Negroes played an increasingly important part in the life of
Marlborough, particularly after the manor house was built. Between 1731
and 1750 Mercer purchased 89 Negroes. Most of these are listed by name
in the ledger accounts. Forty-six died in this period, while 25 were
born, leaving a total of 66 Negroes on his staff in 1750. In 1746 he
bought 6 men and 14 women at £21 10s. from Harmer & King in
Williamsburg. The new house and the expanded needs for service were
perhaps the reasons for this largest single purchase of slaves.
There is no indication that Mercer treated his slaves other than well,
or that they caused him any serious difficulties. On the other hand, his
frequent reference to them by name, the recording of their children's
names and birth dates in his ledger, and the mention in his journal of
new births among his slave population all attest to an essentially
paternalistic attitude that was characteristic of most Virginia planters
during the 18th century. Good physical care of the Negroes was motivated
perhaps as much by self-interest in protecting an investment as by
humane considerations, but, nonetheless, we find such items in the
ledger as "To Cash p^d Doctor Lynn for delivering Deborah."
That discipline served for the Negroes as it usually did for all
colonials, whether the lawbreaker were slave, bondsman, or free citizen,
is indicated by an entry in the Dick account: "2 thongs w^{th} Silk
lashes 1/3." One must bear in mind that corporal punishment was accepted
universally in the 18th century. Its application to slaves, however,
usually was left to the discretion of the slave owner, so that the
restraint with which it was administered depended largely upon the
humanity and wisdom of the master.
The use of the lash was more often than not delegated to the overseer,
who was hired to run, or help run, the plantation. It was the overseer
who had a direct interest in eliciting production from the field hands;
a sadistic overseer, therefore, might create a hell for the slaves under
him. It is clear from Mercer's records that some of his overseers caused
problems for him and that at least one was a brutal man. For October
1747 a chilling entry appears in the account of William Graham, an
overseer at Bull Run Quarters: "To Negroes for one you made hang
himself. £35." Entered in the "Negroes" account, it reappears, somewhat
differently: "To William Graham for Frank (Hanged) £35 Sterling. £50.
15." This is one of several instances on record of Negroes driven to
suicide as the only alternative to enduring cruelties.[103] In this
case, Graham was fined 50 shillings and 1293 pounds of tobacco.
We do not know, of course, whether other Negroes listed as dead in
Mercer's account died of natural causes or whether cruel treatment
contributed to their deaths. In the case of a homesick Negro named Joe,
who ran away for the third time in 1745, Mercer seems reluctantly to
have resorted to an offer of reward and an appeal to the law. Even so,
he declined to place all the blame on Joe. Joe had been "Coachman to
Mr. Belfield of Richmond County" and in the reward offer Mercer states
that Joe
... was for some time after he first ran away lurking about the
Widow Belfield's Plantation.... He is a short, well-set Fellow,
about 26 Years of Age, and took with him several cloaths, among the
rest a Suit of Blue, lined and faced with Red, with White Metal
Buttons, Whoever will secure and bring home the said Negroe, shall
receive Two Pistoles Reward, besides what the Law allows: And as I
have a great Reason to believe, that he is privately encouraged to
run away, and then harboured and concealed, so that the Person or
Persons so harbouring him may be thereof convicted, I will pay to
such Discoverer Ten Pistoles upon Conviction. This being the third
Trip he has made since I bought him in _January_ last, I desire he
may receive such Correction in his Way home as the Law directs,
when apprehended.[104]
Whether Joe received the harsh punishment his offense called for is not
recorded. However, in 1748 Mercer accounted for cash paid for "Joe's
Lodging & burial £3. 10.," suggesting that Joe enjoyed death-bed care
and a decent burial, even though he may have succumbed to "such
correction ... as the law directs."
As has already been suggested, his overseers seem to have given Mercer
more trouble than his slaves. One was Booth Jones of Stafford, about
whom Mercer confided in his ledger, "By allowed him as Overseer tho he
ran away about 5 weeks before his time was out by w^{ch} I suffered more
damage than his whole wages. £3. 11." Meanwhile, in 1746 William
Wheeland, an overseer at Bull Run Quarters, "imbezilled" 40 barrels of
corn.
James Savage was one of the principal overseers and seems to have been
in charge first at Sumner's Quarters and then at Bull Run Quarters. John
Ferguson succeeded him at the former place. William Torbutt was also at
Bull Run, while Mark Canton and Nicholas Seward were overseers at
Marlborough.
The outfitting of slaves with proper clothes, blankets, and coats was an
important matter. It called for such purchases as 121 ells of
"ozenbrigs" from Hunter in 1742. "Ozenbrigs" was a coarse cloth of a
type made originally in Oznabruck, Germany,[105] and was traditionally
the Negro field hand's raiment. Many purchases of indigo point to the
dying of "Virginia" cloth, woven either on the plantation or by the
weavers mentioned earlier. Presumably, shoes for the Negroes were made
at Marlborough, judging from a purchase from Dick of 3-1/4 pounds of
shoe thread. The domestic servants were liveried, at least after the
mansion was occupied. William Thomson, a Fredericksburg tailor, made "a
Coat & Breeches [for] Bob, 11/." Bob was apparently Mercer's personal
manservant, who had served him since 1732. Thomson also was paid £4 16s.
2d. for "Making Liveries." The listing of such materials as "scarlet
duffel" and "scarlet buttons" points to colorful outfitting of slaves.