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 25
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ground in the village, on which the brick edifice was erected. He departed this life in 1859.
NEILSON.
John Neilson, a native of Ireland, a carpenter by trade, was attracted to Albemarle by the erection of the University buildings. While engaged in this work, he prospered in his affairs. He bought from Joseph Bishop several acres between Vinegar Hill and the Whitehall Road, and built one or two of the brick houses in Random Row. He also built the large brick near the forks of the Lynchburg Road, which afterwards became the property of Professor Blaetter - man, in which his wife for a time conducted a seminary for young ladies, and which is now owned by G. L. Bruffey. He purchased the Refuge, the old Jones plantation in the southern part of the county, where Major Anbury, the Rev - olutionary prisoner, indited a number of his letters. He died in 1827, devising his property to his family still residing in Ireland. Andrew Leitch, as his executor, carried out the provisions of his will.
NELSON.
Solomon Nelson in 1759 bought from John Grills two hundred acres on Moore's Creek, and built the first mill that occupied the site of that now owned by Hartman. This tract he sold in 1764 to John Moore, and bought from Edward Carter a parcel of land in the Ragged Mountains, not far from Batesville. He sold this place in 1773, and no doubt removed from the county.
The large tracts in North and South Garden, patented in the name of Mildred Meriwether, were sold by her and her husband, John Syme, to President William Nelson, of York- town, and by him devised to his son Robert. Robert and his wife Susan sold them in course of time to different parties. In reference to these interests in North and South Garden, Samuel Murrell acted as Mr. Nelson's agent. He was also the owner of a tract of upwards of two thousand acres on Mechunk, which was patented by Thomas Darsie in 1733, descended to his son Thomas, and by him sold in 1748 to
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James Power. How, or when, it came into the hands of Robert Nelson, is not known, but in 1778 he sold it to John Clark.
Hugh Nelson, son of Governor Thomas, and grandson of President William, became a citizen of Albemarle in 1802. In that year he was admitted a member of its bar. He married Eliza, daughter of Francis Kinloch, of South Caro - lina, and Mildred, only daughter of John Walker, eldest son of Dr. Thomas Walker. His home was at Belvoir, on the east side of the South West Mountain. In 1803 he purchased from Lilburn Lewis his plantation of nearly nine hundred acres on the north side of the Rivanna, which in 1815 he sold to John R. Campbell, and which is now in part the property of David Hancock's heirs. He represented the county in the House of Delegates, of which he was Speaker, and was a member of Congress from 1811 to 1823, when he resigned to accept the appointment of Minister to Spain. In 1819 he became a magistrate of the county. He died in 1836. His children were Francis K., Mildred, the wife of Thomas Nel- son, of Clark, Ann, the wife of Dr. Thomas Meriwether, Dr. Thomas, of Elk Hill, Rev. Cleland K., Keating, and Dr. Robert W., who still lives to represent the name in Albe - marle.
NICHOLAS.
The first patentee of land on James River within the present county was George Nicholas, of Williamsburg. He made the entry-the third in the county-of twenty-six hun - dred acres in 1729. This was Dr. George Nicholas, the ยท immigrant, as the same land descended to his eldest son, Robert Carter Nicholas, Treasurer of the colony. Robert Carter never lived in Albemarle. John, Dr. George's second son, became its Clerk in 1750, and continued to hold the office till 1792. In that year he resigned, and spent the remainder of his life in the southern part of the county, or in Buckingham. His wife was Martha, daughter of Colonel Joshua Fry, and his children John, Robert, George, Joshua, Elizabeth, and another daughter, the wife of a Scott. John
-19
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succeeded his father as Clerk. He was an extensive dealer in the real estate of the county. He purchased a large plan- tation near Ivy Depot, on which he lived for some years, and which he sold to Dabney and Thomas Gooch. He became the owner of all the land surrounding Charlottesville on the south and west, extending from the Scottsville Road to Meadow Creek. His last residence was at Hor de Ville, where James D. Goodman now lives. In 1815 he resigned his office, and removed to Buckingham. His wife was Louisa Howe Carter, of Williamsburg. His brother Joshua, who was for a time his deputy, married Sarah, daughter of Peter Marks, and removed to Charlotte County.
