Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 2.djvu/87

 patents now preserved in the office of the Register at Richmond, of a grant of fifty acres on the basis of a head right allowed for the importation of an African, is that in connection with Angela, who belonged to Richard Bennett. This was in 1635, in which year twenty-six negroes were introduced into Virginia. The person who brought in the largest number was Charles Harmar, who added four men and four women to the slave population. The extent of the increase in 1636 did not exceed seven, the importation by individual planters being in no case larger than two. In 1637, twenty-eight negroes were introduced, Henry Browne being the importer of eight. In 1638, the number amounted to thirty. The planters who obtained head rights on the basis of these thirty slaves included such leading citizens as Francis Epes, John Banister, Randall Crew, Christopher Wormeley, George Menefie, Thomas Harris, John Robbins, and Richard Kemp. Richard Kemp brought in eleven and George Menefie twenty-three. It is stated that the whole number of Africans introduced in this year by the latter were from England. In 1639, only forty-six negroes were added to the slave population of the Colony, of whom fifteen were imported by George Menefie and twelve by Henry Perry. The number in 1642 amounted to seven only; in 1643 to eighteen, and in 1649 to seventeen, of whom a large majority were introduced by Ralph Wormeley. In the interval between 1649 and 1659 there seems to have been little fluctuation in the volume of the importations. The greatest number of negroes brought in one body in this interval were introduced in 1656, when