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 16
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· lives on the lower Hardware, where he has long and use- fully discharged the office of Justice of the Peace. Pleasant's widow, Mahala, survives in the enjoyment of a green old age, and forms a link between this and former generations.
DEDMAN.
Samuel Dedman came to Albemarle from Louisa in 1768. He settled in the Ragged Mountains, about a mile below the Reservoir, where he purchased two hundred acres from William T. Lewis. He died in 1800. He and his wife Mary had a large family, John, Samuel, Richmond, Bart- lett, Nathan, who married Elizabeth, daughter of William Gooch, and from whom are descended Rev. Neander Woods, of Memphis, and Rev. William H. Woods, of Baltimore, Dixon, Sarah, the second wife of John Everett, Susan, Nancy, the wife of Moses Clack, and Mary, the wife of John Simms. They all eventually emigrated to the West, some to south- west Virginia, and others to Kentucky. Bartlett lived for a few years in Charlottesville. He built a dwelling on a lot he purchased from John Nicholas at the foot of Fourth Street east, which he sold in 1801 to William Waller Hening. Dixon was the last to remain in the county. He succeeded to the property below the Reservoir. He was twice married, first to Sarah, daughter of John Buster, and secondly to Sarah Drumheller. He finally sold out about 1828, and went West.
DICKERSON.
John Dickerson was settled in the north part of the county, while yet it belonged to Louisa. He lived on the north fork of the Rivanna, not far from Piney Mountain. He died in 1788. He and his wife Mary had three sons, John, William and Thomas. Thomas died in 1807. His wife's name was Mildred, and his children were Frances, the wife of Rev. John Goodman, the wife of William Thurman, the wife of John Crossthwait, Thomas, Wiley, who married Nancy, daughter of Rev. Jacob Watts, Griffith and Lucy. Another Wiley, son of one of the other brothers, married in 1789 Mary, daughter of John Carr. He died in 1847. His chil -
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dren were William, Willis, Malinda, the wife of George W. Turpin, Martha, the wife of Richard Simms Brockman, the wife of B. C. Johnson, Mary, the wife of Elisha Thurman, and Sarah, the wife of Archibald Duke.
DOLLINS.
The family of Dollins has been established in the county from early times. The first of the name was Richard, who in 1761 bought land on the head waters of Mechum's River, and a few years later purchased from the Stockton family on Virgin Spring Branch. He died in 1774. His wife's name was Elizabeth, and his children were Ann, Presley, John and William. John died in 1787. He and his wife Elizabeth had six children, one of whom was John, who died in 1823, leav- ing five sons and one daughter, John, Tyree, Richard, Jere - miah, William, and Susan, who was the wife of a Polson. Of this family, Jeremiah married a daughter of Nicholas Mer- ritt, and died in 1856. His children were Tyree, Martha, the wife of William Lupton, John, Nicholas, Mary Ann, the wife of a Rogers, and Sarah, the wife of a Baber. Some of the earliest nurseries in the county were planted by members of this family, and on this account the name is well known in connection with the cultivation of fruit.
DOUGLASS.
A family of Douglass was living in the Cove neighborhood as early as 1751, two of which were James and George, probably brothers. They were among the first members of the Cove Presbyterian Church. George died in 1785.
Three brothers named Douglass resided in the north part of the county in 1761, Charles, Thomas and John. Their farms were situated on the Barboursville Road near the Or - ange line. Charles married a daughter of Robert and Mourn- ing Adams, and died in 1823. His children were Robert and Charles, to whom he gave lands he owned in Kentucky, and who removed to that State, Ann, the wife of Joseph Timber - lake, Judith, the wife of John Dickerson, and Sarah. Thomas died in 1830, leaving four children, James, Achilles,
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Nancy and John. Achilles was appointed a magistrate in 1796, and acted a prominent part in the affairs of the county. He served as Sheriff in 1823. He married Nancy, daughter of Jason Bowcock, and died in 1844. His home the latter part of his life was on the north fork of Priddy's Creek, near the present station of Burnley's. John Douglass Jr., married Mildred Bowcock, a sister of Achilles's wife.
DOWELL.
John Dowell was one of the pioneers who broke the virgin soil of the county. He obtained a patent for four hundred acres on Priddy's Creek in 1738, and up to 1759 had received grants of more than a thousand acres in that section. He died, it is believed, sometime during the Revolutionary War. He left at least four sons, John, who died in 1794, William, who died in 1795, Ambrose, and Thomas, who died in 1815. All had large families, and from them are descended those who still bear the name in the county, besides others who removed to different parts of the West.
DUKE.
