Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1875-07-16
OUR FOREFATHERs

! --
RAINY DAY THOUGHTS ABOUT THEM
SOME QUEER THINGS THEY DID-A
| OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES DUCKING STOOL
| IN AUGusTA-UTE PERKINs-CURsING
| A COURT OUT,
&c, &C., &c.
! Monday was q rainy, dull day, and you
may thank your stars it WAS; for il it
| hadn't been, q good deal about our noble
! ancestors would have stayed on the records
of the County Court that will now appear
in this popular, valuable and widely clrcu-
lated 1--WE insist ON copying this from the
correspondence journal. They were a
queer set, and did some queer things in
| this very centre and hub of civilization
| where we write to-day-some things sc
| very queer that we feel q spirit of thank
| fitness to Time that While carrying off SO
many things of the past, he carried off our
noble ancestors with them. 1t is true
rainy day reading when we see it officially
set down i'll the official record that white
women were dashed on their bare backs at
the public whipping post, and men put in
Jail with iron collars around their necks
and gags in their mouths, and men were
presented by grand juries for driving hogs
on tile Sabbath day, and we can't help
think that it must have been Il very cloudy
and rainy day for civilization when that
sort of thing was going ON; but, forth
nately, we can turn away and damn the
PuritanS, who lid the same thing, and
thereby save ourselves from balancing on
the ragged edge Of remorse over our. own
shortcomings.
u. THE COURT.
The first court of Augusta county was
held in Staunton on the 9th Of December,
1745, about 13l years ago. The magis,
trates were Jno Lewis. Jno. Brown, Peter
Scholl, Jno. Pickens, Thomas Lewis, Hugh
Thompson, Robt. Cunningham, Jas. Kerr
and Adam Dickinson. John Patton was
the first sheriff, and John Madison was
the first clerk appointed, with q commits
sion under the hand and seal of Thomas
Nelson, Secretary of Virginia" Thomas
Lewis was appointed the first county sur
veyor, witha commission under the seal of
'sWm Dawson, President of William and
Mary College" The first attorneys We're
VIM. Russell, Jas. Porteus, Gabriel Jones,
Jno Quinn and Thomas Chew, and four
months afterwards they were reinforced
by Obediah Merriott, Benz. Pendle.on.
Jno. Nicholas and VIM. Wright. There
was no Jail, and the sheriff "moved the
court" to inform him how he was to keep
the prisoners, and the court authorized
him to procure a sufficient guard and buy
''shackles, bolts and handcuffs,'' to be
used till q jail was built.
THE FIRST PRISONER
was Mr.. VIM. Linwell, who for the sum of
IS. imposed by the court has banded down
his name to posterity l31 years afterwards.
Mr.. LinWell had been very drunk. How
Imany of us have spent fortunes in the
Same business and not been able to hand
down our names any time atall. Mr.. Lin
well was followed the next day by MI
James Mcclure, who had been guilty of
the indiscretion Of speaking Unreasonable
words.'' and very shortly afterward MI |
Edward Boyle joined the jail party ''for
damning the court and swearing four
oaths in their presence" and for this unu-
sual frankness was awarded 1.-TWO hours i'll /
the stocks and Il fine Of 20s."
PRICES OF BOARD.
The court on March 10th, TAG, fixed the
Crate for orlinaries:" GA hot
diet, we'll dressed, Cd; a cold do, Cd; lodg-
spgs, with clean sheats, 3d.; stabling and
fodder night, 3d.; rum, the gallon, as.,
whisky, the gallon, Is; and olaret, the
luart, $50 At that rate Of charges, Robt.
MeClanahan and John Hutchinson took
nut licenses 1t is to be feared that these
,rdinaries worked decentralization in all
classes, for we see at the next meeting of
he court Mr.. VIM. Smith was required to
land over d, for the Republican, privilege
# getting drunk, ard tho court passed an
rider That ''any attorney mterrupting
j. ,ther al fiea bar, OF speaking when he is I
,ot inlI }oyed, shall forfeit 5s," Evidently |
he ordinary was too Aear TO the court
ouse. ....,.r.s.
fAS RELIfsI0lFs NOTICES. {
I'he 'tdissentmg minister's that is, all
Tho did not belong to the Church of Eng
md, were, required to take the oath in
pen court prescribed by Parliament, de- t
laring against transubstantiation and {
wearing to support the King. Among