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Text
Answers
Questions
Vol.
7,
No.
February 1986
1
In this issue of Questions and Answers we want to
share with you questions we received from the Historic Area
Stores
about eighteenth- century
Baumgarten,
Linda
clothing.
Curator of Textiles answered questions 1,
2, '
3
I
Harold Gill Assistant to the Director of Craft
question 4 and John Moon, Director of Music part B
and 5 - a,
Shops,
of
1.
quest -on
5.
Did Storekeepers
wear Waistcoats?
Eighteenth century men of all
some which had
sleeves
When part of a suit,
and
some
sleeveless.
the waistcoat was worn over the
shirt and under the coat,
with just the
fronts
Some working men wore their waistcoat as a
visible.
jacket,
classes wore waistcoats,
attached,
without
the
Only in hot weather, during
coat.
vigorous activity, and in very informal situations
would
coat,
2.
in his
shirtsleeves.
as
would
waistcoat ( and
probably
well)
a
when meeting
a
customers.
Was there such an article of clothing for women in the
Eighteenth Century;
sleeved- bodice,
an
similar
over -garment - -such
to
the
sleeved
as
length
sleeves.
They fitted closely to
the body over the white shift,
and were worn with an
These jackets show up in several
including a painting of
print and painting sources,
slave women working in Virginia fields around 1800.
outer
petticoat.
Textile staff members in the Crafts Department have
made several reproduction jackets of this type, one of
which can be seen on exhibit at the Carter' s Grove
Reception
3.
Center.
Why was a ladies head covered at all times?
Religion?
Style?
Custom?
Fiona Clark,
author
of the book
entitled Hats,
suggests that the custom for married women wearing
caps was an evolution derived from the teaching of the
church
in
conceal
century,
the
Middle
their hair
Ages
that
in public.
it had become custom,
married women
CLOTHING:
a
waistcoat?
Many working women wore jackets that laced ( or less
frequently buttoned) up the front and which had
below -elbow
CENTURY
Most
wear
a man appear
storekeepers
EIGHTN
should
By the eighteenth
and caps were worn as
A Bimonthly Publication of the Department of Interpretive 'Education
WAISTCO HATS -
KILTS
�indications of the married state and ' domestic
intimacy."
When dressed formally women frequently
dressed their hair with ribbons or pearls, and omitted
their
caps.
The wearing of caps by interpreters
serves both to show the widespread wearing of head
coverings during the eighteenth century, but also to
hide modern hair styles which might distract from the
costume.
4.
Were trues /tammes or balmorals worn by a storekeeper?
I have seen no evidence that any of the items above
were worn by storekeepers in Williamsburg.
5 a. Were there Kilts worn in Eighteenth- Century
Williamsburg?
I have not found conclusive evidence for men wearing
Scottish -style clothing here in Williamsburg, though
some may have.
Many imported Scottish textiles were
being worn here,
often made
of
however.
a woolen
Stockings and suits
textile called " plaid,"
this term indicated the type of wool fabric,
than
the
pattern.
were
but
rather
Sometimes " plaid" was checked or
patterned, but frequently it was white.
5
b.
In 1745 after the Battle of Culloden,
Jacobite Rebellion,
i. e.,
clan
bag -pipes,
tartans.
the second
things Highland were outlawed
kilts,
Highland pistols and wearing
This was an attempt to break up the
clans.
By 1760 these items were allowed to appear again but
there was no kilt maker in Williamsburg, which is a
specialized
craft.
As head of the Murray clan,
own piper,
Governor Dunmore had his
he was kilted but this was an exception.
The following Highland regiments the 42rd, 54th, 82nd,
71st and 76th arrived here between 1770 and 1780 and
at the
seige of Yorktown all were kilted.
Upon
their
discharge kilts became private property.
Some of the kilts may have been sold in Williamsburg
but there is still no evidence that they may have been
worn
here.
�Answers
Questions
Vol.
7,
No.
April 1986
2
In this issue of Questions and Answers we have
collected
will be
1.
a
number
of
miscellaneous
questions.
We hope they
of interest to all of you.
Was bathing considered unhealthy?
Naturally,
individual
to
opinion varied widely from one
the
William Byrd II
next.
in his History
of the Dividing Line mentioned several occasions on
which he was relieved to be able to bathe after
travel in
days'
the
wilderness.
George Wythe
several
took
cold
showers every morning for both health and hygienic
purposes.
Advertisements
for soaps
and other bathing
equipment show that there was something of a market for
these
While
items.
hygiene - wash
appear
equipment
basins
and
associated
stands,
in inventories before
the
with
personal
for examples -- rarely
1760s ( and then only
in estates of the very well- to -do),
buckets
and
other
multi purpose items could have been used at bath time.
Vermin
in beds
and heads were
frequently written about,
indicating that the personal cleanliness was not a high
priority, and many people did not own enough clothing
to
change
often.
It
is
important to understand that
the eighteenth century did not share our modern concern
with
2.
cleanliness.
What did colonials use
to brush
their teeth?
The toothbrush has changed very little since its
invention by the Chinese in the fifteenth century.
Stores and shops in eighteenth- century Williamsburg
sold both
toothbrushes
and
dentifrice
powders.
Sassafras twigs may have been used occasionally too.
3.
Did women wear
lipstick in the eighteenth century?
Eighteenth- century English cookbooks include
recipes for lip balms made of various fats such as
Carmine or
spermaceti, and butter, but no dyes.
ground plaster of Paris mixed with red lead and other
lard,
coloring agents is said to have been used by some
fashionable
London
ladies.
A Bimonthly Publication of the Department of Interpretive Education
�4.
Were there lamplighters in eighteenth -century
Williamsburg?