Three of Robert Carter Nicholas's sons, George, Wilson Cary and Lewis, were residents of Albemarle. George was Captain, Major and Colonel in the Revolutionary army. After the war he practised law in Charlottesville, and in 1788 was a member of the House of Delegates, and of the Conven- tion to ratify the United States Constitution. He owned the square on which Lipscomb's Stable stands, and built as his residence the stone house, which was long known as the Stone Tavern. He purchased about two thousand acres of land in the county, part of it that on which the University stands, part on Moore's Creek, and part in the western sec- tion on Ivy Creek and Lickinghole. He married Mary, sis- ter of General Samuel Smith, of Baltimore. In 1790 he removed to Kentucky, was active in its formation as a State, and was its first Attorney General. At the time of his removal, he sold most of his lands to Samuel Beale, of James City, but died in 1799 before they were transferred; and this act was not accomplished till 1818, when James Morrison, his executor, conveyed them to Beale's heirs.
Wilson Cary was also a soldier of the Revolution, the commander of Washington's Life Guards. He filled the offices of magistrate of the county, member of the Legisla - ture, United States Senator, and Governor of Virginia. His home was on his plantation on James River, including War- ren, which he laid out as a town in 1794. His desire for acquiring the broad acres amounted to a passion. Besides
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his possessions in the southern part of the county, he owned about two thousand acres at the Barracks, more than a thou- sand on both sides of the Rivanna, including Carrsbrook, and tens of thousands of acres in Bedford and Botetourt, and on the Ohio River. He was in consequence greatly oppressed with burdensome debts, which no doubt con - tributed to the shortening of his days. Being advised to travel on account of ill health, he set out for the North; but unable to continue his journey, he returned on his way home as far as Tufton, then the residence of his son-in-law, Colo - nel T. J. Randolph, where he died in 1820. His wife was Margaret, sister of his brother George's wife, and his chil - dren Mary, the wife of John Patterson, Cary Ann, the wife of John Smith, and mother of Margaret, Robert Hill Carter's wife, Robert C., Wilson C., Margaret, Jane, the wife of T. J. Randolph, John S., Sarah, and Sidney, the wife of Dabney Carr, Minister to Constantinople.
Lewis had his home at Alta Vista, a fine plantation west of Green Mountain. He became involved in his brother Wilson's embarrassments, and was thereby seriously broken in fortune. He married Frances, daughter of William Harris, and his children were John S., Wilson C., Robert, Cary Ann, the wife of Rev. Charles Wingfield, and Sarah, the wife of John H. Coleman. John S. and Wilson C. were appointed magistrates of the county in 1838.
OLD.
John Old came to Albemarle from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1769, and engaged with John Wilkinson in establishing a forge for the manufacture of iron. This was erected in the gorge of the south fork of Hard - ware, a short distance south of Garland's Store. In 1782 he bought from William Hamner nine hundred acres on the north fork of Hardware, at the crossing of the old Lynchburg Road, and there built another forge. This was a widely known point in its day. Mr. Jeffer - son mentions it in his Notes. The road to it was spoken of as the road to Old's Forge oftener perhaps than as the Lynch- burg Road. This property he sold in 1793 to Henry Weaver
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and his brother James. He died in 1809. He and his wife Sarah had a son John, and a daughter Sarah, the wife of Edward Garland. John married in 1785 Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Dod Wheeler, and died in 1812. His children were Nancy, the wife of Thomas Eubank, who removed to Monroe County, Kentucky, Elizabeth, the wife of Reuben Eubank, Ann, the wife of Joseph F. Wingfield, Thomas J., George W., and probably Abijah. Thomas and George removed to Campbell County. Abijah married Sarah Fret - well, lived in the neighborhood of Old's Forge, and died in 1840. His children were James A., John, William, Martha, Mary, the wife of John B. Douglass, and Sarah, the wife of Samuel Norvell. The most of the last family removed to Missouri.
James Old, brother of the first John, came to Albemarle several years after his brother. He had been a Revolutionary soldier, was in the unfortunate expedition against Quebec, and fought in the battle of Long Island. His home was on Black Walnut Branch, between Mount Olivet Church and Garland's Store. He built the mill two miles east of Red Hill Depot about 1804. He died unmarried in 1821, devis - ing the mill to George M. Woods and James Old Walters.
OLDHAM.
James Oldham was one of the contractors for erecting the buildings of the University. This work most probably allured him to the county, and its profits induced him to settle in it. In 1828 he purchased from the trustees of Benjamin Hardin the land on the Staunton Road, immediately east of Mechum's River Depot. There he kept for some years a house of public entertainment. He seems to have been of an irascible temper. In such a state of mind he shot Archelaus Robertson, the son of a neighbor about Christ - mias 1834. As the grand jury declined to indict him, there must have been but slight injury, and likely some provoca - tion. His wife was Mary, daughter of Henry Gambell. He died in 1843.
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PAGE.
