Essays

  Virginia's Colonial Dynasties
Vulnerable to economic instability and competition that could disrupt their hard-won financial and social status, even the most accomplished settlers on the frontier that was colonial Virginia felt less than secure. Continue

  Family Portraits
Randolph, Fitzhugh, Byrd, Wormeley, and Gordon are names familiar to historians and genealogists, who over the past three hundred years have developed a sizable body of literature about the "first families of Virginia." Continue

  Portraits of Children
Gentry parents in colonial Virginia readily assumed an obligation to educate their heirs and provide generous inheritances for them. If they did not, their children could sink into the mire of low society. Continue

  Byrd Family
A man driven by enormous ambition, William Byrd II of Westover was an exceptional figure in colonial America. Continue

  Wormeley Family
The Wormeley family was one of the earliest to achieve prominence in Virginia. Continue

  Randolph Family
No family in colonial Virginia was more prominent or more powerful than the Randolphs. Continue

  Fitzhugh Family
The colonial history of Stafford and King George counties—and thus of northern Virginia—is inseparable from that of the large and powerful Fitzhugh dynasty Continue

  Gordon Family
The Gordon portraits depict the family of an Ulster merchant and planter of Scottish origin who emigrated to Lancaster County in 1738. Continue