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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40255 ***
+
+  TRANSCRIBER NOTES:
+
+    Words or letters contained within underscores, i.e. _Proceedings_,
+    indicate italics in the original.
+
+    Letters or numbers preceded by ^ (carat) indicate superscripts.
+    Multiple letter superscripts are contained within { } brackets.
+
+    Initials followed by a period (.) and contained within [ ] brackets
+    indicated a superscript letter above a period. For example: J^[S.]C.
+
+    Footnotes have been moved to the end of each section.
+
+    The List of Illustrations has been added to this project as
+    an aid to the reader. It does not appear in the original
+    book.
+
+    Additional notes can be found at the end of this text.
+
+
+
+
+  SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
+
+  UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+  BULLETIN 253
+
+  WASHINGTON, D.C.
+
+  1968
+
+
+
+
+  The Cultural History
+  of Marlborough, Virginia
+
+  An Archeological and Historical Investigation
+  of the
+  Port Town for Stafford County and the
+  Plantation of John Mercer, Including Data
+  Supplied by Frank M. Setzler and Oscar H. Darter
+
+  C. MALCOLM WATKINS
+
+  CURATOR OR CULTURAL HISTORY
+  MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY
+
+  SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS
+
+  SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION · WASHINGTON, D.C. · 1968
+
+
+
+
+_Publications of the United States National Museum_
+
+
+The scholarly and scientific publications of the United States National
+Museum include two series, _Proceedings of the United States National
+Museum_ and _United States National Museum Bulletin_.
+
+In these series, the Museum publishes original articles and monographs
+dealing with the collections and work of its constituent museums--The
+Museum of Natural History and the Museum of History and
+Technology--setting forth newly acquired facts in the fields of
+anthropology, biology, history, geology, and technology. Copies of each
+publication are distributed to libraries, to cultural and scientific
+organizations, and to specialists and others interested in the different
+subjects.
+
+The _Proceedings_, begun in 1878, are intended for the publication, in
+separate form, of shorter papers from the Museum of Natural History.
+These are gathered in volumes, octavo in size, with the publication date
+of each paper recorded in the table of contents of the volume.
+
+In the _Bulletin_ series, the first of which was issued in 1875, appear
+longer, separate publications consisting of monographs (occasionally in
+several parts) and volumes in which are collected works on related
+subjects. _Bulletins_ are either octavo or quarto in size, depending on
+the needs of the presentation. Since 1902 papers relating to the
+botanical collections of the Museum of Natural History have been
+published in the _Bulletin_ series under the heading _Contributions from
+the United States National Herbarium_, and since 1959, in _Bulletins_
+titled "Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology," have
+been gathered shorter papers relating to the collections and research of
+that Museum.
+
+This work forms volume 253 of the _Bulletin_ series.
+
+  FRANK A. TAYLOR
+  _Director, United States National Museum_
+
+For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
+Office
+
+Washington, D.C. 20402--Price $3.75
+
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+                                                                  _Page_
+
+    Preface                                                         vii
+
+  HISTORY                                                             3
+
+        I. Official port towns in Virginia and origins of
+           Marlborough                                                5
+       II. John Mercer's occupation of Marlborough, 1726-1730        15
+      III. Mercer's consolidation of Marlborough, 1730-1740          21
+       IV. Marlborough at its ascendancy, 1741-1750                  27
+        V. Mercer and Marlborough, from zenith to decline,
+           1751-1768                                                 49
+       VI. Dissolution of Marlborough                                61
+
+  ARCHEOLOGY AND ARCHITECTURE                                        65
+
+      VII. The site, its problem, and preliminary tests              67
+     VIII. Archeological techniques                                  70
+       IX. Wall system                                               71
+        X. Mansion foundation (Structure B)                          85
+       XI. Kitchen foundation (Structure E)                         101
+      XII. Supposed smokehouse foundation (Structure F)             107
+     XIII. Pits and other structures                                111
+      XIV. Stafford courthouse south of Potomac Creek               115
+
+  ARTIFACTS                                                         123
+
+       XV. Ceramics                                                 125
+      XVI. Glass                                                    145
+     XVII. Objects of personal use                                  155
+    XVIII. Metalwork                                                159
+      XIX. Conclusion                                               173
+
+  GENERAL CONCLUSIONS                                               175
+
+       XX. Summary of findings                                      177
+
+    Appendixes                                                      181
+
+      A. Inventory of George Andrews, Ordinary Keeper               183
+      B. Inventory of Peter Beach                                   184
+      C. Charges to account of Mosley Battaley                      185
+      D. "Domestick Expenses," 1725                                 186
+      E. John Mercer's reading, 1726-1732                           191
+      F. Credit side of John Mercer's account with Nathaniel
+         Chapman                                                    193
+      G. Overwharton Parish account                                 194
+      H. Colonists identified by John Mercer according to
+         occupation                                                 195
+      I. Materials listed in accounts with Hunter and Dick,
+         Fredericksburg                                             196
+      J. George Mercer's expenses while attending college           197
+      K. John Mercer's library                                      198
+      L. Botanical record and prevailing temperatures, 17           209
+      M. Inventory of Marlborough, 1771                             211
+
+    Index                                                           213
+
+
+
+
+List of Illustrations
+
+                                                                 Figure
+     John Mercer's Bookplate                                          1
+     Survey plates of Marlborough                                     2
+     Portrait of John Mercer                                          3
+     The Neighborhood of John Mercer                                  4
+     King William Courthouse                                          5
+     Mother-of-pearl counters                                         6
+     John Mercer's Tobacco-cask symbols                               7
+     Wine-bottle seal                                                 8
+     French horn                                                      9
+     Hornbook                                                        10
+     Fireplace mantels                                               11
+     Doorways                                                        12
+     Table-desk                                                      13
+     Archeological survey plan                                       14
+     Portrait of Ann Roy Mercer                                      15
+     Advertisement of the services of Mercer's stallion Ranter       16
+     Page from Maria Sibylla Merian's _Metamorphosis Insectorum
+       Surinamensium efte Veranderung Surinaamsche Insecten_         17
+     Aerial Photograph of Marlborough                                18
+     Highway 621                                                     19
+     Excavation plan of Marlborough                                  20
+     Excavation plan of wall system                                  21
+     Looking north                                                   22
+     Outcropping of stone wall                                       23
+     Junction of stone Wall A                                        24
+     Looking north in line with Walls A and A-II                     25
+     Wall A-II                                                       26
+     Junction of Wall A-I                                            27
+     Wall E                                                          28
+     Detail of Gateway in Wall E                                     29
+     Wall B-II                                                       30
+     Wall D                                                          31
+     Excavation plan of Structure B                                  32
+     Site of Structure B                                             33
+     Southwest corner of Structure B                                 34
+     Southwest corner of Structure B                                 35
+     South wall of Structure B                                       36
+     Cellar of Structure B                                           37
+     Section of red-sandstone arch                                   38
+     Helically contoured red-sandstone                               39
+     Cast-concrete block                                             40
+     Dressed red-sandstone block                                     41
+     Fossil-embedded black sedimentary stone                         42
+     Foundation of porch at north end of Structure B                 43
+     Plan of mansion house                                           44
+     The Villa of "the magnificent Lord Leonardo Emo"                45
+     Excavation plan of Structure E                                  46
+     Foundation of Structure E                                       47
+     Paved floor of Room X, Structure E                              48
+     North wall of Structure E                                       49
+     Wrought-iron slab                                               50
+     Excavation plan of structures north of Wall D                   51
+     Structure F                                                     52
+     Virginia brick from Structure B                                 53
+     Structure D                                                     54
+     Refuse found at exterior corner of Wall A-II and Wall D         55
+     Excavation plan of Structure H                                  56
+     Structure H                                                     57
+     1743 drawing showing location of Stafford courthouse            58
+     Enlarged detail from figure 58                                  59
+     Excavation plan of Stafford courthouse foundation               60
+     Hanover courthouse                                              61
+     Plan of King William courthouse                                 62
+     Tidewater-type pottery                                          63
+     Miscellaneous common earthenware types                          64
+     Buckley-type high-fired ware                                    65
+     Westerwald stoneware                                            66
+     Fine English stoneware                                          67
+     English Delftware                                               68
+     Delft plate                                                     69
+     Delft plate                                                     70
+     Whieldon-type tortoiseshell ware                                71
+     Queensware                                                      72
+     Fragment of Queensware                                          73
+     English white earthenwares                                      74
+     Polychrome Chinese porcelain                                    75
+     Blue-and-white Chinese porcelain                                76
+     Blue-and-white Chinese porcelain                                77
+     Wine bottle                                                     78
+     Bottle seals                                                    79
+     Octagonal spirits bottle                                        80
+     Snuff bottle                                                    81
+     Glassware                                                       82
+     Small metalwork                                                 83
+     Personal miscellany                                             84
+     Cutlery                                                         85
+     Metalwork                                                       86
+     Ironware                                                        87
+     Iron door and chest hardware                                    88
+     Tools                                                           89
+     Scythe                                                          90
+     Farm gear                                                       91
+
+
+                                                           Illustration
+     Front and back cast-concrete block                         1 and 2
+     Iron tie bar                                                     3
+     Cross section of plaster cornice molding from
+       Structure B                                                    4
+     Reconstructed wine bottle                                        5
+     Fragment of molded white salt-glazed platter                     6
+     Iron bolt                                                        7
+     Stone scraping tool                                              8
+     Indian celt                                                      9
+     Milk pan                                                        10
+     Milk pan                                                        11
+     Ale mug                                                         12
+     Cover of jar                                                    13
+     Base of bowl                                                    14
+     Handle of pot lid or oven door                                  15
+     Buff-earthenware cup                                            16
+     High-fired earthenware pan rim                                  17
+     High-fired earthenware jar rim                                  18
+     Rim and base profiles of high-fired earthenware jars            19
+     Base sherd from unglazed red-earthenware water cooler           20
+     Rim of an earthenware flowerpot                                 21
+     Base of gray-brown, salt-glazed-stoneware ale mug               22
+     Stoneware jug fragment                                          23
+     Gray-salt-glazed-stoneware jar profile                          24
+     Drab-stoneware mug fragment                                     25
+     Wheel-turned cover of white, salt-glazed teapot                 26
+     Body sherds of molded, white salt-glaze-ware pitcher            27
+     English delftware washbowl sherd                                28
+     English delftware plate                                         29
+     English delftware plate                                         30
+     Delftware ointment pot                                          31
+     Sherds of black basaltes ware                                   32
+     Blue-and-white Chinese porcelain saucer                         33
+     Blue-and-white Chinese porcelain plate                          34
+     Beverage bottle                                                 35
+     Beverage-bottle seal                                            36
+     Complete beverage bottle                                        37
+     Cylindrical beverage bottle                                     38
+     Cylindrical beverage bottle                                     39
+     Octagonal, pint-size beverage bottle                            40
+     Square gin bottle                                               41
+     Square snuff bottle                                             42
+     Wineglass, reconstructed                                        43
+     Cordial glass                                                   44
+     Sherds of engraved-glass wine and cordial glasses               45
+     Clear-glass tumbler                                             46
+     Octagonal cut-glass trencher salt                               47
+     Brass buckle                                                    48
+     Brass knee buckle                                               49
+     Brass thimble                                                   50
+     Chalk bullet mold                                               51
+     Fragments of tobacco-pipe bowl                                  52
+     White-kaolin tobacco pipe                                       53
+     Slate pencil                                                    54
+     Fragment of long-tined fork                                     55
+     Fragment of long-tined fork                                     56
+     Fork with two-part handle                                       57
+     Trifid-handle pewter spoon                                      58
+     Wavy-end pewter spoon                                           59
+     Pewter teapot lid                                               60
+     Steel scissors                                                  61
+     Iron candle snuffers                                            62
+     Iron butt hinge                                                 63
+     End of strap hinge                                              64
+     Catch for door latch                                            65
+     Wrought-iron hasp                                               66
+     Brass drop handle                                               67
+     Wrought-iron catch or striker                                   68
+     Iron slide bolt                                                 69
+     Series of wrought-iron nails                                    70
+     Series of wrought-iron flooring nails and brads                 71
+     Fragment of clouting nail                                       72
+     Hand-forged spike                                               73
+     Blacksmith's hammer                                             74
+     Iron wrench                                                     75
+     Iron scraping tool                                              76
+     Bit or gouge chisel                                             77
+     Jeweler's hammer                                                78
+     Wrought-iron colter from plow                                   79
+     Hook used with wagon                                            80
+     Bolt with wingnut                                               81
+     Lashing hook from cart                                          82
+     Hilling hoe                                                     83
+     Iron reinforcement strip from back of shovel handle             84
+     Half of sheep shears                                            85
+     Animal trap                                                     86
+     Iron bridle bit                                                 87
+     Fishhook                                                        88
+     Brass strap handle                                              89
+
+
+
+
+Preface
+
+
+A number of people participated in the preparation of this study. The
+inspiration for the archeological and historical investigations came
+from Professor Oscar H. Darter, who until 1960 was chairman of the
+Department of Historical and Social Sciences at Mary Washington College,
+the women's branch of the University of Virginia. The actual excavations
+were made under the direction of Frank M. Setzler, formerly the head
+curator of anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution. None of the
+investigation would have been possible had not the owners of the
+property permitted the excavations to be made, sometimes at considerable
+inconvenience to themselves. I am indebted to W. Biscoe, Ralph
+Whitticar, Jr., and Thomas Ashby, all of whom owned the excavated areas
+at Marlborough; and T. Ben Williams, whose cornfield includes the site
+of the 18th-century Stafford County courthouse, south of Potomac Creek.
+
+For many years Dr. Darter has been a resident of Fredericksburg and, in
+the summers, of Marlborough Point on the Potomac River. During these
+years, he has devoted himself to the history of the Stafford County area
+which lies between these two locations in northeastern Virginia.
+Marlborough Point has interested Dr. Darter especially since it is the
+site of one of the Virginia colonial port towns designated by Act of
+Assembly in 1691. During the town's brief existence, it was the location
+of the Stafford County courthouse and the place where the colonial
+planter and lawyer John Mercer established his home in 1726. Tangible
+evidence of colonial activities at Marlborough Point--in the form of
+brickbats and potsherds still can be seen after each plowing, while John
+Mercer's "Land Book," examined anew by Dr. Darter, has revealed the
+original survey plats of the port town.
+
+In this same period and as early as 1938, Dr. T. Dale Stewart (then
+curator of physical anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution) had
+commenced excavations at the Indian village site of Patawomecke, a few
+hundred yards west of the Marlborough Town site. The aboriginal
+backgrounds of the area including Marlborough Point already had been
+investigated. As the result of his historical research connected with
+this project, Dr. Stewart has contributed fundamentally to the present
+undertaking by foreseeing the excavations of Marlborough Town as a
+logical step beyond his own investigation.
+
+Motivated by this combination of interests, circumstances, and
+historical clues, Dr. Darter invited the Smithsonian Institution to
+participate in an archeological investigation of Marlborough.
+Preliminary tests made in August 1954 were sufficiently rewarding to
+justify such a project. Consequently, an application for funds was
+prepared jointly and was submitted by Dr. Darter through the University
+of Virginia to the American Philosophical Society. In January 1956 grant
+number 159, Johnson Fund (1955), for $1500 was assigned to the program.
+In addition, the Smithsonian Institution contributed the professional
+services necessary for field research and directed the purchase of
+microfilms and photostats, the drawing of maps and illustrations, and
+the preparation and publication of this report. Dr. Darter hospitably
+provided the use of his Marlborough Point cottage during the period of
+excavation, and Mary Washington College administered the grant. Frank
+Setzler directed the excavations during a six-week period in April and
+May 1956, while interpretation of cultural material and the searches of
+historical data related to it were carried out by C. Malcolm Watkins.
+
+At the commencement of archeological work it was expected that traces of
+the 17th- and early 18th-century town would be found, including,
+perhaps, the foundations of the courthouse. This expectation was not
+realized, although what was found from the Mercer period proved to be
+of greater importance. After completion, a report was made in the 1956
+_Year Book_ of the American Philosophical Society (pp. 304-308).
+
+After the 1956 excavations, the question remained whether the principal
+foundation (Structure B) might not have been that of the courthouse.
+Therefore, in August 1957 a week-long effort was made to find
+comparative evidence by digging the site of the succeeding 18th-century
+Stafford County courthouse at the head of Potomac Creek. This disclosed
+a foundation sufficiently different from Structure B to rule out any
+analogy between the two.
+
+It should be made clear that--because of the limited size of the
+grant--the archeological phase of the investigation was necessarily a
+limited survey. Only the more obvious features could be examined within
+the means at the project's disposal. No final conclusions relative to
+Structure B, for example, are warranted until the section of foundation
+beneath the highway which crosses it can be excavated. Further
+excavations need to be made south and southeast of Structure B and
+elsewhere in search of outbuildings and evidence of 17th-century
+occupancy.
+
+Despite such limitations, this study is a detailed examination of a
+segment of colonial Virginia's plantation culture. It has been prepared
+with the hope that it will provide Dr. Darter with essential material
+for his area studies and, also, with the wider objective of increasing
+the knowledge of the material culture of colonial America. Appropriate
+to the function of a museum such as the Smithsonian, this study is
+concerned principally with what is concrete--objects and artifacts and
+the meanings that are to be derived from them. It has relied upon the
+mutually dependent techniques of archeologist and cultural historian and
+will serve, it is hoped, as a guide to further investigations of this
+sort by historical museums and organizations.
+
+Among the many individuals contributing to this study, I am especially
+indebted to Dr. Darter; to the members of the American Philosophical
+Society who made the excavations possible; to Dr. Stewart, who reviewed
+the archeological sections at each step as they were written; to Mrs.
+Sigrid Hull who drew the line-and-stipple illustrations which embellish
+the report; Edward G. Schumacher of the Bureau of American Ethnology,
+who made the archeological maps and drawings; Jack Scott of the
+Smithsonian photographic laboratory, who photographed the artifacts; and
+George Harrison Sanford King of Fredericksburg, from whom the necessary
+documentation for the 18th-century courthouse site was obtained.
+
+I am grateful also to Dr. Anthony N. B. Garvan, professor of American
+civilization at the University of Pennsylvania and former head curator
+of the Smithsonian Institution's department of civil history, for
+invaluable encouragement and advice; and to Worth Bailey formerly with
+the Historic American Buildings Survey, for many ideas, suggestions, and
+important identifications of craftsmen listed in Mercer's ledgers.
+
+I am equally indebted to Ivor Noël Hume, director of archeology at
+Colonial Williamsburg and an honorary research associate of the
+Smithsonian Institution, for his assistance in the identification of
+artifacts; to Mrs. Mabel Niemeyer, librarian of the Bucks County
+Historical Society, for her cooperation in making the Mercer ledgers
+available for this report; to Donald E. Roy, librarian of the Darlington
+Library, University of Pittsburgh, for providing the invaluable clue
+that directed me to the ledgers; to the staffs of the Virginia State
+Library and the Alexandria Library for repeated courtesies and
+cooperation; and to Miss Rodris Roth, associate curator of cultural
+history at the Smithsonian, for detecting Thomas Oliver's inventory of
+Marlborough in a least suspected source.
+
+I greatly appreciate receiving generous permissions from the University
+of Pittsburgh Press to quote extensively from the _George Mercer Papers
+Relating to the Ohio Company of Virginia_, and from Russell & Russell to
+copy Thomas Oliver's inventory of Marlborough.
+
+To all of these people and to the countless others who contributed in
+one way or another to the completion of this study, I offer my grateful
+thanks.
+
+  C. MALCOLM WATKINS
+
+  Washington, D.C.
+  1967
+
+
+
+
+The Cultural History
+
+of
+
+Marlborough, Virginia
+
+[Illustration: Figure 1.--JOHN MERCER'S BOOKPLATE.]
+
+
+
+
+HISTORY
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+_Official Port Towns in Virginia and Origins of Marlborough_
+
+
+ESTABLISHING THE PORT TOWNS
+
+The dependence of 17th-century Virginia upon the single
+crop--tobacco--was a chronic problem. A bad crop year or a depressed
+English market could plunge the whole colony into debt, creating a chain
+reaction of overextended credits and failures to meet obligations.
+Tobacco exhausted the soil, and soil exhaustion led to an ever-widening
+search for new land. This in turn brought about population dispersal and
+extreme decentralization.
+
+After the Restoration in 1660 the Virginia colonial government was faced
+not only with these economic hazards but also with the resulting
+administrative difficulties. It was awkward to govern a scattered
+population and almost impossible to collect customs duties on imports
+landed at the planters' own wharves along hundreds of miles of inland
+waterways. The royal governors and responsible persons in the Assembly
+reacted therefore with a succession of plans to establish towns that
+would be the sole ports of entry for the areas they served, thus making
+theoretically simple the task of securing customs revenues. The towns
+also would be centers of business and manufacture, diversifying the
+colony's economic supports and lessening its dependence on tobacco. To
+men of English origin this establishment of port communities must have
+seemed natural and logical.
+
+The first such proposal became law in 1662, establishing a port town
+for each of the major river valleys and for the Eastern Shore. But the
+law's sponsors were doomed to disappointment, for the towns were not
+built.[1] After a considerable lapse, a new act was passed in 1680, this
+one better implemented and further reaching. It provided for a port town
+in each county, where ships were to deliver their goods and pick up
+tobacco and other exports from town warehouses for their return
+voyages.[2] One of its most influential supporters was William Fitzhugh
+of Stafford County, a wealthy planter and distinguished leader in the
+colony.[3] "We have now resolved a cessation of making Tob^o next year,"
+he wrote to his London agent, Captain Partis, in 1680. "We are also
+going to make Towns, if you can meet with any tradesmen that will come
+and live at the Town, they may have privileges and immunitys."[4]
+
+[Illustration: Potomack River]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 2.--Survey plats of Marlborough as copied in John
+Mercer's Land Book showing at bottom, John Savage's, 1731; and top,
+William Buckner's and Theodorick Bland's, 1691. (The courthouse probably
+stood in the vicinity of lot 21.)]
+
+Some of these towns actually were laid out, each on a 50-acre tract of
+half-acre lots, but only 9 tracts were built upon. The Act soon lagged
+and collapsed. It was unpopular with the colonists, who were obliged to
+transport their tobacco to distant warehouses and to pay storage fees;
+it was ignored by shipmasters, who were in the habit of dealing directly
+with planters at their wharves and who were not interested in making it
+any easier for His Majesty's customs collectors.[5]
+
+Nevertheless, efforts to come up with a third act began in 1688.[6]
+William Fitzhugh, especially, was articulate in his alarm over
+Virginia's one-crop economy, the effects of which the towns were
+supposed to mitigate. At this time he referred to tobacco as "our most
+despicable commodity." A year later, he remarked, "it is more uncertain
+for a Planter to get money by consigned Tob^o then to get a prize in a
+lottery, there being twenty chances for one chance."[7]
+
+In April 1691 the Act for Ports was passed, the House, significantly,
+recording only one dissenting vote.[8] Unlike its predecessor, which
+encouraged trades and crafts, this Act was justified purely on the basis
+of overcoming the "great opportunity ... given to such as attempt to
+import or export goods and merchandises, without entering or paying the
+duties and customs due thereupon, much practised by greedy and covetous
+persons." It provided that all exports and imports should be taken up or
+set down at the specified ports and nowhere else, under penalty of
+forfeiting ship, gear, and cargo, and that the law should become
+effective October 1, 1692. The towns again were to be surveyed and laid
+out in 50-acre tracts. Feoffees, to be appointed, would grant half-acre
+lots on a pro rata first-cost basis. Grantees "shall within the space of
+four months next ensueing such grant begin and without delay proceed to
+build and finish on each half acre one good house, to containe twenty
+foot square at the least, wherein if he fails to performe them such
+grant to be void in law, and the lands therein granted lyable to the
+choyce and purchase of any other person." Justices of the county courts
+were to fill vacancies among the feoffees and to appoint customs
+collectors.[9]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [1] WILLIAM WALLER HENING, _The Statutes at Large Being a
+    Collection of All the Laws of Virginia_ (New York, 1823),
+    vol. 2, pp. 172-176.
+
+    [2] Ibid., vol. 2, pp. 471-478.
+
+    [3] William Fitzhugh was founder of the renowned Virginia
+    family that bear his name. As chief justice of the Stafford
+    County court, burgess, merchant, and wealthy planter, he
+    epitomized the landed aristocrat in 17th-century Virginia.
+    See "Letters of William Fitzhugh," _Virginia Magazine of
+    History & Biography_ (Richmond, 1894), vol. 1, p. 17
+    (hereinafter designated _VHM_), and _William Fitzhugh and His
+    Chesapeake World_ (1676-1701), edit. Richard Beale Davis
+    (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, for the
+    Virginia Historical Society, 1963).
+
+    [4] _VHM_, op. cit., p. 30.
+
+    [5] ROBERT BEVERLEY, _The History and Present State of
+    Virginia_, edit. Louis B. Wright (Chapel Hill: The University
+    of North Carolina Press, 1947), p. 88; PHILIP ALEXANDER
+    BRUCE, _Economic History of Virginia_, 2nd ed. (New York: P.
+    Smith, 1935), vol. 2, pp. 553-554.
+
+    [6] _Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia_
+    (hereinafter designated _JHB_) 1659/60-1693, edit. H. R.
+    McIlwaine (Richmond, Virginia: Virginia State Library, 1914),
+    pp. 303, 305, 308, 315.
+
+    [7] "Letters of William Fitzhugh," _VHM_ (Richmond, 1895),
+    vol. 2, pp. 374-375.
+
+    [8] _JHB 1659/60-1693_, op. cit. (footnote 6), p. 351.
+
+    [9] HENING, op. cit. (footnote 1), vol. 3, pp. 53-69.
+
+
+THE PORT TOWN FOR STAFFORD COUNTY
+
+The difficulties confronting the central and local governing bodies in
+putting the Acts into effect are illustrated by the attempts to
+establish a port town for Stafford County. Under the act of 1680 a town
+was to be built at "Peace Point," where the Catholic refugee Giles Brent
+had settled nearly forty years before, but there is no evidence that
+even so much as a survey was made there. The 1691 Act for Ports located
+the town at Potomac Neck, where Accokeek Creek and Potomac Creek
+converge on the Potomac River. Situated about three miles below the
+previously designated site, it was again on Brent property, lying within
+a tract leased for life to Captain Malachi Peale, former high sheriff of
+Stafford. On October 9, 1691, the Stafford Court "ordered that Mr.
+William Buckner deputy Surveyor of this County shall on Thursday next
+... repair to the Malachy Peale neck being the place allotted by act of
+assembly for this Town and Port of this County and shall then and there
+Survey and Lay Out the said Towne or Port ... to the Interest that all
+the gentlemen of and all other of the Inhabitants may take up such Lot
+and Lots as be and they desire...." On the same day John Withers and
+Matthew Thompson, both justices of the peace, were appointed "Feoffees
+in Trust." Young Giles Brent, "son and heir of Giles Brent Gent. late of
+this county dec^{ed}" and not yet 21, selected Francis Hammersley as his
+guardian.
+
+Hammersley in this capacity became the administrator of Brent's
+affairs, and accordingly it was agreed that 13,000 pounds of tobacco
+should be paid to him in exchange for the 50 acres of town land owned by
+Brent.[10]
+
+Actually, 52 acres were surveyed, "two of the said acres being the Land
+belonging to and laid out for the Court House according to a former Act
+of Assembly and the other fifty acres pursuant to the late Act for
+Ports." The "former Act of Assembly" which had been passed in 1667 had
+stipulated the allotment of two-acre tracts for churches and court
+houses, which in case the lots "be deserted y^e land shall revert to y^e
+1st proprietor...."[11] For the extra two acres Hammersley was given 800
+pounds of tobacco in addition. Of the total of 13,800 pounds, 3450 were
+set aside to compensate Malachi Peale for the loss of his leasehold.
+
+The order for the survey to be made was a formality, since the plat had
+actually been drawn ahead of time by Buckner on August 16, nearly two
+months before; clearly the Staffordians were eager to begin their town.
+Buckner's plat was copied by his superior, Theodorick Bland, and entered
+in the now-missing Stafford Survey Book. John Savage, a later surveyor,
+in 1731 provided John Mercer with a duplicate of Bland's copy, which has
+survived in John Mercer's Land Book (fig. 2).[12]
+
+On February 11, 1692, the feoffees granted 27 lots to 15 applicants.
+John Mercer's later review of the town's history in this period states
+that "many" of the lots were "built on and improved."[13] Two ordinaries
+were licensed, one in 1691 and one in 1693, but no business activity
+other than the Potomac Creek ferry seems to have been conducted.[14] Any
+future the town might have had was erased by the same adverse reactions
+that had killed the previous port acts. The merchants and shippers used
+their negative influence and on March 22, 1693, a "bill for suspension
+of y^e act for Ports &c till their Maj^{ts} pleasure shall be known
+therein or till y^e next assembly" passed the house. In due course the
+act was reviewed and returned unsigned for further consideration.
+William Fitzhugh, on October 17, 1693, dutifully read the
+recommendation of the Committee of Grievances and Properties "That the
+appointment of Ports & injoyneing the Landing and Shipping of all goods
+imported or to be exported at & from the same will (considering the
+present circumstances of the Country) be very injurious & burthensome to
+the Inhabitants thereof and traders thereunto."[15] Doubtless dictated
+by the Board of Trade in London, the recommendation was a defeat for
+those who, like Fitzhugh, sought by the establishment of towns to break
+tobacco's strangle-hold on Virginia.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [10] Stafford County Order Book, 1689-1694 (MS bound with
+    order book for 1664-1688, but paginated separately), pp. 175,
+    177, 180, 189.
+
+    [11] "Mills," _VHM_ (Richmond, 1903), vol. 10, pp. 147-148.
+
+    [12] John Mercer's Land Book (MS., Virginia State Library).
+
+    [13] _JHB, 1742-1747; 1748-1749_ (Richmond, 1909), pp.
+    285-286.
+
+    [14] Stafford County Order Book, 1689-1694, pp. 184, 357.
+
+    [15] HENING, op. cit. (footnote 1), vol. 3, pp. 108-109.
+
+
+THE ACT FOR PORTS OF 1705 AND THE NAMING OF MARLBOROUGH
+
+Nevertheless, the town idea was hard to kill. In 1705 Stafford's port
+town, along with those in the other counties, was given a new lease on
+life when still another Act for Ports, introduced by Robert Beverley,
+was passed. This Act repeated in substance the provisions of its
+immediate forerunner, but provided in addition extravagant inducements
+to settlement. Those who inhabited the towns were exempted from
+three-quarters of the customs duties paid by others; they were freed of
+poll taxes for 15 years; they were relieved from military mustering
+outside the towns and from marching outside, excepting the "exigency" of
+war (and then only for a distance of no more than 50 miles). Goods and
+"dead provision" were not to be sold outside within a 5-mile radius, and
+ordinaries (other than those within the towns) were not permitted closer
+than 10 miles to the towns' boundaries, except at courthouses and ferry
+landings. Each town was to be a free "burgh," and, when it had grown to
+30 families "besides ordinary keepers," "eight principal inhabitants"
+were to be chosen by vote of the "freeholders and inhabitants of the
+town of twenty-one years of age and upwards, not being servants or
+apprentices," to be called "benchers of the guild-hall." These eight
+"benchers" would govern the town for life or until removal, selecting a
+"director" from among themselves. When 60 families had settled,
+"brethren assistants of the guild hall" were to be elected similarly to
+serve as a common council. Each town was to have two market days a week
+and an annual five-day fair. The towns listed under the Act were
+virtually the same as before, but this time each was given an official
+name, the hitherto anonymous town for Stafford being called Marlborough
+in honor of the hero of the recent victory at Blenheim.[16]
+
+The elaborate vision of the Act's sponsors never was realized in the
+newly christened town, but there was in due course a slight resumption
+of activity in it. George Mason and William Fitzhugh, Jr. (the son of
+William Fitzhugh of Stafford County) were appointed feoffees in 1707,
+and a new survey was made by Thomas Gregg. The following year seven more
+lots were granted, and for an interval of two years Marlborough
+functioned technically as an official port.[17]
+
+Inevitably, perhaps, history repeated itself. In 1710 the Act for Ports,
+like its predecessors, was rescinded. The reasons given in London were
+brief and straightforward; the Act, it was explained, was "designed to
+Encourage by great Priviledges the settling in Townships." These
+settlements would encourage manufactures, which, in turn, would promote
+"further Improvement of the said manufactures, And take them off from
+the Planting of Tobacco, which would be of Very Ill consequence," thus
+lessening the colony's dependence on the Kingdom, affecting the import
+of tobacco, and prejudicing shipping.[18] Clearly, the Crown did not
+want the towns to succeed, nor would it tolerate anything which might
+stimulate colonial self-dependence. The Virginia colonists' dream of
+corporate communities was not to be realized.
+
+Most of the towns either died entirely or struggled on as crossroads
+villages. A meager few have survived to the present, notably Norfolk,
+Hampton, Yorktown, and Tappahannock. Marlborough lasted as a town until
+about 1720, but in about 1718 the courthouse and several dwellings were
+destroyed by fire and "A new Court House being built at another Place,
+all or most of the Houses that had been built in the said Town, were
+either burnt or suffered to go to ruin."[19]
+
+The towns were artificial entities, created by acts of assembly, not by
+economic or social necessity. In the few places where they filled a
+need, notably in the populous areas of the lower James and York Rivers,
+they flourished without regard to official status. In other places, by
+contrast, no law or edict sufficed to make them live when conditions did
+not warrant them. In sparsely settled Stafford especially there was
+little to nurture a town. It was easier, and perhaps more exciting, to
+grow tobacco and gamble on a successful crop, to go in debt when things
+were bad or lend to the less fortunate when things were better. In the
+latter case land became an acceptable medium for the payment of debts.
+Land was wealth and power, its enlargement the means of greater
+production of tobacco--tobacco again the great gamble by which one would
+always hope to rise and not to fall. When one could own an empire, why
+should one worry about a town?
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [16] Ibid., pp. 404-419.
+
+    [17] "Petition of John Mercer" (1748), (Ludwell papers,
+    Virginia Historical Society), _VHM_ (Richmond, 1898), vol. 5,
+    pp. 137-138.
+
+    [18] _Calendar of Virginia State Papers and Other
+    Manuscdit. William P. Palmer, M.D.
+    (Richmond, 1875), vol. 1, pp. 137-138.
+
+    [19] _JHB, 1742-1747; 1748-1749_ (Richmond, 1909), pp.
+    285-286.
+
+
+ESTABLISHING COURTHOUSES
+
+The administrative problems that contributed to the establishment of the
+port towns also called for the erection of courthouses. As early as 1624
+lower courts had been authorized for Charles City and Elizabeth City in
+recognition of the colony's expansion, and ten years later the colony
+had been divided into eight counties, with a monthly court established
+in each. By the Restoration the county courts possessed broadly expanded
+powers and were the administrative as well as the judicial sources of
+local government. In practice they were largely self-appointive and were
+responsible for filling most local offices. Since the courts were the
+vehicles of royal authority, it followed that the physical symbols of
+this authority should be emphasized by building proper houses of
+government. At Jamestown orders were given in 1663 to build a statehouse
+in lieu of the alehouses and ordinaries where laws had been made
+previously.[20]
+
+In the same year, four courthouses annually were ordered for the
+counties, the burgesses having been empowered to "make and Signe
+agreements w^{th} any that will undertake them to build, who are to give
+good Caution for the effecting thereof with good sufficient bricks,
+Lime, and Timber, and that the same be well wrought and after they are
+finished to be approved by an able surveyor, before order be given them
+for their pay."[21] Such buildings were to take the place of private
+dwellings and ordinaries in the same way as did the statehouse at
+Jamestown. It was no accident that legislation for houses of government
+coincided with that for establishing port towns. Each reflected the need
+for administering the far-flung reaches of the colony and for
+maintaining order and respect for the crown in remote places.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [20] HENING, op. cit. (footnote 1), vol. 2, pp. 204-205.
+
+    [21] _JHB, (1659/60-1693)_, op. cit. (footnote 6), p. 28.
+
+
+THE COURTHOUSE IN THE PORT TOWN FOR STAFFORD COUNTY
+
+Stafford County, which had been set off from Westmoreland in 1664, was
+provided with a courthouse within a year of its establishment. Ralph
+Happel in _Stafford and King George Courthouses and the Fate of
+Marlborough, Port of Entry_, has given us a detailed chronicle of the
+Stafford courthouses, showing that the first structure was situated
+south of Potomac Creek until 1690, when it presumably burned.[22] The
+court, in any event, began to meet in a private house on November 12,
+1690, while on November 14 one Sampson Darrell was appointed chief
+undertaker and Ambrose Bayley builder of a new courthouse. A contract
+was signed between them and the justices of the court to finish the
+building by June 10, 1692, at a cost of 40,000 pounds of tobacco and
+cash, half to be paid in 1691 and the remainder upon completion.[23]
+
+With William Fitzhugh the presiding magistrate of the Stafford County
+court as well as cosponsor of the Act for Ports, it was foreordained
+that the new courthouse should be tied in with plans for the port town.
+The Act for Ports, however, was still in the making, and it was not
+possible to begin the courthouse until after its passage in the spring.
+On June 10, 1691, it was "Ordered by this Court that Capt. George Mason
+and Mr. Blande the Surveyor shall immediately goe and run over the
+ground where the Town is to Stand and that they shall then advise and
+direct M^r Samson Darrell the Cheife undertaker of the Court house for
+this County where he shall Erect and build the same."[24]
+
+The court's order was followed by a hectic sequence that reflects, in
+general, the irresponsibilities, the lack of respect for law and order,
+and the frontier weaknesses which made it necessary to strengthen
+authority. It begins with Sampson Darrell himself, whose moral
+shortcomings seem to have been legion (hog-stealing, cheating a widow,
+and refusing to give indentured servants their freedom after they had
+earned it, to name a few). Darrell undoubtedly had the fastidious
+Fitzhugh's confidence, for certainly without that he would not have been
+appointed undertaker at all. In his position in the court, Fitzhugh
+would have been instrumental in selecting both architect and
+architecture for the courthouse, and Darrell seems to have met his
+requirements. Fitzhugh, in fact, had sufficient confidence in Darrell to
+entrust him with personal business in London in 1688.[25]
+
+Although several months elapsed before a site was chosen, enough of the
+new building was erected by October to shelter the court for its monthly
+assembly. In the course of this session, there occurred a "most
+mischievous and dangerous Riot,"[26] which rather violently inaugurated
+the new building. During this disturbance, the pastor of Potomac Parish,
+Parson John Waugh,[27] upbraided the court while it was "seated" and
+took occasion to call Fitzhugh a Papist. The court, taking cognizance of
+"disorders, misrules and Riots" and "the Fatal consequences of such
+unhappy malignant and Tumultuous proceeding," thereupon restricted the
+sale of liquor on court days (thus revealing what was at least accessory
+to the disturbance).[28] Fitzhugh's letter to the court concerning this
+episode mentions the "Court House" and the "Court house yard," adding to
+Happel's ample documentation that the new building was by now in use.
+
+During the November session, James Mussen was ordered into custody for
+having "dangerously wounded M^r. Sampson Darrell."[29] This suggests
+that the sequence of disturbances may have been associated with the
+unfinished state of the courthouse, which, like the town, symbolized the
+purposes of Fitzhugh and the property-owning aristocracy. Certain it is
+that Darrell, publicly identified with Fitzhugh, was violently assaulted
+and that "a complaint was made to this Court that Sampson Darrell the
+chief undertaker of the building and Erecting of a Court house for this
+county had not performed the same according to articles of agreement."
+He and Bayley accordingly were put under bond to finish the building by
+June 10, 1692. By February Bayley was complaining that he had not been
+paid for his work, "notwithstanding your pet^r as is well known to the
+whole County hath done all the carpenters work thereof and is ready to
+perform what is yet wanting." On May 12, less than a month from the
+deadline for completion, Darrell was ordered to pay Bayley the money
+owing, and Bayley was instructed to go on with the work. Nearly six
+months later, on November 10, Darrell again was directed to pay Bayley
+the full balance of his wages, but only "after the said Ambrose Bayley
+shall have finished and Compleatly ended the Court house."[30]
+
+No description of the courthouse has been found. The Act of 1663 seems
+to have required a brick building, although its wording is ambiguous.
+Even if it did stipulate brick, the law was 28 years old in 1691, and
+its requirements probably were ignored. Although Bayley, the builder,
+was a carpenter, this would not preclude the possibility that he
+supervised bricklayers and other artisans. Brick courthouses were not
+unknown; one was standing in Warwick when the Act for Ports was passed
+in 1691. Yet, the York courthouse, built in 1692, was a simple building,
+probably of wood.[31] In any case, the Stafford courthouse was a
+structure large enough to have required more than a year and a half to
+build, but not so elaborate as to have cost more than 40,000 pounds of
+tobacco.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [22] RALPH HAPPEL, "Stafford and King George Courthouses and
+    the Fate of Marlborough, Port of Entry," _VHM_ (Richmond,
+    1958), vol. 66, pp. 183-194.
+
+    [23] Stafford County Order Book, 1689-1694, p. 187.
+
+    [24] Ibid., p. 122.
+
+    [25] _William Fitzhugh and His Chesapeake World (1676-1701)_,
+    op. cit. (footnote 3), p. 241.
+
+    [26] Stafford County Order Book, 1689-1694, p. 194.
+
+    [27] Ibid., p. 182.
+
+    [28] In Virginia recurrent English fears of Catholic
+    domination were reflected at this time in hysterical rumors
+    that the Roman Catholics of Maryland were plotting to stir up
+    the Indians against Virginia. In Stafford County these
+    suspicions were inflamed by the harangues of Parson John
+    Waugh, minister of Stafford Parish church and Chotank church.
+    Waugh, who seems to have been a rabble rouser, appealed to
+    the same small landholders and malcontents as those who, a
+    generation earlier, had followed Nathaniel Bacon's
+    leadership. So seriously did the authorities at Jamestown
+    regard the disturbance at Stafford courthouse that they sent
+    three councillors to investigate. See "Notes," _William &
+    Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine_ (Richmond, 1907),
+    1st ser., vol. 15, pp. 189-190 (hereinafter designated _WMQ_)
+    [1]; and Richard Beale Davis' introduction to _William
+    Fitzhugh and His Chesapeake World_, op. cit. (footnote 3),
+    pp. 35-39, and p. 251.
+
+    [29] Stafford County Order Book, 1689-1694, p. 167.
+
+    [30] Ibid., pp. 194, 267, 313.
+
+    [31] HENING, op. cit. (footnote 1), vol. 3, p. 60; EDWARD M.
+    RILEY, "The Colonial Courthouses of York County, Virginia,"
+    _William & Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine_
+    (Williamsburg, 1942), 2nd ser., vol. 22, pp. 399-404
+    (hereinafter designated _WMQ_ [2]).
+
+
+LOCATION OF THE STAFFORD COURTHOUSE
+
+The location of the building is indicated by a notation on Buckner's
+plat of the port town: "The fourth course (runs) down along by the Gutt
+between Geo: Andrew's & the Court house to Potomack Creek." A glance at
+the plat (fig. 2) will disclose that the longitudinal boundaries of all
+the lots south of a line between George Andrews' "Gutt" run parallel to
+this fourth course. Plainly, the courthouse was situated near the head
+of the gutt, where the westerly boundary course changed, near the end of
+"The Broad Street Across the Town." It may be significant that the
+foundation (Structure B) on which John Mercer's mansion was later built
+is located in this vicinity.
+
+In or about the year 1718 the courthouse "burnt Down,"[32] while it was
+reported as "being become ruinous" in 1720, with its "Situation very
+inconvenient for the greater part of the Inhabitants." It was then
+agreed to build a new courthouse "at the head of Ocqua Creek."[33] Aquia
+Creek was probably meant, but this must have been an error and the "head
+of Potomac Creek" intended instead. Happel shows that it was built on
+the south side of Potomac Creek. Thus, the burning of the Marlborough
+courthouse in 1718 merely speeded up the forces that led to the end of
+the town's career.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [32] Petition of John Mercer, loc. cit. (footnote 17).
+
+    [33] _Executive Journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia_
+    (Richmond, 1930), vol. 2, p. 527.
+
+
+MARLBOROUGH PROPERTY OWNERS
+
+Not only was Marlborough foredoomed by external decrees and adverse
+official decisions, but much of its failure was rooted in the local
+elements by which it was constituted. The great majority of lot holders
+were the "gentlemen" who were so carefully distinguished from "all other
+of the Inhabitants" in the order to survey the town in 1691. Most were
+leading personages in Stafford, and we may assume that their purchases
+of lots were made in the interests of investment gains, not in
+establishing homes or businesses. Only three or four yeomen and ordinary
+keepers seem to have settled in the town.
+
+Sampson Darrell, for example, held two lots, but he lived at Aquia
+Creek.[34] Francis Hammersley was a planter who married Giles Brent's
+widow and lived at "The Retirement," one of the Brent estates.[35]
+George Brent, nephew of the original Giles Brent, was law partner of
+William Fitzhugh, and had been appointed Receiver General of the
+Northern Neck in 1690. His brother Robert also was a lot holder. Both
+lived at Woodstock, and presumably they did not maintain residences at
+the port town.[36] Other leading citizens were Robert Alexander, Samuel
+Hayward, and Martin Scarlett, but again there is little likelihood that
+they were ever residents of the town. John Waugh, the uproarious pastor
+of Potomac Parish, also was a lot holder, but he lived on the south side
+of Potomac Creek in a house which belonged to Mrs. Anne Meese of London.
+His failure to pay for that house after 11 years' occupancy of it, which
+led to a suit in which Fitzhugh was the prosecutor, does not suggest
+that he ever arrived at building a house in the port town.[37]
+
+Captain George Mason was a distinguished individual who lived at
+"Accokeek," about a mile and a half from Marlborough. He certainly built
+in the town, for in 1691 he petitioned for a license to "keep an
+ordinary at the Town or Port for this county." The petition was granted
+on condition that he "find a good and Sufficient maintenance and
+reception both for man and horse." Captain Mason was grandfather of
+George Mason of Gunston Hall, author of the Virginia Bill of Rights, and
+was, at one time or another, sheriff, lieutenant colonel and commander
+in chief of the Stafford Rangers, and a burgess. He participated in
+putting down the uprising of Nanticoke Indians in 1692, bringing in
+captives for trial at the unfinished courthouse in March of that
+year.[38] Despite his interest in the town, however, it is unlikely that
+he ever lived there.
+
+Another lot owner was Captain Malachi Peale, whose lease of the town
+land from the Brents had been purchased when the site was selected. He
+also was an important figure, having been sheriff. He may well have
+lived on one of his three lots, since he was a resident of the Neck to
+begin with. John Withers, one of the first feoffees and a justice of the
+peace, was a lot holder also. George Andrews and Peter Beach, somewhat
+less distinguished, were perhaps the only full-time residents from among
+the first grantees. After 1708 Thomas Ballard and possibly William
+Barber were also householders.
+
+Thus, few of the ingredients of an active community were to be found at
+Marlborough, the skilled craftsmen or ship's chandlers or merchants who
+might have provided the vitality of commerce and trade not having at any
+time been present.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [34] Stafford County Order Book, 1689-1694, p. 251.
+
+    [35] John Mercer's Land Book, loc. cit. (footnote 12);
+    _William Fitzhugh and His Chesapeake World_, op. cit.
+    (footnote 3), p. 209.
+
+    [36] Ibid., pp. 76, 93, 162, 367.
+
+    [37] Stafford County Order Book, 1689-1694, p. 203; _William
+    Fitzhugh and His Chesapeake World_, op. cit. (footnote 3),
+    pp. 209, 211.
+
+    [38] Ibid., pp. 184, 230; John Mercer's Land Book, op. cit.
+    (footnote 12); _William Fitzhugh and His Chesapeake World_,
+    op. cit. (footnote 3), p. 38.
+
+
+HOUSING
+
+It is likely that most of the houses in the town conformed to the
+minimum requirements of 20 by 20 feet. They were probably all of wood, a
+story and a half high with a chimney built against one end. Forman
+describes a 20-foot-square house foundation at Jamestown, known as the
+"House on Isaac Watson's Land." This had a brick floor and a fireplace
+large enough to take an 8-foot log as well as a setting for a brew
+copper. The ground floor consisted of one room, and there was probably a
+loft overhead providing extra sleeping and storage space.[39] The
+original portion of the Digges house at Yorktown, built following the
+Port Act of 1705 and still standing, is a brick house, also 20 feet
+square and a story and a half high. Yet, brick houses certainly were not
+the rule. In remote Stafford County, shortly before the port town was
+built, the houses of even well-placed individuals were sometimes
+extremely primitive. William Fitzhugh wrote in 1687 to his lawyer and
+merchant friend Nicholas Hayward in London, "Your brother Joseph's
+building that Shell, of a house without Chimney or partition, & not one
+tittle of workmanship about it more than a Tobacco house work, carry'd
+him into those Arrears with your self & his other Employees, as you
+found by his Accots. at his death."[40] Ancient English puncheon-type
+construction, with studs and posts set three feet into the ground, was
+still in use at Marlborough in 1691, as we know from the contract for
+building a prison quoted by Happel.[41] No doubt the houses there
+varied in quality, but we may be sure that most were crude, inexpertly
+built, of frame or puncheon-type construction, and subject to
+deterioration by rot and insects.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [39] HENRY CHANDLEE FORMAN, _Jamestown and St. Mary's_
+    (Baltimore, 1938), pp. 135-137.
+
+    [40] _William Fitzhugh and His Chesapeake World_, op. cit.
+    (footnote 3), p. 203.
+
+    [41] HAPPEL, op. cit. (footnote 22), p. 186; Stafford County
+    Order Book, 1689-1694, pp. 210-211.
+
+
+FURNISHINGS OF TWO MARLBOROUGH HOUSES
+
+Like George Mason, George Andrews ran an ordinary at the port town,
+having been licensed in 1693, and he also kept the ferry across Potomac
+Creek.[42] He died in 1698, leaving the property to his grandson John
+Cave. From the inventory of his estate recorded in the Stafford County
+records (Appendix A) we obtain a picture not only of the furnishings of
+a house in the port town, but also of what constituted an ordinary.[43]
+We are left with no doubt that as a hostelry Andrews' house left much to
+be desired. There were no bedsteads, although six small feather beds
+with bolsters and one old and small flock bed are listed. (Flock
+consisted of tufted and fragmentary pieces of wool and cotton, while
+"Bed" referred not to a bedframe or bedstead but to the tick or
+mattress.) There were two pairs of curtains and valances. In the 17th
+century a valance was "A border of drapery hanging around the canopy of
+a bed."[44] Curtains customarily were suspended from within the valance
+from bone or brass curtain rings on a rod or wire, and were drawn around
+the bed for privacy or warmth. Where high post bedsteads were used, the
+curtains and valances were supported on the rectangular frame of the
+canopy or tester. Since George Andrews did not list any bedsteads, it is
+possible that his curtains and valances were hung from bracketed frames
+above low wooden frames that held the bedding. Six of his beds were
+covered with "rugs," one of which was "Turkey work." There is no
+indication of sheets or other refinements for sleeping.
+
+Andrews' furniture was old, but apparently of good quality. Four "old"
+cane chairs, which may have dated back as far as 1660, were probably
+English, of carved walnut. The "old" table may have had a turned or a
+joined frame, or possibly may have been a homemade trestle table. An
+elegant touch was the "carpet," which undoubtedly covered it. Chests of
+drawers were rare in the 17th century, so it is surprising to find one
+described here as "old." A "cupboard" was probably a press or court
+cupboard for the display of plates and dishes and perhaps the pair of
+"Tankards" listed in the inventory. The latter may have been pewter or
+German stoneware with pewter mounts. The "couch" was a combination bed
+and settee. As in every house there were chests, but of what sort or
+quality we can only surmise. A "great trunk" provided storage.
+
+Andrews' hospitality as host is symbolized by his _lignum vitae_
+punchbowl. Punch itself was something of an innovation and had first
+made its appearance in England aboard ships arriving from India early in
+the 1600's. It remained a sailor's drink throughout most of the century,
+but had begun to gain in general popularity before 1700 in the colonies.
+What is more remarkable here, however, is the container. Edward M. Pinto
+states that such _lignum vitae_ "wassail" bowls were sometimes large
+enough to hold five gallons of punch and were kept in one place on the
+table, where all present took part in the mixing. They were lathe-turned
+and usually stood on pedestals.[45] George Andrews' nutmeg graters,
+silver spoons, and silver dram cup for tasting the spirits that were
+poured into the punch were all elegant accessories.
+
+Another resident whose estate was inventoried was Peter Beach.[46] One
+of his executors was Daniel Beach, who was paid 300 pounds of tobacco
+annually from 1700 to 1703 for "sweeping" and "cleaning" the courthouse
+(Appendix B). Beach's furnishings were scarcely more elaborate than
+Andrews'. Unlike Andrews, he owned four bedsteads, which with their
+curtains and fittings (here called "furniture") varied in worth from 100
+to 1500 pounds of tobacco. Here again was a cupboard, while there were
+nine chairs with "flag" seats and "boarded" backs (rush-seated chairs,
+probably of the "slat-back" or "ladder-back" variety). Eight more chairs
+and five stools were not described. A "parcel of old tables" was listed,
+but only one table appears to have been in use. There were pewter and
+earthenware, but a relatively few cooking utensils. An "old" pewter
+tankard was probably the most elegant drinking vessel, while one
+candlestick was a grudging concession to the need for artificial light.
+The only books were two Bibles; the list mentions a single indentured
+servant.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [42] Stafford County Order Book, 1689-1694, p. 195.
+
+    [43] Stafford County Will Book, Liber Z, pp. 168-169.
+
+    [44] _A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles_
+    (Oxford, 1928), vol. 10, pt. 2, p. 18.
+
+    [45] EDWARD H. PINTO, _Treen, or Small Woodware Throughout
+    the Ages_ (London, 1949), p. 20.
+
+    [46] Stafford County Will Book, Liber Z, pp. 158-159.
+
+
+THE GREGG SURVEY
+
+In 1707, after the revival of the Port Act, the new county surveyor,
+Thomas Gregg, made another survey of the town. This was done apparently
+without regard to Buckner's original survey. Since Gregg adopted an
+entirely new system of numbering, and since his survey was lost at an
+early date, it is impossible to locate by their description the sites of
+the lots granted in 1708 and after.
+
+Forty years later John Mercer wrote:
+
+     It is certain that Thomas Gregg (being the Surveyor of Stafford
+     County) did Sep 2^d 1707 make a new Survey of the Town.... it is as
+     certain that Gregg had no regard either to the bounds or numbers of
+     the former Survey since he begins his Numbers the reverse way
+     making his number 1 in the corner at Buckner's 19 & as his Survey
+     is not to be found its impossible to tell how he continued his
+     Numbers. No scheme I have tried will answer, & the Records differ
+     as much, the streets according to Buckner's Survey running thro the
+     House I lived in built by Ballard tho his whole lot was ditched in
+     according to the Bounds made by Gregg.[47]
+
+Whatever the intent may have been in laying out formal street and lot
+plans, Marlborough was essentially a rustic village. If Gregg's plat ran
+streets through the positions of houses on the Buckner survey, and vice
+versa, it is clear that not much attention was paid to theoretical
+property lines or streets. Ballard apparently dug a boundary ditch
+around his lot, according to Virginia practice in the 17th century, but
+the fact that this must have encroached on property assigned to somebody
+else on the basis of the Buckner survey seems not to have been noted at
+the time. Rude houses placed informally and connected by lanes and
+footpaths, the courthouse attempting to dominate them like a village
+schoolmaster in a class of country bumpkins, a few outbuildings, a boat
+landing or two, some cultivated land, and a road leading away from the
+courthouse to the north with another running in the opposite direction
+to the creek--this is the way Marlborough must have looked even in its
+best days in 1708.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [47] John Mercer's Land Book, loc. cit. (footnote 12).
+
+THE DEATH OF MARLBOROUGH AS A TOWN
+
+Could this poor village have survived had the courthouse not burned? It
+was an unhappy contrast to the vision of a town governed by "benchers of
+the guild hall," bustling with mercantile activity, swarming on busy
+market days with ordinaries filled with people. This fantasy may have
+pulsated briefly through the minds of a few. But, after the abrogation
+of the Port Act in 1710, there was little left to justify the town's
+existence other than the courthouse. So long as court kept, there was
+need for ordinaries and ferries and for independent jacks-of-all-trades
+like Andrews. But with neither courthouse nor port activity nor
+manufacture, the town became a paradox in an economy and society of
+planters.
+
+Remote and inaccessible, uninhabited by individuals whose skills could
+have given it vigor, Marlborough no longer had any reason for being. It
+lingered on for a short time, but when John Mercer came to transform the
+abandoned village into a flourishing plantation, "Most of the other
+Buildings were suffered to go to Ruin, so that in the year 1726, when
+your Petitioner [i.e., Mercer] went to live there, but one House
+twenty-feet square was standing."[48]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [48] Petition of John Mercer, loc. cit. (footnote 17).
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+_John Mercer's Occupation of Marlborough, 1726-1730_
+
+
+MERCER'S ARRIVAL IN STAFFORD COUNTY
+
+By 1723 Marlborough lay abandoned. George Mason (III), son of the late
+sheriff and ordinary keeper in the port town, held the now-empty title
+of feoffee, together with Rice Hooe. In that year Mason and Hooe
+petitioned the General Court "that Leave may be given to bring in a Bill
+to enable them to sell the said Land [of the town] the same not being
+built upon or Inhabited." The petition was put aside for consideration,"
+but within a week--on May 21, 1723--it was "ordered That Rice Hooe &
+George Mason be at liberty to withdraw their petition ... and that the
+Committee to whom it was referred be discharged from proceeding
+thereon."[49]
+
+This curious sequence remains unexplained. Had the committee informally
+advised the feoffees that their cause would be rejected, suggesting,
+therefore, that they withdraw their petition? Or had something
+unexpected occurred to provide an alternative solution to the problem of
+Marlborough?
+
+Possibly it was the latter, and the unexpected occurrence may have been
+the arrival in Stafford County of young John Mercer. There is no direct
+evidence that Mercer was in the vicinity as early as 1723; but we know
+that he appeared before 1725, that he had by then become well acquainted
+with George Mason, and that he settled in Marlborough in 1726.
+
+Mercer's remarkable career began with his arrival in Virginia at the
+age of 16. Born in Dublin in 1704, the son of a Church Street merchant
+of English descent--also named John Mercer--and of Grace Fenton Mercer,
+John was educated at Trinity College, and then sailed for the New World
+in 1720.[50] How Mercer arrived in Virginia or what means he brought
+with him are lost to the record. From his own words written toward the
+end of his life we know that he was not overburdened with wealth:
+
+    "Except my education I never got a shilling of my fathers or
+    any other relations estate, every penny I ever got has been
+    by my own industry & with as much fatigue as most people have
+    undergone."[51]
+
+From his second ledger (the first, covering the years 1720-1724, having
+been lost) we learn that he was engaged in miscellaneous trading,
+sailing up and down the rivers in his sloop and exchanging goods along
+the way. Where his home was in these early years we do not know, but it
+would appear that he had been active in the Stafford County region for
+some time, judging from the fact that by 1725 he had accumulated £322
+4s. 5-1/2d. worth of tobacco in a warehouse at the falls of the
+Rappahannock.[52] He certainly had encountered George Mason before then,
+and probably Mason's uncles, John, David, and James Waugh, the sons of
+Parson John Waugh, all of whom owned idle Marlborough properties.
+
+Mercer's friendship with the Masons was sufficiently well established by
+1725 that on June 10 of that year he married George's sister Catherine.
+This marriage, most advantageous to an aspiring young man, was
+celebrated at Mrs. Ann Fitzhugh's in King George County with the
+Reverend Alexander Scott of Overwharton Parish in Stafford County
+officiating.[53] Thus, allied to an established family that was "old" by
+standards of the time and sponsored socially by a representative of the
+Fitzhughs, Mercer was admitted at the age of 21 to Virginia's growing
+aristocracy.
+
+In this animated and energetic youth, the Masons and Waughs probably saw
+the means of bringing Marlborough back to life. Mercer, for his part, no
+doubt recognized the advantages that Marlborough offered, with its
+sheltered harbor and landing, its fertile, flat fields, and airy
+situation. That it could be acquired piecemeal at a minimum of
+investment through the provisions of the Act for Ports was an added
+inducement.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [49] _JHB, 1712-1726_ (Richmond, 1912), pp. 336, 373.
+
+    [50] "Journals of the Council of Virginia in Executive
+    Session 1737-1763," _VHM_ (Richmond, 1907), vol. 14, pp.
+    232-235.
+
+    [51] _George Mercer Papers Relating to the Ohio Company of
+    Virginia_, comp. and edit. by Lois Mulkearn (Pittsburgh:
+    University of Pittsburgh Press, 1954), p. 204.
+
+    [52] John Mercer's Ledger B is the principal source of
+    information for this chapter. It was begun in 1725 and ended
+    in 1732. The original copy is in the library of the Bucks
+    County Historical Society, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, a
+    photostatic copy being in the Virginia State Library. Further
+    footnoted references to the ledger are omitted, since the
+    source in each case is recognizable.
+
+    [53] JAMES MERCER GARNET, "James Mercer," _WMQ_ [1]
+    (Richmond, 1909), vol. 17, pp. 85-98. Mrs. Ann Fitzhugh was
+    the widow of William Fitzhugh III, who died in 1713/14. She
+    was the daughter of Richard Lee and lived at "Eagle's Nest"
+    in King George County (see "The Fitzhugh Family," VHM
+    [Richmond, 1900], vol. 7, pp. 317-318).
+
+
+JOHN MERCER AS A TRADER
+
+During 1725 Mercer pressed ahead with his trading enterprises. From his
+ledger we learn that he sold Richard Ambler of Yorktown 710 pounds of
+"raw Deerskins" for £35 10s. and bought £200 worth of "sundry goods"
+from him. Between October 1725 and February 1726 he sold a variety of
+furnishings and equipment to Richard Johnson, ranging from a "horsewhip"
+and a "silk Rugg" to "1/2 doz. Shoemaker's knives" and an "Ivory Comb."
+In return he received two hogsheads of tobacco, "a Gallon of syder
+Laceground," and raw and dressed deerskins. He maintained a similar
+long account with Mosley Battaley (Battaille) (Appendix C). From William
+Rogers of Yorktown[54] he bought £12 3s. 6d. worth of earthenware,
+presumably for resale. The tobacco which he had accumulated at the falls
+of the Rappahannock he sold for cash to the Gloucester firm of Whiting &
+Montague, paying Peter Kemp two pounds "for the extraordinary trouble of
+y^r coming up so far for it."
+
+[Illustration: Figure 3.--PORTRAIT OF JOHN MERCER, artist unknown. About
+1750. (_Courtesy of Mrs. Thomas B. Payne._)]
+
+His sloop was the principal means by which Mercer conducted his
+business. Occasionally he rented it for hire, once sharing the proceeds
+of a load of oystershells with George Mason and one Edgeley, who had
+sailed the sloop to obtain the shells. Only one item shows that Mercer
+extended his mercantile activities to slaves: on February 18, 1726, he
+sold a mulatto woman named Sarah to Philemon Cavanaugh "to be paid in
+heavy tobacco each hhd to weigh 300 Neat."
+
+That Mercer was turning in the direction of a legal career is revealed
+in his first account of "Domestick Expenses" for the fall of 1725
+(Appendix D). We find that he was attending court sessions far and wide:
+"Cash for Exp^s at Stafford & Spotsylvania," "Cash for Exp^s Urbanna,"
+the same for "Court Ferrage at Keys." He already was reading in the law,
+and lent "March's Actions of Slander," "Washington's Abridgm^t of y^e
+Statutes," and "an Exposition of the Law Terms" to Mosley Battaley.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [54] William Rogers, who died in 1739, made earthenware and
+    stoneware at Yorktown after 1711. See C. MALCOLM WATKINS and
+    IVOR NOËL HUME, "The 'Poor Potter' of Yorktown" (paper 54 in
+    _Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology_,
+    U.S. National Museum Bulletin 249, by various authors;
+    Washington: Smithsonian Institution), 1967.
+
+
+SETTING UP HOUSEKEEPING
+
+Mercer's domestic-expense account is full of evidence that he was
+preparing to set up housekeeping. He bought "1 China punch bowl," 10s.;
+"6 glasses," 3s.; "1 box Iron & heaters," 2s. 6d.; "1 p^r fine
+blankets," 1s. 13d.; "Earthen ware," 10s.; "5 Candlesticks," 17s. 6d.;
+"1 Bed Cord," 2s.; "3 maple knives & forks," 2s.; "1 yew haft knife &
+fork & 1 p^r Stilds [steelyards?]," 1s. 10-1/2d.; "1 p^r Salisbury
+Scissors," 2s. 6d.; and "1 speckled knife & fork," 5d.
+
+In addition, he accepted as payment for various cloth and materials sold
+to Mrs. Elizabeth Russell the following furniture and furnishings:
+
+                                      Ster.   £   s.   d.
+  By a writing desk                    D^o    5
+  By a glass & Cover                   D^o        7    6
+  By 18^l Pewter at 1/4                D^o    1   4
+  By 6 tea Cups & Sawcers 2/           D^o       12
+  By 2 Chocolate Cups 1/               D^o        2
+  By 2 Custard Cups 9^d                D^o        1    6
+  By 1 Tea Table painted with fruit    D^o       14
+  By 6 leather Chairs @ 7/                    2   2
+  By a small walnut eating table                  8
+  By 1/2 doz. Candlemoulds                       10
+  By a Tea table                                 18
+  By a brass Chafing dish                         5
+  By 6 copper tart pans                           6
+
+At the time of this purchase, the only house standing at Marlborough was
+that built by Thomas Ballard in 1708. It was inherited by his godson
+David Waugh,[55] who now apparently offered to let his niece Catherine
+and her new husband occupy it. Mercer later referred to it as "the
+House I lived in built by Ballard."[56] From his own records we know
+that he moved to Marlborough in 1726. He did so probably in the summer,
+since on June 11 he settled with Charles McClelland for "cleaning out
+y^e house." Unoccupied for years and small in size, it was a humble
+place in which to set up housekeeping, and indeed must have needed
+"cleaning out." It also must have needed extensive repairs, since Mercer
+purchased 1500 tenpenny nails "used about it."
+
+Throughout 1726 Mercer acquired household furnishings, made repairs and
+improvements, and obtained the necessities of a plantation. On February
+1 he acquired "3 Ironbacks" (cast-iron firebacks for fireplaces) for £8
+4s. 2d., as well as "2 p^r hand Irons" for 15s. 5d., from Edmund Bagge.
+From George Rust he bought "3 Cows & Calves" for £7 10s., a featherbed
+for £3 10s., and an "Iron pot" for 5s.
+
+His reckoning with John Dogge opens with a poignant note, "By a Child's
+Coffin": Mercer's first-born child had died. On the same account was "an
+Oven," bought for 17 shillings. Dogge also was credited with "bringing
+over 10 sheep from Sumners" (a plantation at Passapatanzy, south of
+Potomac Creek). Rawleigh Chinn was paid for "plowing up & fencing in my
+yard" and for "fetching 3 horses over the Creek." Also credited to Chinn
+was an item revealing Mercer's sporting enthusiasm: "went on y^e main
+race ... 15/."
+
+From Alexander Buncle, Mercer acquired one dozen table knives, three
+chamber-door locks, two pairs of candle snuffers, and two broad axes.
+His account with Alexander McFarlane in 1726, the credit side of which
+is quoted here in part, is a further illustration of the variety of
+hardware and consumable goods that he required:
+
+                                     £   s.   d.
+  2 p^r men's Shooes                     9
+  1 Razor & penknife                     2    6
+  2-1/4 gall Rum                         6    9
+  9 gals. molasses                      13
+  12^1 brown Sugar                       6
+  6-1/4 double refined D^o 20^d         10    5
+  1 felt hat                             2    4
+  1 q^t Limejuice                        1
+  2 doz. Claret                      1  10
+  2 lanthorns                            6
+  1 funnell                                   7-1/2
+  1 quart & 1 pint tin pot               1    10-1/2
+
+  * * *
+
+  By 2 doz & 8 bottles Claret        2   8
+  By a woman's horsewhip                 3
+  By 1^{oz} Gunpowder
+  By 10^l Shot
+  By 1 wom^s bound felt [hat]
+
+Mercer's comments, added three years later to this record, signify the
+complexities of credit accounting in the plantation economy: "In July
+1729 I settled Accounts w^{th} M^r M^cFarlane & paid him off & at the
+same time having Ed Barry's note on him for 1412^l Tob^o (his goods
+being extravagantly dear) I paid him 1450^l Tob^o to M^r Thos Smith to
+ball^{ns} accts."
+
+Another of Mercer's accounts was with Edward Simm. From Simm, Mercer
+acquired the following in 1726:
+
+                                     £   s.   d.
+  1 horsewhip                            4
+  1 fine hat                            12
+  9 y^{ds} bedtick 3/4                 1  10
+  1 p^r Spurs                                 8
+  1 Curry Comb & brush                   2    9
+  2 p^r mens Shooes 5/                  10
+  1 p^r Chelloes                     1  10
+  2 p^r wom^s gloves 2/                  4
+  2 p^r D^o thread hose                  9
+  2 p^r mens worsted d^o                 8
+  2 p^r ch^{kr} yarn                     3    4
+  1 Sifter                               2
+  1 frying pan                           4    6
+  7 quire of paper 1-1/4                 9    8
+  6 silk Laces 4^d                       2
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [55] John Mercer's Land Book, loc. cit. (footnote 12).
+
+    [56] Petition of John Mercer, loc. cit. (footnote 17).
+
+
+ACQUIRING LAND AND BUILDING A NEW HOUSE
+
+Mercer's first actual ownership of property came as a result of his
+marriage. In 1725 he purchased from his wife Catherine 885 acres of land
+near Potomac Church for £221 5s. and another tract of 1610 acres on
+Potomac Run for £322.[57] His occupancy of the Ballard house, meanwhile,
+was arranged on a most informal basis, three years having been allowed
+to pass before he paid his first and only rent--a total of 12
+shillings--to his uncle-in-law David Waugh.
+
+In January 1730 the following appears under "Domestick Expenses": "To
+bringing the frame of my house from Jervers to Marlbro ... 40/."
+Associated with this are items for 2000 tenpenny nails, 2000 eightpenny
+nails, and 1000 sixpenny nails, together with "To Chandler Fowke for
+plank," "To J^{no} Chambers &c bring board from Landing," and "To John
+Chambers & Robt Collins for bringing Bricks & Oyster Shells."
+
+In the same month the account of Anthony Linton and Henry Suddath
+includes the following:
+
+  By building a house at Marlborough when finished
+    by agreement                                       £10.0.0
+  By covering my house & building a Chimney              3.0.0
+
+Clearly, the Mercers had outgrown the temporary shelter which the little
+Ballard house had given them. Now a new house was under construction,
+with the steps plainly indicated. To obtain timber of sufficient size to
+frame the house it was necessary to go where the trees grew. The nearest
+thickly forested area was north of Potomac Creek and Potomac Run. The
+appropriate timbers apparently grew on property owned by Mercer but
+occupied by the widow of James Jervis (or "Jervers"). Not only did the
+trees grow there, but we may be sure that there they were also felled,
+hewn, and cut, and the finished members fitted together on the ground to
+form the frame of the new house. It was a time-honored English building
+practice to prepare the timbers where they were felled, shaping them,
+drilling holes for "trunnels" (wooden pegs or "tree nails"), inscribing
+coded numbers with lumber markers, and then knocking the prefabricated
+members apart and transporting them to the building site.[58]
+
+Oystershells and bricks for the chimney were brought from Cedar Point
+and Boyd's Hole, south of Marlborough, by Chambers and Collins. Shells
+were probably burned at the house site to make lime for mortar. Chambers
+was paid 12 pence a day for 32-1/2 days' work spread over a period from
+October 1730 to February 1731. Hugh French had been paid for 1000 bricks
+on August 24, 1730, while James Jones, on October 3, 1730, was
+recompensed three shillings for "9 days of work your Man plaistering my
+House & making 2 brick backs."
