USA > Virginia > Albemarle County > Albemarle County > Albemarle County in Virginia; giving some account of what it was by nature, of what it was made by man, and of some of the men who made it > Part 15
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Peter began to purchase land in 1770, buying two hundred and fifty acres from John Senter, not far from the present Rio Station, which he and his wife Ann sold soon after to Thomas Carr. Possessing apparently a large amount of money just after the Revolution, he purchased during the decade of 1780 nearly three thousand acres, lying on Spring Creek near Whitehall, south of Ivy Depot, and in the neighborhood of the Burnt Mills. On this last tract he made his home until his death in 1814. His children were Elizabeth, William, Julius, Mary, the wife of Richard Harrison, David, and Ann, the wife of Mann Townley. William and Julius were merchants in Milton, but the former removed to Bourbon County, Ken- tucky. Julius married Mary, daughter of Jesse Lewis, and died in 1812. His widow afterwards became the wife of John H. Craven, and his only child, Elizabeth, the wife of Thomas W. Maury. David received a part of his father's place at the mouth of Priddy's Creek, where he died early. He and his wife Lucy, daughter of Joseph Morton, had four children, Joseph Morton, who emigrated to Alabama, Elizabeth, the wife of Richard D. Simms, Mary, the wife of James Collins, of Madison, and Nancy, the wife of Francis Catterton. Ann, the venerable widow of Peter, died in 1822, in the eighty- eighth year of her age.
John and William settled beside each other, west of the road between Hydraulic Mills and the Bowcock place. John bought upwards of five hundred acres from Major John Wood, and William upwards of four hundred from David Wood. A place of business existed somewhere on their land, known as Clarkson's Store, in all likelihood conducted by both, as both were alike overtaken by business disaster. In 1807 they con- veyed their farms to the same trustees to secure debts due William Brown & Co. of Richmond, and within nine years both farms were sold by the trustees, that of William to George Crank, and that of John to Nelson Barksdale. In 1820 John and his wife Nancy made another conveyance to Barksdale, perhaps to dispose of the dower, in consideration of a life estate in fifty-nine acres. It is not known whether either of the brothers had children, but it is thought that
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James Clarkson, who married Maria, daughter of David Wood, was the son of John and Nancy.
James Clarkson made his home in the forks of Hardware, his place embracing the mouth of Eppes Creek, and being the same afterwards owned by the young patriot, Roberts Coles, and now in the possession of Tucker Coles. He bought it from William Champe Carter in 1799. He suffered from the burden of debt, and to secure it placed his property under a deed of trust; but he must have arranged his affairs successfully, as in 1828 he and his wife Elizabeth sold his farm to Thomas Maupin, son of William. He died in 1829 at the advanced age of ninety-five. A son Reuben removed to Meade County, Kentucky, and another, Julius, married Margaret M., daughter of John Thomas. Julius died about 1835, and in 1838 his widow was married to Robert Cash- mere.
Manoah Clarkson advanced in the course of life more slowly, but more surely. In 1777 he bought nearly three hundred acres on Ivy Creek near the Barracks, which he sold two years later to John Harvie. He then rented from Garland Carr in the forks of the Rivanna. At length he purchased from David Anderson six hundred acres three or four miles south of Charlottesville, a part of the old Carter tract, where he lived until his death in 1829 in his eighty- eighth year. He was twice married, and had twelve children, Mary, the wife of Jeremiah A. Goodman, Nancy, the wife of Jesse Lewis, Jane, the wife of Thomas Ammonett, Mildred, the wife of Nathan Goodman, who went to Kentucky, James, Anselm, who moved to Kentucky, Frances, the wife of M. C. Darnell, Dorothy, Malinda, the wife of John H. Carr, Elizabeth, the wife of William Watkins, Charlotte, the wife of Edmund Hamner, and Martha, the wife of Dudley Jones.
COCHRAN.
John Cochran came to Charlottesville from Augusta County about 1825. For years he was one of the leading merchants of the town, occupying the store on the southwest corner of Jefferson and Fifth Streets, and residing in the building im -
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mediately to the west. He was a man of energy and sound judgment, and achieved great success. In 1829, at the sale of lots in Anderson's Addition, he purchased a parcel of ground on Park Street, where he erected the large brick man- sion, in which he lived until his death in 1883, at the age of eighty-six. He was appointed a magistrate of the county in 1843. His wife was Margaret Lynn, daughter of Major John Lewis, of Sweet Springs, and his children were Judge John L., Margaret, the wife of John M. Preston, Howe P., Henry K., William Lynn, and George M. Mr. Cochran owned the mill on Meadow Creek that had formerly belonged to John H. Craven, and has left his name associated with it, and the ad- joining pond; which however in the ever-changing move- ments of time has already become a thing of the past.
