"
"Many a Mickle Makes a Muckle": George Washington's Scottish Connections
A Talk by Mary V. Thompson Research Specialist Mount Vernon Ladies' Association To the Clan McAllister of America At the Double-Tree Hotel Falls Church, Virginia Friday, July 2, 2004 Revised slightly, 7/6/2004
As we begin today, I'd like you to picture in your mind some still
photographs of scenes from George Washington's life (Iknow the camera
hadn't been invented yet, but please just humor me for a minute). There is
George Washington, the quintessential American-strong, rugged,
exhibiting both physical and moral bravery, as he crossed an ice-choked
river to surprise the Hessians at Trenton during the Revolution. Or there is
George Washington, the Southern gentleman, entertaining guests in his
beautiful mansion or recklessly following his hounds as they chased a wily
fox across the fields. Yet again, there is also Washington the elder
statesman on the dollar bill, a firm leader, filled with wisdom gained
through a long life in public service. In a way, all these snapshots of
Washington are true, but when you animate these scenes by adding sound
and action to the pictures, you might well hear Scottish voices as you
listen to the dialogue. While Washington's own Scottish ancestry is a bit
questionable, many of his friends, employees, and admirers were
I undoubtedly from that country and I thought it might be fun to look at
Washington's life, with a focus on those individuals.
When he was contacted by an Englishman about his genealogy,
George Washington wrote that this was a subject "to which I confess I
have paid very little attention. My time has been so much occupied in the
busy and active scenes oflife from an early period of it that but a small
portion of it could have been devoted to researches of this nature, even if
my inclination or particular circumstances should have prompted the
enquiry."? While genealogy may not have been a subject of great interest
to him, there have been a number of attempts by others to trace
Washington's ancestry back as far as it is possible to go. In 1879, a man
named Albert Welles, who was the President of the American College for
Genealogical Registry and Heraldry, published his version, under the title
The Pedigree and History of the Washington Family: Derivedfrom Odin,
the Founder of Scandinavia, B. C. 70, Involving a Period of Eighteen
Centuries, and Including Fifty-five Generations, Down to General George
Washington, First President of the United States. Among those legendary
ancestors from the mists of time was Torfidur, who became Earl of the
Orkneys in the year 942 and married Grelota, the daughter of Dungad, the
Earl of Caithness. Their third son, Lodver, succeeded his father as Earl of
I George Washington to Sir Isaac Heard, 5/2/1792, The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799, 39 volumes, edited by John C. Fitzpatrick (Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1931-1944),32:32.
2 ,.
the Orkneys. Lodver's son, Sigurd, was also Earl ofthe Orkney Isles and
manied a woman named Thora, who was the daughter of Malcolm, the
King of Scotland.' So, depending on how reliable you take those very
early records to be, Washington may well have descended from the
Scottish king depicted in William Shakespeare's memorable tragedy,
MacBeth. 3
The story of the Washington family in America began in the mid-
1650s, when two young men, John Washington (1632-1677) and his
younger brother, Lawrence (1635-1677), anived in Virginia. Their family
had been loyal to the deposed king, Charles I (1600-1648), during the
English Civil War, and the brothers saw little future for themselves in
England, as long as Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) and Parliament were in
control ofthe government, so they had set out to make their fortunes in the
colonies. Both quickly established themselves, volunteering for public
service and marrying well, as stepping-stones to advancement. Following
the restoration of Charles II (1630-1685) to the English throne, John
Washington and a friend named Nicholas Spencer (died 1689) were
honored in 1674 with a grant from the king of a 5,000-acre property along
the Potomac River, which would be known for the next few decades as
Little Hunting Creek Plantation.
2 Albert Welles, The Pedigree and History of the Washington Family: Derived from Odin, the Founder of Scandinavia, B. C. 70, Involving a Period of Eighteen Centuries, and Including Fifty-five Generations, Down to General George Washington, First President of the United States (New York: Society Library, 1879), xx.
3 John Washington's great-grandson, George Washington (1731-
1799), was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in February of 1732,
as the eldest child of the second marriage of a man named Augustine
Washington (1694-1743). As a small boy, George Washington would
move several times, between farms owned by his father in different parts
of the colony, including the Little Hunting Creek property. His father's
death, when the little boy was only eleven, meant that he would never
have the English education enjoyed by his older half-brothers, a lack he
would feel keenly in later years. Schooled in Virginia, he seems to have
spent much of his teenage years bouncing between the homes of his
mother, his two older half-brothers, and his cousins. One of those half-
brothers, Lawrence Washington (1718-1752), had had an early military
career and made his home at Little Hunting Creek, the property he
inherited from their father, and soon renamed "Mount Vernon," in honor
of his former commander in the British Navy. Lawrence married into the
very prominent Fairfax family of Belvoir Plantation, and it was through
those connections that George Washington began to make his way in the
world. One very useful connection acquired through Lawrence's in-laws
was a Scottish merchant named John Carlyle (1720-1780), who lived in
the nearby town of Alexandria and, as a member ofthe Ohio Company, shared the Washingtons' strong interest in western exploration. Carlyle
4 was married to Sarah Fairfax (1730-1761), who was Lawrence's sister-in-
law, and would become a friend to his younger brother, George, as well.4
At the age of sixteen, George Washington served as a member of a
party surveying the western lands belonging to Thomas, Lord Fairfax
(1693-1781), a trip, which introduced him to frontiersmen, Native
Americans, and life in the wilderness. Over the next few years, he
continued working as a surveyor, but also accompanied Lawrence, who
was dying of tuberculosis, to the island of Barbados, in the hopes of
curing, or at least improving, his condition. This would be Washington's
only trip outside of what is now the continental United States and was
memorable, as well, because he caught smallpox on the island, rendering
him immune from this disease, which would later threaten his army during
the American Revolution.
