To George Washington from Battaile Muse, 4 December 1787
From Battaile Muse
Berkeley County Decr 4th 1787
Honorable Sir,
I was in Fauquier County Last week among the Tenaments, and have Tenants Engaged For all the Lots Excepting one which is a wood Lot on goos creek, Part of the Lot that Tompson Lived on,1 no one will have it on any Terms; and many of the Lots on the upper Tract are Setled with Very Poor Tenants on accot of the Poorness of the Land—on those Poor Lots I cannot get a Tenant to stay Two years, as I had Promises From Mrs Lemert and Shover To raise Some money by Christmast I thought it best not To distress at this Time if they run away the Lots will rent as they are not So bad.
the disputed Line between you and Scott I could not get run as Scott wants the Line Setled by Colo. Leven Powell. Capn Moffet & Mo⟨y⟩e who is to Fix Burgues Line To Terminate a Suit He has with one Flory—I am To have notice when these Gentn go on that Business—as Colo. Powell is at the Assembly I do not Expect the Business will do done untill next spring—their is apart of that Land not under Lease, I have not Engag’d it—nor Shall not untill the Lines are Established—and then on Such Terms as for all the Leases To Fall at once2 the Fauquier Tenants are Still in arrears—not a Large Sums, only Lemert & Shover. I demanded of Mr Weathers His Authority For writeing To you as He did, His asswer was that He was Sorry for it & will be more Carefull in Future.3
I enclose and order on Scoth Wm Hunter Esqr. for Fifty pounds your acct When that is Paid will Stand in Debted To me upard of Thirty pounds I do not Expect you will receive any more money From me untill next spring as the Present years rents will not be Collected before, if then.
I wish Mr Lear To Compair the Inclosed Acct with your Books. I shall be anxious to hear whether Mr Hunter pays the money4—I have the Honour To be your Obedient Humble Servant
Battaile Muse
ALS, DLC:GW. Written on the cover: “Mr [Thomas] Porter in Alexandria will P⟨le⟩ase To Convey this Letter with Care & oblige B. Muse.”
1. This is probably John Thompson. See Battaile Muse to GW, 26 Nov. 1786..
2. For GW’s dispute with Robert Scott, see GW to Muse, 5 Jan. 1786, and note 1 of that document. John Moffet (born c.1747), a longtime member of the Fauquier County court, was a surveyor. To whom Muse is referring to as “Mo⟨y⟩e” has not been determined, and Flory has not been identified. In 1731 Col. Charles Burgess surveyed and claimed more than 23,000 acres in six parcels in what had become Fauquier and Loudoun counties.
3. For William Withers’s (Weathers) accusations, see Muse to GW, 19 November.
4. Muse enclosed the accounts of GW’s tenant Anthony Gholson (Gholston), which are in DLC:GW. GW responded on 16 Dec. and this portion of his letter was printed in John Heise Catalog no. 4561, item 31, 1926: “Your two letters of the 19th. Nov. & 4th. inst. have come to hand, the latter enclosing a bill upon William Hunter, Esq. in my favor, which he has accepted and will pay at the time mentioned in it.—Mr. (Tobias) Lear has compared [Anthony] Golston’s account with my Books & tells me that it stands there as you have stated it.—I am much obliged to you for your attention to, & delivering of the letters committed to your care for Mr. Brian Fairfax & Col. Warner Washington—” See also Muse to GW, 26 Dec, n.1.