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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Washington, George, 1732-1799 to John Polson

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00967 Author/Creator: Washington, George, 1732-1799 Place Written: Mount Vernon, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: September 28, 1788 Pagination: 2 p. : address : docket ; Height: 23.1 cm, Width: 19 cm Order a Copy

Washington replies to a letter from Polson delivered by Captain Samuel Milford, stating that he did not receive a letter Polson claimed to have sent. He reports that all information regarding Polson's land on the Great Kanawha River is communicated through Milford, whose ship remains near Williamsburg, Virginia. Washington suggests that Polson acquire an agent closer to Richmond, Virginia, to handle the matter of the Kanawha land. He expresses ignorance concerning "the Lands which were granted to the Virginia Regiment raised in 1754, after Patents were obtained for them, except those of my own."

Polson, John, fl. 1780-1788
Washington, George, 1732-1799
Milford, Samuel, fl. 1788

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