 | Berkeley papers |  |
My dear son Francis. Yrs of 3d is at hand & we are glad you are
safe at Home, & all well. I hope & pray that the Good Lord will
continue to smile upon you.
I did not remain at Culpeper, but on the morning after
you left we started on our return. I found that Mr. S. Bradford
had made arrangements to buy & was anxious to have the farm. I considered
that should I remain to the sale, I should in the excitement
of bidding pay more for the farm than my cooler judgement w.d
approve. When I have an object in view I am not apt to knock under
to any man & therefore thought more prudent to withdraw.
We are lonesome here on acct of the absence of Mary & you.
We hope you are getting on finely. I regret to hear by Marys letter
that she is indisposed. The first thing you do, after dedicating
yr new home to the daily acknowledgement of God, is to provide yrself
with a good Bath, & you & Mary take it every morning. You will
become fond of it.
So yr wish is gratified in my failure to get Afton & you
now insist upon getting Morven (Mr. Higginbothams farm). It is a
large farm, 12 to 13 hundred acres at 20$ is 24 to 26 thousand dollars,
in 4 equal annual payments 6000 to 6500 pr An. & Int. if at
6500 the 1st w.d be 6890$ 2d 7280$ 3d 7670$ 4th 8060$ in all
$29,900. The farm at a cost of 26000$ w.d be equal to an annual Int
of $1560, to which must be added taxes say 80 to 100$ rep.rs 150-so
that it should rent for about 2000$ pr An. to pay even a reasonable
dividend. Will it do that? If it is good land, a little over
the average of Va. land in the Piedmont region, it ought to do it,
& 75 pr ct over that.
I suppose that a reasonable time will be given for a resale,
in the mean time see the parties & ascertain if the 20$ at
which it was bid in will buy it, & whether a contract could be made
to take the farm about the 1st of March, from which date to make
the payments, when possession w.d be required in time for spring
crops, or when if sold at Pub. sale it will take place. Then I
want you to make a thorough & strict examination of the whole premises,
& be able to give me answers to the following queries, so
that I may determine whether it w.d be worth while for me to come
out again.
Discribe the various buildings, size & condition & materials
in few words.
1. What has been the average yield of wheat for 5 yrs or
10 yrs past pr acre & in agregate? Do of corn etc etc2. What is the shape of tract. How wood land located.
3. No. of fields & sizes, condition of fences.
4. Kind of timber, quality & quantity, any locust on the
farm? Chesnut, oak, pine, what proportions5. Water for House, dairy & bathing purposes. How convenient,
& quantity. Do. for Stock how fields supplied
Is it pure & wholesome?6. What sort of stone predominates over the soil. Rock?
is there much for fencing? & has it been used for the
purpose on the farm?7. What proportion is up land & what low land or flat as
they call it in that county. N.B. The low land is I
understood of very inferior quality.8. What the condition of the fields? are they in grass?
if so what sort? & how covered? is it good grazing
land? What sort of sheep pasture w.d it afford. is it
kind for Blue grass? this is important. I should expect
to graze 500 to 1000 sheep on such a farm, could it be
done?9. What is the character of neighborhood? what convenience
for churches, schoold, mills etc.10. Garden, Orchard & other fruit
11. Any limestone upon it or near it? what quantity of
meadow & meadow land. if meadow how sett & what sort
of grass.
& any other matter relevant to this inquiry. If the farm is too
large could a portion be sold readily?
These are particular inquiries, very, but necessary. You
can list them off on a seperate paper & in one days examination c
could answer them. In all these preliminaries of business I shall
always consider myself as under the direction of Him whom I delight
to acknowledge in all my ways, & if it is His will that this
enterprize shall prosper & redound to my happiness & the benefit
of my children, & should it succeed, I shall feel that is of my
Makers bounty to me an unworthy son. God created nothing independent
of himself, & it is His will that his creatures should always
feel & acknowledge their dependence upon Him. I believe that you
have been raised to the elevated position you now occupy for the
purpose of glorifying Him, by doing good. You have had a moral &
virtuous training & received blessings unspeakably great from Him
in yr conversion. Take my advice & join His church & promote His
work upon the earth. Take the example of yr Uncle Edward for faithfulness
to the church & love to God. You will be sustained in all
positions in which you may be placed by His providence. He has
promised to direct our paths if we acknowledge him in all our ways
& the blessed Saviour said Seek first the Kingdom of God & His
righteousness & all other things shall be added. Cleave close to
your best Friend & Benefactor. Call on Him in your family daily.
Establish his worship in yr house by erecting a family altar. The
great lesson taught in the bible is our dependence upon God, & the
great duty inculcated is to love Him supremely. Lay down yr rules
for all after life & let yr duties to God be prominent. Wishing
you & Mary all health & happiness, I am yrs with increasing
affection
respects to Dr. H's family & Rev.d Mr. Broadus & Lady.
Sept. 10. Since sealing the envelope I rec.d yrs by Culpeper & as you
seem so anxious, try & get a delay of the sale untill I hear from you
again, & have time to get amt. if advisable. In this letter you say 900
acres can be had, does that include the buildings? if you can get the
delay examine well as I requested in the enclosed letter & let me hear
soon. The time (March) mentioned would suit me best. See that the land is
of good quality. I dont want a poor farm. I could sell out here during
the winter.
| Goshen | 10,000 |
| Bd. Run | 7,000 |
| Leesburg | 3,500 |
| Store | 5,000 |
| Bonds | 12,000 |
| 37,500 |
in 2 or 3 yrs.
| Berkeley papers | |