Hidden Treasures
by Gretchen Beilfuss Witt

In the spring of 1791 our first president made a tour of the Southern States. His intention in making the journey was first to gain “the good-will, the support, of the people for the General Government.” His presence reinforced the distant existence and reality of a central government. This first American hero embodied both political freedom and military victory for all former colonists. The new form of government had yet to prove itself, but its leader was known and loved by all.

Washington left Philadelphia, then the capital of the United States, March 21st and continued on to his home at Mount Vernon. He left Mt. Vernon a week later traveling through Virginia, the coastal area of the Carolinas reaching Charleston by the second of May. He continued on to Savannah, Georgia and then turned inland visiting South Carolina at Columbia and Camden and then back to North Carolina. Washington was a diligent traveler waking early and getting on the road between four and six o’clock in the morning – very early by today’s standards.

Washington spent a day in Charlotte and then arrived in Rowan County on May 30, 1791. He states in his diary he was met about 5 miles from Salisbury by Judge Spruce Mccay, Mayor and Mr. (John) Steel as well as some others. He attended a public dinner at Hughes Hotel and later in the afternoon went to a tea organized by the ladies of Salisbury. As at many other such occasions, speeches and toasts were given to greet the President and he in return addressed the citizens of the town.

In the early 1950’s a spectacular discovery was made. Irvin Oestreicher, a prominent local merchant of Salisbury, purchased from an elderly lady by the name of Fannie McNeely, an historic document kept for many years in an old bonnet box. Miss McNeely and her friends were aware that the document bore the signature of George Washington and those who knew of the paper thought it a letter of thanks sent to the citizens of Salisbury. Mr. Oestreicher was not content with this assumption. Completing some research at the Library of Congress, he discovered the address of welcome given by the prominent citizens of Salisbury pledging their support of the Federal Government. After further research and consultation with the Library of Congress he discovered that the document he had was nothing less than the reply. Experts at the Library of Congress confirmed that the signature was George Washington’s and the text had been written by Washington’s secretary William Jackson who had accompanied him on the Southern Tour.

In all probability, the paper was slipped into Mccay’s pocket after the speeches had been given and remained within the family for years. Miss Fannie’s mother first marriage had been to William Mccay, only son of Spruce. In 1951 after discovering the truth about the bonnet box paper, Mr. Oestreicher graciously determined that since the document had remained in Salisbury for 160 years it should continue to reside here. He made arrangements with the trustees of the library to receive this spectacular gift in honor of Colonel A.H. Boyden, Oestreicher’s former neighbor and one of the founders of the library. The Rowan Public Library still displays the address of the Citizens of Salisbury to Washington and his congenial reply.