COCKE.
James Powell Cocke, of Henrico, went to Augusta County in 1783, and bought from Rev. James Waddell, the blind preacher, Spring Hill, the old Patton place, that lay at the west foot of the Blue Ridge. In 1787 he came over to Albe - marle, and purchased from Robert Nelson, son of President William Nelson, sixteen hundred acres, situated where the south fork of Hardware breaks through the mountain, one of the tracts patented in the name of Mildred Meriwether. He fixed his residence on the east side of Fan's Mountain, and the west edge of the Eppes Creek valley, on the place recently owned by J. Henry Yates. He first built the mill which has ever since continued in that vicinity, and which for many years went by his name. His death occurred in 1829. He was twice married, first to Elizabeth Archer, and secondly to Lucy Smith, and his children were James Powell, who mar- ried Martha Ann Lewis, but died without children in 1811, Smith, who died unmarried in 1835, Chastain, who also died unmarried in 1838, Mary, the wife of Dr. Charles Carter, and Martha, the second wife of V. W. Southall.
Charles Cocke, a nephew of the elder James P., came from Southampton County in 1815, and bought from Rezin Porter the farm about two miles west of Porter's Precinct, on which
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he lived during his life, and which is now in the possession of the Lane brothers. He was a physician, though it is be - lieved he never practised in this county. He was an active politician, and from 1822 to 1843 was at times a member of the House of Delegates, and afterwards of the State Senate. He was appointed a magistrate in 1819, and was serving as Sheriff at the time the Constitution of 1850 became operative, and the office of Justice of the Peace was made elective. It is said he sued the county for the salary which would have accrued, had his term reached its usual end ; but it is hardly supposable the sovereign power of a popular convention could not cut short any office. After some change in his politics, he was defeated as a candidate, and at a Fourth of July din- ner occurring shortly after, the circumstance gave rise to the following toast : "Dr. Charles Cocke, of Albemarle, a dead cock in the pit, killed in wheeling." His wife was Sarah Taylor, and he had one daughter, Charlotte, who became the wife of William Gordon, of Nelson.
The distinguished and eccentric General John H. Cocke, of Fluvanna, though never a citizen of this county, was yet much interested in its affairs through his connection with the University. He was prominent among those who labored for its establishment, and was one of its first Board of Visit - ors. He was an earnest promoter of the cause of Temper- ance, and in his efforts to this end, especially to guard the students from temptations to inebriety, he purchased nearly fifty acres of land on the south side of the University Street, extending from the corner near the Dry Bridge to the Junction Depot, and built a large hotel in which no liquor was to be allowed, and which he named the Delavan, from his eminent friend and coadjutor in the cause, of Albany, N. Y. The hotel had a wall in front, flanked with heavy pillars, and covered with stucco stained with the tawny hue of the Albe- marle clay ; and from this peculiarity it acquired the popular soubriquet of Mudwall. The hotel has long since gone, but its site is occupied by the Delavan Colored Church; and to this day there is a struggle for the pre-eminency between the names of Delavan and Mudwall. The public-spirited scheme
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of the good General was premature; like many other well - laid plans of mice and men, it went agley.
Another person of the same name, prominent in the Green- wood neighborhood, was John S. Cocke. He was settled in that section as early as 1824. In 1827 he bought from Elijah May the tavern which had been well known from the begin - ning of the century under the conduct of Colonel Charles Yancey and May, but which under Cocke's management became still more widely celebrated for its admirable fare among the throngs journeying to the Virginia Springs. As in the case of many noted hostelries in the county, the advent of the railroads destroyed his business. He was a magis- trate under the old system, and was active in public affairs. Pecuniary troubles overtook him in his old age, and his last days were spent in Charlottesville, where he died in 1879.
COLE.
