Papers : of the Mercer family, 1656-1869 (bulk 1740- 1845).

ArchivalResource

Papers : of the Mercer family, 1656-1869 (bulk 1740- 1845).

The bulk of this collection consists of letters of Virginia congressman John Francis Mercer plus his account book, 1804-1812, with slave lists for his Anne Arundel County, Md., plantation. Correspondents include William Short, John Tyler, and Bushrod Washington. Also contains correspondence, account books, and legal records of John Caile, tobacco merchant and clerk of Dorchester County, Md., in part concerning the Stamp Act; and an account book, 1731-1767, and miscellany of John Mercer, lawyer of Stafford County, Va. The collection also contains correspondence and accounts of Richard Sprigg (1739-1798) and Elizabeth Galloway Sprigg (1722-1789) of "West River," Anne Arundel County, Md. Correspondents include Carter Braxton and Richard Sprigg (1769?-1806) and topics covered include the Alien and Sedition Acts, the 1796 presidential election, and timber provided by Sprigg for the construction of a naval frigate. Also contains correspondence, primarily concerning Virginia, Maryland, and national politics and political figures (especially James Monroe) of James Mercer, lawyer and judge of Fredericksburg, Va.; Charles Fenton Mercer of Loudoun County, Va.; and John Mercer (1788-1848) of "Cedar Park," Anne Arundel County, Md.

569 items.

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7282759

Virginia Historical Society Library

Related Entities

There are 15 Entities related to this resource.

Mercer, John Francis, 1759-1821

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67x74js (person)

John Francis Mercer (May 17, 1759 – August 30, 1821) was an American lawyer, planter, and politician from Virginia and Maryland, who served as Maryland's 10th governor, as well as a member in the Continental Congress, the Virginia House of Delegates, the U.S. House of Representatives, and Maryland State Assembly. Born at Marlborough plantation in Stafford County in the Colony of Virginia, Mercer received his education at home from private teachers before attending the College of William and M...

Mercer, James, 1736-1793

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jj4c8z (person)

James Mercer (February 26, 1736 – October 31, 1793), was an American lawyer, military officer, planter, jurist, and politician. Born at his family's Marlborough plantation in Stafford County in the Colony of Virginia, Mercer received a private education suitable as well as access to his father's library, if not the best, then one of the best in the area. Mercer traveled to Williamsburg for higher education under prominent lawyer George Wythe and others, and graduated from the College of Willi...

Braxton, Carter, 1736-1797

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cs6kcd (person)

Carter Braxton (September 10, 1736 – October 10, 1797) was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, a merchant, planter, a Founding Father of the United States and a Virginia politician. A grandson of Robert "King" Carter, one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners and slaveholders in the Old Dominion, Braxton was active in Virginia's legislature for more than 25 years, generally allied with Landon Carter, Benjamin Harrison V, Edmund Pendleton and other conservative pla...

United States. Congress. House

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6r31sjr (corporateBody)

U.S. House of Representatives is the lower house of Congress. From the guide to the Subscription lists, 1870, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections) The first session of the Congress of the United States, under a resolution passed by the Congress of the Confederation, on September 13, 1788, was called to meet in New York City on March 4, 1789. On the appointed day only 13 Members of the House were present and, as this number did not constitute a quorum, the sessions...

Caile, John, 1720-1767.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gt9q7p (person)

Monroe, James, 1758-1831

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vv2g33 (person)

James Monroe, fifth president of the United States of America (b. April 28, 1758, Monroe Hall, Virginia-d. July 4, 1831, New York, New York) fought with distinction in the Continental Army, and he practiced law in Fredericksburg, Virginia. As a young politician, he joined the anti-Federalists in the Virginia Convention which ratified the Constitution, and in 1790, an advocate of Jeffersonian policies, he was elected United States Senator. As Minister to France in 1794-1796, Monroe showed strong ...

Mercer, John, 1704-1768

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63498zd (person)

Born in Dublin, Ireland, John Mercer came to Virginia in 1720 where he built the colonial estate Marlborough (also called Marlboro; at Marlborough Point on the Potomac River, in Stafford County). He was a leading Virginia attorney and lawyer to George Washington, as well as a colonial prosecutor for the King's court of Virginia. Mercer was also a founding member, secretary and general counsel of the Ohio Company of Virginia, a land speculating company that had George Washington as a member. ...

Mercer, Charles Fenton, 1778-1858

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qv3v64 (person)

U.S. representative from Virginia; president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company. From the description of Papers of Charles Fenton Mercer [manuscript], 1810-1856. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647891379 State legislator and U.S. representative from Virginia. From the description of Papers, 1816-1854. (New Jersey Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 70954784 Charles Fenton Mercer (1778-1858), was the son of James Mercer, j...

Sprigg, Richard, approximately 1769-1806

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hj0mmh (person)

Sprigg, Richard, 1739-1798.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65x37kb (person)

Richard Sprigg (1739-1798) was a wealthy planter whose home, "Strawberry Hill," was located in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Sprigg and his wife Margaret Caile had at least five daughters: Sophia, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Henrietta, and Margaret. Sophia (1766-1812) married John Francis Mercer (1759-1821), a Revolutionary War hero, a U.S. Congressman, and governor of Maryland. The Mercer's daughter Margaret (1791-1846) was an anti-slavery reformer and educator. From the description of Acc...

Tyler, John, 1790-1862

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sv8cp4 (person)

John Tyler (b. March 29, 1790, Charles City County, Virginia–d. January 18, 1862, Richmond, Virginia), was the tenth President of the United States (1841–1845) and the first to succeed to the office following the death of President William Henry Harrison....

Sprigg, Elizabeth Calloway, 1722-1789.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zp87xf (person)

Mercer family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6z12hmw (family)

Short, William, 1759-1849

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6g843pn (person)

William Short was born in Surry County, Virginia, in 1759, the son of William Short and Elizabeth (Skipwith) Short. He graduated in 1779 from the College of William and Mary where he had been one of the founders of Phi Beta Kappa. He acted as Thomas Jefferson's private secretary in Paris and as secretary of legation and charge d'affairs. He was minister to The Hague. He participated in negotiations of the Pinchney Treaty with Spain. Short died in 1849. From the guide to the William S...

Mercer, John, 1788-1848

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62z3dwv (person)