Photo by JAMES H. WALLACE, Richmond Times-Dispatch This is an exciting development out of Richmond, Virginia! Approximately 300 pages of colonial Virginia wills have been returned to Virginia. The pages were apparently carried off as a war prize by a Union soldier. The recovered pages, torn from a Charles City will book when the … Continue reading Charles City records taken by Union soldiers during Civil War are now returned
James Davis of New Bern, Fit to Print
On June 24, 1749, James Davis, a printer trained in Williamsburg, Virginia, printed the first official publication for the colony of North Carolina at the colony’s official press in New Bern.
Although printers had been active in some colonies for more than 100 years, North Carolina delayed acquiring a press. The provincial government liked to control the distribution of information and feared challenges to its authority, and the colony didn’t have the dense population necessary to finance a press.
Nearby printing presses in Williamsburg and Charleston also made it relatively easy to farm out the work that needed to be done.
A $10 bill printed by Davis in 1778. Image from the N.C. Museum of History.
Complaints by Royal Governor Gabriel Johnston in 1736 prompted the Assembly to begin the process of hiring a printer and acquiring the press. In 1747, Johnston appointed James Davis to the…
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Colonial History Comes Alive in Halifax
By Patsy Pridgen, Rocky Mount Telegram: Last week, I wrote about my delightful trip with the Rocky Mount Garden Club to Finch Nursery and the Leaning Tree in Bailey. The day after this excursion, I went on a very different one with a very different group. On a somewhat chilly, misty Friday, I explored Historic … Continue reading Colonial History Comes Alive in Halifax
