I think time period is important. Doug On Tue, Dec 18, 2012 at 2:05 PM, Ronald Seagrave <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I'm interested in hearing how members on this list would describe a > general terms a Virginia Plantation, and then a Virginia Planter? > > > Wikipedia states... > > In the American South, antebellum plantations were centered on a > "plantation house", the residence of the owner, where important business > was conducted. Slavery and plantations had different characteristics in > different regions of the South. As the Upper South of the Chesapeake Bay > Colony developed first, historians of the antebellum South defined planters > as those who held 20 or more slaves. Major planters held many more, > especially in the Deep South as it developed. The majority of slaveholders > held 10 or fewer slaves, often just a few to labor domestically. By the > late 18th century, most planters in the Upper South had switched from > exclusive tobacco cultivation to mixed crop production, both because > tobacco had exhausted the soil and because of changing markets. The shift > away from tobacco meant they had slaves in excess of the number needed for > labor, and they began to sell them in the internal slave trade. > > The largest and wealthiest planter families, for instance, those with > estates fronting on the James River in Virginia, constructed mansions in > brick and Georgian style, e.g. Shirley Plantation. Common or smaller > planters in the late 18th and 19th century had more modest wood frame > buildings, such as Southall Plantation in Charles City County. > > In the Low Country of South Carolina, by contrast, even before the > American Revolution, planters holding large rice and cotton plantations in > South Carolina typically owned hundreds of slaves. In Charleston and > Savannah, the elite also held numerous slaves to work as household > servants. The 19th-century development of the Deep South for cotton > cultivation depended on large plantations with much more acreage than was > typical of the Chesapeake Bay area, and for labor, planters held hundreds > of slaves. > > > And then the word 'planter' Wikipedia notes... > > Until December 1865 slavery was legal in parts of the United States. Most > slaves were employed in agriculture, and "planter" was a term commonly used > to describe a farmer with many slaves. > The term "planter" has no universally accepted definition but academic > historians have defined it to identify the elite class, "a landowning > farmer of substantial means." In the "Black Belt" counties of Alabama and > Mississippi, the terms “"planter" and "farmer" were often synonymous. > Robert Fogel and Stanley Engerman define large planters as owning over 50 > slaves, and medium planters as owning between 16 and 50 slaves.In his study > of Black Belt counties in Alabama, Jonathan Wiener defines planters by > ownership of real property, rather than of slaves. A planter, for Wiener, > owned at least $10,000 worth of real estate in 1850 and $32,000 worth in > 1860, equivalent to about the top 8 percent of landowners.In his study of > southwest Georgia, Lee Formwalt also defines planters in size of land > holdings rather than slaves. Formwalt's planters are in the top 4.5 percent > of landowners, translating into real estate worth $6,000 or more in 1850, > $24,000 or more in 1860, and $11,000 or more in 1870.In his study of > Harrison County, Texas, Randolph B. Campbell classifies large planters as > owners of 20 slaves, and small planters as owners of between ten and 19 > slaves.In Chicot and Phillips Counties, Arkansas, Carl H. Moneyhon defines > large planters as owners of twenty or more slaves, and six hundred or more > acres." > > > Ronald Seagrave > [log in to unmask] > > > I'm interested in hearing how members on this list would describe a > general terms a Virginia Plantation, and then a Virginia Planter? > > > Wikipedia states... > > In the American South, antebellum plantations were centered on a > "plantation house", the residence of the owner, where important business > was conducted. Slavery and plantations had different characteristics in > different regions of the South. As the Upper South of the Chesapeake Bay > Colony developed first, historians of the antebellum South defined planters > as those who held 20 or more slaves. Major planters held many more, > especially in the Deep South as it developed. The majority of slaveholders > held 10 or fewer slaves, often just a few to labor domestically. By the > late 18th century, most planters in the Upper South had switched from > exclusive tobacco cultivation to mixed crop production, both because > tobacco had exhausted the soil and because of changing markets. The shift > away from tobacco meant they had slaves in excess of the number needed for > labor, and they began to sell them in the internal slave trade. > > The largest and wealthiest planter families, for instance, those with > estates fronting on the James River in Virginia, constructed mansions in > brick and Georgian style, e.g. Shirley Plantation. Common or smaller > planters in the late 18th and 19th century had more modest wood frame > buildings, such as Southall Plantation in Charles City County. > > In the Low Country of South Carolina, by contrast, even before the > American Revolution, planters holding large rice and cotton plantations in > South Carolina typically owned hundreds of slaves. In Charleston and > Savannah, the elite also held numerous slaves to work as household > servants. The 19th-century development of the Deep South for cotton > cultivation depended on large plantations with much more acreage than was > typical of the Chesapeake Bay area, and for labor, planters held hundreds > of slaves. > > > And then the word 'planter' Wikipedia notes... > > Until December 1865 slavery was legal in parts of the United States. Most > slaves were employed in agriculture, and "planter" was a term commonly used > to describe a farmer with many slaves. > The term "planter" has no universally accepted definition but academic > historians have defined it to identify the elite class, "a landowning > farmer of substantial means." In the "Black Belt" counties of Alabama and > Mississippi, the terms “"planter" and "farmer" were often synonymous. > Robert Fogel and Stanley Engerman define large planters as owning over 50 > slaves, and medium planters as owning between 16 and 50 slaves.In his study > of Black Belt counties in Alabama, Jonathan Wiener defines planters by > ownership of real property, rather than of slaves. A planter, for Wiener, > owned at least $10,000 worth of real estate in 1850 and $32,000 worth in > 1860, equivalent to about the top 8 percent of landowners.In his study of > southwest Georgia, Lee Formwalt also defines planters in size of land > holdings rather than slaves. Formwalt's planters are in the top 4.5 percent > of landowners, translating into real estate worth $6,000 or more in 1850, > $24,000 or more in 1860, and $11,000 or more in 1870.In his study of > Harrison County, Texas, Randolph B. Campbell classifies large planters as > owners of 20 slaves, and small planters as owners of between ten and 19 > slaves.In Chicot and Phillips Counties, Arkansas, Carl H. Moneyhon defines > large planters as owners of twenty or more slaves, and six hundred or more > acres." > > > Ronald Seagrave > [log in to unmask] > > > > ______________________________________ > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at > http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html > -- Douglas Burnett Satellite Beach FL As a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), the National Genealogical Society (NGS), the Florida State Genealogical Society(FSGS) and the Virginia Genealogical Society(VGS), I support and adhere to the APG's Code of Ethics. ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html