Anne Orthwood's Bastard: Sex and Law in Early Virginia 1st Edition

by John Ruston Pagan (Author)

41 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0195144796

ISBN-10: 0195144791

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In 1663, an indentured servant, Anne Orthwood, was impregnated with twins in a tavern in Northampton County, Virginia. Orthwood died soon after giving birth; one of the twins, Jasper, survived. Orthwood's illegitimate pregnancy sparked four related cases that came before the Northampton
magistrates -- who coincidentally held court in the same tavern -- between 1664 and 1686. These interrelated cases and the decisions rendered in them are notable for the ways in which the Virginia colonists modified English common law traditions and began to create their own, as well as what they
reveal about cultural and economic values in an Eastern shore community. Through these cases, the very reasons legal systems are created are revealed, namely, the maintenance of social order, the protection of property interests, the protection of personal reputation, and personal liberty. Through
Jasper Orthwood's life, the treatment of the poor in small communities is set in sharp relief.

Anne Orthwood's Bastard was the winner of the 2003 Prize in Atlantic History, American Historical Association.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Pagan's Anne Orthwood's Bastard: Sex and the Lawin Early Virginia spin engaging yarns that tie together the best of recent scholarship while also interweaving fresh historical questions and issues....[T]he kind of work tailor-made to grip and hold the imaginations of undergraduates in early
American survey courses everywhere."--Reviews in American History

"Four cases provide the basis for John Ruston Pagan's intelligent and highly readable book."--Virginia Magazine of History and Biography

"[S]uperb analysis of the colony's nascent social, economic, and judicial structures....[T]errific scholarship that adds significantly to historians' understanding of early Virginia....Microhistories succeed when their case studies illuminate larger themes; at their best, the stories they tell rate
as literature. John Pagan scores on both counts."-- The Journal of Southern History

"John Pagan's subtle and sophisticated research and analysis and his lucid and evocative writing bring to life these Virginians of 350 years ago. The character sketches of the servants, justices of the peace, planters, jurors, and of Anne Orthwood and her lover are gems of historical writing....[An]
excellent book."--Richmond Times-Dispatch

About the Author

John Ruston Pagan is a Professor in the School of Law at the University of Richmond, Virginia.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (November 28, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 232 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195144791
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195144796
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1680L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.1 x 0.7 x 5.4 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #488,463 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #57 in Gender & the Law (Books)
- #473 in Legal History (Books)
- #550 in Gender Studies (Books)

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E. Nelson

Very interesting angle on history

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2013

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I like history books and enjoy the unusual angle which this author takes to discuss politics and culture in the early colonial period. The book is easy to read and generally kept my interest piqued. There were a few times where I felt that the author was rambling a bit and over analyzing a particular point but that never last for more than a couple of pages before it turned interesting again. One thing I had not anticipated is just how much the book focuses on law, including the development of common laws and statutes and discussion on how the local courts came to be, and how judges and jurors were selected, with lots of case examples used for context. Notwithstanding the title, I had not expected that law was the primary topic of the book, which it really is - the story of Anne Orthwood is more secondary.

Overall, I do feel this book added to my knowledge and understanding of the past in a way that other history books do not. It reinforced a lot of what I have already learned about the time period, and added other insight. For example, there was quite a bit (relatively speaking, given the small populations) of unmarried sexual encounters in 1600s, and often the fathers would deny paternity and (if the mother died or was poor) leave the child to be sent off to involuntary servitude while still an infant. So, in essence, lots of children grew up having no parents and no family to call their own - I had not thought of that happening in the late 1600's. Strange how men would place so much emphasis on family and religion, and at the same time completely abandon their own child because admitting to a sexual encounter with a lower class female would hurt their reputation.

Overall, highly recommended. While it was not a book that I 'could not put down'- it was one that I looked forward to reading each evening until I finished.

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Unholier Than Thou

Life, Love, and Law in Early Colonial Virginia

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2013

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I read this book for a college class and, holy cow, is it good. Pagan uses a series of court cases arising from a tryst in early colonial Virginia to open a window into the culture then under construction. The colonial authorities either modified or enforced English law in a manner deemed appropriate for the new environment they found themselves in. How and why they did it is extremely fascinating. Pagan mentions in his conclusion that the underlying story is operatic in its dimensions and he isn't lying. The text is a slim 150 pages so this would be a perfect book to buy for people who want to introduce themselves or their lives ones to the joys of historical scholarship. It is interesting enough for the lay reader and meaty enough for professional historians.

