USA > Virginia > Augusta County > Augusta County > Annals of Augusta county, Virginia, from 1726 to 1871 > Part 17
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* An act of the General Assembly, passed in 1769, in regard to certain entailed lands, shows that a John Lewis, who lived in Gloucester county, had a son named Charles. This Charles was probably the person referred to by the Governor. It is not likely that the County Lieutenant of Spottsylvania would have delivered a commission to Charles Lewis, of Augusta.
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Moreover, Thomas Estis and Aaron Bledstone had been appointed captains, although they were insolvent and not able to pay their levies. " This conduct," says the Governor, "is prostituting my commissions entrusted with you, and pray what gentleman of charac- ter will role with such persons that have neither land nor negroes " !
The Governor's last letter to Major Lewis is dated December, 1757. In this parting shot, he denounced again the "many villainous and unjust accounts" sent in from Augusta. He says : "Preston and Dickinson are rangers, and so must Captain Hogg's; but I don't agree to have any militia in pay, for they have hitherto been pick- pockets to the country."
Here we take leave of rare Governor Dinwiddie. He took his de- parture from the country, in January, 1758. On account of the historical value of his letters we could have better spared a better man. He died in Clifton, England, August 1, 1770.
The vestry of Augusta parish had established a "chapel of ease " at the forks of James river,* and paid Sampson Mathews a small salary for his services as reader at that point ; but in the fall of 1757, the greater part of the inhabitants thereabouts "having deserted their plantations by reason of the enemy Indians," it was resolved that the chapel referred to was unnecessary, and the services of the reader were discontinued.
At the same meeting, it appearing that the glebe buildings had not been completed, it was ordered that suit be brought against the contractor, Colonel John Lewis. Our ancestors believed in law-suits, and were no respecters of persons. For a year or more the vestry were engaged in litigation with another prominent citizen, Robert McClanahan, who had been High Sheriff and collector of the parish levy, withont accounting therefor, it was charged.
An act of Assembly in 1758, provided for the payment of military claims, and a schedule to the act gives the names of the persons entitled to pay. The names of Augusta people fill nearly twenty-two printed pages, among them Elizabeth Preston, £1. 2. 8, for provisions. -Hening, vol. 7, p. 179.
THE CAMPBELLS.
John Campbell came from Ireland to America in 1726, with five or six grown sons and several daughters, and settled first in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Six or eight years afterwards he removed to
* About the site of the present town of Lexington.
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that part of Orange county, Virginia, which, in 1738, became Augus- ta county, where many of his numerous descendants lived for many years.
Three of John Campbell's sons came with him to Augusta, viz : Patrick, Robert and David.
I. Patrick Campbell, who died in Augusta, had at least two sons -Charles and Patrick.
I. Charles Campbell, son of Patrick, died in Augusta in 1767. He was the father of General William Campbell, of King's Mountain fame. In his will, dated August 4, 1761, proved in court and admit- ted to record March 17, 1767, he speaks of himself as a resident of Beverley's Manor. He appointed his wife, Margaret, sole executrix, provided for her support, left 1,000 acres of land on the Holston to his son William, and lands in the same section to his daughters. The inventory of the estate shows a larger amount of personal property than was common at that time.
William Campbell, only son of Charles, was born in 1745. In a short time after his father's death, the whole family moved to the Hol- ston, now Washington county, then in Augusta. The oldest daugh- ter, Elizabeth, married John Taylor, and from her the Taylors of Botetourt and Montgomery are descended ; the second, Jane, married Thomas Tate ; the third, Margaret, married Colonel Arthur Campbell, her second consin ; and the fourth, Ann, married Richard Poston.
The wife of Gen. William Campbell was a sister of Patrick Henry, and his only child became the wife of Gen. Francis Preston. He died in 1781, at the age of thirty-six. His widow married Gener- al Russell. She was eminently pions, in connection with the Metho- dist church, and was styled "The Elect Lady," or Lady Russell. General Campbell rendered distinguished service during the Revolu- tion, besides his exploit at King's Mountain.
2. Patrick Campbell, second son of Patrick and brother of Charles, went to the southern part of Kentucky, and left many descendants.
II. Robert Campbell,* son of John and brother of Patrick (I), was one of the first Justices of the Peace appointed for Augusta county, in 1745. He died in 1768, without leaving a will. His descendants, if any, are not mentioned by Governor David Campbell in his account of the family. (See Foote's Sketches, 2d series, page 117).
III. David Campbell, son of John and brother of Patrick (I) and Robert (II), married, in Augusta, Mary Hamilton, and had seven sons and six daughters, all of whom, except a son who died young, emi- grated to the Holston. The sons were John, Arthur, James, William, David, Robert and Patrick ; and the daughters, Margaret, Mary, Martha, Sarah, Ann, and sixth not named.
