Historic homes of the South-West mountains, Virginia;

'-j;

?? Of

the

«prn)

West Virginia University Library

This book is due on the date indicated belov

5-B\-ao\0

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

VIRGINIA

This edition is limited to seven
hundred and fifty copies

X

<

D

C

in

<

<*.

"^ - \M.

'cff

HISTORIC HOMES

OF THE

S O U T H-W EST

MOUNTAINS

VIRGINIA

BY EDWARD C. MEAD

AUTHOR OF " THE GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF
THE LEE FAMILY OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND"

WITH TWENTY-THREE ILLUSTRATIONS
AND A MAP

PHILADELPHIA & LONDON
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY

1899

APPAL. RM.

F S3^

.ABM-

library
West Virginia DnlTerslty

Copyright, 1898

BY

J. B. LippiNcoTT Company

IN MEMORY OF THE PAST
AND ESTEEM FOR THE PRES-
ENT OWNERS OF THESE
HISTORIC HOMES, THIS
WORK IS INSCRIBED BY
THE AUTHOR

PREFACE

THE celebrated section of the South- West
Mountains, Virginia, stands as pre-emi-
nently among her sister sections as does
the Old Dominion in the galaxy of stars in the
Union as the birthplace of Presidents, governors,
and statesmen, as well as the seat of a refined and
hospitable people.

The list of those who have lived here is a
long and honored one. Many names are of such
national celebrity that it is felt that any account
of those who bore them and of the homes which
so reflected their personality will be of more than
local interest.

My object has been to do for these historic
homes what Bishop Meade has already done
for the churches of Virginia, — to perpetuate the
characteristics of these famous houses along the
South-West Mountains, many of which are fast
disappearing under the advance of modern archi-
tecture, giving a faithful picture of each as they
once stood, as well as an anecdotal account and
brief genealogy of their inhabitants, thus embalm-
ing the traditions of these noble Virginia families.

PREFACE

To the many who have aided in the collection
of the facts and incidents here recorded the writer
returns his sincere thanks, trusting that, in handing
down these family traditions portraying the simple,
pure life of their forefathers, it may stimulate others
to emulate their beautiful character, and perpetuate
those good " old Virginia" customs, when

" Gallant Mirth was wont to sport awhile.
And serene old Age looked on with approving smile."

"Broad Oak,"

Near Keswick, Virginia,
November, 1898.

CONTENTS

PAGE

INTRODUCTION— THE SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS . . ii

Their Traditions ; their People.

MONTICELLO— THE HOME OF THOMAS JEFFERSON . 21
Now owned by Hon. Jefferson M. Levy, of New York.

PANTOPS— ONE OF JEFFERSON'S FARMS 41

Now owned by Professor John R. Sampson.

LEGO— ONE OF JEFFERSON'S FARMS 49

The Home of the Taylors.

SHADWELL— THE BIRTHPLACE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON 55

SHADWELL THE SECOND 63

EDGEHILL— THE HOME OF THE RANDOLPHS 65

BELMONT— THE HOME OF THE EVERETTS 75

EAST BELMONT— THE HOME OF ISAAC LONG, ESQ. , 89

SUNNY SIDE— THE SUMMER RESIDENCE OF J. B. PACE,

ES2 99

FRUITLAND— THE RESIDENCE OF A. P. FOX, ESQ. . . 107

CISMONT— THE SUMMER HOME OF COLONEL H. W.

FULLER Ill

CLOVER FIELDS— THE OLD HOME OF THE MERI-

WETHERS 129

Now owned by Frank M. Randolph, Esq.

CASTALIA— THE ESTATE OF MURRAY BOOCOCK, ESQ. 139

MUSIC HALL— HOME OF THE LATE CAPTAIN JAMES

TERRELL 153

BELVOIR— THE HOME OF THE NELSONS 159

KINLOCH— THE HOME OF DR. TOM MERIWETHER . . 167

Now owned by Aylett Everett, Esq.

7

CONTENTS

PAGE

MERRIE MILL— THE COUNTRY-SEAT OF JOHN ARM-
STRONG CHANLER, ESg i79

ROUGEMONT— THE HOME OF THE DICKINSONS ... 187

HOPEDALE— THE HOME OF THE BOYDENS 193

CASTLE HILL— THE HOME OF THE RIVESES 201

KESWICK— THE HOME OF THE PAGES 217

EDGEWORTH— THE HOME OF THE GORDONS .... 231

COBHAM PARK— THE RESIDENCE OF THE LATE WIL-
LIAM C. RIVES, JR 241

THE MACHUNK FARMS— THE CREEK; CAMPBELLS;

MACHUNK 247

BROAD OAK— THE HOME OF EDWARD C. MEAD, ESQ,. 255

KESWICK STATION— CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO RAIL-
ROAD 263

EVERETTSVILLE— NOW LA FOURCHE, THE HOME OF

THE BOWCOCKS 267

GLENMORE— THE HOME OF THE MAGRUDERS .... 271

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

Castle Hill Frontispiece

Map of the South-West Mountains 1 1

monticello 21

Pantops 41

Lego 49

Shadwell 55

Edgehill 65

Belmont 75

Sunny Side 99

Cismont Ill

The Old Colonial Kitchen at Cismont 126

Clover Fields 129

The First Clover Fields Mansion .... 133

Castalia . . 139

Herd of Herefords at Castalia Farm 151

KiNLocH . 167

Merrie Mill Mansion 179

The Old Colonial Merrie Mill i8o

The Bathing-Pool at Merrie Mill 183

Hopedale 193

Castle Hill Mansion 204

Keswick 217

Cobham Park 241

Broad Oak 255

INTRODUCTION

THE SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS: THEIR
TRADITIONS; THEIR PEOPLE

THERE extends through the centre of Al-
bemarle County, Virginia, a bold range of
picturesque hills, the first that may be
deemed mountains, as approaching from the east ;
these have their rise in Orange County, and ter-
minate on the borders of James River, ranging
in a south-west and north-east course parallel to
and distant from the Blue Ridge about twenty
miles.

This range has been known from an early
period as the " South- West Mountains," so called
from the direction in which they point.

The early history of Albemarle County, dating
from its formation in 1744, is one of peculiar
interest. Even before that period its mountains,
valleys, and rivers had been explored by a venture-
some people, among whom were such pioneers as
Peter Jefferson, Robert Walker, William Ran-
dolph, Nicholas Meriwether, and Robert Lewis,
who, upon reaching the colony, turned their foot-
steps from the already thickly settled eastern coun-
ties and sought the region of the wild " Apalata
Mountains" of the west, to which the Indians
pointed them ; when, however, they reached this

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

first range of blue hills, towering in solemn
grandeur above the surrounding plain, they were
so struck with their beauty and fertility that here
they rested, and forever since their descendants
have held this favored spot of Virginia by right of
the king's patent.

Beginning at Monticello, the home of Thomas
Jefferson, where the waters of the Rivanna, or
"Riveranna," as then called, break through the
little chain of mountains on their way to the
James, and at short distances of a mile or less
apart, scattered along the spurs and ridges of these
mountain slopes, or nestled in valleys beside shady
springs and rivulets, were the first settlements
made. For some time the South-West Mountains
formed the western limit of the colony, but when
its dark-red alluvial soil was found to be particu-
larly adapted to the culture of the great staple,
tobacco, and its salubrious climate so refreshing
to the fever-stricken emigrants, these favored hills
were eagerly sought, and the county was early set-
tled by a most intelligent and industrious race
of people, who were peculiarly different in dialect,
traits of character, and social intercourse from the
general class of early settlers in America.

The following graphic description by Governor
James Barbour, of Orange County, as taken from
the Farmers' Register of 1835, gives an accurate
idea of this celebrated range :

" This unique region of the South-West Moun-
tains stretches from the Rappahannock to the James
River. I have heard, indeed, of claims to a con-

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

tinuance of this peculiar soil as reaching farther
both to the north and south. I can only say, as
far as my observation has extended, these claims
are not sustained. Its length may, therefore, be
given at one hundred and ten miles, its average
breadth five miles, containing three hundred and
twenty thousand acres ; its latitude in 37°-38°
north. Of this tract of land, one-half at least in
its virgin state was very fertile, a fourth suffi-
ciently so to yield a fair return to labor, the other
fourth sterile and rocky, but covered with fine
timber, particularly the chestnut, whose duration
in rails may be fixed at sixty or seventy years.

" The advantages of this region are many, and
some of them peculiar. It presents the singular
fact that the mountain is fertile to the summit, —
one thousand feet being the highest point (Peter's),
— and much more so than the country at its base.
It is more abundantly watered than any I have
ever seen ; springs of cool living water are to be
found in every dell ; and on my own estate I have
a copious and lasting spring near the top of the
mountain, at an elevation of six hundred feet at
least. Its vegetation is fourteen to twenty days
in advance of the level conterminous country, and
still it is usually exempt from the late frosts, while
the fi-uit in the level country is destroyed by
them.

" Mr. Jefferson told us the frost of May 4, 1774,
while destroying even the forest-trees at the sum-
mit and at the foot of the mountain, left a zone
of considerable breadth midway the mountain,

13

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

where even the fruit escaped. The elevations on
its western side present the most beautiful sites for
building, furnishing, as they do to a great extent,
a prospect of the Blue Ridge, distant twenty-five
miles, and the intermediate country between ; above
all, we may fairly claim that no spot on earth is
more healthy. Let us, the inhabitants of the
South -West Mountains, rejoice and be grateful
that our benefits greatly preponderate over our ills.
And so far as my testimony goes, resulting from
actual observation of near one-third of the entire
circumference of the earth, I feel no hesitation in
declaring that I deem them the most desirable
abode I have ever seen."

In the above account a slight error is made in
the altitude of Peter's Mountain (named in honor
of Peter Jefferson, the father of the President),
which stands nearly at the north-east terminus of i
the range, and forms its highest point. In the
recent survey of this region, made by the " United
States Coast and Geodetic Survey," the altitude of
this peak is placed at fifteen hundred feet above
the sea-level, the average height of the various
knobs along the range being one thousand feet,
while the hills along its base dwindle down to five
hundred feet or less. The late Captain George C.
Dickinson, whose reputation as a civil engineer
was very high, gives the altitude of Peter's Moun-
tain as eighteen hundred and fifty feet, and the
average elevation of the various residences along
its base as four hundred and forty feet.

The topography of the range is quite peculiar.
14

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Its many prominent peaks ascend in height from
J south-west to north-east, at which point they ter-
minate suddenly, dwindhng into mere hills. Be-
tween each of these peaks are low gaps, through
which roadways were early made to the western
side, some of which still exist. Each of these
high points and low gaps received their name from
those who first settled near them, thus perpetuating
their family's name by these living monuments.

The farms, or rather plantations, of the first few
settlers were large, being immense grants of wild
land from the crown, the boundaries of which
frequently extended into the adjacent counties,
the entire range of the South-West Mountains
being at one time held by but two or three settlers,
—Robert Walker, Nicholas Meriwether, and Peter
Jefferson. Soon, however, these immense tracts
were divided and even subdivided into strips of
one thousand acres each, extending from the sum-
mit of the range to the lowlands at its foot, thus
forming a series of settlements along its entire
length from Charlottesville to Gordonsville.

The dwellings of these first settlers were gener-
ally rude log cabins, which the generous forests
made easy to erect. They consisted usually of
two rooms, with a rough stone chimney between,
perched beside some bold spring in the dense forest'
which afforded the hardy frontiersmen comfort and
security. Another generation, however, required a
more portentous building, frequently made of rough
boards, put on with hand-wrought nails. The style
of many of these, some of which are still standing,

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

partook usually of the Saxon or early Romanesque
period of England ; their distinguishing features
being plainly seen in the high-peaked roof, wide
fireplace, and immense buttress of its lofty chim-
ney, so commonly seen during the last century.
Again, in the course of time, these, too, would
give place to a more modern structure, having two
stories, a wide hall, and spacious rooms with large
windows, or even be replaced by some stately brick
edifice, thus eftectually obliterating the old home-
stead of one hundred years ago, few of which
stand to show under what contracted limits our
forefathers lived.

But what of the people whose homes were
nestled along the slopes of these beautiful foot-hills,
upon which the first tinge of the rising sun lightens
with its genial rays, spreading over them a halo of
supreme peace and happiness *? They were a plain,
honest, straightforward class, struggling under the
adversities of the age in which they lived, and
wonderfully overcoming the difficulties which the
Revolution placed upon them. They were open-
hearted and generous to a fault, yet tenacious in
their religious and political opinions ; clannish to
a degree, intermarrying for many generations, thus
retaining their lands, their customs, and family
traditions among themselves. But, alas ! nearly;
all have passed away ; they sleep in families of I
several generations in the little burying-lot attached
to each home, and their once familiar family-seats:
have passed into the hands of strangers, who are
fast removing the old landmarks, until, with very

i6

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

few exceptions, none of these lands of a once
proud people are now held by their descendants,
from whom has passed forever a princely heritage
under the original grant of a hundred years ago.

In tracing the history of these old homes and
the peculiar traits of their first owners, we must
not forget that they lived, as it were, in a primitive
age and during the first formation of the country,
even before many of the great inventions of this
nineteenth century had materialized, or before the
social revolution under which our country has re-
cently passed. They lived most roughly in their
log cabins, and under many difficulties, — lighting
their fires with their flintlocks, moulding their
pewter spoons and candles, as they did their bul-
lets, in moulds brought with them from the old
country, spinning, weaving, and making their own
apparel, doing their daily work, or worshipping
God on Sunday while holding the musket in one
hand for fear of the treacherous Indian. And yet
they were cheerful, hopeful, and courageous, with
a love and pride for their new-found country which
left no difficulty too great for their daring to main-
tain their sovereignty over it. This was Virginian-
ism in the true sense of the word, which gained
for their descendants this fair land, and the spirit
in which it must always be maintained.

Though this peculiar people have retired behind
the scenes, yet there come forward in their sons
and daughters many noble representatives of the
true Scotch-Irish stock, who as statesmen, lawyers,
and men of science and letters are maintaining

17

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

the splendid record of this noble old county for
its eminent men. We are enabled in these pages
to mention but few of her brilliant sons, and must
leave her Minors, Dukes, Dabneys, Garths, South-
alls, Woods, and a host of others who have won
enviable fame, for another volume. In looking at
these, we can truly exclaim there is no degeneracy,
political, forensic, or scientific, for lamentation
here ; and as warriors they have proved worthy
knights of the lance. It is war which sows the
dragon's teeth that spring up in soldiers and he-
roes on every side, and our recent conflict has
shown that the sons of the South have lost none
of the valor of their veteran fathers.

Nor can we fail to mention the true Christian
character of these old families of the South- West
Mountains, who clung to their religion as the
very lever of Archimedes, which, resting on another
world, easily bears up all destinies of this ; led as
they were by that great father of the Episcopal
Church in Virginia, Bishop Meade, who, in his
" Old Churches and Families of Virginia," has left
them a rich heritage ; thus they could not fail to
become eminent in church as well as in state, re-
ceiving continually, as they did, the blessings of a
bountiful Providence.

In testimony of their firm faith, they have
erected many beautiful and modest little Gothic
houses of worship over these gentle slopes, sur-
rounded by stately oaks, beneath whose umbra-
geous arms sleep some of those whose lives we
have but slightly sketched.

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Thus we have endeavored to adequately portray
this noted range of mountains, where are seated
the historic homes to be noted, but no language
or pencil can give a perfect idea of their true
beauty and impressive aspect, as when first seen
in all their solemn grandeur. No wonder Mr.
Jefferson called it the " garden spot of Virginia ;"
no wonder its first settlers were charmed by such
a sight, where Nature seemed to have perfected
herself for the happiness of man ; no wonder it
has been the theme of poets and philosophers from
time immemorial. Nor is this celebrity confined
to its beautiful scenery alone ; here is the home
of the richest fruits of the soil, especially of that
superb apple the " Albemarle pippin," which has
gained the recognition of the Queen of England ;
here are generous products of the mineral kingdom,
such as granite and slates of varying colors ; here
the floral kingdom bestows her choicest hues ;
surely, few counties can present such a menu to
entice the lover of nature. Yet, above all, here
is that noble seat of learning, the University of
Virginia, made famous by Jefferson himself, from
which have emanated some of the most brilliant
minds of the past century, whose records have
become national ; for as the rich soil along the
South-West Mountains, upon which they lived,
made them independent, they also grew to be in-
tellectual giants, and became not only controllers
of the soil, but also ruled the nation, rising in
eminence with the State and Union, until all eyes
were turned in wonder to this little region of

19

HISTORIC HOMES

Albemarle which had produced so many great
men.

Nor can we more faithfully picture those who
have lived at the foot of these towering hills than
in the words of Wirt, who said that " the people
of Albemarle were the society of nature ;" and this
most truthfully represents them, as, like the beau-
ties of nature around them, they partook of the
beautiful in character.

" Search the land of living men.
Where wilt thou find their like agen ?"

I

I

MONTICELLO

THE HOME OF THOMAS JEFFERSON

NEXT to Mount Vernon, doubtless there is
no place in the Union that has been more
written of or more visited than Monticello,
the beautiful home of President Jefferson ; and
yet of the many who have visited this historic
spot, and the much that has been said of it, few
are aware of the true story connected with the
building of this celebrated mansion.

Many legends and marvellous tales are told the
stranger who treads its portals, few of which are
based upon fact ; yet there remain many inci-
dents untold which would add an interesting page
to its history, which we propose to gather up and
trace the true story of its erection, from its incep-
tion to its completion.

Colonel Peter Jefferson, the father of Thomas
Jefferson, and William Randolph, both of Gooch-
land County, Virginia, were very close friends and
neighbors. In 1 735 both obtained " patents" for
large grants of land lying contiguous to each
other, and ever since their descendants have inter-
married and maintained this juxtaposition.

Colonel Peter Jefferson had thus obtained by
grant one thousand acres, lying on each side of
the Rivanna River, where it intersects the South-

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

West range of mountains ; to this he added by
purchase nine hundred acres, making a total of
nineteen hundred acres of land on each side of the
river, which embraced the little towns of Shad-
well on the north and Milton on the south.

In 1770, Mr. Jefferson, who was then a young
practising lawyer, first began to clear the summit
of Monticello (Italian for " little mountain") with
a view of building. It was then merely a wild,
tangled forest, but he had often looked upon this
elevated spot with peculiar attraction, and had
frequently rambled over its steep, craggy sides, or
clambered to its summit, there to gaze upon the
grand panoramic view spread out before him with
feelings of sublime admiration and intense delight ;
it was such a picture as he wished always before
him, and thus it was he decided here to build his
home.

After the destruction by fire of the paternal roof
at Shadwell, Mr. Jefferson began in earnest to
build upon this almost inaccessible spot, and in
the fall of that year (1770) had erected a small
one-and-a-half-story brick building, containing one
good-sized room, which is the same portion of the
present building forming the southeast " pavilion"
at the extremity of the south " terrace ;" this
room was the only part of the house habitable
when he took his young bride there in 1772.

Mr. Jefferson's conception and designs for
building his new home were not so elaborate or
extensive as were afterwards carried out upon his
return from Europe. He was very conventional

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

in his style and manner of living, not wishing to
go beyond the simplicity of his neighbors, even
in his plan of building, and yet there was at that
time not another brick building outside the to^vn
of Charlottesville, and, though of quite moderate
proportions compared to its ultimate appearance,
it was then considered the most imposing building
in the county.

The belief that Mr. Jefferson imported from
England most of the brick used for his building
is quite erroneous ; all these were made upon the
spot by his slaves, and the site of their manufac-
ture is still pointed out ; but in after-years, when
completing the north end and adding many em-
bellishments to his original design, some of the
finest brick and ornamental material were procured
in Philadelphia and sent around by water to Rich-
mond, and thence to the little town of Milton.

In the autumn of 1775 still further additions
were made, and the grounds greatly improved and
enlarged, Mr. Jefferson planting with his own
hands many fruit and ornamental trees, the trunks
of which still remain.

During the sessions of Congress, while Mr.
Jefferson would be absent from Monticello for
months at a time, the work of completion would
be necessarily slow, and even up to the year 1782
the house was but partially completed. Still more
did that part which had already been built suffer
much from delay during his sojourn in France as
ambassador. It was not until Mr. Jefferson's re-
turn in 1794 that real active work was resumed,

23

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

and he applied himself enthusiastically once more
to the early completion of his design.

Mr. Jefferson had not been very favorably im-
pressed with foreign architecture, though this may
be attributable to a little democratic pride for his
own country. He thus writes :

" The city of London is handsomer than Paris,
but not so handsome as Philadelphia. Their
architecture is the most wretched style I ever saw,
not meaning to except America, where it is bad,
or even Virginia, where it is worse."

On March i o, 1 793, he thus writes concerning
the new addition :

" I have it much at heart to run up the part of
the house the latter part of the summer and fall,
which I had proposed to do in the spring."

He also makes mention this year, —

" The trees planted nearest the house at Monti-
cello are not yet full grown," and he sighs for shade.

Again he says, —

" I have my house to build, my fields to farm
and to watch, for the happiness of those who labor
for mine," — meaning his daughter Martha and her
husband, Thomas Mann Randolph.

His intention now was to build another wing,
one story and a half high, both to be united and
crowned with a balustrade, having a dome be-
tween them, the apartments to be large and con-
venient, the decorations within and without to be
simple, yet regular and elegant.

Mr. Jefferson had already erected a saw-mill, a
grist-mill, and a nail-factory, where every nail for

24

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

the building was hand-forged by his colored boys.
Many of his artisans had been brought with him
from Europe, and with all the material at hand the
work now progressed rapidly.

The story that Mr. Jefferson labored upon the
building and laid many of the brick with his own
hand is also erroneous. He was always fond of
working in his " shop," where in this " mechani-
cal retreat," which stood at the rear of the house,
he would put to a practical test his theories, con-
structing models of farm implements and exer-
cising his inventive genius ; but he never labored
in the real sense of the word, except for his own
gratification and pleasure, or to set an example of
industry to those around him.

In the fall of 1795 more brick were burnt for
the completion of his new design, and in March,
1796, he thus writes to a friend :

" I have begun the demolition of my house,
and hope to get through its re-edification in the
course of the summer. We shall have the eye of
a brick-kiln to poke you into or an octagon to air
you in."

In November, 1 796, the new walls of the house
were so far completed that but little more than a
week was wanted to get them ready for roofing,
when a sudden cold spell stopped all further work
for that year ; such was the cold that on the 23d
of the month the ground was hard frozen and re-
mained so all winter. In 1797 the new portion
of the house had been roofed in and was nearly
completed, but in the following year the house

25

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

was again dismantled to renew the roof, and only
the south pavilion, parlor, and study were fit for
occupation.

In speaking of his many disasters, he sadly
writes in 1798, as prophetic of the coming finan-
cial storm, —

" The unprofitable condition of Virginia estates
in general leaves it now next to impossible for the
holder of one to avoid ruin. If a debt is once
contracted by a farmer, it is never paid but by a
sale."

After having returned from Philadelphia in 1 798
he continued to push the work on the house, in
order to have all of his children with him ; but in
March, 1799, he writes, —

" Scarcely a stroke has been done to the house
since I went away ; so it has remained open at the
north end another winter. It seems as if I should
never get it habitable."

Even up to the year 1800 the building was
in an unfinished state, and yet large numbers of
guests would be entertained, besides having all his
children around him. Though being somewhat
incomplete outwardly, yet the internal work con-
tinued to progress during his term of the Presi-
dency, the mansion then being occupied by his
youngest daughter, Maria, and her husband, Mr.
Eppes.

In June, 1801, the building met with another
misfortune, caused by a severe hail-storm, which
broke nearly every window-pane in the house, as

well as the skylights on the roof, flooding the

26

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Interior and driving the family out of doors. As
it was extremely difficult to get glass in those days,
we can readily imagine the pitiable situation in
which the family was placed.

In 1802 the Monticello mansion was con-
sidered completed. The expense had been very
great for those times, which, Mr. Jefferson states,
was exactly two thousand and seventy-six dollars
and twenty-nine cents, while he was away at Wash-
ington, besides the large sums he had previously
expended upon it.

Thus it had taken nearly thirty years to build
this historic old edifice, a building which could
now be erected in six months under our present
rapid mode of construction.

Let us glance for a moment at this curious
structure as it then stood, fresh from the hands of
the illustrious architect, for Mr. Jefferson had de-
signed each part most minutely himself.

Entering from the eastern portico with its lofty
Corinthian pillars and arched door, over which is
still seen the old English clock which marked the
hours, the visitor is here met and ushered through
large, double glass doors into a spacious semi-
octagonal hall with its wide fireplace at one end,
as is usually found in old English mansions. Op-
posite the door is a small gallery, while on one
side of it stood a fine marble bust of the patriot
himself, and on the other one of Washington,
both by the celebrated Italian artist Carracci.
Along each side of the hall were many Indian

relics which Mr. Jefferson had himself collected.

27

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

From this hall opens another glass door leading
into the drawing-room or salon^ being the largest
and most handsome room in the house, and situ-
ated immediately under the dome. This room is
also octagonal, its floor being laid in parquetry of
octagonal blocks of different colored wood, which
were cut and fitted by his own colored workmen,
giving it a most unique and pleasing effect, and
which for skill challenges the genius of a more
intelligent race. The walls of this stately room
were adorned with portraits of Columbus, Ves-
pucius, Andrew Doria, Castruccio-Castracani, Ra-
leigh, Cortez, Bacon, Newton, Locke, Washing-
ton, Adams, Madison, and Monroe, while on
either side of the door stood the busts of Alex-
ander and Napoleon.

Leading from this room on the west side was
the dining-room, and beyond this the octagonal
tea-room. Here were to be seen busts of Frank-
lin, Voltaire, Lafayette, and Paul Jones. Adjoining
this were the bedrooms for guests, while on the
east of the entrance hall was the bedroom of
Mrs. Martha Randolph, who resided there perma-
nently after the death of Mrs. Jefferson.

Mr. Jefferson's bedroom was next to that of
Mrs. Randolph, beyond which was his library,
which extended to the west side of the house, and
from which led into an arched conservatory ; be-
yond this was Mr. Jefferson's celebrated work-
shop.

The upper part of the house was gained by a

very narrow, tortuous stairway ; the rooms above

28

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

were quite small, of low pitch, and badly lighted
or ventilated ; all of them were of many shapes,
in conformity to the octagonal design of the
house ; alcoves let into the wall served in the
place of bedsteads, their small dimensions being
hardly suited to the comfortable repose of an or-
dinary-sized person.

The dome over the parlor was covered with
thick glass ; this was called the " ladies' drawing-
room," which at one time was used as a billiard-
room until the laws of Virginia prohibited the
game. It was also said to have been used as a
" ballroom ;" but it is safe to say that Mr. Jeffer-
son never had a dancing party in his house, though
extremely fond of music, and even had his daugh-
ters taught the graceful art.

The furniture throughout was very handsome,
most of which was purchased in France, and used
while living in Philadelphia. The beautiful marble
and brazier tables, French mirrors, and elegant
sofas of the court style of Louis XVI. gave a
charming and effective contrast to the artistic
finish of the interior ; while the many rich paint-
ings, statuary, and works of art gave a sense of
regal splendor which amazed the many plain and
simple Virginians who thronged the mansion.

Governor Gilmer, of Georgia, who was a fre-
quent and familiar visitor, thus describes Monticello
during Mr. Jefferson's last term of office :

" Three rooms of the house were left open for
visitors. I saw statuary, fine paintings, and a col-
lection of Indian relics. The statuary was very

29

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

beautiful ; I could not be satisfied with looking
at it. The Indian remains were singular things.
Mr. Jefferson's library door was locked, but the
window-blinds were thrown back, so that I could
see several books turned open upon the table, the
inkstand, paper, and pens as they had been used
when Mr. Jefferson quitted home."

He also thus describes the appearance of Mr.
Jefferson in 1825, just previous to his death :

" He was still erect ; his reddish hair slightly
gray, his complexion florid, and his countenance
intellectual. He described his plan for the uni-
versity at Charlottesville, then under his particular
direction, the great seat of learning for the Southern
States. His advanced age and valuable public
services, eminent abilities, social qualities, and
controlling influence in organizing and giving
directions to the Democratic party made him an
object of special interest. It was, indeed, surprising
to see one so old, who had been so industriously
employed in discharging the most difficult public
duties, so intent upon what he yet had to do."

But let us turn again to the building. On top
of the dome Mr. Jefferson had his observatory,
being a simple platform surrounded by a balustrade.
Here he would often sit, night and day, surveying
the heavens or the vast expanse of scenery before
him with his telescope.

The famous nail-factory, machine-shops, and
weaving-rooms were to the south-east of the house,
beyond which was the terraced garden, in which
he delighted to exhibit his horticultural products.

30

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

The farm itself had not been cleared to any great
extent around the mansion, most of the crops
being raised on the north side of the river at
Shadwell and upon the Tufton farm near Milton,

Thus we find the farm and mansion of Monti-
cello in 1809, upon the retirement of Mr. Jefferson
from the Presidency. But it was not to gain
repose, for he was followed to his beautiful moun-
tain home by a host of admirers and visitors, and
but for the records left us, it were scarcely possible
to believe the extent to which the imposition upon
his privacy by friends, kindred, and the public
generally was carried at this time. They would
come singly and in families, bringing babies,
nurses, drivers, and horses, spending weeks and
even months at a time, giving the place an ap-
pearance of some noted watering rendezvous.
Here would be gathered students, savants, mu-
sicians, clergymen, members of Congress, foreign
travellers, artists, and men of every faith and
political creed to gratify their curiosity and say
that they had seen and heard Mr, Jefferson. In
one instance a family of six from Europe remained
ten months ; on another occasion a lady broke a
pane of glass with her parasol in her eagerness to
get a glimpse of the President. Crowds would
stand about the house for hours watching for his
exit, until Mr. Jefferson in desperation would fly
to his farm. Poplar Forest, in Bedford County, for
repose, expressing truly his feelings when he said,
" Political honors are but splendid torments."

At various times there were also many celebrated
31

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

visitors to Monticello, who have left their record
of the place as it then appeared ; among these were
the Duke de Laincourt, a distinguished French
traveller, who, in 1 796, remained several days ; the
Marquis de Chastellux, aide to General Lafayette ;
Lieutenant Hall, of the English army, in 1816;
and William Wirt, the historian, the friend and
frequent visitor of Jefferson, All these have given
graphic descriptions of this celebrated spot, some
in language most illusive, for it is hardly possible
for the eye to reach the Chesapeake Bay, the
Atlantic Ocean, or even to the James River, nor can
the lofty hills of Maryland or the Peaks of Otter be
seen, yet the view is grand, majestic, and inspiring,
— the same which Mr. Jefferson gazed upon with
delight, and which has been the theme of poets
and historians since, and ever more to be the
admiration of thousands who make their pilgrim-
age to this shrine of America's freedom.

Thus stood Monticello at the close of Mr. Jef-
ferson's life in 1826. It was known at this time
that he was deeply involved in debt, — one par-
tially made in entertaining his numerous guests,
— in consequence of which his entire estate was
soon afterwards offered for sale by his grandson and
executor. Colonel Thomas Jefferson Randolph, of
Edgehill. Mr. Jefferson had truly rendered him-
self poor when he built Monticello. The Italians
brought over to do the ornamental work proved
most expensive, and his friends had literally " ate
him out of house and home ;" so of his once
large estate of ten thousand acres very little re-

32

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

mained besides the mansion and its contents, he
having previously sold, in 1776, lands to the
amount of twenty thousand dollars in the hope
of stemming the incoming tide of insolvency.

About the year 1828, Commodore Uriah P.
Levy, of the United States Navy, who had known
and greatly admired Jefferson, secured the mansion
with four hundred acres of the Monticello tract.
In purchasing the place he designed to preserve it
in the same condition, and carry out the plans of
the great patriot himself for its adornment ; and still
further, in honor of his memory, he erected a hand-
some statue to him in the City Hall at New York.

Commodore Levy presided most gracefully over
the halls of Monticello, and fittingly maintained
its just celebrity for hospitality. As an instance
of his extreme courtesy, it is stated that on one
occasion, when a party of gentlemen visited the
place, among whom was the Rev. Stephen Jack-
son, the father of the present Bishop Jackson, of
Alabama, after showing them the house, the com-
modore opened a bottle of wine which he had
brought direct from the island of Madeira ; the
Rev. Mr. Jackson, in drinking to the health of
his host, said, " May you live long and prosper."
Whereupon Commodore Levy replied, as he held
up his glass, " And may your reverence bury me."

After the death of Commodore Levy the estate
descended to his nephew, the Hon. Jefferson M.
Levy, of New York, its present owner.

During the civil war it was confiscated by the
Confederate government and fell into rapid decay ;

3 33

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

at one time being used as a hospital, after which
it was rented to unscrupulous parties, who allowed
it to be sadly pillaged. After the war it was not
difficult for Mr. Levy to regain possession, who
at once began its restoration, and to-day it stands
complete, and perhaps far more beautiful than
even in Jefferson's time.

Let us picture Monticello as it now stands, after
a lapse of nearly seventy years, still sitting in all
its majestic pride and grandeur upon its lofty emi-
nence, while so many of the great, the good, and
the gifted who once graced its halls have passed
away forever.

Instead of a steep, rough road, filled with rocks
and gullies, upon which vehicles would once fre-
quently stall, the visitor can now drive from the
city of Charlottesville over a smooth and easily
graded road, which winds gracefully around Car-
ter's Mountain, bringing the traveller to the
" Notch," or first summit, almost before he real-
izes it. Here stands a porter's lodge, with artistic
double gate, through which vehicles enter upon
the Monticello domain proper, and begin to as-
cend the Little Mountain, upon which the man-
sion sits a mile above. The same smooth road,
bordered by a stone wall, winds along its rugged
sides until the cemetery is reached, which stands
midway to the summit.

This is the spot chosen by Jefferson, in 1782,
after the death of his wife, Martha Wayles Jeffer-
son, where he wished himself and family to be
laid. It is on a gentle slope of the mountain, to

34

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

the right of the road, surrounded by lofty oaks
and pines, with all the solemn beauty and stillness

i of the primeval forest. Here he first laid his wife,
and then his youngest daughter, Maria Eppes.
Mr. Jefferson then had a rough stone wall four

I feet high placed around it, with a small iron gate

' for entrance. This was more as a protection from
roaming cattle than from human depredation.
These few graves were unmarked by any stone for
several years, but after the death of Mr. Jefferson,
in 1826, there was found in a private drawer,
among other relics of his wife and daughter, a

■ pen-and-ink sketch of a monument such as he
wished to be placed over his own grave. It was
to be eight feet high, of Virginia stone, with a
suitable base, upon which was to be the following
inscription :

" Here was Buried
Thomas Jefferson,
Author of the Declaration of American Indepen-
dence; of the Statutes of Virginia, for Religious
Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.
Born April z""*, 1743, O.S.
Died July 4*, 1826."

I His wishes were scrupulously carried out by
'his grandson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, and
though the estate was burdened by heavy debts,
yet the proffer by the Legislature of Virginia and
other States to defray the expense was refused.
There being no suitable stone in Virginia for the
monument, it was ordered from the North, and
,cut from Vermont granite.

35

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

The inscription was cut upon a separate tablet
of marble and let into the granite. This first
monument was placed directly over the grave of
Jefferson, which was five or six feet from, and
directly opposite to, the entrance, the inscription
facing the gate towards the east. Mrs. Jefferson
lies on the right side of this monument. Soon
after the death of his eldest daughter, Martha
Wayles Randolph, in 1836, and her husband. Gov-
ernor Thomas Mann Randolph, in 1828, both of
whom are buried there, a higher and more sub-
stantial wall of brick was placed entirely around
the old one, with a larger and stronger gate, to
prevent the destruction of the monument by relic-
seekers, which had already begun.

About the year 1875 the Senators from Vir-
ginia, led by the Hon. S. S. Cox, of New York,
who had visited Monticello and seen the dilapi-
dated condition of the monument, introduced a
bill for the preservation of Mr. Jefferson's grave. \
The bill was passed, with an appropriation of ten
thousand dollars for that purpose, provided the
family would cede to the government all their
right and title to the graveyard. This was refused.
In the first sale of Monticello to a Dr. Barkley
(who afterwards sold it to Commodore Levy), the
graveyard was specially retained by the family.
The Legislature of Virginia soon afterwards enacted
a law " that no family graveyard should be included
in the sale of a place unless by special contract."
Thus the government not forcing a quit-claim
from the family, it compromised by allowing only

36

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

its immediate members to be interred there, though
retaining control as government property.

The design and construction of the new monu-
ment, and its placing in position and enclosure,
were intrusted to the Secretary of War, who turned
it over to Colonel Thomas L. Casey, Chief of En-
gineers of the United States Army, who was also
assisted by Major Green Peyton Proctor, of the
University of Virginia. The new monument is of
Virginia granite, quarried near Richmond, Virginia.
It is in exact double proportions of the original one,
having a total height of eighteen feet, including
base, plinth, and shaft. The same inscription is
cut in sunken letters in the granite, and stands in
the same position as the old one, facing the en-
trance gate. This new monument was begun in

1882, and completed and placed in position in

1883, '^'^^'^ appropriate ceremonies. The grave-
yard is also enclosed by an iron railing seven and
a half feet high, with a heavy double iron gate,
which is permanently locked.

After the erection of the new monument the old
one was placed for a time outside the enclosure by
the family, that all who desired might obtain a
piece, they retaining only the tablet. It was, how-
ever, soon after presented to Columbia College, of
Missouri, upon the earnest appeal of its board of
curators through their president, S. S. Laws, and
was removed and placed on the college campus,
July 4, 1883, by Professor A. F. Fleet, where it
can now be seen, with the original tablet and in-
scription. We have thus endeavored to give a

37

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

brief sketch of this handsome tribute by the gov- j
eminent to the memory of one to whom this great j
country is so much indebted, and, being now under
the guardian care of a grateful people, it is hoped
will never be again desecrated.

A few hundred yards from the cemetery the
entrance to the lawn is reached, and a glimpse of
the grand scenery spread below is seen. Keeping
to the right, we pass the ruins of the celebrated
" nail-factory," with its solitary chimney festooned
with ivy. Farther on, a solitary grave, surrounded
by a stone wall, marks the resting-place of the
mother of Commodore Levy, who died here.
Next we come to the " weaving-room," which is
now the manager's house. Here we are met by a
colored porter, who, though looking quite venera-
ble, does not lay claim to being Mr. Jefferson's
body-servant, though for a few pennies he will tell
you some wonderful stories of him, and point out
with pride the many objects of interest. Approach-
ing the mansion up the east lawn, the visitor will
stand for a moment and glance at the clock over
the door and the weather-vane overhead, which
had so often been scanned by the great philoso-
pher. Then reverently entering the double glass
doors, he will find himself in the famous hall where
Jefferson was wont to meet and greet his visitors.

On the right hangs a full-length portrait of Com-
modore Levy in full naval uniform ; it is a ma-
jestic and striking picture of this noted officer;
while opposite is a model of the " Vandalia," the
flag-ship in which he sailed around the world.

38

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Many other paintings adorn the room which will
claim a close and special notice. In the large par-
lor or salon hangs a full-size portrait of Madam
Rachel Levy, the mother of Commodore Levy,
who was styled the " American beauty" while in
Europe, a term not inappropriately given if we
may judge by the beautiful features before us.
The furniture in this room is of the rich antique
pattern, to represent the period of Mr. Jefferson's
term as ambassador, while from the ceiling hangs
a magnificent chandelier of an old English style for
candles. A similar one hangs in the dining-room,
both having been imported direct from Europe by
Mr, Levy, and are said to have once graced the
palace of the Empress Josephine at Malmaison.

The glass doors, the polished floors of parquetry,
the antique furniture, and ancient portraits all lend a
baronial aspect of the past century in close keeping
with its appearance during Mr. Jefferson's time.

The grounds and exterior appointments are well
preserved. Scattered over the rich green lawn are
rustic benches, statuary, vases, and urns of fragrant
plants. Here, beneath stately elms, locust, and
chestnut-trees, the visitor can sit and feast the eye
upon the vast landscape on every side.

Half a dozen English spaniels sport on the
green lawn, while upon the steep, craggy side of
the mountain eight or ten deer can occasionally
be seen, which are parked by a high picket-fence.
The rear, or south-west, lawn is equally as beauti-
ful : from this point is to be seen the mystical loom-
ing of Willis's Mountain in Buckingham County,

39

HISTORIC HOMES

forty miles away, which would be usually pointed
out by Mr. Jefferson to his visitors ; then to stand
on the north-west side of the pavilion and view the
university, with the city of Charlottesville spread
in the valley below in all its peaceful repose and
beauty, while far beyond stretches the vast range
of the Blue Ridge, embracing an extent of vision
nearly fifty miles in length, which forms a picture
such as will repay a journey of several thousand
miles to behold.

It is to be doubted whether the government of
the United States or the State of Virginia could
have done more for the preservation of Monticello
than Mr. Levy ; being a man of wealth, with an
inherited love and admiration for the memory of
Mr. Jefferson, he has spared no expense in preserv-
ing it in all its pristine beauty, and has expressed his
intention of making it one of the great attractive
spots in America and worthy the memory of the
great apostle of freedom.

Thus it will ever be the delight of thousands
from foreign lands, as well as our own sons and
daughters, who will visit this historic spot which
will remain forever sacred in the hearts of all true
Americans.

In conclusion, we can state that Mr. Levy is in
no way connected with the Jefferson family ; he
was named Jefferson Monroe Levy in honor of Vir-
ginia's two most noble Presidents, and Virginians
will 2 iS honor his name in gratitude for his
love ana patriotism shown in the beautiful care

bestowed upon Monticello.

40

i

C ~

« >

o Z

?. O

PANTOPS

ONE OF JEFFERSON'S FARMS

THE first record we have of the settlement
of this noted spot, which stands under the
shadow of Monticello, immediately oppo-
site on the north side of the river, we find men-
tioned in the year 1734, when Jonathan Clarke
(father of General George Rogers Clarke), Edmund
Hickman, Joseph Smith, and Thomas Graves ob-
tained a grant of three thousand two hundred and
seventy-seven acres of land along the Rivanna
from " Shadwell branch to Key West." The tract
upon which Pantops stands fell mainly to Smith's
share and partly to Hickman's. Twelve years
afterwards Colonel Peter Jefferson bought a part
of this tract, and in 1777, Thomas, his son, pur-
chased the remainder, which had been formerly
sold to Charles Lynch.

