EDITED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION, BY HUNTER DICKINSON FARISH; ILLUSTRATED BY FRITZ KREDEL The University Press of Virginia Charlottesville COPYRIGHT 1957 BY COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG, INCORPORATED Previous editions copyright 1943, 1945 by Colonial Williamsburg, Incorporated ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 57-13498 The University Press of Virginia First printing for Dominion Books October 1968 Fourth printing 1990 Printed in the United States of America...

Once in a great while historians find a firsthand account that provides striking insight into a past era. Only rarely is such a document written with the perception and charm that make its readers feel as if they had participated in the incidents described and shared the experiences related. The journal and relevant correspondence of Philip Fithian constitute this kind of source. Fithian was reared in New Jersey and attended the College of New Jersey in Princeton, receiving his degree in 1772. B

In the "Golden Age," or half-century immediately preceding the American Revolution, a remarkable civilization reached its zenith in the broad coastal plain of eastern Virginia. Gradually, during a century of colonization and expansion, the heavily wooded tidewater had been converted into a land of settled order and accumulated wealth. Vast estates had been carved out of the wilderness and large plantations were everywhere the rule. Embraced by numerous arms of the Chesapeake and covered by a net

During his residence at "Nomini Hall" from October, 1773, to October, 1774, Philip Fithian recorded his impressions of the life about him in a daily journal and in letters to relatives and friends. These impressions constitute a detailed and illuminating account. The civilization he described differed in many respects from that he had known in New Jersey. His austere Presbyterian training caused him to look with disfavor or misgiving upon many of the gay diversions and other social customs of Vi

[ Andrew Hunter, [27] Jr., to Philip Vickers Fithian ] Nassau-Hall June 26th 1773. Sir. I expected notwithstanding your small offence you would have let me know before this time whether you had made any determination different from what you designed when I left you. If you design teaching before you get into business, there are now several considerable offers made to young men who are willing to go to Virginia by some of the first gentlemen in the colony; one particularly who will give as good a

FOLIO'S Molls large correct map of the whole world. Chamber's Dictionary of the Arts & Sciences 2 Vols Suplement to Ditto 2. Vol. Millers Gardeners Dictionary. Postlethwayts Do. of Trade & Commerce 2. Vol. Bayley's Etymological Ditto. Laws of Maryland. Puffendorf's Law of Nature & Nations Salmons universal Traveller 2. Vol. Grotius on War & Peace. Lockes Works 3 Vols. Wilkin's real Character. Principle of Equity. Homes Decisions of the Court of Sessions. Treatise