[81] George Hoomes was a justice of Caroline County court. He was appointed in 1735, the same year in which John Mercer qualified to practice law at the same court. "Extracts from the Records of Caroline County," _VHM_ (Richmond, 1912), vol. 20, p. 203. [82] Probably Thomas Anderson (see p. 35 and footnote 93); William Gray was justice of New Kent County. [83] Joseph Selden's estate passed to his son Samuel, who married Mercer's eldest daughter, Sarah Ann Mason Mercer. See John Melville Jennings, ed., "Letters of James Mercer to John Francis Mercer," _VHM_ (Richmond, 1951), vol. 59, pp. 89-91. [84] Fredericksburg district-court papers, file 571, bundle F, nos. 36-43 (through George F. S. King, Fredericksburg); Stafford County Will Book, Liber Z, p. 383 (August 5, 1707). VEHICLES During the 1740's Mercer's travels were often by chaise or chariot. We learn from Ledger G that he bought "a fourwheel Chaise" from Charles Carter[85] in September 1744, a significant step in emulating the manners and ways of Virginia's established aristocrats. Three years later he purchased "a Sett of Chaisewheels" from Francis Hogans, a Caroline County wheelwright, and in June 1748 he discounted as an overcharge the cost of "a Chaise worth nothing" in his account with the English mercantile firm of Sydenham & Hodgson.[86] A "chaise" could have been one of several types of vehicles, but it was probably "a carriage for traveling, having a closed body and seated for one to three persons," according to Murray's _A New Oxford Dictionary_. [Illustration: Figure 7.--JOHN MERCER'S TOBACCO-CASK SYMBOLS, drawn in his Ledger G. The "home plantation" (Marlborough) is symbolized by the initial C, probably in honor of his wife Catherine. Sumner's quarters at Passapatanzy is indicated by S, and Bull Run quarters by B. (_Courtesy of Bucks County Historical Society._)] In 1749 Mercer bought a "chariot" from James Mills of Tappahannock for £80. Doubtless an elegant piece of equipage, this was, we learn from Murray, "a light four-wheeled carriage with only back seats, and differing from the post-chaise in having a coach-box." In November 1750 he paid John Simpson, a Fredericksburg wheelwright, 10 shillings for "wedging & hooping the Chariotwheels" and 9 shillings for "mending 3 fillys & 3 Spokes in D^o."[87] At the same time he bought a "p^r Cartwheels" for £2 and a "Tumbling Cart" for £1 6s. from Simpson. Murray tells us that a "tumble cart" or a "tumbril cart" was a dung cart, designed to dump the load. FOOTNOTES: