1
25
1
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/45914/archive/files/b401a61e7eecfe6ed5a448dca71bb6de.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=UEO5PObXPycOrubZ165AKubG2UFCbtuN2xMTSZNwrjom%7EIdqobEz7eZHND80Y62T5FrVlwj9QIEY0xhxQhipW1UblVuxGpKLxiD618cZdmtpNpSBiRNgk0j4xbjvRRneCZq0ukjw2ikq8-XkwJ95y62WRE-cso4Ii5nxOO402pSLOezfmdM93BLQ2dPCAyByMhEBNY4hvX%7Eod4bfNB4N%7E9pdtyba32AnfcMlWXzqt5dlxNZMDYVDYM0Q9CBLkBtDA9y4SY43q7UeoTm-4kwGp3zSpdeXpXPHdBI-uA0beTBOxLabVKtzQFAy%7EV9zVrAp0TAG4uaMEbOi2Ny-o3QbsQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
1de0ecbe04d3066cb254b429cf9affbf
PDF Text
Text
8Z,
Questions
Vol.
6,
No.
1
February 1985
This miscellaneous
answers
to
Answers
questions
issue of Questions
our
visitors
often
and Answers
provides us with some
As you look at the answers
ask.
it
00
W
Zn
o
may be interesting to relate them to larger concepts in your interpretive
areas.
rm
rm
Do you have any questions that you did not think to ask during your
Core
Please let
Curriculum classes?
ro
us hear from you.
m
to co
1.
What was the population of Williamsburg on the eve of the Revolution?
The total population was 1, 880
469
Black Male
505
517
Black Female
389
The Interpreter, Vol.
Reference:
2.
1,
ma
u
White Male
White
No.
1,
Female
r(LiF
cn
July 1980
Were there tobacco warehouses in the town of Williamsburg?
Tobacco warehouses were not located in Williamsburg itself, but there
was a tobacco warehouse at the ports of College Landing and Capital Landing
Reference:
3.
Peter
Where was " the Exchange"
of
the
town known
east
end of
located in Williamsburg where the Meeting of
for planters and merchants?
Using various sources,
part
0
m
z
z
0
Bergstrom
Merchants was held
at
I
x
48% White
52% Black
7a
Pat Gibbs supports the recent claim that the
as "
the Exchange"
the
Duke of
was
located
Gloucester
in
front
of
the
Capitol
Street.
rr
Reference:
4.
Research Query File, April 28,
Where was
Tazewell Hall,
1982
the home of John
Randolph,
located in
eighteenth -
century Williamsburg?
Tazewell Hall
of what
stood
co
on
a direct
is now South England
Historic
Street.
line
south
of
Since it was
the Magazine
outside
in the middle
the " Restored Area"
Area "),
The
the house was dismantled by Colonial Williamsburg.
interior woodwork of the house was purchased by Lewis McMurran who installed
it in his
Moorhead, "
own home
Tazewell
in Newport
Hall:
News.
For
more
information see,
Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians,
PP 14 - 17.
Reference:
Singleton P. -
A Report on The Eighteenth- century Appearance ",
XIV,
No.
1 ( March,
Marley Brown
A Bi- Monthly Publication at the Department of Interpretative Education
1955)
0
X
�5.
Does Colonial Williamsburg own all the properties in the Historic Area?
Most properties are owned by Colonial Williamsburg the exemptions being:
Bruton Parish Church, the Bowden Armistead House and lots, the Armistead
sisters' house, and the Masonic Lodge and Kitchen.
The few properties on
long -term lease to the Foundation are:
Tavern,
Reference:
6.
the Print Shop and Bindery,
Wetherburn' s
and the Magazine.
The
Architecture Department
What is the meaning of the term Miscegenation?
The
tarm Migrooanati nn
is
AafinaA
ae marria an
nr
cnhahitatinn
hntmaan
a man and a woman of different races or as interbreeding between members
of
different
Reference:
7.
races.
Random House Dictionary
What is the gold paint on the Coat of Arms on the Capitol and the
Coat
of Arms above
the Palace
Supper
Room door?
The gold is pure gold leaf which is applied over a gold size ( a sticky
substance
8.
like varnish)
which
adheres
the
gold
to
the
wood.
How popular was fox -hunting in the countryside around Williamsburg?
There is no evidence of fox -hunting in the area during the eighteenth
century.
All references to fox hunting are from the Northern Neck of Virginia.
Reference:
9.
Research Queries File,
March 24,
1980
Is there any evidence that cigar smoking was popular in the eighteenth century?
There is no reference to cigar smoking in America until after the
The Oxford English Dictionary includes a few references to
Revolution.
cigars implying that they were unusual and unfamiliar in England during
the eighteenth century.
10.
Were masked balls ever given in eighteenth- century Williamsburg?
There is no evidence of masked balls being given in Williamsburg,
however masks were available.
Reference:
ERRATUM:
Research Queries File,
March 19,
1984.
Please note the typographical error in Q.
issue Vol.
5,
No.
5.
It
is " feme
covert ",
No.
4 in the October
not " femme
covert."
T)
�84Z,
Questions
Vol. 6,
Answers
April 1985
No. 2
In an interview with Graham Hood, Vice President and Chief Curator, we
asked him questions about the collections for the Wallace Gallery and the
refurnishing changes taking place in some of our exhibition buildings. While
responding to our questions, Mr. Hood sets forth both the rationale for the
exhibition of our collections in a gallery setting as well as in period
rooms within the historic area.
Why do we need a Decorative Arts Gallery?
1.
The idea of great collections and a special place to show them is a
In the early
well established one at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
1930s Mr.
Rockefeller " envisioned the ultimate enrichment
of
the collection
of antiques at Williamsburg until it should become second to no collection
After the great burst of acquiring in the
of its kind in the country."
