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Historic  Virginia  homes  and  cliurches 


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HISTORIC  VIRGINIA 
HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


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THIS  LIMITED  EDITION  HAS  BEEN  PRINTED 
FROM    TYPE  AND    THE    TYPE    DISTRIBUTED 


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HISTORIC  VIRGINIA 
HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

BY  ROBERT  A.  LANCASTER,  Jh. 

// 
WITH  316  ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  Old  Tower 


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PHILADELPHIA  AND  LONDON 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

MCMXV 


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COPYRIGHT,  1915.  BY  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 


PUBLISHED  OCTOBER.  1915 


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PRINTED  BY  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

AT  THE  WASHINGTON  SQUARE  PRESS 

PHILADELPHIA,  U  S.A. 


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GORDONSDALE.  FAUQUIER  COUNTY 

See  page  384 


PREFACE 

This  work  includes  practicallj^  all  of  the  principal 
Colonial  homes  of  historic  interest  in  the  State  of  Virginia 
now  standing  and  many  which  have  been  destroyed,  to- 
gether with  the  churches  most  likely  to  engage  attention. 

In  1888  the  writer  began  to  gather  photographs  of 
historic  buildings  in  Virginia  for  his  private  collection,  and 
later,  upon  the  request  of  friends,  decided  to  publish  them. 
The  making  of  the  collection  as  complete  as  possible  and 
the  gathering  of  the  historical  data  have  involved  years  of 
labor  and  much  travelling  in  conveyances  of  many  sorts 
and  by  foot.  It  may  be  said  that  the  work  was  done 
at  the  psychological  time,  for  much  information  gath- 
ered in  past  years  would  now  be  impossible  to  secure  and 
much  of  that  recently  added  will  soon  be  as  inaccessible. 
The  information  has  been  made  as  full  as  the  great  number 
of  houses  treated  would  allow. 

As  alterations  in  buildings  have  been  frequent,  the 
writer's  aim  in  such  cases  has  been  to  secure  pictures  of  as 
early  a  period  as  possible  while  they  were  in  their  original 


vi  PREFACE 

condition,  so  as  to  show  the  character  of  houses  and 
churches  our  ancestors  built.  For  instance,  the  picture 
shown  of  St.  John's  Church,  Hampton,  was  taken  from  one 
pubhshed  some  fifty  years  ago  rather  than  from  one  show- 
ing it  as  it  is  to-day  after  the  original  has  been  altered. 
The  photographs  of  Montpelier,  Eagle  Point,  Belleville, 
and  many  other  places,  also  show  these  edifices  before  the 
existing  alterations  were  made. 

The  author  wishes  to  acknowledge  with  thanks  the  great 
assistance  rendered  by  JNIrs.  Mary  Newton  Stanard,  and 
Mr.  William  Clayton  Torrence,  Secretary  of  the  Valen- 
tine Museum,  and  Mr.  William  G.  Stanard,  Secretary  of 
the  Virginia  Historical  Society,  without  whose  help  he 
could  not  have  secured  much  valuable  information.  He 
also  appreciates  the  assistance  rendered  by  INIrs.  Sally 
Nelson  Robins,  ]Mr.  G.  C.  Callahan  of  Philadelphia,  Mrs. 
I.  H.  Carrington,  Miss  Kate  Mason  Roland,  ]VIrs.  James 
Lyons,  Mrs.  John  Dunn,  INIrs.  Philip  A.  Bruce,  the  late 
General  William  B.  Taliaferro  and  his  famil)^  ]Mr.  Cai'ter 
Wellford,  Mr.  Morgan  P.  Robinson,  the  late  Thomas  Boil- 
ing, Mr.  Preston  Cocke,  Mr.  Thomas  N.  Carter,  the  officers 
of  the  R.  F.  and  P.  R.  R.,  C.  and  O.  Ry.,  and  Tidewater 
and  Western  R.  R.  and  Hon.  F.  B.  Hutton  and  Miss 
Ellen  W.  Preston  of  Abingdon,  Va. ;  and  to  Mr.  H.  P. 
Cook  for  a  few  pictures  from  his  collection;  also  the  hos- 
pitality extended  at  the  various  homes  visited  in  making 
the  collection. 

R.  A.  L.,  Jr. 

Richmond,  July,  1915 


BROOK  HILL,  HENRICO  COUNTY 

See  page  113 

CONTENTS 

PART  PAGE 

I.     Jamestown,  Williamsburg,  Yorktown 1 

II.     Hampton  Roads  and  the  Lower  James 41 

III.  Richmond,  Manchester  and  the  Upper  James 114 

IV.  Gloucester  and  the  York  River  Country 215 

V.     The  Rappahannock  and  Potomac 287 

VI.     Piedmont  and  the  South  Side 373 

VII.     Beyond  the  Mountains 446 

VIII.     The  Eastern  Shore 482 

All    houses    and    names    of    families    mentioned    in    this 
book  are  contained  in  the  index,  pages  503-527. 

vii 


SABINE  HALL,  GARDEN  FRONT 

See  page  333 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

MoNTicELLO Frontispiece 

GORDONSDALE,     FaUQUIER     CoUNTY V 

Brook  Hill,  Henrico  County vii 

Sabine  Hall,  Garden  Front ix 

PART  I— JAMESTOWN,  WILLIAMSBURG,  YORKTOWN 

Ambler  House,  Jamestown 3 

Jamestown  Church  and  Old  Tower 3 

Foundations  of  Old  Jamestown  Church 7 

William  and  Mary  College,  Williamsburg 11 

Blair  House,  Williamsburg 16 

Bruton  Church,  Williamsburg 17 

Wythe  House,  Williamsburg 20 

Saunders  House,  Williamsburg 21 

Page  House,  Williamsburg 22 

Court  House,  Williamsburg 23 

Tucker  House,  Williamsburg •    ■    •  24 

Coleman  House,  Williamsburg 24 

Old  Powder  Horn  at  Williamsburg 25 

Raleigh  Tavern,  Williamsburg,  and  the  Apollo  Room  .    .  27 

Carter  House,  Williamsburg 30 

ix 


X  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Tazewell  Hall,   Williamsburg ^-^ 

Nelson  House,  Yorktown ^^ 

Custom  House,  Yorktown ''^ 

Moore  House,  near  Yorktown ^^ 

RiNGFiELD  House,  York  County 39 

Porto  Bello,  York  County      40 

PART  II— HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  THE  LOWER  JAMES 

RoLLESTON,  Princess  Anne  County' 42 

St.  Paul's  Church,  Norfolk 43 

Myers  House,  Norfolk 43 

Thoroughgood  House,  Princess  Anne  County 46 

St.  John's  Church,  Hampton 47 

Eastern  Shore  Chapel,  Princess  Anne  County 48 

St.  Luke's  Church,  Isle  of  Wight  County 51 

Bacon's  Castle,  Surry  County 53 

The  Hall  at  Carter's  Grove 55     '^ 

Carter's  Grove,  James  City  County- 55   l^ 

Four   Mile  Tree,  Surry  County 58 

Claremont,  Surry  County 61 

Tedington,  Charles  City  County' 63 

Brandon,  Prince  George  County 65 

The  Hall  at  Brandon ' 65 

Upper  Brandon,  Prince  George  County' 71 

Weyanoke,  Charles  City  County 73 

Sherwood  Forest,  Charles  City  County' 74 

Flower  de  Hundred,  Prince  George  County' 76 

Merchant's  Hope  Church,  Prince  George  County     ...  77 

Westover,  Charles  City'  County 79 

Westover  Gates 81 

The  Parlor  at  Westover 82 

Westover  During  the  War  1861-1865 84 

Westover  Church 85 

Berkeley,  Charles  City  County 87 

Appomattox,  Prince  George  County 91 

Blandford  Church,  Petersburg 92 

Bollingbrook,  Petersburg 94 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xi 

Centre  Hill,  Petersburg 95 

Collecting  Chicken  Feed  in  the  Olden  Days 96 

Battersea,  Near  Petersburg 97 

Mansfield,  Near  Petersburg 98 

Shirley,  Charles  City  County 99 

Malvern  Hill,  Henrico  County 104 

Wilton,  Henrico  County 107 

Powhatan,  Henrico  County 107 

Ampthill,  Chesterfield  County 109 

Falling  Creek  Mill,  Chesterfield  County 109 

Eppington,  Chesterfield  County Ill 

PART  III— RICHMOND,  MANCHESTER  AND  THE  UPPER 

JAMES 

Marketing  Tobacco  in  the  Old  Days 114 

Richmond  in  1800 115 

The  Home    of   the    Late  General   Joseph    R.    Anderson, 

Richmond 117 

St.  John's  Church,  Richmond 119 

Old  Masonic  Hall,  Richmond 122 

Van  Lew  or  Adams  House,  Richmond  (Front) 123 

Van  Lew  or  Adams  House  (Rear) 123 

Ticket  for  Masonic  Dinner  Given  in  Honor  of  General 

Lafay'ette 125 

Monumental  Church,  Richmond 127 

Archer  House,  Richmond 127 

Crump  House,  Richmond 131 

The  White  House  of  the  Confederacy,  Richmond  ....  131 

Richmond  in  1833 135 

The  Hall  at  Valentine  Museum,  Richmond 139 

Valentine  Museum,  Formerly  Wickham  House,  Richmond  139 

McCance  House,  Richmond 143 

Gamble  House,  Richmond 143 

Governor's  Mansion,  Richmond 146 

State  Capitol,  Richmond 147 

Home  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  Richmond 147 


xii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Westmoreland  Club,  the  Stanard  House,  Richmond  .    .    .  150 

Richmond  in  1848 151 

Allan  House,  Richmond 155 

Bullock  House,  Richmond 158 

Swan  Tavern,  Richmond 159 

Gray  House,  South  Richmond 160 

Black  Heath,  Chesterfield  County 161 

Chesterfield  Court  House 162 

Salisbury,  Chesterfield  County 163 

Norwood,  Powhatan  County 164 

Beaumont,  Powhatan  County 165 

Paxton,  Powhatan  County 166 

Tuckahoe,  Goochland  County 169 

Belmead,  Powhatan  County 169 

School-house  at  Tuckahoe 172 

Oakland,  Cumberland  County 175 

Oakland,  Showing  the  Grove 175 

Sabot  Hill,  Goochland  County 178 

Dover,  Goochland  County 179 

Howard's  Neck,  Goochland  County 181 

Rock  Castle,  Goochland  County 182 

Polling  Hall,  Goochland  County 183 

"Uncle"  Asa  and  "Aunt"  Jinsey  at  Rolling  Island    .    .  184 

Polling  Island,  Goochland  County 185 

Union  Hill,  Cumberland  County 185 

Clifton,  Cumberland  County 186 

Bellmont,  Buckingham  County 187 

Barn  at  Bremo 188 

Bremo,   Fluvanna  County   (Front) 189 

Bremo  (Rear) 189 

Lower  Bremo,  Fluvanna  County 191 

Wind-power  Grist  Mill  in  Mathews  County 193 

The   Old    "Marshall,"    the   Last   Packet  Boat   Run   on 

James  River  and  Kanawha  Canal 193 

PoiNT-OF-FoRK,  Fluvanna  County      I95 

Cumberland  Court  House 196 

Effingham  Tavern,  Cumberland  Court  House 197 

Ampthill,  Cumberland  County I97 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xiii 

Liberty  Hall,  Nelson  County 198 

Union  Hill,  Nelson  County 199 

Edgewood,  Nelson  County 201 

Soldier's  Joy,  Nelson  County 203 

Otter   Burn,    Bedford  County 204 

Oak  Ridge,  Nelson  County 205 

Pharsalia,  Nelson  County 207 

Ionia,  Louisa  County 210 

Brackett's,  Louisa  County 211 

West  End,  Louisa  Cou^nty 213 

Sylvania,  Louisa  County 214 

PART  IV— GLOUCESTER  AND  THE  YORK  RIVER 
COUNTRY 

Old  Windmill,  Mathews  County 215 

Timberneck,  Gloucester  County 217 

Powhatan's  Chimney,  Timberneck  Creek 218 

Rosewell,  Gloucester  County 221 

Carter's  Creek  (Fairfield),  Gloucester  County    ....  227 

Green  Plains,  Mathews  County 227 

Poplar  Grove,  Mathews  County 232 

Tide  Mill  at  Poplar  Grove 232 

Auburn,  Mathews  County 233 

Belleville,  Gloucester  County 234 

Dunham  Massie,  North  River,  Gloucester  County  .    .    .  235 

Elmington,  North  River,  Gloucester  County 236 

The  Exchange,  North  River,  Gloucester  County.    .    .    .  237 

ice-house,  at  exchange 238 

Toddsbury,  North  River  (Front),  Gloucester  County    .  239 

ToDDSBURY  (Rear) 239 

White  Marsh,  Gloucester  County 242 

Glenroy,  Gloucester  County 244 

White  Hall,  Gloucester  County 245 

AiRviLLE,  Gloucester  County 246 

Warner  Hall  on  the  Severn,  Gloucester  County  .    .    .  248 

Sherwood,  Gloucester  County 249 

Eagle  Point,  Gloucester  County 250 

Hesse,  Gloucester  County 252 


xiv  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Ware  Church,  Gloucester  County ^^^ 

Abingdon  Church,  Gloucester  County ^^^ 

Tavern  at  Gloucester  Court  House 25' 

St.  Peter's  Church,  New  Kent  County 258 

Cedar  Grove,  New  Kent  County 260 

Providence  Forge,  New  Kent  County 261 

Hampstead,  New  Kent  County 262 

The  Hall  at  Hampstead 263 

Eltham,  New  Kent  County 264 

Clover  Lea,  Hanover  County 265 

Chelsea,  King  William  County 267 

Elsing  Green,  King  AVilliam  County 268 

Horn  Quarter,  King  William  County 269 

Mattapony  Church,  King  and  Queen  County 270 

Hanover  Court  House 271 

Tavern  at  Hanover  Court  House 275 

Hickory  Hill,  Hanover  County 276 

Fork  Church,  Hanover  County 278 

Oakland,  Hanover  County 279 

ScoTCHTO^vN,  Hanover  County 281 

Edgewood,  Hanover  County 282 

Parlor  at  Edgewood 283 

Dining-room  at  Edgewood 283 

New  Market,  Hanover  County 285 

PART  V— THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC 

Following  the  Hounds 289 

RosEGiLL,  Middlesex  County 289 

Blandfield,  Essex  County 293 

Vauter's  Church,  Essex  County 295 

The  Hall  at  Gaymont,  Caroline  County 297 

Ormesby,  Caroline  County 298 

House  Where  Stonewall  Jackson  Died,  Fairfield,  Caro- 
line County 298 

North  Garden,  Caroline  and  Spottsylvania  Counties   .   299 

Marye  House,  Fredericksburg 300 

Mary  Washington  House,  Fredericksburg 301 

Rising  Sun  Tavern,  Fredericksburg 301 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xv 

Kenmore,  Fredericksburg 303 

The  Parlor  at  Kenmore 304 

The  Falls,  Near  Fredericksburg 305 

Fall  Hill,  Spottsylvania  County 306 

RoxBURY,  Spottsylvania  County 308 

Ditchley,  Northumberland  County 310 

Mantua,  Northumberland  County 311 

Bewdley,  Lancaster  County 313 

Epping  Forest,   Lancaster  County 313 

TowLEs  Point,  Lancaster  County 315 

Christ  Church,  Lancaster  County 317 

Interior,  Christ  Church 317 

St.  Mary''s  White  Chapel,  Lancaster  County 320 

Bladensfield,  Richmond  County 322 

Kirnan,  Westmoreland  County 323 

Stratford,  Westmoreland  County 327 

Sabine  Hall,  Richmond  County 327 

Yeocomico  Church,  Westmoreland  County 331 

Farnham  Church,  Richmond  County 333 

The  Hall,  Sabine  Hall,  Richmond  County 335 

Mt.  Airy,  Richmond  County 339 

Mt.  Airy,  Rear  View 341 

Menokin,  Richmond  County 345 

Cleve,  King  George  County 346 

Barnsfield,  King  George  County 348 

Chatham,  Stafford  County 349 

Boscobel,  Near  Fredericksburg 352 

Old-time  Method  of  Cooking  as  Used  at  Boscobel  up  to 

1905 353 

AcQuiA  Church,  Stafford  County 354 

LSTTERIOR   OF   AcQUIA    ChURCH 355 

Mt.  Vernon,  Fairfax  County 357 

Mt.  Vernon,  Rear  View 359 

Pohick  Church,  Fairfax  County 363 

Gutnston  Hall,  Fairfax  Coltnty 364 

Christ  Church,  Alexandria 366 

Carlyle  House,  Alexandria 368 

Arlington,  Alexandria  County 369 


xvi  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PART  VI— PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE 

Oak  Hill  (Front),  Loudoun  County 374 

Oak  Hill  (Rear) 375 

Oatlands,  Loudoun  County 376 

Old  Methodist  Church,  Leesburg 377 

Raspberry  Plain,  Loudoun  County 378 

Morven  Park,  Loudoun  County 379 

Oak  Hill,  Fauquier  County 383 

Montpelier,  Orange  County 387 

Rocklands,  Orange  County 390 

Frascati,  Orange  County 391 

Barboursville,  Orange  County 393 

Edge  Hill,  Albemarle  County 393 

Castle  Hill,  Albemarle  Codnty 397 

Starting  the  Hunt 397 

Belvoir,  Albemarle  County 399 

The  Rotunda — University  of  Virginia 407 

Farmington,  Albemarle  County 410 

Redlands.  Albemarle  County 411 

MoNTicoLA,  Albemarle  County 413 

WooDviLLE,  Albemarle  County 415 

EsTouTEviLLE,  Albemarle  County 415 

The  Hall  at  Estouteville 416 

Tallwood,  Albemarle  County 416 

Plain  Dealing,  Albemarle  County,  and  Interior  ....   417 

Mountain  Top,  Albemarle  County 419 

Clover  Forest,  Prince  Edward  County 421 

Green  Hill,  Campbell  County 422 

Old  Negro  Couple  at  Cabin  at  Red  Hill 425 

Red  Hill,  Charlotte  County 425 

Staunton  Hill,  Charlotte  County 428 

Ingleside,  Charlotte  County 431 

The  Old  Mill  at  Greenfield,  Charlotte  County  ....   432 

Greenfield,  Charlotte  County 433 

The  Garden  Walk  at  Greenfield 433 

Berry  Hill,  Halifax  County,  and  Interior 436 

Bellevue,  Halifax  County 437 

Banister  Lodge,  Halifax  County 438 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xvii 

Roanoke,  Charlotte  County 440 

Mulberry  Hill,  Charlotte  County 441 

MiLDENDO.  Halifax  County 442 

Prestwould,  Mecklenburg  County 444 

Ivy  Cliff,  Bedford  County 445 

PART  VII— BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS 

Old  Stone  Church,  Augusta  County 446 

Greenway  Court,  Clarke  County 447 

Old  Springdale  House,  Frederick  County 448 

Springdale,  Frederick  County 449 

Abraham's  Delight,  Near  Winchester 450 

Old  Stone  Chapel,  Clarke  County 453 

Carter  Hall,  Clarke  County 455 

Long  Branch,  Clarke  County 455 

Saratoga,  Clarke  County 459 

Clifton,  Clarke  County 460 

Pagebrook,  Clarke  County 461 

Natural  Bridge 462 

On  the  Road  to  Natural  Bridge  (1889) 46.S 

Wallawhatoola,  Bath  County 465 

The  Meadows,  Washington  County 466 

Old  Byars  House,  Washington  County 467 

Smithfield,  Montgomery  County 469 

Preston  House,  Abingdon 471 

Fort  Lewis,  Bath  County 471 

Green  Valley,  Bath  County 475 

Mont  Calm,  Abingdon 476 

Typical    Frontier    Block    House    Used    for    Protection 

Against  Indians 481 

PART  VIII— THE  EASTERN  SHORE 

Mt.  Custis,  Accomac  County 483 

Welbourne,  Horntown,  Accomac  County 484 

St.  George's  Church,  Pungoteague,  Accomac  County  .    .  485 

Brownsville,  Northampton  County 486 

Vaucluse,  Northampton  County 488 

West  House,  Deep  Creek 489 


xviii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

DucKiNGTON,  Northampton  County 490 

Cessford,  Eastville,  Northampton  County 490 

Shepherd's  Plain,  Accomac  County 491 

Melvin  House,  Accomac  County 492 

Custis  House,  Deep  Creek 492 

Callahan  House,  Locust  Mount,  Accomac  County    .    .    .  493 

Margaret  Academy,  Accomac  County 494 

Wallop  House,  Accomac  County 494 

Mount  Wharton,  Accomac  County 495 

HuNGARS  Church,  Northampton  County 496 

Bowman's  Folly,  Accomac  County 499 

RosELAND,  Accomac  County 500 

Warren  House,  Surry  County 503 

Talbot  Hall,  Norfolk  County 527 


HISTORIC  VIRGINIA  HOMES 
AND  CHURCHES 

PART  I 

Jamestown    Williamsburg    Yorktown 

jamestown 

THE  story  of  Virginia,  as  of  America,  begins  at 
Jamestown. 
On  December  20,  1606,  three  ships,  the  Susan 
Constant,  the  Godspeed  and  the  Discovery, 
dropped  down  the  Thames  from  London.  Through  the 
months  of  January,  February,  March  and  nearly  all  of 
April,  thej^  bore  steadily  across  the  Atlantic.  They  were 
mere  toys — white  dots  on  the  bosom  of  the  vasty  deep — yet 
they  were  bringing  a  new  order  of  things  to  a  New  World 
— they  were  bringing  England  to  the  Red  Man's  Land. 
Aboard  them  were  Captain  Christopher  Newport,  Ad- 
miral of  the  fleet,  and  one  hundred  and  three  stout-hearted, 
adventurous  spirits,  fifty-four  of  whom  were  "  gentlemen," 
four  "  carpenters  "  and  twenty-four  "  laborers."  Seven  of 
these  were  to  form  the  Council  of  State  to  govern  the 
Colony  they  were  coming  to  plant.  These  were  Edward 
Maria  Wingfield,  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  Christopher 
Newport,  John  Smith,  John  RatclifFe,  John  Martin, 
George  Kendall,  but  the  document  appointing  them  was 
brought  in  a  sealed  box  which  was  not  to  be  opened,  "  nor 
the  governors  known  until  they  reached  land."  There  was 
also  a  godly  Church  of  England  minister.  Reverend  Robert 
Hunt,  for  the  instructions  of  the  King's  Council  for  Vir- 
ginia had  warned  them  that  "  every  plantation  which  our 
Heavenly  Father  has  not  planted  shall  be  rooted  out." 
Upon  April  26,  they  arrived  at  the  Cape,  which  they 


2  VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

named  Henry  for  the  Prince  of  Wales.  There  they  set  up 
a  cross,  then  sailed  into  Chesapeake  Bay  and  up  James 
River. 

Upon  JNIay  13,  when  the  heauty  of  the  spring  season 
made  them  think  that  they  had  found  in  Virginia  "  earth's 
onlj'  paradise,'  they  chose  the  site  for  Jamestown  and  with 
their  ships  floating  in  six  fathoms  of  water  made  fast  to 
the  trees  upon  the  bank. 

On  the  fourteenth,  they  put  themselves  and  their  goods 
ashore,  and  gentlemen  and  laborers  alike  fell  to  work  cut- 
ting down  trees  to  make  a  clearing  for  their  fort,  within 
which  rude  cabins  were  soon  built.  "  For  a  church,"  says 
Captain  John  Smith,  "  wee  did  hang  ...  an  old  saile  to 
three  or  foure  trees  to  shadow  us  from  the  Sunne,  our 
walks  were  railes  of  wood,  our  seats  unhewed  trees,  till  we 
cut  plankes,  our  Pulpit  a  bar  of  wood  nailed  to  two  neigh- 
bouring trees  .  .  .  this  was  our  Church  till  we  built  a  homelj^ 
thing  like  a  barne,  set  upon  crachets  covered  with  rafters, 
sedge  and  earth;  so  was  also  the  walls.  The  best  of  our 
houses  ( were )  of  the  like  cvu-iosity,  but  the  most  part,  f  arre 
much  worse  workmanship,  that  neither  could  well  defend 
wind  or  rain ;  j^et  we  had  daily  common  Prayer  morning  and 
evening  every  Sunday,  two  sermons,  and  every  three 
months  the  holy  communion  till  our  minister  died :  but  our 
prayers  daily,  with  our  homily  on  Sunday,  we  continued 
two  or  three  years  after,  till  more  Preachers  came." 

Spring  in  Virginia  was  full  of  fair  promises,  but  with 
summer  came  the  deadly  "  ague  and  fever  "  and  other  dis- 
eases caused  by  the  swampy  situation  and  bad  drinking 
water.  Danger  from  the  Indians  was  ever  present;  food 
became  scarce;  dissensions  arose.  Every  one  knows  the 
story  of  the  trying  years  that  followed,  with  Captain 
Smith's  strenuous  efforts  to  keep  the  colony  alive,  his  cap^ 
ture  by  the  Indians  and  rescue  by  Pocahontas,  the  colonists' 
devoted  friend.  Its  climax  was  reached  in  the  "  starving 
time  " — the  winter  of  1609-1610 — when  only  the  arrival  of 
Lord  Delaware  with  provisions  and  new  settlers  saved 
Jamestown  from  being  abandoned. 


AMBLER  HOUSE,  JAMESTOWN 


JAMESTOWN  CHURCH  AND -OLD  T(JWEU 


JAMESTOWN  5 

After  this,  though  there  were  still  great  suffering  and 
many  deaths,  Virginia  grew  in  strength.  In  1614  the  bap- 
tism of  Pocahontas  and  her  marriage  with  John  Rolfe 
made  a  bond  of  friendship  between  the  red  man  and  the 
white.  In  1619  Virginians  were  given  the  right  to  share  in 
their  own  government.  A  popular  legislature  was  author- 
ized and  the  House  of  Burgesses,  the  first  representative 
Assemblj^,  not  onlj^  of  America,  but  of  all  the  King's  Col- 
onies, met  on  July  30,  in  the  church.  In  this  year  also 
twentj'  picked  maidens,  "  pure  and  undefiled,"  were  sent 
over  to  make  homes  for  such  of  the  bachelor  settlers  as 
were  willing  to  pay  for  their  transportation — provided  said 
bachelors  took  the  fancy  of  the  maids — and  when  the  pair- 
ing oiF  was  accomplished  Parson  Bucke  united  the  twenty 
happ}^  pairs  in  holy  wedlock. 

These  auspicious  events  were  followed  by  a  frightful 
disaster — the  Indian  Massacre  of  1622,  when  nearlj'  four 
hundred  Colonists  were  murdered,  but  from  which  James- 
town escaped,  thanks  to  timely  warning. 

The  year  1635  saw  at  Jamestown  the  first  American 
revolutionary  movement.  The  people,  tired  of  Governor 
Harvej^'s  misrule,  "  thrust  him  out  "  of  office  and  shipped 
him  to  England. 

Years  of  quick  growth,  but  full  of  interest,  followed 
— then,  in  the  spring  of  1652,  the  loyal  Virginians  as- 
sembled at  Jamestown  to  defend  the  rights  of  King  Charles, 
but  were  forced  to  surrender,  on  easj^  terms,  to  the  Parlia- 
ment fleet. 

It  was  at  Jamestown,  too,  that  the  most  dramatic  scenes 
of  the  famous  Bacon's  Rebellion  were  enacted  in  1676, 
when  the  town  was  burned,  leaving  only  the  ruined  church 
tower  standing.  A  final  burning  of  the  State  House,  in 
1698,  caused  the  removal  of  the  Colonial  government  to 
Williamsburg. 

After  "  James  City  "  ceased  to  be  even  a  village,  and 
most  of  its  site  became  the  property  of  one  family,  Travis, 
it  still  retained  its  right  to  send  a  member  to  the  House  of 


6  VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Burgesses,  a  privilege  not  taken  away  until  the  formation 
of  the  State  in  1776.  The  Mr.  Travis  of  the  day  was  the 
returning  officer,  and  the  only  voter  and  he,  or  his  nominee, 
the  member.  A  member  of  Congress  who  once  heard  of 
this  on  a  visit  to  Jamestown  said  he  now  understood  why 
the  place  had  once  been  called  "  Earth's  only  paradise." 

Still  retaining  its  privileges  as  a  town — though  only  a 
town  in  name — Jamestown  was  long  without  a  history. 
Cornwallis  camped  there  June  4-9,  1781,  and  on  June  6, 
gave  Lafayette  a  beating.  In  September,  1781,  the  first 
French  troops,  arriving  in  Virginia  for  the  Yorktown  cam- 
paign, landed  at  Jamestown. 

In  1861,  the  Confederate  fort  which  adds  much  of  pic- 
turesqueness  to  this  historic  spot  was  built,  by  order  of 
General  Robert  E.  Lee. 

About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below  the  church  tower,  upon 
a  level  grass  plot,  stand  the  ruins  of  a  Colonial  mansion 
known  as  the  Ambler  House.  This  house  was  built  some 
time  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  by  the 
Huguenot,  Edward  Jacqueline,  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses  and  a  large  land  holder  at  Jamestown.  From 
him  the  house  passed  to  his  descendants  of  the  well-known 
Ambler  family,  and  continued  in  their  possession  until  the 
first  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  when  it  was  sold.  It 
has  since  frequently  changed  hands  and  has  been  three 
times  burned,  though  the  massive  old  walls  still  stand  firm. 

Upon  May  3,  1893,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edward  E.  Barney, 
then  owners  of  Jamestown  Island,  moved  by  a  broad  and 
generous  spirit  of  patriotism,  presented  the  twenty-two 
and  a  half  acres  of  land  upon  which  are  the  tower,  church- 
yard and  Confederate  fort  to  the  Association  for  the  Pres- 
ervation of  Virginia  Antiquities.^ 

1  See  also  Yonge,  The  Site  of  Old  "  James  Towne,"  1607-1698. 
A  Brief  Historical  and  Topographical  Sketch  of  the  First  Ameri- 
can Metropolis.  Richmond:  1907.  This  monograph  was  pub- 
lished serially  in  The  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biog- 
raphy, xi,  257-276,  393-414 ;  xii,  33-54,  113-133. 


Copyright,  1901,  by  Robert  A.  Lancaste: 


FOUNDATIONS  OF  OLD  JAMESTOWN  CHURCH 


JAMESTOWN  9 

Through  the  efforts  of  this  organization,  the  United 
States  Government  has  placed  a  splendid  sea-wall  along 
the  shore  of  the  island  exposed  to  the  encroachment  of  the 
river,  which  had  already  made  serious  inroads.  In  1901 
excavations  at  the  rear  of  the  tower  brought  to  light  the 
foundations,  brick  aisles  and  chancel  of  the  church,  and 
some  exceedingly  interesting  tombs.  A  most  interesting 
feature  of  the  "  excavations  "  is  a  small  wall  which  may  be 
seen,  in  the  illustration  of  the  foundations  of  the  church, 
immediately  inside  the  outer  right-hand  larger  wall.  This 
smaller  wall  is  in  all  probability  a  part  of  the  foundation  of 
the  earliest  church  on  this  site  and  hence  of  the  building  in 
which  sat  the  first  "  Assembly  of  the  representatives  of 
the  People  "  called  together  in  the  New  World.  In  order 
to  protect  these  relics  from  the  weather,  and  as  a  memorial 
to  the  first  settlers,  the  National  Society  of  the  Colonial 
Dames  of  America  has  restored  the  outer  walls  of  the 
church  building,  in  part,  over  the  original  foundations. 
Other  excavations,  in  1903,  unearthed  the  foundation  of  a 
block  of  five  or  six  connected  buildings,  including  those  of 
the  State  House  burned  by  Bacon,  in  1676. 

]\Iany  interesting  memorials  have  been  placed  at  James- 
town in  honor  of  the  year  1907.  Among  these  is  a  granite 
shaft,  erected  by  the  United  States  Government;  stately 
entrance  gates  by  the  Colonial  Dames  of  America, — a  dif- 
ferent organization  from  the  one  which  restored  the  church, 
— a  bronze  statue  of  Captain  John  Smith  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Joseph  Bryan ;  a  rest  house — patterned  after  the  Malvern 
Hill  Mansion — by  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution; ornamental  fountain  by  the  Massachusetts  Societ}'' 
of  Colonial  Wars;  a  monument  to  the  first  House  of  Bur- 
gesses, by  the  Norfolk  branch  of  the  Association  for  the 
Preservation  of  Virginia  Antiquities. 

An  improvement  which  might  have  saved  many  lives  in 
the  early  days  of  storm  and  stress,  if  it  only  could  have  been 
made  three  hundred  years  ago,  is  a  fine  artesian  well  which 
supplies  the  island  with  a  generous  amount  of  pure,  spark- 
ling and  delicious  water. 


10        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

WILLIAMSBURG 

A  straggling,  mile-long  "  city,"  with  eighteenth  century- 
houses  and  shady  streets  and  here  and  there  open  spaces 
of  greensward  where  trees  have  plenty  of  room  to  grow 
and  young  children  to  play;  a  citj^  dominated  by  a  vener- 
able church  with  ivied  walls  and  white  spire,  within  a  high- 
walled,  mossy  graveyard ;  and  by  a  venerable  college  within 
a  wide  green  campus;  a  village  out  of  an  old  story  book! 
On  a  June  day  the  gardens  are  overflowing  with  bloom 
and  sweet  odors,  and  the  music  of  singing  birds,  and  cows 
browse,  blissful  and  unafraid,  upon  the  grass  and  butter- 
cups that  the  inhabitants  with  rare  sense  of  the  fitness  of 
things  allow  to  spring  unrebuked  in  the  streets. 

Such  is  Williamsburg. 

After  the  destruction  of  Jamestown  it  was  decided  to 
remove  the  seat  of  government  of  Virginia  to  a  situation 
less  popular  with  malaria  and  mosquitoes.  The  site  chosen 
was  the  Middle  Plantation,  a  little  village  upon  high  ground 
some  seven  miles  back  from  Jamestown  and  the  river.  Its 
name  was  changed  forthwith  to  Williamsburg  after  the 
reigning  king  of  England  and  Virginia.  The  first  plan 
was  to  lay  out  the  streets  to  form  a  monogram  of  the  letters 
W  and  M,  the  initials  of  their  majesties  William  and  Mary, 
but  this  was  abandoned.  Instead,  Duke  of  Gloucester 
Street  and  its  parallel  thoroughfares  were  intersected  at 
right  angles  by  other  highways  bearing  names  suggestive 
of  royalty  and  state.  Along  these  streets  many  of  the 
houses,  where  the  lights  of  other  days  lived  and  moved  and 
had  their  being,  may  still  be  found. 

The  Capitol  and  Governor's  Palace  have  disappeared, 
but  the  site  of  the  former  is  preserved;  the  Palace  Green 
is  the  Palace  Green  still,  and  the  college  and  the  church 
still  carry  on  the  good  works  for  which  they  were  originally 
designed. 

WILLIAM  AND  MARY  COLLEGE 

In  the  midst  of  its  shady  campus  stands  William  and 
Mary,  looking  straight  up  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  Street, 
which  was  originally  closed  at  the  opposite  end  by  the 


WILLIAMSBURG  13 

Capitol  building  and  grounds.  It  is  built  after  the  favorite 
Colonial  manner,  of  red  brick  with  glazed  "  headers,"  and 
with  a  triple-arched  brick  porch  and  a  white  cupola.  Some 
distance  in  the  foreground,  upon  the  main  walk,  is  a  white 
marble  statue  of  Norborne  Berkeley,  Baron  de  Botetourt 
1718-1770),  Governor-in-chief  of  Virginia  1768  to  1770, 
with  a  high-flown  inscription. 

William  and  Mary  was  the  first  American  college  save 
one,  the  first  to  have  chairs  of  Law,  Political  Economy, 
JSIodern  Languages  and  History,  the  first  to  estabhsh 
elective  and  honor  systems  and  class  lectures  and  to  award 
medals,  and  its  Phi  Beta  Kappa  was  the  first  Greek  letter 
fraternity  in  the  United  States. 

It  was  through  the  untiring  efl'orts  of  the  Reverend 
James  Blair,  D.D.  (1655-1743) ,  Rector  of  Bruton  Parish, 
that  the  College  Charter  was  granted,  in  1693,  by  their 
gracious  majesties  whose  names  it  bears:  "  that  the  Church 
in  Virginia  may  be  furnished  with  a  seminary  of  Ministers 
of  the  Gospel,  and  that  the  youth  may  be  piously  educated 
in  good  letters  and  manners  and  that  the  Christian  religion 
may  be  propagated  among  the  Western  Indians,  to  the 
glory  of  Almighty  God."  Sir  Christopher  Wren  is  be- 
lieved to  have  been  the  architect,  and  good  Parson  Blair 
was  fittingly  made  its  first  president.^ 

Of  this  old  college  it  has  been  said  that  "  more  illus- 
trious men,  in  proportion  to  the  numbers  educated  there, 
have  gone  out  to  make  it  and  themselves  famous  than  from 
any  other  literary  institution  on  this  Continent." 

Presidents  of  the  United  States,  judges,  chancellors, 
statesmen  and  divines,  warriors  and  gentlemen  fill  the 
rolls  of  its  venerable  record.  General  Washington  was 
its  first  chancellor  after  the  Revolution,  and  to  name  only 
a  few  of  the  distinguished  sons  of  this  Alma  Mater,  three 
presidents  of  the  United  States — Thomas  Jefferson, 
James  Monroe,  John  Tyler — were  educated  there,  as  were 

^  Motley,  Life  of  Commissary  James  Blair  ( Johns  Hopkins 
University  Studies,  Series  xix,  No.  10). 


14         VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Chief  Justice  John  JNIarshall;  Peyton  Randolph,  first 
President  of  the  Continental  Congress;  Chancellor  George 
Wj'the,  and  Governor  Edmund  Randolph. 

He  spake  truly  who  declared,  "  Its  name  must  ever  be 
associated  with  the  deeds  of  the  great  and  good." 

The  college  library  contains  some  treasures  in  the  way 
of  rare  books  and  interesting  portraits.  Many  of  the  books 
were  presents  from  the  royal  governors  of  Virginia  and 
contain  book  plates  bearing  coats-of-arms  of  their  donors. 

Among  the  rules  of  the  college  was  one  that  no  student 
should  keep  a  race-horse,  and  another  that  drinking  should 
be  confined  to  the  moderation  that  becomes  a  prudent  and 
industrious  student.  A  practical,  if  somewhat  unique,  offi- 
cer for  the  college  was  named  on  June  26,  1761,  when  it 
was  "  Resolved  that  INIrs.  Foster  be  appointed  stocking- 
mender  in  the  college  and  that  she  be  paid  annually  the 
sum  of  twelve  pounds  provided  she  furnish  herself  with 
lodging,  diet,  fire  and  candles." 

The  college  continued  in  successful  operation  until  the 
Revolution,  when  a  company  of  volunteers  was  raised 
among  the  students  and  commanded  by  some  of  the  pro- 
fessors. When  the  James  River  peninsula  became  the  seat 
of  war  the  exercises  were  temporarily  suspended  and  the 
buildings  were  occupied  in  succession  by  the  troops  of  the 
British  and  allied  armies.  The  college  has  been  thrice 
destroyed  bj^  fire, — first  in  1705,  again  not  long  before  the 
War  between  the  States  and  again  during  that  conflict  by 
Federal  soldiers, — but  the  Colonial  builders  laid  their  mas- 
sive brick-work  to  stand,  and  it  has,  each  time,  been  restored 
within  the  same  walls. 

THE   BRAFFERTON   BUILDIXG 

WILLIAM  AND  MARY  COLLEGE 

Upon  the  college  green  to  the  right  of  the  main  build- 
ing stands  the  commodious  and  substantial  building  known 
as  the  Braiferton,  the  first  Indian  School  of  any  conse- 
quence in  America.     The  Honorable  Robert  Boyle,  of 


WILLIAMSBURG  15 

England,  who  died  in  1691,  directed  in  his  will  that  his 
executors  should  apply  his  personal  estate  to  such  chari- 
table and  pious  uses  as  they,  in  their  discretion,  should  see 
fit.  The  fund  was  invested  in  an  English  estate  called 
Brafi^erton,  and  the  rents,  subject  to  ninety  pounds  given 
to  Harvard  Universitj%  were  paid  the  President  and  pro- 
fessors of  William  and  Mary  for  the  purpose  of  establish- 
ing and  maintaining  a  department  for  Indians.  The  result 
was  the  BrafFerton,  where  Indian  youths  were  supported 
and  taught  until  the  Revolution. 

The  BrafFerton  is  now  used  as  one  of  the  college  dormi- 
tories. 

THE   PRESIDENT'S   HOUSE 
WILLIAM  AND  MARY  COLLEGE 

To  the  left  of  the  college  and  immediately  across  the 
campus  from  the  BrafFerton  is  a  dignified  mansion  built, 
like  the  college  and  the  BrafFerton,  of  dark  red  brick  with 
glazed  "  headers  "  and,  like  the  BrafFerton,  too.  in  plan, 
with  the  addition  of  the  square,  pillared  porch.  It  was 
built  in  1732  and  as  the  home  of  a  long  succession  of  hon- 
ored presidents  of  William  and  Mary  has  enjoyed  a  rich 
social  history.  It  has  its  place  in  war  history  as  well,  for 
Lord  Cornwallis  made  it  his  headquarters  not  long  before 
the  Yorktown  campaign.  It  was  also  occupied  by  the 
French  troops  at  the  time  of  the  siege  of  Yorktown  and  by 
them  was  accidentally  burned,  but  was  rebuilt  at  the  cost 
— tradition  says — of  the  private  purse  of  King  Louis  XVI. 

THE  BLAIR  HOUSE 

Passing  from  the  college  grounds  into  Duke  of 
Gloucester  Street,  a  few  steps  bring  you  to  a  long,  low, 
white  frame  cottage,  with  one  story  and  a  dormer  and  with 
two  street  entrances,  a  short  distance  apart,  each  of  which 
is  reached  by  worn  white  marble  steps. 

Modest  as  this  homestead  looks,  it  was  the  residence 
of  two  very  distinguished  men — John  Blair  (1686-1771), 


16        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

President  of  the  Council  of  State  and  Acting  Governor  of 
Virginia,  and  his  son,  John  Blair  (died,  1800),  Justice 
of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court." 


BLAIR  HOUSE,  WILLIAMSBURG 


BRUTON  CHURCH 


Foot-worn  stone  steps  lead  to  a  heavy  iron  gate  set  in 
a  wall  of  checkered  brick-work.  The  gate  gives  entrance 
to  the  old  town's  Holy  of  Holies — Bruton  Parish  Church 
and  Churchyard.  The  green  "  God's  acre  "  is  filled  with 
tombstones,  many  of  them  bearing  arms  and  interesting 
epitaphs  in  English  or  Latin.  The  old  sanctuary  is  built 
in  the  shape  of  a  Roman  cross,  with  a  square  entrance 
tower,  of  the  familiar  dull  red  and  glazed  brick.  The  tower 
is  surmounted  by  a  white  wooden  steeple  from  one  side  of 
which  the  town  clock,  which  tradition  says  was  formerly 
in  the  Capitol,  keeps  a  watchful  ej^e  upon  the  town.     The 

^  Blair  family  :  William  and  Mary  College  Quarterly  Historical 
Magazine,  v,  p.  279 ;  Horner,  The  History  of  the  Blair,  Banister 
and  Braxton  Families  (Philadelphia,  1898). 


WILLIAMSBURG 


17 


bell,  which  both  cries  the  hours  with  silver}^  sound  and 
calls  the  people  to  church,  bears  the  inscription,  "  The  gift 
of  James  Tarpley  in  Bruton  Parish,  1761." 

Bruton  has  been  longer  in  continuous  use  than  any 
other  Episcopal  church  in  America.  The  parish  was 
established  when  Williamsburg  was  still  Middle  Plantation 
and    antedates   College,   CapiLol  and   Palace.     The   first 


BRUTON  CHURCH  WILLIAMSBURG 

church  was  doubtless  of  wood,  but  in  1676  a  brick  one  was 
built  upon  "  land  sufficient  for  the  Church  and  Church- 
yard "  given  by  Colonel  John  Page — first  of  the  Page 
family  in  Virginia — who  also  subscribed  "  twenty  pounds 
sterling  "  to  the  building  fund. 

Upon  October  1,  1706,  "  The  vestry,  considering  ye 
great  charge  ye  parish  hath  been  at  for  ye  repairing  of  ye 
Church,  and  how  bad  a  condition  it  still  is  in,"  ordered  that 
"  twenty  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco  be  levied  this  year  for 

2 


18        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

and  towards  building  a  new  church."  This  (the  present) 
building  was  finished  in  1715  and  stands  upon  the  original 
site.  It  was  said  to  have  been  "  adorned  as  the  best  Churches 
in  London."  There  were  the  high-back  pews  and  tall 
pulpit  of  the  time.  The  Governor  s  pew  was  slightly  ele- 
vated from  the  main  floor  and  over  it  stretched  a  silken 
canopy  around  which  the  Governor's  name  was  wrought 
in  letters  of  gold.  In  this  pew  splendidly  worshipped  the 
roj^al  governors,  Nicholson,  Jennings,  Spotswood,  Drys- 
dale,  Gooch,  Dinwiddle,  Fauquier,  Lord  Botetourt  and 
Lord  Dunmore,  while  in  other  pews  have  sat  burgesses 
and  councillors,  patriots,  scholars  and  statesmen  without 
number.  To  name  only  the  greatest  in  this  remarkable 
galaxy — George  Washington,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Patrick 
Henry,  George  JMason,  and  John  Marshall  all  bowed  the 
knee  in  this  storied  temple. 

In  1718  leave  was  given  the  students  of  William  and 
JNIary  College  to  use  the  west  gallery  and  to  put  a  door  with 
a  lock  and  key  to  the  stairs  of  said  gallery,  "  the  sexton  to 
keep  the  key."  In  this  gallery,  while  students  at  William 
and  Mary,  sat  Peyton  Randolph  (1722-1775),  President 
of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  George  Wythe  (1726- 
1806) ,  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

In  1721,  it  was  ordered  that  a  gallery  be  built  in  the 
south  side  of  the  church  "  for  the  boys  of  the  parish." 

In  1753,  it  was  ordered  that  half  of  the  south  gallery 
be  appropriated  to  the  college  students,  and  here,  while 
students,  sat  Thomas  Jefferson,  James  Monroe,  Chief 
Justice  INIarshall,  Governor  Edmund  Randolph,  President 
John  Tyler,  and  General  Winfield  Scott. 

The  north  gallery  was  reserved  for  colored  servants  and 
was  entered  by  a  stairway  from  outside. 

In  1755,  it  was  ordered  that  a  loft  be  built  for  the  organ 
which  had  been  brought  from  England,  and  upon  which 
Mr.  Peter  Pelham  was  appointed  to  plaj'. 

Old  Bruton  is  the  fortunate  possessor  of  three  notable 
services  of  Communion  silver,  the  most  interesting  of  which 


WILLIAMSBURG  19 

was  brought  from  Jamestown.  It  consists  of  a  chalice, 
paten  and  ahiis-basin  presented  to  Jamestown  Church  by 
Francis  JMoryson,  Acting  Governor  of  Virginia.  The 
elialice  and  paten  are  inscribed:  "  JNIixe  not  holy  things 
with  profane.  Ex  dono  Francisci  Morrison  Armigeri  anno 
Domi  1661,"  and  the  basin  with  arms,  and  "  For  the  use  of 
James  City  Parish  Church."  The  "  Queene  Anne  Ser- 
vice "  is  an  exquisitely  chased,  two-handled  cup  and  cover, 
and  a  paten,  and  bears  arms.  The  "  King  George  Service  " 
consists  of  a  flagon  chalice  and  alms-basin.  Each  piece 
bears  the  royal  arms  and  initials  G  III  R,  and  the  motto, 
"  Honi  soit  qui  mal  y  pense." 

King  Edward  VII  in  1907  gave  a  Bible  and  President 
Roosevelt  a  lectern  for  the  Bible  to  rest  upon,  to  this 
historic  church,  which  has  been  beautifully  and  reverently 
restored  to  as  nearly  as  possible  its  appearance  in  the  days 
when  it  was  the  State  Church  of  England's  first  colony  "in 
America. 

THE  PALACE  GREEN 

Beyond  the  church  stretches  the  "Palace  Green  "  where 
stood  the  Governor's  palace,  said  to  have  been  a  "  mag- 
nificent structure  .  .  .  finished  and  beautiful  with  gates, 
fine  gardens,  offices,  walks,  a  fine  canal,  orchards,  etc." 
And  "  likewise  the  ornamental  addition  of  a  good  cupola  or 
lantern,  illuminating  most  of  the  town  upon  birth  nights 
and  other  nights  of  occasional  rejoicing." 

The  Palace  was  the  very  centre  of  social  and  ceremoni- 
ous life  in  Colonial  Virginia.  It  was  there  that  the  painted 
and  powdered  belles  and  beaux  displayed  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage their  velvets  and  brocades,  their  jewelled  buckles 
and  falls  of  rich  lace  and  also  their  accomplishments  in  the 
way  of  ornate  manners  and  speech;  there  the  minuet  and 
the  more  lively  country  dances  occupied  the  hours  twixt 
candle-light  and  dawn  when  the  birthday  of  his  honor,  the 
Governor  of  Virginia,  or  his  Majesty,  the  King  of  Eng- 
land, was  being  celebrated,  and  upon  other  holidaj^s. 


20         VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

WYTHE  HOUSE 

The  square  brick  mansion  over-run  with  ivy  and  Vir- 
ginia creeper  hard  by  the  church  was  the  home  of  the  dis- 
tinguished Revolutionary  patriot  and  signer  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence,  George  Wythe  (1726-1806)/ 
This  house  has  figured  in  both  history  and  fiction,  for  just 
before  the  Yorktown  campaign  General  Washington  took 
it  for  his  headquarters  and  in  recent  times  jNIiss  Ellen 


WYTHE  HOUSE,  WILLIAIISBURG 

Glasgow  made  use  of  it  as  the  home  of  Judge  Bassett,  one 
of  the  chief  characters  of  her  novel,  The  Voice  of  the 
People. 

The  Wythe  House  can  boast  of  no  less  than  three 
ghosts,  whoever  sleeps  in  what  was  Judge  Wythe's  bed- 
room upon  the  night  of  the  8th  of  June  is  suddenly  awak- 
ened by  the  touch  of  a  cold  hand  upon  his  brow ;  the  shadow 
of  General  Washington  walks  in  the  wide  hall  on  moon- 
light nights,  and,  on  occasion,  a  glimpse  of  the  lovely  JNIrs. 

*  Wythe  family :  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  ii,  69. 


WILLIAMSBURG 


21 


Skipwith,  who  was  IMiss  Elizabeth  Byrd,  of  "  Westover," 
may  be  had,  as  she  descends  the  broad,  dark  stairs. 

SAUNDERS  HOUSE 

The  picturesque  mansion  with  the  two-storied,  pillared 
porch,  just  beyond  the  Wythe  House,  is  the  Saunders 
House — formerly  the  home  of  JNlr.  Robert  Saunders'  (a 
prominent  gentleman  of  W^illiamsburg  and  a  President  of 


.^i^^^i5jr>»j' 


SAUNDERS  HOUSE,  WILLIAMSBURG 

W^illiam  and  Mary  College)  and  his  wife,  who  was  Lucy 
Page,  the  youngest  of  the  twenty  children  of  Governor 
John  Page. 

About  the  year  1752  this  house  was  occupied  by  Gov- 
ernor Robert  Dinwiddie  while  the  Palace  was  undergoing 
repairs. 

PAGE  HOUSE 

Just  across  Palace  Green  from  the  Saunders  House 
is  the  little  old  white  frame,  dormer-windowed  cottage 
which  was  the  town  house  of  Governor  John  Page,  of 

^  Saunders  family:  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  xiv,  p.  145 
et  seq. 


22         VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

"  Rosewell."  Hard  by  is  the  site  of  the  old  theatre  which 
furnished  WiUiamsburg  folk  with  the  diversion  of  the  play. 
Both  homestead  and  theatre  figure  conspicuously  in  ]\Iiss 
INIarj'  Johnston's  novel  "  Audrey,"  and  since  the  publica- 
tion of  that  book  the  cottage  has  been  pointed  out  to 
visitors  as  "  Audrey's  house."  Its  panelled  hall  and  parlor 
and  unique  stairway  make  it  as  quaint  within  as  without, 
and  one  of  the  tiny  window-panes  in  the  parlor  gives  it  a 


PAGE  HOUSE,  WILLIAMSBURG 


still  further  interest.  Upon  this  pane  a  diamond  from  the 
finger  of  soiue  fair  one  of  over  a  century  ago  has  scratched, 
so  plainly  that  it  may  still  be  easily  read,  the  initials  "  T.  B." 
and  the  date  "  1790  November  23,"  followed  bv  the  words, 
"  O  fatal  day."  The  identity  of  "  T.  B."  and  the  reason 
why  November  23,  1790,  was  a  "  fatal  day  "  are  alike 
wrapped  in  mystery,  which  is  fortunate,  since  it  grants 
every  reader  of  the  haunting  inscription  liberty  to  give  free 
rein  to  imagination  and  make  his  own  story. 


WILLIAMSBURG  23 

THE  COURT  HOUSE  AND  GREEN 

Divided  from  the  Palace  Green  by  the  street  named  for 
Lord  Dunmore  is  Court  Green,  a  broad  grassy  space, 
shaded  by  fine  old  trees. 

Within  it,  upon  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  Street  side, 
stands  the  Court  House,  built  in  1769,  and  upon  it  look  a 
number  of  picturesque  and  charming  old  homesteads. 


COURT  HOUSE,  WILLIAMSBURG 


COURT  GREEN  HOUSES 

TUCKER    HOUSE 

Facing  the  Court  Green  on  its  north  side  is  a  large, 
rambling,  frame  house  which  was  the  home  of  two  mem- 
bers of  a  distinguished  Virginia  family.  Judges  St.  George 
and  Nathaniel  Beverley  Tucker." 

Beyond  the  Tucker  House,  on  the  north  side  of  the 

«  Tucker  family:  The  Crtic  (Richmond,  Va.),  Sept.  14,  1889. 


24        VIRGINIA  HOMES  x\ND  CHURCHES 

street  named  for  Governor  Nicholson,  which  passes  under 
a  double  row  of  large  trees,  several  commodious  frame 


TLXKER  HOrSE,  WIILIAMSBURG 


COLEMAN  HOUSE,  WILLIAMSBURG 


homesteads  of  the  Colonial  period,  with  large  gardens  lying 
behind  them,  look  upon  the  Court  Green. 


WILLIAMSBURG 


25 


On  the  right-hand  side  of  the  cross  street,  as  one  turns 
to  go  to  the  station,  is  the  house  in  which  General  Lafayette 
was  entertained  when  he  visited  the  Colonial  capital  in 
1824. 

COLEMAN  HOUSE 

A  block  further  down  Nicholson  Street  is  to  be  noticed 
one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  old  Williamsburg  homes. 
The  house  is  rich  in  heirlooms  of  the  Tucker  and  Randolph 
families,  and  the  terraced  garden  is  beautiful  and  fragrant 
in  summer  with  roses  in  endless  variety,  old-fashioned 
flowering  shrubs,  hyacinths  and  tulips,  violets  and  lilies, 
great  peonies — pink  and  white,  each  single  blossom  a 
bouquet. 

-      THE    POWDER    HORN 

Across  Duke  of  Gloucester  Street  from  the  Court 
Green,  but  some  distance  back,  stands  one  of  the  most 


OLD  POWDER  HORN  AT  WILLIAMSBURG 


interesting  relics  in  America — the  old  Powder  Horn.    This 
curious  looking  little  octagon-shajjed  house,  with  its  high 


26         VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

peaked  roof,  was  built  in  1714,  during  Governor  Spots- 
wood's  administration,  to  hold  the  Colony's  munitions  of 
war,  and  was  designed  by  the  Governor  himself.  Its  walls 
are  strong  and  thick,  and  to  add  to  its  security  it  was 
formerly  enclosed  by  a  thick  and  high  outer  wall,  running 
parallel  to  its  eight  sides. 

It  was  from  the  Powder  Horn  that  Lord  Dunmore 
secretly  removed  the  gunpowder  for  which  Patrick  Henry, 
at  the  head  of  his  Hanover  troops,  made  him  pay.  This 
incident,  it  will  be  remembered,  resulted  in  Dunmore's 
flight  from  the  capital  and  the  patriotic  Virginians  putting 
themselves  on  record  in  a  pledge  to  defend  Virginia  "  or 
any  sister  colony  " — fervently  closing  with,  "  God  save  the 
liberties  of  America." 

Since  the  Revolution  the  Powder  Horn  has  had  a  check- 
ered history — serving  in  turn  as  a  Baptist  Church,  a  danc- 
ing school  and  a  stable.  During  the  War  between  the 
States  the  Confederates  used  it  for  its  original  purpose — a 
powder  magazine  and  armory. 

It  is  now  the  property  of  the  Association  for  the  Pres- 
ervation of  Virginia  Antiquities,  which  has  made  it  a 
museum  of  relics  of  Virginia's  past. 

RALEIGH  TAVERN 

From  the  Powder  Horn  on  to  the  old  Capitol  grounds 
at  the  eastern  end  of  the  street  may  be  seen  numerous 
Colonial  dwellings — though  the  open  lots  and  new  build- 
ings show  where  many  others  have  been  destroyed  by  fire. 
The  site  of  the  most  notable  of  these,  Raleigh  Tavern,  has 
been  recently  marked  by  the  Virginia  Society  of  the 
Colonial  Dames  of  America  with  a  tablet. 

This  most  famous  of  Colonial  "  guest  houses  "  was  a 
large,  square,  wooden  building,  two  stories  high,  with  eight 
dormer  windows  on  each  of  its  four  sides.  In  a  small 
portico  over  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  Street  entrance  stood, 
upon  a  pedestal  which  is  now  one  of  the  relics  of  the  Powder 
Horn  Museum,  a  leaden  bust  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  In 
1742,  the  tavern  was  owned  by  John  Blair,  nephew  of  the 


WILLIAMSBURG 


27 


Commissary,  and  kept  by  one  Henry  Wetherburn.  Mine 
host  Wetherburn  was  evidently  an  expert  mixer  of  the  cup 
that  cheers,  if  we  may  take  a  hint  from  the  Goochland 
County  records,  from  which  we  learn  that  William 
Randolph,  of  Tuckahoe,  sold  to  his  friend,  Peter  Jefferson 
— the  father  of  Thomas  Jefferson — 200  acres  of  land  for 


RALEIGH  TAVERN,  WrLLIAM-SBURG,  AND  THE  APOLLO  ROOM 

"  Henry  Wetherburn's  biggest  bowl  of  Arrack  punch." 
The  deed  was  duly  recorded  in  Goochland  and  may  be 
seen  there  to-day. 

The  chief  glory  of  the  Raleigh  was  a  large  banqueting 
hall  with  deep  fireplaces  at  each  end  and  carved  wainscot- 
ing, named  after  an  apartment  in  London  Tavern,  the 
"  Apollo  Room."     The  Virginia  Gazette  contains  many 


^28        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

allusions  to  entertainments  and  gatherings  in  this  room, 
and  it  has  been  said  that  the  Apollo  "  witnessed  probably 
more  scenes  of  brilliant  festivity  and  political  excitement 
than  any  other  single  apartment  in  North  America." 
Thomas  Jefferson  was  one  of  the  gallants  who  danced  at 
the  balls  held  there.  In  a  letter  written  in  1764  to  his  chum 
John  Page, — afterward  Governor  of  Virginia, — he  wrote 
of  having  been  "  last  night  as  merry  as  agreeable  company 
and  dancing  with  Belinda  in  the  Apollo  "  could  make  him. 
But  alas,  he  was  not  always  so  "  merry  "  in  the  Apollo,  for 
it  was  during  a  ball  there  that  his  "  Belinda,"  as  he  elected 
to  call  the  fair  Rebecca  Burwell,  gave  him  the  mitten. 

The  Gazette  mentions  a  "  genteele  dinner  "  given  by 
Peyton  Randolph  at  the  Raleigh,  when  "  many  loyal  and 
patriotic  toasts  were  drank,  and  the  afternoon  spent  with 
cheerfulness  and  decorum."  This  was  in  1768,  and  when, 
in  the  same  year,  Lord  Botetourt  came  to  be  Governor  of 
Virginia,  he  supped  in  state  at  the  Raleigh,  with  the  gentle- 
men of  his  Council. 

During  the  days  immediately  preceding  the  Revolution 
the  Raleigh  became  a  favorite  meeting  place  of  the  patriots. 
In  1773,  Patrick  Henry,  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  Lees,  and 
a  fcAV  others  were  accustomed  to  meet  in  a  private  room 
there,  to  consult  on  state  affairs.  In  consequence  of  an 
agreement  made  there,  Dabney  Carr  introduced  in  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  on  INIarch  12  of  that  year,  the  resolu- 
tions for  Inter-Colonial  Committees  of  Correspondence. 

When,  in  1774,  Lord  Dunmore  dissolved  the  Assembly 
that  had  protested  against  the  shutting  up  of  Boston  Har- 
bor and  j^roclaimed  Jvme  1  a  day  of  fast,  it  was  to  the 
Apollo  Room  that  the  indignant  Burgesses  adjourned  and 
there  drew  up  the  famous  resolution  against  the  use  of  tea 
and  other  East  Indian  products. 

Upon  December  5,  1776,  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa — the 
first  Greek  letter  society  formed  in  America — was  organ- 
ized, by  the  students  of  William  and  IMary  College,  in  the 
Apollo  Room  at  the  Raleigh. 


WILLIAMSBURG  29 

This  truh^  historic  old  tavern  continued  to  be  a  popular 
place  for  banquets,  assemblies,  balls  and  political  meetings 
until  the  year  1859,  when,  bj^  unhappy  accident,  it  was 
laid  in  ashes. 

THE  PARADISE  HOUSE 

On  the  left-hand  side  of  Duke  of  Gloucester  Street, 
not  far  below  the  Peninsula  Hotel,  may  be  seen  a  quaint 
brick  dwelhng  known  as  the  Paradise  House. 

When  Philip  Ludwell  III  (1716-1767)  of  Green- 
spring,  Virginia,  died  in  London — in  which  city  he  had 
taken  up  his  abode — he  left  there  two  daughters,  one  of 
whom,  Lucj%  married,  in  1769,  John  Paradise,  Esq.,'  .  .  . 
a  gentleman  well  known  in  literary  circles  in  London.  He 
and  his  wife  were  identified  with  Doctor  Johnson's  famous 
set  of  literary  lights  and  wits.  Doctor  Johnson  sometimes 
dined  with  them  and  they  are  mentioned  in  "  Boswell  " 
and  in  Burney's  Memoirs. 

After  her  husband's  death  Madam  Paradise  returned 
to  Virginia  and  was  a  personage  in  the  society  of  Williams- 
burg, where  she  made  her  home,  until  her  death  in  1814. 
Among  the  articles  of  furniture  which  she  brought  over 
was  the  mahogany  dining-table  at  which  Johnson  had  been 
entertained,  and  which  is  still  in  Williamsburg. 

It  is  probable  that  the  house  was  formerly  owned  by 
Madam  Paradise's  father. 

THE  CARTER  HOUSE 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  from  the  Paradise 
House  and  somewhat  farther  down,  is  the  many-dormered, 
white  frame  dwelling  which  was  the  town  house  of  Robert 
Carter  (1728-1804)  of  Nomini  Hall,  Westmoreland 
County,  who  was  long  a  member  of  the  Colonial  Council 
and  was  familiarly  known  as  "  Councillor  Carter." 

Present-day  readers  have  made  the  acquaintance  of 

~'  There  is  an  interesting  note  on  Paradise  in  William  and  Mary 
Quarterly,  vi,  58. 


30        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Councillor  Carter  and  his  family  and  friends  through  the 
exceedingly  quaint  and  delightful  j  ournal  of  Philip  Vickers 
Fithian  ** — a  tutor  at  Nomini  just  before  the  Revolution. 


CARTER  HOUSE,  WILLIAMSBTIHG 


THE  OLD  CAPITOL  AND  CLERK'S  OFFICE 

All  that  is  left  of  that  "  noble,  beautiful  and  com- 
modious pile,"  the  Capitol,  within  whose  walls  so  much 
history,  not  only  of  Virginia  but  of  America,  was  made, 
are  the  brick  foundations  lying  across  the  foot  of  Duke  of 
Gloucester  Street  and  rising  but  little  above  the  grass  that 
fills  the  space  between  them  with  friendly  green.  They 
show  the  building  to  have  been  a  large  H-shaped  structure, 
lying  sideways  to  the  street.  The  rear  side  was  the  House 
of  Burgesses.  The  site  is  now  the  property  of  the  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Preservation  of  Virginia  Antiquities,  which 

*  Williams,  Philip  Vickers  Fithian,  Journal  and  Letters,  1767- 
177 i.  Princeton,  1900. 


WILLIAMSBURG  31 

has  placed  upon  it  a  granite  boulder,  bearing  a  bronze 
tablet  appropriately  inscribed,  and  capped  the  old  brick- 
work with  concrete,  to  prevent  further  decay. 

Across  Capitol  Street  on  the  left  is  a  stout  brick  build- 
ing, now  part  of  a  dwelling,  but  formerly  the  office  of  the 
Clerk  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  or  General  Court. 

GARRETT  HOUSE 

Following  Capitol  Street  a  short  distance,  still  to  the 
left,  brings  to  view  a  long,  rambling,  white  house  in  a  shady, 
green  lawn,  which  makes  a  charming  picture  of  that  inter- 
esting type  of  old-time  Virginia  homestead  which  grew 
with  the  needs  of  the  family.  The  oldest  part  of  this  house 
was  built  by  John  Coke,  a  son  of  the  distinguished  family 
of  Coke  of  Trusley  and  an  ancestor  of  the  late  Senator 
Coke,  of  Texas.  An  extremely  quaint  stair-rail  is  one  of 
the  interesting  interior  details  of  this  end  of  the  house. 

This,  like  many  other  of  the  Williamsburg  homes,  con- 
tains a  fascinating  collection  of  heirlooms — rare  old  mahog- 
any, pictures,  silver,  and  the  like.  Upon  the  parlor  walls 
hangs,  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation,  the  paper  with 
the  old-fashioned  hunting-scene  pattern  which  was  the  first 
wall-paper  ever  brought  to  Williamsburg. 

BASSETT  HALL 

To  the  right  of  Capitol  Street,  on  Francis  Street — 
which  is  parallel  with  Duke  of  Gloucester — stands  a  large 
frame  house,  with  square  Colonial  porches,  in  the  midst  of 
a  lovely  old  flower  garden.  This  is  Bassett  Hall,  once  the 
town  home  of  the  Bassett  family  of  New  Kent  County." 
Mrs.  Bassett  and  Mrs. Washington  (who  were  Dandridges) 
were  sisters,  and  General  Washington  was  often  enter- 
tained at  Bassett  Hall. 


'■^  Bassett  family :  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography, 
iv,  162;  vii,  399;  and  Keith,  The  Ancestry  of  Benjamin  Harrison 
.  .  .  and  Notes  on  Families  Related,  Philadelphia,  1893,  pp.  27-33. 


32         VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

It  is  said  that  the  sweet  Irish  singer,  Tom  Moore, 
while  a  guest  here  composed  his  beautiful  poem  "  To  the 
Firefly  " — suggested  by  the  "  firefly  lamps  "  that  sparkled 
among  the  flowers  and  shrubbery  as  he  sat  on  the  porch 
in  the  evening. 

Bassett  Hall  was,  in  1841,  the  home  of  President  John 
Tyler. 

RANDOLPH  HOUSE 

Just  beyond  Bassett  Hall,  on  the  same  street,  is  the 
picturesque  old  homestead  of  Peyton  Randolph,  Attorney 
General  of  Virginia,  Speaker  of*  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
and  first  President  of  the  Continental  Congress. 

IVIASONIC  TEMPLE 

Still  farther  up  Francis  Street  is  a  plain  and  now 
shabby  frame  house  once  used  for  Masonic  meetings. 
Within  this  modest  "  Temple  "  was  organized  the  first 
Grand  Lodge  of  Masons  in  the  Old  Dominion. 

GARY  HOUSE 

Turning  into  England  Street,  the  tourist  finds  himself 
at  the  gate  of  a  long,  white,  dormer-windowed  cottage,  in  a 
green  yard,  with  great  shade-trees  screening  its  square 
Colonial  porch  from  the  gaze  of  the  over-curious. 

This  was  the  home  of  the  lovely  Cary  sisters — Sarah 
and  Mary  ^^ — where  George  W^ashington  and  George 
Fairfax  did  a- wooing  go ;  Fairfax  successfully,  and  Wash- 
ington in  vain. 

TAZEWELL  HALL 

On  England  Street  stands  an  old  frame  mansion  of 
Colonial  type.  Its  exterior  is  plain,  but  within  it  is  very 
handsome,  and  the  walls  of  its  stately  hall  and  rooms  are 
made  beautiful  with  carved  mahogany  panelling. 

10  Gary  family :  T/ie  Critic  (Richmond,  Va.),  April  26,  May  10 
and  24,  1890. 


WILLIAMSBURG 


33 


This  is  Tazewell  Hall,  the  home  of  Sir  John  Randolph 
(1693-1737) — one  of  the  most  distinguished  lawyers  of 
Colonial  Virginia  and  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Burgesses 
— and  of  his  grandson  Edmund  Randolph  (1753-1813), 
Governor  of  Virginia  and  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United 
States. 

The  marriage,  in  1776,  of  the  Master  of  Tazewell  Hall 
was  announced  in  the  Virginia  Gazette  in  the  following 
fashion : 


TAZEWELL  HALL,  WILLL\MSBURG 


"  Edmund  Randolph,  Esq.,  Attorney  General  of  Vir- 
ginia, to  INIiss  Betsy  ]Vicholas,^  ^  a  young  lady  whose  amiable 
sweetness  of  disposition,  joined  with  the  finest  intellectual 
accomplishments,  cannot  fail  of  rendering  the  worthy  man 
of  her  choice  completely  happy." 


^^  Nicholas  family:  The  Critic  (Richmond,  Va.),  August  30, 
1890. 

3 


34        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

YORKTOWN 

About  nine  miles  distant  from  Williamsburg,  upon  a 
hill  overlooking  beautiful  but  now  empty  York  River 
harbor,  lies  all  that  is  left  of  Yorktown.  This  famous  little 
town,  built  in  1691,  was  the  successor  of  "  York  Planta- 
tion," which  had  already  had  an  interesting  histor}^  It 
was  never  more  than  a  village  in  size,  but  owing  to  its 
situation  did  a  great  shipping  business  for  nearly  a  hundred 
years.  An  Englishman  who  had  visited  it  published  his 
impressions  in  the  London  Magazine,  in  1764.    He  wrote: 

"  Yorktown  ...  is  situated  on  a  rising  ground,  gently 
descending  every  way  into  a  valley,  and  tho'  but  strag- 
glingly  built,  yet  makes  no  inconsiderable  figure.  You 
perceive  a  great  air  of  opulence  amongst  the  inhabitants 
who  have  (some  of  them)  built  themselves  houses  equal 
in  magnificence  to  manj^  of  our  superb  ones  at  St.  James, 
as  those  of  Mr.  Lightfoot,  Nelson,  etc.,  almost  every  con- 
siderable man  keeps  an  equipage  though  thej^  have  no 
concern  about  the  different  colours  of  their  coach  horses, 
driving  frequently  black,  white  and  chestnut  in  the  same 
harness  .  .  .  the  most  considerable  houses  are  brick,  some 
handsome  ones  of  wood — all  built  in  the  modern  taste — 
and  the  lesser  sort  of  plaster.  There  are  some  very  pretty 
garden  spots  in  the  town;  and  the  avenues  leading  to 
Williamsburg,  Norfolk,  etc.,  are  prodigiously  agreeable. 
The  roads  are  .  .  .  infinitely  superior  to  most  in  Eng- 
land. The  country  surrounding  is  thickly  overspread  with 
plantations,  and  the  planters  live  in  a  manner  equal  to  men 
of  the  best  fortune." 

In  achieving  fame  Yorktown  bade  farewell  to  fortune, 
for  its  prosperous  career  came  to  a  sudden  end  with  the 
Revolution;  but  perhaps  it  finds  consolation  in  a  secure 
place  in  history  and  the  superb  monument  erected,  in  1881, 
b}^  the  United  States  Government. 

Traces  of  earthworks  raised  by  the  British  still  remain, 
though  covered  and  altered  in  many  places  \>y  the  later 
Confederate  fortifications. 


NELSON  HOUSE,  YORKTOWN 


CUSTOM  HOUSE.  YORKTOWN 


YORKTOWN  37 

THE  CUSTOM  HOUSE 

The  oldest  brick  building  now  standing  in  Yorktown 
is  the  Custom  House,  built  in  1715.  This  interesting  relic 
— the  first  Custom  House  in  the  United  States — escaped 
serious  damage  during  the  famous  siege. 

THE  NELSON  HOUSE 

Upon  the  brow  of  the  hill,  facing  the  river,  a  short 
distance  away  from  the  Custom  House  stands  the  pictu- 
resque old  Nelson  House.  The  massiveness  of  this  com- 
modious brick  mansion,  and  its  situation  upon  a  terrace 
some  distance  above  the  street  and  within  an  old-fashioned 
walled  garden  whose  entrance  gates  are  guarded  on  each 
side  by  tall,  thick  box  trees,  give  it  an  air  of  dignified  se- 
clusion and  security.  Indoors,  the  spacious  rooms,  with 
their  deep  window-seats  and  handsome  wainscoting,  pro- 
duce a  charming  effect,  while  the  interest  that  a  touch  of 
the  mysterious  gives  is  added  by  a  hidden  stairway  leading 
to  the  garret,  to  which  a  secret  panel  in  the  dining-room 
woodwork  gives  entrance. 

As  the  home  of  Thomas  Nelson  (1738-1789),'"  Gov- 
ernor of  Virginia,  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence and  Major  General  in  the  Revolutionarj^  Army,  and 
as  the  headquarters  of  Lord  Cornwallis  during  the  siege 
this  house  is  the  most  historic  as  well  as  the  most  attractive 
now  standing  in  Yorktown.  It  suffered  a  good  deal  of 
damage  during  the  siege  and  a  cannon  ball  embedded  in 
the  brick-work  still  bears  witness  to  the  bombardment, 
during  which  the  patriotic  General  Nelson  said  to  General 
Lafayette,  "  Spare  no  particle  of  nty  property  so  long  as 
it  affords  comfort  or  shelter  to  the  enemies  of  my  country." 

The  site  of  the  mansion  of  "  Secretarj^  "  Nelson,  uncle 
of  General  Nelson,  which  was  destroyed  during  the  siege 

^^  Nelson  family :  See  Page,  Genealogy  of  the  Page  Family, 
p.  155  et  seq.  Interesting  results  from  an  investigation  of  the 
English  ancestry  of  the  Nelson  family  are  given  in  Virginia 
Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  xiii,  pp.  402-403;  xvii, 
pp.  187-188. 


38 


VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


is  still  pointed  out.  "  Secretarj'^  "  Nelson  was  brought  out 
of  Yorktown  under  a  flag  of  truce  and  congratulated  the 
American  officers  upon  the  havoc  their  bombardment  was 
playing  upon  his  own  house. 

THE  CHURCH 

In  the  churchyard  a  short  distance  away  from  the 
Nelson  House  maj'  be  seen  the  Nelson  tombs.  The  church 
where  this  patriotic  familj''  worshipped  and  which  was 
built  in  1697  was  bm-ned  in  1814,  but  was  replaced  by  a 
small  stone-marle  building  on  the  original  site.  The  old 
bell  of  the  earlier  church  bearing  the  inscription,  "  County 
of  York,  Virginia,  1725,"  was  preserved  and  is  still  in  use. 

THE  MOORE  HOUSE 

About  three-quarters  of  a  mile  out  of  Yorktown,  upon 
"  Temple  Farm,"  stands  the  "  INIoore  House  "  where  the 


JIOORE  HOUSE,  NiCAR  YORKTOWX 


surrender  of  Cornwallis  was  drawn  up  and  signed.  The 
room  made  forever  famous  by  this  epoch-making  agree- 
ment is  still  pointed  out.  The  house  is  a  very  old  one  and 
is  probably  part  of  the  residence  of  Colonel  George  Ludlow 


YORKTOWN 


39 


(1596-1656),  member  of  the  Colonial  Council,  who  was  a 
kinsman  of  the  English  regicide,  Edmund  Ludlow,  and  is 
mentioned  by  him  in  his  memoirs.  Standing  within  a  green 
lawn  on  a  bold  bluff  of  York  River,  the  long,  dormer- 
window  farm-house  makes  a  charming  picture. 

An  interesting  bit  of  history  connected  with  "  Temple 
Farm  "  is  found  in  the  fact  that  just  about  this  site  stood, 
more  than  a  hundred  years  before  the  Revolution,  the  home 
of  Captain  Nicholas  Martain  (1591-1657),  ancestor  of 
General  Washington  and  General  Nelson  and  one  of  the 
leading  spirits  in  the  first  rebellion  against  tyranny  in 
Virginia,  when,  in  1634,  the  Colonists  "  thrust  "  the  un- 
popular Governor,  Sir  John  Harvey,  out  of  office  and 
shipped  him  to  England. 

Another  historic  spot  near  Yorktown  is  the  field  where 
Lord  Cornwallis's  men  laid  down  their  arms. 


RINGFIELD 


The  most  historic  spot  on  York  River — Yorktown — 
has  been  noticed.  The  only  other  place  on  that  side  of  the 
river  to  be  represented  here  is  Ringfield,  lying  between  the 


40        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

forks  of  King's  Creek  and  Felgate's  Creek.  This  planta- 
tion was  first  patented  by  Captain  Robert  Felgate,  a 
prominent  ship-captain  of  London,  who  made  his  will  in 
1640,  leaving  his  estate  to  his  brother,  William  Felgate, 
a  skinner  of  London.  At  Felgate's  death  his  widow,  Marj% 
married  (in  1660)  Captain  John  Underbill,  Jr.,  from  the 
City  of  Worcester,  England,  from  whom  the  Felgate  plan- 
tation passed  to  Joseph  Ring,  a  prominent  planter,  who 
probably  built  the  house  still  standing.  Since  his  time  the 
place  has  been  known  as  Ringfield.  There  were  long  to 
be  seen  there  two  old  tombs  of  members  of  the  Ring  family, 
one  having  a  mutilated  coat-of-arms,  but  they  have  been 
lately  removed  to  the  old  Bruton  Churchyard,  Williams- 
burg. 

In  about  1772,  Ringfield  belonged  to  Colonel  Landon 
Carter  (1710-1778)  of  Sabine  Hall,  Richmond  County. 


PORTO  BELLO,  NEAR  WILLIAMSBURG 

PORTO  BELLO 

Not  far  from  Williamsburg  on  the  north  side  of  Queen's 
Creek,  near  its  mouth,  is  Porto  Bello,  which  was  bought 
by  Lord  Dunsmore,  in  1773.  He  built  the  present  house. 
It  has  since  had  manj^  owners,  and  is  now  owned  by 
Mr.  T.  R.  Daley. 


PART  II 

Hampton  Roads  and  the  Lower  James 
st.  paul's  church,  norfolk 

I^S  St.  Paul's  Church  was  the  only  building  left  stand- 

/_\       ing  after  the  fire  which  during  the  Revolution 

/      %     laid  the  town  of  Norfolk  in  ashes,  it  is,  of  course, 

•^-     -^-  the  only  Colonial  building  now  to  be  found  there. 

With  its  high-walled  graveyard  it  makes  the  loveliest  and 

most  appealing  spot  in  that  city  by  the  sea. 

The  church,  which  was  built  in  1739,  is  in  the  shape  of  a 
cross,  and  is  completely  mantled  in  iv}^  save  where  the 
green  is  trimmed  away  to  show  the  cannon-ball  lodged  in 
the  wall  bj"  a  gun  on  the  frigate  Liverpool,  during  the 
bombardment  of  Norfolk  bj^  Lord  Dunmore,  on  New 
Year's  Day,  1776.* 

The  Communion  service  was  taken  from  the  church 
by  the  Rritish  and  carried  to  Scotland. 

THE  MYERS  HOUSE,  NORFOLK 

The  ivy-covered,  brick  dwelling  now  occupied  by  Mr. 
Barton  Mj'ers  was  built,  in  1791,  by  JNIoses  Myers,  his 
great-grandfather.  He  was  one  of  the  most  prominent 
ship  owners  and  merchants  of  his  daj^  engaged  in  foreign 
trade,  and  was  appointed  bj^  John  Quincy  Adams,  Collec- 
tor of  Customs  for  the  Port  in  1828. 

Five  generations  of  the  famih'^  have  lived  here.  The 
house  has  always  been  noted  for  its  hospitalitj'  and  many  of 
the  most  distinguished  men  who  visited  Norfolk  were  en- 
tertained within  its  hospitable  walls,  amongst  them  Henry 
Clay,  who  staj^ed  here  when  he  visited  Norfolk  during  the 
Presidential  campaign  in  1844. 

President  Roosevelt,  with  members  of  his  Cabinet,  and 
James  Bryce,  British  Ambassador,  with  their  wives,  were 
entertained  here  on  the  occasion  of  the  opening  of  the 
Jamestown  Exposition,  April,  1907,  as  the  guests  of  Mr. 
Harry  St.  George  Tucker,  President  of  the  Exposition. 

*  See  illustration,  p.  43. 

41 


42 


VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


The  American  Architect  and  Building  Netvs,  of  Bos- 
ton, in  its  portfolio  of  the  Georgian  Period,  Part  IV,  pub- 
lished in  Boston,  in  1900,  says,  "  The  house  we  have  chosen 
for  illustration  is  by  far  the  most  interesting  example  of 
Georgian  work  to  be  found  in  Norfolk." 

General  Winfield  Scott,  on  a  visit  to  Norfolk,  in  1850, 
was  a  guest  here.  His  visit,  and  a  description  of  the  house 
was  referred  to  in  an  article  published  by  JNIr.  H.  B.  Bag- 
nail  in  the  Ledger-Dispatch. 

ROLLESTON 

In  the  Dutch-roofed  portion  of  the  house  here  pre- 
sented we  find  all  that  is  left  of  the  habitation  of  one  of 
Virginia's  early  settlers.     In  1649 — the  year  Charles  I 


HOl.LlvSTON,  PIUXCKSS  AXXE  COLNTV 


was  beheaded  with  other  disappointed  Cavaliers — William 
Moseley  arrived  on  our  shores  from  Rotterdam,  Holland, 
bringing  with  him  his  wife  Susannah  and  sons  Arthur  and 
William,  grants  of  land  in  Lynnhaven  Parish  on  Broad 


ST.  PAUL'S  CHURCH,  NORFOLK 


MYERS  HOUSK,  NORFOLK 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     45 

Creek,  Lower  Norfolk  County,  Virginia,  a  "  Court  Cal- 
lender,"  a  "  Coat  of  Arms,"  old  family  portraits,  one  of 
them  painted  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II  and  the  rest  by 
Van  Dyck,  and  family  jewels  of  rare  value,  showing  how 
Englishmen  cling  to  their  old  traditions  and  belongings 
even  when  colonizing  in  the  wilderness.  In  1650,  alas!  we 
find  Susannah  IMoseley  forced  to  sell  her  jewels  for  "  Cat- 
tell,"  the  gems,  ironj^  of  Fate!  being  purchased  by  Francis 
Yardley,  son  of  the  Colonial  Governor  and  leader  of  the 
Cromwellian  party  in  Virginia. 

Here  in  Lower  Norfolk  County,  William  Moseley 
bviilt  the  house  of  our  cut,  calling  it  "  Rolleston  "  after  the 
iVIoseley  seat,  Rolleston  Hall,  in  Staffordshire,  England. 
These  Virginia  lands  were  escheated  to  the  Commonwealth 
in  the  time  of  Cromwell,  and,  after  the  restoration  of 
Charles  II,  were  restored  to  the  grandson  of  the  emigrant. 
Colonel  Edward  JNIoseley,  a  man  of  great  distinction  in 
those  parts,  a  member  of  the  House  of  Bin-gesses,  and  one 
of  Governor  Spotswood's  Knights  of  the  Golden  Horse- 
shoe. The  house  still  stands,  and  until  the  end  of  the  W^ar 
between  the  States  (1865)  was  occupied  by  his  lineal 
descendants. 

THOROUGHGOOD  HOUSE 

In  the  early  daj's  of  our  country's  history,  as  far  back 
indeed  as  1621,  there  came  to  Virginia  from  Lynn,  in  Nor- 
folk, England,  in  the  good  ship  Charles,  a  certain  Adam 
Thoroughgood,  who  was  destined  to  become,  through  his 
thrift  and  industry,  a  man  of  much  distinction  in  the  Col- 
ony. Perhaps,  too,  a  strain  of  gentle  blood,  which  flowed 
in  "him  from  a  long  line  of  English  ancestors,  enabled  him 
to  impress  those  early  colonizers — an  impression  so  last- 
ing that  to  this  day  their  descendants  around  Lynnhaven 
and  Norfolk,  in  Virginia,  still  revere  his  memory. 

He  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Thoroughgood,  M.P.,  and 
brother  of  Sir  John  Thoroughgood,  Knight  of  Kensing- 
ton, England,  whom  he  mentions  in  his  will,  and  it  is  stated 
in  the  patent  for  5350  acres  of  land  granted  him,  that  the 


46 


VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


grant  is  made  "  at  the  especial  recommendation  of  him 
from  their  Lordships  and  others  of  his  JNIajesties  most 
humble  privy  Councell."  He  settled  first  at  "  Kicotan,' 
now  Hampton,  Virginia,  but  in  1634,  when  this  land  was 
granted  him  in  the  same  shire,  he  removed  to  Back  River, 
naming  it  "  Norfolk "  County,  and  its  beautiful  Bay, 
"  Lynnhaven."    Here  he  built  the  quaint  house,  the  gable 


THOROUGH(  <i(ll)  IlOl  si     I  1US(  I  ss   \NNh   (  ()\\T\ 

Built  about  1635 

end  of  which  appears  in  our  illustration,  and  so  substantial 
was  his  work  that  now  it  still  stands  habitable  and  well  pre- 
served, with  its  walls  of  three  feet  thickness,  its  queer  old 
wainscoting  reaching  the  ceiling  about  the  chimney  pieces, 
and  its  secret  closets  running  from  gable  to  gable  in  which 
to  hide  from  the  Indians. 

Here  he  amassed  a  large  fortune,  and  rose  to  much 


Hx\MPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     47 

distinction  in  the  Colony,  being,  in  1637,  a  member  of  the 
Council  (our  Colonial  House  of  Lords)  with  Governor 
Harvey.  But  in  16-iO,  he  is  dead,  cut  down  before  his 
prime,  still,  having  accomplished  enough  in  his  thirty- 
seven  years  of  life  to  make  dwellers  in  those  parts  nearly 
300  years  later  proud  to  claim  descent  from  Captain  Adam 
Thoroughs'ood. 


ST.  JOHN'S  CHURCH,  HAMPTON  * 

ST.  JOHN'S  CHURCH,  HAMPTON 

Across  Hampton  Roads  from  Norfolk  is  the  still  older 
town  of  Hampton,  which,  like  Norfolk,  has  been  destroyed 
by  fire  and  rebuilt.  During  the  War  between  the  States, 
when  the  inhabitants  set  the  torch  to  their  own  homes  rather 
than  let  them  give  shelter  to  Northern  soldiers,  the  mas- 
sive walls  of  St.  John's  were  the  only  relics  left  of  Colonial 
Hampton. 

There  were  churches  in  Hampton,  which  was  first 
known  by  the  name  the  Indians  gave  it,  "  Kicoughtan," 

*  Picture  from  Lossing's  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution,  pub- 
lished 1850,  vol.  2,  p.  326. 


48 


VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


from  a  very  early  date,  but  St.  John's  was  not  built  until 
1727.  Like  many  of  the  Colonial  churches  it  is  cruciform 
and  is  surrounded  by  a  gravej^ard  filled  with  interesting 
old  tombs.  A  number  of  these  which  were  in  existence  in 
1861  disappeared  during  the  war. 

St.  John's  possesses  the  oldest  service  of  Communion 
silver  in  Ajiierica.  One  of  the  pieces,  a  large  cup,  bears  the 
inscription:  "The  Communion  Cupj)  for  St.  Mary's 
Church  in  Smith  Hundred,  in  Virginia,"  and  the  hall  mark, 
1617.  Smith's  Hundred  was  one  of  the  large  land  grants 
along  the  Chickahominy,  and  the  Hampton  silver  evidently 
belonged  originally  to  a  church  there — long  since  dis- 
appeared. 

An  interesting  window  in  St.  John's  is  to  the  memory  of 
Pocahontas,  and  was  placed  there  bj^  the  Indian  students 
of  Hampton  Normal  School. 

Notable  among  the  beauties  of  the  churchyard  are  the 
fine  old  weeping  willows  that  shade  it  with  their  fringe- 
like foliage. 


EASTERN  SHORE  CH.\PEL,  PRINCESS  ANNE  COUNTY 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     49 

EASTERN  SHORE  CHAPEL 

Soon  after  the  opening  of  the  earliest  vestry  books 
known  to  Bishop  INIeade  is  mention,  in  1725,  of  an  Eastern 
Shore  Chapel.     The  present  building  was  erected  in  1754. 

OLD  BRICK  CHURCH,  ISLE  OF  WIGHT 

Crossing  again  to  the  south  side  of  James  River,  the 
traveller  enters  the  county  of  Isle  of  Wight,  whose  chief 
interest  is  the  Old  Brick  Church,  some  five  miles  from 
Smithfield.* 

The  Old  Brick  Church  is  as  unique  as  it  is  picturesque. 
Tradition  has  long  insisted  that  it  was  built  in  1632,  and 
this  seemed  to  be  confirmed  during  its  restoration,  when, 
in  the  debris  scattered  about,  two  old  bricks  with  the  tra- 
ditional date  baked  into  them  were  found.  The  zealous 
historian  of  the  church  has  produced  other  strong  argu- 
ments in  favor  of  this  date,  in  spite  of  which  there  are  some 
who  doubt.  Whatever  may  be  its  exact  age,  it  is  certain 
that  it  was  built  early  in  the  seventeenth  century  and  it  is 
the  oldest  brick  Protestant  church  in  the  New  World.  A 
point  of  interest  concerning  it  is  that  it  was  evidently  of 
the  same  type  as  (and  probably  exactly  like)  the  James- 
town Church,  as  the  ruins  of  that  historic  sanctuary  plainly 
show.  These  two  were  the  only  buttressed  churches  of  the 
seventeenth  century  in  America. 

Fortunately,  the  Old  Brick  Church,  while  suffering 
much  from  neglect  in  the  past,  has  remained  unchanged 
in  all  of  its  essential  features.  The  square  entrance-tower, 
the  frame-work  of  the  round-headed  windows  with  their 
lancet  lights  and  the  great  east  window  (though  their 
glasses  were  destroyed)  have  been  preserved.  Within 
the  last  few  years  the  church  has  been  completely  restored 
and  many  handsome  memorials  placed  in  the  beautiful  old 
window  frames. 

*   See  illustration,  p.  51. 
4 


50        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

BACON'S  CASTLE 

Not  many  miles  above  the  Old  Brick  Church,  in  the 
adjoining  county  of  Surry,  is  Bacon's  Castle,  perhaps  the 
oldest  of  the  homesteads  in  the  James  River  region. 
Though  a  sjjacious  addition,  with  commodious  "  built  in  " 
porches,  tells  a  story  of  a  later  time,  the  steep  roof,  massive 
walls  and  huge  chimneys  of  the  original  building  stamp  it 
at  once  as  early  Colonial.  The  dee})  window-seats,  wain- 
scoted walls  and  low  ceilings,  with  their  heavy  oaken  cross- 
beams, make  the  rooms  exceedingly  picturesque.  In  one 
instance  the  cross-beams  are  supported  by  a  carved  oak 
centre-post  in  the  middle  of  the  big  room. 

Bacon's  Castle  was  built  by  Arthur  Allen,  who  came 
to  Virginia  from  England  in  1649.  He  married  Alice 
Tucker  and  died  in  1670,  leaving  the  plantation  with  the 
brick  house,  said  to  have  been  built  in  1660,  to  his  son  and 
heir,  ISIajor  Arthur  Allen,  sometime  Speaker  of  the  Vir- 
ginia House  of  Burgesses.  During  Bacon's  Rebellion  the 
house  of  ]Major  Allen,  who  was  a  friend  of  Governor 
Berkeley's,  was  seized,  fortified  and  used  as  a  stronghold 
by  a  partjr  of  Bacon's  adherents,  commanded  by  William 
Bookings,  and  was  held  for  nearly  four  months. 

In  the  journal  of  the  INIaster  of  a  Ship,  who  was  aiding 
Governor  Berkeley  in  this  part  of  the  country,  is  this  entry: 

"  The  guard  at  Allen's  brick  house  we  hear  is  run 
away."  On  the  next  daj^  the  writer  records  the  occupation 
of  the  "  fort,"  as  he  calls  it.  The  records  of  Surry  County 
show  that  on  July  3,  1677,  INIajor  Arthur  Allen  sued  INIr. 
Robert  Burgess  "  for  that  during  the  late  most  Horrid 
Rebellion  he  with  others  did  seize  and  keep  garrison  in 
the  pit's  house  neare  fower  months  (bearing  the  title  of 
Lieutenant  Commander-in-Chief  next  to  William  Rook- 
ings)."  From  that  time  the  house  was  known  as  Bacon's 
Castle. 

Major  Allen  died  in  1710  and  the  estate  passed  to  his 
son,  Arthur,  who  died  in  1725,  leaving  an  only  son  and 
heir,  James,  upon  whose  death  it  was  inherited  by  his  sister 


ST.  LUKE'S  CHURCH,  ISLE  OF  WIGHT  COUNTY 


-  .-JL^ 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     53 

Katherine,  wife  of  Benjamin  Cocke.  In  1802  Allen  Cocke 
left  Bacon's  Castle  to  his  sister,  JMrs.  Bradley.  After  pass- 
ing through  the  hands  of  several  other  owners  it  was  bought 
by  Mr.  ^Villiam  A.  Warren,  of  Surry,  who  gave  it  to  the 
present  owner,  his  son,  Mr.  Charles  Walker  Warren,  as 
a  wedding  gift.  This  seems  most  fitting,  for  the  bride  was 
Miss  Pegram,  daughter  of  Mr.  Blair  Pegram,  of  Surry, 
and  is  related  to  the  Aliens,  Cockes  and  other  former 
owners  of  the  old  "  Castle." 


BACON'S  CASTLE,  SURRY  COUNTY 


About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  from  Bacon's  Castle 
are  the  ivy-grown  ruins  of  a  Colonial  church,  with  walls 
three  feet  thick.  A  brick  found  among  these  ruins  bears 
the  date  1736. 

CARTER'S  GROVE 

Going  up  James  River  from  Bacon's  Castle  and  cross- 
ing to  the  north  side,  the  next  Colonial  house  of  note  is 
Carter's  Grove,  in  the  lower  end  of  James  City  County. 
This  fine  old  mansion  was  built  by  Carter  Burwell  in  1751. 
It  stands  on  a  bluff  eighty  feet  high  overlooking  the  river 
and,  as  may  be  imagined,  the  view  from  the  windows  is 
superb.  The  James  is  wide  here  and  looking  down  stream 
the  broad  expanse  of  BurweU's  Bay  and  still  lower  reaches 


54         VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

may  be  seen.  In  front  of  the  house,  the  hill  has  been  cut 
down  to  form  terraces  below  which  a  green  field  stretches 
away  to  the  edge  of  the  high  river  bank. 

The  house  is  commodious  and  handsome,  but  modern 
porches,  while  they  add  greatly  to  its  comfort,  mar  the 
beaut}^  of  the  exterior.  Within,  it  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
pressive examples  of  Colonial  home-building  left  in  Vir- 
ginia. Walls  of  hall  and  rooms  are  panelled  to  the  ceiling, 
where  they  are  finished  with  beautiful  cornices.  The  great 
central  hall  is  spanned  by  a  wide  arch  supported  on  either 
side  by  fluted  pilasters,  beneath  which  the  fine  old  stair- 
way, with  its  carved  banisters,  descends  with  majestic 
sweep.  Along  the  hand-rail  may  still  be  seen  the  gashes 
made  by  the  sabres  of  Tarleton's  men,  who  paid  their 
respects  to  Carter's  Grove  when  raiding  Virginia  during 
the  Revolution. 

Some  interesting  details  concerning  the  construction  of 
the  house  are  furnished  by  an  old  plantation  account  book 
of  the  Burwell  family.  This  shows  that  the  house  was 
begun  in  June  and  finished  in  September.  The  labor  was 
of  course  that  of  slaves,  but  a  "  master  workman  " — one 
David  Minitree — was  general  director  of  construction  and 
was  brought  from  England,  accompanied  by  his  family, 
especially  for  this  work.  He  was  paid  115  pounds  by  Mr. 
Burwell  for  "  building  me  a  brick  house  according  to  agree- 
ment," and  in  addition  received  a  present  of  25  pounds. 
The  timber  used — 25,000  feet  of  plank,  at  ten  shillings  a 
thousand,  40,000  shingles,  at  four  shillings  a  thousand,  and 
15,000  lathes,  at  seven  shillings  a  thousand — was  evidentlj' 
brought  from  a  distance,  as  32  pounds  was  paid  for  hauling 
it ;  but  the  bricks — 460,000  at  seventeen  shillings  a  thousand 
— were  made  upon  the  place.  Five  hundred  and  forty 
squares  of  glass  were  used,  at  two  and  a  half  pence  a  square. 
The  entire  cost  of  building  the  house  was  five  hundred 
pounds,  which  considering  its  substantial  condition,  after 
over  a  centurj^  and  a  half  of  wear  and  tear,  seems  most 
moderate. 


THE  HALL  AT  CARTER'S  GROVE 


CARTER'S  GROVE,  JAMES  CITY  COUNTY 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     57 

Carter  Burwell,  builder  and  first  master  of  Carter's 
Grove,  was  the  son  of  Colonel  Nathaniel  Burwell,  of 
Carter's  Creek,  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Robert 
("  King  ")  Carter.  He  was  long  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses  from  James  City  County.  He  married  Lucy, 
daughter  of  Honorable  John  Grymes  (1693-1748)  of 
Middlesex  County,  and  had,  among  other  children,  (his 
eldest  son)  Colonel  Nathaniel  Burwell,  who  inherited 
Carter's  Grove,  but  about  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century 
moved  to  Clarke  County,  where  he  built  Carter  Hall.  Since 
then  Carter's  Grove  has  had  several  owners,  but  has  been 
best  known  as  the  hospitable  home  of  Dr.  Edwin  Booth, 
who  has,  however,  recently  sold  it. 

THE  WARREN  HOUSE 

Grays  Creek,  which  flows  into  James  River,  opposite 
Jamestown,  has  at  its  mouth,  on  John  Smith's  map,  "  The 
New  Fort."  A  short  distance  up  the  creek  on  a  bluff  on 
the  "  Smith  Fort  "  farm  are  remains  of  earthworks,  most 
probably  a  part  of  the  "  New  Fort  "  built  in  1608  or  1609. 

On  "  Smith's  Fort  "  is  an  old  brick  residence  exactly 
fifty  feet  long,  which  is  the  oldest  house  in  Virginia  whose 
exact  date  can  be  ascertained.*  The  records  show  that 
Thomas  Rolfe,  the  son  of  Pocahontas,  owned  1200  acres 
here  which  he  sold  to  Thomas  Warren  (ancestor  of  the 
well-known  Surry  family) .  Depositions  on  record  at  Surry 
Court  House  state  that  the  Warrens'  "  fifty  foot  brick 
house  "  at  Smith's  Fort  was  built  in  1654.  After  passing 
through  manj^  different  hands,  the  house  and  a  hundred  or 
so  acres  of  land  adjoining  are  the  property  of  a  pros- 
perous negro  family. 

FOUR  MILE  TREE 

Going  on  up  the  south  side  of  the  river,  the  travel- 
ler soon  has  a  view  of  Four  Mile  Tree — a  name  evidently 
given  the  plantation  on  account  of  some  conspicuous  tree 

*  See  illustration  at  head  of  Index. 


58        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

which  distinguished  it  in  early  times.  The  mansion  stands 
upon  a  steep,  round-top  hill  overlooking  the  river  and  from 
the  remnants  of  terraces  and  high  box-hedges  that  may  be 
still  seen  was,  evidently,  in  its  day,  a  place  of  beauty  as 
well  as  consequence. 

As  early  as  1637,  Henry  Browne  *  patented  2250  acres 
"  at  the  Four  JNIile  Tree  ""and  a  little  later  900  acres  ad- 
joining. The  estate  remained  in  the  Browne  family,  whose 
members  were  prominent  in  public  life  in  nearly  every 


FOUR  MILE  TREE,  JAMES  RIVER 


& 


generation.  William  Browne,  the  last  of  the  name  who 
owned  Four  Mile  Tree,  died,  in  1799,  leaving  an  only 
child,  Sally  Edwards  Browne,  who  married,  in  1813,  John 
T.  Bowdoin,  and  dj^ing,  in  1815,  left  also  an  only  child, 
Sally  Elizabeth  Courtney  Bowdoin,  who  married  Gen. 
Philip  St.  George  Cocke,  and  they  lived  there  until  General 
Cocke  built  Belmead,  on  upper  James  River. 

