USA > Virginia > Grayson County > Grayson County > Pioneer settlers of Grayson County, Virginia > Part 2
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A List of Insolvent Tythes for the year 1810 was produced in Court and allowed by the Court, aud proved by the Oath of Abner Jones.
A Commission from his Excellency, James Wood, Leutenant Governor, in the absence of the Governor, appointing Abner Jones
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and John Robertson Justice of the Peace for Grayson County in .Chancery.
This closes the copies from the first Book of Record for the Courts of Grayson county. Said book begins with the date of the 21st day of May, 1793, and closes with the 31st of May, 1811.
First court held in new courthouse, on 22nd of July, 1794. Second courthouse built about 1838. County divided, and Carroll cut off of east end of Grayson, in 1842. (For record of First Court for Carroll, June, 1842, see F. L. Hale's obituary.) 'Independence was chosen as the county seat of Grayson, in 1850 or 1851. Orville Anderson was clerk. He moved to Independence, and died there soon after moving.
The following, in reference to the laying of the corner- stone of the M. E. Church at Fries, Virginia, is taken from The Roanoke Times of November 27th 1902:
NOTABLE DAY FOR FRIES
"The gods have indeed been kind to our infant city on this day of days in her history. The laying of the corner-stone of any pioneer church of any settlement is a vital event in the history of that place, and the people of Grayson, Wythe, Carroll and other counties, have beyond question shown their appreciation of this fact, as demonstrated by their large outpouring today. The occasion which gathered so many hundreds of noble women and men within the corporation of Fries today was the laying of the corner-stone of the M. E. Church, South. The ceremonies were entirely in the hands of the Masons and Odd Fellows and conducted in their very impressive style, each and every officer being in good voice and all were men of high intelligence and fine personal bearing. The Order of Rebekah, with its queenly membership, was in good evidence, and under command
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GRAYSON COUNTY, VA.
of its noble grand, Miss Donna Fielder. Marshals of the day were Dr. Koontz and R. L. Dickenson.
"Lodges were represented from Wytheville, Crozier, Ivanhoe, Hillsville, Old Town, Independence and Pulaski. Dixie Lodge, of this city, has for its worshipful master, Judge Padgett, of Grayson county court. The noble grand of Fries Lodge of Odd Fellows is J. D. Baley.
"Deposited in the corner-stone is a list of Old Town Lodge, No. 68, A. F. & A. M., names of charter members and names of members at this time; a list of members of Dixie Lodge, and time of organization; also a list of Fries Lodge, No. 39, I. O. O. F., with time of organization; a list of Fries Sunday-school; an account of the massacre of the Bartlett family and others by four runaway negroes on the 11th of August, 1851; list of trustees of the church; list of members of the church at this place; paper giving time of organization of Washington Mills and names of directors, copies of Holston Conference Annual, Methodist Discipline, Holston Methodist, Grayson Gazette, Grayson Journal, Virginia Odd Fellows, Christian Advocate, Wytheville Dispatch and Roanoke Times.
"The church building has brick foundation and is to be of wooden super-structure, with a seating capacity of about 800. It will be completed by spring and will have practically no debt hanging over it, due to the liberality of Col. Fries and the public. The church will be, as it now is, under the charge of Rev. T. C. Vaughan, a man of christian zeal and noble personality.
"Rev. E. F. Kahle, presiding elder of this conference, delivered the oration of the day. In clear, well modulated tones and classic style he portrayed the building of Solomon's temple, injecting the thought that, after the colossal work was done it fell short of the humblest meeting house of this era. Since it never knew the Savior of man. His masterful address received the closest
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attention and will be treasured a long time by those who heard him.
"Within a hundred feet of the church stands the public school, which, when completed, will accommodate 500 children.
"These buildings are under the architectural guidance of Capt. R. P. Henry, who has charge of the extensive and difficult building of this city.
"After the ceremonies matters were handed over to the tender care of a committee of ladies, who undertook, with happy result, the feeding of the vast multitude, serving a splendid dinner and supper.
"More anon from this strenuous little city."
The first trial held in the new court-house in Independ- ence was that of the four negroes who were engaged in the fight of which an account is given below:
"An account of a fight or massacre that occurred with the Bartlett family, John Clements, William B. Hale and Currin C. Hale and four runaway negroes, on the grounds now occupied by the Fries Company, which fight or massacre took place on Monday morning, about 10 o'clock, August 11, 1851.
