During the 1730's Mercer recorded a minimum of recreational activities.
Those that he did list are representative of the society of which he was
a part. Making wagers was a favorite amusement. For example, he was owed
£7 16s. by "Col^o George Braxton To a Wager you laid me at Cap^t Rob^t
Brooke's house before M^r James Reid, Will^m Brooke &c Six Guineas to
one that Col^o Spotswood would not during the Reign of K. George that
now is, procure a Commission as Chief or Lieu^t Gov^r of Virginia." In
1731 he paid William Brent "By a pistole won of me about Hedgman's
wrestling with and throwing Fra^s Dade. £1.1.12." He also paid £2 10s.
to James Markham "By [my] part on the Race on Stotham's horse." There
are other scattered references to wagers on horseraces.
Mercer had become a vestryman in Overwharton Parish as early as 1730,
and appears to have been made responsible for all legal matters
pertaining to that church. His account, shown in detail in Appendix G,
is of interest in showing that violations of moral law were held
accountable to the church and that fines for convictions were paid to
the church. Mercer, representing the parish, collected a portion of each
fine as his fee.
Most of his energies now seem to have been divided between the law and
the substantial responsibilities for managing his plantations. The
increasing extent of tobacco cultivation is revealed in the tobacco
account with "M^r Jonathan Foward, Merchant in London" (presumably John
Foward, mentioned earlier), extending from 1733 to 1743. This account
lists shipments of 129 hogsheads of tobacco, totaling £643 1s. 11d. (if
we include a few extraneous items, such as "To an over charge in Lemons"
and "To a Still charg'd never sent"). Several similar accounts involve
proceeds from tobacco. In 1734 and 1738, for example, he shipped 54
hogsheads to William Stevenson, another London merchant, for £207 7d. on
the ships _Triton_, _Snake_, _Brooks_, and _Elizabeth_.
[Illustration: Figure 6.--MOTHER-OF-PEARL COUNTERS, or "fish," used in
playing 18th-century games, including Loo, at which Mercer once won 7s.
3d. from Col. George Mason (III). These examples, collected in
Massachusetts, are probably late 18th century. (USNM 61.399.)]
Marlborough's full transition to a seat of tobacco-planting empire is
now clearly discernible. In so becoming, it was typical of the
consolidation of wealth, property, and power in Virginia as the
mid-century approached. Land had become both a substitute for tobacco in
lean years and the means for paying off debts. The same land in better
years yielded crops to its new owners, so that a relatively few dynamic
men were able to amass great wealth and form a ruling aristocracy. The
varieties of talents in men like Mercer--who, besides being a planter,
was an accomplished lawyer and able administrator--placed them in the
ascendancy over their less able fellows. The vigor and ability with
which such men were endowed fostered the remarkable class of leaders of
the succeeding generation, who had so much to do with founding the
nation.