VIDissolution of Marlborough

Figure 16.—Advertisementof the services of Mercer’s stallion Ranter. Andrew Monroe, grandfather of the President, was Mercer’s overseer. (Purdie’sVirginia Gazette, April 18, 1766.)

Andrew Monroe, as manager of the plantation, advertised over his own name in Purdie & Dixon’sVirginia Gazette, of April 18, 1766, the services of “The well known Horse RANTER,” an English stallion imported by Mercer in 1762 (fig. 16). One senses that without Monroe, Marlborough would havecollapsed completely. In spite of his ministrations, however, there were difficulties with the staff. Purdie & Dixon’sGazettecarried the following on June 6, 1766:

MARLBOROUGH, STAFFORD county, May 26, 1766.Run away from the subscriber, some time lastFebruary, a Negro man named TEMPLE, about 35 years old, well set, about 5 feet 6 inches high, has a high forehead, and thick bush beard; he took a gun with him, and wore a blue double breasted jacket with horn buttons. I suspect he is harboured aboutBull Run, inFauquiercounty, where he formerly lived. I bought him, with his mother and sister, from Mr.Barradall’sexecutors inWilliamsburgabove 20 years ago, and expected he would have returned home; but as he has been so long gone, I am doubtful he may endeavour to get out of the country by water, of which he may understand something, as he was two years on board theWolfsloop of war in theWest Indies, and carries the marks of the discipline he underwent on board.Likewise run away last Whitsun holydays two indented servants, imported from LONDON last September, viz. JOSEPH WAIN of Bucknell, in the county of Oxford, aged 22 years, about 5 feet 4 inches high, round shouldered, stoops pretty much in his walk, has a down look, and understands ploughing. WILLIAM CANTRELL of Warwickshire, aged 19, about the same height, and stoops a little, but not so much as WAIN, has a scar under one of his eyes, but which is uncertain, has some marks of the smallpox, his hair is of a dark brown and short, but Wain’s is cut off, he pretends to understand ploughing and country business, and has drove a waggon since he has been in my service; they both have fresh look. The clothes they left home in were jackets of red plaids, brown linen shirts,Russiadrill breeches with white metal buttons, and thread stockings;Cantrellwith an old hat and new shoes, andWainwith a new hat and old shoes; But as it is supposed that they were persuaded to elope with fourScotchservants belonging to the widowStrother, onPotowmackrun in this county, whom they went to see, and who went off at the same time, it is probable that they may exchange their clothes, or have provided some other. It is supposed that they will make forCarolina, where it is said an uncle of one of Mr.Strother’sservants lives; and as several horses are missing about the same time in these parts, it is very probable they did not choose to make such a journey on foot. Whoever secures my servants and Negro, or any of them shall, besides the reward allowed by law, be paid any reasonable satisfaction, in proportion to the distance and extraordinary trouble they may be put to.JOHN MERCER

MARLBOROUGH, STAFFORD county, May 26, 1766.

Run away from the subscriber, some time lastFebruary, a Negro man named TEMPLE, about 35 years old, well set, about 5 feet 6 inches high, has a high forehead, and thick bush beard; he took a gun with him, and wore a blue double breasted jacket with horn buttons. I suspect he is harboured aboutBull Run, inFauquiercounty, where he formerly lived. I bought him, with his mother and sister, from Mr.Barradall’sexecutors inWilliamsburgabove 20 years ago, and expected he would have returned home; but as he has been so long gone, I am doubtful he may endeavour to get out of the country by water, of which he may understand something, as he was two years on board theWolfsloop of war in theWest Indies, and carries the marks of the discipline he underwent on board.

Likewise run away last Whitsun holydays two indented servants, imported from LONDON last September, viz. JOSEPH WAIN of Bucknell, in the county of Oxford, aged 22 years, about 5 feet 4 inches high, round shouldered, stoops pretty much in his walk, has a down look, and understands ploughing. WILLIAM CANTRELL of Warwickshire, aged 19, about the same height, and stoops a little, but not so much as WAIN, has a scar under one of his eyes, but which is uncertain, has some marks of the smallpox, his hair is of a dark brown and short, but Wain’s is cut off, he pretends to understand ploughing and country business, and has drove a waggon since he has been in my service; they both have fresh look. The clothes they left home in were jackets of red plaids, brown linen shirts,Russiadrill breeches with white metal buttons, and thread stockings;Cantrellwith an old hat and new shoes, andWainwith a new hat and old shoes; But as it is supposed that they were persuaded to elope with fourScotchservants belonging to the widowStrother, onPotowmackrun in this county, whom they went to see, and who went off at the same time, it is probable that they may exchange their clothes, or have provided some other. It is supposed that they will make forCarolina, where it is said an uncle of one of Mr.Strother’sservants lives; and as several horses are missing about the same time in these parts, it is very probable they did not choose to make such a journey on foot. Whoever secures my servants and Negro, or any of them shall, besides the reward allowed by law, be paid any reasonable satisfaction, in proportion to the distance and extraordinary trouble they may be put to.

JOHN MERCER

Mercer seems to have been concerned principally with his brewers and with the wasteful scheme they furthered with their incompetencies. Even they seem to have been beyond his strength, for he became ill in January 1766, and suffered recurrently the rest of the year. From his journal we can detect a once-strong man’s struggle against the first warnings of approaching death:

August26Rode6 m. &home had a fever1227sick28Rode5 m. &home10292 m. &Dohad an Ague430Do31DoSept1Had an Ague2Rode5 m. &home10* * *Sept22to MrSelden’s & ret’dabota mile butwent back1223home by 12 and went to bed1024Confined to my bed(remained so rest of month)Oct1Confined to my bed and very ill5DoSat up alittle6DoBetter7DoDo8Drove out 3 m & home6

He informed George that after his return from Mr. Selden’s on September 23 he was for “several days under strong delerium and had the rattles.” By the beginning of 1768, however, he was able to boast that “I think I may safely aver that I have not been in a better [state of health] any time these twenty years past, & tho’ I am not so young, my youngest daughter ... was born the 20th day of last January.”

On April 22, 1766, he noted in the journal that the “Kitchen roof catched fire” and on May 15 that he “Took Possion [sic] of my summer house.” The latter was probably located in the garden, where, during his convalescence in the spring, he was able to make a meticulous record of the blooming of each plant, flower, tree, and shrub, constituting a most interesting catalog of the wild and cultivated flora of 18th-century Marlborough. The catalog is indicative of Mercer’s ranging interests and his knowledge of botanical terms (seeAppendix L). That the garden was perhaps as interesting as the house is borne out by the fact that in 1750, as the house was reaching completion, Mercer had brought from England a gardener named William Blacke, paying Captain Timothy Nicholson for his passage.

