Gent vs. Spillman, Family Law Colonial Style
by Don Tharpe
Germanna member and historian Don Tharpe, founder of The Liberty Heritage Society and Museum, will share his extensive knowledge of a lawsuit in colonial Virginia that involved some prominent Germanna citizens. The Gent vs. Spillman lawsuit is the subject of this exciting presentation where you can learn about “family law colonial style” on July 17, 2010 at the Germanna Conference and Reunion.
What will you learn by attending this presentation? What Germanna insights will you gain? Here are a few of the questions that will be answered by Don:
Who was Jacob Spillman?
Did Jacob really sue his own mother?
Who was Mary Gent?
What was this lawsuit about? Who were all the parties to the lawsuit?
What does Fauquier County have to do with this lawsuit?
What does the Germantown Tract have to do with this lawsuit?
Where does Jacob Spillman fit in the history of Germanna?
What interesting twists took place in this lawsuit?
What was the surprising outcome of this lawsuit?
What can we learn about the history of Germanna from this lawsuit?
To get the answers to these questions and more, just attend Don Tharpe’s presentation on Saturday July 17, 2010 at the Germanna Conference and Reunion.
TO REGISTER FOR THE 2010 CONFERENCE AND REUNION, JUST CLICK HERE
Who is Don Tharpe?
Donald R. Tharpe, founder of the Liberty Heritage Society and Museum, has studied architecture and archaeology in his native Virginia and abroad in Israel, Jordan, Greece, and Turkey. Mr. Tharpe has been a lecturer at the Smithsonian Institution and serves as an advisor to numerous museums and historical organizations both in Virginia and across the nation. A chapter in the highly acclaimed book The Journey Through Hallowed Ground refers to Mr. Tharpe as “the Piedmont Historian.”
Don was appointed to the Fauquier County Historic Resource Committee and is an active member of the Fauquier County Civil War Round Table. He is presently researching, through primary sources, the social, economic, religious, and legal history of Fauquier County. Even the U.S. Senate recognized Mr. Tharpe’s significant contributions in Senate Joint Resolution No. 274 crediting Mr. Tharpe as one who has “added immeasurably to the historic record of Fauquier County.” Mr. Tharpe is the leading authority on the Germantown settlement and has been a longtime supporter of the Germanna Foundation.