William Byrd II sent a letter to Micajah Perry [Jr., grandson of the Micajah Perry, Sr., who died in 1721], a trader/merchant/investor in London with whom Byrd worked. The letter was dated about 3 July 1728 and the first part is missing:
“[. . . .] over a fair sample by the next ships, and shall be sorry if it [meet] not as good a character as that which Col. Spotswood sent formerly. [The reference is probably to naval stores, particularly hemp].”
“ . . . Many here are runing mine-mad, which proceeds from a passion to grow rich very suddenly, as the South Sea phrenzy did with you, and tis well if the consequence don't prove the same. Our govern[or] is engaged with 4 other gentlemen in an iron-work but the distance they will have to transport their iron to water-carriage will eat out all their profit. Col. Spotswoods work is at a stand, all his cattel being dead, and his damm carryed away. I am sorry for his ill-success, but believe it will not mend ti[ll] he comes over himself to look after it. His mathematical relation I believe is taken up too much with the stars, to mind the business of this dirty [globe].”
“As for me, I intend to keep above ground as long as I can, and confine all my industry to the surface; and if hemp succeed, as I expect, I shall not envy the proprietors of the gold mines late discovered beyond the River Gerando [Shenandoah].”
Hugh Drysdale, governor after Spotswood, died 22 July 1726. William Gooch was not appointed governor until 13 October 1727. The reference by Byrd to "governor" in 1728 might well refer to Gooch. I am not sure where these iron works were. After the initial shipment of iron to England in 1723 by Spotswood, the trend of shipments to England was, with an exception of one year, increasing. Apparently, iron furnaces in Maryland and in Virginia, other than Spotswood's furnace, were responsible as Spotswood's furnace output ground to a halt while he was in England.
The "mathematical relation" referred to above was a cousin of Spotswood, who was a mathematics professor at William & Mary College. His personal interest seems to have been in astronomy, and he neglected to pay the proper attention to Spotswood's furnace with its attendant farms, slaves, water ways, dams, etc. Byrd says that all the cattle died and Spotswood later said that he lost 80(?) slaves.
Dodson, the prominent Twentieth Century biographer of Spotswood said that the iron works of Spotswood probably paid a better return to the children and grandchildren of Spotswood than to Spotswood himself.
(20 Sep 04)
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