Monday 4th. Mercury at 40 in the Morning—[ ] at Noon and 46 at Night.
Wind fresh indeed hard at No. W. all day, with flying Clouds.
Grafted Six of the May white heart Cherry growing in my walk and Six of the small cherry opposite, or transplanted stocks, which were placed by the Area in front of the Green Ho[use] left hand approaching it, and in a line with the young Mulberry Cuttgs.—the first sort standing next the cross Walk, with a stake between them and the second sort. And my Gardener to shew his cunning, grafted ten Pairs from the Tree transplanted from the grass plat Feby. 9 (as will appear from this Diary) on Plumb Scions, & removed them to the Area above mentioned and along side the 12 Cherries wch. I grafted & planted as above.
Went to Alexandria to attend the Funeral of Mrs. Ramsay who died (after a lingering illness) on Friday last and to present Colo. Hooe with Major Jenifer’s order, & to obtain a draft, consequent thereof on New York towards payment of my debt to Governor Clinton—but his indisposition prevented my doing business with him. Dined at Mr. Muirs & after the funerl. obsoques were ended returned home.
grafted . . . on plumb scions: No gardener today is “cunning” enough to make pears grow on plum stocks. GW does not say whether or not the grafts were successful.
Ann McCarty Ramsay, daughter of Denis and Sarah Ball McCarty, was the widow of William Ramsay, whose funeral GW attended 13 Feb. Mrs. Ramsay’s son Dennis Ramsay wrote on 7 April 1785 to his absent brother Dr. William Ramsay, Jr., to say their mother had been buried “on Monday Evening attended by a very respectable number of the Inhabitants and Strangers in this place [Alexandria], the Revd Mr Griffith preached a Sermon on the unhappy event” (DSI: Ramsay Papers).
debt to governor clinton: GW had been forced to borrow money from Gov. George Clinton of New York to make his purchase of the land from Adam, Dow & McIver (see entry for 3 Feb. 1785). For further information see George Clinton’s bond with GW, 1 Dec. 1782, NjP; GW to Clinton, 18 Dec. 1782, GW to Robert Morris, 8 Jan. 1783, DLC:GW.