USA > Virginia > City of Norfolk > City of Norfolk > History of Norfolk County, Virginia and representative citizens, V.1 > Part 2
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vary, 1637, to Christopher Burroughs with the option of paying for him in ten days or of returning him, and Mr. Burroughs decided to return him.
Piracy was not uncommon in the early days of the Virginia Colony. One John Ball in 1642, an inhabitant of this county, infli- enved Francis Lambert and certain servants of Capt. John Sibsey to unite with him in an expedition for plunder. They stole a lot of powder and balls from Phillip Land and de- signed stealing a shallop belonging to Captain Sibsey. a pinnace from Captain Clayborne, a boat from Mr. Cotton, and then sailing out upon the open seas. The plot was discovered and the culprits arraigned at the April court. The evidence was heard and their intentions were fully disclosed. "all of which the Court conceives to be very dangerous and bad ex- amples if not timely prevented, and have there- fore ordered that the said Ball shall receive thirty lashes with a whip on his bare back, in the presence of the Court as a deserved pun- islument for his offense and to deter others from attempting or acting the like hereafter :" and by a further order of the court Francis Lambert was required "to give bond that he would. in future, forsake the said Ball's com- pany." Ball received his 30 lashes and had to pay the sheriff 20 pounds of tobacco for administering the punishment. The servants of Captain Sibsey were not tried; but doubt- less were given solemn warning by their mas- ter to sin no more.
The men of those early days did not have the opportunities of these times to woo and wed and sometimes gain a fortune. Women did not leave their native shores to seek for- tunes in the Western World with the eager- ness of men, and he was fortunate who had purchased a maiden for 120 pounds of tobacco from the cargo of a vessel which arrived at Jamestown with "ninety young women of good character for wives." It is not written whether the lord of any plantation in Lower Norfolk County secured one of this precious
There were few negro slaves in Lower Norfolk County during the early years of its history. There were only two slave owners in the county in 1646 out of a population of about 700 souls, and Io slaves. Six belonged to the estate of Capt. Adam Thorogood and the four others to Capt. Richard Parsons, who was granted a certificate for 200 acres of land for bringing them to the colony. Captain Thorogood sold one of his negroes, in Jan- cargo for a wife; but the court records indi-
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
cate that it was the. custom in these early days to require a man who married a widow to pay her first husband's debts and many court or- ders were entered subsequent to this one of the 6th of July, 1640,-"By virtue of an ex- ecution granted him on the 22nd of April. the sheriff will levy upon the estate of Thomas Cawson, who is indebted to the said Allen five hundred pounds of tobacco by reason of mar- rying the widow Layton, whose husband. in his lifetime, was indebted as much to the said Allen." So it appears that at least one widow was worth over four times the value of one of the maidens who came to Jamestown with the first installment.
We have read much about bricks imported from England to construct the old colonial homes in which every Virginian has great pride : but this theory seems to be overturned by an order of the County Court of the 15th of March, 1640, at which date Nicholas Wight was engaged in their manufacture at Kequo- tan, now Hampton. Virginia, and appears to have supplied all the bricks used in Lower Norfolk County about this period.
The College of William and Mary Quar- terly says :
No error is more persisted in than that our old colonial brick houses were made of "imported brick." There is no evidence that any house in Virginia was made of imported brick. while there is plenty of evi- dence of brick-making in Virginia and of houses act- ually constructed of Virginia brick. The only circum- stances to support the tradition is that sometime, ships brought over a few bricks as ballast. But. hke other ballast, they were generally dumped into the rivers and creeks. The tradition doubtless arose from the two kinds of brick in use in early Virginia: English brick. i. e., brick made according to the English statute: and Dutch brick. i. e., such brick as was commonly used in Holland. In the course of time a house which was truly said to be made of "English brick." came to sug- gest a construction of foreign brick. or imported brick.
There was a tannery in full operation in the county, carried on by Thomas Melton. who died in the midst of his operations, and the inventory of his estate shows that in addition to the tools of the tannery he had on hand a stock of six lides, 28 deer skins and two goat skins. There was an incipient servile in-
surrection in the county in 1638 during the absence of of Capt. Jolin Sihsey from the county at James City in attendance upon the session of the House of Burgesses. His over- seer was extremely severe with the servants on the plantation and in the language of the old record "they raised a meeting against him." The rising was easily suppressed and a hundred stripes apiece was the penalty for the participants.