In  the  graveyard  may  be  seen — still  in  perfect  condition 
— the  oldest  tomb  in  Virginia  having  a  legible  inscription, 
that  of  Mrs.  Alice  Jordan,  who  died  in  1650.  Her  husband, 

*  Browne:  William  and  Mary  College  Quarterly  Historical 
Magazine,  xvi,  227  et  seq. 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     59 

George  Jordan,  at  one  time  Attorney  General  of  Virginia, 
long  survived  her,  and  in  his  will,  n'lade  in  1678,  directed 
that  he  be  buried  beside  his  wife  and  children  in  Major 
Browne's  orchard. 

GREEN  SPRING 

Some  distance  back  from  the  river,  and  four  miles  from 
Jamestown,  was  Green  Spring,  the  home  of  Sir  William 
Berkeley  (1606-1677),  the  famous  Cavalier  Governor  of 
Virginia.  The  place  derives  its  name  from  "  A  very  fine 
green  spring  that  is  upon  the  land,"  whose  water  was  "  so 
very  cold  that  'tis  dangerous  drinking  thereof  in  summer- 
time." 

The  estate  of  nearly  a  thousand  acres  was  granted  to 
Governor  Berkeley  in  1643,'  and  here  he  built  him  a  home 
consisting  of  a  central  building  containing  six  rooms  and 
a  large  hall,  with  a  commodious  wing  on  either  side.  The 
fireplaces  were  over  four  feet  wide  and  nearly  as  deep, 
and  there  was  a  central  chimney  seven  feet  wide.  There 
were  a  terraced  lawn  and  flower  gardens,  and  hot-houses 
in  which  orange  trees  and  other  tropical  shrubs  grew  and 
bore  fruit,  and  there  were  great  stables  filled  with  fine 
horses. 

Here  Sir  William  kept  open  house  for  the  Cavaliers 
who  took  refuge  in  Virginia  during  the  banishment  from 
England  of  his  JNIajesty,  Charles  II ;  here  Nathaniel  Bacon, 
on  the  march  to  Jamestown,  where  Sir  William  was  en- 
trenched, rested,  and  made  one  of  his  ringing  speeches  to 
his  "  hearts  of  gold,"  and  here  he  returned  after  besieging 
and  burning  Jamestown,  and  took  up  his  headquarters. 
Here,  too,  on  account  of  the  destruction  of  the  State  House 
at  Jamestown,  the  first  Grand  Assembly  after  Bacon's 
Rebellion  met. 

After  Sir  William  Berkeley's  death,  his  widow,  the  fair 
and  fascinating  Ladj^  Frances,  married  the  Honorable 
Philip  Ludwell  I  (becoming  his  second  wife),  and  Green 

'  Hening,  Statutes  at  Large  .  .  .  of  Virginia,  ii,  319. 


60        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Spring  passed  to  the  Ludwell  family.'  Three  successive 
Phihj)  Ludwells  owned  it — wealthy  and  prominent  men, 
all  of  them,  and  members  of  his  JNIajesty's  Council.  In 
taking  a  second  husband  Lady  Berkeley  could  not  bring 
herself  to  part  with  the  title  her  first  had  given  her,  and 
not  only  did  she  continue  to  be  called  by  it  the  rest  of  her 
days,  but  "  Lady  Berkeley  "  was  the  name  inscribed  on 
her  tomb.  Her  cousin  Lord  Culpeper,  who  was  made 
Governor  of  the  Colony  in  1680,  rented  Greenspring  from 
the  Ludwells  and  lived  there  in  state. 

Finally  Green  Spring  passed  to  the  Lees,  b}^  the  mar- 
riage of  Hannah  Philippa,  daughter  and  co-heiress  of  the 
third  Colonel  Philip  Ludwell,  with  Honorable  William 
Lee,  JNIinister  of  the  United  States  at  the  Courts  of  Vienna 
and  Berlin,  who  in  his  latter  days  retired  to  the  famous 
old  plantation  and  lived  there  in  style  and  splendor. 

An  advertisement  in  a  Richmond  newspaper  of  1816 
for  the  sale  of  Green  Spring — at  that  time  2934  acres — 
shows  that  the  house  then  standing  ( the  ruins  of  which 
now  remain)  was  built  by  William  L.  Lee,  son  of  William 
Lee. 

CLAREMONT 

In  the  same  county  with  Four  INIile  Tree — at  its  upper 
end — is  Claremont,  best  known  as  the  home  of  the  Allen 
family,  which  has  been  identified  with  it  for  two  centuries 
and  a  quarter.  Part  of  this  handsome  estate  of  12,000  acres 
was  granted  as  earh^  as  1649  to  Arthur  Allen,  Justice  of 
Surry — for  several  years  a  burgess  and  in  1688  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Burgesses — who  married  Catherine,  daughter 
and  heiress  of  Burgess  Lawrence  Baker,  of  Surry,  and 
left  a  number  of  children.  The  manor  plantation  was  first 
inherited  bj^  the  eldest  son  James  and  after  his  death  by  his 
brother,  Arthur  Allen,  third  of  the  name.  This  Arthur 
married  Elizabeth  Bray.    His  daughter  Catherine  married 

^  Ludwell :  An  account  of  the  Ludwell  family  may  be  found  in 
E.  J.  Lee's  Lee  of  Virginia. 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     61 

Benjamin  Cocke,  and  his  son  James  died  unmarried,  leav- 
ing his  unentailed  estate  to  his  sister  and  her  children  and 
in  case  of  their  death  without  heirs,  to  Southwark  Parish, 
for  founding  a  school  to  be  called  "  Allen's  School."  Upon 
James  Allen's  death  the  manor  plantation  at  Claremont 
passed  to  his  cousin,  Colonel  William  Allen,  of  Claremont 
—a  member  of  the  Convention  of  1788  and  of  the  Virginia 
Legislature.  He  left  one  son.  Colonel  William  Allen,  Jr., 
of  Claremont — a  member  of  the  Legislature,  Colonel  of 
Militia  in  the  War  of  1812  and  one  of  the  largest  land  and 
slave  owners  in  Virginia. 


CLAREMONT,  SURRY  COUNTY 


Colonel  William  Allen,  Jr.,  left  his  estate  to  his  great- 
nephew,  William  Orgain,  who  took  the  name  of  Allen. 
He  served  as  a  major  of  artillerj^  in  the  Confederate  Army 
and  was  known  as  Major  William  Allen,  of  Claremont. 
At  one  time  he  owned  the  largest  landed  estate  in  Virginia 
— his  possessions  including  the  plantations  of  Claremont, 
Kingsmill,  Jamestown  Island,  Neck  of  Land,  Curie's  Neck 
and  other  valuable  lands  to  the  number  of  thirty  or  forty 
thousand  acres.    He  also  owned  some  seven  or  eight  hun- 


62        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

dred  slaves.  With  his  death,  in  1875,  the  Allen  tenure  at 
Claremont  ceased,  and  the  great  estate  has  been  since  cut 
up  into  small  farms — part  of  it  being  now  the  town  of 
Claremont. 

An  interesting  incident  in  the  Allen  family  historj^  is 
furnished  by  the  will  of  JNIrs.  Elizabeth  Braj^  Allen,  who 
upon  the  death  of  her  husband,  Colonel  Arthur  Allen, 
third,  married  Colonel  Arthur  Smith,  of  Isle  of  Wight, 
and  founded  a  free  school  at  Smithfield.  In  her  will  she 
left  fifty  pounds  for  the  purchase  of  "  an  altar  piece  for 
the  Lower  Church  of  Southwalk  Parish,"  Surry,  upon 
which  jNIoses  and  Aaron  were  to  be  represented  holding 
between  them  the  Ten  Commandments,  while  upon  either 
side  was  to  hang  a  small  tablet,  one  of  them  containing  the 
Lord's  Prayer  and  the  other  the  Apostles'  Creed.' 

TEDINGTON 

The  Sandy  Point  estate  on  James  River,  in  Charles 
City  County,  was  for  several  generations  the  home  of  that 
branch  of  the  Lightfoot  family  in  Virginia  which  descends 
from  Honorable  Philip  Lightfoot  (grandson  of  Richard 
Lightfoot,  rector  of  Stoke-Bruerne,  Northamptonshire, 
England),  who  was  in  the  colony  as  earlj^  as  1671.  He 
held  various  offices  of  trust  and  honor,  among  them  collec- 
tor for  the  LTpper  District  of  James  River  and  surveyor 
general  of  the  colony.* 

Philip  Lightfoot  owned  a  large  acreage  at  Sandy 
Point,  where,  by  the  way,  was,  at  the  settlement  of  Vir- 
ginia, seated  the  Indian  town  of  "  Paspahegh." 

The  house  at  Sandy  Point,  says  Tyler  in  his  Ci-adle  of 
the  Eepublic,  is  said  to  have  been  built  in  1717,  and  is 
called  "  Tedington,"  the  name  of  a  place  in  London.    This 

^  Allen  genealogy,  William  and  Mary  College  Quarterly  His- 
torical Magaz'ne,  viii,  110-115. 

■*  Lightfoot  family :  WUliam  and  Mary  College  Quarterly  His- 
torical Magazine,  ii,'91-97,  204-207  and  259-262;  iii,  104-111, 
137. 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     63 

house  has  massive  walls  of  brick  and  from  the  first'  floor  is 
weather-boarded  over  the  inside  brick  casing,  known  m 
Colonial  days  as  a  stock  brick  building  and  supposed  to  be 
indestructible.  :  '■' 

At  Sandy  Point  are  buried  several  of  the  older  gen- 
erations of  the  Lightfoot  family,  beneath  tombs  bearing 
the  familv  arms. 


TEDINGTON,  CHARLES  CITY  COUNTY 


From  the  Lightfoots,  the  estate  passed  to  the  INIinges 
and  Boilings  and  from  the  latter,  by  sale,  to  Baylor. 

Charles  Campbell,  the  Virginia  historian,  published  a 
fascinating  account  of  Tedington  in  the  Southern  Literary 
Messenger  for  JNIarch,  1841,  called,  "  Christmas  Holidaj^s 
at  Tedington." 

BRANDON 

Separated  onlj^  by  Upper  Chippokes  Creek  from  the 
great  Claremont  estate  and  extending  like  it  along  the 
James,  is  historic  Brandon. 

Its  approach  from  the  river-front  is  through  the  love- 
liest old  garden  in  Virginia,  and  every  flower  and  shrub 
known  to  Virginia  gardens  has  a  place  there,  from  the 


64        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

violet,  the  cowslip  and  the  lily-of-the-valley  underfoot,  to 
the  mimosa  and  the  magnolia  shedding  sweetness  in  the 
upper  air. 

The  garden  is  open  to  the  river  at  the  end  but  is  en- 
closed on  each  side  by  a  box-hedge  walk.  Entrance  is  from 
a  corner  where  box-walk  and  river  bluff  meet,  through  a 
bower  of  honeysuckle.  A  short  path  along  the  bluff  leads 
to  a  broad  grass-walk,  bordered  on  either  side  with  flower- 
ing shrubs  of  every  description,  which  cuts  the  garden  in 
two  and  provides  a  most  beautiful  approach  to  the  house. 
In  the  spaces  between  this  central  walk  and  the  box-walks 
the  flowers  in  their  respective  seasons  make  a  variety  of 
color.  In  midsummer  numberless  hollyhocks  set  in  formal 
rows  and  in  beds  are  in  their  glory,  while  through  spring, 
summer,  and  fall  roses  in  splendid  varietj'  show  what  roses 
can  be  at  their  best. 

The  gi'ass-walk  ends  in  a  smooth  green  lawn  stretching 
away  on  either  side  to  the  box-hedges,  upon  which  stands 
the  hoary  mansion,  its  tempest-stained  and  bullet-scarred 
walls  presenting  a  striking  contrast  to  the  gay  garden,  for 
no  attempt  has  ever  been  made  to  cover  the  fact  that  during 
the  War  between  the  States  the  house  was  used  as  a  target 
b}^  Northern  soldiers,  who  also  burned  the  barns  and  out- 
buildings, pried  off  some  of  the  wainscoting  inside  of  the 
house  in  hope  of  finding  treasure,  and  broke  some  window- 
panes  upon  which  had  been  scratched  with  diamonds  the 
names  of  visitors  to  the  house  for  a  hundred  years  or  more 
— many  of  them  persons  of  note.  The  Southern  poet  John 
R.  Thompson  made  these  panes  the  subject  of  a  quaint  bit 
of  verse,  "  The  Window-panes  of  Brandon." 

The  house  consists  of  a  square  central  building  with 
square  porches  at  both  back  and  front,  and  this  central 
building  is  connected  bj"  one-story  passage-ways  with  a 
wing  at  either  side.  Crossing  the  threshold  we  find  our- 
selves within  a  spacious  hall,  wainscoted  to  the  ceiling  and 
relieved  midway  by  triple  arches  supported  upon  fluted 
columns.    After  two  hundred  years  the  Harrisons  still  own 


BRANDON,  PRINCE  GEORCE  COUNTY 


THE  HALL  AT  BRANDON 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     67 

and  occupy  Brandon,  with  the  household  gods  accumulated 
during  that  period  around  them.  These  gentle  and  com- 
panionable deities  will  prove  as  full  of  inspiration  as  the 
flower  garden,  for  they  make  the  home  as  redolent  with 
memories  as  the  garden  is  with  bloom. 

Upon  the  walls  of  drawing-room  and  dining-room 
which  open  upon  the  hall  from  either  side  hang  the  famous 
collection  of  Byrd  portraits  from  Westover — brought 
hither  when  the  daughter  of  the  third  Colonel  William 
Byrd  married  Benjamin  Harrison.  Some  of  these  are  by 
such  distinguished  artists  as  Godfrey  Kneller, Vandyke  and 
Sir  Peter  Lely.  Here  is,  also,  rich  old  mahogany  worthy 
to  be  used  by  the  stately  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  look 
down  upon  it,  and  picturesque  old  cabinets  filled  with 
Colonial  silver,  every  piece  of  which  has  its  own  story. 

Here  is  a  gown  of  pink  brocade  and  a  painted  fan  which 
once  belonged  to  the  fair  Mistress  Evelyn  Byrd. 

A  round  of  the  treasure-filled  rooms  finallj^  brings  us 
out  into  the  porch  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  hall  from  that 
by  which  we  entered,  and  here  the  eye  is  surprised  by  the 
contrast  the  grounds  on  this  side  of  the  house  make  with 
the  river-front.  Instead  of  the  brilliant  garden  is  an  open 
lawn,  and  beyond  a  sunlit  space  of  unbroken  green  spreads 
a  park  where  wide-spreading  oaks  and  elms  make  shadowy 
vistas. 

Brandon  plantation  was  first  granted  to  John  Martin, 
who  came  over  with  John  Smith  and  was  a  member  of  "  his 
ISIajesty's  first  Council  in  Virginia,"  and  its  earliest  name 
was  "  Martin's  Brandon."  One  of  the  most  interesting 
relics  in  Virginia  is  the  original  grant  to  John  Martin  still 
preserved  at  Brandon.  Later  Martin  must  have  either  sold 
or  abandoned  the  estate,  for  in  1635  it  was  granted  to  John 
Sadler  and  Richard  Quiney,  merchants,  and  William 
Barber,  mariner.  Richard  Quiney's  brother,  Thomas 
Quiney,  married  Judith,  daughter  of  William  Shakespeare. 
Richard  Quiney  left  his  share  of  the  property  to  his  son, 
who  left  it  to  his  great-nephew,  Robert  Richardson,  who 


68        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

sold  it  in  1720  to  Nathaniel  Harrison^  (1677-1727)  of 
"  Wakefield,"  Surry  Countj%  son  of  Honorable  Benjamin 
Harrison  (1645-1712)  of  "Wakefield,"  who  was  second 
of  the  name  in  Virginia.  He  had  evidently  already  bought 
the  rest  from  the  Sadlers,  for  the  records  show  that  he 
owned  "  the  tract  called  Brandon,  containing  7,000  acres." 

The  new  owner  of  Brandon  was  a  burgess  and  a  coun- 
cillor, naval  officer  of  the  Lower  James,  county  lieutenant 
of  Surry  and  Prince  George  and  finally  auditor  general 
of  the  Colony.  He  married  a  widow,  Mrs.  INIary  Young, 
nee  Cary,  and  had  seven  children — among  them  Nathaniel 
Harrison  II,  eldest  son,  who  inherited  Brandon  and  built 
the  present  house.  Nathaniel  Harrison,  of  Brandon,  was 
like  his  father  a  prominent  man  in  the  colony  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Council  of  State.  He  married  first  ]\Iary, 
daughter  of  Colonel  Cole  Digges  (1692-1744),*  and 
secondly,  Lucy,  widow  of  Henry  Fitzhugh  and  daughter 
of  Honorable  Robert  Carter,  of  Corotoman.  His  first  wife 
was  the  mother  of  his  eldest  son  and  the  heir  of  Brandon, 
Benjamin  Harrison,  whose  portrait  is  among  those  upon 
the  walls. 

Benjamin  Harrison  was  twice  married,  and  the  por- 
traits of  his  two  exceeding  fair  ladies  hang  amicably  in 
the  same  room  at  Brandon.  His  first  wife  was  Anne 
Randolph,  of  Wilton,  who  left  no  children,  and  the  second, 
Evelj^n  Taylor  Byrd,  daughter  of  Colonel  William  Byrd 
III,  of  Westover — of  an  entirely  different  type  from  her 
namesake  and  aunt,  the  famous  Evelyn,  but  second  only  to 
her  in  beauty.  By  his  marriage  with  her,  Benjamin  Har- 
rison had  two  sons,  between  whom  the  plantation  was 
divided — George  Evelyn,  the  elder  son,  of  course,  inherited 
the  lower  part,  upon  which  the  family-seat  stands,  and 

^  The  Harrison  family  has  been  very  thoroughly  worked  out 
by  Keith  in  his  Ancestry  of  Benjamin  Harrison  .  .  .  Philadelphia, 
1893,  and  in  The  Critic  (Richmond,  Va.),  June  23,  July  '7  and  21, 
1889. 

'^  Digges  famil}' :  Pedigree  of  a  Representative  Virginia  Planter, 
in  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  i,  80-88,  140-154,  208-213. 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     69 

William  Byrd  Harrison,  the  younger  son,  received  the  part 
upon  which  Upper  Brandon  was  built. 

George  Evelyn  Harrison  was  a  prominent  man  in  his 
time  and  a  member  of  the  House  of  Delegates  from  his 
county — Prince  George.  He  married  Isabella  Ritchie, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Ritchie,  the  distinguished  Virginia 
editor,  and  had  two  children,  George  Evelyn  and  Isabella. 
He  died  in  1839,  aged  42,  and  from  that  date  until  her  own 
death,  in  1898,  Brandon  was  owned  by  his  widow,  INIrs. 
Isabella  Ritchie  Harrison,  who  was  affectionately  known 
throughout  Virginia  by  the  name  her  servants  gave  her, 
"  Old  JNIiss,"  and  who  reigned  supreme,  not  only  over 
Brandon  but  its  vicinitj^  for  miles  around,  for  over  a  half- 
century.  In  doing  the  honors  of  her  hospitable  home  she 
was  always  assisted  by  her  daughter  "  INIiss  Belle,"  who 
was  widely  known  and  admired  for  her  loveliness  and  charm 
of  person  and  character,  but  who,  electing  to  remain  un- 
married, never  left  the  Brandon  roof-tree. 

George  Eveh^n  Harrison,  Jr.,  married  JNIiss  Gulielma 
Gordon,  of  Savannah,  Georgia.  He  died  young,  leaving 
several  children,  and  upon  the  death  of  "  Old  Miss,"  his 
widow,  JNIrs.  Gulielma  G.  Harrison,  succeeded  to  the  dis- 
tinguished post  of  mistress  of  Brandon.  Since  her  death, 
the  estate  is  owned  by  her  sons  and  daughters. 

UPPER  BRANDON 

Upper  Brandon,  a  handsome  and  spacious  mansion, 
flanked  on  either  side  by  commodious  wings,  stands  in  a 
box-bordered  lawn,  completely  screened  from  the  view  of 
passers-by  on  the  James  by  the  grove  of  superb  oaks  be- 
tween it  and  the  river.  It  was  built  early  in  the  nineteenth 
century  by  William  Byrd  Harrison,  son  of  Benjamin 
Harrison  and  the  beautiful  Evelyn  Tajdor  Byrd,  his  wife. 

Mr.  Harrison  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  gentle- 
men and  planters  in  Virginia.  He  was  twice  married,  first, 
in  1827,  to  ]Mary  Randolph,  daughter  of  Randolph  Har- 
rison of  Elk  Hill,  Goochland  County,  and  secondly  to 


70        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Ellen  Wayles,  daughter  of  Colonel  Thomas  Jefferson 
Randolph, "of  Edge  Hill,  Albemarle  County.  Three  of 
his  sons  were  gallant  officers  in  the  Confederate  Army  and 
one  of  them.  Captain  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  The  Row, 
Charles  City  County,  was  killed  at  the  Battle  of  Malvern 
Hill. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Harrison,  Upper  Brandon  was 
sold  and  passed  into  the  possession  of  his  nephew,  Mr. 
George  H.  Byrd,  of  New  York,  whose  son  now  owns  the 
place  and  lives  there. 

There  were  formerly  at  Upper  Brandon  a  number  of 
interesting  portraits — among  them  one  of  Miss  Blount, 
said  to  have  been  a  sweetheart  of  the  poet  Pope. 

WEYANOKE 

Weyanoke,  which  lies  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  not 
many  miles  above  Upper  Brandon,  first  appears  in  history 
during  the  exploring  voyage  of  Captain  Christopher  New- 
port, Captain  John  Smith  and  others,  up  the  James,  in 
1607.  They  found  seated  at  this  place  the  Weyanoke 
Indians — a  tribe  governed  bj^  a  queen  subordinate  to  Pow- 
hatan. In  the  writings  of  the  earlj^  colonists  there  is  fre- 
quent reference  to  the  Queen  of  Weyanoke. 

Governor  Sir  George  Yeardley  acquired  an  estate  at 
Weyanoke  which  was  afterwards  sold  to  the  rich  planter 
and  merchant  Abraham  Piersey.  On  account  of  the  de- 
struction of  the  county  records,  we  have  no  knowledge  of 
the  ownership  of  the  plantation  for  a  time,  but  toward  the 
end  of  the  seventeenth  century  it  became  the  property  of 
the  Harwoods  '^ — long  a  prominent  family  in  Charles  City 
County. 

In  1740,  William  Harwood  built  in  place  of  an  earlier 
dwelling  the  spacious  frame  house  which  still  stands  at 
Weyanoke.     Toward  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century, 

^  Harwood  notes :  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biog- 
raphy, ii,  183—185. 


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HAIMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     73 

Agnes,  daughter  and  co-heiress  of  Major  Samuel  Har- 
wood,  of  Weyanoke,  married  Fielding  Lewis,  a  son  of 
Colonel  Warner  Lewis,  of  Warner  Hall,  Gloucester 
County,  and  inherited  the  old  homestead.  Mr.  Lewis  was 
noted  as  a  scientific  planter,  and  his  portrait  was  in  the 
collection  of  the  Virginia  Agricultural  Society,  and  now 
hangs  in  the  Virginia  State  Library.  His  daughter, 
Eleanor,  who  likewise  inherited  the  homestead,  married 
Robert  Douthat,  and  had  several  children.  One  of  these, 
JNIajor  Robert  Douthat,  was  the  next  master  of  Weyanoke, 


WEYANDKE,  CHARLES  CITY  COUNTY 


which  he  sold  in  1876.  Another  son.  Fielding  Lewis 
Douthat,  inherited  part  of  the  estate.  He  married  Mary 
Willis  Marshall,  a  descendant  of  the  great  Chief  Justice, 
who  with  her  children  now  lives  at  Lower  Weyanoke. 

SHERWOOD  FOREST 

"  Sherwood  Forest  "  is  situated  on  the  north  side  of 
James  River  in  Charles  City  County,  Virginia,  opposite  to 
the  famous  Brandon  estates  in  Prince  George  County. 
The  tract  originally  consisted  of  1200  acres,  and  the  manor 
house  is  a  building  of  framed  timbers  facing  a  ten-acre 


74 


VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


grove  of  primeval  oaks,  and  in  the  rear  is  a  circular  de- 
scending park  of  choice  trees  originally  from  the  Washing- 
ton Botanical  Gardens.  The  main  building  is  two  stories 
and  a  half  high  with  dormer  windows.  On  each  side  is  a 
wing  consisting  of  a  storj^  and  a  half,  and  to  each  wing  is 
attached  a  long  enclosed  colonnade,  ending  in  two  framed 
buildings,  also  of  a  story  and  a  half — the  eastern  wing  con- 
taining the  laundry  and  kitchen,  and  the  western  the 
library  and  overseer's  office.  It  is  the  longest  connected 
dwelling  in   Virginia — being  upwards   of   100   yards   in 


SHERWOOD  FOREST,  CHARLES  CITY  COUNTY 


length.  The  place  was  formerly  known  as  "  Walnut 
Grove,"  and  was  bought  by  President  John  Tyler  of  Col- 
lier Minge  in  1842.  At  the  time  of  the  purchase,  there  was 
standing  a  house  of  Revolutionary  age.  President  Tyler 
duplicated  the  structure  and  added  the  colonnades  and 
houses  at  the  ends.  On  his  retirement  from  the  Presidency, 
in  1845,  he  came  there  to  live  with  his  bride,  the  second 
Mrs.  Tyler,  whose  maiden  name  was  Julia  Gardiner. 

The  President  was  very  fond  of  poetry  and  romance, 
and,  in  view  of  his  outlawry  by  the  Whig  Party,  he  likened 
himself  to  Robin  Hood  and  named  his  new  home  "  Sher- 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     75 

wood  Forest,"  after  the  scene  of  action,  in  England,  of  the 
bold  Englishman.  Although  everything  was  destroyed  on 
the  farm,  the  house  passed  safely  through  the  Civil  War, 
and  is  now  the  residence  of  President  Tyler's  oldest  son  by 
his  second  marriage — D.  Gardiner  Tyler,  Judge  of  the 
14th  Judicial  Circuit  of  Virginia. 

Three  miles  away  is  Greenway,  the  residence  of  Gov- 
ernor John  Tyler,  Sr.,  and  the  birthplace  of  the  President. 

FLOWER  DE  HUNDRED 

The  fantastic  name  of  Flower  de  Hundred  (whose 
origin  is  wrapped  in  mystery),  the  setting  of  green  lawn 
and  foliage  and  the  view  of  the  river  with  its  "  firm,  sandy 
shore,  its  bluff  beyond,  its  fringe  of  trees  and  tangle  of 
lilies,"  give  the  long,  white,  cottage-like  homestead  "  a 
charm  rare  even  in  the  enchanted  region  of  James  River." 

The  plantation  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  historic 
on  the  river.  Its  first  owner  was  Sir  George  Yeardley,  the 
Governor  who  called  and  presided  over  the  famous  As- 
sembly of  1619 — the  first  free  legislature  convened  in 
America.  In  this  Assembly,  Flower  de  Hundred  was  repre- 
sented by  Governor  Yeardley's  nephew,  Edmund  Rossing- 
ham,  and  John  Jefferson,  an  ancestor  of  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son. Governor  Yeardley  himself  lived  at  Jamestown,  but, 
in  1621,  he  built,  at  Flower  de  Hundred,  the  first  wind-mill 
in  America.  In  the  massacre  of  1622,  the  Indians  mur- 
dered six  persons  at  Flower  de  Hundred.  A  few  years 
later  the  plantation  was  sold  to  the  rich  "  Cape  Merchant  " 
and  councillor,  Abraham  Piersj^ 

In  1633,  Thomas  Paulett  was  Burgess  for  Flower  de 
Hundred  and  his  heir  was  his  nephew.  Sir  John  Paulett. 
After  that  there  were  several  changes  of  ownership  until 
1725,  when  it  was  bought  by  Joseph  Poythress  and  has 
been  owned  by  his  descendants  ever  since.  In  1804  it 
passed  to  the  Willcox  family  by  the  marriage  of  Susan 
Peachy  Poythress  to  John  Vaughn  Willcox,  a  resident  of 
Petersburg.  Mr.  Willcox  built  the  oldest  part  of  the 
present  house  something  over  a  hundred  years  ago;  this 


76 


VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


consisted  of  three  rooms  which  he  used  while  superintend- 
ing the  cultivation  of  the  plantation.  The  house,  as  it 
stands  to-day,  was  completed  by  John  Poj^thress  Willcox 
( son  of  John  '\''aughn  Willcox ) . 

Like  most  old  Virginia  homes,  Flower  de  Hundred  has 
its  war  history.  In  1862,  its  "  new  wharf  "  was  burned  by 
order  of  the  Confederate  Government  to  prevent  the  land- 
ing of  Northern  soldiers  on  the  south  side  of  the  James. 
"  Before  its  embers  were  cold  the  first  Federal  gunboat 
ever  seen  that  high  up  the  river  came  in  sight  to  disturb  a 
peaceful  stretch  of  waters  which  after  this  became  a  '  forest 
of  masts.'  "  Two  years  later,  in  June,  1864,  General  Grant 
on  the  march  to  Petersburg,  made  his  famous  crossing  of 
the  James,  130,000  strong,  from  River  Edge,  opposite 
Flower  de  Hundred.    "  The  feat  was  accomplished  in  two 


FLOWER  DR  HUNDRKD,  PRIXCE  GEORGE  COUNTY 


days — a  glorious  sight  as  described  by  his  generals — under 
a  brilliant  sky,  in  fields  of  sunshine,"  but  to  the  gentle 
mistress  of  Flower  de  Hundred,  "  along  with  her  aged 
mother  and  a  few  faithful  servants,  the  picture  had  a  reverse 
side.     She  watched  the  landing  at  Windmill  Point,  the 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     77 

tramping  through  her  standing  corn,  the  bivouac  about 
her  house,  the  place  swarming  with  soldiers  and  covered 
with  tents,  batteries,  horses  and  wagons,  and  when  they 
went  away  there  were  floors  torn  up  and  mahogany  hacked 
to  pieces,  and  marble  hearths  broken  to  bits  and  the  memory 
of  one  trooper  disappearing  up  the  road  decked  in  the 
bridal  veil  and  orange  blossoms  of  a  newly  married  daugh- 
ter of  the  house.  Long  afterward  the  broken  marble  was 
gathered  up  as  a  sacred  relic  and  became  a  hearth  again — 
this  time  a  mosaic." 

The  Flower  de  Hundred  plantation  has  undergone  as 
many  changes  of  size  and  shape  as  of  ownership.  It  con- 
tains at  present  vipward  of  a  thousand  acres. 

This  interesting  old  homestead  has  been  made  the  scene 
of  three  published  romances. 


MERCHANT'S  HOPE  CHURCH.  PRINCE  GEORGE  COUNTY 

MERCHANT'S  HOPE  CHURCH 

Not  many  miles  from  Flower  de  Hundred,  in  the  same 
county — Prince  George — stands,  within  a  beautiful  grove, 
the  quaint  old  brick  church  known  as  Merchant's  Hope, 


78        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

which  took  its  name  from  a  plantation  established  at  a  very 
early  date  by  some  London  merchants.  It  is  supposed  to 
have  been  built  in  1657,  as  that  date  was  found  upon 
timbers  inside  the  roof. 

This  church,  sixty  feet  long  and  twenty-six  feet  wide, 
is  still  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation — the  pulpit  and 
chancel  furniture  destroyed  during  the  War  between  the 
States  having  been  replaced  by  new  ones.  The  original 
floor  of  stone  flagging  is  stiU  there,  as  is  the  ponderous 
Bible  printed  in  1625. 

Not  far  from  the  church,  on  the  same  side  of  the  river, 
is  "  Jordan's  Point,"  which  was  so  long  the  plantation  and 
home  of  the  distinguished  family  of  Bland.  The  old  man- 
sion house  disappeared  long  ago.  At  an  early  period  of 
our  history  it  was  the  home  of  JNIrs.  Cicely  Jordan,  a  too 
fascinating  widow,  whose  coquetries  induced  the  GoA^ernor 
and  Council  to  issue  a  stern  edict  against  women  who  en- 
gage themselves  to  two  men  at  the  same  time. 

There  is  no  record  in  Virginia  indicating  that  this  edict 
was  ever  revoked. 

WESTOVER* 

From  a  deep  green  setting  of  shade-tree  and  turf, 
Westover,  deep  red,  tall,  stately  and  serene,  gleams  upon 
James  River.  Its  high  and  steep  roof  is  unrelieved  save 
by  dormer  windows  and  towering  chimneys.  Its  formal 
red-brick  walls  are  unencumbered  by  porch  or  ornament, 
but  foot-worn  gray  stone  steps  rise  in  a  pyramid  to  a  white 
portal  of  exquisite  taste.  Above  a  fan-light  a  massive 
cornice,  supported  by  Corinthian  pilasters,  is  capped  bj' 
a  carved  pineapple — emblem  of  hospitality — within  a 
broken  pediment. 

*  For  full  histories  of  the  Byrds  and  their  estates  see  The 
Writings  of  Colonel  William  Byrd  of  Westover  in  Virginia,  Esqr., 
edited  by  John  Spencer  Bassett,  New  York,  1901,  the  Introduction 
and  Appendix;  The  Critic  (Richmond,  Va.),  December  14  and  16, 
1888;  The  Title  to  Westover  in  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  iv, 
151-155. 


HAMPTON  ROx\DS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     81 

The  row  of  wonderful  old  tulip  poplars,  with  their 
gnarled  and  twisted  arms,  in  front  of  the  house  is  believed 
to  have  stood  guard  there  for  a  century  and  a  half,  and 
the  green  carpet  that  stretches  to  the  edge  of  the  bluff  is 
as  old  as  the  trees. 

The  main  entrance  to  the  grounds  is  at  the  rear  where 
noble  iron  gates  bearing  the  Byrd  arms  swing  between 
square,  brick  piers  ten  feet  high,  surmounted  by  brass 
falcons  standing  with  wings  spread  as  if  for  flight.  The 
interior  of  the  mansion — with  its  great  central  hall  and 


WESTOVER  GATES 


stairway,  its  panelled  rooms,  whose  ceilings  are  adorned 
with  medalhons  and  garlands  in  relief,  its  deep  fkeplaces 
and  tall  carved  mantels,  its  massive  doors  with  their  huge 
brass  locks — is  in  perfect  keeping  with  the  stateliness  of 
the  exterior,  and  proclaims  it  at  once  as  the  home  of  culture 
and  elegance. 

About  the  year  1674  William  Byrd  (1653-1704),  first 
of  the  name  in  Virginia,  and  his  wife,  Mary — descendants, 
both,  of  good  old  English  famihes — came  to  Virginia  and 
settled  at  the  Falls  of  James  River,  where  they  called 
their    home    Belvidere.      In    1688    Byrd    bought    from 


82 


VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


Theodorick  Bland  the  plantation  of  Westover,  and  took 
up  his  abode  there.  About  the  year  1730  his  son  and  heir, 
William  Byrd  II  (1674-1744),  built  the  mansion  which 
so  fittingly  crowns  that  fair  plantation. 

In  the  young  master  of  Westover  were  met  such  an 
unusual  number  of  happy  gifts,  so  well  improved  by  cul- 
tivation, that  he  was  dubbed  the  "  Black  Swan  "  of  Vir- 
ginia.   He  was  not  onty  born  to  "  an  ample  fortune  " — as 


THE  PAE.LOR  AT  WESTOVER 


his  epitaph  informs  us — but  with  a  brilliant  mind,  a  cour- 
ageous spirit  and  a  kindly  disposition.  Besides,  he  was 
handsome,  graceful,  and  fascinating.  He  was  liberally 
educated  abroad,  where  he  travelled  much  and  was  in  the 
best  society.  He  was  in  demand  everj^where,  for  he  was 
at  once  the  most  elegant  of  gentlemen  and  the  best  of  good 
fellows.  He  was  a  man  of  many  resources,  with  a  special 
leaning  toward  literature,  and  collected,  at  Westover,  the 


'^ 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     83 

finest  library  of  Colonial  times  in  America.  He  did  not 
write  for  publication,  but  left  diaries  which  have  been 
printed  under  the  title  of  "  The  Westover  JNIanuscripts  " 
and  are  models  of  pure  English — fresh,  sparkling  and 
picturesque. 

He  took  an  active  and  leading  part  in  public  affairs, 
and  filled  many  important  offices — among  them  that  of 
President  of  "  his  JNlajestj^'s  Council." 

He  was  twice  married — first  to  Lucy,  daughter  of 
Colonel  Daniel  Parke  (1669-1710),  Marlborough's  aide- 
de-camp  ;  and  after  her  death  to  Maria  Taylor,  of  Kensing- 
ton, a  wealthy  and  attractive  young  widow.  The  first  wife 
was  the  mother  of  Evelyn  (1707-1737)  and  Wilhemina 
Byrd;  and  the  second,  of  Anne  (1725-1757),  Maria 
(1727-1744),  William  (1729-1777),  and  Jane.  His 
daughters  were  noted  belles,  especially  Evelj^n — the  eldest 
— whose  fame  as  a  beauty  spread  to  England.  She  was 
presented  at  Court  at  the  age  of  eighteen  and  was  the  toast 
of  noblemen — the  King  himself  expressing  pleasure  at 
finding  his  Colonies  could  furnish  such  "  beautiful  Byrds." 
According  to  tradition,  she  was  wooed  and  won  while  in 
England  by  the  Earl  of  Peterborough,  but  her  father 
would  not  hear  of  the  match  and  hurried  her  back  to  Vir- 
ginia, where  the  "  beautiful  Byrd  "  gradually  faded  away 
and,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  died  a  spinster,  of  a  broken 
heart.  A  fine  portrait  which  now  adorns  the  walls  at 
Brandon  preserves  her  flower-like  loveliness. 

Her  sisters,  whose  portraits  show  that  thej^  were  close 
seconds  to  her  in  beauty,  became  the  wives :  Wilhemina,  of 
Thomas  Chamberlayne ;  Anne,  of  Charles  Carter  of 
"  Cleve  ";  Maria,  of  Landon  Carter  of  "  Sabine  Hall  "; 
and  Jane,  of  John  Page  of  "  North  End  ";  and  her  only 
brother.  Colonel  Wilham  Byrd  III  (1729-1777),  heir  of 
Westover,  married :  first,  Elizabeth  Hill,  daughter  of  John 
Carter,  of  Shirley,  and,  secondly,  Mary,  daughter  of 
Charles  and  Anne  Shippen  Willing,  of  Philadelphia.  The 
descendants  of  the  "  Black  Swan  "  of  Virginia  are  legion. 

Colonel  William  Byrd  III  was,  like  his  father  and 


84 


VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


grandfather,  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Virginia  Coun- 
cil and  served  gallantly  as  a  colonel  of  a  Virginia  regiment 
during  the  French  and  Indian  War.  His  spirit  and 
liberality  in  this  service  were  highly  commended  by  the 
English  Commander-in-Chief  in  America.  He  was  a  man 
of  talent  and  cultivation,  but  was,  unhappily,  possessed 


p    P  "JSW^** 


WESTOVER  DURING  THE  WAR  1861-1865 

by  an  incurable  passion  for  gaming,  which  finally  wrecked 
his  superb  estate.  He  died  in  1777,  leaving,  at  Westover, 
a  widow  and  several  daughters,  who,  like  the  "  beautiful 
Byrds  "  of  the  former  generation,  were  noted  for  their 
charms.  They  especially  attracted  some  of  the  French 
officers  who  had  taken  part  in  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  and 
the  Marquis  de  Chastellux  declared  in  his  memoirs  that 
Westover  was  the  most  beautiful  place  in  America. 

Westover  was  twice  visited  by  the  British  army  during 
the  Revolution.  Arnold  was  there  in  1781,  and  Cornwallis 
crossed  the  river  there,  with  his  forces,  in  April  of  the  same 
year.  Mrs.  Mary  Willing  Byrd  had  many  Tory  con- 
nections and  was  at  one  time  so  strongly  suspected  of  cor- 
responding with  the  enemy  that  her  papers  were  seized  by 
the  Virginia  officers.     The  splendid  library  at  Westover 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     85 

and  the  family  plate  were  sold  during  her  lifetime  and 
after  her  death  the  estate  passed  from  the  Byrd  family. 
It  was  long  the  property  of  the  Seldens  and  passed  from 
them,  by  sale,  to  jNlajor  Augustus  Drewry  and  from  him, 
in  the  same  manner,  to  ]Mrs.  Clarice  Sears  Ramsay,  the 
present  owner,  who  has  done  much  to  restore  both  house 
and  grounds  to  their  early  beaut^^ 

INIany  interesting  traditions  linger  about  Westover. 
The  room  of  the  lovely  Evelyn  Byrd  is  still  pointed  out 
and  it  is  said  that  the  tap  of  her  high-heeled  slippers  and 
swish  of  her  silken  gown  may  be  sometimes  heard  on  the 
broad  stair,  in  the  watches  of  the  night.  Not  far  from  the 
house,  at  the  site  of  the  old  Westover  Church,  may  be  seen 
her  tomb,  together  with  those  of  her  grandfather,  William 
Byrd  I,  Theodorick  Bland  and  other  worthies  of  an  earlier 
time.  Her  father's  ashes  rest  under  a  handsome  tomb  in 
the  garden. 

Westover  had  its  taste  of  the  war  of  1861-186.5  as  well 
as  of  the  Revolution,  for  there  McClellan's  army  camped 
after  the  retreat  from  Richmond. 


WESTOVER  CHURCH 


86        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

WE  STOVER  CHURCH 

Was  built  about  1740,  after  the  site  close  to  Westover 
house  was  given  up.  It  has  had  a  checkered  career,  having 
been,  during  the  general  depression  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  used  as 
a  barn,  and,  during  the  War  between  the  States,  used  by 
Federal  troops  as  a  stable.  It  has  now  been  thoroughly 
restored. 

BERKEUEY 

Berkeley,  which  adjoins  the  Westover  estate,  and 
Brandon  have  been  called  the  "  cradles  "  of  the  Harrison 
family  in  Virginia.  Berkeley  house  stands  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  back  from  the  river.  It  is  a  square  brick  building, 
two  stories  high,  with  gable  roof  and  dormer  windows,  and 
a  wide  porch,  added  in  later  times,  running  around  it. 
Within  there  are  panelled  rooms,  a  wide  arched  hall  and 
carved  mantels  and  cornices  of  unusual  beauty.  In  historic 
interest  it  is  second  to  that  of  none  of  the  James  River 
mansions. 

Its  story  begins  before  the  Harrisons  came  to  Virginia, 
when,  in  1618,  the  Uondon  Company  granted  Berkeley 
plantation  to  Sir  William  Throckmorton,  Sir  George 
Yeardley,  Richard  Berkeley  and  John  Smith  of  Nibley." 
On  December  4,  1619,  the  ship  Margaret,  of  Bristol, 
arrived  at  Jamestown,  bringing,  under  care  of  Captain 
John  Woodlief,  thirty-five  settlers  for  the  Town  and 
Hundred  of  Berkeley,  which  then  contained  about  8,000 
acres.  In  1621,  Reverend  John  Paulett,  a  kinsman  of 
Uord  Paulett,  was  minister  at  Berkelej^  Hundred.  In 
1622,  the  year  of  the  great  Indian  massacre  which  nearly 
wiped  Virginia  out  of  existence,  ISIr.  George  Thorpe, 
formerly  a  gentleman  of  the  King's  Privy  Chamber,  who 
had  been  appointed  by  the  Virginia  Company  head  of  the 

^  Papers  relative  to  settlement,  etc.,  Berkeley  Hundred,  are 
published  in  Bulletin  of  the  New  York  Public  Library,  iii,  Nos.  4—7 
(April  to  July,  1899). 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     89 

proposed  college,  was  one  of  the  nine  residents  of  Berkeley 
Hundred  murdered  by  the  Indians.  After  the  massacre 
the  plantation  was  abandoned  for  a  time.  Later,  it  became 
the  property  of  John  Bland,'"  a  London  merchant,  whose 
son  Giles  Bland  lived  there  until  he  was  hanged,  in  1676, 
by  Sir  William  Berkeley,  for  his  part  in  Bacon's  Rebellion. 
After  this  Berkeley  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Harrison 
family,  who  owned  and  occupied  it  through  five  genera- 
tions, during  which  it  was  the  birthplace  of  a  governor  of 
Virginia  and  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
a  Revolutionary  general  and  a  president  of  the  United 
States. 

The  first  of  the  Harrisons  to  be  master  of  Berkeley 
was  Benjamin  (1673-1710) ,  third  of  the  name  in  Virginia, 
who  was  attorney-general  and  speaker  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses  and  treasurer  of  the  Colony.  He  was  the  son 
of  the  Honorable  Benjamin  Harrison  II  (1695-1712), 
of  "  Wakefield,"  Surry  County,  and  brother  of  Honor- 
able Nathaniel  Harrison  I,  of  "  W^akefield,"  whose  son. 
Honorable  Nathaniel  Harrison  II,  was  the  founder  of 
the  "  Brandon  "  family.  Benjamin  Ill's  massive  tomb, 
with  its  inscription  in  Latin,  with  the  exception  of  one 
line,  which  is  in  Greek,  remains  at  the  site  of  old  West- 
over  Church.  By  his  side  rests  his  wife,  who  was  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  Honorable  Lewis  Burwell  II,  whose 
tomb  bears  the  coat-of-arms  of  her  family.  Upon  his 
death  the  estate  descended  to  his  son  Benjamin  IV,  who 
was  many  years  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses 
and  who  built  the  present  house  at  Berkeley.  He  mar- 
ried Anne,  daughter  of  Robert  ("King")  Carter,  and 
at  his  death,  in  1744,  left  Berkeley  to  his  son  Benjamin 
Harrison  (1726-1791),  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, and  father  of  William  Henry  Harrison,  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  who  was  born  at  Berkeley. 

President   Harrison's   eldest   brother,    Benjamin,    in- 


"  The  Critic  (Richmond,  Va.),  July  9,  1880. 


90         VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

herited  Berkeley,  which  passed  down  through  a  Hne  bearing 
the  same  Christian  name  matil  it  was  sold  not  long  before 
the  War  bet^^'een  the  States. 

It  is  said  that  every  President  of  the  United  States, 
from  ^Vashington  to  Buchanan,  was  at  some  time  a  guest 
at  Berkeley,  and  that  ujjon  the  election  to  this  high  office 
of  General  William  Henry  Harrison  ("Tippecanoe") 
he  went  to  his  mother's  room  there,  to  write  his  inaugural 
address.    The  historic  room  is  still  pointed  out. 

The  late  President  Benjamin  Harrison,  during  his  ad- 
ministration, visited  this  historic  home  of  his  forefathers. 

During  the  War  between  the  States  the  house  at  Berke- 
ley was  used  as  headquarters  by  General  McClellan  and 
his  staff  after  his  retreat  from  Malvern  Hill,  and  his  army 
was  camped  for  miles  along  the  river  banks.  The  cellar 
is  said  to  have  been  used  by  him  as  a  prison  for  Confederate 
soldiers,  and  from  the  Berkeley  Wharf,  knoAvn  to  history 
as  "  Harrison's  Landing,"  his  troops  were  embarked  upon 
the  Northern  transports. 

In  1882,  Berkeley,  which  now  contains  1400  acres,  be- 
came the  propertjj^  of  Judge  Henry  F.  Knox,  of  New  York. 
To-daj"  the  old  place  has  a  practical  as  well  as  a  senti- 
mental interest,  for  the  Berkeley  fishing-shore  is  one  of  the 
finest,  as  well  as  one  of  the  oldest,  on  James  River,  and  as 
many  as  22,931  shad  and  200,000  herring  have  been  landed 
there  in  one  season.  A  visitor  there  once  described  the 
hauling  of  the  seine  500  3'ards  long,  by  a  crew  of  fifteen 
men. 

"  It  is  a  fascinating  sight  to  see  a  haul  on  a  good  day 
on  the  Berkeley  shore.  As  the  great  seine  is  drawn  in  shore 
bjr  the  crew  the  very  waters  seethe  with  fish  of  all  varieties, 
from  the  luscious  roe  shad  to  the  insignificant  baby  perch. 
As  the  haul  is  landed  the  fish  are  sorted  into  baskets  and 
taken  to  the  fish  house,  where  they  lie  on  the  cool  brick 
floor  until  they  are  shipped  to  the  citj^  markets." 

Berkeley  has  lately  become  the  property  of  Mr. 
Jamieson  and  is  in  admirable  condition. 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES     91 

APPOMATTOX 

Upon  a  green  point  between  two  rivers,  where  the 
Appomattox  meets  and  joins  the  James,  ghmpses  of  a 
rambling  white  house,  with  dormer  roof  and  huge  chimneys, 
may  be  seen  through  the  foliage  of  the  ancient  trees  that 
embower  it — making  one  of  the  most  charming  of  the 
many  charming  pictures  with  which  old  Virginia  rewards 
the  exertions  of  its  tourist.     This  is  Appomattox,  the  home 


APPOMATTOX,  PRINCE  GEORGE  COUNTY 

of  the  Eppes  family  for  two  hundred  and  seventy  years — - 
a  length  of  tenure  unequalled  in  Virginia,  and  probably  in 
America. 

As  earh^  as  1635  Francis  Eppes,^^  a  member  of  "his 
Majesty's  Council  in  Virginia,"  patented  here  broad  acres, 
which  have  ever  since  been  the  property  of  his  descendants. 
They  also  own  goodly  estates  in  the  neighboring  counties 
of  Chesterfield  and  Charles  City,  which  are  divided  from 
Appomattox  by  the  two  rivers,  but  may  be  plainly  seen 
across  them. 

'  ^  Eppes  family :  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography, 
iii,  281,  393-401. 


92 


VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


Appomattox  is  now  the  home  of  the  daughters  of  Dr. 
Richard  Eppes. 

At  one  time  during  the  siege  of  Petersburg,  in  the  War 
between  the  States,  the  house  was  the  headquarters  of 
Gezieral  Grant. 

BLANDFORD  CHURCH 

At  the  head  of  tide-water,  on  the  Appomattox  River, 
stands  Petersburg.  This  town  has  many  historic  asso- 
ciations, but  its  chief  treasure  and  pride  is  old  Blandford, 
the  principal  church  of  Bristol  Parish.'^    For  some  years 


BLANDFORD  CHURCH,  PETERSBURG 

before  the  Revolution  the  town  of  Blandford  (now  a  part 
of  Petersburg),  from  which  the  church  gets  its  name,  was 
a  busy  port  and  one  of  the  leading  shipping  points  for 
tobacco  from  Virginia  to  England  and  Scotland. 

The  church  was  built  in  1787.  According  to  the  articles 
of  agreement,  it  was  to  be  of  brick,  sixty  by  twenty-five 
feet  in  the  clear,  and  fifteen  feet  from  the  spring  of  the 

^  ^  Chamberlayne,  The  Vestry  Book  and  Register  of  Bristol 
Parish,  Virginia,  1720-1789.    Richmond,  1898. 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES      93 

arch  to  the  floor.  The  aisle  was  to  be  six  feet  wide  and 
paved  with  Bristol  stone.  There  was  to  be  a  "  decent 
pulpit  and  a  decent  rail  around  the  altar  place  and  a  table 
suitable  thereto  as  usual." 

In  the  j'ear  1737  the  great  orator,  Whitefield,  preached 
at  Blandf  ord — an  event  which  made  a  great  sensation. 

Some  time  after  the  Revolution  the  old  church  was 
abandoned  and  fell  into  decay,  but  the  churchyard  con- 
tinued to  be,  and  still  is,  the  town  cemetery  of  Petersburg. 
As  a  moss-grown,  ivy-draped  ruin  Blandford  became 
famous  and  has  been  the  subject  of  some  half-dozen  pub- 
lished poems  and  many  a  burst  of  eloquence  in  prose.  The 
celebrated  Irish  comedian,  Tyrone  Power,  during  a  visit 
to  Petersburg,  fell  in  love  with  this  picturesque  relic  of  the 
past  and  described  it  in  his  "  Travels." 

To  Power,  too,  has  been  attributed  a  much-quoted  poem 
written  with  pencil  upon  the  whitewashed  wall  within  the 
church.    Its  first  and  last  stanzas  are  as  follows : 

"  Thou  art  crumbling  to  the  dust,  old  pile: 
Thou  art  hastening  to  thy  fall ; 
And  round  thee  in  thy  loneliness 
Clings  the  ivy  to  the  wall ; 
*  The  worshippers  are  scattered  now 

Who  knelt  before  thy  shrine. 
And  silence  reigns  where  anthems  rose 
In  the  days  of  '  Auld  Lang  Syne.' 

"  Oh !  could  we  call  the  many  back. 
Who've  gathered  here  in  vain, 
Who've  careless  roved  where  we  do  now, 
Who'll  never  meet  again. 
How  would  our  very  hearts  be  stirred, 
To  meet  the  earnest  gaze 
Of  the  lovely  and  the  beautiful, 
The  lights  of  other  days  !  " 

Old  Blandford  was  close  to  the  battle-fields  in  the  War 
between  the  States,  and  its  venerable  walls  suffered 
damage  from  the  shells.  The  famous  "  Crater  "  was  but 
a  short  distance  away. 


94        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

This  now  restored  church  has  lately  become  a  Con- 
federate ^Memorial  Hall,  in  which  each  of  the  States  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy  has  jjlaced  a  memorial  window. 

BOLLINGBROOK 

The  most  interesting  house  in  Petersburg  is  Boiling- 
brook,  the  old  homestead  of  the  Boiling  family. 

In  April,  1781,  when  the  British  first  occupied  Peters- 
burg, their  commander,  General  Philips,  made  Boiling- 
brook  his  headquarters.  On  ]May  10,  when  they  again  took 
possession  of  the  to-v^ii,  General  Philips  was  ill  and  was 
carried  to  Bollingbrook.  The  Americans  under  Lafayette 
were  cannonading  Petersburg  from  the  other  side  of  the 
Appomattox  and  the  fire  was  so  severe  that  the  sufferer 


BOLLINGBROOK,  PETERSBURG  ■ 


was  carried  into  the  cellar  for  safet}^.  One  cannon-ball 
went  tearing  entirely  through  the  house.  General  Philips 
is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  "  Why  will  they  not  let  me  die 
in  peace."     He  did  die  here  on  the  thirteenth  of  jNIay. 

The  ]Marquis  de  Chastellux,  in  his  ]\Iemoirs,  describes 
a  visit  to  Bollingbrook  soon  after  the  surrender  of  York- 
town.  The  mistress  of  the  old  homestead  at  that  time  Avas 
Mrs.  Mary  Boiling,  widow  of  Robert  Boiling,  of  Boiling- 
brook,  and  daughter  of  Colonel  Thomas  Tabb,  of  Clay 
Hill,  Amelia  County.    The  son  to  whom  Chastellux  refers 

*  Picture  from  Lossing's  Field  Bool-  of  the  Bcvohdion,  pub- 
lished 1850,  vol.  2,  p.  339. 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES      95 

was  Robert  Boiling,  who  had  served  in  the  Revolution  as 
a  captain  of  volunteer  cavalrj^  and  who  had  married  on 
November  4,  1781,  jNIary,  daughter  of  Robert  Boiling,  of 
Chellow. 

According  to  Chastellux,  Mrs.  Boiling  was  one  of  the 
greatest  landholders  in  Virginia,  and  proprietor  of  half  the 
town  of  Petersburg,  including  the  tobacco  warehouses. 

He  says,  "  Mrs.  Boiling's  house,  or  rather  houses,  for 
she  has  two  on  the  same  line  resembling  each  other  which 


CENTRE  HILL,  PETERSBURG 

One  of  the  Boiling  homes,'now  owned  by  Mr.  C.  H.  Davis 

she  proposes  to  join  together,  are  situated  on  the  summit 
of  a  considerable  slope  which  rises  from  the  level  of  the 
town  of  Petersburg.  This  slope  and  the  vast  platform  on 
which  the  house  is  built  are  covered  with  grass  which  affords 
excellent  pasturage,  and  are  also  her  property.  It  was 
formerly  surrovmded  with  rails,  and  she  raised  a  number 
of  fine  horses  there,  but  the  English  burned  the  fences  and 
carried  away  a  great  number  of  the  horses.  On  our  arrival 
we  were  saluted  by  Miss  Boiling,  a  young  lady  of  fifteen, 
possessing  all  the  freshness  of  her  age;  she  was  followed 


96         VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

by  her  mother,  brother,  and  sister-in-law.  The  mother,  a 
lady  of  fifty,  has  but  little  resemblance  to  her  country- 
women. She  is  lively,  active  and  intelligent,  knows  per- 
fectly how  to  manage  her  immense  fortune  and,  what  is  yet 
more  rare,  knows  how  to  make  good  use  of  it.  Her  son 
and  daughter-in-law  I  had  already  met  in  Williamsburg. 
The  young  gentleman  appears  mild  and  polite,  but  his  wife, 
of  only  seventeen  years  of  age,  is  a  most  interesting  ac- 


COLLECTING  CHICKEN  FEED  IN  THE  OLDEN  DAYS 

quaintance,  not  only  from  her  face  and  form,  which  are 
exquisitelj^  delicate,  and  quite  European,  but  from  her 
being  also  descended  from  the  Indian  Princess  Pocahontas, 
daughter  of  King  Powhatan." 

In  about  1850,  one  of  the  wings  of  the  Bollingbrook 
house  was  destroyed  by  fire. 

BATTERSEA 

Just  above  Petersburg,  on  the  banks  of  the  Appomat- 
tox, is  Battersea.  Of  this  imposing  villa — the  home  of  the 
Banister  family — the  Marquis  de  Chastellux,  who  visited 
it  during  the  Revolution,  writes:  "  It  is  decorated  in  the 
Italian  rather  than  in  the  English  or  American  style,  hav- 
ing three  porticoes  at  the  three  principal  entrances,  each 
of  them  supported  by  four  columns."  He  says  the  house 
was  occupied  bj^  "  an  inhabitant  of  Carolina,  called  Nelson, 
who  had  been  driven  from  his  country  by  the  war,  which 
followed  him  to  Petersburg." 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES      97 

The  first  of  the  Banisters  in  this  country  was  the 
Reverend  John  Banister/ '  a  cUstinguished  naturahst,  who 
was  hving  in  Charles  City  County  in  1689,  and  in  the  next 
year  received  a  grant  of  land  in  Bristol  Parish.  While  on 
a  botanical  excursion,  in  1692,  he  slipped  and  fell  from 
rocks  on  the  Roanoke  River  and  was  killed.  His  son,  John, 
who  was  collector  for  the  Upper  James,  vestryman  of 
Bristol  Parish  and  justice  of  Prince  George  County,  owned 
land  near  the  present  site  of  Petersburg,  which  was  doubt- 


BATTERSEA,  NEAR  PETERSBURG 


less  identical  with  the  Battersea  estate.  He  was  the  father 
of  Colonel  John  Banister,  of  Battersea,  who  was  a  burgess 
from  Dinwiddle  Count}%  member  of  the  Revolutionary 
conventions  and  lieutenant  colonel  of  cavalry  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary Army,  and  in  1778-1779  a  member  of  Congress. 
Colonel  Banister  was  twice  married,  first  to  Martha,  daugh- 
ter of  Colonel  Theodorick  Bland,  of  "  Cawsons,"  and 
afterwards  to  Anne,  daughter  of  President  John  Blair 


^^  Horner,  The  History  of  the  Blair,  Banister  and  Braxton 
Families  (Philadelphia,  1898). 

7 


98 


VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


of  the  Colonial  Council.  By  his  first  marriage  he  had  three 
children,  but  this  branch  of  the  family  is  now  extinct.  By 
his  marriage  with  Anne  Blair  he  left  two  sons,  Theodorick 
Blair  and  John  Monro  Banister. 

MANSFIELD 

Mansfield,  near  Petersburg,  was  the  home  of  Roger 
Atkinson,   who   emigrated   from   Cumberland,   England, 


"^ -^^^^*^**toi^l^ 


MANSFIELD,  NEAR  PETERSBURG 

about  1750.  He  had  many  prominent  descendants  of  his 
own  name  and  in  the  families  of  Mayo,  Pryor,  Page, 
Burwell,  Gibson  and  others. 

SHIRLEY 

Just  above  the  point  where  the  Appomattox  River 
enters  the  James  is  beautiful  old  Shirley,  in  Charles  City 
County. 

Four  square  to  the  world,  three  stories  high  it  stands, 
in  the  midst  of  a  lawn  shaded  by  giant  oaks.  Rows  of 
many-paned  dormer  windows  look  out  from  all  four 
sides  of  its  high  sloping  roof  and  huge  chimneys  tower 
above  them.  The  entrances  are  through  square,  two- 
storied,  pillared  porches,  and  the  massive  brick  walls  are 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES    101 

checkered  with  glazed  "  headers."  A  glance  proclaims  it 
the  product  of  prosperity  as  well  as  of  taste. 

To  the  rear  of  the  mansion  are  substantial  brick  out- 
buildings, at  one  side  lies  the  flower-garden  with  its  box- 
hedges,  old-fashioned  roses  and  beds  of  sweet  lavender  and 
mignonette,  while  the  front  commands  a  beautiful  view  of 
the  river.  The  north  porch  gives  entrance  to  a  great  square 
hall,  panelled  to  the  ceiling,  from  which  an  exceedingly 
striking  stairway  leads  to  upper  regions  of  airy,  white- 
panelled  bedrooms.  The  architectural  details  in  this  hall, 
and  in  the  two  stately  drawing-rooms  and  the  dining-room 
are  most  attractive.  Mantels,  door-frames  and  cornices 
are  enriched  with  beautiful  carving.  Over  some  of  the 
doors  are  quaint  transoms  with  tiny,  odd-shaped  panes  of 
glass  in  them,  while  above  others  are  mounted  ancient 
hatchments  bearing  the  arms  of  the  Hill  family. 

The  family  history  of  Shirley,  like  that  of  Brandon,  is 
illustrated  by  a  splendid  collection  of  old  mahogany,  por- 
traits, brasses  and  silver,  for,  also  like  Brandon,  the  estate 
has  never  been  in  the  market. 

Just  when  Shirley  was  built  is  not  known.  The  planta- 
tion was  granted  in  1660  to  Colonel  Edward  Hill,'''  a  lead- 
ing man  in  the  Colony,  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
of  which  he  was  sometime  speaker,  and  of  his  Majesty's 
Council.  He  had  lived  for  a  time  in  ]Maryland,  and  in 
1646,  during  the  rebellion  there,  was  chosen  governor  by 
the  insurrectionary  party,  but  was  taken  prisoner  by  Gov- 
ernor Calvert.  Besides  being  a  law-maker  he  was  a  mili- 
tary man  and  was  commander-in-chief  of  Henrico  and 
Charles  City  Counties.  In  1656,  he  commanded  a  force 
of  Colonists  and  friendly  Indians  in  a  battle  with  some 
hostile  Indians  near  the  Falls  of  James  River  and  the  name 
Bloody  Run,  given  to  a  stream  now  within  the  limits  of 
Richmond,  still  remains  to  testify  to  the  fierceness  of  the 

^*  Hill  family :  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography, 
ill,  156-159. 


102      VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

conflict/'  Colonel  Hill's  forces  were  badlj^  routed  and  the 
"  mighty  Tottapottomoy,"  who  commanded  his  Indian 
allies,  was  killed.  The  defeat  aroused  the  displeasure  of 
the  Assembly  and  Colonel  Hill  was  disfranchised  and  fined, 
by  way  of  punishment.^" 

Colonel  Hill  died  about  1663  and  his  handsome  estate 
was  inherited  by  his  son  Colonel  Edward  Hill  II  (1637- 
1700) ,  of  Shirley,  "  one  of  his  JMajesty's  honorable  Council 
of  State,  Colonel  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Counties 
of  Charles  City  and  Surry,  Judge  of  his  JMajesty's  high 
Court  of  Admiralty,  and  sometime  Treasurer  of  Vir- 
ginia." He  was  an  adherent  of  Governor  Berkelej^'s  dur- 
ing Bacon's  Rebellion  and  was  disfranchised  by  Bacon's 
Assembly.  His  dust  lies  in  a  massive  tomb  bearing  the 
Hill  coat-of-arms,  in  the  Shirley  graveyard,  and  his  por- 
trait, that  of  a  handsome  and  elegant  gentleman  in  crim- 
son velvet  and  lace,  and  flowing  peruke,  adorns  the  walls 
of  the  house,  along  with  those  of  many  of  his  family  and 
kindred — ^Carters,  Byrds,  Randolphs,  Lees  and  others. 
His  wife,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Sir  Edward  Williams, 
of  Wales,  is  represented  as  a  young,  rarelj^  beautiful  dame, 
and  her  daughter,  Elizabeth  (who  married  Honorable 
John  Carter  II) ,  is  strikingly  like  her — a  lovely  girl,  with 
her  arms  filled  with  flowers. 

Especially  interesting  is  this  young  girl,  Elizabeth  Hill, 
for  the  death  of  her  brother,  Colonel  Edward  Hill  III, 
without  male  descendants,  made  her  the  heiress  of  Shirley, 
and  it  was  by  her  marriage,  in  1723,  with  John  Carter 
(who  died  in  1742),  of  Corotoman,  eldest  son  of  Robert 
("  King  ")  Carter,  that  Shirley  passed  from  the  Hill  to 
the  Carter  family,  in  which  it  has  ever  since  remained. 
About  a  year  before  his  marriage  the  new  master  of  Shirley 
had  been  appointed  secretary  of  Virginia,  and  as  "  Secre- 

-'■'  Campbell,  History  of  the  Colony  and  Ancient  Dominion 
of  Virginia,  pp.  233-234. 

^•^  "  Defence  of  Colonel  Edward  Hill,"  in  Virginia  Magazine 
of  History  and  Biography,  iii,  239-252,  341-349;  Hening, 
Statutes  at  Large  .  .  .  of  Virginia,  ii,  364-365. 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES    103 

tary  Carter  "  he  was  known  for  the  rest  of  his  days.  He 
has  been  described  as  "  a  man  of  integrity  and  abihty, 
managing  large  domestic  affairs  with  prudence  and  skill 
and  filling  ably  high  political  offices."  His  portrait,  too, 
in  velvet  and  lace,  is  to  be  seen  at  Shirley,  as  is  also  that 
of  his  son  and  heir,  Charles  Carter  (1732-1806)  of  Shirley, 
in  the  quieter,  though  still  picturesque,  garb  of  a  generation 
later. 

Charles  Carter  was  a  burgess  and  member  of  Revo- 
lutionary Conventions.  Twice  married — first  to  his  cousin 
Mary  Carter,  daughter  of  Charles  Carter,  of  Cleve,  and 
after  her  death  to  Anne  Butler  Moore,  daughter  of 
Bernard  INIoore  and  Katherine,  daughter  of  Governor 
Alexander  Spotswood — he  was  the  father  of  twenty-three 
children,  who  inter-marrying  with  the  Randolphs,  Lees, 
Braxtons,  Burwells,  Nelsons,  Fitzhughs,  Berkeleys,  and 
other  families  of  the  old  regime  in  Virginia,  left  numerous 
descendants,  who  hold  Shirley  in  tender  regard.  One  of 
his  daughters — Elizabeth — was  the  grandmother  of  Bishop 
Alfred  M.  Randolph,  and  another,  Anne,  became  the  wife 
of  "  Light  Horse  Harry  "  Lee,  and  the  mother  of  General 
Robert  E.  Lee.  General  Lee  was  a  frequent  visitor  at 
Shirley,  and  in  his  letters  '^  makes  affectionate  allusions  to 
this  noble  old  homestead. 

The  last  master  of  Shirley,  Captain  Robert  Randolph 
Carter,  a  gallant  officer  in  the  LTnited  States  Navy  and 
afterward  in  the  Confederate  Navy,  went  to  Maryland  for 
a  bride — Miss  Louise  Humphreys,  of  Annapolis.  By  her 
many  charms  of  mind  and  character  "  Miss  Lou,"  as  she 
was  called  far  and  near,  early  made  a  large  place  for  her- 
self in  the  heart  of  Vii'ginia — and  kept  it  throughout  her 
life.  Like  "  Old  Miss,"  of  Brandon,  she  was  a  notable 
personage,  and  many  there  are  who,  when  making  the  trip 
up  and  down  the  James,  miss  her  familiar  figure  and  sweet, 
strong  face  from  among  those  in  the  group  on  the  landing, 

^''  Lee,  Recollections  and  Letters  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee 
(New  York,  1904). 


104       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

and  the  opportunity  to  step  ashore  for  a  moment  for  a 
grasp  of  her  hand  and  the  word  of  cheery,  cordial  greet- 
ing always  so  ready  on  her  tongue.  Upon  her  death,  in 
1906,  her  daughters,  Mrs.  Bransford  and  Mrs.  Oliver,  be- 
came mistresses  of  Shirley. 

MALVERN  HILL 

Not  far  above  Shirley  lies  the  Malvern  Hill  plantation 
where  formerly  stood  one  of  the  most  attractive  as  well  as 
one  of  the  oldest  homesteads  in  Virginia. 


MALVERN  HILL,  HENRICO  COUNTY 

It  was  built  by  Thomas  Cocke,  son  of  Richard  Cocke 
{circa  1600-1665),  the  first  of  that  name  in  Virginia.^* 

This  estate  derives  its  name  from  the  Malvern  Hills  in 
England.  Toward  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the 
estate  was  sold,  by  James  Powell  Cocke,  to  Robert 
Nelson." 


^*  Cocke  family:  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  B'ography, 
iii,  282-292,  405-414  ;  iv,  86-96,  212-217,  322-332,  431-450. 

^®  A  younger  son  of  Honorable  William  Nelson  and  Elizabeth 
Burwell. 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES    105 

It  has  been  the  fate  of  this  old  plantation  to  be  often 
the  scene  of  war.  Lafayette  camped  there  during  the 
Revolution;  in  the  War  of  1812  Virginia  Militia  was  there; 
and  as  the  field  of  battle  between  Generals  Lee  and  McClel- 
lan,  in  the  War  between  the  States,  Malvern  Hill  will 
always  have  a  place  in  history. 

The  Malvern  Hill  house  was  destroyed  by  fire  about 
1905. 

WILTON 

Wilton,*  just  below  Richmond,  is  referred  to  in  some 
very  early  records  as  "  the  land's  end  " — which  shows  how 
remote  it  seemed  to  the  first  settlers.  The  present  house, 
a  fine  old  brick  mansion,  stands  upon  a  green  terrace  over- 
looking the  James,  nearly  opposite  the  beautiful  and  his- 
toric "  Falling  Creek."  As  is  usual  in  Virginia  houses 
of  its  class  and  period,  the  walls  of  its  wide  hall  and  great 
square  rooms  are  enriched  with  handsome  woodwork, 
and  the  windows  are  so  deeply  recessed  that  persons  occu- 
pying the  window-seats  would  be  entirely  hidden  by  the 
curtains. 

Wilton  house  was  built  about  the  middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  by  William  Randolph  III  (died  1761),  a 
younger  son  of  Wilham  Randolph  II  (1681-1742),  of 
Turkey  Island.^"  Upon  his  death  it  was  inherited  by  his 
son  Peyton,  who  married  Lucy  Harrison,  daughter  of  Ben- 
jamin Harrison,  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. The  Randolphs  owned  it  until  about  the  beginning 
of  the  War  between  the  States,  when  the  heiress  of  the 
family  married  Edward  C.  Mayo,  of  Richmond,  Virginia. 
Since  then  the  estate  has  frequently  changed  hands. 

During  the  Randolphs'  time  at  Wilton  a  large  collection 
of  their  family  portraits  hung  on  the  panelled  walls.  These 
are  now  the  property  of  Mr.  Edward  C.  Mayo,  Jr.,  of 
Richmond.      Among   them   is    one   of   Anne    Randolph, 

*  See  illustration,  page  107. 

2'^  Randolph  family:  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  vii,  122- 
124,  195-197;  viii,  119-122,  263-265 ;  ix,  182-183,  250-252. 


106      VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

daughter  of  William  Randolph,  the  builder  of  Wilton 
house,  called  "  Nancy  Wilton,"  to  distinguish  her  from  a 
cousin  who  bore  the  same  name.  She  was  noted  for  beauty 
and  charm  and  had  many  suitors.  She  finally  accepted 
Benjamin  Harrison  and  became  mistress  of  Brandon,  but 
died  young;  leaving  no  children.  Thomas  Jefferson  was 
one  of  her  contemporaries  and  admirers,  and  she  is  referred 
to  in  some  of  his  youthful  letters.  In  one  of  these  he  says, 
"  Ben  Harrison  has  gone  courting  to  Wilton." 

During  the  excitement  the  rumored  approach  of  the 
United  States  steamer  Pawnee  to  Richmond  caused  in 
the  early  part  of  the  "^Var  between  the  States,  earthworks 
were  thrown  up  at  Wilton,  and  part  of  the  plantation  lies 
opposite  Drewry's  Bluff,  so  well  known  during  the  war. 

AMPTHILL 

Just  across  the  river  from  Wilton  stands  an  old  mansion 
whose  chief  characteristics  are  dignity  and  strength.  This 
is  Ampthill — a  big  square  house  with  massive  brick  walls, 
a  square  white  porch  and  a  steep  Dutch  roof  flanked  on 
either  hand  by  a  square  brick  out-building  as  massive  as 
itself.  Within,  the  high-pitched  rooms  are  also  big  and 
square,  and  they  and  the  wide  hall  are  panelled  from  floor 
to  ceiling  with  solid  oak.  The  windows  are  protected  by 
panelled  inside  shutters  of  the  same  wood,  while  huge  brass 
locks  and  hinges  make  fast  the  thick  oak  doors. 

It  was  built  in  1732  by  Henry  Gary  ( 1675  ?-1749 )  ,"who 
superintended  the  building  of  the  Governor's  Palace  and 
the  State  House  in  Williamsburg,  and  also  the  rebuilding 
of  William  and  JMary  College  when  it  was  destroyed  by 
fire.  Upon  his  death,  in  1750,  Ampthill  passed  to  his  son 
Archibald  Gary  (1721-1787),''  the  celebrated  Revolu- 
tionary patriot,  and  chairman  of  the  committee  in  the  Vir- 
ginia Convention  of  1776,  which  brought  in  the  resolution 

^'  Gary  family:  The  Critic  (Richmond,  Va.). 
^^  For  an  excellent  sketch  of  Archibald  Gary,  see  Grigsby's 
The  Virginia  Convention  of  1776  (Richmond,  1855),  p.  90  et  seq. 


WILTON,  HENRICO  COUNTY 
The  River  Front. 


POWHATAN,  HENRICO  COUNTY 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES    109 


AMPTHILL,  CHESTERFIELD  COUNTY 


FALLING  CREEK  MILL,  CHESTERFIELD  COUNTY 

directing  the  Virginia  members  of  Congress  to  move  for 
entire  independence  of  Great  Britain.  From  his  force  of 
character  and  determination  he  was  known  as  "  Old  Iron." 


110      VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Aiiipthill  has  since  had  various  owners — the  families 
of  Temple  and  Watkins  having  enjoyed  the  longest  tenure. 

Within  the  original  bomids  of  the  Ampthill  plantation 
was  beautiful  Falling  Creek,  with  its  arched  stone  bridge 
and  its  quaint  old  mill,  where  the  first  iron-works  in 
America  were  established,  under  John  Berkeley,  in  1619. 
The  works  were  abandoned  in  1622,  after  the  Indian  mas- 
sacre in  which  Berkeley  and  all  of  his  men  were  murdered, 
and  during  the  Revolution  the  furnaces  were  destroyed  by 
Tarleton  and  his  troopers. 

EPPINGTON 

The  early  history  of  the  Eppes  family  has  been  told  in 
connection  with  "Appomattox."  Lt-Col.  Francis  Eppes, 
a  brother  of  John  Eppes,  ancestor  of  the  "  Appomattox  " 
line,  was  killed  in  battle  with  the  Indians  in  1678  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  eldest  son.  Col.  Francis  Eppes  (1659- 
1718) ,  long  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  for  Hen- 
rico. His  son,  a  third  Col.  Francis  Eppes,  who  died  in 
1734*,  was  also  a  Burgess  for  Henrico,  and  owned  large 
landed  property  where  Eppington  was  afterwards  built. 
Richard  Eppes,  son  of  the  last  named,  who  was  for  several 
terms  a  Burgess  for  Chesterfield  County,  died  in  1765, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Francis  Eppes,  of  Epping- 
ton (1747-1808),  two  of  whose  daughters,  Lucy  and 
]Mary,  married,  respectively,  Archibald  and  Richard  N. 
Thweatt,  while  his  son  John  Wajdes  Eppes  (1773-1823) 
was  U.  S.  Senator  and  married  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Jefferson.  Eppington  was  inherited  by  the  Thweatts,  and 
since  it  was  sold  by  them  has  passed  through  several  hands. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter,  written  in 
1856,  by  Francis  Eppes,  son  of  John  W.  Eppes,  to  Henry 
S.  Randall,  the  biographer  of  Jefferson: 

"  You  ask  me  for  a  description  of  Eppington,  but 
such  an  impression,  as  I  can  now  give,  must  be  considered 
an  imperfect  sketch.  The  mansion-house  itself,  an  old- 
fashioned,  two-story  building,  with  a  hipped  roof  in  the 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES    111 

centre,  and  wings  on  the  sides,  with  a  long  hall  or  passage 
in  front,  running  from  one  wing  to  the  other  and  opening 
on  the  offices,  and  with  piazzas  in  front  and  rear,  was 
placed  at  the  extreme  side  of  a  large  level  or  lawn,  covered 
with  green  sward,  extending  to  a  considerable  distance  in 
front,  and  declining  on  the  left  side  as  you  entered,  and 
in  the  rear  of  the  house  to  the  low  grounds  of  the  Appo- 
mattox, a  mile  off.  In  front,  and  over  the  neighborhood 
road  which  skirted  the  lawn,  was  situated  the  garden, 
long  famous  in  the  vicinity  for  its  fine  vegetables  and  fruit ; 
and  to  the  right  of  the  lawn,  as  you  entered,  was  an  ex- 


EPPINGTON,  CHESTERFIELD  COUNTY 


tensive  orchard  of  the  finest  fruit,  with  the  stables  be- 
tween, at  the  corner  and  on  the  road.  The  mansion,  painted 
of  a  snowy  white,  with  green  blinds  to  the  windows,  and 
its  rows  of  offices  at  the  end,  was  almost  imbedded  in  a 
beautiful  double  row  of  the  tall  Lombardy  poplar — the 
most  admired  of  all  trees  in  the  palmy  days  of  old  Vir- 
ginia— and  this  row  reached  to  another  double  row  or 
avenue  which  skirted  one  side  of  the  lawn,  dividing  it 
from  the  orchard  and  stables.  The  lawn  in  front  was  closed 
in  by  a  fence  with  a  small  gate  in  the  middle  and  a  large 
one   on   either   extremity,    one    opposite   the   avenue   of 


112       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

poplars,  and  the  other  at  the  end  of  the  carriage-way 
which  swept  around  it. 

"  The  plantation  was  quite  an  extensive  one,  and  in  the 
days  of  my  grandfather,  Francis  Eppes,  Sen.,  was  re- 
markably productive.  Indeed,  it  could  hardly  have  been 
otherwise,  under  such  management  as  his ;  for  he  was  emi- 
nent for  his  skill  both  in  agriculture  and  horticulture; 
and  I  have  heard  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  knew  him  intimately, 
say  of  him,  that  he  considered  him  not  only  '  the  first  horti- 
culturist in  America,'  but,  '  a  man  of  the  soundest  practical 
judgment  on  all  subjects  that  he  had  ever  known."  " 

POWHATAN 

When  Captain  John  Smith,  Christopher  Newport, 
and  others,  made  their  first  voyage  of  exploration  up 
James  River  from  Jamestown,  in  June,  1607,  they  found, 
upon  a  hill  near  its  north  bank  and  a  little  below  the  present 
site  of  Richmond,  a  palisaded  Indian  town  named  Pow- 
hatan. The  Colonists  were  so  charmed  with  its  situation 
and  surroundings  that  they  purchased  it  from  the  red  men 
and  Captain  Smith  named  it  "  None  Such."  It  was  more 
than  one  hundred  years  after  this  that  Joseph  Maj^^o,  who 
came  to  Virginia  from  the  Island  of  Rarbadoes  about  1727, 
bought  the  estate,  restored  it  to  its  original  name,  and  built 
himself  a  commodious  brick  house  overlooking  the  river.* 
Either  he  or  his  descendants  surrounded  the  house  with 
beautiful  flower-gardens,  remembered  by  persons  still 
living.  Suggestions  of  these  gardens  may  still  be  seen  in 
the  mock-orange  bushes  and  other  old-fashioned  shrubs 
which  in  the  months  of  JNIay  and  June  bloom  between  the 
dusty  railroad  tracks  and  brickj^ards  which  have  now  en- 
croached upon  the  old  place,  with  a  resolution  to  live  above 
their  surroundings  that  is  most  praiseworthy.  Here,  too, 
were  until  verj^  recently  to  be  seen  two  boulders,  one  of 
which  was,  according  to  a  long  since  exploded  tradition, 
the  stone  upon  which  Captain  Smith's  head  lay  when  he 
was  rescued  by  Pocahontas,  the  other  the  gravestone  of 

*  See  illustration,  page  107. 


HAMPTON  ROADS  AND  LOWER  JAMES    113 

Powhatan.    Upon  one  of  these  boulders  is  cut  the  letter  M 
and  the  date  1741. 

Powhatan  descended  through  many  generations  of 
Mayos,  its  last  owner  of  the  name  being  Mr.  Robert  A. 
Mayo,  father  of  Mr.  Peter  H.  Mayo,  of  Richmond. 

Of  late  years  modern  progress  has  swept  away  old 
Powhatan,  and  it  has  even  been  necessary  to  remove  the 
bodies  of  those  that  slept  in  the  family  burying-ground, 
some  of  whose  graves  were  marked  by  Colonial  tombs  bear- 
ing the  Mayo  arms.  These  are  now  to  be  seen  in  the  Mayo 
section  in  Hollywood  Cemeteiy,  Richmond,  Virginia. 

BROOK  HILL* 

The  dwelling  at  Brook  Hill,  the  home  of  Robert 
Williamson,  who  married  his  cousin  Susanna  Williamson, 
was  built  prior  to  1735,  and  five  generations  of  the  family, 
as  follows  in  direct  line,  were  born  in  the  same  house — 
most  of  them  in  the  same  room:  Robert  Williamson,  2d 
(1735-1796),  who  married  Anne  Coxe;  their  son  Robert 
Carter  Williamson  (1796-1871),  who  married  Lucy 
Parke  Chamberlayne ;  their  daughter  JMary  Amanda 
W^illiamson  (1822-1910),  who  married  John  Stewart,  a 
native  of  Rothesay,  Scotland;  their  daughter  Isobel 
Stewart  (1847-1910),  who  married  Joseph  Bryan,  of 
Eagle  Point,  and  their  son  John  Stewart  Bryan. 

In  1842  Brook  Hill  was  purchased  by  Mr.  John 
Stewart,  who  enlarged  the  house  and  made  of  a  portion 
of  the  grounds  a  most  beautiful  park. 

This  home  has  alwaj's  been  celebrated  for  its  hospi- 
tality and  Mr.  Stewart  and  his  descendants  for  their 
philanthropic  interest  in  everything  that  pertains  to  the 
welfare  of  the  community. 

The  dwelling  No.  707  E.  Franklin  Street,  which  was 
occupied  by  General  Lee  from  1861  to  1865  as  his  war- 
time residence,  was  in  1892  given  by  the  Stewart  family  to 
the  Virginia  Historical  Society  and  has  since  that  time 
been  the  home  of  that  Society. 

*  See  illustration  at  head  of  Contents. 
8 


:.'H 


PART  III 

Richmond,  Manchester  and  the 
Upper  James 

richmond 

IN  June,  1607,  Captain  Christopher  Newport,  Captain 
John  Smith  and  others  set  out  from  Jamestown  in 
the  pinnace.  Discovery,  to  explore  the  James.  Upon 
the  tenth  thej^  reached  the  highest  point  of  naviga- 
tion, where  they  named  the  shallow  waters  racing  and 
tumbling  over  a  bed  of  stones  and  boulders  "  The  Falls," 


J 

Jt}. 

^^^^^.^^^s^gig^  ,-.?.^-:^          • 

■   M 

^ES-^^^^^^MHH 

"^^^^-****^'  "~^    0^     \ 

ma^^m^w 

W^^M                V'' 

,..    1 '    '- ■  "'?^P- ■' -  '  'h«^^^     ^ 

BPI^F'"'-^,i  _^  .\     ■  ^.j-.   ■" ,, 

■'- '  »i  ^^-'j^JB^^I^^^aB      1 

w^                ~'°~    ''^>»  -^^  '-'■■"         ' 

■IBI.^^<.    ^^i^m. 

■       z^^*^           .ja                  "^^^ 

-~M 

Mn.JW^L.^^       ^ 

1^^        -=t            J 

•'  ^.' v'ig-^^-t""-           ■     ::-73i.'^ 

^'''^W^^^f^^MP8SH8ywj'V<^j*.j^-s^;a^---.      .^ 

^s^ 

*^--; 
T^^^ 

JL\RKETING  TOBACCO  IN  THE  OLD  DAYS 


and  where  they  "  set  up  a  cross  "  which  much  puzzled  the 
Indians.  This  was  the  white  man's  first  appearance  at  the 
site  of  the  present  capital  of  Virginia. 

In  1733,  Colonel  William  Byrd  II,  of  Westover,  laid 


111 


■k 


^■■*ie--'^i'     '.'y.    ''  'V-^'<-""''-*Jf^ 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES     117 

out  a  town  at  the  Falls  of  James  River,  named  Richmond 
— probably  because  of  the  resemblance  of  the  site  to  Rich- 
mond on  the  Thames.  In  1742  the  town  was  incorporated; 
in  1779  it  supplanted  Williamsburg  as  the  capital  of  the 
State,  and  from  1861  to  1865  it  was  the  capital  of  the 
Confederacy. 

It  is  situated  upon  a  number  of  hills — popularly  esti- 
mated as  seven — and  stretches  around  a  beautiful  bend  of 


THE  HOME  OF  THE  lATE  GENERAL  JOSEPH  R.  ANDERSdX,  RICHMOND 

the  river.  It  was  pronounced  by  Thackeray,  during  liis 
visit  some  years  before  the  war,  "  the  most  picturesque 
place  in  America  "  as  well  as  "  the  merriest."  In  April, 
1865,  war  desolated  it  and  a  large  section  of  it  was  burned, 
but  it  stands  to-day  one  of  the  most  prosperous  and  pro- 
gressive, as  well  as  one  of  the  most  interesting,  cities  in 
this  country. 

ST.  JOHN'S  CHURCH 

Crowning  what  was  first  known  as  Richmond  Hill — 
afterward  as  Church  Hill — stands,  in  the  midst  of  a  walled 


118      VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

graveyard    occupying    an    entire    block,    old    St.    John's 
Church.i 

The  graveyard  is  shad}'  and  green.  It  is  thickly 
tenanted,  and  mould)^  and  moss-grown  tombstones  tell  in 
prim,  old-fashioned  phrase  of  the  virtues  of  those  that 
"  rest  in  peace  "  beneath  them,  or  remind  the  reader  of  the 
shortness  of  life,  in  metre,  whereof  the  following  is  a  char- 
acteristic sample: 

"  Stop  my  friend  as  you  pass  by, 
As  you  are  now  so  once  was  I, 
As  I  am  now  you  soon  shall  be; 
Prepare  my  friend  to  follow  me." 

The  oldest  part  of  the  church  was  built  in  1740.  It  is 
of  wood,  painted  white,  and  has  a  pretty  spire  and  a  sweet- 
voiced  bell.  Some  time  after  the  Revolution  it  was  enlarged 
and  made  into  the  shape  of  a  cross.  Within,  the  quaint 
sounding-board  and  shell-shaped  font  are  still  to  be  seen, 
as  in  its  earliest  days.  When  it  Avas  the  only  church  and 
largest  public  building  in  Richmond,  St.  John's  was  some- 
times used  for  political  as  well  as  religious  gatherings ;  and 
so  it  happened  that  within  its  hallowed  walls  the  patriots 
who  made  up  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1775  assembled 
and  heard  Patrick  Henry's  immortal  speech  ending  with 
the  words,  "  Give  me  liberty  or  give  me  death." 

The  pew  in  which  the  orator  stood  is  still  pointed  out. 

THE  VAN  LEW  HOUSE 

Also  on  Church  Hill,  and  not  far  away  from  St.  John's, 
was  the  Van  Lew  House,*  best  known  of  late  years  as  the 
home  of  the  famous  "  Miss  Van  Lew."  It  was  perhaps 
the  stateliest  of  the  Richmond  mansions  of  its  time.  Cer- 
tainly it  adorned  the  most  charming  site  in  the  city.     It 

^  Moore,  History  of  Henrico  Parish  and  Old  St.  John's  Church, 
Richmond,  Va.,  1611— 190^.  The  inscriptions  on  tombstones  in 
St.  John's  Church  yard  are  printed  in  this  book,  pp.  413—529. 

*  See  illustration,  page  123. 


o 

K 

z 


o 
a 
d 
w 
o 

g 

a 
o 
c 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES     121 

was  built  when  ample  grounds  and  roomy  porticoes  over- 
looking picturesque  "  falling  "  gardens  were  the  fashion, 
and  it  was  situated  in  a  section  which  became  unfashionable 
before  the  days  of  cutting  up  handsome  grounds  into 
twenty-foot  building  lots. 

And  so  the  old  garden  terraced  back  to  the  brow  of  the 
hill,  overhanging,  and  commanding  a  superb  view  of  James 
River,  with  its  sunny  spaces  and  shady  nooks,  its  hundred 
leaf  roses  and  cool,  sparkling  spring,  was  long  preserved. 

The  house  was  built  (probably  near  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century)  by  Dr.  John  Adams,  son  of  Mr. 
Richard  Adams. ^  Both  father  and  son  were  gentlemen  of 
large  fortune  and  also  of  large  heart,  whose  pet  hobbj'  was 
the  advancement  and  beautifying  of  Richmond.  Dr. 
Adams  married  Peggy,  one  of  the  charming  daughters  of 
Mr.  Geddes  Winston,  and  their  home  had  a  brilliant  social 
history.  It  was  noted  for  hospitality  and  was  one  of  the 
houses  in  which  Lafaj^ette  was  entertained  during  his  visit 
in  1824. 

After  Mr.  Adams'  death  the  house  was  bought  by  a 
Mr.  Van  Lew,  a  northern  gentleman,  who  settled  in  Rich- 
mond and  became  a  prominent  merchant.  He  and  his 
family  mingled  in  the  "  high  society  "  of  Richmond  Hill 
until  the  War  between  the  States,  when  their  sympathy 
with  the  invading  army  cut  them  off.  A  young  daughter 
of  the  house  became  noted  as  a  friend  of  Federal  prisoners, 
many  of  whom  she  helped  to  escape.  For  many  years 
after  all  of  her  family  had  passed  away  "  Miss  Van  Lew  " 
lived  alone  and  friendless  in  the  old  mansion  to  which  the 
presence  of  a  solitary,  hoary  dame  lent  a  weird  interest. 
With  her  bent  form,  thin,  clear-cut  features,  framed  in 
gray  curls,  and  her  piercing  eyes  that  seemed  made  for 
peering  into  hidden  mysteries,  she  might  have  passed  for 
the  reincarnation  of  some  ancient  sybil. 

2  Adams  family:  William  and  Mary  College  Quarterly  Histor- 
ical Magazine,  v,  159—164. 


122       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

She  was  accustomed  to  thrust  herself  upon  public 
notice  just  once  a  year — the  day  on  which  she  paid  her 
taxes.  Upon  that  day  she  always  j^ublished  in  the  local 
papers,  under  her  signature,  an  emphatic  protest  against 
taxation  without  representation.  In  1900  she  died,  full  of 
j^ears,  in  this  old  house,  which  has  since  been  pulled  down 
and  a  public  school  built  on  its  site. 


OLD  JIASONIC  HALL,  RICHMOND  ■ 

OLD  MASONIC  HALL 

Coming  down  Franklin  Street  into  the  valley  that  lies 
between  Church  Hill  and  Shockoe  Hill,  the  tourist  finds 
between  Eighteenth  and  Nineteenth  Streets  an  old  frame 
house  standing  back  from  the  public  highway.  This  is 
the  oldest  building  in  America,  still  in  use,  erected  for 
Masonic  purposes  exclusively.     It  dates  from  1785,  when 


VAN  LEW  OR  ADAMS  HOUSE,  RICHMOND  (FRONT 


VAN  LEW  OR  ADAMS  HOUSE  (REAR) 


RICHMOND  AND  TU^  UPPER  JAMES     125 


its  cornerstone  was  laid,  and  has  been  the  scene  of  many 
interesting  incidents  in  the  Masonic  history  of  Virginia. 

At  a  reception  given  to  General  Lafayette  in  this  un- 
pretentious old  "  temple,"  in  1824,  that  favorite  hero  was, 
amid  great  enthusiasm,  made  an  honorary  member  of  the 


lodge 


-aKg!K= 


=^i»«»P^fflf^«!F^#^-J^ 


TICKET    Ol-     ADMISSION 

TO    JJE    UIVE^r  iV  /W.VO/t    01' 
AT  mil 

UNION    HOTf:L, 
c/'/r  Of  RicHMo.vn, 

OS  TUB  TiiiIiTIETa  iiAr  Or  otroiiLu, 
.1.  L.  5B-:4,  A.  D.  18J-1. 


^a-ie^v^-^^^S^y^A'. isi;itF.K.    ;';) 


TICKET  FOR  MASONIC  DINNER  GIVEN  IN  HONOR  OF  GENERAL  LAFAYETTE 


MONUMENTAL  CHURCH 

On  the  night  after  Christmas  of  the  year  1811,  Rich- 
mond suffered  a  disaster  which  put  the  whole  town  into 
mourning  and  caused  the  building  of  a  chvu'ch  which  has 
always  been  not  only  one  of  the  chief  factors  for  good,  but 
one  of  the  most  appealing  objects  of  interest  in  the  city. 
Upon  that  awful  night  the  elite  of  Virginia's  Capital,  in- 
cluding the  governor,  George  William  Smith  ( 1762-1811 ) , 
had  gathered  in  the  fashionable  theatre  on  Broad  Street, 
between  Twelfth  and  Thirteenth,  to  witness  the  tragedy 
of  "  The  Bleeding  Nun,"  as  presented  by  a  popular  actress 
and  her  company.  When  interest  was  at  its  height  the 
cry  of  "  fire!  "  was  heard  above  the  voices  of  the  actors  and 
in  a  few  minutes  the  house  was  in  flames,  and  panic  reigned. 
The  destruction  of  the  building  was  complete  and  sixty 
human  beings — among  them  Governor  Smith  and  others 
prominent  in  official  and  social  life — were  burned  to  death. 


126      VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Many  were  painfull}^  injured,  while  many  more  had  hair- 
breadth escapes  and  were  made  famous  by  their  heroic 
work  in  saving  the  lives  of  others. 

The  impression  made  by  the  disaster  was  tremendous. 
The  whole  country  stood  aghast.  Resolutions  and  letters 
of  sjTiipathy  poured  into  Richmond  from  every  quarter. 
Legislatures  and  councils  all  over  the  United  States  took 
formal  action  and  churches  held  memorial  services  and 
offered  prayers  for  those  in  affliction.  Of  course  Virginia 
and  Richmond  were  given  over  to  mourning.  In  Richmond 
there  was  a  marked  decline  in  theatre  going  and  increase  in 
church  going,  which  was  noticeable  for  years  afterward  to 
such  a  degree  that  the  city  became  proverbial  among 
theatrical  managers  for  its  poor  support  of  their  offerings. 
Immediately  after  the  fire,  the  citizens  met  in  the  Capitol 
Building  to  arrange  for  a  suitable  monument  to  those  who 
had  perished  in  the  flames,  and  the  IVIonumental  Church, 
upon  the  site  of  the  burned  theatre,  was  the  result.  All 
creeds  and  classes  were  subscribers  to  the  building  fund, 
and  it  was  decided  by  vote  that  the  monument  should  take 
the  form  of  an  Episcopal  church.  The  ashes  of  those  who 
perished  in  the  fire  lie  under  the  building  and  upon  a 
marble  cenotaph  in  the  porch  their  names  are  recorded. 

The  "  Old  Monumental,"  as  it  is  familiarly  called,  is  a 
noble  specimen  of  architecture — plain,  but  dignified  and 
impressive.  Within,  its  air  of  solemnity  and  sacredness 
compels  reverence.  From  the  beginning,  it  has  been  one 
of  the  most  influential  churches  in  Virginia  and  many 
prominent  men  in  both  Church  and  State  have  been  in- 
timately connected  with  it.  Bishop  Richard  Channing 
Moore  was  its  earliest  rector — serving  at  the  same  time 
that  he  was  Bishop  of  Virginia — and  Chief  Justice  Mar- 
shall was  one  of  its  earliest  pew-holders.  Edgar  Allan 
Poe  often  worshipped  there  as  a  youth.  Bishop  Dudley, 
of  Kentucky,  was  a  pupil  in  its  Sunday-school  when  a  boy, 
and  Bishop  Newton,  of  Virginia,  was  called  to  the  Episco- 
pate while  its  rector. 


MONUMENTAL  CHURCH,  RICHMOND 


\      !l 


ARCHER  HOUSE,  RICHMOND 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES     129 

THE  CRUMP  HOUSE 

Upon  Twelfth  Street,  diagonally  across  Broad  Street 
from  the  Monumental  Church,  and  upon  the  site  now 
occupied  by  the  Memorial  Hospital,  stood  the  Crump 
House,  built  toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
by  INIr.  Samuel  Myers — grandfather  of  the  late  Major 
E.  T.  D.  Myers— and  during  its  latter  years  the  home  of 
Judge  W.  W.  Crump,  who  bought  it  in  1850  and  occupied 
it  for  about  a  half  century. 

During  the  time  of  Mr.  Myers,  who  was  a  naval  officer, 
he  planted  in  the  grounds  an  acorn  which  he  brought  from 
Africa  and  from  which  sprang  a  notable  tree.  The  gardens 
were  extensive  and  beautiful.  "  It  represented,"  wrote 
Mrs.  Sally  Nelson  Robins,  in  an  article  on  the  Crump 
House,  "  as  no  building  now  recalled,  the  ante-bellum  es- 
tablishment— mansion,  kitchen,  laundry,  servants'  quarters, 
stable,  carriage-house,  smoke-house,  and  big  yard  where 
children  played  and  box-bushes  and  flowers  grew,  where 
ladies  in  morning  dresses  sat  in  the  rose-clad  summer-house 
and  read  or  did  embroidery,  while  other  ladies  called  and 
chatted  of  house-keeping  and  books  and  perhaps  of  their 
neighbors." 

Upon  the  night  of  the  theatre  fire — December  26,  1811 
— many  of  the  victims  of  that  tragedy  were  brought  to 
the  Myers  home  and  laid  upon  the  parlor  floor  and  stains 
could  be  traced  upon  the  boards  for  years  afterwards. 

Judge  Crump,  with  his  greatness  of  soul  and  intellect, 
his  striking  personality  and  charm  of  manner  and  conver- 
sation, with  his  books  around  him,  and  with  the  woman 
who  was  his  helpmate  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word  at 
his  side,  would  have  made  any  house  notable. 

This  massive  old  homestead  with  its  spacious  rooms,  its 
high  carved  mantels,  its  big  open  fires  whose  light  played 
upon  old  silver  and  mahogany  and  rare  pictures,  made  an 
ideal  setting  for  the  great  lawyer,  the  ripe  scholar,  the 
gracious  host.  His  home  was  a  centre  of  intellectual  life, 
a  resort  of  cultured.  Christian  gentle-folk. 

9 


130      VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

No  one  who  ever  heard  Judge  Crump  talk  could  fail 
to  deplore  the  fact  that  he  never  put  his  observations  and 
reminiscences  upon  paper.  Many  were  the  distinguished 
men  he  had  known,  many  the  important  events  he  had  wit- 
nessed, and  his  conversation  about  them  made  a  series 
of  clear,  bright  pictures.  When  Charles  Dickens  visited 
Riclamond,  the  Judge  was  one  of  the  committee  appointed 
to  give  him  a  fitting  welcome,  and  his  impressions  of  the 
novelist  and  his  wife,  as  they  appeared  at  the  banquet  given 
in  their  honor,  would  have  made  an  interesting  chapter  in 
a  book  of  "  recollections." 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE  OF  THE  CONFEDERACY 

With  Twelfth  Street  we  reach  the  eastern  boundary 
of  what  was  known  in  the  stately  days  of  yore  as  the  "  Court 
End  "  of  town.  Following  this  thoroughfare  northward 
as  far  as  Clay  Street,  one  sees  a  large,  gray  stucco  mansion 
with  a  double  pillared  portico.  This  is  the  beautiful 
"  White  House  of  the  Confederacy."  It  stands  upon  the 
brink  of  a  deep  ravine  and  those  who  remember  it  "as  it 
used  to  be  "  tell  of  a  "  falling  garden  "  whose  terraces  ran 
a  good  way  down  th6  hill,  and  of  bright  spaces  of  old- 
fashioned  flowers  and  potted  sl^rubs  from  foreign  climes 
— conspicuous  among  which  were  fruitful  hazelnut  bushes. 