Pantops was considered one of Mr. Jefferson's
" pet farms," and it is said that he hesitated for a
time whether his new home should be here or at
Monticello, the grand view from this point being
hardly less enchanting than its more lofty neighbor.
Pantops — formerly written " Pant-Ops " — was,
therefore, so named by Mr. Jefferson from two
Greek words, " Ildj^-'Opda)," meaning " all-seeing,"
significant of the extended view from its summit.

41

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

In 1797, Mr. Jefferson speaks of "opening and
resettling the plantation of Pantops," with a view
of making it a home for his younger daughter
" Polly" (Maria), who had just married Mr. Eppes.
But this design was frustrated by the early death
of this dear daughter, which event, in connection
with impending debts, caused him soon afterwards
to part with Pantops, as expressed by a talented
writer, "literally for the bread he gave and the
wine he poured out for his guests," it passing in
settlement of a store account to a merchant in
Richmond, Virginia.

This merchant was James Leitch, who married
Mary Walker Lewis, the granddaughter of Nicho-
las Lewis of colonial fame.

In 1803, Mr. Jefferson again speaks of having
" levelled " Pantops preparatory to building, and
in 1 804 writes to his daughter Maria of " levelling
and establishing your hen-house at Pantops."

But this hen-house was all that Mr. Jefferson
accomplished towards building before parting with
the place, and it is said to have been still standing
about the year 1877.

The first dwelling-house erected at Pantops was

by this James Leitch, about the year 1815. It

was a small frame building of two rooms, with a

narrow hall through the centre and a long portico

in front. After the death of Mr. Leitch, his widow

married her cousin. Captain David Anderson, who

then added another room at the rear ; yet its narrow

dimensions could not be styled very commodious,

though its proportions were considered quite ample

42

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

at that time. After the death of Colonel Anderson,
his son, Meriwether Anderson, who had married
Eliza Meriwether Lewis Leitch, the third daughter
of James Leitch, came to Pantops in 1831, where
he resided until his death in 1866.

This genial old Virginia gentleman is still well
remembered. He was a skilful farmer, a lover of
sport and good living, fond of entertaining a host
of friends, among whom were Colonel Jeff Ran-
dolph, William C. Rives, Franklin Minor, Gov-
ernor Gilmer, and many others of the bonhomie
Virginians around him. Under his management
Pantops became most productive, and noted for
its fine crops, fat mutton, and luscious fruits.

Mrs. Anderson was a lady of great taste and
refinement. Her vegetable and flower garden was
the envy of her neighbors, and her house always
open to the happy gatherings of young people,
whom she delighted to entertain. Indeed, Pantops
then stood at the apex in the great fame of this
region for its hospitality.

In the year 1877, soon after the death of Captain
Anderson, Pantops passed into the hands of the
Rev. Edgar Woods, who had been pastor of the
Presbyterian church in Charlottesville for eleven
years. Compelled by failing health to relinquish
his charge, he removed to Pantops, and there
opened a small school for boys, chiefly to educate
his own sons. Such was the success of this small
beginning that, upon urgent entreaties of his friends
and neighbors for its continuance, he was compelled
to greatly enlarge and improve the old mansion of

43

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

forty years previous, which was even then in sound
preservation, though unsuited to modern require-
ments. For seven years the school continued to
flourish under the benignant and wise teachings of
Dr. Woods, who, like the great Dr. Arnold, of
Rugby, drew young hearts to love him by firm
discipline, and gave to youths an impress of char-
acter which is still felt by those who were fortunate
to fall under his instructions.

Failing health, however, again compelled him to
give up his increased labors, and in 1884 Pahtops
was again sold, with three hundred and seventy-
three acres of the original tract, to his son-in-law,
Professor John R. Sampson, who had for eight
years filled with distinction the chair of ancient
languages at Davidson College, North Carolina.
Upon taking possession of the school. Professor
Sampson found it necessary to again greatly en-
large its facilities to meet the rapidly increased
patronage, and at once erected a large three-story
building, with all modern improvements for lecture-
rooms, study-hall, library, etc., as well as other out-
side buildings, as dormitories, gymnasium, bathing-
rooms, etc., until now the classic summit of
Pantops is crowned with many stately and im-
posing buildings, which, like a " city set on a hill,"
sends forth its light to all parts of the world, many
of its graduates being in foreign lands, while others
are filling high and honored positions in our own.

Thus from the small beginning of six pupils
by Dr. Woods, in 1877, was founded the present
Pantops Academy, an institution which has grown

44

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

to national popularity, and such an one as filled
the vision of Jefferson when he planned his Cen-
tral College at Charlottesville, and which would
have gladdened the heart of the great advocate for
the higher education of youth.

Let us turn genealogically to these two noted
families of Woods and Sampson, who have planted
such a noble beacon-light of learning on this
famous hill. We find the family of Woods to be
one of the oldest in Virginia, as well as one of the
first to settle in Albemarle. They emigrated at an
early period from Scotland, settling first at Ulster,
in Pennsylvania, and from thence to Virginia. As
early as 1734 we find that Michael Woods held
large landed possessions near what was long known
as Woods's Gap, he being the first to cross the
Blue Ridge at that point. He and his sons and
sons-in-law were also the first to establish a Pres-
byterian church in Albemarle, which was then
called the " Mountain Plain" Church. His son
Andrew was one of the first " Gentlemen Justices"
for Botetourt County, appointed under George
III. His son Archibald was in the Revolution-
ary army when not quite sixteen, and was the
youngest member of the Constitutional Conven-
tion of Virginia, held in 1788. This Archibald
Woods afterwards owned sixty thousand acres of
land in West Virginia, and founded the first bank
at Wheeling, being its president until his death
in 1849. ^^^ ^^^ Thomas was cashier of the
same bank, but died while quite young. This
Archibald was the father of the Rev. Dr. Woods,

45

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

the founder of Pantops Academy. It is also an
interesting fact that Dr. Woods returned to Albe-
marle County in 1866, just one hundred years
after his ancestor, Andrew Woods, left the county
for Botetourt.

The Sampson family is of no less celebrity.
We find some of the name as landholders in
Goochland County as early as 1725, when Francis
Sampson, who is supposed to have been a French
Huguenot, took a " patent" which descended from
father to son for five generations, or nearly a cen-
tury, and which was at last sold in 1813 by Rich-
ard Sampson and his brothers and sisters.

This Richard lived some time in Albemarle,
owning the estates known as Franklin Place, Wil-
ton, and River Bend. He married a sister of the
Rev. Thornton Rogers, of Albemarle, a lineal de-
scendant of Giles Rogers, who emigrated from
Worcestershire, England, to King and Queen
County, Virginia, late in the seventeenth century.
His son John married Mary Byrd, the sister of
Colonel William Byrd, who obtained a grant of
seven thousand three hundred and fifty-one acres
of land from Sir William Berkley, governor of
the colony, on March 15, 1675, "beginning at
the mouth of Shoccoe's Creek," as the deed speci-
fies, and running several miles up the James River,
being the present site of Richmond, Virginia.
This John and Mary Rogers came to Albemarle,
and were the grandparents of General George
Rogers Clarke, the famous hero of the Revolu-
tionary war. From his son Byrd Rogers have

46

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

descended quite a number of preachers : Rev.
Thornton Rogers, Rev. Francis S. Sampson, D.D.,
Rev. Thornton S. Wilson, Rev. Thornton R. Samp-
son, Rev. Oscar B. Wilson, Rev. WiUiam T.
Walker, Rev. W. M. Nelson, and Right Rev.
Kinloch Nelson, Bishop of Georgia.

Richard Sampson after his marriage with Mary-
Rogers returned to Goochland and purchased
the estate called Dover, which became under his
splendid management the most famous plantation
in Virginia. The Hon. James A. Seddon, Secre-
tary of War under the Confederate States, who
was a near neighbor, writing of him after his
death, says in an article to the Richmond Farmer,
" His transformation of Dover, which was badly-
impoverished, from a waste to a garden was like a
new creation. His plantation was yearly subjected
to the inspection of thousands of observers, who
were themselves for the most part cultivators of
the soil, as the gentry of lower Virginia passed his
place on their way to the Springs. It was thus
that Mr. Sampson's name soon became a familiar
word throughout the length and breadth of the
land."

The Rev. Francis Sampson, the son of this
Richard, was a brilliant student at the University
of Virginia, taking the A.M. He and his room-
mate, Dennison Dudley, began the first prayer-
meeting ever held in the college, the nucleus of
what is now the Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion. They both went from the University to
study for the ministry at Hampden-Sidney Col-

47

HISTORIC HOMES

lege, and at the conclusion of his course Dr.
Sampson was made there Professor of Oriental
Literature. He married Caroline Dudley, a noted
beauty, and daughter of Russell Dudley, of Rich-
mond, Virginia. This latter gentleman, with his
wife, Mary Baldwin, came early in the century
from New England, where both belonged to fami-
lies distinguished since 1639. The Virginia Bald-
wins of Winchester and Staunton are from the
same ancestors as Mrs. Dudley.

This Dr. Francis Sampson and Caroline Dudley
are the parents of Professor John R. Sampson, of
Pantops, who married Anne E., the daughter ot
Dr. Edgar Woods. To this talented and gifted
lady is due much of the success of Pantops Acad-
emy. Her gentle and loving influence over its
more than five hundred pupils who have entered
its halls since the year 1884 ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ impress
for much good, as evidenced by the numbers of
prominent and useful men who have left its walls
to battle for the " Master" in foreign lands.

During the year 1894 its pupils were drawn
from twenty-four States, and Pantopian students
were found in thirty-two institutions, from the
University of Edinburgh, Scotland, to that of Cal-
ifornia, nearly all of whom have graduated with
high honors.

Thus we see Pantops not only historic in its

associations with Jefferson, but eminent as one of

the grand institutions of learning in the South,

whose well-merited success will ever be the pride

and joy of Virginians.

48

LEGO

THE HOME OF THE TAYLORS

ADJOINING Pantops on the east is Lego,
/ \ another of Mr. Jefferson's famous farms.
'*' ^ This was a portion of the nine hundred
and eighty-eight acres purchased of Smith and
Mosely in 1794. The original farm of Lego
contained some five hundred acres, extending
chiefly along the steep mountain-sides which
stretch even to the river's bank at this point, but,
like its neighbor, Pantops, it has long since been
shorn of much of its area.

Why Mr. Jefferson gave it the name Lego (I
read) is still a debatable question ; one story is
that he made a colored urchin hold up a book at
this spot, while he sat on his lofty Monticello por-
tico, a mile distant, and read from it with his spy-
glass ; but the most plausible one is that it was in
this shady vale, beneath its lofty oaks and beside
a cool spring, that he often resorted, and here re-
clining, with book in hand, would study and
dream of the great future for his country. Mr.
Jefferson had already erected several log cabins,
tobacco-barns, and other buildings upon each of
his four farms for the use of his overseers and
laborers, hence there was at an early date a small,
rude building at the foot of the mountain beside a
4 49

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

bold stream which meandered among the hills.
About the year iSoo, Mr. Jefferson sold Lego
to Thomas Walker Lewis, son of Nicholas Lewis
and Mary Walker, daughter of Dr. Thomas
Walker, of Castle Hill ; he built the first framed
dwelling at Lego. After several years it again
passed to the late Luther George, of Albemarle,
who erected the brick portion of the house and
lived there until it was again sold to Jefferson C.
Randolph Taylor, of Jefferson County, Virginia.
Mr. Taylor was the son of Bennett Taylor, a
prominent lawyer of Richmond, Virginia, who in
middle life moved to Jefferson County and there
died. His grandfather was Captain John Taylor,
of Southampton County, who was in active ser-
vice during the Revolutionary war, having equipped
and maintained a company of his own. The
grandfather of this Captain Taylor was William
Taylor, a Scotchman, who is believed to have
been the first of the name in Virginia.

Mr. Jefferson Randolph Taylor, of Lego, was a
graduate in law at the University of Virginia, and
held the position of presiding justice in Jefferson
County for many years until his removal to Albe-
marle. Such was his great integrity of character
and sense of justice while holding that position that
it brought forth most eulogistic testimony from
Bishop Wilmer, of Alabama, and Bishop Whittle,
of Virginia, both of whom had been his rector.

Upon taking possession of Lego in 1858, Mr.
Taylor added to the original mansion, making it
quite large and commodious. He was quite a

50

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

successful farmer, this portion of the Jefferson
tract having been very fertile, and under his skill
and keen judgment it became most flourishing.
Mr. Taylor was prominently connected with many
important events in the county, and though of a
retired nature, yet his opinions were always sought
and valued in every movement for the welfare of
the people.

In 1838 he married Patsey Jefferson Randolph,
second daughter of Colonel Thomas Jefferson
Randolph, of Edgehill, grandson of Thomas Jef-
ferson. He died at Lego, January 6, 1 878, hon-
ored and esteemed by a host of friends for his high
standing in all relations of life.

Their children were :

1. Bennett Taylor, who married, in 1865, Lucy Colston;

they have six children. He was colonel in the
Confederate army, and won distinction as being one
of the few to reach the enemy's works during the
fearful charge at Gettysburg ; he was there taken
prisoner and held at Johnson's Island for twenty
months. He is now a prominent lawyer of Red-
ford, West Virginia.

2. Jane Randolph Taylor.

3. Susan Beverly Taylor; married John Blackburn.

4. Jefferson Randolph Taylor ; graduated at the Univer-

sity of Virginia in the law ; is now a minister of
the Episcopal Church at Bryan, Texas,

5. Margaret Randolph Taylor; married William Ran-

dolph, son of William Lewis Randolph ; he died
in 1894; she died in 1897.

6. Charlotte Taylor ; died an infant.

7. Cornelia Jefferson Taylor; lives at Lego; she is quite

talented, and many literary productions have ema-
nated from her gifted pen.
51

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

8. Stevens Mason Taylor.

9. Edmund Randolph Taylor.

10. Sydney W. Taylor; died in infancy.

11. J. C. R. Taylor; died an infant.

1 2. Moncure Robinson Taylor ; lives and farms at Lego.

In the year 1894 the old brick building at the
foot of the hill, which had sheltered the family
so many years, was consumed by fire, but in six
months afterwards there arose a large and imposing
structure, in the Queen Anne style, upon the crest
of the hill (an illustration of which is given). This
now forms a fashionable and attractive resort for
summer boarders who wish to visit this famous
locality.

Lego has always possessed a halo of romance,
— its near proximity to Monticello, its lofty hills
and shady dells, — it being one of the special resorts
of Jefferson in fleeing from the public view, — all
of which add to it a peculiar charm. Still more
does the grand view expanding from every point
of the compass present to the gaze a panoramic
picture, embracing the four farms of Jefferson, the
South- West Mountain range, the river at its foot,
the city of Charlottesville and university beyond,
with the Blue Ridge as a background, while on
the west rises beautiful Mont-Alto (" high mount")
of the South- West range, so named by Mr. Jef-
ferson for its rough, steep sides. This was also
one of his farms, containing five hundred and
seventy-seven acres, extending even to the cele-
brated Pen Park farm on the west side of the
mountain, where Benjamin Franklin is said to have

52

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

visited and made several of his electrical experi-
ments. Mont-Alto was rarely cultivated by Mr.
Jefferson himself, being usually rented out, and
was eventually sold to his last tenant, Mr. T. H.
Craven.

The new building of Lego is capacious, having
twenty rooms, with open corridors on every side,
where the mountain breezes are continually felt.
Its halls are filled with many choice portraits and
works of art which have descended as heirlooms
in the Jefferson and Randolph families ; of these
is to be particularly noticed a portrait of Colonel
Jefferson Randolph when at the age of sixteen,
while studying medicine in Philadelphia. This
was painted by the great patriot artist Charles
Willson Peale in 1776, who in his admiration for
Jefferson presented him with this picture of his
grandson, which for many years graced the halls
of Monticello. A fine portrait of Sir John Ran-
dolph, from a miniature by Bruce, is also here to
be seen. It represents Sir John at the time of his
visit to England in the interest of William and
Mary College, when he was knighted by George
II. for his eminent services in the colony. And
one of Edmund Randolph, the first Attorney-
General of the United States and also governor
of Virginia, 1786-88, must not be overlooked.
He was the grandson of Sir John Randolph, and
his portrait is among the first of Virginia's govern-
ors which hang in the State Library at Richmond.
The family retain also many relics and documents
of Jefferson which are well worthy of notice.

53

HISTORIC HOMES

In gazing over the vast domain as viewed from
its portals, which once belonged to Mr. Jefferson,
it is sad to contemplate that Lego is the only spot
now owned by any of his descendants which was
a part of the original Monticello tract, and even
this was only gained by purchase ; yet it is linked
with the two great names of Jefferson and Ran-
dolph, and must ever continue to be of interest to
every true patriot of our land.

54

SHAD WELL

The site of the Birthplace of Thomas Jefferson

SHAD WELL

THE BIRTHPLACE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON

TWO tall, scraggy sycamore-trees and a few
aged locusts are all that now mark the
site of the once famous Shadwell man-
sion, where Thomas Jefferson was born in 1743,
O. S.

These are said to be the remains of an avenue
of trees which were planted by Jefferson himself
on his twenty-first birthday, and are the only
silent witnesses of his youthful pranks around the
old homestead.

Colonel Peter Jefferson is recorded as having
been the third or fourth settler in the neighbor-
hood, and when he began to clear the woods to
erect his dwelling he found the trails of the Mo-
nacan Indians stretching over the hills.

The story is told that two or three days before
Colonel Peter Jefferson took out his " patent" for
one thousand acres of land on the Rivanna River
William Randolph, his friend and neighbor, had
already taken out one for two thousand four hun-
dred acres adjoining ; Jefferson, not finding a suit-
able location for a house on his own land, pro-
posed to his neighbor to sell him four hundred
acres ; this was agreed to ; but such was the friend-
ship between them, and such the abundance of

55

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

land, that the price paid was to be, as the deed still
in the family testifies, " Henry Weatherbourn's big-
gest bowl of Arrack punch."

In 1 737, upon these four hundred acres, situated
about three hundred yards from the river, on the
northern slope of the hill was built the first Shad-
well house, so named after the parish in England
where his wife, Jane Rogers (or Rodgers) was
born, though others state that it was for Shadwell
Street in London, where his wife's mother, Jane
Rogers Randolph, lived. This celebrated old build-
ing is described as having been a plain, weather-
boarded house one and a half stories high, having
four spacious rooms and hall on the ground-floor,
with garret, chambers, and dormer-windows above.
At each gable end were huge outside chimneys,
which loomed up like gothic buttresses, and mas-
sive enough to support the walls of a cathedral,
instead of a low wooden cottage. The house sat
very near the highway, which then ran along the
north bank of the river, and in those days of gen-
eral hospitality it was the stopping-place of nearly
every traveller, who would always be heartily wel-
comed. Here the great Indian chiefs, who were
very fond of Peter Jefferson, would tarry on their
journey to Williamsburg, and it was thus that
young Jefferson became acquainted with Ontas-
site, the great Cherokee warrior and orator, and
was present in his camp when he made his fare-
well address to his people before leaving for Eng-
land. Here Colonel Peter Jefferson lived with his
family a happy rural life, gathering in the abun-

56

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

dant crops from the rich virgin soil of the sur-
rounding hills, grinding his own corn and wheat,
and sawing his own lumber and that of his neigh-
bors at his mill on the river, having little or no
expense or care, and little thinking of the great
part his young boy Thomas would one day take
in the affairs of the nation.

In 1756, Colonel Peter Jefferson died, leaving
his estate in charge of his friend and neighbor
John Harvie, of Belmont, for the benefit of his
only son Thomas, then a youth going to school to
" Parson" Douglas, in Louisa County, at sixteen
pounds per year, who taught him the rudiments of
Latin and Greek, and also the French. He after-
wards went to " Parson" Maury, near where Lind-
sey's old store stood, to whom he paid twenty
pounds per session, and of whom he speaks as
being "a classical scholar." After graduating in
the law, young Jefferson, then having attained his
majority, assumed control of the estate, and car-
ried on the farm as in his father's time, at the same
time he entered upon the practice of his profession
in the courts of Albemarle and surrounding coun-
ties. It was while absent attending some distant
court that the old homestead was destroyed by fire
in 1 770, after which it was never rebuilt. The loss
to young Jefferson by this occurrence was very
great, consuming a valuable library and many
papers and records of his father's long and active
life in the county, which would have thrown
much light upon its early settlement and history.
The story is told that when a servant was sent to

57

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

tell him of his loss, he asked at once if any of his
books and papers had been saved. The old darky
replied, with some satisfaction, " No, massa ; noth-
ing but At fiddle V Mr. Jefferson was devoted to
music, and the old negro thought that the violin
was esteemed the most valuable article of all.

Mr. Jefterson now turned to the little mountain,
in full view on the other side of the river, though
distant four miles off, as a site for his new home.
The spot is still shown on the river bank where
he kept his canoe, and would daily paddle himself
across, clambering up the steep hill-sides to where
he was levelling the apex of the mountain pre-
paratory for building. But there was much yet at
Shadwell to claim his attention, and had he been
content to rebuild upon the old site, it would have
resulted better for his fortunes. Here at the foot of
the hill stood his grist- and flour-mill, the stone
walls of which are still to be seen, while its site
forms a rich garden spot which can be viewed
daily by passengers on the Chesapeake and Ohio
Railway. Here, too, were situated many of his
tobacco-barns, stables, and out-buildings for his
numerous slaves, forming quite a settlement of
themselves. And here, too, were timber and ma-
terial in abundance for building at comparatively
little expense ; but the far-off grand eminence of
the little mountain had a peculiarly attractive in-
fluence upon his ambitious spirit, which seemed
prophetic of that great eminence he would attain
in the hearts of his countrymen.

It was in after-years that, notwithstanding Mr.
58

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Jefferson's removal to his new home, Shadwell
rose to importance as a manufacturing town, rival-
hng even its neighbor Milton on the south side.
In 1835 it contained a large carding-factory em-
ploying nearly a hundred operatives, a large mer-
chant mill under the management of Messrs. John
Timberlake & Son, a saw-mill, and several stores,
shops, and dwellings, all stretched along the north
bank of the river. The river was then navigable
to this point, and here were shipped the grain, to-
bacco, and products of the surrounding country,
as well as large quantities of flour and cotton-
yarns, which would be floated down the river in
long bateaux. These were busy, halcyon days
for Shadwell. The musical toot of the boatman's
horn or his merry song of

" Inspiring bold John Barleycorn,
What dangers thou canst make me scorn !
Wi' tippenny we fear no evil,
Wi' esquibac we face the devil !"

would often resound along the steep Rivanna cliffs.
Even so late as 1850 it continued to be quite a
commercial place ; but in that year the carding-fac-
tory was destroyed by fire, and though frequent
efforts were made for its rebuilding, this was never
done, its ruined walls standing for many years as
a monument of its departed glory, and after the
advent of the railroad Shadwell rapidly declined.
Here, along the banks of the river, was the great
highway for stage travel in those days, which
crossed the river at Secretary's Ford, near the

59

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

present railroad iron bridge, or farther up at Pi-
rea, upon the bridge there built by " Billy" Meri-
wether at a cost of four thousand dollars, which
always bore his name. At times " Billy" would
get into contention with the stage lines as to toll-
rates, whereupon he would rip up the planks of his
bridge until the stages would come to terms or
risk the fording at high water.

The river at Shadwell would often get on a
rampage, flooding the mills, stopping travel, and
doing much damage. Mr. Jefferson always re-
corded these events, which to him meant a serious
loss ; still, he always averred that the water-power
at Shadwell was the best, and his design was to
extensively utilize it, making here a great manu-
facturing town.

In 1879 the site of the old Shadwell mansion
with two hundred and thirty acres of land, being
a portion of what was called the " Punch-Bowl
tract," was sold to Mr, Downing Smith, of Greene
County. In 1880, Mr. Smith erected a small
two-story frame dwelling not far from the site
where the old Jefferson house stood, the two old
sycamore-trees being immediately in front of it,
one on each side of the road leading to the house.

Mr. Smith married Willianna Minor Marshall,

the daughter of that sterling old Virginia farmer.

Captain James T. Marshall, of Oakland, near

Milton. Mr. Smith's grandfather was Downing

Smith, of Madison County, and his father, also

named Downing, of Greene County, both of whom

were prominent and successful farmers. Mr. Smith

60

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

has inherited much of their talent and energy, as is
evidenced by the fine crops annually produced on
the old Shadwell place. This farm was considered
by Mr. JeiFerson the best of the four which he
owned and cultivated on both sides of the river,
and Mr. Smith has proved the fact that the rich
fields immediately surrounding the old mansion
were those from which Mr. Jefferson made most
of his wheat and tobacco.

Mr. Smith now owns ten hundred and thirty-
five acres of the original Shadwell and Edgehill
tracts ; of the latter he has five hundred acres
called Underbill, which lies between two spurs of
the mountain, not far from the Edgehill mansion.
The house is almost hid by its dense foliage and
secluded position, having an extensive lawn which
forms quite a sylvan retreat. This place was once
called Slab City by Colonel Jeff Randolph, doubt-
less from the fact that here were made most of
the pine slabs used for building purposes in old
times, which were manufactured from the heavy
mountain timber.

At what period the house was built or by whom
is not known. This tract has been cultivated by
many of the Randolph family, the last of whom
to own it was Miss Sarah N. Randolph, the talented
authoress.

Mr. Smith has since been offered a handsome
sum for Shadwell, but which has been declined,
he wishing to erect a handsome building in the
near future, beautifying and adorning the old site,
and preserve carefully the venerable trees, which

6i

HISTORIC HOMES

are now objects of great interest. It is to be
hoped, however, that a suitable monument will be
erected here by the State, marking the birthplace
of her great son, that in connection with his home
at Monticello it may be preserved imperishably as
one of the historic spots within her borders dedi-
cated to his memory.

62

SHADWELL THE SECOND

SITUATED on an elevated hill near the base
of the South- West Mountains and nearly
opposite the old Shadwell site, which is two
miles distant, stands a commodious brick build-
ing, much in style of the Edgehill mansion. This
was erected nearly fifty years ago by Colonel
Frank G. Ruffin, who married, in 1840, Gary
Anne Nicholas Randolph, third daughter of Col-
onel Thomas Jefferson Randolph, of Edgehill.
This he named Shadwell, after the old Jefferson
birthplace, though the station and post-office on
the river still retained the name, which has since
been removed to the Edgehill Station,

Here Colonel Ruffin lived and raised a large
family. He proved himself to be one of the most
astute farmers and able writers upon agricultural
matters of the day, following closely in the foot-
steps of his illustrious father, Edmund Ruffin, who
so long and ably edited the Farmers' Register, which
gave to agriculture in Virginia an impulse which it
has never ceased to feel. After the death of Col-
onel Ruffin this part of the Shadwell tract, which
originally contained nine hundred acres, was sold
to Major Thomas J. Randolph, Jr., the eldest son
of Colonel Jefferson Randolph, of Edgehill, who
took possession in 1 830, and lived here till his death
in 1870, which was caused by an accidental pre-

63

HISTORIC HOMES

mature blast on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
in West Virginia, where he had a contract. Major
Randolph married twice : first, Mary Walker Meri-
wether, the daughter of Dr. Frank T. Meriwether ;
and second, Charlotte N. Meriwether, daughter of
Dr. Thomas Meriwether, of Kinloch, by both of
whom he had several children, some of whom are
still living on the old Meriwether estate.

After the death of Major Randolph this part of
the Shadwell tract passed into several hands, until
eventually sold to Mr. V. A. Bunch, of Hunting-
ton, West Virginia, who is its present owner.

There are now but one hundred and twelve
acres attached to the house, the remainder of this
once large tract having been cut up into small
farms and sold to strangers, who have erected
buildings upon many of its prominent points.

This second Shadwell building is not so ancient
in appearance, nor possessed with mysterious le-
gends of old ; yet the fact of its being the last
part of the Jefferson tract to be sold, and with it
the passing from the family all of the once famous
" Punch-Bowl tract," will ever render it of peculiar
interest.

64

EDGEHILL

THE HOME OF THE RANDOLPHS

EDGEHILL stands next to Monticello in his-
toric celebrity, and its early history and
settlement are coexistent with that of its
neighbor Shadwell. It is one of the few places
that was first settled when the county of Albe-
marle formed a part of Goochland, and the South-
West Mountains marked almost the extreme west-
ern limit of habitation.

As has already been mentioned, William Ran-
dolph, of Tuckahoe, Goochland County, in 1735
patented from the crown of England two thou-
sand four hundred acres along the South- West
Mountains, adjoining the lands of Peter Jefferson
on one side and John Harvie on the other.

But William Randolph, of Tuckahoe, never
built nor settled upon this large estate himself; it
was his son. Colonel Thomas Mann Randolph,
who was the first of the family to settle there in
1767. At this time the Randolphs were very
large land-owners, their estates extending from tide-
water to the mountains, and their name was re-
corded in the earliest annals of the colony. We
read first of this Colonel Thomas Mann Randolph
as a very prominent supporter of the church, it
being recorded that in 1720 he erected an entire

5 65

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

church building, fifty by twenty feet in size, at
his own expense, costing fifty-four thousand nine
hundred and ninety pounds of tobacco ; and again
it states that a tax of three pounds ten shiUings
was levied on the parish to defray the expenses of
consecration of the Rev. Mr. Griffith as bishop,
of which sum Mr. Randolph paid three pounds.
This Colonel Randolph also had a large estate at
Varina, on James River, which he left to his son,
Colonel Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., who was
Mr. Jefferson's son-in-law, but, as we shall pres-
ently see, he spent very little of his time at Varina,
being compelled to remain at Edgehill.

Edgehill (always spelled by Mr. Jefferson with
a small h) was so named by Colonel Randolph for
the field near the village of Edgehill, in Warwick-
shire, England, where the Cavaliers under Charles
I. first crossed swords with the Roundheads in
1642. As Colonel William Randolph, of Turkey
Island, James River (the first of the family in Vir-
ginia), emigrated from Warwickshire, England, in
1651, soon after that exciting event, we may pre-
sume that Colonel Randolph, of Tuckahoe, thus
named his new home in honor of his grandfather,
who had doubtless lived near the great battle site.
It is said that the view from our present Edge-
hill much resembles that of its English namesake,
which gently slopes to the south, the battle having
been fought on the declivity of the hill.

In 1790, Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., after-
wards governor of Virginia, built a large frame
dwelling near the site of the present Edgehill

66

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

mansion, and after his marriage with Martha Jef-
ferson resided here most of his time. The house
was then quite commodious and far better than
those generally built at that day.

Mr. Jefferson had always been anxious to have
his son-in-law settle near Monticello. In 1791
he writes, " I hope Mr. Randolph's idea of settling
near Monticello will gain strength, and no other
settlement in the mean time be fixed upon. I
wish some expedient may be devised for settling
him at Edgehill." Thus Mr. Jefferson exerted
his efforts to have this building erected so that his
daughter might be near him.

When Colonel Thomas Mann Randolph, of
Tuckahoe, came to Edgehill he was a widower,
having lost his first wife, the daughter of Colonel
Archibald Cary, of Ampthill, Chesterfield County,
Virginia, who was the mother of his eldest son.
Colonel Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. When
this son won and married the beautiful and gentle
daughter of his neighbor on the right (Mr. Jeffer-
son) the father turned to his neighbor on the left,
and sought the hand of the fair and fascinating
Gabriella Harvie, the daughter of Colonel Harvie,
of Belmont, who, by pressure of her parents, gave
her hand to Mr. Randolph, though her heart is
said to have been with poor Marshall, her father's
clerk. So it was that the father and son lived at
Edgehill with their young wives peacefully and
happily. Mrs. Gabriella Randolph is described as
being a woman of great beauty and fashion, who

made the Edgehill mansion a continual scene of

67

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

festivity and lavish entertainments ; but this did not
last many years, as the father soon afterwards died,
leaving Edgehill to his son, Thomas Mann Ran-
dolph, Jr., who, in 1819, became governor of Vir-
ginia, and in 1825 a Presidential elector. It is
reported that as soon as young Marshall heard that
Mrs. Gabriella Randolph was a widow he again
sought her hand, but this time, upon receiving a
very cold reception, he disappeared, and was never
heard of again. Mrs. Randolph afterwards mar-
ried Judge Brokenborough, of the Warm Springs,
Bath County, Virginia.

Governor Randolph is described as being " tall
and graceful in person, renowned in his day as an
athlete and for his splendid horsemanship ; having
a head and face of unusual intellectual beauty,
bearing a distinguished name, and having an am-
ple fortune, any woman might have been deemed
happy who was led by him to the hymeneal altar."
Mr. Jefferson also speaks of him as " a man of
science, sense, virtue, and competence, in whom,
indeed, I have nothing more to wish."

Edgehill now became almost equal to Mon-
ticello as a resort for the many distinguished vis-
itors who came in the neighborhood. There the
governor entertained the celebrated Portuguese
botanist Correa, roaming with him over the South-
West Mountains in search of American specimens ;
also Leslie, the naturalist, and many others from
Europe, who would come first to see Mr. Jeffer-
son, and then be taken to Edgehill and the sur-
rounding plantations.

68

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Mr. Jefferson was so very tenacious in having
his children and grandchildren around him that
they spent most of their time at Monticello, and
it was not until after his death, in 1826, that Gov-
ernor Randolph and his family made Edgehill their
permanent home. Previous to this Mr. Jefferson
had placed most of his business and farming affairs
in the hands of his young grandson, Thomas Jef-
ferson Randolph, for whom he had formed a special
attachment, and who spent most of his time at
Monticello. In a letter written about the year
1815 he says, "I am, indeed, an unskilled mana-
ger of my farms, and, sensible of this from its
effects, I have now committed them to better
hands, of whose care and skill I have satisfactory
knowledge, and to whom I have ceded their entire
direction."

Soon after this Governor Randolph died, leaving
to his eldest son, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, the
management of the Edgehill estate, upon whom
had already devolved that of Monticello and the
other farms of Mr. Jefferson, which for a young
farmer of twenty-three was somewhat of an under-
taking, but which was accomplished with a skill
and judgment such as would have befitted one of
many years his senior. In 1828, Colonel Thomas
J. Randolph, finding the old family dwelling at
Edgehill far too small for his growing family and
the modern requirements of the day, removed
the old building a short distance to the rear, and
erected upon its site the front part of the present

brick mansion.

69

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

As an incident in connection with this removal,
it is stated that there stood three or four young
poplar-trees immediately in its rear, around which
it was impossible to move the building, and not
wishing to cut them down, they were bent down,
and the house was made to go over them, and to-
day these trees are still standing in all their gigantic
strength and magnitude.

In 1836, Mrs. Jane Nicholas Randolph, the
wife of Colonel T. J. Randolph and daughter of
Governor W. C. Nicholas, opened a small private
school for the education of her own daughters
and those of her relatives and friends, there being
few desirable female schools at that time. She
was gifted in an eminent degree for this under-
taking, and such was its success that it was con-
tinued. This was the beginning of the Edgehill
School, an institution which has since gained so
justly almost a national reputation.

At the death of Mrs. Randolph the school was
continued by her eldest daughters. Misses Mary B.
and Sarah N. Randolph. The war then coming
on, it was discontinued until the year 1 869, when it
was again resumed and kept up without interruption
until the year 1896, when it was finally closed.

In the early seventies the school increased so
in numbers that it was again found necessary to
enlarge its capacities, especially in its art and
musical departments, and this was done by util-
izing the original frame building, which still stands
in all its quaint appearance and undiminished

strength of nearly one hundred years ago.

70

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

After Miss Sarah N. Randolph estabhshed her
famous school at Patapsco, Maryland, and later in
Baltimore, the Edgehill Seminary was conducted
by Miss Caroline R. Randolph, assisted by her
nieces. Misses Mary W. Randolph, Eliza Ruffin,
and Jane R. Harrison. The latter, as Mrs. Ran-
dall, is now the principal of a flourishing school
in Baltimore.

The happy influences exerted by the daughters
of Colonel Randolph, who inherited in a marked
degree the fine intellectual qualities of their grand-
mother, Martha Jefferson, who had been so care-
fully educated by her father in Paris, have left
their impress upon and formed some of the most
lovely female characters of our land. Aside from
its high literary standard, the Edgehill School
always exerted a fine salutary, home influence upon
its various pupils. They were taught the great
value of possessing true womanly traits of char-
acter, and in this and other directions the example
of their preceptors was of incomparable value.

In fact, too high tribute cannot be paid to the
intellectual attainments, high character, and great
industry of these Randolph ladies. Within the
precincts of their beloved home they have fought
the hard battle of life quietly but heroicly, and
have given the world a royal example of what
toil and perseverance can accomplish under cir-
cumstances the most adverse and trying. When
Colonel Randolph nobly assumed the debts of
his grandfather, Mr. Jefferson, it practically ruined
him financially, and when later on he sustained

71

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

still further losses by the civil war, his financial
condition became most desperate. It was in this
dark hour that his heroic daughters came to the
rescue, and by lives of sacred devotion to duty
succeeded in lifting the heavy responsibility from
their father's shoulders and saving the devoted
homestead from passing into the hands of strangers.
The world pays but scant tribute to these long,
fierce, silent battles, and in so doing slights the
noblest portion of its heroes and loses the far
better part of its heroism.

Besides the duties so faithfully performed in
school and home, Miss Sarah N. Randolph found
time to write her most excellent " Domestic Life
of Thomas Jefferson," and also a " Life of Stone-
wall Jackson." The former work portrays with
loving touch the exquisite inner life of our great
statesman, and in consequence must ever stand as
one of the noblest monuments to his memory.

Beautiful Edgehill will always be a noted spot,
not only for its grand scenery, its extensive lawn,
and park of majestic forest-trees ; its productive
fields, which in 1856 produced six thousand bushels
of wheat, at two dollars and twelve cents per bushel,
and fourteen hundred barrels of corn ; its large
gardens, which have become famous for their pro-
ductions ; its grand mansion filled with relics of
Jefferson ; its walls adorned with fine paintings,
many of which are from the hand of a talented
granddaughter, but more than all for being the
home of one of Virginia's ablest governors, and

more recently that of his son. Colonel Thomas

72

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Jefferson Randolph, than whom there was no man
more devoted to the interests of his county and
State, and whose services, we fear, have not been
duly appreciated by the present generation. As a
single incident in his busy life, and one well worthy
of note in view of after-events, he introduced a
bill in the Virginia Legislature, while a representa-
tive from Albemarle County, prior to the civil war,
looking to the gradual emancipation of the slaves of the
South. The times were not ripe for such a move,
however, and the bill, with its enormous possibili-
ties for good, failed of passage.

In 1876, Colonel Randolph, as the representative
descendant of Mr. Jefferson, was chosen to open the
Philadelphia Centennial, but died just a few weeks
before the inauguration of that famous event.

There are many who remember him as a most
notable man, tall in stature, with a commanding
and dignified presence, with a countenance and
traits of character very characteristic of Jefferson,
with a fund of humor and anecdote most capti-
vating in conversation, and a store of information
which he was always ready to impart. His opinions
were always given clearly and forcibly, and were
received with satisfaction and delight by his many
friends; his keen sense of justice and right com-
bined with the beautiful character of a most hu-
mane and gentle master, around whom his old
slaves were wont to cluster and remain even after
their freedom, — such was the recent master of
Edgehill, of whom much more could be said, but
must be reserved for a more able pen.

73

HISTORIC HOMES

Nor must the visitor, as he glances over the
beautiful landscape which stretches forth on the
southern horizon like a vast sea, while stately
Monticello and Carter's Mountain loom up to the
west, with the Rivanna winding among the hills
at its feet, lose sight of the " Edgehill Memorial
Chapel," which sits on the gentle slope of an ad-
jacent hill. This tasty little Gothic structure, with
its stained windows and modest belfry, will ever
be associated with Edgehill as a monument to
the pious work of the various teachers and pupils
of its famous school. To one of the beloved in-
mates of Edgehill in particular, however, is due
much of the success of this sacred undertaking, and
already the beneficent effects of her gracious labors
are felt far and wide throughout the surrounding
countryside.

Much of this once large estate has been sold
and is now occupied by strangers, but the mansion,
with several hundred acres, is still retained by the
family, and must ever remain one of the noted his-
toric homes of Albemarle, and be classed with
those of Montpelier, Pen Park, Castle Hill, and
others, which, it is hoped, will always be preserved
to perpetuate the simple domestic lives of their
great men.

Edgehill will not only be dear to the hearts of
Virginians, but also to the very many in the far
South who have spent there so many happy days
amid all that is pure, refined, and elevating.

74

BELMONT

THE HOME OF THE EVERETTS

CONTIGUOUS to Edgehill, on the sum-
mit of a gentle hill crowned with lofty
cedars and oaks, once stood the Belmont
mansion, which for its stately proportions, unique
architecture, and beautiful symmetry had no coun-
terpart ; but let us turn a leaf backward before
attempting to describe it.

In our notice of Edgehill we have already
mentioned Colonel John Harvie, who was the
friend of Colonel Peter Jefferson. We find that
this Colonel John Harvie (or Harvey, as some-
times given) was of Welsh stock. He came to the
county about 1730, and bought about the same
time as his neighbor. Colonel William Randolph,
of Tuckahoe, two thousand five hundred acres of
land from a certain Joshua Graves, lying east of
the Edgehill estate, and embracing the present
farms of East Belmont, Springdale, Keswick Sta-
tion, Broad Oak, and Everettsville.

At the death of Colonel Peter Jefferson we find
him the guardian of young Thomas, who, in a
letter about the year 1 760, consults him as to his
education ; again, in 1 790, Mr. Jefferson mentions
Mr. Harvie as possessing a good tract of land on
the east side of Edgehill, which he was exceed-

75

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

ingly anxious for his son-in-law to buy, but for
some unaccountable reason old Harvie refused to
make him a deed, though having at first consented.
This disappointed and irritated Mr. Jefferson very
much, who had, while governor of Virginia, ap-
pointed Colonel Harvie register of the land office.
It was while holding this position that his young
clerk, Marshall, fell in love with his daughter Ga-
briella, but who was compelled to marry Colonel
Thomas Mann Randolph.

