Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Lancaster   County (Va.) Census of Tobacco Plants, 1727. Local government records collection, Lancaster   County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Lancaster County.

Historical Information

Lancaster   County was named for the English county. It was formed from Northumberland and York Counties in 1651.

Virginia's General Assembly passed Tobacco Acts in 1723 and 1729 that attempted to control the quantity and quality of tobacco grown in the colony. The 1723 act established limits on the number of plants that certain classes of persons could grow with slaveowners being allowed less plants. Each vestry of every parish had to appoint two people every year to count the number of plants being grown and report the numbers to the clerk of court by the month of August. Any number of plants over the allowed number were to be destroyed by the planter or, if the planter would not, by the counters. The act of 1729 provided various adjustments to and elaborations on the 1723 act. For full text of the acts which were not published in Hening's Statues, see The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography (Vol. 20, pp.158-178.)

Scope and Content

Lancaster   County (Va.) Census of Tobacco Plants, 1727, is a list for Christ Church Parish that records the names of all tithable persons and how many plants they were growing. Slave names are given along with their owners. A total of the number of plants in the county is given at the end of the list. Some persons are described as "boy" and may be either slaves or boys between the age of 10 and 16.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Lancaster   County (Va.). Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• African Americans -- Virginia -- Lancaster   County.
• Agriculture -- Virginia -- Lancaster   County.
• Slaveholders -- Virginia -- Lancaster   County.
• Tobacco -- Virginia -- Lancaster   County.
• Tobacco industry -- Virginia -- Lancaster   County.

Geographical Names:

• Lancaster   County (Va.) -- History -- 18th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Lists -- Virginia -- Lancaster   County.
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Lancaster   County.