Privacy, Web Servers and a Database Update

 If you mouse over to the right-hand side of this page you will see a link to the latest update to our master family tree. This update was several months in the making, and since earlier versions required a lot of manual hand coding in HTML, I was not in a big hurry to open that can of worms. Best to wait for the next big snow day. To make matters worse, my local ISP retired its free server space. So once the source files were deleted there was to be no turning back.

What finally greased my gears into action was an unexpected email I received from a distant relative. It seemed he was concerned that his family sheet could be used for targeted phishing attacks. If this were 1990 I would say that holds water, but this is 2021 and the amount of personal identifiers available on just the open source web is astounding and way above anything that could be harvested from a family tree. I'm afraid the cows left that barn many years ago.

In earlier versions of our on line tree I was careful to exclude the birth dates of living individuals. Now-a-days those are easily harvested from your local PTA or HOA directory. And if you want just one example of a very powerful association aggregator, check out Family Tree Now. It's amazing what you can find here on living individuals with just a little digging (although some associations, addresses and phone numbers are bogus or out of date). I even used this site to confirm some of my past addresses the last time I had to put in my paperwork for a security clearance.

Our current tree was published with the web page functionality built into the Roots Magic genealogy software I use for my day-to-day research. In early trials it seems to do the job and it looks like future updates will be much easier. But it will take me time to go back and fix broken family page links in prior posts. So please be patient.

You also will notice that this newer version no longer has entries for living individuals. The Roots Magic software does not allow for birth date exclusion, only living person exclusion. Hopefully this will allay future security fears you might have.

I rarely use open source trees posted on such sites as Ancestry.com. These are riddled with errors and wishful thinking. Most all of my entries come from trusted fellow researchers or census, birth/death certificates, deeds, family bibles and grave markers. But even those sources are never perfectly accurate. So if you come across an incorrect spelling, date or family association, please let me know. But also include your source for the correction. When conflicting dates or spellings are encountered I always opt for the public record first.

Guest Post: The Pearson House in Haymarket Virginia

The Pearson House depicted in the 1940s

Editor's note: This post comes to us courtesy of Lee Pearson of Manassas, VA. It is a vignette about his childhood home and a painting he did from memories of living there in the 1940s. Lee descends from Baldwin through his son Wormerly (Judith Creel line). In a future post we will examine his line in greater detail when we feature a significant heirloom in his possession..

Nestled among the honeysuckle lies the Pearson House, one of four structures that escaped the rapture of the Northern armies during the Civil War.

Passing is a steam locomotive the likes of which would have carried Southern soldiers and horses rushing from the Shenandoah Valley to be in the Great Battle of Bull Run/Manassas on July 21, 1861. The first time in history of the world soldiers and horses were delivered to battle by train/railroad.

Behind this house is St. Paul’s Church on Fayette Street. With the doors wide open on that very hot day. Church services were in progress during which time cannon were heard by the congregation, echoing from battle in Manassas, but would not have been heard by the troops on their mission due to the iron clatter and steam from the locomotive.

Undoubtedly, many would have glanced at this house on passing that day, but with little thought of it at this time, as their concerns were of their fate minutes away in battle.

Lee Pearson

Manassas, VA

Searching for Lord Fairfax (Updated, 2X)

Thomas, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron

As an amateur historian growing up in northern Virginia I was fascinated by Lord Fairfax and the family's claim to the huge Northern Neck Proprietary. This was a land grant of five million acres containing all of the counties of the Northern Neck lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers as well as all of what was to become the northern Virginia counties out to the source spring of the Potomac. Its southern boundary was a straight line cutting across the Blue Ridge range and Shenandoah Valley connecting the Potomac headspring to that of the Conway (origin of the Rappahannock River system) river. Originally, this vast area, much of it unmapped, was given to seven Englishmen by Charles II for their loyalty in helping him regain the throne after the execution of his father, Charles I, during the English Civil War. Just how all of that land ended up with the Culpepper family and eventually finding its way to Lord Fairfax is lengthy and will not be described here. But to get the full story, check out this post in Virginia Places.org. It is a fascinating read. There are several maps of that time showing the boundaries of the grant. My favorite is the Jefferson-Fry map of 1753. Peter Jefferson was the father of Thomas Jefferson.

Fairfax (1693-1789) was unique in that he was the only English noble to have lived in the American colonies. His seat of power was at Greenway Court near the village of White Post in Clarke Co. It's on private property and the only remaining structure is a small stone hut that served as his land office

He also died here and is buried in Winchester. But where? Back in 2014 I had some time to kill while in town so I decided to find out. As always, Find-a-Grave is the go to source for these things and directed me to the Christ Episcopal Church. But when I got there I was shocked to see only his above ground tomb sandwiched in between the city side walk and the church building. There was no churchyard cemetery and not all that much room for such an important burial. Almost like it was placed as an afterthought. 

After a little more research it became clear that he spent most of his worship time at the Old Chapel near Millwood just down the road from Greenway Court. 

