Thomas Jefferson Papers
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Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on Virginia Statutes on River Navigation, [before 9 June 1819]

Notes on Virginia Statutes on River Navigation

[before 9 June 1819]

[1. Appamattox. river. lower part. A. C. I.
A. owner to make locks. 1. 4. 9. 22.
B.        cranes. 9.
C. condemn lands.2 10. 13. 14. 15. 17. 18. 19. 21.3
{ E. obstructions hereafter } 2. 3. 5. 12. 20.4
F. after becoming navigable.
G. no powers given.6 11.
H. to manage their affairs.7 12. 13. 16.
I. to contract voluntarily8 6. 13. 15. 16.9
J. cautionary provisions. 21.
K. correcting injustice. } 8.10
L. enforcing it.
M. to use water for navign only 10. 13. 15. 17. 18. 21. 19.
|N.|        for other purposes.
O. co. may build dam if owner refuses to do it.

onerous
A. B. C.
prohibitive  E. F.
indifferent G. H. I.
Protective M. |N.| O. J. K. L.
     upper.? how far.
2. Buffalo of Appamattox. Pr. Edw. F. 1
3. Buffalo & Tye. F.
[4. Capecaphon. A
5. James River. to Crow’s ferry
 it’s branches to their highest navign E.
 Hardware5 1804. Jan. 18.
6. Kanhaway. I.
7. Meherrin. 11. c. 77. G
8. Middle isld creek. 12. Feb. 15. III. 135 K.
         13. Jan. 25. III. 118. L.
[9. Monongalia. 13. c. 37. A. B. cranes to give effectual aid to boats ascendg the river
      14. c. 68. crane dispensd in favr John G. Jackson
      16. c. 134. a new dam permd on condn of crane.
10. Norfolk & Pasquotank11 canal. 87. c. 1. II. App. 55. C. 12 M.
11. Norfolk & Currituck do 14. c. 38. G. qu. 1808. c. 95.?
12. Nottoway. 12. c. 39. E. H.
13. Occoquan. 16. c. 56.13 H. I. C. M.
14  Potomak 95. c. 13. C.
15. Rappahanoc. 11. c. 74. I. C. M.
16  Rivanna. 05. c. 25. 06. c. 55. 11. c. 26. or 7514 14. c. 39. H. I.
17  Roanoke. upper co. i.e. within this state15 16. c. 50. C. M.
18  Roanoke & Meherrin. 12. c. 113. C. 16 M.
19. Shenandoah. 02. c. 22. 14. c. 37. C. 140.f. width. M.17
 
20. Staunton. 14. c. 50. E.
  [Slate river. 94. c. 48.18
21. Tuckahoe cr. 13. c. 36.
I. C. J. M.19 no boat to pass lock unless water runs over dam.
the opening for the lock shall not be made yro the dam.
the co. may raise dam 3.f. & then navigate whenever water is above level of prest dam
proprietor not to increase consumption of water by addnal works.
co. shall not reflow the water below to impede the owner’s wheel.
no boatman to land except at lock.
proprietor having made a dam & lock on one arm, may take toll.
[22. Willis’s River. 16. c. 52. C. E. A.
 
1. Roanoke.20 uppr co. i.e. within ys state. 16. c. 50. C. M.
  A. owner to make locks
B.        crane
C. condemn lands 1.21 4. 6. 11. 13. 14. 15. 16.
E. obstrn’s hereafter ) 2. 5. 8.22 9. 10.
F. after becomg navigble
G. no powers given 3. 7. }
H. to manage their own affairs 2. 12. 15
I. to contract volunty 12.24 17.
J. cautionary 11.
K. correcting injustice 18
L. enforcing it 18.
M. use water for navign only
 		 1. 4. 6. 11. 13. 15. 16
 
O. may build dam if owner refuses to do it.
2.   Nottoway 12. c. 39. E. H.
3.   Meherrin. 11. c.  77. G.
4.   Roan. & Meherrin canal23 12. c. 113. C. M.
5.   Staunton. 14. c. 50. E.
6. Norf. & Pasq. canal. 87. c. 1. C. M.
7  Norf. & Curratuk 14. c. 38. G.
8  Jas river E.
9    Buffalo of Appam. F
10    Buffalo & Tye. F
11    Tuckahoe.25 13. c. 36 C. J. M.
  
12    Rivanna. 05. c. 25. 06. c. 55. 11. c. 26 [or 75] 14. c. 39 H. I.
13. Rappahanoc 11. c. 74. C. M.
14  Potomak 95. c. 13. C
15.   Occoquan 16. c. 56. C. H. M.
16.   Shenandoah. 02. c. 22. 14. c. 37. C. 140 f. M
17. Kanhaway. 12. c. I.
18. Middle isld cr. 12. c. 122. 13. c. 101. K. L.
 
Appamattox. co. 1788.  Dec. 30.  I. 92. Nov. 30. G.
Appam. trustees.  1790. Dec. 16. G.  92. Dec. 26. N.26

MS (DLC: TJ Papers, 211:37596); on verso of reused address cover of Horatio G. Spafford to TJ, 5 Apr. 1819; in TJ’s hand; undated; brackets in original.

