I have received your letter of the 7th instant, giving an extract of Mr Nicholas's letter to you. With respect to the request contained in it, I leave the matter entirely to his own discretion with your advice—to advance, or halt, according to the tenableness of his ground, & circumstances.
I recieved a few days ago; a letter from Mr John Nicholas in which after speaking of the violence of a certain party in that County, and the lengths to which they go he says, "among other things, you will see in Davis's paper of the 24th July a hint at the affair with which you are acquainted from the celebrated John Langhorne himself.
I enclose you an alta. which you will please deliver to the Sheriff of Stafford. also Com. for taking depositions. If you approve of it, I will move the Court in Septr to direct a settlement of the accounts prayed for by your Bill, and have it referred to Commissioner Murray in Freds. you will please write me on this subject before Sept. I am Dear Sir very respectfully yrs.
Your favor of the 22d with the enclosures I recieved. I do not altogether approve of the deeds and principally for the reasons which you give. I think that the deed from you to General Lee ought to state the cause of it's being made, by reciting that a deed for the same land had been executed by Lee to you, but the time for recording it having expired, and for the purpose of enabling Lee to reconvey to you so as to have the same recorded in time, you convey.
Enclosed are Deeds from me to General Lee, and from him to me. They were copied from his original Deed to me, without my previous examination of it, supposing (I understood it was drawn by Mr Charles Lee) that it was correct in all its parts. When we were about to execute the New ones I found that his title to the old one was not recited— whether this is essential to the conveyance I know not, as the Lands are accurately described and he has, as he says, Doctr Skinners conveyance to him wch he will send me.
I have only time to write you a few lines—to tell you our Situation—your Brother with his poor sick wife got here last saturday— she is extremely weak & low—yet there are some Symptoms in her situation which leads me to hope— her breath is as long as any other persons— her spiting is not of the kind I have ever observed in real consumptions— God only knows the event— your poor Brother is nearly as thin as his wife, his uneasiness & fatigue can better be imagined than discribed—poor dear Hannah— I am obliged to smother my unhappiness to keep up my dear Sons spi
I now enclose you a Subpœna, having obtained an injunction for Fendall & Young vs. Patten. I am very clear to myself, that if the facts as stated are supported, or not controverted, that the defendt P. will be decreed to accept a Conveyance of the Land and to pay or secure the payment of the consideration mony yet due, and will be injoined from proceeding upon his Judgment.
Since you left this I recd two letters from your Brother telling me that his wife was he hoped (& indeed to all appearence) better that they had declined going to Alexd. & beg'd I would directly go up I packed up to do so, & Nancy was taken sick which prevented me for 7 or eight days—the day previous to that of our seting off— he sent down to desire I would not set out as his poor wife was growing much worse & most desirous of being at Bushfield last Tuesday week the messenger left them in Alexd.
We have been here ever since last Sunday week trying to get a passage down to Westmoreland, which the Doctor strongly recommends, and if the voyage so far does not disagree, he advises that we proceed farther on— After a great many fruitless attempts I have at last <g>ot a Vessel which will sail tom<o>rrow— <I> do not think there has been any considerable change either for the better or worse for some weeks past, except what has been occasioned by the easterly Stormes, which seem to have prevailed more than usual this Spring.
Without reciting here, the substance of the correspondence between Mr Robert Carter and his Sons & Sons in Law respecting the disposition of his Virginia estate amongst them, I will only observe that I have read & considered it. My opinion is, that the engagements therein made are obligatory upon him, and that a Court of Equity will compel a specific execution of them. They are entered into upon consideration deemed good in Law, and also upon a valuable consideration.
When I wrote you last the Symptoms of my Wife's disorder had taken a favourable turn, & appearances were rather flattering; but for some days past she has been much more unwell, and I have very strong reasons to apprehend that another rising is forming on her lungs— indeed I am extremely alarmed about her, and now, more than ever satisfied that her lungs are seriously attacked— I am just dispatching a messenger for the Doctor, which compells me to write less to you than I should otherwise do— My children are all well, and I am much better than I could, circumstanc
Colo. Thos Lee going to Alexandria early tomorrow affords me an opportunity of acknowledging the receipt of yours of the 15 Inst.
I shall lose no time in acquitting myself of inattention to your last favor (but one) with which you might without injustice have charged me, not Knowing the reason of my silence.
