The Cultural History of Marlborough, Virginia. C. Malcolm Watkins
bounds them on the west.
We know that the Robinson-Berryman-Pope-Parry lot was the same lot originally granted to Robert Alexander in 1691, numbered 19 on Buckner’s plat. It was granted to its later owners according to the Gregg survey in 1707, and was then described as “being the first Lott known in the Survey Platt by number 1.” From Mercer we have learned already that Gregg made “his number 1 in the corner at Buckner’s 19.” The other five lots were claimed under Ballard and John Waugh. Waugh was granted one lot in 1691—Buckner’s number 20—and acquired two more in 1707. All three appear to have been in the corner block of six lots. In any case, these six lots equal the number of lots known to have been granted the above-listed lot holders. Both of Ballard’s lots were granted in 1707. His lot number 19 (Gregg survey), where Mercer first lived, is described as “bounding Easterly with a lott surveyed for Mr. John Waugh Westerly with a Narrow street Northerly with a lott not yet surveyed, Southerly with the first main Street which is parallel with Potomac Creek.” We do not know which of Waugh’s lots is meant, nor do we know Gregg’s street plan, except that it was at odds with Buckner’s. But it is probable that Ballard’s lot (Gregg’s number 19) was the same as Buckner’s number 21, that the crosstown street on Gregg’s plat lay to the south of the lot rather than to the north of it, as on Buckner’s plat, and that one of Waugh’s lots lay to the east of it.[62]
Assuming that the two acres for the courthouse were located near the head of the “gutt” and that Ballard’s lot 19 was approximately the same as Buckner’s 21, it is apparent that Ballard’s lot must have overlapped the courthouse lots in the confusion between the two surveys. Since Mercer was living on Ballard’s lot, he probably infringed on the courthouse property. Even though the courthouse had been burned and abandoned, the two acres assigned to it were required to revert to the original owner, as provided in the Act of 1667, concerning church and courthouse lands. In this case, the courthouse land, having been “deserted,” had reverted to the heir of Giles Brent.
Mercer’s embarrassment at this state of affairs must have been great. However, the addition by Savage of a whole new row of lots along the westerly border of the town created new acreage, sufficient both to reconcile the conflict and to provide compensatory land to satisfy the Brents. Unfortunately, the Savage survey, as we have noted, was not made official, and Mercer was forced to continue his questionable occupancy of properties whose titles were in doubt.
What is most significant to us in all this is the inference that the courthouse, the Ballard house which Mercer occupied, and the Structure B foundation were all in close proximity.
LARGE PROPERTY ACQUISITIONS
Mercer’s next purchase of Marlborough property was on July 28, 1737, when he bought the three lots granted in 1691 to George Andrews from Andrews’ grandson, John Cave. Meanwhile, he began large-scale acquisitions of lands elsewhere. By 1733 he had acquired an aggregate of 8096 acres in Prince William County. In addition, he obtained a “Lease for three Lives” on three large tracts belonging to William Brent, adjoining Marlborough, so that he controlled virtually all of Potomac Neck.[63]
Thus, after 1730 we find Mercer’s fortune already well established and increasing. No longer a youthful trader plying the Potomac in his sloop, he was now a gentleman planter and influential lawyer. He lived in a new house, owned some parts of Marlborough, and was building “improvements” on others. Almost overnight he had become a landed proprietor.
SUCCESS AT LAW AND CONFLICTS WITH LAWYERS
The source of Mercer’s newly made wealth is easily discovered. His ledger shows an income from legal fees in 1730 amounting to £291 10s. 1½d. In 1731 the figure climbed to £643 18s. 2d., then leveled off to £639 11s. 2½d. the following year. For a young man still in his twenties and self-trained in the law, this was a remarkable achievement. His success perhaps is attributable to a single event that stemmed from youthful brashness and vigorous outspokenness. Early in 1730, in a daring gesture on behalf of property owners and taxpayers, he protested against privileges granted in an act passed by the Assembly the previous year “for encouraging Adventurers in Iron Works.” Presented in the form of a proposition, the protest was read before the Stafford court by Peter Hedgman. The reaction to it in Williamsburg, once it had reached the ears of the Assembly, was immediate and angry. The House of Burgesses
Resolv’d That the Proposition from Stafford County in relation to the Act past in the last Session of this Assembly for encouraging Adventurers in Iron Works is a scandalous and Seditious Libel Containing false and scandalous Reflections upon the Legislature and the Justices of the General Court and other Courts of this Colony.
Resolv’d That John Mercer the Author and Writer of that paper and Peter Hedgman one of the Subscribers who presented the same to the Court of Stafford County to be certified to the General Assembly are guilty of a high Misdemeanour.
Order’d That the said John Mercer and Peter Hedgman be sent for in Custody of the Serjeant at Arms attending this House to answer their said Offence at the Bar of this House.[64]
Mercer and Hedgman made their apologies to the House, received their reprimands, and paid their fines. But this protest, so offensive to the dignity of the lawmakers, had its effect in forcing amendments to the act, particularly in removing the requirement for building public roads leading from the ironworks to the ore supplies and shipping points. To those living in Stafford, particularly in the neighborhood of the proposed Accokeek Ironworks, near Marlborough, this concession must have elevated Mercer to the level of a hero.[65]
Mercer’s frank disposition led him into other difficulties during the first years of his practice. His insistence on the prompt payment of debts and his opposition to stays of execution following suits had won him enemies at Prince William court. Charges of improper legal activities were brought against him; these were investigated at Williamsburg, with the result that on June 13, 1734, he was suspended from practicing law in Virginia for a period of six months.[66]
TEMPORARY RETIREMENT, THE ABRIDGMENT, AND GUARDIANSHIP OF GEORGE MASON
Deprived temporarily of his principal livelihood, Mercer set out to write an Abridgment of the Laws of Virginia. The task completed, he petitioned the General Court on April 23, 1735, for “leave to Print an Abridgment compil’d by him of all the Laws of this Colony & to have the benefit of the Sale thereof.” On the same day he petitioned for a renewal of his license, which was granted with the exception of the right to practice in Prince William, where he was to remain persona non grata generally thereafter.[67]
Soon after these events his brother-in-law and old acquaintance, George Mason, drowned. Mercer was designated co-guardian of 10-year-old George Mason IV, who came to live at Marlborough. Young George later grew up to be the master of Gunston Hall and, as the author of the Virginia Bill of Rights, to stand among the intellectuals whose ideas influenced the Revolution and the framing of the Constitution. In these formative years, young George Mason surely must have been affected by the strong legal mind and cultivated tastes of his uncle.[68]
On October 14, 1737, the Virginia Gazette carried the following advertisement:
This Day is Published
An Exact Abridgment of the Laws of VIRGINIA, in Force and Use, to this present time. By
John