George Washington Papers

[Diary entry: 10 April 1770]

10. Miss Polly Washington set of home. I rid to the Genl. Muster at Cameron.

Polly Washington must be Mary Townshend Washington, who apparently continued at Mount Vernon after her father and the rest of her party left on 1 Mar. General musters of county militias during this period were held once a year in March or April. Because GW was a county magistrate and held no rank in the Fairfax militia, he was exempt by law from attending its musters (hening description begins William Waller Hening, ed. The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature, in the Year 1619. 13 vols. 1819–23. Reprint. Charlottesville, Va., 1969. description ends , 7:534, 8:242–45). He probably went to Cameron today to see friends or to conduct some business (General Ledger A description begins General Ledger A, 1750–1772. Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers. description ends , folio 314).

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