"William Bartlett and Elizabeth Paschel, his wife, moved to New River, Grayson county, Va., in 1834, with their two sons and one daughter-Samuel Bartlett, Alfred G. Bartlett and Matilda Bartlett, wife of Cyrus Wilcox.
"William B. Hale moved to the adjoining farm east on the river, with his son, Currin C. Hale, about 1838.
"John Clements moved to the mill west of Wm. Bart- lett's, on the river, about 1847.
"In the Year 1849 two men came into the county of Grayson by the names of Bacon and Cook. These men claimed to be Methodist preachers from Ohio. They
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traveled over the county and preached. But it was soon known that they were "abolitionists" and that they were interfering with the negroes, talking with and advising them to run away and go to Ohio, and that they would help them get through.
"On Sunday night of the 10th of August, 1851, four negro men started for Ohio. Two of them, Simon and Lewis, belonged to John Reeves, and the other two, Jack and Henry, belonged to a man named Cox.
"These negroes got a canoe, armed themselves with butcher knives and scythe blades, and started down the river for Ohio. Their instruction from Bacon was to travel down the river at night and lay by in the daytime, and that he would meet them at the Kanawha Falls and take them across to Ohio. They reached the falls near the Clements' mills about daylight Monday morning, August 11, 1851, tied up their canoe and went up into a ravine in the woods and started a fire. The smoke was discovered by John Clements, who went into the woods and found the negroes in camp for the day.
"Mr. Clements sent Calvin Bobbitt for help to take the negroes. Samuel Bartlett, Alfred G. Bartlett, Cyrus Wilcox, William B. Hale, Currin C. Hale and Leftrick Hill came, with guns and a bulldog, and demanded their surrender.
"At once two commenced the fight, the other two run- ning for the river. Samuel Bartlett was struck with a scythe blade and his head cut open. John Clements was cut on the head. Alfred G. Bartlett was struck on the head, cut on the wrist, and his thumb nearly cut off in his efforts to keep off the blows.
"The fight was then between A. G. Bartlett, Cyrus Wilcox and the two stout negroes. Wilcox seized one of the negroes and threw him to the ground. Alfred shot at the other, but failed to hit him, and the negro ran to
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Wilcox and stuck the butcher knife through his neck, just missing the jugular vein. Bartlett struck the negro Simon across the back with his gun barrel, having broken the breech of his gun in the fight.
"In this severe and desperate struggle Bartlett and. Wilcox so disabled these two negroes that they surrendered. The other two were pursued by W. B. and. C. C. Hale. Several shots were fired at them without effect. Currin Hale struck at one with his gun barrel and bent it. Jack threw a rock and struck William Hale on the neck. The other did not attempt to fight, but ran into the river and was caught by the bulldog.
"Thus the bloody struggle ended for the day. Sam'l Bartlett lived about six hours. John Clements afterwards died in Nebraska of his wounds. Cyrus Wilcox recovered; also Wm. Hale and Alfred Bartlett. Only two are now living who were in this bloody and dangerous fight- Alfred Bartlett and Currin Hale. Hale lives in Nebraska. Bartlett remained at the old home until he sold to the Fries M'f'g Co., and now lives near-by. He has by his energy and enterprise reared a large and respectable family, and amid his affliction and disabled condition continues as one of Grayson county's best citizens.
"Two of the negroes left at the camp-Simon and Lewis -revived, tied up their wounds and started again for Ohio, but after several days were captured in Bland county-one in a house stealing something to eat-the other in a corn field stealing corn. The other two-Jack and Henry-went back to their home. They were all brought to Independence and tried in court. Henry was released, as he did not fight. Simon, Lewis and Jack were condemned to hang, and were executed on Friday, Nov. 1, 1851, at Independence, Grayson Co., Va.
"After this massacre the county was in a state of ex- citement and men gathered from Old Town, Elk Creek,
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Knob Fork and other places to search for the man Bacon, who had caused the trouble and bloodshed, as he had told these negroes to fight their way through. Bacon was found at Amos Moore's, but before the men could catch him he ran to Iron Mountain and got away. If" he had been caught he would doubtless have been hanged: at once. Cook had disappeared before this time.
"The foregoing facts are known to many of us, but have not gone into history.
"We therefore desire these facts to be placed by the hands of Alfred Bartlett in the corner-stone of the church, to be laid at Fries on Nov. 21, 1902, as this M. E. Church, South, is being built on the former Bartlett estate and on the ground where Sam'l Bartlett lived at the time of his being killed in the fight.
"Given under my hand, and by the assistance of Alfred G. Bartlett, an eye witness and actor in this distressing piece of history. Written on the 16th day of Nov., 1902.
