USA > Virginia > Augusta County > Augusta County > Annals of Augusta county, Virginia, from 1726 to 1871 > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57
UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
G 000 083 369 9
5
!
ER
U
S SEAL . OF . THE .L
.OF
F. CA
LIGHT
ALIFORNIA.
.1868.
THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
you africtional. 2 Harry Than
son Yeur?
december 2 och 1936 1
92° V1.
8,20
LakeErie
a
Map of Augusta Co., Virginia .. 1738-1710.
400
R ..
Chillicothe
OhioR
Ft.Cumberland
inchester40
Stauntony
usta
anaz
R
County 2.
R.
William
W.
Staunton, Ya.
By Jed. Hotchkiss
Riv
Rive
Big
Ohio
Mississip
8 7º lake Mich
MississippiR.
Illinois Riv.
FortDuquesne
Wabash
Whit
ANNALS
- OF -
Augusta County, Virginia,
From 1726 to 1871,
- BY -
JOS. A. WADDELL,
Member of the Virginia Historical Society.
Second Edition. Revised and Enlarged.
TRUM
E
C
1
REDE
AUGUSTA
PRISCUM
[COUNTY SEAL.]
STAUNTON, VA. : C. RUSSELL CALDWELL, PUBLISHER.
1902.
COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY C. RUSSELL CALDWELL.
iii
F 282 ASWI 1982.
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.
Since the publication of the first edition of these Annals, in 1886, I have obtained a large amount of additional and interesting informa- tion relating to the history of Angusta County. I may refer to the extracts from the records of Orange County Court, the journal of Thomas Lewis, and the records of baptisms by the Rev. John Craig, the last of which also contains other items of interest. The applica- tions for pensions by Revolutionary soldiers, in 1832, accidentally found, nnindexed and unlabeled, in the Clerk's office of the County Court, has afforded much additional information in regard to the history of the county during that war. Having learned that the His- torical Society of Wisconsin contained two ancient manuscripts relating to the county, part of the collections of Dr. Lyman Draper, I applied for and obtained copies. These were muster rolls of the officers and men comprising nine companies of militia in the fall of 1742, and a list of persons killed or captured by Indians, in the county, from October, 1754, to May, 1758. The latter was styled by Dr. Draper, "Thie Preston Register," under the impression, it is presumed, that Col. William Preston was the author ; but his name does not appear in con- nection with the paper. In the former edition it is stated that John Trimble was the last white man killed by Indians within the present county. Local tradition was silent in regard to details, and I could get no other information, till afterwards a full narrative of the occur- rence, together with an account of the capture and rescue of Mrs. Estill and others, was sent me by Mr. Trimble's descendants who live in Ohio.
It is unaccountable to me that no resident of the county, contempo- rary with the events, wrote a line about the thrilling events of the Indi- an wars. Readers of Parkman's historical works must have observed the fulness and accuracy of the narratives of events in New England dur- ing the same period. Various actors in the scenes described, left writ- ten accounts of the raids by French and Indians, giving dates and many other particulars. But as far as I have discovered, no resident
1447987
iv
of Augusta County thought it worth while to do anything of the kind. Col. William Preston is said to have accompanied his uncle, Col. Pat- ton, to Draper's Meadow, where the latter was killed, and although not present at the tragedy, must have known all the circumstances ; but if he ever wrote a letter in reference to the occurrence, it has not come down to us. The Rev. John Brown lived within a few miles of Kerr's Creek at the times of the massacres there, and the victims were his parishioners, but he put on record no account of these fearful oc- currences. Col. John Stuart, of Greenbrier, wrote a narrative of events in his section of country, and, as far as known to me, was the only contemporary who put pen to paper in regard to the events referred to. A paper purporting to be the diary of Mrs. Margaret Lewis, wife of Col. Jolin Lewis, has been printed and much read ; but it is a sheer fiction. The incidents related are wholly inconsistent with the authen- tic history of the times in which Mrs. Lewis lived. She is described as teaching her daughters to play on the spinet ; but the only instru- mental music she ever heard after coming into the wilderness, was the hum of the spinning wheel.