There were no
lamplighters because there were no
street lamps here in the eighteenth century.
5.
Were most homes in Williamsburg self- sufficient?
No.
See Barney Barnes' s article, "
The Powell- Waller Program,"
Economy:
Interpreter, July 1985.
6.
Urban
in The
Domestic
Did Peyton Randolph own property across England street
or north of the
two
John Randolph
Street
lots
where
his
house
sits?
owned a lot across North England
from the present Randolph House,
as
well
as
one
or more lots north of it and other property in and near
He sold the lot west of England Street,
Williamsburg.
and later in his will Peyton inherited the three or
more lots in block 28 where the Peyton Randolph House
stands.
7.
What did the colonial Virginian eat for breakfast?
In affluent households,
breakfast
consisted of hot
breads and cold meats ( Virginia ham and roast from
dinner the day before,
for
example)
or
a
hashed
dish.
Fruit and eggs were rarities.
lower
classes,
cornbread,
Among the middle and
hominy, or whatever was
available was welcome at breakfast as at any other
Milk,
meal.
small
beer,
and
cider
were
typical
breakfast beverages for all classes in the eighteenth
The well -to -do had the
century.
coffee,
8.
and
Did people
In
as
an
added options of tea,
chocolate.
eat
ancient
coffee
beans?
times,
some may have eaten coffee beans
the beverage came into general
experiment,
but
use in Europe during the seventeenth century.
English merchant engaged in trade with Turkey
An
introduced coffee to England in 1652.
9.
When did forks appear commonly on tables in colonial
Virginia?
In
general,
it is correct that some of the
wealthiest Virginians had forks very early in the
eighteenth century and that certainly by the 1750s even
quite modest
households
had
2
forks.
Lois
Carr
and
J
�Lorena Walsh
had
worked with
inventories
counties along the Chesapeake
and
Consumer
Behavior
in
the
paper they presented at the
conference
in
September
from various
for " Changing Life Styles
Colonial
Chesapeake,"
Institute' s
1985.
Carr
a
social history
and
Walsh
compared
rural and urban York County inventories for various
consumer
goods,
No York County
including table forks.
inventory from the seventeenth century mentions forks.
By 1732 in urban York County more than half of the
estates
worth
over
b95
included
forks.
Later
in
the
century forks became more common in both rural and
urban
areas
at
all
wealth
levels. (
The
Library has a copy of the conference
10.
Foundation
papers.)
Did they use a form of shorthand in the colonial
period?
William
Yes.
Byrd
II wrote
his
diaries
in
shorthand adapted from the system developed by William
a late seventeenth -century English stenographer.
Mason,
Mason' s textbook was
published
in
several
revisions
until
Byrd,
editions
Roger
presidents
Thomas
0
and
Williams,
of
Harvard
Jefferson
For more
1672
John Winthrop,
College
recommended
information
Besides
and several early
employed
its
and went through
1707.
shorthand,
and
use.
and an illustration of Byrd' s
see the introduction to The Secret Diary of
William Byrd of Westover, edited by Wright and Tinling.
shorthand,
11.
Is
there
a
difference
between
an
indenture
contract
and
an apprenticeship indenture?
Technically,
both are the same legal
form.
The
contents of apprenticeship indentures distinguish them
from other contracts
master
and
in the obligations on both sides
apprentice)
are
spelled
Apprentices
out.
usually had legal protections outlined in their
contracts,
whereas
indentured
servants
had
none. (
An
example of a typical apprenticeship indenture appears
in The Interpreter,
July 1981.)
12.
Did eighteenth- century families use the term governess?
When did
this
term
come
into use?
What
was
the
role
of
a governess in the eighteenth century?
The term was used in the eighteenth century;
it
appears in such works as the Spectator
for 1712 and in
Smollett' s 1771 novel Humphrey Clinker.
According to
the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest use of the
term in the sense of a female teacher or instructress
was
the
1712
Spectator.
A newspaper
3
advertisement
in
�1775
reads, "
A WOMAN who would act as
Virginia
any genteel family . " (
Purdie,
13
October
1775).
a GOVERNESS
Gazette,
to
ed.
Philip Vickers Fithian
refers to two governesses employed in homes near Nomini
Hall.
Duties of governesses probably varied greatly from
For example, it is not certain that
family to family.
in the eighteenth century governesses necessarily were
in private households.
Generally, a governess
employed
taught reading and other basic skills to females and
Sewing, etiquette, French, drawing,
very young boys.
and other
accomplishments were mainly taught to
girls.
4
the
�Answers
Questions &
Vol.
June
3
No.
7,
In this
issue of Questions and Answers
1986
we
asked
Conny Graft, programs manager, to give us an update on the
Junior
Interpreter
The objective of this group is
Forum.
to provide us with information
about eighteenth- century
We have included a few questions,
children.
bibliography,
a
and a list of our Junior Interpreter
programs.
An
Update on
the
Junior Forum
In May 1985, Dennis O' Toole asked me to chair a
forum for the purpose of coordinating and strengthening
all interpretive programs that involve junior
The forum members
interpreters.
who
represents "
Once
Upon
a
included Chris
Dylan
Town,"
Barton,
Pritchett
who
supervises junior interpreters in African -American
Dorothy Poucher who represented the Fife and
programs,
Drum Corps
time
as well as dance
instructor
Schone,
in
D. I. E.,
and music students, Anne
Marilyn Wetton who at the
and Mary Ellen
supervised the young needleworkers,
Stebbins who was developing a program for junior
interpreters
in
the
Crafts
We
department.
called
which stood for the Junior
Forum and we met for several months,
J. I. F.,"
ourselves "
Interpreters
sharing
information about each others' programs and discussing
ways in which we could coordinate and thereby strengthen
some
of
our
particularly in the areas of research
In January 1986, we presented Dennis
work,
and training.
