plantations, took steps in 1670, to bring together the families and
promote sociability in the section. An agreement was entered into by Mr.
Corbin, Mr. Gerrard, Mr. Lee and Mr. Allerton to build a banqueting
house "for the continuance of a good neighborhood." Each man or his
heirs in turn then would make "an honorable treatment fit to entertain
the undertakers thereof, their wives, mistresses and friends, yearly and
every year." This appears to be the antecedent of the modern country
club.
In hunting, fishing, and fowling there was always ample out-of-door
recreation at hand. In addition to the deer-hunts, there were often
bear-hunts, and 'possum and 'coon-hunts were popular nighttime sports.
On the latter occasions a party of men set out, preferably on a
moonlight night, with their dogs. Having entered the woods, the dogs
shortly took up the trail of their intended victim, while the men on
foot followed the yelping dogs through the rough terrain. Finally the
exhausted animal was "treed" and there the sport reached a climax. If
the dogs were unable to reach their victim the tree was hastily felled,
whereupon the pack of dogs made short work of the creature. In case the
'possum sought refuge in a hollow log, he was smoked out and the end was
the same.
There was less excitement in hunting rabbits and squirrels, and the
pursuit of the fox had certainly not attained in the seventeenth century
the social status that it enjoys in sections of Virginia today.
In fishing, many of the colonists acquired from the natives a skill in
spearing fish, though netting them was far more general in the Colony.
Horse-racing as a regular sport was inaugurated in the latter half of
the seventeenth century, although it does not appear that horses were
bred and kept especially for racing in that period as they were during
the eighteenth century. At the "race-paths" at "Malvern Hill," the Cocke
plantation in Henrico, running the quarter of a mile was a popular
contest.
Elsewhere, similar races were engaged in. In 1674, James Bullock, a
tailor, was fined 100 pounds of tobacco in York County for racing his
horse against Mr. Mathew Slader's horse, the decree reciting that it was
"contrary to law for a laborer to make a race, being a sport only for
gentlemen." Yet, Mr. Slader's intent to cheat at the race brought him a
sentence of an "hour in the stocks."
On 10 May, 1676, Samuel Morris aged 27 years, deposed in Court about a
horse-race run at Rappahannock Church.
Richard Ligon, to whom his cousin Thomas Harris bequeathed his "mares
and foals" in 1679, was one of the racing enthusiasts of the Colony. He
engaged in a horse-race and a controversy over it in 1678, and the
following year he ran his horse against that of Alexander Womack, the
wager being 300 pounds of tobacco. In 1683, Andrew Martin and Edward
Hatcher put their horses in a contest in which the loser's horse was the
stake to be won.
The colonists often were quarrelsome over their racing, and not
infrequently, bets on horses were put in writing and recorded in the
County records, that there might be no mistake in regard to the terms.
These races elicited a great deal of interest on the part of the people
in the countryside where they were staged.
For active recreation, bowling and tenpins; and card games of various
sorts were engaged in, often at the ordinaries, and, since wagers on the
games of which there are a record, were usual, they will be dealt with
elsewhere.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Although existing records do not convey information, as to the part
music played in the life of the Virginia planter of the seventeenth
century, they do provide clues that music was enjoyed, and that a number
of instruments were in the colony. Josias Mode, host at the French
Ordinary in York County, whose widow, before 1679, married Charles
Hansford, of York, owned two violins. It is reasonable to conclude,
therefore, that guests at his hostelry were frequently entertained with
music from that instrument. The virginal (a small rectangular spinet
without legs) was the most common of instruments known to have been in
possession of the colonists, while they also owned and played the
fiddle, both small and large, the cornet, the recorder (a flageolet or
old type of flute), the flute and the hautboy. These instruments in the
hands of music lovers, frequently self-taught for the most part,
entertained the planters' families and enlivened gatherings assembled
for weddings and birthday celebrations. The hand lyre also was known in
Virginia.