Mercer’s close attention to the natural phenomena around him began with his illness in 1766. On January 4, only a few days after he had become ill, he installed a thermometer in his room, and eight days later moved it to his office. Regularly, from then until the close of his journal, except when he was absent from Marlborough, he recorded the minimum and maximum readings. One has only to look at the figures for the winter months to realize that “heated” rooms, as we understand them, were little known in the 18th century. Only on Christmas Eve in 1767 did the temperature range from a low of 41° to as high as 63°, because, as Mercer noted, “A good fire raised the Thermometer so high.”

Although Mercer apparently found surcease from his cares in the peaceful surroundings at Marlborough, his responsibilities went on nevertheless. The cost of keeping slaves remained an enormous and wasteful one: “Every negroes cloaths, bedding, corn, tools, levies & taxes will stand yearly at least in £5,” he wrote to George. In his letter he placed an order through George for clothing, which included 25 welted jackets “for my tradesmen & white servants,” indicating the large number of white workmen on his staff. It also included 20 common jackets, 45 pair of woolen breeches, 1 dozen greatcoats, 5 dozen stockings, 1½ dozen for boys and girls, 4 dozen “strong felt hats & 600 Ells of ozenbrigs. We shall make Virgacloth enough to cloath the women and children, but shall want 50 warm blankets & 2 doz of the Russia drab breeches.” Against the advice of his merchant friend Jordan, he declined to order a superior grade of jacket for his Negroes that would last two years, since “most negroes are so careless of their cloathes & rely so much on a yearly support that I think such jackets as I had are cheapest & last the year very well.”

He ordered George to buy new sheeting for family use, including “84 yds of such as is fit for compa,” inasmuch as “my wife is ashamed of her old sheets when any strangers come to the house.” He also placed an order for windmill sails, which, he observed, were costly in the colony, and could be made only at Norfolk.

My millwrights directions were

The Drivers 3 foot 6 inches broadThe leaders  3       3

The Drivers 3 foot 6 inches broadThe leaders  3       3

}23 feet long

A Suit I had made at Norfolk by those dimensions proved too long, something, they should be of Duck No. 2.

A Suit I had made at Norfolk by those dimensions proved too long, something, they should be of Duck No. 2.

In addition, he ordered nails, 50 yards of haircloth, a yard wide, for the malt kiln, a “drill plow with brass seed boxes for wheat, turnips, lucarn pease &c.,” and a considerable number of books, particularly for his children. “Bob. Newbery at the Bible & Sun in St. Paul’s churchyard can best furnish you at the cheapest rate with books best adapted to the real instruction as well as amusement of children from two to six feet high.”

The long letter was finally finished on January 28, 1768, its great length partly dictated by the fact that the river had frozen, immobilizing the posts. He noted in his journal that on February 16 he was in Fredericksburg and “dined at my Sons being my birthday and 63 yrsold.” On the 24th he attended a meeting of the Ohio Company at Stafford courthouse and on March 14 returned there for a court session. The next day he went home to Marlborough, perhaps never to leave again. The journal ended at the close of the month. The next that we hear of him appeared in Rind’sVirginia Gazetteon October 27:

On Friday, the 14th instant, died at his house in Stafford County, John Mercer, Esq., who had practiced the law with great success in this colony upwards of forty years. He was a Gentleman of great natural abilities inspired by an extensive knowledge, not only in his profession, but in several other branches of polite literature. He was of a humane, generous and chearful disposition, a facetious companion, a warm friend, an affectionate husband, a tender parent, and an indulgent master.

On Friday, the 14th instant, died at his house in Stafford County, John Mercer, Esq., who had practiced the law with great success in this colony upwards of forty years. He was a Gentleman of great natural abilities inspired by an extensive knowledge, not only in his profession, but in several other branches of polite literature. He was of a humane, generous and chearful disposition, a facetious companion, a warm friend, an affectionate husband, a tender parent, and an indulgent master.

Figure 17.—Plate from Maria Sibylla Merian’sMetamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium efte Veranderung Surinaamsche Insecten(Antwerp, 1705), an elegant work in Mercer’s Library.

FOOTNOTES:[120]The George Mercer Papers, op. cit. (footnote 51), p. 5.[121]Ibid.[122]All the foregoing quotations in this section are from Purdie & Dixon’sVirginia Gazette, September 26, 1766.[123]Executive Journals of the Council, op. cit. (footnote 66), vol. 5, p. 410.[124]Ibid., p. 434.[125]The Balthrop family lived in King George County; Smith’s ordinary has not been identified; “Vaulx’s” probably refers to the home of Robert Vaulx of Pope’s Creek, Westmoreland County. Vaulx was father-in-law of Lawrence Washington and died in 1755.[126]Philip Ludwell Lee, proprietor of "Stratford," Westmoreland County, 1751-1775, grandfather of General Robert E. Lee. “Old Stratford and the Lees who Lived There,”Magazine of the Society of Lees of Virginia(Richmond, May 1925), vol. 3, no. 1, p. 15.[127]Peter Hedgman was another Stafford County leader. He was burgess from 1742 to 1755. “Members of the House of Burgesses,”VHM(Richmond, 1901), vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 249.[128]George Fisher visited Chiswell’s ordinary: “On Monday May the 12th 1755, at Day Break, about half an hour after Four in the morning, I left Williamsburg to proceed to Philadelphia.... About Eight o’clock, by a slow Pace, I arrived at Chiswell’s Ordinary. Two Planters in the Room, I went into, were at Cards (all Fours) but on my arrival, returned into an inner Room.” “Narrative of George Fisher,”WMQ[1] (Richmond, 1909), vol. 17, pp. 164-165.[129]John Mercer’s Land Book, loc. cit. (footnote 12).[130]Purdie & Dixon’sVirginia Gazette, September 26, 1766.[131]John Clement Fitzpatrick, ed.,The Writings of George Washington(Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1931), vol. 1, p. 318.[132]“Journals of the Council of Virginia in Executive Sessions, 1737-1763,”VHM(Richmond, 1907), vol. 14, p. 232 (footnote).[133]The George Mercer Papers, op. cit. (footnote 51), p. 190.[134]Ibid., p. 179.[135]“Proceedings of the Virginia Committee of Correspondence 1759-67,”VHM(Richmond, 1905), vol. 12, p. 4.[136]The George Mercer Papers, op. cit. (footnote 51), p. 213.[137]Ibid., p. 187.[138]Ibid.[139]All quotations and sources not otherwise identified in this section are from John Mercer’s letter to George, December 22, 1767-January 28, 1768.The George Mercer Papers, op. cit. (footnote 51), pp. 186-220.[140]Grandfather of President James Monroe. “Tyler-Monroe-Grayson-Botts,”Tyler’s Quarterly Historical Genealogical Magazine(Richmond, 1924), vol. 5, p. 252.

