I forget the exact details, but suckers are a shoot which grows out of part of a plant, in this case a tobacco plant. Because tobacco production was a regulated industry in terms of how many plants one could grow, there were sucker hunters whose job it was to get rid of those new shoots because they could be turned into new plants with rooting. That may be a little off, but I think it's basically right. And Donaught was requesting his payment in tobacco for his work because that was the form of currency for that sort of work authorized by a county court.

Eric G. Grundset
Library Director
DAR Library
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-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Watkinson [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2003 10:12 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: "sucker hunting"


Just ran across the following from Orange Co, VA, 1751:  "The Pet[ition]
of William Donaught Humbly Begs that your Worships will allow me my
Tobacco for Sucker Hunting Last year according to the list I sent your
worships . . ."  "Sucker hunting"???

 

Any clues from the learned listers?

 

Please pardon the cross-post.

 

Cheers.

 

Jim Watkinson

 

James D. Watkinson, Ph.D.

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