+
+[Illustration: Figure 4.--THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF JOHN MERCER. Detail from
+J. Dalrymple's revision (1755) of the map of Virginia by Joseph Fry and
+Peter Jefferson. Marlborough is incorrectly designated "New Marleboro."
+(_Courtesy of the Library of Congress._)]
+
+The new house was thus brought to completion early in 1731. That it was
+a plain and simple house is apparent from the small amount of labor and
+the relatively few quantities of material. It appears to have had two
+fireplaces only and one chimney. Although the house was wooden, there is
+no evidence that it had any paint whatsoever, inside or out.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [57] John Mercer's Land Book, loc. cit. (footnote 12).
+
+    [58] CHARLES F. INNOCENT, _The Development of English
+    Building Construction_ (Cambridge, England: Cambridge
+    University Press, 1916), pp. 23-61.
+
+
+FURNISHING THE HOUSE
+
+Other than a child's chair and a bedstead costing 10 shillings,
+purchased from Enoch Innes in 1729, little furniture was acquired before
+1730. Listed in "Domestick Expenses" for 1729-1730 are minor accessories
+for the new house, such as HL hinges, closet locks, a "scimmer," a pair
+of brass candlesticks, milk pans, pestle and mortar, "1/2 doz plates," a
+"Cullender," a candlebox, earthenware, and a pepperbox, together with
+several handtools.
+
+
+MERCER'S VARIED ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS
+
+The agricultural aspects of a plantation were increasingly in evidence.
+In 1729 Rawleigh Chinn was paid for "helping to kill the Hogs,"
+"pasturage of my cattle," and "making a gate." Edward Floyd was credited
+with £4 6s. 7-1/2d. for "Wintering Cattle, taking care of my horse &
+Sheep to Aug. 1729." John Chinn seems to have been Mercer's jockey, for
+as early as 1729 he was entering the races which abounded in Virginia,
+and "went on y^e race w^{th} Colt 1729."
+
+In this early period we find considerable evidence of a typical young
+Virginian's fondness for gaming and sport. One finds scattered through
+Mercer's account with Robert Spotswood such items as "To won at the Race
+... 8.9" and "To won at Liew at Col^o Mason's ... 7.3." (Loo was an
+elegant 18th-century game played with Chinese-carved mother-of-pearl
+counters.) Mercer participated in several sporting events at Stafford
+courthouse, for court sessions continued, as in the previous century,
+to be social as well as legal and political occasions. This is
+illustrated in a credit to Joseph Waugh: "By won at a horse race at
+Stafford Court and Attorney's fee ... £1."; on the debit side of Enoch
+Innes's account: "To won at Quoits & running with you ... 1/3"; and in
+Thomas Hudson's account, where four shillings were marked up "To won
+pitching at Stafford Court."
+
+Mercer's diversions were few enough, nevertheless, and it is apparent
+that he devoted more time to reading than to gaming. In 1726 he borrowed
+from John Graham (or Graeme) a library of 56 volumes belonging to the
+"Hon^{ble} Col^o Spotswood"[59] (Appendix E). Ranging from the Greek
+classics to English history, and including Milton, Congreve, Dryden,
+Cole's Dictionary, "Williams' Mathematical Works," and "Present State of
+Russia," they were the basis for a solid education. That they included
+no lawbooks at a time when Mercer was preparing for the law is an
+indication of his broad taste for literature and learning.
+
+Marlborough, we can see, was occupied by a young man of talent, energy,
+and creativity. He alone, of the many men who had envisioned a center of
+enterprise on Potomac Neck, was possessed of the drive and the simple
+directness to make it succeed. For George Mason and the Waughs, Mercer
+was the ideal solution for their Marlborough difficulties.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [59] Col. Alexander Spotswood, Governor of Virginia and a
+    resident of Spotsylvania County, was at this time living in
+    London. He authorized John Graham (or Graeme) of St. James,
+    Clerkenwell, Middlesex, to "take possession of his iron works
+    in Virginia, with plantations, negroes, stocks, and manage
+    the same." By 1732 Spotswood regretted that he had "committed
+    his affairs to the care of a mathematician, whose thoughts
+    were always among the stars." In 1737 Graham became professor
+    of natural philosophy and mathematics in the College of
+    William and Mary. See "Historical & Genealogical Notes," WMQ
+    [1] (Richmond, 1909), vol. 17, p. 301 (quoting Basset,
+    _Writings of William Byrd_, p. 378).
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+_Mercer's Consolidation of Marlborough, 1730-1740_
+
+
+MERCER THE YOUNG LAWYER
+
+The 1730's opened a golden age in the Virginia colony. There was an
+interval of peace in which trade might flourish; there were new laws
+which favored the tobacco planter and led to the building of resplendent
+mansions along Virginia's shores. John Mercer wasted no time in grasping
+the opportunities that lay about him. With shrewd foresight he made law
+his major objective, thus raising himself above most of his
+contemporaries. At the same time he began an extensive purchasing of
+property, so that within a decade he was to become one of the major
+landed proprietors in the colony. Planting and legal practice each
+augmented the other in Mercer's prosperity, which was assured by a
+classic combination of energy, ability, and outgoing personality. As
+with many successful men, Mercer had an eye for meticulous detail; the
+documents he left behind were a treasury of methodically kept records.
+
+His Ledger B reveals that as early as 1730 his legal career was becoming
+firmly established. It records fee accounts, charges for drawing deeds,
+writing bonds, and representing clients in various courts. In that year
+he "subscribed to Laws of Virginia" through William Parks, the
+Williamsburg printer and stationer, and began to build up a substantial
+law library, which was augmented by the purchase of 40 lawbooks from
+Robert Beverley.
+
+
+DIFFICULTIES IN ACQUIRING MARLBOROUGH
+
+On October 13, 1730, Mercer obtained title from David Waugh to the
+Ballard house and lots on the basis of the "Statute for transforming
+uses into possessions." At the same time he acquired the three lots
+originally granted to John Waugh, while nine months later he was given
+the release of the three lots inherited by George Mason from his
+father.[60] Mercer's foothold in Marlborough was now secure.
+
+Following these developments, he "employed the County Surveyor to lay
+off the several Lots he had purchased," which led to the discovery of
+the previously mentioned disparities and conflicts between the Buckner
+survey of 1691 and the missing Gregg survey of 1707. For some reason the
+town now lacked feoffees, so Mercer "applied to the County Court of
+Stafford on the tenth day of June one thousand seven hundred and
+thirty-one and the said Court then appointed Henry Fitzhugh Esquire and
+James Markham Gent. Feofees of the said Town." Mercer stated that he
+"proposed making great Improvements ... and wanted to take up several
+other Lots to build on." The court thereupon ordered John Savage, the
+county surveyor, to make a new survey, "having regard to the Buildings
+and Improvements then standing"--a significant instruction, intended no
+doubt to permit the reconciling of conflicting titles with respect to
+what actually was built.[61]
+
+The new survey was laid out July 23, 1731, "in the presence of the said
+Feoffees," and drawn with the same plan and numbering as Buckner's,
+except that an additional row of lots was applied along the western
+border of the town, compressing slightly the former lots as planned by
+Buckner and pushing them eastward (fig. 2). This extra row, we have
+reason to believe, was added with "regard to the Buildings and
+Improvements then standing."
+
+At the time of the survey, the feoffees told Mercer "that he might
+proceed in his Buildings and Improvements on any the said Lots not
+before granted," promising that they would at any time make him "any
+Title they could lawfully pass." A proposal by Fitzhugh to give title to
+any lots already purchased or any which Mercer might take up under terms
+of the Port Act of 1705 was discouraged by Mercer's lawyer, Mr. Hopkins,
+who took the view that, since the three surveys conflicted, the deeds
+would not be good. Accordingly, Fitzhugh and Mercer applied for an
+"amicable Bill," or suit in chancery, in the General Court, in order "to
+have Savage's or any particular Survey established." The request was
+shelved, however, and still was unanswered in 1748.
+
+The extra row of lots and the court's instructions to Savage to make his
+survey with "Regard to the Buildings and Improvements then Standing"
+seem to be correlated. Savage made a significant notation on his survey
+plat: "The lots marked 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, & 21 joining to the Creek are
+in possession of Mr. John Mercer who claims them under Robinson,
+Berryman, Pope & Parry, & under Ballard & under John Waugh dec^{ed}, all
+w^{ch} he says have been built on and saved." On the Buckner plat the
+lots bearing these numbers comprise a block of six in the southwest
+corner of the town, extending up from the creek in two 3-tiered rows
+(fig. 2). The plat included the lots near the head of the "gutt" where
+the courthouse appears to have stood, as well as the land on which
+Structure B (the foundation of Mercer's mansion) was excavated. The lots
+appear in the same relationship on Savage's survey, except that the new
+row bounds them on the west.
+
+We know that the Robinson-Berryman-Pope-Parry lot was the same lot
+originally granted to Robert Alexander in 1691, numbered 19 on
+Buckner's plat. It was granted to its later owners according to the
+Gregg survey in 1707, and was then described as "being the first Lott
+known in the Survey Platt by number 1." From Mercer we have learned
+already that Gregg made "his number 1 in the corner at Buckner's 19."
+The other five lots were claimed under Ballard and John Waugh. Waugh was
+granted one lot in 1691--Buckner's number 20--and acquired two more in
+1707. All three appear to have been in the corner block of six lots. In
+any case, these six lots equal the number of lots known to have been
+granted the above-listed lot holders. Both of Ballard's lots were
+granted in 1707. His lot number 19 (Gregg survey), where Mercer first
+lived, is described as "bounding Easterly with a lott surveyed for Mr.
+John Waugh Westerly with a Narrow street Northerly with a lott not yet
+surveyed, Southerly with the first main Street which is parallel with
+Potomac Creek." We do not know which of Waugh's lots is meant, nor do we
+know Gregg's street plan, except that it was at odds with Buckner's. But
+it is probable that Ballard's lot (Gregg's number 19) was the same as
+Buckner's number 21, that the crosstown street on Gregg's plat lay to
+the south of the lot rather than to the north of it, as on Buckner's
+plat, and that one of Waugh's lots lay to the east of it.[62]
+
+Assuming that the two acres for the courthouse were located near the
+head of the "gutt" and that Ballard's lot 19 was approximately the same
+as Buckner's 21, it is apparent that Ballard's lot must have overlapped
+the courthouse lots in the confusion between the two surveys. Since
+Mercer was living on Ballard's lot, he probably infringed on the
+courthouse property. Even though the courthouse had been burned and
+abandoned, the two acres assigned to it were required to revert to the
+original owner, as provided in the Act of 1667, concerning church and
+courthouse lands. In this case, the courthouse land, having been
+"deserted," had reverted to the heir of Giles Brent.
+
+Mercer's embarrassment at this state of affairs must have been great.
+However, the addition by Savage of a whole new row of lots along the
+westerly border of the town created new acreage, sufficient both to
+reconcile the conflict and to provide compensatory land to satisfy the
+Brents. Unfortunately, the Savage survey, as we have noted, was not made
+official, and Mercer was forced to continue his questionable occupancy
+of properties whose titles were in doubt.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 5.--KING WILLIAM COURTHOUSE, about 1725. Mercer
+often pleaded cases here. (From a Civil War period negative.) (_Courtesy
+of Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress._)]
+
+What is most significant to us in all this is the inference that the
+courthouse, the Ballard house which Mercer occupied, and the Structure B
+foundation were all in close proximity.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [60] John Mercer's Land Book, loc. cit. (footnote 12).
+
+    [61] Petition of John Mercer, loc. cit. (footnote 17).
+
+    [62] Stafford County Will Book, Liber Z, pp. 407, 431, 497.
+
+
+LARGE PROPERTY ACQUISITIONS
+
+Mercer's next purchase of Marlborough property was on July 28, 1737,
+when he bought the three lots granted in 1691 to George Andrews from
+Andrews' grandson, John Cave. Meanwhile, he began large-scale
+acquisitions of lands elsewhere. By 1733 he had acquired an aggregate of
+8096 acres in Prince William County. In addition, he obtained a "Lease
+for three Lives" on three large tracts belonging to William Brent,
+adjoining Marlborough, so that he controlled virtually all of Potomac
+Neck.[63]
+
+Thus, after 1730 we find Mercer's fortune already well established and
+increasing. No longer a youthful trader plying the Potomac in his sloop,
+he was now a gentleman planter and influential lawyer. He lived in a new
+house, owned some parts of Marlborough, and was building "improvements"
+on others. Almost overnight he had become a landed proprietor.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [63] John Mercer's Land Book, loc. cit. (footnote 12).
+
+
+SUCCESS AT LAW AND CONFLICTS WITH LAWYERS
+
+The source of Mercer's newly made wealth is easily discovered. His
+ledger shows an income from legal fees in 1730 amounting to £291 10s.
+10-1/2d. In 1731 the figure climbed to £643 18s. 2d., then leveled off
+to £639 11s. 2-1/2d. the following year. For a young man still in his
+twenties and self-trained in the law, this was a remarkable achievement.
+His success perhaps is attributable to a single event that stemmed from
+youthful brashness and vigorous outspokenness. Early in 1730, in a
+daring gesture on behalf of property owners and taxpayers, he protested
+against privileges granted in an act passed by the Assembly the previous
+year "for encouraging Adventurers in Iron Works." Presented in the form
+of a proposition, the protest was read before the Stafford court by
+Peter Hedgman. The reaction to it in Williamsburg, once it had reached
+the ears of the Assembly, was immediate and angry. The House of
+Burgesses
+
+     _Resolv'd_ That the Proposition from _Stafford_ County in relation
+     to the Act past in the last Session of this Assembly for
+     encouraging Adventurers in Iron Works is a scandalous and Seditious
+     Libel Containing false and scandalous Reflections upon the
+     Legislature and the Justices of the General Court and other Courts
+     of this Colony.
+
+     _Resolv'd_ That _John Mercer_ the Author and Writer of that paper
+     and _Peter Hedgman_ one of the Subscribers who presented the same
+     to the Court of Stafford County to be certified to the General
+     Assembly are guilty of a high Misdemeanour.
+
+     _Order'd_ That the said _John Mercer_ and _Peter Hedgman_ be sent
+     for in Custody of the Serjeant at Arms attending this House to
+     answer their said Offence at the Bar of this House.[64]
+
+Mercer and Hedgman made their apologies to the House, received their
+reprimands, and paid their fines. But this protest, so offensive to the
+dignity of the lawmakers, had its effect in forcing amendments to the
+act, particularly in removing the requirement for building public roads
+leading from the ironworks to the ore supplies and shipping points. To
+those living in Stafford, particularly in the neighborhood of the
+proposed Accokeek Ironworks, near Marlborough, this concession must have
+elevated Mercer to the level of a hero.[65]
+
+Mercer's frank disposition led him into other difficulties during the
+first years of his practice. His insistence on the prompt payment of
+debts and his opposition to stays of execution following suits had won
+him enemies at Prince William court. Charges of improper legal
+activities were brought against him; these were investigated at
+Williamsburg, with the result that on June 13, 1734, he was suspended
+from practicing law in Virginia for a period of six months.[66]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [64] _JHB, 1727-1734; 1736-1740_ (Richmond, 1910), p. 66.
+
+    [65] Ibid., p. xxi.
+
+    [66] _Executive Journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia_
+    (Richmond, Virginia: D. Bottom, superintendent of public
+    printing, 1925), vol. 4, p. 328.
+
+
+TEMPORARY RETIREMENT, THE ABRIDGMENT, AND GUARDIANSHIP OF GEORGE MASON
+
+Deprived temporarily of his principal livelihood, Mercer set out to
+write an _Abridgment of the Laws of Virginia_. The task completed, he
+petitioned the General Court on April 23, 1735, for "leave to Print an
+Abridgment compil'd by him of all the Laws of this Colony & to have the
+benefit of the Sale thereof." On the same day he petitioned for a
+renewal of his license, which was granted with the exception of the
+right to practice in Prince William, where he was to remain _persona non
+grata_ generally thereafter.[67]
+
+Soon after these events his brother-in-law and old acquaintance, George
+Mason, drowned. Mercer was designated co-guardian of 10-year-old George
+Mason IV, who came to live at Marlborough. Young George later grew up to
+be the master of Gunston Hall and, as the author of the Virginia Bill of
+Rights, to stand among the intellectuals whose ideas influenced the
+Revolution and the framing of the Constitution. In these formative
+years, young George Mason surely must have been affected by the strong
+legal mind and cultivated tastes of his uncle.[68]
+
+On October 14, 1737, the _Virginia Gazette_ carried the following
+advertisement:
+
+     _This Day is Published_
+
+     An Exact Abridgment of the Laws of VIRGINIA, in Force and Use, to
+     this present time. By
+
+     John Mercer.
+
+At long last, after innumerable delays, the _Abridgment_ was in print.
+From a financial point of view it was a conspicuous failure. Too few
+Virginians, apparently, were sufficiently interested to buy it.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [67] Ibid., p. 348.
+
+    [68] KATE MASON ROWLAND, _The Life of George Mason_ (New York
+    and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1892), vol. 1, p. 49.
+
+
+DOMESTIC FURNISHINGS AND SERVANTS
+
+During this eventful decade of the 1730's Mercer acquired the things
+needed for the proper maintenance of his house and properties. One
+requisite was Negro servants. From Pat Reyant he bought "a Girl named
+Margaret" for 43 pounds of tobacco in 1730. In 1731 he bought Deborah,
+Phillis, Peter, Nan, and Bob. The following year he obtained Lucy, Will,
+and George, and, in 1733, Nero. His purchases increased as his
+landholdings increased. In 1736 he bought five slaves, three of whom he
+aptly named Dublin, Marlborough, and Stafford.
+
+To help feed his slaves during this early period, Mercer apparently
+depended in part upon Stafford's wealth of natural resources. At least
+we find a record of wild game entered on the same page and under the
+same heading as his "Negroes" account in the ledger. There it is noted
+that he purchased 42 ducks from Natt Hedgman on November 19, 1730, and
+20 ducks from Rawleigh Chinn the same day, paying for them in powder and
+shot. Two swans and a goose, as well as venison, appear on the list.
+Payment for these was made in powder, shot, and wool.
+
+He continued, meanwhile, to equip his house. From John Foward (or
+Foard), a London merchant, he bought a "frying pan" and "2 doz.
+bottles," "1 tomahawk," "2 stock-locks," "1 padlock," "2 best padlocks,"
+"1 drawingknife," "9 p^r hinges," "3 clasp knives," and "1 gall.
+Maderas." In April 1731, he bought from Captain Foward:
+
+                                          £   s.   d.
+  1 bellmettle skillet 4-1/2^{oz} at 2/       9
+  1 copper Sausepan                           7
+  1 Small D^o                                 5    4
+  1 hunting whip                              5
+  1 halfcheck bridle                          7
+  1 fine hat                                 12
+  1 wig Comb                                  6
+
+Also in 1731 he bought "6 rush bottom Chairs" for 17 shillings and a
+spinning wheel for 10 shillings from William Hamitt. The "writing desk"
+which he had bought in 1725 apparently needed extensive and expensive
+repairs, for in March 1731 there appears an item under "Domestick
+Expenses," "To W^m Walker for mending Scoutore £1." (_Scoutore_ was one
+of many corrupt spellings of _escritoire_, a slant-top desk.) William
+Walker was a Stafford County cabinetmaker and builder, about whom we
+shall hear much more.
+
+One of the most active accounts was that of Nathaniel Chapman,[69] who
+directed the newly established Accokeek Ironworks. In 1731 he sold
+Mercer several hundred nails of different descriptions, a variety of
+hoes, ploughs, wedges, door latches, and heaters for smoothing irons.
+One item is "By putting a leg in an old Iron Pott"; another is "By Col
+Mason p^d for mending a snuff box. 2.6" (Appendix F).
+
+In 1732 he paid Thomas Staines £1 for "a Cradle," "two Bedsteads," and
+"a weekes work." From John Blane, during the same year, he purchased
+2500 tenpenny nails and the same quantity of eightpenny nails. He also
+bought from Blane 4 "basons," a porringer, 100 needles, 2 penknives, a
+gross of "thread buttons," and a pair of large "Scissars." Again, in
+1732 he obtained from William Nisbett a quantity of miscellaneous goods,
+including 10 parcels of earthenware and a pewter dish weighing 4 to 5
+ounces. He also settled with Samuel Stevens for "your share in making a
+Canoe."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [69] Nathaniel Chapman headed the Accokeek Ironworks,
+    referred to by Mercer in Ledger G as "Chapman's Works at Head
+    of Bay." Although Mercer had opposed the act, which gave
+    privileges to the ironworks, he was a lifelong friend of
+    Chapman, who testified in his behalf in 1734 and served with
+    him on the Ohio Company Committee in the 1750's and 1760's.
+    Chapman was executor for the estates of Lawrence and
+    Augustine Washington.
+
+
+TOBACCO WAREHOUSES
+
+The Tobacco Act of 1730 provided for the erection of public tobacco
+warehouses, and Marlborough was selected as one of the sites.[70] In
+1731 Mercer's account with John Waugh included "Timber for 2500 boards
+@25/.£3.2.6" and "Posts & Ceils for two Warehouses, 12 shillings." In
+April 1732 he settled accounts with Captain Henry Fitzhugh for "building
+a Warehouse & Wharf & 6 prizes" at 3000 pounds of tobacco, or £15. The
+prizes probably were "incentive awards" for the workmen. Included in
+Fitzhugh's account were "3 days work of Caesar & Will," ten shillings,
+and "4319 very bad Clapboards at 1/2^d y^e board." On March 25 he paid
+Anthony Linton for 1820 clapboards, allowing him eight shillings for
+"sawing of Boards." The warehouses were in operation in 1732, as we
+learn from Mercer's "Account of Inspectors," but they suffered the fate
+of all official enterprises at Marlborough, for in 1734 "the same were
+put down, as being found very inconvenient."[71] The actual date of
+their termination was November 16, 1735, when a new warehouse was
+scheduled for completion at the mouth of Aquia Creek.[72] The expression
+"put down" does not seem to mean that the warehouses were torn down, but
+that they were officially discontinued. He apparently, however,
+continued to use them for his own purposes.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [70] HENING, op. cit. (footnote 1), vol. 4, p. 268.
+
+    [71] Petition of John Mercer, loc. cit. (footnote 17).
+
+    [72] _JHB, 1727-1734; 1736-1740_, op. cit. (footnote 6), p.
+    202.
+
+
+PERSONAL ACTIVITIES
+
+During the 1730's Mercer recorded a minimum of recreational activities.
+Those that he did list are representative of the society of which he was
+a part. Making wagers was a favorite amusement. For example, he was owed
+£7 16s. by "Col^o George Braxton To a Wager you laid me at Cap^t Rob^t
+Brooke's house before M^r James Reid, Will^m Brooke &c Six Guineas to
+one that Col^o Spotswood would not during the Reign of K. George that
+now is, procure a Commission as Chief or Lieu^t Gov^r of Virginia." In
+1731 he paid William Brent "By a pistole won of me about Hedgman's
+wrestling with and throwing Fra^s Dade. £1.1.12." He also paid £2 10s.
+to James Markham "By [my] part on the Race on Stotham's horse." There
+are other scattered references to wagers on horseraces.
+
+Mercer had become a vestryman in Overwharton Parish as early as 1730,
+and appears to have been made responsible for all legal matters
+pertaining to that church. His account, shown in detail in Appendix G,
+is of interest in showing that violations of moral law were held
+accountable to the church and that fines for convictions were paid to
+the church. Mercer, representing the parish, collected a portion of each
+fine as his fee.
+
+Most of his energies now seem to have been divided between the law and
+the substantial responsibilities for managing his plantations. The
+increasing extent of tobacco cultivation is revealed in the tobacco
+account with "M^r Jonathan Foward, Merchant in London" (presumably John
+Foward, mentioned earlier), extending from 1733 to 1743. This account
+lists shipments of 129 hogsheads of tobacco, totaling £643 1s. 11d. (if
+we include a few extraneous items, such as "To an over charge in Lemons"
+and "To a Still charg'd never sent"). Several similar accounts involve
+proceeds from tobacco. In 1734 and 1738, for example, he shipped 54
+hogsheads to William Stevenson, another London merchant, for £207 7d. on
+the ships _Triton_, _Snake_, _Brooks_, and _Elizabeth_.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 6.--MOTHER-OF-PEARL COUNTERS, or "fish," used in
+playing 18th-century games, including Loo, at which Mercer once won 7s.
+3d. from Col. George Mason (III). These examples, collected in
+Massachusetts, are probably late 18th century. (USNM 61.399.)]
+
+Marlborough's full transition to a seat of tobacco-planting empire is
+now clearly discernible. In so becoming, it was typical of the
+consolidation of wealth, property, and power in Virginia as the
+mid-century approached. Land had become both a substitute for tobacco in
+lean years and the means for paying off debts. The same land in better
+years yielded crops to its new owners, so that a relatively few dynamic
+men were able to amass great wealth and form a ruling aristocracy. The
+varieties of talents in men like Mercer--who, besides being a planter,
+was an accomplished lawyer and able administrator--placed them in the
+ascendancy over their less able fellows. The vigor and ability with
+which such men were endowed fostered the remarkable class of leaders of
+the succeeding generation, who had so much to do with founding the
+nation.
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+_Marlborough at its Ascendancy, 1741-1750_
+
+
+TRAVEL
+
+On April 12, 1741, Mercer was admitted to practice at the General Court
+in Williamsburg.[73] His trip there on that occasion was typical of the
+journeys which took him at least twice yearly to the capital. On the
+first day of this Williamsburg trip he rode "To Col^o Taliaferro's," a
+distance of 19 miles. The following day "To Caroline Court" (18 miles),
+the next "To M^r Hubbard's" (30 miles), then as far as "M^r J^{no}
+Powers" (24 miles), and finally "To Furneas & Williamsburg" (30 miles).
+The route was usually to West Point, or Brick House on the opposite
+shore in New Kent County, and thence either directly to Williamsburg, or
+by way of New Kent courthouse. Stopovers were made either at ordinaries
+or at the houses of friends.[74]
+
+Mercer's travels, summarized in the journal that he kept in the back of
+Ledger B from 1730 until his death in 1768, were prodigious. In 1735,
+for example, he journeyed a total of 4202 miles and was home only 119
+days. This pace had slackened considerably in the period we are now
+considering, but, nevertheless, he was not at home more than 218 days
+out of any one year of the decade 1741-1750. This energetic and restless
+moving about was common among the leading planters, but in Mercer's case
+it seems to have reached its ultimate. Practicing law, playing politics,
+acquiring property, and becoming acquainted with people led him all over
+Virginia.
+
+A representative sample from the journal covers the period of September
+and October 1745. It will be noted that the days of the week are
+indicated alphabetically, a through g, as in the calendar of the Book of
+Common Prayer. The mileage traveled each day is entered at the right.
+
+   1  F  to Potomack Church & home                       10
+   2  g  at home
+   3  a  to Tylers & Spotsylvania Court                  14
+   4  b  to M^r Daniels[75] & home                       14
+   5  c  to M^r Moncure's,[76] my Survey & home          20
+   6  d  to King George Court & W^m Walkers'[77]         24
+   7  e  to M^{rs}. Spoore's[78] my Survey & home        20
+   8  F  at home
+   9  g  M^r Moncure's my Survey & home                  20
+  10  a  to Stafford Court & home                        20
+  11  b  at home
+  12  c  to M^{rs} Mason's[79] Survey                    18
+  13  d  at D^o                                          10
+  14  e  at D^o                                          15
+  15  F  to Potomack Church & M^r Moncure's              18
+  16  g  home                                             6
+  17  a  at home
+  18  b  D^o
+  19  c  to M^{rs} Spoore & M^{rs} Taliaferro's          17
+  20  d  at M^r Taliaferro's                             14
+  21  e  To Fredericksburg & M^{rs} Taliaferro's
+  22  F  To Doctor Potter's[80] & M^{rs} Taliaferro's.
+            Lost my horses                                2
+  23  g  To M^r Moncure's                                 9
+  24  a  home                                            10
+  25  b  at home
+  26  c  D^o
+  27  d  D^o
+  28  e  to M^r Moncure's, Vestry & home                 16
+  29  F  at home
+  30  g  D^o
+
+  October
+
+   1  a  at home
+   2  b  to M^r Moncure's & Fredericksburg Fair          15
+   3  c  at the Fair
+   4  d  to M^r Moncure's & home                         15
+   5  e  at home
+   6  F  to M^{rs} Taliaferro's                          17
+   7  g  to Caroline Court h^o & George Hoomes's[81]     20
+   8  a  to Newcastle                                    50
+   9  b  to M^r Anderson's & M^r Gray's [82]             14
+  10  c  to New Kent Courth^s & M^r Gray's               14
+  11 d  to Furnau's & Williamsburg                       17
+  12 e  at Williamsburg
+
+[He remained at Williamsburg until November 6.]
+
+Such itineraries were punctuated by periods of staying at Marlborough,
+but even then there were day-long journeys to Stafford courthouse, to
+church, or to a survey. The courthouse, which succeeded that at
+Marlborough, was situated on the south side of Potomac Creek, about
+three miles upstream from the old site. Mercer almost invariably took
+the 10-mile-long land route through the site of the present village of
+Brook, along the Fredericksburg road past Potomac Church, then along the
+headwaters of Potomac Run on a now-disused road leading to Belle Plains.
+Just before reaching the courthouse, which stood on a rise of land some
+distance back from the creek, he passed "Salvington," the mansion of
+Joseph Selden.[83] Near the water, and in sight of the courthouse, stood
+the house of John Cave, whose grandfather in 1707 had bought his land
+from Sampson Darrell, undertaker of the Marlborough courthouse.[84] Near
+it, on a foundation still visible, Cave built the warehouse that bore
+his name, and through him passed much of the tobacco that Mercer raised
+locally. Occasionally, when he had business to do at Cave's, Mercer
+would return home by water, as he did on August 14, 1746:
+
+  to Stafford Court & M^r Cave's         11
+  home by water                           5
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [73] John Mercer's journal, kept in the back of Ledger B.
+
+    [74] Col. John Taliaferro was a justice of Spotsylvania
+    County court and one of the original trustees of
+    Fredericksburg. He lived at the "Manor Plantation," Snow
+    Creek, Spotsylvania County, and died in 1744 ("Virginia
+    Council Journals, 1726-1753," _VHM_ [Richmond, 1927], vol.
+    35, p. 415). Benjamin Hubbard lived in Caroline County ("The
+    Lovelace Family and its Connections," _VHM_ [Richmond, 1921],
+    vol. 29, p. 367); John Powers was apparently a resident of
+    King William County (Ida J. Lee, "Abstracts from King William
+    County Records," WMQ [2] [Williamsburg, 1926], vol. 6, p.
+    72); "Furnea's" seems to have been an ordinary between
+    Williamsburg and New Kent.
+
+    [75] Peter Daniel was a burgess and leading citizen of
+    Stafford County, who, as vestryman, signed the advertisement
+    for bids to build a new Aquia Church in 1751. _Virginia
+    Gazette_, June 6, 1751.
+
+    [76] The Reverend Mr. John Moncure was minister of
+    Overwharton Parish.
+
+    [77] See pp. 25, 35-36, 46-47 and footnote 95 for further
+    references to William Walker. Mercer's visit on this occasion
+    probably relates to Walker's tentative appointment to rebuild
+    Aquia Church.
+
+    [78] Mrs. Ann Spoore of Stafford County.
+
+    [79] Probably Mercer's sister-in-law, Mrs. Ann Mason, mother
+    of George Mason of Gunston Hall.
+
+    [80] Dr. Henry Potter lived in Spotsylvania County. His
+    estate was advertised for sale the following April 17 in the
+    _Virginia Gazette_.
+
+    [81] George Hoomes was a justice of Caroline County court. He
+    was appointed in 1735, the same year in which John Mercer
+    qualified to practice law at the same court. "Extracts from
+    the Records of Caroline County," _VHM_ (Richmond, 1912), vol.
+    20, p. 203.
+
+    [82] Probably Thomas Anderson (see p. 35 and footnote 93);
+    William Gray was justice of New Kent County.
+
+    [83] Joseph Selden's estate passed to his son Samuel, who
+    married Mercer's eldest daughter, Sarah Ann Mason Mercer. See
+    John Melville Jennings, ed., "Letters of James Mercer to John
+    Francis Mercer," _VHM_ (Richmond, 1951), vol. 59, pp. 89-91.
+
+    [84] Fredericksburg district-court papers, file 571, bundle
+    F, nos. 36-43 (through George F. S. King, Fredericksburg);
+    Stafford County Will Book, Liber Z, p. 383 (August 5, 1707).
+
+
+VEHICLES
+
+During the 1740's Mercer's travels were often by chaise or chariot. We
+learn from Ledger G that he bought "a fourwheel Chaise" from Charles
+Carter[85] in September 1744, a significant step in emulating the
+manners and ways of Virginia's established aristocrats. Three years
+later he purchased "a Sett of Chaisewheels" from Francis Hogans, a
+Caroline County wheelwright, and in June 1748 he discounted as an
+overcharge the cost of "a Chaise worth nothing" in his account with the
+English mercantile firm of Sydenham & Hodgson.[86] A "chaise" could have
+been one of several types of vehicles, but it was probably "a carriage
+for traveling, having a closed body and seated for one to three
+persons," according to Murray's _A New Oxford Dictionary_.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 7.--JOHN MERCER'S TOBACCO-CASK SYMBOLS, drawn in
+his Ledger G. The "home plantation" (Marlborough) is symbolized by the
+initial C, probably in honor of his wife Catherine. Sumner's quarters at
+Passapatanzy is indicated by S, and Bull Run quarters by B. (_Courtesy
+of Bucks County Historical Society._)]
+
+In 1749 Mercer bought a "chariot" from James Mills of Tappahannock for
+£80. Doubtless an elegant piece of equipage, this was, we learn from
+Murray, "a light four-wheeled carriage with only back seats, and
+differing from the post-chaise in having a coach-box." In November 1750
+he paid John Simpson, a Fredericksburg wheelwright, 10 shillings for
+"wedging & hooping the Chariotwheels" and 9 shillings for "mending 3
+fillys & 3 Spokes in D^o."[87]
+
+At the same time he bought a "p^r Cartwheels" for £2 and a "Tumbling
+Cart" for £1 6s. from Simpson. Murray tells us that a "tumble cart" or a
+"tumbril cart" was a dung cart, designed to dump the load.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [85] Ledger G (original at Bucks County Historical Society)
+    covers the period 1744-1750, with some entries in 1751 and a
+    few summary accounts covering Mercer's career. Further
+    footnoted references to this ledger will be omitted. Charles
+    Carter lived at "Cleve" in King George County, near Port
+    Royal, fronting on the Rappahannock. See FAIRFAX HARRISON,
+    "The Will of Charles Carter of Cleve," _VHM_ (Richmond,
+    1923), vol. 31, pp. 42-43.
+
+    [86] Sydenham & Hodgson was a London mercantile firm,
+    represented in Virginia by Jonathan Sydenham. Mercer
+    identified the firm in Ledger G as "Merchants King George"
+    and noted in his journal on January 20, 1745, that he visited
+    at "Mr. Sydenham's." In 1757 the two men were referred to
+    elsewhere as "Messrs. Sydenham & Hodgson of London." See
+    "Proceedings of the Virginia Committee of Correspondence,
+    1759-67," _VHM_ (Richmond, 1905), vol. 12, pp. 2-4.
+
+    [87] Extensive research has been conducted by Colonial
+    Williamsburg, Inc., on the forms of vehicles used by such
+    Virginians as Mercer and his contemporaries.
+
+
+TOBACCO CASK BRANDS
+
+Hogsheads and casks of tobacco were branded with the symbols or initials
+of the original owners. Many of the brands are recorded explicitly in
+the ledger. Mercer, at the beginning of his career, used a symbol M. As
+his plantations multiplied, however, three symbols were adopted, based
+on his own two initials. Tobacco casks from Bull Run were marked
+I^[B.]M. Those from Sumner's Quarters bore the brand I^[S.]M, while the
+"Home Plantation" at Marlborough had casks marked I^[C.]M (fig. 8).
+
+The interpretation of these symbols warrants some digression. In the
+17th century, and indeed in the 18th century also, the triangular cipher
+to indicate the initials of man and wife was commonly used to mark
+silver, pewter, china, delftware, linens, and other objects needing
+owners' identifications. The common surname initial was placed at the
+top, the husband's first-name initial at the lower left, and the wife's
+at the lower right. This arrangement was used consistently in the 17th
+century. In the 18th century, however, variations began to appear in the
+colonies, although not, apparently, in England. Silver made in New York
+and Philadelphia during the 1700's presents the initials reading from
+left to right, with the husband's at the lower left, the wife's at top
+center, and the surname initial at the lower right. The large keystone
+of the Carlyle house in Alexandria, built in 1751, bears a triangular
+arrangement of John and Sarah Carlyle's initials: J^[S.]C.[88]
+
+Like Carlyle, Mercer used initials in this fashion, but also, as we have
+seen, in two other combinations in which "J. M." remains constant, the
+upper center initial having a subordinate significance. "S" signifies
+Sumner's Quarters, and "B," Bull Run Quarters. "C" on seals and brands
+having to do with Marlborough apparently refers to Catherine, honoring
+her as Mercer's wife and mistress of the home plantation. The
+possibility that "C" stands for Cave's warehouse may be dismissed as
+being inconsistent with the other two marks, the tobacco from Sumner's
+Quarters having also been shipped through Cave's, and that from Bull Run
+Quarters having been stored at the Occaquan warehouse.[89]
+
+John Withers also used the left-to-right arrangement, I^[H.]W, although
+Henry Tyler, a planter whose account is mentioned in Mercer's Ledger,
+used the conventional three-letter cipher, H^[T.]M. These marks occurred
+on casks transmitted to Mercer as payments, and are recorded in Ledger G
+(fig. 7).
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [88] GAY MONTAGUE MOORE, _Seaport in Virginia_ (Richmond,
+    1949), p. 62.
+
+    [89] C. MALCOLM WATKINS, "The Three-initial Cipher:
+    Exceptions to the Rule," _Antiques_ (June 1958), vol. 73, no.
+    6, pp. 564-565.
+
+
+TOBACCO EXCHANGE
+
+Tobacco, before being transferred to another owner, was examined by
+official inspectors. Mercer kept a special "Inspector's Notes" account
+where he kept track of fees due the inspectors. Direct payments of
+tobacco were made in transactions with William Hunter and Charles Dick,
+the Fredericksburg merchants from whom Mercer bought most of his goods
+and supplies. To others, however, payments were made in a complexity of
+tobacco notes, legal-fee payments, and plain barter. Tobacco shipped
+overseas was usually handled by Sydenham & Hodgson. Also involved with
+tobacco transactions in England were two Virginia merchants, Major John
+Champe, a distinguished resident of King George County who lived at
+Lamb's Creek plantation, and William Jordan, of Richmond County, both of
+whom arranged for purchases of books, furniture, and other English
+imports for Mercer.
+
+The following are excerpts from Sydenham & Hodgson's account in Ledger
+G:
+
+  1745                                       £   s.   d.
+  June       To 8 hhds. tob^o consigned     63   5    5
+               you by the
+               Pri[n]ce of Denmark
+  November   To 6 hhds by the               29  15    9
+               Harrington
+  1746
+  May        To 5 hhds by Cap^n
+               Lee    LOST
+  Feb        To 10 hhds by Cap^t            51  14    8
+               Perry
+  1747
+  Septemb^r  To 10 hhds by Cap^t            35   9    8
+               Perryman
+  1748
+  June       To 10 hhds by Cap^n
+               Donaldson    LOST
+  1749
+  Septemb^r  To 24 hhds tob^o sold         162  17   14
+               Mr. Jordan
+
+Revealed in this account are the hazards of shipping goods overseas in
+the 18th century. A partnership apparently figured in the second loss at
+sea, however, as the following entry in Ledger G shows:
+
+  June 1747   By Profit & Loss for the half    £75.15.3-3/4
+                of 20 hhds by Donaldson
+                in the Cumberland & Lost
+              By William Jordan for the
+                other half.
+
+Between 1747 and 1750 Mercer lost a total of 107 hogsheads of tobacco.
+Over and above this, however, he shipped overseas tobacco to the amount
+of £385 11s. 7d., during the same period.
+
+
+CLIENTS
+
+Mercer's success was gained despite the failures of a great many persons
+to pay the fees they owed him. In 1745 he listed 303 "Insolvents, bad &
+doubtful debts." That matters were no worse may be attributed to a high
+average of responsible clients. Among them were such well-known
+Virginians as Daniel Dulaney, William and Henry Fitzhugh, William
+Randolph, Augustine, John, and Lawrence Washington, Gerard Fowke,
+Richard Taliaferro, John and Daniel Parke Custis, Andrew and Thomas
+Monroe, George Tayloe, George Lee, George Wythe, and William Ramsay.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 8.--WINE-BOTTLE SEAL on bottle excavated at
+Marlborough, with same arrangement of initials used in the Marlborough
+tobacco seal.]
+
+
+CLOTHING
+
+By the early 1740's Mercer was in a position to surround himself with
+symbols of wealth and prestige. Clothes, a traditional measure of
+affluence, were now a growing concern for himself and his family.
+Between 1741 and 1744, the ledger reveals, he purchased from William
+Hunter a greatcoat, women's stockings, women's calf shoes, morocco
+pumps, a "fine hat," three felt hats, two dozen "plaid hose," two pairs
+of men's shoes, one pair of "Women's Spanish Shoes," and "2 p^r Calf
+D^o." In 1744 and 1745 he bought from Charles Dick two pairs of "women's
+coll'^d lamb gloves," two pairs of silk stockings, "1 velvet laced
+hood," a "laced hat," a "Castor" (i.e., beaver) hat, "fine thread
+stockings," silk handkerchiefs, a "flower'd pettycoat," worsted
+stockings, and buckskin gloves. From Hugh MacLane, a Stafford tailor, he
+obtained a suit in 1745.
+
+The rise in Mercer's wealth and prestige is reflected in his
+patronizing Williamsburg tailors, beginning in 1745 when he settled with
+George Charleston for a tailor's bill of £6 10s. In 1748 he paid
+Charleston four shillings for "Collar lining a Velvet Waistcoat." In
+1749 he purchased a "full trimm'd velvet Suit" from Charles Jones, the
+work and materials totaling £7 7s. 4-1/4d., while in 1750 he spent £11
+2s. 1-1/2d. on unitemized purchases from the same tailor. In that year
+he bought also from Robert Crichton, a Williamsburg merchant, "a
+flower'd Velvet Waistcoat, £5." As the decade advanced, Mercer played
+with increasing consciousness the role of wealthy gentleman, as his
+choice of tailors shows.
+
+
+MATERIALS
+
+Textile materials, as seen under "General Expenses" and in the accounts
+of Hunter and Dick, ran the gamut of the usual imported fabrics, as well
+as rare, expensive elegancies. An alphabetical list of the materials
+mentioned in these accounts, with definitions, is given in Appendix I.
+
+From this list we gain an impression of great diversity and refinement
+in the materials used for clothing and interior decoration, as well as
+of a tremendous amount of sewing, embroidering, and making of clothes at
+home, probably typical of most of the great plantations in the middle of
+the century.
+
+
+WEAVING
+
+In addition to fine imported materials, there were needed blankets, work
+clothes for slaves, and fabrics for other practical purposes. To these
+ends Mercer employed several weavers in various parts of Virginia. In
+1747 William Threlkeld wove 109 yards of woolen cloth at fourpence a
+yard. During that year and the next, John Booth of King George County
+wove an indeterminate amount for a total of £2 4d. In 1748 John
+Fitzpatrick wove 480 yards of cotton at fourpence a yard, and William
+Mills wove 30 yards of "cloath." Much of the work appears to have been
+done in payment for legal services.
+
+Weaving and spinning evidently were done at Marlborough, as they were at
+most plantations. In 1744 Mercer recorded under "General Charges" that
+he had sold a loom to Joseph Foxhall. In 1746 he bought a spinning wheel
+from Captain Wilson of Whitehaven, England, purchasing three more from
+him in 1748. Wool cards also appear in the accounts. In January 1748
+Mercer charged William Mills with "3 months Hire of Thuanus the Weaver,
+£3," which suggests that Thuanus was an indentured white servant (his
+name does not occur on the list of slaves) employed at Marlborough and
+hired out to Mills, a Stafford County weaver.
+
+
+PERSONAL ACCESSORIES
+
+In contrast to the elegancies of dress materials and clothing, Mercer
+left little evidence of jewelry, toilet articles, or other personal
+objects. In Ledger G we find "2 horn combs" bought for fivepence, an
+ivory comb for tenpence, two razors, two strops, snuff-boxes, bottles of
+snuff, "a smelling bottle," and "buck-handled" and silver-handled
+penknives. From John Hyndman, a Williamsburg merchant, Mercer acquired a
+set of silver buckles for £1 10s., and from William Woodford he bought
+"a gold watch, Chain & Swivel" for the not-trifling sum of £64 6s. 3d.
+
+Like most successful men, Mercer had his portrait painted. During the
+General Court sessions held in the spring and fall of 1748 in
+Williamsburg, he lodged with William Dering, the dancing master and
+portrait painter. Dering lived in the house still standing on the
+capitol green, now known as the Brush-Everard house. In Dering's account
+we find: "by drawing my picture, £9.2.9."[90]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [90] See J. HALL PLEASANTS, "William Dering, a
+    mid-eighteenth-century Williamsburg Portrait Painter," _VHM_
+    (Richmond, 1952), vol. 60, pp. 53-63.
+
+
+FOOD AND DRINK
+
+Good food and drink played an important part in Mercer's life, as it did
+in the lives of most Virginia planters. In the ledger accounts are found
+both double-refined and single-refined sugar, bohea tea, coffee,
+nutmegs, cinnamon, mace, and chocolate. Most meats were provided by the
+plantation and thus are not mentioned, while fish were caught from the
+plantation sloop or by fixed nets. However, Thomas Tyler of the Eastern
+Shore sold Mercer a barrel of drumfish and four and one-half bushels of
+oysters, while Thomas Jones, also of the Eastern Shore, provided a
+barrel of pork for 47s. 6d. in 1749. Earlier there appeared a ledger
+item under "General Charges" for 1775 pounds of pork.
+
+Molasses was an important staple, and Mercer bought a 31-gallon barrel
+of it from one "Captain Fitz of the Eastern Shore of Maryland" in 1746
+and 30 gallons the next year, charging both purchases to his wife. In
+1750 he received 88 gallons of molasses and 255 pounds of "muscovy
+sugar" from Robert Todd. Muscovy sugar was the same as "muscavado"
+sugar, the unrefined brown sugar of the West Indies, known in Spanish as
+_mascabado_.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 9.--FRENCH HORN dated 1729. Mercer purchased a
+"french horn" like this from Charles Dick in 1743. (USNM 95.269.)]
+
+Beverages and the fruits to go with them were bought in astonishing
+quantities between 1744 and 1750. Major Robert Tucker, a Norfolk
+merchant, exchanged a "Pipe of Wine" worth £26 and a 107-1/2-gallon
+hogshead of rum valued at £22 in return for Mercer's legal services.
+Again as a legal fee, Mercer received 55 gallons of "Syder" from Janet
+Holbrook of Stafford and bought 11 limes from John Mitchelson of York
+for 12 shillings. From William Black he purchased "11 dozen and 11
+bottles of Ale" at 13 shillings, and from John Harvey "5-1/12 dozen of
+Claret" for £11 6d. "Mark Talbott of the Kingdom of Ireland E^{sq}" sold
+Mercer a pipe of wine for £3 3s.
+
+
+LIFE OF THE CHILDREN
+
+During the 1740's Mercer's first four surviving children, George, John
+Fenton, James, and Sarah Ann Mason Mercer,[91] were growing up, and the
+accounts are scattered through with items pertaining to their care and
+upbringing. There are delightful little hints of Mercer's role as the
+affectionate father. On May 17, 1743, "By Sundry Toys" appears in
+Hunter's account; an item of "1 horses 1^d" in Dick's account for 1745
+was undoubtedly a toy. Most charming of all the entries in the latter
+account is "1 Coach in a box 6^d. 4 Toys. 8^d, 2 Singing birds." The
+birds may have occupied a birdcage and stand bought from George Rock,
+the account for which was settled a year later.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 10.--MERCER LISTED A HORNBOOK in his General
+Account in 1743. It probably resembled this typical hornbook in the
+collection of Mrs. Arthur M. Greenwood.]
+
+"1 french horn" and "3 trumpets" are listed in the Dick account. The
+horn was probably used in hunting; the three trumpets were bought
+perhaps for the three boys. Mercer's library contained one book of music
+entitled _The Musical Miscellany_, which may have furnished the scores
+for a boyish trio of trumpets. Music and dancing were a part of the life
+at Marlborough, and in 1745 an entry under "General Charges" reads "To
+DeKeyser for a years dancing four children £16," while in the following
+year ninepence was paid William Allan "for his Fidler." In 1747 "Fiddle
+strings" were bought from Fielding Lewis in Fredericksburg for 2s.
+4-1/2d.
+
+From the ledger we also learn much about the children's clothing:
+child's mittens and child's shoes, boy's pumps, boy's shoes, girl's
+shoes, boy's collared lamb gloves, two pairs of "girl's clock'd
+Stocking," "2 p^r large boys Shoes 6^l 2 p^r smaller 5/ ... 1 p^r girls
+22^d, 1 p^r smaller 20^d," boy's gloves, and "Making a vest and breeches
+for George" in October 1745. In 1748 Captain Wilson brought from England
+"a Wig for George," worth 12 shillings. George then had reached the age
+of 15 and young manhood. Hugh MacLane, the Stafford tailor, was employed
+to make clothes for the three boys--a suit for George, and a suit, vest,
+coat, and breeches each for James and John.
+
+That the children were educated according to time-honored methods is
+revealed in the "General Expenses" account for May 1743, where "1
+hornbook 3^d" is entered. The hornbook was an ancient instructional
+device consisting of a paddle-shaped piece of wood with the alphabet and
+the Lord's Prayer printed or otherwise lettered on paper that was glued
+to the wood and covered for protection with thin sheets of transparent
+horn. Elaborate examples sometimes were covered with tooled leather, or
+were made of ivory, silver, or pewter. The mention of hornbooks in
+colonial records is a great rarity, although they were commonplace in
+England until about 1800.
+
+The Mercer children were taught by private tutors. One, evidently
+engaged in England, was the Reverend John Phipps, who was paid a salary
+of £100 annually and, presumably, his board and lodging. Mercer noted in
+his journal on November 18, 1746, that "Mr Phipps came to Virginia."
+That Mr. Phipps left something to be desired was revealed years later in
+the letter written in 1768 by John to George Mercer, who was then in
+England, asking him to find a tutor for his younger children: "... the
+person you engage may not pretend, as M^r Phipps did that tho' he
+undertook to instruct my children he intended boys only, & I or my wife
+might teach the girls. As I have mentioned M^r Phipps, it must remind
+you that a tutor's good nature & agreeable temper are absolutely
+necessary both for his own ease & that of the whole family."[92]
+
+In 1750 George entered the College of William and Mary. He had a room at
+William Dering's house, and the account of "Son's Maintenance at
+Williamsburg" provides an interesting picture of a well-to-do
+college-boy's expenses, chargeable to his father. Such items as "To Cash
+p^d for Lottery Tickets" (£7 10s. 6d.), "To Covington the Dancing Master
+... 2.3," "To W^m Thomson for Taylor's work" (£1 9s. 6d.), "To p^d for
+Washing" (£1 1s.), and "To Books for sundrys" (£22 4s. 7-1/2d.) show a
+variety of obligations comparable to those sometimes encountered on a
+modern campus. The entire account appears in Appendix J.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [91] Born 1733, 1735, 1736, and 1738, respectively.
+
+    [92] _George Mercer Papers_, op. cit. (footnote 51), p. 202.
+
+
+BUILDING THE MANOR HOUSE
+
+As early as 1742 the ledger shows that Mercer was building steadily,
+although the nature of what he built is rarely indicated. Hunter's
+account for 1742 lists 2500 tenpenny nails and 1000 twenty-penny nails,
+while in the following year the same account shows a total of 4200
+eightpenny nails, 5000 tenpenny, 2000 fourpenny, and 1000 threepenny
+nails. The following tools were bought from Hunter in 1744: paring
+chisel, 1-1/2-inch auger, 3/4-inch auger, socket gouge, broad axe, adze,
+drawing knife, mortice chisel, a "square Rabbit plane," and "plough Iron
+& plains." In Charles Dick's account we find purchases in 1745 of 16,000
+flooring brads, 4000 twenty-penny nails, 2000 each of fourpenny,
+sixpenny, eightpenny, and tenpenny brads, and 60,000 fourpenny nails.
+
+Beginning in 1744 Mercer made great purchases of lumber. Thomas Tyler of
+the Eastern Shore sold him 2463 feet of plank in that year, and in 1745
+made several transactions totaling 5598 feet of 1-, 1-1/2-, and 2-inch
+plank, as well as 23,170 shingles. In 1746 Charles Waller of Stafford
+sold Mercer 5193 feet of 1-, 1-1/4-, and 1-1/2-inch plank. In the same
+year James Waughhop of Maryland provided "4000 foot of Plank of
+different thicknesses for £12," and in May 1749, "2300 foot of 1-1/2
+Inch Plank at 7/." Mercer made several similar purchases, including
+14,700 shingles, from Robert Taylor of the Eastern Shore.
+
+Where all these materials were used is a matter for conjecture. We know
+that Mercer made "Improvements" to the extent of "saving" 40 lots under
+the terms of the Act for Ports and Towns, and that a great deal of
+construction work, therefore, was going on. One building was probably a
+replacement for a warehouse, for a laconic entry in his journal on New
+Year's day of 1746 notes that "My warehouses burnt." These were
+doubtless the buildings erected in 1732 and officially vacated in 1735.
+That at least one eventually was rebuilt for Mercer's own use is known
+from an overseer's report of 1771 (Appendix M).
+
+The windmill, the foundations of which still remain in part near the
+Potomac shore, was probably built in 1746. Mercer's cash account for
+that year includes an item of 2s. 6d. for "Setting up Mill," which
+apparently meant adjusting the millstones for proper operation. In
+August he paid Nathaniel Chapman £22 19s. 8-3/4d. "in full for Smith's
+work." A windmill, with its bearings, levers, lifts, and shafts, would
+seem to have been the only structure requiring such a costly amount of
+ironwork.
+
+The most elaborate project of all, however, is clearly discernible in
+the ledger. In 1746 Thomas Anderson,[93] in consideration of cash and
+legal services, charged for "making & burning 40^m Stock bricks" at 4
+pounds 6 pence per 1000. In the same year David Minitree, described by
+Mercer as a "Bricklayer," came to Marlborough from Williamsburg.
+Minitree was more than an ordinary bricklayer, however, for he had
+worked on the Mattaponi church, and later, between 1750 and 1753, was to
+build Carter's Grove for Carter Burwell.[94]
+
+The credit side of Minitree's account in Ledger G is as follows:
+
+                                         £   s.   d.
+  1746
+  Decemb^r 5 By making & burning         9   5    7-1/2
+               41,255 Bricks at 4/6
+
+  1747
+  Septemb^r  By stacking & burning          16    9-1/2
+               11,200 D^o at 1/6
+             By making & burning        14   2   10
+               62,849 D^o at 4/6
+             By making & burning             4    6
+               1000 D^o at 4/6
+             By short paid of my                  9-1/2
+               Order on Maj^r
+               Champe
+             By building part of                 10-1/2
+               my House
+
+The last item, in particular, is clear indication that an architectural
+project of importance was underway and that Mercer had set about to make
+Marlborough the equal of Virginia's great plantations. Only "part of my
+house" was built by Minitree, yet his bill was more than five times the
+total cost of Mercer's previous house, completed in 1730!
+
+Since it was customary in Virginia to make bricks on the site of a new
+house, utilizing the underlying clay excavated from the foundation,
+Minitree, as well as Anderson, made his bricks at Marlborough before
+using them. Mortar for laying bricks was made of lime from oystershells.
+In 1747 and 1748, we learn from the ledger, 61-1/2 hogsheads of
+oystershells were bought from Abraham Basnett, an "Oysterman," payment
+having been made in cash, meat, and brandy. "Flagstones &c" were
+obtained in 1747 through Major John Champe at a cost of £36 4s. 6d.
+These may have been the same stones brought up as "a load of stone" by
+"Boatswain Davis" of Boyd's Hole in Passapatanzy in October 1747 for £4
+5s. 5d.
+
+Early in 1748 a new set of developments concerning the house took place.
+Major William Walker of Stafford, revealed in the journal and the
+ledgers as an old acquaintance of Mercer's, then became the
+"undertaker," or contractor, for the house. Walker was a talented man
+who had started out as a cabinetmaker, a craft in which his brother
+Robert still continued. Whiffen (_The Public Buildings of Williamsburg_)
+shows that he both designed and built a glebe house for St. Paul's
+Parish, Hanover County, in 1739-1740, and the steeple for St. Peter's
+Church in New Kent the latter year. Also in 1740 he built a bridge
+across the Pamunkey for Hanover County. At the same time that he was
+engaged on Mercer's mansion, he undertook in March 1749 to rebuild the
+burned capitol at Williamsburg. He died 11 months later before bringing
+either of these major projects to completion.[95]
+
+Walker's carpenter was William Monday. Mercer settled with Monday in
+March 1748 for a total bill of £126 16s. 2-1/2d., but with a protest
+addressed to himself in the ledger: "By work done about my House which
+is not near the value as by Maj^r Walker's Estimate below, yet to avoid
+Disputes & as he is worth nothing I give him Credit to make a full
+Ballance."
+
+Meanwhile, William Bromley, a joiner, had gone to work on the interior
+finish. Like Minitree and Walker, Bromley represented the highest
+caliber of artisanship in the colony. Eighteen years later Mercer
+referred to Bromley, "who," he said, "I believe was the best architect
+that ever was in America."[96] Bromley employed several apprentices,
+among them an Irishman named Patterson.[97] For the interval from July
+9, 1748, to December 25, 1750, Bromley was paid £140 1s. 1/2d., almost
+entirely for wages. The payment included "3 p^r hollows & rounds / 6
+plane irons / 1 gallon Brandy." For the same period Andrew Beaty, also a
+joiner, received £113 5s. 1-1/2d. On June 19, 1749, Mercer noted in his
+journal, "Beaty's apprentice came to work." These men were specialists
+in framing woodwork and in making paneling, doors, wainscoting, and
+exterior architectural elements of wood.
+
+The opulence of the building's finish is indicated by a charge on
+Walker's account for "his Carver's work 69 days at 5/, £17. 15...."
+Previously, while Minitree was still working on the house, an item had
+been entered in August 1747, "To Cash paid for cutting the Chimneypiece
+... 6.3." A chimneypiece was usually the ornamental trim or facing
+around a fireplace opening, although in this instance the overpanel may
+have been meant.
+
+Jacob Williams, a plasterer, worked 142-1/2 days for a total of £22 4s.
+4d., while his helper Joseph Burges was employed 43 days for £5 7s. 6d.
+Walker charged £3 8s. 11d. for "his Painters work about my house," and
+a purchase of "42 gallons of Linseed Oyl" was recorded in the general
+charges account. Three books of goldleaf, which Mercer had obtained from
+George Gilmer, the Williamsburg apothecary, were charged, together with
+paint, to Walker.
+
+In May 1750, a charge by George Elliot, "Turner, Stafford," was
+recorded, "By turning 162 Ballusters at 6^d, £4.1...." Another item, for
+supplying "341-1/2 feet Walnut Plank at 2^d," settled in October, may
+have been for the wood of which the balusters were made.
+
+Thomas Barry, "Bricklayer," carried on the work that Minitree had not
+completed. His account for 1749 follows:
+
+                                            £    s.   d.
+
+  By Building the Addition to my House      26
+  22 Arches at 6/                            6   12
+  900 Coins & Returns at 6/                  2   14
+  A Frontispiece                             3   10
+  Underpinning & altering the Cellar         2
+  raising a Chimney                          1    5
+  building an Oven                               15
+  building a Kiln                            1
+  building a Kitchen                         9   10
+  3 Arches at 6/                                 18
+  2 Plain D^o at 2/6                              5
+  500 Coins & returns at 6/                  1   10
+                                            --   --   --
+                                            55   19    0
+
+Expensive stone was imported for the house by Captain Roger Lyndon,
+master of the _Marigold_, whose account occurs in the ledger:
+
+                                                 £    s.  d.
+
+  1749  April By 630 Bricks at 20/ p^r m.            10
+
+        Dec^r By Gen'l Charges for hewn
+              Stone from M^r Nicholson[98]      65   16   4
+
+  1750  June  By Gen'l Charges for
+              sundrys by the Marigold
+
+              By Do for freight of
+              Stones to my House                 5
+
+It is interesting to note that bricks, probably carried from England as
+ballast, were brought by Captain Lyndon.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 11.--FIREPLACE MANTELS illustrated in William
+Salmon's _Palladio Londonensis_.
+
+(_Courtesy of the Library of Congress._)]
+
+Not all the hewn stone was fashioned in England. William Copein, a
+Prince William County mason, and Job Wigley were employed together in
+1749 to the amount of £2 8s. In 1750 Copein was paid by Mercer for 64
+days of work at 3s. 1d. per day, totaling £9 17s. 4d. Copein was another
+accomplished craftsman, the marks of whose skill still are to be seen in
+the carved stone doorways of Aquia Church in Stafford County and in the
+baptismal font at Pohick Church in Fairfax.
+
+The design of the house will be considered in more detail later in the
+light of both archeological and documentary evidence. It is already
+quite clear, however, that the new mansion was remarkably elaborate,
+reflecting the workmanship of some of Virginia's best craftsmen. The
+most significant clues to its inspiration are found in the titles of
+four books which Mercer purchased in 1747. These are listed in the
+inventory of his books in Ledger G as follows:
+
+     "Hoppne's Architecture." This was probably _The Gentlemans and
+     Builders Repository on Architecture Displayed. Designs Regulated
+     and Drawn by E. Hoppus, and engraved by B. Cole. Containing useful
+     and requisite problems in geometry ... etc_, (1738). Edward Hoppus
+     was "Surveyor to the Corporation of the London Assurance." He also
+     edited Salmon's _Palladio Londonensis_. We find no writer on
+     architecture named Hoppne and assume this was a mistake.
+
+     "Salmon's Palladio Londonensis." _Palladio Londonensis: or the
+     London Art of Building_, by William Salmon, which appeared in at
+     least two editions, in 1734 and in 1738, had a profound influence
+     on the formal architecture of the colonies during the mid-century.
+
+     "Palladio's Architecture." The Italian Andrea Palladio was the
+     underlying source of English architectural thought from Christopher
+     Wren down to Robert Adam. Under the patronage of Lord Burlington,
+     this book was brought out in London in an English translation by
+     Giacomo Leoni under the title _The Architecture of A. Palladio; in
+     Four Books_. It had appeared in three editions prior to this
+     inventory, in 1715, 1721, and 1742, according to Fiske Kimball
+     (_Domestic Architecture of the American Colonies and of the Early
+     Republic_; New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1924, p. 58). Mercer
+     probably owned one of these.
+
+     "Langley's City & Country Builder." _City and Country Builder's and
+     Workman's Treasury of Design_ by Battey Langley, 1740, 1745. This
+     was another copybook much used by builders and provincial
+     architects.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 12.--DOORWAYS ILLUSTRATED IN WILLIAM SALMON'S
+_Palladio Londonensis_ (the London Art of Building), one of the books
+used by William Bromley, the chief joiner who worked on Mercer's
+mansion. (_Courtesy of the Library of Congress._)]
+
+All four of these books were listed in succession in the ledger and
+bracketed together. Next to the bracket are the initials "WB," to
+indicate that the books had been lent to someone who bore those
+initials. In this case it is virtually certain that the initials are
+those of William Bromley, to whom the books would have been of utmost
+importance in designing the woodwork of the house.
+
+Door hardware was purchased from William Jordan in June 1749, according
+to an item for "Locks & Hinges" that amounted to the large sum of £13
+8s. 8d.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [93] Probably the same Thomas Anderson whose appointment as
+    tobacco inspector at Page's warehouse, Hanover County, was
+    unsuccessfully protested on the basis that the job required
+    "a person skilled in writing and expert in accounts"
+    (_Calendar of Virginia State Papers_, op. cit. (footnote 18),
+    vol. 1, pp. 233-234). A letter to Thomas Anderson of Hanover
+    County was listed as uncalled for at the Williamsburg Post
+    Office in August, 1752 (_Virginia Gazette_; all references to
+    the _Gazettes_ result from use of LESTER J. CAPPON and STELLA
+    F. DUFF, _Virginia Gazette Index 1736-1780_ [Williamsburg,
+    1950], and microfilm published by The Institute of Early
+    American History and Culture [Williamsburg, 1950]).
+
+    [94] See THOMAS TILESTON WATERMAN, _The Mansions of Virginia,
+    1706-1776_ (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina
+    Press, 1946), pp. 183-184, and MARCUS WHIFFEN, _The Public
+    Buildings of Williamsburg_ (Williamsburg, Virginia: Colonial
+    Williamsburg, Inc., 1958), pp. 84, 133, 218.
+
+    [95] WHIFFEN, ibid., pp. 134-137, 217; _JHB, 1742-1747;
+    1748-1749_ op. cit. (footnote 6), p. 312; _JHB, 1752-1755;
+    1756-1758_ (Richmond, 1909), p. 28.
+
+    [96] Purdie & Dixon's _Virginia Gazette_, September 26, 1766.
+    Mercer spelled the name _Brownley_ in Ledger G, but in the
+    _Gazette_ article it is printed consistently as _Bromley_. As
+    published in the _George Mercer Papers_ it is spelled, and
+    perhaps miscopied, _Bramley_. We have chosen _Bromley_ as the
+    most likely spelling, in the absence of other references to
+    him.
+
+    [97] _George Mercer Papers_, op. cit. (footnote 51), p. 204.
+
+    [98] Captain Timothy Nicholson was a London merchant and
+    shipmaster engaged in the Virginia trade with whom Mercer
+    arranged several transactions.
+
+
+DOMESTIC FURNISHINGS
+
+As the mansion progressed, so did the acquisition of furnishings
+suitable to its elegance. As early as 1742, doubtless in anticipation of
+the new house, Mercer had bought from Hunter a "lanthorn," three
+porringers, two cotton counterpanes at 27s., a plate warmer for 7s. 6d.,
+a half-dozen plates for 3s. 6d., a half-dozen deep plates for 6s., a
+dozen "Stone Coffee cups" for 18d., a dozen knives and forks for 3s.,
+two tin saucepans at 4d. each, and "4 Dishes, 19-1/2 lib." (obviously
+large pewter chargers). In 1743 he bought "5 gallon Basons 4/7" and "2
+pottle Basons at 2/4" (for toilet use), "1 Soop Spoon 1/," and "1 Copper
+Chocolate pot 7/6 & mull Stick 6^d," "2 blew & W^t Jugs 2/" (probably
+Westerwald stoneware), and "1 Flanders Bed Bunt, 25" (colored cotton or
+linen used for bedcovers).
+
+In 1744 Mercer acquired from Charles Dick 4 candlesticks for a penny
+each, 2 pairs of large hinges, a "hair sifter," "2 kitchen buck hand
+knives," 12 cups and saucers for 2s., "1 milkmaid 2^d" (probably a
+shoulder yoke), and "1 bucket 1/2^d." In 1745 a 5-gallon "Stone bottle"
+for 3s. 6d., "1 doz. butcher knives," a hearthbroom, six spoons for a
+shilling, a pair of scissors, "8 Chamberdoor Locks w^{th} brass knobs
+£2," and "1 Sett finest China 35/, 2 punch bowls ... 2.7" were
+purchased.
+
+The following year Mercer paid a total of £23 for a silver sugar dish,
+weighing 8 oz., 5 dwt.; one dozen teaspoons and tray, 8 oz., 7 dwt.; a
+teapot and frame, 26 oz., 8 dwt. This lot of silver probably was bought
+at second hand, having been referred to as "Pugh's Plate p^d Edw^d
+Wright as by Rec^t." He paid John Coke, a Williamsburg silversmith, £1
+6s. for engraving and cleaning it. In the meanwhile, in 1745, he had
+sold Coke £6 worth of old silver. He also sold a quantity of "old Plate"
+for £15 17s. 3d. to Richard Langton in England through Sydenham &
+Hodgson. In 1747 he made a large purchase of silver from the silversmith
+William King[99] of Williamsburg:
+
+                                      oz.  dwt.           £   s.   d.
+
+  May 1747
+    By Bernard Moore for 1 Cup        51   1             30   8    3
+
+    By James Power for 1 Waiter        8   7-1/2          4  14    2-1/2
+
+    By a pair of Sauceboats           25   8
+
+    By a large Waiter                 29   3             48  11    3-1/2
+
+    By a smaller D^o                  23   8
+
+    By a small D^o                     8   8
+                                     --------------------------------
+                                     148  15-1/2 @ 11/3  84  13    9
+
+In March 1748, Mercer settled with Captain Lyndon for the following:
+
+                                                  £   s.  d.
+
+  1 superfine large gilt Sconce glass             6  16
+  1 D^o                                           5   5
+  1 Walnut & gold D^o                             2  10
+  1 Marble Sideboard 32/6 Bragolo [sic] 32/6      3   5
+
+The following June he bought a marble table from William Jordan and in
+October "4 looking Glasses," which Jordan obtained from Sydenham &
+Hodgson.
+
+Meanwhile, William Walker's brother Robert made 14 chairs for Mercer, on
+which William's carver spent 54 days. The total cost was £30 8s. The
+quality of Mercer's furniture is illustrated further by a purchase in
+1750 from Lyonel Lyde,[100] a London merchant, of £43 13s. worth of
+"Cabinet Ware from Belchier." Belchier was a leading London furniture
+maker, whose shop in 1750 was located on the "south side of St. Paul's,
+right against the clock." Sir Ambrose Heal, in _The London Furniture
+Makers_, illustrates a superb japanned writing cabinet in green and gold
+chinoiserie made by Belchier in 1730.[101] Belchier also supplied
+Shalstone Manor, the Buckinghamshire estate of Henry Purefoy, with a
+table-desk in 1749 (fig. 13).[102]
+
+The ledger notes other occasional purchases of furniture during this
+period. In 1746 Mercer paid cash "for oysters & a bedsteed," in the
+amount of 10s. 6d. In September 1748, he bought "an Escritoire" from
+tutor John Phipps, for which he paid £5.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [99] Probably William King, who married Elizabeth Edwards in
+    Stafford in 1738. He was the son of Alfred King, whose
+    parents were William King (d. 1702) and Judith Brent of
+    Stafford. His account with Mercer seems to indicate that he
+    was a silversmith. "Notes and Queries," _The King Family,
+    VHM_ (Richmond, 1916), vol. 24, p. 203.
