bureau

"To my compatriot in arms, and old intimate friend, Dr. Craik I give my Bureau, (or as the cabinet makers call it, Tambour Secretary) and the circular chair—an appendage of my study."
(Mount Vernon Ladies' Association)

Of the three daughters, one married a Mr. Harrison, one Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, and the third married Colonel Roger West of West Grove. The daughter of this union married John Douglas Simms, son of Colonel Charles Simms of Revolutionary fame. Mrs. James Craik Jr., was Sarah Harrison, daughter of Robert Hanson Harrison, one of Washington's military secretaries.

On November 27, a little over two weeks before Washington's death, Dr. Craik delivered Nellie Custis, wife of Washington's nephew and private secretary, Lawrence Lewis, of a daughter, her first child.

December 12, 1799, was a bad day. General Washington, making the usual rounds of his farms, was not deterred by snow, sleet, nor the cold rain that followed. Coming in late to dinner, which was awaiting him, his clothes soaked, snow clinging to his hair, he did not take time to change his wet things. The next day he had a sore throat and was very hoarse. During the night he felt ill and awoke his wife. As soon as it was daylight, Mrs. Washington sent a messenger posthaste for Dr. Craik. Before he arrived, Washington insisted upon being bled, and his secretary, Tobias Lear, sent across the river to Port Tobacco for Dr. Gustavus Brown. When Dr. Craik arrived he was alarmed at the condition of his friend, bled him twice, and asked to have Dr. Dick called for consultation. The three doctors battled with their primitive knowledge as best they knew how. Dr. Craik rarely left the room, sitting by the fire, his hand cupped over his eyes. Mrs. Washington sat at the foot of the bed, while Tobias Lear noted every passing moment for posterity and gave what aid he could to make the patient comfortable. About five o'clock Washington said to Craik, "Doctor, I die hard but I am not afraid to go. I believed from my first attack that I should not survive it. My breath cannot last long." Life dragged five hours more, and when the end came Dr. Craik closed the eyes of him who was his best friend.[156] The watch which ticked off these awful moments is preserved in the Museum at Mount Vernon. When the General's will was opened one of the clauses read:

mantel

Mantel in the house at 209 Prince Street which John Harper rented to Dr. Craik from 1790 to 1795 at £60 per annum and which bears a plate erroneously marking the domicile of Dr. Dick, who lived next door

This desk and chair migrated with a later generation of Craiks to Kentucky and afterward the heirloom chair was presented as a token of esteem to General Andrew Jackson. Happy to relate, both pieces are again united in the library at Mount Vernon.

There remained for Dr. Craik one more duty to perform at Mount Vernon. In May 1802, two and a half years after the death of her husband, Martha Washington fell ill. This old friend of her married life of forty years watched over her for the seventeen days that remained and was with her, too, when she breathed her last.

Doctor Craik lived for fifteen years after the death of his friend and patron, hale and hearty to the end. In 1810 he put up his Alexandria house as security for a loan and it was sold at public auction March 23, 1810, to Rebecca Taylor.

Doctor Craik died on February 6, 1814, in his eighty-fourth year at his country estate, Vauclause, near Alexandria. He lies in the graveyard of the old Presbyterian meetinghouse.

His house in Alexandria, at 210 Duke Street, was fittingly enough in 1943 made habitable once again by another physician, Dr. Laurence A. Thompson, and Mrs. Thompson.

doctors

Dr. James Craik and Dr. Elisha Dick

house

Chapter 17

Alexandria's Old Apothecary Shop

[With the settlement of the Leadbeater estate in 1933, these two adjoining buildings were acquired by the Landmarks Society of Alexandria and the contents purchased by the American Pharmaceutical Association. Under the direction of Mrs. Robert M. Reese the buildings have been restored and opened to the public as a museum with displays generously lent by the American Pharmaceutical Association. Entrance at 107 South Fairfax Street.]

Among the Quakers who settled in Alexandria there was a young man by the name of Edward Stabler, who came from Petersburg, Virginia. By 1792 he had established himself in the drug business on Fairfax Street between King and Prince. The major portion of his first stock of drugs came from London and cost about £106. Today his shop is famous as the second oldest apothecary shop in the United States in continuous operation and has been conducted by five generations of Stabler's descendants, the name of the proprietor changing to Leadbeater in 1852.

