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DOMESTIC LIFE IN VIRGINIA IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
by
ANNIE LASH JESTER
Member, Virginia Historical Society
Virginia 350Th Anniversary Celebration Corporation
Williamsburg, Virginia
1957
Copyright(C), 1957 by
Virginia 350th Anniversary Celebration
Corporation, Williamsburg, Virginia
Jamestown 350th Anniversary
Historical Booklet Number 17
DOMESTIC LIFE IN VIRGINIA IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
PART I
LAYING THE HEARTHSTONES
INTRODUCTION
Successful colonization, contingent upon a stable domestic life, was
quickened in Virginia with the coming of the gentlewoman Mrs. Lucy
Forest and her maid Ann Burras, who with Mrs. Forest's husband Thomas,
arrived in the second supply, 1608, following the planting of the colony
at Jamestown, 13 May 1607.
The possibility of finding a source of wealth in the new world, such as
the Spanish had found in Mexico and Peru, and the more urgent need of
finding a route to the East and securing this through the development of
colonies across the seas, had motivated the several expeditions, begun
with the unsuccessful settlement at Roanoke Island in 1585. Coupled with
these reasons, for colonizing in the new world, was an ever expanding
population in England, and the ancient law of entail, which limited
possession of large landed estates to the eldest sons; younger sons and
the scions of the middle classes were left with exceedingly limited
opportunities or means of attaining estates in England, or, for that
matter, of ever bettering their condition. Also, if England was to
sustain its existing population, the nation must have sources of raw
materials other than the dwindling supplies in the land, and it must
have also outlets for the wares of the artisans.
Thus, while the hope of wealth in one form or another was a factor in
the settlement of Virginia, a prerequisite to attainment, also taken
into account by the promoters of expeditions, was the establishment of
homes in a new land. Homes would serve as stabilizers for permanent
bases, from which could be carried on the trade essential to England's
rising position as a leading power.
Notwithstanding hardship, discouragement and sickness, the firm
resolution of the English succeeded. Their determination, as shown in
their several attempts at colonization, culminated eventually in a
colonial homeland, which offered to gentlemen adventurers the lure of
the unknown, as well as the prospect of land, and, to the many
unemployed craftsmen a demand for their labor and privileges which could
not be had by the average man in England.
Withal, the fireside became the bulwark for the great new venture. And,
fortunate it was that such a base had been established, for, by the
middle of the seventeenth century, many scions of the English upper
classes were forced into exile because of the Civil wars, which reached
their climax in the beheading of Charles I. A number of the King's loyal
subjects found havens in Virginia and not only managed to bring with
them some of the family wealth, but also their important connections
with the trading enterprises, which gave another impetus to the colonial
undertaking.
The silent part of women, ever in the background in the colony, but
overseeing orderly households, comforting the men in discouragement and,
at the same time carrying on the perpetual cycle of child bearing, was
an immeasurable contribution. They braved the unknown to be at the sides
of their mates and, as the prospering colony during the passing years of
the century increased their responsibilities and burdens, they readily
assumed the new tasks. Not least among these was that of household
executive: managing servants, seeing that they as well as the family
were clothed, fed and attended in their sicknesses, supervising
spinning, weaving, garment making and generally maintaining a hub for
the operation of plantations ranging from 100 acres to those of several
thousands.
To the Englishman, the basis for wealth and position was a large landed
estate. News from Virginia had spread the information that great fertile
lands, sparsely inhabited by the natives, were available. Thus, valid
expectations sent the women thither, some with their husbands, some to
join their husbands, some to follow their sweethearts and, by 1620,
some to find husbands among the men who were toiling to establish the
Colony firmly and longing for the comforts of their own firesides.
The first wedding in Virginia took place in 1608, not long after the
arrival of Mrs. Forest and her maid, who, as may be surmised, did not
long remain a maid. John Laydon, who had come as a laborer in 1607, took
her, a girl fourteen years old, then of marriageable age, for a bride.
In 1625, they were living with their four daughters in Elizabeth City
Corporation.
THE FIRST HOMES
The Laydon marriage probably had taken place in the rough little church
built at Jamestown within the stockade, which enclosed also the first
houses of the settlers along with a guardhouse and a storehouse. The
stockade, actually a triangular fort built as protection against the
natives, was erected of a succession of upright logs, some twelve feet
in height and sharpened to a point. The small buildings within,
patterned after the simple homes of the peasantry in England, were built
of available material. Beams were cut from the trees in the forests
close by, the timbers being held together with pegs. The uprights were
interwoven with osiers or stout vines and, on these wattles, was daubed
the clay and mud found in the surrounding area, which the colonists had
mixed with reeds from the marshes. Coatings of this applied both outside
and inside, when dry, made thick, though perhaps fragile walls.
Nevertheless, they shut out temporarily, at least, the chill winds and
the summer heat. Material for chimneys was not then available, and the
colonists made do the ample openings in the roofs thatched with reeds.
Sometimes, skins were attached on the outer sides of these openings and
flapped over the hole, in a heavy storm, to shut out the rain. Openings
for light were closed with sliding panels. Shallow wells within the
stockade supplied water, not always unpolluted.
