Historic-themed meeting at MC Woman’s Club

The Cobbs Hall Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) gathered on Monday, June 9, at the historic Middlesex County Woman’s Club in Urbanna for a remarkable meeting centered on Colonial Virginia’s legal and cultural history.

The featured speaker was Dr. James Robusto, MD, now a noted historian of Tidewater Virginia. His presentation, “A Day in the Court,” drew from actual 18th-century court records that originated there in the very building that once served as Middlesex County’s Colonial courthouse, reported regent Catherine Bennett.

Dr. Robusto traced the rise of James Mills — a key figure in Urbanna’s history — detailing his acquisition of the historic Lansdowne property, later owned by Arthur Lee of the esteemed Lee family, and highlighting the court’s decisions on matters ranging from executions to other forms of early justice.

Dr. Robusto also extended a special invitation to chapter members for a private tour of the James Mills Scottish Factor’s Store—the only remaining example of its kind in the U.S. The store is home to the Mitchell Map, created by John Mitchell of Lancaster County, which was used as late as the 1970s to resolve boundary disputes.

The meeting concluded with a new recessional written by Bennett.