To George Washington from Edmund Randolph, 4 June 1785
From Edmund Randolph
Richmond June 4. 1785.
Dear sir
I entered upon the execution of my promise to Major Washington without delay; but the paper being lengthy cannot be compleated for this post. You will be so good as not to expect it, until the next week. I shall fortify it with as many authentications, as the situation of our public records will permit.1 I am Dear sir yr obliged and affectionate friend & servant
Edm: Randolph
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. GW’s correspondence with Randolph in the summer of 1785 (see Randolph to GW, 9, 17, 29 July, 8 Aug., 2 Sept., and GW to Randolph, 30 July, 13 Aug.) deals almost exclusively with GW’s attempts to secure documents to bolster his claims to the Millers Run (Chartiers Creek) tract in Pennsylvania on which unauthorized settlers were living. Because most of GW’s letters to Randolph are missing, the documents that he is seeking cannot always be identified. Precisely what George Augustine Washington asked for on behalf of GW is not known, but almost certainly it was for a copy of some document relating to the conflicting claims to the Millers Run land, and it may have been to the “copy of the proclamation” that Randolph enclosed in his letter of 9 July. For a rundown on the dispute over the Millers Run tract, see the editorial note, Thomas Smith to GW, 9 February.