You are correct.
The law passed in 1720 provided that "all and every person, who shall at
any time or times after the said first day of May Seate and Inhabit the
said County of Spotsylvania, or on or near the Branches of Roanoak in
the said County of Brunswick, shall be and are hereby declared to be
free and discharged from the payment of all public Levys and Assessments
in the said Countys of Spotsylvania and Brunswick, for and during the
Term of Ten Years from and after the said first day of May." *However,
the law also states,* "That if any Number of Forreigne Protestants shall
at any time within the said Space of Ten Years, come to dwell and
Inhabit the said Countys of Spotsylvania and Brunswick respectively, and
shall keep and maintaine a Minister of their owne, All and every such
Forreigne Protestants, with their and every of their Tythable persons in
their Familys, shall be Exempt and free from the payment of all
Parochial dues and Charges towards the said Parishes of Saint George or
Saint Andrew, for the Space of Ten Years next after their Arrival, or
so much thereof as they shall keep and maintain such Minister of their
owne as aforesaid." See Waverly K. Winfree, /The Laws of Virginia, Being
a Supplement to Hening's Statutes at Large, 1700-1750/ (Richmond, Va.:
Virginia State Library, 1971), 179-185.
Barbara Vines Little, CG
Dominion Research Services
PO Box 1273
Orange, VA 22960
540-832-3473
[log in to unmask]
CG, Certified Genealogist, is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used
under license by board-certified genealogists after periodic evaluation; the board name is
registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office.
Ian Welch wrote:
> I can't claim any expertise but it is my impression that the church tithe was paid by all free Virginians regardless of their religious affiliation.
>
>
> I will be delighted to hear more about the questions asked by Craig Kilby.
>
>
> Ian Welch, Cnberra
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Craig Kilby <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Monday, September 7, 2009 22:51
> Subject: [VA-HIST] Colonial Tithes and Anglican Church
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>> Fellow List Members:
>>
>> A question has arisen on another forum that needs some expert
>> answers. I'll try to be as concise as possible:
>>
>> 1. Were German Protetesants ever required to attend
>> services at the established Church of England? Some are saying
>> that since this compulsory, I am of the opinion that they were
>> not, since they had their own ministers and paid for their
>> minister and churchs.
>>
>> 2. Were German Protestants required to pay parish levies after
>> the expiration (in this case Spotsylvania County) of their
>> exemptions from "publick" levies.
>>
>> 3. It is my understanding that there were three types of levies
>> (not including port fees and clerk's fees, and the like:
>>
>> a) "publick levies" to fund the colonial government
>>
>> b) county levies to pay for the local county government
>>
>> c) parish levies to pay for the church and its sundry duties to
>> the community.
>>
>> I realize that the enabling legislation creating Spotsylvania
>> County was quite vague on this point, and even more vague on the
>> question of whether the Germans (in this case First Colony who
>> removed to Germantown in Fauquier County) were exempt from
>> paying their parish levies or not. This and many other
>> vagueries in the enabling legislation led to no end of troubles
>> for Alexander Spotswood. (But he had only himself to blame, as
>> he was the primary author of the legislation.)
>>
>> I am not seeking a rehash of Hening's Statutes at Large, but a
>> deeper and broader understanding of the items above. Other than
>> having to attend just one communion service, and various oaths
>> of loyalty, in order to become Naturalized, I cannot imagine any
>> circumstances under which the German Protestants would have been
>> required to attend Anglican Services.
>>
>> To gives this a broader scope, who else (if anyone) was also
>> exempt from compulsory church attendance? Quakers,
>> Presbyterians? Or even broader, a discussion on all taxaton
>> policies of colonial Virginia.
>>
>> If there is an article that has been written on this topic in
>> more detail than that provided by the LVA Research Note on this
>> topic, I would be happy to learn of it.
>>
>> We are looking at the time frame from 1720 to the Revolution. I
>> realize laws MAY have changed. The primary question here is the
>> issue of paying parish levies even if one was not a member of
>> the Anglican Church.
>>
>> All help greatly appreciated.
>>
>> Craig Kilby
>> Lancaster, VA
>>
>> ______________________________________
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>>
>
> (Dr) Ian Welch, Australian National University, Canberra
>
>
>
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