View from the cemetery

Road marker

This is a neat little stone church with a large graveyard. But as the local population grew, need arose for a new larger church in Millwood, and parish boundary changes led to building the other church in  Winchester. It's unclear why Fairfax wound up in Winchester and not at the Old Chapel cemetery. There are some really old graves there and a big surprise for me was finding Edmund Randolph.. Randolph is a true patriot. He was one of the original Virginia delegates to the Constitutional Convention. He not only served as aide-de-camp to Washington during the Revolution, but also as governor of Virginia, US secretary of state and the first US attorney general. But how did a Tidewater boy living in Richmond most of his life wind up buried in a small churchyard in the Shenandoah Valley? It seems that in late life as a widower he spent time visiting Nathaniel Burwell at Carter Hall plantation in Millwood. The mansion is practically across the road from the new church in Millwood, and I had the chance to tour both the new church and Carter Hall as part of a Mosby Heritage Association lecture a few years back. An added bonus was a chance for getting inside the Old Chapel. The vicar at the new church opened it up for folks willing to venture down after the lecture. It's normally only open by special appointment and for their Easter service.

Pulpit

 

Pulpit view to entrance

So now we know a bit more about Fairfax and the land grant that contained our ancestral lands in northern Virginia.

UPDATE (March 2021):

Since publishing this post, I came across a copy of Fauquier During the Proprietorship: A Chronical of the Colonization and Organization of a Northern Neck County by H. C. Groome (Reginal Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD 1969), originally published in 1927. This book is a treasure trove of information on the formation of Fauquier County with fascinating details about the Northern Neck Proprietorship. It is an essential library item for anyone interested in the early history of Fauquier County in particular and the colonization of Virginia in general.

 Although Fairfax originally surveyed several sections of his vast claim for his own use, with the 119,927 acre "Leeds Manor" being planned for his eventual estate, he never built there. Preferring to open his land office at Greenway Court on the western side of the Blue Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley.

On page-71, Groome cites Burnaby's 1798 description of Fairfax's "way of living" at Greenway Court:

"He kept many servants , white and black; several hunters; a plentiful but plain table, entirely in English fashion; and his mansion was the mansion of hospitality. His dress corresponded with his mode of life, and, notwithstanding he had every year new suits of clothes, of the most fashionable and expensive kind, sent out to him from England, which he never put on, was plain in the extreme. His manners were humble, modest and unaffected; not tinctured in the smallest degree with arrogance, pride or self-conceit. He was free from selfish passions, and liberal almost to  excess. The produce of his farms, after the deduction of what was necessary for the consumption of his own family was distributed and given away to the poor planters and settlers in his neighborhood. To these he frequently advanced money, to enable them to go on with their improvements; to clear away woods, and cultivate the ground; and where the lands proved unfavorable, and not likely to answer the labor and expectation of the planter or husbandman, he usually indemnified him from the expense he had been at in the attempt, and gratuitously granted him fresh lands of a more favorable and promising nature. He was a friend and father to all who held and lived under him; and as the great object of his ambition was the peopling and cultivating of that fine and beautiful country, of which he was the proprietor, he sacrificed every other pursuit, and made every other consideration subordinate, to this great point. He presided at the county courts held in Winchester, where during the sessions he always kept open table; and acted as surveyor and overseer of the highways and public roads. His chief, if not sole amusement was hunting; and in pursuit of this exercise he frequently carried his hounds to distant parts of the country; and entertained every gentleman of good character and decent appearance' who attended him in the field, at the inn or ordinary, where he took up his residence for the hunting season."

In the final chapter Groome gives us clarity on Lord Fairfax's final hours. He died on 9 December 1781 not at Greenway Court but in Winchester after a ride to see his physician. He first was buried at the Frederick parish church in town that he erected in 1762. But later his remains were removed to Christ Church. And in 1925 a new bronze table was placed that we can see today:

"Under the spot repose the remains of Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax of Cameron, son of Thomas fifth Lord Fairfax and Catherine Culpepper, his wife. Born at Leeds Castle, County Kent, England, October 22, 1693. Died at his proprietary of the Northern Neck in Virginia, December 9, 1781, in the eighty-ninth year of his age. He was buried in the original Frederick Parish Church at the corner of Loudoun (Main) and Boscawen (Water) streets, whence his remains were removed to this church in 1828; where they were reinterred in 1925, when this tablet was erected by the Vestry of Christ Church."

UPDATE (July 2021): 

It seems the historical snowflakes and "perpetually aggrieved" have come for even the good Lord Fairfax. The charge; simply living in his own time and place when men were men and chattel were chattel. The remedy; being judged by present-day standards and CANCELLED. And of course no surprise that the academy was involved. That one institution (and their historians in particular) who really should know better. Clearly the intellectual cesspool from which most current revisionist neo-Marxist doctrine emanates. For the record, Lord Fairfax was one of the most benevolent masters and country gentleman in all of Virginia for his time (note above). The revisionists have no real clue and only see the name.

But never fear; it's all rainbows and unicorns, or in this case; pretty flowers:

"Virginia’s State Board for Community Colleges today approved changing the name of two of the commonwealth’s 23 community colleges, including Lord Fairfax Community College, which will become Laurel Ridge Community College. The new name, selected by a task force of students, faculty, alumni, LFCC retirees, community members and college board members, is drawn from the native laurel flower that is characteristic of the region, and the proximity of the college’s four locations to the Blue Ridge Mountains." 

How nice. But speaking of Lords and Ladies, I'm reminded of a time, many years ago, when Saturday Nigh Live still was worth watching.