FOOTNOTES:

[120]The George Mercer Papers, op. cit. (footnote 51), p. 5.

[120]The George Mercer Papers, op. cit. (footnote 51), p. 5.

[121]Ibid.

[121]Ibid.

[122]All the foregoing quotations in this section are from Purdie & Dixon’sVirginia Gazette, September 26, 1766.

[122]All the foregoing quotations in this section are from Purdie & Dixon’sVirginia Gazette, September 26, 1766.

[123]Executive Journals of the Council, op. cit. (footnote 66), vol. 5, p. 410.

[123]Executive Journals of the Council, op. cit. (footnote 66), vol. 5, p. 410.

[124]Ibid., p. 434.

[124]Ibid., p. 434.

[125]The Balthrop family lived in King George County; Smith’s ordinary has not been identified; “Vaulx’s” probably refers to the home of Robert Vaulx of Pope’s Creek, Westmoreland County. Vaulx was father-in-law of Lawrence Washington and died in 1755.

[125]The Balthrop family lived in King George County; Smith’s ordinary has not been identified; “Vaulx’s” probably refers to the home of Robert Vaulx of Pope’s Creek, Westmoreland County. Vaulx was father-in-law of Lawrence Washington and died in 1755.

[126]Philip Ludwell Lee, proprietor of "Stratford," Westmoreland County, 1751-1775, grandfather of General Robert E. Lee. “Old Stratford and the Lees who Lived There,”Magazine of the Society of Lees of Virginia(Richmond, May 1925), vol. 3, no. 1, p. 15.

[126]Philip Ludwell Lee, proprietor of "Stratford," Westmoreland County, 1751-1775, grandfather of General Robert E. Lee. “Old Stratford and the Lees who Lived There,”Magazine of the Society of Lees of Virginia(Richmond, May 1925), vol. 3, no. 1, p. 15.

[127]Peter Hedgman was another Stafford County leader. He was burgess from 1742 to 1755. “Members of the House of Burgesses,”VHM(Richmond, 1901), vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 249.

[127]Peter Hedgman was another Stafford County leader. He was burgess from 1742 to 1755. “Members of the House of Burgesses,”VHM(Richmond, 1901), vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 249.

[128]George Fisher visited Chiswell’s ordinary: “On Monday May the 12th 1755, at Day Break, about half an hour after Four in the morning, I left Williamsburg to proceed to Philadelphia.... About Eight o’clock, by a slow Pace, I arrived at Chiswell’s Ordinary. Two Planters in the Room, I went into, were at Cards (all Fours) but on my arrival, returned into an inner Room.” “Narrative of George Fisher,”WMQ[1] (Richmond, 1909), vol. 17, pp. 164-165.

[128]George Fisher visited Chiswell’s ordinary: “On Monday May the 12th 1755, at Day Break, about half an hour after Four in the morning, I left Williamsburg to proceed to Philadelphia.... About Eight o’clock, by a slow Pace, I arrived at Chiswell’s Ordinary. Two Planters in the Room, I went into, were at Cards (all Fours) but on my arrival, returned into an inner Room.” “Narrative of George Fisher,”WMQ[1] (Richmond, 1909), vol. 17, pp. 164-165.

[129]John Mercer’s Land Book, loc. cit. (footnote 12).

[129]John Mercer’s Land Book, loc. cit. (footnote 12).

[130]Purdie & Dixon’sVirginia Gazette, September 26, 1766.

[130]Purdie & Dixon’sVirginia Gazette, September 26, 1766.

[131]John Clement Fitzpatrick, ed.,The Writings of George Washington(Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1931), vol. 1, p. 318.

[131]John Clement Fitzpatrick, ed.,The Writings of George Washington(Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1931), vol. 1, p. 318.

[132]“Journals of the Council of Virginia in Executive Sessions, 1737-1763,”VHM(Richmond, 1907), vol. 14, p. 232 (footnote).

[132]“Journals of the Council of Virginia in Executive Sessions, 1737-1763,”VHM(Richmond, 1907), vol. 14, p. 232 (footnote).

[133]The George Mercer Papers, op. cit. (footnote 51), p. 190.

[133]The George Mercer Papers, op. cit. (footnote 51), p. 190.

[134]Ibid., p. 179.

[134]Ibid., p. 179.

[135]“Proceedings of the Virginia Committee of Correspondence 1759-67,”VHM(Richmond, 1905), vol. 12, p. 4.

[135]“Proceedings of the Virginia Committee of Correspondence 1759-67,”VHM(Richmond, 1905), vol. 12, p. 4.

[136]The George Mercer Papers, op. cit. (footnote 51), p. 213.

[136]The George Mercer Papers, op. cit. (footnote 51), p. 213.

[137]Ibid., p. 187.

[137]Ibid., p. 187.

[138]Ibid.

[138]Ibid.

[139]All quotations and sources not otherwise identified in this section are from John Mercer’s letter to George, December 22, 1767-January 28, 1768.The George Mercer Papers, op. cit. (footnote 51), pp. 186-220.

[139]All quotations and sources not otherwise identified in this section are from John Mercer’s letter to George, December 22, 1767-January 28, 1768.The George Mercer Papers, op. cit. (footnote 51), pp. 186-220.

[140]Grandfather of President James Monroe. “Tyler-Monroe-Grayson-Botts,”Tyler’s Quarterly Historical Genealogical Magazine(Richmond, 1924), vol. 5, p. 252.

[140]Grandfather of President James Monroe. “Tyler-Monroe-Grayson-Botts,”Tyler’s Quarterly Historical Genealogical Magazine(Richmond, 1924), vol. 5, p. 252.

JAMES MERCER’S ADMINISTRATION OF THE ESTATE

James Mercer was now “manager” of John Mercer’s estate. George, heavily in debt, remained in England never returning to Virginia. The staggering task of rescuing the estate from bankruptcy was left to James. The immediate necessity was to reduce wasteful overhead at Marlborough and to liquidate non-essential capital investment. On December 15, 1768, James advertised in Rind’sVirginia Gazette:

A large and well chosen collection of BOOKS, being all the library of the lateJohn Mercer, Esq., deceased, except such as are reserved for the use of his children. Those to be sold consist of more than 1200 volumes now at home, with which it is hoped may be reckoned upwards of 400 volumes which appear to be missing by the saidMercer’scatalogue.... The borrowers are hereby requested to return them before the 19th ofDecembernext, the day appointed for the appraising of the estate....Also to be sold, about 20 mares and colts, and 40 pair of cows and calves. The colts are the breed of the beautifulhorse Ranter, who is for sale; his pedigree has been formerly published in this Gazette, by which it will appear he is as well related as any horse on the continent. He cost 330 l. currency at his last sale, about 4 years ago, and is nothing worse except in age, and that can be but little in a horse kept for the sole use of covering....