DRINKING HABITS
In their drinking habits the Englishmen in Virginia were no different
from the Englishmen "at home." Accustomed to the use of "strong waters,"
they brought their tastes and their habits to the Colony. Hence, it is
not surprising that the idea arose in England that the excessive
sickness in Virginia was due to the substitution of water for beer in
Virginia. This notion may have had substance at the time, since there
were no sanitary precautions in the area of the shallow wells at
Jamestown. Polluted water, no doubt, contributed to the prevalent
sickness in the summer months, whereas the fermented and distilled
waters disposed of impurities before they were ready for consumption
and, thus, assured to imbibers a degree of safety from germ-bred
diseases.
As early as 1609, the Virginia Company advertised for two brewers
available to go to Virginia, and, in plans for the third and largest
expedition sent under Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Somers in 1609,
provision was made to include experienced men, so that malt liquors
could be brewed in the Colony and thus, the necessity of crowding the
ships with such supplies generally in demand, could be avoided.
Prior to 1625, two brewhouses were being operated in Virginia, and
twenty years later there were six. Also, the Virginia Assembly
recommended that all immigrants should bring in their own supply of malt
to be used in brewing, thus avoiding the use of drinking water, at least
until they had become accustomed to the climate. At the same time,
various products in the colony were found adaptable for producing
drinks--persimmons for beer, sassafras for wine, and both barley and
Indian corn were cultivated for brewing purposes.
Many of the planters developed their own facilities of one kind or
another. Colonel Bridger had a malt-mill, and John Fisher a still. Cider
was the established drink for family use and, as is known, gathered a
good deal of strength as it aged. In addition, as trade between the
Colony and the West Indies became brisk, quantities of rum (made from
molasses) was brought in from that source. It became a common drink, was
distributed especially for the use of servants, and was generally
available in taverns, as was brandy distilled from peaches and apples.
The well-to-do planters were able to purchase the imported liquors and
wines of a finer grade, sack and "aquavite" being the most popular in
the early part of the century, while later, madeira, claret, and Rhenish
wine became available. Some of the finest wines were to be had at the
taverns, including sherry, malaga, canary, and claret.
At meetings of public bodies, a supply of liquor was always provided
for, ahead of time; Charles Hansford, of York County, agreed, in 1677,
to supply the Justices meeting at the leased home of his deceased
brother, a gallon of brandy at each session of the Court. One of the
duties of the Auditor General of Virginia was to arrange for the supply
of wines and liquors, which the august body of the Governor's Council of
State expected to be on hand, while they were in session. While William
Byrd I held that office, in the latter part of the seventeenth century,
he ordered for their use, twenty dozen bottles of claret, six dozen of
canary, sherry, and Rhenish wines, and a quarter of a cask of brandy.
Excessive use of liquors became the concern of the first Assembly
sitting in 1619, who ordered that persons guilty of a first offense be
privately reproved by the minister. In 1624, the churchwardens of every
parish were ordered to report to the Commander of the plantations, in
which the Parish lay, all persons who had imbibed too freely. By 1632, a
fine of five shillings was set to discourage intoxication, and by the
middle of the century, heavier fines were imposed.
The colonists were aware of the excessive use of liquor, particularly in
gatherings. The will, of Edmund Watts of York County, dated 20 February
1675, forbade the serving of drinks at his funeral, the testator
reciting that, inasmuch as he had observed "the debauched drinking used
at burials, tending to the dishonor of God and religion, my will is that
no strong drink be provided or spent at my burial."
In 1676, while Nathaniel Bacon held sway in the colony, efforts were
made to suppress many long-standing abuses, among them, excessive
drinking encouraged by the many taverns and ordinaries in existence.
Laws were enacted, at that time, revoking the licenses of all inns,
alehouses and drinking establishments, except those at James City, and
two at the ferries on the York River, where only beer and cider could be
sold. This was the first recorded attempt at prohibition in Virginia.
After the Rebellion was over, the enactment was modified, permitting the
operation of two ordinaries in each county. Jamestown, the seat of
government, was excepted from the limitation.