In former times several Pages lived in Albemarle. In 1770 Robert Page purchased from Hezekiah Inman four hundred acres on Taylor's Creek, near the border of what is now Nelson. His children were James, William, Robert, George, Samuel, Nicholas, Jane, the wife of Burgess Griffin, Mary, the wife of Sherrard Griffin, and Elizabeth, the wife of Peter Davis, of Hanover. All of these emigrated to Adair County, Kentucky, except William, and Nicholas, who died in 1817. In 1829 Nicholas M. Page, son of the younger Robert, returned to Albemarle, where for some years he pros- ecuted business as a merchant in Batesville, and achieved the notable task of administering the great estate of Samuel Mil- ler. He was a magistrate under the old regime, having been appointed in 1841. He still lives, a venerable memorial of a former generation. A William Page was the owner of land below Milton, and of Lot Forty in Charlottesville, in the early part of the century. When he sold the lot in 1815, he was described as a citizen of Nelson. He may have been the William mentioned above.
Dr. Mann Page, son of Major Carter Page, of Cumberland, came to the county about 1815. In that year he was united in marriage to Jane Frances, daughter of Francis Walker. His home was at Turkey Hill, a part of the Castle Hill place, which his wife inherited from her father. Dr. Page was ap - pointed a magistrate of the county in 1824, and died in 1850. His children were Maria, Ella, Jane, Charlotte, William, Francis W., Carter H., Frederick W., Mann, Thomas W., and Dr. R. Channing, of New York.
PATRICK.
John Patrick, of Augusta, bought nearly a thousand acres in the western part of the county, most, if not all, being a portion of the immense Chiswell patent. His purchase com- menced in 1765. Two years after he conveyed three hundred acres to his son Charles; the remainder he appears to have sold to other persons. Charles died in 1797. His children were John, Charles, Mary, the wife of Joseph Burgher,
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Rachel, the wife of Thomas Smith, Martha, the wife of Joel Smith, and Margaret. Charles married Dorcas, daughter of Samuel Black, and removed to Fayette County, Kentucky. John succeeded to his father's place, and died in 1832. He was twice married, and his children were John M., Mary Susan, the wife of Thomas O. Carr, and - - the wife of James Lobban. The old homestead is still in the possession of one of the descendants, Sarah A. Patrick, who became the wife of James W. Timberlake.
PERRY.
George Perry was the owner of nearly five hundred acres on Shepherd's Creek, a tributary of the lower Hardware, just before the Revolutionary War. It is likely he was the father of John M. Perry, the most noted of the name resident in Albemarle. Countenance is given to this view by the fact, that John M. first appears in the same section of the county, purchasing in 1804 from Henry Wood a parcel of land on Buck Island, which two years later he sold to Martin Railey. About the same time a brother, Reuben, bought from Whit - aker Carter his interest in his father's lands in Kentucky, and in all probability removed to that State. George Perry, who owned a tract of more than three hundred acres on Moore's Creek, and in 1817 sold it to Nelson Barksdale, was perhaps another brother.
John M. in 1814 purchased from John Nicholas, the County Clerk, a tract of land including that on which the University stands, and three years after sold that part of it to Alexan - der Garrett, as Proctor of the Central University. In 1818 he bought from James Scott the Hydraulic Mills, and from David J. Lewis a large plantation in the same neighborhood. At the same time he was busily engaged as a contractor in the erection of buildings. He constructed a number of the edi - fices connected with the University, and built as his own res- idence the brick house near by, known as Montebello. He also built the mansion of Judge Philip Barbour on his place Frascati, not far from Gordonsville. He was appointed a magistrate in 1816, and for some years took an active part in the business of the county. In 1829 he began selling off his
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property, in 1834 disposing of the Hydraulic Mills to Nathan- iel Burnley and Rice Wood, and his land in that vicinity to William P. Farish. A year or two later he removed to Mis- souri, and subsequently to Mississippi, where he soon after died. His wife's name was Frances - and his children were Ann, the wife of Samuel Campbell, Elizabeth, the wife of George W. Spooner, who was associated with him in his work at the University, and Calvin L., who was admitted to the bar in 1828, and married Mary Tutt, a sister of Professor Bonnycastle's wife.
PEYTON.
