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ALBEMARLE COUNTY

IN VIR..GIJ.{I.II

Giving some account of what it was by nature, 0/ what it was made by man, and of some of the men who made it.

By Rev. Edgar Woods ..

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" It is 0 sol e mn and tou c h ing .... n ection . perpetually rec urring' , of the 'W .... kness and insig nifi ca n c e of man, ,ha t 'WhH e hi ", ge"'ere!io n " pass 8-W8Y into obli vion, -w ilh .. 11 th e ir lo il s .. nd amhition =- . nature h o ld .. on her unvarying c:our"e. and p o ur. oul her s t .. earns and r ene'W" h er (or .. s's _ilh undecoyin g a c tivity . .. eg .. rdlo !ls of th o fOote of her pro u d and p e rh. habl e Sovereign. " - J .. (frey.

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Copy rig h t 1901 by Edgar Woods .

TilE MICDlE COMPANY. Printers, Cbariottesville. Va.

1901.

PREFACE.

An examination of the records of the county for some in formation, awakened curiosity in regard to its ea rly settle-ment , and gradually led to a more extensive search. The fru its of this labor, it was thought, might be worthy of notice, and productive of pleasure , on a wider scale.

There is a strong desire in most men to know who were their forefath ers, whence they came, where they lived , and how tbey were: occupied during their earthly sojourn. This desire is natural, apart from the requirements of business, Or th t' promptings of vanity. The same inquis itiveness is felt in regard to places. 'Vho first entered the farm s that checker the surrounding landscape, cut down the forests that once covered it, and built the habitations scattered over its bosom? With the young, who are absorbed in the engagements of the present and the hopes of the future. this feeling may not act with much energy; but as they advance in life, tbeir thoughts t urn back with growing persistency to the past, and they begin to start questions which perhaps there is no means of answering. How many there are who long to ascertain the name of some ancestor , or some family connection , but the only person in whose breast the coveted knowledge was lodged, has gone beyond the reach of all inquiry. How many interesting facts of personal or domestic concern could have been communicated by a parent or grandparent , but the ir story not being told at the opportune season, they have gone down irrecoverably in the gulf of oblivion .

P ublic affairs are abundan t y recorded. Not only are they set forth in the countless journals of the day, but scores of ready pens are waiting to embody them in morc permanent form in histories of our own t imes. Private events-those connected with individuals and families-are less frequel1~ly committed to writing. They may descend by tradition t hrougb one or two generat ions , and then perish forever

IV PREFACE

from the memory of mankind. Some general facts may be found in local records; but memorials of this kind are dry and monotonous in thei r nature, and never resorted to by ordinary readers. Their contents arc soon lost s ig ht of except by the antiquarian, or by those who are compelled by profess iona l duty to unearth them from the forgotten past.

Such cons iderat ions induced the collection of the facts compiled in this volume. They were taken mainly from the county a rchives: in cases where they were derived from tradi tion, or where suggestions were made from conjecture, it is generally so stated. Except in a few particulars, the narra-tive was not designed to extend to the present genera tion.

Some matters that may be of interest to many, may be found in the appendix. To some now living in the county, and to others descended from those who once lived in it, the long li s t of names therein inscribed may sh ow in some meas-nre bow their ancestors were employed, whither their wa nder-ings led, or at wbat time they passed away from the present scene of action.

July 1st , 1900.

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CHAPTER I. The settlement of Virginia was a slow and gradual pro-

cess. Plantations were fOT the most part opened on the wate r courses, extending along the banks of the James , and o n the shores of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. It was more than a century after the landing at J amestown before white men made the passage of the Blue Ridge. As soon as that event was noised abroad, it was speedi ly fol-lowed up. and in the space of the next twenty years the tide of population had touched the interior portions of the colony, oue st ream pushing westward from the sea coast, and another Tolling up the She nandoah Valley from the wilds of Penns y l valli a.

Bes ides the restless spirit animating the first settlers. the occupation of the country was hastened by the rage for spec-nlation. The laws of the colony allotted fifty acres for every persoll transported into its territory; a nd men of wealth, ill addition to availing themselves of this provision, largely invested their means in the purchase of land. Whi le the w ilder ness was thus peopled, the institutions of civi l government did not linger far behind. As growing numbers reached the frontiers, aud were removed a great distance from the seats of justice and trade, these necessities of civ il ized l ife were soon established. One by one, the older counties were cut in two , the limits of the new Olles stretch-ing wes tward as far as the limits of the colony itself. Those recentl y formed were at first represented by public bui ldings m ade of logs, and by the scattered clearings and cabins of the pioneers; but men of knowledge and experience were always at hand to hold tbe reins of government and admin. ister the laws. At once the courthouse was erected, and tbe power of the magistrate exerted to preServe peace and order in the community.

The count y of Goochland was formed in 1727, a little more than ten years after Gov. Spotswood's expedition to t he Blue Ridge. The first settlements witbin tbe present

2 RI STORV OF ALBEllARLE

bound s o f A lbemarle were made w'hil e they were sti ll pa rt s of that county and Hanover. They ascended t he courses of the South Anna, the J ames, the R ivauua and the H ard -ware, and were met by others proceed ing from the foot of the Blue R idge, and planted by immigrants who had come up the Valley, and crossed that mountain at \Voods ' Gap.

The fi rst patents were taken ou t on June 16, 1i27. O u that day George H oomes obtained a g ra nt of thirty-one hundred acres "on the far s ide of the moulltains call ed C hes-cut , and said to be au the line between H anover a nd Spot-sylvania," and Nicholas 1o.I eriwether a grant of th irteen thousand seven hundred and sixty-two acres "at the 6rst ledge of mountains called Chesnu t," a nd said to be on the same line . That was the first appropriation of the virgin soil of Albemarle, as it is at present. These loca tions occurred in the line of the South A nna River, up which the increasing population had been s lowly creeping for a num ber of years. The patent to Nicholas Meriwether included the present seat of Castle Hill , and the bonndaries of the Graut. as it was termed by way of eminence, were marks of g rea t notoriety to surveyors, and others interested in the descrip-tion of adjacent lands, for a long period afterwards .

The next patent for twenty-six hundred acres was obtained nearly two years later by Dr. G eorge Nicholas. This land was situated on J ames River, and included the present village of \ \Tarren. In the year followin g, 1730, five add it iona l patents were issued: one t o Allen Howard fo r four hundred a cres on James River, on both sides o f the R ockfish at its mouth ; one to T homas Carr for twe nty -e ight hundred acres on the Rivallna a t the junction of its forks, and up along the north fork; one to Charles Hudson for two thousand acres 011 both sides of the H a rdware, the beginning evidently of the Hudson plantations below Carter's Bridge; one to Secretary John Cart er for nine thousand three hundred and fifty acres "all the Great Mountain on Hardware in the fork of the James ," and to this day called Carter's Mountain; and one to Francis Eppes, the grandfather of Mr. Jefferson's son-in-law of the salDe name, for s ix thousand four hundred I ,

HISTORY OF ALBJ.;;\lARLE J

acres "on the branches of the Hardware , Rockfish, a nd N her branches of the James" -one of the branches of 1-lard-ware being still known as Eppes Creek. The same year Nicholas ~leriwether located four thousand one hundred and ninety acres more, adjoining his former tract, and running over the South \Vest Mountain on Turkey Run, taking ont an inclusive patent for seventeen thousand nine huudred and fifty-two acres in one body. From the recital of this patent, it appears that Christopher Clark was associated in the first grant, although it was made out to Nicholas Meriwether a lone.

I u 1731 only three patents were obtained within the present . county: one by Charles L ewis for twelve hundred acres on

both sides of the Rivanna, at the mouth of Buck Island Creek; one by Charles H udson for five hundred and forty acres on the west side of Carter's Mouutain; and one by Major Thomas Carr for two thousand acres' 'on the back side of the Chesnut Mountains." Several other patents were ta ke n out the same year along the Rivanna within the present lim its of F luvanna County, one of which was by Martin K ing, whose name is still kept in remembrance in connection with the road which runs from \Voodridge to the Union Mills, where was a ford also called by his name.

In 1732 were made eigbt grauts, still confined to the James R iver , and the western base of tbe South West Mountain. O ne of these was made to Thomas Goolsby for twelve hun-dred acres "on the north side of the Fluvanua, " that is, the J ames; another in the same region to Edward Scott for fi\"e hu ndred and fifty acres "at a place called Totier; " another for four hundred acres to Jobn Key, tbe bead of a family wh ich subsequently owned all the land between the South \Ves t 110untain and the r iver fro III Edgemont to the hel1(1 below the Free Bridge; and another to Dr. Arthur Hopkins for four hundred acres "on the south side of the Rivauna, rllnning to the mouth of a creek below Red Bank Falls, called Le wis' Creek." This last entry included the site of the future town of Milton.

Ouly four pa ten ts were taken out in 1733. None of them

-4 HISTORY OF ALBEMARLB

reached further west than the west bank of the Rivallua under the shadow of the South \Vesl Mountain. One was obtained by Charles Lynch for eight huudred acres , whicbextended up the Rivanna from the mouth of Moore's Creek . and included the plantation of Pen Park.

In 17 34 th irteen grants were made. These were mainly located nea r the bases of the South West Mountain on the Rivanna and Mechuuk. One was obtained by Henry Wood, the first clerk of Goochland . and great grandfather of V. \V, Southa ll , for two hundred acres on the south s ide of the Rivanna at the mouth of Buck I s la nd Creek, increa~ed s ubse-quently to nearly three thousand in different tracts; and another by Edwin Hickman, Joseph Smith , Thomas Graves and Jonathan C lark for three thousand two h undred and sev-enty-seven acres on the north side of the Rivanna, running down from Captain MacMurdo's place and embracing the estates of Pantops and Lego. Another formed a nota ble exception to what had hitherto been the rule . It was the first to leave the s treams, and strike out towards the middle of the coun ty. It was obtained by Joel T errell and David Lewis for twenty -three hundred acres, and shortly after fo r seven hundred more, l y ing on both s ides of the Three Notched Road and extending from Lewis's Mountain, which it in -cluded, to a point near the D. S . The Birdwood plantation was comprehended in this tract.

