Pages 381-407 
|  Pages 433-461
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| Pages 381-407
| Pages 433-461
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| CHAP. XII. | ||
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| I. WHEREAS by one act of the General-Assembly made in the thirty-third year of the reign of his late majesty king George the second, the vestry of the parish | Town of Gatesville, in Chesterfield county established. |
| of Dale, in the county of Chesterfield, were empowered to sell the glebe-land of the said parish, and to purchase other land's more convenient for a glebe in lieu thereof; and it hath been represented to this General-Assembly that the said vestry have surveyed and laid out one hundred acres of the said glebe-land into lots and streets, according to a plan thereof made by the surveyor of the said county, recorded in the court of the said county, and have made sale of the said lots to divers persons, who intend to build and settle thereon. | |
| II. And whereas it will greatly encourage the purchasers of the said lots to settle and improve the same, and encrease the trade there, if the said one hundred acres of land were erected into a town, and the freeholders and inhabitants thereof were entitled to the like privileges with the freeholders and inhabitants of other towns in this colony: Be it therefore enacted, by the Lieutenant-Governour, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That the said one hundred acres of land, lying and being in the aforesaid county of Chesterfield, so as aforesaid laid off, be, and the same is hereby, constituted and appointed, erected and established, a town, in manner as it is laid out and described by the plan aforesaid, and to be called by the name of Gatesville, and that the freeholders of the said town shall for ever hereafter enjoy the same privileges which the freeholders of other towns in this colony erected by act of assembly enjoy. | |
| III. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the passing of this act, Archibald Cary, Richard Eppes, John Fleming, James Deans, Peter Johnson, William Fleming and Benjamin Watkins, gentlemen, be, and they and every of them are hereby, constituted directors and trustees for building, carrying on and maintaining, the said town; and they, or the major part of them, shall have power to meet, as often as they shall think necessary, for appointing a publick key, and such places on the river for publick landings as they shall think most convenient; and, if the same shall be necessary, shall direct the making of wharfs and cranes at such publick landings for the publick use. | |
| IV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said directors shall have full power and |
| authority to establish such rules and orders, for the more regular placing the said houses, as to them shall seem fit, from time to time; and if the inhabitants of the said town shall fail to obey and pursue the rules and orders of the said directors in repairing and amending the streets, landings and wharfs, they shall be liable to the same penalties as are inflicted for not repairing the highways in this colony. | ||
| V. And for continuing the succession of the said trustees and directors, until the said town shall be incorporated, Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That in case of the death of any of the said directors, or their refusal to act, the surviving or other directors, or the major part of them, shall assemble, and are hereby empowered, from time to time, by instrument in writing under their respective hands and seals, to nominate some other person or persons, being an inhabitant or freeholder of the said town, in the place of him or them so dying or refusing; which new director or directors, so nominated and appointed, shall from thenceforth have the like power and authority, in all things relating to the matters herein contained, as if he or they had been expressly named and appointed in and by this act; and every such instrument and nomination shall from time to time be entered and registered in the books of the said directors. | ||
 CHAP. XIV. | ||
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| I. WHEREAS it hath been represented to this present general assembly by the inhabitants of the counties of Brunswick, Lunenburg, and Prince Edward, that they used formerly to be plentifully supplied with fish in the rivers Meherrin, Nottoway, and Appamattox, to their great relief and satisfaction, and that they are now deprived of that providential assistance by | Owners of mills on Meherrin, Nottoway, and Appomattox rivers, compellable to make slopes through their dams. |
| several grist-mills, hedges, and stone stops, erected and raised in the said rivers, whereby the passage of fish up the same is entirely obstructed: Be it therefore enacted, by the Lieutenant-Governour, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That the owner or proprietor of all and every mill, hedge or stone stop, now erected and raised on either of the rivers aforesaid, shall, in the space of nine months from and after the passing of this act, make an opening or slope in their respective mill-dams, hedges or stops, at least ten feet wide, sufficient for the passage of fish over the same. | |
| II. And if any such owner or proprietor shall neglect or refuse so to do, within the time aforesaid, every such owner or proprietor shall forfeit and pay the sum of five pounds for every twenty-four hours he or they shall so neglect or refuse; one moiety to our lord the king, his heirs and successors, for the use of the poor of that parish where the offence shall be committed, and the other to the informer, to be recovered with costs, by action of debt or information, in any court of record within this colony and dominion. | |
| III. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That if any person or persons shall hereafter erect or raise any mill, hedge, or stone-stop, on either of the rivers above mentioned, every such person or persons shall leave the like opening or slope in the same as herein before directed; and in case of neglect or failure shall be subject and liable to the same penalty and forfeiture as the owners or proprietors of mills, hedges or stone stops, already built and raised in the said rivers, are by this act subjected and made liable to; to be recovered and appropriated in the manner before mentioned. |
| CHAP. XV. | ||
