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HISTORIC VIRGINIA 
 HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 i; 
 
THIS LIMITED EDITION HAS BEEN PRINTED 
 FROM TYPE AND THE TYPE DISTRIBUTED 
 
a 
 
 S 
 
 
HISTORIC VIRGINIA 
 HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 BY ROBERT A. LANCASTER, Jh. 
 
 // 
 WITH 316 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 
 The Old Tower 
 
 ffl 
 
 PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON 
 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 
 
 MCMXV 
 
 ,\iiiiii 
 
 I, OK IM I 1 
 
 1 I ii ;; '; u V 
 

 f\.^03oZ8 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1915. BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHED OCTOBER. 1915 
 
 |n4AeA<l5> 
 
 1^0 
 
 PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 
 
 AT THE WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, U S.A. 
 
 sc- 
 
l^JF a-4^ J 
 
 GORDONSDALE. FAUQUIER COUNTY 
 
 See page 384 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 This work includes practicallj^ all of the principal 
 Colonial homes of historic interest in the State of Virginia 
 now standing and many which have been destroyed, to- 
 gether with the churches most likely to engage attention. 
 
 In 1888 the writer began to gather photographs of 
 historic buildings in Virginia for his private collection, and 
 later, upon the request of friends, decided to publish them. 
 The making of the collection as complete as possible and 
 the gathering of the historical data have involved years of 
 labor and much travelling in conveyances of many sorts 
 and by foot. It may be said that the work was done 
 at the psychological time, for much information gath- 
 ered in past years would now be impossible to secure and 
 much of that recently added will soon be as inaccessible. 
 The information has been made as full as the great number 
 of houses treated would allow. 
 
 As alterations in buildings have been frequent, the 
 writer's aim in such cases has been to secure pictures of as 
 early a period as possible while they were in their original 
 
vi PREFACE 
 
 condition, so as to show the character of houses and 
 churches our ancestors built. For instance, the picture 
 shown of St. John's Church, Hampton, was taken from one 
 pubhshed some fifty years ago rather than from one show- 
 ing it as it is to-day after the original has been altered. 
 The photographs of Montpelier, Eagle Point, Belleville, 
 and many other places, also show these edifices before the 
 existing alterations were made. 
 
 The author wishes to acknowledge with thanks the great 
 assistance rendered by JNIrs. Mary Newton Stanard, and 
 Mr. William Clayton Torrence, Secretary of the Valen- 
 tine Museum, and Mr. William G. Stanard, Secretary of 
 the Virginia Historical Society, without whose help he 
 could not have secured much valuable information. He 
 also appreciates the assistance rendered by INIrs. Sally 
 Nelson Robins, ]Mr. G. C. Callahan of Philadelphia, Mrs. 
 I. H. Carrington, Miss Kate Mason Roland, ]VIrs. James 
 Lyons, Mrs. John Dunn, INIrs. Philip A. Bruce, the late 
 General William B. Taliaferro and his famil)^ ]Mr. Cai'ter 
 Wellford, Mr. Morgan P. Robinson, the late Thomas Boil- 
 ing, Mr. Preston Cocke, Mr. Thomas N. Carter, the officers 
 of the R. F. and P. R. R., C. and O. Ry., and Tidewater 
 and Western R. R. and Hon. F. B. Hutton and Miss 
 Ellen W. Preston of Abingdon, Va. ; and to Mr. H. P. 
 Cook for a few pictures from his collection; also the hos- 
 pitality extended at the various homes visited in making 
 the collection. 
 
 R. A. L., Jr. 
 
 Richmond, July, 1915 
 
BROOK HILL, HENRICO COUNTY 
 
 See page 113 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PART PAGE 
 
 I. Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown 1 
 
 II. Hampton Roads and the Lower James 41 
 
 III. Richmond, Manchester and the Upper James 114 
 
 IV. Gloucester and the York River Country 215 
 
 V. The Rappahannock and Potomac 287 
 
 VI. Piedmont and the South Side 373 
 
 VII. Beyond the Mountains 446 
 
 VIII. The Eastern Shore 482 
 
 All houses and names of families mentioned in this 
 book are contained in the index, pages 503-527. 
 
 vii 
 
SABINE HALL, GARDEN FRONT 
 
 See page 333 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 MoNTicELLO Frontispiece 
 
 GORDONSDALE, FaUQUIER CoUNTY V 
 
 Brook Hill, Henrico County vii 
 
 Sabine Hall, Garden Front ix 
 
 PART I— JAMESTOWN, WILLIAMSBURG, YORKTOWN 
 
 Ambler House, Jamestown 3 
 
 Jamestown Church and Old Tower 3 
 
 Foundations of Old Jamestown Church 7 
 
 William and Mary College, Williamsburg 11 
 
 Blair House, Williamsburg 16 
 
 Bruton Church, Williamsburg 17 
 
 Wythe House, Williamsburg 20 
 
 Saunders House, Williamsburg 21 
 
 Page House, Williamsburg 22 
 
 Court House, Williamsburg 23 
 
 Tucker House, Williamsburg • ■ • 24 
 
 Coleman House, Williamsburg 24 
 
 Old Powder Horn at Williamsburg 25 
 
 Raleigh Tavern, Williamsburg, and the Apollo Room . . 27 
 
 Carter House, Williamsburg 30 
 
 ix 
 
X ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Tazewell Hall, Williamsburg ^-^ 
 
 Nelson House, Yorktown ^^ 
 
 Custom House, Yorktown ''^ 
 
 Moore House, near Yorktown ^^ 
 
 RiNGFiELD House, York County 39 
 
 Porto Bello, York County 40 
 
 PART II— HAMPTON ROADS AND THE LOWER JAMES 
 
 RoLLESTON, Princess Anne County' 42 
 
 St. Paul's Church, Norfolk 43 
 
 Myers House, Norfolk 43 
 
 Thoroughgood House, Princess Anne County 46 
 
 St. John's Church, Hampton 47 
 
 Eastern Shore Chapel, Princess Anne County 48 
 
 St. Luke's Church, Isle of Wight County 51 
 
 Bacon's Castle, Surry County 53 
 
 The Hall at Carter's Grove 55 '^ 
 
 Carter's Grove, James City County- 55 l^ 
 
 Four Mile Tree, Surry County 58 
 
 Claremont, Surry County 61 
 
 Tedington, Charles City County' 63 
 
 Brandon, Prince George County 65 
 
 The Hall at Brandon ' 65 
 
 Upper Brandon, Prince George County' 71 
 
 Weyanoke, Charles City County 73 
 
 Sherwood Forest, Charles City County' 74 
 
 Flower de Hundred, Prince George County' 76 
 
 Merchant's Hope Church, Prince George County ... 77 
 
 Westover, Charles City' County 79 
 
 Westover Gates 81 
 
 The Parlor at Westover 82 
 
 Westover During the War 1861-1865 84 
 
 Westover Church 85 
 
 Berkeley, Charles City County 87 
 
 Appomattox, Prince George County 91 
 
 Blandford Church, Petersburg 92 
 
 Bollingbrook, Petersburg 94 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS xi 
 
 Centre Hill, Petersburg 95 
 
 Collecting Chicken Feed in the Olden Days 96 
 
 Battersea, Near Petersburg 97 
 
 Mansfield, Near Petersburg 98 
 
 Shirley, Charles City County 99 
 
 Malvern Hill, Henrico County 104 
 
 Wilton, Henrico County 107 
 
 Powhatan, Henrico County 107 
 
 Ampthill, Chesterfield County 109 
 
 Falling Creek Mill, Chesterfield County 109 
 
 Eppington, Chesterfield County Ill 
 
 PART III— RICHMOND, MANCHESTER AND THE UPPER 
 
 JAMES 
 
 Marketing Tobacco in the Old Days 114 
 
 Richmond in 1800 115 
 
 The Home of the Late General Joseph R. Anderson, 
 
 Richmond 117 
 
 St. John's Church, Richmond 119 
 
 Old Masonic Hall, Richmond 122 
 
 Van Lew or Adams House, Richmond (Front) 123 
 
 Van Lew or Adams House (Rear) 123 
 
 Ticket for Masonic Dinner Given in Honor of General 
 
 Lafay'ette 125 
 
 Monumental Church, Richmond 127 
 
 Archer House, Richmond 127 
 
 Crump House, Richmond 131 
 
 The White House of the Confederacy, Richmond .... 131 
 
 Richmond in 1833 135 
 
 The Hall at Valentine Museum, Richmond 139 
 
 Valentine Museum, Formerly Wickham House, Richmond 139 
 
 McCance House, Richmond 143 
 
 Gamble House, Richmond 143 
 
 Governor's Mansion, Richmond 146 
 
 State Capitol, Richmond 147 
 
 Home of Chief Justice Marshall, Richmond 147 
 
xii ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Westmoreland Club, the Stanard House, Richmond . . . 150 
 
 Richmond in 1848 151 
 
 Allan House, Richmond 155 
 
 Bullock House, Richmond 158 
 
 Swan Tavern, Richmond 159 
 
 Gray House, South Richmond 160 
 
 Black Heath, Chesterfield County 161 
 
 Chesterfield Court House 162 
 
 Salisbury, Chesterfield County 163 
 
 Norwood, Powhatan County 164 
 
 Beaumont, Powhatan County 165 
 
 Paxton, Powhatan County 166 
 
 Tuckahoe, Goochland County 169 
 
 Belmead, Powhatan County 169 
 
 School-house at Tuckahoe 172 
 
 Oakland, Cumberland County 175 
 
 Oakland, Showing the Grove 175 
 
 Sabot Hill, Goochland County 178 
 
 Dover, Goochland County 179 
 
 Howard's Neck, Goochland County 181 
 
 Rock Castle, Goochland County 182 
 
 Polling Hall, Goochland County 183 
 
 "Uncle" Asa and "Aunt" Jinsey at Rolling Island . . 184 
 
 Polling Island, Goochland County 185 
 
 Union Hill, Cumberland County 185 
 
 Clifton, Cumberland County 186 
 
 Bellmont, Buckingham County 187 
 
 Barn at Bremo 188 
 
 Bremo, Fluvanna County (Front) 189 
 
 Bremo (Rear) 189 
 
 Lower Bremo, Fluvanna County 191 
 
 Wind-power Grist Mill in Mathews County 193 
 
 The Old "Marshall," the Last Packet Boat Run on 
 
 James River and Kanawha Canal 193 
 
 PoiNT-OF-FoRK, Fluvanna County I95 
 
 Cumberland Court House 196 
 
 Effingham Tavern, Cumberland Court House 197 
 
 Ampthill, Cumberland County I97 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS xiii 
 
 Liberty Hall, Nelson County 198 
 
 Union Hill, Nelson County 199 
 
 Edgewood, Nelson County 201 
 
 Soldier's Joy, Nelson County 203 
 
 Otter Burn, Bedford County 204 
 
 Oak Ridge, Nelson County 205 
 
 Pharsalia, Nelson County 207 
 
 Ionia, Louisa County 210 
 
 Brackett's, Louisa County 211 
 
 West End, Louisa Cou^nty 213 
 
 Sylvania, Louisa County 214 
 
 PART IV— GLOUCESTER AND THE YORK RIVER 
 COUNTRY 
 
 Old Windmill, Mathews County 215 
 
 Timberneck, Gloucester County 217 
 
 Powhatan's Chimney, Timberneck Creek 218 
 
 Rosewell, Gloucester County 221 
 
 Carter's Creek (Fairfield), Gloucester County .... 227 
 
 Green Plains, Mathews County 227 
 
 Poplar Grove, Mathews County 232 
 
 Tide Mill at Poplar Grove 232 
 
 Auburn, Mathews County 233 
 
 Belleville, Gloucester County 234 
 
 Dunham Massie, North River, Gloucester County . . . 235 
 
 Elmington, North River, Gloucester County 236 
 
 The Exchange, North River, Gloucester County. . . . 237 
 
 ice-house, at exchange 238 
 
 Toddsbury, North River (Front), Gloucester County . 239 
 
 ToDDSBURY (Rear) 239 
 
 White Marsh, Gloucester County 242 
 
 Glenroy, Gloucester County 244 
 
 White Hall, Gloucester County 245 
 
 AiRviLLE, Gloucester County 246 
 
 Warner Hall on the Severn, Gloucester County . . . 248 
 
 Sherwood, Gloucester County 249 
 
 Eagle Point, Gloucester County 250 
 
 Hesse, Gloucester County 252 
 
xiv ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Ware Church, Gloucester County ^^^ 
 
 Abingdon Church, Gloucester County ^^^ 
 
 Tavern at Gloucester Court House 25' 
 
 St. Peter's Church, New Kent County 258 
 
 Cedar Grove, New Kent County 260 
 
 Providence Forge, New Kent County 261 
 
 Hampstead, New Kent County 262 
 
 The Hall at Hampstead 263 
 
 Eltham, New Kent County 264 
 
 Clover Lea, Hanover County 265 
 
 Chelsea, King William County 267 
 
 Elsing Green, King AVilliam County 268 
 
 Horn Quarter, King William County 269 
 
 Mattapony Church, King and Queen County 270 
 
 Hanover Court House 271 
 
 Tavern at Hanover Court House 275 
 
 Hickory Hill, Hanover County 276 
 
 Fork Church, Hanover County 278 
 
 Oakland, Hanover County 279 
 
 ScoTCHTO^vN, Hanover County 281 
 
 Edgewood, Hanover County 282 
 
 Parlor at Edgewood 283 
 
 Dining-room at Edgewood 283 
 
 New Market, Hanover County 285 
 
 PART V— THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 
 
 Following the Hounds 289 
 
 RosEGiLL, Middlesex County 289 
 
 Blandfield, Essex County 293 
 
 Vauter's Church, Essex County 295 
 
 The Hall at Gaymont, Caroline County 297 
 
 Ormesby, Caroline County 298 
 
 House Where Stonewall Jackson Died, Fairfield, Caro- 
 line County 298 
 
 North Garden, Caroline and Spottsylvania Counties . 299 
 
 Marye House, Fredericksburg 300 
 
 Mary Washington House, Fredericksburg 301 
 
 Rising Sun Tavern, Fredericksburg 301 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS xv 
 
 Kenmore, Fredericksburg 303 
 
 The Parlor at Kenmore 304 
 
 The Falls, Near Fredericksburg 305 
 
 Fall Hill, Spottsylvania County 306 
 
 RoxBURY, Spottsylvania County 308 
 
 Ditchley, Northumberland County 310 
 
 Mantua, Northumberland County 311 
 
 Bewdley, Lancaster County 313 
 
 Epping Forest, Lancaster County 313 
 
 TowLEs Point, Lancaster County 315 
 
 Christ Church, Lancaster County 317 
 
 Interior, Christ Church 317 
 
 St. Mary''s White Chapel, Lancaster County 320 
 
 Bladensfield, Richmond County 322 
 
 Kirnan, Westmoreland County 323 
 
 Stratford, Westmoreland County 327 
 
 Sabine Hall, Richmond County 327 
 
 Yeocomico Church, Westmoreland County 331 
 
 Farnham Church, Richmond County 333 
 
 The Hall, Sabine Hall, Richmond County 335 
 
 Mt. Airy, Richmond County 339 
 
 Mt. Airy, Rear View 341 
 
 Menokin, Richmond County 345 
 
 Cleve, King George County 346 
 
 Barnsfield, King George County 348 
 
 Chatham, Stafford County 349 
 
 Boscobel, Near Fredericksburg 352 
 
 Old-time Method of Cooking as Used at Boscobel up to 
 
 1905 353 
 
 AcQuiA Church, Stafford County 354 
 
 LSTTERIOR OF AcQUIA ChURCH 355 
 
 Mt. Vernon, Fairfax County 357 
 
 Mt. Vernon, Rear View 359 
 
 Pohick Church, Fairfax County 363 
 
 Gutnston Hall, Fairfax Coltnty 364 
 
 Christ Church, Alexandria 366 
 
 Carlyle House, Alexandria 368 
 
 Arlington, Alexandria County 369 
 
xvi ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PART VI— PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 
 
 Oak Hill (Front), Loudoun County 374 
 
 Oak Hill (Rear) 375 
 
 Oatlands, Loudoun County 376 
 
 Old Methodist Church, Leesburg 377 
 
 Raspberry Plain, Loudoun County 378 
 
 Morven Park, Loudoun County 379 
 
 Oak Hill, Fauquier County 383 
 
 Montpelier, Orange County 387 
 
 Rocklands, Orange County 390 
 
 Frascati, Orange County 391 
 
 Barboursville, Orange County 393 
 
 Edge Hill, Albemarle County 393 
 
 Castle Hill, Albemarle Codnty 397 
 
 Starting the Hunt 397 
 
 Belvoir, Albemarle County 399 
 
 The Rotunda — University of Virginia 407 
 
 Farmington, Albemarle County 410 
 
 Redlands. Albemarle County 411 
 
 MoNTicoLA, Albemarle County 413 
 
 WooDviLLE, Albemarle County 415 
 
 EsTouTEviLLE, Albemarle County 415 
 
 The Hall at Estouteville 416 
 
 Tallwood, Albemarle County 416 
 
 Plain Dealing, Albemarle County, and Interior .... 417 
 
 Mountain Top, Albemarle County 419 
 
 Clover Forest, Prince Edward County 421 
 
 Green Hill, Campbell County 422 
 
 Old Negro Couple at Cabin at Red Hill 425 
 
 Red Hill, Charlotte County 425 
 
 Staunton Hill, Charlotte County 428 
 
 Ingleside, Charlotte County 431 
 
 The Old Mill at Greenfield, Charlotte County .... 432 
 
 Greenfield, Charlotte County 433 
 
 The Garden Walk at Greenfield 433 
 
 Berry Hill, Halifax County, and Interior 436 
 
 Bellevue, Halifax County 437 
 
 Banister Lodge, Halifax County 438 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS xvii 
 
 Roanoke, Charlotte County 440 
 
 Mulberry Hill, Charlotte County 441 
 
 MiLDENDO. Halifax County 442 
 
 Prestwould, Mecklenburg County 444 
 
 Ivy Cliff, Bedford County 445 
 
 PART VII— BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 Old Stone Church, Augusta County 446 
 
 Greenway Court, Clarke County 447 
 
 Old Springdale House, Frederick County 448 
 
 Springdale, Frederick County 449 
 
 Abraham's Delight, Near Winchester 450 
 
 Old Stone Chapel, Clarke County 453 
 
 Carter Hall, Clarke County 455 
 
 Long Branch, Clarke County 455 
 
 Saratoga, Clarke County 459 
 
 Clifton, Clarke County 460 
 
 Pagebrook, Clarke County 461 
 
 Natural Bridge 462 
 
 On the Road to Natural Bridge (1889) 46.S 
 
 Wallawhatoola, Bath County 465 
 
 The Meadows, Washington County 466 
 
 Old Byars House, Washington County 467 
 
 Smithfield, Montgomery County 469 
 
 Preston House, Abingdon 471 
 
 Fort Lewis, Bath County 471 
 
 Green Valley, Bath County 475 
 
 Mont Calm, Abingdon 476 
 
 Typical Frontier Block House Used for Protection 
 
 Against Indians 481 
 
 PART VIII— THE EASTERN SHORE 
 
 Mt. Custis, Accomac County 483 
 
 Welbourne, Horntown, Accomac County 484 
 
 St. George's Church, Pungoteague, Accomac County . . 485 
 
 Brownsville, Northampton County 486 
 
 Vaucluse, Northampton County 488 
 
 West House, Deep Creek 489 
 
xviii ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 DucKiNGTON, Northampton County 490 
 
 Cessford, Eastville, Northampton County 490 
 
 Shepherd's Plain, Accomac County 491 
 
 Melvin House, Accomac County 492 
 
 Custis House, Deep Creek 492 
 
 Callahan House, Locust Mount, Accomac County . . . 493 
 
 Margaret Academy, Accomac County 494 
 
 Wallop House, Accomac County 494 
 
 Mount Wharton, Accomac County 495 
 
 HuNGARS Church, Northampton County 496 
 
 Bowman's Folly, Accomac County 499 
 
 RosELAND, Accomac County 500 
 
 Warren House, Surry County 503 
 
 Talbot Hall, Norfolk County 527 
 
HISTORIC VIRGINIA HOMES 
 AND CHURCHES 
 
 PART I 
 
 Jamestown Williamsburg Yorktown 
 
 jamestown 
 
 THE story of Virginia, as of America, begins at 
 Jamestown. 
 On December 20, 1606, three ships, the Susan 
 Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery, 
 dropped down the Thames from London. Through the 
 months of January, February, March and nearly all of 
 April, thej^ bore steadily across the Atlantic. They were 
 mere toys — white dots on the bosom of the vasty deep — yet 
 they were bringing a new order of things to a New World 
 — they were bringing England to the Red Man's Land. 
 Aboard them were Captain Christopher Newport, Ad- 
 miral of the fleet, and one hundred and three stout-hearted, 
 adventurous spirits, fifty-four of whom were " gentlemen," 
 four " carpenters " and twenty-four " laborers." Seven of 
 these were to form the Council of State to govern the 
 Colony they were coming to plant. These were Edward 
 Maria Wingfield, Bartholomew Gosnold, Christopher 
 Newport, John Smith, John RatclifFe, John Martin, 
 George Kendall, but the document appointing them was 
 brought in a sealed box which was not to be opened, " nor 
 the governors known until they reached land." There was 
 also a godly Church of England minister. Reverend Robert 
 Hunt, for the instructions of the King's Council for Vir- 
 ginia had warned them that " every plantation which our 
 Heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted out." 
 Upon April 26, they arrived at the Cape, which they 
 
2 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 named Henry for the Prince of Wales. There they set up 
 a cross, then sailed into Chesapeake Bay and up James 
 River. 
 
 Upon JNIay 13, when the heauty of the spring season 
 made them think that they had found in Virginia " earth's 
 onlj' paradise,' they chose the site for Jamestown and with 
 their ships floating in six fathoms of water made fast to 
 the trees upon the bank. 
 
 On the fourteenth, they put themselves and their goods 
 ashore, and gentlemen and laborers alike fell to work cut- 
 ting down trees to make a clearing for their fort, within 
 which rude cabins were soon built. " For a church," says 
 Captain John Smith, " wee did hang ... an old saile to 
 three or foure trees to shadow us from the Sunne, our 
 walks were railes of wood, our seats unhewed trees, till we 
 cut plankes, our Pulpit a bar of wood nailed to two neigh- 
 bouring trees . . . this was our Church till we built a homelj^ 
 thing like a barne, set upon crachets covered with rafters, 
 sedge and earth; so was also the walls. The best of our 
 houses ( were ) of the like cvu-iosity, but the most part, f arre 
 much worse workmanship, that neither could well defend 
 wind or rain ; j^et we had daily common Prayer morning and 
 evening every Sunday, two sermons, and every three 
 months the holy communion till our minister died : but our 
 prayers daily, with our homily on Sunday, we continued 
 two or three years after, till more Preachers came." 
 
 Spring in Virginia was full of fair promises, but with 
 summer came the deadly " ague and fever " and other dis- 
 eases caused by the swampy situation and bad drinking 
 water. Danger from the Indians was ever present; food 
 became scarce; dissensions arose. Every one knows the 
 story of the trying years that followed, with Captain 
 Smith's strenuous efforts to keep the colony alive, his cap^ 
 ture by the Indians and rescue by Pocahontas, the colonists' 
 devoted friend. Its climax was reached in the " starving 
 time " — the winter of 1609-1610 — when only the arrival of 
 Lord Delaware with provisions and new settlers saved 
 Jamestown from being abandoned. 
 
AMBLER HOUSE, JAMESTOWN 
 
 
 JAMESTOWN CHURCH AND -OLD T(JWEU 
 
JAMESTOWN 5 
 
 After this, though there were still great suffering and 
 many deaths, Virginia grew in strength. In 1614 the bap- 
 tism of Pocahontas and her marriage with John Rolfe 
 made a bond of friendship between the red man and the 
 white. In 1619 Virginians were given the right to share in 
 their own government. A popular legislature was author- 
 ized and the House of Burgesses, the first representative 
 Assemblj^, not onlj^ of America, but of all the King's Col- 
 onies, met on July 30, in the church. In this year also 
 twentj' picked maidens, " pure and undefiled," were sent 
 over to make homes for such of the bachelor settlers as 
 were willing to pay for their transportation — provided said 
 bachelors took the fancy of the maids — and when the pair- 
 ing oiF was accomplished Parson Bucke united the twenty 
 happ}^ pairs in holy wedlock. 
 
 These auspicious events were followed by a frightful 
 disaster — the Indian Massacre of 1622, when nearlj' four 
 hundred Colonists were murdered, but from which James- 
 town escaped, thanks to timely warning. 
 
 The year 1635 saw at Jamestown the first American 
 revolutionary movement. The people, tired of Governor 
 Harvej^'s misrule, " thrust him out " of office and shipped 
 him to England. 
 
 Years of quick growth, but full of interest, followed 
 — then, in the spring of 1652, the loyal Virginians as- 
 sembled at Jamestown to defend the rights of King Charles, 
 but were forced to surrender, on easj^ terms, to the Parlia- 
 ment fleet. 
 
 It was at Jamestown, too, that the most dramatic scenes 
 of the famous Bacon's Rebellion were enacted in 1676, 
 when the town was burned, leaving only the ruined church 
 tower standing. A final burning of the State House, in 
 1698, caused the removal of the Colonial government to 
 Williamsburg. 
 
 After " James City " ceased to be even a village, and 
 most of its site became the property of one family, Travis, 
 it still retained its right to send a member to the House of 
 
6 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Burgesses, a privilege not taken away until the formation 
 of the State in 1776. The Mr. Travis of the day was the 
 returning officer, and the only voter and he, or his nominee, 
 the member. A member of Congress who once heard of 
 this on a visit to Jamestown said he now understood why 
 the place had once been called " Earth's only paradise." 
 
 Still retaining its privileges as a town — though only a 
 town in name — Jamestown was long without a history. 
 Cornwallis camped there June 4-9, 1781, and on June 6, 
 gave Lafayette a beating. In September, 1781, the first 
 French troops, arriving in Virginia for the Yorktown cam- 
 paign, landed at Jamestown. 
 
 In 1861, the Confederate fort which adds much of pic- 
 turesqueness to this historic spot was built, by order of 
 General Robert E. Lee. 
 
 About a quarter of a mile below the church tower, upon 
 a level grass plot, stand the ruins of a Colonial mansion 
 known as the Ambler House. This house was built some 
 time in the latter part of the eighteenth century by the 
 Huguenot, Edward Jacqueline, a member of the House of 
 Burgesses and a large land holder at Jamestown. From 
 him the house passed to his descendants of the well-known 
 Ambler family, and continued in their possession until the 
 first part of the nineteenth century, when it was sold. It 
 has since frequently changed hands and has been three 
 times burned, though the massive old walls still stand firm. 
 
 Upon May 3, 1893, Mr. and Mrs. Edward E. Barney, 
 then owners of Jamestown Island, moved by a broad and 
 generous spirit of patriotism, presented the twenty-two 
 and a half acres of land upon which are the tower, church- 
 yard and Confederate fort to the Association for the Pres- 
 ervation of Virginia Antiquities.^ 
 
 1 See also Yonge, The Site of Old " James Towne," 1607-1698. 
 A Brief Historical and Topographical Sketch of the First Ameri- 
 can Metropolis. Richmond: 1907. This monograph was pub- 
 lished serially in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biog- 
 raphy, xi, 257-276, 393-414 ; xii, 33-54, 113-133. 
 
Copyright, 1901, by Robert A. Lancaste: 
 
 FOUNDATIONS OF OLD JAMESTOWN CHURCH 
 
JAMESTOWN 9 
 
 Through the efforts of this organization, the United 
 States Government has placed a splendid sea-wall along 
 the shore of the island exposed to the encroachment of the 
 river, which had already made serious inroads. In 1901 
 excavations at the rear of the tower brought to light the 
 foundations, brick aisles and chancel of the church, and 
 some exceedingly interesting tombs. A most interesting 
 feature of the " excavations " is a small wall which may be 
 seen, in the illustration of the foundations of the church, 
 immediately inside the outer right-hand larger wall. This 
 smaller wall is in all probability a part of the foundation of 
 the earliest church on this site and hence of the building in 
 which sat the first " Assembly of the representatives of 
 the People " called together in the New World. In order 
 to protect these relics from the weather, and as a memorial 
 to the first settlers, the National Society of the Colonial 
 Dames of America has restored the outer walls of the 
 church building, in part, over the original foundations. 
 Other excavations, in 1903, unearthed the foundation of a 
 block of five or six connected buildings, including those of 
 the State House burned by Bacon, in 1676. 
 
 ]\Iany interesting memorials have been placed at James- 
 town in honor of the year 1907. Among these is a granite 
 shaft, erected by the United States Government; stately 
 entrance gates by the Colonial Dames of America, — a dif- 
 ferent organization from the one which restored the church, 
 — a bronze statue of Captain John Smith by Mr. and Mrs. 
 Joseph Bryan ; a rest house — patterned after the Malvern 
 Hill Mansion — by the Daughters of the American Revo- 
 lution; ornamental fountain by the Massachusetts Societ}'' 
 of Colonial Wars; a monument to the first House of Bur- 
 gesses, by the Norfolk branch of the Association for the 
 Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. 
 
 An improvement which might have saved many lives in 
 the early days of storm and stress, if it only could have been 
 made three hundred years ago, is a fine artesian well which 
 supplies the island with a generous amount of pure, spark- 
 ling and delicious water. 
 
10 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 WILLIAMSBURG 
 
 A straggling, mile-long " city," with eighteenth century- 
 houses and shady streets and here and there open spaces 
 of greensward where trees have plenty of room to grow 
 and young children to play; a citj^ dominated by a vener- 
 able church with ivied walls and white spire, within a high- 
 walled, mossy graveyard ; and by a venerable college within 
 a wide green campus; a village out of an old story book! 
 On a June day the gardens are overflowing with bloom 
 and sweet odors, and the music of singing birds, and cows 
 browse, blissful and unafraid, upon the grass and butter- 
 cups that the inhabitants with rare sense of the fitness of 
 things allow to spring unrebuked in the streets. 
 
 Such is Williamsburg. 
 
 After the destruction of Jamestown it was decided to 
 remove the seat of government of Virginia to a situation 
 less popular with malaria and mosquitoes. The site chosen 
 was the Middle Plantation, a little village upon high ground 
 some seven miles back from Jamestown and the river. Its 
 name was changed forthwith to Williamsburg after the 
 reigning king of England and Virginia. The first plan 
 was to lay out the streets to form a monogram of the letters 
 W and M, the initials of their majesties William and Mary, 
 but this was abandoned. Instead, Duke of Gloucester 
 Street and its parallel thoroughfares were intersected at 
 right angles by other highways bearing names suggestive 
 of royalty and state. Along these streets many of the 
 houses, where the lights of other days lived and moved and 
 had their being, may still be found. 
 
 The Capitol and Governor's Palace have disappeared, 
 but the site of the former is preserved; the Palace Green 
 is the Palace Green still, and the college and the church 
 still carry on the good works for which they were originally 
 designed. 
 
 WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE 
 
 In the midst of its shady campus stands William and 
 Mary, looking straight up the Duke of Gloucester Street, 
 which was originally closed at the opposite end by the 
 

WILLIAMSBURG 13 
 
 Capitol building and grounds. It is built after the favorite 
 Colonial manner, of red brick with glazed " headers," and 
 with a triple-arched brick porch and a white cupola. Some 
 distance in the foreground, upon the main walk, is a white 
 marble statue of Norborne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt 
 1718-1770), Governor-in-chief of Virginia 1768 to 1770, 
 with a high-flown inscription. 
 
 William and Mary was the first American college save 
 one, the first to have chairs of Law, Political Economy, 
 JSIodern Languages and History, the first to estabhsh 
 elective and honor systems and class lectures and to award 
 medals, and its Phi Beta Kappa was the first Greek letter 
 fraternity in the United States. 
 
 It was through the untiring efl'orts of the Reverend 
 James Blair, D.D. (1655-1743) , Rector of Bruton Parish, 
 that the College Charter was granted, in 1693, by their 
 gracious majesties whose names it bears: " that the Church 
 in Virginia may be furnished with a seminary of Ministers 
 of the Gospel, and that the youth may be piously educated 
 in good letters and manners and that the Christian religion 
 may be propagated among the Western Indians, to the 
 glory of Almighty God." Sir Christopher Wren is be- 
 lieved to have been the architect, and good Parson Blair 
 was fittingly made its first president.^ 
 
 Of this old college it has been said that " more illus- 
 trious men, in proportion to the numbers educated there, 
 have gone out to make it and themselves famous than from 
 any other literary institution on this Continent." 
 
 Presidents of the United States, judges, chancellors, 
 statesmen and divines, warriors and gentlemen fill the 
 rolls of its venerable record. General Washington was 
 its first chancellor after the Revolution, and to name only 
 a few of the distinguished sons of this Alma Mater, three 
 presidents of the United States — Thomas Jefferson, 
 James Monroe, John Tyler — were educated there, as were 
 
 ^ Motley, Life of Commissary James Blair ( Johns Hopkins 
 University Studies, Series xix, No. 10). 
 
14 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Chief Justice John JNIarshall; Peyton Randolph, first 
 President of the Continental Congress; Chancellor George 
 Wj'the, and Governor Edmund Randolph. 
 
 He spake truly who declared, " Its name must ever be 
 associated with the deeds of the great and good." 
 
 The college library contains some treasures in the way 
 of rare books and interesting portraits. Many of the books 
 were presents from the royal governors of Virginia and 
 contain book plates bearing coats-of-arms of their donors. 
 
 Among the rules of the college was one that no student 
 should keep a race-horse, and another that drinking should 
 be confined to the moderation that becomes a prudent and 
 industrious student. A practical, if somewhat unique, offi- 
 cer for the college was named on June 26, 1761, when it 
 was " Resolved that INIrs. Foster be appointed stocking- 
 mender in the college and that she be paid annually the 
 sum of twelve pounds provided she furnish herself with 
 lodging, diet, fire and candles." 
 
 The college continued in successful operation until the 
 Revolution, when a company of volunteers was raised 
 among the students and commanded by some of the pro- 
 fessors. When the James River peninsula became the seat 
 of war the exercises were temporarily suspended and the 
 buildings were occupied in succession by the troops of the 
 British and allied armies. The college has been thrice 
 destroyed bj^ fire, — first in 1705, again not long before the 
 War between the States and again during that conflict by 
 Federal soldiers, — but the Colonial builders laid their mas- 
 sive brick-work to stand, and it has, each time, been restored 
 within the same walls. 
 
 THE BRAFFERTON BUILDIXG 
 
 WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE 
 
 Upon the college green to the right of the main build- 
 ing stands the commodious and substantial building known 
 as the Braiferton, the first Indian School of any conse- 
 quence in America. The Honorable Robert Boyle, of 
 
WILLIAMSBURG 15 
 
 England, who died in 1691, directed in his will that his 
 executors should apply his personal estate to such chari- 
 table and pious uses as they, in their discretion, should see 
 fit. The fund was invested in an English estate called 
 Brafi^erton, and the rents, subject to ninety pounds given 
 to Harvard Universitj% were paid the President and pro- 
 fessors of William and Mary for the purpose of establish- 
 ing and maintaining a department for Indians. The result 
 was the BrafFerton, where Indian youths were supported 
 and taught until the Revolution. 
 
 The BrafFerton is now used as one of the college dormi- 
 tories. 
 
 THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE 
 WILLIAM AND MARY COLLEGE 
 
 To the left of the college and immediately across the 
 campus from the BrafFerton is a dignified mansion built, 
 like the college and the BrafFerton, of dark red brick with 
 glazed " headers " and, like the BrafFerton, too. in plan, 
 with the addition of the square, pillared porch. It was 
 built in 1732 and as the home of a long succession of hon- 
 ored presidents of William and Mary has enjoyed a rich 
 social history. It has its place in war history as well, for 
 Lord Cornwallis made it his headquarters not long before 
 the Yorktown campaign. It was also occupied by the 
 French troops at the time of the siege of Yorktown and by 
 them was accidentally burned, but was rebuilt at the cost 
 — tradition says — of the private purse of King Louis XVI. 
 
 THE BLAIR HOUSE 
 
 Passing from the college grounds into Duke of 
 Gloucester Street, a few steps bring you to a long, low, 
 white frame cottage, with one story and a dormer and with 
 two street entrances, a short distance apart, each of which 
 is reached by worn white marble steps. 
 
 Modest as this homestead looks, it was the residence 
 of two very distinguished men — John Blair (1686-1771), 
 
16 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 President of the Council of State and Acting Governor of 
 Virginia, and his son, John Blair (died, 1800), Justice 
 of the United States Supreme Court." 
 
 BLAIR HOUSE, WILLIAMSBURG 
 
 BRUTON CHURCH 
 
 Foot-worn stone steps lead to a heavy iron gate set in 
 a wall of checkered brick-work. The gate gives entrance 
 to the old town's Holy of Holies — Bruton Parish Church 
 and Churchyard. The green " God's acre " is filled with 
 tombstones, many of them bearing arms and interesting 
 epitaphs in English or Latin. The old sanctuary is built 
 in the shape of a Roman cross, with a square entrance 
 tower, of the familiar dull red and glazed brick. The tower 
 is surmounted by a white wooden steeple from one side of 
 which the town clock, which tradition says was formerly 
 in the Capitol, keeps a watchful ej^e upon the town. The 
 
 ^ Blair family : William and Mary College Quarterly Historical 
 Magazine, v, p. 279 ; Horner, The History of the Blair, Banister 
 and Braxton Families (Philadelphia, 1898). 
 
WILLIAMSBURG 
 
 17 
 
 bell, which both cries the hours with silver}^ sound and 
 calls the people to church, bears the inscription, " The gift 
 of James Tarpley in Bruton Parish, 1761." 
 
 Bruton has been longer in continuous use than any 
 other Episcopal church in America. The parish was 
 established when Williamsburg was still Middle Plantation 
 and antedates College, CapiLol and Palace. The first 
 
 BRUTON CHURCH WILLIAMSBURG 
 
 church was doubtless of wood, but in 1676 a brick one was 
 built upon " land sufficient for the Church and Church- 
 yard " given by Colonel John Page — first of the Page 
 family in Virginia — who also subscribed " twenty pounds 
 sterling " to the building fund. 
 
 Upon October 1, 1706, " The vestry, considering ye 
 great charge ye parish hath been at for ye repairing of ye 
 Church, and how bad a condition it still is in," ordered that 
 " twenty thousand pounds of tobacco be levied this year for 
 
 2 
 
18 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 and towards building a new church." This (the present) 
 building was finished in 1715 and stands upon the original 
 site. It was said to have been " adorned as the best Churches 
 in London." There were the high-back pews and tall 
 pulpit of the time. The Governor s pew was slightly ele- 
 vated from the main floor and over it stretched a silken 
 canopy around which the Governor's name was wrought 
 in letters of gold. In this pew splendidly worshipped the 
 roj^al governors, Nicholson, Jennings, Spotswood, Drys- 
 dale, Gooch, Dinwiddle, Fauquier, Lord Botetourt and 
 Lord Dunmore, while in other pews have sat burgesses 
 and councillors, patriots, scholars and statesmen without 
 number. To name only the greatest in this remarkable 
 galaxy — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick 
 Henry, George JMason, and John Marshall all bowed the 
 knee in this storied temple. 
 
 In 1718 leave was given the students of William and 
 JNIary College to use the west gallery and to put a door with 
 a lock and key to the stairs of said gallery, " the sexton to 
 keep the key." In this gallery, while students at William 
 and Mary, sat Peyton Randolph (1722-1775), President 
 of the Continental Congress, and George Wythe (1726- 
 1806) , signer of the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 In 1721, it was ordered that a gallery be built in the 
 south side of the church " for the boys of the parish." 
 
 In 1753, it was ordered that half of the south gallery 
 be appropriated to the college students, and here, while 
 students, sat Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Chief 
 Justice INIarshall, Governor Edmund Randolph, President 
 John Tyler, and General Winfield Scott. 
 
 The north gallery was reserved for colored servants and 
 was entered by a stairway from outside. 
 
 In 1755, it was ordered that a loft be built for the organ 
 which had been brought from England, and upon which 
 Mr. Peter Pelham was appointed to plaj'. 
 
 Old Bruton is the fortunate possessor of three notable 
 services of Communion silver, the most interesting of which 
 
WILLIAMSBURG 19 
 
 was brought from Jamestown. It consists of a chalice, 
 paten and ahiis-basin presented to Jamestown Church by 
 Francis JMoryson, Acting Governor of Virginia. The 
 elialice and paten are inscribed: " JNIixe not holy things 
 with profane. Ex dono Francisci Morrison Armigeri anno 
 Domi 1661," and the basin with arms, and " For the use of 
 James City Parish Church." The " Queene Anne Ser- 
 vice " is an exquisitely chased, two-handled cup and cover, 
 and a paten, and bears arms. The " King George Service " 
 consists of a flagon chalice and alms-basin. Each piece 
 bears the royal arms and initials G III R, and the motto, 
 " Honi soit qui mal y pense." 
 
 King Edward VII in 1907 gave a Bible and President 
 Roosevelt a lectern for the Bible to rest upon, to this 
 historic church, which has been beautifully and reverently 
 restored to as nearly as possible its appearance in the days 
 when it was the State Church of England's first colony "in 
 America. 
 
 THE PALACE GREEN 
 
 Beyond the church stretches the "Palace Green " where 
 stood the Governor's palace, said to have been a " mag- 
 nificent structure . . . finished and beautiful with gates, 
 fine gardens, offices, walks, a fine canal, orchards, etc." 
 And " likewise the ornamental addition of a good cupola or 
 lantern, illuminating most of the town upon birth nights 
 and other nights of occasional rejoicing." 
 
 The Palace was the very centre of social and ceremoni- 
 ous life in Colonial Virginia. It was there that the painted 
 and powdered belles and beaux displayed to the best ad- 
 vantage their velvets and brocades, their jewelled buckles 
 and falls of rich lace and also their accomplishments in the 
 way of ornate manners and speech; there the minuet and 
 the more lively country dances occupied the hours twixt 
 candle-light and dawn when the birthday of his honor, the 
 Governor of Virginia, or his Majesty, the King of Eng- 
 land, was being celebrated, and upon other holidaj^s. 
 
20 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 WYTHE HOUSE 
 
 The square brick mansion over-run with ivy and Vir- 
 ginia creeper hard by the church was the home of the dis- 
 tinguished Revolutionary patriot and signer of the Dec- 
 laration of Independence, George Wythe (1726-1806)/ 
 This house has figured in both history and fiction, for just 
 before the Yorktown campaign General Washington took 
 it for his headquarters and in recent times jNIiss Ellen 
 
 WYTHE HOUSE, WILLIAIISBURG 
 
 Glasgow made use of it as the home of Judge Bassett, one 
 of the chief characters of her novel, The Voice of the 
 People. 
 
 The Wythe House can boast of no less than three 
 ghosts, whoever sleeps in what was Judge Wythe's bed- 
 room upon the night of the 8th of June is suddenly awak- 
 ened by the touch of a cold hand upon his brow ; the shadow 
 of General Washington walks in the wide hall on moon- 
 light nights, and, on occasion, a glimpse of the lovely JNIrs. 
 
 * Wythe family : William and Mary Quarterly, ii, 69. 
 
WILLIAMSBURG 
 
 21 
 
 Skipwith, who was IMiss Elizabeth Byrd, of " Westover," 
 may be had, as she descends the broad, dark stairs. 
 
 SAUNDERS HOUSE 
 
 The picturesque mansion with the two-storied, pillared 
 porch, just beyond the Wythe House, is the Saunders 
 House — formerly the home of JNlr. Robert Saunders' (a 
 prominent gentleman of W^illiamsburg and a President of 
 
 .^i^^^i5jr>»j' 
 
 SAUNDERS HOUSE, WILLIAMSBURG 
 
 W^illiam and Mary College) and his wife, who was Lucy 
 Page, the youngest of the twenty children of Governor 
 John Page. 
 
 About the year 1752 this house was occupied by Gov- 
 ernor Robert Dinwiddie while the Palace was undergoing 
 repairs. 
 
 PAGE HOUSE 
 
 Just across Palace Green from the Saunders House 
 is the little old white frame, dormer-windowed cottage 
 which was the town house of Governor John Page, of 
 
 ^ Saunders family: William and Mary Quarterly, xiv, p. 145 
 et seq. 
 
22 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 " Rosewell." Hard by is the site of the old theatre which 
 furnished WiUiamsburg folk with the diversion of the play. 
 Both homestead and theatre figure conspicuously in ]\Iiss 
 INIarj' Johnston's novel " Audrey," and since the publica- 
 tion of that book the cottage has been pointed out to 
 visitors as " Audrey's house." Its panelled hall and parlor 
 and unique stairway make it as quaint within as without, 
 and one of the tiny window-panes in the parlor gives it a 
 
 PAGE HOUSE, WILLIAMSBURG 
 
 still further interest. Upon this pane a diamond from the 
 finger of soiue fair one of over a century ago has scratched, 
 so plainly that it may still be easily read, the initials " T. B." 
 and the date " 1790 November 23," followed bv the words, 
 " O fatal day." The identity of " T. B." and the reason 
 why November 23, 1790, was a " fatal day " are alike 
 wrapped in mystery, which is fortunate, since it grants 
 every reader of the haunting inscription liberty to give free 
 rein to imagination and make his own story. 
 
WILLIAMSBURG 23 
 
 THE COURT HOUSE AND GREEN 
 
 Divided from the Palace Green by the street named for 
 Lord Dunmore is Court Green, a broad grassy space, 
 shaded by fine old trees. 
 
 Within it, upon the Duke of Gloucester Street side, 
 stands the Court House, built in 1769, and upon it look a 
 number of picturesque and charming old homesteads. 
 
 COURT HOUSE, WILLIAMSBURG 
 
 COURT GREEN HOUSES 
 
 TUCKER HOUSE 
 
 Facing the Court Green on its north side is a large, 
 rambling, frame house which was the home of two mem- 
 bers of a distinguished Virginia family. Judges St. George 
 and Nathaniel Beverley Tucker." 
 
 Beyond the Tucker House, on the north side of the 
 
 « Tucker family: The Crtic (Richmond, Va.), Sept. 14, 1889. 
 
24 VIRGINIA HOMES x\ND CHURCHES 
 
 street named for Governor Nicholson, which passes under 
 a double row of large trees, several commodious frame 
 
 TLXKER HOrSE, WIILIAMSBURG 
 
 COLEMAN HOUSE, WILLIAMSBURG 
 
 homesteads of the Colonial period, with large gardens lying 
 behind them, look upon the Court Green. 
 
WILLIAMSBURG 
 
 25 
 
 On the right-hand side of the cross street, as one turns 
 to go to the station, is the house in which General Lafayette 
 was entertained when he visited the Colonial capital in 
 1824. 
 
 COLEMAN HOUSE 
 
 A block further down Nicholson Street is to be noticed 
 one of the most interesting of the old Williamsburg homes. 
 The house is rich in heirlooms of the Tucker and Randolph 
 families, and the terraced garden is beautiful and fragrant 
 in summer with roses in endless variety, old-fashioned 
 flowering shrubs, hyacinths and tulips, violets and lilies, 
 great peonies — pink and white, each single blossom a 
 bouquet. 
 
 - THE POWDER HORN 
 
 Across Duke of Gloucester Street from the Court 
 Green, but some distance back, stands one of the most 
 
 OLD POWDER HORN AT WILLIAMSBURG 
 
 interesting relics in America — the old Powder Horn. This 
 curious looking little octagon-shajjed house, with its high 
 
26 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 peaked roof, was built in 1714, during Governor Spots- 
 wood's administration, to hold the Colony's munitions of 
 war, and was designed by the Governor himself. Its walls 
 are strong and thick, and to add to its security it was 
 formerly enclosed by a thick and high outer wall, running 
 parallel to its eight sides. 
 
 It was from the Powder Horn that Lord Dunmore 
 secretly removed the gunpowder for which Patrick Henry, 
 at the head of his Hanover troops, made him pay. This 
 incident, it will be remembered, resulted in Dunmore's 
 flight from the capital and the patriotic Virginians putting 
 themselves on record in a pledge to defend Virginia " or 
 any sister colony " — fervently closing with, " God save the 
 liberties of America." 
 
 Since the Revolution the Powder Horn has had a check- 
 ered history — serving in turn as a Baptist Church, a danc- 
 ing school and a stable. During the War between the 
 States the Confederates used it for its original purpose — a 
 powder magazine and armory. 
 
 It is now the property of the Association for the Pres- 
 ervation of Virginia Antiquities, which has made it a 
 museum of relics of Virginia's past. 
 
 RALEIGH TAVERN 
 
 From the Powder Horn on to the old Capitol grounds 
 at the eastern end of the street may be seen numerous 
 Colonial dwellings — though the open lots and new build- 
 ings show where many others have been destroyed by fire. 
 The site of the most notable of these, Raleigh Tavern, has 
 been recently marked by the Virginia Society of the 
 Colonial Dames of America with a tablet. 
 
 This most famous of Colonial " guest houses " was a 
 large, square, wooden building, two stories high, with eight 
 dormer windows on each of its four sides. In a small 
 portico over the Duke of Gloucester Street entrance stood, 
 upon a pedestal which is now one of the relics of the Powder 
 Horn Museum, a leaden bust of Sir Walter Raleigh. In 
 1742, the tavern was owned by John Blair, nephew of the 
 
WILLIAMSBURG 
 
 27 
 
 Commissary, and kept by one Henry Wetherburn. Mine 
 host Wetherburn was evidently an expert mixer of the cup 
 that cheers, if we may take a hint from the Goochland 
 County records, from which we learn that William 
 Randolph, of Tuckahoe, sold to his friend, Peter Jefferson 
 — the father of Thomas Jefferson — 200 acres of land for 
 
 RALEIGH TAVERN, WrLLIAM-SBURG, AND THE APOLLO ROOM 
 
 " Henry Wetherburn's biggest bowl of Arrack punch." 
 The deed was duly recorded in Goochland and may be 
 seen there to-day. 
 
 The chief glory of the Raleigh was a large banqueting 
 hall with deep fireplaces at each end and carved wainscot- 
 ing, named after an apartment in London Tavern, the 
 " Apollo Room." The Virginia Gazette contains many 
 
^28 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 allusions to entertainments and gatherings in this room, 
 and it has been said that the Apollo " witnessed probably 
 more scenes of brilliant festivity and political excitement 
 than any other single apartment in North America." 
 Thomas Jefferson was one of the gallants who danced at 
 the balls held there. In a letter written in 1764 to his chum 
 John Page, — afterward Governor of Virginia, — he wrote 
 of having been " last night as merry as agreeable company 
 and dancing with Belinda in the Apollo " could make him. 
 But alas, he was not always so " merry " in the Apollo, for 
 it was during a ball there that his " Belinda," as he elected 
 to call the fair Rebecca Burwell, gave him the mitten. 
 
 The Gazette mentions a " genteele dinner " given by 
 Peyton Randolph at the Raleigh, when " many loyal and 
 patriotic toasts were drank, and the afternoon spent with 
 cheerfulness and decorum." This was in 1768, and when, 
 in the same year, Lord Botetourt came to be Governor of 
 Virginia, he supped in state at the Raleigh, with the gentle- 
 men of his Council. 
 
 During the days immediately preceding the Revolution 
 the Raleigh became a favorite meeting place of the patriots. 
 In 1773, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, the Lees, and 
 a fcAV others were accustomed to meet in a private room 
 there, to consult on state affairs. In consequence of an 
 agreement made there, Dabney Carr introduced in the 
 House of Burgesses, on INIarch 12 of that year, the resolu- 
 tions for Inter-Colonial Committees of Correspondence. 
 
 When, in 1774, Lord Dunmore dissolved the Assembly 
 that had protested against the shutting up of Boston Har- 
 bor and j^roclaimed Jvme 1 a day of fast, it was to the 
 Apollo Room that the indignant Burgesses adjourned and 
 there drew up the famous resolution against the use of tea 
 and other East Indian products. 
 
 Upon December 5, 1776, the Phi Beta Kappa — the 
 first Greek letter society formed in America — was organ- 
 ized, by the students of William and IMary College, in the 
 Apollo Room at the Raleigh. 
 
WILLIAMSBURG 29 
 
 This truh^ historic old tavern continued to be a popular 
 place for banquets, assemblies, balls and political meetings 
 until the year 1859, when, bj^ unhappy accident, it was 
 laid in ashes. 
 
 THE PARADISE HOUSE 
 
 On the left-hand side of Duke of Gloucester Street, 
 not far below the Peninsula Hotel, may be seen a quaint 
 brick dwelhng known as the Paradise House. 
 
 When Philip Ludwell III (1716-1767) of Green- 
 spring, Virginia, died in London — in which city he had 
 taken up his abode — he left there two daughters, one of 
 whom, Lucj% married, in 1769, John Paradise, Esq.,' . . . 
 a gentleman well known in literary circles in London. He 
 and his wife were identified with Doctor Johnson's famous 
 set of literary lights and wits. Doctor Johnson sometimes 
 dined with them and they are mentioned in " Boswell " 
 and in Burney's Memoirs. 
 
 After her husband's death Madam Paradise returned 
 to Virginia and was a personage in the society of Williams- 
 burg, where she made her home, until her death in 1814. 
 Among the articles of furniture which she brought over 
 was the mahogany dining-table at which Johnson had been 
 entertained, and which is still in Williamsburg. 
 
 It is probable that the house was formerly owned by 
 Madam Paradise's father. 
 
 THE CARTER HOUSE 
 
 On the opposite side of the street from the Paradise 
 House and somewhat farther down, is the many-dormered, 
 white frame dwelling which was the town house of Robert 
 Carter (1728-1804) of Nomini Hall, Westmoreland 
 County, who was long a member of the Colonial Council 
 and was familiarly known as " Councillor Carter." 
 
 Present-day readers have made the acquaintance of 
 
 ~' There is an interesting note on Paradise in William and Mary 
 Quarterly, vi, 58. 
 
30 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Councillor Carter and his family and friends through the 
 exceedingly quaint and delightful j ournal of Philip Vickers 
 Fithian ** — a tutor at Nomini just before the Revolution. 
 
 CARTER HOUSE, WILLIAMSBTIHG 
 
 THE OLD CAPITOL AND CLERK'S OFFICE 
 
 All that is left of that " noble, beautiful and com- 
 modious pile," the Capitol, within whose walls so much 
 history, not only of Virginia but of America, was made, 
 are the brick foundations lying across the foot of Duke of 
 Gloucester Street and rising but little above the grass that 
 fills the space between them with friendly green. They 
 show the building to have been a large H-shaped structure, 
 lying sideways to the street. The rear side was the House 
 of Burgesses. The site is now the property of the Asso- 
 ciation for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, which 
 
 * Williams, Philip Vickers Fithian, Journal and Letters, 1767- 
 177 i. Princeton, 1900. 
 
WILLIAMSBURG 31 
 
 has placed upon it a granite boulder, bearing a bronze 
 tablet appropriately inscribed, and capped the old brick- 
 work with concrete, to prevent further decay. 
 
 Across Capitol Street on the left is a stout brick build- 
 ing, now part of a dwelling, but formerly the office of the 
 Clerk of the House of Burgesses, or General Court. 
 
 GARRETT HOUSE 
 
 Following Capitol Street a short distance, still to the 
 left, brings to view a long, rambling, white house in a shady, 
 green lawn, which makes a charming picture of that inter- 
 esting type of old-time Virginia homestead which grew 
 with the needs of the family. The oldest part of this house 
 was built by John Coke, a son of the distinguished family 
 of Coke of Trusley and an ancestor of the late Senator 
 Coke, of Texas. An extremely quaint stair-rail is one of 
 the interesting interior details of this end of the house. 
 
 This, like many other of the Williamsburg homes, con- 
 tains a fascinating collection of heirlooms — rare old mahog- 
 any, pictures, silver, and the like. Upon the parlor walls 
 hangs, in a perfect state of preservation, the paper with 
 the old-fashioned hunting-scene pattern which was the first 
 wall-paper ever brought to Williamsburg. 
 
 BASSETT HALL 
 
 To the right of Capitol Street, on Francis Street — 
 which is parallel with Duke of Gloucester — stands a large 
 frame house, with square Colonial porches, in the midst of 
 a lovely old flower garden. This is Bassett Hall, once the 
 town home of the Bassett family of New Kent County." 
 Mrs. Bassett and Mrs. Washington (who were Dandridges) 
 were sisters, and General Washington was often enter- 
 tained at Bassett Hall. 
 
 '■^ Bassett family : Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 
 iv, 162; vii, 399; and Keith, The Ancestry of Benjamin Harrison 
 . . . and Notes on Families Related, Philadelphia, 1893, pp. 27-33. 
 
32 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 It is said that the sweet Irish singer, Tom Moore, 
 while a guest here composed his beautiful poem " To the 
 Firefly " — suggested by the " firefly lamps " that sparkled 
 among the flowers and shrubbery as he sat on the porch 
 in the evening. 
 
 Bassett Hall was, in 1841, the home of President John 
 Tyler. 
 
 RANDOLPH HOUSE 
 
 Just beyond Bassett Hall, on the same street, is the 
 picturesque old homestead of Peyton Randolph, Attorney 
 General of Virginia, Speaker of* the House of Burgesses, 
 and first President of the Continental Congress. 
 
 IVIASONIC TEMPLE 
 
 Still farther up Francis Street is a plain and now 
 shabby frame house once used for Masonic meetings. 
 Within this modest " Temple " was organized the first 
 Grand Lodge of Masons in the Old Dominion. 
 
 GARY HOUSE 
 
 Turning into England Street, the tourist finds himself 
 at the gate of a long, white, dormer-windowed cottage, in a 
 green yard, with great shade-trees screening its square 
 Colonial porch from the gaze of the over-curious. 
 
 This was the home of the lovely Cary sisters — Sarah 
 and Mary ^^ — where George W^ashington and George 
 Fairfax did a- wooing go ; Fairfax successfully, and Wash- 
 ington in vain. 
 
 TAZEWELL HALL 
 
 On England Street stands an old frame mansion of 
 Colonial type. Its exterior is plain, but within it is very 
 handsome, and the walls of its stately hall and rooms are 
 made beautiful with carved mahogany panelling. 
 
 10 Gary family : T/ie Critic (Richmond, Va.), April 26, May 10 
 and 24, 1890. 
 
WILLIAMSBURG 
 
 33 
 
 This is Tazewell Hall, the home of Sir John Randolph 
 (1693-1737) — one of the most distinguished lawyers of 
 Colonial Virginia and Speaker of the House of Burgesses 
 — and of his grandson Edmund Randolph (1753-1813), 
 Governor of Virginia and Secretary of State of the United 
 States. 
 
 The marriage, in 1776, of the Master of Tazewell Hall 
 was announced in the Virginia Gazette in the following 
 fashion : 
 
 TAZEWELL HALL, WILLL\MSBURG 
 
 " Edmund Randolph, Esq., Attorney General of Vir- 
 ginia, to INIiss Betsy ]Vicholas,^ ^ a young lady whose amiable 
 sweetness of disposition, joined with the finest intellectual 
 accomplishments, cannot fail of rendering the worthy man 
 of her choice completely happy." 
 
 ^^ Nicholas family: The Critic (Richmond, Va.), August 30, 
 1890. 
 
 3 
 
34 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 YORKTOWN 
 
 About nine miles distant from Williamsburg, upon a 
 hill overlooking beautiful but now empty York River 
 harbor, lies all that is left of Yorktown. This famous little 
 town, built in 1691, was the successor of " York Planta- 
 tion," which had already had an interesting histor}^ It 
 was never more than a village in size, but owing to its 
 situation did a great shipping business for nearly a hundred 
 years. An Englishman who had visited it published his 
 impressions in the London Magazine, in 1764. He wrote: 
 
 " Yorktown ... is situated on a rising ground, gently 
 descending every way into a valley, and tho' but strag- 
 glingly built, yet makes no inconsiderable figure. You 
 perceive a great air of opulence amongst the inhabitants 
 who have (some of them) built themselves houses equal 
 in magnificence to manj^ of our superb ones at St. James, 
 as those of Mr. Lightfoot, Nelson, etc., almost every con- 
 siderable man keeps an equipage though thej^ have no 
 concern about the different colours of their coach horses, 
 driving frequently black, white and chestnut in the same 
 harness . . . the most considerable houses are brick, some 
 handsome ones of wood — all built in the modern taste — 
 and the lesser sort of plaster. There are some very pretty 
 garden spots in the town; and the avenues leading to 
 Williamsburg, Norfolk, etc., are prodigiously agreeable. 
 The roads are . . . infinitely superior to most in Eng- 
 land. The country surrounding is thickly overspread with 
 plantations, and the planters live in a manner equal to men 
 of the best fortune." 
 
 In achieving fame Yorktown bade farewell to fortune, 
 for its prosperous career came to a sudden end with the 
 Revolution; but perhaps it finds consolation in a secure 
 place in history and the superb monument erected, in 1881, 
 b}^ the United States Government. 
 
 Traces of earthworks raised by the British still remain, 
 though covered and altered in many places \>y the later 
 Confederate fortifications. 
 
NELSON HOUSE, YORKTOWN 
 
 CUSTOM HOUSE. YORKTOWN 
 
YORKTOWN 37 
 
 THE CUSTOM HOUSE 
 
 The oldest brick building now standing in Yorktown 
 is the Custom House, built in 1715. This interesting relic 
 — the first Custom House in the United States — escaped 
 serious damage during the famous siege. 
 
 THE NELSON HOUSE 
 
 Upon the brow of the hill, facing the river, a short 
 distance away from the Custom House stands the pictu- 
 resque old Nelson House. The massiveness of this com- 
 modious brick mansion, and its situation upon a terrace 
 some distance above the street and within an old-fashioned 
 walled garden whose entrance gates are guarded on each 
 side by tall, thick box trees, give it an air of dignified se- 
 clusion and security. Indoors, the spacious rooms, with 
 their deep window-seats and handsome wainscoting, pro- 
 duce a charming effect, while the interest that a touch of 
 the mysterious gives is added by a hidden stairway leading 
 to the garret, to which a secret panel in the dining-room 
 woodwork gives entrance. 
 
 As the home of Thomas Nelson (1738-1789),'" Gov- 
 ernor of Virginia, Signer of the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence and Major General in the Revolutionarj^ Army, and 
 as the headquarters of Lord Cornwallis during the siege 
 this house is the most historic as well as the most attractive 
 now standing in Yorktown. It suffered a good deal of 
 damage during the siege and a cannon ball embedded in 
 the brick-work still bears witness to the bombardment, 
 during which the patriotic General Nelson said to General 
 Lafayette, " Spare no particle of nty property so long as 
 it affords comfort or shelter to the enemies of my country." 
 
 The site of the mansion of " Secretarj^ " Nelson, uncle 
 of General Nelson, which was destroyed during the siege 
 
 ^^ Nelson family : See Page, Genealogy of the Page Family, 
 p. 155 et seq. Interesting results from an investigation of the 
 English ancestry of the Nelson family are given in Virginia 
 Magazine of History and Biography, xiii, pp. 402-403; xvii, 
 pp. 187-188. 
 
38 
 
 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 is still pointed out. " Secretarj'^ " Nelson was brought out 
 of Yorktown under a flag of truce and congratulated the 
 American officers upon the havoc their bombardment was 
 playing upon his own house. 
 
 THE CHURCH 
 
 In the churchyard a short distance away from the 
 Nelson House maj' be seen the Nelson tombs. The church 
 where this patriotic familj'' worshipped and which was 
 built in 1697 was bm-ned in 1814, but was replaced by a 
 small stone-marle building on the original site. The old 
 bell of the earlier church bearing the inscription, " County 
 of York, Virginia, 1725," was preserved and is still in use. 
 
 THE MOORE HOUSE 
 
 About three-quarters of a mile out of Yorktown, upon 
 " Temple Farm," stands the " INIoore House " where the 
 
 JIOORE HOUSE, NiCAR YORKTOWX 
 
 surrender of Cornwallis was drawn up and signed. The 
 room made forever famous by this epoch-making agree- 
 ment is still pointed out. The house is a very old one and 
 is probably part of the residence of Colonel George Ludlow 
 
YORKTOWN 
 
 39 
 
 (1596-1656), member of the Colonial Council, who was a 
 kinsman of the English regicide, Edmund Ludlow, and is 
 mentioned by him in his memoirs. Standing within a green 
 lawn on a bold bluff of York River, the long, dormer- 
 window farm-house makes a charming picture. 
 
 An interesting bit of history connected with " Temple 
 Farm " is found in the fact that just about this site stood, 
 more than a hundred years before the Revolution, the home 
 of Captain Nicholas Martain (1591-1657), ancestor of 
 General Washington and General Nelson and one of the 
 leading spirits in the first rebellion against tyranny in 
 Virginia, when, in 1634, the Colonists " thrust " the un- 
 popular Governor, Sir John Harvey, out of office and 
 shipped him to England. 
 
 Another historic spot near Yorktown is the field where 
 Lord Cornwallis's men laid down their arms. 
 
 RINGFIELD 
 
 The most historic spot on York River — Yorktown — 
 has been noticed. The only other place on that side of the 
 river to be represented here is Ringfield, lying between the 
 
40 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 forks of King's Creek and Felgate's Creek. This planta- 
 tion was first patented by Captain Robert Felgate, a 
 prominent ship-captain of London, who made his will in 
 1640, leaving his estate to his brother, William Felgate, 
 a skinner of London. At Felgate's death his widow, Marj% 
 married (in 1660) Captain John Underbill, Jr., from the 
 City of Worcester, England, from whom the Felgate plan- 
 tation passed to Joseph Ring, a prominent planter, who 
 probably built the house still standing. Since his time the 
 place has been known as Ringfield. There were long to 
 be seen there two old tombs of members of the Ring family, 
 one having a mutilated coat-of-arms, but they have been 
 lately removed to the old Bruton Churchyard, Williams- 
 burg. 
 
 In about 1772, Ringfield belonged to Colonel Landon 
 Carter (1710-1778) of Sabine Hall, Richmond County. 
 
 PORTO BELLO, NEAR WILLIAMSBURG 
 
 PORTO BELLO 
 
 Not far from Williamsburg on the north side of Queen's 
 Creek, near its mouth, is Porto Bello, which was bought 
 by Lord Dunsmore, in 1773. He built the present house. 
 It has since had manj^ owners, and is now owned by 
 Mr. T. R. Daley. 
 
PART II 
 
 Hampton Roads and the Lower James 
 st. paul's church, norfolk 
 
 I^S St. Paul's Church was the only building left stand- 
 
 /_\ ing after the fire which during the Revolution 
 
 / % laid the town of Norfolk in ashes, it is, of course, 
 
 •^- -^- the only Colonial building now to be found there. 
 
 With its high-walled graveyard it makes the loveliest and 
 
 most appealing spot in that city by the sea. 
 
 The church, which was built in 1739, is in the shape of a 
 cross, and is completely mantled in iv}^ save where the 
 green is trimmed away to show the cannon-ball lodged in 
 the wall bj" a gun on the frigate Liverpool, during the 
 bombardment of Norfolk bj^ Lord Dunmore, on New 
 Year's Day, 1776.* 
 
 The Communion service was taken from the church 
 by the Rritish and carried to Scotland. 
 
 THE MYERS HOUSE, NORFOLK 
 
 The ivy-covered, brick dwelling now occupied by Mr. 
 Barton Mj'ers was built, in 1791, by JNIoses Myers, his 
 great-grandfather. He was one of the most prominent 
 ship owners and merchants of his daj^ engaged in foreign 
 trade, and was appointed bj^ John Quincy Adams, Collec- 
 tor of Customs for the Port in 1828. 
 
 Five generations of the famih'^ have lived here. The 
 house has always been noted for its hospitalitj' and many of 
 the most distinguished men who visited Norfolk were en- 
 tertained within its hospitable walls, amongst them Henry 
 Clay, who staj^ed here when he visited Norfolk during the 
 Presidential campaign in 1844. 
 
 President Roosevelt, with members of his Cabinet, and 
 James Bryce, British Ambassador, with their wives, were 
 entertained here on the occasion of the opening of the 
 Jamestown Exposition, April, 1907, as the guests of Mr. 
 Harry St. George Tucker, President of the Exposition. 
 
 * See illustration, p. 43. 
 
 41 
 
42 
 
 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 The American Architect and Building Netvs, of Bos- 
 ton, in its portfolio of the Georgian Period, Part IV, pub- 
 lished in Boston, in 1900, says, " The house we have chosen 
 for illustration is by far the most interesting example of 
 Georgian work to be found in Norfolk." 
 
 General Winfield Scott, on a visit to Norfolk, in 1850, 
 was a guest here. His visit, and a description of the house 
 was referred to in an article published by JNIr. H. B. Bag- 
 nail in the Ledger-Dispatch. 
 
 ROLLESTON 
 
 In the Dutch-roofed portion of the house here pre- 
 sented we find all that is left of the habitation of one of 
 Virginia's early settlers. In 1649 — the year Charles I 
 
 HOl.LlvSTON, PIUXCKSS AXXE COLNTV 
 
 was beheaded with other disappointed Cavaliers — William 
 Moseley arrived on our shores from Rotterdam, Holland, 
 bringing with him his wife Susannah and sons Arthur and 
 William, grants of land in Lynnhaven Parish on Broad 
 
ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, NORFOLK 
 
 MYERS HOUSK, NORFOLK 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 45 
 
 Creek, Lower Norfolk County, Virginia, a " Court Cal- 
 lender," a " Coat of Arms," old family portraits, one of 
 them painted in the reign of Henry II and the rest by 
 Van Dyck, and family jewels of rare value, showing how 
 Englishmen cling to their old traditions and belongings 
 even when colonizing in the wilderness. In 1650, alas! we 
 find Susannah IMoseley forced to sell her jewels for " Cat- 
 tell," the gems, ironj^ of Fate! being purchased by Francis 
 Yardley, son of the Colonial Governor and leader of the 
 Cromwellian party in Virginia. 
 
 Here in Lower Norfolk County, William Moseley 
 bviilt the house of our cut, calling it " Rolleston " after the 
 iVIoseley seat, Rolleston Hall, in Staffordshire, England. 
 These Virginia lands were escheated to the Commonwealth 
 in the time of Cromwell, and, after the restoration of 
 Charles II, were restored to the grandson of the emigrant. 
 Colonel Edward JNIoseley, a man of great distinction in 
 those parts, a member of the House of Bin-gesses, and one 
 of Governor Spotswood's Knights of the Golden Horse- 
 shoe. The house still stands, and until the end of the W^ar 
 between the States (1865) was occupied by his lineal 
 descendants. 
 
 THOROUGHGOOD HOUSE 
 
 In the early daj's of our country's history, as far back 
 indeed as 1621, there came to Virginia from Lynn, in Nor- 
 folk, England, in the good ship Charles, a certain Adam 
 Thoroughgood, who was destined to become, through his 
 thrift and industry, a man of much distinction in the Col- 
 ony. Perhaps, too, a strain of gentle blood, which flowed 
 in "him from a long line of English ancestors, enabled him 
 to impress those early colonizers — an impression so last- 
 ing that to this day their descendants around Lynnhaven 
 and Norfolk, in Virginia, still revere his memory. 
 
 He was the son of Thomas Thoroughgood, M.P., and 
 brother of Sir John Thoroughgood, Knight of Kensing- 
 ton, England, whom he mentions in his will, and it is stated 
 in the patent for 5350 acres of land granted him, that the 
 
46 
 
 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 grant is made " at the especial recommendation of him 
 from their Lordships and others of his JNIajesties most 
 humble privy Councell." He settled first at " Kicotan,' 
 now Hampton, Virginia, but in 1634, when this land was 
 granted him in the same shire, he removed to Back River, 
 naming it " Norfolk " County, and its beautiful Bay, 
 " Lynnhaven." Here he built the quaint house, the gable 
 
 THOROUGH( <i(ll) IlOl si I 1US( I ss \NNh ( ()\\T\ 
 
 Built about 1635 
 
 end of which appears in our illustration, and so substantial 
 was his work that now it still stands habitable and well pre- 
 served, with its walls of three feet thickness, its queer old 
 wainscoting reaching the ceiling about the chimney pieces, 
 and its secret closets running from gable to gable in which 
 to hide from the Indians. 
 
 Here he amassed a large fortune, and rose to much 
 
Hx\MPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 47 
 
 distinction in the Colony, being, in 1637, a member of the 
 Council (our Colonial House of Lords) with Governor 
 Harvey. But in 16-iO, he is dead, cut down before his 
 prime, still, having accomplished enough in his thirty- 
 seven years of life to make dwellers in those parts nearly 
 300 years later proud to claim descent from Captain Adam 
 Thoroughs'ood. 
 
 ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, HAMPTON * 
 
 ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, HAMPTON 
 
 Across Hampton Roads from Norfolk is the still older 
 town of Hampton, which, like Norfolk, has been destroyed 
 by fire and rebuilt. During the War between the States, 
 when the inhabitants set the torch to their own homes rather 
 than let them give shelter to Northern soldiers, the mas- 
 sive walls of St. John's were the only relics left of Colonial 
 Hampton. 
 
 There were churches in Hampton, which was first 
 known by the name the Indians gave it, " Kicoughtan," 
 
 * Picture from Lossing's Field Book of the Revolution, pub- 
 lished 1850, vol. 2, p. 326. 
 
48 
 
 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 from a very early date, but St. John's was not built until 
 1727. Like many of the Colonial churches it is cruciform 
 and is surrounded by a gravej^ard filled with interesting 
 old tombs. A number of these which were in existence in 
 1861 disappeared during the war. 
 
 St. John's possesses the oldest service of Communion 
 silver in Ajiierica. One of the pieces, a large cup, bears the 
 inscription: "The Communion Cupj) for St. Mary's 
 Church in Smith Hundred, in Virginia," and the hall mark, 
 1617. Smith's Hundred was one of the large land grants 
 along the Chickahominy, and the Hampton silver evidently 
 belonged originally to a church there — long since dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 An interesting window in St. John's is to the memory of 
 Pocahontas, and was placed there bj^ the Indian students 
 of Hampton Normal School. 
 
 Notable among the beauties of the churchyard are the 
 fine old weeping willows that shade it with their fringe- 
 like foliage. 
 
 EASTERN SHORE CH.\PEL, PRINCESS ANNE COUNTY 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 49 
 
 EASTERN SHORE CHAPEL 
 
 Soon after the opening of the earliest vestry books 
 known to Bishop INIeade is mention, in 1725, of an Eastern 
 Shore Chapel. The present building was erected in 1754. 
 
 OLD BRICK CHURCH, ISLE OF WIGHT 
 
 Crossing again to the south side of James River, the 
 traveller enters the county of Isle of Wight, whose chief 
 interest is the Old Brick Church, some five miles from 
 Smithfield.* 
 
 The Old Brick Church is as unique as it is picturesque. 
 Tradition has long insisted that it was built in 1632, and 
 this seemed to be confirmed during its restoration, when, 
 in the debris scattered about, two old bricks with the tra- 
 ditional date baked into them were found. The zealous 
 historian of the church has produced other strong argu- 
 ments in favor of this date, in spite of which there are some 
 who doubt. Whatever may be its exact age, it is certain 
 that it was built early in the seventeenth century and it is 
 the oldest brick Protestant church in the New World. A 
 point of interest concerning it is that it was evidently of 
 the same type as (and probably exactly like) the James- 
 town Church, as the ruins of that historic sanctuary plainly 
 show. These two were the only buttressed churches of the 
 seventeenth century in America. 
 
 Fortunately, the Old Brick Church, while suffering 
 much from neglect in the past, has remained unchanged 
 in all of its essential features. The square entrance-tower, 
 the frame-work of the round-headed windows with their 
 lancet lights and the great east window (though their 
 glasses were destroyed) have been preserved. Within 
 the last few years the church has been completely restored 
 and many handsome memorials placed in the beautiful old 
 window frames. 
 
 * See illustration, p. 51. 
 4 
 
50 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 BACON'S CASTLE 
 
 Not many miles above the Old Brick Church, in the 
 adjoining county of Surry, is Bacon's Castle, perhaps the 
 oldest of the homesteads in the James River region. 
 Though a sjjacious addition, with commodious " built in " 
 porches, tells a story of a later time, the steep roof, massive 
 walls and huge chimneys of the original building stamp it 
 at once as early Colonial. The dee}) window-seats, wain- 
 scoted walls and low ceilings, with their heavy oaken cross- 
 beams, make the rooms exceedingly picturesque. In one 
 instance the cross-beams are supported by a carved oak 
 centre-post in the middle of the big room. 
 
 Bacon's Castle was built by Arthur Allen, who came 
 to Virginia from England in 1649. He married Alice 
 Tucker and died in 1670, leaving the plantation with the 
 brick house, said to have been built in 1660, to his son and 
 heir, ISIajor Arthur Allen, sometime Speaker of the Vir- 
 ginia House of Burgesses. During Bacon's Rebellion the 
 house of ]Major Allen, who was a friend of Governor 
 Berkeley's, was seized, fortified and used as a stronghold 
 by a partjr of Bacon's adherents, commanded by William 
 Bookings, and was held for nearly four months. 
 
 In the journal of the INIaster of a Ship, who was aiding 
 Governor Berkeley in this part of the country, is this entry: 
 
 " The guard at Allen's brick house we hear is run 
 away." On the next daj^ the writer records the occupation 
 of the " fort," as he calls it. The records of Surry County 
 show that on July 3, 1677, INIajor Arthur Allen sued INIr. 
 Robert Burgess " for that during the late most Horrid 
 Rebellion he with others did seize and keep garrison in 
 the pit's house neare fower months (bearing the title of 
 Lieutenant Commander-in-Chief next to William Rook- 
 ings)." From that time the house was known as Bacon's 
 Castle. 
 
 Major Allen died in 1710 and the estate passed to his 
 son, Arthur, who died in 1725, leaving an only son and 
 heir, James, upon whose death it was inherited by his sister 
 
ST. LUKE'S CHURCH, ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY 
 
 - .-JL^ 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 53 
 
 Katherine, wife of Benjamin Cocke. In 1802 Allen Cocke 
 left Bacon's Castle to his sister, JMrs. Bradley. After pass- 
 ing through the hands of several other owners it was bought 
 by Mr. ^Villiam A. Warren, of Surry, who gave it to the 
 present owner, his son, Mr. Charles Walker Warren, as 
 a wedding gift. This seems most fitting, for the bride was 
 Miss Pegram, daughter of Mr. Blair Pegram, of Surry, 
 and is related to the Aliens, Cockes and other former 
 owners of the old " Castle." 
 
 BACON'S CASTLE, SURRY COUNTY 
 
 About a quarter of a mile away from Bacon's Castle 
 are the ivy-grown ruins of a Colonial church, with walls 
 three feet thick. A brick found among these ruins bears 
 the date 1736. 
 
 CARTER'S GROVE 
 
 Going up James River from Bacon's Castle and cross- 
 ing to the north side, the next Colonial house of note is 
 Carter's Grove, in the lower end of James City County. 
 This fine old mansion was built by Carter Burwell in 1751. 
 It stands on a bluff eighty feet high overlooking the river 
 and, as may be imagined, the view from the windows is 
 superb. The James is wide here and looking down stream 
 the broad expanse of BurweU's Bay and still lower reaches 
 
54 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 may be seen. In front of the house, the hill has been cut 
 down to form terraces below which a green field stretches 
 away to the edge of the high river bank. 
 
 The house is commodious and handsome, but modern 
 porches, while they add greatly to its comfort, mar the 
 beaut}^ of the exterior. Within, it is one of the most im- 
 pressive examples of Colonial home-building left in Vir- 
 ginia. Walls of hall and rooms are panelled to the ceiling, 
 where they are finished with beautiful cornices. The great 
 central hall is spanned by a wide arch supported on either 
 side by fluted pilasters, beneath which the fine old stair- 
 way, with its carved banisters, descends with majestic 
 sweep. Along the hand-rail may still be seen the gashes 
 made by the sabres of Tarleton's men, who paid their 
 respects to Carter's Grove when raiding Virginia during 
 the Revolution. 
 
 Some interesting details concerning the construction of 
 the house are furnished by an old plantation account book 
 of the Burwell family. This shows that the house was 
 begun in June and finished in September. The labor was 
 of course that of slaves, but a " master workman " — one 
 David Minitree — was general director of construction and 
 was brought from England, accompanied by his family, 
 especially for this work. He was paid 115 pounds by Mr. 
 Burwell for " building me a brick house according to agree- 
 ment," and in addition received a present of 25 pounds. 
 The timber used — 25,000 feet of plank, at ten shillings a 
 thousand, 40,000 shingles, at four shillings a thousand, and 
 15,000 lathes, at seven shillings a thousand — was evidentlj' 
 brought from a distance, as 32 pounds was paid for hauling 
 it ; but the bricks — 460,000 at seventeen shillings a thousand 
 — were made upon the place. Five hundred and forty 
 squares of glass were used, at two and a half pence a square. 
 The entire cost of building the house was five hundred 
 pounds, which considering its substantial condition, after 
 over a centurj^ and a half of wear and tear, seems most 
 moderate. 
 
THE HALL AT CARTER'S GROVE 
 
 CARTER'S GROVE, JAMES CITY COUNTY 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 57 
 
 Carter Burwell, builder and first master of Carter's 
 Grove, was the son of Colonel Nathaniel Burwell, of 
 Carter's Creek, and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Robert 
 (" King ") Carter. He was long a member of the House 
 of Burgesses from James City County. He married Lucy, 
 daughter of Honorable John Grymes (1693-1748) of 
 Middlesex County, and had, among other children, (his 
 eldest son) Colonel Nathaniel Burwell, who inherited 
 Carter's Grove, but about the end of the eighteenth century 
 moved to Clarke County, where he built Carter Hall. Since 
 then Carter's Grove has had several owners, but has been 
 best known as the hospitable home of Dr. Edwin Booth, 
 who has, however, recently sold it. 
 
 THE WARREN HOUSE 
 
 Grays Creek, which flows into James River, opposite 
 Jamestown, has at its mouth, on John Smith's map, " The 
 New Fort." A short distance up the creek on a bluff on 
 the " Smith Fort " farm are remains of earthworks, most 
 probably a part of the " New Fort " built in 1608 or 1609. 
 
