xt73ff3m044f https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt73ff3m044f/data/mets.xml Brunswick County, Virginia Virginia Historical Records Survey 1943 Prepared by Virginia Historical Records Survey, Service Division, Work Projects Administration; Virginia Conservation Commission, Sponsored; Other contributors include: United States Work Projects Administration Service Division; ix, 255 pages, 28 cm; Includes bibliographical references and index; UK holds archival copy for ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Program libraries; Call number FW 4.14:V 819/no.13 books English Richmond, Virginia: The Survey This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Virginia Works Progress Administration Publications Inventory of the County Archives of Virginia, Number 13 Brunswick County (Lawrenceville) text Inventory of the County Archives of Virginia, Number 13 Brunswick County (Lawrenceville) 1943 1943 2015 true xt73ff3m044f section xt73ff3m044f I     I II  »  I~·v¢*$I·?+S¤Iv~e~%~¢kIIf‘   A   I     A I
          ;   ’I"II'I'I 'I'II“II~I'I~I            
INVENTORY of the COUNTY ARCHIVES
OE VIRGINIA   A  
RIMIIIIIIIWIIINIIIIII
 IECOIIRI]? 
_ · sci? G  ·
` _ 3;.   '  In   J
   I  I   RV
I N0. 15
BRUNSWICK c0UNTY (LAWRENCEVILLE)
HISTORICAL RECORDS SURVEY
WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION

 _ INVENTORY OF COUNTY ARCHIVES
OF VIRGINIA
NO. 15. BRUNSWICK COUNTY (IAMRENCEVILLE)
Prepared by
I The Virginia Historical Records Survey
Service Division
Work Projects Administration
Sponsored by
The Virginia Conservation Commission
Richmond, Virginia
The Virginia Historical Records Survey
January l9é5

 FOREWORD
The lnventory_gf_the County archives p£_Virginia is one of a number of
guides to historical materials prepared throughout the United States by work-
, ers on Historical Records Survey projects of the Work Projects Administration.
1 The publication herewith presented, an inventory of the archives of Brunswick,
T is number 15 of the Virginia series.
The Historical Records Survey program was undertaken in the winter of
1935-36 for the purpose of providing useful employment to needy unemployed
historians, lawyers, teachers, and research and clerical workers. In carry-
ing out this objective, the project was organized to compile inventories of
historical materials, particularly the unpublished government documents and
records which are basic in the administration of local governments, and which
provide invaluable data for students of political, economic, and social his~
tory. The archival guide herewith presented is intended to meet the require-
ments of the day-to-day administration by the officials of the county, and
also the needs of lawyers, businessmen, and other citizens who require facts
from the public records for the proper conduct of their affairs. The volume
is so designed that it can be used by the historian in his research in un; ’ ‘
printed sources in the same way he uses the library card catalog for printed
SOUI°C9S•
The inventories produced by Historical Records Survey projects attempt
to do more than give merely a list of records - they attempt further to sketch
in the historical background of the county or other unit of government, and
to describe precisely and in detail the organization and functions of the
government agencies whose records they list. The county, town, and other
local inventories for the entire country will, when completed,-constitute an
encyclopedia of local government as well as a bibliography of local archives.
The successful conclusion of the work of Historical Records Survey
projects, even in a single county, would not be possible without the support
of public officials, historical and legal specialists, and many other groups
. in the community. Their cooperation is gratefully acknowledged.
The Survey program was organized by Luther H. Evans, who served as
Director until March l, 1940, when he was succeeded by Sargent B. Child.
The survey operates as a Nation-wide series of locally sponsored projects in
the Division of Community Service Programs, of which Mrs. Florence Kerr,
i Assistant Commissioner is in charge.
George H. Field
Deputy Commissioner
Work Projects Administration

