USA > Virginia > Historical collections of Virginia : containing a collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c. relating to its history and antiquities ; together with geographical and statistical descriptions ; to which is appended, an historical and descriptive sketch of the District of Columbia. > Part 22
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July 1 .- At Richmond, in his 77th year. Maj. James Gibbou, collector of customs of the port of Rich- mond, and a gallant officer of the revolutionary army, known as "the hero of Steny-Point." Col. Gib- bon, on the 16th of July, 1779, then a lieutenant, led one of the two " forlorn hopes," of twenty men, when Gen. Wayne carried the fortress of Stony-Point by storm. Of bis twenty men, seventeen were killed or wounded. He was greatly respected and esteemed, and his remains were interred with the highest honors.
July 6 .-- At Philadelphia, in his 80th year, John Marshall, Chief-Justice of the United States.
June 28 .- At Baltimore, Md., aged about 50. of a fractured skull, from the fall of a chimney, Thomas Marshall, of Fauquier Co., the eldest son of Chief-Justice Mar-hall, being on a journey to attend the death-bed of his father. He graduated in Princeton in 1803; was distinguished as a scholar, a law- yer, and a member of the legislature; and was highly esteemed for his talents, his many virtuea, and his exemplary and useful life.
May 26 .- At Columbia, S. C., aged 70, Gen. Francis Preston, of Washington Co., Va., a member of Congress from 1793 to 1797, and father of the flon. William C. Preston.
. Nov .-- At Lexington, Va., George Bicter, a distinguished lawyer.
Nov .- In Caroline co., aged about 48, John Dickenson, an eminent lawyer.
Oct. 7 .- In Alabama, Charles Tait, in his 68th year. He was born in Louisa county, but removed at an early age to Georgia, where he was, for several years, a judge of the Superior Court, and a senator in Congress, from 1809 to 1819.
Dec. 3 .- At Washington city, aged 47. Richard Wallack, a distinguished lawyer.
1-36.
March 22 .-- At Washington, D. C., in his. 82d year, Gen. Mountjoy Baily, an othcer of the revolution. Jan. 28 .- At Abingdon, John. H. Fallon, a respected member of the 23d Congress.
April 29 .-- Ia Logan co., Ohio, Gen. Simon Kenton, aged 23, a native of Virginia. He was a compan- ion of Col. Boone, in exploring the west, and in commencing its settlement, and he endared many hurd- ships.
March 25 .-- At Belmont, Loudon co., Va., agod 76, Ludwell Lee, second son of Richard Henry Lee, a entleman highly respected.
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MISCELLANIES.
Nov. 9 .-- At his residence, in Goochiand co., Va., aged 67, James Pleasants, M. C. from 1811 to 1819; U. S. Senator from 1819 to 1922 : governor of Virginia froin 1822 to 1625, and a member of the convolv. tion for 1829-30, for amending the state constitution. He was twice appointed to the bench, but declined, from a distrust of his own qualifications. He was a man of rare modesty, greatly respected and esteemed for public and private virtues
Oct. 10 .- In Albemade co., Va., aged upwards of 70. Mrs. Marthe Randolph, widow of Gov. Thoris N. Randolph, and the last surviving daughter of Thomas Jefferson ; a lady distinguished for her talents and virtues.
1837.
Jan. 8 .~ At his seat in Culpeper co., aged 63, Dabney Carr, a judge of the Virginia Court of Ap- peals; a man much respected and esteemed for his amiable character, his talents, learning, industry, solidity of mind, and uncommonly fine colloquial powers.
Aug. 16 .-- At the Sweet Springs, John Floyd, M. C. from 1817 to 1819, and governor of Virginia from 1829 to 1834.
April 12 .-- In Beaver co., Penn., Gen. Abner Lacock, in his 67th year. He was born in Virginia, re- moved early in life to Pennsylvania, and was, from 1813 to 1919, a member of the U. S. Senate.
June 28, 1836 .- At Montpelier, Orange en. Va. in his 86th year, James Madison, the 4th President of the United States.
March 18, 1836 .- In Albemarle, Va, Hugh Nelson, formerly speaker of the House of Delegates, a judge of the General Court, a member of Congress from Ist to 1523, and afterwards U. S. Minister to Stain.