 On " Smith's Fort " is an old brick residence exactly 
 fifty feet long, which is the oldest house in Virginia whose 
 exact date can be ascertained.* The records show that 
 Thomas Rolfe, the son of Pocahontas, owned 1200 acres 
 here which he sold to Thomas Warren (ancestor of the 
 well-known Surry family) . Depositions on record at Surry 
 Court House state that the Warrens' " fifty foot brick 
 house " at Smith's Fort was built in 1654. After passing 
 through manj^ different hands, the house and a hundred or 
 so acres of land adjoining are the property of a pros- 
 perous negro family. 
 
 FOUR MILE TREE 
 
 Going on up the south side of the river, the travel- 
 ler soon has a view of Four Mile Tree — a name evidently 
 given the plantation on account of some conspicuous tree 
 
 * See illustration at head of Index. 
 
58 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 which distinguished it in early times. The mansion stands 
 upon a steep, round-top hill overlooking the river and from 
 the remnants of terraces and high box-hedges that may be 
 still seen was, evidently, in its day, a place of beauty as 
 well as consequence. 
 
 As early as 1637, Henry Browne * patented 2250 acres 
 " at the Four JNIile Tree ""and a little later 900 acres ad- 
 joining. The estate remained in the Browne family, whose 
 members were prominent in public life in nearly every 
 
 FOUR MILE TREE, JAMES RIVER 
 
 & 
 
 generation. William Browne, the last of the name who 
 owned Four Mile Tree, died, in 1799, leaving an only 
 child, Sally Edwards Browne, who married, in 1813, John 
 T. Bowdoin, and dj^ing, in 1815, left also an only child, 
 Sally Elizabeth Courtney Bowdoin, who married Gen. 
 Philip St. George Cocke, and they lived there until General 
 Cocke built Belmead, on upper James River. 
 
 In the graveyard may be seen — still in perfect condition 
 — the oldest tomb in Virginia having a legible inscription, 
 that of Mrs. Alice Jordan, who died in 1650. Her husband, 
 
 * Browne: William and Mary College Quarterly Historical 
 Magazine, xvi, 227 et seq. 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 59 
 
 George Jordan, at one time Attorney General of Virginia, 
 long survived her, and in his will, n'lade in 1678, directed 
 that he be buried beside his wife and children in Major 
 Browne's orchard. 
 
 GREEN SPRING 
 
 Some distance back from the river, and four miles from 
 Jamestown, was Green Spring, the home of Sir William 
 Berkeley (1606-1677), the famous Cavalier Governor of 
 Virginia. The place derives its name from " A very fine 
 green spring that is upon the land," whose water was " so 
 very cold that 'tis dangerous drinking thereof in summer- 
 time." 
 
 The estate of nearly a thousand acres was granted to 
 Governor Berkeley in 1643,' and here he built him a home 
 consisting of a central building containing six rooms and 
 a large hall, with a commodious wing on either side. The 
 fireplaces were over four feet wide and nearly as deep, 
 and there was a central chimney seven feet wide. There 
 were a terraced lawn and flower gardens, and hot-houses 
 in which orange trees and other tropical shrubs grew and 
 bore fruit, and there were great stables filled with fine 
 horses. 
 
 Here Sir William kept open house for the Cavaliers 
 who took refuge in Virginia during the banishment from 
 England of his JNIajesty, Charles II ; here Nathaniel Bacon, 
 on the march to Jamestown, where Sir William was en- 
 trenched, rested, and made one of his ringing speeches to 
 his " hearts of gold," and here he returned after besieging 
 and burning Jamestown, and took up his headquarters. 
 Here, too, on account of the destruction of the State House 
 at Jamestown, the first Grand Assembly after Bacon's 
 Rebellion met. 
 
 After Sir William Berkeley's death, his widow, the fair 
 and fascinating Ladj^ Frances, married the Honorable 
 Philip Ludwell I (becoming his second wife), and Green 
 
 ' Hening, Statutes at Large . . . of Virginia, ii, 319. 
 
60 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Spring passed to the Ludwell family.' Three successive 
 Phihj) Ludwells owned it — wealthy and prominent men, 
 all of them, and members of his JNIajesty's Council. In 
 taking a second husband Lady Berkeley could not bring 
 herself to part with the title her first had given her, and 
 not only did she continue to be called by it the rest of her 
 days, but " Lady Berkeley " was the name inscribed on 
 her tomb. Her cousin Lord Culpeper, who was made 
 Governor of the Colony in 1680, rented Greenspring from 
 the Ludwells and lived there in state. 
 
 Finally Green Spring passed to the Lees, b}^ the mar- 
 riage of Hannah Philippa, daughter and co-heiress of the 
 third Colonel Philip Ludwell, with Honorable William 
 Lee, JNIinister of the United States at the Courts of Vienna 
 and Berlin, who in his latter days retired to the famous 
 old plantation and lived there in style and splendor. 
 
 An advertisement in a Richmond newspaper of 1816 
 for the sale of Green Spring — at that time 2934 acres — 
 shows that the house then standing ( the ruins of which 
 now remain) was built by William L. Lee, son of William 
 Lee. 
 
 CLAREMONT 
 
 In the same county with Four INIile Tree — at its upper 
 end — is Claremont, best known as the home of the Allen 
 family, which has been identified with it for two centuries 
 and a quarter. Part of this handsome estate of 12,000 acres 
 was granted as earh^ as 1649 to Arthur Allen, Justice of 
 Surry — for several years a burgess and in 1688 Speaker of 
 the House of Burgesses — who married Catherine, daughter 
 and heiress of Burgess Lawrence Baker, of Surry, and 
 left a number of children. The manor plantation was first 
 inherited bj^ the eldest son James and after his death by his 
 brother, Arthur Allen, third of the name. This Arthur 
 married Elizabeth Bray. His daughter Catherine married 
 
 ^ Ludwell : An account of the Ludwell family may be found in 
 E. J. Lee's Lee of Virginia. 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 61 
 
 Benjamin Cocke, and his son James died unmarried, leav- 
 ing his unentailed estate to his sister and her children and 
 in case of their death without heirs, to Southwark Parish, 
 for founding a school to be called " Allen's School." Upon 
 James Allen's death the manor plantation at Claremont 
 passed to his cousin, Colonel William Allen, of Claremont 
 —a member of the Convention of 1788 and of the Virginia 
 Legislature. He left one son. Colonel William Allen, Jr., 
 of Claremont — a member of the Legislature, Colonel of 
 Militia in the War of 1812 and one of the largest land and 
 slave owners in Virginia. 
 
 CLAREMONT, SURRY COUNTY 
 
 Colonel William Allen, Jr., left his estate to his great- 
 nephew, William Orgain, who took the name of Allen. 
 He served as a major of artillerj^ in the Confederate Army 
 and was known as Major William Allen, of Claremont. 
 At one time he owned the largest landed estate in Virginia 
 — his possessions including the plantations of Claremont, 
 Kingsmill, Jamestown Island, Neck of Land, Curie's Neck 
 and other valuable lands to the number of thirty or forty 
 thousand acres. He also owned some seven or eight hun- 
 
62 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 dred slaves. With his death, in 1875, the Allen tenure at 
 Claremont ceased, and the great estate has been since cut 
 up into small farms — part of it being now the town of 
 Claremont. 
 
 An interesting incident in the Allen family historj^ is 
 furnished by the will of JNIrs. Elizabeth Braj^ Allen, who 
 upon the death of her husband, Colonel Arthur Allen, 
 third, married Colonel Arthur Smith, of Isle of Wight, 
 and founded a free school at Smithfield. In her will she 
 left fifty pounds for the purchase of " an altar piece for 
 the Lower Church of Southwalk Parish," Surry, upon 
 which jNIoses and Aaron were to be represented holding 
 between them the Ten Commandments, while upon either 
 side was to hang a small tablet, one of them containing the 
 Lord's Prayer and the other the Apostles' Creed.' 
 
 TEDINGTON 
 
 The Sandy Point estate on James River, in Charles 
 City County, was for several generations the home of that 
 branch of the Lightfoot family in Virginia which descends 
 from Honorable Philip Lightfoot (grandson of Richard 
 Lightfoot, rector of Stoke-Bruerne, Northamptonshire, 
 England), who was in the colony as earlj^ as 1671. He 
 held various offices of trust and honor, among them collec- 
 tor for the LTpper District of James River and surveyor 
 general of the colony.* 
 
 Philip Lightfoot owned a large acreage at Sandy 
 Point, where, by the way, was, at the settlement of Vir- 
 ginia, seated the Indian town of " Paspahegh." 
 
 The house at Sandy Point, says Tyler in his Ci-adle of 
 the Eepublic, is said to have been built in 1717, and is 
 called " Tedington," the name of a place in London. This 
 
 ^ Allen genealogy, William and Mary College Quarterly His- 
 torical Magaz'ne, viii, 110-115. 
 
 ■* Lightfoot family : WUliam and Mary College Quarterly His- 
 torical Magazine, ii,'91-97, 204-207 and 259-262; iii, 104-111, 
 137. 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 63 
 
 house has massive walls of brick and from the first' floor is 
 weather-boarded over the inside brick casing, known m 
 Colonial days as a stock brick building and supposed to be 
 indestructible. : '■' 
 
 At Sandy Point are buried several of the older gen- 
 erations of the Lightfoot family, beneath tombs bearing 
 the familv arms. 
 
 TEDINGTON, CHARLES CITY COUNTY 
 
 From the Lightfoots, the estate passed to the INIinges 
 and Boilings and from the latter, by sale, to Baylor. 
 
 Charles Campbell, the Virginia historian, published a 
 fascinating account of Tedington in the Southern Literary 
 Messenger for JNIarch, 1841, called, " Christmas Holidaj^s 
 at Tedington." 
 
 BRANDON 
 
 Separated onlj^ by Upper Chippokes Creek from the 
 great Claremont estate and extending like it along the 
 James, is historic Brandon. 
 
 Its approach from the river-front is through the love- 
 liest old garden in Virginia, and every flower and shrub 
 known to Virginia gardens has a place there, from the 
 
64 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 violet, the cowslip and the lily-of-the-valley underfoot, to 
 the mimosa and the magnolia shedding sweetness in the 
 upper air. 
 
 The garden is open to the river at the end but is en- 
 closed on each side by a box-hedge walk. Entrance is from 
 a corner where box-walk and river bluff meet, through a 
 bower of honeysuckle. A short path along the bluff leads 
 to a broad grass-walk, bordered on either side with flower- 
 ing shrubs of every description, which cuts the garden in 
 two and provides a most beautiful approach to the house. 
 In the spaces between this central walk and the box-walks 
 the flowers in their respective seasons make a variety of 
 color. In midsummer numberless hollyhocks set in formal 
 rows and in beds are in their glory, while through spring, 
 summer, and fall roses in splendid varietj' show what roses 
 can be at their best. 
 
 The gi'ass-walk ends in a smooth green lawn stretching 
 away on either side to the box-hedges, upon which stands 
 the hoary mansion, its tempest-stained and bullet-scarred 
 walls presenting a striking contrast to the gay garden, for 
 no attempt has ever been made to cover the fact that during 
 the War between the States the house was used as a target 
 b}^ Northern soldiers, who also burned the barns and out- 
 buildings, pried off some of the wainscoting inside of the 
 house in hope of finding treasure, and broke some window- 
 panes upon which had been scratched with diamonds the 
 names of visitors to the house for a hundred years or more 
 — many of them persons of note. The Southern poet John 
 R. Thompson made these panes the subject of a quaint bit 
 of verse, " The Window-panes of Brandon." 
 
 The house consists of a square central building with 
 square porches at both back and front, and this central 
 building is connected bj" one-story passage-ways with a 
 wing at either side. Crossing the threshold we find our- 
 selves within a spacious hall, wainscoted to the ceiling and 
 relieved midway by triple arches supported upon fluted 
 columns. After two hundred years the Harrisons still own 
 
BRANDON, PRINCE GEORCE COUNTY 
 
 THE HALL AT BRANDON 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 67 
 
 and occupy Brandon, with the household gods accumulated 
 during that period around them. These gentle and com- 
 panionable deities will prove as full of inspiration as the 
 flower garden, for they make the home as redolent with 
 memories as the garden is with bloom. 
 
 Upon the walls of drawing-room and dining-room 
 which open upon the hall from either side hang the famous 
 collection of Byrd portraits from Westover — brought 
 hither when the daughter of the third Colonel William 
 Byrd married Benjamin Harrison. Some of these are by 
 such distinguished artists as Godfrey Kneller, Vandyke and 
 Sir Peter Lely. Here is, also, rich old mahogany worthy 
 to be used by the stately ladies and gentlemen who look 
 down upon it, and picturesque old cabinets filled with 
 Colonial silver, every piece of which has its own story. 
 
 Here is a gown of pink brocade and a painted fan which 
 once belonged to the fair Mistress Evelyn Byrd. 
 
 A round of the treasure-filled rooms finallj^ brings us 
 out into the porch at the opposite end of the hall from that 
 by which we entered, and here the eye is surprised by the 
 contrast the grounds on this side of the house make with 
 the river-front. Instead of the brilliant garden is an open 
 lawn, and beyond a sunlit space of unbroken green spreads 
 a park where wide-spreading oaks and elms make shadowy 
 vistas. 
 
 Brandon plantation was first granted to John Martin, 
 who came over with John Smith and was a member of " his 
 ISIajesty's first Council in Virginia," and its earliest name 
 was " Martin's Brandon." One of the most interesting 
 relics in Virginia is the original grant to John Martin still 
 preserved at Brandon. Later Martin must have either sold 
 or abandoned the estate, for in 1635 it was granted to John 
 Sadler and Richard Quiney, merchants, and William 
 Barber, mariner. Richard Quiney's brother, Thomas 
 Quiney, married Judith, daughter of William Shakespeare. 
 Richard Quiney left his share of the property to his son, 
 who left it to his great-nephew, Robert Richardson, who 
 
68 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 sold it in 1720 to Nathaniel Harrison^ (1677-1727) of 
 " Wakefield," Surry Countj% son of Honorable Benjamin 
 Harrison (1645-1712) of "Wakefield," who was second 
 of the name in Virginia. He had evidently already bought 
 the rest from the Sadlers, for the records show that he 
 owned " the tract called Brandon, containing 7,000 acres." 
 
 The new owner of Brandon was a burgess and a coun- 
 cillor, naval officer of the Lower James, county lieutenant 
 of Surry and Prince George and finally auditor general 
 of the Colony. He married a widow, Mrs. INIary Young, 
 nee Cary, and had seven children — among them Nathaniel 
 Harrison II, eldest son, who inherited Brandon and built 
 the present house. Nathaniel Harrison, of Brandon, was 
 like his father a prominent man in the colony and a mem- 
 ber of the Council of State. He married first ]\Iary, 
 daughter of Colonel Cole Digges (1692-1744),* and 
 secondly, Lucy, widow of Henry Fitzhugh and daughter 
 of Honorable Robert Carter, of Corotoman. His first wife 
 was the mother of his eldest son and the heir of Brandon, 
 Benjamin Harrison, whose portrait is among those upon 
 the walls. 
 
 Benjamin Harrison was twice married, and the por- 
 traits of his two exceeding fair ladies hang amicably in 
 the same room at Brandon. His first wife was Anne 
 Randolph, of Wilton, who left no children, and the second, 
 Evelj^n Taylor Byrd, daughter of Colonel William Byrd 
 III, of Westover — of an entirely different type from her 
 namesake and aunt, the famous Evelyn, but second only to 
 her in beauty. By his marriage with her, Benjamin Har- 
 rison had two sons, between whom the plantation was 
 divided — George Evelyn, the elder son, of course, inherited 
 the lower part, upon which the family-seat stands, and 
 
 ^ The Harrison family has been very thoroughly worked out 
 by Keith in his Ancestry of Benjamin Harrison . . . Philadelphia, 
 1893, and in The Critic (Richmond, Va.), June 23, July '7 and 21, 
 1889. 
 
 '^ Digges famil}' : Pedigree of a Representative Virginia Planter, 
 in William and Mary Quarterly, i, 80-88, 140-154, 208-213. 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 69 
 
 William Byrd Harrison, the younger son, received the part 
 upon which Upper Brandon was built. 
 
 George Evelyn Harrison was a prominent man in his 
 time and a member of the House of Delegates from his 
 county — Prince George. He married Isabella Ritchie, 
 daughter of Thomas Ritchie, the distinguished Virginia 
 editor, and had two children, George Evelyn and Isabella. 
 He died in 1839, aged 42, and from that date until her own 
 death, in 1898, Brandon was owned by his widow, INIrs. 
 Isabella Ritchie Harrison, who was affectionately known 
 throughout Virginia by the name her servants gave her, 
 " Old JNIiss," and who reigned supreme, not only over 
 Brandon but its vicinitj^ for miles around, for over a half- 
 century. In doing the honors of her hospitable home she 
 was always assisted by her daughter " INIiss Belle," who 
 was widely known and admired for her loveliness and charm 
 of person and character, but who, electing to remain un- 
 married, never left the Brandon roof-tree. 
 
 George Eveh^n Harrison, Jr., married JNIiss Gulielma 
 Gordon, of Savannah, Georgia. He died young, leaving 
 several children, and upon the death of " Old Miss," his 
 widow, JNIrs. Gulielma G. Harrison, succeeded to the dis- 
 tinguished post of mistress of Brandon. Since her death, 
 the estate is owned by her sons and daughters. 
 
 UPPER BRANDON 
 
 Upper Brandon, a handsome and spacious mansion, 
 flanked on either side by commodious wings, stands in a 
 box-bordered lawn, completely screened from the view of 
 passers-by on the James by the grove of superb oaks be- 
 tween it and the river. It was built early in the nineteenth 
 century by William Byrd Harrison, son of Benjamin 
 Harrison and the beautiful Evelyn Tajdor Byrd, his wife. 
 
 Mr. Harrison was one of the most prominent gentle- 
 men and planters in Virginia. He was twice married, first, 
 in 1827, to ]Mary Randolph, daughter of Randolph Har- 
 rison of Elk Hill, Goochland County, and secondly to 
 
70 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Ellen Wayles, daughter of Colonel Thomas Jefferson 
 Randolph, "of Edge Hill, Albemarle County. Three of 
 his sons were gallant officers in the Confederate Army and 
 one of them. Captain Benjamin Harrison, of The Row, 
 Charles City County, was killed at the Battle of Malvern 
 Hill. 
 
 After the death of Mr. Harrison, Upper Brandon was 
 sold and passed into the possession of his nephew, Mr. 
 George H. Byrd, of New York, whose son now owns the 
 place and lives there. 
 
 There were formerly at Upper Brandon a number of 
 interesting portraits — among them one of Miss Blount, 
 said to have been a sweetheart of the poet Pope. 
 
 WEYANOKE 
 
 Weyanoke, which lies on the north side of the river, not 
 many miles above Upper Brandon, first appears in history 
 during the exploring voyage of Captain Christopher New- 
 port, Captain John Smith and others, up the James, in 
 1607. They found seated at this place the Weyanoke 
 Indians — a tribe governed bj^ a queen subordinate to Pow- 
 hatan. In the writings of the earlj^ colonists there is fre- 
 quent reference to the Queen of Weyanoke. 
 
 Governor Sir George Yeardley acquired an estate at 
 Weyanoke which was afterwards sold to the rich planter 
 and merchant Abraham Piersey. On account of the de- 
 struction of the county records, we have no knowledge of 
 the ownership of the plantation for a time, but toward the 
 end of the seventeenth century it became the property of 
 the Harwoods '^ — long a prominent family in Charles City 
 County. 
 
 In 1740, William Harwood built in place of an earlier 
 dwelling the spacious frame house which still stands at 
 Weyanoke. Toward the close of the eighteenth century, 
 
 ^ Harwood notes : Virginia Magazine of History and Biog- 
 raphy, ii, 183—185. 
 
w 
 
 03 
 
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 z 
 a 
 o 
 2; 
 
 z 
 o 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 B 
 O 
 O 
 rl 
 Z 
 
HAIMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 73 
 
 Agnes, daughter and co-heiress of Major Samuel Har- 
 wood, of Weyanoke, married Fielding Lewis, a son of 
 Colonel Warner Lewis, of Warner Hall, Gloucester 
 County, and inherited the old homestead. Mr. Lewis was 
 noted as a scientific planter, and his portrait was in the 
 collection of the Virginia Agricultural Society, and now 
 hangs in the Virginia State Library. His daughter, 
 Eleanor, who likewise inherited the homestead, married 
 Robert Douthat, and had several children. One of these, 
 JNIajor Robert Douthat, was the next master of Weyanoke, 
 
 WEYANDKE, CHARLES CITY COUNTY 
 
 which he sold in 1876. Another son. Fielding Lewis 
 Douthat, inherited part of the estate. He married Mary 
 Willis Marshall, a descendant of the great Chief Justice, 
 who with her children now lives at Lower Weyanoke. 
 
 SHERWOOD FOREST 
 
 " Sherwood Forest " is situated on the north side of 
 James River in Charles City County, Virginia, opposite to 
 the famous Brandon estates in Prince George County. 
 The tract originally consisted of 1200 acres, and the manor 
 house is a building of framed timbers facing a ten-acre 
 
74 
 
 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 grove of primeval oaks, and in the rear is a circular de- 
 scending park of choice trees originally from the Washing- 
 ton Botanical Gardens. The main building is two stories 
 and a half high with dormer windows. On each side is a 
 wing consisting of a storj^ and a half, and to each wing is 
 attached a long enclosed colonnade, ending in two framed 
 buildings, also of a story and a half — the eastern wing con- 
 taining the laundry and kitchen, and the western the 
 library and overseer's office. It is the longest connected 
 dwelling in Virginia — being upwards of 100 yards in 
 
 SHERWOOD FOREST, CHARLES CITY COUNTY 
 
 length. The place was formerly known as " Walnut 
 Grove," and was bought by President John Tyler of Col- 
 lier Minge in 1842. At the time of the purchase, there was 
 standing a house of Revolutionary age. President Tyler 
 duplicated the structure and added the colonnades and 
 houses at the ends. On his retirement from the Presidency, 
 in 1845, he came there to live with his bride, the second 
 Mrs. Tyler, whose maiden name was Julia Gardiner. 
 
 The President was very fond of poetry and romance, 
 and, in view of his outlawry by the Whig Party, he likened 
 himself to Robin Hood and named his new home " Sher- 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 75 
 
 wood Forest," after the scene of action, in England, of the 
 bold Englishman. Although everything was destroyed on 
 the farm, the house passed safely through the Civil War, 
 and is now the residence of President Tyler's oldest son by 
 his second marriage — D. Gardiner Tyler, Judge of the 
 14th Judicial Circuit of Virginia. 
 
 Three miles away is Greenway, the residence of Gov- 
 ernor John Tyler, Sr., and the birthplace of the President. 
 
 FLOWER DE HUNDRED 
 
 The fantastic name of Flower de Hundred (whose 
 origin is wrapped in mystery), the setting of green lawn 
 and foliage and the view of the river with its " firm, sandy 
 shore, its bluff beyond, its fringe of trees and tangle of 
 lilies," give the long, white, cottage-like homestead " a 
 charm rare even in the enchanted region of James River." 
 
 The plantation is one of the oldest and most historic 
 on the river. Its first owner was Sir George Yeardley, the 
 Governor who called and presided over the famous As- 
 sembly of 1619 — the first free legislature convened in 
 America. In this Assembly, Flower de Hundred was repre- 
 sented by Governor Yeardley's nephew, Edmund Rossing- 
 ham, and John Jefferson, an ancestor of Thomas Jeffer- 
 son. Governor Yeardley himself lived at Jamestown, but, 
 in 1621, he built, at Flower de Hundred, the first wind-mill 
 in America. In the massacre of 1622, the Indians mur- 
 dered six persons at Flower de Hundred. A few years 
 later the plantation was sold to the rich " Cape Merchant " 
 and councillor, Abraham Piersj^ 
 
 In 1633, Thomas Paulett was Burgess for Flower de 
 Hundred and his heir was his nephew. Sir John Paulett. 
 After that there were several changes of ownership until 
 1725, when it was bought by Joseph Poythress and has 
 been owned by his descendants ever since. In 1804 it 
 passed to the Willcox family by the marriage of Susan 
 Peachy Poythress to John Vaughn Willcox, a resident of 
 Petersburg. Mr. Willcox built the oldest part of the 
 present house something over a hundred years ago; this 
 
76 
 
 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 consisted of three rooms which he used while superintend- 
 ing the cultivation of the plantation. The house, as it 
 stands to-day, was completed by John Poj^thress Willcox 
 ( son of John '\''aughn Willcox ) . 
 
 Like most old Virginia homes, Flower de Hundred has 
 its war history. In 1862, its " new wharf " was burned by 
 order of the Confederate Government to prevent the land- 
 ing of Northern soldiers on the south side of the James. 
 " Before its embers were cold the first Federal gunboat 
 ever seen that high up the river came in sight to disturb a 
 peaceful stretch of waters which after this became a ' forest 
 of masts.' " Two years later, in June, 1864, General Grant 
 on the march to Petersburg, made his famous crossing of 
 the James, 130,000 strong, from River Edge, opposite 
 Flower de Hundred. " The feat was accomplished in two 
 
 FLOWER DR HUNDRKD, PRIXCE GEORGE COUNTY 
 
 days — a glorious sight as described by his generals — under 
 a brilliant sky, in fields of sunshine," but to the gentle 
 mistress of Flower de Hundred, " along with her aged 
 mother and a few faithful servants, the picture had a reverse 
 side. She watched the landing at Windmill Point, the 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 77 
 
 tramping through her standing corn, the bivouac about 
 her house, the place swarming with soldiers and covered 
 with tents, batteries, horses and wagons, and when they 
 went away there were floors torn up and mahogany hacked 
 to pieces, and marble hearths broken to bits and the memory 
 of one trooper disappearing up the road decked in the 
 bridal veil and orange blossoms of a newly married daugh- 
 ter of the house. Long afterward the broken marble was 
 gathered up as a sacred relic and became a hearth again — 
 this time a mosaic." 
 
 The Flower de Hundred plantation has undergone as 
 many changes of size and shape as of ownership. It con- 
 tains at present vipward of a thousand acres. 
 
 This interesting old homestead has been made the scene 
 of three published romances. 
 
 MERCHANT'S HOPE CHURCH. PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY 
 
 MERCHANT'S HOPE CHURCH 
 
 Not many miles from Flower de Hundred, in the same 
 county — Prince George — stands, within a beautiful grove, 
 the quaint old brick church known as Merchant's Hope, 
 
78 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 which took its name from a plantation established at a very 
 early date by some London merchants. It is supposed to 
 have been built in 1657, as that date was found upon 
 timbers inside the roof. 
 
 This church, sixty feet long and twenty-six feet wide, 
 is still in a fair state of preservation — the pulpit and 
 chancel furniture destroyed during the War between the 
 States having been replaced by new ones. The original 
 floor of stone flagging is stiU there, as is the ponderous 
 Bible printed in 1625. 
 
 Not far from the church, on the same side of the river, 
 is " Jordan's Point," which was so long the plantation and 
 home of the distinguished family of Bland. The old man- 
 sion house disappeared long ago. At an early period of 
 our history it was the home of JNIrs. Cicely Jordan, a too 
 fascinating widow, whose coquetries induced the GoA^ernor 
 and Council to issue a stern edict against women who en- 
 gage themselves to two men at the same time. 
 
 There is no record in Virginia indicating that this edict 
 was ever revoked. 
 
 WESTOVER* 
 
 From a deep green setting of shade-tree and turf, 
 Westover, deep red, tall, stately and serene, gleams upon 
 James River. Its high and steep roof is unrelieved save 
 by dormer windows and towering chimneys. Its formal 
 red-brick walls are unencumbered by porch or ornament, 
 but foot-worn gray stone steps rise in a pyramid to a white 
 portal of exquisite taste. Above a fan-light a massive 
 cornice, supported by Corinthian pilasters, is capped bj' 
 a carved pineapple — emblem of hospitality — within a 
 broken pediment. 
 
 * For full histories of the Byrds and their estates see The 
 Writings of Colonel William Byrd of Westover in Virginia, Esqr., 
 edited by John Spencer Bassett, New York, 1901, the Introduction 
 and Appendix; The Critic (Richmond, Va.), December 14 and 16, 
 1888; The Title to Westover in William and Mary Quarterly, iv, 
 151-155. 
 

HAMPTON ROx\DS AND LOWER JAMES 81 
 
 The row of wonderful old tulip poplars, with their 
 gnarled and twisted arms, in front of the house is believed 
 to have stood guard there for a century and a half, and 
 the green carpet that stretches to the edge of the bluff is 
 as old as the trees. 
 
 The main entrance to the grounds is at the rear where 
 noble iron gates bearing the Byrd arms swing between 
 square, brick piers ten feet high, surmounted by brass 
 falcons standing with wings spread as if for flight. The 
 interior of the mansion — with its great central hall and 
 
 WESTOVER GATES 
 
 stairway, its panelled rooms, whose ceilings are adorned 
 with medalhons and garlands in relief, its deep fkeplaces 
 and tall carved mantels, its massive doors with their huge 
 brass locks — is in perfect keeping with the stateliness of 
 the exterior, and proclaims it at once as the home of culture 
 and elegance. 
 
 About the year 1674 William Byrd (1653-1704), first 
 of the name in Virginia, and his wife, Mary — descendants, 
 both, of good old English famihes — came to Virginia and 
 settled at the Falls of James River, where they called 
 their home Belvidere. In 1688 Byrd bought from 
 
82 
 
 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Theodorick Bland the plantation of Westover, and took 
 up his abode there. About the year 1730 his son and heir, 
 William Byrd II (1674-1744), built the mansion which 
 so fittingly crowns that fair plantation. 
 
 In the young master of Westover were met such an 
 unusual number of happy gifts, so well improved by cul- 
 tivation, that he was dubbed the " Black Swan " of Vir- 
 ginia. He was not onty born to " an ample fortune " — as 
 
 THE PAE.LOR AT WESTOVER 
 
 his epitaph informs us — but with a brilliant mind, a cour- 
 ageous spirit and a kindly disposition. Besides, he was 
 handsome, graceful, and fascinating. He was liberally 
 educated abroad, where he travelled much and was in the 
 best society. He was in demand everj^where, for he was 
 at once the most elegant of gentlemen and the best of good 
 fellows. He was a man of many resources, with a special 
 leaning toward literature, and collected, at Westover, the 
 
'^ 
 
 HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 83 
 
 finest library of Colonial times in America. He did not 
 write for publication, but left diaries which have been 
 printed under the title of " The Westover JNIanuscripts " 
 and are models of pure English — fresh, sparkling and 
 picturesque. 
 
 He took an active and leading part in public affairs, 
 and filled many important offices — among them that of 
 President of " his JNlajestj^'s Council." 
 
 He was twice married — first to Lucy, daughter of 
 Colonel Daniel Parke (1669-1710), Marlborough's aide- 
 de-camp ; and after her death to Maria Taylor, of Kensing- 
 ton, a wealthy and attractive young widow. The first wife 
 was the mother of Evelyn (1707-1737) and Wilhemina 
 Byrd; and the second, of Anne (1725-1757), Maria 
 (1727-1744), William (1729-1777), and Jane. His 
 daughters were noted belles, especially Evelj^n — the eldest 
 — whose fame as a beauty spread to England. She was 
 presented at Court at the age of eighteen and was the toast 
 of noblemen — the King himself expressing pleasure at 
 finding his Colonies could furnish such " beautiful Byrds." 
 According to tradition, she was wooed and won while in 
 England by the Earl of Peterborough, but her father 
 would not hear of the match and hurried her back to Vir- 
 ginia, where the " beautiful Byrd " gradually faded away 
 and, at the age of twenty-seven, died a spinster, of a broken 
 heart. A fine portrait which now adorns the walls at 
 Brandon preserves her flower-like loveliness. 
 
 Her sisters, whose portraits show that thej^ were close 
 seconds to her in beauty, became the wives : Wilhemina, of 
 Thomas Chamberlayne ; Anne, of Charles Carter of 
 " Cleve "; Maria, of Landon Carter of " Sabine Hall "; 
 and Jane, of John Page of " North End "; and her only 
 brother. Colonel Wilham Byrd III (1729-1777), heir of 
 Westover, married : first, Elizabeth Hill, daughter of John 
 Carter, of Shirley, and, secondly, Mary, daughter of 
 Charles and Anne Shippen Willing, of Philadelphia. The 
 descendants of the " Black Swan " of Virginia are legion. 
 
 Colonel William Byrd III was, like his father and 
 
84 
 
 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 grandfather, a distinguished member of the Virginia Coun- 
 cil and served gallantly as a colonel of a Virginia regiment 
 during the French and Indian War. His spirit and 
 liberality in this service were highly commended by the 
 English Commander-in-Chief in America. He was a man 
 of talent and cultivation, but was, unhappily, possessed 
 
 p P "JSW^** 
 
 WESTOVER DURING THE WAR 1861-1865 
 
 by an incurable passion for gaming, which finally wrecked 
 his superb estate. He died in 1777, leaving, at Westover, 
 a widow and several daughters, who, like the " beautiful 
 Byrds " of the former generation, were noted for their 
 charms. They especially attracted some of the French 
 officers who had taken part in the siege of Yorktown, and 
 the Marquis de Chastellux declared in his memoirs that 
 Westover was the most beautiful place in America. 
 
 Westover was twice visited by the British army during 
 the Revolution. Arnold was there in 1781, and Cornwallis 
 crossed the river there, with his forces, in April of the same 
 year. Mrs. Mary Willing Byrd had many Tory con- 
 nections and was at one time so strongly suspected of cor- 
 responding with the enemy that her papers were seized by 
 the Virginia officers. The splendid library at Westover 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 85 
 
 and the family plate were sold during her lifetime and 
 after her death the estate passed from the Byrd family. 
 It was long the property of the Seldens and passed from 
 them, by sale, to jNlajor Augustus Drewry and from him, 
 in the same manner, to ]Mrs. Clarice Sears Ramsay, the 
 present owner, who has done much to restore both house 
 and grounds to their early beaut^^ 
 
 INIany interesting traditions linger about Westover. 
 The room of the lovely Evelyn Byrd is still pointed out 
 and it is said that the tap of her high-heeled slippers and 
 swish of her silken gown may be sometimes heard on the 
 broad stair, in the watches of the night. Not far from the 
 house, at the site of the old Westover Church, may be seen 
 her tomb, together with those of her grandfather, William 
 Byrd I, Theodorick Bland and other worthies of an earlier 
 time. Her father's ashes rest under a handsome tomb in 
 the garden. 
 
 Westover had its taste of the war of 1861-186.5 as well 
 as of the Revolution, for there McClellan's army camped 
 after the retreat from Richmond. 
 
 WESTOVER CHURCH 
 
86 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 WE STOVER CHURCH 
 
 Was built about 1740, after the site close to Westover 
 house was given up. It has had a checkered career, having 
 been, during the general depression of the Episcopal 
 Church, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, used as 
 a barn, and, during the War between the States, used by 
 Federal troops as a stable. It has now been thoroughly 
 restored. 
 
 BERKEUEY 
 
 Berkeley, which adjoins the Westover estate, and 
 Brandon have been called the " cradles " of the Harrison 
 family in Virginia. Berkeley house stands a quarter of 
 a mile back from the river. It is a square brick building, 
 two stories high, with gable roof and dormer windows, and 
 a wide porch, added in later times, running around it. 
 Within there are panelled rooms, a wide arched hall and 
 carved mantels and cornices of unusual beauty. In historic 
 interest it is second to that of none of the James River 
 mansions. 
 
 Its story begins before the Harrisons came to Virginia, 
 when, in 1618, the Uondon Company granted Berkeley 
 plantation to Sir William Throckmorton, Sir George 
 Yeardley, Richard Berkeley and John Smith of Nibley." 
 On December 4, 1619, the ship Margaret, of Bristol, 
 arrived at Jamestown, bringing, under care of Captain 
 John Woodlief, thirty-five settlers for the Town and 
 Hundred of Berkeley, which then contained about 8,000 
 acres. In 1621, Reverend John Paulett, a kinsman of 
 Uord Paulett, was minister at Berkelej^ Hundred. In 
 1622, the year of the great Indian massacre which nearly 
 wiped Virginia out of existence, ISIr. George Thorpe, 
 formerly a gentleman of the King's Privy Chamber, who 
 had been appointed by the Virginia Company head of the 
 
 ^ Papers relative to settlement, etc., Berkeley Hundred, are 
 published in Bulletin of the New York Public Library, iii, Nos. 4—7 
 (April to July, 1899). 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 89 
 
 proposed college, was one of the nine residents of Berkeley 
 Hundred murdered by the Indians. After the massacre 
 the plantation was abandoned for a time. Later, it became 
 the property of John Bland,'" a London merchant, whose 
 son Giles Bland lived there until he was hanged, in 1676, 
 by Sir William Berkeley, for his part in Bacon's Rebellion. 
 After this Berkeley passed into the hands of the Harrison 
 family, who owned and occupied it through five genera- 
 tions, during which it was the birthplace of a governor of 
 Virginia and signer of the Declaration of Independence, 
 a Revolutionary general and a president of the United 
 States. 
 
 The first of the Harrisons to be master of Berkeley 
 was Benjamin (1673-1710) , third of the name in Virginia, 
 who was attorney-general and speaker of the House of 
 Burgesses and treasurer of the Colony. He was the son 
 of the Honorable Benjamin Harrison II (1695-1712), 
 of " Wakefield," Surry County, and brother of Honor- 
 able Nathaniel Harrison I, of " W^akefield," whose son. 
 Honorable Nathaniel Harrison II, was the founder of 
 the " Brandon " family. Benjamin Ill's massive tomb, 
 with its inscription in Latin, with the exception of one 
 line, which is in Greek, remains at the site of old West- 
 over Church. By his side rests his wife, who was Eliza- 
 beth, daughter of Honorable Lewis Burwell II, whose 
 tomb bears the coat-of-arms of her family. Upon his 
 death the estate descended to his son Benjamin IV, who 
 was many years a member of the House of Burgesses 
 and who built the present house at Berkeley. He mar- 
 ried Anne, daughter of Robert ("King") Carter, and 
 at his death, in 1744, left Berkeley to his son Benjamin 
 Harrison (1726-1791), signer of the Declaration of In- 
 dependence, and father of William Henry Harrison, Presi- 
 dent of the United States, who was born at Berkeley. 
 
 President Harrison's eldest brother, Benjamin, in- 
 
 " The Critic (Richmond, Va.), July 9, 1880. 
 
90 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 herited Berkeley, which passed down through a Hne bearing 
 the same Christian name matil it was sold not long before 
 the War bet^^'een the States. 
 
 It is said that every President of the United States, 
 from ^Vashington to Buchanan, was at some time a guest 
 at Berkeley, and that ujjon the election to this high office 
 of General William Henry Harrison ("Tippecanoe") 
 he went to his mother's room there, to write his inaugural 
 address. The historic room is still pointed out. 
 
 The late President Benjamin Harrison, during his ad- 
 ministration, visited this historic home of his forefathers. 
 
 During the War between the States the house at Berke- 
 ley was used as headquarters by General McClellan and 
 his staff after his retreat from Malvern Hill, and his army 
 was camped for miles along the river banks. The cellar 
 is said to have been used by him as a prison for Confederate 
 soldiers, and from the Berkeley Wharf, knoAvn to history 
 as " Harrison's Landing," his troops were embarked upon 
 the Northern transports. 
 
 In 1882, Berkeley, which now contains 1400 acres, be- 
 came the propertjj^ of Judge Henry F. Knox, of New York. 
 To-daj" the old place has a practical as well as a senti- 
 mental interest, for the Berkeley fishing-shore is one of the 
 finest, as well as one of the oldest, on James River, and as 
 many as 22,931 shad and 200,000 herring have been landed 
 there in one season. A visitor there once described the 
 hauling of the seine 500 3'ards long, by a crew of fifteen 
 men. 
 
 " It is a fascinating sight to see a haul on a good day 
 on the Berkeley shore. As the great seine is drawn in shore 
 bjr the crew the very waters seethe with fish of all varieties, 
 from the luscious roe shad to the insignificant baby perch. 
 As the haul is landed the fish are sorted into baskets and 
 taken to the fish house, where they lie on the cool brick 
 floor until they are shipped to the citj^ markets." 
 
 Berkeley has lately become the property of Mr. 
 Jamieson and is in admirable condition. 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 91 
 
 APPOMATTOX 
 
 Upon a green point between two rivers, where the 
 Appomattox meets and joins the James, ghmpses of a 
 rambling white house, with dormer roof and huge chimneys, 
 may be seen through the foliage of the ancient trees that 
 embower it — making one of the most charming of the 
 many charming pictures with which old Virginia rewards 
 the exertions of its tourist. This is Appomattox, the home 
 
 APPOMATTOX, PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY 
 
 of the Eppes family for two hundred and seventy years — - 
 a length of tenure unequalled in Virginia, and probably in 
 America. 
 
 As earh^ as 1635 Francis Eppes,^^ a member of "his 
 Majesty's Council in Virginia," patented here broad acres, 
 which have ever since been the property of his descendants. 
 They also own goodly estates in the neighboring counties 
 of Chesterfield and Charles City, which are divided from 
 Appomattox by the two rivers, but may be plainly seen 
 across them. 
 
 ' ^ Eppes family : Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 
 iii, 281, 393-401. 
 
92 
 
 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Appomattox is now the home of the daughters of Dr. 
 Richard Eppes. 
 
 At one time during the siege of Petersburg, in the War 
 between the States, the house was the headquarters of 
 Gezieral Grant. 
 
 BLANDFORD CHURCH 
 
 At the head of tide-water, on the Appomattox River, 
 stands Petersburg. This town has many historic asso- 
 ciations, but its chief treasure and pride is old Blandford, 
 the principal church of Bristol Parish.'^ For some years 
 
 BLANDFORD CHURCH, PETERSBURG 
 
 before the Revolution the town of Blandford (now a part 
 of Petersburg), from which the church gets its name, was 
 a busy port and one of the leading shipping points for 
 tobacco from Virginia to England and Scotland. 
 
 The church was built in 1787. According to the articles 
 of agreement, it was to be of brick, sixty by twenty-five 
 feet in the clear, and fifteen feet from the spring of the 
 
 ^ ^ Chamberlayne, The Vestry Book and Register of Bristol 
 Parish, Virginia, 1720-1789. Richmond, 1898. 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 93 
 
 arch to the floor. The aisle was to be six feet wide and 
 paved with Bristol stone. There was to be a " decent 
 pulpit and a decent rail around the altar place and a table 
 suitable thereto as usual." 
 
 In the j'ear 1737 the great orator, Whitefield, preached 
 at Blandf ord — an event which made a great sensation. 
 
 Some time after the Revolution the old church was 
 abandoned and fell into decay, but the churchyard con- 
 tinued to be, and still is, the town cemetery of Petersburg. 
 As a moss-grown, ivy-draped ruin Blandford became 
 famous and has been the subject of some half-dozen pub- 
 lished poems and many a burst of eloquence in prose. The 
 celebrated Irish comedian, Tyrone Power, during a visit 
 to Petersburg, fell in love with this picturesque relic of the 
 past and described it in his " Travels." 
 
 To Power, too, has been attributed a much-quoted poem 
 written with pencil upon the whitewashed wall within the 
 church. Its first and last stanzas are as follows : 
 
 " Thou art crumbling to the dust, old pile: 
 Thou art hastening to thy fall ; 
 And round thee in thy loneliness 
 Clings the ivy to the wall ; 
 * The worshippers are scattered now 
 
 Who knelt before thy shrine. 
 And silence reigns where anthems rose 
 In the days of ' Auld Lang Syne.' 
 
 " Oh ! could we call the many back. 
 Who've gathered here in vain, 
 Who've careless roved where we do now, 
 Who'll never meet again. 
 How would our very hearts be stirred, 
 To meet the earnest gaze 
 Of the lovely and the beautiful, 
 The lights of other days ! " 
 
 Old Blandford was close to the battle-fields in the War 
 between the States, and its venerable walls suffered 
 damage from the shells. The famous " Crater " was but 
 a short distance away. 
 
94 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 This now restored church has lately become a Con- 
 federate ^Memorial Hall, in which each of the States of the 
 Southern Confederacy has jjlaced a memorial window. 
 
 BOLLINGBROOK 
 
 The most interesting house in Petersburg is Boiling- 
 brook, the old homestead of the Boiling family. 
 
 In April, 1781, when the British first occupied Peters- 
 burg, their commander, General Philips, made Boiling- 
 brook his headquarters. On ]May 10, when they again took 
 possession of the to-v^ii, General Philips was ill and was 
 carried to Bollingbrook. The Americans under Lafayette 
 were cannonading Petersburg from the other side of the 
 Appomattox and the fire was so severe that the sufferer 
 
 BOLLINGBROOK, PETERSBURG ■ 
 
 was carried into the cellar for safet}^. One cannon-ball 
 went tearing entirely through the house. General Philips 
 is said to have exclaimed, " Why will they not let me die 
 in peace." He did die here on the thirteenth of jNIay. 
 
 The ]Marquis de Chastellux, in his ]\Iemoirs, describes 
 a visit to Bollingbrook soon after the surrender of York- 
 town. The mistress of the old homestead at that time Avas 
 Mrs. Mary Boiling, widow of Robert Boiling, of Boiling- 
 brook, and daughter of Colonel Thomas Tabb, of Clay 
 Hill, Amelia County. The son to whom Chastellux refers 
 
 * Picture from Lossing's Field Bool- of the Bcvohdion, pub- 
 lished 1850, vol. 2, p. 339. 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 95 
 
 was Robert Boiling, who had served in the Revolution as 
 a captain of volunteer cavalrj^ and who had married on 
 November 4, 1781, jNIary, daughter of Robert Boiling, of 
 Chellow. 
 
 According to Chastellux, Mrs. Boiling was one of the 
 greatest landholders in Virginia, and proprietor of half the 
 town of Petersburg, including the tobacco warehouses. 
 
 He says, " Mrs. Boiling's house, or rather houses, for 
 she has two on the same line resembling each other which 
 
 CENTRE HILL, PETERSBURG 
 
 One of the Boiling homes,'now owned by Mr. C. H. Davis 
 
 she proposes to join together, are situated on the summit 
 of a considerable slope which rises from the level of the 
 town of Petersburg. This slope and the vast platform on 
 which the house is built are covered with grass which affords 
 excellent pasturage, and are also her property. It was 
 formerly surrovmded with rails, and she raised a number 
 of fine horses there, but the English burned the fences and 
 carried away a great number of the horses. On our arrival 
 we were saluted by Miss Boiling, a young lady of fifteen, 
 possessing all the freshness of her age; she was followed 
 
96 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 by her mother, brother, and sister-in-law. The mother, a 
 lady of fifty, has but little resemblance to her country- 
 women. She is lively, active and intelligent, knows per- 
 fectly how to manage her immense fortune and, what is yet 
 more rare, knows how to make good use of it. Her son 
 and daughter-in-law I had already met in Williamsburg. 
 The young gentleman appears mild and polite, but his wife, 
 of only seventeen years of age, is a most interesting ac- 
 
 COLLECTING CHICKEN FEED IN THE OLDEN DAYS 
 
 quaintance, not only from her face and form, which are 
 exquisitelj^ delicate, and quite European, but from her 
 being also descended from the Indian Princess Pocahontas, 
 daughter of King Powhatan." 
 
 In about 1850, one of the wings of the Bollingbrook 
 house was destroyed by fire. 
 
 BATTERSEA 
 
 Just above Petersburg, on the banks of the Appomat- 
 tox, is Battersea. Of this imposing villa — the home of the 
 Banister family — the Marquis de Chastellux, who visited 
 it during the Revolution, writes: " It is decorated in the 
 Italian rather than in the English or American style, hav- 
 ing three porticoes at the three principal entrances, each 
 of them supported by four columns." He says the house 
 was occupied bj^ " an inhabitant of Carolina, called Nelson, 
 who had been driven from his country by the war, which 
 followed him to Petersburg." 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 97 
 
 The first of the Banisters in this country was the 
 Reverend John Banister/ ' a cUstinguished naturahst, who 
 was hving in Charles City County in 1689, and in the next 
 year received a grant of land in Bristol Parish. While on 
 a botanical excursion, in 1692, he slipped and fell from 
 rocks on the Roanoke River and was killed. His son, John, 
 who was collector for the Upper James, vestryman of 
 Bristol Parish and justice of Prince George County, owned 
 land near the present site of Petersburg, which was doubt- 
 
 BATTERSEA, NEAR PETERSBURG 
 
 less identical with the Battersea estate. He was the father 
 of Colonel John Banister, of Battersea, who was a burgess 
 from Dinwiddle Count}% member of the Revolutionary 
 conventions and lieutenant colonel of cavalry in the Revo- 
 lutionary Army, and in 1778-1779 a member of Congress. 
 Colonel Banister was twice married, first to Martha, daugh- 
 ter of Colonel Theodorick Bland, of " Cawsons," and 
 afterwards to Anne, daughter of President John Blair 
 
 ^^ Horner, The History of the Blair, Banister and Braxton 
 Families (Philadelphia, 1898). 
 
 7 
 
98 
 
 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 of the Colonial Council. By his first marriage he had three 
 children, but this branch of the family is now extinct. By 
 his marriage with Anne Blair he left two sons, Theodorick 
 Blair and John Monro Banister. 
 
 MANSFIELD 
 
 Mansfield, near Petersburg, was the home of Roger 
 Atkinson, who emigrated from Cumberland, England, 
 
 
 "^ -^^^^*^**toi^l^ 
 
 MANSFIELD, NEAR PETERSBURG 
 
 about 1750. He had many prominent descendants of his 
 own name and in the families of Mayo, Pryor, Page, 
 Burwell, Gibson and others. 
 
 SHIRLEY 
 
 Just above the point where the Appomattox River 
 enters the James is beautiful old Shirley, in Charles City 
 County. 
 
 Four square to the world, three stories high it stands, 
 in the midst of a lawn shaded by giant oaks. Rows of 
 many-paned dormer windows look out from all four 
 sides of its high sloping roof and huge chimneys tower 
 above them. The entrances are through square, two- 
 storied, pillared porches, and the massive brick walls are 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 101 
 
 checkered with glazed " headers." A glance proclaims it 
 the product of prosperity as well as of taste. 
 
 To the rear of the mansion are substantial brick out- 
 buildings, at one side lies the flower-garden with its box- 
 hedges, old-fashioned roses and beds of sweet lavender and 
 mignonette, while the front commands a beautiful view of 
 the river. The north porch gives entrance to a great square 
 hall, panelled to the ceiling, from which an exceedingly 
 striking stairway leads to upper regions of airy, white- 
 panelled bedrooms. The architectural details in this hall, 
 and in the two stately drawing-rooms and the dining-room 
 are most attractive. Mantels, door-frames and cornices 
 are enriched with beautiful carving. Over some of the 
 doors are quaint transoms with tiny, odd-shaped panes of 
 glass in them, while above others are mounted ancient 
 hatchments bearing the arms of the Hill family. 
 
 The family history of Shirley, like that of Brandon, is 
 illustrated by a splendid collection of old mahogany, por- 
 traits, brasses and silver, for, also like Brandon, the estate 
 has never been in the market. 
 
 Just when Shirley was built is not known. The planta- 
 tion was granted in 1660 to Colonel Edward Hill,''' a lead- 
 ing man in the Colony, a member of the House of Burgesses, 
 of which he was sometime speaker, and of his Majesty's 
 Council. He had lived for a time in ]Maryland, and in 
 1646, during the rebellion there, was chosen governor by 
 the insurrectionary party, but was taken prisoner by Gov- 
 ernor Calvert. Besides being a law-maker he was a mili- 
 tary man and was commander-in-chief of Henrico and 
 Charles City Counties. In 1656, he commanded a force 
 of Colonists and friendly Indians in a battle with some 
 hostile Indians near the Falls of James River and the name 
 Bloody Run, given to a stream now within the limits of 
 Richmond, still remains to testify to the fierceness of the 
 
 ^* Hill family : Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 
 ill, 156-159. 
 
102 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 conflict/' Colonel Hill's forces were badlj^ routed and the 
 " mighty Tottapottomoy," who commanded his Indian 
 allies, was killed. The defeat aroused the displeasure of 
 the Assembly and Colonel Hill was disfranchised and fined, 
 by way of punishment.^" 
 
 Colonel Hill died about 1663 and his handsome estate 
 was inherited by his son Colonel Edward Hill II (1637- 
 1700) , of Shirley, " one of his JMajesty's honorable Council 
 of State, Colonel and Commander-in-Chief of the Counties 
 of Charles City and Surry, Judge of his JMajesty's high 
 Court of Admiralty, and sometime Treasurer of Vir- 
 ginia." He was an adherent of Governor Berkelej^'s dur- 
 ing Bacon's Rebellion and was disfranchised by Bacon's 
 Assembly. His dust lies in a massive tomb bearing the 
 Hill coat-of-arms, in the Shirley graveyard, and his por- 
 trait, that of a handsome and elegant gentleman in crim- 
 son velvet and lace, and flowing peruke, adorns the walls 
 of the house, along with those of many of his family and 
 kindred — ^Carters, Byrds, Randolphs, Lees and others. 
 His wife, who was the daughter of Sir Edward Williams, 
 of Wales, is represented as a young, rarelj^ beautiful dame, 
 and her daughter, Elizabeth (who married Honorable 
 John Carter II) , is strikingly like her — a lovely girl, with 
 her arms filled with flowers. 
 
 Especially interesting is this young girl, Elizabeth Hill, 
 for the death of her brother, Colonel Edward Hill III, 
 without male descendants, made her the heiress of Shirley, 
 and it was by her marriage, in 1723, with John Carter 
 (who died in 1742), of Corotoman, eldest son of Robert 
 (" King ") Carter, that Shirley passed from the Hill to 
 the Carter family, in which it has ever since remained. 
 About a year before his marriage the new master of Shirley 
 had been appointed secretary of Virginia, and as " Secre- 
 
 -'■' Campbell, History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion 
 of Virginia, pp. 233-234. 
 
 ^•^ " Defence of Colonel Edward Hill," in Virginia Magazine 
 of History and Biography, iii, 239-252, 341-349; Hening, 
 Statutes at Large . . . of Virginia, ii, 364-365. 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 103 
 
 tary Carter " he was known for the rest of his days. He 
 has been described as " a man of integrity and abihty, 
 managing large domestic affairs with prudence and skill 
 and filling ably high political offices." His portrait, too, 
 in velvet and lace, is to be seen at Shirley, as is also that 
 of his son and heir, Charles Carter (1732-1806) of Shirley, 
 in the quieter, though still picturesque, garb of a generation 
 later. 
 
 Charles Carter was a burgess and member of Revo- 
 lutionary Conventions. Twice married — first to his cousin 
 Mary Carter, daughter of Charles Carter, of Cleve, and 
 after her death to Anne Butler Moore, daughter of 
 Bernard INIoore and Katherine, daughter of Governor 
 Alexander Spotswood — he was the father of twenty-three 
 children, who inter-marrying with the Randolphs, Lees, 
 Braxtons, Burwells, Nelsons, Fitzhughs, Berkeleys, and 
 other families of the old regime in Virginia, left numerous 
 descendants, who hold Shirley in tender regard. One of 
 his daughters — Elizabeth — was the grandmother of Bishop 
 Alfred M. Randolph, and another, Anne, became the wife 
 of " Light Horse Harry " Lee, and the mother of General 
 Robert E. Lee. General Lee was a frequent visitor at 
 Shirley, and in his letters '^ makes affectionate allusions to 
 this noble old homestead. 
 
 The last master of Shirley, Captain Robert Randolph 
 Carter, a gallant officer in the LTnited States Navy and 
 afterward in the Confederate Navy, went to Maryland for 
 a bride — Miss Louise Humphreys, of Annapolis. By her 
 many charms of mind and character " Miss Lou," as she 
 was called far and near, early made a large place for her- 
 self in the heart of Vii'ginia — and kept it throughout her 
 life. Like " Old Miss," of Brandon, she was a notable 
 personage, and many there are who, when making the trip 
 up and down the James, miss her familiar figure and sweet, 
 strong face from among those in the group on the landing, 
 
 ^'' Lee, Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee 
 (New York, 1904). 
 
104 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 and the opportunity to step ashore for a moment for a 
 grasp of her hand and the word of cheery, cordial greet- 
 ing always so ready on her tongue. Upon her death, in 
 1906, her daughters, Mrs. Bransford and Mrs. Oliver, be- 
 came mistresses of Shirley. 
 
 MALVERN HILL 
 
 Not far above Shirley lies the Malvern Hill plantation 
 where formerly stood one of the most attractive as well as 
 one of the oldest homesteads in Virginia. 
 
 MALVERN HILL, HENRICO COUNTY 
 
 It was built by Thomas Cocke, son of Richard Cocke 
 {circa 1600-1665), the first of that name in Virginia.^* 
 
 This estate derives its name from the Malvern Hills in 
 England. Toward the close of the eighteenth century, the 
 estate was sold, by James Powell Cocke, to Robert 
 Nelson." 
 
 ^* Cocke family: Virginia Magazine of History and B'ography, 
 iii, 282-292, 405-414 ; iv, 86-96, 212-217, 322-332, 431-450. 
 
 ^® A younger son of Honorable William Nelson and Elizabeth 
 Burwell. 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 105 
 
 It has been the fate of this old plantation to be often 
 the scene of war. Lafayette camped there during the 
 Revolution; in the War of 1812 Virginia Militia was there; 
 and as the field of battle between Generals Lee and McClel- 
 lan, in the War between the States, Malvern Hill will 
 always have a place in history. 
 
 The Malvern Hill house was destroyed by fire about 
 1905. 
 
 WILTON 
 
 Wilton,* just below Richmond, is referred to in some 
 very early records as " the land's end " — which shows how 
 remote it seemed to the first settlers. The present house, 
 a fine old brick mansion, stands upon a green terrace over- 
 looking the James, nearly opposite the beautiful and his- 
 toric " Falling Creek." As is usual in Virginia houses 
 of its class and period, the walls of its wide hall and great 
 square rooms are enriched with handsome woodwork, 
 and the windows are so deeply recessed that persons occu- 
 pying the window-seats would be entirely hidden by the 
 curtains. 
 
 Wilton house was built about the middle of the eigh- 
 teenth century by William Randolph III (died 1761), a 
 younger son of Wilham Randolph II (1681-1742), of 
 Turkey Island.^" Upon his death it was inherited by his 
 son Peyton, who married Lucy Harrison, daughter of Ben- 
 jamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence. The Randolphs owned it until about the beginning 
 of the War between the States, when the heiress of the 
 family married Edward C. Mayo, of Richmond, Virginia. 
 Since then the estate has frequently changed hands. 
 
 During the Randolphs' time at Wilton a large collection 
 of their family portraits hung on the panelled walls. These 
 are now the property of Mr. Edward C. Mayo, Jr., of 
 Richmond. Among them is one of Anne Randolph, 
 
 * See illustration, page 107. 
 
 2'^ Randolph family: William and Mary Quarterly, vii, 122- 
 124, 195-197; viii, 119-122, 263-265 ; ix, 182-183, 250-252. 
 
106 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 daughter of William Randolph, the builder of Wilton 
 house, called " Nancy Wilton," to distinguish her from a 
 cousin who bore the same name. She was noted for beauty 
 and charm and had many suitors. She finally accepted 
 Benjamin Harrison and became mistress of Brandon, but 
 died young; leaving no children. Thomas Jefferson was 
 one of her contemporaries and admirers, and she is referred 
 to in some of his youthful letters. In one of these he says, 
 " Ben Harrison has gone courting to Wilton." 
 
 During the excitement the rumored approach of the 
 United States steamer Pawnee to Richmond caused in 
 the early part of the "^Var between the States, earthworks 
 were thrown up at Wilton, and part of the plantation lies 
 opposite Drewry's Bluff, so well known during the war. 
 
 AMPTHILL 
 
 Just across the river from Wilton stands an old mansion 
 whose chief characteristics are dignity and strength. This 
 is Ampthill — a big square house with massive brick walls, 
 a square white porch and a steep Dutch roof flanked on 
 either hand by a square brick out-building as massive as 
 itself. Within, the high-pitched rooms are also big and 
 square, and they and the wide hall are panelled from floor 
 to ceiling with solid oak. The windows are protected by 
 panelled inside shutters of the same wood, while huge brass 
 locks and hinges make fast the thick oak doors. 
 
 It was built in 1732 by Henry Gary ( 1675 ?-1749 ) ,"who 
 superintended the building of the Governor's Palace and 
 the State House in Williamsburg, and also the rebuilding 
 of William and JMary College when it was destroyed by 
 fire. Upon his death, in 1750, Ampthill passed to his son 
 Archibald Gary (1721-1787),'' the celebrated Revolu- 
 tionary patriot, and chairman of the committee in the Vir- 
 ginia Convention of 1776, which brought in the resolution 
 
 ^' Gary family: The Critic (Richmond, Va.). 
 ^^ For an excellent sketch of Archibald Gary, see Grigsby's 
 The Virginia Convention of 1776 (Richmond, 1855), p. 90 et seq. 
 
WILTON, HENRICO COUNTY 
 The River Front. 
 
 POWHATAN, HENRICO COUNTY 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 109 
 
 AMPTHILL, CHESTERFIELD COUNTY 
 
 FALLING CREEK MILL, CHESTERFIELD COUNTY 
 
 directing the Virginia members of Congress to move for 
 entire independence of Great Britain. From his force of 
 character and determination he was known as " Old Iron." 
 
110 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Aiiipthill has since had various owners — the families 
 of Temple and Watkins having enjoyed the longest tenure. 
 
 Within the original bomids of the Ampthill plantation 
 was beautiful Falling Creek, with its arched stone bridge 
 and its quaint old mill, where the first iron-works in 
 America were established, under John Berkeley, in 1619. 
 The works were abandoned in 1622, after the Indian mas- 
 sacre in which Berkeley and all of his men were murdered, 
 and during the Revolution the furnaces were destroyed by 
 Tarleton and his troopers. 
 
 EPPINGTON 
 
 The early history of the Eppes family has been told in 
 connection with "Appomattox." Lt-Col. Francis Eppes, 
 a brother of John Eppes, ancestor of the " Appomattox " 
 line, was killed in battle with the Indians in 1678 and was 
 succeeded by his eldest son. Col. Francis Eppes (1659- 
 1718) , long a member of the House of Burgesses for Hen- 
 rico. His son, a third Col. Francis Eppes, who died in 
 1734*, was also a Burgess for Henrico, and owned large 
 landed property where Eppington was afterwards built. 
 Richard Eppes, son of the last named, who was for several 
 terms a Burgess for Chesterfield County, died in 1765, 
 and was succeeded by his son Francis Eppes, of Epping- 
 ton (1747-1808), two of whose daughters, Lucy and 
 ]Mary, married, respectively, Archibald and Richard N. 
 Thweatt, while his son John Wajdes Eppes (1773-1823) 
 was U. S. Senator and married a daughter of Thomas 
 Jefferson. Eppington was inherited by the Thweatts, and 
 since it was sold by them has passed through several hands. 
 
 The following is an extract from a letter, written in 
 1856, by Francis Eppes, son of John W. Eppes, to Henry 
 S. Randall, the biographer of Jefferson: 
 
 " You ask me for a description of Eppington, but 
 such an impression, as I can now give, must be considered 
 an imperfect sketch. The mansion-house itself, an old- 
 fashioned, two-story building, with a hipped roof in the 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 111 
 
 centre, and wings on the sides, with a long hall or passage 
 in front, running from one wing to the other and opening 
 on the offices, and with piazzas in front and rear, was 
 placed at the extreme side of a large level or lawn, covered 
 with green sward, extending to a considerable distance in 
 front, and declining on the left side as you entered, and 
 in the rear of the house to the low grounds of the Appo- 
 mattox, a mile off. In front, and over the neighborhood 
 road which skirted the lawn, was situated the garden, 
 long famous in the vicinity for its fine vegetables and fruit ; 
 and to the right of the lawn, as you entered, was an ex- 
 
 EPPINGTON, CHESTERFIELD COUNTY 
 
 tensive orchard of the finest fruit, with the stables be- 
 tween, at the corner and on the road. The mansion, painted 
 of a snowy white, with green blinds to the windows, and 
 its rows of offices at the end, was almost imbedded in a 
 beautiful double row of the tall Lombardy poplar — the 
 most admired of all trees in the palmy days of old Vir- 
 ginia — and this row reached to another double row or 
 avenue which skirted one side of the lawn, dividing it 
 from the orchard and stables. The lawn in front was closed 
 in by a fence with a small gate in the middle and a large 
 one on either extremity, one opposite the avenue of 
 
112 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 poplars, and the other at the end of the carriage-way 
 which swept around it. 
 
 " The plantation was quite an extensive one, and in the 
 days of my grandfather, Francis Eppes, Sen., was re- 
 markably productive. Indeed, it could hardly have been 
 otherwise, under such management as his ; for he was emi- 
 nent for his skill both in agriculture and horticulture; 
 and I have heard Mr. Jefferson, who knew him intimately, 
 say of him, that he considered him not only ' the first horti- 
 culturist in America,' but, ' a man of the soundest practical 
 judgment on all subjects that he had ever known." " 
 
 POWHATAN 
 
 When Captain John Smith, Christopher Newport, 
 and others, made their first voyage of exploration up 
 James River from Jamestown, in June, 1607, they found, 
 upon a hill near its north bank and a little below the present 
 site of Richmond, a palisaded Indian town named Pow- 
 hatan. The Colonists were so charmed with its situation 
 and surroundings that they purchased it from the red men 
 and Captain Smith named it " None Such." It was more 
 than one hundred years after this that Joseph Maj^^o, who 
 came to Virginia from the Island of Rarbadoes about 1727, 
 bought the estate, restored it to its original name, and built 
 himself a commodious brick house overlooking the river.* 
 Either he or his descendants surrounded the house with 
 beautiful flower-gardens, remembered by persons still 
 living. Suggestions of these gardens may still be seen in 
 the mock-orange bushes and other old-fashioned shrubs 
 which in the months of JNIay and June bloom between the 
 dusty railroad tracks and brickj^ards which have now en- 
 croached upon the old place, with a resolution to live above 
 their surroundings that is most praiseworthy. Here, too, 
 were until verj^ recently to be seen two boulders, one of 
 which was, according to a long since exploded tradition, 
 the stone upon which Captain Smith's head lay when he 
 was rescued by Pocahontas, the other the gravestone of 
 
 * See illustration, page 107. 
 
HAMPTON ROADS AND LOWER JAMES 113 
 
 Powhatan. Upon one of these boulders is cut the letter M 
 and the date 1741. 
 
 Powhatan descended through many generations of 
 Mayos, its last owner of the name being Mr. Robert A. 
 Mayo, father of Mr. Peter H. Mayo, of Richmond. 
 
 Of late years modern progress has swept away old 
 Powhatan, and it has even been necessary to remove the 
 bodies of those that slept in the family burying-ground, 
 some of whose graves were marked by Colonial tombs bear- 
 ing the Mayo arms. These are now to be seen in the Mayo 
 section in Hollywood Cemeteiy, Richmond, Virginia. 
 
 BROOK HILL* 
 
 The dwelling at Brook Hill, the home of Robert 
 Williamson, who married his cousin Susanna Williamson, 
 was built prior to 1735, and five generations of the family, 
 as follows in direct line, were born in the same house — 
 most of them in the same room: Robert Williamson, 2d 
 (1735-1796), who married Anne Coxe; their son Robert 
 Carter Williamson (1796-1871), who married Lucy 
 Parke Chamberlayne ; their daughter JMary Amanda 
 W^illiamson (1822-1910), who married John Stewart, a 
 native of Rothesay, Scotland; their daughter Isobel 
 Stewart (1847-1910), who married Joseph Bryan, of 
 Eagle Point, and their son John Stewart Bryan. 
 
 In 1842 Brook Hill was purchased by Mr. John 
 Stewart, who enlarged the house and made of a portion 
 of the grounds a most beautiful park. 
 
 This home has alwaj's been celebrated for its hospi- 
 tality and Mr. Stewart and his descendants for their 
 philanthropic interest in everything that pertains to the 
 welfare of the community. 
 
 The dwelling No. 707 E. Franklin Street, which was 
 occupied by General Lee from 1861 to 1865 as his war- 
 time residence, was in 1892 given by the Stewart family to 
 the Virginia Historical Society and has since that time 
 been the home of that Society. 
 
 * See illustration at head of Contents. 
 8 
 
:.'H 
 
 PART III 
 
 Richmond, Manchester and the 
 Upper James 
 
 richmond 
 
 IN June, 1607, Captain Christopher Newport, Captain 
 John Smith and others set out from Jamestown in 
 the pinnace. Discovery, to explore the James. Upon 
 the tenth thej^ reached the highest point of naviga- 
 tion, where they named the shallow waters racing and 
 tumbling over a bed of stones and boulders " The Falls," 
 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 Jt}. 
 
 
 ^^^^^.^^^s^gig^ ,-.?.^-:^ • 
 
 ■ M 
 
 ^ES-^^^^^^MHH 
 
 "^^^^-****^' "~^ 0^ \ 
 
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 W^^M V'' 
 
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 BPI^F'"'-^,i _^ .\ ■ ^.j-. ■" ,, 
 
 ■'- ' »i ^^-'j^JB^^I^^^aB 1 
 
 w^ ~'°~ ''^>» -^^ '-'■■" ' 
 
 ■IBI.^^<. ^^i^m. 
 
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 -~M 
 
 Mn.JW^L.^^ ^ 
 
 
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 ^'''^W^^^f^^MP8SH8ywj'V<^j*.j^-s^;a^---. .^ 
 
 
 
 
 ^s^ 
 
 *^--; 
 T^^^ 
 
 
 
 JL\RKETING TOBACCO IN THE OLD DAYS 
 
 and where they " set up a cross " which much puzzled the 
 Indians. This was the white man's first appearance at the 
 site of the present capital of Virginia. 
 
 In 1733, Colonel William Byrd II, of Westover, laid 
 
 111 
 
■k 
 
 ^■■*ie--'^i' '.'y. '' 'V-^'<-""''-*Jf^ 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 117 
 
 out a town at the Falls of James River, named Richmond 
 — probably because of the resemblance of the site to Rich- 
 mond on the Thames. In 1742 the town was incorporated; 
 in 1779 it supplanted Williamsburg as the capital of the 
 State, and from 1861 to 1865 it was the capital of the 
 Confederacy. 
 
 It is situated upon a number of hills — popularly esti- 
 mated as seven — and stretches around a beautiful bend of 
 
 THE HOME OF THE lATE GENERAL JOSEPH R. ANDERSdX, RICHMOND 
 
 the river. It was pronounced by Thackeray, during liis 
 visit some years before the war, " the most picturesque 
 place in America " as well as " the merriest." In April, 
 1865, war desolated it and a large section of it was burned, 
 but it stands to-day one of the most prosperous and pro- 
 gressive, as well as one of the most interesting, cities in 
 this country. 
 
 ST. JOHN'S CHURCH 
 
 Crowning what was first known as Richmond Hill — 
 afterward as Church Hill — stands, in the midst of a walled 
 
118 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 graveyard occupying an entire block, old St. John's 
 Church.i 
 
 The graveyard is shad}' and green. It is thickly 
 tenanted, and mould)^ and moss-grown tombstones tell in 
 prim, old-fashioned phrase of the virtues of those that 
 " rest in peace " beneath them, or remind the reader of the 
 shortness of life, in metre, whereof the following is a char- 
 acteristic sample: 
 
 " Stop my friend as you pass by, 
 As you are now so once was I, 
 As I am now you soon shall be; 
 Prepare my friend to follow me." 
 
 The oldest part of the church was built in 1740. It is 
 of wood, painted white, and has a pretty spire and a sweet- 
 voiced bell. Some time after the Revolution it was enlarged 
 and made into the shape of a cross. Within, the quaint 
 sounding-board and shell-shaped font are still to be seen, 
 as in its earliest days. When it Avas the only church and 
 largest public building in Richmond, St. John's was some- 
 times used for political as well as religious gatherings ; and 
 so it happened that within its hallowed walls the patriots 
 who made up the Virginia Convention of 1775 assembled 
 and heard Patrick Henry's immortal speech ending with 
 the words, " Give me liberty or give me death." 
 
 The pew in which the orator stood is still pointed out. 
 
 THE VAN LEW HOUSE 
 
 Also on Church Hill, and not far away from St. John's, 
 was the Van Lew House,* best known of late years as the 
 home of the famous " Miss Van Lew." It was perhaps 
 the stateliest of the Richmond mansions of its time. Cer- 
 tainly it adorned the most charming site in the city. It 
 
 ^ Moore, History of Henrico Parish and Old St. John's Church, 
 Richmond, Va., 1611— 190^. The inscriptions on tombstones in 
 St. John's Church yard are printed in this book, pp. 413—529. 
 
 * See illustration, page 123. 
 
o 
 
 K 
 
 z 
 
 o 
 a 
 d 
 w 
 o 
 
 g 
 
 a 
 o 
 c 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 121 
 
 was built when ample grounds and roomy porticoes over- 
 looking picturesque " falling " gardens were the fashion, 
 and it was situated in a section which became unfashionable 
 before the days of cutting up handsome grounds into 
 twenty-foot building lots. 
 
 And so the old garden terraced back to the brow of the 
 hill, overhanging, and commanding a superb view of James 
 River, with its sunny spaces and shady nooks, its hundred 
 leaf roses and cool, sparkling spring, was long preserved. 
 
 The house was built (probably near the end of the 
 eighteenth century) by Dr. John Adams, son of Mr. 
 Richard Adams. ^ Both father and son were gentlemen of 
 large fortune and also of large heart, whose pet hobbj' was 
 the advancement and beautifying of Richmond. Dr. 
 Adams married Peggy, one of the charming daughters of 
 Mr. Geddes Winston, and their home had a brilliant social 
 history. It was noted for hospitality and was one of the 
 houses in which Lafaj^ette was entertained during his visit 
 in 1824. 
 
 After Mr. Adams' death the house was bought by a 
 Mr. Van Lew, a northern gentleman, who settled in Rich- 
 mond and became a prominent merchant. He and his 
 family mingled in the " high society " of Richmond Hill 
 until the War between the States, when their sympathy 
 with the invading army cut them off. A young daughter 
 of the house became noted as a friend of Federal prisoners, 
 many of whom she helped to escape. For many years 
 after all of her family had passed away " Miss Van Lew " 
 lived alone and friendless in the old mansion to which the 
 presence of a solitary, hoary dame lent a weird interest. 
 With her bent form, thin, clear-cut features, framed in 
 gray curls, and her piercing eyes that seemed made for 
 peering into hidden mysteries, she might have passed for 
 the reincarnation of some ancient sybil. 
 
 2 Adams family: William and Mary College Quarterly Histor- 
 ical Magazine, v, 159—164. 
 
122 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 She was accustomed to thrust herself upon public 
 notice just once a year — the day on which she paid her 
 taxes. Upon that day she always j^ublished in the local 
 papers, under her signature, an emphatic protest against 
 taxation without representation. In 1900 she died, full of 
 j^ears, in this old house, which has since been pulled down 
 and a public school built on its site. 
 
 OLD JIASONIC HALL, RICHMOND ■ 
 
 OLD MASONIC HALL 
 
 Coming down Franklin Street into the valley that lies 
 between Church Hill and Shockoe Hill, the tourist finds 
 between Eighteenth and Nineteenth Streets an old frame 
 house standing back from the public highway. This is 
 the oldest building in America, still in use, erected for 
 Masonic purposes exclusively. It dates from 1785, when 
 
VAN LEW OR ADAMS HOUSE, RICHMOND (FRONT 
 
 VAN LEW OR ADAMS HOUSE (REAR) 
 
RICHMOND AND TU^ UPPER JAMES 125 
 
 its cornerstone was laid, and has been the scene of many 
 interesting incidents in the Masonic history of Virginia. 
 
 At a reception given to General Lafayette in this un- 
 pretentious old " temple," in 1824, that favorite hero was, 
 amid great enthusiasm, made an honorary member of the 
 
 lodge 
 
 -aKg!K= 
 
 =^i»«»P^fflf^«!F^#^-J^ 
 
 TICKET Ol- ADMISSION 
 
 TO JJE UIVE^r iV /W.VO/t 01' 
 AT mil 
 
 UNION HOTf:L, 
 c/'/r Of RicHMo.vn, 
 
 OS TUB TiiiIiTIETa iiAr Or otroiiLu, 
 .1. L. 5B-:4, A. D. 18J-1. 
 
 
 ^a-ie^v^-^^^S^y^A'. isi;itF.K. ;';) 
 
 TICKET FOR MASONIC DINNER GIVEN IN HONOR OF GENERAL LAFAYETTE 
 
 MONUMENTAL CHURCH 
 
 On the night after Christmas of the year 1811, Rich- 
 mond suffered a disaster which put the whole town into 
 mourning and caused the building of a chvu'ch which has 
 always been not only one of the chief factors for good, but 
 one of the most appealing objects of interest in the city. 
 Upon that awful night the elite of Virginia's Capital, in- 
 cluding the governor, George William Smith ( 1762-1811 ) , 
 had gathered in the fashionable theatre on Broad Street, 
 between Twelfth and Thirteenth, to witness the tragedy 
 of " The Bleeding Nun," as presented by a popular actress 
 and her company. When interest was at its height the 
 cry of " fire! " was heard above the voices of the actors and 
 in a few minutes the house was in flames, and panic reigned. 
 The destruction of the building was complete and sixty 
 human beings — among them Governor Smith and others 
 prominent in official and social life — were burned to death. 
 
126 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Many were painfull}^ injured, while many more had hair- 
 breadth escapes and were made famous by their heroic 
 work in saving the lives of others. 
 
 The impression made by the disaster was tremendous. 
 The whole country stood aghast. Resolutions and letters 
 of sjTiipathy poured into Richmond from every quarter. 
 Legislatures and councils all over the United States took 
 formal action and churches held memorial services and 
 offered prayers for those in affliction. Of course Virginia 
 and Richmond were given over to mourning. In Richmond 
 there was a marked decline in theatre going and increase in 
 church going, which was noticeable for years afterward to 
 such a degree that the city became proverbial among 
 theatrical managers for its poor support of their offerings. 
 Immediately after the fire, the citizens met in the Capitol 
 Building to arrange for a suitable monument to those who 
 had perished in the flames, and the IVIonumental Church, 
 upon the site of the burned theatre, was the result. All 
 creeds and classes were subscribers to the building fund, 
 and it was decided by vote that the monument should take 
 the form of an Episcopal church. The ashes of those who 
 perished in the fire lie under the building and upon a 
 marble cenotaph in the porch their names are recorded. 
 
 The " Old Monumental," as it is familiarly called, is a 
 noble specimen of architecture — plain, but dignified and 
 impressive. Within, its air of solemnity and sacredness 
 compels reverence. From the beginning, it has been one 
 of the most influential churches in Virginia and many 
 prominent men in both Church and State have been in- 
 timately connected with it. Bishop Richard Channing 
 Moore was its earliest rector — serving at the same time 
 that he was Bishop of Virginia — and Chief Justice Mar- 
 shall was one of its earliest pew-holders. Edgar Allan 
 Poe often worshipped there as a youth. Bishop Dudley, 
 of Kentucky, was a pupil in its Sunday-school when a boy, 
 and Bishop Newton, of Virginia, was called to the Episco- 
 pate while its rector. 
 
MONUMENTAL CHURCH, RICHMOND 
 
 \ !l 
 
 ARCHER HOUSE, RICHMOND 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 129 
 
 THE CRUMP HOUSE 
 
 Upon Twelfth Street, diagonally across Broad Street 
 from the Monumental Church, and upon the site now 
 occupied by the Memorial Hospital, stood the Crump 
 House, built toward the end of the eighteenth century, 
 by INIr. Samuel Myers — grandfather of the late Major 
 E. T. D. Myers— and during its latter years the home of 
 Judge W. W. Crump, who bought it in 1850 and occupied 
 it for about a half century. 
 
 During the time of Mr. Myers, who was a naval officer, 
 he planted in the grounds an acorn which he brought from 
 Africa and from which sprang a notable tree. The gardens 
 were extensive and beautiful. " It represented," wrote 
 Mrs. Sally Nelson Robins, in an article on the Crump 
 House, " as no building now recalled, the ante-bellum es- 
 tablishment — mansion, kitchen, laundry, servants' quarters, 
 stable, carriage-house, smoke-house, and big yard where 
 children played and box-bushes and flowers grew, where 
 ladies in morning dresses sat in the rose-clad summer-house 
 and read or did embroidery, while other ladies called and 
 chatted of house-keeping and books and perhaps of their 
 neighbors." 
 
 Upon the night of the theatre fire — December 26, 1811 
 — many of the victims of that tragedy were brought to 
 the Myers home and laid upon the parlor floor and stains 
 could be traced upon the boards for years afterwards. 
 
 Judge Crump, with his greatness of soul and intellect, 
 his striking personality and charm of manner and conver- 
 sation, with his books around him, and with the woman 
 who was his helpmate in the highest sense of the word at 
 his side, would have made any house notable. 
 
 This massive old homestead with its spacious rooms, its 
 high carved mantels, its big open fires whose light played 
 upon old silver and mahogany and rare pictures, made an 
 ideal setting for the great lawyer, the ripe scholar, the 
 gracious host. His home was a centre of intellectual life, 
 a resort of cultured. Christian gentle-folk. 
 
 9 
 
130 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 No one who ever heard Judge Crump talk could fail 
 to deplore the fact that he never put his observations and 
 reminiscences upon paper. Many were the distinguished 
 men he had known, many the important events he had wit- 
 nessed, and his conversation about them made a series 
 of clear, bright pictures. When Charles Dickens visited 
 Riclamond, the Judge was one of the committee appointed 
 to give him a fitting welcome, and his impressions of the 
 novelist and his wife, as they appeared at the banquet given 
 in their honor, would have made an interesting chapter in 
 a book of " recollections." 
 
 THE WHITE HOUSE OF THE CONFEDERACY 
 
 With Twelfth Street we reach the eastern boundary 
 of what was known in the stately days of yore as the " Court 
 End " of town. Following this thoroughfare northward 
 as far as Clay Street, one sees a large, gray stucco mansion 
 with a double pillared portico. This is the beautiful 
 " White House of the Confederacy." It stands upon the 
 brink of a deep ravine and those who remember it "as it 
 used to be " tell of a " falling garden " whose terraces ran 
 a good way down th6 hill, and of bright spaces of old- 
 fashioned flowers and potted sl^rubs from foreign climes 
 — conspicuous among which were fruitful hazelnut bushes. 
 