 PREFACE
In lhrch 1936 the Historical Records Survey was organized in Virginia as
a unit in the National program under the supervision of Dr. Luther H. Evans,
National Director. From March to November 1936 the Survey in Virginia was a
part of the Federal Writers' Project, of which Dr. H. J. Eckenrode was State
Director and Dr. Lester J. Cappen of the University of Virginia part-time
assistant, but in November 1936 it became independent of the Writers' Project,
with Dr. Cappon as part-time State Director and Miss Elizabeth B. Parker,
a former supervisor of the Survey, as Assistant State Director. Dr. Cappon
resigned in June 1937, and Miss Parker succeeded him as State Director.
In September 1939 the Survey in Virginia became a State—wide non-Federal
project, with Miss Parker as State Director. In January 1940 it was combined
with the Survey of Federal Archives, and Dr. Kathleen Bruce, who had been
Director of the Survey of Federal Archives in Virginia since September 1936,
became State Supervisor of the new Historical Records Survey. When Dr. Bruce
resigned in May 1942, Dr. Katharine Elizabeth Crane, who had been appointed
Assistant State Supervisor in January 1941, succeeded her and continued to
supervise the work on this volume after the Historical Records Survey was ab-
sorbed in the War Information and Records Services.
The research for this inventory of Brunswick County was completed under
Dr. Bruce, who also edited a good deal of the volume. Mrs. Frances Beasley
wrote almost all of the entries, and Mr. John Haugle was responsible for most
of the research for the historical sketch and wrote the section on horses and
horse racing. The essay on the Governmental Organization and Records System
is a shortened form of the essay that appeared in the Isle of Wight volume,
which was completed under Miss Elizabeth Parker. Helpful editorial criticism
of this inventory in manuscript form was offered by Hr. Sargent B. Child,
National Director, and Hr. Donald Thompson of the Central office.
The publication of this Inventory was made possible largely through the
help of Brunswick County. The clerk, Hr. M. Emery Elmore, has made the records
more conveniently available to the workers and has advised and helped them
through many difficulties, and the constant advice and assistance of the
` deputy—clerk, Mrs. Willie Browdcr Abernathy, has been invaluable. The money
without which the volume could not have been published was appropriated by
the Board of Supervisors whose members were M. S. Barrow, D. S. Delbridge,
chairman, W. B. Moseley, L. S. Purdy, and E. E. Vaughan.
V!
|'\OrYl?»\r1i—-More Cl\~C5a¤€\€t C \’O~v\€.
Katharine Elizabeth Crane
State Supervisor
War Information and Records Services
Richmond, Virginia
January 1943

 ABBREVIATIONS, SYMBOLS, AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
- Abbreviations
9·].Ph• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 8·lPh9~bS'bj.O9.li‘e:·e~ ·-  
  yr(s) ....».v..Q..·....•;.'..·a..·a::v.·a:·•¢•··y€9·I’(S> · · --=
  ·‘ ,’ '· Symbols . .   ,...   .l.. .' .· .
  X ....a•»•i.....:asaa.•¢».a••a••.•• -byy·iD~dim€USi0m$  
; Q3 —- ·. ...... .L....;»;».r...,..,...... plaeed.after a date».
g -- ` »· ····» ·-~--i~·-· »indieates records r
_b, _ ' i =» »»· ~ · ·r· —~·» ~- · ·are current,.·‘ . .
'*f¤v · ' =£xplanatory-Notes- . ·4 » - v.¤ r
g Titles"of‘Reeords.~·Exact titles of records are . .
,_» V written_in"solid°Ea§itals»without»braekets (as in » rl `
#.h,x entry l).’ In the absenee»of titles,-descriptive titles .
i“n‘_ have been assigned, whieh»are written.in—solidvcapitals . ..
r gill and enclosed in brackets»(as in entry 52)...lf»a record . ‘
WF" title is not descriptive of the contents of the record, Aw
‘_l `» an assigned explanatory.title.(or.explanatory»wo1ds},.. ._bLi
“ ,i written with initial capitals and enclosed in.brackets, .‘ .
`,, has been added (as in entry G). The current or most [
,,r., recent title of a_record·is used as the·entry title and ., r;
V i*'* title variation is indicated (as in entry J). . - - ~ .l
Dates. All dates used·are inclusive.- Missing .
’ recordsmare indicated by,broken.dates.» .-.-:-· -·.-- ~ F -
_ V “ Quantity. %henTtwo·or.more types of-eontainers.·. · · Q
are considered in a single entry, the quantity is shown Q
t “ in chronologieal‘order,·as.far·as»possible. .,- »-r .·-. .»·* r §
, ·   r...       ,,  
l labelingQ Figures or letters in parentheses,·£ol- -,‘¥ ·_ i
r»r lowing t}E;lHLnber of volumes, file boxes, or other type j
·”~, of container, indicate the-labeling.··l£.no.labeling·is ·- · f
, ~indicatcd, it may be assumed that there is none. t
f _Qisyontinuance. -Where no statement is.mede.that.. °v¤¤ 5
."° the record nas—disEontinued.at the last date shewa-in·· V·.’ g
the entry, it could not.be-definitely established thats »·` 1
such was the ease. xWhere.no comment is made.on the.ab~ .4 ~ é
sence of prior, subsequent, or intermediate records, no Y
definite information could be obtained. V Y
1%