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| I. WHEREAS by an act of assembly made in the twenty-fifth year of the reign of his late majesty king George the second, entitled, An Act for establishing the town of Winchester and appointing Fairs therein, a town was erected and established in the county of Frederick by the name of Winchester, which hath been since enlarged by another act of assembly made in the thirty-second year of his said late majesty's reign, and is now become a populous and flourishing town; and whereas the inhabitants of the said town of Winchester have represented to this present general assembly that the permitting hogs to run at large within the limits of the said town is very detrimental and injurious to them, and a publick nuisance, as such hogs destroy the springs and deprive the inhabitants of water for their ordinary use: Be it therefore enacted by the Lieutenant-Governour, Council and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That from and after the tenth day of October next, it shall not be lawful for any person or persons inhabiting within the said town to raise or keep any hogs within the limits thereof, or suffer the same to go at large within the said town; and if any hogs so raised and kept shall be found going or running at large within the limits of the said town, it shall and may be lawful for any person whatsoever to kill and destroy the same. | Hogs prevented from running at large within the town of Winchester. | |
| Provided nevertheless, That such person shall not convert any hog so killed to his or her own use, but shall leave the same in the place where it shall be so killed, and give immediate notice to the owner thereof, if known; and if not, then to the next justice of the peace, who may order the same to the use of any poor person or persons he shall think fit. | ||
| III. Provided also, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to hinder any person from |
| driving hogs to or through the said town, or the limits thereof, in order to sell or kill the same, or in their removal from one plantation to another. | ||
| IV. Provided always, That the execution of this act shall be, and the same is hereby, suspended, until his majesty's approbation thereof shall be obtained. | ||
| CHAP. XVI. | ||
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| I. WHEREAS the act of assembly made in the twelfth year of the reign of his late majesty king George the second, of happy and glorious memory, entitled, An Act for the better preservation of the breed of Deer, and preventing unlawful hunting, hath been found very beneficial, but not fully to answer the purposes thereof, as many disorderly persons make a practice of killing them in the frontiers merely for the sake of the skins, which they clandestinely carry out of this colony, without paying the duty imposed thereon, leaving the flesh to rot in the woods, whereby wolves and other noxious beasts are nourished, to the destruction of the stocks of cattle, sheep and hogs, of the upper inhabitants: For remedy whereof, Be it enacted, by the Lieutenant-Governour, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That from and after the passing of this act if any person whatsoever shall shoot or kill any deer, and after taking off the skin shall leave the flesh in the woods to rot or be devoured by beasts, every person so offending shall forfeit and pay the sum of twenty-five shillings for every deer so killed, skinned and left, in the woods; to be recovered with costs, before a justice of the peace, where the penalty complained for at one time does not exceed fifty shillings; and where it shall exceed that sum, to be recovered with costs, by action of debt, in any court of record wherein the same shall be cognizable; | Preamble. Penalty for killing deer, and suffering the flesh to remain in the woods to rot, or be devoured by wild beasts. |
| and shall be divided, one half to and for the use of the parish where the offence shall be committed, and the other moiety to the informer. | ||
| II. And if any person convicted of the offence aforesaid shall not immediately pay down the penalty, according to the judgment of such court or justice, or give security for the payment thereof within six months thereafter, such court or justice shall order such person to receive on his bare back five lashes well said on for every twenty-five shillings he shall be so condemned to pay, and he shall be thereon discharged from paying the money aforesaid. | ||
| CHAP. XVII. | ||
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| I. WHEREAS the parish of Cumberland, in the county of Lunenburg, by reason of the great extent thereof, is very inconvenient to the inhabitants, Be it therefore enacted, by the Lieutenant-Governour, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That from and after the first day of May next the said purish shall be divided into two distinct parishes, by the south branch of Meherrin river, from the line of the parish of Cornwall to the confluence of the several branches of the said river Meherrin, and by the said river from thence to the line of Brunswick county; and that all that part of the said parish that is north of the said river Meherrin and its several branches shall be one distinct parish, and retain the name of Cumberland; and that all that other part of the said parish that lies south of the said river Meherrin shall be one other distinct parish, and shall be called and known by the name of St. James. | Parish of Cumberland, in Lunenburg county
divided. Parish of St. James formed. | |
| II. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the freeholders and housekeepers of the said parishes of Cumberland and St. James, respectively, |
| shall meet at some convenient time and place to be appointed and publickly advertised by the sheriff of the said county of Lunenburg, at least one month before the first day of July next, and then and there elect twelve of the most able and discreet persons of their respective parishes to be vestrymen in each of the said parishes; which vestrymen so elected, having in the court of the said county of Lunenburg taken and subscribed the oaths appointed to be taken by act of parliament instead of the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and taken and subscribed the oath of abjuration and repeated and subscribed the test, and also subscribed to be conformable to the doctrine and discipline of the church of England, shall, to all intents and purposes, be deemed and taken to be the vestrymen of the said parishes respectively. | |
| III. Provided always, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to hinder the collector or collectors of the said parish of Cumberland, as the same now stands entire and undivided, from collecting or making distress for any parish levies which shall remain unpaid by the inhabitants of the said parish of St. James at the time the said division shall take place; but such collector or collectors shall have the same power to collect and distrain for the said levies, and shall be answerable for them in the same manner, as if this act had never been made, any law, usage or custom, to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. | |
