USA > Georgia > Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, Volume 23 > Part 13
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A paper left for Col. Stephens by Gen. Oglethorpe.
A change in the manner of keeping accounts.
No marks of fraud found in Mr. Jones' accounts.
200
COLONIAL RECORDS
Wm. Stephens to Harman Verelst.
(according to Order) I hope 'twill come duly to answer the determinate time of the Trusts an- nual Acco': on the 9th of June.
Directions in regard to Mr. Wm. Atchison Finley.
Mr. Finley of good use to the Colony, ap- pointed constable.
20th Aug: This Letter enclosing only Coppy of your last; & some Directions relating to M' : Will": Atchison Finlay: I have nothing farther to say to, than that I receiv'd it not 'till the 19th Dec' : { Capt : Swaine; that M' Finlay is a Man well look'd on by us; & being some Years con- versant in the Indian Nations, has been fre- quently of good Use to the Publick : from which Confidence in him, he was appointed Constable, to assist in preserving the Peace in those parts, &c : & coming usually down, at the time when the Traders generally do, to renew their Licences; we got an Acco': of various Things fit to be en- quired into: & at his Request last Summer, he had a Permit granted him to be a Trader among the Rest; which will expire in a few Months; when (if he desires it) he may have a proper Licence; & I shall not be backward to give him dne Encouragement in what lies in my Way.
17th Sep. This Letter coming by Capt. Lemon in the Loyal Judith & consisting of various Or- ders & Directions : I have in my Journal from the Time of that Ships arrival, & during its Stay here, took Notice of great.part of it : but to leave none unobserv'd, I am now to revise it. The Box containing £1000 in Sola Bills, said to be sent ? Capt : Wright came safe to my Hands on the 4" of Sep': with Letters dated in April, the Ship not arriving till the latter End of Augt;
The safe arrival of a box con. taining 1000 £ in sola bliis.
CORRESPONDENCE
207
Wm. Stephens to Harman Verelst.
as ? Journal. By this Ship (Loyal Judith) I reed a Box containing £3000 more, agreeable to the Advice you sent me. The great Caution giv -. en me in the same Letter, relating to issuing Bills; is such, as I'll take the best Care I am able not to deviate from. Having wrote pretty fully above relating to this in Answer to yours of the 7th of Augt:, I conceive more cannot well be said of it at present; but it rests upon me to see those Regulations strickly observ'd as far as in me lies for the future. The Payment of Pro- visions instead of Money, to People of any Sort, whether Servants or others, has been left off, pursuant to Order, for several Months past: what Profit Mr Jones might make of it, I am an utter Stranger to, if he did; I must say of my- self, that I scorn such Gain: at the same time I know it to be true, that none of our People are more disappointed than those very Men that were most clamorous against it; having pretty well felt the Smart of paying above 20 9 Cent more, since those Orders were put into Execu- tion, than they then paid; by means of 2 or 3 private Stores who exact what they please : & sometimes (as now particularly) they have not Stock wherewith to furnish us with common Necessaries : which, have lately taken Notice of in my other Writings: for our trading Sloops from New York & elsewhere, now take another Course, & will not come for a Markett, where they must huckster out their Cargoes by piece meal, among those who are unable to buy those Commodities in Gross: whilst by the latest
The pay. ment of provisions instead of money left off.
Trading sloops from New York and else. where taking other courses.
208
COLONIAL RECORDS
Wm. Stephens to Harman Verelst.
Advices reed from Frederica, we are inform'd, that good Numbers of such Traders are now at S' Simons; where for that reason all Sorts of Provisions are bought at a very reasonable Price: which, I am very glad to hear; tho we suffer for it at Savannah.
What the Trustees are pleas'd to direct re- lating to Governour Glen, who has the Kings Instructions with him, for settling the Trade with the Indians on such a footing as may be for the future Benefit of each Province : Coppies of which Instructions, as sent to the Trustees & the late Governour Horsey (the present Gover- nours being to the same purpose) I have: to- gether with which, I have also recd a Plan to bring about that desired Effect. All due Regard shall be paid to it, when that Governour arrives : & he having promis'd likewise the Trustees to send me the Draught of the Act that he shall recommend to the Council & Assembly, pursu- ant to his Instructions, before it is pass'd, that if any Objections are to be made to it here, the same may be stated to him, whereof a Coppy of what shall occur to our Thoughts is to be sent, for the Perusal of the Honde. Trustees: And moreover the Governour having engaged not to pass such Act before the Trustees have con- sider'd it ; in order to their preparing an Act for the Kings Approbation in England, that the Acts may be alike in each Province: Coppy of the Draught of such Aet I am likewise to send to General Oglethorpe with our Observations thereon, that he may acquaint the Trustees with
Instructions from the King to Gov. Glen in regard to trading with the Indians.