  

Baldwin Lunsford's Will, Estate Inventory and Sale

 

A farm lane near The Plains, VA (2014)

As our earliest known paternal ancestor, the search continues for Baldwin Lunsford's origins. Who were his parents? Did he descend from the colonial era Lunsford families of the Virginia Northern Neck? Is there a connection to Stafford and/or Prince William Counties before the formation of Fauquier County in 1759? We may never know as the public records from this period are sketchy at best and no extant family bibles or parish records seem to exist. But the search continues. 

However, we are fortunate to have a very detailed record of his property and affairs at the time of his death in October 1850. This comes to us through his will, estate inventory and sale ledger. Notice that the surname spelling varies between the "ce" and "s" versions; sometimes even within the same document. Baldwin was a farmer and could not write his name (he signed with his mark, X). We have no way of knowing whether he preferred the "ce" or "s" spelling when asked by an attorney, court clerk or census taker.

Baldwin registered his will with Fauquier County on June 2, 1847. What was the United States like at that time?  The Mexican-American War raged, Samuel Colt sold his first revolver, the American Medical Association was founded in Philadelphia PA, and James K. Polk (D-Tennessee) was president. California was only a territory and the US government issued its first postage stamps featuring George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. And according to Wikipedia, the hard candy "Necco Wafers" were invented near Boston MA. Known at the time as "hub wafers", they were said to be a favorite of Union troops in the upcoming Civil War. You can still buy this candy today and the manufacturer claims that it is true to the original version of that time.

In a previous post we described the end of British Primogeniture and how this led to a flurry of chancery causes from family members contesting will provisions or the actions of Executor(s) [person(s) named to settle the estate]. In this regard, we are fortunate that the Library of Virginia has taken the time to digitally scan chancery files from court houses across the Commonwealth as part of their Virginia Memory initiative. While you can visit a court house record room today and find the original copy of a registered will, and while there are genealogy books on the market that index will books or even attempt full transcriptions; chancery files contain not only a copy of the will, but accessory documentation that can help you understand the relationship between the testator [will owner] and his executors and legatees [persons to whom personal property is designated to be given]. If land, property, money or business interests were involved, most likely there will be an estate inventory/appraisal and sale records of how the property was liquidated.

For Baldwin's estate, we have a chancery file from 1854 (Fauquier Co 1854-010). Washington Garrison and Wife vs Executor of Baldwin Lunceford, etc. Washington Garrison married Baldwin's daughter, Margaret Lunceford on 15 February 1850. I don't have any other data on this couple, and this is a very complex file and much of the hand writing by the court clerk is illegible. But a full analysis of this case will be the subject of a future post on BRMM. 

For now, from this file we can extract copies of Baldwin's will, estate inventory and sale ledger. All from the comfort of our home computer without the pain and expense of visiting the court house record room.

Click on each of the following images for a larger view of the document. They are followed by my transcription as best as I could decipher them. Notations and spellings were not corrected to modern day usage as I tried to keep the text as near to the original as possible.

Baldwin's Will:

In the name of God, Amen! I, Baldwin Lunceford of Fauquier County, being in perfect health and of sound mind, do make this, and ordain it to be, my last will and testament, in form as follows,  In the first place, I leave to my wife Judy Lunceford, all my landed estate that I am now possessed of, with the Household and Kitchen furniture, during her natural life: also one negro boy name Henry, and one negro girl name Susan during her natural life also; also one horse, and one cow; all the above named property is at her disposal during her life; It's my will that there shall be no subtenant on the land, and only two fires burnt during the summer and winter months in her lifetime. It's my will and desire that all the residue of my property that is in my possession at my death shall be sold by my Executors on a credit of twelve months, the purchaser giving a Bond with good Security for the payment of the money; To my son Benjamin Lunceford one tenth part, To my daughter Mary Kemper and her bodily heirs one tenth part; To my daughter Elizabeth Creel and her bodily heirs, one tenth part; To my son Harrison Lunceford one tenth part; To my daughter Patsy Hawes, and her bodily heirs one tenth part; To my daughter Harriet Ball, and her bodily heirs, one tenth part; To my daughter Darky Creel, and her bodily heirs, one tenth part; To my son Wormly Lunceford, one tenth part; To my daughter Judy Walker, and her bodily heirs, one tenth part; To my daughter Margaret Lunceford, with her Bedstead, Bed, and furniture; one tenth part; of the money that will arise from the Sale of my property that will be in the hands of my Executors, to be paid to each one of my legatees as above named. And lastly, after the death of my wife, all the property that I have left her shall be sold by my Executors, the personal property on a credit of twelve months, the purchaser giving a Bond with good Security to make sure the payment thereof. It's my will and desire after the death of my wife, that all my landed estate shall be sold by my Executors; one third of the money in hand, the Ballance in two annual payments bearing interest from the day of Sale, the purchaser giving a deed of trust on this land to make good the payments thereof, and divided as above named. And, lastly, I appoint my son Benjamin Lunceford, and my son Harrison Lunceford, Executors of this my last will and testament. Given under my hand and seal this 2nd day of June 1847.

Baldwin "X" Lunceford

Teste.

Bailey Crain

Samuel Craig

Jas. Crain

Since the signing of this instrument of writing I have let my son Wormly Lunceford have a Negro woman called Jane, for two hundred and fifty dollars to come out of his tenth part of my estate and the woman and her increase agreeable to our Bargain is to go to his wife Mahala Lunceford and all her children. Given under my hand this 1st day of April 1850.

Baldwin "X" Lunceford

At a Circuit Court of Fauquier County, held on the 8th day of October 1850.