I. John Campbell, the oldest son of David, was born in 1741, and received a good English education. He accompanied Dr. Thomas Walker in his exploration in 1765, and purchased for his father a tract of land called the "Royal Oak," near the head waters of the Holston. A year or two afterwards, he and his brother Arthur, and their sister
* Or at least a person of the same name.
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Margaret, moved to that place and made improvements. About 1771, the parents and the other children removed to the same place.
John Campbell was a Lieutenant in William Campbell's company, Colonel Christian's regiment, in 1774, which arrive at Point Pleasant too late for the battle of October roth. In July, 1776, he was second in command at the battle of the Long Island Flats of Holston, which resulted in a signal victory over the Indians. In October of the same year he commanded a company under Colonel Christian in his expedi- tion against the Cherokee towns, and up to 1781 was almost constantly in military service. He was appointed clerk of Washington County Court in 1778, and held the office till 1824. His death occurred in 1825. He was the father of Governor David Campbell.
Edward Campbell, another son of John Campbell, the younger, and brother of Governor Campbell, was a lawyer, and father of the late Judge Jolın A. Campbell and others, of Abingdon. A sister of David and Edward married James Cummings, son of the Rev. Charles Cum- mings, and was the mother of Colonel Arthur Campbell Cummings, of Abingdon.
2. Arthur Campbell, second son of David, died about1811, in his sixty-ninth year.
3. James Campbell, third son, lost his eye sight from small-pox, and died at fifty years of age.
4. William Campbell died in his youth before the family moved to the Holston.
5. David Campbell, fifth son of David, was a lawyer and removed to Tennessee. He was first the Federal Judge in the Territory, and then one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of the State. His death occurred in 1812. in the sixty-second year of his age. He had been appointed Federal Judge of the Territory which afterwards formed the State of Alabama, but died before he removed his family to the new country.
6. Robert Campbell, sixth son of David, was nineteen years old when he went with his brother to the Holston. He was a volunteer in the expedition of 1774, and a member of his brother John's com- pany at the Long Island Flats, in 1776. In October, 1776, he was in Christian's campaign, and in 1780 was an ensign under Colonel Wil- liam Campbell at King's Mountain. In December, 1780, he served under Colonel Arthur Campbell, his brother, against the Cherokees. After acting as a magistrate in Washington county for more than thirty years, he removed to the vicinity of Knoxville, Tennessee, where he died in 1831.
7. Patrick Campbell, the youngest son of David, was a volunteer at King's Mountain. He remained with his father and inherited the homestead. In his old age he removed to Williamson county, Ten- nessee, and died when about eighty years old.
The daughters of David and Mary Campbell-
1. Margaret married the David Campbell who erected a block- house in Tennessee, widely known as "Campbell's Station." She was conspicuous for many excellent traits of character. Her death oc- curred in 1799, at the age of fifty-one.
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2. Mary married William Lockhart before the family removed from Angsta.
3. Ann married Archibald Roane, who was first a teacher at Liberty Hall Academy, Rockbridge, and successively Judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, Governor of the State, and Judge again. He died at Nashville in 1831, about seventy-one years of age.
Several other families of Campbells, not related as far as known to those just mentioned, were amongst the early settlers of Augusta. One of these was represented for many years by Dr. Samuel Camp- bell, of Lexington, uncle of Charles Campbell, the historian ; and another by the late Rev. William G. Campbell and his nephew, Pro- fessor John L. Campbell, of Washington and Lee University.
THE SMITHS.
Captain John Smith, the ancestor of the Augusta and Rocking- ham Smiths, appeared at Orange Court, June 26, 1740, and " proved his importation," with the view of taking up public land. The record shows that his wife's name was Margaret, and that his children were Abraham, Henry, Daniel, John and Joseph. They came from Ireland by way of Philadelphia, and were accompanied by Robert McDowell. Captain Smith and others qualified as captain of militia at Orange Court, June 24, 1742. We next hear of him as a captain of rangers in 1755.
The late Benjamin H. Smith, of Kanawha, a great-grandson of Captain John Smith, relates in an unpublished manuscript a series of events in the life of his ancestor, of which there is elsewhere 110 ac- count. According to this narrative, at some time not stated, Captain Smith, with seventeen men, held a fort where Pattonsburg, on James river, now stands, which was invested by three hundred French and Indians. After a brave resistance for three days, the garrison agreed to surrender the fort upon a stipulation allowing them to return to their homes. Astonished and mortified at finding so few men in the fort, the enemy disregarded the terms of surrender and held the sur- vivors, only nine or ten in number, as prisoners. Three of Captain Smith's sons were with the party, one of whom was wounded during the siege and killed by an Indian after the surrender. The prisoners were taken by the French down the Oliio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, and on the way the two young Smiths, who had sur- vived the disaster at the fort, died. Only five of the prisoners lived to reach New Orleans. The Captain and two others were sent to France, and he alone returned to America, after an absence of two years.
