Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

26 July 1806 Letter. Philip Nelson to Mann Page, Gloucester Court House.
CWF Rockefeller Library, Special Collections - SCMS 1931.8

I read your letter of the 31^st May
some time ago, but being very busy with our har-
-vest & meadows I did not see Col^o Burwell for some
time & since I have deferd ^answering it supposing it not ^to be a
matter of consequence when I wrote and did not
suppose you wou'd accept of the Col^os proposals.

With respect to the corn Col^o Burwell
knows nothing of it except what information he
rec'd from [illegible], two of whose letters I have
seen & in both he insists upon 30/ as the price of
it. I therefore think you had better see him
& talk the matter over with him; perhaps you
can place the business in such a light as to convince
Bryant of the impropriety of paying such a price
for the [rubbing] & then the business may easily be settled

Col^o Burwell is willing to purchase the claim
which you have under my grandmothers will &
which is payable out of the trust Estate which he
has in his hands, that is the Bull run, Bull
field & Green sea estate

These funds together will pay something over [illegible] in
in the pound after deducting £10,000 or near it paid on
account of Hanbury's mortgage upon the Bull run Estate
of this 8/ my mother has 1/3 during her life and you have
rec^d 1/5 in the pound upon your claim & as Col^o
Burwell supposes you mean to sell your claim without
any recourse ^to you, in case of any loss upon the [E]states
as the money will probably be several years comeing
in, he can not give more than 4/ in the p[oun]d for
whatever may be due you. this calculation is
made upon the claims as they were given in, in the
[ye]ar 1795 includes also the whole of the rents received
heretofore your Idea of the claims increasing in
value as they remain longer unpaid, is not altogether
correct, [as] the Estate is not equal to the payments
of the debts & there is very little comeing ⁱⁿ yearly; not
half enough to pay the yearly Interest. As to some
others receiving [illegible] in the pound last year & are
getting only 1/5 this was in consequence of the pur-
-chasers refusing to pay up for the [lands] purchased by them; under the Idea that M^r Burwell cou'd
not make a good title to the Estate & these [illegible] still
find out excuses for not paying, & as they say by advice of
good Lawyers — Col^o Burwell was not informed that [the]
gentl^m wou'd not pay the money at the time he paid the
2/6 in the pound, there are many others in the same
situation with us, who will receive their Just proportion
before the others receive any thing more & as soon as
money is receiv'd from the Estate. As Col^o Burwell had
anything to do with the money in Andrews [&c] hands I
said nothing to him upon the subject. Saunders &
Jameson ought to attend to that business
& to [illegible] old Ca[sey's] Estate refused
what he rec'd above his just proporti
on & the money which the Col^o & Tom
recd their Estates are liable for — What money I have
recd has been divided between nine of us, & shall go on
to pay in the same way, until we receive as much as
the Col^o & Tom have recd before they are paid any more

You can make your calculations upon the
value of your claim & decide for yourself, & then if you
are inclined to [treat] with the Col^o write me upon what
terms & I can do everything in my power for you [Franks]
claim if he chooses it may be settled in the same way

We are all well here & crops good except oatt & the dam-
-age of the worms which has been very great to me I believe 25 or 30 [per cent] upon the [illegible] light [illegible]
f[ine] some part of it I [hope] [illegible] [ten] barrel [illegible] if the rain continues —
I should like to come down & take some of your prawn this fall
but matters will not [answer]; save us a few until winter I am
looking for you every day as I hear you talk of comeing up
let us know ^½ I will send any where to meet you & pull you over
the mountain as your horses are not us'd to such work. We can
pull you out of the [rubbing] as well as over the mountain if necessary

Mann Page Esq^r
Gloster [C] House
Virginia

In the foregoing estimate there is very little reckond for the Green [sea]
property, as he knew nothing of the value of it or whether it was of
any value at all; perhaps you can get some information upon
the subject. Our best love to all of you on both sides [the
water] And Am Dear Mann

I'll give you some good mutton if you'l
come up [illegible]tons first