Accounts of George Don: 'Money paid out for the Horticultural Society of London'
Information
Title
Accounts of George Don: 'Money paid out for the Horticultural Society of London'
Record type
Archive
Original Reference
RHS/Col/2/3/12
Date
c.1823
Scope & content
George Don's accounts. With pencil annotations in another hand, with calculations of the sum totals
The papers were previously folded and include a title on the outside 'An account of the expenses of Mr Geo Don [George Don]'
The accounts cover travel and work essentials (including bedding, towels, crockery, tools), refreshments, services (including guides, help in carrying boxes, washing), travel (including coaches, boats, mules) and accommodation (including inns, mess on board). They are divided into the following sections according to location, and include a sum total after each section. Includes pencil annotations in another hand, with items crossed off and annotated or corrected
England, 13 Nov-30 Dec 1821: 'rope for roping a chest' 2s 6d, 'joining gunners' mess' £6, 'expenses through being left behind at Brixham between the 21+30 Dec' £5 6s 3d' [here the list includes 10 more entries]. Including a note in the margin referring to the total sum of £14 9s 6d: 'this account sent when in England and afterwards from Sierra Leone' and [rubbed off and barely legible] 'This account sent to be delivered by my brother and also by myself from Sierra Leone'. With a pencil annotation in another hand, below Don's entry 'Paid out at the inn a [at] Weymouth': 'Paid by Captain Sabine [Edward Sabine, astronomer and geophysicist, brother of Joseph Sabine]', £10 4s
Madeira [Portugal], 13-14 Jan 1822: 'for a horse to accompany Captain Sabine to the Peak Truro [Madeira, Portugal]' £1 6s, 'paid for washing sheets and towels' 4s 6d
St Jago [Santiago, Cabo Verde], 26 Jan 1822: 'refreshment' 3s 6d
Gambia [The Gambia], 3 Feb 1822: 'refreshment Bathurst St Mary's' 1s 4d
Sierra Leone, 22 Feb-11 Apr 1822: 'paid to a man on board of the Iphigenia [HMS Iphigenia] for drying my paper' 10s, 'washing sheets & towels' 4s, 'settled the arrears of my mess with the [added in pencil above the line: 'Governor's] gardener [added in pencil: 'from 26 Feb to this date']' £1 12s [here the list includes 15 more entries]. Don notes at the end of March: 'This account sent in one of boxes from Sierra Leone'
Accra [Ghana], 30 Apr 1822: 'for the help of two men' 10s, 'on board for washing sheets & towels' 6s
St Thomas [Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe], 18 May-11 Jun 1821: 'bought a few curious fruits in the market' 2s 6d, 'refreshments' 5s, 'settled the expenses incurred for the help of men & otherwise' £1 11s 6d, 'nails' 5s
Ascension [Ascension Island, British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha], 6-29 Jul 1822: 'gave to one of the marines on shore to lead my mule up & down the steepest parts of the mountain as I was too weak myself' 5s, 'paid for washing sheets & towels from the 17 May till now on board' 10s 8d
Bahia St Salvador [Salvador, Brazil], 5 Aug 1822: 'mess on board' £4 10s, 'paid to slaves for carrying my specimens when I was able to go abroad while here' 14s, 'hiring boats at various times' 5s 3d, 'paid to Captain Sabine [Edward Sabine] from the bill that was drawn here £7 10s for wood that was purchased at St Thomas [Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe] for making boxes'
Maranham [Maranhao, Brazil], 4-5 Sep 1822: 'for washing sheets & towels' 5s, 'innkeeper's bill, 34 mill [million] 540 Rs [Brazilian real], about equal to £9', 'paid to a man to attend me the 5 first days' 18s, 'canoe hire to & from Benifica [Benfica, Brazil]' 14s, 'for the help of a man which the consul recommended' £1
Trinidad [Trinidad and Tobago], 2-9 Oct 1822: 'for washing sheets & towels' 5s, 'to boat hire at various times' 10s, 'boat hire', 5s. Includes a note: 'Lockhart [David Lockhart, botanist and gardener in Trinidad] paid the greater part of the expenses here, it I should think would amount to £8 or 9'
Jamaica, 18 Oct-4 Nov 1822: 'refreshment at Kingston [Jamaica] & breakfast at the Hop Tavern at the bottom of the Port Royal mountains [Jamaica]' 6s 6d, 'to a man for carrying my plants & specimens' 5s, 'paid to the captain for my share of the horses that was hired for our journey to the highest peak of Port Royal mountains, 1 dubloon [or] 6 dollars [or] £4 19s' [here the list includes 9 more entries]
Grand Cayman [Cayman Islands], 12 Nov 1822: 'to a man for the lend of a spade to take up some bulbs and carrying them' 1s
Havana [Cuba], 22-26 Nov 1822: 'for the hire of a volante or coach to take me to Don Antonios' 10s, 'for lodging & supper at the inn' 5s, 'to a negro for carrying my boxes to the wharf' 2s 6d [here the list includes 5 more entries]
New York [United States of America], 11 Dec 1822-6 Feb 1823: 'passage by steam boat from the ship to New York' 1s 9d, 'boat from the steam boat to the ship' 4s, 'lodging at a Broadway House in New York, 3 weeks, 6 dollars per week' £4 1s [here the list includes 8 more entries]
Portsmouth, 6-7 Feb 1823: 'boat hire' 2s, 'expenses at the inn' 8s, 'coach hire to London' £1 5s, 'guard & coachman' 2s
With a pencil annotation: 'Expenses at the George Inn at Portsmouth, 35/- paid by Captain Sabine 17 Nov 1821 & at Weymouth 23/6', £2 18s 6d, correcting the final sum total from £87 9s 5d to £89 9s 9d
For other versions of George Don's accounts, c.Feb 1823, see RHS/Col/2/3/11, RHS/Col/2/3/13 and RHS/Col/2/2/11