William Skilling was a white, hired laborer for George Washington beginning in the late 1760s. However, he continued fulfill jobs for Washington in the 1770s and 1780s until this death sometime between 1785 to 1786.
Skilling was initially hired by Washington in May 1767 and continued to work for him through Christmas 1769. On May 30, 1767, Washington paid Skilling three pounds for "Sinking a Well 60 feet. . ." He appeared on the tithables lists for Mount Vernon in June of 1767 through July 1770, indicating he still continually worked for Washington. He began completing jobs Washington again by July 1774 through August 1776. Among the things provided for Skilling while he worked for Washington between December 1774 and August 1776 were: a coat, five gallons of Jamaican rum, and more than twenty-four pounds in cash. On February 25, 1775, Skilling signed an agreement to transport some of Washington's enslaved workers and servants to Washington's lands located on the Ohio River.1
Washington hired him again on a more regular basis in the fall of 1784, primarily as a ditcher and gardener as Washington developed his properties. That year Skilling agreed to work for an annual salary of thirty pounds, plus two pairs of shoes.2 In 1785, he suffered an illness that kept him for working for up to two weeks.3 His health continued to suffer and he died sometime between the winter of 1785 to early 1786.4
Notes:
1. The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, Vol. 7, 508 & 509n; "William Skilling and George Washington, February 25, 1775, Contract," George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799: Series 4. General Correspondence, 1697-1799.
2. Ibid., 515; Colonial Series, Vol. 8:104, 220, 356; 10:137 & 137n.
3. "[Diary: 7 May 1785,]" The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008. Original source: Diaries (11 March 1748–13 December 1799), Volume 4 (1 September 1784–30 June 1786).
4. "George Washington to Thomas Nelson, Jr., 3 August 1788," The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008. Original source: Confederation Series (1 January 1784–23 September 1788), Volume 6 (1 January 1788–23 September 1788)
