A Few Little-Known Facts About George Washington

The Young George Washington and his "Worthy Friend" Richard

On the eve of Washington's birthday, here is an excerpt from the excellent biography George Washington: A Life by Willard Sterne Randall. He writes:

Could the "worthy friend Richard" have been my ancestor Richard Stephenson? Certainly. We know that Washington met the family in 1747 and surveyed Stephenson's property on the Bullskin Run in 1750. The survey, which still exists, is in the collection of the Boston Public Library. Here it is.

An Amazing Find! Richard Stephenson's Property, Surveyed by George Washington

Today, I discovered a drawing of Richard Stephenson's (my 7-times great grandfather) property on the Bullskin Run in present-day West Virginia, surveyed by George Washington in 1750! Here it is!

"This map is one of approximately 75 surviving surveys of the 199 that Washington completed during his career as a county surveyor. This survey documents 316 acres between the north and south branches of Bullskin Run, which is located in present-day Jefferson County, West Virginia. Cartographer: Washington, George." 

I am chuffed! 

Poem on the approach of Phyllis Stephenson's 91st birthday

I was reading Robert Louis Stevenson's Christmas essay which ends with a lovely poem that reminds me of my mother's last days. Here it is.

"A late lark twitters from the quiet skies;
And from the west,
Where the sun, his day's work ended,
Lingers as in content,
There falls on the old, gray city
An influence luminous and serene,
A shining peace.

"The smoke ascends
In a rosy–and–golden haze. The spires
Shine, and are changed. In the valley
Shadows rise. The lark sings on. The sun,
Closing his benediction,
Sinks, and the darkening air
Thrills with a sense of the triumphing night—
Night, with her train of stars
And her great gift of sleep.
"So be my passing!
My task accomplished and the long day done,
My wages taken, and in my heart
Some late lark singing,
Let me be gathered to the quiet west,
The sundown splendid and serene,
Death."


From A Book of Verses by William Ernest Henley. D. Nutt, 1888.

The photo above shows Phyllis, the youngest child, with her elder sisters Mary and Dorothy.