June 3 .-- In Virginia, in his 530 year, Allen Taylor, judge of the General Court, 17th Circuit.
Jan. 7 .- At Needham, in his 70th year, Creed Taylor, late chancellor of the Richmond and Lynch burg District.
Nov. 5 .- Aged 52, David Briggs, an eminent attorney, formerly mayor of Fredericksburg, and coun- sellor of state.
Nov. 20 .-- At his father's residence, in Bedford co., John Thompson Brown, of Petersburg, Va., aged 36. He was for several years a very distinguished member of the legislature, was rising rapidly at the bar, and was regarded as one of the most eminent men of his age in the state.
Oct. 7 .-- At Yorktown, aged 64, Major Thomas Griffin, second in command at the battle of Hampton, and M. C. in 1803-5.
Nov. 30, 1836 .- At Bellegrove, Major Isaac Nite, an officer in the revolutionary war.
Dec. 15. - At Gosport, in his 85th year, Capt. Jolen Cor, who, early in the revolution, was commesk :ct as a captain in the naval service of Virginia, and was one of the awot distinguished and efficient patriots in the contest.
Dec. 2 .- In Goochiand co., aged 62, Dr. Andrew Kean, one of the most eminent physicians of Vir- ginia.
Sept. 8 .- In Albemarle co., aged 85, Mrs. Lucy Marks, the mother of Meriwether Lewis, who, with William Clarke, explored the Rocky Mountains; a woman of uncommon energy and strength of mind.
Sept. 19 .- At Clinton, Fauquier co., aged 83, Capt. William Payne, who commanded the Falmouth Blues for several years in the early part of the revolution ; and a company of volunteers at the siege of Yorktown.
July 22 .-- In Kanawha co., aged 71, Philip R. Thompson, M. C. from Virginia in 1301-7. 1838.
March 26 .- In Missouri, Gen. William H. Ashley, first lieutenant governor of that state, and a native of Powhatan co., Va.
Miy 7 .- At Washington. D. C., Abraham Bradley, for many years assistant postmaster-general.
Feb. 2 .- In Stafford con John Coulter, formerly a judge of the Circuit Court and Court of Appeals.
Jan. 9 .- At Staunton, aged 36, John J. Craig, a min much respected ; distinguished for his talents as a lawyer, and a member of the legislature.
Feb. 6 .- At Charlotte, C. H., aged 40, Nash Le Grand, for several years a member of the state council.
Jan. 6 .- At Richmond, Va., suddenly, aged about 35, Edward V. Sparhawk, editor of the Petersburg Intelligencer; a gentleman of fine talents, extensive acquirements, and a highly respectable and useful member of society.
Dec .- - At Richmond, aged 60. John Brockenbrough, judge of the Court of Appeals.
Sept. 1 .-- At St. Louis, in his 69th year, William Clarke, a native of Virginia, companion of Meri- wether Lewis in the expedition across the Rocky Mountains, and governor of Missouri Territory, from 1813 to 1820
Sopt. 15 .- At Huntsville, Als,, Col. William Lindsay, a native of Va., and a highly respectable man and officer of the U. S. army.
Dec. 21 .-- At Alexandria, D. C., Thompson F. Mason, judge of the Criminal Court of the District of Columbia.
1830.
April 8 .- At Wheeling, Alexander Caldwell, judge of the U. S. Court in the Western District of Va.
Nov. 3 .- In Hanover co., in his Gel year, suddenly, while feeling the pulse of a dying pitient, Dr. Carter Berkeley, a lineal descendant of Sir William Berkeley, a graduate of the Edinburgh Medical School, a distinguished physician, and much respected ror his upright, benevolent, and religious character.
Nov. 20 .- At Lynchburg, in his 69th year, William Daniel, a conspicuous member of the legislature in 1798-99; and, for the last twenty-three years, a judge of the General and Circuit Courts ; a man much respected for his talents and legal knowledge.
Nov .- At New Orleans, Capt. Gilbert T. Francis, a native of Va. His life was romantic and eventful. and he passed through surprising adventures in foreign countries. Though of defective education, his great energy of character and extensive travels made him the most entering of companies.
