“First. To my Nephew, Bushrod Washington, and his heirs (partly in consideration of an intimation to his deceased Father, while we were Bachelors, and he had kindly undertaken to superintend my estate during my military services in the former war between Great Britain and France) that if I should fall therein, Mount Vernon (then less extensive in domain than at present) should become his property. I give and bequeath all that part thereof, which is comprehended within the following limits, Viz:—
“Fifth.—All the rest and residue of my estate, real and personal, not disposed of in manner aforesaid, in whatsoever consisting,—wheresoever lying—and whensoever found—a Schedule of which as far as is recollected, with a reasonable estimate of its value, is hereunto annexed—I desire may be sold by my Executors at such times—in such manner, and on such credits (if an equal, valid, and satisfactory distribution of the specific property cannot be made without) as in their judgment shall be most conducive to the interest of the parties concerned, and the monies arising therefrom to be divided into twenty-three equal parts, and applied as follows:” (Here follows the list of beneficiaries and description of property); “and by way of advice I recommend it to my Executors not to be precipitate in disposing of the landed property (herein directed to be sold) if from temporary causes the sale thereof would be dull; experience having fully evinced that the price of land (especially above the falls of the rivers and on the western waters) have been progressively rising and cannot be long checked in its encreasing value.
“The Family Vault at Mount Vernon, requiring repairs, and being improperly situated besides, I desire that a new one of brick, and upon a larger scale, may be built at the foot of what is commonly called the Vineyard Inclosure, on the ground which is marked out—In which my Remains, with those of my deceased Relations (now in the old Vault) and such others of my Family as may chuse to be entombed there, may be deposited. And it is my express desire, that my Corpse may be interred in a private manner, without parade or funeral Oration.
“Lastly, I constitute and appoint my dearly beloved Wife Martha Washington, my Nephews William Augustine Washington, Bushrod Washington, George Steptoe Washington, Samuel Washington, and Lawrence Lewis, and my Ward George Washington Parke Custis (when he shall have arrived at the age of Twenty Years) Executrix and Executors of this Will and Testament—In the construction of which, it will readily be perceived that no professional character has been consulted, or has had any agency in the draught, and that although it has occupied many of my leisure hours to digest, and to throw it into its present form, it may, notwithstanding, appear crude and incorrect—but having endeavored to be plain and explicit in all the devises, even at the expence of prolixity, perhaps of tautology, I hope and trust that no disputes will arise concerning them; but if, contrary to expectation, the case should be otherwise from the want of legal expression, or the usual technical terms, or because too much or too little has been said on any of the devises to be consonant with law, my Will and Direction expressly is, that all disputes (if unhappily any should arise) shall be decided by three impartial and intelligent men, known for their probity and good understanding—two to be chosen by the disputants, each having the choice of one, and the third by those two—which three men thus chosen shall, unfettered by law or legal constructions, declare their sense of the Testator’s intentions; and such decision is, to all intents and purposes, to be as binding on the parties as if it had been given in the Supreme Court of the United States.
“In Witness of all, and of each of the things herein contained, I have set my Hand and Seal, this Ninth Day of July, in the Year One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Ninety —— [1] and of the Independence of the United States the Twenty-Fourth.
“George Washington.”
[1] It appears that the testator omitted the word “nine.”
Will of Mary Washington
Mary Washington, mother of George Washington, died August 25, 1789. Her will, registered in the clerk’s office at Fredericksburg, Virginia, is a peculiarly interesting document, and is here given in full.
“In the name of God, Amen, I, Mary Washington, of Fredericksburg, in the County of Spotsylvania, being in good health, but calling to mind the uncertainty of this life, and willing to dispose of what remains of my worldly estate, do make and publish this, my last will, recommending my soul into the hands of my Creator, hoping for a remission of all my sins through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind; I dispose of my worldly estate as follows:—