"

"Many a Mickle Makes a Muckle": George 's Scottish Connections

A Talk by Mary V. Thompson Research Specialist Ladies' Association To the Clan McAllister of America At the Double-Tree Hotel Falls Church, 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 '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 : 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 . 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 .' 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 in America began in the mid-

1650s, when two young men, (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 , 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 .

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, ,

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 . On April 14,

1755, the General met at John Carlyle's home with the royal governors of

Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, , 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 (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 '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 , 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 , 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 , 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