A large and well chosen collection of BOOKS, being all the library of the lateJohn Mercer, Esq., deceased, except such as are reserved for the use of his children. Those to be sold consist of more than 1200 volumes now at home, with which it is hoped may be reckoned upwards of 400 volumes which appear to be missing by the saidMercer’scatalogue.... The borrowers are hereby requested to return them before the 19th ofDecembernext, the day appointed for the appraising of the estate....

Also to be sold, about 20 mares and colts, and 40 pair of cows and calves. The colts are the breed of the beautifulhorse Ranter, who is for sale; his pedigree has been formerly published in this Gazette, by which it will appear he is as well related as any horse on the continent. He cost 330 l. currency at his last sale, about 4 years ago, and is nothing worse except in age, and that can be but little in a horse kept for the sole use of covering....

Except for attempting to dispose of the library and the horses and livestock, no significant changes were undertaken until after September 7, 1770, when John Mercer’s widow, Ann Roy Mercer, died. Reduction of the plantation to simpler terms then began in earnest. Purdie & Dixon’sVirginia Gazettepublished the following advertisement on October 25, 1770:

To beSOLDonMondaythe 19th ofNovember,if fair,otherwise next fair day, at Marlborough,the seat of the lateJohn Mercer Esq:deceased.The greatest part of his personal estate (except slaves) consisting of a variety of household furniture too tedious to mention; a number of well chosen books, in good condition; a very large and choice flock of horses, brood mares, and colts, all blooded, and mostly from that very beautiful and high bred horseRantera great number of black cattle, esteemed the best in the colony, equal in size to any beyond the Ridge, but superiour to them, because they will thrive in shorter pastures; also 700 ounces of fashionable plate, and a genteel family coach, not more than seven years old, seldom used, with harness for six horses. Those articles were appraised, in December 1768, to 1738 l. The horses and black cattle are since increased, and now are in very good order; so that any person inclinable to purchase may depend on having enough to choose out of.Also will then be sold several articles belonging to a BREWERY,viz.a copper that boils 500 gallons, several iron bound buts that contain a whole brewing each, coolers, &c. &c. and a quantity of new iron hoops and rivets for casks of different forms, lately imported.Purchasers above 6 l. will have credit until theFredericksburg Septemberfair, on giving bond with security, with interest from the day of sale; but if the money is paid when due, the interest will be abated.Proper vessels will attend atPasbytansy, for the conveyance of such as come from that side ofPotomackCreek.

To beSOLDonMondaythe 19th ofNovember,if fair,otherwise next fair day, at Marlborough,the seat of the lateJohn Mercer Esq:deceased.

The greatest part of his personal estate (except slaves) consisting of a variety of household furniture too tedious to mention; a number of well chosen books, in good condition; a very large and choice flock of horses, brood mares, and colts, all blooded, and mostly from that very beautiful and high bred horseRantera great number of black cattle, esteemed the best in the colony, equal in size to any beyond the Ridge, but superiour to them, because they will thrive in shorter pastures; also 700 ounces of fashionable plate, and a genteel family coach, not more than seven years old, seldom used, with harness for six horses. Those articles were appraised, in December 1768, to 1738 l. The horses and black cattle are since increased, and now are in very good order; so that any person inclinable to purchase may depend on having enough to choose out of.

Also will then be sold several articles belonging to a BREWERY,viz.a copper that boils 500 gallons, several iron bound buts that contain a whole brewing each, coolers, &c. &c. and a quantity of new iron hoops and rivets for casks of different forms, lately imported.

Purchasers above 6 l. will have credit until theFredericksburg Septemberfair, on giving bond with security, with interest from the day of sale; but if the money is paid when due, the interest will be abated.

Proper vessels will attend atPasbytansy, for the conveyance of such as come from that side ofPotomackCreek.

It is clear that Ranter and his colts, as well as the cattle, had not been disposed of at the former sale. Further, it is obvious that there was an end to brewing at Marlborough, a result which James must have been all too glad to bring about.

This sale, however, was also unsuccessful. In the May 9, 1771, issue of Purdie & Dixon’sVirginia Gazettewe learn that “The wet Weather lastNovemberhaving stopped the Sale of the personal Estate of the lateJohn Merser, Esquire, the Remainder ... will be sold atMarlborough, on Monday, the 27th of this Month, if fair....” We learn that the family beds, apparently alone of the furniture, had been sold, and that the chariot had been added to the sales list. Apparently the library still remained largely intact, as “a great Collection of well chosen Books” was included. Ranter was still for sale, now at a five percent discount “allowed for ready money.”

But again—so an advertisement of June 13 reads in the same paper—the sale was “prevented by bad Weather.” June 20 was appointed the day for the postponed sale. This time an additional item consisted of 200 copies of Mercer’s “old Abridgment” (doubtless the 1737 edition), to be sold at five shillings each.

In the meanwhile, James had employed one Thomas Oliver, apparently of King George County, as overseer for the four plantations which were in his custody—Aquia, Accokeek, Belvedere, and Marlborough. On May 31, 1771, Oliver made a detailed report to Mercer on “the true state & Condition of the whole Estate and its Contents as they appear’d when this return was fill’d up”.[141]Included in it was an inventory of every tool, outbuilding, vehicle, and servant. The Marlborough portion of this is given inAppendix M. Oliver added an N.B. summarizing the condition of the animals and the physical properties. The following of his remarks are applicable to Marlborough:

... The work of the Mill going on as well as Can be Expected till Mr. Drains is better, the Schoo and Boat unfit for any Sarvice whatsoever till repair’d. if Capable of it. the foundation of the Malt house wants repairing. the Manor house wants lead lights in some of the windows. the East Green House wants repairing. the west dowants buttments as a security to the wall on the south side. The barn, tobacco houses at Marlbrough & Acquia must be repaired as soon as possible.... five stables at Marlbrough plantation must be repair’d before winter. we have sustai’d no damage from Tempest or Floods. it will Expedient to hyer a Carpinder for the woork wanted can not be accomplish’d in time, seeing the Carpenders must be taken of for harvest which is Like to be heavy. I will advertise the sale at Stafford Court and the two parish Churches to begin on the 20th of June 1771.... P.S. The Syder presses at Each plantation & Syder Mill at Marlborough totally expended.... Negro Sampson Marlbro Company Sick of the Gravel.... Negro Jas Pemberton at MarlbhSick Worme Fever.

