-----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