301[December 1797] (Washington Papers)
1. More moderate—wind still at No. Wt. Mer. 29 & standing there. 2. Wind at So. Wt.—raining and misting all day. Mer. from 32 to 33. Doctr. Fendall came in the afternoon. 3. Wind hard and cold all day from No. Wt. Mer.—From 28 to 18. 4. Excessively Cold wind in the same quarter—Mer. 10 to 18. All the creeks & great part of the River froze. 5. Wind shifted Southerly but still very cold. Mery....
302[Diary entry: 1 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
1. More moderate—wind still at No. Wt. Mer. 29 & standing there.
303[Diary entry: 2 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
2. Wind at So. Wt.—raining and misting all day. Mer. from 32 to 33. Doctr. Fendall came in the afternoon.
304[Diary entry: 3 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
3. Wind hard and cold all day from No. Wt. Mer.—From 28 to 18.
305[Diary entry: 4 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
4. Excessively Cold wind in the same quarter—Mer. 10 to 18. All the creeks & great part of the River froze.
306[Diary entry: 5 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
5. Wind shifted Southerly but still very cold. Mery. as above.
307[Diary entry: 6 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
6. Mer. 18–32. River all most closed. Mrs. Forbes our House keeper arrived here this day. Wd. South. The steady stream of visitors to Mount Vernon put quite a strain on Mrs. Washington. There was no steward or housekeeper at Mount Vernon, and to make matters worse, their slave cook, Hercules, had run away sometime in the early fall. GW wrote several friends requesting them to help him find...
308[Diary entry: 7 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
7. Wind Southerly but still cold. Mer. from 26 to 32. Doctr. Fendall went away, & Docr. Stuart came. Dr. Benjamin Fendall of Cedar Hill in Charles County, Md., was a dentist. He probably came to see Mrs. Washington, who was to have some new teeth made. GW wrote Dr. Fendall several months later, “Mrs. Washington has been long in expectation of receiving what you took away unfinished, and was to...
309[Diary entry: 8 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
8. Lowering, but moderate—Wind Southerly. Mer. 32.
310[Diary entry: 9 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
9. Wind cold again from the No. Wt. Mer. 24 a . Mr. Law & family & Doc. Stuart went away after breakfast & Mr. Welch came to Dinner & returned afterwards. James Welch had come to Mount Vernon to deliver his final proposal for the Kanawha lands. There had been correspondence back and forth since his original proposal on 29 Nov., and GW had received some rather disquieting reports about Welch....
311[Diary entry: 10 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
10. Wind variable—Mer. 26 a . Mr. Burwell came to dinner. Mr. Burwell is probably either Lewis Burwell, Jr., son of Col. Lewis Burwell (1716–1784) of Kingsmill, or Lewis Burwell (1764–1834) of Richmond, son of Lewis Burwell (1737–1779) of Fairfield, Gloucester County.
312[Diary entry: 11 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
11. Calm & pleasant—Wind Southerly—Mer. 28 a 34. Mr. Burwell went away after breakfast & a son of Colo. D. Henley came to dinner. Col. David Henley was at this time War Department agent to the Southwest Territory. He and his wife Sarah Hesilrige Henley (d. 1786) had two sons, Arthur Hesilrige Henley (b. 1782) and David Henley (b. 1784). For information on the Henley family, see WYMAN Thomas...
313[Diary entry: 12 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
12. Lowering Morning, but fine afternoon, Mer. 32 a 42. Mr. Henley went up to Alex. Revd. Mr. Fairfax dined he⟨re⟩. Late in 1789 Bryan Fairfax had been ordained a minister in the Episcopal church, and on 15 Mar. 1790 he was inducted as rector of Fairfax Parish. He served as rector for only two years, retiring on 16 July 1792. In 1790 he moved his residence from Towlston Grange to Mount Eagle,...