1950s and 1960s, the trustees formally adopted in 1971 the principle of
establishing a museum at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation when funding
available.
Several years later the proposal was first made to
This finally became
Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt Wallace that they fund a museum.
For over fifty years we have accumulated great
a reality in 1979 - 80.
became
collections,
and it is only proper that we should exhibit them.
will illuminate,
in
2.
enrich,
The
gallery
and extend the interpretation we already offer
the Historic Area.
So,
you see the gallery as a logical and practical extension of the
Historic
Yes,
Area?
When Mr.
John D.
Rockefeller,
Jr.,
and the Reverend W.
first began their collaboration on Colonial Williamsburg,
A.
R.
Goodwin
their vision
revolved around a town that would reflect as accurately as possible its
eighteenth- century
appearance.
As Mr.
Rockefeller wrote after the fact:
I wasn' t trying to recreate a lovely city, nor was I interested in a
I was trying to recreate Williamsburg as it stood
collection of old houses.
in the eighteenth century."
This sentiment was echoed by Dr.
Goodwin,
who
felt that our first priority in acquiring furniture should be " colonial
furniture known to have been made
and used in Virginia."
as their dream an authentic recreation of Williamsburg.
Both these men had
As we know,
however,
concepts of " authenticity" differ from generation to generation,
as research
discoveries are made.
the
For example,
Wallace
Gusler' s
research
on
furniture actually made in Virginia ( published in his book Furniture of
Williamsburg and Eastern Virginia, 1710 - 1790 1979) has changed our way of
Furthermore, increased underthinking about the furniture used locally.
standing of the appearance of rooms in the eighteenth century has prompted
us to make changes, resulting in what we believe to be more accurate
period interiors.
We now believe that " museum- quality" pieces made in
New England, Pennsylvania, or London would not have been in Williamsburg
So., while the Historic Area portrays a specific
in the eighteenth century.
place and a specific time, the Gallery will provide a broader English and
colonial
American
context.
A Bi \ lonthly Publication at the Department of Interpretative Education
�We made many changes in our exhibition buildings in the 1970s,
which
left us without a place to show our vast and important study collection
of
furnishings ( not just furniture,
prints,
but
also
textiles,
metals,
ceramics,
and paintings.)
Many of these pieces, such as the textiles, are
not only inappropriate for our period houses but also too fragile for the
climate and
traffic
conditions
in our
exhibition buildings.
Going hand -in hand with our increasing knowledge of regionally identifiable
groups of objects has been
a heightened awareness
items would have been placed in eighteenth- century rooms.
of how
Research in
this country and abroad, which we incorporated into the refurnishing of
the Governor' s Palace in 1981, made us aware of many inaccuracies in our
buildings.
Fnr instance_ we roaliza that parlours and dining
In the past, we had
rooms contained large sets of matching chairs.
exhibition
sometimes used an " art museum" approach of putting several pairs of superb
chairs from various regions in the same room.
We have also
striven to place objects
in a believable context,
on print and painting sources of the eighteenth century.
illustrate sets of chairs lined up against walls,
this
practice in various rooms in most of
example,
Also,
the parlours at the Wythe,
the
Period
based
graphics
and we have duplicated
exhibition buildings;
Peyton Randolph,
for
and Geddy Houses.
inventories show that older and consequently less expensive articles
were moved away from more public rooms.
We have illustrated this practice
at the Brush -Everard House where the William and Mary chest on frame
previously in the downstairs chamber has been moved to one of the upstairs
chambers.
In addition, inventory sources occasionally give descriptive
entries that extend beyond the usual cursory ones.
however short and cryptic,
Such
descriptions,
provide us with invaluable information about the
furnishings of eighteenth- century Virginia homes
Therefore,
our aim has
been
to make
changes
in the exhibition
buildings based on the most up - to -date research.
Interpreters may miss
some of their favorite pieces from the exhibition buildings, but they
will be
3.
replaced with more
appropriate
and
authentic
furnishings.
Exactly how will the gallery " illuminate, enrich,
and extend"
the
interpretation we offer in the Historic Area?
By providing the wider context of Anglo- American decorative arts
of
the seventeenth and eighteenth
abundance of
similar types
of
centuries with which
objects we see in our
to
compare
the
exhibition buildings.
Making comparisons is one of the best ways actually to see intrinsic
qualities -- comparing the kinds of objects normally found in colonial
Virginia with those
Virginia
typical for other colonies helps
characteristics.
in the gallery,
in different
us better understand
Quality levels are also important distinctions- -
different quality levels will be seen side by side, not
buildings.
And you will simply be able to see the objects in
the gallery better closer up, and not several feet away across a period
room.
Finally, special exhibitions such as the initial " Patron and
Tradesman" exhibit will organize and highlight themes that are very
appropriate to the Historic Area, but are too spread out there to grasp
This exhibit in particular will strengthen
clearly.
craft shops and house museums in the Historic Area.
the
relationships between
�8Z,
Questions
Vol.
6,
No.
Answers
June 1985
3
June is here and we find ourselves thinking about ways to enjoy
ourselves.
Most of our summer visitors are here on their vacations,
and
it might be interesting for them to learn about the ways eighteenth- century
Virginians
spent their leisure
time.
Notice how many of their amusements
and celebrations were competitive and actively shared with others.
The answers to these questions are from Jane Carson' s Colonial
Virginians at Play.
1.
Did colonial
Virginians participate in team sports?
There were no organized games in the modern sense,
but individuals
joined together in informal teams for games of cricket,
and the like.
2.
What was the favorite amusement of colonial
football,
Virginians?
Visitors were greatly valued
Visiting was the favorite pastime.
as a relief from the loneliness and monotony of daily life on
far -flung plantations.
Eating, drinking, and dancing were significant
parttof most
visits.
to
4-
3.