 The house was built in 1818 for the residence of Dr. 
 John Brockenbrough,^ long president of the Bank of 
 Virginia, and his wife, who was Mrs. Gabriella Harvid 
 Randolph, daughter of Colonel John Harvie and widow 
 of Thomas Mann Randolph, of " Tuckahoe." Dr. Brock- 
 enbrough had been one of the committee of three appointed 
 to direct the building of a church as a memorial to the vic- 
 tims of the theatre fire and in planning his home he chose! 
 for the architect, Mr. Mills, whose design for the Monu- 
 mental Church had won great praise. Long before this the 
 intimacy between Dr. Brockenbrough and John Randolph, 
 
 ^ Brockenbrough family : Virginia Magazine of History and 
 Biography, v, 447-449 ; vi, 82-85. , ; , 
 
CRUMP HOUSE, RICHMOND 
 
 THE WHITE HOUSE OF THE CONFEDERACY, RICHMOND 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 133 
 
 of Roanoke, which continued to the end of Randolph's Hfe, 
 had begun, and when the new house was completed 
 Randolph was a frequent visitor there, and often for weeks 
 at a time " the most agreeable and interesting inmate you 
 can possibly imagine," wrote Dr. Brockenbrough to a 
 friend. 
 
 The acquaintance began during the famous Aaron 
 Burr trial in 1807, when Dr. Brockenbrough was a mem- 
 ber of the jury and John Randolph its foreman, and from 
 that time on the friendship between these two men, as it 
 appears in the letters that passed between them and in 
 those of Randolph to other friends, published in the Life 
 of John Randolph, runs like a bright thread through the 
 sombre history of that fascinating personality. John 
 Randolph's sweetheart, the fair and engaging Maria 
 Ward, was also intimate at the Brockenbrough home, and 
 when her affair with Randolph was broken off, she en- 
 trusted his letters in a sealed packet to the care of Mrs. 
 Brockenbrough, with the request that after her death that 
 lady should burn them without breaking the seal. As 
 Mrs. Brockenbrough was a woman who could keep a secret 
 even from herself, the contents of the interesting packet 
 will never be known. 
 
 It was said that Dr. Brockenbrough built his house 
 with an especial view to entertaining, and it seems to have 
 become a centre of both intellectual and gay society. Chief 
 Justice Marshall and other distinguished members of the 
 Bar and of the famous " Barbecue Club " were intimate 
 there and were fond of discussing politics and the classics 
 with Mrs. Brockenbrough, whom Blennerhassett, writing 
 in 1807, of affairs and people in Richmond, described as 
 " the nearest approximation to a savant and bel-esprit." 
 The lovely Randolph girls, Mrs. Brockenbrough's nieces, 
 and later on, the beauties and belles of the Seddon and 
 Morson connections, may not have cared for politics and 
 the classics, but many of the most distinguished men of the 
 time, in Richmond and out of it, came to the old house to 
 dance with and pay court to them. In one of John 
 
134 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Randolph's letters to his friend he says, "Mr. Speaker 
 related to me that you had given a splendid party; for 
 so I interpreted the word fandango used bj' him; " and 
 many were the occasions when the music of the " many 
 twinkling feet " held full sway. 
 
 Dr. Brockenbrough finally sold the house to jNIr. James 
 M. ]Morson, who after a few years' residence in it sold it 
 to his cousin and law-partner, Honorable James A. Sed- 
 don, member of Congress from Virginia and secretary of 
 war of the Confederate States. Mr. Morson and Mr. 
 Seddon married sisters, the lovely Bruce girls, Ellen and 
 Sally, and during their time the house continued to be a 
 centre of all that was best and brightest in the Virginia 
 of the old regime. Says a beau of the period, still living, 
 " jNIy impressions of the White House of the Confederacy 
 before the war make a poem in mj" memory." Not long 
 before the war Mr. Seddon sold the house to JNIr. Lewis 
 D. Crenshaw, who occupied it for a brief period, during 
 which he added the top story. 
 
 The curtain was rung down on the brilliant drama 
 which the social historj' of ante-helium Richmond made, to 
 rise on the tragedy for which the city lent itself as a stage 
 during four years of civil warfare. Again the house at 
 the corner of Twelfth and Clay Streets occupied a con- 
 spicuous place in the setting. Echoes of viol and wedding- 
 bell were now lost in the alarums of rifle and cannon. The 
 stately rooms of that house where so bright the lights had 
 " shone o'er fair women and brave men," were become the 
 council chambers of war and government. In place of the 
 procession of carriages filled with ladies and gentlemen 
 arrayed for a fete, filing vip the street toward the house, 
 might occasionally be seen a very different pageant — 
 President Davis and General Lee riding side b}^ side, in 
 earnest conversation, and clattering behind them their 
 staff oflicers. 
 
 In the room to the right of the entrance hall, where 
 many a time a fair girl had waited the coming of gallant 
 lover, the President's wife now sat night after night and 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 137 
 
 listened with strained ear and anxious face for the sound 
 of horses' hoofs on the street outside, for mayhap a courier 
 would come in the night with dispatches for her husband, 
 indulging in uneasy sleep in the room above. When the 
 capital of the Confederacy was moved from Montgomery, 
 Alabama, to Richmond, the city bought the house, spent 
 $8,000.00 furnishing it and tendered it to Mr. Davis, who 
 agreed to accept it only upon condition that the Confeder- 
 ate Government should pay full rent for it. The house 
 now began to be known by the name which added the crown- 
 ing touch to its glory— the White House of the Confed- 
 eracy — and now the dames and the squires, the belles and 
 the beaux who had danced and feasted there bent their 
 steps that way to pay court to the President and his lady. 
 
 Upon the evacuation of Richmond, United States 
 troops under General Weitzel took possession of the White 
 House of the Confederacy for headquarters, and held it 
 until September, 1870, when it was restored to the city. 
 In June, 1884, it became the property of the Confederate 
 Memorial Literary Society, and as the home of a priceless 
 collection of Confederate relics the " Confederate Mu- 
 seum " is to-day one of the centres of interest in the city. 
 
 THE VALENTINE MUSEUM 
 
 Tom Moore, the loved Irish poet, writing of his sojourn 
 in Richmond, in 1803, says that the most agreeable gentle- 
 men he met were " some Whig lawyers, one of whom, Mr. 
 JohnWickham, was fit to adorn any court." Mr.Wickham's 
 residence, built in 1812, now the home of the Valentine 
 Museimi, stands upon Clay Street, just one block above 
 the White House of the Confederacy, and, like it, was 
 planned by Benjamin Mills, the architect of Monumental 
 Church. Thanks to the artistic sense of the Valentines, so 
 long its owners, this superb old mansion has been perfectly 
 preserved. To the stranger in the street it presents a front 
 reserved, dignified, plain. But a touch of the brass knocker 
 admits one to the handsomest interior possessed by any 
 house ever built in Richmond. From a perfectly propor- 
 
138 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 tioned hall, winding mahogany stairs lead to a beautiful 
 gallery. Polished mahogany doors with silver knobs and 
 hinges open from this hall into the stately rooms built 
 aromid it. Striking details of these rooms are sculptui'ed 
 marble mantels brought from Florence; frescoed walls; 
 carved door and window frames — white enamelled with the 
 delicate relief- work gilded with gold leaf ; great mirrors in 
 Florentine frames, chandeliers of burnished brass. 
 
 At the rear of the mansion, a pillared portico, with a 
 gracefully curved outline, embowered in honeysuckle, Vir- 
 ginia creeper, and purple and white wistaria, looks upon an 
 old garden, surrounded by a high, ivy-covered brick wall. 
 A fountain makes music in the midst of the garden, and 
 through a rose-garlanded arch we maj^ have such glimpses 
 as the vine-clad trellises and shrubbery will permit of 
 figures in white marble of the goddesses of Beauty, 
 Flowers, and the Harvest, peeping out among the green. 
 Every olden-time flower is to be found in the trim parterres 
 divided bj' narrow brick walks, and many goodly fruit 
 trees and grape vines on trellises and latticed arbors vie 
 with the flowers in making the garden a place of delight. 
 In one corner a century-old magnolia tree makes June 
 fragrant. 
 
 In the Wickhams' time the house was the scene of 
 brilliant festivities ; for in those days of plenty and of good 
 servants Virginia hospitality was in full flower in Rich- 
 mond, and it was ]Mr. Wickham's pleasure to entertain in 
 honor of " men of parts " visiting the city. 
 
 In the year 1807 the famous trial of Aaron Burr, for 
 treason, drew the attention of all America upon Richmond 
 and upon JNIr. Wickham. The prominence of the prisoner 
 at the bar, the political excitement at the time and the 
 brilliant legal talent employed united in bringing throngs 
 of people to the city. John Marshall was the presiding 
 judge, Wickham the leader in the defence, and John 
 Randolph, of Roanoke, foreman of the jury. Among the 
 witnesses were General Wilkinson, of the Army, and 
 Andrew Jackson, afterward president of the United 
 
THE HALL AT VALENTINE MUSEUM, RICHMOND 
 
 VALENTINE MUSEUM, FORMERLY WICKHAM HOUSE. RICHMOND 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 141 
 
 States. Burr's acquittal was generally supposed to be chiefly 
 due to the eloquence and ability of Mr. Wickham. After 
 the trial Burr dined with Mr. Wickham and his beautiful 
 wife, who was noted as a tactful and charming hostess. 
 
 In course of time the Wickham residence became the 
 property of the Ballard family, and many of the beautiful 
 features of its interior are said to have been added by Mr. 
 Ballard. Its next owner was Mr. Alexander Brooks. 
 
 In later years it was long the residence of Mr. Mann S. 
 Valentine, during part of which period Mr. Edward 
 V. Valentine, the sculptor, made his home there. At Mr. 
 Valentine's death he generously bequeathed this residence 
 with his valuable collections, and an endowment for main- 
 tenance as a museum, to the city of Richmond, and there 
 may now be seen, in addition to many other objects of 
 historical and artistic value, one of the finest collections of 
 Indian relics in the world. 
 
 THE McCANCE HOUSE 
 
 One of the principal show places of the " Court End " 
 of town stood upon the corner of Leigh and Eighth Streets. 
 This house was built about a hundred years ago by the 
 widow and son of Mr. John Hayes, of the " Falls Planta- 
 tion," just below Manchester — a gentleman of large wealth 
 and owner and publisher of the Virginia Gazette. The 
 house was commodious and handsome and a Greek portico 
 at the rear overlooked a garden which extended to Clay 
 Street. From the Hayes family the property passed, by 
 purchase, to Mr. Thomas Green, a successful lawyer and 
 familiar figure in Richmond society in the first half of the 
 nineteenth century. 
 
 Mr. Green at once turned his attention to the beautify- 
 ing of his home, making the flower-garden his chief pride. 
 Across the garden ran a deep ravine with a stream flowing 
 through it. Mr. Green terraced the ravine and by check- 
 ing the flow of the brook with a stone dam made a little 
 lake, which was spanned by a rustic bridge. Upon the lake 
 a small boat floated, and near the shore stood a tiny chalet- 
 
142 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 like cottage, covered with bark. In another part of the 
 grounds was a bear-pit, containing several black bears, 
 while here and there among the shrubberj' and flowers 
 gleamed pieces of white marble sculpture from Italy. 
 Among these was a fountain representing the birth of 
 Venus from the waves of the sea. A marble scallop shell 
 rested upon the backs of two dolphins which spouted water 
 over a life-sized figure of the goddess, as she stood poised 
 on the edge of the shell. Other figures represented " The 
 Seasons," " Flora," " Ceres," " Gam'mede," etc. Some of 
 these are now preserved in the garden of the Valentine 
 Museum. 
 
 One of the attractions of the garden was a fine spring 
 which was a favorite drinking place. In later years the 
 charming old mansion was long the home of the JNIcCance 
 family. When the emigration of fashion to the West End 
 reached high tide, it gave way to a row of tenements which 
 now occupies the site of house and garden. 
 
 THE IMARSHALL HOUSE 
 
 Upon the corner of Marshall and Ninth Streets stands 
 a plain, but massive and dignified old brick mansion, the 
 home of Richmond's greatest citizen and the most famous 
 of American judges — Chief Justice John Marshall ( 1755- 
 1835).* 
 
 To his neighbors " the old Chief," as he was affection- 
 ately called, was as much beloved for his domestic and 
 social gifts as he was admired for his ability and learning. 
 As a member of the " Barbecue Club," made up of the 
 leading men of Richmond, and joining with the zest of a 
 boy in his favorite game of throwing quoits, we see the 
 intellectual giant at play, and it is a pleasant sight. Over 
 this old home he presided as a tender husband and father, 
 kind master, gracious host. 
 
 Until the last few years the house was owned and occu- 
 pied by his descendants, who also sat Sunday after Sunday 
 
 * Paxton, The Marshall Family. Cincinnati, 1885. 
 
McCANCE HOUSE, RICHMOND 
 
 GAMBLE HOUSE, RICHMOND 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 145 
 
 in his pew in IMonumental Chui-ch; but it has since been 
 bought from his granddaughters, by the citj% and turned 
 over to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia 
 Antiquities. Its stately rooms, with their beautifully 
 carved mantels and cornices, contain many memories of 
 the " Old Chief " and his family and has become a mecca 
 to visitors of Richmond. 
 
 THE STATE CAPITOL 
 
 About two blocks away from the Marshall House 
 stands the old Capitol in the midst of its ten-acre " square " 
 — the chief attraction of the city still, in spite of the pros- 
 perous West End. Indeed, with its appealing natural 
 beauty and its associations it must for all time be a centre 
 of interest to the visitor in lovely and historic Richmond. 
 
 The plan for the building was furnished by Thomas 
 Jefferson when he was minister to France and was taken 
 from the Maison Carree, at Nismes. It was begun in 1785 
 and finished in 1792, when the Legislature had been meet- 
 ing within its walls for some years. The chaste beauty 
 of its classic outlines and proportions has been warmly 
 admired by persons of taste. It stands upon the brow of 
 a hill with the green square sloping away from it and 
 ancient trees arching the walks that lead to it from all 
 directions. Nearby stands the splendid Washington 
 monument, one of the noblest groups of statuary in 
 America. The equestrian statue of Washington, which 
 is its central and crowning figure, and most of the other 
 figures on the monument, were modelled by Thomas Craw- 
 ford, of New York, but as he died before the work was 
 finished, those of Thomas Nelson and Andrew Lewis were 
 made by Randolph Rogers. Other figures in the group 
 surrounding Washington are Patrick Henry, Thomas 
 Jefferson, George Mason, and John Marshall. The monu- 
 ment was unveiled in 1858. The statues of Henry Clay, 
 " Stonewall " Jackson, Governor William Smith, and Dr. 
 Hunter McGuire also adorn the Square. The Virginia 
 State Librarj^ stands within the Square some distance to 
 
 10 
 
146 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 the rear of the Capitol, while on a line with the librarj- and 
 to the north of it stands, at the head of a shady avenue, 
 also within the Square — the governor's mansion — a serene, 
 dignified and beautiful, but unostentatious Virginia home. 
 Much of the history of Virginia has been made within 
 the walls of this old Capitol. The Hall of the House of 
 Delegates, especially, teems with associations. Within this 
 hall at least a part of the celebrated trial of Aaron Burr 
 was held; within it met the famous Constitutional Con- 
 
 GOVERiNOR'S MANSION, RICHIIOND 
 
 vention of 1829-1830, of which jMadison, jNIonroe, Mar- 
 shall, John Randolph and many other eminent men of the 
 time were members; within it met the " Secession Con- 
 vention " of 1861; and within it, during the war that fol- 
 lowed, were held the sessions of the Confederate Congress. 
 Soon after the Revolution, Houdon, the most famous 
 sculptor of the time, came from Paris to Mount Vernon for 
 the purpose of making a statue of General Washington. 
 This masterpiece of portraiture in white marble, declared 
 by Lafayette to be " a facsimile of Washington's person," 
 
STATE CAPITOL, RICHMOND 
 
 HOME OF CHIEF JUSTICE MARSHALL, RICHMOND 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 149 
 
 stands in the centre of the Rotunda and is the Capitol's 
 chief treasure. 
 
 In 1906 the Capitol was enlarged by the addition of 
 two wings harmonizing in architecture with the design of 
 the main building. The assembly halls of the House of 
 Delegates and State Senate maj^ now be found in these 
 new wings, but the historic " Hall of the House " has been 
 preserved and is now used as the State Agricultural 
 JNIuseum. 
 
 In the Capitol basement is the State Land Office where 
 may be seen records of land-grants and patents going back 
 as far as the year 1623. 
 
 On April 27, 1870, the Capitol was the scene of a fright- 
 ful disaster. The Court of Appeals was sitting in a room 
 in the northeast corner of the building, and a case of un- 
 usual interest had drawn a crowd which packed the apart- 
 ment to the doors. Suddenly the floor gave way under 
 the unaccustomed weight and went crashing down into the 
 hall of the house below, carrjdng with it a panic-stricken 
 mass of humanity. The number of persons killed was sixty- 
 five, while two hundred others, more or less, were seriously 
 injured. Among the victims were many of Richmond's 
 leading citizens. 
 
 THE WEST]MORELAND CLUB 
 
 A short walk up Grace Street from the main entrance 
 of Capitol Square brings the tourist to one of the gracious 
 old roof-trees of former days, which has been preserved 
 by becoming the home of the Westmoreland Club. The 
 house was begun about 1837, by Mr. James Gray, a 
 wealthy tobacco merchant, but was sold by him before it 
 was completed, to Judge Robert Stanard, of the Virginia 
 Court of Appeals, who finished it and occupied it until his 
 death. It was elegantly equipped, as befitted its stately 
 rooms, with furniture from Paris and carved mantels from 
 Italy. 
 
 Judge Stanard had formerly lived in a house on Ninth 
 Street, opposite the Capitol Square, where the youthful 
 
150 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Edgar Allan Poe had been a frequent visitor, as a friend 
 of the Stanard boj's. JMrs. Stanard won the heart of the 
 poet-to-be, by her kindness and sympathy, and to her after- 
 wards were addressed the lovely lines, " To Helen," which 
 helped to make Poe famous and caused her to be known 
 as " Poe's Helen." 
 
 She did not live to accompany her husband and chil- 
 dren to their new home. Though he remained a widower. 
 Judge Stanard's entertainments were famous — his friend 
 Mr. James Lyons often assisting him in doing the honors. 
 
 Upon his death his son, Robert C. Stanard, a dis- 
 
 ^ tsTiMURjlljAIMJ Ui,Ut), T±lE SIAKARli HUUbifi, Rilmmuimj 
 
 tinguished member of the Richmond bar, the State Senate 
 and the Constitutional Convention of 1851, inherited the 
 house. Mr. Stanard married a beautiful and brilliant 
 daughter of Kentucky, and with her as hostess the tra- 
 ditions of the house were amply sustained. The brightest 
 men of the time flocked to her salon, and Thackeray was 
 one of the many men of note entertained by her husband 
 and herself. 
 
 After the Stanards' time, their home was owned suc- 
 cessively by Mr. William H. Macfarland and Mr. James 
 Lyons, prominent gentlemen, both of them, and lavish 
 hosts. 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 153 
 
 The Westmoreland Club was organized at a meeting 
 held Januarj' 29, 1877. It assembled first at its own home, 
 707 E. Franklin Street, formerly the residenee of General 
 R. E. Lee, on May 1st of the same year. In 1879 the Club 
 purchased its present home, which was then the property of 
 JNIr. James Lyons. Extensive additions and improvements 
 have since been made to the building and the Club, now in 
 its 38th year, is one of the most prosperous and noted in 
 the United States. 
 
 THE ARCHER HOUSE * 
 
 So small a number of the few of Richmond's old 
 mansions that remain are still homes that the mere fact of 
 being the residence of a private citizen gives a distinction 
 all its own. One whose air of quiet and dignified homelike- 
 ness proclaims it to be the possessor of this distinction may 
 be seen just a square below the Westmoreland Club at the 
 corner of Franklin and Sixth Streets. It makes a charm- 
 ing picture and its interior is equally charming. It was 
 built early in the last centurj^ by Mr. Cunningham, a mer- 
 chant, from plans drawn bj^ JNIr. INIills, the architect of 
 the Monumental Church, the White House of the Con- 
 federacy, and the Valentine JMuseum. JNIr. Cunningham 
 sold it to Dr. George Watson, a distinguished physician 
 of the time, and it is still owned and occupied by his 
 descendants, the Archer family. Upon its door hangs the 
 polished brass knocker that responded to the touch of the 
 gentle guests of nearly a hundred years ago, and a high 
 brick wall around the yard still secures to the premises the 
 privacy so dear to the heart of the modest old-time folk. 
 
 THE CASKIE HOUSE 
 
 Two squares further on, upon the corner of Main and 
 Fifth Streets, stands the quiet and attractive Caskie home, 
 which was built by Mr. Tate, Mayor of Richmond, and 
 after his death descended to his nephew, who was a second 
 " Mayor Tate." Since the time of the Tates, the house 
 has been successively the home of the Neilson, Gray and 
 
 * See illustration, p. 127. 
 
154 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Caskie families. It is as interesting architecturally within 
 as without, a striking feature being a beautiful octagon- 
 shaped drawing-room. 
 
 The tourist, finding himself suddenly face to face with 
 the Archer and Caskie homes, upon their busy corners, 
 has a pleasant sense of having stumbled upon a bit of re- 
 poseful yesterday in the midst of bustling, strenuous to-day. 
 
 THE ALLAN HOUSE 
 
 Diagonally opposite the Caskie House on the southeast 
 corner of Main and Fifth Streets, now occupied by brick 
 tenements, once stood an old mansion famous for its social 
 history, and as the home, for a brief period, of Edgar Allan 
 Poe. 
 
 The house was built in 1798 by David Meade Randolph, 
 United States Marshall for Virginia. According to the 
 contract, Mr. Randolph was to pay for the construction 
 of his home " £100 worth of corn, £50 worth of oyster 
 shells, delivered at Rocketts, £100 worth of goods (£25 
 of which to be in wet goods ) and the remainder in money, 
 to be paid by Christmas Day, 1800." It was far enough 
 up town, in those days, to be almost in the country, and 
 must have been very like a country place, with its spreading 
 lawn shaded with pine trees and, at the rear, its " falling 
 garden " filled with fruits and flowers. Like a country 
 place too, it had a name, for Mr. Randolph quaintly com- 
 bining his own name — David — with that of his wife — 
 Molly— called it " Moldavia," and as " Moldavia " it was 
 long known. 
 
 Mrs. Randolph was noted as a wit and also as a house- 
 keeper. In her prosperous days she was called " the 
 queen " by the guests who thronged her hospitable home, 
 and when reverses came she showed she could be queen of 
 the kitchen as well as the drawing-room, for she opened 
 upon Cary Street a boarding house which achieved im- 
 mediate success, and whose " board " became as famous as 
 that at " Moldavia " had been. She published her recipes 
 in a cook-book which is still an authority in many an old 
 Virginia home. 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 155 
 
 In 1805 " Moldavia " was sold to Mr. Joseph Gallego, 
 owner of the Gallego JNIills, who occupied it for twenty 
 years and then sold it to Mr. John Allan, whose brilliant 
 adopted son, Edgar Allan Poe, was then about seventeen 
 years old. There is a great uncertainty as to just how long 
 Poe lived at the Allan house, for soon after Mr. Allan 
 bought it, Poe entered the University of Virginia and later 
 went to Boston to live. He seems, at least, to have un- 
 
 ALLAN HOUSE, RICHMOND 
 
 doubtedly made his home there during a good part of the 
 year 1826. 
 
 The Allans made the beautiful interior of their house 
 the background for superb furniture and artistic orna- 
 ments brought from Europe. They had the social gifts 
 of true Richmonders, and their home was famous for its 
 brilliant entertainments. Among notables from across the 
 water who enjoyed its hospitality at different times were 
 Charles Dickens, Lord and Lady Napier, Lord and Lady 
 Lyons, and the Honorable Miss Murray. The old Rich- 
 mond Enquirer contains an elaborate account of a fancy 
 ball given at the Allan House, with the initials of the belles 
 
156 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 and beaux present, and the characters they represented, 
 and detailed descriptions of their costumes. 
 
 Long after the Allans' day their home was once more 
 the scene of festivity when the citizens of Richmond, in 
 1881, gave there a grand ball to the distinguished delega- 
 tions sent over by the governments of France and Germany 
 to represent those countries at the Yorktown Centennial. 
 
 THE GAMBLE HOUSE 
 
 A few of those who enjoy the charms of Gamble's Hill 
 — its green terraces, its sweet breezes and its superb view 
 of the river, town and countrj' — remember the Gamble 
 mansion which gave the hill its name.* 
 
 The house was built in the year 1800, by Colonel John 
 Harvie, a Revolutionary patriot, and member of the Con- 
 vention of 1775 and of Congress, but was barely finished 
 when he died, and JMrs. Harvie sold it to Major Robert 
 Gamble (1754-1810)," a Revolutionary officer and com- 
 mander of the first company to enter the fort at the storm- 
 ing of Stony Point. 
 
 ]Major Gamble came to Richmond from Augusta 
 County, where he had married Catherine, daughter of 
 jMajor John Gratton, who had made herself as famous 
 for courage as she was for beauty by riding through the 
 countr}' at night warning the settlers on the " border," in 
 the neighborhood of her home, of an impending Indian 
 raid. 
 
 This interesting pair was, of course, a welcome addi- 
 tion to Richmond society and made " Grey Castle," as the 
 Gamble House was called, a charming home. Their sons 
 removed to Florida and founded a prominent family there, 
 but their two daughters made brilliant matches in Rich- 
 mond and continued to live at " Grey Castle." Elizabeth, 
 after a long courtship, became the wife of the distinguished 
 William Wirt, while Agnes made choice from her many 
 
 * See illustration, page 143. 
 
 ^ For an account of Colonel Gamble and his family see Brown, 
 The Cabells and Their Kin, p. 255 et seq. 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 157 
 
 suitors of Judge William H. Cabell, of the Court of Ap- 
 peals of Virginia and Governor of the State. As the roof- 
 tree of these two distinguished couples " Grey Castle " 
 naturally continued to be one of the notable homes of 
 Virginia. In the course of time the Wirts moved away, 
 and Judge and JNIrs. Cabell became sole master and mis- 
 tress of the house and dispensers of its hospitality. Tom 
 ]\Ioore was once entertained there, when Miss Maria Mayo, 
 a famous beauty and belle and afterwards the wife of Gen- 
 eral Winfield Scott, paid him the pretty compliment of 
 singing to him and the assembled company, " Believe Me 
 If All Those Endearing Young Charms." 
 
 After the time of the Cabells, " Grey Castle " had 
 various owners. For some years the celebrated JMcGuire's 
 School was taught there. It was afterward pulled down 
 and a row of tenements was built upon its site. 
 
 THE RUTHERFOORD HOUSE 
 
 The first resident of Richmond to see that the future 
 of the city lay to the westward was Mr. Thomas Ruther- 
 foord,*^ a native of Scotland, who, over a hundred years ago, 
 established his family in a handsome residence in the coun- 
 try, but near enough to town for him to go to and from 
 his business. This earliest of West End homes stood upon 
 the northeast corner of the present Franklin and Adams 
 Streets, but has given place to the row of modern houses 
 that now occupies that site. In the words of one who re- 
 members it, the Rutherfoord House was " a noble specimen 
 of colonial architecture," one of the last of its kind. The 
 roof was in keeping with the style built by the rich aristo- 
 cratic class, lofty and peaked, and flanked by tall chimney 
 stacks which stood out in relief against the sky, towering 
 above the loftiest trees. The body of the house was broad 
 and ample, and afforded a typical example of simplicity 
 and strength characteristic of the structures of the Colonial 
 period. The grounds occupied an extensive area and were 
 
 ^ Rutherfoord family : The Richmond Standard, ii, Nos. 25-28. 
 
158 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 laid off into lawns, kitchen and flower gardens, orchard 
 and vinej^ard. A massive brick wall enclosed many acres 
 of what is now First Street, occupied by orchards of every 
 variety of fruit known at that day. 
 
 JNIr. Rutherfoord married the lovely Sallie Winston, 
 daughter of ]Mr. Geddes Winston. After his death and 
 when his goodly band of sons and daughters had scattered 
 into homes of their own, the Rutherfoord House changed 
 hands several times, but from first to last the mansion, 
 and those that lived in it, held a prominent place in the 
 social life of Richmond. It was at one time the home of 
 the Honorable John Y. Mason, Secretary of the Navy, At- 
 torney General of the United States, and United States 
 Minister to France. Colonel A. S. Buford was its last 
 owner. 
 
 BULLOCK HOUSE, RICHMOND 
 
 THE BULLOCK HOUSE 
 
 Upon the site now occupied by the Conunonwealth 
 Club once stood, in the midst of spacious grounds shaded 
 b}^ splendid old elms, a commodious brick mansion known 
 as the Bullock House. It was begun by ]Mr. Peyton Drew 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 159 
 
 and finished in 1814 by ]Mr. John jNlutter — prominent 
 citizens of Richmond, both of them — and in 1830 was sold 
 to JNIr. David Bullock, mayor of the city, who made his 
 home in it for manj^ years. Later it became the home of 
 Mr. George Palmer. 
 
 The Commonwealth Club was organized March 3, 1890, 
 and practically succeeded the old Richmond Club, situated 
 at Third and Franklin Streets, which was organized soon 
 after the War between the States. The Commonwealth 
 Club is one of the largest and most influential in the South. 
 
 SWAN TAVERN 
 
 Swan Tavern, at the northwest corner of Broad and 
 Ninth, was long the favorite stopping place of prominent 
 visitors to Richmond. It was built soon after the Revo- 
 lution. Its most noted guest was Edgar Allan Poe, who 
 boarded here during his last visit to Richmond. 
 
 SWAN TAVERN, RICHMOND 
 
 MANCHESTER 
 
 THE GRAY AND CLOPTON HOUSES 
 
 Manchester (now South Richmond), tying just across 
 the river from Richmond, in the county of Chesterfield, 
 had, under its Colonial name of Rocky Ridge, almost as 
 
160 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 early an origin as its larger neighbor. During the period 
 when it was a flourishing tobacco market, a number of 
 handsome homesteads, most of which have now disap- 
 peared, were built there. Among those that remain are the 
 Gray House, the floor of whose hall still bears the mark of 
 the effort of the British soldiers to burn it ; and the Clopton 
 House, built by Robert Graham, a Scotch merchant, who 
 
 GRAY HOUSE, MANCHESTER, SOUTH RICHMOND 
 
 was arrested and sent to the interior during the War of 
 1812. This house was afterward the home of the dis- 
 tinguished jurist John Bacon Clopton. 
 
 BLACK HEATH 
 
 Thirteen miles above Manchester, on the edge of the 
 village of Midlothian, in Chesterfield Count}^ once the 
 centre of the famous coal-mining district, stands, in a state 
 of rapid decay. Black Heath, for several generations the 
 home of the Heth family.^ 
 
 ^ Heth family: The Critic (Richmond, Va.), Sept. 17, 1888. 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 161 
 
 The most important of the Heths of Black Heath was 
 Lieutenant General Henry Heth of the Confederate 
 Army, or " Harry " Heth, as he was affectionately called. 
 His soldierly instincts were inherited, for the brother of 
 the first of his name at Black Heath was Colonel William 
 Heth, of the Continental Line. 
 
 The house, a large, rambling old mansion, part brick 
 and part frame, was in its early days surrounded by all 
 the appurtenances of a home of wealth and taste. There 
 were a flower garden, oak grove, a great circular pigeon 
 
 BLACK HEATH, CHESTERFIELD COUNTY 
 
 house, a barn, stables, and other outbuildings; but many 
 years ago coal pits were sunk practically all around the 
 house, and tunnels, or drifts as they were called, run be- 
 neath the grounds, and, it is said, beneath the house itself. 
 
 Coal was mined at Midlothian as early as 1730 and 
 for miles around may be seen the remains of the pits owned 
 and operated by the Wooldridges, Clarkes, Cunliffes and 
 other Chesterfield families. 
 
 After the time of the Heths, Black Heath was occu- 
 pied by Mr. GifFord, an Englishman, and later by the 
 family of Colonel William B. Ball. 
 
 11 
 
162 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 CHESTERFIELD COURT HOUSE 
 
 Chesterfield Court House was built in 1749-50 and was 
 ordered by the County Court to be a copy of the then 
 Henrico Court House. In 1779 Hamilton, the British 
 governor of Detroit, who had been captured by G. R. 
 Clark, was confined here for a time. In 1781 the 
 British forces under General Phillips burned the Court 
 House, but its substantial walls remained intact, and when 
 
 CHESTERFIELD COURT HOUSE 
 
 the house was restored it must have been made like it was 
 at first. iNIany celebrated trials have been held here. At 
 the rear there is a wing (not shown in the picture) almost 
 as large as the front part of the house. 
 
 A 
 
 SALISBURY 
 
 few days after the election of Patrick Henry as 
 
 governor of Virginia, in November, 1784, he left the capital 
 in order to arrange his affairs in Henry County and re- 
 moved his family to a farm called Salisbury, in Chesterfield 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 163 
 
 County, near Richmond. The house chosen by the famous 
 patriot as a residence during his term as governor was no 
 palace or mansion, but a charmingly quaint, frame home- 
 stead, with big, bright, airy rooms, only a story and a half 
 high, which had been built some time during the eighteenth 
 century by the Randolphs, as a hunting lodge. Governor 
 Henry rented it from Thomas Mann Randolph. 
 
 Salisbury is only fourteen miles from Richmond and 
 but a little way from the village of Midlothian, but its situ- 
 
 SALISBURY, CHESTERFIELD COUNTY 
 
 ation seems lonely and remote by reason of the deep woods 
 lying between. Cloistered among splendid old oaks, the 
 house makes a pretty picture, with its dormer windows, 
 its great chimneys and its square, white porches. 
 
 In 1789, while Salisbury was the home of Henry, Mr. 
 Randolph sold it to Doctor Philip Turpin, a native of 
 Virginia, who was a graduate of medicine and surgery of 
 the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. During the Revo- 
 lution Dr. Turpin attempted to return home, but was taken 
 prisoner and held by the British Government as surgeon 
 on board ship until the close of the war. The cry of 
 
164 VIRGINIA HO:\IES AND CHURCHES 
 
 " Tory " was raised against him, but friends and officers 
 in tlie British Navy bore witness that he was an unwilling 
 prisoner, and, through the influence of Thomas Jefferson, 
 an unconditional release of his property, which included 
 Salisbury and had been placed under confiscation, was 
 granted. At his death Doctor Turpin bequeathed Salis- 
 bury to his daughter Caroline, the wife of Doctor Edward 
 Johnson, who left it to her sons Edward and Philip Turpin 
 Johnson. 
 
 Edward Johnson was a gallant officer in the United 
 States Army and a distinguished major-general in the 
 Confederate Army. At the close of the War between the 
 States he made Salisbury his home and died there, leaving 
 no descendants. After the death of Philip Turpin Johnson 
 the estate passed from this family. 
 
 NORWOOD, POWHATAN COUNTY 
 
 NORWOOD 
 
 On James River, in Powhatan County, not far above 
 the Chesterfield line, is Norwood, an old home long the 
 property of the Harris family. It was sold b^^ ]Mr. Baratier 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 165 
 
 Eastern 
 1835, 
 
 as 
 
 Harris to Mr. Beverley Randolph, formerly of 
 View, Fauquier County, who owned it as early 
 and who added the wings. 
 
 At the death of Mr. Randolph, Norwood passed to his 
 son Doctor Charles H. Randolph, who left it to Mrs. 
 Nancy Randolph Kennon, and her husband Lieutenant 
 William H. Kennon, U. S. N., for life, and at their death 
 to their eldest son Charles Randolph Kennon, at whose 
 death it passed to his brother William H. Kennon. 
 
 BEAUMONT, POWHATAN COUNTY 
 
 BEAUMONT 
 
 Higher up the river, in Powhatan Count}% is Beau- 
 mont, formerly the beautiful home of Mr. William Walthall 
 Michaux, father of Doctor Jacob Michaux, of Richmond.* 
 Though adjoining other large family estates which were 
 inherited by Mr. Michaux, the house dates from before 
 this time. It was the home of Mr. Edward Walthall, who, 
 dying childless, left it to his relative and adopted son, 
 William Walthall Michaux. 
 
 The descendants of Abraham Michaux, one of the 
 
 * Michaux family : The Critic (Richmond, Va. ), May 19, 1889. 
 
166 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Huguenots who settled at INIanakin Town in 1700, gradu- 
 ally acquired lands in this neighborhood until their holdings 
 comprised many thousand acres. Though Beaumont has 
 been sold, some of the ancestral lands are still owned bj' 
 the ^Michaux family. 
 
 ]Miehaux's Ferrj' has long been a well-known crossing 
 place on James River. 
 
 PAXTON 
 
 Dr. Ennion Williams Skelton, son of Josiah Skelton, 
 came to Virginia about 1802 from New Jersey. He was 
 a INIaster of Arts of Princeton and received a medical edu- 
 
 PAXTON, POWHATAN COUNTY 
 
 cation at the JNIedical College of Pennsjdvania. He 
 settled at Genito, which was at that time a thriving village. 
 Bateaux on the Appomattox were carried as far up as 
 Genito JMill. This mill was owned by Dr. Skelton, who 
 had an extensive practice. He married, in 1823, Catherine 
 Waldron GifFord, of Newark, New Jersey, and lived in 
 the village while his home Paxton was being built. Upon 
 its completion, in 1824, Dr. Skelton's parents went there 
 to live with him and, as will be seen further on, five 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 167 
 
 generations of this familj' lived at Paxton between 1824 
 and 1865. 
 
 After the death of Dr. Skelton and his wife, the 
 property was inherited by their son. Dr. John GifFord 
 Skelton, who graduated in medicine at the Universitj^ of 
 Pennsylvania. He lived at Paxton, where he practised 
 medicine until soon after the War between the States, 
 when he moved to Richmond and was one of the most 
 prominent physicians in that city. He married, as his first 
 wife, in 1841, Charlotte Foushee Randolph, daughter of 
 Peyton Randolph and his wife Maria Ward, and grand- 
 daughter of Edmund Randolph, Secretary of State of the 
 United States. The only child by this marriage was Maria 
 Ward Skelton. His second wife was INIarianne Meade, 
 by whom he had ten children. Maria Ward Skelton 
 married at Paxton, in 1864, John Langbourne Williams, 
 of Richmond, and their oldest son, John Skelton Williams, 
 was born there July 6, 1865, being the fifth generation 
 of the family to live at Paxton. 
 
 The place was celebrated for its hospitality. The 
 location, being at the intersection of two public roads, made 
 it a convenient stopping place for the soldiers during the 
 war, and for the friends of the family at all times. 
 
 POWHATAN COURT HOUSE AND TAVERN 
 
 Powhatan Court House stands upon the site of an 
 older building erected in 1777. Near it was fought, some 
 time in the forties, the famous duel between Doctor Branch 
 T. Archer and Doctor Otway Crump. Doctor Crump 
 fell at the first fire. Doctor Archer removed to Texas, 
 where he became prominent in the affairs of the then 
 republic. 
 
 At Powhatan Court House still stands, though now 
 used for other purposes, one of the large old Court House 
 Taverns, once so famous as gathering places, and for jovial 
 hospitality. 
 
168 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 BELMEAD 
 
 Belmead, also in Powhatan Countj% was built by 
 Philip St. George Cocke (1808-1861),"^ son of General 
 John Hartwell Cocke (1780-1866), of Bremo, Fluvanna 
 Count3^ Philip St. George Cocke was a graduate of West 
 Point and was a brigadier general in the Confederate 
 Ai-my. 
 
 The great size and striking architecture of the Belmead 
 house make it one of the most imposing mansions on James 
 River. It is now the property of the Roman Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 TUCKAHOE 
 
 On the north side of the river opposite Powhatan 
 Countj^ is the County of Goochland, at the lower end of 
 which stands Tuckahoe, the oldest of the James River 
 mansions west of Richmond. 
 
 Tuckahoe was a frontier settlement established at a 
 time when, on account of the Indian terror, the law re- 
 quired for every five hundred acres, " One Christian man, 
 perfect of limb, provided with a well-fixed musquett or 
 fuzee, a good pistoll, sharp simeter and tomahawk," to live 
 upon the land. The house stands upon the brow of a steep, 
 wooded hill and is approached through an avenue of beau- 
 tiful elms. To the left may still be seen the curious old 
 " box-labj'rinth," with its twisting and winding walks, and 
 traces of the flower-garden, where rose-bushes, bridal- 
 wreath, lilacs, sweet william, and other old-fashioned 
 flowers flourished in prim beds and borders. 
 
 The mansion, built in part of Colonial brick and in 
 part of wood, is of unique design. There are two wings, 
 each 25 feet deep and 40 feet long, connected by a hall 
 24 feet wide and 40 feet long, with arched doorwa}^s open- 
 ing at either end into the wings — giving the house the shape 
 of the letter H. 
 
 A visitor to Tuckahoe, writing in 1779, says, " it seems 
 to be built solely for the purposes of hospitality," and that 
 the family lived in one wing while the other is " reserved 
 solel}^ for visitors." The rooms and hall are panelled from 
 
TUCKAHOE, GOOCHLAND COUNTY 
 
 BELMEAD, POWHATAN COUNTY 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 171 
 
 floor to ceiling with black walnut. A fine stairway of the 
 same wood, with hand-carved balustrade, adds to the beauty 
 of the hall. This hall was furnished with four sofas, two 
 on each side, " besides chairs," and served the double pur- 
 pose of a " cool retreat " in summer and " an occasional 
 ball-room." 
 
 Upon several of the tiny panes of glass in the windows 
 may be seen the names of some of the Randolphs and 
 their friends, scratched with diamonds before the Revo- 
 lution. 
 
 Tuckahoe was built by Thomas Randolph ( 1689-1730 ) , 
 of Turkey Island, who was a burgess for Henrico and 
 commander-in-chief of Goochland at the time that county 
 was formed. He married Judith Fleming and was the 
 father of Judith Randolph, who married Reverend William 
 Stith (1689-1755), president of William and JNIary Col- 
 lege and historian of Virginia, and of Mar\^ Randolph, 
 who became the wife of Reverend James Keith (and was 
 the grandmother of Chief Justice INIarshall ) . Thomas 
 Randolph died in 1730, leaving Tuckahoe to his only son, 
 William Randolph, who married [Maria Judith, daughter 
 of Honorable Slann Page I, of Rosewell. William 
 Randolph was for several j^ears, and at the time of his 
 death, a burgess for Goochland. He died in 1745, pos- 
 sessed of a large estate. He left £1200 sterling, a hand- 
 some fortune in those days, to each of his two daughters. 
 His will directed that a tutor should be employed to teach 
 his only son, Thomas ]Mann Randolph, and also his daugh- 
 ters. At the time of his death this onlj^ son was a child, and 
 in response to a request in the will, Peter Jefferson (whose 
 wife was Jane, a daughter of Isham Randolph, of Dunge- 
 ness, who was great-uncle to the said Thomas Mann) came 
 to Tuckahoe, bringing with him his son Thomas, and took 
 the estate and the family under his charge. It thus befell 
 that Thomas Jefferson, when a lad, went to school with 
 his cousins, the Randolph children, in the tiny school-house 
 still to be seen in the yard at Tuckahoe. 
 
 Thomas Mann Randolph, of Tuckahoe, was a member 
 of the House of Burgesses, and, after the Revolution, of 
 
172 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 the Virginia Legislature. By his first marriage with Anne, 
 daughter of Archibald Cary, of Anipthill, he was the 
 father of (among several other children) Thomas JNIann 
 Randolph, of Edge Hill, Albemarle County, governor of 
 Virginia, and by his second marriage, with Gabriella 
 Harvie, of another Thomas jNIann Randolph, who inherited 
 Tuckahoe, but who sold it in 1830 to Edwin Wight, of 
 Richmond. JMr. Wight sold it twenty years later to Joseph 
 Allen, from whom it passed to Major Richard Allen and 
 
 SCHOf)L-H0USE AT TUCKAHOE 
 
 Where Thomas Jefferson went to school 
 
 his wife, who was JNliss Virginia JNIitchell, a famous beaut)^ 
 and belle of Richmond. In 1898 the old place again 
 changed hands, this time becoming once more the prop- 
 erty of those of Randolph blood — the Coolidge family 
 of Boston, descendants of Governor Thomas INlann 
 Randolph, who still own it. 
 
 The social history of Tuckahoe has been brilliant. 
 Colonel William Byrd in his Progress to the Mines de- 
 scribes a visit there in 1732 and from that time on many 
 distinguished men have been sheltered by this famous old 
 roof-tree. The house was divided in opinion during the 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 173 
 
 Revolution and both Washington and Cornwalhs are said 
 to have enjoyed its hospitahtj". 
 
 Of course Tuckahoe has its gliosts. Creepy stories are 
 told of the shade of a murdered pedler which haunts the 
 southeast chamber and a distressed bride, with flowing 
 locks and wringing hands, who paces the east walk. 
 
 In a vault screened from view by grape arbors and 
 shrubbery, about two hundred yards distant from the 
 mansion, sleep the Randolphs of Tuckahoe. 
 
 OAKLAND ' 
 
 On June 26, 1731, about fifteen years after Governor 
 Spotswood's trip of exploration to the Blue Ridge ISIoun- 
 tams had caused the gradual movement of the settlements, 
 from the head of tide-water on the James and other rivers 
 towards the foot of the mountains, a Land Patent, cover- 
 ing the site of Oakland, was issued in the name of 
 George II, King of Great Britain, bj^ Governor William 
 Gooch, to " Bowler Cocke, Gentleman." This patent or 
 grant was made in consideration of 12 pounds, for 2400 
 acres of land on the south side of the James on Muddy 
 Creek, formerly in Henrico County, at that date in 
 Goochland County, and now in Cumberland County 
 (Virginia Land Office, Land Patents, Vol. 14, p. 187). 
 
 Bowler Cocke, to whom the grant was made, was the 
 son of Richard Cocke, 3d, son of Richard, 2d, son of 
 Richard 1st, who came to the Colony of Virginia prior to 
 1632 (as his name appears in the list of Burgesses of the 
 "Grand Assembly" for that year) , and settled at "Bremo," 
 the original home of the Cocke family in Virginia, near 
 James River, about twelve miles east of Richmond (Vir- 
 ginia Magazine of History and Biography, III, 282). 
 On the death of Bowler Cocke, 1st (1771), Oakland 
 passed to his son. Bowler Cocke, 2d. On the latter's death 
 (1772) , it passed to his son, William Cocke. On William's 
 death (1825), it passed to his son, Wm. Armistead Cocke, 
 
 ® This account was written by a member of the Cocke family- 
 
174 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 who was the great-great-grandson, through his mother, 
 Jane Armistead, of Colonel William Byrd, 2d. And on 
 the death of Wm. A. Cocke ( 1855) , who married Elizabeth 
 Randolph Preston, of Lexington, Va., it passed to their 
 fom- sons, William Fauntleroy, Thomas Lewis Preston, 
 Edmund Randolph, and John Preston Cocke, all of whom 
 were in the Confederate Army. Oakland is now owned 
 by Edmund R. Cocke. 
 
 Though Oakland has been owned by the Cocke family 
 for more than 175 years, it seems that it was not occupied 
 as a home until about 1788, when William Cocke moved 
 there from Bremo. 
 
 Oakland is about forty miles west of Richmond, and 
 about six miles south of Cartersville. It is a typical old 
 Virginia tobacco plantation, though it also produces wheat, 
 corn and oats and an abundance of vegetables and fruit. 
 Its greatest attraction is its large yard of about twelve 
 acres, which, during the last century, contained some fifty- 
 five or sixty gigantic oaks, white and red, chiefly the 
 former, and a large number of other kinds of beautiful 
 shade trees. The largest of these oaks are said to be some 
 twenty feet in circumference, casting a shade at mid-day 
 of over a hundred feet in diameter. It is not probable that 
 such a collection of oaks can be found, within such a limited 
 space, anywhere else in this country. The writer, who has 
 visited many parks and other places noted for their fine 
 forest growth, has never seen such a collection of large 
 trees except on the Pacific Coast. 
 
 The following incident, related by a Virginia authoress, 
 which occurred shortly after the Civil War, illustrates very 
 fully the surpassing grandeur of these trees : 
 
 Oakland was not by any means among the handsomest of the 
 old Virginia houses, but in one respect it surpassed them all. I 
 remember on one occasion driving back to the home from service 
 at the country church with Bishop Whittle, when a member of the 
 family said to him, " Bishop, this is not your first visit to Oakland ; 
 you were here, sir, 20 years ago, when you were just Mr. Whittle." 
 It was evident that the Bishop did not recall the visit, and the 
 
OAKLAND, CUMBERLAND COUNTY 
 
 OAKLAND, SHOWING THE GROVE 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 177 
 
 conversation was deftly changed to save embarrassment. But 
 when the open carriage swept around the edge of the woods, and 
 brought tlie 12-acre lawn to view, with its 80 or more trees, 50 of 
 them primeval oaks, measuring several feet in diameter, and 
 spreading out into vast sanctuaries of shade, the Bishop stood up 
 in the carriage and took off his hat. " You are mistaken. Captain 
 Cocke," he said ; " I might have been graceless enough to forget 
 the kindest host, but not these monarchs. I have never seen 
 Oakland before." "' 
 
 An interesting description of the " old days " at Oak- 
 land is given by JNIrs. Allan in her Life of Mrs. M. J. 
 Preston; and of " War Times " by JNIr. E. A. JNIoore, in 
 The Story of a Cannoneer Under Stonewall Jackson. 
 
 While Oakland was visited by many persons of note 
 dvu'ing the last century, it was especially honored bj^ a 
 visit from General R. E. Lee, just after the close of the 
 Civil War. At the invitation of JNIrs. Elizabeth R. Cocke, 
 the mistress of Oakland from 1835 to 1889, General Lee 
 came to Oakland in June, 1865. He was accompanied by 
 JNIrs. Lee, INIiss Agnes, Miss JNIildred and General Custis 
 Lee. General Lee and the ladies came by the " packet 
 boat " on the old James River and Kanawha Canal, and as 
 the berths were very close and uncomfortable, the General 
 preferred sleeping on the open deck of the boat with his 
 cloak wrapped around him. This is probably the last 
 occasion on which he ever bivouacked. 
 
 After a week spent here (Oakland), General Lee removed with 
 his family to " Derwent " (the home of T. L. P. Cocke, adjoining 
 Oakland). There he spent several months of quiet rest, only 
 interrupted by the calls of those who came in all honesty and 
 sincerity to pay their respects to him. Old soldiers, citizens, men 
 and women, all came without parade or ceremony.^' 
 
 In August, 1865, while at Derwent, General Lee was 
 visited by Judge John W. Brockenbrough, Rector of 
 the Board of Trustees of Washington College, Lexington, 
 
 i« Life of Mrs. M. J. Preston, by Mrs. Elizabeth P. Allan, 
 p. 102. 
 
 ^' Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee, by Cap- 
 tain Robert E. Lee, pp. 171-172. 
 12 
 
178 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Va., who offered him the Presidency of that College. 
 After several weeks of deliberation, General Lee accepted 
 that position, and in September removed with his family 
 to Lexington. 
 
 Oakland, unlike most old Virginia homes, was not 
 overrun by the Federal troops during the Civil War; 
 its inaccessibility alone saved it. But in August, 1900, a 
 mouse and a match caused a greater loss than the Federals 
 would probablj^ have inflicted, by destroying the delightful 
 home represented in the accompanying picture, and by 
 damaging the large oaks which flanked it both east and 
 west. ]Mrs. Elizabeth P. Allen, after alluding to the 
 great loss of such a home and its contents, some of which 
 possessed an incalculable sentimental value, adds, " Surely 
 there must be a spiritual immortality for such a home." 
 
 SABOT HILL, GOOCHLAND COUNTY 
 
 SABOT HILL AND DOVER 
 
 A short distance above Bendover, in the same count}', 
 Goochland, and also overlooking the James, are two beau- 
 tiful houses, which on account of the intermarriages of the 
 families of their builders are closely associated — Sabot 
 
> 
 •z. 
 
 z 
 
 H 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 181 
 
 Hill, the old homestead of the Seddons, and Dover, of 
 the jNIorsons. 
 
 Sahot Hill was built in 1855 by James Alexander Sed- 
 don, afterward Secretarj' of War of the Confederate Gov- 
 ernment. It is now the property of ]Mr. W. E. Harris. 
 
 Dover was built by ]Mr. Arthur JNIorson and is one of 
 the fairest of old Virginia's fair mansions. Its long pil- 
 lared portico is an especially striking feature. It, too, has 
 changed liands, but its present owner, Mr. C. Boice, has 
 beautifullv restored it. 
 
 HOWARDS NECK, GOOCHLAND COUNTY 
 
 HOWARD'S NECK 
 
 The dwelling here was built by Edward Cunningham 
 in 1825, whose son, Dr. Francis Cunningham, was a 
 prominent physician in Richmond manj^ years ago. The 
 property was purchased from the Cunninghams, in 1842, 
 by John B. Hobson, who married Martha Bland Selden, 
 of Westover. Now owned by Mr. Saunders Hobson. 
 
 ROCK CASTLE 
 
 Rock Castle, in Goochland County, for the past half 
 century the hospitable home of Mr. John Coles Ruther- 
 
182 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 foord and his familj', takes its name from the high rocky 
 bluff overlooking James River, upon which the house is 
 perched. The simple cottage with vine-covered porch and 
 sloping dormer roof bears little likeness to a castle, but it 
 is well worthy of consideration, for it has its place in the 
 social history of Virginia and has suffered from two wars. 
 It is one of the oldest homesteads in this section. The 
 plantation was seated nearly two hundred ^^ears ago by 
 Mr. Tarleton Fleming (according to tradition, a descend- 
 ant of the Earl of Wigton, in Scotland), whose wife was 
 Mary Randolph, of Tuckahoe. Colonel William Byrd in 
 his Progress to the Mines (1732) mentions a visit to 
 Tuckahoe, where he met INIrs. Fleming, " on her way to 
 join her husband at Rock Castle, thirty miles farther up 
 the river in a part of the country little settled, and but 
 lately redeemed from the wilderness." 
 
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 ROCK CASTLE, GOOCHLAND COUNTY 
 
 Upon the death of Tarleton Fleming, Rock Castle 
 passed to his son, Thomas Mann Fleming. Upon his 
 death it was bought by Colonel David Bullock, a promi- 
 nent lawj^er, of Richmond, who kept open house, and lib- 
 erally dispensed old-fashioned Southern hospitality there, 
 for years. Some time after the death of Colonel Bullock, 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 183 
 
 Governor John Rutherfoord bought the estate as a sum- 
 mer home, and it finally became the residence of his son, 
 INIr. John Coles Rutherfoord, of Richmond, who modern- 
 ized the front of the house. However, the quaint archi- 
 tectural features of the Colonial period may still be seen 
 at the rear. 
 
 During the Revolution, Rock Castle was visited by a 
 raiding party under General Tarleton, who angrily cut 
 down and bore away the coat-of-arms of Tarleton quar- 
 tered with Fleming from the wall of the panelled parlor. 
 
 Years later, during the raid around Richmond, a party 
 of Sheridan's soldiers sacked the house and were only 
 prevented from firing it by the entreaties of the faithful 
 colored servants. 
 
 Rock Castle is now the property of the distinguished 
 surgeon. Dr. Geo. Ben Johnston, whose wife is a daughter 
 of John Coles Rutherfoord. 
 
 ROLLING HALL, GOOCHLAND COUNTY 
 
 ROLLING HALL 
 
 From the early eighteenth century the Boilings of 
 Cobbs, in Chesterfield County, owned much land in 
 Goochland, and various members of the family made their 
 homes in that county at times. But the first to abandon 
 the original homestead and settle permanently in Gooch- 
 
184 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 land was Colonel William Boiling, of " Boiling Hall," a 
 militia officer in the War of 1812, and a man of prominence 
 in his community. He was a philanthropist as well as a 
 soldier, and after removing to Boiling Hall established at 
 his old home, Cobbs, the first institution for the education 
 of deaf mutes in America. 
 
 Upon the walls of Boiling Hall long hung one of the 
 most complete collections of family portraits in the State 
 of Virginia. In it M^as represented every generation of 
 Boilings from Robert, the emigrant, down. It is now the 
 property of ]Mr. Richard Boiling, of Richmond, who has 
 loaned it to the Virginia Historical Society. 
 
 "UNCLE" ASA AND "AUNT" JINSEY AT BOLLING ISLAND 
 This old couple lived to be more than 100 years old. 
 
 BOLLING ISLAND 
 
 Colonel William Boiling left the valuable plantation 
 Boiling Island to his son Thomas, who built the homestead. 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 185 
 
 Later the estate was purchased by Mr. A. Y. Stokes, of 
 Richmond, and is still the property of his descendants. 
 
 BOLLING ISLAND, GOOCHLAND COUNTY 
 
 UNION HILL, CUMBERLAND COUNTY 
 
 UNION HILL 
 
 Union Hill, in Cumberland County, was the home of 
 John Cary Page (1789-1853) . One of Mr. Page's daugh- 
 
186 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 ters, Harriet Randolph, married, in 1857, Coupland 
 Randolph, of ^Maryland, and they removed to New Hamp- 
 shire about 1865. 
 
 CLIFTON 
 The Clifton estate in Cmnberland County seems to 
 have been settled by Carter Henri' Harrison, of " Berke- 
 ley " — a brother of Benjamin Harrison, the signer of the 
 Declaration. The master of Clifton married Susannah, 
 
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 CLIFTON, CUJIBERLAXD COUNTY 
 
 daughter of Colonel Isham Randolph, of " Dungeness." 
 After his death the homestead passed to his son Randolph 
 Harrison, who married his first cousin, JNIary, daughter of 
 Thomas Isham Randolph, of " Dungeness." 
 
 Randolph and Mary Harrison, of " Clifton," had 
 fourteen children, and their descendants, now widely scat- 
 tered, form an influential social connection. 
 
 BELLMONT 
 
 Tradition says that quaint Bellmont, in Buckingham 
 County, was the first frame dwelling in that section of the 
 country — the pioneer settlers there having, hitherto con- 
 tented themselves with log-houses. Its dormer windows, 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 187 
 
 little square porch and big chimneys are indications of its 
 age. Ancient trees form an arch high above the house 
 which looks sedately forth from a yard filled with old- 
 fashioned shrubs and flowers. 
 
 Bellmont was built by Colonel Archibald Cary for his 
 sister, Judith, who married Colonel David Bell, a native 
 of Scotland and a member of the House of Burgesses for 
 
 BELLMONT, BUCKINGHAM COUNTY 
 
 Buckingham County. It was inherited by Colonel and 
 Mrs. Bell's daughter, Mrs. Harrison, who left it to her 
 daughter, Mrs. Ligon. The Ligons sold it to Mr. I. C. 
 Gannaway. 
 
 THE BREMOS 
 
 Near each other in Fluvanna County are the three 
 homesteads and estates known as Bremo, Lower Bremo, 
 and Bremo Recess. 
 
 General John Hartwell Cocke (1780-1866), of Surry 
 County, a gentleman of prominence and fortune, removed, 
 
188 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 about 1803, to Fluvanna Countj^, where he owned large 
 tracts of land. He built Bremo Recess, and lived in it 
 while he was erecting the handsome mansion which he 
 named Bremo, in honor of Bremo in Henrico County, 
 which was the home of the Cocke family at a very early 
 date. Bremo House, with its great stone barns and other 
 outbuildings, is one of the notable places on James River. 
 General Cocke was devoted to the cause of temperance 
 and as a temperance memorial he had placed on the bank 
 
 BARN AT BREMO 
 
 of the James River and Kanawha Canal, at Bremo, a huge 
 iron vase, pitcher-shaped, which was constantly filled to 
 overflowing with water introduced by pipes from a spring. 
 This unique fountain was long a famous sight to travellers 
 up and down the canal. 
 
 After the death of General John H. Cocke the prop- 
 erty was inherited by his son. Dr. Cary C. Cocke, and 
 at his death it jjassed to his two daughters, INIisses Mary 
 and Lelia, who are the present owners. 
 
 Lower Bremo was built in 1843 and belonged to Dr. 
 
BREMO (REAR) 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 191 
 
 Gary C. Cocke until 1855, when he and his father, General 
 Cocke, exchanged homes. It is now the property of Mrs. 
 W. R. C. Cocke. 
 
 LOWER BREMO, FLUVANNA COUNTY 
 
 OLD " MARSHALL " PACKET BOAT 
 
 The old Marshall was the last packet boat used on 
 the James River and Kanawha Canal and the one on which 
 the body of Stonewall Jackson was carried from Rich- 
 mond to Lexington. Dr. George W. Bagb}^ in his writ- 
 ings has an interesting chapter on Canal Reminiscences, 
 and the following account is condensed therefrom: 
 
 " Those were the ' good old days ' of bateaux, — 
 picturesque craft that charmed my young eyes more than 
 all the gondolas of Venice would do now. If ever man 
 gloried in his calling, the negro bateaux-man was that 
 man. His was a hardy calling, demanding skill, courage 
 and strength in a high degree. I can see him now striding 
 the plank that ran along the gunwale to afford him a 
 footing, his long iron-shod pole trailing in the water be- 
 hind him. Now he turns, and after one or two ineffectual 
 efforts to get his pole fixed in the rocky bottom of the 
 
192 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 river, secures his purchase, adjusts the upper part of the 
 pole to the pad on his shoulder, bends to his task, and the 
 long, but not ungraceful bark mounts the rapids like a 
 sea-bird breasting the storm. His companion on the other 
 side plies his pole with equal ardor, and between the two 
 the boat bravely surmounts every obstacle, be it rocks, 
 rapids, quicksands, hammocks, what not. A third negro 
 at the stern held the mighty oar that served as a rudder. 
 A stalwart, jolly, courageous set they were, plying the 
 pole all day, hauling it to shore at night vmder the friendly 
 shade of a mighty sycamore, to rest, to eat, to play the 
 banjo, and to snatch a few hours of profound, blissful 
 sleep. 
 
 " The packet-landing at the foot of Eighth Street 
 presented a scene of great activity. Passengers on foot 
 and in vehicles continued to arrive up to the moment of 
 starting. I took a peep at the cabin, wondering much 
 how all the passengers were to be accommodated for the 
 night. At last we were off, slowly pushed along under the 
 bridge on Seventh Street; then the horses were hitched; 
 then slowly along till we passed the crowd of boats near 
 the city, vmtil at length, with a liA-ely jerk as the horses 
 fell into a trot, away we went, the cut-water throwing up 
 the spray as we rounded the Penitentiary hill, and the pas- 
 sengers lingering on deck to get a last look at the fair city 
 of Richmond, lighted by tlie pale rays of the setting sun. 
 
 " As the shadows deepened, everybody went below. 
 There was always a crowd in those days, but it was a 
 crowd, for the most part, of our best people, and no one 
 minded it. 
 
 " Supper over, the men went on deck to smoke, while 
 the ladies busied themselves with draughts or backgam- 
 mon, with conversation or with books. But not for long. 
 The curtains which separated the female from the male 
 department were soon drawn, in order that the steward 
 and his aids might make ready the berths. These were 
 three deep, ' lower,' ' middle," and ' upper; ' and great was 
 the desire on the part of the men not to be consigned to 
 the ' upper.' 
 
 " The ceremony of ablution was performed in a prim- 
 
WIND-POWER GRIST MILL IN MATHEWS COUNTY 
 
 THE OLD "MARSHALL," THE LAST PACKET BOAT RUN ON JAMES RIVER AND KANAWHA CANAL 
 
 13 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 195 
 
 itive fashion. There were the tin basins, the big tin dipper 
 with the long wooden handle. I feel it vibrating in the 
 water now, and the water a little muddy generally; and 
 there were the towels, a big one on a roller, and the little 
 ones in a pile, and all of them wet. 
 
 " Of all the locks from Lynchbm-g down, the Three- 
 Mile Locks pleased me most. It is a pretty place, as 
 every one will own on seeing it. It was so clean and green, 
 and white and thriftj^-looking. To me it was simply 
 beautiful. I wanted to live there; I ought to have lived 
 there. I was built for a lock-keeper — have that exact 
 moral and mental shape. Ah! to own your own negro, 
 who would do all the drudgery of opening the gates. 
 Occasionally you would go through the form of putting 
 your shoulder to the huge wooden levers, if that is what 
 they call them, by which the gates are opened; to own 
 your own negro and live and die calmly at a lock!. What 
 more coidd the soul ask? " 
 
 POINT-OF-FORK, FLUVANNA COUNTY 
 
 POINT-OF-FORK 
 
 Point-of-Fork, in Fluvanna County, was for years the 
 home of the Gaits. William Gait, first of this family in 
 
196 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 A^irginia, was born in 1755, in the parish of Dundonald, 
 Ayrshire, Scotland, and emigrated to Virginia in early 
 yonth and later became associated in business with his 
 nephew, John Allan (Edgar Allan Poe's foster-father). 
 He died in Richmond in 1823. His nephew, James Gait, 
 of Point-of-Fork, a native of Irvine, Scotland, died 
 April 26, 1826, in his seventy-second year. 
 
 During the Revolution there was a State arsenal and 
 armor}' near Point-of-Fork. 
 
 In latter years it has been owned by General Lindsay 
 Walker, INIrs. Hartwell Cabell, who was a daughter of 
 General T. M. Logan, and now by Mr. James Alston 
 Cabell. 
 
 CUMBERLAND COURT HOUSE 
 
 CUMBERLAND TAVERN 
 
 The county seat of Cumberland still possesses one of 
 the large old taverns, formerly called the Effingham 
 Tavern, so full of suggestions of bygone days. John 
 Randolph, of Roanoke, was often a guest at this tavern 
 and made political speeches in the Court House, 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 197 
 
 EFFINGHAM TAVERN, CUMBERLAND COURT HOUSE 
 
 AMPTHILL, CUMBERLAND Col Mi 
 
 AMPTHILL 
 
 Ampthill, in Cumberland County, is said to have been 
 built b}^ Randolph Harrison, who married, in 1790, Mary 
 Randolph of Dungeness. Their daughter Mary Randolph 
 Harrison married, in 1827, William Byrd Harrison, of 
 
198 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Upper Brandon, and was the mother of Colonel Randolph 
 Harrison, a gallant soldier of the Confederate Army, who 
 inherited Ampthill and long made it his home. 
 
 LIBERTY HAUL 
 
 When, in 1724, Doctor William Cabell, of Union Hill, 
 came from Wiltshire, England, and settled in what is now 
 Nelson County, Virginia, his first home was a house which 
 stood on the site now occupied by Liberty Hall. He after- 
 ward built nearer the river, where the family graveyard. 
 
 LIBERTY HALL, NELSON COUNTY 
 
 shaded by a lofty elm, said to have been planted at the 
 head of his grave, may still be seen. 
 
 Liberty Hall was the inheritance of Doctor Cabell's 
 youngest son, Nicholas (1750-1803), passing from him to 
 his youngest living son, Nicholas Cabell, Jr. (1780-1809), 
 thence descending to his son Nathaniel Francis Cabell 
 1807-1891 ) . The last mentioned Mr. Cabell at the time of 
 his first marriage, about 1837, with Anne Blaws (1811- 
 1862), daughter of General John Hartwell Cocke, of 
 Bremo, moved the house to the site of the earliest home of 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 199 
 
 his great-grandfather. About 1843 a wing was added to the 
 house. Liberty Hall is still owned by Mr. Nathaniel 
 Francis Cabell's children. 
 
 The dwelling was built by slaves from timber cut from 
 the plantation and the wrought nails used in its con- 
 struction were made on the place. 
 
 UNION HILL 
 
 In the County of Nelson may be found a number of 
 estates and dwellings which formerly were, and some of 
 which still are, the homes of the connection aptly styled by 
 
 UNION HILL, NELSON COUNTY 
 
 one of the most distinguished among its members " the 
 Cabells and their kin." From this group of homes have 
 come representatives who have made their family known 
 in almost every walk of life throughout the country. 
 
 Part of the Union Hill estate was granted in 1738 to 
 Doctor William Cabell (1699-1774)/' the first of the 
 name in Virginia, who in 1763 deeded it to his son, William 
 
 ^' For a full genealogy of the Cabells see Brown's The Cabells 
 and Their Kin. Houghton, Mifflin Company. 
 
200 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 (1730-1798), who made large additions to its acreage. 
 The tract when completed extended for about ten miles 
 along James River, and contained at least 25,000 acres of 
 land. The building of the homestead began about 1775, 
 and as the Revolution soon cut off supplies from England, 
 the work had to be done almost entirely from materials 
 to be had on the place. The wood was cut and bricks and 
 nails made on the plantation. Save that the shingled roof 
 has been replaced by tin, and repairs made, the house is 
 about as Colonel Cabell left it. It is 60 feet wide by 40 
 feet deep and has two stories, a basement and an attic, 
 with wainscoted rooms and halls and ample cellars. Ai'ound 
 it stood all the numerous outbuildings necessary to a great 
 plantation. 
 
 Colonel William Cabell, the builder of Union Hill, 
 was one of the most eminent Virginians of his day. He 
 was for many years a member of the House of Burgesses, 
 was colonel of the Amherst militia and was a member of 
 the Conventions and the Committee of Safety and a leader 
 in the Revolutionary movement. Only a detailed study of 
 his life as given by Doctor Alexander Brown can give an 
 adequate idea of his services to the State. Colonel Cabell 
 married Margaret, daughter of Colonel Samuel Jordan, 
 of Buckingham Countj^ who after her husband's death, on 
 March 23, 1798, continued to occupy Union Hill with her 
 son-in-law, William H. Cabell, afterward governor of 
 Virginia. 
 
 Governor Cabell left Union Hill in 1801 and Colonel 
 William Cabell, Jr., whose home at that time was Colleton, 
 went to Union Hill and lived there until his death, in 1822, 
 when he was succeeded by his son JNIayo Cabell. Mr. Mayo 
 Cabell married first Mary, daughter of Judge William 
 Daniel, and secondly Caroline, daughter of Christopher 
 Ajithony, who surviving him at his death, in 1869, con- 
 tinued to live there. 
 
 In 1873 Union Hill was bought bj^ Alexander Brown, 
 the distinguished Virginia historian, who was twice mar- 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 201 
 
 ried, both times to a Miss Cabell. The estate is now owned 
 by Miss Lucy G. Cabell, who is the sister-in-law of 
 Alexander Brown. 
 
 EDGEWOOD, NELSON COUNTY 
 
 Edgewood's special claim to distinction is as the home 
 of Honorable Joseph Carrington Cabell (1778-1856), a 
 leading member of the Virginia Legislature and a gentle- 
 man of rare talent and culture. It was chiefly through his 
 sympathy and aid that Thomas Jefferson's plans for the 
 
 
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 EDGEWOOD, NELSON COUNTY 
 
 University of Virginia were carried out. Mr. Cabell suc- 
 ceeded Jefferson as Rector of the LTniversitj^ and held that 
 office until his death, in 1856. 
 
 Edgewood, as may be seen from the picture, was one of 
 the houses that grew with the needs of its occupants, thereby 
 gaining that delightful rambling effect characteristic 
 of so many old Virginia homesteads. The central building 
 is about a century old. It stands upon what was originally 
 a town lot in Warminster, which during Colonial days and 
 for fifty years afterward was a village of a few hundred 
 
202 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 inhabitants and a shipping point for tobacco by bateaux 
 down the James. The old house was built by Mr. Robert 
 Rives, of Oak Ridge, Nelson County, who was then a 
 merchant at Warminster, and was sold by him to ISIr. 
 Cabell. Mr. Cabell added the wings and kitchen and en- 
 larged the central building at the rear. 
 
 Mr. Cabell married Miss Mary Carter of Lancaster 
 County, and in the Edgewood yard stands a cottage where 
 once lived the Honorable St. George Tucker, and his 
 second wife, who was Mrs. George Carter, the mother of 
 ]Mrs. Cabell. The mortal remains of all the above named 
 lie in the graveyard to the rear of the house. After her 
 husband's death INIrs. Joseph C. Cabell continued to make 
 Edgewood her home until her death, in 1862. It was 
 bought from jMr. Cabell's residuary legatee by JNIr. Philip 
 B. Cabell, whose widow now owns it. 
 
 Edgewood boasts of a well-authenticated ghost, for, 
 though there seem to be few who have actually seen the 
 gentle visitor from " beyond the veil," many there are who 
 bear testimony of the light touch upon the shoulder of 
 " Cousin Polly," as INIrs. Joseph C. Cabell was universally 
 called in the connection. This lady was heiress of a goodly 
 portion of the " King Carter " property, in Lancaster 
 County, and left a large estate. Having no faith in 
 lawj^ers, and determined that they should have nothing to 
 do with her property, she wrote, with her own hand, one of 
 the largest and most remarkable wills on record. In spite 
 of her pains it is said that the lawyers got three-fourths of 
 her fortune, which perhaps accounts for her uneasy rest. 
 
 SOLDIER'S JOY 
 
 Soldier's Joy, another delightfully rambling old home- 
 stead, was built in 1785 by Colonel Samuel Jordan Cabell, 
 a gallant officer in the Revolutionary War and an original 
 member of the Virginia Society of the Cincinnati. Im- 
 mediately after his marriage to Sally Syme, of Hanover, 
 in 1781, Colonel and Mrs. Cabell lived with his parents at 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 203 
 
 Union Hill. From 1795 to 1803 Colonel Cabell repre- 
 sented his district in Congress. 
 
 An interesting item in the diary of Colonel William 
 Cabell of Union Hill is this entry under date of May 1, 
 1791 : " JNIy son Sam sent us some ice from his ice-house of 
 which I had a Bowl of Punch. The first ice-punch I ever 
 drank." 
 
 SOLDIER'S JOY, NELSON COUNTY 
 
 Soldier's Joy is now the home of ]Mr. and ISIrs. Charles 
 T. Palmer. INIrs. Palmer was JNIiss Alice Winston Cabell, 
 a daughter of Doctor Clifford Cabell. 
 
 OTTER BURN 
 
 This dwelling, built in the earlj^ part of the nineteenth 
 century, situated about two and one-half miles north of 
 Bedford City (formerly Liberty), in the County of Bed- 
 ford, was the home of the late Benj. A. Donald, who was 
 for many years presiding justice of the old county court 
 of that county. He married Sally Camm, of Amherst 
 County, and at her death she devised Otter Burn to 
 her sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Patteson, of Buckingham, the 
 widow of Dr. David Patteson. It has now passed out of the 
 family, but is well kept up. 
 
204 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Before the War between the States Otter Burn 
 was one of the noted Virginia homes. It is not many 
 miles from the Blue Ridge JNIountains, with the famous 
 Peaks of Otter in full view. The dwelling, which is 
 situated about a mile from the public road, is an old styled 
 four-gabled house built of brick, with broad porches run- 
 ning the entire length at the front and more than half waj' 
 at the back, supported by double colunnrs extending up 
 to the eaves. This construction gives a most imposing 
 effect. All of the rooms have large French windows open- 
 ing out on the porches. The driveway in the front yard is 
 
 OTl'ER BURN, PATTESON, BEDFORD COUNTY 
 
 around a circle which brings the visitor up to the circular 
 stone steps at the front porch. The front yard is covered 
 with a great variety of trees and evergreens, and is sur- 
 rounded bj^ hedges of althea, boxwood and lilac. Adjoin- 
 ing the front yard is a beautiful old-fashioned flower 
 garden, artistically divided into sections by boxwood 
 hedges, where one could find growing in the utmost luxuri- 
 ance roses, flowers and evergreens. 
 
 The old place still retains its homelike appearance of 
 restfulness far from the interminable jangle of bells and 
 the roar of modern town life. 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES ^05 
 
 OAK RIDGE 
 
 Robert Rives,^ ' a native of Sussex County, Virginia, 
 became a leading and wealthy merchant, and married, 
 in 1790, jMargaret, daughter of Colonel WilHam Cabell, 
 of Union Hill. From 1791 to 1803 Mr. and Mrs. Rives 
 lived at Edgewood. In 1798 Mrs. Rives inherited from 
 her father part of the Oak Ridge plantation, Mr. Rives 
 later purchasing the remainder from the other heirs, 
 and in 1801-1802 built the mansion, which he occupied 
 
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 OAK RIDGE, NELSON COUNTY 
 
 until his death, in 1845. He left a large estate, including 
 much land in Albemarle, and from ten to fifteen thousand 
 acres in Nelson County. After Mr. Rives' death Oak 
 Ridge was the home of his daughter Margaret Jordon 
 Rives, who died unmarried in 1862. One of his sons was 
 the distinguished statesman, William Cabel Rives, of Castle 
 Hill, Albemarle County. 
 
 Oak Ridge is now the property of Mr. Thomas F. 
 Ryan, the well-known financier, and is, with its beautiful 
 mansion, a splendid estate. One of the greatest attractions 
 
 ^■^ Rives family : Brown, The Cahells and Their Kin. 
 
206 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 of the house is the large collection of life-sized portraits of 
 Englishmen associated with the settlement of Virginia, 
 copied for ]\Ir. Ryan and exhibited b)^ him in the History 
 Building at the Jamestown Exposition. 
 
 MASSIE HOMES IN NELSON COUNTY 
 LEVEL GREEN AND PHARSALM. 
 
 In Nelson County, in the neighborhood of JMassie's 
 Mills, there remained, until several years ago, three old 
 mansions of the Massies: " Level Green," " Blue Rock " 
 and " Pharsalia." " Level Green " has passed out of the 
 possession of the familj\ " Blue Rock " was burned to 
 the ground about ten years ago, and " Pharsalia," though 
 having passed out of the family, is the onlj^ one which 
 retains anj'thing of its former beauty. 
 
 jNIajor Thomas jNIassie, the founder of the Massie 
 family in Nelson County, was born in New Kent 
 County, August 22, 1747; was educated at AVilliam and 
 JNIarj^ College ; a captain in Revolutionarj" service and was 
 promoted IMajor in the Northern campaigns, 1776-1779, 
 generally on detached or particular service. At the Battle 
 of Monmouth he delivered Washington's order of attack 
 to General Charles Lee. He was JMajor, and for a time 
 acting Colonel, of the 2d Virginia Regiment, 1778-1779; 
 aide-de-camp to General Nelson, winter of 1790-1791 to 
 the fall of Yorktown; after the war he received oSSSVs 
 acres of land in the States of Ohio and Kentucky for his 
 services as INIajor, etc. ; and was a member of the Society of 
 the Cincinnati. He moved from St. Peter's Parish, New 
 Kent County, about 1780, to Frederick County, and thence 
 to old Amherst, to property which is in the present County 
 of Nelson, of which county he was one of the first JNIagis- 
 trates from 1808. He married, about 1780, Sarah Cocke. 
 He died at " Level Green," his seat in Nelson County, 
 February 2, 1834. His father, William Massie, who 
 married Martha Macon, who afterwards married Colonel 
 Theodorick Bland, was a son of Captain Thomas Massie, 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 207 
 
 of St. Peter's Parish, New Kent County, who died about 
 1740. The Massies came from Cheshire, England. 
 
 Sarah Cocke (wife of Major Thomas JMassie) was 
 born at " Turkey Island," March 8, 1760, and died at 
 " Level Green," April 20, 1838. 
 
 While seeking a home Major Massie visited the wild 
 and beautiful upper valley of the Tye River, in that time 
 in Amherst County and then almost uninhabited. Much 
 taken with the magnificent scenerjs the richness of the 
 
 
 
 
 
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 PHARSALIA 
 
 rough land and its accessibility to the markets — being only 
 twenty miles from the James (then considered a short 
 distance) — he bought from John Rose, the original 
 patentee, 3111 acres on the upper Tye River. 
 
 This gently rolling plateau, between 900 and 1000 
 feet above the sea and lying at the foot of the " Priest " 
 Mountain, was selected by Major Massie as the site of his 
 new home. 
 
 The first small house was completed in 1798, the larger 
 one begun in 1799 and finished about 1803. They both 
 
^208 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 face the east and overlook the httle valleys of Castle Creek 
 and Rocky Run, and, beliind, the big " Priest " towers up 
 408J! feet above the sea. 
 
 The plan of the second and larger house is simple. 
 The first floor was one long line, only broken by a porch 
 covered with a large climbing rose and honeysuckle, and 
 contained four rooms and a quaint square panelled hall. 
 From the back of this hall a long passage extended to 
 another large room, built originally for a dining-room. 
 The floors in the house were of hardwood and the wooden 
 mantels very quaint and high, those in the upper rooms 
 almost reaching the ceiling. In the back yard were the 
 kitchen and smoke-house. Until \he place was sold the 
 front door bore a large brass knocker in the form of an 
 eagle ndth " T. ]M." on its breast. Back of the house was 
 the orchard and garden and near them the old family 
 graveyard, in which lie buried ]Major Massie, his wife and 
 many of his descendants. 
 
 " Pharsalia," the residence of Hon. William Massie, 
 the third and youngest son of ^Nlajor ]Massie, is about two 
 miles from " Level Green " and is situated on a spur of 
 the " Priest " about 1000 feet above the sea. It commands 
 a wide and extensive view of hills and mountains, those of 
 Buckingham and Campbell melting into the horizon. 
 
 " Pharsalia " was planned by and built under the 
 direction of ^Nlajor JNIassie. It was commenced early in 
 1813 and completed in the autumn of 1814, just before the 
 first marriage of Hon. William Massie. 
 
 The house has a long front, only relieved by the high 
 pillared portico, with flagged floor. Mounting' the broad 
 stone steps and crossing the porch one enters the large 
 hall. On the right is the parlor and joining it by two 
 small entries (one each side the chimney) a guest chamber. 
 On the left of the hall is the large dining-room and beyond 
 it another guest chamber similar to the one on the right. 
 Just back of the dining-room is a large pantry and from 
 its porch a flagged walk leads to a big brick kitchen. 
 Back of the front hall is another containing the stairway. 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 209 
 
 Every room on the ground floor has its own private 
 outdoor entrance, a fashion necessary in those days of 
 many servants and slaves. Over the whole of the front 
 runs a long garret. The rear portion is, however, built 
 higher, and contains three medium-sized bedrooms. 
 
