Part 8 (2/2)

Beginning in 1744 Mercer made great purchases of lumber. Thomas Tyler of the Eastern Sh.o.r.e sold him 2463 feet of plank in that year, and in 1745 made several transactions totaling 5598 feet of 1-, 1-1/2-, and 2-inch plank, as well as 23,170 s.h.i.+ngles. In 1746 Charles Waller of Stafford sold Mercer 5193 feet of 1-, 1-1/4-, and 1-1/2-inch plank. In the same year James Waughhop of Maryland provided ”4000 foot of Plank of different thicknesses for 12,” and in May 1749, ”2300 foot of 1-1/2 Inch Plank at 7/.” Mercer made several similar purchases, including 14,700 s.h.i.+ngles, from Robert Taylor of the Eastern Sh.o.r.e.

Where all these materials were used is a matter for conjecture. We know that Mercer made ”Improvements” to the extent of ”saving” 40 lots under the terms of the Act for Ports and Towns, and that a great deal of construction work, therefore, was going on. One building was probably a replacement for a warehouse, for a laconic entry in his journal on New Year's day of 1746 notes that ”My warehouses burnt.” These were doubtless the buildings erected in 1732 and officially vacated in 1735.

That at least one eventually was rebuilt for Mercer's own use is known from an overseer's report of 1771 (Appendix M).

The windmill, the foundations of which still remain in part near the Potomac sh.o.r.e, was probably built in 1746. Mercer's cash account for that year includes an item of 2s. 6d. for ”Setting up Mill,” which apparently meant adjusting the millstones for proper operation. In August he paid Nathaniel Chapman 22 19s. 8-3/4d. ”in full for Smith's work.” A windmill, with its bearings, levers, lifts, and shafts, would seem to have been the only structure requiring such a costly amount of ironwork.

The most elaborate project of all, however, is clearly discernible in the ledger. In 1746 Thomas Anderson,[93] in consideration of cash and legal services, charged for ”making & burning 40^m Stock bricks” at 4 pounds 6 pence per 1000. In the same year David Minitree, described by Mercer as a ”Bricklayer,” came to Marlborough from Williamsburg.

Minitree was more than an ordinary bricklayer, however, for he had worked on the Mattaponi church, and later, between 1750 and 1753, was to build Carter's Grove for Carter Burwell.[94]

The credit side of Minitree's account in Ledger G is as follows:

s. d.

1746 Decemb^r 5 By making & burning 9 5 7-1/2 41,255 Bricks at 4/6

1747 Septemb^r By stacking & burning 16 9-1/2 11,200 D^o at 1/6 By making & burning 14 2 10 62,849 D^o at 4/6 By making & burning 4 6 1000 D^o at 4/6 By short paid of my 9-1/2 Order on Maj^r Champe By building part of 10-1/2 my House

The last item, in particular, is clear indication that an architectural project of importance was underway and that Mercer had set about to make Marlborough the equal of Virginia's great plantations. Only ”part of my house” was built by Minitree, yet his bill was more than five times the total cost of Mercer's previous house, completed in 1730!

Since it was customary in Virginia to make bricks on the site of a new house, utilizing the underlying clay excavated from the foundation, Minitree, as well as Anderson, made his bricks at Marlborough before using them. Mortar for laying bricks was made of lime from oystersh.e.l.ls.

In 1747 and 1748, we learn from the ledger, 61-1/2 hogsheads of oystersh.e.l.ls were bought from Abraham Basnett, an ”Oysterman,” payment having been made in cash, meat, and brandy. ”Flagstones &c” were obtained in 1747 through Major John Champe at a cost of 36 4s. 6d.

These may have been the same stones brought up as ”a load of stone” by ”Boatswain Davis” of Boyd's Hole in Pa.s.sapatanzy in October 1747 for 4 5s. 5d.

Early in 1748 a new set of developments concerning the house took place.

Major William Walker of Stafford, revealed in the journal and the ledgers as an old acquaintance of Mercer's, then became the ”undertaker,” or contractor, for the house. Walker was a talented man who had started out as a cabinetmaker, a craft in which his brother Robert still continued. Whiffen (_The Public Buildings of Williamsburg_) shows that he both designed and built a glebe house for St. Paul's Parish, Hanover County, in 1739-1740, and the steeple for St. Peter's Church in New Kent the latter year. Also in 1740 he built a bridge across the Pamunkey for Hanover County. At the same time that he was engaged on Mercer's mansion, he undertook in March 1749 to rebuild the burned capitol at Williamsburg. He died 11 months later before bringing either of these major projects to completion.[95]

Walker's carpenter was William Monday. Mercer settled with Monday in March 1748 for a total bill of 126 16s. 2-1/2d., but with a protest addressed to himself in the ledger: ”By work done about my House which is not near the value as by Maj^r Walker's Estimate below, yet to avoid Disputes & as he is worth nothing I give him Credit to make a full Ballance.”

Meanwhile, William Bromley, a joiner, had gone to work on the interior finish. Like Minitree and Walker, Bromley represented the highest caliber of artisans.h.i.+p in the colony. Eighteen years later Mercer referred to Bromley, ”who,” he said, ”I believe was the best architect that ever was in America.”[96] Bromley employed several apprentices, among them an Irishman named Patterson.[97] For the interval from July 9, 1748, to December 25, 1750, Bromley was paid 140 1s. 1/2d., almost entirely for wages. The payment included ”3 p^r hollows & rounds / 6 plane irons / 1 gallon Brandy.” For the same period Andrew Beaty, also a joiner, received 113 5s. 1-1/2d. On June 19, 1749, Mercer noted in his journal, ”Beaty's apprentice came to work.” These men were specialists in framing woodwork and in making paneling, doors, wainscoting, and exterior architectural elements of wood.

The opulence of the building's finish is indicated by a charge on Walker's account for ”his Carver's work 69 days at 5/, 17. 15....”

Previously, while Minitree was still working on the house, an item had been entered in August 1747, ”To Cash paid for cutting the Chimneypiece ... 6.3.” A chimneypiece was usually the ornamental trim or facing around a fireplace opening, although in this instance the overpanel may have been meant.

Jacob Williams, a plasterer, worked 142-1/2 days for a total of 22 4s.

4d., while his helper Joseph Burges was employed 43 days for 5 7s. 6d.

Walker charged 3 8s. 11d. for ”his Painters work about my house,” and a purchase of ”42 gallons of Linseed Oyl” was recorded in the general charges account. Three books of goldleaf, which Mercer had obtained from George Gilmer, the Williamsburg apothecary, were charged, together with paint, to Walker.

In May 1750, a charge by George Elliot, ”Turner, Stafford,” was recorded, ”By turning 162 Ball.u.s.ters at 6^d, 4.1....” Another item, for supplying ”341-1/2 feet Walnut Plank at 2^d,” settled in October, may have been for the wood of which the bal.u.s.ters were made.

Thomas Barry, ”Bricklayer,” carried on the work that Minitree had not completed. His account for 1749 follows:

s. d.

By Building the Addition to my House 26 22 Arches at 6/ 6 12 900 Coins & Returns at 6/ 2 14 A Frontispiece 3 10 Underpinning & altering the Cellar 2 raising a Chimney 1 5 building an Oven 15 building a Kiln 1 building a Kitchen 9 10 3 Arches at 6/ 18 2 Plain D^o at 2/6 5 500 Coins & returns at 6/ 1 10 -- -- -- 55 19 0

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