TJ included his findings from these notes in his Observations on the Answer of the President and Directors of the Rivanna Company, [before 9 June 1819]. Cited primarily by year and chapter number, the legislation referred to for each river can be found in either A Collection of all such Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, of a public and permanent nature, as are now in force, 3 vols. (Richmond, 1803–12; Sowerby, description begins E. Millicent Sowerby, comp., Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson, 1952–59, 5 vols. description ends nos. 1868–9; Poor, Jefferson’s Library description begins Nathaniel P. Poor, Catalogue. President Jefferson’s Library, 1829 description ends , 10 [no. 571]), or in Acts of Assembly description begins Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia (cited by session; title varies over time) description ends . The five entries that TJ marked with an opening bracket in the first section and omitted from the second are those he addressed in his Observations in beginning to refute the Rivanna Company’s sweeping claim that Virginia’s laws had routinely “conferred power to individuals or corporations to remove all obstructions.”

pr. edw.: Prince Edward County. roanoke. upper co.: The Upper Roanoke Navigation Company. The 1812 act concerning the Kanawha River (kanhaway) may refer to chapter 119, “An Act concerning John Nugent” (Acts of Assembly description begins Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia (cited by session; title varies over time) description ends [1811–12 sess.], 134 [17 Jan. 1812]).

1. Preceding this letter TJ canceled “E.”

2. TJ here canceled “1.”

3. TJ here canceled “22.” Beneath entry TJ canceled “D. declared nuisance.”

4. TJ here canceled “22.”

5. Reworked from “Rivanna.”

6. TJ here canceled “7.”

7. TJ here canceled “10.”

8. TJ here canceled “2.”

9. TJ here canceled “18. 21.”

10. Preceding this number TJ canceled “7.”

11. Preceding two words interlined in place of “coast.”

12. Preceding this letter TJ canceled “H.”

13. Beneath entry TJ canceled “Pamunkey. 12. c. 49.”

14. Preceding two words interlined.

15. Preceding six words interlined.

16. Preceding this letter TJ canceled “I.”

17. TJ here canceled “I.”

18. Line interlined.

19. Letter interlined.

20. Between each entry name and citation in this list TJ appears to have originally written and then canceled the corresponding item numbers and classification letters from his alphabetical list above. In the final entry for “Middle isld cr.” he mistakenly left an uncanceled “8.”

21. TJ here canceled an interlined “2.”

22. Preceding two numbers interlined.

23. Word interlined.

24. Preceding this number TJ canceled “19. 15. 13.”

25. Beneath entry TJ canceled “Willis’s.”

26. Preceding two lines written perpendicularly in right margin.

Index Entries

  • An Act concerning John Nugent (1812) search
  • An Act for improving the Navigation of Slate River (1794) search
  • An Act for opening, improving and extending the Navigation of the River Rappahannock, and all its improveable Branches (1811) search
  • An Act Incorporating a Company for improving the Navigation of Rivanna River (1811) search
  • An Act Incorporating a Company to open and improve the Navigation of the Rivanna river, from Milton to Moore’s ford, opposite the town of Charlottesville, in the county of Albemarle (1806) search
  • An Act to amend an Act, entitled, “An Act, concerning the Clearing of the North Fork of James River” (1805) search
  • An Act to amend the Act, entitled, “an Act incorporating a Company to open and improve the navigation of the Rivanna River from Milton to Moore’s Ford, opposite the town of Charlottesville, in the county of Albemarle, and for other purposes” (1814) search
  • Appomattox Company search
  • Appomattox River search
  • Buffalo River search
  • Cacapon River search
  • canals; at Norfolk search
  • canals; in Va. search
  • dams; and river navigation search
  • Hardware River (Albemarle Co.) search
  • Jackson, John George; dam of search
  • James River; and navigation search
  • Jefferson, Thomas; Writings; Notes on Virginia Statutes on River Navigation search
  • Jefferson, Thomas; Writings; Observations on the Answer of the President and Directors of the Rivanna Company search
  • Jefferson v. Rivanna Company; Answer of the President and Directors of the Rivanna Company to Thomas Jefferson’s Bill of Complaint search
  • Kanawha River search
  • locks (canal) search
  • Meherrin River search
  • Middle Island Creek (now W. Va.) search
  • Monongahela River search
  • Norfolk, Va.; canal at search
  • Nottoway River search
  • Occoquan River search
  • Pamunkey River search
  • Potomac River; and navigation search
  • Rappahannock River search
  • Rivanna Company; Answer of the President and Directors of, to TJ’s Bill of Complaint search
  • Rivanna River; navigation of search
  • Roanoke River search
  • Shenandoah River; navigation of search
  • Slate River search
  • Staunton River search
  • The Upper Roanoke Navigation Company search
  • Tuckahoe Creek search
  • Tye River search
  • Virginia; canals in search
  • Virginia; laws of search
  • Virginia; statutes on river navigation search
  • Willis’s River search

You Are Looking At

Source Project
Jefferson Papers
Title
Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on Virginia Statutes on River Navigation, [before 9 June 1819]
Author
Jefferson, Thomas
Date
9 June 1819

Reference

Cite as
“Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on Virginia Statutes on River Navigation, [before 9 June 1819],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-14-02-0374. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 14, 1 February to 31 August 1819, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017, pp. 402–404.]