In 1778 William Cole, a citizen of Charles City County, purchased from John Jones upwards of a thousand acres in North Garden, just north of Tom's Mountain. His wife » was Susanna Watson, a sister it is believed of William Watson, who settled in North Garden in 1762. His children were William, John, Mary, the wife of Thomas Woolfolk, Nancy, the wife of Edmund Anderson, Sarah, Susan, the wife of Jasper Anderson, Richard, Joseph and Elizabeth, the wife of Joseph H. Irvin. The most of the sons never lived in the county, their father leaving them portions of his large estate below Richmond. He devised to Joseph his Albemarle land, on which he, his mother and sisters appear to have had their dwelling. The father died in 1802, Joseph in 1812, and his mother in 1814. In 1815 the land was sold, part to Norborne K. Thomas & Co., of Richmond, and part to Stephen Moore; a considerable portion of it subse - quently came into the possession of Atwell and Philip Edge. For many years after the estate had passed into the hands of strangers, Miss Sarah Cole, whose residence was in Rich- mond, was accustomed to pay annual visits to the old home, where the remains of many of her kindred lay buried.
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COLES.
The main body of the land on which the Coles family re- sided, was granted to Francis Eppes in 1730, who received a patent for six thousand, five hundred acres. He devised it to his sons Richard and William. They sold three thou - sand acres to John Coles, but their deed was never admitted to record, because proved by only two witnesses. In 1777 Francis Eppes, son of Richard, with his wife Elizabeth, made a conveyance of the tract to Mr. Coles, and acknowledged it before Thomas Jefferson and George Gilmer as magistrates.
John Coles' father, John, came to this country from Ennis- corthy, Ireland, and established himself in Hanover County, Virginia, where he married Mary Winston. His children were Walter, Sarah, Mary, the wife of John Payne, and mother of Dorothy, President Madison's wife, John, and Isaac, who lived in Halifax County, and was a member of Congress from that district. John settled in Albemarle on the land above mentioned. He married Rebecca E. Tucker, who first drew the breath of life in the historic city of Jamestown. His children were Walter, John, Isaac, Tucker, Edward, Rebecca, the wife of Richard Singleton, of South Carolina, Mary Eliza, the wife of Robert Carter, Sarah, the wife of Andrew Stevenson, Elizabeth, and Emily, the wife of John Rutherford, of Richmond. John Coles died in 1808, and his wife in 1826.
Walter was a magistrate of the county, but soon resigned. His home was at Woodville, the present residence of Charles Shaw, where he died in 1854, at the age of eighty-two. He married first Eliza, daughter of Bowler Cocke, of Turkey Island, and secondly Sarah, daughter of John Swann, of Powhatan. His children were Walter, who succeeded his father at Woodville, who married Ann E. Carter, and who was the father of Dr. Walter, of St. Louis, and of Sarah and Elizabeth, still residing near the old home, and Edward, who was given a farm about five miles south of Charlottes - ville, which his father bought from William T. Henderson in 1806, who married Letitia, daughter of Rezin Wheat, and who died in 1883.
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John married Selina Skipwith, of Mecklenburg. His home was Estouteville, where he died in 1848. He left three sons, John, who lived near Warren, Peyton, who married his cousin Isaetta, and succeeded his father at Estouteville, where he died in 1887, and Tucker, whose present residence is Viewmont.
Isaac A. was a member of the Albemarle bar, for a time President Jefferson's private secretary, and a member of the House of Delegates. He lived at Enniscorthy, married Mrs. Julia Stricker Rankin, widow of Hon. Christopher Rankin, of Louisiana, and had two children, Isaetta and Stricker. He died in 1841, and his wife in 1876. Tucker also represented the county in the House of Delegates. He mar - ried Helen Skipwith, of Mecklenburg, and died without children at Tallwood in 1861.
Edward, the youngest son of John Coles, was the private secretary of President Madison, sold the plantation on Rock- fish River left him by his father, and in 1818 removed to Illi- nois, carrying with him all his slaves, giving them their freedom, and settling them by families on farms near Edwards- ville. He was appointed by Mr. Monroe first Governor of the Territory of Illinois, was elected its second Governor when it became a State, and having made an earnest and success - ful struggle against a party seeking to make it a slave State, he removed to Philadelphia in 1832. He there married Sarah L. Roberts, and died in 1868. He had three children, one of whom, Roberts, came to Virginia, lived on the old Clarkson farm on the south fork of Hardware, was a Captain in the Confederate army, and fell on Roanoke Island in 1862. His remains were brought for interment to the Coles cemetery at Enniscorthy.
CRAVEN.
