£ s. d. 2 p^r men's Shooes 9 1 Razor & penknife 2 6 2-1/4 gall Rum 6 9 9 gals. molasses 13 12^1 brown Sugar 6 6-1/4 double refined D^o 20^d 10 5 1 felt hat 2 4 1 q^t Limejuice 1 2 doz. Claret 1 10 2 lanthorns 6 1 funnell 7-1/2 1 quart & 1 pint tin pot 1 10-1/2 * * * By 2 doz & 8 bottles Claret 2 8 By a woman's horsewhip 3 By 1^{oz} Gunpowder By 10^l Shot By 1 wom^s bound felt [hat] Mercer's comments, added three years later to this record, signify the complexities of credit accounting in the plantation economy: "In July 1729 I settled Accounts w^{th} M^r M^cFarlane & paid him off & at the same time having Ed Barry's note on him for 1412^l Tob^o (his goods being extravagantly dear) I paid him 1450^l Tob^o to M^r Thos Smith to ball^{ns} accts." Another of Mercer's accounts was with Edward Simm. From Simm, Mercer acquired the following in 1726: £ s. d. 1 horsewhip 4 1 fine hat 12 9 y^{ds} bedtick 3/4 1 10 1 p^r Spurs 8 1 Curry Comb & brush 2 9 2 p^r mens Shooes 5/ 10 1 p^r Chelloes 1 10 2 p^r wom^s gloves 2/ 4 2 p^r D^o thread hose 9 2 p^r mens worsted d^o 8 2 p^r ch^{kr} yarn 3 4 1 Sifter 2 1 frying pan 4 6 7 quire of paper 1-1/4 9 8 6 silk Laces 4^d 2 FOOTNOTES: [55] John Mercer's Land Book, loc. cit. (footnote 12). [56] Petition of John Mercer, loc. cit. (footnote 17). ACQUIRING LAND AND BUILDING A NEW HOUSE Mercer's first actual ownership of property came as a result of his marriage. In 1725 he purchased from his wife Catherine 885 acres of land near Potomac Church for £221 5s. and another tract of 1610 acres on Potomac Run for £322.[57] His occupancy of the Ballard house, meanwhile, was arranged on a most informal basis, three years having been allowed to pass before he paid his first and only rent--a total of 12 shillings--to his uncle-in-law David Waugh.