From this time the cou nty was settled witb greater rapid-ity. 1\'10s t of the e ntr ies thus far noted were made in large quantiti es, and by wealthy men for the purpose of specula-t ion. Few of those who have been me ntioned occupied their lands, at least in the first instance. They made the clearings and ente red upon the cultiva t ion which the law required in order to perfect their t itl es, but it was done either by tenants, o r by their own servants, whom they established in " quar -ters." Now, however, a new order of things began. Grants were more frequently obtained in smaller amounts by persons who le ft the older districts with the design of permanently residi ng in the new country. Accordingly in 1735 the num-ber of patents rose to twenty-nine. Not that tbis number

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HISTORY OF ALBEMARLE 5

was constantly maintained; in some years, on the contrary, it greatly diminished. The population of the colony was yet comparat ively sparse. The whole Piedmont region, and the fertile plains of the Valley were simultaneously opened, and held out strong inducements to settlers; and at the same time, inviting sections in the western portions of North and South Carolina were presented in glowing colors before the public eye , and soon drew largely on the multitudes given to change. Still the county steadily filled up. Patents were ta ken out th is year on Green Creek in its southern part, On the south fork of Hardware near the Cove, 011 the south fork of the Rivanna, on Meadow Creek, on Ivy Creek, and on Priddy's and Buck Mountain Creeks in the north . Among the patentees were John HeurY.. father of the famous orator, to whom were granted twelve hundred and fifty acres situated ou tri butaries of the south fork of the Rivanna called Henry, Naked and Fishing Creeks, the same land afterwards owned by the Michies southwest of Earlysville; \Villiaru Randolph, who was granted twentylour hundred acres on the uorth side of the Rivanua aud Mouutain Falls Creek, including the present Shadwell and Edge Hill ; Nicholas Meriwether, who Wa S gran ted a thousand and twenty acres west of the Rivanna, embracing the p lantation known as the Farm; P eter Jefferson , who was granted a thousand ac res on the south side of the Rivallna, including Tufton; Abraham Lewis, who was granted eight hundred acres on the east side of Lewis 's Mountain, then called PiuE'Y Moulltain, including the present lands of the University; Thomas Moorman, who was granted six hundred and fifty acres, extending from the branches of .Meadow Creek to the south fork of the Rivanna, "includ ing the Indian Grave low grounds;" Michael HoI-land, who was granted four thousaud seven hundred nnd fifty -three acres on both sides of Ivy Creek, including the pr'sent F armington estate; and Charles lIurlson, who was granted two t housand acres on Ivy Creek adjoining the H olland tract, and lying southwest of Ivy Depot.

In 1736 Robert Lewis obtained a patent for four thousand and thirty acres on the north fork of Hardware in the North Garde n.

6 EISTORY OF ALBE MARLE

Nineteen patents were taken out in 1737. Michael Woods, hi s son Archiba ld, and his son-in-law, \Villiam \-Vallace, secured grants for lUore than thirteen hundred acres on Lickinghole, Mechnlll's River and Beaver Creek , embracing the present M /chum's Depot and Blair Park. The same day Michael \Vo j5 purchased the two thousa nd acre patent of Charles Hudson on Ivy Creek. These transactions took place at Goochland C. H" or more likely at \VilIiam sburg; and this fact lends probability to the tradition that the \Voods settlement occurred at the mouth of Woods's Gap in 1734. Crossing from the Valley into an unbroken forest, as Michael \Voods did, it is almost certain that be made a clearing and built a cabin, and thus established his right to the estate the law gave, before he set himself to acquire a knowledge of tbe surrounding country and its owners, and to make large pur-chases. The axe had commenced to resound amidst the deep so litudes at the foot of the Blue Ridge, while yet no white settler bad gone he yond tbe Rivanna at the Soutb \Vest Mountain. The same year, 1737, Henry Terrell , of Caroline, obtained a grant of se\'enteen hundred and fifty acres on the bead waters of :rvlechums, including the present village of Batesv ille. As a suggestion of special intere.!'t, it may be ment ioned that in October of that year a William Taylor patented twelve hundred acres lying on both sides of Moore's Creek. It can scarcely be questioned , tbat tbis was the tract of land which in process of time passed into the hands of Colonel Richard Randolph, which was sold by him to the county , and on which was laid out in 1'762 the new county seat of C ha rlottesville .

I t was not until 1739 th at the first patent was located on Moorman' s River. David Mills was by that instrument of writing granted twenty eight-hundred and fifty acres 011 its north fork. Two years late r Dennis Doyle obtained the grant of eight hundred acres on the same stream, and from him was derived the name it has borne ever since . The same year, 1741 , Thomas Moorman patented seven hundred and fifty acres lower dow n the main river, and as often as men now s peak of it, they perpetuate the memory of his name.

H I STORY OF ALBEMARLE 7

All sec t ions of the county had at that time been occupied in SOUle degree, a nd t he wo rk of laying claim to its unappropri-ated lands constantly progressed from year to year. As late however as 1796, Matthew Gambell procured the grant of twenty five thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight acres lying in Albemarle, Orange and Rockingham Counties near Seamond's Gap; and still late r ill 1798, John Davidson . who subsequently removed to Hardin County, Ky_. took out a patent for eighteen hundred and seventy-seven acres ou Buck's Elbow.

Reference has been made to the entry of bodies of land exte nd ing over a w ide area. It lU3.y be further stated, that Major Thomas Carr patented altogether upwards of five thousand acres; George Webb , of Charles City , in 1737 u pwards of seven thousand, near a mounta in north of Ear -lysv ille still called by his name; Secretary J ohn Carter in 1738, ten thousand within the present l imits of Amht;!fs t ; J ohn Chiswell ill 1739, nearly thirty thousand on Rockfish River . mainly within the present bounds of Nelson; \Villiam Robertson in 1739, more than six thousand on Naked and Buck 1\10u ntain Creeks; Robert Lewis in 1740, more than six thousand on Ivy Creek; Ambrose J oshua Smith in 17-J.l, m ore than fo ur t ho usand on Priddy's Creek; Samuel Garlick , of Ca rol ine, in 1741 and 1746, thirty-six hundred on Buck Mountain Creek; Rev. Robert Rose io 174-1-, more than thirty-t hree thousand within the present counties of Amherst and N elson; Rev. \\Till iam Stith, Pres ident of William and Mary , from 17-W to 1755, nearly three thousand, and Dr. Arthur H opki ns in 1748 and 1765, nearly four thousand, on T otier and Ballenger's Creeks; and Allen Howard in 1742, more than two thousand on the lower waters of Rock-fish .

Mr. J efferson, in a brief sketch of his family, wrote of his father , " H e was the third or fourth settler, about the year 17 37, of the part of the county in which I live."

T he act es tablishing the county of Albemarle was passed by the Legislature in September. 1744. It ordained its exis tence to begin from the first of January, 1745; and the

8 HISTORY OF ALBEMARLE

reason alleged for its formation was the "divers inconveu~ iences attending the upper inhabitants of Goochland by rea son of their great distance front the courthouse, and other places usually appointed for public meetings." The dividing lines were directed to Tun frolll the point of fork of James River-that is, from the mouth of the Rivanna, where Col-umbia now stands-north thirty degrees east to the Louisa line, and from the same point a direct course to Brook's Mill, aud thence the same course continued to the Appomat-tox River. These boundaries embraced the county of Buck-ingham. parts of Appomattox and Campbell, and the counties of Amherst, Nelson and Fluvanna, the Blue Ridge being the western line. That portion of the present connty north of a line running past the mouth of Ivy Creek with the course of north sixty-five degrees west. remained in Louisa for sixteen years longer.

In accordance with a Cllstom already begun of commemo-rating the governors of the Commonwealth, the name of Albemarle was given to the new county, from the title of William Anne Keppel, second Earl of Albemarle. at that time Governor General of the colony.

The organization took place the fourth Thursday of Feb-ruary, 1745, doubtless on the plantation of Mrs. Scott, near the present Scottsville, where the next court was directed to be held. The commission of the first magistrates was dated the second of the preceding January. Those present were Joshua Fry , Peter J efferson, Allen Howard, \Villiam Cabell, Joseph Thompson and Thom3s Ballou. Howard and Cabell administered the oaths to Fry and Jefferson, and they in turn to the otbers. The oaths taken were those of a Justice of the Peace, and of a Judge of a Court of Chancery, and the Abjuration and Test oaths were subscribed,-tbe former renouncing allegiance to the House of Stuart, and the lalter affirming the receiving of the sacrament according to the rites of the Church of England. William Randolph was appointed Clerk by a commission from Thomas Nelson, Secretary of the Council, aud Joseph Thompson, Sheriff, Joshua Fry, Surveyor, and Edmund Gray, King's Attorney,

HISTORY OF ALBI!~IARLE 9

by commissions from \Villiam Gooch, the Governor; and all were sworn in. Patrick Napier and Castleton Harper were made Deputy Sheriffs, and Benjamin H~rris , Deputy Clerk, the following May. As appears from the Deed Books, John Fleming was also Deputy Clerk. Thomas Turpin was a ppointed Assistant Surveyor, and J oho Hunter, Adrian Angle, John Hilton. John H arri s . Robert White and Abra-h am Childress, Constables. The civil offices being filled. the military side of the organization was duly constituted. Joshua Fry received the appointment of Lieutennnt of the county. Peter J effe rson of Lieutenant Colonel, and Allen Howard of Major. \Villiam Cabell, Joseph Thompson, Charles Lynch, Thomas Ballou . David Lewis, James Daniel, J ames Nevel , and James Martin were sworn as Captains. Cbar les Lynch , Edwin Hickman and James Daniel having been named magistrates . were subsequently inducted into office by taking the oaths. Of these officers. J efferson, Howard, Cabell and Lynch bad already been magistrates, and Jefferson had also acted as Sheriff, iu Goochland. The Wi.1liam Randolph, who was the first Clerk, was unquestion-ably Colonel \Villiam Randolph, of Tuckahoe, who had some years b~fore entered the tract of land known as EOl;:c Hill .

The original attorneys who practiced in the courts of the couuty, were Edmund Gray, Gideon :ro.'larr, \Villiam Bat-tersby-whose daughter Jane, the wife of Giles Allegre. was the mother-in law of the eminent statesman and financier. Albert Gallatin-James Meredith. Clement Read and John Harvie. All except Harvie. and probably Meredith, resided on the south side of James River.

The routine of public business was at once begun and prosecuted with stated regularity. The location of the court-house was a matter of deep interest. It was a conceded point that it should be fixed on James River. Jefferson, Howard. Lynch and Ballou were appointed to view the river and make a report; and as the result. Samuel Scott, sou of Edward. agreed witb proper security to erect at his own cost a courthouse, prison. stocks and pillory, as good as those

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10 HISTORY OF ALBE~IARLE

of Goochland, the site to be selected by the Court, provided it was p laced a ll his hl1d. The site actually chosen was on the p lantation of his brother Daniel, anci is still pointed out about a mile west of Scottsvill e and a Quarter of a mile north of the river bank.

During the next three years a number of ordi nari es were licensed-Gi les Allegre , to kee p one on Mechu uk ; Daniel Scott and John L ewis each, one at the courthouse; \Vil h am Battersby, opposite the courthouse; Johu Anthony , in the_ Glendower section; J ames Feniy, I sa ac Bates a nd Gideon Man, in Buckingham; \Villiarn :Vl orr ison, ;0 the Rockfish Valley; Cllarles Bond , au Briery Creek, a branch of the lower H ardware: J oseph T hompson, in the vicinity of Palmyra; Hugh McGarrougb, not far from Afton, and J oh n Hays, p robab ly in the same neighborhood; and \V il-li am Cabell , at hi s ferry at \Varminste r. Daniel Scott was licensed to es tabli s h a fe rry from the c ourthouse landing to the opposi te s ide of the river, and \Villiam Battersby, Oll e from his land to the mouth of T otier Creek on Da niel Scott 's la nd.

The roads received muc h attention. At that time they were not so much to be worked, as to be opened and cleared; and p.e rmiss ion to t h is end was readily granted uuder the restr iction, that they should not be conducted t h rough any fenced grounds. J ohn H enderson was summoned to show ea use why a road should no t be cleared through hi s land from the T h ree Notched Road to the Hard ware River; that is, from near Milton to the vicinity of :Mount Air. John Defoe was made Surveyor of the road from Number Twelve to N.umber Eig-hteen-numbers used to designate the dis-tance , probably from the courthouse to certa in trees, as mention is subsequent ly made of the road from the late Secretary's Ford to the Twelve Mile Tree. David Lewis was S urveyor of the road over Capt. Charles Lynch 's Ford, or Ferry; this was a road which ran from some point all t he Three Notched Road near the University, over the sha llows of the Rivallna, a s hort distance sontbea~t of the Pen Park mansion, and down the west side of the Soutb

HISTORV OF ALBF.)IARLE 11

\Vest Mountain. Andrew \\Talla cc: was Suryeyor of the road from the D. S. to ~rechum's Riyer Ford-Archihald and Michael \Voods, Jr. to assist in clearing it-and Willi!\lU Woods from i\Iechum's River to Michael Woods's Gap on the Blue Mountains. Benjamin \Vheeler was Surveyor from his place into the "Four Chopped Road" to \Voods's Gap. \Villiam Harris petitioned for a road from his plantation on Green Creek to the South River-that is, the James-oil the lower side of Ballenger's Creek j and Robert Rose. Clerk, petitioned for one from his place on Tye Ri\'er to Leake's. in the neighborhood of \Villiam Harris. The hands of Col. R ichard Randolph, Rev. l\lr. Stith and \Villiam Harris, were orde red to c!ear a road from the Creen Mountain Road near the head of H og Creek, to the courthouse Road below Mr. S t ith's Quarter. Thetithables of the late Secretary at Clear Mount-which must have been at Blenheim, or in that vicinity-were directed to work on the road from James T aylor's Ford to Martin King's Road, that is, hom below Ca rte r ' s Bridge to \Voodridge; and his servants liv ing abo\'e the mountains. together with the inhabitants on Biscuit Run, were to keep the road from David Lewis's to the hl.te Secre t ary's Mill. This mill was on the north fork of Hardware. a sh ort distance above its jUllction with the sOllth fork. Fry & L ynch were appointed to apply to the Louisa Court, to cont inue the road over King 's Ford on the Rivanna- at Union .;\lills-from tbe county line to Louisa C. 11 . The!'e a re a few instances of the care and energy devoted to this important object.

H oward and Daniel were appointed to list the tithtlhlcs on the south side, and Lynch, Cabell. H ickman and Ua.1I0ll, those on the north side, of the Fluvanna Ri\'er. The numher of tithables in 1745 was thirteen hundred and ninetyfour, In 1746 fourteen bundred and seventynine. and in 1747 !-oc\'cn teen hund red and twentyfjve. They were taxed twenty pounds of tobacco per poll. Taking Mr. Jefff.:rson's calcu-lations in his Notes on Virgin ia as a basis, this w()uld make the w hole population of tbe county as it then was. white and black , in 1745 about four thousand two hundred and 6fty;

I 2 HISTORY OF ALBEMARLE

in 1746 four thousand five bundred; and in 1747 five thousand t wo hundred and seventy-five. According to the Census Reports, the progress of the population of the county within its present limits. bas been as fo llows:

1790- 12,585. 1800- 16.439. 1810- 18,268. 1820- 32,618.

1830- 19,747. 1840- 22.618. 1850-22,924 . 1860- 32.379.

1870-25,800. 1880- 26,625. 189O- 27,55 .. L 1900- 28,473.

The population of Charlottesville was for the first time taken separately from that of the county in 1870. Its num-bers are as fo llows:

1870- 2,838. 1880- 2,676. 1890-5,591. 19O(}- 6,4-1-9.

Eleanor Crawley was sentenced to receive fifteen lashes on ber bare back, well laid au, for stealing linen of the value of eleven pence- a li ttle over fifteen cents-and Pearce Reynolds to receive twenty-one, for stealing a handkerchief of the same value. James, a negro of William Cabell, for stealing twelve pence, was burnt in the hand, and given thirty-nine la shes at the whipping post. I n a suit James Fenly gained against Samuel Stephens, and Stephens choosing to be whipped rather than be imprisoned. the Sheriff was ordered to administer twenty-one lashes. The grand jury presented George McDaniel for profane swearing-two oaths within two months-ana Abraham Childress for failing to clear the road of which he was surveyor. On motion of David Reese, the testimony of John and Stephen Heard, and of Patrick Nowlin, was recorded, ce rtifying that a piece was bit out of Reese's left ear, in a fray with Nowlin . The testimony of Thomas Nunn and his wi fe Kate was recorded, showing that ttey h ad been imported about fourteen years before, and had never received thei r dues; and subsequently their two c hildren , Mary and Lucretia, were direc ted to be bound out by the Church wardens of St. Anne's parish.

The Court was mindful to protect it s own dignity. For misbehavior in its presence, Martin King was ordered into custody, and bound over for a year, and Martin King, Jr . and J ames Fenly were placed ill the stock s.

HISTORY OF ALBEMARL E 13

The scalps of wolves were reported in large num bers. One hundred and forty pounds of tobacco were a llowed for the scalp of an old wolf , and seventy five fo r that of a young one, that is, one under six months old. \Vhen tobacco ceased to be a circulating medium , twel ve and six dollars were given as the premiums. These re ports continued with more or less regularity in subsequent years down to 1849 . the last on record , when I saac \V. Garth was awarded twelve dollars for killing an old wol f. J onatha n Barksdale, Samuel J ameson, William Ramsey and Ryland Rodes, are names which appear mos t frequen tl y in this connection . 111 1835 Lewis Snow received a dollar and a half for the sca lp of a red fox. The Court ag itated the removal of these pre-miums once or twice after 1849, bu t there is no indicat ion that their offer was ever made.

The foregoing partic ul a rs were compi led from the first order book of the County Court, a venerable relic of the past

~ of great interest. Unhappily the records for UlallY years follow ing have been los t.

14 H ISTORY OF ALBEi\IA RLE

CHAPTER!!. Albemarle County has somewha t the shape of a lozenge.

It s northweste rn border follows the crest of the Blue Ridge. It s boundary Oil the sOllth west leaves the Ridge a little north of Rockfish Gap, runs a course of south thirty degrees east t ill it st r ikes the Rockfish Ri ver at the mouth of Green Creek, and then coinc ides with tbat river to its junction w it!:! the J a mes. The angle at the south instead of com ing to a point is irregularly truncated by the James, that river forming it s border for about fifteen miles. The southeast-ern boundary sta rt s from the lower end of Scottsville, and has a course of north th irty degrees east to the western side of the tOWIl of Gordonsville; whence tha t au the northeast runs north seventy-one degrees west till it intersects the top 01 the Blue Ridge_ Its greatest length from nort h to south is ab-out forty miles, and its greatest breadth about the same distance. It has an area o f s l ightly over seven hundred and fifty square mi les.

Its surface is greatly diversified. Parallel with the Blue Ridge, the Southwest Mountain traverses it s entire extent at an in terval of eighteen or twenty m iles. This range is continuous, except where it breaks to afford a passage for the Rivanna , H ardware and Rockfish rivers. Its highest point, Peter's Mountain , occurs where it enters the county o n the northeast, having an altitude of perha ps fifteen hundred feet. In its course southward it maintains an elevation of te n or twel ve hundred feet until it passes the Hardwa re, whe n it gradually decl ines, and exhibi ts a p rom inence but little different fro III t he surface of the s urroundi ng country. This mountain is for the mos t part a single ridge, and has none of the lateral offshoots so characterist ic of the Blue Ridge, un-less for a ShOlt dis tance on the west side of its northern por-tion. H ere a nd there occur lo w depressicns in its crOWll, ~ which supply a natural and convenien t way for roads. North ~ of the Rivanna are three of these depress ions- the most north-

I

HISTORY Or ALBE~IARLg 15

edy , the 'l' urkey Sag, so named from Turkey Run, a branch o f Priddy's Creek wh ich rises at its western base, the uext, Stony Point Gap, opposi te the village 01 that name, and the third, H amm ock'sorThurman'sGap. Between the Ri\'anna and the H ardware there is but one, the ),lonticello Gap, wh ich separates Mont icello from the continuation of the range, called Carter's :Moull tain. South of the Hardware, the ra nge bea rs the name of Green ),Iountain.