James Duke, of Henrico, was the owner of two hundred acres on Beaver Creek, in which he probably became inter - ested through his kinsman James Burnley, both of whom were descended from the Englishman, John Burnley, before referred to. He and his wife Mary disposed of this land in 1795 to George West. Cleviers Duke, of Louisa, also descended from John Burnley, had two sons Richard and James, who were settled in Albemarle. In 1806 Richard married Maria, daughter of Thomas Walker Jr. In 1821 he purchased from M. L. Walker and John Wren the Rivanna Mills, afterwards known as the Burnt Mills, which they and G. G. Lindsay had bought from Dabney Minor in 1819. He was appointed a magistrate in 1819, served as Sheriff in 1847, and died at Morea in 1849. His children were William J., who married Emily Anderson, Lucy, who was the wife of David Wood, and with him removed to west Tennessee, where she was married secondly to John H. Bills, Mary J., the wife
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of William T. Smith, Mildred, the wife of Christopher Gilmer, Sarah, the wife of Harvey Deskins, Martha, Margaret, the wife of Robert Rodes, Charles and Richard T. W. R. T. W. married Elizabeth Eskridge, of Staunton, taught school in Lewisburg, W. Va., was admitted to Albemarle bar in 1849, filled the office of Commonwealth's Attorney three times, represented the county in the House of Delegates, was a member of Congress, was Colonel of the Forty-Sixth Vir - ginia in the civil war, and died in 1898.
James, the brother of Richard, was associated with him in the management of the Rivanna Mills. In 1832 he purchased from James McCulloch the brick mill and store located at Millington. Subsequently he established a mill on Rocky Creek, where he spent his remaining days. He was appointed to the county bench in 1838, and departed this life in 1844. His wife was Miss Biggers, of Louisa, and his children were Richard, who removed to Nelson County, Horace, who removed to Mississippi, Charlotte, the wife of Dr. William G. Carr, and Lucy, the wife of Thomas Ballard. A daughter of Richard became the wife of John Cole, and resides where her grandfather died.
Alexander Duke, of Hanover, in 1835 married Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander Garrett. For some years he was con- nected with Rev. Pike Powers, and afterwards with Charles Slaughter, in conducting a high school at Midway. He was the father of Mrs. Horace Jones.
DUNKUM.
Two brothers named Dunkum lived on the Carter's Bridge Road south of Charlottesville, in the early part of the century, and both were efficient and prosperous farmers. William, who resided nearer town at the place lately occupied by Lord Pelham-Clinton, and now by Mr. Harbottle, began his pur - chase of land in 1803, and continued it until his plantation. comprised nearly a thousand acres. In 1837 he conveyed to Lewis Teel, Robert Gentry and Jeremiah A. Goodman the land on which stood the Piney Grove Baptist Church. He died in 1846. His wife was Frances Gentry, and his chil -
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Sorrell
dren were Mary Ann, the wife of Lewis Sowell, William L., Chesley, James T., Frances, the wife of Jesse L. Fry, Eliza- beth, the wife of Philip Edge, Martha, the wife of John H. Barksdale, Susan, the wife of J. Ralls Abell, and Elijah, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Ficklin, and built the large brick house on Ridge Street long occupied by the late Dr. R. B. Dice.
John Dunkum lived about a mile south of his brother, where he settled in 1807. His lands were in extent but little short of those of William. He died in 1855. He married Eliza - beth, daughter of Marshall Durrett, and his children were James, Martha, the wife of William Pitts, Mary, the wife of Chester Bullard, Elizabeth, Jane, and Sarah Ann, the first wife of Philip Edge.
DURRETT.
The name of Durrett was connected with the territory of Albemarle, while it was yet a part of Hanover. In 1737 Bar- tholomew Durrett patented nearly three hundred acres on Priddy's Creek, and the next year Richard patented three hundred in the same section. A genealogical chart of the Terrells in the possession of Gen. W. H. H. Terrell, of In- dianapolis, states that Abigail, daughter of Henry Terrell and Ann Chiles, of Caroline, was married to Colonel Durrett, of Albemarle. If this refers to Colonel Richard, she must have been a first wife. According to the records, the name of Richard's wife was Sarah. He passed his days on Priddy's Creek, and died in 1784. His children were Richard, Eliza- beth, the wife of Jacob Watts, Ann, the wife of Robert San - ford, Frances, the wife of Frederick William Wills, Agatha, the wife of William Flint, Mildred, the wife of a Williams, the wife of Stephen K. Smith, and the wife of a Burrus.
