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The Network
An Enslaving Virginia Publication
August
19, 1999
The tenth issue of" The Network" contains information about the age at which males and
females reached their majority, a note on the April 1999 issue of the William and Mary
Quarterly, a bibliography on the abolition of slavery in England, and additional
information on the slaves and free blacks who worked in the shops operated by
Williamsburg' s cabinetmakers.
Coming of Age in Colonial Virginia"
Linda Rowe provides information about when males and females reached their majority
in eighteenth- century Virginia.
Documents from the colonial period contain a number of terms that described an
individual'
s
legal
status
by
Underage, minor( or minority), and infant( or infancy) in
age.
England and Virginia described free persons who were under the age of twenty- one.
Conversely, ofage, offull age, and majority( or occasionally major) referred to free
persons who had reached their twenty- first birthday and thus had come out of minority.
Legally, ages of slaves of both sexes were important only for tax purposes: at sixteen
years old the law required that they be added to their owners' list of tithables.
Consequently, the following discussion applies only to the free population of Virginia.
At first glance then, the interesting and important question of when free women in
eighteenth- century Virginia came of age has a straightforward answer. In both England
and Virginia during the colonial period all persons whether male or female were regarded
as underage, or legal infants, until they reached twenty- one years of age. To quote
William Blackstone' s Commentaries on the Laws of England, " the power of a father, I
say
over
the persons
of his
children
ceases at the age
of twenty-
one."
Two handbooks
published locally for Virginia justices of the peace confirm this rule for the colony.
George Webb' s The Office and Authority of a Justice ofPeace published in Williamsburg
in 1736 notes the following, " At Common Law, every Person under the Age of One
and Twenty Years is an Infant." Richard Starke' s work under the same title published
in
Williamsburg
in 1774
contains
a similar
statement, " BY an Infant, or Minor, is
meant any One who is under the Age of twenty one Years."
Feeling
what
a
they
bit giddy? Come
seem.
very clearly
adulthood.
on
A multiplicity
back down
of
to
earth!
circumstances—
Straightforward answers are rarely
sometimes expressed in law, often not
served to blur the line between minority and legal
Following directly on the statement quoted above, Blackstone added:
or
consistently—
�2
or that point which the law has established( as some must necessarily be
established) when the empire of the father, or other guardian, gives place
to the empire of reason.
Thus, while Virginia law limited minors' rights and enacted measures for their protection
especially orphans), it also permitted persons much younger than twenty- one to make
certain decisions for themselves. At ten years old they could bind themselves apprentices
by their own consent and agreement, at fourteen choose a guardian, and at seventeen have
the" produce of their owne labours" if orphaned and not bound apprentices. Moreover,
marriage and inheritance laws, common practice and criminal law must be taken into
account.
The Virginia code required consent of parents or guardian when either party to a marriage
shall be
the age
under
of
one
and
twenty
years."
It is true that marriage laws singled
girls out for particular attention under certain circumstances: they could marry legally as
young as twelve with permission. It is worth noting, however, that protection of family
lands and property was at least one objective of this legislation( acts" for the prevention
of
clandestine
Marriages").
If" a Feme of Twelve, and under Sixteen Years of Age"
married without consent, she lost her estate which then descended to the next heir at law,
at
least for
the
duration of
that
marriage. (
NOTE:
These laws do not constitute evidence
that girls in the eighteenth- century usually or often married at twelve.)
Virginia lawmakers often held fast to legal majority at twenty-one, but they also invested
minors in their late teens with certain important" adult" prerogatives. In practical terms
these laws applied to boys and unmarried girls (see discussion below regarding
femes covert). A 1727 Virginia law clarifying distribution of estates expanded minors'
legal capabilities by granting them a measure of control over their estates:
any infant, above the age of eighteen years, by his or her last will and
testament in writing, may dispose and bequeath the absolute right,
property, and interest, of any slave or slaves where of he or she shall be
possessed.
The act did not specifically mention land or personal property, but Starke noted that
though the common law had not established precisely at what age an individual could
will personal estate, it was generally allowed at eighteen years. Consequently it is not too
unusual to see testators specify that bequests be delivered to their daughters or
granddaughters at marriage or age eighteen( or some other late teen year), whichever
came first. Stark also stated that at seventeen an infant( minor) could legally take
administration or prove a will.
