26. Mrs. Washington dined here and in the afternoon Genl. & Mrs. Spotswood—Captn. Spotswood Miss Spotswood & Miss Thornton came. But little wind & great appearances of Rain. Mer. 81.
Mrs. Washington is undoubtedly Lund Washington’s widow, Elizabeth Foote Washington, of nearby Hayfield.
Alexander Spotswood of New Post and Nottingham, both in Spotsylvania County, and his wife, Elizabeth Washington Spotswood, were accompanied by two of their children and a niece; Capt. John Augustine Spotswood, a son, was captain of a schooner probably involved in the West Indies trade (see entry for 30 April 1785; John A. Spotswood’s statement of his property, 1798, DLC:GW). Miss Spotswood was probably the eldest daughter, Mary; Miss Thornton was one of the four daughters of Mrs. Spotswood’s sister Jane Washington Thornton (born c.1752) and her husband, Col. John Thornton, son of Col. Francis Thornton (d. 1784) of Society Hill.