USA > Virginia > King and Queen County > King and Queen County > King and Queen County, Virginia (history printed in 1908) > Part 3
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"Second only to Washington."-Turpie, U. S. S.
" A great Virginian-among the great and illustrious names of that magnificent State."-Sherman, U. S. S.
" Hannibal of the West."-John Randolph, U. S. S.
" Hard to find an officer achieving such results with a force so small."-Professor Hinsdale.
" Tall, commanding, full of resources, confidence and aff. of men."-Lyman C. Draper.
" Knew when to be mild, and when to stern and un- compromising."-Collins' History of Kentucky.
" Theater of exploits distant and unknown region." -Samuel Merrill.
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA 41
" No hero of the Revolution a cleaner or better piece of work."-J. W. Daniel.
"Not twenty-six years old when Henry sent on great mission."-James Parton.
"The great territory of the Northwest due to one man."-President Garfield.
" Much credit due to the men, most to Clark him- self."-President Roosevelt.
" One of the most daring and gallant exploits in our history."-Hoar, U. S. S.
" Our boundaries not Alleghanies, nor the Ohio, but Mississippi."-Judge Pickle.
" Majestic person, strong features, dignified deport- ment."-Judge Burnett (1779).
Both Jefferson and Henry his staunch friends and admirers.
Great feat accomplished in a wild country, without roads, in the midst of savage and British enemies, and in spite of depreciating currency.
Hamilton with strong force besieging Sackville fort, Helm and a private defending with a loaded cannon, demanding honorable terms, and gaining their point before surrender.
CHAPTER V
LEGISLATIVE ACTION CONCERNING THE FORMATION, AND INTENDED TO ADVANCE THE INTEREST, OF THE COUNTY OF KING AND QUEEN-HENNING'S "STATUTES AT LARGE "
I. In 1634 the Colony of Virginia was divided into eight shires, " which are to be governed as the shires of England. The names of the shires are, James City, Henrico, Charles City, Elizabeth City, Warwick River, Warrosquyoake, Charles River, and Accawmack." (Extract from the Judicial Proceedings of the Governor and Council in Virginia. I. Henning's Statutes at Large, p. 224.)
2. By an act of March, 1643, " Achommack " was thenceforth to be known as "North'ton." It was like- wise enacted and confirmed that "Charles River County " should be called " the County of York," and that "Warwick River County " should be called "the County of Warwick." (I. Hen. St. at Large, p. 249.)
3. It appears from a recital in the preamble of an act passed at a session of the " Grand Assembly," begin- ning on the 12th of October, 1648, that there had been another act (which I am unable to find) making it a felony " To go to the north side of Charles [York] River and make a settlement." It was then enacted that on and after the Ist of September, 1649, all the lands lying on the north side of Charles (York) River and Rappahannock River were to be open and free to set- tlement, and the said act making it a felony there to settle, was repealed. (I. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 353, 354.)
4. On the list of "the names of the Burgeses for each respective county," "New Kent " first appeared November 20th, 1654, as represented at an assembly held at James City on November 20, 1654, and Capt. Robert Abrell appears to have been its Burgess; and
42
COL. JOHN POLLARD (1803-1877) Lieutenant-Colonel Virginia Militia, Commissioner of Revenue, Lawyer and Commissioner in Chancery.
FACING 42
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KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA
under the " Publique Orders of Assembly " the follow- ing appears :
" It is ordered that the upper part of Yorke County shall be a distinct county called New Kent, from the west side of Scimino Creek to the heads of Pomunkey and Mattaponie River, and downe to the west side of Poropotanke Creeke." (I. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 387, 388.)
5. Among the " Public Orders of Assembly " at the session commenced March 24, 1655, is the following: "ORDERED, That from Poropotank to Mattapony upward (vizt) on the north side of Yorke River be a distinct parish by the name of Stratton Major." (I. Hen. St. at Large, p. 404.)
6. By an act of the "Grand Assembly," held at James City in March, 1661, the date of the holding of the County Court of New Kent County was fixed for the 28th day of each month. (I. Hen. St. at Large, p. 70.)
7. The County of King and Queen was formed from New Kent County by an act of the " General As- sembly begun at James Citty," on the 16th day of April A. D. 1691. The preamble of the act recites that: "WHEREAS sundry and divers inconveniences attend the inhabitants of New Kent County and all others who have occation to prosecute suites there, by reason of the difficulty in passing the river "; and it was enacted that "New Kent be divided into two distinct counties, so that Pomunkey River shall divide the same, and so down York River to the extent of the county, and that the part which is now on the south side of Yorke and Po- munkey River be called New Kent, and that the north side with Pomunkey Neck be called and known by the name of King and Queen County." It was further enacted, " That a court for the said King and Queen County be constantly held by the justices thereof upon the 12th day of the month in such manner as by the laws of this county is provided." (III. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 94, 95.)