 JNIr. Massie was an exceedingly progressive and ener- 
 getic man. He brought water to the yard by underground 
 pipes from a spring higher in the mountain, and a constant 
 flow of pure cold water gushes from a hydrant near the 
 kitchen. 
 
 Mr. Massie was married four times: first, to Miss Sally 
 Steptoe, of Bedford County; second, to ISIiss Wyatt, of 
 Lynchburg; third, to Miss Clark, of Campbell County, 
 and fourth, to Miss Maria C. Etfinger, of Harrisonburg, 
 Virginia. He died at " Pharsalia " and is buried at " Level 
 Green." 
 
 Though in the mountains and out of the general track, 
 it sufi^ered greatly from raids during the War between the 
 States. Fire was put under " Pharsalia " house in three 
 places, but the cook discovered and extinguished the flames. 
 
 Fortunateljr most of the silver was buried. jNIuch of it 
 remained so long buried that the exact spots were for- 
 gotten, and some of it was not unearthed until several 
 years after the war.''* 
 
 IONIA 
 
 Ionia, the home of Major James Watson, in the fertile 
 and beautiful " Greenspring neighborhood," in Louisa 
 County, was built about the year 1770. The Virginia 
 author. Doctor George W. Bagby, while a guest at Hawk- 
 wood, the Morris home a fe^ miles away, visited Ionia with 
 his hostess (Mrs. R. O. Morris, Major Watson's grand- 
 daughter), leaving for future generations a charming pen- 
 picture of this old homestead. 
 
 Says Doctor Bagby, " At Mrs. Morris's suggestion we 
 made a hurried visit to Ionia, a gem, the cunningest old 
 
 ^* Massie family: William and Mary Quarterly Magazine, vol. 
 xiii, pp. 196^203 ; also vol. xv, pp. 125-129. 
 14 
 
210 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 countn'-house a heart could wish. Hidden away in a deep 
 yard, filled with ancient trees, a story and a half high, it is 
 a nest in which I could be ven- happy. Inside are corner 
 cupboards and other quaint furnitui-e, including a rare 
 old claw-footed mahogany table and the two oldest mirrors 
 in Virginia. At Ionia 5lrs. ]Morris knew the roses and 
 ffladness of life. Xo wonder she exclaimed as we drove off : 
 
 lOMA, LOUISA COUNTY 
 
 ' I would not exchange it for a palace.' Xor would I, for 
 nowhere in all Virginia have I found so quaint and dear a 
 house." 
 
 In 1845 Doctor George Watson, a distinguished phy- 
 sician of Richmond, inherited Ionia. He long made it his 
 summer home, and at his death bequeathed it to his daugh- 
 ter, JNIrs. Robert S. Archer, also of Richmond, who still 
 owns it. 
 
 BR AC RETT'S 
 
 Not far from Ionia is Brackett's, whose name came 
 from an early owTier of the land who, having built a small 
 house there, sold his holdings to INIajor James Watson, of 
 Ionia. Major Watson gave Brackett's to his son, JNIajor 
 David Watson, about 1800. The latter greatly enlarged 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 211 
 
 and improved the house, for years making his home there. 
 David Watson was a person of note: a man of letters 
 and verj^ public spirited. He represented Louisa County 
 in the Legislature and was an early member of the Board 
 of Visitors of the University of Virginia. It is said that 
 he walked with Jefferson, Madison and Monroe at the head 
 of a procession at the opening of the university. His name 
 appears among those of " the Visitors " signed to the 
 
 BRACKETT'S, LOUISA COUNTY 
 
 minutes of their meetings between the names of Jefferson 
 and Madison. 
 
 David Watson married Salh% daughter of Garrett 
 Minor, a person so capable as to warrant her description 
 as a " Napoleon of a woman." She reared at Brackett's 
 not only a large family of her own but also many orphans 
 of her connection. 
 
 Brackett's passed from David and Sally Watson to 
 their son Thomas, who was not unlike his father in his 
 literary taste. He, too, made additions to the house, and, 
 marrying his cousin Elizabeth JNIorris, of " Sylvania," had 
 a number of children. At his death, however, there was 
 but a single surviving son, and as he lost his only child, 
 this branch of the house of Watson is destined to become 
 extinct. 
 
21^2 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 In the AVar between the States scions of this race cov- 
 ered their name with glory. David Watson was a major 
 of artillery in the Confederate Army, and received a death 
 wound in the Battle of Spottsylvania Court House. The 
 JNIagruder brothers, five in number, entered the Confed- 
 erate Anny, only one of them surviving the war, and he 
 had lost an arm. These gallant soldiers were grandsons 
 of David and Sally Watson. 
 
 At the death of Thomas S. Watson, Brackett's was 
 sold to ]Mr. H. C. Beattie, of Richmond, who sold it to 
 ]Mr. Carl Nolting, the present owner. 
 
 WEST END 
 
 West End was the conception of ]Mrs. Susan Dabney 
 (]Morris) Watson, widow of 13r. James Watson, the eldest 
 son of Major David and Sally (]Minor) Watson. Dr. 
 and JNIrs. Watson lived at Brackett's, ISIajor David Wat- 
 son's home, during the years of their married life, while 
 ]Mrs. Watson and her two children continued to reside 
 there after her husband's death until she went to Rich- 
 mond for the purpose of educating them. 
 
 West End was finished in 184.0. The site of the planta- 
 tion was a portion of Brackett's inlierited by Dr. Watson, 
 with additions made by purchase of adjoining land. The 
 site was only a field when ]Mrs. Watson undertook the 
 work of laying oiF the grounds and building the attractive 
 home. The trees which beautify the lawn, in pleasant 
 variety, were planted under her direction and the lawn was 
 enclosed with an osage orange hedge. Around the house 
 were set innumerable rose bushes and other shrubs. jNIrs. 
 Watson designed and planted a pretty flower garden and 
 beyond that a vegetable garden in which grape vines, fruit 
 trees, currant and gooseberry bushes and the like were 
 effectively arranged. 
 
 INIrs. Watson, reserving the homestead and grounds 
 for herself, divided this estate after the marriage of her 
 daughter INIary jNIinor Watson to Henry Taylor, of West- 
 moreland Countv. The divisions were called East End 
 
RICHMOND AND THE UPPER JAMES 21.'} 
 
 and West End. The former was allotted Mrs. Taylor, 
 the latter to David Watson, the only son. The condition 
 under which Mrs. Watson gave the parts of the estate to 
 her children was that they should furnish her with various 
 supplies. 
 
 The War between the States came on and David 
 Watson enlisted in the Richmond Howitzers. He was a 
 gallant soldier and had reached the rank of major when 
 
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 WEST END, LOUISA COUNTY 
 
 he received a fatal wound in the Battle of Spottsylvania 
 Court House. Suffering a great shock from his tragic 
 death, Mrs. Watson survived him only a few j^ears. 
 
 After David Watson's death, Mrs. Tajdor went to 
 live at East End with her mother and there most of her 
 family of nine children were born and reared. The prop- 
 erty still belongs to the Taylor family. 
 
 SYLVANIA 
 
 Anne Watson, or Nancy as she was called, daughter 
 of Major James Watson, of Ionia, married William Mor- 
 ris, known as " Creek Billy," son of William Morris, of 
 Taylor's Creek, Hanover County. " Creek Billy " built 
 
214 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Sylvania in the Greenspring neighborhood, in Louisa 
 County, about 1790, naming it in honor of his grandfather, 
 Sylvanus Morris. 
 
 WiUiam and Anne (Watson) Morris had many chil- 
 dren, and their descendants are to be found in every part 
 of the United States. Among the most notable of these 
 are William Fontaine, James W. Page and Thomas W. 
 Page, all three professors of the University of Virginia; 
 United States Naval Constructor Rear Admiral D. W. 
 Taylor, and Reverend James W. jNIorris, rector of Monu- 
 mental Church, Richmond, Virginia. 
 
 James INIorris, youngest son of William and Anne, in- 
 herited Sylvania and enlarged the house. His wife was 
 
 SYLVANIA, LOUISA COUNTY 
 
 Caroline Smith, granddaughter of Governor James Pleas- 
 ants of Virginia. From them Sylvania descended to their 
 youngest son. 
 
 " In ante-bellum days," says one who knows, " and 
 especially during the trying war times, Sylvania was noted 
 for its hospitality and many are the Southern soldiers who 
 will remember pleasant times spent under its roof." 
 
PART IV 
 
 Gloucester and the York River 
 Country 
 
 To one familiar with the history, the geography 
 and social life of Virginia, there is a fascination 
 about the very name of Gloucester. A near 
 neighbor of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and 
 Yorktown, the old county is second only to them in 
 memories of stirring scenes and days. Settlement in 
 
 OLD WINDMILL, MATHEWS COUNTY 
 
 Gloucester and in Mathews County, which was cut oiF from 
 Gloucester after Colonial times, began before the Indian 
 Massacre of 1644, but the country north of York River, 
 then a part of Charles River or York County, was aban- 
 doned for a time through fear of further trouble from the 
 Indians, and the actual period of settlement began about 
 1646. Not long after the middle of the seventeenth century 
 
 216 
 
216 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 the line of settlement passed to the head of York River 
 and gradually extended up its tributaries, including the 
 present counties of New Kent, King William, King and 
 Queen and Hanover, which with Gloucester and Mathews 
 are included in this chapter. 
 
 Gloucester is bounded upon one side by the York River, 
 while from another, broad inlets, known as the North, the 
 Ware and the Severn Rivers, run like fingers up into the 
 land from JNIobjack Bay — an arm of the Chesapeake. 
 Though the county is one of the oldest in Virginia, very 
 few of its Colonial houses remain; many of them have 
 been replaced by simple modern cottages, and others by 
 more imposing, but still frankly modern residences. But 
 the soil is sacred, and even the least ambitious of these 
 homesteads nestling among beautiful old trees, upon 
 lawns that slope down to blue waters broken now and 
 then bj" the gleam of a snowj' sail and ruffled on breezy 
 days with white caps, make pictures whose charm can 
 neither be caught by the camera nor described in words. 
 
 These rivers place the homes within easj' reach of each 
 other by sailboat or launch, and this accessibility to one 
 another, together with remoteness from the rest of the 
 world, has kept the characteristics of pleasant hearty " old 
 Virginia " days alive in Gloucester, and has developed in 
 the people a passionate loyalty to home and section. 
 
 TIMBERNECK 
 
 Upon the Gloucester shore, opposite Ringfield, an 
 ample, rambling, old homestead gazes upon the York. 
 
 This is Timberneck, where in an earlier house the 
 Mann family lived. Marj^ Mann, born at Timberneck in 
 1672, the only child and heiress of John Mann ( 1631-1694 ) 
 of England and Virginia, married Mathew Page (1659- 
 1703), son of Colonel John Page (1627-1691-2), the first 
 of his family in Virginia, and the couple took up their 
 abode at Timberneck. They named their only surviving 
 son INIann, and the name has been handed down in the 
 Page and related families ever since, so that though the 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 217 
 
 family name of these Manns died out with the immigrant, 
 as a sm-name, more than two hundred years ago, it has been 
 borne as a Christian name by manj' descendants in every 
 generation since. 
 
 After the Revolution the Timberneck plantation passed 
 to the Catlett family, who built the present house and have 
 
 TIMBERNECK, GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
 occupied it for five generations. They are descended from 
 Mary (1698-1703-4), wife of John Mann, by her first 
 marriage with Edmund Berkeley, of Gloucester County. 
 Tombs, bearing arms of John Mann and Mary, his wife, 
 may still be seen at Timberneck. 
 
 POWHATAN'S CHIMNEY 
 
 Upon the Timberneck estate, just across Timberneck 
 Creek, from the homestead, long stood a huge old, mas- 
 sively built, stone chimney. Tradition from so early a date 
 that the memory of man runneth not to the contrary has 
 insisted that here was the site of Werowocomoco, the favor- 
 ite residence of Powhatan; that here the Princess Poca- 
 
218 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 hontas saved the life of Captain John Smith, and that this 
 chimney belonged to the house which the English colonists 
 sent Dutchmen to Werowocomoco to build for the Indian 
 king. 
 
 The accuracy of this tradition has been lately disputed 
 by some writers, but the chimney was evidently of great 
 age, and was, to say the least, a striking and interesting 
 relic. Both Bishop JNIeade and the historian Campbell 
 
 POWHATAN'S CHIMNEY, TISIBERXECK CREEK 
 
 visited it and described it in their works. Campbell says: 
 " The chimney stands on an eminence and is conspicuous 
 from every quarter of the bay, and itself a monumental 
 evidence of no inconsiderable import ... In the early days 
 of the annals of Virginia, Werowocomoco is second only 
 to Jamestown in historical and romantic interest ; as James- 
 town was the seat of the English settlers, so Werowocomoco 
 was the favorite residence of the Indian monarch, Pow- 
 
 Werowocomoco was a befitting seat 
 
 hatan." He adds. 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 219 
 
 of the great Chief, overlooking the bay, with its bold, pic- 
 turesque, wood-crowned banks, and in view of the wide, 
 majestic flood of the river, empurpled by transient cloud- 
 shadows, or tinged with the rosy splendor of a summer 
 sunset." 
 
 Bishop Meade, who carefully examined the chimney, 
 was satisfied that it was the one built for Powhatan. He 
 says: " The fireplace was 8 feet 4 inches wide, that is the 
 opening to receive the wood, and 4 feet deep and more 
 than 6 feet high, so that the tallest man might walk into 
 it and a number of men might sit within it around the fire. 
 I inspected the only crack which was to be seen outside of 
 the wall, something which showed that the material was 
 of no ordinary kind of stone, but like that of which the old 
 church of York was built — viz., marl out of the bank, which 
 only hardens by fire and exposure, a particular kind of 
 marl composed of shells which abound on some of the high 
 banks of York River. ... It is impossible to say how many 
 generations of log and frame rooms have been built to the 
 celebrated chimney." 
 
 Massive and stout as this relic of the far past seemed, 
 and many as had been the storms which had beat upon it 
 and left it unharmed, it has within the past few years 
 tumbled to the ground, but the Association for the Pres- 
 ervation of Virginia Antiquities has on foot plans looking 
 toward its restoration. 
 
 ROSE WELL 
 
 Upon the left bank of York River, across Carter's 
 Creek from Werowocomoco, stands, in a state of partial 
 decay, Rosewell, the lordliest mansion of the time when 
 Colonial Virginia was baronial Virginia. 
 
 Some time after the marriage of Honorable Matthew 
 Page (1659-1703) ,^ of the King's Council, to Mary Mann, 
 of Timberneck, the couple removed to Rosewell, where 
 
 ^ Page, The Genealogy of the Page Family. 
 
220 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 they lived in a simple wooden dwelling that then stood upon 
 that plantation. In 1725 their only son, Mann Page I 
 (1691-1730) of Rosewell, whom the combined fortunes 
 of the Page and ^lann families had made extremely rich, 
 built the present mansion. It was constructed in the most 
 massive style, of brick with white marble casements. There 
 was a great square, thick-walled, high-chimneyed, central 
 building, flanked by wings — since torn down — which 
 formed a court and which gave the house a frontage of 
 two hundred and thirty-two feet. The central building 
 stands three stories above a high basement and is capped 
 by a cupola. It contains three wide halls, nine passages, 
 and twenty-three rooms and the wings had six rooms each. 
 Externally Rosewell house is severely plain, but with its 
 ample proportions and its splendid brickwork, the absence 
 of ornament makes it the more impressive. 
 
 In striking contrast to this outside simplicity, was the 
 interior, where, upon crossing the threshold of the main 
 entrance, the visitor found himself at once in a great hall 
 panelled with polished mahogany into which swept down, 
 with generous and graceful curve, the grand stairway 
 which eight persons could comfortably ascend abreast, and 
 whose mahogany balustrade was carved by hand to repre- 
 sent baskets of fruits and flowers. 
 
 Not long did the builder of this princely Virginia castle 
 live to enjo}' it. Five j'ears after it was begun, and before 
 it was entirely finished, his body lay in state in the hall 
 which he had so gorgeously adorned and the mansion de- 
 signed for a pleasure house was a house of mourning. 
 Bishop ]Meade, in his Old Churches and Families, quaintly 
 comments upon what he conceived to be the vanity and 
 wickedness of a man's " misspending " his fortunes upon 
 so magnificent an abode for himself and family, and sug- 
 gests that INIann Page's untimely death was direct punish- 
 ment from Heaven for such folly. 
 
 The first master of Rosewell had been twice married: 
 first to Judith ( 1694-1716) , daughter of Honorable Ralph 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 223 
 
 Wormeley( 1650-1 700) of "Rosegill," Middlesex County,^ 
 who is described, in Latin, upon the " Monument of grief " 
 erected by her husband in the Rosewell burying-ground, 
 " as a most excellent and choice lady ... a most affection- 
 ate wife, the best of mothers and an upright mistress of her 
 family, in whom the utmost gentleness was united with the 
 most graceful suavity of manners and conversation." 
 
 After Mann Page's own death a splendid tomb of 
 carved marble emblazoned with the Page arms was 
 " piously erected to his memory by his mournfully sur- 
 viving lady " — his second wife, who was Judith, daughter 
 of Robert (" King ") Carter, of Corotoman, and who was 
 the mother of his son, Mann Page II — the heir of Rosewell. 
 
 This second ]\Iann Page, of Rosewell, was also twice 
 married: first to Ahce Grymes,^ and after her death to 
 Ann Corbin Tayloe. His first wife, Alice (1724-1746), 
 who was the daughter of Honorable John Grymes (1693- 
 1748), of the Council, was the mother of the next master 
 of Rosewell — ^John Page (1744-1808), scholar, Revolu- 
 tionary patriot, member of Congress and governor of Vir- 
 ginia, and one of the best as well as one of the most dis- 
 tinguished men of his time. His contemporaries were so 
 impressed with his lofty character and earnest piety, that 
 it is said they wished to make him bishop of Virginia, 
 though he had never studied for the ministry. 
 
 While a student at William and ]\Iary College, Gov- 
 ernor Page formed an intimacy with Thomas Jefferson, 
 which continued throughout his life, and it was to his chum 
 John Page, of Rosewell, that the letters of the love-lorn 
 Jefferson were addressed, describing the hardness of heart 
 of his fair " Belinda." Doubtless Jefferson often enjoyed 
 the hospitality of Rosewell and tradition says that it was in 
 the cupola on the top of the house that he drafted the 
 
 ^ Wormeley family: Virginia Magazine of History and Biog- 
 raphy, vii, 283-284; viii, 179-183. 
 
 ^ Grymes family: The Critic (Richmond, Va.), August 18 and 
 September 1, 1889. 
 
ou VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Declaration of Independence, reading and discussing it 
 with his host, before going to Philadelphia. Truly an 
 inspiring place for the composition of a great state paper, 
 with its wide view of sky, river and country, and if the 
 story be true, there is something jioetic in the thought that 
 from tliis little observatory the author of the Declaration 
 of Independence could descry the soon-to-be historic Xel- 
 son House at Yorktown, fifteen miles away. 
 
 In a letter from Governor Page, attending Congress, 
 in Xew York, to his son " Bobby," at Rosewell, the proud 
 metropolis is thus described: 
 
 " This town is not half so large as Philadelphia, nor 
 in any manner to be compared to it for beauty and elegance. 
 Philadelphia I am well assured has more inhabitants than 
 Boston and Xew York put together. The streets here 
 (X. Y.) are badly paved, very dirty and narrow as well as 
 crooked, and filled up with a strange variety of wooden, 
 stone and brick buildings and full of hogs and mud. The 
 CoUege, St. Paul's Church and the Hospital are elegant 
 buildings. The Federal Hall also, in which Congress is 
 to sit, is elegant." He further says that all the drinking 
 water in Xew York is gotten from wells — " Four carts are 
 continually going about selling it at three gallons for a 
 copper; that is a penny for every three gallons of water." 
 
 Governor Page died in 1808, after which time, though 
 Rosewell was still owned by the Pages, it was very seldom 
 occupied by them. In 1838, it was sold to one Booth, 
 whose chief object in becoming the owner of the proud 
 old pile seemed to be to bring humiliation upon it and to 
 make as nuich money as possible out of it. The venerable 
 cedars that formed the avenue from the door to the river 
 were sold to make tubs. The mahogany wainscoting was 
 stripped from the walls and sold, as also the lead that cov- 
 ered the roof. The carved mahogany stairway was white- 
 washed. Even the bricks from the graveyard wall and 
 from the tombs themselves were converted into cash. This 
 Booth, who had paid $12,000.00 — a mere song for such an 
 estate — for Rosewell, after making about $35,000.00 by the 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 225 
 
 work of demolition, sold it for $22,000.00. It became the 
 property of the Deans family of Gloucester, in 1855, and 
 is now the residence of Judge Fielding Lewis Taylor and 
 his wife, who was Miss Deans. 
 
 SHELLY 
 
 Shelly plantation, adjoining Rosewell and originally a 
 part of it, is still owned by the Pages. Its pretty and 
 unique name was suggested by the great bed of oyster- 
 shells upon its shore, which, says Bishop Meade, " indicate 
 it to have been a great place of resort among the natives." 
 Shelly was long believed to have been the site of Pow- 
 hatan's residence, Werowocomoco. 
 
 CARTER'S CREEK 
 
 About two miles above Rosewell, upon Carter's Creek, 
 stood until a few years ago, when it was, unhappily, de- 
 stroyed bj^ fire, the early seat of the Burwell family * of 
 Virginia. Its original name was Fairfield, but it was later 
 called after the stream that washed its shores, and as 
 Carter's Creek it was longest known. 
 
 Architecturally, Carter's Creek House was unique 
 among Virginia mansions. Instead of the eighteenth 
 century type which, though with many variations, was 
 almost universal among brick dwellings in the colony, it 
 followed the fashion of an earlier date and resembled the 
 smaller English manor houses of the sixteenth or seven- 
 teenth century. It consisted of a main building with a 
 wing extending back at right angles at each end. One of 
 these wings was burned, or torn away, long ago, though 
 its foundation can still be traced ; the other contained a very 
 large room known traditionally as " the ball room." 
 
 There was a spacious basement whose ceiling was sup- 
 ported by heavy brick arches. In the middle of this base- 
 ment, entirely detached from the outer walls, was a small, 
 thick-walled room, something like a modern bank vault, 
 
 * Burwell family : William and Mary Quarterly, vii, p. 44 et seq. 
 15 
 
226 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 which was doubtless vised as a safe for valuables. How 
 handsomely some of the rooms m the house had been 
 finished was shoAvn by fragments of marble mantels found 
 in the basement when the deserted old house was in a state 
 of decay. The small windows and clustered chimneys were 
 unlike those in most houses to be seen in Colonial Virginia 
 and contributed largely to the extremely quaint appearance 
 of the house. 
 
 Carter's Creek was undoubtedly the oldest looking, 
 though not the oldest mansion in Virginia. Upon one of 
 its gables was in iron figures the date 1692 and, also in 
 iron, the letters L. A. B. — the initials of Lewis and Abigail 
 Burwell. In the year 1648, Lewis Burwell, first of his 
 family in Virginia, patented 2350 acres on the south side of 
 Rosewell Creek, as Carter's Creek was then called. His 
 wife, Lucy, was, according to her epitaph, " the only child 
 of the valiant Captain Robert Higginson, one of the first 
 commanders that subdued the countrj^ of Virginia from 
 the power of the heathen." 
 
 From this couple, the Carter's Creek plantation de- 
 scended to their son Lewis (died 1710), who upon his 
 marriage with Abigail Smith (1656-1692), niece and 
 heiress of President Nathaniel Bacon,' acquired a great 
 estate in York County, upon which he seems to have lived 
 most of the time, though he probably built the Carter's 
 Creek mansion. 
 
 That he was a prominent as well as a rich man is 
 proved by the fact that he was a member of the Council 
 of State. From him Carter's Creek passed to his son, 
 Nathaniel Burwell, who married Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Robert ("King") Carter, and was the father of Lewis 
 Burwell (1710-1752), third of the name, who was presi- 
 dent of the Council and acting governor of Virginia, and 
 was the next heir of the Carter's Creek estate. 
 
 President Lewis Burwell was educated at Cambridge, 
 
 ^ For an account of the Smiths and Bacons see Virginia Maga- 
 zine of History and Biography, ii, 125—129. 
 
CARTER'S CREEK (FAIRFIELD), GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
 GREEN PLAINS, MATHEWS COUNTY 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 229 
 
 and was noted for his learning. His daughter, Rebecca, 
 was one of the belles and beauties of the daj^, and her 
 charms drew many suitors to Carter's Creek. Thomas 
 Jefferson and Jacqueline Ambler (1742-1798) were 
 desperately in love with her during their college days at 
 William and Mary, and, in spite of Jefferson's ardent 
 wooing, she finally gave her hand to Ambler. Jefferson 
 fantastically called her " Belinda," and bj^ this name refers 
 to her in his letters to John Page. In one of these letters 
 he says: " In the most melancholy fit that ever any poor 
 soul was, I sit down to write to you. Last night, as merry 
 as agreeable company and dancing with Belinda in the 
 Apollo could make me, I never could have thought the 
 succeeding sun would have seen me so wretched as I now 
 am. I was prepared to say a great deal. I had dressed up 
 in my own mind such thoughts as occurred to me in as 
 moving language as ever I knew how, and expected to 
 have performed in a tolerably creditable manner." But he 
 adds, " When I had an opportunity of venting them a few 
 broken sentences uttered in great disorder, and interrupted 
 with pauses of uncommon length, were the too visible 
 marks of my strange confusion." 
 
 In another letter to Page, he says, " If Belinda will 
 not accept my services they shall never be offered to 
 another." However, after events prove that he " got 
 over it." 
 
 As Mrs. Jacqueline Ambler, the fair Rebecca Burwell, 
 of Carter's Creek, made a charming matron and passed 
 many of her graces on to a bevy of attractive daughters 
 who married prominent men of their day. One of them, 
 Mary Willis Ambler (1766-1831) , became the wife of the 
 brilliant young lawj^er who was later to win national f am^ 
 as Chief Justice John Marshall. 
 
 President Lewis Burwell's son Lewis, the next master 
 of Carter's Creek, was educated in England at Eton and 
 the Inns of Court, in spite of which he espoused the cause 
 of American Independence in the struggle which began 
 soon after his return to Virginia, and was a zealous mem- 
 
230 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 ber of the Revolutionary Conventions. He married Judith, 
 daughter of INIann Page II, and has manj^ descendants. 
 
 In the time of the sons of this Lewis Burwell IV and 
 last, of Carter's Creek, the estate passed from the family 
 that had so long held it and for many years before its 
 destruction was in a state of ruin. 
 
 Not far from Carter's Creek House, in the Burwell 
 family burying-ground, was one of the most remarkable 
 collections of tombs in Virginia, one of them dating as early 
 as 1654. After the house was burned it became evident 
 that steps must be taken to preserve these from total de- 
 struction. They were already in a sadly dilapidated state, 
 but in 1912, through the efforts of j^lrs. Sally Nelson 
 Robins, assisted by members of the Burwell connection, 
 monuments and remains of those to whom they were erected 
 were removed to Abingdon Churchyard, where now this 
 beautiful and impressive group of tombs, rebuilt and re- 
 stored, ma}' be seen. 
 
 ISLEHAM 
 
 One of the loveliest of Gloucester's lovely rivers is the 
 North, along each bank of which homesteads lie close upon 
 one another, suggesting the street of a rural Venice. 
 
 The first plantation to be passed upon entering this 
 river is Isleham, in what is now Mathews County, the 
 seat of Sir John Peyton (circa 1720-1790), one of the 
 few baronets who made his home in Colonial Virginia.'^ Sir 
 John was an officer in the Gloucester militia during the 
 Revolutionary War and was devoted to the cause of 
 American Independence. 
 
 The old house at Isleham has long since disappeared. 
 
 GREEN PLAINS 
 
 A little farther on, the beautiful Green Plains lawn, 
 cool with the shade of century-old elms, slopes down to 
 the river. The architecture of the mansion is Colonial, 
 
 "^ An account of Sir John Peyton and his descendants is given 
 in Hayden, Virginia Genealogies, pp. 475—479. 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 231 
 
 though it dates only to 1802, and its wide halls and spacious 
 rooms, with their high carved mantels and deep window- 
 seats, make it as charming within as without. It was built 
 by James H. Roy, who had married, a few years before, 
 Elizabeth, daughter of George Booth, of Belleville, on the 
 opposite side, and a little farther up the river. 
 
 JNIr. Roy was the son of Mungo Roy, of Locust Grove, 
 Caroline County, whose father. Dr. Mungo Roy, of Scot- 
 land, was the first of the Roy family to settle in Virginia. 
 He represented Mathews County in the House of Dele- 
 gates in 1818-1819. He was succeeded as master of Green 
 Plains bj' his son, William Henry Roy, who also repre- 
 sented Mathews County in the Legislature in 1832-1834, 
 and who was twice married: first, to Anne, daughter of 
 Thomas Seddon, of Fredericksburg, and, after her death, 
 to Euphan, daughter of John Macrae, of Park Gate, 
 Prince William County. By his first marriage Mr. Roy 
 was the father of Mrs. John C. Rutherfoord, of Rock 
 Castle, and Mrs Thomas H. Carter, of Pampatike; and 
 bjr his second, of Mrs. Washington and Mrs. Goldsbor- 
 ough, of INIaryland, and Mrs. H. INIcKendree Boyd, the 
 present mistress of Green Plains. 
 
 POPLAR GROVE 
 
 Poplar Grove also lies in that part of old Gloucester 
 County which now bears the name of Mathews. It was 
 built over a century ago by Mr. John Patterson,^ who was 
 an Englishman by birth, but who, during the Revolution, 
 warmly espoused the cause of American freedom. When 
 he planned his house, feeling between the Whig and Tory 
 parties ran high and he beautified the grounds with num- 
 bers of Lombardy poplars, the party symbol of the Whigs, 
 and gave the place the name of Poplar Grove. 
 
 This charming old homestead was a noted social centre 
 during the time of Mr. Patterson and of his daughters, 
 Mrs. Thomas Robinson Yeatman, of Isleham, and Mrs. 
 
 ^ Patterson family : William and Mary Quarterly, xiii, 174-175. 
 
232 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Christopher Tompkins. Here was born and grew to 
 womanhood the famous " Captain " Sally Tompkins, one 
 of the most beloved and widely known of Virginia's daugh- 
 
 POPLAR GROVE, MATHEWS COUNTY 
 
 TIDE SIILL AT POPLAR GROVE 
 
 ters. During the War between the States she devoted her 
 fortune, her time and her strength to nursing the sick and 
 wounded soldiers at the hospitals in the Capital of the Con- 
 federacy, and in order that she might go and come with 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 233 
 
 greater freedom and have the authoritj^ to order supphes 
 as she needed them for her work, General Lee made her 
 a regularly commissioned captain. 
 
 Poplar Grove was long the residence of Judge G. 
 Taylor Garnett. 
 
 DITCHLEY 
 
 Just opposite Green Plains is Ditchley, built by Dr. 
 J. Prosser Tabb, to succeed an earlier house — the home- 
 stead of the Singleton familj^ Mrs. Tabb was related to 
 the Lees and named her home after the Ditchley owned by 
 them in Northumberland Comity. 
 
 Ditchlej^ is now the residence of Mr. William Ashby 
 Jones. 
 
 AUBURN, IIATHKWS COUNTY 
 
 AUBURN 
 
 Next above and adjoining Green Plains, Auburn looks 
 out upon the river from a setting of grassy lawn and 
 spreading elm. It was long one of the homesteads of the 
 Tabb family so numerous and well known in this section, 
 
234 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 and was built during the last century by Mr. Philip Tabb, 
 of Toddsbury, for his son, Dr. Henry Tabb. 
 
 Auburn is now the home of INIr. Charles Heath. 
 
 BELLEVILLE 
 
 Across the river from Auburn is Belleville, the ancient 
 seat of the Booths, formerly a prominent family of the 
 
 BELLEVILLE. GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
 county, and passing from them to their descendants, 
 the Taliaferros. The house was built bj' Thomas Booth 
 before the Revolution, but it has been remodelled and en- 
 larged by its present owner, Mr. A. A. Blow. He added 
 a pillared portico. 
 
 Some of the old Booth tombs, bearing arms, still re- 
 main in the family burying-ground. 
 
 DUNHAM MASSIE 
 
 Fannie Booth, heiress of Belleville, gave her hand to 
 Warner Taliaferro, and was the mother of the gallant 
 JNIajor General William Booth Taliaferro, of the Con- 
 federate Army. Upon General Taliaferro's marriage, his 
 father built for him the attractive home, but a short dis- 
 tance away, which he named Dunham Massie after the 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 235 
 
 ancient seat of his ancestors, the Booths, in England, and 
 which also looks under the boughs of the old trees that 
 shade and shelter it, upon North River. 
 
 From the close of the War between the States until 
 General Taliaferro's death, at a good old age, no guest 
 
 DUNHAM MASSIE, NORTH RIVER, GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
 ever crossed the hospitable Dunham Massie threshold but 
 must needs pass under the stars and bars of the " con- 
 quered banner," which always hung in the hall just over 
 the front door. 
 
 CHURCH HILL 
 
 Somewhat back from North River, upon the road to 
 Gloucester Court House and near old Ware Church, stands 
 still another Taliaferro homestead — quaint Church Hill, a 
 relic of early Colonial days. This was the original seat of 
 the Throckmortons,* but passed to the Taliaferros by the 
 
 * Throckmorton family : William and Mary Quarterly, ii, 241— 
 a,¥! ; iii, 46-52, 192-19.5, 240-242 ; iv, 128-129 ; v, 54-55 ; Virginia 
 Magazine of History and Biography, viii, 83-89, 309-312 ; ix, 
 192-194. 
 
236 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 marriage of Dr. William Taliaferro with two daughters 
 and co-heiresses of the house of Throckmorton. 
 
 The Throckmortons, descended from the old family of 
 Throckmorton, of Hail- Weston, Huntingdonshire, Eng- 
 land, were long prominent in the social and political life of 
 Gloucester. Their name is now extinct there, though 
 nmnerously represented in other parts of the country. 
 
 Church Hill is now the property of Judge James 
 Lyons Taliaferro. Onl}'' one wing of the original house 
 remains. 
 
 ELMINGTON 
 
 Returning to North River, we find, just above Dunham 
 Massie, Elmington, one of the choicest estates in the old 
 county. The mansion looks upon the river from a setting 
 
 UM 
 
 Snaf'i;*. '. . 
 
 r i' J^M 
 
 W^^^d^ 
 
 ■h 
 
 
 H 
 
 B^^^i 
 
 1 
 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 B^H 
 
 ^ShhBh 
 
 ^H 
 
 H 
 
 ELMINGTON, NORTH RIVER, GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
 of lovely grounds and within there are spacious rooms 
 and hall, and a wide stairway winding to an upper story 
 capped by an observatory. 
 
 During the Colonial period, the Elmington plantation 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 237 
 
 was the home of the Whiting family, long prominent in 
 Virginia as members of " his Majesty's Council " and of 
 the House of Burgesses and Conventions. The present 
 house was built by Dr. Prosser Tabb. 
 
 Elmington has some literary associations. Soon after 
 the War between the States, a Mr. Talbot, who is said to 
 have bought it from the Tabbs for Confederate money, sold 
 it to Colonel George Wythe Munford, author of that 
 quaint and entertaining book, The Two Parsons; later 
 Mr. Virginius Dabney made it the scene of his novel Don 
 Miff, which was one of the " best sellers " of the year in 
 which it was issued. Later still it was the home of the 
 widely read and discussed novelist, Thomas Dixon, who 
 added a pillared portico to the mansion. 
 
 THE EXCHANGE, NORTH RIVER, GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
 THE EXCHANGE 
 
 Adjoining Elmington is The Exchange, the homestead 
 of Dr. Dabney, a distinguished physician of his day. It is 
 
238 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 now owned and occupied by his descendants, the ]Misses 
 Dabnev, whose mother was a ]Miss Tabb, of Toddsbuiy. 
 
 ICE-HOUSE AT EXCHANGE 
 
 TODDSBURY 
 
 Next above The Exchange is Toddsbuiy, one of the 
 most charming as well as one of the oldest houses in 
 Gloucester. On North River and standing close to the 
 water's edge, amid splendid trees, the homestead, with its 
 gambrel roof, quaint porch-chamber, and other evidences 
 of antiquity, makes a delightful picture. The interior is 
 fulh' as interesting, with its panelled rooms and arched and 
 deeply recessed windows. Between these windows and the 
 high wainscoted mantels are little cupboards which suggest 
 hidden mysteries and excite the curiosity to a pleasurable 
 degree. 
 
 The house was probably built by Thomas Todd,* a 
 wealthy merchant and planter, who married Anne 
 
 ^ Todd family: Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 
 iii, '79—83. An interesting chart of the English ancestry of Ann 
 Gorsuch, wife of Thomas Todd I, is given Ibid., xvii, 292-293. 
 
* 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 ^^«jA' 
 
 in- 5- ^__. 
 
 ^^H 
 
 I 
 
 K Hi 
 
 ■JT 
 
 'j- /' '^* 
 
 !P"""'^ '*«. 
 
 TODDSBURY, NORTH RIVER (FRONT), GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
 TODDSBURY (REAR) 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 241 
 
 Gorsuch, a niece of the poet Richard Lovelace, and died 
 in 1676. With his great-grandson, Thomas Todd, of 
 Toddsbury, the male line of his branch of the family be- 
 came extinct and Toddsbury passed to his grandson's 
 nephew, Philip Tabb, who was succeeded by his son, 
 Thomas Todd Tabb, who died in 1835. Later the estate 
 passed from the Tabb family, and is now the residence of 
 the Motts. 
 
 The Toddsbury graveyard, where a wonderful old wil- 
 low keeps guard over the last resting place of numerous 
 Todds and Tabbs and their kindred, is second only to the 
 homestead in interest.^" It contains more tombstones, 
 perhaps, than any other family burying-ground in Virginia. 
 One of these dates from as early as the year 1703 and one 
 older still is so worn that it is impossible to decipher its 
 inscription. 
 
 NEWSTEAD 
 
 Upon part of the old Toddsbury estate is Newstead, 
 built in 1856 by John H. Tabb and now the home of the 
 Misses Tabb. 
 
 WAVERLY 
 
 Next above Newstead is Waverly, a commodious 
 mansion built by Mr. Philip Tabb, of Toddsbury, for his 
 son Edward, at about the time he built Auburn, farther 
 dovra the river, for his son Dr. Harry Tabb. 
 
 Waverly is now the residence of Mrs. Gerard Hopkins. 
 
 MIDLOTHIAN 
 
 Near the head of North River stands quaint Mid- 
 lothian, with its steep roof and dormer windows, built by 
 Mr. Josiah Deans a century and a quarter ago. It is now 
 the home of the Davidsons. 
 
 ^" The inscriptions on the tombstones at Toddsbury are pub- 
 lished in William and Mary Quarterly, iii, \\5 et seq. 
 16 
 
242 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 WHITE MARSH 
 
 Inland, but in the midst of ample and picturesque 
 grounds lies fair White ]Marsh. During the Colonial 
 period a branch of the well-known Whiting family owned 
 this plantation, occupying an earlier homestead. After 
 the Revolution it became the property of the distinguished 
 la-nyer Thomas Reade Rootes (1764/5-1824), and at his 
 death, in 1824, passed to his widow (who was his second 
 wife) , who had been a ]Mrs. Prosser, and who left it to her 
 
 WHITE JL\RSH, GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
 daughter by her first marriage, Evelina ]Matilda Prosser. 
 Miss Prosser gave her hand and her fortune to John Tabb, 
 son of Philip Tabb, of Toddsbury, who with his wife's 
 estate added to his own became the wealthiest man in 
 Gloucester County. 
 
 Mrs. Tabb made at White JNIarsh a terraced garden, 
 which became famous. Among its unique and beautiful 
 features were arbor-vitae trees planted and trimmed to 
 form summer houses with running roses climbing over 
 them. Mr. and Mrs. Tabb's son Philip was the next master 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 243 
 
 of White Marsh, while their son John fell heir to Elming- 
 ton, on North River. 
 
 Since it passed from the Tabbs White Marsh has had 
 several owners, one of whom, among other changes, gave 
 the mansion a pillared portico. 
 
 GOSHEN 
 
 Crossing from the North to the Ware River region, we 
 find ourselves at Goshen, a comfortable looking homestead 
 in a pleasant yard, with a beautiful water view. Within, 
 the high mantels and other quaint details give the big 
 square rooms an interesting air and bear witness to a good 
 old age. 
 
 Goshen was the original seat of the well-known Tomp- 
 kins family, of which " Captain Sally Tompkins " is a 
 member, but it is now and has been for a long time the 
 home of the Perrins. 
 
 GLENROY 
 
 Just opposite Goshen, Ware River circles almost 
 around the grounds of the Glenroy estate, making it a 
 peninsula, and giving it an unusually picturesque site. 
 Tradition says that upon this spot stood the earliest 
 Colonial church in Gloucester County, and the story gains 
 color from the fact that upon opposite sides of the lane 
 leading into the place are two fields known as far back as 
 any one can remember as " the Church field " and " the 
 glebe field," and in " the church field " some ancient tombs 
 may still be seen. In view of this tradition it seems most 
 fitting that the Glenroy plantation should have been the 
 home of a rector of the two remaining Colonial churches 
 of the county. Reverend Armistead Smith, a descendant 
 of the old Smith family of Gloucester, and of Honorable 
 John Armistead of the Colonial Council. He married 
 Martha Tabb, of Seaford, Mathews County, the earliest 
 seat of the Tabb family in this region, and brought her to 
 the old-fashioned homestead that stood upon this river- 
 
244 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 girt plantation. The house with all the sweet associations 
 that cluster about the rectory of a Virginia country parish 
 was destroyed by fh'e about half a century ago, and their 
 son and heir, Mr. William Patterson Smith, built the 
 goodly mansion which now stands upon the Glenroy lawn 
 among the spreading elms and towering poplars. 
 
 GLENROY. WARE RIVER 
 
 Mr. William Patterson Smith married Marian, one of 
 the beauties of the well-known Virginia family of Seddon, 
 and under their rule the new Glenroy kept up the best 
 traditions of the old. 
 
 Glenroy is now the residence of Dr. W. R. Jaeger. 
 
 WHITE HALL 
 
 A short distance higher up, and across the river from 
 " Glenroj%" we find a Colonial mansion charmingly em- 
 bowered in the foliage of ancient trees. This is White Hall, 
 for mam^ years before the Revolution the seat of the Willis 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 245 
 
 family, prominent in Virginia in both social and public 
 life.'^ For several generations past it has been owned 
 and occupied by a branch of the Byrd family, descended 
 from the Westover Byrds, and is at present the home of 
 Captain Richard C. Byrd. 
 
 The tomb of the wife of one of the Willises of White 
 
 WHITE HALL, WARE RIVER 
 
 Hall, bearing her arms impaled with those of her husband, 
 may be seen at old Ware Church, a few miles away. 
 
 HOCKLEY 
 
 Hockley, a spacious house in attractive grounds, was 
 formerly the home of Colonel Alexander Taliaferro. It 
 is now owned and occupied by Mr. R. P. Taliaferro. 
 
 In early times the plantation bore the name of Cowslip 
 Green. 
 
 ^ ^ Willis, A Sketch of the Willis Family of Virginia and Their 
 Kindred. Richmond: Whittet & Shepperson (1900) ; William and 
 Mary Quarterly, v, 24-27, 171-176; vi, 27-29, 206-214. 
 
246 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 LOWLAND COTTAGE 
 
 Lowland Cottage nestling among venerable trees is one 
 of the oldest homesteads on Ware River, and indeed in 
 the county. It was an early seat of the Gloucester families 
 of Warner, Throckmorton and Jones and is now the home 
 of Major Thomas S. Taliaferro, a gallant officer of the 
 Confederate Armj-. 
 
 AIRVILLE 
 
 Airville, a pleasant, roomj- old house, commanding 
 a fine view not only of the Ware River, but of INIobjack 
 Bay beyond, was in the early days the seat of the Dixon 
 
 AIRVILLE, GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
 family, descended from the Reverend John Dixon, a 
 Colonial minister/- Later it passed to the jJossession of 
 JNIajor Thomas Smith, and is now the home of JNIessrs. 
 Thomas G. and Walter C. Harwood. 
 
 Nearby, in the graveyard on the JNIount Pleasant es- 
 tate, where traces of a house are still to be seen, are some 
 Dixon tombs. 
 
 ^- Dixon family: William and Mary Quarterly, x, pp. 272-273. 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 247 
 
 THE SHELTER 
 
 Modest, but exceedingly interesting is The Shelter, 
 with its gambrel-roofed, L-shaped wing and towering, out- 
 side chimneys. 
 
 In this quaint dwelling, Miss MolHe Elliott Seawell, 
 the distinguished authoress, was born and grew to woman- 
 hood. It is now the home of her brother, Mr. J. Hairston 
 Seawell. 
 
 WARNER HALL 
 
 One of the most famous homes in Gloucester County 
 and in Virginia was Warner Hall, on the banks of the 
 Severn — the old seat of the Warner, Lewis and Clark 
 families ^^ — built in 1674. After its almost complete de- 
 struction by fire, in 1849, it long lay in ruins, but it has 
 since been restored by Mr. Maynard A. Cheney, and once 
 more the extensive and beautiful grounds of the old planta- 
 tion are graced hy a spacious and handsome mansion. 
 
 A son of INIr. Colin Clark, last o\\Tier of the original 
 Warner Hall, described the house as " a brick building of 
 three stories and a basement, and together with a two- 
 room addition (and the basement) included eighteen 
 rooms. There were also on either side of the main house 
 two detached brick houses of six and five rooms respectively, 
 used for kitchen, laundry, servants' room, etc." Some time 
 before Mr. Clark's purchase, the five-room house was 
 united with the main building by a two-room addition, so 
 that the whole of the mansion contained twenty-five rooms, 
 and had a front of about 130 feet. First, in 1841, the five- 
 room house was destroyed by fire, and in 1849 the central 
 
 ^^ The Warners are treated in Robinson, Some Notable Families 
 of America, and in various notes in Virginia Magazine of History 
 and Biography and William and Mary Quarterly ; for Lewis 
 family see William and Mary Quarterly, ix, 191-192, 250-£65 ; 
 X, 48 ; xi, 39-17 ; for the Clarks who lived at " Warner's Hall " 
 see Goode, Virginia Cousins, pp. 229-373 et seq. 
 
248 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 ^|.-/^ 
 
 >-^ 
 
 f:^ v|::ti ^tf 
 
 part of the mansion burned down, leaving only the six- 
 room wing standing. The second fire, we are told, 
 originated " in the desire of a negro boy to have the family 
 remove from the country to Norfolk, whose joys he had 
 tasted on trips with his young masters." 
 
 The Warner Hall estate was patented about the middle 
 of the seventeenth century by Augustine Warner, Senior 
 (1610-1674) , long a member of his Majesty's Council and 
 
 a man who 
 was to have 
 a unique 
 place in Vir- 
 ginia family 
 history, for 
 both George 
 Washington 
 and Robert 
 E. Lee were 
 aescended 
 from him. 
 Upon his 
 death, in 
 1674, Warner Hall passed to his 
 son, Augustine Warner, Jr. (1642- 
 1681 ) , speaker of the House of Bur- 
 gesses in the famous " reforming " 
 assembly during Bacon's Rebellion, in 1676, and also a 
 member of the Council. 
 
 After the burning of Jamestown when " the prosper- 
 ous Rebel " went into Gloucester County he made Warner 
 Hall his headquarters for a time, and it was from there 
 that he sent out notices for the people to assemble to take 
 the oath of fidelity to him. 
 
 Augustine Warner, Jr., died in 1681, leaving several 
 sons, who died in youth, and three daughters: Mary, who 
 became the wife of John Smith of Purton, Gloucester; 
 
 WARNER HALL ON THE SEVERN. 
 GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 249 
 
 Mildred, who married, first, Lawrence Washington, of 
 Westmoreland (grandfather of General Washington), 
 and, secondly, George Gale; and Elizabeth, the heiress of 
 " Warner Hall," who became the wife of John Lewis, of 
 Gloucester. Lewis, therefore, became master of this es- 
 tate and was a prominent man in the County and Colony 
 and a member of his Majesty's Council, as was also his son 
 and heir, John Lewis, Jr. (1702-1754) . 
 
 Warner Hall remained in the possession of the Lewises 
 for generations, sending out in the meantime branches of 
 the family throughout the United States. It was in the 
 last century that the estate was bought by Mr. Colin Clark, 
 who preserved the fame for hospitality that it had always 
 enjoyed, up to the time of its deplorable destruction. 
 
 Not far from the restored mansion maj^ be seen the 
 old graveyard containing the ancient tombs of the Warners, 
 Lewises and others. Some of these date from the seven- 
 teenth century. 
 
 SHERWOOD, GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
 SHERWOOD 
 
 Ample grounds, a fine river view and piazzas of gen- 
 erous proportions make Sherwood, the roof-tree of the 
 
250 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Seldens ^* and Dimmocks, descended from the Lewises of 
 Warner Hall, an ideal country home. Among the charms 
 of the place are the ten-acre lawn, shaded by elms, maples, 
 magnolias, tulip poplars, pecan and other trees, and the 
 old garden equally well furnished with sweet and beautiful 
 flowers and interesting shrubs. 
 
 It is now the home of ]Mr. and ]Mrs. H. A. Williams. 
 
 LEVEL GREEN 
 
 Also on the Ware is Level Green, which in the past was 
 long the home of the Robins family,^ ^ a plantation noted 
 in the political annals of Gloucester as the place where 
 Henrj' Clay landed during a famous campaign. 
 
 EAGLE POINT, GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
 EAGLE POINT 
 
 John Randolph Bryan, who was a namesake of John 
 Randolph of Roanoke and was educated under his care, 
 
 ^^ Selden family (Sherwood branch): William and Mary 
 Quarterhj, v, 60-62, 264-267. 
 
 ^■^ Robins family: Virginia Magazine of History and Biog- 
 raphy, ii, 187-189," 316-31T. 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 251 
 
 married Randolph's greatly beloved niece, Elizabeth 
 Tucker Coalter. This couple made Eagle Point, on the 
 Severn, one of the most noted homes in Gloucester from 
 1830 until 1862, when it was broken up by the war, and 
 the estate passed out of the Bryan family. It was bought 
 back by the late Mr. Joseph Bryan, of Laburnum, Henrico 
 County, and by him the house was greatly enlarged and 
 beautified and its reputation for genuine old Virginia hos- 
 pitality re-established. 
 
 Full of poetic as well as of antiquarian interest, is the 
 family graveyard, uniquely situated upon a pine-shaded 
 islet in the river, not far from the house. 
 
 SEVERNBY 
 
 Upon what was once a part of the Eagle Point planta- 
 tion, jNIr. Alfred W. Withers has built Severnby, a delight- 
 ful home overlooking the river. 
 
 LANSDOWNE 
 
 Also on the Severn is Lansdowne, the old home of the 
 Thrustons ^*' ( who still own it ) , a family resident in 
 Gloucester for many generations. 
 
 HESSE 
 
 In a remote situation upon the Pianketank, a stream 
 that separates the counties of Gloucester and JNIiddlesex, 
 stands, solitary and alone, Hesse, one of the most vener- 
 able brick mansions in Virginia. The Armisteads, who 
 built and long owned it, were among the earliest settlers 
 in Gloucester and were prominent in private and public 
 life during the Colonial period. For many generations 
 " Armistead of Hesse " was as well known as a family 
 designation in Virginia, as " Harrison of Brandon " or 
 
 ^® Thruston family: William and Mary Quarterly, iv, 31-33, 
 97-102, 164-171, 226-234; vii, 17-24, 181-186. 
 
252 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 " Carter of Shirley." The estate passed out of the Armi- 
 stead family something like a century ago, and their name, 
 though nvmierous elsewhere, is not now to be found in the 
 county which was so long their home, but large numbers 
 of persons scattered through the country trace their an- 
 cestry to ancient Hesse. A portion of the original mansion 
 was long ago torn down. 
 
 HESSE, GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
 Honorable John Armistead, of Hesse ( son of William 
 Armistead, the emigrant) , was a member of " his Majesty's 
 Council " in the latter part of the seventeenth century." 
 He was succeeded as master of the estate by his son Henry, 
 who won as his bride, over all other suitors, the fascinating 
 Martha Burwell, daughter of Honorable Lewis Burwell, 
 the j'oung ladj" with whom Governor Sir Francis Nicholson 
 was so much in love that he vowed that should she marry 
 
 ■'^ Armistead family: William and Mary Quarterly, vi, 31-33; 
 97-102, 164-171, 226-234; vii, 17-24, 181-186. 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 253 
 
 anj^one but himself, he would kill three persons — the bride- 
 groom, the clerk granting the license and the clergyman 
 performing the ceremony. The threat was not carried out, 
 however, for as far as is known, the fair Martha and the 
 husband of her choice, Henry Armistead, " lived happily 
 ever after " at Hesse. One of their daughters, Lucy, 
 married " Secretary " Thomas Nelson (1716-1782), son of 
 Thomas Nelson, the emigrant, and another, Martha, be- 
 came the wife of Dudley Digges, member of the first 
 Executive Council of the State of Virginia. 
 
 Henry Armistead was succeeded as master of Hesse 
 by his son William, who married Mary, daughter of Hon- 
 orable James Bowles of Maryland, a lady of large fortune, 
 and died about 1755, leaving a son and heir, a second 
 William Armistead, of Hesse, who married, in 1765, 
 Maria, daughter of Charles Carter, of Cleve, bj'^ his second 
 wife Anne, daughter of Honorable William Byrd II, of 
 Westover. From letters which have been preserved, writ- 
 ten to Mrs. Maria Carter Armistead, or " Molly," as she 
 was familiarly called, she seems to have been a favorite 
 with her friends and family. One of these written by her 
 uncle, William Byrd, 3d, of Westover, upon hearing of 
 her engagement to William Armistead, is as follows: 
 
 " My Dear Niece : 
 
 I was in great Hopes, as well as your Aunt and Grandmamma, 
 that you would have given us the Pleasure of your Company at 
 Westover e'er now, & should have rejoiced in an Opportunity of 
 convincing you of my Affection. Report informs us you are 
 going to be married very soon ; I wish it had been agreeable to you 
 to have given some of your Friends here Notice of it, because we 
 think ourselves interested in your Happiness ; for my part I shall 
 always be glad to contribute to it. Mr. Armistead is a young 
 gentleman entirely acceptable to us, & we sincerely wish you both 
 Blessing of the married State. Be pleased my Dear Molly to 
 present my best Compliments to him, & accept yourself of our 
 Love and tender Friendship. I & the rest of your Relations here 
 beg the Favor of you & Mr. Armistead to spend your Christmas 
 
254 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 at Westover, where many young People are to make merry; & 
 give our Love to your Sisters & bring them with you. Our Coach 
 shall attend you any where at any time. 
 
 I ever am 
 
 My Dear Niece 
 
 Your most affe. 
 Uncle 
 Westover Nov : 25th. 1765. W. Byrd." 
 
 The only surviving son of William and Maria Carter 
 Arniistead was Charles Byrd Armistead, who inherited 
 Hesse, but some time after his death, in 1797, leaving no 
 descendants, the estate, which contained 3879 acres, passed 
 from the Armistead family. 
 
 GLOUCESTER CHURCHES 
 
 " The history of Gloucester," says Sally Nelson Robins, 
 in her charming sketch of the old county, " is woven in the 
 registers of its Colonial churches. Names faded on the old 
 roll wear a fresher lustre on the parish books of to-day. 
 Where the fathers Avorshipped the sons still kneel." 
 
 The earliest parishes in Gloucester were Petsworth and 
 Kingston, the latter in what is now known as ]Mathews 
 County. As long ago as 1861 it Avas written of the former, 
 " Petsworth exists only on paper: its church and wor- 
 shippers have alike ceased to be." The existence " on 
 paper " as seen in the tattered vestry book is interesting 
 as showing how well cared for was the ancient temple. 
 Under date 1684 we read, " His Excellency the Governor 
 having given to the church one large Bible, one book of 
 Common Prayer, one book of Homilies, the Thirty-nine 
 Articles, and books of Canons of the Church of England, 
 it is ordered that the clerk of the vestry enter the same in 
 the register, to the end His Lordship's so pious a gift may 
 be gratefully remembered." In the same year it was 
 " Ordered that the clerk enter into the register of this 
 parish the generous and pious gift of the Honorable 
 Augustine Warner, deceased, to this church, viz., one silver 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 255 
 
 flagon which though long since given hath not yet been 
 entered." In 1735, " there were great subscriptions made 
 by the present vestry for an organ, to be purchased for 
 the use of the church at Petsworth," also, it was directed 
 that seven hundred gold leaves be ordered for the use of 
 the painter. In 1751 the vestry ordered from England a 
 " pulpit and table cloth and cushion," at cost of £154. 16. 6 
 current money. The cloth was to be of " crimson velvet 
 with a gold fringe and lace." The rear wall of the chancel 
 rejoiced in an elaborate fresco representing a crimson cur- 
 
 WAKE CHURCH, GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
 tain drawn back to reveal an angel with a trumpet in his 
 hand, standing amidst rolling clouds, from which the faces 
 of other angels looked. 
 
 Though the glory of old Petsworth, or "Poplar Spring" 
 church, as it was sometimes called, has long since departed, 
 Gloucester still possesses two well preserved and comely 
 Colonial houses of worship — Abington and Ware — where 
 the great-grandchildren of those that sleep in the tombs 
 outside repeat upon Sundays the old liturgy of the early 
 days. Ware church was built in 1693, upon land granted 
 
256 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 to the parish by the Throckmorton family. A brick in the 
 older part of Abington bears the date 1660, while upon 
 the arch of the door appear the figures 1765. Upon the 
 
 IW 
 
 MMKflgHH|MHMlgMKp^»:1j^- '<;% 
 
 t^^^'^-'^BBS 
 
 g^O^Bg 
 
 8 
 
 
 
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 IH 
 
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 ^^^n^Hpjg^l^^^p^" ^ ^^^^^^BRj 
 
 
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 s^l^^p 4?^ *^ 
 
 ^^^ ^^B 
 
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 f'ri 'ifiW^^iKjifiiSW^fct^-^^^-^ 
 
 ["S*-"^ "-^"f^jB^^^l 
 
 HI 
 
 
 
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 ^^1 
 
 ABIXGTDN CHL'RCH. GLOUCESTER COUNTY 
 
 outer wall of Ware is the tombstone of the Reverend James 
 Black, a native of England and for many years rector of 
 Ware parish, who died in 1723. For the sake of comfort 
 and convenience the interiors of both churches were long 
 since modernized, but ISIrs. Robins tells us that as late as 
 1867 " the flagstones of old Abington echoed the crisp foot- 
 tread of the worshipper. The pews were square, with 
 seats all around, and stiff carpet-covered footstools stood 
 beneath, on which prim children sat and often munched 
 Shrewsburj^ cakes, drawn from their Mothers' reticule." 
 She adds, " I have heard that excessive wriggling was 
 sometimes summarilj^ checked bj' a tap from a heelless 
 slipper." 
 
 GLOUCESTER COURT HOUSE 
 
 In Virginia the court house has always been the business 
 and political centre of the county. In Gloucester as in 
 most other counties the countv seat contains a few old 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 257 
 
 dwellings, brick and frame, one or more inns, or taverns as 
 they were generally termed in Virginia, and, of course, the 
 county court house with its appurtenances. 
 
 TAVERN AT GLOUCESTER COURT HOUSE 
 
 ST. PETER'S CHURCH, NEW^ KENT 
 
 The Pamunkey and Mattapony Rivers joining, form 
 the York. At the meeting point, above old York and 
 Gloucester Counties, lie the newer counties of New Kent 
 (south of the Pamunkey), King William (between Pa- 
 munkey and Mattapony), and King and Queen, north 
 of Mattapony and bordering on still another series of 
 counties, those along the Rappahannock. 
 
 The tide of emigration entering York River at its 
 mouth flowed up each side of it and spread out along the 
 banks of both the Pamunkey and the Mattapony. In 
 1654, New Kent, which may be called one of the second 
 generation of Virginia Counties, was formed. It then in- 
 cluded the present King and Queen and King William 
 Counties. At a later jDeriod, as the settlements went inland, 
 Hanover was formed from King William and King and 
 
 17 
 
258 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Queen, and the stream of emigration coming up from York 
 River mingled, above tide-water, with that which had 
 ascended the James. 
 
 The most notable building now to be seen in New Kent 
 County is old St. Peter's Church,^* within whose walls tra- 
 dition long persisted General Washington and JNIartha 
 Custis were married. It is now believed that this interest- 
 ing wedding was a home aif air, taking place at the Custis 
 
 ST. PETER'S CHURCH, NEW KENT COUNTY 
 
 homestead, the White House, not far away; and St. 
 Peter's is often spoken of as " the church in which Wash- 
 ington was not married." 
 
 The church, all but its steeple, which was added later, 
 was built in 1703, at a cost of one hundred and forty-six 
 
 ^* The Parish Register of Saint Peter's, New Kent County, Va., 
 and The Vestry Book of Saint Peter's, New Kent, were published 
 in Richmond, Virginia, in 1904 and 1905 respectively, by the 
 National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State 
 of Virginia. 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 259 
 
 thousand weight of tobacco. The parish, however, had been 
 in existence some years before. One of its earhest min- 
 isters was the Reverend Nicholas INIoreau, a Huguenot, 
 who seems to have been a man of deep pietj^, and so were 
 some others, but the parish was not always so fortunate. 
 
 JSIinisters and laymen expressed themselves forcefully 
 in those days. Pious Parson Moreau wished to have a 
 bishop in Virginia, and, in one of his letters to the Bishop 
 of London, says, " An Eminent Bishop being sent over 
 here will make Hell tremble and settle the Church of Eng- 
 land forever." He describes the New Kent fold as " the 
 very worst parish in Virginia and most troublesome," but 
 adds, " God has blessed my endeavors so far already that 
 with his assistance I have brought again to church two 
 families who had gone to Quaker's meeting for three years 
 past." 
 
 Reverend David Mossom, who came to Virginia from 
 Massachusetts, and was rector of the parish for forty years, 
 was hardly ideal, but by way of apolog}' for him. Bishop 
 Meade feelingly informs us that he " was married four 
 times, and much harassed by his last wife." Contemporary 
 accounts hint of outbursts of temper on the part of this 
 much-married and much-harassed parson, especially of a 
 quarrel with the clerk of the parish, which was carried so 
 far that one Sunday jNIr. IMossom assailed the clerk from 
 the pulpit, threatening to give him a beating, after which 
 the clerk struck back by lining out from his desk the psalm 
 containing the following: 
 
 " With restless and ungoverned rage 
 Why do the heathen storm? 
 Why in such rash attempts engage 
 As they can ne'er perform ? " 
 
 CEDAR GROVE 
 
 An interesting New Kent homestead is Cedar Grove, 
 an old roof-tree of the Christian family. Here President 
 
260 
 
 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 John Tyler was married to his first wife, Letitia, daughter 
 of Robert Cliristian. 
 
 CEDAR GROVE, NEW KENT COUNTY 
 
 PROVIDENCE FORGE 
 
 The chief interest of the Providence Forge estate is 
 that, as its name suggests, it was the site of Colonial iron- 
 works. It first appears upon record as the property of 
 the Reverend Charles Jeffrey Smith, A.M., a Presbyterian 
 minister from Long Island, wdio died about 1770. His 
 partner was William Holt, of Williamsburg. At the time 
 of Mr. Smith's death there was a " well-built forge " on 
 the place. JNIr. Smith's lands were purchased by Francis 
 Jerdone (1720-1771),^® a Scotchman, who had acquired a 
 large estate at Yorktown, but who, in 1753, had removed 
 to Louisa County. He died in 1771, and in the Virginia 
 Gazette is spoken of as " an eminent merchant, who had 
 acquired a handsome fortune with the fairest reputation." 
 
 The estate remained long in the possession of his de- 
 scendants. 
 
 ^■^ Jerdone: WiUiavi and Mary Quarterly, xi, p. 153 et seq.; 
 xii, 32. 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 261 
 
 Old account books mention bar iron, broad hoes and 
 grubbing hoes as the articles manufactured at Providence 
 
 PROVIDENCE FORGE, NEW KENT COUNTY 
 
 Forge. There are still some signs of the old forge at the 
 place and there is a deep canal, no doubt cut before the 
 Revolution, for the purpose of the work started by 
 Reverend Mr. Smith and Sir. Holt. 
 
 The comfortable old dormer-windowed, frame dwell- 
 ing, on the estate, still in excellent repair, stands close to 
 the tracks at Providence Forge Station, on the Chesapeake 
 and Ohio Railway. 
 
 H AMP STEAD 
 
 The handsomest house in New Kent County is stately 
 Hampstead, long the home of the Webb family. These 
 Webbs were prominent in Virginia from the early eigh- 
 teenth century. Some of them were members of the House 
 of Burgesses. One of them, George Webb, was treasurer 
 of Virginia during the Revolution and for some time after- 
 ward, and other representatives of the name have been 
 distinguished in the United States and Confederate States 
 Navies. 
 
 Hampstead was built by Conrad Webb, in 1820, as 
 
262 
 
 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 the date in gilt figures upon the cornice proclaims. It 
 stands upon the top of a high hill overlooking lovely 
 grounds and gardens, and a wide sweep of country. The 
 front and rear entrances of the mansion are alike. In front 
 the white marble steps descend to a box-hedged walk, from 
 which a circular carriage drive sweeps around a central 
 plot, with a sun-dial in the middle, and filled with shrubs, 
 familiar and rare, some of them brought from Europe. 
 The grounds beyond this circle are set with beautiful and 
 
 HAMPSTEAD, N'EW KENT COUNTY 
 
 interesting trees, many of which, like the shrubs, came 
 across the water to contribute to the charm of a Virginia 
 gentleman's home. 
 
 From the rear entrance, the gardens fall away in four 
 terraces, filled with flowers and fruits and vegetables and 
 adorned with summer-houses and trellises, over which old- 
 fashioned roses clamber. Flowering shrubs border the 
 walks and screen from view the squares devoted to the more 
 useful than ornamental purposes of the garden. 
 
 The mansion stands four stories high including the 
 English basement and attic. It is divided in the middle 
 by a great hall whose ceiling is supported on one side by 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 263 
 
 columns, and from which a splendid stairway winds to an 
 observatory which affords a view of the country for miles 
 around. 
 
 In the high-pitched English basement was the Webb 
 library with its books — in built-in shelves around the walls 
 and up to the ceiling — among them many a " quaint and 
 curious volume of forgotten lore." Also in the basement 
 was the servants' hall and innumerable store rooms and 
 
 THE HALL, HAMPSTEAD 
 
 lock rooms; the wine cellar and the " fat cellar " (a dark 
 cool room connected with the outer world by a brick- walled 
 passage), in which fresh meats were kept. The basement 
 had its alluring nooks and corners, but it could not vie in 
 charm with the attic, where the ghost of Mr. Conrad Webb 
 dwelt among the trunks and chests filled with wearing 
 apparel of past generations, bundles of old letters and 
 broken toys. One who spent her early days at Hampstead 
 tells how, on rainy days, the children would play in the 
 attic without a qualm all day long, but if dark overtook 
 
264 MRGIXIA HOMES AND CHrRCHES 
 
 them in the midst of their games, would stick their fingers 
 in their ears and run for their lives do\\ni the winding stair 
 to the safety of lamp-light and gro^n-up folk, in terror 
 lest the ghost should catch them. The same narrator tells 
 of the great ice-house m the grounds, whose dark chill 
 depths seemed to childish minds to be the abode of un- 
 guessed mysteries. 
 
 Upon one of the outhouses at Hampstead was a bell- 
 tower in which hmig what came to be both " passmg bell " 
 and " fire bell," though its main object was to call farm 
 hands to meals from their work in different parts of the 
 large estate. If there was so much as a chimney afire the 
 familiar tones of the bell would at once give the alarm, 
 while when there was a death in the Webb connection any- 
 where in the neighborhood, a messenger would be sent 
 forthwith to toll the Hampstead bell. 
 
 Hampstead is now the property and residence of ^Mr. 
 W. J. Wallace. 
 
 ELTHAM, NEW KENT COCNTY 
 
 ELTHAM, CLOVER LEA, AND THE WHITE 
 
 HOUSE 
 
 Before the War between the States New Kent con- 
 tained other dwellings, which, like Hampstead, were spa- 
 cious mansions. 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 265 
 
 Eltham was long the home of the Bassetts, a family 
 whose emigrant ancestor, Captain William Bassett, had 
 served in the Civil War, in England, and in the English 
 garrison at Tangier. He died in 1672 and was succeeded 
 at Eltham by his son, Hon. William Bassett (1672-1723) , 
 who was a member of the Council and whose handsome 
 armorial tomb has now been removed to Hollywood 
 Cemetery, Richmond. A third William Bassett, who was 
 a member of the House of Burgesses and died in 1744, was 
 in turn succeeded bj^ his son, Burwell Bassett, who was 
 frequently in the House of Burgesses and died in 1793. 
 This Burwell Bassett was first succeeded bj^ his eldest son, 
 another Bvn-well Bassett (who was for many years a 
 member of Congress), but as he died without issue, the 
 estate was inherited by his younger brother, John Bassett, 
 
 CLOVER LEA, HANOVER COUNTY 
 
 who removed to " Farmington," Hanover County, and 
 afterwards built Clover Lea, in the same county, where he 
 died in 1862. Clover Lea was inherited by his son, George 
 Washington Bassett, who was the last of the family to own 
 the property. The house was beautifully wainscoted in 
 
266 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 black walnut and the stairs are of the same material. The 
 mantels are of carved white marble. This was one of the 
 handsomest houses in Hanover County. Clover Lea still 
 remains, but Eltham was burned in 1876. Fortunately 
 Mr. Herbert A. Claiborne, of Richmond, a descendant of 
 the Bassetts, owns an excellent drawing of Eltham, which 
 he has kindl)' allowed to be copied. 
 
 The White House, on the Pamunkey River, originally 
 an estate of several thousand acres, was owned by the 
 eccentric Counsellor John Custis, of " Arlington," North- 
 ampton County, and became the home of his son, Daniel 
 Parke Custis, the first husband of ]Mrs. ]Martha Washing- 
 ton. To this house the youthful Colonel went courting 
 and here he married the fair widow. The estate was in- 
 herited by her great-granddaughter, ISIrs. Robert E. Lee, 
 who, a refugee from Arlington, near Washington, was 
 living at the White House when JNIcClellan's armv ad- 
 vanced up the Peninsula. When she left the house she 
 placed a card on the door requesting protection for the 
 home of jNIartha Washington. The appeal was unhappily 
 not heeded and the old house was burnt. ]Mrs. Lee's son. 
 General Wm. H. F. Lee, lived on the estate for some years 
 after the War between the States. 
 
 CHELSEA 
 
 In King William County, which lies between the 
 Pamunkey and JNIattapony Rivers, several well-known 
 homesteads are to be found. Perhaps the oldest of these 
 is Chelsea, the venerable home of the IMoores, on the jNIat- 
 taponj^ It is a spacious brick house bearing many evidences 
 of antiquity and was probably named after Chelsea in Eng- 
 land, the home of Sir Thomas Moore, from whom the 
 Virginia Moores claim descent. 
 
 Augustine Moore, the first of this family, settled here 
 about the year 1700, and his tomb maj^ still be seen at 
 Chelsea. His son Bernard Moore, a prominent man of his 
 day and long a member of the House of Burgesses, married 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 267 
 
 Anne Katherine, eldest daughter of Governor Alexander 
 Spotswood (1676-1740). Though her husband was loj^al 
 to Virginia during the Revolution, it is said that this fair 
 and spirited daughter of a royal governor disobeyed the 
 official prohibition of tea-drinking and defiantly sipped the 
 tabooed beverage. She was prudent enough, however, to 
 shut herself up in her room for the indulgence. 
 
 ,'«• 
 
 CHELSEA, KING WILLIAM COUNTY 
 
 The ]Moores owned Chelsea until the extinction of the 
 family in the male line and then it passed, by descent, to 
 the Robinsons, who owned it up to a few years ago, when 
 it was sold by Mr. Lieper JNIoore Robinson. It is now 
 owned by Messrs. L. P. and Stanley Reed, of Richmond. 
 
 ELSIXG GREEN 
 
 Another striking old house in King William County is 
 Elsing Green. This estate was originally owned by 
 Captain William Dandridge, of the British Navy, who 
 
268 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 was also a member of the Virginia Council.^'' The mansion, 
 a massive brick structure, has been several times burnt 
 out, but the walls are so strong that the fires have not 
 affected the external appearance, though they gi'eatly 
 altered the arrangement of the rooms. 
 
 From the Dandridges, Elsing Green passed to Carter 
 Braxton, signer of the Declaration of Independence, who 
 rebuilt the house in 1758. Over the west door may still be 
 seen the initials " C. B." and date " 1758," and on the op- 
 posite side, " G. B." — either for Carter Braxton's father 
 or for his brother George Braxton. 
 
 From the Braxtons the estate passed, by purchase, to 
 William Burnet Browne, of Salem, Massachusetts, who 
 married Judith, daughter of Charles Carter, of " Cleve," 
 King George County, Virginia, before the Revolution. 
 Mr. Browne was the son of Honorable W^illiam Browne, 
 of Salem, and his wife Mary Burnet, who was a daughter 
 
 
 ELSING GREEN, KING WILLIAM COUNTY 
 
 of William Burnet, Governor of New York, and grand- 
 daughter of the celebrated Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of 
 
 ^° For Captain William Dandridge and his descendants see 
 William and Mary Quarterly, v, SO et seq.; xii, 126 et seq. 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 269 
 
 Salisbury. Upon their removal to Virginia the Brownes 
 filled Elsing Green with interesting ancestral relics. One 
 room was hung with Gobelin tapestry presented to Bishop 
 Burnet by William of Orange, and among the many por- 
 traits was a fine one of the bishop himself. 
 
 Formerly each of the wide fireplaces contained a back 
 representing some episode in history. The only one of 
 these now remaining shows the death of General Wolfe. 
 
 As William Burnett Browne had no son he left Elsing 
 Green to his grandson, William Burnet Claiborne, pro- 
 vided he should take the name of Browne, which condition 
 was complied with. 
 
 The estate finally passed, by sale, from the Brownes to 
 the Gregory family, which has owned it for several gen- 
 erations. It is now the home of the familj^ of Judge Roger 
 Gregory. 
 
 HORN QUARTER, KING WILLIAM COUNTY 
 
 HORX QUARTER 
 
 Stately Horn Quarter, the finest house of its period in 
 King William County, was built in the early nineteenth 
 century by Mr. George Taylor, a gentleman of large estate 
 
270 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 and son of the celebrated John Taylor (1750-1824), of 
 Caroline County, United States senator from Virginia." 
 The master of Horn Quarter also owned a handsome town 
 home at the corner of Cary and Fifth Streets, in Richmond. 
 He left Horn Quarter to his son, John Penn Taylor, who 
 later sold it. 
 
 MATTAPONY CHURCH 
 
 Crossing the JNIattapony River from King WiUiam 
 County we find old Mattapony Church, one of the most 
 striking of the Colonial houses of worship. Soon after 
 the Revolution, the congregation became extinct and the 
 church was abandoned. It suffered much from the ravages 
 
 MATTAPONY CHURCH, KING AND QUEEN COUNTY 
 
 of time and weather and finally, as there was no congrega- 
 tion, no minister and no vestry, it was regarded as having 
 escheated to the State and was patented as public land by 
 Mr. Pollard of King and Queen County, who conveyed it 
 to a Baptist congregation. Mr. Pollard, however, removed 
 
 ^^ For Honorable John Taylor and his descendants see Hayden, 
 Virginia Genealogies, pp. 682—683. 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 271 
 
 the handsome baptismal font and presented it to the 
 Episcopal church in Hanover County. 
 
 INIattapony is now and has been for many years the 
 home of a large and prosperous Baptist congregation, and 
 is kept in excellent repair. It is a cruciform building of 
 
 Colonial glazed brick 
 
 HANOVER COURT HOUSE 
 
 Above the old Counties of King W^illiam and King 
 and Queen is Hanover. 
 
 According to a committee appointed to " define the 
 boundary of Hanover Count j' and establish a seat of jus- 
 
 HANOVER COURT HOUSE 
 
 tice," Hanover Court House was built upon the estate of 
 Francis Meriwether in the year 1735. It is said to be a 
 copy of the King William County Court House. The 
 building's chief claim to distinction is that in it, in Decem- 
 ber, 1763, Patrick Henry made his maiden oration — the 
 famous speech in the controversy between the people and 
 the clergy, popularly known as the " Parson's Cause." A 
 decision of the court on a demurrer in favor of the claims 
 
272 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 of the clergy had left nothing undetermined but the 
 amount of damages in the case, which was pending. Soon 
 after the opening of the court, the case was called. The 
 following extract from Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry 
 vividly describes what then happened: 
 
 " The array before Mr. Henry's eyes was now most 
 fearful. On the bench sat more than twenty clergymen, 
 the most learned men in the Colony, and the most capable, 
 as well as the severest critics before whom it was possible 
 for him to have made his debut. The Court House was 
 crowded with an overwhelming multitude, and surrounded 
 with an immense and anxious throng, who not finding 
 room to enter were endeavoring to listen without, in the 
 deepest attention. But there was something still more 
 disconcerting than all this ; for in the chair of the presiding 
 magistrate sat no other person than his own father. INIr. 
 Lyons opened the cause ver)' briefly; in the waj^ of argu- 
 ment he did nothing more than explain to the jury that 
 the decision upon the demurrer had put the act of 1758 
 entirely out of the way, and left the law of 1748 as the 
 only standard of the damages; he then concluded with a 
 highlj^ wrought eulogium on the benevolence of the clergy. 
 And now came the first trial of Patrick Henry's strength. 
 None had ever heard him speak, and curiosity was on 
 tiptoe. He rose very awkwardly, and faltered much in 
 his exordium. The people hung their heads at so unprom- 
 ising a commencement; the clergy were observed to ex- 
 change shy looks at each other ; and his father is described 
 as having almost sunk with confusion from his seat. But 
 their feelings were of short duration, and soon gave place 
 to others of a very different character. For now were 
 those wonderful faculties which he possessed for the 
 first time developed; and now was first witnessed that 
 mysterious and almost supernatural transformation of 
 appearance, which the fire of his own eloquence never failed 
 to work in him. For as his mind rolled along, and began 
 to glow from its own action, all the exuviee of the clown 
 seemed to shed themselves spontaneously. His attitude, by 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 273 
 
 degrees, became erect and lofty. The genius awakened all 
 his features. His countenance shone with a nobleness and 
 grandeur which it had never before exhibited. There was 
 lightning in his eyes which seemed to rivet the spectator. 
 His action became graceful, bold and commanding, and in 
 the tones of his voice there was a peculiar charm, a magic 
 of which any one who ever heard him will speak of as soon 
 as he is named, but of which no one can give you any 
 adequate description. They can only say that it struck 
 upon the ear and upon the heart in a manner which lan- 
 guage cannot tell. Add to all these his wonder-working 
 fancy and the peculiar phraseology in which he clothed his 
 images ; for he painted to the heart with a force that almost 
 petrified it. In the language of those who heard him on this 
 occasion, ' he made their hair to rise on end.' 
 
 " It will not be difficult for any one who ever heard this 
 extraordinary man to believe the whole account of this 
 transaction, which is given by his surviving hearers; and 
 from their account, the Court House of Hanover County 
 must have exhibited, on this occasion, a scene as picturesque 
 as has been ever witnessed in real life. They say that the 
 people whose countenances had fallen as he rose had heard 
 but very few sentences before they began to look up; then 
 to look at each other with surprise, as if doubting the evi- 
 dence of their own senses; then attracted by some strong 
 gesture, struck by some majestic attitude, fascinated by the 
 spell of his eye, the charm of his emphasis, and the varied 
 and commanding expression of his countenance, they could 
 look away no more. In less than twenty minutes, they 
 might be seen in every part of the house, on every bench, 
 in every window, stooping forward from their stands, in 
 death-like silence; their features fixed in amazement and 
 awe; all their senses riveted and intent upon the speaker, 
 as if to catch the last strain of some heavenly visitant. The 
 mockery of the clergy was soon turned into alarm; their 
 triumph into confusion and despair; and at one burst of 
 his rapid and overwhelming invective, they fled from the 
 bench in precipitation and terror. As for his father, such 
 
 18 
 
!274 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 was his surprise, such his amazement, such his rapture, that, 
 forgetting where he was and the character he was filHng, 
 tears of ecstasy streamed down his cheeks, without the 
 power or inclination to suppress them. 
 
 " The jury seemed to have been so completely bewil- 
 dered that tliey lost sight not only of the act of 1748, 
 but that of 1758 also; for thoughtless even of the admitted 
 right of the plaintiff, they had scarcely left the bar when 
 they returned with a verdict of one penny damages. A 
 motion was made for a new trial: but the Court, too, had 
 now lost the equipoise of their judgment, and overruled 
 the action by a unanimous vote. The verdict and judg- 
 ment overruling the motion were followed by redoubled 
 acclamations from within and without the house. The 
 people, who had with difficulty kept their hands off the 
 champion from the moment of closing his harangue, no 
 sooner saw the fate of the cause finally sealed, than they 
 seized him at the bar, and in spite of his own exertions, 
 and the continued cry of ' Order ' from the Sheriff and 
 Court, they bore him out of the Court House and raising 
 him on their shoulders, carried him about the yard, in a 
 kind of electioneering triumph." 
 
 There have recently been placed upon the walls of this 
 historic old court house tablets to the memory of the citizens 
 of Hanover County who were killed during the War be- 
 tween the States. 
 
 HANOVER COURT HOUSE TA\TERN 
 
 The guest-house as well as the " hall of justice " of the 
 historic little village of Hanover Court House has an in- 
 teresting connection with Virginia's most famous orator. 
 This quaint house was at one time kept by Patrick Henry's 
 father-in-law, John Shelton, and when INIr. Shelton was 
 away from home, Mr. Henry would obligingly take his 
 place as " host." 
 
 The Marquis de Chastellux in his Travels in North 
 America, 1780 to 1782, gives a piquant account of a visit to 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 275 
 
 Hanover Tavern. He says, " We arrived before sunset 
 and alighted before a tolerably handsome Inn ; a very large 
 saloon and a covered portico are destined to receive the 
 Company who assemble every three months at the Court 
 House either on private or public affairs. 
 