Is it true that some guests stayed for long periods of time?
Friends and family from far away might visit for days or weeks,
but neighbors within easy riding distance slept at home and
frequently offered sleeping to other guests when the host could .
not care for them all.
4.
What kinds of entertainment did the plantation host provide for
his guests?
When guests were few in number, they were taken into the family
group and became part of the daily routine, i. e., gentlemen might
enjoy a morning ride over the home quarters, while the ladies
attended to household affairs
of
course.
and personal
appearance and gossiped,
Everyone gathered around the dinner table early in the
afternoon to enjoy the company and the food and drink for several
hours.
5.
How did Virginians spend evenings?
After dinner, they strolled through the gardens in good weather or
devoted the remainder of the day to cards and billiards, dancing and
Running through the entire day was
music, eating and drinking.
spirited
practical
conversation,
which
was
practiced
as
substitute for newspapers and books.
a
social
art
and
a
Towns like Williamsburg
offered more variety in entertainment with plays, balls, assemblies,
lectures,
and so forth.
A Bi- Monthly Publication at the Department of Interpretative Education
�2-
6.
Did they celebrate birthdays?
Birthday parties were annual customs with many Virginians. Landon
Carter, for example, on his birthday invited guests for dinner
and to spend the evening.
7.
How did they celebrate a wedding?
The best excuse for a big house party was a wedding.
Throughout
the colonial period the gerrmmny was performed by an ,4nglican
minister and usuallyf ttiie hone of the bride, and the entertainment
consisted of cards and dancing, an elegant supper, a cheerful
glass,
and a convivial song.
Although the lesser folk had less to do with, they made as much
of weddings as their betters.
During the morning of the wedding
day, friends of the groan gathered at his father' s house and
accompanied him to the bride' s home in time for the ceremony at
noon.
On the way they amused themselves with a headlong race,
started with a Indian yell and finished at the bride' s door,
black betty ",
The wedding breakfast was a hearty meal of
where the winner received and shared the prize, "
bottle of liqour.
beef, venison, pork,
a
chicken, and perhaps ] par steak with plainly
cooked vegetables and pie, served by the bride' s attendants.
Dancing began immediately after the meal and lasted until dawn.
8.
Is is true that Virginians loved to dance?
John Kello writing from Hampton to a London friend in 1755 stated:
Dancing is the chief diversion here, and hunting and racing."
Governor William Gooch shortly after his arrival in Williamsburg
wrote to_
tiis brother Thomas Gcoch December 28,
Gent
1727: "
The
le jnjgn] and Ladies here are perfectly well bred, not an
ill Dancer in my Govjern
9.
Who provided music for dancing?
Music for dancing was usually played by members of the family. A
German officer who visited MDnticellO during the Revolutionary War
later observed that " all Virginians are fond of music."
Music
teachers, like dancing masters, traveled about from plantation to
plantation.
Blacks played fiddles,
instruments for their own dances,
10.
french horns,
banjos,
and other
as well.
Did they entertain outdoors?
In good weather outdoors fish feasts and barbecues were popular
with Virginians of all classes and ages.
Men and boys went fishing
in the morning, and all the guests gathered under trees by the
riverside for dinner.
While servants cooked the
fish or roasted
the pigs, the young people danced to the music of fiddles and banjos.
11.
Did they enjoy reading aloud",
Sometimes the company spent an agreeable evening reading selections
from plays and novels.
If there was a gentleman present, he did
the reading and the ladies listened with eager attention, their
sensibilities" greatly moved while their hands lay idle, holding
neglected
needlework.
William Byrd often entertained the ladies by
reading aloud to them, sometimes from his own writings.
�3-
12.
What kinds of games did they play'
In Virginia homes card and board games were favorite indoor
amusements that ladies shared with their husbands and guests.
The following are sane of the games they enjoyed:
Whist, an ancestor of modern bridge,
this becCuLe the favorite
four handed card game.
Piquet was a two- handed game similar to modern ruby but scored
somewhat like cribbage and played like whist.
All Fours ( also called pitch) is still played today as seven -up
or setback.
Put, a card game popular with the lower classes, was a primitive
ancestor of modern poker.
Loo was more genteel than put and a faster gambling game played
ITEM three cards or five and either limited or unlimited stakes.
Cribbage was a five card game of 61 holes.
Today we prefer the
six- card game of 121 holes, but the rules are essentially the
same,
and the count for both hands and melds is unchanged.
Chess, the ancient game of intellectuals and introvertwas not
popular among convivial Virginians.
Draughts was the same game as modern checkers.
Like chess,
draughts had a limited following in the colony.
Backgammon had greater
ppeal in Virginia, probably because it is
an easy game to learn7aand the use of dice immediately suggests a
greater element of chance in the play.
Dice were ocmnon items in household inventories all over the colony
and standard equipment in taverns.
Throughout the colonial period,
hazard and other dice games were favorites of the middling sort,
and occasionally the gentry played then.
Billiards equipment was part of the furnishings in taverns and in
planters" homes throughout the Virginia colony.
This game of
skill was played by both men and women.
Goose, a board game similar to parcheesi, this game is a race
between two or more players, who move their men along a track
as the throw of the dice directs.
Games for children.
In tidewater Virginia where the weather is
warm half the year children could play out of doors a great deal
of the time.
Hop- scotch, leap -frog, blindman' s bluff, hide and
seek, prisoner' s base, rolling the hoop, flying kites as well as
ring and counting tames were popular.
�4-
13.
What kinds of sports or outdoor activities were popular with '
Virginians?
Virginians of both sexes and all ages and classes were at have in
the saddle.
Their horses were " their pleasure and their pride."
Horseracing developed from informal, often impromptu tests of
speed and endurance.
In addition to horseracing, occasional
boat races on rivers provided similar activities for social
gatherings.
