and to keep it in decent order.1 From the beginning, however, it was the custom of numerous persons to bury the deceased members of their families in the immediate vicinity of their homes. Abraham Piersey, the wealthiest citizen of Virginia of his time, was buried near his dwelling-house. So common did this habit become that in a memorial drawn up by the Bishop of London in 1677, he complained that the public places for burial were neglected, and that the dead among the planters were interred in their gardens.2 The bodies of many were buried in the graveyards or in the chancels of the parish churches.3

It would be inferred from the inventories of that period that there was no vehicle in Virginia in the seventeenth century resembling a carriage, but from other sources it is learned that this means of locomotion was not unknown in the Colony. Such a vehicle seems to have been in the possession of a few very wealthy persons. William Fitzhugh owned what was known in that age as a calash, which had been imported from England; Governor Berkeley possessed a coach.1 When the average planter

1 Lawes and Orders, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. III, No. 9; McDonald Papers, vol. I, p. 93, Va. State Library.

2 Documents Relating to Colonial History of New York, vol. III, p. 253; see also will of Richard Kemp, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. II, p. 174.

3 Records of York County, vol. 1690–1694, p. 169, Va. State Library; see also Records of Accomac County, 1632-1640, p. 53, Va. State Library. 4 Will of William Fitzhugh, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. II, p. 276, refers to his "coaches." Hugh Jones, writing in the first quarter of the eighteenth century, said that "most females (in Virginia) had a coach, chariot, Berlin or chaise." Present State of Virginia, p. 32. See the reference to Lady Berkeley's coach in a letter of the English Commissioners, May 4, 1677, Colonial Entry Book, No. 81; Winder Papers, vol. II, p. 318, Va. State Library. Fitzhugh on one occasion ordered what he called a "Running chair," which probably resembled a modern sulky. See Letters, July 10, 1690.

attended the meetings of the county court, or went to church, or was present at the funerals of deceased friends, or visited the homes of his neighbors, he was compelled to rely upon his horse for conveyance, unless he was willing to travel in the ordinary farm cart: the imperfections of the highways, and in some parts of the country the entire absence of passable roads, made the use of the horse almost a necessity in journeying from place to place. Among the most common entries in the appraisements of estates were the pillion and side-saddle, which were kept in readiness for the female members of the family. The equipments of the stables were complete. The saddle was often bound in hogskin.2 A well-known planter of Elizabeth City County had in his possession, in 1690, one article of this kind covered with purple leather, and another made of plush in the seat. Ralph Wormeley owned a crimson velvet saddle with broadcloth saddle-cloth and silk spring holsters, valued at fifteen pounds. Hackney and troop saddles were in general use. The curb bridle was also common. There are frequent references to riding stockings. The horses were allowed to remain unshod, which caused no damage or inconvenience, as the roadbeds were for the most part level and sandy. The ordinary pace of the Virginian riders was a sharp hand gallop; this led to the expression, "a planter's pace," an indication of the energy with which they travelled, and the fleetness of their steeds.5

1 Records of York County, vol. 1664-1672, pp. 77, 453, Va. State Library; Records of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, pp. 429, 672, Va. State Library.

2 See inventory of Robert Beverley, Sr., on file in Middlesex County. 3 Records of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 254, Va. State Library.

4 Records of Middlesex County, original vol. 1698-1713, p. 121. Clayton's Virginia, p. 35, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

When the public authorities had occasion to transmit a message or to send a packet, instructions were given. to their agents to impress relay horses, and also men and boats in the performance of their orders. These agents in their accounts itemized the costs of the food and drink which they consumed in the course of their journeys.1 About the middle of the century, the principal means of conveying public letters was to superscribe them with the line "for public service," and then to require the planters in turn to pass the envelope on to its destination under penalty of forfeiting a hogshead of tobacco in case of neglect.2 In 1692, a royal patent was granted to Thomas Neale to establish post-offices in America for the transportation of private and public mails; and this patent was recognized by an Act of Assembly in 1692 to be operative in Virginia. Neale was required by the terms. of this Act to erect a post-office for the Colony at large, and a post-office for each county. Permission was given him to charge three pence per day for every letter which covered only one sheet of paper and which had to be carried a distance not in excess of four score English miles; and six pence when the letter covered a space of two sheets or less. When the number of letters was sufficient to form a packet, the charge for every one not exceeding two sheets was to be five pence, and if the packet con

3

1 Records of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 336, Va. State Library; Hening's Statutes at Large, vol. II, p. 250; Records of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1689–1699, p. 206, Va. State Library; Records of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 93, Va. State Library.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 436. A letter of Sam'l Mathews, dated Aug. 24, 1659, written to Governor Fendall, took a month to reach its destination. Robinson Transcripts, p. 270.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. III, p. 112. The Council, it seems, had proposed a post-office in 1689. Randolph MSS., vol. III, p. 447. In 1692, Peter Heyman was appointed deputy postmaster. Ibid., p. 455.

sisted of deeds, writs, and other bulky papers, the amount of postage was to be twelve pence an ounce. When the distance to be covered in the transmission was greater than four score English miles, the rate was four pence halfpenny for every letter not exceeding one sheet, and nine pence for every one exceeding one sheet but not exceeding two. When a number were made up in a packet, to be sent to a longer distance than four score miles, the charge for every one covering more than two sheets was to be four pence halfpenny. If the packet was composed of writs, deeds, and similar documents, the charge was to be eighteen pence an ounce. The privileges granted to Neale were not to interfere with the transmission of letters by private hands if the writers preferred this means of conveyance.1

1 This project came to nothing. See Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 81.

VOL. II. R

CHAPTER XIV

RELATIVE VALUE OF ESTATES

ALL the different forms of property which were held by the Virginian planter in the seventeenth century have now been enumerated. They consisted, as has been seen, of land either inherited, purchased, or acquired by patent; of tobacco, Indian corn, and wheat; of horses, sheep, goats, hogs, and horned cattle; of agricultural implements, vehicles, and buildings; of white servants, both native and imported; of slaves born in the Colony or brought into it from Africa or the West Indies; of residences containing a large quantity of furniture, carpets, plate, and utensils; of clothing, both linen and woollen, coarse and fine; and lastly, of a great assortment of household supplies of foreign or domestic growth or manufacture. Fitzhugh described very accurately the condition of the planters, when he declared in a letter to his brother, towards the close of the century, that they were in possession of an abundance of everything except money, by which he meant coin. Where a very large proportion of the articles consumed or used by the family of the landowner were the products of his own soil, cultivated and gathered by his own laborers, there was but little need of a metallic medium of exchange as long as tobacco continued to have a value in the markets of the world so high as to induce shipowners and merchants to transport