USA > West Virginia > Pendleton County > A history of Pendleton County, West Virginia > Part 8
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A century ago a man to be a voter had to own a plot of 25 acres, including a house 12 feet by 12, or its equivalent; or 50 acres of unimproved land; or a lot and similar house in a designated town. Voters were exempt from arrest while go-
ing to or returning from the polls, one day being allowed for each 20 miles. The voter might be required to take oath.
Under the crown the governor and his council formed a General Court or judiciary. There were also quarterly courts of four or more justices. Under independence the state had a court of appeals of five judges, any three constituting a court for appellate cases. A general court of ten judges met twice a year at Richmond, whence they were sent out by twos to hold district courts. Augusta, Pendleton, Rocking- ham and Rockbridge formed one of these circuits, the judges having full jurisdiction in civil and criminal causes, and or- iginal jurisdiction in all causes involving a consideration of more than 100 pounds ($333.33). After 1819 each of the fifteen judges held one circuit court a year in each county of his dis- trict. After 1818 there was a superior court of chancery in each of the nine districts.
Until 1776, a county court was opened by the reading of the royal commission to the justices : "Be it remembered (date was here given) his majesty's commission directed to (names of commissioned justices here given) to hear and de- termine all treasons, petit treasons, or misprisons thereof, felonies, murders, and all other offenses or crimes, was openly read." A single justice had jurisdiction in matters not ex- ceeding the value of one pound ($3.33). Each county was then a parish, and as such it had its vestry authorized to levy and assess tithes, provide a glebe and support for a minister of the established church, see to the poor, bind out appren- tices and any bastard liable to become a public charge. All persons had to pay taxes imposed by the vestry, and also at- tend services at least once in two months or pay a fine. Until 1776, therefore, the annals of Augusta contain frequent men- tion of the church wardens, as the members of the vestry were called. The doing away of the English custom of sup- porting a particular church at public expense also did away with the other English custom of local government through that church. By an Act of 1788, the county court was "for the trial of all presentments and criminal prosecutions, suits at common law and in chancery, where the sum exceeds five pounds ($16.67), or 500 pounds of tobacco, depending therein and continue for the space of six days unless the busi- ness be sooner determined." It had general police and pro- bate jurisdiction, control of levies, of roads, actions at law, and suits in chancery. The justices served without pay, and their number was not limited by law. The greatest number in Pendleton present at any one term appears to have been nineteen. A quorum consisted of four, and some justices were seldom present at all. For the levy term the sheriff was
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directed to summon the attendance of all acting members. One duty of the justice was to prepare the list of titnables.
'The grand jury of 24 members, sworn for an "inquest on the body of this county," was selected by the sheriff from the freeholders. Constables, surveyors of roads, keepers of ordinaries, and owners or occupiers of mills were exempt from jury service. Under the crown the term of the sheriff was two years. Afterward and until 1852, the length of term was rather less, depending on the time of the year when the commission was issued. Some sheriff's did not act as such themselves, but farmed out the office to a deputy. The sal- ary of the office in Pendleton was at first only $20. The clerk of the court held his office during life or good behavior, and his salary was the princely sum of $30. The jailer received $25.
The language of the law clings very tenaciously to time- honored models. The changes since the colonial era are more in the direction of leaving out certain features than of modi- fying what is retained. The word "hath" for instance re- mained in legal use long after it had disappeared from every- day speech. Imprisonment for debt was an absurdity not put aside until within the recollection of people still living. In the early court records, therefore, we often find the form, "Thereupon came A. B. and undertook for the said defend- ant in case he be cast in this suit, he shall pay and satisfy the condemnation of the court, or render his body to prison in execution for the same, or that he, the said A. B., will do it for him."
The leading purpose of a jail appeared to be that of a boarding house for the delinquent debtor. The poor prose- cutor could select his court, have free attorney and free writs, and costs were not exacted in the event of failure to win his case. The person giving a bond was until the Revo- lution "indebted to our Sovereign Lord the King." He was then "indebted to his excellency the governor of Virginia." But this monarchical adherence to venerable usage is an- other of the things that has had its day.