House carpenters were greatly in demand in the county, and a court order of the 18th of April. 1639. is a queer incident to us of those days. It says: "Whereas it appearetii to this Court that Thomas Hoult hath car- ried Thomas Cooper, of Elizabeth River, car- penter. for Maryland. he. the said Cooper. be- ing much engaged in Virginia. it is therefore ordered that the said Thomas Hoult shall pro- cure the Governor of Virginia's letter to the Governor of Maryland for his present re- turn.'
All settlers were allowed to kill wild fowl and all wild animals in the common woods, except wild hogs. They could, however, kill wild hogs if found on their own land: but in order to encourage the destruction of wolves. any person who killed a wolf was permitted to kill a wild hog as a compensation. Had mod- ern fire arms been in use, the colonial sports- man would have realized indescribable pleas- ure: but the scarcity of ammunition woukd 11ct permit great indulgence in sporting. Mus- ket flints even passed current for small change.
EARLY SETTLERS.
The following are the names of some of the people who lived in Lower Norfolk Coun- ty, between the years 1631 and 1645, and were among the first settlers.
John Avis, Thomas Allen. Thomas Andrews.
Thomas Browne. Anne Boswell, Job Brooke. John Barnett. Richard Bett. Dr. Thomas Bulloch. William Berry. Robert Brodie. Jacob Bradshaw.
Giles Collins, Thomas Cawson. John Carraway.
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John Clarke, Edward Coleman, Thomas Codd, Thomas Cheely. William Capps.
William Deford. Richard Day. Daniel Dickson, John Drayton, .Edward Dean, John Dier.
George Earle.
John Farrer. John Ford. Richard Floyd. John Gardner, Jeane Gilbert. Robert Glascock. Alice Gaskins. John George, Cato Garison, John Gillam. 1
Richard Horton. Jobn Hallbeck. Richard Hitch- cock. Thomas Harington. Edward Hall. Andrew Hill, Thomas Holt, George Hunter, Daniel Hopkinson. Bar- tholomew Hoskins. Henry Hankins, Cobb Howell, Thomas Hart. Richard Horner, Robert Harwood. Simon Hancock, John Holmes, Devine Hoges. George Harri- son.
William Ironmonger. Thomas Ivy.
Robert Johns, Henry Jackson. John Johnson.
Richard Kempe, Richard King. Thomas Keeling. Nic Kent. Rowland Kenalds.
Francis Linch. Thomas Lee. William Lanshier. Travis Lind. Thomas Lovitt, John Locke.
Robert Martin, John Moore. John Mears. John Morris. William Mills. Thomas Marsh, Joe Marshall. William Nash.
Richard Owins."
Humphrey Price. William Penn, Thomas Parker. John Prince. Robert Page, John Phillips. Thomas Prichard. Rd. Poole.
John Richardson, John Radford.
Alexander Stewart, John Sowell. Mary Stout. John Spenser, John Shaw, Elizabeth Silvester. John Strattan. Thomas Sayer. Edm. Scarburg. Fred. Simonds. James Smith. Thomas Sawyer. John Shelton. William Scott, John Spencer.
Robert Taylor. Thomas Turner, Thomas Todd, Thomas Tucker.
Thomas Underwood.
John White. John Webb. Ed. Wheeler. Thomas Warter. Edward Williams. Constantine Waddington. . Robert West. Henry Watson. John Watkins, John Wright. Richard . Whiteliurst. Robert Ward. George Wade. Thomas V. Walters.
John Yates.
INDIAN TRIBES.
tude in the hour of adversity. He commanded a respect rarely paid by savages to their werowance, and maintained a dignity and splendor worthy of the monarch of 30 nations. He was constantly attended by a guard of 40 warriors, and during the night a sentry regu- larly watched his palace. His regalia was free from the glitter of art and showed only the simple royalty of the savage. He wore a robe of skins, and sat on a throne spread with mats, and decked with pearls and beads. The tribes of Norfolk County were under his sceptre.
It is described that the face of the Indian. when arrived at maturity, is a dark brown and chestnut. The continual exposure to the sunl in summer and weather and smoke in winter and free use of bear's grease make his skin hard and dark.
The hair is almost invariably of a coal black. straight and long: the cheek bones are high, and the eyes are black and full of a char- acter of wildness and ferocity that mark the unappeasable thirst of vengeance, and the free and uncontrolled indulgence of every fierce and violent passion. The education of an In- dian, which commences almost with his birth, teaches him that dissimulation, which masks the thought and smooths the countenance, is the most useful virtue: and there is a contin- ual effort to check the fierce sallies of the eve, and keep down the consuming rage of his bosom. His eve. therefore, is generally avert- ed or bent downwards. The terrible com- placency of the tiger is no inapt illustration of an Indian visage.
