Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-07-28
Old virginia Names.

10 the t0ltOT Oh inc btoF"'S"'
Have we no Old Mortality among ns 10
scoop cut the moss-covered inscriptions
81 our ancestors, and to gather with
fond inorisitlvcness from the aged their
recollectjons of a former day -. u
Southern Literary Messenger. 1913.
Rishop Meade, in the Same VEN, re-
marks. I'VE naturally like 10 know the.
origin Of the names Of places III which we
take interest" A.
NV ouery in n former No. OF the
DIsuatch. as 10 whether CurleS pe u per
son or q thing. has brought TO hsht IN
terestiug information ,
II may now be reasonably con)ectu'eu
that Curle was one OF those adVenturers'
whose name occurs in the list OF dH',n-
tuners erected into a corporation Dy
lanes /. second chatter. 1912. ~ is
there spelled Thomas Careles, and IN
other lists prior to 1870 II is spei!ed
Thomas Currel.
Owing to the unsettled orthography OF
the tina proper names were Natlou3iy
spelled-as Sands, Sands, SandyA OF
Careles, Curtis. Corles, earle. Curl.
That painstaking annalist. Stith' mas
this 10 say regarding the Ms. hst oi
rames Of adVenturers OF 1903: Inc auNeh
turers names are vastly confused anu
different IN the different Ms. copies OF
this charter. / chose the two fairest ana
most correct copies that l had met win
10 TRANSCRIPT, this list from, and although
they both agree In writing THIS name DIT
Edwin Sands, or Sands, yet they are
both certainly wrong. as might be easily
proved were il worth while ana WOuu
not be too tedious. / was also much plz-
zlcd to adjust and set right others or 'he
names, and although / was at no slhdli
palms in cOllating the copies ana IN CON
sulting and referring 10 other ancient iet-
tels patents and papers, yet l VIII not
affirm that / am not often mistaken. bu'
however erroneous and perplexed the
pan1es of thu 6dventureTs may be. YET
found the main body and materia! parts
of the charter very cleaS full. ana cor
rect"
Care!es, II pronounced as monosylla-
bla might easily pass for Cur!eS. III the
transcriber follow cd the custom on MS
tins he may heve spelled the name ac-
coriing TO the sound of Its letters or ne
may have found the Ms. from when ne
Transcribed illegible and spelled the name
at q guess.
The name in question does not occur IN
Stith once. nor does 1t occur among the
thirty-odd names Of hundreds ana plan
tations which suffered in the great mas
sacre OF l622.
The nams as Curle does not appear In
Suth or any original chronicler before
Stlth, as Smith, Stracney. DaIe folle'
Pury. Hamer. Butler, &c, nor is any men
ton whatever made by any one or all
the chroniclefs from Captain John Smith
down TO Charles Campbell and X. IL. How
ison Of one Curle as person VINO was
clearly a patentee before the year lCi6.
The earliest mention Of the name CURES
in any pr;nted record have consulted Is
by Hening. Page l54 Volume ]. 1t thus
occurs: "ArrowhattocSes necke OF land.
Cnrles."
The Arrowhattockes were one OF the last
OF the thirty tribes TO leave the territory
| or Henrico. The Necke was known as
| Arrowhattockes before 1t was called
| Curles.
Captain Thomas Osbourne represented
| the borough Of ArrOwhattOckes, or Curles'
IN the grand assembly Of lGSl-52.
InlCSl- 90, Hening thus: captain Thomas
! Osbourne. for Alrowhattockes, the Necke
Of Land. and Corles."
In a list BY the Same writer OF the
burgesses' names for l629-SO. Captain
| Thomas Osbourne and Thomas Farrar APP
| pear as "Impr. for the plantation or the
| COLLEGE and Necke OF Land The Col
lags was situated higher up the river
than the Necke of Land in the peninsula
| known Us Dutch Gap.
IL would thus seem that tho name OF
| CNirles, or Corles, or Curtis, or Careie''
was not applied to the Neck until after
| the year i6-9-'JO.
ar. r." in the Southern Literary Mes
| senger, 1851, says: THE rich land In Ours
Neck was located by Curl, kandoiph'
| Bowler. and James Cooke; Dark, New
come. Bacon uhe rebel. the brothers
| Pleasants. etc" "R. r." who was Eich-
nrd Randolph, a descendant Of that Ran
| dolph of Curlos, to whom come or the
greatest families in Virginia owe Their
origin. italicizes "Curl," but for Wha'
reason | know not. He gives no other
authority for his statement than his word
In my researches among printed ana Ms
records, | find two persons who as cure
appear to have been in the hesn. one
Thomas Curle's name is signed to docu
ment in the Clerks Office OF Henrico coun
ty of the date OF the last quarter oA liz
seventeenth century.
II IS. | think. an original signature. j
1, prob,ematical, however, whether Il
might not pass for earle, as the hrs
vowel looks more like an than u.
In a list of members OF the convention
| Of Virginia, which began its session II
the city of Williamsburg, May iU6, To
name of William Roscow Curle occurs al
a delegate from Norfolk borough.
A. no one of the name OF Curle eve
cut considerable figure IN Colon'a
times; as the name does not appear u
the numerous lists of noted men II Is fal
10 presume that Curle was an unambl
tious man, who looked after his own busi
ness instead of other peoples; VINO mad'
money and spent 1t proiitably; VINO heVe
sued or was sued; who PAID MS ueptS'
| any he owed, and died without the com
| fort OF knowing that he had an acquaint
ance who would take the trouble to writ
h,s obituary c. NJ. w.