William Lyles, a merchant from Charles County, Md., who had moved to Alexandria c.1782, had a distillery and a dry goods store there and rented the house formerly owned by George W. Fairfax on Prince Street (Va. Journal, 10 June 1784, 30 Nov. 1786; MOORE [1] description begins Gay Montague Moore. Seaport in Virginia: George Washington’s Alexandria. 1949. Reprint. Charlottesville, Va., 1972. description ends , 87–92).

Capt. Nash Goodwin of the ship Mary was a cousin of Thomas Porter and nephew of Josiah Watson. His ship was due to leave for Le Havre, France, on 10 Dec. (Va. Journal, 1 Dec. 1785; WRIGHT description begins Louis B. Wright and Marion Tinling, eds. Quebec to Carolina in 1785–1786: Being the Travel Diary and Observations of Robert Hunter, Jr., a Young Merchant of London. San Marino, Calif., 1943. description ends , 190).

Dr. Foster Swift, of Massachusetts, settled in Alexandria to practice medicine (Va. Journal, 7 July 1785). He later moved to New London, Conn., and eventually became resident physician on Governors Island in New York harbor (BROCKETT description begins F. L. Brockett. The Lodge of Washington. A History of the Alexandria Washington Lodge, No. 22, A.F. and A.M. of Alexandria, Va., 1783-1876. Alexandria, Va., 1876. description ends , 128). Swift was the brother of the Alexandria merchant Jonathan Swift and a friend of Benjamin Lincoln, who introduced him to GW on this day (BUCHANAN [2] description begins Roberdeau Buchanan. Genealogy of the Roberdeau Family, Including a Biography of General Daniel Roberdeau of the Revolutionary Army, and the Continental Congress; and Signer of the Articles of Confederation. Washington, D.C., 1876. description ends , 92, 96).

Mr. Williams is probably Thomas Williams, an Englishman and a partner in the Alexandria firm of Williams, Cary & Williams, which sold European and East Indian goods. In 1784 the business moved from Capt. John Harper’s wharf to Fairfax Street, next to Robert Lyle’s store (WRIGHT description begins Louis B. Wright and Marion Tinling, eds. Quebec to Carolina in 1785–1786: Being the Travel Diary and Observations of Robert Hunter, Jr., a Young Merchant of London. San Marino, Calif., 1943. description ends , 191; Fairfax Index description begins Edith Moore Sprouse, ed. A Surname and Subject Index of the Minute and Order Books of the County Court, Fairfax County, Virginia, 1749–1800. Fairfax County History Commission. Fairfax, Va., 1976. description ends , 19; Va. Journal, 3 June and 4 Nov. 1784).

The Alexandria academy was formed in 1785 through the efforts of Dr. William Brown and other Alexandria residents. In November, GW became a trustee of the academy.