Tobacco was shipped in what was called a Hogshead, which was a very large barrel, 4' high and 30" wide at the top, and a full hogshead weighed about 1,000 pounds. The value changed at different times but it was reckoned as a hogshead, half a hogshead, etc. It may seem like a lot of tobacco to us today, but it wasn't really, if you had tobacco farm, you grew a large amount of tobacco. In early days things were paid for-- fines, debts, buying land, etc.-- almost always in tobacco rather than English units of money. Nancy ------- I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days. --Daniel Boone On Nov 8, 2008, at 11:16 AM, J Armstrong wrote: > > Just as a side note, you'd probably need to know what condition the > tobacco > was in when weighed. Green on the stalk? Dried, on the stalk? > Dried and > stripped from the stalk? I'm guessing the last condition, as being > the more > likely form that could be easily stored and shipped. Or perhaps > the standard cask > or barrel held a particular amount of tobacco, so that a fine of > 720 pounds > would be an amount that was instantly recognized, like a gallon of > milk. > > Janice > > > > I would like to know how many pounds of tobacco an average planter in > Virginia in the late 1600's or early 1700's could harvest. I > guess I'm just trying > to get some sort of frame of reference as to how much money we are > talking > about when I'm reading about early lawsuits. For instance, I have > an ancestor > who was ordered after losing a lawsuit in Westmoreland Co, VA, in > 1703 to > pay 720 pounds of tobacco. To me this seems like a lot of > tobacco. However, > in reading through early court records, I'm seeing a lot of orders > for > 400-700 pounds of tobacco. So, I'm just trying to find some frame > of reference to > understand how much money we are talking about. Any help? > > Cindy Cornwell McCachern > > > **************AOL Search: Your one stop for directions, recipes and > all other > Holiday needs. Search Now. > (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212792382x1200798498/aol? > redir=http://searchblog.aol.com/2008/11/04/happy-holidays-from > -aol-search/?ncid=emlcntussear00000001) > > 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