The parents of John H. Craven belonged to Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He himself came to Albemarle from Loudoun County in 1800; in that year he became a renter from Mr. Jefferson of the land that now comprises the farm of Tufton. The lease was evidently drawn by Mr. Jeffer - son in the clear and exact language with which he
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usually wrote, mentioning the fields each by its own name, and the order of their crops, and providing for the pay- ment of the rent in gold and silver, and the continuance of the ratio between them at that time existing, even though it might be changed by law during the term of the lease. Before its expiration-it was to run for five years-Cra - ven began to purchase land from Isaac Miller, and from Tucker and Samuel H. Woodson, till he was the owner of more than six hundred acres lying north and northwest of Charlottes - ville. In 1819 he bought from Richard Sampson, Pen Park, then containing four hundred acres, and two years later from the same person nearly five hundred acres on the east side of the Rivanna; so that his possessions extended from the top of Rich Mountain to Meadow Creek, opposite the present res- idence of H. C. Michie. He owned the mill now known as Cochran's, but then called the Park Mills. He was consid - ered one of the best farmers of the county. After the death of his first wife Elizabeth, he married Mary, widow of Julius Clarkson, and daughter of Jesse Lewis. His children were John D., who married Jane Wills, George W., who married Susan, daughter of Alexander St. C. Heiskell, William, who married Ellen Craven, his cousin, removed to Illinois, and died in Jacksonville in that State in 1868, Elizabeth, the wife of Stapleton C. Sneed, Amanda, the wife of Malcolm F. Crawford, and Sarah, the wife of Robert W. Lewis. All these were the parents of large families, and their descend - ants have for the most part emigrated to other sections of the country. The old home of John D. Craven on Rose Hill, still occupied by his remaining children, is the only portion of the great estate now belonging to the name. John H. Craven died in 1845.
DABNEY. H
In 1759 John Dabney, of Hanover, bought from Joel Ter- rell and David Lewis four hundred acres, and from Joel Terrell four hundred more, which included the present Bird - wood plantation, and the oldest tavern perhaps in all the section, called at the time Terrell's Ordinary. . In 1764 Wil - liam Dabney, a brother, purchased from Archibald Woods
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four hundred acres on Mechum's River, above the Depot of that name. John soon returned to Hanover. William sold his place in 1768 to William Shelton, and John having died in the meantime, his trustees sold his land in 1773, six hun - dred acres of it to James Kerr, and the remainder to Robert Anderson.
In 1803 William S. Dabney came to the county, and bought from Wilson C. Nicholas nearly nine hundred acres on the head waters of Ballenger's and Green Creeks, now in the possession of Edward Coles. He died in 1813. His wife was Sarah Watson, of Green Spring, Louisa, and his children were Maria, the wife of Colonel Samuel Cari, James, Walter, William S., May Senora, the wife of Benjamin M. Perkins, and Louisa, the wife of William M. Woods. Walter removed to Arkansas. William S. succeeded his father in the possession of the farm. He was a man of decided efficiency and success, both in his private business and in matters of public concern. He was appointed a magistrate in 1835, and entrusted with many affairs of importance by bis brethren of the county bench. His taste was relied on as well as his judgment. In 1856 when improvements to the courthouse were contemplated, a plan reported by him was adopted, according to which the present enclosure and pave- ments of the Square were made. In 1846 he purchased Dun- lora, Colonel Samuel Carr's old place, whither he removed, and where he died in 1865. He married Susan Gordon, and his family had the unusual distinction of having two sons occupy leading professorships in the University of Virginia, William C. in the Medical Faculty and Walter in that of Law.
Mildred, daughter of Samuel Dabney and his wife Jane Meriwether, of Hanover, was the wife of Dr. Reuben Lewis, brother of the celebrated explorer. She died at her home near Ivy Depot in 1851.
DAVIS.
Isaac Davis in 1769 bought from the Webb family, of New Kent County, eight hundred acres on the north fork of the Rivauna, near Webb's Mountain. His deed for this land
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was witnessed by the great orator, Patrick Henry, and was probably drawn by him. He was one of the early magis- trates of the county. Dr. George Gilmer in a letter to Mr. Jefferson at the outbreak of the Revolution, refers to him ; mentioning his leading the Albemarle company to Williams- burg, he speaks of old Isaac Davis marching at the head of the troop, as an indication of the determined and zealous spirit that animated the people. Many years were allotted the old patriot after the close of the war, his death not occurring till 1805. His children were William, Elizabeth, the wife of Richard Durrett, Isaac, who married Harriet, daughter of Garland Garth, and Robert.
John A. G. Davis came to Albemarle from Middlesex, and engaged in the practice of law. In 1828 he was associ - ated with Thomas W. Gilmer in the publication of the Vir- ginia Advocate. In 1830 he was chosen to occupy the · professorship of Law in the University of Virginia, as the successor of John T. Lomax. His death took place in 1840. He married Mary Jane, daughter of Richard Terrell and his wife Martha, who was the daughter of Dabney Carr and Martha, sister of Mr. Jefferson. His children were Eugene, Dr. John Staige, Rev. Dabney C. T., Rev. Richard T., and Caryetta, wife of Robert C. Saunders.