+
+    [100] The _Virginia Gazette_ on January 27, 1738, announced
+    that Major Cornelius Lyde, "Son of Mr. _Lionel Lyde_, an
+    eminent merchant in Bristol, died at his House in _King
+    William_ County." Later it referred to "Capt. Lyonel Lyde of
+    Bristol, [master of] the _Gooch_." Mercer's account with Lyde
+    in Ledger G is headed "M^r Lyonel Lyde, Merch^t in London."
+    Lyde died in 1749 before Mercer settled his account.
+    Elsewhere in the ledger is an account with "Mess^{rs} Cooper,
+    Macartney, Powel, & Lyde. E^{xrs} of Lyonel Lyde." Another
+    Lyonel Lyde, who became "Sir Lyonel" by 1773, was evidently
+    heir to the business.
+
+    [101] SIR AMBROSE HEAL, _The London Furniture Makers from the
+    Restoration to the Victorian Era, 1660-1840_ (London:
+    Batsford, 1953), pp. 6, 13, 236, 237.
+
+    [102] GEORGE E. ELAND, _The Purefoy Letters_ (London:
+    Sidgwick & Jackson, Ltd., 1931), vol. 1, pp. 98, 107, 111,
+    177, and pl. 11.
+
+
+LIGHTING DEVICES
+
+Artificial lighting for the manor house receives sparse mention. The
+four candlesticks bought in 1744 for a penny each were probably of iron
+or tin for kitchen use. Candlesticks purchased earlier probably remained
+in use, sufficing for most illumination. It is a modern misconception
+that colonial houses were ablaze at night with lamplight and
+candlelight. Candles were expensive to buy and time-consuming to make,
+while lamps rarely were used before the end of the century in the more
+refined areas of households. The principal use of candles was in guiding
+one's way to bed or in providing the minimum necessary light to carry on
+an evening's conversation. During cold weather, fireplaces were a
+satisfactory supplement. In general, early to bed and early to rise was
+the rule, as William Byrd has shown us, and artificial light was only a
+minor necessity.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 13.--TABLE-DESK made in 1749 for Henry Purefoy of
+Shalstone Manor in Buckinghamshire by John Belchier of London. In the
+following year, John Mercer received £43 13s. worth of "Cabinet Ware"
+from that noted cabinetmaker. (_Reproduced from_ Purefoy Letters,
+1735-1753, _G. Bland, ed., Sidgwick and Jackson, Ltd., London, 1931, by
+courteous permission of the publisher_.)]
+
+Nevertheless, some illumination was needed in the halls and great rooms
+of colonial plantation houses, especially when guests were present--as
+they usually were. The three sconce glasses which Captain Lyndon
+delivered to Mercer in 1748 were doubtless elegant answers to this
+requirement. These glasses were mirrors with one or more candle
+branches, arranged so that the light would be reflected and multiplied.
+On special occasions, these, and perhaps some candelabra and a
+scattering of candlesticks to supplement them, provided concentrations
+of light; for such affairs the use of ordinary tallow candles, with
+their drippings and smoke, was out of the question. A pleasant
+alternative is indicated by the purchase in April 1749 of "11-1/2 lib.
+Myrtle Wax att 5d ... 14.4-1/2" and "4 lib Beeswax 6/" from Thomas Jones
+of the Eastern Shore. Similar purchases also are recorded. Myrtle wax
+came from what the Virginians called the myrtle bush, better known today
+as the bayberry bush. Its gray berries yielded a fragrant aromatic wax
+much favored in the colonies. In making candles it was usually mixed
+with beeswax, as was evidently the case here. A clean-burning, superior
+light source, it was nonetheless an expensive one. Burning in the
+brackets of the sconce glasses at Marlborough, heightening the shadows
+of the Palladian woodwork and, when snuffed, emitting its faint but
+delicious fragrance, it must have been a delight to the eyes and the
+nostrils alike.
+
+
+NEGROES
+
+Negroes played an increasingly important part in the life of
+Marlborough, particularly after the manor house was built. Between 1731
+and 1750 Mercer purchased 89 Negroes. Most of these are listed by name
+in the ledger accounts. Forty-six died in this period, while 25 were
+born, leaving a total of 66 Negroes on his staff in 1750. In 1746 he
+bought 6 men and 14 women at £21 10s. from Harmer & King in
+Williamsburg. The new house and the expanded needs for service were
+perhaps the reasons for this largest single purchase of slaves.
+
+There is no indication that Mercer treated his slaves other than well,
+or that they caused him any serious difficulties. On the other hand, his
+frequent reference to them by name, the recording of their children's
+names and birth dates in his ledger, and the mention in his journal of
+new births among his slave population all attest to an essentially
+paternalistic attitude that was characteristic of most Virginia planters
+during the 18th century. Good physical care of the Negroes was motivated
+perhaps as much by self-interest in protecting an investment as by
+humane considerations, but, nonetheless, we find such items in the
+ledger as "To Cash p^d Doctor Lynn for delivering Deborah."
+
+That discipline served for the Negroes as it usually did for all
+colonials, whether the lawbreaker were slave, bondsman, or free citizen,
+is indicated by an entry in the Dick account: "2 thongs w^{th} Silk
+lashes 1/3." One must bear in mind that corporal punishment was accepted
+universally in the 18th century. Its application to slaves, however,
+usually was left to the discretion of the slave owner, so that the
+restraint with which it was administered depended largely upon the
+humanity and wisdom of the master.
+
+The use of the lash was more often than not delegated to the overseer,
+who was hired to run, or help run, the plantation. It was the overseer
+who had a direct interest in eliciting production from the field hands;
+a sadistic overseer, therefore, might create a hell for the slaves under
+him. It is clear from Mercer's records that some of his overseers caused
+problems for him and that at least one was a brutal man. For October
+1747 a chilling entry appears in the account of William Graham, an
+overseer at Bull Run Quarters: "To Negroes for one you made hang
+himself. £35." Entered in the "Negroes" account, it reappears, somewhat
+differently: "To William Graham for Frank (Hanged) £35 Sterling. £50.
+15." This is one of several instances on record of Negroes driven to
+suicide as the only alternative to enduring cruelties.[103] In this
+case, Graham was fined 50 shillings and 1293 pounds of tobacco.
+
+We do not know, of course, whether other Negroes listed as dead in
+Mercer's account died of natural causes or whether cruel treatment
+contributed to their deaths. In the case of a homesick Negro named Joe,
+who ran away for the third time in 1745, Mercer seems reluctantly to
+have resorted to an offer of reward and an appeal to the law. Even so,
+he declined to place all the blame on Joe. Joe had been "Coachman to
+Mr. Belfield of Richmond County" and in the reward offer Mercer states
+that Joe
+
+     ... was for some time after he first ran away lurking about the
+     Widow Belfield's Plantation.... He is a short, well-set Fellow,
+     about 26 Years of Age, and took with him several cloaths, among the
+     rest a Suit of Blue, lined and faced with Red, with White Metal
+     Buttons, Whoever will secure and bring home the said Negroe, shall
+     receive Two Pistoles Reward, besides what the Law allows: And as I
+     have a great Reason to believe, that he is privately encouraged to
+     run away, and then harboured and concealed, so that the Person or
+     Persons so harbouring him may be thereof convicted, I will pay to
+     such Discoverer Ten Pistoles upon Conviction. This being the third
+     Trip he has made since I bought him in _January_ last, I desire he
+     may receive such Correction in his Way home as the Law directs,
+     when apprehended.[104]
+
+Whether Joe received the harsh punishment his offense called for is not
+recorded. However, in 1748 Mercer accounted for cash paid for "Joe's
+Lodging & burial £3. 10.," suggesting that Joe enjoyed death-bed care
+and a decent burial, even though he may have succumbed to "such
+correction ... as the law directs."
+
+As has already been suggested, his overseers seem to have given Mercer
+more trouble than his slaves. One was Booth Jones of Stafford, about
+whom Mercer confided in his ledger, "By allowed him as Overseer tho he
+ran away about 5 weeks before his time was out by w^{ch} I suffered more
+damage than his whole wages. £3. 11." Meanwhile, in 1746 William
+Wheeland, an overseer at Bull Run Quarters, "imbezilled" 40 barrels of
+corn.
+
+James Savage was one of the principal overseers and seems to have been
+in charge first at Sumner's Quarters and then at Bull Run Quarters. John
+Ferguson succeeded him at the former place. William Torbutt was also at
+Bull Run, while Mark Canton and Nicholas Seward were overseers at
+Marlborough.
+
+The outfitting of slaves with proper clothes, blankets, and coats was an
+important matter. It called for such purchases as 121 ells of
+"ozenbrigs" from Hunter in 1742. "Ozenbrigs" was a coarse cloth of a
+type made originally in Oznabruck, Germany,[105] and was traditionally
+the Negro field hand's raiment. Many purchases of indigo point to the
+dying of "Virginia" cloth, woven either on the plantation or by the
+weavers mentioned earlier. Presumably, shoes for the Negroes were made
+at Marlborough, judging from a purchase from Dick of 3-1/4 pounds of
+shoe thread. The domestic servants were liveried, at least after the
+mansion was occupied. William Thomson, a Fredericksburg tailor, made "a
+Coat & Breeches [for] Bob, 11/." Bob was apparently Mercer's personal
+manservant, who had served him since 1732. Thomson also was paid £4 16s.
+2d. for "Making Liveries." The listing of such materials as "scarlet
+duffel" and "scarlet buttons" points to colorful outfitting of slaves.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [103] _Virginia Gazette_, July 10, 1752; BRUCE, op. cit.
+    (footnote 5), vol. 2, pp. 107-108; ULRICH BONNELL PHILLIPS,
+    _American Negro Slavery_ (New York & London: D. Appleton,
+    1918), pp. 271, 272, 381.
+
+    [104] _Virginia Gazette_, September 12, 1745.
+
+    [105] GEORGE FRANCIS DOW, _Everyday Life in the Massachusetts
+    Bay Colony_ (Boston: The Society for the Preservation of New
+    England Antiquities, 1935), p. 78.
+
+
+SAILING, FISHING, HUNTING
+
+Water transportation was essential to all the planters, most of whom
+owned sloops. We have seen that Mercer used a sloop for his earliest
+trading activities before he settled at Marlborough, and it is apparent
+that in the 1740's either this same sloop or another which may have
+replaced it still was operated by him. Hauling tobacco to Cave's
+warehouse, picking up a barrel of rum in Norfolk or a load of lumber on
+the Eastern Shore were vital to the success of the plantation. To equip
+the sloop, 14 yards of topsail, ship's twine, and a barrel of tar were
+purchased in 1747. Mercer had two Negroes named "Captain" and
+"Boatswain," and we may suppose that they had charge of the vessel. Such
+an arrangement would not have been unique, for many years after this, in
+1768, Mercer wrote that "a sloop of M^r Ritchie's that came around from
+Rapp^a for a load of tobacco stopped at my landing; his negro skipper
+brought me a letter from M^r Mills...."[106]
+
+That there was considerable hunting at Marlborough is borne out by
+repeated references to powder, shot, gunpowder, and gunflints. Fishing
+may have been carried on from the sloop and also in trap-nets of the
+same sort still used in Potomac Creek off the Marlborough Point shore.
+In 1742 purchases were made of a 40-fathom seine and 3 perch lines, and
+in 1744 of 75 fishhooks and 2 drumlines.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [106] _George Mercer Papers_, op. cit. (footnote 51), p. 208.
+
+
+BOOKS
+
+In Ledger G, Mercer listed all the books of his library before 1746. He
+then listed additions as they occurred through 1750 (Appendix K). This
+astonishing catalog, disclosing one of the largest libraries in Virginia
+at that time, reveals the catholicity of Mercer's tastes and the
+inquiring mind that lay behind them. Included in the catalog are the
+titles of perhaps the most important law library in the colony.
+
+The names of all sorts of books on husbandry and agriculture are to be
+found in the list: "Practice of farming," "Houghton's Husbandry,"
+"Monarchy of the Bees," "Flax," "Grass," and Evelyn's "A Discourse of
+Sallets." Mercer's interest in brewing, which later was to launch a
+full-scale, if abortive, commercial enterprise is reflected in "London
+Brewer," "Scott's Distilling and Fermentation," "Hops," and the "Hop
+Gardin," while "The Craftsman," "Woollen Manufacture," and "New
+Improvements" indicate his concern with the efficiency of other
+plantation activities.
+
+He displayed an interest in nature and science typical of an
+18th-century man: "Bacon's Natural History," "Gordon's Cosmography,"
+"Gordon's Geography," "Atkinson's Epitome of Navigation," "Ozamun's
+Mathematical Recreations," "Keill's Astronomy," and "Newton's Opticks."
+Two others were "Baker's Microscope" and "Description of the Microscope
+&c." It may be significant that in 1747 Mercer bought three microscopes
+from one "Doctor Spencer" of Fredericksburg, the books on the subject
+and the instruments themselves possibly having been intended for the
+education of the three boys.
+
+"150 Prints of Ovid's Metamorphosis" appears, in addition to "Ovid's
+Metamorphosis and 25 Sins," for which Mercer paid £8 6s. to William
+Parks in 1746. "Catalog of Plants" and "Merian of Insects" are other
+titles related to natural science.
+
+Many books on history and biography are listed--for example, "Life of
+Oliver Cromwell," "Lives of the Popes," "Life of the Duke of Argyle,"
+"Hughes History of Barbadoes," "Catholick History," "History of
+Virginia," "Dr. Holde's History of China," "The English Acquisitions in
+Guinea," "Purchas's Pilgrimage."
+
+There are 25 titles under "Physick & Surgery," reflecting the planter's
+need to know the rudiments of medical care for his slaves and family.
+Art, architecture, and travel interested him also, and we find such
+titles as "Noblemen's Seats by Kip," "Willis's Survey of the
+Cathedrals," "8 Views of Scotland," "Perrier's Statues," "Pozzo's
+Perspective," "100 Views of Brabant & Flanders," "History of
+Amphitheatres." There was but one title on music--"The Musical
+Miscellany," mentioned previously. "Report about Silver Coins" was
+probably an English report on the exchange rate of silver coinage in the
+various British colonies.
+
+Mercer kept abreast of English literature of his own and preceding
+generations: "Swift's Sermons," the "Spectator" and the "Tatler,"
+"Pope's Works," "Turkish Spy," "Tom Brown's Letters from the Dead to the
+Living," "Pamela," "David Simple," "Joseph Andrews," "Shakespeare's
+Plays," "Ben Jonson's Works," "Wycherley's Plays," "Prior's Works,"
+"Savage's Poems," "Cowley's Works," and "Select Plays" (in 16 volumes),
+to mention but a few. The classics are well represented--"Lauderdale's
+Virgil," "Ovid's Art of Love," "Martial" (in Greek), as well as a Greek
+grammar and a Greek testament. There were the usual sermons and
+religious books, along with such diverse subjects as "Alian's Tacticks
+of War," "Weston's Treatise of Shorthand" and "Weston's Shorthand
+Copybook," and "Greave's Origin of Weights, &c." He subscribed to the
+_London Magazine_ and the _Gentleman's Magazine_, and received regularly
+the _Virginia Gazette_.
+
+While most of Mercer's books were for intellectual edification or
+factual reference, a few must have served the purpose of sheer visual
+pleasure. Such was Merian's magnificent quarto volume of hand-colored
+engraved plates of Surinam insects, with descriptive texts in Dutch. The
+18th-century gentleman's taste for the elegant, the "curious," and the
+aesthetically delightful were all satisfied in this luxurious book,
+which would have been placed appropriately on a table for the pleasure
+of Mercer's guests.[107]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [107] MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN, _Metamorphosis Insectorum
+    Surinamensium efte Veranderung Surinaamsche Insecten_
+    (Antwerp, 1705).
+
+
+THE PETITION
+
+Although overseeing the construction of his mansion, buying the
+furniture for it, and assembling a splendid library would have been
+sufficient to keep lesser men busy, Mercer was absorbed in other
+activities as well. On May 10, 1748, for example, he recorded in his
+journal that he went "to Raceground by James Taylor's & Wid^o
+Taliaferro's,"[108] traveling 50 miles to do so. On December 13, 1748,
+he went "to Stafford Court & home. Swore to the Commission of the
+Peace," thus becoming a justice of the peace for Stafford County.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 14.--ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEY PLAN superimposed over
+detail of 1691 plat, showing southwest corner of town developed by
+Mercer. It can be seen that the mansion foundation was in the area near
+the change of course "by the Gutt between Geo. Andrew's & the Court
+house," hence in the vicinity of the courthouse site.]
+
+In the meanwhile, years had gone by, and no action had been taken on the
+suit in chancery brought in the 1730's to establish Savage's survey of
+Marlborough as the official one. During this time, Mercer had continued
+to build on various lots other than those he owned, "relying on the
+Lease and Consent of [the feoffees], at the Expense of above Fifteen
+Hundred Pounds, which Improvements would have saved forty lots."
+Finally, "judging the only effectual way to secure his Title would be to
+procure an Act of General Assembly for that purpose,"[109] Mercer
+applied to the Stafford court to purchase the county's interest in the
+town, to which the court agreed on August 11, 1747, the price to be
+10,000 pounds of tobacco. Since this transaction required legislative
+approval, Mercer filed with the House of Burgesses the petition which
+has served so often in these pages to tell the history of Marlborough.
+
+Mercer argued in the petition that the county had nothing to lose--that
+it "had received satisfaction" for at least 30 lots, some of which he
+might be obliged to buy over again; that, considering the history of the
+town, no one but himself would be likely to take up any other lots, the
+last having been subscribed to in 1708; and that his purchase of the
+town would be not to the county's disadvantage but rather to his own
+great expense. He was willing to accept an appraisal from "any one
+impartial person of Credit" who would say the town was worth more, and
+to pay "any Consideration this worshipful House shall think just."
+
+He pointed out that the two acres set aside for the courthouse were
+excluded and that they "must revert to the Heir of the former
+Proprietor, (who is now an Infant)." He did not indicate in the petition
+that he himself was the guardian of William Brent, infant heir to the
+courthouse property. It is most significant, therefore, that in asking
+for favorable action he added, "except the two acres thereof, which were
+taken in for a Courthouse, as aforesaid and which he is willing to lay
+of as this worshipful House may think most for the Benefit of Mr.
+William Brent, the Infant, to whom the same belongs, _or to pay him
+double or treble the worth of the said two acres, if the same is also
+vested in your Petitioner_." (Italics supplied.) Plainly, Mercer had
+much at stake in obtaining title to the courthouse land. This supports
+the hypothesis that the Gregg survey of 1707 infringed on the courthouse
+land, that Ballard's lot 19 on the Gregg survey overlapped it, and that
+Mercer's first two houses, and now his mansion, were partly on land that
+rightfully belonged to his ward, William Brent. Mercer apparently had so
+built over all the lower part of Marlborough without regard to title of
+ownership, and had so committed himself to occupancy of the courthouse
+site, that he was now in the embarrassing position of having to look
+after William Brent's interests when they were in conflict with his own.
+Likely it is that he had depended too much on acceptance of the
+still-unauthorized Savage survey to correct the previous discrepancies
+by means of its extra row of lots.
+
+Still further indication that the courthouse land was at issue is found
+in the proceedings that followed the petition. In these, there are
+repeated references to Mercer's having been called upon to testify "as
+the Guardian of William Brent." Clearly, the legislators were concerned
+with the effect the acceptance of the petition would have on Brent's
+interests. If Mercer, as seems likely, was building his mansion on the
+courthouse land, the burgesses had reason to question him. In any case,
+the House resolved in the affirmative "That the said Petition be
+rejected".[110]
+
+This setback was only temporary, however. The wider problems of
+Marlborough had at least been brought to light, so that by the time the
+next fall session was held Mercer's 18-year-old suit to have Savage's
+designated the official survey finally was acted upon:
+
+"At a General Court held at the Court House in Williamsburg the 12th
+October 1749" the John Savage survey of 1731 was "Decreed & Ordered" to
+be "the only Survey" of Marlborough. The problem of overlapping
+boundaries occasioned by the conflicts between the first two surveys was
+solved neatly. Mercer agreed to accept lots 1 through 9, 22 and 25, and
+33, 34, 42, and 43, "instead of the s^d 17 lots so purchased." The new
+lots extended up the Potomac River shore, while the "s^d 17 lots" were
+those which he had originally purchased and had built upon. Since he had
+"saved" these 17 lots by building on them, according to the old laws for
+the town, "it is further decreed & ordered that the said Town of
+Marlborough grant & convey unto the s^d John Mercer in fee such & so
+many other Lotts in the said Town as shall include the Houses &
+Improvm^{ts} made by the said John Mercer according to the Rate of 400
+square feet of Housing for each Lot so as the Lots to be granted for any
+House of greater Dimensions be contiguous & are not separated from the
+said House by any of the Streets of the said Town."[111]
+
+Thus, Mercer's original titles to 17 lots were made secure by
+substituting new lots for the disputed ones he had occupied. This device
+enabled the feoffees to sell back the original lots--at £182 per
+lot--with new deeds drawn on the basis of the Savage survey. The final
+provision that lots be contiguous when a house larger than the minimum
+400 square feet was built on them, and that the house and lots should
+not be separated by streets from each other, guaranteed the integrity of
+the mansion and its surrounding land. No mention was made here, or in
+subsequent transfers, of the courthouse land. Presumably it was
+conveniently forgotten, Mercer perhaps having duly recompensed his ward.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [108] James Taylor lived in Caroline County; the "Wid^o
+    Taliaferro" was probably Mrs. John Taliaferro of
+    Spotsylvania.
+
+    [109] Petition of John Mercer, loc. cit. (footnote 17).
+
+    [110] _JHB, 1742-1747; 1748-1749_, op. cit. (footnote 6), pp.
+    285-286.
+
+    [111] John Mercer's Land Book, loc. cit. (footnote 12).
+
+
+HEALTH AND MEDICINE
+
+Three weeks before his petition was read in the House, Mercer became
+ill. On October 26, 1748, he noted in his journal, "Very ill obliged to
+keep my bed." This was almost his first sickness after years of
+apparently robust health. Such indispositions as he occasionally
+suffered had occurred, like this one, at Williamsburg, where
+conviviality and rich food caused many another colonial worthy to
+founder. In this case, anxiety over the outcome of his petition may have
+brought on or aggravated his ailment. In any event, he stayed throughout
+the court session at the home of Dr. Kenneth McKenzie, who treated him.
+On November 3 he noted that he was "On Recovery," and two days later
+"went out to take the air." The following appears in his account with
+Dr. McKenzie:
+
+  October 1748: By Medicines & Attendance myself & Ice     £7.19.11
+                By Lodging &c 7 weeks                       6. 6. 7
+
+From William Parks, on another occasion, he bought "Rattlesnake root,"
+which was promoted in 18th-century Virginia as a specific against the
+gout, smallpox, and "Pleuritick and Peripneumonic Fevers."[112] Twice he
+bought "British oyl," a favorite popular nostrum sold in tall, square
+bottles, and on another occasion "2 bottles of Daffy's Elixir."[113] In
+1749 he settled his account with George Gilmer, apothecary of
+Williamsburg, for such things as oil of cinnamon, Holloways' Citrate,
+"Aqua Linnaean," rhubarb, sago, "Sal. Volat.," spirits of lavender, and
+gum fragac. The final item in the account was for April 22, 1750, for "a
+Vomit." The induced vomit, usually by a tartar emetic, was an accepted
+cure for overindulgence and a host of supposed ailments. That inveterate
+valetudinarian and amateur physician, William Byrd, was in the habit of
+"giving" vomits to his sick slaves.[114]
+
+In November and December 1749 Mercer sustained his first long illness,
+during which he was attended by "Doctor Amson." "Taken sick" at home on
+November 13, he evidently did not begin to recover until December 11.
+Whatever improvement he may have made must have received a setback on
+the last day of the year, when he recorded in his journal: "Took about
+60 grains of Opium & 60 grains of Euphorbium by mistake instead of a
+dose of rhubarb."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [112] Ten years earlier a vogue for rattlesnake root had been
+    established, apparently by those interested in promoting it.
+    On June 16, 1738, Benjamin Waller wrote to the editor of the
+    _Virginia Gazette_ extolling the virtues of rattlesnake root
+    in a testimonial. He claimed it cured him quickly of the
+    gout, and, he wrote, "I am also fully convinced this Medicine
+    has saved the Lives of many of my Negroes, and others in that
+    Disease, which rages here, and is by many called a
+    _Pleurisy_; And that it is a sure Cure in a Quartan Ague."
+    Two weeks later the _Gazette_ carried "Proposals for Printing
+    by Subscription a _Treatise_ on the DISEASES of _Virginia_
+    and the Neighbouring Colonies ... To which is annexed, An
+    Appendix, showing the strongest Reasons, _a priori_, that the
+    Seneca Rattle-Snake Root must be of more use than any
+    Medicine in the _Materia Medica_."
+
+    [113] See GEORGE B. GRIFFENHAGEN and JAMES HARVEY YOUNG, "Old
+    English Patent Medicines in America," (paper 10 in
+    _Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology:
+    Papers 1-11_, U.S. National Museum Bulletin 218, by various
+    authors; Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1959).
+
+    [114] _The Secret Diary of William Byrd of Westover,
+    1709-1712_, edit. Louis B. Wright and Marian Tingling.
+    (Richmond, Virginia: The Dietz Press, 1941), p. 188 (for
+    example).
+
+
+RELIGION AND CHARITIES
+
+Mercer's religious observances were irregular, although usually when he
+was home he attended Potomac Church. At the same time he continued as a
+vestryman in Overwharton Parish (which included Potomac and Aquia
+churches). On September 28, 1745, the vestry met to decide whether to
+build a new Aquia church or to repair the old one. They "then proceeded
+to agree with one _William Walker_, an Undertaker to build a new brick
+Church, Sixty Feet Square in the Clear, for One Hundred and Fifty Three
+Thousand Nine Hundred and Twenty Pounds of Transfer Tobacco."[115] In
+October Mercer entered in Ledger G, under the Overwharton Parish
+account, "To drawing articles with Walker." In December he charged the
+parish with "2 bottles claret" and "To Robert Jackson for mending the
+Church Plate." Jackson was a Fredericksburg silversmith.[116]
+
+The following March, the proprietors of the Accokeek Ironworks
+petitioned the Committee on Propositions and Grievances with an
+objection to the vestry's decision to rebuild, claiming that "as the
+said Iron-Works lie in the Parish aforesaid, and employ many Tithables
+in carrying on the same, they will labour under great Hardships
+thereby...."[117] The petition was rejected, but nothing seems to have
+been done on the new church until three months after Walker's death in
+February 1750, when Mourning Richards was appointed undertaker.[118]
+
+Mercer's charities in this decade form a short list. His only outright
+gift was his "Subscription to Protestant working-Schools in Ireland. To
+my annual Subscription for Sterling £5.5." In 1749 he did £12 3s. worth
+of legal work for the College of William and Mary, which he converted
+into "Subscriptions to Schools" of equal value; in other words, he
+donated his services.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [115] Op. cit. (footnote 19), p. 203.
+
+    [116] _Virginia Gazette_, October 20, 1752; RALPH BARTON
+    CUTTEN, _The Silversmiths of Virginia_ (Richmond, 1953), pp.
+    39-40.
+
+    [117] Op. cit. (footnote 19), p. 199.
+
+    [118] WHIFFEN, op. cit. (footnote 94), p. 142.
+
+
+CATHERINE MERCER'S DEATH AND ANN ROY'S ARRIVAL
+
+On April 1, 1750, Mercer went to Williamsburg for the spring session and
+stopped en route to visit his friend Dr. Mungo Roy at Port Royal in
+Caroline County. He remained at Williamsburg until the seventh, except
+for going on the previous day to "Greenspring" to be entertained by
+Philip Ludwell in the Jacobean mansion built a century earlier by
+Governor Berkeley. Again stopping off at Port Royal, he returned home on
+May 10. He remained there until June 15, when he made the laconic entry
+in his journal: "My wife died between 3 & 4 at noon." What time this
+denotes is unclear.
+
+Following this loss--Catherine Mercer was only 43--Mercer remained at
+home for five days, then visited his sister-in-law Mrs. Ann Mason. The
+next night he stayed with the pastor of Aquia Church, Mr. Moncure, then
+returned to Marlborough and remained there for nearly a month.
+Meanwhile, he purchased from Fielding Lewis, at a cost of £3 18s.
+7-1/2d., "sundrys for mourning." William Thomson, the Stafford tailor,
+made his mourning clothes. The preparations for the funeral must have
+been elaborate; it was not held until July 13.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 15.--PORTRAIT OF ANN ROY MERCER, John Mercer's
+second wife and the daughter of Dr. Mungo Roy of Port Royal, painted in
+1750 or shortly thereafter. (_Courtesy of Mrs. Thomas B. Payne._)]
+
+At the end of July Mercer went to Williamsburg, thence to Yorktown, and
+from there to Hampton and Norfolk by water on an "Antigua Ship,"
+returning to Hampton on August 5 on a "Negro Ship," evidently having
+caught passage on oceangoing traders. The younger children remained in
+Williamsburg with George and a nurse. On September 8 he went to Port
+Royal and stayed "at Dr. Roy's." He returned home on the 10th, then went
+back to Port Royal on the 14th, staying at Dr. Roy's until the 20th,
+attending Sunday church services during his visit. He returned home
+again on the 23rd, only to visit Dr. Roy once more on the 28th. The
+October court session drew him to Williamsburg, where he remained until
+November 7. While there, he purchased the following from James
+Craig,[119] a jeweler:
+
+                                                £   s.   d.
+
+  By a pair of Earrings                         2  12
+  By a pair of Buttons                          2  12
+  By a plain Ring                               1   1    6
+
+On November 8 he returned to Dr. Roy's. On the 10th he added a
+characteristically sparse note to his chronicle, "Married to Ann Roy."
+
+The period for mourning poor Catherine was short indeed. But the mansion
+at Marlborough needed a mistress, and Mercer's children, a mother. A new
+chapter was about to open as the decade closed. From the meticulous
+records that Mercer kept, it has been possible to see Mercer as a
+dynamic cosmopolite, accomplishing an incredible amount in a few short
+years. His constant physical movement from place to place, his reading
+of the law and of even a fraction of his hundreds of books in science,
+literature, and the arts, his managing of four plantations, attending
+two monthly court sessions a year at Williamsburg, looking after the
+legal affairs of hundreds of clients, concerning himself with the design
+and construction of a remarkable house and selecting the furnishings for
+it--all this illustrates a personality of enormous capacity.
+
+Marlborough was now a full-fledged plantation. Although the legacy of an
+earlier age still nagged at Mercer and prevented him from holding title
+to much of the old town, he had, nevertheless, transformed it, gracing
+it with the outspread grandeur of a Palladian great house.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [119] "James CRAIG, _Jeweller_, from LONDON Makes all sorts
+    Jeweller's Work, in the best Manner at his Shop in _Francis_
+    Street (facing the Main Street) opposite to Mr. Hall's new
+    Store." _Virginia Gazette_, September 25, 1746.
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+_Mercer and Marlborough, from Zenith to Decline, 1751-1768_
+
+
+THE OHIO COMPANY
+
+The long last period of Mercer's life and of the plantation he created
+began at a time of growing concern about the western frontier and the
+wilderness beyond it. In 1747 this concern had been expressed in the
+founding of the Ohio Company of Virginia by a group of notable colonial
+leaders: Thomas Cresap, Augustine Washington, George Fairfax, Lawrence
+Washington, Francis Thornton, and Nathaniel Chapman. George Mason was an
+early member, and so, not surprisingly, was John Mercer, whose prestige
+as a lawyer was the primary reason for his introduction to the company.
+We learn from the minutes of the meeting on December 3, 1750.
+
+     "[Resolved] That it is absolutely necessary to have proper Articles
+     to bind the Company that Mason ..., Scott & Chapman or any two of
+     them, apply to John Mercer to consider and draw such Articles and
+     desire him attend the next general meeting of the Company at
+     Stafford Courthouse...."[120]
+
+At the meeting in May 1751, Mercer presented the Articles and was
+"admitted as a Partner on advancing his twentieth part of the whole
+Expence."[121] From then on he was virtually secretary of the company,
+as well as its chief driving force. He was made a committee member with
+Lawrence Washington, Nathaniel Chapman, James Scott, and George Mason,
+who was treasurer. The "Committee" was the central or executive board.
+
+With the leading members living in Stafford County or nearby, most of
+the meetings of both the company and the committee were held at Stafford
+courthouse, and occasionally in private houses of the members. We can
+imagine with what pride Mercer noted in his journal for February 5-7,
+1753, "Ohio Committee met at my house." The important role played by the
+Ohio Company in the Mercers' lives--and by them in the Company--is fully
+recounted in the _George Mercer Papers Relating to the Ohio Company of
+Virginia_.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [120] _The George Mercer Papers_, op. cit. (footnote 51), p.
+    5.
+
+    [121] Ibid.
+
+
+GEORGE, JOHN, AND JAMES
+
+Mercer doubtless threw himself into the Ohio Company's affairs with
+characteristic drive and enthusiasm. We may surmise that there was heady
+talk at Marlborough about the frontier and of dangerous exploits against
+the Indians and the French--enough, at least, to have stirred youthful
+cravings for adventure among the Mercer boys. Certain it is that George
+and John Fenton, aged 19 and 18, respectively, joined the frontier
+regiment of their neighbor Colonel Fry as young officers "upon the first
+incursions of the French."[122]
+
+James, aged 16 and too young for soldiering, exhibited an unusual
+aptitude for architecture. His talent was noticed by William Bromley,
+the master joiner on the mansion house, who told Mercer that James "had
+a most extraordinary turn to mechanicks." On the strength of this,
+Mercer decided that James should become a master carpenter or joiner,
+then synonymous with "architect." In America in 1753 professional
+architects, as we know them, did not exist; gentlemen, some very
+talented, designed and drafted, while skilled joiners or carpenters
+followed general directions, executing, engineering, and inventing as
+they went along.
+
+Mercer's decision was as unconventional as it was prescient, being made
+at a time when gentlemen were not expected to learn a trade, yet at a
+moment when the respected place the professional architect was later to
+have could be envisioned. Indeed, he explained his feeling that those
+who possessed architectural skills "were more beneficial members of
+society, and more likely to make a fortune, with credit, than the young
+Gentlemen of those times, who wore laced jackets attended for
+improvement at ordinaries, horse races, cock matches, and gaming
+tables." Motivated by this honest sense of values, forged in the
+experience of a self-made man, Mercer proceeded to bind James
+"apprentice to Mr. Waite, a master carpenter and undertaker (of
+Alexandria), who covenanted to instruct him in all the different
+branches of that business. At the same time I bound four young Negro
+fellows (which I had given him) to Mr. Waite, who covenanted to instruct
+each of them in a particular branch. These, I expected, when they were
+out of their time, would place him in such a situation as might enable
+him to provide for himself, if I should not be able to do any more for
+him. It is notorious that I received the compliments of the Governour,
+several of the Council, and many of the best Gentlemen in the country,
+for having set such an example, which, they said, they hoped would
+banish that false pride that too many of their countrymen were actuated
+by."
+
+On June 25, 1753, Mercer noted in his journal, "At home. Bound son James
+& Peter & Essex to W^m Waite for 5 y^{rs}." However commendable this
+effort to banish "false pride" may have been, it was probably not a
+realistic solution for James' career. James, as we shall see, was to
+make his own choice later and was to follow with great distinction in
+his father's footsteps as a lawyer.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [122] All the foregoing quotations in this section are from
+    Purdie & Dixon's _Virginia Gazette_, September 26, 1766.
+
+
+GROWING BURDENS, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND DEBTS
+
+Meanwhile, Mercer had announced his intention to publish a new edition
+of the _Abridgment_. In doing so, he adopted a hostile, testy approach
+that was unusual even in 18th-century advertising. Implying that he was
+doing a favor to an ungrateful populace, he stated in the Virginia
+_Gazette_ on August 16, 1751, "I have been prevail'd upon to print it,
+if I have a prospect of saving myself, though the Treatment I met from
+the Subscribers to the last had determined me never to be again
+concerned in an Undertaking of this Kind." On the following February 20,
+he announced in the _Gazette_ that if there were 600 subscribers by the
+last of the next General Court he would send the copy to press. If not,
+he would return the money to those who had subscribed, "which I should
+not have troubled myself with, if I could have thought of any other
+Expedient to secure myself against the base Usage I met with from the
+Subscribers to my former _Abridgment_, who left above 1200 of them on my
+Hands." This kind of advertising had its predictable response:
+publication of the new _Abridgment_ was postponed indefinitely.
+
+The first suggestion that all was not well in Mercer's financial affairs
+was given in an advertisement in the _Gazette_ on April 10, 1752. In
+this he noted that he had agreed to pay the debts of one Francis
+Wroughton, a London merchant, out of Wroughton's effects. However,
+although Wroughton's effects had not materialized, he promised to make
+payment anyway, "notwithstanding a large Ballance due to myself." He
+concluded, "Besides Mr. _Wroughton's_ Debts, I have some of my own (and
+not inconsiderable) to pay, therefore I hope that such Gentlemen as are
+indebted to me will, without putting me to the Blush which a Dunn will
+occasion, discharge their Debts...."
+
+Perhaps to alleviate these difficulties, he had advertised in the
+Gazette on the previous March 15 that he would lease "3,000 Acres of
+extraordinary good fresh Land, in Fairfax and Prince William," but there
+is no evidence that he was successful.
+
+Signs of irritability became increasingly noticeable. In 1753 he
+outraged his fellow justices at Stafford court--so much so that they
+brought charges against him before the Executive Council "for
+misbehavior as a Justice."[123] It was decided that, although "his
+Conduct had been in some Respects blameable, particularly by his
+Intemperance, opprobrious Language on the Bench, and indecent Treatment
+of the other Justices, ... that in Consideration of his having been a
+principal Instrument in a due Administration of Justice, and expediting
+the Business of the County, it has been thought proper to continue him
+Judge of the Court."[124]
+
+A growing burden of debt, in contrast to the prosperity of the preceding
+decade, clearly affected Mercer's attitude, as we can see in a Gazette
+advertisement on November 7, 1754: "I will not undertake any new, or
+finish any old Cause, 'til I receive my Fee, or Security for it to my
+liking: And I hope such Gentlemen as for above these seven years past
+have put me off with Promises every succeeding General Court will think
+it reasonable now to discharge their accounts." Concurrent with
+indebtedness was an almost annual increase in the size of his family. In
+1752 Grace Fenton Mercer was born, the next year Mungo Roy, and in 1754
+Elinor.
+
+At the same time, he still pursued the restless activity that
+characterized his earlier years. On July 24, 1753, Mercer went "to
+Balthrop's, Smith's Ordin^{ry} & Vaulx's,"[125] a distance of 27 miles,
+during which he "Overset." On the 25th he went on eight miles farther
+"to Col^o Phil Lee's"[126] for a three-day meeting of the Ohio Company,
+then went the whole 35 miles home on the 28th. On September 6 he was
+called eight miles away "to Boyd's hole on Inquest as Coroner & home by
+4 in the morn^g," while the next day he was "at home. Son Mungo Roy born
+ab^t 2 in the morning." On the 19th Mungo Roy was christened. Four days
+later he went 15 miles to Fredericksburg for the christening of William
+Dick's son Alexander, returning home the next day. The following day
+Mercer journeyed 14 miles and back to "Holdbrook's Survey" by way of
+Mountjoy's, and repeated the trip the next day, stopping at Major
+Hedgman's[127] coming and going. On October 5 he made a three-day trip
+to Williamsburg, covering the distance in stretches of 16, 52, and 42
+miles per day, respectively. He went by way of Port Royal, where he "Met
+M^r Wroughton," presumably the London merchant whose creditors he had
+agreed to pay. The second day took him by way of King William
+courthouse. On the return on November 4-6, he came via Chiswell's
+Ordinary[128] and New Kent courthouse (which he noted had "Burnt"),
+covering a total of 110 miles.
+
+On June 3, 1754, his clerk reported to duty, according to a journal
+entry: "Rogers came here at £50 p^r annum." Rogers remained in Mercer's
+employ until 1768.
+
+Mercer seems to have been driving himself to the limit, not to achieve
+success as in the prior decades, but rather to hold secure what he
+already had. The specter of debt now hung over him, as it did over
+nearly every planter, under the increasing burdens of the French and
+Indian War. The 17th-century wisdom of William Fitzhugh and Robert
+Beverley in seeking to lead the colony away from complete dependence
+upon tobacco was apparent to those who would remember. Marlborough,
+although still technically a town, was now in reality a tobacco
+plantation, and Mercer, despite his status as a lawyer, was as
+irretrievably committed to the success or failure of tobacco as was
+Fitzhugh 70 years earlier. The hard years were now upon all, and, like
+his equally hard-pressed debtors, Mercer was suffering from them.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [123] _Executive Journals of the Council_, op. cit. (footnote
+    66), vol. 5, p. 410.
+
+    [124] Ibid., p. 434.
+
+    [125] The Balthrop family lived in King George County;
+    Smith's ordinary has not been identified; "Vaulx's" probably
+    refers to the home of Robert Vaulx of Pope's Creek,
+    Westmoreland County. Vaulx was father-in-law of Lawrence
+    Washington and died in 1755.
+
+    [126] Philip Ludwell Lee, proprietor of "Stratford,"
+    Westmoreland County, 1751-1775, grandfather of General Robert
+    E. Lee. "Old Stratford and the Lees who Lived There,"
+    _Magazine of the Society of Lees of Virginia_ (Richmond, May
+    1925), vol. 3, no. 1, p. 15.
+
+    [127] Peter Hedgman was another Stafford County leader. He
+    was burgess from 1742 to 1755. "Members of the House of
+    Burgesses," _VHM_ (Richmond, 1901), vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 249.
+
+    [128] George Fisher visited Chiswell's ordinary: "On Monday
+    May the 12th 1755, at Day Break, about half an hour after
+    Four in the morning, I left Williamsburg to proceed to
+    Philadelphia.... About Eight o'clock, by a slow Pace, I
+    arrived at Chiswell's Ordinary. Two Planters in the Room, I
+    went into, were at Cards (all Fours) but on my arrival,
+    returned into an inner Room." "Narrative of George Fisher,"
+    _WMQ_ [1] (Richmond, 1909), vol. 17, pp. 164-165.
+
+
+LIFE AT MARLBOROUGH DURING THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS
+
+On March 11, 1755, after nearly 30 years of uncertainty about his titles
+to Marlborough, Mercer at last was granted the entire 52-acre town in a
+release from the feoffees, Peter Daniel and Gerard Fowke. This was made
+with the provision that he should be "Eased from making improvements on
+the other twenty-six Lots (those not built upon), to prevent their
+forfeiture and the County will be wholly reimbursed, which it is not
+probable it ever will be otherwise as only one Lot has been taken up in
+forty-seven years last past and there is not one House in the said town
+which has not been built by the said Mercer."[129]
+
+While the day-to-day events of Marlborough went on much as ever, the
+conflict between the British and the French spread from Canada southward
+along the western ridge of the Appalachians. This expansion, inevitably,
+was reflected in the Mercers' activities in many ways, both great and
+small. As the struggle approached its climax, Braddock's troops came to
+Virginia in March 1755, and were quartered in Alexandria. Among them was
+John Mercer's brother, Captain James Mercer, who was a professional
+soldier. On March 25 John left Marlborough for Alexandria, probably to
+greet James and to have him billeted at William Waite's house where
+young son James already was living as Waite's apprentice. This bringing
+together of two far-flung members of the Mercer family had unanticipated
+results. Captain James was a British gentlemen-officer, untouched by the
+leveling influences of colonial life and therefore untempted to banish
+"false pride" by any such radical means as John had employed with young
+James. Indeed, the sight of his nephew learning a mechanical trade must
+have been a rude shock, for we learn from John Mercer that Captain James
+"found means to make his nephew uneasy under his choice; and I was from
+that time incessantly teazed, by those who well knew their interest over
+me, until I was brought to consent very reluctantly that he should quit
+the plumb and square" and become a lawyer.[130]
+
+Mercer returned to Marlborough by way of George Mason's, near the place
+where a few months later William Buckland was to begin work on "Gunston
+Hall." He remained there all day on April 1--"at M^r Mason's wind
+bound," he wrote in his journal. The next day he went "home through a
+very great gust."
+
+The problems of managing a plantation went on through peace and through
+war. Besides a multitude of Negroes, there were also indentured white
+servants at Marlborough. One of these ran away and was advertised in the
+_Virginia Gazette_ on May 2, 1755:
+
+     ... a Servant Man named _John Clark_, he pretends sometimes to be a
+     Ship-Carpenter by Trade, at other Times a Sawyer or a Founder ...
+     he is about 5 feet 7 inches high, round Shoulders, a dark
+     Complexion, grey eyes, a large Nose and thick Lips, an _Englishman_
+     by birth; had on when he went away, a blue Duffil Frock with flat
+     white Metal Buttons and round Cuffs, red corded Plush Breeches, old
+     grey Worsted Stockings, old Shoes, and broad Pewter Buckles, brown
+     Linen wide Trousers, some check'd Shirts, and a Muslin Neckcloth;
+     had also an old Beaver Hat bound round with Linen.
+
+On October 24, the _Gazette_ carried another advertisement related to
+Mercer's problems of personnel:
+
+     A Miller that understands the Management of a Wind-mill, and can
+     procure a proper Recommendation, may have good Wages, on applying
+     to the Subscriber during the General Court, at _Williamsburg_, or
+     afterwards, at his House in _Stafford_ County, before the last Day
+     of November, or if any such Person will enclose his Recommendation,
+     and let me know his Terms by the Post from _Williamsburg_, he may
+     depend on meeting an Answer at the Post-Office there, without
+     Charge, the first Post after his Letter comes to my Hands. _John
+     Mercer_
+
+In the meanwhile, the war had broken out in full scale, and the disaster
+at Fort Duquesne had taken place. Mercer apparently learned the bad news
+at a Stafford court session, for he noted in his journal on July 9,
+after observing his attendance at court, "General Braddock defeated." We
+can imagine his concern, for both George and John Fenton were
+participants in the campaign.
+
+On April 18, 1756, John Fenton was killed in action while fighting under
+Washington.[131] Curiously, his death was not mentioned in the journal.
+Instead, we learn of the death of John Mercer's horse on the way to
+Williamsburg in April and of the fact that, on his return in May, Mercer
+lost his way and traveled 46 miles in a day. He tells us that he went
+"to M^r Moncure's by water" on May 26, a distance of 15 miles, and that
+he made a round trip from Mr. Moncure's to Aquia Church for a total of
+12 miles. On July 14, he noted that he went "to Maj^r Hedgman's &
+returning thrown out of the chaise & very much bruised."
+
+The demands of the war are revealed in journal entries made in June
+1757. On the 20th he wrote, "to Court to prick Soldiers & home," and on
+the 27th, "to Court to draft Soldiers & home." As at other times in the
+journal, birth and death, in their tragic immediacy and repetitiveness,
+were juxtaposed in September: on the 24th, "Son John born"; on the 27th,
+"Brother James died at Albany"; on the 28th, "Son John died."
+
+In 1758 George Mason ran for the office of burgess from both Stafford
+and Fairfax. On July 11, Mercer went to the Stafford elections, where
+"Lee & Mason" were chosen. On the 15th, he went "to M^r Selden's & home
+by water to see M^r Mason," who evidently had come to Marlborough for a
+visit. Four days later, he traveled to Alexandria for the elections
+there and saw "Johnston & Mason" elected.
+
+In the fall of 1758 he went, as usual, to Williamsburg. His route this
+time was long and devious, taking him to both Caroline and King William
+County courthouses on the way, for a total of 121 miles in five days. We
+learn of one of the hazards of protracted journeys in the 18th century
+from a notation repeated daily in his journal for four days following
+his arrival: "at Williamsburg Confined to Bed with the Piles."
+
+On November 15, soon after his return to Marlborough, Mercer was sworn
+to the new commission of Stafford justices. Five days previously his son
+Catesby had been buried, but, as usually happened, new life came to take
+the place of that which had survived so briefly. On May 17, 1759, Mercer
+recorded, "Son John Francis born at 7 in the Evening." John Francis
+evidently was given an auspicious start in life by a christening of more
+than ordinary formality: "May 28. to Col^o Harrison's with the Gov^r Son
+christened."
+
+During 1759 the second edition of the _Abridgment_ was published in
+Glasgow, Scotland, this time with neither public notice nor
+recrimination.[132] On November 25, Mercer met the growing problem of
+his indebtedness by deeding equal shares of some of his properties, as
+well as whole amounts of others, to George and James Mercer, Marlborough
+and a few other small holdings excepted. Fifty Negroes were included in
+the transaction. This action was followed immediately by the release of
+the properties under their new titles to Colonel John Tayloe and Colonel
+Presley Thornton for a year, thus providing cash by which George and
+James could pay £3000 of John Mercer's debts.[133]
+
+The Ohio Company was experiencing its difficulties also. Mercer's
+importance in it was demonstrated by his appointment to "draw up a full
+State of the Company's Case setting forth the Hardships We labour under
+and the Reasons why the Lands have not been settled and the Fort
+finished according to Royal Instructions...."[134] This was his most
+responsible assignment during his activity in the company.
+
+Indebtedness throughout these years lurked constantly in the background,
+now and then breaking through acutely. In 1760, for example, William
+Tooke, a London merchant, brought suit to collect £331 1s. 6d. which
+Mercer owed him. Two years later Capel Hanbury sued Mercer for £31
+10s.[135]
+
+In 1761 George Washington and George Mercer ran for burgesses from
+Frederick County in the Shenandoah Valley, and both were elected. John
+Mercer, evidently anxious to be present for the election, undertook the
+arduous journey to Winchester, leaving Marlborough on May 15. His
+itinerary was as follows:
+
+  May 15 to Fredericksburg                                  15
+      16 to Nevill's Ordinary                               37
+      17 to Ashby's Combe's & Winchester                    32
+      18 at Winchester (Frederick Election)
+           (Geo Washington and Geo Mercer elected)
+      19 to M^r Dick's Quarter                              18
+      20 to Pike's M^r Wormley's Quarter                    12
+      21 to Snickers's Little River Quarters & Nevill's     60
+      22 to Fallmouth & home                                50
+
+In the previous year Anna had been born, and now, on December 14, 1761,
+Maria arrived. Between the 8th and the 20th of August, 1762, entries
+were made that suggest that there was an epidemic of sorts at
+Marlborough: "Cupid died // Tom (Poll's) died // Daughter Elinor died //
+Miss B. Roy died." In his long letter to George, written in 1768, he
+reflected on the fact that, although through the years 98 Negroes had
+been born at Marlborough, he, at that time, had fewer than the total of
+all he had ever bought. "Your sister Selden," he wrote "attributes it to
+the unhealthiness of Patomack Neck, which there may be something in....
+I thank God, however, that my own family has been generally as healthy
+as other people's."[136]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [129] John Mercer's Land Book, loc. cit. (footnote 12).
+
+    [130] Purdie & Dixon's _Virginia Gazette_, September 26,
+    1766.
+
+    [131] John Clement Fitzpatrick, ed., _The Writings of George
+    Washington_ (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office,
+    1931), vol. 1, p. 318.
+
+    [132] "Journals of the Council of Virginia in Executive
+    Sessions, 1737-1763," _VHM_ (Richmond, 1907), vol. 14, p. 232
+    (footnote).
+
+    [133] _The George Mercer Papers_, op. cit. (footnote 51), p.
+    190.
+
+    [134] Ibid., p. 179.
+
+    [135] "Proceedings of the Virginia Committee of
+    Correspondence 1759-67," _VHM_ (Richmond, 1905), vol. 12, p.
+    4.
+
+    [136] _The George Mercer Papers_, op. cit. (footnote 51), p.
+    213.
+
+
+THE END OF THE WAR AND THE STAMP ACT
+
+The year 1763 marked the end of the war. It also signaled a turning
+point in the colonies' relations with England. In a royal proclamation
+the King prohibited the colonies from expanding westward past the
+Appalachian ridge, in effect nullifying the Ohio Company's claims and
+objectives. George Mercer was appointed agent of the company and was
+dispatched to England to plead its cause.
+
+By this time Britain was beginning to apply the other allegedly
+oppressive measures which preceded the Revolution. Antismuggling laws
+were enforced, implemented by "writs of assistance," thus increasing
+colonial burdens which had been avoided previously by widespread
+smuggling. The South was particularly hard hit by parliamentary orders
+forbidding the colonies the use of paper money as legal tender for
+payment of debts. In a part of the world where a credit economy and
+chronic indebtedness made a flexible currency essential, this measure
+was a disastrous matter.
+
+Despite the ominousness of the times, Mercer continued with the daily
+routine, the minutiae of which filled his journal. He noted on January
+9, 1763, that he went to Potomac Church--"Neither Minister or clerk
+there." On February 21 he went a mile--probably up Potomac Creek--to
+watch "John Waugh's halling the Saine & home." On March 1 his merchant
+friend John Champe was buried. After the funeral Mercer went directly to
+Selden's for an Ohio Company meeting.
+
+From December 10 until March 1765, Mercer was sick. Of this interval, he
+wrote George in 1768 that "My business had latterly so much encreased,
+together with my slowness in writing, & Rogers, tho a tolerable good
+clerk, was so incapable of assisting me out of the common road, that
+when you saw me at Williamsburg, I was reduced by my fatigue, to a very
+valetudinary state."[137] Indebtedness, overwork, advancing age, and the
+reverses of the times had evidently caused a crisis.
+
+Passage of the Stamp Act in 1765, to raise revenues to support an army
+of occupation in the colonies, struck close to John Mercer, for George,
+while in England, had been designated stamp officer for Virginia. George
+returned to Williamsburg, little expecting the hostile greeting he was
+to receive from a crowd of angry planters. Quickly disavowing his new
+office, he returned the stamps the following day.
+
+Many made the most of George's tactical blunder in accepting the
+stamp-officer appointment. Indeed, the Mercers seem to have been made
+the scapegoats for the frustrations and turmoil into which the mother
+country's actions had plunged the colony. George Mercer was hanged in
+effigy at Westmoreland courthouse, and James Mercer took to the
+_Gazettes_ to defend him. There were counterattacks on James while he
+was absent in Frederick County, and Mercer himself rushed in with a
+lengthy satirical diatribe entitled "Prophecy from the East." Occupying
+all the space normally devoted to foreign news in Purdie & Dixon's
+_Virginia Gazette_ for September 26, 1766, this struck out at anonymous
+attackers whom Mercer scathingly nicknamed Gibbet, Scandal, Pillory, and
+Clysterpipe. He later explained to George that James' "antagonist was
+backed by so many anonymous scoundrels, that I was drawn in during his
+abscence at the springs in Frederick to answer I did not know whom tho
+it since appears D^r Arthur Lee was the principal, if not the only
+assassin under different vizors, & he was so regardless of truth that he
+invented & published the most infamous lies as indisputable facts: on
+your brother's return I got out of the scrape but from a paper war it
+turned to a challenge, which produced a skirmish, in which your bro.
+without receiving any damage broke the Doctors head, & closed his eyes
+in such a manner as obliged him to keep his house sometime...."[138]
+
+Of John Mercer's own attitude towards the Stamp Act there can be no
+question. On November 1, 1765, he noted in his journal, "The damned
+Stamp Act was to have taken place this day but was proved initially
+disappointed." He is said to have written a tract against the Stamp Act,
+although no copy has survived.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [137] Ibid., p. 187.
+
+    [138] Ibid.
+
+
+THE CLOSING YEARS[139]
+
+The elements of tragedy mark Mercer's final years--the tragedy of John
+Mercer and Marlborough interwoven with the epic failures of the colonial
+experiment. Prompted by his illness, he quit his legal practice in the
+courts in 1765. In the same year he "gave notice to the members of the
+Ohio Company, that my health & business would not longer allow me to
+concern myself in their affairs which they had entirely flung upon my
+hands." He also "on account of my deafness, refused to act as a justice,
+which I should not have done otherwise, as I have the satisfaction to
+know that I have done my country some service in this station."
+
+Heavily in debt, disillusioned and embittered by the dwindling results
+of his struggles, he wrote that "I have attended the bar thirty-six
+years, through a perpetual hurry and uneasiness, and have been more
+truly a slave than any one I am, or ever was, master of; yet have not
+been able, since the first day of last January, to command ten pounds,
+out of near ten thousand due me." Recoiling from his situation, he
+desperately sought a way out and a means to recover his losses. With
+self-deceptive optimism he seized upon the idea of establishing a
+brewery at Marlborough, since "our Ordinaries abound & daily increase
+(for drinking will continue longer than anything but eating)."
+Accordingly, he built a brewhouse and a malthouse, each 100 feet long,
+of brick and stone, together with "Cellars, Cooper's house & all the
+buildings, copper & utensils whatever, used about the brewery." He
+depended at first on his windmill for grinding the malt, but to avoid
+delays on windless days, "I have now a hand-mill fixed in my brewhouse
+loft that will grind 50 bushels of malt (my coppers complement) every
+morning they brew."
+
+To get his project under way, Mercer plunged further into the depths of
+debt by buying 40 Negroes "to enable me to make Grain sufficient to
+carry on my brewery with my own hands." These cost £8000, "a large part
+of which was unpaid, for payment of which I depended on the Brewery
+itself & the great number of Debts due to me." But the external fate
+which was driving him closer and closer to destruction now struck with
+the death of John Robinson, treasurer of the colony, who, having lent
+public funds promiscuously to debtor friends, had left a deficiency of
+£100,000 in the colonial treasury. A chain reaction of suits developed,
+threatening James Hunter of Fredericksburg, Mercer's security for
+purchase of the slaves.
+
+The brewery lumbered and stumbled. Mercer's first brewer, a young Scot
+named Wales, prevailed upon him to spend £100 to alter the new
+malthouse. On September 16, 1765, William King, evidently a master
+brewer, arrived. He immediately found fault with Wales' changes in the
+malthouse. Within three weeks, however, King died. King's nephew, named
+Bailey, then came unannounced with a high recommendation as a brewer
+from a man he had served only as a gardener. Mercer was impressed: "You
+may readily believe I did not hesitate to employ Bailey on such a
+recommendation, more especially as he agreed with King in blaming the
+alteration of the malt house & besides found great fault with Wales's
+malting." Faced with rival claims as to which could brew better beer,
+Mercer allowed each to brew separately. "Yet though Bailey found as much
+fault with Wales's brewing as he did with his malting, that brewed by
+Wales was the only beer I had that Season fit to drink." Wales, however,
+brewed only £40 worth of beer, barely enough to pay his wages, let alone
+maintenance for himself and his wife. Although Bailey brewed enough to
+send a schooner load of it to Norfolk, it was of such "bad character"
+that only two casks were sold, the remainder having been stored with
+charges for two months, then brought back to Marlborough, where an
+effort to distill it failed.
+
+In 1766 there was a similar tale. Five hundred fifty bushels of malt
+were produced, but much of the beer and ale was bad. In January 1766,
+Andrew Monroe[140] was employed as overseer. "Wales complains of my
+Overseer & says that he is obliged to wait for barley, coals & other
+things that are wanted which, if timely supplied with he could with six
+men & a boy manufacture 250 bushels a week which would clear £200.... My
+Overseer is a very good one & I believe as a planter equal to any in
+Virginia but you are sensible few planters are good farmers and barley
+is a farmer's article," Mercer wrote to George. Besides the overhead of
+slaves and nonproductive brewers, the establishment required the
+services of two coopers at £20 per year.
+
+Purdie & Dixon's _Virginia Gazette_ for April 10, 1766, carried the
+advertisement of Mercer's brewery:
+
+     To be SOLD, at the MARLBOROUGH BREWERY
+
+     STRONG BEER AND PORTER at 18d. and ALE at 1s. the gallon,
+     _Virginia_ currency, in cask, equal in goodness to any that can be
+     imported from any part of the world, as nothing but the genuine
+     best MALT and HOPS will be used, without any mixture or substitute
+     whatsoever; which, if the many treaties of brewing published in
+     _Great Britain_ did not mention to be frequently used there, the
+     experience of those who have drunk those liquors imported from
+     thence would point out to be the case, from their pernicious
+     effects.
+
+     The severe treatment we have lately received from our Mother
+     Country, would, I should think, be sufficient to recommend my
+     undertaking (though I should not be able to come up to the English
+     standard, which I do not question constantly to do) yet, as I am
+     satisfied that the goodness of every commodity is its best
+     recommendation, I principally rely upon that for my success; and my
+     own interest, having expended near 8000 l. to bring my brewery to
+     its present state, is the best security I can give the publick to
+     assure them of the best usage, without which such an undertaking
+     cannot be supported with credit.
+
+     The casks to be paid for at the rate of 4s. for barrels, 5s. for
+     those between 40 and 50 gallons, and a penny the gallon for all
+     above 50 gallons; but if they are returned in good order, and
+     sweet, by having been well scalded as soon as emptied, the price of
+     them shall be returned or discounted.
+
+     Any person who sends bottles and corks may have them carefully
+     filled and corked with beer or porter at 6s. or with ale at 4s. the
+     dozen. I expect, in a little time, to have constant supply of
+     bottles and corks; and if I meet the encouragement I hope for,
+     propose setting up a glasshouse for making bottles, and to provide
+     proper vessels to deliver to such customers as favour me with their
+     orders such liquors as they direct, at the several landings they
+     desire, being determined to give all the satisfaction in the power
+     of
+
+     Their most humble servant,
+     JOHN MERCER
+
+Foolhardy though the brewery was, a glass factory would have been the
+pinnacle of folly. Yet it was seriously on Mercer's mind. In his letter
+to George he wrote:
+
+     A Glass house to be built here must I am satisfied turn to great
+     profit, they have some in New England & New York or the Jerseys &
+     find by some resolves the New England men are determined to
+     increase their number.
+
+Despite his manifest failure, Mercer confidently attempted to persuade
+George of the possibilities of the brewery and even the glasshouse.
+Shifting from one proposal to another, he suggested that he could "rent
+out all my houses and conveniences at a reasonable rate," or take in a
+partner, although "I have so great a dislike for all partnerships,
+nothing but my inability to carry it on my self could induce me to enter
+into one."
+
+In spite of these desperate thrashings about in a struggle to survive,
+Mercer's empire was collapsing. When Monroe arrived as overseer, he
+
+     found [according to Mercer] but 8 barrels of corn upon my
+     plantation, not enough at any of my quarters to maintain my people,
+     a great part of my Stock dead (among them some of my English colts
+     & horses in the 2 last years to the am^t of £ 375. 10. --) & the
+     rest of them dying, which would have infallibly have been their
+     fate if it had not been for the straw of 1000 bushels of barley &
+     the grains from the brewhouse.... Convinced of his [Monroe's]
+     integrity, I have been forced to submit the entire management of
+     all the plantation to him.
+
+The following passage from the letter summarizes Mercer's financial
+predicament:
+
+     "I reced in 1764 £1548 ... 4 ... 3-1/2 & in 1765 £961 ... 5 ...
+     4-1/2 but since I quitted my practice I reced in 1766 no more than
+     £108 ... 16 ... 1 of which I borrowed £24.10.--& 7 ... 1 ... 6 was
+     re'ced for the Governor's fees. £20 ... 8 ... 4 I got for Opinions
+     &c and from the brewery £28 ... 3 ... the remaining £28 ... 16 is
+     all I received out of several thousands due for all my old & new
+     debts. In 1767 I reced £159 ... 9 ... 3 of which borrowed £5 ... 15
+     ...--the governor's fees £10 ... 7 ... 6 reced for opinions &c £49
+     ... 6 ...--from the brewhouse £66 ... 14 ... of which £94 ... 14
+     ... 3 was from the brewery & 9 in 1766 I gave a collector £20
+     besides his board ferrage & expences & finding him horses & his
+     whole collection during the year turned out to be £27 ... 2 ... 10.
+     In the two years my taxes levied and quitrents amounted to £199 ...
+     8 ... 1 which would have left a ballance of £1 . 13 . 3 in my
+     favour in that time from the brewery & my practice (if it could be
+     so called) & all my debts, in great part of which you and your
+     brother are jointly & equally interested. What then remained to
+     support me & a family consisting of about 26 white people & 122
+     negroes? Nothing but my crops, after that I had expended above
+     £100, for corn only to support them, besides rice & pork to near
+     that value & the impending charge of £125 for rent, of £140 to
+     overseers yearly, remained, & £94 ... 14 ... 3 out of those crops,
+     as I have already mentioned, proceeding from the brewery, was
+     swallowed up in taxes (tho the people in England say we pay none,
+     but I can fatally prove that my estate from which I did not receive
+     sixpence has, since the commencement of the war, paid near a
+     thousand pounds in taxes only)."
+
+On December 25, 1766, Mercer made public his situation in Rind's
+_Virginia Gazette_:
+
+     The great Number of Debts due to me for the last seven Years of my
+     Practice, and the Backwardness of my Clients (in attending whose
+     Business, I unhappily neglected my own) to make me Satisfaction,
+     would of itself, if I had had no other Reason, have obliged me to
+     quit my Practice. And when I found that by such partial Payments as
+     I chanced to receive I was able to keep up my Credit, I can appeal
+     to the Public, whether any Person, who had so many outstanding
+     Debts, was less importunate, or troublesome, to his Debtors, But
+     when I found, upon my quitting the Bar, all Payments cease, and
+     that I would not personally wait upon my Clients, I could not
+     approve of the Method of Demand, by the Sheriff, too commonly in
+     Practice, without Necessity. I therefore employed a Receiver, who,
+     ever since the first day of _January_ last, has been riding through
+     the _Northern Neck_, and even as far as _Williamsburg_, and who to
+     this Time has not been able, out of near ten thousand Pounds, to
+     collect as much as will pay his own Wages, and discharge my public
+     taxes (for Proof of which I will produce my Books to any Gentleman
+     concerned or desirous to see them). This too, at a Time when my own
+     Debts contracted by the large Expences I have been at for some
+     Years past for establishing a Brewery, has disabled me by any other
+     Means from discharging them, (except when they would take lands,
+     Assignments of Debts, or any thing I can spare, without Detriment
+     to my Plantations or Brewery). Selling Lands avail nothing, I have
+     bonds for some sold four or five Years ago but I can't get the
+     Money for them. I therefore cannot be thought too unreasonable to
+     give this public Notice (which the Circumstances of the Country
+     make most disagreeable to me) that I shall be against my
+     inclination obliged to bring Suits, immediately after next _April_
+     General Court, against all persons indebted to me who do not before
+     that Time, discharge their Debts to me or my Son _James Mercer_,
+     who will have my Books during the said Court to settle with every
+     Person applying to him. And as some Persons have since my quitting
+     the Practice, sent to me for Opinions and to settle Accounts
+     without sending my Fees, to prevent any more Applications of that
+     Sort, I give this Public Notice, that tho' I shall always be ready
+     to do any Thing of that Kind (which can be done at my own House)
+     upon receiving an adequate Satisfaction for it, it will be in vain
+     to expect it be any Messenger they may send without they send the
+     Money. There are some Gentlemen who must know that nothing in this
+     Advertisement can relate to them but that any of their Commands
+     will at any Time, be readily complied with by their
+
+     and the Public's
+     humble Servant
+     JOHN MERCER
+     Dec. 8, 1766
+
+[Illustration: Figure 16.--ADVERTISEMENT of the services of Mercer's
+stallion Ranter. Andrew Monroe, grandfather of the President, was
+Mercer's overseer. (Purdie's _Virginia Gazette_, April 18, 1766.)]
+
+Andrew Monroe, as manager of the plantation, advertised over his own
+name in Purdie & Dixon's _Virginia Gazette_, of April 18, 1766, the
+services of "The well known Horse RANTER," an English stallion imported
+by Mercer in 1762 (fig. 16). One senses that without Monroe, Marlborough
+would have collapsed completely. In spite of his ministrations,
+however, there were difficulties with the staff. Purdie & Dixon's
+_Gazette_ carried the following on June 6, 1766:
+
+     MARLBOROUGH, STAFFORD county, May 26, 1766.
+
+     Run away from the subscriber, some time last _February_, a Negro
+     man named TEMPLE, about 35 years old, well set, about 5 feet 6
+     inches high, has a high forehead, and thick bush beard; he took a
+     gun with him, and wore a blue double breasted jacket with horn
+     buttons. I suspect he is harboured about _Bull Run_, in _Fauquier_
+     county, where he formerly lived. I bought him, with his mother and
+     sister, from Mr. _Barradall's_ executors in _Williamsburg_ above 20
+     years ago, and expected he would have returned home; but as he has
+     been so long gone, I am doubtful he may endeavour to get out of the
+     country by water, of which he may understand something, as he was
+     two years on board the _Wolf_ sloop of war in the _West Indies_,
+     and carries the marks of the discipline he underwent on board.
+
+     Likewise run away last Whitsun holydays two indented servants,
+     imported from LONDON last September, viz. JOSEPH WAIN of Bucknell,
+     in the county of Oxford, aged 22 years, about 5 feet 4 inches high,
+     round shouldered, stoops pretty much in his walk, has a down look,
+     and understands ploughing. WILLIAM CANTRELL of Warwickshire, aged
+     19, about the same height, and stoops a little, but not so much as
+     WAIN, has a scar under one of his eyes, but which is uncertain, has
+     some marks of the smallpox, his hair is of a dark brown and short,
+     but Wain's is cut off, he pretends to understand ploughing and
+     country business, and has drove a waggon since he has been in my
+     service; they both have fresh look. The clothes they left home in
+     were jackets of red plaids, brown linen shirts, _Russia_ drill
+     breeches with white metal buttons, and thread stockings; _Cantrell_
+     with an old hat and new shoes, and _Wain_ with a new hat and old
+     shoes; But as it is supposed that they were persuaded to elope with
+     four _Scotch_ servants belonging to the widow _Strother_, on
+     _Potowmack_ run in this county, whom they went to see, and who went
+     off at the same time, it is probable that they may exchange their
+     clothes, or have provided some other. It is supposed that they will
+     make for _Carolina_, where it is said an uncle of one of Mr.
+     _Strother's_ servants lives; and as several horses are missing
+     about the same time in these parts, it is very probable they did
+     not choose to make such a journey on foot. Whoever secures my
+     servants and Negro, or any of them shall, besides the reward
+     allowed by law, be paid any reasonable satisfaction, in proportion
+     to the distance and extraordinary trouble they may be put to.
+
+     JOHN MERCER
+
+Mercer seems to have been concerned principally with his brewers and
+with the wasteful scheme they furthered with their incompetencies. Even
+they seem to have been beyond his strength, for he became ill in January
+1766, and suffered recurrently the rest of the year. From his journal we
+can detect a once-strong man's struggle against the first warnings of
+approaching death:
+
+  August 26 Rode 6 m. & home had a fever              12
+         27 sick
+         28 Rode 5 m. & home                          10
+         29      2 m. & D^o had an Ague                4
+         30             D^o
+         31             D^o
+  Sept    1             Had an Ague
+          2 Rode 5 m. & home                          10
+
+                     * * *
+
+  Sept   22 to M^r Selden's & ret'^d abo^t a mile
+            but went back                             12
+         23 home by 12 and went to bed                10
+         24 Confined to my bed
+              (remained so rest of month)
+  Oct     1 Confined to my bed and very ill
+          5 D^o Sat up a little
+          6 D^o          Better
+          7 D^o          D^o
+          8 Drove out 3 m & home                       6
+
+He informed George that after his return from Mr. Selden's on September
+23 he was for "several days under strong delerium and had the rattles."