Dr. Brokenborough, of the Warm Springs, who
was at one time president of the Bank of Virginia,
and who afterwards married the gay widow Ran-
dolph, thus speaks of Colonel Harvie : " Colonel
Harvie in early life was a lawyer in Albemarle, a
delegate to the Virginia House of Burgesses, and
was appointed jointly with John Walker a com-
missioner to treat with the Indians at Fort Pitt.
He was then chosen a member of the old Con-
gress, and afterwards elected register of the land
office of Virginia, which was a wealthy position.
He resigned this, and was elected a member of the
House of Delegates from the city of Richmond,
serving two years. He died in 1807 at his seat
Belvidere, near Richmond, leaving seven chil-
dren, none of whom were living in 1845 but Gen-
eral Jaqueline Harvie and Mrs. Brokenborough,
then in her seventy-eighth year. Colonel Harvie's
son died young ; his son, John, married Miss Haw-
kins ; his son. General J. Harvie, married the only
daughter of Chief-Justice Marshall ; his son, Ed-
win, married Miss Hardway, and died in the burn-

76

ii

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

ing of the Richmond Theatre. Mrs. John Harvie
lived many years after her husband's death, most
of her family having perished in the burning of
the theatre in 1811.

" It is said that Mrs. Gabriella Brokenborough,
when her husband failed in business while in Rich-
mond, sacrificed her home, furniture, plate, jewels,
and all in her efforts to save him."

Previous to his removal to Richmond, Colonel
Harvie had placed his property in the hands of his
friend John Rogers to be sold, and in 1811, Dr.
Charles Everett, of Albemarle, purchased twelve
hundred acres of the Belmont tract, while John
Rogers retained and lived upon the portion of the
estate known as East Belmont.

The original house, thought to have been first
built and occupied by Colonel John Harvie, was
then standing in good condition, though con-
sidered a very old building. It had nine small
rooms, was one-and-a-half stories high, with wings
at each end, and high dormer-windows, giving it a
very antique appearance.

Here Dr. Everett lived and entertained his inti-
mate friends and neighbors with cordial hospitality.
He was a man of great talent in his profession,
reserved in disposition, and possessed of an indom-
itable will. Rather suspicious of men in general,
he was yet warm-hearted and liberal when their
sincerity was proved, and consequently was slow
in making friends, but very tenacious in holding
them. He was a keen observer of human nature
and its various workings, and often used the knowl-

77

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

edge thus gained to the surprise and benefit of his
many patients. Save in a few instances he was a
disbehever in medicines, and held that the physi-
cian's highest aim should be to assist Nature rather
than coerce her.

He graduated in medicine at the University of
Pennsylvania in 1796, and, with a short interrup-
tion, continued the practice of his profession until
his death.

The break in his medical career mentioned
occurred in 1817, when he became the private sec-
retary of President Monroe, and afterwards a rep-
resentative in the State Legislature from the county
of Albemarle. Soon quitting politics, he returned
to his profession, and in a short time became one
of the most famous physicians in the State. Be-
sides Albemarle, his practice extended over seven
adjoining counties, and at one time he was called
to attend Bishop Madison in Richmond. He was
also one of the consulting physicians in the last
illness of President Jefferson. Though they were
such close neighbors they were far from being very
close political friends, — Whig vs. Democrat, — and
even the little friendship they had nearly vanished
when Jefferson looked up, and, seeing Dr. Everett
one of the three, said, with a touch of grim humor,
" Whenever I see three doctors I generally look
out for a turkey-buzzard !" and, though Jefferson
meant it as one of his jokes, the sensitive doctor
took it seriously and hastily withdrew.

He had a horror of pretence and quackery in
all forms, and never failed to deal either a blow

78

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

when occasion called for it. Being besieged once
by a long-winded plough agent and having endured
the fellow's persistency until patience ceased to be
a virtue, he said, " No, sir, I do not care for your
plough ; I am well supplied at present." " But,
doctor," continued the plough vender, "if you don't
need it now, you will need it some day." " Yes,

you rascal ; and I will need a coffin some

day, too, but I don't propose to buy one now."

Upon one occasion he was called in to see a
notorious old miser who had fallen into a profound
stupor from which nothing could arouse him.
After several unsuccessful efforts. Dr. Everett no-
ticed the county sheriff passing by, and, remem-
bering his patient's ruling passion, went out and,
hastily summoning the official, told him to come
into the sick man's chamber and drop his saddle-
bags upon the floor with a loud rattle, as though
they contained a goodly quantity of specie. This
the officer did, and as soon as the jingle subsided.
Dr. Everett said, " Mr. Sheriff, how much money
did you say you had collected for Mr. Jones here '^"
Before the sheriff could reply, the old miser stirred
on his couch, his keen eyes opened slowly, and
in a voice made husky with eagerness he cried,
" How much did he say .<"'

Dr. Everett numbered among his personal friends
some of the most prominent men of the day, —
Madison, Monroe, Hugh Nelson, Bishop Madison,
Benjamin Rush, Francis Walker, Alexander Steven-
son, James Barbour, Francis W. Gilmer (one of his
wards), John C. Calhoun, and Governor Nicholas.

79

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

The Hon. Francis Walker, of Castle Hill, ap-
pointed him as guardian of his daughters, one of
whom, Judith Page Walker, afterwards married
the Hon. W. C. Rives, and was the grandmother
of Amelie Rives (now Princess Troubetzkoy), the
authoress.

Dr. Everett died in 1848 at the age of eighty-
one. His portrait by Naegle, a pupil and son-in-
law of Sully, hangs on the walls at Belmont, and
is highly prized for its artistic execution and life-
like resemblance.

As an evidence of its excellence in this latter
respect, it is said that when the portrait was first
brought from Philadelphia after the death of Dr.
Everett it was immediately recognized by his
faithful house-dog, the fond creature even going
so far as to rear against the wall beneath it and
bark loudly, as though in joyous welcome at the
return of its long lost master.

A fine crayon portrait of Dr. Everett in early
manhood, by Saint-Memin, is also preserved and
highly prized at Belmont.

Dr. Everett left the vast bulk of his large estate,

amounting to about two hundred and fifty thousand

dollars, to his nephew, Dr. Charles D. Everett, of

Philadelphia. His will directed that his many

slaves should be freed, and that they should be

transported to Liberia and there settled in furnished

homes. Besides this provision for their shelter,

one thousand dollars were given to each family as

a start in the new life.

Dr. Everett, Jr., becoming convinced that the
80

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

wilds of Africa were unsuited as a home for these
helpless, ignorant people, took advantage of a codi-
cil to the will giving him discretionary power upon
this point, and carried them to Mercer County,
Pennsylvania, for settlement.

Dr. Charles D. Everett, who succeeded to the
Belmont estate, was a Kentuckian by birth, though
a Virginian by descent, his ancestors having set-
tled in Williamsburg in 1650. His father, ex-
pecting to become an Episcopal minister, had
received an excellent education, but, early giving
up the sacred calling, had joined the then free and
popular ranks of the " old Virginia planter." At
the time of his marriage he was a wealthy resident
of Rappahannock County, Virginia, but, alas I fol-
lowing the custom of the times, he went security
for a number of friends, lost nearly everything he
had, and finally decided to move to the " wilds"
of Kentucky, in the faint hope of recouping his
fallen fortunes.

He found the country utterly uncleared, but
thinly populated, and almost entirely without the
conveniences of civilized life. His nearest neigh-
bors were five or ten miles distant, his mill and
post-office even farther removed, schools were prac-
tically unknown, and before a single crop could
be planted the virgin forests had to be cut down
and jthe land cleared up. Wild animals roamed
the woods freely, and it was not an uncommon
occurrence for the settlers to be chased by large
packs of wolves.

For pecuniary reasons, a return to Virginia was

6 81

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

impossible, so the new settlers determined to make
the best of the situation, and accept with equa-
nimity the many attendant hardships.

It was amid such scenes as these that Dr. Charles
Everett first saw the light. He was born in 1806,
and his life from his earliest youth was an extremely
busy one. His father, accustomed to the ease and
luxury of a Virginia planter's life, found it, not
unnaturally, almost impossible to accept the new
order of things, and consequently, as the years
went by, the support of his large family fell
almost entirely upon the shoulders of his eldest
son. And nobly did the son perform the onerous
and sacred duties.

At length, his younger brothers growing up, he
was enabled to leave home and begin the great
battle of life for himself Owing to the circum-
stances and surroundings of his birth and early
youth, his acquired advantages for the contest
were naturally few ; but he possessed those innate
qualities of heart and brain which always win
success, no matter how long and bitter the conflict
may be.

Early deciding to be a physician, he at once

bent every energy to the acquisition of means for

that end. Refusing the proffered aid of his wealthy

Virginia uncle, he entered the strife single-handed.

Of course the battle was the usual fierce one,

wherein privations, hardships, and uncongenial

employments played their usual prominent parts,

but the great goal was constantly kept in view,

and the end was happy, for in 1836 he graduated

82

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

in medicine from the University of Pennsylvania,
and soon thereafter began to practise his profession
in the city of Philadelphia.

At the time of his uncle's death in 1848 he had
secured an excellent practice, but his health being
very poor in the city, and the large interests of
the vast estate left him demanding his immediate
presence in Virginia, he determined to move thither
at once and settle permanently on the fine old estate
of Belmont. This he did in the early part of
1849, taking up his abode in the old Harvie house,
which was still standing in excellent repair.

The writer can well remember the building
when upon one occasion the gay and handsome
doctor gave a party to which the entire neighbor-
hood was invited, having the famous Scotts (old
Jesse and his two sons Bob and Jim) as musicians,
and such music they made as the gods of Terpsi-
chore will never hear again in this generation, —
such music as caused the old chateau to rock and
reel to the cadence of the tripping feet and made
old hearts young again !

After the marriage of Dr. Everett, in 1852, to
Miss Mary Coleman, of Nelson County, Virginia,
he determined to erect a new building more in
accord with the progress of the times and in con-
sonance with his refined taste for modern architec-
ture, therefore, in 1858, the old house was moved
to the rear, dividing it into two out-buildings, and
upon its site the new mansion was built.

This was of brick, stuccoed in imitation of stone.
It was about sixty feet in length by forty-five in

83

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

width, and rose to the grand height of fifty feet
from the ground. It was crowned by a lofty roof,
the summit of which was enclosed with handsome
iron railings and used as an observation tower.

The building was three stories in height, its
rooms being of magnificent size and pitch. The
entrance to the front hall was gained by a lofty
flight of granite steps, flanked on each side by
massive abutments, on the top of which were
parterres of blooming flowers and stately plants.

The wide porticos were supported by majestic
pillars, having cast-iron capitals of Corinthian de-
sign. The double front doors opened into a grand
hall twenty feet wide, forty-six feet long, and
twenty-five feet in height. In the southern end
of this apartment a handsome gallery was con-
structed, and in the northern end an immense
window reached from the floor to the ceiling.
Just in front of this window a pretty fountain
played, its jet falling into a marble receptacle for
goldfish. This hall was designed by Dr. Everett
for dancing, with the gallery for musicians ; but
it was seldom used for that purpose during his
lifetime, though it was often the scene of other
gay and festive occasions. Running at right
angles to this hall were side corridors on each
floor, built especially for the staircases and as con-
necting passage-ways between the front and rear
apartments. Besides these corridors and the superb
hall the house contained thirteen large rooms, and
the usual number of store-rooms, closets, etc. On
the first floor were the dining- and dessert-rooms,

84

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

the bath-room, library, and kitchen. On the
second, the parlor, the reception-hall, and three
bedchambers. On the third, four bedchambers
and the gallery before mentioned.

The immense windows on each side reached
from the second floor to the eaves of the building,
their lofty columns being surmounted by arched
iron frames, giving a pleasing and most graceful
effect.

A large tank in the roof of the building, hold-
ing fifteen hundred gallons, and filled by a ram
nearly a mile distant, supplied the house with hot
and cold water. The building was heated by a
furnace in the basement and fireplaces in each
room, and thus its appointments were most com-
plete in every respect. This handsome structure
cost seventeen thousand five hundred dollars, and
was three years in building. Certainly no country
house equalled it at that day, as it then stood the
pride and ornament of the neighborhood.

Here Dr. Everett lived a happy, useful, noble
life, entertaining liberally his hosts of friends,
helping the poor and needy at every turn, dis-
pensing gifts of charity with unstinting hand, en-
couraging the progress of the arts and sciences,
especially as applied to agriculture, horticulture,
and the mechanical arts. He was a man of great
scientific research, and would put many theories
into practical shape to the great benefit of his
neighbors.

When the civil war came on it found Dr. Ev-
erett of an age which exempted him from actual

85

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

service, yet he put in a substitute, and also took
his place in the ranks of the little " Home Guard"
beside his more humble neighbors. Such was his
intense devotion to the Southern cause that he
fitted out an entire company with arms and uni-
forms at his own expense. His house was always
besieged by passing soldiers, none of whom ever
left his door during those dark days without being
most liberally fed and entertained. It was here
that General Jubal Early made his head-quarters
at one time during the war ; and when the appeal
rang forth for money and help during the last sad
struggle of the expiring Confederacy, he cheerfully
lent the government one hundred and ten thousand
dollars, none of which, it is needless to say, was
ever returned. Such peerless deeds as these should
be recorded as in marked contrast to the sordid,
money-grabbing spirit of the present day, and
with the hope that our youth may be stimulated
to perpetuate such true patriotism.

After the war Dr. Everett continued to exert
himself in " doing good" and in building up the
shattered fortunes of his State. We find him
frequently teaching the ignorant blacks, or as a
faithful superintendent of a Sunday-school, or the
president of an agricultural society, or in whatever
position placed he exemplified a noble, true Chris-
tian character.

Dr. Everett died in 1877, gently passing away
in the noble mansion which he had reared and
adorned with his own hands, and it was not many
years after when it, too, passed away.

86

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

It was Sunday, the i ith of March, 1883, while
the family were at the little " South Plains" church,
two miles distant, that the top of the building was
seen to be on fire. It had caught from sparks on
the roof during a high wind. The building being
very prominent the fire was quickly seen, and
neighbors from a distance rushed to the rescue,
hoping to save the house, but this was impossible,
as the entire top was quickly a mass of flames.

As soon as Mrs. Everett reached the house she
calmly walked into the burning building, and with
a presence of mind such as few would possess
under such circumstances she secured most of her
valuable papers and jewelry.

Again the old chateau, now fully two hundred
years old, remodelled and moved back upon its
ancient site, is doing good service by sheltering
the family, its timbers as sound as ever, surrounded
by stately elms and Kentucky coffee-nuts, lofty
poplars, and the graceful Green Mountain ash,
which was brought from Vermont as a small
switch in his trunk by the elder Dr. Everett
and planted by him where it now stands a giant
tree.

From the summit of Belmont the visitor can
enjoy a view of magnificent and surpassing beauty
and such as the hills along the South- West Moun-
tains alone can afford ; but a sigh of deep regret
will ever escape from the many who can remember
the once stately Belmont mansion, which formed
one of the happiest as well as the most picturesque
homes along this famous region.

87

HISTORIC HOMES

The ten children of Dr. and Mrs. Everett are :

1. Alice Kate, born December 16, 1852; died August 2,

1871.

2. Mary Coleman, born December 13, 1854.

3. Clara, born October, 1856; died April 6, 1859.

4. Louise Montague ; married Charles Landon Scott, a

prominent lawyer of Amherst County, Virginia,
August 26, 1885. They have eight children.

5. Charles Edward, died October 1, 1887.

6. John Coleman, physician in Nelson County ; married

Nellie Martin, of same county, August 26, 1885.
They have four children.

7. Aylette Lee ; married Miss Sadie G. Fry, of Albemarle,

January 24, 1888. Have three children living.

8. Hettie Hawes.

9. Joseph William ; manages the Belmont Farm.
10. Alice Harrison.

88

EAST BELMONT

THE HOME OF ISAAC LONG, ESQ.

THREE families of prominence have resided
at East Belmont, — Rogers, Thurman, and
Long, — each of which claim our attention
as being among the first to locate in Virginia.

Mention has already been made of John Rogers,
the friend of Colonel John Harvie, of Belmont,
who, in 1811, sold to the elder Dr. Everett the
greater portion of that tract. The remainder of
this extensive plantation, which contained more
than two thousand acres, Mr. Rogers bought him-
self, and built there the frame part of the present
mansion, now owned and occupied by Mr. Isaac
Long. His great friendship for old Dr. Everett,
and the constant and close intimacy between them,
led " Farmer" John (as he was universally called)
to retain the name of Belmont ("beautiful moun-
tain") by simply adding the word East, to show
its position. It is said that previous to settling
here he made a trip out West with a view of
locating there, but after wandering over many
States he concluded that there was no fairer section
in the country than Albemarle, so, returning, he
selected the beautiful stretch of table-land at the
foot of Hammock's Gap. We have already given

a sketch of the Rogers family in the notice of

89

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

Pantops, from whom this " Farmer" John is a di-
rect descendant, and like his contemporary Rich-
ard Sampson, of Goochland, won much celebrity
as a farmer, and was known throughout the State
for his skill and success in agriculture. After his
death the estate fell to his son John, who married
a Miss Sampson, also a direct descendant of Rich-
ard Sampson, of Goochland, and sister of the late
Stephen F. Sampson. This John Rogers, Jr.,
built the brick addition, or front part of the house,
as it now stands, and greatly improved the place.
It is also remarkable to state that all the brick of
the house were burnt and laid by a colored work-
man named Lewis Level, he doing nearly the
entire work himself, the substantial quality of
which still shows a skill not usually found among
negroes.

This was one of the very few brick buildings then
erected along the mountains, and was quite con-
spicuous. John Rogers, Jr., lived here for many
years, a most prosperous farmer and most influen-
tial citizen. At his death his widow and her two
sons, Thornton and William, retained the place, it
being worked for several years by her brother,
Stephen F. Sampson, who, with his sisters, also
lived there. About the year 1840 Mrs. Rogers
married Edward Thurman, of Tennessee, after
which Mr. Sampson moved to Springdale, an off-
shoot of Belmont, which was located at the foot of :
the gap.

" Farmer" John had also another son, named

Thornton, who was a Presbyterian clergyman, and

90

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

who married Miss Margaret Hart, the sister of
the late James Hart, of Fruitland, the adjoining
farm. The lower part of the East Belmont farm
was then cut off and given to this Rev. Thornton
Rogers, who built there his home called Keswick,
located near the county road. He also built the
" South Plains" church upon a part of the land
below the road, and was its pastor until his death,
thus establishing one of the first churches of that
denomination in Albemarle.

Edward Thurman, who married the Widow
Rogers, was descended from the prominent Thur-
man family who have figured so largely in the po-
litical history of our country, some of whom were
among the first settlers of Albemarle, and fill an in-
teresting page in its history. The first of the name
in America was Benjamin Thurman, who, with his
brother, settled on the north side of the South-
West Mountains about the year 1732. His
brother afterwards moved to Campbell County.
The house which Benjamin Thurman first built
stood not far from where the road passes over the
mountain at Hammock's Gap. From Benjamin
Thurman descended the Rev. Pleasant Thurman,
and through him Allen G. Thurman, who was
chief justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio, Sena-
tor from Ohio, and was the Vice-Presidential can-
didate in 1888 with Mr. Cleveland. He also re-
ceived the nomination for governor of Ohio three
times, but which was declined each time.

Benjamin Thurman had built his house and was
living at Hammock's Gap as early as 1 734, and

91

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

was said to be living there as late as 1825. He
married Miss Carr, a lady of rare intelligence and
education. She is said to have written some very
fine verses, specimens of which are preserved in
the family to this day ; they were chiefly hymns,
all of her poems being of a religious character,
many of which were adopted by order of the
" church" and sung regularly in " meeting."

Hammock's Gap derives its name from a hunter
whose cabin stood just in the gap. Some of the
property which Benjamin Thurman obtained came
through this William Hammock as assignee, His
Excellency Governor Henry Lee, of Virginia,
having signed the documents in the year 1792,
and another patent from George II. was signed in
1734 by William Gooch, then governor of the
colony.

Tradition says such was the religious fervor of
Mrs. Benjamin Thurman that when she visited her
distant neighbors in the valley below before leaving
them she would gather the household — whites,
slaves, and all — for singing and prayers, in imita-
tion of the disciples.

From Benjamin Thurman descended Elisha

Thurman and Dr. Fendall Thurman. Elisha

remained here, and lived on the top of Wolf Pit

Mountain, now known as Edgehill Mountain.

He owned the entire mountain, with adjoining

lands on the north side. The old house in

which he lived has long since been removed, and

no vestige of it remains except the stone fence

which surrounded the garden and the walls of the

92

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

cellar. The name of the mountain (Wolf Pit)
was given from a large pit made by this Elisha
Thurman in rear of his corn-house to catch the
wolves and other wild animals which frequently
depredated upon his sheep. The spot is still
pointed out by knowing ones, and is also referred
to by Dr. G. B. Goode in his excellent address
made before the United States Geographic Society
in 1896 at Monti cello. He says,^-

" I have myself seen in this locality pits partially
filled up which were used as wolf-traps not half a
century ago, and have talked with a man whose
father had seen a herd of buffalo crossing Roanoke
River, less than two hundred miles south-west of
Charlottesville, called Buffalo Ford."

In 1743 wolves and buffalo were still abundant
along the mountains, and the inhabitants were ac-
customed to collect bounties in tobacco for their
capture. The stream called Wolf Trap Branch,
near Charlottesville, also preserves the memory of
those times.

On the highest point of Wolf Pit Mountain
is a spot called View Rock, from which is ob-
tained one of the most extensive prospects in Al-
bemarle, embracing in panoramic scope nearly the
entire county, extending from Liberty Mills in
Madison County, with the entire interlying valley
reaching far beyond Charlottesville, to Gordonsville
in Orange County, and on the south as far as the
eye can reach into Nelson County, all of which
can be seen without moving one's position on the
rock, embracing also a view of more than fifteen

93

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

miles of the Rivanna River as it winds among the
foot-hills.

It was from these steep mountain sides that the
entire supply of firewood for the University of
Virginia was once obtained before the advent of
coal. The marks of the graded road from Pantops
to its summit are still to be seen which was used
by Colonel " Jeff" Randolph and Elisha Thurman
in drawing the wood to the college, they having
obtained the contract for its supply.

Dr. Fendall Thurman, the younger son of Ben-
jamin Thurman, emigrated early to Memphis, Ten-
nessee, and there amassed a fortune by trading with
the Indians and practising his profession. Before
leaving Virginia he married Miss Ann Royster,
daughter of David Royster, of Goochland County,
whose wife was Elizabeth Sampson, sister of the
famous Richard Sampson who lived at the elegant
old Virginia homestead Dover, of which we have
already written.

From this union descended Edward Thurman,
of East Belmont. The wife of Elisha Thurman is
said to have been also very religious, and frequently
opened her house on top of the mountain for preach-
ing, there being no church building nearer than
the court-house at Charlottesville, which was then
used by all denominations. She also organized the
first Sunday-school in the county at her house.

In 1817, it is stated that John Thurman, George
Walker, and James McGee formed the first Sab-
bath-school in the State in the Methodist Episcopal
church at Lynchburg.

94

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Mr. Edward Thurman lived at East Belmont
for many years, becoming a most successful farmer
and prominent citizen. The famous old farm
under his management maintained its former repu-
tation for large crops, yielding frequently five
thousand bushels of wheat in one season, which
would be sold at two dollars per bushel, and other
crops were in like proportion, gaining for East
Belmont the celebrity for being the most pro-
ductive farm along the South-West Mountains.

In 1879, Mr. Thurman sold eight hundred and
eighty-eight acres of this fine tract to Mr. Isaac
Long, of Page County, Virginia, leaving still
about four hundred and fifty acres of the original
farm, which had previously passed to the Spring-
dale and Keswick farms on each side of it. East
Belmont fell into hands no less distinguished than
its owners of the past. Mr. Isaac Long is the
son of the late Isaac Long, Sr., who was born
at and lived on the Old Fort Long homestead,
the large estate of which was originally acquired
under the English crown in 1720 by his paternal
ancestor, Philip Long, who was one of the first
to settle in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
Here he died at the age of sixty-two, being one
of the most prominent and influential men of the
county of Page, and was celebrated as a most
successful farmer.

His son, Isaac Long, the present owner of East
Belmont, married, in 1856, Elizabeth H. Mohler,
eldest daughter of Colonel Jacob Mohler, who
came into possession of the noted Weyer's Cave of

95

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

Augusta County in 1834, it having been held by the
Mohler family for many years. Colonel Mohler was
a direct descendant of Ludwig Mohler, of Swit-
zerland, who came to America in the good ship
" Thistle" in 1 730. The Mohlers first settled in
Pennsylvania, the house which John Mohler built in
1 764 is still standing near Ephrata, Pennsylvania.

Colonel Mohler lived at Weyer's Cave for many
years, and was widely known as the proprietor of
this wonderful freak of nature, which he was the
first to open to the public.

Colonel Mohler was also distinguished for being
an officer in the Mexican war, a man of great
integrity of character and learning, and a stanch
Methodist and temperance advocate. In 1846 he
moved to Page County, where he lived until his
death, which occurred in Baltimore, Maryland, at
the advanced age of seventy-six.

Mrs. Elizabeth Mohler Long, of East Bel-
mont, is also closely related to many of the most
eminent families of Virginia, the Mohlers having
intermarried with the Grigsbys, Andersons, McCor-
micks, McNutts, Hamiltons, and Hickmans, each
of which have given the State many illustrious
characters, among whom we may mention Hugh
Blair Grigsby the historian ; General John Warren
Grigsby, of the Confederate army under General
Joe Wheeler; Captain Reuben Grigsby, of the I
United States army in the war of 1812, and
also a member of the Virginia House of Dele-
gates ; General Joseph R. Anderson, of Richmond,

who graduated at West Point, was in the Florida

96

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

war, and afterwards established the Tredegar Iron-
Works, of Richmond, Virginia ; Governor Wil-
Ham McCorkle, of West Virginia ; Dr. James
Gardener Hickman, of Missouri, who gave to
Henrietta Hamilton McCormick the celebrated
powder-horn carried by Alexander McNutt at the
battle of the Cowpens, in the Revolutionary war ;
Leander James McCormick of " Reaper" fame,
whose father, Robert McCormick, began the man-
ufacture of his great invention on a small scale in
Virginia, but which after his death was improved
upon by his son Leander, who moved to Chicago
in 1846, where, with his brother Cyrus, he built
up one of the greatest establishments in the coun-
try. It is this Leander McCormick who gave the
large telescope and observatory to the University
of Virginia.

Though proud of such distinguished kinship,
which richly entitles her as a " Daughter of the
Revolution," yet Mrs. Long is of a most retiring
disposition and reluctant to boast of her noble
ancestry. Some of these celebrated men have
honored East Belmont with their presence, thus
adding to its historic fame of the past.

Mr. Isaac Long for a number of years was
magistrate for the county of Page, and also served
the county for two terms in the Virginia House
of Delegates.

Since coming to Albemarle he has devoted
himself entirely to agriculture, making many im-
provements to the East Belmont farm and reap-
ing from its rich fields most bountiful crops.

7 97

HISTORIC HOMES

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Long are :

1. J. Ernest Long, of Orange Court-House, Virginia;

married, November 26, 1890, Nannie Watson, of
Green Springs, Louisa County, Virginia.

2. Laviece Long; married, June 28, 1892, Harvie Sibert,

of Sedalia, Missouri.

3. Linda F. Long; died young.

4. Lula Latrobe Long.

5. Isaac Trimble Long; married, December 19, 1891,

Ada White, of Leesburg, Virginia, now of Fairfax
County.

6. Bessie Mohler Long.

7. Frances Blair Long.

8. D. Grigsby Long.

9. Margaret Long; married, January 2, 1897, Robert

Adelbert Dewees, of Del Rio, Texas, now of
Chicago, Illinois.

10. James Carroll Long.

11. Thomas G. Long; died young.

It is needless to say that these bright sons and
daughters have served to make East Belmont
very charming and attractive, especially as their
parents have been wont to keep up the old hos-
pitable style of the valley, in good living, boun-
teous cheer, and much festivity, which has made
their beautiful home the scene of many bright
gatherings, which will always linger in the hearts
of those who were fortunate to be among the
happy participants.

98

SUNNY SIDE

THE SUMMER RESIDENCE OF J. B. PACE, ESQ.

THIS place originally was a portion of what
was once known as Clark's tract. Dr.
Micajah H. Clark, the eldest son of Major
James Clark, here first lived and built quite a
good-sized frame building, which was early es-
tablished as a tavern, being situated immediately
upon the stage-road leading from Charlottesville
to Gordonsville ; here were also located extensive
stables for the relay of horses, thus affording quite
a market at that time to the surrounding farmers
for their abundant crops of hay and grain. With
its many out-buildings and daily business enter-
prise the place assumed quite the appearance of a
small village, hence it was called Clarksville, a
name which it long retained. The tavern itself
was first conducted by Miss Bettie Clark, the sis-
ter of " Kid Clark of the Pines," who is said to
have been quite a stirring old lady, who ran the
business much to her own liking.

Dr. Micajah Clark, who was then quite a prom-
inent physician, evidently married twice, though
the " Meriwether Family" book states only one
union ; but if we visit the old Clark burying-
ground in the " Pines," near which the site of Kid
Clark's house is still to be seen, we will there find

99

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

a solitary marble slab bearing the following in-
scription :

" Caroline Virginia Clark,

Infant daughter of

Dr. Micajah Clark

and

Caroline Virginia Clark.

Born Nov'' 21=', 183 i.

Died Sept' 15, 1832."

This Caroline Virginia must have been the first
wife of Dr. Clark, and presumably died soon after
their marriage. He married secondly, Margaret
Sampson, of the same family as his neighbor Ste-
phen F. Sampson.

After living here a short time he and his family
moved to the West, where many of his children
settled and married.

Clarksville then reverted to his eldest daugh-
ter, Anne M., who married Colonel Richard Wat-
son, of the Green Springs, Louisa County, Vir-
ginia. Colonel Watson continued the old tavern
during the forties, and did quite a large business
with the stage lines ; after this he removed to Char-
lottesville and conducted for a number of years
one of the university boarding-houses, after which
he retired to his farm, Poplar Forest, near Mil-
ton, where he died. This genial and popular gen-
tleman was truly one of those strikingly attractive
Virginians of the past of whom we now read
much of, but who are rarely to be seen.

After his death Clarksville was inherited by his
eldest daughter, Jane M., who married William

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

H. Fry, of Richmond. Mr. Fry did not reside at
Clarksville very long, as the civil war coming on
he moved to Richmond, where he engaged largely
in business and became one of its prominent citi-
zens.

Just previous to the breaking out of hostilities
Clarksville was rented to a Northern gentleman
named Furslew, who was quite an eccentric char-
acter, being extremely fanciful in his ideas of farm-
ing and beautifying the place, which he began by
forming a large lake near where the present one is,
and filling the lawn with many kinds of shrubs
and flowers quite new to this section, and laying
out plans for improving the farm upon the North-
ern system ; but the war coming on frustrated his
designs, his sympathies being altogether antago-
nistic to the South, he therefore quickly sold his
household possessions at a sacrifice and suddenly
left.

Clarksville was then occupied during the war
by Mr. Wilson Summerville, a refugee from Cul-
peper County. This hearty, jovial, old Virginia
gentleman made it a very pleasant place during
those sad days. Though well in years he was as
active as a youth, and during a festive night would
dance with all the spirit of a boy. Clarksville,
however, had always been a merry place, where
dancing was wont to be displayed in the true old
Virginia style ; the vivid picture of its then owner,
William H. Fry, cutting the double and triple
pigeon-wing in the Virginia reel is still in the eye
of the writer.

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

After the civil war Clarksville was bought by
Mr. Michell, an Enghshman, who, under the firm
of Vaughan, Michell & Co., had also purchased
the large farm of Fruitland, where they attempted
English farming on Virginia soil, but which
proved ineffective. This gentleman began to
make the first real improvements which have so
changed its appearance. The old tavern was made
to assume a more modern aspect by the addi-
tion of a large rear wing, and with other enlarge-
ments it formed quite a cosey English chateau,
where much hospitality and cultivated refinement
were shown.

It became an attractive place for the many Eng-
lish residents who had been drawn to this beauti-
ful part of Virginia. Here they would frequently
gather and enjoy with true English spirit the many
games and amusements of the old country.

After the signal failure of Messrs. Vaughan,
Michell & Co. in their farming enterprise, Clarks-
ville reverted to Mr. Fry, who then sold it to Mr.
James B. Pace, of Richmond, Virginia, its present
owner.

Upon taking possession of Clarksville, Mr. Pace
at once began its real transformation into one of
the handsomest places along these beautiful hills.
The old Colonial building which had so long
been familiar to the public view was now entirely
snuffed out by having a stately two-story edifice
built completely over it, and when finished the
little, low one-story dwelling was pulled to pieces
and thrown out of the windows of the new build-

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

ing, which towered so far above it. The lake
which had been begun by Furslew was greatly-
enlarged, having islands connected by rustic bridges,
with arbors amid a wealth of foliage, around which
floated miniature gondolas, giving it truly an Ori-
ental aspect. The lawn and adjacent grounds were
most artistically laid out with beds of many varie-
gated flowers and shrubs, while a spacious green-
house on one side afforded a rich variety of tropi-
cal plants. Altogether the embellishments of the
grounds alone cost seventeen hundred dollars, while
the total expense of the place, with its large barns,
stables, and extensive gardens, its wide fields, each
bordered with rows of trees, and the many outside
improvements, has been more than twenty-five
thousand dollars. Certainly no country-seat in
Virginia is more complete in all its appointments
than Sunny Side, which was so renamed for its
bright and cheerful aspect and the sunshine of
many happy days there spent by joyous youth.

Thus it still stands in all its beauty, which is
largely due to the skill and taste of Mr. Henry
Brown, an English landscape gardener and florist,
who for many years had charge of the place, and
has shown what Virginia farms can be made to
assume under the art of scientific and skilful man-
agement.

In the midst of this immense growth of noble
oaks and stately evergreens sits the spacious man-
sion which is almost hid from view, affording that
retired seclusion so delightfully enchanting to rural
life, and which gives to Sunny Side a peculiar

103

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

charm. Here the expenditure of wealth and art
has gained not only pleasure and comfort to its in-
mates, but has instilled a higher sense of beauty
and culture to others who are striving with lauda-
ble ambition to make their homes more picturesque
and beautiful, and to discard the careless and im-
provident system of a past age.

Mr. J. B. Pace is one of the few self-made men
of Virginia who have risen from a plain farmer's
boy to great wealth. He was born in 1837, his
father being Granville T. Pace, a successful planter
of Henry County, Virginia. VV^ith few advantages
of education he entered quite early into active
business, and when but fifteen years of age began
to actively engage in the manufacture of tobacco.
In 1858 he moved to Danville, Virginia, and mar-
ried that year Miss Bessie Neal, daughter of Mr.
Thomas D. Neal, of Halifax County, Virginia.
Mr. Neal had married Miss Carter, daughter of
the celebrated Samuel Carter, who, it is said, never
bought anything for his family but tea, coffee, and
sugar, all else for the table or to wear being made
on his large plantation.

Mr. Pace continued in the manufacture of the

leaf at Danville for several years in connection

with his father-in-law, Mr. Neal, until 1865, when

he moved to Richmond, where he greatly enlarged

the tobacco business. During the war Mr. Pace

could not take an active part owing to ill-health

and a delicate constitution ; but he became a most

liberal contributor in aid of the Confederate cause,

and when the end came he found much of his

104

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

hard-earned fortune swept away ; but with the
same energy which has marked his career he began
again the tobacco business upon a much larger
scale, which soon attained gigantic proportions,
causing his success to be most marked and rapid.

Few men have gained so early in life such emi-
nence in business circles, or commanded such con-
fidence among influential men, and though meet-
ing with many reverses, yet his constant energy
and continued success seemed unimpeded until it
reached into the millions. Much of the beauty
and improvement of Richmond is due to Mr.
Pace. Besides many private residences he has
erected several large public buildings which are an
ornament to the city and give it a commercial
influence.

Nor must we lose sight of her whose quiet
liberality and sympathetic feeling for suffering hu-
manity go hand in hand with her public-spirited
husband, dispensing of their wealth most liberally
among the various Christian institutions as well as
the poor and needy in private walks of life.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Pace, nine in
number, are :

1. Nannie; married Mr. Donnan, of Petersburg, Virginia.

Died July 29, 1881.

2. Violet; married the Right Rev. Milville Jackson, Bishop

of Alabama. Died in Richmond, 1893.

3. Thomas; died in 1886, aged twenty-one years.

4. Carrie ; married Mr. W. W. Hite, of Louisville, Ken-

tucky, January 4, 1888.

5. James.

6. Bessie.

105

HISTORIC HOMES

7. Edgar.

8. Mary Carter; married Mr. Robert Newell Groner,

son of General Groner, of Norfolk, Virginia, Febru-
ary 15, 1897.

9. Ethel Randolph, so named in honor of the Misses Ran-

dolph, of Edgehill Seminary, who educated the three
eldest daughters, Nannie, Violet, and Carrie.

Mr. Pace has given his children every advantage
for the highest education, sending three of them,
James, Carrie, and Bessie, to Europe, where they
had the opportunity of the foreign schools of art
and science.

106

FRUITLAND

THE RESIDENCE OF A. P. FOX, ESQ.

THE historic interest of this place lies in the
fact that here was once the home of the
Clark family, whose name is interwoven
with that of Lewis, in connection of their many
brilliant deeds during the early period of our
country.

The Fruitland tract lies between East Belmont
and Cismont, embracing at one time the present
Sunny Side and Cedar Hill farms, and was very
early known as Clark's tract, which extended from
the summit of Sugar-Loaf Mountain to far be-
low the present county road. This large area was
taken from the famous Meriwether tract under the
king's patent, as we find Elizabeth Meriwether,
the daughter of Colonel Nicholas Meriwether, of
Clover Fields, married Thomas Walker Lewis, and
their daughter, Margaret Douglas Lewis, married
James Clark, an officer in the Revolutionary army,
who afterwards settled at Fruitland.

But the first settlement made upon the tract

was by Kid Clark, the father of this James Clark,

who built a small house near the mountain, at a

spot known as the " Pines." The site of his house

is still to be seen near the boundary-line between

Fruitland and Cismont farms. This first dwelling

107

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

was standing in 1811, but upon taking possession
of Cismont Mr. Peter Meriwether moved a por-
tion of it to his own place, where it now stands
as one of the oldest relics of the past. Previous
to this Major " Jimmie" Clark, as he was generally-
called, had built the Fruitland house, the rear part
of which shows its great antiquity.

At first this place was called Ben Coolin, a
name only found in the island of Sumatra ; but
as the Clark family were of Scotch origin, " Ben,"
signifying mountain, and " Colyn" or " Coolin,"
the Scotch term for " breezy," we can readily
see that its early settlers gave its name for some
lofty hill in Scotland meaning "Breezy Mountain,"
being most appropriate to the Fruitland location,
which rises from the plain to quite a prominent
elevation, which makes captive the mountain
breezes from every point.

Major Clark lived for many years at Fruitland,
raising a family of two sons and four daughters.
About the year 1830 he sold the farm to John
Carr, who lived on top of the mountain, and
started for Missouri, with his wife and children,
on his sixtieth birthday, but did not long survive
the tedious journey, as he died in St. Louis in
1838. Major Clark was a near relative of Gen-
eral George Rogers Clarke, the " Hannibal of the
West," who died in Kentucky in 1817, also to
William Clarke, his brother, both of whom were
born in Albemarle, not far from Charlottesville.
Their father also moved to Kentucky, and settled,

in 1 784, upon the present site of Louisville.

108

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

All of the Clark (or Clarke) family have been
prominent in our country's early history ; and
whether they are descended through Robert Clark,
who is first mentioned in Virginia history in 1728,
or from the New England Clarkes, Thomas Clarke
being the mate of the " Mayflower," is not clearly
shown, but the name, whether spelled with the
final " e " or not, is believed to be of the same
stock, whose descendants are now to be found in
every State of our broad Union.

John Gay Carr lived at Fruitland some years
and then sold it to the late James Hart, who mar-
ried first, a Miss Harris, and second, Mrs. Frances
Meriwether nee Frances E. Thomas, of Kentucky.
Mr. Hart became a most successful farmer, real-
izing large crops from his extended fields, and,
like its neighbor East Belmont, the Fruitland farm
became noted for its waving fields of hay and
droves of fat cattle. Mr. Hart gave its present
name of Fruitland for its large orchards of fine
fruit, some of the apple-trees of fifty years ago still
bearing their luxuriant crops of luscious fruit.

After the death of Mr. Hart Fruitland was sold
to a company of Englishmen, who made the first
payment with the expectation of completing the
full purchase from proceeds of the farm ; but Eng-
lish farming was found not quite applicable to Vir-
ginia, and after one or two years of failure it was
again sold, and purchased by Mr. A. P. Fox, a re-
tired merchant of Richmond, who had married one
of Mr. Hart's daughters.

Though coming with little or no experience as
109

HISTORIC HOMES

a farmer, yet Mr. Fox has greatly improved the
mansion, and by his skill and energy made Fruit-
land to yield its bountiful crops as of old. The
cooling summer breezes still waft through its old
oaks surrounding the now modernized mansion,
alluring to their pleasant shade many visitors from
the heated cities. Here one can view from its
summit the peaceful valley below, studded with
handsome residences, having the village of Kes-
wick and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad
nestled at its foot, while in the distance sits the
village of Cismont on the one hand, and Mon-
ticello on the other, — truly a picture most en-
chanting.

