The Flintlock Provided Food for the Table

Genealogy Tips by Jeannette Holland Austin

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Virginians thought of themselves and living more splendidly than their families in England. The reason is “land” was plentiful. Also, bacon was considered by impartial foreign judges to be equal to the taste in the most celebrated city in the world (Westphalia) for that age. While animals such as cows and sheep were allowed to run loose in the woods until slaughter, the countryside supplied fowls, ducks, turkeys, fish and other natural resources. To keep his family fed, the planter hunted. The flintlock was used to hunt game. One of the wealthiest planters in the colony, Ralph Wormeley, owned 21 guns, five of which were fowling pieces. The gun was a necessary commodity in colonial days, whether it be for food or protection against the marauding Indian tribes which plagued colonists. Sources: Clayton's Virginia, p. 36, Middlesex County, vol. 1698-1713, p. 128. For more articles concerning Orange County residents click here

Virginia Pioneers has images of Orange County Wills from 1735-1814. Also, images from other Virginia counties dating from early 1600s. To become a member of 8 Genealogy websites, click here

New Additions to Warren County, North Carolina Pioneers: Images of Wills, Estates, Deeds: 1764-1767 Warren County