+By the beginning of 1768, however, he was able to boast that "I think I
+may safely aver that I have not been in a better [state of health] any
+time these twenty years past, & tho' I am not so young, my youngest
+daughter ... was born the 20th day of last January."
+
+On April 22, 1766, he noted in the journal that the "Kitchen roof
+catched fire" and on May 15 that he "Took Possion [sic] of my summer
+house." The latter was probably located in the garden, where, during his
+convalescence in the spring, he was able to make a meticulous record of
+the blooming of each plant, flower, tree, and shrub, constituting a most
+interesting catalog of the wild and cultivated flora of 18th-century
+Marlborough. The catalog is indicative of Mercer's ranging interests and
+his knowledge of botanical terms (see Appendix L). That the garden was
+perhaps as interesting as the house is borne out by the fact that in
+1750, as the house was reaching completion, Mercer had brought from
+England a gardener named William Blacke, paying Captain Timothy
+Nicholson for his passage.
+
+Mercer's close attention to the natural phenomena around him began with
+his illness in 1766. On January 4, only a few days after he had become
+ill, he installed a thermometer in his room, and eight days later moved
+it to his office. Regularly, from then until the close of his journal,
+except when he was absent from Marlborough, he recorded the minimum and
+maximum readings. One has only to look at the figures for the winter
+months to realize that "heated" rooms, as we understand them, were
+little known in the 18th century. Only on Christmas Eve in 1767 did the
+temperature range from a low of 41° to as high as 63°, because, as
+Mercer noted, "A good fire raised the Thermometer so high."
+
+Although Mercer apparently found surcease from his cares in the peaceful
+surroundings at Marlborough, his responsibilities went on nevertheless.
+The cost of keeping slaves remained an enormous and wasteful one: "Every
+negroes cloaths, bedding, corn, tools, levies & taxes will stand yearly
+at least in £5," he wrote to George. In his letter he placed an order
+through George for clothing, which included 25 welted jackets "for my
+tradesmen & white servants," indicating the large number of white
+workmen on his staff. It also included 20 common jackets, 45 pair of
+woolen breeches, 1 dozen greatcoats, 5 dozen stockings, 1-1/2 dozen for
+boys and girls, 4 dozen "strong felt hats & 600 Ells of ozenbrigs. We
+shall make Virg^a cloth enough to cloath the women and children, but
+shall want 50 warm blankets & 2 doz of the Russia drab breeches."
+Against the advice of his merchant friend Jordan, he declined to order a
+superior grade of jacket for his Negroes that would last two years,
+since "most negroes are so careless of their cloathes & rely so much on
+a yearly support that I think such jackets as I had are cheapest & last
+the year very well."
+
+He ordered George to buy new sheeting for family use, including "84 yds
+of such as is fit for comp^a," inasmuch as "my wife is ashamed of her
+old sheets when any strangers come to the house." He also placed an
+order for windmill sails, which, he observed, were costly in the colony,
+and could be made only at Norfolk.
+
+     My millwrights directions were
+       The Drivers 3 foot 6 inches broad  }
+                                          } 23 feet long.
+       The leaders 3      3               }
+
+     A Suit I had made at Norfolk by those dimensions proved too long,
+     something, they should be of Duck N^o. 2.
+
+
+In addition, he ordered nails, 50 yards of haircloth, a yard wide, for
+the malt kiln, a "drill plow with brass seed boxes for wheat, turnips,
+lucarn pease &c," and a considerable number of books, particularly for
+his children. "Bob. Newbery at the Bible & Sun in S^t. Paul's
+churchyard can best furnish you at the cheapest rate with books best
+adapted to the real instruction as well as amusement of children from
+two to six feet high."
+
+The long letter was finally finished on January 28, 1768, its great
+length partly dictated by the fact that the river had frozen,
+immobilizing the posts. He noted in his journal that on February 16 he
+was in Fredericksburg and "dined at my Sons being my birthday and 63
+y^{rs} old." On the 24th he attended a meeting of the Ohio Company at
+Stafford courthouse and on March 14 returned there for a court session.
+The next day he went home to Marlborough, perhaps never to leave again.
+The journal ended at the close of the month. The next that we hear of
+him appeared in Rind's _Virginia Gazette_ on October 27:
+
+     On Friday, the 14th instant, died at his house in Stafford County,
+     John Mercer, Esq., who had practiced the law with great success in
+     this colony upwards of forty years. He was a Gentleman of great
+     natural abilities inspired by an extensive knowledge, not only in
+     his profession, but in several other branches of polite literature.
+     He was of a humane, generous and chearful disposition, a facetious
+     companion, a warm friend, an affectionate husband, a tender parent,
+     and an indulgent master.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 17.--PLATE FROM MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN'S
+_Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium efte Veranderung Surinaamsche
+Insecten_ (Antwerp, 1705), an elegant work in Mercer's Library.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [139] All quotations and sources not otherwise identified in
+    this section are from John Mercer's letter to George,
+    December 22, 1767-January 28, 1768. _The George Mercer
+    Papers_, op. cit. (footnote 51), pp. 186-220.
+
+    [140] Grandfather of President James Monroe.
+    "Tyler-Monroe-Grayson-Botts," _Tyler's Quarterly Historical
+    Genealogical Magazine_ (Richmond, 1924), vol. 5, p. 252.
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+_Dissolution of Marlborough_
+
+
+JAMES MERCER'S ADMINISTRATION OF THE ESTATE
+
+James Mercer was now "manager" of John Mercer's estate. George, heavily
+in debt, remained in England never returning to Virginia. The staggering
+task of rescuing the estate from bankruptcy was left to James. The
+immediate necessity was to reduce wasteful overhead at Marlborough and
+to liquidate non-essential capital investment. On December 15, 1768,
+James advertised in Rind's _Virginia Gazette_:
+
+     A large and well chosen collection of BOOKS, being all the library
+     of the late _John Mercer_, Esq., deceased, except such as are
+     reserved for the use of his children. Those to be sold consist of
+     more than 1200 volumes now at home, with which it is hoped may be
+     reckoned upwards of 400 volumes which appear to be missing by the
+     said _Mercer's_ catalogue.... The borrowers are hereby requested to
+     return them before the 19th of _December_ next, the day appointed
+     for the appraising of the estate....
+
+     Also to be sold, about 20 mares and colts, and 40 pair of cows and
+     calves. The colts are the breed of the beautiful _horse Ranter_,
+     who is for sale; his pedigree has been formerly published in this
+     Gazette, by which it will appear he is as well related as any horse
+     on the continent. He cost 330 l. currency at his last sale, about 4
+     years ago, and is nothing worse except in age, and that can be but
+     little in a horse kept for the sole use of covering....
+
+Except for attempting to dispose of the library and the horses and
+livestock, no significant changes were undertaken until after September
+7, 1770, when John Mercer's widow, Ann Roy Mercer, died. Reduction of
+the plantation to simpler terms then began in earnest. Purdie & Dixon's
+_Virginia Gazette_ published the following advertisement on October 25,
+1770:
+
+     _To be SOLD on MONDAY the 19th of NOVEMBER, if fair, otherwise next
+     fair day, at MARLBOROUGH, the seat of the late JOHN MERCER Esq:
+     deceased._
+
+     The greatest part of his personal estate (except slaves) consisting
+     of a variety of household furniture too tedious to mention; a
+     number of well chosen books, in good condition; a very large and
+     choice flock of horses, brood mares, and colts, all blooded, and
+     mostly from that very beautiful and high bred horse _Ranter_ a
+     great number of black cattle, esteemed the best in the colony,
+     equal in size to any beyond the Ridge, but superiour to them,
+     because they will thrive in shorter pastures; also 700 ounces of
+     fashionable plate, and a genteel family coach, not more than seven
+     years old, seldom used, with harness for six horses. Those articles
+     were appraised, in December 1768, to 1738 l. The horses and black
+     cattle are since increased, and now are in very good order; so that
+     any person inclinable to purchase may depend on having enough to
+     choose out of.
+
+     Also will then be sold several articles belonging to a BREWERY,
+     _viz._ a copper that boils 500 gallons, several iron bound buts
+     that contain a whole brewing each, coolers, &c. &c. and a quantity
+     of new iron hoops and rivets for casks of different forms, lately
+     imported.
+
+     Purchasers above 6 l. will have credit until the _Fredericksburg
+     September_ fair, on giving bond with security, with interest from
+     the day of sale; but if the money is paid when due, the interest
+     will be abated.
+
+     Proper vessels will attend at _Pasbytansy_, for the conveyance of
+     such as come from that side of _Potomack_ Creek.
+
+It is clear that Ranter and his colts, as well as the cattle, had not
+been disposed of at the former sale. Further, it is obvious that there
+was an end to brewing at Marlborough, a result which James must have
+been all too glad to bring about.
+
+This sale, however, was also unsuccessful. In the May 9, 1771, issue of
+Purdie & Dixon's _Virginia Gazette_ we learn that "The wet Weather last
+_November_ having stopped the Sale of the personal Estate of the late
+_John Merser_, Esquire, the Remainder ... will be sold at _Marlborough_,
+on Monday, the 27th of this Month, if fair...." We learn that the family
+beds, apparently alone of the furniture, had been sold, and that the
+chariot had been added to the sales list. Apparently the library still
+remained largely intact, as "a great Collection of well chosen Books"
+was included. Ranter was still for sale, now at a five percent discount
+"allowed for ready money."
+
+But again--so an advertisement of June 13 reads in the same paper--the
+sale was "prevented by bad Weather." June 20 was appointed the day for
+the postponed sale. This time an additional item consisted of 200 copies
+of Mercer's "old Abridgment" (doubtless the 1737 edition), to be sold at
+five shillings each.
+
+In the meanwhile, James had employed one Thomas Oliver, apparently of
+King George County, as overseer for the four plantations which were in
+his custody--Aquia, Accokeek, Belvedere, and Marlborough. On May 31,
+1771, Oliver made a detailed report to Mercer on "the true state &
+Condition of the whole Estate and its Contents as they appear'd when
+this return was fill'd up".[141] Included in it was an inventory of
+every tool, outbuilding, vehicle, and servant. The Marlborough portion
+of this is given in Appendix M. Oliver added an N.B. summarizing the
+condition of the animals and the physical properties. The following of
+his remarks are applicable to Marlborough:
+
+     ... The work of the Mill going on as well as Can be Expected till
+     M^r. Drains is better, the Schoo and Boat unfit for any Sarvice
+     whatsoever till repair'd. if Capable of it. the foundation of the
+     Malt house wants repairing. the Manor house wants lead lights in
+     some of the windows. the East Green House wants repairing. the west
+     d^o wants buttments as a security to the wall on the south side.
+     The barn, tobacco houses at Marlbrough & Acquia must be repaired as
+     soon as possible.... five stables at Marlbrough plantation must be
+     repair'd before winter. we have sustai'd no damage from Tempest or
+     Floods. it will Expedient to hyer a Carpinder for the woork wanted
+     can not be accomplish'd in time, seeing the Carpenders must be
+     taken of for harvest which is Like to be heavy. I will advertise
+     the sale at Stafford Court and the two parish Churches to begin on
+     the 20th of June 1771.... P.S. The Syder presses at Each plantation
+     & Syder Mill at Marlborough totally expended.... Negro Sampson
+     Marlbro Company Sick of the Gravel.... Negro Jas Pemberton at
+     Marlb^h Sick Worme Fever.
+
+The sale as advertised and, presumably, as posted by Oliver was again a
+failure. Apparently no one attended. The situation must have been
+regarded then as desperate, for James advertised on August 29, 1771, in
+Purdie & Dixon's _Virginia Gazette_ substantially the same material as
+before. This time, however, it was "To be SOLD, at the Townhouse in
+_Fredericksburg_, on the 24th day of _September_ next (being the second
+Day of the Fair)." Added to the former list were "About two Hundred
+Weight of HOPS of last Crop," "About four hundred Weight of
+extraordinary good WOOL with a variety of Woollen and Linen Wheels,
+Reels, &c.," as well as "A Number of GARDEN FLOWER POTS of different
+forms. Some ORANGE, LEMON and other EVERGREENS, in Boxes and Pots." The
+valuable but unwanted Ranter was again put up.
+
+But once more bad luck and an apathetic (and probably impecunious)
+populace brought failure to the sale. On October 24, 1771, Purdie &
+Dixon's _Virginia Gazette_ printed the following advertisement and James
+Mercer's final public effort to convert some of his father's estate into
+cash:
+
+     _To be SOLD to the highest Bidders, some Time Next Week, before the
+     RALEIGH Tavern in Williamsburg,_
+
+     The beautiful Horse RANTER, a genteel FAMILY COACH, with Harness
+     for six Horses, also several Pieces of FASHIONABLE PLATE, yet
+     remaining of the Estate of the late John Mercer, Esquire, deceased.
+     Credit will be allowed until the 25th of April next, the Purchasers
+     giving Bond and Security, with Interest from the Sale; but if the
+     Money is paid when due, the Interest will be abated.
+
+     Any Person inclinable to purchase RUSHWORTH'S COLLECTION may see
+     them at the Printing Office, and know the Terms. At the same Place
+     are lodged several Copies of the old Abridgment of the VIRGINIA
+     LAWS, containing so many Precedents for Magistrates that they are
+     esteemed well worth five Shillings, the Price asked for them.
+
+     JAMES MERCER
+
+     _Williamsburg, October 24._
+
+     N.B. The Plate is lodged with Mr. Craig, and may be seen by any
+     inclinable to purchase.
+
+James did not attempt to sell the plantation itself or the slaves, but
+evidently sought to reestablish Marlborough on an efficient and
+profitable basis. That he failed to do so is brought out in a letter
+that George Mason wrote to George Washington on December 21, 1773. In it
+is expressed the whole tragic sequence of debt compounding debt in the
+plantation economy and the insurmountable burden of inherited
+obligations:
+
+     The embarrass'd Situation of my Friend Mr. Jas. Mercer's Affairs
+     gives Me much more Concern than Surprize. I always feared that his
+     Aversion to selling the Lands & Slaves, in Expectation of paying
+     the Debts with the Crops & Profits of the Estate, whilst a heavy
+     Interest was still accumulating, wou'd be attended with bad
+     Consequences, independent of his Brother's Difficulties in England;
+     having never, in a single Instance, seen these sort of Delays
+     answer the Hopes of the Debtor. When Colo. [George] Mercer was
+     first married, & thought in affluent circumstances by his Friends
+     here, considerable purchases of Slaves were made for Him, at high
+     prices (& I believe mostly upon Credit) which must now be sold at
+     much less than the cost: He was originally burthened with a
+     proportionable part of his Father's Debts: most of which, as well
+     as the old Gentleman's other Debts, are not only still unpaid, but
+     must be greatly increased by Interest; so that even if Colo. Mercer
+     had not incurr'd a large Debt in England, He wou'd have found his
+     Affairs here in a disagreeable Situation. I have Bye me Mr. James
+     Mercer's Title-Papers for his Lands on Pohick Run & on Four-mile
+     Run, in this County; which I have hitherto endeavoured to sell for
+     Him in Vain: for as he Left the Price entirely to Me, I cou'd not
+     take less for them than if they had been my own.[142]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [141] _A Documentary History of American Industrial Society_,
+    edit. John P. Commons (New York: Russell & Russell, 1958),
+    vol. 1, facsimile opp. p. 236.
+
+    [142] _Letters to Washington_, and _Accompanying Papers_,
+    edit. S. M. Hamilton (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin,
+    1901), vol. 4, p. 286.
+
+
+MARLBOROUGH DURING AND AFTER THE REVOLUTION
+
+Despite the seeming unwisdom of doing so, James Mercer held on to
+Marlborough until his death. He was an active patriot in the Revolution,
+serving as a member of the Virginia Committee of Safety. Marlborough,
+too, seems to have been a participant in the war, when Lord Dunmore, on
+a last desperate foray, sailed his ships up the Potomac and attacked
+several plantations. That Marlborough was a target we learn from the
+widow of Major George Thornton of the Virginia militia, who "was at the
+bombardment of Marlborough, the seat of Judge Mercer, on the
+Potomac...."[143] In Purdie's _Virginia Gazette_ of August 2, 1776, we
+read:
+
+     Lord Dunmore, with his motley band of pirates and renegradoes, have
+     burnt the elegant brick house of William Brent, esq., at the mouth
+     of Acquia Creek, in Stafford county, as also two other houses lower
+     down the Potowmack River, both the property of widow ladies.
+
+Marlborough was no longer the property of a "widow lady," but accurate
+reporting even today is not universal, and Marlborough may have been
+meant. In any case, the mansion was not destroyed, although we do not
+know whether any other buildings at Marlborough were damaged or not.
+
+John Francis Mercer, James' half brother, appears to have lived at
+Marlborough after his return from the Revolution. He served with
+distinction, becoming aide-de-camp to the eccentric and difficult
+General Charles Lee in 1778. When Lee was court-martialed after the
+Battle of Monmouth, John Francis resigned, but reentered the war in
+1780.[144] He apparently settled at Marlborough after the surrender at
+Yorktown, at which he was present. In 1782 he was elected to both the
+Virginia House of Delegates and the Continental Congress. General Lee
+died the same year, stipulating in his will:
+
+     To my friend John [Francis] Mercer, Esq., of Marlborough, in
+     Virginia, I give and bequeath the choice of two brood mares, of all
+     my swords and pistols and ten guineas to buy a ring. I would give
+     him more, but, as he has a good estate and a better genius, he has
+     sufficient, if he knows how to make good use of them.[145]
+
+It is not probable that John Francis' "genius" was sufficient to make
+profitable use of Marlborough. He moved to Maryland in 1785, and later
+became its Governor.[146]
+
+James Mercer died on May 23, 1791. In 1799 the Potomac Neck properties
+were advertised for sale or rent by John Francis Mercer in _The
+Examiner_ for September 6. We learn from it that there were overseer's
+houses, Negro quarters and cornhouses, and that "the fertility of the
+soil is equal to any in the United States, besides which the fields all
+lay convenient to banks (apparently inexhaustible) of the richest marle,
+which by repeated experiments made there, is found to be superiour to
+any other manure whatever." "30 or 40 Virginia born slaves, in families,
+who are resident on the lands" were made "available."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [143] GEORGE BROWN GOODE, _Virginia Cousins_ (Richmond,
+    1887), p. 213.
+
+    [144] Ibid.
+
+    [145] "Berkeley County, West Virginia," _Tyler's Quarterly
+    Historical and Genealogical Magazine_ (Richmond, 1921), vol.
+    3, p. 46.
+
+    [146] Ibid.
+
+
+THE COOKE PERIOD: MARLBOROUGH'S FINAL DECADES
+
+The plantation was bought by John Cooke of Stafford County. Cooke took
+out an insurance policy on the mansion house on June 9, 1806, with the
+Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia.[147] From this important document
+(fig. 43) we learn that the house had a replacement value of $9000, and,
+after deducting $3000, was "actually worth six thousand Dollars in ready
+money." The policy shows a plan with a description: "Brick Dwelling
+House one Story high covered with wood, 108 feet 8 Inches long by 28-1/2
+feet wide, a Cellar under about half the House." Running the length of
+the house was a "Portico 108 feet 8 Inches by 8 feet 4 Inches." A
+"Porch 10 by 5 f." stood in front of the "portico," and another was
+located at the northeast corner of the building, "8 by 6 feet." The
+policy informs us that the house was occupied not by Cooke, but by John
+W. Bronaugh, a tenant or overseer.
+
+The records do not reveal how long the mansion survived. That by the
+beginning of the century it had already lost the dignity with which
+Mercer had endowed it and was heading toward decay is quite evident.
+After John Cooke's death Marlborough was again put up for sale in 1819,
+but this time nothing was said of any buildings, only that the land was
+adapted to the growth of red clover, that the winter and spring
+fisheries produced $2500 per annum, and that "Wild Fowl is in
+abundance."[148]
+
+Undoubtedly as the buildings disintegrated, their sites were leveled.
+There remained only level acres of grass, clover, and grain where once a
+poor village had been erected and where John Mercer's splendid estate
+had risen with its Palladian mansion, its gardens, warehouses, and
+tobacco fields. Even in the early 19th century the tobacco plantation,
+especially in northern Virginia, had become largely a thing of the past.
+Within the memory of men still alive, the one structure still standing
+from Mercer's time was the windmill. Except for the present-day fringe
+of modern houses, Marlborough must look today much as it did after its
+abandonment and disintegration.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [147] Policy no. 1134. On microfilm, Virginia State Library.
+
+    [148] _Virginia Herald_, December 15, 1819.
+
+
+
+
+ARCHEOLOGY
+
+AND
+
+ARCHITECTURE
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Figure 18.--AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH OF MARLBOROUGH. The
+outlines of the excavated wall system and Structure B foundation can be
+seen where Highway 621 curves to the east.]
+
+
+VII
+
+_The Site, its Problem, and Preliminary Tests_
+
+The preceding chapters have presented written evidence of Marlborough's
+history and of the human elements that gave it life and motivation.
+Assembled mostly during the years following the excavations, this
+information was not, for the most part, available in 1956 to guide the
+archeological survey recounted here. Neither was there immediate
+evidence on the surface of the planted fields to indicate the importance
+and splendor of Marlborough as it existed in the 18th century.
+
+In 1954, when Dr. Darter proposed that the Smithsonian Institution
+participate in making excavations, he presented a general picture of
+colonial events at Marlborough. He also provided photostats of the two
+colonial survey plats so frequently mentioned in Part I (fig. 2). From
+information inscribed on the 1691 plat, it was clear that a town had
+been laid out in that year, that it had consisted of 52 acres divided
+into half-acre lots, and that two undesignated acres had been set aside
+for a courthouse near its western boundary. It was known also that John
+Mercer had occupied the town in the 18th century, that he had built a
+mansion there, that a circular ruin of dressed lime-sandstone was the
+base of his windmill, and that erosion along the Potomac River bank had
+radically changed the shoreline since the town's founding 263 years
+earlier. But nobody in 1954 could point out with any certainty the
+foundation of Mercer's mansion, nor was anyone aware of the brick and
+the stone wall system, the two-room kitchen foundation, or the trash
+pits and other structures that lay beneath the surface, along with many
+18th-century household artifacts. It remained for the archeologist to
+recover such nonperishable data from the ground.
+
+In August 1954 Messrs. Setzler, Darter, and Watkins spent three days at
+Marlborough examining the site, making tests, and, in general,
+determining whether there was sufficient evidence to justify extended
+excavations. The site is located in the southeastern portion of what was
+known in the 17th century as Potowmack Neck (now Marlborough Point),
+with the Potomac River on the east and Potomac Creek on the south (map,
+front endpaper). It is approached from the northeast on Highway 621,
+which branches from Highway 608 about 2-1/2 miles from the site. Highway
+608 runs from Aquia Creek westward to the village of Brooke, situated on
+the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad about four miles east
+of the present Stafford courthouse on U.S. Route 1. Highway 621 takes a
+hilly, winding course through the woods until it debouches onto the
+flat, open peninsula of the point. The river is visible to the east, as
+the road travels slightly east of due south, passing an intersecting
+secondary road that runs west and south and then west again. The latter
+road ends at the southwestern extremity of the Neck, where Accokeek
+Creek, which meanders along the western edge of the Neck, feeds into
+Potomac Creek. At the point near the Potomac Creek shore where this road
+takes its second westerly course lies the site of the Indian village of
+Patawomecke, excavated between 1938 and 1940 by T. D. Stewart.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 19.--HIGHWAY 621, looking north from the curve in
+the road, with site of Structure B at right.]
+
+Beyond this secondary road, Highway 621 continues southward to a small
+thicket and clump of trees where it curves sharply to the east, its
+southerly course stopped by fenced-in lots of generous size (with modern
+houses built on them) that slope down to Potomac Creek. After the
+highway makes its turn, several driveways extend from it toward the
+creek. One of these driveways, obviously more ancient than the others,
+leaves the highway about 200 feet east of the clump of trees, cutting
+deeply through high sloping banks, where vestiges of a stone wall crop
+out from its western boundary (fig. 22), and ending abruptly at the
+water's edge. Highway 621 continues to a dead end near the confluence of
+creek and river.
+
+Some 200 feet west of the turn in the highway around the clump of trees,
+is a deep gully (or "gutt" in 17th-century terminology) that extends
+northward from Potomac Creek almost as far as the intersecting road that
+passes the site of the Indian village. This gully is overgrown with
+trees and brush, and it forms a natural barrier that divides the lower
+portion of the point into two parts. A few well-spaced modern houses
+fringe the shores of the point, while the flat land behind the houses is
+given over almost entirely to cultivation.
+
+Since the two colonial land surveys were not drawn to scale, some
+confusion arose in 1954 as to their orientation to the surviving
+topographic features. However, the perimeter measurements given on the
+1691 plat make it clear that the town was laid out in the southeastern
+section of the point, and that the "gutt" so indicated on the plat is
+the tree-lined gully west of the turn in the highway.
+
+Bordering the clump of trees at this turn could be seen in 1954 a short
+outcropping of brick masonry. A few yards to the north, on the opposite
+side of the road, crumbled bits of sandstone, both red and gray, were
+concentrated in the ditch cut by a highway grader. In the fields at
+either side of the highway, plow furrows disclosed a considerable
+quantity of brick chips, 18th-century ceramics, and glass sherds.
+
+In the field east of the clump of trees and north of the highway,
+opposite the steep-banked side road leading down to Potomac Creek, could
+be seen in a row the tops of two or three large pieces of gray stone.
+These stones were of the characteristic lime-sandstone once obtained
+from the Aquia quarries some four miles north, as well as from a
+long-abandoned quarry above the head of Potomac Creek. It was decided to
+start work at this point by investigating these stones, in preference to
+exploring the more obvious evidence of a house foundation at the clump
+of trees. This was done in the hope of finding clues to lot boundaries
+and the possible orientation of the survey plats. Excavation around
+these vertically placed stones disclosed that they rested on a
+foundation layer of thick slabs laid horizontally at the undisturbed
+soil level. Enough of this wall remained _in situ_ to permit sighting
+along it toward Potomac Creek. The sight line, jumping the highway,
+picked up the partly overgrown stone wall that extends along the western
+edge of the old roadway to the creek, indicating that a continuous wall
+had existed prior to the present layout of the fields and before the
+construction of the modern highway.
+
+The excavation along the stone wall was extended northward. At a
+distance of 18.5 feet from the highway the stone wall ended at a
+junction of two brick wall foundations, one running north in line with
+the stone wall and the other west at a 90° angle. These walls, each a
+brick and a half thick, were bonded in oystershell lime mortar. Test
+trenches were dug to the north and west to determine whether they were
+enclosure walls or house foundations. Since it was soon evident that
+they were the former, the next question was whether they were lot
+boundaries matching those on the plat. If so, it was reasoned, then a
+street must have run along the east side of the north-south coursing
+wall. Accordingly, tests were made, but no supporting evidence for this
+inference was found.
+
+Nevertheless, the indications of an elaborate wall system, a probable
+house foundation, and a wealth of artifacts in the soil were enough to
+support a full-scale archeological project, the results of which would
+have considerable historical and architectural significance. Determining
+the meaning of the walls and whether they were related to the town
+layout or to Mercer's plantation, learning the relationship of the
+plantation to the town, discovering the sites of the 1691 courthouse and
+Mercer's mansion, and finding other house foundations and significant
+artifacts--all these were to be the objectives of the project. The
+problem, broadly considered, was to investigate in depth a specific
+locality where a 17th-century town and an 18th-century plantation had
+successively risen and fallen and to evaluate the evidence in the light
+of colonial Virginia's evolving culture and economy. Accordingly, plans
+were made, a grant was obtained from the American Philosophical Society,
+as recounted in the introduction, and intensive work on the site was
+begun in 1956.
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+_Archeological Techniques_
+
+The archeologist must adopt and, if necessary, invent the method of
+excavation best calculated to produce the results he desires, given the
+conditions of a particular site. The Marlborough site required other
+techniques than those conventionally employed, for instance, in
+excavating prehistoric American Indian sites. Moreover, because the
+Marlborough excavations constituted a limited exploratory survey, the
+grid system used customarily in colonial-site archeology was not
+appropriate here, and a different system had to be substituted. It was
+decided in 1956 to begin, as in 1954, at obvious points of visible
+evidence and to follow to their limits the footings of walls and
+buildings as they were encountered, rather than to remove all of the
+disturbed soil within a limited area. By itself this was a simple
+process, but to record accurately what was found by this method and
+relate the features to each other required the use mainly of an alidade
+and a stadia rod. Only to a limited extent were some exploratory
+trenches dug and careful observations made of the color and density of
+soil, so as to detect features such as wooden house foundations,
+postholes, and trash pits. Once located, such evidence had to be
+approached meticulously with a shaving or slicing technique, again
+taking careful note of soil changes in profile.
+
+All this required the establishment of an accurate baseline and a number
+of control points by means of alidade and stadia-rod measurements. Then
+eight points for triangulation purposes in the form of iron pipes were
+established at intervals along the south side of the highway, east of
+its turn at the clump of trees, on the basis of which the accompanying
+maps were plotted. The full extent of the excavations is not shown in
+detail on these maps, particularly in connection with the walls and
+structures. The walls, for example, were exposed in trenches 5 feet
+wide. Similar trenches were dug around the house foundations as evidence
+of them was revealed.
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+_Wall System_
+
+
+DESCRIPTIONS OF EXCAVATIONS
+
+On April 2, 1956, the junction point of the three walls found in the
+1954 test was reexcavated. The bottom layer of horizontally placed
+stones 1.8-1.9 feet wide was found _in situ_, while most of the vertical
+stones from the second course had been broken or knocked off by repeated
+plowing. Construction of the highway had completely removed a section of
+the wall. The corner of the two brick walls was revealed to have been
+superimposed on the northernmost foundation block of the stone wall,
+thus indicating that the stone wall preceded the building of the brick
+ones. The upper stone block that had been removed to make room for this
+brick corner still lay a few feet to the east where it had been cast
+aside in the 18th century. This part of the stone wall, together with
+its continuation beyond the highway to the creek, was designated Wall A
+(figs. 21 and 24).
+
+Exposure of the brick wall running westward from Wall A (designated Wall
+A-I) disclosed broken gaps in the brickwork, the gaps ranging from 1.8
+to 3 feet in length, and the intervening stretches of intact wall, from
+7.33 to 8 feet. Eight-foot spacings are normal for the settings of
+modern wooden fence posts, as such a fence south of the highway
+illustrated. It is assumed, therefore, that, following the destruction
+of the exposed part of the brick wall, a wooden fence was built along
+the same line, requiring the removal of bricks to permit the setting of
+fence posts (fig. 26).
+
+Wall A-I intersected the modern highway at an acute angle, disappeared
+thereunder and reappeared beyond. South of the clump of trees it abutted
+another wall of different construction which ran continuously in the
+same direction for 28 feet. Because of their manner of construction, the
+two walls at their point of juncture were not integrated and, hence,
+probably were constructed at different times. The 28-foot section later
+proved to be the south wall of the mansion, designated as B. (This wall
+will be considered when that structure is described, as will another
+section that continued for less than 4 feet to the point where a 12-foot
+modern driveway crossed over it.)
+
+To the west of the driveway another wall (B-I), still in line with Wall
+A-I, extended toward the "gutt." Of this only one brick course remained,
+a brick and a half thick. About midway in its length were slight
+indications that the wall footings had been expanded for a short
+distance, as though for a gate; however, the crumbled condition of the
+brick and mortar fragments made this inference uncertain.
+
+Near the edge of the "gutt," 146 feet from the southwest corner of the
+Structure B main foundation, Wall B-I terminated in an oblique-angled
+corner, the other side of which was designated Wall B-II. This wall ran
+384 feet in a southwesterly direction under trees and beneath a
+boathouse along the "gutt," ending at the back of Potomac Creek. It was
+constructed of rough blocks of the fossil-imbedded marl that underlies
+Marlborough and crops out along the Potomac shore. Walls A, A-I, B-I,
+and B-II, together with the creek bank, form an enclosure measuring a
+little over two acres.
+
+Returning to the point of beginning excavation, the brick wall which is
+extended north from stone wall A (designated as Wall A-II) was followed
+for a distance of 175 feet. Like Wall A-I, it was a brick and a half
+thick (a row of headers lying beside a row of stretchers), and was
+represented for a distance of 36 feet by two courses. Beyond this point
+for another 30 feet, a shift in the contour of the land, allowing deeper
+plowing in relation to the original height of the wall, had caused the
+second course of bricks to be knocked off. From there on, only
+occasional clusters of bricks remained, the evidence of the wall
+consisting otherwise of a thin layer of mortar and brick.
+
+Wall A-II terminated in a corner. The other side of the corner was of
+the same construction and ran westerly at right angles for a total
+distance of 264.5 feet, passing beneath the highway (north of the turn)
+and stopping against the southeast corner of a structure designated E.
+Extending south from Structure E was an 84-foot wall (Wall E) a brick
+and a half thick, laid this time in Flemish bond (header-stretcher-header)
+in several courses.
+
+Another east-west wall, of which only remnants were found, joined Wall
+E and its southern terminus. Six feet west of Wall E this fragmentary
+wall widened from three to four bricks in thickness in what appeared to
+be the foundation of a wide gate, with a heavy iron hinge-pintle _in
+situ_; beyond this it disappeared in a jumble of brickbats.
+
+Upon completion of the wall excavations, a return was made to Wall A,
+where a visible feature had been observed, although not investigated.
+This feature was a three-sided, westward projection from Wall A,
+similarly built of Aquia-type stone, forming with Wall A a long, narrow
+enclosure. The southern east-west course of this structure meets Wall A
+approximately 62 feet north of the creek-side terminus of Wall A and
+extends 59 feet to the west. The north-south course runs 100 feet to its
+junction with the northern east-west segment. The latter segment is only
+55 feet long, so the enclosure is not quite symmetrical. No excavations
+were made here. However, in line with the north cross wall of the
+enclosure, trenches were dug at four intervals in a futile effort to
+locate evidence of a boundary wall in the present orchard lying to the
+east of the road to the creek.
+
+
+SIGNIFICANT ARTIFACTS ASSOCIATED WITH WALLS
+
+                                         _Date_
+          _Artifact_                _of Manufacture_      _Provenience_
+
+  Wine-bottle base. Diameter,           1735-1750      Adjacent to junction
+   5-1/8 inches.                                        of Walls A, A-I,
+   (USNM 59.1717 fig. 29; ill. 35)                      A-II, 13 inches
+                                                        above wall base and
+                                                        undisturbed soil.
+
+  Wine-bottle base. Diameter,           1750-1770      Surface
+   4-5/8 inches.
+   (USNM 60.117)
+
+  Polychrome Chinese-porcelain          1730-1770      In disturbed soil
+   teacup base.                                         between junction of
+  Blue-and-white porcelain sherds.                      Walls A, A-I, A-II,
+   (USNM 60.118; 60.121)                                and modern Highway
+                                                        621.
+
+  Buckley coarse earthenware. (USNM                    Surface
+   60.80; 60.108; 60.136; 60.140)
+
+  Staffordshire white salt-glazed        ca. 1760      Surface
+   ware.
+   (USNM 60.106)
+
+  Brass knee buckle. (USNM 60.139;       ca. 1760      Surface
+    fig. 83e; ill. 49)
+
+  Hand-forged nails.                                   Surface
+
+  Scraping tool. (USNM 60.133; fig.                    Surface
+   89b; ill. 76)
+
+  Fragment of bung extractor. (USNM                    Surface
+   60.134; fig. 89d)
+
+  Sherds of heavy lead-glass decanter    ca. 1720      Trenches beside Wall
+   and knop of large wineglass or                       B-2.
+   pedestal-bowlstem. (USNM 60.149)
+
+  Westerwald stoneware.                before 1750     Surface
+   (USNM 60.104; 60.121)
+
+  Tidewater-type earthenware. (USNM
+   60.141; 60.154)
+
+  Iron gate pintle. (USNM 60.90; figs.                 Wall E gateway, 6
+    29 and 88)                                          inches from west
+                                                        end, south side,
+                                                        13 inches above
+                                                        undisturbed soil,
+                                                        in bricks in
+                                                        second course.
+
+  Brass harness ring. (USNM 60.53;                     2 inches west of
+   figs. 29 and 83i)                                    Wall E gateway, on
+                                                        top of third course
+                                                        of bricks, 7 inches
+                                                        above undisturbed
+                                                        soil.
+
+  Bridle bit. (USNM 60.67; figs. 29                    5 inches west of
+    and 91c)                                            Wall E gateway,
+                                                        first course, 4
+                                                        inches above
+                                                        undisturbed soil.
+
+  Bottle seal, marked with "I^[C.]M"    (See matching    Underneath bridle
+   and first three digits of date     seal dated 1737   bit (see above).
+   "173...." (USNM 60.68)             on wine bottle,
+                                       USNM 59.1688;
+                                     fig. 78; ill. 37)
+
+  Fragment of iron potlid (USNM 60.69;                 Southwest corner of
+   fig. 87a)                                            Wall E gateway, 7
+                                                        inches above
+                                                        undisturbed soil,
+                                                        at lowest brick
+                                                        course.
+
+  Indian celt, with hole drilled for                   16 inches east of
+    use as pendant. (USNM 60.87)                        southwest corner of
+                                                        Wall E gateway, at
+                                                        undisturbed soil,
+                                                        7 inches below wall
+                                                        base.
+
+  Iron loop from swingletree. (USNM                    30 inches east of
+   60.86)                                               southwest corner of
+                                                        Wall E gateway, at
+                                                        undisturbed soil,
+                                                        7 inches below wall
+                                                        base.
+
+  Wine-bottle base. Diameter 4-1/2      1735-1750      Wall E gateway. Top
+   inches (USNM 60.83)                                  course of bricks,
+                                                        16 inches north of
+                                                        pintle (see above).
+
+  Iron plow colter. (USNM 60.88,                       Wall E gateway. Top
+    ill. 79)                                            course of bricks,
+                                                        5.5 feet east of
+                                                        pintle (see above).
+
+In addition to the artifacts listed above numerous others were excavated
+from the trenches, although few of these have archeological value for
+purposes of analyzing the structures. Only the finds accompanied by
+depth and provenience data are significant in evaluating these
+structures, and in the case of the gateway few are helpful to any
+degree. The fragmentary bottle seal found there matches exactly a whole
+seal that occurs on a wine bottle described in a subsequent section.
+That seal is dated 1737, and thus this seal must have been similarly
+dated. Its presence near the lowest level suggests that the wall was in
+construction at the time the seal was deposited. Bottles were used for
+a long time, however, so the seal may have reached its final resting
+place years later than 1737. The Indian celt no doubt fell from the
+topsoil while the trench in which the wall was built was being
+excavated. The swingletree gear next to it probably was left there
+during the construction. The colter, although it appears to be of early
+18th-century origin, may have been in use late in the 18th century after
+the wall had been removed. Since the colter is badly bent, it may have
+struck the top of the underground wall foundation, and, having been
+torn off from the plow, perhaps was left on the bricks where it fell.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 20.--EXCAVATION PLAN of Marlborough.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 21.--EXCAVATION PLAN of wall system.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 22.--LOOKING NORTH up the old road leading to the
+creek side.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 23.--OUTCROPPING OF STONE WALL along old road from
+creek side.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 24.--JUNCTION OF STONE WALL A, running from creek
+side to this point, with brick Wall A-I at top left, Wall A-II at
+right.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 25.--LOOKING NORTH in line with Walls A and A-II,
+Wall A-I joining at right angles.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 26.--WALL A-II. Breaks in wall date from
+subsequent placement of fence posts.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 27.--JUNCTION OF WALL A-I with southeast corner of
+Structure B.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 28.--WALL E, south of kitchen, showing gateway
+foundation.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 29.--DETAIL OF GATEWAY in Wall E, showing iron
+pintle for gate hinge in place; also bridle bit (see fig. 91c), harness
+ring, and bottle base (see ill. 35).]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 30.--WALL B-II looking toward Potomac Creek, with
+"Gutt," shown in 1691 survey, at right.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 31.--WALL D, looking east toward Potomac River
+from Structure E (kitchen).]
+
+
+HISTORICAL DATA AND INTERPRETATION OF WALL SYSTEM
+
+John Mercer commented with exasperation in his Land Book about the
+unresolved discrepancies between the Buckner survey of 1691 and the
+missing Gregg survey of 1707 (p. 14). There are as many disparities
+between Buckner's plat and the plat resulting from the Savage survey of
+1731. In the latter a new row of lots is added along the western
+boundary, pushing the Buckner lots eastward. Where in the Buckner plat
+the lots and streets in the lower part of the town west of George
+Andrews' lots turn westerly 1° from the indicated main axis of the town,
+paralleling the 30-pole fourth course of the town bounds which runs to
+the creek's edge, the Savage map shows no such change. Yet Savage, in
+describing the courses of the survey in a written note on the plat,
+shows that he followed the original bounds. He does note a 4°, 10-pole
+error in the course along Potomac Creek, "which difference gives several
+Lots more than was in the old survey making one Row of Lots more than
+was contained therein each containing two thirds of an Acre." This was
+doubtless a contrivance designed to reconcile the Gregg and Buckner
+surveys and also to benefit John Mercer.
+
+In any case, it is clear that the plats themselves are both unreliable
+and inaccurate. What was actual was shown in the archeological survey of
+1956 with its record of boundary walls and at least one street. An
+attempt has been made in figure 14 to give scale to the Buckner survey
+by superimposing the archeological map over it. There, Wall B-II, if
+extended north for 111 feet beyond its length of 384 feet to equal the
+30 poles (495 feet) of the fourth course, would exactly touch the
+southwest corner of lot 21 where the fourth course began. But, in spite
+of this congruence, the other features of the plat are distorted and
+disagree with the slightly northwest-southeast basic orientation of the
+street and wall system. The simplest explanation might be that the
+layout was made on the basis of the 1707 Gregg survey. Since it was
+following the second Act for Ports of 1705 that the town achieved what
+little growth it made prior to Mercer's occupancy, it is probable that
+the town's orientation was made according to this survey.
+
+Whether or not this is the case, the road to the creek side was
+fundamental to the town, and probably was built early in its history and
+maintained after the town itself was abandoned. We know from
+archeological evidence that Wall A antedates the brick walls that were
+connected with it. Further evaluation of the wall system in relation to
+the entire site will be made later. It may be concluded for now that
+Wall A and the road beside it represent the main axis of the town as it
+was laid out before Mercer's arrival, that the stone walls were built
+before that event, that Wall B-II follows the fourth course somewhat
+according to Buckner's plat, and that the brick walls may date as late
+as 1750, as some of the associated artifacts suggest.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 32.--EXCAVATION PLAN of Structure B.]
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+_Mansion Foundation_
+
+(_Structure B_)
+
+
+DESCRIPTION OF EXCAVATIONS
+
+With the exception of Wall A, the protruding bit of brickwork near the
+clump of trees (where Highway 621 makes its turn to the southeast) was
+the only evidence remaining above ground in 1956 of Marlborough's past
+grandeur. Designated Structure B, it was plainly the remains of a cellar
+foundation, which the tangled thicket of vines and trees adjacent to it
+tended to confirm. Since its location corresponded with the initially
+estimated position of the courthouse, it seemed possible that the
+foundation might have survived from that structure.
+
+Excavation of Structure B began accidentally when the excavators began
+following the westward course of Wall A-I, as described in the preceding
+section on the "Wall System." Wall A-I abutted, but did not mesh with,
+the corner of two foundation walls, one of which ran northward and the
+other continued on for 28 feet in the same direction as Wall A-I. The
+brickwork in the 28-foot stretch of Wall A-I was laid in a step-back,
+buttress-type construction. At the bottom course the wall was 2.65 feet
+thick, diminishing upward for five successive courses to a minimum of
+1.5 feet. A wall running northward--the east foundation wall--was
+exposed for 16 feet from the point of its junction with Wall A-I until
+it disappeared under the highway. It was found to have the same
+buttress-type construction. There was no evidence of a cellar within the
+area enclosed by the foundation walls south of the highway.
+
+Excavation of the east foundation wall was resumed north of the
+highway, but here no buttressing was found, with evidence of a cellar
+visible instead. This evidence consisted of a curious complex of
+features, comprising remnants of two parallel cross walls only 4.5 feet
+apart with a brick pavement between 4.8 feet below the surface. The east
+wall and the cross walls had flush surfaces. The northerly cross wall
+was tied into the brickwork of the east wall, showing that it was built
+integrally with the foundation. The northerly cross wall had been
+knocked down, however, to within five courses on the floor level. The
+pavement was fitted against it.
+
+The southerly cross wall was not tied into the brickwork of the east
+wall, and the pavement had been torn up next to it. Thus it was evident
+that this wall had been erected subsequent to the building of the
+foundation, that it had shortened the cellar by 4.5 feet, and that the
+cellar extended southward to a point beneath the highway where it was
+impossible to excavate. Documentary evidence to confirm this alteration
+will be shown below (p. 91).
+
+Extending 12.5 feet north of the original cross wall was another
+cellarless section, with step-back buttressing again featuring the
+foundation wall. Another paved cellar was in evidence north of this,
+extending for 26 feet, with a final 14.25-foot cellarless portion as far
+as the north wall of the structure. The interior of the cellar, to the
+extent that inviolate trees and shrubs made it possible to determine,
+was filled with brickbats and debris, large portions of which were
+removed. Evidence, however, of construction of cross walls and of floor
+treatment remained concealed.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 33.--SITE OF STRUCTURE B before excavating,
+looking northeast.]
+
+The entire length of this extraordinary foundation totaled 108 feet.
+
+The northwest corner of Structure B was not excavated because it was
+hidden beneath a group of cedar trees which could not be disturbed.
+South of the trees, however, the section of the west-wall foundation was
+exposed to a length of 15.5 feet. This section was situated partly in,
+and partly north of, the north cellar area. The cross measurement, from
+outer edge to outer edge, was 28 feet, the same as the length of the
+south foundation wall. Another short section of the west foundation wall
+also was exposed from the southwest corner as far as a private driveway
+which limited the excavation.
+
+Abutting the exterior of the north wall of the foundation a flagstone
+pavement was found, extending 8.45 feet northward and 16 feet westward
+from the northeast corner. Against the foundation, within this space,
+was a U-shaped brick wall, forming a hollow rectangle 5 feet by 3.6 feet
+(inside). The space was filled with ashes, loose bricks, and other
+refuse. This brickwork was the foundation for a small porch, the
+lime-sandstone slabs surrounding it having been an apron or a small
+terrace.
+
+Extending westward from the cedar trees, beyond the projected 28-foot
+length of the north wall, was a short section of brick wall foundation,
+the outer surface of which was faced with slabs of red sandstone and
+dressed on the top with a cyma-reversa molding. The tops of the slabs
+were rough, but each had slots and channels for receiving iron tie bars
+(ill. 3) that were still in place. This wall was inset four inches to
+the south of the alignment of the main north foundation wall.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 34.--SOUTHWEST CORNER OF STRUCTURE B. Piazza
+foundation extends to left, with red sandstone block at junction of
+piazza with main foundation. To the left of top of sign, molded
+red-sandstone trim can be seen which apparently surrounded the piazza.
+Bricks in front of trim appear to have been added later as step
+foundation. Brick buttressing of main-foundation footing appears at
+right.]
+
+The northwest corner of this additional structure was hidden under the
+highway. Even now, however, the discerning eye can pick up the contour
+of a wall running parallel with the west foundation wall under the
+blacktop pavement. For a brief distance, between the point where the
+road swings eastward from it and the private driveway covers it again,
+excavation exposed this wall. Designated Wall C, it was 22 inches thick,
+entirely of brick, with no evidence remaining of red sandstone on the
+outside. The exterior surface was 9.5 feet beyond the west foundation
+wall.
+
+At the southwest corner of the foundation, evidence matching that at the
+northwest corner was found. Here, again inset 4 inches from the line of
+the main south foundation wall, were to be seen the tops of
+red-sandstone slabs like those found at the north end (fig. 36), in this
+case with one tie rod still in place. The driveway obscured the point to
+which the corner of this extending structure could presumably be
+projected. Subsequent construction against the sandstone slabs had
+covered their surfaces with a rubble of brick and mortar that appeared
+to be the foundation for masonry steps (fig. 35). Projecting out from
+the southwest corner of the foundation was a rectangular red-sandstone
+block which appeared to be the corner of these superimposed steps.
+Although situated under the driveway, it was apparent by projection that
+Wall B-I joined the southwest corner of Wall C. It will be demonstrated
+from surviving records that Wall C, with its connecting sections, was
+the foundation of a full-length veranda.
+
+The belief which persisted for a time that Structure B might have been
+the courthouse was dispelled by documentary evidence showing that it was
+John Mercer's mansion.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 35.--SOUTHWEST CORNER OF STRUCTURE B, showing
+molded-sandstone trim with added brickwork in front. Bricks also covered
+red-sandstone block, lower right. (Diagonally placed bricks at left are
+not part of structure.)]
+
+
+SIGNIFICANT ARTIFACTS ASSOCIATED WITH STRUCTURE B
+
+                                 _Date
+    _Artifact_               of Manufacture_      _Provenience_
+
+  2 rim sherds from              ca. 1730       Beneath flagstone in
+   brown-banded;                                 porch apron north
+   "drab," stoneware                             of Structure B.
+   mug (USNM
+   59.1754; fig. 67b)
+
+  Iron candle-snuffer           1730-1750       Debris at south end
+   (USNM 59.1825; ill. 62)                       of Structure B.
+
+  Small crescent-shaped                         Debris at south end
+   chopping knife                                of Structure B.
+   (USNM 59.1837; fig. 85a)
+
+  Silver teaspoon             ca. 1730-1750     Wall debris near
+   (USNM 59.1827; fig. 86d)                      north end.
+
+In addition, there was the usual variety of 18th-century delftware,
+Nottingham and white salt-glazed stoneware, pieces of a Westerwald
+stoneware chamber pot, and much miscellaneous iron, of which only a
+hinge fragment and a supposed shutter fastener probably were associated
+with the house. None of this material has provenience data, nearly all
+of it having turned up in the process of trenching. Little of it,
+therefore, throws much light on the history of the structure. The most
+important artifacts found in and around Structure B are those of an
+architectural nature, and these will be considered primarily in the
+following section.
+
+
+ARCHITECTURAL DATA AND ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURE B
+
+That the "manor house," as Thomas Oliver called it in 1771, was an
+extraordinary building is both revealed in the Structure B foundation
+and confirmed by the insurance-policy sketch of 1806. Long, low, and
+narrow, fronted by a full-length veranda and adorned with stone trim for
+which we can find no exact parallel in 18th-century America, it was as
+individualistic as John Mercer himself. Yet, far from being a vernacular
+anachronism or a mere eccentricity, it was apparently rich with the
+Georgian mannerisms that made it very much an expression of its age.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 36.--SOUTH WALL OF STRUCTURE B, looking east. Base
+of veranda extends to bottom of picture at left. Molded-sandstone trim
+appears through brick rubble that has been attached to it, evidently as
+base for steps.]
+
+The measurements made of the foundation when excavated, as we have seen,
+show a length of 108 feet and a width of 28 feet for the main structure,
+with an overall width, including the projecting Wall C, of 37 feet 6
+inches. The insurance policy states a length of 108 feet 8 inches and a
+width of 29 feet 6 inches for the main foundation, plus a separate width
+for the "portico" (as the structure above Wall C was called) of 8 feet
+4 inches. These small discrepancies probably lie in the differences
+between measuring a standing house and a foundation.
+
+Despite the fact that the foundation was far from fully excavated
+because of the presence of trees and highway, it is clear, nevertheless,
+that two cellars of unequal size were situated within the main
+foundation, separated by sections where there were no cellars. These
+findings correspond with the notation on the insurance-policy plan, "a
+Cellar under about half the House."
+
+[Illustration: Figure 37.--CELLAR OF STRUCTURE B, showing remains of
+original cross wall at left and added cross wall at right. Mercer
+probably referred to the latter in 1749 in his account with Thomas
+Barry: "Underpinning and altering the cellar."]
+
+The partly destroyed cross wall extends about midway across the
+foundation, acting as a retaining wall. As described above, this cross
+wall was found to be tied into the brick pavement that abutted it on the
+south side.
+
+The bricks in the main foundation walls and in the partly destroyed
+cross wall and pavement, on the basis of sample measurements, show a
+usual dimension of about 8-1/2 by 2-3/4 by 4 inches. An occasional
+9-inch brick occurs--about 10 percent of the sample.
+
+In contrast, the bricks in the second cross wall are all 9 inches long,
+except two that are 8-1/2 inches and one that is 8-3/4 inches. Similar
+sizes prevail in the bricks exposed in the "portico" foundation (Wall
+C) at the south end. The significance of these brick sizes will be
+discussed later.
+
+It is clear that Wall C was the foundation of the "portico," and that by
+"portico" the writer of the insurance policy meant veranda or loggia.
+The policy also shows a "Porch 10 by 5 f." extending from the middle of
+the veranda. The highway now covers this spot.
+
+In the space between the two parallel cross walls within the main
+foundation, the debris yielded a large section of a heavy, red-sandstone
+arch, 14 inches wide, 9 inches thick, and 3 feet 2 inches long. This
+arch was roughhewn on the flat surfaces and on about half of the outer
+curved surface, or extrados. The inner surface, or intrados, and the
+remainder of the extrados are smoothly dressed (fig. 38). At the south
+end of the main foundation another curved red-sandstone piece was
+recovered. This piece curves laterally and has a helically sloped top
+surface. It is 25 inches long, 14-1/2 inches high at the highest point,
+and 9 inches thick. Presumably, it was part of a flanker for a formal
+outdoor stair or steps (fig. 39). Also at the south end was found a
+cast-mortar block with grooves on the back for metal or wooden
+fastenings (USNM 59.1823; fig. 40). This was perhaps part of a simulated
+ashlar doorframe. A few gauged or "rubbed" bricks occur that are
+slightly wedge shaped.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 38.--SECTION OF RED-SANDSTONE ARCH found in
+cellar, presumably from an arcade surrounding the veranda.]
+
+Turning to the documentary evidence, one may recall that an item dated
+September 1747, "By building part of my House," appeared in David
+Minitree's account in Ledger G. Two years later, in 1749, several items
+related to the house appeared in the account of Thomas Barry, "By
+Building the Addition to my House/ By 22 Arches/ By 900 Coins & Returns/
+By a Frontispiece/ By Underpinning & altering the Cellar." In 1749 and
+1750 William Copein was paid for mason's work.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 39.--HELICALLY CONTOURED red sandstone, possibly a
+flanker for the steps at the south end of the veranda, near which it was
+found.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 40.--CAST-CONCRETE BLOCK, probably part of a
+rusticated door enframement. Found at south end of Structure B. (See
+ills. 1 and 2.)]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 41.--DRESSED RED-SANDSTONE SLAB (originally in one
+piece), molded on both edges. Although last used as a doorstep in
+Structure E, this slab was probably designed as trim for the sides of
+steps connected with the main house (Structure B).]
+
+[Illustration: Illustrations 1 and 2.--Front and back of cast-concrete
+block, probably part of a rusticated door enframement (fig. 40).
+One-fourth. (USNM 59.1823.)]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 42.--FOSSIL-EMBEDDED black sedimentary stone, used
+for hearths and fireplace surrounds in the mansion.]
+
+There is a clear sequence here. "Building part of my house" referred to
+the basic brick structure built in 1747 by Minitree on the main
+foundation. The work of William Monday, the carpenter, followed in 1748.
+This doubtless included building the roof, setting beams, laying floors,
+and building partitions. Then in 1749 Barry built the "Addition to my
+House"--almost certainly the veranda. The item for 22 arches is
+difficult to understand unless one relates it to the veranda and divides
+the figure in two. The veranda was probably an arcade having 11 arched
+openings, with arched facings of rubbed brick both inside and outside
+the arcade. Thus, for the bricklayer, each actual arch would have
+required two arches of brick. The intrados, or undersurfaces, of the
+arches were probably red sandstone, like the fragmentary arch found in
+the site; the basic element of the arch was then faced on each side with
+bricks also arranged in an arch formation. The arcade at Hanover
+courthouse seems to have been built in a somewhat similar fashion,
+except that there the brick facing appears on the exterior of the arch
+only. The "900 Coins and Returns" probably are gauged bricks, that is,
+bricks ground smooth on a grindstone to provide a different texture and
+richer red color to contrast with the ordinary wall brick. They were
+widely used in Virginia mansions of the 18th century for corner and arch
+decoration. At Marlborough over 600 rubbed bricks would have been
+required to trim the piers of 11 arches, while the remainder may have
+decorated the porch. The porch, we may be sure, was the "Frontispiece."
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 3.--Iron tie bar used to secure dressed
+red-sandstone slabs to each other. One-fourth. (USNM 59.1833.)]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 43.--FOUNDATION OF PORCH at north end of Structure
+B, surrounded by flagstone pavement.]
+
+The item for "Underpinning & altering the cellar" probably refers to the
+knocked-out original cross wall and the added parallel cross wall,
+although the reasons for the change will always remain a mystery. As has
+been noted, the average brick sizes in the main foundation, on the one
+hand, and those of bricks in the new cellar cross wall and in the
+veranda were mostly different. Probably the distinctions represent the
+differences between Minitree's and Barry's bricks.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 44.--PLAN OF MANSION HOUSE drawn on a Mutual
+Assurancy Society of Virginia policy of 1806 after the house was
+acquired by John Cooke. (_Courtesy of Virginia State Library._)]
+
+The detailed sequence of joiners', plasterers', and painters' work
+during the 1748-1750 period has already been given attention in the
+historical section, enough to indicate that the mansion was one of
+luxurious appointments. The insurance policy describes it as a "Brick
+Dwelling House one Story high covered with wood." In modern parlance
+this would be called a story-and-a-half house with a wood-shingled roof.
+The veranda, probably in the form of an arcade, was trimmed with dressed
+red sandstone and perhaps paved with the squares and oblongs of this
+material found scattered around the site. The small projecting porch
+mentioned in the insurance policy provided a central pavilion. The
+appearance of the house from here on must be left wholly to speculation
+with only hints to guide us. We know, for instance, that a considerable
+amount--three books--of gold leaf was employed. Was there, perhaps, a
+small gilded cupola to break the long expanse of roof line? Were the 162
+ballusters, purchased from George Elliott towards the time of
+completion, made for staircases indoors or for a balustrade along the
+roof? Or did they border the roof of the veranda? To these questions
+there can be no answer. Another question is whether the house, described
+as one story high, was built over a high basement or near ground level.
+Here we have evidence pointing to the latter, since the foundation had
+two separate cellars, equalling "a Cellar under about half the House." A
+high or English basement, by contrast, would have been continuous.
+Furthermore, the veranda was at, or near, the ground level. The ground
+floor thus might have been as much as 3 feet higher, reached by steps
+from the veranda--but not a whole story higher. The depth of the
+cellars, ranging from about 4 to 5 feet below ground level, implies that
+the first floor was not more than 3 feet above ground level.
+
+Suggestions as to details of trim and finish are made here and there,
+again in fragmentary hints. Several broken pieces of a dark-gray,
+fossil-embedded marble survive from the "chimney-pieces" and hearths of
+fireplaces (fig. 42). They may be the "hewn stone from Mr. Nicholson"
+paid for in 1749. A piece of plaster cyma-recta cornice molding shows
+that some rooms, at least, had plaster rather than wooden ceiling trim
+(USNM 59.1829, ill. 4). Thomas Oliver's statement that "the Manor house
+wants lead lights in some of the windows" suggests an unparalleled
+anachronism, since the term "lead light" is an ancient one referring to
+casement sashes of leaded glass. But it is inconceivable, in the context
+of colonial architectural history, that this house should have had
+leaded-casement windows, and it is very probable, therefore, that the
+semiliterate Oliver was indulging in a rural archaism to which he had
+transferred the meaning of "sash lights." The latter term was used
+commonly to denote double-hung, wooden-sash windows, such as Georgian
+houses still feature. In support of this inference is the complete lack
+of archeological evidence of leaded-glass windows.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 4.--Cross section of plaster cornice molding
+from Structure B. Same size. (USNM 59.1829.)]
+
+The cellarless areas of the foundation may have provided the footings
+for chimneys. These probably stood several feet from the ends, perhaps
+serving clusters of four corner fireplaces each, for each floor. One may
+surmise that there was a hip roof, with a chimney rising through each
+hip. A porch at the north end had a rectangular brick base 4 by 6 feet,
+surrounded by a flagstone area 16 feet wide and 8 feet 5 inches in
+extent from the house. This evidence, however, differs from the figures
+given in the insurance plan which shows a "Porch 8 by 6 feet."
+
+The mansion embodied some characteristics which are traditional in
+Virginia house design and others which are without parallel. The
+elongated plan indicated by the foundation was more frequently
+encountered in Virginia dwellings of the late 17th and early 18th
+centuries than in the "high Georgian" mansions of the 1740's and 1750's.
+Turkey Island, for example, built in Henrico County in the 17th century,
+was 103 feet long, 5 feet less than Marlborough.[149] The additions to
+Governor Berkeley's Green Spring Plantation, built during the late 17th
+century, consisted of an informal series of rooms, one room in depth for
+the most part. Waterman is of the opinion that Green Spring was "in a
+sense an overgrown cottage without the real attributes of a
+mansion."[150] The excavations conducted in 1954 by Caywood have altered
+the basis for this opinion somewhat, but, with its 150-foot length,
+Green Spring remains an early example of the elongated plan.[151]
+
+Aside from being elongated, Marlborough derives from the ubiquitous
+informal brick cottage of Virginia. So indigenous is this vernacular
+form that it is often found in houses of considerable pretension, even
+in the 18th century. Such are the Abingdon glebe house in Gloucester
+County, Gunston Hall in Fairfax, and the Chiswell Plantation, known as
+"Scotchtown," in Hanover. Robert Beverley noted the Virginians' fondness
+for this style, commenting that they built many rooms on a floor because
+frequent high winds would "incommode a towering Fabrick"--an explanation
+as delightful as it is absurd.[152]
+
+That these one-story houses could be completely formal is demonstrated
+in the unique early 18th-century addition to Fairfield (Carter's Creek
+Plantation) in Gloucester County, which burned in 1897. This dwelling
+had a full hip roof, with dormers to light the attic rooms, and a high
+basement. Its classical cornice was bracketed with heavy modillions,
+while a massive chimney protruded from the slope of the hip.[153]
+Gunston Hall, on the other hand, reverted to the gable-end form.
+Although essentially a Virginia cottage, it is richly adorned with
+Georgian architectural detail. Completed in 1758, only eight years after
+Marlborough, and owned by Mercer's nephew George Mason, this building
+may be more closely related to Marlborough than any other existing
+house.[154]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 45.--THE VILLA of "the magnificent Lord Leonardo
+Emo" at "_Fanzolo_, in the _Trevigian_;" illustrated in _The
+Architecture of A. Palladio_ (Giacomo Leoni, ed., 3rd edition,
+corrected, London, 1742). Palladio's was one of the works owned by
+Mercer and probably used by Bromley. The arcaded loggias of the
+one-story wings of this building may have contributed to the inspiration
+of Marlborough. (_Courtesy of the Library of Congress._)]
+
+Of all the one-story Virginia houses that have come to our attention,
+only Marlborough has a full-length veranda. To be sure, there are
+multiple-story houses with full-length verandas, the most notable being
+Mount Vernon. Elmwood, built just before the Revolution in Essex County,
+is another, having a foundation plan similar to Marlborough's.[155] The
+Mount Vernon veranda is part of the remodeling of 1784, so that neither
+house reached its finished state until a quarter of a century after
+Marlborough's completion. Marlborough may thus at the outset have been
+unique among Virginia dwellings in having such a veranda. However,
+full-length verandas on buildings other than dwellings were not unknown
+in Virginia prior to the construction of Marlborough, for they occurred
+in an almost standard design in the form of arcaded loggias in county
+courthouses. Typical were King William and Hanover County courthouses,
+both built about 1734 (figs. 5 and 61).
+
+The arcaded loggia is Italian in origin and is traceable here to
+Palladio, whose influence was diffused to England and the colonies in a
+variety of ways. We know that _The Architecture of A. Palladio_ was one
+of four architectural works acquired by Mercer in 1748 and apparently
+lent to his "architect," joiner William Bromley. The direct influence of
+this work on the overall plan of Marlborough probably was negligible.
+However, Palladio illustrates the villa of "the magnificent Lord
+Leonardo Emo" at "_Fanzolo_, in the _Trevigian_" (fig. 45), which may
+have caught Mercer's eye. This building had a central, raised pavilion
+with two one-story wings, each approximately 100 feet long. Each wing
+had a full-length, arcaded veranda. The wings were intended for stables,
+granaries, and so forth. Palladio commented:
+
+    "People may go under shelter every where about this House, which is
+    one of the most considerable conveniences that ought to be desir'd
+    in a Country-house."[156]
+
+Mercer may have been impressed by this argument and by the arcade in the
+design. He was already familiar with arcades at the capitol at
+Williamsburg and at the College of William and Mary, as well as at
+outlying courthouses where he practiced, the courthouse at Stafford
+probably included. In any case, he did not have the veranda built until
+1748 or 1749, after the main structure had been completed. It is
+significant, in this regard, that it was not until March 1748 that he
+settled accounts with Sydenham & Hodgson for the four architectural
+books (including Palladio).
+
+A formal garden apparently was laid out in the nearly square, walled
+enclosure behind the mansion. It is perhaps wholly a coincidence that
+Palladio, writing about the villa at Fanzolo, commented, "On the back of
+this Building there is a square Garden."
+
+[Illustration: Figure 46.--EXCAVATION PLAN of Structure E, looking
+southwest.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [149] HENRY CHANDLEE FORMAN, _The Architecture of the Old
+    South_ (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1948), pp.
+    74-75.
+
+    [150] Op. cit. (footnote 94), p. 21.
+
+    [151] LOUIS CAYWOOD, _Excavations at Green Spring Plantation_
+    (Yorktown, 1955), pp. 11, 12, maps nos. 3 and 4.
+
+    [152] ROBERT BEVERLEY, op. cit. (footnote 5), p. 289.
+
+    [153] WATERMAN, op. cit. (footnote 94), pp. 23-26; FISKE
+    KIMBALL, _Domestic Architecture of the American Colonies and
+    of the Early Republic_ (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
+    1927), p. 42.
+
+    [154] ROSAMOND RANDALL BEIRNE and JOHN HENRY SCARFF, _William
+    Buckland, 1734-1774; Architect of Virginia and Maryland_
+    (Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1958).
+
+    [155] WATERMAN, op. cit. (footnote 94), p. 298.
+
+    [156] ANTONIO PALLADIO, _The Architecture of A. Palladio ...
+    Revis'd, Design'd, and Publish'd By Giacomo Leoni ... The
+    Third Edition, Corrected ..._ (London, 1742), p. 61, pl. 40.
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+_Kitchen Foundation_ (_Structure E_)
+
+
+DESCRIPTION OF EXCAVATIONS
+
+Structure E was a brick foundation, 17 feet by 32 feet, situated at the
+northwest corner of the enclosure-wall system. Its south wall was
+continuous with Wall D, which joined it, and was at right angles to Wall
+E. The latter abutted it in line with an interior foundation wall which
+bisected the structure into two room areas, designated X and Y. Thus it
+once stood like a bastion extending outside the enclosure walls, but
+remaining integral with them and affording a controlled entrance to the
+enclosure (fig. 46).
+
+The east end of Structure E extended under a modern boundary fence to
+the present edge of the highway. Ditching of the highway had cut into
+the foundation and exposed the debris and slabs of stone in place, which
+indeed had provided the first clues to the existence of the structure.
+Clearance of the easterly area, Room X, revealed a pavement of roughly
+rectangular slabs of mixed Aquia-type lime-sandstone and red sandstone.
+These slabs were flaked, eroded, and discolored, as though they had been
+exposed to great heat. The pavement was not complete, some stones having
+apparently been removed. The scattered locations of the stones remaining
+_in situ_ implied that the entire room was originally paved.
+
+Between the northwest corner of Room X and a brick abutment 5 feet to
+the south was a rectangular area where the clay underlying the room had
+been baked to a hard, red, bricklike mass (fig. 49). Wood ash was
+admixed with the clay. This was clearly the site of a large fireplace,
+where constant heat from a now-removed hearth had penetrated the clay.
+Extending north 3.8 feet beyond the bounds of the room at this point was
+a U-shaped brick foundation 4.75 feet wide. Near the southeast corner of
+the room, just outside of the foundation, which it abutted, was a
+well-worn red-sandstone doorstep, which located the site of the door
+communicating between Structure E and the interior of the
+enclosure--and, of course, between Structure E and Structure B, the
+distance between which was 100 feet.
+
+Room Y, extending west beyond the corner of the enclosure walls was
+perhaps an addition to the original structure. The disturbed condition
+of the bricks where this area joined Room X, however, obscured any
+evidence in this respect. In the northeast corner, against the opposite
+side of the fireplace wall in Room X, was another area of red-burned
+clay. Lying across this was a long, narrow slab of wrought iron, 34.5 by
+6 inches (fig. 50), which may have served in some fashion as part of a
+stove or fire frame. In any case, a small fireplace seems to have been
+located here. Approximately midway in the west wall of Room Y, against
+the exterior, lay a broken slab of red sandstone, which obviously also
+served as a doorstone. That it had been designed originally for a more
+sophisticated purpose is evident in the architectural treatment of the
+stone, which is smoothly dressed with a torus molding along each edge
+and a diagonal cut across one end (fig. 41). No evidence of floor
+remained in this room, except for a smooth surface of yellow clay which
+became sticky when exposed to rain.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 47.--FOUNDATION of Structure E (kitchen).]
+
+The north half of Room Y was filled with broken bricks, mortar, plaster,
+nails, and--significantly--small bits of charred wood and burned
+hornets' nests. The concentration of debris here could be explained by
+the collapse of the chimney as well as the interior wall into the room.
+The crumbly condition of the southwest portion of the exterior-wall
+foundation also may indicate a wall collapse. Few artifacts were
+recovered in this area.
+
+North of Room X lay a large amount of rubble and artifacts, suggesting
+that the north wall had fallen away from the building, perhaps carrying
+with it shelves of dishes and utensils. Both rooms contained ample
+evidence in the form of ash, charcoal, burned hornets' nests, and
+scorched flagstones to demonstrate that a fire of great heat had
+destroyed the building.
+
+
+ARCHITECTURAL DATA AND INTERPRETATION
+
+John Mercer's account with Thomas Barry (Ledger G) itemizes for 1749,
+"building a Kitchen/ raising a Chimney/ building an oven." It is clear
+from the features of Structure E, its relation to Structure B, and the
+custom prevalent in colonial Virginia of building separate dependencies
+for the preparation of food, that Structure E was the kitchen referred
+to in Barry's account. Like this building, kitchens elsewhere were
+almost invariably two rooms in plan--a cooking room and a pantry or
+storage room. One of the earliest--at Green Spring--had a large
+fireplace for the kitchen proper, and in the second room a smaller
+fireplace, both served by a central chimney. An oven stood inside the
+building between the larger fireplace and the wall.[157] At Stratford
+(ca. 1725) the kitchen is similarly planned, as it is at Mannsfield
+(Spotsylvania County).[158] Mount Vernon has an end chimney in its
+kitchen, and only one fireplace. The floor of the kitchen proper is
+paved with square bricks, while the second room has a clay floor. The
+Stratford kitchen is paved with ordinary bricks. Such examples can be
+multiplied several times.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 48.--PAVED FLOOR OF ROOM X, Structure E, showing
+HL door hinge in foreground. (See fig. 88a.)]
