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 3
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There is no evidence that Indians were resident in the county at the first approach of the white man, though they still passed through on their journeys from one part of the country to another. But memorials of their former occupa- tion were not wanting. Mr. Jefferson mentions having often seen them in his boyhood, and refers in his Notes to a large band visiting the mound containing the remains of their an -
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cestors on the Rivanna low grounds, and there expressing their customary signs of grief. In a description of land on Bremo Creek, in a deed of 1751, is noted a line that ran "up to the head of the branch that the Indian shot John Lawson at." The head stream of Buck Island that flows past Over - ton, was variously called Indian Creek, Indian Camp Creek, and Camping Branch, and the plantation at its source, once owned by William Short, and sold by him to David Higgin- botham, bore the name of Indian Camp. Flint arrowheads, often of superior workmanship, are found in large numbers in many sections of the county.
The first division of the county, besides its separation into the two parishes of Fredericksville and St. Anne's, was that made by the bounds of the militia companies. Each of the two regiments embodied ir it contained eight companies, and thus there were sixteen of these divisions. The persons selected to perform the duty of Processioning, whilst that method of determining the boundaries of lands was prac- tised, were chosen for these divisions, usually four persons for each. They were referred to by Mr. Jefferson as forming suitable districts for stationing common schools, and appear in the records until quite a late period in connection with the appointment of patrolling parties.
For a long time the county seat was the exclusive locality for holding political elections. For electing Overseers of the Poor, there existed in the early part of the century four dis - tricts : for the northeast, the voting place was Trice's Tav - ern below Turkey Sag, and afterwards Stony Point; for the northwest, Fretwell's Store, or Free Union; for the south - west, Everett's Tavern, or the Cross Roads; and for the southeast, Dyer's Store. It was not until the second quarter of the century was considerably advanced that the number of election precincts was increased, and the convenience of the people thus consulted. As late as 1820, Charlottesville was the only post office for the county ; subsequent to that date, mail facilities began rapidly to multiply.
In 1846, in accordance with an act of the Legislature, the county was divided into twenty-one School districts. A
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description of their limits is recorded in the Order Book for that year, page 312. In Deed Book No. Fifty, occurs the record of the boundaries of ten districts for election purposes, which were constituted in pursuance of an act of the Legis- lature passed in 1852.
The last division was effected by an act of the Legislature, under the requirement of the new Constitution, adopted in July, 1869. By this law the county was laid off into five Townships, subsequently termed Districts. These were Rivanna, Whitehall, Samuel Miller, Scottsville and Charlottesville. In 1875 another was added, called Ivy, which was enlarged on its northern border in 1889.
Allusion has been made to the great misfortune sustained in the loss of the early records. The gap thus occasioned reaches from 1748 to 1783, a period of thirty-five years, and one intensely interesting in the history of the country at large. The loss was caused by the wanton ravages of the British troops near the close of the Revolutionary War. Many refer- ences to this event are met with in the subsequent proceedings of the County Court. In 1794 it recommended John Key, George Divers, Thomas Garth, Thomas W. Lewis, Garland Carr, Thomas Bell, Robert Jonett, W. W. Hening, and Cornelius Schenk as "Commissioners to reinstate such rec- ords as had been lost or destroyed." These persons or others were certainly appointed for this purpose, as the Court in one place ordered the transactions of the Commissioners "for reinstating the records destroyed by the enemy," to be recorded. A copy of Gideon Carr's will was proved before them, and directed to be placed on record. On a deed from Thomas Goolsby to Samuel Shelton dated July 1745, the following memorandum was inscribed: "February Court, 1788. This Indenture was produced to the Court, and it appearing from a certificate on the same, that it had been formerly recorded in this Court, the record whereof was de- stroyed by the British in the year 1781, on motion of Samuel Sheiton it was ordered by the Court that it be recorded again, in pursuance of an act of Assembly for that purpose." The act here referred to may be found in Hening XII, 497. It
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is hard to conceive any conduct in an army more outrageous, more opposed to the true spirit of civilization, and withal more useless in a military point of view, than the destruction of public archives.
