Patrician and Plebeian / Or The Origin and Development of the Social Classes of the Old Dominion

by Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker

The Old South, Essays Social and Political. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1892. This work consists of a series of well written articles upon anti-bellum Virginia. Among these are Glimpses of Life in Colonial Virginia, The Old Virginia Lawyer, and the Negro Question. Dr. Page's intimate knowledge of the life upon the plantation makes him peculiarly well qualified to write a book of this nature.

Perry, William Stevens.—Papers Relating to the History of the Church in Virginia, 1650-1776. Printed in 1870. One volume. This collection of manuscripts is invaluable to the historian. Some of the papers have been preserved in other works, but many are to be had here only. The documents relating to the controversy between the vestries and the governors for control of the appointing of ministers are of great importance. Not only do these papers give much information upon the ecclesiastical history of the colony, but they throw light that cannot be gotten elsewhere upon political conditions.

Sainsbury, Noel W.—Papers. Twenty manuscript volumes in the Virginia State Library. These papers are chiefly copies in abstract of the official correspondence of the home government, and the governors and secretaries of Virginia. They cover the long period from the founding of the colony until the year 1730. The letters of the governors to the Lords of Trade and Plantations are often quite frank and give the student an insight into their purposes and their methods that can be gained from no other source. They should be studied in connection with the Journals of the House of Burgesses, for they will make clear many points that are purposely left obscure in the transactions of the Assembly. It is a matter for regret that the papers are but abstracts and the State of Virginia should have exact copies made of the originals.

Sale, Edith Tunis.—Manors of Virginia in Colonial Times. One volume. J.B. Lippincott Co., 1909. This work contains accounts of no less than twenty-four manors, including in the list Shirley, Westover, Brandon, Rosewell, Monticello, Gunston Hall, etc. The descriptions of the houses are made more vivid and entertaining by sketches of the families that occupied them. The volume is rich in illustrations.

Smith, Capt. John.—Works of, edited by Edward Arber. On Montague Road, Birmingham, England, 1884. Capt. Smith's account of the settling of Jamestown and the struggle of the colonists there was for many years accepted without cavil by historians. His story of his own heroism and of the wickedness of his colleagues has been embodied in almost every American school history. Mr. Charles Dean, in 1860, was the first to question Smith's veracity, and since that date many historians have taken the ground that his works are quite unreliable. Alexander Brown has contended that his account of Virginia was purposely falsified to further the designs of the Court Party during the reign of James I. The discovery of numerous documents relating to the years covered by Smith's histories, and the application of historical criticism to his work, cannot but incline the student to distrust much that he has written.

Spotswood, Alexander.—The Official Letters of. Edited by R.A. Brock. Virginia Historical Society. Two volumes. These letters are of great value, for they touch upon the most important events of Spotwood's administration. They present, of course, the governor's views upon public matters, and must be studied in conjunction with other evidence for a just understanding of the times. This, fortunately, is to be had in various manuscripts, in the Journals of the House of Burgesses, the Journals of the Council and in scattered papers, some of which have been printed.

Stanard, Mary Newton.—The Story of Bacon's Rebellion. The Neale Publishing Co., 1907. One volume. The authoress has had before her in this work the general interest that attaches to the picturesque subject and has written in a light and pleasing style, No deep analysis of the causes and results of the Rebellion are given, but the reader has the feeling throughout that the facts presented have been gathered with great care and that the narrative is as accurate as labor and research can make it.

Stanard, William G. and Mary Newton.—The Colonial Virginia Register. Joel Munsell's Sons, Albany, 1902. This work contains the names of the Governors of Virginia in the Colonial Period, the Secretaries of State, the Auditors General, the Receivers General, the Treasurers, the Attorneys General, the Surveyors General, the Council members, the members of the House of Burgesses and the members of the Conventions of 1775 and 1776.

Stith, William.—The History of the First Discovery and Settlement of Virginia. William Parks, Williamsburg, 1747. Stith had in the preparation of this work access to some manuscripts which are not now in existence. For this reason the work will retain a certain value as a source book of Virginia history. In the main, however, he follows Smith's story with servility, for it did not occur to him that much of the latter was not trustworthy. Stith takes his history no further than the year 1624.

The Lower Norfolk County Virginia Antiquary. Press of the Friedenwald Co., Baltimore. Five volumes. This magazine has rendered a true service to Virginia history by publishing many valuable documents hitherto hidden or inaccessible. These papers touch Virginia life in the Colonial Period in many phases and throw light on points hitherto obscure or misunderstood.