Fish and game were welcome additions to colonial tables, but
fishing and hunting were done more for sport than necessity
after the first years of settlement.
In the opinion of visitors, colonial Virginia sporting tastes
placed cockfighting immediately after hunting and horseracing.
Wrestling, next to cocking, was standard recreation in the
back country and among the lower classes. For the gentry,
boxing was a polite accomplishment like dancing and fencing.
The art of fencing could be learned in Virginia, where a number
of competent teachers were available.
The duelling contests of Virginia fairs were cudgeling matches
patterned after the traditional village_
sport. in England.
Another outdoor sport, bowling, was enjoyed in England by both
men and women of all
classes.
Ordinary people used public alleys
and greens maintained by towns and taverns and the well - do
tohad private bowling greens on their estates. Two European forms
of the sport came to the colonies.
The
Dutch brought ninepins
to New York, and the English brought bowlAk to Jamestown where
they played in the streets.
The ginit resembled a discus but with a hole in the middle.
Its
homespun variant is pitching horseshoes.
Before he laid out the bowling green at Westover, Byrd often
played cricket with energetic friends.
A modern cricketer
would not recognize the informal, sport these Virginians played.
The British national game as it is played today did not begin
to develop until the Hambledon rules were drawn up in 1774.
Another ball game colonial Virginians played was fives or
hand tennis, what we call handball today.
The origin of the
name and of the game is uncertain.
Farly badminton,
called shuttle -cock, was a fashionable pastime
in seventeenth -century England, but in colonial America only
children seem to have played it.
Ice skating and swimming were
popular in the appropriate seasons.
�5-
A Reminder:
You are invited to attend the Department of Historical
Interpretations June Enrichnment Lecture.
Subject -
Jefferson in Williamsburg
Lecturer -
Sylvia Cooke
Time -
Monday, June 17, 1985
Place -
P. T. B.
If interested please call Missy Rodney
5: 30 -
Ext. 2401
6: 30 p. m.
�Questions
Vol.
6
No.
ISZ,
Answers
August 1985
4
This
issue of Questions and Answers responds to a
few of the questions asked by the summer visitor.
We
are sure you received many more during this busy season.
Let us
bear
from
you.
Please
Strauss at the Davidson Shop.
get in touch with Jane
Send her a note or call
Ext.
2449.
1.
When did numbers start appearing on playing cards?
The modern 52 -card deck of playing cards evolved
from the ancient tarot fortune -telling cards in which
all
cards
are
numbered.
Designs of playing cards varied
There is an 1801 deck from Spain that shows
numbering of cards of each suit, from one to twelve, at
widely.
the upper right hand corner, but this numbering did not
An American
become customary until many years later.
version printed in the mid- nineteenth century had
numbers in two corners and was marketed under the
brand -name " Squeezers."
C. P. Hargrave' s A History of
Playing Cards is an intriguing and very informative work
on
the
2.
subject.
Was it illegal to make pottery in the colonies or
was it just discouraged as a cottage industry?
The making of pottery as well as other kinds of
manufacturing were discouraged in England' s colonies.
The
Mother Country' s purpose in settling colonies was partly to
create markets
for goods manufactured in England and as
sources
materials.
of
colonial
raw
potters.
The "
Poor
There
is
considerable evidence of
Potter"
of Yorktown by C. Malcolm
Watkins and Ivor Noel Hume tells about William Roger' s work
and shows examples of local pottery.
3.
After someone received tobacco notes for their tobacco
at a warehouse and later exchanged the notes for goods
at a store,
how would the storekeeper cash in or retire
the
tobacco
note?
After the establishment of the warehouse system in 1730,
all tobacco which was presented for and passed inspection was
stored in public warehouses until it was loaded aboard ship
for
export to Britain.
good
and
merchantible"
Planters whose
received
crops were
receipts
for
deemed
their
tobacco
in the
form of warehouse notes or " tobacco notes."
These
notes came in two forms:
1)
Crop notes which were issued on
a " whole- hogshead" basis ( minimum 950 pounds), and which
A Bimonthly Publication of the Department of Interpretive Education
�guaranteed
the
return to
the
planter
of
originally presented for inspection;
which were
issued
for
quantities
the
same hogshead
2)
and
less than
Transfer
notes
a whole hogshead
and which guaranteed only the return of a like quantity of
tobacco.
Unlike Bills of Exchange ( or a modern third party
tobacco notes"
circulated freely without need for
check), "
endorsement.
In
specific
had
note
the
absence of
been
lost or
a
special
stolen,
declaration
anyone could
that
a
present
any note to the warehouse that issued it, and receive the
that the note represented.
Thus, if a planter chose
to consign his tobacco to a British merchant, he need only
tobacco
give his notes to the captain of the ship who would take his
tobacco " home."
warehouse,
The
captain
then
received the tobacco,
presented
the
note
at
and loaded his ship.
the
If,
instead, the planter used his notes to pay a debt to a fellow
or to buy goods from a local merchant,
planter,
simply were " passed
on"
until
someone,
the notes
typically a merchant
or his agent, presented them at the warehouse where they were
issued, collected the tobacco, and loaded it aboard ship for
export
to
It
Britain.
is
important to remember that
as
tobacco notes
of
either variety were not legal tender for anything other than
taxes
levied
in
tobacco,
their cash value
varied wtih the
current price of the tobacco which they represented.
The
only thing constant about tobacco notes was the pounds of
tobacco stated on
got back the same
the face of the note.
The holder always
amount ( weight) of tobacco for which the
note was originally issued,
regardless of its current market
price.
4.
Why was such a small denomination of money such as the
half penny minited in England for the colonists use?
Did they feel a 1/ 2 penny would be reasonably big
enough?
To understand the context of the Virginia half penny,
Virginia' s only " official" coin, two points must be made
First,
after 1760,
when
about Virginia and English money.