In 1 850, Mr. Hart gave his eldest son the north-
eastern portion of the farm, upon which he built
quite a portentous brick building, which sits on
the summit of one of the highest detached hills
from the mountain. This place he named Cedar
Hill, for its many cedars which crowned it. But
he lived here only a short time, selling it in 1856
to Mr. H. A. Burgoyne, of New York, and since
1863 it has passed through several hands, its pres-
ent owner being Mr. J. N. Black. The interest in
this spot centres upon a small frame house which
once stood at the foot of the hill beside a bold
spring, which was surrounded by lofty poplars and
many fruit-trees. Here lived an eccentric old man
named De Foe, who kept a little grocery, and the
legend is told that Mr. Jefferson frequently stopped
here on his journeys to Washington to stir up a
toddy and talk politics with the old man.

X

- G

c C

^•2

CISMONT

THE SUMMER HOME OF COLONEL H. W.
FULLER

IF there is any place where joy, happiness, and
peace have truly dwelt, where youth and old
age have spent happy hours of the past, and
where the true Virginia type of hospitality and
royal good living were to be seen, that place is
Cismont, now the beautiful home of Colonel H.
W. Fuller, so widely known as the general ticket
agent of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway sys-
tem.

The first settlement of Cismont dates back to a
period beyond the ken of the present generation.

In 1800 there stood an old frame building, one
and a half stories, at the foot of the hill, on the
summit of which the present mansion stands.
This old building was very ancient in appearance,
and even then was considered of centennial date,
as its peaked roof and rickety boards fully attested.
There it sat nursed and cradled among the sur-
rounding hills for so many years. Near its door-
step flowed a clear, bold spring, which still gives
forth its crystal waters, while lofty oaks, pines, and
poplars sheltered it from the noonday sun. Long
lines of fruit-trees bordered the lane which led to
the public road, while luxuriant fields of waving

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

grass, wheat, and corn betokened the virgin rich-
ness of its soil. It was a cosey and inviting spot
as it then stood, in all its rude surroundings of that
real old Virginia period when exteriors were con-
sidered of less importance than interior comforts.
Such was the first Cismont house, though tradition
says that there have been five dwellings erected on
different parts of the farm, and one " meeting-
house," which latter stood near the little stream
which passes at the foot of the hill. On this
stream, near a large rock still to be seen, was a
deep pool of water used for baptizing, which was
called " Grandma's" from the fact of so many old
people being baptized there. At this spot was
baptized Miss Betty Clark, the sister of Kid
Clark. She was called " Aunt Betsy," and kept the
tavern at Clarksville (now Sunny Side) for many
years.

Previous to this, however, the old Cismont house
is said to have been used also as a tavern, kept by a
man named Moore, and, as it stood not far from
the county road, the daily stages would sweep up
to its door for passengers to partake of the good
cheer within while exchanging horses.

About the year 1820, Peter Minor Meriwether
came here to live with his young bride, Mary
Walker Meriwether, the eldest daughter of Captain
William D. Meriwether, of Clover Fields, who, as
we shall see, owned all the lands from this point to
Belvoir, being a part of the original Meriwether
tract, which extended to the Turkey Sag road.

It is said that while courting his pretty " Cousin

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Polly" he became so discouraged that he threat-
ened to leave Virginia for the far West ; this
decided at once the fair lady, who consented on
condition that he would live here. Captain Meri-
wether then gave them four hundred acres of the
Clover Fields tract, upon which the old tavern
stood. In 1824, Mr. Meriwether added several
small tracts, and in 1841 purchased of his father-in-
law more than two hundred acres lying on Sugar-
loaf Mountain, thus making the total Cismont
farm six hundred and forty-one acres. Mr. Meri-
wether was a direct descendant of David Meri-
wether, the fourth son of Nicholas Meriwether
(2d), and grandson of Nicholas (1st), the first of
the name in America.

They are said to have been English Quakers and
once spelled the name " Merry weather." They
had the personal friendship of George II., who be-
stowed upon the first Nicholas Meriwether a grant
for more than eleven thousand acres of land, most
of which embraced the South- West Mountains,
and extended into Louisa and Fluvanna Counties.
When we come to describe the homesteads of
Clover Fields and Kinloch we will enter more
fully into their history, which forms one of the
most interesting chapters in the early settlement of
this historic region.

The new home was saddened by the death

of Mrs. Meriwether in 1832. In 1836, Mr.

Meriwether married Mrs. Frances W. Tapp, of

Oak Hill, near Stony Point. About this time

he also began to erect a new dwelling upon the
8 113

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

top of the hill, which he named Cismont. The
brick for this building was burnt and laid in 1836
by a celebrated mechanic named McMullin, who
built about the same time the Edgeworth house
and several others in the county. At the comple-
tion of this new house in 1 837, the fame and glory
of Cismont began : its noted fertility, the over-
flowing hospitality of its owner, the vivacity and
charming grace of its mistress, combined to give it
a celebrity such as few places possessed.

But before we enter upon the gay scenes of the
new mansion, let us glance again at the old cha-
teau under' the hill, whose attractive scenes still
linger like a bright halo of dreamland, as memory
reverts to its old halls, its winding stairs, and intri-
cate chambers.

In 1841, after the removal of Mr. Meriwether
and his new bride to the more imposing building
on the hill, which was always called the "Big
House," the old tavern was occupied by the Rev.
E. Boyden, who had just come to the neighbor-
hood as the rector of Walker's Church parish.
He gave it the name of " Cottage Rectory," and
in 1845 opened there a small school under the tu-
telage of Mrs. Eleanor Richardson, of Richmond,
Virginia, to whose gentle, patient, untiring efforts
is due the transformation of the wild, unsophisti-
cated boys and girls of that period into models
of gentle men and women. Mr. Boyden also con-
ducted quite a flourishing fruit nursery, introducing
many new varieties of the apple, which have since

become famous for this region. Thus with the

114

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

" Rectory School" and its joyous band of youth,
and the many visitors to the beloved pastor, made
the " Cottage" home a continual scene of mirth
and pleasure, notwithstanding that its walls were
said to have been haunted^ and its many dark nooks
and corners the abode of spooks and hobgoblins.
This belief was doubtless from the fact of many
deaths having occurred there, which superstition
served a good purpose in governing wayward boys
and girls, who would be threatened with the " dark
closet." Among the many visitors to this happy
circle was one eccentric genius, who always afforded
much merriment ; this was George Jeffery, an Eng-
lish teacher, engaged at Dr. Mann Page's school.
He had decided merit, having attended Cambridge,
in England, but his many antics and peculiarities
gave the impression of his having been either a
comic actor by profession or a crank of the first
water. His chief forte was the singing of comic
songs, accompanied by many gestures and contor-
tions of countenance, which would keep his young
audience in fits of laughter or exert real terror.
On one occasion a servant-girl who was serving
the table at which he sat laughed so much at
his oddities that she went into convulsions and
died.

This remarkable character is mentioned in the
" Page Genealogy ;" he was very irritable, getting
into many scrapes, and soon after returned to Eng-
land, much to the regret of the young people. In
1849 ^^^ "Rectory School" was discontinued, and
in 1850 Mr. Boyden moved to his new home

"5 *

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

near the church. After this the old house went
to decay, and in 1 860 was torn down.

We will now turn again to the new Cismont
mansion as it then stood. It was a plain, unpre-
tending two-story house, having six rooms, with a
hallway in the centre and a long portico in the
rear ; around it were scattered the usual farm
buildings, while the yard was filled with young
elm- and cherry-trees, together with various kinds
of shrubbery, many of which were brought from
England. It was not its exterior surroundings
which then gave such a charm and attraction to
Cismont, but the genial, loving hearts of its master
and mistress which was the magnet that drew so
many to its doors.

Mr. and Mrs. Meriwether were perhaps more
widely known, loved, and respected than any two
persons in the county. Both were young, with an
extensive kindred and large acquaintance ; it was
come and go at all times, and " Cousin Fanny"
and " Cousin Peter" with everybody ; or even the
more endearing titles of "Aunt" and " Uncle" or
" Mother" and " Father" would be used by those
who had been recipients of their loving-kindness.
They were ever ready to open wide their doors for
the young people to have a frolic ; he with his
violin would add the charm of music, while she
would set out the abundant stores of her larder.
No wonder the house was always full ; no wonder
the stranger as well as the kinsman would linger
and be loath to step away from that charming

spot ; and thus it would be for weeks at a time.

116

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

But it was Christmas that the real merry-making
began. Then the rolHcking and froHcking of
the young people reached its cHmax, when young
and old, white and black, had a real good time.
Preparations would begin weeks beforehand, — the
jellies, cakes, puddings, and pies would be piled in
heaps in the cellar below ; the slaughtered fowls
and meats were ready ; huge casks of cider and
bins of luscious apples were in waiting ; and when
at midnight of Christmas-eve the darkies would fire
off the big log charged with powder, and blow the
old ox-horn, and would raise a great shout, then
every one knew that Christmas had come, and the
fun would begin. The sun would hardly be above
the horizon before neighbors would begin to pour
in to greet " Cousin Fanny" and " Uncle Pete"
with happy Christmas and to partake of eggnog
and an early breakfast. The young boys and girls
would also soon troop in with merry greetings,
and then the old fiddle would be drawn forth and
the dancing begin. These were the times when it
was " open house, free and easy" to all, — the latch-
string was always hanging out, the best of eating
and drinking was on the outspread table, and roar-
ing fires made the good cheer within. Around
the festive board would frequently be gathered
some of the most brilliant and happy spirits of
the past, — the courteous William C. Rives, the
sententious Franklin Minor, the always smiling
F. K. Nelson, the benignant Rev. E. Boyden, the
benevolent " Uncle" Jimmy Terrell, the blunt

"Uncle Dick" Gambill, the hearty Dr. Tom

117

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

Meriwether, and the witty " Billy" Gilmer ; and
here, too, would frequently be seen " Aunt Betsy"
Meriwether and " Aunt Sue" Terrell," or graceful
Mrs. J. P. Rives and her gentle sister, Mrs. Jane
Page, or " Aunt" Sarah Gilmer and Mrs. A. M.
Mead, and thus they would come and go, all
welcomed and all made happy. But while the
" old folks" are eating and cracking their jokes
the young folks are tripping to Mr. Meriwether's
violin accompanied by the piano. There they are,
a merry crowd, — Stephen Sampson and William
H. Fry (then young boys) are cutting the pigeon-
wing and swinging around Sarah Campbell and
Sally Watson ; Tom Randolph and Mary Walker,
Bill Lewis and Fanny Campbell, George Geiger
and Charlotte Meriwether, Fred Page and Ann
Meriwether, and dozens of others, — there they all
go in the merry dance, their voices ringing forth
shouts of laughter. Nor do they stop until the
smiling " Aunt Frances" steps in to announce
supper, and then they scamper down the narrow
stairway to the cellar below, the boys frequently
squeezing the girls or taking a sly kiss on the
way. And then the good things quickly disappear,
when they again scamper back to have games,
candy-pulling, and fortune-telling, and so the fun
continues to a late hour of the night. Nor is the
festivity and frolic confined to the " big house,"
for the negroes, little and big, are having a grand
time, with plenty of hog meat and fat chittlings,
sweet 'taters and 'tater pumpkin, flour cake and
apple pies, rousing wood fires and no work, all in

Ii8

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

sharp contrast to the present daily struggle under
freedom. Such is a picture of the good old times
at Cismont, a time the remembrance of which
causes the heart to sigh as it exclaims, —

** When I was young ? Ah, woful when !
Ah for the change 'twixt now and then !"

Mr. Meriwether was a most peculiar man. He
was a true type of Meriwether^ being firm of opin-
ion, quick in judgment, bold and fearless in ex-
pression. His habits, manners, and general ap-
pearance would often mislead the casual observer as
to his true nature. Being an intense Jeffersonian
Democrat, he would, when twitted by his oppo-
nents on his political heterodoxy, — his apostasy
from the true Whig faith, his ugly locofocoism, —
express his opinions most dogmatically, without
regard to the niceties of diction and in language
more forcible than elegant, and, like the great John
Randolph, of Roanoke, when excited, would some-
times inadvertently use the name of the Almighty
irreverently ; but, like that great orator, he would
feel deep humility for it afterwards. This erratic
nature was only a flimsy cloak which hid one of
the most large-hearted, generous, and tender dispo-
sitions that could be found. Though stern and
unyielding in the heat of argument, yet the next
moment he would exhibit the tender, sympathetic
feeling of a generous, loving heart. His care
and affection for his slaves were intense. Hearing
of the arrest and imprisonment of a favorite negro

boy, under suspicion of robbery, though late at

119

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

night, and during a blinding snow-storm, he rode
to the jail, a distance of ten miles, and by his
efforts had him acquitted. Upon reaching home
with the lad behind him, the whole family, white
and black, met him to know the result ; but Mr.
Meriwether, with pent-up feelings of rejoicing,
could only murmur, " Acquitted," and then both
master and mistress, with all their blacks, burst
into tears for joy. Here was a scene for the anti-
slavery screechers. Mr. Meriwether was a firm
believer in mesmerism, and his experiments in this
mysterious art were the subject of much wonder
and superstition, especially among the negroes, who
would declare that " Mars Peter would mes'rize
'em," which greatly served to keep them in strict
obedience. But his neighbors and friends laughed
at the theory and would not be convinced. Mr.
Meriwether, however, determined to make a prac-
tical test of the new science, and prove to his scep-
tical friends that he was right. So, calling from
the field, one day, a negro boy of fifteen years
named Willis (who was perfectly ignorant of his
master's intentions), he then made a private experi-
ment in putting him under the mesmeric influence,
and, to his great delight, quickly succeeded in
having him under complete control. Being now
fully convinced of the success of his theory, he
invited his friends and neighbors to witness a per-
formance in this mysterious art. The excitement
and novelty of such a wonderful exhibition served
to draw quite a large number of the more scientific
and learned neighbors, among whom were Mr. and

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Mrs. William C. Rives, the grandparents of the
authoress Amelie Rives, Dr. Thomas Meriwether,
Mr. Francis K. Nelson, Mr. James Terrell, the
Rev. E. Boyden, and many others.

It did not take long for Mr. Meriwether to put
the boy Willis under his influence, who followed
his master into the crowded parlor with closed
eyes, seeming oblivious to all present. After being
securely blindfolded, so as to prevent any possi-
ble deception, a number of interesting experiments
were made to test the truth of his somnambulistic
actions. First, Mrs. Rives brought forth several
colored balls of worsted upon a waiter ; Mr. Meri-
wether touched one of the balls, which were held
behind his back, Willis at once told the color of
the ball that was touched ; a number of glasses
of water were then brought in, one of which Mr.
Meriwether tasted, the boy, after tasting each one,
told the right one ; a number of handkerchiefs
from the company were thrown together, among
which was Mr. Meriwether's ; after being well
mixed and rolled together, Willis quickly undid
the parcel and produced his master's handkerchief
by smelling each one ; Mr. Meriwether then tasted
some sugar, pepper, and salt, and in each case
Willis told what he tasted ; when the pepper
was tasted Willis began to spit and make a wry
face, saying something burnt his tongue, though
he had not touched the pepper. He was now
told to bring his mistress from another room ; this
he did, pulling her along with some force. He
was then told to kiss his mistress ; this he also

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

attempted to do, much to the merriment of the
company, until he was commanded to desist. He
was then made to assume various positions, which
his master would make behind his back. No one
had any control of him except Mr. Meriwether,
and he would not obey even his mistress, to whom
he was always faithful and obedient ; it was thus
conclusively proved that the boy Willis was en-
tirely controlled by the will of his master, and
was entirely unconscious of his own actions. At
another time, Mr. Meriwether put a servant-girl of
one of his neighbors under the mesmeric influence ;
but in this case the girl could not be awakened
afterwards, but continued to sleep for many days.
It was found that she had concealed a tin box of
trinkets in her bosom, which was considered the
cause of this curious case. Mr. Meriwether would
frequently mesmerize the hand of a young person,
so that it could not be removed from a table.
We give these experiments, as made by Mr. Meri-
wether in 1847, ^^^^ the belief that they were the
first in mesmerism ever successfully performed in
Virginia. The boy Willis, now an old man, is
still living in Charlottesville, and there are many
persons who were witness to their performance
who can also testify to them.

Mr. Meriwether was a most judicious and suc-
cessful farmer. He studied the old Farmers'
Register of 1835 very closely, and was a firm
disciple of that father of agriculture, Edmund
Ruffin. The Cismont farm was very rich, much
of it having been but recently cleared of the

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

original forests, and from the virgin soil teeming
crops of corn, wheat, and tobacco would be pro-
duced. Such was the quantity of hay that in
1841 Mr. Meriwether delivered annually for sev-
eral years more than twenty-five tons each year
to the stage yards. A Northern gentleman about
this time visited the farm, and, after viewing the
droves of fat sheep and cattle, the sleek horses, the
well-fed, happy negroes, and the great abundance
on every hand, turned to Mr. Meriwether and said,
" How is it, sir, that everything I see on your
place is fat except yourself?"

" Well, sir," replied Mr. Meriwether, " you will
see my better half at the house." Mr. Meriwether
was noted for being quite thin and his wife quite
stout.

It was also at this time that Miss Julia Willis,
the sister of the celebrated author and poet N. P.
Willis, of Boston, visited the place, bringing with
her the prejudices of New England against negro
slavery. She rode over the beautiful fields, saw
the peaceful, contented slaves at their labor, swing-
ing the cradle through the golden grain to the
merry song and chorus of the reapers ; viewed
their comfortable houses and the humane treat-
ment by both master and mistress ; and then she
wrote her people that " the slaves of Virginia
were so only in name, and seemed more free and
happy than many in New England."

In 1847 ^^ house was greatly enlarged and

improved by the addition of a rear wing. This

made it more commodious ; but even with this

123

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

enlargement it could scarcely accommodate the
host of friends who continued to visit this home
of magnificent hospitalities. The chief attraction
here was the gentle, loving mistress. She was
always the "good Samaritan," and responded to
every appeal ; to her would go both young and
old, rich and poor, who would pour into her sym-
pathetic heart their love-scrapes, their troubles,
their joys and sorrows, and " Cousin Fanny" was
sure to solve each difficulty and bring the sunshine
into every heart.

During the exciting war period Cismont was
frequently the scene of martial display. Here
General James L, Kemper, the hero of Gettysburg,
with his aides, would visit his family, who were
here as refugees, and over the green lawn would
bivouac his men ; or it would resound to the
tramp and bugle-blast of the " Albemarle Light-
Horse" cavalry when drilled by its gallant first
lieutenant, George H. Geiger.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Meriwether died from home,
Mr. Meriwether in 1850 at the Hot Springs, Vir-
ginia, and Mrs. Meriwether in 1883 at Clover
Fields, the adjoining farm, in her eighty-fifi:h
year. Cismont then passed into the possession
of George G. Randolph, a descendant of the
Meriwether family. After his death it was bought,
in 1894, by its present owner. Colonel H. W.
Fuller, of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad,
who obtained the mansion and four hundred acres
surrounding it.

Upon taking possession of this old homestead,
124

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Colonel Fuller at once began its transformation
into the beautiful modern structure which it now
presents, and with that energy and executive ability
which so characterize him, has changed the hills
and dales and all the surroundings of old Cismont
into visions of beauty and attractiveness, which at
once arrests the traveller as it breaks into view
from the public road.

The cut which is given presents the building
as it now appears, with its lofty columns, double
porticos, and massive chimneys, which loom
above the tree-tops, giving it quite a castellated
appearance. The approach to the mansion is by
a winding roadway through verdant fields and
over rustic stone bridges, until, entering the wide-
spread lawn of ten acres, dotted with stately oaks,
«lms, and forest-trees, and enriched on all sides
by highly-colored flowers and tropical plants, one
feels that here is presented one of the most pic-
turesque and idealistic spots, such as the combina-
tion of nature and art can alone create into a truly
•elysian home.

One of the most unique and interesting objects at
Cismont is the old kitchen, which is seen on the
left; this building has a history in itself, and is
now transformed into a museum of Colonial relics
^nd souvenirs of the late war. The building once
•stood on the mountain-side, but at the erection of
the new mansion it was moved by Mr. Meriwether
in 1835, and used as a kitchen, placing it about
I fifty feet from the house, as was customary in those
idays in always having the kitchen apart from the

125

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

main dwelling. On one side was built a shed-
room as sleeping apartment for the cook, while on
the other side was a similar room, which was oc-
cupied at one time by a poor white woman named
Miss Lucy Duke, who came from Louisa County,
and was employed by Mr. Meriwether as house-
keeper until her death. She was supposed to be
very poor, without friends, relatives, or means to
support her ; but after her death it was found that
she had six hundred dollars laid away in her little
room. Immediately there sprang up many rela-
tives to mourn her death and claim the money, but
by her will she gave it all to Mr. Meriwether, who
had befriended her for so many years.

The old kitchen is preserved in the same primi-
tive style as of Colonial times, with its rough-
hewn timbers and wrought nails. Here is seen the
wide hearth with its deep jambs and long crane, ;
where all the meals were cooked for the planta-
tion ; large logs of wood, four feet long, would be
piled upon its immense andirons, upon which would
be spread many ovens and kettles, while its large
hearth would be covered with huge ash-cakes, to
be baked on the hot bricks.

"Aunt Nancy" was the presiding genius here,
who held complete sway over this department,
much to the terror of the young darkies ; but the
writer can well remember her kind and generous
heart, as being the recipient of many a good meal
upon the old hearth. The room with its cup-
boards and shelves is now adorned with many

relics, — Indian pipes, old swords, knives and forks,

126

I

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

candlesticks, bits, keys, and bridles, all of a past age ;
its furniture of antique chairs and tables date nearly
a hundred years ; its walls are adorned with pictures
of battle-fields and scenes along the Chesapeake
and Ohio Railway, while huge Chinese lanterns and
Japanese ware adorn the upper loft. Altogether,
the old kitchen presents an inviting aspect, over
the door of which is its motto, " Sans ceremonie."
Here the pipe of peace can be smoked in luxuri-
ant ease and abandon, with a drink of cider from
the cupboard, or a draught of " malt and hops,
which beat pills and drops," or, if to be preferred,
" ash-cake and buttermilk," as in ye olden time.

Here the colonel surrounds himself with his
genial friends and entertains them with war stories
or exciting railroad scenes, until the young blood
boils with enthusiasm and breaks forth in merry
song.

Colonel H. W. Fuller is the son of David Fuller,
of Massachusetts ; he was so named for his two
uncles. David Fuller was a descendant of John
Fuller, who is said to have emigrated to America
in 1635, coming over with John Winthrop in the
ship "Abigail," Hackwell, master, and settled in
Cambridge village (now Newton) in 1644. From
him sprang all the Fullers in this country. They
were a bold, hardy set of men, persevering and
energetic under difficulties, and these traits are still
shown in their descendants.

Colonel Fuller enlisted in the late war when
quite young (only sixteen) and served with dis-
tinction during the four years. He commanded

127

HISTORIC HOMES

at first a company in one of the New York regi-
ments and rose rapidly to the rank of colonel.
He still preserves his well-worn sword upon many
a hard-fought battle-field, and can relate some
thrilling adventures. After the war Colonel Ful-
ler came South and identified himself with the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, since which time
he has taken great interest in this Piedmont sec-
tion and other parts of the State through which
the road traverses, investing largely in its lands,
and aiding in the development of the mineral and
agricultural interests of the State. Colonel Fuller
married Cora Johnson, the daughter of Thomas
Johnson, Esq., of Virginia, who is of the same
family as Senator Johnston, of Virginia, though
the t in the name has been dropped.

Two daughters have graced this beautiful home.
The eldest, Nellie, married Mr. Talbot, of Louis-
ville, Kentucky, but now of Washington City.
The youngest, Lucille, with graceful form and
sparkling eye, sheds a beam of radiant joy at the
old homestead, filling its halls with mirth and
music as of old.

128

2; JO
o

i "

O- t/3

CLOVER FIELDS

THE OLD HOME OF THE MERIWETHERS

BEYOND all doubt Clover Fields, the pres-
ent country-seat of Mr. Frank M. Ran-
dolph, which comes next to Cismont, is the
oldest settlement along the South-West Moun-
tains, and one of the few farms still held by
the descendants of Colonel Nicholas Meriwether
of Colonial fame, who by cunning craft so ingra-
tiated himself into the good graces of his majesty
George II. as to obtain his large grant of land,
which embraced most of this beautiful section of
Albemarle. As has been previously observed in
our notice of Cismont, the Meriwethers are re-
ported to be of Quaker origin, but we have reason
to believe that these were but a small portion of
the wide-spread English Meriwethers, who were
chiefly of the Established Church, as we read of
the Rev. Francis Meriwether, of Somerset County,
who died in 1806, and of the Rev. J. Meriwether,
who was chaplain to the Duchess of Clarence in
1824.

From old records we gather that Nicholas Meri-
wether, the first of the family, was born in Wales,
and died in England in 1678. It is doubted
whether he ever came to America, though tradi-
tion says he obtained a large grant of land from
9 129

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

Charles II. He had five sons, only three of whom,
Nicholas, Francis, and David, are known to have
come to America very early in its settlement.
Of these three we will only regard more particu-
larly the eldest, Nicholas (2d), as from him courses
the Meriwether blood in nearly every prominent
family of Virginia, either directly or by inter-
marriage.

This Nicholas (2d) is supposed to have come
over previous to the year 1685, as Bishop Meade,
in his " Old Churches," speaks of him as a vestry-
man at St. Peter's Church, New Kent County, in
that year. This is the Nicholas Meriwether who
obtained his large grant of seventeen thousand
nine hundred and fifty-two acres in 1730 from
George II., which embraced all the lands lying
along the South- West Mountains. This patent
was signed by William Gooch, then governor
of the colony, and is still preserved. This
" Colonel" Nicholas (2d) married a Miss Craw-
ford, daughter of David Crawford, Esq., of
Assasquin, New Kent County, in 1744, and had
nine children. The eldest, Jane, married Colonel
Robert Lewis, of Belvoir, Albemarle County.
This branch, which embraces most of the Lewis
family, we will speak of more fully hereafter.
The fifth son, David, married Anne Holmes,
daughter of George Holmes, Esq., of King and
Queen County, Virginia, and settled in Louisa
County, inheriting a portion of his father's large
estate. He died there December 25, 1744, and

his wife died March 11,1 735. They had eight

130

U

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

children. The eldest, Thomas Meriwether, mar-
ried Elizabeth Thornton, They had eleven chil-
dren,— four sons and seven daughters.

Nicholas Meriwether, the eldest son of Nicholas
(2d), was born in 1736, and married Margaret
Douglas, only daughter of the Rev. William Doug-
las, of Louisa County, Virginia. This Nicholas,
third in descent from the first Nicholas, inherited
the most of his father's property in Albemarle, and
after his marriage, in 1760, with Margaret Doug-
las moved to the county, and settled at Clover
Fields, building there one of the first houses erected
along the mountains, the house at Castle Hill
being also built about the same time.

Here " Colonel Nick" Meriwether and Margaret
Douglas lived and raised a family of six children ;
first, William Douglas, who married Elizabeth
Lewis in 1788 (she was the daughter of Nicholas
Lewis and Mary Walker) ; he was always called
"Captain Billy" and his wife "Aunt Betsy."
They inherited, lived, and died at Clover Fields.
The other sons of " Colonel Nick" were Thomas,
who married Anne Minor, daughter of Garret
Minor, of Louisa County. He lived with his
grandfather, " Parson" Douglas, and became a
most successful farmer. Nicholas Hunter married
Rebecca Terrell. Charles married, first, Lydia
Laurie ; second, Nancy Minor ; and, third, Mary
D. Walton. Francis married Catherine Davis.
Elizabeth, their only daughter, married Thomas
Walker Lewis.

" Captain Billy" and Elizabeth Lewis had seven
131

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

children. The first two died young; his third
son, WiUiam Hunter, commonly called " Billy
Fish," married Frances Poindexter, and lived some
time at the present Castalia farm, which was then
a part of the Meriwether tract. It is said that
this " Billy Fish" had a great penchant for build-
ing mills. He built one at Clover Fields, the
site of which is yet seen, also one which was
located near the present woollen-mills near Char-
lottesville ; he also built the first bridge across the
Rivanna, where the railroad now crosses it, which
was called " Meriwether's Bridge" ; but late in life
he either traded or sold all of his mills and prop-
erty in Virginia and moved to Texas, where he
built more mills.

The third son and seventh child of " Captain
Billy" was Dr. Thomas Walker Meriwether, who
was born in 1803 at Clover Fields, and died there
in 1863. He married Anne Carter Nelson, and
located at Kinloch, as we shall further note. Of
the two daughters of " Captain Billy," Marga-
ret Douglas (who was always called " Cousin
Peggy") married, first, her cousin. Dr. Frank
Thornton Meriwether, and second, Francis Kin-
law Nelson, by whom no issue. Of her first mar-
riage were two children, — Charles James, who
married his cousin and settled in Bedford County,
and Mary Walker Meriwether, who married Major
Thomas Jefferson Randolph, eldest son of Colonel
Thomas Jefferson Randolph, of Edgehill. Their
children were Frank Meriwether Randolph, who
married Charlotte N. Macon, Thomas Jefferson,

132

c <

5"' ^

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Margaret Douglas, Francis Nelson, and George
Geiger.

After the death of Mrs. Margaret Douglas Nel-
son the Clover Fields estate went to her grandson,
Frank M. Randolph, and his children, who now
reside there, the ninth generation in descent from
the first Nicholas Meriwether,

The second daughter of " Captain Billy" and
Elizabeth Lewis — Mary Walker, who was called
" Polly" — married her cousin, Peter M. Meriwether,
and lived at Cismont, as we have already shown

We have now traced the family possession to,
and will speak more fully of, the history past and
present of this celebrated old homestead.

We give a picture of the old mansion which
sheltered so many generations of the sons and
daughters of this truly great and extended family.
It is vividly impressed on the memory of the
writer as it looked in 1845, presenting the same pe-
culiar types of architecture so often found belong-
ing to the period 1 700, with its long, low porch in
front, from the eaves of which rose a high, peaked
roof, set off with small dormer-windows for its
many narrow rooms above. Immense tall chim-
neys towered above the tree-tops, around whose
wide hearths had gathered many generations at
happy reunions. The many out-buildings sur-
rounding the mansion — kitchen, meat-house, dairy,
stables, barns, mills, and numerous negro cabins —
gave it the appearance of quite a village, which
would be still further heightened by droves of
horses, vehicles, and troops of negroes passing to

133

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

and fro. Here in the long porch " Colonel Nick"
would sit and entertain his numerous friends with
his experience in the " Braddock war," and how
he, with three others, bore the wounded and de-
feated general from the battle-field ; and then would
point with pride to the gold-laced embroidered coat
sent him from Ireland by Braddock's sister, which
for a long time hung in the Clover Fields parlor
as a war relic ; and then " Aunt Peggy" would
tell of her Scotch kindred, her home in the Old
World, her youthful recollections of the voyage
to America, and the exciting times of the Revo-
lution. She would always have gathered around
her troops of old and young to listen eagerly to
these truthful stories. After this noble, kind-
hearted couple passed away, being the last con-
necting link between the " Colonial" and the
" new nation," their places were taken by " Captain
Billy" and "Aunt Betsy." He would sit in the
same seat and tell of the war of 1812, while she
with delight related anecdotes of her " Lewis"
and " Walker" kin, whose prowess during that ex-
citing war period has become a part of history.
It is said that Clover Fields could show more
old china, old furniture, old books, and other
Colonial relics than any other place along the
mountains ; many of these had been brought di-
rect from England and Scotland by the Rev. Wil-
liam Douglas, the grandfather of " Captain Billy,"
whose large and valuable library was once at
Clover Fields, but which has since been scattered
among his numerous descendants. " Aunt Betsy"

134

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

would always with pride bring forth these family
heirlooms and give their history, which would now
be of priceless value to the antiquarian.

" Colonel Nick" Meriwether was quite active
and prominent in the church, being mentioned by
Bishop Meade as a vestryman in 1762, in connec-
tion with Thomas Jefferson, Dr. George Gilmer,
and others in the establishment of old Walker's
Church. His son, William D. Meriwether, was
also added to the vestry in 1787. It was at this
time that he and Mr. Jefferson were ordered by
the vestry " to lay off two acres of land, including
a space around Walker's Church," land which
had been given to the parish by John Walker,
of Belvoir. This makes us suppose that Captain
William Meriwether was, like Jefferson, a skilled
surveyor. This fact is also made more probable
by an old copy of Gibson's " Surveying" of 1803,
now in the hands of the writer, in which are the
names of " Nicholas L. Meriwether, William and
Mary College, 1 809," and " Charles J. Meriwether,
1816," both of whom were sons of Captain Wil-
liam D. Meriwether, who used it. Thus it is pre-
sumed they all inherited a love for this science.
Nicholas L., it is believed, died early. Charles J.
Meriwether, his younger brother, outlived them all,
and is still tresh in the remembrance of many now
living. He bore strikingly the Meriwether char-
acteristics of a generous, kind-hearted temperament,
but with always decided opinions of his own upon
every topic. He it was who came out upon the
portico at Clover Fields, one day, during the civil

135

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

war, as the " Yankees" rode up, and greeted them in
his usual urbane and genial manner, thinking they
were Confederate officers ; nor did he find out his
mistake until they had relieved him of his hand-
some gold watch and threatened to make him a
prisoner.

The old book of surveying mentioned had also
the name of Thomas Lewis Meriwether, who
was one of the sons of Thomas Meriwether and
Anne Minor, of Louisa County, and who died
in 1838, unmarried. The old book, from its
well worn appearance, must have been often
handled by Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, and
other noted surveyors of the time who visited
"Captain Billy."

Clover Fields, even at a very early period, be-
came the rendezvous for the clergy, laity, profes-
sional, and political men of the day, besides a vast
kindred from all sections. No one bearing the
name of Meriwether, Walker, or Lewis, or being
of the most remote kin, could pass Clover Fields
without a visit to " Captain Billy" and " Aunt
Betsy," and partake of their bounteous hospitality ;
even the stranger and wayfaring pilgrim were wel-
comed, so that the old house was always filled
with guests, who would often spend weeks at a
time with them.

After the death of William Douglas Meriwether
and his wife, in 1845, the Clover Fields estate de-
scended to his second daughter, Margaret Douglas
Meriwether, who, with her second husband, Francis

K. Nelson, lived and died there. It was about

136

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

the year 1846 that the old Colonial house was
removed to give place to the present modern
structure, which was erected by Mr. Nelson, whose
taste and culture were far in advance of his day.

This spacious mansion, at the time of its com-
pletion, exceeded any in the neighborhood for
beauty and utility. Here, in more modern style,
the hospitalities continued to be dispensed with a
liberal hand, and " Cousin Peggy," like her great-
grandmother, bestowed blessings upon all around
her, such as never will be forgotten by those who
were the fortunate recipients. Mr. Nelson was a
most striking man, and one long to be remembered ;
with a suaviter in modo et fortiter in re, combined
with an exactness and neatness which were always
shown, not only in person, but enforced in the
more minute details of the farm, bearing always
a pleasant, cheerful temperament, with fine con-
versational powers, he made Clover Fields very
attractive, and sustained the traditionary hospitality
of his forefathers in an eminent degree.

The Clover Fields farm has always been noted
for its fertility and productiveness ; its waving
fields of clover, fi-om which it derives its name ; its
bounteous crops of wheat and tobacco, the latter
of which was mostly sent to England ; its cele-
brated garden, which always bore the earliest vege-
tables in the neighborhood ; its lofty cherry-trees,
from which many an urchin fell in his eager grasp
for the luscious fruit ; its immense crop of apples ;
its droves of fat sheep and cattle, like those of the
celebrated Robert Blakewell, of England, which

137

HISTORIC HOMES

were too dear for any one to purchase and too
fat for any one to eat, — all these have rendered
it famous, and won for it years ago the sobriquet
of " Model Farm."

One of the most interesting spots at Clover
Fields is the family burying-lot, in one corner
of the garden. Here on its many moss-covered
tombstones can be read the names of most of the
Meriwethers who have lived and died at this old
place, dating back into the past century. Here
sleep undisturbed on their native ground those
noble men and women who lived in the exciting
times of the Revolution and saw the wild country
emerge into a " new nation," and, with hearts glow-
ing with love and patriotism, gently sank to rest,
beloved by all around them. Here are also gathered
families and connections, and even many strangers
who have sickened and died within the walls of
the old house, until the little cemetery is com-
pletely filled. It is now kept sacred, and forms
a valuable guide-post to the historian in his search
for the early characters in Virginia's history.

Of late years Clover Fields has become a pleas-
ant resort each summer for those who seek its
cool mountain breezes, or love to roam over its
picturesque hills and dales or secluded woodland
retreats. Here one can tread the same spot where
the wild Indian once made his tenting-ground, or
can view the same landscape which broke upon
the first settlers of Albemarle, and feel that he is
indeed upon historic ground.

138

z >

CASTALIA

THE ESTATE OF MURRAY BOOCOCK, ESQ.

CNIS ! How the name thrills the heart with
patriotic emotions I What scenes of valor
and deeds of daring does it recall as, like
a brilliant picture, it speaks of the heroes of the
past !

Next to that of Washington there is no name
which stands forth more prominently upon the
page of Virginia history than that of Lewis. Even
from the first settlement of the infant colony we
have General Robert Lewis, who landed on the
shores of Virginia in 1 600 ; then Colonel John
Lewis, of His Majesty's Council ; after whom came
General Andrew Lewis, the bold frontier warrior,
whose noble statue stands close to that of Wash-
ington at Richmond, Virginia ; and then Robert
Lewis, the intimate friend and secretary of Wash-
ington ; and Colonel Fielding Lewis, who married
the sister of Washington ; and Meriwether Lewis,
the explorer of the West ; and many of the
name who have graced our legislative halls even
to the present day, all attest the fact that the
name is the symbol for all that is noble, brave,
and chivalrous.

Before entering upon Castalia, a short genea-
139

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

logical sketch of the family may not be inappro-
priate.

General Robert Lewis, the first of the family,
was the son of Sir Edward Lewis, of Beacon,
Wales, and was said to be descended from the
Duke of Dorset. This first Robert Lewis received
a grant from the Crown for thirty-three thousand
three hundred and thirty-three and one-third acres
of land in Gloucester County, Virginia, where
he first located and built his celebrated mansion,
Warner Hall, descriptions of which sound more
like the baronial castles of England than the primi-
tive dwellings of the colonists. It is here that he
lived in such regal style. All the furnishings of
the house and even luxuries for the table were
wafted up the York River from across the Atlantic,
that he might keep up the princely living as of the
landed gentry in the mother country.

John Lewis, the eldest son of Robert, was sent
to England to be educated, and while there mar-
ried Isabella Warner, a great heiress and sister of
the famous Speaker Warner, of Virginia.

This son John (ist) had also a son named
John (2d), who married Elizabeth, the youngest
daughter of Speaker Warner. Their son John
(3d) married Frances Fielding, and inherited
Warner Hall, with all its silver plate, pictures,
and jewels.

John (2d) and Elizabeth Warner had a son,
Robert, who married Jane Meriwether, the daugh-
ter of Colonel Nicholas Meriwether, who obtained

his large grant in Albemarle in 1730. This Rob-

140

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

ert, who was a colonel in the Revolutionary war,
after his marriage moved and settled at Bel voir,
in Albemarle, being a part of his father-in-law's
large estate. Colonel Robert Lewis had a son,
Nicholas, who married Mary Walker, the daugh-
ter of Dr. Thomas Walker, of Castle Hill ; they
lived on a fine plantation near Charlottesville,
Virginia, called The Farm, which we shall note
hereafter. Their son, Thomas Walker Lewis,
married Elizabeth Meriwether, sister of " Cap-
tain Billy" Meriwether, of Clover Fields. They
lived at Locust Grove, which was a part of
The Farm ; it was here that their son, Robert
W. Lewis, was born in 1808. This Robert (who
was second cousin of Captain Robert Lewis,
Washington's secretary) afterwards became the
owner of Castalia, but only by purchase rather
than by inheritance, to which he was entitled
through his mother, who was the daughter of Col-
onel Nicholas Meriwether and Margaret Douglas,
of Clover Fields.

The Castalia farm, lying between Clover Fields
and Belvoir, containing about one thousand acres,
was a part of the Meriwether grant gained by
the first Nicholas Meriwether in 1730, during the
reign of George II., the patent being signed by
William Gooch, then governor of the colony.
Warner Lewis, of Warner Hall, a nephew of
Colonel Robert Lewis, of Belvoir, had already
married the daughter-in-law of Governor Gooch,
and doubtless was influential in gaining this large

grant.

141

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

To what limits this large body of land extended
over the county is not known, though it must have
embraced most of its entire area. Think of these
two landed nabobs — Colonel Robert Lewis, with
his thirty-three thousand three hundred and thirty-
three and one-third acres, and Colonel Nicholas
(id) Meriwether, with nearly twenty thousand
acres — owning almost two counties of Virginia !

The first to live at Castalia is said to have
been an old negro named " Jack," whose cabin
stood near the present spring from which flows a
bold stream through the plantation, which is still
known as "Jack's Branch."

The first habitable building of any size was built
in 1747 by "Colonel Nick" Meriwether before
going to Clover Fields. This was only a double
log cabin, perched near the old spring, and sur-
rounded by a grove of oaks ; it is still standing,
showing a wonderful state of preservation. " Cap-
tain Billy" Meriwether, who inherited all of these
lands, gave Castalia to his son, William Hunter,
known as " Billy Fish," who married Miss Poin-
dexter. He lived in the old log cabin for some
time, adding to it the framed part at the rear,
and was the first to give it the classical name of
Castalia, for the celebrated mythological foun-
tain on Mount Parnassus, sacred to Apollo and
the Muses, of which " Billy" imagined his spring
at the foot of the mountain to be typical.

After the death of " Billy Fish," his widow sold

the farm to John H. Craven, of Pen Park, who

gave it afterwards to his son William somewhere

142

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

in the thirties. Robert W. Lewis, of Locust
Grove, had married Sally Craven, daughter of the
late P. H. Craven. They continued to hve there
until 1833, when he moved to his patrimony,
Piedmont, across the river, the present farm of
Mr. Triplett Haxall, who bought it of the late
Richard O'Mohundro.

After living there for thirteen years, Mr. Lewis
exchanged the farm for Castalia, giving William
Craven three thousand dollars to boot. Thus we
see how the Castalia farm again came into the
possession of the Lewises.

