THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 14, 1994 TAG: 9408120798
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: GEORGE TUCKER
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
It's not generally known, but the earliest Norfolk area court records - dating from 1637 - are preserved in the archives in Chesapeake Circuit Court.
Until recently, these records from a period when South Hampton Roads was a rough and tumble British colonial outpost were practically inaccessible to historians and genealogists.
That's because the crabbed early-17th century script in which they were written was almost indecipherable.
Now, Alice Granbery Walter, the Norfolk-born, internationally recognized authority on Tidewater's founding fathers and mothers, has remedied this situation. Working with films of the original documents, Walter, an expert in deciphering Jacobean penmanship, has just completed a faithful transcription of the extant court records of one of Virginia's earliest developed areas.
Her 468-page book, Lower Norfolk County, Virginia Court Records: Books `A' and `B,' 1637-1651/2, sells for $36.50 and is available from Clearfield Co., Inc., 200 E. Eager St., Baltimore, Md., 21202.
The Norfolk area's recorded legal history began on May 15, 1637, when the first court for the lower county of New Norfolk convened with Capt. Adam Thorowgood, the new county's leading citizen, as its presiding officer. Out of that vast territory the present cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake were later carved.
At its creation, the new county, lopped off from Elizabeth City County, had about 7,500 inhabitants. Most were of British stock, but there were several African-Americans here. Thus Walter's book will be an invaluable source for present day historians specializing in early American ethnic history.
Even though many of the court records deal with tobacco transactions, the ``weed'' then being the principal cash crop on which the new county based its economy, there are literally hundreds of other matters, raunchy and otherwise, that came before the justices. This proves conclusively that the newly created county was a far-flung chip off the earthy Old English block.
For instance, out-of-wedlock dalliance was already so prevalent that almost every sitting of the court was enlivened by several cases of sexual hanky-panky by both the lower orders and the upper crust.
Regrettably, the Rev. Sampson Calvert, one of the area's first Anglican clergymen, had to admit publicly that he and one of his female parishioners were scandalously involved. They were sentenced to acknowledge their transgressions in church before the reverend gentleman's congregation. But they got off lightly; most of those convicted of the same offense were publicly whipped.
Since the Norfolk area was then primeval, hunters were encouraged to collect bounties for the wolves they were able to slay. This was an important service, for besides tobacco, the area's principal wealth then consisted of cattle, hogs and other livestock. It is interesting to note that even at that early date, a brisk commerce was being carried on between the initial planters with the Mother Country, Holland and the West Indies.
Inventories of estates included in the records also indicate that the first dwellings in the area were fairly primitive. This condition rapidly improved, however, and it was not long before the wealthier planters began to erect substantial houses that were graced with imported furniture, silver and other luxuries. Family pride was also not lacking, for by 1647, one affluent land owner had hung ``His Coat of Armes'' in his home.
The main importance of Walter's book is that its thousands of detailed personal entries constitute a gold mine for genealogists who want to connect themselves or their clients with early Virginia forebears. That feature alone, aided by a meticulous index, makes the book a major contribution to early 17th century Virginia history. by CNB