?,:iia-r-t';v,:::;^;:j;:sv, RIOCORIDGE COUNTY VIRGINIA -JwWvWX Iff •?. ^^■; MORTON ;^s^;=- LIBRARY cAufotN(A y A HISTORY of ■ ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY VIRGINIA By OREN F. MORTON, B. Lit. Author of 'Under the Cottonwoods," "Winning or Losing?" "Land of the Laurel," "The Story of Daniel Boone," "A Practi- cal History of Music," "History of Pendleton County W. Va.," "History of Preston County, VV. Va.," "History of Monroe County, W. Va." "His- tory, of Highland County, Va.," "An- nals of Bath County, Virginia." Staunton, Virginia The McClure Co., Inc. 1920 LOAN STAa Copyright, 1920 BjTnt McCn'nt Co., Inc. All Righn Rricrvrd CONTENTS Part One : General History Chapter Introduction v I. The Local Geography 1 II. Scenic Features 6 III. The Ulsteniian and the Pathfinder 12 IV. The Borden Land Grant 21 V. Early Pioneer Days 33 VI. Civil Government : 1737-1852 45 VII. Annals of 1727-1777 54 VIII. Strife with the Red Men 61 IX. Rockbridge County Established 76 X. The Calfpasture 83 XL The War for Independence 92 XII. Middle Period 104 XIII. A Year of Suspense Ill XIV. The War of 1861 123 XV. Recent Period 136 XVI. The Negro Element HI XVII. The Town of Lexington 147 XVIII. Buena Vista and Glasgow 153 XIX. Villages, Hamlets, and Summer Resorts 156 XX. Highways, Waterways, and Railways 161 XXI. Industrial Interests 168 XXII. The Churches of Rockbridge 172 XXIII. Temperance Societies and Other Fraternities 180 XXIV. Old Field Schools and Free Schools 183 XXV. Washington and Lee University 188 XXVI. The Virginia Military Institute 199 586 XXVII. XXVlll. XXIX. XXX. XXXI. XXXII. XXXIII. XXXIV. XXXV. XXXVI. XXXVII. XXXVIII. Section I. II. 111. IV. \ VI. VII. VIII. IX. X XI. XII. XIII. XIV. The Ann Smith and Other Academics . 207 The Franklin Society 214 Journalism and Literature 217 Old Militia Days 221 A Rockbridge Hall of Fame . 224 Stonewall Jackson at Lexington 233 Robert L. Lee as a College President 238 I-'amily Sketches and Biographic Paragraphs 244 The MacCorklc Family 278 Rockbridge in the World War 293 Supplementary Items 299 Rockbridge Inventions 307 Part Iwu: Ue.nealoi.ic iMatlkial Introduction M7 Given Names and Surnames 339 Conveyances in Borden Tract, 1741-1780 H3 Early Patents Outside the Borden Tract 35 1 Secondary Land Conveyances Prior to 1778 355 Tithablcs of 1778 Mj5 Taxpayers of 1 782 370 Taxpayers of 1841 378 388 3% 402 405 444 . 456 Present Surnames Militia Officers Prior to 1816 Soldiers of the Revolution R(»ckbridgc Artillery Soldiers of the World W'ai \*arious Lists Miscellaneous Data 46Q Appendices 547 Errata ... 568 Supplementary Items 569 FOREWORD ^^;N THE summer of 1917 the writer visited Lexington to see if there was a practical desire for a history of Rockbridge. The encourage- ment was such as to lead him to undertake writing one, and the pres- ent volume is the result. All the magisterial districts were visited. The public records of the county were attentively examined, as were also the early records of the parent counties, Orange, Augusta, and Botetourt. The archives in the capitol and the state library at Richmond were freely consulted, as were likewise various books in public and private collections. The files of the local newspapers yielded much valuable ma- terial. The documentary history of Rockbridge is practically continuous, and it proved necessary to make the utmost possible use of it. County history is either general or genealogic. It is general, when it deals with the people of a county as a community. It is genealogic, when it deals with the same people as made up of families and attempts to trace lines of descent from the pioneer ancestors. Either of these two aspects of local history is the complement of the other. John Dee may be pleased to find that his great grandfather, Adam Dee, came into the county a hundred and fifty years before the date of his own birth, bought the John Smith farm, and reared ten children, nearly all of whom married and from whom have come grandchildren and great grandchildren. But John Dee should not assume that persons who are neither cousins nor near-cousins will grow enthusiastic in viewing the intricate branches of the family tree. To them it is little else than a dry network of names and dates, unless one or more members of the connection have done something that is a good deal out of the ordinary. But if we seek to know the times in which Adam Dee and his sons lived ; to learn how they dressed, labored, and housed themselves, and what was the environment, physical, civil, and social, in which they were placed: we then have begun to put flesh and blood into the skeleton of names and dates, and have created a degree of living interest that is not confined to John Dee and his kins- folk. An interpretation to them becomes an interpretation to others. This book is therefore divided into two sections. The one dealing with the general history of Rockbridge begins with a survey of the geographic and scenic features of the county, this being necessary to an adequate understanding of the development of the past two centuries. It then explains whence the pioneer families came and why they came, and in what manner they established them- selves in the wilderness. It attempts to trace the civic, social, religious, educa- tional, and industrial unfolding that has since taken place. It tells of the growili oi n liU 1 - li i.opulation, and of the steady outflow of people that has been true of this repion from the start. So far as could conveniently be done, documents have been allowed to speak for themselves. In a word, litis first portion of the volume aims to present the Story of Rockbridjjc since the beginning of white settlement in 17.17. What took place Inrtwccn that date and the war of 1861 is rather un- familiar to the people who are doing the work of the county toe active and not passive. During a number of weeks, reading notices relating to liu- i-iiu-rpriM' ap- jK-ared in the newspapers of Lexington. The compiler hoped thus to come in touch with many persons who could supplement the data he was gleaning from the public documentary sources. The res|)onses were few and not all the aid promised was forlhconiing. Personal calls were made by him whenever they were asked. If the chapters on biography and family history, as well as certain tabulations, are here and there deficient, this paragrai)h will afford some ex- planation. However, our country was at war while this work was being done. anc devoted to any given topic. The exceptions arc where such space has been paid for by specially interested individuals. Several residents of Rockbridge have aided very materially by contributing oral or written information, donating or loaning books or other published ma- terial, or extending courtesies in hospitality or travel. Particular acknowledge- ment is thus due to William A. Anderson, Mr. and Mrs. Walter W. Dunlap, Frank T. Glasgow, Mr. and Mrs. William G. Houston, Mr. Henkle, of Buena Vista, Mrs. G. A. Jones, Harry O. Locher, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. L. C. Lockridge, Joseph R. Long, James H. McCown, Emmett W. McCorkle, Daniel W. McNeil, Mrs. Graham Montgomery, General E. W. Nichols, J. A. Parker, Earle K. Paxton, J. Sidney Saville, Dr. Henry Louis Smith, Harrington Waddell, and Hugh J. White. The McCormick portion of the chapter on Rockbridge is from the pen of Doctor J. H. Latane of Johns Hopkins University. The material for the sketch of the McCorckle family has been contributed by William A. Mac- Corkle, ex-governor of West Virginia, and several other members of the McCorkle connection. Other assistance from without the country has been given by J. J. Echols, O. C. Ruley, and Kate M. Jordan. There is further acknowledgement to Boutwell Dunlap, of San Francisco, who has heretofore furnished the compiler with some data for his histories of Bath and Monroe. He has opened to him all his manuscript material relating to Rockbridge. Mr. Dunlap's manuscript collections on the history and genealogy of the Valley of Virginia and Western Virginia are said to be the largest in America. His interest in this history of Rockbridge is in remembrance of his father, William Dunlap, a native of Rockbridge, a respected California pioneer of 1849, one of the largest landholders of the Sacramento valley, and a member of one of the most prominent family connections of the Valley of Virginia and the West. Mr. Boutwell Dunlap's aid has been especially helpful in affording material for chapters X, XXXL and XXXIV. and Section XIV. In making most grateful recognition to all the above named persons, the author does not mean to withhold his thanks from anyone else who has, even if in a small way. shown an active interest in the preparation of this history. This book is the first history of Rockbridge that has been written. It represents eighteen months of hard work. No statement has gone into these pages without a careful scrutiny. Yet it should be borne in mind that there is no claim for im- munity from error in statements of fact or in the spelling of proper names. The man or woman who can write a local history and escape censure is not to be found on this side of the millenium, even by the "efficiency engineer." Another crafts- man than the one who does write the book could probably do better in some one re- spect, or in several. The pertinent question is whether in the long run he could have done as well. The person who is keen in looking for flaws in a county his- tory will do well to remember that the reviewers often find glaring misstatements in works intended to be authoritative ; and that Joseph E. Worcester, the lexi- cographer, said that no amount of care will render even an unabridged dictionary exempt from error. When an omission or inaccuracy is noticed, one reader will at once denounce the entire book and excoriate tiic author. Another reader will write a correction on the margin of tlic page. Copies of the book thus annotated arc more valuable than others, especially to the local historian of the future. And unlike the generality of books, the county history does not depreciate in financial value. It commantls a higher price as it grows scarce. The owner of such a book has made a safe investment, and if he takes jealous care of his purchase posterity will thank him for doing so. Oren F. Morton. Staunton, Virginia, September 28. 1918. HISTORY OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VA. I THE LOCAL GEOGRAPHY Position and Size — Boundaries — Mountains — Lowlands — Streams — Geology — Soils — Cli- mate — Plants and Animals — Divisions — Place Names — NATURt\L Advantages There is but one Rockbridge County in the United States. The unique name is due to a great natural curosity within its Hmits. The position of the county is nearly midway in the longer direction of the Valley of Virginia. The latitude — mostly to the south of the thirty-eighth par- allel — is that of the center of Kentucky, the south of Missouri, and the center of California. In Europe it is that of the south of Spain and the island of Sicily. In Asia it is that of central Asia Minor and central Japan. In form, Rockbridge is an irregular rectangle, the longer direction being nearly northeast and southwest. The length of the county is nearly thirty-two miles, and the extreme breadth is nearly twenty-six miles. The area is officially stated as 593 square miles, which is considerably more than is true of the average county in Virginia. The curving eastern boundary follows for forty miles the crest of the Blue Ridge, and is therefore a natural geographic line. The western line begins on Camp Mountain, and passes to North Mountain, then to Mill Mountain, and finally to Sideling Hill. The short lines by which the boundary crosses from one to another of these elevations are determined by valley-divides, so that the western boundary may likewise be regarded as natural. But the northern and southern boundaries of the county are straight lines, entirely artificial, and they set it off as a cross-section of the Valley of Virginia. The Blue Ridge is not a single well-defined mountain range. Looking from the high ground along the Valley Railroad, there is seen in the east a succession of bold elevations. The nearest are heavy foothill ridges. Beyond are the higher fragments of interior ridges, marked ofT from one another by depressions more or less deep. These intermediate heights afford only occasional glimpses of the central range. Consequently, the general appearance of the mountain wall is that of a labyrinth of long and short elevations occupying a considerable breadth of country. But on the western side of Rockbridge, the ranges are single and well-defined, and present sky-lines that are fairly regular. For several miles east of the axis of North Mountain, much of the surface is occupied by C A IllSTOKV K\Y ROCKUKilK.E COLNTV, VIRGINIA short parallel ridges of much the same character as North Mountain itself. Some of these are the House mountains. Camp Mountain, Green Mountain, Little North Mountain, the Jump, and the Loop. The most eastern is the uplift known as the Short Hills. These break down rather abruptly near the course of BufTalo Creek, but Ix-yond they reappear under the name of the Brushy Hills. The space between the two mountain systems may be termed the Central Lowland. It runs the entire length of the county. On the east it is bordered by the bottoms along South and North rivers, and by Sailing's Mountain, which is an outlier of the Blue Ridge, though lying to the west of the James. In the north the breadth of this lowland is more than ten miles. At the south it is scarcely half as much. It is by far the most populous area in Rockbridge. In general the contour of the county is mountainous. The Blue Ricigc section is interrupted only by such narrow depressions as Arnold's N'alley and the valleys of Irish Creek and the Little Mary. The surface of the Central Lowland is heavily rolling. Between drainage basins it rises into divides of considerable altitude. Westward is the mountainous belt already mentioned. It includes a number of well populated creek valleys. In the extreme northwest is a section of the Iwsin known as the Pastures. Southward it is prolonged into the wilderness drained by Bratton's Run. The highest point in the Rockbridge section of the Blue Ridge appears to be Bluff Mountain with an altitude of 3250 feet. The northern point of the Short Hills has a height of 2565 feet. Adcock's Knob in North Mountain has a height of 3325 feet, and the Jump of 3190. Big House and Little House mountains are respectively 3612 and 3410 feet high, and seem to be the most elevated ground in the county. The entire area of Rockbridge lies in the basin of tlic James. This river courses ten miles through the southeast of the county. North River, which joins it inmiediately above Balcony I'alls, flows not less than fifty miles within the confines of RRra|ihic »|>acr within the present Hinit* of the county, and at though such hniii^ li:>vr rMisinl fur an indchnite time. THE LOCAL GEOGRAPHY berry, the common and the mountain raspberries, strawberries, huckleberries, mulberries, and pawpaws. The animal life is of the kinds found in the Valley of Virginia. The buffalo and the elk disappeared soon after white settlement began. The puma and the wolf held their ground much longer, but are now extinct. The mountains shelter an occasional black bear and a few deer. Such predatory pests as wild- cats, foxes, and skunks still remain. Groundhogs, rabbits, and squirrels are tolerably plentiful. Still other mammals are raccoons, opossums, otters, and mink. The wooded surface attracts birds in considerable variety, such as tur- keys, ducks, cranes, pheasants, hawks, owls, woodpeckers, pigeons, thrushes, crows, robins, partridges, larks, doves, catbirds, and redbirds. In the mountains are eagles, buzzards, and ravens. Fish would be more abundant but for the pollution of some of the streams by sawmilling and mining. There are the usual insects native to this part of America, but the mosquito is not a nuisance. In a single season, a few years ago, the bounty of fifty cents a head on chicken- hawks was paid on 469 of these birds of prey. They were about one-half of a flock that came from the west. Rockbridge is bordered by the counties of Augusta, Nelson, Amherst, Bed- ford, Botetourt, Alleghany, and Bath. Its magisterial districts are six. Buffalo lies in the southwest, Natural Bridge in the southeast, South River in the north- east, Walker's Creek in the northwest. In the central west is Kerr's Creek, and in the center is Lexington District. The corporation of Buena Vista is a seventh political subdivision. The names borne by the streams and mountains of Rockbridge have in a number of instances undergone no change since the exploration by the white pathfinders. North River was for a while styled the North Branch of the James. Until about 1760, South River was the River Mary, and Kerr's Creek was Tees Creek. The pioneers seem to have given names to all the water-courses, small as well as large, but some of their designations have gone out of use. In several instances some peculiar happening appears to have suggested the name. Thus, Whistle Creek was at first known as Can't Whistle Creek. As a place for white occupancy, Rockbridge has natural advantages of a superior character. The climate is temperate and invigorating. Much of the soil is fertile, and the hillsides not brought under tillage are very useful for pas- turage and as a forest reserve. The mineral wealth is very considerable, as is also the water power. And finally, the passes at Balcony Falls and Panther Gap have caused the county to be traversed by important railway lines. II SCENIC FEATURES KocKBRiOGE LANDScArES — Thk Kati'ilal Buoge — Goshen Pass — Baixosy Falls — House Mountains — The Jump Appalachian America is renowned for its scenic beauty, and Rcnrkbridgc county lias been granted an ample share. The Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies are geologically very old and have been eroded into a very great complexity of outline. Because of this wearing-down process, they do not exhibit the great elevations and the rugged features of young mountain systems, such as the Rockies and the Alps. But on the other hand there is more gracefulness of contour, the effect of which is greatly aided by the loveliness of the Appalachian forests in the summer season. The five points of interest we are about to describe do not by any means exhaust the list of scenic attractions in Rockbridge county. Monotony is never present in the landscape. In touring this region, the visitor travels many miles in the thriving agricultural expanse of the Central Lowlands, dotted with its scores of comfortable farm homes; he passes through areas of more fertile bottom land, like the "Eg)-pt field" of Kerr's Creek; he crosses the deep valley of the Buffalo, and follows the narrow, thickly populated creek valleys that lie in the evening shadows thrown by the North Mountain. And when his road crosses a mountain ridge, there is likely to be a e rescued by means of a rope let down from the top of the cliff. Several other individuals have been less fortunate. SCENIC FEATURES V and a few fatalities are on record. In 1843 a stranger leaped from the bridge. If he intended to commit suicide, he acconnplished his purpose. Goshen Pass was formerly known as Dunlap's Gap and then as Strickler's Pass. It extends from near the mouth of the Little Calfpasture to Wilson's Springs, a distance of five miles. Just below the mouth of the tributary men- tioned. North River begins its sinuous passage of the North Mountain. The heights, which sometimes tower a thousand feet above the swirling waters, are not generally so steep as to be destitute of a growth of wood, and in summer the forest verdure adds much to the grace and beauty of the scene. Yet here and there is a vertical ledge exhibiting the flexures worked into the stratum by the up- ward pressure of the earth's crust in remote geologic periods. The river is constantly flowing over or among masses of rock and is a continuous cascade. A new vista opens with every bend in the road, and the stranger who goes from one end of the pass to the other and then retraces his steps finds the return nearly as replete with interest as the advance. There is not a house and not an acre of tilled land within the pass, and the view is well-nigh as primeval as it was in the day of the Indian. And yet the road was once a busy thoroughfare, a line of stages running between Lexington and Goshen. When Matthew F. Maury was a resident of Lexington, he liked to visit this watergap in early summer. His admiration for it was so great that one of his final requests was that his remains should be taken to their permanent resting place by way of Goshen Pass, and when the laurel should be in bloom. This dfrection was faithfully carried out. In going through the pass the procession halted a while at the foot of a low clifT and below a sharp point of rock pro- jecting over the road. Soon afterward, an anchor, taken from the pontoon bridge left at East Lexington by General Hunter ; was suspended from the pro- jection. With a strange want of consideration, this suitable memento was at length taken down by some person and carried away. It was the abundance of rhododendron along the river border that caused a very narrow belt of low ground to be named Poison Bottom. Fresh herbage is so eagerly devoured by domestic animals in early spring that they will eat laurel leaves when nothing else is to be had and sickness is the result. Another interesting watergap is the pass at Balcony Falls. This is one of the two places in Virginia where the Blue Ridge opens to its base, so as to permit the passage of a river. Looking from the town of Glasgow, a stranger might not suspect the existence of the gap. He will imagine that an exceedingly nar- row valley is making a zigzag approach to the west from the axis of the Blue Ridge. As in the case of Goshen Pass, there is not a house in the four miles of the passage. The mountain slopes are unbroken by clearings, and except for the railway and the county road, the scenery is that of the virgin wilderness. The 10 A HISTORY OK ROCKBRIDGE COUNTV, VIRGINIA James falls atxjut 200 feet in going through the defile, and in the days of batteau navigation it was a danger point. To the person standing on Collcpe Hill at Lexington, the view toward the west is dominated hy an inij)i>siiig height of unusual form. This is Little House Mountain, and it has carried this name ever since the day of the white explorer. The name was evidently suggested hy the shape of the elevation. The smnmit, half a mile lung, is almost horizontal. At each end