Other interruptions of the series however have happened since that time. The order books of the Court are missing from 1785 to 1791. Those for the years 1805 and 1827 are also wanting. It is difficult to account for these losses, except from want of due care in the removal of the books at different times from one office to another.
During the long interval posterior to 1748, two events transpired on which it is desirable to have as much light as possible, the change of location of the Court House, and the Revolutionary War. Materials fortunately exist to furnish some account of both.
The first occurrence was rendered necessary by the partition of the county in 1761. The territory on the south side of James River was cut off to form the county of Bucking- ham. That part which lay north of the James, and west of the Rockfish from its mouth up to the mouth of Green Creek, and thence west of a line running directly to the house of Thomas Bell, and continuing thence to the Blue Ridge, was constituted the county of Amherst. At the same time there was added to Albemarle that part of Louisa lying west of a line, beginning at the boundary between Albemarle and Louisa on the ridge between Mechunk and Beaverdam Swamp, and running along said ridge till inter - sected by an east course from the widow Cobb's plantation, and thence a direct course to the Orange line opposite the plantation of Ambrose Coleman. When this arrangement took place, it left the Court House on the extreme southern border, and rendered attendance thereat unnecessarily incon- venient to the people residing in the northern sections of the county.
What proceedings transpired to determine the site of the new Court House, whether it was fixed by the judgment of the County Court, or settled by a popular vote, there remains no means of knowing. Certain it is no more suitable place
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than the one selected could have been chosen. It occupies almost the exact centre of the county, it lies in the midst of a fertile country, and it is beautiful for situation. Lofty ideas were evidently entertained in relation to its establishment. A thousand acres were purchased front Colonel Richard Ran- dolph, of Henrico, extending north and south from near Cochran's Pond to the south side of Moore's Creek, and east and west from the Chesapeake and Ohio Depot to Preston Heights. The title to this property was vested in Dr. Thomas Walker as Trustee, and he was empowered to sell and convey it to purchasers. The town was planned at the eastern edge of this tract, and consisted of four tiers of squares, each tier running east and west, and containing seven squares, and the four tiers extending from Jefferson Street on the north to South Street on the south. The public square for the courthouse was exterior to the limits of the town. The act of Assembly establishing the town was passed in November 1762. It is therein recited that fifty acres of land contiguous to the courthouse had already been laid off into lots and streets, and as it would be of great advan - tage to the inhabitants of the county if established a town for the reception of traders, it was so established, to be called and known by the name of Charlottesville. Dictated by the spirit of loyalty then prevalent, the name was given in honor of Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz, who had recently become Queen of England as the wife of King George III.
There being two half-acre lots in each square, the original town contained fifty-six lots. They were not disposed of with great rapidity. At the first sale in September 1763, about a year after the survey of the town, fourteen lots were sold to seven purchasers. Ten more were sold at intervals during the next year. Strange to say, the most of those alienated at first were remote from the courthouse, and lay on Main, Water and South Streets, although it is within the memory of some living since the Square ceased to be the business centre of the town. The next sale took place in October 1765, when twenty-three lots were disposed of, four-
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teen being purchased at once by Benjamin Brown and David Ross. By this time it may be supposed the courthouse was built, and the prospects of the new settlement being some - what assured, the spirit of speculation began to operate. In the deed to John Moore of Lot No. Three in 1765, it was stated that the Court of the County was recently held thereon.
The residue of the public land was divided into fifteen parts, designated as outlots. They ranged in size from thirty-three to one hundred and fifty acres. The smallest of them lying north of the town and immediately on the public square, was sold to John Moore in April 1764. On this lot was a spring in the ravine behind Miss Ross' resi- dence, which had already acquired the name of the Prison Spring. The latter part of the same year two others adjoin- ing the town on the south, and containing seventy-three acres, were purchased by Richard Woods. In October 1765, eight more lying to the north, south and west, and aggre- gating upwards of six hundred acres, were bought by John Moore, Joel Terrell, and Richard and Samuel Woods. The last sale of outlots mentioned occurred in 1791, when the most northerly of them was sold to Dr. George Gilmer. The whole sum realized by the county from the sale of town lots and outlots averaged a pound an acre, amounting to thirty three hundred and thirty-three dollars.