For a number of years Mr. Lewis occupied the
old log cabin, which had been just previous to his
taking possession rented by Mr. Peter Cobbs, the
father of the present Mrs. John C. Patterson, of
Charlottesville. This good old gentleman had
many peculiarities, one of which was always wear-
ing his hat in the house. He had once been a
teacher, and was fond of asking young people in-
tricate questions upon their studies, which would
often puzzle children of a larger growth.

In 1850, Mr. Lewis erected the present commo-
dious building which adorns the neighborhood.
At that time the forests had remained almost un-
touched of their original growth, and it is said that
Mr. Lewis marked each tree to be used for his
house, picking only the finest and best. It was
a little before the days of planing-mills, so each
piece had to be dressed by hand, which was slow
and tedious ; the brick were made upon the spot
by his own slaves, and within a year's time there

143

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

arose the present large structure, a monument to
his skill and careful supervision.

In 1853, ^^- Lewis opened a small school, more
particularly for the education of his own children.
For this purpose he employed a most accomplished
English lady. The school was limited to ten, but
more than that number of happy, joyous girls
usually filled the house, making it a scene of con-
stant fun and frolic. " Cousin Sally Bob," as she
was always called, was ever ready to enter into the
frolics of the girls and see that they had a " good
time." The young bloods of the neighborhood
would therefore always be encouraged, and would
often make night hideous with banjo and fiddle in
their serenades, which would be sure to end in an
invitation to a big supper and a dance with the girls.

On one occasion one of these gallants (now a
dignified alderman) wished to play a quiet game
of chess with the captive of his heart while the
family were away, hoping thereby to make a con-
quest. " Cousin Sally," who was in the scheme,
cautioned her " old man Bob" to leave the young
couple to themselves, while she took the rest of
the girls to a party ; but Mr. Lewis became so
interested in the game that he forgot the admoni-
tion, and was a close observer the entire evening,
thereby preventing what might have been a union
of hearts and hands.

Such were the attractions of Castalia that it was

styled the " Home of the Graces" ; but its happy

band of girls was soon after scattered, each to

grace a home of her own.

144

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

On the 25th of May, 1877, ^^^ head of this
happy home died, and was buried beside his be-
loved wife, in the rear of the old log cabin where
they had lived so long humbly and contentedly.

Robert W. Lewis was no ordinary man. Few
could fail to be impressed by his tall, erect figure,
his open and benevolent countenance, his warm
grasp of the hand, and hearty voice as he welcomed
all who honored him with a visit. He exhibited
in a striking degree the Lewis traits, true repub-
lican simplicity, natural and unassumed ; his dress
of plain homespun, his extreme love of truth and
honesty, causing him to abhor all shams or pre-
tence. Being reticent and slow of speech, he
retired from all argument or political strife, and
yet ever ready to give a clear and decided opinion
on every topic when the occasion required. His
powerful frame and great courage often made him
a terror to evil-doers around him. On one occasion,
while at Piedmont, his father-in-law had a quan-
tity of grain stolen by some boatmen from Milton ;
learning that these men, who were powerfully-built
fellows, had the wheat on their boat and were
leaving for Richmond, Mr. Lewis at once gave
chase, overtook the boat, boarded it by some ruse,
where he found the wheat, which they could not
account for ; he then single-handed pitched the
men overboard and brought the boat back to
Pen Park.

Such is an imperfect sketch of this true Virginia
gentleman, whose many sterling qualities made him
a fit representative of the noble family of Lewis.
10 145

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

Of his sons and daughters, George, the eldest,
was accidentally killed while hunting, May 22,
1855. Robert Walker married Elizabeth, daugh-
ter of Dr. James Minor, of Music Hall, and lives
in Richmond. Thomas Walker married Jane,
daughter of Frederick W. Page, librarian of the
University of Virginia, and lives on a portion
of Castalia farm. John married Miss Austin, and
lives in Albemarle. Elizabeth married Mr. John
Hamilton, of Charlottesville, Virginia. Alice mar-
ried her cousin, James T. Lewis, who mounted
his horse and joined the Confederate army an hour
after the ceremony was performed, in 1861 ; they
are both dead. Ellen married A. J. Smith, who
lives in Fauquier County, Virginia. Margaret
married Eugene Sampson ; and Lydia, the young-
est, married Henry Lewis Smith, of Smithfield,
West Virginia.

In 1881 Castalia was sold to Mr. Bartlett Boil-
ing, of Petersburg, Virginia, who made many im-
provements which added greatly to its appear-
ance. In the spring of 1894 it was sold to Mr.
Murray Boocock, of New York City, its present
owner.

This gentleman, having travelled over Europe
as well as this country, was attracted, while passing
through the Southern States, by this beautiful sec-
tion of Virginia, as possessing more advantages than
any he had met with in the South. Here he found
among these picturesque hills a fertile soil, a genial
atmosphere, and a refined people, the descendants

of a once proud and noble aristocracy.

146

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Castalia has fallen into no mean hands, but,
like those who once occupied it, can also boast
of a lineage that touches the Georges of England,
and whose patriotic ancestry have marched to the
slogan of '76.

Mr. Boocock is the son of Samuel Ward Boo-
cock, Esq., who has long been one of the promi-
nent residents of Brooklyn, living on its historic
Heights. He is connected with many of the lead-
ing institutions of Brooklyn, and also occupies a
foremost position among the bankers of New York.
Mr. Samuel W. Boocock married Mary C. Under-
bill, the daughter of Elias Underbill, who married
Jane C. Carpenter. Mr. Murray Boocock is there-
fore descended on his maternal side from one of the
most illustrious families in this country. We find
in 1416 that Captain John Underbill, commonly
called Lord Underbill, and Agnes, his wife, were
seated at Cunningham in Warwickshire, and in
1587 occurs the name of Sir Hercules Underbill,
Knight and High Sheriff of the County. The noted
Edward Underbill, one of Queen Mary's band of
gentlemen pensioners in 1558, was also a member
of the family. Captain John Underbill was a dis-
tinguished officer in the British army, who bad
served with great distinction in Ireland and Cadiz.
He emigrated to America in 1632 and settled at
Kenelworth, Oyster Bay, Long Island. Much of
interest concerning this Captain John Underbill,
who was very prominent in the early history of
New England and New York, could be given did
space permit. An account of bis many exploits

»47

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

and other interesting information can be found
in a volume called the "Algerine Captive," from
the pen of a descendant, John Underhill, of New
York.

Nathaniel Underhill, the younger son of Captain
John, moved to Westchester, and bought lands
of John Turner in 1687. He married Mary Fer-
ris, a descendant of the great Ferris family of
Leicestershire, England, who are said to have ob-
tained large grants of land from William the
Conqueror. Their son Abraham married Hannah
Cromwell, and their son Abraham (2d) married,
first, Phoebe Hallock, and second, Kesiah Farring-
ton. The son of this second marriage, Solomon
Underhill, of Sing Sing, married Phoebe Concklin,
and their son Townsend married Emily Smith.
He died in 1817, leaving one son, Elias Underhill,
who married Jane C, Carpenter ; these two are
the grandparents of Mr. Murray Boocock, of Cas-
talia. A great shadow fell upon the community
of Brooklyn Heights, May, 1896, by the death
of Mrs. Samuel Ward Boocock. She was one of
the most esteemed and charming women who
figured in its social life. Mrs. Boocock was ad-
mired and esteemed by all who knew her for her
great tact, kindliness, and unobtrusive generosity.
She was always active in charitable and philan-
thropic enterprises, and will be greatly missed by
all with whom she was associated.

In the spring of 1894, Mr. Boocock married
Miss Ada Miriam Dike, daughter of the late
Camden C. Dike, of Brooklyn. Mr. Dike was

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

born in Providence, Rhode Island, September 18,
1 832, and died quite suddenly of pneumonia, Oc-
tober 11, 1 894, at Point Pleasant, New Jersey.
For thirty-six years he was engaged in the wool
business under the firm of " Dike Brothers." He
was also quite prominent in the business circles of
New York and Brooklyn, being trustee for South
Brooklyn Savings Bank and other institutions.
He was also a member of the Chamber of Com-
merce, and president of the Apollo Club.

Mr. Dike married Miss Jennie Staunton Scott,
granddaughter of Major-General Phineas Staun-
ton, who was so prominent in the war of 1812.
She is also closely connected with the family of
General Winfield Scott, Colonel John Scott of the
Confederate war being also a near relative.

Mr. and Mrs. Dike also lived on the beautiful
Heights of Brooklyn, so long noted for its hand-
some residences and refined, cultivated society,
composed as it is of many of the oldest families
in the State.

Let us now glance at the new Castalia, seated
at the foot of the Albemarle " Mount Parnassus,"
near the clear Castalian spring, which still sends
forth its invigorating waters as of old, changing
those who partake of them into modern CasialUes,
since those who have here dwelt have always ex-
hibited the poetry of thought and motion.

The top of the stately mansion can scarcely be
seen from the entrance to the grounds, nearly a
mile distant ; but as we reach a commanding sum-
mit it breaks upon the view in all its grandeur and

149

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

beauty. Seated amid a dense grove of trees, its
balustrades and lofty chimneys tower above the
tree-tops, while through the dense foliage can be
seen its many windows and tall columns of the
portico. The picture is still more heightened by
an expansive lawn, with luxuriant orchards and
gardens on each side, while in the background
rises the majestic mountain, which gives to the
whole a grand and impressive scene. i

As we enter this handsome home of English |
type we are at once removed a century in time, j
To one side of the spacious hall stands a " grand- i
father's" clock, whose sonorous tones give a sad- ^
dened pleasure as it marks the flight of time. I
The walls, like those of the baronets, are adorned j
with trophies of the chase, one of which is a fine
specimen of the head and antlers of a caribou or
moose deer of Maine, which is now nearly extinct.
Sketches in nature also adorn its walls, while stately
palms and towering plants make it a veritable salle
de verdure. Turning to the drawing-room, we
enter truly a salon d'art., where one can feast the
eye. Here are choice scenes from Shakespeare
by the celebrated John and Josiah Boydell, as
found in the Shakespearian Gallery at Pall Mall,
1793. This John Boydell was famous in the )
graphic art. He was lord mayor of London, and
died in 1804. Mr. Boocock has the only two of
his works now in this country. Two fine engrav-
ings printed on satin, the " King's Favorite" and |
" Rubens the Artist," from the Vanderbilt coUec- 1
tion in New York, are also worthy of admiration. ^

150 '

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

An exquisite oil-painting upon silk tapestry from
Paris of Bougereau's " Cupid and Psyche" ; a fine
engraving on wood is shown of the " Dying
Lion," being an exact copy as cut in the solid
rock at Geneva. Many other delicate etchings
are among this rare collection, which Mr. Boocock
has secured at great expense. Then the many
curios and bric-a-brac from foreign lands will cap-
tivate the visitor ; but the most to be admired is
a solid silver flagon, eighteen inches high, having
rich carvings of Indian scenery. This was one
of the exhibits at the Columbian Exposition at
Chicago, 1893, sent from India. It was presented
to Mr. and Mrs. Boocock as a wedding-present.

The entire Castalia mansion is furnished in
antique oak of the past century, and each of its
many bedrooms are in a different color, with
draperies and curtains to match. Hot and cold
water is conveyed over the whole house from an
immense tank in the roof; and beside its many
fireplaces, it is heated also by a furnace below.
It is difficult to conceive of a more complete and
elegant country residence, one such, indeed, as
would fittingly adorn any city.

Of late, Mr. Boocock has turned his attention
to the development of a higher grade of cattle in
Virginia ; for this purpose he has imported a thor-
oughbred Hereford bull, Salisbury, from the herd
of John Price, Court-House, Pembridge, England,
at a cost of three thousand dollars, together with
his mate. Curly Lady, besides several cows of the
same breed. These have recently taken the cham-

151

HISTORIC HOMES

pion winnings at the State fairs of New Jersey,
Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland. Mr. Boo-
cock has also purchased several more of the same
breed from the West, and now has a herd of
fifteen or twenty of these fine cattle, which present
a beautiful sight as they roam over the green
meadows of Castalia like a troop of uniformed
cavalry, all bearing the same striking marks of
white head and red body.

Thus Mr. Boocock is doing a grand service
for the stockmen of the South ; and this public-
spirited gentleman should be sustained in his noble
work, which we are glad to learn is meeting with
marked success, and will eventually become a lead-
ing enterprise in the State.

The visitor to Castalia will now find it like a
bit of old England dropped into the lap of Vir-
ginia, having all the appointments of a large first-
class stock farm, which will give delight to every
lover of fine cattle ; but more especially it is
gratifying to see this old homestead so beautifully
perpetuated, retaining its old log cabin and famous
spring, which, with its many associations of the
past, will always make it dear to the dwellers
along the South- West Mountains.

152

MUSIC HALL

HOME OF THE LATE CAPTAIN JAMES TERRELL

THIS old home, so well remembered as the
place where music, joy, and mirth were
wont to dwell, as its name indicates, lies
contiguous to Castalia, and once formed a part of
the Clover Fields estate.

Some ten years after the death of her husband,
Colonel Nicholas Meriwether, Margaret Douglas,
his widow, married, February 20, 1783, Chiles
Terrell.

" Parson" Douglas, of Louisa, her father, some-
times wrote the name " Tyrrell," " Tyrel," or " Ter-
rell," all of which were of Scotch origin. After
their marriage they moved and settled upon this
portion of the Meriwether grant, which was re-
tained by the widow of Nicholas Meriwether, and
consisted of about twelve hundred acres, begin-
ning at the top of the mountain and reaching to
the Machunk Creek, the road which passes over
Broadhead's Gap to Stony Point being the division-
line with the Belvoir estate.

Chiles Terrell must have erected the first house
at Music Hall, which was quite a plain framed
building. Mrs. Margaret Terrell brought many
of the trophies and relics of her husband with
her to Music Hall, and for some time the old

153

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

musket that " Colonel Nick" Meriwether used in
the Braddock war was seen there hanging on the
wall. By their marriage was one son, James
Hunter Terrell, who was born there September 8,
1784, and after the death of his parents succeeded
to the Music Hall estate. His mother, Mar-
garet Douglas Terrell, died at Clover Fields, the
residence then of her eldest son. Captain William
Douglas Meriwether, September 25, 1812. Her
son, James Hunter Terrell, married a Northern
lady, Mrs. Susan Townley nee Vibert, of Lynn,
Massachusetts. They had no children, but made
their home very happy for others, always having
several nephews and nieces staying with them,
who were very musical. " Uncle Jimmy," as he
was universally called, was also passionately fond
of music, and was quite a musician himself, play-
ing upon several instruments, hence he named his
home Music Hall, as it always resounded to sweet
strains and the joyful mirth of youth. Captain
Terrell was an officer in the war of 1812, and
was also quite prominent in the county. He
is mentioned by Bishop Meade as one of a com-
mittee to build the new Grace Church.

About 1845, Captain Terrell and his wife made
a trip to Massachusetts to see her relations. A
lady friend who accompanied them wrote a most
amusing and interesting account of the trip, de-
scribing the wonder and astonishment of these
good, simple-hearted old people at the many sights
they saw in the more advanced part of the Union.
" Uncle Jimmy," however, was quite restless, and

154

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

expressed himself as being very glad to get back
safely to his old home after his venture upon such
a long trip by steam, being the first time he ever
rode on the cars.

Such was his kind-heartedness and deep sense of
feeling upon the slavery question, that by his will
Captain Terrell liberated all of his slaves, eighty-
three in number, and devoted his entire Ducking-
hole estate in Louisa, inherited from his grand-
father. Rev. William Douglas, to settling them in
Liberia, and in the spring of 1847 these negroes
were sent there under the auspices of the " Ameri-
can Colonization Society." This number included
a few who were bought or given, that they might
not be separated from their husbands or wives.
They had a splendid outfit, a free passage, and
about three hundred dollars each in money. The
writer remembers the departure of these negroes,
many of whom were presented with woollen gloves
and thick, heavy clothing, blankets, etc., for their
tropical home.

Besides owning the Music Hall estate. Captain
Terrell had two hundred or more acres of wood-
land beyond the Machunk, called Clarke's tract,
besides inheriting the old homestead in Louisa,
Duckinghole, which was the residence of his grand-
father, Rev. William Douglas, of Colonial fame.
This celebrated farm was not far from Louisa
Court-House, and was considered one of the richest
sections of the county. It contained about seven
hundred and ninety-six acres, which were bought
by Mr. Douglas of John Symms in 1770. Mr.

»55

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

Douglas owned also large bodies of land, more than
eleven hundred acres in Goochland County, which
was a part of the Cocke estate, bought under the
Crown from Governor Spotswood in 1714. This
land Mr. Douglas gave to his other grandson,
Thomas Meriwether, who lived with him, as by
deed dated 1777. As an item of interest, this
Cocke tract of two thousand four hundred and
ninety-seven acres, lying mostly on James River,
was purchased for twelve pounds ten shillings
(about sixty-five dollars). The Rev. William
Douglas, the grandfather of Captain Terrell, was
a most learned divine of the Established Church
of England, where he was ordained in 1751. He
was a Scotchman, and was educated for the min-
istry at Edinburgh. He and his family were
loyal to the Crown, and did not readily swear
allegiance to the colonies ; but it was either this
or lose by confiscation his large property. After-
wards he became very zealous in establishing the
church upon the order of State government. He
had an extensive and valuable library brought
from Scotland in 1751, and perhaps one of the
best in the country at that time. Many of his
books have been eagerly sought for and are widely
scattered over the country. Mr. Douglas was a
teacher of note. Among his pupils were Jefferson,
Madison, Wirt, Monroe, and other noted Southern
statesmen. He married, in 1735, Miss Nicholas
Hunter, niece of Dr. John Hunter, of Edinburgh,
so celebrated a hundred years ago.

This Dr. Hunter had also a son, Dr. John
156

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Hunter, who came to Virginia about 1759, settled
in Louisa County, and had a large practice in
the surrounding counties. Among the long list of
his patients, as left by his executor, Rev. William
Douglas, we find the name of Sir William Berkeley,
governor of the colony, for a medical bill of twelve
pounds. Dr. Hunter died in 1762, leaving many
descendants. Thus we see how the name of Hunter
enters so largely into the Meriwether, Lewis, and
Terrell families.

At the death of Captain Terrell, in 1856, the
Music Hall mansion and six hundred acres of
land were left to his great-nephew and namesake.
Dr. James Hunter Minor, whom he had adopted.
The lower part of the Music Hall tract and the
land beyond the creek, making about eight hun-
dred acres, were left to his wife's niece, Sarah Stran-
ford, who married Howell Lewis, the grandson of
Colonel Charles Lewis, who was the son of Colo-
nel Robert Lewis, of Belvoir, who gave this son
thirteen hundred and thirty-four acres of land in
North Garden, Albemarle. Mr. Howell Lewis's
father was the eldest son of this Colonel Charles,
and was named Howell ; he lived and died at
North Garden. Mr. Howell Lewis and his wife,
Sarah S. Lewis, lived to a good old age on the
Creek farm, where they died.

Dr. Minor greatly added to and improved the
Music Hall mansion ; indeed, pulling most of it
down and building it entirely anew, the rear part
being all that is left of the original. It continued
to be a most charming place to visit, the sons and

157

HISTORIC HOMES

daughters of Dr. Minor, with those of Howell
Lewis, of the " Creek," inheriting much of the
musical talent of their uncle, filling its new halls
with sweet strains and pleasant scenes as of old.

Dr. Minor died in 1862, after which Music
Hall was bought by its present owner, Mr. Grif-
fith, an English gentleman, who has made further
improvements to the building and planted a large
portion of the farm in fruit.

The venerable Captain Terrell and his wife lie
in the little garden of their old home, and, as the
talented author of the " Meriwether Genealogy"
says, " The Beatitude used as an epitaph on a joint
monument, erected to their memory in the garden
at Music Hall by one of the nephews who found
in them a father and mother, was never more fitly
used than in this instance, ' Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.' " Dr. James Hunter
Minor was the son of Samuel Overton Minor, who
died in Missouri. He was highly educated as a
physician, but did not practise his profession after
coming to Music Hall, devoting most of his time
to agriculture. In 1843 ^^ married Miss Mary
W. Morris, of the Green Springs, Virginia. Of
their marriage were :

1. James Hunter Minor; married Ida Lake.

2. Elizabeth Minor; married Robert W.Lewis, of Cas-

talia, now of Rictimond, Virginia.

3. William Overton Minor; married Miss Clarke, of Cali-

fornia. He was circuit judge in California.

4. Thomas S. Minor ; merchant of Charlottesville, Virginia.

5. Rachel C. Minor.

6. Anne Laurie Minor ; died young.

158

BELVOIR

THE HOME OF THE NELSONS

IN our several sketches of the noted homesteads
of this Piedmont region, famous as having been
the country-seats of noble men and women
of the past, we cannot omit to speak more mi-
nutely of Belvoir, of which mention has frequently
been made in these pages, though its famous old
mansion, which sheltered so many of Virginia's
statesmen, has long since disappeared, its site being
scarcely identified. A complete history of the
place would take us back to a very early period,
almost to the first settlement of the county, as we
find it mentioned about the year 1700, at which
time Colonel Robert Lewis moved from New
Kent County after his marriage with Jane Meri-
wether and located on this part of the Meri-
wether tract.

The exact location of the first Belvoir house,
as built by Colonel Robert Lewis, is not known ;
the " Page Genealogy" states, " The remains of the
old Lewis family burying-ground were for a long
time to be seen, but nearer the mountain than the
house built by Colonel John Walker." Doubt-
less it was upon one of the higher slopes of the
mountain, hence its name " Belle Voir" (beautiful
to see). Colonel Lewis came into a large portion

»59

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

of the Nicholas Meriwether estate by marriage with
his eldest daughter. He was a prominent officer
in the Revolution, and was also in the House
of Burgesses. After the death of Colonel Lewis,
in 1744, he left his home-place, Belvoir, to his
second son, Colonel Nicholas Lewis, who had
married the eldest daughter of Dr. Thomas Walker,
of Castle Hill. But we find that some time
during the Revolution this Nicholas Lewis ex-
changed lands with John Walker, the eldest son
of Dr. Tom Walker, and moved to The Farm,
near Charlottesville, where he died. Colonel John
Walker, however, did not live in the old Lewis
house under the mountain, which was probably a
very rude log affair, but built his first house on the
level plain near the present residence of Mr. Long-
iield, and not far from old Walker's Church,
which was so called by his name, he having given
the land upon which it stood, and which was sur-
veyed by Peter Jefferson, the father of President
Thomas Jefferson. The first house that Colonel
Walker built was a framed one of the old-fashioned
type. We give the following interesting account of
it as taken from the " Page" book : " Hon. Colonel
John Walker married Elizabeth Moore in 1764,
and it was about that time that he built his first
house. This house was taken down when the
second house was built and moved to Milton, on
the Rivanna River, Albemarle County, Virginia. It
was afterwards moved to its present location near
Cobham, same county, and is the same that was
occupied by Howell Lewis. The second house

160

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

was built in 1790. This was destroyed by fire in
the autumn of 1836. It was thought that the fire
was occasioned by a defective flue (loose mortar
in the chimney) in the garret, as it was first dis-
covered at that point adjoining the south-west
chimney. There were four rooms on the first
floor and three rooms up-stairs on the second floor.
Above this was a very large garret. About fifty
yards north-east from the house was the kitchen,
and at the same distance south-west was an out-
house or office. Still farther south-west were sta-
bles near the mountain road. Just in rear of the
house was an ornamental garden, and behind this
was the kitchen-garden. At the north corner was
a lot planted in fine trees and shrubs, and at the
northern extremity of the latter was the cemetery.
The road, with magnificent oaks and poplars on
each side, wound gracefully along from the house
to the public highway that runs between Gor-
donsville and Charlottesville, and entered it a little
east of a point opposite old Walker's (now Grace)
Church." The first house of Colonel Walker,
which it speaks of as having been moved to Mil-
ton, where Hon. Francis Walker once lived, is
still standing on the old Creek farm near the
Machunk Creek, where the late Howell Lewis
lived. As an interesting incident connected with
it there was, and may possibly be still seen, on
some of the panes of glass in the windows, cut
with a diamond, the names of " Elizabeth Moore"
and " Ann Kinlock" ; the former being the name
of Colonel Walker's wife and the latter the name
II 161

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

of his only daughter. It is remarkable that
through all the movings of the old building these
panes should have remained unbroken over ninety
years.

The beautiful grove and avenue of forest-trees
spoken of, stretching from the Belvoir house to
the church, were in after-years cut down and the
entire field put in tobacco by Dr. Tom Meriwether,
who had inherited three hundred and fifty acres
of the Belvoir tract through his wife. The Hon.
William C. Rives, while riding by and seeing the
destruction, said jocularly, " Dr. Tom ought to
have left one tree on which to hang himself for
such a ruthless act."

Colonel John Walker was a very prominent
man during the Revolution. He was the confi-
dential aide to General Washington, and after-
wards Senator in the United States Congress from
Virginia in 1790. Such was his great activity in
all revolutionary measures that he was an especial
object of capture by Tarleton in his memorable
raid, one half of his forces going to Belvoir
and the other seeking Castle Hill on their way
to Monticello, but the illustrious game was not
found at Belvoir. In a private letter of General
Washington to Governor Patrick Henry in 1777
he speaks in very high terms of Colonel Walker,
whom he had intrusted with important military
affairs.

Colonel Walker married Elizabeth Moore,

daughter of Bernard Moore, of King William

County, Virginia. She was a granddaughter of

162

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Colonel Alexander Spotswood, governor of the
colony and founder of the famous Moore House
at Yorktown, Virginia.

Colonel Walker and his wife both died in De-
cember of 1809, he at Orange Court-House, while
on his way to Philadelphia to undergo surgical
treatment, and she at Belvoir. Belvoir then de-
scended to their only grandchild, Eliza Kinlock,
who married, in 1799, Judge Hugh Nelson, fifth
son and child of Governor Thomas Nelson, of
Yorktown, Virginia.

The second Belvoir house, built by Colonel
Walker in 1790, was of more modern pretensions
and much larger than the first. A cut of it is
given in the " Page" book, showing it to be quite
elaborate in style and architecture for that day.
Though much of its handsome furniture and large
library was destroyed when burnt in 1836, yet the
fine old English organ, which was brought over
from England by the Walkers, was taken apart
and thrown out of the windows. It was after-
wards presented to Grace Church by Mrs. William
C. Rives, and did good service there for many
years.

Judge Hugh Nelson married Eliza Kinlock in
1799, but did not move to Belvoir until after
Colonel Walker's death in 1809. This most dis-
tinguished of Virginia's sons was first Speaker of
the Virginia House of Delegates, then judge of
the Federal court, Presidential elector in 1809,
Representative in the United States Congress 1811-
23, and was afterwards appointed minister to Spain

163

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

by President Monroe. One of the most interest-
ing relics connected with Judge Nelson was for-
merly to be seen at Clover Fields, where his son
the late F. K. Nelson lived, — it being an autograph
letter from President Monroe, giving him minute
directions as to his course while at the Court of
Madrid, thus putting into practice his celebrated
" Monroe Doctrine." This showed even then with
what difficulty our amicable relations with Spain
were maintained ; but the delicate details were most
successfully and adroitly carried out by Judge Nel-
son with a dignity and impression which quite sur-
prised and overcame the intrigues of that subtle
nation.

Judge Nelson was a courtly, handsome gentle-
man in appearance, an eloquent speaker, and enter-
tained most sumptuously the many who visited
Belvoir, especially those of the clergy and legal
profession. He was greatly admired and esteemed
by Mr. Jefferson, who consulted him frequently on
the great Missouri question, and wrote him many
letters in 1820 concerning the terrible sacrifice of
property under forced sales in Virginia at that
time.

Judge Nelson was prominent and active in the
church, as have been many of his children and
grandchildren since. Among the latter is the Right
Reverend C. Kinlock Nelson, Bishop of Georgia.

The Hon. Judge Nelson died in 1836, just
previous to the burning of his elegant dwelling,
which was never afterwards rebuilt by any of the
family. Judge and Mrs. Nelson left a family of

164

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

nine children, — five sons and four daughters, —
many of whom or their descendants are still living
in Albemarle County.

After his death the Belvoir estate was divided
among five of his children. Dr. Robert W. Nelson,
of Charlottesville, his fifiih son, obtained the home-
place ; to Francis K. Nelson, the Peachylorum
farm, now Rougemont, lying next to Castle Hill ;
to his fourth son, Keating S. Nelson, the Green-
wood farm ; his second daughter, Ann Carter Nel-
son, who married Dr. Tom Meriwether, receiving
the Kinloch farm.

In 1846, Dr. Robert W. Nelson sold his portion,
including the old homestead, to the late Colonel
D. C. Carver, who erected there a small plain
building upon nearly the same site where the
Belvoir mansion stood. This building, strange
to say, was also burnt. This portion of the tract
was afterwards bought by Mr. Longfield, who has
since built a neat, tasty dwelling not very far from
the site of the old Belvoir mansion.

Mr. Longfield married a Miss Hite, daughter
of the late Dr. W. M. Hite, who lived and died at
the Kinloch farm. He was very closely connected
with the old Walker family, so these lands are still
in possession of their descendants.

The old Belvoir burying-ground, where so
many of the Meriwethers, Walkers, and Nelsons
lie, who were such prominent actors during the
stirring events of the past, is still well preserved
by a substantial brick wall around it, and their
graves marked by marble stones. Here the visitor

»65

HISTORIC HOMES

can almost read the entire history and genealogy
of this section upon these monuments, which are
all that is left to mark the glory of this historic
spot ; yet the stately tower of Grace Church rises
just opposite old Belvoir as a silent witness to the
faith of those who sleep in these tombs, marking
as it does the site of the Colonial church build-
ing in the time of the Walkers, where many gen-
erations of these noted families along the moun-
tains have worshipped, and which will perpetuate
for generations to come the memory of Belvoir,
the once grand old home of him who gave the land
upon which it stands. But we miss the avenue
of stately elms which led from the church to the
house, and the fine old Belvoir mansion as it sat
so conspicuously on the broad plane which crowns
the hill, filled as it was with relics of the past,
which has passed away forever, closing one of the
brightest and most noted homes in Albemarle.

i66

• r
2 K

KINLOCH

THE HOME OF DR. TOM MERIWETHER.

A NOTHER lovely home of the Meriwethers
/\ was Kinloch. While neither ancient in
^ ^ construction nor venerable in appearance,
it is yet a spot with many happy memories clus-
tering around it, memories of charming days when
some of the most brilliant men of the period were
wont to gather there, and by their ready wit and
fine conversational powers delight and fascinate the
many relatives, friends, and neighbors who were
constantly filling its halls.

We have already noted the family homestead of
Clover Fields, and traced the family history of
Captain William D. Meriwether, with the disposi-
tion of his large landed estate, which embraced the
plantations of Cismont, Clover Fields, Castalia,
and Music Hall, each of which stretched from
the summit of the South- West Mountains far
down to the Machunk Creek. We have thus
seen that William Hunter and his two daughters,
Mary Walker and Margaret Douglas, inherited
most of the home estate. We come now to his
youngest son, Thomas Warner Meriwether, who
was born at Clover Fields in 1803.

To him was given a plantation on the east side
of Clover Fields, which is now known as Clover

167

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

Hill, upon which his daughter, the present Mrs.
M. N. Macon, now resides. This son, Thomas
W., after graduating with high honors at the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, as a physi-
cian, married, in 1824, Ann Carter Nelson, sister
of the late Francis K. Nelson, and also of Keating
S. Nelson, of Fredericksburg, and Dr. R. W. Nel-
son, of Charlottesville, who were sons of the Hon.
Hugh Nelson, of Belvoir.

" Dr. Tom," as he was universally called, settled
for a time at Clover Fields and there began the
practice of his profession, his little office in the yard
still standing as he left it ; but after the death of
his father-in-law and a division of the Belvoir
estate he moved there in 1839 and built upon a
portion of it the present mansion, which he called
Kinloch, in honor of the Kinloch family of South
Carolina, from whom his wife was descended, she
being the granddaughter of Francis Kinloch, a
Scotchman, who settled very early at Charleston.
The name Kinloch was always given the Scotch
sound of Kinlaw.

The connection of Dr. Meriwether with the
high and distinguished family of Nelson, whose
prominence in the early annals of Virginia history
shines forth in such brilliant colors, leads us to
turn for a moment in contemplation of the beau-
tiful character of his wife, Ann Carter Nelson.
She was the second daughter of the Hon. Hugh
Nelson of the United States Congress from 1811
to 1823. She was also the granddaughter of
Governor Thomas Nelson, of Yorktown, and was

1 68

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

named for her aunt, Ann Carter, of Shirly, on the
James River, who was a sister of the celebrated
Robert Carter, known as " King Carter" of historic
fame, and who was intimately connected with the
Lee family. (See Mead's " Lee Family of Vir-
ginia.")

Mrs. Ann Meriwether bore many of the striking
characteristics of her illustrious ancestors, having
a gentleness of spirit and loving disposition with
a cultivated, brilliant, and well-stored mind. She
was well fitted for the genial companionship of
Dr. Meriwether ; her loyalty to her Scotch descent
always asserted itself, while she carried with not
undue pride the distinguished honors of the Nelson
family.

" Dr. Tom" entered at once upon a large prac-
tice, it being at a time when there was no physi-
cian nearer than Charlottesville on the one side and
Gordonsville on the other, with the exception of
Dr. Everett, Sr., up to 1840, thus extending for a
circuit of twenty miles ; and his horses' hoofs were
heard to clatter over the hills and mountains from
Stony Point to Louisa Court-House, and even far
into Fluvanna.

After the destruction of the famous Belvoir
mansion in 1836 the prestige of social delight
seemed to fall upon Kinloch, where wit and
humor and the repartee of cultivated minds would
resound.

On the site of the Kinloch mansion once stood

an overseer's house, built by the first settlers of

Belvoir. It stood in a grove of forest oaks upon

169

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

the slope of a gentle hill, at the foot of which
starts a bold spring. The present mansion is of
more modem pretensions than of the Colonial
period ; yet the plain two-story frame building put
up by Dr. Meriwether was in marked contrast to
the more recent additions made to it, which, with
vine-embowered portico and enlarged hall and
rooms, make it a very attractive retreat.

As the youthful sons and daughters of "Dr.
Tom" grew up the house was always filled with a
joyous, pleasant company of kindred and friends.
Here mirth reigned supreme, and both old and
young were made to feel the true, hearty welcome
of its host and hostess.

Besides his large and extensive practice. Dr.
Meriwether was a most successful farmer. This
portion of the original Walker tract was always
esteemed the best, and its fertility was still further
enhanced by judicious cultivation upon strictly
scientific principles, which was rarely done at that
day, as " book-farming" v/as considered by the
average Virginia farmer as impracticable ; but
being a firm disciple of the elder Ruffin, whose
writings in the Farmers'' Register he studied as
faithfully as his medical text-books, "■ Dr. Tom"
proved by his large crops of corn, wheat, and
tobacco the successful application of science to
agriculture, and, like his noted uncle, Thomas
Meriwether, of Louisa County, gained a celebrity
in the market for his fine " mountain tobacco,"
which was often shipped to Europe, the bills of
lading for which are still preserved.

170

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

But the extensive medical practice of " Dr.
Tom" never yielded the rich pecuniary reward its
magnitude would imply. Much of his practice
among the poorer class was gratuitous, his tender,
sympathetic heart never permitting him to press a
bill. As an instance of this, a poor neighbor said
one day to him, " Dr. Tom, I can't pay all of your
bill." " How much can you pay V inquired the
doctor. " I can only pay half of it," replied the
man. " Oh, well," said the good doctor, " strike
off the other half and call it even." Thus it was
with nearly all of his many poor patients. His
great solicitude for the health of his more delicate
neighbors, in always suggesting the right time for
thicker shoes and flannels, or giving a hint about
sitting in draughts or exposing to dampness, was
in marked contrast to the spirit of the present
profession, who are always watchful of the main
chance.

This solicitude for the health of every one by
"Dr. Tom" was once experienced by the writer
when, as a small boy, meeting the doctor on the
road, he was made to sit on a stump while the
doctor dismounted and began to scrub and scrape
a very dirty set of teeth, at the same time giving a
lecture on cleaning teeth. After getting through he
said, " There, sir, now keep them so 1"

At another time, during the prevalence of typhoid
fever among the negroes, he carried in his pocket
one of the elegant family silver spoons with which
to administer the medicine. On a remonstrance
by some of the family, who suggested a pewter

171

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

spoon, " Dr. Tom" replied, " No ; it must be the
same as we would use."

These little peculiarities marked his justness,
combined with a charitable disposition such as
was exemplified upon every occasion.

Dr. Meriwether was originally a Democrat, but
when the Whig party started in 1840, he became
an intense admirer of Henry Clay, and ever after-
wards affiliated with that party. It was during the
exciting campaign of 1844-45, between Clay and
Polk, when Dr. Meriwether became so enthusias-
tic and sure of Mr. Clay's election that he caused
to be erected a large "Clay" flag at his gate.
During the night, however, some of his Demo-
cratic neighbors cut it down, where it was found
the next morning trailing in the dust. Not to be
outdone, " Dr. Tom," with a few other good Whigs,
secured an extra long and stout pole, which Mr.
Keating S. Nelson, who was an active young man,
nailed to the top of a very tall oak-tree at the
doctor's gate on the public road, and, having se-
cured it by bands of iron, he then sawed off all
the lower limbs and tarred the tree ! There the flag
waved triumphantly for several years, and though
Mr. Clay was not elected, yet " Dr. Tom" would
rejoice over his Democratic neighbors that his flag
was still flying. The flag was completely worn
out, but the pole was seen there ten years after-
wards, and possibly some of it is there to this day.
But " Dr. Tom" was not so excessive in his poli-
tics as was his cousin Peter, with whom he would

be sure to have a heated argument whenever they

172

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

met. His enthusiasm was always more strikingly-
exhibited when upon literary or scientific subjects.
Having a classic mind, which was imbued with a
love for the poetical and beautiful, like the cele-
brated Dr. Samuel Johnson, of England, he was
fond of surrounding himself with similar congenial
spirits, like the Hon, William C. Rives, Dr. Mann
Page, General William F. Gordon, Colonel Thomas
J. Randolph, Frank Nelson, and many others, who
would frequently grace his hospitable board. On
these occasions none could hear the ready bon-
mots and hearty laugh of " Dr. Tom" without
feeling the keen zest of humor which would be
imparted.

Dr. Meriwether early became a member of the
Presbyterian church, though his father as well as
most of the family were Episcopalians ; yet his
father, " Captain Billy" Meriwether, did not unite
with the church of his forefathers until late in life ;
he and his young kinswoman, Jane Walker Page,
kneeling together, were confirmed by the venerable
Bishop Meade in old Walker's Church. It formed
a touching picture, the patriarch of seventy-five and
the lovely girl of fifteen, both of whom passed
away soon afterwards.

The strong convictions of the Presbyterian faith
were doubtless received by Dr. Meriwether through
his intimacy with the celebrated Dr. Skinner, of
Philadelphia, while under his instruction as a medi-
cal student ; but though strong in the faith, yet
the casual observer would never suppose he was
other than an ardent Episcopalian from his con-

173

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

stant attendance upon the services of Walker's
Church and his hearty co-operation in every move-
ment for its growth and improvement, and, more J
than all, his great love and admiration for its j
pastor, the Rev. E. Boyden.

It was an amusing sight to see such grave men
as " Dr. Tom" Meriwether, F. K. Nelson, J. W.
Campbell, Howell Lewis, and many others of the
staid farmers of the neighborhood, swinging like
a parcel of school-boys upon long levers and
shouting lustily to the teams and men, in a vain
attempt by the neighbors to move old Walker's
Church building to the rear after the completion
of the new building ; but the old frame could not
be moved ; it was on too firm a foundation ; so
" Dr. Tom" and the committee agreed to pull it to
pieces and rebuild it in the rear of the new church
for the benefit of the colored people ; but the
colored brothers rebelled. " Dey didn't want no
white church in front o' dem ; dey wa'n't gwine
take no back seat in hebben, no how ;" so the old
frame was sold to some farmer for a more irre-
ligious purpose.

Dr. Meriwether died in 1862 at Clover Fields,
his birthplace, from an attack of pneumonia, con-
tracted while nursing a patient there. His funeral
sermon was preached at South Plains Presbyterian
Church by the Rev. Mr. Beach, and also at
Walker's Church by the Rev. E. Boyden, both
taking the same text, — " Mark the perfect man,
and behold the upright ; for the end of that man
is peace." It is needless to say that large crowds

174

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

attended on both occasions to attest their love for
this " beloved physician," who was laid with his
forefathers in the Clover Fields graveyard.

The seven children of Dr. Thomas Meriwether
and Anne Carter Nelson are :

1. Dr. William Douglas Meriwether ;■ died in Tennessee,

1880; married, first, Phoebe Gardner, of Richmond,
Virginia, 1 847, from whom were Mary Gardner ; mar-
ried Mr. Wallace, of Kentucky. Thomas Warner, of
Norwalk, Connecticut; married, September i, 1886,
Alice Emma Blandford. Isabella, lives with her sister,
Mrs. Wallace, at University of Virginia. Dr. Doug-
las Meriwether married, second, Anne W. (called Nan-
nie) Page (see " Page" book) ; she died at Culpeper,
Virginia, 1873, leaving one child, Evelyn.

2. Mildred Nelson Meriwether; married, in 1856, George

W. Macon, of Tufton, Albemarle; died 1880. Their
children are: i. Thomas W. Macon; Charlotte N.
Macon ; married Frank M. Randolph, of Clover
Fields, January 17, 1883; 2. Littleton Macon; 3.
George W. Macon, of Clover Hill farm ; 4. Douglas
Macon, M.D., now of New Jersey.

3. Anne Kinloch Meriwether; married, December 24,

1850, Frederick W. Page, of Millwood, Albemarle,
Virginia.

4. Elizabeth Meriwether; married, 1853, N. H. Massie,

of Charlottesville, Virginia ; no issue.

5. Charlotte Nelson Meriwether; married, 1865, Thomas

Jefferson Randolph, Jr., and was his second wife ;
died 1876, leaving one daughter, Mary Walker Ran-
dolph, who married her cousin. Dr. William Ran-
dolph, of Charlottesville, Virginia.

