To George Washington from Daniel Jenifer Adams, 4 February 1775
From Daniel Jenifer Adams
Portobacco [Md.] Feby 4th 1775
Honour’d Sir
Since I saw you last, I have Wrote to my Uncle at Anapolis, Acquainting Him of my Sisters contending for the Land you Attach’d. He has Since Wrote to them Touching the Matter, and they are Agree’d to give the Land up on conditions they can keep it this Year, as they are prepareing for a Crop and has Sew’d some considerable Quantity of Wheat, and I immagine it will make no Odds with you, as it will be two late for to Rent the Land Out by the time you can have it Condemn’d,1 I have desir’d Mr Stone to let the Lan’d be condemn’d next Court, if its your desire2—Lately Stromatt has brought Sute Against me for the Bond that was Forfeited at Annapolis in the Loan Office. He was the cause of the Bonds being forfeited, and convincd was it defended properly He coul’d not recover it, Untill the Limited time of Payment, but you to Act in this as you think proper as he will have an Undoubted right to fall on the Land as soon as He Obtains a Judgment, which will be next Court if it is not defended.3 I am Hon. Sir Your Most Obedient and Most Hum. Servt
Danl J. Adams
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. Adams is probably referring to his uncle, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer. See GW to Daniel Jenifer, 8 Mar., and Thomas Johnson to GW, 25 February. Adams probably saw GW “last” when he was at Mount Vernon briefly on 22 Jan. (, 3:304). For the background to GW’s suit against Adams, see GW to Adams, 20 July 1772, n.1, and GW to Robert McMickan, 10 May 1774.
2. Acting as Adams’s attorney was probably one of the three sons of David Stone (1709–1733), all of whom were at this time lawyers in Charles County, Md.: John Hoskins Stone (1750–1804), Michael Jenifer Stone (1747–1812), and Thomas Stone (1743–1787).
3. GW agreed to pay the claims of Stromatt. See GW to Daniel Jenifer, 8 March. This was probably the same John Stromatt with whom GW was to have a dispute in 1789 about the boundaries between the tract that GW had acquired from Adams and Stromatt’s adjoining property (see GW to William Craik, 19 Mar. 1789, nn.3 and 4).