To George Washington from John Sinclair, 5 July 1794
From John Sinclair
Whitehall—London. 5 July 1794.
Sir
I beg to recommend, the bearer William Strickland Esqr., a Gentleman of considerable property in yorkshire, and an honorary member of the Board of agriculture, to your Excellency’s attention.1 He will have the pleasure of communicating to you, the progress we have made in ascertaining the present state of the husbandry of this country, and the means of its improvement. This great undertaking will soon be completed, and, I flatter myself will be not a little serviceable to america, as well as to Great Britain. I hope soon to have the pleasure of sending a complete set of our Reports.2 With great truth & regard believe me your Excellency’s very faithful humble Servant
John Sinclair
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. William Strickland (1753–1834) was the oldest son of Sir George Strickland, sixth baronet (1729–1808) of Boynton Hall in the East Riding of Yorkshire. He arrived at New York in September 1794 but did not reach Philadelphia until December. He visited Mount Vernon in the spring of 1795 and returned to England in July of that year. Strickland later wrote Observations on the Agriculture of the United States of America (London, 1801).
2. For a list of the agricultural surveys and essays produced by the Board of Agriculture that were in GW’s library at the time of his death, see Griffin, Catalogue of the Washington Collection, 89-95.