6. Thomas W. Meriwether, Jr. ; died single, 1862.

7. Jane Meriwether ; died in infancy.

Of the above children of Dr. Meriwether there
is but one now living, Mrs. Mildred Nelson

175

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

Macon, the widow of the late George W. Macon,
who still resides at Clover Hill with her son,
George W. Macon, Jr., who has made the old
homestead to " blossom as the rose." Clover Hill
was a part of the Clover Fields tract, given " Dr.
Tom" by his father. Captain William D. Meri-
wether, and is one of the few spots of the old
Meriwether grant retained by the descendants.

Mrs. Macon is said to strongly resemble in
features and manner her great-grandmother, Mary
Walker, who married Nicholas Lewis, of The
Farm, near Charlottesville, and by her eagerness
to fight the British and her sway of the home
circle won the sobriquet of " Captain Moll."
Mrs. Macon shows by her firm, impressive man-
ner, her vivacious conversation, her literary tastes,
and her gentle and loving consideration for others
many of the beautiful traits of both the Meri-
wethers and Walkers.

The many grandchildren of Dr. Tom Meri-
wether are scattered over our country, filling hon-
orable stations in life ; yet it is a sad fact that not
a foot of the once vast Meriwether patent of
seventeen thousand acres is now held under the
name oi Meriwether.

The entire Kinloch farm has passed from the
family, and yet it is fortunately owned by a de-
scendant of another historic family, the Everetts,
of Belmont. Thus the name of Everett is again
linked with the Walker lands as it was nearly a
century ago, when the elder Dr. Everett was

guardian of Judith Page Walker, who afterwards

176

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

was Mrs. William C. Rives, and inherited Castle
Hill.

Kinloch was owned, however, just previous
to its purchase by its present owner, Mr. Aylett
Everett, by Dr. Walker Maury Hite, who was the
son of Major Isaac Hite of Revolutionary fame,
and was a native of Frederick County, Virginia.
Dr. Hite married, in 1836, Mary Eleanor, daugh-
ter of Isaac Williams, of Fredericksburg, Virginia,
who was a niece of the late Philip Slaughter,
D.D., the historiographer. Dr. and Mrs. Hite
both died the same day, April 17, 1890, at Kin-
loch, and were buried in the Grace Church ceme-
tery, in sight of their home.

Their daughter Mary married Mr. Longfield,

an English gentleman, who had been a resident of

the county for some time. After the death of

Dr. Hite they bought and settled upon a part of

the Belvoir tract, just opposite to Kinloch, and

there built their tasty little home, near the spot

where the old Belvoir mansion stood. Dr. Hite

■ was nearly related to the Maurys and Walkers ;

and it is thus remarkable that the descendants of

both these old families should now occupy the

j lands of the Walkers, and in view of the spot

I where the Rev. James Maury, first pastor of

Walker's Church, preached and was laid.

Kinloch is now owned by Mr. Aylett Everett,
a rising and popular young farmer, who is causing
its fields and surroundings to assume their former
productive appearance. Mr. Everett married Miss
Sadie Fry, daughter of the late Captain John Fry,

177

HISTORIC HOMES

formerly of Richmond, Virginia, from which union
they have several children.

Peaceful Kinloch sets as of old, surrounded by
draperies of living green, and its lofty trees shed a
luxuriance of shade over its sloping lawn ; but its
noble old oaks, which have always been its pride
and so long have sheltered the mansion, are fast
showing the lapse of time and are gradually pass-
ing away, while the mountain breezes still sigh a
requiem through their decayed limbs in remem-
brance of the happy, peaceful, and prosperous
days which have passed over this true type of an
old Virginia home.

178

in

3 2

.M^r

." >

■^ C

o
O

MERRIE MILL

THE COUNTRY-SEAT OF JOHN ARMSTRONG
CHANLER, ESQ.

THOUGH not boasting of any antiquated
ancestral mansion with legends of Colonial
fame, yet Merrie Mill stands upon historic
ground and takes its name from one of the most
interesting and ancient landmarks that links the
past with the present. This is the old Walker
Mill which sits at the foot of the hill upon which
the mansion rests and carries on its useful, musical
work by the aid of a little stream which flows
through the farm. In the time of Colonel John
Walker, of Belvoir, who owned all of the land
embraced in the present Rougemont, Kinloch, and
Belvoir tracts, there was erected here a grist-mill,
partly of stone and partly framed, which is said to
have been built by a celebrated mechanic named
Johnson from Louisa County, who had done much
work for " Parson" Douglas of Colonial fame upon
his Duckinghole farm. This unique old mill still
stands to attest the substantial structures of our fore-
fathers. The first story is of stone, with walls a foot
thick ; upon this is built another story of wood, its
huge timbers being mortised together and fastened
with wooden pins. The rough board siding is

179

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

covered with whip-sawed clapboards put on with
hand-wrought nails, and its heart-pine shingles are
secured in the same manner.

The durability of the work of early carpenters
is thus shown, as the timbers of the old mill are
nearly as sound as when first put in, and so firmly
put together as to resist the storms of many
decades. The story is told that when it was com-
pleted the event was celebrated by a grand old
Virginia party upon its newly-laid floor, to which
the young people far and near attended and thus
christened it " Merrie Mill," and right merrily has
its old wheel turned ever since to the music of its
splashing waters, defying the wear and tear of time
or the destruction of war.

It is said that it ground corn for the Colonial
army, and is one of the few mills which escaped
burning by the British under Tarleton or by the
" Yankees" under Sheridan during the civil war.
It has supplied the community with bread for
more than a century, and still does duty when
sufficient water is supplied to its now silent
wheel. We are glad to note that Mr. Chanler is
about to repair the old mill and again make it
useful.

In honor of this ancient old mill and the his-
toric ground upon which it stands Mr. Chanler has
named his beautiful country-seat. The history of |i
Belvoir, of which the old mill was once a part, is
coeval with that of Castle Hill, which is but a few
miles distant, though it is highly probable that the
first Belvoir mansion erected by Colonel Robert

s ^

3- ^

n C

re 5>

3 ?:

I

I

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Lewis, which was nearer the mountains, antedates
the building of Castle Hill.

All of the land was a part of the celebrated
Meriwether grant from George II., but the intri-
cacies through which the property has descended
and been divided are many, — Meriwether, Lewis,
Walker, Rives, Nelson, Terrell, Minor, and Lewis
again, each in their order, until nearly all of the
five thousand acres has passed out of the family.
Merrie Mill farm was once a part of the Creek
farm, both of which formed a part of the Music
Hall estate, which was owned by the late Captain
James Terrell. At his death the whole Music
Hall tract was divided between his nephew, Dr.
J. H. Minor, and his wife's niece, Sarah Stanford,
who married Howell Lewis, they getting the lower
portion, which extended to the Machunk Creek,
where they built their home, Creek farm.

In 1857, ^^- Edward S. Pegram, a retired Balti-
more merchant, purchased of Mr. John Fry, who
had married the eldest daughter of Mr. Howell
Lewis, six hundred acres of the Creek farm, most
of which was in original timber. Here he erected
the present substantial building, which was con-
structed under his personal supervision, and formed
one of the most complete modern structures of
the day.

The house is of two stories, forming a T in
shape, with artistic entablature of fretted cornice
and fluted columns ; its interior is spacious, each
of its rooms and wide halls above and below are
finished in polished chestnut and oak, while every

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

detail is in keeping with its tasty design, and forms
one of the most striking and ornamental residences
along the mountains.

This place was first named Edgefield, where Mr.
Pegram lived for many years, dispensing the hos-
pitalities and charities of a truly refined and Chris-
tian home.

About 1 880 Edgefield was sold to Dr. Bird, a re-
tired English officer, who had been deputy surgeon-
general in the East Indian service. This gentle-
man greatly improved the farm, setting out large
orchards and vineyards, and embellished the lawn
with many evergreens and ornamental trees, which
have since attained a magnificent growth and give
to the place quite an English ancestral aspect.

After the death of Dr. Bird, in 1890, the farm
was purchased by its present owner, Mr. John
Armstrong Chanler, of the New York law firm of
Maxwell Chanler & Co. This gentleman has still
further added many acres to the original tract,
making the present Merrie Mill farm to consist of
about one thousand acres, stretching over a wide
area of hill and dale and extended woodland, which
forms a grand park of original growth, through
which the approach to the house is gained.

Seated at an elevation of four hundred and fifty
feet above the sea-level, Merrie Mill forms one of
the few homesteads which face the mountains, and
from which is gained a grand view of its entire i
South-West range ; and though the houses situated ^
along the higher mountain slopes may boast of a
more extended view of the lower lands, yet nothing

182

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

surpasses the solemn grandeur of the " everlasting
hills" as seen from the Merrie Mill door-steps. The
mansion itself stands upon an elevated plain, on
each side of which is a valley, and through these
valleys wind the streams that turn the ancient mill
in the distance.

On each side of the farm rises majestic oaks of
the original forest, along the eastern side of which
is still to be seen traces of an old road, which
was once known as the " Marquis road," along
which tradition says La Fayette travelled when on
his visit to Charlottesville, and the same road was
traversed by a portion of Tarleton's troops when
on his raid to Monticello. One of the most at-
tractive and interesting features of Merrie Mill,
and so uncommon to most country places, is its
bathing-pool, a cut of which is given. At a great
expense Mr. Chanler has turned the waters of a
bold, clear spring at the foot of the hill into a
pool of fifty feet in length, twenty in width, and
from four to six feet in depth. The bottom and
sides are lined with tin, while at one end stand
tasty dressing-rooms for ladies and gentlemen, and
at the other an elevated platform and spring-board
from which the athletic swimmer can make a
graceful dive. The whole is surrounded by a bal-
ustrade, with every appliance to aid the young
swimmer or rescue from drowning the unwary
youth in their first efforts.

This delightful pool of limpid water is gratui-
tously thrown open to the young people twice a
week ; and it is needless to say nothing can exceed

183

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

the pleasure which this boundless gift bestows upon
his neighborhood.

Mr. Chanler has also proved a liberal patron to
the handsome Gothic Grace Church which stands
in view of his country-seat and adjoins his grounds ;
it was his thoughtful, generous spirit that en-
abled its congregation to rebuild more beautifully
than before their loved church edifice after its de-
struction by fire in 1894, he having placed an in-
surance upon it of twelve thousand dollars.

Mr. Chanler has unostentatiously been a gener-
ous contributor to every enterprise for the welfare
of the community, and has aided in a quiet way
many of his less fortunate neighbors ; it is therefore
no surprise that he is held in great love and admira-
tion by his fellow-citizens wherever he is known.
Mr. Chanler's liberality, however, has not been
confined to Virginia alone. Being himself a great
lover of art, he has endowed most handsomely an
institution in New York for the encouragement of
poor artists and those struggling in literary pur-
suits. Thus his great wealth has been made to
benefit his fellow-men, and who shall say he has
not fulfilled the divine law ^

Having sojourned in Paris, Berlin, and other
parts of Europe, Mr. Chanler has adorned his beau-
tiful home with many choice pieces of statuary,
paintings, and rare books from the old country.
The lover of the antique can also see here many in-
teresting relics of the past, among which are some
of Thomas Jefferson's furniture, besides old books,
papers, and curios from different parts of the world.

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Merrie Mill in summer-time is an idealistic spot,
its beautiful lawn bedecked with stately evergreens
and fruit-trees, which almost conceal the mansion
in their wealth of foliage, its sensuous perfume of
fragrant flowers, the song of birds, the luxuriantly
oriental chaise-a-bras^ which tempts the visitor to
delightful abandon^ while on every side rich paint-
ings and books pander to the love of literature and
art. Certainly there is no place under the shadow
of the South-West Mountains which so readily fills
the dream of the poet, —

" A wilderness of sweets ; for Nature here
Wanton'd as in her prime, and played at will
Her virgin fancies, pouring forth more sweet.
Wild above rule or art, enormous bliss."

The family of Mr. Chanler is one of the oldest
and most distinguished of New York State, He
was born in New York, October lo, 1862, the son
of John Winthrop Chanler and Margaret Astor
Ward, grandson of Samuel Ward and Emily
Astor, and great-grandson of William B. Astor
and Margaret Armstrong, and also great-grandson
of John Armstrong and Miss Livingston.

John Armstrong was a native of Pennsylvania,
and was a colonel during the French and Indian
wars. On March 1, 1776, he was commissioned
brigadier-general in the Pennsylvania Line, and
was engaged in the battles of Brandywine, Ger-
mantown, and other actions during the Revolu-
tion. He resigned April 4, 1 777, and became a
member of the first Congress. He died at Carlisle,

185

HISTORIC HOMES

Pennsylvania, March 9, 1795. Mr. Chanler is a
member of the " Sons of the Revolution," and
also the " Society of Fine Arts" and other literary
institutions in New York City. He graduated
when quite young in law, and is a prominent
member of the New York bar.

Besides his legal practice, Mr. Chanler has large
interests in cotton and iron factories in North
Carolina and other Southern States, and his invest-
ments are scattered through many parts of the
Union.

Mr. Chanler has never entered politics or as-
pired to office, though frequently urged to do so
by his many friends. His tastes lie more in the
quiet pleasures of literary and artistic pursuits, un-
trammelled by the ties of office ; yet his political
feelings have always been with the South, and of
a broad, conservative character.

Unostentatious in manner, of a bounteous hos-
pitality, a genial, happy disposition, such is a slight
sketch of the owner of the beautiful Merrie Mill
farm, who for one so young has attained an en-
viable position in the public eye, and is one of the
prominent men of our time.

186

ROUGEMONT

THE HOME OF THE DICKINSONS

SEATED at an elevation of seven hundred
I and six feet on one of the highest slopes
of the South- West range is Rougemont.
It enjoys an altitude higher than any of the old
I homesteads between Charlottesville and Gordons-
I ville, and commands a far-reaching view of the
eastern horizon, while rising abruptly from its
i rear towers Rougemont Mountain, thirteen hun-
I dred and seventy-six feet above the sea-level.
i This place was once called Peachylorum, doubt-
\ less in honor of the Peachy family, with whom the
Walkers intermarried at an early date. Lying as
it does contiguous to Castle Hill, it once formed
a part of the Belvoir estate, which was cut off
about the year 1764 by Dr. Thomas Walker and
given to his eldest son, Hon. John Walker. The
Hon. Hugh Nelson next succeeded to the estate,
and gave the Peachylorum tract to his eldest son,
Francis K. Nelson, who doubtless built there the
first residence, about the year 1824. He lived at
Peachylorum until his second marriage, in 1843,
his second wife being Margaret Douglas Meri-
wether, of Clover Fields, to which place he re-
moved, and there died. In 1845 Peachylorum

187

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

was bought by Charles J. Meriwether, the brother
of his second wife, who married a Miss Miller.
They lived at Peachylorum for many years, beau-
tifying the place and making it a lovely resort for
their many relatives and friends.

Mr. Meriwether outlived all of his brothers and
sisters, and is still remembered as a true type of
the Meriwether family, — firm and decided in every
opinion, with a most congenial and hospitable
disposition. He was a delegate to the Episco-
pal Convention of Virginia every year from its
commencement in 1830 to his death. They had
no children, but lived for the happiness of others.
They travelled extensively, visiting Europe and
the Holy Land, as well as over the greater portion
of the United States, and imparted the great
knowledge gained by their careful observations
to the advancement of the youth around them.
After their death Peachylorum was sold in 1854
to Captain George C. Dickinson, of New York.

When Captain Dickinson took possession, the
name of the place was changed to Rougemont by
suggestion of Mrs. William C. Rives, of Castle
Hill, as being more appropriate, significant of the
soil on which it stands.

Captain Dickinson made vast improvements to
the old building, which was quite small, and
under his skill and taste as an architect was greatly
enlarged and modernized, having spacious halls
and rooms, with the addition of a large dancing-
saloon, which was often the scene of most sump-
tuous entertainments, such as won for it among

188

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

the beau monde of that day a wide-spread celebrity
for enchanting festivity.

The mansion now stands most conspicuously
amid rich forest-trees, forming a beautiful picture
as seated on its lofty eminence surrounded by
sloping hills, with the mountain for its background.
In 1846 it was discovered that this high hill upon
which it sits was formed of solid granite, lying
but a few feet from its surface, and when the
present Grace Church was planned by Mrs. Wil-
liam C. Rives, the building was constructed entirely
of this granite, many tons of which were quarried
not far from the Rougemont mansion. This granite
has since proved its superior quality by resisting
the wear and tear of time or destruction by fire.
Rougemont Mountain is also famous as being the
spot where the last wolf of the South- West Moun-
tains was killed, the skin of which was stuffed and
kept for many years at Clover Fields. The writer
can well remember this exciting event, which
caused the youth of that day to display their
bravery in the hunt, and the rejoicings of the
farmers over its capture, it having caused much
loss to their flocks.

George Codwise Dickinson was born in the
city of New York in 1832. He was a direct de-
scendant of the old Knickerbocker family, the
first settlers of Manhattan Island. He was also
in direct line connected with the Van Rensse-
laers, Byvanckes, Codwises, Van Ransts, Bleekers,
and other celebrated and ancient families of the
State.

189

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

Captain Dickinson graduated quite early as a
civil engineer, and rose rapidly in his profession,
attaining a high position on many public works.
He was a prominent member of the "American
Society of Civil Engineers," who, after his death,
published a handsome tribute to his memory. At
the commencement of the civil war in 1861, he
was commissioned in the engineer service of the
State of Virginia, and assigned to duty in the forts
at Gloucester Point and York River. In 1862 he
entered the service of the Confederate States, and for
some time was engaged as division engineer in the
surveys and construction of the Piedmont Railroad
in Virginia and North Carolina. From May, 1 863,
until the close of the war he was on duty as cap-
tain of engineers in the Army of Northern Vir-
ginia, serving in Pender's division under General
A. P. Hill. In 1890 he had charge, as assistant
engineer, of the Hudson Suspension Bridge and
New England Railway ; also on the Peekskill
Suspension Bridge, over the Hudson River. In
1891, and to the time of his death, he was chief
engineer of the Broadway and West Virginia
Mining Company Railroad. He also held posi-
tions on the Baltimore and Ohio, Chesapeake and
Ohio, New York Central, and Hudson River Rail-
roads, and was city engineer of Portsmouth, Ohio,
besides doing much private work. We quote the
high testimonial which his work elicited from the
" American Society of Civil Engineers."

" In all the various lines of his profession in

which Mr. Dickinson was engaged he took a gen-

190

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

uine delight and gave his undivided attention. He
was exceedingly methodical and accurate, careful,
a close reasoner, and honest in all his work, and
his results could always be relied upon. His early
habits of study continued through his business
life, and he devoted many hours of each day be-
fore the active discharge of his duties to prepara-
tion for them and to quiet study."

In 1862, Captain Dickinson married Kate Bald-
win, the daughter of the late Herman Baldwin, of
Richmond, Virginia, who was at one time cashier
of the Mechanics' Bank, Wall Street, New York.
He moved to Richmond, Virginia, in 1835, where
he built up a large and prosperous business. Mrs.
Dickinson had a sister, Emmeline, who married
George Otis Sweet, of South Carolina. She has
recently died at the advanced age of eighty-two
years. The late Horace L. Kent, of Richmond,
also married one of the sisters of Mrs. Dick-
inson.

From this union of Captain Dickinson and Kate
Baldwin were five sons and one daughter :

1. Rev. Thomas Gilford Dickinson, pastor of the King

Avenue Methodist Church, Columbus, Ohio.

2. Helen Augusta Dickinson ; only daughter. Died Janu-

ary 17, 1892, a few days prior to the death of her
father.

3. Charles Edward Dickinson, Cobham, Virginia; civil

engineer.

4. Dr. John Byvanck Dickinson ; a prominent physician of

Boston, Massachusetts.

5. Richard Dickinson. Died in 1893.

6. George Otis Dickinson. Died January 3, 1897.

191

HISTORIC HOMES

Captain G. C. Dickinson died January 24, 1892.
His grave and that of his sons and only daughter
lie in the Grace Church cemetery, which his hands
laid off. Their graves are marked by a handsome
and massive monument of Vermont granite, around
which are constantly kept fresh and fragrant flowers
by loving hands. Captain Dickinson had a younger
brother, Edward Tompkins Dickinson, who resides
in Chatenay, France.

All the members of the family have been noted
for their high culture, noble bearing, and great suc-
cess in their various professions. Captain Dickin-
son was a liberal and enthusiastic supporter of the
Episcopal Church, being for many years senior
warden of the beautiful Gothic Grace Church
which stands in full view of their attractive home
as it sits on the gentle hill Rougemont.

192

I

HOPEDALE

THE HOME OF THE BOYDENS

MENTION has been made already in the
sketch of Cismont that the Rev. E.
Boyden once lived in the old dwelling
at the foot of the hill, which he called " The
Cottage Rectory," where he lived until the year
1 849, when he purchased two hundred and twenty
acres of land near the present Grace Church and
removed to his new home. This farm belonged
to a Miss Lucy Miller, a descendant of a family
who had long resided there. They doubtless
came from Goochland County, as we find W.
Miller was clerk of Goochland Court in 1794,
which position has been handed down from father
to son to the present day, it being now held by
Mr. William Miller and his son Mr. P. G. Miller.
This tract of land lies between Castle Hill and
Kinloch, and must have formed a part of the
Walker tract. A very old but strongly built
frame dwelling of one and one-half stories, con-
taining four large rooms, stood not far from the
county road ; to this Mr. Boyden began to build
a brick addition of eight rooms, but which was
not entirely completed for some time afterwards.
The place, before Mr. Boyden took it, was a

13 193

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

galled and barren spot, which was called the " eye-
sore" of the neighborhood ; but it was named
Hopedale, as it was bought in hope^ such as alone
sustains the weary toilers of the soil, and but for
which the world would cease.

But by skill and shrewdness, combined with a
refined and cultivated taste for the beautiful in
nature, Mr. Boyden soon made it a most attractive
and ornamental home without any great expendi-
ture of money. For many years afterwards Mr.
Boyden continued his school which had been
formed at the " Cottage Rectory," and under the
guidance of his accomplished daughters, aided by
skilful teachers, became quite celebrated as a re-
fined home-school for young ladies.

Mr. Boyden was quite an enthusiast in horti-
culture, planting most of his farm in apple-trees
and fruits generally, which yielded quite a large
revenue each year.

Hopedale has of late years become an attractive
resort for summer visitors to this interesting region.
Here they can view the lofty Peter's Mountain
on the one hand, near the foot of which nestle
Castle Hill and Keswick School, on the other
side rise Kinloch, Belvoir, and Bowlesville, with
the Gothic tower of Grace Church peeping above
the distant tree-tops ; while before the door ex-
pands a wide table landscape, where hill and dale,
interrupted with woodland, form a pleasing view.

The family of Boyden stands pre-eminently

conspicuous through the whole history of our

country, beginning as early as 1630, when three

194

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

brothers of the name came from England and
settled upon the spot where the city of Boston,
Massachusetts, now stands. In 1660 two of these
brothers with their famihes removed and settled
at Worcester, Massachusetts ; the third one also
moved, to New Jersey, where the name gradually
changed to Borden, from which Bordentown was
named. In 1730 three families of the name emi-
grated to Vermont, the heads of which were
Daniel, William, and James Boyden, brothers.
Daniel and James settled near Guilford, and Wil-
liam at Drummerstown, Vermont. The eldest,
Daniel, was grandfather of the subject of this
sketch, and was a very devout and good man,
who died about 1809. His eldest son, Daniel,
was the father of the Rev. E. Boyden, and in-
herited the well-cultivated farm of his father, who
had redeemed it from the wilderness. He died
in 1852. The mother of Mr. Boyden was Miss
Goodenough, daughter of Ebenezer Goodenough,

, who lived to be ninety years of age, dying in

' 1828, a very religious man.

j Ebenezer Boyden, of Hopedale, son of Daniel

! and Tabitha Boyden, of Vermont, was born at
Guilford, May 25, 1803. At the age of sixteen
he was confirmed by Bishop Griswold. He en-
tered Yale College in 1821, and graduated with
honor in 1825. In 1827 he entered the Virginia
Theological Seminary at Alexandria, and was
ordained deacon at Petersburg by Bishop Moore
in 1828. He returned to the seminary and took
charge, as editor, for eighteen months, of the

195

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

Theological Repository^ a monthly magazine, pre-
viously edited by the professors. In 1829 he
preached for three months in Christ Church,
Georgetown, D.C. In January, 1830, he took
charge of Trinity Church, Staunton, Virginia,
which was a small brick building, a relic of
Colonial times, having high square pews, clerk's
desk, reading-desk, and pulpit, each rising above
the other in the same line, the pulpit being very
high above the people.

Staunton was at that time a town of about
twelve hundred inhabitants. Prejudice against the
Episcopal Church was then quite strong and very
general throughout the valley ; but by tact, energy,
and great effort Mr. Boyden succeeded in estab-
lishing it upon a firm footing in the county, and
finally in erecting a new church building of larger
proportions and more modern appearance in place
of the old one. He also gathered funds and built,
about six miles distant from Staunton, a neat brick
chapel, where he held regular services for two
years, and when the bounds of the parish were
afterwards established his name was given to it, the
building being still known as " Boyden Chapel."

In January, 1832, he married Mary Sheffey,
eldest daughter of the Hon. Daniel Sheffey, of
Staunton, one of the most noted lawyers of his
day and Senator in the United States Congress
from Virginia. He was also famous for his be-
nevolent Christian character and large benefactions.
Much more could be said of this illustrious states-
man did space permit.

196

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

On the mother's side, Mrs. Boyden belonged
to the Hansons, at one time a wealthy family of
Maryland and the District.

Mrs. Boyden was a woman of strong, elevated
character and of earnest, devout piety, a model
wife and mother. She truly became a helpmate
for her husband and fulfilled in the highest degree
a clergyman's wife. At a time when missionary
zeal was almost extinct her interest in it became
intense and expansive, and her personal contribu-
tions to the cause were as liberal as the most rigid
self-denial could make them. She died honored
and beloved in October, 1881.

Near the close of 1832, Mr. Boyden accepted a
call to St. Paul's Church, Norfolk, Virginia, where
he remained about two years and a half, greatly
beloved, building up the congregation and strength-
ening the church in that place. Owing to failing
health caused by the low country, he left Norfolk
and took charge of Trinity Church, Cleveland,
Ohio. Here he found the work too severe for a
delicate constitution, and in November, 1838, he
resigned his charge and returned to Virginia.

On June 1, 1839, he became rector of Walker's
Church, Albemarle County, having in connection
with it St. Ann's Church in the same county.
The latter he resigned in 1849, accepting in its
stead St. John's Church in Louisa County.

When first taking charge of old Walker's

Church, Mr. Boyden found it similar to the one

he had previously held in Staunton, Virginia, being

of the Colonial style, having high-backed pews

197

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

and a very lofty pulpit, which admitted of small
space between the ceiling and the preacher's head.
It was a very rude framed building, many of its
clapboards loose and missing, while between the
wainscoting many generations of wasps had built
their nests, which, upon the approach of spring
weather, would send forth swarms of the pestiferous
vespidae, to the great annoyance of pastor and con-
gregation, who would frequently be compelled to
beat a retreat.

Here Mr. Boyden labored for many years, work-
ing most assiduously for the erection of the beau-
tiful stone building, the corner-stone of which he
laid in 1848, and his heart rejoiced to see its com-
pletion and consecration in 1855. Mr. Boyden
continued to fill the pulpits of his several churches
until 1879, when he resigned them, after having
served the community faithfully for forty years !
Nor did the increasing infirmities of old age, which
caused this retirement, leave him totally inactive,
for he continued in usefulness and good works as
long as his strength permitted. In February, 1890,
he was attacked with the prevailing epidemic of
influenza, from which he could not rally, and on
January 15, 1891, he entered into rest, in his eighty-
eighth year, at his home, Hopedale, which he had
built and beautified. Mr. Boyden was a most forci-
ble preacher, an elegant writer, using the purest dic-
tion, and possessed of a clear and wonderful mind ;
he was of a poetical nature, often clothing his
thoughts in verse, a lover of the beautiful in na-
ture, brilliant in imagination, with decidedly orig-

198

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

inal views on the general topics of tlie day, which
would frequently emanate from his pen, and always
attract the thinking public.

A handsome memorial window of rich stained
glass, in rear of the chancel of the beautifully re-
constructed Grace Church, can now be seen, erected
to the memory of this beloved pastor by the late
Dr. Richard Channing Moore Page, of New York
City, which bears the following inscription :

" Rev» E. Boyden.

Born May 25*^, 1803.

Died January 15"", 1891.

For forty years the beloved

Rector of this church."

Just previous to the civil war, when the country
was agitated on the slavery question, he wrote a
pamphlet, " The Epidemic of the Nineteenth Cen-
tury," being a strong argument in support of the
institution from a scriptural point of view. This
coming from a man who had been reared in the
hot-bed of abolitionism, but who had seen the
falsity of Northern prejudice and the just and hu-
mane treatment of the negroes in the South, at-
tracted great attention and comment both North
and South, and being irrefutable it had a marked
effect. Two of Mr. Boyden's sons entered the
ministry of the Episcopal Church. The eldest.
Rev. Daniel Hanson Boyden, died in 1871, after
having served as chaplain in the Confederate ser-
vice, which proved fatal to his delicate constitu-
tion. The younger son, the Rev. Peter Meri-
wether Boyden, rector of the church at Boydton,

199

HISTORIC HOMES

Mecklenburg County, Virginia, for many years,
now of Brookville, Maryland. He married, in
1879, Miss Ella W. Smith, daughter of Dr. Wil-
liam Smith, of Goochland, Virginia.
Their five children are :

I. Mary ShefFey. 2. Eleanor Shepherd. 3. Adele Pen-
dleton. 4. Rosa Rutherford. 5. Lillian Gordon.

The third son, John Lewis Boyden, farms the
old homestead, an honored and respected Chris-
tian gentleman. He married, in 1879, Miss Cor-
nelia Payne, of Amherst, daughter of Samuel
Spotswood Payne, Esq., a descendant of Governor
Spotswood. Mrs. Boyden also claims descent from
" Dolly" Madison, the wife of President Madison.

Their children are :

I. John Hanson. 2. Bessie Noland. 3. Margaret Douglas.

Four daughters survive their father, the Rev. E.
Boyden, — Mary ShefFey, Frances Meriwether, born
in the Cismont mansion, Celestine, and Henrietta.
The second daughter, Lilla, died February 22, 1890.

It is interesting to note the names of Lewis
and Meriwether linked with that of Boyden, who,
though of no kindred to the latter, yet now own
a part of the soil once trod by General Robert
Lewis, of Belvoir, and Colonel Nicholas Meri-
wether of old ; it was in gratitude and admiration
for the descendants of these noble families that
led Mr. Boyden to name his sons and daughters
for those, among whom his children had lived and
been reared, as " of the manor born."

CASTLE HILL

THE HOME OF THE RIVESES

IF there is any place by man's creation which
approaches the great secret of nature, like the
untouched woods or the ocean's roar, which
calls forth our solemn admiration — that place is
Castle Hill. Let us leave the shimmering fields
'neath an August sun and enter this sylvan retreat,
there to bathe in an atmosphere which has created
poets and philosophers.

In approaching the domains of Castle Hill
from the public highway we course a long avenue
formed on each side by lofty cedars and locusts,
which extend in graceful curves for nearly a mile.
As the mountains are approached we reach an
elevated plain, from which a wide expanse of view
breaks forth towards the east.

On entering the portals of an extended lawn
which stretches for several hundred yards from the
house, which even yet can scarcely be seen amidst
the dense foliage, one is lifted in a transport of
delight while circling through a maze of lofty
oaks, drooping ferns, and fragrant evergreens. On
every side Nature and Art seem to meet and kiss
each other. On the one hand a tangled under-
growth of original forest, while on the other a
long stretch of velvet green, dotted here and there

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

with tropical plants, which waft the perfumed air
and cooling breeze in joyous welcome towards
the visitor, who feels as if approaching some
enchanted haven of peaceful rest, such as this
beautiful home really possesses.

The stranger who visits Castle Hill for the first
time is apt to feel disappointed at not seeing some
lofty palatial structure, such as its name implies.
The house is scarcely visible at all through the
forest of trees until he alights at the foot of its
steps, which lead to a wide-spread portico, whose
stately Corinthian columns are entwined with
English ivy, while on each side towering azalias
stand sentinel. Glancing up, one sees a simple,
plain two-story brick building, flanked on each
side by high windows and glass doors, which lead
to extensive conservatories. It is not until enter-
ing the wide hall and looking to the rear that one
is struck with the beauty of its luxurious space,
which the mansion presents in truly castellated
style.

The first to catch the eye of the visitor is its

many works of art. Wherever one turns — in

hall, parlor, or dining-room — he beholds some

choice work from the brush of Amelie Rives

(now Princess Troubetzkoy) or one of the old

masters which adorn its many walls. To one

who is familiar with the family history it affords

delight to recognize the excellent portraits of the

Hon. Mr. and Mrs. William C. Rives, being

copies taken by Princess Troubetzkoy from the

originals of the celebrated engraver Charles Fen-

202

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

drich in 1838, representing Mr. Rives at the age
of forty. Also the fine portraits of his eldest
daughter, Mrs. Amelie Louise Sigourney, and her
sister, Miss Ella Rives, taken by the famous
French artist, Guillaume. One of the most in-
teresting of the family collection is that of the
three sons of Mr. Rives, — Francis Robert, William
Cabell, and Alfred Landon, — at the ages of ten,
seven, and three years. These form a group,
presenting a most pleasant, life-like scene, and
were taken in Paris in 1832, while Mr. Rives was
ambassador from this country.

Many other portraits, landscapes, etchings, and
rich bric-a-brac^ collections of many years of travel
in foreign lands, will claim the attention of the
visitor, from which he will turn with reluctance.

The second story is gained by a circular stair-
way, and its rooms are as capacious and lofty as
those below. To the left is pointed out the room
of Ame'lie Rives (then Mrs. Chanler), where at the
window fronting the lawn stand her little rocking-
chair and the table upon which she wrote " The
Quick or the Dead V and many of her other pro-
ductions. Stepping upon the upper balcony, one
here can gain the best view of the wide-spread lawn,
stretching forth like a lake of green, with arched
elms and evergreens on each side, forming a grand
vista, upon which the eye never grows weary of
gazing. Descending again to the wide hall below,
which extends through the entire building, or rather
both buildings, for the front or brick part is com-
paratively a modern structure, having been built

203

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

by Mr. Rives in 1824 and more recently improved
by his son, Colonel Alfred L. Rives, who has
expended large sums in its remodelling and em-
bellishment.

Such is the present Castle Hill mansion as its
front presents, and as the visitor will find a

** Beauty in every stick and stone.
With nature, too, to call its own."

Passing through its wide hallway to the rear we
come to the still more interesting part, its wooden,
or the original building of Castle Hill, as erected
in the time of Dr. Thomas Walker, 1764. We
give quite an accurate view of this old portion,
showing its antiquated appearance, with its low
roof and small dormer-windows, which have been
well preserved, presenting a striking contrast be-
tween the architecture of the present and that of
more than one hundred years ago. In these
diminutive rooms were once assembled such great
men as Colonel Peter Jefferson, the father of the
President, who also was a frequent visitor. Gov-
ernor Thomas Nelson, President Madison, and
possibly General Washington, for Dr. Walker
was intimately associated both publicly and pri-
vately with the " Father of his Country," who
passed with his troops within sight of the old
mansion on his march to the West during the
Braddock war. Here, too, is where Tarleton
stopped with a portion of his troops in 1781,
when upon his raid to Charlottesville, in a vain

attempt to capture Governor Jefferson and the

204

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Legislature, but was detained at Castle Hill by a
very tardy but sumptuous breakfast. It is said
that the British general became quite irate at the
delay in serving the meal, and stalked into the
kitchen demanding the cause, whereupon that
worthy functionary, the colored cook, said, " De
soldiers dun eat up two breakfuses as fast as I kin
cook 'em." The general then ordered the men to
be flogged, being first tied to a cherry-tree, the
site of which is still shown, and were most un-
mercifully whipped, their loud cries resounding
over the place. This delay, however, was the
means of saving the governor, as a messenger had
been quickly despatched to notify him of the
advancing enemy. The spot where once stood
the ox-heart cherry-tree referred to is where Dr.
Walker would frequently meet and parley with
the Indian chiefs on their way to Williamsburg,
an interesting account of which is to be found in
the " Genealogy of the Page Family of Virginia,"
by Dr. R. C. M. Page, of New York, who also
gives a history of the Walker family. If we trace
back the " Walkers," who have been prominent
in Colonial history from 1709, we will find that
Dr. Thomas Walker, who was born 1715, was
the fourth in descent from Thomas Walker, of
Gloucester County, first of the family in Virginia,
who was a member of the Colonial Assembly,
1662.

The English Walkers, from whom are directly
descended the Virginia family, were of the nobility,

many being particularly mentioned in early English

205

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

history. They were quite prominent in the Estab-
hshed Church, as we read of the eminent Rev.
Dr. Samuel Walker, grandson of Sir Thomas
Walker, who represented the city of Exeter in
many successive Parliaments during the reigns of
Charles I. and II. He married the only daughter
of the Rev. S. Hall, youngest son of the venerable
Bishop Hall, a prelate to whom he was related by
bonds more binding than those of consanguinity.

Sir Thomas Walker was born at Exeter, 1714.
From him descended Robert Walker, of Kingston,
who emigrated from Scotland to Virginia with two
brothers, who respectively settled in Brunswick and
Albemarle Counties some time before the Revolu-
tion. One of these brothers was the first Thomas
Walker referred to above. The English Walkers
are described as being " tall and of pleasing coun-
tenance and general deportment, such as to com-
mand great respect ; grave and dignified, but always
affable and cheerful in intercourse with others."
These characteristics seem to be strikingly inherited
by their Virginia descendants.

By the marriage of Dr. Walker, in 1 74 1 , with
Mildred Thornton, widow of Nicholas Meriwether
(3d), he came into possession of nearly one-half
of the Meriwether lands along the South- West
Mountains, the other half going to Colonel Robert
Lewis, of Belvoir, who had married Jane Meri-
wether, eldest daughter of Nicholas Meriwether
(2d). Tradition says that Dr. Thomas Walker
was the first white man to enter Kentucky, having
gone there in 1750, thirteen years before Daniel

206

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Boone. His hatchet, marked T. W., with which
he blazed his trail, was afterwards found, and is
still retained in the family. He was highly es-
teemed by and won the friendship of the principal
tribes of Indians in the West, as well as the chief
sachems in Virginia. He was present at the treaty
of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, by which the colonists
secured, in 1744, all the territory in Virginia as
claimed by the Indians. Dr. Walker was also
participant in a purchase of six millions of acres
in 1777 from George Croghan, who had purchased
it from the six united nations or tribes of Indians
of this large body of land, which embraced nearly
the whole of Ohio and Kentucky. Dr. Walker's
part of this was an eighth of a forty-eighth part,
and his two sons, John and Thomas, one-sixth
and one-seventh part respectively. There are still
held by the descendants deeds for several tracts
of land in Albemarle as conveyed by Lord Dun-
more, 1772, and also one of three hundred and
fifty acres of land in Louisa County under patent
granted by George III. Dr. Walker was a practis-
ing physician, and attended Colonel Peter Jeffer-
son during his last sickness, a bill for which is still
preserved. Perhaps there was no man who ren-
dered more service to the colonists in preserving
peace with the Indians and in gaining quiet pos-
session of their lands than Dr. Thomas Walker,
for which his intimacy with Washington and
Jefferson proves the high estimation in which
they held him.

The exact date of erection of the first building

207

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

at Castle Hill is not known. Dr. Walker built
the present wooden part in 1764, but it was not
quite completed even then. It fronted north-west,
facing the mountain, which then formed the ap-
proach to the house, but when the brick addition
was made in 1824 by Hon. William C. Rives, the
front was changed to the south-east, as at present.

Dr. Walker by his first marriage with Mildred
Thornton Meriwether had twelve children. To
his eldest son, John, was given the Belvoir tract.
Mary Walker married Nicholas Lewis, of The
Farm, near Charlottesville ; Susan married Henry
Fry, of Albemarle ; Thomas Walker, Jr., mar-
ried Margaret Hoopes, and settled at Indian
Fields ; Lucy Walker married Dr. George Gil-
mer, of Fen Park, near Charlottesville ; Elizabeth
married the Rev. Matthew Maury, second pastor
of old Walker's Church ; Mildred married Joseph
Horsby, of Williamsburg, Virginia ; Sarah mar-
ried Colonel Reuben Lindsay, of Albemarle ;
Martha married George Divers, of Farmington,
Albemarle ; Reuben died young ; Francis Walker
married Jane Byrd Nelson, of Yorktown, Vir-
ginia, and succeeded to the Castle Hill estate ;
Peachy Walker married Joshua Fry, of Ken-
tucky.

