mr. small: GW is somewhat confused on the man’s name (see entry for 12 May 1799). He probably means Peyton Short (1761–1825), son of William and Elizabeth Skipwith Short of Spring Garden, Surry County, and brother of William Short, former chargé d’affaires to France and minister to The Hague and to Spain. Peyton Short, who attended the College of William and Mary where he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, moved to Kentucky in 1790 and from 1792 to 1796 represented Fayette County in the Kentucky Senate. GW carried on a correspondence with Short for a year regarding his Kentucky lands on Rough Creek. GW was concerned about the status of his taxes on the land, and was also interested in buying some adjoining property that might be for sale. GW wrote Short on 31 July 1799 that he would avail himself of Short’s “obliging offer (when last in Virginia) to serve me in Kentucky, by requesting the favour of you to have the Deed, herewith sent admitted to Record in the County of Kentucky” (WRITINGS description begins John C. Fitzpatrick, ed. The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745–1799. 39 vols. Washington, D.C., 1931–44. description ends , 37:321; GW to Short, 16 July 1798, and Short to GW, 22 July 1798, DLC:GW; Short to GW, 1 Nov. 1798, NbO; TYLER [3] description begins Lyon G. Tyler. “William Short.” William and Mary Quarterly, 1st ser., 4 (1895–96): 261–63. description ends , 261–62; TYLER [1] description begins Lyon G. Tyler. “Original Records of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.” William and Mary Quarterly, 1st ser., 4 (1895–96): 213–59. description ends , 237–39).