Helen M. Cloyd
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

GEORGE WASHINGTON AS AN ACCOUNTANT

Abstract: George Washington’s interest in bookkeeping began in 1747 when at the age of 15 he started his first ledger and lasted until his death in 1799. His book-keeping records span a period of fifty years. This manuscript reveals a unique side to President Washington’s personality and recounts his inherent desire for accuracy and honesty in all dealings.

Anyone who has seen a copy of George Washington’s signature becomes aware of the meticulous care with which he wrote. This precision and attention to particulars carried over into his books of account. Washington learned to write a good hand, and his manu¬scripts and account books have a legibility resembling an engraving on a steel plate. Of particular interest to those who are interested in George Washington as an accountant, are the beginnings of his educational background which caused him to develop the character-istics of an accountant.

His early education was received from his father, who besides his interest in agriculture, had a business interest in an iron foundry. Of interest to George, while under his father’s tutelage, were his father’s surveying instruments which probably led to his own interest in the use of numbers. At the age of 13, after the death of his father, he was sent to Reverend Mayre’s school in Fredericksburg, Virginia where he needed to cross the Rappahannock River from his family’s farm to the school building at St. George’s Parish.

The copybooks which he wrote during this period of school at-tendance are preserved in the Library of Congress. The earliest of Washington’s copybooks contain verbatim excerpts from The In¬structor, or Young Man’s Best Companion by George Fisher (Lon¬don, c. 1730).1 From this popular textbook, the young student wrote copiously and carefully the lettering for a Round Hand and an Italian Hand, the rules for measuring, for arithmetical computations, and rules for square and cube roots. It also gave models and forms of business papers, such as notes, bills, receipts, leases, and deeds. Introductory material on bookkeeping was also provided in The lnstructor even though surviving copybooks do not contain his exercises in record-keeping. This book left a lasting impression on Washington, so much indeed that later, in 1769, when he was over-seeing the education of his young stepson, Master John Parke Cus-tis, he ordered a copy of the latest edition for the young boy’s use.

George Washington practiced the art of bookkeeping early. His first “little” ledger covered the period from September 1747 to the start of a new ledger in December 1749. As he was only 15 years old, his ledger accounts were with close relatives, with the friends of his youth, with George Fairfax, and with his half-brother, Augus¬tine. It was ruled like a cashbook, and contained his cash accounts with debits on the left-hand page and the credits on the right-hand page. Both pages have the same number; the first two pages are numbered one, the next two are numbered two, and so forth. There are a series of pages containing cash entries, then a series of double-entry cash accounts with individuals. This early format of record-keeping was to remain with him throughout his subsequent ledgers, and thus, he recorded his business as a planter and miller.

His farm ledgers are models in accuracy and record-keeping. They contain cash records, and receivables and payables due to or from individuals; each account being carefully balanced. An index to the ledger accounts is included showing page numbers as the accounts with individuals are not in alphabetical order. There is no evidence of Journals nor Proprietary accounts. Periodically, he would prepare an inventory of his personal property and compute profits or losses on his farming operations. The farm ledger for Mount Vernon for the year 1798 credits the four outlying farms and related activities with a profit, but most of this was canceled by the expense of maintaining the Mansion House Farm. He practiced ac¬counting with care and diligence. In 1760, he wrote in his diary, “Mrs. Washington’s indisposition, confined me to the House and gave me an opportunity of Posting my Books and putting them in good order”. During this time, he wrote to his London merchant, “I coud (sic) wish that it was a practice to render an Acct. Currt. of the dealings between us once a year that if any Errors shoud (sic) arise they may be rectified while the transactions are recent” which shows his close attention to accounting accuracy.

His personal ledgers began again in 1749 and ended at the time of his death in 1799. In 1758, as Colonel Washington and Paymaster of the Virginia Regiment, he kept the personnel records in his beau¬tiful handwriting of the men serving under him at Fort Loundoun. In one of his ledgers is a carefully preserved account with his mother.

During his service as Commander General of the Revolutionary Forces, he kept his accounts with the United States, commencing June 1775 when he began to use his personal funds to further the revolutionary activities and ending June 1783, a span of eight years. He recorded all his expenditures listing each item as the expenses were made with receipts provided.

In these books, he changed his page numbering system by numbering each page consecutively. (See illustrations of pp. 23 and 24 of his January 1777 ledger.)

Believing in the efficiency of good record-keeping, Washington wrote to his adopted grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, on January 11, 1797:

“Another thing I would recommend to you — not that I want to know how you spend your money — and that is, to keep an account book, and enter therein every farthing of your receipts and expenditures, the doing of which will initiate you into a habit from which considerable advantage would result. Where no account of this sort is kept there can be no investigation, no correction of errors, no discov¬ery, from recurrence thereto, where too much or too little has been appropriated to particular uses. From an early attention to those matters, important and lasting benefits may follow.”
In 1799, having developed a wind-pipe infection after riding out to his mill two and one-half days earlier — a distance of three miles in the snow and sleet, he lay near death in his Mount Vernon bedroom. He mentioned to those around him that he was unafraid to die and that a few days earlier he had put his “account books in proper order”. Who, but an inbred accountant, would have thought of such a matter before he passed away?

FOOTNOTE

1A copy of this textbook dated 1767 is in the author’s library. Pages 208, 209, 215, 225-228, and 231 correspond with George Washington’s School Copy Books, plates 32 through 37 in The Library of Congress.

A SHARECROP AGREEMENT OF THE 1830s

March 8, 1835
An article of an agreement Between me & Thomas McDougal for my place which he has taken on Shares with me as follows
1 to Laying all my part of fence on Said lot
2 to Repairing the windows & By Sow
Douing (so doing) has the place to
the halves the garden excepted
the Corne potatos to Be devided in the Basket the hay to Be put in the Barne and there Devided the work to Be Done in Season and in a
workman Like maner and to git in
mud out of the medow Between me & Brown. They are to kep the Bildings in as good repair
As we found them except the natural wear Likewise he is to have wat wood he wants
to Burne of that Down or any My Standing the (——?) feed he has one half & I the other half, he to find one half Seed & I the other half, the above agreement we Boath agree to Winchester March 8 – 1835
Thomas McDougal
(signatures) Abner Barden
Sharecropper agreement found in wastebook and customers’ ledger dated Jan¬uary 1824 to November 1835. The ledger originally belonged to Abner Barden a hatter of Richmond, New Hampshire and is now in the Accounting Collection, Rare Book Room, University of Florida library.