Life in Old Virginia

For Reference Do Not Take From the Library y R 975.5 M135 1 R-PA McDonald, Jamps Joseph, 18 44- Life in old Virginia '; osGîyjsciiiiLss For Reference Not to be taken from this room i^ViJj.ii;iWrfiUli' r :..-.,.,.;. :j.::.CH F'U3UC LIBRARY 936 INDEPiiiNDENCE BLVD. VIRGINIA BEACH, VA 23455 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from LYRASIS members and Sloan Foundation http://www.archive.org/details/lifeinoldvirOOmcdo Captain John Smith. LIFE IN OLD VIRGINIA A DESCRIPTION 0/ VIRGINIA. MORE PARTICULARLY THE TIDEWATER SECTION, NAR- RATING MANY INCIDENTS RELATING TO THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS of OLD VIRGINIA SO FAST DISAPPEARING AS A RESULT o/THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES, TOGETHER WITH MANY HUMOROUS STORIES ILLUSTRATED JAMES J. McDonald Formerly State Senator from the 36th Senatorial District of Virginia EDITED BY J. A. C. Chandler The Old Virginia Publishing Co. (Inc.), Norfolk, Va. IVJ C M V I I LIBRARY VIRGINIA BEACH PUBUC VIRGINIA BEACH PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM - DUP y- i M 1 j~> AlflE30 lbb7D5 Copyright 1907 By The OW Virginia Publishing Company (inc.) Â^ FOREWORD When I am old and feeble, And cannot work any more, Then carry me back to Old Virginia, To Old Virginia's shore. This sentiment doubtless was most forcibly expressed in the year 1907, during which there was witnessed an international celebration of the first permanent settlement of the English speaking people upon the American continent. In aid of this event the Congress of the United States passed an Act approved March 3, 1905, entitled "An Act to provide for celebrating the birth of the American jSTation, the first permanent settlement of English speaking people on the Western hemisphere, by the holding of an international naval, marine and military celebration in the vicinity of Jamestown in the waters of Hampton Eoads, in the State of Virginia, to provide for the suitable and permanent Commemoration of said event and to authorize an appropriation in aid thereof and for other purposes." The Act authorized the President of the United States to make public proclamation of this celebration, " inviting foreign nations to participate by the sending of their naval and such representatives of their military organizations as may be proper." The proclamation fixed the time of the beginning of the celebration on May 13, and ending not later than November 1, 1907. The purpose of this book is to give a brief history of the efforts of the English to establish permanent settlements in Virginia, and to follow with interesting stories of the life and customs of the people inhabiting particularly that part of [ iii ] — IV FOREWORD Old Virginia, known as the " Tidewater " section where American civilization began its first struggles for existence amid the forests of a new world whose only occupants then were wild beasts and savage men. It was the fortune of the writer to pass more than twenty- five years of his life in Eastern Virginia, beginning at the close of that great struggle—the War between the States when there yet existed many of the customs and manners in- herited from the forefathers of the quiet and orderly people inhabiting that section. By means of official and social inter- course with all classes of the citizens of Tidewater Virginia the writer is indebted for much of the interesting and amus- ing data herein submitted to the reader. The book also contains the names of all the counties with date of formation and a valuable appendix giving a list with short biographical sketches of all the governors of Virginia. This volume is, therefore, intended as a reference book as well as for general reading. Many of the narratives may appear disconnected, but the author wishes it understood that his purpose has been not to give a connected history but to present those facts of Virginia relating especially to the life and customs which are fast disappearing and of which there has been no chronicler. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGB I The Domain of Virginia 1 II The PeninsuLl^vs of Tidewater Virginia. ... 5 III The Indians of Aîrginia 2xf IV The Lost Colony of Roanoke 36 V The Founding of an English Nation in America 43 VI Captain John Smith 64 VII The Place of S.aiitii's Rescue 71 VIII Virginia Firmly Planted 78 IX Old Williamsburg 84 X Marrying in Old Virginia 90 XI The Growth of Virginia in Colonial Days . 97 XII Some Observations on Tidewater People. 114 XIII The Commonwealth of Virginia, 1776- 1860 138 XIV The Fegro Slave in Virginia 148 XV Secession and Civil War 160 XVI The jSTegro and His Former Master 168 XVII County Courts in Tidewater Virginia. 