"BEN FLOYD NUCKOLLS, "Minister of M. E. Church, South."
Carroll county was named for Charles Carroll, of Carrolton, Maryland, who was one of the signers of the American Declaration of Independence. He survived all the other signers by six years, and had been dead only ten years when Carroll county was formed.
The following was copied from the record of Carroll's first court:
First order: "Be it remembered that on the sixth day of June 1842, a commission of the peace for the county of Carroll from John M. Gregory, Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, acting as Governor, under the scal of the Commonwealth, directed to Joshua Hanks, John Blair, Benjamin Cooley, John Cocke, William Lindsey, John B. Mitchell, Hugh Currin,
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William Raines, William C. Hall, and John Vaughn, and bearing date March 29th, 1842.
"Whereupon, the several persons named above appeared and took the several oaths required by law as Justices of Carroll county, which said oaths were administered to them by Thomas McCabe, a justice of the peace in Floyd county."
The record then recites that these justices opened court in the house of James Stafford, in Hillsville, Virginia. Harold Mathews was appointed clerk pro. tem. of the court. A. S. Fulton, Benjamin R. Floyd, Richard T. Mathews, Archabald Stuart, Samuel McCamant, William H. Cook, Madison T. Carter, and Joseph C. Spalding were admitted as attorneys to practice law in the court. William Lindsey was then elected clerk of the court, and Harold Mathews qualified as his deputy. James L. Mitchell was appointed county surveyor, and Robert Kenny, coroner. Nathaniel W. Vaughn, Franklin Clements, Joshua Hanks, Jr., Jonathan R. Sumner, Joshua G. Mabey, Thomas Dalton, Lacy Bobbitt, William Lewis, and John Webb were appointed constables for the county. The court remained in session for two days and adjourned to meet again on the 30th of June (1842) at the house of Parks Ashworth in Hillsville, Virginia.
FRANCES BOURNE Daughter of William Bourne, Sr., and wife of Stephen Hale, Sr.
CHAPTER II
THE BOURNE FAMILY
From the account given of the formation and early history of Grayson county, we learn that William Bourne was a man of much force, and had a large share in devel- oping the county.
Following is a copy of the family record of William Bourne and Rosamond Jones, his wife, in the old Bourne Bible, now the property of Mrs: Elizabeth D. Lundy, widow of Fielden Johnston Lundy, and youngest daughter of Stephen Bourne and wife, Patty Mays: "Stephen Bourne (Grey) was the son of William Bourne and his wife, Rosamond Jones. Rosa Jones, wife of William Bourne, was a daughter of Minitree Jones, Sr., who married Miss Spottswood. Rosa Jones had three brothers, Minitree, Jr., Spottswood and Churchill, all of Revolu- tionary fame."
BIRTHS AND DEATHS
William Bourne, born August 23, 1743.
Rosamond, his wife, born Feburary 14th, 1750.
Rosamond, wife of William Bourn, Sr., died 16th March, 1821, age 71 years.
William Bourn, Sr., died June 8th, 1836, aged 88 years. Stephen Bourn, G., departed this life April the 29th, 1849, on Sunday, 12 minutes after 8 o'clock in the morning.
Patsy Bourn, his wife, departed this life, April the 29th, 1849, on Sunday, 35 minutes after 9 o'clock in the morning. (Only 1 hour and 23 minutes after her husband.)
Children of William Bourn and his wife, Rosamond Jones, were seven daughters and two sons, as follows:
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First, Patience, November 18th, 1770. Married Jonathan Thomas.
Second, Milly, March 7th, 1773. Married Jessie
Mckinney.
Third, Charity, November 7th, 1775. Married John Blair.
First, Stephen, February 26th, 1779. Married Patsy Mays.
Fourth, Mary, January 5th, 1782. Married Martin Dickinson.
Fifth, Elizabeth, March 20th, 1785. Married Capt. Lewis Hale.
Sixth, Frances, June, 5th 1788. Married Stephen Hale, Sr.
Seventh, Celia, December 25th, 1790. Married Robert Johnstone, Roaring River, Wilkes county, N. C.
Second, William, May 4th, 1794. Married Mary Johnstone, Roaring River, Wilkes county, N. C.
The seven daughters and two sons lived to be old, and brought up large families; also raised a number of negroes.
The seven daughters were all widows, at the same time, and by their energy and perseverance managed their estates well. None of the family married the second time.
