From George Washington to Burwell Bassett, 16 January 1775
To Burwell Bassett
Mount Vernon 16 January 1775. The description of this letter in the dealer’s catalog reads: “Immediately upon my return from Col. Mercers sale . . . I wrote you a letter, by post, on the melancholy occasion of your sons death.1 . . . Mrs. Washington, Mr. & Miss Custis intend to accompany me down to the Assembly but it will be the 4th, possibly the 11th of the Month (Feby) before I shall see you at Eltham.2 . . . It gave me pleasure to hear that Mrs. Bassett, yourself, and family were well at the date of your letter.”
American Art Association catalog, 21–22 Jan. 1926.
1. Letter not found. William (Billy) Bassett (1760–1774) was Bassett’s eldest son. His obituary appeared in the Virginia Gazette (Purdie and Dixon; Williamsburg), on 17 Nov. 1774.
2. The assembly did not meet until June. “Miss Custis” is John Parke Custis’s wife, Eleanor Calvert Custis.