there is an abrupt falling away, the mountain terminating in either direction in a concave slope of heavy grade. The eastward and westward slopes are likewise steep, and all the way around the mountain is an unbroken forest rising from a stony surface. When the obser\'er changes his point of observation to Fancy Hill or to the divide be- tween Kerr's Creek and North River, he discovers the existence of Big House Mountain, which from Lexington is almost completely eclipsed by its companion. The two mountains lit side by side, and are parallel to North Mountain. The distance from summit to summit is less than a mile, and the valley between is very deep. Big House Mountain is camel-hacked and is the higher of the two, although the difference in altitude is not consjiicuous. Since the House moim- tains rise like islands from the floor of the Valley of Virginia, their isolation, their lofty summits, and their exceptional form render them a striking feature in a Rockbridge lantlscape. They may be seen to good advantage from the Matthews mansion near Glasgow, fifteen miles away as the crow flies, and on a clear day they are in plain view from Flag RcKk on Warm Springs Mountain, almost twenty miles distant. Conversely, a very large portion of Rockbridge may be viewed from the summit of Little House Mountain. The view from its companion is less satisfactory because of its less favorable position. From Lexington the twin heights are so consiiicuous and so imposing that the residents regard them with a feeling akin to affection. Certain legends are associated with the House Mountains. One of these relates to a man named .'shepherd, who lived a while at the high-lying rock which ever since has borne his name. He was often noticed poring over a small book carried in a leather pouch. At intcr\'als not frequent he came down to Col- lier's Creek and paicl for provisions in bright new coins. He was at first suspected of being a horse-thief, hut he turned out to be a coimterfeiter of silver quarters. .Shepherd found it expedient to go away, but the credulous continued to sec lights on Shepherd Rock which would vanish when approached. .Some searching has here been done for pots of silver. Jump Mountain has a very precipitous face toward the east. It is so named because of a legend of a battle between Indians at the mouth of W^llker's Crerk. The story relates that an Indian woman watched the conflict from the mountain, and when efore the enor- mous immigration caused by the potato famine of 1845. The term Scotch- Irish came into use to distinguish the earlier inflow from the later. This term is firmly fixed in i)()pular usage, and yet it is rather misleading. It implies that the people thus styled arc the descendants of Scotchmen who settled in Ireland. This is true only in part. The Scotch of Strathcl)f the term. The resentment of the Ulster people was directed against the corrupt clique that governed in the king's name. However, there was a ruling English party in Ulster. At the present time, Episcopalians are more numerous than Pres- byterians, in at least two of the seven counties, and the Catholic population is eijual to the Protestant. It is a mistake to think of Presbyterians as out- numbering other denominations in Ulster. The straw that broke the camel's back for the Ulster people was the display of greed shown about 1723. A large quantity of land given to favored indivi- duals was offered only on 31-ycar leases and at two to three times the former rental. An emigration to America, which really began about 1718, now assumed large dimensions. During the next half century, or until interrupted by the war for American independence, the aggregate outflow is reckoned by some au- thorities as high as 300,000. Ulster was thus drained of the larger and best part of its population. The fundamental reasons for the exodus are thus stated in a sermon delivered on the eve of the sailing of a ship : "To avoid oppression and cruel Iwndage ; to shun persecution and designed ruin ; to withdraw from the communion of idolators; to have opportunity to worship God according to the dictates of conscience and the rules of his Word." Throughout this period of heavy emigration from Ulster there was almost as large a tide of Germans from the valley of the upper RJiinc, inclusive of Switzerland. But until near the outbreak of the Revolution, the German settlers in Rockbridge were very few. Si> it is scarcely necessary, at present, to speak further on this parallel stream of inmiigration. It is next in order to sketch the America of 1716, so as to observe the efTect of the inflow from Ulster and the Rhine. There were at this time twelve of the English colonies, and their 400,000 inhabitants were scattered thinly along the coast from Casco Bay in Maine to Port Royal in South Carolina. Exceedingly few were the people who were located so far inland as a hundred miles. Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston were the largest towns, and not one of them had a pnpul.ition of 10.000. The colonies must have presenteelow where Staunton now stands. So far as known he was the first settler in Augusta county. According to Ruffner and others, I-ewis visited Williamsburg before making any settlement, and there met Sailing, whose roseate description of the "back country" led him to chi>ose land on I^wis Creek. But it is known that Lewis fled from Ireland as a refugee froni British law. He Ttas at length pardoned, but until this took place he would not have exposed himself to arrest. He is known to have spent a few years in Pennsyl- vania before coming to X'irginia. and it is possible that the pardon was as early as 1732. But he did not aojuire title to his land until 1738. IV THE BORDEN LAND GRANT The McDowells— Benjamin Borden, Sr.— The Virginia Land System— Settlement of THE Borden Tract— Benjamin Borden, Jr.— Disputes with THE Settlers — Joseph Borden Early in September, 1737, a little party of honieseekers were in camp on Linville Creek in wiiat is now Rockingham county. They were journeying by the trail that was sometimes called the Indian Road, and sometimes the Pennsyl- vania Road. In the company were Ephraim McDowell, a man now past the meridian of life, his son John, and a son-in-law, James Greenlee. The younger men were accompanied by their families. It is rather probable that a few other persons were in the party, especially one or more indentured servants. The destination they had in view was South River. James, another son of Ephraim, had come in advance and planted a little field of corn in that valley opposite Woods Gap. The McDowells had come from Ulster in "the good ship, George and Ann," landing at Philadelphia, September 4, 1729, after being on the Atlantic 118 days. This was a slow voyage, even in those days of sailing vessels, and yet it was not unusual. As in many other instances among the Ulster people, Pennsylvania was only a temporary home. The country west and southwest of the metropolis, as far as the Susquehanna and the Maryland line, was now well-peopled, ac- cording to the standard of that agricultural age. Land was relatively high in price, and so the newcomers, if they had to move inland to the advance line of settlement ,often thought they might as well look for homes in "New Virginia." John Lewis, a kinsman to the McDowells, had founded in 1732 the nucleus of the Augusta settlement, and by this time several hundred of the Ulster people had located around him. Religion was not free in Virginia, hut it was doubtless the belief of the newcomers that the planters of Tidewater, who were the rulers of the colony, would not deem it wise to molest them in their adherence to the Presbyterian faith. To afford the reader some idea of what Pennsylvania was in 1729, we give a synopsis of a letter written about that time by a young man to his sister in Ireland. The writer pronounces Pennsylvania the best country in tiie world for tradesmen and working people. Land was twenty-five cents to $2.50 an acre, according to quality and location, and was rapidly advancing because of the large and varied immigration. His father, after a long and cautious search, made a 22 A mSTOBV OF BOCKBRIDCE COUNTY, VIRGINIA choice almut thirty niilcs from Pliiladclphia. For 500 acres of prime land, inclusive of a small log house, a clearing of twenty acres, and a young orchard, the purchase price was $875.00. In the meantime tlic father had rented a place and put 200 acres in wheat, a crop that commanded fifty cents a bushel. Oats were twenty-eight cents a bushel, and com was twenty-five cents. The lalKiring man had about twenty cents a day in winter. In harvest time he was paid thirty cents a day, this service including the best of food and a pint of rum. At the end of his swath he would find awaiting him some meat, either boiled or roasted, and some cakes and tarts. One to two acres could be plowed in a day, which was twice the speed that could be made in Ireland. A Ixjy of thirteen years could hold the implenient, which had a wooden mouldhoard. Horses were smaller than in Ireland, but pacing animals could cover fifteen miles in an hour's time. At Philadelphia, then a little city of perhaps 5,000 inhabitants, all kinds of provisions were extraordinarily plentiful. Wednesdays and Saturdays were market days. Meat of any kind could be had for two and one-half cents a pound. Nearly every farmhouse had an orchard of apple, peach, and cherry trees. Wheat yielded twenty bushels to the acre and turnips 200. The writer corrects several false reports about the colony which had been carried to the other side of the ocean. He said there had as yet been no sickness in the family, and that not a member of it was willing to live in Ireland again. The cost of passage to the mother country was $22.50. There must have been some regret among the Ulster people that it was not easy to secure a foothold in such a thriving district as the Philadelphia region. But .^merica was a land of opportunity, whether on the coast or in the interior. It was just after the McDowells had established their camp on Linvillc Creek that an incident occurred which led to some change in destination. A man giving his name as Hcnjamin Horden* came along and arranged to spend the night with them. He told them he had a grant of 100,000 acres on the waters of the James, if he could ever find it. To the man who could show him the boun tomrtimc*. but erroneously, written Burden. Thit >|>clliii([ doubtlcsi indic4lr> a vrry uiual pronuncJAlion in llir pioneer (leriod. Hut in their signatures, the mcnilicri o( the family UMrd the tpclhnK Uurden. THE BORDEN LAND GRANT 23 Sept. ye 19th 1737 This day John McDowell of Orange County in Virginia have agreed with Benjamin Borden of the same place that he the said McDowell would go now with his family and his father and his Brothers and make four Settlements in the said Bordens land which was {jran'ed to the said Borden on this side of the blue ridge in the fork of said River, and said McDowell has also agreed with the said Borden that he the sd McDowell would cut a good Road for Horses loaded with common Luggage and blaze the Trees all the way plain, and also the said McDowell has agreed with the said Bcnjamm Borden that he the said M( - Dowel! would go with the sd Borden and take accoi;!it of the Settlement of Borden Lind on the River at the place called the Chimbly Stone and on Smith Creek ;nd be evidence f^r the said Borden of all his settlements aforesaid, uid in consuleration oi the premises the said Borden is to give one thousand acres of Land when he the said McDowell build in the sd fork of the sd River and the sd Borden is to give the said McDowell good law full Deed as the said Borden can get of the King clear of all charges excepting the quitrents & also the said Borden do here agree to give to these the other three Settlements six hundred acres of Land clear of all charges as before excepted and the said McDowell is to go down with a compt (count) of all the Settlements as aforesaid with Borden to his House by the tenth day of October next to go with said Borden to Colo Willis to price the Settlements as afore- said as witness my hand Benjamin Borden The lands at the Chimney Stone and on Smith Creek lay in the lower Shenandoah Valley. Accompanied by John McDowell, Borden went on from Lewis's and camped at a spring where Midway now is. Froin this point the men followed the outlet of the spring to South River, and continued to the mouth of that streain, re- turning by a course. Borden could now see that he was within the boundaries of his grant. John McDowell built a cabin on the farm occupied by Andrew Scott in 1806. This was the first white man's settlement in the Borden Tract. The McDowells had never heard of this grant, and it had been their intention to locate in Beverly Manor. All Virginia west of the Blue Ridge was until the establishment of Augusta and Frederick in 1738 a part of Orange county, and the seat of local government was near the present town of Orange. But so far as treaty engagements had any force, the Borden Tract lay in the Indian country. It was not until 1744 that the treaty of Albany was superseded by that of Lancaster. The former recog- nized the Blue Ridge as the border of the Indian domain. The latter moved the boundary back to the Indian Road, already mentioned. The red men were within their rights when they hunted in the Valley, or passed through on war expeditions. In point of fact the whites were trespassers. But the American borderer has seldom stood back from this form of trespass whenever he was in contact with desirable wild land. Borden remained about two years on his grant, spending a portion of the time with a Mrs. Hunter, whose daughter married a Green, and to whom Borden 24 A lltSTOBY OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA gave the place they were living on when he left. There is a statement that Borden sailed to England and brought back a large company of settlers. This is ' ' ' il. Such action was not i He did advertise his lands. ail' net that n>orc than 100 f;i catcd on the Tract within the two years. But immigrants were arriving at Philadelphia almost everj* week. s< • ' r of hundreds, and efficient advertising was certain to br;:., : ;,..;.-. When Borden went back to his home near Winches- ter, he left his papers with John McDowell, to whose house many of the pros- pectors came in order to be shown the parcels they thought of buying. Three years later he died on the manor-place he had patented in 1734. Benjamin Borden. Sr.. came from New Jersey, where the name Bordcn- town commemorates an early settlement by the family. It is manifest that his education was meager. The language of his will, which rescinhlcs that of the contract given in this chapter, is boyish and crude, and defective in spelling and grammar The personalty inventoried in the settlement of his estate made a total of $487. The house furnishings were simple and primitive, many of them being listed as "old" and of little value. The items include a ser\ant man. two stallions and seventeen other horses, seventeen cattle, seven sheep, three small hogs, a silver watch scheduled at $10.42. a half-dozen chairs, and some car7>enter tools. In ready means Borden did not quite rank with some of the other early settlers of Frederick. But as a business man he was shrewd, alert, and tactful, and was what would now be styled a "plunger." Besides "Borden's Great Tract," and several much smaller patents in the valley of the James, he owmortion was still unsold at the date of the petition, and like unappropriated land, was in great part free THE BORDEN LAND GRANT 27 from tax. This was offered for sale at the highest price that could be secured. "Your petitioners have ever considerd this monopoly hard and oppressive, even under a nionarchial government, where the natural rights of man are so much abused," They ask that the representatives of the proprietor be compelled to account for all arrears of taxes, and that the lands be disposed of at a reason- able price ; and that the grant be resurveyed so that the title to the surplus lands may be vested in the commonwealth. The patent to Borden was not issued until November 6, 1739. It is based on the representation that a family had been located for every 1,000 acres of the grant. The acreage is set at 92,100, and this would indicate that the number of actual settlements was ninety-one, exclusive of those by the McDowell party. In consideration of building a cabin, the settler was given 100 acres, and had the privilege of buying additional land at the minimum price. Such parcel of 100 acres was called a cabin-right. These cabin-rights were of vital importance to Borden. Each one validated his own title to 1,000 acres of his grant. Mrs. Greenlee relates that the cabin-rights were at length counted and a return made to the governor. Benjamin Borden, Jr.. affirmed that the number was 145. But Mrs. Greenlee says one person would go from cabin to cabin, and claim a cabin-right in each instance. It was immaterial where these claim-cabins were built. Mrs. Greenlee adds that she heard much of the doings of a young Mil- hollen woman, a servant to James Bell. She dressed as a man and saved five or six cabin-rights. She used a different Christian name at each cabin she appeared at. John Patterson, who made the count and kept tally with chalk-marks on his hat, was surprised to find so many Milhollens. Mrs. Greenlee does not commit herself as to whether she believed this sharp practice to have been instigated by the elder Borden. The junior Borden, in his answer in the suit of Bell v. Borden, denies that his father sought any advantage from fraudulent improve- ment. He says he believes it to be true that Bell "caused a servant wench of his to be dressed up in man's apparel or clothes, and show himself on one of the improvements he pretends to have made," and that at another time. Bell "caused the wife of William McCanliss, his servant man, to appear in his own proper person on a different part of the land, as the wife of another settler." The surveying of the boundaries of the Tract was not done until after the counting of the cabin-rights. This circumstance will account for the extraor- dinarily irregular outline. More than sixty angles are described in the patent. The general survey was performed by James Wood, surveyor of Frederick county, assisted by John McDowell. McDowell seems to have surveyed some, at least, of the individual tracts, yet Mrs. Greenlee says one Bcaty appears to have been the first man to survey land in the Borden Tract. One John Mart was also a surveyor. Separate parcels, however, were not always surveyed before pur- 2X A HISTORY OF ROCKDRItXlE COUNTY, VIRGINIA chase, but were dcscril)cd by general boundaries. James Buchanan says liis father's land was paid for before survey, although certain boundaries were agreed upon. The younger Hordcn did not observe these bounds, although referees decided in his favor. Mrs. Greenlee says people sonietinies squatted in the grant, and witiiout first contracting with "old Borden." William Patton says that parcels passed from hand to hand prior to the making of any deed. This circumstance helps to explain why the names of some of the settlers do not appear in the deeds issued by the Bordens. The death of Benjamin Borden, Sr., left the proprietary interests in the Tract in much confusion. Many bargains with the newcomers had been reached, but in rather numerous instances the settler was living on land to which his claim was incomplete. Judge McDowell very justly remarks that the business of the estate was intricate and very troublesome. The elder Borden had either sold or given away many tracts that there was no account of among his papers Disputes arose and some of the contestants made good their claims. The quit- rents coming due everj- year on the unsold portion of the Tract were a burden to the younger man. One deponent says a parcel was sometimes sold off merely to get the money for this purpose. It was the pr.ictice of the Bordens to sign no deeds until the purchase money had been paid in full. For some cause, the land purchased by Ezekiel Clements in 1746 reverted to the Crown seven years later In 1742 Benj.imin Borden. Jr.. visited the Tmct. spending his time at the home of John McDowell. When he came back, the year following, his father and John McDowell were Ixiih dead. The junior Borden was a young man and was at first viewed with coldness and suspicion. There seemed to be nothing in his bearing to set him above the generality of the settlers them- selves. It was said that he was illiterate, but this could hardly have been llie case. He was not at first held in respect by Mrs. McDowell, whom he married al>out 1744. f)n his reappe.irance he entered land." Judge McDowell deposed that as a boy he was a chain-carrier for the surveying parties in the Tract, and thus became very familiar with the ground. He said it was not possible to embrace 1,000 acres of choice land in a single survey, and that it would re(|uire from fifteen to twenty surveys to cover the total of 5,000 acres. Joseph Borden died in 1803 at his home in Iredell county, North Carolina, but the suit ilragged its weary length along, and was at length merged into the suit of Peck v. Borden. It appeared in the docket term after term with monotonous regularity. The Borden heirs became more numerous, year by year, and the case never seemed ready for settlement. About 1885 the circuit judge ordered the funds in the hands of the court, amounting with interest to some $5,000, to be paid to the army of heirs. The case was then stricken from the docket. It had involved the legality of all the Borden titles, but no landholder in the Tract was dispossessed. Passing the entire Borden matter in review, it appears in the light of a long-continued nuisance and an unjustifiable and injurious monopoly. The elder Borden had [>erfnrmed no public service to warrant so large a benefit from the public domain. The heirs, with the one exception of Benjamin, Jr., were non- residents. There was never any sound reason why the individual purchases shoiild not have been patents issiiing from the state. A vast amount of litigation and other forms of annoyance would thus havt- been avoicrt CampbcH'f ford on the North Branch of jamet River, and that Capn Benjamin Borden, Capn William EARLY PIONEER DAYS 37 Evins, and Capn Joseph Culton be overseers of the same, and that the gang to clear the same be all the inhabitants above Beverly Manor line to the said Gilbt Campbell's ford. And that the road continue from Gilbt Campbell's ford to a ford at the Cherrytree Bottom on James River, and that Richard Wood, Gilbt Campbell, Joseph Lapsley, and Joseph Long