Always the proprietors maintained the most unique relations, business and social, with their patrons. Extant today are orders for one quart of castor oil from Martha Washington, an order for paint from George Washington Parke Custis, and many other curious and historical records, including the comments on a bad debt. In 1801 Mr. Stabler ordered from his dealer in London:

shop

Alexandria's Old Apothecary Shop, where Georgian and Victorian meet

There is a story in Alexandria that it was in this shop that the messenger, Lieutenant J.E.B. Stuart, from the War Department, found General R.E. Lee chatting with the proprietor, his old friend, the senior Leadbeater, and delivered to the then Colonel Lee sealed orders from General Winfield Scott ordering him to Harpers Ferry to take command during John Brown's raid. It may be safely said that this shop was commonly used as a place of meeting by the gentlemen of the town who gathered there to exchange views and hear the latest news.

There remain in the old pharmacy early hand-blown bottles, counters and showcases, weights and scales, mortars and pestles, prescriptions, old ledgers, and much unidentified impedimenta of these early apothecaries. The decoration of the interior is indicative of the five generations who have lived and worked here. Georgian and Victorian blend in a harmonious whole. The exterior has been admirably restored to eighteenth century correctness—semicircular windows and all. The shop proper is the ground floor of a three-story business structure. Adjoining is an associated gift shop, also on the ground floor of a three-story building, and the two structures must appear very much as they did when built.

gardens

Chapter 18

Spring Gardens

[414 Franklin Street. Owners: Mr. and Mrs. Harry W. Harris.]

The stranger arriving in Alexandria by ship, coach, or horse could be sure of a welcome. The old port was noted for her taverns. They were numerous and good. At the taverns the gentlemen of the town were wont to gather for an oyster supper, a turtle feast, or a cockfight. The Masonic brothers sought these places for their banquets, and often for their meetings. Here stagecoaches drew up with bustle and excitement to put out the mail, change the horses, set down and take up the passengers, and let the traveler call for a draught of ale. Here the mail was collected and distributed. Here sailors could find a berth, the stranger a roaring fire, a glass of grog, food, bed and forage for his weary horse.

In 1753 at a court held at Fairfax, the rate for a night's lodging with clean sheets was fixed at 6d., "otherwise 3 pence." For a quart of punch with loaf sugar, 1s. 3d.; for a quart of punch with brown sugar, 10d. For a hot dish with small beer or cider, 1s.; for a cold dish, 4d. Stablage and fodder for a horse for twenty-four hours, 6d.; pasturage for twenty-four hours, 4d. It was ordered that "the several and respective ordinary keepers in this county do sell according to the above rates in money or tobacco at the rate of twelve shillings and six pence per cubic weight, and that they do not presume to demand more of any person what so ever."[158]

Among the Alexandria taverns of note that flourished in the late eighteenth century was Spring Gardens or Yates' Tavern, as the place was known in comparatively recent years. The little brick buildings were surrounded by spacious grounds, the walks edged in box, arbors covered with vines, grapes, fruit and shade trees all but hiding it from view.

In the Columbia Mirror and Alexandria Gazette of Saturday, January 12, 1793, the following advertisement appeared:

Again Spring Gardens figured in the news of October 5, 1795, when this advertisement appeared in the Virginia Gazette and Alexandria Advertiser of that date:

Some time previously, in 1793, H. Wilbur in the same publication announced that the "Late Master of the Steine House Academy Brighthelm-stone, Begs leave Respectfully to inform the Public in General that his Academy will open on Monday next, the 27th, inst. for the reception of ten young Ladies at Two Dollars per month, pens and ink included."

Was Spring Gardens a young ladies academy as well as oysterhouse, tavern and jockey club?

The tradition that Spring Gardens was the second Jockey Club seems to be borne out in the announcement of the spring races which appeared on Saturday, May 20, 1797:

gardens

Rear of Spring Gardens or Yate's Tavern

General Washington was a visitor many times and on July 4, 1798, he recorded in his diary: "Went up to the Celebration of the Anniversary of Independance and dined in the Spring Gardens near Alexa. with a large Compa. of the Civil and Military of Fairfax County."[159] His cash accounts for the day set his expenses in Alexandria "at the Anniversary of Independance" as £1 4s.[160] A Philadelphia newspaper gave a full account of the festivities:

In the last years of his life, the General again "Went up to Alexa. and dined with a number of the Citizens there in celebration of the Anniversary of the declaration of American Independence."[162] And again the Philadelphia newspaper reported:

Whether Colonel Kemp at this time kept the Spring Gardens Tavern, the deponent sayeth not!

