A Collection Transcribed
and Digitized
by Edmund Berkeley, Jr.
List of Letters
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, University of Virginia Library
Summary
Letter from Robert Carter and [Mann Page] to William Dawkins, July 5 and 26, 1723
Robert Carter and his son-in-law, Mann Page, write to London merchant William Dawkins, July 5 and 26, 1723, reporting the safe arrival of goods ordered on behalf of the "children," probably the children of Carter's deceased son-in-law, Nathaniel Burwell (1680-1721). They complain that Dawkins has not given the children's account the benefit of the customs discounts. They send a bill of lading for 7 hogsheads of tobacco, and report a bill of exchange to Carter for expenses and enclose an invoice (not present) for goods for the children and their slaves. They request Dawkins make available £10 to Isaac Lee when he reaches England, should he need it. In a post script dated July 26th, Carter reports four bills of exchange drawn on Dawkins.
Letter from Robert Carter and [Mann Page
] to William Dawkins,
July 5 and 26, 1723
-1
-
Rappa:[hannock, Lancaster County, Virginia]
July 5th. 1723
Mr: Wm: Dawkins
Your goods in the Carter
came in good order, the Sales of the Childrens
Tobacco are not so high as we had hopes they would have come
to, the Discounts of the Customs you take wholely to yr:Self
we cannot See upon a nice Calculation upon
of
the State of
that Acct: but a part of them Discounts justly belong to
the Children, you have had always their business, &
you have
profess't a great deel of friendship for their Interest, it would
please us to See the fruits of it.
Hereweith you have a bill of loading for 7 hogsheads of the
Childrens Tob:, it's all Stem'd & Stright laid we Saw it all
our Selves & can say it is neatly handled & good Tobacco
clean from Stem & trash, we are fallen under Such hard
times, that It's Impossible to maintain the Children wth:
tollerable decency out of the fruits of their peoples
labour,
We are forc't now to draw a bill upon you for £18:13: --
to Coll: Carter, it is all for Levys Quitt rents & Sallary to an
Overseer besides prizing the Tobacco to make it fitt for Shiping
wch: amounts to 16£:
We also herein Send you and Invoice for goods for the
Children & their familys , it's the smallest that ever we
writt & a very bare one it will be wch: we desire you'l
send in by the Carter or Some other good Ship bound hither
Isaac Lee
may perhaps when he comes home be under
Straights for mony, if you find a necessity for it you may
advance 10£: to him his claim comes to more We are
Sr:
Yr: very humble Servts:
A Clause added to Mr Dawkins
last Lettr carried 1 Leaf forward
July 26. 1723.
Sir, I now send You the following
four fir[st]
bills of Exche.,To be carried to
| My Credit to Witt Jno. Chilton on Your Self
|
| £109" 4" --
|
| Chas Burges on Do.
|
| 1"16" 6
|
Eliza Nelmes on Josiah
Stevens In Plymouth
| |
| 5" 0 "10
|
| Mark Harding & Geo Ball
|
| 5"16" 10
|
|
|
| ____________
|
| On Your Self -- -- -- --
|
| 121"18"2
|
You are to know that George Ball
Joins in the Draft for this Money being an
Execr. or Adminr. with the Widdow Mary Harding
which I Expect Dick Lee
Acquaints You with.
NOTES
Source copy consulted:
Robert Carter Letter Book, 1723 July 4-1724 June 11, Carter Family Papers, Virginia Historical Society, Richmond.
Robert Carter generally used a return address of "Rappahannock" for the river on which he lived rather than "Corotoman," the name of his home, on his correspondence, especially to merchants abroad. His usual return address, the county, and colony have been added for clarity to this unheaded draft.
This letter is written in the plural, and it probably was written by Carter and his son-in-law, Mann Page, on behalf of the children of Carter's deceased son-in-law, Nathaniel Burwell (1680-1721), fr whom the two had written previous letters.
[1] Isaac Lee (1701-1727) was a son of Hancock Lee and his second wife, Sarah Allerton, and a "mariner." He was a resident of Westmoreland County but went to England where he died in Stepney. (Ross B Kenzie , "Descendants of Isaac Allerton ,"
at http://www.octhouse.com/allertonreport.html, 9/8/2009; his will, November 3, 1727, is in Somerset House, London. A copy is in the "Photocopied Manuscript Collections" of the Rockefeller Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. 9/7/2009; and "Lee Surname"
on the Shirley Family Association's website, at http://www.shirleyassociation.com/NewShirleySite/NonMembers/Surnames/LeeSurname.html, 8/27/2009)
[2] George Ball (1683-1746) was the third son of William Ball of Lancaster County. ("Ball"
at http://www.angelfire.com/tx4/custer/ball.html, 5/11/04 and 9/7/2009)
[3] Mary Harding may have been the widow of William Harding of Essex County whose will was probated in Essex in September 1723. (Essex County Wills, etc., No. 4, 1722-1730 [Reel 40] as found in the "Index to Wills and Administrations,"
under the heading "Births, Deaths, Marriages (Vital Records)" Library of Virginia, at http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/using_collections.asp#_guides-BirthsDeathsMarriagesVitalRecords.html, 9/8/2009)
This text revised September 8, 2009.