A miller, William Roberts worked at Mount Vernon starting in 1770 until at least 1785. Roberts was rehired by George Washington briefly in 1799.1
In 1773, Roberts received the following articles of clothing and food: a coat for Thomas (possibly a servant or slave of Roberts'), a coat, a waistcoat, 244 pounds of beef, and two bushels of salt. The following year he was provided with a pair of breeches, three pairs of Russia twill breeches, a coat and waistcoat, 113 pounds of beef, two bushels of salt, and 150 shad.2 Between June 1775 and January 1776, Roberts received a coat, four pairs of breeches, a waistcoat, a surtout coat, 210 shad, two-and-a-half bushels of salt, and a waistcoat.
Roberts appears to been paid the following annual salaries: sixty pounds in 1777, 100 pounds in 1778 and 1779, and 800 pounds in 1780.3 In 1784, Roberts was paid a salary of 100 pounds. The following year he was given forty-one pounds, thirteen shillings, and four pence for five months wages.
In 1784 and 1785, Roberts' account was charged for purchasing 140 shad and another 2 pounds for "a Gun – Broke by you & renderd useless."4
Notes: 1. The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, Vol. 1, 339n.
2. See entries for "20 May 1773," "15 May 1773," "12 May 1774," "25 May 1774," "17 September 1774," "3 November 1774," "William Roberts Miller---Dr.," Lund Washington Account Book (Mount Vernon), 17-17a.
3. See entries for "5 June 1775," "January 1776," "2 February 1776," "April 1776," "1 May 1776," "22 May 1776," in "William Roberts – Dr.," Lund Washington Account Book, 44; "William Roberts…Dr….Cr.," Lund Washington Account Book, 72; "Wm. Roberts…Dr….Cr.," Lund Washington Account Book, 115.
4. "Wm. Roberts…Dr….Cr.," Lund Washington Account Book, 139.