The improvements made in the town before the Revolu- tion seem to have been few and scattered. One of the earliest was the residence of Joel Terrell, which was built on the corner of Market and Fifth Streets, where the City Hall now stands. Thomas West, a saddler by trade, lived on Main Street, on the square now occupied by the Leter - mans' Store. Samuel Taliaferro resided on the square to the east, on which afterwards stood the dwelling and store of Colonel Thomas Bell, occupied later by the family of Jesse Scott, and at present the seat of the Post Office. The first home of Dr. George Giliner was on the south side of Main Street, near the present location of T. T. Norman's Store. Jolın Day, a blacksmith, lived on the southeast corner of
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Water and First Streets. Tucker Woodson, Deputy Clerk of the County, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Jolin Moore, had his residence north of town, near the road to Cochran's Mill. A short time before the outbreak of the war, John Jouett built his public house, the Swan Tavern, on the east of the public square, where the house of the late Samuel Leitch now stands. The square on which is now erected the Perley Building, was known in those days as "the Grass Lot," and on a part of it was a house in which a Richard Scott lived, and which when sold during the war was reserved to him for his life. In a house on Lot Twenty- one, now marked by Huyett's Corner, a Mary Murphy lived the latter part of the war. Being afterwards married to Joseph Neilson, they sold it in 1784, and the same year it came into the possession of Robert Draffen, a former mer - chant of Charlottesville.
As the war of the Revolution drew near, the people of Albemarle were deeply aroused. Their opposition to the obnoxious measures of the British government was prompt and strong. Upon the first mutterings of the storm, an independent company of volunteers was formed, and by spirited resolves they devoted themselves to the public wel- fare. When the election of officers was entered upon, the choice fell upon Charles Lewis, of North Garden, as Captain, Dr. George Gilmer and John Marks, as Lieutenants, Jolın Harvie, as Ensign, William Simms, William Wood, William T. Lewis, and John Martin, as Sergeants, and Frederick W. Wills, Thomas Martin, Jr., Patrick Napier and David Allen, as Corporals. As soon as the news was received of the removal of the powder by Lord Dunmore, without waiting for a call, eighteen men at once marched to Williamsburg. How long they remained under arms, does not appear. They returned home shortly after, in the midst of the prevailing uncertainty. But their eagerness to sustain "the cause of America," was unabated. In fact so enthusiastic was their warmth, that they were not disposed to listen to counsels which cooler minds deemed prudent. On receiving a mes- sage from Captain Hugh Mercer, to the effect that the Speaker
1
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and others thought the companies assembled should be dis- missed, they were at a loss how to act. It was determined however that the matter should be submitted to the decision of the company. They voted to march again, and on July 11th, 1775, twenty-seven men under Lieutenant George Gil- mer proceeded a second time to Williamsburg.
The Convention which met on July 17th of that year, formed sixteen districts in the colony, in which troops should be raised for its defence. In one of these Albemarle was associated with Buckingham, Amherst and East Augusta. The Committee of the district convened on September 8th, 1775, at the house of James Woods in Amherst. There were present from Albemarle, Charles Lewis and George Gilmer, from Amherst, William Cabell and John and Hugh Rose, from Buckingham, John Nicholas, Charles Patterson and John Cabell, and from Augusta, Sampson Matthews, Alex - ander McClanahan and Samuel McDowell. Thomas Jefferson was the other delegate from Albemarle, but was absent at the Continental Congress, of which he had been appointed a member the previous June. At this meeting it was resolved, that two companies of minutemen should be enlisted in each of the counties of Albemarle, Amherst and Buckingham, and four in that of Augusta, and that these ten companies should constitute a battalion under George Matthews, of Augusta, and afterwards Governor of Georgia, as Colonel, Charles Lewis, of Albemarle, as Lieutenant Colonel, Daniel Gaines, of Amherst, as Major, and Thomas Patterson, of Buckingham, as Commissary. This battalion was raised and went into camp November 11th, 1775, three miles from Rockfish Gap, and continued in training till December 6th. Inquiry fails to find any local tradition of the place of this camp, but it is said that grounds at that distance from the Gap, and admir - ably fit for military exercises, may be found on the main road between Hebron and Rodes' Churches. Charles Lewis ap- pears as Colonel of a battalion the next year, and was ordered by the Convention in May to North Carolina. He was after- wards Colonel of the Fourteenth Virginia Regiment, and at the time of his death in 1779, Commander of the post at Charlottesville.
