To George Washington from William Crawford, 6 December 1770
From William Crawford
Decmr 6th 1770
Dr Sir
Agreeable to your Desire I have Bought the Great Medows from Mr Harreson for thirty Pistols to be paid to Mr Jacob Hite and inclosesed is an order on you from Mr Harreson in faviour of Mr Hite, and the bill of Se’al filld up by Mr MClalne and a Draft to be Run as you think Proper.1
any alteration you want done Please to Let me now and I will see it done when Mr MClain Coms up next Summer.
I intend to Fort pitt in a day or two the Snow that fell the time you Left my house2 Continued on the ground with the help of som more Ever Sence so that there was no Looking at the Land with they Cation you Desired I Shall Send you a full Account by My Brothers ho is to be up by Christmuss if I can have the ground Clear of Snow long a nough to have it done, at any Rate I will see it next weeke3 Colo. Croughan is at Fort pitt and I understand is to Stay Chief part of the Winter.
Sir I wish you a Mery Christmuss and I am sir your very Humb. Sarvant
W. Crawford
N.B. Mr Hitt has an order of the sam on[e] is to be paid only. W.C.
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. The “bill of Se’al” of 4 Dec. is a printed form filled out by Alexander McClean, witnessed by him and Bob Bell, and signed by Lawrence Harrison “For William Brooks.” By it, Brooks conveys to GW for thirty pistoles the application made at the Pennsylvania land office on 13 June 1770 for taking up “the Quantity of Three Hundred Acres of Land at the place called the Great Meadows on both Sides of General Braddocks Road including an Improvement Made by Grant from Capt. Charles Edmonston No. 3383” (DLC:GW). For an explanation of why William Brooks’s name appears on the bill and an account of the complications that resulted, see Crawford to GW, 15 April 1771. The patent for the Great Meadows tract of 234½ acres was not issued to GW until 28 Feb. 1782. See , 4:20.
2. GW left Crawford’s house at Stewart’s Crossing on 25 Nov., with “the Ground & trees being coverd with Snow” (ibid., 2:323).
3. GW has a parenthesis before “Colo.”