O' Toole
and
the
Directors
of
HAPO
with
a
The
report.
following is a summary of some of our ideas and the status
of
our
recommendations.
RESEARCH
All of us agreed that we were sorely lacking in
research on all aspects
of children' s lives in eighteenth The few sources we knew of dealt
century Williamsburg.
with the children of the gentry class.
We
also
needed
to
know more about the daily lives of children of all
classes.
this
We
subject
recommended
be
that
published.
We
a
Question &
also
Answer
submitted
the Research department for a research
a list of questions we had developed.
a
sheet
on
request to
report that
Our request
covered
is now
being incorporated into a long list of other research .
request that Cary Carson is compiling into a ten year plan
for
his
department.
A Bimonthly Publication of the Department of Interpretive Education
�Anne
Meanwhile,
resident
coordinator
Schone
on
the
has
been
subject
and
appointed
has
the
HAPO
developed
a
slide lecture on " Growing Up in Eighteenth- Century
Williamsburg" with assistance from historian Kevin Kelly.
Anne is also developing an annotated bibliography and
training materials on the subject with the assistance of
historical
to
all
interpreter Ruth
members
wonderful
of
the
collection
Rabalais which will be helpful
We have
forum.
of rare
discovered
a
eighteenth- century children' s
Thanks to
books at AARFAC and in our research library.
the work of intern Amy Killpatrick in the Museum Studies
Graduate
Program
and
John
Ingram,
Curator,
Library Special
Collection in the Foundation Library, we now have an
annotated bibliography of those books and will soon be
receiving a collection of xeroxed passages from several
books
to
share
with
our
junior
One
interpreters.
book
called " Goody Two Shoes" which we know was sold in
Williamsburg has been copied by John Ingram and with the
assistance of Dale Dippre in the Printing Shop and Mark
Howell in the Bindery, the book will be reproduced and
incorporated in our training and interpretive programs.
TRAINING
John
Caramia
and Anne
Schone
developed
an
outline
for a division wide training program for all junior
interpreters
in HAPO that covers
basic
information on
interpretation, the visitor, Virginia history, the
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, hospitality and courtesy
and Anne Schone' s materials on " Growing Up in Eighteenth
John
Century Williamsburg."
and
Anne
and
Valerie
Coons
are now implementing this training program for all junior
interpreters.
RECOGNITION
We came up with several actions we could take to
strengthen
their
the
recommendations
see
if
recognition
contributions
the
was
to
junior
our
that
interpreters
interpreters
programs.
we
work
could
receive
One
the
with
receive
of
the
school
for
major
system
school credit
to
for
their work.
Dorothy Poucher is now working with a staff
member of the James City County Public School System and
she reports that it looks very promising.
FUTURE
PROGRAM
We
DEVELOPMENT
proposed
that
sites
identified
in
the
ten
year
plan as having emphasis on family life incorporate junior
interpreters
into
their
interpretive
plans.
Sites
that
emphasize cultural life such as the Wren building and
George Wythe
House
should
also
include
2
junior
interpreters
�when special programs are being developed.
FUTURE
COORDINATION
AND
EXCHANGES
We proposed that
quarterly basis
the
forum continue
to
meet
on
a
for the purpose of exchanging research,
sharing new ideas and keeping each other up -to -date on new
training and program developments.
Since
the
forum' s
creation,
several
new
interpretive programs that incorporate young people have
been developed
members
of
and
J. I. F.
their " creators"
have become
new
Allison McCaig and Elaine Shirley in
the Coach and Livestock program of the Crafts department
17 every morning this
will have young people ages 12 summer from 8: 30 11: 00 a. m. helping them take care of
As with the " Once Upon a Town" program, the
the animals.
junior interpreters were
recruited
from the 4 - H Club.
Mary Wiseman is working with some of our youngest
interpreters who represent the Geddy children in her
Mary Wiseman and Alex
According to the Ladies" program.
Clark are also working with five " Young Gentlemen
Scholars" who will portray students at the College of
William and Mary in several experimental programs this
Bill Weldon in the Crafts department has been
summer.
assigned by Earl Soles to continue the work of Mary Ellen
Stebbins in establishing a junior interpreter program in
the
Crafts
department.
I am particularly excited about the possibilities
that these junior interpreters provide and the wonderful
things that can happen when such a program becomes
Not only do the programs provide an exciting
successful.
activity for young people in the community,
but
it
also
provides our young visitors and their parents with a
powerful image of family life in eighteenth- century
Williamsburg.
learn more
junior
feel
at
Q.
If you would like to
please
interpreter programs,
extension
free
about
to
our
call
me
2103.
What kinds of education were available to children
Eighteenth- century Virginia:
A.
A
small
families
number
of
attended
children
from
a
school, (
formal
colony or in England),
Mary,
or
the
the
College
wealthiest
either
of
in
the
William
and
studied at home under private tutors.
Otherwise,
parents
taught
skills
3
to
their
children,
in
�and
formal
apprenticeships
began when
the
child
to
Increasingly in the
eighteenth century men signed their names -- evidence
By the Revolution about 70 to 90
of basic literacy.
be
apprenticed was
percent
of
males
about
had
14.
that
the
skill;
literate women was smaller.
Others
gone through formal apprenticeships
percentage
of
may not have
but
learned
somewhere along the line a little reading and, if
nothing else, how to write their names and perhaps a
very few words phonetically.
Many wills - even of
middling" parents -- include a proviso that a child
be educated, and guardian accounts show payments
made
Q.
for
schooling paid
year.
