Mercer, George, 1733-1784.

The Ohio Land Company of Virginia, organized by Thomas Lee, Lawrence Washington, George Fairfax and others, and later joined by John Mercer, George Mason, Robert Dinwiddie and others, petitioned the British government for a grant of 500,000 acres in the Ohio area between the mouth of the Monongahela and Kentucky rivers, including the area known as Kentucky. It fostered the exploration and settlement of Kentucky.

George Mason (1725-1792) was admitted to a full partnership in the newly formed Ohio Company on 21 June 1749. Mason succeeded Nathaniel Chapman as treasurer later that year, a position he held until his death. More biographical information on Mason is available in Pamela C. Copeland and Richard K. MacMaster, "The Five George Masons; Patriots and Planters of Virginia and Maryland" (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1975).

George Mercer (1733-1784), eldest surviving son John and Catherine Mason Mercer, Marlborough, Stafford County, Virginia, served in the French and Indian War under George Washington. He represented Frederick County in the House of Burgesses, 1761-65, present only for the 1761-63 session because he went to England as an agent of the Ohio Company during the reminder of his term. After a brief ten day return to America as distributor of stamps under the Stamp Act of 1765, Mercer returned to England. He married Mary Neville in 1767 at Scarborough, England. Lord Hillsborough appointed him Lieutenant-Governor of North Carolina, but he never served. For information on Mercer and the Ohio Company, see Alfred Procter James,"George Mercer of the Ohio Company; A Study in Frustration" (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1963).

James Mercer (1736-1793), third son of John and Catherine Mason Mercer, served in the French and Indian War. He represented Hampshire County, Virginia, in the House of Burgessess, 1762-76, was elected to the Committee of Safety in 1775, and was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1779. Mercer was appointed judge of the General Court in 1779 and Court of Appeals in 1789. In 1772, he married Eleanor Dick of Fredericksburg.

George Mercer (1733-1784), eldest surviving son of John and Catherine Mason Mercer, Marlborough, Stafford County, Virginia, served in the French and Indian War under George Washington. He represented Frederick County in the House of Burgesses, 1761-65, present only for the 1761-63 sessions because he went to England as an agent of the Ohio Company during the remainder of his term. After a brief ten day return to America as distributor of stamps under the Stamp Act of 1765, Mercer returned to England. He married Mary Neville in 1767 at Scarborough, England. Lord Hillsborough appointed him Lieutenant-Governor of North Carolina, but he never served.

James Mercer (1736-1793), third son of John and Catherine Mason Mercer, served in the French and Indian War. He represented Hampshire County, Virginia in the House of Burgesses, 1762-76, was elected to the Committee of Safety in 1775, and was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1779. Mercer was appointed judge of the General Court in 1779 and Court of Appeals in 1789. In 1772, he married Eleanor Dick of Fredericksburg.

Wills Hill (1718-1793), Lord Hillsborough, became secretary of state for the colonies in January 1768. For more biographical information, see the Dictionary of National Biography 9:878-80.