The tax base for St. Mark's Parish consisted of the tithes. About 1732, there were seven hundred tithes in the parish, which physically covered the area of modern Orange, Greene, Culpeper, Madison, and Rappahannock Counties.
So, the tithables were not very dense. A tithe consisted of white males, more than sixteen years of age, and all slaves, male and female, more than sixteen years of age. If there were 100 slaves more than sixteen in that year, it would leave six hundred white male tithes. Generally there were as many people below the age of 16 as there were above that age. Very roughly, put the number of males at twelve hundred and double this for the number of whites. So perhaps about three thousand people were living in the five county area.
At the start, St. Mark's Parish had the church at Germanna and two chapels, called the Fork Chapel and the Mountain Chapel. The Fork Chapel was called that because it was between the Rappahannock and the Rapidan Rivers. Actually, the Mountain Chapel was also, but it was much closer to the mountains. Going to church could involve many miles of walking.
In this five-county area, the sum total of the coaches was probably zero (the roads were probably not suitable for coaches). The majority of the households did not have a wagon. And, if any did own wagons, they were unsprung, so that riding in them was back breaking. Typically, there were not enough horses for everyone in the family to ride horseback. Very often, one walked, and perhaps carried one's shoes, so as not to wear them out or get them dirty. The time is 1730 and the area is very much on the frontier, and the density of people is low. The only "town" is Germanna, where, beyond a meal and drink, it would be hard to buy anything.
The Vestry of St. Mark's Parish in these early years was mostly busy with establishing the physical plant for pastors and the congregation. Several legal questions had to be resolved, and they employed the services of Robert Tanner, a lawyer. That he shared the same name as one of the Germanna settlers, has led to some confusion.
One of the legal charges laid to the church was the care of the sick and needy. At a meeting on 1 Nov 1731, the vestry ordered the wardens to find a doctor to recover the health of James Raines. The wardens were also ordered to supply Raines with clothing. The charges for these services were to be brought to the next laying of the parish levy (which would be in about a year). The next meeting of the vestry was not until the next March, as winter was not a good time to travel. At this meeting, the clothing for Raines, who had died, was ordered to be given to his widow. The wardens were ordered to find someone to fix the doors and windows of the church at Germanna. The clerk was ordered to take the returns of the processioners. This was another obligation laid on the church by the civil government.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.