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Soldiers from Albemarle fought on all the important bat- tle fields of the war, Long Bridge, Trenton, Stony Point, Brandywine, Germantown, Saratoga, Monmouth, Savannah, Charleston, Camden, King's Mountain, Cowpens, Guilford, Eutaw and Yorktown.
The most striking event connecting the county with the war, was the location within its bounds of the camp for the Convention Troops, as they were called; that is, the pris- oners captured in October 1777, at Burgoyne's surrender. These troops were first sent to Boston, whence they were to be allowed to return to Europe on their parole not to serve again till exchanged ; but Congress on account of its unsat- isfactory relations with the British authorities, refused to ratify the terms of the Convention, and the next year directed the prisoners to be removed to Charlottesville. Being led by way of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Frederick, Maryland, they reached their new quarters about the first of the year 1779, and remained until October 1780. The camp was stationed on the northern bank of Ivy Creek, on what is now the farm of the late George Carr, and the place has ever since borne the name of The Barracks. There remain some inter- esting reminiscences of this episode of the war, derived from contemporary documents.
The prisoners arrived in the winter, when a spell of ex- tremely bitter weather was prevailing. Such was the lack of preparation for their reception, and such their sufferings, that numerous remonstrances were presented by their officers to the Governor of the State, as well as to Congress. De- mands were made for their immediate removal. In this state of affairs Mr. Jefferson wrote at inuch length to Patrick Henry, the Governor at that time, stating the circumstances, and urging that there was no necessity for a change. The letter, dated March 27th, 1779, is valuable for the interesting facts it preserves. In the course of it he says,
"There could not have been a more unlucky concurrence of circumstances than when these troops first came. The barracks were unfinished for want of laborers, the spell of weather, the worst ever known within the memory of man, no
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stores of bread laid in, the roads by the weather and the number of wagons soon rendered impassable ; and not only the troops themselves were greatly disappointed, but the people of the neighborhood were alarmed at the consequences which a total failure of provisions might produce.
"The barracks occupy the top and brow of a very high hill ; you have been untruly told they were in a bottom. They are free from fog, have four springs which seem to be plentiful, one within twenty yards of the picket, and another within two hundred and fifty; and they propose to sink wells within the picket. Of four thousand people it should be expected according to the ordinary calculations, that one should die every day. Yet in the space of more than three months there have been but four deaths, two infants under three weeks old, and two others by apoplexy. The officers tell me the troops were never so healthy since they were embodied.
"The mills on James River above the falls, open to canoe navigation, are very many. Some of these are of great value as manufacturers, The barracks are surrounded by mills. There are five or six round about Charlottesville. Any two or three of the whole might in the course of the winter manufacture flour sufficient for the year.
"The officers after considerable hardship have procured quarters comfortable and satisfactory to them. In order to do this, they were obliged in many instances to hire houses for a year certain, and at such exorbitant rents as were suffi- cient to tempt independent owners to go out of them, and shift as they could. These houses in most cases were much out of repair. They have repaired them at considerable expense. One of the general officers has taken a place for two years, advanced the rent for the whole time, and been obliged moreover to erect additional buildings for the accom- modation of part of his family, for which there was not room in the house rented. Independent of the brick work, for the carpentry of these additional buildings I know he is to pay fifteen hundred dollars. The same gentleman to my knowl - edge has paid to one person thirty-six hundred and seventy
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dollars, for different articles to fix himself commodiously. They have generally laid in their stocks of grain and other provisions. They have purchased cows, sheep, &c., set in to farming, prepared their gardens, and have a prospect of quiet and comfort before them.