In the absence of contemporary documents we have no informa- tion touching the matters alluded to, except what is afforded by oral tradition, which is generally vague and uncertain and often contradic- tory. Alexander Withers, an intelligent writer, collected and pub- lished in his book called Chronicles of Border Warfare, many traditions, but appears to have taken no pains to verify the statements, many of which are erroneous in various particulars. As a specimen of his inac- euracies, he says in one sentence that the name of Col. Patton was John, that he lived on James River, that his wife was a daughter of Benjamin Borden, and that William Preston was his son-in-law ; whereas his name was James, he lived on South River, Augusta County, his wife was a Miss Osborne, and William Preston was his nephew and not otherwise related to him. He says also that Col. John Stuart was the son of a John Stuart who came to Virginia with Gover- nor Dinwiddie ; but he was the son of David Stuart, who resided in Angusta before Dinwiddie came to the colony, and was no favorite of that irate Governor.
It is remarkable that no one now living can tell the date of one of the two massacres by Indians on Kerr's Creek. One of them is known, from the record in an old Family Bible, to have occurred on the 17th of July, 1763 ; but whether the other occurred before or after is quite un- certain. Alexander Crawford and wife and John Trimble were killed by Indians within a few miles of Staunton, probably on the same day, but the date can only be approximated.
I have been somewhat criticised on the score that I have devoted more space to persons comparatively obscure than to prominent men. I have done this purposely, my object being to give an account of the people. Distinguished or prominent men have other historians or biographers.
A host of errors in the first edition are corrected in this volume.
For much of the new matter herein, I am indebted to my friend, Mr. Howe P. Cochran, now deceased, who was an enthusiastic anti- quarian and most thorough in his researches.
J. A. W.
Staunton, July 1, 1901.
vi
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.
The basis of these Annals was prepared as a contribution to the "Historical and Geographical Atlas of Augusta County," issued by Messrs. Waterman, Watkins & Co., of Chicago. That sketch was executed very hurriedly, and the space allotted to it in the Atlas was limited. Therefore some errors appear in the work, and much matter then on hand was necessarily omitted. Moreover, the work was hard- ly in press before I found new matter, not known or not accessible to me previously. My interest in the subject having been quickened, in- formation in regard to the history of the county came to me almost un- sought, and often from unexpected sources. This augmented result is intended as well to correct former errors, as to relate the history more fully from the first settlement of the county, in 1732, to the year 1871.
The county of Augusta originally extended from the Blue Ridge to the Mississippi river, east and west, and from the great lakes on the north to the northern boundary of the present State of Tennessee on the south. The history of this vast region properly belongs to our Annals until the year 1769, when Botetourt county was formed. As the limits of Angusta were reduced by the formation of other counties out of her territory, from time to time, the scope of the history is sim- ultaneously and correspondingly contracted.
I have taken the utmost pains to secure perfect accuracy. The errors in details of most writers who have alluded to our county affairs and people, are remarkable. The writers referred to have not only copied from one another without investigation, and thereby repeated erroneous statements, but some of them have contradicted themselves in the same volume. Even the statements of the public records, es- pecially in respect to dates, often require to be verified.
But while I have aspired to perfect accuracy, I do not flatter my- self that the following pages are entirely free from error. I have stated nothing as a fact, of the truth of which I am doubtful. Many state- ments which I do not regard as certainly correct, are given on the att-
vii
thority of other writers, prefaced by the words, "It is said," or "It is related."
It has been my intention to give full credit to every writer whom I have quoted, and I think this has been done in the body of the work. I am indebted to the files of the Staunton Spectator, edited by Richard Manzy, Esq., for most of the facts embraced in the last chapter, on "Reconstruction." To forestall any charge of plagiarism, I state that having at different times published in the columns of Staunton news- papers communications relating to the history of the county, I have copied from these without credit whenever it suited my purpose to do so. Through the kindness of Judge William McLaughlin I have had the opportunity of making extracts from the "History of Washington College," by the Rev. Dr. Ruffner ; and "Sketches of the Early Trus- tees of Washington College," by Hugh Blair Grigsby, Esq. Both these interesting works are still in manuscript, and neither was com- pleted by its author. To the following gentlemen I am indebted for assistance : Wm. A. Anderson, Esq., of Lexington ; R. A. Brock, Esq., of Richmond ; G. F. Compton, Esq., of Harrisonburg ; Dr. Cary B. Gamble, of Baltimore ; Armistead C. Gordon, Esq., of Staunton ; Dr. Andrew Simonds, of Charleston, S. C., and John W. Stephenson, Esq., of the Warm Springs. I am also under obligations to Mrs. S. C. P. Miller, of Princeton, N. J.