 " The County of Hanover as well as that of New Kent 
 have still reason to remember the passage of the English. 
 ;Mr. Tilghman, our landlord, though he lamented his mis- 
 fortune in having lodged and boarded Lord Cornwallis 
 and his retinue without his Lordship's having made him the 
 
 TAVERN AT HANOVER COURT HOUSE 
 
 least recompense, could not yet help laughing at the fright 
 which the unexpected arrival of Tarleton spread amongst 
 a considerable number of gentlemen who had come to hear 
 the news and were assembled in the Court House. A negro 
 on horseback came full gallop to let them know that 
 Tarleton was not above three miles off. The resolution 
 of retreating was soon taken, but the alarm was so sudden 
 and the confusion so great that every one mounted the first 
 horse that he could find, so that few of those cvu'ious gentle- 
 men returned upon their own horses." 
 
276 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 HICKORY HILL 
 
 The plantation known as " Hickory Hill," home of the 
 late Williams Carter Wickham, Brigadier-General of Cav- 
 alry, C. S. A., was originally an appanage to Shirley on 
 the James, inherited by the General's mother ( Ajme) from 
 her father, Robert Carter. John Carter, son of Robert 
 (" King ") Carter of Corotoman, purchased five hundred 
 acres from John Littlepage by deed dated 2nd of ]March, 
 1734, since which date the property has passed by descent 
 
 HICKURY HILL, HANOVER COUNTY 
 
 or deeds of family settlement. The consideration as named 
 in the deed of lease and release was the sum of five shillings 
 lawful British money, yielding also j'early one ear of In- 
 dian corn at the feast of St. Michael the Archangel. The 
 holding was greatly increased in 1768 by John Carter's son 
 Charles Carter, of Shirley. 
 
 As narrated by the late Charles Carter Lee in his 
 Virginia Georgics : 
 
 Many remote estates supplied his purses. 
 
 And Shirley food for his and his guests' horses. 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 277 
 
 Upon the marriage of Miss Anne Carter to Williams 
 Fanning Wickham (son of the famous John Wiekham of 
 Richmond) she removed from Shirley to Richmond, and, 
 the young couple wishing a summer home, her husband pur- 
 chased from the heirs of Governor George W. Smith (lost 
 in the bvn-ning of the Richmond Theatre) a tract of hill 
 land, entirely surrounded by Mrs. Wickham's property. 
 The dwelling was built and the plantation establishment 
 moved from the lowlands of the Pamunkej^ River to the 
 more salubrious elevation of " Hickory Hill " in 1820. This 
 mansion passed through the vicissitudes of war, was de- 
 stroyed by fire in 1875, but was immediately rebuilt. 
 
 The feature of the old home on which the ej^e loves to 
 dwell is the old garden, " with its roses so fair and its tall 
 statety trees," its violets — its arbors, avenues and terraces — 
 the emerald of its broad stretches of grass, and its matchless 
 box trees, now approaching their centenary and still grow- 
 ing with youthful riot. 
 
 The old home is peaceful now; but twice each year 
 during the latter part of the Civil War both armies swept 
 over it, and while it was spared horrors such as Belgium has 
 experienced, yet, at the best, war is aptly described by 
 General Sherman, and the fate of the family was the com- 
 mon lot of all during that fearful period. Historic incidents 
 occurred from time to time, as when J. E. B. Stuart left 
 his column for a moment on his famous raid around McClel- 
 lan to cheer a sorelj^ stricken soldier at this home. General 
 William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, desperately wounded and a 
 prisoner, here bade farewell forever to his sweet wife and 
 children, who succumbed from the shock of separation, and 
 the old pleasaunce with its luxurious shrubberj^ afforded 
 safe concealment for his brother. Captain Robert E. Lee, 
 Jr., as narrated in his charming book of recollections of his 
 father. Later on in the war the tide of actual conflict 
 surged back and forth across the old garden, and the great 
 box walk echoed to the shots of fighting men ; but through 
 
278 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 it all it still survives with its matchless charm of beauty and 
 romance. 
 
 Hickory Hill is now the home of ]Mr. Henry T. Wick- 
 ham. 
 
 OLD FORK CHURCH 
 
 Old Fork Church, St. ^Martin's Parish, Hanover 
 County, came by its present name from its situation at 
 the forks of the Pamunkey River, as the two little streams, 
 the North Anna and South Anna, were popularly called. 
 Its massive walls of checkered brick work are built upon 
 severely simjjle lines, but their plainness is relieved by the 
 pillared porches, of harmonious proportions, which shade 
 both the main door and the minister's door. 
 
 FORK CHURCH. HANOVER COUXTY 
 
 This church dates from 1735, and during its long life 
 has been conspicuous for its pious influences and for the 
 number of young men it has sent into the ministry. JMany 
 notables have bowed the knee within its walls, among them 
 Patrick Henry and the fair Dolly JNIadison, each of whom 
 attended " Old Fork " in their youth. The noted author 
 Thomas Nelson Page, whose family have been among its 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 279 
 
 staunchest pillars for generations, was a regular member 
 of this old church during his boyhood and early manhood. 
 
 The parish owns a beautiful communion service bear- 
 ing upon both paten and chalice this inscription: 
 
 " For the use of the Church in St. Martins parish, in 
 Hanover and Louisa Counties, Virginia, 1759." 
 
 In the churchyard are many interesting tombs. 
 
 OAKLAND 
 
 Oakland, the home of the Nelsons and Pages in the 
 " upper end " of Hanover Countj% Virginia, is located on 
 land originally granted to Thomas Nelson, the first settler 
 of that name in Eastern Virginia. He was the grandfather 
 
 OAKLAND, HANOVER COUNTY 
 
 of General Thomas Nelson, junior, Signer of the Declara- 
 tion of Independence, Governor of Virginia, and Comman- 
 der of her forces in the campaign which resulted in the sur- 
 render at Yorktown. 
 
 The Nelsons owned a tract of land of about ten thou- 
 sand acres between the Little and New Found Rivers, in 
 that portion of New Kent Comity which by legislative 
 
280 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 enactment in the year 1721 became Hanover, and it was to 
 this tract that the Honorable Wilham Nelson, who suc- 
 ceeded Lord Botetourt at the latter's death in 1770 in the 
 chief magistracy of the Colony, sent " my Lord Bote- 
 tourt's " horses to be grazed. The JNIarquis de Chastellux 
 has left in his Memoirs a charming account of the " post- 
 Revolutionary " home of General Thomas Nelson which 
 was located on a portion of this estate just a few miles from 
 " Oakland " and where that interesting Frenchman visited 
 in 1782. General Nelson died in 1789 at " Mont Air " (the 
 home of his son Francis Nelson), which adjoined the 
 " Oakland estate." 
 
 The " Oakland house " was not built until 1812, becom- 
 ing the home of Judith, the youngest of General Nelson's 
 daughters, who married her cousin, Captain Thomas 
 Nelson. The choice of " the site " is attributed to the near 
 presence of a noble spring which is still — these hundred 
 years later — the delight of those whose privilege it is to 
 claim Oakland as " home." " Oakland " and " hospitality " 
 are sjmonymous. 
 
 From this " roof -tree " have gone into the world men 
 and women celebrated in varied professions: the church, 
 both at home and abroad, has doubtless been the greatest 
 benefactor of this " blood "; statesmanship and diplomacy 
 are not absent from the roll of achievements ; while the pen 
 and sword have been wielded by its scions with equal abihty. 
 
 In 1847 " the youngest of the daughters of the house " 
 — Frances Nelson — married her kinsman John Page, who 
 in later years became a gallant officer in the Confederate 
 Army, where he ranked as major. 
 
 In 1899 the original " Oakland house " was destroyed 
 by fire, but was shortly afterwards replaced by a dwelling 
 built on the same plan. 
 
 Oakland is now the joint possession of Thomas Nel- 
 son Page, Rosewell Page, Second Auditor of the State of 
 Virginia, and Rev. Francis Page, the three sons of INIajor 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 281 
 
 John and Frances (Nelson) Page. Thomas Nelson Page, 
 widel}^ known as a man of letters and now American Am- 
 bassador to Italy, was born at Oakland and his " Two 
 Little Confederates " were children of that house, while 
 " JNIarse Chan " himself was not unfamiliar with the loved 
 surroundings. In Bulla, and other Virginia Stories — 
 the work of the graceful pen of James Poyntz Nelson — 
 another " child of the Oakland house," one also finds much 
 of local color. 
 
 SCOTCHTOWN 
 
 The huge and interesting old house with the curious 
 name of Scotchtown was for a time the home of Patrick 
 Henry, who bought it in 1771 and was living in it when he 
 was first elected governor of Virginia. He sold it six or 
 
 SCOTCHTOWN, HANOVER COUNTY 
 
 seven years later to Wilson Miles CarJ^ Afterward Scotch- 
 town passed to the possession of John Payne, and was 
 the girlhood home of Dollj^ Payne, who became the wife 
 of President James Madison. It is said that during the 
 Revolution, Tarleton and his raiders rode their horses up 
 the stone steps of Scotchtown and clattered through the 
 wide hall. 
 
282 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 EDGEWOOD AND AIRWELL 
 
 Edgewood, a sturdy old mansion of the Berkeleys, 
 of Hanover County, was built by Doctor Carter Berkelej"^ 
 upon a part of Airwell, the estate of his father, Nelson 
 Berkeley. 
 
 A sketch of the builder of Edgewood, by a brother 
 " M.D.," which appeared in the Southern Clinic, says: 
 " After completing his classical studies Dr. Berkeley was 
 
 EDGEWOOD, HANOVER COUNTY 
 
 sent to Edinburgh, Scotland, for several years, taking his 
 degree about 1793. His thesis, in Latin, comprising 52 
 pages {De Cor pore Hnmano) , now lies before me." 
 
 Upon his return to Virginia Doctor Berkeley began 
 the practice of his profession from his father's home, but 
 built Edgewood and took up his abode there at the time 
 of his marriage to Catherine Spotswood Carter — a daugh- 
 ter of Charles Carter, of Shirley, by his second wife, Anne 
 Butler JMoore. The house is, therefore, probably over a 
 century old. 
 
 -- Berkeley family: The Critic (Richmond, Va. ), December 6, 
 1890, etc. 
 
PARLOR AT EDC.EWOOD 
 
 DINING-ROOM AT EDGEWOOD 
 
THE YORK RIVER COUNTRY 
 
 28 5 
 
 By his marriage with " Kitty " Carter (as she was 
 familiarly called) Doctor Berkeley had five children, 
 whose descendants are scattered throughout the United 
 States. Doctor Berkeley married a second time, Fanny, 
 daughter of Governor John Page, and widow of Thomas 
 Xelson, Jr., son of General Thomas A^elson, of Yorktown. 
 Thomasia (one of the three children of Thomas and Fanny 
 Nelson) was married at Edgewood to Bishop William 
 JNIeade, as his second wife. Doctor Berkeley and his second 
 wife, Fanny (Page) Nelson, were the parents of two 
 children: Kitty (who became the wife of Lucius, son of 
 General John Minor, of Hazel Hill, near Fredericksburg) , 
 who inherited Edgewood, and Carter Nelson Berkeley. 
 JNIr. and Mrs. Minor continued to live at Edgewood until 
 the end of both their lives. After a time Edgewood was 
 sold to strangers, from whom it came again into possession 
 of descendants of the Berkeley family by purchase. 
 
 About 1886 Mrs. Mary E. Noland (a granddaughter 
 of Nelson Berkeley II, of " Airwell," and great niece of 
 Doctor Carter Berkeley) bought Edgewood, which upon 
 her death became the property of INIr. Nelson Berkeley 
 Noland. It is now owned by Mr. William C. Noland, of 
 Richmond. 
 
 NEW MARKET, HANOVER COUNTY 
 
286 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 " Airwell " was built some time before the Revolution- 
 ary War by Nelson Berkeley (born 1733, died 1794^), who 
 moved hither from ^Middlesex County. 
 
 Tradition has it that Tarleton, with some of his troopers, 
 visited the house during that war, and Tarleton's own re- 
 port shows that he passed through this neighborhood. 
 
 ]\Irs. Berkeley, of " Airwell, ' the widow of the founder, 
 was the " lady of dignity, firmness, and authority " men- 
 tioned by Bishop ]Meade, who declined to deliver the com- 
 munion silver in her keeping to the embassy that came to 
 get it for the coffers of the county. By the stand she took, 
 the church silver was preserved to the parish ( St. ]Martin's ) . 
 
 It is still kept at Airwell by descendants of the spirited 
 old lady, and still serves its sacred purpose in old " Fork 
 Church." 
 
 Airwell was gutted by fire in 1836; but the walls were 
 re-roofed and the house restored for occupancy about 1845. 
 
 During the War between the States it was visited by 
 both Northern and Southern soldiers, and it contributed 
 its fidl share toward the support of the latter, one of whom 
 died and is buried there. 
 
 The present owner is ]Mr. Fenton Noland, to whom it 
 has come by direct descent. 
 
 NEW :market and bl^llfield 
 
 New Market was an old home of the Doswell family, 
 long resident in Hanover. 
 
 Better known was Bullfield, in the same county, the 
 home of jNIajor Thomas Doswell, who was for many years 
 one of the most noted and successful turfmen of the State 
 at a time when the leading supporters of " the sport of 
 kings " were gentlemen. On the old race track at Bullfield 
 many of Virginia's most noted race horses were trained. 
 
PART V 
 
 The Rappahannock and Potomac 
 
 THE counties along the Rappahannock and 
 Potomac Rivers, from Chesapeake Bay to the 
 head of tidewater, are closely connected his- 
 torically and socially. In treating of houses and 
 homes of note in this section those upon the south side of 
 the Rappahannock will be taken up first. 
 
 ROSEGILL 
 
 Picturesque in the extreme is this old estate — and not 
 only in its outward and visible form but as well in the in- 
 ward and spiritual things. For generations the home of 
 " Wormeley of Virginia " — scions of the house of " Hat- 
 field," Yorkshire, England — ancient and honorable — Rose- 
 gill is perhaps the least popularlj"^ known of Virginia's 
 colonial estates. In the third decade of the seventeenth" 
 centurj?- Christopher and Ralph Wormelej" " came out " 
 to Virginia and fomided their first home in York County, 
 each becoming a member of that " Virginia House of 
 Lords " — the governor's Council of State. In 1649, Ralph 
 Wormeley patented a tract of land wonderfully situated 
 on the Rappahannock River — in what is now Middlesex 
 County, at that date Lancaster — removing thither, estab- 
 lishing " Rosegill," "passing" in the year of our Lord 1651 
 from this truly " earthly paradise " — we trust, to that one 
 " not made with hands." Agatha (of the name and family 
 of " Eltonhead of Eltonhead "), widow of the first Ralph 
 Wormeley (who was her second husband), took unto her- 
 self a third mate — the distinguished Sir Henry Chicheley, 
 Knight, a cavalier officer, member of the Governor's Coun- 
 cil in Virginia and deputy governor of the Colony — who 
 
 287 
 
288 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 made Rosegill his home throughout the remainder of his 
 days. 
 
 Ralph Wormeley ( 1650-1700 ) , second of the name, son 
 of Ralph and Agatha (Eltonhead) Wormeley, matricu- 
 lated at Oriel College, Oxford, in 1665, and, completing his 
 education, returned to Virginia, where the succeeding years 
 of his life proved a veritable multiplication table of honors : 
 burgess, member of the Council, secretary of State, trustee 
 of William and IMary College, naval officer of the Rap- 
 pahannock, president of the Council; " the most powerful 
 man in Virginia," according to a contemporaneous report. 
 From him descended a line — all Ralphs, with one excep- 
 tion, all masters of Rosegill and in economic, social and 
 political " estate " among the foremost men in Virginia. 
 
 The beginning of the Revolutionarj^ struggle found two 
 of the family resident at Rosegill — Ralph Wormeley 
 (1715-1790), fourth of the name, for twenty-two years a 
 member of the House of Burgesses, and his son Ralph 
 Wormeley (1744-1806), the fifth, educated at Eton and 
 Cambridge, one of the greatest book-collectors in Virginia 
 and one of the last appointees to the Council under the 
 Royal government. These honorable gentlemen both 
 sympathized with the mother country in the revolt of her 
 children, but, wise in their generation, they did not offer 
 active opposition to the " new order " forming around 
 them. Their passive attitude did not, however, save them 
 from great annoyance during the war. 
 
 Ralph, the younger, in a letter to John Randolph 
 Grymes, dated 4 April, 1776, expressed himself quite freely 
 in " loyal terms " ; the letter was intercepted, and Worme- 
 ley was ordered by resolution of the Virginia Convention to 
 be confined to the county of Berkeley and that part of his 
 father's estate which was in the county of Frederick, and not 
 to depart the limits thereof, and to give bond for £20,000, 
 For two years his movements were thus restricted. After 
 his release he returned to Rosegill, where, in 1781, oh, irony 
 of fate ! his estate was pillaged and he robbed, by the crew 
 
Ijprr 
 
 ''mJ.mm 
 
 
 
 ■ i " '"\a ■•■■ 
 
 FOLLOWING THE HOUNDS 
 
 19 
 
 ROSEGILL, MIDDLESEX COUNTY 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 291 
 
 of a tory privateer, of thirty-six valuable slaves, silver 
 plate, jewelry, watches and wearing apparel, some of the 
 property, howe\'er, being later returned on application to 
 General Leslie, the English officer then commanding at 
 Portsmouth. 
 
 The two Wormeleys, however, survived the war and 
 lived to enjoy the friendship of the citizens of the new 
 State, the younger Ralph serving several times as a mem- 
 ber of the House of Delegates and in the Virginia Con- 
 vention of 1788. Not long after his death, in 1806, Rosegill 
 was sold and in the course of years, passing through va- 
 rious ownerships, was some time since purchased by the 
 late Senator Cochran of Pennsylvania, who restored the 
 old mansion with the utmost care and good taste. ^ 
 
 The distant view of Rosegill given in the illustration 
 (the only available one) hardly does justice. 
 
 Encircled with wild roses and honeysuckle, this won- 
 derful old Virginia homestead deserves its pretty romantic 
 name. 
 
 To wind up the long hill from the little village of Ur- 
 banna, along a shady road, and to behold the fine old 
 mansion away off from its double outer gates is to realize 
 delightfully how well some Virginians planned and 
 builded. 
 
 Rosegill house sits square and imposing in thirty acres 
 of lawn. On the left, as one enters the land gate, is the 
 great kitchen, still glorj'ing in its fireplace, crane, spiders 
 and pot hooks. 
 
 The "mansion house " is unique. From the land 
 porch a square hall opens ; to the left of this are a sitting- 
 room and a dining-room, both immense, to the right are 
 the library and drawing-rooms, equally spacious. The 
 dining-room is panelled in mahogany, the sitting-room as 
 well as the library in oak, while the drawing-room is in 
 
 ^ For Wormoley Genealogy, see Hayden, Virginia Genealogies, 
 and Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, viii, p. 179 
 et seq.; xvi, p. \Q et seq., and xviii, p. 373 et seq. 
 
292 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 white. Parallel to these large apartments runs one splen- 
 did hall, with a large door, and eight large windows with 
 seat, opening to the square river porch. At either end of 
 this very large hall are winding stairs. 
 
 Above are five great chambers and another sweep of 
 hall with windows overlooking the Rappahannock. 
 
 In the attic is one great chamber with fourteen beds for 
 bachelors. The lawn from the back hall runs to the Rap- 
 pahannock, which is at this point five miles wide. The 
 green walk from the house to the river is bordered with 
 roses its whole length. 
 
 BLAXDFIELD 
 
 For two generations before the founding of Blandfield, 
 a commodious brick mansion situated on a large estate 
 which stretched to the Rappahannock River, the Bever- 
 leys - had been conspicuous in Virginia. Robert Beverley, 
 the emigrant (who died in 1686), clerk of the House of 
 Burgesses, and his sons Harry ( surveyor, and commander 
 of a sloop fitted out by Governor Spotswood to go in quest 
 of pirates), Peter (speaker of the House of Burgesses, 
 treasurer of the Colony and member of the Council), and 
 Robert (the first native historian of Virginia), had given 
 the name distinction. Colonel William Beverley {circa 
 1698-1756), only child of Robert, the historian, and his 
 wife Ursula, daughter of the first William Byrd, married 
 Elizabeth, daughter of the Honorable Richard Bland 
 (1665-1720), of Jordan's Point, on James River, and 
 building for her a home in Essex Covmty, named it Bland- 
 field in her honor. 
 
 Colonel Beverley was a man of note in his day. He was 
 a member of his JNIajesty's Council, and as a patentee of 
 the great " Beverlej- ^Manor Estate " in Augusta County 
 was one of the principal agents in the settlement of the 
 valley of Virginia. Dying soon after the middle of the 
 
 ^ Beverley family : Virginia Magazine of History and Biog- 
 raphy, ii, 405-413 Tiii, 47-52, 169-176, 261-271, 383-392. 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 295 
 
 eighteenth century, he was succeeded as master of Bland- 
 field by his son Robert, who, sympathizing with England 
 during the Revolution, was disarmed bj^ the Virginia au- 
 thorities. He, in turn, was succeeded at Blandfield by a 
 second Robert, from whom the estate passed to still a third 
 of the name. Colonel Robert Beverley, of Avenel, Fauquier 
 County. 
 
 Blandfield is still in possession of the Beverley family 
 and is now the home of one of the sons of Colonel Robert 
 Beverley, of Avenel. 
 
 VAUTER'S CHURCH 
 
 Vauter's Church, St. Anne's Parish, Essex County, 
 takes its name from the family on or near whose land it was 
 built. A brick in its south wall bearing the date 1731 had 
 
 VAUTER'S CHURCH, ESSEX COUNTY 
 
 led to a belief that it was erected during that year, but it 
 is likely the figures have reference to the year of some 
 addition or repair, as there are abundant evidences of 
 greater age. In an article published in the Southern 
 
296 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Churchman, February 2, 1907, P. S. Hunter, a member 
 of the parish, gives the following interesting word-picture 
 of this old church: 
 
 " Of all the magnificent river views in Tidewater Vir- 
 ginia, few excel that from the smnmit of Chimborazo Hill, 
 in upper Essex County. Commanding on one side the long 
 beautiful stretches of the beautiful Rappahannock, flowing 
 through its fertile plains, it displays on the other, thickly- 
 wooded uplands in ascending terraces of richly blended 
 verdure. But the most prominent object in the foreground 
 is old Vauter's Church, standing in its ancient grove of 
 oak and walnut. It is approached by the ' Chvu'ch Lane,' 
 considerably elevated above the fields on either side, from 
 the accumulation of soil washing down from the hills, and 
 is bordered by dense hedges of growth so characteristic of 
 the country, and in Spring so exquisitely fragrant with 
 the bloom of the wild grape and eglantine. 
 
 " The church is a brick building of cruciform shape, 
 with its three high, sharp gables supporting a shingle roof, 
 cut close to the edge of the wall. Its high and narrow 
 windows are guarded by heavy, solid wooden shutters. 
 
 " The present chancel raised one step from the stone- 
 paved aisles is furnished now with two modern stands or 
 lecterns, for the service and sermon, but back against the 
 wall there still stands the old reading desk and pulpit above 
 it. . . . The pews are the same old box stalls with benches 
 of uncompromising rigiditj", and furnished with clanging 
 doors which announce the retirement of the occupants ; but 
 they have been cut down to nearly half of their former 
 height. Formerly pews and pulpit were so high that both 
 minister and congregation could enjoy deep seclusion. . . . 
 To complete the description of the venerable building, 
 there is only to be added that its walls are covered bj^ the 
 most luxuriant mantle of English ivy." 
 
 GAY]MONT 
 
 Gaymont was the beautiful home of John H. Bernard, 
 who was a State Senator, and who married, in 1816, Jane 
 Gay Robertson. The house, which is noted for its hand- 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 297 
 
 some interior, received its name as a compliment to his 
 wife. It is still owned by the family. 
 
 THE HALL AT GAYMONT 
 
 ORMESBY 
 
 Ormesby, an estate not far from Guiney's Depot on 
 the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, was 
 once the propert}^ of Anthony Thornton, of Stafford 
 County, who married Winifred, daughter of Colonel Peter 
 Presley, of Northumberland House, Northumberland 
 County, and died in 1757. The Ormesbj^ homestead is one 
 of those interesting-looking, rambling frame houses which 
 in the old Virginia fashion grew with the needs of the 
 family that lived in it. It is said that Anthony Thornton I 
 built the oldest part of the house in about 1715, and gave 
 the plantation to his younger son, Anthony II, who was in 
 turn succeeded by his son Colonel Anthony Thornton III, 
 who as county lieutenant of Caroline commanded the 
 militia of that county at the siege of Yorktown. Later 
 Colonel Thornton sold Ormesby to his brother Thomas 
 Griffin Thornton, and removed to Kentucky. 
 
 Thomas Griffin Thornton was in his day one of the 
 
298 
 
 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 most famous fox-hunters in Virginia, and the old sporting 
 magazines contain anecdotes illustrative of the great ex- 
 
 ORMESBY. CAROLINE COUNTY 
 
 !»_■" 4 
 
 HOUSE WHERE STONEWALL JACKSON DIED. FAIRFIELD, CAROLINE COUNTY 
 
 cellence of his hounds. He finally sold Ormesby to his 
 brother John, whose heirs still own it. 
 
 Before removing to Ormesby, John Thornton had 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 299 
 
 owned and lived at Fairfield near Guinej^'s. It was in 
 an outbuilding known as " the office " at Fairfield that 
 Stonewall Jackson died. 
 
 NORTH GARDEN 
 
 North Garden was built not long after the Revolution 
 by Captain Harry Thornton, son of Anthonj" Thornton, 
 of Ormesby. Captain Thornton was a gentleman devoted 
 to racing and other sports, in consequence of which his 
 estate became seriously involved. The line between Caro- 
 line and Spottsylvania Counties runs through the North 
 
 NORTH GARDEN, CAROLINE AND SPOTTSYLVANIA COUNTIES 
 
 Garden yard, and the storj' goes that when the sheriff of 
 either county would come to arrest him for debt, he would 
 simply step over the line into the other county. One day 
 the sheriffs of both counties came at the same time and the 
 gay captain's life of freedom seemed doomed to be brought 
 to a close. Appearing to give up all hope of escape he 
 ordered his horse (which unknown to the sheriffs was a 
 racing mare famous for speed) and rode quietly off be- 
 tween his captors. After riding for a mile or so, he stopped, 
 pretending to arrange a stirrup leather, while the sheriffs 
 
300 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHrRCHES 
 
 went ahead for a few yards; when wheehng his horse 
 about, the captain raised his hat and with a poHte " Gentle- 
 men. I have the honor to wish you a very good day," gal- 
 loped off at a speed which the sheriffs knew they could not 
 equal, and so escaped. 
 
 An old gentleman declares that he has often heard his 
 father say that he had seen the wide hall of North Garden' 
 covered with blood and feathers, the result of a cock fight — 
 a kind of sport then in favor with men of the highest social 
 standing. 
 
 Captain Thornton, who soon after his escapade removed 
 to Kentucky, married Anne, daughter of John Fitzhugh, 
 of Belair, Stafford County, and left several children, one of 
 whom was the mother of the late Judge E. H. Fitzhugh, 
 of Richmond. 
 
 North Garden was afterward bought by ]Mr. Thomas 
 Catlett, after the death of whose son Edward Catlett the 
 estate was sold. 
 
 MARYE HOUSE, FREDERICKSBURG 
 
 OLD HOUSES IN FREDERICKSBURG 
 
 Fredericksburg contains many interesting old houses, 
 among them the frame cottage in which INIary, the mother 
 of Washington, spent so many years of her life, and where 
 
MARY WASHINGTON HOUSE, FREDERICKSBURG 
 
 RISING SUN TAVERN, FREDERICKSBURG 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 303 
 
 she died. It is now owned by the Association for the Pres- 
 ervation of Virginia Antiquities, which organization has 
 also lately purchased in the same town the Rising Sun 
 Tavern, a famous old Colonial hostelry. 
 
 A house believed to be the one in which William Paul, 
 the brother of John Paul Jones, lived and the home of John 
 Paul Jones himself during his residence in Fredericksburg 
 is pointed out. 
 
 On the heights above the town stands the well-known 
 INIarye House which figured conspicuously in the Battle 
 of Fredericksburg. 
 
 KENMORE, FREDERICKSBURG 
 
 KENMORE 
 
 In the suburbs of Fredericksburg is Kenmore, built by 
 Colonel Fielding Lewis ( 1725-1781 ) ,^ who married Eliza- 
 beth (familiarly known as "Betty"), sister of George 
 Washington. 
 
 ^ For the descendants of John and Frances (Fielding) Lewis, 
 see William and Mary Quarterly, ix, 261 et seq. 
 
304 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Colonel Lewis, who was the son of Honorable John 
 Lewis III (1702-1754) of Warner Hall, Gloucester 
 County, and Frances Fielding, was a man of prominence 
 in his day and during the Revolution conducted for the 
 State a manufactory of arms, at Fredericksburg. His son 
 Lawrence married the beautiful " Xellv " Custis. 
 
 THE PARLOR AT KEXMORE 
 
 Later, Kenmore was owned for many years by the well- 
 known family of Gordon. It was, until her "death, the 
 property and home of ]Mrs. William Key Howard. 
 
 Kenmore is especially noted for the beautiful orna- 
 mental jjlaster work on the ceilings of some of its rooms, 
 said to have been the work of Hessian prisoners during 
 the Revolution. 
 
 MAXXSFIELD 
 
 A short distance below Fredericksburg, on the south 
 side of the Rappahannock, may he seen some ruined walls 
 which are all that remains of ]Mannsfield, originally the 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 305 
 
 home of JNIann Page (a member of the Continental Con- 
 gress ) and afterward the property of the Bernard family.* 
 This fine old house was destroyed by the fire of Federal 
 guns during the great battle. 
 
 THE FALLS AND FALL HJLL 
 
 Francis Thornton (1681-post 1738) , grandson of Wil- 
 liam Thornton of Gloucester County, first of the family in 
 Virginia, settled in 1702, at Snow Creek, then in Essex, 
 
 THE FALLS. NEAR FREDERICKSBURG 
 
 now Caroline County, to the east of the present Fredericks- 
 burg, and at that date the very " outpost " on the Rappa- 
 hannock River. Thornton was a large land owner, a 
 representative for Caroline, in the House of Burgesses, in 
 1723 and 1736, and an early explorer of the Piedmont sec- 
 tion. Thornton River is named for him. He built the 
 quaint old home known as " The Falls," about a mile west 
 of Fredericksburg. The house at " Fall Hill," which com- 
 mands one of the most magnificent views in the Rappa- 
 
 * Bei-nard family : William and Mary Quarterly, v, 
 181-187. 
 
 20 
 
 62-64., 
 
306 
 
 MRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 hannock Valley, was erected some years later. The ex- 
 tensive estate, which included both " The Falls " and " Fall 
 Hill," was inherited by Francis Thornton (1714-1749), 
 son of the old settler, who represented Spottsylvania 
 County in the House of Burgesses 1744-1754, and mar- 
 ried Frances, daughter of Roger and Mildred (Washing- 
 ton) Gregory. Another Francis Thornton (who died in 
 1795), son of Francis and Frances (Gregory) Thornton, 
 succeeded to the estate, on the death of his father, and 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 W^p'\^[ 
 
 
 
 ■-^.--.-■^:iij£- . :-^ . 
 
 ■ ! 
 
 |li!!iiil!lillllW3ilt JK 
 
 tAxWm %t 
 
 
 
 FALL HILL 
 
 marrying Anne, daughter of the Rev. John Thompson and 
 his wife, Butler Braj^ne (widow of Governor Alexander 
 Spotswood) , became the father of Francis Thornton (born 
 1760), who married Sally, daughter of the celebrated 
 Judge Harry Innes, of Virginia and Kentucky. To 
 Francis and Sally (Innes) Thornton were born four 
 daughters, three of whom in after-years became — ]\Irs. 
 J. H. Fitzgerald, Mrs. Murray Forbes, Mrs. Thomas 
 jNIarshall; the fourth. Miss Butler Brayne, dying un- 
 married; and four sons: Francis Thornton, a minister; 
 Harry Innes Thornton, of the Supreme Court of Alabama, 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 307 
 
 and the Court of Claims of San Francisco; James Innes 
 Thornton, Secretary of State for Alabama, and Robert 
 Calloway Thornton, who died unmarried. 
 
 At " The Falls," which has long since passed out of the 
 Thornton family, are the tombs of many generations of 
 the house. " Fall Hill " is still a family possession and is 
 now owned by Mrs. Frederick Robinson, of Transvaal, 
 South Africa. 
 
 At " Fall Hill " is an interesting old grave : that of 
 Katrina, an Indian, who was the nurse of Francis Thorn- 
 ton, the fourth of the name mentioned above. This Francis 
 Thornton frequently told his little grandchildren of how 
 the Indian maid covered him with leaves and hid herself 
 among them and called the partridges around and some- 
 times caught them in this way. The Indians came to see 
 him when passing through the country and he always spoke 
 of them as his friends. 
 
 General Lee was a frequent visitor at " Fall Hill," 
 and at one time, in the thick of the firing which he was 
 watching from this place, he is said to have turned his 
 glasses from the battlefield to Chatham, across the river, 
 to see if the apple tree, under which he courted his wife, 
 was still standing. Shortly after the war. General Lee, 
 while on a visit to " Fall Hill," advised Mrs. Taylor (whose 
 mother was Sally Innes Thornton, wife of Murray Forbes) 
 to obliterate every trace of the war, she having preserved, 
 as an historic landmark, the trunk of a large tree, on the 
 lawn (then covered with ivy), the top of which had been 
 torn away by a cannon ball from the enemy on the Stafford 
 side. 
 
 ROXBURY 
 
 The Roxbury estate in Spottsylvania County, between 
 the Ta and Po Rivers, originally consisted of 1500 acres, 
 but was reduced after the War between the States to 1100. 
 It is believed to have been patented by Captain Harry 
 Beverley, son of Major Robert Beverley, clerk of the 
 House of Burgesses, and to have been inherited by his 
 
308 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 grandson, Beverley Stanard (1721-1765), who was ap- 
 pointed a justice of Middlesex County in 1742, removed 
 to Spottsylvania County and built the present house at 
 Roxbury about 1745.°' His tomb may still be seen in the 
 graveyard there. He left Roxbury and Stanardsville (an 
 estate of 5200 acres in what was then Orange but is now 
 Greene County) to his eldest son William Stanard, who 
 was an officer of minute men at the beginning of the Revo- 
 lution, and was sheriff of Spottsylvania, 1802-1804. 
 
 ROXBURY, SPOTTSYLVANIA COUNTY 
 
 William Stanard married Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel 
 Edward Carter, of Blenheim, Albemarle, and had many 
 children. 
 
 After William Stanard's death, in October, 1809, his 
 heirs sold Roxbury to his nephew, Robert Stanard, who 
 was speaker of the House of Delegates and judge of the 
 Court of Appeals. Judge Stanard's father was Larkin 
 Stanard, of Stanfield, Spottsylvania ( a cadet in the Revo- 
 lution and a member of the House of Delegates, 1798- 
 1803) , and one of his brothers was Captain Beverley Chew 
 Stanard (captain in the War of 1812 and member of the 
 
 ® Stanard family: Hayden, Virginia Genealogies, p. 279. 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 309 
 
 House of Delegates for Chesterfield, 1805-1811), whose 
 son John Champe Stanard, of Richmond, occupied Rox- 
 bury for many years. 
 
 After Judge Stanard's death, May 14, 1846, Roxbury 
 was inherited by his son Robert C. Stanard, long a prom- 
 inent lawyer of Richmond, and a member of the State 
 Senate, and of the Convention of 1851. From him it de- 
 scended to his only son Hugh Mercer Stanard, Captain 
 in the Confederate Army on General Magruder's staff. 
 After Captain Stanard's death it became the property of 
 his mother, Mrs. Martha Stanard, who some years later 
 sold it to her brother, Mr. Pierce. It has since again been 
 sold. The estate was the property of the Stanard family 
 for about one hundred and fifty years. 
 
 The house, which is believed to be the oldest residence in 
 Spottsjdvania Countj^ is a well-preserved frame building, 
 and the parlor, wainscoted to the ceiling, is a handsome 
 example of the work of that early daJ^ 
 
 Having ascended the south bank of the Rappahannock 
 to Spottsylvania County, we now return to the Chesapeake 
 Bay, in Northumberland County. 
 
 DITCHLEY 
 
 Ditchley looks upon the Chesapeake Baj\ About the 
 year 1647 Colonel Richard Lee, the first of the famous Lee 
 family in Virginia, settled on a plantation at Dividing 
 Creek, Northumberland County, which he named Ditchlej^ 
 He was succeeded there by his seventh son Hancock Lee 
 (1653-1709), a prominent man in his day, whose first 
 wife was Mary, daughter of the Honorable William 
 Kendall, of " the Eastern Shore," and his second, Eliza- 
 beth, daughter of the " converted " Puritan, Isaac Aller- 
 ton II, and granddaughter of those stern New England 
 worthies the first Isaac Allerton and " Elder " William 
 Brewster. Hancock Lee was buried at Ditchley, where 
 his tomb may still be seen. 
 
 The original Ditchley house is said to have dated from 
 about 1687, but the present homestead, situated about two 
 
310 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 hundred yards from the site of its predecessor, was built 
 by Kendall Lee, grandson of Hancock Lee, about the year 
 
 1765. ., , 
 
 Ditchlev remained in the Lee family until 1789, when 
 William Lee sold it to James Ball, Jr. (1718-1789) , who 
 had married said Lee's aunt, Lettice Lee (1731-1811 ) , and 
 
 DITCHLEY, NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY 
 
 it has ever since been the property of the well-known family 
 of Ball. A recent owner was Captain James F. Ball, a 
 gallant officer in the Confederate Army. 
 
 There is still in use at Wycomoco Church, Northumber- 
 land Parish, a communion cup bearing the inscription, " Ex 
 Dono Hancock Lee to Ye Parish of Lee, 1711." 
 
 MANTUA 
 
 Probably no house in Tidewater, Virginia, has such a 
 site as Mantua, Northumberland County. Standing on a 
 commanding hill, with the Coan River and the broad Coan 
 Inlet almost beneath it, the view includes this beautiful 
 sheet of water on one side and beyond the wide Potomac, 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 311 
 
 here nearly at its mouth. To the right of the Coan, fertile 
 fields and fruitful orchards, interspersed with woodlands, 
 stretch to the great river. To one who has seen this view 
 in early summer, its memory comes back as a thing of un- 
 usual beauty. 
 
 James Smith, who was born in the County of Derry, 
 
 .MANTUA, NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY 
 
 Ireland, emigrated to America and acquired a large for- 
 tune, in business, in Baltimore. Later, he bought several 
 thousand acres in Northumberland County, Virginia (in- 
 cluding the old Northumberland House estate, which was 
 for a large part of two centuries the home of the notable 
 family of Presley, now extinct ) , and built the present hand- 
 some house. At his death, in 1832, the estate was inherited 
 by his son, Col. James M. Smith, who married Sarah, 
 daughter of Willoughby Newton, of Lee Hall, Westmore- 
 land County. At Col. Smith's death, the property was 
 divided among his children, whose heirs are represented in 
 the names of Brockenbrough, Hall, Barron, Lamb, and 
 Howard. 
 
 Mantua with several hundred acres has for a number of 
 
312 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 years been the property of Hon. Wm. A. Jones, of War- 
 saw, Va., who for so manj' years has been member of Con- 
 gress for the " Northern Neck district." 
 
 BEWDLEY 
 
 Bewdley, in Lancaster County, is one of the most un- 
 usual looking houses in Virginia. It is a frame building 
 with four great chimneys, two at each end, towering above 
 it, and from its high, shingled roof two rows of dormer 
 windows, like so many heavily-lidded eyes, look out. The 
 exact date when the house was built is not known, but the 
 estate has been owned by a branch of the Ball family for 
 two hundred years, and perhaps longer. It is first men- 
 tioned as the home of Major James Ball (1678-1754), a 
 grandson of the first of the Ball family in Virginia,'^ and 
 a first cousin of ]\Iary Ball, the mother of Washington. 
 
 Major Ball was succeeded at Bewdley by his son 
 Colonel James Ball (1718-1789), who was many years a 
 member of the Virginia House of Delegates and also a 
 member of the Convention of 1788. His son and heir, 
 Colonel James Ball (1755-1825), of Bewdley, was like- 
 wise frequently in the House of Delegates. Among the 
 sons of this last named Colonel Ball was William Lee Ball, 
 for several terms a member of Congress. 
 
 A recent o\vner of Bewdley was Captain James Ken- 
 dall Ball, of the 9th Virginia Cavalry, Confederate States 
 Army. 
 
 EPPING FOREST 
 
 Epping Forest is historic as the birthplace of Mary 
 Ball (1707/8-1789), the mother of Washington. Her 
 father, Colonel Joseph Ball (who was born in England, 
 May 24, 1649), died at Epping Forest in 1711. As he 
 left the plantation to his wife for life it is probable that 
 after her death it became the property of his only son, 
 Joseph Ball, who removed to England, where he was a 
 bachelor of Grey's Inn, and died in London, 1762. 
 
 ^ Ball family : Hayden, Virginia Genealogies, p. 45 et seq^. 
 
BE\YDLEY, LANCASTER COUNTY 
 
 ■i 
 
 EPPING FOREST, LANCASTER COUNI Y 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 315 
 
 TOWLES POINT 
 
 Towles Point, in Lancaster County, is not only one of 
 the oldest houses in Virginia, but is remarkable for having 
 continued for more than two hundred j'ears in the posses- 
 sion of one family. Henry Towles, Jr., removed from the 
 Eastern Shore of Virginia in 1711, and built the house at 
 Towles Point. He married Anne Therett and, dying in 
 1734, was succeeded by his son Stokeley Towles, who mar- 
 ried Catherine Martin and had (besides Colonel Thomas 
 Towles and INIajor Stokeley Towles, each of whom was a 
 
 TOWLKS POINT, LANCASTER COUNTY 
 
 militia officer during the Revolution) a son, Colonel Henry 
 Towles (1738-1799), who succeeded his father at Towles 
 Point. Henry Towles, who was a colonel of militia 
 during the Revolution, and County Lieutenant of Lan- 
 caster, in 1794, married, in 1760, Judith HajTies. Colonel 
 Towles had eight children and at his death the estate was 
 sold for division, but was bought by his daughter, Frances, 
 who had married her cousin Porteus Towles (1777-1821) . 
 Porteus and Frances Towles were succeeded at Towles 
 Point by their son, Wilham Henry Towles (1803-1836), 
 who married Keturah, widow of Thomas Towles. At the 
 
316 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 death of W. H. Towles the old home again passed by in- 
 heritance to his son James Towles (1829-1896), who mar- 
 ried Josephine Isabella Whittington, and left a number 
 of children, one of whom, Howard JNIcJelton Towles, a 
 prominent lawyer of Baltimore, is the present owner of 
 Towles Point.' ■ . 
 
 CHRIST CHURCH, LANCASTER 
 
 One of the best examples of Colonial church archi- 
 tecture in Virginia is Christ Church, Lancaster County, 
 built in 1732, to replace an earlier structure. The parish 
 is an old one, dating, under various names, from about 
 1652. 
 
 Robert Carter, of Corotoman, generally known, on 
 account of his estate and wealth, as " King Carter," offered 
 to build the church at his own expense, provided it should 
 be placed upon the site of the older sanctuary and, to quote 
 his will, " Provided always the chancel be preserved as a 
 burial place for my family, as the present chancel is, and 
 that there be preserved for my family a commodious pew 
 in the chancel." 
 
 The vestry book shows that Colonel Carter did bear 
 the whole expense of this handsome building, reserving one- 
 fourth of its seating capacity for his servants and tenants, 
 besides a very large pew near the chancel-rail for his own 
 family. 
 
 Three miles away on the broad Rappahannock, near 
 its mouth, stood the Carter home, Corotoman, in the midst 
 of its great plantation of 8000 acres. From his home to 
 his church " King Carter " built a splendid road drained 
 by deep ditches and walled on each side by a hedge of 
 goodly cedars. Along this avenue the Corotoman coach 
 rolled on Sundays, and tradition says that the rest of the 
 congregation waited in the churchyard until its arrival, 
 
 ^ Towles Family, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 
 viii, .320-321, 428-429, and ix, 198-200, 324-326, 433-435. 
 
CHRIST CHURCH. LANCASTER COUNTY 
 
 INTERIOR CHRIST CHURCH 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 319 
 
 when they followed the bewigged and beruffled " King " 
 into church. 
 
 Christ Church is the only Colonial house of worship in 
 Virginia that has never been altered, and it stands to-day 
 as characteristic of its time, as strong and as impressive as 
 when the Carters enjoyed the seclusion of its high-backed 
 pews that screened them from all eyes except those of the 
 preacher in a pulpit so lofty that it seemed to Bishop Meade 
 when standing in it to be " hung in the air." The church 
 is in the form of a cross. Its walls of checkered brick-work 
 are three feet thick, and into them are deeply set large 
 windows with many little square panes. The ceiling, with 
 its beautiful groined arches, is thirty-three feet from the 
 floor at the highest point above the intersection of its stone- 
 paved aisles. The walls are panelled with black walnut as 
 high as the tops of the pew-backs, above which they are 
 covered with white plaster, which still looks as smooth and 
 as solid as rock. The great square pews, with seats running 
 all around them (some of them capable of holding twenty 
 persons, and all as many as twelve), the pulpit, with its 
 pretty winding stair and quaint sounding-board, the clerk's 
 desk, the carved chancel-rail and massive communion table, 
 are also of walnut. 
 
 " King " Carter's father. Colonel John Carter, the 
 founder of the Virginia family, had been buried in the 
 chancel of the earlier church; but the rest of the Carters 
 sleep outside beneath splendid, but dilapidated marbles, 
 bearing fragments of elaborate coats-of-arms and long 
 inscriptions. 
 
 Bishop Meade, writing of a service held by him in 
 Christ Church in 1838, says, " Peculiarly delightful it was 
 to raise the voice in a house whose sacred form and beautiful 
 arches seemed to give force and music to the feeblest tongue 
 beyond any other building in which I ever performed or 
 heard the hallowed services of the sanctuary." 
 
 Through the assistance of the Association for the Pres- 
 ervation of Virginia Antiquities, and other friends of this 
 most interesting old church, it has of late years been re- 
 
320 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 shingled, broken panes of glass in the windows have been 
 replaced and other repairs made. 
 
 On account of its inaccessibility to most members of the 
 parish at the present day, it has only been used for occa- 
 sional services for a long time past. 
 
 ST. MARY'S WHITE CHAPEL 
 
 Just when St. oNIary's White Chapel, in Lancaster 
 County, was built is not known, but dates on the com- 
 munion plate and tombstones suggest that it was about 
 
 ST. MARYS WHITE CHAPEL, LANCASTER COUNTY 
 
 the middle of the seventeenth century. It is a glazed brick 
 building and was originally in the form of a cross, with 
 three galleries, one of them owned by 31a j or James Ball 
 and Mr. Joseph Ball, one by the Downman family, while 
 the third was reserved for colored servants whose masters 
 were members of the parish. 
 
 In 1739 the church was badly out of repair and the 
 congregation pulled down the arms of the cross and re- 
 paired and restored the rest of the building. This left a 
 structure, sixtv feet long and thirtv broad, with an arched 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 321 
 
 ceiling. Later still the high pews and pulpit were cut 
 down. 
 
 St. Mary's White Chapel still possesses a silver chalice 
 inscribed, " The gift of David Fox, 1669," and a silver 
 paten believed to have been given by George Spencer, in 
 1691. David Fox also gave the church, in 1702, two tablets 
 bearing the Ten Commandments, and the will of his son. 
 Captain William Fox, under date 1717, contained the fol- 
 lowing direction, " My wife shall send for the Lord's 
 Prayer and Creed, well drawn in gold letters, and my name 
 under each of them, set in decent black frames, as a gift to 
 St. JNIary's White Chapel." All four of the tablets are of 
 massive black walnut with hand carved letters heavily 
 gilded with gold-leaf. The marble font is also a bequest 
 of William Fox. Another interesting possession is a Bible 
 given by Raleigh Downman. 
 
 St. Mary's White Chapel was the church of the Balls, 
 Washington's ancestors on his mother's side, and in the 
 churchyard most of the oldest tombs bear the name of Ball. 
 The old communion table in the chancel once had a cover of 
 green velvet with gold fringe and in the centre the Ball 
 coat-of-arms heavily embossed in gold. 
 
 NOMINI HALL 
 
 All that now remains of Nomini Hall, the once noted 
 seat of the Carters in Westmoreland Count)", is an avenue 
 of poplars. 
 
 The estate, which contains several thousand acres, was 
 the home of Robert Carter, called, from his membership 
 in the Council of State, " Councillor Carter." He was a 
 grandson of Robert ("King") Carter (1663-1732). 
 
 The spacious brick mansion which once graced the 
 Nomini Hall plantation, and the family that lived in it, 
 have been made widety known bj^ the publication of the 
 sprightly diary of Philip Vickers Fithian, a tutor in the 
 Carter family during the years just preceding the Revo- 
 lution. 
 
 21 
 
3^2^ VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Part of the original estate, with a modern house, is 
 now owned and occupied by some of Councillor Carter's 
 descendants, the Arnest family. 
 
 BLADEXSFIELD 
 
 The farm near Warsaw, Riclimond Comity, on which 
 this quaint old house stands was once part of the great 
 estate of Robert (" King ") Carter. In 1733, on the divi- 
 sion of part of his property, it was assigned to his grandson, 
 Robert Carter of Xomini. This gentleman, or his wife, 
 most probably (who was Frances, daughter of Benjamin 
 
 BLADEXSFIELD. RICHMOND COUNTY 
 
 Tasker, President of the Council of ^Maryland, and his wife 
 Anne Bladen), gave to the place the present name. In 
 January, 1790, ]Mr. Carter conveyed Bladensfield to his 
 son-in-law, John Peck, whose heirs, in 1842, sold it to 
 Reverend William Xorvell "^Vard, whose family has since 
 owned it. Well founded tradition states that the home was 
 once occupied by Xathaniel Rochester, a native of West- 
 moreland County, A^irginia, who was a colonel in the Con- 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 323 
 
 tinental Army and for whom the city of Rochester, N. Y., 
 was named. Bladensfield is beheved to have been built 
 early in the eighteenth century. 
 
 KIRNAN 
 
 Kirnan, in the upper part of Westmoreland County, 
 was originally known as " China Hall." The Reverend 
 Archibald Campbell, an uncle of the English poet Thomas 
 Campbell, bought it before the Revolution and changed 
 its name to Kirnan in honor of his ancestral home in Scot- 
 
 KIRNAN, WESTMORELAND COUNTY 
 
 land. Mr. Campbell was the rector of Washington Parish, 
 Westmoreland, for years before the Revolution and also 
 taught a school at Kirnan which tradition says was attended 
 by Presidents Washington and Monroe. 
 
 Several of Parson Campbell's sons were prominent 
 lawyers, one of them being the first United States district 
 attorney. One of his grandsons, Ferdinand Stuart Camp- 
 bell, a distinguished professor at William and Mary Col- 
 
3U VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 lege, took the name of Stuart upon inheriting a Scottish 
 estate. 
 
 In later days Kirnan became the home of the Bowie 
 family. 
 
 STRATFORD 
 
 In an out of the way corner of Westmoreland County, 
 in the midst of a vast and wooded estate, on a high bluff 
 of the Potomac River, and approached from the landward 
 by a narrow, lonely, and densely shaded road, stands Strat- 
 ford, the sturdy castle of the sturdy race of Lee of Virginia. 
 
 From the landing of their first ancestor upon American 
 shores, about 1640, until the present day, these Lees have 
 never lacke,d sons to render service to their country and to 
 make their name illustrious. Founded in Virginia by a 
 gentleman of worth and estate who held some of the highest 
 offices in the Colonial government, this family has given 
 to Virginia one governor, four members of the Council of 
 State, and twelve members of the House of Burgesses; to 
 the colony of ^Maryland two councillors and three members 
 of the Assembly; to the American Revolution four mem- 
 bers of the Convention of 1776 which organized the State 
 of Virginia, two signers of the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence, and their three other eminent brothers, Thomas Lud- 
 well, William and Arthur Lee; and the foremost cavalrj" 
 officer of the Revolutionary War, " Light Horse Harry " 
 Lee. To the civil service of the United States the family 
 has furnished one attorney general and several members of 
 Congress, and to the State of Virginia, two governors; to 
 the State of JMaryland, a governor, and to the Confederate 
 States, the great commander of its armies, three major 
 generals and one brigadier general. Later, during the 
 troubles which culminated in the war with Spain, General 
 Fitzhugh Lee gained added distinction as consul general 
 to Cuba and as a major general of the LTnited States Army. 
 
 Part of the Stratford estate was patented by Richard 
 Lee, the emigrant, and was inherited by his son John, who 
 took his " bachelor's " degree in 1662 at Oxford, where his 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 325 
 
 memory is perpetuated bj' a silver cup bearing the Lee 
 arms and an inscription, given by him to Queen's College. 
 This John. Lee seems to have been a merry bachelor, as 
 there is on record in Westmoreland County an agreement 
 made in 1670, between him and his neighbors, Thomas 
 Gerrard and Isaac Allerton, to build a banqueting hall at a 
 point where their estates met, where annually each in turn 
 should " make an honorable treatment." After John Lee's 
 death, in 1673, Stratford passed to his brother. Colonel 
 Richard Lee (1647-1714), of the Council, who, however, 
 made his abode at Mt. Pleasant, also in Westmoreland 
 County. The first mansion at Stratford was built by 
 Thomas Lee (1690-1750), a younger son of this Richard, 
 but it was soon afterward burned by convict servants, 
 whom Mr. Lee, sitting as magistrate, had sentenced to be 
 punished for some offence. A contemporaneous issue of 
 The Maryland Gazette says, " Last Wednesday night 
 Colonel Thomas Lee's fine house in Virginia was burnt, 
 his office, barns and outhouses, his plate, cash (to the sum 
 of £10,000) , papers and everything entirely lost. His lady 
 and child were forced to be thrown out of a window, and 
 he himself hardlj^ escaped the flames, being much scorched. 
 A white girl about twelve years old, a servant, perished in 
 the fire. It is said that Colonel Lee's loss is not less than 
 £50,000." The fire occurred in 1729. 
 
 Public records in the Virginia State Capitol show that 
 the English government gave Colonel Lee £300 sterling 
 as a reward for loss incurred from faithfulness to duty. 
 Soon after the fire Colonel Lee built the present Stratford 
 house. 
 
 The builder of Stratford was a man of great promi- 
 nence in his day and as president of the Council was act- 
 ing governor of the colony from September 5, 1749, until 
 his death, on November 14, 1750. He, like his famous son 
 Richard Henry, was buried in the old family bur5ring- 
 ground at Mt. Pleasant. Perhaps no Virginian parents 
 have had a greater number of distinguished sons than 
 Colonel Thomas Lee and his wife Hannah, daughter of 
 
326 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Honorable Philip Ludwell II. Two of them, Richard 
 Henry (1732-1794) and Francis Lightfoot (1734-1797), 
 were signers of the Declaration of Independence ; two oth- 
 ers, William (1739-1795) and Arthur ( 1740-1792), ren- 
 dered distinguished service for their country abroad during 
 the Revolution ; the fourth son, Thomas Ludwell Lee ( 1730- 
 1778), held a conspicuous place as a patriot and lawj^er, 
 but died in 1778, and Philip Ludwell Lee (1726/7-1775), 
 the eldest son, was a member of the Council of State of 
 Virginia. 
 
 Honorable Philip Ludwell Lee at his death, in 1775, 
 left two daughters, who eventually became his co-heiresses. 
 The elder, ]Matilda, became the wife of her cousin Henry 
 (1756-1818), the dashing " Light Horse Harry " Lee of 
 Revolutionary fame. She died in 1790, but as she left 
 several children, her husband continued to make his home 
 at Stratford. Upon June 18, 1793, he married, as his 
 second wife, Anne Hill Carter, of Shirley, and upon Janu- 
 ary 19, 1807, their immortal son, Robert Edward Lee, in 
 whom the ancient dream of a spotless as well as valorous 
 knight came true, was born at Stratford, and in the same 
 room in which his famous kinsmen, Richard Henry and 
 Francis Lightfoot Lee, had first seen the light. The room 
 is that to the right of the entrance, as one looks at the 
 picture. 
 
 After the death of " Light Horse Harry " Lee, Strat- 
 ford passed to his son by his first marriage, jNIajor Henry 
 Lee, a man of brilliant talent, who died in Paris in 1837. 
 After his death the estate passed from the family and is 
 now the home and property of Dr. Stviart. 
 
 Stratford house consists of two wings thirty feet wide 
 by sixty deep, connected by a " great hall " of twenty-five 
 by thirty feet, which gives the mansion the form of the 
 letter H. The ceiling of this hall is lofty and dome-shaped, 
 and its walls are panelled in oak, with built-in bookcases 
 of the same wood between the doors which lead into the 
 wings. At the ends are doors, flanked on either side by 
 large windows, leading into the grounds and garden. It is 
 
STRATFORD, WESTMORELAND COUNTY 
 
 SABINE HALL, RICHMOND COUNTY 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 329 
 
 thus well lighted and airy and in the old days was used as 
 library and living-room. 
 
 Topping the pointed roof of each wing is a cluster of 
 four tall, square chimneys, joined by arches, each cluster 
 having much the effect of a square turret. This unique 
 arrangement of the chimneys makes possible an interesting 
 feature of one of the wings, which is known as the secret 
 chamber. A small room is hidden in the stack of chimneys, 
 the four of which form its walls. For manj^ years it was 
 so secret, indeed, that its existence was not so much as 
 suspected, and it was only discovered when a carpenter in 
 taking some lumber from the garret accidentally disturbed 
 a plank which concealed its entrance. The room is entered 
 from above, by means of this plank, which is made to slide 
 backward and forward under the floor, fastening on the 
 inner side by a spring, thus forming a sort of trap-door. 
 It is about eight feet square and ten deep, and bears evi- 
 dent marks of use, the walls being disfigured in several 
 places by smoke of a lamp or candle and the floor spotted 
 with grease or ink. 
 
 In the grounds at a distance of some fifty or sixty feet 
 from the four corners of the mansion were four outhouses, 
 storehouses, office and kitchen. A fair-sized ox could be 
 roasted in the kitchen's great fireplace, which is twelve feet 
 wide, six high and five deep. 
 
 In the year 1790, Thomas Lee Shippen, of Philadel- 
 phia, a grandson of Colonel Thomas Lee, the builder of 
 Stratford, visited the place and wrote the following de- 
 scription of it to his father: " Stratford, the seat of my 
 forefathers, is a place of which too much cannot be said: 
 whether you consider the venerable magnificence of its 
 buildings, the happy disposition of its grounds or the ex- 
 tent and variety of its prospects. Stratford, whose de- 
 lightful shades formed the comfort and retirement of my 
 wise and philosophical grandfather, with what mixture of 
 awe and pious gratification did I explore and admire j^our 
 beauties. What a delightful occupation did it afford me 
 sitting on one of the sofas of the great hall to trace the 
 
330 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 family resemblance in the portraits of all of my dear 
 mother's forefathers, her father and mother, her grand- 
 father and grandmother, and so on upward for four gen- 
 erations. Their pictures, drawn by the most eminent artists 
 of England and in large gilt frames, adorn one of the most 
 spacious and beautiful halls I have ever seen. There is 
 something truly noble in my grandfather's picture. He 
 is dressed in a large wig, flowing from his shoulders ( prob- 
 ably his official wig as President of the Council), and a 
 loose go^\^l of crimson satin, richly ornamented. I men- 
 tion the dress as it may serve to convey to you some idea of 
 the style of the picture. But it is his physiognomy that 
 strikes you with emotion. A blend of goodness and great- 
 ness; a sweet yet penetrating eye, a finely marked set of 
 features and a heavenly countenance. Such I have almost 
 never seen. Do not think me extravagant. ]My feelings 
 were certainly so as I dwelt with rapture on the portraits 
 of Stratford, and felt so strong an inclination to kneel to 
 that of my grandfather. It was with difficulty that my 
 uncle who accompanied me could persuade me to leave the 
 hall to look at the gardens, vineyards, orangeries and lawns 
 Avhich surround the house." "* 
 
 YEOCOMICO CHURCH 
 
 One of the most picturesque of Virginia's old churches 
 is in Cople Parish, Westmoreland County. This is 
 Yeocomico, which bears the Indian name of a little river 
 not far away. Cople Parish originally contained two 
 Colonial churches some distance apart, Yeocomico and 
 Nomini, also named for the river, or creek, near which it 
 stands. Xomini was destroyed by fire some years after 
 the Revolution, but was later rebuilt. 
 
 Yeocomico, cloistered in a grove of ancient oaks, stands 
 somewhat back from a quiet country road. It is a cross- 
 shaped building, rudely, but strongly, constructed of 
 
 * A most complete and interesting account of the Lee family 
 was written by Doctor Edmund Jennings Lee and published as Lee 
 of Virginia. 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 331 
 
 Colonial brick, with steep, shingled roof and large square 
 windows, filled with many little panes of glass and pro- 
 tected by heavy wooden outside shutters. Over the door 
 appears the date, 1706, in which j^ear the church was built. 
 Outside, near the porch, stands an old sun-dial with the 
 name Philip Smith and the date 1717 inscribed upon its 
 face, and down the hill is a clear, sparkling spring with 
 an ancient iron dipper, bearing the initials P. C. (Presley 
 Cox) upon its bowl, chained to its brink. A brick wall 
 
 \LOi OJIICO CHLl'XII, ^^LslMORLLA^D COLNn 
 
 around the church and its full graveyard completes the 
 picture and adds to the effect of seclusion and peacefulness. 
 After the Revolution, when everything English was 
 unpopular in America, the Episcopal Church languished in 
 this section. Cople Parish was without a rector for over 
 fifty years, and Yeocomico fell into decay. During the 
 War of 1812 a detachment of United States soldiers, sent 
 to the neighborhood to watch the movements of the British 
 fleet on the Potomac, quartered in the church, and later 
 on in the same year a company of militia camped there. 
 
332 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 These last shamefully desecrated the old sanctuary. The 
 Communion table was taken into the yard and made to 
 serve as a butcher's block, the beautiful marble font was 
 carried off and used as a punch-bowl, and the tablets upon 
 which the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer and the 
 Creed were inscribed were ruthlessly mutilated. 
 
 With the regular soldiers that had quartered in the 
 church was jMr. William L. Rogers, of Princeton, New 
 Jersey, to whom the building and its surroundings made a 
 strong appeal. He returned to Westmoreland in 1820, 
 and finding the church still in its dismantled state proposed 
 to jNIr. JNIurphy, a Scotch gentleman of culture and piety, 
 and a Presbyterian, whose estate surrounded the church 
 property, to aid him in an attempt at its restoration. Others 
 joined in the movement and the good work was soon ac- 
 complished. The sacred table was polished and it and the 
 font returned to their places, where they maj^ still be seen, 
 and the church regained its former dignitj^ of appearance. 
 The Communion plate and damask cloths and napkins 
 marked with the name of the church had been kept safe 
 and carefully guarded from violation by ]Mrs. Willoughby 
 Newton, of Lee Hall. 
 
 In 1834< the Reverend George Washington Nelson be- 
 came rector of Yeocomico and the churches in Richmond 
 County, and the Episcopalians and INIethodists of the 
 neighborhood used Yeocomico jointlj", " in Christian har- 
 monj" and good will," says Bishop Meade. But during the 
 rectorship of ]Mr. Nelson's successor, ]Mr. Ward, who took 
 charge in 1842, the question of the right of possession was 
 raised, and not until the matter was taken before the Legis- 
 lature was it settled by a decision giving to the vestry and 
 wardens of the Episcopal Chvnch exclusive right to use and 
 control the building. 
 
 Several of the Lee homes were in Cople Parish, and 
 Wakefield, the Washington home, was not far away, and 
 in the few lists of vestrymen of Yeocomico that remain 
 both the Washingtons and Lees are well represented, 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 333 
 
 with other names which have become historic to a less 
 degree. 
 
 Notwithstanding its many vicissitudes the influence of 
 the old church has been widespread. Among its sons, who 
 by entering the ministry have handed on its teachings, may 
 be mentioned the Right Reverend John Brockenbrough 
 Newton, Right Reverend John Poyntz Tyler, and Rever- 
 end Willoughby Newton Claybrook. 
 
 The old glebe of Cople Parish is still standing. 
 
 FARNHAM CHURCH 
 
 Farnham Church, Richmond County, was originally a 
 large cruciform building and was one of the best parish 
 churches in the colonv. Fire has destroyed all but the solid 
 
 
 4c|^^^^^ 
 
 
 FARNHAM CHURCH, RICHMOND COUNTY 
 
 walls, but a movement for its restoration has been for some 
 time under way, and it is expected that before many years 
 it will be again in use. 
 
 SABINE HALL * 
 
 Sabine Hall,* built in 1730 for Landon Carter (1710- 
 1778) , a younger son of Robert (" King ") Carter by his 
 second wife, Bettj' Landon, and still the home of his de- 
 scendants, crowns a commanding site overlooking the 
 
 * See illustration at head of List of Illustrations and on 
 page ii27. 
 
334 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Rappahannock, in Richmond County, adjoining West- 
 moreland. It possesses a unique feature among Virginia 
 homes, in the lodge at the gate occupied by a negro retainer 
 and his famil}'. The visitor is apt to receive his first wel- 
 come from a smiling pickaninny who runs out of the lodge, 
 and with polite salutation swings wide the gate admitting 
 him to a driveway that winds through a wide green park, 
 to the noble mansion shining out from the grove that im- 
 mediately surrounds it. The Greek portico gives entrance 
 to a spacious hall, panelled to the ceiling, which is homelike 
 and cosj" with charming old furniture, and is used, after the 
 familiar Virginia fashion in such homes, as reception and 
 living room. Doors on either side of the hall open into 
 drawing-rooms, library and dining-room, filled with 
 Colonial furniture, and rich in famity portraits and other 
 heirlooms. Especially interesting is the dining-room, with 
 its array of massive silver of unique pattern and workman- 
 ship — many pieces bearing the Carter arms — gleaming 
 from its background of polished mahogany. 
 
 Among the most striking of the portraits are those of 
 " King Carter " in the gorgeous costume in which fashion 
 permitted a gentleman of his time to adorn himself, and 
 his first wife, Judith, daughter of Honorable John Armi- 
 stead, of Hesse, Gloucester Count}''; Colonel Landon 
 Carter himself, and the three stately dames, who in his 
 time successivelj'' carried the keys of Sabine Hall. These 
 ladies before they became, b}- turn, INIadam Carter, of 
 Sabine Hall, were Elizabeth Wormeley, of " Rosegill," 
 Maria Byrd, of " Westover," and Elizabeth Beale. 
 
 A handsome stairway in the cross-hall leads to the 
 second story, where the great central hall, panelled like 
 the one below, is used as a billiard-room. 
 
 A second pillared portico extends across the rear of the 
 house, and from this, looking beyond the terraced garden 
 with its old-fashioned flowers and herbs, the master of 
 Sabine Hall may enjoy an unobstructed view of his lands, 
 for most of the wide sweep of fertile country that stretches 
 away to the river still belongs to this estate of 4000 acres. 
 
/ 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 337 
 
 The builder of Sabine Hall and his family were con- 
 spicuous figures in the distinguished societj^ for which 
 Westmoreland and Richmond Counties were famous. As 
 a burgess and vestryman he was influential both in Church 
 and State. A recent writer sa3^s of him, "A high-minded 
 public servant and a finished scholar, indulging a taste for 
 science and a love for letters, Landon Carter's reputation 
 has come down to us making him one of the most notable 
 of the pre-Revolutionary statesmen in the colony. He 
 was living in 1776, at Sabine Hall, retired from public 
 praise . . . and looked up to by the j^ounger generation as 
 a Nestor among his compatriots. Some of his correspond- 
 ence at this period with Washington and the Lees has 
 been preserved; these letters attesting the estimation in 
 which he was held for his wisdom, talents, and integrity, 
 while his own epistles prove him worthy of the regard and 
 veneration which were given him." 
 
 An interesting contribution to the " sources " of Vir- 
 ginia history has been made in the publication, in the 
 William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Maga- 
 zine (beginning with an instalment in the July, 1909, 
 number: volume xiii. No. 1 ) , of an abstract of a voluminous 
 diary kept by Landon Carter. The first entry in the diary 
 was dated January 14, 1770. 
 
 Sabine Hall descended from Colonel Landon Carter 
 to his son by his third marriage, Robert Wormeley Carter, 
 who was for a number of years a prominent member of the 
 Virginia Assembly. He married Winifred Beale, was the 
 father of a goodly number of children, among them a second 
 Colonel Landon Carter, who inherited the " Hall " and by 
 his first marriage with Catherine Tayloe, of " Mt. Airy," 
 was the father of the " next heir " — a second Robert 
 Wormeley Carter. Upon the death of this Robert 
 Wormeley Carter, in 1861, the estate passed to his sister 
 Elizabeth, the wife of Doctor Armistead Nelson Wellford, 
 and thence to their son, Carter Wellford, Esquire, who 
 with his wife (who was Elizabeth Harrison, of the James 
 River family) and their children makes his abode in the 
 beautiful old home of his forefathers. 
 
338 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 MT. AIRY 
 
 Within walking distance of Sabine Hall, jNIt. Airy- 
 stands in gracious dignity upon the top of a high hill, about 
 three miles back from the Rappahannock. From the rear, 
 the house looks upon miles of broad, gleaming river, with 
 the houses of the little town of Tappahamiock nestling 
 among the green trees of Essex, on its farther shore, while 
 on the nearer, spreads out like a map from the foot of the 
 abiTjpt " jNIount " an unbroken landscape, beautifully 
 diversified with field and forest. JNIuch of this stretch of 
 level country is a part of the great Mt. Airy estate. 
 
 The house, containing with its wings about twenty-five 
 rooms, was built in 1758, by Colonel John Tayloe,^ who 
 first lived on the part of the plantation nearer the river, 
 where brick foundations are yet to be traced and which is 
 still known as the " Old place field." Native brown sand- 
 stone was the material chosen, with facings of white stone 
 brought from England. It is designed after the style of 
 an Italian villa, and is unlike any other Colonial Virginia 
 building. There is a centre building flanked by wings, 
 which stand some distance from, and in advance of, the 
 main structure, and are joined to it by curved glazed cov- 
 ered ways, formerly used as conservatories. The mansion 
 is thus given a semi-circular form, half enclosing a grass 
 plot reached from the main entrance by heavy, brownstone 
 steps ornamented with bronze dogs. From the grass plot 
 a terrace, descended by another massive stairwaj" of brown- 
 stone, with balustrades bearing stone urns, slopes to the 
 level of the park. Below the terrace and just in front of 
 the stairway is an ancient sun-dial, and beyond this lies to 
 the northward a great grove of old oaks and cedars, once 
 the home of a goodly herd of deer. 
 
 The back windows of the house look southward upon 
 the gardens, which encompass the sides as well as the rear 
 of the building. The series of terraces here at the back 
 
 ® Tayloe family: Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 
 xvii, p. 369 et seq. 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 341 
 
 slope to a level piece of greensward in their midst, known 
 as the " Bowling Green." In the garden, on the right, 
 covered by ivy and shaded by willows, are some brick 
 arches which call to mind monastic remains in the ancient 
 English parks, but are reallj^ the ruins of an old con- 
 servatory. 
 
 INIt. Airy, like most of the old Virginia homes, was 
 celebrated for hospitality. Many a pretty romance might 
 be woven of the beautj^ and chivalrj' which met within its 
 spacious walls; of good will and good cheer; of stately 
 
 iMT. AIRY, KKAR VIEW 
 
 compliment and sparkling jest; of tap of high-heeled 
 slipper to the irresistible tune furnished by some ebon-hued 
 master of the fiddle and bow ; of dashing hunt and glowing 
 race. The " Old Bowl at Mt. Airy " was often taxed to 
 the limit of its ample proportions to furnish good healths 
 for the numerous companj" that gathered about it. This 
 festive piece of pottery with its jolly sides decorated with 
 processions of comical Chinamen was the inspiration of a 
 poet who sung its praise in some thirty lively stanzas pub- 
 lished in the Southern Literary Messenger. 
 
 A graj)hic picture of life at INIt. Airy in the early part 
 
342 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 of the last century has been preserved in a rare, privately- 
 printed book, by Nicholas St. John Baker, an English 
 diplomatist who was in this country in JNIay, 1827. He 
 arrived at ]Mt. Airy at about six o'clock of a May after- 
 noon, and " met with a very kind reception from ISIrs. 
 William Tayloe and the ladies." JNIr. Tajdoe was " absent 
 at a race," but joined his guests and the ladies while they 
 were " strolling over the garden before tea." Next morn- 
 ing the writer " joined a large party at breakfast." That 
 meal over, the presence of the gentlenren was " required at 
 the club on the course," so the entertainment of the stranger 
 was again left to the ladies; but at half-past twelve, after 
 partaking of a luncheon, all repaired to the race-course in 
 a field on the Mt. Airy estate. 
 
 ]Mr. Baker was evidently much impressed with the Vir- 
 ginia ladies. He remarks upon the beauty of those he 
 saw at the race, and tells how that evening he " took a 
 walk with the ladies in the park," where " he saw many 
 fine deer." He jots down notes concerning details of the 
 house and grounds that interest him. Among them, " Up- 
 stairs a long gallery with family portraits — the Corbins, 
 Platers, etc. The conservatory large, with orange and 
 lemon trees put out in the grass. An extensive garden, in 
 squares and terraces." 
 
 The collection of old portraits mentioned by the visitor 
 is interesting. Among the personages to be found in this 
 company of " courtly ladies of brocade " who have " long 
 since ceased to be," and gentlemen " with powdered wigs 
 and waistcoats long," are the three Colonels John Tayloe, 
 of Mt. Airy, and their wives; Governors Samuel and 
 Benjamin Ogle, of Maryland, and their wives; Governor 
 George Plater; Colonel Richard Corbin and his wife 
 (Betty Tayloe) ; William Tayloe II, and Benjamin Ogle 
 Tayloe; Mrs. William H. Tayloe; JNIrs. Gwynne and 
 Cornelius Lyde. 
 
 The house abounds in heirlooms. In the library may be 
 seen (among other objects characteristic of the early his- 
 tory of Mt. Airy) portraits of fine race-horses, including 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 343 
 
 one of " Grej' Diomede," and colored racing and sporting 
 prints which hung in the rooms of the John Tayloes, second 
 and third of the name, when they were students at an 
 Enghsh university. In the collection of beautiful silver 
 at ]Mt. Airy are some racing cups won by horses of the old- 
 time Tajdoes. 
 
 No old Virginia mansion is quite complete without a 
 ghost. Among the gay gentlemen, who in the good old 
 days always found the latch string on the outside of the 
 door at the home of the Tajdoes was a famous huntsman. 
 Sir Jenings Beckwith, a descendant of a noble English 
 family, who (though he was born in Virginia) inherited 
 the family rank and title of baronet. For Sir Jenings the 
 fine hunting, fair ladies and good cheer of this beautiful 
 roof -tree proved such never- failing attractions that he 
 spent much of his life there, and, when his days had run out, 
 it was there that death found him. It is said that even to 
 this day he oftentimes comes back and makes a round of 
 his favorite haunts at Mt. Airy. 
 
 Colonel John Tayloe, the builder of Mt. Airj^ belonged 
 to the third generation of his family in Virginia. His 
 grandfather, William Tayloe, of London, came to Virginia 
 in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and was a 
 burgess in 1710. He married Anne, daughter of Honor- 
 able Henry Corbin {circa 1629-1676), of Middlesex 
 County, and had one son, John Tayloe I ( 1687-1747 ) , who 
 was a member of the Colonial Council in 1732. John I 
 married Elizabeth, daughter of Maj. David Gwynne, and 
 widow of Stephen Lyde, and left two daughters, Betty, 
 who married Colonel Richard Corbin, of " Laneville," re- 
 ceiver-general of Virginia, and Anne Corbin, the second 
 wife of Mann Page, of Rosewell, afterwards of Mannsfield, 
 Spottsylvania County, and one son, Colonel John Tay- 
 loe II (1721-1779) , the builder of Mt. Airy, in 1758, who 
 was also a member of the Colonial Council and was noted as 
 a turfman before the Revolution. He married Mary, 
 sister of Governor George Plater (1736-1792), of Mary- 
 land, and was the father of eight daughters who married 
 
344 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 into the most distinguished families of the day, the Lees, 
 the Washingtons, the Carters, the Berkeleys, the Pages, 
 the Wormeleys, the Lomaxes and the Corbins, of Virginia, 
 and the Lloyds of JMaryland, and one son. Colonel John 
 Tayloe III (1771-1828), who, of com-se, was the next 
 heir and master of JNIt. Airy. He was educated at Eton 
 and Oxford, and was a member of the Senate and House 
 of Delegates of the State of Virginia. Like his father, he 
 was a successful turfman and owned such celebrated race- 
 horses as Belair, Grey Diomede, and others. He married 
 Anne, daughter of Governor Benjamin Ogle, of ISIary- 
 land, and was survived by six sons and five daughters. His 
 eldest son, John IV, entered the navy and was distinguished 
 in the battles of the Constitution and the Guerriere 
 and with the Cyano and Levant. After the first action 
 the State of Virginia presented him with a sword. He 
 was captured in the Levant by a British squadron, 
 while lying at Port Praya, Cape de Verde Islands. He 
 died in*1824, at ]Mt. Airy. His brother, Wilham H. Tay- 
 loe, of JNIt. Airy, was the father of JNIr. Henry Tayloe, who 
 married JNIiss Henrietta Chinn, and inherited this fair and 
 storied villa, which in its hundred and fifty years has not 
 been owned by any one not of the name and blood of 
 Tayloe. ISIt. Airj^ is now owned by the family of the late 
 Henry Tayloe. 
 
 Another brother of John Tayloe, of the navy, was ]\Ir. 
 Benjamin Ogle Tayloe, who lived at the interesting 
 " Octagon house " in Washington City. 
 
 MENOKIN 
 
 Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734-1797), sixth son of 
 Thomas Lee (1690-1750), of Stratford, and Hannah 
 Ludwell, his wife, was born at Stratford and was educated 
 there \>y a private tutor, who made of him a good scholar, 
 with a love for the classics and general literature. Upon 
 coming of age he settled first in Loudoun Countj^ where 
 he was one of the founders of the town of Leesburff, and 
 in 1765 represented Loudoun in the House of Burgesses. 
 It was upon his marriage with Rebecca, daughter of John 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 345 
 
 Tajdoe II, of Mt. Airy, that he removed to Richmond 
 Countj% where he was chosen a burgess, and where he built 
 the house that bears the Indian name of Menokin. 
 
 In 1775, 1776, 1777 and 1778 he was a member of the 
 Continental Congress, and he was one of the signers of the 
 Declaration of Independence. A recent writer upon the 
 "signers" says, " In the spring of 1779 INIr. Lee retired 
 from Congress and returned to his home, to which both his 
 temper and inclination led him, with delight." This home 
 was JSIenokin. 
 
 MENOKIN, RICHMOND COUNTY 
 
 After the Revolution Mr. Lee was an influential mem- 
 ber of the Virginia Senate. 
 
 The master of JNIenokin was social and domestic in his 
 tastes, and reading, farming and intercourse with his neigh- 
 bors and kindred filled his latter days and made his home a 
 centre of pleasant country life. He died there in 1797. 
 He left no children and bequeathed Menokin to his wife 
 for life, and afterward to his nephew, Ludwell Lee, second 
 son of his distinguished brother, Richard Henry Lee. His 
 wife survived him but a short while, and Ludwell Lee be- 
 came the owner of JNIenokin, which after his time passed 
 from the family. 
 
346 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 CLEVE 
 
 A sturdy and handsome old mansion is Cleve, beau- 
 tifully situated on the Rappahannock, in King George 
 County. The original house, built by Colonel Charles 
 Carter in 1729, was later burned, but it was restored upon 
 its old walls in 1800. 
 
 The house is noticeable from the river bj' its large num- 
 ber of windows set in wide, white stone frames. 
 
 Colonel Charles Carter, of Cleve, a son of " King " 
 Carter, by his second wife, Betty Landon, was long a bur- 
 
 CLEVE, KING GEORGE COUNTY 
 
 gess for his county, and was one of the three commissioners 
 appointed by Lord Fairfax to look after his interests. His 
 first wife was Mary Walker, whom he mai'ried in 1728. 
 In July, 1743, Colonel John Lewis wrote Lawrence Wash- 
 ington, among other bits of news: " Mr. Wormeley and 
 Colonel Charles Carter have lost their Ladys." Just a 
 year later, William Beverley, in a letter to Lord Fairfax, 
 then in England, announced the recent weddings of 
 " Colonel Charles Carter and Colonel Landon Carter to 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 347 
 
 the two Miss Byrds." The brides of these widower brothers 
 were Anne and Maria, daughters of Colonel William 
 Byrd II, of Westover. Interesting portraits of them at 
 the ages of nine and eleven were painted by Bridges, and 
 (after she became mistress of Cleve)' AJane's portrait, 
 with that of her husband and two of her children, was 
 painted by Hesselius. 
 
 Colonel Charles Carter's third wife was Lucy Talia- 
 ferro. 
 
 Besides being a large land-holder, Colonel Carter was 
 a scientific planter, and, in his will, directed that his estate 
 should be managed according to a manuscript book he had 
 prepared. He was succeeded at Cleve by a younger son, 
 Landon, and he, in turn, by his bachelor sons, Edward 
 and Colonel St. Leger Landon Carter. Colonel St. Leger 
 Landon Carter was one of the early contributors to the 
 Southern Literary Messenger, writing over the signature 
 " Nugator." He also published a small volume entitled 
 Nugae. One who saw Cleve during the ownership of the 
 last Carters described the large hall hung with a double 
 row of family portraits and a great quantity of family 
 silver engraved with arms, but much tarnished, as bachelor 
 possessions are apt to be. After their death Cleve passed, 
 by sale, to the Lewis family (descendants of Fielding 
 Lewis and his second wife, Betty Washington), and they 
 still own it. Among its many interesting contents is a 
 portrait of Mrs. Betty Washington Lewis. 
 
