Accomack-Northampton County Virginia USGenWeb Archives History - Books .....Volume IX; P. 88-99: "Eastern-Shore History" June 19, 1900
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Book Title: Virginia Magazine Of History And Biography; Bound Edition Year Ending June 1902

EASTERN-SHORE HISTORY.*

An Address Delivered at Accomack Courthouse on June 19, 19OO, Being the Occasion
of the Dedication of the New Courthouse at that Place.

BY THOMAS T. UPSHUR, OF NORTHAMPTON COUNTY.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN :
In introducing the subject of my address this afternoon, I find myself somewhat
in the position of the old colored preacher, who said : "My Bredren, de text of
my sermon will be found somewhere betwixt de lids of de Bible, between de book
of Ginerations and de book of Risolutions, " for my subject is spread over the
pages of many volumes of court records.

THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE EASTERN SHORE.

The dedication of this handsome building to-day as a seat of justice and a
temple of law is an event in the annals of Accomack well worthy of a page in her
court records. It indicates her growth in population, in wealth, and, therefore,
in importance to our beloved Commonwealth. Contrast its proportions with the
room in the log cabin of the colonists at Old Plantation, in which the boards of
commissioners, or justices courts, first met on the Eastern Shore, and we have
almost a mountain by the side of a molehill in comparison. Soon after the
installation of our courts, the right of trial by jury was instituted here,
whereupon the log cabin could not conveniently contain the number of persons in
attendance upon the courts, and the more commodious quarters of the Dinner House
at Old Plantation and the ordinary of Walter Williams at Nassawadox (now
Bridgetown) were used as temporary courthouses. But the tide of immigration
increased in volume, and these hostelries were shorn of their honors by the more
pretentious courthouses built at a place called The Horns, now Eastville, and at
Pungoteague about the year 168o.

Let us now retrace our steps through 292 historic years, to the 2d day of June,
1608, which chronicled the advent of the white man to our shores. That visit of
Captain John Smith and his "7 gentlemen and 7 soldier" comrades was a short one,
but, nevertheless, it bore fruit. Kictopeake, the brother of the Laughing King,
welcomed them. He extended the hospitalities of the Shore to them, in primitive
style, perhaps, but the essence was not wanting. They enjoyed their stay,
reported the reeion pleasant and fertile. The eyes of the colonists at Jamestown
were turned this way, and in 1615 John Porey, the  secretary of the Virginia
Company, sent over ten soldiers and ten men, under Lieutenant
Cradock, to make salt and catch fish for the parent colony, and from these as a
nucleus, the infant colony of "Dale's Gift," in swaddling clothes, with the
waves of the Chesapeake upon its western side, and the trackless forest, roamed
only by savages and wild beasts, on its eastern, entered upon its mission to
anglicize Accomack, "the land beyond the waters," the realm of Debedeavon, ye
emperor of ye Eastern Shore; the land of the diamond-back and the oyster, and,
in the beautiful simile of our own Henry A. Wise, "the land of the myrtle and
the pine." 

That was a time to test the heads and hearts of the bravest ; and the lives of
the members of that little band, though cast in a pleasant place, were not
veritable beds of roses.

That was the first settlement. The plantation at "Dale's Gift," the "Old
Plantation," settled upon the creek which is to-day called Old Plantation Creek.
Five years later, or in 1620, John Porey, who seems to have been the guardian
angel of the early civilization and destiny of the Eastern Shore, sent over
twenty more tenants, under the command of Captain Willcocks, to settle upon and
cultivate the Secretary's lands. This second mission adopted the Indian word
Accomack as a name, and was called the Plantation of Accomack. It was close by
the plantation of Dale's Gift, so that the tenants could be assistant unto each
other in time of need. The Secretary's lands are shown by Northampton's records
to have been on King's Creek. The two plantations combined, probably about 1621,
for in that year John Porey petitioned the Governor, Sir George Yeardley, and
the Council of State for aid, both of men and means, to help him maintain the
plantation at Accomack, for that by removals, desertions, and deaths it had been
reduced in numbers to nine tenants ; and in presenting his petition he set forth
the
advantages of the Eastern Shore to the parent colony. His petition was granted
by "certain fees being allowed for the employment and maintenance of tenants at
Accomack." Thus the new plantation became a Virginia Company plantation, and the
old plantation dropped the name of Dale's Gift, and swallowed up the new
plantation on the Secretary's
lands, name and all, and was the Plantation of Accomack when our court records
open in 1632. 

