as soon as the vessel arrived in Virginia, her master was handed notes for the delivery of one-third of her loading, these notes being honored at the rolling-houses where the tobacco was stored; when this part of the cargo had been taken on board, the planter was ready to give notes for the delivery of the second third, and so on until the whole amount had been stored in the ship. In many instances, doubtless, he was prepared to transfer the whole amount in one series of notes. In a case mentioned by Fitzhugh, he contracted to deliver ninety-two thousand pounds, one-third of which was to be obtained from his own estate, and the other two-thirds from rolling-houses in his vicinity. Ninety-two thousand pounds made up a cargo of two hundred hogsheads, which, according to the prices prevailing at that time, were worth seven hundred and seventy-six pounds sterling. One-half of this amount, Fitzhugh desired to be paid him in the form of merchandise suitable to the needs of the country.[1] In a letter to Captain Samuel Jefferson in 1685, he proposed to deliver fifty thousand pounds of tobacco, in return for which he was to receive goods amounting in value to three hundred and fifty-eight pounds sterling.
In the early history of the Colony, merchant planters in many instances had residences and storehouses at Jamestown while holding and cultivating large estates elsewhere; this was the case with John Chew, Arthur Bayley, and Edward Sanderson. Some at this period, on the other hand, lived on their plantations and kept
- ↑ See a somewhat similar instance in the Records of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 177, Va. State Library, illustrating the use made of notes in passing title to tobacco stored in warehouses.