In the northwest part of the county, and sti ll more in the southwest , irregula r and massive forma tions raise their heads on h igh, which from their disorderly appearance pass under the name of t he Ragged l\Iountains. J utting from the Ridge nea r the western corner is a huge spur, denominated Buck's El bow. Across Moorman's River to the north is auother lofty s pur, the Pasture Fence )'I ountain , called so without doub t because it contained one of the first enclosures for grazi ng. I t is a pect!liar feature of this spur, as it is of the whole Blue Ridge, that in summer it is covered with a lux-uriant growth of blue g rass; and ill former days, large plante rs commonly owned farms 00. these mountains for the special p ur pose of pasturage. Along the eastern foot of the P as ture Fence lies a rich and beautiful valley, which froUl one o f it s fi rst sett lers is named Brown's Cove, and which is watered by an affiuent of Moorman's River, called in e:arly times it s no r th fork, but now known as Doyle's River. B order ing the Cove on t he east is a succession of smaller eminences, P igeon T op, Fox's Mountain and IIigh Top, while sca ttered to wards the northeast are numerous elevations, some having the appea rance of ridges, and SOIllE: rising as so litary peaks , and bearing the names of Currants, Long, Gree n , Buck and P iney Mountains.

Jus t west o f w here t he University now stands is a 5m311 range w ith a hig her su mmit at either end, which was origi-nally call ed P ine y Mountain . T he north end has the name of L ewis ' s Mounta lll , a nd the south, Observatory ~IOUll tain, fro III its being t he site of the astronomical depart-ment of the Unive rsi ty. A t a short inten'al southwes t of this range, are heaped u p fo r some miles great mouo-

16 HISTORY OF ALBEMARLE

taillOllS masses, rugged a nd broken, tliat may well be termed by way of eminence the Ragged J..'lounta ins. These heights are skirted on the east by a range which fun s with a good degree of continuity to the extre me southwecot of the coun ty, called on the north side of the Hardware, Dud ley's Mountain, and on the south , Gay 's, Fan's and Appleberry's. Running off frolll the Ragged Mountains in a wes terl y direc-tion is a range bearing the names of Martin 's and I s rael's Mountains, indented by Taylor's, Martin' s and I s rael 's Gaps; while south and southeast of I s rael 's Gap, tower aloft some of t he loftiest summ its in the county , Castle Rock, High Top, Ch:::.. lk and H eard 's Mountains. Some views of these im-mense pi les a re truly grand a nd magnificent. In the mids t of t hese gigant ic heaps, a re fou nd reaches of comparat ively level country of prime fe rt il it y, one lying along the north fork of the Hardware called the North Garden, another on the south fork ca lled t h~ South Garden, and a third , the Rich Cove, separated by a s light elevation from the South Garden 0 11 the south. The section north of J a mes River is va ried by gentl y s lopi ng hills, and that east of the South West Mountain s tretches away to the east as an extensive plain, and being covered with forest, is known as the Flat-woods.

Besides the James, the county is cut throughout it s entire breadth by two s treams, a nd is washed at its south west corner by a third, all of considerable size. In the summer the volume of water they discharge is much reduced-so much at times, that during a remarkable drought in 1806, James O. Carr, who was then attending school at Milton was able to stop the ent ire current of the Rivanna with his h a nd ; but being mountain s treams, that is having their sources near the foot of the Blue Ridge, or it s outlying spurs, they become s peedily fill ed by heavy rains and the melting snows of winter , frequently rush down with the fury of a torrent, and ove rflow all the low grounds along thei r banks. The most northerly of t hese water courses is the Rivanna, which has two forks un iting about four mi les north of Charlottes-v ille, and forming the ma in stream. The north fork is made

\

HISTORY OF AL BE:\IARLE 17

up near the nort h l ine of the county by t he union of Swift Run and L ynch ' s River I both of wh ich r is-:- in Greene County near the Blue R idge . I t flows southeas t and sou th to its junct ion with the ~ outh fork, aug mented by :\ l arsh Run. Herring 's R U Il , P riddy ' s and Foste;- 's Creeks, flowing into its nor th side , and by Beaverdam , J acob's RUIl, and Flat Bra nch , ('omi ng from the south . T he south fo rk is form ed by the confluence o f Moorma n 's and Mechum 's River s, and being fed on its north s ide by Buck i\l oun -tain, Naked, F ishing and Powell 's Creeks, and o n its south by Ivy C reek, ru ns eas tward ly about fi\'e m iles to it s junc -tion with the north fork. Buck Mountai n Cre~k has a large bra nc h o n it s wes t s ide ca lled Piney Run. Moorma n 's Ri ver r ises in the deep ravine between the Blue Ridge a nd Pasture Fence Mountain . known a s S ugar H ollow , a nd runs a south and the n a n east course, receivi ng o n it s north side Doyle 's Ri ve r. and Rocky a nd Ward's Creeks. ,Mechu11l's River has a greate r length , some of it s head wa ters sp ring-ing beyond the cou nty line in Nelson , a nd interlock ing wit h bra nches of the north fork of Rockfi sh. It has al so & mo re tortuous cha nnel, b ut it s genera l trend is eas t of nort h. It receives on its north s ide Virgin Spring Branch , S tock ton'S, Beaver and Spring Creeks, and on its south, Wh itesides Creek , Poundi ng Branch and Broadaxe Creek. The Riv:l lln8 proper flows south, tu rns to the ea st in it s passage through the South \Vest Mo ulltai n fo r about four miles, and then runs southeast to the county l ine , whe n pass i n~ th rough Fluvanna Cou nty , it em pties into tbe J a mes at Columbia. In its course throug h Albema rl e , it receives Red Bud, :'\[oun-tain F all s, Car:oll a nd Limes tone C reeks o n the north, and Meadow, Moore's, H e nderso n ' s and Buck Is land Creeks o n the south.

The Hardware divides iota two fo rks, which join just above its passage through the Southwest Mountain . T he north fork al so divides not far fro w Red 11ill Station. the south and m iddle prongs bead ing nea r each other OLl ei the r side of Tom 's Moun tain, while the north p rong r i ~es in the vic inity of T a ylor 's Gap. J us t before reach ing the junct ion

- , -

18 HI ::,TOR Y OF ALBEMARLE

it receives on its north side Sowell' s Brauch. 'I'he south fork has its source south of Castle Rock, and northwest of Covesville. It makes its way in differe nt directions among the mountains. but its general course is northeast. Its northern tributaries are Jumping Branch and Black Walnut. and its southern, Rapshill and Eppes Creeks. A well known branch of the latter is Beaverdam , wh ich has recent ly ~ acquired ce lebrity from th e Soapstone Works sllccessfully operated on its bank!:;, After t he union of its forks. the Hardware pursues a southt:ast course, crosses the county line about three miles north of Scottsville, and empties into the James in Fluvanna County. It is enlarged on its north -ern s ide by Murphy's and Turkey Runs , and on its south -ern by Harri s's Creek , form erly known as Little Eppes, and by Coles 's Creek , formerly called Hudson '5 .

The southwestern line of the county is intersected by the h ead waters of Lynch'R, Taylor 's, Hickory and Cove Creeks, all branches of Rockfish River. On the east side o f Apple-berry's Moun tain are Ivy, Green and Hog Creeks, debouch-ing into the sa IDe stream . Two creeks of moderate size water the southern part of the county, and fall into the James, one at Warren called Ballenger 's, and the other about t wo miles above Scottsville called Totier. Both are fed by a number of branches. Mecb unk Creek takes its rise not far from Gordonsville, flows southwest and southeast, and passi ng out of tbe cOllnty joins t he Rivanna opposite Union Mill s. The sources of the Sout h Anna a re also in Albe-marle, located not far from that of l\!l echuuk.

The character of the soil is \' ariolls. The deg rees of its fert ility are distinguished by different colors, t he richest exhibiting a deep red, and the less ferti le a gray. The former prevai ls at the base of the mountains, and a long the banks of the streams. Some parts of the county, especially in the mouutainous localities, are stolly; the more leve l lands are free {rom thi s incumbrance . The p revalent rocks are quart z and what is colloquia ll y known as mountai n granite. A single ve in of l imestone ru ns through t he county , about four mi les east of the Southwes t MOllntain. I n a

I

H ISTORY OF ALBEMARLE 19

num ber of places slate and soapstone occur , botl! of fine qual ity. Gold is found in the southwestern corner . The soil a nd climate of Albemarle are well adapted to all the staple productions of the temperate zone , and a re exceedi ngly fa vo rable to the cultivation of fruit. The ravines a nd hol-lows of the mountains which might seem unfitted fo r the growth of any crop, are found to produce in perfect ion the A lbemarle Pippins , the lUost highly prized apples in the world.

Most of the names given to the features of Albemarle scenery, belonged to them from the earliest times . In the pa tents first issued. the mountains and streams were already indicated by names, and they were generally those wh ich they st ill bear. Who gave them , or why in wany cases they were given , must now be reckoned among the things un -known . Sometimes they were s uggested by natural circum-stances. and sometimes deri ved from persons who were owners , or occupiers, of the neighboring lands. T he latter have undergone more change than otbers, because with the lapse of yea rs the names of former residents passed out of remembrance, and those of thei r successors were appl ied in their s tead. As settlements were made in different parts of the count.y a t the same time, it has happened that names are frequently repea ted .