8. By an act of the "General Assembly begun at His Majestyes Royall Colledge of William & Mary Adjoyning to the City of Williamsburgh, the 5th Day
44 KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA
of December, 1700," it was recited as follows: " WHEREAS sundry and divers inconveniencies attend the inhabitants of that part of King and Queen County which lies within Pamunkey Neck when they have occa- sion to prosecute law suits at the , or to go to any other publick meeting by reason of the difficulty in passing Matapiny River "; and it was enacted that after the IIth day of April, 1702, " the said county of King and Queen be divided into two distinct countyes so that Matapiny River divide the same, and that that part of the said county which is and lyes on the north side the said Matapiny River and York River remaine and shall for ever hereafter be called and knowne by the name of King and Queen County, and that that part of the said county which is and lyes on the south side of the said river within Pamunkey Neck shall be called and knowne by the name of King William County. And for the due administration of justice,
" Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, and it is hereby enacted, That after the time aforesaid a court for the said King William County be constantly held by the justices thereof upon the 20th day of every month in such manner as by the laws of this county is provided and shall be by their commission directed. And whereas the towne land lying at West Point in Pa- munkey Neck was purchased by the entire county of King and Queen as then it was, all the charges about the same being equally levied upon the whole number of tythables of the said county,
" Be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, and it is hereby enacted, That two thirds of the tobacco ariseing from the sailes of the said towne lands to the severall takers up thereof be repaid to the inhabitants that shall be for the time being on the north side of the said Mata- pany and York Rivers in King and Queen County upon the takeing up of the said towne land." (III. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 211, 212.)
9. By the " General Assembly Summoned to Meet at Her Majesty's Roial College of William & Mary adjoining to the City of Williamsburgh," begun on the 19th day of March, 1702, an act was passed entitled :
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KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA
" An Act impowering the Court of King and Queen County, to purchase land for a Town." Unfortunately the text of this act has never been found or published. (III. Hen. St. at Large, p. 227.)
IO. Among the acts passed during the session of the General Assembly held in 1705 is one entitled: " An act for Establishing ports and towns "; but this act does not provide for the establishment of any port or town within the county of King and Queen. West Point was estab- lished as such a port by said act, which provided as fol- lows: " That at West Point to be called Delaware, and to have Tuesdays and Satturdays in each week for mar- ket days, and the second Tuesday in September and four following days annually their fair." (III. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 415, 416.)
II. By an act passed at the same session, entitled, " An act for the regulation and settlement of Ferries; and for the dispatch of public expresses," a ferry was established across York River from the Brick House to Graves's, " the price for a man one shilling, for a man and horse two and twenty pence halfpenny," and from West Point to Graves's, " the price for a man six pence, for a man and horse one shilling." (III. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 471, 472.)
12. By another act passed during the same session the day of holding the County Court of King and Queen County was fixed for the fourth Monday in every month. (III. Hen. St. at Large, p. 507.)
13. " At a General Assembly begun and holden at the Capitol, in the City of Williamsburg, on the second day of November, 1720," an act on the subject of fer- ries was passed, by which the following ferries were es- tablished over the Mattapony River: "From Samuel Norment's, over the said river, the price for a man, three pence, and for a horse, three pence, and for each hogshead of tobacco, six pence. From William White's over the said river, the price for a man, three pence, and for a horse, three pence, and for each hogshead of to- bacco, six pence." (IV. Hen. St. at Large, p. 93.) The title of another appears as follows: "An Act for the vesting the fee simple estate of certain Lands in William
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KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA
Beverley, of the county of King and Queen, gent., upon certain considerations therein mentioned." (IV. Hen. St. at Large, p. 116.)
14. By a session of the General Assembly begun and held on the 9th day of May, 1723, an act was passed entitled, " An act for dividing Saint Stephen's Parish, in the county of King and Queen." (IV. Hen. St. at Large, p. 141.)
15. At a session of the General Assembly begun on the first day of February, 1727, an act was passed enti- tled, " An act for erecting a new county, on the heads of Essex, King and Queen, and King William Counties; and for calling the same Caroline County." (IV. Hen. St. at Large, p. 240.)
16. By another act of the General Assembly begun and held on the 3d day of May, 1730, an act was passed in relation to the inspection of tobacco and the establish- ment of certain warehouses. The following public warehouses were established in King and Queen County : At Todd's, at Mantapike, and at Shepherd's in King and Queen County. (IV. Hen. St. at Large, p. 267.)