According to Capt. John Smith, that part The figure of an Indian is admirably pro- portioned beyond anything that has hitherto been seen in the human form. Tall, straight ; the muscles hardened by continual action of the weather : the limbs supple by exercise and perhaps use of oil. He out-strips the bear, and runs down the buck and elk. No such thing is to be found as a dwarfish. crooked. bandy-legged or otherwise misshapen Indian. of Virginia that lies between the sea and the mountains was inhabited by 43 different tribes of Indians and 30 of them were united in a grand confederacy under the emperor Pow- hatan: His hereditary dominions lay on both sides of the James River. This monarch was remarkable for the strength and vigor of his body as well as for the energies of his mind. He possessed great, skill in intrigue and great The Indians had no idea of distinct and exclusive property : the lands were in common. courage in battle. His equanimity in the ca- reer of victory was only equaled by his forti- and every man had a right to choose or aban-
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
don his situation at pleasure. Their mode of computation was by units, tens and hundreds, and some could reckon to a thousand; but to express great numbers they had to resort to something indefinite; as numerous as the pigeons in the woods or the stars in the heav- ens. They reckoned their years by winters, or cohonks, which was a name taken from the call of the wild geese which they found in their annual visits to Currituck Sound. They divided the year into five seasons: the bud- ding time or blossoming of the spring; the earing of the corn or roasting ear time; the summer of highest sun; the corn-gathering or fall of the leaf: and the winter or colonks. They counted the months by the moons. but had no distinction for hours of the day. . They kept accounts by knots on a string. or notches on a stick.
The Indian tribes of this county were the Chesapeakes, whose village was near the pres- ent site of Norfolk. with 100 fighting men, which. including women and children. proba- bly made a population of 400. and the Nanse- monds. The tribe of the Curritucks lived on the south , beyond our present state line; but had hunting grounds in the southern part of the county. The Nansemonds were on the west and at one time had a village in the coun- ty near Bower's Hill. Capt. John Smith gave them 300 fighting men. After the peace of 1646 the Indians were allowed to own the land they then held in possession, and so some of the Nansemonds continued to live on their lands around Bower's Hill. The Basses, Weavers. Perkins. Brights and Prices are old families, who now reside thereabouts. The descendants and kin of the Nansemonds now residing in the county number over 180 per- sons. An Indian chapel was built at Bower's Hill in 1850, where the red men of the Meth- odist faith worshiped until it was destroyed by the ravages of war in 1862.
The county of Lower Norfolk was divided into two parishes. Lynnhaven and Elizabeth River, which were represented in the House of Burgesses, the first deliberate assemble
of America, which owes its foundation to the London Company and dates from June, the 30th of July or the 9th of August, 1619, as historians variously fix,-Henning says in Tune. It. was convened by Gov. George Yeardly. who is the father of free govern- ment in America. at Jamestown. the capital of the Colony of Virginia. The first representa- tion of Lower Norfolk County of which we have any record was in 1637. This fact is shown by the court proceedings.
BURGESSES.
Capt. John Sibsey and Robert Hayes-January, 1637.
Henry Sewell and John . Hill-1639. Cornelius Lloyd and Edward Windham-1642-43.
Cornelius Lloyd and John Sidney-1644.
Edward Lloyd and Thomas Mears-1644-45.
Cornelius Lloyd and X'pher Burroughs-Novem- ber, 1645.
Edward Lloyd, Thomas Mears and Robert Eyers -- October. 166.
Lieuts. John Sidney. Henry Woodhouse. Cornelius Lloyd and Thomas Mears-November, 1647.
Bartholomew Hoskins and Thomas Lambert-Oc- tober. 1649.
Cornelius Lloyd. Thomas Lambert, Henry Wood- house and Charles Burrows-April. 1652.
Lieut .- Col. Cornelius Lloyd. Maj. Thomas Lambert and Charles Burrows -- November, 1652. Col. Francis Yerly and Lieut .- Col. Cornelius Cal- vert-July, 1653. Bartholomew Hoskins and Lyonel Mason-No- vember. 1654.
Capt. Richard Foster and Col. Thomas Lambert --- March. 1655.
Col. John Sidney and Col. Thomas Lambert-1656.
Col. John Sidney and Maj. Lemuel Mason -- March. 1657. 1658-50 and 1650-60.
Maj. Lemuel Mason-1662.
Capt. Adam Thorogood and Capt. William Car- ver-October. 1666.
Col. William Craford-1688.
William Bradley and Thomas Veale-1765.