... The work of the Mill going on as well as Can be Expected till Mr. Drains is better, the Schoo and Boat unfit for any Sarvice whatsoever till repair’d. if Capable of it. the foundation of the Malt house wants repairing. the Manor house wants lead lights in some of the windows. the East Green House wants repairing. the west dowants buttments as a security to the wall on the south side. The barn, tobacco houses at Marlbrough & Acquia must be repaired as soon as possible.... five stables at Marlbrough plantation must be repair’d before winter. we have sustai’d no damage from Tempest or Floods. it will Expedient to hyer a Carpinder for the woork wanted can not be accomplish’d in time, seeing the Carpenders must be taken of for harvest which is Like to be heavy. I will advertise the sale at Stafford Court and the two parish Churches to begin on the 20th of June 1771.... P.S. The Syder presses at Each plantation & Syder Mill at Marlborough totally expended.... Negro Sampson Marlbro Company Sick of the Gravel.... Negro Jas Pemberton at MarlbhSick Worme Fever.

The sale as advertised and, presumably, as posted by Oliver was again a failure. Apparently no one attended. The situation must have been regarded then as desperate, for James advertised on August 29, 1771, in Purdie & Dixon’sVirginia Gazettesubstantially the same material as before. This time, however, it was “To be SOLD, at the Townhouse inFredericksburg, on the 24th day ofSeptembernext (being the second Day of the Fair).” Added to the former list were “About two Hundred Weight of HOPS of last Crop,” “About four hundred Weight of extraordinary good WOOL with a variety of Woollen and Linen Wheels, Reels, &c.,” as well as “A Number of GARDEN FLOWER POTS of different forms. Some ORANGE, LEMON and other EVERGREENS, in Boxes and Pots.” The valuable but unwanted Ranter was again put up.

But once more bad luck and an apathetic (and probably impecunious) populace brought failure to the sale. On October 24, 1771, Purdie & Dixon’sVirginia Gazetteprinted the following advertisement and James Mercer’s final public effort to convert some of his father’s estate into cash:

To beSOLDto the highest Bidders,some Time Next Week,before theRaleighTavern in Williamsburg,The beautiful Horse RANTER, a genteel FAMILY COACH, with Harness for six Horses, also several Pieces of FASHIONABLE PLATE, yet remaining of the Estate of the late John Mercer, Esquire, deceased. Credit will be allowed until the 25th of April next, the Purchasers giving Bond and Security, with Interest from the Sale; but if the Money is paid when due, the Interest will be abated.Any Person inclinable to purchase RUSHWORTH’S COLLECTION may see them at the Printing Office, and know the Terms. At the same Place are lodged several Copies of the old Abridgment of the VIRGINIALAWS, containing so many Precedents for Magistrates that they are esteemed well worth five Shillings, the Price asked for them.JAMES MERCERWilliamsburg, October 24.N.B. The Plate is lodged with Mr. Craig, and may be seen by any inclinable to purchase.

To beSOLDto the highest Bidders,some Time Next Week,before theRaleighTavern in Williamsburg,

The beautiful Horse RANTER, a genteel FAMILY COACH, with Harness for six Horses, also several Pieces of FASHIONABLE PLATE, yet remaining of the Estate of the late John Mercer, Esquire, deceased. Credit will be allowed until the 25th of April next, the Purchasers giving Bond and Security, with Interest from the Sale; but if the Money is paid when due, the Interest will be abated.

Any Person inclinable to purchase RUSHWORTH’S COLLECTION may see them at the Printing Office, and know the Terms. At the same Place are lodged several Copies of the old Abridgment of the VIRGINIALAWS, containing so many Precedents for Magistrates that they are esteemed well worth five Shillings, the Price asked for them.

JAMES MERCER

Williamsburg, October 24.

N.B. The Plate is lodged with Mr. Craig, and may be seen by any inclinable to purchase.

James did not attempt to sell the plantation itself or the slaves, but evidently sought to reestablish Marlborough on an efficient and profitable basis. That he failed to do so is brought out in a letter that George Mason wrote to George Washington on December 21, 1773. In it is expressed the whole tragic sequence of debt compounding debt in the plantation economy and the insurmountable burden of inherited obligations:

The embarrass’d Situation of my Friend Mr. Jas. Mercer’s Affairs gives Me much more Concern than Surprize. I always feared that his Aversion to selling the Lands & Slaves, in Expectation of paying the Debts with the Crops & Profits of the Estate, whilst a heavy Interest was still accumulating, wou’d be attended with bad Consequences, independent of his Brother’s Difficulties in England; having never, in a single Instance, seen these sort of Delays answer the Hopes of the Debtor. When Colo. [George] Mercer was first married, & thought in affluent circumstances by his Friends here, considerable purchases of Slaves were made for Him, at high prices (& I believe mostly upon Credit) which must now be sold at much less than the cost: He was originally burthened with a proportionable part of his Father’s Debts: most of which, as well as the old Gentleman’s other Debts, are not only still unpaid, but must be greatly increased by Interest; so that even if Colo. Mercer had not incurr’d a large Debt in England, He wou’d have found his Affairs here in a disagreeable Situation. I have Bye me Mr. James Mercer’s Title-Papers for his Lands on Pohick Run & on Four-mile Run, in this County; which I have hitherto endeavoured to sell for Him in Vain: for as he Left the Price entirely to Me, I cou’d not take less for them than if they had been my own.[142]

The embarrass’d Situation of my Friend Mr. Jas. Mercer’s Affairs gives Me much more Concern than Surprize. I always feared that his Aversion to selling the Lands & Slaves, in Expectation of paying the Debts with the Crops & Profits of the Estate, whilst a heavy Interest was still accumulating, wou’d be attended with bad Consequences, independent of his Brother’s Difficulties in England; having never, in a single Instance, seen these sort of Delays answer the Hopes of the Debtor. When Colo. [George] Mercer was first married, & thought in affluent circumstances by his Friends here, considerable purchases of Slaves were made for Him, at high prices (& I believe mostly upon Credit) which must now be sold at much less than the cost: He was originally burthened with a proportionable part of his Father’s Debts: most of which, as well as the old Gentleman’s other Debts, are not only still unpaid, but must be greatly increased by Interest; so that even if Colo. Mercer had not incurr’d a large Debt in England, He wou’d have found his Affairs here in a disagreeable Situation. I have Bye me Mr. James Mercer’s Title-Papers for his Lands on Pohick Run & on Four-mile Run, in this County; which I have hitherto endeavoured to sell for Him in Vain: for as he Left the Price entirely to Me, I cou’d not take less for them than if they had been my own.[142]