Thrilling tales of long departed patrons who haunt the old red house are told by the Misses Lewis and Evans, who lived in this house for several years. When the family of three sat down for their evening meal, they were disturbed by the consciousness of the presence of unseen persons. Often they raised their wine glasses in a silent toast to the invisible guests and empty chairs. On several occasions a brave spirit clad in buff and blue was clearly seen, only to vanish into the heavy six-panel door—to the utter astonishment of three pairs of eyes. Once on a clear moonlight night, a great brick barn appeared in the place of a modest wooden structure which stands today. The lady who first saw it called her companion and asked her what she saw. The immediate reply was "An enormous brick barn." For a while they thought it an optical illusion produced by moonlight and clouds and waited at the window to see the bricks disintegrate into the factual wooden structure. But the ladies retired leaving the great brick apparition still standing. Colonel W.H. Peake, the recent owner, when told this story, confirmed it to the extent of admitting that there was a large brick foundation under the present frame building.

Colonel and Mrs. Peake added a half story to the two wings and increased the length of the ell. The old tavern faces the street bravely, and the sturdy, paneled front door swings on H&L hinges as in days long past. In the brick-walled garden behind, arbors are fragrant with grape and wisteria. Hollyhocks flourish in the borders. A modern garage replaces the stables where the gentry of Alexandria and the neighborhood put up their horses when they frequented the "Oyster House." In this mellowed atmosphere of Spring Gardens, it is pleasant to turn one's thoughts backward and reflect on the gay evening when it cost the General £1 4s. to celebrate "Independance."

house

Chapter 19

William Fitzhugh and Robert E. Lee

Another fine example of late eighteenth century federal architecture in Alexandria is the residence at 607 Oronoco Street,[Owners: Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Goodale.] commonly spoken of as the boyhood home of Robert E. Lee. This house abounds with memories of Alexandria. Her history, romance, and past are interwoven here in a perfect pattern. Washington, perhaps, frequented this house more than any other save Dr. Craik's after the Fitzhughs moved to Alexandria from Chatham near Fredericksburg.

Built by John Potts in 1795 on land purchased from Charles Alexander, the date is attested by the stone fixed high in the wall under the carved cornice. Potts and his wife, Elizabeth, deeded the property to William Fitzhugh in 1799 for the sum of twelve thousand dollars.

The house and garden occupy half a city block. A central hall runs through the house and every room opens by window or door into the garden. The woodwork in the house, while simple, is in the best tradition and, save for two missing mantels, is undisturbed. The stairway rises on the left of the hall in a series of easy steps to a landing that crosses one end of the hall and then mounts on the right side to the second floor. The decoration of the risers and landing, in a diamond motif paneled in a delicate mold, is reminiscent of the designer, Adam. Two superb rooms open off the hall on each side, and the dining room and offices are in an ell on a lower level. There are Adam mantels of great beauty in the two master bedrooms on the second floor. The doors, chair rails, cornices, floors, and locks are in a fine state of preservation throughout the house.

In the kitchen is the brick oven with patent doors made in England and inserted in the chimney about the time the house was built. A few years ago, the former owners, Dr. and Mrs. R.R. Sayers, went to the address of the manufactory at Stratton, 173 Cheapside, London. It was still in operation and there they were able to purchase needed parts for the faithful old oven.

Virginia is more like the mother country in the relations that exist between her aristocratic classes, than any other part of the Union save, perhaps, South Carolina. These people moved in one large circle, marrying and intermarrying, related and associated as one enormous family. Welcome in one another's homes, they kept alive family ties by visits and letters, both of considerable length. It was quite possible to go away from home for several years for a series of visits, moving from one estate to another and remaining for the season—all the while renewing associations within the chosen orbit.

Of this hierarchy was William Fitzhugh. A man of charm and culture, reared in the days and traditions of the great planters, he kept open house at Chatham, near Fredericksburg, the year around. Travelers en route to and from Williamsburg and Richmond were entertained in a lavish fashion. With the formation of the new government, the stream of visitors increased to such an extent that the Fitzhughs were being eaten out of house and home, and found it necessary to escape from their friends. They selected Alexandria as a place of domicile. Chatham was placed on the market in 1796.

