Chapter VIII: Part TWO: The Middle Class (3)

Meade, William.--Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia.
J.B. Lippincott and Co., Philadelphia. Two volumes. The title
does not indicate all, nor the most valuable part, of the
contents of this work. In addition to giving numerous facts in
regard to the old churches and their ministers and
congregations, the author has presented an ecclesiastical
history of Virginia. The contest of the vestries with the
governors to obtain and to keep control of the church, is
carefully and ably set forth. Also, the relation of this
struggle to the political life of the colony is kept constantly
in sight. The appendix contains several papers relating to
church affairs that are invaluable to the historian.

Miller, Elmer I.--The Legislature of the Province of Virginia. One
volume. The Columbia University Press. The Macmillan Co.,
Agents. This work is but the assembling and arranging of
numerous facts in regard to the General Assembly. It presents no
new thoughts, it teaches no lessons in Virginia history, it
settles none of the old problems, it presents no new ones.
Unfortunately, also, the author did not have access to a large
number of the journals of the House of Burgesses, which, it need
hardly be added, are indispensable for an exhaustive study of
the Assembly.

Neill, Edward D.--Virginia Vetusta, during the Reign of James I.
Joel Munsell's Sons, Albany, 1885. The value of this work lies
in the printing of numerous documents throwing light on the
affairs of the colony under the London Company. Mr. Neill takes
the ground that John Smith's narratives are not to be trusted,
and he has made a long step towards correcting the errors
contained in the works of that writer.

Virginia Carolorum: The Colony under the Rule of Charles the
First and Second A.D. 1625-A.D. 1685, based upon manuscripts
and documents of the period. Joel Munsell's Sons, Albany, 1886.
Mr. Neill has been, with some justice, called the scavenger of
Virginia history. In Virginia Carolorum he has gathered many
papers and documents which are bitterly hostile to the colony,
and represent it in a light far from attractive. As, however,
it is the duty of the historian to present truth, no matter
whether pleasant or disagreeable, this volume is of undoubted
value. Its chief fault lies in the author's failure to point
out the prejudices of some of those writers that are quoted,
thus leaving the reader to give to their statements more weight
than they can justly claim.

Page, Thomas Nelson.--The Old Dominion her Making and her Manners.
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1908. This work consists of a
series of essays, in part addresses delivered before various
societies at different times. It is written in the delightful
style for which Dr. Page is so well known and is as entertaining
as Fiske's The Old Dominion and her Neighbors. Perhaps the most
valuable chapter is that devoted to Colonial Life.

The Old South, Essays Social and Political. Charles Scribner's
Sons, New York, 1892. This work consists of a series of well
written articles upon anti-bellum Virginia. Among these are
Glimpses of Life in Colonial Virginia, The Old Virginia Lawyer,
and the Negro Question. Dr. Page's intimate knowledge of the
life upon the plantation makes him peculiarly well qualified to
write a book of this nature.

Perry, William Stevens.--Papers Relating to the History of the
Church in Virginia, 1650-1776. Printed in 1870. One volume. This
collection of manuscripts is invaluable to the historian. Some
of the papers have been preserved in other works, but many are
to be had here only. The documents relating to the controversy
between the vestries and the governors for control of the
appointing of ministers are of great importance. Not only do
these papers give much information upon the ecclesiastical
history of the colony, but they throw light that cannot be
gotten elsewhere upon political conditions.

Sainsbury, Noel W.--Papers. Twenty manuscript volumes in the
Virginia State Library. These papers are chiefly copies in
abstract of the official correspondence of the home government,
and the governors and secretaries of Virginia. They cover the
long period from the founding of the colony until the year 1730.
The letters of the governors to the Lords of Trade and
Plantations are often quite frank and give the student an
insight into their purposes and their methods that can be gained
from no other source. They should be studied in connection with
the Journals of the House of Burgesses, for they will make clear
many points that are purposely left obscure in the transactions
of the Assembly. It is a matter for regret that the papers are
but abstracts and the State of Virginia should have exact copies
made of the originals.