The tinder-like material, with which these first buildings were
constructed, together with the open central fires, made them a prey to
flames in January, 1608, which shortly were out of control. The reeds,
with which the roofs were thatched, merely fed the blaze which spread so
rapidly that even the palisades were destroyed. The colonists lost
practically everything, including arms, clothing, bedding and provisions
held by individuals. Reverend Robert Hunt suffered the loss of his
collection of books.
By 1609, a number of women passengers were included among those who
departed from England on nine ships, comprising the largest expedition
ever sent to Virginia. Reverend Richard Buck brought with him his wife,
and although they were among those marooned for nine months on the
Bermuda Islands following the wreck there of the _Seaventure_, both
survived the hardships encountered, and established a home at Jamestown
and reared a family. Temperance Flowerdieu, aged about fourteen years,
arrived in 1609 on the _Falcon_, but presumably returned to England,
shortly to come back, in 1618, as the wife of Sir George Yeardley.
Thomas Dunthorne's wife came in the _Triall_, 1610, and their servant
Elizabeth Joones was among those on the _Seaventure_ who eventually
reached Virginia in the _Patience_, 1610. Sisley Jordan, later wife of
William Farrar, came in the _Swan_, 1610.
By the time the second contingent of women had arrived, America's first
industry, glass making, had been established and the colonists had built
some twenty houses, providing also for themselves a well of "excellent
sweet water" within the fort. The conditions of living were somewhat
improved. The fragile walls of the church, having begun to crumble, were
renewed and a block house was built on the neck of the Island, to which
point the savages were permitted to come for trade, but were prohibited
from further passage by a garrison kept there. When not otherwise
employed, the men spent their time fashioning clapboard and wainscoting
from the trees cut from the surrounding forests.
THE COLONISTS LIVE OFF THE LAND
Finding their limited food supplies spoiled by mold or eaten by a horde
of rats, the offspring of rodents which arrived also on the first ships,
the colonists were forced to the necessity of "living off the country."
In the spring they planted some thirty or forty acres hoping for a
plentiful crop before midsummer. Also, upon taking an inventory of
livestock, they found in all sixty odd pigs, the offspring of three sows
which they originally possessed; and some 500 chickens roamed around
their habitations, feeding from the countryside. Yet, in order not to
tax this supply, sixty or eighty of the colonists were sent down the
river to live on oysters and other seafood, obtainable at and near Old
Point. Sturgeon was plentiful; in fact, there being a greater supply
than could be used, some of the surplus was dried, then pounded, mixed
with the roe and sorrel to provide both bread and meat. Also, an edible
root called _tockwough_ (tuckahoe, a tuberous plant growing in fresh
marshes, with a root similar to that of a potato) was gathered, and
after the Indian fashion, pounded into a meal from which bread was made.
In order to conserve their scarce food supply, the colonists sought to
acquaint themselves with the use of the native resources. To this end, a
number of the settlers were billetted with the Indians. They not only
learned to distinguish the edible roots, berries, leafy plants and
fruits, and how to prepare them, but found the whereabouts of Indian
trails, the location of their villages, and fields where they cultivated
corn, beans, and _apooke_ (tobacco).
[Illustration: Photo of a group in the U. S. National Museum,
Washington, D. C.
Captain John Smith and companions trading with the Indians in Virginia,
1607. The colonists seek corn and furs from the natives in exchange for
beads, trinkets, utensils and cloth.]
SICKNESS AND DISCOURAGEMENT
Yet, a scarce two years in the wilderness hardly equipped the Englishmen
to cope with the altogether new situations which they encountered. Aside
from the lack of adequate provisions for the heavy diet in beef, mutton
and pork to which they were accustomed in England, there were at least
two months of hot, humid weather to which they were not acclimated.
Moreover, during this period, the "sickness"--probably malaria and
yellow fever from the West Indies and diarrhea from polluted
drinking-water--was rampant. Also the hostility of certain of the
Indians increased the death toll. Debilitated, discouraged and fearful
of the savages, the survivors hovered together at Jamestown. By May
1610, all of their livestock had been consumed, including hogs, hens,
goats, sheep and even a horse. Finally, the sixty living began to trade
their weapons to the savages in exchange for food.
This was the state of the colony when 150 adventurers--men, women and
children--marooned for nine months on the Bermuda Islands after the
wreck of the _Seaventure_, arrived in the _Patience_ and the
_Deliverance_ commanded by Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Somers. The
newcomers, who already had passed through a harrowing experience, faced
a forlorn situation in the land of their destination; and so their
leaders concurred in a decision to return to England. But, Lord De La
Warr's timely arrival, with three ships exceedingly well furnished with
all necessaries, changed the outlook. Here were not only the means of
survival but resources for some stable home life. Several of the women
who had sailed in the 1609 expedition reached Jamestown ahead of their
shipwrecked husbands, who had accompanied the official party on the
_Seaventure_. Among these were Mrs. Joane Peirce, wife of Captain
William Peirce, and their daughter Joane, who arrived at Jamestown,
1609, on the _Blessing_.
