A Collection Transcribed
and Digitized
by Edmund Berkeley, Jr.
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Summary
Letter from Robert Carter to Robert Cary, December 8, 1727
Robert Carter writes to London merchant Robert Cary, December 8, 1727, to report the receipt of letters from him by various ships, and the death of Deputy Auditor Nathaniel Harrison; he suggests that his son John Carter might be interested in the post but that he does not know whether John wishes to pursue it. He is not sure whom the governor will support, and notes that Horace Walpole will make the appointment.
Letter from Robert Carter to Robert Cary,
December 8, 1727
-1
-
Rappahannock, [Lancaster County, Virginia]
Decr: the 8th. 1727
Mr. Robt: Cary
Sir --
A Small Vessell belonging to Bristol that loaded high
up our river
and is unexpectedly come down to clear out gives the Opportun
ity of this Short line to Advise you of the receipt of yours by Buckler, Bradby
in the Spotswood is also Arrived
, Keeling
and Brooks
are also
in Peankytank
what
more Ships to the Southward I dont yet hear Coll Harr
Colonel Harrison
our Deputy
Auditor
is lately dead it is talkt
that Several will be Solicitous for his place who our Govr.
will put in in
his room or use his Interest for is not come to my knowledge, I am apt to
think if my Son
the Secretary had
hopes of Success he would be one among the
number perhaps it may be Said the place he has already is favour Enough
for him but that you know was the Effects of his money and is not so [illegible]
profit
able a place as it is reckond by a great many I have no manner of In [illegible]
timation of his Inclinations about it nor what his Interest may be at Court
My Lord Carteret
Seems to be the favourite of his discourse who our Govr.
thinks proper to recommend will go near to carry it I Suppose,
Wee have a Ship will be ready to leave us in about 8 or 10
Days by her th
Expect will be Several Letters about this Affair whether there
be any by this Vessell may be a Question This place is in the Gift of Mr. Horace
Walpole
Auditor of the Plantations
I Shall leave it here and remain
Sir --
Yor: most humble Servt. --
per the Western Snow
Berry Danzay
& Holladay
are arrived
Copy per Christian
NOTES
Source copy consulted:
Robert Carter Letter Book, 1727 April 13-1728 July 23, 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. The county and colony have been added for clarity to the heading on the draft.
[1] The Rappahannock River.
[2] Captain James Bradby commanded the Micajah and Philip
( Survey report 6801 summarizing Adm. 68/195, ff. 74v, found in the microfilms of the Virginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
)
[3] Captain William Keiling commanded the Betty.
( Survey Report 6800 summarizing Adm. 68/194, Virginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
)
[4] Christopher Brooks commanded the Cambridge, a vessel of 100 tons and 11 men owned by London merchants Haswell and Brooks in 1729. (Survey Report 6801 summarising Adm. 68/195, found in the microfilms of the Virginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
)
[5] "The auditor was unquestionably a royal appointee, and held his commission under the great seal. He was, after 1680, upon the appointment of the auditor-general of the colonies, the deputy of that official. When the auditorship was established, it was stated that only councillors and those who had long resided in the colony were eligible to this office, and it seems that this principle was generally observed. . . . As the name of the office indicates, the auditor examined all the revenue accounts of the colony, except a few purely local ones under the supervision of the treasurer. Among these accounts were those of the royal collectors and naval officers, the quit-rents, the public claims, the fines and forfeitures. He swore to his accounts before the governor and the Council in April and October, and forwarded them through the auditor general to the lords of the treasury. . . . For a few years after the establishment of the office, the auditor received a salary from the Assembly; later, he was paid a salary as a royal official of £100 a year out of the British treasury. His compensation was, however, largely in the form of a fee, which was gradually increased from three to seven and a half per cent of the revenue accounts audited, and amounted to about £400 a year." ( Percy Scott Flippin. The Financial Administration of the Colony of Virginia
[Johns Hopkins Press, 1915.] 38-39.
)
[6] . How John Carter may have become acquainted with Lord Carteret is not known, but they were both in London at the same time during the second decade of the eighteenth century. ( Cannon, John. "Carteret, John, second Earl Granville (1690-1763)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. [Oxford: OUP, 2004]. Online ed.
Ed. Lawrence Goldman. May 2006. 23 May 2014 .
)
[7] Horace Walpole was the brother of Robert Walpole, the chief minister of England. He held the posts of "auditor general and surveyor general of the royal revenue in the colonies." (Billings. et al.
Colonial Virginia: A History.
)
[8] Thomas Dansie commanded a London ship named the Essex,
1725-1728. ( Survey Report 6800 summarizing Adm. 68/194, found in the microfilms of the Virginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
)
[9] William Holladay commanded a ship named the Princess Carolina
, a ship owned by merchant John Pemberton of London. ( Survey Report 6800, found in the microfilms of the Virginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia;
and letter, Carter to Pemberton, March 25, 1724.
)
[10] James Christian was captain of the Rose,
a vessel owned by merchant John Pemberton of Liverpool. (See Carter to Pemberton,
April 15, 1730.)
This text, originally posted in 2004, was revised May 23, 2014, to add footnotes and strengthen the modern language version text.