314[Diary entry: 13 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
13. Soft & moderate—Wind Southerly. Mer. 42. a 46. Mr. Lear dined here & Mr. Lawe. Lewis returned.
315[Diary entry: 14 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
14. Just such a day as the preceeding one. Mer. 46 a 52.
316[Diary entry: 15 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
15. Little or no Wind in the forenoon brisk So. Easterly & constant Rain afternoon. Mer. 38 a 50.
317[Diary entry: 16 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
16. Wind at No. Wt. but not very hard or cold. Mer. 26 a 40.
318[Diary entry: 17 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
17. Moderate with very little wind Mer. from 30 to 34. Gen. Huntingdon came to dinner. gen. huntingdon : Maj. Gen. Jedediah Huntington (see entry for 18 Oct. 1789 , n.3) had recently built a home in New London, Conn., which he called Mount Vernon ( CROFUT Florence S. Marcy Crofut. Guide to the History and the Historic Sites of Connecticut . 2 vols. New Haven, 1937. , 2:729).
319[Diary entry: 18 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
18. Wind shifted to No. Wt. in the Night & grew cold. Mer. from 18 to 32. Went up to Alex. & finished my business w. Mr. Welch. GW and James Welch signed the papers drawn up by James Keith for the Kanawha lands ( PRUSSING Eugene E. Prussing. The Estate of George Washington, Deceased . Boston, 1927. , 471). See entry for 24 Nov. 1797 .
320[Diary entry: 19 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
19. Wind got to the Southward again but was very cold not with standing. Mer. 26 to 34. Genl. Huntingdon went away after breakfast.
321[Diary entry: 20 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
20. Wind Southerly in the Morng. with appearances of Snow No. Wt. in the afternn. & Cold Mer. 28 a 38. Doctr. Stuart came to Dinn.
322[Diary entry: 21 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
21. Very cold—Wind at No. W. Mer. 9 a 28. Doctr. Stuart went away after breakfast.
323[Diary entry: 22 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
22. Very cold Wind fresh at No. Wt. Mer. 8 a .
324[Diary entry: 23 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
23. Wind in the same quarter but not so hard. Mer. 10 a 26.
325[Diary entry: 24 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
24. Calm but still cold. Mer. 8 a 28.
326[Diary entry: 25 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
25. Appearance for Snow in the Morning but clear afterwards & moderate—Mer. 24 a 32. Mr. W. Dandridge came. William Dandridge was a son of Martha Washington’s brother Bartholomew Dandridge (1737–1785) and Mary Burbidge Dandridge (d. 1809). Young Dandridge had purchased garden seeds for GW at Georgetown (GW’s Cash Memoranda, 1 Sept. 1797–20 Feb. 1799, RPJCB ).
327[Diary entry: 26 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
26. Cloudy morning, & rainy afternoon—wind at So. Et. as it was yesterday. Mer. 32 a 36. Mr. Dandridge went away.
328[Diary entry: 27 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
27. Clear—wind having got to No. Wt. again. Mer. 20 to 25. Mr. Lear & Mr. W. Dandridge came to dinner.
329[Diary entry: 28 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
28. Clear with but little Wind. Mer. from 15 to 34. Mr. Lear went away after breakfast. Began to fill my Ice house.
330[Diary entry: 29 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
29. Clear with very little wind. Mer. from 20 to 41.
331[Diary entry: 30 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
30. Just such a day as yesterday—Mer. 20 to 40. Mrs. Washington came here and Mr. Wm. Dandridge to do business for me in the way of writing. William Dandridge probably did not stay long at Mount Vernon. The only mentions of him in the accounts after this date are an entry for $25 on 3 Feb. 1798, “By Cash given to Mr. Wm. Dandridge,” and a similar entry on 11 April (GW’s Cash Memoranda, 1 Sept....
332[Diary entry: 31 December 1797] (Washington Papers)
31. Clear & pleasant all day with but little Wind. Mer. at 30 or thereabouts. GW has written this last entry for 1797 on a page inadvertently headed “January.”
333Remarks in January [1798] (Washington Papers)
1. Much rain fell last night & a thick fog, with a Southerly Wind continued all the forenoon, clear afterwards. Mer. abt. 32. 2. Clear with the Wind (tho’ not much of it) at No. Wt. Mer. abt. 30. A Mr. Elliot came to dinnr. and stayed all Night. mr. elliot : Barnard Elliott, Jr. (c.1777–1806), only son of Lt. Col. Barnard Elliott (d. 1778), a former member of the King’s Council in South...