The Hon. Francis Walker, who was born at
Castle Hill, June 22, 1764, married the daughter
of Colonel Hugh Nelson, of Yorktown, in 1798,
and resided at Castle Hill until his death in 1806.
He was very prominent in the political field, and

represented the counties of Orange and Albemarle

208

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

in the United States Congress, 1793-95. His
wife's sister, Maria Nelson, was one of the victims
of the Richmond Theatre fire in 1811; her re-
mains were identified by the Hon. Francis Wal-
ker's watch, which she wore on the fatal night,
and which is now in possession of Dr. Robert
W. Nelson, of Charlottesville, Virginia. By the
union of Francis Walker and Jane Nelson there
were three children : Jane Frances Walker, the
eldest, was born in the celebrated Nelson House,
at Yorktown, Virginia ; she married Dr. Mann
Page in 1815, who, with his wife, moved to
Turkey Hill, a part of the Castle Hill estate.
Thomas Hugh Walker, the only son of Francis
Walker, died when five years old ; the second
daughter and third child, Judith Page Walker, was
born at Castle Hill in 1802 ; she married, March
24, 1819, the Hon. William C. Rives, United
States Senator from Virginia. Mrs. Rives died at
Castle Hill, June 23, 1882, at the age of eighty
years, having survived her husband fourteen years.
Mr. Rives was one of the most prominent states-
men of his day, and gave a lustre to diplomacy,
both at home and abroad, such as has not been
equalled since. In 1809-11 he studied law under
Thomas Jefferson ; 1814-15, was aide-de-camp to
General John H. Cocke, of Virginia ; 1817-19,
member of Virginia House of Delegates from Nel-
son County, and in 1822-23 the same for Albe-
marle County; 1823-29, a Representative in the
United States Congress; 1829-32, United States

minister to France ; 1832-45, United States Senator
14 209

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

from Virginia ; 1849-53, again United States min-
ister to France, after which he retired to private life,
and spent his remaining years at Castle Hill, where
he prepared his " History of the Life and Times of
James Madison," a work which for historic interest
and beauty of language stands complete. The
last public act of Mr. Rives was as a delegate to
the " Peace Conference" in February, 1 86 1 , where ||
he raised his voice against the hasty secession of
Virginia, in an earnest effort to save the rupture of
a Union which he loved so well and had served so
long and faithfully. No courtier of the eighteenth
century could surpass Mr. Rives in elegance of
manner and graceful speech ; he carried this even
into the daily walks of life, and would converse with
a child with as much courtesy as to a statesman.
He possessed a most musical voice, and whenever
he read the service at old Walker's Church, which
he frequently did in the absence of a preacher, his
clear, ringing tones and impressive manner ren-
dered it most pleasing to his hearers. As an ora-
tor and writer he stood foremost among the literati
of the day ; none who ever heard him can forget
his wonderful force of argument, clothed in chaste
and beautiful language ; too polite to attack his
opponent with vituperative epithets while on the
hustings, he would win the applause of even his
bitterest political foes by his graceful and facetious
expressions in opposing debate.

At the age of seventy-five Mr. Rives passed away,
his county, State, and country at large losing a citi-
zen who for brilliancy of mind, shrewdness in diplo-

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

macy, and force of character has scarcely been
equalled. In the name of William Cabell Rives
we find another noble family of Virginia, that of
Cabell ; this is for his mother, who was the daugh-
ter of the celebrated Dr. William Cabell, whose
father, also Dr. William Cabell, first of the family,
was surgeon in the British navy, and settled in
Virginia somewhere about 1720 or 1725. It is
said he owned twenty-five thousand acres of land
on James River, in the counties of Nelson and
Amherst.

The Cabells have always been highly distin-
guished for their learning, having held many im-
portant positions in the State. Dr. William Cabell,
Jr., represented his district in Congress. He died
upon his fine estate. Union Hill, in Nelson County,
the mansion of which is said to have resembled
Mount Vernon in appearance, though it was much
larger. Mrs. William C. Rives was none the less
prominent as a Virginia matron ; by her gentle
grace of manner and winning conversational
powers she gave a charm to the Castle Hill cir-
cle which has not been since seen. She possessed
a fluent, gifted pen, from which emanated several
works, one a charming Virginia story, " Home
and the World," and an " Epitome of the Bible"
for children. Her efforts were all for " doing
good" to those around her and to ameliorate the
hardships of life to those less fortunate. Her great
life-work was the erection and support of the
handsome Gothic stone church which stands in

sight of the old homestead ; for this she devoted

211

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

many years of patient labor, exerting her pen in
touching appeals, that this " House of God" might
be completed according to her original design,
which was a great innovation upon the rude
structures called " churches" of that day. It now
stands complete, a lasting monument to her pious
zeal and a blessing to many future generations.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. William C. Rives

are

Hon. Francis Robert Rives, of New York. He was
secretary of the United States Legation at London
under Hon. Edward Everett as minister, 1842-45.
He married, in 1848, Matilda Antonia Barclay, of
New York City. Their six children are : George
Lockhart Rives; married, first, Caroline Kean, of New
Jersey, 1873; second, Mrs. Belmont, of New York.
Ella Louisa Rives; married David King, Jr., of New-
port, Rhode Island, 1875. Francis Robert Rives, Jr. ;
married Georgia Fellows, of New York, 1 879. Con-
stance Rives ; married Mr. Borland. Maud Rives ;
married Walker Breese Smith, of New York, 1882.
Reginald William Rives ; married, and has issue.

William Cabell Rives, Jr., of Newport, Rhode Island ;
born 1825; died 1890. He married, 1849, Grace
Winthrop Sears, of Boston, Massachusetts. Their
three children are : Dr. William C. Rives, of New
York City ; married, in 1876, Mary F. Rhinelander,
of New York. Alice Rives ; died single. Arthur
Landon Rives; not married. David Sears, Esq., of
Boston, Massachusetts, the father of Mrs. Grace
Rives, gave the fine bell of Grace Church, Albemarle,
Virginia, which weighs fifteen hundred and seventy-
five pounds, and was cast by Mr. Hooper, of Boston,
in 1855. Though the church was destroyed by fire
in 1894, yet this bell, which fell more than fifty feet
from the lofty tower, was uninjured, and still rings
forth its clear tones each Sabbath.
212

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Colonel Alfred Landon Rives ; born at Castle Hill, 1 830.
He married, in 1859, Sadie McMurdo, daughter of
James B. McMurdo, of Richmond, Virginia. Their
three children are : Amelie Louise Rives, the author-
ess ; married, first, John Armstrong Chanler, of New
York; second. Prince Pierre Troubetzkoy, 1895.
Gertrude Rives ; married Allen Potts, of Richmond,
Virginia, 1896. Sarah Landon Rives. Colonel Al-
fred L. Rives graduated with high honors at the Paris
Ecole des Fonts et Chaussees, 1850. He assisted Gene-
ral Meigs as architect in the construction of the new
Capitol wing at Washington, 1859-60. Also archi-
tect of Cabin John's Bridge near Washington, D.C.,
being one of the longest single stone arches in the
country. He served as chief of military engineers
in the Confederate army with the rank of colonel.
Since the war he has had charge of the civil engi-
neer department on the Panama Canal until 1894,
from which time he has resided at the ancestral home.
Castle Hill, which he now owns.

Amelie Louise Rives was born at Paris, July 8, 1832.
She was named for the wife of Louis Philippe,
who was a great friend of the family. She was edu-
cated at the school of Mrs. A. M. Mead, Richmond,
Virginia, and also studied in Paris in 1850. In 1854
she married Henry Sigourney, of Boston, Massachu-
setts. She and her husband with their three young-
est children were lost at sea by the sinking of the
** Villedu Havre," November 22, 1873. Their only
surviving child, Henry Sigourney, Jr., is now of Bos-
ton, Massachusetts. There were few women in this
country more gifted with love of art, music, and lit-
erature than Mrs. Sigourney. As an artist she stood
above the ordinary ranks, as specimens of her brush
testify. As a musician she was pronounced by her
teacher, the celebrated Meyerbeer, as beyond his in-
struction. As a linguist in the ancient and modern
languages. Professor George S. Hale, of Boston, her
teacher, said she went far ahead of any female in this
213

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

country. And for beauty the great artist Guillaume
pronounced her to possess the most perfect form and
features that had ever sat to him.
5. Ella Rives was the youngest of the Hon. William C.
Rives's daughters. She with her sister visited France
in 1849, and enjoyed the high advantages of the
foreign schools. She never married, but lived most
of the time at Castle Hill, striving with her mother
to smooth the rough path of life to the surrounding
poor. In after-years she built a beautiful little villa.
Beau Val, on a portion of the Castle Hill estate, near
Cobham Station, and there lived for a time, to make
happy those whom she had befriended. She died in
1 89 1, her grave being marked by a massive cross in
the Grace Church cemetery.

Readers of contemporary literature will readily
recall the brilliant entry into the world of letters
made by the Princess Troubetzkoy some ten or
fifteen years ago. As Amelie Rives she scored an
almost instant success by the publication of her
first story, "A Brother to Dragons." This ex-
quisite little bit of fiction, appearing under the
distinguished chaperonage of the Atlantic Monthly^
caught the popular fancy at once, and literary
critics everywhere proclaimed the advent of a new
and brilliant star in the Southern heavens, a fit
addition to the rare constellation already glowing
there. In rather quick succession followed her
other works, — " The Farrier Lass O' Piping Peb-
worth," " Virginia of Virginia," " Nurse Crumpet
Tells the Story," " Herod and Mariamne," " The
Quick or the Dead V " Asmodeus," " Athelwold,"
"The W^itness of the Sun," "Barbara Dering,"

" According to St. John," " Tanis the Sang Digger,"

214

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

and recently "A Damsel Errant," besides a number
of short stories and poems. Of all these none so
increased her fame as " The Quick or the Dead*?"
published by the Lippincotts, a story of intense
word-painting, such unconventional freedom, and
so pronounced in its realism that it instantly be-
came the sensation of the hour. Its publication
brought forth a torrent of criticism, and while
much of this was adverse in its tenor, the fame of
the daring young authoress spread all the more,
and the presses, " working day and night, could
not possibly supply the demand."

Perhaps her next most famous work was " Herod
and Mariamne," wholly different in theme, and
incomparably superior to " The Quick or the
Dead *?" It is a drama of wonderful strength and
rare brilliancy for one so young, and is undoubtedly
the very flower of her genius. " Athelwold," while
not so ambitious an effort as its predecessor, is also
a drama of great talent, and makes the reader
wonder why its fair creator should ever quit this
especial field in which her genius seems to excel.
As an example of simple touching pathos, " Vir-
ginia of Virginia" has few equals in Southern
literature ; while " The Farrier Lass O' Piping Peb-
worth" and, indeed, many of its associates, are
richly gemmed with similes of extreme beauty
and appropriateness. Her latest book, " A Dam-
sel Errant," also published by the Lippincotts, is
still another departure from the author's previous
methods, being a romance of mediaeval France.

Princess Troubetzkoy still writes for the maga-
215

HISTORIC HOMES

zines and is still popular with their readers. If
she has some adverse critics she also has many
warm admirers, and these latter must ever delight
to dwell upon the various attributes of her genius,
her great talent for vivid word-painting, her artistic
value of perspective, her accurate setting of his-
toric incidents, her wonderful intuitive powers of
perception, and the innate nobility of her ideals.

Castle Hill still sits in calm repose, clothed
with its intensely interesting associations and tra-
ditions, when its halls would be filled with many
distinguished gatherings of the loved, the gifted,
and the noble of our land, as well as from foreign
shores. Here true beauty and grace were wont to
be displayed ; here the poetry of song with the
charm of social intercourse heard ; here every tree
and shrub are linked with hallowed associations,
where 'neath waving boughs and winding walks
the noble countenance and handsome form of
Presidents, statesmen, generals, authors, scientists,
and divines have been seen ; all make this historic
old spot a real Mecca, where the lover of true
genius and noble worth can worship.

We rejoice that Castle Hill has been so sacredly
preserved with all its original surroundings. It
stands like a monument to mark the connecting
link between the past, with all its stirring heroic
events of the infant colony, and the present age
of wonderful advance in architecture, science, and
art, and as the years roll on it will become inefFace-
ably dear to the heart of the most remote family
descendant as well as to every Virginian.

216

1

KESWICK

THE HOME OF THE PAGES

NEXT to Castle Hill on the north-east comes
the Keswick plantation, being that por-
tion of the Walker tract as given by
Hon. Francis Walker, of Castle Hill, to his
eldest daughter, Jane Frances Walker, who mar-
ried Dr. Mann Page. This farm is separated
from that of Castle Hill by the public road, which
crosses the mountain at Turkey Sag gap, which
was once much travelled, but since has fallen into
disuse and is almost impassable. Keswick farm
was formerly called Turkey Hill, probably from
the name of the gap, or the number of wild tur-
keys there always found ; but after the settlement
here by Dr. Page it was named Keswick, doubt-
less for the home of the poet Southey in Cumber-
land County, England, which sits at the foot of
the Skiddaw Mountain, which rises on its north
side ; this present Keswick has also a high moun-
tain (Peter's) to the north, while the mansion is
surrounded by undulating hills on each side which
screen it from view until the summit of these hills
is reached, when it breaks upon the approaching
visitor, seated in the beautiful valley below.

The old Turkey Hill plantation contained origi-
nally three thousand seven hundred acres of the

217

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

Walker's tract, extending from the summit of
Peter's Mountain nearly to the Louisa line. The
house, which at first was quite small, sits upon a
gently sloping hill crowned with a dense growth
of oaks and locust-trees. The lawn is extensive
and covered with waving grass, while at the foot
of the hill bubbles a sparkling spring of never-
failing water, which has been used for several gen- |
erations, the water being " toted" up the hill by
the numerous blacks. The first house of any
consequence was built by Dr. Page about the year
1818. It consisted simply of a double log house
of four rooms ; afterwards this was plastered and
weather-boarded, making an exceedingly warm
and comfortable house. In 1832 the front or
frame part as now seen was added, being one story
and a half high, with a wide centre hall. In 1849-
50 this again was remodelled and improved, as
shown in the cut. The front rooms are spacious
and quite out of proportion to those above, which
in buildings of that day were quite small, but
served the family quite amply as sleeping apart-
ments. Much of the furniture of the present
house is antique, some having been brought from
England at an early period ; among which is still
standing the family clock, brought over by Dr.
Thomas Walker, which continues to mark the
time with accuracy, though the rawhide strings of
its massive weights have never been removed, and
is perhaps the best preserved " grandfather's" clock
in the country. The Pages still keep sacred many

relics of their ancient and noble family, which can

218

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

, here be seen, such as books, papers, and docu-
! ments musty with age, which bear the handwriting
'■ of kings, governors. Presidents, Indian chiefs, and a
host of eminent statesmen and men of profession.
Adjoining the lawn is a large garden, in one por-
tion of which was once the family burying-ground,
but which has been removed to the Grace Church
cemetery, where the graves are marked by hand-
some stones.

" The Genealogy of the Page Family," as given
by R. C. M. Page, of New York, presents a most
complete and interesting account of this famous
family, to which we refer the reader more particu-
I larly. We will give, however, a brief extract from
it, showing the direct descent of the " Keswick"
Page family.

Colonel John Page, first of the family in Vir-
ginia, was the son of Francis Page, of Middlesex
County, England. He came to Virginia, and set-
tled at Williamsburg about 1650. He died in
1692 ; his tombstone, with inscription, is still to be
seen in the old graveyard at Williamsburg, Virginia.
He was " One of His Majesties' Council in the Do-
minion of Virginia," and was very prominent in
I its early governance. Colonel John Page married
Alice Luckin, also of England ; they had two
sons, Francis and Matthew, both born at Williams-
burg, Virginia. Captain Francis Page was clerk of
the House of Burgesses, 1688. He married Mary
Diggs, daughter of Edward Diggs, of Hampton,
Virginia ; they had but one child, a daughter, who

: married John Page, a lawyer, and died without

219

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

children. The second son of Colonel John Page,
Matthew Page, settled at Rosewell, Gloucester
County, Virginia. He was called " Honorable
Collonell Mathew Page, Esq.," who was one of
His Majesty's Council in Virginia, and died 1703.
He married Mary Mann, daughter of John Mann,
of Gloucester County, Virginia. They had four
children, three of whom died young ; the sur-
viving son, Mann Page, was a member of the
Colonial Council under George I., and built the
celebrated mansion Rosewell, on the York River.
He died in 1730. He married, first, Judith
Wormley, daughter of Hon. Ralph Wormley,
secretary of the colony ; second, Judith Carter,
daughter of the celebrated Robert Carter, com-
monly called " King Carter," of Crotoman, Lan-
caster County. By his first marriage were three
children, only one of which left issue, Maria, who
was the grandmother of Governor Mann Ran-
dolph, of Edgehill. By his second wife, Judith
Carter, were six children. The second son, John
Page, was born at Rosewell, 1720 ; he married
Jane Bird, of Westover, James River, 1746, and
died 1 780 ; he was also one of the Virginia Coun-
cil. They had fifteen children, eleven of whom
married and settled in different parts of the State.
His fourth son and sixth child. Carter Page, was
born 1758; he removed to Willis' Fork, Cumber-
land County, Virginia, where he settled in 1783.
He married, first, Mary Carey, and second, Lucy,
daughter of Governor Thomas Nelson, of York-
town, Virginia, in 1799. He served as major in

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

the Revolutionary war, and was aide-de-camp to
General Lafayette ; he was also one of the com-
mittee to receive him when on his visit to Rich-
mond, Virginia. He died in 1825.

From his first marriage there were eight children;
his fifth son and sixth child was Dr. Mann Page,
of Keswick, who was born at the " Fork," Oc-
tober 26, 1791 . He married Jane Frances Walker,
of Castle Hill, on December 12, 1815; the mar-
riage taking place in Richmond, Virginia, at the old
Virginia Tavern, which faced the Capitol Square,
opposite St. Paul's Church, and was then the swell
hotel of the city, which was kept by Mrs. Colonel
Hugh Nelson, her maternal grandmother. The
old tavern afterwards passed into the hands of Cap-
tain Thomas Nelson until he removed from the
city.

The daughter of Mrs. Hugh Nelson, Maria, lost
her life in the burning of the Richmond Theatre
in 1811, the fire being distinctly seen from the
Virginia Tavem, several of whose guests were also
victims.

Dr. Page graduated at Hampden-Sidney College,
and also at the Medical College at Philadelphia, in
1813. He practised medicine for a while in Rich-
mond, until his marriage, when he removed to his
wife's estate in Albemarle County. Dr. Page was
one of the distinguished citizens of the county,
who sat with General Lafayette at the dinner
given him in 1824 by the citizens of Albemarle
at the University of Virginia, and his name appears
in connection with that of Hon. William C. Rives

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

in many of the church records, showing him to
have been a zealous supporter of the church.

Dr. Page did not enter very largely into the prac-
tice of his profession while in the county, not wish-
ing to intrude upon that of his wife's kinsman, Dr.
Thomas Meriwether, but preferred the cultivation
of his large and profitable farm. He was a man
of commanding stature, having a kind, benevolent
countenance, and most entertaining in conversa-
tion. He died and was buried at Keswick, May
15, 1850.

Jane Frances Walker, his wife, was, like her
sister Judith, quite brilliant in mind, but possessed
an extremely reserved and gentle disposition, thus
exhibiting more plainly the traits of her Nelson
kin, being much like her mother, Jane Byrd Nel-
son, both in appearance and manner. She died
February 7, 1873, having survived her husband
twenty-three years.

By the union of Dr. Mann Page and Jane
Frances Walker were twelve children :

1. Maria Page; died unmarried.

2. Ella Page ; lived to be sixty-four years of age and died

single.

3. Francis Walker Page, eldest son; born 1820; died 1846;

married Anna E., daughter of Benjamin F. Cheese-
man, of New York, leaving one son, Frank Walker
Page, now professor of music at Staunton, Virginia.

4. Carter Henry Page; born 1822; married Leila,

daughter of Captain William Graham, of Baltimore,
Maryland. Their children are : Leila G. Page,
born 1858; died 1894. William Graham Page; born
i860. Is a lawyer of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Carter H. Page, Jr. ; born 1864; civil engineer of
222

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Philadelphia, Mary Bowdin Page; born 1866;
married Mr. Gilbert Bird, of England.

5. John Cary Page; born 1824; died 1826.

6. Frederick Winslow Page; born 1826; now libra-

rian of the University of Virginia ; married, first,
Anne Kinloch, daughter of Dr. Thomas Meriwether,
of Kinloch, and great-granddaughter of Governor
Thomas Nelson, of Yorktown, Virginia. They
had seven children: Jane Walker; born 1851 ;
married Thomas W. Lewis, of Castalia. Eliza M. ;
born I 853 ; died single, 1873. Annie Nelson ; born
1855; married, 1875, Nat Coleman, of Halifax
County, Virginia. Frederick K. ; born 1857 ; mar-
ried Flora Lewis, of Albemarle, Virginia. Wil-
liam Douglas; born 1859; '^^^^ 1878. Evelyn
Byrd ; born 1862; married John Coleman, of Hali-
fax County, Virginia. Mildred Nelson; born 1865 ;
resides in New York.

7. Jane Walker Page; died unmarried, 1845, aged seven-

teen. She was quite talented.

8. Mann Page, Jr. ; married Mary Ann Hobson, of Pow-

hatan County, Virginia. They lived on a part of
Keswick farm, near the mountain ; he was a fine
scholar and taught at the Keswick School, 1849.
He died 1864, leaving one daughter, Charlotte
Nelson Page.

9. Charlotte Nelson Page; born at Turkey Hill, 1832;

died at Kinloch, of typhoid fever, 1844, unmarried.
She was like her sister, Jane Walker, very bright in
mind. She attended Mrs. A. M. Mead's school in
Richmond with her cousins Amelie and Ella Rives,
of Castle Hill.

10. William Wilmer Page; born 1835; died 1857, aged

twenty-two.

11. Thomas Walker Page; born April 18, 1837; died 5th

of June, 1887, aged fifty. Married, in 1861, Nan-
nie Watson, daughter of James Morris, of Sylvania,
Green Springs, Louisa County, Virginia. He suc-
ceeded to the homestead after the death of his
223

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

mother in 1873. He, like his father, was very
active in the church, and for many years w^as w^arden
and treasurer of Grace Church. The children of
Thomas Walker Page are Ella Rives Page, born in
1862; James Morris Page, A.M. and Ph.D. of
Leipsic, Germany; born 1864; principal of the
Keswick School, now professor of mathematics at
the University of Virginia. Thomas Walker Page,
Jr., A.M., assistant principal of Keswick School.
Constance Morris Page; born 1869. Mann Page;
born 1871. Susan Morris Page; born 1878.
12. Dr. Richard Channing Moore Page, last child and
eighth son of Dr. Mann Page, was born 2d of
January, 1841, at Turkey Hill. Removed to New
York City in 1867; married, in 1874, ^^s. Eliza-
beth Fitch, widow of the Hon, Richard Henry
Winslow, of New York. Dr. Page is quite emi-
nent as a physician and has a lucrative practice in
New York City. He is quite literary, and is the
author of the " Genealogy of the Page Family,"
which embraces that also of the Walker, Nelson,
Pendleton, and Randolph families. Other writings
upon medical and scientific subjects have emanated
from his pen. He has spent much time in Europe,
is fond of the arts, and has adorned his beautiful
residence in New York with some of the choicest
paintings of the old masters, the beauty of which is
only exceeded by that of his charities and liberality
to those around him. He has no children. Since
writing the above, the death of Dr. Channing Page
has been announced in the New York papers.

It will be observed that there has been a Mann

Page in nearly every branch of the family from

the first Mann Page, of Rosewell, on the York,

1691, son of Hon. Matthew Page and Mary

Mann, who was an heiress, born 1672, and died

1 707 ; from her the name of Mann descended.

224

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

The widow of Thomas W. Page now resides at
the Keswick farm.

There has always been a school at Keswick for
boys. Dr. Mann Page from the first spared no
expense in procuring the best teachers for the
home education of his children, and when grown,
in sending them to the best colleges that the State
afforded. All ot his six sons were highly educated
and fitted for life. We extract from the " Page"
book the following interesting synopsis of the
schools held at the homestead or near by, as it
records the names of prominent men now living.
One thing to be noted of the Keswick School
was its bounteous table, which always groaned
with the abundance of the farm ; the boys were
always kept fat, and its luxurious living added to
the watchful, tender care of its generous mistress,
Mrs. Jane Page, made Keswick always an attractive
place for them, and from which they would leave
with great reluctance.

The first school as recorded is that of —
" 1831-32. — William W. Hawkins taught for
a short time at the old Bentivoglio Tavern, which
was kept at that time by Joseph W. Campbell.
The school was then removed to a log house in the
woods near by, called the ' Tick Hill Academy.'
Among the pupils were Frank W. Page, Carter
H. Page, James Parish and John T. Parish (twin-
brothers), Reuben Gordon, William F. Gordon, Jr.,
Lewis Miller, and others. Mr. John T. Parish
died in New York a few years ago a millionaire.
The old Bentivoglio Tavern, called 'Old Benti*
15 225

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

for short, stood on the south side of the public
road, about a quarter of a mile east of the mouth
of the Turkey Sag. The latter is the name of
the public road that runs north-west over the
mountains, along Feather-Bed Lane, across Tur-
key Run, and through Turkey Gap. The tavern
was originally built by Hon. Francis Walker, of
Castle Hill, for the accommodation of travellers
in those days. It has long since gone to ruin, and
nothing but a depression in the ground now re-
mains to mark the original site. The post-ofRce
at Lindsay's turnout on the railroad, some two
miles distant, is known as Bentivoglio. This and
other beautiful Italian names for places in the
neighborhood, such as Modina and Monticello,
were doubtless given by Italian laborers imported
in early times by Thomas Jefferson for the pur-
pose of introducing grape-culture."

This is a mistake ; Mr. Jefferson named Monti-
cello himself Many of his Italian laborers, how-
ever, whose descendants are still among us, did
give names to their homes, such as Colle, Porto
Bello, and Bentivoglio.

" 1832-33. — Mr. Crawford taught at the same
place with the same scholars. Crawford was an
exhorter in the Baptist Church and used the
hickory freely. The boys were much afraid of
him. Sometimes he would be absent the whole
day preaching and the boys would be afraid to go
home. In the evening he would return, and the
whole school be drawn up in line in the public
road and put through a course of spelling.

226

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

" 1833-34. — James L. Gordon taught at Edge-
worth, the residence of his father, General William
F. Gordon, with much the same scholars.

" 1 834-35. — William W. Hawkins rented Ben-
tivoglio Tavern and taught school again, Mr.
Campbell having left. The scholars were nearly
the same.

" ^835-36. — Mr. Provost, a graduate of Prince-
ton, New Jersey, taught at Castle Hill, the residence
of Hon. William C. Rives. There were a limited
number of pupils, among whom were Frank W.
Page, Carter H. Page, Frederick W. Page, Francis
R. Rives, and William C. Rives, Jr. Provost was
one of the best teachers. He also courted all the
marriageable girls in the neighborhood.

" 1836-37. — Edwin Hall, of Maine, a pupil of
the poet Longfellow and a graduate of Bowdoin,
taught at Bentivoglio. Among the pupils were
Frank W. Page, Carter H. Page, Frederick W.
Page, Reuben Gordon, William Gordon, Henry
Miclin, Johnson Miclin, and Lewis Miller.

" 1837-38. — Giles Waldo, a graduate of Yale,
taught at Bentivoglio. The scholars were the
same, with the addition of William Anderson
and Richard Anderson, of Richmond, Virginia,
as boarders.

" 1838-39. — Mr. Janes, of Burlington, Ver-
mont, taught at Bentivoglio. Among the scholars
were Robert W. Nelson, W. Douglas Meriwether,
William C. Rives, Jr., Lewis Miller, William Lewis
(colonel), the brothers William, Richard, and Jack

Anderson, Carter and Frederick Page.

227

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

" i839"'40- — Jacob Belville, of Princeton, taught
at Bentivoglio with the same pupils, except R. W.
Nelson, William and Richard Anderson.

" 1840-41-42. — James Chisholm, of Harvard,
taught at Keswick in the old school-house down
in the lot. Among the scholars were Frederick
W. Page, Mann Page, Jr., Wilmer Page, Lindsay
Walker, George and Charles Gordon (twin-brothers),
Alexander Gordon, and Alfred Rives.

" 1842-43. — Thomas W. Cattell, of New Jersey,
graduate of Princeton, taught at the same place.
The scholars were Frederick Mann, Wilmer and
Tom Page, George, Charles Churchill, and Alex-
ander Gordon, and William C. Cattell.

" 1843-44. — George Jeffery, of Cambridge, Eng-
land, taught at the same place, with the same
scholars, except Frederick W. Page. It was about
this time that F. W. Meerbach, a famous German
pianist, gave music lessons to young ladies in the
neighborhood. Mr. Jeffery was a very eccentric
man, and the two had a quarrel, resulting in Mr.
Jeffery going next session to Edgeworth."

We may further add that the above German,
Meerbach, was a music teacher in Mrs. A. M.
Mead's large seminary in Richmond, and was rec-
ommended by her to Dr. Page. He was very
irritable, and got into several fracases in Richmond.
The " eccentric Jeffery" we have already spoken
of in our article on Cismont.

" 1844-45. — George Jeffery at Edgeworth, the
residence of General Gordon ; the same boys ex-
cept William C. Cattell.

228

III

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

" 1845-46. — Mr. Taylor, a Princeton man,
taught at Edgeworth with the same scholars.

" 1846-47-48. — Frederick W. Page taught at
Keswick, in the old school-house in the lot. The
scholars were Frank Hopkins Churchill and Alex-
ander Gordon, Mann, Wilmer, Thomas, and Chan-
ning Page. The latter wore a check apron, much
to his annoyance.

" 1848-49. — Calvin S. Maupin, of North Caro-
lina, taught at Edgeworth, with the same boys ex-
cept Channing, who was too young to walk there.
Mr. Maupin was not a very literary man, nor did
he much enjoy conversation at meals, being usu-
ally blessed with a ravenous appetite. Thus, while
General Gordon was telling some anecdote about
President Jackson while he was a member of Con-
gress, Mr. Maupin interrupted him in the middle
of the most interesting part by remarking, ' Gen-
eral, you got my bread !'

" 1849-50. — Mann Page taught at Keswick.
The scholars were Churchill, Alexander, and Mason
Gordon, Henry Lewis, Wilmer, Thomas, Chan-
ning Page, and Edward C. Mead, who was then
living at Cismont.

"1850-51. — Dabney T. C. Davis taught at
Keswick. He was a graduate of the University
of Virginia. The scholars were John and Hugh
Nelson, twin-brothers and boarders, Wilmer,
Thomas, and Channing Page, Churchill, Alex-
ander, and Mason Gordon, John and Rice Mc-
Gee, also twin-brothers.

" 1851-52. — Samuel S. Carr, of the University of
229

HISTORIC HOMES

Virginia, taught at Keswick. The scholars were
the same except Churchill Gordon. Lewis McGee,
brother of John and Rice, was a scholar this year.
They came from Bedford County, and boarded at
Logan, the residence of Captain M. Lewis Walker."
After this the school was discontinued at Kes-
wick until about the year 1887, when it was re-
vived by Dr. James M. Page, assisted by his
brother, Thomas W. Page, Jr. They enlarged
and added several buildings for boarders, and under
the name of Keswick School it attained quite a
celebrity, numbering some thirty pupils. Dr.
James Page has since been made professor of
mathematics at the University of Virginia. After
the discontinuance of the school, Thomas W.
Page, Jr., went to Europe, graduating at Leipsic,
Germany, with high honors, having taken the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy, summa cum laude^
which is rarely accomplished. Dr. Thomas Page
was engaged for some time, while in London, col-
lecting material for a book concerning the relations
of " Work and Wages in England immediately
after the Period of the Black Death." Since his
return to this country he has been appointed pro-
fessor in the University of California.

230

EDGEWORTH

THE HOME OF THE GORDONS

IN 1755, Dr. Thomas Walker, of Castle Hill,
sold or gave about four hundred acres of his
land as a glebe for the churches then estab-
lished at Walker's in Albemarle, Trinity in Louisa,
and one in Orange County, This glebe tract
joined the lands of Captain James Lindsay, and it
is believed that most of the land purchased for this
purpose was from him, the remainder being given
by Dr. Walker, whose daughter had married Rev.
Matthew Maury, son of the first pastor of Walker's
Church, who lived here until his death in 1808.

Upon this tract, which altogether contained
nearly one thousand acres, was built a parsonage
by the several vestries, with all necessary out-build-
ings, which, we may presume, were at that day
nothing more than rude log cabins erected in the
wild forest.

Here the Rev. James Maury, the first pastor of
the three churches, lived. He was quite a promi-
nent and able man during his day, preaching for a
large circuit in the surrounding counties, and also
teaching a small school located near his residence,
to which Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe attended
when boys, besides others who afterwards became
distinguished men. He was quite learned in the

231

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

classics, as young Jefferson wrote to his school-boy
friend Governor John Page that he was a " fine
scholar," and evidently he left his impress upon
these young minds, to which they owed much of
their success in after-life. The old log school-house
in which he taught stood in one corner of the Edge-
worth yard, the site of which is now marked by a
hedge of cedars. The Rev. James Maury married
a Miss Walker, supposed to have been a cousin of
Dr. Walker, through whose influence he became
rector of the parish. Mr. Maury had a family of
ten children, most of whom married and scattered
over the State, their descendants filling many high
and honored positions. He died in 1 769, and was
buried under the pulpit of old Walker's Church,
where he had so faithfully preached for many years.
There now stands a monument in front of the pres-
ent Grace Church, erected to his memory, mark-
ing the spot where once stood the old Colonial
church, with the following inscription :

** Sacred to the memory

of

Rev. James Maury,

First Pastor of Walker's Parish.

Born April 8th, 1717 ;

Died June 9th, 1769.

This monument was erected by Elizabeth Walker as

a tribute to his Piety, Learning, and Worth."

He was succeeded by his eldest son, Rev.

Matthew Maury, who lived at the glebe, and

taught in the same log school-house as his father.

He married, in 1773, Elizabeth Walker (called

232

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

Betsy), fourth daughter of Dr. Thomas Walker.
From him descended the Hon. Matthew F. Maury,
the " Pathfinder of the Seas," whose memory all
nations delight to honor. It was not far from the
glebe that the Rev. James Waddell, the blind
preacher, lived, who was made famous by Wil-
liam Wirt. Both of these ministers were quite in-
timate, and when the wife of Mr. Maury died he
invited Mr. Waddell to preach her funeral sermon,
there being no Episcopal minister beside himself
in the county and but few at that time in the State.

The Rev. Mr. Waddell married Mary Gordon,
the daughter of Colonel James Gordon. She was
the sister of General William F. Gordon, who
afterwards owned Edgeworth. By this marriage
Mr. Waddell obtained a portion of the original
Gordon tract, which embraced the town of Gor-
donsville, and which was named in honor of Colo-
nel James Gordon, one of the Revolutionary
heroes, who commanded one of the Virginia regi-
ments at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown,
Virginia.

Rev. Mr. Waddell also taught a school near
Gordonsville, at which Meriwether Clarke and
Governor Barbour attended.

In 1802 the law authorizing the sale of the
glebe lands throughout Virginia having passed,
after the death of Mr. Maury, in 1808, the prop-
erty was sold to a Mr. Ragland, and afterwards
passed into the hands of General William F. Gor-
don, who moved there in 1835.

General Gordon occupied for a while the origi-
233

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

nal frame house then standing, but which was soon
after destroyed by fire, after which, about the year
1837, he built the present handsome brick struc-
ture, which is two stories in height, with double
rooms and wide hall on each floor, besides a large
cellar. It formed at that date an imposing build-
ing, being much superior to that of his neighbors,
and its spacious apartments became the scene of a
refined and elegant hospitality.

General Gordon was one of the foremost men
of his day. He had served with great distinction
in the war of 1812, and afterwards represented his
county in the Virginia Legislature, and became
Senator from Virginia in the United States Con-
gress of 1829-35. In recognition of his able ser-
vices he was tendered a public dinner in Amherst
County, and had other honors bestowed upon him.
General Gordon was always a stanch Whig and
warmly sustained the election of Mr. Clay, but
after that gentleman's defeat he retired from politics
and devoted himself to his farm, making Edge-
worth noted for its great productions. General
Gordon was a fine speaker, most entertaining in
conversation, having a fund of humor and anec-
dote gathered during a long and eventful political
life, which made him par excellence a most agreeable
companion. He always dressed quite plainly, and
even while in Congress appeared in a suit of home-
spun made on his farm, to comport with the dress
of his Southern Congressional brethren, who were
furious at the passage of the Tariflf law of 1827-
28, and waved the flag of defiance to the Northern

234

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

members by dressing in home-made cloth, eating
their own hominy without the aid of Kentucky
bacon, and walking rather than ride Western horses.
General Gordon married Elizabeth Lindsay, the
daughter of Colonel Reuben Lindsay, who also
owned large landed possessions along the South-
West Mountains. She was a woman of great intel-
ligence, having much of the fire of her Scotch blood.
She lived to the good old age of ninety-five, dying
at the home of her youngest son. Mason Gordon,
Esq., of Charlottesville, in 1886. The sister of
Mrs. Gordon, Maria Lindsay, married Captain
Meriwether Lewis Walker, son of "Dr. Tom"
Walker, of Castle Hill, whose home, called Logan,
after the Indian chief of that name, was situated
but two miles from Edge worth. Sarah Walker,
another daughter of Dr. Walker, married, in 1 778,
Colonel Reuben Lindsay. She was his first wife.
Their daughter, Sally Lindsay, married, in 1810,
her first cousin. Captain James Lindsay, son of
David Lindsay, who was a brother of Colonel
Reuben Lindsay. This Captain Lindsay lived at
the Meadows, another old homestead, which is now
owned by Colonel John M. Patton, formerly of
Richmond, Virginia. Captain Lindsay inherited all
the lands of his father, which almost surrounded the
EMgeworth farm, and extended even into Louisa
County. Thus we see by the intermarriage of
the Walkers, Lindsays, and Gordons these exten-
sive lands were retained by their descendants for
several generations, but which have since passed
entirely out of those families. On the east side of

235

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

Edgeworth were the lands of Loudon Bruce, which
extended to Gordonsville ; he was famous for his fat
cattle, which have supplied the markets so long.

By the marriage of General Gordon and Eliza-
beth Lindsay were ten children :

1. James Lindsay Gordon; married, first. Miss Beale ;

second. Miss Winston. They left no issue.

2. Reuben Lindsay Gordon ; married Miss Beale, sister

of the above. Had four daughters and two sons,
Reuben L. and Alexander T.

3. William F. Gordon, Jr. ; married Miss Morris. They

had two sons and three daughters. His sons were
William F. and James Morris.

4. George L. Gordon ; now dead. He married Miss

Daniel, of North Carolina. Had two sons, Armis-
tead C. and James L. Gordon.

5. Charles H, Gordon, twin-brother of George ; mar-

ried, first. Miss Beale. Had one son. Professor
James B. Gordon, who died in Arkansas, while pro-
fessor of the Arkansas University. He was a most
brilliant man. The second wife of Charles was
Miss Boswell. No issue.

6. John Churchill Gordon ; married Mary S. Pegram,

daughter of Edward S. Pegram, of Albemarle, by
whom he had six sons and three daughters. Dr. J.
C. Gordon is now a practising physician of Char-
lottesville, Virginia.

7. Alexander Tazwell Gordon ; married his cousin. Miss

Gordon. Had one son and four daughters.

8. Mason Gordon ; married Miss Hart, of North Caro-

lina, by whom he had three sons and two daugh-
ters. His eldest daughter married Thomas L. Rosser,
Jr., son of General Thomas L. Rosser, of Albemarle,
who served in the Confederate army.

9. Maria Gordon.

10. Hannah Gordon; married, August 16, 1842, at Edge-
worth, Judge William J. Robertson, of Charlottes-
236

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

ville, Virginia. Their children were : Elizabeth
Lindsay, Lucy Gordon, Sally Brand, John McB.,
Maria Gordon (dead), Mary Carter, William Gor-
don, Nannie Morris (dead), and Reuben Lindsay.

All of the sons of General Gordon have been
talented, and, like their father, brilliant orators,
who have made their mark at the bar, among
whom we may mention Mason Gordon, Esq.,
now a leading lawyer of Charlottesville, Virginia,
and the grandson of General Gordon, the Hon.
James L. Gordon (son of George L. Gordon),
who is now of New York City, and has become a
most noted public speaker both North and South.

As at Keswick, the home of Dr. Page, his near
neighbor, so it was at Edgeworth, a school was
always kept up, either at one place or the other,
the boys of the two families forming quite a large
school of themselves. The late Judge William J.
Robertson, of Charlottesville, when a young man,
taught for a while in the general's family, and while
there fell in love with the pretty Hannah Gordon.
The general opposed the match, principally on ac-
count of their youth, putting Mr. Robertson off
with the promise of his daughter's hand when he
was established at the bar. It was not long after
when the general heard young Robertson make
his maiden speech in a political contest at Louisa
Court-House, and being so pleased with his effort
that he removed all objections to the marriage,
feeling satisfied that the future of the young man
would be a brilliant one, which was verified, he
becoming commonwealth's attorney in 1852 and

237

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

judge of the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1859.
He also practised in the Supreme Court of the
United States, and was considered the most emi-
nent of the State's judiciary.

After the death of General Gordon, Edgeworth
was sold to Dr. Charles Hancock in 1858, who
paid thirty-six thousand dollars for it. It was a
magnificent estate at the time ; its twelve hundred
acres were divided into seven fields of one hun-
dred acres each, besides more than five hundred
acres of woodland stretching to the top of Peter's
Mountain, while surrounding the house was an
extensive garden and lawn of five acres. In 1859
Dr. Hancock greatly enlarged the mansion by a
two-story frame addition to the rear of the brick
front, thus forming an L in shape. The rooms in
this fine building were twenty feet square, with
wide centre hall, and proportionate in height, mak-
ing it unapproachable by any country-seat in mag-
nificent dimensions and beauty of finish. The
farm also was in the highest state of production,
often yielding fifteen hundred bushels of wheat
from one field, one thousand barrels of corn, and
forty thousand pounds of hay during one season ;
besides having twenty-three horses, twenty milch
cows, and a vast herd of cattle. For several years
Dr. Hancock cultivated this fine farm very exten-
sively, expending large sums upon its improve-
ment and for the production of large numbers of
beef cattle for the Confederate army. After the
war, about 1867, Edgeworth was sold to an Eng-
lishman named Russell, who accomplished very

238

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

little with it, and who sold it to its present owner,
a Mr. Edwards, who resides in England. It is said
that this fine estate can now be bought for five
dollars per acre I O tempora ! quid descendit I

But we turn to contemplate the joyous home of
Edgeworth as it was, with its jolly set of boys,
always ready for a frolic, and its teachers as ready
to join them, with books one day and dancing
and fox-hunting the next ; or let us look at its
magnificent halls as filled by welcome guests,
many of whom were the great men of the day, as
they sit at the festive board and are entertained by
the wit and humor of General Gordon. Such
scenes were frequent, neighbors dropping in sans
ceremonie^ the girls and boys always welcomed by
the " old folks" to have a good time, and thus it
would continue a round of merriment throughout
the year.