Richard the younger, James Douglass and others bought parts of a large tract of land on Priddy's Creek, which had belonged to Roger Dixon. Dixon in 1766 had encumbered it with a deed of trust for the benefit of James Harford, an English merchant; and when the purchasers bought, they perhaps regarded themselves safe under the acts of the Leg- islature barring the debts of British creditors. But Harford
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brought suit against the claimants in the United States Court, and about 1809 recovered judgment, so that they were obliged to pay again for their shares. Durrett's share amounted to five hundred and fifty acres. In 1772 he began purchasing the tract adjoining Earlysville, on which he resided the remainder of his life. He died in 1820. His wife was Eliza- beth, daughter of Isaac Davis, and his children John D., Isaac W., Thomas, Davis, Robert D., Mildred, the wife of James Simms, Susan, the wife of Thomas Garth, Elizabeth, the wife of James Watts, Sarah, the wife of John Early, and Frances, the wife of Archibald Buckner. John D. married Frances Davis, and his children were Matilda, the wife of Wil- liam Catterton, Thomas, who married Emily Wood, Frances, Elizabeth, the wife of Daniel P. Key, Sarah, Isaac, and Rich- ard W., who married Lucy Twyman. Thomas married Frances Simms, and his son Thomas married Mary, daughter of James Early, and was the father of Dr. James T., and Frank. Robert D. married Elizabeth Price.
Two brothers of this name became residents of the Bates - ville district the latter part of the last century. They came from Caroline, and were no doubt of the same stock with those just mentioned, though it seems impossible now to trace the relationship. Marshall Durrett in 1783 purchased from Robert Terrell nearly four hundred acres on the head waters of Mechum's River, where he was living at the time ; and as the land he bought was part of that entered by Henry Terrell, of Caroline, the Abigail Terrell already alluded to may have been his first wife. In 1803 he purchased from Robert Bolling in the North Garden, whither he removed and resided until his death in 1834. He was appointed a magis- trate in 1796, and served as Sheriff in 1819, succeeding Charles Wingfield Jr., who at the time of his death had occu - pied the office but a month. Marshall's wife was Dorothy, daughter of John Digges, of Nelson, and his children Sarah, the wife of Robert Field, Richard, Rice, Marcus, Silas, Ben- jamin, Paul, Ann, the wife of William Morris, and afterwards of John D. Rodes, Elizabeth, the wife of John Dunkum, and John. Marcus succeeded his father in the home in North
.
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Garden. He was also a magistrate, one of the last set appointed under the old Constitution. He married Sarah Ann, daughter of H. Carter Moore, and died in 1878.
James Durrett, the brother of Marshall, in 1799 purchased land of John Epperson, where he resided until his death in 1822. His place was the same afterwards owned by C. W. Purcell, of Richmond, Alton Park. He married Nancy Digges, a sister of his brother's wife, and his children were Frances, the wife of Richard Richardson, Sarah, the wife of Horsley Goodman, William, Mildred, the wife of William Bumgardner, Elizabeth, the wife of William McClunn, Nancy, the wife of Colston Heiskell, who removed to Philadelphia, James, who married Susan Goodman, John, who married Mary Diggs, and Richard, who married Elizabeth, daugh - ter of William Piper. Many of the descendants of these brothers removed to Kentucky and Missouri.
DYER.
Samuel Dyer appeared before the Albemarle Circuit Court in October, 1835, to apply for a pension as a Revolutionary soldier. He then stated that he was born October 8th, 1756, and was in his eightieth year. His first purchase of land was made in 1787 from Thomas Staples, consisting of five hundred acres, and extending from Hudson's Creek to Totier, in all likelihood embracing his home, Plain Dealing, where he lived and died. His store, a well known place of business in those days, was situated at the junction of the roads from Staunton and Charlottesville to Scott's Landing. He was so successful in his mercantile pursuits, that he soon became the owner of more than twenty-two hundred acres. He estab- lished extensive milling operations at Glendower. He was much employed in public business, being appointed on account of his integrity and sound judgment largely to superintend matters of general concern in his section of the county. He finished his earthly course in 1840, aged eighty - four, and his venerable partner, whose name was Celia Bickley, died the same year.
Their family consisted of eleven children, William H.