+
+The physical relationship of the kitchen to the main house in Virginia
+plantations was dictated in part by convenience and in part by the
+Palladian plans that governed the architecture of colonial mansions.
+Structure E's relationship to Structure B is representative of that
+existing between most kitchens and their main buildings. Mount Vernon,
+Stratford, Blandfield, Nomini Hall, Rosewell, and many other plantations
+have, or had, kitchens located at points diagonal to the house and on
+axes at right angles to them. Usually each was balanced by a dependency
+placed in a similar relationship to the opposite corner of the house.
+Sometimes covered walkways connected the pairs of dependencies, curved
+as at Mount Vernon, Mount Airy, and Mannsfield, or straight as at
+Blandfield in Essex County (1771). Marlborough, as we shall see, was not
+typical in its layout, but the relationship between kitchen and house
+was the customary one.
+
+The thickness of the foundations in Structure E was the width of four
+bricks--approximately 17 inches. As usual in the case of the lower
+courses of a foundation, the bricks were laid in a somewhat random
+fashion. The intact portions of the south and west walls revealed
+corners of bricks laid end to end so as to expose headers on both sides.
+The east wall showed pairs of bricks placed at right angles to each
+other, so that headers and stretchers appeared alternately. On the north
+wall of Room X bricks were laid as headers on the outside and as
+stretchers, one behind the other, on the inside. These variations
+probably are due to different bricklayers having worked on the
+building simultaneously. Since oddly assorted courses would have been
+below ground level, care for their appearance was minimal. Finished
+exterior brickwork was required only above the lowest point visible to
+the eye.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 49.--NORTH WALL of Structure E, looking east. Sign
+stands on partition wall between Rooms X and Y and in front of
+rectangular section of burnt red clay, upon which fireplace hearth
+stood. Projecting foundation at left may have supported an oven. Iron
+slab (see fig. 50) lies _in situ_ with trowel on top.]
+
+Brick sizes ran from 9 to 9-1/2 inches long, 4 to 4-1/2 inches wide, and
+2-1/4 to 2-3/4 inches thick. These measurements are similar to those of
+bricks in the veranda foundation and the added cellar cross wall of
+Structure B. It is apparent from Ledger G that the elements in Structure
+B, as well as the kitchen, were all built by Thomas Barry. Barry
+probably used bricks that he himself made, according to the custom of
+Virginia bricklayers, so that the archeological and documentary
+evidences of the extent of his work in the two buildings reinforce each
+other.
+
+The protruding rectangle of bricks at the north end of Structure E
+resembles the foundation for steps in Structure B. However, its position
+directly adjacent to what must be assumed to have been the fireplace
+precludes the possibility of its having been the location for a step.
+Moreover, the pavement and doorstones at the west and south demonstrate
+that the floor of the kitchen was at ground level, so that a raised
+step at the north side would have been not only unnecessary, but
+impossible.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 50.--WROUGHT-IRON SLAB, found in Room Y, Structure
+E, behind fireplace. Purpose unknown. Size, 6 by 35 inches.]
+
+We know from the ledger that Barry built an oven and raised a chimney.
+That the latter was a central chimney may be assumed on the basis of the
+evidence of the two fireplaces placed back to back. There is, however,
+no archeological evidence that there was an oven within the structure,
+and every negative indication that there was not. The rectangular
+protrusion, exactly in line with the end of the fireplace thus was
+apparently the foundation for a brick oven, the domed top of which
+extended outside the building, with its opening made into the north end
+of the fireplace. Protruding ovens are known in New York and New
+England, but none in Virginia has come to the writer's attention. On the
+other hand, protruding foundations like the one here are also unknown
+in Virginia kitchens, except where slanting ground, as at Mount Vernon,
+has made steps necessary.
+
+It may be concluded that Structure E was the plantation kitchen, that it
+was built in 1749, that it had two rooms (a cookroom with fireplace
+paving and a large fireplace, and a second room with a smaller
+fireplace), that an oven built against the exterior of the building
+opened into the north end of the fireplace, and that the first, and
+probably the only, floor was at ground level. Archeological evidence
+points to final destruction of the building by fire. (Mercer indicated
+that fire had threatened it previously in the entry in his journal for
+April 22, 1765, which noted "kitchen roof catch'd fire.") In the form of
+datable artifacts, it also shows that the structure was destroyed in the
+early 19th century, since the latest ceramic artifacts date from about
+1800.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 51.--EXCAVATION PLAN of structures north of Wall
+D.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [157] CAYWOOD, loc. cit. (footnote 151).
+
+    [158] WATERMAN, loc. cit. (footnote 94).
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+_Supposed Smokehouse Foundation_ (_Structure F_)
+
+
+DESCRIPTION OF EXCAVATIONS
+
+A nearly square foundation, measuring 18.3 feet by 18.6 feet, with a
+narrow extended brick structure protruding from it, was situated some 45
+feet north of Wall D, about midway in the wall's length. It was oriented
+on a north-northwest--south-southeast axis, quite without reference to
+the wall system. The foundation walls and the narrow extension were
+exposed by excavation, but the interior area within the walls was not
+excavated, except for 2-foot-wide trenches along the edges of the walls.
+
+The foundation itself, about 2 feet thick, consisted of brick
+rubble--tumbled and broken bricks, not laid in mortar and for the most
+part matching bricks found elsewhere in Marlborough structures.
+Scattered among the typical Virginia bricks and brickbats were several
+distinctively smaller and harder dark-red bricks measuring 7-1/4 inches
+by 3-1/2 inches (fig. 53).
+
+The most interesting feature of the structure was its narrow extension.
+This had survived in the form of two parallel walls laid in three brick
+courses without mortar, the whole projecting from the southeasterly
+wall. The interior measurement between the walls was 1.75 feet and the
+exterior overall width was 4 feet. Its southern extremity had an opening
+narrowed to 1 foot in width by bricks placed at right angles to the
+walls. Approximately 5 feet to the north the passage formed by the walls
+was narrowed to 1 foot by three tiers of one brick, each tier laid
+parallel to the passage on each side. At 8.7 feet from its southern
+terminus the extension intersected the main foundation. Just north of
+this intersection, bricks laid within the passage were stepped up to
+form a platform two courses high and one course lower than the top of
+the foundation. A fluelike opening was formed by two rows of brick laid
+on top of the platform, narrowing the passage to a width of 5 inches.
+North of the southeast foundation wall there remained a strip of four
+bricks in two courses at the level of the opening, forming a thin
+continuation of the platform for 3.25 feet.
+
+
+SIGNIFICANT ARTIFACTS IN STRUCTURE F
+
+The narrow extension contained several bushels of unburned oystershells
+and some coals. There was limited evidence of burning, although the
+shells were not affected by fire. A small variety of artifacts was
+found, few of which dated later than the mid-18th century. The flue or
+fire chamber yielded the following artifacts:
+
+     59.1717 Wine-bottle basal fragments, 5-5-1/2 inches,
+     mid-18th-century form
+
+     59.1721 Stem of a taper-stem, teardrop wineglass, misshapen from
+     having been melted, ca. 1730-1740
+
+     59.1723 Green window glass, one sherd with rolled edge of crown
+     sheet
+
+     59.1724 Blue-and-white Chinese porcelain
+
+     59.1725 "Yellowware" sherd, probably made before 1750
+
+     59.1727 Westerwald gray-and-blue salt-glazed stoneware
+
+     59.1728 Buckley black-glazed ware
+
+     59.1730 Miscellaneous late 17th- and early 18th-century delftware
+     fragments
+
+     59.1731 Staffordshire salt-glazed white stoneware, some with molded
+     rims, ca. 1760
+
+     59.1734 Half of sheep shears (ill. 85)
+
+     59.1735 Convex copper escutcheon plate (fig. 83g)
+
+     59.1736 Brass-hinged handle or pull for strap (fig. 83j, ill. 89)
+
+[Illustration: Figure 52.--STRUCTURE F (supposed smokehouse foundation).
+Firing chamber in foreground.]
+
+Elsewhere, in the trenches next to the foundation walls, artifacts
+typical of those occurring in other parts of the site were found. Worth
+mentioning are pieces of yellow-streaked, red earthen "agate" ware,
+sometimes attributed to Astbury or Whieldon, and sherds of
+cord-impressed Indian pottery.
+
+
+ARCHITECTURAL ANALYSIS
+
+Since the interior of this structure was not excavated, many
+uncertainties remain as to its identity. The peculiar fluelike
+structure passing through its foundation, the rubble of bricks used to
+form the foundation, the huge quantities of oystershells in the flue,
+with partly burnt coals underneath, give rise to various speculations.
+So does the orientation of the structure, which is off both the true and
+polar axes and is also unrelated to the mansion or the wall system.
+
+The most likely explanation seems to be that Structure F was the
+foundation of a smokehouse. A recently excavated foundation in what was
+known as Brunswick Town, North Carolina, is almost identical (except for
+the use of ballast stone in the fire chamber and the building
+foundation). This also is believed to be a smokehouse foundation, since
+similar structures are still remembered from the days of their
+use.[159]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 53.--VIRGINIA BRICK from Structure B (left) 9 by 4
+by 2-3/4 inches. Right, small brick from Structure F, probably imported,
+7-1/4 by 3-1/2 by 1-3/4 inches. Perhaps one of the 630 bricks brought on
+the _Marigold_ by Captain Roger Lyndon and purchased by John Mercer.]
+
+The position of the Marlborough structure, outside of the enclosure wall
+but not far from the kitchen, the relative crudeness of its
+construction, and its off-axis orientation, support the likelihood of
+its being a utilitarian structure. The firing chamber and the flue show
+unquestionably that it was a building requiring heat or smoke.
+Marlborough had two greenhouses, according to Thomas Oliver's inventory,
+and these would have required heating equipment. But the small size of
+this structure and the absence of any indication of tile flooring or
+other elaboration suggested by contemporary descriptions of greenhouses
+seem to rule out this possibility.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 54.--STRUCTURE D, an unidentified structure with
+debris-filled refuse pit at left.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [159] STANLEY SOUTH, "An Unusual Smokehouse is Discovered at
+    Brunswick Town," _Newsletter_, Brunswick County Historical
+    Society (Charlotte, N.C., August 1962), vol. 2, no. 3.
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+_Pits and Other Structures_
+
+
+STRUCTURE D
+
+An exploratory trench was dug northward several yards from a point on
+Wall D, on axis with Structure B. An irregularly shaped remnant of
+unmortared-brick structure, varying between two and three bricks wide
+and one course high was discovered at the undisturbed level. This
+measured 8.5 feet by 6 feet. Adjacent to it, extending 5.8 feet and
+having a width varying from 6.5 to 7 feet, was a pit 2 feet 8 inches
+deep, dug 2 feet below the undisturbed clay level, and filled with a
+heavy deposit of artifacts, oystershells, and animal bones. The artifact
+remains were the richest in the entire site. Some of the most
+significant of these are the following:
+
+     59.1656 Key (fig. 88)
+
+     59.1942 Iron bolt (ill. 69)
+
+     59.1663}
+     59.2029} Two-tined forks (ill. 55-57)
+     59.1939}
+
+
+     59.1664 Jeweler's hammer (ill. 78)
+
+     59.1665 Fragments of a penknife (fig. 85c)
+
+     59.1668 Knife blade and Sheffield handle (fig. 86b)
+
+     59.1669}
+     59.1670} Pewter trifid-handle spoons (fig. 86f and g, ill. 58)
+
+     59.1672 Pewter "wavy-end" spoon (fig. 86e, ill. 59)
+
+     59.1675 Fragments of reeded-edge pewter plate (fig. 86a)
+
+     59.1676 Pewter teapot lid (fig. 86c, ill. 60)
+
+     59.1678 Brass rings (fig. 83i)
+
+     59.1680 Steel scissors (ill. 61)
+
+     59.1681 Large fishhook (ill. 88)
+
+     59.1682 Chalk bullet mold (fig. 84b, ill. 51)
+
+     59.1685 Slate pencil (fig. 85d, ill. 54)
+
+     59.1687 Octagonal spirits bottle (fig. 80)
+
+     59.1688 Wine bottle: seal "I^[C.]M 1737" (fig. 78, ill. 37)
+
+     59.1679 Handle sherd of North Devon gravel-tempered earthenware
+     (ill. 15)
+
+     59.1698 Buckley high-fired, black-glazed earthenware (fig. 65)
+
+     59.1699 Buckley high-fired, amber-glazed earthenware pan sherds
+     (fig. 65, ills. 17 and 18)
+
+     59.1700 Brown-decorated yellowware cup or posset-pot sherds (fig.
+     64c, ill. 16)
+
+     59.1701 Nottingham-type brown-glazed fine stoneware sherds (fig.
+     67a)
+
+     59.1762 Sherd of Westerwald blue-and-gray stoneware, with part of
+     "GR" medallion showing (fig. 66d)
+
+     59.1704 Large sherds of brown-glazed Tidewater-type earthenware pan
+     (fig. 63a, ill. 11)
+
+     59.1706 Blue-and-white delft plate, Lambeth, ca. 1720 (fig. 69)
+
+     59.1707 Blue-and-white delft plate, [?]Bristol, ca. 1750 (fig. 70)
+
+     59.1714 Kaolin tobacco-pipe bowls, and one wholly reconstructed
+     pipe (fig. 84f, ill. 53)
+
+     59.1715 Steel springtrap for small animals (ill. 86)
+
+     (Also numerous sherds of Staffordshire white salt-glazed ware and
+     creamware. A single disparate sherd of pink, transfer-printed
+     Staffordshire ware, dating from about 1835, is the only intrusive
+     artifact in the deposit.)
+
+The bones were virtually all pork refuse, except for a few rabbit bones.
+The oystershells, found in every refuse deposit, reflect the universal
+taste for the then-abundant oyster.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 55.--REFUSE FOUND AT EXTERIOR CORNER of Wall A-II
+and Wall D.]
+
+The significance of the structure is not clear. It was probably the
+site of a privy, the remaining bricks having been part of a brick floor
+in front of the pit.
+
+
+STRUCTURE G
+
+A few feet southeast of Structure D, another much smaller pit was found,
+surrounded on two sides by a partial-U-shaped single row and single
+course of bricks. This brickwork measured 5 feet in length, with a
+4-foot appendage at one end and a 7-foot appendage at the other. The pit
+was small and shallow. Typical ceramic artifacts were found, as well as
+fragments of black basaltes ware (ill. 32) and some early 19th-century
+whiteware. The function of this pit is unknown.
+
+
+PIT AT JUNCTION OF WALLS A-II AND D
+
+Just north of the northeast corner of the wall system a small trash pit
+was uncovered. It contained a scattering of wine- and gin-bottle
+sherds, a few miscellaneous, small, ceramic-tableware fragments, and
+about one-third of a blue-and-white Chinese porcelain plate (figs. 55
+and 77).
+
+
+UNIDENTIFIED FOUNDATION NEAR POTOMAC CREEK (STRUCTURE H)
+
+About 60 feet from the shore of Potomac Creek, at the southeast corner
+of the old road that runs from the highway to the creek, bordered by
+Wall A, were indications of a brick foundation. This structure was
+explored to the extent of its width (about 15 feet) for a distance
+northward of 17 feet, then the east wall was traced 22 feet farther
+north until it disappeared into the bankside and a thicket. The
+excavated area disclosed quantities of brickbats, a layer of soil, a
+number of burnt bricks, a layer of black charcoal ash, and a 6-inch
+deposit of clay. The brick walls were 1.5 feet thick. The structure
+had been built into the hillside, so that the north end was presumably a
+deep basement.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 56.--EXCAVATION PLAN of Structure H.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 57.--STRUCTURE H, from Potomac Creek shore,
+looking northeast.]
+
+Artifacts were few. A complete scythe (fig. 90) was found embedded in
+the clay above the brickwork on the east side of the structure, and next
+to it a large body sherd of black-glazed Buckley ware. A few small
+ceramic sherds occurred--pieces of redware with trailed slip (fig. 64),
+and small bits of delft, salt glaze, and Chinese porcelain.
+
+The location and implied shape of the building suggest that it had a
+utilitarian purpose. Near the waterfront, it would conveniently have
+served as a warehouse, or possibly as either the brewhouse or malthouse,
+each described by Mercer as having been 100 feet long, of brick and
+stone. Whether one was of brick and the other of stone, or both were
+brick and stone in combination, is not clear. There was no evidence of
+stonework in Structure H. On the other hand, the 100-foot-long
+rectangular stone enclosure, of which Wall A formed a part, shows no
+evidence of brickwork. The purposes of both these structures must, for
+now, remain unexplained, but association with the brewery seems
+plausible.
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+_Stafford Courthouse South of Potomac Creek_
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+The chief archeological problem of Marlborough at the time of excavation
+was whether or not Structure B had served as the foundation for both the
+courthouse and for John Mercer's mansion. Although the possibility still
+remains that the sites of the two buildings overlapped, preceding
+chapters have demonstrated that the foundation was constructed by Mercer
+for his house, and that it did not stand beneath the courthouse.
+
+However, in 1957 it was thought that exploration of the
+late-18th-century courthouse site, located upstream on the south side of
+Potomac Creek, might reveal a structure of similar dimensions which
+would help to confirm the possibility that Structure B had originated
+with the Marlborough courthouse. Furthermore, the Potomac Creek site was
+of interest by itself and was closely related to John Mercer's legal and
+judicial career.
+
+The location of the site is depicted in surveys included with suit
+papers of 1743 and 1805.[160] These papers were brought to our attention
+by George H. S. King of Fredericksburg, and were mentioned in Happel's
+carefully documented history of the Stafford and King George
+courthouses.[161] Previously, we had been led to the site by a former
+sheriff of Stafford County, who recalled listening as a boy to
+descriptions of the old courthouse building by an ancient whose memory
+went back to the early years of the 19th century. The old man's
+recollections, in turn, were reinforced by similar recountings of elders
+in his own youth. Unscientific though the value of such information may
+be, it emerges from folk memories that often remain sharp and clear in
+rural areas, spanning in the minds of two or three individuals the
+periods of several conventional generations. As clues, at least, they
+are never to be ignored. In this case we were taken to a rubble-strewn
+site on an eminence that overlooks Potomac Creek. At the foot of a
+declivity below, on the old Belle Plains road, we were shown another
+obvious evidence of structure, which we were told had been the jail.
+Just to the east of this where a road leads away to the site of Cave's
+tobacco warehouse (now the "Stone Landing"), we were informed that the
+stocks had once stood.
+
+Of the latter two sites we have no confirming evidence, although both
+claims are plausible enough. No archeological effort was made to
+investigate them, since funds were limited. The surveys of 1743 and 1805
+are sufficient to confirm with accuracy the courthouse site.
+Accordingly, an archeological exploration was made between August 19 and
+August 23, 1957, revealing unmistakably the footings of a courthouse. As
+will be shown, these footings in no way bore a resemblance to the
+Structure B foundation.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [160] Fredericksburg Suit Papers, 1745-1805 (MS.,
+    Fredericksburg, Virginia, courthouse).
+
+    [161] HAPPEL, op. cit. (footnote 22), pp. 183-194.
+
+
+HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
+
+The history of the Potomac Creek courthouse site has been presented
+thoroughly by Happel, but a brief review is in order here. Happel shows
+that a courthouse was ordered built in 1665, a year after the
+establishment of Stafford as a county. He quotes a court reference in
+1667 to the road along the south shore of Potomac Creek, running from
+the "said Ferry," near the head of the Creek, "to the Court house to the
+horse Bridge," which he identifies as having spanned Passapatanzy Gut.
+In his opinion, this courthouse was near the mouth of the Creek, but he
+fails to show that it equally well may have been near the site of the
+later 18th-century structures.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 58.--DRAWING MADE IN 1743, showing location of
+Stafford courthouse south of Potomac Creek (orientation to south).
+(Fredericksburg Suit Papers.)]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 59.--ENLARGED DETAIL from lower right portion of
+figure 58, showing location of Stafford courthouse south of Potomac
+Creek.]
+
+We have seen that in 1690 court was first held in Thomas Elzey's house,
+seemingly located near the 18th-century courthouse site, and that orders
+were given that it continue to meet there until the new courthouse was
+ready. The history of the new courthouse at Marlborough has already been
+recounted, its final demise occurring about 1718. The court's official
+removal from Marlborough was agreed upon July 20, 1720, and, as already
+noted, "the head of Ocqua Creek" was designated for the new site,
+although obviously by error, since Potomac Creek plainly was intended.
+
+Happel tells us that the Potomac Creek building burned in 1730 or early
+1731 and that the justices were ordered on April 27, 1731, to rebuild at
+the same place. It is this next building that was depicted on the 1743
+survey plat (see fig. 58). In 1744 a bill was presented in the Assembly
+to relieve persons who had suffered or "may suffer" from the loss of
+Stafford County records "lately consumed by Fire";[162] apparently the
+courthouse had again burned. There seems to have been a delay of about
+five years in rebuilding it this time. Pressures to relocate it were
+exerted in the meanwhile and hearings were held by the Governor's
+Council on a petition to "remove the Court House lower down."[163] The
+Council listened, then "Ordered, that the new Court House be built where
+the old one stood."[164]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 60.--EXCAVATION PLAN of Stafford courthouse
+foundation.]
+
+This settled, Nathaniel Harrison and Hugh Adie contracted in 1749 with
+the justices of Stafford court to build a "Brick Courthouse, for the
+Consideration of 44500 lb. of Tobacco, to be furnished by the last of
+October, 1750."[165] Harrison was a distinguished member of the colony
+who, as a widower, had moved to Stafford County the previous year and
+had married Lucy, the daughter of Robert ("King") Carter of "Corotoman"
+and widow of Henry Fitzhugh of "Eagle's Nest."[166] Harrison, who later
+built "Brandon" for himself in King George County, probably provided the
+capital and the materials, and perhaps the design, of the courthouse.
+Adie, of whom nothing is known, was doubtless the carpenter or
+bricklayer who actually did the work.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 61.--HANOVER COURTHOUSE, whose plan dimensions
+correspond closely to the Stafford foundation.]
+
+The construction was delayed by "many Disappointments, and the Badness
+of the Weather." Finally, in the spring of 1751, it was about to be
+brought to completion, "when it was feloniously burnt to the
+Ground."[167] In April 1752 a special act was passed in order to permit
+a levy to be made which would allow the Stafford court to reimburse
+Harrison and Adie for the amount of work which they had accomplished on
+the courthouse and the value of the materials they had provided.[168]
+
+No record exists of the contract for the next--and last--courthouse
+building on the Potomac Creek site. Quite possibly Harrison and Adie
+again did the work. This building was used until removal of the court to
+a new building completed between 1780 and 1783 on a site near the
+present Stafford courthouse. It remained standing throughout most of the
+19th century, according to local memory. In surveys of 1804 and 1805 the
+structure was identified as the "old court house."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [162] _JHB_, 1742-1749 (Richmond, 1909), p. 127.
+
+    [163] Ibid.
+
+    [164] _Executive Journals of the Council of Colonial
+    Virginia_ [November 1, 1739-May 7, 1754], (Richmond, 1945),
+    p. 282.
+
+    [165] _JHB, 1752-1755; 1756-1758_ (Richmond, 1939), p. 55.
+
+    [166] "Harrison of James River," _VHM_ (Richmond, 1924), vol.
+    32, p. 200.
+
+    [167] See footnote 165.
+
+    [168] HENING, op. cit. (footnote 1), vol. 6, pp. 280-281.
+
+
+DESCRIPTION OF EXCAVATIONS
+
+Excavations were conducted in the simplest manner possible, in order to
+arrive at the objective of determining the dimensions of the courthouse
+without exceeding available funds. An exploratory trench soon exposed a
+line of rubble and disturbed soil. This line was followed until the
+entire outline of the building was revealed. At several points bricks in
+mortar still remained _in situ_, especially at the south end. Two brick
+piers extended 4 feet 5 inches into the structure, midway along the
+south wall at a distance of 5 feet 9 inches apart.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 5.--Above, left, reconstructed wine bottle
+from Potomac Creek courthouse site. One-fourth.]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 6.--Top, right, fragment of molded white
+salt-glazed-ware platter from Potomac Creek courthouse site. One-half.]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 7.--Lower, right, iron bolt from Potomac
+Creek courthouse site. One-half.]
+
+The emerging evidence indicated that the structure was rectangular,
+approximately 52 feet long and 26 feet wide, with a T-shaped projection
+25 feet wide extending out a distance of 14 feet 5 inches from the
+center of the east wall of the building.
+
+
+SIGNIFICANT ARTIFACTS ASSOCIATED WITH POTOMAC CREEK COURTHOUSE
+
+Few artifacts occurred in the small area excavated at the courthouse
+site. Those which did, significantly, related either to the structure
+itself or to the eating and drinking that probably occurred either
+alfresco or within the courthouse building. We know that the Ohio
+Company Committee met there for many years, beginning in 1750, and
+doubtless lunches and refreshments were served to the members during the
+day, before they returned to the tavern or to neighboring plantations to
+dine and spend the night.
+
+Portions of wine bottles (of the same dimensions as the Mercer "1737"
+bottle from Marlborough) were found (ill. 5), along with small
+fragments of late 18th-century types. A section of the rim of a large,
+octagonal, white, salt-glazed-ware platter with a wreath and lattice
+design was recovered from the north-wall footings (ill. 86), and
+fragments of a salt-glazed-ware dinner plate occurred in the south
+trench. An oystershell found nearby suggests how the platter may have
+been used. Two pieces of a white salt-glazed-ware posset pot round out a
+picture of elegant eating and drinking in the 1760's, as do the
+fragments of polished, agate octagonal-handled knives and forks. The
+latter were badly damaged by fire.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 8.--Above, left, stone scraping tool.
+One-half.]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 9.--Above, right, Indian celt. Found near
+gate in Wall E. One-half.]
+
+Pieces of blue-and-white delft punch bowls were found, as well as a
+sherd of polychrome delft which dated apparently from 1740 to 1760. Two
+sherds of creamware plates with wavy edges in the "Catherine" shape
+reflect the last years of official use of the courthouse. A tantalizing
+find is a small fragment of cobalt-blue glass, blown in a mold to make
+panels or oval indentations. This piece may have come from a large bowl
+or sweetmeat dish.
+
+Three sherds of black-glazed red earthenware are the only evidence of
+utilitarian equipment. Pipe-stems belong to the mid- and
+late-18th-century category. A George II copper penny is dated 1746. A
+large mass of pewter, melted beyond recognition, was found near the
+south end of the structure. Bits of charcoal are held within it. The
+pewter originally may have been in the form of mugs or tankards.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 62.--PLAN OF KING WILLIAM COURTHOUSE, whose plan
+dimensions correspond closely to the Stafford foundation. (_Courtesy of
+Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress._)]
+
+Evidence of the structure is found in a large number of hand-forged
+nails, in quantities of window glass melted and distorted, and in pieces
+of plaster. The last is the typical hard, coarse oystershell plaster of
+the area, having a smooth surface coat, except for fine lines left by
+the trowel. There is no evidence of paint. A small slide bolt of wrought
+iron probably fitted on a cupboard door, or possibly the gate in the bar
+(ill. 87). Another iron fixture is not identified.
+
+Two kinds of window glass occurred. One, the earliest type, is a thin,
+yellowish glass which is coated with irridescent scale caused by the
+breakdown of the glass surface. None of this glass shows signs of fire
+or, at least, of melting. The remainder is a grayish-blue aquamarine,
+much of it melted and distorted, and some of it accumulated in thick
+masses where tremendous heat caused the panes literally to fold up. A
+fragment of yellowish-green glass pane, related to the early type and
+again coated with scale, varies in thickness and was apparently from a
+bullseye. No evidence exists of diamond-shaped panes, but, as should be
+expected, there is indication of square-cornered panes in both types of
+glass.
+
+
+ARCHITECTURAL ANALYSIS
+
+The plan of the footings (fig. 60) shows a T-shaped foundation. This was
+an immediate clue to the nature of the structure, for the T-shaped
+courthouse was virtually a standard 18th-century form in Virginia. This
+foundation, in fact, is almost a replica of the plans of both King
+William and Hanover County courthouses, each built about 1734[169]
+(figs. 5, 61, and 62).
+
+The King William courthouse measures 50 feet 4-1/4 inches long and 26
+feet 4 inches wide in the main structure. Its T section extends 14 feet
+9 inches to the original end (to which an extension has been added) and
+has a width of 23 feet 10-1/4 inches. The Stafford foundation is 52 feet
+long and 26 feet wide in the main structure. The T-section is 14 feet 5
+inches long and 25 feet wide. A closer comparison could scarcely be
+expected.
+
+Hanover's length is 52 feet 4-1/2 inches, the width of the main section
+27 feet 10 inches, while the T-section is 15 feet 2-1/2 inches long (in
+its original part) and 26 feet 7 inches wide.
+
+A third example, completed in 1736, is the Charles City County
+courthouse.[170] The measurements of this building are not available to
+us, but close examination of photographs discloses a building of about
+the same size.
+
+The earliest of these T-shaped buildings thus far recorded was the York
+County courthouse, completed in 1733. Destroyed in 1814, its site has
+been excavated by the National Park Service. Its foundation, measuring
+59 feet 10 inches in length and 52 feet in full depth, including the T,
+was somewhat larger than the others known to us. The records show that
+it was rather elaborate, with imported-stone floors and compass-head
+windows.[171]
+
+All these buildings had arcaded verandas. Marcus Whiffen raises the
+question as to which of them, if any, was the prototype, then concludes
+by speculating that none was, and that all four may have derived from
+the 1715 courthouse at Williamsburg, the dimensions of which, however,
+remain unknown. The introduction of the loggia first at the College of
+William and Mary and then at the capitol led him to postulate that its
+use in a courthouse also would have originated in Williamsburg.[172] The
+Stafford foundation showed no trace of stone paving where an arcade
+might have been, but, since virtually all the bricks had been taken
+away, it is likely that such a valuable commodity as flagstones also
+would have been removed as soon as the building was destroyed or
+dismantled. Two brick piers at the west end of the structure (fig. 36)
+remain a mystery. They are equidistant from the longitudinal walls, and
+may have been the foundations for a chimney. However, their positions do
+not relate to the floor or chimney plans at Hanover or King William
+courthouses, the other features of which are so nearly comparable. One
+would suppose every basic characteristic of the Stafford building would
+have been the same as in these buildings. The piers were perhaps late
+additions or modifications.
+
+The roof was apparently of wood; there were no evidences of slate
+shingles. The bricks were approximately 8-1/2 inches by 4 inches by
+2-3/4 inches, and were probably laid in a patterned Flemish bond, as at
+Hanover or King William, since some of the bricks were glazed. No lead
+or other signs of "calmes" used in leaded sash were found, so we must
+assume that the 1665 courthouse was built elsewhere.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [169] MARCUS WHIFFEN, "The Early County Courthouses of
+    Virginia," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians
+    (Amherst, Mass., 1959), vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 2-10.
+
+    [170] Ibid.
+
+    [171] RILEY, op. cit. (footnote 31), pp. 402 ff.
+
+    [172] WHIFFEN, op. cit. (footnote 169), p. 4.
+
+
+CONCLUSION
+
+It may be assumed that the Potomac Creek courthouse, which was built of
+brick, resembled the courthouses of Hanover, King William, and Charles
+City, and that its architecture, symbolizing the authority of Virginia's
+government, reflected the official style expressed in the government
+buildings at Williamsburg. All the successive Stafford courthouses from
+1722 on probably were built on the old foundations; if so, the Stafford
+building was the earliest T-form courthouse yet known in Virginia. Its
+similarity to the three structures built in the 1730's shows that an
+accepted form had developed, possibly, as Whiffen suggests, deriving
+from a prototype in Williamsburg.
+
+The courthouse bears no resemblance, either in its shape or the absence
+of a basement, to the Structure B foundation at Marlborough. The site,
+reached more easily than Marlborough from any direction, dictated the
+removal to it of the courthouse in 1722, thus contributing to the demise
+of Marlborough as a town. The last structure, especially, was
+historically important because of the meetings of the Ohio Company held
+in it. It is of particular interest to the story of Marlborough because
+John Mercer was, for most of its existence, the senior justice of the
+Stafford court.
+
+
+
+
+ARTIFACTS
+
+[Illustration: Figure 63.--TIDEWATER-TYPE POTTERY: a, milk pan (ill.
+11); b, base of bowl (ill. 14); c, pan-rim sherds; d, base of ale mug
+(ill. 12).]
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+_Ceramics_
+
+Most of the ceramic artifacts found at Marlborough can be dated within
+John Mercer's period of occupancy (1726-1768). A meager scattering of
+late 18th- and early 19th-century whitewares and stonewares reflects the
+John Francis Mercer and Cooke ownerships (1768-1819).
+
+
+COARSE EARTHENWARE
+
+TIDEWATER TYPE.--Mercer's purchase in 1725 of £12 3s. 6d. worth of
+earthenware from William Rogers (p. 16, footnote 54) probably was made
+for trading purposes, judging from the sizable cost. Rogers operated a
+stoneware and earthenware pottery in Yorktown, which evidently was
+continued for a considerable time after his death in 1739.[173] An
+abundance of waster sherds (unglazed, underfired, overfired, or
+misshapen fragments cast aside by the potter), supposedly from Rogers'
+output, has been found as street ballast and fill in Yorktown and its
+environs. Microscopic and stylistic comparison with these sherds relates
+numerous Marlborough sherds to them in varying degrees. For purposes of
+tentative identification, the ware will be designated "Tidewater type."
+Some of the ware may have been produced in Rogers' shop, while other
+articles resembling the Yorktown products may have been made of similar
+clay and fired under conditions comparable to those at Yorktown.
+
+A Marlborough milk pan (USNM 59.1961, ill. 11, and USNM 59.1580) has a
+salmon-colored body and a lustrous mahogany glaze with fine manganese
+streaking. Another milk pan (USNM 59.2039, ill. 2, fig. 63a) has a buff
+body and a glaze of uneven thickness that ranges in color from thin
+brown with black flecking to a glutinous dark brown approaching black.
+The most typical glaze color, influenced by the underlying predominant
+pinkish-buff body, is a light mahogany with black specks or blotches. It
+occurs at Marlborough on a small sherd (USNM 60.201). A variant glaze
+occurring on pottery found in Yorktown appears here in a yellowish-buff
+sherd flecked with black (USNM 60.154). The flecking is only in part
+applied with manganese; it is also the effect of ocherous and
+ferruginous particles which protrude through the surface of the body,
+assuming a dark color. Occasionally the manganese is spread liberally,
+so that the natural body color shows through only as flecks in a reverse
+effect (USNM 59.1855); now and then the vessel is uniformly black (USNM
+60.141).
+
+Tidewater-type forms found at Marlborough include milk pans 15 inches in
+diameter and about 4-1/4 inches deep (in 1729 Mercer bought "2 milk
+pans" for 5d. and 5 "gallon basons" for 4s. 7d.), a black-glazed jar
+cover with indicated diameter of 6-1/2 inches (USNM 59.2013), and
+fragments of other pans and bowls of indeterminate sizes. A portion of
+an ale mug has a tooled base and black glaze (USNM 59.2043, fig. 63d,
+ill. 12). Its diameter is 3-5/8 inches.
+
+MOLDED-RIM TYPE.--This is a type of redware with a light-red body and
+transparent, ginger-brown lead glaze. It is characterized by a rolled
+rim and a tooled platform or channel above the junction of rim and side.
+A small number of pan and bowl rims was found at Marlborough. The ware
+is usually associated with early 18th-century materials from such sites
+as Jamestown, Kecoughtan, Williamsburg, and Rosewell. It may have
+originated in England.
+
+NORTH DEVON GRAVEL-TEMPERED WARE.--The coarse kitchenware made in
+Bideford and Barnstaple and in the surrounding English villages of North
+Devon is represented by only two sherds. This ware is characterized by a
+dull, reddish-pink body, usually dark-gray at the core, and by a gross
+waterworn gravel temper. It occurs in contexts as early as 1650 at
+Jamestown and as late as 1740-1760 at Williamsburg. One of the
+Marlborough sherds is part of a large pan. It is glazed with a
+characteristic amber lead glaze (USNM 60.202). The other sherd is a
+portion of an unglazed handle, probably from a potlid (USNM 59.1679,
+ill. 15).[174]
+
+SLIP-LINED REDWARE.--Numerous 18th-century sites from Philadelphia to
+Williamsburg have yielded a series of bowls and porringers characterized
+by interior linings of slip that is streaked and mottled with manganese.
+These are glazed on both surfaces, the outer surface and a border above
+the slip on the inner surface usually ginger-brown in color. Comparative
+examples are a bowl from the Russell site at Lewes, Delaware, dating
+from the first half of the 18th century, and several pieces from
+pre-Revolutionary contexts at Williamsburg. A deposit excavated by H.
+Geiger Omwake near the south end of the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal in
+Delaware included sherds from a context dated late 17th- to mid-18th
+centuries.[175] Several fragments of bowls occur in the Marlborough
+material (USNM 59.1613, 59.1856, fig. 64g).
+
+ENGLISH YELLOWWARE.--The few sherds of so-called combed ware occurring
+at Marlborough, although only the base fragments connect, all seem to
+have come from a single cup or posset pot having a buff body and
+characteristically decorated with spiraled bands of dark-brown slip that
+were created by combing through an outer coating of white slip,
+revealing an underlayer of red slip. The vessel was glazed with a clear
+lead glaze (USNM 59.1700, fig. 64c, ill. 16). Comparative dated
+examples of this ware include a posset pot dated 1735.[176] A chamber
+pot bearing the same kind of striping was excavated by the National Park
+Service at Fort Frederica, Georgia (1736-ca. 1750). A piece similar to
+that from Marlborough was found in the Rosewell deposit, and another in
+the Lewis Morris house site, Morrisania, New York.[177] Although this
+type of ware was introduced in England about 1680, its principal use in
+America seems to have occurred largely between 1725 and 1775.
+Archeological evidence is corroborated by newspaper advertisements. In
+1733 the _Boston Gazette_ advertised "yellow ware Hollow and Flat by the
+Crate" and again in 1737 "yellow and Brown Earthenware." In 1763 the
+_Gazette_ mentioned "Crates of Yellow Liverpool Ware," Liverpool being
+the chief place of export for pottery made in Staffordshire, the
+principal source for the combed wares.[178]
+
+BUCKLEY WARE.--I. Noël Hume has identified a class of high-fired,
+black-glazed earthenware found in many 18th-century sites in Virginia.
+He has done so by reference to _The Buckley Potteries_, by K. J.
+Barton,[179] and to waster sherds in his possession from the Buckley
+kiln sites in Flintshire, North Wales. The ware probably was made in
+other potteries of the region also. This durable pottery, more like
+stoneware than earthenware, is represented by a large number of jar and
+pan fragments. Two body types occur, each characterized by a mixture of
+red and buff clay. In the more usual type the red clay dominates, with
+laminations and striations of buff clay running through it in the manner
+of a coarse sort of agateware. The other is usually grayish buff with
+red streaks, although sometimes the body is almost entirely buff, still
+showing signs of lamination. The glaze is treacly black, often applied
+unevenly and sometimes pitted with air bubbles. The body surfaces have
+conspicuous turning ridges. Rims are usually heavy and flat, sometimes
+as wide as 1-1/2 inches. A variant of the ware is represented in a milk
+pan with a dominantly red body which has a clear-amber, rather than
+black, glaze. (USNM 59.1887, ills. 17, 18, and 19 and fig. 65).
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 10.--Milk pan. Salmon-red earthenware.
+Lustrous black lead glaze. Tidewater type. One-fourth. (USNM 59.1961.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 11.--Milk pan. Salmon-red earthenware.
+Dull-brown glaze. Tidewater type. See figure 63a. One-fourth. (USNM
+59.2039.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 12.--Ale mug. Salmon-red earthenware.
+Lustrous black lead glaze. Tidewater type. See figure 63d. One-half.
+(USNM 59.2043.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 13.--Cover of jar (profile). Salmon-red
+earthenware. Brownish-black lead glaze. Tidewater type. Same size. (USNM
+59.2013.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 14.--Base of bowl. Salmon-red earthenware.
+Light reddish-brown glaze speckled with black. Virginia type. One-half.
+See figure 63b. (USNM 59.2025.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 15.--Handle of pot lid or oven door. North
+Devon gravel-tempered ware. One-half. (USNM 59.1679.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 16.--Buff-earthenware cup with combed
+decoration in brown slip. Lead glaze. (Conjectural reconstruction.)
+One-fourth. See figure 64c. (USNM 59.1700.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 17.--High-fired earthenware pan rim. Buff
+paste laminated with red. Red slip on exterior. Black glaze inside. Type
+made in Buckley, Flintshire, North Wales. One-half.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 64.--MISCELLANEOUS COMMON EARTHENWARE TYPES,
+probably all imported from England: a, "molded-rim" types of redware; b,
+handle of large redware storage jar, probably English; c, base of
+brown-striped Staffordshire yellowware cup; d, sherd of black-glazed
+ware; e and f, two slip-decorated sherds; g, redware crimped-edge baking
+pan, coated with slip; and h, slip-lined manganese-streaked sherds.]
+
+
+MISCELLANEOUS.--Several unique specimens and groups of sherds are
+represented:
+
+1. A large, outstanding, horizontal, loop handle survives from a storage
+jar with a rich red body. Two thumb-impressed reinforcements, splayed at
+each end, secure the handle to the body wall. The top of the handle has
+four finger impressions for gripping; the lead glaze appears in a finely
+speckled ginger color (USNM 59.2049, fig. 64b).
+
+2. A single fragment remains from a slip-decorated bowl or open vessel.
+The body is hard and dark red, the glaze dark olive-brown. The fragment
+is glazed and slipped on both sides (USNM 59.1614, fig. 64e). Other
+small sherds of a similar ware are redder in color and without slip.
+Another, with lighter red body and olive-amber glaze, is slip decorated
+(USNM 60.161, fig. 64f).
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 19.--Rim and base profiles of
+high-fired-earthenware jars. Buff paste, laminated with red. Black
+glaze. Buckley type, Flintshire, North Wales. One-half. (USNM 59.2032,
+59.1611, and 59.1782.)]
+
+3. A unique sherd has a gray-buff body and shiny black glaze on both
+surfaces (USNM 59.1815).
+
+4. A group of pale-red unglazed fragments is from the bottom of a water
+cooler. A sherd which preserves parts of the base and lower body wall
+has a hole in which a spigot could be inserted (USNM 59.2061, ill. 20).
+
+5. Fragments of a flowerpot have a body similar to the foregoing, but
+are lined with slip under a lead glaze. A rim fragment has an ear handle
+with thumb-impressed indentations attached to it (USNM 60.203, ill. 21).
+
+6. Two sherds of a redware pie plate, notched on the edge and lined with
+overglazed slip decorated with brown manganese dots, imitate
+Staffordshire yellowware, but are probably of American origin (USNM
+59.1612, fig. 64g).
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 18.--High-fired-earthenware jar rim. Red
+paste, laminated with buff. Black glaze. Buckley type. One-half. (USNM
+59.2067.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 20.--Base sherd from unglazed
+red-earthenware water cooler, with spigot hole. One-half. (USNM
+59.2061.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 21.--Rim of an earthenware flowerpot, handle
+with thumb impressions attached. Slip-decorated, olive-amber lead glaze.
+One-fourth. (USNM 60.203.)]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [173] WATKINS and NOËL HUME, op. cit. (footnote 54).
+
+    [174] C. MALCOLM WATKINS, "North Devon Pottery and Its Export
+    to America in the 17th Century," (paper 13 in _Contributions
+    from the Museum of History and Technology: Papers 12-18_,
+    U.S. National Museum Bulletin 225, by various authors;
+    Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1963), 1960.
+
+    [175] The Russell site was excavated by members of the Sussex
+    Archeological Society of Lewes, Delaware. Artifacts from the
+    site are now in the Smithsonian Institution, as are those
+    found by H. Geiger Omwake at the end of the Lewes and
+    Rehoboth Canal.
+
+    [176] JOHN ELIOT HODGKINS, F.S.A., and EDITH HODGKINS,
+    _Examples of Early English Pottery, Named, Dated, and
+    Inscribed_ (London, 1897), p. 57, fig. 128.
+
+    [177] J. E. MESSHAM, B.A., and K. J. BARTON, "The Buckley
+    Potteries," _Flintshire Historical Society Publications_,
+    vol. 16, pp. 31-87.
+
+    [178] GEORGE FRANCIS DOW, _The Arts and Crafts in New
+    England, 1764-1775_ (Topsfield, Mass., 1927), pp. 84, 85, 92.
+
+    [179] MESSHAM and BARTON, loc. cit. (footnote 177).
+
+
+STONEWARE
+
+RHENISH STONEWARES.--The stoneware potters who worked in the vicinity of
+Grenzhausen in the Westerwald in a tributary of the Rhine Valley held a
+far-flung market until the mid-18th century. It was not until the
+Staffordshire potters brought out their own salt-glazed whitewares that
+the colorful blue-and-gray German products suffered a decline. Before
+that, Rhenish stonewares were widely used in England and the colonies;
+those for the British market frequently were decorated with medallions
+in which the reigning English monarch's initial appeared. Elaborate
+incising and blue-cobalt coloring gave a highly decorative character to
+the ware, while salt thrown into the kiln during the firing combined
+with the clay to provide a hard, clean surface matched only by
+porcelain.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 65.--BUCKLEY-TYPE HIGH-FIRED WARE with laminated
+body. Four pieces at top have predominantly red body, streaked with
+buff. All have black glaze, except two at lower right, which have amber
+glaze.]
+
+John Mercer, like so many of his fellow colonials, owned Westerwald
+stoneware. From Ledger G, we know that in 1743 he bought "2 blew & W^t
+Jugs 2/." From the artifacts it is clear that he not only had large
+globose jugs, but also numerous cylindrical mugs and chamber pots. A
+small group of sherds has a gray-buff paste, more intricately incised
+than most. Internally the paste surface is a light-pinkish buff. These
+sherds are probably of the late 17th century, or at least earlier than
+the predominantly gray wares of the 18th century, which have hastily
+executed designs.[180] Only two "GR" emblems (_Guglielmus_ or _Georgius
+Rex_), both from mugs, were recovered (fig. 66d).
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 22.--Base of gray-brown,
+salt-glazed-stoneware ale mug. Rust-brown slip inside. Same size. (USNM
+59.1780.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 23.--Stoneware jug fragment. Dull red with
+black dots. Same size. (USNM 59.1840.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 24.--Gray, salt-glazed-stoneware jar
+profile. Probably first quarter, 19th century. Same size. (USNM
+59.1615.)]
+
+MISCELLANEOUS GRAY-AND-BROWN SALT-GLAZED STONEWARE.--The shop of William
+Rogers apparently made stoneware of fine quality in the style of the
+London stoneware produced in the Thames-side potteries.[181] Wasters
+from Yorktown streets and foundations indicate many varieties of colors
+and glaze textures, some of which are matched in the Marlborough sherds.
+Admittedly, it is not possible to distinguish with certainty the
+fragments of Yorktown stoneware from their English counterparts. Sherds
+of a pint mug, externally gray in the lower half and mottled-brown in
+the upper, may be a Yorktown product (USNM 59.1780, ill. 22). The
+interior is a rusty brown. Fragments of the shoulder of a very large
+jug, mottled-brown externally and lined in a dull red like that often
+found on Yorktown wasters, also have body resemblances. (Mercer bought a
+five-gallon "stone bottle" from Charles Dick in 1745.)
+
+[Illustration: Figure 66.--WESTERWALD STONEWARE: a, chamber-pot sherds
+and handle fragments; b, sherds having yellowish body, probably late
+17th or early 18th century; c, sherds of curve-sided flagon; d, sherds
+of cylindrical mugs including one with "GR" seal.]
+
+There are numerous other types of coarse stoneware of unknown origins,
+including one sherd with a dull-red glaze and black decorative spots
+(USNM 59.1840, ill. 23).
+
+NOTTINGHAM-TYPE STONEWARE.--Several sherds of stoneware of the type
+usually ascribed to Nottingham appeared at Marlborough. This ware is
+characterized by a smooth, lustrous, metallic-brown glaze. The fragments
+are apparently from different vessels. One is a foot rim of a posset pot
+or jug. Several body sherds have fluting or paneling formed by molding,
+with turning lines on the interior showing that the molding was executed
+after the forms were shaped. One sherd is decorated with shredded clay
+applied before firing when the clay was wet. It appears to come from the
+globose portion of a small drinking jug with a vertical collar. A
+handle section comes from a pitcher or posset pot. Interior colors range
+from a brownish mustard to a reddish brown. Nottingham stoneware was
+made throughout the 18th century,[182] but these sherds correspond to
+middle-of-the-century forms (fig. 67a).
+
+[Illustration: Figure 67.--FINE ENGLISH STONEWARE: a, Nottingham type;
+b, "drab" stoneware covered with white slip--brown-bordered mug sherds
+in _upper left_ came from beneath flagstone north of mansion-house
+porch, about 1725, "scratch-blue" stoneware, _below_, is about 1750; c,
+"degenerate scratch-blue" stoneware is about 1790; d, "white salt-glaze"
+ware _at bottom_ is hand-thrown; _upper right_ is molded, about 1760; e,
+plate and platter fragments.]
+
+DRAB STONEWARE.--The dominant position attained by the Staffordshire
+potters in the 18th century is due to unremitting efforts to achieve the
+whiteness of porcelain in their native products. Improvements in
+stoneware were mostly in this direction, with the first steps plainly
+evidencing what they failed to achieve. One of the earlier attempts has
+a gray body coated with white pipe-clay slip obtained at Bideford in
+North Devon. This slip created the superficial appearance of porcelain,
+as did tin enamel on the surface of delftware. Although some Burslem
+potters were making "dipped white stoneware" by 1710,[183] it does not
+seem to have occurred generally until about 1725. Salt glaze was applied
+in the same manner as on the earlier and coarser stonewares. Mugs in
+this ware were banded with an iron-oxide slip, presumably to cover up
+defects around the rims.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 68.--ENGLISH DELFTWARE: a, 17th- and early
+18th-century sherds; b, blue-and-white sherd of the first half of the
+18th century; c, polychrome fragments, third quarter of the 18th
+century; d, ointment pots with pink body, 18th century.]
+
+Several sherds of this drab stoneware were found at Marlborough,
+including the base of a jug with curving sides and pieces of tall mugs
+with brown rims (USNM 59.1893, fig. 67b, ill. 25). The body is
+characteristically gray, while the slip, although sometimes dull white,
+is usually a pleasant cream tone. Two sherds were found beneath the
+flagstones around the north porch of Structure B, where they probably
+fell before 1746 (USNM 59.1754).
+
+One of the Burslem stoneware potters between 1710 and 1715 made what he
+called "freckled ware."[184] Possibly this describes a sherd of a
+thin-walled mug from Marlborough (USNM 59.1636) which is coated with
+white slip inside and is finely speckled, or "freckled," in brown on the
+outside. Its body is the gray of the drab stoneware, but with a high
+content of micaceous and siliceous sand. Simeon Shaw, the early
+19th-century historian of the Staffordshire potteries, asserted that
+what he called "Crouch" ware was first made of brick clay and fine sand
+in 1690, and by 1702 of dark-gray clay and sand.[185] Although his dates
+are questioned by modern authorities, his order of the progressive
+degrees of refinement in the paste are acceptable as he suggests them.
+In respect to the Marlborough sherd, although it is coarser than the
+white-coated fragments described above, it answers very well Shaw's
+description of sandy-gray "Crouch" ware.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 25.--Drab-stoneware mug fragment, rim coated
+with iron oxide. Staffordshire, 1720-30. Same size. (USNM 59.1893.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 26.--Wheel-turned cover of white,
+salt-glazed teapot. Staffordshire. Same size. (USNM 59.1622.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 27.--Body sherds of molded, white
+salt-glazed-ware pitcher or milk jug. Staffordshire. Same size. (USNM
+59.1894.)]
+
+WHITE SALT-GLAZED WARE.--About 1720 calcined flints were added to the
+body of the Staffordshire stoneware, thus making possible a homogeneous
+white body that did not require a coating of slip between the body and
+the glazed surface.[186] With this ware the Staffordshire potters came
+closer to their goal of emulating porcelain.
+
+At Marlborough the earliest examples of this improved ware are found in
+two sherds with incised decorations that were scratched into the wet
+clay (USNM 59.1819, Fig. 67b); the incised lines next were filled with
+powdered cobalt before firing. This technique is known as "scratch
+blue," dated examples of which, existing elsewhere, range from 1724 to
+1767. The body in the Marlborough specimens is still rather drab, the
+whiteness of the later ware not yet having been achieved. No slip was
+used, however, so that the surface color is a pleasant pale gray. One
+sherd is from a cup with a slightly flaring rim. The exterior decoration
+is in the form of floral sprigs, while the inside has a row of
+double-scalloped lines below the rim. The other fragment is from a
+saucer. Possibly the cup is part of Mercer's purchase in 1742 of a dozen
+"Stone Coffee cups," for which he paid 18d. In Boston "White stone
+Tea-Cups and Saucers" were advertised in 1745, and "blue and white ...
+Stone Ware" in 1751.[187]
+
+A later variant on the "scratch blue" is a class of salt-glazed ware
+that resembles Westerwald stoneware. Here loops, sworls, and horizontal
+grooves are scratched into the paste. The cobalt is smeared more or less
+at random, some of it lying on the surface, some running into the
+incised channels. This style of decoration was applied mostly to chamber
+pots but also to small bowls and cups. Fragments of all these forms
+occurred at Marlborough (fig. 67c).
+
+After 1740 the body was greatly improved, resulting in an attractive
+whiteware. Many wheel-turned forms were produced, and these were
+liberally represented at Marlborough in fragments of pitchers, mugs,
+teapots, teacups, bowls, posset pots, and casters (fig. 67d).
+
+[Illustration: Figure 69.--DELFT PLATE. Lambeth, about 1720. (See ill.
+29.)]
+
+In the middle of the 18th century a process was developed for making
+multiple plaster-of-paris molds from brass or alabaster matrices[188]
+and then casting plates and other vessels in them by pouring in the
+stoneware clay, diluted in the form of slip. The slip was allowed to
+dry, and the formed utensil was removed for firing. This molded
+salt-glazed ware occurs in quantity in the Marlborough finds, suggesting
+that there were large sets of it. One design predominates in plates,
+platters, and soup dishes: wavy edges, borders consisting of panels of
+diagonal lattices--with stars or dots within the lattices framed in
+rococo scrolls, and areas of basket-weave designs between the panels. On
+a large platter rim the lattice-work is plain, somewhat reminiscent of
+so-called Chinese Chippendale design. The pattern is presumably the
+design referred to in the _Boston News Letter_ for May 29, 1764: "To be
+sold very cheap. Two or three Crates of white Stone Ware, consisting
+chiefly of the new fashioned basket Plates and Oblong Dishes."[189] One
+fragment comes from a cake plate with this border design and a heavily
+decorated center (fig. 67e).
+
+[Illustration: Figure 70.--DELFT PLATE. Probably Lambeth, about 1730 to
+1740. (See ill. 30.)]
+
+Other molded patterns include gadrooning combined with scalloping on a
+plate-rim sherd. A rim section with molded rococo-scrolled edge is from
+a "basket weave" sauceboat. Considerably earlier are pieces of a pitcher
+or milk jug with a shell design (USNM 59.1894, ill. 27). One rare sherd
+appears to come from a rectangular teapot or tray. All the white
+salt-glazed ware from Marlborough represents the serviceable but
+decorative tableware of everyday use. It must have been purchased during
+the last 10 years of Mercer's life.
+
+TIN-ENAMELED EARTHENWARE.--The art of glazing earthenware with opaque
+tin oxide and decorating it with colorful designs was an Islamic
+innovation which spread throughout the Mediterranean and northward to
+Holland and England. Practiced in England before the close of the 16th
+century, it became in the 17th and the first half of the 18th centuries
+a significant source of English tableware, both at home and in America.
+Because of its close similarity to the Dutch majolica of Delft, the
+English version was popularly called "delftware," even though made in
+London, Bristol, or Liverpool.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 28.--English-delftware washbowl sherd.
+Blue-dash decoration inside. See figure 68b. Same size. (USNM 60.75.)]
+
+Surprisingly, a minimum of tin-enameled wares was found at Marlborough,
+with several sherds reflecting the Port Town period. One of the latter
+shows the lower portion of a heavy, dark-blue floral spray, growing up,
+apparently, from a flowerpot. A section of foot rim and the contour of
+the sherd show that this was a 17th-century charger, probably dating
+from about 1680 (USNM 60.177, fig. 68a). The leaves are painted in the
+same manner as on a Lambeth fuddling cup.[190] A section of a plate with
+no foot rim includes an inner border which encircles the central panel
+design. It consists of two parallel lines with flattened spirals joined
+in a series between the lines. The glaze is crackled. This probably
+dates from the same period as the preceding sherd (USNM 60.99, fig.
+68a). Sherds from a larger specimen, without decoration, have the same
+crackled enamel (USNM 59.2059). There is also a fragment decorated with
+small, blue, fernlike fronds, again suggesting late 17th-century origin
+(USNM 59.1756, fig. 68a). A small handle, the glaze of which has a
+pinkish cast, is decorated with blue dashes, and probably was part of a
+late 17th-century cup (USNM 59.1730, fig. 68a).
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 29.--English delftware plate. One-half. See
+figure 69. (USNM 59.1707.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 30.--English delftware plate. One-half. See
+figure 70. (USNM 59.1706.)]
+
+Several fragments of narrow rims from plates with blue bands probably
+date from the first quarter of the 18th century. A reconstructed plate
+with the simplest of stylized decoration was made at Lambeth about 1720
+(USNM 59.1707, fig. 69). This plate has a wavy vine motif around its
+upward-flaring rim, in which blossoms are suggested by stylized pyramids
+of three to four blocks formed by brush strokes about 1/4-inch wide,
+alternating with single blocks. The central motif consists of two
+crossed stems with a pyramid at each end and two diagonal, block brush
+strokes intersecting the crossed stems. A large fragment of a washstand
+bowl also has similar plain, block brush strokes along a border defined
+by horizontal lines--in this case a triplet of three strokes, one above
+two, alternating with a single block. Edges of similar brush strokes on
+the lower portion of the bowl remain on the fragment. Garner shows a
+Lambeth mug embodying this style of decoration combined with a
+suggestion of Chinoiserie around the waist. He ascribes to it a date of
+"about 1700," although the block-brush-stroke device, with variations,
+was practiced until the 1760's at Lambeth.[191] The Marlborough bowl
+fragment may be from one of the "2 pottle Basons" bought by Mercer in
+1744 (fig. 68b, ill. 28).
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 31.--Delftware ointment pot. Bluish-white
+tin-enamel glaze. One-half. (USNM 59.1842.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 32.--Sherds of black basaltes ware. Same
+size. (USNM 59.2021.)]
+
+Another reconstructed plate, probably a Lambeth piece, has blue
+decoration in the Chinese manner. It dates from about 1730 to 1740 (USNM
+59.1706, fig. 70). Several small bowl sherds seem to range from the
+early to the middle 18th century. Polychrome delft is represented by
+only three sherds, all apparently from bowls, and none well enough
+defined to permit identification.
+
+There are several fragments of ointment pots, all 18th-century in shape.
+Three sherds of tin-enameled redware are probably continental European.
+Two of these have counterparts from early 17th-century contexts at
+Jamestown. A blue-decorated handle sherd from a large jug or posset pot
+is also 17th century.
+
+The predominance of early dating of tin-enamel sherds and the relatively
+few examples of it from any period suggest that much of what was found
+either was used in the Port Town or was inherited by the Mercers,
+probably by Catherine, and used when they were first married. It also
+points up the fact that delftware early went out of fashion among
+well-to-do families.
+
+ENGLISH FINE EARTHENWARES.--The fine earthen tablewares introduced in
+Staffordshire early in the 18th century, largely in response to the new
+tea-drinking customs, are less well represented in the Marlborough
+artifacts than are those made later in the century. Apparently, the
+contemporary white salt-glazed ware was preferred.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 71.--WHIELDON-TYPE tortoiseshell ware, about
+1760.]
+
+MARBLED WARE.--The Staffordshire factories of Thomas Astbury and Thomas
+Whieldon were responsible for numerous innovations, including fine
+"marbled" wares in which clays of different colors were mixed together
+so as to form a veined surface. The technique itself was an old one, but
+its application in delicate tablewares was a novelty. Although Astbury
+was the earlier, it was Whieldon who exploited the technique after
+starting his potworks at Little Fenton about 1740.[192] From Marlborough
+come three meager sherds of marbled ware, probably from three
+different vessels (USNM 59.1625, 59.1748, 59.1851). They are brownish
+red with white veining under an amber lead glaze. A posset pot of these
+colors in the Victoria and Albert Museum is supposed, by Rackham, to
+date from about 1740.[193]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 72.--QUEENSWARE, about 1800.]
+
+BLACK-GLAZED FINE REDWARE.--Whieldon made a black-glazed, fine redware,
+as did Maurice Thursfield at Jackfield in Shropshire.[194] A fragment of
+a black-glazed teapot handle was found at Marlborough, although the
+body is more nearly a hard grayish brown than red (USNM 59.1638).
+
+TORTOISESHELL WARE.--Cream-colored earthenware was introduced as early
+as 1725, supposedly by Thomas Astbury, Jr. It was not until the middle
+of the century, however, that Whieldon began the use of clouded glaze
+colors over a cream-colored body. After 1756 Josiah Wedgwood became his
+partner and helped to perfect the coloring of glazes. In 1759 Wedgwood
+established his own factory, and both firms made tortoiseshell ware in
+the same molds used for making salt-glazed whiteware.[195] From
+Marlborough there are several sherds of gadroon-edge plates and
+basket-weave-and-lattice plates, as well as a piece of a teapot cover.
+Tortoiseshell ware was advertised in Boston newspapers from 1754 to 1772
+(fig. 71).[196]
+
+QUEENSWARE.--Josiah Wedgwood brought to perfection the creamware body
+about 1765, naming it "Queensware" after receiving Queen Charlotte's
+patronage. Wedgwood took out no patents, so that a great many factories
+followed suit, notably Humble, Green & Company at Leeds in Yorkshire
+(later Hartley, Green & Company).[197]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 73.--FRAGMENT OF QUEENSWARE PLATTER with portion
+of Wedgwood mark.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 74.--ENGLISH WHITE EARTHENWARES: a, "pearlware"
+with blue-and-white chinoiserie decoration, late 18th century; b, two
+whiteware sherds, one "sponged" in blue and touched with yellow, the
+other "sponged" in gray; c, shell-edge and polychrome wares, early 19th
+century; and d, polychrome Chinese porcelain.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 75.--POLYCHROME Chinese porcelain.]
+
+The Marlborough creamware sherds are all plain (with one exception),
+consisting of fragments of wavy-edge plates, bowls, and platters in
+Wedgwood's "Catherine shape," introduced about 1770, as well as mugs and
+pitchers (fig. 72). A piece of a large platter has impressed in it the
+letters WEDG, running up to the fracture. Below this is the number 1
+(USNM 59.1997, fig. 73).
+
+WHITEWARES USED IN THE FEDERAL PERIOD.--During the late 1770's Wedgwood
+introduced his "pearlware,"[198] in which the yellow cast of the cream
+body was offset by a touch of blue. With the use of a nearly colorless
+glaze that was still slightly bluish, it was now possible to make a
+successful underglaze-blue decoration. These whitewares were made in
+three principal styles by Wedgwood's many imitators, as well as by
+Wedgwood himself. The most familiar of these styles is the molded
+shell-edge ware, which was used in virtually every place to which
+Staffordshire wares penetrated after 1800. In a plain creamware version,
+this was another Wedgwood innovation of about 1765.[199] After 1780, the
+ware was white, with blue or green borders. The Wedgwood shell-edge
+design has a slightly wavy edge, and the shell ridges vary in depth and
+length. At least one Leeds version has a regular scalloped edge, like
+those found on several other Marlborough sherds. In the 19th century the
+ware became coarser and heavier, as well as whiter, and in some cases
+the shell edge was no longer actually molded but simply suggested by a
+painted border. Some variants were introduced that were not intended to
+be shell edge in design, but merely blue or green molded patterns. A
+Marlborough sherd from one of these has a gadrooned edge and molded
+swags and palmettes. Except for two late rims, painted but not molded,
+the shell-edge wares from Marlborough probably date from John Francis
+Mercer's period in the late 1700's and from John Bronaugh's occupancy of
+the mansion during the Cooke period in the first decade of the 19th
+century (fig. 74c).
+
+[Illustration: Figure 76.--BLUE-AND-WHITE Chinese porcelain.]
+
+The success of the new whiteware in permitting the use of underglaze
+blue resulted in a second class that is decorated in the Chinese
+manner, after the style of English delft and porcelain. This type was
+popular between 1780 and 1790, especially in the United States, where
+many whole specimens have survived above ground. Several sherds are
+among the Marlborough artifacts and appear to have come entirely from
+hollow forms, such as bowls and pitchers.[200] Sherds from a
+blue-and-white mug with molded designs, including the shell motif around
+the handle, have been found also.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 77.--BLUE-AND-WHITE Chinese porcelain.]
+
+The third class of whiteware, which was heavily favored in the export
+trade, consisted of a gay, hand-decorated product, popular at the end of
+the 18th, and well into the 19th, century. It had pleasing variety, with
+floral designs in soft orange, green, brown, and blue, often with brown
+or green borders. A few examples of this later whiteware occur among the
+Marlborough artifacts (fig. 74b). One sherd from a small bowl is mottled
+in blue and touched with yellow (USNM 59.1805, fig. 74b). Another is
+also mottled, but in gray and blue. Such wares as the latter were made
+by Hartley, Green & Company at Leeds before the factory's demise in 1820
+(USNM 59.1950, fig. 74b).[201]
+
+The transfer-printed wares that were so popular in America after 1820
+are represented by a mere eight sherds, which is in accord with evidence
+that the mansion house was unoccupied or destroyed after 1819. Of these
+sherds, only five can be dated before 1830. Two are pink,
+transfer-printed sherds of about 1835-45, and one is gray-blue, dating
+from about 1840-1850.
+
+BLACK BASALTES WARE.--Another late 18th-century innovation by Wedgwood,
+imitated by his competitors, was a fine stoneware with a black body,
+called black basaltes because of its resemblance to that mineral. A few
+sherds of this were found at Marlborough. Typically, they are glazed on
+the insides only. They postdate John Mercer by twenty or thirty years.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 33.--Blue-and-white Chinese-porcelain saucer
+(fig. 76, top left). One-half.]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 34.--Blue-and-white Chinese-porcelain plate
+(fig. 77, top left). One-fourth. (USNM 60.122.)]
+
+CHINESE PORCELAIN.--Oriental porcelain was introduced to the English
+colonies at a very early date, as we know from 17th-century contexts at
+Jamestown. As early as 1725 John Mercer acquired "1 China Punch bowl."
+Presumably the "6 tea cups & Sawcers," "2 chocolate cups," and "2
+custard cups" obtained by him the same year were also porcelain. Even
+before 1740, porcelain was occurring with increasing frequency in
+America. We are told that in 1734, for example, it can be calculated
+that about one million pieces of it left Canton for Europe.[202]
+Doubtless a large proportion was reexported to the colonists. William
+Walker, Mercer's undertaker for the mansion, left at his death in 1750:
+"1 Crack'd China bowl," "1 Quart Bowl 6/, 1 large D^o 12.6," "6 China
+cups & Sawcers 5/," and "12 China plates 15/."
+
+It is not surprising, therefore, that 18th-century China-trade porcelain
+sherds occurred with high incidence at Marlborough. Mercer's accounts
+show that he acquired from Charles Dick in 1745 "1 Sett finest China"
+and "2 punch bowls." From the archeological evidence it would appear
+that he had supplemented this several times over, perhaps after 1750 in
+the period for which we have no ledgers.
+
+Most of the porcelain is blue and white. One group has cloudy, blurred
+houses and trees, impressionistic landscapes, and flying birds. This
+pattern occurs in fragments of teacups, small bowls, and a coffee cup.
+Another type has a border of diamonds within diamonds, elaborate floral
+designs delicately drawn, and a fine thin body. Similar sherds were
+found at Rosewell. At Marlborough the design survived in teacups, coffee
+cups, and saucers. There are several additional border designs, some
+associated with Chinese landscape subjects or human figures (figs. 76,
+ill. 24, and fig. 77, ill. 25). A coarse type with a crudely designed
+border hastily filled in with solid blue is represented in a partly
+reconstructed plate (USNM 60.122, fig. 77).
+
+Polychrome porcelain is found in lesser amounts, although in almost as
+much variety. Three sherds of a very large punchbowl are decorated in
+red and blue. Fragments of a small bowl have delicate red medallions
+with small red and black human figures in their centers. Fine borders
+occur in red and black. Gold, yellow, and green floral patterns
+constitute another class (fig. 75).
+
+Almost all the porcelain is of high quality, probably reaching a peak
+during Mercer's middle and prosperous years between 1740 and 1760. We
+cannot expect to find any porcelain purchased after his death in 1768,
+and certainly none appears to be connected with the Federal period or
+with the so-called "Lowestoft" imported in the American China trade
+after the Revolution.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [180] See BERNARD RACKHAM, _Catalogue of the Glaisher
+    Collection of Pottery & Porcelain in the Fitzwilliam Museum,
+    Cambridge_ [England] Cambridge, England: (Cambridge
+    University Press, 1935), vol. 2, pl. 150 B no. 2053; and vol.
+    1, p. 264.
+
+    [181] I. NOËL HUME, "Excavations at Rosewell, Gloucester
+    County, Virginia, 1957-1959," (paper 18 in _Contributions
+    from the Museum of History and Technology: Papers 12-18_,
+    U.S. National Museum Bulletin 225, by various authors;
+    Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1963), 1962. J. PAUL
+    HUDSON, "Earliest Yorktown Pottery," _Antiques_ (New York,
+    May 1958), vol. 73, no. 5, pp. 472-473; WATKINS and NOËL
+    HUME, loc. cit. (footnote 173).
+
+    [182] RACKHAM, op. cit. (footnote 180), vol. 1, p. 158.
+
+    [183] W. B. HONEY, "English Salt Glazed Stoneware,"
+    [abstract] _English Ceramic Circle Transactions_ (London,
+    1933), no. 1, p. 14.
+
+    [184] Ibid.
+
+    [185] Ibid.; BERNARD RACKHAM, _Early Staffordshire Pottery_
+    (London, n.d.), p. 20.
+
+    [186] BERNARD RACKHAM and HERBERT READ, _English Pottery_
+    (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1924), p. 88.
+
+    [187] DOW, op. cit. (footnote 178), pp. 86-87.
+
+    [188] RACKHAM, op. cit. (footnote 185), p. 92.
+
+    [189] DOW, op. cit. (footnote 178), p. 92.
+
+    [190] A. M. GARNER, _English Delftware_ (New York: D. Van
+    Nostrand and Co., Inc., 1948), fig. 23B.
+
+    [191] Ibid., fig. 37.
+
+    [192] RACKHAM, op. cit. (footnote 185), p. 28.
+
+    [193] Ibid., pl. 57.
+
+    [194] RACKHAM and READ, op. cit. (footnote 186), p. 96.
+
+    [195] Ibid., p. 97.
+
+    [196] DOW, op. cit. (footnote 178), pp. 85-95.
+
+    [197] RACKHAM, op. cit. (footnote 185), p. 29; RACKHAM and
+    READ, op. cit. (footnote 186), pp. 107-109.
