-----Original Message-----
From: Frank E. Grizzard, Jr. [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, July 15, 2002 4:24 PM
Lawrence Lewis was the son of George
Washington's sister Betty, often said to be GW's
favorite nephew. Lewis in 1789 married Susannah
Edmundson, who died in childbirth the following
year, served as an aide-de-camp to Daniel Morgan
during the Whiskey Rebellion, and came to live at
Mount Vernon in the summer of 1797. On 22 Feb.
1799 he married Nelly Custis, the granddaughter
of GW and Martha Washington, and GW rented one of
his Mount Vernon plantations to Lewis the same
year. After GW's death the Lewises built
Woodlawn, which is now owned by the National
Trust for Historic Preservation.
Lawrence Lewis, with his brother Robert
Lewis, Battaile Muse, and maybe others, helped
manage GW's western lands. William Kercheval in
December 1785 began renting from GW a 172-acre
tract on the Shenandoah River in Frederick
County, and I assume that's the same piece of
land you are referencing. At GW's death in
December 1799 the rental agreement would have
continued in effect, with the heirs of GW's
estate. Unfortunately, we have not attempted the
monumental task of tracing what happened to GW's
vast landholdings after his death; perhaps
someone at Mount Vernon knows more (try Mary
Thompson [log in to unmask]).
For more on Lewis and many of GW's relatives and
GW's land and business dealings, see my
encyclopedia on GW, published recently by
ABC-CLIO, _George Washington: A Biographical
Companion_ and _The Papers of George Washington_
(five series, 47 volumes to date).
Hope this helps.
On Mon, 15 Jul 2002 16:00:49 -0400 Diana Bennett
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear Listers:
>
> I have some copies of correspondence from my
> ancestor (William Kercheval) to Lawrence Lewis.
> They were written in 1800, 1801, and 1802. He >
seems to have been managing Mr. Lewis' property.
> I believe that this ancestor was a tenant
farmer > of George Washington's near Winchester.
> My questions are: > > 1. Who is Lawrence Lewis
- a descendant or ??? > > 2. My ancestor's
contract was completed in > January 1799. what
would have happened then in > that George died
that year? > > 3. What is the difference between
a tenant farmer > and a manager of a farm.?
> > Any help along this line would be very
helpful. > > Diana Kercheval Bennett >
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, >
please see the instructions at >
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
--
Frank E. Grizzard, Jr.
Associate Editor
Papers of George Washington
University of Virginia
[log in to unmask]
http://www.virginia.edu/gwpapers
HEY, MY BOOK IS OUT!
_George Washington: A Biographical Companion_
published by ABC-CLIO in May 2002. See my
website:
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~feg3e/GWBio/
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
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