THE MINT JULEP
Just when the famous drink of the Virginia gentleman, the mint julep,
was first mixed is not known, but the Colony possessed all the
requisites during the seventeenth century. As heretofore mentioned,
there was an ice house at Jamestown about the middle of the century. The
fragrant mint grown in the planters' gardens, along with other herbs,
has been known from time immemorial for its cooling refreshment,
especially on a hot summer day. Brewed in a tea, mint was used both for
a drink and, as a medicine, to induce mild perspiration and so bring
down fever. The leaves, at times, made into a poultice, soothed
inflammation.
Added to "strong waters" and ice, the mint with its delicate flavor, its
cooling, soothing qualities, made the perfect drink for Virginia
gentlemen during the humid midsummer. It was a favorite all-year-around,
and three times a day. A julep before breakfast was usual, and grew into
a custom, which lingered into the early twentieth century, in areas
where the plantation manners persisted.
Although pewter was in general use for tableware during the period,
glass was made in the colony, as early as 1609, and imported glasses not
infrequently are mentioned in inventories. Mrs. Elizabeth Digges, of the
"E D Plantation" in York County, left an estate in 1691 that included
both earthenware and glasses.
With all the requisites at hand, it seems probable that the mint julep
had its origin in the latter half of the century. If there was a company
of friends, chilling the glasses ahead probably fell to a servant, who
also was trained in the art of crushing the mint leaves with a bit of
sugar, in each glass. Into this, at the proper moment was added the
crushed ice to the brim and, as a jigger or two of liquor flowed over
the ingredients, the glasses frosted and were topped with a sprig of
mint. The pleasantness of the drink was not deemed its single virtue,
for there was a very sincere belief in the efficacy of this refreshment
in the promotion of good health and, particularly, in warding off the
current fevers that plagued the lowlands.
GAMING
The inherent human trait of taking a chance for possible gain led the
colonists to amuse themselves at games and sports, in which they
invariably added a wager to lend zest to the occasion. This practice,
generally prevalent in England, quite naturally was extended to the
Colony, as the English established themselves with all their customs and
habits in the new land. Betting was general at games and in sports,
including horse-racing, heretofore dealt with, and cockfights.
Efforts to halt gambling apparently had little effect as most of it was
carried on semi-privately. However, in 1646, Richard Smyth and John
Bradshaw were fined 100 pounds of tobacco in Lower Norfolk County for
"unlawful gaming at cards."
Unfortunately, knowledge of games played in the seventeenth century is
available largely through the bets placed and subsequent accounts of
these in the Court records. Doubtless many games were played among
families on the plantations, as they are today, among friends, without
wagers, but there was no occasion to record them. Thus, the fact
predominates that cards, dice and ninepins were generally sources of
amusement--for stakes.
Playing ninepins at the ordinary was part of the gentleman's day, when
he came to the centers in the Colony, where these public places were
established in numbers, after the middle of the century. At Varina, in
Henrico County, Richard Cocke of "Bremo" operated the ferry and also
the ordinary there, where in 1681, his nephew young Thomas Cocke, Jr. is
recorded as having been playing at ninepins for stakes with Richard
Rathbone and Robert Sharpe. In 1685, in Henrico also, possibly at the
ordinary, Giles Carter won 500 pounds of tobacco at dice from Charles
Stewart. A card game called "putt" (put) and a game known as cross and
pile (probably similar to "heads and tails") also were the media for
bets, the bets no doubt affording the main interest in the game.
Luke Thornton and Peter Evans of Richmond County, "having agreed to play
at cards at the game of 'putt'," had their arrangements with one another
recorded, 7 February 1695, together with the consideration stipulated
for the winner. The records do not reveal the outcome of the game nor
any provision for enforcing by law the terms agreed upon. Nevertheless,
the likelihood is that the winner collected, for, otherwise, the loser
could be held up to public scorn.
FUNERAL CUSTOMS
When Abraham Peirsey, affluent cape-merchant, directed in his will,
1628, that he be buried "without any pomp or vainglory," he probably was
protesting the tendency towards elaborate funerals, even in the early
days of the Colony. It is not known whether or not his wishes in this
respect were carried out; however, he was, no doubt, buried in his
garden near his new frame house, as he requested.