John Peyton, son of Craven Peyton, of Loudoun County, was an officer in the Revolutionary army, and during the war was sent to Fluvanna County to purchase supplies. Three nephews, sons of his brother Valentine, joined him there, Craven, Robert and John. The nephews settled in Milton, and Robert and John died unmarried at an early age. Cra - ven, inheriting the property of his brothers, and likely that of his uncle, who also died unmarried, became the possessor of a large estate. He purchased from the family of Bennett Henderson more than eleven hundred acres surrounding Mil- ton, which in 1811 he sold to Mr. Jefferson. He also ac- quired from his father-in-law nearly a thousand acres on both sides of the Rivanna, including the old Lewis homestead of Monteagle, which he made his home. He married Jane Jef- ferson, daughter of Charles Lilburn Lewis and his wife Lucy, a sister of Mr. Jefferson. He died in 1837. His children were Margaret, the second wife of Isham R. Jefferson, Val- entine, Lucy, the wife of James W. Eskridge, Mary, the wife of William C. Eskridge, and Charles Lewis. The family removing to other places, most of them to the Valley, the estate passed into other hands. Charles Lewis settled at Richlands, Greenbrier County, where he died a few years ago, and his son, Rev. Charles W. Peyton is preaching as a Presbyterian minister in Texas.
Bernard Peyton, a merchant of Richmond, about 1850 bought Farmington from John Coles Carter, when he removed to Missouri. He made it his home, and died there suddenly
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in 1854. He was the father of Major Green Peyton, Proctor of the University, and a second cousin of Craven before men- tioned, and of John Howe Peyton, the distinguished lawyer of Staunton.
Another family of the name was settled in the county. Henry Peyton became the owner of Park Hill, the old Drury Wood place near Stony Point, where he resided until his death. His wife was a sister of William P. Farish, and his sons were William, Benjamin, George L., Dr. E. O., Bernard and Eu- gene, all of whom exhibited a marked degree of enterprise, some in conducting lines of Stages, and some in hotel keep- ing. They removed for the most part to West Virginia.
PHILLIPS.
In 1746 Joseph Phillips obtained a grant of land on Buck Mountain Creek, and removing to North Carolina in 1778, sold it to John Phillips, who by further purchases acquired a considerable landed estate. From 1750 to 1760 Leonard Phillips patented nearly a thousand acres in the southern part of the county on Ivy and Green Creeks, portions of which he sold to George Blain, and to Peter and William Farrar.
William B. Phillips came to the county at the time the University buildings were projected, and was engaged in the work of their construction. He was afterwards active in his dealings in real estate, both in town and country. In 1823 he bought Lots Thirteen and Seventy-Seven, and built upon them the brick houses, the former of which he sold to Gov- ernor Gilmer in 1831, and the latter to Dr. James A. Leitch. He purchased in 1833 from Eli Alexander nearly five hun- dred acres of the Colle estate, and built thereon the large brick mansion, which was subsequently the residence of Dr. George M. Bowen, and more recently of Hamilton Potts. His busy career terminated in Charlottesville in 1861.
PILSON.
It is probable the Pilson family originally belonged to Augusta County. In 1760 Richard of that name purchased from Jean Kinkead two hundred and twenty-four acres lying
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at the foot of the Blue Ridge. He appears to have died not long after, and the property descended to his son Samuel. In 1778 Samuel was living in Augusta, and in that year sold the land to William Pilson. William sold it to Nathaniel Harlow in 1783, and five years later it was the first purchase of John Dettor, of York County, Pennsylvania. It is likely that Samuel and William were brothers, and that Mary Pilson, who became the wife of William Wallace in 1771, was their sister.
John Pilson next appears, and was the son of Samuel. He was a man of sterling character, sincere piety, and the strictest integrity. He carried on the mercantile business in partnership with his cousin William Wallace until the death of William in 1809, and then conducted it alone for many years. The store stood on the old Staunton Road on the north side of the branch, opposite the house now owned by Rev. Dabney Davis. He invested the earnings of his busi - ness in the old Hardin property, which in 1837 he sold to Thomas C. Bowen. He was appointed a magistrate in 1824, and served for a time as ruling elder in the Mountain Plains Church. He never married, but was once engaged to his cousin Polly Wallace. Their union being opposed by friends because of relationship, they quietly acquiesced, but withal still loved and lived in each other's eyes until her death in 1845; and to her memory he remained constant until his own death, which occurred ten years later. A nephew, Matthew Pilson, from Augusta County, was for some years an assist - ant in the store. After John's death he returned to Augusta, where he died not long ago at an advanced age.
PIPER.