 _ abbreviations, Symbols, and e ix
Explanatory Notes
Description of Records. The description of the con-
·tents of a record applies only to the current or most recent
record unless change in contents is actually shown in a record
entry.
Indexing. All indexes to records, unless otheriwse
stated, are self-contained.
Condition of Records, Records are in good condition un-
less otherwise indicated.
Dimensions. Dimensions are always given in inches unless
otherwise indicated, and therefore the symbol for inches is
omitted.
Location. The locations given for the records are the
locations at the time the survey was made. These are subject
to change since records are often moved.
Cross References. Separate third—paragraph cross rcfer-
ences from entry to entry are used to show prior and subse-
quent records, and original and copies of records. If there
are entries related in subject matter to entries under other
subject headings, cross—rcferences are used under the subject
headings. If a record does not have a self-contained index,
a cross~reference is made.
Miscellaneous. In connection with the use of the terms
constitutional and statutory, it is to be noted that the con-
stitutional provisions concerning county offices and county
government may or may not be mandatory. Practice, therefore,
may vary from one county to another, Throughout this book
the situation in Brunswick County alone has been considered.
The spelling of local place names follows, for the most
part, what seems to be the preponderance of usage as indicated
in E. G. Swem, Virginia Historical Index. Indian names are
spelled according to F. U. Hodge, Handbook of American Indians.

 n i s _
<€
, A·..    
TABLE OF CONTENTS j
Page q
I"OI`8·L’IOI`dlIBDIIUDIOIOIIOI!lIlII•UIIIIUOIIIIIIIIOIO|OIIII¢||IllUII¤•l    
Pr€faC€•••nu¤•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••|•••••• V-  
P
. . xt
Abbreviations, Symbols, and Explanatory Notes...................... vii Q
' · General V
W; K
` _ lt   SkgtcllltllllllilOOOlllIIII||OI|OIOIICI•|III|OOIU 1 p
»’_ 2. Governmental Organization and Records System .... ...... .... . 27
. “ 5. Housing, Care, and Accessibility of the Reeords............ 40
A County Offices and Their Records
".\ I• Board of Supervisors....................................... 44
p’~ Proceedings. Financial; claims; disbursements; reports
,.;y and settlements. Delinquent Taxes. Miscellaneous
'-\ \A\.
\." IIO   Cl6I‘k•••••••••••••»•.••••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••   I
K Deeds. Liens; real property; personal property. Taxation;
_ if. real property; personal property; licenses. Corporations
°;qg·y and Partnerships. Vital Statistics. Registers. Military, A
Z*»‘ Elections. Financial. Correspondence. Miscellaneous
\ "';`
._v.`r     CcurlblllllllIIIOUDIOQIIIhllllllrlllljlil|IIl•OI|llj  
‘, '— Chancery; case papers; dockets and proceedings. Common
' i. Law; case papers; dockets and proceedings. Judgments.
`VM Executions. Witnesses. Probate; wills; fiduciary.
y,;_ Bonds. Pardons. Lunacy. Financial. Miscellaneous
, 'ihe
V I-V•   COL1rtIIlIIIItlllllOOOIOOOIOOIIDIOIOOIIIIOIOIIIIOOIII   \·
Case Papers. Proceedings and Dockets. Judgments, Process
‘ Book, and Executions. Commissions and Bonds. Roads.
Financial. Miscellaneous s
I V'• COmInOmWO<11!S J`x`btOI°HCy•••••••••••••¤••••••••••••••••••••••    
1_  
` Nfl:}   Jllsticgllll!ill!OIIOOOIIOOIIILIOIOQIIIOIIIUIIUOOOIIII    
_ · Case Papers. Dockets. Financial {
`_ ·\. VII. Justice of the PG&CG••••••••••••¤••••••••••••••••••••••••••    
1‘>r   i3lEOrj.ff•\||·|||·l||I,||!§l|I|,'|O,))'IIIIIII|IIIIIII·.•IU··°    
. a
_. fh   COI]S4JCblG'yp•'••••••••••••••••••••••|•••••g•Yygpp'••••••••I    
XI COrOnGI`I•IOOIIlOIOOIOIIOIIOIOOIIOI¤OOCOQIOOIOIIOOOIIOOUOOII    
.X.I• COmmiSSiO1}OT of thc} RGVG¤LlO••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••    
i
 
