Agreement between William Spotswood Fontaine and Robert C. Wasley

Letter

Patrick Henry's Red Hill

Name/Title

Agreement between William Spotswood Fontaine and Robert C. Wasley

Entry/Object ID

2023.30.31

Description

Ink on woven paper. Agreement by William Spotswood Fontaine to Robert C. Wasley to complete the payments for a tract of land.

Transcription

[Obverse] Richmond 21st September waived Payment of the within _____ in full Witness Hancock Lee Ro C Wasley Jno Priddy Fontaine To Wasley } Note $2012.50 [Agreement] $2012.50 Know all men by these presents, then I Wm. Spotswood Fontaine of the County of King William am held and firmly bound unto Robert C. Wasley of the County of Henrico in the just and full sum of four Thousand and twenty five dollars, lawful money of Virginia to be paid unto the sd Robert C Wasley, his heirs, his certain Attorney, his Executors or Administrators. To which payment will and truly to be made, I bind myself, my heirs, my Executors and Administrators, firmly by these presents, sealed with my seal, and dated this first day of January one thousand eight hundred and thirty four. The Condition of the above obligation is such that if [the?] [above?] bound Wm. Spotswood Fontaine, his heirs, his Executors or Administrators do and shall, well and truly pay unto Robert C Wasley his heirs, his certain Attorney Executors Administrators or [assigns?], the just and full sum of Two thousand and twelve dollars and fifty cents, for four hundred two and a half acres of land, (of which possession has been given to the said Fontaine, by the said Wasley) on or before the first day of January one thousand eight hundred and thirty seven then the above obligation to be void else to remain in full force and virtue William Spotswood Fontaine Seal [signature crossed out] Signed and sealed in the presence of Richard Gwatheney Ch Tompkins _.B. By contract interest is to be paid on the above sum of two thousand and twelve dollars and fifty cents every three months from the first of January 1834 until the principle is paid Test Ch Tompkins William Spotswood Fontaine Seal [signature crossed out] [Reverse] 1834 April 1st By Cash deposited in the Farmers Bank of Virginia Richmond April 11th 1834 Thirty Dollars and Twelve & half cents R C Wasley July 1st By Cash deposited in the Famers Bank of Virginia this Sum Thirty Dollars eighteen cent. R C Wasley 1835 Jany 1 By Cash deposited in the Farmers Bank of Virginia Jany 31st two quarter Int Sixty Dollars Thirty Seven cent Ro C Wasley April 1st By Cash deposited in the Farmers Bank of Virginia April 10th this sum thirty Dollars nineteen cent Ro C Wasley July 1st By Cash deposited in the Famers Bank of Virginia July 3rd this sum thirty dollars nineteen cents Ro C Wasley 1836 Jany 1st By Cash deposited in the Farmers Bank Virginia Jany 13th 1836 $60.37 for last year two quarters Int RC Was April 1st By Cash deposited in the Farmers Bank Virginia June 4th 1836 this sum Thirty dollars nineteen cent for the first of [interest?] R C Wasley

Language

English

Dimensions

Width

7-3/4 in

Length

12-1/2 in

Provenance

Notes

William Spotswood Fontaine (1810-1882), a great-grandson of Patrick Henry, was born on November 7, 1810, at "Yellow House" in Hanover, Virginia, to William Winston Fontaine (1786-1816) and Martha Hale Dandridge (1795-1875). On July 5, 1832, he married a granddaughter of Henry, Sarah Shelton Aylett (1811-1876). They had eight children together. On January 1, 1834, this agreement was drafted between Fontaine and a Robert C. Wasley. Fontaine promises to pay $4,025 to Wasley, half of which ($2,012.50) acts as payment for 402.5 acres of land possessed by Fontaine. The remainder of the sum served as a personal loan to Mr. Wasley to be paid back to Fontaine with interest every three months. Wasley recorded his incremental payments on the back of the agreement⎯from the first one on April 1, 1834, to the last noted one on April 1, 1836⎯that were deposited for Fontaine in the Farmers Bank of Richmond. The bank had been established in the state capitol on February 13, 1812, by the Virginia General Assembly and grew to encompass branches across the Commonwealth. The payment was waived "in full" in Richmond on September 21 of an unknown year, according to a note signed by Wasley and witnessed by Hancock Lee and John Priddy. In 1835, Fontaine finished building a new home called "Fontainbleau" on 500 acres of land purchased in 1832. This house was located two miles away from his wife's family home, "Montville." He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1853 and served the Sharon and Bruington churches for ten years. He died on July 13, 1882, in Reidsville (Rockingham County), North Carolina, and is buried there in Greenview Cemetery. This document was given to PHMF on May 3, 2023, by Monique and Philip Heller. They inherited this object and the others in this accession from her stepmother, Catherine Spotswood Fontaine Lawrence (1938-2015), a third-great-granddaughter of Patrick Henry. William Spotswood Fontaine was her great-grandfather.