By a subsequent act the compensation of the inspec- tors at the public warehouses was fixed, and the com- pensation at the King and Queen warehouses was fixed as follows: At Todd's fifty pounds of tobacco per annum; at Mantapike forty pounds per annum; at Shep- herd's fifty pounds per annum. (IV. Hen. St. at Large, p. 335.) By a subsequent act passed at the same ses- sion the rents of the public warehouses were fixed as follows: At Shepherd's twelve pounds of tobacco per annum; at Mantapike ten pounds per annum; at Todd's twenty pounds per annum; and the compensation to the inspectors at the said warehouses was charged and fixed as follows: At Shepherd's thirty-five pounds of tobacco per annum; at Mantapike thirty-five pounds per annum, and at Todd's forty pounds per annum. (IV. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 383, 385.)
17. By an act passed at the same session it was re- cited as follows: " And whereas the vestry of the par- ish of St. Stephen, in the county of King and Queen, have also lately purchased a good and convenient glebe,
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KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA
for the parson of that parish, and his successors; and are desirous to sell the old glebe, which is inconvenient, and to apply the purchase money to other parochial uses "; and it was enacted that " The said old glebe, of the said parish of St. Stephen, containing, by estimation, near two hundred acres, with the appurtenances, be, and is hereby, vested in the present vestry of the said parish, and the vestry of the said parish for the time being, in trust," for the purpose of enabling the vestry to sell the same and convey a good title to the purchaser, " the pur- chase money " to be laid out and applied by them " in the purchasing of slaves, to be placed upon the new glebe, and such slaves, and their increase, so long as any of them shall be living, shall remain upon the said glebe, for the use and benefit of the present parson, and the parson of the said parish for the time being, for ever." (IV. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 441, 442.)
18. At the General Assembly held on the 5th day of August, 1736, the date of the County Court of King and Queen County was fixed for the second Tuesday in every month. (IV. Hen. St. at Large, p. 533.)
19. By an act passed by the General Assembly in November, 1738, it was enacted that Sir John Randolph, knight, treasurer of the revenues arising by two sev- eral acts, having departed this life, John Robinson, the younger, esquire, " be appointed " treasurer of the rev- enues arising from the duty upon liquors and slaves " to hold the said office so long as he shall continue to be Speaker of the House of Burgesses, and from the time of his being out of that office, until the end of the next session of Assembly." His salary was fixed at " four pounds in the hundred, and so propor- tionably for a greater or less sum, out of all and every the sum and sums of money by him received and accounted for to the General Assembly." (V. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 64, 65.)
20. Under section 35 of an act of the General As- sembly, passed May, 1742, public warehouses for the inspection of tobacco pursuant to this said act were re- quired to be kept " in the County of King and Queen at Shepherd's and Thomas Turner's, under one inspec-
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KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA
tion; at Mantapike and Walker Town, on the lot of Mr. John Walker, under another inspection; and at Todd's." The salary of the inspector at Shepherd's and Thomas Turner's land was fixed at thirty-five pounds of tobacco, at Mantapike and Walker Town at thirty- five pounds, and at Todd's at forty pounds. (V. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 142, 144.)
2I. In May, 1742, an act was passed entitled, " An act for dividing the county of King and Queen, and adding the upper part thereof to the county of Caro- line." By this act it was provided that after the first of December, next ensuing, "the said county of King and Queen be divided by a line to be run from the upper part of the land of William Wood, on the edge of Essex County, to the upper part of Captain Rich- ard Tunstal's land, on Morocosick Creek; and that all that part of the said county of King and Queen, below the said creek, be one distinct county and retain the name of King and Queen County, and that all the other part thereof, above the said line, be thereafter annexed and made part of the county of Caroline." (V. Hen. St. at Large, p. 185.)
22. In May, 1742, an act was passed entitled, “ An act to vest certain entailed lands, parcel of a greater tract therein mentioned, in George Braxton, the younger, in fee simple, and for settling other lands of greater value, to the same uses." (V. Hen. St. at Large, p. 214.)
23. In September, 1744, an act was passed, entitled " An act to empower the vestry of the parish of Stratton Major, in the county of King and Queen, to sell the glebe of the said parish, and to purchase a more con- venient glebe in lieu thereof." (V. Hen. St. at Large, p. 251.)
24. By an act passed February, 1745, " John Rob- inson, John Blair, and William Nelson, Esquires, mem- bers of His Majesty's honorable council; John Robin- son, Esquire, Mr. Secretary Nelson, Richard Randolph, William Beverley, Beverley Whiting, and Benjamin Waller, gentlemen, members of the House of Burgesses, or any six of them, whereof two to be of the council
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA 49
and four of the House of Burgesses," were appointed a committee for the revisal of the whole body of the laws of His Majesty's colony and dominion. (V. Hen. St. at Large, p. 321.)