It has not (thank God) proceeded from indisposition, yet I feel grateful for your affectionate solicitude upon that subject.
Last wednesday evening Oliver delivered me your affectionate letter, for which, as well as for the trouble you were at in sending him to inquire about my poor wife's health, I return you my most grateful thanks— I should be relieved from the greatest distress, and almost too happy, if I had only reason to believe that your surmises respecting my dear Wifes Situation was well grounded; but on the contrary, I am well persuaded that her lungs were affected at the time Docr Banham paid her his first visit last fall, and the progress of the disorder was merely suspended by
As some time has elapsed since I have heard from you, and some things remained to be done by the Auditor of which you were to give me the result I have been apprehensive of a return of your fever and wish to hear of the perfect recovery of yourself & Mrs Washington who we are informed has also been sick.
I have not heard from you since your letter of the 11 Feby, and the unhappy Situation of my family has prevented me from answering your letter until now— The various disorders that have oppressed by poor wife have been daily putting on more alarming Symptoms, and of course my necessary attention to her prevents me from thinking of any thing else— Even the Doctrs begin to discover their apprehension as to her recovery— I wish I could flatter myself with her recovery; but present appearances forbid it— She has been now five weeks unable even to turn herself in her bed,
Your letter of the 1st instant came to my hands by Saturdays Post; with the Auditors Receipts. If no bad consequences flow from the delay, in that Office, it is immaterial when I obtain the result of his investigation of the state of my taxes, on the Western Waters; but to prevent it, let me request you, to keep his enquiries alive. The tract of 587 Acres lyes I presume, in the County of Harrison; or if divided, in the part taken therefrom, below, on the River Ohio, lying about 15 miles below Wheeling. The other tract, on the Ohio, is situated 3 or 4 Miles below the Mo.
I recd your favor under cover from Mr Ross by the last post. Upon an application made sometime ago to the Gentleman who had the care of Mr Campbells papers for those which belong to you, he informed me that he had recieved them in a state of such disorder that until they were arranged he could not s[ay] with certainty whether yours were amongst [th]em or not. so far as his examination had g[o]t, he had not discovered them. He promised to get them into order as soon [as] his professional engagements would pe[rmit].
I am quite disappointed in not having it in my power to give you satisfactory information upon the subject of your last letter.
I have been twice to the Auditors office, and have had the Commissioners books examined.
I hoped long before now to have executed the little business you intrusted to me, but alas I have had no time to attend to any business for some time past out of my poor wife's chamber— She has been violently attacked twice since delivery, of the first she apparently recovered, but of the last she is confined to her bed, and so extremely reduced that I have no right to flatter myself with her recovery.
Porter has satisfactorily explained to me the affair of the $200 and therefore requests that you will proceed with the execution without loss of time. with much esteem I am Dr Sir yr mo. ob. Sevt
I had heard with much concern, before your letter of the 21st instant was received, of your illness; and congratulate you on your recovery. Be careful in guarding against a relapse, by taking cold.
I hope my letter of the 19th of this month got safe to your hands (by the Post); contained therein, were $120 to enable you to do the needful relative to the taxes of my Western Lands; accompanied by some statements which might assist in the investigation of that business.
Yesterday your two dear letters were handed me by Mr Mccartys servant, with 6 very fine oranges & the tea for which my poor G<2m>son returns you many thanks— to tell you my feelings on reading your last letter is impossible, to know that my greatly beloved Child had been ill—for I am sure that you was extremely so—put me in a tremour not easily shook off—& that it <p>leasd Heaven to grant you a reco<ve>ry filled me with a most pious ejaculation to the author of all goodness for his mercies— I am yet exceedingly unhappy both on yours & my
Your letter of the 8th instant came to hand opportunely, as Mr Augustus Woodward (in whose favour the Sheriff of Kanhawa had drawn for the taxes of my lands in that County) was here on his return from Philadelphia, and received the full amount of his draught.
I am perfectly at a loss to know what is meant by the Auditors A/c as coming from "The Sheriff of Greenbrier who says he has returned a tract of land the property of Genl George Washington Esqr., amounting to 15,940 Acres for non-payment of the Revenue tax due thereon, for the year 1789. The tax is £35:17:3."