A lifelong friend and associate of George Washington, there was great intimacy between the two families. Fitzhugh contributed two fine does to the Mount Vernon deer park in 1786, and the same year forwarded a supply of orchard grass seed for the General's use. A year before Washington's death his good offices as neighbor and friend were directed toward the acquisition of a horse that would best serve Washington's purpose. Entries in George Washington's diaries attest the many times that the Fitzhughs were at Mount Vernon, and the Washingtons at Chatham or Alexandria. On January 3, 1798: "Mrs. Washington, myself, etc., went to Alexandria and dined with Mr. Fitzhugh,"[164] and on April 3, 1799, "went to Alexandria and lodged myself with Mr. Fitzhugh";[165] the next day he "returned to Alexandria and again lodged at Mr. Fitzhugh's."[166] The last mention in Washington's diary of his old friends is in the last month of his life, dated November 17, 1799, "went to Church in Alexandria and dined with Mr. Fitzhugh."[167]

house

The Alexandria home bought by William Fitzhugh of Chatham to escape from his friends

To Fitzhugh's house came Washington Custis wooing, and successfully, too, Mary Lee Fitzhugh. George Washington did not live to see the marriage between the daughter of this old friend and his adopted son, George Washington Parke Custis; nor the splendid Arlington mansion, following that new fashion of likeness to a Greek temple, that was to house the Custis and Lee families for three generations. He knew those rolling acres of the Arlington plantation, but never dreamed they were destined to become the emerald pall for America's warrior dead.

In the Alexandria Daily Gazette, Commercial and Political of Friday, January 12, 1810, appeared the following advertisement:

house

The Alexandria home of "Light Horse" Harry Lee's widow. The house that General Lee loved

William Fitzhugh's will was probated on December 23, 1809. To each of his two daughters who had "made themselves as dear as children can be to an affectionate Father," he left the sum of two thousand pounds, certain slaves (about sixteen) and lands containing eight hundred acres, for since they were "equal in his affections" he wished them to have an equal quantity. After other bequests, the residue of his estate passed to his only son, William Henry Fitzhugh, with the admonition and hope that he would make proper use of it. He appointed his two sons-in-law, William Craik and George Washington Parke Custis, also Edmund I. Lee and Robert Randolph, as guardians of his son's estate until he came of age, and as executors of his will. The inventory of the contents of his house is that of a rich man, who lived in the comfort and elegance of his time. Appropriately enough, a pair of his knife boxes have found their way to Mount Vernon.

bedroom

General Lee's bedroom, showing the railing of the little stair leading to his mother's room

William Henry Fitzhugh married Anna Maria Goldsborough of Maryland and built the house on the Ravensworth estate so intimately associated with the Fitzhughs and Lees. In September 1820, he sold the house in Alexandria to William Brent of Stafford for ten thousand dollars. William Brent Jr., lost the house by indebtedness to the Mechanics Bank of Alexandria in 1824. The bank was the highest bidder at $3,500.

Young Fitzhugh met an early death shortly after his marriage when thrown by his horse. He was an only son and he died childless so that branch of the clan ended with the death of Mrs. George Washington Parke Custis. Fitzhugh's widow lived for forty years at Ravensworth.

bedroom

The mantel in Mrs. Harry Lee's bedroom

Later William Hodgson and his family owned the Oronoco Street house for a couple of generations and in turn sold the house to William C. Yeaton, who owned it for some twenty-odd years. This family planted many tropical trees, the unique magnolia and the lemon trees among them. In 1883 the house was sold at public auction for one thousand dollars to Mary E. Fleming, widow of Dr. Robert F. Fleming, "she being the highest bidder."

It is a strange coincidence that to this Alexandria home of the Fitzhughs came, about 1818, the widow of a gentleman active in the affairs of the nation. He had commanded, during the Revolution, a Legion bearing his own name; he had served as governor of his state from 1792 to 1795; as a member of Congress from 1799 to 1801, and he it was who prepared the memorial resolutions which were presented when word reached Philadelphia of Washington's decease, declaring him in immortal words: "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his fellow citizens." In fact, he liked the phrase himself and used it with a slight modification in the halls of Congress when making his celebrated eulogy of Washington.

