One hundred forty-seven citizens of Nansemond County complain that the oysters in their fishing waters "are now remarkably scarce" because free blacks and self-hired slaves harvest them during the summer, "selling them to the Northern vessels where they are carried to the North ... for winter consumption." The petitioners therefore "Respectfully ask of the Legislature of Va to pass a law to prevent the taking of oysters from the waters of Nansemond River and chuckatuck creek ... between the 1 day of May and the 1 day of Sept in each and every year."
Result: Bill reported.
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Repository: Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