RELIEF
One of Lord De La Warr's first commands ordered the building of a number
of houses, since he found the fragile buildings erected of unseasoned
timbers, after the fire, already in a state of decay. The roofs of these
new dwellings were covered with boards and the sides were fortified
against the weather with Indian mats.
The following May, 1611, Sir Thomas Dale reached Jamestown with three
ships, men, cattle and provisions for a year. Four months later, six
ships under Sir Thomas Gates, who had carried back to England news of
the desperate straits of the colony in 1610, arrived with a complement
of 300 men, 100 kine and other livestock, with munitions and all manner
of provisions.
Dale, a hard taskmaster, in his capacity as Marshal, put the settlers
under a military regime and, in requiring a schedule of work for
everyone, succeeded in establishing the colony on a firm basis. He
ordered at once the repair of the Church, the storehouse and other
buildings, adding a munitions house, a building in which to cure
sturgeon, a cattle-barn and a stable.
In order to broaden the base of the colony, Dale at once set about
seeking a suitable location for a new town, which he located on the neck
of land since changed into an island by the Dutch Gap canal, and later
known as Farrar's Island. At the site of the projected town, laid out on
a seven acre enclosed plat, and called Henrico, he raised watchtowers at
four corners, built a wooden church and several storehouses, laid off
streets on which frame dwellings were erected, with the first stories,
probably the foundations, built of brick. This is the earliest mention
of the use of bricks for home building in Virginia. Also, five houses
were erected on the banks of the James River, the dwellers agreeing to
act as sentinels for approach to the town by water.
The elements, however, favored the new town no more than Jamestown, and
the buildings were constantly in need of repair. A hospital was
projected for location at the new town and its building begun. At the
site, also, a college for the education of the Indians was planned, and
iron works were erected at Falling Creek, a portion of the profits from
which, under agreement, was to defray the cost of operation of the
proposed college. As is well known, the Indians, in an attempt to wipe
out the colony in 1622, practically obliterated the town.
PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF LAND
Terms agreed upon, in the Virginia Company at the beginning of the
settlement, stipulated that there should be no individual assignments of
land during the first seven years. The communal plan, under which the
colonists lived through these years, was terminated while Dale ruled the
colony; a policy was adopted of assigning rights for a hundred acres to
every individual who had come to Virginia, before 1616, with the
intention of planting (settling). This acreage could be doubled under
certain conditions. Those who came, after 1616, were entitled to fifty
acres each, provided they paid their own passages. Similarly, each could
claim an additional fifty acres in the name of every person whose
passage he paid. This was known as the headright system of granting
land. Thus, a man with a wife, three children and two servants, was
entitled to 350 acres. Not only did these generous provisions, for the
acquisition of landed estates, lure settlers to the new world, but they
provided a sound base for the beginning of a secure domestic life in the
colony.
Unfortunately, there is no complete list of the women who came to
Virginia prior to 1616, but, in addition to those heretofore named, the
presence of others is recorded. Joane Salford, wife of Robert Salford of
Elizabeth City, came by 1611, and Salford's sister Sarah reached
Virginia at the same time, or just a year or so later. Susan, wife of
John Collins of West and Shirley Hundred, came in the _Treasurer_, 1613.
Elizabeth, wife of Lieutenant Albiano Lupo, came in the _George_, 1616,
and little Susan Old was brought by her cousin Richard Biggs, when she
was only two years of age; eight years later she was reported living
with the Biggs family in Charles City Corporation. Martha Key was with
her husband Thomas by 1616. Rachel Davis joined her husband Captain
James Davis before 1616, and their son Thomas later settled in Isle of
Wight and Upper Norfolk (Nansemond) Counties, taking out land patents,
in the name of his parents as old planters. Mary Flint, wife of Captain
Thomas Flint of the area which later became Warwick County, was the
widow of Robert Beheathland, who had come to Virginia with the first
settlers in 1607. Beheathland's wife arrived some time before 1616 and
they had two daughters, Mary and Dorothy, who married and left Virginia
descendants. Izabella,--three times married, first to Richard Pace,
second, to William Perry and third to George Menefie came to the colony
before 1616.
THE COMPANY'S TENANTS, THEIR SUPPLIES AND THEIR WIVES
After the first settlement at Jamestown, the Virginia Company recognized
that youthful, hearty young men were essential in the new land, in order
to cope with the wilderness. Inducements were offered, both in passage
across the seas at Company expense, and in supplies and equipment
furnished each man. Moreover, by 1616, there was the lure of land at the
end of the required seven-year tenure of service and the hope of
becoming a planter. Probably, articles of indenture were drawn for these
tenants as they were later between colonists and their servants.
The cost of sending and supplying these young men was a considerable
sum. Passage alone cost L6 and, together with supplies furnished and
freight on them, the total cost of bringing a youth to Virginia amounted
to L20. Even if an adventurer paid his own passage he was advised to
come with the same "necessaries." In apparel, each needed a Monmouth
cap, three falling bands (large loose collars), three shirts, a
waistcoat, a suit of canvas (work clothes), a suit of frieze and a suit
of cloth, also three pairs of Irish stockings, four pairs of shoes, a
pair of garters, a dozen points, a pair of canvas sheets, canvas to make
a bed and a bolster, to be filled in Virginia and serving for two men,
canvas to make a bed enroute, also for two men, a coarse rug (covering)
at sea for two men.
