Robert Carter writes to London merchant Micajah Perry, April 10, 1729, concerning and defending his administration of the John Lloyd estates. In a brief post script dictated the next day, Carter notes that he has found some accounts for the Lloyd estate for 1711 and 1712 and is enclosing copies (not present).
In one of your Letters you desire me to Send you
Accounts of the Disbursements upon the LLs
Estate from Year 1711 to 1718
this is a very hard task and it is Impossible for me at this distance of
time to produce all the Vouchers to those Accots: You cannot Expect
it is to transact Affairs for other men had your Grandfather
& Father
made any Exceptions to any Articles in those Accots: it was then in
my Power to have Justified them in every Punctilio
, but Seeing
they have Passed and I have had Credit for them so long ago I cant
think it my business at this time of day to be Concerned about them
however that I may give you all the light in my Power I now Trans=
mit you all the se
Copys of these
Accots: you desire even down to 1721
as I find them in my books
Together with what Vouchers I have, Colonel Tayloe's
Tobacco Account for
the Year 1713 I Send you but his Account for the Year 1712 for 9060 pounds Tobacco
I can find
nothing of for 960 pounds
and I am very well Satisfied there is no
footstep of it to be found with him. You have here a Tobacco Account
for the Year
1715 where you will find the Debts that Year paid out of the Crops, You
are pleased to tell me they are very Clamorous against these Accounts
and Tax me
of Several Indirect Practices I can only answer they are
under very wrong Informations I can very well Justify my Integrity
and Justice in this whole Affair and that I do not deserve those Severa [l]
Censures they are Pleased to Vent against me, The Persons I have employed
more Immedately in the Care of this estate are Colonel Tayloe, Captain Tuberville
and Mr. Richard Meeks
all Still living to be Appealed to, to run its Part=
[i] culars to answer every malicious little Story that ma [y] Perhaps have been
hatched by Some over Officious Persons, would be En [. . .] I wear a
higher Character in your Esteem and the Esteem [ . . .]
Then to think me capable of mean Pitful l Arts and frauds for a
little gain to my Self, I thank God from the interest of my money I cant
charge my Self with no Such thing.
I have so often inculcated
to you the meanest of the Plan s
:
how much the Lands there
were wore
overstocked with Slaves, how Im=
possible it was to make tolerable Crops with them and how absolutely
necessary it was to find more Lands for the better half of these Slaves &ca:
that I Shall not repeat any of these things but refer you to abundance
of former Letters which are full of this Subject, I Shall observe one
thing to you which I think proper for your Information when I Entered
upon this Estate Quit rents
was paid for 4,000 and odd Acres of Land, the
mistake I was under for Sometime [sic
]
but when I came to be better Acq=
uainted with the Several Tracts I could find but 2330 Acres of which Mr.
Carys
Survey being a much Elder Grant took away bet we n 4 & 500 Acres
which has reduced these Lands to 1900 & odd
Acres When this Estate was delivered into
my hands the houses upon the Several Plantations
were so gone to decay and out of repair that
we were forced to make all new buildings & we also then Seated two new
Plantations out of the Woods this made the Charge run high for the first Years, but the
Crops then answered very well while the Lands were fresh
Upon Consideration of the great trouble I have been at
through this whole affair in Your Grandfather Fathers and your own time
which you cannot but be very Sensible of in a great measure your Self
I hope according to yours and their promises you will take care upon
the passing your Accounts that I am allowed a Suitable Salary I have said
so much of this to all of you already and make Such Continual Claim
that this seems hardly necessary to you Now I am