Do we know how old these children were when they started
going to school?
How were they taught? What about
sciences
A.
by the
and
mathematics?
Fifthian' s diary,
between
the
what
Carter
he
reveals a considerable difference
taught
the children at various
received more instruction
daughters
ages;
in
homemaking skills from the women of the household
than literary skills from the tutor.
At the college of William and Mary,
all
male,
their
of
course)
mid - teens.
entered the
At this
stage
the students
Grammar
School
in
they were expected
to know basic Latin and be ready for higher
mathematics.
They learned by rote,
books.
It
was
not
by memorization,
unusual
for
a
and by copy
seven-
or
If
eight the
year old to begin the study of Latin.
eighteenth- century boy student were attending a
formal
school,
his
composition
was
done
in
Latin
as
well.
Among the
subjects
philosophy,
students
which included both physical and natural
The
sciences.
taught at the College was natural
to
mathematics
solve
taught
problems
in
there
enabled
astronomical
Among the natural
navigation and land surveying.
sciences,
the study of what we call biology- especially botany - was important for students, most
of whose
lives
were
spent closer
to
the
natural
world than in our day.
Q.
What toys and games and
activities did children
A.
From eighteenth- century prints and paintings it is
obvious
that
children
other leisure
engage in?
cherished
4
their
time
special
toys
�especially dolls for the girls) and pets; as
the Dering portrait of George Booth shows
a boy with his dog and a gun, the painting of the
examples,
Grymes
boys
includes
Bridge' s
portrait
cardinal
as
a
a
favorite bow and
Page
I"
Prints
from
the
pet.
arrow,
highlights
of " Mann
and
a
end of the
rhymes
Books of
century show children playing.
all types of toys ( both educational and
recreational)
both
Q.
in
were being made,
England
and
in
and
advertised,
and
sold
Virginia.
Did slave children actually play with white
children?
A.
It varied a lot with individual
Blair in a letter to her sister
let Betsy Braxton,
spend
niece,
time
her eightwith
slave
families.
notes that
or
Anne
she
nine -year
children
of
had
old
the
household and that Betsy had picked up some of the
black children' s words.
This certainly indicates
some amount of playing together by black and white
children within
the
same
household.
uncommon
for a black girl
years
age
of
to
be
of,
appointed
It
ten
say,
was
or
not
twelve
nursemaid to
white
children only a few years younger than herself.
Q.
Can we define or explain what we mean by childhood,
or children in the eighteenth century?
A.
For untold generations, childhood was not a distinct
period in the human life cycle.
As soon as a child
moved beyond infancy,
The
child' s
which he
or
life
he became a miniature adult.
reflected
she was
the
born.
life
Children
of
the
were
adults
set
to
doing the most routine tasks that any planting
Tedious chores were assigned
family needed done.
even very young children.
Depending on his
the
strength,
five-
fetched
water,
course,
this
economic
Q.
or
or
did
seven -year -old
other
again depends
simple
on the
carried
tasks;
social
but,
to
work
to
wood,
of
and
status of the particular family.
Did a child growing up in eighteenth- century
Williamsburg have more advantages than a child
growing up on a Plantation?
A.
A child in Williamsburg had very different
surroundings
farmstead.
than
In
Betsy Braxton
Blair
at
different
the
a
child
who
town
there
were
came to
John
more
spend the
Blair
situation
lives
House,
an
isolated
children.
When
summer with Anne
she
than at home
5
on
on
was
her
in
a
parents'
�She went along when Anne visited;
plantation.
attended music and dancing lessons;
she
she
played
with
young friends in the back yard; she ate green apples
and got sick; they made doll clothes for Betsy' s
doll;
she
did
needlework.
living in the household,
with
them.
These are
There
were
other
children
and occasionally she fought
just very typical things that
in many ways are not a whole lot different from
children' s
These
activities today.
questions
represent
a
sampling
of
questions
the
Junior
Interpreter Forum will be exploring in the months to come.
In
some
instances we
similarities
and
can make
differences
assumptions
as
we
look
about
at
the
the
experiences
of the eighteenth- century and twentieth- century child.
Certainly,
the colonial child lived in a very non - technical
world without plumbing, electricity, and everything having
to do with modern communications.
The majority did not go
to school, whereas the twentieth- century child' s school day
is formally structured, and he or she is the sole focus of
In the eighteenth century children -- especially
attention.
in farming families - - id not have the kind of freedom from
d
chores
that modern urban and
suburban children have today;
their labor was required as a contribution to the family' s
economic well -being.
At
this
time
it is
not possible to
draw more
conclusions,
but it is hoped that interpreters will be encouraged by the
research efforts to keep informed as we learn more about
this very important subject.
Here
is
a
list of
some
of
the
most
important
works
about
childhood:
Philip Vickers Fithian,
Vickers
Fithian,
Journal and Letters of Philip
1773 - 1774:
A
Plantation
Tutor
of
the
Old
Dominion.
Philippe
Robert
H.
Aries,
The
Bremner,
Centuries
Children
of
and
Childhood.
Youth
in
America:
A
Documentary History.
Karin
Calvert, " Children in American FAmily Portraiture,
1670 - 1810,"
William and Mary Quarterly, third series, vol.
39 (
Jane
1982),
pp.
Carson,
87 - 113.
Colonial Virginians at Play.
Philip Greven,
The
Protestant
Temperament.
6
�Ray Hiner and Joseph M.
N.
Children
America:
Joseph
Jan
Kett,
The
Adolescence
of
Passage:
of
Happiness:
in
America.
Family and Values in
Virginia.
Reproduction,
B.
Perspective.