In food the adventurer needed eight bushels of meal, two bushels of
peas, eight bushels of oatmeal, a gallon of wine, a gallon of oil and
two gallons of vinegar. In armor, he was advised to possess a complete
light suit, a musket, a sword, a belt and a bandoleer, twenty pounds of
powder and sixty pounds of shot or lead, together with a pistol and
goose-shot.
For a group of six men the following tools were deemed essential: five
broad-hoes, five narrow-hoes, two broadaxes, five felling-axes, four
handsaws, a whipsaw with equipment for filing, two hammers, three
shovels, two spades, two augers, six chisels, two piercing tools, three
gimlets, two hatchets, two frowes, two handbills, a grindstone, nails of
all sorts and two pickaxes.
Household utensils to be used by six persons included an iron pot, a
kettle, a large frying-pan, a gridiron, two skillets, a spit, platters,
dishes and spoons of wood.
There was a charge for sugar, spice and fruit to be supplied on the
voyage. Moreover, if the company was made up of a number of persons,
they were advised to bring, in addition to the above: nets, hooks and
lines for fishing, cheese, kine and goats.
By 1618, the Virginia Company had set aside 3000 acres of land in each
of the four corporations, Elizabeth City, James City, Henrico and
Charles City, where they settled these young men known as the Company's
tenants. Half of the profit from their labors went to the Company to
defray costs of Colonial government. However, Governor Sir George
Yeardley realized that far too few of these substantial workers, inured
to the climate and the wilderness, were satisfied to remain in the
Colony. He, forthwith, reported the situation to Sir Edwin Sandys, then
Treasurer of the Company, who then proposed that one hundred "maids
young and uncorrupt" be sent to the Colony to become wives, stipulating
that their passage would be paid by the Company if they married the
Company's tenants; otherwise, their passage money should be reimbursed
to the Company by the planter-husbands whom they had chosen.
[Illustration: Photo by Flournoy, Virginia State Chamber of Commerce
Upper Weyanoke--Charles City County
Built on the north bank of the James River about the middle of the
seventeenth century, the center building of "Upper Weyanoke" originally
served also as a stronghold against Indian assault. The wings attached
to the dwelling are modern additions.]
By 17 May, 1620, ninety young women had come to the Colony under these
arrangements, having embarked in the _London Merchant_ and the
_Jonathan_. The following year, an additional fifty-seven young women
came in three ships, the _Marmaduke_, the _Warwick_ and the _Tiger_. The
Virginia Company reported to Governor Yeardley that "extraordinary
diligence" and care had been exercised in the choice of the maids, and
that none had been received, who had other than excellent reputations in
their communities. They further reported that they had provided "young,
handsome and honestly educated maids."
Evidently, there was no problem in arranging marriages, and report went
back to England that among the last fifty-seven sent to Virginia, many
had been married, before the ships, on which they arrived, had departed
from the Colony for the return voyage. But, whom they and the others
married is not known, nor are the fates of the 147 young women who came
to fill gaps in home life, known. Some were certainly slain in the
massacre, others must have died of the sickness soon after coming, for
Governor Berkeley later estimated that four out of five persons died, in
the early years, shortly after arrival, especially if they came in late
spring or summer when the sickness took its toll.
SUPPLIES FOR A PARTICULAR PLANTATION
In an effort to reduce the financial burden of colonization resting
solely upon the Virginia Company, and at the same time to satisfy some
of the shareholders, who were complaining of no profit from their
investment, their Council sitting in London, inaugurated a policy of
assigning thousands of acres for "particular plantations." These
acreages were promised to shareholders and other promoters, who agreed
to transport colonists to Virginia and keep them supplied. Usually
several promoters joined in assuming the costs of such adventures and,
thus, the Company was altogether relieved of the cost and responsibility
of settlement. In this category were the plantations at Martin's
Hundred, Berkeley, Smith's (Southampton) Hundred and Newport News.
Thomas Southey, who outfitted a ship and set out from England with his
wife, six children and ten servants, came with great expectations,
having indicated his desire that the Company would assign to him a
"particular plantation." His ship arrived safely in Virginia but before
his hopes were realized, he and three of his children had died. However,
one of his surviving daughters was the progenitor of a well known
Eastern Shore family.
The settlement of Berkeley Hundred as a "particular plantation" was
agreed upon, in 1619, with Captain John Woodliffe. The promoters, one of
whom was John Smith of Nibley, England, soon became dissatisfied with
Woodliffe's management of the project and revoked his commission,
assigning a similar commission to William Tracy. In 1620, Tracy booked
fifty colonists, twelve of whom were women, to come over in the
_Supply_. The ship was exceedingly well furnished with necessaries of
every description that might be of use in his undertaking. Every item in
the cargo on the ship of sixty tons burden is listed from onions to
millstones. A resume will give some idea of the wealth of commodities
brought to Virginia in 1620. Among the implements useful for clearing
land were pickaxes, felling-axes, squaring-axes, spades, weeding-hoes,
scythes, reap-hooks. Grindstones and two French millstones were brought
along with 22,500 nails, an anvil and two sieves for making gunpowder.
