ADS, signed “Go: Washington,” one page, 7.25 x 5, January 25, 1774. Document reads: “The Estate of Capt. Stobo on acct. of the Proclamation of 1754. D.
1770 Aug To his quote of the 1st advance voted at Treasy of this date…£9.0.0
1771 Mar. To his dividend of the 2d advance voted at Winchester at this time…6.15.0
1772 Nov To his propn. of the Contingent acct sett’d at Treasy this day…4.9.7
To his propn of the Exps. of Survey in the tract of 28400 acres 9000 of wch being his…11.10.0
1774 Jan 2 To his pn of the last contingent act exhibited this day…8.12.” Washington totals the figures at the bottom, signing underneath, “E Excepted pn. Go: Washington.”
In good to very good condition, with repaired previous central vertical and horizontal separations, chips to edges, scattered creases, mainly to edges, and moderate soiling. All writing is very easily readable. The document appears to have been silked on its reverse and is affixed to an identical size sheet, with a small area on the back exposing a small docketing notation in Washington’s hand.
In 1753, the British decided to expand their settlements in order to take advantage of the growing fur trade with the Native American population and had Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia inform the French of their intentions; the governor then dispatched Washington and the Virginia regiment to the forks of the Ohio River to establish a fort there and hold it. To encourage enlistment in the Ohio Expedition, the governor issue the Proclamation of 1754 on February 19 which stated that any soldier was entitled to receive bounty lands based on their rank and pay in additional to their normal pay. Nearing their destination, Washington charged his men to build Fort Necessity, 37 miles shy of the forks to avoid a large French force.
On July 3, 1754, Washington's forces were defeated at the Battle of Great Meadows and the fort was surrendered the next day. As a condition of the surrender terms, Captains Robert Stobo and Jacob Van Braum were taken as hostages to Fort Duquesne. While there, Stobo made sketches of the fort and plans for its destruction, then managed to have them smuggled to the British. The French recovered these plans at the Battle of Monongahela; Stobo was moved to Quebec, tried and convicted as a spy. After his death sentence was commuted to confinement, he managed to escape to Halifax, then returned to Quebec to inform Wolfe's advancing forces of the area. This information led to Wolfe's victory and the fall of Quebec. Stobo joined the British army and received a serious head injury while stationed in Havana, Cuba. As a result of his injuries and bounty land promised him in the Lake Champlain area were invalidated, he committed suicide. In 1771, unaware of Stobo’s death, Washington sent Stobo a letter informing him that he had sent in for his land claim along the Ohio River.
Washington himself took on the enterprise of distributing the bounty lands among the soldiers who participated in the Ohio Expedition. In 1770, he traveled to the Ohio River to locate tracts of land and sent Captain William Crawford to survey it in 1771. The idea was to purchase the land under one 200,000-acre as joint owners, then apportion the land among the soldiers who served on the Ohio Expedition. Because some of land was described as "bad and hilly" the grantees then could keep or sell their allowed lands. Stobo's 9,000-acre share went to his estate, and while the Ohio Expedition ended in failure, it did eventually lead to the expulsion of the French during the 1754-1760 French-Indian Wars and put the American colonies on the road to independence. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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