The  house  was  built  in  1818  for  the  residence  of  Dr. 
John  Brockenbrough,^  long  president  of  the  Bank  of 
Virginia,  and  his  wife,  who  was  Mrs.  Gabriella  Harvid 
Randolph,  daughter  of  Colonel  John  Harvie  and  widow 
of  Thomas  Mann  Randolph,  of  "  Tuckahoe."  Dr.  Brock- 
enbrough  had  been  one  of  the  committee  of  three  appointed 
to  direct  the  building  of  a  church  as  a  memorial  to  the  vic- 
tims of  the  theatre  fire  and  in  planning  his  home  he  chose! 
for  the  architect,  Mr.  Mills,  whose  design  for  the  Monu- 
mental Church  had  won  great  praise.  Long  before  this  the 
intimacy  between  Dr.  Brockenbrough  and  John  Randolph, 

^  Brockenbrough  family :  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and 
Biography,  v,  447-449  ;  vi,  82-85.  , ;   , 


CRUMP  HOUSE,  RICHMOND 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE  OF  THE  CONFEDERACY,  RICHMOND 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES     133 

of  Roanoke,  which  continued  to  the  end  of  Randolph's  Hfe, 
had  begun,  and  when  the  new  house  was  completed 
Randolph  was  a  frequent  visitor  there,  and  often  for  weeks 
at  a  time  "  the  most  agreeable  and  interesting  inmate  you 
can  possibly  imagine,"  wrote  Dr.  Brockenbrough  to  a 
friend. 

The  acquaintance  began  during  the  famous  Aaron 
Burr  trial  in  1807,  when  Dr.  Brockenbrough  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  jury  and  John  Randolph  its  foreman,  and  from 
that  time  on  the  friendship  between  these  two  men,  as  it 
appears  in  the  letters  that  passed  between  them  and  in 
those  of  Randolph  to  other  friends,  published  in  the  Life 
of  John  Randolph,  runs  like  a  bright  thread  through  the 
sombre  history  of  that  fascinating  personality.  John 
Randolph's  sweetheart,  the  fair  and  engaging  Maria 
Ward,  was  also  intimate  at  the  Brockenbrough  home,  and 
when  her  affair  with  Randolph  was  broken  off,  she  en- 
trusted his  letters  in  a  sealed  packet  to  the  care  of  Mrs. 
Brockenbrough,  with  the  request  that  after  her  death  that 
lady  should  burn  them  without  breaking  the  seal.  As 
Mrs.  Brockenbrough  was  a  woman  who  could  keep  a  secret 
even  from  herself,  the  contents  of  the  interesting  packet 
will  never  be  known. 

It  was  said  that  Dr.  Brockenbrough  built  his  house 
with  an  especial  view  to  entertaining,  and  it  seems  to  have 
become  a  centre  of  both  intellectual  and  gay  society.  Chief 
Justice  Marshall  and  other  distinguished  members  of  the 
Bar  and  of  the  famous  "  Barbecue  Club  "  were  intimate 
there  and  were  fond  of  discussing  politics  and  the  classics 
with  Mrs.  Brockenbrough,  whom  Blennerhassett,  writing 
in  1807,  of  affairs  and  people  in  Richmond,  described  as 
"  the  nearest  approximation  to  a  savant  and  bel-esprit." 
The  lovely  Randolph  girls,  Mrs.  Brockenbrough's  nieces, 
and  later  on,  the  beauties  and  belles  of  the  Seddon  and 
Morson  connections,  may  not  have  cared  for  politics  and 
the  classics,  but  many  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the 
time,  in  Richmond  and  out  of  it,  came  to  the  old  house  to 
dance  with  and  pay  court  to  them.     In   one  of  John 


134       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Randolph's  letters  to  his  friend  he  says,  "Mr.  Speaker 
related  to  me  that  you  had  given  a  splendid  party;  for 
so  I  interpreted  the  word  fandango  used  bj'  him;  "  and 
many  were  the  occasions  when  the  music  of  the  "  many 
twinkling  feet  "  held  full  sway. 

Dr.  Brockenbrough  finally  sold  the  house  to  jNIr.  James 
M.  ]Morson,  who  after  a  few  years'  residence  in  it  sold  it 
to  his  cousin  and  law-partner,  Honorable  James  A.  Sed- 
don,  member  of  Congress  from  Virginia  and  secretary  of 
war  of  the  Confederate  States.  Mr.  Morson  and  Mr. 
Seddon  married  sisters,  the  lovely  Bruce  girls,  Ellen  and 
Sally,  and  during  their  time  the  house  continued  to  be  a 
centre  of  all  that  was  best  and  brightest  in  the  Virginia 
of  the  old  regime.  Says  a  beau  of  the  period,  still  living, 
"  jNIy  impressions  of  the  White  House  of  the  Confederacy 
before  the  war  make  a  poem  in  mj"  memory."  Not  long 
before  the  war  Mr.  Seddon  sold  the  house  to  JNIr.  Lewis 
D.  Crenshaw,  who  occupied  it  for  a  brief  period,  during 
which  he  added  the  top  story. 

The  curtain  was  rung  down  on  the  brilliant  drama 
which  the  social  historj'  of  ante-helium  Richmond  made,  to 
rise  on  the  tragedy  for  which  the  city  lent  itself  as  a  stage 
during  four  years  of  civil  warfare.  Again  the  house  at 
the  corner  of  Twelfth  and  Clay  Streets  occupied  a  con- 
spicuous place  in  the  setting.  Echoes  of  viol  and  wedding- 
bell  were  now  lost  in  the  alarums  of  rifle  and  cannon.  The 
stately  rooms  of  that  house  where  so  bright  the  lights  had 
"  shone  o'er  fair  women  and  brave  men,"  were  become  the 
council  chambers  of  war  and  government.  In  place  of  the 
procession  of  carriages  filled  with  ladies  and  gentlemen 
arrayed  for  a  fete,  filing  vip  the  street  toward  the  house, 
might  occasionally  be  seen  a  very  different  pageant — 
President  Davis  and  General  Lee  riding  side  b}^  side,  in 
earnest  conversation,  and  clattering  behind  them  their 
staff  oflicers. 

In  the  room  to  the  right  of  the  entrance  hall,  where 
many  a  time  a  fair  girl  had  waited  the  coming  of  gallant 
lover,  the  President's  wife  now  sat  night  after  night  and 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES     137 

listened  with  strained  ear  and  anxious  face  for  the  sound 
of  horses'  hoofs  on  the  street  outside,  for  mayhap  a  courier 
would  come  in  the  night  with  dispatches  for  her  husband, 
indulging  in  uneasy  sleep  in  the  room  above.  When  the 
capital  of  the  Confederacy  was  moved  from  Montgomery, 
Alabama,  to  Richmond,  the  city  bought  the  house,  spent 
$8,000.00  furnishing  it  and  tendered  it  to  Mr.  Davis,  who 
agreed  to  accept  it  only  upon  condition  that  the  Confeder- 
ate Government  should  pay  full  rent  for  it.  The  house 
now  began  to  be  known  by  the  name  which  added  the  crown- 
ing touch  to  its  glory— the  White  House  of  the  Confed- 
eracy— and  now  the  dames  and  the  squires,  the  belles  and 
the  beaux  who  had  danced  and  feasted  there  bent  their 
steps  that  way  to  pay  court  to  the  President  and  his  lady. 

Upon  the  evacuation  of  Richmond,  United  States 
troops  under  General  Weitzel  took  possession  of  the  White 
House  of  the  Confederacy  for  headquarters,  and  held  it 
until  September,  1870,  when  it  was  restored  to  the  city. 
In  June,  1884,  it  became  the  property  of  the  Confederate 
Memorial  Literary  Society,  and  as  the  home  of  a  priceless 
collection  of  Confederate  relics  the  "  Confederate  Mu- 
seum "  is  to-day  one  of  the  centres  of  interest  in  the  city. 

THE  VALENTINE  MUSEUM 

Tom  Moore,  the  loved  Irish  poet,  writing  of  his  sojourn 
in  Richmond,  in  1803,  says  that  the  most  agreeable  gentle- 
men he  met  were  "  some  Whig  lawyers,  one  of  whom,  Mr. 
JohnWickham,  was  fit  to  adorn  any  court."  Mr.Wickham's 
residence,  built  in  1812,  now  the  home  of  the  Valentine 
Museimi,  stands  upon  Clay  Street,  just  one  block  above 
the  White  House  of  the  Confederacy,  and,  like  it,  was 
planned  by  Benjamin  Mills,  the  architect  of  Monumental 
Church.  Thanks  to  the  artistic  sense  of  the  Valentines,  so 
long  its  owners,  this  superb  old  mansion  has  been  perfectly 
preserved.  To  the  stranger  in  the  street  it  presents  a  front 
reserved,  dignified,  plain.  But  a  touch  of  the  brass  knocker 
admits  one  to  the  handsomest  interior  possessed  by  any 
house  ever  built  in  Richmond.    From  a  perfectly  propor- 


138       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

tioned  hall,  winding  mahogany  stairs  lead  to  a  beautiful 
gallery.  Polished  mahogany  doors  with  silver  knobs  and 
hinges  open  from  this  hall  into  the  stately  rooms  built 
aromid  it.  Striking  details  of  these  rooms  are  sculptui'ed 
marble  mantels  brought  from  Florence;  frescoed  walls; 
carved  door  and  window  frames — white  enamelled  with  the 
delicate  relief- work  gilded  with  gold  leaf ;  great  mirrors  in 
Florentine  frames,  chandeliers  of  burnished  brass. 

At  the  rear  of  the  mansion,  a  pillared  portico,  with  a 
gracefully  curved  outline,  embowered  in  honeysuckle,  Vir- 
ginia creeper,  and  purple  and  white  wistaria,  looks  upon  an 
old  garden,  surrounded  by  a  high,  ivy-covered  brick  wall. 
A  fountain  makes  music  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  and 
through  a  rose-garlanded  arch  we  maj^  have  such  glimpses 
as  the  vine-clad  trellises  and  shrubbery  will  permit  of 
figures  in  white  marble  of  the  goddesses  of  Beauty, 
Flowers,  and  the  Harvest,  peeping  out  among  the  green. 
Every  olden-time  flower  is  to  be  found  in  the  trim  parterres 
divided  bj'  narrow  brick  walks,  and  many  goodly  fruit 
trees  and  grape  vines  on  trellises  and  latticed  arbors  vie 
with  the  flowers  in  making  the  garden  a  place  of  delight. 
In  one  corner  a  century-old  magnolia  tree  makes  June 
fragrant. 

In  the  Wickhams'  time  the  house  was  the  scene  of 
brilliant  festivities ;  for  in  those  days  of  plenty  and  of  good 
servants  Virginia  hospitality  was  in  full  flower  in  Rich- 
mond, and  it  was  ]Mr.  Wickham's  pleasure  to  entertain  in 
honor  of  "  men  of  parts  "  visiting  the  city. 

In  the  year  1807  the  famous  trial  of  Aaron  Burr,  for 
treason,  drew  the  attention  of  all  America  upon  Richmond 
and  upon  JNIr.  Wickham.  The  prominence  of  the  prisoner 
at  the  bar,  the  political  excitement  at  the  time  and  the 
brilliant  legal  talent  employed  united  in  bringing  throngs 
of  people  to  the  city.  John  Marshall  was  the  presiding 
judge,  Wickham  the  leader  in  the  defence,  and  John 
Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  foreman  of  the  jury.  Among  the 
witnesses  were  General  Wilkinson,  of  the  Army,  and 
Andrew    Jackson,    afterward    president    of    the    United 


THE  HALL  AT  VALENTINE  MUSEUM,  RICHMOND 


VALENTINE  MUSEUM,  FORMERLY  WICKHAM  HOUSE.  RICHMOND 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES     141 

States.  Burr's  acquittal  was  generally  supposed  to  be  chiefly 
due  to  the  eloquence  and  ability  of  Mr.  Wickham.  After 
the  trial  Burr  dined  with  Mr.  Wickham  and  his  beautiful 
wife,  who  was  noted  as  a  tactful  and  charming  hostess. 

In  course  of  time  the  Wickham  residence  became  the 
property  of  the  Ballard  family,  and  many  of  the  beautiful 
features  of  its  interior  are  said  to  have  been  added  by  Mr. 
Ballard.    Its  next  owner  was  Mr.  Alexander  Brooks. 

In  later  years  it  was  long  the  residence  of  Mr.  Mann  S. 
Valentine,  during  part  of  which  period  Mr.  Edward 
V.  Valentine,  the  sculptor,  made  his  home  there.  At  Mr. 
Valentine's  death  he  generously  bequeathed  this  residence 
with  his  valuable  collections,  and  an  endowment  for  main- 
tenance as  a  museum,  to  the  city  of  Richmond,  and  there 
may  now  be  seen,  in  addition  to  many  other  objects  of 
historical  and  artistic  value,  one  of  the  finest  collections  of 
Indian  relics  in  the  world. 

THE  McCANCE  HOUSE 

One  of  the  principal  show  places  of  the  "  Court  End  " 
of  town  stood  upon  the  corner  of  Leigh  and  Eighth  Streets. 
This  house  was  built  about  a  hundred  years  ago  by  the 
widow  and  son  of  Mr.  John  Hayes,  of  the  "  Falls  Planta- 
tion," just  below  Manchester — a  gentleman  of  large  wealth 
and  owner  and  publisher  of  the  Virginia  Gazette.  The 
house  was  commodious  and  handsome  and  a  Greek  portico 
at  the  rear  overlooked  a  garden  which  extended  to  Clay 
Street.  From  the  Hayes  family  the  property  passed,  by 
purchase,  to  Mr.  Thomas  Green,  a  successful  lawyer  and 
familiar  figure  in  Richmond  society  in  the  first  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

Mr.  Green  at  once  turned  his  attention  to  the  beautify- 
ing of  his  home,  making  the  flower-garden  his  chief  pride. 
Across  the  garden  ran  a  deep  ravine  with  a  stream  flowing 
through  it.  Mr.  Green  terraced  the  ravine  and  by  check- 
ing the  flow  of  the  brook  with  a  stone  dam  made  a  little 
lake,  which  was  spanned  by  a  rustic  bridge.  Upon  the  lake 
a  small  boat  floated,  and  near  the  shore  stood  a  tiny  chalet- 


142       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

like  cottage,  covered  with  bark.  In  another  part  of  the 
grounds  was  a  bear-pit,  containing  several  black  bears, 
while  here  and  there  among  the  shrubberj'  and  flowers 
gleamed  pieces  of  white  marble  sculpture  from  Italy. 
Among  these  was  a  fountain  representing  the  birth  of 
Venus  from  the  waves  of  the  sea.  A  marble  scallop  shell 
rested  upon  the  backs  of  two  dolphins  which  spouted  water 
over  a  life-sized  figure  of  the  goddess,  as  she  stood  poised 
on  the  edge  of  the  shell.  Other  figures  represented  "  The 
Seasons,"  "  Flora,"  "  Ceres,"  "  Gam'mede,"  etc.  Some  of 
these  are  now  preserved  in  the  garden  of  the  Valentine 
Museum. 

One  of  the  attractions  of  the  garden  was  a  fine  spring 
which  was  a  favorite  drinking  place.  In  later  years  the 
charming  old  mansion  was  long  the  home  of  the  JNIcCance 
family.  When  the  emigration  of  fashion  to  the  West  End 
reached  high  tide,  it  gave  way  to  a  row  of  tenements  which 
now  occupies  the  site  of  house  and  garden. 

THE  IMARSHALL  HOUSE 

Upon  the  corner  of  Marshall  and  Ninth  Streets  stands 
a  plain,  but  massive  and  dignified  old  brick  mansion,  the 
home  of  Richmond's  greatest  citizen  and  the  most  famous 
of  American  judges — Chief  Justice  John  Marshall  ( 1755- 
1835).* 

To  his  neighbors  "  the  old  Chief,"  as  he  was  affection- 
ately called,  was  as  much  beloved  for  his  domestic  and 
social  gifts  as  he  was  admired  for  his  ability  and  learning. 
As  a  member  of  the  "  Barbecue  Club,"  made  up  of  the 
leading  men  of  Richmond,  and  joining  with  the  zest  of  a 
boy  in  his  favorite  game  of  throwing  quoits,  we  see  the 
intellectual  giant  at  play,  and  it  is  a  pleasant  sight.  Over 
this  old  home  he  presided  as  a  tender  husband  and  father, 
kind  master,  gracious  host. 

Until  the  last  few  years  the  house  was  owned  and  occu- 
pied by  his  descendants,  who  also  sat  Sunday  after  Sunday 

*  Paxton,  The  Marshall  Family.    Cincinnati,  1885. 


McCANCE  HOUSE,  RICHMOND 


GAMBLE  HOUSE,  RICHMOND 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES     145 

in  his  pew  in  IMonumental  Chui-ch;  but  it  has  since  been 
bought  from  his  granddaughters,  by  the  citj%  and  turned 
over  to  the  Association  for  the  Preservation  of  Virginia 
Antiquities.  Its  stately  rooms,  with  their  beautifully 
carved  mantels  and  cornices,  contain  many  memories  of 
the  "  Old  Chief  "  and  his  family  and  has  become  a  mecca 
to  visitors  of  Richmond. 

THE  STATE  CAPITOL 

About  two  blocks  away  from  the  Marshall  House 
stands  the  old  Capitol  in  the  midst  of  its  ten-acre  "  square  " 
— the  chief  attraction  of  the  city  still,  in  spite  of  the  pros- 
perous West  End.  Indeed,  with  its  appealing  natural 
beauty  and  its  associations  it  must  for  all  time  be  a  centre 
of  interest  to  the  visitor  in  lovely  and  historic  Richmond. 

The  plan  for  the  building  was  furnished  by  Thomas 
Jefferson  when  he  was  minister  to  France  and  was  taken 
from  the  Maison  Carree,  at  Nismes.  It  was  begun  in  1785 
and  finished  in  1792,  when  the  Legislature  had  been  meet- 
ing within  its  walls  for  some  years.  The  chaste  beauty 
of  its  classic  outlines  and  proportions  has  been  warmly 
admired  by  persons  of  taste.  It  stands  upon  the  brow  of 
a  hill  with  the  green  square  sloping  away  from  it  and 
ancient  trees  arching  the  walks  that  lead  to  it  from  all 
directions.  Nearby  stands  the  splendid  Washington 
monument,  one  of  the  noblest  groups  of  statuary  in 
America.  The  equestrian  statue  of  Washington,  which 
is  its  central  and  crowning  figure,  and  most  of  the  other 
figures  on  the  monument,  were  modelled  by  Thomas  Craw- 
ford, of  New  York,  but  as  he  died  before  the  work  was 
finished,  those  of  Thomas  Nelson  and  Andrew  Lewis  were 
made  by  Randolph  Rogers.  Other  figures  in  the  group 
surrounding  Washington  are  Patrick  Henry,  Thomas 
Jefferson,  George  Mason,  and  John  Marshall.  The  monu- 
ment was  unveiled  in  1858.  The  statues  of  Henry  Clay, 
"  Stonewall  "  Jackson,  Governor  William  Smith,  and  Dr. 
Hunter  McGuire  also  adorn  the  Square.  The  Virginia 
State  Librarj^  stands  within  the  Square  some  distance  to 

10 


146       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

the  rear  of  the  Capitol,  while  on  a  line  with  the  librarj-  and 
to  the  north  of  it  stands,  at  the  head  of  a  shady  avenue, 
also  within  the  Square — the  governor's  mansion — a  serene, 
dignified  and  beautiful,  but  unostentatious  Virginia  home. 
Much  of  the  history  of  Virginia  has  been  made  within 
the  walls  of  this  old  Capitol.  The  Hall  of  the  House  of 
Delegates,  especially,  teems  with  associations.  Within  this 
hall  at  least  a  part  of  the  celebrated  trial  of  Aaron  Burr 
was  held;  within  it  met  the  famous  Constitutional  Con- 


GOVERiNOR'S  MANSION,  RICHIIOND 


vention  of  1829-1830,  of  which  jMadison,  jNIonroe,  Mar- 
shall, John  Randolph  and  many  other  eminent  men  of  the 
time  were  members;  within  it  met  the  "  Secession  Con- 
vention "  of  1861;  and  within  it,  during  the  war  that  fol- 
lowed, were  held  the  sessions  of  the  Confederate  Congress. 
Soon  after  the  Revolution,  Houdon,  the  most  famous 
sculptor  of  the  time,  came  from  Paris  to  Mount  Vernon  for 
the  purpose  of  making  a  statue  of  General  Washington. 
This  masterpiece  of  portraiture  in  white  marble,  declared 
by  Lafayette  to  be  "  a  facsimile  of  Washington's  person," 


STATE  CAPITOL,  RICHMOND 


HOME  OF  CHIEF  JUSTICE  MARSHALL,  RICHMOND 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES     149 

stands  in  the  centre  of  the  Rotunda  and  is  the  Capitol's 
chief  treasure. 

In  1906  the  Capitol  was  enlarged  by  the  addition  of 
two  wings  harmonizing  in  architecture  with  the  design  of 
the  main  building.  The  assembly  halls  of  the  House  of 
Delegates  and  State  Senate  maj^  now  be  found  in  these 
new  wings,  but  the  historic  "  Hall  of  the  House  "  has  been 
preserved  and  is  now  used  as  the  State  Agricultural 
JNIuseum. 

In  the  Capitol  basement  is  the  State  Land  Office  where 
may  be  seen  records  of  land-grants  and  patents  going  back 
as  far  as  the  year  1623. 

On  April  27, 1870,  the  Capitol  was  the  scene  of  a  fright- 
ful disaster.  The  Court  of  Appeals  was  sitting  in  a  room 
in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  building,  and  a  case  of  un- 
usual interest  had  drawn  a  crowd  which  packed  the  apart- 
ment to  the  doors.  Suddenly  the  floor  gave  way  under 
the  unaccustomed  weight  and  went  crashing  down  into  the 
hall  of  the  house  below,  carrjdng  with  it  a  panic-stricken 
mass  of  humanity.  The  number  of  persons  killed  was  sixty- 
five,  while  two  hundred  others,  more  or  less,  were  seriously 
injured.  Among  the  victims  were  many  of  Richmond's 
leading  citizens. 

THE  WEST]MORELAND  CLUB 

A  short  walk  up  Grace  Street  from  the  main  entrance 
of  Capitol  Square  brings  the  tourist  to  one  of  the  gracious 
old  roof-trees  of  former  days,  which  has  been  preserved 
by  becoming  the  home  of  the  Westmoreland  Club.  The 
house  was  begun  about  1837,  by  Mr.  James  Gray,  a 
wealthy  tobacco  merchant,  but  was  sold  by  him  before  it 
was  completed,  to  Judge  Robert  Stanard,  of  the  Virginia 
Court  of  Appeals,  who  finished  it  and  occupied  it  until  his 
death.  It  was  elegantly  equipped,  as  befitted  its  stately 
rooms,  with  furniture  from  Paris  and  carved  mantels  from 
Italy. 

Judge  Stanard  had  formerly  lived  in  a  house  on  Ninth 
Street,  opposite  the  Capitol  Square,  where  the  youthful 


150       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Edgar  Allan  Poe  had  been  a  frequent  visitor,  as  a  friend 
of  the  Stanard  boj's.  JMrs.  Stanard  won  the  heart  of  the 
poet-to-be,  by  her  kindness  and  sympathy,  and  to  her  after- 
wards were  addressed  the  lovely  lines,  "  To  Helen,"  which 
helped  to  make  Poe  famous  and  caused  her  to  be  known 
as  "  Poe's  Helen." 

She  did  not  live  to  accompany  her  husband  and  chil- 
dren to  their  new  home.  Though  he  remained  a  widower. 
Judge  Stanard's  entertainments  were  famous — his  friend 
Mr.  James  Lyons  often  assisting  him  in  doing  the  honors. 

Upon  his  death  his  son,  Robert  C.   Stanard,  a  dis- 


^  tsTiMURjlljAIMJ  Ui,Ut),  T±lE  SIAKARli  HUUbifi,  Rilmmuimj 

tinguished  member  of  the  Richmond  bar,  the  State  Senate 
and  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1851,  inherited  the 
house.  Mr.  Stanard  married  a  beautiful  and  brilliant 
daughter  of  Kentucky,  and  with  her  as  hostess  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  house  were  amply  sustained.  The  brightest 
men  of  the  time  flocked  to  her  salon,  and  Thackeray  was 
one  of  the  many  men  of  note  entertained  by  her  husband 
and  herself. 

After  the  Stanards'  time,  their  home  was  owned  suc- 
cessively by  Mr.  William  H.  Macfarland  and  Mr.  James 
Lyons,  prominent  gentlemen,  both  of  them,  and  lavish 
hosts. 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES     153 

The  Westmoreland  Club  was  organized  at  a  meeting 
held  Januarj'  29,  1877.  It  assembled  first  at  its  own  home, 
707  E.  Franklin  Street,  formerly  the  residenee  of  General 
R.  E.  Lee,  on  May  1st  of  the  same  year.  In  1879  the  Club 
purchased  its  present  home,  which  was  then  the  property  of 
JNIr.  James  Lyons.  Extensive  additions  and  improvements 
have  since  been  made  to  the  building  and  the  Club,  now  in 
its  38th  year,  is  one  of  the  most  prosperous  and  noted  in 
the  United  States. 

THE  ARCHER  HOUSE  * 

So  small  a  number  of  the  few  of  Richmond's  old 
mansions  that  remain  are  still  homes  that  the  mere  fact  of 
being  the  residence  of  a  private  citizen  gives  a  distinction 
all  its  own.  One  whose  air  of  quiet  and  dignified  homelike- 
ness  proclaims  it  to  be  the  possessor  of  this  distinction  may 
be  seen  just  a  square  below  the  Westmoreland  Club  at  the 
corner  of  Franklin  and  Sixth  Streets.  It  makes  a  charm- 
ing picture  and  its  interior  is  equally  charming.  It  was 
built  early  in  the  last  centurj^  by  Mr.  Cunningham,  a  mer- 
chant, from  plans  drawn  bj^  JNIr.  INIills,  the  architect  of 
the  Monumental  Church,  the  White  House  of  the  Con- 
federacy, and  the  Valentine  JMuseum.  JNIr.  Cunningham 
sold  it  to  Dr.  George  Watson,  a  distinguished  physician 
of  the  time,  and  it  is  still  owned  and  occupied  by  his 
descendants,  the  Archer  family.  Upon  its  door  hangs  the 
polished  brass  knocker  that  responded  to  the  touch  of  the 
gentle  guests  of  nearly  a  hundred  years  ago,  and  a  high 
brick  wall  around  the  yard  still  secures  to  the  premises  the 
privacy  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  the  modest  old-time  folk. 

THE  CASKIE  HOUSE 

Two  squares  further  on,  upon  the  corner  of  Main  and 
Fifth  Streets,  stands  the  quiet  and  attractive  Caskie  home, 
which  was  built  by  Mr.  Tate,  Mayor  of  Richmond,  and 
after  his  death  descended  to  his  nephew,  who  was  a  second 
"  Mayor  Tate."  Since  the  time  of  the  Tates,  the  house 
has  been  successively  the  home  of  the  Neilson,  Gray  and 

*  See  illustration,  p.  127. 


154       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Caskie  families.  It  is  as  interesting  architecturally  within 
as  without,  a  striking  feature  being  a  beautiful  octagon- 
shaped  drawing-room. 

The  tourist,  finding  himself  suddenly  face  to  face  with 
the  Archer  and  Caskie  homes,  upon  their  busy  corners, 
has  a  pleasant  sense  of  having  stumbled  upon  a  bit  of  re- 
poseful yesterday  in  the  midst  of  bustling,  strenuous  to-day. 

THE  ALLAN  HOUSE 

Diagonally  opposite  the  Caskie  House  on  the  southeast 
corner  of  Main  and  Fifth  Streets,  now  occupied  by  brick 
tenements,  once  stood  an  old  mansion  famous  for  its  social 
history,  and  as  the  home,  for  a  brief  period,  of  Edgar  Allan 
Poe. 

The  house  was  built  in  1798  by  David  Meade  Randolph, 
United  States  Marshall  for  Virginia.  According  to  the 
contract,  Mr.  Randolph  was  to  pay  for  the  construction 
of  his  home  "  £100  worth  of  corn,  £50  worth  of  oyster 
shells,  delivered  at  Rocketts,  £100  worth  of  goods  (£25 
of  which  to  be  in  wet  goods )  and  the  remainder  in  money, 
to  be  paid  by  Christmas  Day,  1800."  It  was  far  enough 
up  town,  in  those  days,  to  be  almost  in  the  country,  and 
must  have  been  very  like  a  country  place,  with  its  spreading 
lawn  shaded  with  pine  trees  and,  at  the  rear,  its  "  falling 
garden  "  filled  with  fruits  and  flowers.  Like  a  country 
place  too,  it  had  a  name,  for  Mr.  Randolph  quaintly  com- 
bining his  own  name — David — with  that  of  his  wife — 
Molly— called  it  "  Moldavia,"  and  as  "  Moldavia  "  it  was 
long  known. 

Mrs.  Randolph  was  noted  as  a  wit  and  also  as  a  house- 
keeper. In  her  prosperous  days  she  was  called  "  the 
queen  "  by  the  guests  who  thronged  her  hospitable  home, 
and  when  reverses  came  she  showed  she  could  be  queen  of 
the  kitchen  as  well  as  the  drawing-room,  for  she  opened 
upon  Cary  Street  a  boarding  house  which  achieved  im- 
mediate success,  and  whose  "  board  "  became  as  famous  as 
that  at  "  Moldavia  "  had  been.  She  published  her  recipes 
in  a  cook-book  which  is  still  an  authority  in  many  an  old 
Virginia  home. 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES     155 

In  1805  "  Moldavia  "  was  sold  to  Mr.  Joseph  Gallego, 
owner  of  the  Gallego  JNIills,  who  occupied  it  for  twenty 
years  and  then  sold  it  to  Mr.  John  Allan,  whose  brilliant 
adopted  son,  Edgar  Allan  Poe,  was  then  about  seventeen 
years  old.  There  is  a  great  uncertainty  as  to  just  how  long 
Poe  lived  at  the  Allan  house,  for  soon  after  Mr.  Allan 
bought  it,  Poe  entered  the  University  of  Virginia  and  later 
went  to  Boston  to  live.     He  seems,  at  least,  to  have  un- 


ALLAN  HOUSE,  RICHMOND 

doubtedly  made  his  home  there  during  a  good  part  of  the 
year  1826. 

The  Allans  made  the  beautiful  interior  of  their  house 
the  background  for  superb  furniture  and  artistic  orna- 
ments brought  from  Europe.  They  had  the  social  gifts 
of  true  Richmonders,  and  their  home  was  famous  for  its 
brilliant  entertainments.  Among  notables  from  across  the 
water  who  enjoyed  its  hospitality  at  different  times  were 
Charles  Dickens,  Lord  and  Lady  Napier,  Lord  and  Lady 
Lyons,  and  the  Honorable  Miss  Murray.  The  old  Rich- 
mond Enquirer  contains  an  elaborate  account  of  a  fancy 
ball  given  at  the  Allan  House,  with  the  initials  of  the  belles 


156       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

and  beaux  present,  and  the  characters  they  represented, 
and  detailed  descriptions  of  their  costumes. 

Long  after  the  Allans'  day  their  home  was  once  more 
the  scene  of  festivity  when  the  citizens  of  Richmond,  in 
1881,  gave  there  a  grand  ball  to  the  distinguished  delega- 
tions sent  over  by  the  governments  of  France  and  Germany 
to  represent  those  countries  at  the  Yorktown  Centennial. 

THE  GAMBLE  HOUSE 

A  few  of  those  who  enjoy  the  charms  of  Gamble's  Hill 
— its  green  terraces,  its  sweet  breezes  and  its  superb  view 
of  the  river,  town  and  countrj' — remember  the  Gamble 
mansion  which  gave  the  hill  its  name.* 

The  house  was  built  in  the  year  1800,  by  Colonel  John 
Harvie,  a  Revolutionary  patriot,  and  member  of  the  Con- 
vention of  1775  and  of  Congress,  but  was  barely  finished 
when  he  died,  and  JMrs.  Harvie  sold  it  to  Major  Robert 
Gamble  (1754-1810),"  a  Revolutionary  officer  and  com- 
mander of  the  first  company  to  enter  the  fort  at  the  storm- 
ing of  Stony  Point. 

]Major  Gamble  came  to  Richmond  from  Augusta 
County,  where  he  had  married  Catherine,  daughter  of 
jMajor  John  Gratton,  who  had  made  herself  as  famous 
for  courage  as  she  was  for  beauty  by  riding  through  the 
countr}'  at  night  warning  the  settlers  on  the  "  border,"  in 
the  neighborhood  of  her  home,  of  an  impending  Indian 
raid. 

This  interesting  pair  was,  of  course,  a  welcome  addi- 
tion to  Richmond  society  and  made  "  Grey  Castle,"  as  the 
Gamble  House  was  called,  a  charming  home.  Their  sons 
removed  to  Florida  and  founded  a  prominent  family  there, 
but  their  two  daughters  made  brilliant  matches  in  Rich- 
mond and  continued  to  live  at  "  Grey  Castle."  Elizabeth, 
after  a  long  courtship,  became  the  wife  of  the  distinguished 
William  Wirt,  while  Agnes  made  choice  from  her  many 

*  See  illustration,  page  143. 

^  For  an  account  of  Colonel  Gamble  and  his  family  see  Brown, 
The  Cabells  and  Their  Kin,  p.  255  et  seq. 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES     157 

suitors  of  Judge  William  H.  Cabell,  of  the  Court  of  Ap- 
peals of  Virginia  and  Governor  of  the  State.  As  the  roof- 
tree  of  these  two  distinguished  couples  "  Grey  Castle  " 
naturally  continued  to  be  one  of  the  notable  homes  of 
Virginia.  In  the  course  of  time  the  Wirts  moved  away, 
and  Judge  and  JNIrs.  Cabell  became  sole  master  and  mis- 
tress of  the  house  and  dispensers  of  its  hospitality.  Tom 
]\Ioore  was  once  entertained  there,  when  Miss  Maria  Mayo, 
a  famous  beauty  and  belle  and  afterwards  the  wife  of  Gen- 
eral Winfield  Scott,  paid  him  the  pretty  compliment  of 
singing  to  him  and  the  assembled  company,  "  Believe  Me 
If  All  Those  Endearing  Young  Charms." 

After  the  time  of  the  Cabells,  "  Grey  Castle  "  had 
various  owners.  For  some  years  the  celebrated  JMcGuire's 
School  was  taught  there.  It  was  afterward  pulled  down 
and  a  row  of  tenements  was  built  upon  its  site. 

THE  RUTHERFOORD  HOUSE 

The  first  resident  of  Richmond  to  see  that  the  future 
of  the  city  lay  to  the  westward  was  Mr.  Thomas  Ruther- 
foord,*^  a  native  of  Scotland,  who,  over  a  hundred  years  ago, 
established  his  family  in  a  handsome  residence  in  the  coun- 
try, but  near  enough  to  town  for  him  to  go  to  and  from 
his  business.  This  earliest  of  West  End  homes  stood  upon 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  present  Franklin  and  Adams 
Streets,  but  has  given  place  to  the  row  of  modern  houses 
that  now  occupies  that  site.  In  the  words  of  one  who  re- 
members it,  the  Rutherfoord  House  was  "  a  noble  specimen 
of  colonial  architecture,"  one  of  the  last  of  its  kind.  The 
roof  was  in  keeping  with  the  style  built  by  the  rich  aristo- 
cratic class,  lofty  and  peaked,  and  flanked  by  tall  chimney 
stacks  which  stood  out  in  relief  against  the  sky,  towering 
above  the  loftiest  trees.  The  body  of  the  house  was  broad 
and  ample,  and  afforded  a  typical  example  of  simplicity 
and  strength  characteristic  of  the  structures  of  the  Colonial 
period.    The  grounds  occupied  an  extensive  area  and  were 

^  Rutherfoord  family :  The  Richmond  Standard,  ii,  Nos.  25-28. 


158       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

laid  off  into  lawns,  kitchen  and  flower  gardens,  orchard 
and  vinej^ard.  A  massive  brick  wall  enclosed  many  acres 
of  what  is  now  First  Street,  occupied  by  orchards  of  every 
variety  of  fruit  known  at  that  day. 

JNIr.  Rutherfoord  married  the  lovely  Sallie  Winston, 
daughter  of  ]Mr.  Geddes  Winston.  After  his  death  and 
when  his  goodly  band  of  sons  and  daughters  had  scattered 
into  homes  of  their  own,  the  Rutherfoord  House  changed 
hands  several  times,  but  from  first  to  last  the  mansion, 
and  those  that  lived  in  it,  held  a  prominent  place  in  the 
social  life  of  Richmond.  It  was  at  one  time  the  home  of 
the  Honorable  John  Y.  Mason,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  At- 
torney General  of  the  United  States,  and  United  States 
Minister  to  France.  Colonel  A.  S.  Buford  was  its  last 
owner. 


BULLOCK  HOUSE,  RICHMOND 

THE  BULLOCK  HOUSE 


Upon  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Conunonwealth 
Club  once  stood,  in  the  midst  of  spacious  grounds  shaded 
b}^  splendid  old  elms,  a  commodious  brick  mansion  known 
as  the  Bullock  House.    It  was  begun  by  ]Mr.  Peyton  Drew 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES     159 

and  finished  in  1814  by  ]Mr.  John  jNlutter — prominent 
citizens  of  Richmond,  both  of  them — and  in  1830  was  sold 
to  JNIr.  David  Bullock,  mayor  of  the  city,  who  made  his 
home  in  it  for  manj^  years.  Later  it  became  the  home  of 
Mr.  George  Palmer. 

The  Commonwealth  Club  was  organized  March  3,  1890, 
and  practically  succeeded  the  old  Richmond  Club,  situated 
at  Third  and  Franklin  Streets,  which  was  organized  soon 
after  the  War  between  the  States.  The  Commonwealth 
Club  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  influential  in  the  South. 

SWAN  TAVERN 

Swan  Tavern,  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Broad  and 
Ninth,  was  long  the  favorite  stopping  place  of  prominent 
visitors  to  Richmond.  It  was  built  soon  after  the  Revo- 
lution. Its  most  noted  guest  was  Edgar  Allan  Poe,  who 
boarded  here  during  his  last  visit  to  Richmond. 


SWAN  TAVERN,  RICHMOND 

MANCHESTER 

THE  GRAY  AND  CLOPTON  HOUSES 

Manchester  (now  South  Richmond),  tying  just  across 
the  river  from  Richmond,  in  the  county  of  Chesterfield, 
had,  under  its  Colonial  name  of  Rocky  Ridge,  almost  as 


160       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

early  an  origin  as  its  larger  neighbor.  During  the  period 
when  it  was  a  flourishing  tobacco  market,  a  number  of 
handsome  homesteads,  most  of  which  have  now  disap- 
peared, were  built  there.  Among  those  that  remain  are  the 
Gray  House,  the  floor  of  whose  hall  still  bears  the  mark  of 
the  effort  of  the  British  soldiers  to  burn  it ;  and  the  Clopton 
House,  built  by  Robert  Graham,  a  Scotch  merchant,  who 


GRAY  HOUSE,  MANCHESTER,  SOUTH  RICHMOND 

was  arrested  and  sent  to  the  interior  during  the  War  of 
1812.  This  house  was  afterward  the  home  of  the  dis- 
tinguished jurist  John  Bacon  Clopton. 

BLACK  HEATH 

Thirteen  miles  above  Manchester,  on  the  edge  of  the 
village  of  Midlothian,  in  Chesterfield  Count}^  once  the 
centre  of  the  famous  coal-mining  district,  stands,  in  a  state 
of  rapid  decay.  Black  Heath,  for  several  generations  the 
home  of  the  Heth  family.^ 

^  Heth  family:  The  Critic  (Richmond,  Va.),  Sept.  17,  1888. 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      161 

The  most  important  of  the  Heths  of  Black  Heath  was 
Lieutenant  General  Henry  Heth  of  the  Confederate 
Army,  or  "  Harry  "  Heth,  as  he  was  affectionately  called. 
His  soldierly  instincts  were  inherited,  for  the  brother  of 
the  first  of  his  name  at  Black  Heath  was  Colonel  William 
Heth,  of  the  Continental  Line. 

The  house,  a  large,  rambling  old  mansion,  part  brick 
and  part  frame,  was  in  its  early  days  surrounded  by  all 
the  appurtenances  of  a  home  of  wealth  and  taste.  There 
were  a  flower  garden,  oak  grove,  a  great  circular  pigeon 


BLACK  HEATH,  CHESTERFIELD  COUNTY 


house,  a  barn,  stables,  and  other  outbuildings;  but  many 
years  ago  coal  pits  were  sunk  practically  all  around  the 
house,  and  tunnels,  or  drifts  as  they  were  called,  run  be- 
neath the  grounds,  and,  it  is  said,  beneath  the  house  itself. 

Coal  was  mined  at  Midlothian  as  early  as  1730  and 
for  miles  around  may  be  seen  the  remains  of  the  pits  owned 
and  operated  by  the  Wooldridges,  Clarkes,  Cunliffes  and 
other  Chesterfield  families. 

After  the  time  of  the  Heths,  Black  Heath  was  occu- 
pied by  Mr.  GifFord,  an  Englishman,  and  later  by  the 
family  of  Colonel  William  B.  Ball. 


11 


162       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

CHESTERFIELD  COURT  HOUSE 

Chesterfield  Court  House  was  built  in  1749-50  and  was 
ordered  by  the  County  Court  to  be  a  copy  of  the  then 
Henrico  Court  House.  In  1779  Hamilton,  the  British 
governor  of  Detroit,  who  had  been  captured  by  G.  R. 
Clark,  was  confined  here  for  a  time.  In  1781  the 
British  forces  under  General  Phillips  burned  the  Court 
House,  but  its  substantial  walls  remained  intact,  and  when 


CHESTERFIELD  COURT  HOUSE 


the  house  was  restored  it  must  have  been  made  like  it  was 
at  first.  iNIany  celebrated  trials  have  been  held  here.  At 
the  rear  there  is  a  wing  (not  shown  in  the  picture)  almost 
as  large  as  the  front  part  of  the  house. 


A 


SALISBURY 

few  days  after  the  election  of  Patrick  Henry  as 


governor  of  Virginia,  in  November,  1784,  he  left  the  capital 
in  order  to  arrange  his  affairs  in  Henry  County  and  re- 
moved his  family  to  a  farm  called  Salisbury,  in  Chesterfield 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      163 

County,  near  Richmond.  The  house  chosen  by  the  famous 
patriot  as  a  residence  during  his  term  as  governor  was  no 
palace  or  mansion,  but  a  charmingly  quaint,  frame  home- 
stead, with  big,  bright,  airy  rooms,  only  a  story  and  a  half 
high,  which  had  been  built  some  time  during  the  eighteenth 
century  by  the  Randolphs,  as  a  hunting  lodge.  Governor 
Henry  rented  it  from  Thomas  Mann  Randolph. 

Salisbury  is  only  fourteen  miles  from  Richmond  and 
but  a  little  way  from  the  village  of  Midlothian,  but  its  situ- 


SALISBURY,  CHESTERFIELD  COUNTY 

ation  seems  lonely  and  remote  by  reason  of  the  deep  woods 
lying  between.  Cloistered  among  splendid  old  oaks,  the 
house  makes  a  pretty  picture,  with  its  dormer  windows, 
its  great  chimneys  and  its  square,  white  porches. 

In  1789,  while  Salisbury  was  the  home  of  Henry,  Mr. 
Randolph  sold  it  to  Doctor  Philip  Turpin,  a  native  of 
Virginia,  who  was  a  graduate  of  medicine  and  surgery  of 
the  University  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland.  During  the  Revo- 
lution Dr.  Turpin  attempted  to  return  home,  but  was  taken 
prisoner  and  held  by  the  British  Government  as  surgeon 
on  board  ship  until  the  close  of  the  war.     The  cry  of 


164       VIRGINIA  HO:\IES  AND  CHURCHES 

"  Tory  "  was  raised  against  him,  but  friends  and  officers 
in  tlie  British  Navy  bore  witness  that  he  was  an  unwilling 
prisoner,  and,  through  the  influence  of  Thomas  Jefferson, 
an  unconditional  release  of  his  property,  which  included 
Salisbury  and  had  been  placed  under  confiscation,  was 
granted.  At  his  death  Doctor  Turpin  bequeathed  Salis- 
bury to  his  daughter  Caroline,  the  wife  of  Doctor  Edward 
Johnson,  who  left  it  to  her  sons  Edward  and  Philip  Turpin 
Johnson. 

Edward  Johnson  was  a  gallant  officer  in  the  United 
States  Army  and  a  distinguished  major-general  in  the 
Confederate  Army.  At  the  close  of  the  War  between  the 
States  he  made  Salisbury  his  home  and  died  there,  leaving 
no  descendants.  After  the  death  of  Philip  Turpin  Johnson 
the  estate  passed  from  this  family. 


NORWOOD,  POWHATAN  COUNTY 

NORWOOD 

On  James  River,  in  Powhatan  County,  not  far  above 
the  Chesterfield  line,  is  Norwood,  an  old  home  long  the 
property  of  the  Harris  family.  It  was  sold  b^^  ]Mr.  Baratier 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      165 


Eastern 
1835, 


as 


Harris  to  Mr.  Beverley  Randolph,  formerly  of 
View,  Fauquier  County,  who  owned  it  as  early 
and  who  added  the  wings. 

At  the  death  of  Mr.  Randolph,  Norwood  passed  to  his 
son  Doctor  Charles  H.  Randolph,  who  left  it  to  Mrs. 
Nancy  Randolph  Kennon,  and  her  husband  Lieutenant 
William  H.  Kennon,  U.  S.  N.,  for  life,  and  at  their  death 
to  their  eldest  son  Charles  Randolph  Kennon,  at  whose 
death  it  passed  to  his  brother  William  H.  Kennon. 


BEAUMONT,  POWHATAN  COUNTY 


BEAUMONT 


Higher  up  the  river,  in  Powhatan  Count}%  is  Beau- 
mont, formerly  the  beautiful  home  of  Mr. William  Walthall 
Michaux,  father  of  Doctor  Jacob  Michaux,  of  Richmond.* 
Though  adjoining  other  large  family  estates  which  were 
inherited  by  Mr.  Michaux,  the  house  dates  from  before 
this  time.  It  was  the  home  of  Mr.  Edward  Walthall,  who, 
dying  childless,  left  it  to  his  relative  and  adopted  son, 
William  Walthall  Michaux. 

The   descendants  of  Abraham  Michaux,   one   of  the 

*  Michaux  family :  The  Critic  (Richmond,  Va. ),  May  19,  1889. 


166       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Huguenots  who  settled  at  INIanakin  Town  in  1700,  gradu- 
ally acquired  lands  in  this  neighborhood  until  their  holdings 
comprised  many  thousand  acres.  Though  Beaumont  has 
been  sold,  some  of  the  ancestral  lands  are  still  owned  bj' 
the  ^Michaux  family. 

]Miehaux's  Ferrj'  has  long  been  a  well-known  crossing 
place  on  James  River. 

PAXTON 

Dr.  Ennion  Williams  Skelton,  son  of  Josiah  Skelton, 
came  to  Virginia  about  1802  from  New  Jersey.  He  was 
a  INIaster  of  Arts  of  Princeton  and  received  a  medical  edu- 


PAXTON,  POWHATAN  COUNTY 


cation  at  the  JNIedical  College  of  Pennsjdvania.  He 
settled  at  Genito,  which  was  at  that  time  a  thriving  village. 
Bateaux  on  the  Appomattox  were  carried  as  far  up  as 
Genito  JMill.  This  mill  was  owned  by  Dr.  Skelton,  who 
had  an  extensive  practice.  He  married,  in  1823,  Catherine 
Waldron  GifFord,  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  lived  in 
the  village  while  his  home  Paxton  was  being  built.  Upon 
its  completion,  in  1824,  Dr.  Skelton's  parents  went  there 
to  live  with  him  and,   as  will  be  seen  further  on,  five 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      167 

generations  of  this  familj'  lived  at  Paxton  between  1824 
and  1865. 

After  the  death  of  Dr.  Skelton  and  his  wife,  the 
property  was  inherited  by  their  son.  Dr.  John  GifFord 
Skelton,  who  graduated  in  medicine  at  the  Universitj^  of 
Pennsylvania.  He  lived  at  Paxton,  where  he  practised 
medicine  until  soon  after  the  War  between  the  States, 
when  he  moved  to  Richmond  and  was  one  of  the  most 
prominent  physicians  in  that  city.  He  married,  as  his  first 
wife,  in  1841,  Charlotte  Foushee  Randolph,  daughter  of 
Peyton  Randolph  and  his  wife  Maria  Ward,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Edmund  Randolph,  Secretary  of  State  of  the 
United  States.  The  only  child  by  this  marriage  was  Maria 
Ward  Skelton.  His  second  wife  was  INIarianne  Meade, 
by  whom  he  had  ten  children.  Maria  Ward  Skelton 
married  at  Paxton,  in  1864,  John  Langbourne  Williams, 
of  Richmond,  and  their  oldest  son,  John  Skelton  Williams, 
was  born  there  July  6,  1865,  being  the  fifth  generation 
of  the  family  to  live  at  Paxton. 

The  place  was  celebrated  for  its  hospitality.  The 
location,  being  at  the  intersection  of  two  public  roads,  made 
it  a  convenient  stopping  place  for  the  soldiers  during  the 
war,  and  for  the  friends  of  the  family  at  all  times. 

POWHATAN  COURT  HOUSE  AND  TAVERN 

Powhatan  Court  House  stands  upon  the  site  of  an 
older  building  erected  in  1777.  Near  it  was  fought,  some 
time  in  the  forties,  the  famous  duel  between  Doctor  Branch 
T.  Archer  and  Doctor  Otway  Crump.  Doctor  Crump 
fell  at  the  first  fire.  Doctor  Archer  removed  to  Texas, 
where  he  became  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  then 
republic. 

At  Powhatan  Court  House  still  stands,  though  now 
used  for  other  purposes,  one  of  the  large  old  Court  House 
Taverns,  once  so  famous  as  gathering  places,  and  for  jovial 
hospitality. 


168       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

BELMEAD 

Belmead,  also  in  Powhatan  Countj%  was  built  by 
Philip  St.  George  Cocke  (1808-1861),"^  son  of  General 
John  Hartwell  Cocke  (1780-1866),  of  Bremo,  Fluvanna 
Count3^  Philip  St.  George  Cocke  was  a  graduate  of  West 
Point  and  was  a  brigadier  general  in  the  Confederate 
Ai-my. 

The  great  size  and  striking  architecture  of  the  Belmead 
house  make  it  one  of  the  most  imposing  mansions  on  James 
River.  It  is  now  the  property  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church. 

TUCKAHOE 

On  the  north  side  of  the  river  opposite  Powhatan 
Countj^  is  the  County  of  Goochland,  at  the  lower  end  of 
which  stands  Tuckahoe,  the  oldest  of  the  James  River 
mansions  west  of  Richmond. 

Tuckahoe  was  a  frontier  settlement  established  at  a 
time  when,  on  account  of  the  Indian  terror,  the  law  re- 
quired for  every  five  hundred  acres,  "  One  Christian  man, 
perfect  of  limb,  provided  with  a  well-fixed  musquett  or 
fuzee,  a  good  pistoll,  sharp  simeter  and  tomahawk,"  to  live 
upon  the  land.  The  house  stands  upon  the  brow  of  a  steep, 
wooded  hill  and  is  approached  through  an  avenue  of  beau- 
tiful elms.  To  the  left  may  still  be  seen  the  curious  old 
"  box-labj'rinth,"  with  its  twisting  and  winding  walks,  and 
traces  of  the  flower-garden,  where  rose-bushes,  bridal- 
wreath,  lilacs,  sweet  william,  and  other  old-fashioned 
flowers  flourished  in  prim  beds  and  borders. 

The  mansion,  built  in  part  of  Colonial  brick  and  in 
part  of  wood,  is  of  unique  design.  There  are  two  wings, 
each  25  feet  deep  and  40  feet  long,  connected  by  a  hall 
24  feet  wide  and  40  feet  long,  with  arched  doorwa}^s  open- 
ing at  either  end  into  the  wings — giving  the  house  the  shape 
of  the  letter  H. 

A  visitor  to  Tuckahoe,  writing  in  1779,  says,  "  it  seems 
to  be  built  solely  for  the  purposes  of  hospitality,"  and  that 
the  family  lived  in  one  wing  while  the  other  is  "  reserved 
solel}^  for  visitors."    The  rooms  and  hall  are  panelled  from 


TUCKAHOE,  GOOCHLAND  COUNTY 


BELMEAD,  POWHATAN  COUNTY 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      171 

floor  to  ceiling  with  black  walnut.  A  fine  stairway  of  the 
same  wood,  with  hand-carved  balustrade,  adds  to  the  beauty 
of  the  hall.  This  hall  was  furnished  with  four  sofas,  two 
on  each  side,  "  besides  chairs,"  and  served  the  double  pur- 
pose of  a  "  cool  retreat "  in  summer  and  "  an  occasional 
ball-room." 

Upon  several  of  the  tiny  panes  of  glass  in  the  windows 
may  be  seen  the  names  of  some  of  the  Randolphs  and 
their  friends,  scratched  with  diamonds  before  the  Revo- 
lution. 

Tuckahoe  was  built  by  Thomas  Randolph  ( 1689-1730 ) , 
of  Turkey  Island,  who  was  a  burgess  for  Henrico  and 
commander-in-chief  of  Goochland  at  the  time  that  county 
was  formed.  He  married  Judith  Fleming  and  was  the 
father  of  Judith  Randolph,  who  married  Reverend  William 
Stith  (1689-1755),  president  of  William  and  JNIary  Col- 
lege and  historian  of  Virginia,  and  of  Mar\^  Randolph, 
who  became  the  wife  of  Reverend  James  Keith  (and  was 
the  grandmother  of  Chief  Justice  INIarshall ) .  Thomas 
Randolph  died  in  1730,  leaving  Tuckahoe  to  his  only  son, 
William  Randolph,  who  married  [Maria  Judith,  daughter 
of  Honorable  Slann  Page  I,  of  Rosewell.  William 
Randolph  was  for  several  j^ears,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  a  burgess  for  Goochland.  He  died  in  1745,  pos- 
sessed of  a  large  estate.  He  left  £1200  sterling,  a  hand- 
some fortune  in  those  days,  to  each  of  his  two  daughters. 
His  will  directed  that  a  tutor  should  be  employed  to  teach 
his  only  son,  Thomas  ]Mann  Randolph,  and  also  his  daugh- 
ters. At  the  time  of  his  death  this  onlj^  son  was  a  child,  and 
in  response  to  a  request  in  the  will,  Peter  Jefferson  (whose 
wife  was  Jane,  a  daughter  of  Isham  Randolph,  of  Dunge- 
ness,  who  was  great-uncle  to  the  said  Thomas  Mann)  came 
to  Tuckahoe,  bringing  with  him  his  son  Thomas,  and  took 
the  estate  and  the  family  under  his  charge.  It  thus  befell 
that  Thomas  Jefferson,  when  a  lad,  went  to  school  with 
his  cousins,  the  Randolph  children,  in  the  tiny  school-house 
still  to  be  seen  in  the  yard  at  Tuckahoe. 

Thomas  Mann  Randolph,  of  Tuckahoe,  was  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  and,  after  the  Revolution,  of 


172       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

the  Virginia  Legislature.  By  his  first  marriage  with  Anne, 
daughter  of  Archibald  Cary,  of  Anipthill,  he  was  the 
father  of  (among  several  other  children)  Thomas  JNIann 
Randolph,  of  Edge  Hill,  Albemarle  County,  governor  of 
Virginia,  and  by  his  second  marriage,  with  Gabriella 
Harvie,  of  another  Thomas  jNIann  Randolph,  who  inherited 
Tuckahoe,  but  who  sold  it  in  1830  to  Edwin  Wight,  of 
Richmond.  JMr.  Wight  sold  it  twenty  years  later  to  Joseph 
Allen,  from  whom  it  passed  to  Major  Richard  Allen  and 


SCHOf)L-H0USE  AT  TUCKAHOE 

Where  Thomas  Jefferson  went  to  school 


his  wife,  who  was  JNliss  Virginia  JNIitchell,  a  famous  beaut)^ 
and  belle  of  Richmond.  In  1898  the  old  place  again 
changed  hands,  this  time  becoming  once  more  the  prop- 
erty of  those  of  Randolph  blood — the  Coolidge  family 
of  Boston,  descendants  of  Governor  Thomas  INlann 
Randolph,  who  still  own  it. 

The  social  history  of  Tuckahoe  has  been  brilliant. 
Colonel  William  Byrd  in  his  Progress  to  the  Mines  de- 
scribes a  visit  there  in  1732  and  from  that  time  on  many 
distinguished  men  have  been  sheltered  by  this  famous  old 
roof-tree.     The  house  was  divided  in  opinion  during  the 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      173 

Revolution  and  both  Washington  and  Cornwalhs  are  said 
to  have  enjoyed  its  hospitahtj". 

Of  course  Tuckahoe  has  its  gliosts.  Creepy  stories  are 
told  of  the  shade  of  a  murdered  pedler  which  haunts  the 
southeast  chamber  and  a  distressed  bride,  with  flowing 
locks  and  wringing  hands,  who  paces  the  east  walk. 

In  a  vault  screened  from  view  by  grape  arbors  and 
shrubbery,  about  two  hundred  yards  distant  from  the 
mansion,  sleep  the  Randolphs  of  Tuckahoe. 

OAKLAND ' 

On  June  26,  1731,  about  fifteen  years  after  Governor 
Spotswood's  trip  of  exploration  to  the  Blue  Ridge  ISIoun- 
tams  had  caused  the  gradual  movement  of  the  settlements, 
from  the  head  of  tide-water  on  the  James  and  other  rivers 
towards  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  a  Land  Patent,  cover- 
ing the  site  of  Oakland,  was  issued  in  the  name  of 
George  II,  King  of  Great  Britain,  bj^  Governor  William 
Gooch,  to  "  Bowler  Cocke,  Gentleman."  This  patent  or 
grant  was  made  in  consideration  of  12  pounds,  for  2400 
acres  of  land  on  the  south  side  of  the  James  on  Muddy 
Creek,  formerly  in  Henrico  County,  at  that  date  in 
Goochland  County,  and  now  in  Cumberland  County 
(Virginia  Land  Office,  Land  Patents,  Vol.  14,  p.  187). 

Bowler  Cocke,  to  whom  the  grant  was  made,  was  the 
son  of  Richard  Cocke,  3d,  son  of  Richard,  2d,  son  of 
Richard  1st,  who  came  to  the  Colony  of  Virginia  prior  to 
1632  (as  his  name  appears  in  the  list  of  Burgesses  of  the 
"Grand  Assembly"  for  that  year) ,  and  settled  at  "Bremo," 
the  original  home  of  the  Cocke  family  in  Virginia,  near 
James  River,  about  twelve  miles  east  of  Richmond  (Vir- 
ginia Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  III,  282). 
On  the  death  of  Bowler  Cocke,  1st  (1771),  Oakland 
passed  to  his  son.  Bowler  Cocke,  2d.  On  the  latter's  death 
(1772) ,  it  passed  to  his  son,  William  Cocke.  On  William's 
death  (1825),  it  passed  to  his  son,  Wm.  Armistead  Cocke, 

®  This  account  was  written  by  a  member  of  the  Cocke  family- 


174       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

who  was  the  great-great-grandson,  through  his  mother, 
Jane  Armistead,  of  Colonel  William  Byrd,  2d.  And  on 
the  death  of  Wm.  A.  Cocke  ( 1855) ,  who  married  Elizabeth 
Randolph  Preston,  of  Lexington,  Va.,  it  passed  to  their 
fom-  sons,  William  Fauntleroy,  Thomas  Lewis  Preston, 
Edmund  Randolph,  and  John  Preston  Cocke,  all  of  whom 
were  in  the  Confederate  Army.  Oakland  is  now  owned 
by  Edmund  R.  Cocke. 

Though  Oakland  has  been  owned  by  the  Cocke  family 
for  more  than  175  years,  it  seems  that  it  was  not  occupied 
as  a  home  until  about  1788,  when  William  Cocke  moved 
there  from  Bremo. 

Oakland  is  about  forty  miles  west  of  Richmond,  and 
about  six  miles  south  of  Cartersville.  It  is  a  typical  old 
Virginia  tobacco  plantation,  though  it  also  produces  wheat, 
corn  and  oats  and  an  abundance  of  vegetables  and  fruit. 
Its  greatest  attraction  is  its  large  yard  of  about  twelve 
acres,  which,  during  the  last  century,  contained  some  fifty- 
five  or  sixty  gigantic  oaks,  white  and  red,  chiefly  the 
former,  and  a  large  number  of  other  kinds  of  beautiful 
shade  trees.  The  largest  of  these  oaks  are  said  to  be  some 
twenty  feet  in  circumference,  casting  a  shade  at  mid-day 
of  over  a  hundred  feet  in  diameter.  It  is  not  probable  that 
such  a  collection  of  oaks  can  be  found,  within  such  a  limited 
space,  anywhere  else  in  this  country.  The  writer,  who  has 
visited  many  parks  and  other  places  noted  for  their  fine 
forest  growth,  has  never  seen  such  a  collection  of  large 
trees  except  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

The  following  incident,  related  by  a  Virginia  authoress, 
which  occurred  shortly  after  the  Civil  War,  illustrates  very 
fully  the  surpassing  grandeur  of  these  trees : 

Oakland  was  not  by  any  means  among  the  handsomest  of  the 
old  Virginia  houses,  but  in  one  respect  it  surpassed  them  all.  I 
remember  on  one  occasion  driving  back  to  the  home  from  service 
at  the  country  church  with  Bishop  Whittle,  when  a  member  of  the 
family  said  to  him,  "  Bishop,  this  is  not  your  first  visit  to  Oakland ; 
you  were  here,  sir,  20  years  ago,  when  you  were  just  Mr.  Whittle." 
It  was  evident  that  the  Bishop  did  not  recall  the  visit,  and  the 


OAKLAND,  CUMBERLAND  COUNTY 


OAKLAND,  SHOWING  THE  GROVE 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      177 

conversation  was  deftly  changed  to  save  embarrassment.  But 
when  the  open  carriage  swept  around  the  edge  of  the  woods,  and 
brought  tlie  12-acre  lawn  to  view,  with  its  80  or  more  trees,  50  of 
them  primeval  oaks,  measuring  several  feet  in  diameter,  and 
spreading  out  into  vast  sanctuaries  of  shade,  the  Bishop  stood  up 
in  the  carriage  and  took  off  his  hat.  "  You  are  mistaken.  Captain 
Cocke,"  he  said ;  "  I  might  have  been  graceless  enough  to  forget 
the  kindest  host,  but  not  these  monarchs.  I  have  never  seen 
Oakland  before."  "' 

An  interesting  description  of  the  "  old  days  "  at  Oak- 
land is  given  by  JNIrs.  Allan  in  her  Life  of  Mrs.  M.  J. 
Preston;  and  of  "  War  Times  "  by  JNIr.  E.  A.  JNIoore,  in 
The  Story  of  a  Cannoneer  Under  Stonewall  Jackson. 

While  Oakland  was  visited  by  many  persons  of  note 
dvu'ing  the  last  century,  it  was  especially  honored  bj^  a 
visit  from  General  R.  E.  Lee,  just  after  the  close  of  the 
Civil  War.  At  the  invitation  of  JNIrs.  Elizabeth  R.  Cocke, 
the  mistress  of  Oakland  from  1835  to  1889,  General  Lee 
came  to  Oakland  in  June,  1865.  He  was  accompanied  by 
JNIrs.  Lee,  INIiss  Agnes,  Miss  JNIildred  and  General  Custis 
Lee.  General  Lee  and  the  ladies  came  by  the  "  packet 
boat  "  on  the  old  James  River  and  Kanawha  Canal,  and  as 
the  berths  were  very  close  and  uncomfortable,  the  General 
preferred  sleeping  on  the  open  deck  of  the  boat  with  his 
cloak  wrapped  around  him.  This  is  probably  the  last 
occasion  on  which  he  ever  bivouacked. 

After  a  week  spent  here  (Oakland),  General  Lee  removed  with 
his  family  to  "  Derwent  "  (the  home  of  T.  L.  P.  Cocke,  adjoining 
Oakland).  There  he  spent  several  months  of  quiet  rest,  only 
interrupted  by  the  calls  of  those  who  came  in  all  honesty  and 
sincerity  to  pay  their  respects  to  him.  Old  soldiers,  citizens,  men 
and  women,  all  came  without  parade  or  ceremony.^' 

In  August,  1865,  while  at  Derwent,  General  Lee  was 
visited  by  Judge  John  W.  Brockenbrough,  Rector  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Washington  College,  Lexington, 

i«  Life  of  Mrs.  M.  J.  Preston,  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  P.  Allan, 
p.  102. 

^'  Recollections  and  Letters  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  by  Cap- 
tain Robert  E.  Lee,  pp.  171-172. 
12 


178       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Va.,  who  offered  him  the  Presidency  of  that  College. 
After  several  weeks  of  deliberation,  General  Lee  accepted 
that  position,  and  in  September  removed  with  his  family 
to  Lexington. 

Oakland,  unlike  most  old  Virginia  homes,  was  not 
overrun  by  the  Federal  troops  during  the  Civil  War; 
its  inaccessibility  alone  saved  it.  But  in  August,  1900,  a 
mouse  and  a  match  caused  a  greater  loss  than  the  Federals 
would  probablj^  have  inflicted,  by  destroying  the  delightful 
home  represented  in  the  accompanying  picture,  and  by 
damaging  the  large  oaks  which  flanked  it  both  east  and 
west.  ]Mrs.  Elizabeth  P.  Allen,  after  alluding  to  the 
great  loss  of  such  a  home  and  its  contents,  some  of  which 
possessed  an  incalculable  sentimental  value,  adds,  "  Surely 
there  must  be  a  spiritual  immortality  for  such  a  home." 


SABOT  HILL,  GOOCHLAND  COUNTY 

SABOT  HILL  AND  DOVER 

A  short  distance  above  Bendover,  in  the  same  count}', 
Goochland,  and  also  overlooking  the  James,  are  two  beau- 
tiful houses,  which  on  account  of  the  intermarriages  of  the 
families  of  their  builders  are  closely  associated — Sabot 


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RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      181 

Hill,  the  old  homestead  of  the  Seddons,  and  Dover,  of 
the  jNIorsons. 

Sahot  Hill  was  built  in  1855  by  James  Alexander  Sed- 
don,  afterward  Secretarj'  of  War  of  the  Confederate  Gov- 
ernment.    It  is  now  the  property  of  ]Mr.  W.  E.  Harris. 

Dover  was  built  by  ]Mr.  Arthur  JNIorson  and  is  one  of 
the  fairest  of  old  Virginia's  fair  mansions.  Its  long  pil- 
lared portico  is  an  especially  striking  feature.  It,  too,  has 
changed  liands,  but  its  present  owner,  Mr.  C.  Boice,  has 
beautifullv  restored  it. 


HOWARDS  NECK,  GOOCHLAND  COUNTY 

HOWARD'S  NECK 

The  dwelling  here  was  built  by  Edward  Cunningham 
in  1825,  whose  son,  Dr.  Francis  Cunningham,  was  a 
prominent  physician  in  Richmond  manj^  years  ago.  The 
property  was  purchased  from  the  Cunninghams,  in  1842, 
by  John  B.  Hobson,  who  married  Martha  Bland  Selden, 
of  Westover.    Now  owned  by  Mr.  Saunders  Hobson. 

ROCK  CASTLE 

Rock  Castle,  in  Goochland  County,  for  the  past  half 
century  the  hospitable  home  of  Mr.  John  Coles  Ruther- 


182       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

foord  and  his  familj',  takes  its  name  from  the  high  rocky 
bluff  overlooking  James  River,  upon  which  the  house  is 
perched.  The  simple  cottage  with  vine-covered  porch  and 
sloping  dormer  roof  bears  little  likeness  to  a  castle,  but  it 
is  well  worthy  of  consideration,  for  it  has  its  place  in  the 
social  history  of  Virginia  and  has  suffered  from  two  wars. 
It  is  one  of  the  oldest  homesteads  in  this  section.  The 
plantation  was  seated  nearly  two  hundred  ^^ears  ago  by 
Mr.  Tarleton  Fleming  (according  to  tradition,  a  descend- 
ant of  the  Earl  of  Wigton,  in  Scotland),  whose  wife  was 
Mary  Randolph,  of  Tuckahoe.  Colonel  William  Byrd  in 
his  Progress  to  the  Mines  (1732)  mentions  a  visit  to 
Tuckahoe,  where  he  met  INIrs.  Fleming,  "  on  her  way  to 
join  her  husband  at  Rock  Castle,  thirty  miles  farther  up 
the  river  in  a  part  of  the  country  little  settled,  and  but 
lately  redeemed  from  the  wilderness." 


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ROCK  CASTLE,  GOOCHLAND  COUNTY 


Upon  the  death  of  Tarleton  Fleming,  Rock  Castle 
passed  to  his  son,  Thomas  Mann  Fleming.  Upon  his 
death  it  was  bought  by  Colonel  David  Bullock,  a  promi- 
nent lawj^er,  of  Richmond,  who  kept  open  house,  and  lib- 
erally dispensed  old-fashioned  Southern  hospitality  there, 
for  years.     Some  time  after  the  death  of  Colonel  Bullock, 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      183 

Governor  John  Rutherfoord  bought  the  estate  as  a  sum- 
mer home,  and  it  finally  became  the  residence  of  his  son, 
INIr.  John  Coles  Rutherfoord,  of  Richmond,  who  modern- 
ized the  front  of  the  house.  However,  the  quaint  archi- 
tectural features  of  the  Colonial  period  may  still  be  seen 
at  the  rear. 

During  the  Revolution,  Rock  Castle  was  visited  by  a 
raiding  party  under  General  Tarleton,  who  angrily  cut 
down  and  bore  away  the  coat-of-arms  of  Tarleton  quar- 
tered with  Fleming  from  the  wall  of  the  panelled  parlor. 

Years  later,  during  the  raid  around  Richmond,  a  party 
of  Sheridan's  soldiers  sacked  the  house  and  were  only 
prevented  from  firing  it  by  the  entreaties  of  the  faithful 
colored  servants. 

Rock  Castle  is  now  the  property  of  the  distinguished 
surgeon.  Dr.  Geo.  Ben  Johnston,  whose  wife  is  a  daughter 
of  John  Coles  Rutherfoord. 


ROLLING  HALL,  GOOCHLAND  COUNTY 

ROLLING  HALL 

From  the  early  eighteenth  century  the  Boilings  of 
Cobbs,  in  Chesterfield  County,  owned  much  land  in 
Goochland,  and  various  members  of  the  family  made  their 
homes  in  that  county  at  times.  But  the  first  to  abandon 
the  original  homestead  and  settle  permanently  in  Gooch- 


184        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

land  was  Colonel  William  Boiling,  of  "  Boiling  Hall,"  a 
militia  officer  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  a  man  of  prominence 
in  his  community.  He  was  a  philanthropist  as  well  as  a 
soldier,  and  after  removing  to  Boiling  Hall  established  at 
his  old  home,  Cobbs,  the  first  institution  for  the  education 
of  deaf  mutes  in  America. 

Upon  the  walls  of  Boiling  Hall  long  hung  one  of  the 
most  complete  collections  of  family  portraits  in  the  State 
of  Virginia.  In  it  M^as  represented  every  generation  of 
Boilings  from  Robert,  the  emigrant,  down.  It  is  now  the 
property  of  ]Mr.  Richard  Boiling,  of  Richmond,  who  has 
loaned  it  to  the  Virginia  Historical  Society. 


"UNCLE"  ASA  AND  "AUNT"  JINSEY  AT  BOLLING  ISLAND 
This  old  couple  lived  to  be  more  than  100  years  old. 

BOLLING  ISLAND 

Colonel  William  Boiling  left  the  valuable  plantation 
Boiling  Island  to  his  son  Thomas,  who  built  the  homestead. 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      185 

Later  the  estate  was  purchased  by  Mr.  A.  Y.  Stokes,  of 
Richmond,  and  is  still  the  property  of  his  descendants. 


BOLLING  ISLAND,  GOOCHLAND  COUNTY 


UNION  HILL,  CUMBERLAND  COUNTY 


UNION  HILL 

Union  Hill,  in  Cumberland  County,  was  the  home  of 
John  Cary  Page  (1789-1853) .    One  of  Mr.  Page's  daugh- 


186       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

ters,  Harriet  Randolph,  married,  in  1857,  Coupland 
Randolph,  of  ^Maryland,  and  they  removed  to  New  Hamp- 
shire about  1865. 

CLIFTON 
The  Clifton  estate  in  Cmnberland  County  seems  to 
have  been  settled  by  Carter  Henri'  Harrison,  of  "  Berke- 
ley " — a  brother  of  Benjamin  Harrison,  the  signer  of  the 
Declaration.     The  master  of  Clifton  married  Susannah, 


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CLIFTON,  CUJIBERLAXD   COUNTY 


daughter  of  Colonel  Isham  Randolph,  of  "  Dungeness." 
After  his  death  the  homestead  passed  to  his  son  Randolph 
Harrison,  who  married  his  first  cousin,  JNIary,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Isham  Randolph,  of  "  Dungeness." 

Randolph  and  Mary  Harrison,  of  "  Clifton,"  had 
fourteen  children,  and  their  descendants,  now  widely  scat- 
tered, form  an  influential  social  connection. 

BELLMONT 

Tradition  says  that  quaint  Bellmont,  in  Buckingham 
County,  was  the  first  frame  dwelling  in  that  section  of  the 
country — the  pioneer  settlers  there  having,  hitherto  con- 
tented themselves  with  log-houses.     Its  dormer  windows, 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      187 

little  square  porch  and  big  chimneys  are  indications  of  its 
age.  Ancient  trees  form  an  arch  high  above  the  house 
which  looks  sedately  forth  from  a  yard  filled  with  old- 
fashioned  shrubs  and  flowers. 

Bellmont  was  built  by  Colonel  Archibald  Cary  for  his 
sister,  Judith,  who  married  Colonel  David  Bell,  a  native 
of  Scotland  and  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  for 


BELLMONT,  BUCKINGHAM  COUNTY 

Buckingham  County.  It  was  inherited  by  Colonel  and 
Mrs.  Bell's  daughter,  Mrs.  Harrison,  who  left  it  to  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  Ligon.  The  Ligons  sold  it  to  Mr.  I.  C. 
Gannaway. 

THE  BREMOS 

Near  each  other  in  Fluvanna  County  are  the  three 
homesteads  and  estates  known  as  Bremo,  Lower  Bremo, 
and  Bremo  Recess. 

General  John  Hartwell  Cocke  (1780-1866),  of  Surry 
County,  a  gentleman  of  prominence  and  fortune,  removed, 


188        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

about  1803,  to  Fluvanna  Countj^,  where  he  owned  large 
tracts  of  land.  He  built  Bremo  Recess,  and  lived  in  it 
while  he  was  erecting  the  handsome  mansion  which  he 
named  Bremo,  in  honor  of  Bremo  in  Henrico  County, 
which  was  the  home  of  the  Cocke  family  at  a  very  early 
date.  Bremo  House,  with  its  great  stone  barns  and  other 
outbuildings,  is  one  of  the  notable  places  on  James  River. 
General  Cocke  was  devoted  to  the  cause  of  temperance 
and  as  a  temperance  memorial  he  had  placed  on  the  bank 


BARN  AT  BREMO 


of  the  James  River  and  Kanawha  Canal,  at  Bremo,  a  huge 
iron  vase,  pitcher-shaped,  which  was  constantly  filled  to 
overflowing  with  water  introduced  by  pipes  from  a  spring. 
This  unique  fountain  was  long  a  famous  sight  to  travellers 
up  and  down  the  canal. 

After  the  death  of  General  John  H.  Cocke  the  prop- 
erty was  inherited  by  his  son.  Dr.  Cary  C.  Cocke,  and 
at  his  death  it  jjassed  to  his  two  daughters,  INIisses  Mary 
and  Lelia,  who  are  the  present  owners. 

Lower  Bremo  was  built  in  1843  and  belonged  to  Dr. 


BREMO  (REAR) 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      191 

Gary  C.  Cocke  until  1855,  when  he  and  his  father,  General 
Cocke,  exchanged  homes.  It  is  now  the  property  of  Mrs. 
W.  R.  C.  Cocke. 


LOWER  BREMO,  FLUVANNA  COUNTY 

OLD  "  MARSHALL  "  PACKET  BOAT 

The  old  Marshall  was  the  last  packet  boat  used  on 
the  James  River  and  Kanawha  Canal  and  the  one  on  which 
the  body  of  Stonewall  Jackson  was  carried  from  Rich- 
mond to  Lexington.  Dr.  George  W.  Bagb}^  in  his  writ- 
ings has  an  interesting  chapter  on  Canal  Reminiscences, 
and  the  following  account  is  condensed  therefrom: 

"  Those  were  the  '  good  old  days '  of  bateaux, — 
picturesque  craft  that  charmed  my  young  eyes  more  than 
all  the  gondolas  of  Venice  would  do  now.  If  ever  man 
gloried  in  his  calling,  the  negro  bateaux-man  was  that 
man.  His  was  a  hardy  calling,  demanding  skill,  courage 
and  strength  in  a  high  degree.  I  can  see  him  now  striding 
the  plank  that  ran  along  the  gunwale  to  afford  him  a 
footing,  his  long  iron-shod  pole  trailing  in  the  water  be- 
hind him.  Now  he  turns,  and  after  one  or  two  ineffectual 
efforts  to  get  his  pole  fixed  in  the  rocky  bottom  of  the 


192       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

river,  secures  his  purchase,  adjusts  the  upper  part  of  the 
pole  to  the  pad  on  his  shoulder,  bends  to  his  task,  and  the 
long,  but  not  ungraceful  bark  mounts  the  rapids  like  a 
sea-bird  breasting  the  storm.  His  companion  on  the  other 
side  plies  his  pole  with  equal  ardor,  and  between  the  two 
the  boat  bravely  surmounts  every  obstacle,  be  it  rocks, 
rapids,  quicksands,  hammocks,  what  not.  A  third  negro 
at  the  stern  held  the  mighty  oar  that  served  as  a  rudder. 
A  stalwart,  jolly,  courageous  set  they  were,  plying  the 
pole  all  day,  hauling  it  to  shore  at  night  vmder  the  friendly 
shade  of  a  mighty  sycamore,  to  rest,  to  eat,  to  play  the 
banjo,  and  to  snatch  a  few  hours  of  profound,  blissful 
sleep. 

"  The  packet-landing  at  the  foot  of  Eighth  Street 
presented  a  scene  of  great  activity.  Passengers  on  foot 
and  in  vehicles  continued  to  arrive  up  to  the  moment  of 
starting.  I  took  a  peep  at  the  cabin,  wondering  much 
how  all  the  passengers  were  to  be  accommodated  for  the 
night.  At  last  we  were  off,  slowly  pushed  along  under  the 
bridge  on  Seventh  Street;  then  the  horses  were  hitched; 
then  slowly  along  till  we  passed  the  crowd  of  boats  near 
the  city,  vmtil  at  length,  with  a  liA-ely  jerk  as  the  horses 
fell  into  a  trot,  away  we  went,  the  cut-water  throwing  up 
the  spray  as  we  rounded  the  Penitentiary  hill,  and  the  pas- 
sengers lingering  on  deck  to  get  a  last  look  at  the  fair  city 
of  Richmond,  lighted  by  tlie  pale  rays  of  the  setting  sun. 

"  As  the  shadows  deepened,  everybody  went  below. 
There  was  always  a  crowd  in  those  days,  but  it  was  a 
crowd,  for  the  most  part,  of  our  best  people,  and  no  one 
minded  it. 

"  Supper  over,  the  men  went  on  deck  to  smoke,  while 
the  ladies  busied  themselves  with  draughts  or  backgam- 
mon, with  conversation  or  with  books.  But  not  for  long. 
The  curtains  which  separated  the  female  from  the  male 
department  were  soon  drawn,  in  order  that  the  steward 
and  his  aids  might  make  ready  the  berths.  These  were 
three  deep,  '  lower,'  '  middle,"  and  '  upper;  '  and  great  was 
the  desire  on  the  part  of  the  men  not  to  be  consigned  to 
the  '  upper.' 

"  The  ceremony  of  ablution  was  performed  in  a  prim- 


WIND-POWER  GRIST  MILL  IN  MATHEWS  COUNTY 


THE  OLD  "MARSHALL,"  THE  LAST  PACKET  BOAT  RUN  ON  JAMES  RIVER  AND  KANAWHA  CANAL 

13 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      195 

itive  fashion.  There  were  the  tin  basins,  the  big  tin  dipper 
with  the  long  wooden  handle.  I  feel  it  vibrating  in  the 
water  now,  and  the  water  a  little  muddy  generally;  and 
there  were  the  towels,  a  big  one  on  a  roller,  and  the  little 
ones  in  a  pile,  and  all  of  them  wet. 

"  Of  all  the  locks  from  Lynchbm-g  down,  the  Three- 
Mile  Locks  pleased  me  most.  It  is  a  pretty  place,  as 
every  one  will  own  on  seeing  it.  It  was  so  clean  and  green, 
and  white  and  thriftj^-looking.  To  me  it  was  simply 
beautiful.  I  wanted  to  live  there;  I  ought  to  have  lived 
there.  I  was  built  for  a  lock-keeper — have  that  exact 
moral  and  mental  shape.  Ah!  to  own  your  own  negro, 
who  would  do  all  the  drudgery  of  opening  the  gates. 
Occasionally  you  would  go  through  the  form  of  putting 
your  shoulder  to  the  huge  wooden  levers,  if  that  is  what 
they  call  them,  by  which  the  gates  are  opened;  to  own 
your  own  negro  and  live  and  die  calmly  at  a  lock!.  What 
more  coidd  the  soul  ask?  " 


POINT-OF-FORK,  FLUVANNA  COUNTY 


POINT-OF-FORK 

Point-of-Fork,  in  Fluvanna  County,  was  for  years  the 
home  of  the  Gaits.    William  Gait,  first  of  this  family  in 


196       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

A^irginia,  was  born  in  1755,  in  the  parish  of  Dundonald, 
Ayrshire,  Scotland,  and  emigrated  to  Virginia  in  early 
yonth  and  later  became  associated  in  business  with  his 
nephew,  John  Allan  (Edgar  Allan  Poe's  foster-father). 
He  died  in  Richmond  in  1823.  His  nephew,  James  Gait, 
of  Point-of-Fork,  a  native  of  Irvine,  Scotland,  died 
April  26,  1826,  in  his  seventy-second  year. 

During  the  Revolution  there  was  a  State  arsenal  and 
armor}'  near  Point-of-Fork. 

In  latter  years  it  has  been  owned  by  General  Lindsay 
Walker,  INIrs.  Hartwell  Cabell,  who  was  a  daughter  of 
General  T.  M.  Logan,  and  now  by  Mr.  James  Alston 
Cabell. 


CUMBERLAND  COURT  HOUSE 

CUMBERLAND  TAVERN 

The  county  seat  of  Cumberland  still  possesses  one  of 
the  large  old  taverns,  formerly  called  the  Effingham 
Tavern,  so  full  of  suggestions  of  bygone  days.  John 
Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  was  often  a  guest  at  this  tavern 
and  made  political  speeches  in  the  Court  House, 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      197 


EFFINGHAM  TAVERN,  CUMBERLAND  COURT  HOUSE 


AMPTHILL,  CUMBERLAND  Col  Mi 


AMPTHILL 

Ampthill,  in  Cumberland  County,  is  said  to  have  been 
built  b}^  Randolph  Harrison,  who  married,  in  1790,  Mary 
Randolph  of  Dungeness.  Their  daughter  Mary  Randolph 
Harrison  married,  in  1827,  William  Byrd  Harrison,  of 


198       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Upper  Brandon,  and  was  the  mother  of  Colonel  Randolph 
Harrison,  a  gallant  soldier  of  the  Confederate  Army,  who 
inherited  Ampthill  and  long  made  it  his  home. 

LIBERTY  HAUL 

When,  in  1724,  Doctor  William  Cabell,  of  Union  Hill, 
came  from  Wiltshire,  England,  and  settled  in  what  is  now 
Nelson  County,  Virginia,  his  first  home  was  a  house  which 
stood  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  Liberty  Hall.  He  after- 
ward built  nearer  the  river,  where  the  family  graveyard. 


LIBERTY  HALL,  NELSON  COUNTY 

shaded  by  a  lofty  elm,  said  to  have  been  planted  at  the 
head  of  his  grave,  may  still  be  seen. 

Liberty  Hall  was  the  inheritance  of  Doctor  Cabell's 
youngest  son,  Nicholas  (1750-1803),  passing  from  him  to 
his  youngest  living  son,  Nicholas  Cabell,  Jr.  (1780-1809), 
thence  descending  to  his  son  Nathaniel  Francis  Cabell 
1807-1891 ) .  The  last  mentioned  Mr.  Cabell  at  the  time  of 
his  first  marriage,  about  1837,  with  Anne  Blaws  (1811- 
1862),  daughter  of  General  John  Hartwell  Cocke,  of 
Bremo,  moved  the  house  to  the  site  of  the  earliest  home  of 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      199 

his  great-grandfather.  About  1843  a  wing  was  added  to  the 
house.  Liberty  Hall  is  still  owned  by  Mr.  Nathaniel 
Francis  Cabell's  children. 

The  dwelling  was  built  by  slaves  from  timber  cut  from 
the  plantation  and  the  wrought  nails  used  in  its  con- 
struction were  made  on  the  place. 

UNION  HILL 

In  the  County  of  Nelson  may  be  found  a  number  of 
estates  and  dwellings  which  formerly  were,  and  some  of 
which  still  are,  the  homes  of  the  connection  aptly  styled  by 


UNION  HILL,  NELSON  COUNTY 

one  of  the  most  distinguished  among  its  members  "  the 
Cabells  and  their  kin."  From  this  group  of  homes  have 
come  representatives  who  have  made  their  family  known 
in  almost  every  walk  of  life  throughout  the  country. 

Part  of  the  Union  Hill  estate  was  granted  in  1738  to 
Doctor  William  Cabell  (1699-1774)/'  the  first  of  the 
name  in  Virginia,  who  in  1763  deeded  it  to  his  son,  William 

^'  For  a  full  genealogy  of  the  Cabells  see  Brown's  The  Cabells 
and  Their  Kin.    Houghton,  Mifflin  Company. 


200       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

(1730-1798),  who  made  large  additions  to  its  acreage. 
The  tract  when  completed  extended  for  about  ten  miles 
along  James  River,  and  contained  at  least  25,000  acres  of 
land.  The  building  of  the  homestead  began  about  1775, 
and  as  the  Revolution  soon  cut  off  supplies  from  England, 
the  work  had  to  be  done  almost  entirely  from  materials 
to  be  had  on  the  place.  The  wood  was  cut  and  bricks  and 
nails  made  on  the  plantation.  Save  that  the  shingled  roof 
has  been  replaced  by  tin,  and  repairs  made,  the  house  is 
about  as  Colonel  Cabell  left  it.  It  is  60  feet  wide  by  40 
feet  deep  and  has  two  stories,  a  basement  and  an  attic, 
with  wainscoted  rooms  and  halls  and  ample  cellars.  Ai'ound 
it  stood  all  the  numerous  outbuildings  necessary  to  a  great 
plantation. 

Colonel  William  Cabell,  the  builder  of  Union  Hill, 
was  one  of  the  most  eminent  Virginians  of  his  day.  He 
was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
was  colonel  of  the  Amherst  militia  and  was  a  member  of 
the  Conventions  and  the  Committee  of  Safety  and  a  leader 
in  the  Revolutionary  movement.  Only  a  detailed  study  of 
his  life  as  given  by  Doctor  Alexander  Brown  can  give  an 
adequate  idea  of  his  services  to  the  State.  Colonel  Cabell 
married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Colonel  Samuel  Jordan, 
of  Buckingham  Countj^  who  after  her  husband's  death,  on 
March  23,  1798,  continued  to  occupy  Union  Hill  with  her 
son-in-law,  William  H.  Cabell,  afterward  governor  of 
Virginia. 

Governor  Cabell  left  Union  Hill  in  1801  and  Colonel 
William  Cabell,  Jr.,  whose  home  at  that  time  was  Colleton, 
went  to  Union  Hill  and  lived  there  until  his  death,  in  1822, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son  JNIayo  Cabell.  Mr.  Mayo 
Cabell  married  first  Mary,  daughter  of  Judge  William 
Daniel,  and  secondly  Caroline,  daughter  of  Christopher 
Ajithony,  who  surviving  him  at  his  death,  in  1869,  con- 
tinued to  live  there. 

In  1873  Union  Hill  was  bought  bj^  Alexander  Brown, 
the  distinguished  Virginia  historian,  who  was  twice  mar- 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      201 


ried,  both  times  to  a  Miss  Cabell.  The  estate  is  now  owned 
by  Miss  Lucy  G.  Cabell,  who  is  the  sister-in-law  of 
Alexander  Brown. 

EDGEWOOD,  NELSON  COUNTY 

Edgewood's  special  claim  to  distinction  is  as  the  home 
of  Honorable  Joseph  Carrington  Cabell  (1778-1856),  a 
leading  member  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  and  a  gentle- 
man of  rare  talent  and  culture.  It  was  chiefly  through  his 
sympathy  and  aid  that  Thomas  Jefferson's  plans  for  the 


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EDGEWOOD,  NELSON  COUNTY 

University  of  Virginia  were  carried  out.  Mr.  Cabell  suc- 
ceeded Jefferson  as  Rector  of  the  LTniversitj^  and  held  that 
office  until  his  death,  in  1856. 

Edgewood,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  picture,  was  one  of 
the  houses  that  grew  with  the  needs  of  its  occupants,  thereby 
gaining  that  delightful  rambling  effect  characteristic 
of  so  many  old  Virginia  homesteads.  The  central  building 
is  about  a  century  old.  It  stands  upon  what  was  originally 
a  town  lot  in  Warminster,  which  during  Colonial  days  and 
for  fifty  years  afterward  was  a  village  of  a  few  hundred 


202       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

inhabitants  and  a  shipping  point  for  tobacco  by  bateaux 
down  the  James.  The  old  house  was  built  by  Mr.  Robert 
Rives,  of  Oak  Ridge,  Nelson  County,  who  was  then  a 
merchant  at  Warminster,  and  was  sold  by  him  to  ISIr. 
Cabell.  Mr.  Cabell  added  the  wings  and  kitchen  and  en- 
larged the  central  building  at  the  rear. 

Mr.  Cabell  married  Miss  Mary  Carter  of  Lancaster 
County,  and  in  the  Edgewood  yard  stands  a  cottage  where 
once  lived  the  Honorable  St.  George  Tucker,  and  his 
second  wife,  who  was  Mrs.  George  Carter,  the  mother  of 
]Mrs.  Cabell.  The  mortal  remains  of  all  the  above  named 
lie  in  the  graveyard  to  the  rear  of  the  house.  After  her 
husband's  death  INIrs.  Joseph  C.  Cabell  continued  to  make 
Edgewood  her  home  until  her  death,  in  1862.  It  was 
bought  from  jMr.  Cabell's  residuary  legatee  by  JNIr.  Philip 
B.  Cabell,  whose  widow  now  owns  it. 

Edgewood  boasts  of  a  well-authenticated  ghost,  for, 
though  there  seem  to  be  few  who  have  actually  seen  the 
gentle  visitor  from  "  beyond  the  veil,"  many  there  are  who 
bear  testimony  of  the  light  touch  upon  the  shoulder  of 
"  Cousin  Polly,"  as  INIrs.  Joseph  C.  Cabell  was  universally 
called  in  the  connection.  This  lady  was  heiress  of  a  goodly 
portion  of  the  "  King  Carter  "  property,  in  Lancaster 
County,  and  left  a  large  estate.  Having  no  faith  in 
lawj^ers,  and  determined  that  they  should  have  nothing  to 
do  with  her  property,  she  wrote,  with  her  own  hand,  one  of 
the  largest  and  most  remarkable  wills  on  record.  In  spite 
of  her  pains  it  is  said  that  the  lawyers  got  three-fourths  of 
her  fortune,  which  perhaps  accounts  for  her  uneasy  rest. 

SOLDIER'S  JOY 

Soldier's  Joy,  another  delightfully  rambling  old  home- 
stead, was  built  in  1785  by  Colonel  Samuel  Jordan  Cabell, 
a  gallant  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  War  and  an  original 
member  of  the  Virginia  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  Im- 
mediately after  his  marriage  to  Sally  Syme,  of  Hanover, 
in  1781,  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Cabell  lived  with  his  parents  at 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      203 

Union  Hill.     From  1795  to  1803  Colonel  Cabell  repre- 
sented his  district  in  Congress. 

An  interesting  item  in  the  diary  of  Colonel  William 
Cabell  of  Union  Hill  is  this  entry  under  date  of  May  1, 
1791 :  "  JNIy  son  Sam  sent  us  some  ice  from  his  ice-house  of 
which  I  had  a  Bowl  of  Punch.  The  first  ice-punch  I  ever 
drank." 


SOLDIER'S  JOY,  NELSON  COUNTY 

Soldier's  Joy  is  now  the  home  of  ]Mr.  and  ISIrs.  Charles 
T.  Palmer.  INIrs.  Palmer  was  JNIiss  Alice  Winston  Cabell, 
a  daughter  of  Doctor  Clifford  Cabell. 

OTTER  BURN 

This  dwelling,  built  in  the  earlj^  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  situated  about  two  and  one-half  miles  north  of 
Bedford  City  (formerly  Liberty),  in  the  County  of  Bed- 
ford, was  the  home  of  the  late  Benj.  A.  Donald,  who  was 
for  many  years  presiding  justice  of  the  old  county  court 
of  that  county.  He  married  Sally  Camm,  of  Amherst 
County,  and  at  her  death  she  devised  Otter  Burn  to 
her  sister,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Patteson,  of  Buckingham,  the 
widow  of  Dr.  David  Patteson.  It  has  now  passed  out  of  the 
family,  but  is  well  kept  up. 


204       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Before  the  War  between  the  States  Otter  Burn 
was  one  of  the  noted  Virginia  homes.  It  is  not  many 
miles  from  the  Blue  Ridge  JNIountains,  with  the  famous 
Peaks  of  Otter  in  full  view.  The  dwelling,  which  is 
situated  about  a  mile  from  the  public  road,  is  an  old  styled 
four-gabled  house  built  of  brick,  with  broad  porches  run- 
ning the  entire  length  at  the  front  and  more  than  half  waj' 
at  the  back,  supported  by  double  colunnrs  extending  up 
to  the  eaves.  This  construction  gives  a  most  imposing 
effect.  All  of  the  rooms  have  large  French  windows  open- 
ing out  on  the  porches.    The  driveway  in  the  front  yard  is 


OTl'ER  BURN,  PATTESON,  BEDFORD  COUNTY 

around  a  circle  which  brings  the  visitor  up  to  the  circular 
stone  steps  at  the  front  porch.  The  front  yard  is  covered 
with  a  great  variety  of  trees  and  evergreens,  and  is  sur- 
rounded bj^  hedges  of  althea,  boxwood  and  lilac.  Adjoin- 
ing the  front  yard  is  a  beautiful  old-fashioned  flower 
garden,  artistically  divided  into  sections  by  boxwood 
hedges,  where  one  could  find  growing  in  the  utmost  luxuri- 
ance roses,  flowers  and  evergreens. 

The  old  place  still  retains  its  homelike  appearance  of 
restfulness  far  from  the  interminable  jangle  of  bells  and 
the  roar  of  modern  town  life. 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      ^05 

OAK  RIDGE 

Robert  Rives,^ '  a  native  of  Sussex  County,  Virginia, 
became  a  leading  and  wealthy  merchant,  and  married, 
in  1790,  jMargaret,  daughter  of  Colonel  WilHam  Cabell, 
of  Union  Hill.  From  1791  to  1803  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rives 
lived  at  Edgewood.  In  1798  Mrs.  Rives  inherited  from 
her  father  part  of  the  Oak  Ridge  plantation,  Mr.  Rives 
later  purchasing  the  remainder  from  the  other  heirs, 
and  in  1801-1802  built  the  mansion,  which  he  occupied 


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OAK  RIDGE,  NELSON  COUNTY 


until  his  death,  in  1845.  He  left  a  large  estate,  including 
much  land  in  Albemarle,  and  from  ten  to  fifteen  thousand 
acres  in  Nelson  County.  After  Mr.  Rives'  death  Oak 
Ridge  was  the  home  of  his  daughter  Margaret  Jordon 
Rives,  who  died  unmarried  in  1862.  One  of  his  sons  was 
the  distinguished  statesman,  William  Cabel  Rives,  of  Castle 
Hill,  Albemarle  County. 

Oak  Ridge  is  now  the  property  of  Mr.  Thomas  F. 
Ryan,  the  well-known  financier,  and  is,  with  its  beautiful 
mansion,  a  splendid  estate.    One  of  the  greatest  attractions 


^■^  Rives  family :  Brown,  The  Cahells  and  Their  Kin. 


206       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

of  the  house  is  the  large  collection  of  life-sized  portraits  of 
Englishmen  associated  with  the  settlement  of  Virginia, 
copied  for  ]\Ir.  Ryan  and  exhibited  b)^  him  in  the  History 
Building  at  the  Jamestown  Exposition. 

MASSIE  HOMES  IN  NELSON  COUNTY 
LEVEL  GREEN  AND  PHARSALM. 

In  Nelson  County,  in  the  neighborhood  of  JMassie's 
Mills,  there  remained,  until  several  years  ago,  three  old 
mansions  of  the  Massies:  "  Level  Green,"  "  Blue  Rock  " 
and  "  Pharsalia."  "  Level  Green  "  has  passed  out  of  the 
possession  of  the  familj\  "  Blue  Rock  "  was  burned  to 
the  ground  about  ten  years  ago,  and  "  Pharsalia,"  though 
having  passed  out  of  the  family,  is  the  onlj^  one  which 
retains  anj'thing  of  its  former  beauty. 

jNIajor  Thomas  jNIassie,  the  founder  of  the  Massie 
family  in  Nelson  County,  was  born  in  New  Kent 
County,  August  22,  1747;  was  educated  at  AVilliam  and 
JNIarj^  College ;  a  captain  in  Revolutionarj"  service  and  was 
promoted  IMajor  in  the  Northern  campaigns,  1776-1779, 
generally  on  detached  or  particular  service.  At  the  Battle 
of  Monmouth  he  delivered  Washington's  order  of  attack 
to  General  Charles  Lee.  He  was  JMajor,  and  for  a  time 
acting  Colonel,  of  the  2d  Virginia  Regiment,  1778-1779; 
aide-de-camp  to  General  Nelson,  winter  of  1790-1791  to 
the  fall  of  Yorktown;  after  the  war  he  received  oSSSVs 
acres  of  land  in  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky  for  his 
services  as  INIajor,  etc. ;  and  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
the  Cincinnati.  He  moved  from  St.  Peter's  Parish,  New 
Kent  County,  about  1780,  to  Frederick  County,  and  thence 
to  old  Amherst,  to  property  which  is  in  the  present  County 
of  Nelson,  of  which  county  he  was  one  of  the  first  JNIagis- 
trates  from  1808.  He  married,  about  1780,  Sarah  Cocke. 
He  died  at  "  Level  Green,"  his  seat  in  Nelson  County, 
February  2,  1834.  His  father,  William  Massie,  who 
married  Martha  Macon,  who  afterwards  married  Colonel 
Theodorick  Bland,  was  a  son  of  Captain  Thomas  Massie, 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      207 

of  St.  Peter's  Parish,  New  Kent  County,  who  died  about 
1740.    The  Massies  came  from  Cheshire,  England. 

Sarah  Cocke  (wife  of  Major  Thomas  JMassie)  was 
born  at  "  Turkey  Island,"  March  8,  1760,  and  died  at 
"  Level  Green,"  April  20,  1838. 

While  seeking  a  home  Major  Massie  visited  the  wild 
and  beautiful  upper  valley  of  the  Tye  River,  in  that  time 
in  Amherst  County  and  then  almost  uninhabited.  Much 
taken  with  the  magnificent  scenerjs  the  richness  of  the 


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PHARSALIA 


rough  land  and  its  accessibility  to  the  markets — being  only 
twenty  miles  from  the  James  (then  considered  a  short 
distance) — he  bought  from  John  Rose,  the  original 
patentee,  3111  acres  on  the  upper  Tye  River. 

This  gently  rolling  plateau,  between  900  and  1000 
feet  above  the  sea  and  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  "  Priest  " 
Mountain,  was  selected  by  Major  Massie  as  the  site  of  his 
new  home. 

The  first  small  house  was  completed  in  1798,  the  larger 
one  begun  in  1799  and  finished  about  1803.     They  both 


^208       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

face  the  east  and  overlook  the  httle  valleys  of  Castle  Creek 
and  Rocky  Run,  and,  beliind,  the  big  "  Priest  "  towers  up 
408J!  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  plan  of  the  second  and  larger  house  is  simple. 
The  first  floor  was  one  long  line,  only  broken  by  a  porch 
covered  with  a  large  climbing  rose  and  honeysuckle,  and 
contained  four  rooms  and  a  quaint  square  panelled  hall. 
From  the  back  of  this  hall  a  long  passage  extended  to 
another  large  room,  built  originally  for  a  dining-room. 
The  floors  in  the  house  were  of  hardwood  and  the  wooden 
mantels  very  quaint  and  high,  those  in  the  upper  rooms 
almost  reaching  the  ceiling.  In  the  back  yard  were  the 
kitchen  and  smoke-house.  Until  \he  place  was  sold  the 
front  door  bore  a  large  brass  knocker  in  the  form  of  an 
eagle  ndth  "  T.  ]M."  on  its  breast.  Back  of  the  house  was 
the  orchard  and  garden  and  near  them  the  old  family 
graveyard,  in  which  lie  buried  ]Major  Massie,  his  wife  and 
many  of  his  descendants. 