The following is copied from the Southwest Virginia Enterprise of March, 1912:
"The following paper was read by Miss Bertha Nuckolls of Galax at a meeting of the Women's Missionary Society held in the Galax Methodist Church March 1st, 1912. We clip from the Post-Herald:
"The first missionary woman of Grayson county was, Rosa Bourne. Rosa Jones was a descendant of James Jones, brother of Admiral Paul Jones and lived on a large grant of land near Fredericksburg, Virginia.
"About the year of 1765, Rosa Jones was married to
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William Bourne in Hanover county, Virginia, near Rich- mond. Soon after their marriage they left the old colonial home and moved out into the wilderness of New River, which was then Botetourt and Washington district, but now Grayson county.
"On their move they came as far as Fort Chiswell in wagons, and from there they packed their baggage on horses across Iron Mountain to Knob Fork, and settled on the waters of New River, and commenced to open up this country. At that time there were but eight settlers in this part of the country.
"They built cabins and other temporary buildings and cleared out the best portion of the land. Soon after they came here, they discovered iron ore and in addition to his other work, Wm. Bourne began to work the ore in a crude way and finally developed the mineral. He built forges, and also a furnace for moulding castings at the fall of Peach Bottom Creek, near what is now Independ- ence. There are marks where the old furnace stood. There is now at this place an electric plant and the elec- tricity is used to run the mills and light the town of Independence.
"When William Bourne and young wife started their married life in the wilderness of S. W. Virginia, they pos- sessed foresight and perseverance, and prepared the way for progress and civilization, and did much to make this wilderness blossom as the rose. Their descendants have been and are yet found among the foremost men and women of this country. By perseverance and energy they opened the way for usefulness and prosperity for the coming generations.
"Rosa Bourne was always kind to their negroes and provided well for them. She was their doctor when sick, their comfort in trouble, a Christian woman and would say to the sick all around about her, 'You must pray
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to the Lord for help, and I will pray for you and help you all I can.' She would go to all her friends and neighbors and help them in time of need.
"They had two sons and seven daughters, all married and settled in this country, reared large families, who have been representatives both in church and state over 150 years past; in fact their generations have settled this part of the country.
"Rosa Bourne was born February 14th, 1750.
"William Bourne and wife lived and died on Knob Fork and are buried where he built his first house. His land estate was inherited by his youngest son, Wm. Bourne, Jr., who, having brought up his family there, sold 2700 acres to Dr. Gage. Since then his home has been owned by some of his descendants, and is now held by Prof. F. R. Cornett, and son, Glenn, whose wife, Agnes Phipps, daughter of Columbus Phipps, is a direct descend- ant of Patience Bourne.
"Rosa Bourne died March 16th, 1821, age 71 years. "William Bourne died June 8th, 1836, age 88 years.
"Their graves are marked with large tombstones made by hand of soapstone. These tombstones and the in- scriptions were the works of John Blair who married Charity Bourne, daughter of William and Rosa Bourne."
The following clipping was printed in a Marion paper several years ago:
"Ballard E. Ward, Esq., who is the owner of one of the largest and best farms in Grayson county, has an old log barn upon his farm, in a good state of preservation, in which the first county court of Grayson county was held after the county was formed. The old barn is very large and to cover it requires 36,000 shingles. On the same farm there is a very old graveyard, which has been abandoned for many years as a burying ground. On one
MASTIN HALE
Eldest Son of Stephen Hale, Sr., and wife, Frances Bourne, and the First of Thirteen Children. He died in his ninety-eighth year
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of the tombstones appears the following singular inscrip- tion, which was done about 53 years ago:
Here Rosa Bourne's body laid of whom in truth no harm was said. Her Sovereign will was much obeyed While here with us on Earth she Stayed Because that her deportment made through perfect love, all feel afraid.
the Man who wrote these lines to tell of her character knew her well
He put these lines upon the Stone To make it to the readers Known, That they like her may do the same,
In order to obtain a name And to perpetuate their fame.
Among the household goods of William Bourne was a "Grandfather Clock," a sketch of which is given below:
THE OLD BOURNE CLOCK
This clock was brought to what is now Grayson county, about the year 1770. This was the first clock that was brought to this upper part of the New River Valley and was the property of William Bourne and his wife, Rosa Jones. After the death of William Bourne and his wife (1836) it passed into the hands of Stephen Bourne, their son; from him to his son, Martin Bourne; from him to his son, Montgomery Bourne; from him to Benj. Floyd Nuckolls, great grandson of William Bourne and wife, and from him to Ruth Nuckolls Johnston, Cleveland, Tenn. The clock is running and keeping correct time, in this the year of 1913. It is all made of the best material, and the case and works show the ingenuity and taste of an honest workman.