Material for making garments included linen of several grades, blue
linen for facing doublets, dowlas, canvas for sheets and shirts. Ready
for use were breeches of russet leather with leather linings, 100
Monmouth caps (round caps without a brim used by soldiers and sailors),
200 pairs of shoes of seven sizes, 100 pairs of knit socks, 100 pairs of
Irish stockings, falling-bands, which were the large loose collars that
fell about the neck replacing the stiff ruff of the sixteenth century.
Accessories included glass beads, buttons, thread, both brown and black,
twelve dozen yards of gartering, bone combs, scissors, shears and
tailors' shears.
Among the utensils were trenchers (wooden plates or trays),
bread-baskets, wooden spoons, porridge dishes, saucers and four dozen
platters. For food there was wheat, butter, cheese, white peas, dried
malt (probably for making beer), oatmeal, sugar, Irish beef, salted
beef, pork and codfish, flitches of bacon, biscuit and a separate item
of pap (mush) for indentured servants. Spices brought over included
pepper, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, mace, and in the dried fruits
there were dates, raisins, currants, prunes. A single variety in nuts is
listed in a quantity of almonds, certainly a luxury in the colony in
1620.
For the household and various uses on the plantation there were barrels
of tar and pitch, six hogsheads of baysalt (i.e. salt evaporated from
sea water), 102 pounds of soap, ten gallons of oil, candles, wire
candle-holders, lanterns and bellows. There were drugs and physic for
the indisposed. Spring planting had not been overlooked for the ship
brought a quantity of seeds in parsnips, carrots, cabbage, turnips,
lettuce, onions, mustard and garlic.
For protection there were corslets, muskets, swords, lead and powder.
Six bandoleers were listed; they were belts with loops holding pierced
metal cases which held the matches for firing the powder which set off
the charge in guns. The matches mentioned were actually slow burning
fuses, as the modern match did not come into use until the nineteenth
century.
Tragedy followed closely upon this auspicious second start for Berkeley
Hundred. William Tracy was dead by 8 April 1621 and his wife Mary died
the same year. Their daughter Joyce, who had married Captain Nathaniel
Powell, was slain with her husband in the Indian massacre of 1622. A son
Thomas who survived returned to England.
Of the twelve women named in the passenger list of the _Supply_, Joane
Greene failed to make the trip and also, probably, Frances Page, whose
husband was reported not to have come with the party, although he was
booked. Frances Greville, a young gentlewoman, a cousin of the Tracys,
was married by 1621 to young Nathaniel West, son of Lord De La Warr.
Shortly becoming a widow, she thereafter married, as his second wife,
the cape-merchant Abraham Peirsey and upon his death, 1626, she became
the wife of Captain Samuel Mathews of "Denbigh" on the Warwick River.
William Finch, who brought over his wife and daughter Frances, was dead
by 1622, and the widow shortly thereafter became the wife of Captain
John Flood and the mother of three sons and a daughter. Jane Rowles,
with her husband Richard, was slain and, though Joane Coopey and her son
Anthony died, the daughter Elizabeth survived. Elizabeth Webb married in
Virginia, and Isabel Gifford had been wed to Adam Raymer while the
_Supply_ was on the high seas.
THE MAGAZINE SHIPS
As has been previously indicated, all supplies, sent to the Colony
during the first ten years, were paid for through the Company's
treasury, but so great was the financial burden, particularly since the
Colony was not yielding the profit anticipated, that a different
arrangement was sought, in 1617. There was organized within the Company
a "Society of Particular Adventurers for Traffic with the People of
Virginia in Joint Stock." This was known as the Magazine, to which
members of the Virginia Company contributed such sums as they were
willing to venture. In practice, it was an association of private
investors who, upon return of the ship that had been sent stocked to
Virginia, divided the profits from the sale of goods and the tobacco
returned on the ships, according to their investment in the enterprise.
The first of these ships to arrive in the Colony was the _Susan_, a
vessel of small tonnage, with a cargo restricted to clothing of which
the colonists ever stood in great need. Abraham Peirsey was in charge as
Cape-Merchant and it was his responsibility also to dispose of the cargo
at a price that would bring a profit to the promoters. The exchange, of
course, was in tobacco or sassafras, the only two commodities at the
time, which could be disposed of in England at a profit. Evidently,
Peirsey was successful in his bargaining, for upon his return to England
in the _Susan_, he came back the following year with the second
magazine ship, the _George_, which was delayed five months and in
consequence unloaded a damaged cargo. Although during the remainder of
the Company's tenure in Virginia, until June 1624, transportation of
supplies, supposedly was restricted to the magazine ships, the vessels
of private adventurers often reached the Colony with articles which were
in the luxury class such as sweetmeats, sack (wine from southern Europe)
and strong waters (liquor). The Dutch probably were the chief promoters
of this trade, which England sought unsuccessfully to prohibit, as
diverting the tobacco trade from the realm and diminishing the royal
customs.