"  Pharsalia,"  the  residence  of  Hon.  William  Massie, 
the  third  and  youngest  son  of  ^Nlajor  ]Massie,  is  about  two 
miles  from  "  Level  Green  "  and  is  situated  on  a  spur  of 
the  "  Priest  "  about  1000  feet  above  the  sea.  It  commands 
a  wide  and  extensive  view  of  hills  and  mountains,  those  of 
Buckingham  and  Campbell  melting  into  the  horizon. 

"  Pharsalia  "  was  planned  by  and  built  under  the 
direction  of  ^Nlajor  JNIassie.  It  was  commenced  early  in 
1813  and  completed  in  the  autumn  of  1814,  just  before  the 
first  marriage  of  Hon.  William  Massie. 

The  house  has  a  long  front,  only  relieved  by  the  high 
pillared  portico,  with  flagged  floor.  Mounting' the  broad 
stone  steps  and  crossing  the  porch  one  enters  the  large 
hall.  On  the  right  is  the  parlor  and  joining  it  by  two 
small  entries  (one  each  side  the  chimney)  a  guest  chamber. 
On  the  left  of  the  hall  is  the  large  dining-room  and  beyond 
it  another  guest  chamber  similar  to  the  one  on  the  right. 
Just  back  of  the  dining-room  is  a  large  pantry  and  from 
its  porch  a  flagged  walk  leads  to  a  big  brick  kitchen. 
Back  of  the  front  hall  is  another  containing  the  stairway. 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      209 

Every  room  on  the  ground  floor  has  its  own  private 
outdoor  entrance,  a  fashion  necessary  in  those  days  of 
many  servants  and  slaves.  Over  the  whole  of  the  front 
runs  a  long  garret.  The  rear  portion  is,  however,  built 
higher,  and  contains  three  medium-sized  bedrooms. 

JNIr.  Massie  was  an  exceedingly  progressive  and  ener- 
getic man.  He  brought  water  to  the  yard  by  underground 
pipes  from  a  spring  higher  in  the  mountain,  and  a  constant 
flow  of  pure  cold  water  gushes  from  a  hydrant  near  the 
kitchen. 

Mr.  Massie  was  married  four  times:  first,  to  Miss  Sally 
Steptoe,  of  Bedford  County;  second,  to  ISIiss  Wyatt,  of 
Lynchburg;  third,  to  Miss  Clark,  of  Campbell  County, 
and  fourth,  to  Miss  Maria  C.  Etfinger,  of  Harrisonburg, 
Virginia.  He  died  at  "  Pharsalia  "  and  is  buried  at  "  Level 
Green." 

Though  in  the  mountains  and  out  of  the  general  track, 
it  sufi^ered  greatly  from  raids  during  the  War  between  the 
States.  Fire  was  put  under  "  Pharsalia  "  house  in  three 
places,  but  the  cook  discovered  and  extinguished  the  flames. 

Fortunateljr  most  of  the  silver  was  buried.  jNIuch  of  it 
remained  so  long  buried  that  the  exact  spots  were  for- 
gotten, and  some  of  it  was  not  unearthed  until  several 
years  after  the  war.''* 

IONIA 

Ionia,  the  home  of  Major  James  Watson,  in  the  fertile 
and  beautiful  "  Greenspring  neighborhood,"  in  Louisa 
County,  was  built  about  the  year  1770.  The  Virginia 
author.  Doctor  George  W.  Bagby,  while  a  guest  at  Hawk- 
wood,  the  Morris  home  a  fe^  miles  away,  visited  Ionia  with 
his  hostess  (Mrs.  R.  O.  Morris,  Major  Watson's  grand- 
daughter), leaving  for  future  generations  a  charming  pen- 
picture  of  this  old  homestead. 

Says  Doctor  Bagby,  "  At  Mrs.  Morris's  suggestion  we 
made  a  hurried  visit  to  Ionia,  a  gem,  the  cunningest  old 

^*  Massie  family:  William  and  Mary  Quarterly  Magazine,  vol. 
xiii,  pp.  196^203  ;  also  vol.  xv,  pp.  125-129. 
14 


210       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

countn'-house  a  heart  could  wish.  Hidden  away  in  a  deep 
yard,  filled  with  ancient  trees,  a  story  and  a  half  high,  it  is 
a  nest  in  which  I  could  be  ven-  happy.  Inside  are  corner 
cupboards  and  other  quaint  furnitui-e,  including  a  rare 
old  claw-footed  mahogany  table  and  the  two  oldest  mirrors 
in  Virginia.  At  Ionia  5lrs.  ]Morris  knew  the  roses  and 
ffladness  of  life.    Xo  wonder  she  exclaimed  as  we  drove  off : 


lOMA,  LOUISA  COUNTY 

'  I  would  not  exchange  it  for  a  palace.'  Xor  would  I,  for 
nowhere  in  all  Virginia  have  I  found  so  quaint  and  dear  a 
house." 

In  1845  Doctor  George  Watson,  a  distinguished  phy- 
sician of  Richmond,  inherited  Ionia.  He  long  made  it  his 
summer  home,  and  at  his  death  bequeathed  it  to  his  daugh- 
ter, JNIrs.  Robert  S.  Archer,  also  of  Richmond,  who  still 
owns  it. 

BR  AC  RETT'S 

Not  far  from  Ionia  is  Brackett's,  whose  name  came 
from  an  early  owTier  of  the  land  who,  having  built  a  small 
house  there,  sold  his  holdings  to  INIajor  James  Watson,  of 
Ionia.  Major  Watson  gave  Brackett's  to  his  son,  JNIajor 
David  Watson,  about  1800.     The  latter  greatly  enlarged 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      211 

and  improved  the  house,  for  years  making  his  home  there. 
David  Watson  was  a  person  of  note:  a  man  of  letters 
and  verj^  public  spirited.  He  represented  Louisa  County 
in  the  Legislature  and  was  an  early  member  of  the  Board 
of  Visitors  of  the  University  of  Virginia.  It  is  said  that 
he  walked  with  Jefferson,  Madison  and  Monroe  at  the  head 
of  a  procession  at  the  opening  of  the  university.  His  name 
appears  among  those  of  "  the  Visitors "   signed  to  the 


BRACKETT'S,  LOUISA  COUNTY 

minutes  of  their  meetings  between  the  names  of  Jefferson 
and  Madison. 

David  Watson  married  Salh%  daughter  of  Garrett 
Minor,  a  person  so  capable  as  to  warrant  her  description 
as  a  "  Napoleon  of  a  woman."  She  reared  at  Brackett's 
not  only  a  large  family  of  her  own  but  also  many  orphans 
of  her  connection. 

Brackett's  passed  from  David  and  Sally  Watson  to 
their  son  Thomas,  who  was  not  unlike  his  father  in  his 
literary  taste.  He,  too,  made  additions  to  the  house,  and, 
marrying  his  cousin  Elizabeth  JNIorris,  of  "  Sylvania,"  had 
a  number  of  children.  At  his  death,  however,  there  was 
but  a  single  surviving  son,  and  as  he  lost  his  only  child, 
this  branch  of  the  house  of  Watson  is  destined  to  become 
extinct. 


21^2       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

In  the  AVar  between  the  States  scions  of  this  race  cov- 
ered their  name  with  glory.  David  Watson  was  a  major 
of  artillery  in  the  Confederate  Army,  and  received  a  death 
wound  in  the  Battle  of  Spottsylvania  Court  House.  The 
JNIagruder  brothers,  five  in  number,  entered  the  Confed- 
erate Anny,  only  one  of  them  surviving  the  war,  and  he 
had  lost  an  arm.  These  gallant  soldiers  were  grandsons 
of  David  and  Sally  Watson. 

At  the  death  of  Thomas  S.  Watson,  Brackett's  was 
sold  to  ]Mr.  H.  C.  Beattie,  of  Richmond,  who  sold  it  to 
]Mr.  Carl  Nolting,  the  present  owner. 

WEST  END 

West  End  was  the  conception  of  ]Mrs.  Susan  Dabney 
(]Morris)  Watson,  widow  of  13r.  James  Watson,  the  eldest 
son  of  Major  David  and  Sally  (]Minor)  Watson.  Dr. 
and  JNIrs.  Watson  lived  at  Brackett's,  ISIajor  David  Wat- 
son's home,  during  the  years  of  their  married  life,  while 
]Mrs.  Watson  and  her  two  children  continued  to  reside 
there  after  her  husband's  death  until  she  went  to  Rich- 
mond for  the  purpose  of  educating  them. 

West  End  was  finished  in  184.0.  The  site  of  the  planta- 
tion was  a  portion  of  Brackett's  inlierited  by  Dr.  Watson, 
with  additions  made  by  purchase  of  adjoining  land.  The 
site  was  only  a  field  when  ]Mrs.  Watson  undertook  the 
work  of  laying  oiF  the  grounds  and  building  the  attractive 
home.  The  trees  which  beautify  the  lawn,  in  pleasant 
variety,  were  planted  under  her  direction  and  the  lawn  was 
enclosed  with  an  osage  orange  hedge.  Around  the  house 
were  set  innumerable  rose  bushes  and  other  shrubs.  jNIrs. 
Watson  designed  and  planted  a  pretty  flower  garden  and 
beyond  that  a  vegetable  garden  in  which  grape  vines,  fruit 
trees,  currant  and  gooseberry  bushes  and  the  like  were 
effectively  arranged. 

INIrs.  Watson,  reserving  the  homestead  and  grounds 
for  herself,  divided  this  estate  after  the  marriage  of  her 
daughter  INIary  jNIinor  Watson  to  Henry  Taylor,  of  West- 
moreland Countv.     The  divisions  were  called  East  End 


RICHMOND  AND  THE  UPPER  JAMES      21.'} 

and  West  End.  The  former  was  allotted  Mrs.  Taylor, 
the  latter  to  David  Watson,  the  only  son.  The  condition 
under  which  Mrs.  Watson  gave  the  parts  of  the  estate  to 
her  children  was  that  they  should  furnish  her  with  various 
supplies. 

The  War  between  the  States  came  on  and  David 
Watson  enlisted  in  the  Richmond  Howitzers.  He  was  a 
gallant  soldier  and  had  reached  the  rank  of  major  when 


HHJ^^^mB^^^^ 

. 

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i^^Hn^  ' 

WEST  END,  LOUISA  COUNTY 

he  received  a  fatal  wound  in  the  Battle  of  Spottsylvania 
Court  House.  Suffering  a  great  shock  from  his  tragic 
death,  Mrs.  Watson  survived  him  only  a  few  j^ears. 

After  David  Watson's  death,  Mrs.  Tajdor  went  to 
live  at  East  End  with  her  mother  and  there  most  of  her 
family  of  nine  children  were  born  and  reared.  The  prop- 
erty still  belongs  to  the  Taylor  family. 

SYLVANIA 

Anne  Watson,  or  Nancy  as  she  was  called,  daughter 
of  Major  James  Watson,  of  Ionia,  married  William  Mor- 
ris, known  as  "  Creek  Billy,"  son  of  William  Morris,  of 
Taylor's  Creek,  Hanover  County.     "  Creek  Billy  "  built 


214       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Sylvania  in  the  Greenspring  neighborhood,  in  Louisa 
County,  about  1790,  naming  it  in  honor  of  his  grandfather, 
Sylvanus  Morris. 

WiUiam  and  Anne  (Watson)  Morris  had  many  chil- 
dren, and  their  descendants  are  to  be  found  in  every  part 
of  the  United  States.  Among  the  most  notable  of  these 
are  William  Fontaine,  James  W.  Page  and  Thomas  W. 
Page,  all  three  professors  of  the  University  of  Virginia; 
United  States  Naval  Constructor  Rear  Admiral  D.  W. 
Taylor,  and  Reverend  James  W.  jNIorris,  rector  of  Monu- 
mental Church,  Richmond,  Virginia. 

James  INIorris,  youngest  son  of  William  and  Anne,  in- 
herited Sylvania  and  enlarged  the  house.     His  wife  was 


SYLVANIA,  LOUISA  COUNTY 

Caroline  Smith,  granddaughter  of  Governor  James  Pleas- 
ants of  Virginia.  From  them  Sylvania  descended  to  their 
youngest  son. 

"  In  ante-bellum  days,"  says  one  who  knows,  "  and 
especially  during  the  trying  war  times,  Sylvania  was  noted 
for  its  hospitality  and  many  are  the  Southern  soldiers  who 
will  remember  pleasant  times  spent  under  its  roof." 


PART  IV 

Gloucester  and  the  York  River 
Country 

To  one  familiar  with  the  history,  the  geography 
and  social  life  of  Virginia,  there  is  a  fascination 
about  the  very  name  of  Gloucester.  A  near 
neighbor  of  Jamestown,  Williamsburg,  and 
Yorktown,  the  old  county  is  second  only  to  them  in 
memories   of   stirring   scenes    and    days.      Settlement    in 


OLD  WINDMILL,  MATHEWS  COUNTY 

Gloucester  and  in  Mathews  County,  which  was  cut  oiF  from 
Gloucester  after  Colonial  times,  began  before  the  Indian 
Massacre  of  1644,  but  the  country  north  of  York  River, 
then  a  part  of  Charles  River  or  York  County,  was  aban- 
doned for  a  time  through  fear  of  further  trouble  from  the 
Indians,  and  the  actual  period  of  settlement  began  about 
1646.    Not  long  after  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century 

216 


216       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

the  line  of  settlement  passed  to  the  head  of  York  River 
and  gradually  extended  up  its  tributaries,  including  the 
present  counties  of  New  Kent,  King  William,  King  and 
Queen  and  Hanover,  which  with  Gloucester  and  Mathews 
are  included  in  this  chapter. 

Gloucester  is  bounded  upon  one  side  by  the  York  River, 
while  from  another,  broad  inlets,  known  as  the  North,  the 
Ware  and  the  Severn  Rivers,  run  like  fingers  up  into  the 
land  from  JNIobjack  Bay — an  arm  of  the  Chesapeake. 
Though  the  county  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  Virginia,  very 
few  of  its  Colonial  houses  remain;  many  of  them  have 
been  replaced  by  simple  modern  cottages,  and  others  by 
more  imposing,  but  still  frankly  modern  residences.  But 
the  soil  is  sacred,  and  even  the  least  ambitious  of  these 
homesteads  nestling  among  beautiful  old  trees,  upon 
lawns  that  slope  down  to  blue  waters  broken  now  and 
then  bj"  the  gleam  of  a  snowj'  sail  and  ruffled  on  breezy 
days  with  white  caps,  make  pictures  whose  charm  can 
neither  be  caught  by  the  camera  nor  described  in  words. 

These  rivers  place  the  homes  within  easj'  reach  of  each 
other  by  sailboat  or  launch,  and  this  accessibility  to  one 
another,  together  with  remoteness  from  the  rest  of  the 
world,  has  kept  the  characteristics  of  pleasant  hearty  "  old 
Virginia  "  days  alive  in  Gloucester,  and  has  developed  in 
the  people  a  passionate  loyalty  to  home  and  section. 

TIMBERNECK 

Upon  the  Gloucester  shore,  opposite  Ringfield,  an 
ample,  rambling,  old  homestead  gazes  upon  the  York. 

This  is  Timberneck,  where  in  an  earlier  house  the 
Mann  family  lived.  Marj^  Mann,  born  at  Timberneck  in 
1672,  the  only  child  and  heiress  of  John  Mann  ( 1631-1694 ) 
of  England  and  Virginia,  married  Mathew  Page  (1659- 
1703),  son  of  Colonel  John  Page  (1627-1691-2),  the  first 
of  his  family  in  Virginia,  and  the  couple  took  up  their 
abode  at  Timberneck.  They  named  their  only  surviving 
son  INIann,  and  the  name  has  been  handed  down  in  the 
Page  and  related  families  ever  since,  so  that  though  the 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


217 


family  name  of  these  Manns  died  out  with  the  immigrant, 
as  a  sm-name,  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago,  it  has  been 
borne  as  a  Christian  name  by  manj'  descendants  in  every 
generation  since. 

After  the  Revolution  the  Timberneck  plantation  passed 
to  the  Catlett  family,  who  built  the  present  house  and  have 


TIMBERNECK,  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 


occupied  it  for  five  generations.  They  are  descended  from 
Mary  (1698-1703-4),  wife  of  John  Mann,  by  her  first 
marriage  with  Edmund  Berkeley,  of  Gloucester  County. 
Tombs,  bearing  arms  of  John  Mann  and  Mary,  his  wife, 
may  still  be  seen  at  Timberneck. 

POWHATAN'S  CHIMNEY 

Upon  the  Timberneck  estate,  just  across  Timberneck 
Creek,  from  the  homestead,  long  stood  a  huge  old,  mas- 
sively built,  stone  chimney.  Tradition  from  so  early  a  date 
that  the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the  contrary  has 
insisted  that  here  was  the  site  of  Werowocomoco,  the  favor- 
ite residence  of  Powhatan;  that  here  the  Princess  Poca- 


218       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

hontas  saved  the  life  of  Captain  John  Smith,  and  that  this 
chimney  belonged  to  the  house  which  the  English  colonists 
sent  Dutchmen  to  Werowocomoco  to  build  for  the  Indian 
king. 

The  accuracy  of  this  tradition  has  been  lately  disputed 
by  some  writers,  but  the  chimney  was  evidently  of  great 
age,  and  was,  to  say  the  least,  a  striking  and  interesting 
relic.     Both  Bishop  JNIeade  and  the  historian  Campbell 


POWHATAN'S  CHIMNEY,  TISIBERXECK  CREEK 

visited  it  and  described  it  in  their  works.  Campbell  says: 
"  The  chimney  stands  on  an  eminence  and  is  conspicuous 
from  every  quarter  of  the  bay,  and  itself  a  monumental 
evidence  of  no  inconsiderable  import ...  In  the  early  days 
of  the  annals  of  Virginia,  Werowocomoco  is  second  only 
to  Jamestown  in  historical  and  romantic  interest ;  as  James- 
town was  the  seat  of  the  English  settlers,  so  Werowocomoco 
was  the  favorite  residence  of  the  Indian  monarch,  Pow- 

Werowocomoco  was  a  befitting  seat 


hatan."     He  adds. 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY  219 

of  the  great  Chief,  overlooking  the  bay,  with  its  bold,  pic- 
turesque, wood-crowned  banks,  and  in  view  of  the  wide, 
majestic  flood  of  the  river,  empurpled  by  transient  cloud- 
shadows,  or  tinged  with  the  rosy  splendor  of  a  summer 
sunset." 

Bishop  Meade,  who  carefully  examined  the  chimney, 
was  satisfied  that  it  was  the  one  built  for  Powhatan.  He 
says:  "  The  fireplace  was  8  feet  4  inches  wide,  that  is  the 
opening  to  receive  the  wood,  and  4  feet  deep  and  more 
than  6  feet  high,  so  that  the  tallest  man  might  walk  into 
it  and  a  number  of  men  might  sit  within  it  around  the  fire. 
I  inspected  the  only  crack  which  was  to  be  seen  outside  of 
the  wall,  something  which  showed  that  the  material  was 
of  no  ordinary  kind  of  stone,  but  like  that  of  which  the  old 
church  of  York  was  built — viz.,  marl  out  of  the  bank,  which 
only  hardens  by  fire  and  exposure,  a  particular  kind  of 
marl  composed  of  shells  which  abound  on  some  of  the  high 
banks  of  York  River. ...  It  is  impossible  to  say  how  many 
generations  of  log  and  frame  rooms  have  been  built  to  the 
celebrated  chimney." 

Massive  and  stout  as  this  relic  of  the  far  past  seemed, 
and  many  as  had  been  the  storms  which  had  beat  upon  it 
and  left  it  unharmed,  it  has  within  the  past  few  years 
tumbled  to  the  ground,  but  the  Association  for  the  Pres- 
ervation of  Virginia  Antiquities  has  on  foot  plans  looking 
toward  its  restoration. 

ROSE  WELL 

Upon  the  left  bank  of  York  River,  across  Carter's 
Creek  from  Werowocomoco,  stands,  in  a  state  of  partial 
decay,  Rosewell,  the  lordliest  mansion  of  the  time  when 
Colonial  Virginia  was  baronial  Virginia. 

Some  time  after  the  marriage  of  Honorable  Matthew 
Page  (1659-1703)  ,^  of  the  King's  Council,  to  Mary  Mann, 
of  Timberneck,  the  couple  removed  to  Rosewell,  where 

^  Page,  The  Genealogy  of  the  Page  Family. 


220       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

they  lived  in  a  simple  wooden  dwelling  that  then  stood  upon 
that  plantation.  In  1725  their  only  son,  Mann  Page  I 
(1691-1730)  of  Rosewell,  whom  the  combined  fortunes 
of  the  Page  and  ^lann  families  had  made  extremely  rich, 
built  the  present  mansion.  It  was  constructed  in  the  most 
massive  style,  of  brick  with  white  marble  casements.  There 
was  a  great  square,  thick-walled,  high-chimneyed,  central 
building,  flanked  by  wings — since  torn  down — which 
formed  a  court  and  which  gave  the  house  a  frontage  of 
two  hundred  and  thirty-two  feet.  The  central  building 
stands  three  stories  above  a  high  basement  and  is  capped 
by  a  cupola.  It  contains  three  wide  halls,  nine  passages, 
and  twenty-three  rooms  and  the  wings  had  six  rooms  each. 
Externally  Rosewell  house  is  severely  plain,  but  with  its 
ample  proportions  and  its  splendid  brickwork,  the  absence 
of  ornament  makes  it  the  more  impressive. 

In  striking  contrast  to  this  outside  simplicity,  was  the 
interior,  where,  upon  crossing  the  threshold  of  the  main 
entrance,  the  visitor  found  himself  at  once  in  a  great  hall 
panelled  with  polished  mahogany  into  which  swept  down, 
with  generous  and  graceful  curve,  the  grand  stairway 
which  eight  persons  could  comfortably  ascend  abreast,  and 
whose  mahogany  balustrade  was  carved  by  hand  to  repre- 
sent baskets  of  fruits  and  flowers. 

Not  long  did  the  builder  of  this  princely  Virginia  castle 
live  to  enjo}'  it.  Five  j'ears  after  it  was  begun,  and  before 
it  was  entirely  finished,  his  body  lay  in  state  in  the  hall 
which  he  had  so  gorgeously  adorned  and  the  mansion  de- 
signed for  a  pleasure  house  was  a  house  of  mourning. 
Bishop  ]Meade,  in  his  Old  Churches  and  Families,  quaintly 
comments  upon  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  vanity  and 
wickedness  of  a  man's  "  misspending  "  his  fortunes  upon 
so  magnificent  an  abode  for  himself  and  family,  and  sug- 
gests that  INIann  Page's  untimely  death  was  direct  punish- 
ment from  Heaven  for  such  folly. 

The  first  master  of  Rosewell  had  been  twice  married: 
first  to  Judith  ( 1694-1716) ,  daughter  of  Honorable  Ralph 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY  223 

Wormeley(  1650-1 700)  of  "Rosegill,"  Middlesex  County,^ 
who  is  described,  in  Latin,  upon  the  "  Monument  of  grief  " 
erected  by  her  husband  in  the  Rosewell  burying-ground, 
"  as  a  most  excellent  and  choice  lady  ...  a  most  affection- 
ate wife,  the  best  of  mothers  and  an  upright  mistress  of  her 
family,  in  whom  the  utmost  gentleness  was  united  with  the 
most  graceful  suavity  of  manners  and  conversation." 

After  Mann  Page's  own  death  a  splendid  tomb  of 
carved  marble  emblazoned  with  the  Page  arms  was 
"  piously  erected  to  his  memory  by  his  mournfully  sur- 
viving lady  " — his  second  wife,  who  was  Judith,  daughter 
of  Robert  ("  King  ")  Carter,  of  Corotoman,  and  who  was 
the  mother  of  his  son,  Mann  Page  II — the  heir  of  Rosewell. 

This  second  ]\Iann  Page,  of  Rosewell,  was  also  twice 
married:  first  to  Ahce  Grymes,^  and  after  her  death  to 
Ann  Corbin  Tayloe.  His  first  wife,  Alice  (1724-1746), 
who  was  the  daughter  of  Honorable  John  Grymes  (1693- 
1748),  of  the  Council,  was  the  mother  of  the  next  master 
of  Rosewell — ^John  Page  (1744-1808),  scholar,  Revolu- 
tionary patriot,  member  of  Congress  and  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  one  of  the  best  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished men  of  his  time.  His  contemporaries  were  so 
impressed  with  his  lofty  character  and  earnest  piety,  that 
it  is  said  they  wished  to  make  him  bishop  of  Virginia, 
though  he  had  never  studied  for  the  ministry. 

While  a  student  at  William  and  ]\Iary  College,  Gov- 
ernor Page  formed  an  intimacy  with  Thomas  Jefferson, 
which  continued  throughout  his  life,  and  it  was  to  his  chum 
John  Page,  of  Rosewell,  that  the  letters  of  the  love-lorn 
Jefferson  were  addressed,  describing  the  hardness  of  heart 
of  his  fair  "  Belinda."  Doubtless  Jefferson  often  enjoyed 
the  hospitality  of  Rosewell  and  tradition  says  that  it  was  in 
the  cupola  on  the  top  of  the  house  that  he  drafted  the 

^  Wormeley  family:  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biog- 
raphy, vii,  283-284;  viii,  179-183. 

^  Grymes  family:  The  Critic  (Richmond,  Va.),  August  18  and 
September  1,  1889. 


ou       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Declaration  of  Independence,  reading  and  discussing  it 
with  his  host,  before  going  to  Philadelphia.  Truly  an 
inspiring  place  for  the  composition  of  a  great  state  paper, 
with  its  wide  view  of  sky,  river  and  country,  and  if  the 
story  be  true,  there  is  something  jioetic  in  the  thought  that 
from  tliis  little  observatory  the  author  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  could  descry  the  soon-to-be  historic  Xel- 
son  House  at  Yorktown,  fifteen  miles  away. 

In  a  letter  from  Governor  Page,  attending  Congress, 
in  Xew  York,  to  his  son  "  Bobby,"  at  Rosewell,  the  proud 
metropolis  is  thus  described: 

"  This  town  is  not  half  so  large  as  Philadelphia,  nor 
in  any  manner  to  be  compared  to  it  for  beauty  and  elegance. 
Philadelphia  I  am  well  assured  has  more  inhabitants  than 
Boston  and  Xew  York  put  together.  The  streets  here 
(X.  Y.)  are  badly  paved,  very  dirty  and  narrow  as  well  as 
crooked,  and  filled  up  with  a  strange  variety  of  wooden, 
stone  and  brick  buildings  and  full  of  hogs  and  mud.  The 
CoUege,  St.  Paul's  Church  and  the  Hospital  are  elegant 
buildings.  The  Federal  Hall  also,  in  which  Congress  is 
to  sit,  is  elegant."  He  further  says  that  all  the  drinking 
water  in  Xew  York  is  gotten  from  wells — "  Four  carts  are 
continually  going  about  selling  it  at  three  gallons  for  a 
copper;  that  is  a  penny  for  every  three  gallons  of  water." 

Governor  Page  died  in  1808,  after  which  time,  though 
Rosewell  was  still  owned  by  the  Pages,  it  was  very  seldom 
occupied  by  them.  In  1838,  it  was  sold  to  one  Booth, 
whose  chief  object  in  becoming  the  owner  of  the  proud 
old  pile  seemed  to  be  to  bring  humiliation  upon  it  and  to 
make  as  nuich  money  as  possible  out  of  it.  The  venerable 
cedars  that  formed  the  avenue  from  the  door  to  the  river 
were  sold  to  make  tubs.  The  mahogany  wainscoting  was 
stripped  from  the  walls  and  sold,  as  also  the  lead  that  cov- 
ered the  roof.  The  carved  mahogany  stairway  was  white- 
washed. Even  the  bricks  from  the  graveyard  wall  and 
from  the  tombs  themselves  were  converted  into  cash.  This 
Booth,  who  had  paid  $12,000.00 — a  mere  song  for  such  an 
estate — for  Rosewell,  after  making  about  $35,000.00  by  the 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY  225 

work  of  demolition,  sold  it  for  $22,000.00.  It  became  the 
property  of  the  Deans  family  of  Gloucester,  in  1855,  and 
is  now  the  residence  of  Judge  Fielding  Lewis  Taylor  and 
his  wife,  who  was  Miss  Deans. 

SHELLY 

Shelly  plantation,  adjoining  Rosewell  and  originally  a 
part  of  it,  is  still  owned  by  the  Pages.  Its  pretty  and 
unique  name  was  suggested  by  the  great  bed  of  oyster- 
shells  upon  its  shore,  which,  says  Bishop  Meade,  "  indicate 
it  to  have  been  a  great  place  of  resort  among  the  natives." 
Shelly  was  long  believed  to  have  been  the  site  of  Pow- 
hatan's residence,  Werowocomoco. 

CARTER'S  CREEK 

About  two  miles  above  Rosewell,  upon  Carter's  Creek, 
stood  until  a  few  years  ago,  when  it  was,  unhappily,  de- 
stroyed bj^  fire,  the  early  seat  of  the  Burwell  family  *  of 
Virginia.  Its  original  name  was  Fairfield,  but  it  was  later 
called  after  the  stream  that  washed  its  shores,  and  as 
Carter's  Creek  it  was  longest  known. 

Architecturally,  Carter's  Creek  House  was  unique 
among  Virginia  mansions.  Instead  of  the  eighteenth 
century  type  which,  though  with  many  variations,  was 
almost  universal  among  brick  dwellings  in  the  colony,  it 
followed  the  fashion  of  an  earlier  date  and  resembled  the 
smaller  English  manor  houses  of  the  sixteenth  or  seven- 
teenth century.  It  consisted  of  a  main  building  with  a 
wing  extending  back  at  right  angles  at  each  end.  One  of 
these  wings  was  burned,  or  torn  away,  long  ago,  though 
its  foundation  can  still  be  traced ;  the  other  contained  a  very 
large  room  known  traditionally  as  "  the  ball  room." 

There  was  a  spacious  basement  whose  ceiling  was  sup- 
ported by  heavy  brick  arches.  In  the  middle  of  this  base- 
ment, entirely  detached  from  the  outer  walls,  was  a  small, 
thick-walled  room,  something  like  a  modern  bank  vault, 

*  Burwell  family :  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  vii,  p.  44  et  seq. 
15 


226       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

which  was  doubtless  vised  as  a  safe  for  valuables.  How 
handsomely  some  of  the  rooms  m  the  house  had  been 
finished  was  shoAvn  by  fragments  of  marble  mantels  found 
in  the  basement  when  the  deserted  old  house  was  in  a  state 
of  decay.  The  small  windows  and  clustered  chimneys  were 
unlike  those  in  most  houses  to  be  seen  in  Colonial  Virginia 
and  contributed  largely  to  the  extremely  quaint  appearance 
of  the  house. 

Carter's  Creek  was  undoubtedly  the  oldest  looking, 
though  not  the  oldest  mansion  in  Virginia.  Upon  one  of 
its  gables  was  in  iron  figures  the  date  1692  and,  also  in 
iron,  the  letters  L.  A.  B. — the  initials  of  Lewis  and  Abigail 
Burwell.  In  the  year  1648,  Lewis  Burwell,  first  of  his 
family  in  Virginia,  patented  2350  acres  on  the  south  side  of 
Rosewell  Creek,  as  Carter's  Creek  was  then  called.  His 
wife,  Lucy,  was,  according  to  her  epitaph,  "  the  only  child 
of  the  valiant  Captain  Robert  Higginson,  one  of  the  first 
commanders  that  subdued  the  countrj^  of  Virginia  from 
the  power  of  the  heathen." 

From  this  couple,  the  Carter's  Creek  plantation  de- 
scended to  their  son  Lewis  (died  1710),  who  upon  his 
marriage  with  Abigail  Smith  (1656-1692),  niece  and 
heiress  of  President  Nathaniel  Bacon,'  acquired  a  great 
estate  in  York  County,  upon  which  he  seems  to  have  lived 
most  of  the  time,  though  he  probably  built  the  Carter's 
Creek  mansion. 

That  he  was  a  prominent  as  well  as  a  rich  man  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Council 
of  State.  From  him  Carter's  Creek  passed  to  his  son, 
Nathaniel  Burwell,  who  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Robert  ("King")  Carter,  and  was  the  father  of  Lewis 
Burwell  (1710-1752),  third  of  the  name,  who  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Council  and  acting  governor  of  Virginia,  and 
was  the  next  heir  of  the  Carter's  Creek  estate. 

President  Lewis  Burwell  was  educated  at  Cambridge, 

^  For  an  account  of  the  Smiths  and  Bacons  see  Virginia  Maga- 
zine of  History  and  Biography,  ii,  125—129. 


CARTER'S  CREEK  (FAIRFIELD),  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 


GREEN  PLAINS,  MATHEWS  COUNTY 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY  229 

and  was  noted  for  his  learning.  His  daughter,  Rebecca, 
was  one  of  the  belles  and  beauties  of  the  daj^,  and  her 
charms  drew  many  suitors  to  Carter's  Creek.  Thomas 
Jefferson  and  Jacqueline  Ambler  (1742-1798)  were 
desperately  in  love  with  her  during  their  college  days  at 
William  and  Mary,  and,  in  spite  of  Jefferson's  ardent 
wooing,  she  finally  gave  her  hand  to  Ambler.  Jefferson 
fantastically  called  her  "  Belinda,"  and  bj^  this  name  refers 
to  her  in  his  letters  to  John  Page.  In  one  of  these  letters 
he  says:  "  In  the  most  melancholy  fit  that  ever  any  poor 
soul  was,  I  sit  down  to  write  to  you.  Last  night,  as  merry 
as  agreeable  company  and  dancing  with  Belinda  in  the 
Apollo  could  make  me,  I  never  could  have  thought  the 
succeeding  sun  would  have  seen  me  so  wretched  as  I  now 
am.  I  was  prepared  to  say  a  great  deal.  I  had  dressed  up 
in  my  own  mind  such  thoughts  as  occurred  to  me  in  as 
moving  language  as  ever  I  knew  how,  and  expected  to 
have  performed  in  a  tolerably  creditable  manner."  But  he 
adds,  "  When  I  had  an  opportunity  of  venting  them  a  few 
broken  sentences  uttered  in  great  disorder,  and  interrupted 
with  pauses  of  uncommon  length,  were  the  too  visible 
marks  of  my  strange  confusion." 

In  another  letter  to  Page,  he  says,  "  If  Belinda  will 
not  accept  my  services  they  shall  never  be  offered  to 
another."  However,  after  events  prove  that  he  "  got 
over  it." 

As  Mrs.  Jacqueline  Ambler,  the  fair  Rebecca  Burwell, 
of  Carter's  Creek,  made  a  charming  matron  and  passed 
many  of  her  graces  on  to  a  bevy  of  attractive  daughters 
who  married  prominent  men  of  their  day.  One  of  them, 
Mary  Willis  Ambler  (1766-1831) ,  became  the  wife  of  the 
brilliant  young  lawj^er  who  was  later  to  win  national  f  am^ 
as  Chief  Justice  John  Marshall. 

President  Lewis  Burwell's  son  Lewis,  the  next  master 
of  Carter's  Creek,  was  educated  in  England  at  Eton  and 
the  Inns  of  Court,  in  spite  of  which  he  espoused  the  cause 
of  American  Independence  in  the  struggle  which  began 
soon  after  his  return  to  Virginia,  and  was  a  zealous  mem- 


230       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

ber  of  the  Revolutionary  Conventions.  He  married  Judith, 
daughter  of  INIann  Page  II,  and  has  manj^  descendants. 

In  the  time  of  the  sons  of  this  Lewis  Burwell  IV  and 
last,  of  Carter's  Creek,  the  estate  passed  from  the  family 
that  had  so  long  held  it  and  for  many  years  before  its 
destruction  was  in  a  state  of  ruin. 

Not  far  from  Carter's  Creek  House,  in  the  Burwell 
family  burying-ground,  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
collections  of  tombs  in  Virginia,  one  of  them  dating  as  early 
as  1654.  After  the  house  was  burned  it  became  evident 
that  steps  must  be  taken  to  preserve  these  from  total  de- 
struction. They  were  already  in  a  sadly  dilapidated  state, 
but  in  1912,  through  the  efforts  of  j^lrs.  Sally  Nelson 
Robins,  assisted  by  members  of  the  Burwell  connection, 
monuments  and  remains  of  those  to  whom  they  were  erected 
were  removed  to  Abingdon  Churchyard,  where  now  this 
beautiful  and  impressive  group  of  tombs,  rebuilt  and  re- 
stored, ma}'  be  seen. 

ISLEHAM 

One  of  the  loveliest  of  Gloucester's  lovely  rivers  is  the 
North,  along  each  bank  of  which  homesteads  lie  close  upon 
one  another,  suggesting  the  street  of  a  rural  Venice. 

The  first  plantation  to  be  passed  upon  entering  this 
river  is  Isleham,  in  what  is  now  Mathews  County,  the 
seat  of  Sir  John  Peyton  (circa  1720-1790),  one  of  the 
few  baronets  who  made  his  home  in  Colonial  Virginia.'^  Sir 
John  was  an  officer  in  the  Gloucester  militia  during  the 
Revolutionary  War  and  was  devoted  to  the  cause  of 
American  Independence. 

The  old  house  at  Isleham  has  long  since  disappeared. 

GREEN  PLAINS 

A  little  farther  on,  the  beautiful  Green  Plains  lawn, 
cool  with  the  shade  of  century-old  elms,  slopes  down  to 
the  river.     The  architecture  of  the  mansion  is  Colonial, 

"^  An  account  of  Sir  John  Peyton  and  his  descendants  is  given 
in  Hayden,  Virginia  Genealogies,  pp.  475—479. 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY  231 

though  it  dates  only  to  1802,  and  its  wide  halls  and  spacious 
rooms,  with  their  high  carved  mantels  and  deep  window- 
seats,  make  it  as  charming  within  as  without.  It  was  built 
by  James  H.  Roy,  who  had  married,  a  few  years  before, 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  George  Booth,  of  Belleville,  on  the 
opposite  side,  and  a  little  farther  up  the  river. 

JNIr.  Roy  was  the  son  of  Mungo  Roy,  of  Locust  Grove, 
Caroline  County,  whose  father.  Dr.  Mungo  Roy,  of  Scot- 
land, was  the  first  of  the  Roy  family  to  settle  in  Virginia. 
He  represented  Mathews  County  in  the  House  of  Dele- 
gates in  1818-1819.  He  was  succeeded  as  master  of  Green 
Plains  bj'  his  son,  William  Henry  Roy,  who  also  repre- 
sented Mathews  County  in  the  Legislature  in  1832-1834, 
and  who  was  twice  married:  first,  to  Anne,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Seddon,  of  Fredericksburg,  and,  after  her  death, 
to  Euphan,  daughter  of  John  Macrae,  of  Park  Gate, 
Prince  William  County.  By  his  first  marriage  Mr.  Roy 
was  the  father  of  Mrs.  John  C.  Rutherfoord,  of  Rock 
Castle,  and  Mrs  Thomas  H.  Carter,  of  Pampatike;  and 
bjr  his  second,  of  Mrs.  Washington  and  Mrs.  Goldsbor- 
ough,  of  INIaryland,  and  Mrs.  H.  INIcKendree  Boyd,  the 
present  mistress  of  Green  Plains. 

POPLAR  GROVE 

Poplar  Grove  also  lies  in  that  part  of  old  Gloucester 
County  which  now  bears  the  name  of  Mathews.  It  was 
built  over  a  century  ago  by  Mr.  John  Patterson,^  who  was 
an  Englishman  by  birth,  but  who,  during  the  Revolution, 
warmly  espoused  the  cause  of  American  freedom.  When 
he  planned  his  house,  feeling  between  the  Whig  and  Tory 
parties  ran  high  and  he  beautified  the  grounds  with  num- 
bers of  Lombardy  poplars,  the  party  symbol  of  the  Whigs, 
and  gave  the  place  the  name  of  Poplar  Grove. 

This  charming  old  homestead  was  a  noted  social  centre 
during  the  time  of  Mr.  Patterson  and  of  his  daughters, 
Mrs.  Thomas  Robinson  Yeatman,  of  Isleham,  and  Mrs. 

^  Patterson  family  :  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  xiii,  174-175. 


232       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Christopher  Tompkins.  Here  was  born  and  grew  to 
womanhood  the  famous  "  Captain  "  Sally  Tompkins,  one 
of  the  most  beloved  and  widely  known  of  Virginia's  daugh- 


POPLAR  GROVE,  MATHEWS  COUNTY 


TIDE  SIILL  AT  POPLAR  GROVE 


ters.  During  the  War  between  the  States  she  devoted  her 
fortune,  her  time  and  her  strength  to  nursing  the  sick  and 
wounded  soldiers  at  the  hospitals  in  the  Capital  of  the  Con- 
federacy, and  in  order  that  she  might  go  and  come  with 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


233 


greater  freedom  and  have  the  authoritj^  to  order  supphes 
as  she  needed  them  for  her  work,  General  Lee  made  her 
a  regularly  commissioned  captain. 

Poplar  Grove  was  long  the  residence  of  Judge  G. 
Taylor  Garnett. 

DITCHLEY 

Just  opposite  Green  Plains  is  Ditchley,  built  by  Dr. 
J.  Prosser  Tabb,  to  succeed  an  earlier  house — the  home- 
stead of  the  Singleton  familj^  Mrs.  Tabb  was  related  to 
the  Lees  and  named  her  home  after  the  Ditchley  owned  by 
them  in  Northumberland  Comity. 

Ditchlej^  is  now  the  residence  of  Mr.  William  Ashby 
Jones. 


AUBURN,  IIATHKWS  COUNTY 

AUBURN 

Next  above  and  adjoining  Green  Plains,  Auburn  looks 
out  upon  the  river  from  a  setting  of  grassy  lawn  and 
spreading  elm.  It  was  long  one  of  the  homesteads  of  the 
Tabb  family  so  numerous  and  well  known  in  this  section, 


234       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

and  was  built  during  the  last  century  by  Mr.  Philip  Tabb, 
of  Toddsbury,  for  his  son,  Dr.  Henry  Tabb. 

Auburn  is  now  the  home  of  INIr.  Charles  Heath. 

BELLEVILLE 

Across  the  river  from  Auburn  is  Belleville,  the  ancient 
seat  of  the  Booths,  formerly  a  prominent  family  of  the 


BELLEVILLE.  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 

county,  and  passing  from  them  to  their  descendants, 
the  Taliaferros.  The  house  was  built  bj'  Thomas  Booth 
before  the  Revolution,  but  it  has  been  remodelled  and  en- 
larged by  its  present  owner,  Mr.  A.  A.  Blow.  He  added 
a  pillared  portico. 

Some  of  the  old  Booth  tombs,  bearing  arms,  still  re- 
main in  the  family  burying-ground. 

DUNHAM  MASSIE 

Fannie  Booth,  heiress  of  Belleville,  gave  her  hand  to 
Warner  Taliaferro,  and  was  the  mother  of  the  gallant 
JNIajor  General  William  Booth  Taliaferro,  of  the  Con- 
federate Army.  Upon  General  Taliaferro's  marriage,  his 
father  built  for  him  the  attractive  home,  but  a  short  dis- 
tance away,  which  he  named  Dunham  Massie  after  the 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


235 


ancient  seat  of  his  ancestors,  the  Booths,  in  England,  and 
which  also  looks  under  the  boughs  of  the  old  trees  that 
shade  and  shelter  it,  upon  North  River. 

From  the  close  of  the  War  between  the  States  until 
General  Taliaferro's  death,  at  a  good  old  age,  no  guest 


DUNHAM  MASSIE,  NORTH  RIVER,  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 

ever  crossed  the  hospitable  Dunham  Massie  threshold  but 
must  needs  pass  under  the  stars  and  bars  of  the  "  con- 
quered banner,"  which  always  hung  in  the  hall  just  over 
the  front  door. 

CHURCH  HILL 

Somewhat  back  from  North  River,  upon  the  road  to 
Gloucester  Court  House  and  near  old  Ware  Church,  stands 
still  another  Taliaferro  homestead — quaint  Church  Hill,  a 
relic  of  early  Colonial  days.  This  was  the  original  seat  of 
the  Throckmortons,*  but  passed  to  the  Taliaferros  by  the 

*  Throckmorton  family :  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  ii,  241— 
a,¥! ;  iii,  46-52, 192-19.5,  240-242  ;  iv,  128-129 ;  v,  54-55  ;  Virginia 
Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  viii,  83-89,  309-312 ;  ix, 
192-194. 


236       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

marriage  of  Dr.  William  Taliaferro  with  two  daughters 
and  co-heiresses  of  the  house  of  Throckmorton. 

The  Throckmortons,  descended  from  the  old  family  of 
Throckmorton,  of  Hail- Weston,  Huntingdonshire,  Eng- 
land, were  long  prominent  in  the  social  and  political  life  of 
Gloucester.  Their  name  is  now  extinct  there,  though 
nmnerously  represented  in  other  parts  of  the  country. 

Church  Hill  is  now  the  property  of  Judge  James 
Lyons  Taliaferro.  Onl}''  one  wing  of  the  original  house 
remains. 

ELMINGTON 

Returning  to  North  River,  we  find,  just  above  Dunham 
Massie,  Elmington,  one  of  the  choicest  estates  in  the  old 
county.    The  mansion  looks  upon  the  river  from  a  setting 


UM 

Snaf'i;*. '. . 

r  i'    J^M 

W^^^d^ 

■h 

H 

B^^^i 

1 

I 

1 

B^H 

^ShhBh 

^H 

H 

ELMINGTON,  NORTH  RIVER,  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 

of  lovely  grounds  and  within  there  are  spacious  rooms 
and  hall,  and  a  wide  stairway  winding  to  an  upper  story 
capped  by  an  observatory. 

During  the  Colonial  period,  the  Elmington  plantation 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


237 


was  the  home  of  the  Whiting  family,  long  prominent  in 
Virginia  as  members  of  "  his  Majesty's  Council  "  and  of 
the  House  of  Burgesses  and  Conventions.  The  present 
house  was  built  by  Dr.  Prosser  Tabb. 

Elmington  has  some  literary  associations.  Soon  after 
the  War  between  the  States,  a  Mr.  Talbot,  who  is  said  to 
have  bought  it  from  the  Tabbs  for  Confederate  money,  sold 
it  to  Colonel  George  Wythe  Munford,  author  of  that 
quaint  and  entertaining  book,  The  Two  Parsons;  later 
Mr.  Virginius  Dabney  made  it  the  scene  of  his  novel  Don 
Miff,  which  was  one  of  the  "  best  sellers  "  of  the  year  in 
which  it  was  issued.  Later  still  it  was  the  home  of  the 
widely  read  and  discussed  novelist,  Thomas  Dixon,  who 
added  a  pillared  portico  to  the  mansion. 


THE  EXCHANGE,  NORTH  RIVER,  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 


THE  EXCHANGE 

Adjoining  Elmington  is  The  Exchange,  the  homestead 
of  Dr.  Dabney,  a  distinguished  physician  of  his  day.    It  is 


238       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

now  owned  and  occupied  by  his  descendants,  the  ]Misses 
Dabnev,  whose  mother  was  a  ]Miss  Tabb,  of  Toddsbuiy. 


ICE-HOUSE  AT  EXCHANGE 


TODDSBURY 


Next  above  The  Exchange  is  Toddsbuiy,  one  of  the 
most  charming  as  well  as  one  of  the  oldest  houses  in 
Gloucester.  On  North  River  and  standing  close  to  the 
water's  edge,  amid  splendid  trees,  the  homestead,  with  its 
gambrel  roof,  quaint  porch-chamber,  and  other  evidences 
of  antiquity,  makes  a  delightful  picture.  The  interior  is 
fulh'  as  interesting,  with  its  panelled  rooms  and  arched  and 
deeply  recessed  windows.  Between  these  windows  and  the 
high  wainscoted  mantels  are  little  cupboards  which  suggest 
hidden  mysteries  and  excite  the  curiosity  to  a  pleasurable 
degree. 

The  house  was  probably  built  by  Thomas  Todd,*  a 
wealthy    merchant     and    planter,     who    married    Anne 

^  Todd  family:  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography, 
iii,  '79—83.  An  interesting  chart  of  the  English  ancestry  of  Ann 
Gorsuch,  wife  of  Thomas  Todd  I,  is  given  Ibid.,  xvii,  292-293. 


* 

^ 

^ 

^^«jA' 

in-  5-     ^__. 

^^H 

I 

K       Hi 

■JT 

'j-  /'  '^* 

!P"""'^  '*«. 

TODDSBURY,  NORTH  RIVER  (FRONT),  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 


TODDSBURY  (REAR) 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY  241 

Gorsuch,  a  niece  of  the  poet  Richard  Lovelace,  and  died 
in  1676.  With  his  great-grandson,  Thomas  Todd,  of 
Toddsbury,  the  male  line  of  his  branch  of  the  family  be- 
came extinct  and  Toddsbury  passed  to  his  grandson's 
nephew,  Philip  Tabb,  who  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Thomas  Todd  Tabb,  who  died  in  1835.  Later  the  estate 
passed  from  the  Tabb  family,  and  is  now  the  residence  of 
the  Motts. 

The  Toddsbury  graveyard,  where  a  wonderful  old  wil- 
low keeps  guard  over  the  last  resting  place  of  numerous 
Todds  and  Tabbs  and  their  kindred,  is  second  only  to  the 
homestead  in  interest.^"  It  contains  more  tombstones, 
perhaps,  than  any  other  family  burying-ground  in  Virginia. 
One  of  these  dates  from  as  early  as  the  year  1703  and  one 
older  still  is  so  worn  that  it  is  impossible  to  decipher  its 
inscription. 

NEWSTEAD 

Upon  part  of  the  old  Toddsbury  estate  is  Newstead, 
built  in  1856  by  John  H.  Tabb  and  now  the  home  of  the 
Misses  Tabb. 

WAVERLY 

Next  above  Newstead  is  Waverly,  a  commodious 
mansion  built  by  Mr.  Philip  Tabb,  of  Toddsbury,  for  his 
son  Edward,  at  about  the  time  he  built  Auburn,  farther 
dovra  the  river,  for  his  son  Dr.  Harry  Tabb. 

Waverly  is  now  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Gerard  Hopkins. 

MIDLOTHIAN 

Near  the  head  of  North  River  stands  quaint  Mid- 
lothian, with  its  steep  roof  and  dormer  windows,  built  by 
Mr.  Josiah  Deans  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago.  It  is  now 
the  home  of  the  Davidsons. 


^"  The  inscriptions  on  the  tombstones  at  Toddsbury  are  pub- 
lished in  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  iii,  \\5  et  seq. 
16 


242       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


WHITE  MARSH 

Inland,  but  in  the  midst  of  ample  and  picturesque 
grounds  lies  fair  White  ]Marsh.  During  the  Colonial 
period  a  branch  of  the  well-known  Whiting  family  owned 
this  plantation,  occupying  an  earlier  homestead.  After 
the  Revolution  it  became  the  property  of  the  distinguished 
la-nyer  Thomas  Reade  Rootes  (1764/5-1824),  and  at  his 
death,  in  1824,  passed  to  his  widow  (who  was  his  second 
wife) ,  who  had  been  a  ]Mrs.  Prosser,  and  who  left  it  to  her 


WHITE  JL\RSH,  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 


daughter  by  her  first  marriage,  Evelina  ]Matilda  Prosser. 
Miss  Prosser  gave  her  hand  and  her  fortune  to  John  Tabb, 
son  of  Philip  Tabb,  of  Toddsbury,  who  with  his  wife's 
estate  added  to  his  own  became  the  wealthiest  man  in 
Gloucester  County. 

Mrs.  Tabb  made  at  White  JNIarsh  a  terraced  garden, 
which  became  famous.  Among  its  unique  and  beautiful 
features  were  arbor-vitae  trees  planted  and  trimmed  to 
form  summer  houses  with  running  roses  climbing  over 
them.    Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tabb's  son  Philip  was  the  next  master 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY  243 

of  White  Marsh,  while  their  son  John  fell  heir  to  Elming- 
ton,  on  North  River. 

Since  it  passed  from  the  Tabbs  White  Marsh  has  had 
several  owners,  one  of  whom,  among  other  changes,  gave 
the  mansion  a  pillared  portico. 

GOSHEN 

Crossing  from  the  North  to  the  Ware  River  region,  we 
find  ourselves  at  Goshen,  a  comfortable  looking  homestead 
in  a  pleasant  yard,  with  a  beautiful  water  view.  Within, 
the  high  mantels  and  other  quaint  details  give  the  big 
square  rooms  an  interesting  air  and  bear  witness  to  a  good 
old  age. 

Goshen  was  the  original  seat  of  the  well-known  Tomp- 
kins family,  of  which  "  Captain  Sally  Tompkins  "  is  a 
member,  but  it  is  now  and  has  been  for  a  long  time  the 
home  of  the  Perrins. 

GLENROY 

Just  opposite  Goshen,  Ware  River  circles  almost 
around  the  grounds  of  the  Glenroy  estate,  making  it  a 
peninsula,  and  giving  it  an  unusually  picturesque  site. 
Tradition  says  that  upon  this  spot  stood  the  earliest 
Colonial  church  in  Gloucester  County,  and  the  story  gains 
color  from  the  fact  that  upon  opposite  sides  of  the  lane 
leading  into  the  place  are  two  fields  known  as  far  back  as 
any  one  can  remember  as  "  the  Church  field  "  and  "  the 
glebe  field,"  and  in  "  the  church  field  "  some  ancient  tombs 
may  still  be  seen.  In  view  of  this  tradition  it  seems  most 
fitting  that  the  Glenroy  plantation  should  have  been  the 
home  of  a  rector  of  the  two  remaining  Colonial  churches 
of  the  county.  Reverend  Armistead  Smith,  a  descendant 
of  the  old  Smith  family  of  Gloucester,  and  of  Honorable 
John  Armistead  of  the  Colonial  Council.  He  married 
Martha  Tabb,  of  Seaford,  Mathews  County,  the  earliest 
seat  of  the  Tabb  family  in  this  region,  and  brought  her  to 
the  old-fashioned  homestead  that  stood  upon  this  river- 


244       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

girt  plantation.  The  house  with  all  the  sweet  associations 
that  cluster  about  the  rectory  of  a  Virginia  country  parish 
was  destroyed  by  fh'e  about  half  a  century  ago,  and  their 
son  and  heir,  Mr.  William  Patterson  Smith,  built  the 
goodly  mansion  which  now  stands  upon  the  Glenroy  lawn 
among  the  spreading  elms  and  towering  poplars. 


GLENROY.  WARE  RIVER 

Mr.  William  Patterson  Smith  married  Marian,  one  of 
the  beauties  of  the  well-known  Virginia  family  of  Seddon, 
and  under  their  rule  the  new  Glenroy  kept  up  the  best 
traditions  of  the  old. 

Glenroy  is  now  the  residence  of  Dr.  W.  R.  Jaeger. 

WHITE  HALL 

A  short  distance  higher  up,  and  across  the  river  from 
"  Glenroj%"  we  find  a  Colonial  mansion  charmingly  em- 
bowered in  the  foliage  of  ancient  trees.  This  is  White  Hall, 
for  mam^  years  before  the  Revolution  the  seat  of  the  Willis 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


245 


family,  prominent  in  Virginia  in  both  social  and  public 
life.'^  For  several  generations  past  it  has  been  owned 
and  occupied  by  a  branch  of  the  Byrd  family,  descended 
from  the  Westover  Byrds,  and  is  at  present  the  home  of 
Captain  Richard  C.  Byrd. 

The  tomb  of  the  wife  of  one  of  the  Willises  of  White 


WHITE  HALL,  WARE  RIVER 


Hall,  bearing  her  arms  impaled  with  those  of  her  husband, 
may  be  seen  at  old  Ware  Church,  a  few  miles  away. 


HOCKLEY 

Hockley,  a  spacious  house  in  attractive  grounds,  was 
formerly  the  home  of  Colonel  Alexander  Taliaferro.  It 
is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Mr.  R.  P.  Taliaferro. 

In  early  times  the  plantation  bore  the  name  of  Cowslip 
Green. 

^  ^  Willis,  A  Sketch  of  the  Willis  Family  of  Virginia  and  Their 
Kindred.  Richmond:  Whittet  &  Shepperson  (1900)  ;  William  and 
Mary  Quarterly,  v,  24-27,  171-176;  vi,  27-29,  206-214. 


246       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

LOWLAND  COTTAGE 

Lowland  Cottage  nestling  among  venerable  trees  is  one 
of  the  oldest  homesteads  on  Ware  River,  and  indeed  in 
the  county.  It  was  an  early  seat  of  the  Gloucester  families 
of  Warner,  Throckmorton  and  Jones  and  is  now  the  home 
of  Major  Thomas  S.  Taliaferro,  a  gallant  officer  of  the 
Confederate  Armj-. 

AIRVILLE 

Airville,  a  pleasant,  roomj-  old  house,  commanding 
a  fine  view  not  only  of  the  Ware  River,  but  of  INIobjack 
Bay  beyond,  was  in  the  early  days  the  seat  of  the  Dixon 


AIRVILLE,  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 

family,  descended  from  the  Reverend  John  Dixon,  a 
Colonial  minister/-  Later  it  passed  to  the  jJossession  of 
JNIajor  Thomas  Smith,  and  is  now  the  home  of  JNIessrs. 
Thomas  G.  and  Walter  C.  Harwood. 

Nearby,  in  the  graveyard  on  the  JNIount  Pleasant  es- 
tate, where  traces  of  a  house  are  still  to  be  seen,  are  some 
Dixon  tombs. 

^-  Dixon  family:  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  x,  pp.  272-273. 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY  247 

THE  SHELTER 

Modest,  but  exceedingly  interesting  is  The  Shelter, 
with  its  gambrel-roofed,  L-shaped  wing  and  towering,  out- 
side chimneys. 

In  this  quaint  dwelling,  Miss  MolHe  Elliott  Seawell, 
the  distinguished  authoress,  was  born  and  grew  to  woman- 
hood. It  is  now  the  home  of  her  brother,  Mr.  J.  Hairston 
Seawell. 

WARNER  HALL 

One  of  the  most  famous  homes  in  Gloucester  County 
and  in  Virginia  was  Warner  Hall,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Severn — the  old  seat  of  the  Warner,  Lewis  and  Clark 
families  ^^ — built  in  1674.  After  its  almost  complete  de- 
struction by  fire,  in  1849,  it  long  lay  in  ruins,  but  it  has 
since  been  restored  by  Mr.  Maynard  A.  Cheney,  and  once 
more  the  extensive  and  beautiful  grounds  of  the  old  planta- 
tion are  graced  hy  a  spacious  and  handsome  mansion. 

A  son  of  INIr.  Colin  Clark,  last  o\\Tier  of  the  original 
Warner  Hall,  described  the  house  as  "  a  brick  building  of 
three  stories  and  a  basement,  and  together  with  a  two- 
room  addition  (and  the  basement)  included  eighteen 
rooms.  There  were  also  on  either  side  of  the  main  house 
two  detached  brick  houses  of  six  and  five  rooms  respectively, 
used  for  kitchen,  laundry,  servants'  room,  etc."  Some  time 
before  Mr.  Clark's  purchase,  the  five-room  house  was 
united  with  the  main  building  by  a  two-room  addition,  so 
that  the  whole  of  the  mansion  contained  twenty-five  rooms, 
and  had  a  front  of  about  130  feet.  First,  in  1841,  the  five- 
room  house  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  in  1849  the  central 

^^  The  Warners  are  treated  in  Robinson,  Some  Notable  Families 
of  America,  and  in  various  notes  in  Virginia  Magazine  of  History 
and  Biography  and  William  and  Mary  Quarterly ;  for  Lewis 
family  see  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  ix,  191-192,  250-£65 ; 
X,  48 ;  xi,  39-17 ;  for  the  Clarks  who  lived  at  "  Warner's  Hall  " 
see  Goode,  Virginia  Cousins,  pp.  229-373  et  seq. 


248       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


^|.-/^ 


>-^ 


f:^  v|::ti  ^tf 


part  of  the  mansion  burned  down,  leaving  only  the  six- 
room  wing  standing.  The  second  fire,  we  are  told, 
originated  "  in  the  desire  of  a  negro  boy  to  have  the  family 
remove  from  the  country  to  Norfolk,  whose  joys  he  had 
tasted  on  trips  with  his  young  masters." 

The  Warner  Hall  estate  was  patented  about  the  middle 
of  the  seventeenth  century  by  Augustine  Warner,  Senior 
(1610-1674) ,  long  a  member  of  his  Majesty's  Council  and 

a  man  who 
was  to  have 
a  unique 
place  in  Vir- 
ginia family 
history,  for 
both  George 
Washington 
and  Robert 
E.  Lee  were 
aescended 
from  him. 
Upon  his 
death,  in 
1674,  Warner  Hall  passed  to  his 
son,  Augustine  Warner,  Jr.  (1642- 
1681 ) ,  speaker  of  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses in  the  famous  "  reforming  " 
assembly  during  Bacon's  Rebellion,  in  1676,  and  also  a 
member  of  the  Council. 

After  the  burning  of  Jamestown  when  "  the  prosper- 
ous Rebel  "  went  into  Gloucester  County  he  made  Warner 
Hall  his  headquarters  for  a  time,  and  it  was  from  there 
that  he  sent  out  notices  for  the  people  to  assemble  to  take 
the  oath  of  fidelity  to  him. 

Augustine  Warner,  Jr.,  died  in  1681,  leaving  several 
sons,  who  died  in  youth,  and  three  daughters:  Mary,  who 
became  the  wife  of  John  Smith  of  Purton,  Gloucester; 


WARNER  HALL  ON  THE  SEVERN. 
GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


249 


Mildred,  who  married,  first,  Lawrence  Washington,  of 
Westmoreland  (grandfather  of  General  Washington), 
and,  secondly,  George  Gale;  and  Elizabeth,  the  heiress  of 
"  Warner  Hall,"  who  became  the  wife  of  John  Lewis,  of 
Gloucester.  Lewis,  therefore,  became  master  of  this  es- 
tate and  was  a  prominent  man  in  the  County  and  Colony 
and  a  member  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  as  was  also  his  son 
and  heir,  John  Lewis,  Jr.  (1702-1754) . 

Warner  Hall  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  Lewises 
for  generations,  sending  out  in  the  meantime  branches  of 
the  family  throughout  the  United  States.  It  was  in  the 
last  century  that  the  estate  was  bought  by  Mr.  Colin  Clark, 
who  preserved  the  fame  for  hospitality  that  it  had  always 
enjoyed,  up  to  the  time  of  its  deplorable  destruction. 

Not  far  from  the  restored  mansion  maj^  be  seen  the 
old  graveyard  containing  the  ancient  tombs  of  the  Warners, 
Lewises  and  others.  Some  of  these  date  from  the  seven- 
teenth century. 


SHERWOOD,  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 


SHERWOOD 

Ample  grounds,  a  fine  river  view  and  piazzas  of  gen- 
erous proportions  make  Sherwood,  the  roof-tree  of  the 


250       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Seldens  ^*  and  Dimmocks,  descended  from  the  Lewises  of 
Warner  Hall,  an  ideal  country  home.  Among  the  charms 
of  the  place  are  the  ten-acre  lawn,  shaded  by  elms,  maples, 
magnolias,  tulip  poplars,  pecan  and  other  trees,  and  the 
old  garden  equally  well  furnished  with  sweet  and  beautiful 
flowers  and  interesting  shrubs. 

It  is  now  the  home  of  ]Mr.  and  ]Mrs.  H.  A.  Williams. 

LEVEL  GREEN 

Also  on  the  Ware  is  Level  Green,  which  in  the  past  was 
long  the  home  of  the  Robins  family,^  ^  a  plantation  noted 
in  the  political  annals  of  Gloucester  as  the  place  where 
Henrj'  Clay  landed  during  a  famous  campaign. 


EAGLE  POINT,  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 

EAGLE  POINT 

John  Randolph  Bryan,  who  was  a  namesake  of  John 
Randolph  of  Roanoke  and  was  educated  under  his  care, 

^^  Selden  family  (Sherwood  branch):  William  and  Mary 
Quarterhj,  v,  60-62,  264-267. 

^■^  Robins  family:  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biog- 
raphy, ii,  187-189,"  316-31T. 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY  251 

married  Randolph's  greatly  beloved  niece,  Elizabeth 
Tucker  Coalter.  This  couple  made  Eagle  Point,  on  the 
Severn,  one  of  the  most  noted  homes  in  Gloucester  from 
1830  until  1862,  when  it  was  broken  up  by  the  war,  and 
the  estate  passed  out  of  the  Bryan  family.  It  was  bought 
back  by  the  late  Mr.  Joseph  Bryan,  of  Laburnum,  Henrico 
County,  and  by  him  the  house  was  greatly  enlarged  and 
beautified  and  its  reputation  for  genuine  old  Virginia  hos- 
pitality re-established. 

Full  of  poetic  as  well  as  of  antiquarian  interest,  is  the 
family  graveyard,  uniquely  situated  upon  a  pine-shaded 
islet  in  the  river,  not  far  from  the  house. 

SEVERNBY 

Upon  what  was  once  a  part  of  the  Eagle  Point  planta- 
tion, jNIr.  Alfred  W.  Withers  has  built  Severnby,  a  delight- 
ful home  overlooking  the  river. 

LANSDOWNE 

Also  on  the  Severn  is  Lansdowne,  the  old  home  of  the 
Thrustons  ^*'  ( who  still  own  it ) ,  a  family  resident  in 
Gloucester  for  many  generations. 

HESSE 

In  a  remote  situation  upon  the  Pianketank,  a  stream 
that  separates  the  counties  of  Gloucester  and  JNIiddlesex, 
stands,  solitary  and  alone,  Hesse,  one  of  the  most  vener- 
able brick  mansions  in  Virginia.  The  Armisteads,  who 
built  and  long  owned  it,  were  among  the  earliest  settlers 
in  Gloucester  and  were  prominent  in  private  and  public 
life  during  the  Colonial  period.  For  many  generations 
"  Armistead  of  Hesse  "  was  as  well  known  as  a  family 
designation  in  Virginia,  as  "  Harrison  of  Brandon  "  or 

^®  Thruston  family:  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  iv,  31-33, 
97-102,  164-171,  226-234;  vii,  17-24,  181-186. 


252       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


"  Carter  of  Shirley."  The  estate  passed  out  of  the  Armi- 
stead  family  something  like  a  century  ago,  and  their  name, 
though  nvmierous  elsewhere,  is  not  now  to  be  found  in  the 
county  which  was  so  long  their  home,  but  large  numbers 
of  persons  scattered  through  the  country  trace  their  an- 
cestry to  ancient  Hesse.  A  portion  of  the  original  mansion 
was  long  ago  torn  down. 


HESSE,  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 


Honorable  John  Armistead,  of  Hesse  ( son  of  William 
Armistead,  the  emigrant) ,  was  a  member  of  "  his  Majesty's 
Council  "  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century." 
He  was  succeeded  as  master  of  the  estate  by  his  son  Henry, 
who  won  as  his  bride,  over  all  other  suitors,  the  fascinating 
Martha  Burwell,  daughter  of  Honorable  Lewis  Burwell, 
the  j'oung  ladj"  with  whom  Governor  Sir  Francis  Nicholson 
was  so  much  in  love  that  he  vowed  that  should  she  marry 

■'^  Armistead  family:  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  vi,  31-33; 
97-102,  164-171,  226-234;  vii,  17-24,  181-186. 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY  253 

anj^one  but  himself,  he  would  kill  three  persons — the  bride- 
groom, the  clerk  granting  the  license  and  the  clergyman 
performing  the  ceremony.  The  threat  was  not  carried  out, 
however,  for  as  far  as  is  known,  the  fair  Martha  and  the 
husband  of  her  choice,  Henry  Armistead,  "  lived  happily 
ever  after "  at  Hesse.  One  of  their  daughters,  Lucy, 
married  "  Secretary  "  Thomas  Nelson  (1716-1782),  son  of 
Thomas  Nelson,  the  emigrant,  and  another,  Martha,  be- 
came the  wife  of  Dudley  Digges,  member  of  the  first 
Executive  Council  of  the  State  of  Virginia. 

Henry  Armistead  was  succeeded  as  master  of  Hesse 
by  his  son  William,  who  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Hon- 
orable James  Bowles  of  Maryland,  a  lady  of  large  fortune, 
and  died  about  1755,  leaving  a  son  and  heir,  a  second 
William  Armistead,  of  Hesse,  who  married,  in  1765, 
Maria,  daughter  of  Charles  Carter,  of  Cleve,  bj'^  his  second 
wife  Anne,  daughter  of  Honorable  William  Byrd  II,  of 
Westover.  From  letters  which  have  been  preserved,  writ- 
ten to  Mrs.  Maria  Carter  Armistead,  or  "  Molly,"  as  she 
was  familiarly  called,  she  seems  to  have  been  a  favorite 
with  her  friends  and  family.  One  of  these  written  by  her 
uncle,  William  Byrd,  3d,  of  Westover,  upon  hearing  of 
her  engagement  to  William  Armistead,  is  as  follows: 

"  My  Dear  Niece  : 

I  was  in  great  Hopes,  as  well  as  your  Aunt  and  Grandmamma, 
that  you  would  have  given  us  the  Pleasure  of  your  Company  at 
Westover  e'er  now,  &  should  have  rejoiced  in  an  Opportunity  of 
convincing  you  of  my  Affection.  Report  informs  us  you  are 
going  to  be  married  very  soon ;  I  wish  it  had  been  agreeable  to  you 
to  have  given  some  of  your  Friends  here  Notice  of  it,  because  we 
think  ourselves  interested  in  your  Happiness ;  for  my  part  I  shall 
always  be  glad  to  contribute  to  it.  Mr.  Armistead  is  a  young 
gentleman  entirely  acceptable  to  us,  &  we  sincerely  wish  you  both 
Blessing  of  the  married  State.  Be  pleased  my  Dear  Molly  to 
present  my  best  Compliments  to  him,  &  accept  yourself  of  our 
Love  and  tender  Friendship.  I  &  the  rest  of  your  Relations  here 
beg  the  Favor  of  you  &  Mr.  Armistead  to  spend  your  Christmas 


254       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

at  Westover,  where  many  young  People  are  to  make  merry;  & 
give  our  Love  to  your  Sisters  &  bring  them  with  you.  Our  Coach 
shall  attend  you  any  where  at  any  time. 

I  ever  am 

My  Dear  Niece 

Your  most  affe. 
Uncle 
Westover  Nov  :  25th.  1765.  W.  Byrd." 

The  only  surviving  son  of  William  and  Maria  Carter 
Arniistead  was  Charles  Byrd  Armistead,  who  inherited 
Hesse,  but  some  time  after  his  death,  in  1797,  leaving  no 
descendants,  the  estate,  which  contained  3879  acres,  passed 
from  the  Armistead  family. 

GLOUCESTER  CHURCHES 

"  The  history  of  Gloucester,"  says  Sally  Nelson  Robins, 
in  her  charming  sketch  of  the  old  county,  "  is  woven  in  the 
registers  of  its  Colonial  churches.  Names  faded  on  the  old 
roll  wear  a  fresher  lustre  on  the  parish  books  of  to-day. 
Where  the  fathers  Avorshipped  the  sons  still  kneel." 

The  earliest  parishes  in  Gloucester  were  Petsworth  and 
Kingston,  the  latter  in  what  is  now  known  as  ]Mathews 
County.  As  long  ago  as  1861  it  Avas  written  of  the  former, 
"  Petsworth  exists  only  on  paper:  its  church  and  wor- 
shippers have  alike  ceased  to  be."  The  existence  "  on 
paper  "  as  seen  in  the  tattered  vestry  book  is  interesting 
as  showing  how  well  cared  for  was  the  ancient  temple. 
Under  date  1684  we  read,  "  His  Excellency  the  Governor 
having  given  to  the  church  one  large  Bible,  one  book  of 
Common  Prayer,  one  book  of  Homilies,  the  Thirty-nine 
Articles,  and  books  of  Canons  of  the  Church  of  England, 
it  is  ordered  that  the  clerk  of  the  vestry  enter  the  same  in 
the  register,  to  the  end  His  Lordship's  so  pious  a  gift  may 
be  gratefully  remembered."  In  the  same  year  it  was 
"  Ordered  that  the  clerk  enter  into  the  register  of  this 
parish  the  generous  and  pious  gift  of  the  Honorable 
Augustine  Warner,  deceased,  to  this  church,  viz.,  one  silver 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


255 


flagon  which  though  long  since  given  hath  not  yet  been 
entered."  In  1735,  "  there  were  great  subscriptions  made 
by  the  present  vestry  for  an  organ,  to  be  purchased  for 
the  use  of  the  church  at  Petsworth,"  also,  it  was  directed 
that  seven  hundred  gold  leaves  be  ordered  for  the  use  of 
the  painter.  In  1751  the  vestry  ordered  from  England  a 
"  pulpit  and  table  cloth  and  cushion,"  at  cost  of  £154.  16.  6 
current  money.  The  cloth  was  to  be  of  "  crimson  velvet 
with  a  gold  fringe  and  lace."  The  rear  wall  of  the  chancel 
rejoiced  in  an  elaborate  fresco  representing  a  crimson  cur- 


WAKE  CHURCH,  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 


tain  drawn  back  to  reveal  an  angel  with  a  trumpet  in  his 
hand,  standing  amidst  rolling  clouds,  from  which  the  faces 
of  other  angels  looked. 

Though  the  glory  of  old  Petsworth,  or  "Poplar  Spring" 
church,  as  it  was  sometimes  called,  has  long  since  departed, 
Gloucester  still  possesses  two  well  preserved  and  comely 
Colonial  houses  of  worship — Abington  and  Ware — where 
the  great-grandchildren  of  those  that  sleep  in  the  tombs 
outside  repeat  upon  Sundays  the  old  liturgy  of  the  early 
days.    Ware  church  was  built  in  1693,  upon  land  granted 


256       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

to  the  parish  by  the  Throckmorton  family.  A  brick  in  the 
older  part  of  Abington  bears  the  date  1660,  while  upon 
the  arch  of  the  door  appear  the  figures  1765.     Upon  the 


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ABIXGTDN  CHL'RCH.  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY 

outer  wall  of  Ware  is  the  tombstone  of  the  Reverend  James 
Black,  a  native  of  England  and  for  many  years  rector  of 
Ware  parish,  who  died  in  1723.  For  the  sake  of  comfort 
and  convenience  the  interiors  of  both  churches  were  long 
since  modernized,  but  ISIrs.  Robins  tells  us  that  as  late  as 
1867  "  the  flagstones  of  old  Abington  echoed  the  crisp  foot- 
tread  of  the  worshipper.  The  pews  were  square,  with 
seats  all  around,  and  stiff  carpet-covered  footstools  stood 
beneath,  on  which  prim  children  sat  and  often  munched 
Shrewsburj^  cakes,  drawn  from  their  Mothers'  reticule." 
She  adds,  "  I  have  heard  that  excessive  wriggling  was 
sometimes  summarilj^  checked  bj'  a  tap  from  a  heelless 
slipper." 

GLOUCESTER  COURT  HOUSE 

In  Virginia  the  court  house  has  always  been  the  business 
and  political  centre  of  the  county.  In  Gloucester  as  in 
most  other  counties  the  countv  seat  contains  a  few  old 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


257 


dwellings,  brick  and  frame,  one  or  more  inns,  or  taverns  as 
they  were  generally  termed  in  Virginia,  and,  of  course,  the 
county  court  house  with  its  appurtenances. 


TAVERN  AT  GLOUCESTER  COURT  HOUSE 

ST.  PETER'S  CHURCH,  NEW^  KENT 

The  Pamunkey  and  Mattapony  Rivers  joining,  form 
the  York.  At  the  meeting  point,  above  old  York  and 
Gloucester  Counties,  lie  the  newer  counties  of  New  Kent 
(south  of  the  Pamunkey),  King  William  (between  Pa- 
munkey and  Mattapony),  and  King  and  Queen,  north 
of  Mattapony  and  bordering  on  still  another  series  of 
counties,  those  along  the  Rappahannock. 

The  tide  of  emigration  entering  York  River  at  its 
mouth  flowed  up  each  side  of  it  and  spread  out  along  the 
banks  of  both  the  Pamunkey  and  the  Mattapony.  In 
1654,  New  Kent,  which  may  be  called  one  of  the  second 
generation  of  Virginia  Counties,  was  formed.  It  then  in- 
cluded the  present  King  and  Queen  and  King  William 
Counties.  At  a  later  jDeriod,  as  the  settlements  went  inland, 
Hanover  was  formed  from  King  William  and  King  and 

17 


258       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Queen,  and  the  stream  of  emigration  coming  up  from  York 
River  mingled,  above  tide-water,  with  that  which  had 
ascended  the  James. 

The  most  notable  building  now  to  be  seen  in  New  Kent 
County  is  old  St.  Peter's  Church,^*  within  whose  walls  tra- 
dition long  persisted  General  Washington  and  JNIartha 
Custis  were  married.  It  is  now  believed  that  this  interest- 
ing wedding  was  a  home  aif  air,  taking  place  at  the  Custis 


ST.  PETER'S  CHURCH,  NEW  KENT  COUNTY 

homestead,  the  White  House,  not  far  away;  and  St. 
Peter's  is  often  spoken  of  as  "  the  church  in  which  Wash- 
ington was  not  married." 

The  church,  all  but  its  steeple,  which  was  added  later, 
was  built  in  1703,  at  a  cost  of  one  hundred  and  forty-six 


^*  The  Parish  Register  of  Saint  Peter's,  New  Kent  County,  Va., 
and  The  Vestry  Book  of  Saint  Peter's,  New  Kent,  were  published 
in  Richmond,  Virginia,  in  1904  and  1905  respectively,  by  the 
National  Society  of  the  Colonial  Dames  of  America  in  the  State 
of  Virginia. 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY  259 

thousand  weight  of  tobacco.  The  parish,  however,  had  been 
in  existence  some  years  before.  One  of  its  earhest  min- 
isters was  the  Reverend  Nicholas  INIoreau,  a  Huguenot, 
who  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  deep  pietj^,  and  so  were 
some  others,  but  the  parish  was  not  always  so  fortunate. 

JSIinisters  and  laymen  expressed  themselves  forcefully 
in  those  days.  Pious  Parson  Moreau  wished  to  have  a 
bishop  in  Virginia,  and,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  the  Bishop 
of  London,  says,  "  An  Eminent  Bishop  being  sent  over 
here  will  make  Hell  tremble  and  settle  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land forever."  He  describes  the  New  Kent  fold  as  "  the 
very  worst  parish  in  Virginia  and  most  troublesome,"  but 
adds,  "  God  has  blessed  my  endeavors  so  far  already  that 
with  his  assistance  I  have  brought  again  to  church  two 
families  who  had  gone  to  Quaker's  meeting  for  three  years 
past." 

Reverend  David  Mossom,  who  came  to  Virginia  from 
Massachusetts,  and  was  rector  of  the  parish  for  forty  years, 
was  hardly  ideal,  but  by  way  of  apolog}'  for  him.  Bishop 
Meade  feelingly  informs  us  that  he  "  was  married  four 
times,  and  much  harassed  by  his  last  wife."  Contemporary 
accounts  hint  of  outbursts  of  temper  on  the  part  of  this 
much-married  and  much-harassed  parson,  especially  of  a 
quarrel  with  the  clerk  of  the  parish,  which  was  carried  so 
far  that  one  Sunday  jNIr.  IMossom  assailed  the  clerk  from 
the  pulpit,  threatening  to  give  him  a  beating,  after  which 
the  clerk  struck  back  by  lining  out  from  his  desk  the  psalm 
containing  the  following: 

"  With  restless  and  ungoverned  rage 
Why  do  the  heathen  storm? 
Why  in  such  rash  attempts  engage 
As  they  can  ne'er  perform  ?  " 

CEDAR  GROVE 

An  interesting  New  Kent  homestead  is  Cedar  Grove, 
an  old  roof-tree  of  the  Christian  family.    Here  President 


260 


VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


John  Tyler  was  married  to  his  first  wife,  Letitia,  daughter 
of  Robert  Cliristian. 


CEDAR  GROVE,  NEW  KENT  COUNTY 


PROVIDENCE  FORGE 

The  chief  interest  of  the  Providence  Forge  estate  is 
that,  as  its  name  suggests,  it  was  the  site  of  Colonial  iron- 
works. It  first  appears  upon  record  as  the  property  of 
the  Reverend  Charles  Jeffrey  Smith,  A.M.,  a  Presbyterian 
minister  from  Long  Island,  wdio  died  about  1770.  His 
partner  was  William  Holt,  of  Williamsburg.  At  the  time 
of  Mr.  Smith's  death  there  was  a  "  well-built  forge  "  on 
the  place.  JNIr.  Smith's  lands  were  purchased  by  Francis 
Jerdone  (1720-1771),^®  a  Scotchman,  who  had  acquired  a 
large  estate  at  Yorktown,  but  who,  in  1753,  had  removed 
to  Louisa  County.  He  died  in  1771,  and  in  the  Virginia 
Gazette  is  spoken  of  as  "  an  eminent  merchant,  who  had 
acquired  a  handsome  fortune  with  the  fairest  reputation." 

The  estate  remained  long  in  the  possession  of  his  de- 
scendants. 

^■^  Jerdone:  WiUiavi  and  Mary  Quarterly,  xi,  p.  153  et  seq.; 
xii,  32. 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY  261 

Old  account  books  mention  bar  iron,  broad  hoes  and 
grubbing  hoes  as  the  articles  manufactured  at  Providence 


PROVIDENCE  FORGE,  NEW  KENT  COUNTY 

Forge.  There  are  still  some  signs  of  the  old  forge  at  the 
place  and  there  is  a  deep  canal,  no  doubt  cut  before  the 
Revolution,  for  the  purpose  of  the  work  started  by 
Reverend  Mr.  Smith  and  Sir.  Holt. 

The  comfortable  old  dormer-windowed,  frame  dwell- 
ing, on  the  estate,  still  in  excellent  repair,  stands  close  to 
the  tracks  at  Providence  Forge  Station,  on  the  Chesapeake 
and  Ohio  Railway. 

H  AMP  STEAD 

The  handsomest  house  in  New  Kent  County  is  stately 
Hampstead,  long  the  home  of  the  Webb  family.  These 
Webbs  were  prominent  in  Virginia  from  the  early  eigh- 
teenth century.  Some  of  them  were  members  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses.  One  of  them,  George  Webb,  was  treasurer 
of  Virginia  during  the  Revolution  and  for  some  time  after- 
ward, and  other  representatives  of  the  name  have  been 
distinguished  in  the  United  States  and  Confederate  States 
Navies. 

Hampstead  was  built  by  Conrad  Webb,  in  1820,  as 


262 


VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


the  date  in  gilt  figures  upon  the  cornice  proclaims.  It 
stands  upon  the  top  of  a  high  hill  overlooking  lovely 
grounds  and  gardens,  and  a  wide  sweep  of  country.  The 
front  and  rear  entrances  of  the  mansion  are  alike.  In  front 
the  white  marble  steps  descend  to  a  box-hedged  walk,  from 
which  a  circular  carriage  drive  sweeps  around  a  central 
plot,  with  a  sun-dial  in  the  middle,  and  filled  with  shrubs, 
familiar  and  rare,  some  of  them  brought  from  Europe. 
The  grounds  beyond  this  circle  are  set  with  beautiful  and 


HAMPSTEAD,  N'EW  KENT  COUNTY 

interesting  trees,  many  of  which,  like  the  shrubs,  came 
across  the  water  to  contribute  to  the  charm  of  a  Virginia 
gentleman's  home. 

From  the  rear  entrance,  the  gardens  fall  away  in  four 
terraces,  filled  with  flowers  and  fruits  and  vegetables  and 
adorned  with  summer-houses  and  trellises,  over  which  old- 
fashioned  roses  clamber.  Flowering  shrubs  border  the 
walks  and  screen  from  view  the  squares  devoted  to  the  more 
useful  than  ornamental  purposes  of  the  garden. 

The  mansion  stands  four  stories  high  including  the 
English  basement  and  attic.  It  is  divided  in  the  middle 
by  a  great  hall  whose  ceiling  is  supported  on  one  side  by 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


263 


columns,  and  from  which  a  splendid  stairway  winds  to  an 
observatory  which  affords  a  view  of  the  country  for  miles 
around. 

In  the  high-pitched  English  basement  was  the  Webb 
library  with  its  books — in  built-in  shelves  around  the  walls 
and  up  to  the  ceiling — among  them  many  a  "  quaint  and 
curious  volume  of  forgotten  lore."  Also  in  the  basement 
was  the  servants'  hall  and  innumerable  store  rooms  and 


THE  HALL,  HAMPSTEAD 


lock  rooms;  the  wine  cellar  and  the  "  fat  cellar  "  (a  dark 
cool  room  connected  with  the  outer  world  by  a  brick- walled 
passage),  in  which  fresh  meats  were  kept.  The  basement 
had  its  alluring  nooks  and  corners,  but  it  could  not  vie  in 
charm  with  the  attic,  where  the  ghost  of  Mr.  Conrad  Webb 
dwelt  among  the  trunks  and  chests  filled  with  wearing 
apparel  of  past  generations,  bundles  of  old  letters  and 
broken  toys.  One  who  spent  her  early  days  at  Hampstead 
tells  how,  on  rainy  days,  the  children  would  play  in  the 
attic  without  a  qualm  all  day  long,  but  if  dark  overtook 


264       MRGIXIA  HOMES  AND  CHrRCHES 

them  in  the  midst  of  their  games,  would  stick  their  fingers 
in  their  ears  and  run  for  their  lives  do\\ni  the  winding  stair 
to  the  safety  of  lamp-light  and  gro^n-up  folk,  in  terror 
lest  the  ghost  should  catch  them.  The  same  narrator  tells 
of  the  great  ice-house  m  the  grounds,  whose  dark  chill 
depths  seemed  to  childish  minds  to  be  the  abode  of  un- 
guessed  mysteries. 

Upon  one  of  the  outhouses  at  Hampstead  was  a  bell- 
tower  in  which  hmig  what  came  to  be  both  "  passmg  bell  " 
and  "  fire  bell,"  though  its  main  object  was  to  call  farm 
hands  to  meals  from  their  work  in  different  parts  of  the 
large  estate.  If  there  was  so  much  as  a  chimney  afire  the 
familiar  tones  of  the  bell  would  at  once  give  the  alarm, 
while  when  there  was  a  death  in  the  Webb  connection  any- 
where in  the  neighborhood,  a  messenger  would  be  sent 
forthwith  to  toll  the  Hampstead  bell. 

Hampstead  is  now  the  property  and  residence  of  ^Mr. 
W.  J.  Wallace. 


ELTHAM,  NEW  KENT  COCNTY 

ELTHAM,  CLOVER  LEA,  AND  THE  WHITE 

HOUSE 

Before  the  War  between  the  States  New  Kent  con- 
tained other  dwellings,  which,  like  Hampstead,  were  spa- 
cious mansions. 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


265 


Eltham  was  long  the  home  of  the  Bassetts,  a  family 
whose  emigrant  ancestor,  Captain  William  Bassett,  had 
served  in  the  Civil  War,  in  England,  and  in  the  English 
garrison  at  Tangier.  He  died  in  1672  and  was  succeeded 
at  Eltham  by  his  son,  Hon.  William  Bassett  (1672-1723) , 
who  was  a  member  of  the  Council  and  whose  handsome 
armorial  tomb  has  now  been  removed  to  Hollywood 
Cemetery,  Richmond.  A  third  William  Bassett,  who  was 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  and  died  in  1744,  was 
in  turn  succeeded  bj^  his  son,  Burwell  Bassett,  who  was 
frequently  in  the  House  of  Burgesses  and  died  in  1793. 
This  Burwell  Bassett  was  first  succeeded  bj^  his  eldest  son, 
another  Bvn-well  Bassett  (who  was  for  many  years  a 
member  of  Congress),  but  as  he  died  without  issue,  the 
estate  was  inherited  by  his  younger  brother,  John  Bassett, 


CLOVER  LEA,  HANOVER  COUNTY 

who  removed  to  "  Farmington,"  Hanover  County,  and 
afterwards  built  Clover  Lea,  in  the  same  county,  where  he 
died  in  1862.  Clover  Lea  was  inherited  by  his  son,  George 
Washington  Bassett,  who  was  the  last  of  the  family  to  own 
the  property.     The  house  was  beautifully  wainscoted  in 


266       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

black  walnut  and  the  stairs  are  of  the  same  material.  The 
mantels  are  of  carved  white  marble.  This  was  one  of  the 
handsomest  houses  in  Hanover  County.  Clover  Lea  still 
remains,  but  Eltham  was  burned  in  1876.  Fortunately 
Mr.  Herbert  A.  Claiborne,  of  Richmond,  a  descendant  of 
the  Bassetts,  owns  an  excellent  drawing  of  Eltham,  which 
he  has  kindl)'  allowed  to  be  copied. 

The  White  House,  on  the  Pamunkey  River,  originally 
an  estate  of  several  thousand  acres,  was  owned  by  the 
eccentric  Counsellor  John  Custis,  of  "  Arlington,"  North- 
ampton County,  and  became  the  home  of  his  son,  Daniel 
Parke  Custis,  the  first  husband  of  ]Mrs.  ]Martha  Washing- 
ton. To  this  house  the  youthful  Colonel  went  courting 
and  here  he  married  the  fair  widow.  The  estate  was  in- 
herited by  her  great-granddaughter,  ISIrs.  Robert  E.  Lee, 
who,  a  refugee  from  Arlington,  near  Washington,  was 
living  at  the  White  House  when  JNIcClellan's  armv  ad- 
vanced  up  the  Peninsula.  When  she  left  the  house  she 
placed  a  card  on  the  door  requesting  protection  for  the 
home  of  jNIartha  Washington.  The  appeal  was  unhappily 
not  heeded  and  the  old  house  was  burnt.  ]Mrs.  Lee's  son. 
General  Wm.  H.  F.  Lee,  lived  on  the  estate  for  some  years 
after  the  War  between  the  States. 

CHELSEA 

In  King  William  County,  which  lies  between  the 
Pamunkey  and  JNIattapony  Rivers,  several  well-known 
homesteads  are  to  be  found.  Perhaps  the  oldest  of  these 
is  Chelsea,  the  venerable  home  of  the  IMoores,  on  the  jNIat- 
taponj^  It  is  a  spacious  brick  house  bearing  many  evidences 
of  antiquity  and  was  probably  named  after  Chelsea  in  Eng- 
land, the  home  of  Sir  Thomas  Moore,  from  whom  the 
Virginia  Moores  claim  descent. 

Augustine  Moore,  the  first  of  this  family,  settled  here 
about  the  year  1700,  and  his  tomb  maj^  still  be  seen  at 
Chelsea.  His  son  Bernard  Moore,  a  prominent  man  of  his 
day  and  long  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  married 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


267 


Anne  Katherine,  eldest  daughter  of  Governor  Alexander 
Spotswood  (1676-1740).  Though  her  husband  was  loj^al 
to  Virginia  during  the  Revolution,  it  is  said  that  this  fair 
and  spirited  daughter  of  a  royal  governor  disobeyed  the 
official  prohibition  of  tea-drinking  and  defiantly  sipped  the 
tabooed  beverage.  She  was  prudent  enough,  however,  to 
shut  herself  up  in  her  room  for  the  indulgence. 


,'«• 


CHELSEA,  KING  WILLIAM  COUNTY 


The  ]Moores  owned  Chelsea  until  the  extinction  of  the 
family  in  the  male  line  and  then  it  passed,  by  descent,  to 
the  Robinsons,  who  owned  it  up  to  a  few  years  ago,  when 
it  was  sold  by  Mr.  Lieper  JNIoore  Robinson.  It  is  now 
owned  by  Messrs.  L.  P.  and  Stanley  Reed,  of  Richmond. 

ELSIXG  GREEN 

Another  striking  old  house  in  King  William  County  is 
Elsing  Green.  This  estate  was  originally  owned  by 
Captain  William  Dandridge,  of  the  British  Navy,  who 


268       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

was  also  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Council.^''  The  mansion, 
a  massive  brick  structure,  has  been  several  times  burnt 
out,  but  the  walls  are  so  strong  that  the  fires  have  not 
affected  the  external  appearance,  though  they  gi'eatly 
altered  the  arrangement  of  the  rooms. 

From  the  Dandridges,  Elsing  Green  passed  to  Carter 
Braxton,  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  who 
rebuilt  the  house  in  1758.  Over  the  west  door  may  still  be 
seen  the  initials  "  C.  B."  and  date  "  1758,"  and  on  the  op- 
posite side,  "  G.  B." — either  for  Carter  Braxton's  father 
or  for  his  brother  George  Braxton. 

From  the  Braxtons  the  estate  passed,  by  purchase,  to 
William  Burnet  Browne,  of  Salem,  Massachusetts,  who 
married  Judith,  daughter  of  Charles  Carter,  of  "  Cleve," 
King  George  County,  Virginia,  before  the  Revolution. 
Mr.  Browne  was  the  son  of  Honorable  W^illiam  Browne, 
of  Salem,  and  his  wife  Mary  Burnet,  who  was  a  daughter 


ELSING  GREEN,  KING  WILLIAM  COUNTY 

of  William  Burnet,  Governor  of  New  York,  and  grand- 
daughter  of  the   celebrated   Gilbert  Burnet,    Bishop   of 

^°  For   Captain  William  Dandridge   and  his   descendants   see 
William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  v,  SO  et  seq.;  xii,  126  et  seq. 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


269 


Salisbury.  Upon  their  removal  to  Virginia  the  Brownes 
filled  Elsing  Green  with  interesting  ancestral  relics.  One 
room  was  hung  with  Gobelin  tapestry  presented  to  Bishop 
Burnet  by  William  of  Orange,  and  among  the  many  por- 
traits was  a  fine  one  of  the  bishop  himself. 

Formerly  each  of  the  wide  fireplaces  contained  a  back 
representing  some  episode  in  history.  The  only  one  of 
these  now  remaining  shows  the  death  of  General  Wolfe. 

As  William  Burnett  Browne  had  no  son  he  left  Elsing 
Green  to  his  grandson,  William  Burnet  Claiborne,  pro- 
vided he  should  take  the  name  of  Browne,  which  condition 
was  complied  with. 

The  estate  finally  passed,  by  sale,  from  the  Brownes  to 
the  Gregory  family,  which  has  owned  it  for  several  gen- 
erations. It  is  now  the  home  of  the  familj^  of  Judge  Roger 
Gregory. 


HORN  QUARTER,  KING  WILLIAM  COUNTY 


HORX  QUARTER 

Stately  Horn  Quarter,  the  finest  house  of  its  period  in 
King  William  County,  was  built  in  the  early  nineteenth 
century  by  Mr.  George  Taylor,  a  gentleman  of  large  estate 


270       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

and  son  of  the  celebrated  John  Taylor  (1750-1824),  of 
Caroline  County,  United  States  senator  from  Virginia." 
The  master  of  Horn  Quarter  also  owned  a  handsome  town 
home  at  the  corner  of  Cary  and  Fifth  Streets,  in  Richmond. 
He  left  Horn  Quarter  to  his  son,  John  Penn  Taylor,  who 
later  sold  it. 

MATTAPONY  CHURCH 

Crossing  the  JNIattapony  River  from  King  WiUiam 
County  we  find  old  Mattapony  Church,  one  of  the  most 
striking  of  the  Colonial  houses  of  worship.  Soon  after 
the  Revolution,  the  congregation  became  extinct  and  the 
church  was  abandoned.    It  suffered  much  from  the  ravages 


MATTAPONY  CHURCH,  KING  AND  QUEEN  COUNTY 

of  time  and  weather  and  finally,  as  there  was  no  congrega- 
tion, no  minister  and  no  vestry,  it  was  regarded  as  having 
escheated  to  the  State  and  was  patented  as  public  land  by 
Mr.  Pollard  of  King  and  Queen  County,  who  conveyed  it 
to  a  Baptist  congregation.    Mr.  Pollard,  however,  removed 


^^  For  Honorable  John  Taylor  and  his  descendants  see  Hayden, 
Virginia  Genealogies,  pp.  682—683. 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


271 


the   handsome   baptismal    font   and   presented   it   to   the 
Episcopal  church  in  Hanover  County. 

INIattapony  is  now  and  has  been  for  many  years  the 
home  of  a  large  and  prosperous  Baptist  congregation,  and 
is  kept  in  excellent  repair.     It  is  a  cruciform  building  of 


Colonial  glazed  brick 


HANOVER  COURT  HOUSE 

Above  the  old  Counties  of  King  W^illiam  and  King 
and  Queen  is  Hanover. 

According  to  a  committee  appointed  to  "  define  the 
boundary  of  Hanover  Count j'  and  establish  a  seat  of  jus- 


HANOVER  COURT  HOUSE 


tice,"  Hanover  Court  House  was  built  upon  the  estate  of 
Francis  Meriwether  in  the  year  1735.  It  is  said  to  be  a 
copy  of  the  King  William  County  Court  House.  The 
building's  chief  claim  to  distinction  is  that  in  it,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1763,  Patrick  Henry  made  his  maiden  oration — the 
famous  speech  in  the  controversy  between  the  people  and 
the  clergy,  popularly  known  as  the  "  Parson's  Cause."  A 
decision  of  the  court  on  a  demurrer  in  favor  of  the  claims 


272       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

of  the  clergy  had  left  nothing  undetermined  but  the 
amount  of  damages  in  the  case,  which  was  pending.  Soon 
after  the  opening  of  the  court,  the  case  was  called.  The 
following  extract  from  Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry 
vividly  describes  what  then  happened: 

"  The  array  before  Mr.  Henry's  eyes  was  now  most 
fearful.  On  the  bench  sat  more  than  twenty  clergymen, 
the  most  learned  men  in  the  Colony,  and  the  most  capable, 
as  well  as  the  severest  critics  before  whom  it  was  possible 
for  him  to  have  made  his  debut.  The  Court  House  was 
crowded  with  an  overwhelming  multitude,  and  surrounded 
with  an  immense  and  anxious  throng,  who  not  finding 
room  to  enter  were  endeavoring  to  listen  without,  in  the 
deepest  attention.  But  there  was  something  still  more 
disconcerting  than  all  this ;  for  in  the  chair  of  the  presiding 
magistrate  sat  no  other  person  than  his  own  father.  INIr. 
Lyons  opened  the  cause  ver)'  briefly;  in  the  waj^  of  argu- 
ment he  did  nothing  more  than  explain  to  the  jury  that 
the  decision  upon  the  demurrer  had  put  the  act  of  1758 
entirely  out  of  the  way,  and  left  the  law  of  1748  as  the 
only  standard  of  the  damages;  he  then  concluded  with  a 
highlj^  wrought  eulogium  on  the  benevolence  of  the  clergy. 
And  now  came  the  first  trial  of  Patrick  Henry's  strength. 
None  had  ever  heard  him  speak,  and  curiosity  was  on 
tiptoe.  He  rose  very  awkwardly,  and  faltered  much  in 
his  exordium.  The  people  hung  their  heads  at  so  unprom- 
ising a  commencement;  the  clergy  were  observed  to  ex- 
change shy  looks  at  each  other ;  and  his  father  is  described 
as  having  almost  sunk  with  confusion  from  his  seat.  But 
their  feelings  were  of  short  duration,  and  soon  gave  place 
to  others  of  a  very  different  character.  For  now  were 
those  wonderful  faculties  which  he  possessed  for  the 
first  time  developed;  and  now  was  first  witnessed  that 
mysterious  and  almost  supernatural  transformation  of 
appearance,  which  the  fire  of  his  own  eloquence  never  failed 
to  work  in  him.  For  as  his  mind  rolled  along,  and  began 
to  glow  from  its  own  action,  all  the  exuviee  of  the  clown 
seemed  to  shed  themselves  spontaneously.    His  attitude,  by 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY  273 

degrees,  became  erect  and  lofty.  The  genius  awakened  all 
his  features.  His  countenance  shone  with  a  nobleness  and 
grandeur  which  it  had  never  before  exhibited.  There  was 
lightning  in  his  eyes  which  seemed  to  rivet  the  spectator. 
His  action  became  graceful,  bold  and  commanding,  and  in 
the  tones  of  his  voice  there  was  a  peculiar  charm,  a  magic 
of  which  any  one  who  ever  heard  him  will  speak  of  as  soon 
as  he  is  named,  but  of  which  no  one  can  give  you  any 
adequate  description.  They  can  only  say  that  it  struck 
upon  the  ear  and  upon  the  heart  in  a  manner  which  lan- 
guage cannot  tell.  Add  to  all  these  his  wonder-working 
fancy  and  the  peculiar  phraseology  in  which  he  clothed  his 
images ;  for  he  painted  to  the  heart  with  a  force  that  almost 
petrified  it.  In  the  language  of  those  who  heard  him  on  this 
occasion,  '  he  made  their  hair  to  rise  on  end.' 