John Porter was elected to the House of Burgesses for the session 1663 as a colleague of Maj. Lemuel Mason and was expelled on the 12th of September from the House of Burgesses upon the information of John Hill, high sheriff of Lower Norfolk County, for loving the Quakers, opposition to infant bap- tism and refusing to take the oaths of al- legiance and supremacy.
The burgesses had been elected by vote
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restricted to householders, but the right of suffrage was, extended and at court held Oc- tober' ISth, 1639, it was ordered that "Where- as, by act of Court made by Governor and Council at James City on the roth of the pres- ent October, it is ordered the commissioners of each county, with the consent of all the freemen, shall choose Burgesses for their County, it is therefore thought fit by the Court. as also with the consent of the free- men, that Mr. Henry Sewell and Mr. John Hill should be Burgesses for the County." The burgesses received no salary for their services, but their expenses were reimbursed by the county, and they were very liberal to themselves. The expenses for the session of April. 1642. were reported at 5.501 pounds of tobacco. and an itemized account of the ex- penses of two burgesses at the session of 1640 embraced "four hogs, twenty pounds of but- ter, two bushels of pcas. a barrel of corn, a case of strong waters. a hogshead of beer and a man to dress the said victuals."
The election of members to the first Gen- eral Assembly by boroughs caused the lower house to be called the House of Burgesses. Burgesses were privileged from arrest for debt. The right of suffrage was abridged in 1655. but was again extended in 1657-58 to embrace all freemen. The Grand Assembly of 1659-60 passed a law prohibiting any bur- gess of that session from accepting any other place or office upon penalty of paying 10,000 pounds of tobacco for his contempt. The right of suffrage was again restricted in 1670 to freeholders and housekeepers: but was ex- tended in 1676 to embrace all freeholders and freemen. So it appears that the question of suffrage often agitated the inhabitants of the Colony as well as now those of a State in the Republic.
Sheriffs were first appointed for the ser- eral shires in 1634 with the same powers as stich officers had in England and in 1642-43 their term was, restricted to one year. The Assembly in 1655 enacted that the commis- sioners of every county should recommend
three or more to the Governor and Council, who should select from those recommended the one whom they thought best fitted, for sheriff, and this course was pursued all through the colonial days and long after the independence. so it became a custom that the oldest commissioner or justice of the pcace could always become the sheriff if he so de- sired.
DIVISION OF THE COUNTY.
The territory, of which is written above. embraced all from the east line of Nanscinond County to the Atlantic Ocean. which. as the population increased and spread, was too large for the convenience of the people, and hence there was a clamor for a division on the line of the two parishes of Elizabeth River and Lynnhaven, so an act was passed cutting Lower Norfolk County in two, and forming Princess Anne County and the Norfolk Coun- ty to which these pages are especially dedi- cated.
At a General Assembly begun at James City, on the 16th day of April. 1691, and in the third year of the reign of William and Mary, King and Queen of England, Scotland, France and Ireland. the Norfolk County to which these pages are devoted was organized and estab- lished by the following designated ACT XX, being the last Act but one passed that session :
Forasmuch as by the largeness of the County of lower Norfolk. many inconveniences are found by the .. inhabitants of the lower part of said county bounding on the main ocean and the parts of North Carolina, which have been by the said inhabitants much com- plained of. and now from the said inhabitants of the Eastern parts remonstrated to this general assembly as a grievance, wherein they pray to be redressed,
Be it therefore enacted by their majesties lieutenant Governour. Council and Burgesses of this present gen- cral assembly, and the authority thereof, and it is here- by enacted, That the said county of lower Norfolk shall be divided and made two counties in manner fol- lowing. that is to say, beginning at the new inlet of Little Creeke. and so up the said Creeke to the dams between Jacob Johnson and Richard Drout. and so out of the said dams up a branch. the head of which branch Iveth between the dwelling house of William Moseley, Senr .. and the new dwelling house of Edward Webb,
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
and so to run from the head of said branch on a direct line to the dams at the head of the Eastern branch of Elizabeth River, the which dams lie between James Kemp and . Thomas Ivy. and so down the said branch to the mouth of a small branch or gutt that divides the land which Mr. John Porter now lives on, from the land he formerly lived on, and so up the said small branch according to the bounds of the said plantation. where the said Porter now hveth, and from thence to the great swamp. that lyeth on the East side of John Shawland", and so along the said great swamp to the North river of Corotucke, and down the said North river to the mouth of Simpson creeke, and so up the said creeke to the head thereof, and from thence by a south line to the bounds of Carolina, and that this division shall be. and remaine the bounds between the : said two counties, which shall hereafter be and be held. deemed and taken as and for two entire and distinct counties, cach of which shall bave, use, and enjoy all the liberties, priviledges and advantages of any other county of this colony to all intents and purposes what- soever, and that the uppermost of the said two counties. in which Elizabeth river and the branches thereof are included, doe retain and be ever hereafter called and known by the name of Norfolk Countie, and that the other of the said counties be called and known by the name of Princess Ann County: and for the due ad- ministration of justice, Be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, and it is hereby enacted, That a court for the said Princess Ann County be constantly held by the justice, thereof upon the second Wednesday of the month in such manner as by the law of this countrey. is provided, and shall be by their commission directed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTY.