The Southwest l\'Iouutaiu on whi~b the firs t lands were ente red, was originally ca lled the Cht:stnut ~lo11nta im: . It was also spoken of as the Litt le Mountain. P

20 HISTORY OF ALBEMARLE

Brown's Gap and Brown's Cove were named from the family that largely sett led the land in that reg ion. Turk's Gap was first called Jameson's, and Jarman's bore the name of Woods' -all from families who lived near by. Rockfish Gap has always had that name, acquiring it from the river which rises in part at its base. Pigeon Top was once called Jameson's Mountain, and may have obtained its later name from a roost of that bird. Fox's Mountaio took its name from a family that lived on it, and High Top from its lofty peak. Currant's and \Vebb's Mountains were named from persons who pos-sessed the adjoining lands, and Buck Mountain, and the Creek of the same name, from the abundance of deer that roamed the forests. Piney Mountain was first called Poin-dexter ' s, from the man who entered the land at its foot. Ye l -low Mountain at one time went by the name of Epperson's. Castle Rock was so denominated from its huge towering form, Chalk Mountain from the lightcolored rocks which face its crest, and Heard's, Appleberry's, Fan's, Gay's, Dudley's, from primitive settlers in their vicinity. In ear ly times the Mountains north of Moorman's River, and south of Me-chum's, were called Ragged, from thei r disordered appear-ance, and not from the garments of their inhabitants, as bas sometimes been suggested.

The Hardware River has always borne that name. Rivanna was in use from the first, according to the fashion then in vogue, of honoring Queen Anne' with the names of rivers recently discovered. In the earliest patents and deeds it was more frequently called the north fork of the James, as the James above the Rivanna passed under the name of the South

Fork, or more euphuistically, the Fluvanna. In some in-stances the Rivallna was simply termed the North River, and the Fluvanna the South. The crossing of the Rivanna at the Free Bridge was known at the beginning of the century as Moore's Ford, or Lewis' Ferry, according to the stage of water, and its north fork was sometimes called, down to a quite recent date, the Little River. Red Bud was first named Key's Mill Creek, or Swamp. In early days. swamp seemed to be interchangeable with creek, no doubt from the rubbish

UI STOR\, OF ALnE~IARLH

of logs a nd leaves which for ages had obstructed tbe channels of the smaller st reams. Pr iddy's, Buck Mountain nnd Rocky Creeks, and Jacob's and Piney Runs, had those desigllltiollS from the beginning. The names of :'-oleadow and h'y Cr ~h obtained from the earliest times. :'-oIoorUlall'~ River was named from T homas Moorman, one of the 6rst patcntt.:c ... 011 its hanks , and f.. l echum's. froUl a George :'-o l echuDI. who was an owner of land near it s head. The north fork of :'-olechum's wa s called Stockton's Creek, and its south fork. now re-garded as the main stream, Stockton's ~I i ll Creek, frOIll a numerous family occnpying their margins. The midJle fork was always termed Virgin Spring Branch. Union Run was 6rst named ). [onntain Falls Creek; afterwards. from being a favorit e feedi ng place of the wagoners who hrought thei r produce to Milton, it acqui red the name of Camping Branch. Carro ll ' s Creek was the original title of tbnt stream . Limestone was first called Plum Tree Branch. then Scales Creek, and 6nally its present name , frolll wash-ing the only vein of limestone in the county, Buck r .. lnnd Creek was so designated from tbe beginning. It is a mis-take to write it Bllckeyeland , as if derived frolll tbe deer eyed tree. The name was taken froUl an island in the Ri\'anua opposi te its mouth, and as in the case of so manyobjt:cts of natural scenery, was sugges ted by the great number ... of deer found everywhere in the country. There were two other tr ibutar ies of the Rivanna below ~l ilton in early limes, though the ir names are never hea rd at present, llenderson's

_ and ~Ii ller' s Branches. Moore 's Creek has heen so called from the 6rst. The same is true of Biscuit Run; but the

names of its branches. Plum Orchard on the east, and Cow Branch on the west, have slipped from the memory of lIIen . A small prong of Moore's above Biscuit Run ollce had the name of Edge's Creek; it is forgotten now.

There were three Beaverdams in the county, one runnlnJ.: into ' Mechunk , another into Lynch's Ri\rer, and the thir.t into Eppes Creek. Besides Ivy Creek that passes the depot 01 that name, there is another which empties into Rockfish An affiuent of Priddy's Creek, and one of Ballenger's. were

22 HISTORY OF ALBE;'I[AHLE

both ca lled \Volf Trap. \Valf Pit was a branch of Beaver Creek, and a cavi ty au the west side of South \Vest Yiountain bad the same name. Piney ;-' [ountain was the designation, Dot oniy of t he present mountain of tbat name, but also of Lewis's ::\Iountaiu near the University and of all eminence near Afton. A branch of th e lower Rockfish was called Buck I sland, besides the stream so named that flows into t he R iyauua. A Turkey Run empties into Priddy's Creek, and another of the name enters the Hardware. There were three Round Top MOllntains, one ill the Buck Mountain re"ion, another not fa r from Batesville, and a nothe r near the Uni -versity.

\Vbitehall was an e lection preci nct uuder the successive names of Glenn's Store , William l\'1aupin's Store, Maupin 's T avern, Miller' s Tavern, Shumate's Tavern , till at leng th the present name was establi s hed about 1835 . F o r a long time Batesv ill e went by the name of Oliver's Store. Mechulil 's Depot was anciently known a~ Jarma n 's Mi ll , and afterwards as \Valke r 's Mill. I vy Depot was formerly called \Voodville . The name of Glendower at first was Scot t 's Mill , then Dyer ' s, and th(>n Dawso n 's. \V oodridge was for many years denom-inated McGehee's O ld Fi f" ld. Bes ides Stony P oint on the Barboursville R oad, there was a Stony. Point Dot tar from Scottsvi ll e . Free Union formerly went by tbe name of Nixville , and is still so spoken of by the o lder cit izens. Petersburg is the appell ation of a hamlet on Priddy's Creek between the Southern Railroad and the Barboursvi lle Road. Cartersburg is a straggling collection of honses on the hi ll south of Rio Bridge. Brownton and Lemon Hill stand for pla ces not far from Glendower.

As alre:tdy inti matert, the former denize ns of the fores t were fre

HISTORY OF ALBE,,-IARLE 23

Davis, and lying on the north fork of the Rivauna, is de scr ibed as adjoining Buffalo Meadow. A branch of Buck

~Iountain Creek \Vas called Elk Run. Deer were exceedingly plentiful. A tradition, which desce nded from one of the first settlers near the Blue Ridge, states, that by stepping froUl his door almost any morning. he was able to shoot a dee r. From tbis cin:nmstance it arose that the word Buck so frequently forms part of the names of the county. Lick Run was a branch of Beaverdam in it'l northern part. Bears were found, not only as they still are in the deep ravines of the Blue Ridge, but also in every neighborhood. Near the R ich Cove were Bear Creek, and Red Bear Ilollow. Benja ' min Brown devised to his son Bezaleel the Bear cornfield. In a deed of 1789 , conveying laud nortb of Stony Point , one of the l ines passed by "the Bear Spring on the road." As late a s 1823, it was stated, that H enry Bruce with two other men , k illed on the Blue Ridge twelve fine fat bears in 6fte(!u d ays . As previously mentioned, an exterminating' war was waged from the begi nning against wolves . A prong of Gr~en Creek bo re t he name of Black Fox Branch. Beaver and Beaverdam Creeks were connected with every leading stream of the county. In the first times flocks of turkeys thronged the woods. a nd every fall and spring wild ducks and geese darkened the rivers. T radition refers to more than one pigeon roost. where great limbs of trees were broken down by the countless numbers of that bird. Before tbe cOII~truc' tion of dams. fish of the best kinds, shad and herring, ascended t he water courses. Dr. William Cabell deri\'Ctl II considerab le revenue from his fisheries on James River, and fine shad, taken from the Rivanna, were often seen 011 the ta bles of the early inhabitants.

T here is no evidence that Indians were resident iu the cou nty at the fi rst approach of the white man, though they still passed th rough on their journeys from on(! part of the count ry to another. But memorials of tbeir fornH:r occupa-t ion were not wanting. Mr. Jefferson mentions baving often see n them in his boyhood, and refers in his Notes to a large band vis iti ng the mound containing the remains of tb~ir (lD-

24 HISTORY OF ALBEMAR L E

cestors on the Rivallna lQW g rounds, and there expressing their customary signs of grief. I n a description of land on Bremo Creek, in a deed of 1751, is noted a line that ran "up to the head of the b ranch that the I ndian shot J ohn Lawson at." The head stream of Buck I sland that nows past Over-ton, was var iollsly ca lled Indian Creek, rlldi~ D Camp Creek, and Camping Branch, and the plan tation a t its source, once owned by \Villiam Short, and sold by him to David H iggin-botham, bore the name of Indian Camp. Fl in t ar rowheads , often of super ior workmanship , are found in large numbers in Ulany sections of the county.

The first division of the county. besides its separation into t he two parishes o f Fredericksville and St. Anne's, was that made by the bounds of the mililia companies. Each of the two regiments embodied it:! it contained eight companies, and thus there were six teen of these divisions. The persons selected to perform the duty of Process ion ing, whilst that method of determining the boundaries o f lands was prac -tised, were chosen fO I these divisions, usually fo ur persons for each. They were referred to by Mr. J efferson a s forming suitable dist r icts for sta tioning common schools, and appear in the records until quite a la te period in connection with the appointment of patroll ing pa rti es.,

For a long time the county sea t was the exclusive locality for holding polit ica l elections. F or electing Overseers of the Poor, there existed in the early part of the century four dis -tricts: for the northeast, the voting place was Trice's T~vern below 1"urkey Sag, and a fte rwards Stony Point; for the northwest, Fretwell 's Store, or Free Union ; for the south-west, Everett' s Tavern, or the Cross Roads; and for the southeast, Dyer 's Store. It was Dot until the second quarter of the century was considerably advanced that the number of election precincts was increased, and the conven ience of the people th us consulted. As late as 182 0 , Charlottesv ille was the on ly pos t office fo r the county ; subse que nt to that date , mail facilities be6'an ra pidly to multiply.

In 1846, in accordance with an act of the Legislatnre, the county was div ided into twenty-one School dist rict s . A

HISTOR Y OF ALBE M A R L I~ 25

description of thei r limits is recorded in the Order Book fo r that year, page 312. I n Deed Book ~o. Fi fty, occurs the record of the bounda ries of te n d is tri cts fo r election pllrpo"cs,

wh~ch were const it uted in pursua nce of an ac t of l llc Lc~is lature passed in 1852 .

