John Mercer (colonial lawyer)

John Mercer (February 6, 1704 - October 14, 1768) colonial American lawyer, land speculator, and author.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, he came to Virginia in 1720 [ [http://www.bookrags.com/biography/john-mercer-dlb/ John Mercer Biography | Dictionary of Literary Biography ] ] where he built the colonial estate Marlborough (also called Marlboro; at Marlborough Point on the Potomac River, in Stafford County). He was a leading Virginia attorney and lawyer to George Washington [ [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/mtjser8.html American Memory from the Library of Congress - Browse by ] ] , as well as a colonial prosecutor for the King's court of Virginia [ [http://www.newrivernotes.com/va/oran1.htm A History of Orange County, Virginia by W. W. Scott ] ] .

He authored "Dinwiddianae" (4 November 1754-3 May 1757; also known as "The Dinwiddianae Poems and Prose"), "Abridgement of the Public Acts" (1737; also "An Exact Abridgment of the Public Acts of the Assembly of Virginia") [ [http://www.answers.com/topic/john-mercer-author-1 John Mercer: Information and Much More from Answers.com ] ] , "First Code of Virginia Laws" (1759) [ [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v039/n4/contrib_DIVL3488_print.html Texas State Historical Association - Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online ] ] , and "Abridgment of Virginia Laws" (“Mercer's Abridgement of the Laws of Virginia”). Mercer was also a founding member, secretary and general counsel of the Ohio Company of Virginia, a land speculating company that had George Washington as a member. His private library consisted of between 1500 and 1800 volumes [ [http://www.ilab.org/db/books1809_7.html Antiquarian Books :: ILAB-LILA :: International League of Antiquarian Booksellers ] ] [ [http://www.newrivernotes.com/va/brock.htm "The Colonial Virginian" ] ] . Did legal work for George Washington land deals as a down payment as a partner, died owing Washington the balance of partnership [ [http://www.pbs.org/georgewashington/collection/pre-pres_1789mar18.html Rediscovering George Washington . Letter to James Mercer, March 18, 1789 | PBS ] ] . His heirs deeded 790 acres (just west of the present day intersection of South Four Mile Run Drive and South Walter Reed Drive in Arlington County, Virginia) to Washington in payment [ [http://www.walkarlington.com/go/gwforest.html WALKArlington: Go for a Walk ] ] .

Family

Married Catherine Mason (June 21, 1707-June 15, 1750) on June 10, 1725. Married again, after the death of his first wife, to Ann Roy (17??-1770), on November 10, 1750 [ [http://www.rootsweb.com/~vastaffo/johnmercer.htm John Mercer ] ] . He had several children (at least 11), many of which (5) died during childhood [ [http://gunstonhall.org/masonweb/p45.htm Descendants of George Mason, 1629-1686 - Person Page 45 ] ] . Three sons lived to become prominent in Eighteenth Century America:

* George Mercer (1733-1784), surveyor, military officer, and politician from Virginia.

* James Mercer (1736–1793), judge, lawyer, and jurist who served as a delegate for Virginia to the Continental Congress in 1779.

* John Francis Mercer (1759–1821), Captain of the 3rd Virginia during the Revolutionary War, Anti-Federalist at the Constitutional Convention, and Governor of Maryland, 1801-03.

Uncle by marriage to George Mason, became Mason's legal guardian, along with Mason's mother. Mason studied in Mercer's private library. The Mercer Library at the Prince William Campus of George Mason University is named in his honor [ [http://library.gmu.edu/libinfo/spring04.pdf FullText0304 copy 1 ] ] [ [http://library.gmu.edu/libinfo/pwl.html Mercer Library ] ] .

Grandfather of General George Mercer Brooke [ [http://www.historypoint.org/columns2.asp?column_id=1390&column_type=dispatch HistoryPoint.org: Dispatches ] ] . Also grandfather of Charles Fenton Mercer (1778-1858; son of James).

References