George Mercer's first wife
- jimmoyer1
- 2 hours ago
- 8 min read
This guy is not viral. He has a small audience. If he had a podcast he'd get no ratings. This is George Mercer. He's one of those guys who could have been a contender. He could've been Somebody.
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He's in the hidden 2nd tier. He's an example of what is near all our world leaders.
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Right now I'm tracking down his first wife. His daughter by this marriage was crippled. His first wife might have had a thing for Colonel William Byrd III.
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Our reenactor group portrays him as our Captain. He was aid de camp to Colonel George Washington of the 1st VA Regiment 1755 to 1757
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He became Lt Colonel to Colonel Byrd's 2nd VA Regiment 1758 to Dec 1 1758.
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This image shows our man in a uniform probably around the time of his being temporary commander of Fort Pitt.
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The tidewater Virginians were never big on controlling and capturing western lands --- a land they called the "Backcountry" until towards the end of the Rev War, which is one of the reasons Virginia never held on to its claims on the Ohio Country and the 3 Rivers area of today's Pittsburgh.
About this picture
This image shows our man in a uniform probably around the time of his being temporary commander of Fort Pitt.
A few years back this portrait was in the wikipedia article but now no longer. Also a simple google search in images no longer finds this portrait. Trying to find independent verification on this portrait, other than from Fred Anderson's "Washington Remembers" book stating it is held by the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond.
A portrait of George Mercer is listed within the collections of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture (formerly the Virginia Historical Society) in Richmond, Virginia.
The museum's online search results indicate an "Image" associated with George Mercer's account of the Stamp Act in Virginia, which could refer to a portrait. Additionally, their collection includes folders containing photographs and portraits of various individuals, including those with names ranging from McAdams to Myers.
It is important to note that the search results do not explicitly confirm that a portrait of George Mercer is currently on display at the museum. It could be held in their archives or accessible through their research library.
For more specific information regarding the portrait and its accessibility, it is recommended to contact the Virginia Museum of History & Culture directly. You can reach them at +1 804-340-1800.
Source is from Google AI mode to question "george mercer portrait held by Virginia Historical Society in Richmond"
About George Mercer's first wife:
Mary Neville Mercer
We have references about George Mercer's first wife.
Lt Gov Francis Fauquier writes from Williamsburg,
March 2nd 1759 to Colonel William Byrd III:
This letter Lt Col Mercer desired to be the bearer of, which I hope he has long ago sent (as a handsome rich widow has detain'd him in this colony) and you have received to which I refer to you.
The footnote to this letter states "Mercer married Mary Neville in 1767 while in England" and that is based Letters to Washington Volume II, page 1730. This footnote is in the book, "The Correspondence of the Three William Byrds of Westover Virginia 1684-1776," Volume II, page 671.
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The Gentleman's Magazine, XXXVIL (August 1767 , p.429),:
" List of Marriages for 1767'" Colonel Mercer of North America to Miss Neville of Lincoln."
If you look at the picture of this page, you will see the date to be specific.
Mercer's marriage is listed under the number 15. That's the 15th of August, 1767.
Psge 429 Gentleman's Magazine
page 154
GEORGE MERCER, OF THE OHIO COMPANY A STUDY IN FRUSTRATION Alfred P. James PARTII Voluntary Exile,1763-1784
As John Mercer wrote, nearly a year later [1767], one of the letters "came very opportunely to prevent the sale of the Shenandoah land and pursuant to your desire Iand my wife and your brother executed a conveyance to you of the whole tract, which together with my wife's privy examination and acknowledgemen to fit was recorded the last general court, the deed bearing date the first of June to precede your mairriage." The regard of his father, his brother and his stepmother for George Mercer certainly had not dimmed, for they were all financially embarrassed at that time.
Page 153
GEORGE MERCER, OF THE OHIO COMPANY A STUDY IN FRUSTRATION Alfred P. James PARTII Voluntary Exile,1763-1784
One commentator has stated, "George Mercer married on August 18, 1767 at Scarboro England, Mary Neville, daughter of Christopher Neville [Nevell ]of Lincoln, who died without issue, in Richmond, Virginia, June 4, 1768. It is said to have been a runaway match."144
Another writer says,
"here visited his native land, bringing with him an English bride. This lady died in Richmond the following year and Colonel Mercer soon after returned to London."145
As will be shortly revealed, much of this is inaccurate,
high proof that neither relatives nor scholarly research historians can be fully relied upon.
It is as certain as any historical fact that George Mercer was in London in 1767 and 1768.
It is unreasonable but not impossible that his new and perhaps young wife may have come to America to meet her husband's relatives and look into her husband's financial situation and that on a visit to Richmond,
possibly to be with or near William Byrd III,she may have died there.
Highly specialized research would be required to prove or disprove this.
The fact that such a visit by Mary Neville Mercer was not indicated in his ledgers byJohn Mercer, nor commented upon in his letters,seems to disprove the fact.
If so, it was a romantic tragedy, for most certainly her husband was not with her. For her, death and burial would then have been on soil, distant and almost foreign and strange.