It is also true that people in every day life often equated marriage during minority with
passing a twenty-first birthday. In York County wills of the 1760s and ` 70s, marriage
was an important benchmark but the alternative was usually " reaches her majority" or
comes
of
age."
Lawson Burfoot of Bruton Parish in 1765 stated
that
his
children'
s
�3
not to be divided until his daughter Sarah"
of
Many
like Frederick Bryan stipulated age twenty- one unless marriage came first: His daughter
slaves
were
Frances Bryan inherited "£
arrival
to the age
comes
age
or marries."
500 current money to be paid her at day of her marriage or
James Crandall left his daughter Elizabeth£
of 21 years."
50, half when
she turned 21, the other half at her mother' s death. After the testator' s death a legacy
passed directly to the feme sole( single woman) at the appointed age where it remained
under her control until she married. Unencumbered land or personal property of a feme
covert ( married woman) became as much her husband' s as her own, because she had no
legal identity separate from his. Without her husband' s consent or participation, a wife
could not give or deed away unencumbered land and personal property she brought to the
marriage. (
Though infrequently employed in Virginia, a premarital agreement was one
way to
keep
a woman'
s
property
in her
own
hands
during
her
Widowhood
marriage.)
returned a woman to feme sole status; with it returned her ability to convey property,
make a valid contract, sue or be sued, execute a deed, or make a will.
Testators usually specified age twenty- one or majority for their male legatees, too. John
Wynne left his grandson Thomas Wynne 150 acres of land when he " shall arrive at the
age
Likewise William Nelson' s will stated that should either of his sons
of 21 years."
Nathaniel or William die" before he comes of age" the survivor was to have his share.
There is the occasional reference to boys in their late teens acting as agents for other
people. In 1777 Messrs. Pasteur and Galt, apothecaries in Williamsburg, authorized their
apprentice, eighteen year-old William Pelham, to" settle and collect their Partnership, and
private
and
accounts"
to
discharge any debts of
their
own. (
Remember, though, legally
Pelham would not be eligible to serve in public office until he turned twenty- one.)
It is worth noting that Virginia law did not exempt legal infants from culpability in
criminal matters. Webb minced no words when he said that anyone under twenty- one
was an infant" but this holds only in Civil Causes, for in Criminal Matters the Law
regards
the Age
of Discretion,
which is 14 Years."
There are numerous
exceptions
to
even that rule, however. ( See Cathy Hellier' s article from the November 1990 issue of the
Interpreter.)
Finally, I can find nothing to substantiate the claim that free unmarried women in colonial
Virginia legally reached their majority at eighteen and men at twenty- one. If there were
exceptions to the"
rule
of twenty-
The April 1999 issue of
and American Atlantic
the
one,"
William
Worlds."
they applied to both sexes alike.
and
Mary Quarterly
is
a
special issue
on"
African
In his introduction to this issue, Phil Morgan notes " The
combined effect of these articles is to suggest plurality; hence, the title. The essays
demonstrate, above all, variation; they present slices, segments of the Atlantic world; they
concern overlapping worlds in motion. No one slavery, no unitary slave trade, no single
black
experience
existed."
1
�4
Bibliography for " Am I Not a Man and a Brother: Abolition and Antislavery in the
Early Chesapeake"
Martha Katz- Hyman provides a list of books that she consulted during her research for
her exhibit on abolition and antislavery in the early Chesapeake at the DeWitt Wallace
Gallery. Several of the books focus on the institution of slavery in England.
The Atlantic Slave Trade and British Abolition 1760- 1810. Atlantic
Roger.
Anstey,
Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press, 1975.
Barbour,
Hugh, and J. William
Frost.
The Quakers.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press,
1988.
Craton, Michael, James Walvin, and David Wright, eds. Slavery, Abolition, and
Black Slaves and the British Empire. London: Longman, 1976.
Emancipation,:
Dabydeen, David.
Hogarth'
Art. Denmark :
Davis, David Brion.
s
Images ofBlacks in Eighteenth Century English
Blacks:
Mundelstrup ;
Kingston- upon- Thames: Dangaroo Press, 1985.
The Problem ofSlavery in the Age ofRevolution 1770- 1823. Ithaca:
Cornell University Press, 1975.
The Problem ofSlavery in Western Culture. Ithaca: Cornell University Press,
1966.
