Williamsburg had been the capital of Virginia for
sixty years, and James Tarpley had been a prominent merchant within that city
for a decade. The great and near great of Virginia had walked along its
alternatingly dusty and muddy streets and dodged in and out of its taverns and
stores for many years.
2 The Governor’s Palace and Capitol (where the House
of Burgesses met) stood like bookends to the community and served as the focal
point of the entire colony. Situated at a prominent point between them stood
the Bruton Parish Church, the center of religious life for the elite of the
community. These edifices, along with most of the other buildings and houses
that lined those streets, were constructed of a kind of narrow red brick that
lent a rather homogeneous look to the whole.
3 James had been looking to expand his operations
within the city for several years. “There is money to be made in Williamsburg,”
he had told anyone who was willing to listen.
4 In fact, he had been talking to Henry Wetherburn
about a lot on Duke of Gloucester Street for several months. “It would be a
great location for my store,” he told him. “You aren’t using it for anything –
you have your tavern,” he persisted. “You are wasting my time,” Wetherburn had
told him. “You don’t have the money to buy it.”
5 However, with a fresh infusion of money from his
backers in Bristol (England), Tarpley was able to purchase the lot in 1759 and
erect a new building to house his flourishing business. “We import European
goods and sell them at a very reasonable price,” was the way that he had once
described it to a friend. To be more precise, James sold an assortment of
linens, clothing, sugar, rum and other household essentials that were then in
great demand in the colonies.
6 Unfortunately, his success and prosperity had also
encouraged James to live above his means. His wife, Mary Camp, had died the
year before he had decided to build his new store, and she had been the only
remaining check on his extravagance. Moreover, as James’ children often
benefited from his largesse, they too had no incentive to try and curb it.
Thus, although sales were booming in his store, his expenses continued to
outpace his income. James, however, seemed oblivious to his mounting debt.
7 In fact, in 1761, James decided to donate a bell to
the Bruton Parish Church (where he and his family had attended for many years).
“We accept the gift of Mr. Tarpley with gratitude to him and the God who made
it possible,” Reverend William Yates had announced in the worship service that
Sunday. After the service had concluded, James also had the pleasure of
receiving the personal thanks of many of his fellow parishioners.
8 “I would like
to commend you on your generosity to God’s house,” George Washington (a member
of the House of Burgesses) told him. “Thank you, sir,” James nodded and smiled.
“Now I suppose we will have to build a tower to house it!” Reverend Yates
added.
9 James, however, never lived to see the tower built.
He died just two years later, and the tower was not finished until almost seven
years after that. In the meantime, his business partners quickly liquidated his
assets and attempted to recover as much of their investments as possible.
10 James’ descendants would be left to pick up the
pieces and deal with the widening rift that was developing between themselves
and Mother England. Indeed, some of them would live to hear their father’s bell
proclaim America’s independence from that country.
11 Now it happened that several of the children of
James and Mary Camp Tarpley married cousins from their mother’s family. One of
their daughters, Nancy Anne, married Thomas Camp (who would become a soldier in
the struggle for America’s independence).
No comments:
Post a Comment