This last will and testament of Baldwin Lunceford deceased, was proved by the oaths of Bailey Crain, Samuel Craig, and James Crain, witnesses thereto, and ordered to be recorded. And on the motion of Benjamin Lunceford, an Executor therein named, who made oath thereto and together with George Creel, Evan Griffith, Joshua Owens, and Wormely Lunceford his Securities, entered into and acknowledged their bond in the penalty of eight thousand dollars, conditioned as the law directs, certificate is granted him for obtaining a probate of the said will in due form; liberty being reserved to the other Executor named in the said will to join in the probate when he shall think fit.

Teste. William F. Phillips, Clerk.

A copy – teste, William F. Phillips, Clk.

Baldwin's Estate Appraisal:

Appraisment of the Estate of Baldwin Lunceford as made this 31 “ day of October in the year 1850, asfollows:

Horses. 1 bay horse $58.00

1 Roan horse 40.00

1 Roan horse 5.00

Cattle. 1 white face cow 9.00

1 brindle cow 10.00

1 no hornes cow 12.00

1 sow and six pigs 6.00

1 white and 1 Red Heifer 12.00

2 Calves 2.00

4 Hogs 14.00

1 shoat 1.50

Corn. $1. 25/100 per BU (35 Bus) 43.75

Fodder – 8c per shock. (86 shks) 6.88

Stack Hay  No. 1 2.00

“         “       No. 2 2.50

Straw 1.00

Waggon         5.00

Shovel & McCormick ploughs 1.00

Saw 1.00

Single trees .50

2 Axes .75

Lot of old chains .50

Lot of Hoes .75

Scythe & Cradle & al Layite 1.00

2/3 of Gardin 2.00

6 Chairs 1.00

1 Walnut Table 2.00

1 Pine Table 1.00

1 Bureau         3.00

2 Beds. Bedsteau & furniture 25.00

1 Loam & apparatus 2.00

2 sheets                 1.00

1 Cup board & contents 5.00

_______________

$ 270.13

Amount brought over $270.13

Kitchen furniture 4.00

Jane & Child 300.00

Betty 570.00

Polly 550.00

Mildred 475.00

Dulcinea         375.00

Lucy Catharine 375.00

Jim         430.00

Amanda         320.00

Rose 290.00

Joshua 200.00

Charley 100.00

Henry 630.00

Susan 525.00

121 acres of land. More or les

At $10. Pr acre 1210.00

________________

        $6689.13

The above is a true list of the property – of Baldwin Lunceford, as shown so by his Executor Benj. Lunceford appraised by as _

Chars. M Simpson

Jos. N Nathanny

Alan. M. Smith

Public Ad for the Sale:

Here we have notice of sale from the  Alexandria Gazette, vol. 51, no. 258; 30 October 1850. I still need to determine if there was a similar ad placed in the Warrenton newspapers of the time.

The Sale Ledger:

A list of the Sales of the personal estate of Baldwin Lunceford dec.

John Squires         1 young Roan Mare        37.88

Benjamin Lunceford  1 old  Do.  Do. 4.00

William E Ball 1 white face cow 7.00

Tho. Birch         1 horned cow 9.00

Jas. W. Lunceford         1 white heifer 7.50

Do. Do.                 1 red     Do. 8.00

Geo. G. Creel         2 claves 2.25

Enoch H Foley. 2 hogs 1” choice 10.04

Do. Do.         2 Do. 2” choice 9.02

Wormley Lunceford. 1 shoat 1.00

Jas. M Rouce 10 lbs. long & short 20.00

Tho. Hawse 10 Do. Do.         19.00

Elijah Griffith 5  Do.  Do.         10.00

Tho. W Clarke 5  Do.  Do.                    8.78

Wm E Ball 4 2/3 Do  Do            8.68

Washington Garrison 86 shk. Fouder    9.46

Do. Do. 1 stack Hay                     1.00

Do Do 1 Sow & 6 pigs             6.05

Benjamin Lunceford 1 Straw Stack 12 1/2

Do Do Do hay                 50

Ja W Lunceford 1 old wagon 3.75

Benjamin Lunceford 2 old ploughs .57

Elijah Griffith lot old gear            50

John Griffith lot single trees            25

Dennis Cain 2 axes            60

Geo. G. Creel lot old chains &c            35

John Griffith lot old hoes            35

Geo. G. Creel Secythe & Cradle    40

Do Do. 2/3 [?} cabbage             1.00

Col. J. Owens – Betty $800.00

Robt. B. Brashear – Polly. 800.00

Jas. H. Simpson – Mildred. 685.00

Jas. H Simpson – Dulcena 710.00

_______________

3178.61

3178.61

Judith Walker – Lucy Catharine $576.00

Jas H Simpson.  James - 740.00

Robt. B. Brashear. Manda - 555.00

Robr M Carty.  Rose. 476.00

Wash. Garrison . Joshua 250.00

Kemp F Locks – Jane & Child. Mary 410.00

Harrison Lunceford.  Charley. 119.00

Joshua Owens

Clerk.