It was during this period in George Washington's life that the town
of Alexandria, Virginia, which still considers itself his hometown, was
founded. About the time of his birth, a warehouse had been constructed at
the spot where Great Hunting Creek flowed into the Potomac River; here
tobacco and other agricultural products could be brought from neighboring
plantations, before shipping those commodities to Britain for sale. Over
the intervening years, a little village, known as Belle Haven, had grown up
, W.W, Abbot and Dorothy Twohig, editors, The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, 10 volumes (Charlottesville, Virginia, and London: University Press of Virginia, 1983-1995), 1:66n,
5 ------
around the warehouse and, in 1748, the residents petitioned the Virginia
House of Burgesses for permission to officially establish a town. The
Burgesses agreed to the petition, declaring that the proposed town, "would
be commodious for trade and navigation, and tend greatly to the best
advantage of frontier inhabitants." Many of the early proprietors of the
community were Scottish merchants, with business connections to firms in
Glasgow, and it was decided that the town would be called Alexandria,
after one of them-the Alexander family, who provided much ofthe land
on which it was built. The Fairfax County surveyor, John West, Jr. (died
1777), laid out the town's streets in the summer of 1749 and there is a
long-standing tradition that he was assisted in this task by seventeen year
old George Washington, who proudly drew a street plan for his older half-
brother, Lawrence.5 Alexandria still cherishes its Scottish roots and each
December celebrates that heritage with a several-day long festival known
as the Scottish Walk.
Shortly after Lawrence's death in 1752, George Washington
became involved in the conflict between Britain and France, which was
playing out in the forests of what is now Virginia, West Virginia,
Pennsylvania, and Ohio. After taking part in an important diplomatic
mission for the governor of Virginia, Washington's journal about the
'Gay Montague Moore, Seaport in Virginia: George Washington's Alexandria (Richmond, Virginia: Garrell and Massie, Incorporated, 1949),3-13; Mary G. Powell, The History of Old Alexandria, Virginia From July 13, 1749 to May 24, 1861 (Richmond, Virginia: The William Byrd Press, Inc., Printers, 1928), 27.
6 mission was published on both sides of the Atlantic, bringing this young
man in his early twenties international acclaim. British General Edward
Braddock (1695-1755) came to Alexandria in 1755 to plan the first major
campaign of what we now call the French and Indian War. On April 14,
1755, the General met at John Carlyle's home with the royal governors of
Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Massachusetts to
discuss their mutual defense against the French and their Native American
allies. Washington excitedly wrote that, "Alexandria has been honoured
with 5 Governours [sic] in Consultation-a favourable presage I hope, not
only of the success of this Expedition, but ofthe future greatness of this
Town for surely, such a meeting must have been occasioned by the
Commodious and pleasant situation of the place, which prognosticates
population and the encrease [sic] of a now flourishing Trade." The more
experienced Carlyle, however, was disillusioned by the British, writing
that they "came In [sic] so prejudiced against us, our Country & etc. that
they used us Like an Enemy Country: took everything they wanted &
paid Nothing, or Very little for it. When Complaints was made to the
Commanding Officers, they Curst the Country & Inhabitants, Calling us
the Spawn of Convicts, the Sweepings of the Gaols & etc., which made
their Company very disagreeable.t"
6 Robert L. Madison, compiler, Walking with Washington: Walking Tours of Alexandria, Virginia, Featuring over 100 Sites Associated with George Washington (Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, Inc., 2003), II.
7 General Braddock would ignore the advice of his volunteer aide,
George Washington, and other colonials and led his army into an infamous
ambush and defeat in what is now western Pennsylvania. He left
Alexandria with 2,400 men (both Regular and militia troops), 500 pieces
of ordnance, 400 wagons, and 1,000 baggage horses; at the end of the
battle, Braddock was dead, 975 of his men had been killed, and almost all
of the supplies were lost. Although he had four bullets shot through his
coat and two horses shot out from under him that day, George Washington
was unhurt and has been credited with saving what was left of Braddock's
forces. Over the next three years, he was largely responsible for
protecting the English settlements along a 300-mile stretch of wilderness.
His troops were supplied by John Carlyle, who also bought slaves for him,
sold and shipped his tobacco, ordered goods for him from England,
forwarded his mail, and supervised the roofing of buildings at Mount
Vernon. 7
George Washington's military secretary for two years of the
conflict was a man named John Kirkpatrick. An immigrant from
Kirkcudbright in Galloway in Scotland, Kirkpatrick had been in business
in Alexandria, when Washington hired him in the fall of 1755.
Washington really seems to have liked Kirkpatrick, describing him to
7 Donald Jackson & Dorothy Twohig, editors, The Diaries a/George Washington, 6 volumes (Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia, 1976-1979), 1:231 & 231 n; Madison, Walking with Washington, 12.
8 Robert Dinwiddie (1693-1770), the Scottish-born governor of Virginia, as
"a young Man bred to business, of good character, well recommended, and
a person whose AbiJitys [sic) coud [sic) not be doubted." In 1757,
Washington recommended him, unsuccessfully, for an appointment as
ensign and "Commissary of Musters."s
It was at this same period that one ofthe long-lasting Scottish
influences in George Washington's life first made an appearance. James
Craik (circa 1730-1814) would be with him through many adventures,
from the time they were in their twenties, until Washington's death in
1799. Craik had been born near Dumfries in southern Scotland. He was
the illegitimate son of William Craik, the laird of Arbigland, a 1,400-acre
estate on the Firth of Solway on the west coast. The estate boasted a staff
of "over a hundred maids, grooms, cooks, gamekeepers, and gardeners"
(as an aside, the head gardener on the estate was the father of John Paul
Jones (1747-1792), who would become known as the father of the
American Navy). Politically, Craik's father had sided with the British,
rather than the Jacobites, in the 1740s, when Charles Edward Stuart (1720-
1788), known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie," was trying to reclaim the throne
of Great Britain. The elder Craik was a talented but imperious man, who
was said to understand "Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, and Italian," had
made "some little progress in Spanish," was a "tolerable architect," "fond
8 George Washington to Robert Dinwiddie, 10/11/1755, ThePapers of George Washington, Colonial Series, 2:106 & 106n.
9 of chemistry," and "read much on learned subjects." His illegitimate son
must have inherited his brains. After studying medicine at the University
of Edinburgh, James Craik emigrated to the West Indies in 1750. He later
moved to Norfolk, Virginia, where he practiced medicine for a time,
before moving on to the frontier town of Winchester, Virginia. There he
became the surgeon for the soldiers at Fort Loudoun. Craik joined the
Virginia Regiment in March of 1754 and would remain with them as their
unit surgeon until the regiment was disbanded in 17629 Interestingly,
George Washington's field notebooks record that, in April of 1750, during
the time he was a young surveyor on the frontier and several years before
they probably met, he surveyed 400 acres on the North River in Frederick
County, Virginia; that property would eventually be granted to James
Craik and Philip Bush in March of 1771.10 The land grant would have
been payment to Craik for his service during the French and Indian War.