 Charming, also, is the portrait of Colonel Charles 
 Carter, in wig and scarlet coat embellished with many gilt 
 buttons, which still hangs at Cleve, though the estate has 
 been so long out of the Carter family. 
 
 BARNSFIELD 
 
 Before the day of railroads, one of the most noted 
 places on the route, North and South, was Hooe's Ferry 
 over the Potomac. In King George County, close to the 
 ferry and close to the broad river, is Barnsfield, where, since 
 
348 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 1715, the Hooes have had a home. But few famihes in 
 Virginia, and, indeed, but few in America, can trace so 
 long a line in male descent in this country, for since Rice 
 Hooe came to Virginia, in 1621, his descendants have 
 been large land owners and prominent socially and in 
 militar}' and civil affairs.^" 
 
 During the War between the States, the old house was 
 the residence of Dr. A. B. Hooe. Hooe's Ferry was a 
 favorite place for blockade-runners from ^Maryland to Vir- 
 ginia, and the Federal troops burned Barnsfield on the 
 
 BARNSFIELD, KIXG GEORGE COUNTY 
 
 ground, as they charged, that the blockade-runners were 
 guided by signal lights from its windows. 
 
 The quaint jjicture, made many years ago, shows a typi- 
 cal Virginia farm-house, a part probably built as early as 
 1715, which was extended by rambling wings and additions 
 
 ■"' Harden, Virginia Genealogies, pp. 716-719, and Virginia 
 Magazine of History and Biography, iv, pp. 427-4)29. 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 349 
 
 as the needs of the f amilj^ increased. The row of Lombardy 
 poplars close to the edge of the bhifF, the weeping willows, 
 the negroes working on boats or cutting driftwood unite 
 to form a picture which could be duplicated many times 
 along our rivers. The house was not a statelj^ " mansion " 
 but a roomy old farm-house which was of much more 
 familiar type. 
 
 CHATHAM 
 
 Upon a green hill in Stafford Count j^, just across the 
 Rappahannock from Fredericksburg, stands Chatham, 
 looking upon the old town and a long waj' up and down the 
 river valley. 
 
 CHATHAM, STAFFORD COUNTY 
 
 This noble mansion with its ample central building and 
 commodious wings, its stout brick walls and lofty columns, 
 was built some time before the Revolution, by William 
 Fitzhugh (1742-after 1787), whose earlier residence was 
 Eagle's Nest, in King George County. 
 
 Mr. Fitzhugh was the son of Henry Fitzhugh (1706- 
 1742) , of Eagle's Nest (who matriculated at Christ Church 
 College, Oxford, in 1722), and his wife, Lucy, daughter 
 of Honorable Robert ("King") Carter, of Corotoman. 
 
350 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Henry Fitzhugh was a grandson of Colonel William Fitz- 
 hugh "(1651-1701 ) , first of the family in Virginia." 
 
 William Fitzhugh, of Chatham, who is said to have 
 been educated in England, was long in public life and was 
 a man of high character and wide influence. He was a 
 member of the House of Burgesses, of all the Revolu- 
 tionary Conventions and the Continental Congress. He 
 was an ardent devotee of the turf, owning many noted race 
 horses both before and after the Revolution. Among his 
 several large estates was Ravensworth, in Fairfax County, 
 to which he moved toward the close of his life. He married 
 Anne, daughter of Peter Randolph, of Chatsworth, and 
 their daughter ]Mary Randolph Fitzhugh married George 
 Washington Parke Custis, of Arlington, and was the 
 mother of the wife of General Robert E. Lee. ]Mr. Fitz- 
 hugh was a great-uncle of the distinguished divine. Bishop 
 JNIeade, of Virginia. 
 
 In Mr. Fitzhugh's time and afterward, Chatham was 
 famous for its hospitality. General Washington was a 
 frequent guest there and it is said that he once wrote JNIr. 
 Fitzhugh that among the most interesting memories of 
 his life were those of his visits to Chatham, adding, " I 
 have put my legs oftener under your mahogany at Chat- 
 ham than anywhere else in the world, and have enjoyed 
 your good dinners, good wine and good company more 
 than any other." 
 
 JNIr. Fitzhugh finally sold Chatham to ]Major Churchill 
 Jones, an officer in the Continental Army, who, having no 
 children, bequeathed it to his only brother, William Jones. 
 Hannah, the daughter of William Jones, became the second 
 wife of Judge John Coalter, of the Court of Appeals of 
 Virginia. William Jones conveyed Chatham to his son- 
 in-law. Judge Coalter, upon condition that he should pay 
 to the widow of JNIajor Chm"chill Jones the annuity of 
 
 ^^ Fitzhugh family: Virginia Magazine of History and Bio- 
 graphy, vii, 196-199, 317-322, iaS-iS? ; viii, -ll-iS, 209-211, 
 314-317, 430-432; ix, 99-104. 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 351 
 
 $15,000.00 with which the estate was charged. Judge 
 Coalter at his death gave a hfe interest to his widow, 
 bequeathing the property, at her death, to his two children 
 (by an earher marriage with a daughter of Judge St. 
 George Tucker), St. George Coalter and Elizabeth, the 
 wife of INIr. John Randolph Bryan and mother of the 
 late Mr. Joseph Bryan, of Richmond. 
 
 Chatham was later bought by Major J. Horace Lacy, 
 was long his home, and during the War between the States 
 was known as " The Lacy House." It was sold by Major 
 Lacy to Oliver Watson, and by him to ]Mr. William Mays. 
 From JNIaj^s the house and thirty acres of the original tract 
 passed, by purchase, to Fleming Bailey, who later sold it to 
 A. Randolph Howard. 
 
 General Robert E. Lee, as well as General Washing- 
 ton, was a frequent guest at Chatham, and it is said that 
 vmder the beautiful old trees that stood on the lawn Gen- 
 eral Lee addressed his wife. These trees were felled by 
 Northern soldiers when General Burnside made his head- 
 quarters at Chatham. 
 
 President Lincoln spent several days at Chatham, on 
 a visit to the army under Burnside, and from the river bank 
 before Chatham pontoon bridges were built, upon which 
 the Federal Army crossed to the occupation of Fredericks- 
 burg, and the great battle. 
 
 BOSCOBEL 
 
 Boscobel, an estate now containing six hmidred and 
 twenty acres, is situated in Stafford County, four miles 
 from Fredericksburg. The charming old dwelling house 
 which stands on the highest point between the Potomac and 
 Rappahannock Rivers was erected some one hundred and 
 fifty years ago by Thomas Fitzhugh (1725-1768), a son 
 of Henry Fitzhugh, of " Bedford," and grandson of that 
 worthy William Fitzhugh, emigrant ancestor of the family 
 in Virginia, lawj^er, merchant, landed proprietor, member of 
 the House of Burgesses and militia officer. From Thomas 
 Fitzhugh (who inherited the estate from his father) Bos- 
 
352 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 cobel passed to Thomas Fitzhugh, the younger, who in turn 
 devised the seat to his two daughters, Sarah Stuart and 
 Henrietta, both maiden ladies, who sold it in 184<7 to Wil- 
 liam Henry Fitzhugh (1788-1859), their brother, and 
 William A. Little (whose wife was a Miss Fitzhugh).'^ 
 After the War between the States a division of the estate 
 was made by these two gentlemen, the " mansion house " 
 and surrounding acreage falling to ISIr. Little's lot, and 
 thus Boscobel's title remained in the Fitzhugh family from 
 
 ^fcf^ 
 
 M^ . '■ -'M 
 
 ^xf ■ 
 
 ■J!' '7--^^ 
 
 ^^^B 
 
 
 
 
 ^s=^s 
 
 
 .. -•*"" ■-^f^itl£^K' 
 
 ^^^^ I,, .^^J 
 
 "is "' 
 
 sy^^^ 
 
 S! ■ 
 
 ml., 
 
 ki^^ — 
 
 
 
 BOSCOBEL, NEAR FREDERICKSBURG 
 
 the time of the original grant until comparatively recently, 
 when ]Mr. Charles H. Hurkamp (the present owner) pur- 
 chased the place from JNIr. Little. 
 
 The old homestead has been well preserved, and the 
 lawn, grove and old-fashioned garden are kept to-day as 
 originally laid off. The house is after the order of a roomy 
 cottage and buried in a cluster of wonderful trees. In 
 
 ^"For an account of the Fitzhughs see Virgiriia Magazine of 
 History and Biography, volumes vii, viii, and ix. 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 353 
 
 what was the old " parlor," now the living-room of the 
 house, is an old-fashioned open fireplace of generous dimen- 
 sions, in whose back is set a massive cast-iron plate, bearing 
 the legend: " T. F. 1752," somewhat scarred bj^ the flames 
 of many a winter, 'tis true, but still clearly legible. Six or 
 more other rooms of the house are endowed with these 
 ample fireplaces. 
 
 From two moderately sized porches — one at the front 
 and the other at the rear of the house — magniiicent views 
 
 OLD-TIME METHOD OF COOKING AS USED AT BOSCODEL UP TO 1905 
 
 to the north and south are to be had from this quaint 
 " manor " which nestles on the very backbone of the ridge 
 dividing the Northern Neck. 
 
 Until comparatively recently the old " outdoor" kitchen 
 was in service at Boscobel, and many are the stories of 
 accomplished cooks and temptingly prepared spreads which 
 issued thence to the " great house." The old kitchen stands 
 on one side of the yard and near the circular driveway lead- 
 ing to the entrance steps, while a building of similar size and 
 shape stands opposite — a bit, as it were, " to balance the 
 
 23 
 
354 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 landscape " — and used doubtless as a quarter for house ser- 
 vants. 
 
 The Boscobel dwelling was destroj'-ed by fire in ISIarch, 
 1915. 
 
 ACQUIA CHURCH 
 
 Over the south door of the old Acquia Church, in Over- 
 wharton Parish, Stafford County, is this inscription: 
 " Built A. D. 1751. Destroyed by fire 1751 and rebuilt 
 A. D. 1757 by ^Mourning Richards, Undertaker. William 
 
 ACQUIA CHURCH, STAFFORD COUNTY - 
 
 Copein, ]Mason." It may be well to remind the reader, 
 especially in view of the Christian name of Mr. Richards, 
 that undertaker in those days meant contractor. 
 
 Overwharton Parish goes back to a much earlier date 
 than that upon the church, but earlier houses of worship in 
 it were probably of wood, and all traces of them have 
 passed away. Acquia still has in possession and in regu- 
 lar use a Communion service of massive, beaten silver, of 
 three pieces — chalice, cup and paten — each piece bearing 
 the inscription: " The gift of the Rev. Alex. Scott, A.INI.. 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 355 
 
 late minister of this parish, Anno 1739." Mr. Scott 
 served the parish nearly twentj^-eight years, and the date 
 upon the silver is that of the year of his death. ^'^ The 
 service was buried in the ground for safe keeping during 
 the Revolutionarj^ War, the War of 1812 and the War 
 between the States. 
 
 Acquia Church was built during the rectorship of the 
 Reverend John Moncure (1709/10-1764)," who was 
 
 INTERIOR OF ACQUIA CHURCH 
 
 buried in the chancel, and whose descendants are still 
 among the staunchest supporters of the parish. Under 
 the Communion table is a marble slab upon which are the 
 words " In memory of the Race of the House of Moncure." 
 Acquia is one of the most beautiful and best preserved 
 
 ^3 A full sketch of the life of Reverend Alexander Scott (1686- 
 1738) is given in Hayden, Virginia Genealogies, p. 591 et seq. 
 
 '* For an account of Reverend John Moncure and his de- 
 scendants see Hayden, Virginia Genealogies, p. 424 et seq. 
 
356 MRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 examples of Colonial church architecture in America. It is 
 cross-shaped, with thick walls of checkered brickwork, 
 sloping roof and square tower for clock and bell. Though 
 the existence of this impressive old sanctuary has been 
 threatened by three wars, and during the last it was a camp- 
 ing jilace for soldiers, it stands to-day in perfect repair 
 and unchanged by fancy or fashion. The stone-paved 
 aisles, the lofty, " three decker " pulpit, with its overhang- 
 ing sounding board, and the square pews are all there. In 
 the chancel are four tablets upon which are inscribed the 
 Lord's Prayer, the Creed and the Ten Commandments. 
 
 JMT. VERXON 
 
 The most notable of Virginia mansions and planta- 
 tions will always be JNIt. Vernon, the home during life, in 
 death the resting place of all that was mortal of George 
 Washington. 
 
 The ]Mt. Vernon estate was part of a tract of 5000 acres 
 granted by Lord Culpeper in 1644 to Colonel John Wash- 
 ington and Nicholas Spencer. Half of it descended in 
 time to Colonel John Washington's great-grandson, Law- 
 rence Washington, who built the mansion and named it Mt. 
 Vernon after the British admiral under whom he served. 
 At the death of Lawrence Washington it passed to his half- 
 brother George, who enlarged both house and plantation. 
 After General Washington's death Mrs. Washington 
 made her home at jNIt. Vernon until her own death, when 
 the place passed to her husband's nephew, Bushrod Wash- 
 ington, and from him to John Augustine Washington, and 
 from him to John Augustine Washington, Jr., who in 
 1858 sold 200 acres, including the mansion and tombs, to 
 the ]Mt. Vernon Ladies' Association, a national organiza- 
 tion formed for the piu'pose of restoring and preserving 
 the home of George Washington. 
 
 The situation of Mt. Vernon is peculiarly happy, for 
 the waters of the same broad Potomac upon whose banks 
 lies Wakefield, the birth-place of Washington, lap its 
 shores, while but a short way up the river the white dome 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 359 
 
 of the Capitol that his deeds made possible shines out 
 against blue heaven. JNlt. Vernon, the JNlecca of all true 
 Americans, thus stands upon what might well be called 
 Washington's River, between the place where he first saw 
 the light of day and the crowning monument to his genius. 
 The most interesting approach to Mt. Vernon is by 
 water, for the river-landing by which " the many-sided 
 Washington " kept in touch with the world and sent the 
 produce of his beautiful plantation to market teems with 
 memories of him as the thrifty husbandman and man of 
 business. 
 
 MT. VERNON, REAR VIEW 
 
 Not far from the wharf is the family graveyard where 
 above the doorway of a massive but severely plain brick 
 vault the visitor reads: "Within this enclosure rest the 
 remains of General Washington," and between the bars of 
 heavy iron gates he gazes with reverent ej'^es upon two 
 white marble sarcophagi in which lie, side by side, the 
 bodies of George Washington and Martha, his wife. How 
 calmly, how simply can true greatness, when the day is 
 done, lie down to pleasant dreams! For pleasant indeed 
 they must be within the embrace of his own home, in the 
 region of his own achievements. So says the pilgrim to 
 
360 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 himself, then goes on his way with softened vision, and a 
 spirit in tune for the view of the homestead and its environs. 
 
 Charming are the ample grounds with their many 
 varieties of goodly trees, some of which are historic, their 
 wooded deer-park with its shy, soft-eyed and fleet-footed 
 inhabitants, their long bowling green and expanse of velvet 
 turf stretching down to the river. Full of suggestion are 
 the quaint outbuildings — the dormer-windowed servants' 
 quarters; the kitchen, with its great crane and bake oven, 
 planned for preparation of the abundant feasts upon which 
 the guests that flocked to Mt. Vernon by coach and bj^ 
 boat were regaled; the smoke-house, where bacon of the 
 true old Virginia flavor was cured; the coach-house, with 
 its antiquated chariot; the spinning-house, where clothing 
 for the slaves and rag-carpets and other fabrics for the 
 house were woven, and where may still be seen the ancient 
 loom wheels, reels and brake. But the most appealing of 
 all the outside features, most redolent of memories of 
 George in his queue and Martha in her cap, is the fascinat- 
 ing old flower garden which thej' planned, where the prim 
 hedges of dwarf -box which they planted still define innum- 
 erable tidy beds of old-fashioned flowers. In Washington's 
 time distinguished visitors were invited to plant trees, 
 shrubs or flowers in the garden and many of these me- 
 morials still flourish — among them a tree planted by 
 Lafayette and one by Jefferson. A musk-cluster rose 
 named bj^ Washington for his mother, and other roses 
 named for himself and Nelly Custis are also pointed out. 
 
 Mt. Vernon house stands three stories high, including 
 the dormer-windowed attic, with a cellar under the whole. 
 It is built upon a foundation of stone and brick and its 
 framework is of oak sheathed with North Carolina pine, 
 cut, painted and sanded to resemble stone. The sloping 
 roof is covered with cypress shingles. From the east front 
 the mansion is entered through a long and wide square- 
 pillared portico, paved with tiles imported from England 
 by Washington. The driveway and the brass knocker 
 upon the central door of the severely plain west front. 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 361 
 
 show that it was the entrance for visitors. The windows 
 upon this side look upon a wide green court bounded on 
 either side b}' outbuildings joined to the mansion bj^ colon- 
 nades. In the centre of the court a sun-dial marks the 
 spot where one stood in Washington's time. 
 
 House and grounds are exquisitely kept by the Mt. 
 Vernon Association. Within, the house is still a completely 
 equipped home, and many pieces of the beautiful old 
 furniture actually used by the Washingtons have been 
 brought back and restored to their original places, while 
 all of the furnishings and decorations are of the period. 
 From the panelled hall one may look through open doors 
 into four of the principal rooms of the first floor. They 
 are the west parlor, with its sundry mementos of the great 
 master of Mt. Vernon, its ornate wainscoting, its mantel 
 with the Washington coat-of-arms carved above it; Nelly 
 Custis's music room, where the pretty old harpsichord 
 stands open, and where Washington's flute is preserved; 
 the family dining-room, with its charming old sideboard; 
 and Mrs. Washington's sitting-room, where the mantel- 
 mirror, spindle-legged centre-table and some of the old 
 furnishings are original. The library is also on this floor 
 and in addition to the built-in book-shelves contains an old 
 mahogany bookcase and some other pieces of its original 
 furniture, but unfortunately few of Washington's own 
 books are among those now on its shelves. The banquet- 
 hall, at the east end of the house, contains many articles 
 of beauty and interest. 
 
 Ascending by the graceful stair to the second floor, we 
 find six bedrooms possessed of that picturesqueness which 
 stately " four posters " dressed in canopy and valance of 
 snowy dimity or beflowered chintz, quaint chests of drawers, 
 spindle-legged dressing tables and candle-stands give. 
 These chambers are known as " Lafayette's room," the 
 " river room," the " guest room," " Nelly Custis's room," 
 the " green room," and " Washington's room." The bed 
 in Washington's room is the one upon which he died, 
 
362 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 December 14, 1799, and some of the other articles in the 
 room were used by him. In the dormer-windowed attic 
 are six bedrooms used for guest-chambers when the house 
 was crowded. One of them is known as " Mrs. Washing- 
 ton's room." After General Washington's death his bed- 
 chamber was (after the manner of the time) closed, and 
 the wife chose for her own use the little room in the end 
 of the attic, through whose only window she could look 
 upon her husband's tomb. It was in this attic room that 
 " Lady Washington " died on the twenty-second daj' of 
 May, 1802. 
 
 Young Thomas Lee Shippen, of Philadelphia, a 
 grandson of Thomas Lee, the founder of Stratford, made, 
 in 1790, a round of visits to the friends and relatives of his 
 family in Virginia. In a letter to his father he thus de- 
 scribes his impressions of the home of Washington : 
 
 MorxT Vekxox, 16 Sept., 1790. 
 My dear Father and Friend. 
 
 This is to be sure a delightful place. Nothing seems wanting 
 to render it a fit residence of its owner, worthy to employ and 
 amuse the leisure of so great a man as our President. 
 
 I have been here two days and have seen most of the improve- 
 ments which do honor at once to the taste and industry of our 
 Washington. I have been treated, as usual, with every most 
 distinguished mark of kindness and attention. Hospitality in- 
 deed seems to have spread over the whole place its happiest, 
 kindest influence. The President exercises it in a superlative de- 
 gree, from the greatest of its duties to the most trifling minutiae, 
 and Mrs. Washington is the very essence of kindness. Her soul 
 seems to overflow with it like the most abundant fountain, and 
 her happiness is in exact proportion to the number of objects upon 
 which she can dispense her benefits. 
 
 POHICK CHURCH 
 
 But a short distance from INIt. Vernon stands old Po- 
 hick, the parish church of both Mt. Vernon and Gunston 
 Hall — the INIason home. This church was built in 1769 to 
 replace an earlier frame structure, and the Washingtons 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 363 
 
 and jNlasons were worshippers in the first sanctnary, as 
 well as the second. 
 
 In 1735 Augnstine Washington was elected a vestry- 
 man of Pohick and in 1762 George Washington and 
 George William Fairfax were appointed church wardens. 
 It is said that the plans of the present massive and com- 
 modious building of brick, with stone trimmings, were 
 drawn by General Washington himself. The building 
 committee consisted of George Washington, George 
 
 POHICK CHURCH, FAIRFAX COUNTY 
 
 William Fairfax, George Mason, Daniel ISIcCarthy and 
 Edward Payne. 
 
 Pohick Church was badly damaged by Federal troops 
 during the War between the States, and when it was later 
 repaired, through the generosity of a gentleman from New 
 A'oi'k, the interior was unfortunately modernized. More 
 recently, however, its quaint and interesting appearance 
 has been restored. 
 
 It is the custom of the regents of the Mt. Vernon Asso- 
 ciation to attend service once a vear in old Pohick. 
 
364 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 GUNSTON HALL 
 
 About one mile distant from Pohick Church stands 
 Gunston Hall, the famous home of George jMason (1725- 
 1792), author of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution 
 of Virginia. ^^ 
 
 The Gunston estate of 7000 acres was long since divided 
 into small farms, most of which are now the propertj^ of 
 
 r**^^ 
 
 GUNSTON HALL. FAIRFAX COUNTY 
 
 northern settlers, but the mansion is as well preserved as 
 JNIt. Vernon, and more pretentious. It is eighty feet long 
 by forty feet wide, with thick brick walls, tall chimneys 
 and a long sloping roof. Standing somewhat back from 
 the Potomac, upon a bold bluff, it makes a striking picture 
 
 ^' Mason family: Rowland, The Life and Letters of George 
 Mason, 1725-1792, vol. i, chap. i. 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 365 
 
 and commands a splendid view of the river. It possesses 
 the spacious rooms and hall of Colonial mansions of its 
 type, finished with handsomely carved wainscoting, much 
 of which is said to have been brought from England. 
 
 George JNIason (fifth in descent from George Mason 
 the Cavalier, who took refuge in Virginia in 1657) built 
 Gunston Hall in 1758 and lived in it many years, during 
 which it was a favorite resort of some of the most historic 
 characters of those history-making days. Mt. Vernon is 
 only four miles away, by river, and Washington, who kept 
 a four-oared gig, rowed by a uniformed negro crew, often 
 chose this way of visiting his friend and neighbor, INIason. 
 Sometimes, too, on Sundaj^s, after going to service at Po- 
 hick, in his coach and four, the master of JNIt. Vernon would 
 drive home to dinner with the master of Gunston Hall. 
 The dining-room at Gunston Hall in which the Father of 
 his Country and other patriots were entertained is still 
 pointed out. There are also " Jefferson's room," occupied 
 by Thomas Jefferson, during his freqvient visits to Guns- 
 ton, and " Lafayette's room," in which the Marquis of 
 Lafayette slept when he was a guest there during his visit 
 to America after the Revolution. But the most notable 
 apartment in the house is the great library, for though 
 George Mason's greatest claim to fame is as the father of 
 the Bill of Rights, his name is also intimateh' associated 
 with the Declaration of Independence, and it is said that it 
 was in this library that Jefferson and Mason together made 
 the first draft of that immortal paper. 
 
 After George Mason's death, Gunston Hall remained 
 for some years in possession of his descendants, but was 
 finally sold and has several times since changed hands. 
 
 CHRIST CHURCH, ALEXANDRIA 
 
 The pride of the old town of Alexandria is historic 
 Christ Church, an impressive and well-kept building, 
 standing in a spacious brick- walled churchyard, in the heart 
 of the town. The architecture is much like that of Pohick 
 
366 
 
 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Church, and hke Pohick its chief claim to distinction is the 
 fact that Washington was at one time a vestryman. The 
 Washington pew is still pointed out, and many are the 
 
 CHRIST CHURCH, ALEXANDRIA 
 
 tourists who come from Washington City bj^ train and 
 ferry for the privilege of sitting in it, if only for a few 
 moments. It was in 1773 that the finished church was 
 handed over to the vestry by the contractor and upon the 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 367 
 
 same day General Washington purchased a pew for £26, 
 10, 8. 
 
 General Lee also attended Christ Church during his 
 boyhood, when he lived in Alexandria, and was in the habit 
 of joining with the other young folk of the parish in dress- 
 ing the church with evergreens at Christmas. In 1853, 
 when he was a colonel in the United States Army, he was 
 confirmed by Bishop Johns, in this church. His pew, like 
 Washington's, is marked with a silver plate, and is one of 
 the chief objects of interest in the building where these 
 two great generals are further memorialized by mural 
 tablets. 
 
 In the early days of its history, Christ Church had 
 women as sextons; first, one Susannah Edwards, "who 
 preceded the members of the congregation up the aisles, 
 locating each family in their respective pews according to 
 dignity," and later " Mistress Cook," who we are told was 
 " peculiar in dress and physiognonty." She had " a stately 
 manner of ushering people into their pews, and locking 
 the door upon them, and with almost military air she 
 patrolled the aisles, alert to detect and prompt to suppress 
 any violation of order." 
 
 THE CARLYLE HOUSE 
 
 The Carlyle House, now a portion of the Braddock 
 Hotel, on Fairfax Street, Alexandria, was built by John 
 Carlyle (1720-1780), a wealthy merchant, in 174<5}'' In 
 architecture it is a fine example of an old Virginia mansion, 
 with its spacious rooms, finished with beautiful woodwork, 
 and, besides, it has a history. In 1755 it was occupied by 
 Major General Edward Braddock, who here held a council, 
 composed of himself and Governors Shirley, of Massachu- 
 setts, Delancy, of New York, Morris, of Pennsylvania, 
 Sharpe, of Maryland, Dinwiddle, of Virginia, Dobbs, of 
 North Carolina, General St. Clair and Benjamin Frank- 
 lin, for the purpose of planning the campaign against Fort 
 
 '® Carlyle family: William and Mary Quarterly, xviii. pp. 201- 
 212, 278-289. 
 
368 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Duquesne wliich ended so disastrously. The stately room 
 in which this council was held is still pointed out. 
 
 It was while General Braddock was at the Carlyle 
 House that Washington became a member of his staff. 
 
 CARLYLE HOUSE, ALEXANDRIA 
 
 Efforts are being made by zealous atitiquarians of 
 Alexandria to secure the Carlyle House and preserve it 
 as a museum. 
 
24 
 
THE RAPPAHANNOCK AND POTOMAC 371 
 
 ARLINGTON 
 
 Thought of Arhngton brings before the mind's ej^e two 
 pictures, one the white-columned mansion standing out 
 from the crest of a high hill whose slopes are wooded with 
 ancient oaks, the other (seen from the portico of the 
 mansion itself) Washington City lying in clear view, but 
 touched with the softened beauty that distance gives, seven 
 miles away. The walk, or rather the climb, up hill under 
 the oaks, and the view when the mansion in its plat of 
 greensward at the top has been reached, must be a thing 
 of actual experience to be appreciated. 
 
 After the death of Mrs. Martha Washington, in 1802, 
 George Washington Parke Custis, her grandson (who 
 was also General Washington's adopted son), removed 
 from JNIt. Vernon to Arlington, which was built by him 
 and named after the older Custis mansion in Northampton 
 County, long since destroyed by fire. 
 
 INIr. Custis married, in 1806, JNIary Lee, daughter of 
 William Fitzhugh, of Chatham, and he and his wii^e made 
 Arlington a veritable seat of hospitality, where the most 
 distinguished Europeans and Americans of the time were 
 entertained. At least one notable wedding took place there 
 when, upon June 30, 1831, Mary Ann Randolph Custis, 
 the only child of Mr. and JNIrs. Custis to survive infancy, 
 gave her hand to Lieutenant Robert Edward Lee, then of 
 the United States Corps of Engineers, afterward to be- 
 come the great general and hero of the War between the 
 States. Mr. Custis died October 10, 1857, and was buried 
 by the side of his wife in the beautiful grove near Arlington 
 house, where their tombs may still be seen. Their daughter, 
 Mrs. Lee, inherited Arlington, and General Lee became 
 deeply attached to the place and made his home there when- 
 ever his military duties would permit. Writing, in 1861, 
 of Arlington and its possible destruction by the Northern 
 Army he said, " They cannot take away the remembrance 
 of the spot, and the memories of those that to us rendered it 
 sacred. That will remain to us as long as life will last, 
 
372 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 and that we can preserve. In the absence of a home I wish 
 I could j)urchase Stratford." 
 
 The house was stored with the most precious rehcs of 
 " the Father of his Country," many of which were stolen 
 in the early days of the War between the States. The place 
 itself was taken possession of by the United States Gov- 
 ernment and a military cemetery established there. This 
 made it impossible to restore the estate to JMrs. Uee's heirs, 
 but such relics as were seized bj- the Government have been 
 returned and the estate has been j^aid for. 
 
 Arlington is still used by the Government as a cemetery 
 for army and naval officers, and the interest that gives it, 
 added to the fact that it was the home of the Custises and 
 Lees, draws thousands of tourists thither everv vear. 
 
PART VI 
 
 Piedmont and the South Side 
 
 piedmont 
 
 ONE of the most attractive parts of Virginia is the 
 Piedmont section lying, as its name indicates, at 
 the foot of the mountains — that is, just east of 
 the Blue Ridge — and embracing the counties of 
 Loudoun, Fauquier, Culpeper, Orange and others. It is a 
 country of fertile, well watered, beautifully undulating 
 lands, whose man}"- bold hills looking across wood and 
 stream and meadow upon the blue mountains afford ideal 
 sites for homes. The counties of this group were the last 
 to be formed east of the Blue Ridge before the Revolution, 
 and for this reason, together with their remote situation 
 at the time, there do not remain many noted houses of the 
 Colonial period. There are, however, some handsome and 
 interesting ones of more recent date. 
 
 'O 
 
 OAK HILL 
 
 Oak Hill, in Loudoun County, was the home of a 
 president of the United States and looks the part. Stand- 
 ing out from among century-old trees, upon a hill clothed 
 with the deep-toned, deep-piled velvet of blue-grass, this 
 noble brick mansion with its tall chimneys, and its Greek 
 portico whose white columns are thirty feet high, dominates 
 the country for miles around. Its windows look across, 
 rolling farm-lands, upon the Blue Ridge in one direction 
 and the Catoctin Hills in another, while against the south- 
 eastern sky stands lofty " Sugar-loaf." 
 
 The house was built by James Monroe, during his presi- 
 dency, to replace a dormer-windowed cottage which had 
 long been the home of the Monroe family. It takes its 
 
 373 
 
t^ 
 
 374 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 name from a group of fine oaks on the wide-spreading 
 lawn on which President Monroe planted a tree from each 
 State in the Union, presented to him for the purpose by the 
 congressmen from the respective States. 
 
 General Lafayette was a guest at Oak Hill during his 
 visit to Virginia in 1824, and mementos of his stay may 
 
 OAK HILL (FRONT), LOUDOUN COUNTY 
 
 still be seen in the beautiful mantel-pieces in the drawing- 
 room, which were presents from him to the house. 
 
 Upon Monroe's death, in 1831, at the home of his 
 daughter, Mrs. Gouverneur, of New York, Oak Hill passed 
 to the Gouverneurs, who, in 1852, sold it to Colonel John 
 M. Fairfax. Among JNIonroe relics that went with the 
 place was a handsome backgammon table with ivory play- 
 ing pieces, presented to ]Mr. Monroe by the American Min- 
 ister at Paris. Between the wood and marble tops of this 
 table Mrs. Fairfax found a safe hiding-place for her jewels 
 when the house was searched by Northern soldiers, who 
 frequently occupied it during the War between the States, 
 but treated the home of Monroe with unusual respect. 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 375 
 
 Many of the famous raids of the redoubtable Mosby 
 were directed from the Oak Hill house, the front porch 
 serving as a position of vantage. Colonel Fairfax was 
 himself an officer on General Longstreet's staff, and was 
 distinguished for bravery. A few years after the war he 
 sold Oak Hill to Dr. Quinby, of New York, but in 1885 
 
 OAK HILL (REAR) 
 
 it was bought back by his son, Mr. Henry Fairfax, who 
 now makes his home there. Mr. Fairfax devotes himself to 
 the care of the estate and the breeding of fine horses, and 
 old Oak Hill, with its 1200 acres of grass-land and its 
 stables providing winter quarters for over two hundred 
 horses, is famous throughout Virginia and beyond. 
 
 OATLANDS 
 
 Oatlands, near the old town of Leesburg, in beautiful 
 Loudoun County, was built in the year 1800 by George 
 Carter, son of Robert (commonly called " Councillor ") 
 Carter, of Nomini Hall, Westmoreland, and great-grand- 
 son of " King " Carter. 
 
 The plantation of 5000 acres was part of the great 
 
376 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Fairfax estate, and was bought from Lord Fairfax by- 
 Councillor Carter and given to his son George upon his 
 coming of age. 
 
 The master of Oatlands was, like his father, the comi- 
 cillor, a man of liberal education, devoted to books and 
 music, and his home bears witness to his cultivated taste. 
 The building of Oatlands and laying out of its grounds 
 was a labor of love with him. He was his own architect 
 and most of the work was done under his direction, by his 
 
 OATLANOS, LOUDdL'N COUNTY 
 
 slaves. He died in 1846, leaving Oatlands house with 3000 
 acres of land and 75 slaves to his eldest son, George Carter, 
 who occupied it until 1894, when it was sold, with sixty 
 acres, to Mr. Stilson Hutchins, of Washington, who in 
 turn sold it to its present owner, Mr. William Corcoran 
 Eustis. 
 
 Oatlands has always played a prominent part in the 
 social life of its neighborhood. Its present master is an 
 enthusiastic hunter and lover of horses and is making the 
 old place famous as a stock farm. 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 377 
 
 OLD METHODIST CHURCH, LEESIiURG 
 
 MORVEN PARK 
 
 JMorven Park * with its 1000 acres of fertile land, its 
 spacious and distinguished looking mansion, its wide 
 stretches of greensward and its stately trees is one of the 
 finest estates in all Virginia. It was built by Governor 
 Swan, of Maryland, who made its name a synonym for 
 hospitality. Its present master is Mr. Westmoreland 
 Davis, M. F. H., of Loudoun County, who is, like so many 
 country gentlemen of that section, an enthusiastic hunter 
 and stock-raiser. 
 
 RASPBERRY PLAIN 
 
 Raspberry Plain, Loudoun County, was built about 
 1771 by Thomson Mason (1733-1785), a brother of 
 George Mason, of Gunston Hall. Mr. Mason, who was 
 a man of note in his day, was long a member of the House 
 of Burgesses, and was a judge of the General Court during 
 the Revolution. 
 
 At Mr. Mason's death, in 1785, Raspberry Plain passed 
 to his distinguished son, Stevens Thomson Mason (1760- 
 
 * See illustration, p. 379. 
 
378 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 1803), United States senator from Virginia, who married 
 Mary, daughter of Robert Armistead, of Louisa County, 
 and was the father of Honorable Armistead Thomson 
 Mason, of Sehiia (killed in the famous Mason-ISIcCarty 
 duel). General John Thomson JNIason, Stevens Thomson' 
 Mason, who died young, and a bevy of daughters celebrated 
 for their beauty and charm. These JNIason girls were belles 
 in Washington society when they were guests of the Vir- 
 ginia presidents at the White House, and drove in a coach 
 
 RASPBERRY PLAIN, LOUDOUN COUNTY 
 
 and four with out-riders in livery. They drew many of 
 the most eligible beaux of the day to Raspberry Plain, and 
 it is said that the round window in the upper hall was a 
 favorite place for the girls to " station themselves to watch 
 for their cavaliers as they would be descried on their pranc- 
 ing horses a long distance up the road." All three of them 
 married distinguished men. Mary was the wife of Gov- 
 ernor Benjamin Howard, of INIissouri; Emily, of Honor- 
 able William ]McCartv; and Catherine, the wife of Post- 
 
o 
 w 
 
 z 
 
 > 
 W 
 
 S 
 
 d 
 o 
 o 
 a 
 z 
 o 
 o 
 n 
 z 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 381 
 
 master General William T. Barry, of President Jackson's 
 cabinet. 
 
 Beautiful colored crayon portraits of the Honorable 
 and Mrs. Stevens Thomson JNIason, by Sharpless, are' 
 preserved by their descendants. 
 
 After the INIasons' time, Raspberry Plain w^as closed 
 for years, during which it was said to be haunted. 
 
 SELMA 
 
 Selma was built by Honorable Armistead Thomson 
 Mason (1787-1819), early in the nineteenth century. It 
 has had a grim history. 
 
 Colonel JNIason was a man of fine talent and wide popu- 
 larity. He served in the War of 1812 as a colonel of the 
 cavalry, and, like his father, Stevens Thomson JNIason, of 
 Raspberry Plain, was United States senator from Virginia. 
 On account of a political quarrel he engaged in a duel with 
 his near cousin. Colonel John Mason JSIcCarty, so tragic 
 that the whole country rang with it. It was fought at 
 Bladensburg, Maryland, on February 6, 1819, with mus- 
 kets at ten paces. Mason dropped dead at the first fire, 
 while INIcCarty was only saved by an accident. 
 
 Mason had a young and devoted wife, with one child, 
 a pretty little boy but a few months old. JNIcCarty was a 
 brilliant young lawyer of the same county, and he was soon 
 to be married to the lovelj' Lucinda Lee. 
 
 After the duel McCarty wrote to her, relating what he 
 had done, giving her a week for reflection, and asking her 
 to tell him at the end of that time whether she would marry 
 him after what had happened. She related long afterward 
 the agony of that week, how she knelt in despair at her 
 mother's feet and asked her to decide; how the old lady 
 could only advise her to follow her own heart; how at last 
 she sent a note to her lover, inviting him to call. 
 
 After their marriage they settled near Selma, where 
 the young widow of Mason lived with her little boy, and to 
 
382 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 them also was born an only son, very promising, in whom 
 they took great pride. 
 
 Though living but a few miles apart, however, the two 
 families, the JNIasons and jNIcCartys, never renewed their 
 acquaintance or spoke to each other. There was a natural 
 avoidance, nothing more. Young ]\IcCarty was a frequent 
 sportsman, but in all his gunning was never known to set 
 his foot on part of the jNIason estate, whatever the luck it 
 might promise. One fatal day, however, in following the 
 flight of game, he mounted a fence, which formed the 
 boundary of the Mason property, and attempted to load 
 in this position. His attention diverted by the movements 
 of the birds or the dogs, he let slip his gun, which exploded 
 and sent the ramrod through his head. He fell on the 
 jNIason side, which he had avoided all his life, upon the 
 ground which he was to press only in death. And to make 
 the dramatic situation complete Stevens Mason at that 
 moment came riding by, and the dying youth was carried 
 to Raspberry Plain, the birthplace of his father's victim, 
 and laid dead in the hall. This was almost the death-blow 
 to the parents of young jNlcCarty. His bereaved father, 
 the slayer of Senator ]Mason, became erratic and for much 
 of the time a wanderer. He would leave his home without 
 a word, and be gone for years, his own wife not knowing 
 where; and then would as suddenly reappear, unkempt 
 and haggard, with long hair on his shoulders and beard 
 descending to his waist. 
 
 Selma was inherited by Stevens Thomson JNIason, Jr., 
 whose infancy was surrounded with so much that was 
 tragic. At twenty-one he was a rich, attractive and dash- 
 ing young fellow, often seen driving a handsome pair of 
 horses tandem through the streets of Leesburg, but he 
 seemed to have been born for disaster. A too generous 
 exjjenditure of his fortunes brought reverses which forced 
 him to sell Selma, after which he joined the army, and 
 while serving as a captain in the JNIexican War was mortally 
 wounded. 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 383 
 
 OAK HILL 
 
 Oak Hill, in Fauquier County, is interesting as the 
 home in which Chief Justice John Marshall (1755-1835) 
 grew to manhood. A house of seven rooms, which is a 
 part of the present homestead, was built here, in 1773, by 
 Judge Marshall's father. Colonel Thomas Marshall (1730- 
 1 802 ) , a gallant officer in the Revolution, and was given by 
 him to his son John. The great Chief Justice owned Oak 
 Hill the rest of his life and frequently occupied it. At 
 his death it passed to his eldest son, Thomas Marshall, who 
 married Margaret, daughter of Fielding Lewis, of Wey- 
 anoke, on James River. 
 
 OAK HILL, FAUQUIER COUNTY 
 
 Thomas INIarshall was a master of arts of Princeton 
 University and member of the Virginia Convention of 
 1829. He added to the Oak Hill house five large rooms 
 and two halls, besides basement rooms. The estate de- 
 scended to his eldest son, John Marshall, many years a 
 member of the Virginia Legislature, who sold it to his 
 brother Thomas Marshall, colonel in the Confederate 
 Army, who was killed at the Battle of Winchester, 
 November 12, 1864. After his death the old homestead 
 
384 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 was sold and since it passed from the ^Marshall familj- has 
 had several owners. It is now the property of ISIr. T. M, 
 Maddox. 
 
 GORDOXSDALE * 
 
 Reverend John Scott (1747-1785) led an adventurous 
 hfe for a clergyman.' He went to Scotland on account 
 of having been "one of the participants, though not a prin- 
 cipal, in a fatal duel. There he took the degree of master 
 of arts in King's College, Aberdeen, and soon after his 
 graduation married Elizabeth, daughter of Professor 
 Thomas Gordon of that institution. At the beginning of 
 the Revolution he was minister in charge of a church in 
 JNIaryland, but was arrested and tried for remaining loyal 
 to the JNIother Country. After that he retired to his planta- 
 tion in Fauquier County, Virginia, which he named Gor- 
 donsdale, in honor of his wife. 
 
 One of ]Mr. Scott's sons, Robert Eden Scott (1769- 
 1811), was a professor at Aberdeen, another. Judge John 
 Scott (1781-1850) , was a distinguished lawyer in Virginia. 
 After her husband's death ]Mrs. Scott sold her home to her 
 son-in-law. Dr. Chandler Peyton, who died in 1827, leaving 
 Gordonsdale to his son Dr. Robert E. Peyton, who sold it, 
 in 1868, to General Benjamin Huger, of the Confederate 
 Army. 
 
 FARLEA" 
 
 One of the oldest homesteads in the Piedmont section 
 is Farley, in Culpeper County, which was built more than 
 a century ago by Carter Beverley but was soon after bought 
 by William Champe Carter, son of Colonel Edward 
 Carter, of Blenheim, Albemarle Countj% who was a grand- 
 son of Robert (" King") Carter. ]Mr. Carter gave the 
 place the name of Farley in honor of his wife, who was his 
 
 ■* See illustration at head of Preface. 
 
 ' An interesting account of the Reverend John Scott and his 
 descendants is given in Haj'den, Virginia Genealogies, p. 603 
 et seq. 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 385 
 
 cousin, Maria Champe Farley, daughter of James Parke 
 Farley and his wife, Elizabeth Hill Byrd, daughter of 
 Honorable William Byrd III, of Westover, and also 
 descended, in the fifth generation, from Robert (" King ") 
 Carter. 
 
 Elizabeth Hill Farley Carter, the only daughter of 
 the Carters of Farley, married Colonel Samuel Storrow, 
 of the United States Army, and she and her husband made 
 their home at Farley during her father's lifetime, and after- 
 ward. In 1836 her husband died and she and her children 
 continued to live at Farley until about 1842, when it was 
 sold, and was long the home of Dr. W. A. Wellford and 
 his wife, who was Miss Corbin. The Wellfords finally sold 
 it' to Mr. Franklin Stearns. 
 
 The Farley estate consists of a goodly number of fertile 
 acres and a commodious mansion situated among fine old 
 trees, and commanding an extensive view. The rooms are 
 spacious and there is a great central hall where in the olden 
 days (says one who knew the place well) " many danced 
 joyfully to the music of old Uncle Jim's fiddle." 
 
 MONTPELIER 
 
 James Madison, like other Virginians who were presi- 
 dents of the United States, was fortunate in his home. 
 Montpelier with its ample, and at the same time har- 
 monious, proportions, its lovely grounds and horseshoe- 
 shaped terraced garden, and, beyond, its superb view of 
 the Blue Ridge, is in both architecture and situation the 
 rival of Oak Hill, President Monroe's home in Loudoun. 
 The estate was originally a large one, President Madison's 
 father owning at the close of the Revolution 7000 to 8000 
 acres of land. The house at first consisted of only the 
 central portion, built about 1760, by James Madison, Sr., 
 but was afterward brought to its present imposing size 
 and appearance. The principal improvements were made 
 in 1809, after designs by William Thornton, architect of 
 
 2;5 
 
386 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 the Capitol at Washington, while Latrobe had a hand in 
 still later improvements, which include the wings. 
 
 President ^Madison was born while his mother was on 
 a visit to her parents, at Port Conway, King George 
 County, but grew up and spent his life (except when called 
 away by official duties) at jNIontpelier. In 1794 he married, 
 in Philadelphia, a beautiful Quakeress — a widow — JMis- 
 tress Dorothea Payne Todd. Though during her girlhood 
 and earlier married life she had known only the habits and 
 customs of the prim society with which her familj' was 
 identified, it was in Virginia, as mistress of the heart and 
 home of one of the most distinguished men of the day, that 
 Dolly INIadison, the sprightly, the lovable, found her true 
 sphere. She had, added to gifts of mind and character, 
 remarkable social talent. In the words of one who knew 
 her: " She never forgot a name she had once heard nor a 
 face she had once seen, nor the personal circumstances 
 connected with every individual of her acquaintance. Her 
 quick recognition of persons ; her recurrence to their pecul- 
 iar interests produced the gratifying impression in each 
 and all of those who conversed with her that they were 
 especial objects of regard." Says the same writer: " Her 
 snuffbox had a magic influence — for who could partake 
 of its contents offered in a manner so gracious and retain 
 a feeling inimical to its owner." As Madison himself was 
 a genial host and delightful talker it is easy to imagine 
 how charming must have been the life at fair Montpelier, 
 which, like so many Virginia homes, was a " seat of hos- 
 pitality." 
 
 One wing of the house was occupied by the mother of 
 the president, and there the venerable dame, attended by 
 her old family servants, constantly visited by her children 
 and grandchildren and tenderly ministered to by her 
 daughter-in-law, the engaging " Dolly," preserved the cus- 
 toms and habits of an earlier generation. One who visited 
 her there draws a striking picture of her at the age of 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 389 
 
 ninety-seven, placidly enjoying the evening of her long 
 life and " always busy," either knitting or reading from her 
 favorite books — " large, dark and worn quartos and folios 
 of most venerable appearance," which were kept upon a 
 table by her side. 
 
 JNIuch has been said and written about the mother of 
 Washington; truly does it seem that this mother of 
 Madison must have been a woman worth knowing in her 
 time and keeping in remembrance after. 
 
 When he was about sixty-six j^ears old, Madison retired 
 from public life and spent his last nineteen years in the 
 enjoyment of his country home, happy in his agricultural 
 interests, his books, his friends, and his corresjjondence. 
 He and Jefferson were intimate friends, and Monticello 
 and JNIontpelier were not too far apart for their masters 
 to exchange frequent visits. 
 
 Madison died at Montpelier on June 28, 1836, aged 
 eighty-five, and he and his wife are buried there, side by 
 side. A handsome shaft, erected by his admirers, marks 
 the spot. 
 
 Montpelier is now the home of Mr. William Dupont, 
 formerly of Delaware, who has added another story to the 
 wings and adorned the terraced gardens with statuary and 
 a varietj' of rare and beautiful shrubs and flowers. 
 
 ROCKLANDS 
 
 The tract of land on which Rocklands is located was 
 purchased about the year 1845, by Edmund Henshaw, who 
 during his ownership erected a dwelling w^hich was later 
 enlarged by Bai-ton H. Haxall, who acquired the estate 
 by purchase, in 1851. At Mr. Haxall's death, in 1882, 
 an Englishman by the name of Moorwood bought the 
 property and made his residence there for several years, 
 finally disposing of Rocklands to Thomas Atkinson, the 
 present owner. 
 
 A year or two after Mr. Atkinson purchased the estate, 
 the original dwelling was totally destroyed by fire, and 
 
390 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 the present handsome house was built bj^ him on the site 
 of the old one. The picture shown here is of the original 
 dwelling. 
 
 ROCKLANDS, ORANGE COUNTY 
 
 FRASCATI 
 
 Frascati, the beautiful home of Judge Philip Pendleton 
 Barbour (1783-1841), speaker of the United States 
 House of Representatives and justice of the United States 
 Supreme Court, was built some time before 1830 by the 
 same workmen who had been employed in erecting the 
 buildings for the University of Virginia. 
 
 After Judge Barbour's death Frascati changed owners 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 391 
 
 many times. For years before the War between the States 
 it was the home of Colonel James Magruder, whose sons, 
 bred at Frascati, were famous for bravery in the Confed- 
 
 FRASCATI, ORANGE COUNTY 
 
 erate Army. Three of these five gallant JVIagruder boys 
 were killed in battle, while the other two were desperatelj'^ 
 wounded. The husband of their sister was also killed in 
 battle." 
 
 In more recent times Frascati was long the home of 
 Mrs. William H. Lyne. Its present master is Mr. A. D. 
 Irving, a kinsman of Washington Irving. 
 
 BARBOURSVILLE 
 
 In a picturesque state of ruin, its walls and its columns 
 draped with ivy, stands Barboursville,* once the handsomest 
 home in Orange County. Jefferson is said to have helped 
 to plan the house, which was built in 1822, by his friend 
 James Barbour (1775-1842), governor of Virginia, and 
 United States senator. In outward appearance it was 
 much like Frascati, the home of Governor Barbour's 
 
 ^ Scott, History of Orange County, p. 156. 
 * See illustration, p. 393. 
 
392 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 brother, Judge Philip Pendleton Barboui"; but the interior 
 was more ambitious. The stately central hall was six- 
 sided and was capped above the second story by a dome. 
 A door from the hall led to the drawing-room, a large and 
 beautiful apartment, octagonal in shape, with windows 
 opening upon a pillared portico. 
 
 The gardens at both Barboursville and Frascati were 
 originally surrounded by serpentine walls like those at the 
 University of Virginia and the one at Barboursville still 
 remains. 
 
 After Governor Barbour's death his home passed to his 
 son, Mr. Johnson Barbour, a gentleman famous for schol- 
 arship and wit, who kept up Barboursville's traditions for 
 cultivation, refinement and hospitality. The destruction 
 of such a home is tragedy. It burned down on Christmas 
 Dav, 1884. 
 
 KESWICK 
 
 Keswick on its green hill, with its shady trees, its box- 
 walks and its charming old garden, was originally part of 
 the Castle Hill estate in Albemarle County and was the in- 
 heritance of Jane Frances Walker, eldest child of Honor- 
 able Francis Walker (1764-1806), of Castle Hill. The 
 plantation was first called Turkej^ Hill and could boast of 
 thirty-seven hundred acres. Its mistress gave her hand in 
 marriage at the age of sixteen years to Doctor Mann Page, 
 who, after thirty-five years of married life, died at Keswick, 
 in 1850 — his wife surviving him until 1873. The Mann 
 Pages were succeeded in their ownership of the estate by 
 their son Doctor Thomas Walker Page, who died there in 
 1887, leaving children who still make their home at Keswick. 
 Another son of Doctor Mann and Jane (Walker) Page 
 was Doctor Richard Channing Moore Page, of New York, 
 the historian of the Page family. Doctor Page has given 
 an interesting account of the long series of tutors who 
 taught at Keswick, which eventually became the site of a 
 noted boarding school conducted by two of Thomas Walker 
 Page's sons, James Morris and Thomas Walker Page, Jr. 
 
BARBOURSVILLE, ORANGE COUNTY 
 
 EDGE HILL, ALBERMARLE COUNTY 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 395 
 
 EDGE HILL 
 
 In the year 1735, William Randolph, of Tuckahoe, 
 patented twenty-four hundred acres of land in Albemarle 
 County. Though he continued to live at Tuckahoe, in 
 Goochland, his holdings in Albemarle had, as will be seen, 
 an interesting effect upon the Randolph family history. 
 
 Over and over again in Virginia, adjoining lands have 
 been responsible for the joining of hands. About 1770 
 Thomas Mann Randolph, Senior (1741-1793), of Tucka- 
 hoe, a wealthy widower, and his son Thomas Mann 
 Randolph, Junior (1768-1828), were both numbered 
 among the eligible beaux (or " catches," as the popular 
 phrase would have expressed it) of Virginia. The 
 Randolph estate in Albemarle lay between Belmont, the 
 Harvie estate, and Monticello, the Jefferson estate; and 
 at both Belmont and Monticello was a lovely young daugh- 
 ter. What more natural than that ere long dusky pro- 
 ficients in the dance music of the good old times were tun- 
 ing their fiddles for two weddings: Thomas JNIann 
 Randolph, the father, and the witty Gabriella Harvie mak- 
 ing one pair; and Thomas Mann Randolph, the son, and 
 the gentle Martha Jefferson, the other. The elder bride- 
 groom took his bride to Tuckahoe and gave the Albemarle 
 plantation to his son, who named it Edge Hill, and built 
 upon it a commodious frame homestead. 
 
 The young master of Edge Hill became one of the 
 leading men of his time. He represented his district in 
 Congress, and in 1818 became governor of Virginia. His 
 own prominence, and his wife's, together with their per- 
 sonal charm, made Edge Hill a resort for distinguished 
 visitors second only to Monticello. 
 
 Upon Governor Randolph's death the estate passed to 
 his son, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, who, in 1828, re- 
 moved the old house to the rear and built, upon the original 
 site, the present brick mansion. After his death Edge Hill 
 became famous as a boarding school which was opened by 
 his widow, Mrs. Jane (Nicholas) Randolph, and carried 
 
396 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 on many years after her time by her daughters, Misses 
 Mary and Sarah Randolph. It was interrupted by the 
 War between the States, but was reopened in 1869 and 
 continued until 1896, when Edge Hill passed from the 
 Randolph family, and became once more a private 
 residence. 
 
 The house is filled with relics of Thomas Jefferson. 
 Its situation in view of the Blue Ridge, its lovely lawn 
 and gardens, and its park of great forest trees, make the 
 old home of Jefferson's daughter as beautiful as it is in- 
 teresting. , - 
 
 CASTLE HILL AND BELVOIR 
 
 Doctor Thomas Walker (1715-1794), a descendant of 
 Captain Thomas Walker, of Gloucester County, who came 
 to Virginia, about 1650, from Staffordshire, England,' was 
 a prominent physician in his day, interested in politics and 
 exploration, an influential member of the House of Bur- 
 gesses, the Revolutionary Conventions and the Committee 
 of Safety, several times Virginia's commissioner to effect 
 treaties with the Indians, commissary under Washington 
 in the French and Indian War, and probably the first white 
 man who ever entered the territory which is now the State 
 of Kentucky. In 1750 Doctor Walker went to the " west- 
 ern country " and during this expedition named Cumber- 
 land gap and ri^^er in honor of the Duke of Cumberland. 
 It is said that Doctor Walker introduced the celebrated 
 apple, the Albemarle pippin, into Albemarle County from 
 New York. He was the guardian of Thomas Jefferson 
 and an intimate friend of both Washington and Jefferson. 
 
 A descendant of Doctor Walker writes in a sketch of 
 the Walker family: "In 1765 Doctor Walker bviilt the 
 house at Castle Hill, which has become a well-known place 
 to Virginians. The small panes of glass and the brass 
 door-locks, which may still be seen in the venerable build- 
 
 ^ Walker family : Watson's, Some Xotable Families of America, 
 p. 86 et seq. 
 
CASTLE HILL, ALBEMARLE COUNTY 
 
 STARTING THE HUNT 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 399 
 
 ing, were brought from London, and the quaint old hall, 
 which is still the centre of a graceful hospitality, has echoed 
 to the violin of Jefferson and the step of JNIadison in the 
 merry dance. 
 
 " Here five men, either presidents or presidents-to-be, 
 have been entertained as familiar friends or relatives, while 
 many others, notable at home and abroad, have met here in 
 cliarming companionship." 
 
 Doctor Walker married first, in 1741, INIildred, widow 
 of Nicholas Meriwether, and daughter of Colonel Francis 
 
 «* 
 
 
 BELVOIR, ALBEMARLE COUNTY 
 
 and ]Mary (Taliaferro) Thornton, of Snow Creek, Caro- 
 line County. His second wife was Elizabeth Thornton, 
 a sister of his first wife. His children were all by the first 
 wife. 
 
 Doctor Walker died November 19, 1794, leaving many 
 descendants. His eldest son. Honorable John Walker 
 (1744-1809), who was a member of General Washing- 
 ton's staff during the Revolutionary War and United 
 States senator from Virginia, married Elizabeth, daughter 
 of Bernard and Catherine (Spotswood) Moore, and 
 
400 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 settled at Belvoir, which was destro3'ed by fire in 1836. 
 Their only child, Mildred (1764-1784), married Honor- 
 able Francis Kinloch, of South Carolina, and her only 
 child, Eliza Kinloch, married Honorable Hugh Nelson 
 (1768-1836). Belvoir descended to Mrs. Nelson and she 
 and her husband made their home there. This estate was 
 about three miles southeast of Castle Hill. The first resi- 
 dence there was built by Robert Lewis, nearer the moun- 
 tain than the later house; but has long since disappeared. 
 Colonel John Walker built a house at Belvoir, which was 
 afterwards removed to another location. About 1790 
 JNIr. Walker built a second house, which was destroyed 
 by fire, in 1836, but a ground plan thereof is preserved 
 by an illustration in Page's Page Family. In the rear 
 was an ornamental garden and behind that the kitchen 
 garden. In front was a splendid grove of poplars and 
 oaks. After the death of Hugh Nelson, the estate was 
 divided and the house part fell to the youngest son. Dr. 
 Robert W. Nelson. He sold it in 1846 to D. C. Carver. 
 
 The following quaint correspondence passed between 
 Doctor Thomas Walker and Bernard INIoore a short time 
 before the marriage of their children. 
 
 ( The father of John Walker to the father of Elizabeth 
 JNIoore : ) 
 
 May 27th, 1764. 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 Mj son Mr. John Walker, having informed me of his intention 
 to pay his addresses to your daughter Elizabeth, if he should be 
 agreeable to yourself, lady and daughter, it may not be amiss to 
 inform you what 1 feel myself able to afford for their support in 
 case of an union. JMy affairs are in an uncertain state ; but 1 will 
 promise one thousand pounds, to be paid in 1766, and the further 
 sum of two thousand 1 promise to give him ; but the uncertainty 
 of my present aft'airs prevent my fixing on a time of payment, the 
 above sums are all to be in money or lands and other effects, at 
 the option of my said son John Walker. 
 
 1 am, sir, your humble servant, 
 
 Thomas Walker. 
 Col. Bernard Moore, EsaR., 
 in King William. 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 401 
 
 ( The father of Elizabeth Moore to the father of John 
 Walker;) 
 
 May 28th 1764. 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 Your son, Mr. John Walker applied to me for leave to make 
 his addresses to my daughter Elizabeth. I gave him leave and told 
 him at the same time that my affairs were in such a state that it 
 was not in my power to pay him all the money this year that I 
 intended to give my daughter provided he succeeded, but would 
 give him five hundred pounds more as soon after as I could raise 
 or get the money ; which sums you may depend I will most punctu- 
 ally pay to him. 
 
 I am, sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 Bernard jNIoore. 
 To Thomas Walker, 
 
 Castle Hill, Albemarle County, Va. 
 
 Honorable Francis Walker (1764-1806), the j'oungest 
 son of Doctor Thomas Walker, married Jane Byrd Nelson, 
 of Yorktown. He was a member of Congress and inherited 
 Castle Hill. Judith Page Walker (1802-1882), the 
 daughter of Francis and Jane Byrd Walker, naarried 
 Honorable William Cabell Rives (1793-1868), who held 
 many high offices in the State. Mr. and Mrs. Rives 
 made their home at Castle Hill and were succeeded there 
 by their son Alfred Landon Rives, who married Miss Sadie 
 McMurdo and were the parents of the author Amelie 
 Rives (Princess Troubetzkoy ) , who has made the place 
 famous in recent years. 
 
 An interesting story in connection with Castle Hill is 
 that of a visit — for quite other than friendly purposes — ■ 
 paid there in 1781, by Colonel Tarleton. He was on his 
 way to Charlottesville to make capture of the Assembly of 
 Virginia and state officers who were gathered there. This 
 attempt was frustrated by the famous ride of gallant Jack 
 Jouett, but Tarleton, turning aside to make capture of 
 some men of prominence at Castle Hill and Belvoir, found 
 at the former Colonel John Syme — ^the half brother of 
 Patrick Henry — and Judge Peter Lyons. " These gentle- 
 
 26 
 
402 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 men were surprised in their beds," says JNIr. William Wirt 
 Henry, in his Life of Patrick Henry, and it is related, as 
 an instance of Tarleton's humor, that when Colonel Sjane, 
 who was remarkably homely, was brought from his bed- 
 room undressed, and with dishevelled hair, the celebrated 
 cavalryman threw himself into the attitude of Hamlet 
 upon discovering his father's ghost, and exclaimed: 
 
 Angels and ministers of grace, defend us ! 
 
 Be thou a spirit of health, or gobhn damned? 
 
 MONTICELLO 
 
 Monticello was not only the home but the creation of 
 Thomas Jefferson. That versatile genius, who seems to 
 have excelled in everything he undertook, save playing 
 the violin, was as great an architect of houses as of States, 
 and JNIonticello and the University of Virginia ( four miles 
 away) are poems in brick and mortar. Standing upon a 
 plain at the top of a high hill, from which it takes its name, 
 Monticello, or " little mountain," looks upon a wide stretch 
 of fertile country through which winds the Rivanna River, 
 and beyond, an unbroken view of the Blue Ridge for one 
 hundred and fifty miles. 
 
 The mansion is in Jefferson's favorite classic style of 
 architecture, with Doric porticoes and a dome whose win- 
 dows flood the great hall below with light. This hall is 
 thirtj^ feet square, with graceful winding stairways leading 
 to the upper stories. In Jefferson's daj" it was a sort of 
 museum. William ^Virt tells us that along one side of it 
 were specimens of sculpture set in such order as to show 
 the progress of that art " from the first rude attempts of 
 the aborigines of our country " to a bust of Jefferson him- 
 self, by Carracci. On the other was displayed a vast col- 
 lection of specimens of the Indian art — their pottery, 
 weapons, ornaments, etc. ; on another, the fossil productions 
 of our country. In other parts of the house, says Wirt, 
 were hung valuable paintings from all countries and all 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 403 
 
 ages, and portraits of distinguislied men, both of Europe 
 and America, and medallions and engravings in endless 
 profusion. 
 
 The drawing-room in which Jefferson entertained the 
 many guests that flocked to JNIonticello is finished with 
 inlaid satin-wood and rose-wood, with richly-carved 
 cornices, and the doors are of solid mahogan}\ It is said 
 that Jefferson sometimes entertained as many as fifty 
 guests at one time at jMonticello. 
 
 The bed-chambers at JMonticello are hexagonal in 
 shape. Jefferson's arrangement of his and his wife's rooms 
 was unique. The two apartments were connected by a 
 wide arch in which stood, lengthwise, a luxurious bed six 
 feet wide, half of which extended into his own room, the 
 other half into Mrs. Jefferson's. 
 
 Jefferson was like Washington and INIadison in losing 
 his heart to a young, fascinating and wealthy widow. JNIis- 
 tress Martha Skelton was her name, and Jefferson won 
 her from manj^ rival suitors, in spite of the fact that his 
 wretched performances on the violin played a conspicuous 
 part in his wooing. Indeed, it is said that the lady's seem- 
 ing enjoyment of these performances convinced Jeffer- 
 son's rivals of the depth of her devotion to him and the 
 hopelessness of their own and all other suits. 
 
 The story goes that the distinguished pair of lovers 
 made their wedding journey to JMonticello in a blinding 
 snow-storm, arriving there at two o'clock in the morning. 
 The servants were not expecting them and were sleeping 
 so soundly that they could not be aroused; so the bridal 
 pair had to make the best of spending the night in a one- 
 room brick office, wherein the master of IMonticello had 
 kept bachelor's quarters while superintending the building 
 of his mansion. As they had a blazing log-fire and a bottle 
 of wine to cheer them after their drive through the storm, 
 no doubt the statesman and his bride were enough like 
 other young folk to enjoy their adventure. 
 
 The grounds at ]Monticello are as attractive in their 
 own way as the house, with their stretches of greensward 
 and their old Lombardy poplars. In the graveyard, which 
 
404 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 blooms like a garden, lie the mortal remains of Jeif erson, 
 who died at JMonticello, July 4, 1826, and his wife and 
 daughters. Over his grave stands a plain obelisk bearing 
 the epitaph he wrote for himself: " Here lies buried 
 Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Free- 
 dom, and Father of the University of Virginia " — a simple 
 statement of the three achievements for which he hoped 
 to be, and always will be, remembered. 
 
 In the grave with JeiFerson lies the body of a friend 
 of his boyhood. When they were children he and this 
 friend agreed to be buried together, the one who died last 
 to see to it that the compact was fulfilled. The other boy 
 died at the age of seventeen, and when Jefferson chose his 
 own burial place, he had the body of his friend removed 
 thither, and so the two friends sleep in one grave to-day. 
 
 Jefferson was a scientific farmer. Before his time the 
 plow was an exceedingly j^rimitive implement and he im- 
 proved it for the benefit of his own lands. JNIonticello plan- 
 tation was a busy place; wrought iron nails were made, 
 and cloth woven there, and the ruins of a flour mill may 
 still be seen. 
 
 Jefferson was a close observer of nature and the 
 weather, and took pains to register the state of both ther- 
 mometer and barometer every day throughout his life. 
 Just above the main entrance at JNIonticello he constructed 
 an ingenious clock with two faces, one inside and one out- 
 side of the hall. This clock marked the days of the week 
 as well as the hours, and by means of an arrow connected 
 with a weather-vane on the top of the house showed the 
 direction of the wind. 
 
 During the Revolution Tarleton's cavalry raided 
 JNIonticello in an attempt to take Jefferson captive. 
 Jefferson had received a timely warning, however, and 
 escaping through an underground passage, still to be seen 
 at JNIonticello, rode off on horseback to Colonel Edward 
 Carter's plantation, about sixty miles distant, to which he 
 had alreadv hurried his wife and children. Some of the 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 405 
 
 members of the Assembly (which had been in session at 
 Charlottesville) were less fortunate — seven of them falling 
 into Tarleton's hands at Castle Hill, then the home of 
 Doctor Thomas Walker. 
 
 Monticello is now the property and home of Mr. Jef- 
 ferson LevJ^ 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA 
 
 President Madison, writing of Thomas Jefferson, in 
 1826, said: " The University of Virginia, as a temple 
 dedicated to science and liberty, was after his retirement 
 from the political sphere the object nearest his heart, and 
 so continued to the close of his life. His devotion to it was 
 intense and his exertions unceasing. It bears the stamp 
 of his genius and will be a noble monument to his fame." 
 
 Says Professor Herbert B. Adams, in a monograph 
 upon this " noblest work of Jefferson's life " : " The build- 
 ings of the University of Virginia are Jefferson's thoughts 
 materialized in artistic form." 
 
 It would seem to one looking upon this " academical 
 village " with its velvet lawns bordered by the white colon- 
 nades of the dormitories, the pillars and pediments of the 
 professors' homes, and, dominating all, the dome and the 
 lofty columns of the Rotunda, that these thoughts of Jef- 
 ferson's so beautifully materialized here in the heart of 
 Virginia, with her blue mountains for a background, were 
 all of the " glory that was Greece and the grandeur that 
 was Rome." 
 
 Jefferson's idea was to make the university an ever- 
 present object-lesson to the students in correct principles 
 of the builder's art. He chose the poetic, classic form and 
 designed the porticoes and colonnades to illustrate the 
 Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders of architecture. The 
 white-pillared village is built around a stretch of level 
 green lawn 1000 feet long and 200 feet wide. Along the 
 east and west sides stand at intervals the homes of the 
 professors, shaded by ancient trees and connected by the 
 long, low, colonnaded dormitories, while on the terrace 
 
406 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 across the north end gleams the Rotunda — the glory of 
 the old university. Across the south end of the lawn now 
 stands the new academic building. 
 
 Behind the buildings fronting ujjon the " East Lawn " 
 and " West Lawn " lie the gardens, separated by narrow 
 walks and enclosed by the famous serpentine walls, which 
 were designed by Jefferson and are a unique feature of 
 the university. These high, zigzag walls, one brick thick, 
 are wonderfully picturesque, especially in summer when 
 festooned with greenery. Beyond the gardens at either 
 side, and parallel with the buildings on the lawn, stands a 
 row of other dormitories, opening on brick arcades. These 
 are known as " East Range " and " West Range." 
 
 The University of Virginia was the passion of the later 
 j'-ears of Jefferson's life. He not only drew the plans for 
 the buildings but personally sujjerintended their con- 
 struction, supervising the minutest details and even design- 
 ing tools for the workmen and showing them how to use 
 them. Two " Italian artists " were brought over to cut 
 the capitals of the columns, and when it was found that 
 Virginia stone was unsuitable for this purpose a number 
 of beautifully chiselled white marble capitals were imported 
 from Italy; but most of the work was done on the ground 
 by Jefferson's own workmen, trained bj' him. 
 
 In August, 1820, he wrote to John Adams, from IMonti- 
 cello: " Our University, four miles distant, gives me fre- 
 quent exercise, as I direct its architecture." 
 
 Professor Herbert B. Adams, in his sketch of the uni- 
 versity, already quoted, writes as follows: 
 
 " A visitor pacing slowly through these monastic colon- 
 nades extending along two sides of the great quadrangle 
 campus of the Universitj^ of Virginia will receive a strange 
 variety of impressions from the extraordinary architectural 
 combinations which greet his wandering eyes. The arcades 
 themselves from which open directly the single-chambered 
 rooms of the students, remind one of cloistered walks in 
 some ancient monastery. These student-rooms are like 
 monkish-cells. But wonderful facades are those which 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 409 
 
 front the professors' houses, or paviHons. They reproduce 
 classic styles of architecture. The shadows of remote an- 
 tiquity are cast upon those beautiful grassy lawns, which 
 form the campus. 
 
 " From JefFersons drawings we learn what is well 
 nigh forgotten, that these varying types of classical archi- 
 tecture were copied from well-known Roman buildings 
 pictured by Palladio in his great work on architecture. 
 There, in the theatre of JNIarcellus, dwells the household of 
 Professor Minor. Yonder are reminders of the baths of 
 Diocletian, the baths of Caracalla and the temple of For- 
 tuna Virillis. And there at the upper or northern end of 
 the quadrangle, stands the Roman Pantheon, the temple 
 of all the gods, reduced to one-third of its original size, 
 but still majestic and imposing. This building with its 
 Rotunda, upon which Jefferson spent almost as much pains 
 as Michael Angelo did upon the dome of St. Peter's, is 
 vised for the library and for various lecture halls. Young 
 people dance merrily under the stately dome at the end of 
 the academic year. The young monks then escape from 
 their cells into the modern social world. How charmingly 
 old Rome, mediaeval Europe and modern America blend 
 together before the very ejJ-es of young Virginia! " 
 
 In 1895 news that the university was on fire filled the 
 heart of every son and daughter of Virginia within the 
 bounds of the old commonwealth, and beyond, with grief. 
 A large building at the rear of the Rotunda, known as 
 the Annex, was destroyed and the Rotunda itself burnt 
 out, with the valuable collections of books and manuscripts 
 in the library. 
 
 The loss was at first felt to be irreparable, but great 
 compensation has been found in the love and loyalty to 
 Virginia's greatest institute which it brought out. Gifts 
 for the restoration poured in from every direction and soon 
 the rebuilt Rotunda stood in all its wonted beauty at the 
 head of the lawn, while in place of the Annex a group of 
 fire-proof, well equipped, new buildings, architecturallj^ 
 harmonious with the old ones, provided a thoroughly up- 
 
410 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 to-date Physical Laboratory, JMechanical Laboratory, and 
 Public Hall. 
 
 The room occupied by Edgar Allan Poe while a stu- 
 dent at the uniyersity is preserved as a Poe museum and 
 a meeting place of " The Rayen Society." 
 
 FARMIXGTON 
 
 A stately mansion, broad acres clothed with the green 
 of blue grass, corn and wheat, and a splendid yiew of the 
 Blue Ridge combine to make Farmington, some three miles 
 from the L^niyersity of Virginia, a most attractiye home. 
 
 FARMINGTON, ALBEMARLE COUNTY 
 
 The house was designed by Thomas Jefferson for and at 
 the request of his friend, ^Ir. George Diyers, and is said 
 to be a reproduction of a country house seen by Jefferson 
 when abroad. It is probably over a hundred years old, 
 as ]Mr. Divers bought the plantation in 1788. 
 
 Upon the death of ISIr. Divers, Farmington passed by- 
 inheritance to INIrs. Isaac White, who sold it to ^Ir. John 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 411 
 
 C. Carter. In 1853 it was again sold to General Bernard 
 Peyton, who, it is said, expended $30,000.00 in improve- 
 ments upon the house and plantation. In 1860 Mr. Joseph 
 Miller, a wealthy and accomplished English gentleman, 
 on a visit to Virginia was so much pleased with Farmington 
 that he bought it and presented it to his sister, ISIrs. Mary 
 Ann Harper, who bequeathed it to her son, Mr. Warner 
 Wood. 
 
 REDLANDS 
 
 Redlands, just east of Carter's Bridge, Albemarle, was 
 the home of Robert Carter, son of Edward Carter of Blen- 
 
 REDLANDS, ALBEMARLE COUNTY 
 
 heim. He died there, in 1810. His son Robert H. Carter, 
 who inherited the place, married JNIargaret Smith, a grand- 
 daughter of Governor Nicholas. 
 
 PENN PARK 
 Penn Park is one of the oldest homesteads in Albemarle 
 County. It was bought by Doctor George Gilmer and 
 was, from 1777 to 1800, the home of the Gilmer family. 
 
412 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Doctor Gilmer died at Penn Park in 1796, and after the 
 death of his wife, in 1800, the estate was sold and has since 
 had various owners. 
 
 The Gilmers were people of marked refinement and 
 culture. Francis W. Gilmer, Doctor Gilmer's son, was 
 a protege of Thomas Jefferson's. He was the first pro- 
 fessor of Latin in the University of Virginia and was 
 entrusted with the selection of the members of the first 
 faculty of that institution. 
 
 A distinguished grandson of Doctor Gilmer was the 
 Honorable Thomas Walker Gilmer, governor of Virginia 
 and secretary of the navy, who was killed by an explosion 
 on board the United States ship Princeton in 1844. 
 
 Doctor Gihiier's daughter Mildred became the first 
 wife of Honorable William Wirt, and Kennedy in his life 
 of jNIr. Wirt charmingly describes the life at Penn Park 
 in early days. 
 
 MOXTICOLA 
 
 Monticola, the home of ^Nliss Emily M. Nolting, is 
 located near Howardsville, in Albemarle County. The 
 dwelling, situated on the high land overlooking the 
 broad and fertile valley of James River, commands an ex- 
 tended view over three counties — Albemarle, Nelson and 
 Buckingham — with the hazy outline of the Blue Ridge 
 Mountains in the background. It was built prior to the 
 War between the States by ]Mr. D. J. Hartsook, who, in 
 1887, sold it to INIr. E. O. Nolting, of Richmond, Virginia, 
 the father of its present owner. 
 
 In style of architectui'e the main house, built of brick, 
 with columns in front of its wide porch, and with two 
 " offices," one on either side to correspond, resembles many 
 of the ante-bellum country homes in Piedmont, Virginia, 
 showing in its design the impress of JefFersonian influence. 
 
 During the devastating raids of General Sheridan, 
 " JNIonticola " was occupied by him as headquarters. A 
 large square cut in the flooring of an upper bedroom marks 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 413 
 
 the place where valuables were hid at that time to save 
 them from pillage. 
 
 The plantation itself dates back to Revolutionary times, 
 as evidenced by a strip of road near the house said to have 
 been survej'ed by General Washington himself, and con- 
 stituting a part of the Post Road connecting Lynchburg 
 
 MONTICOLA, ALBEMARLE COUNTY 
 
 with Richmond, other links of which appear in the inter- 
 
 venmg counties. 
 
 The original residence, still standing on this estate, was 
 built by a Mr. Fowle in Colonial days, its hand-wrought 
 nails, glazed bricks and hand-carved mantels testifying to 
 this fact, and tradition has it that General Washington 
 lodged there. 
 
 ENNISCORTHY 
 
 John Coles I came from Ireland to Virginia during 
 the eighteenth century. He was an early settler in Rich- 
 mond Town and, tradition has it, built one of the first 
 houses there. He was senior warden of the parish, and 
 dying in Richmond in 1747 was buried in the chancel of 
 
414 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 old St. John's Church. WiUiam Coles, a younger brother 
 of John, and the grandfather of " Dolly INIadison," fol- 
 lowed his brother to Virginia and settled in Hanover 
 County, where he built " Coles Hill." 
 
 John Coles I was a man of ample means and owning 
 an estate in what is now i\lbemarle County (then Gooch- 
 land), on the Green ]Mountain, built a residence there. 
 This home he named Enniscorthy after the place of resi- 
 dence of his ancestors in Leinster, County Wexford, Ire- 
 land. 
 
 John Coles II (who was a colonel of militia during 
 the Revolutionary War), son of the first John Coles, in- 
 herited Enniscorthy and greatly enlarged the original 
 dwelling by the addition of wings, pinions, double pinions, 
 and ample piazzas. This house was completely destroyed 
 by fire in 1839. 
 
 The present house at Enniscorthy was built in 1850. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Bennett, the present owners 
 of this estate, are great-grandchildren of the second John 
 Coles. 
 
 The first burial in the old family burying-ground at 
 Enniscorthy was that of a child of John Coles II, in 1772, 
 and in its soil also sleep the remains of Elizabeth Travis 
 Tucker, born in Jamestown in 1727. She was the mother 
 of Elizabeth, wife of John Coles II. 
 
 WOODVILLE 
 
 Woodville was built in 1796, as indicated by a date 
 marked on a brick in the front hall fireplace. The house 
 was erected by John Coles II, of Enniscorthy, for his 
 eldest son Walter, on land which was part of one of the 
 second grants from the Colonial authorities in the name of 
 the Crown, to the Coles family. This estate has been occu- 
 pied b}'' a Walter Coles for four successive generations — 
 Walter R. Coles, of St. Louis, being the fourth of that 
 name. 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 415 
 
 WOODVILLE, ALBEMARLE COUNTY 
 
 ESTOUTEVILLE, ALBEMARLE COUNTY 
 
 ESTOUTEVILLE 
 
 Estouteville, one of the most beautiful homes in Vir- 
 ginia, was built in 1830 by John Coles III. Its name is 
 derived from the Count d'Estouteville, an ancestor of the 
 
416 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Skipwith family from whom ]\Ir. Coles' wife, who was 
 Salina, younger daughter of Sir Peyton Skipwith, of 
 
 THE HALL AT ESTOt'TEnLLE 
 
 Prestwould, ^Mecklenburg County, descended. The pres- 
 ent owner of this estate is INIr. Virgil P. Randolph. 
 
 TALLWOOD. ALBEMARLE COUNTY 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 417 
 
 TALLWOOD 
 
 Tallwood was built in 1804 by Tucker Coles, son of 
 John Coles II, who married Helen, daughter of Sir Peyton 
 Skipwith, of Prestwould. This couple lived to celebrate 
 their golden wedding in this house. 
 
 Tallwood is now owned by William D. Waters, Esq., 
 formerly of St. Louis. 
 
 PLAIN DEALING 
 
 Thomas Staples secured both by patent and purchase 
 many hundreds of acres of land in Albemarle County on 
 Hudson and Totier Creeks, and, in 1787, sold a tract of 
 
 
 ii&#^ 
 
 fc--. 
 
 
 x^ma^AE'' 
 
 PLAIN DEALING, ALBEMARLE COUNTY 
 
 five hundred acres of his holdings to Samuel Dyer. The 
 lands thus disposed of extended from Hudson to Totier 
 and included the site of " Plain Dealing." 
 
 Samuel Dyer * was born in Bristol, England, October 
 8, 1756, and emigrated to Virginia, in 1770, and served 
 throughout the Revolutionary War. For some time he 
 was assistant to the agent, or Quartermaster, of the Vir- 
 ginia line. Immediateljr following the war, Mr. Dyer 
 became associated with David Ross and Company, of Rich- 
 mond, a strong firm of merchants, later withdrawing and 
 
 * Woods, Albemarle County in Virginia, pp. 185 186. 
 
 27 
 
418 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 forming a partnership with William Hay. About 1786, 
 Mr. Dyer disposed of his Richmond interests and went to 
 live on his Albemarle estate, which, in course of years, 
 grew to be a tract of twenty-two hundred acres. He 
 greatty enlarged the old Staples house. 
 
 Samuel Dj'er's store at his Albemarle home was " a 
 well-known place of business in those days, situated at the 
 junction of the roads from Staunton and Charlottesville to 
 Scott's landing," and served also the purposes of stage- 
 coach office and post-office. 
 
 Dj^er's old store is now the vicarage of Christ Church; 
 the sign " Plain Dealing," nailed above the door, gave the 
 store its name and the name has ever clung to the estate. 
 
 Mr. Dyer was very successful in his mercantile, milling 
 and planting ventures and amassed a large fortune. 
 
 In 1786 Samuel Dyer married Celia Bickley, grand- 
 daughter of Joseph Bickley, gentleman, of Louisa County, 
 whose son Sir William Bickley, Baronet, of Louisa County, 
 succeeded as 6th Baronet of the family of Bickley of Attle- 
 borough Hall, County Norfolk, England.'^ 
 
 Samuel Dj^er died in 1839, Mrs. Dyer surviving him but 
 a jrear. Their children were ( 1 ) William Hay Dyer, lieu- 
 tenant of the " Riclimond Blues," 1812, and magistrate of 
 Albemarle Countj^; (2) Major Samuel Dyer, of the " Elite 
 (Randolph's) Corps "; (3) Ann, wife of George Robert- 
 son; (4) Francis Bickley Dyer, attornej^, captain of 
 Albemarle company of field artillery, and magistrate; 
 (5) Celia Bickley Dyer; (6) Robert Dyer; (7) Elizabeth, 
 wife of George M. Payne; (8) John Dyer; (9) Thomas 
 Dyer; (10) Mary Jane, wife of George A. Nicholson; 
 (11) Martha, wife of Joseph A. Watkins; (12) Sarah 
 Dyer. 
 
