You might want to look at Tim Breen and Steve Innes's _Mine Owne Ground_, a
book inspired by Tim's puzzlement over similar situations he found in
17th-century tithable lists where someone might be listed as negro one year
but not others . . .  Its focus is on an Eastern Shore family but the laws,
practices, and social context would be pretty much the same as Surry in the
same period.


Jon Kukla
________________
www.JonKukla.com <http://www.jonkukla.com/>



On Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 8:05 AM, R. C. Solomon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I am trying to understand how tithables were counted in 1668 to help me
> make sense of later court records. In the list of tithables for 1668 in
> Surry county there is only one woman, Margrit Cornish paying tithes. Then
> there is a record for a Margaret Cornish in 1670 in the General Court of
> VA who is granted in court an exemption for paying tax due to old age and
> it  noted that she is a negro. How did a "negro" woman acquire such an
> English name in 1670? Was she an African, was she born in here in America?
> She is head of a household otherwise she would not be tithable -is that
> correct?
>
> I have seen all of the research (Heinegg and others) that suggests she was
> the unnamed woman who was owned by Lt. Robt Shepphard who was punished along
> with Robert Sweat for having an illegitimate child around 1640. Thanks
>
> Ruth Solomon
>
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