Rites
Alan Macfarlane,
Darrett
Growing Up in
eds.,
Hawes,
Historical
Pursuit
The
Lewis,
Jefferson' s
in
Marriage
and Love
Modes
in England:
of
1300 - 1840.
and Anita
H.
Rutman, "
Now -Wives
and Sons - in- Law ":
in
Parental Death in a Seventeenth - Century Virginia County,:
Tate
and
Ammerman,
eds.
The
Chesapeake
in
the
Seventeenth
Century.
Daniel
Blake
Smith,
Lawrence Stone,
Inside
The Family,
the
Great
House.
Sex and Marriage in England,
1500 - 1800.
Lorena
S.
Walsh, "
Chesapeake,
Southern
Social
in
Relations:
Till
eds.,
The Experiences
1750- 1775,"
Death
Us
and Status of Women
Fraser
et
Women,
Do
al.,
Family,
and
in Tate
Part,"
The
eds.,
in the
Web
of
Education.
and Ammerman,
The Chesapeake in the Seventeenth Century.
unpublished
Shomer Zwelling, " Robert Carter of Nomini Hall,"
research paper, CWF Library, and forthcoming, American
Quarterly, fall, 1986.
History of Childhood Quarterly.
Journal of the History of the Family.
The following is a list of our junior interpreter programs
and the names of supervisors you may contact for more
specific
information.
Phyllis
Needleworkers
Putnam,
X2033
Crafts)
Juvenile
Black
Once
Performers
for
Dylan
Upon
a
Pritchett,
X2475
CCP)
Programs (
Town
Chris
7
Barton,
X2104 (
HI)
�Student Chamber Music
Student
Dance
Program
John
Program
Barrows,
Dorothy
X2520 (
CCP)
Poucher,
X2675
Moon
J
Todd
CCP)
Fife
and
Drum
CorEs
John
C.
Johnson,
4-H
Colonial
Livestock
Program
and
X2677/ 2105 (
CCP)
Allison McCaig and Elaine
Shirley, X2491/ 2392
Crafts)
Young Gentlemen Scholars
Mary Wiseman,
X2839 (
CCP)
3
8
�Answers
Questions
Vol.
7,
August
4
No.
1986
This issue of Questions & Answers responds to recent
We hope they will
questions from Historical Interpreters.
be of interest to other HAPO interpreters.
1.
Where did George Wythe stay in 1781 while George
Washington was using the Wythe House as his
Did Mr. Wythe and Mrs. Randolph
live in their houses at this time?
headquarters?
continue
We
to
have no
precise
evidence
but it is likely that both Mr.
Randolph
stayed
about this
subject,
Wythe and Mrs.
in their homes while
the
Revolutionary generals made their headquarters
Note that both these property owners were
and lived in large houses in the heart of
there.
wn
and
convenient .to
each
Washington
other.
Rochambeau needed only a place to sleep,
and
dispatch
On
officers.
was
and
messages,
the
sufficient
move,
for
meet
after
their
with
all,
purposes,
and
receive
their
a tent or
so it is
two
logical to think only part of a large Williamsburg
residence
fulfilled their needs
as
headquarters.
Washington was in Williamsburg from September 15
until
he
left
for Yorktown on
September
28.
His
correspondence during that period is often date
lined " Head Quarters, Williamsburg," but he does
not specifically mention either George Wythe or
Thomas Jefferson had invited
the Wythe House.
Wythe to the relative safety of Monticello,
invitation Wythe
had had
to
refuse
because
an
of
His reply to Jefferson
family obligations.
mentions the necessity of his " presence at
the family property in Elizabeth
Chesterville,"
City County ( now Hampton).
We have a
1781,
July 11,
at
little more
St.
Randolph.
the
2.
Is
George Tucker,
hinted
that
writing his wife on
Mrs.
Randolph
the Peyton Randolph House while
headquarters.
her
information about Mrs.
honour
of
remained
it was
used
as
Tucker wrote that Aunt Betty had
Count Rochambault [
sic]
to
lodge
at
House."
it
true
Southeast
Tt
iq
that
George
Chamber
wall
of
Washington
the
Wythe
dnrnmented'
occupied
the
House?
that +
ha
Wvthe
Hance
served
A Bimonthly Publication of the Department of Interpretive Education
�as
George Washington' s
From this
Yorktown.
the
chambers.
could view
his
can
However,
both
chamber
headquarters
we
has
the
no
record
church
been
assume
that
steeple
located
before
that he
siege of
slept in one
George
and
in his
the
of
Washington
Palace Green
correspondence
from
or
elsewhere.
3.
Why was the Capitol building not used as
headquarters?
Once the
capital moved
in
it
1780,
seems the Capitol building would have been used
for some important function during the Revolution.
Did
it ever
serve as a hospital
after
the Palace
hivrner7?
The Capitol never served as headquarters, but by
December 1780 it was used for quartering militia.
In
the
fall
French
of
1781
soldiers.
it had
At
the
become
same
a
time
hospital
the
for
French
were
using the main building of the College as a
hospital.
4.
What two
standing committees of the House of
Burgesses did Patrick Henry serve on?
At the beginning of the fall 1766 session Patrick
Henry was appointed to two standing committees,
the Committee
of Privileges
Committee
of
Propositions
continued
to
serve
through
5.
on
and
and
these
Elections
and the
Grievances.
He
important committees
1774.
After
the adoption of
constitution in 1776,
legislature
Virginia' s
was
the
referred to as
state
upper house
the
of
the
Council or was
it
immediately renamed the Senate of the Virginia
Assembly?
Under Virginia' s
and Senate existed,
first
constitution both
Council
although only the Senate was
part of the legislature.