$6304:61

Re. November 4th 1850

Of Benjamin Lunceford the exector of Baldwin Lunceford dc. One negro man Henry and one negro girl Sousan. One horse & one cow the house hold & kitching furtunity also the track of land this given under my hand & seal this day and date above written

Judy [her mark] Lunceford

Tes

James W Lunceforde

______________________________________________

So there we have it, a complete account of Baldwin's estate, and a ledger of the sale of his personal property. The pre-sale appraisal was valued at $6689.13. While the sale looks to have grossed $6304.61 (minus the 120 acres of land). The vast majority of the value was human chattel, the twelve slaves that were sold outside the family (Henry and Susan being retained by Benjamin). It appears that Baldwin's wife, Judith Creel conveyed the bulk of the land and household to her step son, Benjamin, on the day of the sale.

But how can we appreciate the present day value of his estate? The CPI Inflation Calculator gives a rough approximation of what $6000 in 1850 is worth in today's dollars. It comes to approximately $200,000. So Baldwin's farming operation on approximately 120 acres of land is small compared to the larger estates at that time in Fauquier County. An representative comparison can be found in the Civil War diary of Ida Powell Dulany (2). In that she describes life behind the lines during the Civil War at Oakley plantation near Upperville, VA. During the time she struggled to maintain the estate while her husband was off at the war. She notes a slave population at Oakley of around 100 with many being "hirelings", those rented out to other families on a temporary basis. Of note, one of Dulany's female slaves, Letty, was told on December 29, 1861 that "she must go to live with Mrs. Lunceford" (page-45). A foot note cites Julia Lunceford, wife of Upperville farmer Harrison Lunceford as the employer. Harrison was Baldwin's son via his second wife Judith Creel.

Another topic of research will be to find the actual location of Baldwin's farmstead and to see what is there now. We know from the sale ad that it was located near the Long Branch Meeting House (in present-day Halfway, VA). But the chancery file didn't contain a formal plat for the "120 acres, give or take". It appears that the land was conveyed to Benjamin on November 4, 1850. Furthermore, there is mention of Benjamin's appx 150 acres of land in the chancery suit on the road from Long Branch to Hopewell. So I assume it is the same parcel or part of Benjamin's subsequent lot.

Looks like I'll be spending more time in the Fauquier Court House deed room to try and find records for this land.

References Cited:

1)  Fauquier Chancery case, Washington Garrison and Wife vs Executor of Baldwin Lunceford, etc, 1854-010: https://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=061-1854-010

2)  In the Shadow of the Enemy; The Civil War Journal of Ida Powell DuLany. Mackall, Meserve and Sasscer, eds., The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, 2009. 

UPDATE: The Faces of Our Ancestors

 This week I had the privilege of spending a few hours with my mother's cousin Millie (Mildred [Allen]) Stevens of Catlett,Virginia and her daughter Cheryl (Stevens) Frazier of Remington, VA. Aside from several hours talking about old times and family history, I was given a copy of this gem. 

For the first time, I was able to see my maternal great-grandmother Emma Florence (Thorpe) Allen [1874 - 1948]. It almost brought a tear to my eye. Emma was a Valley Girl having been born in Mt. Jackson, VA; the ancestral lands of the Virginia Allens. 

Here Emma is surrounded by her children: (L to R) May Virginia, Violet Pearl [my grandmother], James Paul (Jim), Harry Dewitt (Johnny), Emma Florence, Thomas Elwood and Edward Franklin (Bud). Harry Dewitt looks to be about two years old in this picture but I don't have his actual birth date. My grandma (Violet) was born in 1909. Assuming she is about seven or eight years old in this picture I would date this to circa 1918 - 1920. 

I'm also assuming that this was taken either in Catlett or just down the road in Weaversville. Emma's husband, my great grandpa (Luther Milton Allen) ran a store there (across from the Laws Farm). Both the farm and store were destroyed in the tornado of May 2, 1929. We don't know for sure but their house may have been very close to the store. Today nothing remains but an open farm field (UTM coordinates 18S 0270922, 4280107; right on Elk Run Rd. just outside of Catlett). 

UPDATE (9/21/2022)

A fellow Allen researcher (Mike Bell of Austin TX) recently came across this photo he found in his Aunt Vera Jones' genealogy records.

(click for larger image)

From 1939, here we have (left to right), Violet Pearl (Allen) Ridgley holding Virginia Lee Ridgley. Next to her is Emma Frances (Thorpe) Allen. In front are Elsie Lavenus Ridgley and Hilda Florence Ridgley. This photo is another example of a priceless family heirloom that could have been lost to the ravages of time if not for the careful eye of a genealogist like Mike Bell.

History Is History; Nothing More, Nothing Less

Open source from the Library of Congress
(digital ID: npcc 02134 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.02134)

As we are in the midst of a culture war, and depending on your location an actual "hot" war, I am inclined to issue a brief statement on behalf of Bull Run Mountain Memories.

First and foremost we are amateur historians and genealogists.  But we recognize bull shit when we see it. Historical revisionism, guilt trips and other forms of ethano-masochism will never be welcomed here. History is history. Nothing more, nothing less. History doesn't give a hoot about your feelings or the social-norm-of-the-day. We will present the historical record and genealogy of our family in as complete and factual a form as the records and DNA testing allows. While we may not be particularly proud of what our ancestors did over a hundred and fifty years ago, we will not be embarrassed or deterred from our mission to tell their story.

The rest is history.

