IN THE NAME OF GOD
AMEN.
I, GEORGE WASHINGTON, of Mount Vernon, a citizen of the
United States, and lately President of the same, do make, ordain, and declare
this instrument, which is written with my own hand, and every page thereof
subscribed with my name,1 to be my last WILL and TESTAMENT, revoking
all others.
Imprimis. – All my debts, of which there are but few,
and none of magnitude, are to be punctually and speedily paid, and the
legacies, herein after bequeathed, are to be discharged as soon as
circumstances will permit, and in the manner directed.
Item.—To my dearly beloved wife, Martha
Washington, I give and bequeath the use, profit, and benefit of my whole
estate, real and personal, for the term of her natural life, except such parts
thereof as are specially disposed of hereafter. My improved lot in the town of
Alexandria, situated on Pitt and Cameron streets, I give to her and her heirs
for ever; as I also do my household and kitchen furniture of every sort and
kind, with the liquors and groceries which may be on hand at the time of my
decease, to be used and disposed of as she may think proper.
Item.—Upon the decease of my wife, it is my will and
desire that all the slaves whom I hold in my own right shall receive
their freedom. To emancipate them during her life would, though earnestly
wished by me, be attended with such insuperable difficulties, on account of
their intermixture by marriage with the dower negroes, as to excite the most
painful sensations, if not disagreeable consequences to the latter, while both
descriptions are in the occupancy of the same proprietor; it not being in my
power, under the tenure by which the dower negroes are held, to manumit them.
And whereas, among those who will receive freedom according to this devise,
there may be some, who, from old age or bodily infirmities, and others, who, on
account of their infancy, will be unable to support themselves, it is my will
and desire, that all, who come under the first and second description, shall be
comfortably clothed and fed by my heirs while they live; and that such of the
latter description as have no parents living, or, if living, are unable or
unwilling to provide for them, shall be bound by the court until they shall
arrive at the age of twenty-five years; and, in cases where no record can be
produced, whereby their ages can be ascertained, the judgment of the court,
upon its own view of the subject, shall be adequate and final. The negroes thus
bound, are (by their masters or mistresses) to be taught to read and write, and
to be brought up to some useful occupation, agreeably to the laws of the
Commonwealth of Virginia, providing for the support of orphan and other poor
children. And I do hereby expressly forbid the sale or transportation out of
the said Commonwealth, of any slave I may die possessed of, under any pretence
whatsoever. And I do, moreover, most pointedly and most solemnly enjoin it upon
my executors hereafter named, or the survivors of them, to see that this clause
respecting slaves, and every part thereof, be religiously fulfilled at the
epoch at which it is directed to take place, without evasion, neglect, or
delay, after the crops which may then be on the ground are harvested, particularly
as it respects the aged and infirm; seeing that a regular and permanent fund be
established for their support, as long as there are subjects requiring it; not
trusting to the uncertain provision to be made by individuals. And to my
mulatto man, William, calling himself William Lee, I give
immediate freedom, or, if he should prefer it, (on account of the accidents
which have befallen him, and which have rendered him incapable of walking, or
of any active employment,) to remain in the situation he now is, it shall be
optional in him to do so; in either case, however, I allow him an annuity of
thirty dollars, during his natural life, which shall be independent of the
victuals and clothes he has been accustomed to receive, if he chooses the last
alternative; but in full with his freedom, if he prefers the first; and this I
give him, as a testimony of my sense of his attachment to me, and for his
faithful services during the revolutionary war.
Item. — To the trustees (governors, or by whatsoever
other name they may be designated) of the Academy in the town of Alexandria, I
give and bequeath, in trust, four thousand dollars, or in other words, twenty
of the shares which I hold in the Bank of Alexandria, towards the support of a
free school, established at, and annexed to, the said Academy, for the purpose
of educating such orphan children, or the children of such other poor and
indigent persons, as are unable to accomplish it with their own means, and who,
in the judgment of the trustees of the said seminary, are best entitled to the
benefit of this donation. The aforesaid twenty shares I give and bequeath in
perpetuity; the dividends only of which are to be drawn for and applied, by the
said trustees for the time being, for the uses above mentioned; the stock to
remain entire and untouched, unless indications of failure of the said bank
should be so apparent, or a discontinuance thereof, should render a removal of
this fund necessary. In either of these cases, the amount of the stock here
devised is to be vested in some other bank, or public institution, whereby the
interest may with regularity and certainty be drawn and applied as above. And
to prevent misconception, my meaning is, and is hereby declared to be, that
these twenty shares are in lieu of, and not in addition to, the thousand pounds
given by a missive letter some years ago, in consequence whereof an annuity of
fifty pounds has since been paid towards the support of this institution.