Page 154
GEORGE MERCER, OF THE OHIO COMPANY A STUDY IN FRUSTRATION Alfred P. James PARTII Voluntary Exile,1763-1784
This looks to be a letter by John Mercer to his son George Mercer:
Page 207
Your trip to Bath when explained by your brother, pretty fully convinced me, that you were taken in, & was the first intimation that I had, that you did not intend suddenly into Virginia. The young lady’s letter prepossess’d me in her favour, her candour, good sense & affection to her father & offer to accompany you, with his consent, into so strange & distant a countrey, left me no room to doubt of her regard for you, or, that if you cou’d obtain that consent, you must be happy in such a choice: And I was well pleas’d to find that you considerd my consent either worth asking or having such instances of duty or affection not being very common in these times. I assure you it gave me great pleasure to hear that you had succeeded, & that it would give me a title to claim so near a relation to a young lady of such merit, whom for the future I shall call my daughter, but I think it an omission that you never mentioned her name before your last letter to your brother, on occasion of Mr Russell’s having her thanks for his generous offer, but before that time we had it in the gentlemans magazine for August. Robt Brent informd me at Fredericksburg fair, upon Mr Carroll’s authority, as he said, that it was Miss Smith of Scarborough, & so it passed till the magazine changed it into Miss Neville of Lincoln; it matters little now, as you have furnished her with a third name. It was however no small mortification to me & the rest of your friends that we were disappointed of your company at Marlborough this Christmas, & I doubt we may meet a second disappointment, as it is not improbable that by April my daughter may be in a condition, improper for so long a voyage. You may however assure her from me, that whenever we have the happiness to meet, she will find the most cordial & affectionate welcome & that her new relations will contribute every thing in their power to repair the loss of those she left behind her.
George Mercer writes to William Trent, March 10, 1773:
"My Ruin," he wrote, "dear Major is at Length compleated."
He stated he had ordered his "Housekeeper" to pack up his clothing
and asks Trent to get it while she was away visiting "my dear little
Girl Patty ...," at the Boarding School.
The nomenclature here is vague but important. "Housekeeper" was earlier used by George Mercer as term for wedded mate.
The reference to "my dear little
Girl Patty" seems to have been one 'to Martha Mercer, daughter of
Mary Neville Mercer and from birth, about 1768, a hopeless cripple.
The letter closes with the exclamation,
"Heavens — What ... do I feel to see myself inclosed within strong Iron Bars ... I cannot write more ... my Heart is so full... it overflows .. ."
Another short note, probably of the same day, indicates that he was again in flight to Dover and the continent.
Page 168
GEORGE MERCER, OF THE OHIO COMPANY A STUDY IN FRUSTRATION Alfred P. James PARTII Voluntary Exile,1763-1784
Second wife of George Mercer:
Another Mary
She spoke of George Mercer's appointment as Lt Gov of NC
Mary Mercer, the second wife of George Mercer, stated later that though Colonel Mercer got the appointment to be Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, the appointment was "with out any salary or Emolument whatever, not even so much as to defray the expense of making out his Commission. " In his straitened financial circumstances George
Footnote 158 Ibid., 136.
Page 157 GEORGE MERCER, OF THE OHIO COMPANY
Mercer could not accept appointment under such conditions
Pages 156 and 157
GEORGE MERCER, OF THE OHIO COMPANY A STUDY IN FRUSTRATION Alfred P. James PARTII Voluntary Exile,1763-1784
The petition of his second wife, March 25, 1784, states flatly that reason forsook him in 1781. His illness at the French inn was probably mental as well as physical . . .
Page 179
GEORGE MERCER, OF THE OHIO COMPANY A STUDY IN FRUSTRATION Alfred P. James PARTII Voluntary Exile,1763-1784
His income at the end
His Death April 1784
It is known that while he retained his 1776 annuity of £400 per year until 1782 this was reduced by £100 in 1782. This pension was not enough to maintain a sick insane man, his second wife and a crippled daughter in the style once maintained by George Mercer, though it should not be ignored that Loyalists such as Joseph Galloway were awarded a pension of only £200. George Mercer died in London, England, in April 1784.
Footnote 223 Hening,Statutes,XII,365
Page 179
GEORGE MERCER, OF THE OHIO COMPANY A STUDY IN FRUSTRATION Alfred P. James PARTII Voluntary Exile,1763-1784
Sunday Word 1 posted 8/17/2025 11am
This guy is not viral. He has a small audience. If he had a podcast he'd get no ratings. This is George Mercer. He's one of those guys who could have been a contender. He could've been Somebody.
.
He's in the hidden 2nd tier. He's an example of what is near all our world leaders.
.
Right now I'm tracking down his first wife. His daughter by this marriage was crippled. His first wife might have had a thing for Colonel William Byrd III.
.
.
Our reenactor group portrays him as our Captain. He was aid de camp to Colonel George Washington of the 1st VA Regiment 1755 to 1757
.
He became Lt Colonel to Colonel Byrd's 2nd VA Regiment 1758 to Dec 1 1758.
.
This image shows our man in a uniform probably around the time of his being temporary commander of Fort Pitt.
.
The tidewater Virginians were never big on controlling and capturing western lands --- a land they called the "Backcountry" until towards the end of the Rev War, which is one of the reasons Virginia never held on to its claims on the Ohio Country and the 3 Rivers area of today's Pittsburgh.
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