In 1621, John Rolfe, in his " Relation of Virginia," says : "At Dale's Gift,
being upon the sea near unto Cape Charles, about 30 miles from Kicoughtan, are
17 inhabitants, under command of Lieutenant Cradock. All these are maintained by
the colony. Their labor is to make salt and catch fish." We now find 26
inhabitants here — 17 at the Old Plantation under Lieutenant Cradock, and 9 at
Accomack under Captain Wilcocks— and from this time the Eastern Shore steadily
increased in population. In 1623 there were 96 inhabitants here, of whom 9 were
females ; and of the 87 men and boys I can find the family names of only 22
preserved to-day as surnames on the Shore. These 22 were : Edward Rodgers, 
Benjamin Knight, Henry Wilson, William Andrews, John Parsons, Thomas Hall,
Walter Scott, William Williams, Robert Edmunds, John Evans, Thomas Powell,
Thomas Parks, Henry Watkins, William Davis, John Wilkins, William Smith, John
Barrett, Thomas
Ancient Savage, John Fisher James Vocat Piper, John Parramore, and Thomas Gascoyne.

The salt-house, which had first been located on Smith's Island, remained there
until 1621, when John Porey visited there, and had it removed to a more
convenient location. 

 THE ABORIGINES.
Let us now turn to the aborigines who owned this charming hunting ground before
it was appropriated by the white people. Davy Crockett said that he had " never
seen a good Indian except a dead one." But he had never been on the Eastern
Shore of Virginia. The Indians here were a timid, harmless, kind-hearted people,
so far as traditions and
our court records show. They numbered about 2000 in 1608, and were ruled by
Debedeavon (the laughing king) and by Okiawampe until 1657, when the daughter of
the latter became queen. Okiawampe died in 1657, and his will is on record at
Eastville. It is short, but pathetic. He willed that his daughter should rule
his people, and that certain of his great men should counsel and advise her, so
that she might rule his people well. He cautioned her, and enjoined it upon the
Indians, to  preserve the good will of their white friends, as he had done. What
a travesty upon friendship was that of the confiscators, who were fast driving
his people from the face of the earth ! He had even been disturbed in his
hunting by Richard Hill, who had drawn a gun on him ; and he,
a king, had to complain to the court about it. The Indians were superstitious
about their secret of religious names. It is well known that Pocahontas was
really Matoaka. and it is possible that Debedeavon and Okiawampe were really one
and the same Indian king, or emperor, as they styled themselves after being
taught the meaning of the word.
Their public acts relating to the whites are so intermingled, and not very
numerous, that it is difficult to determine whether they were the same
personage, or whether Okiawampe was the heir and successor of Debedeavon, or
brother and co-ruler, as was Kictopeake. 

The Eastern Shore was really a kingdom, with a king who held his court at Great
Nuswattocks, or Nandua, as it is now called. There he summoned his "great men,"
who were his tribal chiefs, to his councils, and there received reports from
them of aught pertaining to the Indians, and also their tribute of eight bushels
of corn for maintenance, and three arrowheads for protection, per year, from
each tribe.

In 1667 a sailor from the Bermudas landed at Accomack ill of smallpox. He was
isolated by the physicians or chirnrgeons and placed in a log house in the
woods; but in a time of delirum he escaped from the cabin, and, wandering to the
Indian town, inoculated that tribe or village, and from them it spread all over
the Eastern Shore of Virginia, causing them to die by hundreds; and they always
believed afterwards that the
sailor had been sent among them by the whites to kill them. 

