of George Washington. 6 vols. Charlottesville, Va., 1976–79. description ends , 3:327–38.

10A message card was a card of invitation to a reception or entertainment.

11This was probably John Brown (1744–1780), from Pittsfield, Mass., a member of the Massachusetts provincial congress, who had gone to Montreal in March as an emissary from the Boston committee of correspondence to garner support for the Revolutionary cause. On the evening of 17 May Brown arrived in Philadelphia not only with intelligence from Canada but also with the startling news of the taking of Fort Ticonderoga by American forces. For Brown’s report to the Continental Congress on 18 May, see Pennsylvania Gazette (Philadelphia), 24 May; JCC description begins Worthington Chauncey Ford et al., eds. Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789. 34 vols. Washington, D.C., 1904–37. description ends , 2:55. According to a letter from Silas Deane to Jonathan Trumbull, Sr., 19 May: “Mr Brown had the advantage of giving the first Intelligence, which has been handsomly rewarded” (Smith, Letters of Delegates description begins Paul H. Smith et al., eds. Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774–1789. 26 vols. Washington, D.C., 1976–2000. description ends , 1:362–63).

12Thomas Hanson, who called himself “Adjutant to the 2d. Battalion. And Teacher of part of the American Militia,” had a printer in Philadelphia in 1775 print his The Prussian Evolutions in Actual Engagements; Both in Platoons, Sub, and Grand-Divisions; Explaining, All the Different Evolutions, and Manœuvres, in Firing, Standing, Advancing, and Retreating, Which Were Exhibited before His Present Majesty May 8, 1769. Two copies of the book were in GW’s library at his death.

13Rifles were pieces of wood used by mowers for sharpening their scythes.

14Robert Morris (1734–1806) was a partner in the Philadelphia firm of Willing, Morris, & Co., and later became superintendent of finance. He and his wife Mary White Morris became close friends of the Washingtons. See GW to George William Fairfax, 31 May.

15For the guns bought for the Prince William company from Thomas Palmer, see William Milnor to GW, 29 Nov. 1774, and note 4 of that document, and GW to Milnor, 23 Jan. 1775.

16There are two entries in GW’s Cash Memoranda, 1772-75 description begins “Pocket-day-Book or Cash-Memorandums,” 9 Aug. 1772–27 May 1773, 29 May 1773–22 March 1774, 26 Oct. 1774–3 May 1775. Manuscript in George Washington Papers, Library of Congress. 24 March-31 October 1774. Manuscript in Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, Calif. description ends for 2 or 3 May that have not been entered in the ledger: “By Cash paid Mr [William] Wilson for Mr [Normand] Bruce for 2 Bushls Hempseed & Charges” and “charge Mr Geo. Gilpin with 1 Barrl of Gun powder & charges pr Captn [John] Harpers acct & credit him by Oznabrigs.” No amount is given in either entry.

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