Virginia had its own paper currency, bills of fixed
denominations were available in the following denominations:
f
5,
f
3,
f
2,
f
1,
10
shillings,
5
shillings,
2
shillings
6
2/ 6),
one shilling 3 pence ( 1/ 3) and one shilling
1 /).
These were printed in Williamsburg, under the
direction of the Treasurer of Virginia.
By the mid 1760' s
pence (
the demand for a coin for small change was being heard by the
Board of Trade in London, and in 1763, King George III
authorized a copper half penny to have value only in terms of
2
�Not until May of 1775 was the
half penny actually circulated in the colony, and as royal
government was effectively ended with the flight of Lord
Dunmore in the spring of 1776, its life as an " official" coin
Virginia' s " current money."
was
short indeed.
The
second point
to be
made
is
about
it was a
the
size
or
but
denomination -- half -penny. True,
many, many items in the Virginia economy were priced down to
a farthing, or quarter of a pence.
In fact the farthing was
still
in use
comparison,
in Great Britain
the half penny -
as
late
-a value
as
small coin,
the mid
of two
1950' s.
By
farthings - - as
w
deemed to be very useful indeed by Virginians seeking small
change
5.
on
the
eve
of
Who were Mason
the
and
American
Dixon
Revolution.
for whom
the
Mason - Dixon Line
is named?
From 1763
to
1767
English astronomers
and surveyors
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon measured the dividing line
between
Pennsylvania
West Virginia
to
the
to
the
north and
south.
Maryland
and
present
By complex measurement and
computations, they fixed the border, settling a long and
bitter controversy between the Calverts of Maryland and the
Penn family of Pennsylvania.
6.
Could
or
would more than one type of meat be smoked in a
Were fish smoked there?
What was done with
smokehouse?
meat stored in a smokehouse while other meat was being
smoked?
Answer "
Would
No"
to
it
the
be
smoked
first
again?
two
questions.
Smoked
hogmeat
could remain in the smokehouse indefinitely and was
unaffected by additional smoking.
Smoking adds flavor but, used alone, is an insufficient
meat -preservation process in warm climates such as Tidewater
Virginia.
For this reason,
salting was the standard method
of preserving beef, pork, and fish for home use and
export -- especially to the West Indies - in eighteenth- century
Hams,
shoulders,
and sides of bacon commonly
received the combined salting -followed -by- smoking method of
curing.
Householders varied the salt cure by adding pepper,
alum, hickory ash, molasses, sugar, saltpeter, or a
combination of these to the first rubbing but generally
agreed on burning hickory wood in their smokehouses.
Virginia.
3
�What
7.
are
sea biscuits?
These are hard, dry, flat cakes of bread known for their
sea biscuits
Packed in tin lined casks,
keeping quality.
would keep a year, and were essential for long sea voyages.
8.
What is Williamburg' s elevation above sea level?
Williamsburg is about 85 feet above sea level.
PLEASE
NOTE
When the
August
31,
sun rises at Colonial Williamsburg on Saturday,
reveille will
peal
across
Market
Square
and
some
300 re- enactment soldiers will snap to attention.
The
recreated
encampment
will come alive by 9 a. m.
drills.
Across
campfire cooking and military
the other side of the square,
merchants
up their finest wares in fair
booths,
will
begin
to
That' s
two days
and
Times
and
Fair
Labor Day weekend,
filled with the
Days,
The
9 a. m.
Publick
sounds,
to 10 p. m.,
Times
of
the
at
August 31 -
sights,
market days in the 18th -century capital.
are Saturday,
peddlers
street
with
street
on
will
set
entertainers
assemble.
Publick
Williamburg,
and
the
and
to
September 1 ...
smells of fall
Hours
and Sunday,
mid-
Colonial
of
9 a. m.
late -1700s
the
event
to 6 p. m.
in
Williamsburg was a period when the General Court met and the
Virginia merchants attended
Meeting of Merchants was held.
this gathering to set commodity prices and exchange rates.
Sometimes these
the Virginia
of
traders,
functions coincided with a business session
legislature.
The various events drew
planters and socialites making it a natural time for
an extensive
fair
or market.
Publick Times often took place simultaneously with a
general muster of every able- bodied male in the Williamsburg
The law required that most men aged 16 to
state militia, available for service during
military district.
60
serve
in
the
times of emergency of civil disturbance.
4
�Questions
Vol.
6,
No.
Answers
October 1985
5
We
wish
to
thank
those
of
you
who
did
respond
to
our request in Septemer for questions asked of you during
the final days of Summer.
We encourage you to keep in touch
with
The
us.
attached
form is
questions while they are
to
Jane
Strauss,
just
a
reminder
still on your mind.
the Davidson Shop,
to
jot down
Please
return
or call her on Extension
2449.
Miscellaneous
1.
Questions
When', were "
Greenbacks"
name
first
greenbacks"
were
first issued
from the devices printed
The first U. S.
called
the
4
issued?
in
1862;
they take their
in green ink on the
backs.
paper currency was issued in 1775 and was
Continental
dollar;
the
first
Virginia
paper
16
tri
money appeared in 1755.
2.
rn
m.
m
Are there any records of many young girls being
apprenticed
to
craftsmen?
op`
Four females are named in the 110 York County
apprenticeships
between
1747
and
1789.
Earlier
County records contain several others.
were
apprenticed
trades (
many
3
for
spinning,
young
girls
household
weaving,
were
work
or
York
Generally,
the
and knitting).
these
textile
So,
no,
ro
on
0
9e
not
0
apprenticed.
mo
For what actual crimes did the county courts use the
stock and pillory?
How long was a person punished in
the
stocks
and
0s-
pillories?
Only one law ( dated 1696) in the Statutes at large calls
for punishment in the stocks.