Item. —Whereas by a law of the Commonwealth of
Virginia, enacted in the year 1785, the Legislature thereof was pleased, as an
evidence of its approbation of the services I had rendered the public during
the Revolution, and partly, I believe, in consideration of my having suggested
the vast advantages which the community would derive from the extension of its
inland navigation under legislative patronage, to present me with one hundred
shares, of one hundred dollars each, in the incorporated Company, established
for the purpose of extending the navigation of James River from the tide water
to the mountains; and also with fifty shares, of £100 sterling each, in the
corporation of another Company, likewise established for the similar purpose of
opening the navigation of the River Potomac from the tide water to Fort
Cumberland; the acceptance of which, although the offer was highly honorable
and grateful to my feelings, was refused, as inconsistent with a principle
which I had adopted, and had never departed from, viz. not to receive pecuniary
compensation for any services I could render my country in its arduous struggle
with Great Britain for its rights, and because I had evaded similar
propositions from other States in the Union; adding to this refusal, however,
an intimation, that, if it should be the pleasure of the legislature to permit
me to appropriate the said shares to public uses, I would receive them
on those terms with due sensibility; and this it having consented to, in
flattering terms, as will appear by a subsequent law, and sundry resolutions,
in the most ample and honorable manner; – I proceed after this recital, for the
more correct understanding of the case, to declare; that, as it has always been
a source of serious regret with me, to see the youth of these United States
sent to foreign countries for the purpose of education, often before their
minds were formed, or they had imbibed any adequate ideas of the happiness of
their own; contracting too frequently, not only habits of dissipation and
extravagance, but principles unfriendly to republican government, and to the
true and genuine liberties of mankind, which thereafter are rarely overcome;
for these reasons it has been my ardent wish to see a plan devised on a liberal
scale, which would have a tendency to spread systematic ideas through all parts
of this rising empire, thereby to do away local attachments and State
prejudices, as far as the nature of things would, or indeed ought to admit,
from our national councils. Looking anxiously forward to the accomplishment of
so desirable an object as this is (in my estimation), my mind has not been able
to contemplate any plan more likely to effect the measure, than the
establishment of a UNIVERsity in
a central part of the United States, to which the youths of fortune and talents
from all parts thereof may be sent for the completion of their education, in
all the branches of polite literature, in arts and sciences, in acquiring
knowledge in the principles of politics and good government, and, as a matter
of infinite importance in my judgment, by associating with each other, and
forming friendships in juvenile years, be enabled to free themselves in a
proper degree from those local prejudices and habitual jealousies which have
just been mentioned, and which, when carried to excess, are never-failing
sources of disquietude to the public mind, and pregnant of mischievous
consequences to this country. Under these impressions, so fully dilated,
Item. —I give and bequeath, in perpetuity, the fifty
shares which I hold in the Potomac company, (under the aforesaid acts of the
Legislature of Virginia,) towards the endowment of a University, to be
established within the limits of the district of Columbia, under the auspices
of the general government, if that government should incline to extend a
fostering hand towards it; and, until such seminary is established, and the
funds arising on these shares shall be required for its support, my further
will and desire is, that the profit accruing therefrom shall, whenever the
dividends are made, be laid out in purchasing stock in the Bank of Columbia, or
some other bank, at the discretion of my executors, or by the Treasurer of the
United States for the time being, under the direction of Congress, provided
that honorable body should patronize the measure; and the dividends proceeding
from the purchase of such stock are to be vested in more stock, and so on,
until a sum adequate to the accomplishment of the object is obtained; of which
I have not the smallest doubt before many years pass away, even if no aid or
encouragement is given by the legislative authority, or from any other source.
Item. — The hundred shares, which I hold in the James
River Company, I have given, and now confirm in perpetuity, to and for the use
and benefit of Liberty Hall Academy, in the County of Rockbridge, in the
Commonwealth of Virginia.