THE MUSTER OF THE INHABITANTS OF VIRGINIA, JANUARY, 1625
The dissolution of the Virginia Company in London, May 1624, left the
colony without restriction to independent traders, who shortly began to
respond to the colonists' eagerness for supplies from overseas. There
is, however, a record of the Colony at the conclusion of the Company's
administration taken just ahead of the influx of the accelerated trade.
As the Company was about to be dissolved, Captain John Harvey (later as
Sir John Harvey, Governor of Virginia) was sent over to obtain exact
information as to the number of people in Virginia, their names, where
they lived and what supplies and arms they possessed. The document
preserved in the British Public Record Office shows to what degree the
planters had spread their homes along both banks of the James River from
Henrico to Elizabeth City and Kecoughtan at the confluence of the James
River with the Chesapeake Bay (this point now Hampton Roads) and on the
Eastern Shore. In addition to the names of all persons living in the
colony, the ages of many are given, together with the times of their
arrival, and the names of the ships on which they came. Also, those
recently deceased are listed.
The 1232 persons living in Virginia, January, 1625, dwelt at
twenty-five locations. Several of these were large plantations, such as
Peirsey's Hundred, Mr. Treasurer's (George Sandys'), Martin's Hundred,
Captain Roger Smith's, Captain Samuel Mathews', Mr. Crowder's, Mr.
Blaney's and Newport News, where colonists lived in groups, presumably
as employees for the promotion of extensive enterprises. As previously
mentioned a number of these colonists at Henrico, James City, Charles
City and Elizabeth City were living on the Company's land. Yet, many at
this time dwelt upon their own acreages, assigned to them individually
in patents of record in a list sent to England the following year. For
instance, Lieutenant John Chisman and his brother Edward were living at
Kecoughtan on their patent of 200 acres, as was Pharoah Flinton who had
been assigned an 150 acre plot, and John Bush with his 300 acres, where
he dwelt with his wife, two children and two servants. For protection
against the Indians, palisades had been erected at a number of the
plantations.
Staples on hand are listed for every household, including corn, peas,
beans, oatmeal, fish, the latter both smoked and in brine. Besides, many
of the planters owned swine, poultry, goats and cattle. A few luxuries
were mentioned such as a flitch of bacon, cheese and oil. For
protection, the colonists possessed armor such as had been used in
England, but which probably proved to be of little use against the
stealthy natives in thickly wooded areas. Nevertheless, there were whole
suits of armor, including headpieces, coats of mail and coats of plate
and jack-coats (thickly padded jackets). The guns were of various types.
Many apparently were of the older design and the charge had to be fired
by the application of a fuse; others had been fixed with the more
up-to-date firing mechanism attached to the gun. There were also
matchlocks, snaphaunce pieces, pistols, swords and hangers (cutlasses).
For the larger plantation there were small cannon, called murderers,
usually placed at the bow of a ship to prevent boarding, falconets and
petronels. The matches mentioned were the slow-burning fuses, kept by a
soldier in his bandoleer. Once ignited, these "matches" kept a
smouldering fire and could be used again and again. Pirates were
accustomed to stick them lighted in their beards and hair, not to give a
ferocious look, but for convenience.
Powder and lead also were on hand in many households, for life, on the
edge of a wilderness with stealthy Indians frequently lurking about, was
hazardous in the extreme. Men who worked in the fields took fowling
pieces with them and, at times, armed guards were stationed to be on the
lookout, and warn the workers in case of danger.
Among other possessions listed were the houses of the planters, their
boats--barks, shallops and skiffs being named--and, at George Sandys'
plantation across from Jamestown, a house for silkworms had been framed.
The prolific growth of mulberry trees, about the Indian settlements and
elsewhere, encouraged the English to conclude that Virginia was an ideal
location for development of the silk industry. Greatly encouraged from
England, the colonists made earnest efforts, throughout the seventeenth
century, to establish the culture and production of silk on a paying
basis. However, the lure of profit accruing from the easy tobacco crop,
plus the difficulty in obtaining for the Colony skilled silk workers,
resulted eventually in the abandonment of the undertaking.
ABUNDANT SUPPLIES FOR THE COLONISTS
Fearing that their right of assembly, instituted in 1619, would be
revoked, the colonists, following the abrogation of the charter of the
Virginia Company, opposed the decision of King Charles I, to take over
administration of affairs in Virginia, and sent a protest to England,
1625. Nevertheless, facing the inevitable, they acceded to the Royal
demands and surrendered the colony to the King. One of the immediate
effects of the change in control was a stimulus to trade. So abundant
were the supplies brought in by traders, now independent of the
requirements formerly placed by the Virginia Company, that the
colonists, by 1630, had often become deeply indebted to the English
merchants.
