William Fitzhugh

William Fitzhugh (1651-1701) settled in the Colony of Virginia and became a man of large means.  He occupied a wooden dwelling except for brick used in the chimneys and possibly the foundation. When Nicholas Hayward decided to establish one of his children in Virginia, he received a letter from Fitzhugh giving valuable information as to the course pursued by man of the planters in construction.  Fitzhugh strongly advised against a large dwelling and was doubtful even as to the wisdom of building an English framed house of the ordinary size because the pricce of skilled labor was excessively dear. He said that he had to pay out three times the amount required to build a house of the same proportions in London. Source: Virginia in the Seventeenth Century by Philip Alexander Bruce.

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William Fitzhugh

One of the earliest colonists, William Fitzhugh was a man of considerable means. When Nicholas Hayward decided to establish one of his children in Virginia, he received a letter from Fitzhugh as to building a house. According to the writer, the best plan was to import carpenters and bricklayers from England who were bound by indenture to serve four or five years.  In this length of time, Fitzhugh said, they would be able to raise a substantial house without constructing the walls of brick and by other taks earn sufficient to meet the cost of planks and nails and additional materials.  Fitzhugh strongly advised against a  large dwelling, as the costs for skilled labor was excessively dear. He explained that when constructing his own residence he was compelled to pay out three times the amount which would have been required for a house of the same proportions in London.
Source: Letters of William Fitzhugh, Jan 30. 1686-1687.

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