Item. – I release, exonerate, and discharge the
estate of my deceased brother, Samuel Washington, from the payment of
the money which is due to me for the land I sold to Philip Pendleton, (lying
in the county of Berkeley,) who assigned the same to him, the said Samuel, who
by agreement was to pay me therefor. And whereas, by some contract (the purport
of which was never communicated to me) between the said Samuel and his
son, Thornton Washington, the latter became possessed of the aforesaid
land, without any conveyance having passed from me, either to the said Pendleton,
the said Samuel, or the said Thornton, and without any
consideration having been made, by which neglect neither the legal nor
equitable title has been alienated; it rests therefore with me to declare my
intentions concerning the premises; and these are, to give and bequeath the
said land to whomsoever the said Thornton Washington (who is also dead)
devised the same, or to his heirs for ever, if he died intestate; exonerating
the estate of the said Thornton, equally with that of the said Samuel,
from payment of the purchase money, which, with interest, agreeably to the
original contract with the said Pendleton, would amount to more than a
thousand pounds. And whereas two other sons of my said deceased brother Samuel,
namely, George Steptoe Washington and Lawrence Augustine
Washington, were, by the decease of those to whose care they were
committed, brought under my protection, and, in consequence, have occasioned
advances on my part, for their education at college and other schools, for
their board, clothing, and other incidental expenses, to the amount of near
five thousand dollars, over and above the sums furnished by their estate, which
sum it may be inconvenient for them or their father's estate to refund; I do
for these reasons acquit them and the said estate from the payment thereof, my
intention being, that all accounts between them and me, and their father's
estate and me, shall stand balanced.
Item. – The balance due to me from the estate of Bartholomew
Dandridge, deceased, (my wife's brother,) and which amounted on the first
day of October, 1795, to four hundred and twenty-five pounds, (as will appear
by an account rendered by his deceased son, John Dandridge, who was the
acting executor of his father's will,) I release and acquit from the payment
thereof. And the negroes, then thirty-three in number, formerly belonging to
the said estate, who were taken in execution, sold, and purchased in on my
account, in the year (blank), and ever since have remained in the
possession and to the use of Mary, widow of the said Bartholomew
Dandridge, with their increase, it is my will and desire shall continue and
be in her possession, without paying hire, or making compensation for the same,
for the time past or to come, during her natural life; at the expiration of
which, I direct that all of them who are forty years old and upwards shall
receive their freedom; and all under that age, and above sixteen, shall serve
seven years and no longer; and all under sixteen years shall serve until they
are twenty-five years of age, and then be free. And, to avoid disputes
respecting the ages of any of these negroes, they are to be taken into the
court of the county in which they reside, and the judgment thereof, in this
relation, shall be final, and record thereof made, which may be adduced as
evidence at any time thereafter, if disputes should arise concerning the same.
And I further direct, that the heirs of the said Bartholomew Dandridge shall
equally share the benefits arising from the services of the said negroes,
according to the tenor of this devise, upon the decease of their mother.
Item. – If Charles Carter, who intermarried
with my niece, Betty Lewis, is not sufficiently secured in the title to
the lots he had of me in the town of Fredericksburg, it is my will and desire,
that my executors shall make such conveyances of them as the law requires to
render it perfect.
Item.—To my nephew, William Augustine Washington, and
his heirs, (if he should conceive them to be objects worth prosecuting,) a lot
in the town of Manchester, (opposite to Richmond,) No. 265, drawn on my sole
account, and also the tenth of one or two hundred acre lots, and two or three
half-acre lots, in the city and vicinity of Richmond, drawn in partnership with
nine others, all in the lottery of the deceased William Byrd, are given;
as is also a lot which I purchased of John Hood, conveyed by William
Willie and Samuel Gordon, trustees of the said John Hood, numbered
139, in the town of Edinburgh, in the County of Prince George, State of
Virginia.
Item. — To my nephew, Bushrod Washington, I
give and bequeath all the papers in my possession, which relate to my civil and
military administration of the affairs of this country. I leave to him also
such of my private papers as are worth preserving; and at the decease of my
wife, and before, if she is not inclined to retain them, I give and bequeath my
library of books and pamphlets of every kind.
Item. — Having sold lands which I possessed in the
State of Pennsylvania, and part of a tract held in equal right with George
Clinton, late governor of New York, in the State of New York, my share of
land and interest in the Great Dismal Swamp, and a tract of land which I owned
in the County of Gloucester, — withholding the legal titles thereto, until the
consideration money should be paid, and having moreover leased and
conditionally sold (as will appear by the tenor of the said leases) all my
lands upon the Great Kenhawa, and a tract upon Difficult Run, in the County of
Loudoun, it is my will and direction, that whensoever the contracts are fully
and respectively complied with, according to the spirit, true intent, and
meaning thereof, on the part of the purchasers, their heirs or assigns, that
then, and in that case, conveyances are to be made, agreeably to the terms of
the said contracts, and the money arising therefrom, when paid, to be vested in
bank stock; the dividends whereof, as of that also which is already vested
therein, are to inure to my said wife during her life; but the stock itself is
to remain and be subject to the general distribution hereafter directed.