On the other hand, Daniel Hopkinson, English merchant, who died on a
voyage to Virginia, requested that he be "decently" buried at the
Kecoughtan (Hampton) church, in accordance with the customs prevailing
in the area. The amount spent on his funeral is an item in the accounts
of the _Tristram and Jane_, on which he had crossed the seas as
supercargo.
Arthur Smith of Isle of Wight County, in his will dated 1645, directed
that he be "buried by my late beloved wife," and Richard Cocke, of
"Bremo" on the lower James River, requested in his will, dated 1665,
that he be "interred in the orchard near my first wife." Doubtless, the
second wife, mother of several of his younger children, carried out her
husband's wishes and permitted her deceased mate whatever comfort there
might be in the forethought of resting in the cold, dark ground beside
the lovely lady he had first chosen to be his bride.
[Illustration: Photo by Flournoy, Virginia State Chamber of Commerce
Windsor Castle--Isle of Wight County
This home is located on a portion of the original grant of 1450 acres to
Arthur Smith I, who came to the Colony in 1622. The town of Smithfield
was laid out in 1752 by his great-grandson Arthur Smith IV, to whom the
General Assembly granted permission to partition off seventy-five acres
of his entailed estate.]
At every plantation there was a family burying ground, not far distant
from the house, and usually in or near the garden, where the blossoms
carefully nurtured, brightened the last resting places of deceased
members of the family. The plantation burying-ground originated through
necessity rather than in sentiment. In the seventeenth century a real
problem would have been posed by any attempt to transport the deceased
and the funeral procession to the distant churchyard.
The Swann family, living across from Jamestown at "Swann's Point,"
buried deceased members on the plantation and, for almost three
centuries, their graves could be identified. The Travis family living on
Jamestown Island and near the church there, nevertheless, interred their
dead in the family burying-ground at the lower end of the island, and
some of the later marked graves may still be identified.
Markers in the Jamestown church, some over unknown graves, indicate the
practice of burying persons, probably those of importance, within the
church, as was often done in England. The Knight's tomb in the Jamestown
churchyard is believed to be that of Sir George Yeardley, appointed
Governor of Virginia, 1618, and deceased, 1627. Colonel John Page, who
gave the land on which Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg is built,
was buried in its churchyard, as were his wife and son Francis. The
stone, placed in memory of Colonel Page, was later removed and placed
within the Church.
While funerals in seventeenth-century Virginia were solemn occasions,
there was an inescapable social aspect to the gatherings of family and
friends, who assembled from the countryside, both to comfort the
bereaved and attend the departed on his last journey. When a planter or
a member of his family died, messengers were sent out at once by sloop
or shallop up and down the rivers or later, overland, on horseback. If
the family bore arms, the hatchment, emblazoned with this emblem, was
hung upon the door. Incidentally, the only known hatchment, that has
survived in Virginia, is in possession of the Carter family at "Shirley"
in Charles City County.
At once, preparations were begun to accommodate the relatives and
friends who were sure to assemble for the last rites. Coming from a
distance, they would be hungry upon arrival, and not only was a great
amount of food prepared but the cellar was explored for its contents of
drink, which the company expected to be brought forth. Occasionally, a
man, in making his will, directed what should be spent for the "funeral
meats" and drink, although Edmund Watts of York County, in 1675, forbade
the serving of drinks at his funeral.
At the final rites for John Smalcomb in 1645, the company consumed a
steer and a barrel of strong beer, the cost of which amounted to 960
pounds of tobacco, while the coffin cost only 250 pounds. The gathering
assembled in 1678, for the funeral of Mrs. Elizabeth (Worsham) Epes,
widow successively of William Worsham and Francis Epes of Henrico
County, consumed a steer, three sheep, five gallons of wine, two gallons
of brandy, ten pounds of butter and eight pounds of sugar.
The firing of guns was accepted as a regular feature of a funeral, and
at the Smalcomb rites the powder spent amounted to twenty-four pounds of
tobacco. In order to curb the waste of ammunition at entertainments, the
Assembly, in 1655, passed an act forbidding its use on occasions except
at "marriages and funerals."