Fladeland, Betty L. Men and Brothers: Anglo- American Antislavery Cooperation.
Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1972.
Hirschfeld, Fritz. George Washington and Slavery: A Documentary Portrayal.
Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1997.
Hoffer, Peter Charles, ed. Africans Become Afro- Americans:
Slavery
Hogg,
in the American
Peter C.
Colonies.
New York:
Selected Articles on
Garland
Publishing,
Inc.:
1988.
The African Slave Trade and its Suppression: A Classified and
Annotated Bibliography ofBooks, Pamphlets and Periodical Articles. London:
Frank Cass, 1973.
Jennings, Judith.
Cass,
The Business
of Abolishing
the
British Slave Trade.
London:
Frank
1997.
Locke, Mary Stoughton. Anti-Slavery in America from the Introduction ofAfrican Slaves
to the Prohibition
1965.
of the
Slave Trade ( 1619- 1808).
Gloucester,
MA:
Peter Smith,
�5
Mathews, Donald G. Slavery and Methodism: A Chapter in American Morality 17801845.
Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press, 1965.
McColley, Robert. Slavery and Jeffersonian Virginia. 2nd ed. Urbana: University of
Illinois Press, 1973.
Midgley,
Clare.
Women Against
The British Campaigns 1780- 1870. London:
Slavery:
Routledge, 1992.
Oldfield, John R. Popular Politics and British Anti-
Slavery: The mobilisation ofpublic
opinion against the slave trade 1787- 1807. Manchester: Manchester University
Press, 1995.
Perry, Lewis, and Michael Fellman. Antislavery Reconsidered:
Abolitionists.
Porter, Dale H.
Baton Rouge:
New Perspectives on the
Louisiana State University Press, 1979.
The Abolition ofthe Slave Trade in England, 1784- 1807. Hamden, CT:
Archon Press, 1970.
Sobel, Mechal.
Travelin'
On:
The Slave Journey to an Afro- Baptist Faith. Westport,
CT: Greenwood Press, 1979.
Soderlund, Jean. R.
Quakers & Slavery:
University Press, 1985.
Sypher, Wylie.
Guinea'
Century.
David.
Turley,
s
Captive Kings:
Chapel Hill:
The Culture
A Divided Spirit.
Princeton:
Princeton
British Anti- slavery Literature of the XVlllth
The University of North Carolina Press, 1942.
of English Antislavery,
1780- 1860.
London;
Routledge,
1991.
Walvin, James.
England, Slaves and Freedom, 1776- 1838.
Basingstoke:
Macmillan,
1986.
ed. Slavery and British Society 1776- 1846. London: Macmillan, 1982.
Worrall,
Jay,
Jr.
Iberian
Yellin,
The Friendly Virginians: America' s First Quakers. Athens, GA:
Publishing Co., 1994.
Jean Fagan, and John C. Van Horne,
Political Culture in Antebellum
eds.
America.
The Abolitionist
Ithaca :
Cornell
Sisterhood:
University
Women' s
Press,
1994.
�6
The Cabinetmaker
Peter Scott, Anthony Hay, Edmund Dickenson, James Honey, and Yorktown' s James
Tyrie depended upon skilled slaves and a free man of color in their cabinetmaking
businesses. It is possible that enslaved men owned and rented by Richard Booker and
Benjamin Bucktrout and the slave hired by John Crump also helped to produce furniture
in Williamsburg.
Peter Scott
Peter Scott was in Williamsburg by 1722 and he established his cabinetmaking business
on the south side of Duke of Gloucester Street( across from Bruton Parish Church) by
1733. Scott placed the following advertisement in the Virginia Gazette on September 12,
1755:
Before Mr. Finnie' s Door, on the 23d Day of October next, Two Lots of Ground,
situate on the Back Street, near Col. Custis' s in Williamsburg; on which there is a
good Dwelling House, containing Six Rooms and Closets, a good dry Cellar, with
all convenient Out- Houses, and a good Well: Twelve Months Credit will be
allowed the Purchaser giving Bond and Security. At the same Time and Place
will be sold, for Bills of Exchange or ready Money, Two Negroes, bred to the
Business of a Cabinet- maker; likewise will be sold, at the Subscriber' s Shop near
the Church, sundry Pieces of Cabinet Work, of Mahogony and Walnut, consisting
of Desks, Book- Cases, Tables of various Sorts, Tools, and some Materials.