209
CORRESPONDENCE
Wm. Stephens to Harman Vereist.
his Thoughts of it. All these Orders shall be a Rule for me to proceed by, when due time re- quires.
The Honour that the Trustees are pleas'd to do me, in appointing me Commissioner, equally with the General, for licensing the Traders with the Indians, & regulating that Trade; ought to be highly esteem'd: & I wish my best Endeavours (which shall not be wanting) may prove of good Service to the Colony. I am not vain enough to think, that whilst in many things I may save his Excellence the Trouble of em- ploying his Time & Thought about common & ordinary Proceedings; yet I can easily foresee that some may be found of greater Moment than I dare to determine, without entreating his Advice; especially if any Matters occur, wherein the Interests of those Indian Nations (who are very jealous) seem to clash. Concerning a Sec- retary to be employ'd by me in officiating there- in, whom at my Request, the Trustees will ap- point for that purpose; I beg leave to respite that, till my next; when I shall hope some thoughts I have yet in Embryo will ripen to a Proposition, which I may humbly offer to their Honours Consideration.
The Saltzburghers have all found their Lots provided where 'twas appointed, & are settled to their liking under M' Bolzins, M' Vigera re- solving to stay with them; but the Swiss & Ger- mans, whom in my Journal you'll find such a lamentable Acco': of; could not well joyn 'em,
Col. Steph- ens ap- pointed Commis-
sioner equal with the General for licensing the traders.
The Saltz. burghers settled and doing nicely.
The Swiss and Germans.
210
COLONIAL RECORDS
Wm. Stephens to Harman Verelst.
.
Mr. Bolzius designing a new plan of the town and of Ebenezer.
The Europa, with cargo unsuc- cessful.
because of the Straitness of Room betwixt Eb- enezer out Settlements & Abercorn; neither did either of them desire such a Neighbourhood (as is also set forth in my Journal) but most of those few that escaped Death, have been, at their own Request, settled adjoyning to some other German Families, Midway S. E. from Hampstead to the Confines of Vernon River; where they'll make a little Town alltogether. Those 3 or 4. Families yet remaining; whether thro' Weakness & Incapacity yet to labour I know not; dont shew much Inclination to be doing any thing in that Way : but the Season for clearing of Land being now near over; probably they may chuse to take Service for a while & get their Living so. The Boundaries, with a Plan of those new Settlements, which I have order'd to be made out shall be sent you : & M- Bolzius is designing an entire Plan of the Town & Township of Ebenezer, as well for the Use of the Trustees as his Friends in Germany. The Highlanders for Darien, & Recruits for the Gen- eral, came in good Health, & went hence in the like: so that the Europa, with her Cargoe of Swiss & Germans, was only unsuccessfull : which I was griev'd to see; & too sensible of the great Loss the Trust sustain'd thereby. Herewith I send a List of the Remains of those poor People surviving: among whom, very few (if any) miss'd a Taste of that raging Sickness, wherein so many of their Comrades dyed. Mess" Terry & Vigera have each been paid what was order'd them .-
CORRESPONDENCE
211
Wm. Stephens to Harman Verelst.
M' Orton from the Time of his Arrival, has behav'd unexceptionably well to all; & done the Duties of his Office with great Decorum & Dili- gence : but were he an Angel from Heaven; the Distractions about Religion, which our Method- ists have been so zealously fomenting, would stirr 'em up to oppose him; unless his Doctrine squared with those Enthusiastick & uncharit- able Notions, which they have imbibed. He may be assured of all the Assistance & Protection I can procure to support him through out; one Instance of it will be found in my Journal, to- wards the latter End of January : when I was glad to see such a ready Disposition (setting all other Differences aside) among most People, to shew their Abhorrence of such vile treatment. as he had met with from those Christians: (A Name which they affect to be called by, but allow it to none but themselves, as being most assuredly in the Number of the Elect.)-
M' Bosomworths Behaviour answers very well the Character you gave him; & he shall have no Cause of complaining that I am back- ward in shewing him due Regard. Give me leave to respite what I would say more on this Occasion, 'till my next ; when (as I have said in a Paragraph just before) I purpose to write a few Thoughts of mine, not foreign to this Mat- ter .-
The Box of Stationary Ware, fill'd with great Plenty, was very reasonable, & thankfully receiv'd: The Parcell in that Chest for M' Eyre
Mr. Orton very diligent.
Distractions about religion zealously fomented by Metho. dists.
