Mercer appairntly depended in part upon SiafTord's 

 wealth of natural resources. At least we find a 

 record of wild ijanie entered on the same page and 

 under the same heading as his "Negroes" account 

 in the ledger. There it is noted that he purchased 

 12 ducks from .Natt Hedgman on .\o\ember 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. Pay- 

 ment 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 stocklocks," "1 padlock," "2 best 

 padlocks," "1 drawingknife," "9 p' hinges," "3 clasp 

 knives," and "I gall. Madcras." In .\pril 1731, he 

 bought from Captain Foward: 



f - d. 



1 bdlmctlK- skillet V^- at 2/ 9 



I copper .Sausepan 7 



1 Small D" 5 4 



I iiiintlni; \vlii|) 5 



I hallclu-ck bridle 7 



I fine hat 12 



1 wig Comb 6 



Also in 1731 he bought "6 rush bottom Ohairs" 

 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 

 .ippeai-s an item under "Domestick Expenses," "To 

 W '" 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 wc 

 shall hear much more. 



One of the most active accounts was that of Na- 

 thaniel C:hapman,"'' who directed the newly estab- 

 lished Accokeek Ironworks. In 1731 he sold Mercer 

 several hundred nails of diflerent descriptions, a 



" Nnih.uiirl C:ti.ipin,iii hc.idrd thr ,\crokrrk Ironworks, 

 rrfcrrrd to by Mercer in Ix-dijcr G .is "C'.hapin.ur» Work.* .il 

 Mead of Bay." .MiIioukH Mcrrcr had oppowd tlir art. which 

 gave privileges to the ironworks, he w.is a lifelong friend of 

 Chapin.in. who testilied in his behalf in I7.H and «er\ed with 

 him on the Ohio Company Comniitlee in the I7.VV$ and 17l>0's. 

 Chapm.in w.is executor for the est.ites of Lawrence and .Nugiis- 

 line W.ishington. 



\ariety of hoes, plouglis, wedges, door latches, aiKi 

 heaters for smoothing iroiw. One item Ls "By putting 

 a leg in an old Iron Pott"; another is "By Ckj| Mavin 

 p'' for mending a snufT Ixjx. 2.6" (Appendix F) 



In 1732 he paid Thomas Staines £1 for "a CV.kih-. 

 "two Bedsteads," and "a weekes work " FniMi [ohn 

 Blane, during the same year, he pure! 

 penny nails and the same quantity m < iv;iiijK-iiii> 

 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 Nisbctt a quantity 

 of miscellaneous goods, including 10 parcels of earth- 

 enware and a pewter dLsh weighing 4 to 5 ounces. 

 He also settled with .Samuel .Stevens for "your share 

 in making a C'anoe." 



TOBACCO WAREHOUSES 



The Tobacco .\ct of 1730 provided for the erection 

 of public tobacco warehouses, and Marllxjrough w£»s 

 selected as one of the sites.'" In 1731 Mercer's 

 account with John Waugh included "Timber for 2500 

 boards t' 25 .£3.2.6" and "PasLs & Cleils for two 

 Warehouses, 12 shillings." In .April 1732 he settled 

 accounts with Captain Hcnr>' Fitzhugh for "building 

 a Warehouse & Wharf & 6 prizes" at 3(KX) pounds of 

 tobacco, or £I5. The prizes probably were "in- 

 centive awards" for the workmen. Included in Fitz- 

 hugh"s account were "3 days work of Caesar & Will." 

 ten shillings, and "4319 very bad C^lapboards at ,'.'' y' 

 board." On March 25 he paid Anthony Linton for 

 1820 clapboards, allowing him eijjht shillings for 

 "sawing of Boards." The warehouses were in opera- 

 tion in 1732, as wc learn from Mercer's "Account of 

 Inspectors," but they suffered the fate of il 



enterprises at Marllx)rough, for in 1734 ■<• 



were put down, as being found ver>- inconvenient." ^ 

 The actual date of their termination was Novemlx-r 16, 

 1 735, when a new warehouse was scheduled for com- 

 pletion at the mouth of Aquia Creek.*' The expres- 

 sion "put down" does not seem to mean that the 

 warehouses were torn down, but that the)' wcit 

 officially discontinued. He apparently. howr\er, con- 

 tinued to u.se them for his own purposes. 



"• HcMNO, op. cii. (footnote I), wi. 4. p -'»•«. 



■' Petition of John Mercer, loc. cit. (fo>' ■ •- ' " ' 



'^JHH, 17.'7 I7.i4: ITHiUHi.op ck i«>. p. 202. 



