1. Nathaniel Bradford of Accomack County, Virginia - Lower ...
1. Nathaniel Bradford of Accomack County, Virginia - Lower ... 1. Nathaniel Bradford of Accomack County, Virginia - Lower ...
Settlement of Sussex – Lower Delmarva Community It was not unusual for Nathaniel to have purchased land in what might seem at first to be an area rather far from his home plantation. In fact, numerous of the first settlers of Sussex were from the eastern shore of Virginia. When the area was still held by the Dutch, it was a popular destination for runaway servants and slaves from farther south; and after the English took final control of the area in 1673, a good number of those who began buying up large plots of land there were Accomack planters, or inhabitants of Somerset County, Maryland, itself settled largely by families whose ultimate origins lay in Accomack. Even as early as the late 1650s, in the first days of settlement in Somerset County, Maryland (just north of Accomack) one finds these same recent immigrants to Somerset pressing in upon the Dutch settlement around Rehobeth. However, it wasn’t until around 1677 that English settlement at Rehobeth really occurred in significant numbers, and Nathaniel was a part of this movement, although in his case it was not an actual movement but rather an expansion. Even though Nathaniel had a substantial plantation in Sussex, he never settled there himself. His Sussex estate was always of secondary importance when compared with his Accomack plantation. This movement of people from Accomack and Somerset into Sussex in the 1670s and 1680s was just the latest stage in a process of population movement that had been occurring since the earliest days of settlement on the eastern shore, when there were just a few dozen people living in the south of the peninsula along Old Plantation Creek. Since then, there had been a steady movement of people northwards from the southern reaches of Northampton on up into what would become the new Accomack County, and farther north across the border into Somerset County, Maryland, and then even farther north into Sussex. It’s a fact that never fails to impress itself upon anyone who researches families in the lower Delmarva peninsula, this tide of northward settlement. In a way, the five counties which make up the lower Delmarva peninsula - Accomack and Northampton counties in Virginia, Somerset and Worcester counties in Maryland, and Sussex in Delaware – should be viewed as a single community, in that a large number, possibly even a majority, of the people who lived there shared a common heritage which ultimately had its roots in the eastern shore of Virginia. Despite being spread out over the administrative jurisdictions of three separate colonies, the inhabitants of lower Delmarva were often bound more closely to each other by ties of community and kinship than they were to Virginians or Marylanders on the other side of the Chesapeake. 270 * * * * * More Land Dealings In addition to his home plantation at Matchapungo and the 400 acres he patented in 1672, Nathaniel purchased other tracts in Accomack County over the course of his life. In 1679, he took out a patent on a 644-acre tract which formerly belonged to Hugh Yeo, but which had been deserted after Yeo’s intestate death. 271 Nathaniel soon lost his claim to this land: four years after his patent it came out that John Washbourne had received a patent for the same tract, and as a result both his and Nathaniel’s patents were voided. 272 In 1680, the year after patenting the former Yeo land, Nathaniel sold off two plots of land he had purchased earlier. To Samuel Beech, Nathaniel sold the 400 acres he had patented in 1667 adjacent to his home plantation, and to John Willis he sold the 400 acres he had patented in 1672. 273 Though the original sales occurred in this year, neither sale was finalized until after Nathaniel’s death, when his son William completed the sales and they were finally recorded in Accomack Court. In 1681, the year after he sold the two plots to Beech and Willis, Nathaniel completed what would be his final land transaction when he purchased from William Jette another 500 acres in Accomack, this tract being located on the bay side of the peninsula on Pungoteague Creek. 274 These 500 acres along with the home plantation of 2400 acres and the plantation in Sussex passed to his son William after Nathaniel’s death. Page 48 of 74 Copyright 2008 Adam M. Bradford
Now that all of Nathaniel’s land transactions in Accomack have been described, it’s worth taking them in at a glance. Since the Virginia economy was based on tobacco cultivation, land ultimately constituted the colony’s primary source of wealth. The most successful planters, those who became the governing elite of Virginia, owned almost to a man a couple thousand if not several thousand acres. A count of the total acreage of every tract that passed through Nathaniel’s hands reveals that he owned more than 6,000 acres over the course of his life. However, at any given time he owned only a portion of this, so it’s more instructive to look at the record of Nathaniel’s land ownership as a series of snapshots of his holdings throughout his life. In 1658 he owned 400 acres In 1661 he owned 900 acres In 1665 he owned 2400 acres In 1667 he owned 2800 acres In 1672 he owned 3200 acres In 1679, the peak of his land ownership, he owned 5044 acres From 1681 until his death, he owned 4100 acres, 2900 of these in Accomack County. It has been noted that by the end of his life Nathaniel was among the top 2.5% of Accomack planters in terms of the number of servants and slaves he owned. How did he compare with the leading men of the county in terms of land ownership? The greatest landowner in Accomack was Colonel Edmund Scarburgh, who during the course of his life, patented a total of 46,550 acres, not only in Accomack but in other Virginia counties as well as in Maryland. 275 But his is an extreme example. The quit rent roll of 1683 serves as a useful tool for comparing Nathaniel’s land holdings to others in the county. Out of 184 entities listed on the quit rent roll, Nathaniel ranked 7 th in terms of acreage, among the top 4% of land holders. 276 Only 6 men in Accomack owned more land there than Nathaniel, namely Daniel Jenifer, William Kendall, Charles Scarburgh, Southy Littleton and John West – all of them Justices of the Peace. Furthermore, only 18 individuals out of 184 in 1683 paid quit rents on more than 2000 acres. Thus, in both size of household and size of land holdings, Nathaniel ranked among the top 5% of individuals in Accomack County, a select group that included among its number the governing elite of the county and few others. Page 49 of 74 Copyright 2008 Adam M. Bradford
- Page 1 and 2: 1. Nathaniel 1 Bradford of Accomack
- Page 3 and 4: Sketch of Nathaniel Bradford Nathan
- Page 5 and 6: in London that “no question . . .