T he las t division was effected by a n act of the Leghi lalllre, under the require ment of the new Const it ut ion , adopted ill J uly, 1869 . By thi s law the county was laid off into five Townsh ips, subsequently termed Distri cts. T hese were Rivanna, Whiteball, Samuel Miller , Scottsvi ll e and Charlottesville . In 1875 another was added , ca lled hy, which was e nlarged on its northeru border ill 1889.

Allu sion has been made to the g reat misfo rtune sustained in the loss of the ea rly records. T he gap thus occasioned reaches from 1748 to 1783, a period of thirty -fi ve years, a nd one intense ly inte resting in the h is tory of the coun t ry at large. The loss was caused by tbe wanton ravages of the British ~roops near the clo!"e of the Revolutionary War. )1:J.ny n:f~ r ences to th is event a re met with in the s ubseque nt proceedings of the Connty Court. I n 1794 it recommended J ohn Key, George Divers, Thomas Garth, Thomas \V. Lewis, Garla nd Carr, Thomas Bell , Robert J onett, \V. \V . lIening, and Cornelius Schenk as "CoUlmissioners to reinsta te such rec ords as had been los t or dest royed." These pt-rsons o r others were cert ainly a ppointed for th is purpo:;e, as the Cour t in one place ordered the t ransac tions of the ComlUi!'isioncr~ "for reinstating the records des troyed by the enemy ," t9 he recorded. A copy of Gideon Carr's will was pro\'ed hdore them, and d irected to be placed on record. On a deed frolll Thomas Goolsby to Samuel Shelton da ted July 1745, the foll owing memora ndum was insc ribed : " Ft=hruary Court . 1788. This Indenture was produced to the Court, anrl it appearing from a ce rti fi cate on the same, tha t it bad hee n formerly recorded in this Court, the record whereof was de: strayed by the Briti s h in the yea r 178 1, Oil mot ion of Samuel Shdton it was ordered by the Court that it be recorded agai n, in pursuance of an act of Assembly for tha t pur pose. " The act here referred to may be found ill H ening X CI , 497. It

26 HISTORY OF ALBE)IARLE

is hard to concci\"e any conduct in an army more outrageous, more opposed to the true spirit of civ il ization, and witha l moteu

HISTORY OF ALBE"IARLE 27

than the one se lected could have heen chosen. It occupies almost the exact centre of the county, it lies in the midst of a fntilecountry, and it is beautiful for situation. Lofty ideas were evidently entertained in relation to its estahlishment. A t housand acres were purchased from Colonel Richard Rau dolp h , of H enrico , extending north and south from near

..... Cocbran's Pond to the south side of Moore's Creek, ~nd east and west from the Chesapeake and Ohio Depot to Preston H eights. The t it le to this property was vested in Dr. T homas Walker as T rustee, and he was empowered to sell and couvey it to pu rchasers. The tOWD was planned at the eas tern edge of this tract, aud consisted of {our tiers of squares , each t ier running east and west, and containing seven squares , a nd the fou r tiers extending from J efferson Stree t on the north to South Street on the south. The public squa re for the courthouse was exterior to the limits of the town. T he act of Assem bly establishing the town was passed in Ko\'ember 1762. It is therein recited tha t fifty a cres of la nd coutiguous to the courthouse had already been la id off into lots and streets, and as it wou ld be of great advan-tage to the inhabitants of the cou nty if established a town for the recept ion of traders, it was so established, to be called a nd known by the name of Charlottesville. Dictait'd by tbe spi r it of loyalty tbe-n prevalent, the name was given in b onor of Princess C ha rlotte of Mecklenburg Stre litz, who had recently become Queen of England as the wife of King' G enrge III.

T here being two half acre lots in eacb square, the original town contained fiftysix lots. They were not disposed of with great rapidity. At the first sale in September 1763, abou t a year after the survey of the town. fourteen lots were sold to seven purchasers. Ten more were sold at interva ls dur ing ~he next year. Strauge to say, the most of those aliena ted a t first were remote from the courthouse, and lay on Ma in , \Vater and South Streets, although it is within the me mory of some living since the Square ceased to be the bus iness centre of the towu. The next sale took place i!l October 17 65, when twenty-three lots WHe dispOSfd of, rour-

28 HI STORY 0'" ALBEMARLE

teen being purcbased at once by Beniamin Brown and David R oss. By this time it may be supposed the courthouse was built, and the prospec ts of the new settlement being some -what assured, the spirit of speculation began to operate. In the deed to John Moore of Lot No. Three in 17 65. it was stated that the Court of the County was recentl y held thereon.

The residue of the public land was divided into fifteen parts, designated as outlats. They ranged in size from thirty-three to Qne hundred and fifty acres. The smallest of the m lying north of the town and immediately on the public square, was sold to John !vIoore in April 1764. On thi s lot was a spring in the ravine behind Miss Ross' resi-dence, which had already acquired the name of the Pri son Spring. The latter part of the same year two others adjoin-ing the town on the south, and containing seventy-three acres, were purchased by Richard Woods. In October 1765, eight more lying to the north, south and west, and aggre-gating upwards of six hundred acres , were bought by John Moore, Joel T errell , and Richard and Sa muel \Voods. The last sale of outlots mentioned occurred in 1791, wile n the most northerly of them was sold to Dr. George Gilmer. The whole s um realized by the county from the sale of town lots a nd outlots averaged a pound an acre, amounting to th irty three hundred and thirty-three dollars.

The improvements made in the town before the Revolu-t ion seem to have been few and scattered. One of the earliest was the residence of Joel Terrell, which was built on the corner of Market and Fifth Streets, where the City Hall now stands. Thomas West , a saddler by trade, lived 0 11 Main Street, on the square now occupied by the Leter-mans' Store. Samuel T al iafe rro resided on the square to the east , on which afterwards s tood the dwelling and store of Colone l Thomas Bell, occupied later by the family of Jesse Scott, and at present the seat of the Post Office. The first bome of Dr. George Gilmer was on the south side of IvIain Street, Ilear the present loca tion of T. T. Norman's Store. John Day, a blacksmith, lived on the southeast corner of

HISTORY OF ALBEMARLE 29

'Vater and First Streets. Tucker 'Voodson, Deputy Clerk of the County, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Johu Moore, had his residence north of town, near the road to Cochran's Mill. A short time before the outbreak of the w ar, John Jouett built his public house, the Swan Tavern. on the east of the public square , wbere the house of the late Samuel Leitch now stands. The square on which is now e rected the Perley Building, was known ill those days as "the Grass Lot," and on a part of it was a house ill which a Richard Scott lived . and which when sold during the war was reserved to him for hi s life. In a honse on Lot Twenty-one, now marked by Huyett 's Comer. a :Mary Murphy lived the latter part of the war. Being afterwards married to Joseph ~ei l son, they sold it in 1734, and the same year it came into the possession of Robert Draffen, a former mer-c hant of Charlottesville.

As the war of the Revolution drew near . the people of A lbemarle were deeply aroused. Their opposition to the obnoxious measures of the British government was prompt and s~rol1g. Upon the first mutterings of the storm, an independent company of volunteers was formed. and by spi r ited resolves they devoted themselves to the public wel-fa re. \Vhen the election of office rs was entered upon, the ch oice fell upon Charles Lewis, of North Garden, as Captain, Dr. George Gilmer and John Marks, as Lieutellants. John H arvie, as Ensign, William Simms, \Villiam Wood, William T . Lewis, and John Martin, as Sergeants, and Frederick \V. \Vi tl!', T homas Martin, Jr ., Patrick Napier and David Allen. as Corporals . As soon as the news was received of the removal of tbe powder by Lord Dunmore. without waiting for a ca ll. eighteen wen at once marched to Williamsburg. H ow long they remained under arros, does not appear. They returned home shortly after. in the midst of the prevailtng uncertainty. But thei r eagerness to sustain "the cause of A mer ica," was unabated. In fa ct so enthusiastic was their wa rmth, that they were not disposed to listen to counsels wh ich cooler minds deemed prudent. On receiving a mes-s age from Captain Hugh Mercer, to the effect that tbe ~peaker

30 HISTOR Y OF AL BEM ARLE

and other!:i though t the companies assembled should be dis-m issed. they were at a loss how to ad. It was determined ho\vever that the matter should he subm itted to tbe deci s ion of the company. 'I'hey voted to m arch agai n , a nd on July 11 th, 177 5, twenty-seven men under Lieu tena nt George Gil-mer proceeded a second time to \Villi am sburg.

The Conventi on which met on July 17th of tbat year, formed sixteen districts in tbecolony , in which troops should be raised for it s defence. In oue of t hese Albemarle was a ssociated with Buckingbam, Amhers t a nd East Augusta. T oe Co mm ittee of tbe di s trict convened 011 September Si b, 1775, at the bouse of J ames \Voads in Amherst . There were presen t frolU Albem a rle . Cbarles L ewis and George Gilmer, from Amhers t, \Villiam Cabell and John and H ugh Rose, from Buckingham, J ohn Nich olas, Charles Patterson and J ohn Cabell, and from Augusta, Sam pson Matthews. Alex-ande r McClanahan and Samuel McDowell. Thomas Jefferson was the other delegate from Albemarle, but was absen t at the Continental Congress, of which he had been appointed a me mber the previous JUllf'. At this meetinf!" it was resolved, that t\VO companies of minuteme n should be enl isted ill each of the co unties of A lbemarle, Amherst and Buckingha m, and four in that of Augusta, and that these ten compa nies should cons titute a batt a lion under George Matthews, of Augusta, and afterwards Governor of G eorgia, as Co lonel , Charles L ewis , of Albemarle, as Lieutena nt Colonel, Daniel Gaines, of Amhers t, as Major, and Thomas P atter son , of Buckingham, a s Commissary. 'l' h is batt a lion was rai sed and went into camp November 11th, 177 5, three miles from R ockfi sh Gap. and continued in training till December 6th. Inquiry fails to find any local tradition of t he p lace of this camp, but it is said that grounds at that distance from t he Gap, and admir-a hl y fit for military exercises, may be fou nd on the main road bH wee n H ebro n and Rodes' Churches. Charles Lewis ap-pe8.rs as Colo ne l o f a batta lion the next year , and was orde red by the COllve nt ion in May to N ortb Carolina. H e was after -wards Col onel of the Fourteenth Virgi n ia Regimen t , a nd a t tb! l ime of his deat h in 177 9, Commander of the pos t at eha rlottesv i li e.

