I use 2.5 cents per lb. as an average for the 17th Century, and, as Janice
noted, it depended, as now, on the "sweetness" of the "weed" and its
condition at time of sale.  Bruce states that the average hogshead of
tobacco in that same period was about 390 lbs.  Slightly differing from that
Johnson in 1755 defines a hogshead as a container of a liquid volume of 53
gallons.  Other writers, while with certainty say that it was a dry
container of 525 lbs., agree with the majority that casks of tobacco were of
varying sizes.  I believe that the VA Legislature at about mid-century
defined a hogshead as being 43" in length and 28" in diameter at the top.

I use 2.5 pence as and average value of a lb. of tobacco in the 17th
Century, however note that Orinoco was less in demand world-wide than were
the plants grown a tad north.  As an example, the difference in those grades
is apparent when we find that a preacher's salary late in that Century was
set at 16,000 lbs per year, which was fine for
most, but brought less money in the South Tidewater because of the quality,
hence the preachers who in, say Isle of Wight, were earning less than those
further north who were of greater eloquence and experience.  

As I remember, Rev. Bayley from Isle of Wight was so bad that he was sent
back to England, he being one of the few who would come over to preach in
that area.   hi 

Though some will differ with me, I use 70 cents as the present value of a
pence (penny) of that distant century.

As a starter, Ms. Armstrong, I would suggest; Philip Bruce, "Economic
History Of Virginia In The Seventeenth Century" (2 volumes), see Index under
"money" and under "tobacco". Virtually all VA libraries of size have that
set, as well as do all of the large libraries in the nation.         

Re: [VA-ROOTS] Tobacco in Early Virginia
 
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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