I have not attempted to write a stately history, but merely to re- late all interesting facts concerning the county, in a lucid style and in chronological order. Hence the title "Annals," has been adopted de- liberately. Many trivial incidents have been mentioned, because they seem to illustrate the history of the times and the manners and cus- toms of the people.
The present work was undertaken with no expectation of pecuni- ary reward. It has been to me a labor of love. From my early child- hood I have cherished a warm affection for my native county-her peo- ple, and her very soil. I have sought to rescue from oblivion and hand down to posterity, at least the names of many citizens, who, althoughi not great in the ordinary sense, lived well in their day and are worthy of commemoration.
A representation of the seal of the County Court of Augusta, com- monly called the County Seal, is given on the title page. When and by whom the seal was designed is not known. Possibly it was by a member of the faculty of William and Mary College, at the request of one of our colonial governors, who were required by law to provide seals for courts.
viii
The motto is an accommodation of a passage in Horace, Book IV, Ode 2. This Ode expresses delight in the peace and prosperity which came after the long civil wars of Rome. Referring to Augustus, the poet says the heavenly powers ne'er gave the earth a nobler son-
"Nor e'er will give, though backward time should run To its first golden hours."
The Latin words are : Nec debunt quamvis redeant in aurum Tempora priscum.
The motto may be translated thus : "Let the ages return to the first golden period." The allusion is, of course, to the fabulous "Golden Age" of primal simplicity and enjoyment ; and the Roman poets held out the hope that this happy state of things would one day return.
It would seem that the seal was devised during the fearful Indian wars, when every one was longing for the safety and rest of former times. Full of such aspirations, the designer, in addition to the mot- to, delineated in the centre of the seal a tranquil pastoral scene, as em- blematic of the wished-for times. Such a scene would not ordinarily have been depicted in a time of peace, but during, or immediately after, the havoc of war. In peace, the minds of men gloat over the achieve- inents of war, and in war they dwell upon "the piping times of peace."
The name of the county, however, was suggestive of the motto and emblem, as the poet Virgil celebrated the Emperor Augustus as
"Restorer of the age of gold."
Staunton, November 1, 1886.
J. A. W.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION.
The Scotch-Irish -
CHAPTER I.
From the first Settlement to ti. Foundation of the County . . I7
CHAPTER II.
From 1738 to the first County Court 36
CHAPTER III.
From the first Court to the first Indian War
52
CHAPTER IV.
Indian Wars, etc., from 1753 to 1756 93
CHAPTER V.
Indian Wars, etc., from 1756 to 1758 .
126
CHAPTER VI.
Indian Wars, etc., from 1758 to 1764 159
CHAPTER VII.
Indian Wars in 1764
183
CHAPTER VIII.
Ten years of Peace 213
CHAPTER IX.
War of the Revolution, etc., from 1775 to 1779 235
CHAPTER X.
War of the Revolution, etc., from 1779 to 178I 266
CHAPTER XI. The Revolution, etc., from 1781 to end of the war 293
x
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XII.
Emigration from Augusta and some of the emigrants 315
CHAPTER XIII.
From the close of the Revolution to the year 1800 334
CHAPTER XIV.
Made up of Sundries
357
CHAPTER XV.
From 18oo to 1812
373
CHAPTER XVI.
From 1812 to 1825 389
CHAPTER XVII.
From 1825 to 1833
407
CHAPTER XVIII.
From 1833 to 1844
CHAPTER XIX.
From 1844 to 1860
441
CHAPTER XX.
Augusta County and the War of Secession, 1860-2 454
CHAPTER XXI.
Second year of the War, 1862-3 469
CHAPTER XXII.
Third year of the War, 1863-4 . 480
CHAPTER XXIII.
Fourth year of the War, 1864-5
488
CHAPTER XXIV.
After the War, 1865 507
CHAPTER XXV.
Reconstruction, 1865-'71 515
Appendix 530
421
ANNALS - OF - Augusta County, Virginia.
INTRODUCTION.
-
THE SCOTCH-IRISH.
The early settlers of Augusta County were people of the Scotcli- Irislı race ; and, up to the time of the Revolutionary war, very few per- sons of any other race came to live in the county. Their descendants must wish to know who the Scotch-Irish were, and what induced then to leave their native land and come to America. Therefore a sketchi of the origin and history of the people so-called, is not out of place here.
