Mysterious George Washington Historical Document Surfaces for Presidents Day

The Raab Collection has discovered and will offer for sale for Presidents’ Day a mysterious relic of a long-lost document in the hand of George Washington containing four enigmatic words. 

In the surviving fragment Washington writes a declaration, borrowing from the Ancient Romans: “Fathers of the Senate!” No other documents exist in which he used this phrase. The snippet was excised from a now-lost George Washington historical document sometime in the early-mid 19th century and sent to an autograph seeker by the prominent Washington collector and biographer Jared Sparks. 

The line “Fathers of the Senate!” in Washington’s hand attests to the Ancient Roman influence on the Founding Fathers who looked to the early republic as a model when designing their new republic. In Ancient Rome, the expression “Fathers of the Senate” came from the Latin phrase 'patres conscripti', the formal mode of address used when speaking to the Roman Senate. The expression thus conveyed both seniority and authority, presenting the Senate as a body of wise, paternal figures entrusted with the preservation of the Republic. 

The phrase, however, does not appear in any extant manuscript connected to the first President. It is possible that Washington and his aides experimented with language that he ultimately changed in a later draft, opting instead for the language of a democracy. Or in his study of Cicero, the Roman author who used this phrase in his speeches, Washington copied the phrase. Or another unknown reason.

The other issue is the reason for the cutting. Jared Sparks (1789-1866), a longtime teacher, editor, publisher, and Unitarian pastor, produced several biographies of Founding Fathers including his most important work The Writings of George Washington (12 volumes) and his Life of George Washington (two volumes). He later served as president of Harvard from 1849 to 1853. Sparks was considered a pioneer in the large-scale collecting of historical material on American history, and his primary collections can now be found at Harvard and Cornell. 

While editing the Washington Papers, Sparks was known to “clip” or remove pieces of the original manuscripts given to him by Washington’s nephew Justice Bushrod Washington and distribute them to autograph seekers. Notably, Sparks cut up the draft of Washington’s undelivered first Inaugural Address, fragments of which occasionally reach the market (Raab sold one in 2014). 

“This is a true mystery,” said Raab, “and an exciting reminder that there remains things yet to discover in our understanding of our nation’s first president.” 

The document is valued at $10,000.