If a person as convicted
of drunkenness and couldn' t pay the fine of 10 shillings
mA
m
c
mm
or 100 pounds of tobacco for each offense, he or she was
put in the stocks for two hours for each offense.
1
The pillory was more frequently mentioned as an
pz
instrument of punishment,
and usually ear nailing was a
part of being put in the stocks.
that call for use of the pillory:
1705
and
Here
are
the
statutes
1748 - - For
any person' s ( including a slave' s)
second conviction of hog stealing, two hours in the
pillory on court day with both ears nailed to it; at the
s
end
of two
hours,
the
ears
to
be
cut
off
close
to
the
nails.
A Bimonthly Publication of the Department of Interpretive Education
G")
�1705, 1748,
ID
and 1753 - -A runaway servant convicted of
using a forged or stolen certificate had to make
reparation for lost ime, pay recovery charges,
two hours in the pillory on court day.
1723
and
1748 - -A Negro mulatto,
or
and
stand
Indian who gave
false
testimony in the trial of a slave for a capital crime
had one ear nailed to the pillory for an hour, then the
ear cut off and the other ear nailed to the pillory and
cut off in an hour, as well as 39 lashes on his or her
bare
back.
1734 - -"-.
Indian
witness
4y
who .
false testimony in
trial of a free Indian for murder or other
one ear nailed to the pillory for an hour,
cut
off
and
the
other
ear
nailed
and
cut
felony had
then
off
the
ear
after
an
convicted
of
hour.
1748 -- Anyone,
except
a
slave
or
servant,
using a forged or counterfeited pass for transportation
out of the colony had to pay MO and recovery charges,
and stand in the pillory, two hours on court day;
for
forging or counterfeiting a pass, or for using one
knowingly, the offender stood in the pillory two hours
on court day
and received thirty lashes on his or her
bare back at the whipping post.
1772
and
1776 - - For
the third conviction of altering or
counterfeiting the brand of a flour manufacturer or
inspector, the offender had to stand in the pillory as
long as the court directed.
Judging from these few and very specific statutes, the
stocks and pillory may have been little use, except for
convicted runaway servants.
But each county court house
was required by law to have these and other instruments
of punishment.
They seem to have been importqnt as
visible
4.
reminders
of
potential
punishment.
What is the origin of the Latin phrase over the
fireplace in the Apollo Room of the Raleigh Tavern?
In
it
is
carved " Hilaritas
Sapientiae
Proles."
et
Bonae
Vitae
This is translated as " Jollity, the offspring
We haven' t found a literary
source of the quotation; it may be original with the
of wisdom and good living."
Apollo
Room.
2
�D
5.,.
Were wedding rings worn in eighteenth -century America?
If: so, were they worn on the left or right hand?
inventories,
Wedding rings are mentioned in wills,
other
documents
reference
groom,
to
of
the
colonial
exchange
We
Virginia.
of
rings
can
find
between bride
and
no
and
so wedding rings may have been worn only by
In
women.
fact,
it was
not
a
general
custom
for men
to
wear wedding rings until World War II.
John Davis in the Department of Collections is checking
on the customary design of eighteenth- century wedding
rings and may possibly find more about who wore them and
on
6.
which
hand.
What is the process of smoking meat?
smoke
and what
kind
of
wood
is
How long must it
used?
Nicholas Cresswell gives a fairly specific description
of the ham curing and smoking process as it was done in
colonial
Virginia:
The bacon cured here is not to be equalled in any part
of the world, their hams in particular.
They first rub
0
them over with brown
sugar
and
let
them
This extracts the watery particles.
in
salt
for
10 days or a
fortnight.
hickory ashes instead of saltpetre,
the
saltpetre
and
gives
them
a
lie
all
night.
They let them lie
Some
rub
it makes
pleasant
them
with
them red as
taste.
Then
they are hung up in the smoke -house and a slow smoky
fire kept under them for three or four weeks, nothing
This
buy hickory wood is burnt in these smoke - houses.
gives
them
an
agreeable
flavour,
far
preferable
to
the
Westphalia Hams, not only that, but it prevents them
going rancid and will preserve them for several years by
giving them a fresh smoking now and then.
Journal of Nicholas Cresswell,
1774 - 1777,
7.
p.
199
Why do the English and French use the motto " Honi soit
qui mal y pense "?
Is this motto used by the Order of
the
Garter?
Honi soit qui mal y pense is old French for " Evil to him
who
evil thinks."
The story is that in the reign of
King Edward III ( 1327 - 1377) a lady was embarrassed when
her
garter
came
loose
at
a
formal
function.
To
set
her
at ease, the chivalrous king came to her rescue, said
and founded the most
Honi soit qui mal y pense,"
honorable and exclusive of English orders
the Order of the Garter, which ever since
expression as its motto.
of knighthood,
has . used that
�8.
What
is
Several
the
origin
different
of
the
coins have been
the eighteenth century in America,
Spanish
milled
dollar was
9
term dollar?
the
called dollars,
but
north and south,
silver
coin
in
the
most
It became the standard of value for
frequently found.
the paper money of several English colonies before 1776
and became the basic unit for the paper currency issued
by or authorized by the Continental Congress. Following
calculations and reports made by Thomas Jefferson in
1776,
1784,
and
the dollar
became
in
unit of our decimal currency system.
in
fuller details
should also
1792 the basic
Those interested
consult John
J.
McCusker,
Money and Exchange in Europe and America, 1600 - 1775
Chapel Hill,
University of North Carolina Press, 1978).
4
�Answers
Questions &
This issue of Questions and Answers on transportation in
eighteenth century Virginia is a follow up to the essays on
the
6.,
Vol.
transportation in the November 1985,
6
No.
issue
of
Interpreter.
I
1.
Where
did
people
park
carriages?
There was no designated spot
for parking on the street.
