Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1903-01-01
A HUNDRED YEARS ago.

Alnanack for the year Of our Lord 1903 .
printed at Richmond by John Dixon and
John Courtney for Samuel Peasants, II.
Its pages are of small size! and number
but thirty-two. While its paper is yell
lowed by age the print upon it is as read
able as Ii was on the day when the old
washington or Franklin hand-press laid
it on.
In the year in which this copy was
printed Jefferson was President OF the
United States and it is memorable in
this country also by reason Of our. pur-
chase OF the Louisiana territory and our
war with Tripoli. Napoleon was at that
time cutting very lively caper in Euro
pean affairs and was preparing to invade
| England. It was day when men wore
| cooked hats and queues and knee
breaches and buckles, and when 1t was
still the custom to roll hogsheads of
tobacco from the country into Richmond.
There was not a steam railway In the
world.
The Virginia capitol had not been fully
completed in 1903, but probably was occu.
pied to some extent. But this Almanacs
says nothing about that. 1t does say,
however, that James Monroe. Esquire
was Governor and that the members Of
his privy council were John Guerret,
a.ieutenant- Governor). William Foishee,
John Pendleton. Alexander Stuart, Alex
ander McRae, James Wood. John White.
and Samuel Tyler. The High Court of
Appeals" was composed Of Edmund Pen
dleton, Peter Lyons, Paul Darlington. w
Fleming, and Spencer Roane, Esduires,
while the chance1lors Of the State were
George wythe, William Writ, and Joseph
Brown, The judges of THE General
Court" were Joseph Prentis, st. George
Tucker, Edmund Winston. Richard Park
err. John Tyler. Joseph Jones. William
Nelson. Paul Darlington, Jr.. Robert
White. and A. Stuart. EsQuires.
The census returns for 1900 showed
that the population Of the Eastern VIZ
GINA District was 682.tS1, and that of tn
western, 2O3, a93. OF these. 322,1e9 were
slaves. The population Of the United
States was 5,s27.6os. That of this city
does not appear. but it had attained suffi.
Gent magnitude to entitle the city to
member in the House of Delegates-Alr.
John Adams. Henrico was represented in
the House by uervas Storrs and VIII
liam Price, while the delegates from Han
over were Thomas Starke and William
Trueheart lIenrico, Goochland, and
fo1 }rt xuS
Thomas Register was the member. Han
over and Caroline were Joined together
and John Hoomes was senator.
Our senators in Congress were S. 7.
Mason and w C. Nichols, and our repre-
seatatives were John Randolph, Jr.
Anthony New. Samuel J. Cahell, John
Dawson, Matthew Clay. David Holmes,
Abraham Trigg. John Trigg. Edwin Gray
William B, Giles, Richard Brent, Thomas
Claiborne. John Clopton, John Taliaferro
Jr.. P. r. Thompson. Thomas Newton
Jr., John Smith, John Stra ton. and
George Jacksop-l9.
The Aln,anack gives the schedule
for the arrival and departure of the
mails from the city post-of1lce. The loca-
ton of that post-oftice is not Indicated;
the editor assumed in this instance, as he
did in many somewhat similar ones,
that everybody here knew where every
bodys place Of business was. We. have
reason to believe, however. that the post
office was kept at that time on Cary
street, near the lower part of the Basin
Band And, by the way, let lis state here
for the benefit of some who are now liv-
ing amongst us, and others who will
come later on, that the 'Ebasin" was
the harbcr SO to say, for the canal boats
coming down from Lynchburg, and the
bank was motifs not--a place where
money is passed in and out, but more
properly an embankment
This ealba pkment was necessary tc
keep the water III the basin apd out Of
Cary street. Around it many business
houses sprang up and for a long time it
was great mart.
But about the mails. Those from the
North arrived every day during the
summer Letters from Lynchburg and
StauUtCu we've. NlSIdtS1!Su AlliS OiASS
week. Lctter-postage was high. 1t was
charged for according to distance. From
here to Washington city the price was
Il cents letter.
Mr. S. Peasants. who issued this Al
manack, kept a printing Office and book
store. and also sold patent medicines.
His nostrums were advertised as per-
fectly irresistible by disease. Scurvy and
itch seem to have been very prevalent
in those days. We are much afraid that
our forefathers-like other peoples-did
| not keep themselves as clean as they
| ought to have done.
Our Almanacker had a weather bureau,
too, but he hadn't telegraph wires
and well-paid observers to furnish him
with information. So he made his calcu-
iations. twelve months in advance. from
the anticipated movements Of planets.
He always predicted that the weather
would be hot in July and August and
| cold In January and February. His pre-
dictions, we doubt not. were satisfactory
to the readers OF his AlmanacS. He
could hardly have given more satisfac-
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