Just this week a US senator from the state of Virginia stated the following:

“The first African Americans sent into the English colonies came to Point Comfort in 1619. They were slaves, they had been captured against their will, but they landed in colonies that didn’t have slavery — there were no laws about slavery in the colonies at that time,” Kaine explained. “The United States didn’t inherit slavery from anybody. We created it. It got created by the Virginia General Assembly and the legislatures of other states. It got created by the court systems in colonial America that enforced fugitive slave laws.”

Even the most basic student of world history might find that statement to be hard to believe coming from a sitting US senator. For more detail on the actual event we see this from the Hampton city government web site:

"In late August 1619 the privateer White Lion arrived off Point Comfort near present day Fort Monroe. Aboard was a captive cargo of "..not any thing but 20. and odd Negroes, which the Governor and Cape Marchant bought for victualls…" (John Rolfe, 1619. Letter to Sir Edwin Sandys of the Royal Virginia Company). These 20 individuals were the first Africans arriving in the new Virginia colony. Their names, given by Portuguese missionaries: Antony, Isabela, William, Angela, Anthony, Frances, Margaret, Anthony, John, Edward, Anthony and others whose names are not yet known. The Virginia colony's first Africans had lived in the Ndongo Kingdom in Angola in West Central Africa on a lush, green, high plateau 150 miles from the Atlantic. The Portuguese and their mercenary allies, the Imbangala, waged war on the Ndongo kingdom, the most powerful state in the Mbundu region, to gain control of the region and provide slaves for the trade. The Angolans on the White Lion had been taken from the Spanish slave ship San Juan Bautista. The Captain of the White Lion, John Jope, traded the captured Angolans to the Virginians represented by Governor George Yeardley and his Cape Merchant Abraham Piersey. These were in turn taken into servitude in local homes and plantation."

From The Day The Universe Changed, James Burke. Little, Brown and Co., Boston, 1985.

It is common historical knowledge that the early slave trade in the British colonies of the Atlantic was generally triangular. Textiles and other manufactured goods were shipped to Africa from England in trade for slaves. These slaves were shipped to the Caribbean to work the sugar plantations. Sugar went back to England and on to the North American colonies in exchange for tobacco (a common currency of that time). But these trade routes were not just one way exchanges. Nor did they exclude cross trade with Spanish or Portuguese outposts in the Caribbean. Anyone proposing that slavery in North America was a Virginia invention is either a historical moron or someone peddling an alternative narrative for political purposes.

And what better way to end this statement than with a quote from an authority that has researched this field for years, Dr. Thomas Sowell. This quote is from an article that appeared in the Dallas Morning News in 2010 but rings as true today:

"The inhumanity of human beings toward other human beings is not a new story, much less a local story. There is no need to hide it, because there are lessons we can learn from it. But there is also no need to distort it, so that sins of the whole human species around the world are presented as special defects of "our society" or the sins of a particular race. If American society and Western civilization are different from other societies and civilization, it is that they eventually turned against slavery, and stamped it out, at a time when non-Western societies around the world were still maintaining slavery and resisting Western pressures to end slavery, including in some cases armed resistance. Only the fact that the West had more firepower than others put an end to slavery in many non-Western societies during the age of Western imperialism. Yet today there are Americans who have gone to Africa to apologize for slavery - on a continent where slavery has still not been completely ended, to this very moment."

Baldwin Lunsford's Estate Sale

In this ad from the Alexandria Gazette, vol. 51, no. 258; 30 October 1850 (kindly provided by Wendy Wheatcraft, historian with the Fauquier County Virginia government) we see some detail on the auction of Baldwin Lunsford's estate that took place on November 4, 1850. This was placed by his son, Benjamin, acting as sole Executor. I have copies of his will, estate inventory and sale ledger that can be found on line as a result of the Library of Virginia's Chancery Records Index project. The LVA has been systematically scanning chancery files to pdf, and they can be a treasure trove of genealogical information.

Shortly after 1785 when the General Assembly abolished the feudal English property rule of "primogeniture" whereby an estate was passed down directly to the first born (non bastard) son in the family, there was an explosion of chancery suits by family members who for various reasons may have felt they were left out or unfairly treated in some way.

Chancery cases began with a bill of complaint. This was followed by an answer to the complaint from the party being sued. Court appointed commissioners would decide a fair and equitable settlement of the case based on all the evidence. After reporting their findings to the court, a judge would make a final decree. We will explore the chancery suit involving Baldwin in a future post. But for now, what continues to amaze me was Baldwin's ownership of up to twelve slaves. As an amateur historian and genealogist, I refuse to judge past practices by the moral standards of today. To do otherwise is pure lunacy. But think of those times. Baldwin was a dirt farmer unable to sign his name. And yet he had to run a farm that would provide for both his family and up to twelve chattels. While more wealthy landed gentry in Fauquier County at that time may have had upwards of 100 slaves, I still find this amazing.

So stay tuned for a future post where we will examine Baldwin's will, estate inventory and sale ledger describing his kitchen plate, chattels and farm implements.

The Virginia half-penny of 1733

Courtesy of https://coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/VA-halfd.intro.html

As a child I had heard about the colonial era Virginia half-penny, but never really did any research on the subject or had seen a real one up close (reproductions abound at the usual tourist traps and shops at Colonial Williamsburg). That was until this past Christmas when my wife surprised me with one as a present. Thank you Sweetie! This means a lot to an old Virginia Boy.

I don't have a way of shooting a good close up of mine but this image from the Special Collections Department at the University of Notre Dame, IN looks to be about the same wear quality and color.