179 XVIII Country Roads IN Tidewater Virginia 205 XIX Lands and Products 2^1 XX Life and CusTo:\rs 267 XXI Miscellaneous 310 Appendix—List of Governors of Virginia with Short ^^^ Biographical Sketches , , , [v] ) ; ILLUSTRATIONS. Captain John Smith Frontispiece. •'^""^ ^^^^ Birthplace of James Munroe. ) Birthplace of George Washington ) Rope Ferry near West Point ) 3., Ruins of White House on Pamunkey River ) Place of Smith's Rescue (Rosewell) ) ^2 Indian Dance j ^^^^°°^ ^°^^-^^ Yorktown, Va. \ I 130 ( Principal Street Carpet of ) Bag Reconstruction Days ^^^ Edmund RufEn Wind Grist Mill . ... 174 Water-power (« Overshot Wheel ») Grist Mill Birthplace of General R. E. Lee ) r^r.. Home of President Tyler . ) Foot Bridge over a Run ) 2os A Winding Hill Road of Tidewater ) ** Buck and Bright," Virginia ) a Ox Team 29o A Negro ex-Confederate Soldier. ) Watermelon Hucksters on the way to Richmond ) ^-ia A Map of Virginia ) A Successful Coon Hunt 204 Shore Fishery ) "Sunnyside," a Tidewater Virginia Home ) 2qo Berkley, Birthplace of President Harrison | Residence of General R. E. lyce, Richmond, Va., (1861-1865) 318 Confederate Monument in Hollywood. 330 White House of the Confederacy, with Shaft of the Merrimac 334 [ vii ] : Life in Old Virginia CHAPTEE I The Domain of Virginia " The historian Burke wrote : A correct history of Virginia would be the history of North America itself, a portion of the globe, which enjoying the invaluable privilege of self government, promises to eclipse the glory of Rome and Athens. In this part of the American Continent the first permanent estab- lishment was formed by the English, and it is here we must look for those ancient documents and materials, whose discovery will throw light on the history of the other States." Virginia, now a South Atlantic State, and one of the original thirteen States to form the Union, was named in honor of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen, and originally com- prised all the territory north of Florida extending " from sea to sea," across this continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. Wliat is now left of this immense territory, bearing the honored name of Virginia, lies between the parallels of 36° 31' and 39° 27' North; and longitude 75° 13' and 83° 37' West, containing a gross area of 43,450 square miles, or 27,168,000 acres; 40,125 square miles of which is land surface, and 2,325 square miles of water surface. It contains 100 counties, which are grouped into six grand divi- sions, as follows (1) Tidewater Virginia; (2) Middle Virginia; (3) Pied- mont, Virginia; (4) The Valley of Virginia; (5) The Blue Ridge, and (6) Apalachia. [1] 9 LIFE IN OLD VIRGINIA The first dividing of the original territory named Virginia was by James I of England, who on April 10, 1606, granted a charter to the " South Virginia Company " of London, commonly called the " London Company,'' and to the " North Virginia Company," of Plymouth. When this charter was granted, the Crown of England claimed the whole of North America called " Virginia," between 34° and 45° north latitude under the name of Virginia, by right of discovery. It was conceded that Spain occupied all south of 34°—commonly called Florida—and to France was conceded all north of 45°. To the London Company was granted the territory between 34° and 41° north latitude, running from ocean to ocean. The northern limits of Virginia were afterwards curtailed by grants to Lord Baltimore in 1631 and to William Penn in 1681, and the southern limits by a grant to the Proprietors of the Carolinas by charter in 1663. The next division of Vir- ginia's territory was by deed of cession through her delegates in the Continental Congress, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee, and James Monroe on March 1, 1784. When the definite treaty of peace with Great Britain was made, September 3, 1783, the general government had no lands in its possession, though the States had promised to cede their western lands. All the territory included in that treaty was then claimed by some one or other of the several States. It was through the cessions of these several States which claimed the lands that the United States government derived title to what is known as public lands, or "public domain." Subsequently both the public and national domain v/as acquired and added to by the general government by purchase, treaty and annexation from France, Spain, Texas, and Russia, during several respective periods. The " national domain " is the total area, land and water, embraced within THE DOMAIN OF VIRGINIA 3 the boundaries of the United States of America. The United States government also holds dominion over the Sandwich Islands, some parts of the West Indies, and the Philippine Islands, all of which are outside the limits of the main lands of North America. Prior to 1781, six only of the original thirteen States, viz., New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware had their present defined boundaries, while the remaiaing seven States, claimed some lands to the west.

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