H ISTQRY OF ALBE:..IARLE 31

Soldiers from Albemarle fought on all the important ba t -tle fields of the wa r, Long Bridge , Trenton, Stony Point, Brandywine, Germantown, Saratoga, :Monmouth, Sa\allllnh, Charlestoll, Camden, King 's Mountain, Cowpens, Guiltord, Euta w and Yorktown.

T he most striking event connect ing the county with the war, was the location within its bounds of the calllp for the Convention Troops, as they were called; that is, the pris-oners captured in Octobe r 1777, at Burgoyne's surrender. These troops were first sent to Bostou, whence they wt=re to be a llowed to return to Emope au the ir parole not 10 serve again till exchanged; but Congress on account of its un~atisfactory relations with the Britis h authorities, refu'ied to rati fy the terms of the Convention, and the next year direc ted the prisoners to be removed to Charlottesville . Bei ng led by way of Laucaste r , Pennsylvania, and Frederi ck , ~lary13Ild, they reached their new quarters about the firs t of the year 177 9 , a nd remained until October 1780. The camp was stationed on the northern bank of Ivy Creek , all what is no w the farm of the late George Carr, and the place has ever siuc(' borne the name of The Barracks. There remain some inter-esting reminisce nces of this episode of the war, derived froUl contemporary documents.

The prisoners arrived in the winter, when a s pell of ex-tremely bitte r weather was prevailing . Such was the lack of preparation for their reception, and such thei r suffering..: , that numerous remonstrances were prEsented by tb(.'ir officers to the Governor of the State, as we ll as to Congress. D~mand s were made for their ilUmediate removal. In th is !'itate of affairs Mr. Jefferson wrote at much length to l>atrick Henry , the Governor at that time, stating the circ liUlstances. and urging tbat there was no necessi ty for a change Tbe letter, dated March 27th, 1779, is valuable for the interesting facts it preserves. I n the course of it be says,

" The re could not have been a more unlucky concurrence of circumstances than when these troops first came. The barracks were unfin ished for want of laborers, the spe ll of weather, the worst ever known within the memory of mall, no

32 HISTOR Y OF ALBEMARLE

s tores of bread laid in, the roads by the weather and t he number of \-..'agons soou rendered impassable; and not only the troops themselves were greatly disappointed, but t he people of the neighborhood were alarmed at the consequences which a total failure of provisions might produce.

" T he barracks occupy the top and orOIN of a very high bill; you have been uutruly told they we re in a bottom. They are free fro m fog. have fonT spr ings w h ich seem to be plentiful, one with in twenty yards of the picket, and anothe r w ithi n two lllludred and fifty; and they propose to sink wells within the picket. Of four thousand people it shou ld be expected according to the ordina ry calcu lations. that ODe should die every day. Yet in the space of more than three months there have been hut four deaths, two infants under three weeks old, and two others by apople x y. T he officers tell me the troops were never so hea lt h y since they were emhodied.

"The mills on James River abovp. t he fa ll s, open to canoe navigation , are very many . Some of t hese are of great value as manufacturers. T he barracks are sur rounded by mills. 'I'here are five or six round about Charlo ttesvi lle. Any two or three of the who le migh t in the course o f the winter manufacture flour suffi cient for the year.

"The officers after considerable hardship have p rocured quarters comfortable and satisfactory to them. I n order to do this. they were obliged in many insta nces to hi re ho uses for a year certa in, and at s ti ch e xorbita nt re nts as were suffi cient to tempt independent owners to go out of t bem , and shift as they could. These ho uses in mos t cases we re much out of repair. They have repaired the m at considerable expense. Qne of the general officers has taken a place for two years, advanced the reut for the w hole time, and been ohliged l1loreo\'er to erec t additiona l build ings for the accom -modation of part of his family, for which the re was not rooUl in tne houst: rented. Independen t of t he br ick work , for the carptlltry of thest! additiona l buildings I know he is to pay 6ftt:clI hundred dollars. The sa me gentleman to my k now l-edge has paid to Qne persall thirty-s ix hundred and seven ty

I

. !

IIISTORY OF ALBEMARLE 33

dollars, for different articles to fix himself commodiously. They have generally laid in toeir stocks of grain and other provIsions. They have purchased cows, sheep, &c. , set in to farming, prepared their gardens, and have a prospect of Quiet and comfort before them .

"To turn to the soldiers. The environs of the barracks are delightful, the ground cleared, laid off in hundreds of gardens, each enclosed in its separate paling; these are well prepared, and exhibiting a fine appearance. General Riede-sel alone laid out upwards of two hundred pounds in garden seeds for the German troops only . Judge what an extent of ground these seeds would cover. There is little doubt that their own gardens will furnish them a great abundance of vegetables through the year. Their poultry, pigeons and other preparations of that kind present to the mind the idea of a company of farmers, rather than a camp of soIciie rs. In addition to the barracks built for them by the public, and now very comfortable, they have built great numbers for them selves in such messes as fanc ied each other; and the whole corps, both officers and men, seem now happy and satisfied with their situation."

Besides thi~ narrative of :Mr. Jefferson , there is extant an account ot the Barracks , and of the condition of affairs in the surrounding country, in the publisbed letters of ;\lajor Thomas Anbury, a British officer, and one of the prisoners. These letters were despatched from time to time to his friends in England, and exhibit a detail of his experiences and ob-servations, from Burgoyne's march from Canada till near the close of the war. They were written in a free, dashing style, and while hi s descriptions are sprightly and entertaining, they present things j,n such aspects and colors as would natu-ra ll y be expected from, a British point of view. Most of those written from A [bemarle were dated at Jones 's Plantation, and the circumstances' to which he refers make it evident that the place was that of Orlando Jones, situated north of Glendower, 2nd now bearing the name of Refuge. Respect-ing matters concerning the prisoners, hI: writes,

"On our arrival at Charlottesville, no pen can describe the ,

-0

34 11 ISTOR Y O F ALBEM ARL E

scene of misery and conlusion that e nsued ; t he o ffi cers o f t be first and second hr igades we re in the law n , a nd o ur ar -r iva l added to thei r d ist ress. 'r his fa m o us place we had beard so m uch of, cousisted on ly o f a courthouse, oue tavern , and about a dozen houses. all of wh ich we re crowded wi th officers; those of our brigade \"\'ere therefo re ob l iged to ri de about the cou ntry, a nd e utrea t the inhabita nt s to ta ke us in . As to the Olen, t he ir si tuation was trul y horr ib le, afte r the hare shifts they had experi enced in thei r 111arch fro m the Potomac . T hey were, instead o f comfo rtable barracks. cou-d ucted in to a wood, w i1ere a few log huts were jus t beg u n to be built, the most pa rt not covered over , a nd all of them full of snow. These they were obl iged to clea r o u t and cove r over , to secure t he msel yes from t he incleme ncy ofthe weat he r as soon as they could, and in t he course of two or th ree days rendered a habitable , but by 11 0 means a comfortab le , retilellle nt. \ \,hat added greatl y to the di st ress o f the Ul en was the want of provisions, as no ne had as ye t arr ived fo r the troo ps , a nd for six days Ibeysubsisted on the mea l of I ndia n corn made into cakes. T he pe rson who had the ma nageme nt o f e ve ry-thing, info rmed us that we we re not e x pected t ill spring.

" Never was a cou nt ry so dest itu te of every com fo r t. P ro-visions were not to be purcbased. fo r t en days; the officer s subsiskd upo n fat pork a nd India n corn made iuto cakes , nol a drop of spirit o f ally kiud; w hat l ittle there had been , was already consumed by the fi rst a nd second b rigades. )lany officers to comfort t he mse lves put red pepper into watt!r to drink hy way of cord ial. U po n a represen tation o f our !oituatioll by Brigadier Gcneralll am iltoll to C olonel Bla nd , who commanded the American troops, hc p ro m ised to ma ke the situation of tbe men as com for ta b le as possib le . a nd wit h alll:xpeditiCJIl. T he officers upo n siguin g a pa ro le m ight go to Richmond and other adjacent to wns, to p rocure the msel ves quarters; accordingly a pa ro le was s igned , wh ich alloned a circuit of lI(:ar ~ hundred Ill iles. And a fte r they had draw n lots , as three were to remain in the barracks with the men, or at Charlottesvi lle, the pr inc ipal pa r t of them set off fo r Richmond, whlle many a re at plantations twen t y or th irty

\

HISTORY OF ALBEMARLE 35

miles from the barracks. On t he arrival of the troops at Charlottesville, the officers what with vexation and to keep out the cold, drank rather freely of an abominable liquor called peach brandy, which if drunk to excess, the fumes rai se an absolute delirium, and in their cups several were guilty of deeds that would admit of no apology. The inhab-itants must have thought us mad. for in the course of three or four days there were no less than six or seven duels fought.

"1 am quartered with )Objor Master and four other officers of our regiment at this planta tion, about twenty miles from the barracks. The owner has given up his house and gone to reside at his overseer's, and for the use of his house we pay him two guineas a week. It is situated upon an emi-nence' commanding a prospect of near thirty miles around it, and the face of the country appears an immense forest, interspersed with various plantations four or five miles dis -tant from each other . Informing the Commissary of pro-visions whr;re we were quartered, he gave us an order on a Colonel Coles, who resides about fou r miles distant, to supply us, he being appointed to co llect for the use of Congress in thi s district; who upon application sent us about a month's provision of flour amI salt pork for ourselves and servants. Cattle, horses, sheep and hogs followed the cart, to lick the barrels containing the salt meat.