Mn

 li?
Page
  LSSGSSOTSQOIIIIllOOO!OOIOOIIDIIIIOIIIOIIUIIIUIIUIIIIIIQQCII  
XIII. Local Board of Equalization (Local Board of Review)....•.•. 155
XIV!   Tr9aSurGrO|IIUOIIIlIOIIIIUII|I|IIIlI|II|O|I·I|CIOI·I  
Receipts. Journals and Ledgers. Warrants, Checks, and
Bank Accounts. Real and Personal Property Taxation.
Capitaticn Tax. Licenses. Miscellaneous
XV. County Finance Board. .... .................................. 176
      BOE-rdlllOI!IOOIOOICIIlI¤|||II|IIIII|OIII|•  
XVII. School Trustee Electoral Board..... ..... .......... .... ..... 178
      BOaTd•••••••••••••••••••••••••••a•••¤••••••••  
XIX. Division Superintendent of Schools........ .... . ........ .... 184
Financial. Teachers. Records on Attendance and Progress.
Transportation. Correspondence. Miscellaneous
XX. Local Board of Public Welfare (Overseers of the Poor)...... 195
Proceedings and Correspondence. Case Records. Financial.
Federal Relief
XXI. Superintendent of the Poor................................. 201
  Parish VGStTy••••••••¤•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••¤•••••  
        2*163-]--by]nlO|lIlII|OIIIIl¤I•|6llI·|DIII¤IIOlOIl§  
      TjnjslbgIIOQIIOIOOOIIOIIIIIIIOIIUI•|IO||IIOIIC••  
Family Records. Communicable Disease. laternity and
Child Care. Sanitation. Miscellaneous _
  COUITIGY Surveyor............................................  
  Tobacco I.USpGCtOI`•••••••••••••••••¤•••••••¤•••••••••••••••|  
      [LEED-bslllOOOUIIOUIIIIOUOOIUUIUIOIUOIIQQ  
_ Allotments. Payments. Soil Conservation. Miscellaneous
      E4-IgcrllbllOIOIIOI0IIOIIIIIIDIIIOO|I|l•IOO|·  
    T;8.rd81'1IOIUIIOOIOOIIIIIUIOIIIIII|II|IIII•OlIOI|I||IOC·•  
    I.Ei].i-bialllblllllilblOOOUOIIIOOIIIOOIOIIOIIIIIIIOOIOC  
Bj'-b]*j'Ogr8‘1p1'l.5lf'••|C|UOlllllllllli|||I||·r|•lIO|y'l’I’Q'QO|IIlOI|I|I|O•  
  IndGx|•||¤||||••|•|||•y||||||•¤•I|Q·IQfi'O•|OO|•||•OII  
S11`DjGC'*JII'1d€X...•••••....••.••••••.•.....•..•.•••••••»•••••••••..•••  
    Pu`OliC8·~i;iO¤S|I|II|OI|IIIIIOOIOQIUOOIOIOUOOIOIOIIIIIO|II|I••·  

