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Start Over Names Ford, West, approximately 1784-1863

Bushrod Washington family papers, 1662/1835 1.5 Linear Feet (4 boxes)

Washington, Bushrod, 1762-1829

The Bushrod Washington Family Papers consist of documents gathered by the descendants of the first President of the United States, George Washington. The collection comprises an assortment of correspondence and legal documents documenting the lives and property ownership of several branches of the Washington family. The collection is organized into five series: Correspondence, Legal Documents, Social, Miscellaneous, and Indenture Notices (Land Deeds).

  1. The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

Copy of the last will and testament of Bushrod Washington, 1830 16 pages Box 3, Folder 19

A copy of Bushrod Washington's will in the Fairfax County Court. Includes instructions for the division of the Mount Vernon property, library, and enslaved population, with instructions that land should be given to West Ford.

  1. The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon
  2. Bushrod Washington family papers, 1662/1835
  3. Series 2. Legal Documents, 1697/1835
  4. Subseries 2.5. Wills, 1697/1833

Copy of the last will and testament of Hannah Bushrod Washington, 1801 8 pages Box 3, Folder 21

A manuscript copy of the last will and testament of Hannah Bushrod Washington, in which she specifies that her body be left out until it putrefies so that she is not buried alive. In her will, Hannah specifies that West Ford, the son of an enslaved woman named Venus, should be inoculated from smallpox, apprenticed to a tradesman, and freed at the age of twenty-one.

  1. The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon
  2. Bushrod Washington family papers, 1662/1835
  3. Series 2. Legal Documents, 1697/1835
  4. Subseries 2.5. Wills, 1697/1833

George Mason to John Augustine Washington III, 1859 Box 4, Folder 1859.06.29

A.L.S. Spring Bank, Virginia to Mount Vernon. Mason writes describing an incident he had with West Ford on his plantation. This remarkable letter highlights the way Ford, despite being a free man, was still treated like a slave by others: "On the evening of the Monday after Whitsunday, I was about sunset standing at my stable, giving some orders for the morning's work, when there passed within three or four yards of me a Negro man, who I did not know, without touching his hat, or any other recognition of my presence. After he had passed, I called to him asking who he was, and who did he belong to? He walked on, taking no notice, until I repeated the question, when he said 'Washington.' I then said, I suppose you have a name, and can tell me what Mr. Washington you belong to? He replied, 'West Ford.' His manner was insolent and supposing he was drunk, I said to him, there is the road to the gate, go off my place at once… When he got to the corner of the house, he commenced whooping and continued doing so, till he got out of the gate, which I had to send and have closed after him. I said nothing further to him, as he was obviously drunk; but directed one of my servants to go and tell him never to put his foot on the place again… Had he been anyone's servant but yours, I shd. have immediately had him apprehended and flogged for his impertinence; but satisfied that it could only be necessary to report the facts to you, and that you would take measures to prevent his ever coming here again, or repeating it, I have taken no further steps in the matter."

  1. The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon
  2. Jane Charlotte Blackburn Washington and John Augustine Washington III correspondence, 1837/1861

Historic manuscript collection, 1601/1933 approx. 60 Linear Feet

This collection of historic manuscripts dates from 1607-1933, with the bulk of materials dating from 1738-1868. The correspondence, journals and diaries, legal and financial records, estate documents, and printed ephemera in the collection primarily relate to the Washington and Custis families, the Revolutionary War, and society life in antebellum Washington D.C. and Virginia.

  1. The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

Jane Charlotte Blackburn Washington and John Augustine Washington III correspondence, 1837/1861 5.7 Linear Feet 4 manuscript boxes

Washington, Jane Charlotte Blackburn, 1786-1855

The bulk of this collection is made up of letters from Jane Charlotte Washington to her son, John Augustine Washington III. Also included are letters to Eleanor Love Selden Washington, a few letters to or from John Augustine Washington III to various individuals, several letters from George Mason of Hollin Hall (1797-1870) to John Augustine Washington III, letters by Lackland and Alexander family members (relatives of the Washingtons) and three receipts. The subject matter of most letters is family or personal affairs and Mount Vernon business with some discussion of the enslaved people owned by the Washingtons. Inclusive dates are 1837 to 1861.

  1. The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

Jane C. Washington to John Augustine Washington III, 1843 2 pages Box 2, Folder 1843.03.25

Letter from Jane C. Washington to John Augustine Washington III concerning family matters such as the recent death of Mr. Selden and a discussion about whether Washington should assume administration over the estate. An enslaved woman named Julia is sick. Includes her hope that West Ford will mail this letter today from Mount Vernon, with a postscript message from Ford to Washington about recovering a loan. Autograph letter signed, 2 pages, with integral address panel.

  1. The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon
  2. John Augustine Washington III and family papers, 1789/1994
  3. Series 1. Correspondence, 1797/1969
  4. Subseries 1.1. John Augustine Washington III, 1835/1861

John Augustine Washington III and Eleanor Love Selden correspondence, 1842/1860 0.5 Linear Feet

Washington, John Augustine, III, 1821-1861

The collection contains correspondence between John Augustine Washington III and his wife Eleanor Love Selden. The letters begin during the Washingtons' engagement and continues through eighteen years of marriage, ending with a letter from John Augustine to Eleanor composed the day prior to her sudden death. The letters contain information on family matters, the management of the Mount Vernon estate, and plantation life prior to the Civil War.

  1. The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

John Augustine Washington III and family papers, 1789/1994 approx 4 Linear Feet 15 boxes

Alexander, Hannah Lee Washington, 1811-1881

This collection contains correspondence, legal documents, financial records, and other documents related to John Augustine Washington III and his family, especially his son, Lawrence, as well as his granddaughters, Anne and Patty. The bulk of the correspondence series are letters sent to John Augustine Washington III and concern family affairs and the management of various family plantations, including Mount Vernon.

  1. The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

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