Scope and Contents Transcripts collected circa 1922 by Earl Gregg Swem in connection with his editing of William Byrd's Description of the Dismal Swamp and a Proposal to Drain the Swamp. Includes land entries made in the Dismal Swamp; petitions, 1763-1785, to the Governor and Council; and papers, 1764-1785, of George Washington concerning the proposed canal in the Dismal Swamp.The collection contains the following material: Item 1: Byrd (William), 1922 Rare Book in the SCRC stacks, Call...

Scope and Contents

A hand drawn plot outlining the placement of a proposed canal boarding the south section of a farm, near their pen. Additionally, notes regarding the James River- Kanawha Canal's progress in different sections of constructing the canal. Points mentioned are Rutherford's Mill and Lesley's Bridge, both locations just West of Richmond, Va.

Scope and Contents Thomas Mead, of Lynchburg, Virginia, writes to his brother-in-law Frederick Carper, of Fairfax City, Virginia. The letter mentions their political differences and discusses laborers from Pennsylvania coming to work on the James River Canal (which was never completed). Mead describes these white laborers as a "motley crew" and mentions "Lynches law" as a method to deal with them. Enslaved "hands" were hired from $100 to $150 per year to work on the project. Mead mentions prices for enslaved...