William Smith Shaw to Abigail Adams, 8 June 1800
William Smith Shaw to Abigail Adams
Washington City June 8th 1800
My dear Aunt
The last letter I wrote you was from Frederick Town.1 I should have written to you more frequently, while on the road and sooner after our arrival in this city, had it not been for the concourse of people, from the time of his reaching entering, till he left a house, which continnually surrounded the P——t, and which, in this warm weather, was infinitely more fatigueing than his journey. We arrived at Georgetown on tuesday to dine. A large number of the citizens went out about four miles to meet the P——t and escorted him into town, where his presence appeared to give universal satisfaction. Yesterday a dinner was given by the inhabitants of Georgetown, at
which were present nearly seventy gentlemen—2 Joy and conviviality were the order of the day. The President is highly gratifyed with the situation of the city—finds the public buildings in a much greater forwardness than he expected. One wing of the capitol is nearly compleated—a sufficient number of rooms in the Presidents house, will no doubt be ready by the fall.3 Some of the furniture is already arrived and in the house.— The season here is, it is calculated, about a fortnight earlier than in Philadelphia. Strawberries, which they have had in very great abundance, are almost gone. We have had cherries, peas—beans cucumbers, potatoes &c. ever since we came into town, none of which were forced.— On thursday we dined at General Mr. Johnson’s—they are all very well and desire to be affectionately remembered to you. Mr. Cranch returned from the court at Annapolis yesterday.4 He, Mrs. Cranch & the children are all very well.— Gen. Marshall is at Alexandria & is expected here, this day.— The probability is, that the President will not leave this city for Philadelphia much before the 15th. of this month—goes to Mount Vernon on monday—the citizens of Alexandria meet him at the ferry & have invited him to dine with them on Wednesday, as he returns, which he has accepted.5 No letters have been received from you since you left N. York—we were however made very happy by hearing that you had safely arrived at Quincy by B. Russels paper.6
In haste and with respect I am my dear Aunt / Yours &c
Wm S Shaw.
RC (Adams Papers); internal address: “Mrs. Adams.”
1. Shaw to AA, 1 June, above.
2. JA arrived in Georgetown, D.C., on 3 June and was presented with an address from the town’s inhabitants. On 6 June he attended a dinner and offered a toast: “George-Town— may its prosperity equal the ardent enterprize of its inhabitants, and the felicity of their situation” (Baltimore Federal Gazette, 5, 9, 11 June).
3. For more on the construction of the Capitol building, see Descriptive List of Illustrations, No. 7, above.
4. On 12 May the Md. Court of Chancery convened to hear a case on the disposition of land purchased by speculators, including property mortgaged in 1796 by the Washington, D.C., mercantile firm of Morris, Nicholson & Greenleaf. The court ordered that notices of the case be published in successive issues of the Baltimore Telegraphe, which was done beginning on 14 May 1800. William Cranch had been appointed James Greenleaf’s trustee by the court on 30 Aug. 1799 (, 8:379).
5. On 9 June 1800 JA departed Washington, D.C., to visit Martha Washington at Mount Vernon. During his return on the 11th he stopped in Alexandria, Va., where he was presented with an address and attended an entertainment at Gadsby’s Hotel, offering the following toast: “Alexandria—may it become intimate in commerce with its name-sake in Egypt.” Among more than 100 guests were John Marshall and U.S. attorney general Charles Lee. JA returned to Washington, D.C., reporting to Elbridge Gerry on 13 June, “I have taken a view of the federal city & its environs as far as Mount Vernon & am well pleased with the whole” (Adams Papers). He departed for Quincy on 14 June, passing through Philadelphia on 19 June and arriving in Quincy on 3 July (Georgetown, D.C., Centinel of Liberty, 10, 13, 17 June; Alexandria Times, 10, 12, 13 June; Philadelphia Gazette of the United States, 20 June; Massachusetts Mercury, 4 July).
6. AA’s arrival in Quincy was reported in the Boston Columbian Centinel, 31 May.