DAWSON.
The name of Dawson has place in the records from the beginning of the county. At the first meeting of the County Court, Martin Dawson was appointed to appraise the estate of Charles Blaney in the vicinity of the Cove. In 1747 he patented three hundred acres on Buck Island, which he sold in 1761 to John Burrus. He lived on Ballenger's Creek, and was no doubt the father of Rev. Martin Dawson, one of the earliest Baptist preachers of Albemarle. The son com- menced preaching during the Revolutionary War, and as soon as the statute of religious freedom was passed, giving to non- Episcopal ministers a license to solemnize the rite of marriage, he was greatly in demand in this respect as well as in the pulpit. He supplied the Baptist churches through-
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out the county, but his labors were chiefly given to the Totier Church, which was commonly called by his name. His home was on a farm of more than five hundred acres, which lay southeast of Hughes's Shop, and there he finished his earthly course in 1821. His wife's name was Elizabeth, and of his twelve children, Martin, the eldest, removed to Gallia County, Ohio, John in 1812 to Mississippi Territory, and Elijah, who married Martha, daughter of Benajah Gentry, to Missouri. Another son, Allen, married Lucy, daughter of Christopher Wingfield, and was for a number of years a citizen of Charlottesville, a magistrate, clerk of the town trustees, and deputy Suveyor of the county. He also taught school, first on his farm four or five miles south of town, and afterwards at his house on Main Street near east Third, which from his institution, and the Female Seminary, being located thereon, received its former name of School Street. Notwithstanding his multifarious occupations, he was un- successful. Accumulated debts constrained the sale of his property piece by piece, till all was gone. A daughter of Rev. Martin, Elizabeth, was the wife of Reuben Elsom, who lived in the southern part of the county.
As early as 1757, John Dawson, whose wife was Sarah Carroll, was living on the waters of Carroll Creek. Did he remove to Amherst, now Nelson, and was he the father of Martin, the well known merchant of Milton? Certain it is, that Martin's father was named John, that his place was in Nelson, not far from Faber's Mills, and that he was the brother of Rev. Martin's father. Martin was one of nine children. He established himself in Milton shortly after it was founded, at first apparently connected with Brown, Rives & Co .; and he continued to be associated with the village, until its business was wholly absorbed by Charlottesville and Scottsville. By his diligence, thrift and good judgment, he amassed a considerable fortune. About 1822 he purchased Bellair on the north side of Hardware below Carter's Bridge, which had before belonged to Charles Wingfield Jr., and there he made his residence until his death in 1835. He
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left a will so elaborately indited, that it was twice taken before the Court of Appeals for construction. In his desire to promote popular education, he directed that an academy should be established at each of the three places, Milton, Bellair, and his father's old homestead in Nelson; that suit- able buildings should be erected both for teachers and scholars; and that their advantages should be assigned in the first place to the boys of Albemarle and Nelson Having a premonition that these provisions might be adjudged invalid, he directed that in case they were set aside, his property at the places mentioned should be sold, the pro- ceeds transferred to the Literary Fund of the State, and the interest devoted to the cause of education in the two counties specified. The latter bequest was approved by the judg - ment of the Court. He also prescribed the enclosing of ten acres at the old homestead in Nelson as a family burial place, where he enjoined his own remains to be interred. Besides his private business, he was much employed in that of the county. He was appointed a magistrate in 1806, and fre - quently occupied a seat on the bench of the County Court. He never married.
A brother, Pleasant Dawson, was the owner of nearly fifteen hundred acres on the lower Hardware. He was engaged in milling operations, in the prosecution of which he was involved in a long litigation with Littlebury Moon. He died unmarried in 1826. A sister, Nancy, was the wife of Rev. Hugh White, a Baptist minister, who was for a time a lot holder both in Charlottesville and Milton.
Another brother was John S. Dawson, the father of seven children, some of whose representatives are at present resi - dents of the county. His son, Benjamin, married Dorothy Childress, and of their children Benjamin H. lives at the western foot of Still House Mountain, and Andrew, and Agnes, the wife of Peter Turner, about two miles south of Porter's Precinct. Another son of John S , was Pleasant L ., whose daughter Jane, the wife of Dr. Isaac F. Forbes, recently died in Charlottesville, at the house of her son-in- law, Harrison Robertson, and whose son, John L., still
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