| IV. And whereas the glebe land of the said parish of Cumberland will not be convenient for either parish after the said division shall take place, which glebe land belonged to the said parish of Cumberland before the parish of Cornwall was divided therefrom, Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the said glebe land be, and the same is hereby, vested in the vestry of the said parish of Cumberland to be elected pursuant to this act, and in the vestry of the parish for the time being, in trust: Nevertheless, that the said vestry, or the greater part of them, shall, by deed of bargain and sale, sell and convey the said glebe, with the appurtenances, for the best price that can be got for the same, to any person or persons who shall be willing to purchase the same; to hold to such purchaser or purchasers in fee-simple, saving to the king's most excellent majesty, his heirs and successors, and | Glebe land of Cumberland parish to be sold, & the money divided between the parishes of Cumberland, Cornwall, & St. James. |
| to all and every other person and persons, bodies politick and corporate, their respective heirs and successors, other than the minister and vestry of the said parish of Cumberland, all such right, title, interest, claim and demand, as they, every, or any of them, should or might have had or claimed, if this act had never been made. | |
| V. And be it further enacted, That when the said vestry shall have received such purchase money, they shall pay to the vestry of the parish of Cornwall, int eh said county, for the use of the said parish, such part thereof as their portion would have amounted to at the time the said parish was divided from the parish of Cumberland, in case the said glebe had been then sold; and that the residue of the said purchase money shall be divided between, and applied to the use of, the said parishes of Cumberland and St. James respectively, in proportion to the number of tithables in each parish. | |
| CHAP. XVIII. An Act for altering the court days of the Counties of Bedford and Sussex. | |
| WHEREAS it is represented to this present general assembly that the court days of the counties of Bedford and Sussex, as the same are now settled, are found to be very inconvenient, as well to the inhabitants of the said counties as to others, who are obliged to attend business at those courts: Therefore, for rendering the same more convenient, Be it enacted by the Lieutenant Governor, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That from and after the first day of May next, the court of the said county of Bedford shall be constantly held on the fourth Tuesday, and the court of the said county of Sussex on the third Thursday, in every month; any law, custom or usage, to the contrary notwithstanding. | Court days of Bedford and Sussex altered. |
| CHAP. XIX. | ||
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| I. WHEREAS the parish of Elizabeth river, in the county of Norfolk, by reason of the great extent thereof, is very inconvenient to the inhabitants, who have petitioned this present general assembly that the same may be divided into three distinct parishes, Be it therefore enacted by the Lieutenant-Governour, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That from and after the first day of May next all that part of the said parish lying to the northward and eastward of Elizabeth river and the eastern branch thereof shall be one distinct parish, and retain the name of Elizabeth River; and that all that part of the said parish lying between the eastern and southern branches of the said river, running up New Mill creek to Rotthery's mill, thence south thirty degrees west to the great dismal swamp, as far as the line dividing this colony from North Carolina, and then down the said line to the line of Princess Anne county, thence along the last mentioned line to the eastern branch of Elizabeth river, shall be one other distinct parish and shall be called and known by the name of St. Bride's; and that the remaining part of the said parish shall be one other distinct parish, and shall be called and known by the name of Portsmouth, | Parish of Elizabeth river, in Norfolk county divided.
St. Bride's and Portsmouth parishes formed. | |
| II. And whereas the vestry of the said parish of Elizabeth River have been guilty of some illegal practices, oppressive to the inhabitants thereof, who have petitioned this present general assembly that the said vestry may be dissolved, Be it therefore further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the first day of May next the aforesaid vestry be, and the same is hereby, dissolved; and that all and every act and acts, thing and things, which at any time after the said first day of May next shall or may be done, performed or suffered, by the said vestry of the said | Vestry of Elizabeth river parish dissolved. |
| parish, shall be absolutely void and of none effect. | |
| III. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the freeholders and housekeepers of the said parishes of Elizabeth River and St. Bride's, and Portsmouth, respectively, shall meet at some convenient time and place, to be appointed and publickly advertised by the sheriff of the said county of Norfolk, at least one month before the eighth day of June next following, and then and there elect twelve of the most able and discreet persons of their respective parishes to be vestrymen thereof, who having, in the court of the said county, taken and subscribed the oaths appointed to be taken by act of parliament instead of the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and taken and subscribed the oath of abjuration and repeated and subscribed the test, and also subscribed to be conformable to the doctrine and discipline of the church of England, shall, to all intents and purposes, be deemed and taken to be the vestrymen of the said parishes respectively, | New vestries elected. |
| IV. Provided always, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to hinder the collector or collectors of the said parish of Elizabeth river, as the same now stands entire and undivided, from collecting and making distress for any parish levies which shall remain unpaid by the inhabitants of the said parishes of St. Bride's and Portsmouth, at the time the said division shall take place; but such collector or collectors shall have the same power to collect and distrain for the said levies, and shall be answerable for them in the same manner, as if this act had never been made, any law, usage or custom, to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. | |
| V. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the glebe land of the said parish of Elizabeth River, as the same now stands entire and undivided, with the appurtenances, be, and the same is hereby vested in the vestry of the said parish of St. Bride's, to be elected in pursuance of this act, and in the vestry of the parish said parish for the time being, in trust: Nevertheless, That the said vestry, or the greater part of them, shall, by deed or deeds of bargain and sale, sell and convey the said glebe land, with the appurtenances, for the best price that can be got for the same, to any person or persons who shall be willing to purchase the same; to hold such purchase or purchassrs, his and their heirs and assigns, for ever. | Glebe lands of Elizabeth River parish to be sold & the money divided between the three parishes, |
