SERVING
AS EXECUTOR FOR THE ESTATE OF HIS FATHER-IN-LAW,
GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS, WHO WAS THE GRANDSON OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
ROBERT
E. LEE. Autograph Draft Letter Signed to Messrs. Goddin
& Apperson, Arlington, VA, 12 February 1858. 1 page, 7" x 7".
With a letter of reply from the firm that bears an Autograph Docket
by Lee.
An uncommon letter concerning Lee’s family, and one that
highlights his link to his great hero, George Washington. A
West Point graduate who became a career army officer, Robert E. Lee,
the future Confederate general, married Mary Custis, a great-granddaughter
of Martha Washington, in 1831. Her father, George Washington Parke Custis,
was the actual grandson of Martha and the de facto grandson of George
Washington; he had been raised at Mount Vernon by the famous couple
following the early death of his own father, John Parke Custis, Martha’s
son from her first marriage.
When
G.W.P. Custis died in October 1857, Lee was named the executor of his
sizeable estate. Unfortunately, Custis’s will was confusing, with
some contradictory provisions; he left debts of over $10,000; and some
of his lands were run down. As a result, Lee spent over two difficult
years on leave from the army working to resolve these problems. By the
time of the Civil War, the estate was still not settled, and issues
from it continued to occupy Lee even after the war, although the property
was by then considerably reduced.
This letter is an early one in the long history of the estate, written
from Arlington, the Custis family home that would later become the site
of Arlington National Cemetery. Just four months after his father-in-law’s
death, Lee writes to a real estate firm in Richmond about the settlement
of one of the debts Custis owed. Because this piece has a number of
cross-outs and interlinear additions, it is likely that this was a draft
letter rather than the final copy that Lee sent to his correspondent.
"I
have recd today your letter of the 4 Inst," Lee notes.
"Until my recent visit to New Kent [one of the Custis plantations]
I had hoped to have been able from the sales of corn this spring to
have remitted to Mrs. M. S. Nelson the amount $1800 desired in your
letter of 11 Nov last. I have however been disappointed in my
expectations. I herewith now however enclose to her order, my
check No. 14 of this date on the Farmers Bank of Virginia at Alex[andri]a.
for $1800.00 which I hope will answer her present purposes, & for
which please send me her receipt.
"Should the sales of the crop of wheat the current year place
me in sufficient funds to meet the demands against the Estate of Mr.
G.W.P. Custis," Lee continues, "it will give me pleasure
to pay the balance of the debt. To enable me to see the balance
amount that may be then due, please give me a statement of the whole
account from the beginning to the present time." He has signed,
"very resp[ectful]ly R E Lee Ex[ecuto]r of G.W.P. Custis."
Accompanying this is a letter of reply from Goddin & Apperson to
Lee, stating that they are sending the requested receipt and statement
of account (neither is present here) and that Custis’s estate
still owes Nelson $2659.00. Lee has summarized their message in an unsigned
docket that he has written on the verso of their letter: "16
Feb 1858 Goddin & Apperson - Transmits receipt of Mrs. Mary S. Nelson
for $1800. Says the balance due by the Estate of G.W.P. Custis - is
$2,659."
The top margin of Lee’s letter has been closely trimmed, but it
is otherwise in very good condition. The letter from Goddin & Apperson,
which is one page, 9¾" x 7¾", has some staining
and fold breaks, but Lee’s docket is only minimally affected by
these defects and is in good condition. $8500.00
Above:
Autograph Draft Letter Signed by Robert E. Lee
Below:
Autograph Docket written by Lee on the letter of reply he received from
his correspondents
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