 (First entry, p. @5)
4 I. HISTORICAL SKETCH
Brunswick County is one of the series of Virginia counties whose
southern limits coincide with the State boundary between Virginia and
North Carolina, and it is situated half way between the ntlantic Coast
and the Blue Ridge lbuntains within the easternmost quarter of the
four-hundred-mile line that marks the extreme east-and-west dimensions
of the State. The northern boundary of the county is the Nottoway
River, which separates Brunswick from Nottoway and Dinwiddie. Lunen-
burg and Mecklenburg extend to the west, and Greensville to the east.
Bounded thus on three sides by the straight lines of the surveyor’s
instruments, the county forms approximately a rectangle, extending C
20 miles east and west and, as an average, about 50 miles north and
south. The total area is 557 square miles, and the population is
19,575.1
Enjoying the mild climate of its location between SCO 52' and
560 56, north latitude, the county is also well watered and isrwell
drained - on the north by the Hottoway River and on the south by
the Roanoke, which crosses the county only in the extreme southwest
corner. Most of the area is in the basin of the Meherrin River which
flows eastward across the county not much south of the middle line.2
It is to be noted that the three main rivers flow towards North
Carolina and Albemarle Sound rather than through the older carts of Vir-
ginia. During the period when water transportation determined the course
of development in any region this factor was very important in retard-
ing settlement. It also tended to build up social and economic relations
to the southward.
The whole of Brunswick County lies rmst of the fall line, and it is
on the slightly elevated plateau that is characteristic of the part of
Virginia to the west of the fall line but east of the Piedmont Hills.
The eastern part of the county is fairly level and broken only occasion-
ally by gentle hills. Farther west as the plateau rises steadily in the
center of the county, the land becomes increasingly hilly, especially
around Lawrenceville and in the western part, though it never becomes
rugged.3 The soil in the eastern part of the county is a whitish loam,
and in the west it is the dark red earth that is characteristic of much
of the Virginia countryside.4
The hichmond-Petersburg granite formation, which extends to the south
and southwest from Hanover County across Henrico, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie,
western Groensville, and into North Carolina, also reaches across nmst of
1. §gnd_QE;ally Commercial Atlas and Marketing Guido, p. 409.
2. United States“Coast~a:d·Ceod$tic—CHrvey, State—oT Virginia, Lawrence-
ville, Hchenney, White Plains, and 3mporia"§uad?§nglEsT*_—
Z. Ibid.; there is, however, no Federal survey of the westernmost strip
of the county.
4. Virginia is Che Is, p. BC.

  Qfi
2 &i
Historical Sketch (First entry, p. 45)  $
nrunswick County. In several places in the county quarries have been p
opened to provide granite ef excellent quality for monumental and g
general building purposes and for some kinds of street work, but at Q
present none of these are operating.1 In the county there are unde- . Q
veloped beds of marl, some little copper, soapstone, and limestone, and, &
especially near Lawrenceville, good clays for making brick.2 g
· Early History l
—Q _ The area that is new Brunswick County began early to figure in Vir-
Y' _ ginia history. Before a single English generation had lived and died in
,·N= Virginia, white men began to find their way across what is now Brunswick _
j, - County. In 1650 Abraham Wood and Edward Bland traveled through the dis- y
I. trict on their journey of exploration to Occancechi Island, which is the i
. . I middle one of the three_islands in the Roanoke River just west of where Q
~‘2 Clarksville new stands.; Within the next l0 years the route came to be Q
I y traveled regularly. In 1675 James Needham and Gabriel Arthur went this
¥_ ` way on their journey to explore the route leading farther south and up
4 _ inte the southern mountains.4 As the fur trade prospered between Fort f
,N\ ` Wood, near what is now Petersburg in Dinwiddie County, and the Indians
if _ of the southern mountains, this path, usually called the Occaneechi Path `
·r»# I or the Trading Path, became one of the world's highways of commerce. I
Q ` During the last quarter of the seventeenth century and the early years I
` R of the eighteenth, loads of fur were brought year after year ever the {
p, n Trading Path for sale in the great world markets of Leipsic, Amsterdam, ,
=IR Q Paris, Vienna, and Lendon.5 {
QZ Q, This path led in a fairly direct line from the falls of the Appe- Z
,ff·` mattox River to Oecaneechi Island and then southward through North E
·_ i Carolina. Like many other paths used by the white men, this one seems I
y_ to have been well traveled by the Indians in their many comings and I
’V_ goings before the white men arrived on the continent. Apparently, tee, {
o,4_ like other such paths, the original track through the wilderness was
L E“4 marked out by the feet of the herds of buffalo that had made their way {
inte this region long before the landing of the early settlers.6 Q
.y
-————-•-—-..——.—-...——.., ...._..-... . ... 3.....- ..,,.. ._.— ..—........,;_, ......;_,.. .......,,._  Q,
V ~ l. 'William McGill, Qutline of the Mineral Resources of Virginia, §g
n _ PP• ]—4¤"‘l5• inn--4 ~*—-—-`-— -·_‘—•-———~_——  
pl 3. Dhirjournal of this exploration see Clarence Walworth Alvord and Lee lt"
Bidgood, The First Explorations Births Trans—Lllegheny Region by the ff
i v_ g;i_i;ioieoEj“1eEbiTe`*?Eff5§Tie`9T1Eb`;"ee‘e sketch. of Abraham wooofip""' .iI’
_' .` _   of £.n1e_r•i-e_.-n Biography. W- l    
p TéE'eTihT""“ "  
e. Pre cleric]: T:o1fJ  e?K§` lieTpZ1l&oT§k“7o`i* ?Tm?>`EiEZ€Gi' IEEE North or  
· lgpgxpp [Smithsonian InotitEtiEh,”BEreEu_ETrZmeFiEEn—T%hhelogyi ;Y
Bulletin 50], esp. articles on Christanna Indians, Occaneechi, Saponi, 3
and Tutelo. A Q
 