+
+    [198] W. B. HONEY, _English Pottery and Porcelain_ (London:
+    1947), p. 89. [F99] _Wedgwood Catalogue of Bodies, Glazes and
+    Shapes Current for 1940-1960_ (Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent:
+    Warwick Savage, n.d.), pp. M1, M2.
+
+    [200] "The Editor's Attic" and cover: _Antiques_ (New York,
+    June 1928), vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 474-475.
+
+    [201] RACKHAM and READ, op. cit. (footnote 186), p. 110.
+
+    [202] J. A. LLOYD HYDE, _Oriental Lowestoft_ (New York:
+    Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936), p. 23.
+
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+_Glass_
+
+
+BOTTLES
+
+ROUND BEVERAGE BOTTLES.--Bottles of dark-green glass were used in the
+colonial period for wine, beer, rum, and other potables. Although some
+wines and liquors were shipped in the bottle, they were distributed for
+the most part in casks, hogsheads, and "pipes" before 1750. John Mercer
+recorded the purchases of several pipes of wine--kinds unspecified--a
+pipe being a large or even double-size hogshead. He purchased rum by the
+gallon, in quantities that ranged from 2 quarts in 1744 to "5 galls
+Barbadoes Spirits" in 1745 and a "hhd 107-1/2 gall Rum" in 1748.
+
+Bottles were used largely for household storage and for the serving of
+liquors. They were kept filled in the buttery as a convenience against
+going to the cellar each time a drink was wanted. Bottles usually were
+brought directly to the table,[203] although the clear-glass decanter
+was apparently regarded as a more genteel dispenser. Mercer, like his
+contemporaries, bought his own bottles, as when he purchased "2 doz
+bottles" from John Foward in 1730. The previous year he had acquired a
+gross of corks, which would customarily have been inserted in his
+bottles and secured by covering with cloth, tying around the lips or
+string rings with packthread, and sealing with warm resin and pitch.
+
+Some wines were purchased in the bottle. In 1726 Mercer bought "2 doz &
+8 bottles Claret" and "1 doz Canary" from Alexander McFarlane. In 1745
+he charged Overwharton Parish for "2 bottles Claret to Acquia,"
+apparently for communion wine. Whether all this was shipped from the
+vineyards in bottles, or whether Mercer brought his own bottles to be
+filled from the storekeepers' casks is not revealed.
+
+An insight into the kinds of alcoholic drinks consumed in Virginia in
+Mercer's early period is given in the official price-list for the sale
+of alcoholic beverages set forth in the York County Court Orders in
+1726:[204]
+
+This Court do Sett the Rate Liquors as followeth:
+
+                               £    s.    d.
+  Liquors
+  Rated
+
+  Each diet                         1
+
+  Lodging for each person                 7-1/2
+
+  Stable Room & Fodder
+    for each horse p^r night             11-1/4
+
+  Each Gallon corn                        7-1/2
+
+  Wine of Virg^a produce
+    p Quart                         5
+
+  French Brandy p Quart             4
+
+  Sherry & Canary Wine
+    p Quart                         4     4-1/2
+
+  Red & white Lisbon p^r
+    Quart & Claret                  3     1-1/2
+
+  Madera Wine p Quart               1    10-1/2
+
+  Fyall wine p Quart                1     3
+
+  French Brandy Punch
+    p Quart                         2
+
+  Rum & Virg^a Brandy
+    p^r Quart                             3-3/4
+
+  Rum punch & flip p^r
+    Quart 7-1/2^d made with
+    white sugar                           9
+
+  Virg^a midling beer &
+    Syder p^r Quart                       3-3/4
+
+  Fine bottled Syder p^r
+    Quart                           1     3
+
+  Bristoll Beer Bottles             1
+
+  Arrack p^r Quart                 10
+
+[Illustration: Figure 78.--WINE BOTTLE, sealed with initials of John and
+Catherine Mercer, dated 1737 (see p. 148). Found in Structure D refuse
+pit. Height, 8 inches. (See also ill. 37.)]
+
+It will be noted that Bristol beer was sold by the bottle, probably just
+as it was shipped, and "Fine bottled Syder" apparently came in quart
+bottles. Probably the wines were dispensed from casks in wine measures.
+Mercer bought Citron water in bottles, a half dozen at a time, as he did
+"Mint, Orange flower & Tansey D^o," in 1744.
+
+Round beverage bottles ranged in shape from, roughly, the form of a
+squat onion at the beginning of the 18th century to narrow cylindrical
+bottles towards the end of the century. The earliest bottles were
+free-blown without the constraint of a mold, hence there were many
+variations in shape. After about 1730 bottles were blown into crude clay
+molds which imparted a roughly cylindrical or taper-sided contour below
+sloping shoulders and necks. These marked the first recognition of
+binning as a way of storing wines in bottles laid on their sides. About
+1750 the Bristol glasshouses introduced cylindrical brass molds.[205]
+From then on the problem of stacking bottles in bins was solved and
+virtually all round beverage bottles thenceforward were cylindrical with
+long necks.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 35.--Beverage bottle. First quarter, 18th
+century. Reconstruction based on whole bottle found at Rosewell.
+One-half. (USNM 59.1717.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 36.--Above, beverage-bottle seal, with
+initials of John and Catherine Mercer, matching the tobacco-cask mark
+used for tobacco grown at the "home plantation" (Marlborough). See
+figures 8 and 79. Same size. (USNM 59.1689.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 37.--At right, complete beverage bottle,
+dated 1737, with initials of John and Catherine Mercer (fig. 78). Same
+size. (USNM 59.1688.)]
+
+At Marlborough the earliest form of wine bottle is represented by a
+squat neck and a base fragment (USNM 59.1717, ill. 35), both matching
+onion-shaped bottles of the turn of the century, such as one excavated
+at Rosewell (USNM 60.660). Except for these fragments, the oldest form
+from Marlborough may be seen in the complete bottle found in refuse pit
+D (USNM 59.1688; fig. 78, ill. 37). This bottle is typical of the
+transitional form, sealed examples of which regularly occur bearing
+dates in the 1730's. Its sides are straight for about three inches above
+the curve of the base, tapering slightly to the irregular shoulder that
+curves in and up to a neck with wedge-shaped string ring. Two inches
+above the base is a seal, bearing the initials I^[C.]M above a
+decorative device and the date 1737. The arrangement of initials exactly
+matches that found on Mercer's tobacco-cask seals (p. 30 and footnote
+89) indicating the "home plantation" at Marlborough.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 79.--BOTTLE SEALS. (See ill. 36.)]
+
+Seals were applied by dropping a gather of glass on the hot surface of a
+newly blown bottle, then pressing into this deposit of glass a brass
+stamp bearing a design, initials, date, etc. Three similar seals from
+broken bottles also were found. The same arrangement of initials, but
+with no date or device of any kind, occurs on seven different seals
+(fig. 79, ills. 36 and 37).
+
+The diameter of the base of the sealed beverage bottle is 5-1/2 inches,
+the widest diameter occurring on any bottle fragments from Marlborough,
+excepting the early specimen mentioned above. Bases in gradually
+decreasing dimensions vary from this size to 2-3/4 inches. Six bases run
+from 5 inches to 5-1/2 inches; 11 are over 4-1/2 inches and up to 5
+inches; 4 are over 4 inches and up to 4-1/2 inches; 3 are over 3-1/2
+inches and up to 4 inches; none, except the smallest of 2-3/4 inches,
+found in a mid-19th-century deposit, is less than 3-3/4 inches.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [203] LADY SHEELAH RUGGLES-BRISE, _Sealed Bottles_ (London:
+    Country Life, Ltd.; New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1949),
+    p. 18.
+
+    [204] _York County (Virginia) Orders & Wills 1716-1726_ (in
+    York County courthouse, Yorktown, Va.), no. 15, p. 571.
+
+    [205] "Old English Wine Bottles," _The Wine and Spirit Trade
+    Record_ (London, December 17, 1951), pp. 1570-1571.
+
+
+BEVERAGE-BOTTLE BASES
+
+  _USNM_   _Inches in_
+   _No._    _Diameter_       _Provenience_
+
+  59.1688     5-1/2     Refuse pit D
+  59.1717     6         Structure F, firing chamber
+  59.1717     4-1/2     Structure F, firing chamber
+  59.1717     4-3/4     Structure F, firing chamber
+  59.1717     4-7/8     Structure F, firing chamber
+  59.1717     5         Structure F, firing chamber
+  59.1717     5-1/8     Structure F, firing chamber
+  59.1793     2-3/4     S.W. corner, Structure B
+  59.1870     5-1/4     Wall D, trench
+  59.1918     4         Structure E, N. side, Room X
+  59.1921     3-3/4     Debris area, N.E. corner, Structure E
+  59.1957     5         Structure F, N.E. corner of pavement
+  59.1957     5         Structure F, N.E. corner of pavement
+  59.1998     4-3/4     Structure E, N. of fireplace, Room X
+  59.1998     4-3/4     Structure E, N. of fireplace, Room X
+  59.2007     3-7/8     North of Structure E, lowest level
+  59.2007     4-1/4     North of Structure E, lowest level
+  60.83       4-1/2     Wall E, gateway
+  60.103      4-3/4     Trench along Wall E
+  60.117      5-1/8     Junction of Walls A-I and A-II
+  60.117      4-5/8     Junction of Walls A-I and A-II
+  60.120      5-1/2     Trash pit no. 2
+  60.123      5-1/2     Trash pit no. 2
+
+
+Since beverage-bottle diameters diminished from about 5 inches in the
+1750's and 1760's to about 4 inches in the 1770's and 1780's and to
+3-1/2 inches in the 1790's and early 1800's, the peak of their incidence
+at Marlborough occurs between 1750 and 1770, the period of greatest
+opulence in the Mercer household.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 38.--Upper left, cylindrical beverage
+bottle, about 1760. One-fourth. (USNM 59.1998.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 39.--Upper right, cylindrical beverage
+bottle, late 18th or early 19th century. One-fourth. (USNM 59.1976,
+59.2007.)]
+
+OCTAGONAL BEVERAGE BOTTLES.--A rarely seen variation from the round
+beverage bottle is a club-shaped, octagonal, molded type with long neck,
+perhaps so shaped in order to permit packing in cases. Cider is said to
+have been put up in such bottles, and it is also possible that brandies
+and liqueurs were delivered in them. A quart-size bottle of this shape
+at Colonial Williamsburg bears the seal "I. Greenhow WmsBgh. 1769."
+Another, purchased in England, in the G. H. Kernodle collection at the
+Smithsonian Institution, also has a seal with the name "Jn^o Collings,
+1736" (USNM 59.2170). A pint-size example, 9 inches high and dated 1736,
+is illustrated in plate 95e in the Wine Trade Loan Exhibition
+catalog.[206] A restored bottle of this form from Marlborough (USNM
+59.1687, fig. 80, ill. 40) is 8 inches high, but bears no seal. Among
+the glass found at Marlborough are also three bases and other fragments
+of similar bottles.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 40.--Octagonal, pint-size beverage bottle.
+See figure 80. Half size. (USNM 59.1687.)]
+
+SQUARE "GIN" BOTTLES.--Square bottles, usually called "gin" bottles,
+occur in the Marlborough material. Two base sections and lower pieces of
+the flat sides have been partly restored (USNM 59.1685, 59.1686, ill.
+41), and a neck and shoulder have survived. The bases are 4 inches
+square, and the whole bottles were probably about 10 inches high. They
+did not taper but maintained a continuous dimension from shoulder to
+base. The bases, which are rounded on the corners, have a slightly domed
+kick-up with a ring-shaped pontil mark. The glass is olive green. The
+necks are squat--barely 7/8 inch--and have wide string rings midway in
+their length.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 80.--OCTAGONAL SPIRITS BOTTLE.]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 41.--Square gin bottle. One-fourth. (USNM
+59.1686, base; 59.1685, top.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 42.--Square snuff bottle. One-half. See
+figure 81. (USNM 59.1680.)]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 81.--SNUFF BOTTLE. (See ill. 42.)]
+
+Square "gin" bottles were designed for shipment in wooden boxes with
+compartments in which the bottles fit snugly. Although Dutch gin
+customarily was shipped in bottles of this shape, indications are that
+the square bottles may have been used for other purposes than holding
+gin. For one thing, Mercer's ledgers mention no purchases of gin. There
+is, in fact, almost no evidence of the sale of gin in Virginia; a single
+announcement of Holland gin available in Williamsburg in 1752 is the
+exception until 1773, when gin was again advertised in the _Virginia
+Gazette_.[207] Its sale had been prohibited in England in 1736.[208] For
+another thing, square bottles were both imported and manufactured in
+America for sale new. In 1760 the Germantown glassworks in Braintree,
+Massachusetts, made "Round and square Bottles, from one to four Quarts;
+also Cases of Bottles of all Sizes ...,"[209], while George Ball, of New
+York, in 1775 advertised that he imported "Green glass Gallon square
+bottles, Two quart ditto, Pint ditto."[210]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 43.--Upper left, wineglass, reconstructed
+from base fragment having enamel twist for stem. One-half. (USNM
+59.1761.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 44.--Upper right, cordial glass. One-fourth.
+(USNM 59.1607.)]
+
+A smaller base (USNM 59.1642) has a high kick-up, the dome of which
+intersects the sides of the base so that the bottle rests on four points
+separated by arcs. This fragment measures 3 inches square. An even
+smaller version (USNM 59.1977) is 2-3/4 inches.
+
+SNUFF BOTTLES.--Several items in Mercer's ledgers record the purchase of
+snuff, such as one for a "bottle of snuff" in 1731 for 15d., another in
+1743 for 3s., and a third in 1744 for 1s. 6d. Among the artifacts is a
+partly restored bottle of olive-green glass, shaped like a gin bottle
+but of smaller dimensions, with a 2-1/4-inch-wide mouth (USNM 59.1686,
+fig. 81). The bottle is 3-3/4 inches square and 7 inches tall. It has a
+low kick-up and a smooth pontil mark. Also among the artifacts are a
+matching base and several sherds of similar bottles.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 45.--Sherds of engraved-glass wine and
+cordial glasses (fig. 82c). Same size. (USNM 59.1634, 59.1864.)]
+
+MEDICINE BOTTLES.--Only a few fragments of medicine bottles occurred in
+the Marlborough artifacts. This is surprising, in view of Mercer's many
+ailments and his statements that he had purchased "British Oyl,"
+"Holloway's Citrate," and other patent nostrums of his day. A round base
+from a greenish, cylindrical bottle (USNM 59.2056) seems to represent an
+Opadeldoc bottle. Another base is rectangular with notched corners. The
+last, as well as the base of a molded, basket-pattern scent bottle (USNM
+59.2093) may be early 19th century in date. Other medicine-bottle
+fragments are all 19th century, some quite late (fig. 82).
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [206] _Wine Trade Loan Exhibition of Drinking Vessels_
+    [catalog] (London, 1933), no. 226, p. 26, pl. 95.
+
+    [207] CAPPON & DUFF, _Virginia Gazette Index 1736-1780_, op.
+    cit. (footnote 93), vol. 1, p. 451.
+
+    [208] ANDRE SIMON, _Drink_ (New York: Horizon Press, Inc.,
+    1953), pp. 139-140.
+
+    [209] DOW, op. cit. (footnote 178), p. 104.
+
+    [210] RITA SUSSWEIN, _The Arts & Crafts in New York,
+    1726-1776_ (New York: J. J. Little and Ives Co., 1938), p.
+    99. (Printed for the New-York Historical Society.)
+
+
+TABLE GLASS
+
+A minimum of table-glass sherds was recovered, and these were
+fragmentary. Glass is scarcely mentioned in Mercer's accounts, although
+there is no reason to suppose that Marlborough was any less well
+furnished with fine crystal than with other elegant objects that we know
+about. Three sherds of heavy lead glass have the thickness and contours
+of early 18th-century English decanters, matching more complete
+fragments from Rosewell and a specimen illustrated in plate 98a in
+the Wine Trade Loan Exhibition catalog.[211] Two fragments are body
+sherds; the third is from a lip and neck.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 46.--Clear-glass tumbler blown in a ribbed
+mold (fig. 82b). Same size. (USNM 59.1864.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 47.--Octagonal cut-glass trencher salt (fig.
+82a). Same size. (USNM 59.1830.)]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 82.--GLASSWARE: a, cut-glass salt (ill. 47); b,
+tumbler base (ill. 46); c, engraved sherds (ill. 45); d, tumbler and
+wineglass sherds; e, part of candle arm (see p. 154); f, mirror
+fragment; g, window glass; and h, medicine-bottle sherds.]
+
+Several forms of drinking glasses are indicated. A fragment of a foot
+from a long-stemmed cordial glass shows the termini of white-enamel
+threads that were comprised in a double enamel-twist stem. The twists
+consisted of a spiral ribbon of fine threads near the surface of the
+stem, with a heavy single spiral at the core. The indicated diameter of
+the foot is 3-1/4 inches (USNM 59.1761, ill. 43).
+
+Fragments of large knops are probably from heavy baluster wineglasses
+dating from Mercer's early period before 1750. A teardrop stem from a
+trumpet-bowl wineglass has been melted past recognition in a fire. The
+stem of a bucket-bowl cordial glass has suffered in the same manner
+(USNM 59.1607). Still with their shapes intact are two stems and base
+sections of bucket-bowl wineglass. Two engraved bowl sherds from
+similar-shaped cordial glasses and a rim sherd from another engraved
+piece are the only fragments with surface decoration (USNM 59.1634,
+59.1864, ill. 45). Several sherds of foot rims, varying in diameter,
+were found, including one with a folded or "welted" edge.
+
+Tumblers, depending on their sizes, were used for strong spirits, toddy,
+flip, and water. The base and body sherds of a molded tumbler from
+Marlborough are fluted in quadruple ribs that are separated by panels
+1/4-inch wide (USNM 59.1864, fig. 82c, ill. 46). Plain, blown tumbler
+bases have indicated diameters of 3 inches.
+
+A few unusual, as well as more typical, forms are indicated by the
+Marlborough glass sherds. One small fragment comes from a large flanged
+cover, probably from a sweetmeat bowl or a posset pot. A specimen of
+more than usual interest is a pressed or cast cut-glass octagonal
+trencher salt (USNM 59.1830, fig. 82a, ill. 47). This artifact reflects
+silver and pewter salt forms of about 1725. A curved section of a heavy
+glass rod is apparently from a chandelier, candelabrum, or sconce glass
+(USNM 59.1696, fig. 82e). We have seen that Mercer, in 1748, bought "1
+superfine large gilt Sconce glass."
+
+Although precise dates cannot be ascribed to any of this glass, it all
+derives without much question from the period of Mercer's occupancy of
+Marlborough.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [211] Op. cit. (footnote 206), no. 244, p. 66, pl. 68.
+
+
+MIRROR AND WINDOW GLASS
+
+We know from the ledgers that there were sconce and looking glasses at
+Marlborough. Archeological refuse supplies us with confirmation in
+pieces of clear lead glass with slight surviving evidence of the tinfoil
+and mercury with which the backs originally were coated. One piece (USNM
+59.1693) has a beveled edge 7/8 inch wide, characteristic of plate-glass
+wall mirrors of the colonial period. A curved groove on this piece,
+along which the fracture occurred, is probable evidence of engraved
+decoration.
+
+Window glass is of two principal types. One has a pale-olive cast. A few
+fragments of this type have finished edges, indicating that they are
+from the perimeters of sheets of crown glass and that Mercer purchased
+whole crown sheets and had them cut up. It may be assumed that this
+greenish glass is the oldest, perhaps surviving from Mercer's early
+period.
+
+The other type is the more familiar aquamarine window glass still to be
+found in 18th-century houses. A large corner of a rectangular pane has
+the slightly bent contour of crown glass, which is the English type of
+window glass made by blowing great bubbles of glass which were spun to
+form huge discs. The discs sometimes were cut up into panes of stock
+sizes and then shipped to America, or else were sent in whole sheets, to
+be cut up by storekeepers here or to be sold directly to planters and
+other users of window glass in quantity.
+
+The centers of these sheets increased in thickness and bore large scars
+where the massive pontil rods which had held the sheets during their
+manipulation were broken off. The center portions also were cut into
+panes, which were used in transom lights and windows where light was
+needed but a view was not. Hence they served not only to utilize an
+otherwise useless part of the crown-glass sheets, but also to impart a
+decorative quality to the window. They are still known to us as
+"bullseyes." A piece of a bullseye pane of aquamarine glass occurs in
+the Marlborough finds. The pontil scar itself is missing, but the thick
+curving section leaves little doubt as to its original appearance. A
+similar fragment was found at Rosewell.
+
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+_Objects of Personal Use_
+
+
+Costume accessories recovered at Marlborough are extremely few. There
+are six metal buttons, all of them apparently 18th century. One of flat
+brass (USNM 59.2004) has traces of gilt adhering to the surface; another
+of similar form (USNM 60.85) is silver; a third (USNM 59.2004) is
+copper. The silver button, 7/8 inch in diameter, could be one of two
+dozen vest buttons bought by Mercer for 18 pence each in 1741. A brass
+button with silver surface was roll-plated in the Sheffield manner (USNM
+59.2004), thus placing its date at some time after 1762. "White
+metal"--a white brass--was commonly used for buttons in the 18th
+century, and is seen here in a fragmentary specimen (USNM 59.2004). One
+hollow button of sheet brass shows the remains of gilding (USNM 60.73).
+Only one example was found--a dark-gray shell button--that was used on
+under-garments (USNM 59.1819).
+
+Among the personal articles are two brass buckles, one a simple half
+buckle (USNM 70.72, fig. 83d, ill. 48), the other a knee buckle (USNM
+60.139, fig. 83e, ill. 49). Except possibly for a pair of scissors to be
+mentioned later, a brass thimble is the only artifactual evidence of
+sewing (USNM 60.74, fig. 83b, ill. 50). Four thimbles, mentioned in
+Ledger B, were purchased in 1729, and four in 1731.)
+
+Parts of a penknife that were found consist of ivory-casing fragments,
+steel frame, knife blade, single-tined fork, and other pieces (USNM
+50.1665, fig. 85). Two chalk marbles attest to the early appeal of that
+traditional game, as well as to the ingenuity that went into making the
+marbles of this material (USNM 59.1682). Chalk also was used to make a
+bullet mold, half of which, bearing an M on the side, has survived (USNM
+59.1682, fig. 84b, ill. 51). A musket ball (USNM 59.1682) from the site
+could have been made in it. Two gun flints (USNM 59.1629 and 59.1647,
+fig. 84a) are of white chert.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 48.--Left, brass buckle (see fig. 83d). Same
+size. (USNM 60.72.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 49.--Center, brass knee buckle (fig. 83e).
+Same size. (USNM 60.139.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 50.--Right, brass thimble (fig. 83b). Same
+size. (USNM 60.74.)]
+
+An English halfpenny, dated 1787, was found near the surface in the
+kitchen debris of Structure E (USNM 59.2041, fig. 83c). Considerably
+worn, it may have been dropped after the destruction of the building.
+Two fragments of flat slate were found (USNM 60.95 and 60.113), as well
+as a hexagonal slate pencil (USNM 59.1685, fig. 85, ill. 54). It is
+clear that slates were used at Marlborough, probably when Mercer's
+children were receiving their education from the plantation tutors.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 51.--Chalk bullet mold with initial "M"
+(fig. 84b). Same size. (USNM 59.1682.)]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 83.--SMALL METALWORK: a, copper and white metal
+buttons; b, brass thimble; c, English halfpenny, 1787; d, brass buckle;
+e, brass knee buckle; f, brass harness ornament; g, escutcheon plates
+for drawer pulls and keyholes; h, drop handle; i, curtain and harness
+rings; and j, brass strap handle.]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 52.--Left, fragments of tobacco-pipe bowl
+with decoration molded in relief. Same size. (USNM 59.2003.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 53.--Above, white-kaolin tobacco pipe (fig.
+84f). One-half. (USNM 59.1714.)]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 84.--PERSONAL MISCELLANY: a, chert gun "flint;" b,
+chalk bullet mold and bullet; c, bullet; d, marble; e, piece of chalk;
+and f, white clay pipes and fragment of terra-cotta pipestem.]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 85.--CUTLERY: a, chopping knife; b, table-knife
+blades; c, parts of penknife; and d, pieces of slate and slate pencil.]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 54.--Slate pencil (see fig. 85d). Same size.
+(USNM 59.1685.)]
+
+As usual in colonial sites, quantities of pipestem and bowl fragments
+were recovered. Virtually all the bowls reflect the typical
+Georgian-period white-clay pipe form, with only minor variations. Most
+of the stems have bores ranging from 4/64 inch (1750-1800) to 6/64 inch
+(1650-1750). A single stem fragment from a terra cotta pipe of a kind
+found at Jamestown and Kecoughtan, probably dropped by an Indian or
+early white trader, is early 17th century (fig. 84f), while two
+white-clay stem fragments have bores of 1/8 inch (1620-1650). A fragment
+of a pipe bowl has molded decoration in relief, with what appear to be
+masonic emblems framed on a vine wreath (USNM 59.2003, ill. 52).
+
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+_Metalwork_
+
+
+SILVER
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 55.--Left, fragment of long-tined fork.
+Second-half (?), 17th century. One-half. (USNM 59.1663.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 56.--Center, fragment of long-tined fork.
+Early 18th century. One-half. (USNM 59.2029.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 57.--Right, fork which had two-part handle
+of wood, bone, or silver. One-half. (USNM 59.1939.)]
+
+Mercer, as we have seen, had a lavish supply of plate. Little of this,
+understandably, was likely to have been thrown away or lost, except for
+an occasional piece of flatware. One such exception is a teaspoon from
+the Structure B foundation (USNM 59.1827, fig. 86). It has a typical
+early Georgian form--ribbed handle, elliptical bowl, and leaf-drop
+handle attachment on back of the bowl. As in the case of small objects
+worked after the marks were applied, this has evidence of two distorted
+marks. Corrosion has obliterated such details as may have been visible
+originally, although there are fairly clear indications of the leopard's
+head crowned and lion passant found on London silver.
+
+TABLE CUTLERY.--Fragmentary knives and forks from the site date mostly
+from before 1750. Forks are all of the long, double-tine variety. One,
+which may date back to the second half of the 17th century, has a
+delicate shank, widening to a tooled, decorative band, with shaft
+extending downward which was originally enclosed in a handle of horn,
+bone, or wood (USNM 59.1663, ill. 55). A fragment of a narrow-bladed
+knife (USNM 59.1882, fig. 85) may be of the same period as the fork. Two
+forks, each with one long tine intact, show evidence of having had flat
+cores for wood or silver handles (USNM 59.2029, 59.1939, ills. 56 and
+57). The shanks, differing in length from each other, are turned in an
+ogee shape. Three blades, varying in completeness, are of the curved
+type used with "pistol-grip" handles (USNM 59.1667-1668, 59.1939). A
+straight blade fragment (USNM 59.1999) is probably contemporary with
+them. Only two knife fragments (USNM 59.1799 and 59.2082) appear to be
+19th century (fig. 85).
+
+One of the most unusual artifacts is a half section of a hollow
+Sheffield-plated pistol-grip knife handle. Sheffield plate was
+introduced in 1742 by a process that fused sheets of silver to sheets of
+copper under heat and pressure.[212] The metal, as here, was sometimes
+stamped (USNM 59.1668, fig. 86b).
+
+[Illustration: Figure 86.--METALWORK: a, rim of pewter dish; b, table
+knife with Sheffield-plated handle; c, lid of pewter teapot (ill. 60);
+d, silver teaspoon; e, wavy-end pewter spoon, early 18th-century shape;
+f and g, two trifid-end pewter spoons, late 17th-century shape (holes in
+g were probably drilled to hold cord for suspension from neck).]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [212] SEYMOUR B. WYLER, _The Book of Sheffield Plate_ (New
+    York: Crown Publishers, 1949), pp. 4-5.
+
+
+PEWTER
+
+Three, whole pewter spoons, as well as several fragments of spoons, were
+salvaged from the large trash pit (Structure D). Two whole specimens and
+a fragment of a third are trifid-handle spoons cast in a mold that was
+probably made about 1690. One of these (USNM 59.1669, fig. 86g, ill. 58)
+has had two holes bored at the top of the handle, probably to enable the
+user to secure it by a cord to his person or to hang it from a loop.
+This circumstance, plus the presence of such an early type of spoon in
+an 18th-century context, suggests that the spoons were made during the
+Mercer period for kitchen or slave use from a mold dating back to the
+Port Town period. The spoons themselves may, of course, have survived
+from the Port Town time and have been relegated to humble use on the
+plantation.
+
+A somewhat later spoon, with "wavy-end" handle, comes from a mold of
+about 1710. It has the initial N scratched on the handle (USNM 59.1672,
+fig. 86e, ill. 59). Another fragmentary example has a late type of
+wavy-end handle, dating perhaps ten years later (USNM 59.1672).
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 58.--Trifid-handle pewter spoon (fig. 86g).
+One-half. (USNM 59.1669.)]
+
+A pewter teapot lid with tooled rim and the remains of a finial may be
+as early as 1740 (USNM 59.1676, fig. 86c, ill. 60). Two rim fragments of
+a pewter plate also were found (USNM 59.1675, fig. 86a).
+
+
+KITCHEN AND OTHER HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS
+
+CUTLER'S WORK.--In 1725 Mercer bought a pair of "Salisbury Scissors";
+there is no clue as to what is meant by the adjectival place name. He
+purchased another pair of scissors in 1744. In any case, a pair of
+embroidery scissors, with turned decoration that one would expect to
+find on early 18th-century scissors, was found in the site (USNM
+59.1680, ill. 61).
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 59.--Wavy-end pewter spoon (fig. 86e).
+One-half. (USNM 59.1672.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 60.--Pewter teapot lid (fig. 86c). Same
+size. (USNM 59.1676.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 61.--Steel scissors. One-half. (USNM
+59.1680.)]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 87.--IRONWARE: a, lid for iron pot; b, cooking-pot
+fragments; c, andiron leg; d, iron ladle; and e, two beaters for
+box-irons.]
+
+IRONWARE.--Pieces of two types of iron pot were found. One type is a
+large-capacity version, holding possibly five gallons. It has horizontal
+ribbing and vertical mold seams (USNM 59.1645, 59.1845, 59.60.147,
+fig. 87). Such, perhaps, was the "gr[ea]t pot" weighing 36 pounds which
+Mercer bought from Nathaniel Chapman of the Accokeek Iron Works in 1731.
+Two other fragments are from a smaller pot. The inventory taken in 1771
+(Appendix M) lists five "Iron Potts for Negroes," that were probably
+smaller than those used in the plantation kitchen.
+
+Two heaters for box irons were found in the kitchen debris. A heavy
+layer of mortar adhered to one, suggesting that it may have been built
+into the brickwork--whether by accident or design there is no way of
+telling. In that case, however, the specimen would antedate 1749 (USNM
+59.2024, 59.2026, fig. 87). Box irons were hollow flatirons into which
+pre-heated cast-iron slugs or "heaters" were inserted. Two or more
+heaters were rotated in the fire, one always being ready to replace the
+other as it cooled. In 1725 Mercer bought a "box Iron & heaters," and
+in 1731, from Chapman, "2 heaters."
+
+Other kitchen iron includes the fragmentary bowl and stem of a
+long-handled iron stirring spoon (USNM 59.1812), an iron kettle cover
+(USNM 60.69), and the leg of a large, heavy pair of andirons (USNM
+59.1826, fig. 87). A small, semicircular chopping knife has a thin steel
+blade and an iron shank that originally was inserted in a wooden handle.
+Lettering, now almost obliterated, was impressed in the metal of the
+blade: "SHEFFIELD WORKS 6 ENGLISH...." (USNM 59.1834, fig. 85a).
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 62.--Iron candle snuffers. One-fourth. (USNM
+59.1825.)]
+
+FURNITURE HARDWARE.--A few metal furniture fittings were recovered. Six
+curtain rings, cut from sheet brass and trimmed with a file, vary from
+7/8 inches to 1-1/4 inches. On tubular ring (USNM 60.53, fig. 83) may
+have been used as a curtain ring, although signs of wear suggest that
+it perhaps may have been a drawer pull. A small, brass, circular
+escutcheon (USNM 59.1735, fig. 83) comes from a teardrop-handle fixture
+of the William and Mary style. A round keyhole escutcheon has tooled
+grooves and holes for four nails (USNM 59.1630, fig. 83), and dates from
+about 1750. The handsomest specimen of furniture trim found is an
+escutcheon plate with engraved linear decoration dating from about 1720
+(USNM 60.71, fig. 83). An iron bale handle was probably on a trunk
+or chest (USNM 60.130, fig. 88e). A small strap hinge (USNM 59.1657,
+fig. 88) is like those found on the lids of 18th-century wooden chests,
+while a butt hinge may have served on the lid of the escritoire which
+Mercer owned in 1731 (ill. 63).
+
+[Illustration: Figure 88.--IRON DOOR AND CHEST HARDWARE: a, large HL
+hinge; b, plate from box lock; c, small H hinge for cupboard; d, part of
+H door hinge; e, bale handle from trunk; f, latch bar or striker; g,
+small hinges; h, keys; i, latch catch; j, staples; k, part of latch
+handle; and l, pintles for strap hinges.]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 63.--Iron butt hinge of type used on
+escritoire lids and other similar items. Same size.]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 64.--End of strap hinge. One-half. (USNM
+60.146.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 65.--Catch for door latch. Same size. (USNM
+59.1801.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 66.--Wrought-iron hasp. One-half. (USNM
+59.1655.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 67.--Brass drop handle. Same size. (USNM
+59.1944.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 68.--Wrought-iron catch or striker from door
+latch. One-half. (USNM 59.1768.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 69.--Iron slide bolt. One-half. (USNM
+59.1942.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 70.--Series of wrought-iron nails.
+One-half.]
+
+
+ARCHITECTURAL AND STRUCTURAL HARDWARE
+
+Iron was a fundamental material in the construction of any 18th-century
+building. Mercer's ledgers make repeated references to the purchase of
+hinges, locks, latches, and other related iron equipment. Most of this
+material was obtained from local merchants and was probably English in
+origin. However, the ledger records numerous purchases from Nathaniel
+Chapman of iron that was undoubtedly made at his ironworks. It is
+probable also that many simple appliances were made at Marlborough by
+slaves or indentured servants trained as blacksmiths.
+
+HINGES.--Hand-forged strap hinges were employed throughout the colonies
+from the first period of settlement to the middle of the 19th century.
+In addition to the many fragments that probably came from such hinges,
+one artifact is a typical spearhead strap-hinge terminal with a square
+hole for nailing (USNM 60.146, ill. 64). Three pintles--L-shaped pivots
+on which strap hinges swung--were recovered. One was found at the site
+of a gate or door in the wall south of the kitchen (USNM 60.59, fig.
+88l).
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 71.--Series of wrought-iron flooring nails
+and brads. One-half.]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 72.--Fragment of clouting nail. Same size.]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 73.--Hand-forged spike. One-half. (USNM
+59.1811.)]
+
+Fragments from at least four different H and HL hinges occur. Several
+entries in the ledgers refer to the purchase of such hinges. A nearly
+complete HL hinge, probably used on a large door, recalls an item in the
+account with Charles Dick for June 14, 1744, "2 p^r large hinges 9/"
+(USNM 59.1945, fig. 88). A piece of a smaller H or HL hinge is of the
+type used on interior doors (USNM 59.1767, fig. 88), while a still
+smaller section of an H hinge was perhaps used on a cupboard door. H
+hinges were more properly known as "side hinges," and we find Mercer
+using that term in 1729 when he bought a pair of "Sidehinges" for 9d.
+"Cross-garnet" hinges, where a sharply tapering, spear-headed strap
+section is pivoted by a pin inserted in a stationary, rectangular butt
+section, are represented by three imperfect specimens (USNM 59.1657 and
+59.1881, fig. 88). Both these types are named, described, and
+illustrated by Moxon.[213]
+
+[Illustration: Figure 89.--TOOLS: a, block-plane blade; b, scraping tool
+(ill. 76); c, gouge chisel (ill. 77); d, part of bung extractor; e,
+fragment of ax; f, three dogs or hooks; g, pothook; and h, shim or pin.]
+
+LOCKS, LATCHES, AND KEYS.--Only one remnant of the ubiquitous
+18th-century "Suffolk" thumb-press door latch was found at Marlborough.
+This fragment comprises the handle but not the cusps at the ends, by
+which the age might be determined (USNM 60.137, fig. 88). Mercer
+purchased an "Iron door latch" from Nathaniel Chapman for ninepence in
+1731. In a complete assemblage for these latches, a thumb press lifts a
+latch bar on the reverse side of the door, disengaging it from a catch
+driven into the edge of the jamb. One large latch bar was recovered
+(USNM 59.1972, fig. 88f), as well as two catches (USNM 59.1644, fig.
+88i, and 59.1801, ill. 65). Sliding bolts were the usual locking devices
+when simple thumb latches were used. A survival of one of these is seen
+in a short iron rod with a shorter segment of rod attached to it at
+right angles (USNM 59.1942, ill. 69).
+
+Purchases of padlocks are recorded, but there is no archeological
+evidence for them. However, a well-made hasp (USNM 59.1655, ill. 66) has
+survived, and also three staples (USNM 59.1644, 59.1659, 59.2027, fig.
+88j). Mercer bought six staples in 1742 at a penny each.
+
+Apparently the principal doors of both the 1730 house and the mansion
+were fitted with box locks, or "stock-locks," in which wood and iron
+were usually combined. A heavy iron plate comes from such a lock (USNM
+59.1943, fig. 88). Two stock-locks were bought from John Foward in 1731.
+Another was purchased from William Hunter in 1741. In the same year
+Mercer acquired from Charles Dick "8 Chamberdoor Locks w^{th} brass
+knobs." If by knob was meant a drop handle, then a fine brass specimen
+may be one of these (USNM 59.1944, fig. 83h, ill. 67). Fragments of
+three iron keys have survived, the smallest of which may have been used
+with a furniture lock (USNM 59.1644 and 59.1656, fig. 88h).
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 74.--Left, blacksmith's hammer. One-half.
+(USNM 59.2081.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 75.--Center, iron wrench. One-half. (USNM
+60.91.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 76.--Right, iron scraping tool (fig. 89b).
+One-half. (USNM 60.133.)]
+
+NAILS AND SPIKES.--The ledgers point to a constant purchasing of nails
+which is reflected in the great quantity recovered from the excavations.
+A 1731 purchase from Chapman comprised 2-, 3-, 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, and
+20-penny nails, while in the 1740's not only nails but 4-, 6-, 8-, and
+10-penny brads were purchased, as well as 20-penny flooring brads.
+Excepting the last, nearly all these sizes occur in the artifacts. There
+is also a variety of heavy spikes, ranging from 3 inches to 7 inches in
+length (see ills. 70-73).
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 77.--Left, bit or gouge chisel (see fig.
+89c). One-half. (USNM 59.1644.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 78.--Right, jeweler's hammer. Same size.
+(USNM 59.1664.)]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [213] ALBERT H. SONN, _Early American Wrought Iron_ (New
+    York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1928), vol. 2, p. 9.
+
+
+HANDCRAFT TOOLS
+
+Marlborough, like most 18th-century plantations, was to a large extent
+self-sufficient, and therefore it is not surprising to find handtools of
+several kinds. A blacksmith's hammer (USNM 59.2081, ill. 74), for
+example, strengthens the view that there may have been blacksmiths at
+Marlborough. Other tools include a smoothing-plane blade of iron with a
+1-inch steel tip (USNM 59.1897, fig. 89a); a set wrench for a 3/4-inch
+square nut or bolt (possibly for bed bolts), equipped originally with a
+wooden handle (USNM 60.91, ill. 75); a steel scraping tool or chisel
+with handle set at an angle (USNM 60.133, fig. 89b, ill. 76); a small
+half-round bit or gouge chisel (USNM 59.1644, fig. 89c, ill. 77). Three
+crude lengths of iron with stubby L-shaped ends appear to be work-bench
+dogs (fig. 89f).
+
+One fine tool is from the equipment of a jeweler or a clockmaker (USNM
+59.1664, ill. 78). It is a very small hammer with a turned, bell-shaped
+striking head. Originally balanced by a sharp wing-shaped peen, which
+was, however, badly rusted and which disintegrated soon after being
+found, the tool has a tubular, tinned, sheet-iron shaft handle which is
+secured by a brass ferrule to the head and brazed together with brass.
+The lower end is plugged with brass, where a longer handle perhaps was
+attached. In 1748 Sydenham & Hodgson, through William Jordan, imported
+for Mercer "A Sett Clockmakers tools." This entry is annotated,
+"Return'd to M^r Jordan." Although the hammer cannot be related to this
+particular set of tools, the ledger item suggests that fine work like
+clockmaking may have been conducted at Marlborough. This tool may have
+been used in the process.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 90.--SCYTHE found against outside of east wall,
+Structure H.]
+
+
+FARMING, HORSE, AND VEHICLE GEAR
+
+The 1771 inventory is in some ways a more significant summary of
+18th-century plantation equipment than are the artifacts found at
+Marlborough, since its list of tools is longer than the list of tool
+artifacts and is pin-pointed in time. However, artifacts define
+themselves concretely and imply far more of such matters as workmanship,
+suitability to purpose, source of origin, or design and form, than do
+mere names. The Marlborough tools and equipment, moreover, correspond,
+as far as they go, very closely with the items in the inventory, thus
+becoming actualities experienced by us tactually and visually.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 79.--Wrought-iron colter from plow.
+One-fourth. (USNM 60.88.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 80.--Hook used with wagon or oxcart gear.
+One-half. (USNM 60.9.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 81.--Left, bolt with wingnut. One-half.
+(USNM 60.145.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 82.--Right, lashing hook from cart or
+agricultural equipment. One-half. (USNM 59.2030.)]
+
+For instance, the inventory lists 22 plows at Marlborough. Among the
+finds is an iron colter from a colonial plow in which the colter was
+suspended from the beam and locked into the top of the share (USNM
+60.88, ill. 79). The colter is bent and torn from exhaustive use
+(Chapman, in 1731, fitted a plow "w^{th} Iron" for Mercer). From it we
+learn a good deal about the size of the plow on which it was used and
+the shallow depth of the furrows it made.
+
+[Illustration: Figure 91.--FARM GEAR: a, part of collapsible-top fitting
+from carriage; b, chain, probably from whiffletree; c, part of bridle
+bit; d, iron stiffener from a saddle; e, worn chain link; f, base of
+handle of a currycomb; g, rivet and washer; h, piece of iron harness
+gear; i and j, two horseshoes; and k, chain to which a strap was
+attached--probably harness gear.]
+
+Four chain traces were on the list, one of which is represented by a
+length of flat links attached to a triangular loop to which the leather
+portion of the traces was fastened (USNM 60.64, fig. 91b). The halves
+of two snaffle bits (USNM 59.2078, 60.67, fig. 91c; ill. 87) correspond
+to an item for eight "Bridle Bitts." (A "snafflebit" costing 1s. 8d. was
+among Mercer's purchases for 1743.) A third bit, crudely made of twisted
+wire attached to odd-sized rings, is a makeshift device probably dating
+from the 19th century. Three ox chains listed in the inventory are not
+distinctly in evidence in the artifacts, although a heavy hook, broken
+at the shank, is of the type used to fasten an ox chain to the yoke
+(USNM 60.9, ill. 80).
+
+Archeological evidence of the two oxcarts and one wagon listed in the
+inventory is confined to nuts and bolts that might have been used on
+such vehicles. A long axle bolt (USNM 59.1802) measures 23 inches. A
+small bolt or staple, split at one end and threaded at the other, has a
+wingnut (USNM 60.145, ill. 81). A hook with a heavy, diamond-shaped
+backplate and a bolt hole was perhaps used on a wagon to secure lashing
+(USNM 59.2030, ill. 82). A heavy, curved piece of iron with a large
+hole, probably for a clevice pin, appears to be from the end of a wagon
+tongue, while a carefully made bolt with hand-hammered head (USNM
+59.1821) and a short rivet with washer (USNM 59.1881, fig. 91g) in place
+seem also to be vehicle parts.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 83.--Hilling hoe. One-fourth. (USNM
+59.1848.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 84.--Iron reinforcement strip from back of
+shovel handle. One-half. (USNM 59.1847.)]
+
+The inventory listed four complete harnesses, the remains of which are
+probably to be found in four square iron buckles (USNM 59.1644, 59.1901,
+60.131, fig. 91h), a brass ring (USNM 59.1678, fig. 83), and an
+ornamental brass boss (USNM 59.1878, fig. 83j).
+
+Twelve "Swingle trees" (whippletree, whiffletree, singletree) are listed
+in the inventory. The artifacts include three iron loops or straps
+designed to be secured to the swingletrees. One (USNM 59.2042, fig. 91b)
+still has two large round links attached. (In 1731 Chapman fitted
+ironwork to a swingletree.)
+
+Ten "Hillinghows," 17 "Weeding hows," and 8 "Grubbing hows" are listed.
+In the long Chapman account for 1731 we see that Mercer then purchased
+"5 narrow hoes" and "2 grubbing hoes." The only archeological evidence
+of hoes is a fragmentary broad hoe (probably a hilling hoe) (USNM
+59.1848, ill. 83) and the collar of another.
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 85.--Half of sheep shears. One-half. (USNM
+59.1734.)]
+
+Thirteen axes are listed in the inventory. Again we find Nathaniel
+Chapman providing a "new axe" in 1731 for five shillings, while William
+Hunter sold Mercer "2 narrow axes" and "4 Axes" in 1743. One broken ax
+head occurs among the artifacts, worn back from repeated grinding and
+split at the eye (USNM 59.1740, fig. 89e).
+
+There were four spades and an iron shovel at Marlborough in 1771. An
+iron reinforcement from a shovel handle occurred in the site (USNM
+59.1847, ill. 84), while a slightly less curved strip of iron may have
+been attached to a spade handle (USNM 59.1662). Once more in Chapman's
+account we find evidence of local workmanship in an item for "1 Spade."
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 86.--Animal trap. One-third. (USNM
+59.1715.)]
+
+Thirteen scythes were listed in 1771; perhaps the one excavated from the
+foundation of Structure H on Potomac Creek may have been among these
+(USNM 59.2400, fig. 90). There were eight sheep shears; half of a sheep
+shears was found in Structure G (USNM 59.1734, ill. 85). Of the other
+items on the list, a few, such as stock locks and hammers, have already
+been mentioned, while the remainder of the list is not matched by
+artifacts. An item for a chalk-line is supported by a piece of chalk
+(USNM 59.1683, fig. 84).
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 87.--Iron bridle bit (see fig. 91c). Same
+size.]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 88.--Fishhook. One-half. (USNM 59.1681.)]
+
+[Illustration: Illustration 89.--Brass strap handle (see fig. 83j). Same
+size. (USNM 59.1736.)]
+
+A few specimens are not matched in the inventory. One is a springtrap of
+hand-forged, hand-riveted iron (USNM 59.1715, ill. 86) for catching
+animals. Another is a fishhook (USNM 59.1681, ill. 88), possibly one of
+95 bought in 1744. An iron stiffener for the framework of a saddle is
+fitted with 10 rivets for securing the leather and upholstery (USNM
+59.1847, fig. 91d). The third artifact is an elegantly designed brass
+fitting for a leather curtain or strap (USNM 59.1736, fig. 83j, ill.
+89). It is fitted with a copper rivet at the stationary end for securing
+leather or cloth; just below the rivet is a recessed groove and shelf,
+perhaps to receive a reinforced edge; to the lower part of this is
+hinged a long handle cut in a leaf design. An iron hinge bar is part of
+the equipment for folding back the top of a chaise (USNM 60.178, fig.
+91a). There are several horseshoes, two whole shoes and numerous
+fragments (fig. 91i and j). Finally, the handle shaft and decorative
+attachment of an iron currycomb (USNM 59.2077, fig. 91f) recalls
+Mercer's purchase of "1 curry comb and brush" in 1726.
+
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+_Conclusions_
+
+
+Almost no exclusively 17th century artifacts were found at Marlborough;
+at least, there were very few sherds or objects that could not have
+originated equally well in the 18th century. The exceptions are the
+following: Westerwald blue-and-white stoneware with gray-buff paste;
+several sherds of delft and other tin-enameled ware, late 17th century
+in type, and an early 17th-century terra cotta pipestem. Otherwise, we
+find a scattering of things belonging to types that occurred in both
+centuries: North Devon gravel-tempered ware, which was imported both in
+the late 17th and early 18th centuries; yellow-and-brown "combed" ware,
+which elsewhere occurs most commonly in 18th century contexts; pewter
+trifid-handle spoons, the form of which dates from about 1690 but which
+may have been cast at a later date in an old mold (a wavy-end spoon in
+the style of 1710 may also have been cast later). Fragments of an
+onion-shaped wine bottle may date from the first decade of the 18th
+century, but the presence of such bottles in the Rosewell trash pit
+shows that bottles, being too precious to throw away, were kept around
+until they were broken--in the case of Rosewell for 60 or 70 years. Thus
+the Marlborough sherds cannot be excluded from the Mercer period. The
+same may be said of a late 17th-century type of fork. Thus, there is
+virtually no evidence of the Port Town occupation, especially as the few
+17th-century artifacts that were found may well have belonged to the
+Mercers rather than to Marlborough's previous occupants.
+
+The ceramics and glass are the most readily datable artifacts, and
+these coincide almost altogether with the period of John Mercer's
+lifetime. Common earthenwares are predominantly Tidewater and Buckley
+types, with a scattering of others, most of which are recurrent among
+other Virginia and Maryland historic-site artifacts. No distinct type
+emerges to suggest that there may have been a local Stafford potter.
+Common stonewares occur in such a variety of types that no source or
+date can be attributed, although there is some evidence of the work of
+William Rogers' shop in Yorktown. Westerwald stonewares are
+predominantly of the blue-and-gray varieties commonest in the second
+quarter of the 18th century.
+
+There is only a small quantity of delftware, but a great deal of Chinese
+porcelain. Evidences are that the first kinds of English refined wares,
+such as drab stoneware, Nottingham stoneware, and agateware, were used
+at Marlborough, thus pointing to an awareness of current tastes and
+innovations. The large quantity of white salt-glazed ware suggests that,
+although it was a cheap commercial product, it was regarded as handsome
+and congenial to the environment of a plantation house that was
+maintained in formal style.
+
+Except for the white salt-glazed ware, which was probably acquired in
+the 1760's, most of the table ceramics date from about 1740 to 1760.
+Bottles and the few datable table-glass fragments are also primarily
+from this period. Creamwares and late 18th- and early 19th-century
+whitewares diminish sharply in numbers, reflecting a more austere life
+at Marlborough in its descent to an overseer's quarters. Later
+19th-century wares are insignificant in quantity or in their relation to
+the history of Marlborough. Tool and hardware forms are less diagnostic.
+Most of them correspond to ledger entries and to the 1771 inventory, so,
+without contradictory evidence, they may be assumed to date from John
+Mercer's period.
+
+In general, the artifacts illustrate the best of household equipment
+available in 18th-century Virginia, and the tools and hardware indicate
+the extensiveness of the plantation's activities and its heavy reliance
+on blacksmith work.
+
+
+
+
+GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
+
+
+
+
+XX
+
+_Summary of Findings_
+
+
+Marlborough's beginnings as a town in 1691 cast the shape that has
+endured in a few vestiges even until today. The original survey of Bland
+and Buckner remains as evidence, and by it we are led to believe that
+the courthouse was located near the "Gutt" to the west of the town, near
+a change of course that affected the western boundary and all the
+north-south streets west of George Andrews' lots. Archeological
+excavation in the area disclosed Structure B, which subsequent evidence
+proved to be the foundation of Mercer's mansion, built at the pinnacle
+of his career between 1746 and 1750. No evidence exists that this
+foundation was associated earlier with the courthouse.
+
+Two years after the second Act for Ports was passed in 1705, the second
+survey was made and was lost soon thereafter. There is evidence that the
+house built by William Ballard in 1708, on a lot "ditched in" according
+to this plat, was also in the vicinity of the courthouse. After Mercer
+moved into this house in 1726, it became clear that the two surveys were
+at odds, and a new survey was ordered and made in 1731. The maneuvers
+which followed make it fairly clear that Mercer's residence was
+encroaching upon the two acres that had been set aside for the
+courthouse, which by Act of Assembly had reverted to the heirs of Giles
+Brent after the courthouse had burned and been abandoned about 1718. The
+1731 plat provided a whole new row of lots along the western boundary of
+the town, while pushing the original lots slightly to the east. This
+device would have assured the integrity of the courthouse land, while
+relieving Mercer of the uncertainty of his title. When Mercer's
+petition to acquire Marlborough was submitted in 1747 (the 1731 plat
+still remained unaccepted), he offered to buy the courthouse land for
+three times its worth. Since Mercer was guardian of the heir, "Mr.
+William Brent, the Infant," he was called upon to testify in this
+capacity at the hearings on his petition. Thus the courthouse, Ballard's
+house, and Mercer's mansion all appear to have been involved in a
+boundary difficulty, and we may assume, therefore, that the courthouse
+during its brief career stood close to the spot where Mercer later built
+his mansion.
+
+This difficulty, in particular, was influential in determining the shape
+of the town, the manner in which Mercer developed the property and the
+peculiarities that made Marlborough unique. It was not until 1755 that
+he was permitted to acquire all the town and by that time Marlborough's
+character had already been fixed. We have seen that its outstanding
+feature, the mansion, was architecturally sophisticated, that leading
+craftsmen worked on it, and that it was as highly individualistic as its
+master. It was lavishly furnished not only with material elegancies but
+with a library embracing more than a thousand volumes.
+
+Aside from the mansion, the area most actively developed by Mercer lay
+between it and Potomac Creek, with some construction to the north and
+the east. In 1731, Mercer built two warehouses which probably stood near
+the waterside at Potomac Creek where his sloop and schooner and visiting
+vessels found sheltered anchorage. These burned in 1746, but must
+subsequently have been rebuilt, since Thomas Oliver in his 1771 report
+to James Mercer commented that the "tobacco houses" must be repaired as
+soon as possible. They were probably among the buildings that Mercer had
+constructed up to 1747, when he reported that he had "saved" 17 of the
+town's lots by building on them. These lots comprised 8-1/2 acres in the
+southwest portion of the town.
+
+The windmill was built on land near the river shore, east of the
+mansion. It was probably located a considerable distance from the shore,
+although erosion in recent times has eaten back the cliff. In the fall
+of 1958, half of the stone foundations collapsed, leaving a well-defined
+profile of the stone construction. Fragments of mid-century-type wine
+bottles found in the lower course of the stones support other evidence
+that the mill was built in 1746.
+
+Mercer mentioned his "office" in 1766. This may have been a detached
+building used for a law office. Oliver in 1771 listed a barn, a cider
+mill, two "grainerys," three cornhouses, five stables, and tobacco
+houses. He mentioned also that "the East Green House wants repairing,
+the west d^o wants buttments as a security to the wall on the south
+side."
+
+Besides the malthouse and brewhouse built in 1765 (which may have been
+situated at Structure H and the 100-foot-long stone-wall enclosure
+attached to Wall A), John Mercer in his 1768 letter mentioned "Cellars,
+Cooper's house and all the buildings, copper & utensil whatever used
+about the brewery," as well as the "neat warm" house built for the
+brewer. When the property was advertised in 1791, "Overseers houses,"
+"Negroe quarters," and "Corn houses" also were mentioned.
+
+The development of the area in the southwest portion of the plantation
+probably sustained--or established for the first time--the character
+originally intended for Marlborough Town. The situation of the mansion
+was undoubtedly affected by this, as indeed must have been the whole
+plantation plan. The archeological evidence alone shows that the plan
+was abnormal in terms of the typical 18th-century Virginia plantation.
+The rectangular enclosure formed by the brick walls east of the mansion
+doubtless framed the formal garden over which the imported English
+gardener, William Black, presided. It connected at the northwest with
+the kitchen in such a way that the kitchen formed a corner of the
+enclosure, becoming in effect a gatehouse, protecting the mansion's
+privacy at the northwest from the utilitarian slave quarter and
+agricultural precincts beyond. Walls A-I and A-II, however, related the
+mansion directly to this plantation-business area and caused it to serve
+also as a gate to the enclosure.
+
+The position of the kitchen dependency northwest of the house is the
+only suggestion of Palladian layout, other than the garden. The southern
+aspect of the house and the rigid boundary to domestic activity imposed
+by Walls A-I and A-II probably prevented construction of a balancing
+unit to the southwest. Slave quarters, stables, and perhaps the barn
+apparently were located to the north.
+
+Since it was not until 1755 that Mercer came into full title to the
+town, the town plan and its legal restrictions were influential in
+determining the way in which the plantation was to grow. The house and
+the surrounding layout were, therefore, wholly peculiar to the special
+circumstances of Marlborough and probably also to the individuality of
+its owner. The approach to the house from the waterside was to the south
+end of the building, leading up to it by the still-existing road from
+the creek and along the old "Broad Street across the Town," which
+probably bordered Walls A-I and B-I. The mansion thus had a little of
+the character of a feudal manor house, as well as some of the appearance
+of an English townhouse that abuts the street, with the seclusion of its
+yards and gardens defended by walls. In many respects it only slightly
+resembled, in its relationship to surrounding structures, the more
+representative plantations of its period.
+
+The house was well oriented to view, ventilation, and dominant location.
+The veranda, which afforded communication from one part to another
+out-of-doors, as well as a place to sit, was exposed to the prevailing
+southwesterly summer winds. In the winter it was equally well placed so
+as to be in the lee of northeast storms sweeping down the Potomac. The
+view, hidden today by trees, included Accokeek Creek and a lengthy vista
+up Potomac Creek. Presumably, a road or driveway skirted the kitchen at
+the west and perhaps ended in a driveway in front of the house. The gate
+in Wall E south of the kitchen would have been a normal entrance for
+horses and vehicles.
+
+Within the garden was the summerhouse built by Mercer in 1765. From the
+east windows and steps of the house and from the garden could be seen
+the Potomac, curving towards the bay, and the flailing "drivers" of the
+windmill near the Potomac shore.
+
+The excavated and written records of Marlborough are a microcosm of
+Virginia colonial history. They depict the emergence of central
+authority in the 17th century in the establishment of the port town as
+a device to diversify the economy and control the collecting of duties.
+In the failure of the town, they demonstrate also the failure of
+colonial government to overcome the tyranny of tobacco and the
+restrictive policies of the mother country. They go on to show in great
+detail the emergence in the 18th century of a familiar American
+theme--the self-directed rise of an individual from obscure beginnings
+to high professional rank, social leadership, personal wealth, and
+cultural influence. They demonstrate in Mercer's career the inherent
+defects of the tobacco economy as indebtedness mounted and economic
+strains stiffened. In Mercer's concern with the Ohio Company and
+westward expansion they reflect a colony-wide trend as population
+increased and the need grew for more arable land and areas in which to
+invest and escape from economic limitations. They show that the war with
+the French inevitably ensued, with its demands on income and manpower,
+while following this came the enforcement of trade laws and the
+immediate irritants which led to rebellion. So Marlborough gives a sharp
+reflection of Virginia's history prior to the Revolution. It was touched
+by most of what was typical and significant in the period, yet in its
+own details it was unique and individual. In this seeming anomaly
+Marlborough is a true illustration of its age, when men like Mercer were
+strong individuals but at the same time typifying and expressing the
+milieu in which they lived.
+
+Mercer's rise to wealth and leadership occurred at a time when favorable
+laws held out the promise of prosperity, while boundless lands offered
+unparalleled opportunities for investment. It remained for those best
+able to take advantage of the situation; Mercer's self-training in the
+law, his driving energy, and his ability to organize placed him among
+these. The importance of his position is signified by the justice-ship
+that he held for so many years in Stafford County court; the brick
+courthouse on the hill overlooking the upper reaches of Potomac Creek
+was the architectural symbol of this position. Although most of his
+income was derived from legal practice, it was his plantation that was
+the principal expression of his interests and his energies. Mercer was
+in this respect typical of his peers, whose intellectual and
+professional leadership, on the one hand, and agricultural and business
+enterprise, on the other, formed a partnership within the individual.
+The great plantation house with its sophisticated elegancies, its
+outward formalities, and its rich resort for the intellect in the form
+of a varied library, was the center and spirit of the society of which
+men like Mercer were leaders. With the death of the system came the
+death of the great house, and the rise and fall of Marlborough
+symbolizes, as well as anything can, the life cycle of Virginia's
+colonial plantation order.
+
+
+
+
+Appendixes
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX A
+
+Inventory of George Andrews, Ordinary Keeper
+
+[Stafford County Will Book--Liber Z--1699-1709--p. 168 ff.]
+
+     An Inventory of the Estate of George Andrews taken the (six)
+     October 1698. 6 small feather beads with Bolsters 5 Ruggs 1 Turkey
+     Work 1 Carpet 1 old small Flock Bed boulster Rugg 4 pair Canvis
+     Shooks 2 pair Curtains and valleins 4 Chests 1 old Table 1 Couch 1
+     Great Trunk 1 small ditto 1 Cupboard 2 Brass Kettles 1 pieis Dowlas
+     2 spits 1 Driping pan & fender 6 Iron Pots 5 pair Pot-hooks 6
+     dishes 1 bason 2 dozen of plates 4 old chairs made of kain 9 head
+     horses + mares 3 Colts of 1 year old each 4 head Oxen 2 Chaine
+     Staples 8 Yoaks 7 Cows + calves 1 Bull 2 barron cows 2 five year
+     old stears 6 Beasts of a year old each 30 head of sheep being yews
+     and lambs 4 Silver spoons 1 Silver dram cup 1 Lignum vitae punch
+     Bowl 1 Chaffing Dish 1 Brass Mortar & Iron Pestle 2 ditto & 1 great
+     iron pestle 1 broad ax 2 narrow D^o 1 Tennant Saw 1 Whipsaw 1
+     drawing knife 2 augurs 1 Frow 1 pair Stilliards & too with Canhooks
+     1 Saddle & Curb bridle 3 servants 2 Men 1 Woman 3 years + 6 months
+     to serve 1 Welshman 4 years to serve the other servant named
+     Garrard Moore 13 months to serve 1 old Chest drawers 1 old plow 1
+     old pair Cart wheels w^{th} a Cart 2 old Course Table Cloths & 8
+     Napkins 4 Towels 1 Gall^n Pott 1 Paile Pott 2 Chamber Potts 2
+     tankards a parsil of old Bottles 1 old Looking Glass 1 Grid Iron 1
+     Flesh fork & Skimmer 1 pair Spit hooks Iron square 3 pair Iron
+     tongs 2 Nutmeg graters 3 Candlesticks 1 old Great Boat old Sails
+     Hawsers Graplin 1 Box Iron 1 Warming pan 2 pair Pot racks
+
+     Jurat in Curia
+
+     Returned by
+     John Waugh Jun^r
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX B
+
+Inventory of Peter Beach
+
+[Stafford County Will Book--Liber Z--1699-1709--p. 158-159.]
+
+     Estate of Peter Beach. Inventory taken by William Downham, Edward
+     Mountjoy, W^m Allen "having mett together at the house of Mr.
+     Peter Beach."
+
+  "Dan'l Beach
+  Alex and Mary Waugh executors  Nov. 20, 1702"
+
+  To 4 three year old heifers. at 350 Tob^o p                       1400
+
+  To 1 stear 6 years old at 600 To 5 D^o 4 year old at 2000         2600
+
+  To the 2 yr old at 2800 To 2 Bulls at 600                         3400
+
+  To 8 Cows & Calves at 4000 To 2 Barron Cows 900                   4900
+
+  To 1 Mare & Mare Filly at 1200 To 1 two year old horse 400        1600
+
+  To 1 D^o 5 years old at 1000 To 1 very old D^o at 150             1150
+
+  To 1 Feather bedd + Bedstead + furniture 1500 To 1 do at 1200     2700
+
+  To 2 D^o at 2000 To 1 Old Flock Bed + Feather pillow at 300       2300
+
+  To one servant Bot 9 years to serve 3000 to 4 stoolth 8 Chairs
+    @ 160-                                                          3160
+
+  To 9 old flagg & boarded Chairs 130 To 1 small old table & stool
+    100                                                              230
+
+  To 1 old Standing Cupboard 150 To Looking Glass at 30              100
+
+  To 1 pair small Stilliards at 60 to 1 Iron Spit+Dripping pan
+    at 80                                                            140
+
+  To 1 pair old Tongs and fire shovel at 30 To 2 Ladles+Chafing
+    Dish 50                                                           80
+
+  To 1 old Narrow Ax + frow at 30 To 1 Box Iron & Heaters at 25       55
+
+  To a passel of Glass Bottles at 40 To a Parcel of old Iron at 50    90
+
+  To 8 old Pewter Dishes and three Basons Ditto at                   228
+
+  To 1 small Table Cloth + 6 Napkins at 50 to 4 Tinpanns 1 Copper
+    Sawspan at 150                                                   100
+
+  To 2 2 quart Potts 1 Pewter Tankard Old                             20
+
+  To 1 old Warming Pan 20 To 1 Brass candlestick 1 Skimmer Old 15     35
+
+  To pasl of Earthen Ware 50 To 3 Iron Potts 2 p^r potthooks 250
+    To 1 Brass Kettle at 300                                         600
+
+  To 1 Brass kettle at 60 To 23 pewter plates old 110 To 4 old
+    Chests 250                                                       420
+
+  To 1 Frying Pan 1 Meal Sifter 15 To a parcel of old Tables and
+    Cyder Cask 350                                                   365
+
+  To 1 Pewter Sheaf[214] 50 To 1 old Gun 100 To 2 Bibles at 40       190
+
+  To 1 Pewter Chamber Pott 10 To 3 Pewter Salts 1 Dram Cup 15         25
+
+  To 1 pair Iron Spansils[215] at                                     50
+                                                                   -----
+                                                     Total [_sic_] 26010
+
+
+Daniel Beach was janitor of the Court House, being paid 200 pounds
+tobacco annually 1700-1703:
+
+  1700 and 1701--"To Daniel Beach for cleaning the Court House"
+  1702 and 1703--"To Daniel Beach for Sweeping the Courthouse."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+    [214] A cluster or bundle of things tied up together; a
+    quantity of things set thick together. [New Oxford
+    Dictionary]
+
+    [215] SPANCEL: A rope or fetter for hobbling cattle, horses,
+    etc.; especially, a short, round rope used for fettering the
+    hind legs of a cow during milking. [New Oxford Dictionary]
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX C
+
+Charges to Account of Mosley Battaley for Goods Sold by Mercer
+
+[From Ledger B, p. 1]
+
+                                                          £   s.   d.
+  1725
+  October
+
+        12^{th} To Ball^{ns}. y^r Acco^{tt} Book
+                  A for (75)                              3   10   3
+             To a Sword & Belt                                14
+             To 1 Snuff                                        8
+             To 1 best worsted Cap                             5
+             To 1 p^r Neats Leather Saddlebags                12   9
+             To 2 silk Romall handkerchiefs @ 3/               6
+             To 1 p^r Seersuckers                         1   13
+             To 1 fine Hat N^o 7                              13   6
+             To Cornelius Tacitus in fol.                      7
+
+        13^{th} To 1 p^r mens white topt Gloves                1   6
+             To 50 4^p Nails                                       2
+
+        14^{th} To 5-1/4 y^{ds} Broadcloath at
+               9/                                          2   7   3
+             To 7 y^{ds} Shalloone at 2/                      14
+             To 8 Sticks Mohair at 3^d                         2
+             To 7 doz Coatbuttons at 7-1/2^d                   4   4-1/2
+             To 4 doz. breast d^o at 3-3/4                     1   3
+             To 3 hanks Silk at 9^d                            2   3
+             To 1-1/4 y^{ds} Wadding at 10^d                   1   3
+             To 1 p^r Stone buttons set in Silver              5
+
+        15^{th} To 1 p^r large Scissars                            7-1/2
+             To 1 p coll^d binding                             1   7-1/2
+             To 1 p holland tape                               1   6
+             To 6 ells broad Garlix N^o F at 2/11             17   6
+             To 1 p^r womens wash gloves                       1   6
+
+        19^{th} To 1 y^d black ribband                        10
+             To 1 horn & Ivory knife & fork                    1
+
+        21   To 1 fine hat N^o 7                              13   6
+             To 1/4 y^d Persian                                1   3
+             To 2 y^{ds} silk Ferritting at 5^d                   10
+
+        22   To Cash won on the Race against Cobler            5
+
+        29   To 1/4 y^d broadcloath                            2   3
+             To 1 q^t Rum                                      1   3
+             To a Sword & Belt                                14   3
+             To Club in Punch                                  2
+             To 1^£ sugar & 1 q^t Rum                          2
+
+        30   To Club with Quarles                                  9
+
+  Novb^r 20  To 1 quire best paper                             1   6
+
+  Dec^r 13   To 1 narrow axe                                   2   3
+        16   To 1200 10^d Nails                                5
+        30   To 1 p^r Shooebuckles                                 7-1/2
+             To 100 6^d Nails                                  9
+             To y^r Stafford Clks notes
+               162^£ tob^o                                1        3
+
+  Feb    5   To Cash on Acc^t Thomas Harwood                  10
+                                                     -------------------
+  Mar    5   To D^o                                      18    6  11-1/2
+                                                     -------------------
+        21   To 1 q^t Rum & 1^£ Sugar                          2   3
+
+  Ap^l   3   To 2 q^{ts} D^o & 1 y^d Muslin                        6
+
+        26   To 1 q^t D^o to Tho^s Benson                      1   6
+
+  Sept^r 16^{th} To 1/2 y^ Druggett                            1  10-1/2
+             To 2 y^{ds} Wadding                               1   6
+             To p^d for rolling down
+               Thomson's hhd. tob^o                           10
+                                                     -------------------
+                                                        £19   10   1
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX D
+
+"Domestick Expenses"
+
+[From Ledger B]
+
+                                                          £   s.   d.
