During the 1740's Mercer's first four surviving children, George, John
Fenton, James, and Sarah Ann Mason Mercer,[91] were growing up, and the
accounts are scattered through with items pertaining to their care and
upbringing. There are delightful little hints of Mercer's role as the
affectionate father. On May 17, 1743, "By Sundry Toys" appears in
Hunter's account; an item of "1 horses 1^d" in Dick's account for 1745
was undoubtedly a toy. Most charming of all the entries in the latter
account is "1 Coach in a box 6^d. 4 Toys. 8^d, 2 Singing birds." The
birds may have occupied a birdcage and stand bought from George Rock,
the account for which was settled a year later.
[Illustration: Figure 10.--MERCER LISTED A HORNBOOK in his General
Account in 1743. It probably resembled this typical hornbook in the
collection of Mrs. Arthur M. Greenwood.]
"1 french horn" and "3 trumpets" are listed in the Dick account. The
horn was probably used in hunting; the three trumpets were bought
perhaps for the three boys. Mercer's library contained one book of music
entitled _The Musical Miscellany_, which may have furnished the scores
for a boyish trio of trumpets. Music and dancing were a part of the life
at Marlborough, and in 1745 an entry under "General Charges" reads "To
DeKeyser for a years dancing four children £16," while in the following
year ninepence was paid William Allan "for his Fidler." In 1747 "Fiddle
strings" were bought from Fielding Lewis in Fredericksburg for 2s.
4-1/2d.
From the ledger we also learn much about the children's clothing:
child's mittens and child's shoes, boy's pumps, boy's shoes, girl's
shoes, boy's collared lamb gloves, two pairs of "girl's clock'd
Stocking," "2 p^r large boys Shoes 6^l 2 p^r smaller 5/ ... 1 p^r girls
22^d, 1 p^r smaller 20^d," boy's gloves, and "Making a vest and breeches
for George" in October 1745. In 1748 Captain Wilson brought from England
"a Wig for George," worth 12 shillings. George then had reached the age
of 15 and young manhood. Hugh MacLane, the Stafford tailor, was employed
to make clothes for the three boys--a suit for George, and a suit, vest,
coat, and breeches each for James and John.
That the children were educated according to time-honored methods is
revealed in the "General Expenses" account for May 1743, where "1
hornbook 3^d" is entered. The hornbook was an ancient instructional
device consisting of a paddle-shaped piece of wood with the alphabet and
the Lord's Prayer printed or otherwise lettered on paper that was glued
to the wood and covered for protection with thin sheets of transparent
horn. Elaborate examples sometimes were covered with tooled leather, or
were made of ivory, silver, or pewter. The mention of hornbooks in
colonial records is a great rarity, although they were commonplace in
England until about 1800.
The Mercer children were taught by private tutors. One, evidently
engaged in England, was the Reverend John Phipps, who was paid a salary
of £100 annually and, presumably, his board and lodging. Mercer noted in
his journal on November 18, 1746, that "Mr Phipps came to Virginia."
That Mr. Phipps left something to be desired was revealed years later in
the letter written in 1768 by John to George Mercer, who was then in
England, asking him to find a tutor for his younger children: "... the
person you engage may not pretend, as M^r Phipps did that tho' he
undertook to instruct my children he intended boys only, & I or my wife
might teach the girls. As I have mentioned M^r Phipps, it must remind
you that a tutor's good nature & agreeable temper are absolutely
necessary both for his own ease & that of the whole family."[92]
In 1750 George entered the College of William and Mary. He had a room at
William Dering's house, and the account of "Son's Maintenance at
Williamsburg" provides an interesting picture of a well-to-do
college-boy's expenses, chargeable to his father. Such items as "To Cash
p^d for Lottery Tickets" (£7 10s. 6d.), "To Covington the Dancing Master
... 2.3," "To W^m Thomson for Taylor's work" (£1 9s. 6d.), "To p^d for
Washing" (£1 1s.), and "To Books for sundrys" (£22 4s. 7-1/2d.) show a
variety of obligations comparable to those sometimes encountered on a
modern campus. The entire account appears in Appendix J.