Ben the Builder

Having an amazing afternoon in the Special Collections Library of William and Mary College in Williamsburg. Loads of original Alexander Donald letters from 1780s - amazing to hold and see them - and still boxes to go through. Slight time limit as library closes in a couple of hours and family are let loose in Colonial Williamsburg so will have to go and retrieve them. Loads to report on the A Donald ones - amazing that so many are here and all as crisp as the day they were written.
Slight aside, but just found a letter from cousin Ben A Donald - yes, BAD himself. Dated 10 June 1780 - annoyingly my camera is also on tour of CW - so pictures not of the usual high quality. The letter was sent from Bedford Co, which ties in with everything and was sent to JM Spiller who sent him a letter on the 7th June.
"I duly received yours of 7th Instant and hasten to answer it."

It is basically a very detailed description of how, despite the fact that he has used little Stuccoing "about my house", of how it was done at his house - which I presume is Otterburn. He then goes into a long description of how his house was actually "sand painted" and again goes into a fairly lengthy description of that and how he mixed it with linseed oil to make it work well with a brush.
Then a passage on his anti-rodent work: "To prevent the rats from annoying me, I built the walls close around the joists up to the floors from bottom to top, and filled the wash boards jam up to the brick wall, leaving no vacancies to enable the rats to get between the plastering and flooring".
He then ends his letter:
"You will find that the sand painting I describe will stick well upon planking and preserve it from the weather.
"Yours most respectfully, Ben A Donald"

Trying to find out who JM Spiller was and why his letters are kept here. Still find it very strange the things that are kept for posterity - glad that cousin Ben's paint recipes were saved for the nation.