The man selling a parcel of ground followed until 1776 the English practice of giving first a deed of lease and directly afterward a deed of release. The first was valid "from the day before the sale for one whole year to be completed and ended, yielding and paying therefor the rent of one pepper- corn on Lady-day next, if the same shall be lawfully de- manded, to the intent and purpose that by virtue of these presents and of the statute for transferring uses into pos- session, the said (A. B.) may be in actual possession of these premises and be thereby enabled to accept and take a grant and release of the possession and inheritances thereof." A
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consideration of five shillings (83 cents) was paid by the pur- chaser. The deed of release, which was the real and effctive instrument, was usually dated one day later than the deed of lease.
Considerable fun has been poked at the New England people for their stringent laws on personal conduct. But all America was Puritan wherever the Calvinistic faith prevailed, as among the Scotch-Irish, and the laws on the observance of Sunday were strict. Even in Cavalier Virginia a Sunday law of 1658 declared that "no journeys be made except in case of urgent necessitie, no goods be laden in boates, no shooteing in gunns." In 1791 a merchant of Franklin was indicted for "retailing goods and selling liquor by the small" on Sunday. About the same time two men were indicted for digging gin- seng, another for carrying a gun, and still another for driv- ing a wagon and hauling dirt.
The offenses most numerously before the courts were as- sault, slander, bastardy, neglect of road supervision, the il- legal selling of liquor, drinking, and swearing. This list en- ables us to form some estimate of the nature of the times.
In 1798 a woman of Pendleton was presented for "beating and keeping the sheriff off from collecting revenue." This was not a solitary instance, for three years later both a man and his wife were brought up for beating the sheriff and rescuing property taken by him, and in still the same year a deputy sheriff had a like experience. As late as 1837 a cer- tain laborer was sentenced to receive 33 lashes on the bare back for stealing a hog worth $5. At an earlier day the same law was made to apply to the other sex as well. In the Augusta records we read that a sheriff was ordered to punish a female thief with 39 lashes "well laid on," and to attend to the matter at once. For stealing a pipe worth one shilling a Pendleton woman in 1790 was required to give a bond of 40 pounds ($133.33) with two sureties. About 1774, one Cash, a poor prisoner, was ordered from Staunton to the state capital for further trial on a felonious crime. He pro- tested that the expense would totally ruin him, and said he would humbly submit to such punishment as the court would choose to inflict, and asserted the hope that "by his future conduct he would convince the court and the world of his thorough reformation." To remind him of his pledge, the court let him off with a sentence of 39 lashes. In bastardy the female offender did not escape punishment. A redemp- tioness in Augusta was ordered to serve her master an ad- ditional year in consequence of her having an illegitimate child. For maiming, a not infrequent felony, the law of 1796 permitted damages of $1000, three-fourths of this sum
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to go to the injured party. There was a further penalty of imprisonment from two to ten years. Counterfeiting, another frequent offense, and easier to accomplish than at present, carried at one time the penalty of death without benefit of clergy. Later the penalty was made a fine of $1000, and a term in prison of from four to fourteen years. In 1797 there was a suspicion that counterfeit coin was in circulation in this county. For swearing or getting drunk the penalty was a fine of five shillings for each offense, or the choice of ten lashes. This law was impartially carried out against the first clerk of court, who for "swearing two round oaths in open court" had to pay ten shillings ($1.67). The colonial laws permitted the branding of a criminal in open court, the jailer making with a hot iron a letter R in the palm of the left hand. The culprit was meanwhile to proclaim, "God save the commonwealth." Possibly the scorching enabled him to say the required words with considerable em- phasis. Road overseers in this county were often indicted for failing to keep their roads in proper condition, and for failing to put up "indexes." In 1801 there must have been a flagrant offense in one of these particulars, for the grand jury used this sarcastic wording : "We do present surveyor of road, if any there be." The penalty for Sunday work was twice as large as the fine for drinking or swearing. For hog stealing the law of 1793 was savagely severe. For the first offense the thief, if a free man, was to receive 35 lashes on the bare back, to be fined $30, and to pay the owner $8 for each hog stolen. For the second offense he was to stand two hours in the pillory on a public day with his ears nailed fast. At the end of two hours the ears were to be cut loose. For the third offense the punishment was death. If the hog- thief were a slave the punishment was even more severe. Even the man buying a hog without ears was adjudged a thief unless he could prove property. For forgery, stealing a land warrant, or stealing a cask of tobacco lying on the highway the punishment was death.