The eight- member
Council,
chosen by the General Assembly, was
an
advisory board to the governor who himself had
only limited executive powers.
6.
The 1723 act ( Hening,
that
the
age
limit
Chapter II, May 1723)
for militia
service
twenty -one to sixty years of age."
limit
own
lowered
age
later on?
Did
1641,
Was
counties
the
set
states
from
age
their
limits?
The assembly changed the ages
service
was "
several
1687,
times
1723,
in
etc.).
the
for militia
colonial
On May 5,
period
1777, the
Virginia General Assembly passed a law changing
�the
ages
of
required militia
service
to
16
to
50.
Militia service was regulated by the General
Assembly, not the counties.
7
Did
the
Benjamin Powell
Court House?
receive
the
contract
to
build
Despite the attention given recently to Benjamin
Powell
well
to
as
builder
point
out
light to indicate
of
the
that
Public
no
Hospital,
evidence
that Powell built
has
it
come
seems
to
the Court
House.
According to Carl Lounsbury, the
architectural historian who is researching the
Court
documentation
the
House,
little
construction of
the
identifies
the builder.
Court
survives about
House and none of it
�vol.
7,
No.
5
October
In this
issue of Questions &
Answers
we are
1986
respond-
ing to your request for more information about the
founding of the other British colonies in mainland North
America.
A brief explanation of the government of each
type of colony is also included here.
All of
Britain' s mainland colonies
in North
America were established by companies or proprietors or
under their
colonies
jurisdiction.
under
the
crown,
By 1733 there were thirteen
legally known as the British
crown after the union of England and Scotland in 1707.
Only five were still under under the control of
proprietors
In
or
general,
corporations.
there were three types of English colonies
in America during the colonial period:
tary,
royal,
proprie-
and corporate.
In a royal colony the governor, appointed by the king,
enforced the laws of England applicable to the colony and
He. recomall laws passed by the colonial legislature.
mended appointees to the king for membership in the upper
house. (
He was
The king made the actual appointments.)
also head of the highest court.
The governor was really
the viceroy of the king and exercised in the colony all
the civil and military authority vested in him by the
crown.
In a proprietary colony, the proprietor, who had
received a royal charter granting him the land and special
privileges,
had control and wielded powers resembling
those possessed by royal governors.
exercise executive authority,
summon and dissolve
assemblies,
Of the proprietary colonies,
legislative
the
council,
The
proprietor
could
appoint high officials,
and
approve
or
veto
laws.
Maryland alone had a
composed of councillors selected by
proprietor.
The legislatures of Pennsylvania and
Delaware consisted of a single house, popularly elected.
A corporate colony was created by royal charter to a
corporate political community.
A corporate colony was
free to elect a general assembly,
composed
of
representa-
tives from each town, and to choose its own governor and
other officials.
The colony was then bound together as a
public state to be guided and governed in its civil
affairs by laws, orders, and decrees properly made by the
government without seeking the crown' s approval.
A Bi- Monthly Publication of the Department of Interpretive Education
�With the dissolution of the London Company in 1624,
Virginia became the first royal colony and was the model
upon which
other
royal
colonies were
based.
At the close of the colonial period,
thirteen colonies
were
Virginia,
North Carolina,
New York,
New Jersey,
Hampshire,
and
eight of the
royal:
South Carolina,
Massachusetts,
New
Georgia.
The corporate colonies were Cnnnertin„ t and
Rhode
Island.
Proprietary colonies were Maryland,
and
Delaware,
Pennsylvania.
The following is a list of the original colonies other
than Virginia with references to their origins,
settlements,
of
the
and their capitals
first
just before the outbreak
Revolution:
Georgia
Granted to a board of trustees by George
II
in 1732,
Georgia was both a philan-
thropic experiment and a military buffer
against
Spanish Florida.
The
first
English settlers arrived in 1733.
1753 the trustees' charter expired,
In
the colony reverted to the crown.
Its
capital was
Massachusetts
and
Savannah.
The Puritans began full scale settlement
of Massachusetts in 1630 under a charter
granted to the Massachusetts Bay Company
in
1629.
Forced
to
surrender
its
original trading company charter in 1684,
it was issued a new one in 1691 that
united it with Plymouth as the
royal
colony of Massachusetts Bay.
founded by Pilgrims in 1620,
had operated
as
land patent
a separate colony under a
Plymouth,
granted it in 1621 by the Council for New
England.
Boston was the colony' s
capital.
New Hampshire
This colony was first settled by the
English in 1623 under a separate proprietary charter; however, Massachusetts
began to extend its authority over New
Hampshire
in
the
1640s.
The heirs
of
the
first proprietors won a lawsuit against
Massachusetts in 1677.
New Hampshire became a
Two
years
separate
later
royal
�Portsmouth was
colony.
New Jersey
its capital.
Founded in 1624 under Dutch auspices, it
The
was seized by the English in 1664.
colony was
then given to Sir George
Carteret and Lord John Berkeley by James,
Duke
of
York.
In
1676
the proprietors
agreed to divide the colony into East and
West Jersey.
In
1702
the two Jerseys
The
were united as one royal colony.
colonial legislature convened alternately
in Perth Amboy,
the capital of old East
Jersey, and Burlington,
old West Jersey.
New York
the
Settled as early as 1613,
capital
of
the colony was
founded as New Netherland by the Dutch
It was
West Indies Company in 1624.
captured by the English in 1664 and named
New York in honor of its
proprietor,
James,
Duke
first
of York.
New
York automatically became a royal colony
in 1685 when James succeeded his brother
New York
Charles as king of England.
City was the colony' s capital.