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who was appointed a magistrate in 1824, Ann, the wife of George Robertson, Elizabeth, the wife of George M. Payne, John, Thomas, Mary Jane, the wife of George A. Nicholson, Martha, the wife of Joseph S. Watkins, Samuel, Francis B., Robert and Sarah. During the decade of 1830 most of the children emigrated to Missouri. Francis was one who re- mained. For a number of years he was a prominent member of the Albemarle bar. He built the brick house and office on East Jefferson and Seventh Streets, now occupied by Major Horace Jones. Obliged by business misfortune, in- duced perhaps by extravagant living, to surrender this prop- erty, he removed to the house ou Park Street, the present residence of Drury Wood, where he died in 1838. Many now living remember him as a man of genial disposition and great corpulence ; yet withal he was captain of an artil - lery company (with John Eubank as orderly sergeant) which drilled annually at Old's Forge on the north fork of Hard - ware. He married Sarah White, of Staunton, and was the father of five children, one of whom, Celia, was the wife of William P. Staples, of Richmond.
EADES.
A family named Eades were among the early settlers in the southern part of the county. Abraham Eades patented land on Ballenger's Creek in 1751. In 1758 Joseplı gave to his sons, Thomas and John, one hundred and fifty acres on Totier, and the next year Jacob sold three hundred acres on Totier to Rev. John Ramsey, rector of St. Anne's. It is likely Abraham, Joseph and Jacob were brothers. The two latter disappear from the records, and they, or their families, prob- ably fell in with the tide of emigration that bore away such numbers to the West. Abraham, a son of Abraham, was for many years in the early part of the century, engaged in the inspection of tobacco in the Nicholas Warehouse at War- ren. He died in 1828. His family were Joseplı, Mildred, the wife of a Shepherd, Abraham, Susan, Charlotte, and Sarah, the wife of Richard Chandler. Shepherd Eades, a son of one of this family, married Mary, daughter of Benja-
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HISTORY OF ALBEMARLE
min Norvell, and died in 1848. He left a son Shepherd, and three daughters, Mary Ann, the wife of a Starke, Charlotte, the wife of a Turner, and Sarah, the wife of a Venable.
EARLY.
The name of Early is first mentioned in the records in 1790, when Joel, executor of Jeremiah Early, purchased from Charles Hammond three hundred acres on the Rivanna in the Burnt Mills neighborhood, which had formerly be- longed to Walter Carr. It is probable these persons were citizens of Orange. In 1809 James Early, certainly from Orange, bought eighteen hundred and ninety - four acres on Buck Mountain Creek from the representatives of Major Henry Burke, who had been a magistrate of the county, and Major in the Eighty-Eighth Regiment, and who died in 1803. The children of James Early and his wife Elizabeth, were John, James, Joab, William, Lucy, the wife of James Simms, Theodosia, the wife of George Stevens, and Elizabeth, the wife of Thomas Chapman.
John Early in 1822 bought from the executors of Richard Durrett nearly a thousand acres lying between the Buck Mountain Road and Jacob's Run. From him the village of Earlysville derived its name, and in 1833 he gave to Thomas Lane, David Thompson and Henry Marshall the ground on which its church was built. He was twice married, first to Sarah, daughter of Richard Durrett, and secondly to Mrs. Margaret Allen Timberlake. He died 1833. His children were James T., Isaac Davis, Susan, Elizabeth, the wife of Edward Ferneyhough, Amanda, the wife of Joshua Jackson, Mildred, the wife of Richard Wingfield, Thomas, Frances, Joseph, Jeremiah A. and William. James, son of James, married Sarah Carr, and among his children were John F. Early, who some twenty years ago opened a female Seminary in the Shackelford house on High Street, and afterwards removed to Texas, Mary, the wife of Thomas Durrett, and Frances, the wife of Isaac Davis, and mother of Mrs. W. R. Burnley. Joab married Elizabeth Thompson, and his chil- dren were William T., well remembered by many as Buck
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Early, and James and Nathaniel, of Greene County. Wil- liam, son of James, married Sarah Graves, and his children were William L., of Madison, and Thomas J., who married Caroline, daughter of the elder Drury Wood.
EUBANK.
Families of the Eubank name have lived along the south fork of Hardware from the earliest times. They sprang from two brothers, George and John. It is believed they came from Orange County. In 1758 George bought from James Ireland three hundred acres on Beaverdam, not far from the present Soapstone Quarries. The next year John purchased from Matthew Jordan in the same vicinity. The year after the organization of the county, 1746, a John Eu - bank obtained a grant of nearly three hundred acres on Rocky Creek, in its northwest section; it is possible he was the same person as the one just mentioned.
John died in 1789. His wife's name was Hannah, and his children were John, James, William, Nancy, Elizabeth and Sarah, who were both married to brothers named For- tune, a family that lived in the same neighborhood, and Frances, the wife of a Gilmer. George died in 1802. He and his wife Mary had six children, John, Elizabeth, George, Frances, the wife of her cousin, John Eubank, Nancy, the wife of David Watson, and Mary, the wife of Richard Hazel- rig. George also brought up two orphan children, Nelson and Sarah Key, whom he committed to the care of his daughter Frances and her husband, and for whose subse- quent welfare he made special provision. His two sons, John and George, had each twelve children.