Six
Months Credit will be given to those that purchase above the Value of Fifty
Shillings, on their giving Bond and Security; and Five per Cent. will be allowed
for ready Money.
And as I intend to go for Great- Britain the latter End of next Month,
therefore I desire all Persons indebted to me, to make speedy Payment, otherwise
they may expect Trouble without further Notice.'
Scott stayed in Williamsburg and continued his cabinetmaking business. It is possible
that he decided to keep the enslaved cabinetmakers to work in his shop. On November 2,
Jefferson noted that he" Pd. Peter Scott in full £ 16" and" Gave negro man
1772, Thomas
at Peter Scott'
Virginia
s
Gazette,
2/."
2
12 September
1755.
James A. Bear, Jr., and Lucia C. Stanton, eds., Jefferson' s Memorandum Books:
Accounts, with Legal
and Miscellany,
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997), I: 296, 297; see
also Wallace B. Gusler, Furniture of Williamsburg and Eastern Virginia 1740- 1790,( 1979; reprint,
Records
1767- 1826, 2 vols.,(
Williamsburg: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1993), p. 26; and Ronald L. Hurst and Jonathan Prown,
Southern Furniture 1680- 1830: The Colonial Williamsburg Collection,( Williamsburg:
Colonial
Williamsburg Foundation in association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, 1997), pp. 370, 373n, 452,
457n.
�7
Scott died in December 1775. The cabinetmaker lived on the James City County side of
Williamsburg and it is likely that his will and inventory were recorded in that county.
Alexander Craig and Robert Nicholson, the executors of Scott' s estate placed information
about the sale of his personal property in the January 5, 1776 issue of Purdie' s Virginia
Gazette. They announced:
To be SOLD before Robert Nicolson' s store, on Tuesday the 10th instant,
A GREAT variety of cabinet- makers tools, mohogany, walnut, and pine plank,
likewise new walnut book cases, desks, tables, & c. belonging to the estate of mr.
Peter Scott, deceased.
Six months credit will be allowed for all sums above 5 1.
the purchasers giving bond with good security.'
The fact that Craig and Nicholson did not include an enslaved cabinetmaker in the list of
Scott' s estate suggests that this cabinetmaker hired the slave whom Jefferson tipped in
1772, sold this slave before he died, or bequeathed the enslaved man in his will.
Anthony Hay
Anthony Hay worked as a cabinetmaker when he first arrived in Williamsburg. In
November 1751 he placed an advertisement in the Virginia Gazette for a journeyman and
a servant. Evidence indicates that Hay gained the services of two workers who saw his
announcement. On the last day of 1751 the cabinetmaker purchased a pair of indentures
at William Hunter' s printing office. In May of the following year Hay paid Hunter for
another pair of indentures. It is possible that Hay used these indentures to secure the
services
of
a white
apprentice
or
to purchase
an
enslaved laborer.'
Hay and Christopher
Ford Junior sold carpenter' s, joiner' s, and cabinetmakers tools in 1755. A carver named
James Wilson also worked in Hay' s shop in 1755.
The cabinetmaker' s household included journeymen and slaves. Hay' s son, Thomas,
inherited a slave woman named Elizabeth from his grandfather, Thomas Penman, in
September 1759. A child named Jeremiah was baptized on January 7, 1759 and another
child, Tom,
was
baptized
on
June 7, 1761.
The baptism of Ben, the son of his slave
woman Peg, was recorded in 1762. Hay sent Rippon, age three, to the Bray School in
September of 1762. In September 1764 Hay had a slave named Wiltshire pick up a
spelling
book
at the
printing
office.'
Two
more
slave
children—
Richard, the son of
3 Virginia Gazette, Purdie, ed., 5 January 1776.
Virginia Gazette Journals, 1750- 1752( William Hunter), Alderman Library, University of Virginia;
Rockefeller Library Microfilm No. M- 1 136, 7 November 1751, 31 December 1751, and 30 May 1752. See
also Gusler, Furniture of Williamsburg, p. 61.
5
Wiltshire
also
ran
errands
to the
Printing
Office
on
June
13,
1765 and September
13,
1765.
�8
Peg' s daughter Lucy— were baptized in April and June of 1765, respectively.
Jenny, another one of Peg' s daughters, attended the Bray School in November of 1765.