Washington and James Craik, who was known to his unit as "Little
Crocus," went through many trials together during the French and Indian
War. I I Years afterward, Washington wrote of one of those battles, which
9 Archibald C. Malloch, "Craik, James," Dictionary of American Biography, 20 volumes, edited hy Allen Johnson & Dumas Malone (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1928-1936),4:498; Abbot & Twohig, The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, I :210n & 2: 168n-169n. For the information about William Craik, Arbigland, and James Craik's illegitimacy, see Evan Thomas, John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003), 13-16.
10 Abbot & Twohig, The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, 1:10 & 22.
II "Crocus" was a nickname commonly used for surgeons in both the British army and navy at the time (see Abbot & Twohig, The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, 3:295 & 296n).
10 took place at Fort Necessity, and about Dr. Craik's role in the conflict. He
told of how on the 3'd of July in 1754, about 9 o'clock in the morning, "the
Enemy advanced with Shouts, & dismal Indian yells to our
Intrenchments," but were opposed by such a "warm, spirited, and constant
a fire, that to force the works in that way was abandoned by them." The
enemy then changed tactics, firing continually "from every little rising-
tree--stump-Stone--and bush," which Washington's troops "returned in
the best manner we could," until, in the late afternoon, it began raining.
Years later, Washington would remember this as "the most tremendous
rain that can be conceived," which "filled our trenches with Water-Wet,
not only the Ammunition in the Cartouch boxes and firelocks, but that
which was in a small temporary Stockade in the middle" of the fort. With
the ammunition now completely wet and unusable, Washington's forces
had only "a few ... Bayonets for defence [sic]." The enemy gave them the
chance to surrender and Washington assessed his situation: in addition to
the lack of fire power they could muster, there was no salted meat and
virtually no fresh provisions, which would not keep for long anyway
because of the heat; casualties were heavy, with fully one-third of the
officers and men having been killed or wounded. The next morning, the
Virginians surrendered, leaving "Our Sick and wounded ... with a
detachment under the care, and command of the worthy Doctr Craik (for
he was not only Surgeon to the Regiment but a Iieutt therein) with such
necessaries as we could [collect].,,12 Dr. Craik's responsibilities were
12 "George Washington's Account of the Capitulation of Fort Necessity," in Abbot, The Papers a/George
II made more difficult to carry out, because his medical bag or "Doctor's
Box," as it was described, had been destroyed by the Indians. I]
The late 1750s and early 1760s would be a time of change for the
two friends. Washington became gravely ill in the fall of 1757 and was
forced to return to Mount Vernon for several months to recover. A letter
sent to him by James Craik at this time testifies to the closeness between
the two:
"The dissagreeable [sic] news ... ofthe Increase of your disorder, is [of] real concern to me-I had been flatering [sic] my self [sic] with the Pleasant hope of seeing you here again soon-thinking that the change of Air, with the quiet Situation of Mount Vernon-would have been a Speedy means of your recovery-however as your disorder hath been oflong Standing, and hath corrupted the whole mass of Blood-it will require some time for to remove the cause-And I hope by the Assistance of God and the requesite [sic] care, that will be taken of you, where you now are: that tho. your disorder may reduce you to the lowest ebb; yet you will in a short time get the better of it- And render your freinds [sic] here happy, by having the honour of serving once more under your Command-As nothing is more conducive to a Speedy recovery, than a tranquill [sic] easy mind, Accompanied with a good flow of Spiri ts-I would beg of you; not, as a Physician; but as a real friend who has your Speedy recovery Sincerely at heart; that you will keep up your Spirits, and not allow your mind to be disturbed, with any part of Pub lick [sic] bussiness [sic] ... Any little step of this kind, that might happen, would be triffling [sic] to the Neglect of yourself- The fate of your Friends and Country are in a manner dependent upon your recovery-And as I am sensible of the regard you have for both, I make no doubt, but that you will use every endeavour that will be in the least conducive
Washington, Colonial Series, 1: 172.
13 Abbot, The Papers a/George Washington, Colonial Series, 1:I92n.
12 to your recovery so that both may still rejoice in the Enjoyment of you .... As reading & writing must be very troublesome to you in your present Circumstance, I shall only Pray God, who is the best of all Physicians, that he in his infinite mercy, may restore you, to your wonted health, and preserve you in the Command which is so agreeable to many, and none more so, than to him, who has the honour, to subscribe himself with the greatest Duty & Esteem Dr Sir Your Most Aff]ectionat]e & Devoted hum!' Ser[van]t.. ..,,14
By 1758 George Washington had decided to leave the military and
tum to the life of a gentleman planter. While still in the army, he ran for
the Virginia House of Burgesses, however, because he was involved in a
military operation on the frontier, his friend, John Carlyle, campaigned for
him. IS At the same time, knowing that Washington was beginning a new
life, James Craik started asking questions about his own future and asked
Washington for advice. He wrote on December zo" of 1758 concerning
the Virginia Regiment's "irrepareable [sic] lose [sic], loseing [sic] you,"
and how the "very thoughts of this lyes [sic] heavy on the whole whenever
they think of it-and dread the consequence of your resigning." Craik
then went on to ask about himself, hoping for his friend's advice, "whether
or not you think, I had better continue, if they choose to keep me untill
[sic] my Medecines [sic] come from England, or whether I had better
resign directly-for I am resolved not to stay in the service when you quit
it." The residents of Winchester had been asking Craik to take up a
14 James Craik to George Washington, 11/25/1757, The Papers of George Washing/on, Colonial Series, 5:64-65.
IS Madison, Walking with Washing/on, 12.