Oct. 2 .- In Culpeper co. in his 58th year. Col. David Jameson an active militia officer of the revolu- tion ; afterwards a member of the House of Delegates, a respected magistrate, and a member of the county court.
1810.
Ma: 30- It Richmond, aged abient 2 Daunt Cuff, brother where to chief Justice Marchal, an alle and eminent lawyer, author of 6 vols, of law report ., known as " Call's Repris. '
of the state in the Circuit Court of Henrico co. ; formerly a detinguished member of the legislature.
Oci -- At the University of Virginia, aged about A Ches. Dounycastle, Prot. of Mathematics. He was
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MISCELLANIES.
e native of England, and a son of John Bonnvenstre, the author of a celebrated algebra. He was a man of profound and vigorous mind, and author of a valuable work upon Inductive Geometry.
Nov. 14 .- At the University of Va., (of a pistol-shot discharged by a disguised student,) aged 39, John A. G. Davis, Prof. of Law in the University. He was a man of a high order of intellect, of untiring in- dustry, of amiable and philanthropic character, and he was an exemplary member of the Episcopal church. He published in 1835, a valuable Ian book-" A Creative on Criminal Law, and a Guide to Justices of the Peace." As a successial instructor. he could hardly he surpassed ; and it is thought, since graduates of his law school have taken their places at the bar, the profession in Virginia has breathed a more enlarged spirit. and displayed a wider and a higher tone.
Dec .- At Nashville, Tenn., Feliz Grundy, & native of Berkeley co., Va., and a distinguished member of the U. S. Senate from Tennessee.
Nov .- In Va., aged about 63, Richard E. Parker, a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals.
Jan. 19,-At Morven, London co. in his 75th year, Thomas Swan, an eminent lawyer, and formerly attorney of the U. S. for the Dist. of Columbia. " He attained the highest rank in his profession uniting to the most extensive learning the most effective eloquence as a pleader. His infinence over juries, aris- ing from this cause, and partly from the universal confidence in the purity of his character, is believed to have been seldom, if ever, surpassed, in the instance of any other American advocate."
1811.
Feb. 25 .- At Washington, D. C., aged about 60, Philip P. Barbour, of Orange co., an associate judge of the Supreme Court of the U. S.
April 24 .- In Va., aged 77, George Barter, D.D., Prof. in the Union Theo. Sem. in Prince Edward co. ; formerly president of Wash. College, at Lexington, and one of the most eminent and respected Presbyte- rian clergymen in Virginia.
Oct. 22 .- Ar Washington, D. C., (of bilious fever,) aged 61, John Forsyth, of Georgia, a man of talents and eloquence. and secretary of state in Mr. Van Buren's administration. He was born in Fredericks- burg, Va., in 1781.
April 4 .-- At Washington city, in his 69th year, William Henry Harrison, President of the U. States. He was born in Charles City co., Va., on the 9th of Feb. 1773.
June 10 .-- At Washington city, in his 92d year, Richard Harrison, late auditor of the treasury, and a man highly respected.
April 27 .- At Washington city, aged about 80, Rev. Andrew T. M. Cornish, a respected clergyman, for 23 years minister of the first Episcopal clinch formed in Washington.
June .- At Washington city, George Washington Montgomery, who was born in Valencia, in Spain, of a distinguished Irish family, and a man of superior talents and education. He came in early life to this country, and was long employed in the department of State. He was the author of Bernardo del Carpio, "an exquisite historical novel of the 8th century, and the transition of Irving's Conquest of Granada."
Sept. 1 .- Year Georgetown, D. C., in his 88th year, Joseph Nourse, register of the U. S. Treasury from 1789 to 1520, and one of the vice-president of the American Bible society, and a man much respected. He was born in London in 1754; emigrated with his family to Virginia, and entered the revolutionary armay in 1770, and served in different departments connected with it till the close of the war.
1212.
Feb. 24 .- In Madison co., Hon. Linn Banks, from 1818 to 1838 speaker of the House of Delegates. June 8 .-- In Orange co., Hon. James Barbour, ex-governor of Virginia, aged 66.
Aug. 13 .- John P. Emmett, Erq., Prof. of Chem. in the University of Va. He was the son of the late Thomas Addis Engnett, and a man of talents and learning.