| VI. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the vestry of the said parish of St. Bride's, after they have received the purchase money for which the said glebe shall be sold, shall divide the money arising from the sale thereof between the said three parishes, in proportion to the number of tithables in each respective parish, and shall pay and deliver such proportionable part of the said money to the vestries of the said parishes of Elizabeth River and Portsmouth, to be by the vestries of the said parishes applied towards purchasing glebes for their respective parishes, for the use and benefit of their ministers for the time being, for ever. | |
| VII. And whereas Matthew Godfrey, formerly of the said county of Norfolk, did, by his last will and testament, bearing date the thirteenth day of March, one thousand seven hundred and fifteen-sixteen, amongst other things, give to the poor of the said county of Norfolk one hundred acres of land, or thereabouts, together with sundry slaves, to be let out from year to year for the good of the poor of the said county, as the vestry of the parish in the said county should see good and most profitable; and whereas the present vestry of the said parish have, in pursuance of a late act of assembly, built a house for the reception and use of the poor of the said parish on the said land, and it is reasonable that the profits of the said land and slaves should be equally distributed amongst the poor of the several parishes hereby erected: Be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said lands and slaves; and the increase of the said slaves, shall be, and the same are hereby, vested in the justices of the said county of Norfolk for the time being, and their successors in trust: Nevertheless, that the said justices and their successors shall let and hire out the said lands, together with the said house or houses built thereon, and also the said slaves and their increase, annually, for the best price that can be got for the same, and shall once a year, in the month of May, equally divide the rents and profits thereof between the said three parishes, in proportion to the number of tithables in each respective parish; and shall pay and deliver such proportionable part of the said rents and profits as aforesaid to the vestries of the said parishes, respectively, to be by them applied for and towards the support and maintenance of the poor of their respective parishes. | Lands and slaves devised my Matthew Godfrey, for use of the poor of Norfolk county, how appropriated. |
| VIII. And whereas the vestry of the said parish of Elizabeth River have heretofore levied a considerable sum of money on the inhabitants of the said parish for building walls round the grounds set apart for church yards in the said parish, Be it therefore further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the vestry of the said parish of Elizabeth River to be elected pursuant to this act shall divide the money levied and collected, or to be collected for the purposes aforesaid, between the three parishes aforesaid, in proportion to the number of tithables in each respective parish; and shall, on or before the first day of October next, pay and deliver to the vestries of the said parishes of St. Bride's and Portsmouth their proportionable part of the same, to be by them laid out and applied for and towards the building churches, and such other publick uses, for their respective parishes, as they shall think proper. | ||
| CHAP. XX | ||
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| I. WHEREAS many inconveniencies attend the inhabitants of the county of Albemarle, by reason of the great extent thereof, and their remote situation from the court house, and the said inhabitants have petitioned this present general assembly that the said county may be divided into three distinct counties; and it hath been represented that, in case of such division, it would be convenient that part to the county of Louisa should be added to one of the said counties, Be it therefore enacted, by the Lieutenant-Governour, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That from and after the first day of May next the said county of Albemarle shall be divided into three distinct counties; that is to say, all that part of the said county which lies on the south side of the Fluvanna | Albemarle county divided, and Buckingham and Amherst formed. |
| river shall be one distinct county, and called and known by the name of Buckingham; and that all that other part of the said county which lies on the north side of the Fluvanna river shall be divided, from the confluence of Rockfish river with the Fluvanna, by Rockfish river to the mouth of Green creek, and thence a straight line to the house of Thomas Bell to the Blue mountains; and that all that part which lies above Rockfish river, and the line aforesaid, shall be another distinct county, and shall be called and known by the name of Amherst; and that all that other part of the said county that lies below Rockfish river and the said line, together with that part of the county of Louisa that lies above a line to be run from the present line, between the said counties of Albemarle and Louisa, beginning on the ridge between Machumps creek and Bever Dam swamp, thence along the said ridge until the line may be intersected by an east course from the widow Cobb's plantation, and from such intersection a direct course to the line of Orange county, opposite to the plantation of Ambrose Coleman, shall be one other distinct county, and retain the name of Albemarle. | Part of Louisa county added to Albemarle. |
| II. And for the due administration of justice in the said counties of Buckingham and Amherst, after the same shall take place, Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That after the said first day of May next a court for the said county of Buckingham shall be constantly held by the justices thereof on the second Monday in every month, and for the said county of Amherst on the first Monday in every month, in such manner as by the laws of this colony is provided, and shall be by their commission directed. | Court days. |
| III. Provided always, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to hinder the sheriffs, or collectors of the counties of Albemarle and Louisa, as the same now stands entire and undivided, from collecting or making distress for any publick dues or officers fees which shall remain unpaid by the inhabitants of the said counties of Buckingham and Amherst, at the time of their taking place; but such sheriffs or collectors shall have the same power to collect and distrain for the said dues and fees, and shall be answerable for them in the same manner, as if this act had never been made, any law, usage or custom, to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. |
| IV. And be it further enacted, That the courts of the said counties of Albemarle and Louisa shall have jurisdiction of all actions and suits, both in law and equity, which shall be depending before them, respectively, at the time the said division shall take place, and shall and may try and determine all such actions and suits, and issue process, and award execution against the body and estate of the defendant or defendants, in any such action or suit, in the same manner as if this act had never been made; any law, usage or custom, to the contrary thereof notwithstanding. | |
