Tobias Lear’s Blank Diary Pages

Tobias Lear journal, which is housed in the archives of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, documents the period of time from December 10, 1799 to July 4, 1801. It is 70 pages long, with interspersed blank pages. It details the death of Washington, records the President’s final wishes, funeral perpetrations, funeral (December 18, 1799), entombment, the possible publishing of his papers, love for his family, Lear’s appointment to be Council to St. Domingo (March 29, 1801), a Caribbean journey, and the journey’s weather reports.

Tobias Lear’s diary with George Washington’s last words

Tobias Lear’s diary pages, with one blank page