be overseers, and that all the inhabitants betwixt the said rivers clear the same. And that the said road continue from the said Cherrytree Bottom to Adam Harmon's on the New, or Wood's, River, and that Capn George Robinson and James Campbell, and Mark Evins, and James Davison be overseers of the same, and that all the inhabitants betwixt James River and Wood's River clear the same. And that a distinct order be given to every gang to clear the same, and that it be cleared; as it is already blazed and laid off with two notches and a cross. Given under our hands this 8th day of April, 1745. The settlers of tliis county found that much of its area was covered with brush, or with "Indian meadows," in wliich the coarse grass and peavine is spoken of as quite luxuriant. A forest growth was confined largely to the mountains, as in the case of Timber Ridge, whicli derives its name from this circumstance. So far from being compelled to clear the land, the settler had sometimes to go a mile to find logs for a cabin. And yet, as the "brushy barrens" were considered poor, they were passed over in favor of the timbered localities. The early comers were particular in refusing all lands they thought to be poor, but afterward found their judgment had sometimes been at fault. Thus Timber Ridge was settled in preference to open ground that was actually better. The country being generally open, it was a comparatively simple and ex- peditious matter for the homeseeker to view the land, determine his individual preference, and assist in making what were called roads in that early time. If any of his open ground went back to its natural forest covering, it was because he permitted it so to do. The purchases within the Borden grant averaged nearly 300 acres, and this was rather less than the customary size of the individual patents around it. And since labor-saving machinery was unknown in that day, so large a holding was a plantation rather than a farm. As a rule the purchaser was a substantial yeoman, and he often had a tenant on his place or one or more indentured ser- vants in his household. Under circumstances like these, the normal development of the region would be at a quite rapid pace. The very first dwelling houses were undoubtedly primitive. They were round-log cabins, and sometimes the floor was nothing better than the naked earth. There is no doubt that the bark hunting-lodge left here by the red man was occasionally used. lUit by all except the moneyless and the easy-going, the rough and ready shelter was intended only as a makeshift. The man of property who felt that he had come to stay did not lose much time in building a larger and better dwelling of hewed logs. The house of Captain William Jameson, of the Calfpasture, built in 1752, was probably a fair specimen of a home of the 38 A HISTORY OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTV, VIRGINIA pcnnancnl type. It was eighteen by twenty-four feet in the clear, one and one- half stories high, and had a shingled roof. The contract price was $22 50. The Indian peril, which first manifested itself at the close of 1742, must have been a powerful incentive to build houses of strength and a fair degree of security. Several structures of this kind are still in existence, but with enlarged windows and some other alterations. Log houses were the rule for several decades. The immense chimney was of stone, the supply of which in Rockbridge is abundant. Before the close of the Revolution there were few houses of stone or brick. As the years went by, the brick house became increasingly fretjucnt, but it was some time before the log house was outnumbered by the framed dwelling. Even yet, the log house is far from being extinct in Rockbridge. The tilled acreage was small. Grain could be marketed only in the form of flour, and then only to a limited extent. Consequently, the pioneer grew little more than the supplies consumed on his place. Indian corn, unknown in the British Isles, was the only staple he had to learn how to grow. Since only the well-to-do could afford clothes of imported cloth, there was much weaving of linen and linsy-woolsy. The flax patch was consequently a feature of the frontier farm. Hemp was a staple crop, and it was the one most immediately a source of ready money. The cultivation of it was encouraged by the colonial government. The fiber brought $5 a hundredweight, and there was a bounty of $1. More hemp seems to have been grown in Rockbridge than in other parts of old .Xugusta. Orchards were begun with young apple and peach trees brought from Pennsylvania. Kitchen gardens are said to have been unknown before the Revolution. The hint was taken from the Hessian prisoners-of-war at Staunton, who were permitted to plant gardens in the vicinity of their camps. Wagons were at first scarce, but were rather common during the Revolution. The farming tools were few and simple. Almost the only implements drawn by horses were the brush harrow and the plow with wooden mouldhoard. Rockbridge is well suited to grazing, and the early farms were well stocked with horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs. These animals were not so large as the breeds of the present day. The immigrants were not slow to see the advantage of irrigating the level meadows along the large streams. Such artificial water- ing was practiced on Walker's and Kerr's creeks. There is mention of the "Egj-pt field" on the last named watercourse. The dams and ditches are now gone, and corn is king rather than hay. The early comers found the wilderness infested with several predatory animals, the most troublesome of which was the wolf. I'or many years it was necessary t') i>en the calves and sheep by night to protect them from the bear and the puma, as well as the wolf. It is a noteworthy fact that crows, black- EARLY PIONEER DAYS 39 birds, and honeybees were not known in this region before the arrival of the white men. The Indians called the bee the "white man's fly." It was provided that the settlers in Augusta should be exempt from levy so long as they remained under the jurisdiction of Orange. This was found to be a disadvantage, and in response to a petition from them a poll tax of two shillings was authorized. This was to provide a fund for paying wolf bounties. The oath administered to a claimant of the bounty read as follows : I, , do swear that this head by me now produced is the head— or heads — of a wolf taken and killed within the county of in Virginia; and that I have not wittingly or willingly spared the life of any bitch wolf in my power to kill. So help me God. The whole head of the wolf had to be shown to the magistrate, who clipped the ears, administered the above oath, and issued a certificate. In one month of 1752, 225 wolf-heads were brought to the Augusta court-house. In 1790, forty wolf-heads were presented to the magistrates of this county, the bounty then being 100 pounds of tobacco ($3.33) for a grown animal, and fifty pounds for a cub. A petition of 1809 says wolves are increasingly numerous, and asks that the bounty be raised to $8 and $6. There was the same complaint in 1823. In 1831, the bounties were $12 and $6 for wolves and $1 and fifty cents for red foxes. In 1834, only one wolf-head was produced, but there were 110 fox scalps. Squirrels as well as crows were destructive to the corn, and a law of the Revolutionary period imposed a penalty on each tithable for failing to present a specified number of scalps each year. Deer, on the contrary, were protected by law. A statute of 1792 made it illegal to kill a deer with a bell or collar on its neck. Except for a few communicants of the Established Church, the pioneer popu- lation of Rockbridge was Presbyterian, so far as it adhered to any creed at all. The earliest meeting houses are spoken of in another chapter. The Sunday services continued from 10 o'clock in the morning until sunset, but with an inter- val of one hour for dinner. At a time of communion the meeting continued four days, and several ministers were present. People then came from a wider radius than usual, and the families living near the meeting house were duly hospitable. Some persons walked barefoot to church, putting on their shoes and socks after crossing the last branch on tlic road. To serve hot coiTee on Sunday was considered a desecration. According to I lowe, there was little social intercourse, except within the churchyard, and there were no gay amusements at any time. In fact, social intercourse was largely of a religious character. The presbytery was the chief festival occasion. Dancing lay under a ban, and the "cavalier vices" of Tide- water Virginia did not flourish within the mountains. But at length some of the 40 A mSTORV OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA Rockbridge people grew idle, merry, and dissipated, and this clement was more conspicuous on the very front line of settlement. Prior to the orR.inization of Rockhridpc .is a county, there was no town or village. The store, tiic ordinary, and the mill were the weekday places where the male element was most likely to congregate. There may have been a few stores previous to 1777. but we have no knowledge of them. The distance to Staunton was not prohibitive, and an occasional visit by a pedlar could be counted upon. The ordinary, or tavern, had a name which was painted on a board placed near the front entrance. There were a few of these in Rockbridge, but they were usually styled houses of private entertainment. There was a fine of ten pounds for keeping a tavern without a license. The guest could not be made to pay unless there were an agreement in advance. "The White Horse" was the name of the McClcnahan hostelry in Staunton. The first mill, according to Mrs. Greenlee, was that of Oiarles Hays. It was probably built not later than 1740. It was soon followed by the mill of James Voung at the mouth of Kerr's Creek. Other mills, dating from about 1752, were those of David Moore, Joseph Long, and Joseph Kennee permitted. Fairs were authorized in Jime and Noveml>er for the second Tuesday of the month. When the Revolution broke out, Staunton was one of the few important towns in Virginia anj had scvrral stores and taverns. The dfiings within the courtyard were not always tame. The justices were repeatedly disturln-d by rioting outside the building or by ball playing. They were sonjctimes "damned." or otherwise insulted, while on the bench. In 1754 EARLY nONEER DAYS 41 a woman called one of them a rogue, and said that on his "coming off the bench she would give it to him with the devil." Neither was there the best of public order away from the precincts of the court. In 1754 John Clark went into the house of Robert McClenahan and demanded satisfaction for a decision given by McClenahan as a magistrate. Two years later, three men entered the house of Alexander Wright, broke doors and windows, and beat and abused Mary McDonnell, an inmate. In fact, instances of assault and battery were rather numerous. It was a frequent occurrence for a person to complain of standing in fear of bodily hurt from some one else, and to ask that the person in question be bound over to keep the peace. A certain woman of Kerr's Creek was an offender in this particular. Tut notwithstanding the many unruly characters, there seems to have been an honest effort to enforce a high standard of conduct, including a strict observance of the Sabbath. A certain man, one of whose sons may have been responsible for the House Mountain tragedy, was repeatedly summoned to show cause why "he does not bring up his children in a Christian-like manner." Samuel Dale was presented for taking wheat or flour and mixing it with his own in John Wilson's mill. For stealing a blanket from Samuel Houston and a bed quilt and a shirt from some other person, Elizabeth Smith asked for corporal punishment and was accommodated with thirty-nine lashes on the bare back at the public whipping post. The settlers of old Augusta were very much given to litigation. The num- ber of their lawsuits, prior to the subdivision of the county, runs into the thous- ands. Very many of the suits were for debt, and the jail was principally used as a boarding house for delinquent debtors. Some of the suits were for slander. The charges set forth in these are at times very gross and are described without any mincing of words. The will of the colonial period usually begins with a pious preamble varying in length, yet with so much general resemblance as to indicate that set forms were commonly used. Tiie maker then asks that he be given Christian burial, and the executors are to see that all claims against the estate are paid or adjusted. Provision is next made for "my well-beloved wife," and the items of personalty left her are minutely mentioned. She is to live with a son, "if they can agree." The son is to furnish her, year by year, a stipulated minimum of garden space, firewood, flour, corn, bacon, etc., and perhaps a stated area in flax. "If she chooses to live in a house by herself," a small one is to be built by the son who inherits the homestead. "If she marry again," her interest in the estate is to be curtailed. The children are generally mentioned by name, sometimes in the order of age, but as married daughters are commonly spoken of as "Margaret Smith," or "Liddy Black," one is not always certain whether a daughter is really 42 A IIISTORV OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA meant. Sometimes a son is given only a nominal consideration, perhaps with the explanation that "he has received his sheer already." Personal properly — and also real estate, where there is much of it — it apportioned with much exact- ness. Occasionally the homestead is divided, or a son is given lands patented or purchased on the "western waters"; on the "Canaway" River or in Ohio, or "Caintucky." If there are grandsons hearing the grandparent's given name, they arc remembered with a small legacy, and when the will is by a grandinutlur. the grandilaughters l)caring her own given name are similarly remembered. Where there are several slaves, they are distributed among the members of the family. To "my beloved John" will be left accounts due the parent by outside parties. To a son will be left "my best suit of close," and to a daughter a horse and saddle. Frequently, the children, or a portion of them are minors, and there are directions for their support and schooling. Quite often, all the children arc small, and there is sometimes another birth to be expected. Not seldom was the pioneer cut off by acute illness while in the prime of life. Nevertheless, the merchants sold "Lockyer's Pills" and "Duffey's Elixir," just as the drugstores dispense various proprietary cure-alls today. Light on a well-nigh forgotten burial custom is afforded in the following jK-tition by the "witry Whereas Joel Millican came to my house in a very low condition destitute of any help (or himself either in body or Roods Therefore provided a ltd for him and attended him nine days and he died. I therefore provided a Coffm and sheet and a gallon and a half of liquor and had him l>uried in a decent manner accordini; to his station which I hope you will take into consideration as I am not of great ability to be at so much expense and trouble which is from your Humble Servant In 1767 we find the vestry allowing for one "bare skin to lay under Cummings and dig Cummings grave." L'ntil 1755 there was no regular nwil service with the Rritish Isles, ancl if a letter weighed more than one ounce, it cost a dollar to have it delivered there. So late as 1775 there were but fifteen postoffices in all Virginia. There were no enveloi>es, and pctmasters rend the letters, just as gossip now claitns that country postmasters read the postal cards. The first newspaper in the colony was the Virt/inia Gascllc, started in 1736. The size of its page was six inches by twelve, and the subscription price was fifteen shillings. There was no other paper in Virginia until 1775. The purchasing power of the e given to God therefor. Calling to mind the Mortality of my Body and knowing tliat it is appointed (or all men once to die, do make and Ordain this my last Will and Testa- ment, that is to say principally and first of all. I give and Recommend my Soul into the hands of God that gave it, and for my Body 1 recommend it to the Earth to be Burried in a Christian like and decent mannor, at the direction of my Kxecutors. nothing doubling but at the General Resurrection I shall receive the same again by the mighty power of God. And as Touching such Worldly Estate, wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me with in this life, I give and devise and dispose of the same in the following manner and form, to Witt, first I give and be<|iieath to my wife Margaret a free Room where our bed is with all its Furniture thereunto belonging with her Wheel & Reel with all her Cloathing of what- ever kind or sort it is likewise One horse called Wilkcnson with a Side Sadie and Bridle (new) with suitable Intcrtainment for her Station and Seven |>ounds ye Year to u|>hold her in Necesiiaries she finds N'eedfull for herself during life. But in Case should not to live in that Station she is to have a liberty of S|>ending her days among either her Children, and in Case she should be so disposed, I bequeath her fifteen (lounds ye Year to be paid out of my real Estate during Life, or while she continues my Widow, and no longer. .Mso I will and Bequeath to my son William Two cows & two Calves to my son .Archibald Five Cows and two Calves, and Four Sheep. To my Son Joseph Twenty pounds to be paid out of my Real Estate. I give and bequeath to my son John the place where I now live with all the Improvements thereunto belonging (he paying all these Legacies as the Will Specifies) to him and his heirs forever but in Case he should dye a Batcheler, in that Case the Estate to be sold and Equally Divided among the Rest of his Brothers. To Moses Gwynn I be- queath Ten pounds to be paid out of my Real Estate. To my Daughter Jennett that fifty Acres of Land in Caintuck'y To Mary Erwin my Daughter the 2d \'ol. of Askins works, lo Miriam my Daughter One Cow & Calf & four Sheep, to my Daughter Margaret. I give or allow a Horse Sade my last Will and Testament. This and only this to be my last Will and Testament and none other, in Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Seal the day and Year above Written VI CIVIL GOVERNMENT (1737-1852) Conservative Influences — State and Local Government — Laws and Punishments — Writs and Records — Land System — Marriage Regulations — Money For about forty years after the beginning of settlement, the laws and institu- tions under which the people of Rockbridge lived were those of Colonial Vir- ginia. For almost twice as long a period, or until the constitution of 1851 went into effect, there was no very striking change. In cutting loose from England, the American did not throw away an old suit of clothes and immediately don a new suit of quite different pattern. It was more as if the old suit were still worn, after being dusted and having a few of the wrinkles pressed out. The coming in of the new order is an illustration of the fact that progress is ordinarily by easy steps and not by jumps. After independence, the law-making body was the General Assembly, but it was the House of Burgesses under a new name. From certain official forms the king's name was left out. There was still a Governor's Council, and it was very much like the old one. The governor was now a Virginian instead of a Briton, but like the colonial governor he lived in style, and in attending to his official business he followed much the same routine. The Constitution of 1776 left things a good deal as it found them. There was indeed a re-statenicnt of the source of Virginia law, so that there might be a definite recognition of the fact that the state was no longer a part of the British Empire. Juries no longer said that "we find for our Lord the King." The independence party had a conservative and a progressive wing. The former wanted independence, but with the least possible change otherwise. The latter also wanted independence, but it also wanted to make Virginia a republic, so that it might be no longer a constitutional monarchy. The early years of in- dependence showed that the conservative element was in control and that the progressives had scored only a few points in their program. As the years went by, there was a slow but rather steady yielding in the conservative viewpoint. The dis-establishment of the state church came early, yet only after strenuous opposi- tion. The penal code was ameliorated. Modifications crept here and there into the working of the machinery of government. But the constitution of 1829 was dictated by the conservatives, whose stronghold lay east of the Blue Ridge. To the progressives the new instrument was like a stone instead of a Inaf of bread. It was not until 1852, when the third constitution came into effect, tiiat the progressives won anything like a general victory. Until that date, and with 46 A HISTORY OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA respect to economics as well as institutions, llic people of Virginia continued to live under conditions that were essentially colonial. The modern era was ni>t fairly under way until the middle of the last century. Until 1776, the common law of England, supplemented by the enactim-nts of the House of Hurgesses, was the law of N'irginia. The statutes passed by the colonial legislature were expected to conform to the British practice. The king's veto, which was dictated by the Board of Trade, was freely used, and it went so far as to frustrate the attempt to incorporate some town or village. After independence these annoyances were a thing of the past. Under the foreign regime, the governor was an appointee of the British crown and acted as its personal representative. Sometimes he remained in England and enjoyed the actual title, the duties of the office being performed by a deputy. But the official that appeared in \'irginia lived in pomp and drew a very large salary, even for that age. lie was able to wield a great influence, although he was commonly an overbearing aristocrat, who took little i)ains to acquire the Virginian point of view. After 1776 and until 1852, the governor was an appointee of the Assembly and was not elected by the people. The royal governor could remit fines and forfeitures, and he could veto any bill. He could grant pardon for any crime except treason or wilful murder, and in these instances he crnild reprieve. In colonial times there was a Council of eight members, who were appointed and not elected. They served an indefmitc time and