as a Justice. "'^' It was dt-cidi-d tliat, altliounh 

 "his Conduct had been in some Respects l)iariieal)le, 

 particularly by his Intemperance, opprobrious Lan- 

 guaije on tlu- Bench, and indecent Treatment of the 

 other Justices, . . . that in C^onsideiation of his 

 having been a principal Instrument in a due Achnin- 

 istratio:i of Justice, and expeditini; the Business of 

 the C^ounty, it has Ijeen thoui^ht proper to continue 

 him Judiie of the Court." '•'* 



.•\ mowing ijurden of debt, in contrast to the 

 prosperity of the preceding decade, clearly affected 

 Mercer's attitude, as we can see in a Gazette ad- 

 verti.semeiit on Xovember 7, I7.")4: "I will not under- 

 take any new, or tinish any old Clause, 'til I receive 

 my Fee, or Security for it to my likini;;: .And I hope 

 such Gentlemen as for above these .seven years past 

 have put me off with Promises every succeeding 

 General Com t will think it reasonable now to dis- 

 charge their accoimts." Cloncurrent with indebted- 

 ness 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. 



.■\t the same time, he still pursued the restless 

 activity that characterized his earlier years. On 

 July 24, 1753, Mercer went "to Ballhrop's, Smith's 

 < )rdin''>' & Vaulx's,'' '•' a distance of 27 miles, during 

 which he "(Overset." On the 25th he went on eight 

 miles farther "to Col" Phil Lcc's""-" 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 eitjht miles away "to Boyd's hole on Inquest as 

 Coroner & home by 4 in the morn"," while the next 

 day he was "at home. Son Mungo Roy born ab' 2 

 in the morning." On the 19th .Mungo Ro>' was 

 christened. Four days later he went 15 miles to 

 Fredericksburg for the christening of William Dick's 

 son .Mcxander, returning home the next day. The 



'" fCxrculiif Journals of tht Council, op. cit. (footnote 1 15), vol. 

 3, p. 410. 



"* Ibid., p. 4 14. 



"* The B.ilthrop rainily lived in Kin^ George CUninly ; .Sinilli's 

 ordin;iry h.is not been identified; "V'.iulx's" prob.ibly refers to 

 lite home of Rol>crt V.iulx of Pope's CVeek, Westniorel.ind 

 C'«iinly. Viiulx w.-ui f.ither-in-lnw of LawrciKe Wiuhington 

 nnd died in 17.'>."i. 



"• I'hilip I.udwell Ix-e, proprietor of "Str.ilford." Weiiniore- 

 l.ind C.t)unly, 17.'i| I??.*!. RT;indf.i(her of Cener.il kolvert I', 

 Lee. "(lid .Stratford .ind the \jm who Lived There," .\/.i(.i- 

 iint of Ihf Sotifly of Ltts of I'ih-i'ij.; i Knhmiind, M.iv I'Ci), vol. 

 3, no. I , p. 1 ,'■.. 



lolluuiii« il.i\ Ml nil jouine\ctl I I nnles and bark to 

 "Moldl»rixjk's .Sui^ey ■ by way of MouiitjoN 's, and 

 repeated the trip the next day, stopping at Major 

 Hedgman's '^ coining and going. On Octol)rr 5 

 he made a three-day trip to Williamsburg, covering 

 the distance in stretches of 16, 52, and 42 mile* per 

 day, respecti\elv . He went by way of Port Ri. • 

 where he "Met .M' W roughton," presuinabU n.. 

 London merchant whose creditors he had agreed to 

 pay. The second day took him by way of K •■ 

 William courthouse. On the return on Novrji.!': 

 4-b, he came via Chiswell's Ordinary'-' and New 

 Kent courthouse (which he noted had "Bui!.i" 

 covering a total of I 10 miles. 



On June 3, 1754, his clerk reported to duty, 

 according to a journal entry: "Rogers came here at 

 t'oU p' annum." Rogers remained in Mrrrrr's ru\- 

 ploy until 1 76H. 



Mercer seems to have been driving liunvll !■ • 

 limit, not to achieve .success as in the prior d<t.:.' 

 but rather to hold secure what he already had. 

 The specter of debt now hung over him. as It 

 nearly every planter, under the increasing I'l. 

 the French and Indian War. The 1 7th-centuni- 

 wisdom of William Fitzhugh and Roln-rt B' ' 

 seeking to lead the colony awas from ' 

 dependence upon tobacco was apparent to those who 

 would remember. Marllwrough, although still f ' 

 nically a town, was now in reality a tobacco pli 

 tion, and Mercer, despite his status as a lawyer, was 

 as irretrievably conuuitted to the success or failure 

 of tobacco as was Fitzhugh 70 years earlier. The 

 hard years were now upon all, and, like his equalb 

 hard-pre.<sed debtors, Meixer was sufTcriiig from 

 them. 



LIFE AT M.\RLDOROL'GH 



DL'RING THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS 



{ )n March 11,1 755, after nearly 30 years of uiKcr- 

 tainty al>out his titles to Marlborough, Mercer at last 



"^ Peter I ledj|in.iii w n .innthrr StifTnril Pottnrv IriHi-r Itr 

 w.w biirijeM from 1 

 BunjeMe*," VIIM \ 



"•tVonje 1 

 May (he ll>th 

 in the iiKirni: 

 phi.i .... 

 ,it ( !hi«u-eir« ' 

 iiil-' 

 an I 

 (Richmond, V*H; svi. i 7, pft. itr^Kvi. 



51 