Whatever foundation there may be for this story, some of the de- tails are certainly incorrect. There was a fort, so-called, at the mouth of Looney's Creek, a inile above Pattonsburg, but it is safe to say that there never was an inroad into the Valley of three hundred French and Indians. The only Indian raid upon the Pattonsburg neighborhood, of which we have an authentic account, occurred in
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1761. It is certain, however, that Capt. Smithi was a prisoner at some time or other. By act of Assembly passed in 1765, he was allowed £83, 135, 9d, his pay while a prisoner, in 1759, apparently.
A list of 307 people killed, wounded, or captured by Indians, in Augusta county, from 1754 to May, 1758, obtained from some un- known source by Dr. Draper, and preserved among the archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society, gives the date of Capt. Smith's capture as June 25, 1756, and the place as Fort Vause, otherwise called Vass, Voss, and Vaux. This fort was at the head of Roanoke river, in the present county of Montgomery, and about ten miles from Christians- burg. The list referred to is called "The Preston Register," but could hardly have been made by Col. William Preston. It is not complete, and is probably not entirely accurate. According to the Register, however, three men were killed at the time and place mentioned, including Lieut. John Smith, son of the captain ; four were wounded, but probably escaped ; and eighteen persons were captured, including Capt. Smith, his son Joseph, and several women and children.
At a session of the County Court on November 18, 1757, the following order was entered : " Abraham Smith, eldest son and heir- at-law of John Smith, now a prisoner in the French Dominions, having refused to take on himself the administration of the said Smith's estate, on motion of Israel Christian, a creditor, administration of the said estate is granted during the absence of the said Smith."
Captain Smith died at the residence of his son, Daniel, two miles north of Harrisonburg, after the beginning of the Revolutionary war. He applied for a commission in the army, but was refused on account of his age, which greatly offended him. His children who survived him were three sons and one daughter. The latter married Hugh Bowen, of Southwest Virginia, who was killed at the battle of King's Mountain.
I. Abraham Smith, son of John, was captain of militia in 1756. In 1758 he was court-martialed, but acquitted, and his accuser subjec- ted to punishment. In 1776 he was colonel of militia. In 1778, he was one of the first justices of Rockingham and county lieutenant. He owned a large landed estate at the foot of North Mountain, about two miles from North River, which descended to his son Henry.
John Smith, son of Abraham, was an ensign at Point Pleasant. He was the father of the late Abraham Smith, of Rockingham, of Joseph and Silas H. Smith, of Augusta, and of a daughter named Nancy, wife of William Crawford. His wife was Mary Jane Smith, of Cul- peper, a descendant of the Captain Smith who visited the Valley, in 1716, with Governor Spotswood. Her first husband was Silas Hart, who died without children.
II. Daniel Smith, son of John, was for some time presiding justice of the County Court of Augusta. In 1776, he was captain of militia. When Rockingham county was organized in 1778, he was one of the first justices of the peace. He was appointed also colonel of militia and one of the coroners. The first County Court of Rockingham was held at his house. His wife was Jane Harrison, sister of Benjamin
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Harrison, of Rockingham, On the return of the troops from York- town, the victory was celebrated by the military of Rockingham at a grand review in November, 1781. Colonel Smith's horse, taking fright at the firing, sprang aside, and spraining his rider's back, caused his death in a few days. Three of his sons participated in the siege of Yorktown, viz :
I. John, father of the late Judge Daniel Smith.
2. Daniel, who was also at Point Pleasant,
3. Benjamin, father of Benjamin Harrison Smith, of Kanawha.
III. William Smith, son of John and brother of Abraham and Daniel. His family went to Kentucky and have been lost sight of by their Virginia relatives.