 During the decade of 1830 most of the children moved 
 to Missouri. 
 
 Shortly after Mrs. Dj^er's death, in 1840, Bishop 
 
 ® Bickley Family : William and Mary College Quarterly His- 
 torical Magazine, v, 28-30 and 124-127. 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 419 
 
 J. P. B. Wilmer acquiring the mansion and some one thou- 
 sand acres of Plain Dealing estate, and it was while he 
 was in possession of the property that General Robert E. 
 Lee paid him a visit and informed him of a decision to 
 accept the presidency of " Washington College." This 
 estate descended to Bishop Wilmer's son, from whom 
 Theodore Roosevelt purchased " Pine Knot." " Pine 
 Knot " was originally the " cottage " on the " Plain Deal- 
 ing " estate. 
 
 MOUNTAIN TOP 
 
 Rock Fish Gap, which takes its name from the spark- 
 ling little Rock Fish River, was long one of the main pas- 
 sage-ways through the Blue Ridge between Albemarle and 
 
 MOUNTAIN TOP, ALBEMARLE COUNTY 
 
 Augusta Counties. In early days there stood in this gap 
 a tavern for the accommodation of travellers across the 
 mountains, and in the parlor of this primitive house of 
 entertainment met the commission, of which Jefferson, 
 Madison and Monroe were all members, which fixed Char- 
 lottesville as the site for the University of Virginia. 
 
420 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 In later times additions were made to the old tavern, 
 and cottages built upon the lawn, and under the name of 
 INIountain Toj) it became a popular summer resort. A 
 few years ago it was destroyed by fire and a private resi- 
 dence has been built upon its site. 
 
 THE SOUTHSIDE 
 
 The arrangement into chapters, or parts, followed in 
 this work has been used partly for convenience, and partly 
 on account of the geographical divisions, which have always 
 been familiar to Virginians by the names here given them. 
 We have now come to the last of these divisions east of the 
 mountains. The designation " The Southside " is variously 
 understood in Virginia but is perhaps most generally taken 
 to mean the section including the counties of Prince Ed- 
 ward, Brunswick, ]Mecklenburg, Charlotte, Lunenburg, 
 Halifax and Pittsylvania. 
 
 CLOVER FOREST 
 
 In Prince Edward County, which is separated by the 
 Appomattox River from what we have called the " Upper 
 James " section, is a unique homestead which was for 
 many years the propertj' of the Lancaster family, while 
 across the Appomattox is Clover Forest, another quaint 
 old home of the Lancasters. Both of these houses were 
 built in the early time when the prevailing type of dwell- 
 ing was the log-cabin and were doubtless then looked upon 
 as considerable mansions. 
 
 Old Clover Forest was the home of John Lancaster, a 
 native of Prince Edward County, and a brave Revolution- 
 arj soldier. He died on January 28, 1826, and was buried 
 at Clover Forest, where sleeps also his wife, Drusilla, 
 daughter of Alexander Le Grand, who died on Decem- 
 ber 14, 1825, and Lucj^ Walker, his wife. 
 
 John A. Lancaster (son of John and Drusilla Lan- 
 caster) moved to Richmond, in 1813, and later became the 
 first president of the first railroad in Virginia — the Rich- 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 421 
 
 mond, Fredericksbnrgh (^ Potomac E. H. He was the 
 father of Robert A. Lancaster, a prominent busmess man 
 of Richmond. The latter was the father of Robert A. 
 Lancaster, Jr., the author of this book. 
 
 Another interesting personage who was an ancestor of 
 the present Lancaster famih^ and who was buried at Clover 
 
 CLOVER FOREST, PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY 
 
 Forest in 1824 was Justin Pierre Plumard, Comte de 
 Rieux, who was born in Nantes, France, on March 10, 
 1756, was a captain in the Blue Guards of Louis XVI, and 
 came to America in 1784, with his wife, Maria Margueretta 
 Martini, step-daughter of Philip Mazzei, the well-known 
 friend of Thomas Jefferson. 
 
 GREEN HILL 
 
 " Green Hill " was built by Samuel Pannill, a native of 
 Orange County, Virginia, born 1770, the 7th child of Wil- 
 liam and Ann (Morton) Pannill. On attaining his ma- 
 jority, Mr. Pannill was given by his father a large tract 
 of land in the Blue Grass region of Kentucky, but becom- 
 ing dissatisfied with life " in the back-woods " he sold 
 
422 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 these lands, returned to Virginia, purchased the " Green 
 Hill " estate, in Campbell County, and there continued 
 to reside throughout the remainder of his life. 
 
 " Green Hill " is wonderfully situated on an elevated 
 plateau, overlooking Staunton River and commanding a 
 view for miles of the surrounding country. The estate, 
 containing some five thousand acres tying on both sides 
 of the river, with its " quarters," barns, shops, store and 
 mill, resembled more an industrial village than simply the 
 seat of a country gentleman. " Good roads " seem to have 
 
 
 M^p^ 
 
 ■ ■ 
 
 s 
 
 ^^^^P 
 
 ^M| 
 
 
 ^Hl^&^^ .. M 
 
 ■ 
 
 - ! ::i::^M 
 
 
 
 " i h'""'''^ i^ 
 
 %:^dw: 
 
 
 ^^H 
 
 -f;':,,\^~-: O' •" "■>^..f, 7;^ 
 
 i^reaiPPH 
 
 GREEN HILL, CAMPBELL COUNTY 
 
 been a marked characteristic of the estate for we are told 
 by a contemporary that some of these, together with the 
 many picturesque lanes intersecting them, were paved with 
 stone. The large number of slaves owned by the master 
 of Green Hill, and resident on the estate, included not only 
 ordinary farmhands, but also many valuable mechanics: 
 carpenters, stone-masons, shoemakers, blacksmiths, coopers, 
 sawj^ers and millers, besides whom there were men to handle 
 the boats in which the flour made at the large mill was 
 sent down the river. Among the female contingent were 
 seamstresses, weavers and house-servants. 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 423 
 
 Mr. Pannill was as careful in providing for the spiritual 
 as for the material welfare of his servants and built for 
 their specific use a commodious stone church which will ever 
 remain as a proof of his solicitude for the religious life of his 
 " black-folk." 
 
 At his death ]Mr. Pannill was survived by five daughters 
 and two sons. Neither of the sons ever married. 
 
 RED HILL 
 
 Red Hill, the last home and the burial-place of Patrick 
 Henry, is in Charlotte County, Virginia. He purchased 
 it in 1794, and his will contains this clause: " I do give to 
 my said wife Dorothea, all my lands at and adjoining my 
 dwelling-place called Red Hill, purchased from Booker, 
 Watkins and others, out of a tract called Watkins' order, 
 to hold during her natural life." 
 
 The name is derived from the red-brown soil in front 
 of the house, which is beautifully situated on an elevated 
 ridge. Thirty-eight miles to the northwest is Lynchburg, 
 the nearest city. To the south, the valley of the Staunton 
 stretches its oval form as it winds through fertile low 
 grounds ; while, across the river, the far off hills of Halifax 
 rise in bold relief. On the west, on any clear day can be 
 seen the Peaks of Otter. The house was a simple wooden 
 structure in the days of the patriot. It is said that the only 
 addition made by him was the shed kitchen. This was said 
 to have been added not on account of need of room, but 
 that he might hear the patter of rain on the roof. It has 
 had additions which make it a beautiful reproduction of 
 Colonial architecture. It has belonged successively to his 
 son John Henry, to his gi-andson, William Wirt Henry, 
 and to his great-granddaughter, Mrs. Matthew Bland 
 Harrison, its present owner. The estate originally con- 
 tained 2920 acres, and was selected on account of its rich 
 land and its many springs of pure water. 
 
 During the Revolutionary War, Red Hill was owned 
 by Louis Tyler, an uncle of President Tyler. During its 
 ownership by Mr. Booker, Powhatan Bouldin, in The Old 
 
424 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Trunk, tells of a Christmas frolic attended by his a,imt 
 JNIaiy Bouldin, who rode on horseback twenty miles, 
 jmiiped upon the ground as light as a feather, and was, 
 soon on the floor dancing. At this time country Ufa in 
 Virginia was very primitive. 
 
 Patrick Henry's fame drew many visitors to his home, 
 all of \vhom he welcomed with gracious hospitality; nor 
 was he forgotten by the country he had loved so well. In 
 1794 he declined the appointment of United States senator 
 offered him by Governor Henry Lee, as also the office of 
 governor to which he was elected by the general assembh^ 
 in 1795. Washington offered him the position of secretary 
 of state in 1795, and again, that same year, he appointed 
 him chief justice; John Adams, in 1799, offered to send 
 him as minister to France, but he declined all these posi- 
 tions on account of failing health. 
 
 He occupied his last days in the education of his chil- 
 dren, to whom he was deeply attached. He engaged for 
 them, as tutor, the services of the poet Campbell, who, 
 however, was prevented from fulfilling his engagement. 
 During the lifetime of their father, two daughters were 
 married at Red Hill ; Dorothea married her cousin George 
 D. Winston, and Martha Catherine, Edward W. Henry, 
 another kinsman. 
 
 At the earnest request of Washington, Patrick Henry 
 offered himself for the Legislature the last year of his life. 
 He made his last great speech at Charlotte Court House, 
 JNIarch, 1799, and, worn out by the effort, returned to Red 
 Hill, never to leave it again. 
 
 On the sixth of June, 1799, surrounded by his devoted 
 family and his beloved physician, his great soul took flight. 
 No act of his life became him more than his manner of 
 leaving it. When informed that the end was at hand, he 
 prayed fervently for divine support, then spent his remain- 
 ing moments comforting his family and praising the re- 
 ligion of Christ, which, never having failed him in life, did 
 not fail him in his last need of it. 
 
 In the garden of Red Hill are two oblong slabs of 
 
OLD NEGRO COUPLK AT CABIN AT RED HILL 
 
 (The mun in his boyhood waited on Mrs. Patrick Henry) 
 
 RED HILL, CHARLOTTE COUNTY 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 427 
 
 marble; the inscription on one is " To the memory of 
 Patrick Henry. Born May 29, 1736. Died June 6, 1799. 
 His fame his best Epitaph"; the other reads, "To the 
 memory of Dorothea Dandridge, wife of Patrick Henry. 
 Born 1755. Died February 14, 1831." 
 
 OLD NEGRO COUPLE AT RED HILL 
 
 When Patrick Henry purchased Red Hill, a few In- 
 dians were still living on what had been their happy hunting 
 grounds. One of them, Indian Jim, intermarried with a 
 slave, and her grandson, Harrison, was living until a few 
 years ago on the land of his fathers. He was born in 1815, 
 and was sixteen years old when Patrick Henry's widow 
 (then Mrs. Edmund Winston) died, February 14, 1831. 
 ]Mrs. Winston had taken him in the house when he was ten 
 years old, and he used to carry her key basket, slippers, 
 and the yarn for her knitting. In 1831, at the time of the 
 death of his mistress, Harrison was coachman for her son, 
 John Henry, at whose death, in 1868, Red Hill fell by 
 inheritance and purchase to his son, the late William Wirt 
 Henry, who provided for the faithful old servant by giv- 
 ing him a cabin and a bit of land where he lived through- 
 out the remainder of his days, very contented and honored 
 alike by white and black. To the last, he took pride in car- 
 rying visitors to the grave of the orator, whom he called 
 " Marse Patrick." His wife, Milly, was some years older 
 than himself and he always lamented that she was of " com- 
 mon blood." 
 
 STAUNTON HILL 
 
 A considerable portion of the estate on which stands 
 Staunton Hill came into the possession of the Bruce family, 
 by whom it is still owned, when a tract of land six hundred 
 and eighty-two acres in extent was, in 1801, conveyed to 
 James Bruce and his wife, of Woodbourn, Halifax County, 
 Virginia, by Isaac Coles and Paul Carrington, Jr., and 
 Mildred, his wife. 
 
 Mr. Bruce had removed in early manhood from eastern 
 
428 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Virginia, where, as records show, his paternal ancestors 
 had lived since the beginning of the latter half of the seven- 
 teenth centnry, and perhaps since an earlier date, to South- 
 side Virginia. Here he spent the remainder of a long and 
 useful life, acquiring one of the most commanding fortunes 
 at that time in the possession of any citizen of the United 
 States. 
 
 From 1801 to 1884 the original estate of Staunton Hill 
 was gradually enlarged by purchase, first by James Bruce, 
 and then by his son, Charles Bruce, until it attained its 
 present extent of over 5000 acres. A beautiful view of the 
 
 
 
 H^^^ "^^^^^ 
 
 "S^^-'5:''-C;.-.J.....v»--!^»^.^JS^&^- 
 
 STAUXTOX HILL, CHARLOTTE COUXTY 
 
 Staunton River may be had from the front porch of the 
 mansion. 
 
 Until 1848 no dwelling house of anj- size was built on 
 the estate, the place being managed by an agent under the 
 direction of James Bruce, and later by his son, James Coles 
 Bruce of Berry Hill, Halifax County, Virginia, who was 
 guardian to his younger brother, Charles Bruce, by whom 
 it had been inherited. 
 
 The graduation of Charles Bruce from Harvard Col- 
 lege and his engagement to INIiss Sarah Seddon, of Freder- 
 icksburg (a sister of the Honorable James A. Seddon, 
 afterward the Confederate States secretarv of war), took 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 429 
 
 place almost simultaneously. Leaving instructions with 
 ]SIy. John E. Johnson, a Virginian architect, and a gradu- 
 ate of West Point, for the erection of a dwelling house on 
 the Staunton Hill estate, Charles Bruce sailed for Europe. 
 Returning in 1848, after some months of travel, he was 
 married, and eighteen months afterward took possession 
 of his new home. 
 
 The building of the house, which at that time was three 
 days' journey by carriage from the caj^ital of the State, 
 and remote from am^ town, was attended with much diffi- 
 culty. Trained workmen were brought from Philadelphia, 
 and the woodwork, marble pillars of the porch and all 
 but the rough materials composing the house were trans- 
 ported from that city to the North Carolina coast, and 
 from thence by " batteaux " up the Roanoke and Staunton 
 Rivers. 
 
 The system of agriculture prevailing on this farm was, 
 until 1865, similar to that on all large plantations in South- 
 side Virginia. Shipping tobacco, corn, wheat and oats 
 were the staple crops and were worked by slaves, of whom 
 a few still survive at Staunton Hill, living in the cabins 
 where their fathers lived before them. 
 
 Staunton Hill, by its remoteness from the scene of the 
 chief events of the War between the States, escaped almost 
 entirely its minor calamities, such as vandalism and pillage. 
 Not anticipating such good fortune or change in the route 
 of the Federal Army, however, Mr. and INIrs. Bruce had 
 all their silver and valuables secretlj^ carried across the 
 Staunton River into Halifax County, where they were 
 buried in the midst of a deep wood. Later a part of the 
 Federal Army camped in this wood, and finally burned it, 
 but without injury, as later events proved, to the hidden 
 articles. 
 
 The slaves, of whom there were several hundred on 
 the Staunton Hill estate, remained absolutely quiet 
 throughout the whole course of the war; one of them, 
 remembered affectionately as " Old Israel," proving his 
 faithfulness at the risk of his life on one or two occasions. 
 
430 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 During this period Mrs. Bruce was left alone with her 
 little children for months, her husband being absent in the 
 army or State Senate, and no other white person save the 
 overseer and his family being on the place. Yet she de- 
 clared that with " Old Israel " and his wife Phoebe (her 
 children's "mammy") within call she had no fear. At 
 the close of the war few of the negroes left the place and 
 most of those who did so afterward returned. During the 
 life of Mr. Charles Bruce the Reverend Morgan Dix, of 
 New York, while on a visit to Staunton Hill, asked a 
 former slave whether any of the servants ever went away 
 from the place and received for a reply, " None ever leaves 
 ole Marster 'cept the dead." 
 
 During the trying days of reconstruction there was but 
 one development of insubordination amongst them and 
 that was quelled almost immediately by the mere sight of 
 a Federal officer with a squad of men from Charlotte Court 
 House. It was surmised that this state of discontent was 
 produced by a failure amongst the negroes to agree as to 
 which of them should own the mill on the estate when the 
 general division of the property giving to each " 40 acres 
 and a mule " should take place ; an idea which long deluded 
 the freedmen throughout the South. 
 
 Under the new system of hired labor which was a con- 
 sequence of the War between the States, agriculture was 
 carried on at Staunton Hill on a larger scale than ever 
 before. All crops brought high prices during the years 
 succeeding the commencement of the new order of things, 
 and the acres planted in tobacco and corn on this estate 
 were enormous, the first amounting during several jf^ears 
 to one million hills, and the latter producing at times as 
 much as twenty-five thousand bushels. 
 
 Mr. Charles Bruce died in 1896. Those who under- 
 stood the passionate love of the soil that was strong in 
 him as in most of his day and class — a love that was in- 
 herited instinct — can hardly realize that the place which 
 was in a manner his own creation, which attests his affec- 
 tion and care in innumerable visible forms, can go on with- 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 431 
 
 out his watchful supervision. Yet there is no change in its 
 aspect; the system that was inaugurated by him continues 
 with but httle variation and the Staunton Hill estate is 
 to-day as productive, as amply and sedulously cultivated, 
 and as fair to the eye as at any time in its history. 
 
 INGLE SIDE 
 
 This dignified old mansion with its attractive setting 
 of foliage and lawn was built in 1810, by Colonel Thomas 
 Read, a prominent citizen of Charlotte County, who was a 
 member of all of the Revolutionary Conventions, and of 
 
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 INGLESIDE, CHARLOTTE COUNTY 
 
 the Convention of 1788, which ratified the Constitution of 
 the United States. He was the first county clerk of Char- 
 lotte and a brick office in his yard was long the county 
 clerk's office. 
 
 At Colonel Read's death, in 1817, Ingleside became 
 the property of Henry Carrington, who lived there until 
 his own death, in 1867. About 1870 it was sold to the late 
 John W. Daniel, whose heirs still own it. 
 
432 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 WOODFORK 
 
 The modest frame cottage at Woodfork was the home 
 of Colonel Joel Watkins, a Revolutionary patriot, who 
 died in 1820. John Randolph, of Roanoke, wrote that 
 " He died beloved, honored and lamented by all who knew 
 him " and that he had " accmiiulated an ample fortime in 
 which there was not one dirty shilling." His son. Captain 
 Henry A. Watkins, succeeded to the estate and in 1829 
 built the commodious brick house near his father's small 
 dwelling. 
 
 Upon the death of Captain Watkins, in 1848, Wood- 
 fork passed to Doctor Joel Watkins and is now owned by 
 the heirs of the late James W. Elliot. 
 
 THE OLD MILL AT GREENFIELD, CHARLOTTE COUNTY 
 
 GREENFIEUD • 
 
 " Greenfield," the home of the Reads, of Charlotte 
 County, was built by Isaac Read, lieutenant colonel of the 
 Fourth Regiment in the Revolutionary Army. The estate 
 of Greenfield was carved out of a tract of 10,000 acres pur- 
 chased by Colonel Clement Read, the father of Colonel 
 
28 
 
 THE GARDEN AT GREENFIELD 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 435 
 
 Isaac Read, in 1730, in what was then known as the County 
 of Brunswick, from which County Lunenburg was after- 
 wards formed in 1745. In 1764 Charlotte County was cut 
 off from Lunenburg. 
 
 Greenfield is now the oldest house in Charlotte County. 
 Tradition says that when it was first built settlers came for 
 miles to see so palatial a residence as it was then considered. 
 The timbers of the house are very massive, many of them 
 being hewn. The dressed lumber was sawn in old-fashioned 
 saw pits, while the nails and iron fittings are all hand-made 
 of wrought iron. 
 
 The original house has two stories, two rooms divided 
 by a large hall on each floor. It has since been added to, 
 to accommodate increasing families and for hospitable 
 reasons, until the present house is about 150 feet in length. 
 Greenfield has passed from father to child by descent, 
 and has always been in possession of a Read. 
 
 The plantation mill with its old wheel is still grinding 
 corn and wheat, as it has done for the last 175 years, and 
 producing the same good, honest, water-ground meal that 
 made the bone and sinew of our ancestors. 
 
 BERRY HILL 
 
 Berry Hill, in Halifax Covmty, is one of the finest 
 models of the so-called Colonial type in the South. The 
 high pillared portico, extending entirely across the front 
 of the house, and the double stairway, sweeping with wide 
 and graceful curves from the great central hall to rooms 
 above, give this home of the Bruces an air of unusual dis- 
 tinction. It was built by James Coles Bruce, son of James 
 Bruce, of Woodbourne, Halifax County, and a half brother 
 of Charles Bruce, of Staunton Hill. Mr. Bruce furnished 
 his house in a style worthy of its imposing proportions and 
 architecture, and the house was noted for its extraordinary 
 amount of silver of the handsomest workmanship. Not 
 only was the silver table service complete and massive, but 
 several of the bedrooms were provided with washstand 
 sets of the precious metal. 
 
436 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 BERRY HILL, HAHI AX COUNTY 
 
 THE HALL AT BERRY HILL 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 437 
 
 The Berry Hill plantation was originally part of the 
 estates of Colonel William Byrd, of Westover, and of 
 Colonel Edward Carrington. It was acquired by the 
 Bruces in the early part of the nineteenth century. 
 
 Here, on his great landed estate, in the midst of 
 hundreds of slaves and adherents, lived the builder of 
 Berry Hill, a gentleman distinguished for talent and cul- 
 tivation, until his death, in 1865, just before the close of the 
 War between the States. Though originally' a Union man 
 his contribution to the Confederacj^ had amounted to at 
 least $150,000.00. 
 
 JNIr. Bruce married Miss Eliza Wilkins, daughter of 
 William Wilkins, Esquire, of North Carolina, and their 
 son, Alexander Bruce, succeeded him as master of Berrv 
 Hill. 
 
 BELLEVUE 
 
 This property was the home of Mr. John B. Carring- 
 ton, who, about 1825, erected the dwelling-house in a beauti- 
 ful grove of trees, all of original growth. The property 
 
 BELLEVUE. HALIFAX COUNTY 
 
 remained in his family for about seventv-five years, since' 
 which time it has had several owners. The flower garden 
 here was most attractive. On two sides were tall box trees. 
 
438 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 At one end they were so planted and trimmed as to make a 
 nice room with sides and top of box. On another side of the 
 garden was a close hedge of fig trees and in the centre a 
 large circle of box about four and one-half feet high. 
 Within the circle were beautiful roses and around it beds 
 of old-fashioned flowers of various kinds. Back of this 
 hedge of fig trees was the vegetable garden. The box and 
 fig trees still remain. 
 
 BANISTER LODGE 
 
 Frontage of a mile and a half along the Banister River 
 
 gave the Clark plantation, in Halifax County, its name. 
 
 The roomy mansion was built in 1830 by Mr. William 
 
 H. Clark. The bricks in the thick walls, which still retain 
 
 BANISTER LODGE, HALIFAX COUNTY 
 
 their deep red hue, were made upon the place by the slaves, 
 while the folding doors between the rooms were the first 
 seen in that part of the country, and were regarded as an 
 interesting novelty. 
 
 The beautiful groimds and gardens were the special 
 care and pride of Mrs. Clark and were laid off under her 
 direction. This lady, who was a granddaughter of Patrick 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 439 
 
 Henry, was admired for her unusual character and talents, 
 " a Godly woman with a master mind " she is said to have 
 been. She was a notable musician and not only played on 
 a number of musical instruments but much manuscript of 
 music composed by her is still in possession of her descend- 
 ants at Banister Lodge. Her piano and harp are also still 
 there, while a tapestry fire-screen embroidered by her 
 speaks of her proficiency with the needle. 
 
 The planning of her home grounds gave Mrs. Clark's 
 artistic tendencies full play. There is a grove of splendid 
 oaks and a driveway around a circle set in arbor vitae and 
 box and mimosa trees. The flower-garden is surrounded 
 by box and laid off in beds, each of which is devoted to a 
 different flower. There are also many shrubs; roses, of 
 course, and calycanthus, syringas, snowballs, Japan apples, 
 spiraeas, pomegranates, altheas, crepe myrtles, and many 
 others. In the vegetable garden Mrs. Clark obtained a 
 beautiful and novel effect by hedging all of the squares 
 with lilacs, purple and white. Upon each side of the garden 
 gate a tree overgrown with ivy stands sentinel. 
 
 Among the interesting pieces of mahogany furniture 
 made to order for Mr. Clark, and still in use at Banister 
 Lodge, is the dining-table at which twenty-five persons 
 can be comfortably seated. Many distinguished guests 
 have sat at this hospitable table. John Randolph, of 
 Roanoke, often sat there, for he was on most intimate terms 
 with the family. He was in the habit of exchanging books 
 with them and among the books in the library may still be 
 seen some with his autograph upon the title page. General 
 Lee was once a guest at Banister Lodge over night, and 
 General Joseph E. Johnston was a frequent visitor there. 
 During the war Bishop Johns, of the Episcopal Church, 
 and Mrs. Johns refugeed at Banister Lodge for a whole 
 year, during which Mr. Clark placed a small house in the 
 grounds at their disposal and supplied them with all the 
 comforts of life, including servants and a driving horse. 
 Banister Lodge was, by the way, noted for its fine horses, 
 
UO VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 twenty-tive of which were carried off by Northern soldiers 
 at one time. 
 
 Banister Lodge is now the home of ]Mr. John Clark, 
 son of ]Mr. William H. Clark. The plantation still con- 
 tains 1000 of its original 3000 acres. 
 
 ROANOKE 
 
 John Randolph, of Roanoke, inherited the estate, with 
 whose name his own is always coupled, from his father. 
 This brilliant and strange man made his dwelling in no 
 lordly mansion, but in two plain frame cottages, one of 
 which he called his winter and the other his summer house. 
 Outside the door of one of them was the rough block of 
 stone which he frequently used as a washstand, and which 
 
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 RCIANOKE, CHARUITTE COINTY 
 
 he directed should be placed over liis grave. In spite of 
 the modest appearance of these houses, they contained a 
 fine library and much handsome furniture and old silver. 
 John Randolph was buried at Roanoke, but his re- 
 mains were afterwards removed to Richmond, and interred 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 441 
 
 in Hollywood Cemetery. After his death Roanoke was 
 sold and heeame the property of the Bouldin family. It 
 was the home of the distinguished lawyer, Judge Wood 
 Bouldin (who died in 1876), and was destroyed by fire in 
 1878, but John Randolph's office is still standing. 
 
 Roanoke is now the property of Mr. Clarence G. 
 Cheney, of Chicago, who has built a handsome new house 
 upon the old site. 
 
 MULBERRY HILL 
 
 JNIulberry Hill was the home of Paul Carrington, one 
 of the most distinguished Virginians of the Revolutionary 
 period. He was a member of the Conventions, and Com- 
 
 MULBERRY HILL, CHARLOTTE COUNTY 
 
 mittee of Safety, and for many years a judge of the Vir- 
 ginia Court of Appeals. He died at the age of eighty-five 
 and was buried at Mulberry Hill. The estate is now the 
 property of the family of his great-grandson, Paul Car- 
 rington McPhail. 
 
442 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 MILDENDO 
 
 John Coles, of Richmond, Va., who has been noticed in 
 the account of the Coles family and homes, owned large 
 estates in the Southside. His son, Walter, settled in 
 Halifax on a plantation which he named Mildendo, after 
 the metropolis of the imaginary country of " Lilliput " 
 in " Gulliver's Travels." ISIr. Coles died in 1780, leaving 
 several sons and daughters. All of the sons died unmarried. 
 One of the daughters, Mildred Howell Coles, married 
 Mr. Carrington and had a number of sons. To these Car- 
 
 
 
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 MILDENDO, HALIFAX COUNTY 
 
 rington nephews, Isaac H. Coles, who died in 1814 and was 
 the last surviving son of Walter Coles, left the bulk of his 
 estate: " The Dan River tract" to Edward Carrington; 
 " the Burch Skin " tract to Walter Carrington; The Cub 
 Creek tract to Paul Carrington, and the Home House 
 tract to William Carrington. Each of these plantations 
 was fully provided with negroes and stock. The " Home 
 House " tract, William Carrington's inheritance, was 
 Mildendo. The original house was burned long ago, and 
 some time afterward William Carrington built the present 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 443 
 
 house, modelling it after a cottage which had caught his 
 fancy during a visit to England. It is only one story high 
 and the windows upon one side open directly upon a lovely 
 old flower garden, which slopes down to the Staunton 
 River. The splendid oaks which surround the house were 
 the original forest trees. 
 
 JNIr. Carrington married a Miss Scott, who was a noted 
 beauty and belle in her youth, and who is recalled by per- 
 sons still living, who remember her in the closing days of 
 her life, as a very beautiful old lady. From this couple, 
 Mildendo passed to their son, Charles S. Carrington, presi- 
 dent of the James River and Kanawha Canal Company, 
 and his wife, who was Miss Susan McDowell, daughter 
 of Governor James McDowell. Mildendo, after their time, 
 passed from the Carrington familJ^ Many Indian relics 
 have been found at Mildendo and some of them may be 
 seen at the Valentine Museum, Richmond. 
 
 PRE ST WOULD 
 
 Prestwould, in Mecklenburg County (which derives its 
 name from the Skipwith estate in Leicestershire, England ) , 
 home of the later generations of the Skipwith family, in 
 Virginia, was probably acquired by Sir William Skipwith 
 (1707-1764), Baronet, a grandson of Sir Gray Skipwith 
 (who died in 1680), a loyal cavalier, who emigrated to 
 Virginia during Cromwell's time and settled in Middlesex 
 County. Sir William removed from Middlesex to Bland- 
 ford, in Prince George County, and at his death, in 1764, 
 was succeeded, in his Prestwould estate, by his son Sir Pey- 
 ton Skipwith (1740-1805) , Baronet, and he, in turn, by his 
 son Humberston Skipwith, whose son Fulwar Skipwith 
 was the last of the name to own Prestwould. 
 
 This home of the Skipwith family is one of the most 
 interesting and imposing places in Virginia. Situated on 
 a very high hill overlooking the river, it commands an ex- 
 tensive view of the valley of the Staunton. The " manor 
 house " was erected in the eighteenth century by the me- 
 
444 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 chanic-servants of the jNIaster of Prestwould, from stone 
 quarried on the plantation. 
 
 The " mansion " is square and large, with porticoes 
 north, south and east. The drive to the house is between 
 high stone walls, now rapidly going to decay ; and the most 
 conspicuous object on the lawn is a giant oak, which is 
 said to have been a landmark for the Indians going north 
 and south. 
 
 One enters the house through a portico which opens 
 into a large hall; on the right of this hall (known as the 
 
 PRESTWOULD, MECKLENBURG COUNTY 
 
 " land hall ') is the himiense dining-room, whose wall deco- 
 ration is paper covered by life-sized figures of huntsmen in 
 red coats, mounted on gay chargers, with dogs a-plenty and 
 trees and grass; the hall also is beautified with the same 
 paper. On the left of this hall is the " Chamber " of the 
 blaster and INIistress, and parallel to it the children's 
 nursery. From this " land hall " wide doors lead to the 
 " river hall," more spacious and magnificent than the for- 
 mer. This latter is papered with English scenes, ladies on 
 horses, dogs, bridges, v^erdure and trees; and to the left 
 is the formal drawing-room, whose walls are hung with 
 paper picturing Venetian scenes — gondolas, palaces, etc. 
 
PIEDMONT AND THE SOUTH SIDE 445 
 
 A beautiful stairway leads from this " river hall " to the 
 upper hall, on which open six large bed-rooms. Each win- 
 dow in the house has a large seat. 
 
 In June, 1914, much of the Skipwith furniture (some 
 of which had been built in early times by cabinet-makers 
 on the place) was still in this ancient house, and probably 
 there was not such a collection in existence elsewhere. In 
 this collection were specimens of the finest seventeenth 
 century craft, with wonderful pictvu-es and other objects 
 of vertu. 
 
 An interesting building on the estate is a dancing pavil- 
 ion, octagonal in shape, which stands some distance from 
 the " manor house." The graveyard contains handsome 
 armorial tombs. 
 
 ]Mr. A. J. Goddard, the present owner of Prestwould, 
 is restoring the dwelling house and grounds to their 
 former beauty. 
 
 IVY CUFF, BEDFORD COUNTY 
 
 IVY CLIFF 
 
 Henry Brown (1712-98) settled here in 1755 after 
 massacre of his parents by Indians near Salem, Va. He 
 built as his residence a stone block-house, which was the 
 birthplace of his sons Henry (1760-1840), and Reverend 
 Samuel ( — -1818), who married Mary Moore, " Captive 
 of Abb's Valley." Henry was captain in Green's army 
 and wounded at Guilford Court House. He built the 
 present house in 1829. His sons were John Thompson 
 (1802-36), and Samuel, who lived here. After his death, 
 in 1855, the property passed to his nephew, Henry Peron- 
 neau Brown, father of John Thompson Brown, the present 
 owner. 
 
PART VII 
 Beyond the Mountains 
 
 WEST of the Blue Ridge and somewhat cut 
 off from the rest of the State by that noble 
 mountain range lies a region extensive and 
 varied and highly picturesque, with its views 
 of mountain, river, field and forest. 
 
 The most notable part of this section is the valley 
 known bj^ the Indian name of " Shenandoah," and settled 
 chiefly by the thrifty Germans and Scotch Irish. In one 
 of its counties, however, Clarke, originally a part of Fred- 
 erick, the Carters, Burwells, Pages, and other families 
 of the old Colonial counties, chiefly Gloucester, patented 
 great tracts of lands upon which their descendants, who 
 had intermarried until they formed a sort of clan, built a 
 number of homesteads — some of them ample and stately, 
 others more modest. 
 
 OLD STONE CHURCH AUGUSTA COUNT-V 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 
 OLD STONE CHURCH 
 
 447 
 
 About eight miles from Staunton is the Old Stone 
 Church, one of the earliest and perhaps the most interest- 
 ing of the Presbj'terian churches in Virginia. It was 
 built in IT-iT, and was formerly surrounded by a ditch and 
 palisade, making of it a fort for protection against the 
 Indians. " The old house has seen generations pass; it has 
 heard the sermons of the Virginia Synod in its youthful 
 days. Here the famous Waddell was taken under care 
 of Hanover Presbytery as a candidate for the ministry 
 in 1760; here the venerated Hoge was licensed in 1781; 
 here the Rev. Archibald Alexander passed some of his 
 trials in preparation for the ministry." 
 
 GREENWAY COUET, CLARKE COUNTY 
 
 GREENWAY COURT, THE HOME OF 
 LORD FAIRFAX 
 
 The greatest landed estate ever held in Virginia was 
 the famous Northern Neck owned successively by the 
 Lords Culpeper and Fairfax. How Thomas, Lord Fair- 
 fax, left his English home to come and live at Greenway 
 Court in the midst of his princely estate, within the present 
 Clarke County, is a familiar story. The Greenway Court 
 mansion where Washington often visited during his youth 
 
448 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 has long since gone, but Lord Fairfax's land office where 
 grants for land within his domain were made, and the 
 " White Post," one of his landmarks, which has given its 
 name to a village of the vicinity, still remain. 
 
 SPRINGDALE 
 
 Upon the Opequon River, in Frederick County, six 
 miles south of Winchester, lies Springdale, one of the 
 oldest plantations in the Shenandoah Valley. Upon it 
 to-daj' stand the picturesque ruin of a plain, but sturdy 
 old stone house and a more ambitious structure of the 
 same material, with dormer windows and a Greek porch. 
 They are the earlier and later homes of Joist Hite, the 
 ancestor of all the Virginia Hites, who settled here in 
 1732, under grant from the governor of Virginia. The 
 older dwelling was built over a bold spring to prevent risk 
 of being cut off from water by the Indians. It was in 
 
 OLD SPRIXGDALE HOUSE, FREDERICK CO LNTY 
 
 this that General Washington was ]Mr. Hite's guest for 
 a night, while surveying for Lord Fairfax. After the 
 new mansion was built, in 1753, the old house was used as 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 449 
 
 negro quarters. Upon the removal of Mr. Hite to a resi- 
 dence some twelve miles to the south, upon the banks of 
 the Cedar Creek, Springdale passed into the possession 
 
 SPRINGDALE, FREDERICK COUNTY 
 
 of a family named Brown, from whom it was bought, 
 about 1801, by Mr. Richard Peters Barton, son of a 
 clergyman of the Church of England, and remained in 
 the Barton family until after the Civil War. 
 
 ABRAHAM'S DELIGHT 
 
 Abraham's Delight is the quaint name of an old 
 mansion, one mile from the town of Winchester, on 
 Abraham's Creek. The homestead and a flour mill were 
 built in 1754, by Isaac Hollinsworth, a Quaker, whose 
 grandfather, Thomas Hollinsworth, came to America with 
 William Penn and settled in New Castle County, Dela- 
 ware. 
 
 Thomas Hollinsworth's oldest son, Abraham, who mar- 
 ried, in 1737, Anna Robinson, bought of Alexander Ross, 
 under his patent, from Governor Gooch, of Virginia, 582 
 acres of land near Winchester, upon which his son and 
 
 29 
 
450 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 heir, Isaac HoUinsworth, planted this sturdy rooftree, still 
 owned by his descendants. 
 
 Upon the eastern gable of the house are the initials 
 " I. H." with date 1754. 
 
 ABRAHAMS DELIGHT, XEAR WINCHESTER 
 
 MOUNTAIN VIEW 
 
 When the war came to blight and blot out forever 
 much of the charm of Southern life, no portion of Virginia, 
 perhaps, was richer in old faniilj^ seats than Clarke County 
 in the Lower Valley. About the little village of jSIillwood 
 in those days were dotted the homes of the Nelsons, Car- 
 ters, Pages, Burwells, and others locallj^ known as the 
 " Millwood neighborhood." 
 
 Among all these delightful homes of that time, none, 
 perhaps, would have evoked a keener interest than Moun- 
 tain View, the residence of Bishop Meade. 
 
 Mountain View could claim no part in the interest 
 that attaches to Colonial antiquity, nor did it possess any 
 architectural beauty. Indeed, the first house that bore 
 the name was a very modest, unpretentious structure. 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 451 
 
 which was burnt about the middle of the last century, 
 and the building which replaced it was nothing more than 
 a simple, comfortable country residence, as far removed 
 as possible from the traditional Episcopal palace. Devoid 
 though the house was of architectural or other esthetic 
 charm, the place was of rare beauty and distinction. The 
 location was very fine, a high hill from which the terrace 
 fell away towards the Shenandoah River, a few miles dis- 
 tant, in pleasing variety of hill, meadow and forest. 
 
 East and south the eye rested in the near distance upon 
 the almost circular sweep of the Blue Ridge. 
 
 On the west and north fine old forest oaks arrested or 
 mitigated the harshness of the windy storms. Immediately 
 about the house clustered magnificent evergreens and 
 other ornamental trees, but the chief pride of JNIountain 
 View and the apple of the bishop's eye was a plantation, a 
 lawn of about 20 acres in front of the house of rare trees 
 which he had gathered from many lands and fostered and 
 cherished, with a love that ended only with his life. 
 
 To many dignitaries of the church, and others who 
 from time to time visited Mountain View, it was the 
 bishop's supreme delight to show these trees, which were 
 so near his heart, dwelling with affectionate detail upon 
 the history of each. Captain Robert E. Lee and his wife 
 visited Mountain View shortly after the Mexican War. 
 How little did anyone then suspect how great a part this 
 modest, handsome gentleman was destined to play in the 
 tremendous struggle of the coming years. Yet in little 
 over a decade Bishop Meade lay dying in Richmond and 
 General Lee was at the bedside of his aged friend to receive 
 his blessing and encouragement to persevere in the great 
 battle for freedom, the chief weight of which was to rest 
 upon his shoulders. 
 
 Something of tragic interest attaches to another and 
 later visitor to Mountain View. Bishop Polk came to con- 
 sult his older brother in the Episcopate as to the propriety 
 of his accepting the commission of lieutenant-general in 
 
452 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 the Confederate Army, which President Davis was urging 
 upon him. 
 
 All know the tragic sequel of his brief, glorious career 
 and his heroic death in the Georgia campaign. 
 
 The good bishop — the iron bishop of Virginia, some 
 one has called him — has slept for nearly half a century on 
 the slope of the hill, whose summit is crowned by the great 
 theological seminary — the child of his lifelong prayers 
 and devotion; the trees that he gathered and planted and 
 loved are dead and the ploughshares pass where they once 
 stood. For many a year Mountain View has been the home 
 of strangers. 
 
 Pulvis et umbra sumus. 
 
 THE OLD STONE CHAPEL 
 
 One of the most venerable and interesting houses in 
 Clarke County is the Old Stone Chapel, sometimes called 
 Bishop Meade's chapel. It is but a tiny and plain sanctu- 
 ary of rough stone in the midst of an old graveyard sur- 
 rounded by a rustic stone fence, but it is most impressive. 
 Before the Revolution the two acres of land, upon which 
 church and churchyard stand, were offered to the vestry 
 by their owner. Colonel Hugh Nelson. 
 
 The plan to build failed at that time, but after the war 
 was over the matter was taken up again. Colonel 
 Nathaniel Burwell, who had now acquired the land, gave 
 the same two acres that Colonel Nelson had offered, and 
 the chapel was built in 1790. In 1834 it was found that 
 the congregation had outgrown the church, so a larger one 
 was built in a more convenient location in the village of 
 Millwood, upon land also given by a member of the Bur- 
 well family. Colonel George, of Carter Hall. 
 
 After the completion of the new church, regular ser- 
 vices in the Old Chapel were suspended, but for many 
 years past it has been customary, for good Episcopalians 
 within the reach of this sacred relic, to make a pilgrimage 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 453 
 
 there upon some bright Sunday during summer when again 
 the old walls echo the ancient prayers and praises. 
 
 The burying ground at the old chapel is sometimes 
 called the Burwell graveyard, not only because the Bur- 
 wells gave the land upon which it lies, but because many 
 
 OLD STONE CHAPEL, CLARKE COUNTY 
 
 more of that family than of any other have found a resting 
 place there. Yet, says Bishop Meade, " Ever since the ap- 
 propriation to this purpose, it has been the graveyard of 
 the rich and poor, bond and free, those who live near it and 
 the stranger from afar, who died near it." 
 
 CARTER HALL 
 
 Colonel Nathaniel Burwell, of The Grove, near 
 Williamsburg (of which a sketch has been given in the 
 chapter entitled " The Lower James "), moved to Clarke 
 soon after the Revolution, and built Carter Hall before 
 1790. Colonel Burwell was twice married. His first wife 
 was Susan Grymes, to whom he was deeply devoted. After 
 
454 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 her death he was so bereaved that he found it impossible to 
 bear his grief without a companion in misery, and cast 
 about to find one who had been similarly afflicted, and 
 could, therefore, sympathize with him. Finally he went 
 to Rosewell and asked Governor John Page to send for 
 his half-sister, Mrs. George Baylor, who was a young and 
 beautiful widow, that he might marry her. She came, but 
 promptly rejected the disconsolate widower's proposal. 
 " Lucy," he remonstrated, " you do not know what is good 
 for you; your brother John and I arranged it all before 
 you came." That seemed to settle the matter, and the 
 wedding soon took place. After the ceremony the bride- 
 groom said, " Now, Lucy, you can weep for your dear 
 George, and I will weep for my beloved Sucky." 
 
 In Carter Hall these companions in woe had a most 
 alluring j^lace in which to mourn their departed other 
 halves ; with the white columns of its Greek portico stand- 
 ing out against the background of the surrounding trees, 
 it is now and must have been then one of the fairest roof- 
 trees in Virginia. Samuel Kercheval, in his history of the 
 valley of Virginia, describes it as it was during the lifetime 
 of Colonel Nathaniel Burwell's son and heir, George H. 
 Burwell, who was then its master. He says, " The resi- 
 dence of Mr. George Harrison Burwell is splendidly im- 
 proved with stone buildings. The main building is sixty- 
 six feet by thirty, three stories with a wing at each end, 
 twenty-one feet long, two stories high. The whole build- 
 ing is finished in the most tasteful style of modern archi- 
 tecture. This was the former residence of Colonel 
 Nathaniel Burwell, a gentleman of great wealth. The 
 building stands on a beautiful eminence and commands a 
 delightful view of the Blue Ridge and the adjacent neigh- 
 borhood. The water is conveyed by force-pumps from a 
 fine spring to the dwelling house, yards, and stable, at a 
 distance of about three hundred yards. This fine farm may 
 with truth be said to be among the most elegantly improved 
 estates west of the Blue Ridge." 
 
CARTER HALL, CLARKE COUNTY 
 
 LONG BRANCH, CLARKE COUNTY 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 457 
 
 A beautiful grove and the great spring mentioned by 
 Kercheval, in its green, shady dell a little way to the rear 
 of the house, are charming features of the grounds. 
 
 Mr. George Harrison Burwell, by his second marriage, 
 with Miss Agnes Atkinson, was the father of three daugh- 
 ters: Eliza Page, who married Mr. Thomas Randolph, of 
 Clarke; Isabelle, who married Mr. P. H. Mayo, of Rich- 
 mond; Agnes, who married Mr. Powell Page, of Saratoga, 
 Clarke County; and of one son, George Harrison Bur- 
 well, Jr., who inherited Carter Hall. 
 
 After the death of her husband, Mrs. Burwell made 
 her home with her daughter, Mrs. Powell Page, at Sara- 
 toga, until her own death at a ripe age. She was " Cousin 
 Agnes " to half of the county, and is lovingly remembered 
 as one of the dear and saintly old ladies of ancient regime, 
 in a dainty cap and soft shawl. She was charminglj^ old- 
 fashioned, and until the end, went abroad to church or visit- 
 ing in the ancient high swung coach, which was probably 
 the last of its type, with whose dignified proportions and 
 swaying motion she was pleasantlj"^ familiar; and happy 
 was the child who was invited to a seat beside her in this 
 imposing equipage. 
 
 Carter Hall, after having been owned and occupied by 
 three successive generations of Bui-wells, passed from the 
 family, but, happily, it has lately been bought back by 
 Mr. Townsend Burwell, great-grandson of its founder. 
 Colonel Nathaniel Burwell, and son of Mr. George H. 
 Burwell, and his first wife, Laura Dunbar Lee. 
 
 LONG BRANCH 
 
 Turning our backs upon Carter Hall, a short drive brings 
 us to Long Branch, the home of the Nelsons. The mansion 
 fitly crowns a hill-top surrounded by groves of noble trees. 
 It is built upon a most ample plan, of brick with thick walls, 
 high ceilings, and spacious rooms, and opens both at front 
 and rear, upon stately pillared porticoes. Very beautiful 
 is the interior. The wide doors open from the front and 
 
458 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 back porticoes upon the great hall, which occupies the 
 centre of the house. Midway of this hall two lofty columns 
 rise to the ceiling which they help to support. There is 
 much handsome hand-carved woodwork in the hall and 
 rooms, and the most striking feature of the house is the 
 beautiful stair, witli hand-carved balustrade, which winds 
 upward from the hall to the observatory upon the roof. 
 Two of the big square rooms are given an exceedingly in- 
 teresting air by the quaint old wall papers, still in a state 
 of perfect preservation, with which they are hung. One of 
 these represents scenes in Paris, the other the Bay of 
 Naples. 
 
 Long Branch is over a century old. It was built in 
 1805 or 1806, by Captain Robert Carter Burwell, who com- 
 manded a company of militia in the War of 1812 and died 
 in the service at Norfolk. Before going to the war he 
 made his will leaving Long Branch to JNIr. Philip Nelson, 
 son of Governor Nelson, of Yorktown, who had in 1789 
 married his sister Sarah Nelson Burwell. In about 1836 
 ]Mr. Nelson sold the estate to his nejjhew Hugh Nelson, 
 who had in that year married ]Miss Adelaide Holker, of 
 Boston, and who left it to his only son, Hugh Nelson, Jr., 
 who married his cousin INIiss Salh' Page Nelson, and is its 
 present owner. 
 
 Long Branch has always been a seat of hospitality and 
 never more so than during the time of its present genial 
 master and mistress. 
 
 SARATOGA 
 
 Upon the other side of the village of Millwood from 
 Long Branch and Carter Hall, and somewhat retired from 
 the celebrated " Valley turnpike," is one of the most in- 
 teresting homesteads in the county ; this is Saratoga, built 
 by General Daniel Morgan, who took up his abode in 
 Clarke after the Revolution, and named his home after 
 the great battle, which made him famous. Its massive and 
 rugged walls were built of gray stone found in the neigh- 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 459 
 
 borhood, and it is said that the laborers employed by Gen- 
 eral IMorgan in its construction were Hessian prisoners, 
 taken during the Revolution. 
 
 In course of time Saratoga passed, by purchase, to the 
 Page family and has long been the residence of INIr. Robert 
 
 SARATOGA, CLARKE COUNTY 
 
 Powell Page, Jr., who inherited it from his father. Dr. 
 Robert Powell Page, of " The Briars," a few miles away, 
 and who married, about 1870, Miss Agnes Burwell, of 
 Carter Hall. 
 
 CLIFTON, CLARKE COUNTA^ 
 
 This house was built about 1800 by David Hume Allen, 
 and after his death was owned for fifteen years by his 
 widow, who before her marriage had been Miss Sarah Grif- 
 fen Taylor. After Mrs. Allen's death the estate was in- 
 herited by their youngest son Edgar Allen, who held it 
 until his death, in 1903. Edgar Allen never married and 
 the property was left to his nephews and nieces. It was 
 purchased by Robert Owen Allen ( eldest son of Algernon 
 Sidney Allen, who was eldest son of David Hume Allen), 
 
460 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 who owned it until 1914, when it passed into the possession 
 of his son, Dr. L. M. Allen, of Winchester, Va., who is the 
 present owner. 
 
 CLIFTON, CLARKE COUNTY 
 
 PAGEBROOK 
 
 Pagebrook, one of the oldest homes in Clarke County, 
 stands a short distance back from the " valley pike," upon 
 the brow of a hill commanding a view of extensive, but 
 rustic grounds, and the Blue Ridge beyond. The planta- 
 tion, like many others in the neighborhood, is enclosed 
 from the road by the grey, rugged stone fences, which the 
 Virginia creeper and trumpet flower love, and which, be- 
 wreathed with these and other graj^-hued climbers, add a 
 charming feature to the already picturesque landscape. A 
 little way down the hill from one side of the mansion, a 
 group of fine old weeping-willows hang their long fringes 
 over the spring-house, with its suggestions of cool butter- 
 milk and other palatable things. The overflow from the 
 spring makes a little brook which runs on down the hill and 
 into the glen beyond it, which with its great shade trees and 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 461 
 
 its mossy gray boulders makes a natural park. The house 
 is simple, but substantial and commodious. It was built 
 soon after the Revolution by John Page, son of Robert 
 
 PAGEBROOK, CLARKE COUNTY 
 
 Page, of Broadneck, Hanover County — " that holy man, 
 John Page," a writer of the time calls him. He married 
 Maria, daughter of Colonel William Byrd III, of West- 
 over, and died in 1838. He was succeeded at Pagebrook by 
 his son. Judge John Evelyn Page, of the Virginia Circuit 
 Court, who occupied it until his own death, in 1881. Judge 
 Page married Miss Emily McGuire, of Loudoun County, 
 and had many children, but upon his death, in 1881, Page- 
 brook passed, by purchase, to his nephew, Mr. Herbert H. 
 Page, of Edenton, N. C, who used it as a summer home. 
 After the death of Mr. Herbert Page the estate passed 
 from the family that had always owned it and has since 
 changed hands several times. It is now the property of 
 Mr. Mulliken. 
 
 NATURAL BRIDGE 
 
 So interesting an object could not escape the curiosity 
 and observation of Mr. Jefferson. His account of it is as 
 follows : 
 
462 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 " The Natural Bridge, the most sublime of nature's 
 work, is on the ascent of a hill, which seems to have been 
 cloven through its length by some great convulsion. The 
 fissure, just at the bridge, is by some admeasui-ements 
 270 feet deep, by others only 205. It is about 45 feet wide 
 at the bottom, and 90 feet at the top ; this of course deter- 
 
 NATURAL BRIDGE 
 
 mines the length of the bridge, and its height from the 
 water. Its breadth in the middle is about 60 feet, but 
 more at the ends, and the thickness of the mass at the 
 summit of the arch, about 40 feet. A part of this thickness 
 is constituted by a coat of earth, which gives growth to 
 many large trees. The residue, with the hill on both sides, 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 463 
 
 is one solid rock of limestone. The arch approaches the 
 semi-elliptical form; but the larger axis of the ellipses, 
 which would be the chord of the arch, is many times longer 
 than the transverse. Though the sides of the bridge are 
 provided in some parts with a parapet of fixed rocks, yet 
 few men have resolution to walk to them, and look over 
 into the abyss. You involuntarily fall on yom- hands and 
 feet, creep to the parapet, and look over it. Looking down 
 from this height about a minute, gave me a violent head- 
 
 ON THE ROAD TO NATURAL BRIDGE (1889). 
 
 ache. If the view from the top be painful and intolerable, 
 that from below is delightful in the extreme. It is im- 
 possible for the emotions arising from the sublime to be felt 
 beyond what they are here : on the sight of so beautiful an 
 arch, so elevated, so light, and springing as it were up to 
 heaven, the rapture of the spectator is really indescribable ! 
 The fissure continuing narrow, deep and straight for a con- 
 siderable distance above and below the bridge, opens a 
 short but very pleasing view of the North Mountain on 
 one side, and Blue Ridge on the other, at the distance each 
 of them of about five miles. This bridge is in the county 
 of Rockbridge, to which it has given name, and affords a 
 public and commodious passage over a valley, which cannot 
 be crossed elsewhere for a considerable distance. The 
 stream passing under it is called Cedar Creek." 
 
464 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 The ]Marquis de Chastellux in his Travels in North- 
 America in the years 1780-81-82 gives a description of 
 Natural Bridge which was sent him by Baron de Turpin, 
 who was sent to take dimensions of the bridge and make 
 report thereof. The conclusion of the Baron's report is as 
 follows : 
 
 " The excavation of eight or ten inches, formed in the 
 pied droit, or supporter, on the left bank of the stream, 
 under the spring of the arch, lengthens it into the form of 
 a crow's beak. This decay and some other parts which are 
 blown up, give reason to presume that this surprising edi- 
 fice will one day become a A'ictim of that time which has 
 destroyed so many others." 
 
 Measurements of the Bridge at this time show that it 
 is very much as it was when the Baron's account was writ- 
 ten, about one hundi^ed and thirty-five years ago. 
 
 WINDY COVE CHURCH AND 
 WALLAWHATOOLA 
 
 In picturesque Bath County, across the Alleghany 
 JNIountains, from the Shenandoah Valley, is an interesting 
 relic of pioneer days. This is Windy Cove Church, which, 
 though not built until 1838, is the fourth sanctuary occu- 
 pied by the congregation of devout Presbyterians, which 
 was here organized nearly a hundred years before, in the 
 year 1749, and had worshipped in a succession of log 
 Louses, each one larger and more comfortable than its 
 predecessor. The families which formed the first congre- 
 gation and built the first church were a band of those sturdy 
 Scotch-Irish immigrants who brought to Virginia char- 
 acter many of its most sterling traits. The settlement was 
 on the extreme frontier and constant danger of molesta- 
 tion from the Indians made it necessary there, as it had 
 earlier been at Jamestown, for the men to take their fiire- 
 arms to church. 
 
 The first church was situated about a mile from the 
 present building down the lovely little river called hy the 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 465 
 
 Indians Wallawhatoola, and on the side of the hill, which 
 the pioneers named " Betsy Bell." It was a small house 
 of unhewn logs, with puncheons, or squared logs, for seats, 
 and was heated by an open log fire at each end. Its pastor 
 was the Reverend Alexander Craighead, a native of the 
 north of Ireland. The little church took the name by which 
 it is still known from a remarkable natural cave not far 
 away. 
 
 The third church was larger than the first and second, 
 and was built of hewn logs, with a " session house " ad- 
 joining, and stood upon the site of the present building. 
 
 WALLAWHATOOLA, BATH COUNTY 
 
 The " Betsy Bell " is a part of the Wallawhatoola prop- 
 erty. The dwelling was built about one hundred and fifty 
 years ago and was a typical frontiersman's log weather- 
 boarded house of four rooms. This has been gradually 
 added to until it has now more than twenty rooms. It was 
 formerly owned by the Sitlingtons, a family prominent 
 in the early history of Bath County. 
 
 The estate was purchased from this family by Mr. 
 John L. Lee, now of Lynchburg, and sold by him in 1883, 
 to the late Robert A. Lancaster, of Richmond, for a sum- 
 mer home and is still in the possession of his family. 
 
 30 
 
466 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 THE MEADOWS 
 
 This property was bought from a man named Bradley 
 by Captain Francis Smith, of Abingdon, in 1817. Captain 
 Smith's first wife was a daughter of " Madam Russell " 
 (successively the wife of General William Campbell and 
 General William Russell), who was sister of Patrick 
 Henry. There were no children by this first marriage. 
 Captain Smith married, secondly, jNIary Trigg, the widow 
 of William King, the founder of the famous Salt Works 
 in Smyth County. From this marriage there was one 
 daughter, JNIarj^ who married Governor Wyndham Robert- 
 son, of Richmond. She was a child five years old when 
 her father bought this property and the name " JNIary's 
 JNIeadows " was given in her honor. When JNIrs. Robert- 
 son succeeded to the estate on the death of her father, 
 
 THE MEADOWS, WASHINGTON COUNTY 
 
 the name was changed to " The Meadows."' The property 
 is now owned by her son. Captain Francis Smith Robert- 
 son, an ex-ofiicer of Stuart's Staff. 
 
 BROOK HALL 
 
 Brook Hall in Washington Countj% a large brick house 
 of some eighteen or twenty rooms situated on a beautiful 
 hill, was erected in 1835, by Colonel William Byars, a 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 467 
 
 wealthy and prosperous planter and merchant. Until 
 comparatively recently the estate was occupied bj^ Mrs. 
 Ernest, the youngest daughter of Colonel Byars, and is 
 now the property of a family of Robertsons. 
 
 At the foot of the hill on which the " mansion house " 
 stands is an old mill situated on a lovely creek. Near the 
 mill is an old log house, nearly a hundred years old, which 
 was Colonel Bj^ars' home before the erection of Brook 
 Hall. This estate is just two miles from Emory and Henry 
 College, of which Colonel Byars was one of the "founders." 
 
 OLD BYARS HOUSE, WASHINGTON COUNTY 
 
 Southern View — a j^lace of great beauty — is three miles 
 east of Brook Hall, and the present house was remodelled 
 some fifty years ago by Colonel James 31. Byars, son of 
 Colonel William Byars of Brook Hall. Southern View 
 was originally Fort Kilmekmanley, a massive structure of 
 river stone with walls three feet thick, which had been 
 erected in the days of the Indian terror as a protection to 
 women and children of this section. When Colonel James 
 
468 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 ]M. Byars inherited from his father some two thousand 
 acres of this fertile estate, he desired to erect a handsome 
 residence on the site of the old fort and employed many 
 workmen for the purpose. Work was begun on demolish- 
 ing the old building. The tightly cemented " gable ends " 
 of the old house presented so formidable a resistance that it 
 required two weeks to remove them and Colonel Byars de- 
 termined to let the walls remain and cover them with a 
 " modern " tin roof and terra-cotta chimneys. The dis- 
 colored and dilapidated appearance of the walls was not, 
 however, in keeping with the intended magnificence of the 
 building and it was decided to " stucco " them. Workmen 
 were brought from Louisville, Kentucky, for this purpose 
 and the result of their efforts is the present house, seem- 
 ingly a construction of gray granite blocks. 
 
 The wonderful Ebbing and Flowing Spring is on this 
 estate, a mile from the house and just on the bank of the 
 river (jNIiddle Fork of Holston) . When the river is " full " 
 the spring is submerged, resuming its normal condition 
 when the waters subside. At this spring, many, many 
 years ago there was a church. On a Sunday, when there 
 was a large congregation, and the preacher at his best, 
 three Tories were seen passing, whereupon congregation, 
 preacher and all, ran out of the chvn'ch, pursued them up 
 the river a mile, caught and hung them on a sycamore tree, 
 on the banks of the river. Their bodies were buried there. 
 Some years ago when there was a freshet, one of the skele- 
 tons was washed up. The old church at Ebbing and Flow- 
 ing Spring has long since passed out of existence, a small 
 chapel now occupying the site. 
 
 SMITHFIELD 
 
 Smithfield. the home of the Prestons, is situated in 
 Montgomery County, in the southwestern part of Virginia. 
 It was a grant of three thousand acres from the Colonial 
 government to John Preston, whose son, William Preston, 
 began the erection of the house. His building was inter- 
 rupted by the outbreak of the Revolution, in which war he 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 469 
 
 served as colonel. At the close of the war, Colonel Preston 
 resumed work on his home and completed it. At his death 
 the place passed to his son, James Patton Preston, Gover- 
 nor of Virginia, who, in turn, left it to his son, the Honor- 
 able William Ballard Preston. 
 
 Smithfield is now owned by the youngest daughter of 
 William Ballard Preston, Mrs. Aubin Lee Boulware, of 
 Richmond, Virginia. 
 
 INluch of interest centres in this historic home. Situ- 
 ated at the top of the Allegheny Mountains, in a valley of 
 
 SMITHFIELD, MONTGOMERY COUNTY 
 
 waving blue grass, it presents a picture of rich beauty. 
 The verdure of the meadowlands with their crystal stream 
 stretching like a white ribbon through their entire length, 
 the grandeur of the surrounding mountains, and the dense 
 forest land, free from undergrowth, combine to make of 
 Smithfield one of Nature's fairest scenes. The big walnut 
 trees, shading the blue grass meadows, give cool resting 
 places for horses and cattle which graze among the deep, 
 luscious green. 
 
 The house is a large one, topped with dormer windows. 
 
470 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 The interior woodwork is hand carved, and the elaborate 
 mantel pieces reach nearly to the ceiling. All through the 
 house handwork is noticeable, and the nails were wrought 
 on the place. 
 
 In the early days of Smithfield, JNIrs. John Preston's 
 brother. Colonel James Patton, who was in " the upper 
 comitry on business," was murdered by the Indians. 
 
 Smithfield was famed for its hospitalitj'. It was the 
 JNIecca to which the Kentucky and South Carolina Pres- 
 tons made yearly pilgrimages, travelling the long distances 
 in their stately coaches, driving four horses, and followed 
 by their retinues of servants. Especially during the 
 summer and autumn months was the old house overflowing 
 with guests, and dispensing entertainment with a gener- 
 ous, lavish hand. 
 
 The place is well kept up now. And in the old grave- 
 yard are many monuments to the illustrious men and 
 women of past generations, who keep before us — in vivid, 
 glowing and indelible colors — a picture of their brilliant 
 past in this old mansion, " Smithfield." 
 
 PRESTON HOUSE 
 
 General Francis Preston, who was an able lawyer and 
 member of Congress, who married Sarah Buchanan, 
 daughter of General William Campbell of King's INIoun- 
 tain fame, removed to Abingdon in 1810, and built the 
 house which is now one of the buildings of JMartha Wash- 
 ington College. In few houses in Virginia has so dis- 
 tinguished a group of sons and daughters been raised as 
 were the children of General Preston. Among them were 
 his sons, William C. and John S. Preston of South Car- 
 olina and the wives of Governors John B. Floyd and 
 James IMcDowell of Virginia and General Wade Hamp- 
 ton of South Carolina. In 1845, General Preston's son 
 Thomas U. Preston, Professor at the University of Vir- 
 ginia, sold the place to the Trustees of ]\Iartha Wash- 
 ington College. 
 
PRESTON HOUSE, ABINGDON 
 
 FORT LEWIS, BATH COUNTY 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 473 
 
 FORT LEWIS 
 
 Fort Lewis, in the present Bath County, was originally 
 the home of the gallant Colonel Charles Lewis, who lost 
 his life in the battle of Point Pleasant, 
 
 Charles Lewis was the youngest of the sons of John 
 Lewis of Augusta County, who emigrated from Ireland, 
 and his wife Margaret Lj^nn, said to have been a daughter 
 of " The Laird of Loch Lynn," and most certainly the 
 sister of Doctor Andrew Lynn, who emigrated and settled 
 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and who mentions in his 
 will (among other kinsmen) " Sister Lewis and her four 
 sons, Thomas, Andrew, William and Charles Lewis." 
 Charles Lewis was born shortly after his parents reached 
 Virginia. His brothers, Andrew, Thomas and William, 
 were, like himself, distinguished soldiers and frontiersmen. 
 
 Colonel Charles Lewis' holdings in the present Bath 
 County consisted of manj^ thousands of acres of land, in- 
 eluding both of the celebrated springs — " the Hot " and 
 " the Warm." He moved to his " Fort Lewis " estate 
 several 3"ears before his death, and, as its name indicates, 
 this was one of the " out-post " strongholds for protection 
 against the Indians, who called the old stockade " Lewis' 
 Hog Pen." 
 
 The present dwelling, within the boundaries of the 
 old fort, was erected by Benjamin Crawford about 1859, 
 Mr. Crawford having purchased the site from Samuel 
 Lewis, son of John Lewis, who was son of Colonel Charles 
 Lewis. Later Mr. Crawford sold the estate to Frederick 
 Fultz, who in turn sold it to Doctor Henkel of Staunton, 
 Virginia. 
 
 " The fame of Charles Lewis," says Waddell, in his 
 Annals of Augusta County, " has come down to us as that 
 of a hero of romance. From all accounts he was an ad- 
 mirable man, and if his life had not ended prematiuely 
 would have achieved great distinction. At an early age 
 he was reported to be the most skilful of all the frontier 
 Indian fighters." Wills De Haas, in his History of the 
 
474 VIRGIxNIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Early Settlement and Indian Wars of Western Virginia, 
 gives the following very interesting description of an inci- 
 dent in Lewis' career. " On one occasion," says De Haas, 
 "he (Lewis) was captured by the Indians while on a 
 hunting excursion, and after travelling over two hundred 
 miles barefooted, his arms pinioned behind, and goaded 
 b}" the knives of his remorseless captors, he effected his 
 escape. While travelling along the bank of a precipice 
 some twenty feet in height, he suddenly, by a strong 
 muscular exertion, burst the cords which bound him, and 
 plunged over the steep into the bed of a mountain torrent. 
 His persecutors hesitated to follow. In a race of several 
 hundred yards Lewis had gained some few yards upon 
 his pursuers, when, upon leaping a fallen tree which lay 
 across his course, his strength suddenlj- failed and he fell 
 prostrate among the weeds which had grown up in great 
 luxuriance around the body of the tree. Three of the 
 Indians sprang over the tree \^athin a few feet of where 
 their prey lay concealed, but with feelings of the most 
 devout thankfulness to a kind and superintending Provi- 
 dence, he saw them one by one disappear in the dark recess 
 of the forest. He now bethought himself of rising from 
 his uneasy bed, when lo! a new enemy appeared, in the 
 shape of an enormous rattlesnake, who had thrown him- 
 self into a deadly coil so near his face that his fangs were 
 within a few inches of his nose: and his enormous rattle, 
 as it waved to and fro, once rested upon his ear. A single 
 contraction of the eyelid — a convulsive shudder — the re- 
 laxation of a single muscle, and the deadly beast 
 woidd have sprving upon him. In this situation he lay 
 for several minutes, when the reptile, probably supposing 
 him to be dead, crawled over his body and moved slowly 
 away. ' I had eaten nothing,' said Lewis to his com- 
 panions, after his return, ' for many days ; I had no fire- 
 arms and I ran the risk of dying with hunger ere I covdd 
 reach the settlement; but rather would I have died than 
 make a meal of the generous beast.' " 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 475 
 
 GREEN VALLEY 
 
 Green Valley in Bath County was also the site of an 
 old fort used for protection from tlie Indians. The fort 
 originally occupied a position near the present dwelling. 
 In 1755 the Indians made a capture of this fort and among 
 the prisoners then made was one Joe Mayse, who had been 
 wounded. Neighbors went in pursuit of the Indians and 
 rescued INIayse, whom they found riding and forced to 
 carry some of the red man's plunder, among which was 
 a coil of rope which was thrown over his head. The firing 
 of the rescuing party frightened the horse which was 
 
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 GREEN VALLEY, BATH COUNTY 
 
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 considerable distance, with great difficulty finally releasing 
 himself. 
 
 The original house at Green Valley was merely a 
 frontiersman's cabin, and was built by a Mr. McCallop, 
 who later sold the place to James Frazer, who enlarged 
 the house to its present proportions and kept it as a 
 " stage-tavern." About 1854 Samuel Lewis purchased 
 Green Valley from William Frazer. From Samuel 
 Lewis the place descended to his son Jasper Lewis, the 
 present owner. 
 
476 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 MONT CALM 
 
 The historic old homestead, Mont Cahii, now occupied 
 as a residence by Mr. W. E. Mingea, was built bj' Gov- 
 ernor David Campbell about the year 1830. It crowns 
 a hilltop on the south side of Abingdon which overlooks 
 the whole town, and to the south one of the finest moun- 
 tain views to be seen anywhere in this section spreads out 
 
 
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 MONT CALM, ABINGDON 
 
 before the eye of the observer. White Top and JSIount 
 Rogers, the two highest points in Virginia, are plainly 
 A^sible, with miles and miles of fertile lands and an oc- 
 casional range of smaller mountains lying between. 
 
 Upon the death of Governor Campbell, the property 
 descended to Governor William B. Campbell of Ten- 
 nessee, and his sister, Mrs. Shelton. It was then rented 
 by various parties — Judge John A. Campbell among the 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 477 
 
 number. After the deaths of Governor WiUiam Campbell 
 and sister, the property' was purchased from their estate 
 bj^ Colonel Arthur C. Cvmmiings, who married Elizabeth 
 Preston, daughter of Jno. M. Preston, 1st, of Seven Mile 
 Ford. Colonel Cummings' family having passed away, 
 he bequeathed the place to his wife's nieces and nephews, 
 sixteen in number; they, in turn, sold it to Mr. W. E. 
 Mingea, the present owner. 
 
 The trees on the lawn are giant white pines, planted 
 out by Governor Campbell's own hands. Leading from 
 this lawn to the macadam pike is a splendid avenue of 
 maples, making the approach one of great attractiveness. 
 Wonderful holly trees add greatly to the beauty of the 
 spacious lawn, and the old-time garden, with the hedges 
 of boxwood, beds of violets, lilies of the valley and pinks, 
 is still there. 
 
 Presumably the name selected by its distinguished first 
 owner was due to the fact that Governor Campbell was an 
 officer in the War of 1812, and saw service in Canada 
 under General Alexander Smyth, for whom Smyth 
 County, Virginia, is named. In his military service he 
 probably saw the historic Heights of Abraham at Quebec, 
 where the French General, Montcalm, lost his life. At 
 this particular epoch in our history we were at daggers 
 drawn with Britain and bosom friends with France. This 
 consideration also probablj^ influenced Governor Camp- 
 bell in the choice of the name for his home. 
 
 Through the various changes of ownership, the orig- 
 inal plan, both in the interior and exterior of the house, 
 has been wonderfully preserved. Two striking features 
 are the long drawing room, possibly sixty feet in length, 
 fifteen in height ( public receptions were held here ) ; and a 
 beautiful spiral staircase, beginning in the front hall and 
 extending to the attic. The steps of solid cedar, elabo- 
 ratelj^ hand carved on the outside, are as sound as ever. 
 
 The bed-room of Mrs. Campbell is still to be seen; for 
 years her bed remained there, — an elaborately carved 
 affair, with tester, after the fashion of that day. So 
 
478 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 lofty was this couch that it was impossible for a lady 
 to reach it unassisted. At bedtime her maid was dis- 
 patelied to call a stately man-servant, her special attend- 
 ant. He would come, cariying a quaint ladder, which, 
 with great dignity, he would place for ]Mrs. Governor that 
 she might make the ascent in safety. 
 
 A few words as to his favorite servant, David Bird 
 by name. He belonged to a type now ahnost entirely 
 extinct, loyal and faithful, indispensable to those whom 
 he served. Not only was he thoroughly accomplished in 
 all the craft of house life of the day, but his imposing 
 stature, impressive dignity, and polished manners rendered 
 him truly ornamental. He lived to ripe old age, and upon 
 his death in recent years the funeral train was largely 
 composed of the descendants of his white friends of earlier 
 days. 
 
 Mrs. Campbell was the possessor of beautiful hands, 
 of which she took great care. She was equally careful of 
 her gloves, which she desired always to be immaculate; so 
 juuch so, that when she had to undergo the many hand- 
 shakes incidental to public receptions she always wore a 
 larger second pair of gloves until the handshaking was 
 over, when she would discard this covering and displaj" her 
 hands in all the glory of gloves, perfect in fit, immaculate 
 in freshness. 
 
 The population of that section of Virginia beyond the 
 mountains was one in which the Scotch-Irish element 
 predominated. Physically hardy, mentally and spiritually 
 vigorous, " liberty " was the very keynote to this people's 
 being. From father to son and from mother to daughter 
 was transmitted the spirit of protest against any abridg- 
 ment of the divine principle of personal freedom, and ac- 
 companying this spirit in its transmission the will and 
 the power to act both speedily and efFectivelj^ to save 
 themselves and their property from bonds. 
 
 It is doubtful if there mav be found anvwhere a docu- 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 479 
 
 ment which better illustrates the liberty-loving character 
 of the Scotch-Irish on the frontier of Virginia than the 
 Fincastle Declaration of Independence which follows : * 
 
 FINCASTLE COUNTY (VIRGINIA) MEETING. 
 
 In obedience to the Resolves of the Continental Congress, a 
 Meeting of the Freeholders of Fincastle County, in Virginia, was 
 held on the 20th day of January, 1775, who, after approving of 
 the Association framed by that august body in behalf of all the 
 Colonies, and subscribing thereto, proceeded to the election of a 
 Committee, to see the same carried punctually into execution, 
 when the following gentlemen were nominated: the Reverend 
 Charles Cummings, Colonel William Preston, Colonel William 
 Christian, Captain Stephen Trigg, Major Arthur Campbell, 
 Major William Inglis, Captain Walter Crockett, Captain John 
 Montgomery, Captain James M'Gavock, Captain William Camp- 
 hell, Captain Thomas Madison, Captain Daniel Smith, Captain 
 William Russell, Captain Evan Shelby, and Lieutenant William 
 Edmondson. After the election the Committee made choice of 
 Colonel William Christian for their Chairman, and appointed Mr. 
 David Campbell to be Clerk. 
 
 The following Address was then unanimously agreed to by the 
 people of the County, and is as follows : 
 
 To THE Honourable Peyton Randolph, EsauiRE, Richard 
 Heney Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Junior, 
 Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison and Edmund Pendle- 
 ton, EsauiRES, THE Delegates erom this Colony who at- 
 tended the Continental Congress held at Philadelphia: 
 
 Gentlemen : Had it not been for our remote situation, and 
 the Indian War which we were lately engaged in, to chastise those 
 cruel and savage people for the many murders and depredations 
 they have committed amongst us, now happily terminated under 
 the auspices of our present worthy Governour, his Excellency the 
 Right Honourable the Earl of Dunmore, we should before this time 
 have made known to you our thankfulness for the very important 
 services j'ou have rendered to your country, in conjunction with 
 the worthy Delegates from the other Provinces. Your noble ef- 
 forts for reconciling the mother country and the Colonies, on 
 
 * American Archives, 4th Series, vol. 1, pp. 1165—6. 
 
480 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 rational and constitutional principles, and your pacifick, steady, 
 and uniform conduct in that arduous work, entitle you to the 
 esteem of all British America, and will immortalize you in the 
 annals of your countrj'. We heartily concur in your Resolutions, 
 and shall, in every instance, strictly and invariably adhere thereto. 
 
 We assure you, gentlemen, and all our countrymen, that we 
 are a people whose hearts overflow with love and duty to our lawful 
 Sovereign George the Third, whose illustrious House for several 
 successive reigns have been the guardians of the civil and religious 
 rights and liberties of British subjects, as settled at the glorious 
 Revolution ; that we are willing to risk our lives in the service of 
 his Majesty, for the support of the Protestant Religion, and the 
 rights and liberties of his subjects, as they have been established 
 by Compact, Law, and Ancient Charters. We are heartily grieved 
 at the differences which now subsist between the parent state and 
 the Colonies, and most ardently wish to see harmony restored on 
 an equitable basis, and by the most lenient measures that can be 
 devised by the heart of man. Many of us and our forefathers left 
 our native land, considering it as a Kingdom subjected to in- 
 ordinate power, and greatly abridged of its liberties ; we crossed 
 the Atlantic, and explored this then uncultivated wilderness, 
 bordering on many nations of Savages, and surrounded by Moun- 
 tains almost inaccessible to any but those very Savages, who have 
 incessantly been committing barbarities and depredations on us 
 since our first seating the country. These fatigues and dangers 
 we patiently encountered, supported by the pleasing hope of en- 
 joying those rights and liberties which had been granted to Vir- 
 ginians, and were denied us in our native country, and of trans- 
 mitting them inviolate to our posterity ; but even to these remote 
 regions the hand of unlimited and unconstitutional power hath 
 pursued us, to strip us of that liberty and property with which 
 God, nature, and the rights of humanity have vested us. We are 
 ready and willing to contribute all in our power for the support of 
 his Majesty's Government, if applied to constitutionally, and 
 when the grants are made by our own Representatives, but cannot 
 think of submitting our liberty or property to the power of a venal 
 British Parliament, or to the will of a corrupt Ministry. 
 
 We by no means desire to shake off our duty or allegiance to 
 our lawful Sovereign, but on the contrary, shall ever glory in be- 
 ing the loyal subjects of a Protestant Prince, descended from such 
 illustrious progenitors, so long as we can enjoy the free exercise 
 
BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 481 
 
 of our Religion as Protestants, and our Liberties and Properties 
 as British subjects. 
 
 But if no pacifick measures shall be proposed or adopted by 
 Great Britain, and our enemies will attempt to dragoon us out 
 of those inestimable privileges, which we are entitled to as sub- 
 jects, and to reduce us to a state of slavery, we declare that we 
 are deliberately and resolutely determined never to surrender them 
 to any power upon earth, but at the expense of our lives. 
 
 These are our real, though unpolished sentiments, of liberty 
 and loyalty, and in them we are resolved to live and die. 
 
 We are, gentlemen, with the most perfect esteem and regard, 
 your most obedient servants. 
 
 TYPICAL FRONTIER BLOCK HOUSE USED FOR 
 PROTECTION AGAINST INDIANS 
 
 31 
 
PART VIII 
 
 The Eastern Shore 
 
 THE country hang in Virginia and JMaiyland, be- 
 tween the Chesapeake Bay and the ocean, is 
 known as the Eastern Shore. 
 The counties of Northampton and Accomac, 
 which occupy the Virginia end of this peninsula, had 
 settlers within a few years after the foundation of James- 
 town. Their many advantages caused a rapid increase of 
 population, and by the middle of the seventeenth century 
 they were, for that time, well peopled. 
 
 Perhaps nowhere in the world, except in remote parts 
 of England itself, can the people boast of so pure an Eng- 
 lish strain, and nowhere have the same families so long 
 continued. Of course many names have disappeared, but 
 from the lower end of Northampton County to the JNIary- 
 land line and from the ocean to the baj^ one finds families 
 living upon land on which their forefathers settled in the 
 seventeenth century. These people prove the utter false- 
 hood of an}^ theories of lack of energy on the part of Vir- 
 ginians of the older stock. The two counties are among 
 the verj" richest and most prosperous agricultural sections 
 in America. 
 
 Scattered through both Accomac and Northampton are 
 quaint and interesting houses so numerous that only a few 
 examples can be given here. 
 
 MT. CUSTIS 
 
 The farm situated on Metompkin Bay, known as Mt. 
 Custis, was first owned by John Michael, who came to 
 Virginia from Holland about 1640. He married the 
 daughter of John Custis the first, who also came to this 
 country from Holland. 
 
 John Michael left Mt. Custis to his son Adam, who, 
 dying without heirs, left it to his nephew, Lieutenant- 
 
 482 
 
THE EASTERN SHORE 483 
 
 Colonel Henry Custis, who with Colonel Southey Littleton 
 at one time commanded the militia of Accomac and North- 
 ampton Comities. 
 
 Colonel Cvistis is buried in front of the house. He, 
 like his Uncle Adam Michael, died leaving no children. 
 He sold INlt. Custis for the nominal sum of $600.00 to his 
 niece, the wife of General John Cropper, with the proviso 
 that he, Henrj^ Custis, and his wife Mathilda, were to 
 occupy it and enjoy its revenues for life and at his death 
 his widow was to receive an annuity of $100.00 for her life. 
 
 Colonel Henry Custis is believed to have built the west 
 
 MT. CUSTIS, ACCOMAC COUNTY 
 
 end of the Mt. Custis house about 1710, while the older 
 part, built by the Michaels, was found in such a bad state 
 of decay that it was pulled down by the present owner. 
 It had been removed from the house about 1840, by Thomas 
 H. Bayly, when he built the present east side of the house, 
 and was used as an outbuilding. 
 
 On the death of the first wife of General John Cropper, 
 who was the niece of Colonel Henry Custis, the farm, by 
 will or gift, became the property of Margaret, the eldest 
 daughter of General Cropper and wife of Colonel Thomas 
 M. Bayly, who represented the First District of Virginia 
 for twenty-seven years in the Congress of the United 
 
484 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 States. He died at INIt. Custis about 1834 and his eldest 
 son, Thomas H. Bayly, became owner of the estate. 
 
 Judge Thomas H. Bayly, at the time of his death, 
 June, 1856, was chairman of the Ways and ]Means Com- 
 mittee and also of the Committee of Foreign Affairs. He 
 died just before the completion of his seventh term in Con- 
 gress, as representative of the same district his father so 
 long represented. jNIt. Custis is now held by his only child, 
 Evelyn, wife of Doctor Louis ]McLane Tiffany, of 
 Baltimore. The Tiff anys occupy the place for five months 
 each year. 
 