Jan. 5 .-- At Savannah, Ga., Col. Thomas How i, aged 55, who was born in Va. He was treasurer of Georgia, and commanded respect and great public influence.
1843.
Nov. 23 .- In Fauquier co., Thomas Fitzhugh, aged 81. He was a highly respected citizen, and had been for many years presiding judge of the County Court.
Dec. 14 .- In Washington city. Chas. W. Goldsborough, chief of the bureau of provisions and clothing of the navy department, and author of a naval history of the U. S. He was one of the oldest and moss respected inhabitants of the city.
Nov. 30 .- In Rappahannock co .. Maj. John Roberts, aged 85. He served in the revolutionary army, and negotiated the exchange for the prisoners obtained by the convention at Saratoga in 1777. After- wards he was a member of the legislature for 13 successive years, and had great intipence in its deliber- ations.
Ang. 97 .- At the White Sulphur Springs, Hon. Lamis Summers, of Kanawha, oged 65, for 24 years one of the judges of the General Court of Va.
1844.
Feb. 10 .- At Fredericksburg, Carter Brrerley, Esq., aged 72.
Feb. 28 .- By the accident on board the U. S. steamer Princeton. Thomas W. Giler, of Charlottesville, secretary of the navy. His various public trusts he discharged with great ability. He was respected in public, and beloved in private life.
March 20,- At Norfolk, Con .. E. Pendleton Kennedy, of the U. S. N., aged 05. At the time of his death, he was commander of the line-of-battle ship Pennsylvania.
Feb. 28 .- By the accident on board the steamer Princeton, Com. Beverley Kennon, chief of the burean of construction, repairs and equipment, in the navy department. He had long been attached to the naval service, in which he had attained a distinguished reputation.
Feb. 28 .- By the accident on board the Princeton, Hon. A. P. Upshur, secretary of state, aged 54. He was born in Northampton co. in 1790.
EXTRACTS FROM THE ANCIENT LAWS OF VIRGINIA
1662 .--- Every person who refuses to have his child baptized by a lawful minister. shall be amerced 2000 lbs. of tobacco ; half to the parish, half to the inforiner.
The whole fiturgy of the Church of England shall be thoroughly read at church or chapel, every Sunday ; and the canons for divine service and sacraments duly alscurved.
Church-wardens shall present at the county court, twice every year, in December
.
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and April, such misdemeanors of swearing, drunkenness, fornication, &c., as by their own knowledge, or common fame, have been committed during their boing church- wardens.
To steal, or unlawfully to kill any hog that is not his own, upon sufficient proof, the offender shall pay to the owner 1000 lbs. of tobacco, and as much to the informer; and in case of inability, shall serve two years, one to the owner, and one to the informer.
The man and woman committing fornication, shall pay each 500 lbs. of tohace ,, and to be bound to their good behavior. If either of them be a servant, the master shall pay the 500 lbs. of tobacco, and the servant shall serve half a year longer than his time. If the master shall refuse to pay, then the servant to be whipped. If a bastard be got and born, then the woman to serve her master two years longer than her time, or pay him 2000 lbs. of tobacco ; and the reputed father to give security to keep the child.
"No marriage shall be reputed valid in law but such as is made by the minister, ac- cording to the laws of England. And no minister shall marry any person without a license from the governor or his deputy, or thrice publication of bans, according to the rubriek in the common-prayer book. The minister that doth marry contrary to this act, shall be fined 10,000 lbs. of tobacco.
All persons keeping tipling-houses without license, shall be fined 2000 Ibs. of tobacco ; half to the county, and half to the informer.
No master of any ship, vessel, &c., shall transport any person out of this colony without a pass, under the secretary's hand, upon the penalty of paying all such debts as any such person shall owe at his departore, and 1000 lbs. of tobacco to the secretary. .
The court in every county shall cause to be set up near the court-house, a pillory, a pair of stocks, a whipping-post, and a ducking-stool, in such place as they shall think convenient : which not being set up within six months after the date of this act, the said court shall be fined 5000 lbs. of tobacco.