had a monopoly of most places of honor and trust. They assisted the governor and acted as a supreme court. This council of eight was continued after independence. The members of the House of Burgesses were chosen by popular vote, and there were two from each county. Until 1830, there were likewi.se two members from each county in the House of Delegates, regardless of the matter of population. After 1830 there was a more ecjuitable arrangement, and it w-as based on the number of people in the various counties. The Senate of 1776 contained twenty- four members. Under colonial rule the elective franchise was much restricted, and this continued to be the case until 1852. In edect. there is as much restriction now as there was then, even among the whites. But whereas the small vote now j)olU-d in the average county of this state is largely due to indifference, it was formerly due to a pro|)crty qualification. Voting was viva voce. Until 1852 the burgess or delcgnte was almost the only public official, state or local, who was dependent on popular vote. For a long while there was no higher judicial tribunal than the Council. Under indej)cndrnce. there was a State Court of Appeals, any three of its five members constituting a minor court. Rockbridge formed with Augusta. RiKkingham, CIVIL GOVERNMENT (1737-1852) 47 and Pendleton a judicial circuit, its judges having full jurisdiction in civil and criminal causes, and original jurisdiction in all causes involving a consideration of more than 100 pounds. With the exception that we shall presently note, the affairs of each county were looked after by the county court, a body which until 1852 was almost the same thing that it was in 1737. It was a self-perpetuating, close corpora- tion, and had more extensive powers than those of tiic present Board of Supervisors. When a new county was established, its first board of "worship- ful justices" was nominated by the court of the parent county. When vacan- cies occurred, or when there was a desire to increase the membership, nomina- tions were made by the court and commissions were issued therefrom by the governor. The county court was therefore not responsible to the people. The system was not democratic. The justices were chosen from the most influential families, and were often related to one another. The office often descended from father to son. It was in the power of the court to use partiality toward its friends and its own membership, and to be arbitrary and tyrannical. But in practice the working of the system was in the direction of good government. The justices felt the responsibility of their position and were in touch with the people. They were not only justices of the peace, but acted collectively, or by classes, as a board of county commissioners. They served without pay. They iield office for an indefinite time, but the governor might remove a justice for cause. Until 1830 there was no positive limitation on the number of justices. Four justices made a quorum and opinions were decided by a majority vote. Until 1776 a county court was opened by the reading of the royal commis- sion: "Be it remembered (date here given) his majesty's commission directed to (names of conmiissioned justices here given) to hear and determine all treas- ons, petit treasons, or misprisons thereof, felonies, murders, ajid all other offenses or crimes, was openly read." The county court had general police and probate jurisdiction, the control of county levies, of roads, actions at law, and suits in chancery. It passed judgment on all offenses except felonies and high treason, these coming before the Governor's Council, to be there examined by a grand jury before the final trial in the home county. But in the case of such criminals as were negro slaves, it could decree the death penalty and order the sheriff to execute it. It appointed the constables and the overseers of the roads, no acting justice being eligible in the latter capacity. After independence it ap- pointed the county clerk. Under British rule, the county clerk was the deputy of the secretary of state, and was appointed by him. A single justice had jurisdiction in matters not exceeding the value of twenty-five shillings. In 1788, suits at common law and in chancery might no longer come before the county court where the consideration was in excess of five pounds. 48 A HISTORY OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VIRGIN'IA Jurors were ordinarily chosen from the locality o( the issue they were to pass upon. Tavern-keepers, sur^'cyors of roads, and millers were exempt from prand-jury ser\'ice. In 1793 the allowance to a witness was fifty-three cents a day, in addition to four cents for each mile of travel. In 1808 the court day for Rockbridge was changed to the Monday after the first Tuesday in each month. A petition of 1802 complains that the recovery of small debts is diflicult, and asks that the jurisdiction of single magistrates be extended to $20.00. It also asks that constables be required to give security for the faithful discharge of their duty, and for the same service as a sheriff to be allowed the same fee. Each year the court sent to the governor the names of one to three of the senior memlxrrs, one of whom was commissioned by him as sheriff. But the high sheriff sold out the office to the highest bidder — sometimes at auction — so that the actual work was done by his deputies, while he enjoyed the honor and something of the emoluments. The court also nominated the coroner, who served during good behavior. His office was more important than it is now, since the incumbent was a conservator of the peace. The county lieutenant was an appointee of the governor and might be re- garded as his deputy. He had charge of the militia of the county, and ranked as a colonel in time of war. An auxiliary medium of county government was the vestry, one of which existed in colonial times in every parish. The parish might be co-extensive with the county, or the county might contain two or three parishes. When a new county was formed, the members of its first vestry or vestries were chosen by the qualified voters. But with a curious inconsistency, the vestry was thence- fon\'ard self -perpetuating like the county court. Its executive officers were the two church-wardens selected from its own membership. Their duties were both civil and ecclesiastical. They built chapels ami rectories for the established church and levied taxes for that purpose. They also looked after moral de- linquencies, and bound out orphans and bastards. The parish clerk and the sexton could Ixr ajjpointed by the rector as well a* by the vestry. The vestry fell into disuse during the Revolution, and was never revived. It passed out of existence with the dis-establishmcnt of the Episcopal Church. A petition from Rcjckbridge. dated May 20. 1780. asks permission for a levy for poor relief. It says that as there has been no vestry for some time, the poor have had to trust to humane contributions. The courthouse known to the people of Rockbriayment per day for this service was tifly cents. The |iracticc fell into disuse, but was revived liv .i law of 1865-6 Religion was not free in this state until just after the close of the Revolu- tion. The established cinirch was the Church of England, known to us aj* the Episcopalian. It wa.s supported by general taxation, and each parish owned a CIVIL GOVERNMENT (1737-1852) 51 farm known as a glebe. On this the rector lived. In theory, and to a limited extent in fact, attendance at the parish chapel was compulsory. Other Protestants were known as Dissenters. Their houses of worship had to be licensed and registered by the county court, and their ministers had to take various oaths. But west of the Blue Ridge, where few people adhered to the Establishment, there was and could be no persecution of the Dissenters. To learn the attitude of the Virginia government, the Presbyterian Synod of Ireland addressed a memorial to Governor Gooch in 1738. It brought this reply: As I have always been inclined to favor the people who have lately removed from other provinces to settle on the western side of our great mountains, so you may be assured that no interruption shall be given to any minister of your profession, who shall come among them, so as they conform themselves to the rules prescribed by the ."Vet of Toleration in England, by taking the oaths enjoined thereby, and registering the place of their meet- ing, and behave themselves peaceably toward the government. This letter has been construed as a letting down of the bars. Yet the governor promised nothing to the Ulstermen that the laws did not already per- mit. He merely said in eiTect that the newcomers would be let alone, so long as they obeyed the laws. There was no limitation on the number of their houses of worship, yet they had to contribute to the support of the Establishment just the same as if they had settled on the other side of the Blue Ridge. Their ministers were not permitted until the close of 1781 to unite couples in marriage. John Brown married two couples in 1755, but finding he was violating a law, he did not again perform a marriage ceremony for twenty-six years. The people of the Valley were restive under the disabilities imposed on them, and were nearly unanimous in helping to secure religious freedom for Virginia, this end being accomplished in 1784. It is claimed, and probably with reason, that the lack of express toleration kept thousands of intending immigrants out of colonial Virginia. The ruling element in colonial X'irglnia held that education is a private and not a public interest, and that schooling is to be purchased like clothing or groceries. The constitution of 1776 is silent on the subject. The mention of schools in the public records is accordingly very meager ajid incidental. We find mention of a schoolhouse in 1753, which was sixteen years after the coming of the McDowells. It is not at all probable that it was the only one, or that it had just been built. During the colonial time a marriage was solemnized by the parish minister or parish reader, but the certificate he gave was not deposited with the county clerk. The public recording of marriages did not begin until about the close of 1781, and it is therefore difficult to secure definite knowledge of unions that took place before that date. By the new practice, the groom was required to 52 A IIISTOBY OF ROCKBRI1x;E county, VIRGINIA sign a bond of fifty pounds. His surety was commonly tlic bride's fatlier. If either groom or liridc were under tlie age of twenty-one, and this was very often the case, the consent of the parent or parents had to accompany the bond, which served as a license. The consent was ordinarily written on a narrow scrap of pajicr, and often with poor ink. The signature, if not in the fonn of a mark, is usually crabbed and more or less difTicuIt to make out. This scrap, not always unsoiled, was folded into a small compass, making it look like a paper of epsom salts as put up by a doctor before tablets and capsules came into use. The bonds were filed away in bundles. This system was in force until 1852. Personal liberty was so highly prized on the old frontier that a certain statute of 1661 must have seemed irksome to the settlers. This law made it illegal for any person to remove out of his county until after setting up his name for three Sundays at the door of the church or chapel of his parish. This notice had to express his intention and certify where he was about to go. It was then attested by the minister or reader and the church-wardens, who gave him license to go. The order-books of Augusta indicate that this law was not a dead letter. Tlic house of entertainment was called an ordinary. The prices the tavern-keeper might charge were regulated by the county court with great exactness. These rates had to be posted in the public room and not above a specified height from the floor. This care was not needless. Extortion would otherwise have been more possible than it is now. Money was computed, as in England, in pounds, shillings, and pence. But on this side of the Atlantic these names applied to values and not to coins. In the "current money of N'irginia," the pound represented $3.33, the shilling six- teen and two-third cents, and the penny one and seven-eighteenths cents. Be- cause of the depreciation of the colonial money, British coins did not freely circulate here. The hard money in acttial use came from the West Indies, and was of Spanish, French, and Portugese coinage. Thus we read of the pistole, the doubloon, and the louis d'or, or "loodore." Tliese were gold coins worth, respectively, $3.92, $7.84, and $3.%. It was by way of the West Indies that the Americans becanie acquainted with the "piece of eight," or Mexican dollar. Eight reals made a dollar, the real being a silver coin of the value of nine pence, or twelve and one-half cents. The earliest mention of the dollar by name, in the Augusta records, is in 1752. The f.-urt that the Mexican dollar .subdivided so readily into the terms used in computing the colonial money, is the leading reason why the dollar, a well known coin. I)ccame the unit of I'ederal money. Under the names of "levy" and "fip," the real and half-real were Ii imI iimli r in the United States until near the beginning of the war of 1861 CIVIL GOVERNMENT (1737-1852) 53 Since the gold and silver coins that passed from hand to hand were of so varied a character, it was tedious and inconvenient to turn their values into Virginia money. A sum of money is spoken of in 1750 as made up of one doubloon, one pistole, two moidores, and two pieces of silver. The value of these Spanish and Portuguese coins was about $24.00. It was customary to com- pute the foreign money by weight, and hence money-scales are often mentioned in inventories of personal property. Copper pennies were coined for Virgfinia in 1733. This coin was worth almost exactly one cent. Paper money of colonial issue began to appear in the colony in 1755. The ten-pound note was not quite one-half the size of a postal card, was crudely engraved, and was too easy to counterfeit. Warehouse certificates for tobacco also passed from hand to hand as money and did not need endorsement. When a money consideration was written into a legal document, the sum usually mentioned is five shillings. The legal rate of interest was five per cent. There were no banks, and when a large stock of money was on hand it was secreted. There is very frequent mention of Pennsylvania currency, in which the pound was worth $2.50 and the shilling twelve and one-half cents. Money, whether of metal or paper, could be counterfeited with more im- punity than is possible today. We not infrequently find mention of bad bills and suspicious doubloon certificates. VII ANNALS OF 1737-1777 SOJKTIONS nOM THE RECORDS OF OraNCC, Al'CUSTA, AND BoTETOt-KT ORANGF. ORDF.R BOOK. 173S-174S nil tithablcs— Nov. 18. 1735. Road surveyors to set finger-boards at every crossroads in large letters. The Rev. Richard Hardwell presented for being drunk. — 1741. James Phillips fined ten shillings for non-attendance at his parish church, and for not appearing to answer the charge against him. Poll tax, fourteen jjounds of tobacco — 1744. Andrew Campbell takes out a i)cdlcr's license — 1740. WoIf-hcads turned in by Charles Campbell. James Hamilton, John James, and Richard McDowell. Constables: 1741, James McDowell: 1742. Hugh Cunningham: 1743, Joseph Lapsley, John Mitchell. William Moore, and James Anderson; 1744, Samuel Gay. Militia officers: John Mathews and Patrick Hays ap|)ointed captains in 1742; William Jameson, captain, 1745; .Mexander Dunlap, captain of horse, 1743: Henry Gay, lieutenant in 1744, and .Andrew Hays in 1745. People of Borden Tract |>etition for a road from James Young's on to Borden's Tract by a gap in Blue Ridge called .Michael Woods' Gap Francis McCown. Samuel Walker, Captain Charles Campl>ell. and Captain Patrick Hays among the overseers. Colonel J.ime» Palton to lay ofT the precincts. South River to be crossed at the plantation of Samuel Davis. Tavern rates, 1742: Hot diet, one shilling; cold diet or loging. sixpence each; com or oat», per gallon, sixpence; stabling and fodder for one night, or pasturage for twenty-four hours, sixpence; Barbadoes rum, |>er gallon, eight shillings; New Engl,ind r\nn, per gallon, two shillings and six|>encc ; Virginia brandy, |>er gallon, six shillings ; claret, per gallon, four shillings; Virginia cider, i>er quart, four and half pence. AUGUSTA ORDKR-BOOKS 1745 Robert Young a|ip<>inted constable in Richard WoocU's militia company, and James Greenlee to succeed William .Moore in Benjamin Borden's company. Greenlee afterward excused on account of illiteracy. 1746 Joseph I.aptley and John Peter Sailing sworn in as captains, Robert Renick as first lieutenant. Statements of losses by Indians certified to in case of Richard Woods, John Mathews, Henry Kirkham, Franciv McCown, Joseph lapsley, Isaac Anderson, John and James Walker.-Feh. 19th. James Huston and three other men presented for being vagrants, and hunting and burning the »ounds for illeg-illy killing three deer. ANXALs OF \in-\m 55 Constables : William Taylor from Benjamin Allen's to the lower end of the county ; William Gay on the Calfpasture ; Michael O'Dougherty in Woods's company: John McCown, Michael Finney, and Thomas Williams in the Forks of James. Samuel Dunlap, John Ramsay, and John Campbell succeed, respectively, Nathaniel McClure, William Gay, and Robert Gwin. Alexander McCroskey is also a constable. 1747 Henry Gay, James Allison, John Hodge, and John Edmondson petition for leave to build gristmills. The road formerly cleared from James Young's mill to Woods's Gap to be altered. John Allison given license for a ferry between his landing and Halbert McCIure's. Robert Patterson and James Allen to view a road from John Picken's mill to lower meeting house. Petition by James McCown for road from crossroads below Patrick Hays. Hays is on north side of South River. 1748 Richard Burton to take the list of tithables in the Forks. Roger Keys and Sarah, his wife, win in a slander suit against Ephraim McDowell. John Lyle is a witness. George Campbell presented for striking and beating Joseph Walker in the court- yard. Henry C— presented for assaulting and beating Joseph M in a meeting house yard at a time of burial service. Constables : David Dryden and William Lockridge succeed Samuel Dunlap ; William Woods succeeds John McCown ; Alexander Walker succeeds Michael Dougherty. 1749 Archibald Alexander, Benjamin Borden, William Jameson, Samuel Gay, John Lyle. John Mathews, and Richard Woods are on the list of justices. Benjamin Borden to take the list of tithables from North River to the end of the county; David Stuart, from the courthouse to North River. 1750 A road has been cleared over the Blue Ridge at "Woods's old gap" — May 25. Road ordered from John Hays' mill to Providence meeting house. Posts of direction to be set up. Richard Burton, Robert Renick, John Poage, Peter Wallace, are to survey a road from Looney's Ferry to North River; Benjamin Borden, John Thompson, Isaac Taylor, and William McClung are to survey to the intersection with the county road. Road ordered from William Gay's to Robert McCutchcn's and thence to Robert Camp- bell's. McCutchen to build the road with the help of William Elliott, Thomas Fulton, John Fulton, John Meek, Thomas Meek, John Williams, and John Gay. John Maxwell, James McDowell, and Edward Hogan were in a canoe on the James, Sunday, May 13 (Old Style). The boat upset and Hogan was drowned. Coroner's jury at James Greenlee's, five days later: Michael Dougherty, Josiah F. Hcndon, John Hitchins, Joshua Mathews, James Montgomery, John Poage, John Ramsey, John Vance, Matthew Vance, Samuel Walker, Joseph Walker, and Walker. 1751 William Lusk a justice. Archibald Alexander, Michael Finney, John Hargrove, John Maxwell, and John Peter 56 A HISTORY OF ROCKBR1IK-.E COUNTY, VIRGINIA Sailing «re lurvcyors for ■ road from David Moore's Mill to Robert Poige's mill. Order for road from Hays' fulliiiK mill to Timber KidRc mcetitiR house. Constables: James Phillips vice Samuel McCutchen; William Klliott vice James Gay: Richard Cousart vice James Greenlee; John Gilmore vice John Allison. I7S2 James Young, miller, presented for taking toll twice. Road ordered from William Cleghom's to Purgatory. Benjamin Borden to lay off a road from his house to Providence meeting house. John Pal ton, sur^-eyor. Petitioners for a road from Kennedy's mill to John Houston's, and from Houston's to the great road from Timber Grove to Woods' Gap : Robert Alexander, Andrew Duncan, Kot>ert Duiilap. Walter I-^ikin, James I-lakin, lolin Kdmondson, John Handly, Patrick Hays, James Hill, John Houston, Joseph Kennedy, William Lockridge, William McConnell, John Montgomery, Andrew Steele, Robert Stuart, John Stuart, William Wardlaw, and John Wilson. Petition of settlers on the lower Cowpasture petition for a road over the mountains to the Borden Tract— Oct. 19. 17S3 225 wolf -heads turned in — Nov. 22. Cornelius Bryan given permission to cut a road at his own expense from the "bent" in HtifTalo to Michael DouRherty's. Members of grand jury, .Nov. 20: Robert Bralton. James I^ockridRe, John Anderson, William Caruthers, Archibald Alexander, John Paxton, and Samuel McClure. James Trimble, foreman. John Paxton road overseer from Edmondson's mill to Fork Meeting House. Order for a road from Campbell's schoolhotise to the Renick road. Samuel Walker, overseer. Workers: John Allison, Samuel .Mlison, Stephen .\niold. Richard Burton, William Burt, William Byers, James Fraiier, Henry Fuller, John Hiitchings, Sr., John Hiitcbings, Jr., John Maxwell, John McColley. Richard Mathews, Sampson Mathews, William Noble, John Petect, Joseph Ryan, Thomas Shaw, John Smith, Joseph Smith. John Sprowl, John Peter Sailing, George Sailing, Mathew Vance, Samuel Walker. 1754 Several runaway servants taken up. Joseph Tees fined twenty shillings for saying, "he got nothing in this court but shuffling." Lancelot Graham constable on Great Calfpasture, William Ramsay on Little Calfpasture. Thomas Paxton constable to succeed John I-owry. 1755 James l>ockridge appointed a lieutenant. Mary XfcDonald bh<)otiTiK .n the rhiMrcn of Alexander Moore. 1770 Charles Hays certifies to 2293 pounds of hemp. George .Mathew». sherifT. John Hays, James McDowell. Samuel McDowell, and Archibald Houston are vestry- men. John Caldwell has lewve to build an oil mill on 5«outh River. 