"  It  will  not  be  difficult  for  any  one  who  ever  heard  this 
extraordinary  man  to  believe  the  whole  account  of  this 
transaction,  which  is  given  by  his  surviving  hearers;  and 
from  their  account,  the  Court  House  of  Hanover  County 
must  have  exhibited,  on  this  occasion,  a  scene  as  picturesque 
as  has  been  ever  witnessed  in  real  life.  They  say  that  the 
people  whose  countenances  had  fallen  as  he  rose  had  heard 
but  very  few  sentences  before  they  began  to  look  up;  then 
to  look  at  each  other  with  surprise,  as  if  doubting  the  evi- 
dence of  their  own  senses;  then  attracted  by  some  strong 
gesture,  struck  by  some  majestic  attitude,  fascinated  by  the 
spell  of  his  eye,  the  charm  of  his  emphasis,  and  the  varied 
and  commanding  expression  of  his  countenance,  they  could 
look  away  no  more.  In  less  than  twenty  minutes,  they 
might  be  seen  in  every  part  of  the  house,  on  every  bench, 
in  every  window,  stooping  forward  from  their  stands,  in 
death-like  silence;  their  features  fixed  in  amazement  and 
awe;  all  their  senses  riveted  and  intent  upon  the  speaker, 
as  if  to  catch  the  last  strain  of  some  heavenly  visitant.  The 
mockery  of  the  clergy  was  soon  turned  into  alarm;  their 
triumph  into  confusion  and  despair;  and  at  one  burst  of 
his  rapid  and  overwhelming  invective,  they  fled  from  the 
bench  in  precipitation  and  terror.    As  for  his  father,  such 

18 


!274       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

was  his  surprise,  such  his  amazement,  such  his  rapture,  that, 
forgetting  where  he  was  and  the  character  he  was  filHng, 
tears  of  ecstasy  streamed  down  his  cheeks,  without  the 
power  or  inclination  to  suppress  them. 

"  The  jury  seemed  to  have  been  so  completely  bewil- 
dered that  tliey  lost  sight  not  only  of  the  act  of  1748, 
but  that  of  1758  also;  for  thoughtless  even  of  the  admitted 
right  of  the  plaintiff,  they  had  scarcely  left  the  bar  when 
they  returned  with  a  verdict  of  one  penny  damages.  A 
motion  was  made  for  a  new  trial:  but  the  Court,  too,  had 
now  lost  the  equipoise  of  their  judgment,  and  overruled 
the  action  by  a  unanimous  vote.  The  verdict  and  judg- 
ment overruling  the  motion  were  followed  by  redoubled 
acclamations  from  within  and  without  the  house.  The 
people,  who  had  with  difficulty  kept  their  hands  off  the 
champion  from  the  moment  of  closing  his  harangue,  no 
sooner  saw  the  fate  of  the  cause  finally  sealed,  than  they 
seized  him  at  the  bar,  and  in  spite  of  his  own  exertions, 
and  the  continued  cry  of  '  Order  '  from  the  Sheriff  and 
Court,  they  bore  him  out  of  the  Court  House  and  raising 
him  on  their  shoulders,  carried  him  about  the  yard,  in  a 
kind  of  electioneering  triumph." 

There  have  recently  been  placed  upon  the  walls  of  this 
historic  old  court  house  tablets  to  the  memory  of  the  citizens 
of  Hanover  County  who  were  killed  during  the  War  be- 
tween the  States. 

HANOVER  COURT  HOUSE  TA\TERN 

The  guest-house  as  well  as  the  "  hall  of  justice  "  of  the 
historic  little  village  of  Hanover  Court  House  has  an  in- 
teresting connection  with  Virginia's  most  famous  orator. 
This  quaint  house  was  at  one  time  kept  by  Patrick  Henry's 
father-in-law,  John  Shelton,  and  when  INIr.  Shelton  was 
away  from  home,  Mr.  Henry  would  obligingly  take  his 
place  as  "  host." 

The  Marquis  de  Chastellux  in  his  Travels  in  North 
America,  1780  to  1782,  gives  a  piquant  account  of  a  visit  to 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


275 


Hanover  Tavern.  He  says,  "  We  arrived  before  sunset 
and  alighted  before  a  tolerably  handsome  Inn ;  a  very  large 
saloon  and  a  covered  portico  are  destined  to  receive  the 
Company  who  assemble  every  three  months  at  the  Court 
House  either  on  private  or  public  affairs. 

"  The  County  of  Hanover  as  well  as  that  of  New  Kent 
have  still  reason  to  remember  the  passage  of  the  English. 
;Mr.  Tilghman,  our  landlord,  though  he  lamented  his  mis- 
fortune in  having  lodged  and  boarded  Lord  Cornwallis 
and  his  retinue  without  his  Lordship's  having  made  him  the 


TAVERN  AT  HANOVER  COURT  HOUSE 


least  recompense,  could  not  yet  help  laughing  at  the  fright 
which  the  unexpected  arrival  of  Tarleton  spread  amongst 
a  considerable  number  of  gentlemen  who  had  come  to  hear 
the  news  and  were  assembled  in  the  Court  House.  A  negro 
on  horseback  came  full  gallop  to  let  them  know  that 
Tarleton  was  not  above  three  miles  off.  The  resolution 
of  retreating  was  soon  taken,  but  the  alarm  was  so  sudden 
and  the  confusion  so  great  that  every  one  mounted  the  first 
horse  that  he  could  find,  so  that  few  of  those  cvu'ious  gentle- 
men returned  upon  their  own  horses." 


276       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


HICKORY  HILL 

The  plantation  known  as  "  Hickory  Hill,"  home  of  the 
late  Williams  Carter  Wickham,  Brigadier-General  of  Cav- 
alry, C.  S.  A.,  was  originally  an  appanage  to  Shirley  on 
the  James,  inherited  by  the  General's  mother  ( Ajme)  from 
her  father,  Robert  Carter.  John  Carter,  son  of  Robert 
("  King  ")  Carter  of  Corotoman,  purchased  five  hundred 
acres  from  John  Littlepage  by  deed  dated  2nd  of  ]March, 
1734,  since  which  date  the  property  has  passed  by  descent 


HICKURY  HILL,  HANOVER  COUNTY 

or  deeds  of  family  settlement.  The  consideration  as  named 
in  the  deed  of  lease  and  release  was  the  sum  of  five  shillings 
lawful  British  money,  yielding  also  j'early  one  ear  of  In- 
dian corn  at  the  feast  of  St.  Michael  the  Archangel.  The 
holding  was  greatly  increased  in  1768  by  John  Carter's  son 
Charles  Carter,  of  Shirley. 

As  narrated  by  the  late  Charles   Carter  Lee  in  his 
Virginia  Georgics : 

Many  remote  estates  supplied  his  purses. 

And  Shirley  food  for  his  and  his  guests'  horses. 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY  277 

Upon  the  marriage  of  Miss  Anne  Carter  to  Williams 
Fanning  Wickham  (son  of  the  famous  John  Wiekham  of 
Richmond)  she  removed  from  Shirley  to  Richmond,  and, 
the  young  couple  wishing  a  summer  home,  her  husband  pur- 
chased from  the  heirs  of  Governor  George  W.  Smith  (lost 
in  the  bvn-ning  of  the  Richmond  Theatre)  a  tract  of  hill 
land,  entirely  surrounded  by  Mrs.  Wickham's  property. 
The  dwelling  was  built  and  the  plantation  establishment 
moved  from  the  lowlands  of  the  Pamunkej^  River  to  the 
more  salubrious  elevation  of  "  Hickory  Hill  "  in  1820.  This 
mansion  passed  through  the  vicissitudes  of  war,  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  in  1875,  but  was  immediately  rebuilt. 

The  feature  of  the  old  home  on  which  the  ej^e  loves  to 
dwell  is  the  old  garden,  "  with  its  roses  so  fair  and  its  tall 
statety  trees,"  its  violets — its  arbors,  avenues  and  terraces — 
the  emerald  of  its  broad  stretches  of  grass,  and  its  matchless 
box  trees,  now  approaching  their  centenary  and  still  grow- 
ing with  youthful  riot. 

The  old  home  is  peaceful  now;  but  twice  each  year 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  Civil  War  both  armies  swept 
over  it,  and  while  it  was  spared  horrors  such  as  Belgium  has 
experienced,  yet,  at  the  best,  war  is  aptly  described  by 
General  Sherman,  and  the  fate  of  the  family  was  the  com- 
mon lot  of  all  during  that  fearful  period.  Historic  incidents 
occurred  from  time  to  time,  as  when  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  left 
his  column  for  a  moment  on  his  famous  raid  around  McClel- 
lan  to  cheer  a  sorelj^  stricken  soldier  at  this  home.  General 
William  Henry  Fitzhugh  Lee,  desperately  wounded  and  a 
prisoner,  here  bade  farewell  forever  to  his  sweet  wife  and 
children,  who  succumbed  from  the  shock  of  separation,  and 
the  old  pleasaunce  with  its  luxurious  shrubberj^  afforded 
safe  concealment  for  his  brother.  Captain  Robert  E.  Lee, 
Jr.,  as  narrated  in  his  charming  book  of  recollections  of  his 
father.  Later  on  in  the  war  the  tide  of  actual  conflict 
surged  back  and  forth  across  the  old  garden,  and  the  great 
box  walk  echoed  to  the  shots  of  fighting  men ;  but  through 


278       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

it  all  it  still  survives  with  its  matchless  charm  of  beauty  and 
romance. 

Hickory  Hill  is  now  the  home  of  ]Mr.  Henry  T.  Wick- 
ham. 

OLD  FORK  CHURCH 

Old  Fork  Church,  St.  ^Martin's  Parish,  Hanover 
County,  came  by  its  present  name  from  its  situation  at 
the  forks  of  the  Pamunkey  River,  as  the  two  little  streams, 
the  North  Anna  and  South  Anna,  were  popularly  called. 
Its  massive  walls  of  checkered  brick  work  are  built  upon 
severely  simjjle  lines,  but  their  plainness  is  relieved  by  the 
pillared  porches,  of  harmonious  proportions,  which  shade 
both  the  main  door  and  the  minister's  door. 


FORK  CHURCH.  HANOVER  COUXTY 

This  church  dates  from  1735,  and  during  its  long  life 
has  been  conspicuous  for  its  pious  influences  and  for  the 
number  of  young  men  it  has  sent  into  the  ministry.  JMany 
notables  have  bowed  the  knee  within  its  walls,  among  them 
Patrick  Henry  and  the  fair  Dolly  JNIadison,  each  of  whom 
attended  "  Old  Fork  "  in  their  youth.  The  noted  author 
Thomas  Nelson  Page,  whose  family  have  been  among  its 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


279 


staunchest  pillars  for  generations,  was  a  regular  member 
of  this  old  church  during  his  boyhood  and  early  manhood. 

The  parish  owns  a  beautiful  communion  service  bear- 
ing upon  both  paten  and  chalice  this  inscription: 

"  For  the  use  of  the  Church  in  St.  Martins  parish,  in 
Hanover  and  Louisa  Counties,  Virginia,  1759." 

In  the  churchyard  are  many  interesting  tombs. 

OAKLAND 

Oakland,  the  home  of  the  Nelsons  and  Pages  in  the 
"  upper  end  "  of  Hanover  Countj%  Virginia,  is  located  on 
land  originally  granted  to  Thomas  Nelson,  the  first  settler 
of  that  name  in  Eastern  Virginia.  He  was  the  grandfather 


OAKLAND,  HANOVER  COUNTY 

of  General  Thomas  Nelson,  junior,  Signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  Comman- 
der of  her  forces  in  the  campaign  which  resulted  in  the  sur- 
render at  Yorktown. 

The  Nelsons  owned  a  tract  of  land  of  about  ten  thou- 
sand acres  between  the  Little  and  New  Found  Rivers,  in 
that  portion  of  New  Kent  Comity  which  by  legislative 


280       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

enactment  in  the  year  1721  became  Hanover,  and  it  was  to 
this  tract  that  the  Honorable  Wilham  Nelson,  who  suc- 
ceeded Lord  Botetourt  at  the  latter's  death  in  1770  in  the 
chief  magistracy  of  the  Colony,  sent  "  my  Lord  Bote- 
tourt's "  horses  to  be  grazed.  The  JNIarquis  de  Chastellux 
has  left  in  his  Memoirs  a  charming  account  of  the  "  post- 
Revolutionary  "  home  of  General  Thomas  Nelson  which 
was  located  on  a  portion  of  this  estate  just  a  few  miles  from 
"  Oakland  "  and  where  that  interesting  Frenchman  visited 
in  1782.  General  Nelson  died  in  1789  at  "  Mont  Air  "  (the 
home  of  his  son  Francis  Nelson),  which  adjoined  the 
"  Oakland  estate." 

The  "  Oakland  house  "  was  not  built  until  1812,  becom- 
ing the  home  of  Judith,  the  youngest  of  General  Nelson's 
daughters,  who  married  her  cousin,  Captain  Thomas 
Nelson.  The  choice  of  "  the  site  "  is  attributed  to  the  near 
presence  of  a  noble  spring  which  is  still — these  hundred 
years  later — the  delight  of  those  whose  privilege  it  is  to 
claim  Oakland  as  "  home."  "  Oakland  "  and  "  hospitality  " 
are  sjmonymous. 

From  this  "  roof -tree  "  have  gone  into  the  world  men 
and  women  celebrated  in  varied  professions:  the  church, 
both  at  home  and  abroad,  has  doubtless  been  the  greatest 
benefactor  of  this  "  blood  ";  statesmanship  and  diplomacy 
are  not  absent  from  the  roll  of  achievements ;  while  the  pen 
and  sword  have  been  wielded  by  its  scions  with  equal  abihty. 

In  1847  "  the  youngest  of  the  daughters  of  the  house  " 
— Frances  Nelson — married  her  kinsman  John  Page,  who 
in  later  years  became  a  gallant  officer  in  the  Confederate 
Army,  where  he  ranked  as  major. 

In  1899  the  original  "  Oakland  house  "  was  destroyed 
by  fire,  but  was  shortly  afterwards  replaced  by  a  dwelling 
built  on  the  same  plan. 

Oakland  is  now  the  joint  possession  of  Thomas  Nel- 
son Page,  Rosewell  Page,  Second  Auditor  of  the  State  of 
Virginia,  and  Rev.  Francis  Page,  the  three  sons  of  INIajor 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


281 


John  and  Frances  (Nelson)  Page.  Thomas  Nelson  Page, 
widel}^  known  as  a  man  of  letters  and  now  American  Am- 
bassador to  Italy,  was  born  at  Oakland  and  his  "  Two 
Little  Confederates  "  were  children  of  that  house,  while 
"  JNIarse  Chan  "  himself  was  not  unfamiliar  with  the  loved 
surroundings.  In  Bulla,  and  other  Virginia  Stories — 
the  work  of  the  graceful  pen  of  James  Poyntz  Nelson — 
another  "  child  of  the  Oakland  house,"  one  also  finds  much 
of  local  color. 

SCOTCHTOWN 

The  huge  and  interesting  old  house  with  the  curious 
name  of  Scotchtown  was  for  a  time  the  home  of  Patrick 
Henry,  who  bought  it  in  1771  and  was  living  in  it  when  he 
was  first  elected  governor  of  Virginia.     He  sold  it  six  or 


SCOTCHTOWN,  HANOVER  COUNTY 

seven  years  later  to  Wilson  Miles  CarJ^  Afterward  Scotch- 
town  passed  to  the  possession  of  John  Payne,  and  was 
the  girlhood  home  of  Dollj^  Payne,  who  became  the  wife 
of  President  James  Madison.  It  is  said  that  during  the 
Revolution,  Tarleton  and  his  raiders  rode  their  horses  up 
the  stone  steps  of  Scotchtown  and  clattered  through  the 
wide  hall. 


282       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

EDGEWOOD  AND  AIRWELL 

Edgewood,  a  sturdy  old  mansion  of  the  Berkeleys, 
of  Hanover  County,  was  built  by  Doctor  Carter  Berkelej"^ 
upon  a  part  of  Airwell,  the  estate  of  his  father,  Nelson 
Berkeley. 

A  sketch  of  the  builder  of  Edgewood,  by  a  brother 
"  M.D.,"  which  appeared  in  the  Southern  Clinic,  says: 
"  After  completing  his  classical  studies  Dr.  Berkeley  was 


EDGEWOOD,  HANOVER  COUNTY 

sent  to  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  for  several  years,  taking  his 
degree  about  1793.  His  thesis,  in  Latin,  comprising  52 
pages  {De  Cor  pore  Hnmano) ,  now  lies  before  me." 

Upon  his  return  to  Virginia  Doctor  Berkeley  began 
the  practice  of  his  profession  from  his  father's  home,  but 
built  Edgewood  and  took  up  his  abode  there  at  the  time 
of  his  marriage  to  Catherine  Spotswood  Carter — a  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  Carter,  of  Shirley,  by  his  second  wife,  Anne 
Butler  JMoore.  The  house  is,  therefore,  probably  over  a 
century  old. 

--  Berkeley  family:  The  Critic  (Richmond,  Va. ),  December  6, 
1890,  etc. 


PARLOR  AT  EDC.EWOOD 


DINING-ROOM  AT  EDGEWOOD 


THE  YORK  RIVER  COUNTRY 


28  5 


By  his  marriage  with  "  Kitty  "  Carter  (as  she  was 
familiarly  called)  Doctor  Berkeley  had  five  children, 
whose  descendants  are  scattered  throughout  the  United 
States.  Doctor  Berkeley  married  a  second  time,  Fanny, 
daughter  of  Governor  John  Page,  and  widow  of  Thomas 
Xelson,  Jr.,  son  of  General  Thomas  A^elson,  of  Yorktown. 
Thomasia  (one  of  the  three  children  of  Thomas  and  Fanny 
Nelson)  was  married  at  Edgewood  to  Bishop  William 
JNIeade,  as  his  second  wife.  Doctor  Berkeley  and  his  second 
wife,  Fanny  (Page)  Nelson,  were  the  parents  of  two 
children:  Kitty  (who  became  the  wife  of  Lucius,  son  of 
General  John  Minor,  of  Hazel  Hill, near  Fredericksburg) , 
who  inherited  Edgewood,  and  Carter  Nelson  Berkeley. 
JNIr.  and  Mrs.  Minor  continued  to  live  at  Edgewood  until 
the  end  of  both  their  lives.  After  a  time  Edgewood  was 
sold  to  strangers,  from  whom  it  came  again  into  possession 
of  descendants  of  the  Berkeley  family  by  purchase. 

About  1886  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Noland  (a  granddaughter 
of  Nelson  Berkeley  II,  of  "  Airwell,"  and  great  niece  of 
Doctor  Carter  Berkeley)  bought  Edgewood,  which  upon 
her  death  became  the  property  of  INIr.  Nelson  Berkeley 
Noland.  It  is  now  owned  by  Mr.  William  C.  Noland,  of 
Richmond. 


NEW  MARKET,  HANOVER  COUNTY 


286       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

"  Airwell  "  was  built  some  time  before  the  Revolution- 
ary War  by  Nelson  Berkeley  (born  1733,  died  1794^),  who 
moved  hither  from  ^Middlesex  County. 

Tradition  has  it  that  Tarleton,  with  some  of  his  troopers, 
visited  the  house  during  that  war,  and  Tarleton's  own  re- 
port shows  that  he  passed  through  this  neighborhood. 

]\Irs.  Berkeley,  of  "  Airwell,  '  the  widow  of  the  founder, 
was  the  "  lady  of  dignity,  firmness,  and  authority  "  men- 
tioned by  Bishop  ]Meade,  who  declined  to  deliver  the  com- 
munion silver  in  her  keeping  to  the  embassy  that  came  to 
get  it  for  the  coffers  of  the  county.  By  the  stand  she  took, 
the  church  silver  was  preserved  to  the  parish  ( St.  ]Martin's ) . 

It  is  still  kept  at  Airwell  by  descendants  of  the  spirited 
old  lady,  and  still  serves  its  sacred  purpose  in  old  "  Fork 
Church." 

Airwell  was  gutted  by  fire  in  1836;  but  the  walls  were 
re-roofed  and  the  house  restored  for  occupancy  about  1845. 

During  the  War  between  the  States  it  was  visited  by 
both  Northern  and  Southern  soldiers,  and  it  contributed 
its  fidl  share  toward  the  support  of  the  latter,  one  of  whom 
died  and  is  buried  there. 

The  present  owner  is  ]Mr.  Fenton  Noland,  to  whom  it 
has  come  by  direct  descent. 

NEW  :market  and  bl^llfield 

New  Market  was  an  old  home  of  the  Doswell  family, 
long  resident  in  Hanover. 

Better  known  was  Bullfield,  in  the  same  county,  the 
home  of  jNIajor  Thomas  Doswell,  who  was  for  many  years 
one  of  the  most  noted  and  successful  turfmen  of  the  State 
at  a  time  when  the  leading  supporters  of  "  the  sport  of 
kings  "  were  gentlemen.  On  the  old  race  track  at  Bullfield 
many  of  Virginia's  most  noted  race  horses  were  trained. 


PART  V 

The  Rappahannock  and  Potomac 

THE  counties  along  the  Rappahannock  and 
Potomac  Rivers,  from  Chesapeake  Bay  to  the 
head  of  tidewater,  are  closely  connected  his- 
torically and  socially.  In  treating  of  houses  and 
homes  of  note  in  this  section  those  upon  the  south  side  of 
the  Rappahannock  will  be  taken  up  first. 

ROSEGILL 

Picturesque  in  the  extreme  is  this  old  estate — and  not 
only  in  its  outward  and  visible  form  but  as  well  in  the  in- 
ward and  spiritual  things.  For  generations  the  home  of 
"  Wormeley  of  Virginia  " — scions  of  the  house  of  "  Hat- 
field," Yorkshire,  England — ancient  and  honorable — Rose- 
gill  is  perhaps  the  least  popularlj"^  known  of  Virginia's 
colonial  estates.  In  the  third  decade  of  the  seventeenth" 
centurj?-  Christopher  and  Ralph  Wormelej"  "  came  out  " 
to  Virginia  and  fomided  their  first  home  in  York  County, 
each  becoming  a  member  of  that  "  Virginia  House  of 
Lords  " — the  governor's  Council  of  State.  In  1649,  Ralph 
Wormeley  patented  a  tract  of  land  wonderfully  situated 
on  the  Rappahannock  River — in  what  is  now  Middlesex 
County,  at  that  date  Lancaster — removing  thither,  estab- 
lishing "  Rosegill,"  "passing"  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1651 
from  this  truly  "  earthly  paradise  " — we  trust,  to  that  one 
"  not  made  with  hands."  Agatha  (of  the  name  and  family 
of  "  Eltonhead  of  Eltonhead  "),  widow  of  the  first  Ralph 
Wormeley  (who  was  her  second  husband),  took  unto  her- 
self a  third  mate — the  distinguished  Sir  Henry  Chicheley, 
Knight,  a  cavalier  officer,  member  of  the  Governor's  Coun- 
cil in  Virginia  and  deputy  governor  of  the  Colony — who 

287 


288       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

made  Rosegill  his  home  throughout  the  remainder  of  his 
days. 

Ralph  Wormeley  ( 1650-1700 ) ,  second  of  the  name,  son 
of  Ralph  and  Agatha  (Eltonhead)  Wormeley,  matricu- 
lated at  Oriel  College,  Oxford,  in  1665,  and,  completing  his 
education,  returned  to  Virginia,  where  the  succeeding  years 
of  his  life  proved  a  veritable  multiplication  table  of  honors : 
burgess,  member  of  the  Council,  secretary  of  State,  trustee 
of  William  and  IMary  College,  naval  officer  of  the  Rap- 
pahannock, president  of  the  Council;  "  the  most  powerful 
man  in  Virginia,"  according  to  a  contemporaneous  report. 
From  him  descended  a  line — all  Ralphs,  with  one  excep- 
tion, all  masters  of  Rosegill  and  in  economic,  social  and 
political  "  estate  "  among  the  foremost  men  in  Virginia. 

The  beginning  of  the  Revolutionarj^  struggle  found  two 
of  the  family  resident  at  Rosegill — Ralph  Wormeley 
(1715-1790),  fourth  of  the  name,  for  twenty-two  years  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  and  his  son  Ralph 
Wormeley  (1744-1806),  the  fifth,  educated  at  Eton  and 
Cambridge,  one  of  the  greatest  book-collectors  in  Virginia 
and  one  of  the  last  appointees  to  the  Council  under  the 
Royal  government.  These  honorable  gentlemen  both 
sympathized  with  the  mother  country  in  the  revolt  of  her 
children,  but,  wise  in  their  generation,  they  did  not  offer 
active  opposition  to  the  "  new  order  "  forming  around 
them.  Their  passive  attitude  did  not,  however,  save  them 
from  great  annoyance  during  the  war. 

Ralph,  the  younger,  in  a  letter  to  John  Randolph 
Grymes,  dated  4  April,  1776,  expressed  himself  quite  freely 
in  "  loyal  terms  " ;  the  letter  was  intercepted,  and  Worme- 
ley was  ordered  by  resolution  of  the  Virginia  Convention  to 
be  confined  to  the  county  of  Berkeley  and  that  part  of  his 
father's  estate  which  was  in  the  county  of  Frederick,  and  not 
to  depart  the  limits  thereof,  and  to  give  bond  for  £20,000, 
For  two  years  his  movements  were  thus  restricted.  After 
his  release  he  returned  to  Rosegill,  where,  in  1781,  oh,  irony 
of  fate !  his  estate  was  pillaged  and  he  robbed,  by  the  crew 


Ijprr 


''mJ.mm 


■  i  "  '"\a    ■•■■ 


FOLLOWING  THE  HOUNDS 


19 


ROSEGILL,  MIDDLESEX  COUNTY 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     291 

of  a  tory  privateer,  of  thirty-six  valuable  slaves,  silver 
plate,  jewelry,  watches  and  wearing  apparel,  some  of  the 
property,  howe\'er,  being  later  returned  on  application  to 
General  Leslie,  the  English  officer  then  commanding  at 
Portsmouth. 

The  two  Wormeleys,  however,  survived  the  war  and 
lived  to  enjoy  the  friendship  of  the  citizens  of  the  new 
State,  the  younger  Ralph  serving  several  times  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  House  of  Delegates  and  in  the  Virginia  Con- 
vention of  1788.  Not  long  after  his  death,  in  1806,  Rosegill 
was  sold  and  in  the  course  of  years,  passing  through  va- 
rious ownerships,  was  some  time  since  purchased  by  the 
late  Senator  Cochran  of  Pennsylvania,  who  restored  the 
old  mansion  with  the  utmost  care  and  good  taste. ^ 

The  distant  view  of  Rosegill  given  in  the  illustration 
(the  only  available  one)  hardly  does  justice. 

Encircled  with  wild  roses  and  honeysuckle,  this  won- 
derful old  Virginia  homestead  deserves  its  pretty  romantic 
name. 

To  wind  up  the  long  hill  from  the  little  village  of  Ur- 
banna,  along  a  shady  road,  and  to  behold  the  fine  old 
mansion  away  off  from  its  double  outer  gates  is  to  realize 
delightfully  how  well  some  Virginians  planned  and 
builded. 

Rosegill  house  sits  square  and  imposing  in  thirty  acres 
of  lawn.  On  the  left,  as  one  enters  the  land  gate,  is  the 
great  kitchen,  still  glorj'ing  in  its  fireplace,  crane,  spiders 
and  pot  hooks. 

The  "mansion  house  "  is  unique.  From  the  land 
porch  a  square  hall  opens ;  to  the  left  of  this  are  a  sitting- 
room  and  a  dining-room,  both  immense,  to  the  right  are 
the  library  and  drawing-rooms,  equally  spacious.  The 
dining-room  is  panelled  in  mahogany,  the  sitting-room  as 
well  as  the  library  in  oak,  while  the  drawing-room  is  in 

^  For  Wormoley  Genealogy,  see  Hayden,  Virginia  Genealogies, 
and  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  viii,  p.  179 
et  seq.;  xvi,  p.  \Q  et  seq.,  and  xviii,  p.  373  et  seq. 


292       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

white.  Parallel  to  these  large  apartments  runs  one  splen- 
did hall,  with  a  large  door,  and  eight  large  windows  with 
seat,  opening  to  the  square  river  porch.  At  either  end  of 
this  very  large  hall  are  winding  stairs. 

Above  are  five  great  chambers  and  another  sweep  of 
hall  with  windows  overlooking  the  Rappahannock. 

In  the  attic  is  one  great  chamber  with  fourteen  beds  for 
bachelors.  The  lawn  from  the  back  hall  runs  to  the  Rap- 
pahannock, which  is  at  this  point  five  miles  wide.  The 
green  walk  from  the  house  to  the  river  is  bordered  with 
roses  its  whole  length. 

BLAXDFIELD 

For  two  generations  before  the  founding  of  Blandfield, 
a  commodious  brick  mansion  situated  on  a  large  estate 
which  stretched  to  the  Rappahannock  River,  the  Bever- 
leys  -  had  been  conspicuous  in  Virginia.  Robert  Beverley, 
the  emigrant  (who  died  in  1686),  clerk  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses,  and  his  sons  Harry  ( surveyor,  and  commander 
of  a  sloop  fitted  out  by  Governor  Spotswood  to  go  in  quest 
of  pirates),  Peter  (speaker  of  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
treasurer  of  the  Colony  and  member  of  the  Council),  and 
Robert  (the  first  native  historian  of  Virginia),  had  given 
the  name  distinction.  Colonel  William  Beverley  {circa 
1698-1756),  only  child  of  Robert,  the  historian,  and  his 
wife  Ursula,  daughter  of  the  first  William  Byrd,  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  the  Honorable  Richard  Bland 
(1665-1720),  of  Jordan's  Point,  on  James  River,  and 
building  for  her  a  home  in  Essex  Covmty,  named  it  Bland- 
field  in  her  honor. 

Colonel  Beverley  was  a  man  of  note  in  his  day.  He  was 
a  member  of  his  JNIajesty's  Council,  and  as  a  patentee  of 
the  great  "  Beverlej-  ^Manor  Estate  "  in  Augusta  County 
was  one  of  the  principal  agents  in  the  settlement  of  the 
valley  of  Virginia.     Dying  soon  after  the  middle  of  the 

^  Beverley  family :  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biog- 
raphy, ii,  405-413  Tiii,  47-52,  169-176,  261-271,  383-392. 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     295 

eighteenth  century,  he  was  succeeded  as  master  of  Bland- 
field  by  his  son  Robert,  who,  sympathizing  with  England 
during  the  Revolution,  was  disarmed  bj^  the  Virginia  au- 
thorities. He,  in  turn,  was  succeeded  at  Blandfield  by  a 
second  Robert,  from  whom  the  estate  passed  to  still  a  third 
of  the  name.  Colonel  Robert  Beverley,  of  Avenel,  Fauquier 
County. 

Blandfield  is  still  in  possession  of  the  Beverley  family 
and  is  now  the  home  of  one  of  the  sons  of  Colonel  Robert 
Beverley,  of  Avenel. 

VAUTER'S  CHURCH 

Vauter's  Church,  St.  Anne's  Parish,  Essex  County, 
takes  its  name  from  the  family  on  or  near  whose  land  it  was 
built.    A  brick  in  its  south  wall  bearing  the  date  1731  had 


VAUTER'S  CHURCH,  ESSEX  COUNTY 


led  to  a  belief  that  it  was  erected  during  that  year,  but  it 
is  likely  the  figures  have  reference  to  the  year  of  some 
addition  or  repair,  as  there  are  abundant  evidences  of 
greater  age.     In  an  article  published  in  the  Southern 


296       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Churchman,  February  2,  1907,  P.  S.  Hunter,  a  member 
of  the  parish,  gives  the  following  interesting  word-picture 
of  this  old  church: 

"  Of  all  the  magnificent  river  views  in  Tidewater  Vir- 
ginia, few  excel  that  from  the  smnmit  of  Chimborazo  Hill, 
in  upper  Essex  County.  Commanding  on  one  side  the  long 
beautiful  stretches  of  the  beautiful  Rappahannock,  flowing 
through  its  fertile  plains,  it  displays  on  the  other,  thickly- 
wooded  uplands  in  ascending  terraces  of  richly  blended 
verdure.  But  the  most  prominent  object  in  the  foreground 
is  old  Vauter's  Church,  standing  in  its  ancient  grove  of 
oak  and  walnut.  It  is  approached  by  the  '  Chvu'ch  Lane,' 
considerably  elevated  above  the  fields  on  either  side,  from 
the  accumulation  of  soil  washing  down  from  the  hills,  and 
is  bordered  by  dense  hedges  of  growth  so  characteristic  of 
the  country,  and  in  Spring  so  exquisitely  fragrant  with 
the  bloom  of  the  wild  grape  and  eglantine. 

"  The  church  is  a  brick  building  of  cruciform  shape, 
with  its  three  high,  sharp  gables  supporting  a  shingle  roof, 
cut  close  to  the  edge  of  the  wall.  Its  high  and  narrow 
windows  are  guarded  by  heavy,  solid  wooden  shutters. 

"  The  present  chancel  raised  one  step  from  the  stone- 
paved  aisles  is  furnished  now  with  two  modern  stands  or 
lecterns,  for  the  service  and  sermon,  but  back  against  the 
wall  there  still  stands  the  old  reading  desk  and  pulpit  above 
it.  .  .  .  The  pews  are  the  same  old  box  stalls  with  benches 
of  uncompromising  rigiditj",  and  furnished  with  clanging 
doors  which  announce  the  retirement  of  the  occupants ;  but 
they  have  been  cut  down  to  nearly  half  of  their  former 
height.  Formerly  pews  and  pulpit  were  so  high  that  both 
minister  and  congregation  could  enjoy  deep  seclusion.  .  .  . 
To  complete  the  description  of  the  venerable  building, 
there  is  only  to  be  added  that  its  walls  are  covered  bj^  the 
most  luxuriant  mantle  of  English  ivy." 

GAY]MONT 

Gaymont  was  the  beautiful  home  of  John  H.  Bernard, 
who  was  a  State  Senator,  and  who  married,  in  1816,  Jane 
Gay  Robertson.     The  house,  which  is  noted  for  its  hand- 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     297 

some  interior,  received  its  name  as  a  compliment  to  his 
wife.    It  is  still  owned  by  the  family. 


THE  HALL  AT  GAYMONT 


ORMESBY 

Ormesby,  an  estate  not  far  from  Guiney's  Depot  on 
the  Richmond,  Fredericksburg  and  Potomac  Railroad,  was 
once  the  propert}^  of  Anthony  Thornton,  of  Stafford 
County,  who  married  Winifred,  daughter  of  Colonel  Peter 
Presley,  of  Northumberland  House,  Northumberland 
County,  and  died  in  1757.  The  Ormesbj^  homestead  is  one 
of  those  interesting-looking,  rambling  frame  houses  which 
in  the  old  Virginia  fashion  grew  with  the  needs  of  the 
family  that  lived  in  it.  It  is  said  that  Anthony  Thornton  I 
built  the  oldest  part  of  the  house  in  about  1715,  and  gave 
the  plantation  to  his  younger  son,  Anthony  II,  who  was  in 
turn  succeeded  by  his  son  Colonel  Anthony  Thornton  III, 
who  as  county  lieutenant  of  Caroline  commanded  the 
militia  of  that  county  at  the  siege  of  Yorktown.  Later 
Colonel  Thornton  sold  Ormesby  to  his  brother  Thomas 
Griffin  Thornton,  and  removed  to  Kentucky. 

Thomas  Griffin  Thornton  was  in  his  day  one  of  the 


298 


VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


most  famous  fox-hunters  in  Virginia,  and  the  old  sporting 
magazines  contain  anecdotes  illustrative  of  the  great  ex- 


ORMESBY.  CAROLINE  COUNTY 


!»_■"  4 


HOUSE  WHERE  STONEWALL  JACKSON  DIED.  FAIRFIELD,  CAROLINE  COUNTY 

cellence  of  his  hounds.     He  finally  sold  Ormesby  to  his 
brother  John,  whose  heirs  still  own  it. 

Before   removing   to    Ormesby,   John    Thornton   had 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     299 

owned  and  lived  at  Fairfield  near  Guinej^'s.  It  was  in 
an  outbuilding  known  as  "  the  office  "  at  Fairfield  that 
Stonewall  Jackson  died. 

NORTH  GARDEN 

North  Garden  was  built  not  long  after  the  Revolution 
by  Captain  Harry  Thornton,  son  of  Anthonj"  Thornton, 
of  Ormesby.  Captain  Thornton  was  a  gentleman  devoted 
to  racing  and  other  sports,  in  consequence  of  which  his 
estate  became  seriously  involved.  The  line  between  Caro- 
line and  Spottsylvania  Counties  runs  through  the  North 


NORTH  GARDEN,  CAROLINE  AND  SPOTTSYLVANIA  COUNTIES 

Garden  yard,  and  the  storj'  goes  that  when  the  sheriff  of 
either  county  would  come  to  arrest  him  for  debt,  he  would 
simply  step  over  the  line  into  the  other  county.  One  day 
the  sheriffs  of  both  counties  came  at  the  same  time  and  the 
gay  captain's  life  of  freedom  seemed  doomed  to  be  brought 
to  a  close.  Appearing  to  give  up  all  hope  of  escape  he 
ordered  his  horse  (which  unknown  to  the  sheriffs  was  a 
racing  mare  famous  for  speed)  and  rode  quietly  off  be- 
tween his  captors.  After  riding  for  a  mile  or  so,  he  stopped, 
pretending  to  arrange  a  stirrup  leather,  while  the  sheriffs 


300       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHrRCHES 


went  ahead  for  a  few  yards;  when  wheehng  his  horse 
about,  the  captain  raised  his  hat  and  with  a  poHte  "  Gentle- 
men. I  have  the  honor  to  wish  you  a  very  good  day,"  gal- 
loped off  at  a  speed  which  the  sheriffs  knew  they  could  not 
equal,  and  so  escaped. 

An  old  gentleman  declares  that  he  has  often  heard  his 
father  say  that  he  had  seen  the  wide  hall  of  North  Garden' 
covered  with  blood  and  feathers,  the  result  of  a  cock  fight — 
a  kind  of  sport  then  in  favor  with  men  of  the  highest  social 
standing. 

Captain  Thornton,  who  soon  after  his  escapade  removed 
to  Kentucky,  married  Anne,  daughter  of  John  Fitzhugh, 
of  Belair,  Stafford  County,  and  left  several  children,  one  of 
whom  was  the  mother  of  the  late  Judge  E.  H.  Fitzhugh, 
of  Richmond. 

North  Garden  was  afterward  bought  by  ]Mr.  Thomas 
Catlett,  after  the  death  of  whose  son  Edward  Catlett  the 
estate  was  sold. 


MARYE  HOUSE,  FREDERICKSBURG 

OLD  HOUSES  IN  FREDERICKSBURG 

Fredericksburg  contains  many  interesting  old  houses, 
among  them  the  frame  cottage  in  which  INIary,  the  mother 
of  Washington,  spent  so  many  years  of  her  life,  and  where 


MARY  WASHINGTON  HOUSE,  FREDERICKSBURG 


RISING  SUN  TAVERN,  FREDERICKSBURG 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     303 

she  died.  It  is  now  owned  by  the  Association  for  the  Pres- 
ervation of  Virginia  Antiquities,  which  organization  has 
also  lately  purchased  in  the  same  town  the  Rising  Sun 
Tavern,  a  famous  old  Colonial  hostelry. 

A  house  believed  to  be  the  one  in  which  William  Paul, 
the  brother  of  John  Paul  Jones,  lived  and  the  home  of  John 
Paul  Jones  himself  during  his  residence  in  Fredericksburg 
is  pointed  out. 

On  the  heights  above  the  town  stands  the  well-known 
INIarye  House  which  figured  conspicuously  in  the  Battle 
of  Fredericksburg. 


KENMORE,  FREDERICKSBURG 

KENMORE 

In  the  suburbs  of  Fredericksburg  is  Kenmore,  built  by 
Colonel  Fielding  Lewis  ( 1725-1781 )  ,^  who  married  Eliza- 
beth (familiarly  known  as  "Betty"),  sister  of  George 
Washington. 

^  For  the  descendants  of  John  and  Frances  (Fielding)  Lewis, 
see  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  ix,  261  et  seq. 


304       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Colonel  Lewis,  who  was  the  son  of  Honorable  John 
Lewis  III  (1702-1754)  of  Warner  Hall,  Gloucester 
County,  and  Frances  Fielding,  was  a  man  of  prominence 
in  his  day  and  during  the  Revolution  conducted  for  the 
State  a  manufactory  of  arms,  at  Fredericksburg.  His  son 
Lawrence  married  the  beautiful  "  Xellv  "  Custis. 


THE  PARLOR  AT  KEXMORE 


Later,  Kenmore  was  owned  for  many  years  by  the  well- 
known  family  of  Gordon.  It  was,  until  her  "death,  the 
property  and  home  of  ]Mrs.  William  Key  Howard. 

Kenmore  is  especially  noted  for  the  beautiful  orna- 
mental jjlaster  work  on  the  ceilings  of  some  of  its  rooms, 
said  to  have  been  the  work  of  Hessian  prisoners  during 
the  Revolution. 

MAXXSFIELD 

A  short  distance  below  Fredericksburg,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Rappahannock,  may  he  seen  some  ruined  walls 
which  are  all  that  remains  of  ]Mannsfield,  originally  the 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     305 

home  of  JNIann  Page  (a  member  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress )  and  afterward  the  property  of  the  Bernard  family.* 
This  fine  old  house  was  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  Federal 
guns  during  the  great  battle. 

THE  FALLS  AND  FALL  HJLL 

Francis  Thornton  (1681-post  1738) ,  grandson  of  Wil- 
liam Thornton  of  Gloucester  County,  first  of  the  family  in 
Virginia,  settled  in  1702,  at  Snow  Creek,  then  in  Essex, 


THE  FALLS.  NEAR  FREDERICKSBURG 

now  Caroline  County,  to  the  east  of  the  present  Fredericks- 
burg, and  at  that  date  the  very  "  outpost  "  on  the  Rappa- 
hannock River.  Thornton  was  a  large  land  owner,  a 
representative  for  Caroline,  in  the  House  of  Burgesses,  in 
1723  and  1736,  and  an  early  explorer  of  the  Piedmont  sec- 
tion. Thornton  River  is  named  for  him.  He  built  the 
quaint  old  home  known  as  "  The  Falls,"  about  a  mile  west 
of  Fredericksburg.  The  house  at  "  Fall  Hill,"  which  com- 
mands one  of  the  most  magnificent  views  in  the  Rappa- 


*  Bei-nard   family :    William  and  Mary   Quarterly,  v, 
181-187. 

20 


62-64., 


306 


MRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


hannock  Valley,  was  erected  some  years  later.  The  ex- 
tensive estate,  which  included  both  "  The  Falls  "  and  "  Fall 
Hill,"  was  inherited  by  Francis  Thornton  (1714-1749), 
son  of  the  old  settler,  who  represented  Spottsylvania 
County  in  the  House  of  Burgesses  1744-1754,  and  mar- 
ried Frances,  daughter  of  Roger  and  Mildred  (Washing- 
ton) Gregory.  Another  Francis  Thornton  (who  died  in 
1795),  son  of  Francis  and  Frances  (Gregory)  Thornton, 
succeeded  to  the  estate,  on  the  death  of  his  father,  and 


^ 

W^p'\^[ 

■-^.--.-■^:iij£-   .      :-^  . 

■     ! 

|li!!iiil!lillllW3ilt     JK 

tAxWm  %t 

FALL  HILL 

marrying  Anne,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Thompson  and 
his  wife,  Butler  Braj^ne  (widow  of  Governor  Alexander 
Spotswood) ,  became  the  father  of  Francis  Thornton  (born 
1760),  who  married  Sally,  daughter  of  the  celebrated 
Judge  Harry  Innes,  of  Virginia  and  Kentucky.  To 
Francis  and  Sally  (Innes)  Thornton  were  born  four 
daughters,  three  of  whom  in  after-years  became — ]\Irs. 
J.  H.  Fitzgerald,  Mrs.  Murray  Forbes,  Mrs.  Thomas 
jNIarshall;  the  fourth.  Miss  Butler  Brayne,  dying  un- 
married; and  four  sons:  Francis  Thornton,  a  minister; 
Harry  Innes  Thornton,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Alabama, 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     307 

and  the  Court  of  Claims  of  San  Francisco;  James  Innes 
Thornton,  Secretary  of  State  for  Alabama,  and  Robert 
Calloway  Thornton,  who  died  unmarried. 

At  "  The  Falls,"  which  has  long  since  passed  out  of  the 
Thornton  family,  are  the  tombs  of  many  generations  of 
the  house.  "  Fall  Hill  "  is  still  a  family  possession  and  is 
now  owned  by  Mrs.  Frederick  Robinson,  of  Transvaal, 
South  Africa. 

At  "  Fall  Hill  "  is  an  interesting  old  grave :  that  of 
Katrina,  an  Indian,  who  was  the  nurse  of  Francis  Thorn- 
ton, the  fourth  of  the  name  mentioned  above.  This  Francis 
Thornton  frequently  told  his  little  grandchildren  of  how 
the  Indian  maid  covered  him  with  leaves  and  hid  herself 
among  them  and  called  the  partridges  around  and  some- 
times caught  them  in  this  way.  The  Indians  came  to  see 
him  when  passing  through  the  country  and  he  always  spoke 
of  them  as  his  friends. 

General  Lee  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  "  Fall  Hill," 
and  at  one  time,  in  the  thick  of  the  firing  which  he  was 
watching  from  this  place,  he  is  said  to  have  turned  his 
glasses  from  the  battlefield  to  Chatham,  across  the  river, 
to  see  if  the  apple  tree,  under  which  he  courted  his  wife, 
was  still  standing.  Shortly  after  the  war.  General  Lee, 
while  on  a  visit  to  "  Fall  Hill,"  advised  Mrs.  Taylor  (whose 
mother  was  Sally  Innes  Thornton, wife  of  Murray  Forbes) 
to  obliterate  every  trace  of  the  war,  she  having  preserved, 
as  an  historic  landmark,  the  trunk  of  a  large  tree,  on  the 
lawn  (then  covered  with  ivy),  the  top  of  which  had  been 
torn  away  by  a  cannon  ball  from  the  enemy  on  the  Stafford 
side. 

ROXBURY 

The  Roxbury  estate  in  Spottsylvania  County,  between 
the  Ta  and  Po  Rivers,  originally  consisted  of  1500  acres, 
but  was  reduced  after  the  War  between  the  States  to  1100. 
It  is  believed  to  have  been  patented  by  Captain  Harry 
Beverley,  son  of  Major  Robert  Beverley,  clerk  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  and  to  have  been  inherited  by  his 


308       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

grandson,  Beverley  Stanard  (1721-1765),  who  was  ap- 
pointed a  justice  of  Middlesex  County  in  1742,  removed 
to  Spottsylvania  County  and  built  the  present  house  at 
Roxbury  about  1745.°'  His  tomb  may  still  be  seen  in  the 
graveyard  there.  He  left  Roxbury  and  Stanardsville  (an 
estate  of  5200  acres  in  what  was  then  Orange  but  is  now 
Greene  County)  to  his  eldest  son  William  Stanard,  who 
was  an  officer  of  minute  men  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revo- 
lution,   and    was    sheriff    of    Spottsylvania,    1802-1804. 


ROXBURY,  SPOTTSYLVANIA  COUNTY 

William  Stanard  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Colonel 
Edward  Carter,  of  Blenheim,  Albemarle,  and  had  many 
children. 

After  William  Stanard's  death,  in  October,  1809,  his 
heirs  sold  Roxbury  to  his  nephew,  Robert  Stanard,  who 
was  speaker  of  the  House  of  Delegates  and  judge  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals.  Judge  Stanard's  father  was  Larkin 
Stanard,  of  Stanfield,  Spottsylvania  ( a  cadet  in  the  Revo- 
lution and  a  member  of  the  House  of  Delegates,  1798- 
1803) ,  and  one  of  his  brothers  was  Captain  Beverley  Chew 
Stanard  (captain  in  the  War  of  1812  and  member  of  the 

®  Stanard  family:  Hayden,  Virginia  Genealogies,  p.  279. 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     309 

House  of  Delegates  for  Chesterfield,  1805-1811),  whose 
son  John  Champe  Stanard,  of  Richmond,  occupied  Rox- 
bury  for  many  years. 

After  Judge  Stanard's  death,  May  14,  1846,  Roxbury 
was  inherited  by  his  son  Robert  C.  Stanard,  long  a  prom- 
inent lawyer  of  Richmond,  and  a  member  of  the  State 
Senate,  and  of  the  Convention  of  1851.  From  him  it  de- 
scended to  his  only  son  Hugh  Mercer  Stanard,  Captain 
in  the  Confederate  Army  on  General  Magruder's  staff. 
After  Captain  Stanard's  death  it  became  the  property  of 
his  mother,  Mrs.  Martha  Stanard,  who  some  years  later 
sold  it  to  her  brother,  Mr.  Pierce.  It  has  since  again  been 
sold.  The  estate  was  the  property  of  the  Stanard  family 
for  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years. 

The  house,  which  is  believed  to  be  the  oldest  residence  in 
Spottsjdvania  Countj^  is  a  well-preserved  frame  building, 
and  the  parlor,  wainscoted  to  the  ceiling,  is  a  handsome 
example  of  the  work  of  that  early  daJ^ 

Having  ascended  the  south  bank  of  the  Rappahannock 
to  Spottsylvania  County,  we  now  return  to  the  Chesapeake 
Bay,  in  Northumberland  County. 

DITCHLEY 

Ditchley  looks  upon  the  Chesapeake  Baj\  About  the 
year  1647  Colonel  Richard  Lee,  the  first  of  the  famous  Lee 
family  in  Virginia,  settled  on  a  plantation  at  Dividing 
Creek,  Northumberland  County,  which  he  named  Ditchlej^ 
He  was  succeeded  there  by  his  seventh  son  Hancock  Lee 
(1653-1709),  a  prominent  man  in  his  day,  whose  first 
wife  was  Mary,  daughter  of  the  Honorable  William 
Kendall,  of  "  the  Eastern  Shore,"  and  his  second,  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  the  "  converted  "  Puritan,  Isaac  Aller- 
ton  II,  and  granddaughter  of  those  stern  New  England 
worthies  the  first  Isaac  Allerton  and  "  Elder  "  William 
Brewster.  Hancock  Lee  was  buried  at  Ditchley,  where 
his  tomb  may  still  be  seen. 

The  original  Ditchley  house  is  said  to  have  dated  from 
about  1687,  but  the  present  homestead,  situated  about  two 


310       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

hundred  yards  from  the  site  of  its  predecessor,  was  built 
by  Kendall  Lee,  grandson  of  Hancock  Lee,  about  the  year 

1765.  .,  , 

Ditchlev  remained  in  the  Lee  family  until  1789,  when 
William  Lee  sold  it  to  James  Ball,  Jr.  (1718-1789) ,  who 
had  married  said  Lee's  aunt,  Lettice  Lee  (1731-1811 ) ,  and 


DITCHLEY,  NORTHUMBERLAND  COUNTY 


it  has  ever  since  been  the  property  of  the  well-known  family 
of  Ball.  A  recent  owner  was  Captain  James  F.  Ball,  a 
gallant  officer  in  the  Confederate  Army. 

There  is  still  in  use  at  Wycomoco  Church,  Northumber- 
land Parish,  a  communion  cup  bearing  the  inscription,  "  Ex 
Dono  Hancock  Lee  to  Ye  Parish  of  Lee,  1711." 

MANTUA 

Probably  no  house  in  Tidewater,  Virginia,  has  such  a 
site  as  Mantua,  Northumberland  County.  Standing  on  a 
commanding  hill,  with  the  Coan  River  and  the  broad  Coan 
Inlet  almost  beneath  it,  the  view  includes  this  beautiful 
sheet  of  water  on  one  side  and  beyond  the  wide  Potomac, 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     311 

here  nearly  at  its  mouth.  To  the  right  of  the  Coan,  fertile 
fields  and  fruitful  orchards,  interspersed  with  woodlands, 
stretch  to  the  great  river.  To  one  who  has  seen  this  view 
in  early  summer,  its  memory  comes  back  as  a  thing  of  un- 
usual beauty. 

James  Smith,  who  was  born  in  the  County  of  Derry, 


.MANTUA,  NORTHUMBERLAND  COUNTY 


Ireland,  emigrated  to  America  and  acquired  a  large  for- 
tune, in  business,  in  Baltimore.  Later,  he  bought  several 
thousand  acres  in  Northumberland  County,  Virginia  (in- 
cluding the  old  Northumberland  House  estate,  which  was 
for  a  large  part  of  two  centuries  the  home  of  the  notable 
family  of  Presley,  now  extinct ) ,  and  built  the  present  hand- 
some house.  At  his  death,  in  1832,  the  estate  was  inherited 
by  his  son,  Col.  James  M.  Smith,  who  married  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Willoughby  Newton,  of  Lee  Hall,  Westmore- 
land County.  At  Col.  Smith's  death,  the  property  was 
divided  among  his  children,  whose  heirs  are  represented  in 
the  names  of  Brockenbrough,  Hall,  Barron,  Lamb,  and 
Howard. 

Mantua  with  several  hundred  acres  has  for  a  number  of 


312       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

years  been  the  property  of  Hon.  Wm.  A.  Jones,  of  War- 
saw, Va.,  who  for  so  manj'  years  has  been  member  of  Con- 
gress for  the  "  Northern  Neck  district." 

BEWDLEY 

Bewdley,  in  Lancaster  County,  is  one  of  the  most  un- 
usual looking  houses  in  Virginia.  It  is  a  frame  building 
with  four  great  chimneys,  two  at  each  end,  towering  above 
it,  and  from  its  high,  shingled  roof  two  rows  of  dormer 
windows,  like  so  many  heavily-lidded  eyes,  look  out.  The 
exact  date  when  the  house  was  built  is  not  known,  but  the 
estate  has  been  owned  by  a  branch  of  the  Ball  family  for 
two  hundred  years,  and  perhaps  longer.  It  is  first  men- 
tioned as  the  home  of  Major  James  Ball  (1678-1754),  a 
grandson  of  the  first  of  the  Ball  family  in  Virginia,'^  and 
a  first  cousin  of  ]\Iary  Ball,  the  mother  of  Washington. 

Major  Ball  was  succeeded  at  Bewdley  by  his  son 
Colonel  James  Ball  (1718-1789),  who  was  many  years  a 
member  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Delegates  and  also  a 
member  of  the  Convention  of  1788.  His  son  and  heir, 
Colonel  James  Ball  (1755-1825),  of  Bewdley,  was  like- 
wise frequently  in  the  House  of  Delegates.  Among  the 
sons  of  this  last  named  Colonel  Ball  was  William  Lee  Ball, 
for  several  terms  a  member  of  Congress. 

A  recent  o\vner  of  Bewdley  was  Captain  James  Ken- 
dall Ball,  of  the  9th  Virginia  Cavalry,  Confederate  States 
Army. 

EPPING  FOREST 

Epping  Forest  is  historic  as  the  birthplace  of  Mary 
Ball  (1707/8-1789),  the  mother  of  Washington.  Her 
father,  Colonel  Joseph  Ball  (who  was  born  in  England, 
May  24,  1649),  died  at  Epping  Forest  in  1711.  As  he 
left  the  plantation  to  his  wife  for  life  it  is  probable  that 
after  her  death  it  became  the  property  of  his  only  son, 
Joseph  Ball,  who  removed  to  England,  where  he  was  a 
bachelor  of  Grey's  Inn,  and  died  in  London,  1762. 

^  Ball  family :  Hayden,  Virginia  Genealogies,  p.  45  et  seq^. 


BE\YDLEY,  LANCASTER  COUNTY 


■i 

EPPING  FOREST,  LANCASTER  COUNI Y 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     315 

TOWLES  POINT 

Towles  Point,  in  Lancaster  County,  is  not  only  one  of 
the  oldest  houses  in  Virginia,  but  is  remarkable  for  having 
continued  for  more  than  two  hundred  j'ears  in  the  posses- 
sion of  one  family.  Henry  Towles,  Jr.,  removed  from  the 
Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia  in  1711,  and  built  the  house  at 
Towles  Point.  He  married  Anne  Therett  and,  dying  in 
1734,  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Stokeley  Towles,  who  mar- 
ried Catherine  Martin  and  had  (besides  Colonel  Thomas 
Towles  and  INIajor  Stokeley  Towles,  each  of  whom  was  a 


TOWLKS  POINT,  LANCASTER  COUNTY 


militia  officer  during  the  Revolution)  a  son,  Colonel  Henry 
Towles  (1738-1799),  who  succeeded  his  father  at  Towles 
Point.  Henry  Towles,  who  was  a  colonel  of  militia 
during  the  Revolution,  and  County  Lieutenant  of  Lan- 
caster, in  1794,  married,  in  1760,  Judith  HajTies.  Colonel 
Towles  had  eight  children  and  at  his  death  the  estate  was 
sold  for  division,  but  was  bought  by  his  daughter,  Frances, 
who  had  married  her  cousin  Porteus  Towles  (1777-1821) . 
Porteus  and  Frances  Towles  were  succeeded  at  Towles 
Point  by  their  son,  Wilham  Henry  Towles  (1803-1836), 
who  married  Keturah,  widow  of  Thomas  Towles.    At  the 


316       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

death  of  W.  H.  Towles  the  old  home  again  passed  by  in- 
heritance to  his  son  James  Towles  (1829-1896),  who  mar- 
ried Josephine  Isabella  Whittington,  and  left  a  number 
of  children,  one  of  whom,  Howard  JNIcJelton  Towles,  a 
prominent  lawyer  of  Baltimore,  is  the  present  owner  of 
Towles  Point.'  ■  . 

CHRIST  CHURCH,  LANCASTER 

One  of  the  best  examples  of  Colonial  church  archi- 
tecture in  Virginia  is  Christ  Church,  Lancaster  County, 
built  in  1732,  to  replace  an  earlier  structure.  The  parish 
is  an  old  one,  dating,  under  various  names,  from  about 
1652. 

Robert  Carter,  of  Corotoman,  generally  known,  on 
account  of  his  estate  and  wealth,  as  "  King  Carter,"  offered 
to  build  the  church  at  his  own  expense,  provided  it  should 
be  placed  upon  the  site  of  the  older  sanctuary  and,  to  quote 
his  will,  "  Provided  always  the  chancel  be  preserved  as  a 
burial  place  for  my  family,  as  the  present  chancel  is,  and 
that  there  be  preserved  for  my  family  a  commodious  pew 
in  the  chancel." 

The  vestry  book  shows  that  Colonel  Carter  did  bear 
the  whole  expense  of  this  handsome  building,  reserving  one- 
fourth  of  its  seating  capacity  for  his  servants  and  tenants, 
besides  a  very  large  pew  near  the  chancel-rail  for  his  own 
family. 

Three  miles  away  on  the  broad  Rappahannock,  near 
its  mouth,  stood  the  Carter  home,  Corotoman,  in  the  midst 
of  its  great  plantation  of  8000  acres.  From  his  home  to 
his  church  "  King  Carter  "  built  a  splendid  road  drained 
by  deep  ditches  and  walled  on  each  side  by  a  hedge  of 
goodly  cedars.  Along  this  avenue  the  Corotoman  coach 
rolled  on  Sundays,  and  tradition  says  that  the  rest  of  the 
congregation  waited  in  the  churchyard  until  its  arrival, 

^  Towles  Family,  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography, 
viii,  .320-321,  428-429,  and  ix,  198-200,  324-326,  433-435. 


CHRIST  CHURCH.  LANCASTER  COUNTY 


INTERIOR  CHRIST  CHURCH 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC    319 

when  they  followed  the  bewigged  and  beruffled  "  King  " 
into  church. 

Christ  Church  is  the  only  Colonial  house  of  worship  in 
Virginia  that  has  never  been  altered,  and  it  stands  to-day 
as  characteristic  of  its  time,  as  strong  and  as  impressive  as 
when  the  Carters  enjoyed  the  seclusion  of  its  high-backed 
pews  that  screened  them  from  all  eyes  except  those  of  the 
preacher  in  a  pulpit  so  lofty  that  it  seemed  to  Bishop  Meade 
when  standing  in  it  to  be  "  hung  in  the  air."  The  church 
is  in  the  form  of  a  cross.  Its  walls  of  checkered  brick-work 
are  three  feet  thick,  and  into  them  are  deeply  set  large 
windows  with  many  little  square  panes.  The  ceiling,  with 
its  beautiful  groined  arches,  is  thirty-three  feet  from  the 
floor  at  the  highest  point  above  the  intersection  of  its  stone- 
paved  aisles.  The  walls  are  panelled  with  black  walnut  as 
high  as  the  tops  of  the  pew-backs,  above  which  they  are 
covered  with  white  plaster,  which  still  looks  as  smooth  and 
as  solid  as  rock.  The  great  square  pews,  with  seats  running 
all  around  them  (some  of  them  capable  of  holding  twenty 
persons,  and  all  as  many  as  twelve),  the  pulpit,  with  its 
pretty  winding  stair  and  quaint  sounding-board,  the  clerk's 
desk,  the  carved  chancel-rail  and  massive  communion  table, 
are  also  of  walnut. 

"  King "  Carter's  father.  Colonel  John  Carter,  the 
founder  of  the  Virginia  family,  had  been  buried  in  the 
chancel  of  the  earlier  church;  but  the  rest  of  the  Carters 
sleep  outside  beneath  splendid,  but  dilapidated  marbles, 
bearing  fragments  of  elaborate  coats-of-arms  and  long 
inscriptions. 

Bishop  Meade,  writing  of  a  service  held  by  him  in 
Christ  Church  in  1838,  says,  "  Peculiarly  delightful  it  was 
to  raise  the  voice  in  a  house  whose  sacred  form  and  beautiful 
arches  seemed  to  give  force  and  music  to  the  feeblest  tongue 
beyond  any  other  building  in  which  I  ever  performed  or 
heard  the  hallowed  services  of  the  sanctuary." 

Through  the  assistance  of  the  Association  for  the  Pres- 
ervation of  Virginia  Antiquities,  and  other  friends  of  this 
most  interesting  old  church,  it  has  of  late  years  been  re- 


320       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

shingled,  broken  panes  of  glass  in  the  windows  have  been 
replaced  and  other  repairs  made. 

On  account  of  its  inaccessibility  to  most  members  of  the 
parish  at  the  present  day,  it  has  only  been  used  for  occa- 
sional services  for  a  long  time  past. 

ST.  MARY'S  WHITE  CHAPEL 

Just  when  St.  oNIary's  White  Chapel,  in  Lancaster 
County,  was  built  is  not  known,  but  dates  on  the  com- 
munion plate  and  tombstones  suggest  that  it  was  about 


ST.  MARYS  WHITE  CHAPEL,  LANCASTER  COUNTY 

the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It  is  a  glazed  brick 
building  and  was  originally  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  with 
three  galleries,  one  of  them  owned  by  31a j or  James  Ball 
and  Mr.  Joseph  Ball,  one  by  the  Downman  family,  while 
the  third  was  reserved  for  colored  servants  whose  masters 
were  members  of  the  parish. 

In  1739  the  church  was  badly  out  of  repair  and  the 
congregation  pulled  down  the  arms  of  the  cross  and  re- 
paired and  restored  the  rest  of  the  building.  This  left  a 
structure,  sixtv  feet  long  and  thirtv  broad,  with  an  arched 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     321 

ceiling.  Later  still  the  high  pews  and  pulpit  were  cut 
down. 

St.  Mary's  White  Chapel  still  possesses  a  silver  chalice 
inscribed,  "  The  gift  of  David  Fox,  1669,"  and  a  silver 
paten  believed  to  have  been  given  by  George  Spencer,  in 
1691.  David  Fox  also  gave  the  church,  in  1702,  two  tablets 
bearing  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  the  will  of  his  son. 
Captain  William  Fox,  under  date  1717,  contained  the  fol- 
lowing direction,  "  My  wife  shall  send  for  the  Lord's 
Prayer  and  Creed,  well  drawn  in  gold  letters,  and  my  name 
under  each  of  them,  set  in  decent  black  frames,  as  a  gift  to 
St.  JNIary's  White  Chapel."  All  four  of  the  tablets  are  of 
massive  black  walnut  with  hand  carved  letters  heavily 
gilded  with  gold-leaf.  The  marble  font  is  also  a  bequest 
of  William  Fox.  Another  interesting  possession  is  a  Bible 
given  by  Raleigh  Downman. 

St.  Mary's  White  Chapel  was  the  church  of  the  Balls, 
Washington's  ancestors  on  his  mother's  side,  and  in  the 
churchyard  most  of  the  oldest  tombs  bear  the  name  of  Ball. 
The  old  communion  table  in  the  chancel  once  had  a  cover  of 
green  velvet  with  gold  fringe  and  in  the  centre  the  Ball 
coat-of-arms  heavily  embossed  in  gold. 

NOMINI  HALL 

All  that  now  remains  of  Nomini  Hall,  the  once  noted 
seat  of  the  Carters  in  Westmoreland  Count)",  is  an  avenue 
of  poplars. 

The  estate,  which  contains  several  thousand  acres,  was 
the  home  of  Robert  Carter,  called,  from  his  membership 
in  the  Council  of  State,  "  Councillor  Carter."  He  was  a 
grandson  of  Robert  ("King")  Carter  (1663-1732). 

The  spacious  brick  mansion  which  once  graced  the 
Nomini  Hall  plantation,  and  the  family  that  lived  in  it, 
have  been  made  widety  known  bj^  the  publication  of  the 
sprightly  diary  of  Philip  Vickers  Fithian,  a  tutor  in  the 
Carter  family  during  the  years  just  preceding  the  Revo- 
lution. 

21 


3^2^       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Part  of  the  original  estate,  with  a  modern  house,  is 
now  owned  and  occupied  by  some  of  Councillor  Carter's 
descendants,  the  Arnest  family. 

BLADEXSFIELD 

The  farm  near  Warsaw,  Riclimond  Comity,  on  which 
this  quaint  old  house  stands  was  once  part  of  the  great 
estate  of  Robert  ("  King  ")  Carter.  In  1733,  on  the  divi- 
sion of  part  of  his  property,  it  was  assigned  to  his  grandson, 
Robert  Carter  of  Xomini.  This  gentleman,  or  his  wife, 
most  probably  (who  was  Frances,  daughter  of  Benjamin 


BLADEXSFIELD.  RICHMOND  COUNTY 


Tasker,  President  of  the  Council  of  ^Maryland,  and  his  wife 
Anne  Bladen),  gave  to  the  place  the  present  name.  In 
January,  1790,  ]Mr.  Carter  conveyed  Bladensfield  to  his 
son-in-law,  John  Peck,  whose  heirs,  in  1842,  sold  it  to 
Reverend  William  Xorvell  "^Vard,  whose  family  has  since 
owned  it.  Well  founded  tradition  states  that  the  home  was 
once  occupied  by  Xathaniel  Rochester,  a  native  of  West- 
moreland County,  A^irginia,  who  was  a  colonel  in  the  Con- 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     323 

tinental  Army  and  for  whom  the  city  of  Rochester,  N.  Y., 
was  named.  Bladensfield  is  beheved  to  have  been  built 
early  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

KIRNAN 

Kirnan,  in  the  upper  part  of  Westmoreland  County, 
was  originally  known  as  "  China  Hall."  The  Reverend 
Archibald  Campbell,  an  uncle  of  the  English  poet  Thomas 
Campbell,  bought  it  before  the  Revolution  and  changed 
its  name  to  Kirnan  in  honor  of  his  ancestral  home  in  Scot- 


KIRNAN,  WESTMORELAND  COUNTY 


land.  Mr.  Campbell  was  the  rector  of  Washington  Parish, 
Westmoreland,  for  years  before  the  Revolution  and  also 
taught  a  school  at  Kirnan  which  tradition  says  was  attended 
by  Presidents  Washington  and  Monroe. 

Several  of  Parson  Campbell's  sons  were  prominent 
lawyers,  one  of  them  being  the  first  United  States  district 
attorney.  One  of  his  grandsons,  Ferdinand  Stuart  Camp- 
bell, a  distinguished  professor  at  William  and  Mary  Col- 


3U       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

lege,  took  the  name  of  Stuart  upon  inheriting  a  Scottish 
estate. 

In  later  days  Kirnan  became  the  home  of  the  Bowie 
family. 

STRATFORD 

In  an  out  of  the  way  corner  of  Westmoreland  County, 
in  the  midst  of  a  vast  and  wooded  estate,  on  a  high  bluff 
of  the  Potomac  River,  and  approached  from  the  landward 
by  a  narrow,  lonely,  and  densely  shaded  road,  stands  Strat- 
ford, the  sturdy  castle  of  the  sturdy  race  of  Lee  of  Virginia. 

From  the  landing  of  their  first  ancestor  upon  American 
shores,  about  1640,  until  the  present  day,  these  Lees  have 
never  lacke,d  sons  to  render  service  to  their  country  and  to 
make  their  name  illustrious.  Founded  in  Virginia  by  a 
gentleman  of  worth  and  estate  who  held  some  of  the  highest 
offices  in  the  Colonial  government,  this  family  has  given 
to  Virginia  one  governor,  four  members  of  the  Council  of 
State,  and  twelve  members  of  the  House  of  Burgesses;  to 
the  colony  of  ^Maryland  two  councillors  and  three  members 
of  the  Assembly;  to  the  American  Revolution  four  mem- 
bers of  the  Convention  of  1776  which  organized  the  State 
of  Virginia,  two  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, and  their  three  other  eminent  brothers,  Thomas  Lud- 
well,  William  and  Arthur  Lee;  and  the  foremost  cavalrj" 
officer  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  "  Light  Horse  Harry  " 
Lee.  To  the  civil  service  of  the  United  States  the  family 
has  furnished  one  attorney  general  and  several  members  of 
Congress,  and  to  the  State  of  Virginia,  two  governors;  to 
the  State  of  JMaryland,  a  governor,  and  to  the  Confederate 
States,  the  great  commander  of  its  armies,  three  major 
generals  and  one  brigadier  general.  Later,  during  the 
troubles  which  culminated  in  the  war  with  Spain,  General 
Fitzhugh  Lee  gained  added  distinction  as  consul  general 
to  Cuba  and  as  a  major  general  of  the  LTnited  States  Army. 

Part  of  the  Stratford  estate  was  patented  by  Richard 
Lee,  the  emigrant,  and  was  inherited  by  his  son  John,  who 
took  his  "  bachelor's  "  degree  in  1662  at  Oxford,  where  his 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     325 

memory  is  perpetuated  bj'  a  silver  cup  bearing  the  Lee 
arms  and  an  inscription,  given  by  him  to  Queen's  College. 
This  John.  Lee  seems  to  have  been  a  merry  bachelor,  as 
there  is  on  record  in  Westmoreland  County  an  agreement 
made  in  1670,  between  him  and  his  neighbors,  Thomas 
Gerrard  and  Isaac  Allerton,  to  build  a  banqueting  hall  at  a 
point  where  their  estates  met,  where  annually  each  in  turn 
should  "  make  an  honorable  treatment."  After  John  Lee's 
death,  in  1673,  Stratford  passed  to  his  brother.  Colonel 
Richard  Lee  (1647-1714),  of  the  Council,  who,  however, 
made  his  abode  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  also  in  Westmoreland 
County.  The  first  mansion  at  Stratford  was  built  by 
Thomas  Lee  (1690-1750),  a  younger  son  of  this  Richard, 
but  it  was  soon  afterward  burned  by  convict  servants, 
whom  Mr.  Lee,  sitting  as  magistrate,  had  sentenced  to  be 
punished  for  some  offence.  A  contemporaneous  issue  of 
The  Maryland  Gazette  says,  "  Last  Wednesday  night 
Colonel  Thomas  Lee's  fine  house  in  Virginia  was  burnt, 
his  office,  barns  and  outhouses,  his  plate,  cash  (to  the  sum 
of  £10,000) ,  papers  and  everything  entirely  lost.  His  lady 
and  child  were  forced  to  be  thrown  out  of  a  window,  and 
he  himself  hardlj^  escaped  the  flames,  being  much  scorched. 
A  white  girl  about  twelve  years  old,  a  servant,  perished  in 
the  fire.  It  is  said  that  Colonel  Lee's  loss  is  not  less  than 
£50,000."    The  fire  occurred  in  1729. 

Public  records  in  the  Virginia  State  Capitol  show  that 
the  English  government  gave  Colonel  Lee  £300  sterling 
as  a  reward  for  loss  incurred  from  faithfulness  to  duty. 
Soon  after  the  fire  Colonel  Lee  built  the  present  Stratford 
house. 

The  builder  of  Stratford  was  a  man  of  great  promi- 
nence in  his  day  and  as  president  of  the  Council  was  act- 
ing governor  of  the  colony  from  September  5,  1749,  until 
his  death,  on  November  14,  1750.  He,  like  his  famous  son 
Richard  Henry,  was  buried  in  the  old  family  bur5ring- 
ground  at  Mt.  Pleasant.  Perhaps  no  Virginian  parents 
have  had  a  greater  number  of  distinguished  sons  than 
Colonel  Thomas  Lee  and  his  wife  Hannah,  daughter  of 


326       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Honorable  Philip  Ludwell  II.  Two  of  them,  Richard 
Henry  (1732-1794)  and  Francis  Lightfoot  (1734-1797), 
were  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence ;  two  oth- 
ers, William  (1739-1795)  and  Arthur  ( 1740-1792),  ren- 
dered distinguished  service  for  their  country  abroad  during 
the  Revolution ;  the  fourth  son,  Thomas  Ludwell  Lee  ( 1730- 
1778),  held  a  conspicuous  place  as  a  patriot  and  lawj^er, 
but  died  in  1778,  and  Philip  Ludwell  Lee  (1726/7-1775), 
the  eldest  son,  was  a  member  of  the  Council  of  State  of 
Virginia. 

Honorable  Philip  Ludwell  Lee  at  his  death,  in  1775, 
left  two  daughters,  who  eventually  became  his  co-heiresses. 
The  elder,  ]Matilda,  became  the  wife  of  her  cousin  Henry 
(1756-1818),  the  dashing  "  Light  Horse  Harry  "  Lee  of 
Revolutionary  fame.  She  died  in  1790,  but  as  she  left 
several  children,  her  husband  continued  to  make  his  home 
at  Stratford.  Upon  June  18,  1793,  he  married,  as  his 
second  wife,  Anne  Hill  Carter,  of  Shirley,  and  upon  Janu- 
ary 19,  1807,  their  immortal  son,  Robert  Edward  Lee,  in 
whom  the  ancient  dream  of  a  spotless  as  well  as  valorous 
knight  came  true,  was  born  at  Stratford,  and  in  the  same 
room  in  which  his  famous  kinsmen,  Richard  Henry  and 
Francis  Lightfoot  Lee,  had  first  seen  the  light.  The  room 
is  that  to  the  right  of  the  entrance,  as  one  looks  at  the 
picture. 

After  the  death  of  "  Light  Horse  Harry  "  Lee,  Strat- 
ford passed  to  his  son  by  his  first  marriage,  jNIajor  Henry 
Lee,  a  man  of  brilliant  talent,  who  died  in  Paris  in  1837. 
After  his  death  the  estate  passed  from  the  family  and  is 
now  the  home  and  property  of  Dr.  Stviart. 

Stratford  house  consists  of  two  wings  thirty  feet  wide 
by  sixty  deep,  connected  by  a  "  great  hall  "  of  twenty-five 
by  thirty  feet,  which  gives  the  mansion  the  form  of  the 
letter  H.  The  ceiling  of  this  hall  is  lofty  and  dome-shaped, 
and  its  walls  are  panelled  in  oak,  with  built-in  bookcases 
of  the  same  wood  between  the  doors  which  lead  into  the 
wings.  At  the  ends  are  doors,  flanked  on  either  side  by 
large  windows,  leading  into  the  grounds  and  garden.    It  is 


STRATFORD,  WESTMORELAND  COUNTY 


SABINE  HALL,  RICHMOND  COUNTY 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     329 

thus  well  lighted  and  airy  and  in  the  old  days  was  used  as 
library  and  living-room. 

Topping  the  pointed  roof  of  each  wing  is  a  cluster  of 
four  tall,  square  chimneys,  joined  by  arches,  each  cluster 
having  much  the  effect  of  a  square  turret.  This  unique 
arrangement  of  the  chimneys  makes  possible  an  interesting 
feature  of  one  of  the  wings,  which  is  known  as  the  secret 
chamber.  A  small  room  is  hidden  in  the  stack  of  chimneys, 
the  four  of  which  form  its  walls.  For  manj^  years  it  was 
so  secret,  indeed,  that  its  existence  was  not  so  much  as 
suspected,  and  it  was  only  discovered  when  a  carpenter  in 
taking  some  lumber  from  the  garret  accidentally  disturbed 
a  plank  which  concealed  its  entrance.  The  room  is  entered 
from  above,  by  means  of  this  plank,  which  is  made  to  slide 
backward  and  forward  under  the  floor,  fastening  on  the 
inner  side  by  a  spring,  thus  forming  a  sort  of  trap-door. 
It  is  about  eight  feet  square  and  ten  deep,  and  bears  evi- 
dent marks  of  use,  the  walls  being  disfigured  in  several 
places  by  smoke  of  a  lamp  or  candle  and  the  floor  spotted 
with  grease  or  ink. 

In  the  grounds  at  a  distance  of  some  fifty  or  sixty  feet 
from  the  four  corners  of  the  mansion  were  four  outhouses, 
storehouses,  office  and  kitchen.  A  fair-sized  ox  could  be 
roasted  in  the  kitchen's  great  fireplace,  which  is  twelve  feet 
wide,  six  high  and  five  deep. 

In  the  year  1790,  Thomas  Lee  Shippen,  of  Philadel- 
phia, a  grandson  of  Colonel  Thomas  Lee,  the  builder  of 
Stratford,  visited  the  place  and  wrote  the  following  de- 
scription of  it  to  his  father:  "  Stratford,  the  seat  of  my 
forefathers,  is  a  place  of  which  too  much  cannot  be  said: 
whether  you  consider  the  venerable  magnificence  of  its 
buildings,  the  happy  disposition  of  its  grounds  or  the  ex- 
tent and  variety  of  its  prospects.  Stratford,  whose  de- 
lightful shades  formed  the  comfort  and  retirement  of  my 
wise  and  philosophical  grandfather,  with  what  mixture  of 
awe  and  pious  gratification  did  I  explore  and  admire  j^our 
beauties.  What  a  delightful  occupation  did  it  afford  me 
sitting  on  one  of  the  sofas  of  the  great  hall  to  trace  the 


330       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

family  resemblance  in  the  portraits  of  all  of  my  dear 
mother's  forefathers,  her  father  and  mother,  her  grand- 
father and  grandmother,  and  so  on  upward  for  four  gen- 
erations. Their  pictures,  drawn  by  the  most  eminent  artists 
of  England  and  in  large  gilt  frames,  adorn  one  of  the  most 
spacious  and  beautiful  halls  I  have  ever  seen.  There  is 
something  truly  noble  in  my  grandfather's  picture.  He 
is  dressed  in  a  large  wig,  flowing  from  his  shoulders  ( prob- 
ably his  official  wig  as  President  of  the  Council),  and  a 
loose  go^\^l  of  crimson  satin,  richly  ornamented.  I  men- 
tion the  dress  as  it  may  serve  to  convey  to  you  some  idea  of 
the  style  of  the  picture.  But  it  is  his  physiognomy  that 
strikes  you  with  emotion.  A  blend  of  goodness  and  great- 
ness; a  sweet  yet  penetrating  eye,  a  finely  marked  set  of 
features  and  a  heavenly  countenance.  Such  I  have  almost 
never  seen.  Do  not  think  me  extravagant.  ]My  feelings 
were  certainly  so  as  I  dwelt  with  rapture  on  the  portraits 
of  Stratford,  and  felt  so  strong  an  inclination  to  kneel  to 
that  of  my  grandfather.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  my 
uncle  who  accompanied  me  could  persuade  me  to  leave  the 
hall  to  look  at  the  gardens,  vineyards,  orangeries  and  lawns 
Avhich  surround  the  house."  "* 

YEOCOMICO  CHURCH 

One  of  the  most  picturesque  of  Virginia's  old  churches 
is  in  Cople  Parish,  Westmoreland  County.  This  is 
Yeocomico,  which  bears  the  Indian  name  of  a  little  river 
not  far  away.  Cople  Parish  originally  contained  two 
Colonial  churches  some  distance  apart,  Yeocomico  and 
Nomini,  also  named  for  the  river,  or  creek,  near  which  it 
stands.  Xomini  was  destroyed  by  fire  some  years  after 
the  Revolution,  but  was  later  rebuilt. 

Yeocomico,  cloistered  in  a  grove  of  ancient  oaks,  stands 
somewhat  back  from  a  quiet  country  road.  It  is  a  cross- 
shaped    building,    rudely,    but    strongly,    constructed    of 

*  A  most  complete  and  interesting  account  of  the  Lee  family 
was  written  by  Doctor  Edmund  Jennings  Lee  and  published  as  Lee 
of  Virginia. 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     331 

Colonial  brick,  with  steep,  shingled  roof  and  large  square 
windows,  filled  with  many  little  panes  of  glass  and  pro- 
tected by  heavy  wooden  outside  shutters.  Over  the  door 
appears  the  date,  1706,  in  which  j^ear  the  church  was  built. 
Outside,  near  the  porch,  stands  an  old  sun-dial  with  the 
name  Philip  Smith  and  the  date  1717  inscribed  upon  its 
face,  and  down  the  hill  is  a  clear,  sparkling  spring  with 
an  ancient  iron  dipper,  bearing  the  initials  P.  C.  (Presley 
Cox)   upon  its  bowl,  chained  to  its  brink.     A  brick  wall 


\LOi  OJIICO  CHLl'XII,  ^^LslMORLLA^D  COLNn 

around  the  church  and  its  full  graveyard  completes  the 
picture  and  adds  to  the  effect  of  seclusion  and  peacefulness. 
After  the  Revolution,  when  everything  English  was 
unpopular  in  America,  the  Episcopal  Church  languished  in 
this  section.  Cople  Parish  was  without  a  rector  for  over 
fifty  years,  and  Yeocomico  fell  into  decay.  During  the 
War  of  1812  a  detachment  of  United  States  soldiers,  sent 
to  the  neighborhood  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  British 
fleet  on  the  Potomac,  quartered  in  the  church,  and  later 
on  in  the  same  year  a  company  of  militia  camped  there. 


332       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

These  last  shamefully  desecrated  the  old  sanctuary.  The 
Communion  table  was  taken  into  the  yard  and  made  to 
serve  as  a  butcher's  block,  the  beautiful  marble  font  was 
carried  off  and  used  as  a  punch-bowl,  and  the  tablets  upon 
which  the  Ten  Commandments,  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the 
Creed  were  inscribed  were  ruthlessly  mutilated. 

With  the  regular  soldiers  that  had  quartered  in  the 
church  was  jMr.  William  L.  Rogers,  of  Princeton,  New 
Jersey,  to  whom  the  building  and  its  surroundings  made  a 
strong  appeal.  He  returned  to  Westmoreland  in  1820, 
and  finding  the  church  still  in  its  dismantled  state  proposed 
to  jNIr.  JNIurphy,  a  Scotch  gentleman  of  culture  and  piety, 
and  a  Presbyterian,  whose  estate  surrounded  the  church 
property,  to  aid  him  in  an  attempt  at  its  restoration.  Others 
joined  in  the  movement  and  the  good  work  was  soon  ac- 
complished. The  sacred  table  was  polished  and  it  and  the 
font  returned  to  their  places,  where  they  maj^  still  be  seen, 
and  the  church  regained  its  former  dignitj^  of  appearance. 
The  Communion  plate  and  damask  cloths  and  napkins 
marked  with  the  name  of  the  church  had  been  kept  safe 
and  carefully  guarded  from  violation  by  ]Mrs.  Willoughby 
Newton,  of  Lee  Hall. 

In  1834<  the  Reverend  George  Washington  Nelson  be- 
came rector  of  Yeocomico  and  the  churches  in  Richmond 
County,  and  the  Episcopalians  and  INIethodists  of  the 
neighborhood  used  Yeocomico  jointlj",  "  in  Christian  har- 
monj"  and  good  will,"  says  Bishop  Meade.  But  during  the 
rectorship  of  ]Mr.  Nelson's  successor,  ]Mr.  Ward,  who  took 
charge  in  1842,  the  question  of  the  right  of  possession  was 
raised,  and  not  until  the  matter  was  taken  before  the  Legis- 
lature was  it  settled  by  a  decision  giving  to  the  vestry  and 
wardens  of  the  Episcopal  Chvnch  exclusive  right  to  use  and 
control  the  building. 

Several  of  the  Lee  homes  were  in  Cople  Parish,  and 
Wakefield,  the  Washington  home,  was  not  far  away,  and 
in  the  few  lists  of  vestrymen  of  Yeocomico  that  remain 
both  the  Washingtons   and   Lees   are   well   represented, 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     333 

with  other  names  which  have  become  historic  to  a  less 
degree. 

Notwithstanding  its  many  vicissitudes  the  influence  of 
the  old  church  has  been  widespread.  Among  its  sons,  who 
by  entering  the  ministry  have  handed  on  its  teachings,  may 
be  mentioned  the  Right  Reverend  John  Brockenbrough 
Newton,  Right  Reverend  John  Poyntz  Tyler,  and  Rever- 
end Willoughby  Newton  Claybrook. 

The  old  glebe  of  Cople  Parish  is  still  standing. 

FARNHAM  CHURCH 

Farnham  Church,  Richmond  County,  was  originally  a 
large  cruciform  building  and  was  one  of  the  best  parish 
churches  in  the  colonv.    Fire  has  destroyed  all  but  the  solid 


4c|^^^^^ 

FARNHAM  CHURCH,  RICHMOND  COUNTY 

walls,  but  a  movement  for  its  restoration  has  been  for  some 
time  under  way,  and  it  is  expected  that  before  many  years 
it  will  be  again  in  use. 

SABINE  HALL  * 

Sabine  Hall,*  built  in  1730  for  Landon  Carter  (1710- 
1778) ,  a  younger  son  of  Robert  ("  King  ")  Carter  by  his 
second  wife,  Bettj'  Landon,  and  still  the  home  of  his  de- 
scendants,   crowns    a    commanding    site    overlooking    the 

*  See  illustration    at   head   of  List   of   Illustrations    and   on 
page  ii27. 


334       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Rappahannock,  in  Richmond  County,  adjoining  West- 
moreland. It  possesses  a  unique  feature  among  Virginia 
homes,  in  the  lodge  at  the  gate  occupied  by  a  negro  retainer 
and  his  famil}'.  The  visitor  is  apt  to  receive  his  first  wel- 
come from  a  smiling  pickaninny  who  runs  out  of  the  lodge, 
and  with  polite  salutation  swings  wide  the  gate  admitting 
him  to  a  driveway  that  winds  through  a  wide  green  park, 
to  the  noble  mansion  shining  out  from  the  grove  that  im- 
mediately surrounds  it.  The  Greek  portico  gives  entrance 
to  a  spacious  hall,  panelled  to  the  ceiling,  which  is  homelike 
and  cosj"  with  charming  old  furniture,  and  is  used,  after  the 
familiar  Virginia  fashion  in  such  homes,  as  reception  and 
living  room.  Doors  on  either  side  of  the  hall  open  into 
drawing-rooms,  library  and  dining-room,  filled  with 
Colonial  furniture,  and  rich  in  famity  portraits  and  other 
heirlooms.  Especially  interesting  is  the  dining-room,  with 
its  array  of  massive  silver  of  unique  pattern  and  workman- 
ship— many  pieces  bearing  the  Carter  arms — gleaming 
from  its  background  of  polished  mahogany. 

Among  the  most  striking  of  the  portraits  are  those  of 
"  King  Carter  "  in  the  gorgeous  costume  in  which  fashion 
permitted  a  gentleman  of  his  time  to  adorn  himself,  and 
his  first  wife,  Judith,  daughter  of  Honorable  John  Armi- 
stead,  of  Hesse,  Gloucester  Count}'';  Colonel  Landon 
Carter  himself,  and  the  three  stately  dames,  who  in  his 
time  successivelj''  carried  the  keys  of  Sabine  Hall.  These 
ladies  before  they  became,  b}-  turn,  INIadam  Carter,  of 
Sabine  Hall,  were  Elizabeth  Wormeley,  of  "  Rosegill," 
Maria  Byrd,  of  "  Westover,"  and  Elizabeth  Beale. 

A  handsome  stairway  in  the  cross-hall  leads  to  the 
second  story,  where  the  great  central  hall,  panelled  like 
the  one  below,  is  used  as  a  billiard-room. 

A  second  pillared  portico  extends  across  the  rear  of  the 
house,  and  from  this,  looking  beyond  the  terraced  garden 
with  its  old-fashioned  flowers  and  herbs,  the  master  of 
Sabine  Hall  may  enjoy  an  unobstructed  view  of  his  lands, 
for  most  of  the  wide  sweep  of  fertile  country  that  stretches 
away  to  the  river  still  belongs  to  this  estate  of  4000  acres. 


/ 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC    337 

The  builder  of  Sabine  Hall  and  his  family  were  con- 
spicuous figures  in  the  distinguished  societj^  for  which 
Westmoreland  and  Richmond  Counties  were  famous.  As 
a  burgess  and  vestryman  he  was  influential  both  in  Church 
and  State.  A  recent  writer  sa3^s  of  him,  "A  high-minded 
public  servant  and  a  finished  scholar,  indulging  a  taste  for 
science  and  a  love  for  letters,  Landon  Carter's  reputation 
has  come  down  to  us  making  him  one  of  the  most  notable 
of  the  pre-Revolutionary  statesmen  in  the  colony.  He 
was  living  in  1776,  at  Sabine  Hall,  retired  from  public 
praise  .  .  .  and  looked  up  to  by  the  j^ounger  generation  as 
a  Nestor  among  his  compatriots.  Some  of  his  correspond- 
ence at  this  period  with  Washington  and  the  Lees  has 
been  preserved;  these  letters  attesting  the  estimation  in 
which  he  was  held  for  his  wisdom,  talents,  and  integrity, 
while  his  own  epistles  prove  him  worthy  of  the  regard  and 
veneration  which  were  given  him." 

An  interesting  contribution  to  the  "  sources  "  of  Vir- 
ginia history  has  been  made  in  the  publication,  in  the 
William  and  Mary  College  Quarterly  Historical  Maga- 
zine (beginning  with  an  instalment  in  the  July,  1909, 
number:  volume  xiii.  No.  1 ) ,  of  an  abstract  of  a  voluminous 
diary  kept  by  Landon  Carter.  The  first  entry  in  the  diary 
was  dated  January  14,  1770. 

Sabine  Hall  descended  from  Colonel  Landon  Carter 
to  his  son  by  his  third  marriage,  Robert  Wormeley  Carter, 
who  was  for  a  number  of  years  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Virginia  Assembly.  He  married  Winifred  Beale,  was  the 
father  of  a  goodly  number  of  children,  among  them  a  second 
Colonel  Landon  Carter,  who  inherited  the  "  Hall  "  and  by 
his  first  marriage  with  Catherine  Tayloe,  of  "  Mt.  Airy," 
was  the  father  of  the  "  next  heir " — a  second  Robert 
Wormeley  Carter.  Upon  the  death  of  this  Robert 
Wormeley  Carter,  in  1861,  the  estate  passed  to  his  sister 
Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Doctor  Armistead  Nelson  Wellford, 
and  thence  to  their  son,  Carter  Wellford,  Esquire,  who 
with  his  wife  (who  was  Elizabeth  Harrison,  of  the  James 
River  family)  and  their  children  makes  his  abode  in  the 
beautiful  old  home  of  his  forefathers. 


338       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

MT.  AIRY 

Within  walking  distance  of  Sabine  Hall,  jNIt.  Airy- 
stands  in  gracious  dignity  upon  the  top  of  a  high  hill,  about 
three  miles  back  from  the  Rappahannock.  From  the  rear, 
the  house  looks  upon  miles  of  broad,  gleaming  river,  with 
the  houses  of  the  little  town  of  Tappahamiock  nestling 
among  the  green  trees  of  Essex,  on  its  farther  shore,  while 
on  the  nearer,  spreads  out  like  a  map  from  the  foot  of  the 
abiTjpt  "  jNIount "  an  unbroken  landscape,  beautifully 
diversified  with  field  and  forest.  JNIuch  of  this  stretch  of 
level  country  is  a  part  of  the  great  Mt.  Airy  estate. 

The  house,  containing  with  its  wings  about  twenty-five 
rooms,  was  built  in  1758,  by  Colonel  John  Tayloe,^  who 
first  lived  on  the  part  of  the  plantation  nearer  the  river, 
where  brick  foundations  are  yet  to  be  traced  and  which  is 
still  known  as  the  "  Old  place  field."  Native  brown  sand- 
stone was  the  material  chosen,  with  facings  of  white  stone 
brought  from  England.  It  is  designed  after  the  style  of 
an  Italian  villa,  and  is  unlike  any  other  Colonial  Virginia 
building.  There  is  a  centre  building  flanked  by  wings, 
which  stand  some  distance  from,  and  in  advance  of,  the 
main  structure,  and  are  joined  to  it  by  curved  glazed  cov- 
ered ways,  formerly  used  as  conservatories.  The  mansion 
is  thus  given  a  semi-circular  form,  half  enclosing  a  grass 
plot  reached  from  the  main  entrance  by  heavy,  brownstone 
steps  ornamented  with  bronze  dogs.  From  the  grass  plot 
a  terrace,  descended  by  another  massive  stairwaj"  of  brown- 
stone,  with  balustrades  bearing  stone  urns,  slopes  to  the 
level  of  the  park.  Below  the  terrace  and  just  in  front  of 
the  stairway  is  an  ancient  sun-dial,  and  beyond  this  lies  to 
the  northward  a  great  grove  of  old  oaks  and  cedars,  once 
the  home  of  a  goodly  herd  of  deer. 

The  back  windows  of  the  house  look  southward  upon 
the  gardens,  which  encompass  the  sides  as  well  as  the  rear 
of  the  building.     The  series  of  terraces  here  at  the  back 

®  Tayloe  family:  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography, 
xvii,  p.  369  et  seq. 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     341 

slope  to  a  level  piece  of  greensward  in  their  midst,  known 
as  the  "  Bowling  Green."  In  the  garden,  on  the  right, 
covered  by  ivy  and  shaded  by  willows,  are  some  brick 
arches  which  call  to  mind  monastic  remains  in  the  ancient 
English  parks,  but  are  reallj^  the  ruins  of  an  old  con- 
servatory. 

INIt.  Airy,  like  most  of  the  old  Virginia  homes,  was 
celebrated  for  hospitality.  Many  a  pretty  romance  might 
be  woven  of  the  beautj^  and  chivalrj'  which  met  within  its 
spacious  walls;  of  good  will  and  good  cheer;  of  stately 


iMT.  AIRY,  KKAR  VIEW 

compliment  and  sparkling  jest;  of  tap  of  high-heeled 
slipper  to  the  irresistible  tune  furnished  by  some  ebon-hued 
master  of  the  fiddle  and  bow ;  of  dashing  hunt  and  glowing 
race.  The  "  Old  Bowl  at  Mt.  Airy  "  was  often  taxed  to 
the  limit  of  its  ample  proportions  to  furnish  good  healths 
for  the  numerous  companj"  that  gathered  about  it.  This 
festive  piece  of  pottery  with  its  jolly  sides  decorated  with 
processions  of  comical  Chinamen  was  the  inspiration  of  a 
poet  who  sung  its  praise  in  some  thirty  lively  stanzas  pub- 
lished in  the  Southern  Literary  Messenger. 

A  graj)hic  picture  of  life  at  INIt.  Airy  in  the  early  part 


342       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

of  the  last  century  has  been  preserved  in  a  rare,  privately- 
printed  book,  by  Nicholas  St.  John  Baker,  an  English 
diplomatist  who  was  in  this  country  in  JNIay,  1827.  He 
arrived  at  ]Mt.  Airy  at  about  six  o'clock  of  a  May  after- 
noon, and  "  met  with  a  very  kind  reception  from  ISIrs. 
William  Tayloe  and  the  ladies."  JNIr.  Tajdoe  was  "  absent 
at  a  race,"  but  joined  his  guests  and  the  ladies  while  they 
were  "  strolling  over  the  garden  before  tea."  Next  morn- 
ing the  writer  "  joined  a  large  party  at  breakfast."  That 
meal  over,  the  presence  of  the  gentlenren  was  "  required  at 
the  club  on  the  course,"  so  the  entertainment  of  the  stranger 
was  again  left  to  the  ladies;  but  at  half-past  twelve,  after 
partaking  of  a  luncheon,  all  repaired  to  the  race-course  in 
a  field  on  the  Mt.  Airy  estate. 

]Mr.  Baker  was  evidently  much  impressed  with  the  Vir- 
ginia ladies.  He  remarks  upon  the  beauty  of  those  he 
saw  at  the  race,  and  tells  how  that  evening  he  "  took  a 
walk  with  the  ladies  in  the  park,"  where  "  he  saw  many 
fine  deer."  He  jots  down  notes  concerning  details  of  the 
house  and  grounds  that  interest  him.  Among  them,  "  Up- 
stairs a  long  gallery  with  family  portraits — the  Corbins, 
Platers,  etc.  The  conservatory  large,  with  orange  and 
lemon  trees  put  out  in  the  grass.  An  extensive  garden,  in 
squares  and  terraces." 

The  collection  of  old  portraits  mentioned  by  the  visitor 
is  interesting.  Among  the  personages  to  be  found  in  this 
company  of  "  courtly  ladies  of  brocade  "  who  have  "  long 
since  ceased  to  be,"  and  gentlemen  "  with  powdered  wigs 
and  waistcoats  long,"  are  the  three  Colonels  John  Tayloe, 
of  Mt.  Airy,  and  their  wives;  Governors  Samuel  and 
Benjamin  Ogle,  of  Maryland,  and  their  wives;  Governor 
George  Plater;  Colonel  Richard  Corbin  and  his  wife 
(Betty  Tayloe)  ;  William  Tayloe  II,  and  Benjamin  Ogle 
Tayloe;  Mrs.  William  H.  Tayloe;  JNIrs.  Gwynne  and 
Cornelius  Lyde. 

The  house  abounds  in  heirlooms.  In  the  library  may  be 
seen  (among  other  objects  characteristic  of  the  early  his- 
tory of  Mt.  Airy)  portraits  of  fine  race-horses,  including 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     343 

one  of  "  Grej'  Diomede,"  and  colored  racing  and  sporting 
prints  which  hung  in  the  rooms  of  the  John  Tayloes,  second 
and  third  of  the  name,  when  they  were  students  at  an 
Enghsh  university.  In  the  collection  of  beautiful  silver 
at  ]Mt.  Airy  are  some  racing  cups  won  by  horses  of  the  old- 
time  Tajdoes. 

No  old  Virginia  mansion  is  quite  complete  without  a 
ghost.  Among  the  gay  gentlemen,  who  in  the  good  old 
days  always  found  the  latch  string  on  the  outside  of  the 
door  at  the  home  of  the  Tajdoes  was  a  famous  huntsman. 
Sir  Jenings  Beckwith,  a  descendant  of  a  noble  English 
family,  who  (though  he  was  born  in  Virginia)  inherited 
the  family  rank  and  title  of  baronet.  For  Sir  Jenings  the 
fine  hunting,  fair  ladies  and  good  cheer  of  this  beautiful 
roof -tree  proved  such  never- failing  attractions  that  he 
spent  much  of  his  life  there,  and,  when  his  days  had  run  out, 
it  was  there  that  death  found  him.  It  is  said  that  even  to 
this  day  he  oftentimes  comes  back  and  makes  a  round  of 
his  favorite  haunts  at  Mt.  Airy. 

Colonel  John  Tayloe,  the  builder  of  Mt.  Airj^  belonged 
to  the  third  generation  of  his  family  in  Virginia.  His 
grandfather,  William  Tayloe,  of  London,  came  to  Virginia 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  was  a 
burgess  in  1710.  He  married  Anne,  daughter  of  Honor- 
able Henry  Corbin  {circa  1629-1676),  of  Middlesex 
County,  and  had  one  son,  John  Tayloe  I  ( 1687-1747 ) ,  who 
was  a  member  of  the  Colonial  Council  in  1732.  John  I 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Maj.  David  Gwynne,  and 
widow  of  Stephen  Lyde,  and  left  two  daughters,  Betty, 
who  married  Colonel  Richard  Corbin,  of  "  Laneville,"  re- 
ceiver-general of  Virginia,  and  Anne  Corbin,  the  second 
wife  of  Mann  Page,  of  Rosewell,  afterwards  of  Mannsfield, 
Spottsylvania  County,  and  one  son,  Colonel  John  Tay- 
loe II  (1721-1779) ,  the  builder  of  Mt.  Airy,  in  1758,  who 
was  also  a  member  of  the  Colonial  Council  and  was  noted  as 
a  turfman  before  the  Revolution.  He  married  Mary, 
sister  of  Governor  George  Plater  (1736-1792),  of  Mary- 
land, and  was  the  father  of  eight  daughters  who  married 


344       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

into  the  most  distinguished  families  of  the  day,  the  Lees, 
the  Washingtons,  the  Carters,  the  Berkeleys,  the  Pages, 
the  Wormeleys,  the  Lomaxes  and  the  Corbins,  of  Virginia, 
and  the  Lloyds  of  JMaryland,  and  one  son.  Colonel  John 
Tayloe  III  (1771-1828),  who,  of  com-se,  was  the  next 
heir  and  master  of  JNIt.  Airy.  He  was  educated  at  Eton 
and  Oxford,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Delegates  of  the  State  of  Virginia.  Like  his  father,  he 
was  a  successful  turfman  and  owned  such  celebrated  race- 
horses as  Belair,  Grey  Diomede,  and  others.  He  married 
Anne,  daughter  of  Governor  Benjamin  Ogle,  of  ISIary- 
land,  and  was  survived  by  six  sons  and  five  daughters.  His 
eldest  son,  John  IV,  entered  the  navy  and  was  distinguished 
in  the  battles  of  the  Constitution  and  the  Guerriere 
and  with  the  Cyano  and  Levant.  After  the  first  action 
the  State  of  Virginia  presented  him  with  a  sword.  He 
was  captured  in  the  Levant  by  a  British  squadron, 
while  lying  at  Port  Praya,  Cape  de  Verde  Islands.  He 
died  in*1824,  at  ]Mt.  Airy.  His  brother,  Wilham  H.  Tay- 
loe, of  JNIt.  Airy,  was  the  father  of  JNIr.  Henry  Tayloe,  who 
married  JNIiss  Henrietta  Chinn,  and  inherited  this  fair  and 
storied  villa,  which  in  its  hundred  and  fifty  years  has  not 
been  owned  by  any  one  not  of  the  name  and  blood  of 
Tayloe.  ISIt.  Airj^  is  now  owned  by  the  family  of  the  late 
Henry  Tayloe. 