| V. And whereas the inhabitants of the parish of St. Anne, in the said county of Albemarle, have represented to this present general assembly, that they are under great inconveniences, and subject to the greatest difficulties in attending divine service, by means of the great extent of the said parish, and have prayed that the same may be divided: Be it therefore further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the first day of May next the said parish shall be divided into two distinct parishes, in the following manner, that is to say, by Rockfish river to the mouth of Green creek, and thence a straight line by the house of Thomas Bell to the Blue mountains; and that all that part of the said parish that lies above the said river and line shall be one distinct parish, and shall be called and known by the name of Amherst; and that all that other part of the said parish that lies below the said river and line shall be one other distinct parish, and retain the name of St. Anne. | Parish of St. Anne divided, and Amherst parish formed. |
| VI. And be it further enacted, That the freeholders and housekeepers of the said parishes of St. Anne and Amherst respectively, shall meet at some convenient time and place, to be appointed and publickly advertised by the sheriff of the said county of Albemarle, at least one month before the fifteenth day of June next, and then and there elect twelve of the most able and discreet persons of ther respective parishes for vestrymen thereof; which vestrymen so elected having, in the court of the said county of Albemarle, taken and subscribed the oaths appointed to be taken by act of parliament instead of the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and taken and subscribed the oath of abjuration and repeated and subscribed the test, and subscribed to be conformable to the doctrine and discipline of the church of England, shall, to all intents |
| and purposes, be deemed and taken to be the vestrymen of the said parishes respectively. | |
| VII. Provided always, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to hinder the collector or collectors of the said parish of St. Anne, as the same now stands entire and undivided, from collecting or making distress for any parish levies which shall remain unpaid by the inhabitants of the said parish of Amherst, at the time the said division shall take place; but such collector or collectors shall have the same power to collect and distrain for the said levies, and shall be answerable for them in the same manner, as if this act had never been made, any law, usage or custom, to the contrary thereof notwithstanding. | |
| VIII. And whereas, on the division of the said parish of St. Anne, the present glebe and the buildings thereon will all remain in that part of the said parish that retains the name of St. Anne, which glebe and buildings did belong to the said parish of St. Anne before the parish of Tillotson was divided therefrom, Be it therefore further enacted, That the said glebe land, with the improvements, shall be, and the same is hereby, vested in the churchwardens of the said parish of St. Anne and their successors, in trust, that they shall sell and convey the same for a valuable consideration, to be, bona fide, received to any persons willing to become purchasers thereof, to hold to such purchaser or purchasers in fee-simple; saving to the kings most excellent majesty, his heirs and successors, and to all and every other person and persons, bodies politick and corporate, their respective heirs and successors, other than the ministers and vestries of the said parishes of St. Anne and Tillotson, all such right, title, interest, claim and demand, as they, every, or any of them, should or might have had or claimed to the said glebe land, if this act had never been made. | Glebe land of St. Anne's parish to be sold, and the money divided between the parishes of St. Anne, Tillotson & Amherst. |
| IX. And be it further enacted, That when the said churchwardens shall have received such purchase money, they shall pay to the vestry of the said parish of Tillotson, for the use of the said parish, such part thereof as their proportion would have amounted to at the time the said parish was divided from the parish of St. Anne, in case the said glebe land had been sold; and that the residue of the said purchase money shall be divided between, and applied to the use of the said parishes of St. Anne and Amherst, respectively, in proportion to the number of tithable in each parish. |
| X. And whereas it is represented that Allan Howard, gentleman, hath erected a mill on Rockfish river, in the said county, the dam whereof hath entirely obstructed the passage of fish up the said river, to the great loss and prejudice of the inhabitants on the same, Be it therefore further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said Allan Howard shall, within two months from and after the passing of this act, pull down and destroy his said mill and mill house; and that if he shall neglect or refuse so to do, within the time aforesaid, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of one thousand pounds of tobacco, to be recovered by action of debt or information in any court of record within this colony, and appropriated to the use of the poor of the said parish of Amherst. | Allan Howard's mill on Rockfish river to be pulled down. |
| XI. And be it further enacted, That from and after the passing of this act it shall not be lawful for any person or persons to erect any mill, or raise any dam, hedge or stops, on the said river, below the forks thereof, near Samuel Morril's; and if any person shall presume to offend herein, he shall forfeit and pay the like penalty of one thousand pounds of tobacco, to be recovered and appropriated as aforesaid: And moreover, it shall and may be lawful to and for any person or persons whatsoever to pull down, take up and destroy, any such mill, mill-dam, hedge or stop, without being subject or liable to any action or penalty for so doing. | No mill to be erected on Rockfish river below the forks. |
| XII. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That out of every hundred pounds of tobacco which shall be paid in discharge of quitrents, secretary's, clerks, sheriffs, surveyors, or other officers fees, in the said counties of Buckingham and Amherst, and so proportionably for a greater or lesser quantity, the person paying the same shall and may retain in his hands thirty pounds of tobacco, as an allowance for making the same convenient. | Abatement on public dues, and officers' fees, paid in Buckingham and Amherst. |
| CHAP. XXI. | ||