25. In October, 1748, an act was passed entitled " An act for establishing county courts, and for regu- lating and settling the proceedings therein," and the county court of the county of King and Queen was re- quired to be held on the second Tuesday in every month. (V. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 489, 490.)
26. In November, 1753, an act was passed entitled, " An act for clearing Mattapony River," by which act Richard Corbin, Esquire, John Robinson, Esquire, Lunsford Lomax, Edmund Pendleton, Thomas Turner, Henry Robinson, John Baylor, and Thomas Johnson, gentlemen, were appointed trustees and authorized and empowered to receive subscriptions and to contract with any person or persons for clearing the Mattapony River, by removing all stops which in anywise obstructed the navigation of the same, as far upstream as Burke's bridge, in the county of Caroline. (VI. Hen. St. at Large, p. 394.)
27. In March, 1762, the following act was passed by the General Assembly: " An act to empower the vestries of the parishes of Drysdale, in the counties of Caroline and King and Queen, and of St. Stephen, in the said county of King and Queen, to sell their glebes, and lay out the money in purchasing more convenient glebes." (VII. Hen. St. at Large, p. 513.)
28. By an act passed November, 1762, entitled, " An act for raising a Publick Levy," it is recited that, whereas a balance is due to the public from the county of King and Queen of $6,985.00, assessed on tobacco, the sheriff shall sell the said tobacco levied on for public purposes, to the highest bidder, etc. Presumably this tobacco was in the public warehouses of the county. (VII. Hen. St. at Large, p. 544.)
29. An act was passed November, 1762, establish- ing a public pilotage and regulating fees therefor, by which it was provided that from West Point to Shep- herd's the pilot fee should be six pence, and from West
50 KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA
Point to Meredith's, Moore's or the highest landing up the Mattapony River, one shilling. (VII. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 580, 583.)
30. In November, 1762, an act was passed entitled, " An act for adding part of the county of King and Queen to the county of Caroline, and for altering the Court day of the said county of King and Queen," by which it was provided that after the 10th day of Feb- ruary, next ensuing, the said county should be " divided by a line to be run from Morocosick Creek, at the mouth of Beverley Run, thence up the said run and the South Fork which Beverley's mill stands on to the head thereof, and from thence by a straight line to be run east to the line between the said county and the county of Essex; and that all that part of the said county which lies above the said bounds shall be united to, and made part of, the said county of Caroline." It was also provided by the said act that after the said 10th day of February, next ensuing, that the County Court of the said county of King and Queen was to be held on the second Monday in every month. (VII. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 620, 621.)
31. An act was passed October, 1764, entitled, " An act for establishing the landing place from Fraser's Ferry to the causeway opposite thereto." It was recited in said act that the guardian of the infant children of George Braxton, esquire, deceased, who were seized of the reversion of the lands adjoining the said causeway, had consented thereto. (VIII. Hen. St. at Large, p. 49.)
32. By an act passed October, 1765, the public ware- houses at Shepherd's and Thomas Turner's were placed under one inspection; at Mantapike, at Walker Town, on the land of Mr. Baylor Walker, and at Waller's Ferry in the county of King William, under one inspec- tion ; and at Todd's, under one inspection. (VIII. Hen. St. at Large, p. 78.)
33. By an act passed November, 1766, the Speaker of the House of Burgesses was given a salary of 500 pounds sterling per annum, and it was provided that thereafter the offices of Treasurer and of Speaker of
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA 51
the House of Burgesses should be separate and distinct. (VIII. Hen. St. at Large, p. 210.)
34. By an act passed November, 1766, it was recited that John Robinson having departed this life since the previous session of Assembly, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony had appointed Robert Carter Nicholas Treasurer in his place, and thereupon by said act he was appointed to hold the office during the continuance of the present General Assembly and afterward to the end of the next session of General Assembly. (VIII. Hen. St. at Large, p. 21 I.)
35. By the recital of an act passed in November, 1766, it appears that Robert Beverley, Esquire, then deceased, was, in his lifetime, seized of a valuable estate in lands, known by the name of Beverley Park, situate in the parish of Drysdale, in the counties of Caroline and of King and Queen, and containing 7,600 acres. (VIII. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 227, 228.)
