Lancaster County (Va.) Census of Tobacco Plants, 1727

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Lancaster County (Va.) Census of Tobacco Plants, 1727. Local government records collection, Lancaster County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Summary

Creator:
Lancaster County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Lancaster County (Va.) Census of Tobacco Plants, 1727. Local government records collection, Lancaster County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Lancaster County (Va.) Census of Tobacco Plants, 1727, is a list for Christ Church Parish that records the names of all tithable persons and how many plants they were growing. Slave names are given along with their owners. A total of the number of plants in the county is given at the end of the list. Some persons are described as "boy" and may be either slaves or boys between the age of 10 and 16.

Biographical / historical:

Lancaster County was named for the English county. It was formed from Northumberland and York Counties in 1651.

Virginia's General Assembly passed Tobacco Acts in 1723 and 1729 that attempted to control the quantity and quality of tobacco grown in the colony. The 1723 act established limits on the number of plants that certain classes of persons could grow with slaveowners being allowed less plants. Each vestry of every parish had to appoint two people every year to count the number of plants being grown and report the numbers to the clerk of court by the month of August. Any number of plants over the allowed number were to be destroyed by the planter or, if the planter would not, by the counters. The act of 1729 provided various adjustments to and elaborations on the 1723 act. For full text of the acts which were not published in Hening's Statues, see The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography (Vol. 20, pp.158-178.)

Acquisition information:
This item came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Lancaster County.
Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
2 p.