+  1725
+
+  Sept^r 9^{th} To Cash for Exp^s at Stafford
+                  & Spotsylvania                              1    3
+             To 7-1/2 y^{ds} Grown Linnen
+               Sarah & Pitts                                  7    6
+             To 11 fowls & 1 quarter beef                    17    6
+             To 100^£ Sugar to this day expended          2  16    6
+             To Cash for Exp^s Urbanna                        3    1-1/2
+             To Horsehire &c                                  6
+             To p^d John Marnix for bringing
+               my Sloop 2^d                                  10
+             To p^d his ferrage                               1    3
+             To Cash for Exp^s Poplar Spring                  1    3
+             To Exp^s at Bowcocks                            10
+             To Exp^s at M^{rs}. Powers's                 1   5    7-1/2
+             To a man to cart down Cook & barber              1    3
+             To Exp^s at Gibbons's                            2
+             To Exp^s at Dalton's                            15
+             To given Serv^{ts} at Col^o
+               Page's                                         2    6
+             To 1-1/2 doz. red Port at 22/6               1  13    9
+             To 1-1/2 doz. mountain at 30/
+               [Note 1]                                   2   5
+             To Exp^s poplar Spring                           2    3
+             To 1 bar^l tar & pitch for the
+               Sloop                                      1   6    6
+             To 50^1 pork                                     8    4
+             To 25^l bisquet                                  3    6
+             To 1 China punch bowl                           10
+             To 6 Glasses                                     3
+             To 8^l Candles                                   6
+             To given Servants at M^r Standard's              3    1-1/2
+             To Ferrage & Exp^s Piscattaway
+               & Hob's Hole                                   4    4-1/2
+             To Exp^s Essex Court &
+               Ferrage at Keys                                1    3
+             To p^d William Warrell Wages                 1
+             To p^d Patrick Cowan D^o                     1   2   11
+             To horsehire from York                       2
+             To a Trunk                                       6
+             To a Saddle & Furniture self                 3  15
+             To 1-1/2 y^d Cotton                              2    5-1/4
+             To 1 horsewhip                                   6    9
+             To 1 p^r Shooes & buckles Pitts                  6    7-1/2
+  Oct^r 2    To 2 silk Romall handkerchiefs
+               [Note 2]                                       6
+             To 6 loaves 9^s 38-3/4^£ double
+               refin'd Sugar                              2  18    7-1/2
+             To 2^l Tea at 15/                            1  10
+             To 6^l Chocolate                                15
+             To 15-1/4^l Castile Soap at 13^d                17    1-3/4
+             To 15^l Gunpowder at 9^d                        11    3
+             To 1 mans worsted Cap                            3   10-1/2
+             To 1 Wig Comb & Case                                  9
+             To 1 purse wrought with Silver                   2    3
+             To 2 p^r buttons set in Silver at 3/             6
+             To 1 p^c 9^d 14-3/4 Ells bag
+               holland at 7/10-1/2                        5  14    2
+             To 2 p^r mens fine worsted hose at 6/           12
+             To 2 p^r mens fine thread D^o at 5/             10
+             To 1 p^r womens silk D^o                        12
+             To 1 p^r womens fine worsted D^o                 5    6
+             To 1 p^r Scissars with silver Chain             10    6
+             To 1 box Iron & heaters                          9    9
+             To 1 fine hat n^o 6                             12
+             To 1 fine Dandriff Comb                          1    6
+             To 1 ounce fine thread                                7-1/2
+             To 1 fine hat N^o 7                              9
+             To 30 y^{ds} fine Dutch Check at 2/6          3/15
+             To 1 m^s pins                                    1    6
+             To 2 p^c tape                                    2    4
+             To 1 hat N^o 5 gave Sam                          2    6
+             To 1 quire best paper                            1    3
+             To 1 Storebook                               1   5
+             To 1 p^r Seersuckers                         1  13
+             To 1 hoop petticoat                          1   1
+             To 1 womans side Saddle & furniture          3  11    3
+             To 2 y^{ds} silver ribband at 22-1/2             3    9
+             To 1 hat N^o 12                                  9
+             To 1 y^d fine strip't muslin                     6
+             To 1 y^d fine Kenting [Note 3]                   4
+             To 4-1/2 y^{ds} white Cotton Sarah at 18^d       5    9
+             To 4-1/2 y^{ds} filletting D^o at
+               3^d [Note 4]                                   1    1-1/2
+             To 2 skeins thread                                    2
+             To 1 p^r wom^s wash gloves                       1    6
+             To 1/4^l w^t bio: thread                         1    5
+             To 1/2 doz: plates                               7    6
+             To 2 porringers                                  2    6
+             To 1 p^r fine blankets                       1  13
+             To 1 y^d fine strip'd muslin                     6
+             To 1 Cadow Sarah [Note 5]                        3    6
+             To Earthen Ware                                 10
+             To 1-1/2 bushel Wheat                            4    6
+             To 2 fowls                                      10
+             To Battalay's Account for
+               Rum both in day                            2   1    3
+             To 1-1/2 y^d red Cotton                          2    5-1/4
+             To 1 p^r womens Shooes                           3    6
+             To 1 p^r patterdashers [Note 6]                 14    3
+             To 5 Candlesticks                               17    6
+             To 1 Bed Cord                                    2
+             To 3 maple knives & forks                        2
+  Oct^r 22   To Cash lost at a Race                           2
+             To Tho^s Watts for Ditto                        10
+             To Expences there                                1    4
+             To 6 y^{ds} silk ferriting at 5^d
+               [Note 7]                                       2    6
+        25   To 16-1/2 y^{ds} Cantaloons at 7-1/2
+               for Pease [Note 8]                            10    3-3/4
+             To 1 P^r mens thread hose                        5
+             To 1 p^r mens silk Ditto                     1   1
+             To 2-1/4 y^{ds} fine Kenting at 4/6             10    1-1/2
+        26   To 1 p^r wom^s worsted hose                      3
+             To 1 knife & fork                                     8
+        27   To a Steer                                   1  11    9
+             To 2 yew haft knives & forks                     1    3
+        28   To 2 q^{ts} Rum                                  4    6
+             To 1 yew haft knife & fork &
+               1 p^r Studds                                   1   10-1/2
+        29   To 1 p^r Salisbury Scissars                      2    6
+             To 1-1/2 Gallon Rum                              4    6
+             To 1 speckled knife & fork                            5
+  Nov^r  4   To 1 writing Desk                            5  16    8
+             To 1 Glass & Cover                               8    9
+             To 18^l Pewter at                            1   8
+             To 6 tea Cups & Saucers                         14
+             To 2 Chocolate Cups                              2    4
+             To 2 Custard Cups                                1    9
+             To 1 Tea Table painted with
+               fruit                                         16    4
+             To 6 leather Chairs at 7/                        2    2
+             To 1 sm^l walnut eating table                    8
+             To 1/2 doz Candlemoulds                         10
+
+
+
+
+GLOSSARY
+
+
+     1. "Mountain: 5. (In full _mountain wine_). A variety of Malaga
+     wine, made from grapes grown on the mountains."--_A New English
+     Dictionary on Historical Principles,_ Sir James A. H. Murray, ed.,
+     vol. 6 (Oxford, 1908), p. 711.
+
+     2. "Romal: 1. A silk or cotton square or handkerchief, sometimes
+     used as a head-dress; a thin silk or cotton fabric with a
+     handkerchief pattern."--Ibid., vol. 8, pt. 1 (Oxford, 1910), p.
+     764.
+
+     3. "Kenting: A kind of fine linen cloth."--Ibid., vol. 5, (Oxford,
+     1901), p. 673.
+
+     4. "Filleting: 2. a. A woven material for binding; tape; a piece of
+     the same; a band or bandage."--Ibid., vol. 4 (Oxford, 1901), p.
+     217.
+
+     5. "Caddow: A rough woolen covering ... 1880. _Antrim & Down
+     Gloss._ (E. D. S.) _Cadda_, _Caddaw_, a quilt or coverlet, a cloak
+     or cover; a small cloth which lies on a horse's back."--Ibid., vol.
+     2 (Oxford, 1893), p. 13.
+
+     6. Patterdashers. Probably the same as "spatter-dash. A legging or
+     gaiter extending to the knee, worn as a protection from water and
+     mud." Webster's _New International Dictionary of the English
+     Language_, second ed., unabridged; Springfield, Mass., G. & C.
+     Merriam Co., 1958.
+
+     7. Ferreting. Same as "Ferret. 2. A stout tape most commonly made
+     of cotton, but also of silk; then known as Italian ferret." Murray,
+     _op. cit._, (no. 1) vol. 4 (Oxford, 1901), p. 165.
+
+     8. "Cantoloon. _Obs._ A wollen stuff manufactured in the 18th c. in
+     the west of England." Ibid., vol. 2: (Oxford, 1893), p. 79.
+
+     9. "Soosy ... 1858. Simmond's _Dictionary of Trade._ Soocey, a
+     mixed striped fabric of silk and cotton in India."--Ibid., vol. 9.
+     pt. 1 (Oxford, 1919), p. 428.
+
+                                                         £    s.   d.
+
+             To 1 Tea table                                  18
+             To 1 brass chaffing dish                         5
+             To 6 copper tart pans                            6
+  Nov^r 4^{th} To 1 p^r mens yarn hose                        2
+             To 1 silk Romal                                  3
+             To Expences Spotsylvania Court &C           1    7    4
+             To 1 p^r bellows
+             To 2 funnells
+             To Coffeepot, teapots, &c                        7
+             To 1 Seabed Sheets Table Linnen &c          3   10
+             To Cash to Pitts to bear
+               Expences at Court                              2    9
+             To a pack of Cards                                    9
+             To 1 pair mens Shooes                            5
+        6    To 1 silk Romall handkerchief                    3
+       11    To 6-1/2 y^{ds} Cantaloons @ 9^d                 4    8-1/2
+       17    To 16 q^r 22 y^{ds} Scotch Cloth
+               @20^d-1/4                                 1   17    1-1/2
+       20    To p^d William Warrell Wages
+               for this day                              1    6    8-1/2
+       22    To 6-1/4^l tallow @ 6^d                          3   16
+             To 3-1/2 y^{ds} Cantaloons & 40^l
+               coll'd thread                                  3    4
+             To 1 maple knife & fork                          1
+       25    To 154^l pork at 1-1/2                          19    3
+             To 91^l D^o at 1-1/2                            11    4-1/2
+  Dec^r 19   To 2 p^r wom^s Shooes                           11
+    X^tmas   To Cash for Lost at Cards &
+               sundry Expenses                           1   18   19
+             To p^d Thomas Morris for pork               6    7    5
+             To p^d Pitts Wages till February            4   19    9-1/2
+             To p^d Thomas Collins D^o
+               till March 18                             2
+             To 3 Ells y^d w^d Garlix 3/                      9
+             To sundrys from M^r Crompton p^r Acc^t      1   19    1-1/2
+  Feb 26     To 1 q^t rum 27 4 q^{ts} D^o                     7    6
+  Mar  2     To 2 q^{ts} D^o 5. 1 q^{ts} D^o 7
+                2 q^{ts} D^o 8^{th}. 5 q^{ts} D^o            15
+       9     To 2 q^{ts} D^o
+             To sundry Exp^s to this Day                 1
+      10     To 2 q^t Rum 12th 2 q^{ts} D^o
+               15th 2 q^{ts} D^o                              9
+      15     To 5 p^{ts} Rum 1^l Sugar & 2
+                 y^{ds} Check                                 7    6
+      18     To 7 gall^s Rum & 16^l Sugar                2    9    6
+             To Cash for taking up W^m Hall's horse          10
+             To D^o at Stafford Court                         4
+             To Sundrys to W^m Dunn                      1   17    6
+  June 11    To cleaning out the house                        6    9
+             To 1500 10^d Nails used about it.               11    3
+             To 1 doz. Canary                            1   10
+             To p^d Tho^s Collins his Wages to May 11    3
+             To 2 doz & 8 bottles Claret                 2    8
+             To 3 Cows & Calves & 1 featherbed          11
+             To 1 [?] Chints                                 18
+             To 21-1/2y^{ds} coll^d blew at 2.6          2   13    1-1/2
+             To 15 y^{ds} course Check at 16^d           1
+             To 12 y^{ds} best D^o                           18
+             To Account Rum &c to this day               2   10
+             To Wheat Corn fowls &c                      3    2    3
+             To sundrys of M^c farlane as p^r Acc^t      5   11    1-1/2
+             To sundrys of Alex^r Buncle as p^r D^o     15   17    9-1/2
+             To 7-1/2 y^{ds} y^d w^d Check @
+               2/ to W^m Dunn                                15
+             To 2-1/2 y^{ds} brown linnen @
+               10^d to D^o                                    2    1
+             To p^d M^{rs} Bourne for sundrys            5
+             To p^d for a Coffin & digging
+               ye Child's grave                          1    5
+             To sundry Expences for fowls &c                 17    4
+             To John Chinn's Acc^t ferrages
+               &c for going to W^{ms}burgh               2    5    6
+             To 2 p^r Andirons 2 Trunks &c               2    7    6
+             To 2 dishes & 4-3/4 y^{ds} India
+               Persian                                   1   13    1-1/2
+             To 1 p^r Shooes & buckles                        6
+             To Cash to Bates to go for my horse              7    2
+             To D^o lost at Race & gave
+               Scarlett Handcock                         2   12
+             To Cash for Exp^s                                3    9
+             To John Barber for going to Gloucester          11    6
+             To gave W^m Johnson                                   7-1/2
+             To paid for Apples                               6
+             To paid Eliz^a Rowsey Wages                      6    9
+             To 5 gall^s Rum                             1    5
+             To sundrys bought of Thomas
+              Hudson as by his account                  12    6   10
+             To 1 y^d princes Linnen W^m Johnson              1    3
+             To Cash for 1/2 doz. Spoons &c                   4   10-1/2
+             To D^o for Exp^s on a Journey
+               to W^{ms}burgh                            1   19    3-1/2
+             To Mosley Battaley's Acc^t for
+               his fee for 1726                          2   10
+             To allowed him for extraordinary
+               service                                   4   15    1
+             To Peter Whitings Account Palms &
+               Sail Needles                                   2    6
+               56^1 Cordage                              1    8    3
+             To Cha^s McClelland's
+               Account for sundrys
+               Going to Col^o Mason's
+               for Eliz Rowsey                               10
+               Going to York & sundrys                   1    5    6
+               Going to Nich^o Smith's                       10
+             To Rob^t Spotswood's
+               Account for sundrys                       1   10
+             To Geo. Rust's Acc^t for 1 Ironpot               5
+             To John Dagge's Acc^t of sundrys
+               1 Oven                                        17    6
+               Bringing over 10 Sheep from Sumn^{rs}          5
+             To John Randolph's Acc^t for
+               Lawyers fees                              4    2
+             To Esme Stewart's D^o for Toys                   2
+             To George Walker D^o for Law Charges        4   15    5
+             To 2 Gall^s Rum of Simon Peirson                10
+             To John Maulpus's Acc^t for
+               2 bar^{ls} Corn                           1    1
+             To Thomas Hudson's D^o for
+               2 bar^{ls} D^o                                15
+             To Joshua Davis's D^o for paid
+               Thomas Jefferies for a Gun                2
+             To M^r Graeme's Acc^t for sundry books      2    9    3
+             To Jn^o Quarles's D^o for 1 p^r
+               sm^l Stilliards                                7    6
+             To Hen Woodcock's D^o for Ferrages                    9
+             To Harry Beverley's D^o for
+               Lawyer's fees                             4    2
+             To Rob^t Wills's Acc^t for sundrys              18    8
+             To Rose Dinwiddie's Acc^t for
+               1 p^r mens yarn hose & 2
+               bush^{ls} Wheat                                7    6
+             To Peter Hedgman's D^o for sundrys          2    2    7
+             To Mary Fitzhugh's D^o for 8
+               bus^{ls} Wheat                                 9
+             To Lazarus Pepper's D^o for Quitrent
+               of 187 Acres of Land                           4    6
+             To Quitrents of 2087 Acres of
+               Land for the year 1725                    2    8
+             To Cash Account for sundrys                11    8
+             To Rawleigh Chinn's Acc^t for sundrys       0    0    0
+                 Keeping my horse for a Race                 15
+                 1-1/2 barr^l Corn                           15
+                 1 Shoat 18 Fodder 17^d
+                   5 Geese 7/6                               10    5
+                 4 days hire Moll                             1    3
+                 Dressing Deerskins for Will Dunn             4
+                 Plowing & fencing my Garden             1    4
+                 A Gun                                       18
+             To Alexand^r M^cfarlane's Acc^t
+                 A Caddow & 1 p^r blankets                   16
+                 1 wom^s horsewhip                            6
+                 1£ Gunpowder & 10^£ Shot                     5   10
+                 1 womans bound felt                          4    6
+             To 12^l Gunpowder & 20^l Shot               2
+             To Henry Floyd's Acc^t for 5 pecks Corn          2    6
+             To Ja^s Whalley's D^o for 7 fowls                3
+             To Ja^s Horsenaile's D^o for sundrys        1   19    9
+             To John Holdbrook's Acc^t
+               for taylor's work                         2   11    6
+             To John Tinsley's Acc^t for
+               Fodder & tallow                               14
+             To Hugh French's Acc^t for a
+               Serv^t woman                             12
+             To D^r Roy for a visit &
+               medicines my Child                            12    6
+             To Edw^d Snoxall's Acc^t for 1
+               bush^l hommonybeans                            4
+             To Edw^d Simm's Acc^t for sundrys           6   11   11
+             To Ralph Falconer's D^o for D^o             1        10
+             To Tho^s Eves for fowls                          4    6
+             To 1 olives                                 5
+             To 1 pair mens Shooes W^m Dunn                   5
+             To 3 Ells Dowlass D^o                            5    6
+             To 1-1/2 bush^l Corn                             3
+             To 3-3/4 y^{ds} Check for finding
+               my Saddle                                      5
+             To 10 y^{ds} fustian 2/6                    1    5
+             To 5-1/4 doz Coat Buttons 10^d                   4    2
+             To 3 hanks silk & 2 hanks mohair                 3    2
+             To 4 Soosey handkerchiefs [Note 9]              12
+             To 12 yd^s Check & 1 p^r mens gloves             4
+             To 2 yd^s Wadding                                1    6
+             To 6-1/4 bush^{ls} Corn                         13
+             To 2-3/4 bush^{ls} pease                        11
+             To 2 bush^{ls} potatoes                          4
+                                                    --------------------
+                                                      £285    2    3-1/4
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX E
+
+Mercer's Reading 1726-1732
+
+[From Ledger B]
+
+
+            _Mr. John Graeme_
+
+  1726  By sundry Book bo^d of him belong^s to the Hon^{ble} Col^o
+          Spotswood. Viz.
+            The History of England           3 vols          £4. 2
+            Clarendon's History              6 vols           2. 2
+            Tillotson's Works               15 vols           5.15
+            Plutarch's Lives                 5 vols           1.10
+            Dryden's Virgil                  3 vols             17.6
+            Cowley's Works                   2 vols             13.
+            Milton's Paradise Lost                               6.6
+            Secret Memories                                      7.7
+            Chamberlayne's State of England                      6.6
+            Wilkin's Mathematical Works                          5.6
+            Petronius                                            5.
+            Tilly's Orations                                     5.6
+         [Symbol: dagger]Bible                                   4
+            Hudibras                         2 vol               5.3
+            Callipoedia                                          2.
+            Dunster's Horace                                     6.
+            De Gennes Voyage                                     3.
+            Banquet of Xenophon                                  3.
+            Congreve's Plays                                     4.
+            Lock's Essays                                       12.
+            Evelyn's Gardening                                1.
+         [Symbol: dagger]Littleton's Dictionary    }
+         [Symbol: dagger]Present State of Russia   }
+         [Symbol: dagger]Sedley's Works            }          1.
+         [Symbol: dagger]New Voyages               }
+         [Symbol: dagger]New Travels               }
+         [Symbol: dagger]Cole's Dictionary         }
+
+[All except those marked by [Symbol: dagger] are listed as returned on
+the debit side]
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+          Law Books Bought of Mat Stotham
+  May 1732    Salkeld's Reports                               1.18.
+              Ventris's Reports                               1.15.
+              Jacob's Law Dictionary                          1. 8.
+              Maxims of Equity                                  10.
+              Cursus Cancellaris                                 6.
+              Hearn's Pleader                                 1. 5.
+              Lilly's Practical Register     2 vol              14.
+              Treatise of Trespasses                             6.
+              Laws of Evidence                                   8.
+              Laws of Ejectments                                 8.
+                  The 5 last extraordinary scarce
+
+
+                        _Account of Books lent & to whom_      (1730)
+
+            History of the Netherlands                 Jn^o Savage
+  July 13   Coles's Dictionary
+            History of the Royal Society               Col^o Fitzhugh
+            Rochesters Works                           Andrew Forbes
+            Evelyn's Sylva                             Ralph Falkner
+            Woods Institutes 1^{st} Vol.               Parson Rose
+            Mathesis Juvenilia           }
+            Ozenam's Mathem. Recreations }             Edmund Bagge
+            Cockers Arithmetick                        Robert Jones
+       30   Mariners Compass rectified M^r Savage
+            Travels thro' Italy &c Cap^t Hedgman
+            Daltons Justice D^o
+
+
+_A Catalogue of the Books bought March 1730 of Mr Rob^t Beverley_
+
+  Coke's Reports temp Eliz^a Reg                1.10
+  Dalton's Officium Vicecomitum                 1.
+  Coke upon Littleton                           1.
+  Cokes 2^d, 3^d & 4^{th} Institutes            2. 4
+  Cooks Reports                                 1.
+  Laws of Virginia fol^o printed two            1. 4
+  Compleat Clerk                                  12.
+  Swinburne [18th-century author]                 12.
+  Laws of the Sea                                 14.
+  Godolphin's Orphans Legacy                       9.
+  Symboleography                                  14.
+  Sheppards Grand Abridgment                    1.10.
+  Three Sets of Wingates Abridgm^t of Statutes    15.
+  Instructor Clericalis in 7 parts              1.15.
+  Woods Institutes 2 vol 8vo                      12.
+  Placita Generalia                                5.
+  Tryals per pair                                  5.
+  Practical Register                               6.
+  Law of Obligations & Conditions                  3.6
+  Reads Declarations                               4.
+  Clerks Tutor                                     6.
+  Prasca Cancellaria                               6.
+  Fitzherberts new Naturabrevium                   6.
+  Brownlows Declarations                           6.
+  Clerks Guide                                     3.6
+  Melloy de Jure maritime                          6.
+  Grounds of the Law                               3.
+  Compleat Attorney                                5.
+  Terms of the Law                                 5.
+  Finch's Law                                      3.
+  Doctor & Student                                 3.
+  Greenwood of Courts                              3.6
+  Law of Conveyances                               3.
+  Practice of Chancery                             5.
+  English Liberties                                2.
+  Reports in Chancery                              3.
+  Meriton                                          3.
+  Exact Constable                                  1.
+  Littletons Tenures                               2.
+  Written Laws of Virginia                      25.
+                                             ---------
+                                               £46. 7.6
+  Woodbridge of Agriculture
+  The Compleat Angler
+  Salmons Dispensatory
+  The accomplished Cook
+  History of the Royal Society
+
+     March y^e 4th 1730, I promise to deliver the above mentioned
+     books being fifty two in number to M^rJohn Mercer or his Order
+     on demand.
+
+     Witness my hand the day & year abovewritten.
+
+     Rob^t Beverley
+     Test John Chew      Copy
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX F
+
+Credit side of Mercer's account with Nathaniel Chapman
+
+[From Ledger B. Nathaniel Chapman was Superintendent of the Accokeek
+Iron Works.]
+
+
+  1731
+
+     Sep  9   By Ball^[a.] bro^[t.] from fol 36             £  . 2.4
+              By 500 2^d Nails           @ 2/5 p  m            . 2.5
+              By 500 3^d D                 3/                    3.
+              By 1^m 4^d D^o               4/                    4.
+              By 6^m 6^d D^o               5/                   10.
+              By 4^m 8^d D^o               7/9                1.11.
+              By 4^m 10^d D^o              9/6                1.18.
+              By 8^m 12^d D^o             12/                 1.16.
+              By 2^m 20^d D^o             14/                 1. 8.
+              By 1 handsaw file           5^d                     .5
+              By 1 p^r mens wood
+                heel shooes                6/6                   6.6
+              By 1 half Curb
+                bridle                     6/                    6.
+              By 1 halter                  2/4                   2.4
+              By 1 boys hat                2/                    2.
+         25   By 1 coll^d thread           3/                    3.
+     Oct 29   By 16 1-1/2 20^d          }
+                Nailes                  }2000 20^d @          1. 6.
+              By 27 1-1/2 24^d D^o      } 13/
+              By 2^m 8^d D^o               7/                   15.6
+              By 4^m 10^d D^o              9/6                1.16.
+              By 5^m 12^d D^o             12/                 3.
+  January 1   By 1 p^r girls Shooes
+              By 4y^{ds} Cotton            2/4                   9.4
+              By 1 double Girth            2/                    2.
+              By 1 Garden hoe
+              By 2-1/2 y^{ds} Kersey       4/1-1/2              10.3-3/4
+              By 1-1/2 y^{ds} Shalloone    1/9                   2.7-1/2
+              By my Ord^r in favour of W^m Holdbrook          4. 1.3-1/2
+              By 2 hanks sowing Silk 9^d                         1.6
+              By Cash overpaid                                   1.2
+              By 1-1/2 y^d Garlix N^o 24                         2.5
+         10   By 1 Iron pot g^t 36^l-1/2 at 4^d                 12.2
+              By 1 bushel Salt                                   2.6
+              By 1 new Axe                                       5.
+              By 1 p^r pothooks & wedges 16^l-1/2 at 8^d        11.
+     Feb. 7   By 1 plough & Swingle tree fitted
+                of w^{th} Iron                                   9.6
+              By 5 narrow hoes                                  12.6
+              By 2 grubbing hoes 10^l-1/2 at 8^d                 7.
+              By 1 Ironwedge 4^l-1/2 at 8^d                      3.
+              By 2 new horse Collars                             8.
+              By 2 p^r Hames & Ironwork                          1.6
+              By 2 p^r Iron traces g^t 19^{lb} at 8^d           12.8
+              By Iron door Latch                                   9
+              By 1 Ironrake                                      1.6
+              By 2 Heaters
+              By putting a leg in an old Iron pott
+     Mar      By 17-1/2 double refin'd Sugar @ 16^d           1. 3.
+              By 100^l Sugar 35/& 3 gall^s Rum 7/6            2. 2.6
+
+                                                      --------------
+                                                            £28.15.8-3/4
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX G
+
+Overwharton Parish Account
+
+[From Ledger B]
+
+
+  ------------------------------------+---------------------------------
+                                      |
+       Overwharton Parish      Dr.    |           Contra
+                                      |
+  1730                                |1730
+   March                              | March 15
+    To a Book to keep the             |  By W^m Holdbrook's fine
+      Parish Register         £1.11.  |    for Adultery           £5
+    To drawing Bonds between          |  By Ebenezer Moss's for
+      Blackburn & the                 |    swearing & Sabbath
+      Churchwardens ab^t              |    breaking                1.15.
+      building the Church      1.     |  By Edward Franklyn's for
+    To fee v Moss                11.8 |    swearing when reced     3.
+             Ballenger                |
+             Cabnet                   |                         --------
+                                      |                            £9.15.
+                                      |
+   15                                 |
+    To 1/3 W^m Holdbrooks's           |
+      fine                     1.13.4 |
+    To 1/3 Eliz^a Bear's D^o          |
+    To fee v Franklyn          1.     |
+    To paid Burr Harrison by          |
+      Ord^o Vestry             2.10.  |
+                             -------  |
+                              £8.11   |
+                              £1.4    |
+                             -------  |
+                              £9.15   |
+  1732                                |1732
+  April                               |
+    To fee v Coulter          £ .15.  | March 25
+                                      |  By Ball^a                  1.4
+                                      |  By Eliz^a Ballengers fine
+                                      |    for a bastard
+                                      |  By Alice Jefferies' D^o
+                                      |  By Ann Holt's D^o
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX H
+
+Colonists Identified by Mercer According to Occupation
+
+[From Ledger G]
+
+
+  William Hunter                    Merchant           Fredericksburg
+  Jonathan Foward                   Merchant           London
+  William Stevenson                 Merchant           London
+  Robert Rae                        Merchant           Falmouth
+  Robert Tucker                     Merchant           Norfolk
+  David Minitree                    Bricklayer         [Williamsburg]
+  Thomas Ross                       Merchant           Alexandria
+  William Monday                    Carpenter
+  Abraham Basnett                   Oysterman
+  John Booth                        Weaver
+  John Pagan                        Merchant           Fairfax
+  John Grigsby                      Smith              Stafford
+  Francis Hogans                    Wheelwright        Caroline
+  Doctor Spencer                    [Physician]        Fredericksburg
+  William Threlkeld                 Weaver
+  Elliott Benger                    Loftmaster Gen'l.
+  William Brownley [Bromley]        Joiner
+  Andrew Beaty                      Joiner
+  George Wythe                      Attorney-at-Law    Williamsburg
+  William Jackson                   Wheelwright        Stafford
+  James Griffin                     Carpenter
+  William Thomson                   Tailor             Fredericksburg
+  Jacob Williams                    Plasterer
+  Joseph Burges                     Plasterer
+  Henry Threlkeld                   Merchant           Quantico
+  Cavan Dulany                      Attorney-at-law    [Prince William?]
+  Peter Murphy                      Sawyer
+  John Fitzpatrick                  Weaver
+  Cuthbert Sandys                   Merchant           Fredericksburg
+  Henry Mitchell                    Merchant           Occaquan
+  John Harnett                      Ship Carpenter     Nanjemoy
+  John Graham                       Merchant           Essex
+  Fielding Lewis                    Merchant           Fredericksburg
+  Robert Duncanson                  Merchant           Fredericksburg
+  John Fox                          Smith              Fredericksburg
+  Robert Gilchrist                  Merchant           Port Royal
+  Robert Jones                      Attorney-at-Law    Surrey
+  [Jonathan] Sydenham & Hodgson     Merchants          King George
+  Watson & Cairnes                  Merchants          Nansemond
+  William Prentis                   Merchant           Williamsburg
+  William Mills                     Weaver             Stafford
+  Thomas Barry                      Bricklayer
+  Edward Powers                     Shoemaker          Caroline
+  Clement Rice                      Shoemaker          King George
+  William Ramsay                    Merchant           Fairfax
+  Andrew Sproul                     Merchant           Norfolk
+  Richard Savage                    Merchant           Falmouth
+  Charles Dick                      Merchant           Fredericksburg
+  William Miller                    Horse Jockey       Augusta
+  Charles Jones                     Tailor             Williamsburg
+  Peter Scott                       Joiner             Williamsburg
+  William Copen [Copein]            Mason              Prince William
+  John Blacke                       Gardener           Marlborough
+  Richard Gamble                    Barber             Williamsburg
+  Launcelot Walker                  Merchant
+  John Rider                        Waterman           Maryland
+  John Proby                        Pilot              Hampton
+  John Hyndman                      Merchant           Williamsburg
+  James Craig                       Jeweler            Williamsburg
+  Robert Crichton                   Merchant           Williamsburg
+  John Simpson                      Wheelwright        Fredericksburg
+  George Charleton                  Tailor             Williamsburg
+  Hugh MacLane                      Tailor             Stafford
+  William Kelly                     Attorney           Prince William
+  Walter Darcy                      Harnessmaker
+  John Carlyle                      Merchant           Fairfax
+  ---- Kirby                        Mason              King George
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX I
+
+Materials Listed in Accounts with Hunter and Dick, Fredericksburg
+Alphabetical Summary of Materials listed in Ledger G in Mercer's
+accounts with William Hunter and Charles Dick, merchants of
+Fredericksburg. Definitions are based on information in _A New Oxford
+Dictionary_, Webster's _New International Dictionary_ (second edition,
+unabridged), _Every Day Life in the Massachusetts_ Bay Colony, by George
+F. Dow (Boston, 1935), and a series of articles by Hazel E. Cummin in
+_Antiques_: vol. 38, pp. 23-25, 111-112; vol. 39, pp. 182-184; vol. 40,
+pp. 153-154, 309-312.
+
+     ALLAPINE: A mixed stuff of wool and silk, or mohair and cotton.
+
+     BOMBAYS: Raw cotton.
+
+     BOMBAZINE: A twilled or corded dress material of silk and worsted,
+     sometimes also of cotton and worsted, or of worsted alone. In
+     black, used for mourning.
+
+     BROADCLOTH: A fine, smooth woolen cloth of double width.
+
+     BUCKRAM: A kind of coarse linen or cotton fabric, stiffened with
+     gum or paste. Murray quotes Berkeley, _Alicphr_ ... (1832), "One of
+     our ladies ... stiffened with hoops and whalebone and buckram."
+
+     CALAMANCO: A light-weight material of wool or mohair and wool,
+     sometimes figured or striped, sometimes dyed in clear, bright
+     colors, and calendered to a silky gloss to resemble satin.
+
+     CALICO: Murray defers to Chambers' _Cyclopaedia_ definition (1753):
+     "An Indian stuff made of cotton, sometimes stained with gay and
+     beautiful colours ... Calicoes are of divers kinds, plain, printed,
+     painted, stain'd, dyed, chints, muslins, and the like." It is not
+     to be confused with the modern material of the same name.
+
+     CAMBRIC: A fine white linen or cotton fabric, much used for
+     handkerchiefs and shirts, originally made at Cambray in Flanders.
+
+     CAMLET: A class of fine-grained material of worsted or mohair and
+     silk, sometimes figured, sometimes "watered." _Moreen_ is one of
+     its subtypes.
+
+     CHECK: Any checked, woven or printed, material.
+
+     DUFFEL: A woven cloth with a thick nap, synonymous with _shag_.
+     Made originally at Duffel, near Antwerp. In a passage quoted by
+     Murray, Defoe (_A Tour of Great Britain_) mentions its manufacture
+     at Witney, "a Yard and three quarters wide, which are carried to
+     New England and Virginia."
+
+     FRIEZE: A coarse woolen cloth with a nap on one side.
+
+     GARLIX: Linen made in Gorlitz, Silesia, in several shades of
+     blue-white and brown.
+
+     HOLLAND: A linen material, sometimes glazed, first made in Holland.
+
+     KERSEY (often spelled "Cresoy" by Mercer): A coarse, long-fiber
+     woolen cloth, usually ribbed, used for stockings, caps, etc.
+
+     SHALLOON: A closely woven woolen material used for linings.
+
+     PRUNELLA: A stout, smooth material, used for clergymen's gowns, and
+     later for the uppers of women's shoes.
+
+     TAMMY: A plain-woven worsted material, with open weave. Used plain,
+     it served for flour bolts, soup and milk strainers, and sieves.
+     Dyed and glazed, and sometimes quilted, it was used for curtains,
+     petticoat linings, and coverlets.
+
+     TARTAN: Woolen cloth woven in Scotch plaids.
+
+In addition to these fabrics, there are listed "China Taffety,"
+"Silv^r Vellum," "worsted," "Pomerania Linnen," "Russia Bedtick,"
+"Irish linnen," "1 yd. India Persian," "worsted Damask," "Mechlin lace"
+(a costly Belgian pillow lace, of which Mercer purchased nine yards of
+"No. 3" at five shillings, and eight yards of "N^o 4" at six
+shillings), "sprig Linnen," and "6 silk laces at 4-1/2."
+
+For trimming and finishing, one finds white thread, black thread, nun's
+thread, brown thread, blue thread, red thread, colored thread (all
+bought by the pound), gingham and hair buttons, "gold gimp ribband,"
+"pair Womens buckles," fringe, coat buttons, vest buttons, scarlet
+buttons, silver coat buttons, shirt buttons, "mettle" vest buttons,
+"fine" shirt buttons, "course" shirt buttons, "Card sleeve buttons,"
+silver sleeve buttons, and cording. There were several purchases of
+haircloth, used principally in stiffening lapels and other parts of
+men's clothing, but used also for towels, tents, and for drying malt and
+hops.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX J
+
+Account of George Mercer's Expenses while Attending the College of
+William and Mary
+
+[From Ledger G]
+
+
+    Son's Maintenance at Williamsburg, Dr.
+
+  1750
+  April 5
+       To Cash                                              £ 1. 7.6
+       To D^o p^d M^r. Robinson for Entranc      £4.12.
+                  M^r. Graeme D^o                 4.12.
+                  M^r. Preston D^o                4. 6. 8
+                  M^r. Davenport D^o              1.12. 6
+                  Housekeeper                     3.10.
+                    for Candles                     15.10
+                    for Pocket money              3. 6. 4    22.15.4
+                                                 --------
+       To Cash p^d for Lottery Tickets                        7.10.6
+       To D^o p^d for washing                                 1. 1.
+       To M^r Dering for Board                                5.
+       To Peter Scott for mending a Table                        2.6
+       To Housekeeping at Williamsburg for sundrys Viz
+         A Featherbed & furniture                £8.
+         A Desk                                   1. 1. 6
+         An oval Table                            1. 1.
+         3 Chairs 7/                              1. 1.      11. 3.6
+                                                ---------   --------
+  July
+       To General Charges for sundrys Viz
+       To Cash p^d M^r Preston as advanced for
+         George                                  £2. 3
+         to George                                2. 3
+         to the Usher                             1.11. 3     5.17.3
+                                                 ---------
+
+  August
+       To Cash p^d the Nurse attending J^{no}
+         & Ja^s                                  £2. 3.
+        to John & James                           1. 1. 6     3. 4.6
+                                                 ---------
+
+       To W^m Thomson for Taylors work                        3.10.6
+  Septemb^r
+       To Cash to George                                      1. 1.6
+   October
+       To D^o to D^o to John James & Nurse                    6. 9.
+       To John Holt for sundrys                               4. 5.7-1/2
+       To James Cocke for D^o                                 1.15.9
+       To Covington the dancing master                        2. 3.
+       To James Power for Cash to George                         2.3
+       To William Prentis for sundrys                        18. 1.3-1/2
+       To Rich^d Gamble for two wigs & shaving                5. 7.3
+       To Books for sundrys                                  22. 4.7-1/2
+       To W^m Thomson for Taylors work                        1. 9.6
+                                                          --------------
+                                                           £126.13.1-1/2
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX K
+
+John Mercer's Library
+
+[From Ledger G]
+
+"The prices are the first Cost in Sterling money exclusive of
+Commission, Shipping or other Charges."
+
+                                                              Sterling
+  LAW BOOKS
+
+  _Abridgments_
+        Cases in Equity abridged                           £  18.
+        Danvers's Abridgment 3 vol                          3.10.
+        Viner's Abridgment 6 vol                            8. 8.
+        Davenport's Abridgm^t of Coke on Littleton             2.
+        Hughes's Abridgm^t 2 vol                              10.
+        Ireland's Abridgm^t of Dyer's Reports                  2.
+        Rolle's Abridgm^t interleaved 2 vol                 5.
+        Salmon's Abridgm^t of the State trials              1.15.
+        Statutes abridged by Cay 2 vol                      2.10.
+        State trials abridged 1 vol                            5.6
+        Virginia Laws Abridged                                 8.
+
+  _Conveyancing_
+        Ars Clericalis 1 vol                                   4.6
+        Compleat Conveyancer                                   5.
+        Clerk's Guide                                          5.
+        Clerk & Scriveners Guide                               8.
+        Herne's Law of Conveyances                             2.
+        Lawyer's Library                                       3.6
+        West's Symboleography                                  5.
+
+  _Courts & Courtkeeping_
+        Attorneys Practise in C B                              6.
+        Attorney's Practise in B R 2 vol                      12.
+        Coke's Institutes 4^{th} Part                         15.
+    RK  Crown Circuit Companion                                6.
+        History of the Chancery                                2.6
+    AR  Practise in Chancery 2 vol                             7.
+        Practick Part of the Law                               6.
+    GI  Rules of Practise commonplaced                         4.
+        Practise of Chancery 1672                              1.6
+    AR  Harrison's Chancery Practiser                          6.
+
+  _Crown_
+        Coke's Institutes 3rd Part                            15.
+        Hale's History of the Pleas of the Crown            2.10.
+          2 vol/
+        Hawkins Pleas of the Crown                          1.10.
+        Hale's Continuation of the Crown Laws                  2.6
+        Sutton de Pace Regis                                   5.
+
+  _Dictionaries_
+        Consell's Interpreter                                 10.
+        Jacobus's Law Dictionary                            1. 8.
+        Law French Dictionary                                  6.
+    RI  Students Law Dictionary                                5.
+    AR  Term's de la Loy                                       5.
+
+  _Entries_
+        Aston's                                                3.
+    TA  Brown Lows' Declarations                              12.
+    AR  Bohun's Declarations                                   6.
+        Brown's modus intrandi, 2 vol                         12.
+        Clift's                                             1.10.
+        Coke's                                              1. 1.
+        Lilly's                                             1. 5.
+        Mallory's Quarer Impedit                              17.
+        Placila generalia & specialia                          3.
+        Rastallo                                            1. 1.
+        Robinson's                                            10.
+        Read's Declarations                                    3.
+        Vidiano                                               10.
+        Thompson's                                          1.
+  _Justices of Peace_
+        Justicio vade mecum                                    2.
+        Keble's Assistant to Justices                          5.
+        Manual for Justices 1641                               2.
+
+  _Maxims_
+        Doctor & Student                                       3.6
+        Finch's Law                                            4.
+        Francis's Maxims of Equity                             8.
+        Hale's History & Analysis of the Laws                  6.
+        Hale's Hereditary Descants                             1.6
+        Hawks's Grounds of the Laws of England                 3.
+        Perkins's Laws                                         2.6
+        Treatise of Equity                                     8.6
+        Woods Institutes of the Laws of England             1. 5.
+
+  _Miscellanies_
+        Booth's Real Actions                                   8.
+    GI  Baron & ferne                                          6.
+        Billinghurst of Bankrupts                              1.6
+        Britton                                                5.
+        Brown of fines & Recoveries                            5.
+        Coke's Institutes. Comments on Littleton
+          Part 2                                            3.
+    GI  Cane's English Liberties                               2.
+    GI  Curson's Laws of Estates tail                          4.6
+        Domat's Civil Law 2 vol                             2. 0.
+        Dugdale's Origine's Judiciales                      2.
+        Duncomb's Trials perpais                               6.
+        Ejectments, Law of                                    5.
+    GI  Errors, Law of                                         6.
+    GI  Everyman his own Lawyer                                5.
+        Evidence, Laws of                                      6.
+    GI  Jacoba's Lex Mercatoria                                5.
+    GI  Jus or Law of Masters & Servants                       3.
+        Landlord's Laws                                        3.
+    GI  Law Quibbles                                           4.6
+        Laws of Liberty & Property                             2.
+        March's Actions for Slander & Arbitrations             4.
+        Molloy de jura maritimi & navali                       7.
+    GI  Obligations Laws of                                    5.
+        Sea Laws                                              12.
+    GI  Treatise of Trover & Conversion                        2.
+    GI  Trespasses (Law of) Vi & armis                         6.
+        Virginia Laws Purvis's                                12.
+        Virginia Laws by Parks 2 Vol                        2.
+        Uses & Trials (Law of)                                 6.
+    GI  Usury (Law of)                                         2.6
+        Freeholders Companion                                  5.
+        Turnbull's System of the Civil Law 2 vol              12.
+        Jacobs's Collection of Steads for commonplaces         1.6
+        Chronica Iuridicialia abridged                         4.
+        Naval Trade 2 vol.                                    10.
+    GI  Law & Lawyers laid open                                2.6
+        Freeholders Companion                                  5.
+        Law of Devises & Revocations                           3.6
+        Piffendorf's Law of Nature & Nations                1. 8.
+        Views of Civil & Ecclesiastical Law                    2.6
+        Study & Body of the Law                                3.
+        Treatise of Bills of Exchange                          2.6
+
+  _Parliament_
+        Cases in Parliament                                   16.
+        Hunt's Postscript                                      4.
+
+  _Readings_
+        Alleyne's                                              9.
+        Anderson's                                          1.15.
+        Barnardiston's                                      1. 1.
+        Bentses & Dalison's                                   10.
+        Bridgman's                                            18.
+        Bulstrode's                                         4. 4.
+        Brownlow's & Goldenborough's                           7.
+        Carter's                                               8.
+        Carthero's                                          1. 2.
+        Cases in Chancery 3 P^{ts}                          1.10.
+        Cases in B R & B C from 2^d W^m 12 Mod              1.10.
+        Cases in Law & Equity by Macclesfield 10 Mod        1. 4.
+        Coke's 11 Parts                                       15.
+               12 & 13 Parts                                   7.
+        Comberbach's                                          17.
+        Croke's 3 vol                                       2.12.6
+        Cary's                                                 3.
+        Clayton's                                              3.6
+        Davis's                                               11.
+        Dyer's                                              1.11.6
+        Farraday's   7 Mod                                     9.
+        FitzGibbons's                                         14.
+        Gilbert's Rep^{ts} in Equity & Excheq^r               15.
+        Godbolt's                                           1. 1.
+        Hardres's                                           2.10.
+        Hetley's                                              10.
+        Hobart's                                              16.
+        Holt's                                              1.10.
+        Hutton's                                              13.
+        Jenkins's Centuries                                   16.
+        Jones's (D^r. W^m.)                                 2. 5.
+        Jones's (Tho^s.)                                      15.
+        Keble's 3 vol                                       1.15.
+        Keilway's                                             14.
+        Keylings                                               9.
+        Lane's                                                16.
+        Latch's                                                8.
+        Leonard's                                           4. 4.
+        Loving's 3 Parts 2 vol                              2.  .
+        Ley's                                                  7.
+        Lilly's                                                9.
+        Littleton's                                           11.
+        Lutneyche's 2 vol                                   4. 4.
+        Modern Cases in Law & Equity 8 & 9 Mod              1. 4.
+        Modern Reports 6 vol                                5. 5.
+        Moore's                                               18.
+        Marsh's                                                3.
+        Noy's                                                 16.
+        Owens                                                 16.
+        Palmer's                                              12.
+        Plowden's                                           2. 5.
+        Pollersten's                                        2. 2.
+        Popham's                                              14.
+        Precedents in Chancery                              1. 5.
+        Raymond's (D^r. Tho^s.)                             2.10.
+        Reports in Chancery in Finch's time                   16.
+        Rolles' Reports                                     2.10.
+        Reports in Chancery 4 vol                             15.
+        Salkeld's 3 vol                                     2.16.
+        Savile's                                               6.
+        Saunders's                                          1. 7.6
+        Sherver's 2 vol                                     2.
+        Select Cases in Can S. in Ld. King's time            . 8.
+        Siderfin's                                          2.
+        Skinner's                                           1.10.
+        Styles's                                            1.10.
+        Talbot's Cases in Equity                              15.
+        Tothill's Transactions in Chancery                     1.6
+        Vaughan's                                           2.10.
+        Ventris's                                           1.15.
+        Vernon's 2 vol                                      2. 5.
+        Wynch's                                               16.
+        William's 2 vol                                     2.16.
+        Year Books 9 vol                                    3. 7.6
+        Yelverton's                                            5.
+        Zouch's Cases in the Civil Law                         2.6
+        Cases in Chan & B R in Ld Hardwick's time             12.
+        Special & Select Law Cases 1641                        6.
+
+  _Sheriffs_
+        Treatise of Replevins                                  3.
+
+  _Statutes_
+        Keble's Statutes                                    2.10.
+        Statutes concerning Bankrupts                          2.6
+
+  _Tables_
+        Index to the Reports                                  12.
+        Repertorium Iuridicum                               2.
+
+  _Tithes & Laws of the Clergy_
+        Hughes's Parson's Law                                  1.6
+
+  _Wills Ex^{rs} &c_
+        Godolphin's Orphan's Legacy                           12.
+        Meriton's Touchstone of Wills                          1.6
+    AR  Nelson's Lex Testimentaria                             7.
+    GI  Swinburne of last Wills                                6.
+        Wentworth's Office of Executors                        2.
+
+  _Writs_
+    AR  Bohun's English Lawyer                                 5.
+        Fitzherbert with Hale's Notes                         16.
+        Fitzherbert's Natura Brevium                           6.
+        Registrum Brevium                                   1. 1.
+
+  _Omitted_
+        Laws of Maryland                                    1.
+        Statutes of Excise                                     1.6
+
+
+  OTHER BOOKS
+
+  _Arts & Sciences_
+        Alian's Tacticks of War                                8.
+        Smith's Distilling & Fermentation                      5.
+        Weston's Treatise of Shorthand                      1. 1.
+        Weston's Shorthand Copybook                            4.
+
+  _Classicks_
+
+       {Greek Grammar                                          2.6
+    GM {Greek Testament                                        3.6
+        Martial                                                2.6
+
+  _Dictionaries_
+        Colgrave's French Dictionary                          15.
+        Salmon's Family Dict.                                  6.
+        Bailey's English Diet                                  7.
+    GM  Schrevelii Lexicon                                     7.6
+        Echard's Gazetteer's Interpreter                       3.6
+        Cole's English Dictionary                              2.6
+
+  _Divinity_
+        Tillotson's Sermons 3 vol                           2.10.
+        Bibles trua                                         1.10.
+        Leigh of Religion & Learning                          10.
+        Stillingfleck's Origines Sacra                      1.
+        Life of King David                                     6.
+        Newton on Daniel                                       3.
+        The Sum of Christian Religion                         10.
+        Weeks Preparation                                      2.6
+        Whole Duty of Man                                      2.6
+        The Sacrament explained                                2.
+        The Country Parson's Advice                            1.6
+        Addy's Shorthand Bible                               .10.
+        Atterbury Lewis's Sermons 2 vol                       10.6
+        Atterbury Francis's Sermons 4 vol                   1. 2.
+        South's Sermons 6 vol                               1.12.6
+    AS  Warburton's divine Legation of Moses 2 vol            16.6
+        Revelation examin'd with Candour 2 vol                 9.6
+        Scott's Christian Life                              1.
+
+  _History_
+        Universal History 4 vol                             9.11.6
+        Rushworth's Collections 8 vol                       8.16.
+        Rapin's History of England 2 vol                    2.10.
+        Keating's History of Ireland                        1. 1.
+        Burnet's History of his own Times 2 vol             2.10.
+        Purchas's Pilgrimage                                1.
+        Cop's History of Ireland 2 vol                      2.10.
+        History of Europe 13 vol at 5/                      3. 5.
+        Historical Register 26 vol at 3/                    3.18.
+        Antiquitatum variarum Auctores                         2.6
+        History of the Turks 4^{th} vol                        4.6
+        Jeffery of Monmouth                                    4.
+        Burnet's History 3 vol                                 9.
+        Bladen's Caesar's Commentaries                         4.6
+        History of the Fifth General Council                  12.
+        Machiavel's History of Florence                        4.
+        Roman History Echard's 5^{th} vol                      4.
+        Lehontan's Voyages 2^d vol                             4.
+        Description of the 17 Provinces                        2.
+        The English Acquisitions in Guinea &c                  2.
+        Burnet's Travels                                       1.6
+        Heylyn's Help to English History                       3.6
+        History of Spain                                       1.6
+        Catholick History                                      2.
+        History of Virginia                                    2.6
+        DuStalde's History of China 4 vol                   1.
+
+  _Husbandry & Gardening_
+        Quintinye's Gardener                                1.
+        Woodbridge of Agriculture                              8.
+        Evelyn's Sylvia                                       12.
+        Houghton's Husbandry 4 vol                          1. 2.
+        Bradley's Husbandry 3 vol                             15.
+                  Gardening 2 vol                              6.
+                  new Improvements                             6.
+                  ancient husbandry                            4.
+                  practical Discourses                         8.
+                  Farmer's Director                            2.6
+                  Ladies Director                              2.6
+                  Hop Garden                                   1.6
+        Dictionarium Rusticum                                  6.
+    CD  Monarchy of the Bees                                   1.6
+        A Discourse of Sallets                                 1.
+        Pocket Farrier                                         1.
+        Miscellanies of the Dublin Society                     5.
+       {Spectator 8 vol                                     1.
+    GM {Tatler 4 vol                                          10.
+       {Addison's Works 4 vol                                 10.
+       {Guardian 2 vol                                         5.
+        Pope's Letters 2 vol                                   5.
+        Present State of Great Britain                         6.
+        Persian Letters 2 vol                                  5.
+        Sedley's Works 1 vol                                   5.
+        Carson's Lucubrations                                  2.
+        Acc^t of Society for Reformation of Manners            2.6
+        Aristarchus Anti Bentlianus                            2.
+        Dissertation on the Thebaan Legion                     2.6
+        Secret History of Whitehall                            2.
+        The Western Martyrology                                2.6
+    GM  Memoria Technica                                       2.6
+        Erasmus's Praise of Folly                              2.6
+        Turkish Spy 5 & 6 vol                                  4.
+        Tom Brown's Letters from the Dead to the Living        2.6
+        The Intelligencer                                      2.6
+        Rone's Lives                                           4.
+        The Dublin Almanack                                    1.
+        Maxims & Reflections on Plays                          2.
+        Report about Silver Coins                              1.6
+        Essay for Amendment of them                            2.
+        Feltham's Resolves                                     4.
+        The Minister of State                                  6.
+        Treatise of Honour                                     5.
+        Lyropadia                                              6.
+        Hutchinson on Virtue                                   4.
+        T. Scott on the Passions                               2.
+        Lansdowne's Works 3 vol                                7.6
+        Works of the Learned 13 vol                         4.11.
+        Boyle's Adventures                                     3.
+        Leisure Hours Amusement                                3.
+
+  _News & Politicks_
+        London Magazine 11 vol                              3.17.
+        Gentlemen's Magazine 4 vol                          1. 6.
+        The Britton                                            2.6
+        Common Sense 2 vol                                     6.
+        The Freeholder                                         2.6
+        The Craftsman 6 vol                                   18.
+        Pues Occurrences                                       5.
+        The True Britton 2 vol                                12.
+
+  _Philosophy & Mathematicks_
+        Rarities of Gresham Colledge                          16.
+        Bacon's natural History                               10.
+        Physiologia                                           12.
+
+    GF  Derham's Physico Theology                              5.
+        Astro Theology                                         4.
+        Sturmy's Mariners Magazine                            14.
+        Gordon's Cosmography                                   5.
+                 Geography                                     5.
+        Ozanam's Mathematical Recreations                      5.
+        Atkinson's Epitome of Navigation                       5.
+        General Steads for natural History                     1.6
+        Seaman's Calendar
+    RI  Newton's Opticks                                       6.
+        Keill's Astronomy                                      6.
+        Baker's Microscope                                     5.6
+        Mathew's Invenitis 3 vol                              15.
+
+  _Physick & Surgery_
+
+    JM  Salmon's Herbal 2 vol                               2.12.
+            {Dispensatory                                      6.
+         JM {Synopsis Medicina                                 8.
+            {Ars Chirurgica                                    8.
+            {Medicina Practica                                 6.
+    JM  Beerhaave's Method of the dying Physic                 4.
+    JM  Sydehamii Opuscula                                     4.
+    JM  Wiseman's Surgery 2 vol                               10.
+    JM  Sanctorius's Aphorisms                                 5.
+        Quiney's Dispensatory                                  6.6
+    JM  Strother on Sickness & Health                          3.6
+    JM           on Causes & Cures                             2.6
+    JM           Criticon Febrium                              2.6
+        Shaw's Practises of Physick 2 vol                     10.
+        Arbuthnot of Aliment                                   3.6
+    JM  London Dispensatory                                    3.6
+    AS  Andrey on Worms                                        4.
+    JM  Friends Emmencologia                                   3.
+    JM  Pitcarn's Dissertationes                               6.
+    JM  Friends' Praelectioned Chymica                         2.6
+    AS  Short's Dissertation on Coffee & Tea                   2.6
+    JM  Robinson Consumptions                                  5.6
+    JM  Drake's Anatomy 2 vol                                 10.
+    JM  History of Physic 2 vol                                8.
+    JM  Mead on Poysons                                        4.
+
+  _Plays & Poetry_
+
+        Killigrew's Plays                                     10.
+        Ignoramus Latin & English                              3.6
+        Shakespears Plays 8 vol                             1. 5.
+        Ben Johnsons Works                                    10.
+        Wycherley's Plays                                      5.
+        Blackmore's Elize                                      8.
+        DuBartas's Works                                      12.
+        Prior's Works                                          3.
+        Pope's Works 9 vol                                  1. 5.
+    GM         Homers Iliad 6 vol                             15.
+               Homers Odyssey 5 vol                           12.6
+        Savage's Poems                                         2.6
+    GM  Thomsons Seasons                                       2.6
+        Rochesters Poems 2^d vol                               3.
+        Caroley's Works 3 vol                                  9.
+        Lauderdale's Virgil 2 vol                              5.
+        Theocritus                                             1.6
+        Broome's Poems                                         3.6
+        Ovid's Art of Love                                     3.
+        Creech's Lucretius 2 vol                               8.
+        Barbers Poems                                          5.
+        Wallace                                                2.
+        Sandys' Paraphrase on the divine Poems                 6.
+
+  _Trade_
+        Roberts's Map of Commerce                           1.
+        Davenant on Trade & Plantations 2 vol                  8.
+
+  _Omitted_
+
+    GB  Annesley's Trial                                       5.6
+        Speeches at Atterbury's Trial                          5.
+        Ladies Physical Directory                              2.6
+        Calvins Sermons                                        2.6
+        Nunnery Tales                                          4.
+        Wingate's Arithmetick                                  4.
+        Lloyd's Consent of time                                7.6
+        Memoirs of secret Service                              2.6
+        Views of France                                        2.
+        Account of the Treaty of Uxbridge                      2.6
+        May's Cookery                                          3.
+        The Triumphs of Peace                                  1.6
+        S^r. Walter Raleigh of a War with Spain                2.6
+        The Romish Horseleech                                  2.6
+        Conjectura Cabbalistica                                2.
+        Miscellanies by Swift & Pope 4 vol                     3.
+        The Syren                                              4.
+        The Musical Miscellany 6 vol                          18.
+
+[The following are evidently subsequent additions to the library, which
+seems thus far to have been cataloged before 1746. The following books
+listed are referred to the accounts on which they were purchased.]
+
+  1746
+
+  April  To Maj^r. John Champe for sundrys viz.
+            Viner's Abridgment 4 vol                       £5.16.
+            Ld. Raymond's Reports 2 vol                     3.
+            Freeman's Reports                               1.15.
+            Lilly's Conveyancer                             1.15.
+            Comyn's Reports                                 1.10.
+            Dalton's Officium Vicic                         1. 2.
+            Swinburne [18th-century author] of Wills        1.
+            Herne's Pleader                                   19.
+            Petyt's Ius Parliamentarium.                      18.
+            Tremaine's Pleas of the Crown                     15.
+            Wood's Institutes of the Civil Law                13.
+            Trott's Plantation Laws                           12.
+            Reports B R 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8 Ann                   12.
+            Duke's Law of Charitable Uses                     10.
+         GI Abridg^t State Tryals 9 vol                     1.16.
+         AR Practising Attorney 2 vol                          9.
+         GI Naval Trade 2 vol                                  9.
+         AR Attorney & Pleaders' Treasury 2 vol               10.
+            Compleat Sheriff                                   5.6
+            Orders of the Court of Chancery                    5.6
+         GI Law of Testaments & Last Wills                     5.6
+            Ex^{rs}. & Adm^{rs}                                5.
+            Trespasses                                         5.
+            Merchants                                          5.
+         GI Awards                                             4.6
+            Ejectments                                         4.6
+         GI Actions upon the Cse                               4.6
+            Tenures                                            4.6
+            Errors                                             4.
+            Trials in high Treason                             4.
+            Mortgages                                          4.
+            Covenants                                          4.
+         GI Executions                                         4.
+            Estates Tail                                       3.6
+         GI Securities                                         3.6
+            Infants                                            3.6
+            Last Wills                                         3.6
+            Obligations                                        3.
+            Master & Servant                                   3.
+         GI Landlords                                          2.8
+            Actions                                            2.6
+            Inheritances                                       2.6
+            Pledges                                            2.6
+            Bastardy                                           1.6
+            Non compos                                         1.6
+            Trover & Conversion                                1.6
+            Appeals                                            2.
+         GI Select Trials at the Old Baily 4 vol              11.
+            New Retorna Brevium                                4.6
+            Bacon's Law Tracts                                 4.6
+            History & Practise of Common Pleas                 4.
+            Doctrina placitandi                                4.
+         AR Wentworth's Office of Ex^{rs}                      4.
+            Notes of Cses in C B in points of Practise         4.
+            Treasures of Ireland                               3.6
+            English Liberties                                  3.6
+            Treatise of Frauds                                 2.6
+            Book of Oaths                                      2.6
+            Blunt's Fragments Antiquitatis                     2.6
+            Woman's Lawyer                                     2.
+            Judgments in C B & B R                             2.
+            Essay for regulating the Laws                      2.
+            Philips's Grandeur of the Laws                     2.
+            Special Law Cases                                  1.6
+            Bellew's Cases from Statham                        1.6
+            Lawyer's Light                                     1.6
+            Ius Tratrum                                        1.
+            Critica Iuris Genissa                              1.
+            Bibliotheca Legum                                  1.
+               Chambers's Dictionary 2 vol                  4. 4.
+               Milton's Works 2 vol                         2. 2.
+               Universal History 5^{th}. 39/ 6^{th} 44
+                 7^{th} 57                                  6. 7.6
+               Arbuthnot's Tables                             16.
+               History of Europe 5 vol                        15.
+               Grays Hudibras 2 vol                           13.
+                      History of Peter the Great 3 vol        13.
+                      Nature displayed 4 vol                  12.
+                      Treatise of Money & Exchanges           10.6
+                      English Compendium 2 vol                10.6
+                      Irish & Scotch each 7.6                 15.
+                      London Magazine for 1743 & 1744         13.2
+                      Present State of Great Britain           5.6
+                   GF Dycke's Dictionary                       5.6
+                      Blandy's Tables                          4.6
+                      Geography reformed                       3.6
+                      Hewit's Tables                           1.8
+                        Trunk Matt & Cord                     14.
+                                                          ---------
+                                                           53.13.6
+
+
+                                                  Sterling   Curr^t
+    Entry 2/ Cartage 1/
+      Searchers 1/
+      Shipping & Warfage 2/6
+      Waterage 2/6 Gill Lad 6^d        . 9.6
+    Commission at 2 pr Cent           1. 1.10
+    Freight & Primage
+      2-1/2 p^r Cent                  1. 7.7-1/4
+    Insurance Policy &
+      1/2 p^r Cent
+    Commission to pay 98
+      in case of Loss                11. 6.6-3/4   67.18.
+
+  November
+    To M^r William Jordan for Sundrys Viz
+           Broughton's Dictionary 2 vol fol
+                                     £1. 5.
+    WW  Grey's Hudibras           2
+                                        11. 6
+        Modern Husbandman         3
+                                        13.
+    GM  Rollins Belles Lettres    2 sets 4
+                                      1. 1.
+        Pamela                    4
+                                         8. 8
+        David Simple              1
+                                         2. 2
+        Joseph Andrews                   2. 2
+        {Harskey's Virgil                2. 8-1/2
+    GM  {          Terence               2. 8-1/2
+        {          Horace                2. 8-1/2
+        Epistle on drinking                 5-1/2
+        Pleasures of Imagination           11
+        Swift's Sermons                     5-l/2
+        Bulingbroke's Remarks            2. 4
+    GM  Rollins Ancient History 13 vol   2. 5. 6
+        Irish Historical Library            3.   7. 4.3-1/2  9.11.
+                                       ----------
+  1747
+  April
+    To Cash pd for 2 of Stith's
+      Histories of Virg^a             1. 1. 8
+      Debates in Parliament 21        3.18.
+      A Common prayer book              10.                  5. 9. 8
+                                    ----------
+    GM  To William Parks for
+          Ainsworth's Dictionary      2.10.
+           Memoirs of Pope's Life &c    12. 6                3. 2. 6
+                                    ----------
+        To Doctor McKenzie for the
+          History of London           3.14. 3
+       CD Lives of the Admirals
+           4 vol 2. 2. 3              5.16. 6
+    IP To M^r Jordan for 20 vol
+         Universal History                                   7.14.
+
+  October
+    IS To Doctor McKenzie for
+         Costlogon's 2 vol D^o                               8. 1. 4
+      {To Cash paid for Bustorf's
+         Herbron Lexicon               .13.
+    GM{  Heereboord's Burgersdicius      4.
+
+  March
+    To Mrs. Grace Mercer for sundrys Viz
+       {Clark's Romer 2 vol            .13.
+       {Murphy's Leucian. Lucian      3. 6
+       {Robertson's Lexicon           1.
+       {Passons Lexicon               3. 6
+    GM {Trapp's Virgil 3 vol          9.
+       {Kennet's Antiquities        . 5.
+       {Potter's Antiquities 2 vol   10.10
+       {Salust Minellii               2. 6
+       {Rowe's Salust                 2. 2
+       {Brown's Roman History         2. 2
+       Ainsworth's Dictionary      1. 7.
+       {Geographia Classica        4. 6
+       {Button's Introduction         2. 8-1/2
+    GM {Erhard's Terence              2. 6
+       {Plutarch's Lives 8 vol     2.
+       {Francis's Horace 4 vol       13.
+       Gay's Tables                   2. 2
+    GB Tom Brown's Works 4 vol       13.
+    PS Delaney's Sermons              3. 3
+       Subscription to Shakespear    10.10      9.10. 7-1/2
+                                   ---------
+    To D^o for Residue of
+      Subscription to Shakespear               10.10
+    To Sydenham & Hdgson for sundrys Viz
+    AM Conduct of the Dutchess
+        of Marlborough                4.
+       The other side of the
+         Question                     5.
+       Practise of the Ecclesiastical
+         Courts                       3. 6
+    IR Motts Geography 2 vol. fol. maps
+         bound                        4.14.
+       Continuation of Rapin 3 vol
+         fol                          5.10.
+       Salmon's modern History 3 vol
+         4^o                          3. 3.
+       {Hoppnes Architecture 4^o        10.
+       {Salmon's Palladio Londonensis
+          4^o                            7.
+    WB {Palladio's Architecture 4^o      4.
+       {Langley's City & Country
+          Builder                       14.
+       London Magazine 1745, 6, 7       19. 6
+       Winer's Abridgment 3 vol fol   4.10.
+       Milton's Political Works 2 vol
+         fol                          2. 6.
+                            A Box        2. 6
+                                     ----------
+                                    £23.11. 6
+
+       Commission Insurance &c
+         26 pc^t                      6. 2. 7
+         Exchange at 40 pc^t         11.17. 7-1/2           41.11. 8-1/2
+
+    To William Jordan for sundrys Viz
+         {London Magazine
+            1745, 6. 7. 8             1.12. 6
+     not {Salmon's Gazetteer             3. 6
+     [?] {         Chronology           10.
+    recd {A large Map of the World       2. 6
+                                     ----------
+  1749
+  Oct.
+    To Nath Walthoe for the Harleian
+      Miscellany 8 vol                        6. 6.
+    To D^o for Guthrie's History of
+      England in Sheets                       4. 4.
+    To Cash for Popple's Maps                                1.11. 3
+
+  1750
+  May
+    To W^m Parks for sundrys                                    7.19
+  Aug
+    To Lyonel Lyde for sundrys
+      £49.8 sterl^g 26 pC^t                  49. 8
+                                         -------------------------------
+                                            439. 7. 9       91.13.11-1/2
+                               25 pC^t      109.16.11-1/4  549. 4. 8-1/4
+                                         -------------------------------
+                                                           640.18. 7-3/4
+
+  1746                                        [Currency]
+  Feb.
+    By Gabriel Jones for sundrys marked GJ     13.19. 8
+
+  1749
+  May
+    By W^m Walker for Grey's Hudibras             16. 1
+
+  1750
+  May
+    By John Sutherland for Coeltagon's
+      Dictionary                                8. 1. 4
+  June
+    By George Mason for Rollins belles
+      Letters                                     15.          23.12. 1
+                                         -------------------------------
+                                                          £617. 6. 6-3/4
+
+  1750
+  April
+    To W^m Parks for sundrys Viz
+       Noblemens Seats by Kip (38)             £1. 2. 6
+       Johnson's Lives of Highwaymen &c         1. 2. 6
+       Willis's Survey of the Cathedrals
+         3 vol                                  1.19.
+       Select Plays 16 vol                      3. 3.
+       8 Views of Scotland                        12.
+
+  Aug^t
+    To Lyonel Lyde for sundrys bo^t of Osborn Viz
+       Universal History 20 vol gilt           £9. 8. 6
+       Merian of Insects                        2.10. 9
+       Gallia et Helvatia Urbes                 1.16. 3
+       Theatrum Urbium Germanis 2 vol           4.11. 4
+       Noblemen's Seats by Kip (80)             1.16. 3
+       Churches Palaces & Gardens in
+         France                                 5. 1. 6
+       Pozzo's Perspective                      1.16. 3
+       Perrier's Statues                        2. 5. 8
+       100 Views of Brabant & Flanders          1.10. 6
+       150 Prints of Ovid's Metamorphosis       1.10. 6
+       Cases in Parliament 8 vol               18. 5. 5
+       Father Paul's History                   15. 3        51. 8. 2
+
+    To D^o for sundrys bo^t of George Strahan
+    AR Ld Raymond's Reports 2 vol               4. 7
+       Barnardiston's Reports in BA 2 vol       2.18
+    IP Freeman's Reports                        2.12. 2
+    AR Comyns's Reports                         2. 3. 6
+        Viners Abridgment 14^{th} vol           2. 3. 6
+    AR Barnardiston's Reports in Canc^[Symbol]  1.12.
+       Fortescues Reports                       1. 9.
+    AR Talbot's Reports                         1. 1. 9
+    AR Shoner's Cases in Parliament               18.10
+       Goldesborough's Reports                     5.
+       Catalogue of Law Books                   2. 2        19.12.11
+    To M^{rs} Grace Mercer for sundrys Viz
+    GM Preceptor 2 vol                         £ .13.
+       County of Waterford                         8. 3
+       County of Devon                             7. 3
+       Life of King David                          7.
+       Lives of the Popes 1^{st} vol               5. 3
+       Delany's Sermons                            4. 9
+       Practise of Farming                         3. 9
+       Practical farmer 2 parts                    2.
+       Dublin Societies Letters                    3. 3
+    AM Hervey's Meditations                        3. 3
+       London Brewer                               1. 8
+       Hops                                           8
+       Bees                                           8
+       Grass Seeds                                    8
+       Flax                                           5
+       Saffron                                        4
+       Woollen Manufacture                            4      3. 2. 7
+                                             -----------
+    To Cash as paid for sundrys Viz
+       Catalogue of Plants                    £   10. 6
+       Political View                              2.
+       History of Amphitheatres                    4.
+       Northern Memoirs                            2. 6
+       Life of Oliver Cromwell                     3.
+       The Fool                                    6.
+       The Citizen                                 2.
+       Greaves's Origin of Weights &c              2. 6
+       Steele's Romish History                     1. 3
+       D^r Henry Wooten's Pieces                   1. 3
+       Account of Naval Victories                  1. 3
+       Tennent's Physical Enquiries                1.
+       D^r Ratcliffe's Life                           6
+       Extract of Cheyney's Life & Writings        1. 3
+       History of Nadir Cha                        1. 3
+       Court Register                              1. 6
+       Description of the microscope Ec               6
+       Richmond Rarities                           1. 3      2. 3. 6
+                                             -----------
+
+    To John Mitchelson for sundrys Viz
+       Life of the Duke of Argyle                  7. 6
+       Parnell's Poems                             4. 6
+       Young's Night Thoughts                      5. 3
+       Farquhar's Works 2 vol                     10. 6
+       Fenton's Poems                              4. 6
+       Devil on Crutches 2 vol                     7. 6
+       History of the Royal Family                 4. 6
+    GM 2 Fer's Geography                           9.
+       Hughes's History of Barbadoes            1.15.        4. 8. 3
+                                             ---------------------------
+                                                           706.  .11-3/4
+
+1750   By Sons for the following Books
+          Thomson's Travels        4 vol          15.
+          Thomson's Seasons                        3. 1-1/2
+          Pope's Homer             6 vol          18. 9
+          Rollins Ancient History 13 vol        2.17.
+          Trap's Virgil            3 vol          11. 3
+          Echard's Terence                         3. 1-1/2
+          Ainsworth's Dictionary                2.10.
+          Spectator                8            1. 5.
+          Tatler                   4              12. 6
+          Addison's Works          4              12. 6
+          Guardian                 2               6. 3
+          Rollins Belles Lettres   4              13. 1-1/2
+          Hankey's Virgil                          3. 4
+                   Terence                         3. 4
+                   Horace                          3. 4
+          Buxtorp's Hebrew Lexicon                13.
+          Heerebord's Burgersdicius                4.
+          Clark's Homer            2 vol          16. 3
+          Murphy's Lucian                          4. 4-1/2
+          Robertson's Lexicon                   1. 5.
