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 to Messrs. Haswell & Brooks, June 27, 1729
Robert Carter writes to London merchants Messrs. Haswell & Brooks, June 27, 1729, to report two shipments of tobacco and two bills of exchange, and enclosing an invoice (not present) for goods.
-1
-
Rappahannock, [Lancaster County, Virginia]
June the 27th. 1729
Messrs. Haswell & Brooks
Gent --
I sent you 20 hhds. of Tobo: in the Cambridge
Capt.
Brooks with a bill of Lading
. 30 hhds. more are in the Willis
Capt. Cobb.
and a bill of Lading with it. Pray God send it safe and to a living
Market.
Wee have bin in Expectation of the Wms.burgh
a long time
and by her it is likely we shall hear what our sales are of the last Years
Crop. Wish after long delay wee may meet with the Entertainment
of some good news. Yor Letters hitherto have not bin at all Encourage =
ing,
Herein I send you an Invoice for some Goods desire
ing you will observe the Directions given in it in buying and shipping.
Wee have a inflexible trade and yet wee must have Yearly Supplys
for our familys for supporting the Calls of nature and the necessarys requisite
for the carrying on our business,
Herein are two small sec'd bills of Exchange
in [sic
]
yor.selves Jos.
Smith for £ 5 "-"- John Washington for £ 5 the first went by the Cambridg,
I am
Gent
Yor. most humble Servt.
per Baily
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] Haswell and Brooks was a London firm listed in 1740 directories of that city. Samuel Haswell was a London Assurance director in Suffolk Lane. John Brooks' obituary appeared in the Pennsylvania Gazette,
May 8, 1740, where his partnership with Haswell was noted and that he had been "formerly Commander of the George, in the Virginia Trade." ( A Compleat Guide to All Persons who have any Trade or Concern with the City of London and Ports adjacent. . . .
London: Printed for J. Osborn, at the Golden Ball in Pater-noster-row, MDXXXL
; and online abstract list of entries from Kent's Directory
For the Year 1740 Containing An Alphabetical List of the Names and Places of Abode of the Directors of Companies, Persons in Publick Business, Merchants, and other Eminent Traders in the Cities of London and Westminster, and the Borough of Southwark.
London: Printed and Sold by Henry Kent in Finch-Lane, near the Royal Exchange: and by the Booksellers and Pamphlets Shops of London and Westminster, 1740. p. 39.
Brooks' obituary courtesy of Todd A. Farmerie, 1/21/2013.)
[2] The Cambridge
made voyages to Virginia from London in 1727 and 1729. In the first she was commanded by Peter Moore, and in the later by Christopher Brooks. She was a vessel of 70-100 tons with about 11 men. She may have been oowned by Haswell & Brooks.( Survey Reports 6800 and 6801 for Adm. 68/194-195, found in the microfilms of the Virginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
)
[3] A bill of lading is "an official detailed receipt given by the master of a merchant vessel to the person consigning the goods, by which he makes himself responsible for their safe delivery to the consignee. This document, being the legal proof of ownership of the goods, is often deposited with a creditor as security for money advanced." ( Oxford English Dictionary Online
. Oxford University Press.
)
[4] A Captain John Cobb commanded the Willis
, a ship of 300 tons with 20 men, in 1727-28. The ship was owned by merchants Haswell and Brooks which may have been a London firm. ( Survey Report 6801 on Adm. 68/194-5, ff. 4r, Virginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
)
[5] Isham Randolph was captain of the London ship Williamsburgh
in 1725-26, and Charles Rogers commanded her in 1727-29. She was a large vessel of 550 tons and carried a crew of 26 men. ( Admiralty 68/194, and 68/195, found in the microfilms of the Virginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
)
[5] TThe Bailey
was a London ship owned by William Dawkins and commanded at various times by Adam Graves (1725-1730) and by Thomas Dove (1731-1732). She was a vessel of some 250 tons and carried 15-17 crew members. ( Survey report 6801 summarizing Adm. 68/195, 156v, and other data in Adm. 68/194 and /196, found in the microfilms of the Virginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia;
A letter of Carter's to Dawkins May 12, 1732,
refers to "your ship Bailey." as does a letter of August 10, 1733, from Carter's executors to Dawkins. [ Lloyd T. Smith, Jr., ed.
The Executors' Letters of Robert Carter of Corotoman, 1732-1738.
(Irvington, VA: Foundation for Historic Christ Church, 2010) p. 76].
)
[6] 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. (See "Bill of Exchange"
in the online Dictionary of Financial Scam Terms: the Truth vs. the Scam.
)
[7] The Bailey
was a London ship owned by William Dawkins and commanded at various times by Adam Graves (1725-1730) and by Thomas Dove (1731-1732). She was a vessel of some 250 tons and carried 15-17 crew members. ( Survey report 6801 summarizing Adm. 68/195, 156v, and other data in Adm. 68/194 and /196, found in the microfilms of the Virginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia;
A letter of Carter's to Dawkins May 12, 1732,
refers to "your ship Bailey." as does a letter of August 10, 1733, from Carter's executors to Dawkins. [ Lloyd T. Smith, Jr., ed.
The Executors' Letters of Robert Carter of Corotoman, 1732-1738.
(Irvington, VA: Foundation for Historic Christ Church, 2010) p. 76].
)
This text, originally posted in 2005, was revised April 9, 2015, to add footnotes and strengthen the modern language version text.