Culpeper County, Virginia

“ Culpeper or Colepeper, Thomas, Lord, colonial governor of Virginia (1680-83) , was born in England in 1664 and died there in 1719. In 1669 he purchased lands in Virginia lying between the Potomac and the Rappanannock, and in 1673, with Lord Arlington, received from King Charles II a grant of the whole territory of Virginia. Later on he was appointed governor of the province, and personally ruled there between the years 1680-83, and acted despotically, annulling the privilege of appeal of the colonists to the local assembly. ”

“ Equally impractical was it to secure the King's permission before calling an Assembly. In case of a sudden emergency it might be fatal to wait until the Governor had written to Secretary Coventry, until he had taken the matter up with his Majesty, until some vessel sailed and had made the tedious voyage to Virginia. If the need were the outbreak of war with the Indians, half the colony might be scalped before the Assembly could meet to raise men and money for arms and forts. So Culpeper ignored this instruction also. ”

“ It was not necessary for the Governor to make a direct promise; every man of prominence and wealth knew that he was being watched. But in one case at least a bargain was struck. In 1683 Governor Culpeper wrote the Privy Council that Isaac Allerton had assured him "of his utmost services in whatsoever the King should command him by his Governor," and he had promised in return "that he should be of the Council ... though not to be declared till after the session of the next Assembly." ”

“ Lord Culpeper had received the titular grant to all of this area [Pg 12] and a great deal more besides. He was happy in England, however, and not at all anxious to come to Virginia. He was 47 years old at the time and described as "able, lazy, unscrupulous".
While waiting for his return, the people became desperate. Taking hoes and farm tools, they roamed the countryside pulling up and cutting tobacco plants wherever they went. Some destroyed their own crops. ”

“ No account of the system of land tenure in Virginia in the seventeenth century would be complete without some reference to the regulations in force in the Northern Neck. All that portion of the Colony situated between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers, extending as far towards the west as the heads of these important streams and towards the east as Chesapeake Bay, was in 1661 granted by the King to Lord Hopton, Earl of St. Albans, Lord Culpeper, Lord Berkeley, Sir William Morton, Sir Dudley Wyatt, and Thomas Culpeper. ”

“ If the majority do not vote approval of consolidation, such consolidation cannot take place.
Virginia had eight counties originally, dating from 1634: Accawmack (now known as Accomack and Northampton) , Charles City (now known as Prince George County) , Charles River (now known as York County) , Elizabeth City (ceased as a county in 1952) , Henrico, James City (now known as Surry County) , Wamosquyoake (no longer in existence—existed only from 1634-1637) and Warwick River (known as Warwick but ceased as a county in 1952) . ”

“ But Charles and the Privy Council were weary of Culpeper's neglect of duty. They decided to rid themselves of so untrustworthy an officer and to appoint in his place a man that would remain in the colony and carry out their wishes and policies. An inquisition was held upon his conduct, and his letters patent as Governor-General were declared void. [948] On the 28th of September, 1683, a commission as Lieutenant- and Governor-General of Virginia was granted to Lord Howard of Effingham. ”

“ In recent years, most boundary changes for counties have been minor and have not involved substantial shifts of population or land area. The independent cities in Virginia constitute an exception because they occasionally annex territory, as do the incorporated places in many States. Because the territory annexed by a Virginia city no longer is part of the county in which it had been located, changes in the boundaries of these independent cities also affect the boundaries of the adjacent county or counties. In other States, changes to counties occur on a piecemeal basis. ”

“ Westmoreland was the only county that declared that it had no grievances to complain of, and the sincerity of this declaration may well be doubted. Accomac claimed as a reward for her loyalty an exemption from taxation for a period of twenty years. A letter, bearing date December the 27th, 1677, addressed by the king to Jeffreys, informed him that Lord Culpepper had been appointed governor, but that while he (Jeffreys) continued to perform the duties of the office, he should be no loser, and stating the arrangement which had been made as to the payment of their salaries. ”

