A Collection Transcribed
and Digitized
by Edmund Berkeley, Jr.
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Summary
Letter from Robert Carter to John Pemberton, April 13, 1728
Robert Carter writes to the Liverpool merchant's firm of which John Pemberton was the principal, April 13, 1728, to give them further information about the conclusion of the sale of a cargo of slaves for which Carter had acted as their representative in Virginia. He reports that the tobacco crop is not as good this year as in the last, and sends first and second bills of exchange (not present).
Letter from Robert Carter to John Pemberton,
April 13, 1728
-1
-
Rappa[hannock, Lancaster County, Virginia]
Aprl: 13th. 1728
Mr John Pemberton & Compa.
Freighters of the ship Rose
Gentlem: -- --
By Capt Christian
and since by the Leopard
I wrote to you full=
y about your concern this encloses a bill of Lading for 30 hogsheads more of the
[tobacco mark]
you are to know
in the Mary Brigantine
Thos: Price Mr Bound for your
port
you are to know that I took up this Vessel at the rate of £7 per Tonn
engaging myself in my own Craft to bring the Tobbo: to her side & which ac=
cordingly I have done all the freighters are to pay £8 per Tonn and so must
you alltho your bills of Lading run at £7. the £7:10 upon your seven
tonn and a half fret: belongs to me and you will pleas to Credit my Accot:
with it I cannot at present send the wts: of this tobbo my receiver hath not
yet compleated his business the rest of your tobbo: which will be pd: this year
I shall ship in the Rappahannock
and John and Betty
I expect you Will
allow me
my commissions upon the sales of the tobbo as usual
How your Market may be stockd I don't know Denton &
Brakhill there is no doubt but will be full but all our London Mtrs:
complain heavily they shall fall considerably short of their Loadings
I think we may faily conclude this years crop falls a great deal
short of the last -- Herein I send you a first bill of Exche:
for
£30 -- Drawn by Samll: Heath on Mr. Pemberton allso three seconds
the firsts went by the Leopard James Blair
for £11 -- Jno Lee for
£8: Archd: Hamilton for £18: which concludes at present
Gentl:
Your humble servt
herein Send you Sam Heeth Second bill for £30 --
per Denton
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] James Christian was captain of the Rose,
a vessel owned by merchant John Pemberton of Liverpool. (See Carter to Pemberton,
April 15, 1730.)
[2] The Leopard
was a Liverpool ship commanded by Matthew Hayes in 1727-1728. (See Carter to Pemberton December 19, 1727
, and February 21, 1728
.)
[3] The Mary
was a ship owned by King and Queen County resident Samuel Smith; she was commanded by Thomas Price. (See Carter to Samuel Smith
, January 22, 1728.)
[4] Liverpool
[5] There were several vessels with this name. One was based in Liverpool and was commanded by a Captain Francis Etheridge in 1725; she was a 90 ton ship with 13 men. Another of which Charles Whate was captain was of 60 tons with 11 men in 1726/27. Carter's letters mention a Captain Brackhill in 1728, and Captain Loxum in 1733. ( Adm. 68/194, ff.30, found in the microfilms of the Virginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
)
[6] The John & Betty
was a Liverpool ship owned by merchant John Pemberton; she often carried slaves into the colony. In 1726 the captain was John Gale, and in the next year, she was commanded by a Captain William Denton. The ship would be lost in 1729. (Wright. Letters of Robert Carter. . . .
p. 18, n. 23
; Carter to P3mberton
, December 18, 1727;
Carter to Pemberton,
April 15, 1730;
and Carter to William Dawkins,
June 28, July 26, and August 22, 1727, for Denton's first name.
)
[7] 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,"
8/22/2005
)
This text, originally posted in 2004, was revised September 8, 2014, to add footnotes and strengthen the modern language version text.