 I 5
Historical Sketch (Fires entry,   4,;)
By 1715, before Brunswick County had entered into any legal existence
of its own, the Virginia trade with the Indians had passed its peak of
prosperity, but for many years it continued to be a factor in the economic
» life of Virginia. Direct participation of the county area in the profits
of the trade can not be traced, but the indirect effects of the constant
travel through the region ought not to be overlooked. It also made an
important group ef men aware of the desirability of obtaining patents of
ownership in this pleasantly situated district, and it helped to open the
way to agricultural settlement because many of these men began to acquire
land and stimulate sett1ement.1
William Byrd's account oi‘the survey of the boundary between North
Carolina and Virginia in 1728, as well as such other writings as his
"Journey to Eden," reflects this interest in the region for himself,
and for others.2 By l728 families already settled and enjoying large
holdings in the older parts of Prince George and of other counties had
added new patents in the sparsely settled part of Prince George that was
cut off to make the present Brunswick County.5 The process of settlement
had already begun.
It was at Christanna —~ about 15 miles south of the Iottoway River
near what is now·Gholsonville in Brunswick County but thou ln Surry
County - that Gov. Alexander Spotswood settled friendly Indians from the
Saponi, Tutelo, Oecaneeehi, and Stogarhki tribes. This was according te
his general policy of undertaking the establishment of compact cemnuni~
ties of friendly but fairly powerful Indian tribes in places where they
would be a protection to white settlements and whore they would be con-
veniently near for trade and missionary activities. In 1714 he made
Christanna the headquarters for the monopelistic Virginia Indian Company
established the same year. Spotswoed also subsidized an Indian school
there, and in l7l5 Charles Griffin was its teacher with a salary paid by
Spot swoo d eé
In 1720 the Virginia Assembly passed an act to create Brunswick
County out of territory that had formerly been part of Prince George
County, but loft the actual definition of the boundaries to the Governor
l. Verner W. Crane, Southern Frontier, 1670-1732, p. 157.
2. William K. Boyd, edi,-TEEHEEEYIQEHVsufistories of the Dividing Line
petwigct Virginia and 1$E?·tl{ ‘C`éCreTi"dEf` §7eE`e`i?pZ}"’f?iIIia?¤"L2yI~?1Q”TZ`z€"t"?” "
  ”5_{0g,i£.1 Church ,—=f,v?(l5L;' 'R'.-JL., B*x-Tcib-1.:,,-—ed., The
Q§§}giEl_Ipt{ers of llexander'Spotswood; The Collections of the `°”'
Virginia Historical §EEIEtyf"IIf7§5§l§k record of the survey of
1063 acres for the Indian Company on Nov. 21, 1716, is in the Prince
George County deed book, Deeds, Etc., l7l5—l725, Archives Division,
Virginia state Library. V

