Robert Beverley died on 21 April 1722, just a few months before his friend and partner lost his job as Lt. Governor of Virginia. Unfortunately, his will and inventory of property have been lost, along with other records of King and Queen County. It is known, though, that he passed on a large land estate to his son, William. Whether his work in acquiring this estate was avarice, or a desire to protect the property, is debated. It does appear that he wanted to keep the land in the hands of the family. When John Fontaine asked about buying a tract of three thousand acres on the Rappahannock River, Beverley refused to sell, but did offer Fontaine a nine hundred and ninety-nine year lease. (Fontaine thought the offer was peculiar and wanted no part of it.)
One of the saddest things about the lack of an inventory is that we have no feeling for Beverley's personal library. His own writing is marked by a grace which probably came from his reading. His history is filled with allusions showing that he had read widely in travel, geography, and history, including modern and ancient writings. He is reminded, by the eating habits of the Indians, of the strange foods sold in the markets of Fess, and of the diet of the Arabians, Lybians, Parthians, and Ethiopians.
Besides his references that came from reading, he engaged in field research, especially with the Indians. He visited their villages and won their friendship. When he had difficulty in learning about their religious beliefs, he plied an Indian with hard cider until his tongue was loosened. To Beverley, the usual English attitude toward Indians was abhorrent. He commended them for their virtues. He thought there should be more marriages between the settlers and the Indians.
Beverley was not at all convinced that the coming of the white man had brought any improvement to the North American continent. Beverley's brother-in-law, William Byrd, and also the Indians and Spotswood, received praise from him. In particular he praised Byrd for his generosity toward the Huguenot refugees. It appears, though, that he never doubted his own Anglican church, as he obliquely expressed in his statement, "Those counties where there are Presbyterian meetings produce very mean tobacco."
Beverley was devoted to Virginia even though he had been exposed for a number of years to England. He never doubted the goodness of the land, even if he did have some doubts about a few of the citizens. Beverley did admit that Virginians tended to be lazy, but he said that God had been very generous in providing for them, so that they did not have to work very energetically.
With his brother-in-law, William Byrd, the two were the most vigorous and gifted writers that Virginia produced in the pre-Revolutionary period.
I have been following "
The First Gentlemen of Virginia
", by Louis B. Wright, published by the Huntington Library, in 1940. I will continue to use this book in talking about William Byrd.
(24 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.