North
Carolina
Settled by planters from Virginia in the
1650s,
Albemarle,
as it was called,
was
added to a large grant encompassing both
Carolinas given by Charles II to eight
proprietors
in
1663.
When
South
became a royal colony in 1719,
Carolina
North
Carolina continued as a proprietary
colony until 1729 when the proprietors
surrendered their
rights
to
the
New Bern was North Carolina' s
South
Carolina
crown.
capital.
This colony was established in 1663 as a
proprietorship including North Carolina
and was not actively settled until 1670.
In
1719
South Carolina became a royal
colony because local planters rebelled
against
rule.
Delaware
the proprietors in favor of crown
Charleston was the capital.
First settled by the Dutch and a
small
number
of
Swedes,
Delaware
was
captured by the English in 1664.
In
1684
the Duke of York gave the area to William
Penn.
Delaware remained a part of
Pennsylvania until 1701 when it was
granted
the
assembly,
right
to
choose
its
own
but it shared its governor with
Pennsylvania.
New Castle was
its
capital.
�Maryland
Given to
Lord Baltimore
in
1632,
Maryland
was the first proprietary colony.
earliest
Except
settlers
for
brief
and William
arrived
in
Its
1634.
periods under Cromwell
the Lords Baltimore were
III,
able to maintain their proprietary rights
to Maryland until the Revolution.
Annapolis was Maryland' s capital.
Pennsylvania
In 1681 Charles II gave William Penn the
area that became
Pennsylvania as
proprietary colony.
Quaker commonwealth,
a
Although begun as
a
the colony actively
sought immigrants from other religious
groups in Britain and elsewhere in
Europe.
Pennsylvania
remained
a
proprietary colony until 1776.
Philadelphia was the capital city.
Connecticut
Connecticut was established in 1635
1636 when a number of transplanted
and
Massachusetts congregations settled along
the
Connecticut
group
of
River.
By 1639 another
Puritans
established a separate
In 1662 the two
at New Haven.
colony
were joined under a royal charter.
The
colonial assembly met alternately at
Hartford
Rhode
Island
and
New Haven.
Formed in 1640 by the confederation of
the colony of Rhode Island and of
Providence
offshoots
Plantation,
two dissident
of Massachusetts,
Rhode
Island
received its first charter from
Parliament in 1644.
Providence,
established by Roger Williams in 1636,
was the first
settlement in
permanent English
Rhode Island.
Newport
served as the colony' s capital.
Correction to August 1986 Q & A
In the first answer ( concerning the Wythe and Randolph
houses used as headquarters before the Battle of Yorktown)
Mr.
read
Wythe is said to be a widower in 1781.
a widower
in
1787.
It
should
have
�Answers
Questions
Vol.
In
No.
7,
6
December
1986
1987 our nation will celebrate the bicentennial of the
ratification
of
the
United
States
Constitution.
The
national ceremonies to honor the anniversary will focus on
the important events that occurred during the infancy of
To observe these occasions all six issues
Answers in 1987 will be devoted to some
critical stage in the development of the Constitution
before ratification.
We thought it would be interesting
our
z
republic.
of
Questions &
to
highlight
for
you
in
this
issue
the
significant
events
in the transition from colony to independent nation and
identify the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Once
again we
answer
your
need
to
remind
questions.
you
Please
that we
send
are
them
here
through
to
her
on Ext.
OF
THE
the
interoffice mail to Jane Strauss at the Davidson Shop or
call
SIGNERS
2449.
DATES
DECLARTION
OF
1760
October
26
George
III
ascends
the
British
throne.
1764
April
5
The Sugar Act is passed by
Parliament;
April
19
colonies
22
tender.
Stephen
Hopkins,
Island,
publishes "
Colonies
1765
March
22
May 15
8
governor
The
of
Rights
Rhode
of
Examined."
The Stamp Act becomes law.
The Quartering Act orders
colonists to
supplies for
June
protest.
The Currency Act forbids the
colonists to issue paper money as
legal
December
the
provide
British
The Massachusetts
the
barracks
troops.
General
and
Court
adopts a circular letter calling
representatives from all colonies to
a congress in New York in October.
A 81- Monthly Publication of the Department of Interpretive Education
INDEP C
�October
The Stamp Act Congress meets in New
7
York.
November
The Stamp Act goes into effect to the
sound of the tolling of muffled bells
1
and
1766
February 13
flags
Benjamin
the
at half
staff.
examined
Franklin,
House of Commons
before
in London,
declares the Stamp Act cannot be
enforced.
March
1767
June
England
18
repeals
Charles
29
of
the
the Stamp Act.
Townshend,
British
imposes
Exchequer,
Chancellor
in
his
Revenue Act duties to be paid on
and
tea,
paper,
glass, lead,
colors imported into the
painters'
colonies.
September
October
4
28
Charles Townshend
succeeds him.
Lord
dies.
North
The Boston town meeting renews its
non - importation agreement, an action
followed in other colonies to compel
a repeal of the Townshend Acts.
1768
The Massachusetts House of
Representatives adopts Samuel
Adams' s
circular letter
February 11
sent
the
assemblies
and
of
orders
other
it
to
colonies,
suggesting united opposition to Great
Britain by discussion and petition.
A " Song for American Freedom"
July 18
Dickinson
is published
by John
in the Boston
Gazette.
October
1
Two
regiments
land in
laws.
1769
Virginia
May 18
British
1770
January 31
Lord
March
5
The
agrees
British
to
enforce
to
soldiers
the
customs
nonimportation
of
Prime
Minister
of
place (
five
goods.
North
Great
of
Boston
becomes
Britain.
Boston
killed,
six
Massacre
takes
injured).