An account of a trading voyage to Virginia, a venture in which eight
Englishmen joined to send both cargo and indentured servants to the
Colony and bring back tobacco, not only conveys an idea of commodities
and servants sold for domestic purposes, but projects a picture of life
along the estuaries flowing into the Chesapeake Bay, as the ship plied
from one plantation wharf to another, selling merchandise and human
help, both in demand. The _Tristram and Jane_ of London left England in
the late summer or early fall of 1636, arriving in Virginia in time for
the fall tobacco crop ready for the market in December. Daniel
Hopkinson, merchant, was in charge of the cargo, but dying before the
ship's return to England, he requested to be "decently" buried at the
Kecoughtan (Elizabeth City) Church.
At five or more ports of call, both cargo and servants were disposed of.
There were a number of items in the luxury class, such as sack (white
wine from southern Europe), strong waters (drink high in alcoholic
content), candy oil (olive oil from the island of Crete, originally
known as Candia), sugar, both powdered and loaf, shelled almonds (least
in demand among the items), marmalade of quinces, conserves of sloes
(plums), of roses and barberries, raisins, Sussex cheese, vinegar, and
handkerchiefs. Among the more useful items were: 87 pairs of shoes, 12
suits of clothing, nails of various sizes, of which there appeared to be
never enough in the Colony, peas and oatmeal. In addition to these, a
shallop, a pair of steelyards (scales), and three fowling pieces were
disposed of.
The ship stopped first at Kecoughtan (now Hampton), a populous
settlement, having been established by the colonists in 1610, and, here,
buried Hopkinson and disposed of some of her cargo of seventy-four white
persons who were sold as indentured servants. These persons, before
embarking from England, had agreed to serve a term of years, usually
seven, in the Colony in return for passage, clothes and supplies, to be
furnished them at the conclusion of their service. The major portion of
help in the colony, at this period, was of this class, although a few
Negroes were brought to Virginia by 1619, and approximately a score are
listed in the muster of 1625.
Upon departing from Kecoughtan, the ship retraced a portion of her
course in the Chesapeake Bay, and entered Back River, on which the
Langley Air Force Base and the laboratories for the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics are now located, and from there entered the
Old Poquoson River, later termed the Northwest Branch of Back River.
This very populous area was readily accessible to the port of Kecoughtan
both by water and by land.
Next, the _Tristram and Jane_ discharged cargo and sold servants on the
New Poquoson (now Poquoson) River, which flows into the Bay north of
Back River. In this latter area, first settled in 1630, patents had been
assigned, one including a large acreage to Christopher Calthrope, and it
is reasonable to conclude that both commodities and servants were
wanted.
From the New Poquoson, the ship sailed across the Chesapeake and traded
at Accawmack on the Eastern Shore, and then sailed back towards the
mouth of the James River, and entered Chuckatuck Creek and the Nansemond
River, where the Gookins, whose father had settled Newport News in 1621,
bought two servants. Other ports are not named, but among the purchasers
of servants was George Menefie on the James below Jamestown. It is
probable that the ship went as far up the River as the mouth of the
Appomattox.
Prices paid for the servants were not all the same, and a bonus of fifty
acres of land accrued to the planter, if the servant's passage money was
added to the purchase price.
Having unloaded the entire cargo, the _Tristram and Jane_ took on
tobacco for the return voyage, loading 99 hogsheads or a total of
31,800 pounds. In addition, the partners in the shipping enterprise
loaded two hogsheads on the _Unity_ of Isle of Wight, making a total
poundage of 32,350.
The _America_ was another of the trading vessels, which made annual
voyages to Virginia, between the years 1632 and 1636, and showed a
profit, in each of the first three years, of 640 pounds sterling. This
was divided among several partners in the enterprise. William Barker was
master and part owner of the vessel and made his Virginia headquarters
in Norfolk, where brief accounts of the voyages were entered in the
Court records, in 1646.
BETTER HOMES
As commodities began to reach Virginia in quantities, tools and building
supplies became available, and skilled workers arrived. Thus, homes
could be more sturdily built. By 1620, Reverend Richard Buck, who had
reached Virginia, 1610, had purchased from William Fairfax the latter's
dwelling house located on twelve acres of land in James City. In 1623,
William Claiborne was sent to the colony and laid out an area on
Jamestown Island known as New Town, where a number of dwellings were
erected.
As the colonists had begun to fashion clapboard and wainscoting by 1609,
and were using brick made in the Colony by 1612, the houses, built in
this newly laid-out area, were far more substantial than the early
shelters described. Among those dwelling in New Town, by 1624 were,
Richard Stephens, Ralph Hamor, George Menefie, John Chew, Doctor John
Pott, Captain John Harvey and Ensign William Spence.
In 1624, John Johnson was ordered by the Court to repair the "late
dwelling house" of Spence. References to other houses mentioned are
found in the early land patents. Abraham Peirsey, the cape-merchant,
directed, in his will dated 1626, that he be buried in his garden, where
his new frame house stood. Thomas Dunthorne's house is mentioned, in
1625, and in 1627, Sir George Yeardley noted, in his will of that date,
his dwelling house and other houses at Jamestown.
Since the materials are of record, these recently built homes may be
envisioned as having been constructed of hewn timbers, covered with
clapboard on the exterior, and wainscoting inside. The foundations and
chimneys were of brick, which, while not plentiful, was certainly being
supplied within the Colony at the period. Clay from the James River
shores and the Chickahominy was available, and reeds from the marshes at
hand furnished the necessary straw. It is entirely improbable that
bricks were at any time brought from England for building purposes.