The Accomack Indians proved their friendship for the whites during the massacre
of 1622 and 1644, in which they took no part. History tells us that
Opecancanough sent messengers to the Accomack Indians, ordering them to gather a
certain poisonous herb, which grew on the Eastern Shore and nowhere else, and
send it to him, so that he could poison all 
the wells of the white men; but they refused saying that the white men were
their friends, and were going to help them fight their enemies, the
Wicocomocoes. The Accomacks were a branch of the Powhatans, and spoke their
language, who were a branch of the Mengwees or Mingoes of Pennsylvania.

Let us saunter around from village to village, and see some of their locations.
In Northampton, as now divided, from Accomack, were the Gingaskins — a large
tribe, one of the most numerous on the Shore, and the last to disappear. The
main village or town of this tribe was located upon the "Pocahontas" farm, now
owned by Mrs. McNutt, and it extended from Indiantown landing, on that farm,
past the present site of Eastville
station, some distance towards Eastville. Even as late as 1862, or later, one
Mollie Stephens, when she got tipsy — as she frequently did — would shout, "I'm
the Ingin Queen!" and persons much older than herself said that she was
doubtless the daughter of the last Gingaskin King — a queen without maids of
honor to minister unto her — a sovereign without vassals to command. Upon one
occasion, when decidedly unsteady from
too many potations of "fire-water," and she had, judging by the dusty and muddy
appearance of her gown, been down in the gutter " feeling upwards for the
ground," she came dancing, as usual, through the piazza of the hotel— now The
Taylor House— in Eastville, where some gentlemen were sitting, among them a
certain attorney-at-law, who became one of our court judges, and who was
attired, as usual, in the most tidy and careful manner, with immaculate white
linen trousers and Marseilles vest. As Mollie passed him she shouted, "Ugh! ugh!
I'm the Ingin Queen! I'm the Ingin Queen! " and losing her balance at that
moment, sat down suddenly in his lap This raised a laugh at his expense, and he
became so much incensed that he caused her arrest and incarceration,
but recovered his temper a short time after, and had her released. This tribe
seems to have had several branches or outlying families. First, near Cape
Cearles, on Magothy Bay, was a small band believed to be the Magothas. Their
home was on the farm formerly known as the Edward Fitchen place, and no king is
mentioned particularly as their king, nor is any name assigned to them, but they
were doubtless Magothas. Next is Pomoccomon, the king of Mattawames, in Old
Town, or Hungar's Neck. This also was a small band, and very poor. They soon
became a care and charge upon the whites. Tepiapon ruled the Nuswattocks in
Elliot's Neck. Dr. Brinton, who is considered an authority on the Indian
dialects, says this word Nuswattocks means a stream between two streams. This
band also was a small one, and a branch of the Gingaskins undoubtedly. Crossing
the line  northwards, we meet Andiaman, the King of the Occohannocks and
Currattocks, whose villages were near the extremities of Scarburgh's and Cradock
Necks. Until recently I have believed that Cradock Neck was so called in honor
of Lieutenant Cradock at Old Plantation, but within the past twelve months I