Nanny,
and
Hay decided to give up his cabinetmaking business in 1767. He purchased the Raleigh
Tavern and the twenty- acre parcel of land adjoining Williamsburg from William Trebell
on January 1, 1767. A week later he announced these changes in the Virginia Gazette.
Hay informed " The Gentlemen who have bespoke work of the subscriber may depend
upon having it made in the best manner by Mr. Benjamin Bucktrout, to whom he has
given up his business." 6 Benjamin Bucktrout' s announcement in the Virginia Gazette
noted that Hay had moved to the Raleigh Tavern. It is possible that Hay rented his shop
and his skilled
Anthony Hay
slave
man,
Wiltshire,
to Bucktrout.
died between November
7
19, 1770 and December
17,
1770.
Hay left his
whole estate ( after the payment of his debts) to his widow, Elizabeth, for her support and
for the maintenance and education of his children.
After her death, all of his children
except Thomas who had been provided for by his grandfather) were to share the estate.
The February 2, 1771 inventory of Hay' s estate listed twenty slaves and their appraised
values:
Lucy £ 25
Peggy and
her
children
Ben,
Lucy, Jimmy,
and
Jenny £
125
Caesar£ 45
Gaby £
60
Rachel £ 30
Rippon £ 60
Jerry £
50
Wiltshire £ 65
Sarah and her child Mary £ 70
Will £ 60
Tom £ 50
Kate £ 50
Betty £ 50
Nancy and her child Edmund£ 60
On January 17, 1771, William Trebell and Robert Nicholson, the executors of Hay' s
estate, announced two sales of his real and personal property. The first was to be on
March 6, 1771 and included
Virginia Gazette, Purdie and Dixon, eds., January 8, 1767.
There is no clear statement that Wiltshire was the" very good Cabinet Maker" whom Hay owned.
However, Wiltshire was the highest valued slave in the inventory of Hay' s estate and it is unlikely that
Will, valued at£ 60,
James Southall would have purchased a cabinetmaker at the sale of Hay' s estate.
probably
the"
good
Coachman
and Carter."
was
�9
THAT noted and well accustomed Tavern in Williamsburg, called the RALEIGH,
which has every Convenience to it, and an exceeding fine stable and Pasture
adjoining. At the same Time will be sold the Stock of LIQUORS, a great
Quantity of HOUSEHOLD and KITCHEN FURNITURE, some CHAIRS and
HARNESS, CARTS and HORSES, CATTLE, SHEEP, &
c.
Also a very good
DWELLINGHOUSE on the back street, where Mr. Hay formerly lived, with large
Cabinet Maker' s Shop and Timber yard, and all nescessary Out houses for a
Family.
The second sale was to be on May 7, 1771 before the door of the Raleigh. People would
have the opportunity to buy " nineteen NEGROES belonging to the said Estate among
them a very good Cabinet Maker, a good Coachman and Carter, some fine Waiting Boys,
good Cooks, Washers, & c." 8
Elizabeth
Hay
renounced
the will of her deceased
husband
on
March 20, 1771.
She
bought Lots 263 and 264 at the March 6, 1771 sale and received a deed for this property
January 18, 1772. The
9
Mary— on May 7, 1771.
on
widow
Hay
also
James Southall
bought two
slaves—
Sarah and her daughter
paid£ 101 for a negro fellow named Will whom
on November 6, 1771. 10 It is likely that
purchased at the sale of Anthony Hay'
Edmund Dickenson gained possession of Wiltshire, the cabinetmaker. However, it is not
clear if Dickenson rented him from Hay' s estate or purchased him."
he
s estate
Benjamin
Bucktrout
Benjamin Bucktrout took over Anthony Hay' s cabinetmaking business on January 1,
1767. It is possible that Hay hired Wiltshire to Bucktrout and that Edmund Dickenson
also worked for the new master of the Hay Shop. Bucktrout operated his business at
Hay' s Shop until January 1771 when he relocated to the Chiswell- Bucktrout House on
Francis Street. Bucktrout advertised for journeymen cabinetmakers in September 1769
8 Virginia Gazette, Purdie and Dixon, eds., January 17, 1771. William Marshman' s accounts indicate that
Anthony Hay had a" Black Waiting Man"( 28 December 1769). It is probable that Will was the man who
drove the cart that Marshman hired on February 1769.
