Remember the Statute states that the processioners must be Freeholders.
Males under 21 years of age were not Freeholders. They may have owned land
but they
were among those listed, i.e., women, mentally impaired and under 21 years
of age
who were not Freeholders by law.
As to remembering the boundaries, they were processioned everey four years
and
if the old white oak tree died, it would in prudence be replaced by another
Marker and
the Wardens would be advised of this change of Marker.

Any children attending a processioning would probably be there to assist the
appointed processioners by clearing weeds and undergrowth and carrying
items for the men.

Processioning was a Legal Action and important to cases that may have
come up in court due to trespass, inheritance, etc.





On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 7:26 AM, Mary Beth Dalton <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> Judy,
>
> They started with boys much younger than "teenagers."  If property bounds
> were processioned every four years, pre-teen boys would have the
> opportunity
> to participate 3-4 times before they typically owned land of their own.
> That collective memory preserved property boundaries as you noted - when
> the
> trees blew down or the creek changed course.
>
> For example, in St. Peter's Parish (New Kent County) in 1706 two vestrymen
> were appointed to procession the parish line with the upper parish
> representatives and two others were selected for a similar duty concerning
> the lower Parish line.  They were warned to "give timely notice to bring
> children to See the Sd processioning."  [my italics]
>
> See Chamberlayne, C.G., editor and transcriber.  The Vestry Book and
> Register of St. Peter's Parish, New Kent and James City Counties,
> 1684-1786.
> Richmond: Library of Virginia, p. 117.
>
>
> Mary Beth Dalton
> Williamsburg, VA
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Judith Bailey Gabor [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 3:07 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Processioning Minimum Age
>
> I have read several places that in addition to adjacent landowners
> serving as processioners, teenage boys were desirable as they would or
> might remember the boundaries long after their elders were gone and also
> long after the white oak had died or the boulder been moved or the river
> course changed or dried up.
>
> Knowledge that a person was a processioner provides solid information
> that the person lived on or near the property being processioned.
>
>
> Judy Gabor
>
>
>
>
>
>
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
> at
> http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html
>
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
> at
> http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html
>



-- 

"She is insane, of course. The family history has become a mania for her."
Hercule Poirot

http://www.FrontPorchRockerNews.blogspot.com

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Langford
This project includes Lankford spelling also.

"Truth and reason are eternal. They have prevailed. And they will
eternally prevail; however, in times and places they may be overborne
for a while by violence, military, civil, or ecclesiastical."
--Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson, 1810

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html