13 civilian practice among them and he asked Washington "whether or not
you think I had better except [sic] of their importunities---or settle in
Fairfax [County] where you was [sic] so kind as to offer me your most
freindly [sic] assistance." He closed this section ofthe letter with the
words, "I hope you'! [sic] pardon my freedom in giving you this trouble-
For as I have experienced so much of your friendship and received so
much friendly countenance from you-I cannot help consulting you on
this occasion as my most sincere friend.,,16 A little over a week later, after
receiving a letter from Washington, Craik wrote again, noting that
Washington's friendship was ofa type that "is seldom to be met with" and
that his repeated kindnesses "are so great that I shall never be able to repay
them.,,17
One of George Washington's first actions as a civilian was to
marry a pretty-and rich-young widow, named Martha Dandridge Custis
(1731-1802), on January 6'h, 1759. The couple, along with the bride's two
small children, would make their home at Mount Vernon, the plantation he
inherited from Lawrence. For the next sixteen years, their lives would
largely revolve around the plantation and friends in the area. John Carlyle
and his family were frequent guests at Mount Vernon and the
16 Dr. James Craik to George Washington, 12/20/1758, ThePapers of George Washington, Colonial Series, 6:170.
11 Dr. James Craik to George Washington, 12/29/1758, The Papers of George Washing/on, Colonial Series, 6: 172.
14 Washingtons often had dinner at the Carlyles' lovely home in
Alexandria." Dr. Craik would settle down at a plantation in Port Tobacco
in Charles County, Maryland, across the Potomac River from Mount
Vernon. On November 13, 1760, he married Mariamne Ewell (1740-
1814) of Prince William County, Virginia, who was the daughter of
George Washington's cousin, and the two soon started a family, which
would eventually number nine children. One of the sons was even named
George Washington Craik (1774-1808), in honor of his father's dear
friend, who helped to pay for the young man's education. The entire
family were frequent guests at Mount Vernon over the years, where Craik
served as the doctor for George and Martha Washington, the Custis step-
chiIdren and grandchildren, and the slaves. 19
Education was always extremely important to George Washington.
His own schooling had probably been a combination of instruction from
his mother and local schoolmasters. Someone who knew him fairly well
before the Revolution later wrote of him, "George ... like most people
thereabouts at that time, had no other education than reading, writing and
accounts, which he was taught by a convict servant whom his father
"Madison, Walking with Washington, 12.
19 Malloch, "Craik, James," Dictionary of American Biography, 4:498; Abbot & Twohig, The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, 2:169n; Frank E. Grizzard, Jr., George Washington: A Biographical Companion (Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2002), 60.
15 bought for a schoolmaster.,,2o Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), who was
Secretary of State during Washington's presidency, remarked that,
"... A1though in the circle of his friends, where he might be unreserved with safety, he took a free share in conversation ... Inpublic, when called on for a sudden opinion, he was unready, short and embarrassed. Yet he wrote readily, rather diffusely, in an easy and correct style. This he had acquired by conversation with the world, for his education was merely reading, writing and common arithmetic, to which he added surveying at a later day. His time was employed in action chiefly, reading little, and that only in agriculture and English history .... ,,21
In this case, Jefferson may have been a little catty. While not as extensive
as Jefferson's library, the hundreds of books in Washington's study
included topics ranging from agriculture and history (not just English, but
American, French, Irish, Spanish, Greek, and Roman, as well) to
geography, sailing & navigation, gardening, animal husbandry, poetry,
biographies & memoirs, natural history, political theory, military history
and theory, canals and bridges, hydraulics, opium, magnetism, medicine,
prophecy, astronomy, slavery & abolition, cement, manners, novels,
commerce, mathematics, law, Native Americans, architecture, plays, and
religion.f In other words, as an adult, Washington had read widely to
make up for the deficiencies in his own education as a child.
20 Jonathan Boucher, excerpt from his Autobiography, puhlished in Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George Washington, 2:486n.
21 Thomas Jefferson to Doctor Walter Jones, 1/2/1814, in The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, 10 volumes, edited by Paul Leicester Ford (New York: Putnam's, 1898),9:446-451 (typescript, Mount Vernon Ladies' Association).
22 "Library," [Appraiser's] Inventory of the Contents of Mount Vernon, [S[O {fSOO] (Privately published, 1909), 14-37.
16 Among the many books Washington read over the years were quite
a number relating to Scotland. There were, for example, books of
romantic poetry. Both George and Martha Washington owned copies of a
volume, described by his executors as "Ossian's Poems," but actually The
Poems of Ossian, the son of Fingal, which was written in 1762 by Scottish
poet James Macpherson (1736-1796) and claimed to be a translation of a
3rd century Gaelic original by Ossian, a warrior-poet. Macpherson's work
won great acclaim in the 18th century and influenced the development of
the romantic movement in the arts. He also angered Irish scholars by his
claims that the legendary heroes about whom he wrote were not Irish, but
had actually been Scots" In addition to Macpherson's work, George
Washington owned a volume of poetry by the man who is probably
Scotland's best-known writer, Robert Burns (1759-1796)24
There were also books and other things in Washington's study at
Mount Vernon that suggest an interest in getting to know hard facts about
Scotland, beyond the country's romantic image and history. Included in
these works was: a report published by the Highland Society of Scotland
on the subject of Shetland wool; another book, published in Edinburgh in
23 "Library," [Appraiser's] Inventory of the Contents of Mount Vernon, 15,22; "Ossian", Encyclopaedia Britannica, IS" edition, 29 volumes (Chicago, Illinois and elsewhere: Encyclopaeida Britannica, Inc., 1986), 8: 1031; Appleton P.C. Griffin, compiler and editor, A Catalogue afthe Washington Collection in The Boston Athenaeum (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Printed for The Boston Athenaeum by John Wilson and Son, 1897),487; "Macpherson, James," Encyclopaedia Britannica, 7:646-647.
24 "Library," [Appraiser's] Inventory of the Contents of Mount Vernon, 21.