Sometimes
horses were tied to rails while others were
When not in use carriages were
trained to stand still.
and so forth. In
stables,
put in carriage houses, sheds,
other
2.
anywhere
words,
out
of
the
elements.
How many different kinds of wagons and carriages did
people use in eighteenth century Virginia?
The most numerous types mentioned are berlins,
chariots,
chairs,
phaetons,
post
curricles,
chaises,
stage
chariots,
wagons,
calashes,
landaus,
choachees,
coaches,
wagons,
sulkies,
and carts of all description,
including tumbrils and drays.
3.
Who
owned
carriages?
carts,
wagons,
In 1768 in James City there were some 419 taxable
Seventy -two wheeled vehicles were taxed, and
persons.
there were far more two -wheeled vehicles in the area than
four- wheeled
vehicles (
60
chairs,
7
and
chariots,
5
coaches).
Edward Ambler and Robert
coach,
and
chariot
chariot,
and
Carter Nicholas
chair.
John
Randolph
each owned a
owned
a
and Benjamin Waller owned a chariot
coach
and
Taverns in Williamsburg rented horses and wheeled
chair.
vehicles
for travelers
and others
in need of
transportation.
4.
What
did
Prices
of
a
carriage
carriages
cost?
ranged
widely.
A
coach
and harness
for two horses was valued at L20 in the 1768 inventory of
Governor
elaborate
Fauquier' s
estate.
Governor
Botetourt' s
state coach was apparently worth much more.
Ishmael Moody' s estate included a chair and harness for
two horses valued at L9
in 1749.
Henry Wetherburn' s
estate included a chair and harness appraised at B10 in
1760.
In
1760,
Westwood Armistead' s estate
four wheeled chaise
and
included a
harness worth L30.
A Bimonthly Publication of the Department of Interpretive Education
�5.
How many miles could a traveler cover in a day?
The distances covered in a day by eighteenth- century
travelers varied considerably depending on the weather,
Whether
the travelers' intentions, and road conditions.
or not the traveler was on horseback or in a vehicle made
One
no difference as to the miles covered in a day.
person mentioned that he went 15 miles in a chair in 2
1/
2 hours while his servant,
in a chair with baggage and
The same
the old horse" traveled 45 miles in a day.
rode the stage in 1786 from Petersburg to Suffolk ( 91
in
miles)
18
hours.
The post rider,
the
Post (
man
who in about 1738 rode horseback
general
post office
three miles
from New
below
Fredericksburg on the south side of the Rappahannock
River)
left
to Williamsburg each week,
New
Post
on
Thursday mornings and arrived in Williamsburg on
Saturdays.
He
allowed
from two to two
and a half days
for the trip, stopping to rest and refresh himself and
While there are rare
his horse at necessary intervals.
instances of George Washington making the trip between
Mount Vernon and Williamsburg in a little more than two
he usually took from
days ( probably nearer three days),
four to six days for the journey and stopped for business
or
visiting
en
route.
Andrew Burnaby traveled through Virginia in 1759 and
1760, moving around at a rather leisurely pace. Most days
he
made
between
25
and
On one occasion he
35 miles.
commented that he arrived at Winchester " after a long
day' s journey of above fifty miles."
Robert
Hunter,
a
Jr.,
London merchant,
thought that
the
road between Williamsburg and Chickahominy Ferry was
One
exceedingly pleasant."
roads
in 1746
I ever
the
saw,
6.
Virginia
traveler observed
some of the best
that
were "
and infinitely superior to most in England."
Why are the carriage wheels dish shaped?
The dish shape of
two
directions
counteracts
axle
arm
the
then
perpendicular
downward
the wheel
both
pressure
puts
to
down
the
the
is to
counteract pressures
and
outward.
and
outward,
spoke
at
ground,
the
pressures.
2
the
The
the
bottom
strongest
in
dish
camber
of
the
of
the
wheel,
position
for
�7.
How much did
it cost
to board horses
at
taverns?
The following were the going rates in several Tidewater
counties
horse
each
in
the
stable
1770s:
per
night,
horse
for
7
24
1/ 2
pence;
hours,
11
room and fodder for each
stable room and fodder for
1/ 4
pence.
The
rates
were
set by the county or city court in each jurisdiction.
Those rate
schedules posted in taverns in the Historic
Area today are composites based on court records of
nearby counties and cities as none survives for the
period
8.
for the Williamsburg area.
What roles did blacks play in transportation?
Many stable hands and drivers of carriages, carts, and
wagons were black.
Many of the jockeys in quarter path
and course racing in the eighteenth century were blacks,
one of the most famous being Austin Curtis, who raced in
North Carolina and Virginia
9.
skill,
He
from 1759 to 1809.
renowned
for
his
judgement,
and
courteous
was
manner.
Were horses taxed in any way in colonial Virginia?
Taxes were levied on horses from time to time.
During
and after the Revolution, Virginia taxed horses, at a
rate of two shillings for every mare,
in
the
were
10.
1782
to
1786
an
colt or horse;
additional
two
and
shillings
added.
Where
In
years
were
the
horses
kept?
seventeeth
and
eighteenth
centuries
Virginians
passed a law requiring that horses of inferior size and
quality be fenced in order that quality of Virginia
horses not be further degraded by indiscriminate
however,
that horses were still
It appears,
breeding.
Hugh Jones
running free in the eighteenth century.
wrote, "
I have known some spend the morning in ranging
several miles
in
the woods
to
find and catch
only to ride two or three miles
court house,
or
to
a
to church,
horse- race."
their
horses
to the
Dr. Johann
D.
Schoepf
recorded in 1783, " With the exception of those horses
upon which as racers a high value is placed, all the
others are let run about in the fields for pasture,
without giving them in the hardest winter any protection
against
the
inclemencies
of
the
weather . . .
and
many
of
these poor beasts are actually forced to get what little
nourishment they can from under ice and snow."
