George Wythe & Processioning

One of the major administrative responsibilities of the Vestry was “Processioning the Boundaries” every four years (as directed by the county court) to confirm and clarify the boundaries between landowners’ properties. The Vestry was also charged with adjudicating boundary disputes within the parish. The records relating to this process show the appointment of specific individuals to walk the boundaries (the “processioners”) and contain geographic details of the parish, names of landowners (reflecting the transfer of ownership over time), and information about contested boundaries and how disagreements were resolved. 

In the context of Processioning matters, the name of George Wythe (c.1726-1806), a lawyer who would become a member of the House of Burgesses and Second Continental Congress, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and High Court of Chancery judge, appears in the Vestry records. The entries reflect his land ownership, and that of his brother and father before him. There is also a record of a Vestry decision to engage Wythe to file a suit on the behalf of the Vestry. 

The slideshow above provides details about both the practice of Processioning and references to the Wythe family in the records.