17 1795, on a related topic, entitled Observations on the different Breeds of
Sheep, and the State of Sheep Farming in the Southern Districts of
Scotland; being the Result of a Tour through these Parts, made under the
Direction of the Society for Improvement of British Wool; and a series of
reports by the National Board of Agriculture of Great Britain on the state
of agriculture in each county in the kingdom; the Scottish counties of
Aberdeen, Fife, Stirling, Perth, Banff, Elgin or Moray, Nairn,
Clackmannan, East Lothian, Mid-Lothian, West Lothian, Kinross,
Galloway, Dumfries, Selkirk, Angus, Clydesdale, Argyll, the central
Highlands, and the islands offthe northern and northwest coasts were
represented. There was also a comparison of agricultural practices
between one county in England and another in Scotland.25 Washington
subscribed to an agricultural journal called The Bee, or Literary Weekly
Intelligencer, which was published by Scottish agronomist James
Anderson (1739-1808) in Edinburgh between 1790 and 1794. The topics
covered in this periodical were diverse, ranging, in just one volume, from
raising ferns to fattening poultry, banking, starting a school, organizing a
board of agriculture, and even some poetry." Among the many maps and
prints in Washington's study at the time of his death was a map showing
25 Griffin, A Catalogue of the Washington Collection in The Boston Athenaeum, 93-95, 100, 148.
26 Barbara McMillan, "In the Pursuit of Useful Knowledge," The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union Annual Report 1989 (Mount Vernon, Virginia: The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, 1990),26-28.
18 the "Great Canal between Forth and Clide [sic]" and what may be a print,
described by his executors as "Walkers view in Scotland27
With his marriage in 1759, George Washington suddenly found
himself responsible for raising two small children. His bride's son, John
Parke Custis (1754-1781), was then just barely four, while her daughter,
who was known to the family as Patsy (1756-1773), was between two and
three years old. Two years later, a young Scotsman named Walter
Magowan (died 1784), arrived at Mount Vernon to take on the job of
educating the children. He stayed for six years, introducing Jacky to Latin
and Greek, before leaving in the fall of 1767, so that he could be ordained
as a minister in England. Magowan returned to the colonies afterwards,
becoming the rector of a church in Maryland. His friendship with the
Washingtons continued and he made frequent visits to Mount Vernon in
the years to come.28 A fellow minister described Mr. Magowan as "a raw
Scotchman, whom I alone got recommended & into orders. He seem'd
modest, w'c is so rare a Virtue in people of his Country, that I was pleas'd
with ye Man. Yet He, you fmd, has artfully got ye very Parish I have. so
27 "Library," [Appraiser's} Inventory of the Contents of Mount Vernon, 38 & 40.
28 For Walter Magowan's career, see The Diaries of George Washington, 2:37n; George Washington to Robert Cary & Company, 10/12/1761 and 3/10/1768, The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series. 7:77 & 77n, 8:72 & 73n. For the fact that Jacky was taught Latin & Green by Mr. Magowan, see George Washington to Jonathan Boucher, 5/30/1768, The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, 8:89-90.
19 long had my Eye upon, almost ye only one I really s'h have lik'd in ye
Province. Is not this vexatious and mortifying?,,29
Many years later, after both children had died and the Washingtons
were raising Martha's two youngest grandchildren, George Washington
once again contemplated trusting this important task to a minister and
began the process by writing to an old friend in England:
"The two youngest children ofMr [John Parke] Custis [who had died of camp fever at Yorktown in 1781]-the oldest a girl [Eleanor Parke Custis, known as Nelly] of six years-the other a boy [George Washington Parke Custis] a little turned of four, live with me. They are both promising children; but the latter is a remarkable fine one--& my intention is to give him a liberal education; the rudiments of which shall, if I live, be in my own family .... Fifty or sixty pounds Sterling pr ann:, with board, lodging, washing & mending, in the family, is the most my numerous expenditures will allow me to give; but how far it may command the services of a person well qualified to answer the purposes I have mentioned, is not for me to decide. To answer my purposes, the Gentleman must be a master of composition, & a good Accomptant: to answer his pupil's, he must be a classical scholar, & capable of teaching the French language grammatically: the more universal his knowledge is, the better.
"It sometimes happens that very worthy men ofthe Cloth come under this description; men who are advanced in years, & not very comfortable in their circumstances: such an one, if unencumbered with a family, would be more agreeable to me than a young man just from college-but I except one of good moral character, answering my description, if he can be well recommended .... "
29 Jonathan Boucher to John James, 7/25/1769, quoted in The Papers a/George Washington, Colonial Series, 8: 167n.
20 Washington then went on to make a statement, which was particularly
interesting, given his close relationship with both John Carlyle and James
Craik, He wrote that, "In Scotland we all know that education is cheap, &
wages not so high as in England: but I would prefer, on accot of the
dialect, an Englishman to a Scotchman, for all the purposes I want.,,30
Since Washington's objection was to the dialect, I have often
wondered if Jack and Patsy had picked up something ofMr. Magowan's
accent over the years they studied with him, and if Washington was trying
to prevent a similar development in the next generation. He himself was
known to make use of an occasional Scottish expression-and certainly
understood the legendary reputation of Scots for frugality. In a letter to
his farm manager during the presidency, he spoke of the need to spend
money very carefully:
" ... People are often ruined before they are made aware of the danger, by buying everything they think they want; conceiving them to be trifles, without adverting to a Scotch adage, than which nothing in nature is more true "that many mickles make a muckle.,,3!
In addition to the tutor, there were other Scotsmen working at
Mount Vernon for the Washingtons. At least one ofthem, however, came
from the opposite end of the social and moral spectrum from the scholarly
30 George Washington to George William Fairfax, 11/10/1785, The Papers a/George Washington, Confederation Series, 6 volumes, edited by W.W. Abbot aod Dorothy Twohig (Charlottesville, Virginia, and London: University Press of Virginia, 1992-1997),3:348-349.
31 Fitzpatrick, The Writings a/George Washington, 32:423.
21 and religious Mr. Magowan. William Webster was a convict, who had
been transported to America early in 1774, and landed in Maryland, when
he agreed to serve George Washington for seven years as a brickmaker,
under the terms of an indenture arranged through a man named William
McGachen.32 Unfortunately, Webster's law-breaking tendencies showed
up again and he ran away from Mount Vernon twice. A newspaper
advertisement for his return described him as, "A brickmaker, born in
Scotland, and talks pretty broad, about five feet six inches high, well
made, rather turned of 30, with light brown hair, and a roundish face; he
had on an olive coloured coat, pretty much worn, with black hom buttons,
duffil waistcoat and breeches ... osnabrug trousers, and check and osnabrug
shirts." Webster had escaped with another servant, "in a small yawl, with
turpentine sides and bottom, the inside painted with a mixture of tar and
red lead." In the advertisement, Washington cautioned that, "Masters of
vessels are cautioned against receiving of them, and the above reward
[forty dollars] is offered to any person who will deliver them at my
dwelling-house in this county, or twenty dollars for each." Webster was
caught about two weeks after that second escape.P
James Donaldson was a Scottish craftsman, "just arrived in this
Country," who supervised the slave carpenters at Mount Vernon between
J2 Abbot, The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, 9:519 & 519n; 10: 137 & 138n.