Cargo space on inbound ships was too valuable and supplies too badly
needed to fill ships' holds with bricks, especially when materials for
making them were so close at hand.
Similar houses were being built in other areas at the same period. Mrs.
Rachel Pollentine's house in Warriscoyack (Isle of Wight) is mentioned
in 1628. John Bush had two houses at Kecoughtan by 1618.
Governor Sir John Harvey reported that Richard Kemp, Secretary of the
Colony, had the first brick house built in Virginia, in 1636, and at
Jamestown. However, Adam Thoroughgood, who was granted land at Lynnhaven
in Lower Norfolk County, is said to have begun construction of his brick
house there between 1636 and 1640. This house, which has undergone
numerous modifications throughout the years, is believed to be the
oldest colonial home now standing in Virginia. Originally, it is
believed to have been a one story, single-room house with chimneys at
both ends. Access to the loft above was by a ladder-like stairway; the
dormer windows were a later addition.
A very early house in Virginia, of which there is a clear Court record,
is the brick dwelling of the colonial planter Thomas Warren, located on
Smith's Fort Plantation, in Surry County. It is sometimes called the
Rolfe House, as the land, on which the house was erected, was a gift
from the Indian King to Thomas, son of John Rolfe and Pocahontas.
[Illustration: Photo by Flournoy, Virginia State Chamber of Commerce
Warren House--Surry County
Thomas Warren's "fifty foot brick house" on Smith's Fort Plantation was
mentioned in a deposition recorded in Surry County as having been, in
1654, "recently completed." The structure now standing is a version of
the original house, which apparently was rebuilt about the end of the
seventeenth century. Smith's Fort Plantation comprising 1200 acres was
purchased by Warren from Thomas Rolfe, son of John Rolfe and
Pocahontas.]
The dwelling-house of Captain Thomas Bernard on Mulberry Island was
mentioned in 1641. The Wills family lived in the same area in a brick
house during the 1650's, for, in 1659, Henry Jackson bequeathed, to "my
widow's eldest son John Wills, the part that belongs to him of my wife's
brick house and lands on Mulberry Island."
Before 1627 the first windmill in the colony had been erected and was in
operation at Flowerdew Hundred, Governor Yeardley's plantation on the
south side of the James River. The more affluent planters like Yeardley,
and in keeping with the English customs, maintained homes at the seat of
government while operating large plantations on the River not too far
distant.
William Peirce, captain of the Governor's guard, had a plantation
project on Mulberry Island while he and Mrs. Peirce lived at Jamestown.
On a visit to England in 1629, Mrs. Peirce reported, that she had lived
for 20 years in the Colony, and from her garden of three or four acres
at Jamestown, she had gathered about 100 bushels of figs, and that she
could keep a better house in Virginia for three or four hundred pounds a
year than in London.
Young Daniel Gookin, probably with his brother John, was living at
Newport News in 1633, where their father had established a home called
"Marie's Mount," for the Dutch sea-captain Peter deVries recorded that
he stopped there over night. The Gookins also maintained a plantation,
directly across from Newport News on the Nansemond River, at which point
the _Tristram and Jane_ called in 1637.
Richard Kingsmill, who patented land at Archer's Hope, James City, in
1626, planted there a pear orchard, and reported later that he had made
from fruit gathered there some forty or fifty butts of perry. In
addition to his house at Jamestown, George Menefie maintained a
plantation, near Archer's Hope Creek, called "Littletown" where he had
orchards of apple, pear, cherry and peach trees, and a flower garden
especially noted for its rosemary, thyme and marjoram. Captain Brocas of
the Council kept an excellent vineyard on his plantation, in Warwick
County, patented in 1638. Richard Bennett, of Nansemond River, developed
an apple orchard and, in 1648, reported that he had made from it twenty
butts of cider.
About 1625, Captain Samuel Mathews moved his seat from the south side of
the James River to a location near Blount Point at the mouth of the
Warwick River, and across from Mulberry Island, which later was called
"Denbigh." He married, a year or two thereafter, the widow of the
cape-merchant Abraham Peirsey. A contemporary writer, in 1648, described
Mathews' plantation as a miniature village, at the center of which was
the manor-house. On surrounding acreage, hemp and flax were sown, and
upon being harvested, the flax was spun and woven into cloth in one of
the many outbuildings. At a tan-house, eight shoemakers dressed leather
and made shoes. There were negro servants, some of whom worked in the
fields while others were taught trades. Barley and wheat, grown at
"Denbigh," were reported to have been sold at four shillings per bushel.
Some of the cattle raised on the place supplied the dairy while others,
kept for slaughtering, supplied meat for out-bound vessels. Mathews also
kept swine and poultry. Incidentally, Colonel William Cole acquired
"Denbigh" from the Mathews family in the latter part of the seventeenth
century. In turn, at the beginning of the nineteenth century,
descendants of Cole conveyed the original home site and several hundred
acres of the plantation to Richard Young, whose descendants still own a
portion of it.