In most records before about 1800 the word plantation was used in Virginia wills to mean any property which was planted. Testators with no slaves and less than 50 acres referred to their property as their plantation. Some referred to their "plantation and its crop of peas and corn," so whatever the actual definition, Virginians did not necessarily follow it. Also, it was common for the courts to order the churchwardens to bind an indigent child to become a "planter or sawyer." Early Registers of Free Negroes referred to the bearer as being a "planter." Starting about 1820 some testators referred to their property as their farm regardless of its size and how many slaves they owned, and it was common for the the courts to order the overseers of the poor to bind out an indigent child "to be a planter or farmer." Paul ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html