33 Abbot, The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, 10:342 & 342n.
22 ------
1794 and 1795. Although not trained as either a carpenter or joiner, he
was quite skilled at making farm implements, such as plows, carts, and
wheels. Donaldson said he had previously made sashes and doors,
however, because the "buildings in his country [were] all of Stone, he
knows nothing of framing." George Washington initially expressed some
concern that Donaldson might have trouble with the job, writing to his
farm manager, "I do not believe he will carry much authority among my
negro carpenters." Despite his lack of experience, however, Washington
decided to hire him, believing that Donaldson was "a simple, inoffensive man" and that, having "the character of a very honest, sober, and
industrious man," he would be a good example for the enslaved carpenters. In the articles of agreement the two men signed on September
29, I 794, Donaldson was to receive each year, 400 pounds of pork, 200 pounds of beef, 1,000 herrings, 200 shad, 200 pounds of flour, and 20 bushels of Indian meal or grinding flour valued at $120. Washington also agreed to pay for Donaldson to move his family to Mount Vernon and provide tools, a house, and the use of a cow for mille Donaldson was to supply himself with bedding and "drink" and was expected to work from
"the time it is light enough in the morning, until twilight in the evening
(with proper allowance at his breakfast and dinner) wheresoever the business of the Farms at, or adjoining Mount Vernon, shall require."
Donaldson proved to be a good workman, but did have difficulty dealing with the slaves. Washington noted in a letter to his nephew just a few
23 months after Donaldson began working, that he had "not spirit and activity
enough to make the hands entrusted to his charge, do their duty properly."
This lead Washington to hire another man to supervise the enslaved
carpenters, leaving the Scotsman with only two of them to instruct in the
fine points of making and repairing farm vehicles and tools."
When the differences between Britain and her American colonies
became more contentious in the early I770s, George Washington was one
of the delegates sent from Virginia to the first and second meetings of the
Continental Congress in Philadelphia. It was at that second session, in
1775, that he was chosen to lead the American military forces gathering
around Boston for a confrontation with the British. He left to take
command of the army in the summer of that year, without going home
first. It would be six years before he even saw Mount Vemon again, as he
was headed to the decisive battle at Yorktown; it was another two years
before he actually came home for good. During this time, his old friend,
Dr. James Craik, would serve the Continental Army, as well, starting in
1777 as senior physician and surgeon of the hospital in the middle district,
which covered the area between the Hudson River and the Potomac. Later
in the war, as assistant director-general, Craik would organize hospitals for
34 George Washington to William Pearce, 9/28/1794, The Writings of George Washington, 33:512; Mesick, Cohen & Waite, Architects, ''Building Trades," in Mount Vernon: Historic Structure Report, 3 volumes (unpublished report prepared for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, February 1993), 2-30-2-31; George Washington to William Pearce, 11123/1794, and George Washington to William Augustine Washington, 11123/1794, The Writings of George Washington. 34:40-41,45.
24 the French army, after their arrival in Rhode Island. By 1781, Congress
named the Scottish doctor "chief physician and surgeon of the army." It
was Doctor Craik who warned Washington about the "Conway Cabal," a
plot to remove him from command ofthe army, in 1778.35 In that
instance, Craik wrote, not just about the supposed plot, but also about the
long-standing friendship between the two men:
"Notwithstanding your unwearied diligence, and the unparalleled sacrifice of domestic happiness and ease of mind, which you have made for the good of your country, yet you are not wanting in secret enemies, who would rob you of the great and truly deserved esteem your country has for you. Base and villanous [sic] men, through chagrin, envy, or ambition, are endeavouring to lessen you in the minds of the people, and taking underhand methods to traduce your character. ...It is said they dare not appear openly as your enemies, but that the new Board of War is composed of such leading men as will throw such obstacles and difficulties in your way, as to force you to resign .... My attachment to your person is such, my friendship is so sincere, that every hint, which has a tendency to hurt your honor, wounds me most sensibly, and I write this that you may be apprized, and have an eye toward these men, and particularly to General Mifflin .... The above, I can with sincerity say, I have written from pure motives of friendship, and I have no enmity to any of these men, any further than they are enemies to you .... "
Dr. Craik closed this cautionary letter with the thought, "That God, of his
infinite mercy, may protect and defend you from all your open and secret
enemies, and continue you in health to finish your glorious undertaking, is
the sincere prayer of your most devoted and obliged humble servant. ,,36
3l Malloch, "Craik, James," Dictionary af American Biography, 4:498.
'6 James Craik to George Washington, 1/6/1778, in Jared Sparks, editor, The Writings a/George Washington; Being His Correspondence, Addresses, Messages, and Other Papers, Official and Private,
25 Following the war, between 1783 and 1787, Washington returned
home and promptly set out to turn Mount Vernon into a model farm. He
and James Craik also took the time to revisit the scenes of their youthful
exploits in the French and Indian War, during a memorable month-long
trip to the frontier in the fall of 1784.37 During these years, Washington's
fame drew hundreds of visitors to the estate and led many important
people to begin a correspondence with him. One rather interesting
relationship that began at this period started with the gift in 1788 of an
engraved portrait of Francis Scott, 5th Lord Napier of Merchiston (died
1773) from David Steuart Erskine, the II th Earl of Buchan (1742-1829).