- Page 7 and 8: Nathaniel’s Early Years to Settle
- Page 9 and 10: to tender our Cause; that (if ye sd
- Page 11 and 12: Nathaniel as Constable & Birth of N
- Page 13 and 14: Alice sold the Occahannock plantati
- Page 15 and 16: The occupation of currier no longer
- Page 17 and 18: approve the appointment of the King
- Page 19 and 20: The fundamental division within the
- Page 21 and 22: ecompense for their services. The m
- Page 23 and 24: Nathaniel in the Late 1660’s: 166
- Page 25 and 26: practice that another of Nathaniel
- Page 27 and 28: man were the father of Nathaniel Jr
- Page 29 and 30: Nathaniel as Grand Juror and Repres
- Page 31 and 32: court’s reputation. Since the acc
- Page 33 and 34: Nathaniel Bradford During the 1670s
- Page 35 and 36: 2800 acres. In that same year Natha
- Page 37 and 38: household. A Thomas Williams was a
- Page 39 and 40: In 17 th century Virginia slavery w
- Page 41 and 42: Mathews’ lack of payment for cert
- Page 43 and 44: Governor Berkeley used the eastern
- Page 45 and 46: Though tobacco was the staple of Vi
- Page 47: himself was probably not in Sussex
- Page 51 and 52: * * * * * Nathaniel as Attorney On
- Page 53 and 54: Nathaniel’s tithables remained co
- Page 55 and 56: towels, a small chest, a small brok
- Page 57 and 58: Citations Introduction 1.Nathaniel
- Page 59 and 60: early 1640s, Richard Smith Jr. is a
- Page 61 and 62: 122.McKey, 7: 232. For knowingly co
- Page 63 and 64: 219.Wesley Frank Craven, The Coloni
- Page 65 and 66: 298.McKey, 7: 73. 299.McKey, 8: 49.
- Page 67 and 68: Appendix A: Timeline of Events in N
- Page 69 and 70: Apr 20 verbal bargain with Mathew S
- Page 71 and 72: 1692 Feb 19 Robert Watson’s estat
- Page 73 and 74: 3) Henry Bradford of the Muster Per
Now that all <strong>of</strong> <strong>Nathaniel</strong>’s land transactions in <strong>Accomack</strong> have been described, it’s worth taking them in at<br />
a glance.<br />
Since the <strong>Virginia</strong> economy was based on tobacco cultivation, land ultimately constituted the colony’s<br />
primary source <strong>of</strong> wealth. The most successful planters, those who became the governing elite <strong>of</strong> <strong>Virginia</strong>,<br />
owned almost to a man a couple thousand if not several thousand acres. A count <strong>of</strong> the total acreage <strong>of</strong><br />
every tract that passed through <strong>Nathaniel</strong>’s hands reveals that he owned more than 6,000 acres over the<br />
course <strong>of</strong> his life. However, at any given time he owned only a portion <strong>of</strong> this, so it’s more instructive to<br />
look at the record <strong>of</strong> <strong>Nathaniel</strong>’s land ownership as a series <strong>of</strong> snapshots <strong>of</strong> his holdings throughout his life.<br />
In 1658 he owned 400 acres<br />
In 1661 he owned 900 acres<br />
In 1665 he owned 2400 acres<br />
In 1667 he owned 2800 acres<br />
In 1672 he owned 3200 acres<br />
In 1679, the peak <strong>of</strong> his land ownership, he owned 5044 acres<br />
From 1681 until his death, he owned 4100 acres, 2900 <strong>of</strong> these in <strong>Accomack</strong> <strong>County</strong>.<br />
It has been noted that by the end <strong>of</strong> his life <strong>Nathaniel</strong> was among the top 2.5% <strong>of</strong> <strong>Accomack</strong> planters in<br />
terms <strong>of</strong> the number <strong>of</strong> servants and slaves he owned. How did he compare with the leading men <strong>of</strong> the<br />
county in terms <strong>of</strong> land ownership? The greatest landowner in <strong>Accomack</strong> was Colonel Edmund Scarburgh,<br />
who during the course <strong>of</strong> his life, patented a total <strong>of</strong> 46,550 acres, not only in <strong>Accomack</strong> but in other<br />
<strong>Virginia</strong> counties as well as in Maryland. 275 But his is an extreme example. The quit rent roll <strong>of</strong> 1683 serves<br />
as a useful tool for comparing <strong>Nathaniel</strong>’s land holdings to others in the county. Out <strong>of</strong> 184 entities listed<br />
on the quit rent roll, <strong>Nathaniel</strong> ranked 7 th in terms <strong>of</strong> acreage, among the top 4% <strong>of</strong> land holders. 276 Only 6<br />
men in <strong>Accomack</strong> owned more land there than <strong>Nathaniel</strong>, namely Daniel Jenifer, William Kendall, Charles<br />
Scarburgh, Southy Littleton and John West – all <strong>of</strong> them Justices <strong>of</strong> the Peace. Furthermore, only 18<br />
individuals out <strong>of</strong> 184 in 1683 paid quit rents on more than 2000 acres. Thus, in both size <strong>of</strong> household and<br />
size <strong>of</strong> land holdings, <strong>Nathaniel</strong> ranked among the top 5% <strong>of</strong> individuals in <strong>Accomack</strong> <strong>County</strong>, a select<br />
group that included among its number the governing elite <strong>of</strong> the county and few others.<br />
Page 49 <strong>of</strong> 74 Copyright 2008 Adam M. <strong>Bradford</strong>
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