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R
e6
14111
i1
hese Boist' rous Times.. ."
hill
TH
File
76
'I
WEE
t°
Alexander Purdie, Virginia Gaze
January 1, 1776
i
JANUARY
Rc"`
1976
4-
R CO ''RD
January
t
18- 24, 1976
COP Y
ti•
20,
January
The
1776
fourth
Convention,
Virginia
which
had
been
meeting
in
Williamsburg
since
December, was adjourned. The Convention had laid the foundation for Virginia' s navy,
established county commissions to try loyalists who had borne arms, extended the
committee of safety for another year, ordered construction of salt works and powder mills
to relieve shortages of those commodities, and approved the " opening of our ports to all
persons willing to trade with us; Great Britain, Ireland, and the British West Indies
excepted."
Williamsburg, Jan. 20, 1776
I intend to leave the Colony immediately.
William Maitland.
William Maitland, a merchant, had arrived in Virginia in 1771 and had established a
business in Williamsburg, in partnership with Robert Miller, a local businessman and
bursar of the College. When Miller was absent in 1775 he left Maitland in charge and also
appointed him to " transact the Business of Bursar to the College of William and Mary."
But like many Virginians, Maitland was loyal to the king, and he joined Lord Dunmore
and abandoned "
considerable
property" (
unspecified) in Williamsburg.
January 21, 1776
Mr. Peter Scott' s old house in this city, which he had rented and lived in for 43 years,
was burnt down last Sunday night, by accident.
There
was
constant
danger in Williamsburg of fires.
Most of the buildings
were built
of wood, and even brick structures were not fireproof. The Wren Building at the College
burned in 1705 and the Capitol in 1747. The College acquired a fire engine in 1716, and
one was ordered for the Capitol in 1754. The first mention of a fire engine being used in
Williamsburg occurred when Dr. Peter Hay' s Apothecary Shop burned in 1756. By 1761
the City of Williamsburg had purchased an engine.
Scott's house was owned by John Parke Custis, George Washington' s stepson. Edmund
Randolph described the fire to Washington and assured him that the state government
would pay for the damages because the fire was started by soldiers quartered in the
building:
About 5 days since, Mr. Custis' s Tenement, where Scot lived, opposite the Church, was
burnt to the Ground, by the Negligence of some of the Soldiers, who had been quartered
there. The Wind, being due South, the out- House escaped the Flames; the Difficulty of
saving the Church became thereby very great. The Country are surely answerable for this
Damage,
as
gm
w
it accrued
in their
service.
PAMPHLET FILE
�January
January
24,
25- 31,
1776
1976
Fredericksburg, Jan. 24, 1776
The commissioners of the Gun Manufactory want a considerable quantity of Brass, for
mountings. Any old brass ( not mixed with bell metal) will do. Mr. Robert Nicolson of
Williamsburg will receive, and pay for, any quantity that may be delivered there: and the
commissioners beg the attention of other gentlemen to this necessary article. The cash will
be paid, on notice, by
The Commissioners.
Robert Nicolson, a well-known tailor and merchant, owned a store on Duke of Gloucester
Street near the Raleigh Tavern. He worked for many prominent citizens, among them St.
George Tucker, Robert Carter, and Lord Botetourt. It was not unusual for Nicolson to be
appointed agent for the Commissioners of the Gun Factory, because merchants were
often named to collect money or perform other tasks for out-of-town concerns.
January 25, 1776
Because of tightened credit and high wages, Archibald Diddep, a Williamsburg tailor,
announced that he would no longer extend credit to his customers.
Archibald Diddep, Tailor, Williamsburg, Returns his employers in general, and his old
customers in particular, the most cordial thanks for past services, and shall always be ready
to execute any command which they may hereafter intrust him with. As his family is
extensive, journeymens wages very high, and his creditors exceedingly solicitous for their
due, he hopes those whose accounts have been long standing will not take it amiss should
he earnestly entreat them to make immediate payment; and those for whom he shall in
future do business, it is expected, will not hesitate to tender down the cash so soon as their
work is done. Ladies riding habits are still made by him, on the shortest notice.
Francis Street, January 25, 1776.
In 1767, when he was about twenty years old, Archibald Diddep testified in a dispute
between James Mercer and Dr. Arthur Lee. Lee challenged Mercer to a duel to be
decided at the race track near Waller's Grove, just outside Williamsburg. Mercer appeared at the time and place appointed, but he claimed that Lee did not. Archibald Diddep,
who was employed as a tailor in Robert Nicolson' s shop on Francis Street, testified that
Nicolson believed
Mercer, a lodger in Nicolson' s house, to be in danger and asked him to
watch from the shop door. Diddep claimed that he had a clear view from Dr. Lee' s front
door to the race track and saw no one leave or enter Lee' s house. Diddep' s testimony,
along with that of others, proved that even though Lee challenged Mercer, Lee did not
keep the appointment.
By 1773 Diddep had opened a tailor' s shop next door to the Semple house on Francis
Street, where he carried on his work until his death in 1787. He was appointed an ensign
in Captain Southall' s company of Williamsburg militia on August 22, 1777.
January 27, 1776
The paper shortage had become so serious that John Pinkney announced in Dixon and
Hunter' s Gazette that he was unable to publish his newspaper this week.
After having received so many Instances of public Favour, I should think myself
inexcusable did I not make known the Reason why I do not this Week publish a Gazette. It
is owing to a Disappointment in receiving Paper from the Northward, which no human
Prudence could have prevented. Next Week, however, or in a short Time, I expect a very
considerable Quantity, when I shall endeavour to make up for all Deficiencies, and shall
continue to render my Paper, as far as the most unwearied Diligence can enable me, the
Vehicle of instructive Amusement, and of every Piece of authentic Intelligence, which may
be either curious or important. It gives me the greatest uneasiness that I cannot publish
such Advertisements
as ought to have appeared this Week, but as far as a Restitution of
Money can atone for the Disappointment,
it shall be made.
I am the Public' s obliged,
and devoted Servant,
John Pinkney.
�
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
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These Boisterous Times
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1976
Description
An account of the resource
“<em>These Boisterous Times…</em>” The Week in ’76 was a newsletter produced by the Colonial Williamsburg Department of Preservation and Research in 1976. Compiled by historian Harold Gill, the newsletter consisted of notable entries from the Virginia Gazette newspaper dated 1776 along with some additional historical background of the mentioned event or person. The newsletter was intended to assist Colonial Williamsburg’s interpreters with adding additional emphasis to events associated with 1776 during the celebration of the American Revolution Bicentennial (United States Bicentennial) in 1976.
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
These Boisterous Times January 18-31, 1976
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1976-01-31