From the Notre Dame description: the Virginia charter allowed for the striking of coins as far back as 1609. But the Assembly didn't do so until May 20, 1773, when they authorized a halfpenny to be struck at the Tower Mint in London. The coin was copper at a weight of sixty halfpence to the pound. Five tons (about 670,000 pieces) arrived in New York aboard the ship "Virginia" on February 14, 1774. But were not distributed until written royal permission was obtained about a year later. The Virginia Gazette, printed between March 2-16, announced that the coins were available for exchange either for gold, silver or treasury notes. Just in time for the Revolution breaking out on April 19, 1775. Poor timing!

As you would expect, Virginians hoarded this coin and other hard currencies until the end of the war. And regardless of the King's portrait, they were used extensively during both the Revolutionary and post-war times in Virginia.

High quality versions are available, but they are much too rich for this boy's blood. But it is cool to see how the originals would have looked in March 1775 if you were to have shown up in Williamsburg to make an exchange.

R. Dwayne Lunsford, PhD

A Fine Fall Day with Jim Ball

On Monday, October 7, I had the honor and distinct pleasure of meeting face-to-face with Mr. Jim Ball of Uniontown, Ohio. I've been corresponding with Jim via email since 2000 having been introduced by cousin Tim Lunceford. It really was a hoot to finally have a chance to meet him in person and discuss his family research and background. Jim is a US Marine which pretty much settled everything for me right then and there. Knowing he spent time at Quantico totally set my mind at ease..

Practically all of my data on Baldwin and his immediate family was from the earlier research and efforts of Jim and Tim. Jim has done extensive work on his Ball lineages way before the internet era when primary court house and census records were all that was available. His interest in the Lunsfords was due to Baldwin's first wife Anna Ball. Jim's family history web site can be found here. And please check out his earlier guest post to the BRMM here.

We began the day at the Fauquier County Court House deed room where I wanted to try and run down documentation on E. C. Lunceford's connection to Logan's Mill. After several hours there we made it over to the Virginiana Room at the Fauquier County Public Library to check out the various guide books and indices. Like most things in genealogy we probably could have spent several days discussing family history, but modern life intruded and we had to call it a day.

In science we often talk of standing on the shoulders of giants, those who's work we add to and carry on with our own. The same thing goes for genealogy research. Especially all of the effort that was done by researchers like Jim well before the advent of the internet and the various genealogy forums and web sites. Back then you had to go to the court house or library and dig through deed books or microfilm of census and vital records. Things are somewhat easier today, but we owe a great debt to those researchers that did the really hard work before us.

"He Cared Not a Fart!" Fake News 1641; Sir Thomas Revisited

Assuming you have the time, patience and stomach to keep up with current news cycles, you don't have to be a professional historian to realize that there really is nothing new under the sun when it comes to politics. The current trend in "fake news" and outright fabrications may seem new to some, but it has been going on ever since humans assembled into political groups vying for power.

Case in point, Sir Thomas Lunsford (1611-1653), Royalist Colonel, cavalier hero of the British Civil War (1642-1646), lieutenant of the Tower, Knight, General of the Virginia militia (1649), member of Council and Northern Neck gentry. At one time or another, almost everyone researching the Lunsford surname seems to be enamored with the life and times of this fellow. And why not? His biography is the stuff of legend. A movie script ripe for the picking.

Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, St. Martin's Place, London (Creative Commons License obtained)

Life in England

Any present day Lunsford would relish a connection to this man; and yet, the genealogy records are just not there. Many bibliographic sources are on the web about Sir Thomas and I won't do a rehash here. Most do a fairly good job of describing his early life; his violent temper, the infamous Pelham feud, his exile to France and subsequent redemption in support of Charles I against the Scots and of course his time in Virginia. For example see: British Civil War Project, and the William and Mary Quarterly (WMQ) (1) for summary overviews.

Since earlier US sources are quite old, it was refreshing to have come across the 2016 paper by Mark Stoyle (University of Southampton); titled "The Cannibal Cavalier: Sir Thomas Lunsford and the Fashioning of the Royalist Archetype"(2). In his paper, Professor Stoyle details Sir Thomas' career in England and gives many new insights into the political turmoil leading up to the civil war. Foot notes are numerous and the citations go directly to the primary British sources; often lacking in the contemporary US literature.

From Professor Stoyle:

"......On the contrary, Lunsford has been almost universally condemned by scholars, who have variously characterized him as ‘brutal’;‘notorious’;'unscrupulous’;‘thuggish’;and straightforwardly ‘murderous’. The present article does not seek to turn this hostile view of Lunsford on its head; to suggest, with Peter Newman – one of Sir Thomas’s few scholarly defenders – that he was the blameless victim of ‘innuendo and hearsay’. Rather, what it sets out to do is to provide a slightly more nuanced view of Lunsford than the one which appears in the standard histories – a view which occasionally comes perilously close to being a simple restatement of what was said about Sir Thomas by his enemies at the time......"

Take the time to read this paper closely (no paywall link above) and you will see that Sir Thomas definitely was a victim of the fake news of his time right down to his appointment as lieutenant of the Tower which lasted a mere five days (December 22 - 26, 1641) due to the rioting it caused in London. And no, it is highly unlikely that he was a cannibal preferring baby flesh!

