The Cultural History Of Marlborough, Virginia - free ebook by C. Malcolm Watkins

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The Cultural History Of Marlborough, Virginia

C. Malcolm Watkins

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The Cultural History of Marlborough, Virginia

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 of 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, Proceedin

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Preface

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 investigati

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The Cultural History of Marlborough, Virginia

The Cultural History of Marlborough, Virginia

[Pg 4] [Pg 5]...

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I Official Port Towns in Virginia and Origins of Marlborough

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 Virg

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II John Mercer’s Occupation of Marlborough, 1726-1730

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

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III Mercer’s Consolidation of Marlborough, 1730-1740

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 purcha

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IV Marlborough at its Ascendancy, 1741-1750

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 &amp; Williamsburg” (30

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V Mercer and Marlborough, from Zenith to Decline, 1751-1768

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,

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VI Dissolution of Marlborough

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

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VII The Site, its Problem, and Preliminary Tests

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. Dart

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VIII Archeological Techniques

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

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IX Wall System

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 bloc

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X Mansion Foundation (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 seem

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XI Kitchen Foundation (Structure E)

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 cont

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XII Supposed Smokehouse Foundation (Structure F)

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 t

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XIII Pits and Other Structures

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 dep

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XIV Stafford Courthouse South of Potomac Creek

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-18t

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XV Ceramics

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 ston

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XVI Glass

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 gall

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XVII Objects of Personal Use

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, ⅞ 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)

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XVIII Metalwork

XVIII Metalwork

SILVER 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

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XIX Conclusions

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: N

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XX Summary of Findings

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 th

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Appendix A Inventory of George Andrews, Ordinary Keeper

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 &amp; fender 6 Iron Pots 5 pair Pot-hooks 6 dishes 1 bason 2 dozen of plates 4 old chairs

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Appendix B Inventory of Peter Beach

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” 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 cluste

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Appendix C Charges to Account of Mosley Battaley for Goods Sold by Mercer

Appendix C Charges to Account of Mosley Battaley for Goods Sold by Mercer

[From Ledger B, p. 1]...

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Appendix D “Domestick Expenses”

Appendix D “Domestick Expenses”

[From Ledger B] 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, (Oxf

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Appendix E Mercer’s Reading 1726-1732

Appendix E Mercer’s Reading 1726-1732

[From Ledger B] March y e 4th 1730, I promise to deliver the above mentioned books being fifty two in number to M r John Mercer or his Order on demand. Witness my hand the day &amp; year abovewritten. Rob t . Beverley Test John Chew Copy...

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Appendix F Credit side of Mercer’s account with Nathaniel Chapman

Appendix F Credit side of Mercer’s account with Nathaniel Chapman

[From Ledger B. Nathaniel Chapman was Superintendent of the Accokeek Iron Works.]...

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Appendix G Overwharton Parish Account

Appendix G Overwharton Parish Account

[From Ledger B]...

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Appendix H Colonists Identified by Mercer According to Occupation

Appendix H Colonists Identified by Mercer According to Occupation

[From Ledger G]...

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Appendix I Materials Listed in Accounts with Hunter and Dick, Fredericksburg

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. All

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Appendix J Account of George Mercer’s Expenses while Attending the College of William and Mary

Appendix J Account of George Mercer’s Expenses while Attending the College of William and Mary

[From Ledger G]...

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Appendix K John Mercer’s Library

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.”...

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Appendix L Botanical Record and Prevailing Temperatures

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...

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Appendix M Inventory of Marlborough, 1771

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

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