Sale, Edith Tunis.--Manors of Virginia in Colonial Times. One
volume. J.B. Lippincott Co., 1909. This work contains accounts
of no less than twenty-four manors, including in the list
Shirley, Westover, Brandon, Rosewell, Monticello, Gunston Hall,
etc. The descriptions of the houses are made more vivid and
entertaining by sketches of the families that occupied them. The
volume is rich in illustrations.

Smith, Capt. John.--Works of, edited by Edward Arber. On Montague
Road, Birmingham, England, 1884. Capt. Smith's account of the
settling of Jamestown and the struggle of the colonists there
was for many years accepted without cavil by historians. His
story of his own heroism and of the wickedness of his colleagues
has been embodied in almost every American school history. Mr.
Charles Dean, in 1860, was the first to question Smith's
veracity, and since that date many historians have taken the
ground that his works are quite unreliable. Alexander Brown has
contended that his account of Virginia was purposely falsified
to further the designs of the Court Party during the reign of
James I. The discovery of numerous documents relating to the
years covered by Smith's histories, and the application of
historical criticism to his work, cannot but incline the student
to distrust much that he has written.

Spotswood, Alexander.--The Official Letters of. Edited by R.A.
Brock. Virginia Historical Society. Two volumes. These letters
are of great value, for they touch upon the most important
events of Spotwood's administration. They present, of course,
the governor's views upon public matters, and must be studied in
conjunction with other evidence for a just understanding of the
times. This, fortunately, is to be had in various manuscripts,
in the Journals of the House of Burgesses, the Journals of the
Council and in scattered papers, some of which have been
printed.

Stanard, Mary Newton.--The Story of Bacon's Rebellion. The Neale
Publishing Co., 1907. One volume. The authoress has had before
her in this work the general interest that attaches to the
picturesque subject and has written in a light and pleasing
style, No deep analysis of the causes and results of the
Rebellion are given, but the reader has the feeling throughout
that the facts presented have been gathered with great care and
that the narrative is as accurate as labor and research can make
it.

Stanard, William G. and Mary Newton.--The Colonial Virginia
Register. Joel Munsell's Sons, Albany, 1902. This work contains
the names of the Governors of Virginia in the Colonial Period,
the Secretaries of State, the Auditors General, the Receivers
General, the Treasurers, the Attorneys General, the Surveyors
General, the Council members, the members of the House of
Burgesses and the members of the Conventions of 1775 and 1776.

Stith, William.--The History of the First Discovery and Settlement
of Virginia. William Parks, Williamsburg, 1747. Stith had in the
preparation of this work access to some manuscripts which are
not now in existence. For this reason the work will retain a
certain value as a source book of Virginia history. In the main,
however, he follows Smith's story with servility, for it did not
occur to him that much of the latter was not trustworthy. Stith
takes his history no further than the year 1624.

The Lower Norfolk County Virginia Antiquary. Press of the
Friedenwald Co., Baltimore. Five volumes. This magazine has
rendered a true service to Virginia history by publishing many
valuable documents hitherto hidden or inaccessible. These papers
touch Virginia life in the Colonial Period in many phases and
throw light on points hitherto obscure or misunderstood.

The Southern Literary Messenger.--In 1845 and in the years
immediately following, this magazine, stimulated by the great
interest that was being shown in Virginia history at that time,
published a number of documents and articles relating to
colonial times. Among these is a reproduction of John Smith's
True Relation; papers relating to Sir William Berkeley,
contributed by Peter Force; and an account of the General
Assembly of 1715.

The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography.--Published by the
Virginia Historical Society. Seventeen volumes. The wealth of
material contained in these volumes can hardly be estimated.
Countless papers, formerly scattered abroad, or hidden in the
musty archives of libraries, have been published and rendered
accessible to the historian. So vastly important are they that
no account of colonial Virginia, no matter of what period, can
afford to neglect them. They touch every phase of the life of
the colony, political, social, economic and religious. Much
space has been given to biography. From the standpoint of the
constructive historian it is to be regretted that the magazine
has devoted so little of its space to short articles culling and
arranging and rendering more serviceable the facts published in
documentary form. But the magazine has done and is still doing a
work of vast importance in collecting and preserving historical
material.

