Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Use microfilm copy of the Log of the Schooner Enterprise, 1803-1804, Arlington County Reel 58.

Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Log of the Schooner Enterprise, 1803-1804. Local Government Records Collection, Alexandria/Arlington County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

This microfilm was created by the Virginia State Library's (now the Library of Virginia) Archives Division.

Alternative Form Available

Log of the Schooner Enterprise, 1803-1804, is also available in its original format.

Historical Information

The log of the schooner Enterprise was an exhibit in an admiralty suit heard in the Washington (D.C.) Circuit Court, held in Alexandria County, titled William Lewis versus Schooner Enterprise and others.

The U.S. Constitution gave admiralty and maritime jurisdiction to the federal courts. Those few cases of admiralty jurisdiction not taken into the federal court system were given to the newly created state district courts. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia met at the courthouse in Alexandria, then a part of the District of Columbia.

Arlington County was originally named Alexandria County. It was formed from a portion of Fairfax County that Virginia in 1789 ceded to the federal government for use as the site of a new national capital. In 1801 the area officially became part of the District of Columbia, although Congress named it Alexandria County. By an act of 9 July 1846, Congress returned the county to Virginia, and the General Assembly extended the commonwealth's jurisdiction over the region effective 20 March 1847. By an act of assembly passed 16 March 1920, the county's name was changed to Arlington, the name of the Custis family mansion (the home of Robert E. Lee), which is located in the county.

Scope and Content

Log of the Schooner Enterprise, 1803-1804, contains a daily account of the ship's journeys from Alexandria to Barbados, Jamaica, Port Francois, Bordeaux, and Cape Henry. The log contains daily entries documenting the ship's course and winds, and possibly the distance traveled. The log also includes a section for daily remarks, most of which pertain to the weather. Remarks also include some information about individual sailors, such as references to illnesses and absences due to shore leave, as well as notations of landings at various ports. William W. Manning was the shipmaster in 1803. Ebenezer Eveleth was the shipmaster in 1804.

Related Material

See also the admiralty suit William Lewis versus Schooner Enterprise and others found in the Arlington County Court Records barcode number 1043596.

Index Terms

Personal Names:

• Eveleth, Ebenezer
• Manning, William W.

Corporate Names:

• Arlington County (Va.) Circuit Court.
• Enterprise (schooner)

Subjects:

• Sailors--Wasington (D.C.)--Alexandria County.
• Schooners--Washington (D.C.)--Alexandria County.
• Ship captains--Washington (D.C.)--Alexandria County.

Geographical Names:

• Alexandria (Va.)--History--19th century.
• Arlington County (Va.)--History--19th century.
• Washington (D.C)--History--19th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records--Washington (D.C.)--Alexandria County.
• Ships' logs--Washington (D.C.)--Alexandria County.

Added Entry - Corporate Name:

• Alexandria County (Va.) Circuit Court.
• Washington (D.C.) Circuit Court.

Adjunct Descriptive Data