This widow then resident in the former home of William Fitzhugh was Mrs. Henry Lee, born Anne Carter of Shirley. Exiled from Stratford when her eldest stepson came into his patrimony, she and her husband, General Lee, known to all Virginians as "Light Horse Harry," moved to Alexandria. The Lees occupied several houses from time to time, but on October 14, 1824, Mrs. Lee was at home in the house on the northwest corner of St. Asaph and Oronoco Streets and she received a visitor of such importance that it made history. The guest, who was no less a personage than General the Marquis de la Fayette, came to pay his respects to the wife of his friend. This visit was witnessed by the young Quaker, Benjamin Hallowell, who had moved into the house next door with his bride of a day, and stood in the doorway to watch the Marquis go by. Moreover, the Marquis saw the young couple and "made a graceful bow."

Mrs. Henry Lee, with her family of boys, occupied this house for seven years. Robert Edward's room adjoined hers, on a lower level, being connected by a small stairway.

Shortly after Mr. Hallowell opened his school, Robert E. Lee went to him in February 1825, for instruction in mathematics, preparatory to going to West Point to prepare himself for the Army.

Naturally the friendliest intimacy existed between the family at Arlington and the house on Oronoco Street. And so, two years after leaving West Point, Lieutenant Robert E. Lee, Corps of Engineers, married, on June 30, 1831, Mary Custis, granddaughter of William Fitzhugh, and great-granddaughter of Martha Washington.

General Lee always loved this house and after defeat he came back to Alexandria, which for some time had been in command of the Union forces, to take farewell of his family and friends and went again to look once more upon the scenes of his childhood. The story is told that people next door were startled to see a man peeping over the wall. Upon investigation, it proved to be General Lee, who had climbed upon the wall to look into the garden. He apologized, saying, "I just wanted to see if the snowballs were in bloom."

To this day the garden, as the house, retains its integrity. All the growing things associated with old gardens are there—the lilacs, boxwood, magnolias, lemon trees, iris, syringa, lilies, jonquils, jasmine, honeysuckle—and General Lee's remembered snowballs.

custis

George Washington Parke Custis; grandson of Martha; adopted son of George Washington; husband of Mary Fitzhugh; father-in-law of Robert E. Lee. By Saint Mèmin.
(Courtesy Corcoran Gallery of Art)

houses

Chapter 20

George Washington's Tenements

[123 South Pitt Street. Owners: Mr. and Mrs. Fred Latimer Hadsel.
125 South Pitt Street. Owners: Mr. and Mrs. Harlan Trott.]

On the corner of Pitt and Prince Streets stand two little frame houses that possess the distinction of being the only buildings in Alexandria built on George Washington's lots and dating back to his time. Their history is fairly complete and may be compiled by anyone taking the trouble to search the records housed in the Alexandria clerk's office and balancing those data against the well kept accounts and writings of General Washington.

Alexandria had outgrown her swaddling clothes by 1761 when the trustees petitioned the assembly for permission to extend the limits of the town. This was promptly granted. New acreage was added, divided into lots and sold at auction as formerly. General Washington bought, at the sale held on May 9, 1763, two half-acres of ground, numbered on the plat as 112 and 118, which he took up later for approximately £48. For the former, the subject of this sketch, on the northwest corner of Pitt and Prince, he paid £38. On the latter lot at Pitt and Cameron Streets he built his town house six years later. As early as 1760 Washington spoke of "my House in Town," but this earliest reference[168] is believed to have related to Lawrence Washington's estate, for which he was one of the executors. Its subsequent story has not been unwound, but all facts point to the house at South Lee Street as having been built by Lawrence.

General Washington acquired the deed to lot No. 112 in 1765 and mention was made of it in his will and in the accompanying inventory of his property. At the time of his death the lot had been subdivided for building and let on ground rent, for purposes of revenue. The two small frame houses standing today at 123 Pitt and 501 Prince Streets unquestionably date from this period.

Time did not deal gently with these little houses and a few years ago they were condemned by the city council as unfit for habitation and ordered to be destroyed as they created a fire menace. Former owners succeeded in allaying the ultimatum of the council, reclaiming them from oblivion. Unaware that the story of Washington's ownership was true, the wing of one was demolished, the other is a new addition and replaces a smaller one too dilapidated to restore. The floors, mantels, much of the trim, some hardware and two chimneys are original. The uprights were found to be mortised together and numbered in Roman numerals. Handmade nails and split wood laths formed part of the original construction. Preservation of the structure was the urgent concern.