In actions of slander occasioned by a man's wife, after judgment passed for damages, the woman shall be punished by ducking, and if the slander be such as the damages shall be adjudged at above 500 lbs. of tobacco, then the woman shall have ducking for every 500 lbs. of tobacco adjudged against her husband, if he refuse to pay the tabacco.
Enacted that the Lord's Day be kept holy, and no journeys be made on that day, unless upon necessity. And all persons inhabiting in this country having no lawful ex. cuse, shall every Sunday resort to the parish church or chapel, and there abide orderly during the common prayer, preaching, and divine service, upon the penalty of being fined 50 lbs. of tobacco by the county court.
This act shall not extend to Quakers, or other recusants, who totally absent them- selves, but they shall be liable to the penalty imposed by the stat. 23 Eliz., viz. C20 sterling for every month's absence, &c. ; and all Quakers assembling in unlawful con- venticles, shall be fined, every man so taken, 200 lbs. of tobacco, for every time of such meeting.
All ministers officiating in any public cure, and six of their family, shall be exempted from public taxes.
1663 .- If any Quakers, or other separatists whatsoever, in this colony, assemble themselves together to the number of five or more, of the age of sixteen years, or up- wards, under the pretence of joining in a religious worship not authorized in England or this country, the parties so offending, being thereof lawfully convicted by verdict. confessions, of notorious evidence of the fact, shall, for the first offiner, forfrit and pay 200 lbs. of tobacco; for the second offence, 500 lbs. of tobacco, to be levied by warrant from any justice of the peace, upon the goods of the party convicted ; but if he be unable, then upon the goods of any other of the separatists or Quakers then present. And for the third offence, the offender being convicted as aforesaid, shall be banished the colony of Virginia.
Every master of a ship or vessel, that shall bring in any Quakers to reside here, after the let of July next, shall be fixed a090 lossof tobacco, to be levied by distress and sale of his goods, and enjoined to carry him, her, or them, out of the country again.
Any person inbabiting this country, and entertaining any Quaker in or near by's house, to preach or teach, shall, for every time of such entertainment, be fined 5000 lbs. of tobacco.
1668 .- The 27th of August, appointed for a day of humiliation, fasting, and praver. to implore God's mercy ; if any person be found upon that day gaming, drinking. n. working, (works of necessity excepted,) upon presentment by the church-wardens, and
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proof, be shall be fined 100 lbs. of tobacco, half to the informer, and half to the poor of the parish.
1670 .- None but frecholders and housekeepers shall have any voice in the election of Burgesses -- every county not sending two Burgesses to every session of the Assembly, shall be fined 10,000 ibs. of tobacco, to the use of the public.
1676 .- The allowance of every Burgess for the future, shall be 120 lbs. of tobacco and cask, per day ; to commence two days before every Assembly, and continue two days after. And for their travelling charges, there shall be allowed to those that come by land, 10 ibs. of tobacco per day for every horse so used. And for water passage, they shall be allowed proportionably.
1679 .-- The first offence of hog stealing, shall be punished according to the former - law ; upon a second conviction, the offender shall stand two hours in the piltory, and lose his ears ; and for the third offence, he shall be tried by the laws of England, az in case of felony.
1080. -- No licensed attorney shall demand or receive, for bringing any cause to judgment in the general court, more than 500 lbs of tobacco and cask ; and in the county court, 150 lbs. of tobacco and cask ; which fees are allowed him without any pre-agreement.
If any attorney shall refuse to plead any cause in the respective courts aforesaid, for the aforesaid fees, he shall forfeit as much as his fees should have been.