Another  brother  of  John  Tayloe,  of  the  navy,  was  ]\Ir. 
Benjamin  Ogle  Tayloe,  who  lived  at  the  interesting 
"  Octagon  house  "  in  Washington  City. 

MENOKIN 

Francis  Lightfoot  Lee  (1734-1797),  sixth  son  of 
Thomas  Lee  (1690-1750),  of  Stratford,  and  Hannah 
Ludwell,  his  wife,  was  born  at  Stratford  and  was  educated 
there  \>y  a  private  tutor,  who  made  of  him  a  good  scholar, 
with  a  love  for  the  classics  and  general  literature.  Upon 
coming  of  age  he  settled  first  in  Loudoun  Countj^  where 
he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  town  of  Leesburff,  and 
in  1765  represented  Loudoun  in  the  House  of  Burgesses. 
It  was  upon  his  marriage  with  Rebecca,  daughter  of  John 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     345 

Tajdoe  II,  of  Mt.  Airy,  that  he  removed  to  Richmond 
Countj%  where  he  was  chosen  a  burgess,  and  where  he  built 
the  house  that  bears  the  Indian  name  of  Menokin. 

In  1775,  1776,  1777  and  1778  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Continental  Congress,  and  he  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  A  recent  writer  upon  the 
"signers"  says,  "  In  the  spring  of  1779  INIr.  Lee  retired 
from  Congress  and  returned  to  his  home,  to  which  both  his 
temper  and  inclination  led  him,  with  delight."  This  home 
was  JSIenokin. 


MENOKIN,  RICHMOND  COUNTY 

After  the  Revolution  Mr.  Lee  was  an  influential  mem- 
ber of  the  Virginia  Senate. 

The  master  of  JNIenokin  was  social  and  domestic  in  his 
tastes,  and  reading,  farming  and  intercourse  with  his  neigh- 
bors and  kindred  filled  his  latter  days  and  made  his  home  a 
centre  of  pleasant  country  life.  He  died  there  in  1797. 
He  left  no  children  and  bequeathed  Menokin  to  his  wife 
for  life,  and  afterward  to  his  nephew,  Ludwell  Lee,  second 
son  of  his  distinguished  brother,  Richard  Henry  Lee.  His 
wife  survived  him  but  a  short  while,  and  Ludwell  Lee  be- 
came the  owner  of  JNIenokin,  which  after  his  time  passed 
from  the  family. 


346       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

CLEVE 

A  sturdy  and  handsome  old  mansion  is  Cleve,  beau- 
tifully situated  on  the  Rappahannock,  in  King  George 
County.  The  original  house,  built  by  Colonel  Charles 
Carter  in  1729,  was  later  burned,  but  it  was  restored  upon 
its  old  walls  in  1800. 

The  house  is  noticeable  from  the  river  bj'  its  large  num- 
ber of  windows  set  in  wide,  white  stone  frames. 

Colonel  Charles  Carter,  of  Cleve,  a  son  of  "  King  " 
Carter,  by  his  second  wife,  Betty  Landon,  was  long  a  bur- 


CLEVE,  KING  GEORGE  COUNTY 

gess  for  his  county,  and  was  one  of  the  three  commissioners 
appointed  by  Lord  Fairfax  to  look  after  his  interests.  His 
first  wife  was  Mary  Walker,  whom  he  mai'ried  in  1728. 
In  July,  1743,  Colonel  John  Lewis  wrote  Lawrence  Wash- 
ington, among  other  bits  of  news:  "  Mr.  Wormeley  and 
Colonel  Charles  Carter  have  lost  their  Ladys."  Just  a 
year  later,  William  Beverley,  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Fairfax, 
then  in  England,  announced  the  recent  weddings  of 
"  Colonel  Charles  Carter  and  Colonel  Landon  Carter  to 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     347 

the  two  Miss  Byrds."  The  brides  of  these  widower  brothers 
were  Anne  and  Maria,  daughters  of  Colonel  William 
Byrd  II,  of  Westover.  Interesting  portraits  of  them  at 
the  ages  of  nine  and  eleven  were  painted  by  Bridges,  and 
(after  she  became  mistress  of  Cleve)'  AJane's  portrait, 
with  that  of  her  husband  and  two  of  her  children,  was 
painted  by  Hesselius. 

Colonel  Charles  Carter's  third  wife  was  Lucy  Talia- 
ferro. 

Besides  being  a  large  land-holder,  Colonel  Carter  was 
a  scientific  planter,  and,  in  his  will,  directed  that  his  estate 
should  be  managed  according  to  a  manuscript  book  he  had 
prepared.  He  was  succeeded  at  Cleve  by  a  younger  son, 
Landon,  and  he,  in  turn,  by  his  bachelor  sons,  Edward 
and  Colonel  St.  Leger  Landon  Carter.  Colonel  St.  Leger 
Landon  Carter  was  one  of  the  early  contributors  to  the 
Southern  Literary  Messenger,  writing  over  the  signature 
"  Nugator."  He  also  published  a  small  volume  entitled 
Nugae.  One  who  saw  Cleve  during  the  ownership  of  the 
last  Carters  described  the  large  hall  hung  with  a  double 
row  of  family  portraits  and  a  great  quantity  of  family 
silver  engraved  with  arms,  but  much  tarnished,  as  bachelor 
possessions  are  apt  to  be.  After  their  death  Cleve  passed, 
by  sale,  to  the  Lewis  family  (descendants  of  Fielding 
Lewis  and  his  second  wife,  Betty  Washington),  and  they 
still  own  it.  Among  its  many  interesting  contents  is  a 
portrait  of  Mrs.  Betty  Washington  Lewis. 

Charming,  also,  is  the  portrait  of  Colonel  Charles 
Carter,  in  wig  and  scarlet  coat  embellished  with  many  gilt 
buttons,  which  still  hangs  at  Cleve,  though  the  estate  has 
been  so  long  out  of  the  Carter  family. 

BARNSFIELD 

Before  the  day  of  railroads,  one  of  the  most  noted 
places  on  the  route,  North  and  South,  was  Hooe's  Ferry 
over  the  Potomac.  In  King  George  County,  close  to  the 
ferry  and  close  to  the  broad  river,  is  Barnsfield,  where,  since 


348       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

1715,  the  Hooes  have  had  a  home.  But  few  famihes  in 
Virginia,  and,  indeed,  but  few  in  America,  can  trace  so 
long  a  line  in  male  descent  in  this  country,  for  since  Rice 
Hooe  came  to  Virginia,  in  1621,  his  descendants  have 
been  large  land  owners  and  prominent  socially  and  in 
militar}'  and  civil  affairs.^" 

During  the  War  between  the  States,  the  old  house  was 
the  residence  of  Dr.  A.  B.  Hooe.  Hooe's  Ferry  was  a 
favorite  place  for  blockade-runners  from  ^Maryland  to  Vir- 
ginia, and  the  Federal  troops  burned  Barnsfield  on  the 


BARNSFIELD,  KIXG  GEORGE  COUNTY 

ground,  as  they  charged,  that  the  blockade-runners  were 
guided  by  signal  lights  from  its  windows. 

The  quaint  jjicture,  made  many  years  ago,  shows  a  typi- 
cal Virginia  farm-house,  a  part  probably  built  as  early  as 
1715,  which  was  extended  by  rambling  wings  and  additions 

■"'  Harden,  Virginia  Genealogies,  pp.  716-719,  and  Virginia 
Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  iv,  pp.  427-4)29. 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     349 


as  the  needs  of  the  f  amilj^  increased.  The  row  of  Lombardy 
poplars  close  to  the  edge  of  the  bhifF,  the  weeping  willows, 
the  negroes  working  on  boats  or  cutting  driftwood  unite 
to  form  a  picture  which  could  be  duplicated  many  times 
along  our  rivers.  The  house  was  not  a  statelj^  "  mansion  " 
but  a  roomy  old  farm-house  which  was  of  much  more 
familiar  type. 

CHATHAM 

Upon  a  green  hill  in  Stafford  Count j^,  just  across  the 
Rappahannock  from  Fredericksburg,  stands  Chatham, 
looking  upon  the  old  town  and  a  long  waj'  up  and  down  the 
river  valley. 


CHATHAM,  STAFFORD  COUNTY 


This  noble  mansion  with  its  ample  central  building  and 
commodious  wings,  its  stout  brick  walls  and  lofty  columns, 
was  built  some  time  before  the  Revolution,  by  William 
Fitzhugh  (1742-after  1787),  whose  earlier  residence  was 
Eagle's  Nest,  in  King  George  County. 

Mr.  Fitzhugh  was  the  son  of  Henry  Fitzhugh  (1706- 
1742) ,  of  Eagle's  Nest  (who  matriculated  at  Christ  Church 
College,  Oxford,  in  1722),  and  his  wife,  Lucy,  daughter 
of  Honorable  Robert   ("King")   Carter,  of  Corotoman. 


350       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Henry  Fitzhugh  was  a  grandson  of  Colonel  William  Fitz- 
hugh  "(1651-1701 ) ,  first  of  the  family  in  Virginia." 

William  Fitzhugh,  of  Chatham,  who  is  said  to  have 
been  educated  in  England,  was  long  in  public  life  and  was 
a  man  of  high  character  and  wide  influence.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  of  all  the  Revolu- 
tionary Conventions  and  the  Continental  Congress.  He 
was  an  ardent  devotee  of  the  turf,  owning  many  noted  race 
horses  both  before  and  after  the  Revolution.  Among  his 
several  large  estates  was  Ravensworth,  in  Fairfax  County, 
to  which  he  moved  toward  the  close  of  his  life.  He  married 
Anne,  daughter  of  Peter  Randolph,  of  Chatsworth,  and 
their  daughter  ]Mary  Randolph  Fitzhugh  married  George 
Washington  Parke  Custis,  of  Arlington,  and  was  the 
mother  of  the  wife  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee.  ]Mr.  Fitz- 
hugh was  a  great-uncle  of  the  distinguished  divine.  Bishop 
JNIeade,  of  Virginia. 

In  Mr.  Fitzhugh's  time  and  afterward,  Chatham  was 
famous  for  its  hospitality.  General  Washington  was  a 
frequent  guest  there  and  it  is  said  that  he  once  wrote  JNIr. 
Fitzhugh  that  among  the  most  interesting  memories  of 
his  life  were  those  of  his  visits  to  Chatham,  adding,  "  I 
have  put  my  legs  oftener  under  your  mahogany  at  Chat- 
ham than  anywhere  else  in  the  world,  and  have  enjoyed 
your  good  dinners,  good  wine  and  good  company  more 
than  any  other." 

JNIr.  Fitzhugh  finally  sold  Chatham  to  ]Major  Churchill 
Jones,  an  officer  in  the  Continental  Army,  who,  having  no 
children,  bequeathed  it  to  his  only  brother,  William  Jones. 
Hannah,  the  daughter  of  William  Jones,  became  the  second 
wife  of  Judge  John  Coalter,  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of 
Virginia.  William  Jones  conveyed  Chatham  to  his  son- 
in-law.  Judge  Coalter,  upon  condition  that  he  should  pay 
to  the  widow  of  JNIajor  Chm"chill  Jones  the  annuity  of 


^^  Fitzhugh  family:  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Bio- 
graphy, vii,  196-199,  317-322,  iaS-iS? ;  viii,  -ll-iS,  209-211, 
314-317,  430-432; ix,  99-104. 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     351 

$15,000.00  with  which  the  estate  was  charged.  Judge 
Coalter  at  his  death  gave  a  hfe  interest  to  his  widow, 
bequeathing  the  property,  at  her  death,  to  his  two  children 
(by  an  earher  marriage  with  a  daughter  of  Judge  St. 
George  Tucker),  St.  George  Coalter  and  Elizabeth,  the 
wife  of  INIr.  John  Randolph  Bryan  and  mother  of  the 
late  Mr.  Joseph  Bryan,  of  Richmond. 

Chatham  was  later  bought  by  Major  J.  Horace  Lacy, 
was  long  his  home,  and  during  the  War  between  the  States 
was  known  as  "  The  Lacy  House."  It  was  sold  by  Major 
Lacy  to  Oliver  Watson,  and  by  him  to  ]Mr.  William  Mays. 
From  JNIaj^s  the  house  and  thirty  acres  of  the  original  tract 
passed,  by  purchase,  to  Fleming  Bailey,  who  later  sold  it  to 
A.  Randolph  Howard. 

General  Robert  E.  Lee,  as  well  as  General  Washing- 
ton, was  a  frequent  guest  at  Chatham,  and  it  is  said  that 
vmder  the  beautiful  old  trees  that  stood  on  the  lawn  Gen- 
eral Lee  addressed  his  wife.  These  trees  were  felled  by 
Northern  soldiers  when  General  Burnside  made  his  head- 
quarters at  Chatham. 

President  Lincoln  spent  several  days  at  Chatham,  on 
a  visit  to  the  army  under  Burnside,  and  from  the  river  bank 
before  Chatham  pontoon  bridges  were  built,  upon  which 
the  Federal  Army  crossed  to  the  occupation  of  Fredericks- 
burg, and  the  great  battle. 

BOSCOBEL 

Boscobel,  an  estate  now  containing  six  hmidred  and 
twenty  acres,  is  situated  in  Stafford  County,  four  miles 
from  Fredericksburg.  The  charming  old  dwelling  house 
which  stands  on  the  highest  point  between  the  Potomac  and 
Rappahannock  Rivers  was  erected  some  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago  by  Thomas  Fitzhugh  (1725-1768),  a  son 
of  Henry  Fitzhugh,  of  "  Bedford,"  and  grandson  of  that 
worthy  William  Fitzhugh,  emigrant  ancestor  of  the  family 
in  Virginia,  lawj^er,  merchant,  landed  proprietor,  member  of 
the  House  of  Burgesses  and  militia  officer.  From  Thomas 
Fitzhugh  (who  inherited  the  estate  from  his  father)  Bos- 


352       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

cobel  passed  to  Thomas  Fitzhugh,  the  younger,  who  in  turn 
devised  the  seat  to  his  two  daughters,  Sarah  Stuart  and 
Henrietta,  both  maiden  ladies,  who  sold  it  in  184<7  to  Wil- 
liam Henry  Fitzhugh  (1788-1859),  their  brother,  and 
William  A.  Little  (whose  wife  was  a  Miss  Fitzhugh).'^ 
After  the  War  between  the  States  a  division  of  the  estate 
was  made  by  these  two  gentlemen,  the  "  mansion  house  " 
and  surrounding  acreage  falling  to  ISIr.  Little's  lot,  and 
thus  Boscobel's  title  remained  in  the  Fitzhugh  family  from 


^fcf^ 

M^ .  '■  -'M 

^xf  ■ 

■J!'  '7--^^ 

^^^B 

^s=^s 

..  -•*""     ■-^f^itl£^K' 

^^^^  I,,  .^^J 

"is "' 

sy^^^ 

S!  ■ 

ml., 

ki^^  — 

BOSCOBEL,  NEAR  FREDERICKSBURG 

the  time  of  the  original  grant  until  comparatively  recently, 
when  ]Mr.  Charles  H.  Hurkamp  (the  present  owner)  pur- 
chased the  place  from  JNIr.  Little. 

The  old  homestead  has  been  well  preserved,  and  the 
lawn,  grove  and  old-fashioned  garden  are  kept  to-day  as 
originally  laid  off.  The  house  is  after  the  order  of  a  roomy 
cottage  and  buried  in  a  cluster  of  wonderful  trees.     In 


^"For  an  account  of  the  Fitzhughs  see  Virgiriia  Magazine  of 
History  and  Biography,  volumes  vii,  viii,  and  ix. 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     353 

what  was  the  old  "  parlor,"  now  the  living-room  of  the 
house,  is  an  old-fashioned  open  fireplace  of  generous  dimen- 
sions, in  whose  back  is  set  a  massive  cast-iron  plate,  bearing 
the  legend:  "  T.  F.  1752,"  somewhat  scarred  bj^  the  flames 
of  many  a  winter,  'tis  true,  but  still  clearly  legible.  Six  or 
more  other  rooms  of  the  house  are  endowed  with  these 
ample  fireplaces. 

From  two  moderately  sized  porches — one  at  the  front 
and  the  other  at  the  rear  of  the  house — magniiicent  views 


OLD-TIME  METHOD  OF  COOKING  AS  USED  AT  BOSCODEL  UP  TO  1905 

to  the  north  and  south  are  to  be  had  from  this  quaint 
"  manor  "  which  nestles  on  the  very  backbone  of  the  ridge 
dividing  the  Northern  Neck. 

Until  comparatively  recently  the  old  "  outdoor"  kitchen 
was  in  service  at  Boscobel,  and  many  are  the  stories  of 
accomplished  cooks  and  temptingly  prepared  spreads  which 
issued  thence  to  the  "  great  house."  The  old  kitchen  stands 
on  one  side  of  the  yard  and  near  the  circular  driveway  lead- 
ing to  the  entrance  steps,  while  a  building  of  similar  size  and 
shape  stands  opposite — a  bit,  as  it  were,  "  to  balance  the 

23 


354       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

landscape  " — and  used  doubtless  as  a  quarter  for  house  ser- 
vants. 

The  Boscobel  dwelling  was  destroj'-ed  by  fire  in  ISIarch, 
1915. 

ACQUIA  CHURCH 

Over  the  south  door  of  the  old  Acquia  Church,  in  Over- 
wharton  Parish,  Stafford  County,  is  this  inscription: 
"  Built  A.  D.  1751.  Destroyed  by  fire  1751  and  rebuilt 
A.  D.  1757  by  ^Mourning  Richards,  Undertaker.    William 


ACQUIA  CHURCH,  STAFFORD  COUNTY  - 

Copein,  ]Mason."  It  may  be  well  to  remind  the  reader, 
especially  in  view  of  the  Christian  name  of  Mr.  Richards, 
that  undertaker  in  those  days  meant  contractor. 

Overwharton  Parish  goes  back  to  a  much  earlier  date 
than  that  upon  the  church,  but  earlier  houses  of  worship  in 
it  were  probably  of  wood,  and  all  traces  of  them  have 
passed  away.  Acquia  still  has  in  possession  and  in  regu- 
lar use  a  Communion  service  of  massive,  beaten  silver,  of 
three  pieces — chalice,  cup  and  paten — each  piece  bearing 
the  inscription:  "  The  gift  of  the  Rev.  Alex.  Scott,  A.INI.. 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     355 

late  minister  of  this  parish,  Anno  1739."  Mr.  Scott 
served  the  parish  nearly  twentj^-eight  years,  and  the  date 
upon  the  silver  is  that  of  the  year  of  his  death. ^'^  The 
service  was  buried  in  the  ground  for  safe  keeping  during 
the  Revolutionarj^  War,  the  War  of  1812  and  the  War 
between  the  States. 

Acquia  Church  was  built  during  the  rectorship  of  the 
Reverend    John    Moncure    (1709/10-1764),"    who    was 


INTERIOR  OF  ACQUIA  CHURCH 

buried  in  the  chancel,  and  whose  descendants  are  still 
among  the  staunchest  supporters  of  the  parish.  Under 
the  Communion  table  is  a  marble  slab  upon  which  are  the 
words  "  In  memory  of  the  Race  of  the  House  of  Moncure." 
Acquia  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  best  preserved 

^3  A  full  sketch  of  the  life  of  Reverend  Alexander  Scott  (1686- 
1738)  is  given  in  Hayden,  Virginia  Genealogies,  p.  591  et  seq. 

'*  For  an  account  of  Reverend  John  Moncure  and  his  de- 
scendants see  Hayden,  Virginia  Genealogies,  p.  424  et  seq. 


356       MRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

examples  of  Colonial  church  architecture  in  America.  It  is 
cross-shaped,  with  thick  walls  of  checkered  brickwork, 
sloping  roof  and  square  tower  for  clock  and  bell.  Though 
the  existence  of  this  impressive  old  sanctuary  has  been 
threatened  by  three  wars,  and  during  the  last  it  was  a  camp- 
ing jilace  for  soldiers,  it  stands  to-day  in  perfect  repair 
and  unchanged  by  fancy  or  fashion.  The  stone-paved 
aisles,  the  lofty,  "  three  decker  "  pulpit,  with  its  overhang- 
ing sounding  board,  and  the  square  pews  are  all  there.  In 
the  chancel  are  four  tablets  upon  which  are  inscribed  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  the  Creed  and  the  Ten  Commandments. 

JMT.  VERXON 

The  most  notable  of  Virginia  mansions  and  planta- 
tions will  always  be  JNIt.  Vernon,  the  home  during  life,  in 
death  the  resting  place  of  all  that  was  mortal  of  George 
Washington. 

The  ]Mt.  Vernon  estate  was  part  of  a  tract  of  5000  acres 
granted  by  Lord  Culpeper  in  1644  to  Colonel  John  Wash- 
ington and  Nicholas  Spencer.  Half  of  it  descended  in 
time  to  Colonel  John  Washington's  great-grandson,  Law- 
rence Washington,  who  built  the  mansion  and  named  it  Mt. 
Vernon  after  the  British  admiral  under  whom  he  served. 
At  the  death  of  Lawrence  Washington  it  passed  to  his  half- 
brother  George,  who  enlarged  both  house  and  plantation. 
After  General  Washington's  death  Mrs.  Washington 
made  her  home  at  jNIt.  Vernon  until  her  own  death,  when 
the  place  passed  to  her  husband's  nephew,  Bushrod  Wash- 
ington, and  from  him  to  John  Augustine  Washington,  and 
from  him  to  John  Augustine  Washington,  Jr.,  who  in 
1858  sold  200  acres,  including  the  mansion  and  tombs,  to 
the  ]Mt.  Vernon  Ladies'  Association,  a  national  organiza- 
tion formed  for  the  piu'pose  of  restoring  and  preserving 
the  home  of  George  Washington. 

The  situation  of  Mt.  Vernon  is  peculiarly  happy,  for 
the  waters  of  the  same  broad  Potomac  upon  whose  banks 
lies  Wakefield,  the  birth-place  of  Washington,  lap  its 
shores,  while  but  a  short  way  up  the  river  the  white  dome 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     359 

of  the  Capitol  that  his  deeds  made  possible  shines  out 
against  blue  heaven.  JNlt.  Vernon,  the  JNlecca  of  all  true 
Americans,  thus  stands  upon  what  might  well  be  called 
Washington's  River,  between  the  place  where  he  first  saw 
the  light  of  day  and  the  crowning  monument  to  his  genius. 
The  most  interesting  approach  to  Mt.  Vernon  is  by 
water,  for  the  river-landing  by  which  "  the  many-sided 
Washington  "  kept  in  touch  with  the  world  and  sent  the 
produce  of  his  beautiful  plantation  to  market  teems  with 
memories  of  him  as  the  thrifty  husbandman  and  man  of 
business. 


MT.  VERNON,  REAR  VIEW 

Not  far  from  the  wharf  is  the  family  graveyard  where 
above  the  doorway  of  a  massive  but  severely  plain  brick 
vault  the  visitor  reads:  "Within  this  enclosure  rest  the 
remains  of  General  Washington,"  and  between  the  bars  of 
heavy  iron  gates  he  gazes  with  reverent  ej'^es  upon  two 
white  marble  sarcophagi  in  which  lie,  side  by  side,  the 
bodies  of  George  Washington  and  Martha,  his  wife.  How 
calmly,  how  simply  can  true  greatness,  when  the  day  is 
done,  lie  down  to  pleasant  dreams!  For  pleasant  indeed 
they  must  be  within  the  embrace  of  his  own  home,  in  the 
region  of  his  own  achievements.     So  says  the  pilgrim  to 


360       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

himself,  then  goes  on  his  way  with  softened  vision,  and  a 
spirit  in  tune  for  the  view  of  the  homestead  and  its  environs. 

Charming  are  the  ample  grounds  with  their  many 
varieties  of  goodly  trees,  some  of  which  are  historic,  their 
wooded  deer-park  with  its  shy,  soft-eyed  and  fleet-footed 
inhabitants,  their  long  bowling  green  and  expanse  of  velvet 
turf  stretching  down  to  the  river.  Full  of  suggestion  are 
the  quaint  outbuildings — the  dormer-windowed  servants' 
quarters;  the  kitchen,  with  its  great  crane  and  bake  oven, 
planned  for  preparation  of  the  abundant  feasts  upon  which 
the  guests  that  flocked  to  Mt.  Vernon  by  coach  and  bj^ 
boat  were  regaled;  the  smoke-house,  where  bacon  of  the 
true  old  Virginia  flavor  was  cured;  the  coach-house,  with 
its  antiquated  chariot;  the  spinning-house,  where  clothing 
for  the  slaves  and  rag-carpets  and  other  fabrics  for  the 
house  were  woven,  and  where  may  still  be  seen  the  ancient 
loom  wheels,  reels  and  brake.  But  the  most  appealing  of 
all  the  outside  features,  most  redolent  of  memories  of 
George  in  his  queue  and  Martha  in  her  cap,  is  the  fascinat- 
ing old  flower  garden  which  thej'  planned,  where  the  prim 
hedges  of  dwarf -box  which  they  planted  still  define  innum- 
erable tidy  beds  of  old-fashioned  flowers.  In  Washington's 
time  distinguished  visitors  were  invited  to  plant  trees, 
shrubs  or  flowers  in  the  garden  and  many  of  these  me- 
morials still  flourish — among  them  a  tree  planted  by 
Lafayette  and  one  by  Jefferson.  A  musk-cluster  rose 
named  bj^  Washington  for  his  mother,  and  other  roses 
named  for  himself  and  Nelly  Custis  are  also  pointed  out. 

Mt.  Vernon  house  stands  three  stories  high,  including 
the  dormer-windowed  attic,  with  a  cellar  under  the  whole. 
It  is  built  upon  a  foundation  of  stone  and  brick  and  its 
framework  is  of  oak  sheathed  with  North  Carolina  pine, 
cut,  painted  and  sanded  to  resemble  stone.  The  sloping 
roof  is  covered  with  cypress  shingles.  From  the  east  front 
the  mansion  is  entered  through  a  long  and  wide  square- 
pillared  portico,  paved  with  tiles  imported  from  England 
by  Washington.  The  driveway  and  the  brass  knocker 
upon  the  central  door  of  the  severely  plain  west  front. 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     361 

show  that  it  was  the  entrance  for  visitors.  The  windows 
upon  this  side  look  upon  a  wide  green  court  bounded  on 
either  side  b}'  outbuildings  joined  to  the  mansion  bj^  colon- 
nades. In  the  centre  of  the  court  a  sun-dial  marks  the 
spot  where  one  stood  in  Washington's  time. 

House  and  grounds  are  exquisitely  kept  by  the  Mt. 
Vernon  Association.  Within,  the  house  is  still  a  completely 
equipped  home,  and  many  pieces  of  the  beautiful  old 
furniture  actually  used  by  the  Washingtons  have  been 
brought  back  and  restored  to  their  original  places,  while 
all  of  the  furnishings  and  decorations  are  of  the  period. 
From  the  panelled  hall  one  may  look  through  open  doors 
into  four  of  the  principal  rooms  of  the  first  floor.  They 
are  the  west  parlor,  with  its  sundry  mementos  of  the  great 
master  of  Mt.  Vernon,  its  ornate  wainscoting,  its  mantel 
with  the  Washington  coat-of-arms  carved  above  it;  Nelly 
Custis's  music  room,  where  the  pretty  old  harpsichord 
stands  open,  and  where  Washington's  flute  is  preserved; 
the  family  dining-room,  with  its  charming  old  sideboard; 
and  Mrs.  Washington's  sitting-room,  where  the  mantel- 
mirror,  spindle-legged  centre-table  and  some  of  the  old 
furnishings  are  original.  The  library  is  also  on  this  floor 
and  in  addition  to  the  built-in  book-shelves  contains  an  old 
mahogany  bookcase  and  some  other  pieces  of  its  original 
furniture,  but  unfortunately  few  of  Washington's  own 
books  are  among  those  now  on  its  shelves.  The  banquet- 
hall,  at  the  east  end  of  the  house,  contains  many  articles 
of  beauty  and  interest. 

Ascending  by  the  graceful  stair  to  the  second  floor,  we 
find  six  bedrooms  possessed  of  that  picturesqueness  which 
stately  "  four  posters  "  dressed  in  canopy  and  valance  of 
snowy  dimity  or  beflowered  chintz,  quaint  chests  of  drawers, 
spindle-legged  dressing  tables  and  candle-stands  give. 
These  chambers  are  known  as  "  Lafayette's  room,"  the 
"  river  room,"  the  "  guest  room,"  "  Nelly  Custis's  room," 
the  "  green  room,"  and  "  Washington's  room."  The  bed 
in  Washington's  room  is  the  one  upon  which  he  died, 


362       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

December  14,  1799,  and  some  of  the  other  articles  in  the 
room  were  used  by  him.  In  the  dormer-windowed  attic 
are  six  bedrooms  used  for  guest-chambers  when  the  house 
was  crowded.  One  of  them  is  known  as  "  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton's room."  After  General  Washington's  death  his  bed- 
chamber was  (after  the  manner  of  the  time)  closed,  and 
the  wife  chose  for  her  own  use  the  little  room  in  the  end 
of  the  attic,  through  whose  only  window  she  could  look 
upon  her  husband's  tomb.  It  was  in  this  attic  room  that 
"  Lady  Washington  "  died  on  the  twenty-second  daj'  of 
May,  1802. 

Young  Thomas  Lee  Shippen,  of  Philadelphia,  a 
grandson  of  Thomas  Lee,  the  founder  of  Stratford,  made, 
in  1790,  a  round  of  visits  to  the  friends  and  relatives  of  his 
family  in  Virginia.  In  a  letter  to  his  father  he  thus  de- 
scribes his  impressions  of  the  home  of  Washington : 

MorxT  Vekxox,  16  Sept.,  1790. 
My  dear  Father  and  Friend. 

This  is  to  be  sure  a  delightful  place.  Nothing  seems  wanting 
to  render  it  a  fit  residence  of  its  owner,  worthy  to  employ  and 
amuse  the  leisure  of  so  great  a  man  as  our  President. 

I  have  been  here  two  days  and  have  seen  most  of  the  improve- 
ments which  do  honor  at  once  to  the  taste  and  industry  of  our 
Washington.  I  have  been  treated,  as  usual,  with  every  most 
distinguished  mark  of  kindness  and  attention.  Hospitality  in- 
deed seems  to  have  spread  over  the  whole  place  its  happiest, 
kindest  influence.  The  President  exercises  it  in  a  superlative  de- 
gree, from  the  greatest  of  its  duties  to  the  most  trifling  minutiae, 
and  Mrs.  Washington  is  the  very  essence  of  kindness.  Her  soul 
seems  to  overflow  with  it  like  the  most  abundant  fountain,  and 
her  happiness  is  in  exact  proportion  to  the  number  of  objects  upon 
which  she  can  dispense  her  benefits. 

POHICK  CHURCH 

But  a  short  distance  from  INIt.  Vernon  stands  old  Po- 
hick,  the  parish  church  of  both  Mt.  Vernon  and  Gunston 
Hall — the  INIason  home.  This  church  was  built  in  1769  to 
replace  an  earlier  frame  structure,  and  the  Washingtons 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     363 

and  jNlasons  were  worshippers  in  the  first  sanctnary,  as 
well  as  the  second. 

In  1735  Augnstine  Washington  was  elected  a  vestry- 
man of  Pohick  and  in  1762  George  Washington  and 
George  William  Fairfax  were  appointed  church  wardens. 
It  is  said  that  the  plans  of  the  present  massive  and  com- 
modious building  of  brick,  with  stone  trimmings,  were 
drawn  by  General  Washington  himself.  The  building 
committee    consisted    of    George    Washington,     George 


POHICK  CHURCH,  FAIRFAX  COUNTY 

William  Fairfax,  George  Mason,  Daniel  ISIcCarthy  and 
Edward  Payne. 

Pohick  Church  was  badly  damaged  by  Federal  troops 
during  the  War  between  the  States,  and  when  it  was  later 
repaired,  through  the  generosity  of  a  gentleman  from  New 
A'oi'k,  the  interior  was  unfortunately  modernized.  More 
recently,  however,  its  quaint  and  interesting  appearance 
has  been  restored. 

It  is  the  custom  of  the  regents  of  the  Mt.  Vernon  Asso- 
ciation to  attend  service  once  a  vear  in  old  Pohick. 


364       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

GUNSTON  HALL 

About  one  mile  distant  from  Pohick  Church  stands 
Gunston  Hall,  the  famous  home  of  George  jMason  (1725- 
1792),  author  of  the  Bill  of  Rights  and  the  Constitution 
of  Virginia. ^^ 

The  Gunston  estate  of  7000  acres  was  long  since  divided 
into  small  farms,  most  of  which  are  now  the  propertj^  of 


r**^^ 

GUNSTON  HALL.  FAIRFAX  COUNTY 

northern  settlers,  but  the  mansion  is  as  well  preserved  as 
JNIt.  Vernon,  and  more  pretentious.  It  is  eighty  feet  long 
by  forty  feet  wide,  with  thick  brick  walls,  tall  chimneys 
and  a  long  sloping  roof.  Standing  somewhat  back  from 
the  Potomac,  upon  a  bold  bluff,  it  makes  a  striking  picture 

^' Mason  family:    Rowland,  The  Life  and  Letters  of  George 
Mason,  1725-1792,  vol.  i,  chap.  i. 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     365 

and  commands  a  splendid  view  of  the  river.  It  possesses 
the  spacious  rooms  and  hall  of  Colonial  mansions  of  its 
type,  finished  with  handsomely  carved  wainscoting,  much 
of  which  is  said  to  have  been  brought  from  England. 

George  JNIason  (fifth  in  descent  from  George  Mason 
the  Cavalier,  who  took  refuge  in  Virginia  in  1657)  built 
Gunston  Hall  in  1758  and  lived  in  it  many  years,  during 
which  it  was  a  favorite  resort  of  some  of  the  most  historic 
characters  of  those  history-making  days.  Mt.  Vernon  is 
only  four  miles  away,  by  river,  and  Washington,  who  kept 
a  four-oared  gig,  rowed  by  a  uniformed  negro  crew,  often 
chose  this  way  of  visiting  his  friend  and  neighbor,  INIason. 
Sometimes,  too,  on  Sundaj^s,  after  going  to  service  at  Po- 
hick,  in  his  coach  and  four,  the  master  of  JNIt.  Vernon  would 
drive  home  to  dinner  with  the  master  of  Gunston  Hall. 
The  dining-room  at  Gunston  Hall  in  which  the  Father  of 
his  Country  and  other  patriots  were  entertained  is  still 
pointed  out.  There  are  also  "  Jefferson's  room,"  occupied 
by  Thomas  Jefferson,  during  his  freqvient  visits  to  Guns- 
ton, and  "  Lafayette's  room,"  in  which  the  Marquis  of 
Lafayette  slept  when  he  was  a  guest  there  during  his  visit 
to  America  after  the  Revolution.  But  the  most  notable 
apartment  in  the  house  is  the  great  library,  for  though 
George  Mason's  greatest  claim  to  fame  is  as  the  father  of 
the  Bill  of  Rights,  his  name  is  also  intimateh'  associated 
with  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  it  is  said  that  it 
was  in  this  library  that  Jefferson  and  Mason  together  made 
the  first  draft  of  that  immortal  paper. 

After  George  Mason's  death,  Gunston  Hall  remained 
for  some  years  in  possession  of  his  descendants,  but  was 
finally  sold  and  has  several  times  since  changed  hands. 

CHRIST  CHURCH,  ALEXANDRIA 

The  pride  of  the  old  town  of  Alexandria  is  historic 
Christ  Church,  an  impressive  and  well-kept  building, 
standing  in  a  spacious  brick- walled  churchyard,  in  the  heart 
of  the  town.    The  architecture  is  much  like  that  of  Pohick 


366 


VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


Church,  and  hke  Pohick  its  chief  claim  to  distinction  is  the 
fact  that  Washington  was  at  one  time  a  vestryman.  The 
Washington  pew  is  still  pointed  out,  and  many  are  the 


CHRIST  CHURCH,  ALEXANDRIA 


tourists  who  come  from  Washington  City  bj^  train  and 
ferry  for  the  privilege  of  sitting  in  it,  if  only  for  a  few 
moments.  It  was  in  1773  that  the  finished  church  was 
handed  over  to  the  vestry  by  the  contractor  and  upon  the 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     367 

same  day  General  Washington  purchased  a  pew  for  £26, 
10,  8. 

General  Lee  also  attended  Christ  Church  during  his 
boyhood,  when  he  lived  in  Alexandria,  and  was  in  the  habit 
of  joining  with  the  other  young  folk  of  the  parish  in  dress- 
ing the  church  with  evergreens  at  Christmas.  In  1853, 
when  he  was  a  colonel  in  the  United  States  Army,  he  was 
confirmed  by  Bishop  Johns,  in  this  church.  His  pew,  like 
Washington's,  is  marked  with  a  silver  plate,  and  is  one  of 
the  chief  objects  of  interest  in  the  building  where  these 
two  great  generals  are  further  memorialized  by  mural 
tablets. 

In  the  early  days  of  its  history,  Christ  Church  had 
women  as  sextons;  first,  one  Susannah  Edwards,  "who 
preceded  the  members  of  the  congregation  up  the  aisles, 
locating  each  family  in  their  respective  pews  according  to 
dignity,"  and  later  "  Mistress  Cook,"  who  we  are  told  was 
"  peculiar  in  dress  and  physiognonty."  She  had  "  a  stately 
manner  of  ushering  people  into  their  pews,  and  locking 
the  door  upon  them,  and  with  almost  military  air  she 
patrolled  the  aisles,  alert  to  detect  and  prompt  to  suppress 
any  violation  of  order." 

THE  CARLYLE  HOUSE 

The  Carlyle  House,  now  a  portion  of  the  Braddock 
Hotel,  on  Fairfax  Street,  Alexandria,  was  built  by  John 
Carlyle  (1720-1780),  a  wealthy  merchant,  in  174<5}''  In 
architecture  it  is  a  fine  example  of  an  old  Virginia  mansion, 
with  its  spacious  rooms,  finished  with  beautiful  woodwork, 
and,  besides,  it  has  a  history.  In  1755  it  was  occupied  by 
Major  General  Edward  Braddock,  who  here  held  a  council, 
composed  of  himself  and  Governors  Shirley,  of  Massachu- 
setts, Delancy,  of  New  York,  Morris,  of  Pennsylvania, 
Sharpe,  of  Maryland,  Dinwiddle,  of  Virginia,  Dobbs,  of 
North  Carolina,  General  St.  Clair  and  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin, for  the  purpose  of  planning  the  campaign  against  Fort 

'®  Carlyle  family:  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  xviii.  pp.  201- 
212,  278-289. 


368       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Duquesne  wliich  ended  so  disastrously.    The  stately  room 
in  which  this  council  was  held  is  still  pointed  out. 

It  was  while  General  Braddock  was  at  the  Carlyle 
House  that  Washington  became  a  member  of  his  staff. 


CARLYLE  HOUSE,  ALEXANDRIA 


Efforts  are  being  made  by  zealous  atitiquarians  of 
Alexandria  to  secure  the  Carlyle  House  and  preserve  it 
as  a  museum. 


24 


THE  RAPPAHANNOCK  AND  POTOMAC     371 

ARLINGTON 

Thought  of  Arhngton  brings  before  the  mind's  ej^e  two 
pictures,  one  the  white-columned  mansion  standing  out 
from  the  crest  of  a  high  hill  whose  slopes  are  wooded  with 
ancient  oaks,  the  other  (seen  from  the  portico  of  the 
mansion  itself)  Washington  City  lying  in  clear  view,  but 
touched  with  the  softened  beauty  that  distance  gives,  seven 
miles  away.  The  walk,  or  rather  the  climb,  up  hill  under 
the  oaks,  and  the  view  when  the  mansion  in  its  plat  of 
greensward  at  the  top  has  been  reached,  must  be  a  thing 
of  actual  experience  to  be  appreciated. 

After  the  death  of  Mrs.  Martha  Washington,  in  1802, 
George  Washington  Parke  Custis,  her  grandson  (who 
was  also  General  Washington's  adopted  son),  removed 
from  JNIt.  Vernon  to  Arlington,  which  was  built  by  him 
and  named  after  the  older  Custis  mansion  in  Northampton 
County,  long  since  destroyed  by  fire. 

INIr.  Custis  married,  in  1806,  JNIary  Lee,  daughter  of 
William  Fitzhugh,  of  Chatham,  and  he  and  his  wii^e  made 
Arlington  a  veritable  seat  of  hospitality,  where  the  most 
distinguished  Europeans  and  Americans  of  the  time  were 
entertained.  At  least  one  notable  wedding  took  place  there 
when,  upon  June  30,  1831,  Mary  Ann  Randolph  Custis, 
the  only  child  of  Mr.  and  JNIrs.  Custis  to  survive  infancy, 
gave  her  hand  to  Lieutenant  Robert  Edward  Lee,  then  of 
the  United  States  Corps  of  Engineers,  afterward  to  be- 
come the  great  general  and  hero  of  the  War  between  the 
States.  Mr.  Custis  died  October  10,  1857,  and  was  buried 
by  the  side  of  his  wife  in  the  beautiful  grove  near  Arlington 
house,  where  their  tombs  may  still  be  seen.  Their  daughter, 
Mrs.  Lee,  inherited  Arlington,  and  General  Lee  became 
deeply  attached  to  the  place  and  made  his  home  there  when- 
ever his  military  duties  would  permit.  Writing,  in  1861, 
of  Arlington  and  its  possible  destruction  by  the  Northern 
Army  he  said,  "  They  cannot  take  away  the  remembrance 
of  the  spot,  and  the  memories  of  those  that  to  us  rendered  it 
sacred.     That  will  remain  to  us  as  long  as  life  will  last, 


372      VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

and  that  we  can  preserve.  In  the  absence  of  a  home  I  wish 
I  could  j)urchase  Stratford." 

The  house  was  stored  with  the  most  precious  rehcs  of 
"  the  Father  of  his  Country,"  many  of  which  were  stolen 
in  the  early  days  of  the  War  between  the  States.  The  place 
itself  was  taken  possession  of  by  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment and  a  military  cemetery  established  there.  This 
made  it  impossible  to  restore  the  estate  to  JMrs.  Uee's  heirs, 
but  such  relics  as  were  seized  bj-  the  Government  have  been 
returned  and  the  estate  has  been  j^aid  for. 

Arlington  is  still  used  by  the  Government  as  a  cemetery 
for  army  and  naval  officers,  and  the  interest  that  gives  it, 
added  to  the  fact  that  it  was  the  home  of  the  Custises  and 
Lees,  draws  thousands  of  tourists  thither  everv  vear. 


PART  VI 

Piedmont  and  the  South  Side 

piedmont 

ONE  of  the  most  attractive  parts  of  Virginia  is  the 
Piedmont  section  lying,  as  its  name  indicates,  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountains — that  is,  just  east  of 
the  Blue  Ridge — and  embracing  the  counties  of 
Loudoun,  Fauquier,  Culpeper,  Orange  and  others.  It  is  a 
country  of  fertile,  well  watered,  beautifully  undulating 
lands,  whose  man}"-  bold  hills  looking  across  wood  and 
stream  and  meadow  upon  the  blue  mountains  afford  ideal 
sites  for  homes.  The  counties  of  this  group  were  the  last 
to  be  formed  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge  before  the  Revolution, 
and  for  this  reason,  together  with  their  remote  situation 
at  the  time,  there  do  not  remain  many  noted  houses  of  the 
Colonial  period.  There  are,  however,  some  handsome  and 
interesting  ones  of  more  recent  date. 


'O 


OAK  HILL 

Oak  Hill,  in  Loudoun  County,  was  the  home  of  a 
president  of  the  United  States  and  looks  the  part.  Stand- 
ing out  from  among  century-old  trees,  upon  a  hill  clothed 
with  the  deep-toned,  deep-piled  velvet  of  blue-grass,  this 
noble  brick  mansion  with  its  tall  chimneys,  and  its  Greek 
portico  whose  white  columns  are  thirty  feet  high,  dominates 
the  country  for  miles  around.  Its  windows  look  across, 
rolling  farm-lands,  upon  the  Blue  Ridge  in  one  direction 
and  the  Catoctin  Hills  in  another,  while  against  the  south- 
eastern sky  stands  lofty  "  Sugar-loaf." 

The  house  was  built  by  James  Monroe,  during  his  presi- 
dency, to  replace  a  dormer-windowed  cottage  which  had 
long  been  the  home  of  the  Monroe  family.     It  takes  its 

373 


t^ 


374       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

name  from  a  group  of  fine  oaks  on  the  wide-spreading 
lawn  on  which  President  Monroe  planted  a  tree  from  each 
State  in  the  Union,  presented  to  him  for  the  purpose  by  the 
congressmen  from  the  respective  States. 

General  Lafayette  was  a  guest  at  Oak  Hill  during  his 
visit  to  Virginia  in  1824,  and  mementos  of  his  stay  may 


OAK  HILL  (FRONT),  LOUDOUN  COUNTY 


still  be  seen  in  the  beautiful  mantel-pieces  in  the  drawing- 
room,  which  were  presents  from  him  to  the  house. 

Upon  Monroe's  death,  in  1831,  at  the  home  of  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Gouverneur,  of  New  York,  Oak  Hill  passed 
to  the  Gouverneurs,  who,  in  1852,  sold  it  to  Colonel  John 
M.  Fairfax.  Among  JNIonroe  relics  that  went  with  the 
place  was  a  handsome  backgammon  table  with  ivory  play- 
ing pieces,  presented  to  ]Mr.  Monroe  by  the  American  Min- 
ister at  Paris.  Between  the  wood  and  marble  tops  of  this 
table  Mrs.  Fairfax  found  a  safe  hiding-place  for  her  jewels 
when  the  house  was  searched  by  Northern  soldiers,  who 
frequently  occupied  it  during  the  War  between  the  States, 
but  treated  the  home  of  Monroe  with  unusual  respect. 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       375 

Many  of  the  famous  raids  of  the  redoubtable  Mosby 
were  directed  from  the  Oak  Hill  house,  the  front  porch 
serving  as  a  position  of  vantage.  Colonel  Fairfax  was 
himself  an  officer  on  General  Longstreet's  staff,  and  was 
distinguished  for  bravery.  A  few  years  after  the  war  he 
sold  Oak  Hill  to  Dr.  Quinby,  of  New  York,  but  in  1885 


OAK  HILL  (REAR) 

it  was  bought  back  by  his  son,  Mr.  Henry  Fairfax,  who 
now  makes  his  home  there.  Mr.  Fairfax  devotes  himself  to 
the  care  of  the  estate  and  the  breeding  of  fine  horses,  and 
old  Oak  Hill,  with  its  1200  acres  of  grass-land  and  its 
stables  providing  winter  quarters  for  over  two  hundred 
horses,  is  famous  throughout  Virginia  and  beyond. 

OATLANDS 

Oatlands,  near  the  old  town  of  Leesburg,  in  beautiful 
Loudoun  County,  was  built  in  the  year  1800  by  George 
Carter,  son  of  Robert  (commonly  called  "  Councillor  ") 
Carter,  of  Nomini  Hall,  Westmoreland,  and  great-grand- 
son of  "  King  "  Carter. 

The  plantation  of  5000  acres  was  part  of  the  great 


376       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Fairfax  estate,  and  was  bought  from  Lord  Fairfax  by- 
Councillor  Carter  and  given  to  his  son  George  upon  his 
coming  of  age. 

The  master  of  Oatlands  was,  like  his  father,  the  comi- 
cillor,  a  man  of  liberal  education,  devoted  to  books  and 
music,  and  his  home  bears  witness  to  his  cultivated  taste. 
The  building  of  Oatlands  and  laying  out  of  its  grounds 
was  a  labor  of  love  with  him.  He  was  his  own  architect 
and  most  of  the  work  was  done  under  his  direction,  by  his 


OATLANOS,  LOUDdL'N  COUNTY 


slaves.  He  died  in  1846,  leaving  Oatlands  house  with  3000 
acres  of  land  and  75  slaves  to  his  eldest  son,  George  Carter, 
who  occupied  it  until  1894,  when  it  was  sold,  with  sixty 
acres,  to  Mr.  Stilson  Hutchins,  of  Washington,  who  in 
turn  sold  it  to  its  present  owner,  Mr.  William  Corcoran 
Eustis. 

Oatlands  has  always  played  a  prominent  part  in  the 
social  life  of  its  neighborhood.  Its  present  master  is  an 
enthusiastic  hunter  and  lover  of  horses  and  is  making  the 
old  place  famous  as  a  stock  farm. 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       377 


OLD  METHODIST  CHURCH,  LEESIiURG 

MORVEN  PARK 

JMorven  Park  *  with  its  1000  acres  of  fertile  land,  its 
spacious  and  distinguished  looking  mansion,  its  wide 
stretches  of  greensward  and  its  stately  trees  is  one  of  the 
finest  estates  in  all  Virginia.  It  was  built  by  Governor 
Swan,  of  Maryland,  who  made  its  name  a  synonym  for 
hospitality.  Its  present  master  is  Mr.  Westmoreland 
Davis,  M.  F.  H.,  of  Loudoun  County,  who  is,  like  so  many 
country  gentlemen  of  that  section,  an  enthusiastic  hunter 
and  stock-raiser. 

RASPBERRY  PLAIN 

Raspberry  Plain,  Loudoun  County,  was  built  about 
1771  by  Thomson  Mason  (1733-1785),  a  brother  of 
George  Mason,  of  Gunston  Hall.  Mr.  Mason,  who  was 
a  man  of  note  in  his  day,  was  long  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses,  and  was  a  judge  of  the  General  Court  during 
the  Revolution. 

At  Mr.  Mason's  death,  in  1785,  Raspberry  Plain  passed 
to  his  distinguished  son,  Stevens  Thomson  Mason  (1760- 

*  See  illustration,  p.  379. 


378       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


1803),  United  States  senator  from  Virginia,  who  married 
Mary,  daughter  of  Robert  Armistead,  of  Louisa  County, 
and  was  the  father  of  Honorable  Armistead  Thomson 
Mason,  of  Sehiia  (killed  in  the  famous  Mason-ISIcCarty 
duel).  General  John  Thomson  JNIason,  Stevens  Thomson' 
Mason,  who  died  young,  and  a  bevy  of  daughters  celebrated 
for  their  beauty  and  charm.  These  JNIason  girls  were  belles 
in  Washington  society  when  they  were  guests  of  the  Vir- 
ginia presidents  at  the  White  House,  and  drove  in  a  coach 


RASPBERRY  PLAIN,  LOUDOUN  COUNTY 


and  four  with  out-riders  in  livery.  They  drew  many  of 
the  most  eligible  beaux  of  the  day  to  Raspberry  Plain,  and 
it  is  said  that  the  round  window  in  the  upper  hall  was  a 
favorite  place  for  the  girls  to  "  station  themselves  to  watch 
for  their  cavaliers  as  they  would  be  descried  on  their  pranc- 
ing horses  a  long  distance  up  the  road."  All  three  of  them 
married  distinguished  men.  Mary  was  the  wife  of  Gov- 
ernor Benjamin  Howard,  of  INIissouri;  Emily,  of  Honor- 
able William  ]McCartv;  and  Catherine,  the  wife  of  Post- 


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z 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       381 

master  General  William  T.  Barry,  of  President  Jackson's 
cabinet. 

Beautiful  colored  crayon  portraits  of  the  Honorable 
and  Mrs.  Stevens  Thomson  JNIason,  by  Sharpless,  are' 
preserved  by  their  descendants. 

After  the  INIasons'  time,  Raspberry  Plain  w^as  closed 
for  years,  during  which  it  was  said  to  be  haunted. 

SELMA 

Selma  was  built  by  Honorable  Armistead  Thomson 
Mason  (1787-1819),  early  in  the  nineteenth  century.  It 
has  had  a  grim  history. 

Colonel  JNIason  was  a  man  of  fine  talent  and  wide  popu- 
larity. He  served  in  the  War  of  1812  as  a  colonel  of  the 
cavalry,  and,  like  his  father,  Stevens  Thomson  JNIason,  of 
Raspberry  Plain,  was  United  States  senator  from  Virginia. 
On  account  of  a  political  quarrel  he  engaged  in  a  duel  with 
his  near  cousin.  Colonel  John  Mason  JSIcCarty,  so  tragic 
that  the  whole  country  rang  with  it.  It  was  fought  at 
Bladensburg,  Maryland,  on  February  6,  1819,  with  mus- 
kets at  ten  paces.  Mason  dropped  dead  at  the  first  fire, 
while  INIcCarty  was  only  saved  by  an  accident. 

Mason  had  a  young  and  devoted  wife,  with  one  child, 
a  pretty  little  boy  but  a  few  months  old.  JNIcCarty  was  a 
brilliant  young  lawyer  of  the  same  county,  and  he  was  soon 
to  be  married  to  the  lovelj'  Lucinda  Lee. 

After  the  duel  McCarty  wrote  to  her,  relating  what  he 
had  done,  giving  her  a  week  for  reflection,  and  asking  her 
to  tell  him  at  the  end  of  that  time  whether  she  would  marry 
him  after  what  had  happened.  She  related  long  afterward 
the  agony  of  that  week,  how  she  knelt  in  despair  at  her 
mother's  feet  and  asked  her  to  decide;  how  the  old  lady 
could  only  advise  her  to  follow  her  own  heart;  how  at  last 
she  sent  a  note  to  her  lover,  inviting  him  to  call. 

After  their  marriage  they  settled  near  Selma,  where 
the  young  widow  of  Mason  lived  with  her  little  boy,  and  to 


382       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

them  also  was  born  an  only  son,  very  promising,  in  whom 
they  took  great  pride. 

Though  living  but  a  few  miles  apart,  however,  the  two 
families,  the  JNIasons  and  jNIcCartys,  never  renewed  their 
acquaintance  or  spoke  to  each  other.  There  was  a  natural 
avoidance,  nothing  more.  Young  ]\IcCarty  was  a  frequent 
sportsman,  but  in  all  his  gunning  was  never  known  to  set 
his  foot  on  part  of  the  jNIason  estate,  whatever  the  luck  it 
might  promise.  One  fatal  day,  however,  in  following  the 
flight  of  game,  he  mounted  a  fence,  which  formed  the 
boundary  of  the  Mason  property,  and  attempted  to  load 
in  this  position.  His  attention  diverted  by  the  movements 
of  the  birds  or  the  dogs,  he  let  slip  his  gun,  which  exploded 
and  sent  the  ramrod  through  his  head.  He  fell  on  the 
jNIason  side,  which  he  had  avoided  all  his  life,  upon  the 
ground  which  he  was  to  press  only  in  death.  And  to  make 
the  dramatic  situation  complete  Stevens  Mason  at  that 
moment  came  riding  by,  and  the  dying  youth  was  carried 
to  Raspberry  Plain,  the  birthplace  of  his  father's  victim, 
and  laid  dead  in  the  hall.  This  was  almost  the  death-blow 
to  the  parents  of  young  jNlcCarty.  His  bereaved  father, 
the  slayer  of  Senator  ]Mason,  became  erratic  and  for  much 
of  the  time  a  wanderer.  He  would  leave  his  home  without 
a  word,  and  be  gone  for  years,  his  own  wife  not  knowing 
where;  and  then  would  as  suddenly  reappear,  unkempt 
and  haggard,  with  long  hair  on  his  shoulders  and  beard 
descending  to  his  waist. 

Selma  was  inherited  by  Stevens  Thomson  JNIason,  Jr., 
whose  infancy  was  surrounded  with  so  much  that  was 
tragic.  At  twenty-one  he  was  a  rich,  attractive  and  dash- 
ing young  fellow,  often  seen  driving  a  handsome  pair  of 
horses  tandem  through  the  streets  of  Leesburg,  but  he 
seemed  to  have  been  born  for  disaster.  A  too  generous 
exjjenditure  of  his  fortunes  brought  reverses  which  forced 
him  to  sell  Selma,  after  which  he  joined  the  army,  and 
while  serving  as  a  captain  in  the  JNIexican  War  was  mortally 
wounded. 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       383 

OAK  HILL 

Oak  Hill,  in  Fauquier  County,  is  interesting  as  the 
home  in  which  Chief  Justice  John  Marshall  (1755-1835) 
grew  to  manhood.  A  house  of  seven  rooms,  which  is  a 
part  of  the  present  homestead,  was  built  here,  in  1773,  by 
Judge  Marshall's  father.  Colonel  Thomas  Marshall  (1730- 
1 802 ) ,  a  gallant  officer  in  the  Revolution,  and  was  given  by 
him  to  his  son  John.  The  great  Chief  Justice  owned  Oak 
Hill  the  rest  of  his  life  and  frequently  occupied  it.  At 
his  death  it  passed  to  his  eldest  son,  Thomas  Marshall,  who 
married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Fielding  Lewis,  of  Wey- 
anoke,  on  James  River. 


OAK  HILL,  FAUQUIER  COUNTY 


Thomas  INIarshall  was  a  master  of  arts  of  Princeton 
University  and  member  of  the  Virginia  Convention  of 
1829.  He  added  to  the  Oak  Hill  house  five  large  rooms 
and  two  halls,  besides  basement  rooms.  The  estate  de- 
scended to  his  eldest  son,  John  Marshall,  many  years  a 
member  of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  who  sold  it  to  his 
brother  Thomas  Marshall,  colonel  in  the  Confederate 
Army,  who  was  killed  at  the  Battle  of  Winchester, 
November  12,  1864.     After  his  death  the  old  homestead 


384       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

was  sold  and  since  it  passed  from  the  ^Marshall  familj-  has 
had  several  owners.  It  is  now  the  property  of  ISIr.  T.  M, 
Maddox. 

GORDOXSDALE  * 

Reverend  John  Scott  (1747-1785)  led  an  adventurous 
hfe  for  a  clergyman.'  He  went  to  Scotland  on  account 
of  having  been  "one  of  the  participants,  though  not  a  prin- 
cipal, in  a  fatal  duel.  There  he  took  the  degree  of  master 
of  arts  in  King's  College,  Aberdeen,  and  soon  after  his 
graduation  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Professor 
Thomas  Gordon  of  that  institution.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  Revolution  he  was  minister  in  charge  of  a  church  in 
JNIaryland,  but  was  arrested  and  tried  for  remaining  loyal 
to  the  JNIother  Country.  After  that  he  retired  to  his  planta- 
tion in  Fauquier  County,  Virginia,  which  he  named  Gor- 
donsdale,  in  honor  of  his  wife. 

One  of  ]Mr.  Scott's  sons,  Robert  Eden  Scott  (1769- 
1811),  was  a  professor  at  Aberdeen,  another.  Judge  John 
Scott  (1781-1850) ,  was  a  distinguished  lawyer  in  Virginia. 
After  her  husband's  death  ]Mrs.  Scott  sold  her  home  to  her 
son-in-law.  Dr.  Chandler  Peyton,  who  died  in  1827,  leaving 
Gordonsdale  to  his  son  Dr.  Robert  E.  Peyton,  who  sold  it, 
in  1868,  to  General  Benjamin  Huger,  of  the  Confederate 
Army. 

FARLEA" 

One  of  the  oldest  homesteads  in  the  Piedmont  section 
is  Farley,  in  Culpeper  County,  which  was  built  more  than 
a  century  ago  by  Carter  Beverley  but  was  soon  after  bought 
by  William  Champe  Carter,  son  of  Colonel  Edward 
Carter,  of  Blenheim,  Albemarle  Countj%  who  was  a  grand- 
son of  Robert  ("  King")  Carter.  ]Mr.  Carter  gave  the 
place  the  name  of  Farley  in  honor  of  his  wife,  who  was  his 

■*  See  illustration  at  head  of  Preface. 

'  An  interesting  account  of  the  Reverend  John  Scott  and  his 
descendants  is  given  in  Haj'den,  Virginia  Genealogies,  p.  603 
et  seq. 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       385 

cousin,  Maria  Champe  Farley,  daughter  of  James  Parke 
Farley  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Hill  Byrd,  daughter  of 
Honorable  William  Byrd  III,  of  Westover,  and  also 
descended,  in  the  fifth  generation,  from  Robert  ("  King  ") 
Carter. 

Elizabeth  Hill  Farley  Carter,  the  only  daughter  of 
the  Carters  of  Farley,  married  Colonel  Samuel  Storrow, 
of  the  United  States  Army,  and  she  and  her  husband  made 
their  home  at  Farley  during  her  father's  lifetime,  and  after- 
ward. In  1836  her  husband  died  and  she  and  her  children 
continued  to  live  at  Farley  until  about  1842,  when  it  was 
sold,  and  was  long  the  home  of  Dr.  W.  A.  Wellford  and 
his  wife,  who  was  Miss  Corbin.  The  Wellfords  finally  sold 
it' to  Mr.  Franklin  Stearns. 

The  Farley  estate  consists  of  a  goodly  number  of  fertile 
acres  and  a  commodious  mansion  situated  among  fine  old 
trees,  and  commanding  an  extensive  view.  The  rooms  are 
spacious  and  there  is  a  great  central  hall  where  in  the  olden 
days  (says  one  who  knew  the  place  well)  "  many  danced 
joyfully  to  the  music  of  old  Uncle  Jim's  fiddle." 

MONTPELIER 

James  Madison,  like  other  Virginians  who  were  presi- 
dents of  the  United  States,  was  fortunate  in  his  home. 
Montpelier  with  its  ample,  and  at  the  same  time  har- 
monious, proportions,  its  lovely  grounds  and  horseshoe- 
shaped  terraced  garden,  and,  beyond,  its  superb  view  of 
the  Blue  Ridge,  is  in  both  architecture  and  situation  the 
rival  of  Oak  Hill,  President  Monroe's  home  in  Loudoun. 
The  estate  was  originally  a  large  one,  President  Madison's 
father  owning  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution  7000  to  8000 
acres  of  land.  The  house  at  first  consisted  of  only  the 
central  portion,  built  about  1760,  by  James  Madison,  Sr., 
but  was  afterward  brought  to  its  present  imposing  size 
and  appearance.  The  principal  improvements  were  made 
in  1809,  after  designs  by  William  Thornton,  architect  of 

2;5 


386       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

the  Capitol  at  Washington,  while  Latrobe  had  a  hand  in 
still  later  improvements,  which  include  the  wings. 

President  ^Madison  was  born  while  his  mother  was  on 
a  visit  to  her  parents,  at  Port  Conway,  King  George 
County,  but  grew  up  and  spent  his  life  (except  when  called 
away  by  official  duties)  at  jNIontpelier.  In  1794  he  married, 
in  Philadelphia,  a  beautiful  Quakeress — a  widow — JMis- 
tress  Dorothea  Payne  Todd.  Though  during  her  girlhood 
and  earlier  married  life  she  had  known  only  the  habits  and 
customs  of  the  prim  society  with  which  her  familj'  was 
identified,  it  was  in  Virginia,  as  mistress  of  the  heart  and 
home  of  one  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  day,  that 
Dolly  INIadison,  the  sprightly,  the  lovable,  found  her  true 
sphere.  She  had,  added  to  gifts  of  mind  and  character, 
remarkable  social  talent.  In  the  words  of  one  who  knew 
her:  "  She  never  forgot  a  name  she  had  once  heard  nor  a 
face  she  had  once  seen,  nor  the  personal  circumstances 
connected  with  every  individual  of  her  acquaintance.  Her 
quick  recognition  of  persons ;  her  recurrence  to  their  pecul- 
iar interests  produced  the  gratifying  impression  in  each 
and  all  of  those  who  conversed  with  her  that  they  were 
especial  objects  of  regard."  Says  the  same  writer:  "  Her 
snuffbox  had  a  magic  influence — for  who  could  partake 
of  its  contents  offered  in  a  manner  so  gracious  and  retain 
a  feeling  inimical  to  its  owner."  As  Madison  himself  was 
a  genial  host  and  delightful  talker  it  is  easy  to  imagine 
how  charming  must  have  been  the  life  at  fair  Montpelier, 
which,  like  so  many  Virginia  homes,  was  a  "  seat  of  hos- 
pitality." 

One  wing  of  the  house  was  occupied  by  the  mother  of 
the  president,  and  there  the  venerable  dame,  attended  by 
her  old  family  servants,  constantly  visited  by  her  children 
and  grandchildren  and  tenderly  ministered  to  by  her 
daughter-in-law,  the  engaging  "  Dolly,"  preserved  the  cus- 
toms and  habits  of  an  earlier  generation.  One  who  visited 
her  there  draws  a  striking  picture  of  her  at  the  age  of 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       389 

ninety-seven,  placidly  enjoying  the  evening  of  her  long 
life  and  "  always  busy,"  either  knitting  or  reading  from  her 
favorite  books — "  large,  dark  and  worn  quartos  and  folios 
of  most  venerable  appearance,"  which  were  kept  upon  a 
table  by  her  side. 

JNIuch  has  been  said  and  written  about  the  mother  of 
Washington;  truly  does  it  seem  that  this  mother  of 
Madison  must  have  been  a  woman  worth  knowing  in  her 
time  and  keeping  in  remembrance  after. 

When  he  was  about  sixty-six  j^ears  old,  Madison  retired 
from  public  life  and  spent  his  last  nineteen  years  in  the 
enjoyment  of  his  country  home,  happy  in  his  agricultural 
interests,  his  books,  his  friends,  and  his  corresjjondence. 
He  and  Jefferson  were  intimate  friends,  and  Monticello 
and  JNIontpelier  were  not  too  far  apart  for  their  masters 
to  exchange  frequent  visits. 

Madison  died  at  Montpelier  on  June  28,  1836,  aged 
eighty-five,  and  he  and  his  wife  are  buried  there,  side  by 
side.  A  handsome  shaft,  erected  by  his  admirers,  marks 
the  spot. 

Montpelier  is  now  the  home  of  Mr.  William  Dupont, 
formerly  of  Delaware,  who  has  added  another  story  to  the 
wings  and  adorned  the  terraced  gardens  with  statuary  and 
a  varietj'  of  rare  and  beautiful  shrubs  and  flowers. 

ROCKLANDS 

The  tract  of  land  on  which  Rocklands  is  located  was 
purchased  about  the  year  1845,  by  Edmund  Henshaw,  who 
during  his  ownership  erected  a  dwelling  w^hich  was  later 
enlarged  by  Bai-ton  H.  Haxall,  who  acquired  the  estate 
by  purchase,  in  1851.  At  Mr.  Haxall's  death,  in  1882, 
an  Englishman  by  the  name  of  Moorwood  bought  the 
property  and  made  his  residence  there  for  several  years, 
finally  disposing  of  Rocklands  to  Thomas  Atkinson,  the 
present  owner. 

A  year  or  two  after  Mr.  Atkinson  purchased  the  estate, 
the  original  dwelling  was  totally  destroyed  by  fire,  and 


390       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

the  present  handsome  house  was  built  bj^  him  on  the  site 
of  the  old  one.  The  picture  shown  here  is  of  the  original 
dwelling. 


ROCKLANDS,  ORANGE  COUNTY 

FRASCATI 

Frascati,  the  beautiful  home  of  Judge  Philip  Pendleton 
Barbour  (1783-1841),  speaker  of  the  United  States 
House  of  Representatives  and  justice  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court,  was  built  some  time  before  1830  by  the 
same  workmen  who  had  been  employed  in  erecting  the 
buildings  for  the  University  of  Virginia. 

After  Judge  Barbour's  death  Frascati  changed  owners 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       391 

many  times.  For  years  before  the  War  between  the  States 
it  was  the  home  of  Colonel  James  Magruder,  whose  sons, 
bred  at  Frascati,  were  famous  for  bravery  in  the  Confed- 


FRASCATI,  ORANGE  COUNTY 


erate  Army.  Three  of  these  five  gallant  JVIagruder  boys 
were  killed  in  battle,  while  the  other  two  were  desperatelj'^ 
wounded.  The  husband  of  their  sister  was  also  killed  in 
battle." 

In  more  recent  times  Frascati  was  long  the  home  of 
Mrs.  William  H.  Lyne.  Its  present  master  is  Mr.  A.  D. 
Irving,  a  kinsman  of  Washington  Irving. 

BARBOURSVILLE 

In  a  picturesque  state  of  ruin,  its  walls  and  its  columns 
draped  with  ivy,  stands  Barboursville,*  once  the  handsomest 
home  in  Orange  County.  Jefferson  is  said  to  have  helped 
to  plan  the  house,  which  was  built  in  1822,  by  his  friend 
James  Barbour  (1775-1842),  governor  of  Virginia,  and 
United  States  senator.  In  outward  appearance  it  was 
much    like   Frascati,   the   home   of    Governor   Barbour's 

^  Scott,  History  of  Orange  County,  p.  156. 
*  See  illustration,  p.  393. 


392       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

brother,  Judge  Philip  Pendleton  Barboui";  but  the  interior 
was  more  ambitious.  The  stately  central  hall  was  six- 
sided  and  was  capped  above  the  second  story  by  a  dome. 
A  door  from  the  hall  led  to  the  drawing-room,  a  large  and 
beautiful  apartment,  octagonal  in  shape,  with  windows 
opening  upon  a  pillared  portico. 

The  gardens  at  both  Barboursville  and  Frascati  were 
originally  surrounded  by  serpentine  walls  like  those  at  the 
University  of  Virginia  and  the  one  at  Barboursville  still 
remains. 

After  Governor  Barbour's  death  his  home  passed  to  his 
son,  Mr.  Johnson  Barbour,  a  gentleman  famous  for  schol- 
arship and  wit,  who  kept  up  Barboursville's  traditions  for 
cultivation,  refinement  and  hospitality.  The  destruction 
of  such  a  home  is  tragedy.  It  burned  down  on  Christmas 
Dav,  1884. 

KESWICK 

Keswick  on  its  green  hill,  with  its  shady  trees,  its  box- 
walks  and  its  charming  old  garden,  was  originally  part  of 
the  Castle  Hill  estate  in  Albemarle  County  and  was  the  in- 
heritance of  Jane  Frances  Walker,  eldest  child  of  Honor- 
able Francis  Walker  (1764-1806),  of  Castle  Hill.  The 
plantation  was  first  called  Turkej^  Hill  and  could  boast  of 
thirty-seven  hundred  acres.  Its  mistress  gave  her  hand  in 
marriage  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  to  Doctor  Mann  Page, 
who,  after  thirty-five  years  of  married  life,  died  at  Keswick, 
in  1850 — his  wife  surviving  him  until  1873.  The  Mann 
Pages  were  succeeded  in  their  ownership  of  the  estate  by 
their  son  Doctor  Thomas  Walker  Page,  who  died  there  in 
1887,  leaving  children  who  still  make  their  home  at  Keswick. 
Another  son  of  Doctor  Mann  and  Jane  (Walker)  Page 
was  Doctor  Richard  Channing  Moore  Page,  of  New  York, 
the  historian  of  the  Page  family.  Doctor  Page  has  given 
an  interesting  account  of  the  long  series  of  tutors  who 
taught  at  Keswick,  which  eventually  became  the  site  of  a 
noted  boarding  school  conducted  by  two  of  Thomas  Walker 
Page's  sons,  James  Morris  and  Thomas  Walker  Page,  Jr. 


BARBOURSVILLE,  ORANGE  COUNTY 


EDGE  HILL,  ALBERMARLE  COUNTY 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       395 

EDGE  HILL 

In  the  year  1735,  William  Randolph,  of  Tuckahoe, 
patented  twenty-four  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Albemarle 
County.  Though  he  continued  to  live  at  Tuckahoe,  in 
Goochland,  his  holdings  in  Albemarle  had,  as  will  be  seen, 
an  interesting  effect  upon  the  Randolph  family  history. 

Over  and  over  again  in  Virginia,  adjoining  lands  have 
been  responsible  for  the  joining  of  hands.  About  1770 
Thomas  Mann  Randolph,  Senior  (1741-1793),  of  Tucka- 
hoe, a  wealthy  widower,  and  his  son  Thomas  Mann 
Randolph,  Junior  (1768-1828),  were  both  numbered 
among  the  eligible  beaux  (or  "  catches,"  as  the  popular 
phrase  would  have  expressed  it)  of  Virginia.  The 
Randolph  estate  in  Albemarle  lay  between  Belmont,  the 
Harvie  estate,  and  Monticello,  the  Jefferson  estate;  and 
at  both  Belmont  and  Monticello  was  a  lovely  young  daugh- 
ter. What  more  natural  than  that  ere  long  dusky  pro- 
ficients in  the  dance  music  of  the  good  old  times  were  tun- 
ing their  fiddles  for  two  weddings:  Thomas  JNIann 
Randolph,  the  father,  and  the  witty  Gabriella  Harvie  mak- 
ing one  pair;  and  Thomas  Mann  Randolph,  the  son,  and 
the  gentle  Martha  Jefferson,  the  other.  The  elder  bride- 
groom took  his  bride  to  Tuckahoe  and  gave  the  Albemarle 
plantation  to  his  son,  who  named  it  Edge  Hill,  and  built 
upon  it  a  commodious  frame  homestead. 

The  young  master  of  Edge  Hill  became  one  of  the 
leading  men  of  his  time.  He  represented  his  district  in 
Congress,  and  in  1818  became  governor  of  Virginia.  His 
own  prominence,  and  his  wife's,  together  with  their  per- 
sonal charm,  made  Edge  Hill  a  resort  for  distinguished 
visitors  second  only  to  Monticello. 

Upon  Governor  Randolph's  death  the  estate  passed  to 
his  son,  Thomas  Jefferson  Randolph,  who,  in  1828,  re- 
moved the  old  house  to  the  rear  and  built,  upon  the  original 
site,  the  present  brick  mansion.  After  his  death  Edge  Hill 
became  famous  as  a  boarding  school  which  was  opened  by 
his  widow,  Mrs.  Jane  (Nicholas)  Randolph,  and  carried 


396       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

on  many  years  after  her  time  by  her  daughters,  Misses 
Mary  and  Sarah  Randolph.  It  was  interrupted  by  the 
War  between  the  States,  but  was  reopened  in  1869  and 
continued  until  1896,  when  Edge  Hill  passed  from  the 
Randolph  family,  and  became  once  more  a  private 
residence. 

The  house  is  filled  with  relics  of  Thomas  Jefferson. 
Its  situation  in  view  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  its  lovely  lawn 
and  gardens,  and  its  park  of  great  forest  trees,  make  the 
old  home  of  Jefferson's  daughter  as  beautiful  as  it  is  in- 
teresting. ,    - 

CASTLE  HILL  AND  BELVOIR 

Doctor  Thomas  Walker  (1715-1794),  a  descendant  of 
Captain  Thomas  Walker,  of  Gloucester  County,  who  came 
to  Virginia,  about  1650,  from  Staffordshire,  England,'  was 
a  prominent  physician  in  his  day,  interested  in  politics  and 
exploration,  an  influential  member  of  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses, the  Revolutionary  Conventions  and  the  Committee 
of  Safety,  several  times  Virginia's  commissioner  to  effect 
treaties  with  the  Indians,  commissary  under  Washington 
in  the  French  and  Indian  War,  and  probably  the  first  white 
man  who  ever  entered  the  territory  which  is  now  the  State 
of  Kentucky.  In  1750  Doctor  Walker  went  to  the  "  west- 
ern country  "  and  during  this  expedition  named  Cumber- 
land gap  and  ri^^er  in  honor  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland. 
It  is  said  that  Doctor  Walker  introduced  the  celebrated 
apple,  the  Albemarle  pippin,  into  Albemarle  County  from 
New  York.  He  was  the  guardian  of  Thomas  Jefferson 
and  an  intimate  friend  of  both  Washington  and  Jefferson. 

A  descendant  of  Doctor  Walker  writes  in  a  sketch  of 
the  Walker  family:  "In  1765  Doctor  Walker  bviilt  the 
house  at  Castle  Hill,  which  has  become  a  well-known  place 
to  Virginians.  The  small  panes  of  glass  and  the  brass 
door-locks,  which  may  still  be  seen  in  the  venerable  build- 

^  Walker  family  :  Watson's,  Some  Xotable  Families  of  America, 
p.  86  et  seq. 


CASTLE  HILL,  ALBEMARLE  COUNTY 


STARTING  THE  HUNT 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       399 

ing,  were  brought  from  London,  and  the  quaint  old  hall, 
which  is  still  the  centre  of  a  graceful  hospitality,  has  echoed 
to  the  violin  of  Jefferson  and  the  step  of  JNIadison  in  the 
merry  dance. 

"  Here  five  men,  either  presidents  or  presidents-to-be, 
have  been  entertained  as  familiar  friends  or  relatives,  while 
many  others,  notable  at  home  and  abroad,  have  met  here  in 
cliarming  companionship." 

Doctor  Walker  married  first,  in  1741,  INIildred,  widow 
of  Nicholas  Meriwether,  and  daughter  of  Colonel  Francis 


«* 


BELVOIR,  ALBEMARLE  COUNTY 

and  ]Mary  (Taliaferro)  Thornton,  of  Snow  Creek,  Caro- 
line County.  His  second  wife  was  Elizabeth  Thornton, 
a  sister  of  his  first  wife.  His  children  were  all  by  the  first 
wife. 

Doctor  Walker  died  November  19,  1794,  leaving  many 
descendants.  His  eldest  son.  Honorable  John  Walker 
(1744-1809),  who  was  a  member  of  General  Washing- 
ton's staff  during  the  Revolutionary  War  and  United 
States  senator  from  Virginia,  married  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of    Bernard    and    Catherine    (Spotswood)    Moore,    and 


400       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

settled  at  Belvoir,  which  was  destro3'ed  by  fire  in  1836. 
Their  only  child,  Mildred  (1764-1784),  married  Honor- 
able Francis  Kinloch,  of  South  Carolina,  and  her  only 
child,  Eliza  Kinloch,  married  Honorable  Hugh  Nelson 
(1768-1836).  Belvoir  descended  to  Mrs.  Nelson  and  she 
and  her  husband  made  their  home  there.  This  estate  was 
about  three  miles  southeast  of  Castle  Hill.  The  first  resi- 
dence there  was  built  by  Robert  Lewis,  nearer  the  moun- 
tain than  the  later  house;  but  has  long  since  disappeared. 
Colonel  John  Walker  built  a  house  at  Belvoir,  which  was 
afterwards  removed  to  another  location.  About  1790 
JNIr.  Walker  built  a  second  house,  which  was  destroyed 
by  fire,  in  1836,  but  a  ground  plan  thereof  is  preserved 
by  an  illustration  in  Page's  Page  Family.  In  the  rear 
was  an  ornamental  garden  and  behind  that  the  kitchen 
garden.  In  front  was  a  splendid  grove  of  poplars  and 
oaks.  After  the  death  of  Hugh  Nelson,  the  estate  was 
divided  and  the  house  part  fell  to  the  youngest  son.  Dr. 
Robert  W.  Nelson.     He  sold  it  in  1846  to  D.  C.  Carver. 

The  following  quaint  correspondence  passed  between 
Doctor  Thomas  Walker  and  Bernard  INIoore  a  short  time 
before  the  marriage  of  their  children. 

( The  father  of  John  Walker  to  the  father  of  Elizabeth 
JNIoore : ) 

May  27th,  1764. 
Dear  Sir  : 

Mj  son  Mr.  John  Walker,  having  informed  me  of  his  intention 
to  pay  his  addresses  to  your  daughter  Elizabeth,  if  he  should  be 
agreeable  to  yourself,  lady  and  daughter,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
inform  you  what  1  feel  myself  able  to  afford  for  their  support  in 
case  of  an  union.  JMy  affairs  are  in  an  uncertain  state ;  but  1  will 
promise  one  thousand  pounds,  to  be  paid  in  1766,  and  the  further 
sum  of  two  thousand  1  promise  to  give  him ;  but  the  uncertainty 
of  my  present  aft'airs  prevent  my  fixing  on  a  time  of  payment,  the 
above  sums  are  all  to  be  in  money  or  lands  and  other  effects,  at 
the  option  of  my  said  son  John  Walker. 

1  am,  sir,  your  humble  servant, 

Thomas  Walker. 
Col.  Bernard  Moore,  EsaR., 
in  King  William. 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       401 

( The  father  of  Elizabeth  Moore  to  the  father  of  John 
Walker;) 

May  28th  1764. 
Dear  Sir  : 

Your  son,  Mr.  John  Walker  applied  to  me  for  leave  to  make 
his  addresses  to  my  daughter  Elizabeth.  I  gave  him  leave  and  told 
him  at  the  same  time  that  my  affairs  were  in  such  a  state  that  it 
was  not  in  my  power  to  pay  him  all  the  money  this  year  that  I 
intended  to  give  my  daughter  provided  he  succeeded,  but  would 
give  him  five  hundred  pounds  more  as  soon  after  as  I  could  raise 
or  get  the  money ;  which  sums  you  may  depend  I  will  most  punctu- 
ally pay  to  him. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

Bernard  jNIoore. 
To  Thomas  Walker, 

Castle  Hill,  Albemarle  County,  Va. 

Honorable  Francis  Walker  (1764-1806),  the  j'oungest 
son  of  Doctor  Thomas  Walker,  married  Jane  Byrd  Nelson, 
of  Yorktown.  He  was  a  member  of  Congress  and  inherited 
Castle  Hill.  Judith  Page  Walker  (1802-1882),  the 
daughter  of  Francis  and  Jane  Byrd  Walker,  naarried 
Honorable  William  Cabell  Rives  (1793-1868),  who  held 
many  high  offices  in  the  State.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rives 
made  their  home  at  Castle  Hill  and  were  succeeded  there 
by  their  son  Alfred  Landon  Rives,  who  married  Miss  Sadie 
McMurdo  and  were  the  parents  of  the  author  Amelie 
Rives  (Princess  Troubetzkoy ) ,  who  has  made  the  place 
famous  in  recent  years. 

An  interesting  story  in  connection  with  Castle  Hill  is 
that  of  a  visit — for  quite  other  than  friendly  purposes — ■ 
paid  there  in  1781,  by  Colonel  Tarleton.  He  was  on  his 
way  to  Charlottesville  to  make  capture  of  the  Assembly  of 
Virginia  and  state  officers  who  were  gathered  there.  This 
attempt  was  frustrated  by  the  famous  ride  of  gallant  Jack 
Jouett,  but  Tarleton,  turning  aside  to  make  capture  of 
some  men  of  prominence  at  Castle  Hill  and  Belvoir,  found 
at  the  former  Colonel  John  Syme — ^the  half  brother  of 
Patrick  Henry — and  Judge  Peter  Lyons.  "  These  gentle- 

26 


402       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

men  were  surprised  in  their  beds,"  says  JNIr.  William  Wirt 
Henry,  in  his  Life  of  Patrick  Henry,  and  it  is  related,  as 
an  instance  of  Tarleton's  humor,  that  when  Colonel  Sjane, 
who  was  remarkably  homely,  was  brought  from  his  bed- 
room undressed,  and  with  dishevelled  hair,  the  celebrated 
cavalryman  threw  himself  into  the  attitude  of  Hamlet 
upon  discovering  his  father's  ghost,  and  exclaimed: 

Angels  and  ministers  of  grace,  defend  us  ! 

Be  thou  a  spirit  of  health,  or  gobhn  damned? 

MONTICELLO 

Monticello  was  not  only  the  home  but  the  creation  of 
Thomas  Jefferson.  That  versatile  genius,  who  seems  to 
have  excelled  in  everything  he  undertook,  save  playing 
the  violin,  was  as  great  an  architect  of  houses  as  of  States, 
and  JNIonticello  and  the  University  of  Virginia  ( four  miles 
away)  are  poems  in  brick  and  mortar.  Standing  upon  a 
plain  at  the  top  of  a  high  hill,  from  which  it  takes  its  name, 
Monticello,  or  "  little  mountain,"  looks  upon  a  wide  stretch 
of  fertile  country  through  which  winds  the  Rivanna  River, 
and  beyond,  an  unbroken  view  of  the  Blue  Ridge  for  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles. 

The  mansion  is  in  Jefferson's  favorite  classic  style  of 
architecture,  with  Doric  porticoes  and  a  dome  whose  win- 
dows flood  the  great  hall  below  with  light.  This  hall  is 
thirtj^  feet  square,  with  graceful  winding  stairways  leading 
to  the  upper  stories.  In  Jefferson's  daj"  it  was  a  sort  of 
museum.  William  ^Virt  tells  us  that  along  one  side  of  it 
were  specimens  of  sculpture  set  in  such  order  as  to  show 
the  progress  of  that  art  "  from  the  first  rude  attempts  of 
the  aborigines  of  our  country  "  to  a  bust  of  Jefferson  him- 
self, by  Carracci.  On  the  other  was  displayed  a  vast  col- 
lection of  specimens  of  the  Indian  art — their  pottery, 
weapons,  ornaments,  etc. ;  on  another,  the  fossil  productions 
of  our  country.  In  other  parts  of  the  house,  says  Wirt, 
were  hung  valuable  paintings  from  all  countries  and  all 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       403 

ages,  and  portraits  of  distinguislied  men,  both  of  Europe 
and  America,  and  medallions  and  engravings  in  endless 
profusion. 

The  drawing-room  in  which  Jefferson  entertained  the 
many  guests  that  flocked  to  JNIonticello  is  finished  with 
inlaid  satin-wood  and  rose-wood,  with  richly-carved 
cornices,  and  the  doors  are  of  solid  mahogan}\  It  is  said 
that  Jefferson  sometimes  entertained  as  many  as  fifty 
guests  at  one  time  at  jMonticello. 

The  bed-chambers  at  JMonticello  are  hexagonal  in 
shape.  Jefferson's  arrangement  of  his  and  his  wife's  rooms 
was  unique.  The  two  apartments  were  connected  by  a 
wide  arch  in  which  stood,  lengthwise,  a  luxurious  bed  six 
feet  wide,  half  of  which  extended  into  his  own  room,  the 
other  half  into  Mrs.  Jefferson's. 

Jefferson  was  like  Washington  and  INIadison  in  losing 
his  heart  to  a  young,  fascinating  and  wealthy  widow.  JNIis- 
tress  Martha  Skelton  was  her  name,  and  Jefferson  won 
her  from  manj^  rival  suitors,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  his 
wretched  performances  on  the  violin  played  a  conspicuous 
part  in  his  wooing.  Indeed,  it  is  said  that  the  lady's  seem- 
ing enjoyment  of  these  performances  convinced  Jeffer- 
son's rivals  of  the  depth  of  her  devotion  to  him  and  the 
hopelessness  of  their  own  and  all  other  suits. 

The  story  goes  that  the  distinguished  pair  of  lovers 
made  their  wedding  journey  to  JMonticello  in  a  blinding 
snow-storm,  arriving  there  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
The  servants  were  not  expecting  them  and  were  sleeping 
so  soundly  that  they  could  not  be  aroused;  so  the  bridal 
pair  had  to  make  the  best  of  spending  the  night  in  a  one- 
room  brick  office,  wherein  the  master  of  IMonticello  had 
kept  bachelor's  quarters  while  superintending  the  building 
of  his  mansion.  As  they  had  a  blazing  log-fire  and  a  bottle 
of  wine  to  cheer  them  after  their  drive  through  the  storm, 
no  doubt  the  statesman  and  his  bride  were  enough  like 
other  young  folk  to  enjoy  their  adventure. 

The  grounds  at  ]Monticello  are  as  attractive  in  their 
own  way  as  the  house,  with  their  stretches  of  greensward 
and  their  old  Lombardy  poplars.    In  the  graveyard,  which 


404       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

blooms  like  a  garden,  lie  the  mortal  remains  of  Jeif  erson, 
who  died  at  JMonticello,  July  4,  1826,  and  his  wife  and 
daughters.  Over  his  grave  stands  a  plain  obelisk  bearing 
the  epitaph  he  wrote  for  himself:  "  Here  lies  buried 
Thomas  Jefferson,  Author  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, of  the  Statute  of  Virginia  for  Religious  Free- 
dom, and  Father  of  the  University  of  Virginia  " — a  simple 
statement  of  the  three  achievements  for  which  he  hoped 
to  be,  and  always  will  be,  remembered. 

In  the  grave  with  JeiFerson  lies  the  body  of  a  friend 
of  his  boyhood.  When  they  were  children  he  and  this 
friend  agreed  to  be  buried  together,  the  one  who  died  last 
to  see  to  it  that  the  compact  was  fulfilled.  The  other  boy 
died  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  and  when  Jefferson  chose  his 
own  burial  place,  he  had  the  body  of  his  friend  removed 
thither,  and  so  the  two  friends  sleep  in  one  grave  to-day. 

Jefferson  was  a  scientific  farmer.  Before  his  time  the 
plow  was  an  exceedingly  j^rimitive  implement  and  he  im- 
proved it  for  the  benefit  of  his  own  lands.  JNIonticello  plan- 
tation was  a  busy  place;  wrought  iron  nails  were  made, 
and  cloth  woven  there,  and  the  ruins  of  a  flour  mill  may 
still  be  seen. 

Jefferson  was  a  close  observer  of  nature  and  the 
weather,  and  took  pains  to  register  the  state  of  both  ther- 
mometer and  barometer  every  day  throughout  his  life. 
Just  above  the  main  entrance  at  JNIonticello  he  constructed 
an  ingenious  clock  with  two  faces,  one  inside  and  one  out- 
side of  the  hall.  This  clock  marked  the  days  of  the  week 
as  well  as  the  hours,  and  by  means  of  an  arrow  connected 
with  a  weather-vane  on  the  top  of  the  house  showed  the 
direction  of  the  wind. 

During  the  Revolution  Tarleton's  cavalry  raided 
JNIonticello  in  an  attempt  to  take  Jefferson  captive. 
Jefferson  had  received  a  timely  warning,  however,  and 
escaping  through  an  underground  passage,  still  to  be  seen 
at  JNIonticello,  rode  off  on  horseback  to  Colonel  Edward 
Carter's  plantation,  about  sixty  miles  distant,  to  which  he 
had  alreadv  hurried  his  wife  and  children.     Some  of  the 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       405 

members  of  the  Assembly  (which  had  been  in  session  at 
Charlottesville)  were  less  fortunate — seven  of  them  falling 
into  Tarleton's  hands  at  Castle  Hill,  then  the  home  of 
Doctor  Thomas  Walker. 

Monticello  is  now  the  property  and  home  of  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson LevJ^ 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  VIRGINIA 

President  Madison,  writing  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  in 
1826,  said:  "  The  University  of  Virginia,  as  a  temple 
dedicated  to  science  and  liberty,  was  after  his  retirement 
from  the  political  sphere  the  object  nearest  his  heart,  and 
so  continued  to  the  close  of  his  life.  His  devotion  to  it  was 
intense  and  his  exertions  unceasing.  It  bears  the  stamp 
of  his  genius  and  will  be  a  noble  monument  to  his  fame." 

Says  Professor  Herbert  B.  Adams,  in  a  monograph 
upon  this  "  noblest  work  of  Jefferson's  life  " :  "  The  build- 
ings of  the  University  of  Virginia  are  Jefferson's  thoughts 
materialized  in  artistic  form." 

It  would  seem  to  one  looking  upon  this  "  academical 
village  "  with  its  velvet  lawns  bordered  by  the  white  colon- 
nades of  the  dormitories,  the  pillars  and  pediments  of  the 
professors'  homes,  and,  dominating  all,  the  dome  and  the 
lofty  columns  of  the  Rotunda,  that  these  thoughts  of  Jef- 
ferson's so  beautifully  materialized  here  in  the  heart  of 
Virginia,  with  her  blue  mountains  for  a  background,  were 
all  of  the  "  glory  that  was  Greece  and  the  grandeur  that 
was  Rome." 

Jefferson's  idea  was  to  make  the  university  an  ever- 
present  object-lesson  to  the  students  in  correct  principles 
of  the  builder's  art.  He  chose  the  poetic,  classic  form  and 
designed  the  porticoes  and  colonnades  to  illustrate  the 
Doric,  Ionic  and  Corinthian  orders  of  architecture.  The 
white-pillared  village  is  built  around  a  stretch  of  level 
green  lawn  1000  feet  long  and  200  feet  wide.  Along  the 
east  and  west  sides  stand  at  intervals  the  homes  of  the 
professors,  shaded  by  ancient  trees  and  connected  by  the 
long,  low,  colonnaded  dormitories,  while  on  the  terrace 


406       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

across  the  north  end  gleams  the  Rotunda — the  glory  of 
the  old  university.  Across  the  south  end  of  the  lawn  now 
stands  the  new  academic  building. 

Behind  the  buildings  fronting  ujjon  the  "  East  Lawn  " 
and  "  West  Lawn  "  lie  the  gardens,  separated  by  narrow 
walks  and  enclosed  by  the  famous  serpentine  walls,  which 
were  designed  by  Jefferson  and  are  a  unique  feature  of 
the  university.  These  high,  zigzag  walls,  one  brick  thick, 
are  wonderfully  picturesque,  especially  in  summer  when 
festooned  with  greenery.  Beyond  the  gardens  at  either 
side,  and  parallel  with  the  buildings  on  the  lawn,  stands  a 
row  of  other  dormitories,  opening  on  brick  arcades.  These 
are  known  as  "  East  Range  "  and  "  West  Range." 

The  University  of  Virginia  was  the  passion  of  the  later 
j'-ears  of  Jefferson's  life.  He  not  only  drew  the  plans  for 
the  buildings  but  personally  sujjerintended  their  con- 
struction, supervising  the  minutest  details  and  even  design- 
ing tools  for  the  workmen  and  showing  them  how  to  use 
them.  Two  "  Italian  artists  "  were  brought  over  to  cut 
the  capitals  of  the  columns,  and  when  it  was  found  that 
Virginia  stone  was  unsuitable  for  this  purpose  a  number 
of  beautifully  chiselled  white  marble  capitals  were  imported 
from  Italy;  but  most  of  the  work  was  done  on  the  ground 
by  Jefferson's  own  workmen,  trained  bj'  him. 

In  August,  1820,  he  wrote  to  John  Adams,  from  IMonti- 
cello:  "  Our  University,  four  miles  distant,  gives  me  fre- 
quent exercise,  as  I  direct  its  architecture." 

Professor  Herbert  B.  Adams,  in  his  sketch  of  the  uni- 
versity, already  quoted,  writes  as  follows: 

"  A  visitor  pacing  slowly  through  these  monastic  colon- 
nades extending  along  two  sides  of  the  great  quadrangle 
campus  of  the  Universitj^  of  Virginia  will  receive  a  strange 
variety  of  impressions  from  the  extraordinary  architectural 
combinations  which  greet  his  wandering  eyes.  The  arcades 
themselves  from  which  open  directly  the  single-chambered 
rooms  of  the  students,  remind  one  of  cloistered  walks  in 
some  ancient  monastery.  These  student-rooms  are  like 
monkish-cells.     But  wonderful  facades  are  those  which 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       409 

front  the  professors'  houses,  or  paviHons.  They  reproduce 
classic  styles  of  architecture.  The  shadows  of  remote  an- 
tiquity are  cast  upon  those  beautiful  grassy  lawns,  which 
form  the  campus. 

"  From  JefFersons  drawings  we  learn  what  is  well 
nigh  forgotten,  that  these  varying  types  of  classical  archi- 
tecture were  copied  from  well-known  Roman  buildings 
pictured  by  Palladio  in  his  great  work  on  architecture. 
There,  in  the  theatre  of  JNIarcellus,  dwells  the  household  of 
Professor  Minor.  Yonder  are  reminders  of  the  baths  of 
Diocletian,  the  baths  of  Caracalla  and  the  temple  of  For- 
tuna  Virillis.  And  there  at  the  upper  or  northern  end  of 
the  quadrangle,  stands  the  Roman  Pantheon,  the  temple 
of  all  the  gods,  reduced  to  one-third  of  its  original  size, 
but  still  majestic  and  imposing.  This  building  with  its 
Rotunda,  upon  which  Jefferson  spent  almost  as  much  pains 
as  Michael  Angelo  did  upon  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  is 
vised  for  the  library  and  for  various  lecture  halls.  Young 
people  dance  merrily  under  the  stately  dome  at  the  end  of 
the  academic  year.  The  young  monks  then  escape  from 
their  cells  into  the  modern  social  world.  How  charmingly 
old  Rome,  mediaeval  Europe  and  modern  America  blend 
together  before  the  very  ejJ-es  of  young  Virginia!  " 

In  1895  news  that  the  university  was  on  fire  filled  the 
heart  of  every  son  and  daughter  of  Virginia  within  the 
bounds  of  the  old  commonwealth,  and  beyond,  with  grief. 
A  large  building  at  the  rear  of  the  Rotunda,  known  as 
the  Annex,  was  destroyed  and  the  Rotunda  itself  burnt 
out,  with  the  valuable  collections  of  books  and  manuscripts 
in  the  library. 

The  loss  was  at  first  felt  to  be  irreparable,  but  great 
compensation  has  been  found  in  the  love  and  loyalty  to 
Virginia's  greatest  institute  which  it  brought  out.  Gifts 
for  the  restoration  poured  in  from  every  direction  and  soon 
the  rebuilt  Rotunda  stood  in  all  its  wonted  beauty  at  the 
head  of  the  lawn,  while  in  place  of  the  Annex  a  group  of 
fire-proof,  well  equipped,  new  buildings,  architecturallj^ 
harmonious  with  the  old  ones,  provided  a  thoroughly  up- 


410       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

to-date  Physical  Laboratory,  JMechanical  Laboratory,  and 
Public  Hall. 

The  room  occupied  by  Edgar  Allan  Poe  while  a  stu- 
dent at  the  uniyersity  is  preserved  as  a  Poe  museum  and 
a  meeting  place  of  "  The  Rayen  Society." 

FARMIXGTON 

A  stately  mansion,  broad  acres  clothed  with  the  green 
of  blue  grass,  corn  and  wheat,  and  a  splendid  yiew  of  the 
Blue  Ridge  combine  to  make  Farmington,  some  three  miles 
from  the  L^niyersity  of  Virginia,  a  most  attractiye  home. 


FARMINGTON,  ALBEMARLE  COUNTY 

The  house  was  designed  by  Thomas  Jefferson  for  and  at 
the  request  of  his  friend,  ^Ir.  George  Diyers,  and  is  said 
to  be  a  reproduction  of  a  country  house  seen  by  Jefferson 
when  abroad.  It  is  probably  over  a  hundred  years  old, 
as  ]Mr.  Divers  bought  the  plantation  in  1788. 

Upon  the  death  of  ISIr.  Divers,  Farmington  passed  by- 
inheritance  to  INIrs.  Isaac  White,  who  sold  it  to  ^Ir.  John 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       411 

C.  Carter.  In  1853  it  was  again  sold  to  General  Bernard 
Peyton,  who,  it  is  said,  expended  $30,000.00  in  improve- 
ments upon  the  house  and  plantation.  In  1860  Mr.  Joseph 
Miller,  a  wealthy  and  accomplished  English  gentleman, 
on  a  visit  to  Virginia  was  so  much  pleased  with  Farmington 
that  he  bought  it  and  presented  it  to  his  sister,  ISIrs.  Mary 
Ann  Harper,  who  bequeathed  it  to  her  son,  Mr.  Warner 
Wood. 

REDLANDS 

Redlands,  just  east  of  Carter's  Bridge,  Albemarle,  was 
the  home  of  Robert  Carter,  son  of  Edward  Carter  of  Blen- 


REDLANDS,  ALBEMARLE  COUNTY 

heim.  He  died  there,  in  1810.  His  son  Robert  H.  Carter, 
who  inherited  the  place,  married  JNIargaret  Smith,  a  grand- 
daughter of  Governor  Nicholas. 

PENN  PARK 
Penn  Park  is  one  of  the  oldest  homesteads  in  Albemarle 
County.     It  was  bought  by  Doctor  George  Gilmer  and 
was,  from  1777  to  1800,  the  home  of  the  Gilmer  family. 


412       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Doctor  Gilmer  died  at  Penn  Park  in  1796,  and  after  the 
death  of  his  wife,  in  1800,  the  estate  was  sold  and  has  since 
had  various  owners. 

The  Gilmers  were  people  of  marked  refinement  and 
culture.  Francis  W.  Gilmer,  Doctor  Gilmer's  son,  was 
a  protege  of  Thomas  Jefferson's.  He  was  the  first  pro- 
fessor of  Latin  in  the  University  of  Virginia  and  was 
entrusted  with  the  selection  of  the  members  of  the  first 
faculty  of  that  institution. 

A  distinguished  grandson  of  Doctor  Gilmer  was  the 
Honorable  Thomas  Walker  Gilmer,  governor  of  Virginia 
and  secretary  of  the  navy,  who  was  killed  by  an  explosion 
on  board  the  United  States  ship  Princeton  in  1844. 

Doctor  Gihiier's  daughter  Mildred  became  the  first 
wife  of  Honorable  William  Wirt,  and  Kennedy  in  his  life 
of  jNIr.  Wirt  charmingly  describes  the  life  at  Penn  Park 
in  early  days. 