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| I. WHEREAS by an act of assembly made in the twenty-second year of the reign of his late majesty king George the second, entitled, An Act for erecting a town in the county of Prince William, a town was established on Quantico creek in the said county, by the name of Dumfries, which daily increases; and whereas the inhabitants of the said town, with the consent and approbation of Bertrand Ewell, Allan Macrae and William Carr, gentlemen, the proprietors of the lands adjacent thereto, have made their humble petition to this present general assembly that a certain quantity of the said adjacent lands may be added to and made part of the said town of Dumfries, and that the purchasers of the lots to be laid off thereon may enjoy the same privileges and advantages as the freeholders and inhabitants of the said town do at present enjoy: Be it therefore enacted, by the Lieutenant-Governour, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That so much of the said adjacent lands as are included within the bounds herein after described shall be vested in the trustees of the said town and their successors for the time being, and shall be added to and made part of the said town of Dumfries, to wit: beginning at a corner on the back line of the said town denoted in the original survey and plan thereof, recorded in the books of the trustees to the said town by the letter G; thence within a line to be run north sixty-seven and a half degrees east two hundred poles, thence south twenty-two and a half degrees east one hundred poles, thence south sixty-seven and a half degrees west to Quantico creek, thence up the said creek according to the meanders thereof to the beginning, laid down in the said original plan and survey. | Town of Dumfries in Prince William county, enlarged. | |
| And be it further enacted, That the directors and trustees of the said town shall have full power and authority to direct the surveyor of the said county of Prince William to lay off the said additional land into |
| streets and lots, as they shall think fit; and that the freeholders and inhabitants thereof, so soon as the same shall be built on and saved in the same manner as the lots in the said town were directed to be built on and saved by the abovementioned act of assembly establishing the same, shall then be entitled to, and have and enjoy, all the rights, privileges and immunities, granted to or enjoyed by the freeholders and inhabitants of the said town. | |
| III. And whereas part of the said adjacent lands are leased out by Bertrand Ewell, one of the said proprietors, to William Carr, Richard Graham, Robert Scott and John Murry, who have made considerable improvements thereon, and the adding the said lands to the said town may be a prejudice to the said lessees, all of whom nevertheless (except the said John Murry, together with the said Bertrand Ewell) have consented that their said leases shall be cancelled, provided satisfaction be made them for their said improvements; and whereas the publick warehouses for the inspection of tobacco, called Quantico warehouses, are established on part of the said lands belonging to the said Bertrand Ewell hereby proposed to be added to the said town, and it is reasonable that the benefit of the said warehouses, so long as they continue there, should be reserved to him: Be it therefore further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said leases so made by the said Bertrand Ewell to the said William Carr, Richard Graham and Robert Scott, hall be, and the same are hereby, declared null and void; and the said trustees, or the trustees for the town for the time being, or any two of them, shall have full power and authority to sell all the said additional lots when laid off (except such of them as shall happen to be on the lands leased by the said John Murry, and also except such of the said lots whereon the said warehouses for the inspection of tobacco shall happen to stand) at publick auction, from time to time, to the highest bidder, so as that no person shall have more than four lots; and when such lots shall be sold, the said trustees, or any two or more of them, shall and may, on payment of the purchase money, by some sufficient conveyance or conveyances convey the fee-simple estate of such lot or lots to the purchaser or purchasers; and he or they, and his or their heirs and assigns respectively, shall and may for ever thereafter peaceably and quietly | Provision for Wm Carr, Richard Graham, & Robert Scott, lessees of Bertrand Ewell. |
| have, hold, possess and enjoy, the same, freed and discharged of and from all right, title, estate, claim, interest and demand, whatsoever, of the said Bertrand Ewell, Allan Macrae and William Carr, their heirs and assigns, and of all persons whatsoever claiming by, from, or under them, or any or either of them. | |
| IV. Provided nevertheless, That the said trustees shall pay to the said William Carr, Richard Graham and Robert Scott, out of the money arising from the sale of the said improved lots, so much money as they or any five of them shall judge to be the value of the said improvements, and the overplus to the said Bertrand Ewell. | |
| V. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the said Bertrand Ewell shall remain seized of the same estate, of and in the lots so to be laid off, whereon the warehouses aforesaid shall happen to stand; and the said John Murry shall and may hold and enjoy the same estate, in all and singular the lands he is now in possession of by virtue of the lease to him made by the said Bertrand Ewell, notwithstanding the same shall be divided and laid off into lots and streets as aforesaid, in the same manner as if this act had never been made. | |
| VI. And whereas by another act of assembly made in the thirty-second year of the reign of his late majesty, entitled, An Act for enlarging the town of Fredericksburg & Winchester, the city of Williamsburg & the town of Dumfries, reciting amongst other things that James Douglas and Martin Hardin had laid out about three acres of their land in the county of Prince William, adjoining the town of Dumfries, into lots, and that it was represented to that assembly that it would be advantageous to the said town to take the said lots laid out into the limits thereof, it was therefore enacted that the said land laid out as aforesaid by the said James Douglas and Martin Hardin into lots, so soon as the same should be built on and saved in the same manner as the lots in the said town were directed to be built on and saved by the act of assembly establishing the same, should be added to and made part of the said town of Dumfries, and the freeholders and inhabitants thereof should then be entitled to, and have and enjoy, all the rights, privileges and immunities, granted to or enjoyed by the freeholders and inhabitants of the said town. | Recital. |