“ His brother, Theodorick Bland, sometime a merchant at Luars, in Spain, came over to Virginia in 1654, where, settling at Westover, upon James River, in Charles City County, he died, in April, 1671, aged forty-five years, and was buried in the chancel of the church, which he built, and gave, together with ten acres of land, a court-house and prison for the county and parish. ”

“ The governor and members of the council were declared to be entitled to seats in the assembly, and were required to take the same oath. This assembly, which met on the 20th of April, 1652, appears to have sat about ten days. There were thirty-five burgesses present from twelve counties, namely: Henrico, Charles City, James City, Isle of Wight, Nansemond, (originally called Nansimum,) Lower Norfolk, Elizabeth City, Warwick, York, Northampton, Northumberland, and Gloucester—Lancaster not being represented. [224:A] Rappahannock County was formed from the upper part of Lancaster in 1656. ”

“ The patriotic Virginian, as he looked back over the years from the collapse of Bacon's Rebellion to the arrival of Culpeper must have seen in them nothing but confusion and disaster. The colony was divided against itself, the most pressing of the people's grievances had not been redressed, many families had been reduced to poverty, the right to vote was denied to hundreds, taxes were higher than ever, and tobacco was still a drug on the market. ”

“ The train was well laid for an insurrection when a demagogue arrived with the match to fire it. This man was John Culpeper, surveyor-general of Carolina, whose seditious conduct on the Ashley River had lately made it necessary for him to flee northward to escape the hangman. Culpeper’s proposal to resist the enforcement of the odious Navigation Act brought him many followers. In December, 1677, a Yankee schooner, heavily armed and bearing a seductive cargo of rum and molasses, appeared in Pasquotank River. ”

“ After 1682, there is reason to believe that the Royal African Company became either directly or indirectly the principal agent in increasing the African population of Virginia. In the commission which Culpeper received in the course of this year, it was announced that the English Government had recommended to that corporation to furnish the Colony with slaves at very moderate prices, and in return for this benefit, the authorities there were commanded to enforce the payment of all dues to the Company on the part of planters who had purchased negroes from its representatives. ”

“ The Virginia Constitution specifically provides for the formation, division and consolidation of counties. A new county must have a minimum area of 600 square miles and the county or counties from which it is formed cannot be less than 600 square miles after the new county has been formed. No county can be reduced in population below 8,000 people. Whenever any county has a length three times its breadth, or has a length exceeding fifty miles, it may be divided at the discretion of the General Assembly. Such added length can occur as a result of boundary changes or the annexation of territory. ”

“ Counties of Virginia are divided into magisterial districts, the number of districts varying from three to ten. Provision is made in the state constitution that additional districts may be made by law only if the new district contains at least 30 square miles. Each district has one supervisor elected by the qualified voters. Thus, the Board of Supervisors of the county consists of one representative elected from each magisterial district in the county with the exception of Arlington County where the Board of Supervisors is elected at-large from the county. ”

“ Density of population refers to the average number of people per square mile in a state. Density is found by dividing the total population of a state by the total land area of the state. The density of population in 1960 was 96. The counties of Fairfax (southwest of, and adjacent to, Arlington County) and of Henrico (adjacent to Richmond) more than doubled their population from 1950 to 1960.
From 1880 to 1930, while the population was increasing rapidly in most states of the United States, it was increasing very slowly in Virginia—only a 5% increase. ”

“ Now in oldest Virginia the colonial assembly, when instituted in 1619, the earliest legislature of civilized men in the western hemisphere, was patterned after the old English county court, and it was natural that its units should be conceived as hundreds and in some instances called so. Moreover, there are indications that at times the hundred was regarded as a military division, and also as the smallest area for the administration of justice, as in the law passed in 1624 providing that Charles City and Elizabeth City should hold monthly courts. ”