36. In November, 1766, an act was passed entitled, " An act to empower the administrators of the estate of John Robinson, Esquire, deceased, to sell such parts of his real or personal estate as to them shall seem most convenient for the payment of his debts; " by which it was recited that John Robinson was greatly indebted for the balance of the public money in his hands, as well as to many private persons. By said act Peyton Ran- dolph, Esquire, Edmund Pendleton, and Peter Lyons, gentlemen, administrators of the estate of the said John Robinson, were empowered to sell such portion of the said lands as they deemed most advantageous, etc. (VIII. Hen. St. at Large, p. 272.)
37. An act was passed November, 1769, entitled, "An act for the more speedy and effectual recovery of the debt due to the public from the estate of the late treasurer." (VIII. Hen. St. at Large, p. 349.)
38. By an act passed in 1769 it was recited that George Brooke was seized in fee simple of a tract of land called Mantapike, containing about seven hundred and eighty acres, lying on said (Mattapony) river, in the county of King and Queen, and by him purchased of Tunstall Banks; and by said act the fee-simple title was
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vested in said George Brooks in lieu of an estate tail. (VIII. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 474, 475.)
39. In February, 1772, an act was passed entitled, " An act to amend an act entitled an act for clearing Mattapony River." By this act Richard Corbin and John Page, esquires, and Edmund Pendleton, Walker Taliaferro, George Brooke, William Aylett, Anthony Thornton, John Armistead, William Nelson, Jr., John Baylor, Jr., and John Jones, gentlemen, were appointed trustees to carry out the intent of the act, that is, to clear the river to Burk's bridge, etc. (VIII. Hen. St. at Large, p. 579.)
40. In February, 1772, an act was passed entitled, " An act to vest certain intailed lands, whereof Philip Ludwell Grymes, gentleman, is seized, in William Roane, gentleman, in fee simple." (VIII. Hen. St. at Large, 630.)
41. By an act passed February, 1772, entitled “ An act to dock the intail of certain lands whereof William Todd, gentleman, is seised, and for other purposes therein mentioned," it was recited that Thomas Todd, formerly of the county of Gloucester, gentleman, was, in his lifetime, seised of a considerable estate in lands, and among others of a large and valuable tract of land lying on the Mattapony River, in the county of King and Queen, and of another tract containing about one thou- sand acres lying on the Dragon Swamp in the parish of St. Stephen in said county of King and Queen, etc. (VIII. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 631, 632.)
42. In May, 1777, an act was passed entitled “ An act for dissolving the vestries of several parishes." It is recited in the preamble of this act that "there are such divisions in the parish of Stratton Major in the county of King and Queen that the affairs of the said parish have been for some time neglected," and by this act it was enacted, on that account, that the freeholders and housekeepers of the said parish should meet at some convenient time and place, to be appointed and pub- licly advertised by the sheriff of the county, at least one month before the 15th day of July, next ensuing, and " then and there elect twelve of the most able and dis-
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA 53
creet persons, being freeholders and resident in the par- ish, for vestrymen, who should thereafter, being so elected, take and subscribe the oaths required by law." It was further recited in said act as follows: "And whereas the levies of the said parish of Stratton Major, for some time last passed, have not been laid by the vestry thereof, whereby the creditors of the said parish remain unpaid: Be it therefore enacted, That the vestry of the said parish, to be elected by virtue of this act, shall levy and assess upon the tithable persons of the said parish all such sums of money and quantities of tobacco, as ought to have been levied and assessed by the said vestry." (XI. Hen. St. at Large, pp. 317, 318.) 43. In October, 1779, an act was passed entitled, " An act for dividing the parish of Drysdale, in the counties of Caroline and King and Queen." By this di- vision that part of the parish lying east of the line " to begin at the lower corner of the land of John Page, Esq., upon Mattapony River, and run along his lower line and those of Christopher Smith, Anthony Seale, and Frederick Phillips, to the corner of the lands of Edmund Pendleton, the elder, Esq., and Edmund Jones ; thence along the lines between them to Morocosick Creek; thence up the creek to the mouth of Phillips' Run; thence up the said Run to Digge's upper line; thence along that line and the course thereof continued to the line of Essex County," was separated from the part lying west of the line described and was to retain the name of Drysdale. By the same act Edmund Pen- dleton, the elder, William Lyne, Anthony Thornton, Jun., Thomas Coleman, Mungo Roy, and James Up- shaw, gentlemen, were appointed commissioners to sell and convey " the present glebe and buildings " belong- ing to the parish " for ready money or on credit, as to them shall appear most advisable," and "that the money arising from the sale thereof shall be equally divided between the said parishes of Drysdale and Saint Asaph " (the new parish formed), except that they were to appoint one or more disinterested persons to value the two churches then in the said parish of Drys- dale and they were to deduct from the money any excess
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