MARLBOROUGH DURING AND AFTER THE REVOLUTION

Despite the seeming unwisdom of doing so, James Mercer held on to Marlborough until his death. He was an active patriot in the Revolution, serving as a member of the Virginia Committee of Safety. Marlborough, too, seems to have been a participant in the war, when Lord Dunmore, on a last desperate foray, sailed his ships up the Potomac and attacked several plantations. That Marlborough was a target we learn from the widow of Major George Thornton of the Virginia militia, who “was at the bombardment of Marlborough, the seat of Judge Mercer, on the Potomac....”[143]In Purdie’sVirginia Gazetteof August 2, 1776, we read:

Lord Dunmore, with his motley band of pirates and renegradoes, have burnt the elegant brick house of William Brent, esq., at the mouth of Acquia Creek, in Stafford county, as also two other houses lower down the Potowmack River, both the property of widow ladies.

Lord Dunmore, with his motley band of pirates and renegradoes, have burnt the elegant brick house of William Brent, esq., at the mouth of Acquia Creek, in Stafford county, as also two other houses lower down the Potowmack River, both the property of widow ladies.

Marlborough was no longer the property of a “widow lady,” but accurate reporting even today is not universal, and Marlborough may have been meant. In any case, the mansion was not destroyed, although we do not know whether any other buildings at Marlborough were damaged or not.

John Francis Mercer, James’ half brother, appears to have lived at Marlborough after his return from the Revolution. He served with distinction, becoming aide-de-camp to the eccentric and difficult General Charles Lee in 1778. When Lee was court-martialed after the Battle of Monmouth, John Francis resigned, but reentered the war in 1780.[144]He apparently settled at Marlborough after the surrender at Yorktown, at which he was present. In 1782 he was elected to both the Virginia House of Delegates and the Continental Congress. General Lee died the same year, stipulating in his will:

To my friend John [Francis] Mercer, Esq., of Marlborough, in Virginia, I give and bequeath the choice of two brood mares, of all my swords and pistols and ten guineas to buy a ring. I would give him more, but, as he has a good estate and a better genius, he has sufficient, if he knows how to make good use of them.[145]

To my friend John [Francis] Mercer, Esq., of Marlborough, in Virginia, I give and bequeath the choice of two brood mares, of all my swords and pistols and ten guineas to buy a ring. I would give him more, but, as he has a good estate and a better genius, he has sufficient, if he knows how to make good use of them.[145]

It is not probable that John Francis’ “genius” was sufficient to make profitable use of Marlborough. He moved to Maryland in 1785, and later became its Governor.[146]

James Mercer died on May 23, 1791. In 1799 the Potomac Neck properties were advertised for sale or rent by John Francis Mercer inThe Examinerfor September 6. We learn from it that there were overseer’s houses, Negro quarters and cornhouses, and that “the fertility of the soil is equal to any in the United States, besides which the fields all lay convenient to banks (apparently inexhaustible) of the richest marle, which by repeated experiments made there, is found to be superiour to any other manure whatever.” “30 or 40 Virginia born slaves, in families, who are resident on the lands” were made “available.”

THE COOKE PERIOD: MARLBOROUGH’S FINAL DECADES

The plantation was bought by John Cooke of Stafford County. Cooke took out an insurance policy on the mansion house on June 9, 1806, with the Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia.[147]From this important document (fig. 43) we learn that the house had a replacement value of $9000, and, after deducting $3000, was “actually worth six thousand Dollars in ready money.” The policy shows a plan with a description: “Brick Dwelling House one Story high covered with wood, 108 feet 8 Inches long by 28½ feet wide, a Cellar under about half the House.” Running the length of the house was a “Portico 108 feet 8 Inches by 8 feet 4 Inches.” A “Porch 10 by 5 f.” stood in front of the “portico,” and another was located at the northeast corner of the building, “8 by 6 feet.” The policy informs us that the house was occupied not by Cooke, but by John W. Bronaugh, a tenant or overseer.

The records do not reveal how long the mansion survived. That by the beginning of the century it had already lost the dignity with which Mercer had endowed it and was heading toward decay is quite evident. After John Cooke’s death Marlborough was again put up for sale in 1819, but this time nothing was said of any buildings, only that the land was adapted to the growth of red clover, that the winter and spring fisheries produced $2500 per annum, and that “Wild Fowl is in abundance.”[148]

Undoubtedly as the buildings disintegrated, their sites were leveled. There remained only level acres of grass, clover, and grain where once a poor village had been erected and where John Mercer’s splendid estate had risen with its Palladian mansion, its gardens, warehouses, and tobacco fields. Even in the early 19th century the tobacco plantation, especially in northern Virginia, had become largely a thing of the past. Within the memory of men still alive, the one structure still standing from Mercer’s time was the windmill. Except for the present-day fringe of modern houses, Marlborough must look today much as it did after its abandonment and disintegration.

FOOTNOTES:[141]A Documentary History of American Industrial Society, edit. John P. Commons (New York: Russell & Russell, 1958), vol. 1, facsimile opp. p. 236.[142]Letters to Washington, andAccompanying Papers, edit. S. M. Hamilton (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1901), vol. 4, p. 286.[143]George Brown Goode,Virginia Cousins(Richmond, 1887), p. 213.[144]Ibid.[145]“Berkeley County, West Virginia,”Tyler’s Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine(Richmond, 1921), vol. 3, p. 46.[146]Ibid.[147]Policy no. 1134. On microfilm, Virginia State Library.[148]Virginia Herald, December 15, 1819.

FOOTNOTES:

[141]A Documentary History of American Industrial Society, edit. John P. Commons (New York: Russell & Russell, 1958), vol. 1, facsimile opp. p. 236.

[141]A Documentary History of American Industrial Society, edit. John P. Commons (New York: Russell & Russell, 1958), vol. 1, facsimile opp. p. 236.

[142]Letters to Washington, andAccompanying Papers, edit. S. M. Hamilton (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1901), vol. 4, p. 286.

[142]Letters to Washington, andAccompanying Papers, edit. S. M. Hamilton (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1901), vol. 4, p. 286.

[143]George Brown Goode,Virginia Cousins(Richmond, 1887), p. 213.

[143]George Brown Goode,Virginia Cousins(Richmond, 1887), p. 213.

