[59] Memorandum or draft of a letter to his sister-in-law Anne, wife of Lawrence Washington, of Mount Vernon, made, very possibly, while in the field surveying in the fall of 1748 or spring of 1749. This visit to Europe, of Lawrence Washington, was partly in the interest of the Ohio Company and partly on account of his failing health which, unfortunately, was not benefited by the voyage as had been hoped.
Memorandom to charge Mrs Aus. Washington[60] with 4 /9 and 18d the 30 of July to a Maryland Hen-wife as also Major Law: Washington with 1 /3 lent the 15 of August 5 /9 the 17 Do 2 /6 Do: I read to the Reign of K: John
[60] Mrs. Aus. Washington evidently refers to Mrs. Augustine Washington, of Westmoreland, the wife of George's half-brother, Augustine, with whom he had made his home while attending Mr. William's Academy. Austin is, or has been, in Virginia a contraction for Augustine. Augustine Moore, a notable character, is recorded interchangeably, in land and other records, as Augustine and as Austin Moore. It is presumed that "The Maryland Housewife" was intended to have been written, that being the name of a popular book on cookery and the art of housekeeping at that period. The date of this memorandum is presumed to be 1748. A charge in his book of accounts kept at this time, and which was among the relics of Lawrence Washington sold in Philadelphia in the spring of 1891, would fix the date as July 28th, 1748. It was not an unusual thing for Washington in his youth to use contractions in writing the first names of his brothers, the following are examples: Aus., Austin for Augustine; Sam for Samuel; Jack and John, simply for John Augustine.
In the Spectators Read to No 143[61]
Mem:
When I see my Brother Austin to Enquire of him whether He is the Acting Attorney for my Brother and as my Brother Lawrence left Directions with the H. on W Fx[62] to remit his Pay as Agetant whether it would not be more proper to keep it to Pay the Notes of Hand thats Daily coming against him and to Write Word to Williamsburg to Acquaint his Hon: my B: A: to write him word.
[61] This is about the only record Washington has left of his course of reading. It is inferred that the books were either at "Greenway Court" or at "Belvoir." The character of the works he selected for his perusal is what might have been expected. This memorandum also exhibits a trait in his character prominent throughout his life, that of giving attention to minute details of business. It may truly be said of him that "the boy was father to the man."
[62] Honorable William Fairfax, of "Belvoir," Fairfax county, Va., was born 1691 in Yorkshire, England, where his father that year became high sheriff of the county. His father was the son of Henry Fairfax, 2d son of 4th Lord Fairfax and Anna (Harrison) Fairfax, whose sister, Eleanora Harrison, of South Cave, married in 1689, Henry Washington; their son, Richard Washington, who resided in London, was, therefore, an English cousin of Wm. Fairfax, and a correspondent both of his and of Col. George Washington's (see Washington's correspondence, in Sparks). Wm. Fairfax lost his father when quite young and was educated at his uncle's, Sir John Lowther's College. Through the influence of Capt. Fairfax, of the Royal Navy, he entered that service in 1710 and served for two years. He then joined the British army in Spain under Col. Martin Bladen, who had married a Fairfax, and was stationed at St. Helena in 1716-17, and subsequently at the Bahamas, and returned to England in October, 1717. Having married in the Bahamas, Sarah, daughter of Maj. Walker, of Nassau, she accompanied him to England. In 1718 Wm. Fairfax was sent out with Captain or Governor Woodes Rogers as chief justice to suppress the pirates infesting the West Indies. His residence was at Nassau, New Providence. The business for which he accepted office having been completed and the climate not being congenial, he in 1725 removed to New England. Here he received an appointment to the custom house at Salem, which he held until 1734. While a resident of Salem, his first wife died and was buried there. His son George William was born in Nassau, three of his children were born in Salem. Thomas, of the Royal Navy, was killed in battle; Anne married Lawrence Washington, and was the first mistress of Mount Vernon; and Sarah married John Carlyle, of Alexandria, Va., who was a major and commissary in the French and Indian war. Mr. Fairfax married, January 18, 1731, Deborah Clarke, of Salem, Mass. Her first child was Bryan, 8th Lord Fairfax, born at Salem 1732, but better known as the Rev. Bryan Fairfax, who died in 1802. In 1734 Wm. Fairfax accepted an offer, he had before declined, to remove to Virginia and act as agent for his cousin, Lord Thomas Fairfax, in the management of the vast Fairfax land estate. He at first took up his residence in Westmoreland county and remained there for several years, but afterward improved the plantation, built "Belvoir" mansion, six miles below "Mount Vernon," and removed to it. He was residing there in 1739, when Lord Fairfax first visited Virginia and made it his home for a year. Wm. Fairfax, from his high character and acquaintance with business, soon came to the front among the leading men in Virginia. Besides being agent for his cousin, he served in the assembly of Virginia, and after the death of John Blair was president of the Provincial council and collector of his majesty's customs for the South Potomac. His second wife bore him two children, besides Bryan already mentioned, William Henry, killed at the storming of Quebec in 1759; and Hannah, who married Warner Washington, cousin to George Washington. William Fairfax was a man of great executive ability and much beloved by the community. He died September 3, 1757. His wife survived him but a few years. "Belvoir" was left to George W. Fairfax and was his residence until he went to England in 1773.
Memorandam of what Cloths I Carry into Fairfax
Razor[63]
7 Shirts 2 Do Carrd by Mr Thornton[64]
6 Linnen Waistcoats
1 Cloth Do——
6 Bands[65]
4 Neck Cloths[66]
7 Caps[67]——
[63] The razor in colonial days was an essential part of a gentleman's toilet outfit. Washington had a strong beard and was early called upon to use his razor. Long, full beards were not then in fashion in America. It is a notable fact that there is not a portrait extant of an American-born patriot or statesman of the Revolutionary period, painted with a full beard. This memorandum, although not dated, is believed to have been written in 1748. The clean shaven face was constrained by the fashion of the continent; and prevailed as the custom in England and France for a period of quite 75 years.