A Select History of Mathews County, Virginia

This book is a selected history of Mathews County, Virginia, in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, and prior to 1791 an area known as Kingston Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia. It begins with a detailed analysis of original land patents and settlement patterns including a listing of all families and names of headrights. The social and economic development during the colonial period is explored including demographic information, agriculture, and labor systems utilizing indentured servants and African slaves. Chapters devoted to the Revolutionary War include the local militia, the Battle of Gwynn’s Island, and the formation and activities of the Virginia State Navy. Original sources, including logbooks of the British navy, are used to present a detailed account of Revolutionary War naval activity in the vicinity of Mathews County. Shipbuilding, agriculture, and other economic factors are explored during the years preceding the Civil War, including the War of 1812.