The Earl, who lived in Dryburgh in Scotland, was wealthy and eccentric,
shared an interest with Washington in political and agricultural reform,
and was also a writer, historian, and antiquarian.P He compared George
Washington to the great Scottish hero, William Wallace (circa 1272-
1305), calling him "the modem American Wallace" and sent him an
intriguing present in the summer of 1791-a small wooden box, four
inches long, three inches wide, and two inches high, made from oak wood
and mounted in silver. In his cover letter, the Earl explained its
significance:
Selected and Published From the Original Manuscripts; with A Life of the Author, Notes, and Illustrations, Volume 5 (Boston, Massachusetls: Ferdinand Andrews, Puhlisher, 1838),493-494.
37 For information on that trip, see Jackson & Twohig, The Diaries of George Washington, 4: 1-71.
38 Benjamin Rush to George Washington, 4/14/1788, The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series, 6:209 & 209n.
26 "I have entrusted this sheet enclosed in a box made of the Oak that sheltered our Great Sir William Wallace after the Battle of Falkirk to Mr Robertson of Aberdeen a Painter with the hope of his having the honour of delivering it into yr hands, reccomending [sic] him as an honest artist seeking for bread & for fame in the New World. This Box was presented to me by the Goldsmiths Company at Edinburgh, to whom feeling my own unworthiness to receive this magnificently significant present, I requested & obtained leave to make it over to the Man in the World to whom I thought it was most justly due. Into your hands I commit it requesting of you to pass it on the event of your decease to the Man in your own Country who shall appear to yr judgment to merit it best upon the same considerations that have induced me to send it to your Excellency .... "
The Earl asked that, in return, Washington send him a portrait, using
Archibald Robertson (1765-1835) of Aberdeen, Scotland as the artist, if
Washington felt he was "equal to the task." In his thank you letter,
Washington noted that he did not feel able to choose a successor to whom
to pass on the box and, eventually, in his will, arranged for his executors
to return it to the Earl in Scotland, feeling that he was unable to "select the
man who might comport with his Lordships [sic] opinion in this respect."
Robertson did paint Washington's portrait, which was finished in the
spring of 1792 and forwarded to the Earl for his collection.39
The brief period of respite following the Revolution ended when
Washington was called away to serve his country yet again, initially as
39 The Earl of Buchan to George Washington, 6/28/1791; Archibald Robertson to George Washington, 4/21/1792; and George Washington to the Earl of Buchan, 5/1/1792, The Papers ojGeorge Washington, Presidential Series, II volwnes to date, edited by W.W. Abbot, Dorothy Twohig and Philander D, Chase (Charlottesville, Virginia, and London: University Press of Virginia, 1987-2002),8:305-306, 306n-308n & 10:305-306, 306n, 330-331, 331n.
27 president of the Constitutional Conventional in 1787, and two years later
as the first president of the United States. During his presidency, George
Washington lived for a short time in New York and later in Philadelphia,
while he took an active role in planning the permanent seat of government
in the District of Columbia. On September 18, 1793, an elaborate
ceremony was held at the chosen site of the new capitol building, where
Washington laid the cornerstone, with help from all the Masonic lodges in
the area, including his own in Alexandria. The inscription on the stone
was read aloud that day:
"This Southeast comer stone of the Capitol ofthe United States of America, in the City of Washington, was laid on the 18th day of September, 1793, in the eighteenth year of American Independence, in the first year of the second term of the Presidency of George Washington, whose virtues in the civil administration of his country have been as conspicuous and beneficial as his military valor and prudence have been useful in establishing her liberties, and in the year of Masonry 5793, by the President of the United States, in concert with the Grand Lodge of Maryland, several lodges under its jurisdiction, and Lodge No. 22, from Alexandria, Va ... .''''0
One of the Masonic brothers who took part that day was the Reverend Mr.
James Muir (1756-1820), the pastor of the Presbyterian Meeting House in
Alexandria and the chaplain of Washington's Alexandria Lodge. Mr.
Muir came to Alexandria from Scotland about 1789 and became involved
in civic activities almost immediately, serving as deputy clerk for the city,
president of the library company (one of the oldest in the country), and
40 John Alexander Carroll and Mary Wells Ashworth, George Washington: First in Peace (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1957), 126-128.
28 .------
chaplain to the St. Andrew's Society. Muir was also a trustee of the
Alexandria Academy, a school for orphaned and needy children, to which
George Washington regularly gave an annual donation of fifty pounds and
in which he took quite an interest. In 1794, for example, Washington
complained to Muir that he had never heard anything about the children
who were being helped by his contribution; the minister responded with a
letter detailing the names and progress of fourteen children41
After eight years as president, George Washington retired from
public life, to spend his remaining two-and-a-half-years at his beloved
Mount Vernon. One Scotsman, who had a particularly prominent role at
Mount Vernon in the last years of George Washington's life was farm
manager James Anderson (1745-1807). Anderson had been raised on his
father's farm about 40 miles north of Edinburgh, near the village of
Inverkeithing. At the age of21, he began an apprenticeship "upon the
English border. ..with a Gentleman, Famous in Farming," and at the end of
the second year, began to manage the estate of this gentleman's uncle.
Anderson would hold that post for three years and then, for the next
nineteen, "farmed on my own account, 18 of which I was also largely in
the Grain line, And had several manufacturing Mills. But by the failure of
a Sell [sic] of Distillers in 1788 Inearly lost all." While farming for
41 T. Michael Miller, compiler, Artisans and Merchants oj Alexandria, Virginia, /780-/820, 2 volumes (Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, Inc., 1991), 1:7; Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George Washington, 33:279 & 279n, 281-282, and 282n; 34:214; Powell, The History of Old Alexandria, Virginia, 106, 107, 108, 109-110, 156, 161,200-201,208,216,240, and 242.
29 himself, Anderson married Helen Gordon of Inverkeithing, with whom he
had seven children. By the early 1790s, the entire family had decided to
come to America together. Anderson rented a farm in the northern part of
Fairfax County for two years and then over the next several, he managed
farms for other people. He agreed to come to work as a farm manager for
George Washington in October of 1796 and would remain at the
plantation until Martha Washington's death in 1802.42
Shortly after he was hired, James Anderson came to George
Washington with a proposal that, under Anderson's direction, the retired
president go into the whiskey business. Trusting to his farm manager's
expertise, Washington ordered that a distillery be constructed next to his
gristmill on Dogue Creek, about two miles from the mansion. The
distillery was furnished with boilers, tubs, and five copper stills, and
wooden troughs were made to bring water from the nearby creek to cool
the vapor of the heated mash. This new enterprise was operational by the
spring of 1798. A surviving ledger shows that by the following year, the
distillery was providing almost 11,000 gallons of whiskey, valued at over
$7,500, to more than 80 customers, who included neighbors, merchants,
family members, and overseers at Mount Vernon. By-products of the
distilling process-corn cobs and mash-were even used to make
42 Esther White, Memorandum, 712212002 (unpublished paper prepared for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association), based on Anderson family genealogical notes at Mount Vernon and The Papers a/George Washington, Retirement Series, 4 volumes, edited by Dorothy Twohig and W.W. Abbot (Charlottesville, Virginia, and London: University Press of Virginia, 1998-1999).
