Audubon the Naturalist: A History of His Life and Time. Vol. 2 (of 2)

by Francis Hobart Herrick

Messrs Audubon & Rozier in a/c with Wm Bakewell								Cr
1805
Jan	4	Cash for sundries	11	.25	March	18	Cash	5
	12	do	1
	18	Brother	150
1807
Apl	22	Cash Mr Rozier	66		Apl	1	Cash of Miller	150
		Advertists in Philada & Norristown	7				do of Jackson	50
		Cash pd M Fisher	40
		do paid Vendreman	3
1808
		Adv.ts & hand bills	3	.75	Jan	8	do of Longacre	50
		Cash Mr Pears	14	.50	Apl	2	do of Longacre	50
May	3	Exps of Horses to Philada	4	.76	do	25	d	100
	20	Sundries	18	.50	May	12	do formon	31	.84
June	8	Cash	3	.18	Dec	20	Cash of Longacre	30
	17	Smith's work	5	.00
		Advertiset	1
Oct	10	Exchange of Horse	10
		Keep of Horses 23 weeks	42	.50
Decr	31	Cash pd Mr Pears	18	.92
1809
		Advertisets & Vendue Exps	12	.82	Apl	18	Clennell	20
	25	Bills payable to W. Thomas	607	.10	Sept	30	Kymar	22
		Cash pd Mr Page for powr of Attorney	1	.37	Oct	27	d	47
	13	Paid Attachment fees	9	.28	Nov	6	d	22	.50
		Cash paid for tax	2	.91	Dec	23	do	10
	25	mortes [?] & half taxes	7
		Commission 7998 a 1½ per Cent	119	.97
1810
Jany	23	omitted Exps at Vendue	3	.77	Jan	23	Cash of Dacosta	299	.44
			$1176	.91	Feb	13	do of Miller	20
							Balle of Neckland	237	.32
					Apl	3	Miller	8
						9	do	6	.12½
								$1159	.22½

NOTE BY THE AUTHOR. This record proves that Audubon upon his first return to France from the United States, must have left "Mill Grove" on the 12th of January, 1805, or not more than a day later; three days were required to walk to New York, which could not have been reached later than the 15th, and probably as many more were needed for a letter to go to "Fatland Ford." He probably sailed for Nantes shortly before January 18, the day when William Bakewell recorded that he had sent his "brother," Benjamin Bakewell, commission merchant in New York, $150; this was undoubtedly in payment of the loan which the brother in New York had made to young Audubon for his passage to France. The next item, of April 22, 1807, was for money advanced to Ferdinand Rozier, probably when he was acting as clerk to Laurence Huron, in Philadelphia; "advertisements in Philadelphia and Norristown" possibly had reference to the lease and final sale of "Mill Grove" of the year before. Miers Fisher was the Quaker merchant, who for many years served as Lieutenant Audubon's American agent and attorney, and who was later the adviser of his son and Ferdinand Rozier. Thomas W. Pears, a relative by marriage of the Bakewells, was with Audubon in Benjamin Bakewell's office in New York, and afterwards associated with him and Thomas W. Bakewell in their disastrous mill experiment at Henderson, Kentucky. The bill of William Thomas, former Quaker tenant of "Mill Grove," was possibly in liquidation of his claim against Lieutenant Audubon and Dacosta in their mining operations at this farm (see the letters to Dacosta, [Vol. I, p. 117]). The credit entry under May 12, 1808, "formon—31.84," may represent interest collected on an unsettled claim of Lieutenant Audubon against Mr. Formon, a former partner in Santo Domingo, in relation to the sale of the ships, the Count of Artois and the Annette (see [Chapter II, p. 33]). Dacosta had been urged to apply to Mr. Formon's son-in-law, who appears to have lived at Philadelphia, but was unable to obtain anything from the Formon estate. The "Cash of Dacosta 299.44" possibly represented interest on the mortgage which we have assumed was given to Audubon and Rozier when Dacosta and his mining company came into possession of "Mill Grove," September 15, 1806 (see [Chapter XI, p. 148]).

8. Concerning a Power of Attorney issued by Lieutenant Audubon and Anne Moynet Audubon to Ferdinand Rosier and John Audubon, the Younger, at Couëron, France, in 1805; parts in French translated by a Philadelphia notary; signatures of original document authenticated by the Mayor of Couëron, October 21, 1805; his attest of the legality of Anne Moynet Audubon's signature, at Couëron, October 27, 1805; authentication of the signature of the Mayor of Couëron by the Subprefect's of Savenay, November 27, 1805; attest of the Subprefect's signature by the Prefect. (Remainder of document missing.)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ss:

I, Peter Stephan Du Ponceau, notary public & Sworn Interpreter of foreign Languages for the Commonwealth aforesaid, residing in the City of Philadelphia, do hereby certify that I have carefully translated into English so much of the Instrument of writing hereunto annexed as is written in the French language, as follows, to wit:

At the bottom of the Deed [act] and immediately after the Signatures of the Witnesses, there is a Certificate in France [French], which being translated, is as follows:

Seen by us, the Mayor of the commune of Coueron, who attest the above Signatures of G. Loyen, assistant mayor, C. D'orbigny, Doctor of medicine, Audubon, & Anne Moynet Audubon, to which full faith and credit is to be given, whereever it may be necessary—Done in our Office at Coueron, the thirtieth of vendemiaire fourteenth year of the French Empire [sic].