1771 Brice Hanna. contractor to do work at New IVovidence. failed and ran ofT Charles Campljell, Alexander Mmire. William Walker, and James Walker, commissioners. ANNALS OF 1737-1777 59 1773 Order for a road from Thomas Lackey's to Timber Ridge meeting house. Alexander Stuart, neighbor to William McClung, granted mill license on Mill Creek. Samuel McDowell qualifies as justice. For illegal selling of liquor, Thomas Mathews asks for corporal punishment in place of a fine. Twenty-one lashes to be given at once and costs imposed. Road ordered from head of Kerr's Creek to North River. In 1774 the bridle-path is reported to be the most convenient waj. Hemp certificates given: to James McKee for 2290 pounds; John McKee, 2415; Isaac Anderson, 2863; John McCown, 2566; .Andrew Hays, 3300; James Kerr, 2ill\ James Lindsay. 1070. Dr. George Parker, servant of Samuel McChesney, agrees, with the approval of the court, to pay McChesney 100 pounds for his freedom, on condition of being given a horse and saddle worth ten pounds, and drugs and medicines worth thirty pounds, and is to pay ten pounds a year for his board until the sum of 100 should be paid up. Parker is to keep the horse at his own expense. 1777 John Gilmore, John Lylc, and David Gray are captains. Nat, an Indian boy in the custody of Mary Greenlee, complains that he is held in unlawful slavery. A stay is granted until Mrs. Greenlee's son in the Carolinas can be heard from. Meanwhile, Nat is hired out until it can be determined w-hether he is slave or free. The court considers that Mrs. Greenlee has treated him in an inhumane manner. Zachariah Johnston and Andrew Moore, captains. Liberty to inoculate for the smallpox is granted to the people of Staunton and for three miles around. BOTETOURT ORDER-BOOK 1770-1777 Richard Woods is first high sheriff, and James McDowell and James McGavock and John Bowyer are his undersheriflfs. John Maxwell is sheritT in 1773. James Bailey and Joseph Davis are constables on Buflalo, and William Hall on Cedar. — 1770. Salary of king's attorney is 4000 pounds of tobacco, the equivalent of sixteen pounds thirteen shillings four pence, or $55.55 in Federal money. Surveyors of roads, 1770: Audley Paul and Hugh Barclay, from Rcnick's to James Gilmore's; James Simpson, from Gilmore's to Buffalo; John Paxton, from Buffalo to North River Ferry; James Templeton, from Buffalo ford to North Iviver; George Franci^ico, from Fork of road below Barclay's to the Buffalo; James Templeton, from ford of Buffalo to North River. William McKee to take the tithablcs from the county line to the Buffalo and froiu mountain to mountain; Benjamin Estill, from the Buffalo to the James and from moun- tain to mountain. John Bowyer, John Maxwell, James Trimble. William McKee, James McGavock, and Robert Poage are among the first justices. Hugh Barclay has license to keep an ordinary — 1770. Wolf-heads, 173—1770. Charles Given certifies that his left car was bitten off by Francis McDonald— 1771. 60 A tllSTOKY OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA Elizabeth Collier agrees to serve her master, James Green, one year extra time, pro- vided he employs her as house-servant — 1773. Head-tax, sixty-seven pounds of tobacco ($2.00) ; Tilhables, 1494, of whom 229 are delinquent — 1773. Allowance of $40.00 for furnishing courthouse with candles and firewood — 1773. Tavern rales: Warm diet with good meat, one .shilling; culd diet, seven and one-half pence; ludging in good bed with clean sheets, six i>cnce; lodging with two or more in bed, four i>ence each; grain, per gallon, six pence — 1775. Samuel Wallace, road surveyor from Paxton's ford on North River to ford in BufTalo. Benjamin Kstill and John Dowyer among the persons appointed to administer the oath of allegiance to the free white inhabitants, as per Act of Assembly ; Estill for the com- panies cif Juhn Paxlon and James Hall, Bowyer for the companies of William Paxton and Samuel Wallace — August 13, 1777. Contract let for building a prison sixteen by twenty feet, logs squared to the dimensions of fourteen by fourteen inches to form the walls and the upper and lower floors. VIII STRIFE WITH THE RED MAN An Empty Land — Indian Mounds — Indian Meadows — Relations Between the Races — The McDowell Fight — Blockhouses — The Renick Affair — The Kerb's Creek Raids — Dunmore War — The Long Hunters The Rockbridge area was a vacant land when found and explored by the whites. That such had always been its condition does not follow by any means. There have been inhabitants in America since a day that makes the voyage of Columbus seem as but an occurrence of last year. In the Western Hemisphere as in the Eastern, we may be sure that war, or pestilence, or some other catastrophe has here and there emptied a region of its human occupants. It is true enough that the arrowheads, pipes, scrapers, and other relics, which have been numerously found in various localities, do not necessarily point to a period of settled occupation. Hunting operations continued for centuries, varied by an occasional tribal fight, are sufficient to account for these. It was possibly by hunters alone that the Indian path was made which may be seen on Jump Mountain opposite Wilson's Springs. It was possibly by hunters alone that the stone-pile on North Mountain was built up. But all these suppositions are not enough to account for the mound which used to stand on the Hays Creek bottom, a very short distance below the mouth of Walker's Creek. At the time it was dug away and examined by Mr. Valen- tine, it was almost circular, averaging sixty-two feet in diameter at the base and forty feet on the flat top. The vertical height was then four and one-half feet, but the Gacette in 1876 speaks of it as having been ten or twelve feet high. The encroachments of cultivation had undoubtedly much diminished the original bulk. The excavators found eighty perfect skulls and more than 400 skeletons. In all instances the legs were drawn up and the arms folded across the breast. Shell-beads and pendants were found on the necks of twenty-eight of the skeletons. A few pieces of pottery and some other relics were found, and there were eight skeletons of dogs, several of these being almost perfect. The site is now completely leveled, and the exact spot is in danger of being forgotten. To those who know something of the customs of the Red American, it is evident that this mound was a burial mound, and that near it was once a village. Indian huts were of very perishable materials, and it is not at all strange that no trace of the village can now be found, unless by a trained investigator. At the time of white settlement — about 1738 — there may have been a very low earth- ring, marking the site of a palisade, and tiiis could soon iiave been destroyed (>2 A IIISTtJRV OF ROCKilRIDCE COUNTV. VIRCIN'IA by rcjjcated plowings. At all events, no recollection of such a ring seems to remain. W'ijite people arc vrry prone to imagine that tiu- native mounds were built over the corpses of the braves slain in battle. Hut the Indian war party rarely comprise more than a few dozen men, and often it was exceedingly small. The victors would lo-c but a few of their number, if any. and these were buried in individtial graves marked by little mounds of loose stones. The vanquished dead were left to be devoured by wild beasts. It is to be remembered that until a <|uite recent time the F.uropean nations held themselves to Ik under no obligation to bury the dead of a defeated army. The fact that many of the skeletons in the Hays Creek mound were of women and girls, and the conventional mon of the lowest county bridge on North River. On the Huffalo was a burial mounl>erls, S.iniiicl ; Miles, William; Mile^s. John: Miller, Michael: Moore. James; Patterson, Fdward : Patterson, Krwin ; Quail, Charles ; Kives, David ; Saley, John Peter ; Taylor, Thomas; Whiteside, Thonun \\"..ortunity of knowing it. By Bedford courthouse in one week, 'lis said, and I believe, truly said, near 300 inhabitants of this Colony past on their way to Carolina. From all the upper counties, even those on this side of the Blue Hills, great numl)ers are daily following." What is known as the Tontiac war broke out very surlieve that John McKee had gone to a neighbor's to look after some sick chiMrcn, and finding on his return th.Ti his wife was scalped, he took her STRIFE WITH THE RED MAN 71 to the house. Be this as it may, the murder could not have occurred in the first raid, as some statements affirm. The family Bible gives July 17, 1763, as the date of Mrs. McKee's death. We must now return to the assemblage at Big Spring. A number of the people of the valley were attending a meeting at Timber Ridge, the day being Sunday. Those gathered at Cunningham's were in a field, saddling their horses in great haste, in order to join their friends at the meeting house. The secreted foe seized the coveted moment to cut them off from the blockhouse. The scene which followed was witnessed by Mrs. Dale from a covert on a high point. When the alarm reached her she mounted a stallion colt that had never been ridden, but which proved as gentle as could be desired. The foe was gain- ing on her, and she dropped her baby into a field of rye. In some manner she afterwards eluded the pursuers, but was too late to reach the blockhouse. A relief party found the baby lying unhurt where it had been left. Such is the story, but it is more probable that the mother recovered the child herself after the raiders had gone away. While the saddling was going on two men started up the creek to reconnoiter. but were shot down, as were also two young men who went to their aid. The onslaught of the foe was immediate, and each redskin singled out his victim. Mrs. Dale said the massacre made her think of boys knocking down chickens with clubs. Some tried to hide in the big pond or in thickets of brush or weeds. All who attempted to resist were cut down. Cunningham himself was killed and his house was burned. There is no record that the Indians suffered any loss. According to Samuel Brown, sixty to eighty persons were killed in the two Kerr's Creek raids, and twenty-five to thirty carried away. This is an overstatement. William Patton, who was at Big Spring the day after the massacre, helping to bury the dead, says these were seventeen in number. He adds that the burial party was attacked. Among the prisoners, according to Mr. Brown, were Mrs. Jenny Gilmore, her two daughters, and a son named John ; James, Betsy, Margaret, and Henry Cunningham ; and three Hamiltons, Archibald, Marian, and Mary. One of the Cunninghams was the girl scalped in the first raid. She returned from captivity and lived about forty years after- ward, but the wound finally developed into a cancerous affection. According to a rather sentimental sketch in one of the county papers, Mary Hamilton was among the killed, and John McCown, her lover, died two years later of a broken heart and was buried by her side at Big Spring. Mr. Waddcll says she had a baby in her arms when she was captured. She threw the infant into the weeds, and when she returned from the Indian country she found its bones where she had left it. 72 A HISTORY OF ROCKBRIOCE COUNTY, VIRGINIA Mention has been made of a meeting at TinilKT Ridge the day of the sec- ond massacre. A rumor of the attack reached the congregation at the noon recess, but little was thought of it, since similar alarms had often been given. But an express arrived when the second service was iK-ginning. There was immediate confusion and speedy flight. Some of the Kerr's Creek families sought safety in the Blue Ridge. On the afternoon of the second tragedy, the Indians returned to their camp on North Mountain, where they drank the whiskey found at Cunningham's still. They became too intoxicated to have put up a good resistance to an assault. Yet they had little to fear, as there was a general panic throughout the Rockbridge area. Next day two Indians went back, either to see if they were pursued or to look for more liquor. It seems to have been on this occasion when Mrs. Dale saw them shoot at a man who ventured to ride up the valley. When he wliecled they clapped their hands and shouted. This incident constituted the attack men- tioned by William Patton. During the march to the Shawnee towns, the Indians brained a fretful child and threw the baby on the shoulders of a young girl who was killed next day. At another time, the prisoners were made to pass under an infant pierced by a stake and held over them. On still another occasion, while some of the prisoners were drying a few leaves of the Xew Testament for the purpose of preserving them, a savage rushed up and threw them into the camp fire. When the column arrived at the Scioto, the captives were ironically called u[)f)n to sing a hymn. Mrs. Giinjore respoiuK-d by singing Psalm 137 as she had l)ecn wont to do at Timber Kidgc. It is related that she had stood over the corpse of her husband, fighting desperately and knocking a foeman down. Another Indian rushed up to tomahawk the woman, Imt his comrade said she was a good warrior, and made him .spare her. She and her son were redeemed, but she never knew what became of her daughters. Several other captives were also returned. Some account of the massacres on Kerr's Creek was related many years afterward by Mrs. Jane Steven.son. She was then living in Kentucky, and her story was reduced to writing by John D. Shane, a minister. Mrs. Stevenson, who was born Noveml)er 15. 1750, speaks of a girl four months older than herself taken at the age of seven years and held until the lUiuciuet delivery in 1764. The children had gone out with older companions to gather haws, and the narrator escaped capture only by not going so far as the others. .At the first raid an a»mt who haci two children escaped into the wihxIs, the Indians going down the river. But on the second occasion, this aunt and her three children were taken and an uncle and a cousin were killed. Two of the children dieni RockbridRc by the treaty of Greenville, in 1795, which was secured by General Wayne's victory in the battle of the Fallen Timbers. Tlie Dunmore war of 1774 was caused by the extension of white settle- ment into the valley of the Ohio. It was waged l)ctween the \'irginia militia and a confederacy headed by the Shawnees. Rockbridge men served in the companies from Augusta and Botetourt, and heliit-d to gain the memorable victor)' of Point Pleasant. We find only unt- rrcordcd inst.ince wIrtc an Indian was held in slavcrv in Rockbridge. This was in 1777, and is mentioned in C"hapter \'II. It is said that several of the family names on Kerr's Creek were blotted out as a result of the scenes in 1759 and ]7C^^. The record-books for 1758-fiO indi- cate an exceptional mortality in the Rockbridge area. We append to this chap- ter some names that appear to belong to this region, but we do not know that violence was the cause of all the deaths indicated. Jacob Cunningham — will probated March 18. 1760. Isaac CunninKham— ert Hall, administrator. Jamrt Rogcrj — died 1760*— Ann Rogers administratrix with Walter Smiley on her bond. James Stephenson — died 1760*. Thomas Thompson — died 1760.* John Winyard— will probated, Noveml>cr 15, 1758 -Barbara, executor. Samuel Wilson— inted by their sheriffs before May 1, 1778, to elect twelve able and discreet persons as a vestry for each county.)* Tlic boundaries of Rockbridge, as set forth in the above act, have since undergone but one change. In October, 1785, all the county west of the top of Camp Mountain was annexed to Botetourt. There is a belief that the killing of Cornstalk at Point Pleasant led to the establishment of Rockbridge. The pcipetrators of that deed were some of the Rockbridge militia, and as there was an attempt to punish them, the trial would have been at the county seat of Greenbrier. The erection of a new county would insure a trial among friends and not among strangers. But the killing of Corn- stalk took place November 11, 1777. It would have taken several weeks for the news to reach Williamsburg and for a movement to take shape in Rockbridge which would bear fruit in legislative action. Tlie act authorizing Rockbridge had been passed in October of the same year. Nevertheless, the event should have mention in this chapter. The Shawnees, "the Arabs of the New World," were a small but valiant tril)e dwelling on the lower Scioto. In mental ])ovvcr tliey stood much above the average level of the red race, and it was an ordinary occurrence for a member of the tribe to be able to converse in five or six languages, including English and French. According to the Indian standard, the Shawnees were generous livers, and their women were superior housekeepers. They were so conscious of their prowess that they held in contempt the warlike ability of other Indians. It was their boast that they caused the white people ten times as much loss as they received. At the time of which we write, the most eminent war-leader among the Shawnees was Cornstalk. It is not probable that he headed the band that struck Kerr's Creek in 1759, althovigh the warriors may have been of his people. We do know, however, that he was the leader in the terrible raid of 1763. Within a few days his band blotted out the settlements on the Greenbrier, won a victory over two companies of militia at I'alling Springs in Alleghany county, •The first vestry for Rockbridge included James Buchan,-in, Charles Camplwll, Samuel McDowell, John Gilmorc, John Lyic, Samuel Lyie, Major William Paxton, Alexander Stuart, and John Trimble ROCKBRIDGE COUNTV ESTABLISHED 79 raided the valleys of Jackson's River and t!ie Cowpaslure, and then crossed Mill Mountain to work still further havoc on Kerr's Creek. \Mth slight loss to themselves, they killed, wounded, or carried away probably more than 100 of the whites. At Point Pleasant, the Shawnees were the backbone of the Indian army, and Cornstalk was its general-in-chief. It was only because of loose dis- cipline in the camp that the Virginians were not taken by surprise. Technically, the battle was little else than a draw. Cornstalk effected an unmolested retreat across the Ohio, after inflicting a loss much heavier than his own. But his men were discouraged and gave up the campaign. Cornstalk was not in favor of the war, but was overruled by his tribe. During the short peace that followed, he from time to time returned to Fort Randolph at Point Pleasant horses and cattle that had been lost by the whites or stolen from them. In 1777 the Shawnees were again restless. They had been worked upon by British emissaries and white renegades. Cornstalk came with a Delaware and one other Indian and visited Fort Randolph under what was virtually a fiag of truce. He warned Captain Arbuckle, the commandant, of the feeling of the tribesmen. His mission was an effort to avert open hostilities. According to the Indian standard, Cornstalk was an honorable foe, and he knew he ran a risk in putting himself in the power of the whites. Arbuckle thought it proper to detain the Indians as hostages. One day, while Cornstalk was drawing a map on the floor of the blockhouse, to explain the geography of the country beyond the Scioto, his son Ellinipsico hallooed from the other bank of the Ohio and was taken across. Soon afterward, two men of Captain William McKee's company, a Gilmore and a Hamilton, went over the Kanawha to hunt for turkeys. Gilmore was killed by some lurking Indian, and his body was carried back. The spectacle made his comrades wild with rage. They raised the cry of, "Let us kill the Indians in the fort," and without taking a second thought they rushed to the door of the blockhouse. They would not listen to the remonstrances of Arbuckle, and threatened his life. When the door was forced open. Cornstalk stood erect before his executioners and fell dead, pierced by seven or eight balls. His son and his other companions were also put to death. The slain chieftain was about fifty years of age, large in figure, commanding in presence, and intellectual in countenance. Good contemporary judges declare that even Patrick Henry or Richard Henry Lee did not surpass Cornstalk in oratory. By the people of Kerr's Creek the raids into their valley were remembered with horror. Homes had been burned. Families had partially or wiiolly been blotted out. Women and children had been tomahawked and scalped. Friends and relatives had been carried away, and some of these had never returned. Even at the present day, the scenes of 1759 and 1763 are referred to with more impatience than is usually found along what was once the frontier. 80 A HISTORY OF ROCKBRIDfiE COUKT\', VIRGINIA The Indian mctliod of making war was unquestionably cruel. The impulses of the native were those of the primitive man. Like the child, he was sometimes swept by gusts of passion. Deceit has ever been deemed legitimate in warfare The Indian played the game without restraint and was consistent. The white man assumes to conduct war according to rules suggested by Christian civiliza- tion and laid down in time of peace. But in time of war he does not live up to these rules. It had l>een little more than a century since Cromwell had carried fire and massacre from one end of Ireland to the other, and with a fury that would have made Cornstalk "sit up and take notice." It was within the memory of living men that the Highlanders of Scotland gave no quarter in their mur- derous clan fights. It seems instinctive for nations of the Baltic stock to hold the colored races in contempt. To the frontiersman of America, the Indian was not only a heathen but an inferior. The comparatively humane treatment to which he thought the French and the British were entitled, because of their color, he held himself justified in withholding from the redskin. The practical cfTect of this double standard was most unfortunate. It reacted with dire effect upon the white population. It was more often the white man than the Indian who was responsible for the cause of border trouble. 1 he Indian's version is much less familiar to us than our own. Despite his proclivity to tomahawk the woman as well as the man, the child as well as the adult, the Indian in his war-paint was a gentleman when com- pared with the German soldier in the present war. The latter, who professes to be a civilized man, wars against the very foundations of a civilization that the red man knew next to nothing of. The Indian kept his word. He respected bravery. The children he spared and adopted he loved, and not infrequently the adult captive was unwilling to return to his own color. Women were never violated by the Indians of the tribes cast of the Mississippi, and when a child was bom in captivity to the white female, the mother was looked after as though she were one of their own kind. The deed of Hall's men at Point Pleasant is a painful incident in Rockbridge history. It bore the same relation to open warfare, whether civilized or savage, that a lynching docs to a fair trial in a courtroom. There was nothing to show that Cornstalk had anything to do with the killing of Gilmore, or that the periK?