9 Elizabeth Hay paid the assessment on Sarah and Mary( both over sixteen years old) in 1784 and 1786.
The widow Hay' s household also included Judith( under sixteen years old in 1786), Nelly( under sixteen in
1784 and over sixteen in 1786), and Sall( under sixteen in 1784 and 1786).
10 Southall Receipt Book; see also note 7 above.
Alexander
was£
Craig,
James Southall, and Blovet
Pasteur
noted that
Hay'
s slaves
sold for£
1007, a sum that
207 higher than the appraised value of the enslaved individuals. Unfortunately, they did not list the
names of the people who purchased these slaves. York County Wills and Inventories( 22) 168- 172, dated
16 April
1773 and recorded
17
May
1773.
�10
and for apprentices in February 1775. This cabinetmaker decided to sell a slave woman
whom he described as " an exceeding good washer and ironer" in August of 1779. 12
Edmund Dickenson
It is likely that Edmund Dickenson gained possession of Hay' s enslaved man Wiltshire—
a very good Cabinet Maker"— after the death of the keeper of the Raleigh Tavern in late
1770. Unfortunately, extant documents do not indicate if Dickenson purchased or hired
Wiltshire.
However, it is known that Dickenson opened his business in the shop formerly
occupied by Hay in January 1771.
Wiltshire worked in Dickenson' s shop with James Tyrie, his owner' s apprentice. Tyrie
learned the skills of a cabinetmaker from Dickenson between August 1772 and August
1777. It is likely that Dickenson employed several journeymen in his shop. Dickenson
advertised for
journeymen
cabinetmakers
in November 1771 and September of 1773.
In
July 1774 George Hamilton, a carver and gilder from Britain, worked out of Dickenson' s
shop. There were seven workers in the cabinetmaker' s shop in 1775, the year he failed to
turn in a list of his tithes.
Dickenson enlisted in the army and he received a commission as a captain in the First
Virginia Regiment.
killed
at the
Dickenson rose to the rank of a major by October 1777. He was
Battle of Monmouth
on
June 28, 1778."
The July 1778 inventory of
Dickenson' s estate did not include any slaves. 14 Either Wiltshire died before Dickenson
or he had a new master by 1778.
James Tyrie
James Tyrie learned the skills of a cabinetmaker from Edmund Dickenson between
August 1772 and August 1777. Tyrie opened a shop in Yorktown after he finished his
apprenticeship. Francis Hern, a free mulatto, apprenticed himself to James Tyrie on July
19, 1785. Hern agreed to serve until his twenty- first birthday. 15 Tyrie died in the spring
of 1786. His inventory included five slaves: Betty valued at£ 40; Frank, a boy valued at
25; Milly and her child Ben valued at£ 60; and Prince valued at£ 20.
12 Virginia Gazette, Dixon ed., 28 August 1779.
13 Gusler, Furniture of Williamsburg, pp. 66- 67; Hurst and Prown, Southern Furniture, p. 305.
14 York County Wills and Inventories( 22) 401, dated 28 July 1778 and recorded 17 August 1778.
15
York
County
Deeds(
6) 274, dated
and recorded
19
July
1785.
�11
John Crump
John Crump hired one of Henry Wetherburn Nicholson' s slaves from his guardian,
Benjamin Weldon, in 1780.
The
cabinetmaker
11. 10 for the hire of an enslaved
paid£
The
following year Crump paid£ 16 for the labor of Peter and Nanny for one
year. Perhaps Peter assisted Crump in his business.
worker.
Richard Booker
Richard Booker advertised for journeymen cabinetmakers in November 1773, April 1774,
October 1774, January 1775 ( with his partner, John Crump), and July 1776. It is possible
that Booker had enslaved men who worked in his shop in the late 1780s. Booker had
fourteen slaves over the age of twelve in his household in 1788.
