The Early People of Madison County

Andi Cumbo-Floyd for CVHRJanuary 8, 2015

Many Thanks.

For more information, contact Andi Cumbo-Floyd at http://www.andilit.com.

Where IS Madison?

Hotchkiss’s Map of Madison

Famous Madison Stories

Gov. Spotswood and the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe – 1716

James Madison’s ancestors settled on the banks of the Rapidan River

Herbert Hoover’s Rapidan Camp near Syria – 1929

Home of Andi Cumbo-Floyd and Philip Floyd.

The German Settlers

First German settlers arrive from Germanna in 1725

Built Hebron Lutheran Church as log structure in 1727

Current building finished in 1740

Quaker and English Settlers

Quaker William Rush patented 400 acres near Criglersville

English colonists Joshua Fry patented 1000 acres in Locust Dale (on contemporary Route 15). His son Henry built Meander Plantation (nee Elim)

Slavery in Madison

In 1860, ~4700 people were enslaved.

Total population in 1860 – 8, 854

Percent of population enslaved in 1860 – 53%

Some names of large slave-holding families Fry Davis Reid Shepherd

Madison Today

Population in 2010, ~13,200

African American Population in 2010 - ~1,250 (9.5%)

Many roadways are still intact.

Much of the land is still rural with many farmsteads similar to their early 19th century surveys

A great deal more research on early settlers and enslaved individuals is warranted

My House

Built around 1800 by the Berry Family

One of the Berry daughters married Waller Yowell.

William Berry and Waller Yowell enslaved 13 people on the 100 acres that was this farm.

We have the foundation, supposedly, of the slave quarter, but no other remnant of slave dwellings as far as I know.

Your Madison Knowledge

What do you know about early Madison history?

What do you know about enslavement in Madison?

What family history do you know from that area?

What else should I know as I center my research there?