John Piper first purchased land in Albemarle in 1779. He then bought from Alexander Henderson four hundred acres on Lickinghole, which he sold to John Buster in 1792. In the meantime, in 1783, he bought from Charles Wingfield a place between Batesville and the Nelson line, which he made his home. When the records begin again in 1783, he was an acting magistrate of the county. In 1815 he conveyed nearly five hundred acres of his land to his son. His wife's name
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was Ann, and his children William and Elizabeth, the wife of Garrett White, of North Garden. William, who succeeded to the homestead, died in 1835. He and his wife Elizabeth had eleven children, Mary Ann, Garrett W., William, Nancy, the wife of Robert Field, Marshall, Willis, Jeremiah, Eliza - beth, the wife of Richard M. Durrett, Richard, Frances and John. Some years after the death of the father, the place was sold to William H. Turner, and those of the family still living removed to Missouri.
PRICE.
Edmund Price owned land for a short time in the neigh - borhood of Scott's Landing prior to 1770. John Price married Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Brown, of Brown's Cove, and in 1777 seems to have been a resident of Augusta County.
Richard Price was one of the earliest inhabitants of Milton, and there spent his life. He died in 1827. He was twice married. His children by his first wife were Jane, the wife of John Watson, Isabel, the wife of Edmund Read, and Lucy, the wife of John Burks, and mother of Lucy Jane, the wife of Lilburn R. Railey. His second wife, Frances, had a daughter, Sarah, who became the wife of Robert C. Scott, of Lynchburg.
In the early years of the century, John Price lived in the northeast part of the county. His wife was Sarah, daughter of Abraham Munday, and his children John, Henry, Matilda, the wife of William Marshall, Amanda, the wife of Nimrod Herring, Louisa, the wife of Thomas Harlow, Harriet, the wife of Thomas Salmon, Daniel and Nimrod.
Henry Price about 1823 came to Charlottesville from Mecklenburg County. He was a native of Stockport, Eng- land, and a tailor by trade. He owned at one time the house on the corner of the west side of the Square and High Street, and the house in the rear of the late Thomas Wood's. The latter he sold in 1829 to Dr. Frank Carr. He died in 1835. The next year his widow Nancy bought the lot on Park Street, north of Thomas Wood's, and built the brick house, which in comparatively recent years was enlarged by
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R. R. Prentis. He had a daughter Rebecca, who became the wife of Christopher Hornsey, and a son Henry, who lately acquired some notoriety, by exploiting a patent for an immense tract of land in the disputed zone between Vene - zuela and British Guiana.
Stephen C. Price in 1826 married Lydia Ann, daughter of Charles Harper. He lived on a farm on the south side of the old Richard Woods Road, southwest of Ivy Depot. He acted for a time as Treasurer of the County School Commissioners. He died in 1845. His children were Lucy, the wife of Jesse L. Maury, Charles H., Daniel, Robert, Elizabeth, and Sarah, the wife of James E. Pride.
QUARLES.
Roger Quarles in 1741 obtained a grant of four hundred acres on both sides of Priddy's Creek, which William Quarles, who was no doubt Roger's son, and who was described as of Orange County, sold to Richard Durrett in 1763. Whether any of the family ever lived on the land, is not known ; it was however sufficiently recognized by the public, to give the name of Quarles's Creek to a branch of Priddy's Creek pass- ing through it, and crossing the Barboursville Road.
In 1767 James Quarles, of King William, purchased from John Walker a plantation called Rock Hall, and containing nearly nine hundred acres, originally a part of the large Meriwether grant. He sold it in 1776 to Cornelius Ruddell, who two years after sold it to John Hunton, of Augusta. It remained in the Hunton family many years, Charles B. Hun- ton, a son of John, being appointed a magistrate in 1791, serving as Sheriff in 1813, and dying in 1818. James Quarles in 1778 bought from John Clark nearly thirteen hundred acres on Mechunk, which four years later he sold to Francis Kinloch, of South Carolina. He was appointed a magistrate, and was occupying the office of Sheriff in 1783, when the records again begin. He had a daughter Ann, who in 1785 became the wife of Henry Washington, of King George. Washington died in 1788, leaving two children, Frances Maria, and Ann Catharine, and in 1791 his widow was mar- ried to John Tinsley. Whether Quarles continued to reside
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in Albemarle till his death, or removed elsewhere, does not appear.
A tract of seventeen hundred acres lying on the waters of Buck Island and Hardware, was purchased from Duncan McLaughlin by a company consisting of Benjamin Fitzpat- rick, Robert Wright, Robert French, and John Quarles of Louisa. In connection with the final disposition of this land, it appeared that John Quarles had six children, two of whom were Albert G. and Garrett Minor. Garrett became a member of the Albemarle bar in 1813. Albert G. married Mary, daughter of Dabney Minor, and his children were * Matilda, Lucy, Henry, and Albert, who removed with their parents to Kentucky.
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