"The house where General Phillips resides is ca lled Blel!-heim. It was erected shortly after that memorable battle by a Mr. Carter, Secretary of the Colony, and was his a\"or-ite seat of residence. It stands on a lofty eminence, com -manding a very extensive prospect. Colonel Carter, its pres-ent proprietor, possesses a most affluent fortune, and has a variety of seats surpassing Blenheim, which he suffers to go to ruin. \Vhen General Phillips took it, it was crowded witll negroes, sent to clear a spot of ground a few miles off. The extent of his land is immense, and he has fifteen hundred negroes on his different plantations.

"The Congress must be acquitted of the bad treatment of the prisoners; they were misguided and duped by a Colonel

36 B ISTOR\" O F ALIHi l'tlAR LE

H arvie. a memher from III is prov ince. " ' hen Vir~inia was fi xed o n as a de pot for the prisoners, Colonel Harvie pro-posed to Cong ress to re mo,'e t he Convent ion army to a tract of la nd belonging to him , abo u t six mi les froUl Charlottes-v ill e, aho ut four from t be Blue Mountai ns, and near two h u nd red from the sea coas t ; a nd if Congress approved , be wou ld e ngage to huild barracks a ud lay in prov is io ns by the c nStllll g spr ing. The re solution was passed the la tter e nd of Ju ne. Coionei ll a r\, ic immediate ly resorted to Virg iuia . and set all h is negroes , and a nu mber of t he inh ab itants, to build t he barrack s a nd co llect pro\' isious; and a fte r ha\' iug planned e\"( r}'t b ing. he left its c011lplet iou to t he management of his brother , a nd ret u rned to Congress . His brother not possess-i ng so much act i" ity , and not being perh a ps so much ill-lefl's led ill the h usi ness. did not pay proper attent ion to it; aucl t his was the cause why the ha rracks were not fin ished. and aff airs we re in such confu s ion au our arr ival. Colonel H a rvie sup posed a ll would be ready by C hris tma s .

"Colo nel Bland. w ho commands the American troops, was former ly a phys ician at a place call ed P etersburg on the J ames R i,-er . but at the commencement o f the war , as being in !'oto me way related to Bland, w ho wrote a military treati se, he (('It a lIIart ia l spirit arise with in h im , qu itted the E scu!apian a rt , and at his own expense rai sed a reg iment of lig ht horse. A ... to t hose troops o( hi s reg iment w ith \ Va sh ing ton 's army, 1 cannot sa y a ny t hing; hu t the two the Colonel has with him hue fo r the purposes of e xpress and a tte ndance , are t he lIlo ... t {'mious fi g ures yo u eve r sa w ; some like Prince Pretty-man with aile hoot , others witho u t a ny ; some baseless , with t l:tir fc.-tt peep ing o ut o f the ir shoes, others with breeches t hat Jlllt dt-cency to the blus h ; some in short jac kets . and omt" In 10llg ("oalS , h ut all have fine d ragoon caps, and long

. word ...... lulIK arou nd them ; some with hol s ters, sOlDe with ou t , Im l , KrallH' rcy, p is to ls , t hey have n ' t a brace and a half among thcm; hut they a re to lera bly well mounted, a nd thn t is t ht- on ly th ing yo u can advance in tbeir favor. Tbe Colonc.1 is so fond o f hi s dragoo ns . that he rev iews aod llIaneun: r. thcllI every morni ng, and when he rides out, has

(

HISTORY OF ALBE:UARLE 37

two witb drawn swords before, and two behind. It is really laugbabJe to see him thus attended by his ragged regiment, which looks , to borrow Shakespeare's idea, as if the gibbets had been robben to make it up; then .the Colonel himself. notwithstanding his martial spirit, has all the grave deport-ment as i{ he were going to a consultation. He grea tl y amused some of us calling to see him not long since. He had just mounted his horse to ride out. and seeing us ap-proach, and wishing to air his French. he ca lled out ve ry pompously to his orderly, 'Donna 1lloi-dolmez 1ltoi-cit-m on scabbardl' ')

In ,May 1779, he wrote, "A few dcl ys ago :i\1adame Riedesel, [who with her hus-

band. Baron Riedesel, was livi ng at Collt:=, near Simeon] with two of her children, had a narrow escape. As she was going to the barracks in her post chaise, when the carriage had passed a wooden bridge-which are of themselves very terrific, being only so many wugh logs laid ac ross beams. without any safeguard on either side-an old rotten pine fell directly between the horses and the chaise, but providentially did no other damage than cru~hing the two fore wheels to pieces, and laming one of the horses.

" I am filled with sorrow at being obliged to relate the death of \\1-, a relative of Si r Watkin \Villiams 'Vynne.

,

H e had been drink ing peach brandy till he became insane; and rid ing from Charlottesville to the barracks, he contrived to escape his companions. and next morning was found dead in a by place five miles off, being tracked uy the foot -prints of his horse in the snow."

From the Barracks, to which he had rem oved in the early part of 1780, he wrote later.

" T he log huts of the men are becoming dangerous from the ravages of insects, that bear the appellation of Sawyers. and are infested with rats of enormous size. The prisoners are desert ing in great numbers, especially the Germans, ann duels have become very frequ ent among the German officers."

On November 20th, 1780, he wrote from Winchester, "About six weeks ago we marched from Charlottesville

38 HISTORY OF ALBI-;MARLF.

barracks, Congress being apprehensive that Cornwallis in overrunning the Carolinas might by forced marches retake the prisoners. The officers murmured great ly at the step, having been given to understand that they were to remain till exchanged. io,[any had laid out considerable SUtllS to ren-der their huts comfortable, particularly by replacing the wood chimneys with s tone, and to promote association, they had erected a coffee house, a theatre, a cold bath, &c. My miserable log hut, not more than sixteen feet sq uare, cost between thirty and forty guineas in erecting. The woods had been cleared away for the space of six miles in circumference around the barracks. It had become a little town, and there being more society, most of the officers had resorted thither. After we quitted the barracks, the inhabitant!> were near a week in destroying the cats that were left behind; impelled by hunger, they had gone into the woods, and there was rea-son to suppose they would become extremely wild and fero-cious, and would be a greataunoya llce totheir poultry. \Ve crossed the Pignut Ridge, or more properly the Blue Moun-tains, at Woods's Gap, and though considerably loftie r than those we crossed iu Connecticut, we did not meet with so many difficulties; in short, you scarcely perceive till you are . ~ upon the summit that yOlt are gaining an eminence, much less one that is of such a prodigious height, owing to the judicious manner that the inhabitants have made the road, -. whic h by it s winding re nders the ascent extremely easy. After traveling near a mile through a thick wood before you gain the summit o f these mountains, when you reach the top, you are s uddenly surprised with au unbounded prospect that strikes you with amazement. At the foot of the mountain run s a beantiful river; beyond it is a very extensive plain, interspersed with a variety of objects to render the scene s till more delightfu l; and about 6fty miles distant are the lofty Alleghany Mountains, whose tops are buried in the clouds."

As Anbury's work is out of print, it will no doubt prove acceptable to give a few extracts, in which are presented till.: condition of the country , aud the state of society, as viewed by a st ranger occupyi ug hi s peculiar circumstances.

/

HISTORY OF ALBElIAR LE 39

" The plantations a re scattered here and there over the land , w hich is thickly covered with timber. On these there i5"a dwe ll ing house in the centre, with kitchen, smoke house. and other outhouses detached, and from the various build -ings each plantation has the appearance of a small village . At some li ttle distance frolll the houses are peach and apple orchards, and scattered over the plantations are the negroes' buts . and tobacco barns, which are large and built of wood for the cure of that article. The houses are most of them bu ilt of wood, the roof being covered with shingles, and not .always lathed and plastered within; only those of the bet -te r sort a re finished in that manner. and painted on the out-side; the chilllneys are often of brick, but the generality of them are wood, coated on the inside with clay; the windows of t he be tter sort are glazed, the rest have only wooden shut ters.

"All taverns and public houses in Virginia are called Ordinaries, and 'faith, not improperly in general. They consist of a little house placed in a solitary situation in the middle of the woods. and the usual method of describing the roads is, From such an ordinary to such a one, so many miles. T he en tertainment you meet with is very poor indeed; you a re ~eldom able to procure any other fa re than eggs and bacon with I ndian hoe cake, and at many of them not even tha t . T he only liquors are peach brandy and whiskey. T hey are not remiss however in making pretty exorbitant cha rges. Before th~ war, I was told. one might stop at any plantation, meet with the most courteous treatment, and be suppl ied with everything gratuitously. Gentlemen hearing of a stranger at an ordinary, would at once send a negro w ith an iuvitation to his house.

" Most of the planters consign the care of their plantations and negroes to an overse~r; even the man whose house we rent has his overseer, though he could with ease superintend it himself; but if they possess Ol few negroes. they think it benea th their dignity; added to which, they are so abomi-nab ly lazy. I' ll give you a sketch of this man's general way of li vi ng. H e r ises about eight oclock, drinks what he

40 HISTORY OF ALBrti\JARLE

calls a julep, which is a large glass of rum sweetened with sugar, then walks, or more generally rides, round hi s planta-tion, views his stock, inspects his crops, and returns about teu o'clock to breakfa~t o n cold meat or bam, fried hominy. toast and. cide r ; tea and coffee are se ldom tasted but by the women. H e then sauuters about the house, sometimes amusi ng him self with the little negroes who are playing round the door, or else scraping on a fiddle. Abou t twelve or one be d rinks a todd y to crea te him a n appetite for di nne r , whic h he sits down to at two o'clock. After he has dined he ge nerally lies down on the bed, ri ses about five. then perhaps sips some tea with hi s wife, bllt cO lUlUonly drinks toddy till bed time ; during all this time he is neither drnnk nor soher, but in a s tate of stupefaction. This is his us ual mode of liv ing which be seldom varies ; and he only quits hi s plan-tat ion to attend the Court HOllse on court davs, or sOlUe horse race or cock fight , at which times he gets so egregi-oU.:;:ly drunk, that his wife sends a can pie of negroes to con-duct him safe horne.

"Thus the whole management of the plantation is left to the overseer, who as an encouragement to make the mos t of the crops, gets a certain portion as hi s wages; but having no interest ill th