To George Washington from Capel & Osgood Hanbury, 10 July 1764
From Capel & Osgood Hanbury
London July 10. 1764
Esteemd Friend
We wrote thee ⅌ Capt. Necks wth Accot Curt this now Covers the Sale of thy 12 Hds Tobacco ⅌ Lewis & 12 ⅌ Esten.1 we are sorry it clears no more the former was owing to the heavy Charges it came home under & the ⟨latter mutilated⟩ the Tobacco being much out of condition so that the Buyers for home Consumption would not meddle wth but one Hd. We assure thee that no Care or attention is wanting in us to make the most of thy Tobacco. It gives us concern that we are not favourd any part of thy Crops ⅌ Capt. Esten this year.2 hope for it ⅌ one of the latter Ships & if it turns out quite fine Tobacco it will give us an additional pleasure as it will then fetch a tollerable good price; midling & ordinary sells very low. In thy next please to advise if we shall debit D.P. Custis’s Estt. for the 14 Hds Tobo ⅌ the Joseph & ⟨give⟩ J.P. Custis Credit for it or if thee would have it stand to the Credit of the former as ⅌ Accot Currt sent.3 We are wth Esteem Thy Assurd Friends
C. & O. Hanbury
LS, ViHi: Custis Papers.
1. It is not clear whether Hanbury is alluding to this letter of 10 July or to an earlier one. The two shipments of John Parke Custis’s tobacco that he is referring to are the one in the America, John Lewis captain, in September 1762 and the other in the Hanbury, James Esten captain, in April 1763. There is a letter from Hanbury dated 29 July 1762, and on 26 April 1763 GW acknowledges receipt of a letter dated 1 Dec. 1762. The account current, dated December 1763, is in the Custis Papers. Robert Necks’s ship, the Fauquier, owned by Hanbury, entered the port of Hampton in Virginia on 14 May 1764.
2. After the settlement of Daniel Parke Custis’s estate, GW did not again send tobacco from his dower lands on the York to the Hanburys, but he continued to ship a part of John Parke Custis’s crop to them.
3. For his instructions with regard to crediting John Parke Custis with the tobacco in the Joseph, see GW’s letter to Hanbury of 26 April 1763. He repeated these in his letter of 20 Sept. 1765 in response to this letter.