- trator of that deed was a member of his tribe. Had Cornstalk l)een a British ofTiccr, his government would have pronounced his murder an inexcusable assassi- nation, and would have avenged it with the execution of some captive .\ineri- can officer. The plea, which is not confined to the book by Kcrchcval, that it was right for the frontiersman to l.iy aside the restraints of civilization when dealing with the Indian, would, if it had been used in the present war, l>een made a justification for matching German atrocity by allied atrocity. Even at Point ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY ESTABLISHED 81 Pleasant, where we might expect the feeling against the native to be acute, it was long considered that the town lay under a curse. So late as 1807 it had only a log courthouse, twenty-one small dwellings, and a few ague-plagued inhabitants. It now contains a monument to Cornstalk. Only a few years since, a contributor to one of the Lexington papers spoke rather harshly of Colonel Roosevelt for mentioning the killing of Corn- stalk as "one of the darkest stains on the checkered pages of frontier history." Roosevelt is no apologist for Indian cruelty. The writer was probably unaware of the fact that Patrick Henry, who was then governor of this state, denounced the deed in words that were much more vehement. He regarded it as a blot on the fair name of Virginia, and announced that so far as he was concerned, the perpetrators should be sought out and punished. But as will appear later in this chapter, his efforts were nullified by the friends of the persons responsible. A sequel to the episode deserves mention. In an attempt to avenge the death of their chieftain, the Shawnees besieged Fort Randolph in the spring of 1778. An Indian woman known among the whites as the Grenadier Squaw, and who was understood to be a sister to Cornstalk, had come to the fort with her horses and cattle. By going out of the stockade and overhearing the natives she was able to tell their plans to Captain McKee, then the commandant. McKee offered a furlough to any two men who would make speed to the Greenbrier and warn the people. John Insminger and John Logan undertook the perilous errand, and started out, but not seeing how they could get past the Indians, they returned the same evening. John Pryor and Philip Hammond then agreed to go. The Grenadier Squaw painted and otherwise disguised the men, so that they would look like Indians. The two messengers reached Donally's fort a few hours in advance of the Shawnees, and though a severe battle quickly fol- lowed, the foe was repulsed and the settlement was saved. We will let the order-book tell the story of the organization of Rockbridge and relate the local annals during the remaining years of the War for Inde- pendence. First court at the house of Samuel Wallace, April 7, 1778. Justices present: Archibald Alexander, John Bowyer, John Gilmore, Samuel Lyle, Samuel McDowell. Archibald Alexander qualified as sheriff, Andrew Reid as clerk, John Bowyer as county lieutenant, and John Gilmore as lieutenant-colonel. Sheriff's bond, 1000 pounds. Xext day James McDowell qualified as surveyor, and the following constables were appointed : Richard Williams in Captain James Hall's company ; Samuel Wilson in Captain Samuel Wallace's company; Robert Robertson in Captain John Paxton's company; Robert Paris in Captain John Lyle's company; William Dryden in Captain David Gray's company; Isaac Anderson in Captain .Me.xander Stuart's company; William McCampbell in Captain John Gilmore's old company. John Ward was also made a constable. Moses Collier was continued as road surveyor from John Thompson's to David Logan's. 82 A HISTORY OF ROCKBRIIM-.E COUNTV, VIRCIN'IA New road »urvc>or$ appointed: Andrew Taylor, (rom North River to Stuart's More; Captain John Taylor, from Stuart's old store to Colonel Samuel McDowell's ; John McCIung, from said McDowell's to the forks of the road at John McClung's; Andrew Moore, from taid forks to the county line; James Gilmore, from Buffalo Creek to his own house; Charles Campbell, from Robert Kirkpalrick's to the county line; lluKh Barclay, Sr., from said Gilmore's to the county line; Samuel McCampbcll, from head of Kerr's Creek to Andrew McCampbcll's; William McKemy, from .-Vndrew McCampbcll's to ford on North River; Alexander Tedford. from Robert Kirkpatrick's to North River; Alexander Willson, from Captain Charles Campbell's to Hugh Weir's; Samuel Caruthers, from BufTalo Creek to the forks of the road above James Gilmore's. Captain John Lyle. John Lylc. Henry McClung. and James l.yle, or any three of them, to view a way from Rol>crt Kirkpatrick's, by way of .Mexandcr Stuart's merchant mill, to Stuart's store. .April 9. — Survey of the town site ordered given in at next sitting. April 18. — Called court to examine Captain James Hall, bound in recognisance fur felony, the si)ecific charge being the murder of Cornstalk. Hall did not appear. April 28. — Hall ap|>cared, there were no witnesses for the commonwealth, and he was acquitted. Hugh Galbraith bound in recognisance on the same charge. May 5. — No witnesses appeared against Galbraith and he was acquitted. Thomas N'ancc appointed road surveyor from the great road below William Sprowl's to the other great road near James Thompson's. Grand jury: David Gray (foreman), Jo.-seph Moore, Thomas Wilson. William Porter, Alexander Tedford. David McClure, Samuel McCorkle. William Walker, David McCroskcy, James Patton, Hugh Weir, Doctor Patrick Vance, Andrew Hall, Samuel Paxlon. Citizens ap|>ointed to lake the lists of tithables: Captain John Gilmore, for his own and John Paxton's companies; John Trimble, gentleman, for the companies of William Paxton, Samuel Wallace, and James Hall; Samuel Lyle, gentleman, for the companies of John Lyle and David Gray; .Mexandcr Stuart, gentleman, for the Calf|>asture and for the companies of Samuel Steele and James Gilmore; Charles Campbell, gentleman, for his own company and Andrew Moore's. Rates to be observed by keepers of ordinaries : "Hot "diett" with small beer 3 shillings Cold "diet!" with no beer 2 shillings Stahlage and hay or fodder for twenty-four hours 2 shillings Good lasturage for twenty-four hours 1 shilling 8 pence per hor>e 1 shilling 3 pence per cow Lodging with feather bed and clean sheets 1 shilling Lodging with chafT bed and clean sheets 6 pence Corn j)er gallon . 1 shilling 3 pence Oats i>er gallon 1 shilling Samuel Wallace granted ordinary license. kfay 14.— Mary, wife of John Walker, found guilty of uttering words sustaining the authority of king and parliament. Damage (Knally of fifteen and one-half |>ounds and costs. May 19. — Malcolm McCown l>oiind on the same charge as in the case of Captain Hall, and with the same result, July 7.— Malcolm McCown acquitted on the charge of raising an alarm on Kerr's Creek. Mary and Richard, orphans of William Bull, ordered bound. John Kirkialnck granted ordinary license. ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY ESTABLISHED 83 Joseph Moore, William Paxtoii, and John Gilmore, Jr., qualify as justices, John Trimble as coroner, Harry Innis as attorney, and William Stuart as constable. William Rowan bound as implicated in the murder of Cornstalk, but with the same result as in the other instances. August 5.— Samuel Lyle, John Lyle, and Alexander Stuart instructed to let a contract for a courthouse, the specifications being as follows: twenty feet long, sixteen wide, and ten in pitch; well-framed, and weatherboarded with feather-edged ilaiik; roof of lap shingles: house well floored above and below with pine or oak plank one and one-half inches t'lick; two plain wooden doors; fwo wmdows of twelve lights each, and shutters; iron hinges for both doors and windows; house set two feet above the ground on good oak blocks; at one end of the room a convenient bench for the magistrates to sit on; other benches for jury and lawyers ; a seat and a table for the clerk ; the house to be finished in a workmanlike man- ner by November 1st. September 1. — John Houston qualifies as justice. November 3. — John Gay qualifies as justice. Ordinary license granted to William Alexander and Alexander Stuart. Presented for selling liquor without license: William Alexander, William Montgomery, John Lyle, Mary Greenlee, John McClung, John Paul, James Thompson, Jane Lakin, William Paxton. November 14.— Christopher Meath and Hannah, his wife, acquitted of stealing some linen cloth, but thirty lashes on the bare back were ordered for each of the other parties called up. February 13, 1779.— A charge against Catharine Coster of stealing goods worth $110 in specie was not fully proved, but the circumstances appearing against her, she was ordered to be given twenty-five lashes on the bare back at the public whipping post and then dis- charged. March 2.— Michael Bowyer, Esq., qualifies as attorney. ^farch 3. — William McKee qualifies as justice. April 6. — James Buchanan qualifies as justice. April 7. — Plan for the new courthouse ordered approved and contract let. Bastardy charge by M C against W J made good. June 2. — John Lyle qualifies as justice. July 6. — John Greenlee qualifies as justice. August 3.^John Bowyer, gentleman, qualifies as escheator. Smith Williamson, Richard Williamson, and Henry Black, having served in Colonel William Byrd's regiment — in French and Indian war — were each given an order for fifty acres of the public land. Robert Edniondson and Abraham Gasden qualify as assessors. October 5.— John Trimble, Esq., qualifies as assessor. Isaac Campbell given ordinary license. Josiah East, who served in Colonel Washington's regiment, given an order for fifty acres of public land ; the same to Richard Walker, a private in Captain John McNeil's Grenadiers. William Alexander, a non-commissioned officer of the Second Virginia under Colonel Byrd, given an order for 200 acres. James Grigsby and William Brown given ordinary license. John Bowyer qualifies as sheriflf and William McDowell as his deputy. December 7. — Levy, 2376 pounds, 8 shillings, 6 pence ($7921.42). Poll tax, $7.00. March 9, 1780.— Tavern rates: hot dinner, $10; hot breakfast, $8; cold diet, $7; lodging. 84 A HISTOBV OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTV, VIRGINIA with feather bed, $2; lodging, with chaff bed, $1 ; corn or oats, per gallon, 44 cents; whiskey, per gallon, $80. (These sums were in depreciated |>a|>er money). Samuel Wallace allowed $40 for twenty-eight days »i>ent in making roads. May 2.— Samuel Jack presented for saying, "God damn the army to hell." June 6.— Isaac Campbell, jailor, ordered to be i>aid $1179 George Kelly allowed $70 for making a table for the clerk and sundry rejairs on the courthouse. June 6. — Lashes, "well laid on," to the number of twenty-five, were ordered to be administered to Elizabeth Berry. John Tcmplcton and Robert Ewiiig granted tavern license. December 5. — Samuel McDowell, sheriff, protests against the insufficiency of the jail. Tavern rates: hot dinner, $15; hot brcakfact, $12; cold diet, $10; lodging, with feather bed, $<>; lodging, with chaff bed, $2; pasturage for twenty-four hours, $4; corn or oats, per gallon, $6. Joseph Walker qualifies as justice. Jonathan Whitley bound in his own recognisance on a charge of disloyalty. George Campbell excused from further payment of county levy. March 7, 1781.— Tavern rates; hot dinner, $20; hot breakfast, $15; cold diet, $12; rum, (icr gallon, $200; whiskey, i>er gallon, $60; all good wines, ]>er gallon, $160. July J. — .\rchibald Stuart qualifies as attorney, Samuel Wallace as lieutenant -colonel, and William McKee as sheriff. Sheriff's bond, $5000. Samuel Lyie and John Carulhcrs apjxiinted commissioners of the specific tax. October 2. — James Gilmore given tavern license. November 6. — Captain John Bowyer presented for preventing men from going on militia tour when lawfully called. Samuel Todd, gentleman, allowed $90.42 in s|>ecie and two per cent, of the tax for collecting the s|>ecific tax, the rent of storehouses, and finding barrels and packing them with flour. December 4. — Roger McCormick, servant to Robert Campbell, presented for speaking disloyal words. No witnesses. Remanded to jail and soon discharged. January 1, 1782. — View ordered from Samuel Carter's near the county line to Mc- Dowell'i. April 3. — Tavern rates: hot dinner, one and one-fourth shilling; hot breakfast, one shilling; cold diet, one shilling; corn or oats, per gallon, six pence; lodging, with feather bed, seven and one-half pence; lodging, with chaff bed, four pence; wine, per gallon, fifteen shillings; cider, per gallon, one and one-fourth shilling. May 4. — Samuel Todd ijualifies as justice. October 1.— Rol>crt Eastham ordered to pay John Ramsay, for one day as witness for Andrew Ramsay and eighty miles travel, 185 pounds of tobacco. November 5.— James Bailey presented for saying that "the sending of the eighteen months men was the doing of the damn'd Congress." November 8.— Tithables, 1I4S. Poll tax, sixteen (lounds of tobacco. Levy 18,320 pounds of tobacco ($610.70). Tavern rates: hot dinner, twenty-live cents; hot breakfast, twenty-two cents; cold diet, seventeen cents. January 7, 1783. — Adam, the mulatto bastard of Catharine E , ordered to be bound out. May 6. — William Gray, living near Barclay's mill, presented for "driving his wagon on the Sabbath Day," and Israel C i>re»rnted for having two wives. November 2.— For stealing fodder, Henry Navils ordered to be given twenty lashes. X THE CALFPASTURE The Pastures — Early Settlement — The Patton and Lewis Survey — Pioneer History — Emigration Geographically distinct from the rest of Rockbridge, and not properly a part of the Valley of Virginia, is the section of the county west of North Mountain and above the lower Goshen Pass. In the very dawn of settlement it became known as the Calf pasture, or simply as "the Pastures," because it already com- prised a large area of open ground. Its leading watercourses were first known as "the Great River of the Calf pasture" and "the Little River of the Calfpas- ture." It will thus be seen that the valley named the streams and not the streams the valley. In what manner the names Calfpasture, Cowpasture, and Bullpasture came into existence is not clearly known. The Cowpasture was first known as Clover Creek and the Bullpasture as Newfoundland Creek. Great and Little rivers head in Augusta and Mill Creek in Bath. But the larger and more important share of the Calfpasture basin lies in this county, and with respect to the pioneer families it will be treated as a whole. In the timbered and sparsely peopled valley of Bratton's Run is the resort of Rockbridge Alum Springs. At the mouth of Mill Creek is the town of Goshen. A little above is Panther Gap, utilized by the first railroad to cross the Alleghanics in this latitude. On Great and Little rivers is a considerable area of low-lying land, somewhat thin, but otherwise well suited to agriculture. Why this section of the Pastures should have been included in Rockbridge is not at this day very obvious. It was doubtless the work of influential men. We do know that some of the inhabitants did not like being placed in this county. We also know that when the people of the Bath area began moving for a new county in 1777, they wished the Calfpasture to be a part of it. The people of the Pastures seem to have been about evenly divided on that question. The author of Annals of Augusta asserts that the Calfpasture was settled about as early as the country around Staunton, yet offers no evidence in support of this claim. The records of the parent county, especially the muster rolls of 1742, do not indicate such early settlement. From another source we learn that the first settler was Alexander Dunlap, who came in \7A?t. He was accompanied by his wife, four children, and an indentured servant, Abraham Mushaw. At this date there was no settler any farther west. Dunlap's cabin stood near the spot now occupied by the Alleghany Inn. 86 A HISTORY OF ROCK0RI1x;E county, VIRGINIA Next year, James I'atton and John Lewis, acting under an order of council, surveyed a tract nearly fifteen miles long, but nowhere more than about one and one-eighth miles broad. Their niap sliows it cross-sectioned into twenty- three lots. The lower end of the grant included the site of the town of Goshen. The upper end extended rather to the north of Deerfield. With a single ex- ception every lot had been entered by some settler. From this circumstance we may infer that these other people came almost as soon as Dunlap. The following tabular statement shows consecutively the nunjbcr of the lot, the name of the settler, the acreage, the purchase-price — when stated in the deed — and the early transfers of title. When the deed was issued to a successor of the original settler, such other name is given in brackets. Names of consorts are also thus shown : 1. Alexander Dunlap (John Dunlap)— 625 — $68.69—295 acres sold Robert Dunlap, 1761, for $33333. 2. William Jameson— 170— $20.87. 3. Thomas Gilliam— 168— $18.86— sold. 1752. by Thomas (MarRarct) Gilham to James LoclcridKc for same price — resold. 1767, by John Dickenson to William Thompson for $200. 4. Robert Crockett — 370— $41.15 — sold, 1760, by pioneer's sons — J-imes (Martha) and Robert. Jr., (Janet), both of Mecklenburg county, North Carolina — to William Thompson for $200—295 acres sold by Thompson, 1767, (or $166.67. 5. David Davis — 290— $29— sold. 1749, by P.-ilton and Lewis to John Po.iguc. 6. Thomas Weems— 525— $31.10— sold. 1768, by Thomas (Eleanor) Wccms to William Given for $723J3. 7. Henry Gay— 694— $33.39— 100 acres sold, 1769, to James Fraiier (or $33J3, 8. Francis Donclly— 266— $30.02. 9. Robert Gay— 519— $57.89. 10. Samuel Hodge— M9— $47.97. 11. John Miller->316— $70.08— sold by John t .Ann) Miller to John Kams.-»y. 1757. 12 I>oflus Pullin— 252 <240?)— $2«j.92— sold to James Shaw, 1760. (or $3(V-sold by Shaw to John Ramsay, 1" -150. 13. KolKrt Hrallon .7 — WO acres sold to James Bralton, 1771. for $133..33. 14. James I-ockridge- 280- f— sold by James (Isabella) Lockridge to .^ndrew Lock- ridge (son), 1764. (or $66.67. 15. John Graham— 696— $79 58— 150 acres sold to James Graham (son). 1768, for $1667. 16. Robert Gwin— 544— ?— sold by William (Agnes) Gwin to Robert Lockridge, 1766, for $575. 17. John Preston— 1054— $31.15— 520 acres sold by William (Susanna) Preston to Mary Prr«ton, 1762, for $333.33. The same sold by Mary Preston to Rolierl Lockridge. 1763. for $V/, f.7. 18 William Warwick-r-106— $118 67— sold, 1745, to John Kincaid 19 James Carlile— 600— $^.S. 19—250 acres sold, 1753. to John Carlile. and sold by Inni. 1762, to Thomas lliighart for $166.67—200 acres sold by John (Mary) Carlisle to Thomas Adams, 1796, for $39167. 20. Jacob Clements— 457— $51.67— 202 acres sold, 1751. by Jacob (Mary) Clements to THE CALFPASTURE 87 John Campbell for $66.67, and sold by John (Ann) Campbell, 1768, to James Carlisle for $250. 21. John Campbell— 308— $34.17— 208 acres sold by Samuel Campbell to William Lock- ridge, 1769, for $713.33. 22. James Carter— 300— $33.38— sold to Robert Gay, 1768. 23. John Wilson— 600— $66. Other patents in the Calf pasture, prior to 1770, are these: acreage, date, and description being given consecutively : Adams, Thomas— (1) 190— 1769— Bratton's Rmi. (2) 235- 1769— Calfpasture, Beverly, William— 700— 1743— head of Great River. Bratton, James— 90— 1769— Bratton's Run. Campbell, John and Samuel — 100 — 1761 — branch of Great River. Crockett, Margaret and Andrew — (1) 48 — 1749 — David Mill place on Calfpasture. (2) 44 — 1749 — adjoining James Poague. Dunlap, John — 125 — 1760 — Dunlap Creek (Bratton's Run). Dunlap, Alexander — 90 — 1769 — Calfpasture above Jameson. Jameson, William — 80 — 1755 — east side Great River. Kincaid, Andrew — 45 — 1769 — Calfpasture above Tinker. Lockridge, Andrew — 22 — 1755 — branch of Great River. McKittrick, Robert— 110— 1759— branch of Great River. Patton, James and John Lewis — 600 — 1743 — Elk Creek of Calfpasture. Still Other early settlers were the Armstrongs, Blacks, Blairs, Clarks, Craigs, Elliotts, Fultons, Hamiltons, Hendersons, Johnstons, McConnells, McCutchens, McKnights, Meeks, Mateers, Moores, Risks, Smiths, Stevensons, Walkups, and Youells. Alexander Dunlap, a man of some means, was appointed a captain of horse in 1743, but died the following year. He was succeeded in this position by Wil- liam Jameson. Thomas Gilham qualified as captain of foot in 1752, and James Lockridge and Robert Bratton in 1755. James Lockridge and \\'illiam Jameson are named as members of the first county court of Augusta in 1745. The latter acted as a justice in 1747, but it is not known whether Lockridge qualified. According to a statement by a daughter of James Gay, the pioneer, there was a stockade on the Calfpasture during the French and Indian war. The first mill seems to have been that of James Carter. It was probably built about 1745. Some ten years later, Andrew Lockridge had a gristmill. Charles Knight is mentioned as a schoolmaster in 1755. He was to have $60.00 a year, every half Saturday or every other Saturday to be free time. In case of an Indian alarm he was to enjoy the privilege of being lodged in the settlement. But it is not probable that he was the first teacher. Rocky Spring Church was built on an acre deeded by Andrew Kincaid, 1773, to the "trustees of a congregation of dissenters." These trustees were James Bratton, Lancelot Graham, .Andrew Hamilton, Thomas Hughart, William Kincaid, and Andrew Lockridge. Lebanon Chinch was organized in 1784 at 88 A ItlSTURY UF RUCKBRILNJE COUNTV. VIKGINIA the home of William Hodge. The first ciders were William Youell, Alexander Craig, John Montgomery, John McCutchen, Joseph McCutchen, and Samuel McCutchen. The first meeting house stood close to the Augusta line, the second a half-mile to the south and in Rockbridge. As a consequence there are two cemeteries. The will of John Dunlap. written in 1804, provides a sum to build a gallcrj- for the negro worshippers. John Montgomery, for a while a teacher in Liberty Hall .Academy, was the first minister. John S. McCutchen was a suc- cessor. But the first congregation on the Calf pasture was that of Little River. The "meeting house land" is mentioned in deeds alxiut 1754. John Hindman preached in the vicinity as early as 1745. Partly as a result of its only moderate fertility, the Calfpasture has been a great fountain-head of emigration to newer localities, especially Kentucky and Tennessee. Some of the pioneer names have thus been nearly or quite ex- tinguished. Not a few of the men who went from the Calfpasture, or their descendants, have achieved some renown in Western history. Major Samuel Stevenson, who had lately moved to the Greenbrier, headed in 1776 an expedition to the Bluegrass region of Kentucky. He was accompanied by James Gay, William Elliott, and Benjamin Blackburn. William Campbell, a wheelwright, was picked up as the party went through the wilderness. One of the mcmlxTS said "Blackburn was so stifT with fear we could hardly get him along." In the spring of 1784, Stevenson settled in \\\>odford county, the "Asparagus Bed" of the Bluegrass State. He was preceded a few weeks by Alexander Dunlap, Jr.. and James Gay. Jr. The wives of Stevenson .nnd Dunlap were sisters to Gay. who was a son of James Gay and his wife, Jean Warwick. Pisgah Oiurch, said to be the first Presbyterian organization in Kentucky, was founded the same year. Its first minister was .Adam Rankin, who came from Rockbridge. Pisgah .Xcadeiny, founded by Gay, Dunlap. and Stevenson, de- veloped into Transylvania University, as Liberty Hall .\cademy developed into Washington and Lee University. The region around was settled almost wholly from RtKkbridge and its neighboring counties. The following names, from the membcr.ship of Pisgah Giurch in 1808-1826. will Ik- recognized as occurring in the pioneer annals of Rockbridge: Aiken, .Mexander. .Mien, Brown. Campbell. Carr, Dunlap. Elliott, Gay, Hamilton. Holnian. Kinkead. Kirkhani. Logan. Long. Martin. McClung. McClure. McCullotigh, Mcl'hceters, Renick. Ritchie. Smith. Steele, and Taylor. We close this chapter with special mention of several of the Calfpasture families. The Bears sprang from Blastus Baer. a Mennoniic who came from Germany in 1740 and settled in Page county in 176.V Jacob, a son. married a daughter of ., M. iitionitc minister and came to the Calfp.isture in 1788. Their sect was THE CALFl'ASTURE 89 but slightly represented here, and the Bears attached themselves to other churches. Robert Bratton, who married the widow of Alexander Dunlap, Sr., was one of four brothers. Samuel remained in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania ; James, who married Dorothy Fleming, settled near Christiansburg. Three sons of another brother, went to South Carolina. Captain Robert Bratton was a man of wealth and distinction. Archibald Clendennin lived in this valley before moving to the lower Cow- pasture, where he died in 1749. Archibald, Jr., was the most conspicuous victim in the Greenbrier massacre of 1763. Charles, another son, gave his name to the capital of West Virginia. Captain James Coursey came from Orange and married as his second wife the widow of Robert Dunlap. A great grandson is Major O. W. Coursey, of South Dakota, a soldier, educator, and historian. Robert Crockett, son of the pioneer of that name, was one of the "Long Hunters" spoken of in Chapter VIII. The eccentric Davy Crockett, of Tennessee and Texas history, was of another family, although in his youth he worked for a German farmer in this county. Samuel Ebbcrd came from Maryland. Captain Thomas Gilham had seven sons and two sons-in-law in the armies of the Revolution. The family moved first to South Carolina, but afterwards to the north of Illinois. John Graham and his family experienced a great storm during their voyage from Ulster. John appears to have been a brother-in-law to William Elliott and John Armstrong of the Calfpasture. Elliott was born in 1699. William and Graham was a brother to John. Christopher Graham, who died in 1748, was probably the father of Robert Graham of the Bullpasture, and the wife of Joseph Walkup. John Hepler came from Pennsylvania. Daniel Hite — otherwise Hight — was a son of Daniel Heydt, a German who settled in the Luray valley. William Jameson was commissioned coroner in 1753, and seems to have died the same year. A grandson of the same name owned valuable property on the border of the city of St. Louis. Timothy Flint, the historian, calls one of his daughters a "rose of the prairie," and says of the Jameson family, "a group of more beautiful children I have never known." The pioneer Lockridges were the brothers, James, Robert, and William. William lived first in the Borden grant. The descendants are most nunterous in the West. Colonel John Lockridge was a pioneer of Sangamon county, Illinois. Another Colonel Lockridge figures in early Texas history. Andrew Y. Lock- 90 A HISTORY OK kockdhiix:e county. VIKCIN'IA ridgt. a grandson of Major Andrew IxKkridgc. son of jaincs, was a noted mis- sionary to the Qicrokcc Indians. Five brothers of tlic name of McCulchen came to this part of Virginia. Rol)ert settled on I.ittic River. SamntI in the Borden grant, and William. James, and John in Ikvirly Manor. James diet! in 1759, and his sons. James. John, and Patrick went to Washington county. The descendants of the five pioneers arc nnmerous, widely scattered, and inchide persons of mark. One of these is Robert IJarr McCutchcn, a distinguished writer. The McConnclls, who founded Mctonnell's Station, now Lexington, Ken- tuckT, previously lived on Kerr's Creek, as well as the Calfpasture. Moses Mcllvain located in this valley in 1763. While prospecting in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, in 1779, he was captured by Indians, but was released at the intercession of a trader by the name of McCormick. who had known Mcllvain in Ireland. Mcllvain married Margaret, a daughter of Samuel Hodge, of the Calfpasture, and settled anew in WcKxlford county. Kentucky. Timothy McKnight came from Ulster. His son John, merchant of St. I>ouis and trader to Santa I'e, was a heavy owner of realty in and near the Missouri metropolis. Rolnrrt, another son. settled in Chihuahua. Mexico, as a merchant and mine owner, and married a Spanish lady. Thomas settled in Iowa and was the first candidate for governor of that state on the Whig ticket. James remained on the Calfpasture, but his son John joined his uncle at Giihuahua and became a wealthy merchant. Rebecca, a daughter, married William McCutchen, anfl the wife of William W. Ruckcr, Congressman from Missouri, is a great- granddaughter. Five Walkups. James, Joseph, John, Margaret, and the wife of John Graham, Jr., were brothers and sisters and came to Little River about 1748. Captain James moved to the Waxhaw settlement. North Carolina. 1755. where he was a large |)lantcr and slaveholder. Sanuiel M., a grandson, was an antiquarian of that state. Joseph, son of John, was a lieutenant-governor of California, and is said to have refused an election to the senate of the L'nite"h forced our country into her present struggle with Gennany. It was a protest against autocracy. The American colonies were founded when the relations between the king and his people had not reached a settled basis. It had always been the English practice for the people of each community to manage their local affairs. This principle was followed by the immigrants who peopled the colonies. Trouble began during the conflict between king and Parliament in the time of Cromwell. It assumed serious dimensions during the reign of James 11 ( 1685-8), but did not become acute until the accession of George III in 1760. For several decades before the iK-ginning of the outflow from Ulster, few people had been coming to the colonies. The Americans of 1725 had begun to feel that they were already a people distinct from the English. During the quarrel that began with the ending of the Old French war. the colonies held that they were a fey the crown and p.iy taxes. Functions of a ptiblic nature were held to inhere in the THE WAR rOR INDEPENDENCE 93 sovereign. Activities were to start from above, not from below. The Americans contended that the central government could properly act only in matters con- cerning the empire as a whole. They did not concede that Parliament had any right to tax any English-speaking commonwealth that had its own law-making body. On the one side of the ocean there was a rising spirit of democracy. On the other, there was an ebbing tide, and a "divine-right" monarch was in the saddle. A clash was inevitable. To the Americans there were several particular sources of annoyance. It was an anomaly for any other person than an American to be the governor of an American colony. But in the crown colonies, of which Virginia was one, the governor was an imported functionary, and on retiring from office he usually went back to Britain. As a rule he was a needy politician, did not mingle socially with the Americans, and in his official letters he was nearly always abusing them. Another annoyance was the Board of Trade, a bureau which under- took to exercise a general oversight in America. It cared little for good local government. It sought to discourage any industry which might cause a leak in the purse of the British tradesman. Its one dominant aim was to see that the colonies were meek and to render them a source of profit to the British people and the British treasury. Even after the controversy had become one of bullets instead of words, the prevailing sentiment in America was not in favor of political separation. The colonials felt a pride in their British origin. They recognized that a union founded on justice was to the advantage of every member of the British Empire. At the outset, the Americans fought for the rights which they held to be com- mon to all Englishmen. In this particular they had the good will of a large section of the people of England. It was the autocratic attitude of the king that made separation unavoidable. American independence was proposed and accomplished by a political party known in Revolutionary history as the Whig. It was opposed by a reactionary party known as the Tory. But in the Whig party itself was a conservative as well as a progressive wing. The former consented to a separation, but other- wise it wanted things to remain as they were. The progressives had a further aim. They were bent on establishing a form of government that was truly demo- cratic* The progressives prevailed, and yet the work they cut out was only well under way when independence was acknowledged. "The Revolution began in \'irginia with the rights of .America and ended with the rights of man."f The basic origin of the Revolution was political. In the Southern colonies ♦This term is not to be construed in a partisan sense. When the present poHtical party of that name is mentoined in tliis book it is with a capital letter. tEckenrode. SM A HISTOIY OF ROCKHRIOGE COUNTY. VIRGINIA there was not an economic cause also, as was the case in New England. The ex- ports from \'irginia touched liigh water mark in 1775. in spite of the long quarrel between the governor and the people. We have entered into a rather extended discussion of a topic that belongs more to national than to county history. Yet the interest in the issue was so keen in the Scotch-Irish settlers that our explanation of it may not seem out of place. The Ulster people were naturally more democratic than the linglish. and nowhere in America was the democratic feeling more pronounced than along the inland frontier. The Scotch-Irish element generally rallied to the support of the Whig party, and was a most powerful factor in its ultimate success. The Tory influence was strong in the well-to-do classes along the seaboard, particularly among men in ofTicial and conmicrcial life. X'irginia was somewhat e.xceptional in this regard. It was practically without any urban population. The planter aristocracy upheld the Whig cause, and as it was the ruling class, it carried the colony with it. It must be added, however, that the planters of Tidewater cast their lot with the conservative wing of the party. It was under the lead of such men as Jefferson and Madison, residents of Middle Virginia, that the state capital was taken away from the tidewater district in 1779. The progressive Whigs cast of the Blue Ridge found a strong ally in the population west of that mountain. The resolutions adopted at Fort Chiswell, the county seat of Fincastle, were so closely in harmony with the views of the people in the Rockbridge area that we present them in this chapter. The address by the Committee of freeholders is signed January 20, 1775, and is directed to the Continental Congress. The chairman was William Giristian. Other ])rominent menibers of the committee were William Preston and Arthur Campbell. Of the fifteen men. all were officers except the Reverend Charles Cumings. We atfure you and all our countrymen that we are a people whose hearts overflow with love and duly to our lawful sovereign, George III, whose illuslrious Huusc, for several iucccstive reigns, have Ikcii the guardian of the civil and religious rights and hhcrlics of British sulijccts as settled at the glorious rcvohition (of 1688); that we are wilhiig to risk our lives in the service of His M.ijcsty for the snp|>ort of the I'rote>tant religion, and Ihe rights and lil)crties of his suhjects, as they have iKen eslabhshcd by cum|iact. law. and ancient charters. We arc heartily grieved at the differences which now subsist be- tween Ihe parent state and the colonies, and most heartily wish lo sec harmony restored on an er|uilable basis, and by the most lenient measures that can be devised by the heart of man. Many of us and our forefathers left our native land, considering it as a kingdom tubjected to inordinate iKiwcr and greatly abridged of its liberties: we crossed the .Atlantic and cxplured this then uncultivated wilderness, JKtrdcring on many nations of savages, and surrounded by mountains almost inaccessible to any but those very savages, who have incessantly l>ecn committing barbarities and depredations on us since our first seating the country. Those fatigues and ravages wc patiently encounter, supported by the pirasing hope of enjoying those right* and liberties which had been granted to I'irnifiiont. and were THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE y.T denied us in our native country, and of transmitting them inviolate to our posterity; but even to these remote regions the hand of unHmited and unconstitutional power hath pur- sued us to strip us of that liberty and property, with which God, nature, and the rights of humanity have vested us. We are ready and willing to contribute all in our power for the support of his Majesty's government, if applied to constitutionally, and when the grants are made to our representatives, but cannot think of submitting our liberty or property to the power of a venal British parliament, or to the will of a corrupt British ministry. We by no means desire to shake ofif our duty or allegiance to our lawful sovereign, but on the contrary, shall ever glory in being the lawful subjects of a Protestant prince, de- scended from such illustrious progenitors, so long as we can enjoy the free exercise of our religion as Protestant subjects, and our liberties and properties as British subjects. But if no pacific measures shall be proposed or adopted by Great Britain, and our enemies will attempt to dragoon us out of those inestimable privileges, which we are entitled to as subjects, and reduce us to slavery, we declare that we are deliberately and resolutely determined never to surrender them to any power upon earth but at the expense of our lives. These are our real though unpolished sentiments, of Hberty and loyalty, and in them we are resolved to live and die. The opening lines of the address do not make the impression now that they were intended to make in 1775. The portraiture of George III is the direct oppo- site of that given in the Declaration of Independence. The latter document cen- sures only the king, while the address vents its indignation on the king's ministry and on Parliament. But the committee appear to draw a distinction between the king as a man and the king as a sovereign. In the former respect, George III was a very mediocre person, obstinate and narrow-minded. In the latter respect he was an impersonation of the state, and to the state every patriotic citizen owes allegiance. Thomas Lewis and Samuel McDowell were delegates to the Virginia Con- vention of March, 1775. The instructions given to them by Augusta county, February 22, contain the following sentences: We have a respect for the parent state, which respect is founded on religion, on law, and the genuine principles of the constitution. * * ♦ These rights we are fully resolved, with our lives and fortunes, inviolably to preserve ; nor will we surrender such inestimable blessings, the purchase of toil and danger, to any ministry, to any parliament, or any body of men upon earth, by whom we are not represented, and in whose decisions, therefore, we have no voice. » * * And as we are detenuined to maintain unimpaired that liberty which is the gift of Heaven to the subject of Britain's empire, we will most cordially join our coun- trymen in such measures as may be deemed wise and necessary to secure and perpetuate the ancient, just, and legal rights of this colony and all British America. A memorial from the committee of Augusta, presented to the state conven- tion May 16, 1775, is mentioned in the journal of that body as "representing the necessity of making a confederacy of the United States, the most perfect, inde- pendent, and lasting, and of framing an equal, free, and liberal government, that may bear the trial of all future ages." This memorial is pronounced by Hugh 96 A HISTOKV OK RCJCKIIRILKjE COUNTY, VlRtaSIA Blair Grigsby the first expression of the policy of establishing an independent stale government and jxTinanent confederation of states which the parliamentary journals of America contain. The men who could draw up papers like these were not the ones to stand back from sending, as they did, 137 barrels of flour to Boston for the relief of the jM^oplc of that city in 1774. A savage act of Parlia- ment had closed their port to commerce. Even during the Indian war of 1774 there were very strained relations be- tween the House of Burgesses and the Tory governor. In the spring of 1775, the administration of Dunmore was virtually at an end, and the Committee of Safety was managing the government of the state. With respect to \'irginia soil there were three stages in the war for American Independence. The first was confined to the counties on the Chesapeake, con- tinued but a few months, and closed with the expulsion of Uunmore soon after his burning of Norfolk on New Years day, 1776. The invasion by Arnold began at the very close of 1780, and ended with the surrender of Cornwallis in Octol)er, 1781. The warfare with the Indians continued intermittently from the sununer of 1776 until after the treaty with England in 1783. Except in the southwest of the state, the red men rarely came cast of the .Mleghany Divide. The British did not come across the Blue Ridge, and only once did they threaten to do so. Con- sequently the Rockbridge area did not itself become a theatre of war. Nevertheless, Rockbridge took an active part in the Revolution. At the out- set of hostilities Augusta agreed to raise four companies of minute men, a total of 200 soldiers. William Lyie, Jr., was the lieutenant of the Rockbridge company, and William Moore was its ensign. We do not know the name of the captain, but the colonel was George Mathews, a native of Rockbridge. As the commander of the Ninth Virginia Regiment in the Continental service, Mathews distinguished himself in Washington's army until he and his 400 "tall Virginians" were outflanked during the fog that settled on the field of Germantown and compelled to surrender. I'robably a number of Rockbriers of militia, until his army was 4400 strong, but only one of his little regiments was of seas- oned troops, and the militia organizations were an uncertain reliance. The force under Cornwallis was only half as numerous, yet his men were veterans, well- equipped and well offtcered. Greene recrossed the Dan and took position at Guilford, where he was attacked by the British. March 15th. Cornwallis held the battleground, but one-third of his army was put out of action by the .\mcrican rifles. He could neither follow up his nominal advantage nor remain in North Carolina. He made a rapid retreat to Wilmington, pursued a part of the way by Greene, who then advanced into South Carolina. Cornwallis dared not follow his antagonist, and led his shattered army to Virginia. In four months Greene nearly freed South Carolina and Georgia from the enemy, except as to the sea- ports of Charleston and Savannah. Rockbridge men under Captain James Gilmore helped to win the brilliant victory at the Cowpens. Their time had nearly expired, and they were used to escort the captured redcoats to their prison camp. In this tight Ensign John McCorkle was wounded in the wrist and died of lockjaw, fiut Gilmore seems also to have been present at Guilford, where soldiers from Rockbridge were much more numerously represented. In this battle. Major Alexander Stuart was wounded and captured, and Captains John Tate and .\ndrew Wallace were killed. Among the other officers were Major Samuel McDowell, Captain James Bratton, and Captain James Buchanan. Tate's cf)iniiany was com|)o,ed by getting in among the enemy. In the spring of 1779 the regiment was recruited, and Colonel William Washington took command. It was again employed, this time in New Jersey, in watching the enemy and preventing trading with him. Near the close of 1780 the regiment marched to Charleston. 5>outh Carolina. Shortly after his ar- rival In March. Washington defeated Tarleton, taking sixteen prisoners, but a while Liter was himself defeated at .Monk's Comer. The horses were saddled and bridled, but there was I ^tne to mount them. Applicant was taken prisoner and was exchanged at Jamestown in • t iM, 1781. Ilinkle, Henry Born in Pennsylvania, 1750. Served three tours in the militia of Fred- erick county. 1779-1781. Krlso. James: Born on Walker's Creek. 1761. Drafted. January. 