With Edgeworth we reach nearly the north-
eastern limit of the South- West Mountains of
Albemarle, having traced the homes along its
foot-hills on the eastern side ; but we could con-
tinue these celebrated homesteads still farther, did
space permit, even into Orange County, where sits
at the extreme end of the mountain range the
residence of James Barbour, one of Virginia's best
governors ; also that of John Taylor, son of " Old
Zachary," who was celebrated for his intense De-
mocracy, and, like Mr. Peter Meriwether, called
every one a fool who did not believe in Mr. Jef-
ferson ; and then Richard Taliaferro just opposite,
who married into the Gilmer family, whose name,

239

HISTORIC HOMES

from the Latin words Talis Ferrum (like iron), or
the Itahan Tagliari-ferro (to cut with iron), indicated
the fighting stock of which he sprang, giving to
Virginia some of her noblest warriors ; but we now
turn to those in Albemarle which sit along the old
Machunk Creek, made famous by Indian legend,
and which forms a part of this traditionary region.

240

ft

n

^.

o

t^

ac

3

>

2

p

13

?.

>

<'

?a

S

75

COBHAM PARK

THE RESIDENCE OF THE LATE WILLIAM C.
RIVES, JR.

ON an elevated plain, opposite Cobham Sta-
tion, Chesapeake and Ohio Raihoad, which
courses at the foot of the South- West
Mountains from Gordonsville to Charlottesville,
sits a handsome residence, the top of which can
but barely be seen from the railroad, so dense
is the grove of forest-trees surrounding it. This
is Cobham Park, the residence of the late William
C. Rives, Jr., of Newport, Rhode Island, second
son of Hon. William C. Rives, of Castle Hill.
This lower portion of the Castle Hill plantation
fell to him in the division of the estate, and here
he built his beautiful summer residence about the
year 1855. This original tract, which extends to
the Louisa County line, contained more than one
thousand acres, since which Mr. Rives has added
several more tracts by purchase, and Cobham Park
now contains two thousand four hundred acres.
The greater portion of this large area is in original
forests, which surround the house almost entirely,
untouched of its gigantic trees, Mr. Rives was
very tenacious of the noble oaks and pine upon
his place, which he wished to retain, like the grand
parks of England. It is said that such was his
16 241

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

jealous care of them that he would frequently buy
his firewood elsewhere rather than put the axe into
his own woods. For the first few years after taking
possession the farm was extensively cultivated, and
large crops of corn, wheat, and tobacco were raised,
but more for clearing the land than for the profit
derived. Of late years the extensive fields sur-
rounding the park have been kept in luxuriant
grass, where herds of fine horses, cattle, and sheep
are seen. Crossing a rustic bridge which spans the
Machunk Creek, a park of about twenty acres is
entered at the foot of a hill, up which the road
gracefully winds, until the summit is reached, where
entrance to the lawn proper is made. This park is
studded with groups of oak, chestnut, poplar, ash,
and every variety of forest-tree in all their magnifi-
cence, while between the hills course small rivulets
and miniature cascades. The lawn itself, which
embraces several acres, is filled with choice ever-
greens and shrubbery, which in summer give forth
a fragrance and beauty truly refreshing. The man-
sion, which rises in stately proportions amid this
wealth of luxuriant shade, is more modern in style
than any of its neighbors. It is a handsome brick
structure of nearly three stories, with wide portico,
massive centre chimneys, and ornamental attic win-
dows, from which a grand view of the entire range
of mountains is obtained, stretching from Monti-
cello to Peter's Mountain, a distance of fifteen miles.
The wood-work of the house is highly finished,
and was executed by McSparren, an Englishman,

who had been brought from the North by Mrs.

242

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

William C. Rives, of Castle Hill, to complete the
interior of Grace Church. He was a skilled archi-
tect and most superior workman, far above the
ordinary mechanic in education. He was famous
for using very high-sounding words in conversation,
which would be given forth with a most pompous
air, and proved quite mystifying to the illiterate.
He constructed a spiral stairway to the upper stories
of the Cobham mansion which he intended to be
the chef-d'oeuvre of his art ; it appeared in its grace-
ful curves to have no support, and Mrs. Rives sug-
gested that it would not be safe ; but McSparren,
with a great flourish, assured her that a hogshead
of tobacco might be rolled down the stairway
" without the demolition of the least part, madam ;"
yet Mrs. Rives insisted on having the lower portion
closed up, much to his mortification ; thus the
spiral stair still stands with a closet underneath
which conceals its fine proportions. His work was
always full of graceful lines and very ornamental,
which throughout the mansion is to be seen every-
where with pleasing effect. Its sixteen rooms are
spacious and adorned with rich paintings, large
mirrors, pendant chandeliers, antique oaken furni-
ture, and all that could embellish and make com-
plete a refined home. To the right of the mansion-
house stands a large building containing bath- and
office-rooms, with a conservatory adjoining, which
is supplied with water by windmill-power. The
outer buildings are upon the same complete order,
which show taste and ornament in design as well
as judicious care for the comfort of the stock,

243

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

which is in sharp contrast to Virginia farming of
the past.

Cobham Park takes its name from the little
station on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad,
which is seated a short distance from the foot of
the hill upon which it sits. Cobham Station was
named by the Hon. William C. Rives for the vil-
lage of Cobham, in Surrey County, England. It
sits upon a part of the Castle Hill tract, and when
the railroad was completed from Gordonsville to
this point in 1848, it was celebrated by a grand
barbecue and speaking in honor of the first step
taken towards the Ohio River. The writer of this
can well remember that event, fraught with many
circumstances which made a deep impression upon
a young mind. The Hon. William C. Rives, then
in his prime, and General Bankhead Magruder,
fresh from the Mexican war, were the speakers.
After the speaking there was a profusion of eating
and drinking for the large crowd, and whiskey
flowed freely, to the detriment of many. There
had been, however, stowed away a few baskets of
choice champagne tor the distinguished speakers
and guests, among whom was Colonel Fontaine, the
president of the little "Virginia Central Railroad,"
with other officers and dignitaries. During the
speaking, two wild chaps, Jim Gooch and Jim
Leach, broke into the room and secured several
bottles of the choice wine, and when Mr. Rives
proposed the toasts for the occasion, the two boys
flourished their bottles in the air, broke the necks

and poured the wine down their capacious throats

244

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

much to the amusement of the crowd. A great
many of the rough mountaineers came a long dis-
tance to see a locomotive for the first time, and
when it sounded a shrill blast from its whistle the
terrified farmers began a hasty retreat for their
homes, fearing the " durned thing would bust."

William Cabell Rives, Jr., was bom at Castle
Hill in 1825. After graduating in the law at the
University of Virginia he located at Newport,
Rhode Island. In 1849 ^^ married Grace Win-
throp Sears, daughter of David Sears, Esq., a
wealthy banker of Boston, Massachusetts. Their
children are :

1. Dr. William C. Rives, of New York City, who mar-

ried, in 1876, Mary F. Rhinelander, of New York.

2. Alice Rives, who died single.

3. Arthur Landon Rives, who lives with his mother.

Mr. Rives was taller in stature than his father,
but possessed much of his grace and affability,
which were always shown towards the most humble
persons. He was most pleasant and attractive in
conversation and a most eloquent speaker in public.
In 1869 he delivered the oration before the Society
of Alumni of the University of Virginia ; and, as
his father had done before the strife of the nation
began, so he, after the conflict was over, raised his
voice in eloquent words to bring harmony and
peace between the sections once more. He was a
most liberal contributor to the little Grace Church,
near his home, to which his ancestors have always
been devoted. To his generous aid it owes its

245

HISTORIC HOMES

handsome rectory and grounds, also the extensive
cemetery grounds surrounding the church. The |
beautiful marble tablets erected to the memory of I
his parents and sister, Mrs. Amelie Louise Rives '^
Sigourney (who with her husband perished at sea),
were unfortunately destroyed by the burning of
the church in 1895. These were also a gift from
him, and his watchful care was ever manifested for
the preservation and support of this sacred spot.
Nor was his liberality confined here, for he entered
heartily into every public improvement which
would advance and beautify this favored section
and ameliorate those around him.

Such is a faint sketch of one of the many noble
characters who have dwelt among these hills, whose
memory will be cherished and remembered with
delight by the rising generation. He died in 1890.
A beautiful memorial window now adorns the new
Grace Church, erected to his memory by his widow.

Cobham Park is still the home of the family,
who visit it frequently during the lovely summer
season, when its hospitable doors are thrown open
and its grand halls are made to echo the happy
voices of many visitors from North and South.
During the winter months its gentle mistress re-
sides with her son. Dr. W. C. Rives, of New
York, or at her old home in Boston, Massachu-
setts. Then lovely Cobham Park sits silent, and,
like some old English castle, seems to speak in
tones of sadness of departed days, when its illus-
trious head gave it a charm and an attraction such

as is rarely possessed by a Virginia home.

246

THE MACHUNK FARMS

THE CREEK— CAMPBELLS— MACHUNK

THERE are three old homesteads situated
along the Machunk Creek standing in all
their originality of more than a hundred
years ago. These are The Creek farm, the home
of Howell Lewis ; Campbells, the home of the
late Joseph W. Campbell ; and Machunk, the
home of the Gilmers. It is to be doubted if in
any other section there can be found three more
antique and interesting buildings than these now
standing. Each of them face the Machunk Creek,
which runs parallel with the South- West Moun-
tains, and fed by many streams which spring from
its mountain-sides, causing the creek at times to
assume the proportions of a river. This famous
stream, red with Albemarle soil, was named by the
Indians " Mauchunk," similar to the mountains
of that name in Pennsylvania ; but the legend is
still told that the name was derived from an Irish-
man who was crossing the creek on a log, holding
in one hand a chunk of fire, which unfortunately
he dropped in the deep stream, whereupon he
cried out, " Oh, my chunk ! my chunk !" from
which circumstance the creek was named ; but
the name has always been written by the earliest

inhabitants along its bank " Machunk" It starts

247

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

not far below Cobham Station on the Chesapeake
and Ohio Railroad and courses in a south-west
direction through a fertile and beautiful valley,
which borders the foot-hills of the mountain range,
which rise about three miles distant.

The first of these, The Creek farm, has already-
been mentioned in our description of Music Hall,
of which it forms a part. The old building, as
has been stated, was the first house of Colonel
John Walker, of Belvoir, and was moved from
there to Milton by the Hon. Fraiicis Walker, the
father of Mrs. William C. Rives, of Castle Hill,
who once lived there. After this it was again
moved to its present site on the Music Hall tract
by Thomas Walker Lewis, who first lived there
when he was married ; afterwards he moved to
Lego, near Fantops.

When Captain Terrell, of Music Hall, died this
place was given to his adopted niece, Sarah Stan-
ford, who came to Virginia when quite a child and
lived at Music Hall until her marriage with Howell
Lewis, when they went to live at The Creek, where
they raised a large and interesting family.

The old building still stands clothed in its origi-
nal rough boards, and presenting much the appear-
ance of the first Clover Fields house, a cut of
which has been given. The front is sheltered by
a long low porch, from the eaves of which rises
a steep roof, dotted with dormer-windows. Each
timber, brick, and nail speaks in silent words of a
once happy period, and its well-worn floors show

where many generations have trod.

248

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

The next farm to this, half-way between Cob-
ham and Keswick, and setting about half a mile
from the Machunk Creek, is the Campbell man-
sion. This old building forms a very antique
and pretty picture as seen from the distant rail-
road. Its date of building is possibly anterior to
the Creek house, but it presents even a better state
of preservation. The putting on a new roof is
the only improvement made to the old building
for a century. Its original shape and appearance
is still unchanged, as when seen by the writer fifty
years ago, with its lofty roof, towering chimneys,
queer-shaped rooms, and narrow stairway. This
is perhaps the best preserved of the old Colonial
type of buildings in this neighborhood, and should
be preserved in picture and song for future genera-
tions.

When this house was built or by whom erected
is not known. More than sixty years ago Mr.
Joseph W. Campbell, who had married Sarah
Rogers, the sister of Lewis Rogers, of Paris,
France (who gave the land to his sister), came here
to live. Most of this large body of land stretching
along the Machunk Creek was an original growth
of the finest timber. When, in 1848, the building
of the great Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad was
first begun at Gordonsville towards the Ohio River,
Mr. Campbell obtained the contract for furnishing
all the timber required. For this purpose he
bought and located the first steam saw-mill in the
county, which was placed near the creek, where
the railroad was to be built. It was in those days

249

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

of the old strap-rail, which required long stringers
of timber to nail it upon, besides cross-ties which
were to be mortised. It can be seen, therefore,
the vast quantities of timber required. Besides
these, he also furnished the timbers for its many-
bridges and depot buildings, and did also a large
shipping business after the road was completed.
As most of the mill-work was done by his many-
slaves, and being at little expense, Mr. Campbell
amassed quite a fortune.

In 1 848, Mr. Campbell was contractor for haul-
ing all the stone from the quarries at Peachy-
lorum, near Castle Hill, for the building of Grace
Church ; but the quantity of stone required was
so far beyond his expectations that he lost money
upon the venture ; not being reimbursed for the
extra work, he never entered the new church
which his hands had helped to rear. He also
opened large lime-quarries on his lands, which
proved quite profitable, and largely beneficial to
the agriculturist community. Mr. Campbell was
very active and industrious in all of his pursuits,
though being very fleshy, weighing nearly three
hundred pounds ; indeed, he would say, with a
merry twinkle, that the railroad would have to
charge his fare by the ton. Notwithstanding his
great bulk, he was an excellent rider, very fond of
fox-hunting, and would keep the lead with the
youngsters. He was always jolly, of a merry dis-
position, fond of all sports, especially of fishing,
and lived most bountifully in the luxuries of life.

His house would be frequently filled with such illus-

250

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

trious men as Colonel Fontaine, the president of
the Virginia Central Railroad, Lewis Rogers, the
millionaire, of Paris, Hon. William C. Rives,
the Walkers, and principal men of his day, who
knew his worth. His son, William Campbell,
succeeded him for a while in the mill business,
afterwards going West, where he died unmarried.
His son-in-law, S. F. Sampson, lived at the old
farm for many years. One daughter. Miss Susan
Campbell, still survives and lives at the old home-
stead, which is now worked by his grandson,
Joseph W. Sampson, who recently married Miss
Shackleford, of Stony Point, Virginia.

Mr. and Mrs. Campbell both died the same day,
and were buried together in the little graveyard
near their house.

The Machunk farm comes next in point of in-
terest ; indeed, it stands in point of age and historic
memories above any of its compeers along the
creek. Sitting on a high hill at the head of the
Machunk valley, at a point where the railroad
sweeps to the west and the creek to the south, it
commands one of the most glorious prospects of
mountain, valley, and stream that are vouchsafed
to any of the many homes in this section.

This old place was first settled and owned by the
Gilmers, a family whose celebrity for its eminent
men stands forth in brilliant colors on the pages
of Virginia's history.

It took its name at an early date from the creek
which winds through the farm, the spot where the
incident occurred which we have already narrated is

251

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

supposed to have been here. At first it was called
Gilmerton, after the family, but soon after reverted
to its original name, Mauchunk or Machunk. The
place was first settled by George Gilmer, son of
Dr. George Gilmer, of Penn Park, and grandson
of the first Dr. George Gilmer, of Williamsburg,
Virginia, who came to Virginia in 1731 and mar-
ried Mary Peachy Walker, sister of " Dr. Tom"
Walker, of Castle Hill. George Gilmer married
a Miss Hudson, and had several sons and daugh-
ters,— Christopher, John Harmer, Thomas Walker
Gilmer, governor of Virginia, Juliet, James, Anne,
all of whom were bom at Machunk. This George
Gilmer had a brother, Francis Walker Gilmer, the
first law professor at the University of Virginia,
having been selected by Mr. Jefferson for that
position ; he also lived for a time at Machunk, as
records show that he was the last of the Gilmers
connected with it, and transferred the place to his
friend Dabney Minor, who purchased it about 1 830.
This Dabney Minor married Martha Jefferson
Terrell, a direct descendant of the Carr, Jefferson,
and Terrell stock. She was named for her great-
grandmother, Martha Jefferson, sister of President
Thomas Jefferson, who had married Dabney Carr,
the intimate friend of the President. The father
of Martha Terrell was Richard Terrell, of Ken-
tucky, who married Lucy, the daughter of Dabney
Carr. Dabney Minor, of Machunk, was the son
of James and Mary Minor ; his first wife was
Eliza Johnson, niece of Hon. William Wirt, the

historian. Most of these distinguished connections

252

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

had been visitors to Machunk, making its old halls
to witness gatherings where genius, wit, and humor
were displayed, and where, doubtless, many scenes
of state-craft were enacted.

Mrs. Martha Minor survived her husband many
years. During the first deep grief of her widow-
hood she named the place Retirement, but again
this did not stick to the old farm, and its old name
cropped up, and has been retained ever since.

After the death of Mr. and Mrs. Dabney Minor
the Machunk farm went to their daughter Lucy,
who married Colonel Dabney Trice, of Middlesex
County, Virginia. Colonel Trice bought of the
heirs that portion of the farm called Grassdale,
which was not inherited by his wife. This name,
too, was soon dropped and merged into that of
Machunk.

Colonel Trice obtained his cognomen in the old
militia service. He was a man of great intelli-
gence, a most successful farmer, and highly es-
teemed for his happy, genial disposition and culti-
vated powers. Colonel Trice, his wife, and all of
their children save two died at Machunk, the sur-
viving ones being Lucy L., who married Mr. John
Minor, of Gale Hill, and has recently died, and
Dr. Dabney Trice, who moved to the West. The
old mansion stands as it first came from the hands
of George Gilmer, many years ago. It is a low,
one-and-a-half storied house, with porticos in front
and rear ; its lower rooms being larger than usually
found in buildings of that period, but its upper
ones are of the same diminutive type, showing the

253

HISTORIC HOMES

economizing of space. Machunk has always been
noted for its fertility, its rich flowers, its fine gar-
den, and its extensive meadows stretching far up
and down the creek, which, when on a rampage,
would entirely overflow this beautiful valley, giving
it the appearance of a wide river, which would
carry destruction before it.

The Machunk farm has been frequently the
scene of much refined gayety. The literary tastes
of Mrs. Trice and her daughters were of the
highest type, which gave them delight in entertain-
ing those of similar dispositions. Here the charm
of bright classic minds, combined with love of
poetry, song, and music, made this delightful home
one never to be forgotten.

Machunk farm has since passed entirely out of
the Trice family, and is now owned by Mr. Charles
S. Bowcock, of Keswick, Virginia, a rising and
prominent young farmer.

254

BROAD OAK

THE HOME OF EDWARD C. MEAD, ESQ.

IF the lover of the antique, who delights in old
moss-covered buildings, whose every plank,
shingle, and nail tells the tale of a past cen-
tury, when building was done under such difficul-
ties by the early settlers, then the Broad Oak
house, when first entered in 1861 by its present
proprietor, would have rejoiced the heart, and
called forth from a poetic nature a pathetic ode.
When or by whom the first little one-storied house,
having but two rooms, was built is beyond the
knowledge of any one now living. A few feet
from its front door stood a giant oak, from which
it takes its name ; it measures twenty feet in cir-
cumference at its base, and spreads a shade over
the yard of more than eighty feet in diameter each
way ; it stretches its giant arms over the little
dwelling as if in protection of its peaceful occu-
pants, and has sheltered 'neath its dense foliage
many generations. This monarch of the forest
has been known to the community for its con-
spicuous size and beauty since the recollection of
the oldest inhabitant, who speak of it as being
nearly as large a tree in their youth as now. The
indications of its extreme age are now manifest,
and this patriarch of the original forest is gradually

255

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

failing in strength, as shown by its decaying limbs
and withering leaves ; yet it still forms in its grace-
ful old age a particular and striking object, as
being one of the few familiar landmarks of this
historic region. Three more oaks, nearly as large,
also stand in rear of the house, one of which was
struck by lightning in 1888, and immediately died.
Stepping into the house, the first object to strike
the visitor's notice is its rough floor of wide plank,
without tongue or groove, and nailed with large
wrought nails from a common forge ; its shingles
were moss-covered, and put on with similar nails,
though smaller ; its chimney was half stone and
half brick, the latter being much larger in size
than the present kind. Its huge framing timbers
measured twelve by fourteen inches for the sills,
and four by eight for the sleepers and joists, all
being hewed by hand, and as sound as when put
in. The cellar and foundation walls were of stone,
fourteen inches thick, and cemented with mud
mortar. The one largest room was sixteen feet
square, while the little garret rooms were mere
cubby-holes, in which one could scarcely stand
erect. Such was the first house at Broad Oak.
About 1840 an addition was made by a two-story
room joined to this old part, and in 1874 the old
part was raised another story to correspond with it,
placing all under one roof, as is shown in the en-
graving. There are other evidences which tend to
establish the very early settlement of Broad Oak.
Immediately in front of the house (as was the

superstitious custom in those days) was the re-

256

I

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

mains of an old graveyard, but without any head-
stones. A few feet from the front door also
showed the site of a well, but tradition says that
its waters were so bitter of mineral that it was
filled up, under the belief of being a judgment for
having been placed so near the graveyard. Since
then, however, another well has been opened in
rear of the house, and its waters also partake of a
strong mineral character, but which have proved
to be an excellent tonic. But the strongest proof
in evidence of its being settled early in the eigh-
teenth century is that of a Colonial penny which
was ploughed up near the dwelling in 1863. This
penny has on one side a shield surmounted by a
crown, upon which are quartered the arms of Eng-
land, Ireland, Scotland, and Virginia, the whole en-
circled with the word " Virginia, 1 773 ;" on the
reverse side was a head with the words " Georgius
III. Rex." This proves the origin of the term
" Old Dominion," Virginia being thus acknowl-
edged a part of England in gratitude for her loy-
alty. There have also been found upon the place
many perfect Indian arrow-heads, which have been
placed in the Smithsonian Institution at Washing-
ton. These evidently show that this once formed
the camping-ground of the Indians or marked the
site of a battle.

The land upon which Broad Oak is situated
was formerly owned by the Rev. John Rogers,
of Keswick, and was afterwards hallowed by the
presence of the Rev. Dr. Alfred Holliday, who
resided here for many years as pastor of the South
17 257

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

Plains Presbyterian Church, which is in full view.
After the death of Mr. Rogers the place passed
into the hands of his son, John A. Rogers, who,
in 1858, sold it to Charles E. Taylor, of Peters-
burg, Virginia. This gentleman lived but a short
while, dying early in 1 86 1 . During the few years
of his occupancy he made many improvements
and added much to the beauty and fertility of the
place. After his death it was again sold, and on
the 4th of October, 1861, its present owner, while
standing under the noble oak at its doorstep, made
the highest bid, which placed the property in his
hands.

There are few places along the South-West
Mountains having a more beautiful landscape
spread before its door, from which can be seen
the entire range of undulating hills rising in ma-
jestic height, with their highest peaks and knobs,
like giant citadels, guarding the quiet valley below.
On the extreme left stands lofty Monticello, with
Carter's Mountain towering above it, and the eye
then sweeps the range to Peter's Mountain on the
extreme right, which marks the highest elevation,
while immediately in front sits the little station of
Keswick, where the trains of the Chesapeake and
Ohio Railroad pass in view daily, while dotting
the foot-hills are seen many of the homesteads
here described. The present owner has endeav-
ored to beautify and adorn the surroundings of
this old home so favored by nature; its sloping
lawn is filled with stately fruit-trees and shrubbery,

which glory in radiant colors during the opening

258

f

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

spring, while its grand old oaks surrounding the
mansion make it most conspicuous from a distance.
Thus Broad Oak has always been famous for its
fruits and flowers, which have afforded pleasure and
delight to the many who have honored it with a
visit. To the young it has often been a scene of
gayety, its halls resounding with music and the
joyful voices of happy hearts, while to the aged
the view of " the everlasting hills" and the peaceful
calm have been ever a refreshing feast.

It may be pardoned the writer if he speaks of
his own family in connection with Broad Oak ; at
least, he is not ashamed of his ancestry, and can
boast of a lineage which may bear the scrutiny of
the most exacting " Son of the Revolution," The
Mead or Meade family is one of the most wide-
spread and ancient ot any in the country, members
of it being found in nearly every State of the
Union. The English Meades were of the nobility,
the family in this country springing from Dr. Rich-
ard Mead, who was born at Stepney, England,
1673. He became very distinguished in his pro-
fession, and was vice-president of the Royal So-
ciety, censor of the College of Physicians, and
physician to George II. He interested himself
much in the introduction of inoculation for the
small-pox, and assisted in the preliminary experi-
ments made upon criminals. He wrote many
valuable treatises, among which were " A Mechan-
ical Account of Poisons," " Discourse concerning
Pestilential Contagion," " De Imperiis Solis ac
Lunse, in Corpora humana et Morbis inde ori-

259

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

undis," " De Morbis Biblicis," and " Monita Med-
ica." For his valuable services to science he was
knighted in 1 722. He died in 1754. The Mead(e)
family came to this country shortly after the
" Mayflower," and first settled at Horseneck (now
Greenwich), Connecticut. From this first family
of the name located in this country descended
General John Mead of the Revolution, who served
under Washington, and was distinguished through-
out the war for bravery. He died in 1 797, his will
being witnessed by a Zachariah Mead, one of the
family, on the 24th of March of that year. The
English way of spelling the name was with a final
" ^," but this was dropped by General Mead for
some reason, though retained by the family in
other States. Bishop Meade, of Virginia, who
averred that the two families were of the same
stock, gives his great-grandfather as of Irish de-
scent, who emigrated to this country, married a
Quakeress in Flushing, New York, and settled in
Suffolk, Virginia. This may have been some time
after the landing of the first Meads in Connecticut,
but doubtless were of the same English origin.
The coat of arms of the English Meades, as taken
from the Heralds' College, England, are thus de-
scribed : " Sa. cher. erbet s Pel. Vul," with the
motto " Semper Paratus," the translation of which
is, " Sable Field-chevron," represented as two raft-
ers of a house joined together ; the chevron is
gold color, but powdered black ; three pelicans
wounding themselves, according to the old tradi-
tion that the pelican picked its own breast to

260

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

nourish its young. The symbol of the pelican is
Generation, Preservation, Education, and Good
Example. The motto signifies " Always Ready,"
which has been strikingly exemplified by many of
the family. It is singular to remark that though
originally of the Roman Church on one side, in-
termixed with the Quaker and Unitarian faith on
the other, yet with scarcely an exception the family
have strictly adhered to the Protestant Episcopal
Church in America, many of whom have become
prominent, especially those of the Virginia branch,
represented by Bishop Meade, his sons and grand-
sons, while the descendants of the Connecticut
Meads were represented in the Virginia Diocese
quite early in the person of Rev. Zachariah Mead,
and now by his grandson. Rev. George Otis Mead,
of Casanova, Fauquier County, Virginia. On his
maternal side, Mr. E. C. Mead is great-grandson of
General William Hull of the Revolutionary war
and that of 1812 ; a biography of his military and
civil life was written by his grandson, the late Dr.
James Freeman Clarke, of Boston, Massachusetts.
Mr. Edward C. Mead married, November 21,
1861, Emily Augusta Burgoyne, eldest daughter
of H. A. Burgoyne, Esq., formerly of New York,
and now of Maryland. He was son of the late
William Burgoyne, who lived for many years at
Charleston, South Carolina, after which he moved
to New York City, there amassing a large fortune
by investments in city real estate during its rapid
expansion. Mrs. Mead is also closely connected
with the Mosers of Philadelphia represented by the

261

HISTORIC HOMES

late Dr. Philip Moser ; also with the Haights, Law-
rences, and Rosseters, of New York, and through
the latter family reaching back to Benjamin Frank-
lin. Her grandmother, Mrs. Edward J. Rosseter,
while living in Bridgeport, Connecticut, about
1830, had a slave of the Franklin family as a ser-
vant in her household. The children of Mr. and
Mrs. E. C. Mead are :

1. Henry Burgoyne Mead, now of Chicago, Illinois.

2. William Zachariah Mead, of Richmond, Virginia ; mar-

ried, June 24, 1889, Myra Fisk Hilton, of Chicago,
Illinois. Their children are : Bertha Blanchard and
Emily Burgoyne.

3. Frances Meriwether Mead ; married, September 3, 1896,

Francis R. Hewitt, of North Carolina.

4. Edward Augustus Mead; died June ii, 1874.

5. Rev. George Otis Mead; married, November 24, 1897,

Lilian Minty, of Chicago, Illinois. She died Septem-
ber 22, 1898, leaving one son, Lynne Burgoyne.

6. Mary Rossiter Mead.

7. Annie Louisa Mead.

8. Ernest Campbell Mead.

262

KESWICK STATION

CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO RAILROAD

M'

ORE particular mention should be made of
this the central point of the South- West
Mountain region, historic as being as far
east as Sheridan reached in his memorable raid
into Albemarle in 1865, leaving the place in ashes,
being one of the last sad scenes of the closing war.
In 1849, when the Virginia Central Railroad
reached this point in its stretch for the Ohio River,
it was undecided whether to have the " depot," as
the stations were then called, here, at Edgehill, or at
Shadwell, the birthplace of Jefferson. Colonel T.
J. Randolph was solicitous to have it at his farm,
Edgehill, but the majority of the farmers along its
line prevailed in having two established, — one at the
Keswick farm, where it intersects the county road,
the other at Shadwell Mills, upon the river. For a
long time the " Keswick Depot" was but a small
affair, being scarcely more than a " turnout" or
switch station, having one or two small buildings.
Shadwell was then the great emporium for this
section, being quite a town ; but the failure to
rebuild its large carding-factory caused its rapid
decline, and in recent years it has ceased to be
even a " depot," which has been removed to Edge-
hill, the spot at first contemplated by " Colonel

263

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

JefF" Randolph, but which still retains the name of
Shadwell, in honor of Jefferson's birthplace. After
the decline of "Shadwell Depot," Keswick arose in
magnitude and importance. At an early date, even
before the advent of the railroad, there was near
the place a grist- and saw-mill, and not far off the
Presbyterian South Plains Church, and it soon
began to assume the proportions of a village ; but
the capture of the place by Sheridan, and burning
of the mill, depot building, and warehouse, com-
pletely wiped out the little place for a time.
Among the incidents of this exciting event was
one which proved the faithfulness of the old negro
miller.

The mill was in charge of one of the slaves of
the Rogers farm, who held the keys with domineer-
ing sway over its management, and it is said even
his old mistress would have to beg for meal.
When he heard that the "Yankees" were coming,
he hid the keys and also several bags of meal.
When the troops demanded entrance, " Old Ned"
positively refused, whereupon he was threatened
with violence, but intimidation had no effect, and
with folded arms he watched the destruction of
his favorite mill. After the departure of the
troops he carried to his old mistress the few bags
of meal, saying, " Dey didn't git de las' grinding,
nohow."

In recent years Keswick has risen to a place of
some importance. It now contains a large brick
depot and reception-room, three stores, with sev-
eral shops, drug-store, express, mail, and telegraph

264

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

station, and telephone connection with Charlottes-
ville and other points. Several handsome resi-
dences are also scattered around its suburbs, form-
ing quite a picturesque and busy place.

It is here that the railroad makes a sudden bend
from the east. Sweeping through the lower wood-
lands, it aims straight for the mountains, a mile
distant, and as the train emerges from the forest
the full view of Keswick, with the South-West
range, breaks upon the delighted vision of the
traveller.

Colonel H. W. Fuller, general passenger agent
of the road, has been quite partial to Keswick
and this beautiful section of his road, placing here
all the modern improvements of a first-class sta-
tion for the benefit of the neighborhood. During
the summer months Keswick becomes the daily
rendezvous for the many visitors who seek this
healthy region, making it one of excitement and
bustle as each train unloads its quota of happy
young people ; here the beau monde of the heated
cities seeks to expand its lungs and stretch its limbs
over the rugged mountain slopes ; here the gayeties
of fashionable resorts are to be met with in a mod-
ified form, the many homesteads along the hills
resounding with music and the dance ; here, too,
the more exciting music of the hounds is fre-
quently heard along the mountain-sides, urging
the young Nimrod to the chase ; and more re-
cently a handsome club hall has here been erected,
where the ambitious tyro of the stage can strut

its boards in mimic play, or amateurs can warble

265

HISTORIC HOMES

sweet notes upon the moonlit air in melodious
concert. Such are a few of the attractions of
which Keswick Station is the centre, and for which
it has already attained a great celebrity, such as
will increase each year as it becomes more widely
known.

Mr. P. B. Hancock, its present very able and
efficient agent, has retained his position since 1874,
winning the confidence and esteem of his superior
officers and of the travelling public, who will here
be cordially met by him and directed to the many
points of interest along these beautiful mountains.

266

EVERETTSVILLE

NOW LA FOURCHE, THE HOME OF THE
BOWCOCKS.

WE cannot pass this once noted place with-
out a hasty glance, as it forms one of the
truly historic landmarks along the South-
West Mountains.

The place derives its name from the elder Dr.
Charles Everett, of Belmont, upon whose lands it
was situated. It is located in the fork of the county
road from Charlottesville, one branch of which
turns to the south, leading to Richmond by the
old " Three Notch" road, one of the first to be
opened by the early settlers ; the other branch turns
to the north-east, leading to Gordonsville and
Washington. On both of these roads the travel
was very great before the age of steam. All the
products of this region passed over them, as well
as the large passenger travel by stages. It was
early in the present century quite an important
place, having a tavern, store, shops, and stables for
the exchange of stage horses. Here was also the
post-ofRce for this region, and was the precinct for
elections, when the honest mode of voting viva
voce prevailed ; this, too, was the rendezvous for the
sturdy farmers on muster days, when the youthful

patriots would be enthused with military ambition.

267

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

Here, too, would be the stopping-place for those
old-time shows on wheels, which would pitch their
tents, to the delight of black and white, for a large
circuit.

The old tavern, which was standing even to
i860 in quite good preservation, had sheltered
many of the most noted men of the past, some of
whom were distinguished foreigners on their way
to visit Monticello, which is here in full view. It
is said that at this point General Lafayette met the
cavalcade sent from Charlottesville to receive him
when last on his visit to this country, and when
he alighted and beheld Monticello in the distance
he took off his hat in salutation of its distinguished
occupant, who was there waiting to receive him
with open arms.

This, too, was the spot where, in 1 863, " Stone-
wall" Jackson with his army corps rested in the
grove of woods which surrounds Everettsville while
on his forced march from the Valley of Virginia to
the defence of Richmond ; here, underneath these
shady oaks, the great chieftain laid with his weary
men, while the original old " Stonewall" band filled
the woods with the stirring strains of " Dixie."

Everettsville continued to be the central point
of attraction up to the year 1 849, when the estab-
hshment of Keswick Station took its glory away,
and the good old stage days ceased.

In i860 Everettsville was purchased by Dr.
Charles S. Bowcock, son of the late Colonel J. J.
Bowcock, who for many years was presiding jus-
tice for the county of Albemarle. Dr. Bowcock

268

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

married the same year he bought the place Miss
Margaret Branch, daughter of William Mosely
Branch, of Goochland County, Virginia. The
family of Bowcock is quite an ancient one. It
was originally spelled Beaucoke, a man of this name
having come from Scotland to America during the
last century, his sons settling in different parts of
the country, but soon the name changed to Bow-
cock. The joke goes between the Hon. Thos. S.
Bocock and Colonel J. J. Bowcock, who were
cousins, that Thomas often laughed at the colonel
saying that he had put that " w" in his name because
he was such a Whig, and the colonel retorted by
saying that Thomas was such a Democrat that he
had dropped out the " w" entirely.

Dr. Bowcock died in 1895, after serving the
community for more than thirty years as its phy-
sician.

The children of Dr. and Mrs. Bowcock are :

1. William Branch Bowcock ; died in 1884 just after hav-

ing graduated in medicine.

2. Robert Lee Bowcock ; married, in 1 889, Virginia Sands,

daughter of Alexander H. Sands, a prominent lawyer
of Richmond, Virginia. Dr. R. Lee Bowcock is now
a practising physician of Anniston, Alabama.

3. Mary Stewart Bowcock; married, in 1891, Conway

Robinson Sands, Commonwealth's attorney in Rich-
mond, Virginia.

4. Charles S. Bowcock ; married Miss Anna Gaines Early

in 1897.

Soon after taking possession of Everettsville, Dr.
Bowcock entirely remodelled the old tavern and re-

269

HISTORIC HOMES

moved all the surrounding buildings. The man-
sion now presents quite a tasty and commodious
country-seat, surrounded by a grove of stately trees
and ornamental plants, which is in marked contrast
to the old tavern, with its tap-room, wash-room, and
small bedrooms, of the stage-coach era.

I

270

i

GLENMORE

THE HOME OF THE MAGRUDERS

GLENMORE presents the appearance of
one of those old English manors during
the early years of the present century.
It sits upon a high ridge of hills, flanked on each
side by tangled glens of original growth, hence
its name. From its lofty windows, which peer
above the tree-tops, can be viewed Monticello and
the full range of the mountains, not far distant,
while to the south-west stretch the fertile plains of
the Rivanna River, which courses along the greater
portion of the farm. While the mansion has a
baronial, antique aspect, with its lofty pillars, long
double porticos, and tall windows, from floor to
ceiling, it is evidently of a more advanced order
of architecture, and does not come under the
Colonial type. The first house to be built stands
in its rear. The exact date of its construction is
not known, but supposed to be about 1800.

The first to live at Glenmore was Thomas Mann
Randolph, Jr., the son of Thomas Mann Randolph,
of Edgehill, whose second wife, Gabriella Harvie,
of Belmont, must have inherited this portion of
old Harvie 's estate, upon which her son resided
for a time. He was succeeded in the ownership

by a Watkins. After this it was rented to the

271

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

father of the late Dr. Howard, of Buckey eland,
Virginia,

The house tract was one moiety of the Watkins
estate, which was bought by the late Colonel B.
H. Magruder to be added to his wife's portion,
which comprised nine hundred and sixty acres of
the Minor tract, by original grant from King
George in 1732, and came into the Minor family,
through Martin Dawson, in 1800.

Colonel B. H. Magruder was born in 1812, the
son of Rev. J. B. Magruder, an eminent preacher
in the Methodist Church, who owned many thou-
sand acres of land, stretching from Boyd Tavern,
south-east, for a good distance along the Rivanna
River, which embraced some of its richest bottom-
lands. Boyd was his son-in-law, and got the
tavern, which has always retained his name. He
first opened the tavern and a store there, which
after his death were continued by his widow, and
have since passed into several hands.

Colonel Magruder came into possession of his
father's large estate and settled at Glenmore about
1 832. Colonel Benjamin H. Magruder was among
the first law graduates of the University of Virginia.
He was an officer in the Virginia State Militia
force, but was too old to enter the last war. He
took a prominent stand at the bar quite early, and,
entering politics, was sent to the Virginia Legis-
lature in 1850, where he continued to represent
his county each session until 1870. As a speaker
he stood foremost among his political contem-
poraries, and by his eloquence and deep interest in

272

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

his county's welfare became very popular and won
the high esteem and confidence of his countrymen.
As a man of deep learning, a sound thinker, and a
great lover of the poetical and beautiful in litera-
ture, none who enjoyed his society could fail to be
impressed.

Colonel Magruder married first a Miss Minor,
by whom were six children :

1. John Bankhead Magruder, M.A. of the University of

Virginia; was colonel of the Fifty-Seventh Virginia
Infantry, Armistead's Brigade, C. S, A. He fell upon
the bloody field of Gettysburg, inside of the enemy's
works, during the fearful charge of Pickett's divi-
sion, which was enfiladed by a heavy fire of grape-
shot.

2. Henry M. Magruder ; graduated in law at the Univer-

sity of Virginia ; held an appointment under the
United States government at Blacksburg College,
Virginia, and also several county offices ; died in
1885.

3. Horatio E. Magruder, a most successful farmer ; resides

on the homestead at Glenmore ; married Mrs. Julia
Wallace, nee Chewning, of Milton, Albemarle County,
Virginia.

4. Julia ; married Mr. Tyler, of Caroline County, Virginia,

member of the Legislature of Virginia.

5. Evelyn ; married Mr. De Jarnette, of Spottsylvania

County, Virginia, a member of the Virginia Legis-
lature.

6. Sally ; married Colonel Stewart, of Portsmouth, Vir-

ginia, a prominent lawyer.

Colonel Magruder married second Miss Eveline
Nonis, sister of the late Dr. Norris, of Charlottes-
ville, Virginia, by whom were four children :
18 273

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE

1. Dr. Edward May Magruder, a prominent physician, of

Charlottesville, Virginia; married Miss Mary Cole
Gregory, of King William County, Virginia, De-
cember 1 6, 1896.

2. Opie E. Magruder, civil engineer, of Winston, North

Carolina.

3. George Mason Magruder, surgeon in the United States

Marine Hospital service, Galveston, Texas ; married,
January 6, 1896, Miss Isadora Carvallo Causton, of
Washington, D.C.

4. Edgar W. Magruder, professor of chemistry in Johns

Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.

The Glenmore mansion has always been most
attractive, not only to the eminent and gifted in
public positions but to the young people, whom
the colonel was particularly fond of having around
him. At these gay assemblages he would always
attract their young minds by his own love of
poetry and literature, and by his wonderful con-
versational powers would charm them with his
beautiful imagery and thought, until their ambition
would be fired with zealous emulation, which many
who have since attained distinction owe to his
kind and solicitous influence.

With Glenmore, the home of patriotism, learn-
ing, and culture, which sits near to Monticello,
from where we started on the tour of the South-
West Mountain homes, we close the series, having
made the circuit of the range to the north-east and
back.

It is most fitting here to end them for this, the

east, side of the mountains. Jeflferson, the father

of Democracy, starting the country on its suc-

274

SOUTH-WEST MOUNTAINS

cessfiil career, which was not broken until 1861,
and Magruder, who stood in the legislative halls
during that terrible strife, saw the end of his
once proud State as it fell by overwhelming num-
bers of a sectional party ; but, like Marmion of
old, he rallied his State to industrial efforts of
recuperation, and lived to see her once more upon
a career of prosperity.

THE END

27s

61039<.