Didn't want to get in on this but can't resist several points.
Plenty of townspeople had large gardens....hence the plow. (I had
ancestors who were farmers in Brooklyn as late as the 1890s.)
Plenty of land wasn't tillable....woods, outcrops.
Plenty of people didn't want to farm the whole piece....maybe there were
tenants on the land. Can't get on the web this morning to check out the
topography of Campbell County ....
hilly maybe? River bottom?
What time of year was the inventory written? Had the farm stock already
been sold off?
Just a few thoughts.
M. Preston
--On Tuesday, October 23, 2001 10:19 AM -0400 "Harold S. Forsythe"
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> It is the plow that gets me. Why would a townsman own a plow?
> I agree with an earlier poster, that this person has too few draught
> stock to farm 140 acres, but perhaps too many field tools and stock to
> be a townsman. Is it possible that he (and his) lived on 140 acres and
> borrowed stock at ploughing season?
>
> Harold
>
> Date sent: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 10:07:09 -0400
> From: "W. Scott Smith" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Based on Inventory Contents: Country Dweller or
> City Dweller? To: [log in to unmask]
> Send reply to: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia
> history <[log in to unmask]>
>
>> Question of the day:
>>
>> Based on the contents of this household inventory, which was registered
>> in Campbell County in 1799, do you think that the individual, who was a
>> Quaker, lived on 140 acres in the county, or 1/2 to 2 acres in town?
>>
>> Please use your discretion in replying either to the whole list or
>> to me at [log in to unmask]
>>
>> 1 Turning Lathe & sundry other lumber
>> 11 head of hogs
>> 1 desk
>> 5 black bottles, 1 decanter
>> 1 Coffy Mill, 1 candlestick
>> 2 flat irons
>> Earthenware
>> 2 tin waters
>> 1 puter dish
>> Tin ware Spoons Nives and forks
>> 1 pare of cards
>> 1 Stone jug
>> 1 paper trunk
>> Stuff for winsor chairs
>> 1 churn
>> 1 flax wheel
>> 1 saddle
>> 2 bags, 1 tub
>> 1 horse collar
>> 1 womans saddle
>> 1 hand saw
>> 1 ax
>> 1 drawing knife, gouge, &c.
>> 1 pair of shears
>> 1 Coopers adds &c.
>> 1 flour plain
>> 1 sifter
>> 1 Washing tub, piggin &c.
>> 1 barrel
>> 1 plow
>> 1 pot, 1 oven, 1 scillit, &c.
>> 1 feather bed
>> 2 bead steds
>> 1 walnut box &c.
>> 2 pounds feathers
>> 1 rasor and looking glass
>> 2 cows and cafries
>> 1 Horse
>> 1 Counter pin sheet, 1 blanket, &c.
>>
>> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
>> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
>
>
> Harold S. Forsythe
> Assistant Professor History
> Director: Black Studies
> Fairfield University
> Fairfield, CT 06430-5195
> (203) 254-4000 x2379
>
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
--
Preston, Madaline H
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