“ Thare was two murders committed in Scott County this winter. Money is very scarce in this Country. I find it very hard getting along, give my Respects to Mr. Fulton & Aunt Betsy and your wife and Family. No more at present.
JAMES McCLURE. Mr. John McClure, Augusta County, Virginia:
The post office at Greenville."
"Lebanon, Russell County, Va., Sept., 10, 1830. Dear Brother, I received your letter on yesterday informing me of your well fare. We are all in good Health at present hoping this may find you in the same state of health. ”

“ Levy, on Bull Run, 3 miles south of Aldie; Lincoln, 2-1/2 miles southeast of Purcellville, in the heart of the "Quaker Settlement," population 200, 3 merchants and mechanics; Lovettsville, 2-1/2 or 3 miles south of Brunswick, Md., and 7 miles from both Waterford and Harpers Ferry, W. Va., in an industrious and progressive German neighborhood, population 97, 16 merchants and mechanics; Luckets, 5 miles from Point of Rocks, Maryland, and 7 miles from Leesburg, population 50, 8 merchants and mechanics; Lunette, 4 miles south of Arcola, population 10; Mahala, 2 miles from Ashburn, population 15 ”

“ But since there was not enough to go round among all the hungry Cavaliers, the King repaid him at the expense of his subjects in Virginia, first with the Arlington-Culpeper grant, and then by making him Governor of Virginia.
The outlook for the colony was gloomy. The King was determined to override the people's rights and make himself absolute. Culpeper was interested in filling his pockets. The Green Spring Faction were still seeking to make good their losses at the expense of the rebels. The common people were suffering from the high taxes and the low price of tobacco. ”

“ At the time appointed for the meeting, Clark, accompanied by his colleague, Gabriel John Jones, proceeded to Williamsburg and presented his petition to the Assembly, where again his remarkable [Pg 293] personality secured a victory. In spite of the vigorous exertions of Henderson and Campbell in behalf of the Transylvania Company, the Virginia Assembly (December 7, 1776) passed an act dividing the vast, ill-defined region, hitherto known as Fincastle County, into three sections, to be known as Kentucky County, Washington County, and Montgomery County, Virginia. ”

“ Mrs. Katherine Culpeper sole daughter and heire of the said Thomas late Lord Culpeper, and Allexander Culpeper Esqr. who cometh in part propriator by lawfull conveyance from Thomas late Lord Culpeper, and confirmed by the said Mrs. Katherine Culpeper, who are thereby now become the true and lawfull propriators of the said tract or territory, and
Whereas the said propriators have thought fitt under there hands & seales to depute me Phillip Ludwell Esqr. with full power and authority to act in the prmisses. ”

“ Under the 1962 reapportionment of the House of Delegates, 40.5% of the State's population live in districts electing a majority of the House members. Twenty-seven House districts have more than three times the representation of the people of Fairfax County, 12 districts have twice the representation of Arlington County, and six, twice that of Norfolk.
No adequate political remedy to obtain legislative reapportionment appears to exist in Virginia. [6] No initiative procedure is provided for under Virginia law. ”

“ He believed that this section was ready to become an independent county and felt that, under such political status, the settlers could better organize and protect themselves. Only the Virginia Assembly could authorize the formation of this new county in 1776. Clark, therefore, called the settlers together, explained his objective for Kentucky and succeeded in getting John Gabriel Jones and himself elected as delegates to make a personal visit to the Virginia General Assembly at Williamsburg. ”

“ Captain Christopher Calthrope, the Virginia planter, served both York and Elizabeth City in the House of Burgesses during the period, 1644-1660, and also was one of the Commissioners for York County. He was replaced in the latter office, 1661, since he had gone Southward, the designation then for the area, which lay on the southern border of Virginia and the northern boundary of the present state of North Carolina. Vast tracts of land were available there, and Calthrope, still land hungry, acquired acreage in the Nottoway region, on which his great grandson was living in 1756. ”