1 a at home
2 b to M^r Moncure's & Fredericksburg Fair 15
3 c at the Fair
4 d to M^r Moncure's & home 15
5 e at home
6 F to M^{rs} Taliaferro's 17
7 g to Caroline Court h^o & George Hoomes's[81] 20
8 a to Newcastle 50
9 b to M^r Anderson's & M^r Gray's [82] 14
10 c to New Kent Courth^s & M^r Gray's 14
11 d to Furnau's & Williamsburg 17
12 e at Williamsburg
[He remained at Williamsburg until November 6.]
Such itineraries were punctuated by periods of staying at Marlborough,
but even then there were day-long journeys to Stafford courthouse, to
church, or to a survey. The courthouse, which succeeded that at
Marlborough, was situated on the south side of Potomac Creek, about
three miles upstream from the old site. Mercer almost invariably took
the 10-mile-long land route through the site of the present village of
Brook, along the Fredericksburg road past Potomac Church, then along the
headwaters of Potomac Run on a now-disused road leading to Belle Plains.
Just before reaching the courthouse, which stood on a rise of land some
distance back from the creek, he passed "Salvington," the mansion of
Joseph Selden.[83] Near the water, and in sight of the courthouse, stood
the house of John Cave, whose grandfather in 1707 had bought his land
from Sampson Darrell, undertaker of the Marlborough courthouse.[84] Near
it, on a foundation still visible, Cave built the warehouse that bore
his name, and through him passed much of the tobacco that Mercer raised
locally. Occasionally, when he had business to do at Cave's, Mercer
would return home by water, as he did on August 14, 1746:
to Stafford Court & M^r Cave's 11
home by water 5