Mandeville and Sutton,

John Mandeville and John Sutton, who both appear separately elsewhere in the Mason family manuscript account book, were business partners. Mandeville and Sutton owned land together in Alexandria, as well as a mill in Fairfax County., In 1790, Mandeville gave Sutton the authority to act as his power of attorney. This marked the beginning of the partnership’s end, as Sutton continuously neglected to pay Mandeville’s mounting debts. 

In August 1798, Mandeville revoked Sutton’s privileges as his power of attorney and subsequently declared himself bankrupt, blaming Sutton for not paying back any of his debts with the money and commodities that Mandeville sent him for that purpose. Sutton responded to these claims by stating that “the power of attorney alluded to…was for valuable considerations irrevocable,” and that he would continue to put Mandeville’s land up for sale to satisfy his debts. 

By January 1799, Sutton announced that “all partnerships and connections in trade between [himself] and John Mandeville of Alexandria” had ceased, marking the end of Mandeville and Sutton’s professional relationship. Following the sale of their jointly owned property, Sutton sued Mandeville for $40,000 in damages. The pair fought to settle their debts in a court battle that dragged on from 1813 to 1816.  

by Amanda Kopf