Letter from Robert Carter to Alderman Perry, July 11, 1732

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        and Digitized
   by Edmund Berkeley, Jr.

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Summary

Letter from Robert Carter to Alderman [Micajah] Perry, July 11, 1732

Robert Carter writes to London merchant Alderman [Micajah] Perry, July 11, 1732, to detail the money owed to him by Captain John Hyde & Company that he wishes to have Hyde pay to Perry on Carter's account because Carter is ending his business with Hyde. An account is included as part of the letter. He mentions copies of several letters pertinent to the affair that are enclosed, but not present.

Letter from Robert Carter to Alderman [Micajah] Perry, July 11, 1732

-1 -
Rappahannock, [Lancaster County, Virginia]

July 11.. 1732

Alderman Perry

Sr

In mine of the first of March last I sent you an
order upon Captain Hyde & Company to receive into your hands from them --
the ballance [sic] of their account with me as I am Executor to Mr: Burwell
which I make to be One hundred forty eight pounds Sixteen shill=
ings and three pence then also writing to Capt. Hyde to make payment
to you of this ballance I now send you a second Order upon the same
gentlemen, of the same tenor for fear of a miscarriage of the first

Capt. Hyde and I, I reckon are pretty near the
close of our Correspondence the ballance due to me-I cast up at ^about four=

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hundred eighty two ^pds from his last accot Currant and his sales of tobo since
Herein I send you an order upon him to demand and Receive this money
by and write to him Accordingly to make payment into your hands but
I am to informe you of some difficulty that I expect Capt. Hyde will
make in the payment of this money. He tells me ^{in a letter of the 10th of Novr. last} he sold some tobaccos
to Alderman Levet in the years 1725, 1726, & 1727 and that among this
tobacco I had in the first Parcel three hogsheads and 4 hogsheads ^& in the Second par=
cel 12 hogsheads and makes my proportion hitherto unreceiv'd £126"6"3 which
I suppose he may have some design of Stopping from me The first no=
tice he gave me of this affair was in a letter of the 20th of April 1731 to which
I answered him that I could not take myself oblig'd to bear any of this
Loss. May 21"1726 Capt. Hyde Sends me an account Currant the
29th of June 1727. he sends me another account Currant the 16th of May
1728 he sends me another Account Currant the 9th of April 1730. he sends
me another account Currt which is the last in none of these accounts
Currts does he make the Least mention to me of this affair they are
all without any Salve In that of the 9th of April 1730 he makes the ballan=^ce
due to me Two hundred eighty eight pounds four ^Shill & five pence his sales of
Sixty hogsheads since raises the ballance with some bills of Exchange to
what I have made it deducting two parcels of goods since Sent me but that it
may appear more plainly to you I send you an Account Stated perhaps
there may be some small Errors which I cannot at Present Account for
As this case is circumstanced I can hardly beleive Capt. Hyde will stand
a tryal with me however think it necessary to Caution you not to tye
up my hands by any receipt of Yours if he will pay the rest of my ball [ance]
leaving that article to be disputed well and good but if he will not pay the
rest of my account without having this Article Allow'd him It is

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my possitive desire and Order to you not to meddle with any of this money
or give such a receipt as shall be any ways binding upon me any
further than for the sum paid. I shall mix nothing else ere but con=
clude Sir

Your most humble Servant

**

1732 Capt. John Hyde & Company	Dr.	Per Contra	Cr.
To the ballance of his account Curt}		By goods received from them per the}
dated April 9"1730 }	£288"4"5	Rebecca in 1730 }	£ 98" 4"6
To his account of sales of 40 hhds per}		By do. Reced in do ship 1731	44" 1"8
Woodward in 1729. July 7th 1730 }	185"7"3	By my Exchange to Woodward	5" 1"-
To his account of sales of 20 hogsheads per do.}		By Ballance due to me	£481"14"4
in 1730 dated Augst 20: 1730 }	115"14"5		£629" 1"6
To Churchill Jones' Exchange}
on himself he owns to pay}	29"15"5
To Dennis McCartys Exchange on do.	10" -- "-
	£629" 1"6

Ballance in my favour four hundred eighty one pounds fourteen ^{S &} four pence
this 11 day of July 1732.

##

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That I may bring this matter to as Speedy an issue as
I can I shall impower John Randolph Esquire. ^{who is no [w] going home} ~~to prosecute~~ the Countrys
agent to prosecute this affair with his outmost Vigour if Capt. Hyde
will be so Obstinate to lay me under he necessity of going to law with
him for my right I also inclose to you Copys of Several letters & Copys
of Capt. Hydes accounts Currt from year to year for your full information in this affair

via Leverpoole Loxum

NOTES

Source copy consulted: Letter book, 1731 July 9-1732 July 13 , Robert Carter Papers (acc. no. 3807), Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.

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.

[1] Richard Levett (d. 1740), mercer, represented Aldersgate on the London council from 1722. A mercer according to the Oxford English Dictionary Online is a tradesman "who deals in textile fabrics, esp. silks, velvets, and other fine materials; spec. a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers, a livery company of the City of London." Levett apparently had other facets to his business besides textiles. ("British History Online," 9/3/2015.)

[2] 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. )

[3]** At this point the sheet was turned sideways to accommodate the broad nature of the account.

[4] The Rebecca was probably a London ship; she was of 300 tons, had a crew of 11, and was commanded by Samuel Malbon in 1730-32. ( Survey Report 06445 sumarizing "Adm. 68/196," "Greenwich Hospital: General Accounts. the Names of Ships and The Accounts Paid for Sixpences at the Port of London" found in theVirginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia. )

[5] Thomas Woodward commanded the Providence, a ship owned by Captain John Hyde & Company, during a number of voyages to the colony, 1723-1729. ( Survey Report 6800 summarizing Adm. 68/194 and Survey Report 6801 summarizing Adm 68/195, Virginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia, and Carter's letter to the firm, September 17, 1723. )

[6] ## Here the sheet was returned to the vertical

[7] Several vessels named The Loyalty sailed to Virginia. One commanded by Francis Wallis cleared from Poole for Virginia in 1726. Captain Edward Loxam commanded a vessel of this name in 1729-1732 as did James Tarleton in 1732. (Survey Report 09727 extracting "Public Record Office Class E 190/915/9. Exchequor King's Remembrancer Port Books. Poole. Collector 1726/7," Virginia Colonial Records Project, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia. See Carter's letters to John Pemberton April 15,1730 and August 4, 1731 .)

This text, originally posted in 2006, was revised June 24, 2016, to add footnotes and strengthen the modern language version text.