Item.—To the Earl of Buchan I recommit the
“Box made of the Oak that sheltered the great Sir William Wallace, after
the battle of Falkirk,” presented to me by his Lordship, in terms too
flattering for me to repeat, with a request “to pass it, on the event of my
decease, to the man in my country, who should appear to merit it best, upon the
same conditions that have induced him to send it to me.” Whether easy or not to
select the man, who might comport with his Lordship's opinion in this respect,
is not for me to say; but, conceiving that no disposition of this valuable
curiosity can be more eligible than the recommitment of it to his own cabinet,
agreeably to the original design of the Goldsmiths' Company of Edinburgh, who
presented it to him, and, at his request, consented that it should be
transferred to me, I do give and bequeath the same to his Lordship; and, in
case of his decease, to his heir, with my grateful thanks for the distinguished
honor of presenting it to me, and more especially for the favorable sentiments
with which he accompanied it.
Item. — To my brother, Charles Washington, I
give and bequeath the gold-headed cane left me by Dr. Franklin in his
will. I add nothing to it, because of the ample provision I have made for his
issue. To the acquaintances and friends of my juvenile years, Lawrence
Washington and Robert Washington, of Chotanck, I give my other two
gold-headed canes, having my arms engraved on them; and to each, as they will
be useful where they live, I leave one of the spyglasses, which constituted
part of my equipage during the late war. To my compatriot in arms, and old and
intimate friend, Dr. Craik, I give my bureau (or, as the cabinet-makers
call it, tambour secretary) and the circular chair, an appendage of my study.
To Dr. David Stuart I give my large shaving and dressing table, and my
telescope. To the Reverend, now Bryan, Lord Fairfax, I give a Bible, in
three large folio volumes, with notes, presented to me by the Right Reverend Thomas
Wilson, Bishop of Sodor and Man. To General de Lafayette I give a
pair of finely-wrought steel pistols, taken from the enemy in the revolutionary
war. To my sisters-in-law, Hannah Washington and Mildred Washington, to
my friends, Eleanor Stuart, Hannah Washington, of Fairfield, and Elizabeth
Washington, of Hayfield, I give each a mourning ring, of the value of one
hundred dollars. These bequests are not made for the intrinsic value of them,
but as mementos of my esteem and regard. To Tobias Lear I give the use
of the farm, which he now holds in virtue of a lease from me to him and his
deceased wife, (for and during their natural lives,) free from rent during his
life; at the expiration of which, it is to be disposed of as is hereinafter
directed. To Sally B. Haynie, (a distant relation of mine,) I give and
bequeath three hundred dollars. To Sarah Green, daughter of the deceased
Thomas Bishop, and to Ann Walker, daughter of John Alton, also
deceased, I give each one hundred dollars, in consideration of the attachment
of their fathers to me; each of whom having lived nearly forty years in my
family. To each of my nephews, William Augustine Washington, George Lewis,
George Steptoe Washington, Bushrod Washington, and Samuel Washington, I
give one of the swords, or couteaux, of which I may die possessed; and they are
to choose in the order they are named. These swords are accompanied with an
injunction not to unsheath them for the purpose of shedding blood, except it be
for self-defence, or in defence of their country and its rights; and in the
latter case, to keep them unsheathed, and prefer falling with them in their
hands to the relinquishment thereof. And now, having gone through these
specific devises, with explanations for the more correct understanding of the
meaning and design of them, I proceed to the distribution of the more important
parts of my estate, in manner following;
First. — To my
nephew, Bushrod Washington, and his heirs, (partly in consideration of
an intimation to his deceased father, while we were bachelors, and he had
kindly undertaken to superintend my estate during my military services in the
former war between Great Britain and France, that, if I should fall therein,
Mount Vernon, then less extensive in domain than at present, should become his
property,) I give and bequeath all that part thereof, which is comprehended
within the following limits, viz. Beginning at the ford of Dogue Run, near my
Mill, and extending along the road, and bounded thereby, as it now goes, and
ever has gone, since my recollection of it, to the ford of Little Hunting Creek,
at the Gum Spring, until it comes to a knoll opposite to an old road, which
formerly passed through the lower field of Muddy-Hole Farm; at which, on the
north side of the said road, are three red or Spanish oaks, marked as a corner,
and a stone placed; thence by a line of trees, to be marked rectangular, to the
back line or outer boundary of the tract between Thompson Mason and
myself; thence with that line easterly (now double ditching, with a
post-and-rail fence thereon) to the run of Little Hunting Creek; thence with
that run, which is the boundary between the lands of the late Humphrey Peake
and me, to the tide water of the said creek; thence by that water to
Potomac River; thence with the river to the mouth of Dogue Creek; and thence
with the said Dogue Creek to the place of beginning at the aforesaid ford;
containing upwards of four thousand acres, be the same more or less, together
with the mansion-house, and all other buildings and improvements thereon.
