A Collection Transcribed
and Digitized
by Edmund Berkeley, Jr.
List of Letters
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Summary
Letter from Robert Carter to Edward Tucker, August 19, 1723
Robert Carter writes to Weymouth merchant Edward Tucker, August 19, 1723, that he sends a bill of lading (not present) for 10 hogsheads of leaf tobacco on board Captain Wilson's ship. He notes that recent bad weather has greatly damaged the crops, and that he owes the merchant some tobacco for which there was no room the previous year or this year. Gloucester beer and Southam cider is ordered, and he requests that Tucker allow Captain Giles Russell to taste it on his behalf.
Letter from Robert Carter to Edward Tucker,
August 19, 1723
-1
-
Rappahannock, [Lancaster County, Virginia]
Augst. 19. 1723.
Mr. Edward Tucker
This Accomps. A bill of Lading for 10 hhds of
Leaf Tobo. per Capt. Wilson, which I have a great deal of
reason to believe is good, Capt. Wilson will Inform You
that we have Sufferd very much of late in our Crops by
Some Violent rains & winds So that notwithstanding our --
great hopes
Expect[ations]
at
in the begining of the Year we generally reckon
that we Shall have but a mean Crop in the End & will
be but poor Stuff into the Bargain. -- --
There is Some Tobo. Due from me to You on Capt. Russels
Contracting, Samuel Russel carryed one hhd last Year & left out
Another, Wilson hath no room to take in any this Year, what
I owe Shall be ready whenever It is demanded.
I have already advisd You of a bill of Exche.
I drew
Upon You for £116"18"0 1/2 payable to Messrs. Fras. Chamberlayne &
Sitwell,
I must now desire You to Send me in a hhd of Yor. best
Gloucester Beer well and carefully bottled & Safely packd and
Also a hhd of Yor. best Southham Cyder, Capt. Giles Russel, If
he be in the Way I desire may be my Taster & I know he will be
Willing to Undergo the trouble, Wilson tells me he reckons
to find him at home, at that his next Voyage will be hither
which Shall be all at Present from
Yor. very humble Servt.
NOTES
Source copy consulted:
Robert Carter letter book, 1723 June 16-1724 April 23, Robert Carter Papers (acc. no. 3807), Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
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. The county and colony have been added for clarity.
[1] Samuel Russell commanded the Princess Amelia,
a ship owned by Edward Tucker. ( Survey reports 9711 and 9729, Virginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
)
[2] A bill of exchange is a kind of check or promissory note without interest. It is used primarily in international trade, and is a written order by one person to pay another a specific sum on a specific date sometime in the future. If the bill of exchange is drawn on a bank, it is called a bank draft. If it is drawn on another party, it is called a trade draft. Sometimes a bill of exchange will simply be called a draft, but whereas a draft is always negotiable (transferable by endorsement), this is not necessarily true of a bill of exchange. ( "Dictionary of Financial Scam Terms" at
http://www.fraudaid.com/Dictionary-of-Financial-Scam-Terms/bill_of_exchange.htm. 8/22/2005
)
[3] Francis Chamberlayne (abt. 1667-1728) was from a Warwickshire family. His father was also a London merchant, and "Chamberlayne engaged in commerce himself and may have been involved in the slave trade." He was quite wealthy, and represented New Shoreham in Parliament at two different times, first as a Whig, and later as a Tory. ( David Hayton, et al.,
The House of Commons, 1690-1715.
[Cambridege University Press, 2002], 507-508.. Found online on Google books,. 9/14/2009
)
This text revised December 10, 2009.