Just as a side note, you'd probably need to know what condition the tobacco  
was in when weighed.  Green on the stalk? Dried, on the stalk? Dried and  
stripped from the stalk? I'm guessing the last condition, as being the more  
likely form that could be easily stored and shipped.  Or perhaps the  standard cask 
or barrel held a particular amount of tobacco, so that a fine of  720 pounds 
would be an amount that was instantly recognized, like a gallon of  milk.
 
Janice
 
 

I would  like to know how many pounds of tobacco an average planter in 
Virginia in the  late 1600's or early 1700's could harvest.  I guess I'm just trying 
to  get some sort of frame of reference as to how much money we are talking 
about  when I'm reading about early lawsuits.  For instance, I have an ancestor 
 who was ordered after losing a lawsuit in Westmoreland Co, VA, in 1703 to 
pay  720 pounds of tobacco.  To me this seems like a lot of tobacco.   However, 
in reading through early court records, I'm seeing a lot of orders  for 
400-700 pounds of tobacco.  So, I'm just trying to find some frame of  reference to 
understand how much money we are talking about.  Any  help?

Cindy Cornwell  McCachern


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