JAW paid his mother $500 per year rent for Mount Vernon. After her death (on 09/06/1855), it seems he believed he should continue to pay the $500 rent to her closest relative, his mother's sister, the letter’s author. The top portion of page one of this letter was torn off - it is believed the torn portion originally was a hand written personal check returning some of the rent to John Augustine. A hand written annotation on the remaining top of page 1 of the letter suggests the check may have been dated 1/18/1861, paid on a Hampton, VA bank. The date of the letter is guessed from that annotation. Judith had lost her own husband and was concerned about being unable to manage the estate... "I cannot possibly manage negroes--I do not wish to make the poor creatures unhappy by bringing them from their accustomed places. I do not wish to use other than the interest of that property while I live..."