An Archaeological and Historical Study of the Tobacco Pipe Trade in the Potomac River Valley Ca
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Tennessee, Knoxville Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2015 Community Formation and the Development of a British-Atlantic Identity in the Chesapeake: An Archaeological and Historical Study of the Tobacco Pipe Trade in the Potomac River Valley ca. 1630-1730 Lauren Kathleen McMillan University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Lauren Kathleen McMillan entitled "Community Formation and the Development of a British-Atlantic Identity in the Chesapeake: An Archaeological and Historical Study of the Tobacco Pipe Trade in the Potomac River Valley ca. 1630-1730." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Anthropology. Barbara J. Heath, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Gerald F. Schroedl, Elizabeth J. Kellar, Christopher P. Magra Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) Community Formation and the Development of a British- Atlantic Identity in the Chesapeake: An Archaeological and Historical Study of the Tobacco Pipe Trade in the Potomac River Valley ca. 1630-1730 A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Lauren Kathleen McMillan August 2015 Copyright © 2015 by Lauren Kathleen McMillan All rights reserved. ii Acknowledgements There are many people and organizations that I would like to acknowledge and thank for their help and support throughout the research, analysis, and writing of this dissertation. Barbara Heath served not only as my committee chair and advisor, but as a mentor in more ways than one. Her vast knowledge of archaeology, material culture, anthropology, and history have been invaluable during my doctoral pursuit and her professionalism and guidance have helped me grow as an archaeologist. Gerald Schroedl's insights into pertinent archaeological literature helped make this dissertation stronger, as did his eye for detail and editorial comments. Elizabeth Kellar's work on materiality and her comments and suggestions helped shape my research and my understanding of the archaeological record and material culture. Christopher Magra provided a strong historical perspective to my research and fundamentally impacted my way of thinking about the early modern world. I received several sources of funding for this research. The generous donations of Newton W. and Wilma C. Thomas provided the funds for the Graduate Fellowship in the Humanities and Social Sciences that supported my first four years of study at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. My fifth and final year of the doctoral program was supported by the University of Tennessee Humanities Center's in residence Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. These two fellowships not only provided financial support for my entire time at UTK, but also afforded me the freedom to travel for research, workshops, conferences, and other professional development opportunities. I was awarded two scholarships from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville's Department of Anthropology: the Patricia Black Scholarship Fund and the Kneberg-Lewis Dissertation Scholarship. I am grateful the to the department's faculty for supporting my research. The Virginia Chapter of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America iii supported me while in residence at Stratford Hall Plantation in order to examine clay tobacco pipes from the Clifts Plantation archaeological site. The University of Tennessee Graduate Student Senate helped fund many of my conference trips. Several organizations allowed me access to their collections for this research. Patricia Samford, Rebecca Morehouse, Sara Rivers-Cofield, and Erin Wingfield of the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory helped with my examination of many sites from Maryland. Dee DeRoche at the Virginia Department of Historical Resources helped me gain access to several sites from Westmoreland County, Virginia. Silas Hurry and Henry Miller of Historic St. Mary's City aided with my examination of sites in the 17th-century capital of Maryland. The Robert E. Lee Memorial Association provided me a place to stay while cataloging tobacco pipes from their Clifts Plantation assemblage, and Gretchen Pendleton and Karen Louvar allowed me access to their collections. I used data from the National Park Service's George Washington Birthplace Monument generated by Julia King's National Endowment for the Humanities funded project Colonial Encounters: The Lower Potomac Valley at Contact, 1500-1720. I also used data sets from Newman's Neck and Coan Hall, both of which were reanalysis projects initiated and conducted by Barbara Heath. My friends and colleagues in the Department of Anthropology provided the support network needed to complete this dissertation. The historical archaeology cohort and members of my incoming class were always there to talk and commiserate with. Crystal Ptacek, Esther Rimer, Hope Smith, Katie Lamzik, and Kim Pyszka- y'all are great! Meagan Dennison deserves a special shout-out for her constant companionship, for always providing a listening ear, and getting sushi with me whenever I wanted! I, of course, cannot forget Andrew Wilkins, my longtime friend and archaeological buddy; thanks for many things, including making the maps iv used in this dissertation, helping me get work in the summer, and generally being an awesome guy! There are several other people who deserve special thanks. Douglas Sanford of the University of Mary Washington set me on this path as an undergraduate and has served as a mentor throughout all of my training. Charles Ewen of East Carolina University has continued to encourage me after leaving his direct tutelage. David Muraca of the George Washington Foundation first got me interested in pipes while I was an intern at Ferry Farm and has continued to support me in my archaeological pursuits. Taft Kiser proved to be an invaluable source of information regarding locally-made pipes in the Chesapeake. My parents, Larry and Valerie McMillan, and my brother, Ian McMillan, have always encouraged me, even when I went off on archaeological tangents at Thanksgiving dinner, or "requested" that they help me move to another state, yet again. Anytime I felt discouraged, I only had to call home to be cheered up by my biggest fans and I could not have done it without them. James and Jennifer Heironimus, my adoptive aunt and uncle, have supported me throughout this entire process and provided humorous outlets when needed. My uncle and aunt-in-law, Barry Jett and Jeanie Locke, always gave me a place to stay when I was conducting research in the area and always reminded me of the end game. Last, but certainly not least, my husband, partner, and best friend, Brad Hatch, has always been my rock and greatest supporter. Thank you all! v Abstract Trade in goods, and the exchange of information and ideas that resulted, was the backbone and lifeblood of the Chesapeake colonies. Through these formal and informal interactions colonists formed personal and community relationships that defined many aspects of life in 17th-century Virginia and Maryland. Marked or decorated imported clay tobacco pipes and locally-produced mold-made tobacco pipes are one of the most tangible pieces of evidence of these relationships and are the main focus of this study. By combining archaeological and documentary records, the multiple interaction spheres in which residents from 16 archaeological sites in the Potomac River Valley were engaged from 1630 to 1730 are studied to examine the impacts of politics and conflict on trade and exchange. The overarching questions that guide this study of local and trans-oceanic trade are: How did colonists on the periphery use material culture to negotiate their new place within the early modern world, their integration within the Atlantic World, their participation in the emerging capitalist world-system, and ultimately, how did their actions on the periphery help shape the formation of an 18th-century British-Atlantic identity? The formation of social networks based on the trade of goods and the exchange of information at the local, regional, trans-Atlantic, trans-ethnic, and trans-national levels helped Chesapeake settlers establish a new colonial society; a society with foundations not only rooted in English culture, laws, and mores, but one that was also heavily influenced by interactions with new groups of people. While the colonists encountered many different groups of people, all of whom contributed to the formation of this new society, I will specifically trace Anglo-Dutch interactions and discuss the influence of political and economic ideologies from the Netherlands on Chesapeake culture. The creolization process was not the same for everyone, and the adoption of a multiscalar , micro-historical approach allows for a discussion of trade at the household,