have seen an item in our court records, the original of which was evidently
written by Parson Teackle — in which he mentioned his plantation on Currattock —
showing that the name is really the Indian word. Our next village is that of
Debedeavon, ye laughing king, ye emperor of ye Eastern Shore, and king of ye
Great Nuswattocks (as Nandua was called by the Indians — situated on Nandua
Creek). The laughing king once sent a deputation of Indians from Nandua to
Accomack with two Indians in place of a white man and a boy who had been killed
by some Indians
up the bay. They brought also quantities of roanoke and beaver skins as a peace
offering. When the interpreter delivered their message to the commander, Colonel
Obedience Robins, he said, " God forbid that I should take an Indian for a white
man," and did order them all to re-mbarque in their canoes and return to their
king. The Indians, however, hesitated about returning without their mission
having been
accomplished as their king had directed, and they did not depart for several
days; whereupon Daniel Cugley, at whose house they had landed, put them to work,
and took charge of the roanoke and beaver-skins for his own use, which conduct
reaching the ears of Colonel Robins, he caused Cugley's arrest, and hurried the
Indians away in their boats with their present as they had brought it. This
closed the affair. From Nandua we next reach Ekeeks, king of the Oanancorks, on
the Oanancock river, now called Onancock. Next to that of Debedeavon and
Okiawampe his name appears oftener in our court records than that of any other
Indian. Nowmetrawen ruled the Chesconnessex, on Chesconnessex creek. Parahokes
was king of the Chincoteagues, on Chincoteague bay. Awascecencas was king of the
Kickotanks. Conantesminoc king of the Matchateagues, and Matom, king of the
Matomkins. These were all small bands of Indians, but the Matchipungoes were a
large tribe, and had several villages — one at or near Wachapreague, another
lower down the neck, and yet another on the Woodlands and Brownsville farms in
Northampton. Dr. Brinton says that the word Matchapungo means fine dust, or
flies, and, as the name belonged to Hog Island as well as to the river and to
the Indian tribe, we may reasonably infer, in the absence of anything to the
contrary, that the sand or mosquitoes on Hog Island gave
rise to the name. Their money was Roanoke, or rawrenoke, which was made of
shells, or pieces of shells, with holes bored through them, and strung on
buckskin thongs — they paid it out by the arm's length — and their chief article
of traffic with the whites was beaver-skins. They were very poor. Their wealth
was all in nature's storehouses. They built none for themselves, and, had they
possessed any, they had not the energy, the industry, and providence to have
laid by anything in them. They lived mainly on fish, oysters and clams, as piles
of shells near villages attest. Yet deer, bears, wolves, wildcats, beaver and
small game were plentiful; and in one place I have seen that an Indian sold
three moose skins. Game rapidly diminished after the arrival of the whites.
When their powder, shot and fowling pieces broke the stillness of the forest,
and sent echoes reverberating from shore to shore, away fled the game, and away
went one-half of the Indians' means of subsistence with it.