Mr. Bosom- worth equal to recom. mendation given him by Trustees.
A box of stationery received.
212
COLONIAL RECORDS
Wm. Stephens to Harman Verelst.
Nichs. Rigbye formerly a servant to Col. Stephens.
I took Care to send him safe: & the Letter in it, with the Key of another Chest directed to me, proved to be for one Nich8: Rigbye a late Ser- vant of mine; who had it safe; & of whom I shall on another Occasion probably make farther mention .-
Additional allowances to the Presi. dent and assistants.
The several additional Allowances made payable to the President & Assistants, shall be duly observ'd; as will also what relates to M'. Terry.
Mrs. Ca- muse's acct.
Mrs. Camuses Acct: being already stated & sent ; I apprehend needs nothing more to be said of it here, than that the President & Assistants whom twas referr'd to, to examine the same; tho they thought the Ballance of £29 .. 6 .. 0, which she claim'd, appear'd pretty extraordi- nary; yet for divers Reasons, that need not be named; & to allay her Clamour as far as pos- sible (which was very outragious at that time) they thought it advisable to pay it; which I did accordingly ; giving my self Credit for it out of an hundred Pounds which I had by me, as Im- prest Money Order. When the proper Sea- son comes I'll take Care that such an Experi- ment be made in weighing the Silk Balls, as the Trust directs, & what else may occur to my Thoughts: (as indeed is highly necessary.)
Wm. Ewen's account.
Willm Ewens Acco': (referr'd likewise to that Board) the several times taken into Considera- tion, yet 'twas found to be contrived so labor- iously intricate, that they are under a Necessity of a little Delay, 'till some Things are farther clear'd up to their Satisfaction.
CORRESPONDENCE
213
Wm. Stephens to Harman Verelst.
20th: Sep': I cannot look into this Letter at any time, without great Concern, when I reflect on the Impossibility we were under of seeing those Orders fulfill'd which were expected to be so in 4 Days from the Delivery of the said Letter, & which was put into my Hands the same Evening, by Capt: Lemon himself, after his anchoring at Cockspur: Unluckily then we had Neip Tides; & our Pilot, who knows the Depth of Water perfectly well, durst not ven- ture yet in some Days coming, to bring the Ship up: wherefore nothing better could be done than what we did, in beginning to unload her where she was ; that seeing it impossible to prevent De- morage; we might save what we could in short- ening that Expence; which never theless must come on too fast; by our Want of Boats ; having one Petty agua only, that we could provide or come at; & a small Boat or two that we hired, insomuch that notwithstanding our utmost Toil, in not missing a Tide Day or Night when loaden, in return from the Ship, the Monthly Acco': in Dec' : will too soon shew what the Expence was. I would beg leave therefore to offer a few thoughts of mine on this Head: from whence I think we may with Confidence expect the same Grievance not likely to arise again: & first it is to be wish'd that the Master of any Ship so charter'd, would be engaged to begin reckoning the Time of his unloading not from the time of delivering his Letters, advising his Arrival; but from the time of his coming to an Anchor at Savannah Town; or if that cannot be effected,
Water not deep enough to allow ships to come up to town.
Incon- venience caused by want of boats.
214
COLONIAL RECORDS
Wm. Stephens to Harman Verelst.
Mr. Avery discovers a better channel up the Savan- nah River to the town.
that then instead of 4 Days, it should be twice 4 allow'd to unload him at Tybee, before Demor- age should commence : but what is of yet greator Moment; I have the Satisfaction to acquaint yon, that during the time of M' Averys being on his Survey lately; in sounding carefully the several Streams of Savannah River, he dis- cover'd a new & much better Channel up to the Town from the Mouth of it, than has been known yet: whereupon taking our Pilot by my Order along with him, they both agreed that any Ship which drew 18 foot water might come up with great Ease, & no Hazard: and the Pilot tells me that for the future lie shall use no other Channel for any Ship of great Burthen.
An account of pro- visions taken by Mr. Terry.
After both Ships were unloaden (whereon Capt. Wadham in Course must also be taken Notice of by & by) & Mr. Terry had taken an Acco': of Provisions so far, for the Behoof of M. Simpson, as he thought needfull; for as much as the New-come Saltzburghers, German Swiss, &c, would undoubtedly stand in Need of Provisions for their Money, after their being paid what was order'd 'em; & our Publick Stores being empty: it was thought advisable, that Mr. Terry, who was soon going for Fred- erica, should leave the Remains of those Pro- visions here for those Uses, whereof a full & particular Aceof. was taken, as well in Quantity as Valne. of each Species; for which I gave my Receipt, & lodged 'em in the Stores; from whence those People for whose Sakes they were laid up, have since in a great Measure been sup-
-
215
CORRESPONDENCE
Wm. Stephens to Harman Verelst.
ply'd; & a strict Acco': is kept of the Same; whereby no Detriment can accrue to M' Simp- son; I having made my self answerable to him for it, & none is parted with but for ready Money : & assoon as 'tis expended, he will have the Amount of the whole Value return'd him in Sola Bills : which I hope will be to his Satisfac- tion, & to the Displeasure of no Body: the In- tent of those Directions sent, being vertually, tho not literally observ'd.
