History
In 1799, 316 slaves lived at Mount Vernon, most of them on the four outlying farms, where they lived and worked as the plantation had expanded greatly from about 50 slaves at the time of George and Martha Washington’s wedding in 1759. About one of every four working slaves was a skilled worker such as a blacksmith, carpenter, or shoemaker. Most women worked in the fields, while some served as spinners, weavers, cooks, house servants, and seamstresses. In his will in 1799, George Washington declared that all the slaves he held in his own right were to receive their freedom.
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Fort Hunt, Virginia · United States