In addition to expenditures as aforesaid and for the coffin, the latter
usually made by some local carpenter, there were costs for notifying
the countryside, costs for mourning bands, sitting up with the corpse,
and the fee for the funeral sermon. If burial was in the churchyard,
there was the cost of digging and filling the grave. The cost of a
winding sheet of Holland (coarse unbleached linen), in 1652, was 100
pounds of tobacco. The cost of the funeral sermon in two instances in
York County in 1667, was two pounds sterling each and in 1690, five
pounds sterling.
As there were no undertakers, the laying out of the corpse was a tender
ministration for which some close friend of the family volunteered. The
technique for this service was passed from generation to generation and
only in comparatively recent years has that custom been abandoned
altogether.
The company of relatives and friends, who gathered for the funeral
occasion, remained for several days and were, of course, fed and housed
at the expense of the deceased's estate.
The law required that servants be buried in public cemeteries
established for the purpose. This decree issued in the seventeenth
century followed several scandals, occasioned by private funerals of
deceased servants. In order to remove all possibility of suspicion,
prior to burial, several neighbors were summoned to view the corpse, if
death occurred under extraordinary circumstances, and to accompany the
body to the grave. That such precautions were taken as early as 1629, so
that possible murder would not go undetected, is shown in testimony
before the General Court at Jamestown after the newly-born bastard child
of a servant girl was found dead. Several persons were called as
witnesses, and when evidence was produced that the child might have been
born alive, the serving maid's master was required to give bond for her
appearance at a higher court.
TOMBSTONES
The well-to-do planters or their families invariably saw that
appropriate tombstones with proper inscriptions--lengthy ones,
characteristic of the day--were duly placed. Some of these stones
remain with barely legible inscriptions; others, the inscriptions on
which, fortunately, were copied in a past era, have disappeared
altogether. The oldest tombstone in Virginia with a legible inscription
is that of Mrs. Alice Jordan at "Four Mile Tree" in Surry County. The
inscription, reciting that she was the wife of George Jordan, gives
praise in verse to her virtues.
[Illustration: Photo by Flournoy, Virginia State Chamber of Commerce
Four Mile Tree--Surry County
A seventeenth-century home was the basis for this present structure
located on a portion of a 2250 acre grant to Henry Browne in 1637. The
estate remained in the family for two hundred years. In the adjacent
graveyard may be seen the oldest tomb in Virginia with a legible
inscription, that of Alice (Miles) Jordan, who died in 1650.]
Tombstones in the seventeenth century were real memorials, often giving
parentage of the deceased, the name of wife or husband and the number of
children. Furthermore, there was, as aforesaid, a eulogy of the deceased
and, for men, an account of public service rendered.
With a great deal of pride in family background, those Englishmen in
Virginia, whose families were entitled to bear arms, invariably had
these cut upon the stones along with the lengthy inscriptions. The
stones were ordered from England. As previously mentioned, Mrs. Sarah
Yeardley, in 1657, directed that her executor sell her jewels and
purchase in England stones for herself and her second husband. Her son,
by the first husband, Adam Thoroughgood II of Lower Norfolk County, was
equally zealous that proper memorials be placed and directed his
executrix (wife), in his will, dated 1679, to have his body interred in
the Church at Lynnhaven, and "cause a tombstone of marble to be sent
for, with coat of arms of Sir George Yeardley [his wife's father] and
myself." Unfortunately, these tombs together with the site of the old
Lynnhaven Church, have been washed beneath the waters of Lynnhaven Bay.
The tombstones bearing coats of arms of George Read deceased, 1671 and
his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Nicolas Martiau, uncovered during
excavations at Yorktown in 1931 were removed to the graveyard
surrounding Christ Church. The inscriptions, badly worn, were recut with
information then in hand; however, the dates since have been found to be
slightly in error. The tombstone of William Cole II, Secretary of State
for the Colony, 1690, erected after his death, 1694, at "Bolthrope,"
bore the Cole coat of arms, accompanied by a lengthy inscription,
reciting in part that the deceased was "unspotted on the bench,
untainted at the bar." Unfortunately, when the graveyard lay neglected
for many years and overgrown with vines, other ancient stones, placed
there, were broken and portions of them, from time to time, carried away
by fishermen to be used as mooring stones for their boats.