"To turn to the soldiers. The environs of the barracks are delightful, the ground cleared, laid off in hundreds of gardens, each enclosed in its separate paling; these are well prepared, and exhibiting a fine appearance. General Riede- sel alone laid out upwards of two hundred pounds in garden seeds for the German troops only. Judge what an extent of ground these seeds would cover. There is little doubt that their own gardens will furnish them a great abundance of vegetables through the year. Their poultry, pigeons and other preparations of that kind present to the mind the idea of a company of farmers, rather than a camp of soldiers. In addition to the barracks built for them by the public, and now very comfortable, they have built great numbers for themselves in such messes as fancied each other; and the whole corps, both officers and men, seem now happy and satisfied with their situation.".
Besides this narrative of Mr. Jefferson, there is extant an account of the Barracks, and of the condition of affairs in the surrounding country, in the published letters of Major Thomas Anbury, a British officer, and one of the prisoners. These letters were despatched from time to time to his friends in England, and exhibit a detail of his experiences and ob- servations, from Burgoyne's march from Canada till near the close of the war. They were written in a free, dashing style, and while his descriptions are sprightly and entertaining, they present things in such aspects and colors as would natu- rally be expected from a British point of view. Most of those written from Albemarle were dated at Jones's Plantation, and the circumstances to which he refers make it evident that the place was that of Orlando Jones, situated north of Glendower, and now bearing the name of Refuge. Respect- ing matters concerning the prisoners, he writes,
"On our arrival at Charlottesville, no pen can describe the -3
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scene of misery and confusion that ensued; the officers of the first and second brigades were' in the town, and our ar - rival added to their distress. This famous place we had heard so much of, consisted only of a courthouse, one tavern, and about a dozen houses, all of which were crowded with officers ; those of our brigade were therefore obliged to ride about the country, and entreat the inhabitants to take us in. As to the men, their situation was truly horrible, after the hard shifts they had experienced in their march from the Potomac. They were, instead of comfortable barracks, con- ducted into a wood, where a few log huts were just begun to be built, the most part not covered over, and all of them full of snow. These they were obliged to clear out and cover over, to secure themselves from the inclemency of the weather as soon as they could, and in the course of two or three days rendered a habitable, but by no means a comfortable, retirement. What added greatly to the distress of the men was the want of provisions, as none had as yet arrived for the troops, and for six days they subsisted on the meal of Indian corn made into cakes. The person who had the management of every- thing, informed us that we were not expected till spring.
"Never was a country so destitute of every comfort. Pro- visions were not to be purchased for ten days; the officers subsisted upon fat pork and Indian corn made into cakes, not a drop of spirit of any kind; what little there had been, was already consumed by the first and second brigades. Many officers to comfort themselves put red pepper into water to drink by way of cordial. Upon a representation of our situation by Brigadier General Hamilton to Colonel Bland, who commanded the American troops, he promised to make the situation of the men as comfortable as possible, and with all expedition. The officers upon signing a parole might go to Richmond and other adjacent towns, to procure themselves quarters ; accordingly a parole was signed, which allowed a circuit of near a hundred miles. And after they had drawn lots, as three were to remain in the barracks with the men, or at Charlottesville, the principal part of them set off for Richmond, while many are at plantations twenty or thirty
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miles from the barracks. On the arrival of the troops at Charlottesville, the officers what with vexation and to keep out the cold, drank rather freely of an abominable liquor called peach brandy, which if drunk to excess, the fumes raise an absolute delirium, and in their cups several were guilty of deeds that would admit of no apology. The inhab- itants must have thought us mad, for in the course of three or four days there were no less than six or seven duels fought.
"I am quartered with Major Master and four other officers of our regiment at this plantation, about twenty miles from the barracks. The owner has given up his house and gone to reside at his overseer's, and for the use of his house we pay him two guineas a week. It is situated upon an emi- nence, commanding a prospect of near thirty miles around it, and the face of the country appears an immense forest, interspersed with various plantations four or five miles dis - tant from each other. Informing the Commissary of pro- visions where we were quartered, he gave us an order on a Colonel Coles, who resides about four miles distant, to supply us, he being appointed to collect for the use of Congress in this district ; who upon application sent us about a month's provision of flour and salt pork for ourselves and servants. Cattle, horses, sheep and hogs followed the cart, to lick the barrels containing the salt meat.
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