Alexander Cleveland was an overseer for various properties owned by George Washington. In this position he supervised enslaved labor, hired labor, and agriculture output. Initially, an overseer at Muddy Hole Farm, Alexander Cleveland began working for George Washington in 1765. He appeared on the tithables list in July of that year.1 Washington paid Cleveland twenty-four pounds, thirteen shillings, and six pence on January 9, 1766. The amounts were based on Cleveland's one-eighth share of Muddy Hole's crop output of 497 bushels of wheat, 317 bushels of spelt, forty-five bushels of rye. In addition, he was dispersed thirty-six and a half bushels of hemp seed, 178 ½ barrels of corn. Cleveland's share of the hemp processed that year was valued at another ten shillings.2
In June of 1773, Alexander Cleveland returned to George Washington's employ, serving as the overseer of River Farm. Alexander worked at River Farm in through 1775. In 1774, Cleveland was provided with a suit of clothes, surtout coat, and 100 pounds of pork above his share. The following year, Cleveland received similar goods, including a pair of breeches, a suit of clothes, and 500 pounds of pork more than his allowance.3
Notes:
1. "Memorandum List of Tithables and Taxable Land and Property," The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008. Original source: Colonial Series (7 July 1748–15 June 1775), Volume 7 (1 January 1761–15 June 1767).
2. "Cash Accounts, January 176," The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008. Original source: Colonial Series (7 July 1748–15 June 1775), Volume 7 (1 January 1761–15 June 1767)
3. "Memorandum List of Tithables," The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008. Original source: Colonial Series (7 July 1748–15 June 1775), Volume 9 (8 January 1772–18 March 1774).
Bibliography:
Ragsdale, Bruce A., Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of Slavery. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2021.