In the colonial period each courthouse inclosure was sup- posed to be equipped with pillory, stocks, whipping post, and perhaps also a ducking stool. The whipping post needs no explanation. The essential feature of the pillory was a pair of short planks coming together at the edge, and with an oval segment cut into each, so that a person's neck might be fitted into the opening. The stocks differed from the pil- lory in confining the ankles in place of the neck, and in not compelling the culprit to stand. Neither position was par- ticularly agreeable, especially if the flies were bloodthirsty and the spectators inclined to use their skill in flinging sticks,
pebbles, and eggs of uncertain quality. But it is not prob- able that this British amusement was much practiced in Vir- ginia. The ducking stool was a long plank, pivoteu in the center and furnished at one end with a chair to which the prisoner was confined. The purpose of the apparatus was to plunge the culprit into a mill-pond or river. It was a favor- ite punishment for a scolding woman.
In this county the order was twice given for a whipping post, but it is not certain that it was ever carried out. It may have been thought as at Harrisonburg that a well rooted tree of good size was amply sufficient. But there was a pair of stocks and perhaps also a pillory, for we read in 1790 of one Peter Little being ordered into the stocks for ten min- utes for misdemeanor in court. There is no mention of a ducking stool, and in spite of the nearness of the river it is not probable that any was furnished. An Augusta court is- sued an order for one, but it became apparent that there was not enough water within a half mile to give a proper degree of wetness to a gimlet-tongued offender.
With many offenses punishable by death, with the nailing of ears to the pillory, with imprisonment for debt, and with whippings, it might look as though there was sufficient terror in the law to keep people in the path of rectitude. Yet the law was violated more often than it is now. The spirit of the times was harsh and coarse, as is reflected in the severity of the laws and the frequency with which even these laws were broken. The familiar spectacle of public punishment dulled the sensibilities of the people and did not reform the law- breaker. Yet a feeling of humanity existed then as well as now. It is related of a sheriff of Rockingham that in carry- ing out an order to flog a certain prisoner, he went into the delinquent's cell at the jail and administered the lashing to the bed, telling the culprit to howl every time he did so. It is to be supposed that the howls were forthcoming.
A will, beginning "in the name of God, amen," often con- tinued in a piously worded preamble, which in general may have reflected a religious spirit in the will-maker. Personal property was parceled out among the heirs with a great deal of preciseness. The widow was often to have a half-bushel of flaxseed sowed yearly for her necessities, and various do- mestic arrangements were to be observed so long as the parties could agree. A distiller of the South Branch under the date of 1805 stipulated that his widow was to have yearly "five gallons whiskey or appel brandy for her youse." The thrift of the Pendletonian is often apparent in the will- ing of lands situated in another county or even in another state. Once in a while an heir was cut off with one English
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shilling, or with a bequest of "one dollar to be enjoyed by him and his heirs forever." Zachariah Rexroad, Sr., who died in 1799, wills that his son Leonard "shall maintain his mother with food and drink, wood and light, and a warm stove."
Taxes were seemingly low, yet no easier to meet than they are today. This was particularly true of the poll-tax, the size of which varied considerably from year to year. Before the Revolution Augusta offered a bounty on hemp, and many certificates were issued therefor. These ceruncates, seldom for more than 2000 pound fiber, were receivable for taxes. Of Pendletonians who became entitled to these we find the names of Matthew Patton, Postle Hoover, James Patterson, Michael Propst, and George Coplinger. Taxes were sometimes paid in produce. In 1792 a tax of 32 cents was paid at Franklin in flax, and another of $3 in rabbit and deer skins and butter.