MOXTICOLA 

Monticola,  the  home  of  ^Nliss  Emily  M.  Nolting,  is 
located  near  Howardsville,  in  Albemarle  County.  The 
dwelling,  situated  on  the  high  land  overlooking  the 
broad  and  fertile  valley  of  James  River,  commands  an  ex- 
tended view  over  three  counties — Albemarle,  Nelson  and 
Buckingham — with  the  hazy  outline  of  the  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains  in  the  background.  It  was  built  prior  to  the 
War  between  the  States  by  ]Mr.  D.  J.  Hartsook,  who,  in 
1887,  sold  it  to  INIr.  E.  O.  Nolting,  of  Richmond,  Virginia, 
the  father  of  its  present  owner. 

In  style  of  architectui'e  the  main  house,  built  of  brick, 
with  columns  in  front  of  its  wide  porch,  and  with  two 
"  offices,"  one  on  either  side  to  correspond,  resembles  many 
of  the  ante-bellum  country  homes  in  Piedmont,  Virginia, 
showing  in  its  design  the  impress  of  JefFersonian  influence. 

During  the  devastating  raids  of  General  Sheridan, 
"  JNIonticola  "  was  occupied  by  him  as  headquarters.  A 
large  square  cut  in  the  flooring  of  an  upper  bedroom  marks 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE        413 

the  place  where  valuables  were  hid  at  that  time  to  save 
them  from  pillage. 

The  plantation  itself  dates  back  to  Revolutionary  times, 
as  evidenced  by  a  strip  of  road  near  the  house  said  to  have 
been  survej'ed  by  General  Washington  himself,  and  con- 
stituting a  part  of  the  Post  Road  connecting  Lynchburg 


MONTICOLA,  ALBEMARLE  COUNTY 


with  Richmond,  other  links  of  which  appear  in  the  inter- 


venmg  counties. 

The  original  residence,  still  standing  on  this  estate,  was 
built  by  a  Mr.  Fowle  in  Colonial  days,  its  hand-wrought 
nails,  glazed  bricks  and  hand-carved  mantels  testifying  to 
this  fact,  and  tradition  has  it  that  General  Washington 
lodged  there. 

ENNISCORTHY 

John  Coles  I  came  from  Ireland  to  Virginia  during 
the  eighteenth  century.  He  was  an  early  settler  in  Rich- 
mond Town  and,  tradition  has  it,  built  one  of  the  first 
houses  there.  He  was  senior  warden  of  the  parish,  and 
dying  in  Richmond  in  1747  was  buried  in  the  chancel  of 


414       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

old  St.  John's  Church.  WiUiam  Coles,  a  younger  brother 
of  John,  and  the  grandfather  of  "  Dolly  INIadison,"  fol- 
lowed his  brother  to  Virginia  and  settled  in  Hanover 
County,  where  he  built  "  Coles  Hill." 

John  Coles  I  was  a  man  of  ample  means  and  owning 
an  estate  in  what  is  now  i\lbemarle  County  (then  Gooch- 
land), on  the  Green  ]Mountain,  built  a  residence  there. 
This  home  he  named  Enniscorthy  after  the  place  of  resi- 
dence of  his  ancestors  in  Leinster,  County  Wexford,  Ire- 
land. 

John  Coles  II  (who  was  a  colonel  of  militia  during 
the  Revolutionary  War),  son  of  the  first  John  Coles,  in- 
herited Enniscorthy  and  greatly  enlarged  the  original 
dwelling  by  the  addition  of  wings,  pinions,  double  pinions, 
and  ample  piazzas.  This  house  was  completely  destroyed 
by  fire  in  1839. 

The  present  house  at  Enniscorthy  was  built  in  1850. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  S.  Bennett,  the  present  owners 
of  this  estate,  are  great-grandchildren  of  the  second  John 
Coles. 

The  first  burial  in  the  old  family  burying-ground  at 
Enniscorthy  was  that  of  a  child  of  John  Coles  II,  in  1772, 
and  in  its  soil  also  sleep  the  remains  of  Elizabeth  Travis 
Tucker,  born  in  Jamestown  in  1727.  She  was  the  mother 
of  Elizabeth,  wife  of  John  Coles  II. 

WOODVILLE 

Woodville  was  built  in  1796,  as  indicated  by  a  date 
marked  on  a  brick  in  the  front  hall  fireplace.  The  house 
was  erected  by  John  Coles  II,  of  Enniscorthy,  for  his 
eldest  son  Walter,  on  land  which  was  part  of  one  of  the 
second  grants  from  the  Colonial  authorities  in  the  name  of 
the  Crown,  to  the  Coles  family.  This  estate  has  been  occu- 
pied b}''  a  Walter  Coles  for  four  successive  generations — 
Walter  R.  Coles,  of  St.  Louis,  being  the  fourth  of  that 
name. 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       415 


WOODVILLE,  ALBEMARLE  COUNTY 


ESTOUTEVILLE,  ALBEMARLE  COUNTY 


ESTOUTEVILLE 

Estouteville,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  homes  in  Vir- 
ginia, was  built  in  1830  by  John  Coles  III.  Its  name  is 
derived  from  the  Count  d'Estouteville,  an  ancestor  of  the 


416       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Skipwith  family  from  whom  ]\Ir.   Coles'  wife,  who  was 
Salina,   younger   daughter   of   Sir   Peyton    Skipwith,   of 


THE  HALL  AT  ESTOt'TEnLLE 


Prestwould,  ^Mecklenburg  County,  descended.     The  pres- 
ent owner  of  this  estate  is  INIr.  Virgil  P.  Randolph. 


TALLWOOD.  ALBEMARLE  COUNTY 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       417 

TALLWOOD 

Tallwood  was  built  in  1804  by  Tucker  Coles,  son  of 
John  Coles  II,  who  married  Helen,  daughter  of  Sir  Peyton 
Skipwith,  of  Prestwould.  This  couple  lived  to  celebrate 
their  golden  wedding  in  this  house. 

Tallwood  is  now  owned  by  William  D.  Waters,  Esq., 
formerly  of  St.  Louis. 

PLAIN  DEALING 

Thomas  Staples  secured  both  by  patent  and  purchase 
many  hundreds  of  acres  of  land  in  Albemarle  County  on 
Hudson  and  Totier  Creeks,  and,  in  1787,  sold  a  tract  of 


ii&#^ 


fc--. 


x^ma^AE'' 


PLAIN  DEALING,  ALBEMARLE  COUNTY 


five  hundred  acres  of  his  holdings  to  Samuel  Dyer.  The 
lands  thus  disposed  of  extended  from  Hudson  to  Totier 
and  included  the  site  of  "  Plain  Dealing." 

Samuel  Dyer  *  was  born  in  Bristol,  England,  October 
8,  1756,  and  emigrated  to  Virginia,  in  1770,  and  served 
throughout  the  Revolutionary  War.  For  some  time  he 
was  assistant  to  the  agent,  or  Quartermaster,  of  the  Vir- 
ginia line.  Immediateljr  following  the  war,  Mr.  Dyer 
became  associated  with  David  Ross  and  Company,  of  Rich- 
mond, a  strong  firm  of  merchants,  later  withdrawing  and 


*  Woods,  Albemarle  County  in  Virginia,  pp.  185  186. 

27 


418       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

forming  a  partnership  with  William  Hay.  About  1786, 
Mr.  Dyer  disposed  of  his  Richmond  interests  and  went  to 
live  on  his  Albemarle  estate,  which,  in  course  of  years, 
grew  to  be  a  tract  of  twenty-two  hundred  acres.  He 
greatty  enlarged  the  old  Staples  house. 

Samuel  Dj'er's  store  at  his  Albemarle  home  was  "  a 
well-known  place  of  business  in  those  days,  situated  at  the 
junction  of  the  roads  from  Staunton  and  Charlottesville  to 
Scott's  landing,"  and  served  also  the  purposes  of  stage- 
coach office  and  post-office. 

Dj^er's  old  store  is  now  the  vicarage  of  Christ  Church; 
the  sign  "  Plain  Dealing,"  nailed  above  the  door,  gave  the 
store  its  name  and  the  name  has  ever  clung  to  the  estate. 

Mr.  Dyer  was  very  successful  in  his  mercantile,  milling 
and  planting  ventures  and  amassed  a  large  fortune. 

In  1786  Samuel  Dyer  married  Celia  Bickley,  grand- 
daughter of  Joseph  Bickley,  gentleman,  of  Louisa  County, 
whose  son  Sir  William  Bickley,  Baronet,  of  Louisa  County, 
succeeded  as  6th  Baronet  of  the  family  of  Bickley  of  Attle- 
borough  Hall,  County  Norfolk,  England.'^ 

Samuel  Dj^er  died  in  1839,  Mrs.  Dyer  surviving  him  but 
a  jrear.  Their  children  were  ( 1 )  William  Hay  Dyer,  lieu- 
tenant of  the  "  Riclimond  Blues,"  1812,  and  magistrate  of 
Albemarle  Countj^;  (2)  Major  Samuel  Dyer,  of  the  "  Elite 
(Randolph's)  Corps  ";  (3)  Ann,  wife  of  George  Robert- 
son; (4)  Francis  Bickley  Dyer,  attornej^,  captain  of 
Albemarle  company  of  field  artillery,  and  magistrate; 
(5)  Celia  Bickley  Dyer;  (6)  Robert  Dyer;  (7)  Elizabeth, 
wife  of  George  M.  Payne;  (8)  John  Dyer;  (9)  Thomas 
Dyer;  (10)  Mary  Jane,  wife  of  George  A.  Nicholson; 
(11)  Martha,  wife  of  Joseph  A.  Watkins;  (12)  Sarah 
Dyer. 

During  the  decade  of  1830  most  of  the  children  moved 
to  Missouri. 

Shortly   after   Mrs.    Dj^er's    death,    in    1840,    Bishop 

®  Bickley  Family :  William  and  Mary  College  Quarterly  His- 
torical Magazine,  v,  28-30  and  124-127. 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       419 

J.  P.  B.  Wilmer  acquiring  the  mansion  and  some  one  thou- 
sand acres  of  Plain  Dealing  estate,  and  it  was  while  he 
was  in  possession  of  the  property  that  General  Robert  E. 
Lee  paid  him  a  visit  and  informed  him  of  a  decision  to 
accept  the  presidency  of  "  Washington  College."  This 
estate  descended  to  Bishop  Wilmer's  son,  from  whom 
Theodore  Roosevelt  purchased  "  Pine  Knot."  "  Pine 
Knot  "  was  originally  the  "  cottage  "  on  the  "  Plain  Deal- 
ing "  estate. 

MOUNTAIN  TOP 

Rock  Fish  Gap,  which  takes  its  name  from  the  spark- 
ling little  Rock  Fish  River,  was  long  one  of  the  main  pas- 
sage-ways through  the  Blue  Ridge  between  Albemarle  and 


MOUNTAIN  TOP,  ALBEMARLE  COUNTY 

Augusta  Counties.  In  early  days  there  stood  in  this  gap 
a  tavern  for  the  accommodation  of  travellers  across  the 
mountains,  and  in  the  parlor  of  this  primitive  house  of 
entertainment  met  the  commission,  of  which  Jefferson, 
Madison  and  Monroe  were  all  members,  which  fixed  Char- 
lottesville as  the  site  for  the  University  of  Virginia. 


420      VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

In  later  times  additions  were  made  to  the  old  tavern, 
and  cottages  built  upon  the  lawn,  and  under  the  name  of 
INIountain  Toj)  it  became  a  popular  summer  resort.  A 
few  years  ago  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  and  a  private  resi- 
dence has  been  built  upon  its  site. 

THE  SOUTHSIDE 

The  arrangement  into  chapters,  or  parts,  followed  in 
this  work  has  been  used  partly  for  convenience,  and  partly 
on  account  of  the  geographical  divisions,  which  have  always 
been  familiar  to  Virginians  by  the  names  here  given  them. 
We  have  now  come  to  the  last  of  these  divisions  east  of  the 
mountains.  The  designation  "  The  Southside  "  is  variously 
understood  in  Virginia  but  is  perhaps  most  generally  taken 
to  mean  the  section  including  the  counties  of  Prince  Ed- 
ward, Brunswick,  ]Mecklenburg,  Charlotte,  Lunenburg, 
Halifax  and  Pittsylvania. 

CLOVER  FOREST 

In  Prince  Edward  County,  which  is  separated  by  the 
Appomattox  River  from  what  we  have  called  the  "  Upper 
James  "  section,  is  a  unique  homestead  which  was  for 
many  years  the  propertj'  of  the  Lancaster  family,  while 
across  the  Appomattox  is  Clover  Forest,  another  quaint 
old  home  of  the  Lancasters.  Both  of  these  houses  were 
built  in  the  early  time  when  the  prevailing  type  of  dwell- 
ing was  the  log-cabin  and  were  doubtless  then  looked  upon 
as  considerable  mansions. 

Old  Clover  Forest  was  the  home  of  John  Lancaster,  a 
native  of  Prince  Edward  County,  and  a  brave  Revolution- 
arj  soldier.  He  died  on  January  28,  1826,  and  was  buried 
at  Clover  Forest,  where  sleeps  also  his  wife,  Drusilla, 
daughter  of  Alexander  Le  Grand,  who  died  on  Decem- 
ber 14,  1825,  and  Lucj^  Walker,  his  wife. 

John  A.  Lancaster  (son  of  John  and  Drusilla  Lan- 
caster) moved  to  Richmond,  in  1813,  and  later  became  the 
first  president  of  the  first  railroad  in  Virginia — the  Rich- 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       421 

mond,  Fredericksbnrgh  (^  Potomac  E.  H.  He  was  the 
father  of  Robert  A.  Lancaster,  a  prominent  busmess  man 
of  Richmond.  The  latter  was  the  father  of  Robert  A. 
Lancaster,  Jr.,  the  author  of  this  book. 

Another  interesting  personage  who  was  an  ancestor  of 
the  present  Lancaster  famih^  and  who  was  buried  at  Clover 


CLOVER  FOREST,  PRINCE  EDWARD  COUNTY 

Forest  in  1824  was  Justin  Pierre  Plumard,  Comte  de 
Rieux,  who  was  born  in  Nantes,  France,  on  March  10, 
1756,  was  a  captain  in  the  Blue  Guards  of  Louis  XVI,  and 
came  to  America  in  1784,  with  his  wife,  Maria  Margueretta 
Martini,  step-daughter  of  Philip  Mazzei,  the  well-known 
friend  of  Thomas  Jefferson. 


GREEN  HILL 

"  Green  Hill  "  was  built  by  Samuel  Pannill,  a  native  of 
Orange  County,  Virginia,  born  1770,  the  7th  child  of  Wil- 
liam and  Ann  (Morton)  Pannill.  On  attaining  his  ma- 
jority, Mr.  Pannill  was  given  by  his  father  a  large  tract 
of  land  in  the  Blue  Grass  region  of  Kentucky,  but  becom- 
ing dissatisfied  with  life   "  in  the  back-woods  "  he  sold 


422       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

these  lands,  returned  to  Virginia,  purchased  the  "  Green 
Hill  "  estate,  in  Campbell  County,  and  there  continued 
to  reside  throughout  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

"  Green  Hill  "  is  wonderfully  situated  on  an  elevated 
plateau,  overlooking  Staunton  River  and  commanding  a 
view  for  miles  of  the  surrounding  country.  The  estate, 
containing  some  five  thousand  acres  tying  on  both  sides 
of  the  river,  with  its  "  quarters,"  barns,  shops,  store  and 
mill,  resembled  more  an  industrial  village  than  simply  the 
seat  of  a  country  gentleman.  "  Good  roads  "  seem  to  have 


M^p^ 

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i^reaiPPH 

GREEN  HILL,  CAMPBELL  COUNTY 

been  a  marked  characteristic  of  the  estate  for  we  are  told 
by  a  contemporary  that  some  of  these,  together  with  the 
many  picturesque  lanes  intersecting  them,  were  paved  with 
stone.  The  large  number  of  slaves  owned  by  the  master 
of  Green  Hill,  and  resident  on  the  estate,  included  not  only 
ordinary  farmhands,  but  also  many  valuable  mechanics: 
carpenters,  stone-masons,  shoemakers,  blacksmiths,  coopers, 
sawj^ers  and  millers,  besides  whom  there  were  men  to  handle 
the  boats  in  which  the  flour  made  at  the  large  mill  was 
sent  down  the  river.  Among  the  female  contingent  were 
seamstresses,  weavers  and  house-servants. 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       423 

Mr.  Pannill  was  as  careful  in  providing  for  the  spiritual 
as  for  the  material  welfare  of  his  servants  and  built  for 
their  specific  use  a  commodious  stone  church  which  will  ever 
remain  as  a  proof  of  his  solicitude  for  the  religious  life  of  his 
"  black-folk." 

At  his  death  ]Mr.  Pannill  was  survived  by  five  daughters 
and  two  sons.    Neither  of  the  sons  ever  married. 

RED  HILL 

Red  Hill,  the  last  home  and  the  burial-place  of  Patrick 
Henry,  is  in  Charlotte  County,  Virginia.  He  purchased 
it  in  1794,  and  his  will  contains  this  clause:  "  I  do  give  to 
my  said  wife  Dorothea,  all  my  lands  at  and  adjoining  my 
dwelling-place  called  Red  Hill,  purchased  from  Booker, 
Watkins  and  others,  out  of  a  tract  called  Watkins'  order, 
to  hold  during  her  natural  life." 

The  name  is  derived  from  the  red-brown  soil  in  front 
of  the  house,  which  is  beautifully  situated  on  an  elevated 
ridge.  Thirty-eight  miles  to  the  northwest  is  Lynchburg, 
the  nearest  city.  To  the  south,  the  valley  of  the  Staunton 
stretches  its  oval  form  as  it  winds  through  fertile  low 
grounds ;  while,  across  the  river,  the  far  off  hills  of  Halifax 
rise  in  bold  relief.  On  the  west,  on  any  clear  day  can  be 
seen  the  Peaks  of  Otter.  The  house  was  a  simple  wooden 
structure  in  the  days  of  the  patriot.  It  is  said  that  the  only 
addition  made  by  him  was  the  shed  kitchen.  This  was  said 
to  have  been  added  not  on  account  of  need  of  room,  but 
that  he  might  hear  the  patter  of  rain  on  the  roof.  It  has 
had  additions  which  make  it  a  beautiful  reproduction  of 
Colonial  architecture.  It  has  belonged  successively  to  his 
son  John  Henry,  to  his  gi-andson,  William  Wirt  Henry, 
and  to  his  great-granddaughter,  Mrs.  Matthew  Bland 
Harrison,  its  present  owner.  The  estate  originally  con- 
tained 2920  acres,  and  was  selected  on  account  of  its  rich 
land  and  its  many  springs  of  pure  water. 

During  the  Revolutionary  War,  Red  Hill  was  owned 
by  Louis  Tyler,  an  uncle  of  President  Tyler.  During  its 
ownership  by  Mr.  Booker,  Powhatan  Bouldin,  in  The  Old 


424       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Trunk,  tells  of  a  Christmas  frolic  attended  by  his  a,imt 
JNIaiy  Bouldin,  who  rode  on  horseback  twenty  miles, 
jmiiped  upon  the  ground  as  light  as  a  feather,  and  was, 
soon  on  the  floor  dancing.  At  this  time  country  Ufa  in 
Virginia  was  very  primitive. 

Patrick  Henry's  fame  drew  many  visitors  to  his  home, 
all  of  \vhom  he  welcomed  with  gracious  hospitality;  nor 
was  he  forgotten  by  the  country  he  had  loved  so  well.  In 
1794  he  declined  the  appointment  of  United  States  senator 
offered  him  by  Governor  Henry  Lee,  as  also  the  office  of 
governor  to  which  he  was  elected  by  the  general  assembh^ 
in  1795.  Washington  offered  him  the  position  of  secretary 
of  state  in  1795,  and  again,  that  same  year,  he  appointed 
him  chief  justice;  John  Adams,  in  1799,  offered  to  send 
him  as  minister  to  France,  but  he  declined  all  these  posi- 
tions on  account  of  failing  health. 

He  occupied  his  last  days  in  the  education  of  his  chil- 
dren, to  whom  he  was  deeply  attached.  He  engaged  for 
them,  as  tutor,  the  services  of  the  poet  Campbell,  who, 
however,  was  prevented  from  fulfilling  his  engagement. 
During  the  lifetime  of  their  father,  two  daughters  were 
married  at  Red  Hill ;  Dorothea  married  her  cousin  George 
D.  Winston,  and  Martha  Catherine,  Edward  W.  Henry, 
another  kinsman. 

At  the  earnest  request  of  Washington,  Patrick  Henry 
offered  himself  for  the  Legislature  the  last  year  of  his  life. 
He  made  his  last  great  speech  at  Charlotte  Court  House, 
JNIarch,  1799,  and,  worn  out  by  the  effort,  returned  to  Red 
Hill,  never  to  leave  it  again. 

On  the  sixth  of  June,  1799,  surrounded  by  his  devoted 
family  and  his  beloved  physician,  his  great  soul  took  flight. 
No  act  of  his  life  became  him  more  than  his  manner  of 
leaving  it.  When  informed  that  the  end  was  at  hand,  he 
prayed  fervently  for  divine  support,  then  spent  his  remain- 
ing moments  comforting  his  family  and  praising  the  re- 
ligion of  Christ,  which,  never  having  failed  him  in  life,  did 
not  fail  him  in  his  last  need  of  it. 

In  the  garden  of  Red  Hill  are  two  oblong  slabs  of 


OLD  NEGRO  COUPLK  AT  CABIN  AT  RED  HILL 

(The  mun  in  his  boyhood  waited  on  Mrs.  Patrick  Henry) 


RED  HILL,  CHARLOTTE  COUNTY 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       427 

marble;  the  inscription  on  one  is  "  To  the  memory  of 
Patrick  Henry.  Born  May  29,  1736.  Died  June  6,  1799. 
His  fame  his  best  Epitaph";  the  other  reads,  "To  the 
memory  of  Dorothea  Dandridge,  wife  of  Patrick  Henry. 
Born  1755.    Died  February  14,  1831." 

OLD  NEGRO  COUPLE  AT  RED  HILL 

When  Patrick  Henry  purchased  Red  Hill,  a  few  In- 
dians were  still  living  on  what  had  been  their  happy  hunting 
grounds.  One  of  them,  Indian  Jim,  intermarried  with  a 
slave,  and  her  grandson,  Harrison,  was  living  until  a  few 
years  ago  on  the  land  of  his  fathers.  He  was  born  in  1815, 
and  was  sixteen  years  old  when  Patrick  Henry's  widow 
(then  Mrs.  Edmund  Winston)  died,  February  14,  1831. 
]Mrs.  Winston  had  taken  him  in  the  house  when  he  was  ten 
years  old,  and  he  used  to  carry  her  key  basket,  slippers, 
and  the  yarn  for  her  knitting.  In  1831,  at  the  time  of  the 
death  of  his  mistress,  Harrison  was  coachman  for  her  son, 
John  Henry,  at  whose  death,  in  1868,  Red  Hill  fell  by 
inheritance  and  purchase  to  his  son,  the  late  William  Wirt 
Henry,  who  provided  for  the  faithful  old  servant  by  giv- 
ing him  a  cabin  and  a  bit  of  land  where  he  lived  through- 
out the  remainder  of  his  days,  very  contented  and  honored 
alike  by  white  and  black.  To  the  last,  he  took  pride  in  car- 
rying visitors  to  the  grave  of  the  orator,  whom  he  called 
"  Marse  Patrick."  His  wife,  Milly,  was  some  years  older 
than  himself  and  he  always  lamented  that  she  was  of  "  com- 
mon blood." 

STAUNTON  HILL 

A  considerable  portion  of  the  estate  on  which  stands 
Staunton  Hill  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Bruce  family, 
by  whom  it  is  still  owned,  when  a  tract  of  land  six  hundred 
and  eighty-two  acres  in  extent  was,  in  1801,  conveyed  to 
James  Bruce  and  his  wife,  of  Woodbourn,  Halifax  County, 
Virginia,  by  Isaac  Coles  and  Paul  Carrington,  Jr.,  and 
Mildred,  his  wife. 

Mr.  Bruce  had  removed  in  early  manhood  from  eastern 


428       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Virginia,  where,  as  records  show,  his  paternal  ancestors 
had  lived  since  the  beginning  of  the  latter  half  of  the  seven- 
teenth centnry,  and  perhaps  since  an  earlier  date,  to  South- 
side  Virginia.  Here  he  spent  the  remainder  of  a  long  and 
useful  life,  acquiring  one  of  the  most  commanding  fortunes 
at  that  time  in  the  possession  of  any  citizen  of  the  United 
States. 

From  1801  to  1884  the  original  estate  of  Staunton  Hill 
was  gradually  enlarged  by  purchase,  first  by  James  Bruce, 
and  then  by  his  son,  Charles  Bruce,  until  it  attained  its 
present  extent  of  over  5000  acres.    A  beautiful  view  of  the 


H^^^             "^^^^^ 

"S^^-'5:''-C;.-.J.....v»--!^»^.^JS^&^- 

STAUXTOX  HILL,  CHARLOTTE  COUXTY 

Staunton  River  may  be  had  from  the  front  porch  of  the 
mansion. 

Until  1848  no  dwelling  house  of  anj-  size  was  built  on 
the  estate,  the  place  being  managed  by  an  agent  under  the 
direction  of  James  Bruce,  and  later  by  his  son,  James  Coles 
Bruce  of  Berry  Hill,  Halifax  County,  Virginia,  who  was 
guardian  to  his  younger  brother,  Charles  Bruce,  by  whom 
it  had  been  inherited. 

The  graduation  of  Charles  Bruce  from  Harvard  Col- 
lege and  his  engagement  to  INIiss  Sarah  Seddon,  of  Freder- 
icksburg (a  sister  of  the  Honorable  James  A.  Seddon, 
afterward  the  Confederate  States  secretarv  of  war),  took 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       429 

place  almost  simultaneously.  Leaving  instructions  with 
]SIy.  John  E.  Johnson,  a  Virginian  architect,  and  a  gradu- 
ate of  West  Point,  for  the  erection  of  a  dwelling  house  on 
the  Staunton  Hill  estate,  Charles  Bruce  sailed  for  Europe. 
Returning  in  1848,  after  some  months  of  travel,  he  was 
married,  and  eighteen  months  afterward  took  possession 
of  his  new  home. 

The  building  of  the  house,  which  at  that  time  was  three 
days'  journey  by  carriage  from  the  caj^ital  of  the  State, 
and  remote  from  am^  town,  was  attended  with  much  diffi- 
culty. Trained  workmen  were  brought  from  Philadelphia, 
and  the  woodwork,  marble  pillars  of  the  porch  and  all 
but  the  rough  materials  composing  the  house  were  trans- 
ported from  that  city  to  the  North  Carolina  coast,  and 
from  thence  by  "  batteaux  "  up  the  Roanoke  and  Staunton 
Rivers. 

The  system  of  agriculture  prevailing  on  this  farm  was, 
until  1865,  similar  to  that  on  all  large  plantations  in  South- 
side  Virginia.  Shipping  tobacco,  corn,  wheat  and  oats 
were  the  staple  crops  and  were  worked  by  slaves,  of  whom 
a  few  still  survive  at  Staunton  Hill,  living  in  the  cabins 
where  their  fathers  lived  before  them. 

Staunton  Hill,  by  its  remoteness  from  the  scene  of  the 
chief  events  of  the  War  between  the  States,  escaped  almost 
entirely  its  minor  calamities,  such  as  vandalism  and  pillage. 
Not  anticipating  such  good  fortune  or  change  in  the  route 
of  the  Federal  Army,  however,  Mr.  and  INIrs.  Bruce  had 
all  their  silver  and  valuables  secretlj^  carried  across  the 
Staunton  River  into  Halifax  County,  where  they  were 
buried  in  the  midst  of  a  deep  wood.  Later  a  part  of  the 
Federal  Army  camped  in  this  wood,  and  finally  burned  it, 
but  without  injury,  as  later  events  proved,  to  the  hidden 
articles. 

The  slaves,  of  whom  there  were  several  hundred  on 
the  Staunton  Hill  estate,  remained  absolutely  quiet 
throughout  the  whole  course  of  the  war;  one  of  them, 
remembered  affectionately  as  "  Old  Israel,"  proving  his 
faithfulness  at  the  risk  of  his  life  on  one  or  two  occasions. 


430       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

During  this  period  Mrs.  Bruce  was  left  alone  with  her 
little  children  for  months,  her  husband  being  absent  in  the 
army  or  State  Senate,  and  no  other  white  person  save  the 
overseer  and  his  family  being  on  the  place.  Yet  she  de- 
clared that  with  "  Old  Israel  "  and  his  wife  Phoebe  (her 
children's  "mammy")  within  call  she  had  no  fear.  At 
the  close  of  the  war  few  of  the  negroes  left  the  place  and 
most  of  those  who  did  so  afterward  returned.  During  the 
life  of  Mr.  Charles  Bruce  the  Reverend  Morgan  Dix,  of 
New  York,  while  on  a  visit  to  Staunton  Hill,  asked  a 
former  slave  whether  any  of  the  servants  ever  went  away 
from  the  place  and  received  for  a  reply,  "  None  ever  leaves 
ole  Marster  'cept  the  dead." 

During  the  trying  days  of  reconstruction  there  was  but 
one  development  of  insubordination  amongst  them  and 
that  was  quelled  almost  immediately  by  the  mere  sight  of 
a  Federal  officer  with  a  squad  of  men  from  Charlotte  Court 
House.  It  was  surmised  that  this  state  of  discontent  was 
produced  by  a  failure  amongst  the  negroes  to  agree  as  to 
which  of  them  should  own  the  mill  on  the  estate  when  the 
general  division  of  the  property  giving  to  each  "  40  acres 
and  a  mule  "  should  take  place ;  an  idea  which  long  deluded 
the  freedmen  throughout  the  South. 

Under  the  new  system  of  hired  labor  which  was  a  con- 
sequence of  the  War  between  the  States,  agriculture  was 
carried  on  at  Staunton  Hill  on  a  larger  scale  than  ever 
before.  All  crops  brought  high  prices  during  the  years 
succeeding  the  commencement  of  the  new  order  of  things, 
and  the  acres  planted  in  tobacco  and  corn  on  this  estate 
were  enormous,  the  first  amounting  during  several  jf^ears 
to  one  million  hills,  and  the  latter  producing  at  times  as 
much  as  twenty-five  thousand  bushels. 

Mr.  Charles  Bruce  died  in  1896.  Those  who  under- 
stood the  passionate  love  of  the  soil  that  was  strong  in 
him  as  in  most  of  his  day  and  class — a  love  that  was  in- 
herited instinct — can  hardly  realize  that  the  place  which 
was  in  a  manner  his  own  creation,  which  attests  his  affec- 
tion and  care  in  innumerable  visible  forms,  can  go  on  with- 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       431 

out  his  watchful  supervision.  Yet  there  is  no  change  in  its 
aspect;  the  system  that  was  inaugurated  by  him  continues 
with  but  httle  variation  and  the  Staunton  Hill  estate  is 
to-day  as  productive,  as  amply  and  sedulously  cultivated, 
and  as  fair  to  the  eye  as  at  any  time  in  its  history. 

INGLE  SIDE 

This  dignified  old  mansion  with  its  attractive  setting 
of  foliage  and  lawn  was  built  in  1810,  by  Colonel  Thomas 
Read,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Charlotte  County,  who  was  a 
member  of  all  of  the  Revolutionary  Conventions,  and  of 


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INGLESIDE,  CHARLOTTE  COUNTY 

the  Convention  of  1788,  which  ratified  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.  He  was  the  first  county  clerk  of  Char- 
lotte and  a  brick  office  in  his  yard  was  long  the  county 
clerk's  office. 

At  Colonel  Read's  death,  in  1817,  Ingleside  became 
the  property  of  Henry  Carrington,  who  lived  there  until 
his  own  death,  in  1867.  About  1870  it  was  sold  to  the  late 
John  W.  Daniel,  whose  heirs  still  own  it. 


432       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

WOODFORK 

The  modest  frame  cottage  at  Woodfork  was  the  home 
of  Colonel  Joel  Watkins,  a  Revolutionary  patriot,  who 
died  in  1820.  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  wrote  that 
"  He  died  beloved,  honored  and  lamented  by  all  who  knew 
him  "  and  that  he  had  "  accmiiulated  an  ample  fortime  in 
which  there  was  not  one  dirty  shilling."  His  son.  Captain 
Henry  A.  Watkins,  succeeded  to  the  estate  and  in  1829 
built  the  commodious  brick  house  near  his  father's  small 
dwelling. 

Upon  the  death  of  Captain  Watkins,  in  1848,  Wood- 
fork  passed  to  Doctor  Joel  Watkins  and  is  now  owned  by 
the  heirs  of  the  late  James  W.  Elliot. 


THE  OLD  MILL  AT  GREENFIELD,  CHARLOTTE  COUNTY 

GREENFIEUD  • 

"  Greenfield,"  the  home  of  the  Reads,  of  Charlotte 
County,  was  built  by  Isaac  Read,  lieutenant  colonel  of  the 
Fourth  Regiment  in  the  Revolutionary  Army.  The  estate 
of  Greenfield  was  carved  out  of  a  tract  of  10,000  acres  pur- 
chased by  Colonel  Clement  Read,  the  father  of  Colonel 


28 


THE  GARDEN  AT  GREENFIELD 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       435 

Isaac  Read,  in  1730,  in  what  was  then  known  as  the  County 
of  Brunswick,  from  which  County  Lunenburg  was  after- 
wards formed  in  1745.  In  1764  Charlotte  County  was  cut 
off  from  Lunenburg. 

Greenfield  is  now  the  oldest  house  in  Charlotte  County. 
Tradition  says  that  when  it  was  first  built  settlers  came  for 
miles  to  see  so  palatial  a  residence  as  it  was  then  considered. 
The  timbers  of  the  house  are  very  massive,  many  of  them 
being  hewn.  The  dressed  lumber  was  sawn  in  old-fashioned 
saw  pits,  while  the  nails  and  iron  fittings  are  all  hand-made 
of  wrought  iron. 

The  original  house  has  two  stories,  two  rooms  divided 
by  a  large  hall  on  each  floor.  It  has  since  been  added  to, 
to  accommodate  increasing  families  and  for  hospitable 
reasons,  until  the  present  house  is  about  150  feet  in  length. 
Greenfield  has  passed  from  father  to  child  by  descent, 
and  has  always  been  in  possession  of  a  Read. 

The  plantation  mill  with  its  old  wheel  is  still  grinding 
corn  and  wheat,  as  it  has  done  for  the  last  175  years,  and 
producing  the  same  good,  honest,  water-ground  meal  that 
made  the  bone  and  sinew  of  our  ancestors. 

BERRY  HILL 

Berry  Hill,  in  Halifax  Covmty,  is  one  of  the  finest 
models  of  the  so-called  Colonial  type  in  the  South.  The 
high  pillared  portico,  extending  entirely  across  the  front 
of  the  house,  and  the  double  stairway,  sweeping  with  wide 
and  graceful  curves  from  the  great  central  hall  to  rooms 
above,  give  this  home  of  the  Bruces  an  air  of  unusual  dis- 
tinction. It  was  built  by  James  Coles  Bruce,  son  of  James 
Bruce,  of  Woodbourne,  Halifax  County,  and  a  half  brother 
of  Charles  Bruce,  of  Staunton  Hill.  Mr.  Bruce  furnished 
his  house  in  a  style  worthy  of  its  imposing  proportions  and 
architecture,  and  the  house  was  noted  for  its  extraordinary 
amount  of  silver  of  the  handsomest  workmanship.  Not 
only  was  the  silver  table  service  complete  and  massive,  but 
several  of  the  bedrooms  were  provided  with  washstand 
sets  of  the  precious  metal. 


436       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


BERRY  HILL,  HAHI  AX  COUNTY 


THE  HALL  AT  BERRY  HILL 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       437 

The  Berry  Hill  plantation  was  originally  part  of  the 
estates  of  Colonel  William  Byrd,  of  Westover,  and  of 
Colonel  Edward  Carrington.  It  was  acquired  by  the 
Bruces  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Here,  on  his  great  landed  estate,  in  the  midst  of 
hundreds  of  slaves  and  adherents,  lived  the  builder  of 
Berry  Hill,  a  gentleman  distinguished  for  talent  and  cul- 
tivation, until  his  death,  in  1865,  just  before  the  close  of  the 
War  between  the  States.  Though  originally'  a  Union  man 
his  contribution  to  the  Confederacj^  had  amounted  to  at 
least  $150,000.00. 

JNIr.  Bruce  married  Miss  Eliza  Wilkins,  daughter  of 
William  Wilkins,  Esquire,  of  North  Carolina,  and  their 
son,  Alexander  Bruce,  succeeded  him  as  master  of  Berrv 
Hill. 

BELLEVUE 

This  property  was  the  home  of  Mr.  John  B.  Carring- 
ton, who,  about  1825,  erected  the  dwelling-house  in  a  beauti- 
ful grove  of  trees,  all  of  original  growth.     The  property 


BELLEVUE.  HALIFAX  COUNTY 


remained  in  his  family  for  about  seventv-five  years,  since' 
which  time  it  has  had  several  owners.  The  flower  garden 
here  was  most  attractive.    On  two  sides  were  tall  box  trees. 


438       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

At  one  end  they  were  so  planted  and  trimmed  as  to  make  a 
nice  room  with  sides  and  top  of  box.  On  another  side  of  the 
garden  was  a  close  hedge  of  fig  trees  and  in  the  centre  a 
large  circle  of  box  about  four  and  one-half  feet  high. 
Within  the  circle  were  beautiful  roses  and  around  it  beds 
of  old-fashioned  flowers  of  various  kinds.  Back  of  this 
hedge  of  fig  trees  was  the  vegetable  garden.  The  box  and 
fig  trees  still  remain. 

BANISTER  LODGE 

Frontage  of  a  mile  and  a  half  along  the  Banister  River 

gave  the  Clark  plantation,  in  Halifax  County,  its  name. 

The  roomy  mansion  was  built  in  1830  by  Mr.  William 

H.  Clark.    The  bricks  in  the  thick  walls,  which  still  retain 


BANISTER  LODGE,  HALIFAX  COUNTY 

their  deep  red  hue,  were  made  upon  the  place  by  the  slaves, 
while  the  folding  doors  between  the  rooms  were  the  first 
seen  in  that  part  of  the  country,  and  were  regarded  as  an 
interesting  novelty. 

The  beautiful  groimds  and  gardens  were  the  special 
care  and  pride  of  Mrs.  Clark  and  were  laid  off  under  her 
direction.    This  lady,  who  was  a  granddaughter  of  Patrick 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       439 

Henry,  was  admired  for  her  unusual  character  and  talents, 
"  a  Godly  woman  with  a  master  mind  "  she  is  said  to  have 
been.  She  was  a  notable  musician  and  not  only  played  on 
a  number  of  musical  instruments  but  much  manuscript  of 
music  composed  by  her  is  still  in  possession  of  her  descend- 
ants at  Banister  Lodge.  Her  piano  and  harp  are  also  still 
there,  while  a  tapestry  fire-screen  embroidered  by  her 
speaks  of  her  proficiency  with  the  needle. 

The  planning  of  her  home  grounds  gave  Mrs.  Clark's 
artistic  tendencies  full  play.  There  is  a  grove  of  splendid 
oaks  and  a  driveway  around  a  circle  set  in  arbor  vitae  and 
box  and  mimosa  trees.  The  flower-garden  is  surrounded 
by  box  and  laid  off  in  beds,  each  of  which  is  devoted  to  a 
different  flower.  There  are  also  many  shrubs;  roses,  of 
course,  and  calycanthus,  syringas,  snowballs,  Japan  apples, 
spiraeas,  pomegranates,  altheas,  crepe  myrtles,  and  many 
others.  In  the  vegetable  garden  Mrs.  Clark  obtained  a 
beautiful  and  novel  effect  by  hedging  all  of  the  squares 
with  lilacs,  purple  and  white.  Upon  each  side  of  the  garden 
gate  a  tree  overgrown  with  ivy  stands  sentinel. 

Among  the  interesting  pieces  of  mahogany  furniture 
made  to  order  for  Mr.  Clark,  and  still  in  use  at  Banister 
Lodge,  is  the  dining-table  at  which  twenty-five  persons 
can  be  comfortably  seated.  Many  distinguished  guests 
have  sat  at  this  hospitable  table.  John  Randolph,  of 
Roanoke,  often  sat  there,  for  he  was  on  most  intimate  terms 
with  the  family.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  exchanging  books 
with  them  and  among  the  books  in  the  library  may  still  be 
seen  some  with  his  autograph  upon  the  title  page.  General 
Lee  was  once  a  guest  at  Banister  Lodge  over  night,  and 
General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  was  a  frequent  visitor  there. 
During  the  war  Bishop  Johns,  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
and  Mrs.  Johns  refugeed  at  Banister  Lodge  for  a  whole 
year,  during  which  Mr.  Clark  placed  a  small  house  in  the 
grounds  at  their  disposal  and  supplied  them  with  all  the 
comforts  of  life,  including  servants  and  a  driving  horse. 
Banister  Lodge  was,  by  the  way,  noted  for  its  fine  horses, 


UO       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

twenty-tive  of  which  were  carried  off  by  Northern  soldiers 
at  one  time. 

Banister  Lodge  is  now  the  home  of  ]Mr.  John  Clark, 
son  of  ]Mr.  William  H.  Clark.  The  plantation  still  con- 
tains 1000  of  its  original  3000  acres. 

ROANOKE 

John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  inherited  the  estate,  with 
whose  name  his  own  is  always  coupled,  from  his  father. 
This  brilliant  and  strange  man  made  his  dwelling  in  no 
lordly  mansion,  but  in  two  plain  frame  cottages,  one  of 
which  he  called  his  winter  and  the  other  his  summer  house. 
Outside  the  door  of  one  of  them  was  the  rough  block  of 
stone  which  he  frequently  used  as  a  washstand,  and  which 


"■    '   -"^l"^ 


\      t     ti 


RCIANOKE,  CHARUITTE  COINTY 


he  directed  should  be  placed  over  liis  grave.  In  spite  of 
the  modest  appearance  of  these  houses,  they  contained  a 
fine  library  and  much  handsome  furniture  and  old  silver. 
John  Randolph  was  buried  at  Roanoke,  but  his  re- 
mains were  afterwards  removed  to  Richmond,  and  interred 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       441 

in  Hollywood  Cemetery.  After  his  death  Roanoke  was 
sold  and  heeame  the  property  of  the  Bouldin  family.  It 
was  the  home  of  the  distinguished  lawyer,  Judge  Wood 
Bouldin  (who  died  in  1876),  and  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
1878,  but  John  Randolph's  office  is  still  standing. 

Roanoke  is  now  the  property  of  Mr.  Clarence  G. 
Cheney,  of  Chicago,  who  has  built  a  handsome  new  house 
upon  the  old  site. 

MULBERRY  HILL 

JNIulberry  Hill  was  the  home  of  Paul  Carrington,  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  Virginians  of  the  Revolutionary 
period.    He  was  a  member  of  the  Conventions,  and  Com- 


MULBERRY  HILL,  CHARLOTTE  COUNTY 


mittee  of  Safety,  and  for  many  years  a  judge  of  the  Vir- 
ginia Court  of  Appeals.  He  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-five 
and  was  buried  at  Mulberry  Hill.  The  estate  is  now  the 
property  of  the  family  of  his  great-grandson,  Paul  Car- 
rington McPhail. 


442       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


MILDENDO 

John  Coles,  of  Richmond,  Va.,  who  has  been  noticed  in 
the  account  of  the  Coles  family  and  homes,  owned  large 
estates  in  the  Southside.  His  son,  Walter,  settled  in 
Halifax  on  a  plantation  which  he  named  Mildendo,  after 
the  metropolis  of  the  imaginary  country  of  "  Lilliput  " 
in  "  Gulliver's  Travels."  ISIr.  Coles  died  in  1780,  leaving 
several  sons  and  daughters.  All  of  the  sons  died  unmarried. 
One  of  the  daughters,  Mildred  Howell  Coles,  married 
Mr.  Carrington  and  had  a  number  of  sons.    To  these  Car- 


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MILDENDO,  HALIFAX  COUNTY 


rington  nephews,  Isaac  H.  Coles,  who  died  in  1814  and  was 
the  last  surviving  son  of  Walter  Coles,  left  the  bulk  of  his 
estate:  "  The  Dan  River  tract"  to  Edward  Carrington; 
"  the  Burch  Skin  "  tract  to  Walter  Carrington;  The  Cub 
Creek  tract  to  Paul  Carrington,  and  the  Home  House 
tract  to  William  Carrington.  Each  of  these  plantations 
was  fully  provided  with  negroes  and  stock.  The  "  Home 
House "  tract,  William  Carrington's  inheritance,  was 
Mildendo.  The  original  house  was  burned  long  ago,  and 
some  time  afterward  William  Carrington  built  the  present 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       443 

house,  modelling  it  after  a  cottage  which  had  caught  his 
fancy  during  a  visit  to  England.  It  is  only  one  story  high 
and  the  windows  upon  one  side  open  directly  upon  a  lovely 
old  flower  garden,  which  slopes  down  to  the  Staunton 
River.  The  splendid  oaks  which  surround  the  house  were 
the  original  forest  trees. 

JNIr.  Carrington  married  a  Miss  Scott,  who  was  a  noted 
beauty  and  belle  in  her  youth,  and  who  is  recalled  by  per- 
sons still  living,  who  remember  her  in  the  closing  days  of 
her  life,  as  a  very  beautiful  old  lady.  From  this  couple, 
Mildendo  passed  to  their  son,  Charles  S.  Carrington,  presi- 
dent of  the  James  River  and  Kanawha  Canal  Company, 
and  his  wife,  who  was  Miss  Susan  McDowell,  daughter 
of  Governor  James  McDowell.  Mildendo,  after  their  time, 
passed  from  the  Carrington  familJ^  Many  Indian  relics 
have  been  found  at  Mildendo  and  some  of  them  may  be 
seen  at  the  Valentine  Museum,  Richmond. 

PRE  ST  WOULD 

Prestwould,  in  Mecklenburg  County  (which  derives  its 
name  from  the  Skipwith  estate  in  Leicestershire,  England ) , 
home  of  the  later  generations  of  the  Skipwith  family,  in 
Virginia,  was  probably  acquired  by  Sir  William  Skipwith 
(1707-1764),  Baronet,  a  grandson  of  Sir  Gray  Skipwith 
(who  died  in  1680),  a  loyal  cavalier,  who  emigrated  to 
Virginia  during  Cromwell's  time  and  settled  in  Middlesex 
County.  Sir  William  removed  from  Middlesex  to  Bland- 
ford,  in  Prince  George  County,  and  at  his  death,  in  1764, 
was  succeeded,  in  his  Prestwould  estate,  by  his  son  Sir  Pey- 
ton Skipwith  (1740-1805) ,  Baronet,  and  he,  in  turn,  by  his 
son  Humberston  Skipwith,  whose  son  Fulwar  Skipwith 
was  the  last  of  the  name  to  own  Prestwould. 

This  home  of  the  Skipwith  family  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  and  imposing  places  in  Virginia.  Situated  on 
a  very  high  hill  overlooking  the  river,  it  commands  an  ex- 
tensive view  of  the  valley  of  the  Staunton.  The  "  manor 
house  "  was  erected  in  the  eighteenth  century  by  the  me- 


444       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

chanic-servants  of  the  jNIaster  of  Prestwould,  from  stone 
quarried  on  the  plantation. 

The  "  mansion  "  is  square  and  large,  with  porticoes 
north,  south  and  east.  The  drive  to  the  house  is  between 
high  stone  walls,  now  rapidly  going  to  decay ;  and  the  most 
conspicuous  object  on  the  lawn  is  a  giant  oak,  which  is 
said  to  have  been  a  landmark  for  the  Indians  going  north 
and  south. 

One  enters  the  house  through  a  portico  which  opens 
into  a  large  hall;  on  the  right  of  this  hall  (known  as  the 


PRESTWOULD,  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY 

"  land  hall  ')  is  the  himiense  dining-room,  whose  wall  deco- 
ration is  paper  covered  by  life-sized  figures  of  huntsmen  in 
red  coats,  mounted  on  gay  chargers,  with  dogs  a-plenty  and 
trees  and  grass;  the  hall  also  is  beautified  with  the  same 
paper.  On  the  left  of  this  hall  is  the  "  Chamber  "  of  the 
blaster  and  INIistress,  and  parallel  to  it  the  children's 
nursery.  From  this  "  land  hall "  wide  doors  lead  to  the 
"  river  hall,"  more  spacious  and  magnificent  than  the  for- 
mer. This  latter  is  papered  with  English  scenes,  ladies  on 
horses,  dogs,  bridges,  v^erdure  and  trees;  and  to  the  left 
is  the  formal  drawing-room,  whose  walls  are  hung  with 
paper  picturing  Venetian  scenes — gondolas,  palaces,  etc. 


PIEDMONT  AND  THE  SOUTH  SIDE       445 

A  beautiful  stairway  leads  from  this  "  river  hall  "  to  the 
upper  hall,  on  which  open  six  large  bed-rooms.  Each  win- 
dow in  the  house  has  a  large  seat. 

In  June,  1914,  much  of  the  Skipwith  furniture  (some 
of  which  had  been  built  in  early  times  by  cabinet-makers 
on  the  place)  was  still  in  this  ancient  house,  and  probably 
there  was  not  such  a  collection  in  existence  elsewhere.  In 
this  collection  were  specimens  of  the  finest  seventeenth 
century  craft,  with  wonderful  pictvu-es  and  other  objects 
of  vertu. 

An  interesting  building  on  the  estate  is  a  dancing  pavil- 
ion, octagonal  in  shape,  which  stands  some  distance  from 
the  "  manor  house."  The  graveyard  contains  handsome 
armorial  tombs. 

]Mr.  A.  J.  Goddard,  the  present  owner  of  Prestwould, 
is  restoring  the  dwelling  house  and  grounds  to  their 
former  beauty. 


IVY  CUFF,  BEDFORD  COUNTY 

IVY  CLIFF 

Henry  Brown  (1712-98)  settled  here  in  1755  after 
massacre  of  his  parents  by  Indians  near  Salem,  Va.  He 
built  as  his  residence  a  stone  block-house,  which  was  the 
birthplace  of  his  sons  Henry  (1760-1840),  and  Reverend 
Samuel  ( — -1818),  who  married  Mary  Moore,  "  Captive 
of  Abb's  Valley."  Henry  was  captain  in  Green's  army 
and  wounded  at  Guilford  Court  House.  He  built  the 
present  house  in  1829.  His  sons  were  John  Thompson 
(1802-36),  and  Samuel,  who  lived  here.  After  his  death, 
in  1855,  the  property  passed  to  his  nephew,  Henry  Peron- 
neau  Brown,  father  of  John  Thompson  Brown,  the  present 
owner. 


PART  VII 
Beyond  the  Mountains 

WEST  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  somewhat  cut 
off  from  the  rest  of  the  State  by  that  noble 
mountain  range  lies  a  region  extensive  and 
varied  and  highly  picturesque,  with  its  views 
of  mountain,  river,  field  and  forest. 

The  most  notable  part  of  this  section  is  the  valley 
known  bj^  the  Indian  name  of  "  Shenandoah,"  and  settled 
chiefly  by  the  thrifty  Germans  and  Scotch  Irish.  In  one 
of  its  counties,  however,  Clarke,  originally  a  part  of  Fred- 
erick, the  Carters,  Burwells,  Pages,  and  other  families 
of  the  old  Colonial  counties,  chiefly  Gloucester,  patented 
great  tracts  of  lands  upon  which  their  descendants,  who 
had  intermarried  until  they  formed  a  sort  of  clan,  built  a 
number  of  homesteads — some  of  them  ample  and  stately, 
others  more  modest. 


OLD  STONE  CHURCH  AUGUSTA  COUNT-V 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS 
OLD  STONE  CHURCH 


447 


About  eight  miles  from  Staunton  is  the  Old  Stone 
Church,  one  of  the  earliest  and  perhaps  the  most  interest- 
ing of  the  Presbj'terian  churches  in  Virginia.  It  was 
built  in  IT-iT,  and  was  formerly  surrounded  by  a  ditch  and 
palisade,  making  of  it  a  fort  for  protection  against  the 
Indians.  "  The  old  house  has  seen  generations  pass;  it  has 
heard  the  sermons  of  the  Virginia  Synod  in  its  youthful 
days.  Here  the  famous  Waddell  was  taken  under  care 
of  Hanover  Presbytery  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry 
in  1760;  here  the  venerated  Hoge  was  licensed  in  1781; 
here  the  Rev.  Archibald  Alexander  passed  some  of  his 
trials  in  preparation  for  the  ministry." 


GREENWAY  COUET,  CLARKE  COUNTY 


GREENWAY  COURT,  THE  HOME  OF 
LORD  FAIRFAX 

The  greatest  landed  estate  ever  held  in  Virginia  was 
the  famous  Northern  Neck  owned  successively  by  the 
Lords  Culpeper  and  Fairfax.  How  Thomas,  Lord  Fair- 
fax, left  his  English  home  to  come  and  live  at  Greenway 
Court  in  the  midst  of  his  princely  estate,  within  the  present 
Clarke  County,  is  a  familiar  story.  The  Greenway  Court 
mansion  where  Washington  often  visited  during  his  youth 


448       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

has  long  since  gone,  but  Lord  Fairfax's  land  office  where 
grants  for  land  within  his  domain  were  made,  and  the 
"  White  Post,"  one  of  his  landmarks,  which  has  given  its 
name  to  a  village  of  the  vicinity,  still  remain. 

SPRINGDALE 

Upon  the  Opequon  River,  in  Frederick  County,  six 
miles  south  of  Winchester,  lies  Springdale,  one  of  the 
oldest  plantations  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  Upon  it 
to-daj'  stand  the  picturesque  ruin  of  a  plain,  but  sturdy 
old  stone  house  and  a  more  ambitious  structure  of  the 
same  material,  with  dormer  windows  and  a  Greek  porch. 
They  are  the  earlier  and  later  homes  of  Joist  Hite,  the 
ancestor  of  all  the  Virginia  Hites,  who  settled  here  in 
1732,  under  grant  from  the  governor  of  Virginia.  The 
older  dwelling  was  built  over  a  bold  spring  to  prevent  risk 
of  being  cut  off  from  water  by  the  Indians.     It  was  in 


OLD  SPRIXGDALE  HOUSE,  FREDERICK  CO LNTY 

this  that  General  Washington  was  ]Mr.  Hite's  guest  for 
a  night,  while  surveying  for  Lord  Fairfax.  After  the 
new  mansion  was  built,  in  1753,  the  old  house  was  used  as 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS 


449 


negro  quarters.  Upon  the  removal  of  Mr.  Hite  to  a  resi- 
dence some  twelve  miles  to  the  south,  upon  the  banks  of 
the  Cedar  Creek,  Springdale  passed  into  the  possession 


SPRINGDALE,  FREDERICK  COUNTY 

of  a  family  named  Brown,  from  whom  it  was  bought, 
about  1801,  by  Mr.  Richard  Peters  Barton,  son  of  a 
clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  remained  in 
the  Barton  family  until  after  the  Civil  War. 

ABRAHAM'S  DELIGHT 

Abraham's  Delight  is  the  quaint  name  of  an  old 
mansion,  one  mile  from  the  town  of  Winchester,  on 
Abraham's  Creek.  The  homestead  and  a  flour  mill  were 
built  in  1754,  by  Isaac  Hollinsworth,  a  Quaker,  whose 
grandfather,  Thomas  Hollinsworth,  came  to  America  with 
William  Penn  and  settled  in  New  Castle  County,  Dela- 
ware. 

Thomas  Hollinsworth's  oldest  son,  Abraham,  who  mar- 
ried, in  1737,  Anna  Robinson,  bought  of  Alexander  Ross, 
under  his  patent,  from  Governor  Gooch,  of  Virginia,  582 
acres  of  land  near  Winchester,  upon  which  his  son  and 

29 


450       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

heir,  Isaac  HoUinsworth,  planted  this  sturdy  rooftree,  still 
owned  by  his  descendants. 

Upon  the  eastern  gable  of  the  house  are  the  initials 
"  I.  H."  with  date  1754. 


ABRAHAMS  DELIGHT,  XEAR  WINCHESTER 

MOUNTAIN  VIEW 

When  the  war  came  to  blight  and  blot  out  forever 
much  of  the  charm  of  Southern  life,  no  portion  of  Virginia, 
perhaps,  was  richer  in  old  faniilj^  seats  than  Clarke  County 
in  the  Lower  Valley.  About  the  little  village  of  jSIillwood 
in  those  days  were  dotted  the  homes  of  the  Nelsons,  Car- 
ters, Pages,  Burwells,  and  others  locallj^  known  as  the 
"  Millwood  neighborhood." 

Among  all  these  delightful  homes  of  that  time,  none, 
perhaps,  would  have  evoked  a  keener  interest  than  Moun- 
tain View,  the  residence  of  Bishop  Meade. 

Mountain  View  could  claim  no  part  in  the  interest 
that  attaches  to  Colonial  antiquity,  nor  did  it  possess  any 
architectural  beauty.  Indeed,  the  first  house  that  bore 
the   name  was  a  very  modest,   unpretentious   structure. 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS  451 

which  was  burnt  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century, 
and  the  building  which  replaced  it  was  nothing  more  than 
a  simple,  comfortable  country  residence,  as  far  removed 
as  possible  from  the  traditional  Episcopal  palace.  Devoid 
though  the  house  was  of  architectural  or  other  esthetic 
charm,  the  place  was  of  rare  beauty  and  distinction.  The 
location  was  very  fine,  a  high  hill  from  which  the  terrace 
fell  away  towards  the  Shenandoah  River,  a  few  miles  dis- 
tant, in  pleasing  variety  of  hill,  meadow  and  forest. 

East  and  south  the  eye  rested  in  the  near  distance  upon 
the  almost  circular  sweep  of  the  Blue  Ridge. 

On  the  west  and  north  fine  old  forest  oaks  arrested  or 
mitigated  the  harshness  of  the  windy  storms.  Immediately 
about  the  house  clustered  magnificent  evergreens  and 
other  ornamental  trees,  but  the  chief  pride  of  JNIountain 
View  and  the  apple  of  the  bishop's  eye  was  a  plantation,  a 
lawn  of  about  20  acres  in  front  of  the  house  of  rare  trees 
which  he  had  gathered  from  many  lands  and  fostered  and 
cherished,  with  a  love  that  ended  only  with  his  life. 

To  many  dignitaries  of  the  church,  and  others  who 
from  time  to  time  visited  Mountain  View,  it  was  the 
bishop's  supreme  delight  to  show  these  trees,  which  were 
so  near  his  heart,  dwelling  with  affectionate  detail  upon 
the  history  of  each.  Captain  Robert  E.  Lee  and  his  wife 
visited  Mountain  View  shortly  after  the  Mexican  War. 
How  little  did  anyone  then  suspect  how  great  a  part  this 
modest,  handsome  gentleman  was  destined  to  play  in  the 
tremendous  struggle  of  the  coming  years.  Yet  in  little 
over  a  decade  Bishop  Meade  lay  dying  in  Richmond  and 
General  Lee  was  at  the  bedside  of  his  aged  friend  to  receive 
his  blessing  and  encouragement  to  persevere  in  the  great 
battle  for  freedom,  the  chief  weight  of  which  was  to  rest 
upon  his  shoulders. 

Something  of  tragic  interest  attaches  to  another  and 
later  visitor  to  Mountain  View.  Bishop  Polk  came  to  con- 
sult his  older  brother  in  the  Episcopate  as  to  the  propriety 
of  his  accepting  the  commission  of  lieutenant-general  in 


452       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

the  Confederate  Army,  which  President  Davis  was  urging 
upon  him. 

All  know  the  tragic  sequel  of  his  brief,  glorious  career 
and  his  heroic  death  in  the  Georgia  campaign. 

The  good  bishop — the  iron  bishop  of  Virginia,  some 
one  has  called  him — has  slept  for  nearly  half  a  century  on 
the  slope  of  the  hill,  whose  summit  is  crowned  by  the  great 
theological  seminary — the  child  of  his  lifelong  prayers 
and  devotion;  the  trees  that  he  gathered  and  planted  and 
loved  are  dead  and  the  ploughshares  pass  where  they  once 
stood.  For  many  a  year  Mountain  View  has  been  the  home 
of  strangers. 

Pulvis  et  umbra  sumus. 

THE  OLD  STONE  CHAPEL 

One  of  the  most  venerable  and  interesting  houses  in 
Clarke  County  is  the  Old  Stone  Chapel,  sometimes  called 
Bishop  Meade's  chapel.  It  is  but  a  tiny  and  plain  sanctu- 
ary of  rough  stone  in  the  midst  of  an  old  graveyard  sur- 
rounded by  a  rustic  stone  fence,  but  it  is  most  impressive. 
Before  the  Revolution  the  two  acres  of  land,  upon  which 
church  and  churchyard  stand,  were  offered  to  the  vestry 
by  their  owner.  Colonel  Hugh  Nelson. 

The  plan  to  build  failed  at  that  time,  but  after  the  war 
was  over  the  matter  was  taken  up  again.  Colonel 
Nathaniel  Burwell,  who  had  now  acquired  the  land,  gave 
the  same  two  acres  that  Colonel  Nelson  had  offered,  and 
the  chapel  was  built  in  1790.  In  1834  it  was  found  that 
the  congregation  had  outgrown  the  church,  so  a  larger  one 
was  built  in  a  more  convenient  location  in  the  village  of 
Millwood,  upon  land  also  given  by  a  member  of  the  Bur- 
well  family.  Colonel  George,  of  Carter  Hall. 

After  the  completion  of  the  new  church,  regular  ser- 
vices in  the  Old  Chapel  were  suspended,  but  for  many 
years  past  it  has  been  customary,  for  good  Episcopalians 
within  the  reach  of  this  sacred  relic,  to  make  a  pilgrimage 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS 


453 


there  upon  some  bright  Sunday  during  summer  when  again 
the  old  walls  echo  the  ancient  prayers  and  praises. 

The  burying  ground  at  the  old  chapel  is  sometimes 
called  the  Burwell  graveyard,  not  only  because  the  Bur- 
wells  gave  the  land  upon  which  it  lies,  but  because  many 


OLD  STONE  CHAPEL,  CLARKE  COUNTY 

more  of  that  family  than  of  any  other  have  found  a  resting 
place  there.  Yet,  says  Bishop  Meade,  "  Ever  since  the  ap- 
propriation to  this  purpose,  it  has  been  the  graveyard  of 
the  rich  and  poor,  bond  and  free,  those  who  live  near  it  and 
the  stranger  from  afar,  who  died  near  it." 

CARTER  HALL 

Colonel  Nathaniel  Burwell,  of  The  Grove,  near 
Williamsburg  (of  which  a  sketch  has  been  given  in  the 
chapter  entitled  "  The  Lower  James  "),  moved  to  Clarke 
soon  after  the  Revolution,  and  built  Carter  Hall  before 
1790.  Colonel  Burwell  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife 
was  Susan  Grymes,  to  whom  he  was  deeply  devoted.  After 


454       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

her  death  he  was  so  bereaved  that  he  found  it  impossible  to 
bear  his  grief  without  a  companion  in  misery,  and  cast 
about  to  find  one  who  had  been  similarly  afflicted,  and 
could,  therefore,  sympathize  with  him.  Finally  he  went 
to  Rosewell  and  asked  Governor  John  Page  to  send  for 
his  half-sister,  Mrs.  George  Baylor,  who  was  a  young  and 
beautiful  widow,  that  he  might  marry  her.  She  came,  but 
promptly  rejected  the  disconsolate  widower's  proposal. 
"  Lucy,"  he  remonstrated,  "  you  do  not  know  what  is  good 
for  you;  your  brother  John  and  I  arranged  it  all  before 
you  came."  That  seemed  to  settle  the  matter,  and  the 
wedding  soon  took  place.  After  the  ceremony  the  bride- 
groom said,  "  Now,  Lucy,  you  can  weep  for  your  dear 
George,  and  I  will  weep  for  my  beloved  Sucky." 

In  Carter  Hall  these  companions  in  woe  had  a  most 
alluring  j^lace  in  which  to  mourn  their  departed  other 
halves ;  with  the  white  columns  of  its  Greek  portico  stand- 
ing out  against  the  background  of  the  surrounding  trees, 
it  is  now  and  must  have  been  then  one  of  the  fairest  roof- 
trees  in  Virginia.  Samuel  Kercheval,  in  his  history  of  the 
valley  of  Virginia,  describes  it  as  it  was  during  the  lifetime 
of  Colonel  Nathaniel  Burwell's  son  and  heir,  George  H. 
Burwell,  who  was  then  its  master.  He  says,  "  The  resi- 
dence of  Mr.  George  Harrison  Burwell  is  splendidly  im- 
proved with  stone  buildings.  The  main  building  is  sixty- 
six  feet  by  thirty,  three  stories  with  a  wing  at  each  end, 
twenty-one  feet  long,  two  stories  high.  The  whole  build- 
ing is  finished  in  the  most  tasteful  style  of  modern  archi- 
tecture. This  was  the  former  residence  of  Colonel 
Nathaniel  Burwell,  a  gentleman  of  great  wealth.  The 
building  stands  on  a  beautiful  eminence  and  commands  a 
delightful  view  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  adjacent  neigh- 
borhood. The  water  is  conveyed  by  force-pumps  from  a 
fine  spring  to  the  dwelling  house,  yards,  and  stable,  at  a 
distance  of  about  three  hundred  yards.  This  fine  farm  may 
with  truth  be  said  to  be  among  the  most  elegantly  improved 
estates  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge." 


CARTER  HALL,  CLARKE  COUNTY 


LONG  BRANCH,  CLARKE  COUNTY 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS  457 

A  beautiful  grove  and  the  great  spring  mentioned  by 
Kercheval,  in  its  green,  shady  dell  a  little  way  to  the  rear 
of  the  house,  are  charming  features  of  the  grounds. 

Mr.  George  Harrison  Burwell,  by  his  second  marriage, 
with  Miss  Agnes  Atkinson,  was  the  father  of  three  daugh- 
ters: Eliza  Page,  who  married  Mr.  Thomas  Randolph,  of 
Clarke;  Isabelle,  who  married  Mr.  P.  H.  Mayo,  of  Rich- 
mond; Agnes,  who  married  Mr.  Powell  Page,  of  Saratoga, 
Clarke  County;  and  of  one  son,  George  Harrison  Bur- 
well,  Jr.,  who  inherited  Carter  Hall. 

After  the  death  of  her  husband,  Mrs.  Burwell  made 
her  home  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Powell  Page,  at  Sara- 
toga, until  her  own  death  at  a  ripe  age.  She  was  "  Cousin 
Agnes  "  to  half  of  the  county,  and  is  lovingly  remembered 
as  one  of  the  dear  and  saintly  old  ladies  of  ancient  regime, 
in  a  dainty  cap  and  soft  shawl.  She  was  charminglj^  old- 
fashioned,  and  until  the  end,  went  abroad  to  church  or  visit- 
ing in  the  ancient  high  swung  coach,  which  was  probably 
the  last  of  its  type,  with  whose  dignified  proportions  and 
swaying  motion  she  was  pleasantlj"^  familiar;  and  happy 
was  the  child  who  was  invited  to  a  seat  beside  her  in  this 
imposing  equipage. 

Carter  Hall,  after  having  been  owned  and  occupied  by 
three  successive  generations  of  Bui-wells,  passed  from  the 
family,  but,  happily,  it  has  lately  been  bought  back  by 
Mr.  Townsend  Burwell,  great-grandson  of  its  founder. 
Colonel  Nathaniel  Burwell,  and  son  of  Mr.  George  H. 
Burwell,  and  his  first  wife,  Laura  Dunbar  Lee. 

LONG  BRANCH 

Turning  our  backs  upon  Carter  Hall,  a  short  drive  brings 
us  to  Long  Branch,  the  home  of  the  Nelsons.  The  mansion 
fitly  crowns  a  hill-top  surrounded  by  groves  of  noble  trees. 
It  is  built  upon  a  most  ample  plan,  of  brick  with  thick  walls, 
high  ceilings,  and  spacious  rooms,  and  opens  both  at  front 
and  rear,  upon  stately  pillared  porticoes.  Very  beautiful 
is  the  interior.     The  wide  doors  open  from  the  front  and 


458       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

back  porticoes  upon  the  great  hall,  which  occupies  the 
centre  of  the  house.  Midway  of  this  hall  two  lofty  columns 
rise  to  the  ceiling  which  they  help  to  support.  There  is 
much  handsome  hand-carved  woodwork  in  the  hall  and 
rooms,  and  the  most  striking  feature  of  the  house  is  the 
beautiful  stair,  witli  hand-carved  balustrade,  which  winds 
upward  from  the  hall  to  the  observatory  upon  the  roof. 
Two  of  the  big  square  rooms  are  given  an  exceedingly  in- 
teresting air  by  the  quaint  old  wall  papers,  still  in  a  state 
of  perfect  preservation,  with  which  they  are  hung.  One  of 
these  represents  scenes  in  Paris,  the  other  the  Bay  of 
Naples. 

Long  Branch  is  over  a  century  old.  It  was  built  in 
1805  or  1806,  by  Captain  Robert  Carter  Burwell,  who  com- 
manded a  company  of  militia  in  the  War  of  1812  and  died 
in  the  service  at  Norfolk.  Before  going  to  the  war  he 
made  his  will  leaving  Long  Branch  to  JNIr.  Philip  Nelson, 
son  of  Governor  Nelson,  of  Yorktown,  who  had  in  1789 
married  his  sister  Sarah  Nelson  Burwell.  In  about  1836 
]Mr.  Nelson  sold  the  estate  to  his  nejjhew  Hugh  Nelson, 
who  had  in  that  year  married  ]Miss  Adelaide  Holker,  of 
Boston,  and  who  left  it  to  his  only  son,  Hugh  Nelson,  Jr., 
who  married  his  cousin  INIiss  Salh'  Page  Nelson,  and  is  its 
present  owner. 

Long  Branch  has  always  been  a  seat  of  hospitality  and 
never  more  so  than  during  the  time  of  its  present  genial 
master  and  mistress. 

SARATOGA 

Upon  the  other  side  of  the  village  of  Millwood  from 
Long  Branch  and  Carter  Hall,  and  somewhat  retired  from 
the  celebrated  "  Valley  turnpike,"  is  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting homesteads  in  the  county ;  this  is  Saratoga,  built 
by  General  Daniel  Morgan,  who  took  up  his  abode  in 
Clarke  after  the  Revolution,  and  named  his  home  after 
the  great  battle,  which  made  him  famous.  Its  massive  and 
rugged  walls  were  built  of  gray  stone  found  in  the  neigh- 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS 


459 


borhood,  and  it  is  said  that  the  laborers  employed  by  Gen- 
eral IMorgan  in  its  construction  were  Hessian  prisoners, 
taken  during  the  Revolution. 

In  course  of  time  Saratoga  passed,  by  purchase,  to  the 
Page  family  and  has  long  been  the  residence  of  INIr.  Robert 


SARATOGA,  CLARKE  COUNTY 

Powell  Page,  Jr.,  who  inherited  it  from  his  father.  Dr. 
Robert  Powell  Page,  of  "  The  Briars,"  a  few  miles  away, 
and  who  married,  about  1870,  Miss  Agnes  Burwell,  of 
Carter  Hall. 

CLIFTON,  CLARKE  COUNTA^ 

This  house  was  built  about  1800  by  David  Hume  Allen, 
and  after  his  death  was  owned  for  fifteen  years  by  his 
widow,  who  before  her  marriage  had  been  Miss  Sarah  Grif- 
fen  Taylor.  After  Mrs.  Allen's  death  the  estate  was  in- 
herited by  their  youngest  son  Edgar  Allen,  who  held  it 
until  his  death,  in  1903.  Edgar  Allen  never  married  and 
the  property  was  left  to  his  nephews  and  nieces.  It  was 
purchased  by  Robert  Owen  Allen  ( eldest  son  of  Algernon 
Sidney  Allen,  who  was  eldest  son  of  David  Hume  Allen), 


460       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

who  owned  it  until  1914,  when  it  passed  into  the  possession 
of  his  son,  Dr.  L.  M.  Allen,  of  Winchester,  Va.,  who  is  the 
present  owner. 


CLIFTON,  CLARKE  COUNTY 


PAGEBROOK 


Pagebrook,  one  of  the  oldest  homes  in  Clarke  County, 
stands  a  short  distance  back  from  the  "  valley  pike,"  upon 
the  brow  of  a  hill  commanding  a  view  of  extensive,  but 
rustic  grounds,  and  the  Blue  Ridge  beyond.  The  planta- 
tion, like  many  others  in  the  neighborhood,  is  enclosed 
from  the  road  by  the  grey,  rugged  stone  fences,  which  the 
Virginia  creeper  and  trumpet  flower  love,  and  which,  be- 
wreathed  with  these  and  other  graj^-hued  climbers,  add  a 
charming  feature  to  the  already  picturesque  landscape.  A 
little  way  down  the  hill  from  one  side  of  the  mansion,  a 
group  of  fine  old  weeping-willows  hang  their  long  fringes 
over  the  spring-house,  with  its  suggestions  of  cool  butter- 
milk and  other  palatable  things.  The  overflow  from  the 
spring  makes  a  little  brook  which  runs  on  down  the  hill  and 
into  the  glen  beyond  it,  which  with  its  great  shade  trees  and 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS 


461 


its  mossy  gray  boulders  makes  a  natural  park.  The  house 
is  simple,  but  substantial  and  commodious.  It  was  built 
soon  after  the  Revolution  by  John  Page,  son  of  Robert 


PAGEBROOK,  CLARKE  COUNTY 


Page,  of  Broadneck,  Hanover  County — "  that  holy  man, 
John  Page,"  a  writer  of  the  time  calls  him.  He  married 
Maria,  daughter  of  Colonel  William  Byrd  III,  of  West- 
over,  and  died  in  1838.  He  was  succeeded  at  Pagebrook  by 
his  son.  Judge  John  Evelyn  Page,  of  the  Virginia  Circuit 
Court,  who  occupied  it  until  his  own  death,  in  1881.  Judge 
Page  married  Miss  Emily  McGuire,  of  Loudoun  County, 
and  had  many  children,  but  upon  his  death,  in  1881,  Page- 
brook  passed,  by  purchase,  to  his  nephew,  Mr.  Herbert  H. 
Page,  of  Edenton,  N.  C,  who  used  it  as  a  summer  home. 
After  the  death  of  Mr.  Herbert  Page  the  estate  passed 
from  the  family  that  had  always  owned  it  and  has  since 
changed  hands  several  times.  It  is  now  the  property  of 
Mr.  Mulliken. 

NATURAL  BRIDGE 

So  interesting  an  object  could  not  escape  the  curiosity 
and  observation  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  His  account  of  it  is  as 
follows : 


462       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

"  The  Natural  Bridge,  the  most  sublime  of  nature's 
work,  is  on  the  ascent  of  a  hill,  which  seems  to  have  been 
cloven  through  its  length  by  some  great  convulsion.  The 
fissure,  just  at  the  bridge,  is  by  some  admeasui-ements 
270  feet  deep,  by  others  only  205.  It  is  about  45  feet  wide 
at  the  bottom,  and  90  feet  at  the  top ;  this  of  course  deter- 


NATURAL  BRIDGE 


mines  the  length  of  the  bridge,  and  its  height  from  the 
water.  Its  breadth  in  the  middle  is  about  60  feet,  but 
more  at  the  ends,  and  the  thickness  of  the  mass  at  the 
summit  of  the  arch,  about  40  feet.  A  part  of  this  thickness 
is  constituted  by  a  coat  of  earth,  which  gives  growth  to 
many  large  trees.    The  residue,  with  the  hill  on  both  sides, 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS 


463 


is  one  solid  rock  of  limestone.  The  arch  approaches  the 
semi-elliptical  form;  but  the  larger  axis  of  the  ellipses, 
which  would  be  the  chord  of  the  arch,  is  many  times  longer 
than  the  transverse.  Though  the  sides  of  the  bridge  are 
provided  in  some  parts  with  a  parapet  of  fixed  rocks,  yet 
few  men  have  resolution  to  walk  to  them,  and  look  over 
into  the  abyss.  You  involuntarily  fall  on  yom-  hands  and 
feet,  creep  to  the  parapet,  and  look  over  it.  Looking  down 
from  this  height  about  a  minute,  gave  me  a  violent  head- 


ON  THE  ROAD  TO  NATURAL  BRIDGE  (1889). 

ache.  If  the  view  from  the  top  be  painful  and  intolerable, 
that  from  below  is  delightful  in  the  extreme.  It  is  im- 
possible for  the  emotions  arising  from  the  sublime  to  be  felt 
beyond  what  they  are  here :  on  the  sight  of  so  beautiful  an 
arch,  so  elevated,  so  light,  and  springing  as  it  were  up  to 
heaven,  the  rapture  of  the  spectator  is  really  indescribable ! 
The  fissure  continuing  narrow,  deep  and  straight  for  a  con- 
siderable distance  above  and  below  the  bridge,  opens  a 
short  but  very  pleasing  view  of  the  North  Mountain  on 
one  side,  and  Blue  Ridge  on  the  other,  at  the  distance  each 
of  them  of  about  five  miles.  This  bridge  is  in  the  county 
of  Rockbridge,  to  which  it  has  given  name,  and  affords  a 
public  and  commodious  passage  over  a  valley,  which  cannot 
be  crossed  elsewhere  for  a  considerable  distance.  The 
stream  passing  under  it  is  called  Cedar  Creek." 


464       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

The  ]Marquis  de  Chastellux  in  his  Travels  in  North- 
America  in  the  years  1780-81-82  gives  a  description  of 
Natural  Bridge  which  was  sent  him  by  Baron  de  Turpin, 
who  was  sent  to  take  dimensions  of  the  bridge  and  make 
report  thereof.  The  conclusion  of  the  Baron's  report  is  as 
follows : 

"  The  excavation  of  eight  or  ten  inches,  formed  in  the 
pied  droit,  or  supporter,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  stream, 
under  the  spring  of  the  arch,  lengthens  it  into  the  form  of 
a  crow's  beak.  This  decay  and  some  other  parts  which  are 
blown  up,  give  reason  to  presume  that  this  surprising  edi- 
fice will  one  day  become  a  A'ictim  of  that  time  which  has 
destroyed  so  many  others." 

Measurements  of  the  Bridge  at  this  time  show  that  it 
is  very  much  as  it  was  when  the  Baron's  account  was  writ- 
ten, about  one  hundi^ed  and  thirty-five  years  ago. 

WINDY  COVE  CHURCH  AND 
WALLAWHATOOLA 

In  picturesque  Bath  County,  across  the  Alleghany 
JNIountains,  from  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  is  an  interesting 
relic  of  pioneer  days.  This  is  Windy  Cove  Church,  which, 
though  not  built  until  1838,  is  the  fourth  sanctuary  occu- 
pied by  the  congregation  of  devout  Presbyterians,  which 
was  here  organized  nearly  a  hundred  years  before,  in  the 
year  1749,  and  had  worshipped  in  a  succession  of  log 
Louses,  each  one  larger  and  more  comfortable  than  its 
predecessor.  The  families  which  formed  the  first  congre- 
gation and  built  the  first  church  were  a  band  of  those  sturdy 
Scotch-Irish  immigrants  who  brought  to  Virginia  char- 
acter many  of  its  most  sterling  traits.  The  settlement  was 
on  the  extreme  frontier  and  constant  danger  of  molesta- 
tion from  the  Indians  made  it  necessary  there,  as  it  had 
earlier  been  at  Jamestown,  for  the  men  to  take  their  fiire- 
arms  to  church. 

The  first  church  was  situated  about  a  mile  from  the 
present  building  down  the  lovely  little  river  called  hy  the 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS  465 

Indians  Wallawhatoola,  and  on  the  side  of  the  hill,  which 
the  pioneers  named  "  Betsy  Bell."  It  was  a  small  house 
of  unhewn  logs,  with  puncheons,  or  squared  logs,  for  seats, 
and  was  heated  by  an  open  log  fire  at  each  end.  Its  pastor 
was  the  Reverend  Alexander  Craighead,  a  native  of  the 
north  of  Ireland.  The  little  church  took  the  name  by  which 
it  is  still  known  from  a  remarkable  natural  cave  not  far 
away. 

The  third  church  was  larger  than  the  first  and  second, 
and  was  built  of  hewn  logs,  with  a  "  session  house  "  ad- 
joining, and  stood  upon  the  site  of  the  present  building. 


WALLAWHATOOLA,  BATH  COUNTY 


The  "  Betsy  Bell  "  is  a  part  of  the  Wallawhatoola  prop- 
erty. The  dwelling  was  built  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago  and  was  a  typical  frontiersman's  log  weather- 
boarded  house  of  four  rooms.  This  has  been  gradually 
added  to  until  it  has  now  more  than  twenty  rooms.  It  was 
formerly  owned  by  the  Sitlingtons,  a  family  prominent 
in  the  early  history  of  Bath  County. 

The  estate  was  purchased  from  this  family  by  Mr. 
John  L.  Lee,  now  of  Lynchburg,  and  sold  by  him  in  1883, 
to  the  late  Robert  A.  Lancaster,  of  Richmond,  for  a  sum- 
mer home  and  is  still  in  the  possession  of  his  family. 

30 


466       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

THE  MEADOWS 

This  property  was  bought  from  a  man  named  Bradley 
by  Captain  Francis  Smith,  of  Abingdon,  in  1817.  Captain 
Smith's  first  wife  was  a  daughter  of  "  Madam  Russell " 
(successively  the  wife  of  General  William  Campbell  and 
General  William  Russell),  who  was  sister  of  Patrick 
Henry.  There  were  no  children  by  this  first  marriage. 
Captain  Smith  married,  secondly,  jNIary  Trigg,  the  widow 
of  William  King,  the  founder  of  the  famous  Salt  Works 
in  Smyth  County.  From  this  marriage  there  was  one 
daughter,  JNIarj^  who  married  Governor  Wyndham  Robert- 
son, of  Richmond.  She  was  a  child  five  years  old  when 
her  father  bought  this  property  and  the  name  "  JNIary's 
JNIeadows  "  was  given  in  her  honor.  When  JNIrs.  Robert- 
son succeeded  to  the  estate  on  the  death  of  her  father, 


THE  MEADOWS,  WASHINGTON  COUNTY 

the  name  was  changed  to  "  The  Meadows."'  The  property 
is  now  owned  by  her  son.  Captain  Francis  Smith  Robert- 
son, an  ex-ofiicer  of  Stuart's  Staff. 

BROOK  HALL 

Brook  Hall  in  Washington  Countj%  a  large  brick  house 
of  some  eighteen  or  twenty  rooms  situated  on  a  beautiful 
hill,  was  erected  in  1835,  by  Colonel  William  Byars,  a 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS 


467 


wealthy  and  prosperous  planter  and  merchant.  Until 
comparatively  recently  the  estate  was  occupied  bj^  Mrs. 
Ernest,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Colonel  Byars,  and  is 
now  the  property  of  a  family  of  Robertsons. 

At  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  the  "  mansion  house  " 
stands  is  an  old  mill  situated  on  a  lovely  creek.  Near  the 
mill  is  an  old  log  house,  nearly  a  hundred  years  old,  which 
was  Colonel  Bj^ars'  home  before  the  erection  of  Brook 
Hall.  This  estate  is  just  two  miles  from  Emory  and  Henry 
College,  of  which  Colonel  Byars  was  one  of  the  "founders." 


OLD  BYARS  HOUSE,  WASHINGTON  COUNTY 

Southern  View — a  j^lace  of  great  beauty — is  three  miles 
east  of  Brook  Hall,  and  the  present  house  was  remodelled 
some  fifty  years  ago  by  Colonel  James  31.  Byars,  son  of 
Colonel  William  Byars  of  Brook  Hall.  Southern  View 
was  originally  Fort  Kilmekmanley,  a  massive  structure  of 
river  stone  with  walls  three  feet  thick,  which  had  been 
erected  in  the  days  of  the  Indian  terror  as  a  protection  to 
women  and  children  of  this  section.    When  Colonel  James 


468       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

]M.  Byars  inherited  from  his  father  some  two  thousand 
acres  of  this  fertile  estate,  he  desired  to  erect  a  handsome 
residence  on  the  site  of  the  old  fort  and  employed  many 
workmen  for  the  purpose.  Work  was  begun  on  demolish- 
ing the  old  building.  The  tightly  cemented  "  gable  ends  " 
of  the  old  house  presented  so  formidable  a  resistance  that  it 
required  two  weeks  to  remove  them  and  Colonel  Byars  de- 
termined to  let  the  walls  remain  and  cover  them  with  a 
"  modern  "  tin  roof  and  terra-cotta  chimneys.  The  dis- 
colored and  dilapidated  appearance  of  the  walls  was  not, 
however,  in  keeping  with  the  intended  magnificence  of  the 
building  and  it  was  decided  to  "  stucco  "  them.  Workmen 
were  brought  from  Louisville,  Kentucky,  for  this  purpose 
and  the  result  of  their  efforts  is  the  present  house,  seem- 
ingly a  construction  of  gray  granite  blocks. 

The  wonderful  Ebbing  and  Flowing  Spring  is  on  this 
estate,  a  mile  from  the  house  and  just  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  (jNIiddle  Fork  of  Holston) .  When  the  river  is  "  full  " 
the  spring  is  submerged,  resuming  its  normal  condition 
when  the  waters  subside.  At  this  spring,  many,  many 
years  ago  there  was  a  church.  On  a  Sunday,  when  there 
was  a  large  congregation,  and  the  preacher  at  his  best, 
three  Tories  were  seen  passing,  whereupon  congregation, 
preacher  and  all,  ran  out  of  the  chvn'ch,  pursued  them  up 
the  river  a  mile,  caught  and  hung  them  on  a  sycamore  tree, 
on  the  banks  of  the  river.  Their  bodies  were  buried  there. 
Some  years  ago  when  there  was  a  freshet,  one  of  the  skele- 
tons was  washed  up.  The  old  church  at  Ebbing  and  Flow- 
ing Spring  has  long  since  passed  out  of  existence,  a  small 
chapel  now  occupying  the  site. 

SMITHFIELD 

Smithfield.  the  home  of  the  Prestons,  is  situated  in 
Montgomery  County,  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Virginia. 
It  was  a  grant  of  three  thousand  acres  from  the  Colonial 
government  to  John  Preston,  whose  son,  William  Preston, 
began  the  erection  of  the  house.  His  building  was  inter- 
rupted by  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  in  which  war  he 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS 


469 


served  as  colonel.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  Colonel  Preston 
resumed  work  on  his  home  and  completed  it.  At  his  death 
the  place  passed  to  his  son,  James  Patton  Preston,  Gover- 
nor of  Virginia,  who,  in  turn,  left  it  to  his  son,  the  Honor- 
able William  Ballard  Preston. 

Smithfield  is  now  owned  by  the  youngest  daughter  of 
William  Ballard  Preston,  Mrs.  Aubin  Lee  Boulware,  of 
Richmond,  Virginia. 

INluch  of  interest  centres  in  this  historic  home.  Situ- 
ated at  the  top  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  in  a  valley  of 


SMITHFIELD,  MONTGOMERY  COUNTY 

waving  blue  grass,  it  presents  a  picture  of  rich  beauty. 
The  verdure  of  the  meadowlands  with  their  crystal  stream 
stretching  like  a  white  ribbon  through  their  entire  length, 
the  grandeur  of  the  surrounding  mountains,  and  the  dense 
forest  land,  free  from  undergrowth,  combine  to  make  of 
Smithfield  one  of  Nature's  fairest  scenes.  The  big  walnut 
trees,  shading  the  blue  grass  meadows,  give  cool  resting 
places  for  horses  and  cattle  which  graze  among  the  deep, 
luscious  green. 

The  house  is  a  large  one,  topped  with  dormer  windows. 


470       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

The  interior  woodwork  is  hand  carved,  and  the  elaborate 
mantel  pieces  reach  nearly  to  the  ceiling.  All  through  the 
house  handwork  is  noticeable,  and  the  nails  were  wrought 
on  the  place. 

In  the  early  days  of  Smithfield,  JNIrs.  John  Preston's 
brother.  Colonel  James  Patton,  who  was  in  "  the  upper 
comitry  on  business,"  was  murdered  by  the  Indians. 

Smithfield  was  famed  for  its  hospitalitj'.  It  was  the 
JNIecca  to  which  the  Kentucky  and  South  Carolina  Pres- 
tons  made  yearly  pilgrimages,  travelling  the  long  distances 
in  their  stately  coaches,  driving  four  horses,  and  followed 
by  their  retinues  of  servants.  Especially  during  the 
summer  and  autumn  months  was  the  old  house  overflowing 
with  guests,  and  dispensing  entertainment  with  a  gener- 
ous, lavish  hand. 

The  place  is  well  kept  up  now.  And  in  the  old  grave- 
yard are  many  monuments  to  the  illustrious  men  and 
women  of  past  generations,  who  keep  before  us — in  vivid, 
glowing  and  indelible  colors — a  picture  of  their  brilliant 
past  in  this  old  mansion,  "  Smithfield." 

PRESTON  HOUSE 

General  Francis  Preston,  who  was  an  able  lawyer  and 
member  of  Congress,  who  married  Sarah  Buchanan, 
daughter  of  General  William  Campbell  of  King's  INIoun- 
tain  fame,  removed  to  Abingdon  in  1810,  and  built  the 
house  which  is  now  one  of  the  buildings  of  JMartha  Wash- 
ington College.  In  few  houses  in  Virginia  has  so  dis- 
tinguished a  group  of  sons  and  daughters  been  raised  as 
were  the  children  of  General  Preston.  Among  them  were 
his  sons,  William  C.  and  John  S.  Preston  of  South  Car- 
olina and  the  wives  of  Governors  John  B.  Floyd  and 
James  IMcDowell  of  Virginia  and  General  Wade  Hamp- 
ton of  South  Carolina.  In  1845,  General  Preston's  son 
Thomas  U.  Preston,  Professor  at  the  University  of  Vir- 
ginia, sold  the  place  to  the  Trustees  of  ]\Iartha  Wash- 
ington College. 


PRESTON  HOUSE,  ABINGDON 


FORT  LEWIS,  BATH  COUNTY 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS  473 

FORT  LEWIS 

Fort  Lewis,  in  the  present  Bath  County,  was  originally 
the  home  of  the  gallant  Colonel  Charles  Lewis,  who  lost 
his  life  in  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant, 

Charles  Lewis  was  the  youngest  of  the  sons  of  John 
Lewis  of  Augusta  County,  who  emigrated  from  Ireland, 
and  his  wife  Margaret  Lj^nn,  said  to  have  been  a  daughter 
of  "  The  Laird  of  Loch  Lynn,"  and  most  certainly  the 
sister  of  Doctor  Andrew  Lynn,  who  emigrated  and  settled 
in  Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  and  who  mentions  in  his 
will  (among  other  kinsmen)  "  Sister  Lewis  and  her  four 
sons,  Thomas,  Andrew,  William  and  Charles  Lewis." 
Charles  Lewis  was  born  shortly  after  his  parents  reached 
Virginia.  His  brothers,  Andrew,  Thomas  and  William, 
were,  like  himself,  distinguished  soldiers  and  frontiersmen. 

Colonel  Charles  Lewis'  holdings  in  the  present  Bath 
County  consisted  of  manj^  thousands  of  acres  of  land,  in- 
eluding  both  of  the  celebrated  springs — "  the  Hot  "  and 
"  the  Warm."  He  moved  to  his  "  Fort  Lewis  "  estate 
several  3"ears  before  his  death,  and,  as  its  name  indicates, 
this  was  one  of  the  "  out-post  "  strongholds  for  protection 
against  the  Indians,  who  called  the  old  stockade  "  Lewis' 
Hog  Pen." 

The  present  dwelling,  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
old  fort,  was  erected  by  Benjamin  Crawford  about  1859, 
Mr.  Crawford  having  purchased  the  site  from  Samuel 
Lewis,  son  of  John  Lewis,  who  was  son  of  Colonel  Charles 
Lewis.  Later  Mr.  Crawford  sold  the  estate  to  Frederick 
Fultz,  who  in  turn  sold  it  to  Doctor  Henkel  of  Staunton, 
Virginia. 

"  The  fame  of  Charles  Lewis,"  says  Waddell,  in  his 
Annals  of  Augusta  County,  "  has  come  down  to  us  as  that 
of  a  hero  of  romance.  From  all  accounts  he  was  an  ad- 
mirable man,  and  if  his  life  had  not  ended  prematiuely 
would  have  achieved  great  distinction.  At  an  early  age 
he  was  reported  to  be  the  most  skilful  of  all  the  frontier 
Indian  fighters."    Wills  De  Haas,  in  his  History  of  the 


474       VIRGIxNIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Early  Settlement  and  Indian  Wars  of  Western  Virginia, 
gives  the  following  very  interesting  description  of  an  inci- 
dent in  Lewis'  career.  "  On  one  occasion,"  says  De  Haas, 
"he  (Lewis)  was  captured  by  the  Indians  while  on  a 
hunting  excursion,  and  after  travelling  over  two  hundred 
miles  barefooted,  his  arms  pinioned  behind,  and  goaded 
b}"  the  knives  of  his  remorseless  captors,  he  effected  his 
escape.  While  travelling  along  the  bank  of  a  precipice 
some  twenty  feet  in  height,  he  suddenly,  by  a  strong 
muscular  exertion,  burst  the  cords  which  bound  him,  and 
plunged  over  the  steep  into  the  bed  of  a  mountain  torrent. 
His  persecutors  hesitated  to  follow.  In  a  race  of  several 
hundred  yards  Lewis  had  gained  some  few  yards  upon 
his  pursuers,  when,  upon  leaping  a  fallen  tree  which  lay 
across  his  course,  his  strength  suddenlj-  failed  and  he  fell 
prostrate  among  the  weeds  which  had  grown  up  in  great 
luxuriance  around  the  body  of  the  tree.  Three  of  the 
Indians  sprang  over  the  tree  \^athin  a  few  feet  of  where 
their  prey  lay  concealed,  but  with  feelings  of  the  most 
devout  thankfulness  to  a  kind  and  superintending  Provi- 
dence, he  saw  them  one  by  one  disappear  in  the  dark  recess 
of  the  forest.  He  now  bethought  himself  of  rising  from 
his  uneasy  bed,  when  lo!  a  new  enemy  appeared,  in  the 
shape  of  an  enormous  rattlesnake,  who  had  thrown  him- 
self into  a  deadly  coil  so  near  his  face  that  his  fangs  were 
within  a  few  inches  of  his  nose:  and  his  enormous  rattle, 
as  it  waved  to  and  fro,  once  rested  upon  his  ear.  A  single 
contraction  of  the  eyelid — a  convulsive  shudder — the  re- 
laxation of  a  single  muscle,  and  the  deadly  beast 
woidd  have  sprving  upon  him.  In  this  situation  he  lay 
for  several  minutes,  when  the  reptile,  probably  supposing 
him  to  be  dead,  crawled  over  his  body  and  moved  slowly 
away.  '  I  had  eaten  nothing,'  said  Lewis  to  his  com- 
panions, after  his  return,  '  for  many  days ;  I  had  no  fire- 
arms and  I  ran  the  risk  of  dying  with  hunger  ere  I  covdd 
reach  the  settlement;  but  rather  would  I  have  died  than 
make  a  meal  of  the  generous  beast.'  " 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS 


475 


GREEN  VALLEY 

Green  Valley  in  Bath  County  was  also  the  site  of  an 
old  fort  used  for  protection  from  tlie  Indians.  The  fort 
originally  occupied  a  position  near  the  present  dwelling. 
In  1755  the  Indians  made  a  capture  of  this  fort  and  among 
the  prisoners  then  made  was  one  Joe  Mayse,  who  had  been 
wounded.  Neighbors  went  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians  and 
rescued  INIayse,  whom  they  found  riding  and  forced  to 
carry  some  of  the  red  man's  plunder,  among  which  was 
a  coil  of  rope  which  was  thrown  over  his  head.  The  firing 
of  the   rescuing  party   frightened   the  horse   which  was 


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GREEN  VALLEY,  BATH  COUNTY 


carrying  Mayse  and  he  was  thrown  and  dragged  for  a 
considerable  distance,  with  great  difficulty  finally  releasing 
himself. 

The  original  house  at  Green  Valley  was  merely  a 
frontiersman's  cabin,  and  was  built  by  a  Mr.  McCallop, 
who  later  sold  the  place  to  James  Frazer,  who  enlarged 
the  house  to  its  present  proportions  and  kept  it  as  a 
"  stage-tavern."  About  1854  Samuel  Lewis  purchased 
Green  Valley  from  William  Frazer.  From  Samuel 
Lewis  the  place  descended  to  his  son  Jasper  Lewis,  the 
present  owner. 


476       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

MONT  CALM 

The  historic  old  homestead,  Mont  Cahii,  now  occupied 
as  a  residence  by  Mr.  W.  E.  Mingea,  was  built  bj'  Gov- 
ernor David  Campbell  about  the  year  1830.  It  crowns 
a  hilltop  on  the  south  side  of  Abingdon  which  overlooks 
the  whole  town,  and  to  the  south  one  of  the  finest  moun- 
tain views  to  be  seen  anywhere  in  this  section  spreads  out 


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MONT  CALM,  ABINGDON 

before  the  eye  of  the  observer.  White  Top  and  JSIount 
Rogers,  the  two  highest  points  in  Virginia,  are  plainly 
A^sible,  with  miles  and  miles  of  fertile  lands  and  an  oc- 
casional range  of  smaller  mountains  lying  between. 

Upon  the  death  of  Governor  Campbell,  the  property 
descended  to  Governor  William  B.  Campbell  of  Ten- 
nessee, and  his  sister,  Mrs.  Shelton.  It  was  then  rented 
by  various  parties — Judge  John  A.  Campbell  among  the 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS  477 

number.  After  the  deaths  of  Governor  WiUiam  Campbell 
and  sister,  the  property'  was  purchased  from  their  estate 
bj^  Colonel  Arthur  C.  Cvmmiings,  who  married  Elizabeth 
Preston,  daughter  of  Jno.  M.  Preston,  1st,  of  Seven  Mile 
Ford.  Colonel  Cummings'  family  having  passed  away, 
he  bequeathed  the  place  to  his  wife's  nieces  and  nephews, 
sixteen  in  number;  they,  in  turn,  sold  it  to  Mr.  W.  E. 
Mingea,  the  present  owner. 

The  trees  on  the  lawn  are  giant  white  pines,  planted 
out  by  Governor  Campbell's  own  hands.  Leading  from 
this  lawn  to  the  macadam  pike  is  a  splendid  avenue  of 
maples,  making  the  approach  one  of  great  attractiveness. 
Wonderful  holly  trees  add  greatly  to  the  beauty  of  the 
spacious  lawn,  and  the  old-time  garden,  with  the  hedges 
of  boxwood,  beds  of  violets,  lilies  of  the  valley  and  pinks, 
is  still  there. 

Presumably  the  name  selected  by  its  distinguished  first 
owner  was  due  to  the  fact  that  Governor  Campbell  was  an 
officer  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  saw  service  in  Canada 
under  General  Alexander  Smyth,  for  whom  Smyth 
County,  Virginia,  is  named.  In  his  military  service  he 
probably  saw  the  historic  Heights  of  Abraham  at  Quebec, 
where  the  French  General,  Montcalm,  lost  his  life.  At 
this  particular  epoch  in  our  history  we  were  at  daggers 
drawn  with  Britain  and  bosom  friends  with  France.  This 
consideration  also  probablj^  influenced  Governor  Camp- 
bell in  the  choice  of  the  name  for  his  home. 

Through  the  various  changes  of  ownership,  the  orig- 
inal plan,  both  in  the  interior  and  exterior  of  the  house, 
has  been  wonderfully  preserved.  Two  striking  features 
are  the  long  drawing  room,  possibly  sixty  feet  in  length, 
fifteen  in  height  ( public  receptions  were  held  here )  ;  and  a 
beautiful  spiral  staircase,  beginning  in  the  front  hall  and 
extending  to  the  attic.  The  steps  of  solid  cedar,  elabo- 
ratelj^  hand  carved  on  the  outside,  are  as  sound  as  ever. 

The  bed-room  of  Mrs.  Campbell  is  still  to  be  seen;  for 
years  her  bed  remained  there, — an  elaborately  carved 
affair,  with  tester,   after  the   fashion  of  that  day.      So 


478       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

lofty  was  this  couch  that  it  was  impossible  for  a  lady 
to  reach  it  unassisted.  At  bedtime  her  maid  was  dis- 
patelied  to  call  a  stately  man-servant,  her  special  attend- 
ant. He  would  come,  cariying  a  quaint  ladder,  which, 
with  great  dignity,  he  would  place  for  ]Mrs.  Governor  that 
she  might  make  the  ascent  in  safety. 

A  few  words  as  to  his  favorite  servant,  David  Bird 
by  name.  He  belonged  to  a  type  now  ahnost  entirely 
extinct,  loyal  and  faithful,  indispensable  to  those  whom 
he  served.  Not  only  was  he  thoroughly  accomplished  in 
all  the  craft  of  house  life  of  the  day,  but  his  imposing 
stature,  impressive  dignity,  and  polished  manners  rendered 
him  truly  ornamental.  He  lived  to  ripe  old  age,  and  upon 
his  death  in  recent  years  the  funeral  train  was  largely 
composed  of  the  descendants  of  his  white  friends  of  earlier 
days. 

