That Mercer was turning in the direction of a legal career is revealed in his first account of "Domestick Expenses" for the fall of 1725 (Appendix D). We find that he was attending court sessions far and wide: "Cash for Exp^s at Stafford & Spotsylvania," "Cash for Exp^s Urbanna," the same for "Court Ferrage at Keys." He already was reading in the law, and lent "March's Actions of Slander," "Washington's Abridgm^t of y^e Statutes," and "an Exposition of the Law Terms" to Mosley Battaley.
[54] William Rogers, who died in 1739, made earthenware and stoneware at Yorktown after 1711. See C. MALCOLM WATKINS and IVOR NOËL HUME, "The 'Poor Potter' of Yorktown" (paper 54 in _Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology_, U.S. National Museum Bulletin 249, by various authors; Washington: Smithsonian Institution), 1967.
Mercer's domestic-expense account is full of evidence that he was preparing to set up housekeeping. He bought "1 China punch bowl," 10s.; "6 glasses," 3s.; "1 box Iron & heaters," 2s. 6d.; "1 p^r fine blankets," 1s. 13d.; "Earthen ware," 10s.; "5 Candlesticks," 17s. 6d.; "1 Bed Cord," 2s.; "3 maple knives & forks," 2s.; "1 yew haft knife & fork & 1 p^r Stilds [steelyards?]," 1s. 10-1/2d.; "1 p^r Salisbury Scissors," 2s. 6d.; and "1 speckled knife & fork," 5d.
In addition, he accepted as payment for various cloth and materials sold to Mrs. Elizabeth Russell the following furniture and furnishings:
Ster. £ s. d. By a writing desk D^o 5 By a glass & Cover D^o 7 6 By 18^l Pewter at 1/4 D^o 1 4 By 6 tea Cups & Sawcers 2/ D^o 12 By 2 Chocolate Cups 1/ D^o 2 By 2 Custard Cups 9^d D^o 1 6 By 1 Tea Table painted with fruit D^o 14 By 6 leather Chairs @ 7/ 2 2 By a small walnut eating table 8 By 1/2 doz. Candlemoulds 10 By a Tea table 18 By a brass Chafing dish 5 By 6 copper tart pans 6
At the time of this purchase, the only house standing at Marlborough was that built by Thomas Ballard in 1708. It was inherited by his godson David Waugh,[55] who now apparently offered to let his niece Catherine and her new husband occupy it. Mercer later referred to it as "the House I lived in built by Ballard."[56] From his own records we know that he moved to Marlborough in 1726. He did so probably in the summer, since on June 11 he settled with Charles McClelland for "cleaning out y^e house." Unoccupied for years and small in size, it was a humble place in which to set up housekeeping, and indeed must have needed "cleaning out." It also must have needed extensive repairs, since Mercer purchased 1500 tenpenny nails "used about it."