Tyler, Lyon G.--Narratives of Early Virginia, 1606-1625. Charles
Scribner's Sons. One volume. This work includes many important
and interesting papers of the period of the London Company.
Selections are made from Capt. John Smith's works. Among the
papers given are Observations by Master Geo. Percy; The Relation
of the Lord De-La-Ware; Letter of Don Diego de Molina; Letter of
Father Pierre Biard; Letter of John Rolfe; and The Virginia
Planters' Answer to Capt. Butler.

Williamsburg, the Old Colonial Capital. Whittet and
Shepperson, Richmond. An account is given of the settlement
and history of the town. This is followed by a brief
description of Bruton church and its ministers and by a long
chapter on the college. Other chapters are devoted to the
capitol, the governors' house, the State prison, the powder
magazine, the theatre, the Raleigh Tavern, the printing
office, the jail, the courthouses, the hospital for the
insane, etc.

The Cradle of the Republic: Jamestown and James River. Whittet
and Shepperson, Richmond. The author has described carefully
and minutely the village, locating, when possible, public
buildings and the homes of the inhabitants. The last chapter
is devoted to the places along the river and interesting
accounts are given of their origin and their history.

Virginia Historical Society.--Abstract of the Proceedings of the
Virginia Company of London, 1619-1624, prepared from the
records in the Library of Congress by Conway Robinson and
edited by R.A. Brock. Two volumes. Since the infant colony at
Jamestown was so intimately connected with the great company
which gave it life that the one cannot be understood without a
knowledge of the other, this publication of the proceedings of
the company is of great importance to a correct understanding
of early Virginia history.

Miscellaneous Papers. Edited by R.A. Brock, 1887. On volume.
This collection contains the Charter of the Royal African
Company; A Report on the Huguenot Settlement, 1700; Papers of
Geo. Gilmer, of Pen Park; and other valuable papers.

Proceedings of the Society at the Annual Meeting Held in 1891,
with Historical Papers Read on the Occasion, and Others. Edited
by R.A. Brock. One Volume.

William and Mary Quarterly.--Edited by Dr. Lyon G. Tyler.
Williamsburg, Va. Seventeen volumes. This magazine is devoted to
the history of Virginia and has published numerous papers
relating to that subject. Great space has been devoted to
biography and much light has been thrown upon the ancestry of
scores of families. Of great value are a number of articles
giving in condensed and clear form the results of study of the
new material brought forth. Thus there is a paper upon Education
in Colonial Virginia, another on Colonial Libraries, etc. The
magazine, like the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography,
has rendered an invaluable service to Virginia history.

* * * * *

Thomas J. Wertenbaker was born at Charlottesville, Va., Feb.
6, 1879. After receiving his primary education at private
schools he entered Jones' University School. Later he attended
the Charlottesville Public High School. In the fall of 1896 he
entered the Academic Department of the University of Virginia,
where he remained as a student until 1900. During the session
of 1900-1901, he taught at St. Matthew's School, of Dobbs
Ferry, N.Y. In September, 1901, he re-entered the University
of Virginia and in 1902 received the degrees of Bachelor of
Arts and Master of Arts. For some years after this he was
engaged in newspaper work, being editor of the Charlottesville
Morning News and editor on the Baltimore News. In the fall of
1906 he re-entered the University of Virginia as a graduate
student. In 1907 he was elected Associate Professor of History
and Economics at the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College
and filled that position for two sessions. In 1909 he was made
Instructor of History at the University of Virginia and once
more matriculated in the Graduate Department of that
institution. He is a member of the American Historical
Association and the Virginia Historical Society and is the
author of several historical articles and essays.

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End of Project Gutenberg's Patrician and Plebeian, by Thomas J. Wertenbaker