Ditto. Your other Letter of this Date from Gravesend, I conceive requires nothing particu- larly to be said to it, the Substance being im- merged already ; & I hope the several Payments made, will be found agreeable to the Scheme I received.
3ª. Oct': In Answer to this Letter brought me ? Cap' : Wadham; I presume what is said in Relation to Capt Lemon may suffice here con- cerning the Time of this Ships being clear'd, & the unavoidable Demorage that we were subject to: which Expence, & the great Loss to the Trusts occasion'd by such a terrible Mortality; has been matter of much Grief to me; but who shall withstand the Dispensation of Providence? The Method taken in Behalf of Mr. Simpson (as before mention'd) I hope will be approv'd of; more especially since in this Letter I find Orders that in Case Mr. Terry should be gone to Fred- erica, I should take Care of those Provisions, & see them dispos'd of : in pursuance of which M. Simpson shall not fail of a full Acco': of all
Loss to the Trust oc. casioned by such a terrible mistake.
216
COLONIAL RECORDS
Wm. Stephens to Harman Verelst.
Mr. Louch made short stay and went South.
The poor unfortunate people who came over with Capt. Wadham.
A disagree- able story.
that remain'd with me as deliver'd me by M. Terry ; & Sola Bills shall be return'd in the man- ner you direct : M. Louch made very little Stay here after his Arrival, but made the best of his Way to the South: & W. Terry having ample Powers from M' Simpson to take Care of the Remains of Provisions in both Ships : by Virtue of that, I receiv'd what M' Terry deliver'd to my Charge, when he left us; & the Receipt I gave M' Terry will shew what that was; which with- out Doubt he has sent to M' Simpson, whereof I now send also a Coppy ; & hope in a little time to write him to his Satisfaction, so far as I am concern'd; which will be equally to mine. What remains farther of this Letter from you, to be taken notice of by me, is wholly relating to those poor unfortunate People who came with Capt. Wadham; of whom I have wrote so much al- ready in my late Journals ending with Dec"; that 'twould be of little Significance to dwell upon the same thing again : The Sums of Money paid them, was done in the Method directed as- soon as they call'd for it; but many of 'em dying before they could receive it, the Amount of the whole Payment as you'll find it in the Monthly Acco' for Decr, falls short of the Computation first made when they sail'd: as good Care as possible was taken to see those Payments duly vouched. Herewith I send a Paper describing in the best manner I could think of, the present State of those People that are left, where they are, what they are doing; & how many of 'em That sickness carri'd off: But this is so dis-
217
CORRESPONDENCE
Wm. Stephens to Harman Verelst.
agreeable a Story, that I am glad to be at the End of it .-
With this Letter that I have been now answer- ing, I had 2 more from you of the same Date (viz') 3ª Oct': which I conceive require little to be said to 'em: one of them informing me of the Receipt of the Packett I committed to the Care of Capt Thomson; &e. which I was very glad to hear, & was a welcome Paragraph. The other part of your said Letter, is chiefly relat- ing to the poor Swiss & Germans again, with divers Directions about them all which I hope have met with due Observance. M Louch I have already taken Notice of, & how little we know of him, by Reason of the Haste he was in, to get to Frederica. The last of those 3 Letters, was only to cover 2 enclos'd. after your Packett was seal'd (as you wrote) which I took proper Care of.
5th Oct": Antonio Sallis deliver'd me your Letter of this Date, with his Note enclosed; promising the Payment of £ 13 .. 2 .. 0 in the manner proposed: But he & his Family having been afflicted with Sickness almost ever since their Arrival, he has been hitherto a Charge up- on the Trust instead of a Benefit : tis to be hoped in good time he will be doing something to the purpose he came for, & work out the Debt .-
Ditto 5 Oct. One more of the same Date (5 Oct'.) I receiv'd from Mr. Simpson, whom hav- ing already mention'd, he'll be so good to ex- cuse me for not troubling him with a Letter for
Directions in regard to the Swiss and Germans.
Antonio Sallis and family afflicted with sickness.
