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






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