The Eubanks appear to have been quiet, industrious farmers, fairly prosperous in their worldly affairs. The family particularly marked for its energy and success was that of James, son of John. He married Mildred Melton, and had five sons and three daughters. He died in 1821, leaving a considerable estate. Two of his sons, John and George W., took advantage of the opening of the Staunton and James River Turnpike, established taverns on the road,
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and for many years did a large business in the entertain - ment of those transporting the vast amount of produce at that time passing between the Valley and Scottsville. George married his cousin, Winifred Eubank, and had eight children. He died in 1841. John married Sarah Strange, and died without children in 1854. Emigration to the West has taken many from the different branches of this family, so that comparatively few of the name remain now in the county.
EVERETT.
John Everett was the first of the name to appear in the county. At one time he lived on the waters ot Moore's Creek, on the place adjoining the old Lewis place, the present Bird - wood. This place he purchased from John Spencer in 1781, and in 1788 sold it, and removed to a farm near the Cross Roads, which he bought from Joseph Claybrook. His sec- ond home was what is still known in the neighborhood as the old Methodist Parsonage. Here he laid out a town about the beginning of the century, called Traveller's Grove, but it never advanced beyond the sale of three or four lots. When the prospects of the town had lost their roseate hue, the Colonel, as he was known, changed the name to Pleas - ant Grove, and under this designation conducted a tavern for some years. He was somewhat of a sporting character, raised fine horses, and had a training track on his place. He was twice married, first to Sarah, daughter of Tarleton Woodson, and secondly to Sarah, daughter of Samuel Ded - man. In 1807 he disposed of his property, and removed to Cabell County.
Dr. Charles Everett was established in Charlottesville as one of its physicians as early as 1804, when he purchased from Tucker M. Woodson the part of Lot Fifty-Nine fronting on High Street. Two years later he bought from Reuben Burn- ley the two lots opposite, Seventy-Three and Seventy-Four, where he had his office and stable ; this property he sold to Dr. Charles Brown in 1814. It is probable however that before the last date he had removed to Belmont near Keswick, which he made his subsequent residence during life ; having bought
5
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HISTORY OF ALBEMARLE
from John Rogers six hundred and thirty-six acres in 1811. It was not till 1821 he became the owner of the place adjoining on the south, which has since been known by the name of Everettsville ; this tract of four hundred acres he purchased from Mr. Jefferson, whose father had obtained a patent for it in 1756. The Doctor, besides being actively engaged in the practice of his profession, devoted much attention to the pub- lic affairs of the county, and to politics. He was appointed a magistrate in 1807, and represented the county for several terms in the House of Delegates. He never married, and died in 1848, by his will emancipating his servants, and devising his estate to his nephew, Dr. Charles D. Everett. Not long before the war a person named Thom, from Mercer County, Pennsylvania, presented to the Circuit Court a certifi- cate of his appointment as Guardian of some of the Doctor's old servants, and applied for the legacies he had left for their benefit.
FAGG.
John Fagg was a Revolutionary soldier, and in the early years of the century was a tavern keeper in Charlottesville. In 1818 he bought from William Garth a part of the old Barracks place, which he called Barrack Grove, and which is now the residence of Mrs. Garland A. Garth. There he lived until his death in 1829, at the advanced age of ninety- two years.
A son William married Nancy, daughter of John Alphin and removed to Blount County, Tennessee. From that place he sold in 1834 his wife's share of her father's estate to Jesse Lewis. John, another son, married Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob Oglesby, and was associated with his father-in-law as Inspector in Henderson's and Randolph's Tobacco Ware- houses. He afterwards conducted a store in Milton, as late as 1834. It is related of him, that in the fall of 1833, when the memorable storm of star-falling occurred, he was with a number of others beyond the Valley on a hunting expedition. While the meteoric phenomenon was in progress, some of the servants, who had risen early in discharge of their duties, rushed terror-stricken into the camp to arouse
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the sleeping hunters. All started at once to observe the scene, some with the interest of curiosity, others in morta1 dread that the day of judgment had come-all except Fagg. He clung to his blankets, involuntarily, it was believed, because of too abundant potations the night before; and when appealed to by the cries and vivid descriptions of his friends, he exclaimed, "Oh boys, that's nothing. Why, I see that every morning when I'm at home; the fact is, you might see it too, if you weren't too lazy to get up." In 1836 he sold Barrack Grove to Garland Garth, and probably went to join his relatives in the South West.
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