The plantation of Accomack grew in strength until 1634, when there were three
hundred and ninety-six persons here.

On the 2d of March, 1642, the name of the plantation of Accomack was changed to
Northampton county. It is said that it was changed thus in honor of Colonel
Obedience Robins, who was from Longbuckbie, in Northamptonshire, England. At
that time farm after farm was being settled upon and improved, tobacco and corn
were the main crops, and
tobacco and beaver skins were the commodities that corresponded to our silver
and gold, at the ratio of about ten to one. All taxes, fines, and business
transactions, except those of very large amount, were made in these commodities
as a basis. Occasionally sterling money was used.

Domestic animals were imported. The horses came mainly from Flanders, and cattle
from Holland. They were investments which paid large profits, and were common
legacies to children, especially young children, as, with the increase, the
child would have a nice herd of stock when of marriageable age, or preparing to
settle in life.

DIVISION OF THE TWO COUNTIES.
In 1662 it was deemed desirable to divide Northampton county, and an act passed
the House of Burgesses for that purpose. Accomack selected her distinguished
citizen, Edmund Scarburgh, as her commissioner, and Northampton chose Colonel
William Waters to act for her; and the line between the two counties as it now
stands was nm by them. That the division was not acceptable to Northampton is
shown by the list of grievances sent to James City shortly after. It stated that
"the citizens of Northampton do feel aggrieved that, in the division of the two
counties, Accomack should have gotten so much the greater share of Northampton's
domain. We do conceive that it was occasioned by Colonel Edmund Scarburgh, the
commissioner on the part of Accomac, having outwitted Colonel William Waters,
the commissioner on the part of Northampton." Colonel Edmund Scarburgh was a
brilliant young man, intellectually the peer of any man in Virginia. Thoroughly
popular, he represented the Eastern Shore in the House of Burgesses for many
years, and stood high in favor at James City; but he was a bold, ambitious man,
who aimed only at attaining success. He hated the county court for Northampton,
and determined to get from under its jurisdiction. He had been arrested
repeatedly, once for treason, being accused of attempting to arm the Indians,
and set up a small kingdom for himself. If an equal division of acres was made,
his home, on the north side of Occohannock creek, would still be in the old
county and under the old court; and this he did not intend should be the case,
so he managed the division otherwise, and his house was just over the line in
Accomack. He received the soubriquet of "the conjurer," and was feared by the
Indians.
There are several traditions concerning him, and a great deal on the court
records which is not tradition. His charges against the Rev. Thomas Teackle, the
rector of old Saint George's Church, is there for one item; his share in the
family troubles which occasioned the name of "Slutkill" Neck, another. His
sermon to the Indians, to whom he had sent a messenger, saying that the Great
Spirit would speak to them if they would go to a certain spot in a deep ditch,
which was in Scarburgh's Neck, upon the following Sunday morning, is a tradition
thoroughly believed, and the ditch is said to be there yet. He had secretly
caused a cannon to be concealed at the other end of the ditch, and, when the
Indians were gathered the so called Great Spirit is said to have preached so
forcibly that few hearers remained alive after his introductory remarks. He was
colonel and commander-in-chief of all the inhabitants on the Eastern Shore, and
surveyor-general of Virginia. As surveyor-general of Virginia he ran the
boundary line between Virginia and Maryland, and as commander-in-chief he made
that famous incursion into Maryland, "with forty horse for pomp of safety," to
Annamessex, where he set the broad arrow of confiscation upon the doors of all
such as refused to acknowledge the supremacy of the Colony of Virginia; a report
of which adorns your court records.

TRADITIONS. 

The traditions of Accomack are varied and interesting. The bogey of "Cradock"
marsh is one, with its peculiar foot-tracks and its weird cry of "Yahoo ! Yahoo
!" at times, during both the day and night, for several weeks, and was never
found, although sought for by armed hunting parties almost daily, and even by
torchlight to shine its eyes by
night. Another is the headless man, who exacted toll frequently at "Taylor's
Bridge," until persons were afraid to pass there at night. It is said that he
never demanded more than a fourpence-half-penny, and that every one who refused
to pay him came to grief in some way. Usually his horse would go lame before
reaching home. You have all heard of the famous character Preeson Richards, who
figured in your court records early in the present century, and have heard from
your infancy of "Black Beard," the pirate ; but you may not have heard that
"Black Beard" was a native of Accomack county, and that his name
was Edward Teach. The rendezvou of his men was on Parramore's Beach, Revell's
Island, Hog Island, and Rogues' Island. The latter island received its name from
being the hiding-place of the band. His depredations became so frequent and his
raids so daring that finally the Virginia authorities equipped vessels to put a
stop to them. His Eastern-Shore haunts soon became too hot for his safety, and
he removed his headquarters to North Carolina, up in Albemarle Sound, whence he
continued his excursions ; and, as North Carolina did not molest him — or, at
any rate, did not break up his piracy — Virginia sent her vessels into Albemarle
Sound, sank his schooner, and killed him and all his men, except a few who were
sick, or who were on shore and escaped. This intrusion of the armed vessels of
Virginia into North Carolina's waters was resented by that State, who said she
was abundantly able to  attend to her own affairs. The matter was amicably
settled between the States, but was unpleasant for a time. This item concerning
Black Beard is history, but it has given rise to many stories and traditions
which, if true, would be worth recording. Unfortunately, however, traditions,
when pierced by the Ithurial spear, become flaccid, and are usually worthless.

COURT RECORDS.

