Washington, George, First President

Autograph document signed ("Washington, SCC"), oblong sheet (7 x 12 in.; 178 x 350 mm),  [n.p.], 14 June 1750, being a survey of land assigned to Dr. James Craike and Philip Bush, docketed on verso; survey and plat separated and rejoined at center, several old tape repairs to fold separations on blank portion of verso.  

Albert F. Madlener (Parke-Bernet, 29 January 1958, lot 357) — Joseph M. Roebling (Sotheby's, 28 April 1981, lot 180)

Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, I:22

Autograph document signed ("Washington, SCC"), oblong sheet (7 x 12 in.; 178 x 350 mm), [n.p.], 14 June 1750, being a survey of land assigned to Dr. James Craike and Philip Bush, docketed on verso; survey and plat separated and rejoined at center, several old tape repairs to fold separations on blank portion of verso.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

George Washington as frontier surveyor. A look at Washington's school papers show that he was trained to professional surveying standards between 1745, when he was just thirteen, and 1748. "Between reading the classics and solving mathematical problems, Washington copied out sets of surveying problems and practiced the drawing of plats" (Martin Brückner, Geographic Revolution in Early America, p. 43). The education, as well as his  relationship with the family of Thomas, Lord Fairfax, prepared him for a brief but lucrative career as a frontier surveyor. In early 1748, Washington accompanied the son of Lord Fairfax, George William, and James Genn, surveyor of Prince William County, on a month-long trip across the Blue Ridge Mountains to survey lands for Lord Fairfax.

Largely through the Fairfax influence he had cultivated, Washington was commissioned in July 1749 as the official surveyor of Culpeper County, whence the initials "SCC" after his name on his surveys. The present survey was recorded in Washington's field book 14 April 1750, a little less than a year after his appointment.  The finished survey for Nixon was incorrectly dated 14 June 1750 by Washington. Like most frontier surveyors, Washington conducted his work in the spring and the fall when there were fewer snakes and insects, and lighter foliage made it easier to sight long boundary lines in heavily timbered areas; June would have been too far out of season to survey frontier land such as this. Although many surveyors used local people as chainmen as did Washington, he  preferred to work with John Lonem (whose name is listed on this finished survey). More than half his surveys show Lonem as a chainman. Lonem had a reputation for reliability and speed, which would have permitted Washington to conduct as many as three surveys in a day.  The land of the present survey, a total of 400 acres, was then assigned by Nixon to David Wood on behalf of Daniel Wood.  The latter assigned the land to Dr. James Craike and Philip Bush 4 March 1771.

Of the 199 surveys credited to Washington, fewer than seventy-five exist today. Of these only one survey is known to have been conducted in Culpeper County by Washington (22 July 1749, for Richard Barnes). One of the reasons was that Culpeper, while a relatively new county, was fairly well settled.  Settlers were flocking to Virginia's western lands in the Shenandoah and Capacon valleys in Frederick County.  With the patronage of Thomas, Lord Fairfax, Washington was also permitted to make public surveys outside the county to which he was appointed. These surveys were conducted in Lord Fairfax's vast lands in the Northern Neck, which was bounded by the Potomac to the north and by the Rappahannock to the south. By 1752, however, desirable parcels in the Northern Neck were beginning to run low.  It is estimated that in the three years that Washington worked as a surveyor, he earned nearly a total of  £400 and acquired 2,315 acres of land in the lower Shenandoah Valley, equaling the acreage of his half-brother's plantation of Mount Vernon. In November 1752, Lt. Gov. Dinwiddie appointed him adjutant for southern Virginia with a salary of £100. Although Washington would not survey professionally thereafter, his skills as a surveyor would serve him well his entire life in acquiring new land, and in dividing his property into profitable fields and tenements (Colonial Series I:8-18, passim).