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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.

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).

This collection includes correspondence between John Augustine Washington III and his mother and wife, as well as other family members, mostly dealing with family matters and running Mount Vernon.

This collection consist of 47 documents, 10 maps, and 1 map slipcase collected by Ted and Mary Wendell. The collection pertains to George Washington and includes 25 documents written, annotated, or signed by Washington. Much of the material concerns the Revolutionary War, western land claims following the French and Indian War, and British and American governmental records. The dates of the material range from 1721-1826.

The collection of Washington forgeries and bookplates from the 19th and 20th centuries measures 1 linear foot. Found within the collection are forged Washington documents from notorious forgers Robert Spring, Joseph Cosey, and Charles Weisberg, as well as unidentified forgeries. The collection also contains bookplates – originals, restrikes, and spurious copies – from the Washington family and correspondence related to the sale of forgeries.

Letter, 1787 November 4, from Bushrod Washington of Richmond to George Turberville in Westmoreland County. He writes that he has enclosed a copy of [minutes?] from the Federal Convention, and resolutions of the Virginia House of Delegates. He discusses the defeat of a bill to repeal the Port Law, the debate concerning the printing of paper money and his hopes for relief from the present taxation and the fact that the additional duty on tobacco has been removed. He states he will be a candidate for election to the Virginia Convention of 1788.

Thinks John Marshall may be induced to write a biography of George Washington and writes him by the same post. Will also write other gentlemen he and Lear discussed. Encloses two letters which he asks Lear to forward on his behalf concerning the same topic.

This collection (269 letters) includes correspondence regarding family matters, farm business, legal questions about various wills, including that of George Washington, buying and selling of slaves and land, letters from friends, travels, and business interests. Also included are financial papers, including accounts and bills for various services, many dealing with daily life, building materials, education expenses, books, taxes paid/owed, and financial transactions.

This collection consists of papers collected by various members of the Peter families. It includes letters from George Washington, letters of condolence to Martha Washington after George Washington's death, estate documents, Major George Peter's military papers, land plats and surveys, photo albums, letterbooks, and notebooks that tell of the life of this prominent family in Virginia and the City of Washington.

Scope and Content: This collection was originally assembled by Esther Maria Lewis Chapin, who inherited some of the Washington and Custis papers but was also an avid collector. She reassembled family materials that were being dispersed nationwide, much of which was purchased at Anderson Galleries, sale 22001, 28-29 November 1927. The collection contains correspondence, legal documents, and financial records related primarily to the Custis and Lewis families. Much of the financial and legal materials focus on the construction of the New Tomb at Mount Vernon, as well as settling George Washington's estate.The dates of the material in this collection ranges from 1743-1852, with the bulk of the material dating between 1818-1829.