William Pearce was a hired farm manager who worked for George Washington from 1793 until 1796.1 He was hired as a permanent replacement for Anthony Whitting after his death. While searching for a new farm manager, Washington’s nephew Howell Lewis temporarily held the role. As farm manager, Pearce communicated regularly with Washington. He facilitated his instructions to hired servants, hired overseers, and enslaved overseers about work ranging from crop rotations to construction projects, including renovations to the mansion.2 He was also involved in supervising the labor of those enslaved at Mount Vernon. Washington communicated with his farm managers in high frequency, particularly while away from Mount Vernon serving as President. Pearce also kept ledgers and accounts for Washington. Overtime, Washington increasingly trusted him to handle purchasing and the sale of agricultural products, handling negotiations.
Pearce initially arrived to Mount Vernon before his family who remained in Kent County, Maryland. Pearce, who was hired that summer, did not arrive until December of 1793 as he was delayed by the illness of his eldest daughter.3 Unable to delay any longer, he began at Mount Vernon without them. Pearce's family was able to travel to Mount Vernon by the spring of 1794, however, his daughter continued to suffer from poor health and died in the fall of 1794.4 This led Washington to write to Pearce, "I am very sorry to hear of the loss of your daughter, but as it was an event long expected you must have been prepared for the stroke."5
In 1795 and 1796, Pearce made a salary of 140 pounds per year. On December 30, 1795, Pearce was also paid an additional thirteen pounds, six shillings, and eight pence for managing Union Farm after the death of the farm’s overseer, John Groves.6 In 1796, Pearce parted on favorable terms with Washington. Having suffered from prolonged health problems, he desired to exit his role as farm manager. Washington attested to his character and competence as a farm manager, writing, “Mr Pearce was a very industrious man; active, zealous, and ambitious to make the most he could of the farms.”7 Pearce was replaced with James Anderson that same year.8 A William Pearce, Sr. is listed in the 1800 U.S. Census taken in Kent, Maryland, so it is possible he returned to his home before Mount Vernon. In this census, it is recorded that William Pearce, Sr. enslaved 38 people.9
Notes:
1. “George Washington to William Pearce, 27 October 1793,” Founders Online, National Archives; “George Washington to William Pearce, 12 January 1794,” Founders Online, National Archives.
2. “George Washington to William Pearce, 20 November 1796,” Founders Online, National Archives.
3. "George Washington to William Pearce, 23 December 1793,” Founders Online, National Archives.
4. “George Washington to William Pearce, 13 July 1794,” Founders Online, National Archives.
5. “George Washington to William Pearce, 2 November 1794,” Founders Online, National Archives.
6. "Account for William Pearce," Mount Vernon Farm Ledger, Jan. 1794-Dec. 1796 (Mount Vernon: Mount Vernon Ladies' Association), 18; "Cash Account," Mount Vernon Farm Ledger, Jan. 1794-Dec. 1796, 61.
7. “George Washington to James Anderson, 15 January 1797,” Founders Online, National Archives.
8. “Memorandum for James Anderson and William Pearce, 5 November 1796,” Founders Online, National Archives.
9. Year: 1800; Census Place: Kent, Maryland; Series: M32; Roll: 10; Page: 240; Image: 246; Family History Library Film: 193663. Original data: Second Census of the United States, 1800. NARA microfilm publication M32 (52 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Bibliography:
Ragsdale, Bruce A., Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of Slavery. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2021.
Schoelwer, Susan P., ed. Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington's Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon, VA: Mount Vernon Ladies Association, 2016.
Thompson, Mary V. “The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret”: George Washington, Slavery, and the Enslaved Community at Mount Vernon. Charlottesville and London: University of Virginia Press, 2019.