Second. — In
consideration of the consanguinity between them and my wife, being as nearly
related to her as to myself, as on account of the affection I had for, and the
obligation I was under to, their father when living, who from his youth had
attached himself to my person, and followed my fortunes through the
vicissitudes of the late Revolution, afterwards devoting his time to the
superintendence of my private concerns for many years, whilst my public
employments rendered it impracticable for me to do it myself, thereby affording
me essential services, and always performing them in a manner the most filial
and respectful; for these reasons, I say, I give and bequeath to George
Fayette Washington and Lawrence Augustine Washington, and their
heirs, my estate east of Little Hunting Creek, lying on the River Potomac,
including the farm of three hundred and sixty acres, leased to Tobias Lear, as
noticed before, and containing in the whole, by deed, two thousand and
twenty-seven acres, be it more or less; which said estate it is my will and
desire should be equitably and advantageously divided between them, according
to quantity, quality, and other circumstances, when the youngest shall have
arrived at the age of twenty-one years, by three judicious and disinterested
men; one to be chosen by each of the brothers, and the third by these two. In
the mean time, if the termination of my wife's interest therein should have
ceased, the profits arising therefrom are to be applied for their joint uses
and benefit.
THIRD. — And whereas it has always been my intention, since
my expectation of having issue has ceased, to consider the grandchildren of my
wife in the same light as I do my own relations, and to act a friendly part by
them; more especially by the two whom we have raised from their earliest
infancy, namely, Eleanor Parke Custis and George Washington Parke
Custis; and whereas the former of these hath lately intermarried with Lawrence
Lewis, a son of my deceased sister, Betty Lewis, by which union the
inducement to provide for them both has been increased ; wherefore I give and
bequeath to the said Lawrence Lewis, and Eleanor Parke Lewis, his
wife, and their heirs, the residue of my Mount Vernon estate, not already
devised to my nephew, Bushrod Washington, comprehended within the
following description, viz. All the land north of the road leading from the
ford of Dogue Run to the Gum Spring, as described in the devise of the other part
of the tract to Bushrod Washington, until it comes to the stone and
three red or Spanish oaks on the knoll; thence with the rectangular line to the
back line (between Mr. Mason and me); thence with that line westerly
along the new double ditch to Dogue Run, by the tumbling dam of my Mill; thence
with the said run to the ford aforementioned. To which I add all the land I
possess west of the said Dogue Run and Dogue Creek, bounded easterly and
southerly thereby; together with the mill, distillery, and all other houses and
improvements on the premises, making together about two thousand acres, be it
more or less.
Fourth. —
Actuated by the principle already mentioned, I give and bequeath to George
Washington Parke Custis, the grandson of my wife, and my ward, and to his
heirs, the tract I hold on Four Mile Run, in the vicinity of Alexandria,
containing one thousand two hundred acres, more or less, and my entire square,
No. 21, in the city of Washington.