[144]Ibid.

[144]Ibid.

[145]“Berkeley County, West Virginia,”Tyler’s Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine(Richmond, 1921), vol. 3, p. 46.

[145]“Berkeley County, West Virginia,”Tyler’s Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine(Richmond, 1921), vol. 3, p. 46.

[146]Ibid.

[146]Ibid.

[147]Policy no. 1134. On microfilm, Virginia State Library.

[147]Policy no. 1134. On microfilm, Virginia State Library.

[148]Virginia Herald, December 15, 1819.

[148]Virginia Herald, December 15, 1819.

Figure 18.—Aerial photograph of Marlborough.The outlines of the excavated wall system and Structure B foundation can be seen where Highway 621 curves to the east.

The preceding chapters have presented written evidence of Marlborough’s history and of the human elements that gave it life and motivation. Assembled mostly during the years following the excavations, this information was not, for the most part, available in 1956 to guide the archeological survey recounted here. Neither was there immediate evidence on the surface of the planted fields to indicate the importance and splendor of Marlborough as it existed in the 18th century.

In 1954, when Dr. Darter proposed that the Smithsonian Institution participate in making excavations, he presented a general picture of colonial events at Marlborough. He also provided photostats of the two colonial survey plats so frequently mentioned in Part I (fig. 2). From information inscribed on the 1691 plat, it was clear that a town had been laid out in that year, that it had consisted of 52 acres divided into half-acre lots, and that two undesignated acres had been set aside for a courthouse near its western boundary. It was known also that John Mercer had occupied the town in the 18th century, that he had built a mansion there, that a circular ruin of dressed lime-sandstone was the base of his windmill, and that erosion along the Potomac River bank had radically changed the shoreline since the town’s founding 263 years earlier. But nobody in 1954 could point out with any certainty the foundation of Mercer’s mansion, nor was anyone aware of the brick and the stone wall system, the two-room kitchen foundation, or the trash pits and other structures that lay beneath the surface, along with many 18th-century household artifacts. It remained for the archeologist to recover such nonperishable data from the ground.

In August 1954 Messrs. Setzler, Darter, and Watkins spent three days at Marlborough examining the site, making tests, and, in general, determining whether there was sufficient evidence to justify extended excavations. The site is located in the southeastern portion of what was known in the 17th century as Potowmack Neck (now Marlborough Point), with the Potomac River on the east and Potomac Creek on the south (map, front endpaper). It is approached from the northeast on Highway 621, which branches from Highway 608 about 2½ miles from the site. Highway 608 runs from Aquia Creek westward to the village of Brooke, situated on the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad about four miles east of the present Stafford courthouse on U.S. Route 1. Highway 621 takes a hilly, winding course through the woods until it debouches onto the flat, open peninsula of the point. The river is visible to the east, as the road travels slightly east of due south, passing an intersecting secondary road that runs west and south and then west again. The latter road ends at the southwestern extremity of the Neck, where Accokeek Creek, which meanders along the western edge of the Neck, feeds into Potomac Creek. At the point near the Potomac Creek shore where this road takes its second westerly course lies the site of the Indian village of Patawomecke, excavated between 1938 and 1940 by T. D. Stewart.

Figure 19.—Highway 621, looking north from the curve in the road, with site of Structure B at right.

Beyond this secondary road, Highway 621 continues southward to a small thicket and clump of treeswhere it curves sharply to the east, its southerly course stopped by fenced-in lots of generous size (with modern houses built on them) that slope down to Potomac Creek. After the highway makes its turn, several driveways extend from it toward the creek. One of these driveways, obviously more ancient than the others, leaves the highway about 200 feet east of the clump of trees, cutting deeply through high sloping banks, where vestiges of a stone wall crop out from its western boundary (fig. 22), and ending abruptly at the water’s edge. Highway 621 continues to a dead end near the confluence of creek and river.

Some 200 feet west of the turn in the highway around the clump of trees, is a deep gully (or “gutt” in 17th-century terminology) that extends northward from Potomac Creek almost as far as the intersecting road that passes the site of the Indian village. This gully is overgrown with trees and brush, and it forms a natural barrier that divides the lower portion of the point into two parts. A few well-spaced modern houses fringe the shores of the point, while the flat land behind the houses is given over almost entirely to cultivation.

Since the two colonial land surveys were not drawn to scale, some confusion arose in 1954 as to their orientation to the surviving topographic features. However, the perimeter measurements given on the 1691 plat make it clear that the town was laid out in the southeastern section of the point, and that the “gutt” so indicated on the plat is the tree-lined gully west of the turn in the highway.

Bordering the clump of trees at this turn could be seen in 1954 a short outcropping of brick masonry. A few yards to the north, on the opposite side of the road, crumbled bits of sandstone, both red and gray, were concentrated in the ditch cut by a highway grader. In the fields at either side of the highway, plow furrows disclosed a considerable quantity of brick chips, 18th-century ceramics, and glass sherds.

In the field east of the clump of trees and north of the highway, opposite the steep-banked side road leading down to Potomac Creek, could be seen in a row the tops of two or three large pieces of gray stone. These stones were of the characteristic lime-sandstone once obtained from the Aquia quarries some four miles north, as well as from a long-abandoned quarry above the head of Potomac Creek. It was decided to start work at this point by investigating these stones, in preference to exploring the more obvious evidence of a house foundation at the clump of trees. This was done in the hope of finding clues to lot boundaries and the possible orientation of the survey plats. Excavation around these vertically placed stones disclosed that they rested on a foundation layer of thick slabs laid horizontally at the undisturbed soil level. Enough of this wall remainedin situto permit sighting along it toward Potomac Creek. The sight line, jumping the highway, picked up the partly overgrown stone wall that extends along the western edge of the old roadway to the creek, indicating that a continuous wall had existed prior to the present layout of the fields and before the construction of the modern highway.

The excavation along the stone wall was extended northward. At a distance of 18.5 feet from the highway the stone wall ended at a junction of two brick wall foundations, one running north in line with the stone wall and the other west at a 90° angle. These walls, each a brick and a half thick, were bonded in oystershell lime mortar. Test trenches were dug to the north and west to determine whether they were enclosure walls or house foundations. Since it was soon evident that they were the former, the next question was whether they were lot boundaries matching those on the plat. If so, it was reasoned, then a street must have run along the east side of the north-south coursing wall. Accordingly, tests were made, but no supporting evidence for this inference was found.

