By Jeannette Holland Austin

Some of the largest landowners of the 17th century were Richard Lee, William Byrd, Adam Thoroughgood and the elder Nathaniel Bacon. The English spirit prevailed and class distinctions were upheld. As in England, the class of a gentleman was distinctly different from the yeoman, and the yeoman separate from the agricultural servant or mechanic. The population of the colony was mostly of pure English blood and a good many of the first adventurers had title and rank, and transported servants which entitled them to be granted large tracts of land. The idea was to amass large tracts of land based upon the number of servants transported into the colony and to establish colonial plantations. The true adventurer uprooted his family for the opportunity of what later became "the American dream." The emigrants were not drawn because of religious differences (as in New England), but rather based on customs and traditions of their native land.

Adam Thoroughgood House in Princess Anne County, Virginia.


Need to know if your ancestors left a will or estate record? An easy, quick (and free) way to find out is to click on the links below.

County Records of 8 Genealogy Websites
Alabama
Georgia
Kentucky
North Carolina
Virginia
South Carolina
Tennessee
![]() |
Membership to 8 Genealogy Websites - Reoccurring subscription with guaranteed low rate |
REOCCURRING SUBSCRIPTION WITH PAYPAL = $150 per year. Guaranteed low rate so long as your subscription continues to renew itself. You may unsubscribe at any time, however, to prevent the reoccurring charge, you must "cancel" before the renewal date. To do this, login to your PayPal account and select the cancel option. |
About your password. Please allow up to 2 hours for your password. If not received in a timely manner, click to send reminder |
Virginia Databases

To join this blog, add your email below
Do the Magic Centipede
click here for video
No comments:
Post a Comment