More from Stoyle:

"What does not remain open to doubt is that, for a brief moment in 1641 - 42, Thomas Lunsford stood at the very centre of the developing political conflict, and that, as a result of the determination of parliament’s supporters still further to blacken his already woefully tarnished name, he was transformed into a popular bogeyman: the first in a long line of royalist officers on whom this transformation would subsequently be wrought." Sound familiar?

Sir Thomas in Virginia (1649 - 1653)

But what concerns US-based genealogists is his time in Virginia, having fled to the Commonwealth in 1649, one of the few colonial refuges left at that time for loyalist cavaliers looking to keep their heads. Because of his military background, he was immediately made General of the Virginia Militia by Governor Berkeley and also appointed to the Council.

On his voyage to Virginia it is noted in several sources that Sir Thomas transported 65 persons and for his trouble was granted a patent for 3423 acres on the south side of the Rappahannock River; Portobago (1). Among those listed in this group were the Lady Catherine Lunsford, and their three daughters; Elizabeth, Philippa and Mary. There also was a William Lunsford  Esq. We don't know if this was the William of his previous marriage to Anne Hudson (1). Other than this William, of unknown parentage, we have no record of Sir Thomas leaving a male heir in either Britain or Virginia.

The Thomas Ludwell slab, Burton Parish Church, Williamsburg, VA, 2007

Lady Catherine died soon after their arrival in Virginia and Sir Thomas married the widow Kemp (Elizabeth) of Claiborne's Neck the estate of Richard Kemp. They had one daughter, Katherine who married Ralph Wormeley. When Thomas died in 1653 the estate was bought by Thomas Ludwell. Subsequent owners renamed the property "Rich Neck" as it is known today (3).

There is some confusion about the final resting place of Sir Thomas. The WMQ article states that he died at Green Spring, the estate of Governor Berkeley, and is buried near there. Hagemann (3) on the other hand claims that not only was Thomas Ludwell and his slab moved to Burton Parish Church in Williamsburg but that the bodies of Richard Kemp and Sir Thomas remain at Rich Neck. But the archaeological survey turned up no adult burials at Rich Neck. Only one set of human remains were found at the site, that of a 10 - 12 year old female of probable African ancestry.

So if Ludwell was disinterred and moved to Williamsburg, and if both Kemp and Sir Thomas remain at Rich Neck, how did the survey miss them? Rich Neck is now a subdivided housing community so if they are there who knows what state they are in. This is very unfortunate as the soils in that area are well buffered and skeletal remains often times can be well preserved as noted for the 1607 burials on Jamestown Island (5). There are many folks who would be interested in Sir Thomas' DNA profile if his remains could ever be found.

Ludwell's slab inscription is as follows:

Under this Marble lieth the Body

of THOMAS LUDWELL Esqr

Secretary of Virginia, who was born

at Bruton in the County of SOMERSET

in the Kingdom of ENGLAND, and

departed this life in the Year 1678 And

near this place lye the Bodies of RICHARD

KEMP, esqr, his Predecessor in ye Secretarys

Office and Sr THOMAS LUNSFORD KT

in Memory of whom the Marble is placed

by the Order of Philip Ludwell esqr

Nephew of the said THOMAS LUDWELL

In the year 1727 (Anonymous 1911)

R. Dwayne Lunsford, PhD

(1) Sir Thomas Lunsford, William and Mary Quarterly. Vol 8, January 1900, p. 183-186.
https://archive.org/stream/jstor-1920203/1920203_djvu.txt

(2) Stoyle, Mark. 2016. The Cannibal Cavalier: Sr. Thomas Lunsford and the Fashioning of the Royalist Archetype. The Historical Journal, Vol 59:293-317

(3) The Heritage of Virginia, James Hagemann, 1988. The Donning Co., Norfolk, VA. p. 53-54.

(4) Muraca, David; Levy, Philip and McFaden, Leslie. 2003. The Archaeology of Rich Neck Plantation (44WB52): Description of the Features. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Department of Archaeological Research, Williamsburg, VA
https://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary/view/index.cfmdoc=ResearchReports\RR0386.xml&highlight=

(5) The Remains of the First Colonists; 1607 Burials.
https://historicjamestowne.org/archaeology/map-of-discoveries/1607-burials/   

A Visit With Dorothy

On Saturday, June 29, 2019, we had the pleasure of visiting with Dorothy (Creel) Alison on her family farm located near Orlean in the Leeds Manor or Free State region of Fauquier County, Virginia. Dorothy was born and raised on this farm. She also has a Creel family cemetery on the property that contains several Lunsford/Lunceford graves. Dorothy is the only living relative I know of from Baldwin's second family descending from his second wife, Judith Creel. 

This was the first time I've had a chance to meet with one of my Creel relatives and what a time we had. After getting acquainted, she took us out back to see the ancestral cabin she rescued on the property; having it moved and reconstructed in the backyard of her current home. It was a unique experience to be able to walk into and examine this perfectly preserved historic structure.

  
She also had large portraits of her great-great-grandparents, William L. and Mildred M. Creel in her home.

William L. Creel

Mildred M. Creel

This picture of Mildred is particularly significant as she was the daughter of William G. and Dorcus (Lunsford) Creel  So right now this is the earliest known image we have of anyone derived from Baldwin's second (Judith Creel) family.

According to Dorothy, her Creel cemetery was completely overgrown at one point. But thanks to her family's efforts it is now well maintained and available for future generations (the subject of a future post).

R. Dwayne Lunsford, PhD