Under the broad powers exercised by the county courts of the pioneer epoch, the records became voluminous. This was very true of Augusta, her Scotch-Irish people causing law- suits that were almost beyond count. The old record-books contain very many more words to the page than those of our time, even with the use of the book typewriter. The lines are near together, and in general the writing is neatly and carefully done, and the entries put down in systematic shape. The small letters are nearly of uniform height, and when a coarse-pointed quill was used there are no hairlines and the writing may be read with ease. But when a fine- pointed quill was employed, the writing becomes almost mi- croscopic and is tedious to make out. Instead of covering his pages with a hurried unreadable scrawl, the copyist took time to write the name of the presiding judge in large, round, handsomely formed letters, and to begin a long entry with a highly ornamented initial. Indexing was done on the flyleaves and with extreme economy of space, eight lines being sometimes brought within the compass of a single inch. The ink was often very durable, and the writing is in better preservation than if steel pens had been in use. The acid of the ink acting on a metallic pen has a tendency to corrode the paper in the course of time.
Immigration was usually in the spring and settlers came in bodies. The wagon being all but unknown and the roads were trails, the newcomer brought his belongings on a pack- saddle made by nailing or tying two pieces of board to a pair of crotched sticks cut from a young tree. The cow was made a pack animal as well as the horse. The first season was likely to be one of poor and unsuitable living until there was
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time for the first crop to come to the rescue. Certain men of influence and means were active in bringing in new people. James Patton, first sheriff of Augusta and also county lieu- tenant, is said to have crossed the ocean twenty-five times for this purpose. He was the cause of many redemptioners being brought to the Augusta settlements.
A wedding was one of the great events of the year. It was an occasion of feasting and of rude, boisterous mirth. The company proceeded in double file from the home of the groom and when within a mile of the home of the bride, two young men gave an Indian warwhoop and rode forward at full speed, the one arriving first being given a bottle that had been made ready beforehand. On their return it was passed around and then came back to the victor. All were expected to tip the bottle, women as well as men. A big dinner at the bride's home followed the wedding ceremony, and this in turn was followed by the infare at the groom's house. Pewter spoons battered around the edges were used at these feasts, and hunting knives were unsheathed if the supply of table knives run short. The dancing which followed lasted till morning. Slighted or envious neighbors trimmed the manes and tails of the riding horses or tied grapevines across the path in front of the wedding party. As a further annoy- ance guns would be fired off.
In the Revolutionary days the marriage certificate was presented to the justice of the peace to whom it was directed. He then gave authority to the minister of the parish, or par- ish reader, who after publishing the banns, performed the ceremony, kept a record and gave a certificate, the latter not being deposited with the county clerk. But a dispensation from the governor could enable a minister who was not an Episcopalian to perform a marriage ceremony.
In the same year the settlement of Pendleton began "an act to discourage matrimony" was placed on the statute- book of Virginia. It fixed the governor's fee at $3.33, the clerk's fee at 83 cents, the minister's fee at $3.33, if the marriage were by license, and at 83 cents if by banns. The publishing of the banns cost 25 cents. By an act of 1775 the minister's fee was made double the former amount, but the old figures were restored the following year. These excessive charges had doubtless much to do with the prevalence of marriage by consent. At a later time any person author- ized to perform the marriage ceremony could demand a fee of one dollar.
The recording of marriages began in 1784. As a prelimi- nary the groom was required to put up a bond of 50 pounds ($166.67). If either groom or bride were under the age of
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twenty-one, and this was very often the case, the consent of the parent or parents had to accon pany the bond, the clerk then issuing a license. The bond was commonly written on a half-sheet or quarter-sheet of unruled, bluish paper. The con- sent of the parent was written on a narrow scrap and often with poor ink. The signature, if not in the form of a mark, and this was also very common, was usually crabbed and more or less difficult to make out. This scrap, not always unsoiled was folded into a small compass, making it look like a paper of epsom salts as put up by a doctor before tablets and capsules had come into use. The consent was tucked in- side the bond. A certain one of them has this import :
"November the 3 da 1810 Sir pleas to grant John h --- and naly m --- a gal that I Rast Lisence acorting to Law and so doing you will a blidg yours friend Michael A ---- "
The law of 1769 increased the penalty on bastardy with a view of lessening the burden to the counties of illegitimate children supported at public charge. By an earlier law the female offender might be whipped and fined.
Where there are children there are games, and the nature of their games is determined by the nature of their activities in after life. A prominent frontier game was that of throwing the tomahawk. By practice the player could make the blade hit the mark with the handle upward or downward as desired. Boys learned to imitate the sounds of animals. When twelve years of age or upward, the boy was given a gun and he began to practice shooting at a mark. The long-barreled flintlock was usually fired from a rest, and one was easily made by turning a gimlet into a tree.