In her History of Old Alexandria Mrs. Powell tells an interesting anecdote relating to the construction of these houses. The mention of "Mr. La Fayette" identifiable as the son of the Marquis, fixes the period at 1797. It seems that the coach had been sent to Alexandria from Mount Vernon for repairs and stood in the courtyard of the coachmaker's waiting to be called for. Two little children, Hannah Taylor and Joe Peters, were playing hide-and-seek in the courtyard. The little girl opened the door and hid in the coach. Joe failed to find her, and she fell asleep. The carriage was called for, the horses hitched and driven to Mount Vernon, without awakening the child. Only when the coach came to a standstill in the stable yard did she awake, much frightened and in tears. She was carried at once to the house, soothed and petted. The General dispatched a servant on horseback to tell Mr. and Mrs. Taylor that the little girl was safe and would be returned in the morning. She dined with the family, sat next to Miss Nelly, and was laughed at by a young man called "Mr. La Fayette" whom she did not like. She was put to bed by the Negro maid, Caroline Brannum, in a little room at the head of the stairway, wearing one of Miss Nelly's gowns, much too large, but with beautiful lace on neck and sleeves, her sheets warmed by the first copper warming pan she had ever seen. Caroline left the candle burning until Hannah fell asleep, to keep the little girl from being frightened. She had a splendid breakfast and was returned home in the coach wrapped in a large shawl and with a piece of cake as booty.

After that she frequently saw General Washington on the streets of Alexandria. "He often walked past her father's shop to the corner of Pitt and Prince, where two small frame houses were being built, and he seemed to be giving some directions to the carpenters, but he did not recognize Hannah who stood in too much awe of the great man to make herself known."[169] Hannah was all of seven years old at the time of the visit. Her trip to Mount Vernon furnished her with conversational matter for the rest of her life.

plan

Washington identified this sketch: "Col^o Fitzgerald respect^g my Vacant Lot-in-Alexandria" and the notation under Prince Street is also in his handwriting. This rough draft seems to have been done by Fitzgerald pursuant to the General's letter to him, dated June 12, 1797.
(Courtesy Library of Congress)

The little houses, known in Alexandria for many years as the Washington Tenements, fell to the lot of his nephew, Lawrence Washington, in the division of the estate.

Now to explore the title for those whose time does not permit or whose inclination does not incite to delving into old and dusty records.

In February 1767 Washington, in an irate letter to Carlyle & Adam, who had neglected to pay for some wheat, soundly berates them, complaining that in September 1764, he passed his bond for the wheat for "some lotts in Alexandria as payment," only to have the money demanded again with interest and "was at some pains to convince Mr. John Alexander of the unreasonableness of paying twice for the same thing."[170]

tenements

The Washington Tenements

Writing to his friend, the Secretary of War, Henry Knox, in January 1785, he says, "... Rents have got to such an amazing height in Alexandria, that (having an unimproved lot or two there) I have thoughts, if my finances will support me in the measure, of building a House, or Houses thereon for the purpose of letting."[171] Later in that same year he confides to Knox that his finances were not equal to undertaking the projected building in Alexandria.

Ten years later the lot was still unimproved, when Halley, who owned abutting property, was desirous of acquiring ten feet of Washington's land for an alley. The deal did not go through and a year later William Summers offered the owner three thousand dollars for the lot in question, which was declined. President Washington wrote Tobias Lear, his secretary, under date of March 21:

Shades of a later postwar era!

By June 1797, Washington had determined upon the subdivision as a solution. This was time-honored practice locally. To John Fitzgerald, on June 12 he wrote, "If you have had leizure to examine my unimproved lot in Alexa, more attentively, and have digested any plan in your own mind for an advantageous division of it, I would thank you for the result, as I wish to fix on a Plan." A plot plan, docketed by Washington "my vacant lot in Alex" has been found among his papers preserved in the Library of Congress,[173] and is worthy of reproduction. That this plan was carried out almost to the letter is revealed by the text of an advertisement prepared in July to be set up in the gazettes:

The following September, writing to James Harrison, he said, "The Ground Rent of the lot I have offered to Lease, in Alexandria, is three dollars a foot, for what it measures on each Street. This I must obtain as an annual Rent or the lot will not be disposed of in that way."[175]

Washington died on December 14, 1799, and his will, written July 9, 1799, was probated January 20, 1800. In an annexed schedule of property which he directed be sold (some conditionally disposed of) with explanatory notes relative thereto appears this entry: