USA > Virginia > Some prominent Virginia families, Volume IV > Part 29
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Isaac Hite, Sr., b. May 12, 1723. Married Eleanor Eltinge, April 12, 1745.
Eleanor Eltinge was born April 29, 1724, and she died Nov. 10, 1192.
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Isaac Hite, Sr., d. Sept. 18, 1795. Issue :
1.Ann Hite was born Jan. 18, 1746, and married James Buchanan of Falmouth, Va.
2Mary Hite was born Aug. 25, 1:48, and married Dr. John Mc- Donald and died Jan. 2, 1798.
3Eleanor Hite was born Oct. 27, 1750. Married John Williams, and died Oct. 24, 1781.
*Rebecca Hite was born Jan. 19, 1754. Married Gen'l William Aylette Boothe.
"Isaac Hite, Jr., was born Feb. 7, 1758.
"Sarah Hite was born Oct. 19, 1760. Married Gen'l Jonathan Clark.
Ann Buchanan died Aug. 9, 1816.
Isaac Hite, Jr., of Belle Grove, son of Isaac Hite. Sr., of "Long Meadows," b. 1758; d. 1836, entered William and Mary College at eighteen. He was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society 1:76. This was the first Greek Letter Fraternity in the United States. He was Secretary of the Society in 1777. (Reference, College Quarterly, 4th, pp. 245-246.) He enlisted as a private in the Revolution, when, not known; but his commission as Ensign 8th Va. Regiment was dated 1782; the same year he was Lieutenant and served to the end of the war. (Reference, Heitman's Register.) He acted as aide to Gen'l Muhlenberg at the siege of Yorktown and lost a finger. In his private note book in his own handwriting are noted the events of each day of the siege, the number of officers, men and arms surrendered by the British and the "Articles of Capitulation."
The following is an exact copy of these entries, excepting the "Articles of Capitulation":
"1781, September 28. The allied armies moved down on Williamsburg in two columns on Yorktown.
"September 29. The ensuing night ye enemy evacuated their outworks.
"October 1. Began to throw up our first parallel.
"October 9. In ye afternoon our Batteries were opened.
"Sunday 14. An Hour after Dark, two Redoubts of ye Enemy were stormed and carried by ye French and American Light In- fantry. Just before Daylight ye Enemy rallied and spiked up seven of our cannon, but were finally repulsed.
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"October 17. Early in ye morning our Batteries on ye second Parallel were opened. 12 o'clock a Flag of Truce was sent out by ye British with a petition to capitulate.
"October 18. Employed in digesting and bringing into proper Form ye 'Articles of Capitulation.'
"October 19. Ye 'Articles of Capitulation,' signed.
"P. M. Ye British marched out of Yorktown and ground their arms.
"RETURN OF THE YORK GARRISON.
2 Colonels.
800 in Gloucester.
S Lt. Cols.
11 Majors. 5514
52 Captains.
1200 seamen.
89 Lieuts.
36 Ensigns. 6:14
2 Chaplains.
140 Iron Ordnance.
12 Adjts.
15 Brass Ordnance.
? Q-Masters.
2000 Stand of arms.
10 Surgeons.
295 Serg'ts.
22 Mates.
121 Drum.
90 Serg'ts.
3273 R. & File.
14 Drum.
1744 Rank & F.
3936 Total Effectives.
1878 Total sick and wounded.
3936
4714
After the close of the Revolution, Isaac Hite, Jr., was com- missioned Major in the militia of Frederick Co., Va. Hence his title.
In 1783 Maj. Hite married at Montpelier, Orange Co .. Va .. Nelly Conway Madison, daughter of James Madison, Sr., and Nelly, née Conway. The Rev. Walker Maury performed the ceremony. When the bridal party set out for their new home. Mrs. Maury made her adieus holding the hand of her little two year old daughter, Ann Maury. Both the Major and his bride kissed the baby girl and Mrs. Maury remarked. "Major you may
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have her for a second wife." Twenty years later the Major and little Ann were married.
Major Hite carried his wife directly to his home in Frederick County, which was about four miles from "Long Meadows." They travelled in a yellow chariot, with horses hitched tandem and mounted postilions. The house cccupied by the bridal pair was called the "Old Hall," a two-story wooden building, a part of which was still standing in 1885, and in the family still retains its name. This house was said to antedate the first house built at "Long Meadows," by Isaac Hite, Sr .. in 1740. Some said it was put up by Yost Hite when he first came to the Valley, but no good authority can be remembered regarding it. In the "Old Hall." Isaac and Nelly superintended the building of their new home, which stood close by. They named it Belle Grove, from a grove of magnificent oaks in its rear. It was built in 1792 to '94, of limestone, quarried on the place, with white freestone facings. It was one hundred and twenty feet in length, viz., the main building seventy-five feet, the south wing fifty-one feet, breadth forty feet. Originally there was a small north wing with a portico. but about 1840 it was taken down. There were four porticoes with pillars originally. The furniture was solid mahogany, im- ported from England at the time the house was built. That in the dining room and parlor was inlaid with satin wood. Two of the sofas and a case for knives and forks are still in the possession of a great-grandson of Maj. Hite and his second wife, now living in Baltimore. In the parlor hung a number of life-sized portraits, done in oil by Charles Peale, about 1795 or '96. They repre- sented Maj. Hite and his first wife Nelly, née Madison, with her son standing by her ; Mr. and Mrs. James Madison, Sr. (Mrs. Hite's parents), of Montpelier ; Fanny Madison, her sister, who married Dr. Rose; all full length ; and a full sized bust portrait of Thomas Jefferson. James Madison Hite, Sr., inherited these portraits and gave them all to his son James Madison Hite, Jr., excepting that of Mrs. Rose, which was presented to Mrs. Rose's children. During the Civil War, Mr. Hite deposited these portraits in Baltimore for safe keeping. When the war closed all were intact, excepting that of Mr. Jefferson ; lost or stolen, it has never been traced. Maj. Hite's portrait is now owned by his great-grandson, Dr. J. Whitridge Williams, of Baltimore. Col. and Mrs. Madison,
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Mrs. Hite and her son are still owned by Mr. Drayton Meade Hite, of Baltimore, who being a bachelor, has deposited them in the Maryland Historical Rooms, in Baltimore.
Originally Belle Grove stood in fifteen acres of highly improved grounds and for many years was noted for the charming hospitality dispensed to the élite of the land: Mr. Jefferson : Mr. James Maury, U. S. Consul to Liverpool; Matthew F. Maury, of the Observatory; James Madison, President of the United States; Gen'l Dabney H. Maury: Bishops Ives, Hobart and Meade: Judges Holmes, Tucker, Baldwin and Briscoe; Gen'l John Smith, of "Hackwood Park"; the artist, Charles Peale; and many others, leading people of that day, too numerous to mention, who were numbered among the friends and relatives of the family. The earliest remembrances of the writer of this sketch, of this establish- ment, date back to about 1836. Ten years later it was notably on the decline, the grounds were curtailed, the number of servants, horses, carriages, etc., lessened. Maj. Hite was dead, all his children married, and his widow found the care of so large an establishment more than she could conveniently manage. She died 1851, and the heirs being minors the place was rented and some years later passed out of the family.
Belle Grove at this date (1905), although a ruin, still possesses much that renders it worthy of note, as an old Virginia home- stead. It is shorn of its primitive beauty, but its whole appearance suggests a past history. It has a place in the Civil War, being the headquarters of the Federal army, every campaign. Gen'l Sheri- dan's headquarters were there (October 19, 1864), the time of his notable ride from Winchester to Cedar Creek; also on the 5th, 6th and ?th of October when he carried out the ever-memorable order of Gen'l Grant, to "so completely destroy all the provisions in the Valley, that if a crow fly over it, she must carry her rations." These three days were called for many years (perhaps still) "the days of the burning." Six of Maj. Hite's grandsons gave their lives for the "lost cause," Cornelius Hite Davison, J. Fontaine Hite, Jr., Irvine Hite, William Meade Hite, George Smith Hite, Hugh Scott Hite. A great-grandson lost his arm at Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864, afterwards Judge William S. Davison, of Jeffer- son City, Mo. Maj. Hite was a very large land holder. The home place, Belle Grove, was nine miles in diameter. At an early date
·
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he established mills and factories, employing head men, who were skilled artisans, brought from the old country. He imported a variety of seeds and, being a lover of flowers, a number of bulbs and tuberous roots, from Germany. His orchards and vineyards
NELLIE CONWAY HITE, NÉE MADISON of Montpelier, Va.
were large and he always kept a Dutch or German vinedresser. He paid great attention to the cultivation of hemp, and the rais- ing of fine sheep. All the clothing worn by the colored servants and most of the house linen were manufactured in his own factories, by his servants, a number of whom understood carding, spinning,
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weaving and dyeing, as well as bleaching. and constantly, in the store rooms, could be seen hundreds of yards of woolen and linen stuffs, the fruit of their skill and industry. Mrs. Hite gave to all her daughters and daughters-in-law. a large supply of house- hold linen when they were married, which was highly valued. There were also shoe, blacksmith and wagon shops, a rope walk, and brewery, to supply the home demand. The first fat cattle sent from the Valley to the Baltimore and Philadelphia markets went from Belle Grove.
Maj. Hite was advanced in all his ideas and possessed the most improved machinery of his day in his mills and factories. He was very attentive to the smallest details of business, one of his maxims was "owe no man anything." and when he died his store accounts, which were always settled at New Year, covered his indebtedness. He was temperate in his habits, disliking tobacco, and on account of his health, declining even wine, the later years of his life, although his table and sideboard were liberally supplied with both foreign and domestic liquors according to the custom of the day, and they were always offered before and at dinner.
Maj. Hite was a very benevolent man. helping all who came to him in need and, some said, many who were not. A generation back, perhaps, the people in his neighborhood still called him in loving terms "our Major." He was a blonde, medium height, with remarkably small, well-shaped hands and feet, scrupulous in dress, courteous in manner, generous and trusting to a fault, until a man failed him; then he never forgot it; nothing could restore his lost confidence. He was always a student, watching, with keenest interet, every scientific discovery, also the politics, not only of America but of England and Europe. This interest never abated, although he was an invalid several years. He was a personal friend and ardent admirer of Thomas Jefferson, and his disciple in politics. His family and connection by marriage were all Protestant Episcopalians and he was a liberal supporter of this church.
Maj. Hite had thirteen children, three by his first wife and ten by his last. All lived to be married excepting the eldest. who died at four years of age. All his sons graduated at William and Mary College in Williamsburg or the University of Virginia at Char- lottesville. He wished them to study some profession. but only
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two of them availed themselves of the privilege; Dr. Walker Maury Hite graduated in medicine in Philadelphia, and Cornelius studied law.
Maj. Isaac Hite, Jr., married Nelly Conway Madison, daughter of Col. Ambrose Madison and Frances Taylor.
MADISON FAMILY.
In a state document in London, there is a list of colonists who came to America in 1623. only seventeen years after the first landing of colonists at Jamestown in 1607. Among them was the name of Capt. Isaac Madyson, whose gallantry in the war with the "salvages," in 1622, Capt. John Smith so highly commended in his "History of Virginia," published in London, 1629, and re- printed in Richmond in 1819. In 1653 we find the record of a patent taken out by John Madison for lands lying between York and North rivers. This John Madison is thought to have been the son of Capt. Isaac Madison. He was the father of John Madi- son. Jr., and grandfather of Ambrose Madison, of Montpelier, who married (in 1721) Frances Taylor, daughter of James Taylor, of Orange Co., Va. From this marriage sprang most of the Madisons who settled on the east side of the Blue Ridge. John Madison, Jr., was also ancestor to the very interesting western branch, which gave to Virginia her first Protestant Episcopal Bishop, viz., the Rt. Rev. James Madison, b. 1749; d. 1812. He took his degree at William and Mary College at Williamsburg in 1768, was the sue- cessful competitor for the Botetourt medal in 1772. He studied law under George Wythe, Chancellor of Virginia, and was licensed to practice, but soon after began to study theology and was or- dained in England. He returned to America and in 1978 he was chosen first Bishop of Virginia, returned to England and was consecrated at Lambeth on September 19, 1780. During his first visit to London he attended the lectures on natural science of the celebrated Corvello and on his return to America he was made professor of mathematics and philosophy at William and Mary College. In 1777 he was elected President of the College, though only twenty-eight years old. From the time of his consecration as Bishop he did double duty, combining the duties of President of the College with those of his Bishopric. So enthusiastie and
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VIRGINIA FAMILIES
untiring was he in the pursuits of his calling, that he is said to have lectured from four to six hours, every day of the week. up to his last illness. His reputation is that of a refined and ac- complished gentleman and an enlightened and liberal philanthro- pist. Bishop Madison married, first, Sarah Tate, and had two children, James Catesby Madison and Susan Madison, who mar- ried R. G. Scott, of Richmond, Va. There were no children by a second marriage.
George Madison was also a distinguished representative of the western branch of the Madisons. His parents, John and Agatha Madison. emigrated to Kentucky when he was an infant. At seventeen he enlisted as a soldier in defence of the "Western Frontier." was in several battles and, in St. Clair's defeat in 1791, was wounded. In the War of 1812 he was an officer. For twenty years he was auditor of public accounts and in 1816 he was elected Governor of Kentucky, for a term of eight years, but he died a few weeks after his election. George Madison married Jane Smith of Kentucky and left an only daughter, called Myra Madison, who married Andrew Alexander, of Woodford, Ky. Their only daughter Apporrine married Frank Blair, member of Congress from St. Louis, Mo.
There are others of this branch of the family well worthy of note, but time and space compels a return to the Virginia branch.
Ambrose Madison, of Gloucester Co., Va., was the son of John Madison, Jr., and Isabel Todd. He married (August 27, 1721) Frances Taylor, daughter of James Taylor, of Orange Co., Va. They had three children :
1. James Madison, Sr., b. at Montpelier, March 27, 1722.
2. Elizabeth Madison, b. June 4, 1725.
3. Frances Madison, b. March 6, 1726. Married, first. Col. Tavener Beale, son of Thomas Beale and Elizabeth. née Tavener. He died leaving five children : 1Tavener, who married Elizabeth Hite, 2Charles. 3Frances (Mrs. Thomas Hite), +Elizabeth (Mrs. George Harrison ). and 5 Anne (Mrs. Cuthbert Harrison).
Mrs. Frances (Madison ) Beale married, second, Jacob Hite, a widower with three children : Thomas, who married Frances Beale. Elizabeth (Mrs. Tavener Beale), and one other.
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Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Hite had four children, George, Elizabeth, Eleanor and Susan. A full account of this family will be given in the Hite history.
Col. James Madison, Sr., of Montpelier was vestryman of St. Thomas' Parish, Orange Co., also Lieut. Gov. of the same county and member of the Committee of Safety from 1774 to 1777. His home was the beautiful estate of Montpelier, celebrated for the picturesque grandeur of its mountain scenery, and the charming hospitality of its owners. This estate was inherited by his eldest son. James Madison, Jr., fourth President of the United States. It contained two thousand five hundred acres of land.
BIBLE RECORD.
"James Madison, Sr., and Eleanor Rose Conway were married Sept. 11, 1749."
1. "James Madison, Jr., son of James Madison, Sr., and Nelly, his wife. was born March 5, 1751."
2. "Francis Madison, son of the same, was born June 18, 1753."
3. "Ambrose Madison, son of the same, was born Jan. 21. 1755." (He was Captain in the Virginia line in the Revolution and married a daughter of Hancock Lee. They had one daughter, Mrs. Nelly Willis, of Orange Co.)
4. "Catlett Madison was born Feb. 10, 1758; died March 18, 1758."
5. "Nelly Conway Madison. b. Feb. 14, 1760." (Married Maj. Isaac Hite, of Belle Grove, Jan. 2, 1783. Their descendants are given in the Hite Family.)
6. "William Madison, b. May 5, 1762." (He lived at "Wood- bury Forest," Madison Co. He distinguished himself in the Revolution and was made Brig. Gen. He mar- ried Frances Throgmorton, Dec. 20, 1783.)
:. "Sarah Madison, b. Aug. 17, 1764." (She married Col. William Hartwell Macon.)
8. "Elizabeth Madison. born Feb. 6, 1768."
9. "Rheubin Madison. born Sept. 19, 1771; died June, 1775."
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VIRGINIA FAMILIES
10. "Frances Madison, b. Oct. 4. 1275." (She married Dr. Robert Rose ; moved to Tennessee and had ten children : 1Ambrose, "Hugh, "Jane, +Dr. Erasmus, 5Henry. "Samuel, "Nelly. $Frances, "Mary, 1ºRobert.)
Col. James Madison, Jr., eldest son of James Madison, Sr., and Nelly, née Conway, was born at Port Conway, King William Co .. at the home of his grandfather Francis Conway on March 5, 1751. In 1169 he entered Princeton College and graduated, 1272. He made his home at Montpelier and in 1726 he was elected a
JAMES MADISON
member of the "Virginia Revolutionary Committee." In 1748 he was made member of the "Executive Committee," in 1800 was Secretary of State, and in 1808 was elected President of the United States and served two terms, the second closing in 1816. The greatest event of Madison's administration was the successful War of 1812, sometimes called "Madison's war," with England. Mr. Rives says in his "Life of Madison," "Of the statesmen of Ameriea few possessed as important an agency in the greatest scenes of our national story, as James Madison, and none took a greater part in the formation of our constitutional government. which has crowned the labors of our Revolutionary fathers." He did nothing rashly, always counted the cost before he made the
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venture, consequently he was prepared for every emergency, and succeeded in almost every important undertaking of his life.
Possibly, like Gen'l Washington, Mr. Madison was the victim of many a fair maiden's charms, for Cupid "is no respector of persons"; but family tradition credits him, in early life, with but one entanglement. Even after he became an acknowledged leader among men he was reserved and retiring in manner, but in early life he was modest almost to shyness in society, especially when with ladies, yet this diffidence did not insure his heart against woman's charms. While at Princeton his heart was captured by a pretty Philadelphian, who accepted his offer of heart and hand. He had his miniature painted for her on ivory, by the celebrated artist Peale, and set in an oval gold locket, according to the fashion of the time. Alas, the lady proved fickle and returned the locket. It was an unpleasant reminder of his disappoint- ment, so he sent it to his sister Nelly (Mrs. Isaac Hite, of Belle Grove), who gave it to her only daughter, Nelly Hite, afterwards Mrs. Dr. Cornelius Baldwin, who gave it to her second daughter, Mary Briscoe Baldwin, afterwards missionary to Greece and Palestine. Miss Baldwin had the locket changed to a brooch and gave it to her sister Ann (Mrs. Isaac Hite Hay), to be kept for Alice, daughter of Mrs. Hay's only child, the Hon. Baldwin Hay, United States Consul General of Syria. The then little Alice Hay is now Mrs. John Leeds, of Morristown, New Jersey. The miniature is in good condition and the intellectual and spirituelle face makes us wonder why the owner failed in his wooing. Twelve years later Mr. Madison met his fate. He was introduced by the celebrated Aaron Burr (said to be a discarded suitor of the lady) to the charming widow, Mrs. Dorothea (Payne) Todd, afterwards known to history as the fascinating Mrs. Dolly Madison.
September, 1794. they were married at "Harewood," Jefferson County, W. Va., the country residence of Mr. Samuel Washington (brother of Gen'l George Washington), whose son had married Anna Payne, the fifteen-year-old sister of the bride. Mrs. Madi- son was born in North Carolina on May 20, 1772, and was daughter of John Payne and Mary, nee Coles, a first cousin of Patrick Henry and a granddaughter of John Payne, Quaker, and Ann, née Flemming, who in her turn was granddaughter of Sir Thomas
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VIRGINIA FAMILIEN
Flemming (1616), second son of the Earl of Wigton. Miss Keys, of Baltimore writes of her, "The name of Dolly Madison bears with it a subtle charm. Of all the noble women who have graced the White House with their presence in the nineteenth century, none has left behind her a more charming and attractive memory than Dolly Madison." It is said of President Madison, "that his biography and writings are an integral part of our national litera-
MRS. DOROTHEA TODD MADISON, NÉE PAYNE
ture;" it might be said with equal truth of the delightful Dolly, that her letters, and the traditions of her give us an insight into the social life of the best society of that day, that we could ill afford to lose. She came of Quaker stock and was reared amidst the severe and formal environments that sect think right to im- pose on all that belong to them, be they old or young. In dress Dolly was an artist, yet it is not difficult to imagine how demure and 'fetching' she looked in the quaintly becoming dress of a young Quakeress.
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In more than one way Mrs. Madison was a most superior char- acter. She was the brilliant leader of the bonton of Washington for many years, and all yielded her the palm for brilliancy in conversation, and an indescribable grace and sweetness, which won all hearts and kept them, long after youth and beauty had fled. History also records her courage, wisdom and self-forgetfulness. When the British marched on Washington City, in the War of 1812, Mr. Madison's duties called him to the front. The enemy were ruthlessly burning and devastating everything in their path- way : she bravely lingered till they were almost at her hearthstone and brought away with her valuable public documents, among them the original of the "Declaration of Independence," the portrait of Gen'l Washington by Gilbert, the beautiful silk damask curtains belonging to the White House and many other valuables.
The same courage and self-forgetfulness were displayed in 1844, only five years before her death. She was on the ill-fated steamer Princeton, when the great cannon, Peacemaker, exploded. When the crash came Mrs. Madison, with a number of other ladies, was below in the saloon; she retained her presence of mind perfectly, went at once on deek and busied herself helping and comforting all around, until her friends compelled her to go home. These and other incidents similar are recorded of her, but few remember how faultlessly she filled the duties of each family relationship in life, even that of daughter-in-law.
While she was the widow Todd, Aaron Burr was one of her many suitors, and it is said, after her marriage to Mr. Madison, they met, and he attempted to renew their acquaintance on the former footing. but she silenced him so effectually, he never after offered more than a formal greeting. Mr. Madison was a small man and she often spoke of him as the "great, little Madison." She had one child by her first husband, Payne Todd. He was a very handsome man, but dissipated and utterly devoid of principle; he was the great grief of her life. Mr. Madison died at Mont- pelier in 1836, when she sold the old home to Mr. Moncure, and went to live in Washington City. There she attended "Old St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church," having been confirmed by Bishop Whittingham of Maryland. She was at all times mnuch
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interested in charitable work (although then it was not fashion- able), and was president of the first board of managers of the first orphanage in Washington. A very beautiful life-sized por- trait of her is still shown there. Mrs. Madison received from the government thirty thousand dollars for the Madison MS. com- prising a record of "Debates in Congress in 1782 to 1:87," and twenty-five thousand dollars for his remaining letters and papers, including letters from Jefferson and Hamilton. Congress com- . plimented her by giving her the franking privilege, and voting her a seat in the Senate and House, something never before accorded a lady. She died July 12, 1849.
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