James Honey
James Honey was a cabinetmaker who lived in Williamsburg from June 1776 until the
time of his death in April 1787. In 1782 Honey gained a free mulatto apprentice after the
death of his friend, Thomas Jarvis. In his will Jarvis noted
It is also my desire that my mulatto boy Billy whom I believe to be my son should
be
free next
set
session
of assembly &
I
that my
request
exrs. (
who I shall
hereafter name) see to have it so done Likewise that the sd Billy Jarvis should be
bound to James Honey of the City of Williamsburg to learn his trade & calling but
that
he shall be free
when
he
arrives
to 21 years of
It is
age.
also
my will & desire
brother&
sister to the sd Billy at
that they shall be set
present
free in the same manner before mentioned. I give to the sd Billy Jarvis his heirs
that my
exrs.
the
exrs.
purchase two
mulatto
children
property of Nathaniel Burwell
forever my
negro
woman
Sarah&
Kings Creek&
on
Pat&
all the ballance of my estate of
what kind soever after purchasing out of the same the afore mentioned mulatto
children but if the sd Nathaniel Burwell whould not agree to sell the sd children
namely
Franky & Johnny
the whole
balance
after
paying
all my
just&
lawfull
debts to belong to the sd Billy Jarvis.
I
nominate &
appoint my friends James Honey of the City of Williamsburg &
County to be my exrs. & to see the fair& just settling of
Robert Goodrich of York
my estate. I likewise desire they may see the sd Billy Jarvis properly educated &
that they have the disposal of the above estate til he arrives at 24 years of age. I
likewise impower the sd James
what
part of
the
Honey& Robert Goodrich to retain all the negroes
stock of horses,
cattle,
hogs&
c they may see proper for my
plantation for this present year, then to be disposed of as they may judge most to
the advantage
of
the
sd
Billy.
16
16 York County Wills and Inventories( 23) 537- 538, dated 2 February 1781 and recorded 17 September
1782;
ibid., pp.
156- 157, dated 24 September
1782 and recorded
21 April
1788.
Nathaniel
Burwell
Junior
�12
Perhaps Jarvis turned to Honey as the executor of his estate and the teacher of Billy Jarvis
because the slaves whom Honey owned at his death in 1787 included a" negro man that
has been brought up to the cabinet business.'
It is possible that Robert Goodrich handled Thomas Jarvis' s estate after the death of
James Honey since Billy Jarvis ( born in circa 1769; see below for information on Billy
Jarvis' s age) was not yet twenty- four years old. Billy Jarvis was about thirteen years old
when Thomas Jarvis died and about eighteen years old when James Honey died. Billy
Jarvis used the name William Jarvis as an adult and lived in York County. He registered
a description of himself with the clerk of York County on December 17, 1810:
William
Jarvis
a
bright
mulatto
about
41 years of
age—
five feet 7 `/ 2 Inches high—
bald on the top of his head a scar on the right side of his head an one on his left
Emancipated by the will of Thomas Jarvis decd recorded in York Ct on the
foot—
blank]
day
of[
]
177 [ ]
Perhaps three other free men of color with the surname of Jarvis were related to
Billy/ William Jarvis. Charles Jarvis was about twenty- one years old in 1814, John Jarvis
was about twenty- four years old in 1826, and Thomas Jarvis was about twenty- one years
old in 1822. All three men were free- born mulattos.'$
was one of the three men who appraised Jarvis' s estate. The September 1782 inventory of Jarvis' s estate
included
second
three
wench,
slaves:
Sampson
Pat, appraised
at£
a
fellow
valued
at£
90,
a
wench
named
Sarah
Lorena S. Walsh, From Calabar to Carter' s Grove:
Virginia Gazette and Weekly Advertiser,
York
County
was
worth£
The History of a Virginia Slave Community,
Charlottesville and London: University Press of Virginia, 1997), p. 257.
18
who
30, and a
50. Burwell sold Franky and Johnny to Jarvis' s executors in 1782. See
Register of Free Negroes&
17 May 1787.
Mulattoes
1798- 1831.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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The Network : An Enslaving Virginia Publication
Description
An account of the resource
<em>The Network: An Enslaving Virginia Publication</em> was a series of newsletters published in 1999 to supplement the Becoming Americans master interpretive plan storyline also published in 1999 titled <em>Enslaving Virginia</em>. <em>Enslaving Virginia</em> accounts for the development and growth of a racially based slave system that profoundly affected the lives, fortunes, and values of blacks and whites in colonial Virginia. The information contained in <em>The Network</em> resulted from requests from interpreters for clarifications or additional research about the background information contained in the <em>Enslaving Virginia</em> resource book. One of the great strengths of <em>The Network</em> is the additional details provided about named enslaved and free blacks in the Williamsburg area.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1999
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Network : an Enslaving Virginia Publication. August 19, 1999
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1999-08-19