[Address leaf: William Simmons Esquire / Accountant to the Department of War / Philadelphia] [Postal notation, lower left: Marietta / 18 Augt 97] [Administrative notation, rotated right margin: [undecipherable] / [undecipherable] / [undecipherable] / [undecipherable] / [undecipherable] (partly legible: [undecipherable: probable reading "War Office"] / [undecipherable: probable reading "Recd Octr"] / 1797)] [seal] Marietta September 15^th 1797 I wrote the Major Stagg the beginning of June last enclosing a power of attorney with the Ohio Company vouchers requesting him to settle my accounts at your office and receive the balance due me, or if it was not convenient for him to do it to substitute some person to transact the business and write me word; not hearing from him I wrote him again the 8^th of August informing [him] my engagements were such as would oblige me to make a draught for some money soon upon him and requesting him to write me word respecting the business and let me know the balance that remains in his hands when the accounts were settled, but have not heard from him which gives me much anxiety whether he has not received either of my letters or been sick, left Philadelphia or some other accident has happened to him I am at a loss to conjecture, but am now obliged to draw a bill [upon?] him for two hundred dollars or in his absence and not knowing [with?] my accounts the bill is directed to you well [undecipherable]; as upon calculation of my pay, subsistence allowance for horse and accounts balance from the 1. of June to the 1^st of October four months, to the time the arrangement took place, and the [distance?] pay [to be?] allowed by Congress to deranged officers I find there is due me from the public about five hundred dollars after paying the charge on your books of $22. Dollars & 25 cents. let me again desire you to pay the bill of 200 dollars and charge it to my account. if Major Stagg does not, for the gentleman [Mr. Thim[undecipherable]] who has the bill of me [undecipherable] and make the [undecipherable] [undecipherable] for some time he having [undecipherable] of the public in the [undecipherable], for some he has made [undecipherable] over 200 dollars will be [undecipherable] I would [undecipherable] the means of [undecipherable] for any [undecipherable] I have been this summer and now am very much engaged in building a house with [undecipherable] buildings besides improoving my plantation. I could not possibly have left my workmen to come to Philadelphia which induced [me?] to take this measure to have my accounts settled with you and hope it will be effected. — do I pray you be so good as to write me by the first post and let me know if Major Stagg has filed my accounts or substituted any one to do it, if not whether he is in the War office, has been sick or any accident has happened to him and you will very much your humble Servant Jon Haskell [William Simmonds Esquire]