Lawrence Lewis (1767–1839) was the third surviving son of Fielding and Betty Washington Lewis. He was educated at an academy in Fredericksburg, Va., and by private tutors at Kenmore. Lawrence served in 1794 as General Daniel Morgan’s aide-de-camp in the campaign to put down the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. In August 1797, Lawrence went to live at Mount Vernon in order to relieve GW of some of the burdens of entertaining the steady stream of visitors.

Lawrence married Susannah Edmundson around 1789 and established himself on a plantation in Essex County. Ten years later he married Eleanor Parke ("Nelly") Custis (1779-1852), Martha Washington's granddaughter.

In November 1799, GW borrowed $1,000 from Lewis, and repaid $500 of that amount in early December (see Ledger C, 58).