THE HARRISONS, of Rockingham, were intimately connected with the Smiths, but the early history of the former family is involved in much obscurity. They are said to have come from Connecticut, and to have been descendants of Thomas Harrison, one of the judges who condemned King Charles I, to death. We find, that on July 27, 1744, the Rev. John Craig baptized Elizabeth Herison. "an adult person ;" and on Jannary 21, 1747, he baptized David Stuart and Abigal Herri- son, "adult persons, after profession of faith and obedience." It is presumed that the females mentioned were members of the Harrison family. John and Reuben Harrison are mentioned under date of 1750, on a former page. Our information is that they were brothers. John never married, and was killed by his slaves. Reuben married, and had several children. Captain Daniel Harrison is mentioned in 1755, and again in 1756. Nathaniel Harrison was fined by the court martial of Augusta county, Oct. 30, 1761, for failing to muster. How Daniel and Nathaniel were related to Reuben, is not known. Thomas Harri- son, the founder of Harrisonburg, the son of Reuben, left four sons : Ezekiel, Reuben, Jolın and Josiah, and one daughter, who married a Warren. The present Reuben Harrison, of Rockingham, is a son of Reuben and grandson of Thomas.
Benjamin Harrison, son of Daniel of Rockingham, was a member of the Augusta court-martial, April 19, 1769, and in 1774 commanded a company at Point Pleasant. In July, 1775, he was appointed captain of a company of minute-men. When Rockingham was organized, in 1778, he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the militia of that county. According to the information we have, he was not related to the family of Reuben Harrison, but came from Eastern Virginia, prob- ably Londonn county.
Dr. Peachy R. Harrison, long an eminent citizen of Rockingham, was a son of Colonel Benjamin Harrison, and the youngest of eight children. He was born in 1777, and died in 1848. His wife was Jane Stuart, a daughter of John Stuart, who lived near the Stone church, Augusta.
The distinguished Dr. Gessner Harrison, Professor of Ancient Languages at the University of Virginia, was the second son of Dr. Peachy R. Harrison. He was appointod professor at the age of twenty-one, and held the position thirty years.
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THE ALLENS.
James Allen was the oldest son of William Allen, who came from Ireland and settled in Augusta, but at what date is unknown. A brother of William was the grandfather of Dr. Allen who long resided and practiced medicine in the Stone Church neighborhood.
It is believed that James Allen was seven years old at the date of the emigration to America. His brothers, Hugh and John, were born here.
James and Hugh married sisters, daughters of John Anderson, a native of Ireland. John Allen, it is said, was a lieutenant at Brad- dock's defeat, and was "lost" in that disaster. Hugh was a lieutenant in Colonel Charles Lewis' regiment at Point Pleasant, in 1774. He was killed in the battle and his body was buried by the side of Colonel Lewis' remains. He had three sons, John, William and Hugh, all of whom removed to Kentucky.
[The widow of Lientenant Hugh Allen, whose maiden name was Jane Anderson, contracted a second marriage, in 1778, with William Craig, born in 1750 and died in 1829. The children of William and Jane Craig, who lived to maturity, were : 1. Jane, wife of James Pat- terson, of Augusta ; 2. James Craig, of Mt. Meridian, died in 1863 ; 3. Sarah, wife of James Laird, of Rockingham ; and 4. Margaret, last wife of James Bell, of Augusta].
James Allen lived near the place now called Willow Spout, on the macadamized road, about eight miles north of Staunton. As we have seen, he was a captain of militia in 1756. He participated in the battle of Point Pleasant, saw his brother Hugh killed, and placed a stone at his grave. He died in 1810 ninety-four years of age, having been an elder of Augusta Stone Church for sixty-four years.
James and Margaret Allen had ten children, two sons and eight daughters, viz :
I. Jane Allen, wife of Captain James Trimble, who removed to Kentucky in 1783, accompanied by the sons of Hugh Allen and many others. (See "The Trimbles." )
II. Ann Allen, wife of Colonel George Poage, who removed from the county. Their children were, -1. Allen ; 2. John ; 3. William ; 4. Jane ; 5. Mary ; 6. James ; 7. Thomas; and 8. Hugh.
III. Elizabeth, wife of the Rev. John McCue.
IV. Rebecca, wife of Major John Crawford. (See "The Craw- fords.")
V. Margaret, wife of Major William Bell. (See " The Bells.")
VI. Mary, wife of Colonel Nicholas Lewis, who removed to Ken- tucky.
VII. Nancy, wife of Captain Samuel Frame, whose children were: 1. John ; 2. Thomas ; and 3. Nancy.
VIII. Sarah, first wife of James Bell, and mother of Colonel Wil- liam A. Bell.
IX. William Allen, married Susan Bell, of Kentucky, and removed to Kentucky in 1783, with Captain James Trimble and others. He settled at Lexington and had six children. His oldest daughter
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married Matthew Jouett, the artist, and her oldest daughter was the wife of Richard Menifee, the celebrated Kentucky orator. Another daughter married Dr. Alexander Mitchell, of Frankfort, and one of her daughters married Oliver Frazer, the artist. One of Captain Wil- liam Allen's sons was Colonel William H. Allen, formerly of Angusta county, and another was Colonel James Allen, of Missouri.