218
COLONIAL RECORDS
WVm. Stephens to Harman Verelst.
Forms Sake only : & I hope in good time to write him, what he ought to expect, that those Effects of his committed to my Care, are converted into Sola Bills, & sent him.
Having thus far (I hope) wrote full Answers to all past Letters; I should in the next Place add a few Thoughts of my own, on various Oc- casions : but finding I have already run this to an uncommon Length, I chuse to defer that 'till my next, which I intend shall follow very soon. But M' Mathews having lately attack'd me in a manner that I little expected, in a Letter, as Notice is taken in my Journal of the 234 Jan ?: I must beg leave to add a few Words on that Occasion.
Upon his downright Assertion in his said Letter, of great Injury by me done him in rep- resenting Falshoods concerning him to the Trust : I have taken some Pains to find out what I have said of him: but whether I have over- look'd it or not; in all my Search I can't find such Things said as he alledges ; tho I have had Occasion too often to make use of his Name (not otherwise than he deserv'd) among others of the same Stamp. Hereupon I sent him word, by one of his Intimates, that if he was inform'd by the Person who told him this of me; about what time, or on what Occasion, I had so represented him; that I might find it (as I keep Coppies of all) I would readily meet him any where; & if I had said more than I could justify, I would ask Pardon : for that I thought 'twas equally consis-
An attack little ex- pected made on Col. Stephens by Mr. Ma. thews.
219
CORRESPONDENCE
Wm. Stephens to Harman Verelst.
tent with Honour & Justice to acknowledge an Errour, as to maintain Truth; but this Message he has taken no Notice of : wherefore it is pretty plain, that he purposes to exhibit some Com- plaint to the Trustees: wherein I must expect the Product of an inveterate Hatred against me, which is most notoriously apparent ; & the many abuses, with Billingsgate Language, that he has for years past been casting at me, among his dissolute Companions, evidently shew the Bit- terness of his Temper. To make as short of it as I can- This Man is so blown up with Pride, at his being Master of such a large Tract of Land, close adjoyning to the Town, which was at the first Settling of the Colony, left to the Possession of the Indians (& by what means 'twas made over to this Mans Wife & him by Tomo Chichi is well known) ; that together with the 500 Acres & a Cowpen, which he also holds a little way up the River ; he looks on himself as unquestionably the greatest Man in this Coun- try; & so he is most certainly far above all in Extent of Land; which he may vainly imagine gives him an equal Right to rule like an Indian Mico; & to submit to no Power in the Civil Oeconomy, that he has an Inclination to dispute -- But enough of that- To the Point in hand: if I have said any thing in Diminution of his planting; I conceive it ought to be understood at the time when the Scotch Club broke up; when he, and Williams, with others who had Planta- tions on the River, laid asside all Thoughts of planting (as the World knows) & that notable
Mr. Ma- thews master of large tract of land left to him and wife by Tomochichi.
Mr. Ma. thews, Mr. Williams with others neglecting planta- tions.
220
COLONIAL RECORDS
Wm. Stephens to Harman Verelst.
Remonstrance was cook'd up the same Year in Nov': 1740, subscrib'd by 63 Persons, whose Names I made a few Remarks on, which I sent lately to the Trust; & there I find this Mans Name with the Figure of Nought at the End of it; which possibly may admit of a little Amend- ent ; & I am content it may be alter'd to this ℮, which in that Paper is understood to signify a little more than t'other but I can by no means yield to give the Title of a Planter to a Man, who once could shew 30 or more Acres well cul- tivated; & after that, so far neglected, if not wholly dropt; that the very last Season, what little was planted on very few Acres, was so disregarded, as to be thought not worth gather- ing; neither did he (I am well assured) lay a Grain of it into his Grainery. It remains never- theless with me to do him Justice, in saying that this Year he seems to be making Preparation for putting Variety of Seed into the Ground (whether thro' Picque or not at me, for what he accuses me, I know not; but shall be glad to see him. in that Case, upon his Mettle) & 'tis also due to him to take notice, that he has this Year been building a large House at the Cowpen, that tis said will cost him several Hundreds of Pounds: which together with his other Expen- ces. he's welcome to send to the Trust if he pleases, as he says in his Letter; which I here- with send the Original of.
Mr. Ma. thews building a large house at the Cowpen.
I hope S' you'll not be offended that I make use of another hand- than my own, on this oc-
221
CORRESPONDENCE
Mr. Bolzius to Mr. Verelst.
casion; which helps to relieve an Old Man some- times, who professes himself
S Your very humble Servant
Will: Stephens.
.
To M' Harman Verelst
Accomptant to the Honble : the Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia.
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