Norfolk County lies in the southeast cer- ner of the State. bordering on Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay, with only one county (Princess Anne) between it and the sea. It is about 32 miles long. north and south, and I7 miles wide, containing nearly 550 square miles. It is bounded on the northi by Chesa- peake Bay and Hampton Roads, on the east by Princess Anne County, on the south by North Carolina and on the west by Nanse- mond County, Elizabeth River and Hampton Roads. The county is penetrated by several arms of the sea .- Tanner's Creek. Broad Creek, Mason's Creek and Deep Creek .- which with the three branches of the Elizabeth River .- the "Eastern Branch." "Western Branch" and "Southern Branch,"-and the North West River constitute a very fine water system, and places each farm in Norfolk Coun- ty within a few miles of water transportation.
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insuring to the Norfolk County farmer the cheapest transportation in the world.
Two canals connect the waters of the Chesapeake with those of the North Carolina system of sounds and rivers, thus making all of Eastern Carolina tributary to the Norfolk and Portsmouth harbor by water. Twelve railroads terminate in the Norfolk and Ports- mouth harbor, all connected by the Belt Line . Railroad, cutting Norfolk County in all di- rections. Nine beautiful shell turnpikes also traverse Norfolk County in all directions. Therefore we may safely claim that the Norfolk County farmer is better supplied: with transportation facilities than the farm- : ers of any other county of the United States. Nearly all the streams of water in Norfolk County are affected by the tide. the tide ebbing : and flowing to the very head of the streams. This constant ebbing and flowing of the tide carries the salt. pure waters of the ocean twice every 24 hours up all these streams, and makes it quite impossible for any water to become stagnant or impure. These arms of the sea also afford the finest natural drainage known. The excess of rainfall runs into them without even doing a dollar's worth of damage by flood or freshet. The soil of Norfolk County. is of two general kinds, viz. : a clay-loam and a sand-loam, all underlaid with a good. substantial clay sub-soil. The' surface of the county is from eight to 20 feet above the sea level. The mean annual rainfall is about 52 ; inches. well distributed throughout the year. of which amount about 35 inches falls during the growing season, say from the Ist of March to the Ist of October. The thermometer ranges in summer from 70 to 90 degrees, sel- dom going to 95 above zero, while in winter it never goes to 20 degrees above zero more than three days all told during the winter. This cutting off of the two extremes of heat and cold is caused by the fact that the country is practically surrounded on three sides by salt water, and the water never goes to either extreme. as the water temperature is quite uniform throughout the year. The Gulf
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COLONIAL HOUSE BUILT BY WILLIS WILKINS IN 1741, -- DEEP CREEK.
THE FIRST COURT HOUSE OWNED BY THE BOROUGH OF NORFOLK, BUILT IN 1790. (From an Old Print.)
HOMESTEAD OF KADER TALBOT ON TANNER'S CREEK, BUILT ABOUT 1780.
PLANTATION HOME OF SOLOMON BUTT TALBOT ON TANNER'S CREEK.
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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
Stream, that great wonder of the Atlantic, which rolls only a few miles off our coast on its. way to Europe, has a very pleasing effect on our winter climate.
RAILROAD AND STEAMSHIP LINES.
Below are the names of 12 railroads hav- ing terminals here. These roads reach cotton, sugar, rice, fruit and timber lands of the South; coal fields, iron mines, granaries of the West, and great commercial and manu- facturing centers of the North.
Seaboard Air Line. 2.600 miles. Southern Railway. 3.249 miles. Atlantic Coast Line. 1.567 miles. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. 1.455 miles.
Atlantic & Danville Railway. 278 miles. Norfolk & Western Railway. 1,570 miles.
Norfolk & Ocean View Railway, to Old Point, 19 miles.
Norfolk & Atlantic Terminal Company, to Old Point. 18 miles.
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