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 John Gale, July 8, 1729
Robert Carter writes to Glasgow mechant John Gale, July 8, 1729, reporting a shipment of tobacco and promising more business when the times improve.
Letter from Robert Carter to John Gale,
July 8, 1729
-1
-
Rappa[hannock, Lancaster County, Virginia]
July 8. 1729
Mr John Gale
Sir
I had the favour of yrs: by Capt Kelsick
which gives me to Understand you had Acepted my bills of Exch
ange
which I drew upon you for the Ballance of yr Accot:
By the Lowness of yr Market you discourage me from
-2
-
sending any Tobo to yr Port however I have put 6 hogsheads
on board him which in regard he hath no Freight in his ship
but what is Consigned to himself I have Also Consign'd to his
disposal Altho I must own he gave me the liberty to send
it to whom I Pleas'd not that I have any dislike to yr ma:
nagement of my little Affairs that have gone thro yr hands
which you have in All respects given me good Satisfation in and
intend when the times mend if you and I continue among the
living to give you the trouble of some more of my business if you
are desirous of it. Wishing you all health & happyness
and remaining
Sir
yr most Obedient humble Servt:
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] John Gale (ante
1671-1729) was a Whitehaven merchant to whom Carter would write a number of times times between1720 and 1729. "Like his brothers John was engaged in maritime trade. Operating as John Gale and Company, he was named as the owner of the vessel Clotilda,
built in England in 1726 and registered in Whitehaven in 1727 at 25 tons." His will bequeathed "his half-share in the ships Cumberland
and Somerset
, his share in the Sea Flower
, and 'the whole ship Clothilda
.'" The Gale family had many connections with the colonies, especially in Virginia and Maryland. (Gayle N.Mandell, "John Gale, "the Elder," (Ca. 1615-20-1680) of Whitehaven, Cumberland, England,"
extensive genealogical and historical notes available online as part of a well-documented study on the "The Gale & Gayle Families."
)
[2] Carter noted in his diary January 19, 1727, the arrival of the Mazareen
at his house and a visit from her captain, Richard Kelsick, four days earlier. Kelsick, with Peter How, a merchant of Whitehaven (on the Irish sea in northwest England), traded with the Fredericksburg, Virginia, area from the early 18th century. ( Paula S. Felder. "Fredericksburg and Whitehaven Connection to English Port a Forgotten Chapter in Area's Colonial History Living-history Program," Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star,
7/2/2005.
)
[3] 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.
)
This text, originally posted in 2005, was revised April 24, 2015, to add a footnote and strengthen the modern language version text.