3
�In Williamsburg,
indicated
and
in
paddock
and
How
oxen
are
There
are
Some
private
lots
had
stables
those on the town' s periphery had
areas;
stables
11.
taverns provided stablage for horses as
answer # 7.
pasturage
adjacent.
steered?
five
basic
commands
with
several
regional
variations:
GEE --
Right
BACK - - up
HAW --
Left
HUP --
move
WHOA --
forward
stop
A goad or whip is used in conjunction with the voice in
order
to
get
the
oxen' s
attention
rather
than
as
hay,
straw,
punishment.
12.
What were
horses
fed?
In the eighteenth century beans,
crops were
13.
How did
fed to
common
fodder,
root
horses.
folk move
around?
Did many people own
horses?
Mostly walked or rode.
The Reverend Hugh Jones wrote in
1724 that Virginians were " such lovers of riding, that
As noted
almost every ordinary person keeps a horse."
above,
some vehicles- and horses were hired out by tavern
keepers.
14.
Was
there
public
transportation
little
horse
in
the
eighteenth
century?
There was
drawn public
transportation
in
the
eighteenth century in the Tidewater and Peninsula area.
There apparently existed for a short time in 1760 a stage
that ran between Hampton and Williamsburg,
about
32
miles.
Ferries
were
available
a distance of
for
a
fee
to
carry travelers over waterways.
15
What rates were charged for riding ferries in the
eighteenth
century?
The charges for ferriage in the eighteenth century varied
somewhat, but the following prices from 1757 seem to be
typical:
fourpence
for
shillings
for
with
a
for a man:
fourpence
coach,
chariot, or wagon
shilling fourpence
its
driver;
chaise;
eight
fourpence
a
horse;
driver;
two
one
for a cart or four wheeled chaise with
pence
for
for
hogshead of
a
a two -wheeled chair or
4
tobacco
or a
head
of
J
�cattle;
one penny for a hog;
lamb was
16.
charged
one
What was
the most
and each sheep,
fifth of
the
fare
for
popular breed of horse
goat,
or
a horse.
in
Eighteenth- century Virginia?
It is difficult to
short
answer this
We
sentences.
suggest
question in
that you
Virginians at Play ( hard cover),
17.
p. p.
just a
few
see Colonial
112 - 118.
Why do the English drive on the left side of the road and
the
Americans
on
the
right
side?
We have searched early Virginia laws and find no colonial
There may have
legislation concerning traffic patterns.
been an established custom in a place like Williamsburg
where
vehicles
records
do
not
and
horses were
reveal
what
more
that
concentrated,
custom was.
but
our
Curators
from the Henry Ford Museum have heard it said that " the
tradition of mounting a horse from the left ( due to the
position
walk in
drivers
road."
of
one'
s
combined with
sword),
the
desire
to
the center of the road,
led the early Conestoga
to drive their vehicles on the right side of the
The transportation division at the Museum of
History and Technology at the Smithsonian
Conestoga wagon,
driven
as
it
was
feels that the
from positions
on
the
left, greatly influenced vehicles to drive on the right
side
of
the
road.
This
takes
us
back
The
to
about
British
1750
so
practice
there may be earlier precedents. "
of driving to the left is rooted in chivalry and the wish
to
be
able
to
fight with
the
right
5
hand..."
�
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
Colonial Williamsburg Interpreter
Description
An account of the resource
<p><em>The Colonial Williamsburg Interpreter</em> was a newsletter published July 1980-September 2009 by the education and research departments of Colonial Williamsburg and authored mainly by staff researchers and interpreters. Its purpose was to disseminate information germane to the current interpretive focus of the Historic Area uniformly across the various departments involved with historical interpretation. Some of the articles sprang from the need to impart new research or interpretive information to staff while others were inspired by employee questions or suggestions. In the earlier issues, standard sections include “The King’s English” which explained various words or terminology encountered in 18th century life, “Occurrences” which noted different programs and events of interest to employees and visitors, and “The Exchange” which was a guest column that offered the perspective and knowledge of non-research department employees on various subjects. Later issues had regular columns about historical subjects, archaeology, gardening, new books at the Foundation library, “Cook’s Corner” about foodways, “Interpreter’s Corner” concerning issues of interpretation, and a Q & A section. The number of issues published per year varied as did the length of the newsletter.</p>
<p>Several supplemental publications sprang from the Interpreter including <em>Fresh Advices, Questions & Answers</em>, and A<em> Cultural Time Line & Glossary for Williamsburg in the Eighteenth Century</em>. Fresh Advices offered discussions of recent research conducted by the Foundation and opportunities for applying it in the Historic Area. It was published infrequently from 1981-1987. <em>Questions & Answers</em> began and ended as a column in the <em>Interpreter</em>, but also existed as a supplemental publication from 1980-1989. It functioned as a means to answer common interpreter questions to the research department about eighteenth-century history and culture, Williamsburg area history, and Colonial Williamsburg itself. The one-time 1990 publication <em>A Cultural Time Line & Glossary for Williamsburg in the Eighteenth Century</em> consisted of a oversize poster-sized timeline and a glossary booklet. The time line included notable events in the Age of Enlightenment in the categories of politics, philosophy and religion, education, science and technology, fine arts and architecture, and performing arts and literature. The glossary was an expansion on selected entries from the time line to give more information on people and events that directly or indirectly influenced the development of colonial Virginia society.</p>
<p>An index to the <em>Interpreter</em> and its supplemental publications may be found here: <a href="http://research.colonialwilliamsburg.org/library/_files/Interpreter.pdf">Colonial Williamsburg Interpreter Index, 1980-2009</a>.</p>
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
Questions & answers : a bi-monthly publication of the Department of Interpretive Education, volume 6, 1985