The court records abound in curiosities in the way of cases tried before the
courts. The courts were strict, and did their best to preserve order, and never
failed to administer justice to the best of their ability. The scandal-monger,
liar, slanderer, and the common scold fared badly. I have only time for an
instance or two, which must have been amusing to those not implicated, who
beheld the execution of the sentences. For instance, Goody (or Goodwife) Curtis,
the wife of John Curtis, tried to milk her cow one evening in the pen of Thomas
Powell. At the same time Goody Powell was milking her cow. Goody Curtis's cow,
being a young one, not gentle, and not used to being milked in that
pen, would not standstill, and disturbed Goody Powell, who lost patience and
began to abuse Mrs. Curtis, calling her hard names, and the like, to which Mrs.
Curtis replied but little, which seemed to exasperate Mrs. Powell so much that
she proceeded to slap Mrs. Curtis's face ; whereupon Mrs. Curtis left the pen,
cow, and all, in "high  dudgeon," and had Mrs. Powell arrested, who was
sentenced to deliver one pot of sweet milk per day to John Curtis, for his use
or any other, for sixty days, at the cowpen of Thomas Powell, and publicly to
ask Mrs. Curtis's forgiveness. 

Robert Wyard slandered Mrs. Alice Travellor, the wife of George Travellor,
"insomuch that he liked to have taken away the reputation of the said Alice." He
was arrested, tried, and sentenced to appear in a white sheet, with a white wand
in his hand, three several Sabbath days, in church, during the whole time of
divine worship, and to ask
Mrs. Travellor's forgiveness.

 This Mrs. Travellor must have been a fascinating woman. She was married four
times, and in each instance to a very prominent colonist : first, to Geo.
Travellor ; second, to William Burdette ; third, to Captain Peter Walker ; and
fourth, to Major-General John Custis. She died about 1658 or 1660. Of Wm.
Burdette there is an item such as is seldom 
seen in the court records : " George Scovell did lay a wager with Mr. Mountney
(10£ sterling to 5£), calling us to witness the same, that Mr. Burdette should
not marry the Widow Saunders while they lived in Virginia ; and, not content,
but would wager 4o£ sterling to 1o£ sterling more that Mr. Wm. Burdette should
never marry the Widow Saunders." He might have done well, possibly, to have
followed Mr. Weller's advice
to his son Samuel : "Samivil, my son Samivil, bevare of vidders."

Henry Charlton disliked the Rev. William Cotton, the rector of Hunger's parish.
One day at church he remarked that "if he had Mr. Cotton without the church
-yard, he would kick him over the Palysadoes and calling of him black-coated
raskall." For this he was sentenced "to build a pair of stocks and set in them 3
several Sabbath days at the church door during the time of Divine service, and
there ask Mr. Cotton's forgiveness publicly."

Joane Butler and Marie Drewe got to quarreling one day ; naughty words passed
between them, a regular case of "the pot calling the kettle black." Edward Drewe
caused Joane's arrest, and upon trial she was sentenced to repeat a full and
formal retraction verbatim, after the minister, in church, between the first and
second lessons, upon the next Sabbath, or else be drawn across King's Creek,
from one cowpen to the other, at the " starne " of a boat or " canew." She would
not retract; and was drawn across the creek, for Thomas Butler, Joane's husband,
caused Marie Drewe's arrest, and upon trial the same sentence was meted out, "or
else she was to undergo the same punishment which Joane Butler hath suffered."

Robert Wyard stole a pair of pantaloons, and was sentenced to appear in church
during the whole time of worship for three Sundays with a pair of breeches tied
around his neck, and with the word "Thief" written upon his back. 

These were slight offences, but heavier ones sometimes occurred, and then the
criminals were sent to Jamestown to be tried by the Governor and Council, who
constituted the Court of Appeals.

CHURCHES.

The first church was built on Old Plantation Creek, near the fishing point. The
second was near Arlington Gate ; and both of them were surrounded by stockades,
which proved that the white men did not rely entirely upon the friendship of the
Indians. The third church was at Hungar's, in Northampton, and was a frame
structure. The fourth was St George's, at Pungoteague, which is now among the
oldest in the State. The Rev. Thomas Teackle was the first rector of the old
church, and preached in it for nearly forty years.