30 .------_ .._------
excellent pork. A Polish visitor to Mount Vernon noted in 1798 that, "If
this distillery produces poison for men, it offers in return the most delicate
and the most succulent feed for pigs. They keep 150... ofthe Guinea type,
short feet, hollow backs and so excessively bulky that they can hardly drag
their big bellies on the ground ... .'.4) Over the years, Washington had tried
to diversify the operation at Mount Vernon and had had good luck with
fishing commercially on the Potomac River and his gristmill. Whiskey,
however, proved to be the most profitable of his many business ventures.44
George Washington's life came to a close in December of 1799,
when he was just 67 years old. His final illness came on rather suddenly.
On Thursday, December 12'h, Washington left the mansion after breakfast
to inspect the work being done on the five farms, which made up the
Mount Vernon estate, something he did almost every day. Although the
weather soon turned for the worse, with rain, hail, and snow coming down,
and a cold wind blowing, he did not return immediately, but kept going
until it was time for dinner, the main meal of the day, which was served at
three o'clock in the afternoon. Because he was uncharacteristically late
for the meal, he didn't change clothes or dry off beforehand, but came to
dinner with snow clinging to his hair. While he seemed fine that night, he
43 John P. Riley, "A Whiskey Business," The Annual Report of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, 1996 (Mount Vernon, Virginia: The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, 1997), 18-21.
44 For a good overview of Washington's efforts to diversify at Mount Vernou, including the operation of his whiskey distillery, see Alan and Donna Jean Fusonie, George Washington: Pioneer Farmer (Mount Vernon, Virginia: The Mnunt Vernon Ladies' Association, 1998), especially pages 37-49.
31 woke up on the morning ofthe 13th with a cold and sore throat, but went
out in the afternoon, in a snowstorm, to mark some trees, which he wanted
cut down. Washington's voice was hoarse by that evening, which he spent
with Mrs. Washington and an old friend, reading the newspapers. He
woke Mrs. Washington between two and three o'clock in the morning on
th December 14 , because he was sick and feverish, at which point she noted
that he could barely talk and was having trouble breathing. Concerned
that she would catch cold, as well, George Washington would not let his
wife send for help until about dawn, when the maid came in to light the rue in the room. Dr. James Craik was one of the first people summoned; eventually there would be three doctors on the case. Throughout that day,
Washington was bled several times (at least one source estimates that up to 80 ounces of blood were taken from him at the time) and numerous treatments were applied in the hopes of improving his situation, but to no avail. About 5 o'clock in the afternoon, he is said to have told Dr. Craik,
"Doctor, I die hard; but I am not afraid to go; I believed from my first attack that I should not survive it; my breath can not last long." Craik squeezed his hand, but was too upset to talk and "retired from the bed side,
& sat by the fire absorbed in grief." Washington died between 10 and 11 o'clock that night. According to his secretary, Tobias Lear, "About ten minutes before he expired ... his breathing became easier; he lay quietly;-- he withdrew his hand from mine, and felt his own pulse. I saw his countenance change. I spoke to Dr. Craik who sat by the firec--he came to
32 the bed side. The General's hand fell from his wrist-I took it in
mine ... Dr. Craik put his hands over his eyes and he expired without a
struggle or a sigh!,>45
George Washington was laid to rest in the old family vault at
Mount Vernon four days later. Walking that day behind the coffin, along
with the principal mourners, was his very dear old friend, James Craik.
The Scottish-born farm manager, James Anderson, and the Mount Vernon
overseers led the last contingent in the funeral procession. And among the
four clergymen taking part in the service was James Muir, the local
Presbyterian minister and Washington's fellow Freemason.46
In conclusion, while George Washington's Scottish roots are lost
in the mists oftirne, he had many connections to Scotland deriving from
both the people in his life and his interest in the history and culture of
lands beyond the Americas. His own exploits brought him the admiration
of people on both sides ofthe Atlantic, including prominent Scots, who
compared him to the finest heroes their own country had produced. And,
in closing, as the owner of a West Highland White Terrier, I also feel
"Tobias Lear, "The last illness and death of General Washington: A True Copy, Made at Mrs. Lear's Request, from the Diary of Col. Lear," in Letters and Recollections of George Washington: Being letters to Tobias Lear and others between 1790 and 1799, showing the First American in the management oj his estate and domestic affaires. With a diary of Washington's last days, kept by Mr. Lear (New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1906), 129-135. For the calculation that as much as 80 ounces of blood may have been taken at this time, see Peter R. Henriques, He Died As He Lived: The Death of George Washington (Mount Vernon, Virginia: The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 2000), 35.
46 Lear, "The last illness and death of General Washington," 140-141.
33 obliged to mention that George Washington may have had one of the
finest products of Scotland at Mount Vernon-and I don't mean the
alcoholic spirits made at his distillery. During the last year of his
presidency, a man named James Maury sent Washington a pair of terriers.
In a letter to his farm manager, Washington asked the man to see that
Frank, the enslaved butler, had "taken particular care of the Tarriers [sic],"
and ensured that the female was only bred to the male of the same
variety." While the terrier breeds were developed throughout the British
Isles, some of the best come from Scotland and, as a gift from someone
named Maury, I can't help but think that the two who came to Mount
Vernon were true Scottish ones and that, in the end, George Washington
had these four-legged Scots as members of his own family.
41 George Washington to William Pearce, 12/4/1796, and George Washington to James Maury, 12/5/1796, in Fitzpatrick, The Writings a/George Washington, 35:307.
34