Mrs.  Campbell  was  the  possessor  of  beautiful  hands, 
of  which  she  took  great  care.  She  was  equally  careful  of 
her  gloves,  which  she  desired  always  to  be  immaculate;  so 
juuch  so,  that  when  she  had  to  undergo  the  many  hand- 
shakes incidental  to  public  receptions  she  always  wore  a 
larger  second  pair  of  gloves  until  the  handshaking  was 
over,  when  she  would  discard  this  covering  and  displaj"  her 
hands  in  all  the  glory  of  gloves,  perfect  in  fit,  immaculate 
in  freshness. 

The  population  of  that  section  of  Virginia  beyond  the 
mountains  was  one  in  which  the  Scotch-Irish  element 
predominated.  Physically  hardy,  mentally  and  spiritually 
vigorous,  "  liberty  "  was  the  very  keynote  to  this  people's 
being.  From  father  to  son  and  from  mother  to  daughter 
was  transmitted  the  spirit  of  protest  against  any  abridg- 
ment of  the  divine  principle  of  personal  freedom,  and  ac- 
companying this  spirit  in  its  transmission  the  will  and 
the  power  to  act  both  speedily  and  efFectivelj^  to  save 
themselves  and  their  property  from  bonds. 

It  is  doubtful  if  there  mav  be  found  anvwhere  a  docu- 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS  479 

ment  which  better  illustrates  the  liberty-loving  character 
of  the  Scotch-Irish  on  the  frontier  of  Virginia  than  the 
Fincastle  Declaration  of  Independence  which  follows :  * 

FINCASTLE  COUNTY  (VIRGINIA)  MEETING. 

In  obedience  to  the  Resolves  of  the  Continental  Congress,  a 
Meeting  of  the  Freeholders  of  Fincastle  County,  in  Virginia,  was 
held  on  the  20th  day  of  January,  1775,  who,  after  approving  of 
the  Association  framed  by  that  august  body  in  behalf  of  all  the 
Colonies,  and  subscribing  thereto,  proceeded  to  the  election  of  a 
Committee,  to  see  the  same  carried  punctually  into  execution, 
when  the  following  gentlemen  were  nominated:  the  Reverend 
Charles  Cummings,  Colonel  William  Preston,  Colonel  William 
Christian,  Captain  Stephen  Trigg,  Major  Arthur  Campbell, 
Major  William  Inglis,  Captain  Walter  Crockett,  Captain  John 
Montgomery,  Captain  James  M'Gavock,  Captain  William  Camp- 
hell,  Captain  Thomas  Madison,  Captain  Daniel  Smith,  Captain 
William  Russell,  Captain  Evan  Shelby,  and  Lieutenant  William 
Edmondson.  After  the  election  the  Committee  made  choice  of 
Colonel  William  Christian  for  their  Chairman,  and  appointed  Mr. 
David  Campbell  to  be  Clerk. 

The  following  Address  was  then  unanimously  agreed  to  by  the 
people  of  the  County,  and  is  as  follows : 

To  THE  Honourable  Peyton  Randolph,  EsauiRE,  Richard 
Heney  Lee,  George  Washington,  Patrick  Henry,  Junior, 
Richard  Bland,  Benjamin  Harrison  and  Edmund  Pendle- 
ton, EsauiRES,  THE  Delegates  erom  this  Colony  who  at- 
tended the  Continental  Congress  held  at  Philadelphia: 

Gentlemen  :  Had  it  not  been  for  our  remote  situation,  and 
the  Indian  War  which  we  were  lately  engaged  in,  to  chastise  those 
cruel  and  savage  people  for  the  many  murders  and  depredations 
they  have  committed  amongst  us,  now  happily  terminated  under 
the  auspices  of  our  present  worthy  Governour,  his  Excellency  the 
Right  Honourable  the  Earl  of  Dunmore,  we  should  before  this  time 
have  made  known  to  you  our  thankfulness  for  the  very  important 
services  j'ou  have  rendered  to  your  country,  in  conjunction  with 
the  worthy  Delegates  from  the  other  Provinces.  Your  noble  ef- 
forts  for   reconciling  the  mother   country   and   the   Colonies,   on 

*  American  Archives,  4th  Series,  vol.  1,  pp.  1165—6. 


480       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

rational  and  constitutional  principles,  and  your  pacifick,  steady, 
and  uniform  conduct  in  that  arduous  work,  entitle  you  to  the 
esteem  of  all  British  America,  and  will  immortalize  you  in  the 
annals  of  your  countrj'.  We  heartily  concur  in  your  Resolutions, 
and  shall,  in  every  instance,  strictly  and  invariably  adhere  thereto. 

We  assure  you,  gentlemen,  and  all  our  countrymen,  that  we 
are  a  people  whose  hearts  overflow  with  love  and  duty  to  our  lawful 
Sovereign  George  the  Third,  whose  illustrious  House  for  several 
successive  reigns  have  been  the  guardians  of  the  civil  and  religious 
rights  and  liberties  of  British  subjects,  as  settled  at  the  glorious 
Revolution ;  that  we  are  willing  to  risk  our  lives  in  the  service  of 
his  Majesty,  for  the  support  of  the  Protestant  Religion,  and  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  his  subjects,  as  they  have  been  established 
by  Compact,  Law,  and  Ancient  Charters.  We  are  heartily  grieved 
at  the  differences  which  now  subsist  between  the  parent  state  and 
the  Colonies,  and  most  ardently  wish  to  see  harmony  restored  on 
an  equitable  basis,  and  by  the  most  lenient  measures  that  can  be 
devised  by  the  heart  of  man.  Many  of  us  and  our  forefathers  left 
our  native  land,  considering  it  as  a  Kingdom  subjected  to  in- 
ordinate power,  and  greatly  abridged  of  its  liberties  ;  we  crossed 
the  Atlantic,  and  explored  this  then  uncultivated  wilderness, 
bordering  on  many  nations  of  Savages,  and  surrounded  by  Moun- 
tains almost  inaccessible  to  any  but  those  very  Savages,  who  have 
incessantly  been  committing  barbarities  and  depredations  on  us 
since  our  first  seating  the  country.  These  fatigues  and  dangers 
we  patiently  encountered,  supported  by  the  pleasing  hope  of  en- 
joying those  rights  and  liberties  which  had  been  granted  to  Vir- 
ginians, and  were  denied  us  in  our  native  country,  and  of  trans- 
mitting them  inviolate  to  our  posterity ;  but  even  to  these  remote 
regions  the  hand  of  unlimited  and  unconstitutional  power  hath 
pursued  us,  to  strip  us  of  that  liberty  and  property  with  which 
God,  nature,  and  the  rights  of  humanity  have  vested  us.  We  are 
ready  and  willing  to  contribute  all  in  our  power  for  the  support  of 
his  Majesty's  Government,  if  applied  to  constitutionally,  and 
when  the  grants  are  made  by  our  own  Representatives,  but  cannot 
think  of  submitting  our  liberty  or  property  to  the  power  of  a  venal 
British  Parliament,  or  to  the  will  of  a  corrupt  Ministry. 

We  by  no  means  desire  to  shake  off  our  duty  or  allegiance  to 
our  lawful  Sovereign,  but  on  the  contrary,  shall  ever  glory  in  be- 
ing the  loyal  subjects  of  a  Protestant  Prince,  descended  from  such 
illustrious  progenitors,  so  long  as  we  can  enjoy  the  free  exercise 


BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS 


481 


of  our  Religion  as  Protestants,  and  our  Liberties  and  Properties 
as  British  subjects. 

But  if  no  pacifick  measures  shall  be  proposed  or  adopted  by 
Great  Britain,  and  our  enemies  will  attempt  to  dragoon  us  out 
of  those  inestimable  privileges,  which  we  are  entitled  to  as  sub- 
jects, and  to  reduce  us  to  a  state  of  slavery,  we  declare  that  we 
are  deliberately  and  resolutely  determined  never  to  surrender  them 
to  any  power  upon  earth,  but  at  the  expense  of  our  lives. 

These  are  our  real,  though  unpolished  sentiments,  of  liberty 
and  loyalty,  and  in  them  we  are  resolved  to  live  and  die. 

We  are,  gentlemen,  with  the  most  perfect  esteem  and  regard, 
your  most  obedient  servants. 


TYPICAL  FRONTIER  BLOCK  HOUSE  USED  FOR 
PROTECTION  AGAINST  INDIANS 


31 


PART  VIII 

The  Eastern  Shore 

THE  country  hang  in  Virginia  and  JMaiyland,  be- 
tween the  Chesapeake  Bay  and  the  ocean,  is 
known  as  the  Eastern  Shore. 
The  counties  of  Northampton  and  Accomac, 
which  occupy  the  Virginia  end  of  this  peninsula,  had 
settlers  within  a  few  years  after  the  foundation  of  James- 
town. Their  many  advantages  caused  a  rapid  increase  of 
population,  and  by  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century 
they  were,  for  that  time,  well  peopled. 

Perhaps  nowhere  in  the  world,  except  in  remote  parts 
of  England  itself,  can  the  people  boast  of  so  pure  an  Eng- 
lish strain,  and  nowhere  have  the  same  families  so  long 
continued.  Of  course  many  names  have  disappeared,  but 
from  the  lower  end  of  Northampton  County  to  the  JNIary- 
land  line  and  from  the  ocean  to  the  baj^  one  finds  families 
living  upon  land  on  which  their  forefathers  settled  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  These  people  prove  the  utter  false- 
hood of  an}^  theories  of  lack  of  energy  on  the  part  of  Vir- 
ginians of  the  older  stock.  The  two  counties  are  among 
the  verj"  richest  and  most  prosperous  agricultural  sections 
in  America. 

Scattered  through  both  Accomac  and  Northampton  are 
quaint  and  interesting  houses  so  numerous  that  only  a  few 
examples  can  be  given  here. 

MT.  CUSTIS 

The  farm  situated  on  Metompkin  Bay,  known  as  Mt. 
Custis,  was  first  owned  by  John  Michael,  who  came  to 
Virginia  from  Holland  about  1640.  He  married  the 
daughter  of  John  Custis  the  first,  who  also  came  to  this 
country  from  Holland. 

John  Michael  left  Mt.  Custis  to  his  son  Adam,  who, 
dying  without  heirs,  left  it  to  his  nephew,  Lieutenant- 

482 


THE  EASTERN  SHORE  483 

Colonel  Henry  Custis,  who  with  Colonel  Southey  Littleton 
at  one  time  commanded  the  militia  of  Accomac  and  North- 
ampton Comities. 

Colonel  Cvistis  is  buried  in  front  of  the  house.  He, 
like  his  Uncle  Adam  Michael,  died  leaving  no  children. 
He  sold  INlt.  Custis  for  the  nominal  sum  of  $600.00  to  his 
niece,  the  wife  of  General  John  Cropper,  with  the  proviso 
that  he,  Henrj^  Custis,  and  his  wife  Mathilda,  were  to 
occupy  it  and  enjoy  its  revenues  for  life  and  at  his  death 
his  widow  was  to  receive  an  annuity  of  $100.00  for  her  life. 

Colonel  Henry  Custis  is  believed  to  have  built  the  west 


MT.  CUSTIS,  ACCOMAC  COUNTY 

end  of  the  Mt.  Custis  house  about  1710,  while  the  older 
part,  built  by  the  Michaels,  was  found  in  such  a  bad  state 
of  decay  that  it  was  pulled  down  by  the  present  owner. 
It  had  been  removed  from  the  house  about  1840,  by  Thomas 
H.  Bayly,  when  he  built  the  present  east  side  of  the  house, 
and  was  used  as  an  outbuilding. 

On  the  death  of  the  first  wife  of  General  John  Cropper, 
who  was  the  niece  of  Colonel  Henry  Custis,  the  farm,  by 
will  or  gift,  became  the  property  of  Margaret,  the  eldest 
daughter  of  General  Cropper  and  wife  of  Colonel  Thomas 
M.  Bayly,  who  represented  the  First  District  of  Virginia 
for  twenty-seven  years  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 


484       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

States.  He  died  at  INIt.  Custis  about  1834  and  his  eldest 
son,  Thomas  H.  Bayly,  became  owner  of  the  estate. 

Judge  Thomas  H.  Bayly,  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
June,  1856,  was  chairman  of  the  Ways  and  ]Means  Com- 
mittee and  also  of  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Affairs.  He 
died  just  before  the  completion  of  his  seventh  term  in  Con- 
gress, as  representative  of  the  same  district  his  father  so 
long  represented.  jNIt.  Custis  is  now  held  by  his  only  child, 
Evelyn,  wife  of  Doctor  Louis  ]McLane  Tiffany,  of 
Baltimore.  The  Tiff  anys  occupy  the  place  for  five  months 
each  year. 

During  the  life  of  Colonel  and  Judge  Bayly  ]Mt.  Custis 
was  the  scene  of  much  hospitality  and  on  its  walls  now  hang 
the  letters  of  several  presidents  of  the  United  States  enter- 
tained there.  ]Much  old  furniture,  china  and  a  few  por- 
traits still  remain  to  show  the  style  in  which  the  Custises 
and  Baylys  lived,  but  many  of  these  heirlooms  have  been 
scattered.  As  each  daughter  of  the  house  married,  some 
articles  were  given  her  to  take  to  her  new  home.  The  por- 
trait of  Colonel  Henry  Custis  is  still  in  perfect  condition 
and  hangs  in  one  of  the  rooms,  and  there  is  also  a  fine  por- 
trait of  Tabitha,  wife  of  John  Custis,  painted  bv  Sir  Peter 
Lelv. 


WELBOURNE,  HORNTOWN,  ACCOJIAC  COUNTY 


THE  EASTERN  SHORE 


485 


WELBOURNE 

Welbourne,  at  Horntown,  Accomac  County,  was  built 
by  Drumniond  Welbourne  about  1780.  It  is  a  substantial 
two  and  a  balf  story  bouse,  of  brick.  A  unique  feature  is 
an  arcade  entrance  at  one  corner. 

ST.  GEORGE'S  CHURCH,  ACCOMAC  COUNTY 

This  old  church  was  probably  built  about  1656.  It  is 
a  brick  building  originally  in  the  form  of  a  cross  and  had  a 
brick  floor,  high-back  pews  and  a  pulpit  of  antique  fashion. 

In  1861  St.  George's  was  used  as  a  stable  by  Federal 


ST.  GEORGE'S  CHURCH,  PUNGOTEAGUE,  ACCOMAC  COUNTY 

troops  and  at  the  end  of  the  war  the  venerable  building  was 
a  complete  wreck.  It  remained  untenanted  for  years  until 
the  church  people  of  the  neighborhood  determined  to  re- 
store it  for  use  as  a  place  of  worship.  As  the  transepts 
were  unsafe  they  were  taken  down,  the  main  building  re- 
built with  the  old  bricks,  and,  after  an  interval  of  twenty- 
five  years,  services  were  once  more  held  within  the  ancient 
walls. 


486       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

The  first  rector  of  the  parish  was  Reverend  Thomas 
Teackle,  who  ministered  there  for  over  forty  3'ears  and 
died  in  1696.  The  records  of  the  parish,  with  the  exception 
of  those  of  modern  date,  have,  unfortunately,  all  been  lost. 

BROWNSVILLE 

The  BroAvnsville  plantation  was  granted  before  1655 
to  John  Bro^^Ti,  who  in  his  will  gave  1262  acres  to  his  son 
John  Brown.  The  latter  disappeared  and  the  property 
came  into  the  possession  of  his  brother,  Thomas  Brown. 


BROWNSVILLE,  NORTHAMPTON  COUNTY 

He  divided  the  1262-acre  tract,  giving  631  acres  (the 
Brownsville  tract)  to  his  daughter  Sarah,  wife  of  Arthur 
Upshur,  and  the  other  half  to  his  daughter  Anne,  wife  of 
Joseph  Preeson,  and,  later,  wife  of  Andrew  Hamilton,  of 
Philadelphia. 

The  property  descended  from  Sarah  Brown  Upshur 
through  several  generations  to  its  late  owner,  Thomas  T. 
Upshur,  whose  family  now  resides  there. 

We  have  no  tradition  of  anv  residence  havinsr  been 
built  on  the  land  prior  to  the  "  Old  Hall  "  mentioned  below. 
John  Brown  lived  in  the  territory  now  included  in  Ac- 
comac,  and  Thomas  Brown  also,  for  years  after  his  father's 


THE  EASTERN  SHORE  487 

death.  Thomas  Brown,  however,  did  not  die  on  this  land, 
for  by  his  will  in  1705  he  gave  his  home  place  (600  acres) 
to  his  daughter,  Elizabeth  Preeson,  the  wife  of  Thomas 
Preeson,  and  this  tract  was  probablj-  the  land  now  known 
as  "  T.  B."  because  its  boundaries  were  marked  by  carving 
"  TB  "  on  pine  shingles  and  nailing  them  on  a  line  of  trees. 
If  there  was  a  building  prior  to  "  Old  Hall,"  it  was  prob- 
ably a  cheap  log  house. 

The  "  Old  Hall,"  which  stood  a  few  feet  eastward  of 
the  present  house,  had  a  brick  at  the  shoulder  of  the  south 
end  chimney  marked  1691,  and  it  is  believed  this  was  in- 
tended to  indicate  the  date  of  building.  The  south  end  of 
the  structure  was  of  brick,  with  a  large  Dutch  bake  oven 
included  in  it.  The  joists  and  timbers  were  of  best  heart 
pine,  dressed  and  beaded.  It  was  20  feet  wide,  35  feet 
long,  with  four  rooms,  a  small  hall  and  an  attic  and  some 
curious  little  closets  in  the  upstairs  rooms.  It  probably 
had  shed  rooms  also,  while  occupied  by  the  white  family, 
but  after  1806  it  was  used  for  negro  quarters,  and  about 
1898  was  moved  out  on  the  farm  and  is  now  a  good  tenant 
house. 

The  present  brick  house  was  built  in  1806,  by  John 
Upshur,  at  a  cost  of  over  $10,000.00.  The  bricks  were 
made  on  the  farm.  The  brick  part  is  42  by  40  feet,  two 
and  a  half  stories  high  and  is  handsomely  finished.  The 
parlor,  which  is  considered  the  handsomest  old  style  room 
on  the  Eastern  Shore,  is  embellished  with  hand  carving, 
rope  molding,  mosaic  work  and  other  designs.  The  frame 
part  of  the  house,  52  by  20  feet,  with  a  cook  room  16  by  20 
feet  added,  was  built  some  time  after  the  brick  part  of  the 
house  by  John  Upshur,  who  also  purchased  the  631  acres 
of  the  original  tract  belonging  to  Anne  Preeson,  and  be- 
queathed it,  with  other  farms,  to  his  children  in  1842.  In 
1884  the  land  was  again  divided  by  the  will  of  William 
Brown  Upshur,  and  the  home  place  now  containing  300 
acres  became  the  property  of  Thomas  T.  Upshur. 

The  first  of  the  Upshur  family  in  Virginia  was  Arthur 


488       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Upshur,  who  emigrated  from  Essex,  England,  and  settled 
in  Northampton  County  in  1664.  He  patented  "  Upshur 
Neck  " — 2300  acres  in  Acconiac  County — and  in  1674  re- 
moved to  that  place,  where  he  died,  in  1709,  in  the  eighty- 
fifth  year  of  his  age.  His  son,  Arthur  Upshur  II,  married 
Sarah  Brown,  who  in  1734  gave  Brownsville — then  con- 
taining 631  acres — to  their  youngest  son,  Thomas  Upshur. 
This  Thomas  Upshur  was  the  father  of  Thomas  Upshur  II, 
who  married  Anne  Stockley  and  was  the  father  of  John 
Upshur,  the  builder  of  the  present  Brownsville  house. 

Thomas  Upshur  II  was  an  officer  in  a  company  of 
minute  men  during  the  Revolution. 

Thomas  T.  Upshur  IV  entered  the  Confederate  States 
Army  June  8,  1861,  and  remained  in  service  until  early  in 
May,  1865,  when  he  was  paroled  by  General  Ord  in  Rich- 
mond. He  was  a  scout  for  Generals  R.  E.  Lee,  R.  S. 
Ewell,  Jubal  A.  Early  and  Stonewall  Jackson  as  a  member 
of  Company  B,  Thirtj^-ninth  Virginia  Battalion  of 
Cavalry. 

]\Ir.  Upshur,  M^io  died  in  1910,  was  long  an  earnest 
student  of  the  history  and  genealogy  of  the  Eastern  Shore. 


VAUCLUSE,  NORTHAJIPTOX  COUNTY 


THE  EASTERN  SHORE 
VAUCLUSE 


489 


Vaucluse,  in  Church  Neck,  near  the  mouth  of  Hungar's 
Creek,  was  once  the  residence  of  the  distinguished  states- 
man, Abel  P.  Upshur.  Here  manj^  noted  guests,  includ- 
ing President  Tjder  and  his  cabinet,  were  entertained. 
Vaucluse  is  now  owned  by  the  Wilkins  familj^  who  bear 
another  ancient  Eastern  Shore  name. 

WEST  HOUSE 

The  West  House,  on  Deep  Creek,  is  shown  by  its  hip 
roof  and  great  chimneys  to  be  one  of  the  oldest  houses  on 


WEST  HOUSE,  DEEP  CREEK 

the  Eastern  Shore.  It  was  once  the  home  of  Revil  West, 
son  of  Anthony  West  and  Eleanor  Revil,  and  a  member 
of  one  of  the  oldest  families  of  this  part  of  Virginia.      r  • 

DUCKINGTON  " 

Duckington  is  picturesquely  situated  on  Mattawaman 
Creek,  about  three  miles  from  Eastville.     This  long  two- 


490       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

storied  frame  house  was  an  old  residence  of  the  Eastern 
Shore  family  of  Corbin. 


DUCKINGTON,  NORTHAMPTON  COUNTY 


CESSFORD,  EASTMLLE,  NORTHAMPTON  COL'NTV 

CESSFORD 

Cessford,  at  Eastville,  Northampton  County,  was  long 
the  home  of  the  Kerr  family.    Its  name  is  derived  from  a 


THE  EASTERN  SHORE 


491 


seat  of  the  famous  Scotch  border  clan  of  Kerr.  The  Vir- 
ginia house  is  an  attractive  residence  surrounded  by  many 
tine  trees. 

SHEPHERD'S  PLAIN 

Shepherd's  Plain,  in  Accomac  County,  is  of  unknown 
age,  though  evidently  an  ancient  house.    As  is  the  case  with 


SHEPHERD'S  PLAIN,  ACCOMAC  COUNTY 

many  Eastern  Shore  houses,  the  waters  of  the  creek  come 
up  to  the  yard.  The  name  Accomac,  originally  Accow- 
make  or  Accawmacke,  is  derived  from  the  Indian  chief  who 
ruled  there,  and  was  formerly  the  designation  of  the  whole 
of  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia. 

About  1902  Shepherd's  Plain  came  into  the  possession 
of  Dr.  A.  T.  L.  Quesian,  who  restored  it  to  its  pristine 
beauty. 

THE  MELVIN  HOUSE 

The  Melvin  House,  near  Horntown,  was  built  in  1775. 
It  is  a  type  of  the  smaller  story  and  a  half,  dormer-win- 
dowed house.  The  long  "  sweep  "  of  the  well  nearby  adds 
to  its  air  of  antiquity. 


492        VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 


MELVIN  HOUSE,  ACCOMAC  COUNTY 


CUSTIS  HOUSE,  DEEP  CREEK 

THE  CUSTIS  HOUSE 

The  Custis  House,  Deep  Creek,  is  not  very  large  but 
bears  every  mark  of  antiquity.  Here  formerly  lived  many 
generations  of  the  Custis  family  descended  from  a  brother 
of  John  Custis,  of  Arlington. 


THE  EASTERN  SHORE 
CALLAHAN  HOUSE 


493 


One  of  the  quaintest  old  houses  on  the  Eastern  Shore 
was  that  at  Locust  JMount,  Accomac  County,  which  was 
the  residence  of  Reverend  Griffin  Callahan  (1759-1833), 
who  was  a  pioneer  INIethodist  minister  in  the  West,  and 
was  long  one  of  the  leading  men  in  his  church. 


CALLAHAN  HOUSE,  LOCUST  MOUNT,  ACCOMAC  COUNTY 

MARGARET  ACADEMY 

Margaret  Academj^  was  chartered  in  1787.  The 
original  minute  book  of  the  trustees  is  still  in  existence. 
The  spacious  and  substantial  brick  house  will  be  a  sur- 
prise to  those  who  are  under  the  impression  that  there  was 


494       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

hardly  anj'  equipment  for  secondary  education  in  Virginia 
at  that  day. 


M\RC.U{1I    U  \I)I  M'i,  «  (()\l\l    COlNTi 


WALLOP  HOUSE,  ACCOMAC  COUNTY 


WALLOP  HOUSE 

On  Mosquito  Creek,  near  Chincoteague  Baj%  is  an 
ancient  structure,  long  the  residence  of  an  old  family  from 
which  it  takes  its  name. 


THE  EASTERN  SHORE 


495 


MOUNT  WHARTON 

This  old  home  of  the  Parramore  family  is  situated  on 
Watts's  Bay,  opposite  Assateague  Island.  It  is  evidently 
an  exceedingly  old  house. 


MOUNT  WHARTON,  ACCOMAC  COUNTY 

HUNGARS  CHURCH,  NORTHAMPTON 
COUNTY 

By  T.  B.  Robertson 

Surrounded  and  concealed  by  a  body  of  pine  woods 
in  the  midst  of  an  ancient  grove  of  sycamores  some  seven 
miles  north  of  Eastville  is  old  Hungars  Episcopal  Church. 
It  is  beautifully  located  on  the  north  side  of  Hungars 
creek  at  the  head  of  navigation  for  small  craft,  and  near 
by  is  the  old  village  of  Bridgetown,  at  which  in  the  early 
years  of  the  settlement  the  courts  were  held. 

Hungars  Church  is  one  of  the  oldest  church  edifices  in 
the  State,  and  has  been  in  use  for  over  two  hundred  years, 
for  the  tradition  is  that  it  was  built  about  1690  to  '95,  and 
there  are  evidences  that  this  is  the  actual  fact,  though  the 
exact  record  is  unfortunately  lost. 


496       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

Hungars  parish  was  made  soon  after  the  county  was 
estabhshed  and  the  first  minister  was  Rev.  Wm.  Cotton, 
and  the  first  vestry  was  appointed  in  1635.  The  following 
is  the  order  made  at  that  time : 

"  At  a  court  holden  in  Accawmacke  the  14th  day  of 
Sept.  1635 ;  '"  ( Northampton  being  then  called  Accomack. ) 

"  At  this  court  ]Mr.  Wm.  Cotton,  minister,  presented 
an  order  of  the  court  from  James  City,  for  the  building 
of  a  Parsonage  house  upon  the  Glebe  land  which  is  by 


hu.\c;ars  church.  Northampton  county 

this  board  referred  to  be  ordered  by  the  vestry  and  because 
there  have  heretofore  been  no  formal  vestry  nor  vestry- 
men appointed,  we  have  from  this  present  day  appointed 
to  be  vestrymen  those  whose  names  are  underwritten: 

"  Wm.  Cotton,  minister,  Capt.  Thos.  Graves,  Mr. 
Obedience  Robins,  JNIr.  John  Howe,  JMr.  Wm.  Stone,  ISIr. 
Burdett,  Mr.  Wm.  Andrews,  JMr.  John  Wilkins,  INIr.  Alex. 
iMountjoy,  ]Mr.  Edw.  Drew,  ]Mr.  Wm.  Beniman,  JMr. 
Stephen  Charlton. 

"  And  further  we  do  order  that  the  first  meeting  of  the 


THE  EASTERN  SHORE  497 

syd,  vestrymen  shall  be  upon  the  feast  day  of  St.  Michael 
the  Arch- Angel,  being  the  29th  day  of  September." 

In  accordance  with  that  order  of  the  court  the  vestry 
meeting  was  held  and  record  entered  of  the  same  as  follows : 

"  A  vestry  heald,  29th  day  of  Sept.  1635. 

"  PRESENT 

"  Capt.  Thomas  Graves,  Mr.  John  Howe,  Mr.  Edward 
Drew,  JNIr.  Obedience  Robins,  Mr.  Alex.  Mount  joy,  Mr. 
Wm.  Burdett,  Mr.  Wm.  Andrews,  JNIr.  Wm.  Stone,  Mr. 
Wm.  Beniman." 

At  this  meeting  an  order  was  made  providing  for  build- 
ing the  parsonage  house. 

At  one  time  there  were  two  parishes,  the  upper  or 
Hungars,  and  the  lower.  In  1691  the  parishes  were  united, 
as  will  be  noted  in  the  order  following,  entered  in  the  old 
records  in  the  clerk's  office: 

"  Att  a  council  held  att  James  City,  Apr.  the  21st,  1691. 

"  PRESENT 

"  The  Rt.  Hono'ble  Francis  Nicholson  Esq.  Lt.  Gov.  &. 
council. 

"  Major  John  Robins  and  Mr.  Thos.  Harmonson, 
Burgesses  of  the  County  of  Northampton,  on  behalf  of 
the  County,  by  their  petition  setting  forth  that  the  said 
county  is  one  of  the  smallest  in  the  colony,  doth  consist  of 
a  small  number  of  tithables,  and  is  divided  in  two  parishes, 
by  reason  whereof  the  Inhabitants  of  both  parishes  are  soe 
burdened  that  they  are  not  able  decently  to  maintain  a 
minister  in  each  parish  and  therefore  prayed  the  said 
parishes  might  be  joyned  in  one  and  goe  by  the  name  of 
Hungars  parish,  not  being  desirous  to  infringe  any  gift 
given  to  Hungars  parish,  and  more  especially  one  by  the 
last  will  of  Stephen  Charlton,  which  parishes  soe  joyned 
will  not  only  be  satisfactory  to  the  inhabitants  but  make 
them  capable  to  build  a  decent  church  and  maintain  an 
able  divine.  On  consideration  whereof  itt  is  the  opinion 
of  this  board  and  accordingly  ordered  that  the  whole  county 

32 


498       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

of  Northampton  be  from  henceforth  one  parish  and  goe  by 
the  name  of  Hmigars  Parish,  and  that  the  same  shall  be 
noe  prejudice  to  the  gift  of  the  aforesaid  Charlton  to  the 
said  parish  of  Hungars  and  it  is  further  ordered  that  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  sd.  parish  shall  meet  at  such  time  and 
place  as  the  court  of  the  said  county  shall  appoint  and 
make  choice  of  a  vestry  according  to  law.  Cop.  vera,  test, 
W.  Edwards,  cl.  cou." 

Then,  in  accordance  with  the  appointment  of  the  court, 
at  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  county  of  North- 
ampton, at  the  court  house  thereof  the  22nd  day  of  June, 
1691,  the  following  vestrymen  were  elected: 

Major  John  Robins,  Capt.  Custis,  Capt.  Foxcroft, 
John  Shepheard,  Benj.  Stratton,  Priece  Davis,  Benjamin 
Nottingham,  John  Powell,  Jacob  Johnson,  Thomas  Eyre, 
John  Stoakley,  Michael  Dickson.  It  was  evidently  soon 
after  this  step  was  taken  that  the  Hungars  church  building 
was  erected. 

The  church  in  lower  Northampton  was  perhaps  older 
than  Hungars.  It  was  situated  in  what  is  locally  known 
as  the  IMagothy  Bay  section  and  on  the  old  Arlington  es- 
tate. Unfortunately  it  was  allowed  to  go  to  decaj^  and  in 
1824  the  walls  and  some  of  the  material  was  sold.  Nothing 
but  the  foundation  is  now  left  to  mark  the  spot.  The  com- 
munion set,  now  used  in  Christ  Church,  Eastville,  was  "  a 
gift  of  John  Custis  of  W^burgh  to  the  lower  church  of 
Hungars  Parish,  1741,"  according  to  the  inscription.  The 
plate  now  used  in  Christ  Church  is  inscribed  "  Ex  dono 
Francis  Nicholson,"  who  was  Lieutenant  Governor  1690-2, 
and  again  later. 

Christ  Church,  Eastville,  was  erected  as  near  as  can  be 
stated  in  1826  or  7. 

Old  Hungars  Church  became  untenable  in  1850  so  as 
to  be  unfit  for  holding  services. 

It  was  repaired  in  1851  and  reduced  somewhat  in  size, 
but  practically  unchanged  in  general  appearances  from  its 
original  style.  It  is  an  interesting  landmark  that  has  stood 
like  a  beacon  light  to  many  generations. 


THE  EASTERN  SHORE 
BOWMAN'S  FOLLY  * 


499 


Edmund  Bowman,  who  was  a  justice  of  Accomac  in 
1663,  a  sheriff,  burgess,  and  successively  held  the  military 
titles  of  Captain  and  Major,  built  the  old  mansion  house 
known  as  Bowman's  Folly  on  Folly  Creek.  His  daugh- 
ter Gertrude  married  John  Cropper,  a  young  Englishman, 
and  several  generations  of  the  descendants  of  the  Cropper 
family  inherited  and  lived  at  Bowman's  Folly.  The  most 
distinguished  was  John  Cropper    (1755-1821),  a  distin- 


BOWMAN'S  FOLLY,  ACCOMAC  COUNTY 

guished  officer  of  the  Virginia  Continental  Line,  serving 
with  the  rank  of  Colonel,  afterwards  a  General  of  State 
Militia. 

The  original  house  built  by  Edmund  Bowman  was 
pulled  down  and  the  present  one  built  by  General  Cropper 
in  1815.  Before  the  dwelling  was  built  the  General's 
slaves  were  taken  from  their  usual  labors  and  for  several 

*  Barton  H.  Wise  in  Virginia  Historical  Collection,  vol.  xi,  pp. 
275-315. 


500       VIRGINIA  HOMES  AND  CHURCHES 

months  made  to  haul  earth  to  make  a  mound  upon  which 
to  build. 

After  General  Cropper's  death,  Bowman's  Folly  be- 
came the  property  of  Thomas  R.  Joynes,  a  son  of  Colonel 
Levin  Joynes.  JNIr.  Joynes  was  clerk  of  Accomac  County 
for  seventeen  years,  an  able  lawyer,  and  a  member  of  the 
Virginia  Convention  of  1829-30.  He  was  the  father  of 
Judge  W.  T.  Joynes,  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and  Dr. 
Levin  S.  Joynes,  of  Richmond.  In  1822  he  moved  to 
Bowman's  Folly,  which  he  called  JNIontpelior,  and  resided 
there  until  his  death  in  1858.  In  1870  the  property  had 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Browne  and  later  the  Gibb 
family,  and  in  about  1889  became  the  property  of  jNIr. 
John  Cropper,  a  grandson  of  the  General. 


ROSELAND.  AT  ACCOMAC 

ROSELAND 

"  Roseland,"  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Parra- 
more  Bell,  is  situated  at  Accomac  Court  House.  The 
house  was  built  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century 


THE  EASTERN  SHORE  501 

by  a  Mr.  Walker,  who  married  Anne  Parramore,  and  is 
one  of  the  best  examples  of  the  style  which  obtained  in 
the  early  days  of  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia.  It  is  long 
and  rambling  and  there  are  three  stairwaj^s  leading  to 
three  upper  floors  entirely  separated  from  each  other.  In 
the  front  yard  is  a  beautiful  grove  of  trees,  some  of  them 
very  rare,  and  were  brought  from  South  America.  The 
grove  and  much  of  the  shrubbery  was  planted  by  Dr.  S.  S. 
Satchell  when  he  owned  it  and  made  his  home  there. 


OLD  WARREN  HOUSE 
See  page  57 


INDEX 


177;  Allan  House, 
177;  Allan  House, 


Abraham's  Delight,  Frederick  Co.,  HQ 

Acquia  Church,  Stafford  Co.,  S5-i,  356 

Adams,  Herbert  B.,  405;  Dr.  John,  121;  John  (Pres.),  406,  424;  John 
Quincy,  41;  Richard,  121 

Airville,  Gloucester  Co.,  246 

Airwell,  Hanover  Co.,  285 

Alexander,  Rev.  Archibald,  447 

Allan,  Algernon  Sidney,  459;  John,  155,  196;  Mrs. 
Richmond,  154 

Allan,  Algernon  Sidney,  459;  John,  155,  196;  Mrs., 

62;  David  Hume,  459;  Edgar  (Allan),  459;  Elizabeth  Bray,  62 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  P.,  178;  James,  50,  60;  Joseph,  172;  Katherine,  53 
L.  M.,  460;  Maj.  Richard,  172;  Robert  Owen,  459;  William,  61 
William,  Jr.,  61 

Allerton,  Elizabeth,  309;  Isaac  I,  309,  325;  Isaac  II,  309 

Ambler,  Jacqueline,  229 ;  Mrs.  Jacqueline,  229 ;  Mary  Willis,  229 

Ampthill,  Chesterfield  Co.,  106;  Cumberland  Co.,  197 

Andrews,  William,  496,  497;  Anthony,  Caroline,  and  Christopher,  200 

Appomattox,  Prince  George  Co.,  91 

Archer,  Dr.  Branch  T.,  167;  Mrs.  Robert  S.,  210;  Archer  House,  Rich- 
mond, 153 

503 


504  INDEX 

Arlington,  Alexandria  Co.,  371 

Armistead,  Charles  Byrd,  254;  Henry,  252,  253;  Jane,  174;  Hon.  John, 

243,  252,  334;  Judith,  334;  Lucy,  253;  Maria  Carter,  253,  354; 

Martha,  253;  Mary,  378;  Robert,  378;  William,  252,  253,  254 
Atkinson,  Agnes,  457;  Thomas,  389 
Auburn,   Mathews   Co.,   233 

Bacon,  Nathaniel,  59;  Bacon's  Castle,  Surry  Co.,  50 

Bagby,  George  W.,  191,  209 

Bailej',  Fleming,  351 

Baker,  Catherine  and  Lawrence,  60 ;  Nicholas  St.  John,  342 

Ball,  James,  Sr.,  312,  320;  James,  Jr.,  310,  312;  James  F.,  310;  James 

Kendall,   312;   Joseph,   312,   320;   Mary,   312;   William   B.,    l6lj 

William  Lee,  312 
Banister,  John  I,  John  H,  and  John  III,  97 ;  John  Monro  and  Theodrick, 

98;  Banister  Lodge,  Halifax  Co.,  438 
Barber,  William,  67 

Barbour,  James  (Gov.),  391;  Johnson,  392;  Philip  Pendleton,  390,  392 
Barboursville,  Orange  Co.,  391 
Barney,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edward  E.,  6 
Barnsfield,  King  George  Co.,  347 
Barton,  Richard  Peters,  449 
Barrj',  William  T.,  381 
Bassett,  Ann   Maria    (Dandridge),   31  ;   Burwell,   George  Washington, 

John  and  William,  265;  Bassett  Hall,  Williamsburg,  31 
Battersea,  Dindwiddie  Co.,  96 
Baylor,  Mrs.  George,  454 

Bayh^,  Margaret  (Cropper),  482;  Thomas  H.,  483,  484 
Beale,  Elizabeth,  334;  Winifred,  337 
Beattie,  H.  C,  212 
Beaumont,  Powhatan  Co.,  165 

Bell,  David,  187;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Parramore,  500 
Belleville,  Gloucester  Co.,  234 
Bellevue,  Halifax  Co.,  437 
Bellmont,  Buckingham  Co.,  186 
Belmead,  Powhatan  Co.,  168 
Beniman,  William,  496,  497 
Bennett,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  S.,  414 
Berkeley,  Carter  (M.D.),  282,  285;  Carter  Nelson,  285;  Edmund,  217; 

Lady   Frances,   59,   60;    John,    110;    Kitty,    285;    Nelson   I,   282; 

Nelson  II,  285;  Norborne,  Baron  de  Botetourt,  13;  Richard,  86; 

Sir  William,  59,  89,  102;  Berkeley,  Charles  City  Co.,  86 
Bernard,  John  H.,  296 
Berry  Hill,  Halifax  Co.,  435 


INDEX  505 

Beverly,  Carter,  383;  Harry,  292,  303;  Peter,  292;  Robert  (emigrant), 

292,  307;   Robert   I   and   Robert   II,   295;   Robert   III,   292;   Col. 

William,  292,  346 
Bewdley,  Lancaster  Co.,  312 

Bickley,  Joseph  and  Celia,  418;  Sir  William  (Bart),  418 
Bird,  David,  478 

Black  Heath,  Chesterfield  Co.,  160,  l6l 
Black,  James,  256 
Bladen,  Anne,  322 
Bladensfield,  Richmond  Co.,  322 
Blair,  Anne,  97;   James,   13;   John,   15,  26,  97;   John,  Jr.,   16;   Blair 

House,  Williamsburg,  15 
Bland,  Elizabeth,  292;  Giles,  89;  John,  89;  Martha,  97;  Richard,  292, 

479;  Theodrick,  82,  85,  97,  206 
Blandfield,  Essex  Co.,  292 
Blandford  Church,  Petersburg,  92 
Blennerhassett,  133 
Blow,  A.  A.,  234 
Blunt,  Miss,  70 
Boiling,  Mary  (of  Chellow),  95;  Mary  (of  Bollingbrook),  94;  Richard, 

184;   Robert,   94,   95;    Robert,   Jr.,   95;    Robert    (emigrant),    184; 

Thomas   and   William,    184;    Boiling   Hall,    Goochland    Co.,    183; 

Boiling  Island,  Goochland   Co.,   184 
Bollingbrook,  Petersburg,  94 
Booker,   Mr.,  423 

Booth,  Edwin,  57;  Fannie,  234;  George,  231  ;  Thomas,  234 
Boscobel,  Stafford  Co.,  351,  354 
Botetourt,  Lord,  18,  28,  280 

Bouldin,  Mary,  424;  Powhatan,  423;  Wood,  441 
Boulware,  ^Irs.  Aubin  Lee,  469 

Bowdoin,  John  T.  and  Sallie  Elizabeth  Courtney,  58 
Bowles,  James  and  Mary,  253 

Bowman,  Edmund,  Gertrude,  and  Bowman's  Folly,  Accomac  Co.,  499 
Boyd,  Mrs.  H.  McKendree,  231 
Boyd,  Robert,  14 
Brackett's,  Louisa  Co.,  210 
Braddock,  Edward,  367 
Bradley,   Mrs.,   53 

Brafferton  Building,  William  and  Mary  College,  14 
Brandon,  Prince  George  Co.,  63 
Bransford,  Mrs.,   104 
Braxton,  Carter  and  George,  268 
Bray,  Elizabeth,  60 
Brayne,  Butler,  306 
Bremo  and  Upper  Bremo,  Fluvanna  Co.,  187,  191 


506  INDEX 

Brewster,  William,  309 

Brockenbrough,  John,  130;  John  W.,  177 

Brook  Hall,  Washington  Co.,  i66 

Brook  Hill,  Henrico  Co.,  113 

Brooks,  Alexander,  1J)1 

Brown,  Alexander,  200;  Anne,  486;  John,  486;  Sarah,  486,  488; 
Thomas,  486,  487;  Henry,  Rev.  Samuel,  Henry  Peronneau  and 
John  Thompson,  445 

Browne,  Henrv,  58;  Sallie  Edwards,  58;  William  (of  Mass.),  268; 
William   Burnet,   268,   269 

Brownsville,  Northampton  Co.,  486 

Bruce,  Alexander,  437;  Charles,  428,  429,  430,  435;  Mrs.  Charles,  429, 
430;  Ellen,  134;  James,  421,  428,  435;  James  Coles,  428,  435; 
Sallie,  134 

Bruton  Church,  Williamsburg,  16 

Bryan,  John  Randolph,  250,  351  ;  John  Stewart,  113;  Joseph,  113,  251, 
351 ;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph,  9 

Bryce,  James,  41 

Bucke,  Parson,  5 

Buford,  A.  S.,   158 

Bullock,  David,  159,  182;  Bullock  House,  Richmond,  158,  159 

Burdett,  Mr.  and  William,  496,  497 

Burgess,  Robert,  50 

Burnet,  Gilbert,  Mary  and  William,  268 

Burnside,  Gen.,  351 

Burr,  Aaron,  133,  138,  146 

Burwell,  Abigail,  226;  Agnes,  459;  Carter,  53,  57;  Elizabeth,  89; 
George,  452;  George  Harrison,  454,  457;  George  Harrison,  Jr., 
457;  Lewis  I  and  Lewis  III,  226;  Lewis  II,  226,  229,  252;  Lewis 
IV  (of  Carter's  Creek),  226;  Martha,  252;  Nathaniel  (of  Carter's 
Creek),  226;  Nathaniel  (of  Carter's  Grove),  57,  452,  453,  454, 
457;  Rebecca,  28,  229;  Robert  Carter,  458;  Sarah  Nelson,  458; 
Townsend,  457 

Byars,  James  M.,  467,  468 ;  William,  466,  467 

Byrd,  Anne,  83,  253,  347;  Elizabeth,  21;  Elizabeth  Hill,  385;  Evelyn, 

67,  83,  85;  Evelyn  Taylor,  68,  69;  George  H.,  70;  Jane,  83; 
William  I  (of  Westover),  81,  85,  292;  William  11  (of  Westover), 
114,  172,  174,  182,  253,  437;  Col.  William  III  (of  Westover),  67, 

68,  83,  253,  347,  385,  46l ;  Wilhemina,  83 

Cabell,  Alice  Winston,  203;  CliiFord,  203;  Mrs.  Hartwell,  196;  James 
Alston,  196;  Joseph  Carrington,  201;  Margaret,  205;  Mayo,  200; 
Nathaniel  Francis,  198,  199;  Nicholas,  198;  Nicholas,  Jr.,  198; 
Philip  B.,  202;  Samuel  Jordan,  202;  William  I  (emigrant),  198, 
199;  William  II,  199,  205;  William  III,  200;  William  H.,  157,  200 


INDEX  507 

Callahan,  Griffin,  493;  Callahan  House,  Accomac  Co.,  493 

Camm,  Sally,  203 

Campbell,  Mrs.,  477;  Rev.  Archibald,  323;  Arthur,  479;  Charles,  63; 
David  (Gov.),  476;  Mrs.  David,  478;  Ferdinand  Stuart,  323;  John 
A.,  476;  "  Parson,"  323;  Sarah  Buchanan,  470;  Thomas,  323,  424; 
William,  466,  479;  William  B.,  476,  477 

Caskie  House,  Richmond,  153 

Castle  Hill,  Albemarle  Co.,  396 

Catlett,  Edward  and  Thomas,  300 

Carlyle,  John,  367;  Carlyle  House,  Alexandria,  367,  368 

Carr,  Dabney,  28 

Carracci,  402 

Carrington,  Charles  S.,  443;  Edward,  442;  Col.  Edward,  437;  Henry, 
431;  John  B.,  437;  Mildred,  427;  Paul  I,  441,  442;  Paul  II,  427; 
Walter  and  William,  442 

Carter,  Anne  (of  Corotoman),  89;  Anne  (of  Shirley),  276,  277;  Anne 
Hill,  103,  326;  Catherine  Spotswood,  282;  Charles  (of  Shirley), 
103,  282;  Charles  (of  Cleve),  83,  103,  253,  268,  31.6,  347;  Edwird 
(of  Blenheim),  308,  384,  404,  411  ;  Edward  (of  Cleve),  347;  Eliza- 
beth(of  Blenheim),  308;  Elizabeth(of  Corotoman),  57,  226;  Eliza- 
beth (of  Shirley),  103;  Elizabeth  Hill,  83;  Elizabeth  Hill  Farley, 
385;  George  I  (of  Oatlands),  375;  George  II  (of  Oatlands),  376; 
Mrs.  George,  202;  John  (of  Corotoman),  319;  John  (of  Shirley), 
83,  102,276;  John  C,  411;  Judith,  223,  268;  "Kitty,"  285  ;  Landon 
(of  Cleve),  347;  Landon  (of  Sabine  Hall),  40,  83,  333,  334,  337, 
346;  Landon  II  (of  Sabine  Hall),  337;  Lucy,  349;  Maria,  253; 
Mary  (of  Cleve), 103;  Mary  (of  Lancaster),  202;  Robert  (of  Albe- 
marle), 411;  Robert  (Councillor),  29,  321,  322,  375,  376;  Robert 
("  King  "),  57,  68,  89,  102,  223,  226,  276,  316,  319,  321,  322,  333, 
346,  349,  375,  384,  385;  Robert  (of  Shirley),  276;  Robert  H.,  411 ; 
Robert  Randolph,  103;  Robert  Wormeley  I  and  Robert  Wormeley 
II,  337;  St.  Leger  Landon,  347;  Mrs.  Thomas  H.,  231;  William 
Champe,   384 

Carter  Hall,  Clarke  Co.,  453;  Carter  House,  Williamsburg,  29;  Carter's 
Creek,  Gloucester  Co.,  225;  Carter's  Grove,  James  City  Co.,  53,  57 

Carver,  D.  C,  400 

Gary,  Anne,  172;  Archibald,  106,  172,  187;  Henry,  106;  Judith,  187; 
Mary,  32;  Sarah,  32;  Wilson  Miles,  281;  Cary  House,  Williams- 
burg, 32 

Cedar  Grove,  New  Kent  Co.,  258 

Cessford,  Northampton  Co.,  490 

Chamberlayne,  Lucy  Parke,   113;  Thomas,  83 

Charlton,  Stephen,  496,  497,  498 

Chastellux,  Marquis  de,  74,  84,  96,  280,  464,  474 


508  INDEX 

Chatham,  Stafford  Co.,  349,  351 

Chelsea,  King  William  Co.,  266 

Cheney,  Clarence  G.,  441  ;  Maynard  A.,  247 

Chesterfield  Court  House,  l62 

Chicheley,  Sir  Henry,  287 

Chinn,  Henrietta,   344 

Chrenshaw,  Lewis  D.,  134 

Christ  Church,  Alexandria,  365,  367;  Lancaster  Co.,  3l6 

Christian,   Letitia  and   Robert,   260;  William,  479 

Church,  Yorktown,  38 

Church  Hill,  Gloucester  Co.,  325 

Claiborne,  Herbert  A.,  266;  William  Burnett,  269 

Claremont,  Surrv  Co.,  601 

Clark,  Miss,  209;  Colin,  247,  349;  G.  R.,  l62;  John,  440;  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  William  H.,  438,  439,  440 

Clay,   Henry,  41,   145,  250 

Claybrook,  Willoughby  Newton,  333 

Cleve,  King  George  Co.,  346 

Clifton,   Clarke   Co.,   459;   Cumberland   Co.,    186 

Clopton,  John  Bacon,  160 

Clover  Forest,  Prince  Edward  Co.,  420 

Clover  Lea,  Hanover  Co..  264 

Coalter,  Elizabeth,  351  ;  Elizabeth  Tucker,  251  ;  John,  350;  St.  George, 
351 

Cochran,  Senator,  291 

Cocke,  Allen,  53;  Ann  Blows,  198;  Benjamin,  53,  60;  Bowler  I  and 
II,  173;  Cary  C,  188,  191;  Edmund  Randolph,  174;  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth R.,  177;  James  Powell,  104;  John  Hartwell,  l68,  187,  198; 
John  Preston,  174;  Lelia,  188;  Mary,  188;  Philip  St.  George,  58, 
168;  Richard  I,  104,  173;  Richard'll,  Richard  III,  173;  Sarah, 
206,  207;  T.  L.  P.,  177;  Thomas,  104;  Thomas  Lewis  Preston, 
174;  Mrs.  W.  R.  C,  191;  William,  173,  174;  William  Armistead, 
173;  William  Fauntleroy,  174 

Coke,  John,  31  ;  Senator,  of  Texas,  31 

Coleman  House,  Williamsburg,  25 

Coles,  Elizabeth,  414;  Isaac,  427;  Isaac  H.,  442;  John  I,  413,  414,  417, 
442;  John  II,  414;  John  III,  415;  Mildred  Howell,  442;  Tucker, 
417;  Walter,  414,  442;  Walter  R.,  414;  William,  414 

Cook,  Mistress,  367 

Copein,  William,  354 

Corbin,  Miss,  385;  Anne  and  Henrj^,  343;  Richard,  342,  343 

Cornwallis,  Charles,  Lord,  6,  37,  84,  275 

Cotton,  William,  496 

Court  House  and  Green,  Williamsburg,  23 


INDEX  509 

Cox,  Presley,  331 

Coxe,  Anne,  113 

Craighead,  Alexander,  -1(35 

Crockett,  Walter,  179 

Cropper,  John,  483,   199,  500;  Mrs.  John,  483 

Crowford,  Benjamin,  473;  Thomas,  145 

Crump,  Otway,  167;  W.  W.,  129;  Crump  House,   Richmond,  126 

Culpeper,  Lord,  60,  447 

Cumberland,  Duke  of,  396 

Cumberland  Court  House  Tavern,  196 

Cummings,  Arthur  C,  477;  Charles,  479 

Cunningham,  Mr.,  153;  Edward  and  Francis,  181 

Custis,  Capt.,  498;  Daniel  Parke,  266;  George  Washington  Parke,  371; 

Henry,  483;  John  I,  482,  492;  John   (of  Arlington),   266;  John 

(of  Williamsburg),  498;  Martha,  258;  Mary  Ann  Randolph,  371; 

Mrs.    Mathilda,    483;    "Nelly,"    304,    36l ; "  Tabitha,    484;    Custis 

House,  492 
Custom  House,  Yorktown,  37 

Dabney,  Dr.  and  Virginius,  237 

Daley,"  T.  R.,  40 

Dandridsre,  William,  267 

Daniel,  John  W.,  431;  Mary  and  William,  200 

Davis,  Jefferson,  134;  Priece,  498;  Westmoreland,  377 

Deans,  Josiah,  241 

De  Haas,  Wille,  473,  474 

Delancy,   Gov.,   367 

Delaware,  Thomas,  Lord,  3 

Dickens,  Charles,  130,  155 

Dickson,  Michael,  498 

Digges,  Cole  and  Mary,  68;  Dudley,  253 

Dinwiddie.  Robert  (Gov.),  21,  367 

Ditchley,  Gloucester  Co.,  233;  Northumberland  Co.,  309 

Divers,  George,  410 

Dix,  Morgan,  430 

Dixon,  John,  246;  Thomas,  237 

Dobbs,  Gov.,  367 

Donald,  Benjamin  A.,  203 

Doswell,  Thomas,  286 

Douthat,  Fieldinar  Lewis  and  Robert,  73 

Dover,  Goochland  Co.,  178 

Downman,   Raleigh,   321 

Drew,  Edward,  496,  497;  Peyton,  158 

Drewry,  Augustus,  85 

Drysdale,  Gov.,  18 


510  INDEX 

Duckington,  Northampton  Co.,  490 
Dudley,  Bishop,   126 
Dunham  Massie,  Gloucester  Co.,  234 
Dunmore,  Lord  (Gov.),  18,  23,  26,  40,  41,  479 
Dupont,  William,  389 

Dyer,   Celia  Bickley,    Francis   Bickley,   John,  Robert,   Maj.   and   Mrs. 
Samuel,  Sarah,  Thomas  and  William  Hay,  418;  Samuel,  417,  418 

Eagle  Point,  Gloucester  Co.,  250 

Early,  Jubal  Anderson,  488 

Eastern  Shore  Chapel,  Princess  Anne  Co.,  49 

Edge  Hill,  Albemarle  Co.,  395 

Edgewood,  Nelson  Co.,  201 

Edgewood  and  Airwell,  Hanover  Co.,  282 

Edmundson,  William,  479 

Edward  VII,  King,  19 

Edwards,  Susannah,  367;  W.,  498 

Effinger,  Maria  C,  209 

Elliot,  James  W.,  432 

Elmington,  Gloucester  Co.,  236 

Elsing  Green,  King  William  Co.,  267 

Eltham,  New  Kent  Co.,  264 

Elthonhead,  Agatha,  287 

Ennisocthy,  Albemarle  Co.,  213 

Eppes,  Francis  I,  91  ;  Col.  Francis  III,  Lt.-Col.  Francis,  John,  John 

Wayles,  Lucy,  Mary  and  Richard,  110;  Francis   (of  Eppington), 

110,  112;  Dr.  Richard,  92 
Epping  Forest,  Lancaster  Co.,  312 
Eppingston,  Chesterfield  Co.,  110 
Ernest,  Mrs.,  467 

Estouteville,  Count  de,  415;  Albemarle  Co.,  415 
Eustis,  William  Corcoran,  376 
Evelyn,  George,  68 
Eweil,  R.  S.,  488 

Exchange,  The,  Gloucester  Co.,  237 
Eyre,  Thomas,  498 

Fairfax,  George,  32 ;  George  William,  363 ;  Henry,  375 ;  John  M.,  374, 

375;  Mrs.  John  M.,  374;  Thomas,  Lord,  246",  276,  447,  448 
Falls  and  Fall  Hill,  The,  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  305 
Farley,  Culpeper  Co.,  384;  James  Park  and  Maria  Champe,  385 
Farmington,  Albemarle  Co.,  410 
Farnham  Church,  Richmond  Co.,  333 
Fauquier,  Francis  (Gov.),  18 


INDEX  511 

Felgate,  Mrs.  Mary,  Robert  and  William,  40 

Fielding,  Frances,  SOi 

Fithian,  Philip  Vickers,  321 

Fitzgerald,  J.   H.,  206 

Fitzhugh,  Anne,  300;  E.  H.  and  John,  300;  Henrietta,  Sarah  Stuart, 
Thomas  II  (of  Boscobel)  and  William  Henry,  352;  Henry  and 
Mary  Randolph,  350;  Henry,  68,  350;  Henry  (of  "Bedford")  and 
Thomas  (of  Boscobel),  351 ;  Henry  (of  Eagle's  Nest),  349;  Lucy, 
68;  Mary  Lee,  371 ;  William  (of  "Chatham"),  349,  350,  371  ;  Wil- 
liam I,  350,  351 

Fleming,  Judith,  171;  Tarleton  and  Thomas  Mann,  182 

Flower  de  Hundred,  Prince  George  Co.,  75 

Floyd,  John  B.  (Gov.)  and  Mrs.  John  B.,  470 

Fontaine,  William,  214 

Forbes,  Murray,  307;  Mrs.  Murray,  306 

Fork  Church,  Hanover  Co.,  278 

Fort  Lewis,  Bath  Co.,  473 

Foster,  Mrs.,  14 

Four  Mile  Tree,  Surry  Co.,  57,  59 

Fowle,  Mr.,  413 

Fox,  David  and  William,  321 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  S67 

Frascati,  Orange  Co.,  390 

Frazer,  James  and  William,  475 

Fultz,  Frederick,  473 

Gale,  George,  249 

Gallego,  Joseph,  155 

Gait,  James,  196;  William,  195 

Gamble,  Agnes  and  Elizabeth,  155;  Robert,  156 

Gamble  House,  Richmond,  156,   157 

Gannaway,  J.  C,  187 

Gardiner,  Julia,  74 

Garnett,  G.   Taylor,   233 

Garrett  House,   Williamsburg,   31 

Gaymont,  Caroline  Co.,  296 

George  III,  King,  480 

Gerrard,  Thomas,  325 

Giiford,  Mr.,  l6l ;  Catherine  Waldron,  166 

Gilmer,  Francis  W.,  Mildred,  and  Thomas,  412;  George,  411 

Glasgow,  Ellen,  20 

Glenroy,  Gloucester  Co.,  243 

Gloucester   Court   House,    256 

Goldsborough,   Mrs.,   231 

Gooch,  William  (Gov.),  173,  449 


512  INDEX 

Gordon,  Elizabeth  and  Thomas,  384;  Gulielma,  69 

Gordonsdale,  Fauquier  Co.,  384 

Gorsuch,   Ann,   238 

Goshen,  Gloucester  Co.,  243 

Gosnold,   Bartholomew,    1 

Gouveneur,  ]\Irs.,  374 

Graham,    Robert,    160 

Grant,  Ulysses  S.  (Pres.),  76,  92 

Grattan,  Catherine  and  John,  156 

Graves,  Thomas,  496,  497 

Gray,  James,   149 

Gray  and  Clopton  Houses,  Manchester,  159,  l60 

Green  Hill,  Campbell  Co.,  421 

Green  Plains,  Mathews  Co.,  230 

Green  Springs,  James  City  Co.,  59 

Green,   Thomas,   141 

Green  Valley,  Bath  Co.,  475 

Greenfield,  Charlotte  Co.,  432 

Greenway  Court,  Clarke  Co.,  447 

Gregory,  Frances,  Mildred  Washington,  and  Roger,  306 ;  Judge  Roger, 

269 
Grymes,  Alice,  223;  John,  57,  223;  John  Randolph,   288;   Lucy,   57; 

Susan,  453 
Gunston  Hall,  Fairfax  Co.,  364,  365 
Gwynne,  Mrs.,  342;  David  and  Elizabeth,  343 

Hamilton,  Andrew,  486;  Gov.,   162 

Hampstead,  New  Kent  Co.,  261 

Hampton,  Wade  and  'Sirs.  Wade,  470 

Hanover  Court  House,  271 

Hanover  Court  House  Tavern,  274 

Harmonson,  Thomas,  497 

Harper,  Mrs.  Mary  Ann,  411 

Harris,  Baratier,  165;  W.  E.,  181 

Harrison,  Mrs.,  187;  Benjamin  (of  Brandon),  67,  68,  69,  106;  Ben- 
jamin (of  Wakefield),  68,  89;  Benjamin  (of  the  Row),  70;  Ben- 
jamin III,  Benjamin  IV  and  Benjamin  VI  (of  Berkeley),  89; 
Benjamin  V  (of  Berkeley),  89,  186,  479;  Benjamin  (Pres.),  90; 
Carter  Henry,  186;  Elizabeth,  337;  George  Evelyn,  Gulielma  G. 
and  Isabella  Ritchie,  69;  Lucy,  105;  IMary  Randolph,  69,  197; 
Mrs.  Martha  Bland,  423;  Nathaniel  I  (of  Wakefield),  89;  Na- 
thaniel II  (of  Brandon),  68,  89;  Randolph,  69,  186,  197;  William 
Henry  (Pres.),  89,  90 

Hartsook,  D.  J.,  412 

Harvey,  Sir  John  (Gov.),  5,  39 


INDEX  513 

Harvie,  Gabriella,  172,  395;  John,  130,  156 

Harwood,  Agnes,  73;  Thomas  G.  and  Walter  C,  216;  William,  70 

Haxall,  Barton  H.,  389 

Hay,  William,  418 

Haynes,  John,  1-11;  Judith,  315 

Heath,  Charles,  234 

Henkel,  Dr.,  473 

Henry,  Dorothea,  423,  424;  Dorothea  Dandridge,  427;  Edward  W.  and 

Martha  Catherine,  424;  John,  423,  427;  Patrick,  18,  26,  18,  118, 

145,  162,  271,  274,  278,  281,  401,  424,  427,  439,  466;  Patrick,  Jr., 

479;  William  Wirt,  402,  423,  427 
Henshaw,  Edmund,  389 
Hesse,  Gloucester  Co.,  251 
Heth,  Henry  and  William,   l6l 
Hickory  Hill,  276 
Higginson,  Lucy  and  Robert,  226 
HiU,  Col.  Edward  I  (of  Shirley),  101 ;  Col.  Edward  II,  Col.  Edward 

III   (of  Shirley)   and  Elizabeth,  102 
Hite,  Joist,  448,  449 
Hobson,  John  B.,  181 
Hockley,  245 
Holker,"  Adlaide,  458 

Hollinsworth,  Abraham  and  Thomas,  449 ;  Isaac,  449,  450 
Holt,  William,  260,  261 
Hooe,  Dr.  A.  B.  and  Rice,  348 
Hopkins,  Mrs.  Gerard,  241 
Horn,  Quarter,  King  William  Co.,  269 
Houdon,  146 

Howard,  A.  Randolph,  351;  Benjamin,  378;  Mrs.  Wm.  Key,  304 
Howard's  Neck,  181 
Howe,  John,  496;  John,  497 
Huger,  Benjamin,  384 
Humphreys,  Louise,  103 
Hungars  Church,  Northampton  Co.,  495 
Hunt,  Rev.  Robert,  1 
Hunter,  P.  S.,  296 
Hurkamp,  Charles  H.,  352 
Hutchins,  Stilson,   376 

Ingleside,  Charlotte  Co.,  431 
Inglis,   William,  479 
Innes,  Harry  and  Sally,  306 
Ionia,  Louisa  Co.,  209 
Irving,  A.  D.  and  Wnshington,  391 
Isleham,  Mathews  Co.,  230 
34 


514  INDEX 

Jackson,  Andrew  (Pres.),  138;  Thomas  Jonathan  ("  Stonewall"),  145, 

191,  ^299,  488 
Jacqueline,  Edward,  6 
Tapo-pr    W    R     244 
Jeffers'on,  John,  75  ;  Martha,  395  ;  Martha  (S^elton)  and  Mrs   Thomas, 

403-  Peter    27,  171;  Thomas,  13,  18,  28,  75,  106,  110,  145,  171, 

201,'  223,  229,  365,  389,  396,  399,  402,  403,  404,  410,  412,  419, 

421,  461,  464 
Jennings,  Edmund  (Gov.),  18 
Jerdone,  Francis,  260 

Johns,  Mrs.  and  John,  439  ,„,-,•     rr.        ■      .a,     r       k 

Johnson,  Dr.,  29;  Edward,  Edward,  Jr.,  and  Philip  Turpm,  164;  Jacob, 

498;  John  E.,  429 
Johnston,  George  Ben,  183;  Joseph  E.,  439;  Mary,  22 
Jones,  Churchill,  Hannah  and  William,  350;  John  Paul,  303;  William 

A.,  312;  William  Ashby,  233 
Jordan,  Mrs.  Alice,  58;  Mrs.  Cecily,  78 ;  George,  59;  Margaret  and  Col. 

Samuel,  200 
Jouett,  Jack,  401 
Joynes,  Thomas  R.,  Colonel  Levin,  Judge  W.  T.  and  Dr.  Levm  S.,  500 

Keith,  Rev.  James,  171 

Kendall,  George,  1  ;  Mary  and  William,  309 

Kenmore,  Fredericksburg,  303 

Kennon,  Charles  Randolph,  Mrs.  Nancy  Randolph  and  William  H.,  l65 

Kercheval,  Samuel,  454,  457 

Keswick,  Albemarle  Co.,  392 

King,  William,  466 

Kinlock,  Eliza,  400;  Francis,  400 

Kirnan,  Westmoreland  Co.,  323 

Kneller,  Godfrey,  67 

Knox,  Henry  F.,'  90 

Lacy,  J.  Horace,  351 

Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  6,  25,  37,  94,  104,  121,  125,  146,  365,  374 

"  Laird  of  Loch  Lynn,"  473 

Lancaster,  Drusilla  (Le  Grand),  John,  and  John  A.,  420;  Robert  A., 
421,  465  ;  Robert  A.,  Jr.,  421 

Landon,  Betty,  333,  346 

Lansdowne,  Gloucester  Co.,  251 

Lee,  Agnes,  Custis  and  Mildred,  177;  Arthur,  324,  326;  Gen.  Charles, 
206;  Charles  Carter,  276;  Fitzhugh,  324;  Francis  Lightfoot,  326, 
344;  Hancock,  309,  310;  Henry  ("Light  Horse  Harry"),  103, 
324,  326,  424;  Maj.   Henry,  Matilda,  and  Philip   Ludwell,   326; 


INDEX  515 

John,  3^i■il,  325  ;  John  L.,  -i65  ;  Kendall  and  Lettice,  310 ;  Laura  Dun- 
ber,  457;  Lucinda,  381  ;  Ludwell,  315;  Richard  I  (emigrant),  309, 
3'24;  Richard  II  (of  Mt.  Pleasant),  325;  Richard  Henry,  325,  326, 
3i5.  -i79;  Robert  Edward,  6,  103,  105,  13-i,  177,  233,  2-18,  307, 
326,  351,  353,  367,  371.  419,  439,  151,  4.88;  ^Irs.  Robert  E.,  266, 
372;  Robert  E.,  Jr.,  277;  William,  60,  310,  324,  326;  William  L., 
60;  William  H.  F.,  266,  277;  Thomas  (of  Stratford),  325,  329, 
344,  362 ;  Thomas  Ludwell,  324,  326 

Le  Grand,  Alexander  and  Lucy  (Walker),  420 

Lely.  Sir  Peter,  67,  484 

Level  Green,  Gloucester  Co.,  250;  Nelson  Co.,  206 

Levy,  Jefferson,  405 

Lewis,  Andrew,  148,  473;  Mrs.  Betty  Washington,  347;  Col.  Charles, 
473,  474;  Eleanor,  73;  Fielding",  73,  303,  304,  347,  383;  Frances 
Fielding,  303;  Jasper,  475;  John  (of  Augusta  Co.),  Thomas,  and 
William,  473;  John  I  and  John  II  (of  Warner  Hall),  249;  John 
III  (of  Warner  Hall)  and  Lawrence,  304;  Col.  John,  346; 
Margaret,  382;  Robert,  400;  Samuel,  473,  475;  Warner  (of  Warner 
Hall),  73 

Liberty  Hall,  Nelson  Co.,  198 

Lightfoot,  Philip  and  Richard,  62 

Ligon,  Mrs.,  187 

Lincoln,  Abraham  (Pres.),  351 

Little,  William  A.,  352 

Littlepage,  John,  276 

Littleton,  Southey,  483 

Logan,  Gen.  T.  M.,  196 

Long  Branch,  Clarke  Co.,  467 

Longstreet,  James  A.,  375 

Louis  XVI  (of  France),  421 

Lovelace,  Richard,  421 

Lowland  Cottage,  Gloucester  Co.,  246 

Ludlow,  Edmund,   39;   George,   38 

Ludwell,  Hannah,  325,  344;  Hannah  Philippa,  60;  Lucy,  29;  Philip  I 
(of  Green  Spring),  59;  Philip  II  (of  Green  Spring),  326;  Philip 
III  (of  Green  Spring),  29,  60 

Lyde,   Cornelius,  342 ;  Stephen,   343 

Lyne,  Mrs.  William  H.,  391 

Lynn,  Andrew  and   Margaret,  473 

Lyons,  Lord  and  Lady,  155;  James,  150,  153;  Peter,  401 

McCance  House,  The,  Richmond,   141 

McCarthy,  Daniel,  363 

McCartyJ  John  Mason,  381  ;  William,  378 


516  INDEX 

McClellan,  Gen.,  90,  105,  277 

McDowell,  James,  443,  470;  Mrs.  James,  470;  Susan,  443 

M'Gavock,  James,  479 

McGuire,  Emily,  461;  Hunter,  145 

McMurdo,  Sadie,  401 

McPhail,  Paul  Carrington,  441 

Macfarland,  William  H.,  150 

Macon,  Martha,  206 

Macrae,  Euphan  and  John,  231 

Maddox,  T.  M.,  384 

Madison,  Dolly,  278,  386,  414;  James  (Pres.),  146,  281,  385,  386,  389, 

399,  405,  419;  James,  Sr.,  385;  Mrs.  James,  Sr.,  388;  Thomas,  479 
Magruder,  Col.  James,  391 
Malvern  Hill,   Henrico  Co.,   104 
Mann,  John,  215,  217;  Mary,  216,  219 
Mansfield,  Spotsylvania  Co.,  304 ;  near  Petersburg,  98 
Mantua,  Northumberland  Co.,  310 
Margaret  Academj',  Accomac  Co.,  493 
Marshall,  John  (C.  J.),  14,  18.  73,  126,  133,  138,  142,  145,  146,  171, 

229,  383;  Mary  Willis,  73;  Mrs.  Thomas,  306;  Thomas  and  Thomas, 

Jr.  (of  Oak  Hill),  383 
Marshall  House,  The,  Richmond,  142 
Marteni,  Maria  Margueretta,  421 
Martian,  Nicholas,  39 
Martin,  Catherine,  315;  John,  67 
Mason,  Armistead  Thomson,  378,  381  ;  Catharine,  Emily,  John  Thomson 

and  Mary,  378;  George  (of  Gunston),  18,  145.  363,  364,  365,  377; 

John  Y.,    158;   Stevens  and  Stevens   Thomson,   Jr.,   382;   Stevens 

Thomson,  377,  381  ;  Mrs.  Stevens  Thomson,  381  ;  Thomson,  377 
Masonic  Temple,  Williamsburg,  32 

Massie,  Capt.  Thomas  and  Maj.  Thomas,  206;  William,  206,  208 
Mattapony  Church,  King  and  Queen  Co.,  270 
Mayo,  Edward  C.  and  Elward  C,  Jr.,  105;  Joseph,  112;  Maria,   157; 

"  Peter  H.,  113,  457;  Robert  A.,  113 
Mays,  William,  351 
Mayse,  Joe,  475 
Mazzei,  Philip,  421 

Meade,  Marianne,  l67;  William,  285,  319,  350,  450,  452 
Meadows,  The,  Washington  Co.,  466 
Melvin  House,  The,  Accomac  Co.,  491 
Menokin,  Richmond  Co.,  344.  345 
Merchant's  Hope  Church,  Prince  George  Co.,  77 
Meriwether,  Francis,  271;  Nicholas,  399 
Michael,  Adam,  482,  483;  John,  482 


INDEX  517 

Michaux,  Abraham,  Jacob  and  William  Walthall,  165 

Midlothian,  Gloucester  Co.,  241 

Mildendo,  Halifax  Co.,  iJ'S 

Mill,  Benjamin,   137 

Miller,  Joseph,  411 

Minge,  Collier,  7-t 

Mingea,  W.  E.,  476,  477 

Minitree,  David,  54 

Minor,  Garrett  and  Sally,  211  ;  Lucius  and  John,  285;  John  B.,  409 

Mitchell,  Virginia,  172 

Moncure,  John,  355 

Monroe,  James  (Pres.),  13,  18,  146,  323,  373,  379,  385,  419 

]Mont  Calm,  Washington  Co.,  476 

Montcalm,  Gen.,  477 

Montgomery,  John,  479 

Monticello,  Albemarle  Co.,  402 

Monticola,  Albemarle  Co.,  412 

^lontpelier.  Orange  Co.,  385 

Monumental  Church,  Richmond,  125 

Moore,  Anne  Butler,  103.  282;  Augustine  and  Sir  Thomas,  266;  Bernard, 

103,    266,    399,    400;    Catherine    (Spotswood),    399;    E.    A.,    177; 

Elizabeth,  399,  401;  Mary  (Captive  of  Abb's  Valley),  445;  Tom, 

32,  137,  157;  Richard  Channing  (Bp.),  126 
Moore  House,  York  Co.,  38 
jNIoreau,  Rev.  Nicholas,  259 
Morgan,  Gen.  Daniel,  458,  459 
Morson,  James  M.,   134 
Morris,  Gov.,  367;  Anne   (Watson),  James,  James  W.   and  Sylvanus, 

214;  Elizabeth,  211  ;  Mrs.  R.  O.,  209;  William,  213,  214 
Morven  Park,  Loudoun  Co.,  377 
Moryson,  Francis,  19 
Mosisy,  John  S.,  375 
Moseley,   Arthur   and   William   Jr.,    42;    Edward,    45;    Susannah   and 

William,  42,  45 
Mossom,  David,  259 
Mt.  Airy,  Richmond  Co.,  338,  344 
Mt.  Custis,  Accomac  Co.,  382 
Mount  Vernon,  Fairfax  Co.,  356,  362 
Mount  Wharton,  Accomac  Co.,  495 
Mountain  Top,  Albemarle  Co.,  419 
Mountain  View,  Clarke  Co.,  450 
Mountjov,  Alexander,  496,  497 
Mulberry  Hill,  Charlotte  Co.,  441 
Munford,   George  Wythe,   237 
Murray,   Honorable    Miss,    155 


518  INDEX 

Mutter,  John,  159 

Myers,  Barton  and  Moses,  41;  E.  T.  D.  and  Samuel.  129 

Myers  House,  Norfolk,  Va.,  41 

Napier,  Lord  and  Lady,  155 

Natural  Bridge,  Rockbridge  Co.,  461 

Nelson,  Elizabeth  Burwell  and  Robert,  104;  Frances,  Francis,  Judith, 

Capt.  Thomas,  280;  Rev.  George  W.,  332;  Hugh,  400,  458;  Hugh, 

Jr.,  and  Sally  Page,  458;  Col.  Hugh,  452;   James  Po.vntz,   281; 

Jane  Byrd,  401 ;  Philip,  450;  Robert  W.,  400;  Thomas  (emigrant), 

279;  Thomas,  Jr.,  and  Thomasia,  285;  Thomas  (Secy.).  37,  253; 

Gen.  Thomas,  37,  39,  145,  206,  280,  279,  285,  458;  William,  104, 

280 
Nelson  House,  Yorktown.  37 
New  Market  and  Bullfield,  Hanover  Co.,  286 
Newport,  Capt.   Christopher,   1,  70,   112,    114 
Newstead,  Gloucester  Co.,  241 
Newton,  John  Brockenbrough  (Bp.),  126,  333;  Sarah  and  Willoughby, 

311;  Mrs.  Willoughby.  332 
Nicholas,  Betsy,  33;  Wilson  Cary  (Gov.),  18,  24,  252,  498;  George  A. 

and  Mary  Jane   (Dyer),   418 
Noland,  Fenton,  Mrs.  Mary  E.,  Nelson  Berkeley  and  William  C.  285 
Nolting,  Carl,  212;  E.  O.  and  Emily  M.,  412 
Nomini  Hall,  Westmoreland  Co.,  321 
North  Garden,  Caroline  and  Spotsylvania  Cos..  279 
Nottingham,   Benjamin,  498 
Norwood,  Powhatan  Co.,  164 

Oak  Hill,  Fauquier  Co.,  383;  Loudoun  Co.,  373 

Oak  Ridge,  Nelson  Co.,  205 

Oakland,  Cumberland  Co.,  173;  Hanover  Co.,  279 

Oatlands,  Loudoun  Co.,  375 

Ogle,  Anne,  344;  Benjamin  (Gov.),  342,  344;  Samuel  (Gov.),  342 

Old  Brick  Church,  Isle  of  Wight  Co.,  49 

Old  Capitol  and  Clerk's  Office,  'Williamsburg,  30 

Old  "  Marshall  "  Packet  Boat,  191 

Old  Masonic  Hall,  Richmond,  122 

Old  Stone  Chapel,  Clarke  Co.,  452 

Old  Stone  Church,  Augusta  Co.,  447 

Oliver,  Mrs.,  104 

Ord,  Gen.,  488 

Orgain,  William,  6l 

Ormesby.  Caroline  Co..  297 

Otter  Burn,  Bedford  Co.,  203 


INDEX  519 

Page,  Agnes,  Eliza,  Isabella,  and  Powell,  457;  Fanny,  285  ;  Francis  and 
Rosewell,  280;  Francis  Nelson,  281;  Harriett  Randolph,  186; 
Herbert  H.,  John  E;elyn  and  Robert,  461 ;  James  Morris,  Mann, 
Richard  Channing  Moore,  Thomas  Walker  and  Thomas  Walker, 
Jr.,  392;  James  W.  and  Thomas  W.,  214;  John  (emigrant),  17,  216; 
John  (Gov.).  21,  28,  223,  229,  285,  454;  John  (of  North  End),  83; 
John  (of  Oakland),  280,  281;  John  (of  Pagebrook),  46l  ;  John 
Gary,  185;  Judith,  230;  Lucy,  21,  454;  Mann  (of  Mannsfield), 
343;  Mann  I  (of  Rosewell),  171,  220,  223;  Mann  II  (of  Rose- 
well),  223,  230,  305,  392;  Maria  Judith,  171;  Mathew,  216,  219; 
Robert  Powell  and  Robert  Powell,  Jr.,  459;  Thomas  Nelson,  278, 
280,  281 

Page  House,  Williamsburg,  21 

Pagebrook,  Clarke  Co.,  460 

Palace  Green,  Williamsburg,   19 

Palladio,  409 

Palmer,  Charles  T.,  203;  George,  159 

Pannill,  Ann   (Morton)   and  William,  421;  Samuel,  423 

Paradise  House,  Williamsburg,  29 

Paradise,  Madam  and  John,  29 

Paramore,  Anne,  501 

Parke,  Daniel  and  Lucy,  83 

Patterson,  David  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  203;  John,  231 

Patton,  James,  479 

Paul,  William,  303 

Paulett,  Rev.  John,  86;  Sir  John,  75,  86;  Thomas,  75 

Paxton,  Powhatan  Co.,  166 

Payne,  Dolly  and  John,  281;  Edward,  363;  Elizabeth  (Dyer)  and 
George  M.,  418 

Peck,  John,  322 

Pegram,  Blair,  53 

Pelham,  Peter,  18 

Pendleton,  Edmund,  479 

Penn,   William,   449 

Penn  Park,  Albemarle  Co.,  411 

Peterborough,  Earl  of,  83 

Peyton,  Chandler  and  Robert  E.,  384;  Sir  John,  230 

Pharsalia,  Nelson  Co.,  208 

Philips,  Gen.,  94,  l62 

Piersey,  Abraham,  70,  75 

Plain  Dealing,  Albemarle  Co.,  417 

Plater,  George,  342,  343;   Mary,  343 

Pleasants,  James,  214 

Plumard,   Justin   Pierre,   Comte  de   Rieux,   421 


520  INDEX 

Pocahontas,  5,  57,  96,  217 

Poe,  Edgar  Allan,  126,  150,  155,  159 

Pohick  Church,  Fairfax  Co.,  363 

Point-of-Fork,  Fluvanna  Co.,   195 

Polk,  Leonidas  (Bp.),  451 

Pope,  Alexander,  70 

Poplar  Grove,  Mathews  Co.,  231 

Porto  Bello,  York  Co.,  40 

Powder  Horn,  Williamsburg,  25 

Powell,  John,  498 

Power,  Tyrone,  93 

Powhatan,  King,  96,  112 

Powhatan  Court  House  and  Tavern,  167 

Powhatan's  Chimney,  Gloucester  Co.,  217 

Poythress,  Joseph  and  Susan  Peachy,  75 

Preeson,  Anne,  Elizabeth  and  Thomas,  487;  Joseph,  486 

President's  House,  William  and  Marj'  College,  15 

Presley,  Peter  and  Winifred,  297 

Preston.  Elizabeth  and  John  j\I.,  477;  Elizabeth  Randolph,  174;  Francis, 

John   S.,   Thomas   L.   and  William   C,   470;   James   Patton,   409; 

John,    468;    Mrs.    John,    476;   William,    468,   469,    479;    William 

Ballard.  469 
Preston  House,  Abingdon,  470 
Prestwould,  Mecklenburg  Co.,  443 
Prosser,  Evelina  Matilda,  242 
Providence  Forge,  New  Kent  Co.,  260 

Quesian,  Dr.  T.  L.,  491 
Quinby,  Dr.,  375 
Quiney,  Richard,  67 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  26 

Raleigh  Tavern,  Williamsburg,  26 

Ramsey,  Mrs.  Clarice  Sears,  85 

Randall,  Henry  S.,  110 

Randolph,  Alfred  Magill  (Bp.),  103;  Anne,  68,  105,  350;  Anne 
("  Nancy  Wilton  "),  106;  Beverley  and  Charles  H.,  165  ;  Charlotte 
Foushee,  167;  Coupland  and  Susannah,  186;  David  Meade  and 
Molly,  154;  Edmund  (Gov.),  14,  18,  33,  l67;  Mrs.  Gabriella 
Harvie,  130;  Col.  Isham,  171,  186;  Jane  and  Judith,  171;  Mrs. 
Jane  (Nicholas),  395;  John,  133,  134,  138,  146,  250;  Sir  John,  33; 
John  of  Roanoke,  130,  196,  432,  439,  440,  441;  Mary  (of  Dun- 
geness),  186,  197;  Mary  (of  Edge  Hill)  and  Sarah,  396;  Mary 
(of  Tuckahoe),  171,  182;  Peter,  350;  Peyton,  14,  18,  28,  32,  479; 
Peyton  (son  of  Edmund),  167;  Peyton  (of  Wilton)   and  William 


INDEX  521 

II  (of  Turkey  Island),  105;  Thomas  (of  Clarke),  157;  Thomas 
(of  Tuckahoe),  71;  Thomas  Isham,  186;  Thomas  Jefferson,  70, 
395;  Thomas  Mann  (of  Edge  Hill),  172,  895;  Thomas  Mann 
(of  Tuckahoe),  130,  l63,  171,  395;  Virgil  P.,  416;  William  (of 
Tuckahoe),  27,  171,  395;  William  III  (of  Wilton),  105,  106 

Randolph  House,  Williamsburg,  32 

Raspberry  Plain,  Loudoun  Co.,  377 

Ratcliff,  Jolm,  1 

Read,  Clement,  432;  Isaac,  432,  435;  Thomas,  431 

Red  Hill,  Charlotte  Co.,  423 

Redlands,  Albemarle  Co.,  411 

Reed,  L.  P.  and  Stanley,  267 

Revil,  Eleanor,  489 

Richards,  Mourning,  354 

Richardson,  Robert,  67 

Ring,  Joseph,  40 

Ringfield,  York  Co.,  39 

Ritchie,  Isabella,  69 

Rives,  Alfred  Landon  and  Amelie,  401  ;  Margaret  Jordan,  205;  Robert, 
202,  205;  William  Cabell,  205,  401 

Robertson,  Ann  (Dyer)  and  George,  418;  Francis  Smith  and  Wynd- 
ham  (Gov.),  466;  Jane  Ga.v,  296;  Thomas  B..  495 

Robins,  John,  497,  498;  Obedience,  496,  497;  Mrs.  Sally  Nelson,  129, 
230,  254,  256 

Robinson,  Anna,  449 ;   Mrs.   Frederick,   307 ;   Lieper   Moore,   267 

Rochester,  Nathaniel,  322 

Rock  Castle,  Goochland  Co.,  181 

Rocklands,  Orange  Co.,  389 

Rogers,   Randolph,    145;   William  L.,   332 

Rolfe,  John,  5;  Thomas,  57 

Rolleston,  Princess  Anne  Co.,  42 

Rookings,  William,  50 

Roosevelt,  Theodore  (Pres.),  19,  41,  419 

Rootes,  Thomas  Reade,  242 

Rose,  John,  207 

Rosegill,  Middlesex  Co.,  287 

Roseland.  Accomac  Co.,  500 

Rosewell,  Gloucester  Co.,  219 

Ross,  Alexander,  449;  David  and  Co.,  417 

Rossingham,  Edmund,  75 

Roxbury,  Spotsylvania  Co.,  307 

Roy,  Elizabeth,  James  H.,  Mengo  and  William  Henry,  231 

Russell,  Madam.  466;  William,  466,  479 

Rutherfoord,  John  (Gov.),  183;  John  Cole,  181,  183;  Mrs.  John  C, 
231;  Thomas,   157 


522  INDEX 

Rutherfoord  House,  Richmond,  157,  158 
Ryan,  Thomas  F.,  205 

Sabine  Hall,  Richmond  Co.,  333,  337 

Sabot  Hill,  Goochland  Co.,  178 

St.  Clair,  Gen.,  367 

St.  George's  Church.  Accomac  Co.,  i85 

St.  John's  Church,  Hampton,  47;  Richmond,  117 

St.  Luke's  Church,  Isle  of  Wight  Co.,  49 

St.  Mary's  White  Chapel,  Lancaster  Co.,  320 

St.  Paul's  Church,  Norfolk,  41 

St.  Peter's  Church,  New  Kent,  257 

Salisbury,  Chesterfield  Co..  l62,  164 

Saratoga,  Clarke  Co.,  458 

Satchell,  Dr.  S.  S.,  501 

Saunders  House,  Williamsburg,  21 

Saunders,  Robert,  21 

Scotchtown,  Hanover  Co.,  281 

Scott.   Miss,  443;  Alexander,  354;  John,  [Mrs.  John  Scott.  Rev.  John 

Scott  and  Robert  Eden,  384;  Winfield,   18,  42,   157 
Seawell,  J.  Hairston  and  !Mollie  Elliott,  247 
Sedden,  Anne,  231 
Seddon,  James  Alexander,   134,   181,  428;   Marian,   244;   Sarah,  428; 

Thomas,    231 
Selden,  Martha  Bland,  181 
Selma,  Loudoun  Co.,  381 
Severnby,  Gloucester  Co.,  251 
Shakespeare,  William,  67 
Sharpe,  Gov.,   367 
Sharpless,  381 
Shelb.y,  Evan,  479 
Shelly,  Gloucester  Co.,  225 
Shelter,  Gloucester  Co.,  247 
Shelton,  Mrs.,  476;  John,  274 
Shephard,  John,  498 
Shepherd's  Plain,  Accomac  Co.,  491 
Sheridan,  Philip,  412 
Sherwood,  Gloucester  Co.,  249 
Sherwood  Forest,  Charles  City  Co.,  73 
Shippen,  Thomas  Lee,  329,  862 
Shirley,  Gov.,  367 
Shirley,  Charles  City  Co.,  98 
Skelton,  John  GifFord  and  Maria  Ward,  167;  Josiah  and  Ennion  Gif- 

ford,  166;  Mrs.  Martha,  403 


INDEX  523 

Skipwith,  Fulmer,  Sir  Gray,  Humberston  and  Sir  William,  4 13 ;  Helen, 
117;  Sir  Peyton,  416,  -117,  -143;  Selina,  416 

Smith,  Abigail,  ^li>6;  Armistead,  243;  Arthur,  62;  Caroline,  214;  Charles 
Jeil'ery,  260,  261;  Daniel,  479;  Francis,  Mrs.  Francis  and  Mary, 
466;  George  W.,  125,  277;  James  and  James  M.,  311;  John,  1,  2, 
9,  57,  67,  70,  112,  114;  John  (of  Nibley),  86;  John  (of  Purton), 
248;  Margaret,  411;  Mary,  466;  Philip,  331;  Thomas,  246; 
William  (Gov.),  145;  William  Patterson,  244 

Smithfield,  Montgomery  Co.,  468 

Smythe,  Alexander,  477 

Soldier's  Joy,  Xelson  Co.,  202 

Spencer,  George,  321 ;  Nicholas,  356 

Spotswood,  Alexander  (Gov.),  18,  103,  267,  292,  306;  Anne  Katherine, 
267;  Katherine,  103 

Springdale,  Frederick  Co.,  448 

Stanard,  !Mrs.,  150;  Beverley,  Beverley  Chew,  Larkin,  and  William, 
308;  Hugh  Mercer,  John  Champe,  and  ]\Irs.  Martha,  309;  Robert, 
149,  308;  Robert  C,  150,  309 

Staples,  Thomas,  417 

State  Capitol,  Richmond,  145 

Staunton  Hill,  Charlotte  Co.,  427 

Stearns,  Franklin.  385 

Steptoe,  Sally,  209 

Stewart,  Isobel  and  John,  113 

Stith,  William,  171 

Stoakley,  John,  498 

Stockley,  Anne,  488 

Stokes,  A.  Y.,  185 

Stone,  William,  496,  497 

Storrow,  Samuel,  385 

Stratford,  Westmoreland  Co.,  324,  372 

Stratton,  Benjamin,  498 

Stuart,  Ferdinand  Stuart  Camubell,  324;  J.  E.  B.,  277 

Swan  (Gov.),  377 

Swan  Tavern,  Richmond,  159 

Sylvania,  Louisa  Co.,  213 

Syme,  John,  401  ;  Sally,  202 

Tabb,   Edward,   John   H.   and   Thomas   Todd,   241;   Henry,   234,   241; 

J.  Prosser,  233;  John,  242,  243;  Martha,  243;  Philip,  234,  241, 

242;  Prosser,  237;  Thomas,  9i 
Taliaferro,   James   Lyons  and  W'illiam,   236;   Lucy,   347;   R.    P.,   245; 

Thomas,  246;  Warner,  234;  William  Booth,  234,  235 
Tallwood,  Albemarle  Co.,  417 
Tarleton.  Gen.,  275,  281,  401,  405 


524  INDEX 

Tarpley,  James,  17 

Tasker,  Benjamin  and  Frances,  322 

Tate,  Mr.,  153 

Tayloe,  Ann  Corbin,  223,  343;  Benjamin  Ogle,  342,  344;  Betty,  342, 
343;  Catherine,  337;  Henrv,  John  I,  John  III  (of  Mt.  Airy),  John 
IV  and  Rebecca,  344;  John  II  (of  Mt.  Airy),  338,  342,  343,  345; 
William  I,  343;  William  II  and  Mrs.  William,  342;  William  H., 
342,  S44 

Taylor,  Mrs.,  307;  D.  W.,  214;  Fielding  Lewis,  225;  George,  269; 
Henry,  212;  John  and  John  Penn,  270;  Maria,  83;  Sarah  Griffin, 
459 

Tazewell  Hall.  Williamsburg,  32 

Teaekle,  Thomas.  486 

Tedington,  Charles  City  Co.,  62 

Thackeray,  William  M.",  117,  150 

Therett,  Anne,  315 

Thompson,  Anne  and  John,  306;  John  R.,  64 

Thornton,  Capt.,  300;  Anthony  I,  197;  Anthony  II  (of  Ormesby)  and 
Thomas  Griffin,  297;  Anthony  III  (of  Ormesby),  297,  299;"Butler 
Brayne,  Francis  III  (of  Fall  Hill),  Rev.  Francis,  Frances  Gregory 
and  Harry  Innes,  306;  Elizabeth  (Taliaferro)  and  Mary  (Talia- 
ferro), Francis  II  (of  The  Falls),  305,  399;  Francis  IV  (of  Fall 
Hill),  James  Innes  and  Robert  Calloway.  307;  Harry,  299;  John, 
298;  Sally  Innes,  306,  307;  William,  305.  385 

Thoroughgood,  Adam,  45,  47 ;  Sir  John  and  Thomas,  45 

Thoroughgood  House,  Princess  Anne  Co.,  45 

Thorpe,  George,  86 

Throckmorton,  Sir  William,  86 

Thweatt,  Archibald  and  Richard  X.,  110 

Tiffany,  Evelyn  (Custis)  and  Louis  McLane,  484 

Timberneck,  Gloucester  Co.,  21 6 

Todd,  Dorothea  Payne,  386;  Thomas,  238,  241;  Thomas  I,  238 

Toddsbury,  Gloucester  Co.,  238 

Tompkins,  Mrs.  Christopher,  232;  "  Capt.  Sally,"  232,  243 

Towles,  Frances,  Henry,  Henry.  Jr.,  Keturah,  Porteus,  Stockeley  and 
Thomas,  315;  Howard  McJelton  and  James,  316;  William  Henry, 
315,316 

Towles  Point,  Lancaster  Co.,  315 

Trigg.  Mary,  466;  Stephen,  479 

Troubetskoy,  Amelie  (Rives)   (Chandler),  Princess,  401 

Tuckahoe,  Goochland  Co.,  168,  173 

Tucker,  Alice,  50;  Elizabeth  Travis,  414;  Nathaniel  Beverley,  23; 
Harry  St.  George,  41  ;  St.  George,  23,  202,  351 

Tucker  House,  Williamsburg,  23 

Turpin,  Baron  de,  464;  Caroline,  l64;  Philip,  l63 


INDEX  525 

Tyler,  D.  Gardiner,  75;  John  (Pres.),  13,  18,  32,  74,  423,  489;  John 
(Pres.),  13,  18,  32,  74,  423,  489;  John  Poyntz  (Bp.),  333;  Louis, 
423;  Julia   (Gardiner),  74 

Underbill,  John,  Jr.,  40 

Union  Hill,  Cumberland  Co.,  185;  Nelson  Co.,  199 
University  of  Virginia,  405 
Upper  Brandon,  Prince  George  Co.,  70 

Upshur,  Abel  P.,  489;  Arthur,  486,  488;  John,  487,  488;  Thomas,  488; 
Thomas  T.,  486,  487,  488;  William  Brown,  487 

Valentine,  Edward  V.  and  Mann  S.,  141 
Valentine  Museum,  Richmond.  137 
Vandyke,  Anthony,  67 
Van  Lew,  Miss,  118,  121  ;  Mr.,  121 
Van  Lew  House  Richmond,  118 
Vaucluse,  Northampton  Co.,  489 
Vauter's  Church,  Essex  Co.,  295 

Walker,  Francis,  392,  401;  Jane  Frances,  392;  John,  399,  400,  401; 
Judith  Page,  401;  Lindsay,  196;  Mary.  346;  Mildred,  400; 
Thomas,  396,  399,  401,  405;  Capt.  Thomas,  396 

Wallace,  W.   J.,   264 

Wallop  House,  Accomac  Co.,  494 

Walthall,  Edward,  165 

Ward,  Mr.,  332;  Maria,  133,  167;  William  Norvell,  322 

Warner,  Augustine  I  and  Mary,  248;  Augustine  II,  248,  254;  Elizabeth 
and  Mildred,  249 

Warner  Hall,  Gloucester  Co.,  247 

Warren,  Charles  Walker  and  William  A.,  53;  Thomas,  57 

Warren  House,  Surry  Co.,   57 

Washington,  Mrs.,  31,  231 ;  Augustine,  363;  Betty,  347;  Bushrod,  John, 
John  Augustine  and  John  Augustine,  Jr.,  356;  Elizabeth  (Betty), 
303;  George,  13,  18,  20,  31,  32,  39,  145,  146,  248,  249,  258,  303, 
312,  321,  323,  350,  356,  363,  367,  371,  399,  413,  424,  447,  448, 
497;  Lawrence,  249,  346,  356;  Mrs.  Martha,  266,  359,  371;  Mary, 
300 

Waters,  William  D.,  417 

Watkins,  Henry  A.,  Col.  Joel  and  Dr.  Joel,  432 ;  Joseph  A.  and  Martha 
(Dyer),  418 

Watson,  Anne  (Nancy)  and  David,  Jr.,  213;  David,  Sr.,  210,  211, 
212;  George,  153,  210;  James  and  Mary  Minor,  212;  Maj.  James, 
209,  210,  213;  Oliver,  351  ;  Sally  (Minor),  Susan  Dabney  (Morris) 
and  Thomas  S.,  212;   Thomas,  211 


526  INDEX 


Waverly,  Gloucester  Co.,  2-il 

Wayles^  Ellen,  70 

Webb,  Conrad,  261,  263;  George,  261 

Weitzel,  Gen.,  137 

Welbourne,  Drummond,  485 ;  Accomac  Co.,  495 

Wellford,  Armistead  Nelson,  Carter  and  Elizabeth,  337;  W.  A.,  385 

West,  Anthony,  489;  Revil,  489 

West  End,  Louisa  Co.,  212 

West  House,  on  Deep  Creek,  489 

Westmoreland  Club,  The,  Richmond,  149 

Westover,  Charles  City  Co.,  7S 

Westover  Church,  Charles  City  Co.,   86 

Wetherburn,  Henr}',  27 

Weyanoke,  Queen  of,  70 

Weyanoke,  Charles  City  Co.,  70 

White,  Mrs.  Isaac,  410 

White  Hall,  Gloucester  Co.,  244 

White  House,  The,  New  Kent  Co.,  264 

White  House  of  the  Confederacy,  Richmond,  130 

White  Marsh,  Gloucester  Co.,  242 

Whitefield,  George,  93 

Whittington,  Josephine  Isabella,  316 

Whittle,  F.  M.,  174 

Wickham,  Henry  T.,  278;  John,  137,  138,   141,  277;  William  Carter, 

276;  William  Fanning,  277 
Wight,  Edwin,  172  .     . -'       ' 

M^ilkins,  Eliza  and  William,  437 ;  John,  496  _.^ 

AVilkinson.  Gen.,   138  ■':''' 

Willcox,  John  Poythress,  76;  John  Vaughn,  75  ,f   7, 

William   of   Orange,    269  '      •' '         * 

William  and  Mary  College,   Williamsburg,    10 
Williams,  Sir  Edward,  102;  H.  A.,  250;  John  Langbourne  and  John 

Skelton,  167 
Williamson,  Mary  Amanda,  Robert  I,  Robert  II   (of  Brook  Hill),  and 

Robert  Carter,  113 
Willing,  Anne  Shippen  and  Charles,  83 

Wilmer,  J.  B.  P.,  419  '  '  *'  '"  '  ■;• 

Wilton,  Henrico  Co.,   105 

Windy  Cove  Church  and  Wallawhatoola,  Bath  Co.,  464 
Wingfield,  Edward  Maria,  1 
Winston,  Mrs.  Edmund,  427;  Geddes,  121,  158;  George  D.,  424;  Peggy, 

121;  Sally,  158 
Wirt,  William,  155,  402,  412 
Withers.  Alfred  W.,  251 
Wolfe,  Gen.,  269 


vX 


inLex 


527 


\ 


Wood,  Warner,  -111 

Woodcliff,  John,  86 

Woodfork,  Charlotte  Co.,  432 

Woodville,  Albemarle  Co.,  414 

Wormeley,  Mr.,  346;  Agatha  (Eltonhead)  and  Aalph  IV  (of  Rose- 
gill),  288;  Christopher  and  Ralph  I  (of  RosegiL),  287;  Elizabeth, 
334;  Judith,  220;  Ralph  II  (of  Rosegill),  222,  288;  Ralph  V 
(of  Rosegill),  288,  291 

Wren,  Sir  Christopher,  13 

Wyatt,  Miss,  209 

Wj'the,   Chancellor  George,   14,   18,  20 

Wj'the  House,  Williamsburg,  20 


Yeardley,  Francis,  45  ;  Sir  George,  70,  75,  86 
Yeatman,  Mrs.  Thomas  Robinson.  231 
Yeocomico  Church,  Westmoreland  Co.,  830 
Young,  ^lary  (Cary),  68 


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T.\LBOT  HALL,  NORFOLK  COUNTY.    BUILT  IN  1800. 

Home   of   the  following:  .Solomon  Butt  Talbot    { — 1801),  Thomas   Talbot    ( — 1837),    William   Henry 

Talbot  ( — 1884),  and  Thomas  Talbot,  the  present  owner.