334[Diary entry: 1 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
1. Much rain fell last night & a thick fog, with a Southerly Wind continued all the forenoon, clear afterwards. Mer. abt. 32.
335[Diary entry: 2 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
2. Clear with the Wind (tho’ not much of it) at No. Wt. Mer. abt. 30. A Mr. Elliot came to dinnr. and stayed all Night. mr. elliot : Barnard Elliott, Jr. (c.1777–1806), only son of Lt. Col. Barnard Elliott (d. 1778), a former member of the King’s Council in South Carolina and an officer of the South Carolina Regiment of Artillery in the Revolution. Young Elliott was at Mount Vernon to solicit...
336[Diary entry: 3 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
3. Mrs. L. Washington & Mr. Elliot went away after breakfast, & Mrs. Washington, myself &ca. went to Alexandria & dined with Mr. Fitzhugh. Morning clear but lowering afterwards. Mer. about 28. Wind No. Easterly.
337[Diary entry: 4 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
4. Wind at No. Et. and constant Rain all day, with a Sleet; Mer. at 30 in the morning, & continued thereat all day.
338[Diary entry: 5 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
5. Little or no wind all day. In the evening it sprung up at No. Wt. Mer. from 30 to 36. A Mr. Fisk who came here on Wednesday evening went away this morning. Last night there fell about three Inches of Snow. Thawing all day.
339[Diary entry: 6 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
6. Wind pretty brisk from No. Wt. Mer. from 33 to 40 and thawing.
340[Diary entry: 7 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
7. Morning calm & clear. Mer. at 28; in the evening it lowered with the wind at No. Et. Mer. at 34.
341[Diary entry: 8 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
8. Wind at So. Et. in the Morning and lowering. Mer. at 28. Abt. Noon it began to rain & contd. to do so all afternn. Mer. 30 at Night. A Mr. Marshall Music Master came here—Tuned Nelly Custis’s Harpsicord & returned after din⟨ner⟩.
342[Diary entry: 9 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
9. Very foggy with little or no Wind in the morning. Mer. at 32—at the highest 42 and at Night 30 the Wind having got to No. Wt. abt. Noon.
343[Diary entry: 10 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
10. Clear fine morning—Mer. at 29. At Noon it lowered very much & towards night Spits of Snow fell. At night the Mer. was at 30 & its greatest height 34.
344[Diary entry: 11 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
11. Clear, with the wind fresh all the forenoon from No. Wt. Mer. at 25 in the Morng.—36 at its greatest height & 27 at Night. Mr. Lear dined here & returned.
345[Diary entry: 12 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
12. Clear, & wind Southerly. Mer. at 24 in the morning—42 greatest height and 32 at Night.
346[Diary entry: 13 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
13. Clear & no wind in the morning. Mer. at 28—greatest height 48—in the evening at 43. Calm & pleasant all day.
347[Diary entry: 14 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
14. A little lowering all day with but little wind and that Southerly. Mer. at 36 in the Morning 46 at Night & 48 when highest. Mr. Lewis Burwell came to dinner & Mr. Woodward in the evening. Burwell requested a letter of introduction for a trip to inspect land in the Genesee country of western New York State ( GW to Charles Williamson, 19 Jan. 1798 , WRITINGS John C. Fitzpatrick, ed. The...
348[Diary entry: 15 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
15. Southerly Wind—Soft morng. thin clouds. Mer. at 46 at Sunrise—50 at Noon & 50 at Night. Slow rain from 12 oclock with the wind Southerly. Mr. Burwell & Mr. Woodward went away & I went to Alexandria to a meeting of the Stockholders of that Bank to an Election of Directors. GW on this day, “By Cash (in a check on the Bank of Alexa.) paid George Alderson Sheriff of Kanhawa Cty., his draught...
349[Diary entry: 16 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
16. Clear morning & brisk Southerly Wind. Mer. at 43 in the morning—53 at its highest and 51 at Night. Day clear throughout & very pleasant.
350[Diary entry: 17 January 1798] (Washington Papers)
17. Clear & pleasant wind Southerly. Mer. 30 in the Morng.—56 at the height and 48 at Night. Abt. noon the Wind came out at No. Wt. but died away. Very clear & pleast.