nds at the time of the
Revolution were as unlike their ancestors of Nicholson's day as was
William Byrd III unlike his grandfather, the painstaking son of the
English goldsmith.

Such were the effects upon the Virginia aristocracy of the economic,
social and political conditions of the colony. There can be no doubt
that the Virginia gentleman of the time of Washington and Jefferson,
in his self-respect, his homage to womanhood, his sense of honor, his
power of command, in all that made him unique was but the product of
the conditions which surrounded him. And although the elegance and
refinement of his social life, the culture and depths of his mind can,
to some extent, be ascribed to the survival of English customs and the
constant intercourse with the mother country, these too were
profoundly influenced by conditions in the colony.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Fiske, Old Va. and Her Neighbors, Vol. II, p. 12.

[2] Nar. of Early Va., p. 125.

[3] Ibid., pp. 140-141.

[4] Ibid., pp. 159-160.

[5] Ibid., p. 192.

[6] Fiske, Old Va. and Her Neighbors, Vol. I, p. 154. The facts here
presented form a complete refutation of the assertion, so frequently
repeated by Northern historians, that the Virginia aristocracy had its
origin in this immigration of dissipated and worthless gentlemen. The
settlers of 1607, 1608 and 1609 were almost entirely swept out of
existence, and not one in fifty of these "gallants" survived to found
families. Most of the leading planters of Virginia came from later
immigrants, men of humbler rank, but of far more sterling qualities
than the adventurers of Smith's day.

[7] Nar. of Early Va., p. 415.

[8] Neill, Va. Carolorum.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Va. Mag. of Hist. and Biog., Vol. XI, p. 317.

[14] Fiske, Old Va. and Her Neighbors, Vol. II, p. 182.

[15] Ibid., Vol. II, p. 179.

[16] Ibid., Vol. II, p. 170.

[17] As late as the year 1775 we find Dr. Samuel Johnson, with his
usual dislike of America, repeating the old error. In speaking of the
rebellious colonists, he says: "Sir, they are a race of convicts, and
ought to be thankful for anything we allow them short of hanging."
Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson, Temple Classics, Vol. III, p. 174.

[18] Bruce, Econ. Hist. of Va., Vol. II, pp. 380, 366.

[19] Ibid., Vol. II, p. 377.

[20] Neill, Va. Carolorum.

[21] Bruce, Econ. Hist. of Va., Vol. II, pp. 372, 377, 574.

[22] Bruce, Soc. Hist. of Va.,