Goochland

Discovering the past is interesting. It concerns earlier times and how people handled good and bad situations. Sometimes we think that we are in the worst of times, however, a glimpse into the past will awaken a new truth. The ancestors left foreign shores to come to America and hone out an existence in a wilderness county full of hardships. For many centuries the average person lived to be about thirty or forty years of age. They died of disease and misfortune. Thousands of vessels did not reach America due to hurricanes, storms, and unforeseen navigational errors. Such vessels are being discovered in ocean graves. Emigrants were not necessarily greeted by friendly Indians. Despite the wonderful story of John Smith and Pocahontas, Powhatan’s tribes raved the Virginia peninsula in 1622/3 and killed all but a handful of the first settlers. Some historians will have you believe that the Europeans brought African slaves to tell this land. Not so. Instead, they brought family members and white indentured servants. For this trouble and expense, they receive land grants. This was the situation during most of the 17th century. So what did these settlers build in so short a lifespan? In Virginia, they invested in their plantations more so than the home place while contributing to the community by building roads, attending church, and supporting the local glebe by paying to tithe (tobacco). Also, every man over 21 years of age was expected to serve in the local militia and help to protect the home place. Remember the rebel Nathaniel Bacon? He organized a small army of men to rid the area of marauding and scalping Indians when the Royal Governor refused to do so. Afterward, was hanged. From all indications of private study into Virginia lineages, it would appear that the very reason that people left their English roots where nobility ruled, was to have a better life. The royal governors were no fine example of fairness. Although Berkeley ended up being recalled, his successor was not an improvement. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Virginians were constrained to pay taxes and tariffs to the English for incoming supplies. The English Laws were continuously redrafted to hold the colonists in check. American history is fascinating, especially when one realizes how his ancestors played a part in the drama. The genealogist probably knows more of the intricate details of history than anyone else and such knowledge is invaluable in discovering one’s roots. List of Traced Virginia Families on this website