X. James Allen, who married Elizabeth Tate. Their children were : 1. William, who married a Miss Poage ; 2. John, who mar- ried, Ist, Polly Crawford, and 2d, Ann Barry, widow of Dr. William McCne, and removing to Michigan, was the founder of Ann Arbor, so named for his wife; 3. Mary, wife of Captain John Welsh ; 4. Marga- ret, second wife of Major William Poage, of Angusta ; 5. Nancy, wife of Charles Lewis ; 6. Sarah, wife of George Mayse, of Bath county; and 7. James T. Allen, who married Miss Maynard, of Michigan.
THE PRESTON REGISTER.
The following is a copy of one of the collections of Dr. Lyman C. Draper, which are preserved by the State Historical Society of Wis- consin. The paper is called "The Preston Register," possibly because the authorship was attributed to Col. William Preston. There are, however, some errors in the list, particularly in regard to names, which Colonel Preston would not have committed :
" A register of the persons who have been either killed, wounded, or taken prisoners by the enemy, in Augusta county, as also such as have made their escape."
1754. Robt. Foyles, his wife & 5 children, Monongalia, killed. Octob'r-Steren Lyon, Holston River, killed. John Godman, Holston River, killed. Benjamin Harrison, Holston River, killed.
1755. Burk, Holston River, prisoner, escaped.
May 3-Mary Baker, Holston River, wounded.
June 18-Sam'l Stalnacker, Holston River, prisoner, escaped. Samnel Hydon, Holston River, prisoner. Adam Stalnacker, Holston River, killed. Mrs. Stalnacker, Holston River, killed. A servant man, Holston River, killed. Mathias Counie, Holston River, killed.
June 19-Michael Houck, Holston River, killed.
July 3-James McFarland, New River, killed. John Bingeman, New River, killed. Mrs. Bingeman, New River, killed. Adam Bingeman, New River, killed. John Cook, New River, killed. Henry Lin, New River, killed. A young child, New River, killed. Nathaniel Welshire, New River, wounded.
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Dutch Jacob, New River, wounded.
His wife, New River, prisoner, escaped.
Frederick Stern, New River, wounded. Mrs. Bingman, jr., New River, wounded. Mrs. Davies, New River, wounded.
Isaac Freeland, his wife and five children, New River, prisoners.
Bridgeman's son and daughter and a stranger, New River, prisoners.
July 12-Lieut. Wright and 2 Soldiers, Reed Creek, killed. 30-Col. James Patton, New River, killed. Caspar Barrier, New River, killed. Mrs. Draper and one child, New River, killed. James Cull, New River, wounded.
Mrs. English (Inglis) and hier two children, New River, prisoners, escaped. Mrs. Draper, jr., New River, prisoner. Henry Leonard, New River, prisoner.
Aug. 12-Morris Griffith, Vause's Fort, prisoner, escaped. Henry Boughman, Greenbrier, killed. John Cousi and his father-in-law, Greenbrier, killed.
Walter Fishpough, Greenbrier, killed.
George White, Greenbrier, killed. Old Christopher, Greenbrier, killed.
Mrs. Cousler, Greenbrier, killed. An old man, his wife and a school-master, Greenbrier, killed.
Sept. -John Thomas, Greenbrier, killed. Mrs. Fishpough and five children, Greenbrier, prisoners.
Cousler's daughter and Mrs. Ineny, Greenbrier, prisoners. Corporal Bennet, Greenbrier, killed.
1756. Two girls named Landsixo, South Branch, prisoners.
Feb. -Rob't Looney and a Dutchman, Reed Creek, killed.
March -Jolın Lee, Reed Creek, killed. Michael Motes, Reed Creek, killed. Patrick Smith, Reed Creek, killed.
Moses Man, Reed Creek, prisoner.
Vallentine Harman, New River, killed.
Jacob Harman and one son, New River, killed.
Andrew Moses, New River, killed. Thomas Daries, Roanoke, prisoner, escaped.
June 25-Capt. John Smith, Fort Vanse, prisoner, returned. Peter Looney, Fort Vanse, prisoner, escaped.
Wm. Bratton, Fort Vause, prisoner, returned. Joseph Smith, Fort Vause, prisoner. Wm. Pepper, Fort Vause, prisoner.
Mrs. Vause and two daughters, a negro and two young Indians, and a servant-man, Fort Vause, prisoners.
Ivan Medley and two daughters, Fort Vause, prisoners. James Bell, Fort Vause, prisoner. Christopher Hicks, Fort Vause, prisoner.
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