Beschreibung:

WASHINGTON, George (1732-1799), President . Autograph document signed ("G. Washington") A LAND SURVEY WITH PLOT DRAWING, executed for James Denton, Augusta County, Va., 21 March 1752. 1 page, folio, endorsed on verso, scattered stains, paper brittle, old tape repairs at top of sheet, small chip to left margin, several small losses along central fold, affecting several letters text . [ With: ] GITT, W.W. Autograph letter signed to G.W. Wilcox, Dayton, Ky., 29 January 1879. 3 pages, 8vo . A letter regarding the survey and grant. Washington received his commission from William & Mary College on 20 January 1749 and was appointed Culpepper County Surveyor. His first dated survey was apparently executed in August 1747 but very few early examples are extant. In the last decade, Washington's surveys, which provide interesting documentation of his early career, have become relatively uncommon. Surveys were usually paid for in tobacco, and as Freeman relates, "surveying not only had interest and yielded a profit but it also offered excellent training. A good Surveyor had to be accurate and thorough: as George wanted to excel in surveying and in everything else he undertook, he painstakingly gave neatness and finish to surveys he made with the fullest care he knew how to display" (Freeman, George Washington , 1:198). At the top of the sheet, as was required by law, Washington has made a small plot drawing of the tract in question--an irregularly shaped parcel of 348 acres--and has labeled the property owners on either side of the plot. Beneath, he writes: "Pursuant to a Warrant from the Proprietors Office I have survey'd for James Denton a certain tract of waste...Land situated in Augusta County and on the Lost River..." There follows a detailed description of the boundaries of the land, with reference to natural landmarks, beginning "at two pines and a red Oak on a steep hill." As surveyed, he concludes, the property comprises "Three hund. and forty eight acres..." Not in Writings, ed. J.C. Fitzpatrick. (2)