| VII. But forasmuch as the said three acres of land, by the said act taken into the limits of the said town, were not vested in the trustees thereof, nor properly laid off into lots and streets for the common advantage of the said town, for which reason no person is willing to purchase the same: Be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said lands so taken into the limits of the said town by the said last in part recited act of assembly shall be, and the same are hereby, vested in the trustees of the said town and their successors for the time being, who are hereby empowered to cause the said surveyor of the county of Prince William to lay off the same into streets and lots as they shall think fit, and shall dispose of and convey the same in the same manner as they are by this act empowered to dispose of the other lands hereby added to the said town of Dumfries, and shall pay the money arising from such sale to the proprietors of the said lands respectively; and the freeholders and inhabitants thereof shall, on their building on and saving the said lots in manner hereinbefore directed, have and enjoy the same rights, privileges and immunities, with the other inhabitants of the said town. | Three acres of land of James Douglas & Martin Hardin formerly added to the town of Dumfries, vested in the trustees. |
| VIII. And whereas the trustees nominated and appointed in and by the said former act of assembly, for establishing the said town of Dumfries, have neglected and refused to act as such, and it is therefore necessary that new trustees should be appointed: Be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after the passing of this act the honourable John Tayloe, esq. Presley Thornton, John Champe, Richard Henry Lee, Richard Lee, Henry Lee, Henry Peyton, John Moncure, James Scott, Allan Macrae, John Baylis, James Douglas, Faushee Tebbs, Thomas Lawson and William Carr, gentlemen, be, and they are hereby, constituted and appointed trustees for the said town of Dumfries, in the room of the trustees named in the said former act, and shall be vested with the like powers and authority as the said trustees named in the said former act for establishing the said town, were by the said act invested with; and the said trustees, or any eight of them, shall and may, and they are hereby empowered to lay off and assign, such and so many of the unimproved and unsold lots of the said town into a square for a market place, and also |
| for a common, for the use and benefit of the inhabitants of the said town, as they shall think most convenient. | ||
| IX. And for continuing the succession of the said trustees, Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That in case of the death of any of them the said trustees, or their refusal to act, the surviving or other trustees, or the major part of them, shall assemble, and are hereby empowered, from time to time, by instrument in writing under their respective hands and seals, to nominate some other person or persons in the room of him or them so dying or refusing; which new director or directors, so nominated and appointed, shall from thenceforth have the like power and authority in all things relating to the matters herein contained, as if he or they had been expressly named and appointed in and by this act, and every such instrument and nomination shall from time to time be entered and registered in the books of the said directors. | ||
| CHAP. XXII. | ||
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| I. WHEREAS the parish of Fredericksville, in the county of Louisa, by reason of the great extent thereof, is very inconvenient to the inhabitants, Be it therefore enacted by the Lieutenant-Governour, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That from and after the first day of January next the said parish of Fredericksville shall be divided into two distinct parishes, that is to say, all that part thereof lying above a line to be run from the end of the line that now divides the said parish from the parish of St. Anne to Gibson's ford, on the south fork of Pamunkey, and | Parish of Fredericksville in Louisa county divided. |
| thence another line to the confluence of Negro run with the north fork of Pamunkey river, shall be one distinct parish, and retain the name of Fredericksville; and all that other part thereof below the said lines shall be one other distinct parish, and shall be called and known by the name of Trinity. | |
| II. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the freeholders and housekeepers of the said parishes of Fredericksville and Trinity, respectively, shall meet at some convenient time and place, to be appointed and publickly advertised by the sheriff of the said county of Louisa, at least one month before the twelfth day of February next following, and then and there elect twelve of the most able and discreet persons of their respective parishes to be vestrymen thereof; which vestrymen so elected, having in the court of the said county taken and subscribed the oath of abjuration and repeated and subscribed the test, and also subscribed to be conformable to the doctrine and discipline of the church of England, shall, to all intents and purposes, be deemed and taken to be vestrymen of the said parishes, respectively. | Trinity parish formed. |
| III. Provided always, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to hinder the collector or collectors of the said parish of Fredericksville, as the same now stands entire and undivided, from collecting and making distress for any parish levies which shall remain unpaid by the inhabitants of the said parish of Trinity, at the time the said division shall take place; but such collector or collectors shall have the same power to collect and distrain for the said levies, and shall be answerable for them in the same manner, as if this act had never been made, any law, usage or custom, to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. | |
| IV. And whereas the present glebe of the said parish will be very convenient for the parish of Fredericksville, after such division shall take place, and is agreed to be of the value of four hundred pounds current money: Be it therefore further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the glebe aforesaid shall remain and be as and for a glebe for the use of the minister of the said parish of Fredericksville; and that in lieu | Parish of Fredericksville to pay a certain sum to parish of Trinity, for the glebe. |
| thereof the vestry of the said parish shall levy on the tithables thereof, after the division shall take place, the sum of two hundred pounds current money, and pay the same to the vestry of the said parish of Trinity, to be by them applied towards purchasing a glebe for the use of the minister thereof. | |