 li
ii
Historical Sketch (First entry, p. 45) {
with the consent of the Council.1 Like many other place names of the E
period, the name chosen for the new county was associated with the §
~ rulers of Great Britain. Brunswick County was named for the Duchy of é
Brunswick, one of the possessions of the House of Hanover that had be- Q
come the ruling house of Great Britain when George I became King in §
I 1714. Q
' Settlers in Brunswick c;nd in Spotsylvania CountM·which was created §
·d by the same act, were to enjoy exemption from taxation for a period of f
g_‘- 10 years beginning May 1, 1721, o.s. A fund of 1000 pounds was pro- P
“\_¤ vided for arms and ammunition to be distributed among the settlers of
4 ‘_; both Brunswick and Spotsylvania, and another 500 pounds was set aside to
]·' pay for buglding church, courthouse, prison, and pillery and stocks for
* l; Brunswick.
‘y_;d Nevertheless, the newly created county was not actually organized
U * at this time. By the terms of the act of creation in 1720, the county
Q Yi court of Prince George County was to continue to have jurisdiction over
,Zl the affairs of Brunswick, and the sheriff of Prince George was to func-
f;\_ tion in Brunswick also and to have double fees for his trouble.5
al,V` During the next few years Brunswick County developed less swiftly
-Y“` than seems to have been expected. In 1722 the Council failed to recom-
’·. mend the election of burgesses for the county on the ground that it was
4 .g\ "too thinly Inhabited" and that there were "neithcr courts nor officers _
p,V ·lA' * of Justice" there.4 At the end of the same year the colonial council
Tg;c*_ was petitioning the British government in London to exempt inhabitants A
jf`;` from the purchase of rights and payment of quitrents in order to stimu- e
~fgr; late speedy settlement, and early in 1724 an order in council from Len-
¢‘~_ don approved the petition and provided for the remission of quitrents for
74 t a period of 7 years beginning May l, 1721.5 A
,1.gn At the same time tho entry or survey of more than 1000 acres of
fyppp land to any one person was forbidden in order to prevent the engrossment `
· 7 ' of large tracts by non-resident owners and to encourage actual settlement Y
A of relatively small parce1s.G The reitcration of this denial of the right i
i to take up more than 1000 acres indicates that there was some difficulty y
in enforcing this law; but on the whole the provision held, and the area 1
benefited by an increasing number of actual settlers.? Q
·i;· In 1725 the Council defined a portion of the boundaries for Brunswick. é
.# In that year the boundar between Brunswick and Surr Count was ordered l
Y Y Y Q
A { A - .... -i-...- .--...-......--......-.-.-- .- -- .......... .- .-..,.......- ,....-...,.-.- ..--..,...,.--.......,.. -......-........... jg
S14 i
7“» 1. William Waller Hcning, The Statutes at Large, from the First Session g
, of the gpgislature in the Year 1619, IV, 77. ` _ _`° g
‘·~·, 2. Ibid., pp. 77—7B. ""m"""*""' é
T.}; 3. Ibid., p. 79. g
» 4. Henry Bead icllrmine, ed., Executive Journals of the Council of Virginia, Q
4 5• }l}}£l·•,   23, ‘3].•  
6* HEP}: P- “2·  
7. lkidf, pp. 70, 88, Q2, 94,'passim. §

 5
Historical Sketch (First entry, p. 45)
to be surveyed at once and was to begin where the "upper line of Surry
County crosses Nottoway River," thence in a straight line to the Heherrin
at or near the mouth of "Reedy Creek or branch,“ and down the Heherrin to
the lower part of Surry County and south to the North Carolina line. The
northern boundary was to be from the m uth of the said Reedy branch up
the north branch of the Nottoway to its head and thence by a northwest
line “to the Hountains." The southern extent of the county was neces-
sarily limited by the dividing line between North Carolina and Virginia,
which was not finally fixed until after 1728, and the western limits of
Brunswick were never fixed except by implication as other counties were
formed.l
By 1728 there seems to have been a relatively prosperous popula-
tion in the county in spite of the fact that neither a courthouse nor
a church had as yet been crectcd,2 and it is also evident that about
half of the 500 pounds allowed in 1720 had not been spent in distribut-
ing arms and ammunition among Brunswick settlers.3 William Byrd's ac-
counts of the region at this period are surprisingly clear in showing
the general outlines of the county very much as it exists today, and
the surviving land grants and surveys show a good deal of activity in
real estate.“
Moreover during these years several factors operated to relieve
Indian pressure in the neighborhood. Chief among these were the suc-
cess of the white men in their wars against the Indians of North and
South Carolina and the treaty of 1722 at Albany betvmen the Northern
Indians and those of Virginia and the Carolinas. In 1722 also Spots-
wood was removed from the governership of Virginia, and the Indians
lost his support and that of the Virginia Indian Company when it was
abandoned. Increasingly the Indian tribes around Christanna found it
difficult to maintain themselves in the changing situation, and they
loosened their