To Lawrence Lewis
Mt Vernon feby 1. 1820
Dear Sir
It has been my intention for some days past to dine at Woodlawn, provided the weather should be such as to render it not imprudent to turn out with a bad cold on me— Instead of being allowed this gratification, I have been confined to the house for at least a fortnight, and now the time has just come when I must take my departure for Washington— You & my friend Mrs L. must therefore take the will & the wish for the deed.
I enclose you Mr Lees answer to a letter written to him about Hammeltrees business by which you will find that it is too late for him to talk about title as we have a Judgment against him for the land and back rents. The most important matter for us to attend to is to prevent the removal of the Coal, which can only be done by serving the executions without loss of time & forbidding the sale or removal of any thing on or from the Land. my advice is that you immediately employ an active man to go to the Clerks office and, if the executions have not yet issued, that he should obtain them, & put them into the hands of an active deputy Sheriffs to execute immediately & accompany him to recieve & hold the possession till you can place some person on the land to guard the houses, fences, Coal, timber &c. This when the weather & your health will permit you to visit the land you can attend to. But in the mean time some white person should reside on the land even if we have to pay him for it, which I will cheerfully agree to. You can also make what disposition you think best of the Coal— I think Mr Lee obtained an injunction to stay waste, & if he did, I shall take steps to punish this insolent fellow for his contempt of the Court. What I principall[y] urge upon you at present is to get the executions served without delay & employ a man to recieve possession from the sheriff & to keep it. I send an order for the executions in case they should not have issued. The man who you employ can take Mr Lees letter with him on which my order is written & will return it to you to keep for me.
Please let me hear how this business proceeds. With sincere regard & best wishes for you & Mrs L. I am Dear Sir affectly yrs
Bush. Washington
P.S. if the man you send should find that the executions have issued he will immediately call in the deputy who has them & get him to proceed to execute them without delay.
Mr Moor wishes you to draw off any additional Account you may have for moneys paid away or received as Executor up to the first of this year— I have sent him mine & he waits for yours to close his report.
As to Ransoms instalment which became due lately you can dispose of it as you please amongst Creditor legatees, of whom I believe you are yourself the most considerable. It should be employed to stop interest as soon as it is received
I doubt if any thing is due to to Thornton Washington or to my wards— when you pay to any one take bonds to refund in case of an overpayment or if future claims against the estate.
Source Note
ALS, ViMtvL: Esther Maria Lewis Chapin Collection. Lewis noted on the cover of the document "Judge Washington respecting Hamontree."
Note: Because this document is only a verified first-pass transcription, it and the document metadata may still contain errors.