In addition to fine imported materials, there were needed blankets, work
clothes for slaves, and fabrics for other practical purposes. To these
ends Mercer employed several weavers in various parts of Virginia. In
1747 William Threlkeld wove 109 yards of woolen cloth at fourpence a
yard. During that year and the next, John Booth of King George County
wove an indeterminate amount for a total of £2 4d. In 1748 John
Fitzpatrick wove 480 yards of cotton at fourpence a yard, and William
Mills wove 30 yards of "cloath." Much of the work appears to have been
done in payment for legal services.
Weaving and spinning evidently were done at Marlborough, as they were at
most plantations. In 1744 Mercer recorded under "General Charges" that
he had sold a loom to Joseph Foxhall. In 1746 he bought a spinning wheel
from Captain Wilson of Whitehaven, England, purchasing three more from
him in 1748. Wool cards also appear in the accounts. In January 1748
Mercer charged William Mills with "3 months Hire of Thuanus the Weaver,
£3," which suggests that Thuanus was an indentured white servant (his
name does not occur on the list of slaves) employed at Marlborough and
hired out to Mills, a Stafford County weaver.