�April
The Townshend
12
1772
November
Committees
2
Revenue Act is
except
repealed,
of
for
the
tax
correspondence
on
tea.
are
first organized by Samuel Adams and
Joseph Warren
in Massachusetts
and
later followed by similar committees
in
1773
December
16
the
other
colonies.
The Boston Tea Party
Benjamin
Franklin' s
Ri se
1774
Progress
and
between
Great
American
takes place.
articles, "
of
the
Britain
and
are
Colonies,"
On
the
Diffgrflancrig
Her
published
in
London.
March
The
31
Boston
Britain' s
Port
first
Act,
coercive
of
receives
acts,
the
king' s consent.
The
May 12
Boston
Committee
Correspondence
colonies
of
recommends
suspend
that
all
trade with Great
Britain.
General
Gage arrives
command
May 13
British
in Boston
troops
to
quartered
there.
The
May 27
Virginia
House
of
Burgesses,
meeting unofficially in Williamsburg,
adopts a resolution calling for an
annual
June
Boston
1
intercolonial
harbor
is
congress.
closed
to
exports
and imports by the Boston Port Act of
March
June
31.
The Quartering Act is passed by
2
Parliament.
June
The
and
British
feed
the
Massachusetts
17
September
1
General
stock
September
5
The
1
Gage
of
First
house
soldiers.
elects
inter colonial
September
colonists must
delegates
congress
to
to
an
meet
in Philadelphia.
seizes
powder
at
Massachusetts' s
Charlestown.
Continental
Congress
assembles in Philadelphia with all
colonies except Georgia represented.
�October
14
The
Declaration
Grievances is
October
26
The First
of
Rights
and
adopted by Congress.
Continental
Congress
1775,
adjourns to meet again May 10,
if necessary.
1775
The
words
of " Yankee
Doodle"
are
written by Edward Barnes and set to
an
old
English
April 18/ 19
Paul
April
The battles
take place.
19
May 10
The
in
Revere
Second
John
15
his midnight ride.
of Lexington
Continental
send
Hancock
chosen
June
takes
Philadelphia.
colonies
May 24
tune.
All
and
Concord
Congress
meets
thirteen
representatives.
of Massachusetts
president
of
George Washington
this
is
Congress.
of Virginia
is
appointed by Congress to be Commander
in Chief of the Continental Army.
June
17
The battle
of
Bunker
Hill
ends
in
a
British victory.
July 3
After traveling twelve days
Philadelphia,
Washington
from
takes
command of the Continental Army on
the
July 6
Cambridge (
Congress
Massachusetts)
adopts
a " Declaration
Common.
of
the
Causes and Necessity of Taking up
Arms."
July 8
Congress
adopts
a
petition
to
the
king,
offering reconciliation.
Samuel Adams and Benjamin Franklin
think this
is
a futile
gesture but
consent to yield to the " moderates"
of the Middle Colonies.)
September
1
This petition of July 8 to the king
from
1776
January 1
Congress
is
refused.
A Continental flag with thirteen
stripes is raised by Washington
before his headquarters
in Cambridge.
�April
6
Congress
opens
colonies
to
the
all
ports
of
countries "
all
not
subject to the King of Great Britain"
and
prohibits
the
importation of
slaves.
April
12
North Carolina is the
instruct
her
first colony to
delegates
to
support
independence.
Virginia
May 15
propose
June
7
instructs her
Richard Henry Lee,
Virginia
ought
to
chairman of the
delegation,
resolution
United
delegates
independence.
in
Colonies
to be
offers
a
Congress " That
are
free
and
and
of
these
right
independent
states."
June
11
A committee is appointed in Congress
to draft a Declaration of
Thomas
Independence.
Jefferson
is
chairman.
July 2
Lee' s
resolution
of June
7
is
adopted
by Congress.
July 4
The
Declaration
of
Independence,
as
drafted by Thomas Jefferson, and
amended,
is adopted by Congress and
signed by its president, John
Hancock.
August
2
The
Declaration
of
Independence,
having been engrossed on parchment,
is signed by the members of Congress
then
I.
CONNECTICUT
Roger
DELAWARE
Caesar Rodney
Huntington
Oliver
Thomas
McKean
Williams
William
George
Read
Wolcott
GEORGIA
Lyman
II.
Sherman
Samuel
III.
present.
IV.
Hall
MARYLAND
Charles
Button
Guinnett
Thomas
George
Walton
William
Samuel
Carroll
Stone
Paca
Chase
�V.
VI.
MASSACHUSETTS
Samuel
NEW
HAMPSHIRE
Josiah
Adams
Bartlett
John
Hancock
William
John
Adams
Matthew Thornton
Whipple
Elbridge Gerry
Robert
VII.
NEW
Treat
Paine
VIII.
JERSEY
John
NEW
YORK
Philip Livingston
Witherspoon
Richard
Stockton
Lewis
Francis
Hopkinson
William
Floyd
Francis
Lewis
John
Hart
tSut allalll .
IX.
NORTH
Joseph
John
saLft
CAROLINA
William
Morris
X.
Hooper
PENNSYLVANIA
Benjamin
Penn
John
Morton
George
James
George
James
George
XI.
RHODE
ISLAND
Stephen
Franklin
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Hewes
XII.
Hopkins
SOUTH
Clymer
Smith
Taylor
Wilson
Ross
CAROLINA
Thomas
VIRGINIA
Thomas
Jefferson
Richard Henry Lee
Benjamin
Francis
Harrison
Lightfoot
Thomas
Nelson
George
Wythe
Carter
Braxton
Lee
Rutledge
Thomas
XIII.
Middleton
Edward
William Ellery
Heyward,
Arthur
Lynch,
Jr.
Jr.
�
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 7, 1986