FIFTH. — All the rest and residue of my estate real and personal,
not disposed of in manner aforesaid, in whatsoever consisting, wheresoever
lying, and whensoever found, (a schedule of which, as far as is recollected,
with a reasonable estimate of its value, is hereunto annexed,) I desire may be
sold by my executors, at such times, in such manner, and on such credits, (if
an equal, valid, and satisfactory distribution of the specific property cannot
be made without,) as in their judgment shall be most conducive to the interest
of the parties concerned; and the moneys. arising therefrom to be divided into
twenty-three equal parts, and applied as follows, viz. To William Augustine
Washington, Elizabeth Spotswood, Jane Thornton, and the heirs of Ann
Ashton, sons and daughters of my deceased brother, Augustine Washington,
I give and bequeath four parts; that is, one part to each of them. To Fielding
Lewis, George Lewis, Robert Lewis, Howell Lewis, and Betty Carter, sons
and daughters of my deceased sister, Betty Lewis, I give and bequeath
five other parts; one to each of them. To George Steptoe Washington,
Lawrence Augustine Washington, Harriot Parks, and the heirs of Thornton
Washington, sons and daughters of my deceased brother Samuel Washington,
I give and bequeath other four parts; one to each of them. To Corbin Washington,
and the heirs of Jane Washington, son and daughter of my deceased
brother, John Augustine Washington, I give and bequeath two parts; one
to each of them. To Samuel Washington, Frances Ball, and Mildred
Hammond, son and daughters of my brother Charles Washington, I give
and bequeath three parts; one part to each of them. And to George Fayette
Washington, Charles Augustine Washington, and Maria Washington, sons
and daughter of my deceased nephew, George Augustine Washington, I give
one other part; that is, to each a third of that part. To Elizabeth Parke
Law, Martha Parke Peter, and Eleanor Parke Lewis, I give and
bequeath three other parts; that is, a part to each of them. And to my nephews,
Bushrod Washington and Lawrence Lewis, and to my ward, the
grandson of my wife, I give and bequeath one other part; that is, a third
thereof to each of them. And, if it should so happen, that any of the persons
whose names are here enumerated (unknown to me) should now be dead, or should
die before me, that in either of these cases, the heirs of such deceased person
shall, notwithstanding, derive all the benefits of the bequest, in the same
manner as if he or she was actually living at the time. And, by way of advice,
I recommend it to my executors not to be precipitate in disposing of the landed
property, (herein directed to be sold,) if from temporary causes the sale
thereof should be dull; experience having fully evinced, that the price of
land, especially above the falls of the river and on the western waters, has
been progressively rising, and cannot be long checked in its increasing value.
And I particularly recommend it to such of the legatees (under this clause of
my will), as can make it convenient, to take each a share of my stock in the
Potomac Company, in preference to the amount of what it might sell for; being
thoroughly convinced myself, that no uses to which the money can be applied,
will be so productive as the tolls arising from this navigation when in full
operation, (and thus, from the “nature of things, it must be, ere long,) and
more especially if that of the Shenandoah is added thereto.
The family vault at Mount Vernon requiring repairs, and
being improperly situated besides, I desire that a new one of brick, and upon a
larger scale, may be built at the foot of what is commonly called the Vineyard
Enclosure, on the ground which is marked out; in which my remains, with those
of my deceased relations (now in the old vault), and such others of my family
as may choose to be entombed there, may be deposited. And it is my express
desire, that my corpse may be interred in a private manner, without parade or
funeral oration.
LAstLY, I
constitute and appoint my dearly beloved wife, Martha Washington, my
nephews, William Augustine Washington, Bushrod Washington, George Steptoe
Washington, Samuel Washington, and Lawrence Lewis, and my ward, George
Washington Parke Custis (when he shall have arrived at the age of
twenty-one years), executrix and executors of this my will and testament; in
the construction of which it will be readily perceived, that no professional
character has been consulted, or has had any agency in the draft; and that,
although it has occupied many of my leisure hours to digest, and to throw it
into its present form, it may, notwithstanding, appear crude and incorrect;
but, having endeavoured to be plain and explicit in all the devises, even at
the expense of prolixity, perhaps of tautology, I hope and trust that no
disputes will arise concerning them. But if, contrary to expectation, the case
should be otherwise, from the want of legal expressions, or the usual technical
terms, or because too much or too little has been said on any of the devises to
be consonant with law, my will and direction expressly is, that all disputes
(if unhappily any should arise) shall be decided by three impartial and
intelligent men, known for their probity and good understanding; two to be
chosen by the disputants, each having the choice of one, and the third by those
two; which three men, thus chosen, shall, unfettered by law or legal
constructions, declare their sense of the testator's intention; and such
decision is, to all intents and purposes, to be as binding on the parties as if
it had been given in the Supreme Court of the United States.
In witness of all and of each of the things herein
contained, I have set my hand and seal, this ninth day of July, in the year one
thousand seven hundred and ninety,2 and of the Independence of the United States the
twenty-fourth.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
_______________
1 In the original manuscript, George Washington's
name was written at the bottom of every page.
2 It appears that the testator omitted the word
“nine.”
SOURCE: Jared Sparks, The
Writings of George Washington; Being His Correspondence, Addresses, Messages,
and other Papers Official and Private, p. 569-80
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