In any American frontier community it has been noticed that the force of its public opinion has been more effective in the maintenance of order than is the legal government of an older district. This is largely due to the sparse popula- tion, and to the fact that everybody is known to everybody else. The thief was given the choice of a jailing or a flog- ging and then had to clear out. A breach of contract killed credit. The tattling woman was listened to, but her story was not believed. The shirk at a "frolic" was called a "law- rence." The man who avoided military duty was "hated out" as a coward, and for a soldier to be short in his equipment was deemed disgraceful. A tongue-lashing once under way might be kept up for years.
What the frontier itself could not supply made necessary the caravanning trip eastward; first to the commercial points east of the Blue Ridge. and later to Staunton or Winchester. The journey would therefore consume several days and a sup-
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ply of provisions was taken along. At nightfall the horses were turned loose after opening their bells and hobbling their feet. Other horses were sometimes left at various points to be used on the return. Supplies were carried by packsaddle, two bushels of salt (168 pounds) being considered a load. This amount of alum salt was worth two cows and their calves.
Mention has been made of prices at the Dyer sale in 1759. That there was no particular advance by 1773 will appear by the sale in that year of Michael Mallow's property. 22 cattle sold at an average of $5 per head. 11 horses went for $271 .- 67, a silver watch for $13.33, a pair of boots for $1.50, and a pair of speatacles for 25 cents. There were present at this sale Thomas Bland, Michael Boucher, Casper Bogart, James Cunningham, Jacob Harper, Philip Harper, Saran Harman, Mary Heffner, Martin Judy, Eve Moser, Michael Peterson, and Jacob Springstone.
A great share of the pioneers had had no schooling and could sign their names only with a mark. Paper was costly and a little was made to go a great way. Writing was done alto- gether with a goose or turkey quill. Ink was not sold in bot- tles but in the form of powder to be dissolved as wanted. A very fair ink was made from maple bark or pokeberr.es with the addition of alum and vinegar. Books were few and seen only in occasional homes. Many of them, including hymnala, were of a religious nature. Books in the German tongue were as frequent as those in the English. At the George Coplinger sale in 1773, the books were a Bible, selling at $1.50, a "Key of Paradise," a psalm book, and a few of little value not specified. At the William Davis sale in the same year there were mentioned "one old Bible," "Explana- tion of the Shorter Catechism," "The Fourfold State," "Bax- ter on the Covenant," "Closet Devotions," one small history, and two small paper books. In several of the Pendleton homes may yet be seen a German Bible fully as large as an unabridged dictionary, with clear print, commentaries, and illustrations, and bearing date from 1763 to 1788.
In the costume of the real frontiersman the most promi- nent feature was the hunting shirt. It was of blue woolen cloth, was open in front, lapping a foot or more when belted, and fell half way down the thighs. The cape was large enough to come over the head. The sleeves were ample. The edges of the garment were fringed with a raveling of another color. The bosom was a receptacle for provisions or tow. The belt tied behind held the mittens. The tomahawk was carried to the right, the scalping knife to the left. Breeches and leggings supplemented the hunting shirt. On the man's head was a fur cap with a tail or tassel drooping be-
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hind. On his feet-provided it were winter time-were moc- casins with a gathering seam up the heel and on the top of the foot. The moccasin was stuffed with deer hair or leaves. It came well up to the ankles and was tied with "wangs." The hunting shirt was retained until well toward the period of the civil war, as was also the fur cap. Until near the same period, also, the wardrobe was quite exclusively made from the fabrics of wool and linen that were woven on the looms in the farmhouses and dyed with various barks helped out with copperas and other mordants. The linen garments would shrink after a washing but would lengthen again. Unless a new linen shirt were well rubbed before putting on, it felt as though full of the spines of a chestnut burr. The apparel worn by both sexes was plain and durable and subject to little variation in style, except for the change imposed by the season of the year. The dresses, hoods and sunbonnets of the women were made without any help from the fashion plates in the "Delineator." Going barefoot throughout the warm weather was usual with all persons.
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