From his early manhood, Robert Beverley had taken an interest in the history of Virginia.
"My first business being among the public records of my country, the active thoughts of my youth put me upon taking notes of the general administration of the government, but with no other design than the gratification of my own inquisitive mind."
" The History and Present State of Virginia ", his book of 1705, drew considerable attention in Virginia, as well as in England and France. In Virginia, one's view of the book was perhaps flavored by whether a specific person was criticized or not. In Beverley's mind, if a person was portrayed unfavorably, it was only because he deserved it. Whether he liked some of the individuals or not, he felt that he was writing in defense of his native Virginia. The phrase " my country ", which was used frequently by him, meant only one thing, Virginia . He balanced his recognition, that he was a subject of the English sovereign, with the thought that he was a free citizen of Virginia.
His book was divided into four parts:
The settlement of Virginia, up to his time,
A natural history,
An account of the Indians, and
A discussion of the form of government.
On his return to Virginia, he settled down at Beverley Park, on the frontier. (This was in 1705, and the future Germanna was still a two-day ride to the west.) Beverley's lifestyle was as different as his opinions of his fellow Virginians. Whereas, his brother-in-law, William Byrd of Westover, was attempting to turn his establishment into an English Lord's estate, Beverley was content to dwell in austere simplicity, ignoring fashions and trends. His idea of a place to sit was a stool that had been made on his plantation, probably little different from what the slaves were using. Beverley felt that Virginia was overrun with wood, and that it was unnecessary to buy one's furniture from England.
Though Beverley apparently had no plans to remarry (he had only the one son, William), he labored to increase his estate by land speculations, and the thrifty operation of his plantations. He could be sharp in his business practices, yet capable of convivial gaiety as a host. When Alexander Spotswood came as the new Lt. Gov. in 1710, the two young men struck up a friendship. Spotswood was able to steer some minor appointments to Beverley, and Beverley was able to give Spotswood some pointers on land acquisition.
As a part of his plan to increase his land holdings, Beverley had 13,000 acres of land surveyed along the south side of the Rapidan River, but he did not take out a patent, because he would have been required to pay a fee then. He discussed the problem of finding settlers for the western lands with Spotswood, and suggested that Spotswood join him in a land partnership. Spotswood could see that the surest road to wealth in Virginia was land, and Beverley's proposal struck a responsive chord in Spotswood.
(19 Oct 00)
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.