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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