Nevertheless, the indications of an elaborate wall system, a probable house foundation, and a wealth of artifacts in the soil were enough to support a full-scale archeological project, the results of which would have considerable historical and architectural significance. Determining the meaning of the walls and whether they were related to the town layout or to Mercer’s plantation, learning the relationship of the plantation to the town, discovering the sites of the 1691 courthouse and Mercer’s mansion, and finding other house foundations and significant artifacts—all these were to be the objectives of the project. The problem, broadly considered, was to investigate in depth a specific locality where a 17th-century town and an 18th-century plantation had successively risen and fallen and to evaluate the evidence in the light of colonial Virginia’s evolving culture and economy. Accordingly, plans were made, a grant was obtained from the American Philosophical Society, as recounted in the introduction, and intensive work on the site was begun in 1956.

The archeologist must adopt and, if necessary, invent the method of excavation best calculated to produce the results he desires, given the conditions of a particular site. The Marlborough site required other techniques than those conventionally employed, for instance, in excavating prehistoric American Indian sites. Moreover, because the Marlborough excavations constituted a limited exploratory survey, the grid system used customarily in colonial-site archeology was not appropriate here, and a different system had to be substituted. It was decided in 1956 to begin, as in 1954, at obvious points of visible evidence and to follow to their limits the footings of walls and buildings as they were encountered, rather than to remove all of the disturbed soil within a limited area. By itself this was a simple process, but to record accurately what was found by this method and relate the features to each other required the use mainly of an alidade and a stadia rod. Only to a limited extent were some exploratory trenches dug and careful observations made of the color and density of soil, so as to detect features such as wooden house foundations, postholes, and trash pits. Once located, such evidence had to be approached meticulously with a shaving or slicing technique, again taking careful note of soil changes in profile.

All this required the establishment of an accurate baseline and a number of control points by means of alidade and stadia-rod measurements. Then eight points for triangulation purposes in the form of iron pipes were established at intervals along the south side of the highway, east of its turn at the clump of trees, on the basis of which the accompanying maps were plotted. The full extent of the excavations is not shown in detail on these maps, particularly in connection with the walls and structures. The walls, for example, were exposed in trenches 5 feet wide. Similar trenches were dug around the house foundations as evidence of them was revealed.

DESCRIPTIONS OF EXCAVATIONS

On April 2, 1956, the junction point of the three walls found in the 1954 test was reexcavated. The bottom layer of horizontally placed stones 1.8-1.9 feet wide was foundin situ, while most of the vertical stones from the second course had been broken or knocked off by repeated plowing. Construction of the highway had completely removed a section of the wall. The corner of the two brick walls was revealed to have been superimposed on the northernmost foundation block of the stone wall, thus indicating that the stone wall preceded the building of the brick ones. The upper stone block that had been removed to make room for this brick corner still lay a few feet to the east where it had been cast aside in the 18th century. This part of the stone wall, together with its continuation beyond the highway to the creek, was designated Wall A (figs. 21and24).

Exposure of the brick wall running westward from Wall A (designated Wall A-I) disclosed broken gaps in the brickwork, the gaps ranging from 1.8 to 3 feet in length, and the intervening stretches of intact wall, from 7.33 to 8 feet. Eight-foot spacings are normal for the settings of modern wooden fence posts, as such a fence south of the highway illustrated. It is assumed, therefore, that, following the destruction of the exposed part of the brick wall, a wooden fence was built along the same line, requiring the removal of bricks to permit the setting of fence posts (fig. 26).

Wall A-I intersected the modern highway at an acute angle, disappeared thereunder and reappeared beyond. South of the clump of trees it abutted another wall of different construction which ran continuously in the same direction for 28 feet. Because of their manner of construction, the two walls at their point of juncture were not integrated and, hence, probably were constructed at different times. The 28-foot section later proved to be the south wall of the mansion, designated as B. (This wall will be considered when that structure is described, as will another section that continued for less than 4 feet to the point where a 12-foot modern driveway crossed over it.)

To the west of the driveway another wall (B-I), still in line with Wall A-I, extended toward the “gutt.” Of this only one brick course remained, a brick and a half thick. About midway in its length were slight indications that the wall footings had been expanded for a short distance, as though for a gate; however, the crumbled condition of the brick and mortar fragments made this inference uncertain.

Near the edge of the “gutt,” 146 feet from the southwest corner of the Structure B main foundation, Wall B-I terminated in an oblique-angled corner, the other side of which was designated Wall B-II. This wall ran 384 feet in a southwesterly direction under trees and beneath a boathouse along the “gutt,” ending at the back of Potomac Creek. It was constructed of rough blocks of the fossil-imbedded marl that underlies Marlborough and crops out along the Potomac shore. Walls A, A-I, B-I, and B-II, together with the creek bank, form an enclosuremeasuring a little over two acres.

Returning to the point of beginning excavation, the brick wall which is extended north from stone wall A (designated as Wall A-II) was followed for a distance of 175 feet. Like Wall A-I, it was a brick and a half thick (a row of headers lying beside a row of stretchers), and was represented for a distance of 36 feet by two courses. Beyond this point for another 30 feet, a shift in the contour of the land, allowing deeper plowing in relation to the original height of the wall, had caused the second course of bricks to be knocked off. From there on, only occasional clusters of bricks remained, the evidence of the wall consisting otherwise of a thin layer of mortar and brick.

Wall A-II terminated in a corner. The other side of the corner was of the same construction and ran westerly at right angles for a total distance of 264.5 feet, passing beneath the highway (north of the turn) and stopping against the southeast corner of a structure designated E. Extending south from Structure E was an 84-foot wall (Wall E) a brick and a half thick, laid this time in Flemish bond (header-stretcher-header) in several courses.

Another east-west wall, of which only remnants were found, joined Wall E and its southern terminus. Six feet west of Wall E this fragmentary wall widened from three to four bricks in thickness in what appeared to be the foundation of a wide gate, with a heavy iron hinge-pintlein situ; beyond this it disappeared in a jumble of brickbats.

Upon completion of the wall excavations, a return was made to Wall A, where a visible feature had been observed, although not investigated. This feature was a three-sided, westward projection from Wall A, similarly built of Aquia-type stone, forming with Wall A a long, narrow enclosure. The southern east-west course of this structure meets Wall A approximately 62 feet north of the creek-side terminus of Wall A and extends 59 feet to the west. The north-south course runs 100 feet to its junction with the northern east-west segment. The latter segment is only 55 feet long, so the enclosure is not quite symmetrical. No excavations were made here. However, in line with the north cross wall of the enclosure, trenches were dug at four intervals in a futile effort to locate evidence of a boundary wall in the present orchard lying to the east of the road to the creek.

SIGNIFICANT ARTIFACTS ASSOCIATED WITH WALLS

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