The case of the clock is made of mahogany, and stands eight feet, three inches from the floor to the tip of the central brass knob on top of the clock. The trimmings are
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of brass, and there are rows of different colored blocks of wood inlaid around the case.
The wheels and pendulum are of brass, and the weights are cast iron. It is an eight-day clock, and is wound with a brass key.
There is no date on the clock but it was brought to Grayson county about the year 1770. The following is copied from a card that was tacked inside the case when the clock arrived in Grayson .:
Common House Clocks, Table Spring Clocks. Time Pieces of different Conftructions.
MADE BY AARON WILLARD Boston
Directions for fitting up the clock:
Firft, plumb up the cafe and hang on the pendulum and weights obferving that the heavieft weight be put on the pulley marked "S". Wind up the lines on the barrels, taking care that they run regularly in the grooves, then put the pendulum in motion.
To make it go faster, screw the pendulum up; slower, screw down.
On the face of the clock is the following:
WARRANTED FOR MR. BENJN. STETSON.
YARON WILLARD, BOSTON.
The clock is now in the possession of Ruth Frances Nuckolls Johnston, who was named "Frances" for her great-grandmother, Frances Bourne.
She is the fifth generation from William Bourne and she says this old clock, which must be one hundred and fifty years old, is the best time-keeper in the house.
At the time William Bourne settled here, there were no mills nearer than over the Blue Ridge in North Carolina, at the foot of the mountain, then called "Over in the
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Hollow." The grain to be ground for bread had to be carried in sacks on horses. There was only a bridle path across New River and the mountain-frequently on the old Indian trails. Wm. Bourne would make these trips with his negro men, each with a sack of grain to have ground for bread (mostly corn.) At one time, on their return from the mill, one man caught his sack of flour against a limb near the path on the mountain, tore the sack, and spilled some flour. From that circumstance, the place was called Flour Gap. It still bears that name. It is near the crossing of the Blue Ridge at Pipers Gap. For years the Flour Gap was the only place for crossing the Blue Ridge. The first road across that part of the Ridge was at this place; trimmed out in a straight course up and down the mountains.
These trips to the mill had to be made in the fall of the year; and, at one time, when the men had gone, there fell a deep snow, and kept them longer than usual, and the family was without something to eat. Rosa Bourne got up early one morning, called a negro woman, and said to her, "We must hunt for something to eat." They took the rifle gun and butcher knife, and started out; and soon found a large deer, sleeping in the snow under a fallen tree top. Rosa raised her gun and fired; the deer jumped up, struck its head against a limb, and broke its neck. She, with the negro woman, ran with the butcher knife and cut the deer's throat, dragged him to the house on the snow, and the family lived on venison and hominy until the men returned with meal and flour.
In that day, all the clothing was made out of wool, cot- ton and flax. Leather was tanned in a big trough, for shoes and moccasins; nails, hinges, and all tools were made in blacksmith shops. At one time, William Bourne, when he was a member of the Legislature in Richmond, went down in a wagon loaded with fur skins and sold them. A negro
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woman and little girl were put on the block for sale; he bought them, paid for them, and sent them back home in the wagon. The woman's name was Granny Beck. The girl's name was Aimy. I have heard Aimy say that she and her mother were sent for one evening to go and stay all night with a woman. Sometime after dark, someone came to the door and called. This woman told her to open the door; she did so, and two men came in and caught her and her mother, tied cloths over their mouths, carried them off and put them in a ship, and brought them over the ocean. They came from Africa and proved to be very valuable servants.
Granny Beck, after she came here, took charge of the cattle and stock out on the range; salted and watched after them. She could not count the number, but if one of them were missing she could tell it. She would describe its colour or its size, etc., and would hunt until she found it.
Aimy was the house girl, waited on her master and mistress as long as they lived, and was very much attached to all the family.
William Bourne, in his last will stated that "Aimy has been a faithful, good servant, and has raised for me 18 children. She is not to be sold or taken in, in the divide." With his children, she should be free to go where she pleased. She came to Old Town (then Grayson C. H.), and lived with Mrs. Mary Dickenson. Mrs. Dickenson owned "Mourning," one of the 18 children. After Mrs. Dickenson's death, Aimy went to Elk Creek to my grand- mother, Frances Hale, who owned "Winny", who was also one of the 18 children. Aimy died there, and is buried in the Hale family cemetery.
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