Our chief anthorities are a work styled "Plantation Papers," being an account of the settlements in Ulster in 1610, by the Rev. George Hill ; and Reid's History of the "Presbyterian Church in Ireland."
The history of the Scotch-Irish is necessarily a history of the troubles they suffered on account of their religion. It must be borne in mind, however, in this connection, that the great principle of relig- ious liberty was not recognized in the 17th and the early part of the 18th centuries. The opinion prevailed that it was the duty of the civil government to maintain the church; and, the church being divided into various sects, nearly every sect was striving to obtain government recognition and support, to the exclusion of every other. In nearly all European countries some one church was established by law, and nonconformity to it was regarded as disloyal and punishable; and no doubt some good men believed they were doing God service by trying to crush out all those who followed not with them. And it was too often the case that the persecuted became persecutors when they obtained the power. Of course, no church of the present day is responsible for the errors and wrongs of a former age.
2
ANNALS OF AUGUSTA COUNTY,
Ulster, the most northern province of Ireland, is composed of the following nine counties : Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Donigal, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, Monaghan, and Tyrone.
In consequence of rebellions in Ireland during the latter years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, large portions of the land held by the titled proprietors were confiscated, and many new settlers were intro- duced from England. At the time James came to the throne, the country enjoyed peace, which was due to the desolations the land had suffered. The province of Ulster was almost depopulated. The rem - nant of its inhabitants suffered the combined horrors of pestilence and famine. With the exception of a few fortified cities, the towns and villages were destroyed ; and scarcely any buildings remained except the castles of the English conquerors, or the wretched cabins of the natives. There was scarcely any cultivation, and many of the people betook themselves to woods where they lived almost in a state of nature. The state of civilization among the natives may be inferred from the fact that they attached horses to the plows by their tails .*
Early in the reign of James I, several of the leading landed pro- prietors in Ulster engaged in a conspiracy to dethrone the King. The plot was discovered, and Lords Tyrone, Tyrconnell and others, flying from the country, their lands were confiscated and taken possession of by the crown. Thus about 500,000 acres were at the disposal of the King. The lands were parceled out to favorites of the King, English and Scotch, as rewards for services rendered or expected. The natives of the soil were treated with little consideration, being relegated to the more rugged and barren parts of the country. A few natives received small allotments here and there. Only forty of them in the large county of Donigal obtained small grants in a dreary region, and forty- five in Fermanagh.
In the Autumn of 1609, Commissioners started from Dublin, ac- companied by a military force, to survey the confiscated lands, and as- sign the allotments to the new owners. They went from county to county. Previous to this, however, there had been a rush of people from the highlands of Scotland. An old chronicler, the Rev. Andrew Stewart, tells of the multitudes that came across the Irish Sea and the North Channel. He described them as a wild and lawless set, "who for debt, and breaking and fleeing from justice, or seeking shelter from charges of manslaughter in their clan fights, came hither, hoping to be without fear of man's justice, in a land where there was nothing, or but little as yet, of the fear of God." Some years afterwards came another flight of wild Highlanders. The Rev. Mr. Blair, a Scottish minister, of Irvine in Ayreshire, relates "that above ten thousand per-
* Plantation Papers.
3
ANNALS OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
sons have, within two years last past, left their country wherein they lived, which was betwixt Aberdeen and Inverness, and are gone for Ireland ; they have come by one hundred in a company through this town, and three hundred have gone hence together, shipping for Ire- land at one tide."
This volunteer immigration became annoying to the authorities of Ireland, and a warrant was issued "to stay the landing of these Scotch that came without a certification." It is not likely that all of the "Highland host" took root and remained in Ulster ; there was much coming and going for many years ; but the Highlanders who came in and remained, account for the many Macs who constituted so large a part of the Scotch-Irish race.
From 1609 and on, however, a poor but more staid class of people were introduced from the lowlands of Scotland by the new proprietors. The lands of Ulster soon yielded the new-comers abundant harvests, and others of their countryinen sold out in Scotland and crossed over to Ireland. Many houses were built, and farms stocked with cattle ; but they were for some time not allowed to live in peace and safety, the woods and fastnesses being frequented by bands of natives, who plundered on every opportunity.
