To George Washington from Alexander Spotswood, 24 January 1797
From Alexander Spotswood
Virginia January 24. 1797
Dr Sir
General Lee and myself have Cancelled our bargain for the three tracts of land Laying in Kentucky, & which I purchased of him last year, (on certain Conditions,) two of which tracts had been previously Sold to you.1
In March I shall depart for that State to carry these conditions into effect2—and if you have not yet Sold the two Sd tracts on Ruff-Creek, I would advise you not to do so—haveing every reason to believe, that these lands are of far greater Vallue: than the general current price of lands in that quarter.3
However, from yr own information, and the following detail you can Judge.
When In Kentucky in 1795, I vissitted my frd Colo. Anderson4—Told him of my purchase of Lee, and shewed him my pattents [(]which on farther Inspection proved to be only Coppies) when he observed the names of the Mays—he Said, that some years ago, he purchased of the Mays, a large quantity of land; and as he only intended to keep about 15,000 acrees—and sell the ballance—desired them to give him a list of Such lotts as they would advise to keep as most Valluable—that they did so—after which the Mays Sold Some of this land—Which caused him to cancel his bargain with them5—now Says he I will look at the list, and if these lotts are there, you may rely they are Valluable. On looking into the list, the two tracts you purchased of Genl Lee was the two first mentioned; and he goes on and advises Anderson to purchase Andrew Woodrows 300 acree Survey, (which you Now have) which was a Valluable Situation for water Works of every kind, and lay Contiguous to the Ore bank—which I am told is on the 2000 acree lott6—as I shall go on these lands with the gentlemen appointed by Lee and myself to Vallue them, it will give me pleasure to pay attention to any instructions you may please to forward to me—Mrs Spotswood myself and family are all well7 & most Sincerely Join in most affectionate Compts &c. to you & Mrs Washington. I am dr Sr with Sincre regard yrs Affectionately
A. Spotswood
I have lately heard that lands on Ruff creek had lately Risen, to 20/. pr Acree—but in what quarter of Ruff Creek, I did not learn—I am just told by Mr Maury—who has seen A Kentucky gazittte—that yr two tracts of land on Ruff creek was advertised to be Sold8—in the name of Henry Lee—or so much thereof as would raise the Tax due thereon—you had better let me carry out Lees deed to you & have it ⟨recovered⟩.9
A.S.
ALS, DLC:GW. GW replied to Spotswood on 1 February.
1. In 1795, Henry Lee sold Spotswood three tracts of land in Kentucky. Two of these were GW’s 2,000- and 3,000-acre tracts lying on Rough (Ruff) Creek in then-Jefferson County, Kentucky. GW had secured these tracts from Lee by early 1789 in exchange for his horse Magnolio (Magnolia). In an effort to resolve the bad sale and the conflicting land claims, Lee offered GW another piece of land in the fall of 1795. GW considered the offer and agreed to give up his two Rough Creek tracts, but only in exchange for a tract of equal value. However, no deal was made, and Spotswood evidently relinquished his own claim to the land. For the remainder of his life, GW continued to correspond about the title to the Rough Creek lands and about his acquisition of a nearby 300-acre tract (see GW to Lee, 30 Nov. 1788, and n.1; see also , 5:432; GW to George Lewis, 28 Sept. 1795; Lewis to GW, 9 April 1796, and n.2 to that document; and Spotswood to GW, 22 March 1797, in 1:43–44).
2. Spotswood later gave 3 April as his anticipated date of departure for Kentucky. He expected to arrive at the Rough Creek land around 10 May (see Spotswood to GW, 22 March 1797, in 1:43–44).
3. At the beginning of February 1796, GW had advertised for sale his Rough Creek tracts and other western landholdings on the Ohio and Kanawha rivers (see Advertisement, 1 Feb. 1796). GW still had ownership of his Kentucky lands in 1799 (see Schedule of Property, 9 July 1799, in 4:512–27).
4. Spotswood may be referring to Richard Clough Anderson, Sr., a Revolutionary War officer who retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel and moved to Kentucky after the war.
5. Land office warrants had been issued in 1781 to surveyor George May and his brother, land speculator John May (1744–1790), for the Rough Creek land in Kentucky. The two men reassigned the title to Alexander Skinner, who left the Kentucky lands and other property to Henry Lee upon his death in 1788 (see Spotswood to GW, 21 Sept. 1795, and n.2 to that document).
6. GW made unsuccessful attempts to purchase the 300-acre tract that Andrew Wodrow (Woodrow) had sold to the Hite family. That tract reportedly was adjacent to the 3,000-acre parcel of land with a “most valluable Iron bank” that made up one of GW’s Rough Creek tracts acquired from Lee. The 300-acre tract was also said to be the only one in the area where “water works can be erected” (George Lewis to GW, 18 July 1795, and n.3 to that document; see also Spotswood to GW, 21 Sept. 1795; and Spotswood to GW, 31 March and 23 June 1797, in 1:58–59, 202–4).
An ore or iron bank is a deposit of iron in the ground where it is exposed for mining.
7. Spotswood and his wife, Elizabeth Washington Spotswood, had five daughters: Mary Randolph Spotswood Brooke, Elizabeth, Anne, Henrietta, and Martha (see , 6:254, 312–13). Their sons included Alexander Elliot, John Augustine, William, and George Spotswood.
8. GW’s advertisement of 1 Feb. 1796, announcing his Rough Creek and other western lands for sale, was printed in the extraordinary issue of the Kentucky Gazette (Lexington) for 23 April 1796 and in subsequent issues of that paper.
“Mr Maury” may refer either to Richard Maury of Spotsylvania County, Va., with whom Spotswood and Lee had land dealings, or to Kentucky landowner Fontaine Maury or one of his relations. Fontaine was a planter in Spotsylvania County, where Spotswood resided (see , 497; see also Spotswood to GW, 4 Nov. 1797, in 1:458–59).
9. GW may have already inquired into the deed and did so again in 1798 (see Bushrod Washington to GW, 21 Jan., and n.2 to that document; see also GW to Bushrod Washington, 10 Jan. 1798, in 2:17). The deed to GW’s Rough Creek lands was not registered in Kentucky until 1799 (see GW to Spotswood, 31 July 1799, in 4:218–19).