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Saturday, May 25, 2013

Vaulx's Horse in a Great Race

Among the leading families of York County was the Vaulx family. The head of this wealthy family was Thomas who was a justice in 1670. He was accompanied to Virginia by Humphrey and James Vaulx, brothers of Robert Vaulx, a wealthy London merchant who had resided (at one time) in the colony.  In 1676, Robert Vaulx put his horse in a popular horse race situated at Rappahannock Church.  The great race occurred between the horses of Robert Vaulx, Clement Trellman and John Meader, and attracted a large number of speculators.  Ultimately, Robert returned to England. But we see that in 1681, Mrs. Vaulx, a woman of high social position, sent her slave, Frank, to negotiate a matter of business with James Macarty and Edward Thomas. The latter evidently resented the selection of a black man to convey to them such an important message, for they curtly informed him that "they were not in company for negroes", which seemed to have ended the interview. Pictured is a horse race at Williamsburg, Virginia.

Source: York County Records, Vol. 1684-87, p. 170.

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