You all know that Virginia is called "The Old Dominion," and that she was the
first of the British possessions which proclaimed Charles II to be King of
England, etc , which caused her to be called the Old Dominion ; but you may not
have heard the part which the Eastern Shore of Virginia took in the matter. I
now give it verbatim from our court
records. It is captioned :
"A Proclamacon by the Comandr and Comissionrs of Accomacke, Mense Decembr, Ano
1649. 

"Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God to suffer us to bee deprived of our late
dread sovraigne of blessed memory, wee, the Comandr and Comissionrs of
Accomacke, doe by these p'sents p'clayme Charles, the undoubted heyre of our
late sovraigne of blessed memory, to bee King of England, Scotland, France,
Ireland, Virginia, and all other remote provinces and colonys, New England and
the Caribda Islands, and all other Hereditamnts and indowmts belonging unto o'r
late sovraigne of blessed memorye, willing and requiringe all his Ma'ties Leiges
to acknowledge their alledgance, and with gen'll consent and applause pray  God
to blesse Charles the Second, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland,
Virginia, New England, ye Caribda Islands, and all other provinces and subjects
to the English Crowne ; and soe God save Kinge Charles the Second. Amen, Amen,
Amen. 

"Recordat primo die Mense Ffebrur, Ano 1649, p'me Edm: Mathews Cler. Cur."

And now, my friends, we have been wandering for 292 years over this peninsula.
You have a right to feel fatigued, if you are not. We have seen the infant
colony in its cradle, rocked by our sea breezes, and have laid away our Indian
friends to sleep the sleep that knows no waking, with the ripples of our waters
as an everlasting requiem. "Requiescat
in pace." It is all that is remaining of their inheritance. We have been accused
ourselves of having been asleep for, lo ! these many years, by some of our more
grasping, hustling, far-off critics, and of living in a sleepy hollow ; but the
taunt hurts us not. Our records will show fewer crimes, labor strikes, dynamite
disasters, native tramps and paupers, in proportion to population, than
elsewhere. We have asked few favors of the outside world. " Dale's Gift " has
been rich, and is yet generous to her tenants. Her table is the gourmand's
heaven, and is always full. Her daughters are as lovely, as good, and as great
in their womanly ways and their womanly hearts as any in the world ; and as a
proof that her sons have appreciated them, and that they have honored her sons,
they have married and intermarried so much that an eminent Englishman
some years ago said that the purest Anglo-Saxon blood in the world was doubtless
to be found on the Eastern Shore of Virginia ; and a local wag said that he "
had been at work hard for three weeks to find his ancestors, and that at the end
of the first week, by the sustaining aid of six glasses of apple toddy per day,
he discovered that he was his
own grandfather. The second week he worked harder yet, and was helped by ten
apple toddies a day, or he might never have been so fortunate as to learn that
he was his own father. And during the third week, 'he let himself go.' He never
had worked so hard before in his life, and yet he only took a dozen apple
toddies a day, just to help carry him through his search, and was about
succeeding, when 'he ran up against a snag,' and was about proving himself to be
his own sister, when he stopped short, for," said he, "blessed if I wanted to
have to wear a hoop-skirt and a Dolly Varden polonaise." 


*
This address was first published in the Eastern Shore Herald, and has been
corrected by Mr. Upshur. It has been, and will continue to be, the purpose of
the Society that the Magazine shall be chiefly devoted to the publication of
original documents ; but the great learning in manuscript sources of such men as
Mr. Brown for our early history, Mr. Waddell for Western Virginia, and Mr.
Upshur for the Eastern Shore, makes any paper or address by them a faithful
statement of what the documents contain. Other articles  on the Eastern Shore
have been published in this Magazine Vols. IV, 64-66, 185-197. 401-410; V,
33-41, 128-132.

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