3 people found this helpful

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Thelma

Easy reas

Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2017

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I had to read this book for a constitutional history class in college. Unlike other history books this was an easy read. It's more of a narrative than fact after fact. The author strays off sometimes on things that don't seem so important. But the story is fascinating and I learned a lot about this time period. I'd recommend this book.

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Cabin Dweller

Fornication V Adultery

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2016

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This dissertation by law student John Ruston Pagan is a legal history of sexual mores in Colonial Virginia and an examination of the hybrid of English law and a fairly organized colonialized body of men who presided with an ability to rule without only prejudice. Pagan narrates through different chapters on the different people involved, but with little courtroom, literally rooms in an inn, drama, the narrative relies on biography of Orthwood, her paramour John Kendall, and others like their castoff son Jasper Orthwood, who is not a central subject throughout the book. He is an afterthought, based on Pagan’s analysis of legal sensibilities in the 17th century more than personal plight.
Orthwood came from England, was indentured and was in a contemporary fit when she met Kendall during only one weekend in eastern Virginia. What would become of Kendall becomes the prominent emphasis, because Orthwood would die of complications a few days after her son was born but Kendall had his prominent uncle’s reputation to confront. Lieutenant Colonel William Kendall was typical in his roll of wanting to protect his nephew’s image because it was his own by extension. However, the 17th century was, although pure regarding bastard births, tainted in regards to shotgun weddings. “Pre-marital sex was common,” Pagan writes, reporting that a quarter of all marriages involved pregnant women. “Only 1-2 percent of births occurred out of wedlock.”
The conflict within the court was based on two different Latin terms, not worth repeating here, but they represented a seller’s rights versus a buyer’s. Waters vs. Bishopp was a case of connected landowner versus a poor trader, with Waters thought to be enabled by his status among the “JP”s. But the case went to a jury, which stood to benefit the poorer Bishopp, the seller of a product that “to my knowledge” was ready for the work she was being sold to do. It is a primitive question, and somewhat a shame that even back then the legal system had to rule with certainty that which could not be determined with certainty. Bishopp maintained that he had no knowledge that he was selling the indenture of a pregnant woman. When Orthwood delivered her twins, only one surviving, only eight months after the days she confessed to having been with Kendall, the court was led to believe that Bishopp should have been more considerate of the “goods” he was trafficking. As Pagan concludes, Virginians wanted to trust in what they were buying, fading away from the scrupulous “buyer beware” precedent. Again, this was the focus of the study, not actually the mother or the son, but who could loosely be considered their “owners”.
The book had a novelty quality too, mostly based on various instances of laws against fornication. “Dressed in a white sheet and carrying a white rod, the offender had to confess before the congregation during service time on Sunday or a holiday. Failure to perform … resulted in excommunication.” Lawyers are legitimate in the book, if present. Here is one instance of medical quackery on page 52: “Roger and Anne Moy had to bind themselves into servitude to pay [Dr.] Stringer’s 1,200 pound bill” for a cure upon both of their bodies. “(The patients survived the cure but came to a bad end anyway: in 1653, Anne was sentenced to death for murdering Roger.)”

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Kindle Customer

Fascinating

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2013

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Who would have guessed that Colonial Virginia was one giant daytime television show? It's amazing that the Victorians managed to pretend that respectable people weren't interested in sex. This book is a great reminder of the opposite --before them and after them it was a gigantic aspect of visible society.

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robert v berg

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2016

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Provided unknown to me early history of colonial Virginia.

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Kenny

A well researched book

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2013

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This is a well researched and well written book. A tiny slice of Virginia history that will appeal to serious historians.

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Galadriel

Read and think!

Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2015

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Very interesting .... allows the careful reader to draw parallels between the politics and society of the Orthwood case and recent political efforts to control social behavior, especially that of women.

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Anne Orthwood's Bastard: Sex and Law in Early Virginia 1st Edition

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