| V. And whereas by one act of the general assembly made in the twenty-seventh year of his late majesty's reign, entitled, An Act for adding a part of the county and parish of Augusta to the county of Frederick, and for dividing the parish and county of Frederick, and the part of Augusta to be added thereto, in to two new counties and parishes, it was amongst other things, enacted that the freeholders and housekeepers of the parish of Hampshire should meet at some convenient time and place, to be appointed and publickly advertised at least one month before by the sheriff of the said county of Hampshire, before the first day of July one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, and then and there elect twelve of the most able and discreet persons of the said parish to be vestrymen, according to the directions of the said act, was prevented by the invasion of the French and their Indian allies, Be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the freeholders and housekeepers of the said parish of Hampshire shall meet at some convenient time and place, to be appointed and publickly advertised by the sheriff of the said county of Hampshire, at least one month before the first day of August next, and then and there elect twelve of the most able and discreet persons of the said parish to be vestrymen thereof, which said persons so elected, having in the court of the said county of Hampshire taken and subscribed the oaths appointed to be taken by one act of parliament, made in the first year of the reign of his late majesty king George the first, entitled, An Act for the further security of his majesty's person and government, and the succession of the crown in the heirs of the late Princess Sophia, being protestants, and for extinguishing the hopes of the pretended Prince of Wales, and his open and secret abettors, and taken and subscribed the oath of abjuration, and repeated and subscribed the test, and also subscribed to be conformable to the doctrine | Vestrymen for parish of Hampshire, in county of Hampshire to be elected. |
| and discipline of the church of England, shall, to all intents and purposes, be deemed and taken to be vestrymen of the said parish. | ||
| CHAP. XXIII. | ||
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| I. WHEREAS by an act of the general assembly, made in the fifteenth year of the reign of his late majesty king George the second, entitled, An Act for erecting a town at Bray's church, in the county of King George, sixty five acres of land therein mentioned, and directed to be laid out into lots and streets for a town, were vested in certain persons therein named, and their successors, who were constituted and appointed directors for designing, building, carrying on and maintaining, a town called Leeds, on the land aforesaid, and were vested with certain powers for that purpose, as in the said act are particularly expressed: and whereas most of the directors and trustees named in the said act are since dead, by means whereof several of the lots in the said town still remain unsold, and it is therefore necessary that new directors and trustees should be appointed, Be it therefore enacted, by the Lieutenant-Governour, Council, and Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That the honourable Philip Ludwell Lee and John Tayloe, esquires, Presley Thornton, Richard Henry Lee, Charles Carter, junior, of King George, Thomas Jett, John Orr and Thomas Hodge, gentlemen, shall be, and they are hereby nominated, constituted, and appointed, directors and trustees for the said town of Leeds; and the said directors and trustees shall be, and they are hereby vested with the same powers and authority for carrying on and maintaining the said town of Leeds | New directors and trustees, for the town of Leeds to be appointed. |
| as were granted to the directors and trustees of the said town by the said in part recited act of assembly. | |
| II. And for continuing the succession of the said directors and trustees, Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That in case of the death of any of the said directors and trustees, or their refusal to act, the surviving or other directors and trustees, or the major part of them, shall assemble, and are hereby empowered, from time to time, by instrument in writing under their respective hands and seals, to nominate some other person or persons in the place of him or them so dying or refusing; which new director or trustees, so nominated and appointed, shall have the like power and authority, in all things relating to the matters herein contained, as if he or they had been expressly named and appointed in and by this act; and every such instrument and nomination, shall, from time to time, be entered and registered in the books of the said directors and trustees. | |
| III. And whereas by one other act of assembly, made in the twenty-second year of the reign aforesaid, entitled, An Act to empower the trustees of Leeds town to make a causeway through the marsh opposite thereto, and for appointing a publick ferry, the trustees of the said town of Leeds, or any four or more of them, were empowered and authorized to agree with any person or persons to clear, dig up, extend, maintain and improve, a causeway from the river opposite to the said town of Leeds, through the said marsh, to the high land of Sarah Brookes, and from time to time to widen, repair and improve, the same; and if necessary, to erect and build bridges over any gut or creek in the said marsh, and the money arising by the sale of lots in the said town was by the said act appropriated for that purpose. | |
| IV. And whereas by another act made in the twenty-fifth year of the said reign, entitled, An Act to amend an act, entitled, An Act for erecting a town at Bray's church, in the county of King George, other lots in the said town were directed to be sold, and the purchasers thereof were absolutely released of and from the condition of building a house or houses thereon, according to the directions of the said first recited act, and of and from any forfeiture or forfeitures by occasion of the breach or non-performance of such condition, any thing in the said first recited act, or |
| any law or custom, to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding; and the said trustees, or any four or more of them, were empowered to apply the money to be paid for the said lots so remaining unsold towards the completion, maintaining and improving, the said causeway. | |
| V. And whereas, in pursuance of the said last two in part recited acts, the trustees of the said town did make sale of sundry of the said lots for considerable sums of money which were lodged in the hands of one of the trustees, who is since dead, and now remain in the hands of his executors, for want of trustees to receive the same, and there are also some lots still unsold for the same reason: Be it therefore further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the directors and trustees hereby nominated and appointed, or any four or more of them, shall and may, and they are hereby empowered and required, to make sale of the said lots still remaining unsold, and shall apply the money arising from the sale thereof, together with such other sums as they shall receive for the purchase money of lots heretofore sold by the former trustees (which the trustees and directors by this act appointed are hereby empowered and required to recover and receive) for and towards the uses and purposes of the said two last in part recited acts of assembly, and to no other use or purpose whatsoever. |
| Pages 381-407
| Pages 433-461
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