TIFF IN WESTERN VIRGINIA
Much of Western Virginia is yet a new country, and thinly settled ; and in some of the more remote and inaccessible counties, the manner of living and the habits of the people are quite primitive. Many of these mountain counties are so far from markets, that it is a comipon saying among the inhabitants that they can only sell those theers which will " walk away" -- meaning cattle, horses, swine, &c. Of the latter, immense droves are sent to the east annually from this country, and Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio. The feeding of the swine, as they pass through the country in the autman of each year, supplies a market for much of the corn which is produced. Aside from this, there is but little inducement for each one to raise more grain than his own family will consume ; and consequently, there is but little room for enterprise on the part of the agri: culturist. His products, when they sell at all, bring but a trivial sum. For instance, corn, the chief product, brings but from 17 to 25 cents per bushel ; oats. 12 1-2 cas. do .; pork, beef, and venison, 82 to 82 30 neat per 100 lbs. ; and other things in proportion. This pay, too, is frequently in store-goods, on which the merchant, owing to his smad amount of custom, charges heavy profits. For foreign luxuries, the agriculturist pays the highest prices,-the expense of transportation from the north-where they are asu- ally purchased by the merchant --- to the wild parts of Western Virginia, being 3 or 4 cents per pound : so for bulky articles, as sugar, coffee, &c., the consumer is obliged to pay several cents a pound more than an inhabitant of the older portions of the style. He, however, graduates his wants to his means ; and although he may not have the. fine house, equipage, dress, &c., of the wealthy planter, yet he leads a maniy life, and. breathes the pure air of the hills with the contented spirit of a freeman. Living
" Far from the maddening crowd's ignoble strife, His sober wishes never learn to stray ; Along the cool, sequestered vale of life, He keeps the noiseless tenor of his way."
The inhabitants of the mountain counties are almost perfectly independent. Maur a young man with but a few worldly goods, marries, and, with an axe on one shoulder and a rifle on the other, goes into the recesses of the mountains, where land can be had for almost nothing. In a few days he has a loy-house and a small eloaring. Visit han some fine day thirty years afterwards, and you will find he bas eight or teu children --- the usual number here-a hardy. healthy set ; forty or fifty acres cleared, mostly culti- vated in com ; a rude square log bin, built in cob-house fashion, and filled with corn ia the cob, stands beside his cabin ; near it is a similar structare, in which is a borse ; and scattered about are half a ungen innieks, al comune divre of bar and . ... tle, are roaming at large in the adjuming forest. And if it is what is called " Meet you" -- that is, if the forests abound in nuts, acorns, &c .- these animals will be found to be very fat, and display evidence of good living
LIFE IN WESTERN VIRGINIA. The Home of the Mountaincer.
LIFE IN EASTERN VIRGINIA. The Home of the Planter. -
MISCELLANIES. 153
Enter the dwelling. The lady of the house, and all her children, are attired in home- spun. Her dress is large, of convenient form, and entirely free from the fashionable lacing universal elsewhere. It is confined together with buttons, instead of hooks and eyes. She looks strong and healthy -- so do her daughters-and as rosy and blooming as " flowers by the way-side." Her sons, too, are a sturdy-looking set, who soon (if not now) will be enabled to fell a tree or shoot a deer with facility. The house and furni- ture are exceedingly plain and simple, and, with the exception of what belongs to the cupboard, principally manufactured in the neighborhood. The husband is absent, hunt- ing. At certain seasons of the year, what time he can spare from his little farm he passes in the excitement of the chase, and sells the skins of his game.
Soon he enters with a buck or bear he has shot, (for he is a skilful marksman,-) or per- haps some other game. He is fifty years of age, yet in his prime-a stout, athletic man ; his countenance is bronzed by exposure, and his frame seems almost of iron ; he is robed in a hunting-shirt of picturesque form, made, too, of homespun, and ornamented with variegated fringe ; and a pair of moccasins are on his feet. He receives you with a blunt, honest welcome, and as he gives you his hand, his heart goes with it ; for he looks upon you as a friend ; he has passed his life among the mountains, in the midst of a simple-hearted people, who have but little practical knowledge of the deceit which those living in densely-populated communities, among the competitive avocations of so- ciety, are tempted to practice. His wife prepares dinner. A neat white cloth is spread, and soon the table is covered with good things. On it is a plate of hot corn-bread, pre- serves of various kinds, bacon, venison, and more than probable three varieties of meat. Your host may ask a blessing-thanks to the itinerating system of the Methodists, which has even reached this remote spot-his wife pours you out a " dich of coffee," the great luxury of the country, and frequently used at every meal : it is thickened with cream --- not milk-and sweetened with sugar from the maple grove just front of the house. The host bids you help yourself, and, if not squeamish, you " go into it," and enjoy that plain, substantial mcal better than you ever did a dinner at Astor's.
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