+          Passor's Lexicon                         4. 4-1/2
+          Kennet's Antiquities                     6. 3
+          Potter's Antiquities     2 vol          13. 6
+          Salust Minellii                          3. 1-1/2
+          Rowe's Salust                            2. 8-1/2
+          Brown's Roman History                    2. 8-1/2
+          Geographica Classica                     5. 7-1/2
+          Button's Introduction                    3. 4
+          Plutarch's Lives         8 vol        2.10.
+          Francis's Horace         4              16. 3
+          Greek Grammar                            3. 1-1/2
+          Greek Testament                          4. 4-1/2
+          Schrevelii Lexicon                       9. 4-1/2
+          Memoria Technica                         3. 1-1/2 21. 8. 1-1/2
+                                              -------------
+       By Gerard Fowke for Dycke's Dictionary                  11.
+       By Sons for the Preceptor   2 vol          13. 6
+          Fer's Geography                          3.          16. 6
+                                              -------------
+       By Profit & Loss for Freeman's Reports  £2.12. 2
+          Universal History       20 vol        7.14.       10. 6. 2
+                                              -------------
+       By Robert Roseby by his Bro. Alexander
+          Ld. Raymond's Reports    2 vol       £4.10.
+          Comyns Reports                        2. 5.
+          Barnardiston's Reports in Cane        1.13.
+          Talbot's Reports                      1. 2. 6
+          Shower's Cases in Parliament            19. 6     10.10.
+                                              -------------
+                                                           662. 9. 2-1/4
+                                                         ---------------
+                                                          £706.  .11-3/4
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX L
+
+Botanical Record and Prevailing Temperatures
+
+     Dates when flowers, trees, and plants bloomed in 1767, with
+     temperatures, extracted from John Mercer's journal, in back of
+     Ledger B
+
+
+          _Temp._
+  March
+   21     46-63  Daffodil
+                 Hyacinths 6
+                 Violet
+                 Narcissous
+   22     60-69  Almond
+                 Apricot
+   24     37-47  Plum sm^l
+   30     45-48  May Cherry
+                 Cucumber hotbed
+   31     44-52  Beans
+                 Pease
+
+  April
+    1     47-48  Dwarf Iris
+    2     41-52  Peach
+                 Hyacinth s d 10
+                 D^od 5
+                 Cowslips
+    3     44-50                       rain all night & morn
+    6     44-46                       D^o all night  & day
+    7     44-50  Cherry y & b         D^o all night
+                 Plum Comm.
+                 Wild currant
+    9     48-32  Peach d bl
+                 Asparagus
+                 Radishes
+                 Crown Imperial
+   12     44-54  Tulip early
+   13     54-62  Pear
+                 Wall flower
+   15     48-53  Frittillary          rain all night
+   16     46-60  Green Sagia
+   17     48-55  Prickson
+   18     48-60  Columbine
+                 Tulips
+                 Strawberry
+   20     34-60  Lilac
+                 Catchfly Julia
+
+  April
+   22    46-51  Jonquil
+   24    46-62  Formantil
+   26    70-78  Syringa
+                Persian Lilac
+                Honeysuckle Virg^a
+                Hyacinth dw ... purp.
+   28    60-65  Iris la^r blue
+                Narcissus w.
+   30    64-70  Parrot Tulip
+
+  May
+    1    54-60  Rose
+    3    53-57  Mourn^g bride         rain in the night
+                Peony w^t
+                Hyacinth dou. bl.
+    4    55-63  Purple Stocks         D^o in the night & morn.
+    5    59-66  White D^o
+    6    54-67  Agerolis
+                Peony red
+    7    60-72  Honeysuckle
+    8    59-72  Spiderwort
+                Horsechestnut
+                Snow drop
+    9    59-65  Yellow Lilly
+                Borage
+   10    59-65  Fraxinella
+   11    66-68  Yellow s Rose
+                Fringe tree
+   12    64-68  Grass pinks
+   13    63-70  Annual stock
+   14    65-72  Madeira Iris
+                Sweet w^m
+   15    60-76  Corn Hay              fine rain in the night
+   16    60-70  Spiraea frietus
+   17    56-74  Feath^r Hyacinth
+
+  May
+
+   18   67-80  Corn Hay               Whitsunday
+   19   70-82  White rose
+   20   72-83  Poppy
+               Bladder Senna
+   21   75-80  Foxglove
+               Swamp Laurel
+               Sm^l bl. Iris
+               Scorzancea
+               Monthly Rose
+               Orange
+               Lemon
+               Citron
+   22   73-84  Indian Pink            a fine rain
+   23   72-76  Larkspur
+   24   63-68  Queen's july fl.
+   25   61-70  Wing'd pea
+   26   63-70  Monks hood
+   27   65-72  Catch fly
+   28   68-79  Apscynum
+               Sago
+   29   71-79  Sparrow Wistle
+               L. Weymouth's world
+   30   75-77  Sp Broom               A fine rain
+               Dorch. yell Rose
+   31   73-80  Great Poppy
+
+  June
+
+    1   73-70  Pinks
+    2   64-73  Gumbogia
+    3   64-79  W^r Lilly
+               Apscinum vine
+
+  June
+
+    4   74-76  Prickly pear
+    5   70-64  Jessamine              A fine rain
+    6   60-71  Holyock
+    7   63-73  Crysanthemum
+               Virg^a Spike
+               Sweet Sultan
+               Orange Lilly
+    9   65-70  Cat Spa
+   14   70-81  Flos Adonis
+   15   72-82  Pleurisy root
+   17   75-82  Yucca
+               African Marigold
+   19   70-78  Southern wood
+   23   70-82  Elacampana
+   24   74-82  Rock Rose
+               Oriental Asmart
+   29   82-92  Afr marigold y.
+
+  July
+    3          Althaea frutea
+    5      70  Coxcomb                rain all day
+    7   72-84  Amaranth ordes
+    8   74-80  Virg^a Saffron
+    9   75-87  Partridge berr^s
+   11   84-84  Passion flow^r
+   16   73-76  Marvel of Peru
+   18   76-84  Swamp Sweet
+   20   76-86  Martagon Virg.
+   23   76-85  Cardinal fl.
+               Sunflower
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX M
+
+Inventory of Marlborough, 1771 [John Mercer's widow, Ann Roy Mercer,
+died at Marlborough September 2, 1770. By the next spring, James Mercer
+was operating Marlborough as one of four plantations owned by him. The
+overseer was Thomas Oliver. At the end of May 1771 Oliver drew up a
+statement of the conditions of the plantations and made a detailed
+inventory. This document has been reproduced in facsimile in _A
+Documentary History of American Industrial Society_.[216]
+
+The following excerpts consist of the inventory, as it applied to
+Marlborough only, and of Oliver's statement at the end. The "return," as
+he called it, covered the period from May 1 to May 31, 1771. The
+reference to advertising the "sale" is apparently concerned with one of
+the unsuccessful public sales of John Mercer's personal property.]
+
+   56  Horn Cattle
+   28  Cavallrey
+  128  Sheap
+    .  Swine
+   22  Plowes
+    8  Clevices
+    8  Clevispins
+   11  leading lines
+    4  Chaine traces
+    4  Roap traces
+    8  Bridle Bitts
+    8  Back bands
+    8  Haimes
+    6  Ox Yoaks
+    3  Ox Chains
+    2  Ox Carts
+    1  Waggons Compleat
+    4  Horse Harness d^o
+    4  Horse Collers
+   12  Swingle trees
+    .  Threshing Instruments
+    4  Fanns
+    2  Sieves
+    1  Riddles
+    1  Halfe bushel Measure
+    1  Halfe Barrel Measure
+    1  Harrows
+   10  Hillinghows
+   17  Weeding hows
+    8  Grubbing hows
+    1  Syder press
+    1  Syder Mill
+   15  Axes
+    4  Wedges
+    1  Iron Shovels
+    4  Spades
+    3  Hay forks
+    .  Hay Rakes
+    2  Dung forks
+   13  Scythes
+    4  Cradles
+    .  Sickles
+    8  Sheap Shears
+    1  Barns
+    2  Grainerys
+    3  Corn Houses
+    5  Stables
+    4  Stock locks
+    1  Padlocks
+    6  Mealbags
+    1  Boats
+    1  Schoos
+    1  Cannow
+    1  Seaines
+    2  Cross cutt Saws
+    1  Whip Saws
+    2  Hand Saws
+    3  Adzes
+    5  Chisels
+    1  Hammers
+    1  Frows
+    2  Gimblets
+    2  Drawing knives
+    7  Broad Axes
+    1  Gouges
+    1  Compasses
+    3  Augers
+    2  2 Yard Rules
+    1  Chalk lines
+    3  Sawfiles
+    1  Curriers knives
+    1  Tanners knives
+    1  Tobacco Cask Branding Irons
+    5  Iron Potts for Negroes
+    1  Grinding Stoans
+    6  Scyth stoans
+    1  Sarvants
+   29  Negroes in Crop
+   25  Negroes out of Crop
+    9  Hyerd out
+   63  Total amount of Negroes
+
+N.B. the Casuality in sheap are 11 sold to M^r Lowery. 1 to Doct^r
+Clemense. 1 held for the house. dy'd a little time after being Castrated
+5 (18) as in the Collem of decress. 1 Calfe dy'd five days after Being
+Cutt. the remainder of the stock in good Condition. two mares excepted.
+the work of the Mill going on as well as Can be Expected till M^r.
+Drains is better. the Schoo and Boat unfit for Any Sarvice whatsoever
+till repair'd. if Capable of it. the foundation of the Malt house wants
+repairing. the Manor house wants lead lights in some of the windows. the
+East Green House wants repairing, the west d^o wants buttments as a
+security to the wall on the south side. the Barn, tobacco houses at
+Marlborough & Acquia must be repaired as soon as possible. The two
+tobacco houses at Belvaderra are in good order. five stables on
+Marlborough plantation must also be repair'd before winter. we have
+sustai'd no damage from Tempests or Floods. it will Expedient to hyer a
+Carpinder for the woork wanted can not be accomplish'd in time, seeing
+the Carpenders must be taken of for harvest which is Like to be heavy. I
+will advertise the sale at Stafford Court and the two parish Churches to
+begin on the 20th of June 1771. this is all the intelligence this month
+requiers. P.S. The Syder presses at each plantation & Syder Mill at
+Marlbrough to tally Expended ... Negro Sampson Marlbro Company Sick of
+the Gravel. Negress Deborah Sick of a Complication of dis^s. Negro
+Tarter acqui Company Sick plurisy. Negress Phillis sick Accokeeck
+Company Kings Evil Negro Jas Pemberton at Marlb^h Sick Worme fever.
+
+  ThS. Oliver
+  For
+  Ja^s. Mercer Esq^r
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[216] Edit. John P. Commons (New York: Russell & Russell, 1958), vol. 1,
+facsimile opp. p. 236. Quoted through kind permission of Russell &
+Russell, publishers.
+
+
+
+
+Index
+
+
+
+
+  _Abridgment of the Laws of Virginia_, 24, 62-63; second edition, 50,
+    53
+  Accokeek: plantation, 12, 62; ironworks, 23, 24, 25, 47, 162, 193
+  Act for Encouraging Adventurers in Ironworks, Mercer's protest
+    against, 23
+  Acts for Towns (1662), 5;
+    (1680), 5, 7
+    Act for Ports (1691), 7, 10, 34;
+    suspension of, 8
+    Act for Ports (1705), 8, 12, 22, 45, 83, 177;
+    suspension of, 9
+  Adie, Hugh, 118
+  agricultural implements:
+    hoe, 25, 170 (illustr.)
+    plow, 25;
+      drill plow, 59;
+      iron for, 34;
+      colter for, 73, 168-169 (illustr.)
+    scythe, iron, 113, 114, 168 (illustr.), 171
+    spade, 170-171
+  Alexander, Robert, 12, 22
+  Alexandria, 50, 52, 53
+  Alexandria Library, viii
+  Allan, William, 34
+  Allen, William, 184
+  Ambler, Richard, 16
+  American Philosophical Society, vii, viii, 69; _Year Book_ of, viii
+  Amson, Doctor, 46
+  amusements:
+    cards, 51
+    dancing, 33, 34
+    game counters, 26 (illustr.)
+    horse racing, 20, 26, 43
+    loo, 20, 26
+    lottery, 34
+    music, 33, 34; books on, 43
+    pitching, 20
+    quoits, 20
+    racing (unspecified), 17
+    wagers, 26
+    wrestling, 26
+  Anderson, Thomas (brickmaker,) 28, 35
+  andirons, 17, 162 (illustr.)
+  Andrews, George (ordinary keeper), 11, 12, 13, 23, 44, 82, 177;
+    inventory of, 183
+  "Antigua Ship," 47
+  apothecary, 36 (_See also_ medicine)
+  Aquia (plantation), 62
+  Aquia Church (_See under_ church)
+  Aquia Creek, 11, 12
+  archeological techniques, 70
+  arches, 36, 91, 94
+  architect, 36 (_See also_ joiner; carpenter)
+  architecture, books on, 37, 38, 43, 98
+  _Architecture of A. Palladio_, 98 (illustr. from)
+  art, books on, 43, 200
+  Ashby, ----, 53
+  Ashby, Thomas, vii
+  Astbury, Thomas (Staffordshire potter), 108, 138, 139
+  Astbury, Thomas, Jr. (Staffordshire potter), 139
+
+  Bacon, Nathaniel, 10
+  Bagge, Edmund, 17, 192
+  Bailey, ---- (brewer), 55
+  Bailey, Worth, viii
+  ball, musket, 155, 157 (illustr.)
+  Ballard, Thomas, 12, 14, 17, 22
+  Ballard, William, 177
+  Balthrop, ----, 51
+  Barber, William, 12
+  Barradall, Mr., 58
+  Barry, Ed, 18
+  Barry, Thomas (bricklayer), 36, 91, 95, 102, 104, 105
+  basaltes ware (_See under_ stoneware)
+  basins, 25, 39;
+    earthenware, 125;
+    pottle, 39, 138
+  Basnett, Abraham ("oysterman"), 35
+  Battaley (Battaille), Mosley, 16, 17;
+    Mercer's account for, 185
+  Bayley, Ambrose, 10, 11
+  Beach, Daniel, 184
+  Beach, Peter, 12, 13;
+    inventory of, 184
+  Beaty, Andrew (joiner), 36
+  bed (_See under_ furniture)
+  bed cord, 17
+  Belchier, John (cabinetmaker), 40
+  Belfield, Mr., 42
+  Belle Plains, 28
+  Belvedere (plantation), 62
+  Bensen, Thomas, 185
+  Berkeley, Governor, 47, 97
+  Berryman, ----, 22
+  beverages:
+    ale, 33, 55, 56;
+    arrack, 145;
+    Barbadoes spirits, 145;
+    beer, 55, 145, 146 (Bristol);
+    bottles for, 145-152;
+    brandy, 36, 145;
+    chocolate, 32;
+    cider, 16, 33, 62, 145, 146, 149;
+    citron water, 146;
+    claret, 17, 18, 33, 46, 145;
+    coffee, 32;
+    corn, 145;
+    gin, 150-151;
+    lime juice, 17;
+    Lisbon, 145;
+    Madeira, 25, 145;
+    "Mint [water]," 146;
+    "Orange flower [water]," 146;
+    porter, 56;
+    punch, 13 145;
+    rum, 17, 33, 42, 145;
+    sherry, 145;
+    "Tansey,' 146;
+    tea, 32;
+    wine, 33, 145, 145 (Fyall)
+    (_See also_ bottle; cup; glass; chocolate pot; teapot)
+  Beverley, Robert, 8, 21, 51, 97, 192
+  biography, books of, 43
+  birds, singing, 33;
+    birdcage, 33
+  Biscoe, W., vii
+  Black, William, 33, 178
+  Blacke, William (gardener), 58
+  blacksmith, 35, 167, 174 (_See also_ ironworks)
+  Bland, Theodorick, 7, 8. 10, 177
+  Blane, John, 25
+  boat, 62;
+    canoe, 25;
+    "Schoo" (schooner), 62, 177;
+    sloop, 15, 16, 32, 42, 177
+  bones, animal, 111
+  bookplate, John Mercer's, iv (illustr.)
+  books, 14, 17, 20, 33, 34, 36, 42;
+    Mercer's reading, 191;
+    purchase of, 191-192, 198-208;
+    sale of, 61-62
+  Booth, John (weaver), 32
+  botanical record, 209-210 (_See also_ garden)
+  bottles, 25, 56, 145-152;
+    canary, 145;
+    cider, 149;
+    closure for, 145;
+    gin, 112, 150-151 (illustr.);
+    medicine, 152, 153 (illustr.);
+    methods of making, 146-149;
+    octagonal, 149 (illustr.);
+    scent, 152;
+    smelling, 32;
+    snuff, 32, 151 (illustr.), 152;
+    spirits, 111, 150 (illustr.);
+    stoneware, 39;
+    wine, 72, 107, 111, 112, 119 (illustr.), 145-149 (illustr.), 173,
+      178;
+    wine, seal for, 31 (illustr.), 73, 111, 146-149 (illustr.)
+  bowl:
+    creamware, 141;
+    delftware, 137 (illustr.);
+    earthenware, 124 (illustr.), 127 (illustr.);
+    porcelain, 144;
+    redware, 125, 126, 128;
+    stoneware, 136;
+    whiteware, 143
+  box iron, heaters for, 17, 162 (illustr.) (_See also_ smoothing iron)
+  Boyd's Hole, 18, 35, 51
+  Braddock, General, 52
+  Braintree (Mass.), 151
+  brands, on tobacco casks, 29-30
+  brass, 17, 39, 59, 72, 73, 108, 155 (_See also_ specific forms)
+  Braxton, Colonel, 26
+  Brent, George, 12
+  Brent, Giles, 7, 12, 22;
+    widow of, 12;
+    heirs of, 177
+  Brent, Giles, Jr., 7
+  Brent, Robert, 12
+  Brent, William, 23, 26
+  Brent, William (infant), 45, 177;
+    house burned, 63
+  brewer, 55, 58;
+    house for, 178
+  brewery, 55, 56-57, 61, 178;
+    sale at, 56;
+    sale of, 61;
+    still, 26, 61
+    (_See also_ Marlborough, buildings)
+  brewing, books on, 43
+  Brick House (village in New Kent County), 27
+  bricklayers, 35, 36, 103-104, 118
+  bricklaying, 94-95; 103-104, 111, 112;
+    Flemish bond, 72, 121
+  brickmaking, 35 (_See also_ building materials)
+  bridge, 35
+  bridle, 25;
+    bit for, 73, 169 (illustr.), 171 (illustr.)
+  Bromley, William (turner), 36, 38, 39, 50, 98
+  Bronough, John W., 64
+  Brook (village), 28, 67
+  Brooke, William, 26
+  _Brooks_ (ship), 26
+  broom, hearth, 39
+  Brunswick Town (North Carolina), 108
+  brush, curry, 18, 172
+  bucket, 39
+  Buckland, William, 52
+  buckle:
+    brass, 72, 155 (illustr.), 156 (illustr.);
+    iron, 170;
+    pewter, 52;
+    silver, 32
+  Buckley ware (_See under_ earthenware)
+  Bucknell (Oxford County), 58
+  Buckner, William, 7, 8, 21, 22, 177 (_See also_ Marlborough, survey
+    1691)
+  Bucks County Historical Society, viii, 28
+  building materials:
+    ballusters, 36, 96
+    bricks, 9, 11, 18, 35, 36, 67, 68, 71, 72, 91, 94, 102, 107, 109
+      (illustr.), 112;
+      sizes of, 90, 95, 104, 121
+    clapboards, 25
+    concrete, 92 (illustr.), 93 (illustr.)
+    flagstones, 35, 86, 97, 101, 102, 121
+    gold leaf, 36, 95
+    lime, 9, 35, 69
+    linseed oil, 36
+    lumber, 9, 18, 25, 34, 36
+    marble, 96
+    mortar, 35, 69, 102, 162
+    oystershells, 16, 18, 35, 69, 107, 108, 111
+    paint, 36
+    plaster, 96, 97 (illustr.), 102, 121
+    shingles, 34
+    stone, 35, 36, 68, 71, 72, 86, 87, 89, 91 (illustr.), 92 (illustr.),
+      94 (illustr.), 101
+  Bull Run Quarters, 29, 30, 42;
+    slaves at, 41, 58
+  bullet (_See_ ball)
+  Buncle, Alexander, 17
+  Burges, Joseph (house painter), 36
+  Burwell, Carter, 35
+  buttons, 25, 42, 47, 52, 155;
+    brass, 155;
+    copper, 155, 156 (illustr.);
+    horn, 58;
+    Sheffield-plated, 155;
+    shell, 155;
+    silver, 155;
+    white metal, 42, 58, 156 (illustr.)
+  Byrd, William, 46
+
+  cabinetmakers, 25, 35, 40
+  candle, 40;
+    beeswax for, 41;
+    myrtle wax for, 41;
+    tallow, 41
+  candle box, 20
+  candlemolds, 17
+  candlestick, 14, 17, 20 (brass), 39, 40, 41, 153 (glass, illustr.)
+    (_See also_ sconce)
+  canoe, 25
+  Canton, Mark, 42
+  Cantrell, William (servant), 58
+  Carlyle, John, 30
+  Carlyle, Sarah, 30
+  Caroline Courthouse, 27, 28
+  carpenter, 36, 50, 62, 91, 118;
+    apprentices, 50
+  carpet, 13
+  cart (_See under_ vehicle)
+  Carter, Charles, 28
+  Carter, Lucy, 118;
+    marriage to Nathaniel Harrison, 118
+  Carter, Robert ("King"), 118
+  carver, 36, 40
+  casks, 29, 30, 55, 56, 61, 145, 146;
+    hogsheads, 26, 30, 31, 33, 145;
+    "pipes," 33, 145
+  Cavanaugh, Philemon, 17
+  Cave, John, 13, 23, 28, 42
+  Caywood, Louis, 97
+  Cedar Point, 18
+  celt, Indian, 73, 119 (illustr.)
+  ceramics, 68, 105, 125-144;
+    Indian, 108;
+    methods of manufacture, 135-136
+    (_See also_ specific forms and types)
+  chair (_See under_ furniture)
+  chaise (_See under_ vehicle)
+  chalk, 155, 171
+  chamberpots: stoneware, 88, 132 (illustr.);
+    yellowware, 126
+  Chambers, John, 18
+  Champe, Major John (merchant), 31, 35, 54
+  Chapman, Nathaniel, 25, 35, 49, 162, 166, 169, 170-171;
+    Mercer's account with, 193
+  charger, delftware, 137; pewter, 39
+  chariot (_See under_ vehicle)
+  charities, John Mercer's, 47
+  Charles City Courthouse, 9
+  Charleston, George (tailor), 32
+  chelloes, 18
+  chest (_See under_ furniture)
+  Chew, John, 192
+  chimney, 12, 20, 36, 97, 102, 105 (_See also_ mantel; fireplace)
+  china, 39, 144 (_See also_ porcelain)
+  Chinn, John, 20
+  Chinn, Rawleigh, 17, 20, 25
+  chinoiserie, 136, 137, 140 (illustr.), 142
+  Chiswell's Ordinary, 51
+  Chiswell Plantation, 97
+  chocolate pot, copper, 39
+  Chotank Church, 10
+  church:
+    Aquia, 27, 37, 46-47, 52, 145;
+      undertaker for, 46, 47;
+      church plate, 46 (_See also_ Overwharton Parish)
+    Chotank, 10
+    Hanover, 35
+    Mattaponi, 35
+    New Kent, 35
+    Pohick (Fairfax), 37
+    Potomac, 27, 28, 46, 54 (_See also_ Overwharton Parish)
+    Stafford Parish, 10
+  church, brick, 46
+  cider press, 62 (_See also_ beverages)
+  Clark, John (servant), 52
+  Cleve (plantation), 28
+  clothing, 31-32;
+    breeches, 34, 42, 52, 58, 59;
+      "Russia," 59
+    children's, 34
+    coat, 42;
+      greatcoat, 31, 59
+    gloves, 18, 31, 34;
+      mittens, 34
+    handkerchief, 31
+    hat, 17, 18, 25, 31, 52, 58, 59;
+      "Castor," 31;
+      hood, 31
+    hose, 18
+    indentured servant apparel, 52, 59
+    jacket, 58, 59
+    liveries, 42
+    mourning, 47
+    neckcloth, 52
+    petticoat, 31
+    shirts, 52, 58
+    shoes, 17, 18, 31, 34, 42, 52, 58
+    slave apparel, 42, 58, 59
+    stockings, 31, 34, 52, 58, 59
+    suit, 31, 32
+    trousers, 52
+    vest, 34
+    waistcoat, 32
+    (_See also_ textiles)
+  coach (_See under_ vehicle)
+  coachman, 42
+  coal, 56, 107, 108
+  coffin, child's, 17
+  coins, 119, 155-156 (illustr.)
+  Coke, John (silversmith), 39
+  colander, 20
+  College of William and Mary, 20, 34, 47, 99, 121;
+    account of George Mercer's expenses while attending, 197
+  Collings, Jn^o, 149
+  Collins, Robert, 18
+  Colonial Williamsburg, Inc., viii, 30, 149
+  comb: curry, 18, 169, 172 (and brush);
+    horn, 32;
+    ivory, 16, 32;
+    wig, 25
+  Combe, ----, 53
+  combed ware (_See under_ earthenware)
+  Cooke, John, 64, 96, 125
+  cooper, 56;
+    house for, 55
+  Cooper, Macartney, Powel & Lyde, 40
+  Copein, William (mason), 37, 91
+  copper, 17, 55, 103, 119, 178 (_See also_ specific items)
+  corks, 56, 145
+  court: Spotsylvania, 27;
+    Williamsburg, 27
+  courthouse:
+    Caroline, 27, 28, 53
+    Charles City, 9, 121, 122
+    Elizabeth City, 9
+    Hanover, 98, 118 (illustr.), 121, 122
+    King William, 23 (illustr.), 51, 53, 98, 120 (illustr. floor plan),
+      121, 122
+    Marlborough, vii, 8, 11, 45;
+      (1691), 28;
+      cleaning, 13, 184;
+      construction of, 11;
+      contract to build, 10;
+      destruction of, 9, 11;
+      location of, 11, 44, 67;
+      trial in, 12;
+    New Kent, 27, 28, 51
+    Potomac Creek, vii, viii, 7, 10, 11, 20, 28, 49, 99, 177;
+      architectural analysis of, 121;
+      artifacts from, 119-121;
+      burning of, 118;
+      excavations, 115-122;
+      excavation plan of, 118;
+      historical background, 115-118;
+      map showing location of, 116, 117;
+      surveys, 115
+    Stafford (_See_ Potomac Creek)
+    Warwick, 11
+    Westmoreland, 54
+    Williamsburg, 121
+    York (1692), 11, 121
+  courthouses, brick, 11, 118
+  Covington, ---- (dancing master), 34
+  cows, 17, 20, 61
+  Craig, James (jeweler), 47
+  creamware (_See under_ earthenware)
+  Cresap, Thomas, 49
+  Crichton, Robert (merchant), 32
+  crops: barley, 56;
+    corn, 42, 56, 57;
+    hops, 56, 62;
+    malt, 55, 56;
+    peas, 59;
+    rice, 57;
+    turnips, 59;
+    wheat, 59
+    (_See also_ food; tobacco)
+
+  _Cumberland_ (ship), 31
+  cup, 39;
+    chocolate, 17, 144;
+    coffee, 39, 144;
+    custard, 17, 144;
+    dram, 13;
+    fuddling, 137;
+    handle, 137;
+    tea, 17, 72, 136, 144;
+    delftware, 137;
+    earthenware, 127 (illustr.),
+    porcelain, 72, 144;
+    silver, 13, 39;
+    stoneware, 39, 144;
+    yellowware, 128 (illustr.)
+  curry comb, 18, 169 (illustr.), 172 (and brush)
+  curtains, 13;
+    bed, 13;
+    fittings, 172;
+    rings for, 13, 156 (illustr.), 162-163
+  Custis, Daniel Parke, 31
+  Custis, John, 31
+
+  Dade, Francis, 26
+  dancing master, 32, 33, 34
+  Daniel, Peter, 27, 52
+  Darlington Library, viii
+  Darrell, Sampson, 10, 11, 28
+  Darter, Oscar H., vii, viii, 67
+  Davis, Boatswain, 35
+  Dekeyser, ---- (dancing master), 33
+  delftware, 88, 107, 114, 136-137, 173;
+    English, 111, 134 (illustr.), 136, 138
+    (_See also_ specific forms)
+  Dering, William (dancing master), 32, 34
+  Dick: "Mr. Dick's Quarter," 53
+  Dick, Alexander, 51
+  Dick, Charles (merchant), 31, 34, 39, 132, 144, 165, 167;
+    textiles listed in Mercer's accounts with, 196
+  Dick, William, 51
+  dish, 39;
+    chafing, 17;
+    oblong, 136;
+    sugar, 39;
+    brass, 17;
+    pewter, 25, 39, 160 (illustr.);
+    silver, 39;
+    stoneware, 136
+  doctor, 41, 46 (_See also_ medicine)
+  Dogge, John, 17
+  Donaldson, Captain, 31
+  door knobs, 39;
+    brass, 167
+  doors, 37, 38 (illustr.)
+  Downham, William, 184
+  Drains, Mr., 62
+  ducks, 25
+  Dulaney, Daniel, 31
+  Dunmore, Lord, 63
+
+  earthenware, 13, 16, 17, 20, 25, 129
+    "agate," 108, 173
+    black-glazed, 119, 139
+    Buckley, 72, 107, 111, 113, 114, 126-128, 130 (illustr.), 173
+    combed ware, 126, 173
+    creamware, 111, 141, 173
+    marbled, 138-139
+    molded-rim type, 125-126
+    North Devon gravel-tempered, 111, 126, 173
+    pearlware, 140 (illustr.), 141
+    polychrome, 140, 143
+    queensware, 139 (illustr.), 140
+    redware, 114, 125-126, 128
+    shell-edged, 140, 141-142
+    Tidewater type, 73, 111, 124-125 (illustr.), 173
+    tortoiseshell ware, 128 (illustr.), 139
+    transfer-printed, 143-144
+    whiteware, 112, 140 (illustr.), 173
+    yellowware, 107, 111, 126, 128 (illustr.)
+    (_See also_ specific forms)
+  Edgeley, ----, 16
+  education, 34;
+    hornbook, 33, 34;
+    slate, 156, 158;
+    slate pencil, 111, 156, 158;
+    tutor, 34
+    (_See also_ College of William and Mary)
+  Edwards, Elizabeth, 39
+  _Elizabeth_ (ship), 26
+  Elizabeth City Courthouse, 9
+  Elliot, George (turner), 36, 96
+  Elzey, Thomas, 117
+  Emo, Lord Leonardo, 98
+
+  Fairfax, George, 49
+  Falkner, Ralph, 192
+  Falmouth (Virginia), 53
+  Ferguson, John (overseer), 42
+  ferry, Potomac Creek, 8, 13
+  fiddler, 34
+  fireback, iron, 17
+  fireplaces, 12, 20, 41, 94, 96, 97, 101, 102, 104, 105
+    (_See also_ chimney; mantel)
+  Fisher, George, 51
+  fishhooks, 42, 111, 171 (illustr.)
+  fishing, 32, 42, 54, 64;
+    drumlines, 42;
+    perch lines, 42;
+    seine, 42, 54
+  Fitz, Captain, 32
+  Fitzhugh, Colonel, 192
+  Fitzhugh, Ann, 16
+  Fitzhugh, Henry, 21, 25, 31, 118;
+    widow of, 118
+  Fitzhugh, William, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 31, 51
+  Fitzhugh, William, Jr., 9
+  Fitzhugh, William III, 16
+  Fitzpatrick, John (weaver), 32
+  flagon, stoneware, 132 (illustr.)
+  floors (_See_ pavement)
+  flower pots, 62;
+    earthenware, 129 (illustr.)
+  Foard (Foward), John, 25
+  food, 192;
+    cinnamon, 32;
+    fish, 32;
+    lemons, 26;
+    limes, 33;
+    lime juice, 17;
+    mace, 32;
+    molasses, 17, 32-33;
+    nutmegs, 32;
+    oysters, 32, 40;
+    pork, 32, 57;
+    spices, 32;
+    sugar, 17, 32, 33 (muscovy);
+    venison, 25;
+    wild game, 25
+    (_See also_ crops)
+  Forbes, Andrew, 192
+  forks, 111, 159 (illustr.);
+    wooden handled, 17
+  Forman, Henry Chandlee, 12
+  Fort Frederica (Georgia), 126
+  Foward (Foard), John (merchant), 25, 26, 167
+  Foward, Jonathan, 26
+  Fowke, Chandler, 18
+  Fowke, Gerard, 31, 52
+  Foxhall, Joseph, 32
+  Fredericksburg, vii, 28, 30, 31, 34, 42, 43, 46, 53, 55, 59, 62, 196
+  freckled ware (_See under_ stoneware)
+  French, Hugh, 18
+  Fry, Colonel, 49
+  funnel, 17
+  Furnea's (Furnau's) Ordinary, 27, 28
+  furniture:
+    beds, 13, 20, 25, 40;
+      bolsters, 13;
+      covers, 39;
+      feather, 13, 17;
+      flock, 13;
+      tick, 18
+    chairs, cane, 13;
+      child's, 20;
+      leather, 17;
+      rush seat, 13, 25
+    chest, handle for, 163 (illustr.), 165;
+      chest of drawers, 13
+    cradle, 25
+    cupboard, 13
+    couch, 13
+    desk, 17;
+      repair of, 25
+    escritoire, 25, 40, 165
+    looking glass, 39
+    painted, 17
+    sale of, 61-62
+    sconce glass, 39, 41
+    sideboard, 39
+    stools, 13
+    table, 13, 17;
+      marble, 39
+
+  garden, 99;
+    botanical record of, 209-210
+  gardener, 58, 178
+  Garner, A. M., 137
+  Garvan, Anthony N. B., viii
+  gateway, 80, 81;
+    pintle for, 73, 81
+  _George Mercer Papers Relating to the Ohio Company of Virginia_, viii,
+    15, 59
+  Gilmer, George (apothecary), 36
+  glass, 17 (and cover), 68, 145-154;
+    bowl, 119, 154;
+    candelabrum, 153 (illustr.), 154;
+    decanter, 73, 145, 152-154;
+    mirror, 153 (illustr.), 154;
+    posset pot, 154;
+    salt, 153 (illustr.), 154;
+    window, 62, 96, 107, 121, 153 (illustr.), 154
+    (_See also_ bottle)
+  glasses, 17;
+    cordial, 152 (illustr.), 154;
+    looking, 39;
+    sconce, 39, 41, 154;
+    tumbler, 152, 153 (illustr.), 154;
+    wine, 73, 107, 152 (illustr.), 153 (illustr.), 154
+  glasshouse, 56;
+    Bristol, 148;
+    Germantown, 151
+  glassmaking techniques, 146, 148-149, 151-152, 154
+  _Gooch_ (ship), 40
+  goose, 25
+  Graham (Graeme), John, 20, 191
+  Graham, William (overseer), 41
+  grater, nutmeg, 13
+  Gray, William, 28
+  greenhouse, 62, 109, 178
+  Gregg, Thomas (surveyor), 9, 14, 21, 22
+    (_See also_ Marlborough, survey 1707)
+  Grenzhausen (Germany), 129
+  gun flints, 42, 155, 157 (illustr.)
+  gunpowder, 18, 25, 42
+
+  Hamitt, William, 25
+  Hammersley, Francis, 7, 12
+  Hampton (Virginia), 9, 47
+  Hanbury, Capel, 53
+  hand mill, 55
+  Hanover Church, 35
+  Hanover County, 35
+  Happel, Ralph, 10, 115
+  hardware, 193
+    bolt, 111, 119 (illustr.), 121, 164 (illustr.), 166, 167, 168
+      (illustr.), 170
+    brad, 34, 165, 167
+    chain, 169;
+      for door, 39
+    escutcheon plate, 108, 156 (illustr.), 163
+    handle or pull, 108, 156 (illustr.), 163 (illustr.), 164 (illustr.),
+      165, 167, 171 (illustr.)
+    hasp, 164 (illustr.), 166
+    hinge, 25, 39, 163 (illustr.), 164 (illustr.), 165-166;
+      butt, 164 (illustr.);
+      HL, 20, 103, 163 (illustr.), 165;
+      H, 163 (illustr.), 165
+    hook, 166 (illustr.), 168 (illustr.), 170
+    key, 111, 163 (illustr.), 167
+    latches, 25, 163 (illustr.), 164 (illustr.), 166
+    locks, 17, 20, 25, 39, 163 (illustr.), 166-167
+    nails, 17, 18, 25, 34, 72, 102, 121, 165 (illustr.), 167
+    nuts and bolts, 170
+    pin, 166 (illustr.)
+    pintle, gate, 73
+    rivet and washer, 169 (illustr.)
+    shutter fastener, 88
+    slab, 105 (illustr.)
+    spike, 165, 167
+    staples, 163 (illustr.), 166
+    swingletree loop, 73, 170;
+      chain, 169
+    tie bar, 87, 94 (illustr.)
+  Harmer & King, 41
+  harnesses, 61, 170;
+    fittings for, 73, 156 (illustr.), 169 (illustr.), 170
+  _Harrington_ (ship), 31
+  Harrison, Colonel, 53
+  Harrison, Lucy Carter, 118
+  Harrison, Nathaniel, 118
+  Hartley, Green & Company, 140-141, 143
+  Harvey, John, 33
+  Harwood, Thomas, 185
+  Hayward, Joseph, 12;
+    house of, 12
+  Hayward, Nicholas, 12
+  Hayward, Samuel, 12
+  hearth (_See_ fireplace)
+  Hedgman, Major Peter, 23, 24, 51, 53
+  Historic American Buildings Survey, viii, 120
+  history, books on, 20, 43, 191, 200
+  Hogans, Francis (wheelwright), 30
+  hogs, 20
+  Holbrook, Janet, 33
+  Holdbrook, ----, 51
+  Hooe, Rice, 15
+  Hoomes, George, 28
+  Hopkins, Mr., 22
+  Hoppus, Edward, 37
+  horn, objects made from, 32, 58
+    (_See also_ specific items; musical instruments)
+  hornbook, 33 (illustr.), 34
+  horses, 17, 20, 26, 56 (and colts), 61, 63;
+    Ranter, 57, 61-62 (sale of)
+  horseshoes, 169 (illustr.), 172
+  houses:
+    Alexandria, Carlyle house, 30
+    Carter's Grove, 35
+    Corotoman, 118
+    Eagle's Nest, 118
+    Essex County--Elmwood, 98;
+      Blandfield, 103
+    Gloucester County--Abingdon glebe house, 97;
+      Fairfield, 97
+    Greenspring, 47, 97, 102
+    Gunston Hall, 12, 52, 97
+    Hanover, Scotchtown, 97
+    Henrico County, Turkey Island, 97
+    Jamestown, Isaac Watson's, 12
+    Joseph Hayward's, 12
+    King George County, Brandon, 118
+    Marlborough, 9, 12-13, 17
+    John Mercer's (1730), 18, 22, 45
+    John Mercer's "Manor House," 45;
+      construction of, 34-38, 62, 177, 178;
+      excavation of, 84-99;
+      insurance policy for, 64, 96;
+      inventory of, viii, 62, 88, 96, 109, 168, 177, 211-212;
+      plan of, 96 (illustr.)
+    Morrisania (New York), Lewis Morris House, 126
+    Mount Airy, 103
+    Mount Vernon, 98, 103, 105
+    Salvington, 28
+    Shalstone Manor, 40
+    Stratford, 51, 102, 103
+    Spotsylvania County, Mannsfield, 102, 103
+    Williamsburg, Brush-Everard House, 32
+    Yorktown, Digges house, 12
+  house, brick, 12, 63
+  house, glebe, 35, 97
+  house, wooden, 12, 20
+  Hubbard, Benjamin, 27
+  Hudson, J. Paul, 131
+  Hudson, Thomas, 20
+  Hull, Sigrid, viii
+  Humble, Green & Co., 140-141
+  Hunter, James, 55
+  Hunter, William (merchant), 30-31, 33, 34, 39, 42, 167, 170;
+    textiles listed in Mercer's account with, 196
+  hunting, 42;
+    hunting horn, 33
+  husbandry, books on, 43
+  Hyndman, John (merchant), 32
+
+  indentured servants, 14, 32, 52, 53, 58;
+    apparel of, 52, 58, 59;
+    Thuanus (weaver), 32
+  Indian, 158;
+    celt, 73, 119;
+    pottery, 108;
+    trial of Nanticoke Indians, 12
+  indigo, 42
+  Innes, Enoch, 20
+  insurance policy, 64, 88-89, 95, 97;
+    house plan drawn on, 96 (illustr.)
+  inventory: George Andrews, 183;
+    Peter Beach, 184;
+    Marlborough (taken by Thomas Oliver, 1771), viii, 62, 88, 96, 109,
+      168, 177, 211-212
+  iron, 121, 161-167;
+    slab, 104, 105
+    (_See also_ specific items; hardware; tools)
+  ironworks: Accokeek, 23, 24, 25, 47, 162, 193;
+    Mercer's protest against Act for Encouraging Adventures in, 23-24
+  ivory, 16, 32
+
+  Jackson, Robert (silversmith), 46
+  Jamestown, 9, 12, 126, 158
+  jar: cover, 125, 127 (illustr.);
+    storage, 128 (illustr.);
+    earthenware, 125, 127, 128;
+    Buckley ware, 126, 129 (illustr.);
+    stoneware, 131 (illustr.)
+  Jervers, 18
+  Jervis, James (widow of), 18
+  jeweler, 47, 167-168;
+    jeweler's tools, 111, 167-168
+  jewelry: earrings, 47;
+    ring, 47, 63
+  jockey, 20
+  Johnson Fund, vii
+  Johnson, Richard, 16
+  Johnston, ----, elected as burgess, 53
+  Joiner, 36, 38, 50
+  Jones, Booth (overseer), 42
+  Jones, Charles, 32
+  Jones, James, 18
+  Jones, Robert, 192
+  Jones, Thomas, 32, 41
+  Jordan, William (merchant), 31, 39, 168
+  jugs, 39;
+    delftware, 138;
+    stoneware, 131 (illustr.), 134;
+    white salt-glazed, 135 (illustr.), 136
+
+  Kecoughtan, 126, 158
+  Kemp, Peter, 16
+  Kernodle, G. H., 149
+  kiln, 36;
+    malt kiln, 59
+  King, George Harrison Sanford, viii, 115
+  King, William (silversmith), 39, 55
+  King, William (brewer), 55
+  King William Courthouse (_See under_ courthouse)
+  kitchen (_See_ Marlborough, buildings)
+  knife, 17, 111, 158 (illustr.), 160
+    butcher, 39
+    chopping, 88, 158 (illustr.), 162
+    clasp, 25
+    and fork, 17, 39, 159
+    pen, 17, 25, 32, 111, 155, 158 (illustr.)
+    shoemaker's, 16
+    agate-handled, 119
+    horn-handled, 39
+    Sheffield-handled, 111, 160 (illustr.)
+    silver-handled, 32
+    wooden-handled, 17
+
+  laces, 18
+  ladle, iron, 162 (illustr.)
+  Lamb's Creek (plantation), 31
+  Land Book, John Mercer's, vii, 6, 8, 45, 82
+  Langley, Battey, 39
+  Langton, Richard, 39
+  lanterns, 17, 39
+  laundry irons, heaters for, 17, 25, 162
+  law, books on, 17, 21, 191-192, 198-200
+  ledgers, John Mercer's, 15, 16;
+    Ledger B, 16, 209;
+    Ledger G, 28, 29, 32, 102, 104, 105, 129;
+    contents of, 185-208;
+    accounts for domestic expenses, 186-190
+  Lee, Captain, 31
+  Lee, Dr. Arthur, 54
+  Lee, General Charles, 63;
+    death of, 63;
+    will of, 63
+  Lee, George, 31
+  Lee, Colonel Philip Ludwell, 51
+  Leoni, Giacomo, 98
+  Lewes (Delaware), 126
+  Lewis, Fielding, 34, 47
+  library: Colonel Spotswood's, 20;
+    John Mercer's, 21, 42-43, 61-62 (sale of), 198-208 (purchase of)
+      (_See also_ books)
+  lighting devices, 40, 41 (_See also_ candle; candlestick; sconce)
+  _lignum vitae_, 13
+  Linton, Anthony, 18, 25
+  literature, English, books of, 43
+  Little River Quarters, 53
+  loom, 32 (_See also_ weavers)
+  Ludwell, Philip, 47
+  Lyde, Major Cornelius, 40
+  Lyde, Lyonel (merchant), 40
+  Lyndon, Captain Roger, 36, 39, 41, 109
+  Lynn, Doctor, 41
+
+  MacLane, Hugh (tailor), 31
+  malt, 55, 56;
+    malt kiln, 59;
+    malt house, 55, 62
+  mantels, 36, 37 (illustr.) (_See also_ fireplace)
+  maps, 6, 19, 44, 116, 117
+  marbles, chalk, 155, 157 (illustr.)
+  _Marigold_ (ship), 36, 109
+  Markham, James, 21, 26
+  Marlborough:
+    abandonment of, 14
+    aerial photograph, 66
+    buildings--
+      barn, 62, 113, 178
+      brewhouse, 55, 114, 178
+      cider mill, 62, 178
+      cooper's house, 55, 178
+      corn houses, 64, 178
+      grainery, 178
+      greenhouse, 62, 109, 178
+      houses, 9, 12-13, 17
+      kitchen, 36, 58, 67, 101-105, 109, 178
+      malt house, 55, 62, 114, 178
+      Negro quarters, 64
+      office, 178
+      overseers' houses, 64, 178
+      privy, 112
+      prison, 12-13
+      smokehouse, 106-109
+      stables, 62, 178
+      summer house, 58, 178
+      warehouses, tobacco, 62, 113, 114, 115, 177-178
+      windmill, 35, 52, 64, 67, 178
+    excavation plans, 44, 74, 75, 84, 100, 106, 113, 118
+    inventory, viii, 62, 88, 96, 109, 168, 177, 211-212
+    maps, 6
+    naming, 9
+    surveys--
+      (1691), 6, 21, 44, 67, 68, 82-83, 177
+      (1707), 9, 14, 21, 22, 45, 82-83
+      (1731), 6, 21, 22, 45, 82, 177
+      (1743), 117
+    (_See also_ houses, Marlborough; slaves)
+  Mary Washington College, vii
+  mason, 37, 91
+  Mason, Ann, 28, 47
+  Mason, Catharine, 16
+  Mason, George, 9, 12, 13
+  Mason, Captain George, 10, 12
+  Mason, Colonel George III, 15, 16, 20, 21, 24, 26, 28
+  Mason, George IV, 24, 52, 53, 63, 97;
+    elected as burgess, 53
+  mathematics, books on, 43
+  Mattaponi church, 35
+  McClelland, Charles, 17
+  McFarlane, Alexander, 17, 18
+  McKenzie, Doctor Kenneth, 46
+  medicine, 41, 46;
+    books on, 43, 201;
+    bottles for, 152;
+    Aqua Linnaean, 46;
+    British oyl, 46, 152;
+    Daffy's Elixir, 46;
+    Euphorbium, 46;
+    gum fragac, 46;
+    Holloway's Citrate, 46, 152;
+    oil of cinnamon, 46;
+    Opadeldoc, 152;
+    opium, 46;
+    rattlesnake root, 46;
+    rhubarb, 46;
+    spirits of lavender, 46;
+    sago, 46 (_See also_ doctors; apothecary)
+  Mercer, Ann Roy, 48;
+    death of, 61, 211;
+    portrait of, 47 (illustr.)
+  Mercer, Anna, birth of, 53
+  Mercer, Catesby, death of, 53
+  Mercer, Catherine, 17, 18, 146, 147;
+    death of, 47
+  Mercer, Elinor, 51;
+    death of, 53
+  Mercer, George, 33, 34, 49, 52, 53 (elected as burgess), 54, 56, 59
+    (_See also George Mercer Papers ..._)
+  Mercer, Grace Fenton, 15, 51
+  Mercer, James, 33, 34, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 57, 61, 62, 63;
+    death of, 64
+  Mercer, Captain James, 52;
+    death of, 53
+  Mercer, John, _passim_;
+    portrait of, 47 (illustr.);
+    death of, 59
+  Mercer, John (father of John Mercer of Marlborough), 15
+  Mercer, John III, birth and death of, 53
+  Mercer, John Fenton, 33, 34, 49, 52;
+    death of, 52
+  Mercer, John Francis, birth of, 53, 63, 64, 142
+  Mercer, Maria, birth of, 53
+  Mercer, Mungo Roy, 51
+  Mercer, Sarah Ann Mason, 28, 33
+  Meese, Anne, 12
+  microscopes, 43
+  mill, 35, 62;
+    windmill, 35, 52;
+    hand mill, 55
+  Mills, James, 30
+  Mills, William (weaver), 32
+  Minitree, David (bricklayer), 35, 36, 91, 95
+  Mitchelson, John, 33
+  mold: bullet, chalk, 111, 155, 156 (illustr.), 157 (illustr.);
+    candle, 17;
+    tart, copper, 17
+  Moncure, Reverend John, 27, 28, 47, 52
+  Monday, William (carpenter), 36, 91
+  Monroe, Andrew (overseer), 31, 55, 57
+  Monroe, James, 55
+  Monroe, Thomas, 31
+  Moore, Bernard, 39
+  mortar and pestle, 20
+  mother-of-pearl, 26
+  Mountjoy, ----, 51
+  Mountjoy, Edward, 184
+  mug: creamware, 141;
+    delftware, 137;
+    earthenware, 124 (illustr.), 125, 127 (illustr.);
+    stoneware, 88, 131 (illustr.), 132 (illustr.), 134, 135 (illustr.),
+      136
+  mull stick, 39
+  music, book on, 33
+  musical instruments: horn, French, 33 (illustr.);
+    fiddle strings, 34;
+    trumpet, 33
+  Mussen, James, 11
+  Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia, 64, 96 (_See also_ insurance
+    policy)
+
+  Nanticoke Indians, 12
+  National Park Service, 121, 126
+  needles, 25
+  Negroes, 25, 41;
+    "Negro Ship," 47;
+    skipper, 42 (_See also_ slaves)
+  Nevill's Ordinary, 53
+  Newbery, Bob (London bookseller), 59
+  New Kent Church, 35
+  New Kent Courthouse (_See under_ courthouse)
+  Nicholson, Captain Timothy, 36, 58
+  Niemeyer, Mabel, viii
+  Nisbett, William, 25
+  Noël Hume, Ivor, viii, 126, 131
+  Norfolk, 9, 33, 47, 55, 59
+
+  Occaquan warehouse, 30
+  occupations, colonists identified by Mercer according to, 195 (_See
+    also_ specific occupations)
+  Ohio Company of Virginia, 25, 49, 51, 53, 54, 55, 59, 119, 122 (_See
+    also George Mercer Papers...._)
+  Oliver, Thomas (overseer), inventory by, viii, 62, 88, 96, 109, 168,
+    177, 211-212
+  Omwake, H. Geiger, 126
+  ordinaries, 8, 11, 12, 13, 27, 28, 51, 53;
+    inventory of ordinary keeper, 183
+  oven, 17, 36, 102, 104, 105
+  Overwharton Parish, 16, 26, 27, 46, 145;
+    John Mercer's account for, 194 (_See also_ churches, Potomac and
+      Aquia)
+
+  painter: house, 36;
+    portrait, 16, 32
+  painting, 36 (_See also_ portrait)
+  Palladio, Andrea, 37, 98-99
+  _Palladio Londonensis_ (book), 37, 38
+  Pamunkey River, 35
+  pan: baking, 128 (illustr.);
+    frying, 18, 25;
+    milk, 20, 124 (illustr.), 125, 127 (illustr.);
+    sauce, 25, 39;
+    Buckley ware, 126, 127 (illustr.);
+    copper, 25;
+    redware, 125 (illustr.);
+    Tidewater-type earthenware, 124 (illustr.), 125;
+    tin, 39
+  paper, 18
+  Parks, William, 21, 43
+  Parry, ----, 22
+  Partis, Captain, 5
+  Passapatanzy, 17, 29, 35, 61
+  Patterson, ----, 36
+  pavement, 104, 105;
+    brick, 85, 102-103;
+    stone, 86, 97, 101, 121
+  Peace Point, 7
+  Peale, Captain Malachi, 7, 8, 12
+  Pemberton, James, 62
+  pepper box, 20
+  Perry, Captain, 31
+  Perryman, Captain, 31
+  pestle, 20
+  pewter, 13, 17, 52, 119, 160-161 (_See also_ specific items)
+  Phipps, Reverend John (tutor), 34, 40
+  Pipe, ----, 53
+  pipe (_See_ tobacco pipe)
+  pistols, 63
+  pitcher: creamware, 141;
+    stoneware, 133, 135 (illustr.), 136;
+    whiteware, 143
+  plasterer, 36
+  plastering, 18;
+    plaster cornice molding, 96, 97 (illustr.) (_See also_ building
+      materials)
+  plates, 20, 39;
+    "basket," 136;
+    cake, 136;
+    pie, 129;
+    creamware, 119, 141;
+    delftware, English, 136 (illustr.), 137;
+    pewter, 111, 161;
+    porcelain, 144;
+    tortoiseshell ware, 140;
+    white salt-glazed, 119
+  plate warmer, 39
+  platter: creamware, 141;
+    queensware, 140 (illustr.);
+    white salt-glazed, 119 (illustr.)
+  Pohick Church (Fairfax), 37
+  Pope, ----, 22
+  porcelain, Chinese, 107, 112, 114, 140, 144, 173;
+    blue and white, 142 (illustr.), 143 (illustr.);
+    importation of, 144;
+    Lowestoft, 144;
+    polychrome, 140 (illustr.), 141 (illustr.), 144 (_See also_
+      specific forms)
+  porringer, 25, 39
+  Port Royal (Virginia), 28, 47, 51
+  port towns, 5 (_See also_ Acts for Towns)
+  portrait, 32;
+    of John Mercer, 16 (illustr.);
+    of Ann Roy Mercer, 47 (illustr.)
+  posset pot: delftware, 138;
+    glass, 154;
+    marbled, 139;
+    stoneware, 119, 132, 133, 136;
+    yellowware, 126
+  pot: lid, 73, 162 (illustr.), 126, 127 (illustr.);
+    ointment, 134 (illustr.), 138 (illustr.);
+    repair of, 25;
+    delftware, 134;
+    iron, 17, 161-162 (illustr.);
+    tin, 18
+  Potawomake (Indian village), vii, 67
+  Potomac Church (_See under_ church)
+  Potomac Creek (_See_ courthouse, Potomac Creek)
+  Potter, Doctor Henry, 28
+  potteries: Burslem, 133, 134;
+    Little Fenton, 128;
+    Staffordshire, 135, 138;
+    Yorktown, 125, 131, 173
+  powder (_See_ gunpowder)
+  Power, James, 39
+  Powers, John, 27
+  prison, 12
+  punchbowl, 39, 119;
+    delftware, 119;
+    _lignum vitae_, 13;
+    porcelain, 17, 144
+  Purefoy, Henry, 40
+
+  Ramsay, William, 31
+  Randolph, William, 31
+  razor, 17, 32;
+    strop, 32
+  Reid, James, 26
+  "Retirement, The" (plantation), 12
+  Reyant, Pat, 24
+  Richards, Mourning, 47
+  rings: brass, 111, 170;
+    curtain, 13, 156 (illustr.), 162-163 (_See also_ jewelry)
+  Ritchie, Mr., 42
+  Robinson, ----, 22
+  Robinson, Berryman, Pope & Parry, 22
+  Robinson, John, 55
+  Rock, George, 33
+  Rogers, ---- (clerk), 51, 54
+  Rogers, William (potter), 16, 125, 131, 173
+  Rose, Parson 192
+  Rosewell (plantation), 126, 131, 144, 147, 148, 152, 154, 173
+  Roth, Rodris, viii
+  Roy, Ann, marriage to John Mercer, 48
+  Roy, Mrs. B., death of, 53-54
+  Roy, Donald E., viii
+  Roy, Doctor Mungo 47, 48
+  rug, silk, 16; "Turkey work," 13
+  Russell, Elizabeth, 17
+  Russell & Russell, viii
+  Russell site (Lewes, Delaware), 126
+  Rust, George, 17
+
+  saddle stiffener, 169 (illustr.), 171
+  sail, 42;
+    for windmill, 59
+  sale, John Mercer's estate, 61-63
+  Salmon, William, 37, 38
+  sauceboat: silver, 39;
+    stoneware, 136
+  saucer, 17, 39, 144;
+    Chinese porcelain, 144 (illustr.)
+  Savage, James (overseer), 42
+  Savage John, 7, 8, 21, 82, 116, 192 (_See also_ Marlborough, survey
+    1731 and 1743)
+  Scarlett, Martin, 12
+  Schumacher, Edward G., viii
+  science, books on, 43, 192, 200
+  scissors, 25, 39, 155;
+    "Salisbury," 17, 161;
+    steel, 111, 161 (illustr.) (_See also_ shears)
+  "sconce glass," 39, 41
+  Scott, Reverend Alexander, 16
+  Scott, Jack, viii
+  Scott, James, 49
+  seal: wine bottle, 31 (illustr.), 73, 146-149;
+    "G R," 131, 132 (illustr.);
+    tobacco cask, 30, 148
+  seed boxes, 59
+  Selden, Mr., 53, 54, 58
+  Selden, Joseph, 28
+  Selden, Samuel, 28
+  Setzler, Frank M., vii, 67
+  Seward, Nicholas (overseer), 42
+  Shaw, Simeon, 135
+  shears, sheep, 108, 170 (illustr.), 171
+  sheep, 17, 20
+  sheets, 59
+  shipping, 15, 16 (_See also_ boat)
+  shot, 18, 25, 42
+  sifter, 18;
+    hair sifter, 39
+  silver, 32, 39, 159;
+    church plate, 46;
+    sale of, 61, 62-63;
+    Sheffield, 111, 155, 159 (_See also_ specific items)
+  silversmith, 39, 46
+  Simm, Edward, 18
+  Simpson, John (wheelwright), 30
+  skillet, bell metal, 25
+  skimmer, 20
+  skins, deer, 16, 31 (buckskin)
+  slate, 156, 158 (illustr.);
+    slate pencil, 111, 156, 158 (illustr.)
+  slaves, 16, 25, 41, 57;
+    carpenter's apprentices, 50;
+    clothing, 32, 42, 58, 59;
+    expenses regarding, 59, 160, 162;
+    number of Negroes born at Marlborough, 54;
+    punishment of, 41;
+    purchase of, 24, 53, 55, 58;
+    quarters of, 64, 178;
+    sale of, 16-17, 64;
+    suicide of, 41;
+    Bob, 24, 42;
+    Boatswain, 42;
+    Caesar, 25;
+    Captain, 42;
+    Cupid, death of, 53;
+    Deborah, 24, 41;
+    Dublin, 24;
+    Essex, 50;
+    Frank, 41;
+    George, 24;
+    Joe, 41-42;
+    Lucy, 24;
+    Margaret, 24;
+    Marlborough, 24;
+    Nan, 24;
+    Nero, 24;
+    Peter, 24, 50;
+    Phillis, 24;
+    Poll, 53;
+    Sampson, 62;
+    Sarah, 17;
+    Stafford, 24;
+    Temple, 58;
+    Tom (death of), 53;
+    Will, 24, 25
+
+  sloop (_See under_ boat)
+  Smith, Thomas, 18
+  Smith's ordinary, 51
+  smoothing iron, heaters, for, 25 (_See also_ box iron)
+  _Snake_ (ship), 26
+  Snicker's Little River Quarters, 53
+  snuff: bottle, 32;
+    box, 32, 25 (repair of)
+  snuffers, candle, 17;
+    iron, 88, 163 (illustr.)
+  Spencer, Doctor, 43
+  spices (_See_ food)
+  spinning: reel, 62;
+    wheel, 25, 32, 62
+  spoons: soup, 39;
+    tea, 39, 88, 160;
+    iron, 162;
+    pewter, 111, 160 (illustr.), 161 (illustr.), 173;
+    silver, 13, 39, 88, 159, 160 (illustr.)
+  Spoore, Ann, 28
+  Spotswood, Colonel Alexander, 20, 26, 191
+  Spotswood, Robert, 20
+  spurs, 18
+  stables, 62
+  Stafford County, port town for, 7
+  Stafford Parish Church, 10
+  Stafford Rangers, 12
+  Stafford Survey Book, 8
+  Stamp Act, 54, 55;
+    George Mercer, stamp office, 54
+  steelyards, 17
+  Stevens, Samuel, 25
+  Stevenson, William (merchant), 26
+  Stewart, T. Dale, vii, viii, 67
+  still, 26
+  stoneware, 39, 125, 129, 131-136;
+    basaltes ware, 112, 138 (illustr.), 142;
+    brown-banded, 88;
+    "Crouch" ware, 135
+    drab, 133
+    "freckled ware," 134
+    Nottingham, 88, 111, 132-133, 173
+    salt-glazed, 114, 131-132
+    "scratch-blue," 133 (illustr.), 135
+    Westerwald, 39, 73, 88, 107, 111, 129, 131, 132, 173
+    white salt-glazed, 72, 88, 108, 111, 133 (illustr.), 135-136, 173
+  Stotham, Mat, 191
+  Strother, Widow, 58
+  Suddath, Henry, 18
+  Sumner's Quarters (plantation at Passapatanzy), 17, 29, 30
+  surveys (_See under_ Marlborough)
+  Sussex Archeological Society, 126
+  swans, 25
+  swords, 63
+  Sydenham & Hodgson, 30, 31, 39, 99, 168
+  Sydenham, Jonathan, 30
+
+  tailors, 31, 32-34, 42, 47
+  Talbott, Mark, 33
+  Taliaferro, Colonel John, 27, 28;
+    wife of, 43
+  Taliaferro, Richard, 31
+  tankard, pewter, 13
+  Tappahannock (town), 9, 30
+  tar, 42
+  Tayloe, George, 31
+  Tayloe, Colonel John, 53
+  Taylor, James, 43
+  Taylor, Robert, 34
+  teapot: and frame, 39;
+    handle, 139;
+    lid for, 111, 135 (illustr.), 140, 160 (illustr.), 161 (illustr.);
+    earthenware, 139;
+    pewter, 111, 160, 161;
+    silver, 39;
+    stoneware, 135;
+    tortoiseshell ware, 140
+  temperatures, 209
+  textiles, 32;
+    listed in accounts, 193, 196;
+    blankets, 17, 42, 59;
+    cotton, 32;
+    counterpanes, 39;
+    drill, 58;
+    duffel, 42;
+    haircloth, 59;
+    linen, 39, 58;
+    "ozenbrigs," 42, 59;
+    sheets, 59;
+    silk, 31;
+    velvet, 32;
+    wool, 25, 32, 62;
+    worsted, 31 (_See also_ clothing; weaving; spinning)
+  thermometer, 59
+  thimble, 155 (illustr.), 156 (illustr.)
+  Thompson, Matthew, 7
+  Thomson, William (tailor), 34, 42, 47
+  Thornton, Francis, 49
+  Thornton, Major George, widow of, 63
+  Thornton, Colonel Presley, 53
+  Threlkeld, William (weaver), 32
+  tobacco, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 25, 26, 30, 31, 41,
+    42, 45, 46, 51, 118 (_See also_ warehouses)
+  tobacco cask symbols, 29 (illustr.), 30
+  tobacco pipe, 119, 156, 157 (illustr.);
+    kaolin, 111, 157 (illustr.);
+    terra-cotta, 157 (illustr.), 158, 173
+  Todd, Robert, 33
+  Tooke, William (merchant), 53
+  tools, 193;
+    adze, 34
+    auger, 34
+    ax, 17, 34, 166 (illustr.), 170
+    bung extractor, 72, 166 (illustr.)
+    chisel, gouge, 166 (illustr.), 167 (illustr.);
+      mortice, 34;
+      paring, 34
+    hammer, blacksmith's, 167 (illustr.);
+      jeweler's, 111, 167 (illustr.)
+    hollows and rounds, 36
+    knife, draw, 25, 34
+    plane, 34, 36, 166 (illustr.), 167
+    scraping, iron, 72, 166 (illustr.), 167 (illustr.);
+      stone, 119 (illustr.)
+    shovel, 170 (illustr.)
+    socket gouge, 34
+    tomahawk, 25
+    wedges, 25
+    wrench, 167
+  Torbutt, William (overseer), 42
+  toys, 33;
+    marbles, 155, 157 (illustr.)
+  trap, animal, 111, 171 (illustr.)
+  tray, 39;
+    silver, 39;
+    stoneware, 136
+  trees, 62
+  Trinity College, 15
+  _Triton_ (ship), 26
+  trunk, 13;
+    handle for, 163 (illustr.), 165
+  Tucker, Major Robert (merchant), 33
+  "Turkey work," 13
+  turner, 36
+  twine, ship's, 42
+  Tyler, Henry, 30
+  Tyler, Thomas, 32, 34
+  Tylers, 27
+
+  University of Pennsylvania, viii
+  University of Pittsburgh, Darlington Library, viii
+  University of Pittsburgh Press, viii
+  University of Virginia, Mary Washington College, vii
+
+  Vaulx, Robert, 51
+  vehicles: carriage, fitting for, 169 (illustr.)
+    cart, tumbling, 30;
+      ox, 169
+    chaise, 28, 30, 53;
+      hinge for, 172
+    chariot, 28, 30;
+      sale of, 62
+    coach, 61, 62
+    wagon, 58, 170 (_See also_ sloop)
+  veranda, 90, 91, 95, 96, 97, 178
+  Victoria and Albert Museum, 139
+  Virginia, map of, 19 (illustr.)
+  Virginia Committee of Safety, 63
+  Virginia State Library, viii
+
+  wagon (_See under_ vehicle)
+  Wain, Joseph (servant), 58
+  Waite, William (carpenter), 50, 52
+  waiter, (_See_ tray)
+  Wales, Mr. (brewer), 55
+  Walker, Robert (cabinetmaker), 40
+  Walker, Major William (cabinetmaker), 25, 28, 35-36, 40, 46, 144
+  Waller, Benjamin, 46
+  Waller, Charles, 34
+  warehouse: Occaquan, 30;
+    tobacco, 25, 34, 42, 62, 113, 115, 177, 178
+  Warwick Courthouse, 11
+  Washington, Augustine, 25, 31, 49
+  Washington, George, 53, 63
+  Washington, John, 31
+  Washington, Lawrence, 25, 31, 49
+  watch, gold, 32
+  water cooler, earthenware, 129 (illustr.)
+  Watson, Isaac, 12
+  Waugh, Alex, 184
+  Waugh, David, 16, 17, 18, 21
+  Waugh, James, 16
+  Waugh, John (Parson), 10, 12, 16
+  Waugh, John, Jr., 16, 21, 22, 25, 54, 183
+  Waugh, Joseph, 20
+  Waugh, Mary, 184
+  Waughhop, James, 34
+  weavers, 32, 42, 59
+  Wedgwood, Josiah, 139, 140, 141, 142
+  West Point (Virginia), 27
+  wharf, 25
+  Wheeland, William, 42
+  wheels, 30
+  wheelwright, 30
+  Whieldon, Thomas, 108, 138, 139
+  Whiffen, Marcus, 35, 121
+  whip: horse, 16, 17, 18;
+    hunting, 25;
+    thong, 41
+  Whitehaven (England), 32
+  whiteware (_See under_ earthenware)
+  Whiting & Montague, 16
+  Whitticar, Ralph, Jr., vii
+  wig, 34;
+    comb for, 25
+  Wigley, Job (mason), 37
+  Williams, Jacob (plasterer), 36
+  Williams, T. Ben, vii
+  Williamsburg, 27, 32, 34, 35, 36, 39, 41, 47, 48, 52, 53, 54, 57, 58,
+      126;
+    capitol, 35, 99, 121;
+    courthouse, 121;
+    General Court, 27;
+    student life in, 34, 197 (_See also_ College of William and Mary)
+  Wilson, Captain, 32, 34
+  Winchester (Virginia), 53
+  windmill, 35, 52, 64, 67, 178;
+    sails for, 59
+  windows, 38 (illustr.), 62, 96-97 (_See also_ glass, window)
+  wine (_See_ beverages)
+  Wine Trade Loan Exhibition, 149, 154
+  Withers, John, 7, 12, 30
+  _Wolf_ (sloop of war), 58
+  Woodford, William, 32
+  Woodstock, 12
+  wool cards, 32
+  Wormley, Mr., 53
+  Wright, Edward, 39
+  Wroughton, Francis (merchant), 50, 51
+  Wythe, George, 31
+
+  yarn, 18
+  yellowware (_See under_ earthenware)
+  yoke, 39
+  York (County), 33;
+    courthouse (1692), 11
+  Yorktown, 9, 16, 47, 125, 173
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TRANSCRIBER NOTES:
+
+    Missing punctuation has been added and obvious punctuation
+    errors have been corrected.
+
+    Archaic spellings and typographical errors have been retained with
+    the exception of those listed below.
+
+    Page 9: "bee" changed to "be" (to be approved by an able surveyor).
+
+    Page 21: "thiry-one" changed to "thirty-one" (one thousand seven
+    hundred and thirty-one).
+
+    Page 39: "an" changed to "a" (he made a large purchase of silver).
+
+    Page 55: deleted duplicate "as" (as I have the satisfaction to).
+
+    Footnote 123: incorrectly references Footnote 115. This has
+    been corrected to reference Footnote 66.
+
+    Footnote 140: "Geneaological" changed to "Genealogical" (Tyler's
+    Quarterly Historical Genealogical Magazine).
+
+    Page 88: "18-century" changed to "18th-century" (we can find no
+    exact parallel in the 18th-century America).
+
+    Page 96: "expance" changed to "expanse" (a small gilded cupola to
+    break the long expanse of the roof).
+
+    Page 124, Illustration caption: "plan" changed to "pan" (a, milk
+    pan).
+
+    Page 135: "homogenous" changed to "homogeneous" (thus making
+    possible a homogeneous white body).
+
+    Page 144: "18-century" changed to "18th-century" (that 18th-century
+    China-trade porcelain sherds).
+
+    Page 154: "chows" changed to "shows" (from a long-stemmed cordial
+    glass shows the termini).
+
+    Page 154: "somprised" changed to "comprised" (threads that were
+    comprised in a double enamel-twist).
+
+    Page 169, illustration caption: "probaby" changed to "probably" (b,
+    chain, probably from whiffletree).
+
+    Page 173: "expecially" changed to "especially" (especially as the
+    few 17th-century artifacts).
+
+    Page 178: "acitvity" changed to "activity" (the rigid boundar to
+    domestic activity).
+
+    Page 178: "apparrently" changed to "apparently" (perhaps the bar
+    apparently were located to the north.)
+
+    Page 188: "romall" changed to "Romal" for consistency (To 1 Romall
+    handkerchief).
+
+    Page 188: "handkercheif" changed to "handkerchief" (To 1 silk Romall
+    handkerchief).
+
+    Page 190: "handkercheifs" changed to "handkerchiefs" (To 4 Soosey
+    handkerchiefs).
+
+    Page 209: "curran" changed to "currant" (Wild currant).
+
+    Page 217: "Fallmouth" changed to "Falmouth" (Falmouth (Virginia)).
+
+    Page 217: "Grorge" changed to "George" (George Mercer Papers
+    Relating to).
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Cultural History of Marlborough,
+Virginia, by C. Malcolm Watkins
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40255 ***