Some of the Scotch proprietors were rather slow in settling and improving their estates, and were rated angrily by the King. There were plenty of English anxious to go and "plenish the whole land," he said, but out of his tender love for his ancient subjects, he had been pleased to make choice of them. Thus stimulated, and encouraged by the reports of fine crops in Ulster, the Scotch awoke to a fervid loyalty to the King and desire to civilize the Irish, "or such of them as had escaped the wrath of God, or rather the raiding of cruel and licentions Englishmen." *
King James interested the Corporation of London in the planta- tion of Ulster, the object being to reduce "the savage and rebellious people to civility, peace, religion and obedience." Accordingly the whole county of Coleraine was assigned to the Londoners, who changed the name to Londonderry, and founded the town of Derry.
The names of many of the Scotch settlers, incidentally mentioned in the book we have quoted, are identical with those of the people of the Valley of Virginia.
Froude, speaking of the Scotch settlers in Ulster, says : "They went over to earn a living by labor, in a land which had produced hitherto little but banditti. They built towns and villages ; they es- tablished trades and manufactures ; they enclosed fields, raised farm houses and homesteads where till then there had been but robbers,
* Plantation Papers.
4
ANNALS OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
castles, wattled huts, or holes in the earth like rabbit burrows. While, without artificial distinctions, they were saved from degenerating into the native type by their religion, then growing in its first enthusiasm into a living power, which pervaded their entire being."
The Scotch did not degenerate in Ulster, nor did they mingle by intermarriage with the natives ; but, while their intelligence, industry and thrift soon transformed the face of the country, most of them were at first far from being a religious people. We have seen what charac- ter the Rev. Mr. Stewart attributed to most of them. Elsewhere we learn that a great many of them were openly profane and immoral, caring for no church. In their native land, "going to Ireland" was regarded as a token of a disreputable person. But, in the course of time, a number of pious and zealous ministers came over from Scot- land, and several from England, of like spirit ; and, through the efforts of these good men, a great religious reformation occurred. Among the Scotch ministers were Josialı Welsh, a grand-son of John Knox, and the celebrated John Livingston, who was famous as a preacher and scholar. This reformation occurred about the year 1625, and from that time the religious character of the people dates. Mr. Welsh says : "God had taken by the heart hundreds that never knew him before." Mr. Stewart wrote that God followed the people when they fled from him. This religious revival attracted attention both in Scot- land and England, and has often been referred to as one of the most remarkable events of the kind since the days of the Apostles. Reid, the historian, referring to the marked change in the character of the people, says : "The gospel shot forth its branches in Ulster with wonderful rapidity, till, like the grain of mustard, it became a great and noble tree, which, after the lapse of two centuries and the beating of many bitter storms, stands at the present day, more firm and vigor- ous than ever."
Ireland, being a dependency of England, the church of the latter country was extended over the former ; but, during the reign of James I, the distinction between Conformists and Nonconformists was un- known in the former. The rulers of the church received all the min- isters who offered themselves, and were sound in the faith, and of suf- ficient learning ; but though included in the pale of the established Episcopal Church, the Scottish ministers in Ulster maintained the peculiarities which distinguished the Presbyterian Church.
Charles I, came to the throne in 1625, and for some years Ireland enjoyed peace. Archbishop Laud, however, became the dominant power in England, and in 1632 issued orders for the trial by the Bishop of Down and Connor of certain alleged "fanatical disturbers of the
5
ANNALS OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
peace of his diocese." The bishop chose rather to cite four Scotch ministers, including John Livingston, and on their refusal to conform to the church of England, (" there being no law or canon of that kingdom requiring it,") all four were deposed from the ministry and prohibited from preaching. The aggrieved parties appealed to Arch- bishop Usher, the Primate of Ireland, a liberal and benevolent prelate, but he disclaimed having authority to interfere.
Despairing of relief for themselves, and discovering the storm which was gathering around others, the deposed ministers began to look out for some place of refuge where religious liberty might be en- joyed. They resolved to send a minister and layman to New England to report as to the advisability of removal to that country, and the commissioners proceeded to London in 1634, 011 their way, but were prevented from going further.
The constitution of the Irish Episcopal Church was settled in 1634, and pursuant thereto it was ordered that every minister sub- scribe the canons and read them publicly in his church once a year. Wentworth, afterwards Earl of Strafford, was now at the head of affairs in Ireland, and ready to make all recusants feel the weight of his power.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.