 During the life of Colonel and Judge Bayly ]Mt. Custis 
 was the scene of much hospitality and on its walls now hang 
 the letters of several presidents of the United States enter- 
 tained there. ]Much old furniture, china and a few por- 
 traits still remain to show the style in which the Custises 
 and Baylys lived, but many of these heirlooms have been 
 scattered. As each daughter of the house married, some 
 articles were given her to take to her new home. The por- 
 trait of Colonel Henry Custis is still in perfect condition 
 and hangs in one of the rooms, and there is also a fine por- 
 trait of Tabitha, wife of John Custis, painted bv Sir Peter 
 Lelv. 
 
 WELBOURNE, HORNTOWN, ACCOJIAC COUNTY 
 
THE EASTERN SHORE 
 
 485 
 
 WELBOURNE 
 
 Welbourne, at Horntown, Accomac County, was built 
 by Drumniond Welbourne about 1780. It is a substantial 
 two and a balf story bouse, of brick. A unique feature is 
 an arcade entrance at one corner. 
 
 ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, ACCOMAC COUNTY 
 
 This old church was probably built about 1656. It is 
 a brick building originally in the form of a cross and had a 
 brick floor, high-back pews and a pulpit of antique fashion. 
 
 In 1861 St. George's was used as a stable by Federal 
 
 ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, PUNGOTEAGUE, ACCOMAC COUNTY 
 
 troops and at the end of the war the venerable building was 
 a complete wreck. It remained untenanted for years until 
 the church people of the neighborhood determined to re- 
 store it for use as a place of worship. As the transepts 
 were unsafe they were taken down, the main building re- 
 built with the old bricks, and, after an interval of twenty- 
 five years, services were once more held within the ancient 
 walls. 
 
486 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 The first rector of the parish was Reverend Thomas 
 Teackle, who ministered there for over forty 3'ears and 
 died in 1696. The records of the parish, with the exception 
 of those of modern date, have, unfortunately, all been lost. 
 
 BROWNSVILLE 
 
 The BroAvnsville plantation was granted before 1655 
 to John Bro^^Ti, who in his will gave 1262 acres to his son 
 John Brown. The latter disappeared and the property 
 came into the possession of his brother, Thomas Brown. 
 
 BROWNSVILLE, NORTHAMPTON COUNTY 
 
 He divided the 1262-acre tract, giving 631 acres (the 
 Brownsville tract) to his daughter Sarah, wife of Arthur 
 Upshur, and the other half to his daughter Anne, wife of 
 Joseph Preeson, and, later, wife of Andrew Hamilton, of 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 The property descended from Sarah Brown Upshur 
 through several generations to its late owner, Thomas T. 
 Upshur, whose family now resides there. 
 
 We have no tradition of anv residence havinsr been 
 built on the land prior to the " Old Hall " mentioned below. 
 John Brown lived in the territory now included in Ac- 
 comac, and Thomas Brown also, for years after his father's 
 
THE EASTERN SHORE 487 
 
 death. Thomas Brown, however, did not die on this land, 
 for by his will in 1705 he gave his home place (600 acres) 
 to his daughter, Elizabeth Preeson, the wife of Thomas 
 Preeson, and this tract was probablj- the land now known 
 as " T. B." because its boundaries were marked by carving 
 " TB " on pine shingles and nailing them on a line of trees. 
 If there was a building prior to " Old Hall," it was prob- 
 ably a cheap log house. 
 
 The " Old Hall," which stood a few feet eastward of 
 the present house, had a brick at the shoulder of the south 
 end chimney marked 1691, and it is believed this was in- 
 tended to indicate the date of building. The south end of 
 the structure was of brick, with a large Dutch bake oven 
 included in it. The joists and timbers were of best heart 
 pine, dressed and beaded. It was 20 feet wide, 35 feet 
 long, with four rooms, a small hall and an attic and some 
 curious little closets in the upstairs rooms. It probably 
 had shed rooms also, while occupied by the white family, 
 but after 1806 it was used for negro quarters, and about 
 1898 was moved out on the farm and is now a good tenant 
 house. 
 
 The present brick house was built in 1806, by John 
 Upshur, at a cost of over $10,000.00. The bricks were 
 made on the farm. The brick part is 42 by 40 feet, two 
 and a half stories high and is handsomely finished. The 
 parlor, which is considered the handsomest old style room 
 on the Eastern Shore, is embellished with hand carving, 
 rope molding, mosaic work and other designs. The frame 
 part of the house, 52 by 20 feet, with a cook room 16 by 20 
 feet added, was built some time after the brick part of the 
 house by John Upshur, who also purchased the 631 acres 
 of the original tract belonging to Anne Preeson, and be- 
 queathed it, with other farms, to his children in 1842. In 
 1884 the land was again divided by the will of William 
 Brown Upshur, and the home place now containing 300 
 acres became the property of Thomas T. Upshur. 
 
 The first of the Upshur family in Virginia was Arthur 
 
488 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Upshur, who emigrated from Essex, England, and settled 
 in Northampton County in 1664. He patented " Upshur 
 Neck " — 2300 acres in Acconiac County — and in 1674 re- 
 moved to that place, where he died, in 1709, in the eighty- 
 fifth year of his age. His son, Arthur Upshur II, married 
 Sarah Brown, who in 1734 gave Brownsville — then con- 
 taining 631 acres — to their youngest son, Thomas Upshur. 
 This Thomas Upshur was the father of Thomas Upshur II, 
 who married Anne Stockley and was the father of John 
 Upshur, the builder of the present Brownsville house. 
 
 Thomas Upshur II was an officer in a company of 
 minute men during the Revolution. 
 
 Thomas T. Upshur IV entered the Confederate States 
 Army June 8, 1861, and remained in service until early in 
 May, 1865, when he was paroled by General Ord in Rich- 
 mond. He was a scout for Generals R. E. Lee, R. S. 
 Ewell, Jubal A. Early and Stonewall Jackson as a member 
 of Company B, Thirtj^-ninth Virginia Battalion of 
 Cavalry. 
 
 ]\Ir. Upshur, M^io died in 1910, was long an earnest 
 student of the history and genealogy of the Eastern Shore. 
 
 VAUCLUSE, NORTHAJIPTOX COUNTY 
 
THE EASTERN SHORE 
 VAUCLUSE 
 
 489 
 
 Vaucluse, in Church Neck, near the mouth of Hungar's 
 Creek, was once the residence of the distinguished states- 
 man, Abel P. Upshur. Here manj^ noted guests, includ- 
 ing President Tjder and his cabinet, were entertained. 
 Vaucluse is now owned by the Wilkins familj^ who bear 
 another ancient Eastern Shore name. 
 
 WEST HOUSE 
 
 The West House, on Deep Creek, is shown by its hip 
 roof and great chimneys to be one of the oldest houses on 
 
 WEST HOUSE, DEEP CREEK 
 
 the Eastern Shore. It was once the home of Revil West, 
 son of Anthony West and Eleanor Revil, and a member 
 of one of the oldest families of this part of Virginia. r • 
 
 DUCKINGTON " 
 
 Duckington is picturesquely situated on Mattawaman 
 Creek, about three miles from Eastville. This long two- 
 
490 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 storied frame house was an old residence of the Eastern 
 Shore family of Corbin. 
 
 DUCKINGTON, NORTHAMPTON COUNTY 
 
 CESSFORD, EASTMLLE, NORTHAMPTON COL'NTV 
 
 CESSFORD 
 
 Cessford, at Eastville, Northampton County, was long 
 the home of the Kerr family. Its name is derived from a 
 
THE EASTERN SHORE 
 
 491 
 
 seat of the famous Scotch border clan of Kerr. The Vir- 
 ginia house is an attractive residence surrounded by many 
 tine trees. 
 
 SHEPHERD'S PLAIN 
 
 Shepherd's Plain, in Accomac County, is of unknown 
 age, though evidently an ancient house. As is the case with 
 
 SHEPHERD'S PLAIN, ACCOMAC COUNTY 
 
 many Eastern Shore houses, the waters of the creek come 
 up to the yard. The name Accomac, originally Accow- 
 make or Accawmacke, is derived from the Indian chief who 
 ruled there, and was formerly the designation of the whole 
 of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. 
 
 About 1902 Shepherd's Plain came into the possession 
 of Dr. A. T. L. Quesian, who restored it to its pristine 
 beauty. 
 
 THE MELVIN HOUSE 
 
 The Melvin House, near Horntown, was built in 1775. 
 It is a type of the smaller story and a half, dormer-win- 
 dowed house. The long " sweep " of the well nearby adds 
 to its air of antiquity. 
 
492 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 MELVIN HOUSE, ACCOMAC COUNTY 
 
 CUSTIS HOUSE, DEEP CREEK 
 
 THE CUSTIS HOUSE 
 
 The Custis House, Deep Creek, is not very large but 
 bears every mark of antiquity. Here formerly lived many 
 generations of the Custis family descended from a brother 
 of John Custis, of Arlington. 
 
THE EASTERN SHORE 
 CALLAHAN HOUSE 
 
 493 
 
 One of the quaintest old houses on the Eastern Shore 
 was that at Locust JMount, Accomac County, which was 
 the residence of Reverend Griffin Callahan (1759-1833), 
 who was a pioneer INIethodist minister in the West, and 
 was long one of the leading men in his church. 
 
 CALLAHAN HOUSE, LOCUST MOUNT, ACCOMAC COUNTY 
 
 MARGARET ACADEMY 
 
 Margaret Academj^ was chartered in 1787. The 
 original minute book of the trustees is still in existence. 
 The spacious and substantial brick house will be a sur- 
 prise to those who are under the impression that there was 
 
494 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 hardly anj' equipment for secondary education in Virginia 
 at that day. 
 
 M\RC.U{1I U \I)I M'i, « (()\l\l COlNTi 
 
 
 WALLOP HOUSE, ACCOMAC COUNTY 
 
 WALLOP HOUSE 
 
 On Mosquito Creek, near Chincoteague Baj% is an 
 ancient structure, long the residence of an old family from 
 which it takes its name. 
 
THE EASTERN SHORE 
 
 495 
 
 MOUNT WHARTON 
 
 This old home of the Parramore family is situated on 
 Watts's Bay, opposite Assateague Island. It is evidently 
 an exceedingly old house. 
 
 MOUNT WHARTON, ACCOMAC COUNTY 
 
 HUNGARS CHURCH, NORTHAMPTON 
 COUNTY 
 
 By T. B. Robertson 
 
 Surrounded and concealed by a body of pine woods 
 in the midst of an ancient grove of sycamores some seven 
 miles north of Eastville is old Hungars Episcopal Church. 
 It is beautifully located on the north side of Hungars 
 creek at the head of navigation for small craft, and near 
 by is the old village of Bridgetown, at which in the early 
 years of the settlement the courts were held. 
 
 Hungars Church is one of the oldest church edifices in 
 the State, and has been in use for over two hundred years, 
 for the tradition is that it was built about 1690 to '95, and 
 there are evidences that this is the actual fact, though the 
 exact record is unfortunately lost. 
 
496 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 Hungars parish was made soon after the county was 
 estabhshed and the first minister was Rev. Wm. Cotton, 
 and the first vestry was appointed in 1635. The following 
 is the order made at that time : 
 
 " At a court holden in Accawmacke the 14th day of 
 Sept. 1635 ; '" ( Northampton being then called Accomack. ) 
 
 " At this court ]Mr. Wm. Cotton, minister, presented 
 an order of the court from James City, for the building 
 of a Parsonage house upon the Glebe land which is by 
 
 hu.\c;ars church. Northampton county 
 
 this board referred to be ordered by the vestry and because 
 there have heretofore been no formal vestry nor vestry- 
 men appointed, we have from this present day appointed 
 to be vestrymen those whose names are underwritten: 
 
 " Wm. Cotton, minister, Capt. Thos. Graves, Mr. 
 Obedience Robins, JNIr. John Howe, JMr. Wm. Stone, ISIr. 
 Burdett, Mr. Wm. Andrews, JMr. John Wilkins, INIr. Alex. 
 iMountjoy, ]Mr. Edw. Drew, ]Mr. Wm. Beniman, JMr. 
 Stephen Charlton. 
 
 " And further we do order that the first meeting of the 
 
THE EASTERN SHORE 497 
 
 syd, vestrymen shall be upon the feast day of St. Michael 
 the Arch- Angel, being the 29th day of September." 
 
 In accordance with that order of the court the vestry 
 meeting was held and record entered of the same as follows : 
 
 " A vestry heald, 29th day of Sept. 1635. 
 
 " PRESENT 
 
 " Capt. Thomas Graves, Mr. John Howe, Mr. Edward 
 Drew, JNIr. Obedience Robins, Mr. Alex. Mount joy, Mr. 
 Wm. Burdett, Mr. Wm. Andrews, JNIr. Wm. Stone, Mr. 
 Wm. Beniman." 
 
 At this meeting an order was made providing for build- 
 ing the parsonage house. 
 
 At one time there were two parishes, the upper or 
 Hungars, and the lower. In 1691 the parishes were united, 
 as will be noted in the order following, entered in the old 
 records in the clerk's office: 
 
 " Att a council held att James City, Apr. the 21st, 1691. 
 
 " PRESENT 
 
 " The Rt. Hono'ble Francis Nicholson Esq. Lt. Gov. &. 
 council. 
 
 " Major John Robins and Mr. Thos. Harmonson, 
 Burgesses of the County of Northampton, on behalf of 
 the County, by their petition setting forth that the said 
 county is one of the smallest in the colony, doth consist of 
 a small number of tithables, and is divided in two parishes, 
 by reason whereof the Inhabitants of both parishes are soe 
 burdened that they are not able decently to maintain a 
 minister in each parish and therefore prayed the said 
 parishes might be joyned in one and goe by the name of 
 Hungars parish, not being desirous to infringe any gift 
 given to Hungars parish, and more especially one by the 
 last will of Stephen Charlton, which parishes soe joyned 
 will not only be satisfactory to the inhabitants but make 
 them capable to build a decent church and maintain an 
 able divine. On consideration whereof itt is the opinion 
 of this board and accordingly ordered that the whole county 
 
 32 
 
498 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 of Northampton be from henceforth one parish and goe by 
 the name of Hmigars Parish, and that the same shall be 
 noe prejudice to the gift of the aforesaid Charlton to the 
 said parish of Hungars and it is further ordered that the 
 Inhabitants of the sd. parish shall meet at such time and 
 place as the court of the said county shall appoint and 
 make choice of a vestry according to law. Cop. vera, test, 
 W. Edwards, cl. cou." 
 
 Then, in accordance with the appointment of the court, 
 at a meeting of the inhabitants of the said county of North- 
 ampton, at the court house thereof the 22nd day of June, 
 1691, the following vestrymen were elected: 
 
 Major John Robins, Capt. Custis, Capt. Foxcroft, 
 John Shepheard, Benj. Stratton, Priece Davis, Benjamin 
 Nottingham, John Powell, Jacob Johnson, Thomas Eyre, 
 John Stoakley, Michael Dickson. It was evidently soon 
 after this step was taken that the Hungars church building 
 was erected. 
 
 The church in lower Northampton was perhaps older 
 than Hungars. It was situated in what is locally known 
 as the IMagothy Bay section and on the old Arlington es- 
 tate. Unfortunately it was allowed to go to decaj^ and in 
 1824 the walls and some of the material was sold. Nothing 
 but the foundation is now left to mark the spot. The com- 
 munion set, now used in Christ Church, Eastville, was " a 
 gift of John Custis of W^burgh to the lower church of 
 Hungars Parish, 1741," according to the inscription. The 
 plate now used in Christ Church is inscribed " Ex dono 
 Francis Nicholson," who was Lieutenant Governor 1690-2, 
 and again later. 
 
 Christ Church, Eastville, was erected as near as can be 
 stated in 1826 or 7. 
 
 Old Hungars Church became untenable in 1850 so as 
 to be unfit for holding services. 
 
 It was repaired in 1851 and reduced somewhat in size, 
 but practically unchanged in general appearances from its 
 original style. It is an interesting landmark that has stood 
 like a beacon light to many generations. 
 
THE EASTERN SHORE 
 BOWMAN'S FOLLY * 
 
 499 
 
 Edmund Bowman, who was a justice of Accomac in 
 1663, a sheriff, burgess, and successively held the military 
 titles of Captain and Major, built the old mansion house 
 known as Bowman's Folly on Folly Creek. His daugh- 
 ter Gertrude married John Cropper, a young Englishman, 
 and several generations of the descendants of the Cropper 
 family inherited and lived at Bowman's Folly. The most 
 distinguished was John Cropper (1755-1821), a distin- 
 
 BOWMAN'S FOLLY, ACCOMAC COUNTY 
 
 guished officer of the Virginia Continental Line, serving 
 with the rank of Colonel, afterwards a General of State 
 Militia. 
 
 The original house built by Edmund Bowman was 
 pulled down and the present one built by General Cropper 
 in 1815. Before the dwelling was built the General's 
 slaves were taken from their usual labors and for several 
 
 * Barton H. Wise in Virginia Historical Collection, vol. xi, pp. 
 275-315. 
 
500 VIRGINIA HOMES AND CHURCHES 
 
 months made to haul earth to make a mound upon which 
 to build. 
 
 After General Cropper's death, Bowman's Folly be- 
 came the property of Thomas R. Joynes, a son of Colonel 
 Levin Joynes. JNIr. Joynes was clerk of Accomac County 
 for seventeen years, an able lawyer, and a member of the 
 Virginia Convention of 1829-30. He was the father of 
 Judge W. T. Joynes, of the Court of Appeals, and Dr. 
 Levin S. Joynes, of Richmond. In 1822 he moved to 
 Bowman's Folly, which he called JNIontpelior, and resided 
 there until his death in 1858. In 1870 the property had 
 passed into the hands of the Browne and later the Gibb 
 family, and in about 1889 became the property of jNIr. 
 John Cropper, a grandson of the General. 
 
 ROSELAND. AT ACCOMAC 
 
 ROSELAND 
 
 " Roseland," the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Parra- 
 more Bell, is situated at Accomac Court House. The 
 house was built in the early part of the nineteenth century 
 
THE EASTERN SHORE 501 
 
 by a Mr. Walker, who married Anne Parramore, and is 
 one of the best examples of the style which obtained in 
 the early days of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. It is long 
 and rambling and there are three stairwaj^s leading to 
 three upper floors entirely separated from each other. In 
 the front yard is a beautiful grove of trees, some of them 
 very rare, and were brought from South America. The 
 grove and much of the shrubbery was planted by Dr. S. S. 
 Satchell when he owned it and made his home there. 
 
OLD WARREN HOUSE 
 See page 57 
 
 INDEX 
 
 177; Allan House, 
 177; Allan House, 
 
 Abraham's Delight, Frederick Co., HQ 
 
 Acquia Church, Stafford Co., S5-i, 356 
 
 Adams, Herbert B., 405; Dr. John, 121; John (Pres.), 406, 424; John 
 Quincy, 41; Richard, 121 
 
 Airville, Gloucester Co., 246 
 
 Airwell, Hanover Co., 285 
 
 Alexander, Rev. Archibald, 447 
 
 Allan, Algernon Sidney, 459; John, 155, 196; Mrs. 
 Richmond, 154 
 
 Allan, Algernon Sidney, 459; John, 155, 196; Mrs., 
 
 62; David Hume, 459; Edgar (Allan), 459; Elizabeth Bray, 62 
 Mrs. Elizabeth P., 178; James, 50, 60; Joseph, 172; Katherine, 53 
 L. M., 460; Maj. Richard, 172; Robert Owen, 459; William, 61 
 William, Jr., 61 
 
 Allerton, Elizabeth, 309; Isaac I, 309, 325; Isaac II, 309 
 
 Ambler, Jacqueline, 229 ; Mrs. Jacqueline, 229 ; Mary Willis, 229 
 
 Ampthill, Chesterfield Co., 106; Cumberland Co., 197 
 
 Andrews, William, 496, 497; Anthony, Caroline, and Christopher, 200 
 
 Appomattox, Prince George Co., 91 
 
 Archer, Dr. Branch T., 167; Mrs. Robert S., 210; Archer House, Rich- 
 mond, 153 
 
 503 
 
504 INDEX 
 
 Arlington, Alexandria Co., 371 
 
 Armistead, Charles Byrd, 254; Henry, 252, 253; Jane, 174; Hon. John, 
 
 243, 252, 334; Judith, 334; Lucy, 253; Maria Carter, 253, 354; 
 
 Martha, 253; Mary, 378; Robert, 378; William, 252, 253, 254 
 Atkinson, Agnes, 457; Thomas, 389 
 Auburn, Mathews Co., 233 
 
 Bacon, Nathaniel, 59; Bacon's Castle, Surry Co., 50 
 
 Bagby, George W., 191, 209 
 
 Bailej', Fleming, 351 
 
 Baker, Catherine and Lawrence, 60 ; Nicholas St. John, 342 
 
 Ball, James, Sr., 312, 320; James, Jr., 310, 312; James F., 310; James 
 
 Kendall, 312; Joseph, 312, 320; Mary, 312; William B., l6lj 
 
 William Lee, 312 
 Banister, John I, John H, and John III, 97 ; John Monro and Theodrick, 
 
 98; Banister Lodge, Halifax Co., 438 
 Barber, William, 67 
 
 Barbour, James (Gov.), 391; Johnson, 392; Philip Pendleton, 390, 392 
 Barboursville, Orange Co., 391 
 Barney, Mr. and Mrs. Edward E., 6 
 Barnsfield, King George Co., 347 
 Barton, Richard Peters, 449 
 Barrj', William T., 381 
 Bassett, Ann Maria (Dandridge), 31 ; Burwell, George Washington, 
 
 John and William, 265; Bassett Hall, Williamsburg, 31 
 Battersea, Dindwiddie Co., 96 
 Baylor, Mrs. George, 454 
 
 Bayh^, Margaret (Cropper), 482; Thomas H., 483, 484 
 Beale, Elizabeth, 334; Winifred, 337 
 Beattie, H. C, 212 
 Beaumont, Powhatan Co., 165 
 
 Bell, David, 187; Mr. and Mrs. William Parramore, 500 
 Belleville, Gloucester Co., 234 
 Bellevue, Halifax Co., 437 
 Bellmont, Buckingham Co., 186 
 Belmead, Powhatan Co., 168 
 Beniman, William, 496, 497 
 Bennett, Mr. and Mrs. Charles S., 414 
 Berkeley, Carter (M.D.), 282, 285; Carter Nelson, 285; Edmund, 217; 
 
 Lady Frances, 59, 60; John, 110; Kitty, 285; Nelson I, 282; 
 
 Nelson II, 285; Norborne, Baron de Botetourt, 13; Richard, 86; 
 
 Sir William, 59, 89, 102; Berkeley, Charles City Co., 86 
 Bernard, John H., 296 
 Berry Hill, Halifax Co., 435 
 
INDEX 505 
 
 Beverly, Carter, 383; Harry, 292, 303; Peter, 292; Robert (emigrant), 
 
 292, 307; Robert I and Robert II, 295; Robert III, 292; Col. 
 
 William, 292, 346 
 Bewdley, Lancaster Co., 312 
 
 Bickley, Joseph and Celia, 418; Sir William (Bart), 418 
 Bird, David, 478 
 
 Black Heath, Chesterfield Co., 160, l6l 
 Black, James, 256 
 Bladen, Anne, 322 
 Bladensfield, Richmond Co., 322 
 Blair, Anne, 97; James, 13; John, 15, 26, 97; John, Jr., 16; Blair 
 
 House, Williamsburg, 15 
 Bland, Elizabeth, 292; Giles, 89; John, 89; Martha, 97; Richard, 292, 
 
 479; Theodrick, 82, 85, 97, 206 
 Blandfield, Essex Co., 292 
 Blandford Church, Petersburg, 92 
 Blennerhassett, 133 
 Blow, A. A., 234 
 Blunt, Miss, 70 
 Boiling, Mary (of Chellow), 95; Mary (of Bollingbrook), 94; Richard, 
 
 184; Robert, 94, 95; Robert, Jr., 95; Robert (emigrant), 184; 
 
 Thomas and William, 184; Boiling Hall, Goochland Co., 183; 
 
 Boiling Island, Goochland Co., 184 
 Bollingbrook, Petersburg, 94 
 Booker, Mr., 423 
 
 Booth, Edwin, 57; Fannie, 234; George, 231 ; Thomas, 234 
 Boscobel, Stafford Co., 351, 354 
 Botetourt, Lord, 18, 28, 280 
 
 Bouldin, Mary, 424; Powhatan, 423; Wood, 441 
 Boulware, ^Irs. Aubin Lee, 469 
 
 Bowdoin, John T. and Sallie Elizabeth Courtney, 58 
 Bowles, James and Mary, 253 
 
 Bowman, Edmund, Gertrude, and Bowman's Folly, Accomac Co., 499 
 Boyd, Mrs. H. McKendree, 231 
 Boyd, Robert, 14 
 Brackett's, Louisa Co., 210 
 Braddock, Edward, 367 
 Bradley, Mrs., 53 
 
 Brafferton Building, William and Mary College, 14 
 Brandon, Prince George Co., 63 
 Bransford, Mrs., 104 
 Braxton, Carter and George, 268 
 Bray, Elizabeth, 60 
 Brayne, Butler, 306 
 Bremo and Upper Bremo, Fluvanna Co., 187, 191 
 
506 INDEX 
 
 Brewster, William, 309 
 
 Brockenbrough, John, 130; John W., 177 
 
 Brook Hall, Washington Co., i66 
 
 Brook Hill, Henrico Co., 113 
 
 Brooks, Alexander, 1J)1 
 
 Brown, Alexander, 200; Anne, 486; John, 486; Sarah, 486, 488; 
 Thomas, 486, 487; Henry, Rev. Samuel, Henry Peronneau and 
 John Thompson, 445 
 
 Browne, Henrv, 58; Sallie Edwards, 58; William (of Mass.), 268; 
 William Burnet, 268, 269 
 
 Brownsville, Northampton Co., 486 
 
 Bruce, Alexander, 437; Charles, 428, 429, 430, 435; Mrs. Charles, 429, 
 430; Ellen, 134; James, 421, 428, 435; James Coles, 428, 435; 
 Sallie, 134 
 
 Bruton Church, Williamsburg, 16 
 
 Bryan, John Randolph, 250, 351 ; John Stewart, 113; Joseph, 113, 251, 
 351 ; Mr. and Mrs. Joseph, 9 
 
 Bryce, James, 41 
 
 Bucke, Parson, 5 
 
 Buford, A. S., 158 
 
 Bullock, David, 159, 182; Bullock House, Richmond, 158, 159 
 
 Burdett, Mr. and William, 496, 497 
 
 Burgess, Robert, 50 
 
 Burnet, Gilbert, Mary and William, 268 
 
 Burnside, Gen., 351 
 
 Burr, Aaron, 133, 138, 146 
 
 Burwell, Abigail, 226; Agnes, 459; Carter, 53, 57; Elizabeth, 89; 
 George, 452; George Harrison, 454, 457; George Harrison, Jr., 
 457; Lewis I and Lewis III, 226; Lewis II, 226, 229, 252; Lewis 
 IV (of Carter's Creek), 226; Martha, 252; Nathaniel (of Carter's 
 Creek), 226; Nathaniel (of Carter's Grove), 57, 452, 453, 454, 
 457; Rebecca, 28, 229; Robert Carter, 458; Sarah Nelson, 458; 
 Townsend, 457 
 
 Byars, James M., 467, 468 ; William, 466, 467 
 
 Byrd, Anne, 83, 253, 347; Elizabeth, 21; Elizabeth Hill, 385; Evelyn, 
 
 67, 83, 85; Evelyn Taylor, 68, 69; George H., 70; Jane, 83; 
 William I (of Westover), 81, 85, 292; William 11 (of Westover), 
 114, 172, 174, 182, 253, 437; Col. William III (of Westover), 67, 
 
 68, 83, 253, 347, 385, 46l ; Wilhemina, 83 
 
 Cabell, Alice Winston, 203; CliiFord, 203; Mrs. Hartwell, 196; James 
 Alston, 196; Joseph Carrington, 201; Margaret, 205; Mayo, 200; 
 Nathaniel Francis, 198, 199; Nicholas, 198; Nicholas, Jr., 198; 
 Philip B., 202; Samuel Jordan, 202; William I (emigrant), 198, 
 199; William II, 199, 205; William III, 200; William H., 157, 200 
 
INDEX 507 
 
 Callahan, Griffin, 493; Callahan House, Accomac Co., 493 
 
 Camm, Sally, 203 
 
 Campbell, Mrs., 477; Rev. Archibald, 323; Arthur, 479; Charles, 63; 
 David (Gov.), 476; Mrs. David, 478; Ferdinand Stuart, 323; John 
 A., 476; " Parson," 323; Sarah Buchanan, 470; Thomas, 323, 424; 
 William, 466, 479; William B., 476, 477 
 
 Caskie House, Richmond, 153 
 
 Castle Hill, Albemarle Co., 396 
 
 Catlett, Edward and Thomas, 300 
 
 Carlyle, John, 367; Carlyle House, Alexandria, 367, 368 
 
 Carr, Dabney, 28 
 
 Carracci, 402 
 
 Carrington, Charles S., 443; Edward, 442; Col. Edward, 437; Henry, 
 431; John B., 437; Mildred, 427; Paul I, 441, 442; Paul II, 427; 
 Walter and William, 442 
 
 Carter, Anne (of Corotoman), 89; Anne (of Shirley), 276, 277; Anne 
 Hill, 103, 326; Catherine Spotswood, 282; Charles (of Shirley), 
 103, 282; Charles (of Cleve), 83, 103, 253, 268, 31.6, 347; Edwird 
 (of Blenheim), 308, 384, 404, 411 ; Edward (of Cleve), 347; Eliza- 
 beth(of Blenheim), 308; Elizabeth(of Corotoman), 57, 226; Eliza- 
 beth (of Shirley), 103; Elizabeth Hill, 83; Elizabeth Hill Farley, 
 385; George I (of Oatlands), 375; George II (of Oatlands), 376; 
 Mrs. George, 202; John (of Corotoman), 319; John (of Shirley), 
 83, 102,276; John C, 411; Judith, 223, 268; "Kitty," 285 ; Landon 
 (of Cleve), 347; Landon (of Sabine Hall), 40, 83, 333, 334, 337, 
 346; Landon II (of Sabine Hall), 337; Lucy, 349; Maria, 253; 
 Mary (of Cleve), 103; Mary (of Lancaster), 202; Robert (of Albe- 
 marle), 411; Robert (Councillor), 29, 321, 322, 375, 376; Robert 
 (" King "), 57, 68, 89, 102, 223, 226, 276, 316, 319, 321, 322, 333, 
 346, 349, 375, 384, 385; Robert (of Shirley), 276; Robert H., 411 ; 
 Robert Randolph, 103; Robert Wormeley I and Robert Wormeley 
 II, 337; St. Leger Landon, 347; Mrs. Thomas H., 231; William 
 Champe, 384 
 
 Carter Hall, Clarke Co., 453; Carter House, Williamsburg, 29; Carter's 
 Creek, Gloucester Co., 225; Carter's Grove, James City Co., 53, 57 
 
 Carver, D. C, 400 
 
 Gary, Anne, 172; Archibald, 106, 172, 187; Henry, 106; Judith, 187; 
 Mary, 32; Sarah, 32; Wilson Miles, 281; Cary House, Williams- 
 burg, 32 
 
 Cedar Grove, New Kent Co., 258 
 
 Cessford, Northampton Co., 490 
 
 Chamberlayne, Lucy Parke, 113; Thomas, 83 
 
 Charlton, Stephen, 496, 497, 498 
 
 Chastellux, Marquis de, 74, 84, 96, 280, 464, 474 
 
508 INDEX 
 
 Chatham, Stafford Co., 349, 351 
 
 Chelsea, King William Co., 266 
 
 Cheney, Clarence G., 441 ; Maynard A., 247 
 
 Chesterfield Court House, l62 
 
 Chicheley, Sir Henry, 287 
 
 Chinn, Henrietta, 344 
 
 Chrenshaw, Lewis D., 134 
 
 Christ Church, Alexandria, 365, 367; Lancaster Co., 3l6 
 
 Christian, Letitia and Robert, 260; William, 479 
 
 Church, Yorktown, 38 
 
 Church Hill, Gloucester Co., 325 
 
 Claiborne, Herbert A., 266; William Burnett, 269 
 
 Claremont, Surrv Co., 601 
 
 Clark, Miss, 209; Colin, 247, 349; G. R., l62; John, 440; Mr. and 
 Mrs. William H., 438, 439, 440 
 
 Clay, Henry, 41, 145, 250 
 
 Claybrook, Willoughby Newton, 333 
 
 Cleve, King George Co., 346 
 
 Clifton, Clarke Co., 459; Cumberland Co., 186 
 
 Clopton, John Bacon, 160 
 
 Clover Forest, Prince Edward Co., 420 
 
 Clover Lea, Hanover Co.. 264 
 
 Coalter, Elizabeth, 351 ; Elizabeth Tucker, 251 ; John, 350; St. George, 
 351 
 
 Cochran, Senator, 291 
 
 Cocke, Allen, 53; Ann Blows, 198; Benjamin, 53, 60; Bowler I and 
 II, 173; Cary C, 188, 191; Edmund Randolph, 174; Mrs. Eliza- 
 beth R., 177; James Powell, 104; John Hartwell, l68, 187, 198; 
 John Preston, 174; Lelia, 188; Mary, 188; Philip St. George, 58, 
 168; Richard I, 104, 173; Richard'll, Richard III, 173; Sarah, 
 206, 207; T. L. P., 177; Thomas, 104; Thomas Lewis Preston, 
 174; Mrs. W. R. C, 191; William, 173, 174; William Armistead, 
 173; William Fauntleroy, 174 
 
 Coke, John, 31 ; Senator, of Texas, 31 
 
 Coleman House, Williamsburg, 25 
 
 Coles, Elizabeth, 414; Isaac, 427; Isaac H., 442; John I, 413, 414, 417, 
 442; John II, 414; John III, 415; Mildred Howell, 442; Tucker, 
 417; Walter, 414, 442; Walter R., 414; William, 414 
 
 Cook, Mistress, 367 
 
 Copein, William, 354 
 
 Corbin, Miss, 385; Anne and Henrj^, 343; Richard, 342, 343 
 
 Cornwallis, Charles, Lord, 6, 37, 84, 275 
 
 Cotton, William, 496 
 
 Court House and Green, Williamsburg, 23 
 
INDEX 509 
 
 Cox, Presley, 331 
 
 Coxe, Anne, 113 
 
 Craighead, Alexander, -1(35 
 
 Crockett, Walter, 179 
 
 Cropper, John, 483, 199, 500; Mrs. John, 483 
 
 Crowford, Benjamin, 473; Thomas, 145 
 
 Crump, Otway, 167; W. W., 129; Crump House, Richmond, 126 
 
 Culpeper, Lord, 60, 447 
 
 Cumberland, Duke of, 396 
 
 Cumberland Court House Tavern, 196 
 
 Cummings, Arthur C, 477; Charles, 479 
 
 Cunningham, Mr., 153; Edward and Francis, 181 
 
 Custis, Capt., 498; Daniel Parke, 266; George Washington Parke, 371; 
 
 Henry, 483; John I, 482, 492; John (of Arlington), 266; John 
 
 (of Williamsburg), 498; Martha, 258; Mary Ann Randolph, 371; 
 
 Mrs. Mathilda, 483; "Nelly," 304, 36l ; " Tabitha, 484; Custis 
 
 House, 492 
 Custom House, Yorktown, 37 
 
 Dabney, Dr. and Virginius, 237 
 
 Daley," T. R., 40 
 
 Dandridsre, William, 267 
 
 Daniel, John W., 431; Mary and William, 200 
 
 Davis, Jefferson, 134; Priece, 498; Westmoreland, 377 
 
 Deans, Josiah, 241 
 
 De Haas, Wille, 473, 474 
 
 Delancy, Gov., 367 
 
 Delaware, Thomas, Lord, 3 
 
 Dickens, Charles, 130, 155 
 
 Dickson, Michael, 498 
 
 Digges, Cole and Mary, 68; Dudley, 253 
 
 Dinwiddie. Robert (Gov.), 21, 367 
 
 Ditchley, Gloucester Co., 233; Northumberland Co., 309 
 
 Divers, George, 410 
 
 Dix, Morgan, 430 
 
 Dixon, John, 246; Thomas, 237 
 
 Dobbs, Gov., 367 
 
 Donald, Benjamin A., 203 
 
 Doswell, Thomas, 286 
 
 Douthat, Fieldinar Lewis and Robert, 73 
 
 Dover, Goochland Co., 178 
 
 Downman, Raleigh, 321 
 
 Drew, Edward, 496, 497; Peyton, 158 
 
 Drewry, Augustus, 85 
 
 Drysdale, Gov., 18 
 
510 INDEX 
 
 Duckington, Northampton Co., 490 
 Dudley, Bishop, 126 
 Dunham Massie, Gloucester Co., 234 
 Dunmore, Lord (Gov.), 18, 23, 26, 40, 41, 479 
 Dupont, William, 389 
 
 Dyer, Celia Bickley, Francis Bickley, John, Robert, Maj. and Mrs. 
 Samuel, Sarah, Thomas and William Hay, 418; Samuel, 417, 418 
 
 Eagle Point, Gloucester Co., 250 
 
 Early, Jubal Anderson, 488 
 
 Eastern Shore Chapel, Princess Anne Co., 49 
 
 Edge Hill, Albemarle Co., 395 
 
 Edgewood, Nelson Co., 201 
 
 Edgewood and Airwell, Hanover Co., 282 
 
 Edmundson, William, 479 
 
 Edward VII, King, 19 
 
 Edwards, Susannah, 367; W., 498 
 
 Effinger, Maria C, 209 
 
 Elliot, James W., 432 
 
 Elmington, Gloucester Co., 236 
 
 Elsing Green, King William Co., 267 
 
 Eltham, New Kent Co., 264 
 
 Elthonhead, Agatha, 287 
 
 Ennisocthy, Albemarle Co., 213 
 
 Eppes, Francis I, 91 ; Col. Francis III, Lt.-Col. Francis, John, John 
 
 Wayles, Lucy, Mary and Richard, 110; Francis (of Eppington), 
 
 110, 112; Dr. Richard, 92 
 Epping Forest, Lancaster Co., 312 
 Eppingston, Chesterfield Co., 110 
 Ernest, Mrs., 467 
 
 Estouteville, Count de, 415; Albemarle Co., 415 
 Eustis, William Corcoran, 376 
 Evelyn, George, 68 
 Eweil, R. S., 488 
 
 Exchange, The, Gloucester Co., 237 
 Eyre, Thomas, 498 
 
 Fairfax, George, 32 ; George William, 363 ; Henry, 375 ; John M., 374, 
 
 375; Mrs. John M., 374; Thomas, Lord, 246", 276, 447, 448 
 Falls and Fall Hill, The, Fredericksburg, Va., 305 
 Farley, Culpeper Co., 384; James Park and Maria Champe, 385 
 Farmington, Albemarle Co., 410 
 Farnham Church, Richmond Co., 333 
 Fauquier, Francis (Gov.), 18 
 
INDEX 511 
 
 Felgate, Mrs. Mary, Robert and William, 40 
 
 Fielding, Frances, SOi 
 
 Fithian, Philip Vickers, 321 
 
 Fitzgerald, J. H., 206 
 
 Fitzhugh, Anne, 300; E. H. and John, 300; Henrietta, Sarah Stuart, 
 Thomas II (of Boscobel) and William Henry, 352; Henry and 
 Mary Randolph, 350; Henry, 68, 350; Henry (of "Bedford") and 
 Thomas (of Boscobel), 351 ; Henry (of Eagle's Nest), 349; Lucy, 
 68; Mary Lee, 371 ; William (of "Chatham"), 349, 350, 371 ; Wil- 
 liam I, 350, 351 
 
 Fleming, Judith, 171; Tarleton and Thomas Mann, 182 
 
 Flower de Hundred, Prince George Co., 75 
 
 Floyd, John B. (Gov.) and Mrs. John B., 470 
 
 Fontaine, William, 214 
 
 Forbes, Murray, 307; Mrs. Murray, 306 
 
 Fork Church, Hanover Co., 278 
 
 Fort Lewis, Bath Co., 473 
 
 Foster, Mrs., 14 
 
 Four Mile Tree, Surry Co., 57, 59 
 
 Fowle, Mr., 413 
 
 Fox, David and William, 321 
 
 Franklin, Benjamin, S67 
 
 Frascati, Orange Co., 390 
 
 Frazer, James and William, 475 
 
 Fultz, Frederick, 473 
 
 Gale, George, 249 
 
 Gallego, Joseph, 155 
 
 Gait, James, 196; William, 195 
 
 Gamble, Agnes and Elizabeth, 155; Robert, 156 
 
 Gamble House, Richmond, 156, 157 
 
 Gannaway, J. C, 187 
 
 Gardiner, Julia, 74 
 
 Garnett, G. Taylor, 233 
 
 Garrett House, Williamsburg, 31 
 
 Gaymont, Caroline Co., 296 
 
 George III, King, 480 
 
 Gerrard, Thomas, 325 
 
 Giiford, Mr., l6l ; Catherine Waldron, 166 
 
 Gilmer, Francis W., Mildred, and Thomas, 412; George, 411 
 
 Glasgow, Ellen, 20 
 
 Glenroy, Gloucester Co., 243 
 
 Gloucester Court House, 256 
 
 Goldsborough, Mrs., 231 
 
 Gooch, William (Gov.), 173, 449 
 
512 INDEX 
 
 Gordon, Elizabeth and Thomas, 384; Gulielma, 69 
 
 Gordonsdale, Fauquier Co., 384 
 
 Gorsuch, Ann, 238 
 
 Goshen, Gloucester Co., 243 
 
 Gosnold, Bartholomew, 1 
 
 Gouveneur, ]\Irs., 374 
 
 Graham, Robert, 160 
 
 Grant, Ulysses S. (Pres.), 76, 92 
 
 Grattan, Catherine and John, 156 
 
 Graves, Thomas, 496, 497 
 
 Gray, James, 149 
 
 Gray and Clopton Houses, Manchester, 159, l60 
 
 Green Hill, Campbell Co., 421 
 
 Green Plains, Mathews Co., 230 
 
 Green Springs, James City Co., 59 
 
 Green, Thomas, 141 
 
 Green Valley, Bath Co., 475 
 
 Greenfield, Charlotte Co., 432 
 
 Greenway Court, Clarke Co., 447 
 
 Gregory, Frances, Mildred Washington, and Roger, 306 ; Judge Roger, 
 
 269 
 Grymes, Alice, 223; John, 57, 223; John Randolph, 288; Lucy, 57; 
 
 Susan, 453 
 Gunston Hall, Fairfax Co., 364, 365 
 Gwynne, Mrs., 342; David and Elizabeth, 343 
 
 Hamilton, Andrew, 486; Gov., 162 
 
 Hampstead, New Kent Co., 261 
 
 Hampton, Wade and 'Sirs. Wade, 470 
 
 Hanover Court House, 271 
 
 Hanover Court House Tavern, 274 
 
 Harmonson, Thomas, 497 
 
 Harper, Mrs. Mary Ann, 411 
 
 Harris, Baratier, 165; W. E., 181 
 
 Harrison, Mrs., 187; Benjamin (of Brandon), 67, 68, 69, 106; Ben- 
 jamin (of Wakefield), 68, 89; Benjamin (of the Row), 70; Ben- 
 jamin III, Benjamin IV and Benjamin VI (of Berkeley), 89; 
 Benjamin V (of Berkeley), 89, 186, 479; Benjamin (Pres.), 90; 
 Carter Henry, 186; Elizabeth, 337; George Evelyn, Gulielma G. 
 and Isabella Ritchie, 69; Lucy, 105; IMary Randolph, 69, 197; 
 Mrs. Martha Bland, 423; Nathaniel I (of Wakefield), 89; Na- 
 thaniel II (of Brandon), 68, 89; Randolph, 69, 186, 197; William 
 Henry (Pres.), 89, 90 
 
 Hartsook, D. J., 412 
 
 Harvey, Sir John (Gov.), 5, 39 
 
INDEX 513 
 
 Harvie, Gabriella, 172, 395; John, 130, 156 
 
 Harwood, Agnes, 73; Thomas G. and Walter C, 216; William, 70 
 
 Haxall, Barton H., 389 
 
 Hay, William, 418 
 
 Haynes, John, 1-11; Judith, 315 
 
 Heath, Charles, 234 
 
 Henkel, Dr., 473 
 
 Henry, Dorothea, 423, 424; Dorothea Dandridge, 427; Edward W. and 
 
 Martha Catherine, 424; John, 423, 427; Patrick, 18, 26, 18, 118, 
 
 145, 162, 271, 274, 278, 281, 401, 424, 427, 439, 466; Patrick, Jr., 
 
 479; William Wirt, 402, 423, 427 
 Henshaw, Edmund, 389 
 Hesse, Gloucester Co., 251 
 Heth, Henry and William, l6l 
 Hickory Hill, 276 
 Higginson, Lucy and Robert, 226 
 HiU, Col. Edward I (of Shirley), 101 ; Col. Edward II, Col. Edward 
 
 III (of Shirley) and Elizabeth, 102 
 Hite, Joist, 448, 449 
 Hobson, John B., 181 
 Hockley, 245 
 Holker," Adlaide, 458 
 
 Hollinsworth, Abraham and Thomas, 449 ; Isaac, 449, 450 
 Holt, William, 260, 261 
 Hooe, Dr. A. B. and Rice, 348 
 Hopkins, Mrs. Gerard, 241 
 Horn, Quarter, King William Co., 269 
 Houdon, 146 
 
 Howard, A. Randolph, 351; Benjamin, 378; Mrs. Wm. Key, 304 
 Howard's Neck, 181 
 Howe, John, 496; John, 497 
 Huger, Benjamin, 384 
 Humphreys, Louise, 103 
 Hungars Church, Northampton Co., 495 
 Hunt, Rev. Robert, 1 
 Hunter, P. S., 296 
 Hurkamp, Charles H., 352 
 Hutchins, Stilson, 376 
 
 Ingleside, Charlotte Co., 431 
 Inglis, William, 479 
 Innes, Harry and Sally, 306 
 Ionia, Louisa Co., 209 
 Irving, A. D. and Wnshington, 391 
 Isleham, Mathews Co., 230 
 34 
 
514 INDEX 
 
 Jackson, Andrew (Pres.), 138; Thomas Jonathan (" Stonewall"), 145, 
 
 191, ^299, 488 
 Jacqueline, Edward, 6 
 Tapo-pr W R 244 
 Jeffers'on, John, 75 ; Martha, 395 ; Martha (S^elton) and Mrs Thomas, 
 
 403- Peter 27, 171; Thomas, 13, 18, 28, 75, 106, 110, 145, 171, 
 
 201,' 223, 229, 365, 389, 396, 399, 402, 403, 404, 410, 412, 419, 
 
 421, 461, 464 
 Jennings, Edmund (Gov.), 18 
 Jerdone, Francis, 260 
 
 Johns, Mrs. and John, 439 ,„,-,• rr. ■ .a, r k 
 
 Johnson, Dr., 29; Edward, Edward, Jr., and Philip Turpm, 164; Jacob, 
 
 498; John E., 429 
 Johnston, George Ben, 183; Joseph E., 439; Mary, 22 
 Jones, Churchill, Hannah and William, 350; John Paul, 303; William 
 
 A., 312; William Ashby, 233 
 Jordan, Mrs. Alice, 58; Mrs. Cecily, 78 ; George, 59; Margaret and Col. 
 
 Samuel, 200 
 Jouett, Jack, 401 
 Joynes, Thomas R., Colonel Levin, Judge W. T. and Dr. Levm S., 500 
 
 Keith, Rev. James, 171 
 
 Kendall, George, 1 ; Mary and William, 309 
 
 Kenmore, Fredericksburg, 303 
 
 Kennon, Charles Randolph, Mrs. Nancy Randolph and William H., l65 
 
 Kercheval, Samuel, 454, 457 
 
 Keswick, Albemarle Co., 392 
 
 King, William, 466 
 
 Kinlock, Eliza, 400; Francis, 400 
 
 Kirnan, Westmoreland Co., 323 
 
 Kneller, Godfrey, 67 
 
 Knox, Henry F.,' 90 
 
 Lacy, J. Horace, 351 
 
 Lafayette, Marquis de, 6, 25, 37, 94, 104, 121, 125, 146, 365, 374 
 
 " Laird of Loch Lynn," 473 
 
 Lancaster, Drusilla (Le Grand), John, and John A., 420; Robert A., 
 421, 465 ; Robert A., Jr., 421 
 
 Landon, Betty, 333, 346 
 
 Lansdowne, Gloucester Co., 251 
 
 Lee, Agnes, Custis and Mildred, 177; Arthur, 324, 326; Gen. Charles, 
 206; Charles Carter, 276; Fitzhugh, 324; Francis Lightfoot, 326, 
 344; Hancock, 309, 310; Henry ("Light Horse Harry"), 103, 
 324, 326, 424; Maj. Henry, Matilda, and Philip Ludwell, 326; 
 
INDEX 515 
 
 John, 3^i■il, 325 ; John L., -i65 ; Kendall and Lettice, 310 ; Laura Dun- 
 ber, 457; Lucinda, 381 ; Ludwell, 315; Richard I (emigrant), 309, 
 3'24; Richard II (of Mt. Pleasant), 325; Richard Henry, 325, 326, 
 3i5. -i79; Robert Edward, 6, 103, 105, 13-i, 177, 233, 2-18, 307, 
 326, 351, 353, 367, 371. 419, 439, 151, 4.88; ^Irs. Robert E., 266, 
 372; Robert E., Jr., 277; William, 60, 310, 324, 326; William L., 
 60; William H. F., 266, 277; Thomas (of Stratford), 325, 329, 
 344, 362 ; Thomas Ludwell, 324, 326 
 
 Le Grand, Alexander and Lucy (Walker), 420 
 
 Lely. Sir Peter, 67, 484 
 
 Level Green, Gloucester Co., 250; Nelson Co., 206 
 
 Levy, Jefferson, 405 
 
 Lewis, Andrew, 148, 473; Mrs. Betty Washington, 347; Col. Charles, 
 473, 474; Eleanor, 73; Fielding", 73, 303, 304, 347, 383; Frances 
 Fielding, 303; Jasper, 475; John (of Augusta Co.), Thomas, and 
 William, 473; John I and John II (of Warner Hall), 249; John 
 III (of Warner Hall) and Lawrence, 304; Col. John, 346; 
 Margaret, 382; Robert, 400; Samuel, 473, 475; Warner (of Warner 
 Hall), 73 
 
 Liberty Hall, Nelson Co., 198 
 
 Lightfoot, Philip and Richard, 62 
 
 Ligon, Mrs., 187 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham (Pres.), 351 
 
 Little, William A., 352 
 
 Littlepage, John, 276 
 
 Littleton, Southey, 483 
 
 Logan, Gen. T. M., 196 
 
 Long Branch, Clarke Co., 467 
 
 Longstreet, James A., 375 
 
 Louis XVI (of France), 421 
 
 Lovelace, Richard, 421 
 
 Lowland Cottage, Gloucester Co., 246 
 
 Ludlow, Edmund, 39; George, 38 
 
 Ludwell, Hannah, 325, 344; Hannah Philippa, 60; Lucy, 29; Philip I 
 (of Green Spring), 59; Philip II (of Green Spring), 326; Philip 
 III (of Green Spring), 29, 60 
 
 Lyde, Cornelius, 342 ; Stephen, 343 
 
 Lyne, Mrs. William H., 391 
 
 Lynn, Andrew and Margaret, 473 
 
 Lyons, Lord and Lady, 155; James, 150, 153; Peter, 401 
 
 McCance House, The, Richmond, 141 
 
 McCarthy, Daniel, 363 
 
 McCartyJ John Mason, 381 ; William, 378 
 
516 INDEX 
 
 McClellan, Gen., 90, 105, 277 
 
 McDowell, James, 443, 470; Mrs. James, 470; Susan, 443 
 
 M'Gavock, James, 479 
 
 McGuire, Emily, 461; Hunter, 145 
 
 McMurdo, Sadie, 401 
 
 McPhail, Paul Carrington, 441 
 
 Macfarland, William H., 150 
 
 Macon, Martha, 206 
 
 Macrae, Euphan and John, 231 
 
 Maddox, T. M., 384 
 
 Madison, Dolly, 278, 386, 414; James (Pres.), 146, 281, 385, 386, 389, 
 
 399, 405, 419; James, Sr., 385; Mrs. James, Sr., 388; Thomas, 479 
 Magruder, Col. James, 391 
 Malvern Hill, Henrico Co., 104 
 Mann, John, 215, 217; Mary, 216, 219 
 Mansfield, Spotsylvania Co., 304 ; near Petersburg, 98 
 Mantua, Northumberland Co., 310 
 Margaret Academj', Accomac Co., 493 
 Marshall, John (C. J.), 14, 18. 73, 126, 133, 138, 142, 145, 146, 171, 
 
 229, 383; Mary Willis, 73; Mrs. Thomas, 306; Thomas and Thomas, 
 
 Jr. (of Oak Hill), 383 
 Marshall House, The, Richmond, 142 
 Marteni, Maria Margueretta, 421 
 Martian, Nicholas, 39 
 Martin, Catherine, 315; John, 67 
 Mason, Armistead Thomson, 378, 381 ; Catharine, Emily, John Thomson 
 
 and Mary, 378; George (of Gunston), 18, 145. 363, 364, 365, 377; 
 
 John Y., 158; Stevens and Stevens Thomson, Jr., 382; Stevens 
 
 Thomson, 377, 381 ; Mrs. Stevens Thomson, 381 ; Thomson, 377 
 Masonic Temple, Williamsburg, 32 
 
 Massie, Capt. Thomas and Maj. Thomas, 206; William, 206, 208 
 Mattapony Church, King and Queen Co., 270 
 Mayo, Edward C. and Elward C, Jr., 105; Joseph, 112; Maria, 157; 
 
 " Peter H., 113, 457; Robert A., 113 
 Mays, William, 351 
 Mayse, Joe, 475 
 Mazzei, Philip, 421 
 
 Meade, Marianne, l67; William, 285, 319, 350, 450, 452 
 Meadows, The, Washington Co., 466 
 Melvin House, The, Accomac Co., 491 
 Menokin, Richmond Co., 344. 345 
 Merchant's Hope Church, Prince George Co., 77 
 Meriwether, Francis, 271; Nicholas, 399 
 Michael, Adam, 482, 483; John, 482 
 
INDEX 517 
 
 Michaux, Abraham, Jacob and William Walthall, 165 
 
 Midlothian, Gloucester Co., 241 
 
 Mildendo, Halifax Co., iJ'S 
 
 Mill, Benjamin, 137 
 
 Miller, Joseph, 411 
 
 Minge, Collier, 7-t 
 
 Mingea, W. E., 476, 477 
 
 Minitree, David, 54 
 
 Minor, Garrett and Sally, 211 ; Lucius and John, 285; John B., 409 
 
 Mitchell, Virginia, 172 
 
 Moncure, John, 355 
 
 Monroe, James (Pres.), 13, 18, 146, 323, 373, 379, 385, 419 
 
 ]Mont Calm, Washington Co., 476 
 
 Montcalm, Gen., 477 
 
 Montgomery, John, 479 
 
 Monticello, Albemarle Co., 402 
 
 Monticola, Albemarle Co., 412 
 
 ^lontpelier. Orange Co., 385 
 
 Monumental Church, Richmond, 125 
 
 Moore, Anne Butler, 103. 282; Augustine and Sir Thomas, 266; Bernard, 
 
 103, 266, 399, 400; Catherine (Spotswood), 399; E. A., 177; 
 
 Elizabeth, 399, 401; Mary (Captive of Abb's Valley), 445; Tom, 
 
 32, 137, 157; Richard Channing (Bp.), 126 
 Moore House, York Co., 38 
 jNIoreau, Rev. Nicholas, 259 
 Morgan, Gen. Daniel, 458, 459 
 Morson, James M., 134 
 Morris, Gov., 367; Anne (Watson), James, James W. and Sylvanus, 
 
 214; Elizabeth, 211 ; Mrs. R. O., 209; William, 213, 214 
 Morven Park, Loudoun Co., 377 
 Moryson, Francis, 19 
 Mosisy, John S., 375 
 Moseley, Arthur and William Jr., 42; Edward, 45; Susannah and 
 
 William, 42, 45 
 Mossom, David, 259 
 Mt. Airy, Richmond Co., 338, 344 
 Mt. Custis, Accomac Co., 382 
 Mount Vernon, Fairfax Co., 356, 362 
 Mount Wharton, Accomac Co., 495 
 Mountain Top, Albemarle Co., 419 
 Mountain View, Clarke Co., 450 
 Mountjov, Alexander, 496, 497 
 Mulberry Hill, Charlotte Co., 441 
 Munford, George Wythe, 237 
 Murray, Honorable Miss, 155 
 
518 INDEX 
 
 Mutter, John, 159 
 
 Myers, Barton and Moses, 41; E. T. D. and Samuel. 129 
 
 Myers House, Norfolk, Va., 41 
 
 Napier, Lord and Lady, 155 
 
 Natural Bridge, Rockbridge Co., 461 
 
 Nelson, Elizabeth Burwell and Robert, 104; Frances, Francis, Judith, 
 
 Capt. Thomas, 280; Rev. George W., 332; Hugh, 400, 458; Hugh, 
 
 Jr., and Sally Page, 458; Col. Hugh, 452; James Po.vntz, 281; 
 
 Jane Byrd, 401 ; Philip, 450; Robert W., 400; Thomas (emigrant), 
 
 279; Thomas, Jr., and Thomasia, 285; Thomas (Secy.). 37, 253; 
 
 Gen. Thomas, 37, 39, 145, 206, 280, 279, 285, 458; William, 104, 
 
 280 
 Nelson House, Yorktown. 37 
 New Market and Bullfield, Hanover Co., 286 
 Newport, Capt. Christopher, 1, 70, 112, 114 
 Newstead, Gloucester Co., 241 
 Newton, John Brockenbrough (Bp.), 126, 333; Sarah and Willoughby, 
 
 311; Mrs. Willoughby. 332 
 Nicholas, Betsy, 33; Wilson Cary (Gov.), 18, 24, 252, 498; George A. 
 
 and Mary Jane (Dyer), 418 
 Noland, Fenton, Mrs. Mary E., Nelson Berkeley and William C. 285 
 Nolting, Carl, 212; E. O. and Emily M., 412 
 Nomini Hall, Westmoreland Co., 321 
 North Garden, Caroline and Spotsylvania Cos.. 279 
 Nottingham, Benjamin, 498 
 Norwood, Powhatan Co., 164 
 
 Oak Hill, Fauquier Co., 383; Loudoun Co., 373 
 
 Oak Ridge, Nelson Co., 205 
 
 Oakland, Cumberland Co., 173; Hanover Co., 279 
 
 Oatlands, Loudoun Co., 375 
 
 Ogle, Anne, 344; Benjamin (Gov.), 342, 344; Samuel (Gov.), 342 
 
 Old Brick Church, Isle of Wight Co., 49 
 
 Old Capitol and Clerk's Office, 'Williamsburg, 30 
 
 Old " Marshall " Packet Boat, 191 
 
 Old Masonic Hall, Richmond, 122 
 
 Old Stone Chapel, Clarke Co., 452 
 
 Old Stone Church, Augusta Co., 447 
 
 Oliver, Mrs., 104 
 
 Ord, Gen., 488 
 
 Orgain, William, 6l 
 
 Ormesby. Caroline Co.. 297 
 
 Otter Burn, Bedford Co., 203 
 
INDEX 519 
 
 Page, Agnes, Eliza, Isabella, and Powell, 457; Fanny, 285 ; Francis and 
 Rosewell, 280; Francis Nelson, 281; Harriett Randolph, 186; 
 Herbert H., John E;elyn and Robert, 461 ; James Morris, Mann, 
 Richard Channing Moore, Thomas Walker and Thomas Walker, 
 Jr., 392; James W. and Thomas W., 214; John (emigrant), 17, 216; 
 John (Gov.). 21, 28, 223, 229, 285, 454; John (of North End), 83; 
 John (of Oakland), 280, 281; John (of Pagebrook), 46l ; John 
 Gary, 185; Judith, 230; Lucy, 21, 454; Mann (of Mannsfield), 
 343; Mann I (of Rosewell), 171, 220, 223; Mann II (of Rose- 
 well), 223, 230, 305, 392; Maria Judith, 171; Mathew, 216, 219; 
 Robert Powell and Robert Powell, Jr., 459; Thomas Nelson, 278, 
 280, 281 
 
 Page House, Williamsburg, 21 
 
 Pagebrook, Clarke Co., 460 
 
 Palace Green, Williamsburg, 19 
 
 Palladio, 409 
 
 Palmer, Charles T., 203; George, 159 
 
 Pannill, Ann (Morton) and William, 421; Samuel, 423 
 
 Paradise House, Williamsburg, 29 
 
 Paradise, Madam and John, 29 
 
 Paramore, Anne, 501 
 
 Parke, Daniel and Lucy, 83 
 
 Patterson, David and Mrs. Elizabeth, 203; John, 231 
 
 Patton, James, 479 
 
 Paul, William, 303 
 
 Paulett, Rev. John, 86; Sir John, 75, 86; Thomas, 75 
 
 Paxton, Powhatan Co., 166 
 
 Payne, Dolly and John, 281; Edward, 363; Elizabeth (Dyer) and 
 George M., 418 
 
 Peck, John, 322 
 
 Pegram, Blair, 53 
 
 Pelham, Peter, 18 
 
 Pendleton, Edmund, 479 
 
 Penn, William, 449 
 
 Penn Park, Albemarle Co., 411 
 
 Peterborough, Earl of, 83 
 
 Peyton, Chandler and Robert E., 384; Sir John, 230 
 
 Pharsalia, Nelson Co., 208 
 
 Philips, Gen., 94, l62 
 
 Piersey, Abraham, 70, 75 
 
 Plain Dealing, Albemarle Co., 417 
 
 Plater, George, 342, 343; Mary, 343 
 
 Pleasants, James, 214 
 
 Plumard, Justin Pierre, Comte de Rieux, 421 
 
520 INDEX 
 
 Pocahontas, 5, 57, 96, 217 
 
 Poe, Edgar Allan, 126, 150, 155, 159 
 
 Pohick Church, Fairfax Co., 363 
 
 Point-of-Fork, Fluvanna Co., 195 
 
 Polk, Leonidas (Bp.), 451 
 
 Pope, Alexander, 70 
 
 Poplar Grove, Mathews Co., 231 
 
 Porto Bello, York Co., 40 
 
 Powder Horn, Williamsburg, 25 
 
 Powell, John, 498 
 
 Power, Tyrone, 93 
 
 Powhatan, King, 96, 112 
 
 Powhatan Court House and Tavern, 167 
 
 Powhatan's Chimney, Gloucester Co., 217 
 
 Poythress, Joseph and Susan Peachy, 75 
 
 Preeson, Anne, Elizabeth and Thomas, 487; Joseph, 486 
 
 President's House, William and Marj' College, 15 
 
 Presley, Peter and Winifred, 297 
 
 Preston. Elizabeth and John j\I., 477; Elizabeth Randolph, 174; Francis, 
 
 John S., Thomas L. and William C, 470; James Patton, 409; 
 
 John, 468; Mrs. John, 476; William, 468, 469, 479; William 
 
 Ballard. 469 
 Preston House, Abingdon, 470 
 Prestwould, Mecklenburg Co., 443 
 Prosser, Evelina Matilda, 242 
 Providence Forge, New Kent Co., 260 
 
 Quesian, Dr. T. L., 491 
 Quinby, Dr., 375 
 Quiney, Richard, 67 
 
 Raleigh, Sir Walter, 26 
 
 Raleigh Tavern, Williamsburg, 26 
 
 Ramsey, Mrs. Clarice Sears, 85 
 
 Randall, Henry S., 110 
 
 Randolph, Alfred Magill (Bp.), 103; Anne, 68, 105, 350; Anne 
 (" Nancy Wilton "), 106; Beverley and Charles H., 165 ; Charlotte 
 Foushee, 167; Coupland and Susannah, 186; David Meade and 
 Molly, 154; Edmund (Gov.), 14, 18, 33, l67; Mrs. Gabriella 
 Harvie, 130; Col. Isham, 171, 186; Jane and Judith, 171; Mrs. 
 Jane (Nicholas), 395; John, 133, 134, 138, 146, 250; Sir John, 33; 
 John of Roanoke, 130, 196, 432, 439, 440, 441; Mary (of Dun- 
 geness), 186, 197; Mary (of Edge Hill) and Sarah, 396; Mary 
 (of Tuckahoe), 171, 182; Peter, 350; Peyton, 14, 18, 28, 32, 479; 
 Peyton (son of Edmund), 167; Peyton (of Wilton) and William 
 
INDEX 521 
 
 II (of Turkey Island), 105; Thomas (of Clarke), 157; Thomas 
 (of Tuckahoe), 71; Thomas Isham, 186; Thomas Jefferson, 70, 
 395; Thomas Mann (of Edge Hill), 172, 895; Thomas Mann 
 (of Tuckahoe), 130, l63, 171, 395; Virgil P., 416; William (of 
 Tuckahoe), 27, 171, 395; William III (of Wilton), 105, 106 
 
 Randolph House, Williamsburg, 32 
 
 Raspberry Plain, Loudoun Co., 377 
 
 Ratcliff, Jolm, 1 
 
 Read, Clement, 432; Isaac, 432, 435; Thomas, 431 
 
 Red Hill, Charlotte Co., 423 
 
 Redlands, Albemarle Co., 411 
 
 Reed, L. P. and Stanley, 267 
 
 Revil, Eleanor, 489 
 
 Richards, Mourning, 354 
 
 Richardson, Robert, 67 
 
 Ring, Joseph, 40 
 
 Ringfield, York Co., 39 
 
 Ritchie, Isabella, 69 
 
 Rives, Alfred Landon and Amelie, 401 ; Margaret Jordan, 205; Robert, 
 202, 205; William Cabell, 205, 401 
 
 Robertson, Ann (Dyer) and George, 418; Francis Smith and Wynd- 
 ham (Gov.), 466; Jane Ga.v, 296; Thomas B.. 495 
 
 Robins, John, 497, 498; Obedience, 496, 497; Mrs. Sally Nelson, 129, 
 230, 254, 256 
 
 Robinson, Anna, 449 ; Mrs. Frederick, 307 ; Lieper Moore, 267 
 
 Rochester, Nathaniel, 322 
 
 Rock Castle, Goochland Co., 181 
 
 Rocklands, Orange Co., 389 
 
 Rogers, Randolph, 145; William L., 332 
 
 Rolfe, John, 5; Thomas, 57 
 
 Rolleston, Princess Anne Co., 42 
 
 Rookings, William, 50 
 
 Roosevelt, Theodore (Pres.), 19, 41, 419 
 
 Rootes, Thomas Reade, 242 
 
 Rose, John, 207 
 
 Rosegill, Middlesex Co., 287 
 
 Roseland. Accomac Co., 500 
 
 Rosewell, Gloucester Co., 219 
 
 Ross, Alexander, 449; David and Co., 417 
 
 Rossingham, Edmund, 75 
 
 Roxbury, Spotsylvania Co., 307 
 
 Roy, Elizabeth, James H., Mengo and William Henry, 231 
 
 Russell, Madam. 466; William, 466, 479 
 
 Rutherfoord, John (Gov.), 183; John Cole, 181, 183; Mrs. John C, 
 231; Thomas, 157 
 
522 INDEX 
 
 Rutherfoord House, Richmond, 157, 158 
 Ryan, Thomas F., 205 
 
 Sabine Hall, Richmond Co., 333, 337 
 
 Sabot Hill, Goochland Co., 178 
 
 St. Clair, Gen., 367 
 
 St. George's Church. Accomac Co., i85 
 
 St. John's Church, Hampton, 47; Richmond, 117 
 
 St. Luke's Church, Isle of Wight Co., 49 
 
 St. Mary's White Chapel, Lancaster Co., 320 
 
 St. Paul's Church, Norfolk, 41 
 
 St. Peter's Church, New Kent, 257 
 
 Salisbury, Chesterfield Co.. l62, 164 
 
 Saratoga, Clarke Co., 458 
 
 Satchell, Dr. S. S., 501 
 
 Saunders House, Williamsburg, 21 
 
 Saunders, Robert, 21 
 
 Scotchtown, Hanover Co., 281 
 
 Scott. Miss, 443; Alexander, 354; John, [Mrs. John Scott. Rev. John 
 
 Scott and Robert Eden, 384; Winfield, 18, 42, 157 
 Seawell, J. Hairston and !Mollie Elliott, 247 
 Sedden, Anne, 231 
 Seddon, James Alexander, 134, 181, 428; Marian, 244; Sarah, 428; 
 
 Thomas, 231 
 Selden, Martha Bland, 181 
 Selma, Loudoun Co., 381 
 Severnby, Gloucester Co., 251 
 Shakespeare, William, 67 
 Sharpe, Gov., 367 
 Sharpless, 381 
 Shelb.y, Evan, 479 
 Shelly, Gloucester Co., 225 
 Shelter, Gloucester Co., 247 
 Shelton, Mrs., 476; John, 274 
 Shephard, John, 498 
 Shepherd's Plain, Accomac Co., 491 
 Sheridan, Philip, 412 
 Sherwood, Gloucester Co., 249 
 Sherwood Forest, Charles City Co., 73 
 Shippen, Thomas Lee, 329, 862 
 Shirley, Gov., 367 
 Shirley, Charles City Co., 98 
 Skelton, John GifFord and Maria Ward, 167; Josiah and Ennion Gif- 
 
 ford, 166; Mrs. Martha, 403 
 
INDEX 523 
 
 Skipwith, Fulmer, Sir Gray, Humberston and Sir William, 4 13 ; Helen, 
 117; Sir Peyton, 416, -117, -143; Selina, 416 
 
 Smith, Abigail, ^li>6; Armistead, 243; Arthur, 62; Caroline, 214; Charles 
 Jeil'ery, 260, 261; Daniel, 479; Francis, Mrs. Francis and Mary, 
 466; George W., 125, 277; James and James M., 311; John, 1, 2, 
 9, 57, 67, 70, 112, 114; John (of Nibley), 86; John (of Purton), 
 248; Margaret, 411; Mary, 466; Philip, 331; Thomas, 246; 
 William (Gov.), 145; William Patterson, 244 
 
 Smithfield, Montgomery Co., 468 
 
 Smythe, Alexander, 477 
 
 Soldier's Joy, Xelson Co., 202 
 
 Spencer, George, 321 ; Nicholas, 356 
 
 Spotswood, Alexander (Gov.), 18, 103, 267, 292, 306; Anne Katherine, 
 267; Katherine, 103 
 
 Springdale, Frederick Co., 448 
 
 Stanard, !Mrs., 150; Beverley, Beverley Chew, Larkin, and William, 
 308; Hugh Mercer, John Champe, and ]\Irs. Martha, 309; Robert, 
 149, 308; Robert C, 150, 309 
 
 Staples, Thomas, 417 
 
 State Capitol, Richmond, 145 
 
 Staunton Hill, Charlotte Co., 427 
 
 Stearns, Franklin. 385 
 
 Steptoe, Sally, 209 
 
 Stewart, Isobel and John, 113 
 
 Stith, William, 171 
 
 Stoakley, John, 498 
 
 Stockley, Anne, 488 
 
 Stokes, A. Y., 185 
 
 Stone, William, 496, 497 
 
 Storrow, Samuel, 385 
 
 Stratford, Westmoreland Co., 324, 372 
 
 Stratton, Benjamin, 498 
 
 Stuart, Ferdinand Stuart Camubell, 324; J. E. B., 277 
 
 Swan (Gov.), 377 
 
 Swan Tavern, Richmond, 159 
 
 Sylvania, Louisa Co., 213 
 
 Syme, John, 401 ; Sally, 202 
 
 Tabb, Edward, John H. and Thomas Todd, 241; Henry, 234, 241; 
 
 J. Prosser, 233; John, 242, 243; Martha, 243; Philip, 234, 241, 
 
 242; Prosser, 237; Thomas, 9i 
 Taliaferro, James Lyons and W'illiam, 236; Lucy, 347; R. P., 245; 
 
 Thomas, 246; Warner, 234; William Booth, 234, 235 
 Tallwood, Albemarle Co., 417 
 Tarleton. Gen., 275, 281, 401, 405 
 
524 INDEX 
 
 Tarpley, James, 17 
 
 Tasker, Benjamin and Frances, 322 
 
 Tate, Mr., 153 
 
 Tayloe, Ann Corbin, 223, 343; Benjamin Ogle, 342, 344; Betty, 342, 
 343; Catherine, 337; Henrv, John I, John III (of Mt. Airy), John 
 IV and Rebecca, 344; John II (of Mt. Airy), 338, 342, 343, 345; 
 William I, 343; William II and Mrs. William, 342; William H., 
 342, S44 
 
 Taylor, Mrs., 307; D. W., 214; Fielding Lewis, 225; George, 269; 
 Henry, 212; John and John Penn, 270; Maria, 83; Sarah Griffin, 
 459 
 
 Tazewell Hall. Williamsburg, 32 
 
 Teaekle, Thomas. 486 
 
 Tedington, Charles City Co., 62 
 
 Thackeray, William M.", 117, 150 
 
 Therett, Anne, 315 
 
 Thompson, Anne and John, 306; John R., 64 
 
 Thornton, Capt., 300; Anthony I, 197; Anthony II (of Ormesby) and 
 Thomas Griffin, 297; Anthony III (of Ormesby), 297, 299;"Butler 
 Brayne, Francis III (of Fall Hill), Rev. Francis, Frances Gregory 
 and Harry Innes, 306; Elizabeth (Taliaferro) and Mary (Talia- 
 ferro), Francis II (of The Falls), 305, 399; Francis IV (of Fall 
 Hill), James Innes and Robert Calloway. 307; Harry, 299; John, 
 298; Sally Innes, 306, 307; William, 305. 385 
 
 Thoroughgood, Adam, 45, 47 ; Sir John and Thomas, 45 
 
 Thoroughgood House, Princess Anne Co., 45 
 
 Thorpe, George, 86 
 
 Throckmorton, Sir William, 86 
 
 Thweatt, Archibald and Richard X., 110 
 
 Tiffany, Evelyn (Custis) and Louis McLane, 484 
 
 Timberneck, Gloucester Co., 21 6 
 
 Todd, Dorothea Payne, 386; Thomas, 238, 241; Thomas I, 238 
 
 Toddsbury, Gloucester Co., 238 
 
 Tompkins, Mrs. Christopher, 232; " Capt. Sally," 232, 243 
 
 Towles, Frances, Henry, Henry. Jr., Keturah, Porteus, Stockeley and 
 Thomas, 315; Howard McJelton and James, 316; William Henry, 
 315,316 
 
 Towles Point, Lancaster Co., 315 
 
 Trigg. Mary, 466; Stephen, 479 
 
 Troubetskoy, Amelie (Rives) (Chandler), Princess, 401 
 
 Tuckahoe, Goochland Co., 168, 173 
 
 Tucker, Alice, 50; Elizabeth Travis, 414; Nathaniel Beverley, 23; 
 Harry St. George, 41 ; St. George, 23, 202, 351 
 
 Tucker House, Williamsburg, 23 
 
 Turpin, Baron de, 464; Caroline, l64; Philip, l63 
 
INDEX 525 
 
 Tyler, D. Gardiner, 75; John (Pres.), 13, 18, 32, 74, 423, 489; John 
 (Pres.), 13, 18, 32, 74, 423, 489; John Poyntz (Bp.), 333; Louis, 
 423; Julia (Gardiner), 74 
 
 Underbill, John, Jr., 40 
 
 Union Hill, Cumberland Co., 185; Nelson Co., 199 
 University of Virginia, 405 
 Upper Brandon, Prince George Co., 70 
 
 Upshur, Abel P., 489; Arthur, 486, 488; John, 487, 488; Thomas, 488; 
 Thomas T., 486, 487, 488; William Brown, 487 
 
 Valentine, Edward V. and Mann S., 141 
 Valentine Museum, Richmond. 137 
 Vandyke, Anthony, 67 
 Van Lew, Miss, 118, 121 ; Mr., 121 
 Van Lew House Richmond, 118 
 Vaucluse, Northampton Co., 489 
 Vauter's Church, Essex Co., 295 
 
 Walker, Francis, 392, 401; Jane Frances, 392; John, 399, 400, 401; 
 Judith Page, 401; Lindsay, 196; Mary. 346; Mildred, 400; 
 Thomas, 396, 399, 401, 405; Capt. Thomas, 396 
 
 Wallace, W. J., 264 
 
 Wallop House, Accomac Co., 494 
 
 Walthall, Edward, 165 
 
 Ward, Mr., 332; Maria, 133, 167; William Norvell, 322 
 
 Warner, Augustine I and Mary, 248; Augustine II, 248, 254; Elizabeth 
 and Mildred, 249 
 
 Warner Hall, Gloucester Co., 247 
 
 Warren, Charles Walker and William A., 53; Thomas, 57 
 
 Warren House, Surry Co., 57 
 
 Washington, Mrs., 31, 231 ; Augustine, 363; Betty, 347; Bushrod, John, 
 John Augustine and John Augustine, Jr., 356; Elizabeth (Betty), 
 303; George, 13, 18, 20, 31, 32, 39, 145, 146, 248, 249, 258, 303, 
 312, 321, 323, 350, 356, 363, 367, 371, 399, 413, 424, 447, 448, 
 497; Lawrence, 249, 346, 356; Mrs. Martha, 266, 359, 371; Mary, 
 300 
 
 Waters, William D., 417 
 
 Watkins, Henry A., Col. Joel and Dr. Joel, 432 ; Joseph A. and Martha 
 (Dyer), 418 
 
 Watson, Anne (Nancy) and David, Jr., 213; David, Sr., 210, 211, 
 212; George, 153, 210; James and Mary Minor, 212; Maj. James, 
 209, 210, 213; Oliver, 351 ; Sally (Minor), Susan Dabney (Morris) 
 and Thomas S., 212; Thomas, 211 
 
526 INDEX 
 
 
 Waverly, Gloucester Co., 2-il 
 
 Wayles^ Ellen, 70 
 
 Webb, Conrad, 261, 263; George, 261 
 
 Weitzel, Gen., 137 
 
 Welbourne, Drummond, 485 ; Accomac Co., 495 
 
 Wellford, Armistead Nelson, Carter and Elizabeth, 337; W. A., 385 
 
 West, Anthony, 489; Revil, 489 
 
 West End, Louisa Co., 212 
 
 West House, on Deep Creek, 489 
 
 Westmoreland Club, The, Richmond, 149 
 
 Westover, Charles City Co., 7S 
 
 Westover Church, Charles City Co., 86 
 
 Wetherburn, Henr}', 27 
 
 Weyanoke, Queen of, 70 
 
 Weyanoke, Charles City Co., 70 
 
 White, Mrs. Isaac, 410 
 
 White Hall, Gloucester Co., 244 
 
 White House, The, New Kent Co., 264 
 
 White House of the Confederacy, Richmond, 130 
 
 White Marsh, Gloucester Co., 242 
 
 Whitefield, George, 93 
 
 Whittington, Josephine Isabella, 316 
 
 Whittle, F. M., 174 
 
 Wickham, Henry T., 278; John, 137, 138, 141, 277; William Carter, 
 
 276; William Fanning, 277 
 Wight, Edwin, 172 . . -' ' 
 
 M^ilkins, Eliza and William, 437 ; John, 496 _.^ 
 
 AVilkinson. Gen., 138 ■':''' 
 
 Willcox, John Poythress, 76; John Vaughn, 75 ,f 7, 
 
 William of Orange, 269 ' •' ' * 
 
 William and Mary College, Williamsburg, 10 
 Williams, Sir Edward, 102; H. A., 250; John Langbourne and John 
 
 Skelton, 167 
 Williamson, Mary Amanda, Robert I, Robert II (of Brook Hill), and 
 
 Robert Carter, 113 
 Willing, Anne Shippen and Charles, 83 
 
 Wilmer, J. B. P., 419 ' ' *' '" ' ■;• 
 
 Wilton, Henrico Co., 105 
 
 Windy Cove Church and Wallawhatoola, Bath Co., 464 
 Wingfield, Edward Maria, 1 
 Winston, Mrs. Edmund, 427; Geddes, 121, 158; George D., 424; Peggy, 
 
 121; Sally, 158 
 Wirt, William, 155, 402, 412 
 Withers. Alfred W., 251 
 Wolfe, Gen., 269 
 
vX 
 
 inLex 
 
 527 
 
 \ 
 
 Wood, Warner, -111 
 
 Woodcliff, John, 86 
 
 Woodfork, Charlotte Co., 432 
 
 Woodville, Albemarle Co., 414 
 
 Wormeley, Mr., 346; Agatha (Eltonhead) and Aalph IV (of Rose- 
 gill), 288; Christopher and Ralph I (of RosegiL), 287; Elizabeth, 
 334; Judith, 220; Ralph II (of Rosegill), 222, 288; Ralph V 
 (of Rosegill), 288, 291 
 
 Wren, Sir Christopher, 13 
 
 Wyatt, Miss, 209 
 
 Wj'the, Chancellor George, 14, 18, 20 
 
 Wj'the House, Williamsburg, 20 
 
 Yeardley, Francis, 45 ; Sir George, 70, 75, 86 
 Yeatman, Mrs. Thomas Robinson. 231 
 Yeocomico Church, Westmoreland Co., 830 
 Young, ^lary (Cary), 68 
 
 B^ 
 
 ^'Ni^*^^H 
 
 W# - f 'tiifc 
 
 liK ~^^^2|fl 
 
 ■fell U U M 1 
 
 Bl 
 
 HBiii^l 
 
 H 
 
 mi^gn 
 
 9 
 
 T.\LBOT HALL, NORFOLK COUNTY. BUILT IN 1800. 
 
 Home of the following: .Solomon Butt Talbot { — 1801), Thomas Talbot ( — 1837), William Henry 
 
 Talbot ( — 1884), and Thomas Talbot, the present owner.