1781. into Captain Jaroe» BiKhanao'i company of Colonel Bowyer's regiment, and was in skirmishes near THE VVAK FOR INDEPENDENCE 103 Portsmouth. When Tarleton made his raid on Charlottesville, he volunteered and served one month. In September he was at the siege of Yorktown, under Captain Charles Camp- bell, and after that event he was detailed to guard the prisoners to Winchester. Mason, John : Born in Pennsylvania, 1740. Was in the battle of Brandywine, serving in a company from Berkeley. In 1781 he was in the battle of Guilford as a member of John Tate's company. McLane, John; Born in Ulster, 1757. In 1778 served in Greenbrier under Captain David Gray. In January, 1781, he went out on a tour of three months under Captain Andrew Moore. It took about fifteen days to get home from Norfolk. McKee, James: Born in Pennsylvania, 1752, died in Rockbridge, 1832. Declaration by Nancy, the widow. John T., a son. Total service, seventeen months, twenty-nine days. His first service was three months with Christian in the Cherokee expedition. The second was when he marched under Captain Charles Campbell and Lieutenant Samuel Davidson to Point Pleasant in the fall of 1777. The third was a tour of three months in Greenbrier, just after the Shawnees attacked Donally's fort. The fourth was as an ensign in the spring of 1781, at which time he marched to Portsmouth. In the summer of the same year he served on the Peninsula. In the fall he served his last tour, and was at the siege of Yorktown. Miller, William: Born in Pennsylvania, 1757, and came to Rockbridge about 1770. October 9, 1780, he went out under Captain James Gilmore, Lieutenant John Caruthers, and Ensign John McCorkle, and was in the battle of the Cowpens. For four weeks he was guarding Garrison's Ferry on the Catawba. Moore, William: Early in 1781 he served under Captain Samuel Wallace and Lieutenant Edmondson of Bowyer's regiment. Later in the year he marched to Richmond as captain of a volunteer company. In September he went again as a captain. From Yorktown he marched with the prisoners to Winchester, and was discharged there in December, going home with not over twenty of the men he had taken out. Shepherdson, David: Born in Louisa, 1763, came to Rockbridge, 1815. In June, 1780, he marched to join the army of Gates, and at Deep River himself and comrades nearly perished, having nothing but green crabapples to eat. A detail of 200 men was sent out to thresh some grain. Was in the battle near Camden, August 16th. After the retreat to Hillsboro, provisions became so scarce that the captain advised the men to go home and get provisions and clothing, their clothing having been lost at Camden. They did so and returned, were advised to go home again, and on their second return were honorably acquitted by a court- martial. Next year he served six months on the Peninsula, and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis. Vines, Thomas: Born in Amherst, 1756. Served at Charlottesville and Winchester, guarding prisoners. Was in the battles of Hot Water and Green Spring and at the siege of Yorktown. Wiley, Andrew: Born in Rockbridge, 1756. .Vbsent forty-two days in 1777, driving cat- tle to the mouth of Elk on the Kanawha. In 1778-79, he served twelve months in the Continental line under General Morgan. In the fall of 1780, he was a substitute in Captain James Hall's company. This company and those of Campbell and Gray joined General Muhlenburg at Deep Run Church near Richmond. In tlie spring of 1781, he joined Greene's army at Guilford as a member of a Botetourt company. The Carolina men. who formed the first line, ran at the outset. The riflemen to which apiilicant belonged formed the cov- ering party at the left, and when the Carolina men fled, the British came down on a ridge between this party and the command of Colonel Campbell. The enemy were swept off by the Virginia riflemen, but formed again and again, and compelled the party to ground their arms. Captain Tilford was killed. Andrew Wiley was one of the Virginians who marched against the "Whiskey Boys," in 1794. Xll MIDDLE PERIOD A G)*iPA»isoN— Amai riit Rwolutiox — Disestablishment— Lire and Times is 1850— Pktticrew Tracedv The Mi'ldlc Pcriml in Rockbridge history begins with the peace of 17W and continues until the outbreak of another American war in 1861. Tlie Recent Period begins with tlic cessation of hostihties in 1865 and conies down to tlie present year. The first covers the lifetime of an old man. The second covers the lifetime of a man of middle age. A feature common to the two periods is that each lies between two great wars. But while, as we shall presently see, the Recent Period is that of an almost revf)luti(innry change in industrial methods, and even in everyday life, the Middle Period is that of a slow and partial unfolding, l^hor-saving machinery was virtually unknown when the earlier period opened and was little more than a novelty when it closed. Men wore homespun in 1780, and were still wearing it in 1860. Men were still shooting with flintlocks in 1860. There was no change in agriculture, aside from the discontinuance of hemp about 1825. The Middle Period was well under way when canal navigation entered Rockbridge, and was almost at its close when a railroad crossed the northwest corner. It was almost at its close before people began to use envelopes and stamps in mailing their let- ters. Brick manor-houses, very rare at the close of the War for Independence, multiplied in the more fertile neighborhoods. But throughout the eight decades the log house was the tyj)ical home in Rockbridge. .Ml in all, the impress of the pioneer d.iys was much in evidence, even so late as I860. In 1 "75-1781. few of the men of this county went to war except for two or three months at a time, and as no invading host came to burn academies and plunder smokehouses, the work of the farm could not have suffered in anything like the same degree as in 1861-1865. Htit in each instance there was a depreciated paper money, a chaos of values, and commerce was ahnost on a vacation. When John Greenlee became sherifT in 1785 he found the taxes for the two preceding years uncollected, although the people were permitted to pay them in hemp at the rate of $5.00 j>er hundredweight, delivery to be made at designated places at any time before I)eceml)er 20, 1785. In collecting the tax Greenlee used a number of hemp receipts which the treasurer of the State was unwilling to rrccive. Six years later a petition to the .\ssembly mentions tobacco, hemp, and flc'iir as the chief things available for paying taxes and buying necessaries. It ROCS on to .say that the roads were rough and bad. and the price of tobacco so low that the farmers would have to abandon the crop unless it could be inspected MIDDLE PERIOD 105 nearer than Tidewater. The petition asked that inspection might be made at Nicholas Davis's below Balcony Falls. The closing decades of the eighteenth century were a time of fermentation in America. Religion and mental improvement were much neglected, and there seems to have been more coarseness in word and action than in the pioneer epoch. Matters political kept in the lime-light and promoted the noisy assertive- ness that sprang from American independence. The disestablishment of the Church of England was one of the first reforms of the Revolution. One-half of the Virginians of 1775 were dissenters or in sympathy with the dissenters, and they could no longer be made to support a state church in addition to the church of their choice. Accordingly, no taxes were paid to the Establishment after New Year's Day, 1777. In 1802 the parish farms were ordered to be sold. Yet the clerical party fought to the last ditch, and full religious liberty was not secured until 1785. The conservatives argued that conduct is governed largely by opinion, and that it was proper for the legis- lature to enact measures calculated to promote opinion of a desirable sort. In 1783 they urged that in place of the old Establishment each citizen should be assessed for the support of some church, in order that public morality might be maintained. The counties west of the Blue Ridge were a unit against any such half-loaf. As compared with Tuckahoe Virginia they were new, poor, and radical. To the people of Rockbridge, the war of 1812 and the war with Mexico were much less serious than the Revolution, and the casualties in battle were exceed- ingly few. Yet in 1814 there was much illness and a number of deaths among the soldiers from the mountain counties. They were stationed on the coast, es- pecially around Norfolk. To them the climate seemed hot and sultry, and the drinking water inferior to that of the mountain springs. About 1822 there was a strong agitation for the removal of the capital to Staunton. The Assembly was bombarded with many petitions to this effect from the counties of the \\'estern District. This movement was one of the symptoms of the discord between the two sections of the state. The feud led to the Staun- ton Convention of 1816 and its demand for reform in the state government. But the Constitutional Convention of 1829 was dominated by the reactionary ele- ment, and there was little relief until the Constitution of 1851 became law. Until 1789 there was no mail schedule south of Alexandria. No envelopes were used with letters. The rate of postage was governed by the distance, and for a long while payment was made by the person to whom the letter was ad- dressed. Three-cent postage did not come until 1855. Until 1792 values were often computed in terms of tobacco, 100 pounds of the weed being equivalent to one pound — ^5.?i.^ — in \'irginia currency. In the 30's, and onward until the war of 1861, the country was flooded lOfj A IIISTURV OF ROCKDKItXiE COUNTY. VIKGIN'IA with banknote currency, much of it of the "wildcat" variety. The national bank- ing system was still a thing of the future, and the man traveling from his own state into another had to exchange his home paper money for that of the other state, and undergo a "shave" in doing so. He had also to be on his guard against counterfeit bills. A copy of the Counterfeit Detector and Banknote List was indispensable to any merchant who was doing much business. The goods for the merchants of l^xington came by tlic Tennessee road wagon, a huge vehicle drawn by six horses in gay trappings. The cover was sometimes of bearskin instead of canvas. The wagoner was somewhat like the bo.itman of the Western rivers. He was a h.irdy, swaggering personage, but the state driver would not tolerate the idea of lodging in the same tavern with him. The polling places in 1830 were four: Joseph Bell's at Goshen, H. R. Jones' at Brownsburg, the tavern at Natural Bridge, and the house of one of the numerous Monres. Four years later, the tavern of John McCorkIc became a voting place, and in 1845 the tavern of John Albright at Fairfield. Outside of the county seat and the few vill.igcs, Rockbridge had in 1835 three furnaces, six forges, ten stores, and iwenty-four gristmills. 'H ilu- thirteen country churches, nine were Presbyterian. Before the Revolution, the gentU-m.in .ipiieared on slate occasions in a dress suit of broadcloth, often dark-blue, but sometimes plum or pea-green. His long waistcoat was black and his trowscrs of some light color. His tall black hat was similar to the "stove-pipe" of a later day. .Vt the top of his ruffled short-bosom appeared a tall, stiflF collar of the type known as a stock, and around this was fastened a black silk handkerchief. His hair was cropped short to make room for a powdered wig. Women wore towering l)onnets. The low- necked dress had a cape or collar and enormous mutton-leg sleeves. Bv the close of the war of 1812, tight breeches had just gone out of fashion. The coat was "high in the collar, tight in the sleeve, short in the back, and swallow-tailed. The hat was narrow-brimmed and bell-crowned." The cravat was a white hanf fare was more simple than it is now. Corn pone was much in use. The other ordinary forms of the stafi of life were spoon bread, batter bread, and sponge bread. Stoves began to come into use alwut 1850, and at first were not well thought of. The loom-house was an adjunct of the prosper- ing farm. Elsewhere, the loonj was a feature of the living-room or the kitchen. Girls who learned to weave were able to make snnie money by going from house to house. TTie country store was a very |)!ain affair and was destitute of show- cases. Only the most common goods and necessaries were on exhibit. The business of the store seemed to move at a slow pace, yet the merchant was pros- perous. .After the war of 1816 there was a more rapid gait. There were two types of garden ; one with Ixds and herbs and one without. The climate of Scotland is not quite favorable to the kitchen garden, which was not generally adopted by the Scotch-Irish settlers of the Valley of Virginia until they took a hint by .seeing the gardens put out by the llession prisoners of war at Staunton. The herbs were sage, dilny. boneset. catnip, horsemint. hore- hound, "old man," and "old woman." These were used as home remedies, es- pecially by the "granny woman." who in no small degree stood in the place of the doctor. She used lobelia as an emetic, white walnut bark as a purgative, snakeroot for coughs, and elder blossom to produce perspiration. The hark of dogwwid. cherry, and poplar, steeped in whiskey, was used for fever and ague. For the much dreaded dysentery, she enijiloyed Mayajiple root, walnut bark, and slippery elm bark. A favorite way of treating a cold was for the patient to warm his feet thoroughly before a fire aiul then cover U]) in bed. Trials of strength entered more largely into the sports of the period than they do now. Wrestling, jumping, and Ixtxing were po|>ular. A very common game was bandy played with turned balls of lignum vitx. The "frolic" was a vital feature of the "gornl old times." One form of it was the corn huskihg. The corn was shucked in the field, hauled into the farmyard, and thrown into a single pile. At the frolic, two captains were agreed upon, and the.se worthies, by choosing alternately, divided the crowd hito two rival coni|)anies. The pile of corn was divided, and there was a race be- tween the companies to see which side would come out first. The defeated com- MIDDLE PERIOD 109 pany then had to pick up the victor-captain, and "tote" him arotind the pile of ears. A red ear entitled the finder to a kiss from his companion of the other sex. A big supper followed the husking, after which the floor was cleared by taking the furniture and other impediments out of the room, and then came dancing, sometimes kept up until daybreak. Charges of unfairness were occa- sionally hurled by one company at the other, and the small boys did well to get out of harm's way. "Black Betty" was passed around. The whiskey inflamed the jealousy aroused by rival admirers and rosy-cheeked girls, and serious affrays were liable to be the outcome. Besides the husking frolic, there were log- rollings, singing schools, shooting matches, and hunting with hounds. Christ- mas was made much of. "Bring your knitting and spend the day," was the invi- tation often extended by one woman to another. A century ago women sometimes wielded the twn-prongcd wooden fork in the hayfield. Corn was rarely shocked, and yet more rarely topped and bladed. The cradle had just come into general use, but some of the older men still looked with more favor on the sickle. Threshing was sometimes done with horses. The first threshing machines often got out of order. On one occasion a flying tooth tore a hole in the roof of a barn. There was no market for hay. Peavine and "rich-weed" made good pasture. Fertility was maintained by rotation and by the use of lime and clover. There was an independence in the simple life of the Rockbridge farmer of the antebellum period, which has largely passed with the altered conditions of the twentieth century. Writing in 1844, Henry RufTner strikes a pessimistic note. He says that "our free mountain air has become tainted ; the labor of oiir fields is done in great part by fettered hands ; our manners have become more refined than our morals, and instead of the sturdy but intelligent simplicity that once reigned through all the land, a half-savage ignorance has grown up in its nooks and dells, while in the open country a mixed population shows much that is excellent, but upon the whole a failing spirit of energetic industry and enterprise." It was Ruffncr's belief that between 1790 and 1840 Virginia lost more by emigration than all the free states. "She has driven from her soil at least one-third of all the emigrants who have gone to the new states." After Ohio and Kentucky had begun to at- tract settlers, the more thrifty and enterprising of the Rockbridge farmers ac- quired lands in that quarter, and the disposal of such tracts is often mentioned in wills. A brief pen-picture of Rockbridge is given by the Duke of Saxe-W'eimer Eisenach, who crossed this county in the fall of 1825. He observes that he traveled from Staunton to Natural Bridge in a miserable stage and over a very bad road. The wooden bridge over the Buffalo was used only in time of very high water. The only "decent places" he passed were Fairfield and Lexington. Yet the foreigner mentions "many very handsome country houses," at one of which he noticed eight eagles sitting on a fence. These were cared for by the 110 A HISTORY (IF ROCKIIRIIir.K COfNTV, VIKC.INIA proprietor. By seeing snipe fly into the tavern yard at l-'airficld. the stranger thought the people were not fond of shooting. He found that game was plenty, and that a wliolc deer could lie purchased for $1.50. He had little to say of Lexington, then a town of 1,100 people. He wondered that all the coachmen were white. There was niucii travel on horsehack. The road fronj l.e.xington to Staunton by way of I'airtield was generally through a forest. The traveler was a German and was an object of some interest to the few German people he met in this county. The most distressing tragedy in the history of Rockbridge took place in the earlier half of the night of December 16-17, 1846. John Petticrcw, a native of Campbell county, fell into straitened circumstances, and in 1843 moved into a log house in the southward-facing cove between the two House mountains. The wife of Petticrew had been Mary A. Moore, of Kerr's Creek. The oldest of the six children was sixteen, the youngest was six, and all were healthy and strong. The evening of December 16th was snowy, and by midnight there was a high wind. Next morning the snow was much drifted, and for several days the weather was very cold. The fourth day was Sunday, and in the morning Mr. Petticrew came home according to his custom from his work at the dis- tillery of William .Alphin. To his horror he found his house burned to the ground. Lying near by were the frozen and partially clad bodies of the wife and all the children except the oldest, a daughter who was with her sick grandmother on Kerr's Creek. Strong men wept when they saw the corpses laid out for burial. Foul play was suspected on the part of James Anderson and his wife Mary, who lived a half-mile away. The .\ndcrsons did not lieai a gofxl name. The husband was not one of the crowd that gathered on tin- Sunday that Petticrew made his grewsome discovery, nor was he present at the burial. Pettigrew had had some trouble with the neighlwr because of Anderson's cows breaking into his field. He was knocked down by .Ander.son, who tried to choke him. Armed with a search-warrant, a brother to Mrs. Petticrew visited the Anderson home and found therein a coverlet and some other articles that had belonged to her. The silverware of the Pelligrews was not found. Anderson was triecl in Hath, but was ac(|uitted on the ground of insufficient evidence. He went to Craig and never again lived in Rockbridge. It remained the common opinion that .Xnderson was really gtiilly. and there is a story that in a fit of remorse he maile a deathl)cd cfinfession. .And yet an examination of the corpses was inconclusive as to whether death came from violence or from the intense cold following a fire either accicjcntal or intentional. Within two years Pettigrew died of a broken heart. The daughter who was away from home subsequently n>arrieard, and its political point of view has always been nationalistic. I'rom the very first, state lines have been of minor importance to the Western man. The coming of rapid travel and lalwr-saving machinery operated powerfully to link the commercial North to the agricultural West. There was an increased pride of country in these sections. Tlieir people came to look upon the L'nion as no longer a nation io promise, but a nation in fact. But the South was still almost wholly agricultural, and its mode of life was much the same as in the periolitionists. While the Union exists, there is a United South, to a man ready to protect the South against aggression. But let the South con»ummate a severance, then the South stands isolated. Disunion will unsrillc the line that divides slave from free territory. Its first immediate cflTcct is to dc-.\fricani/c a broad belt of the border slave states, equal in extent to one-fourth of the slave territory. The mere anticipation of disunion has already turned thousands of ojieratives out of cmployinent in the North. The real event will increa.se this number by tens of thousands. Desperation will drive these hordes down upon us, either in a hostile raid or to seek a living in a friendly manner. Secession secures non-intercourse, and non-intercourse compels the South to manufacture. She must either do it by these discarded employees or by men from abroad. The result is the same: it brings in contact with slavery a |)opulatiun poisoned to it in all its asfiects. The idea of manufacturing by the aid of slave labor is simply absurd, not only from the fact of the incapacity of the negro, but from the fact that there are no slaves to be s|>ared from the planting interests. The African slave trade has been pro- nounced piracy, and an attempt to reo|>cn it would bring down upon the Southern Con- federacy the vengeance n4 all the great powers of Europe. Moreover, a manufacturing •nd a slave community arc antagonistic and dangerous to each other. It cannot be denied that slavery creates distinctions in society; a lalM^ring and a leisure class. The mechanic and the negro would constitute the former, and the nabobs the latter. An editorial of the same date a^ the South Carolina ordinance, and written A YEAR OF SUSPENSE 117 before the news of that event could have reached Lexington, speaks in this man- ner of the secession movement: We do not desire to see this government broken up upon a point of honor more shadowy, more imaginary, more unreal, than any ever alleged by the professional duelist as a ground for demanding satisfaction. There is no dishonor in submitting to Lincoln's administration, because he is legally and constitutionally our president. Secession is a voluntary and complete relinquishment of the rights we hold in virtue of the Union. * » * Peaceable secession is nothing less than a surrender of these rights (to slave property in the territories). * * * Xo break up the Union upon a mere presumption that the president-elect intends to trample upon the constitution is to drive our Northern friends into union with our enemies. There were more votes against Lincoln in the Xorth than in the entire South. Peaceable secession is really cowardly submission. * * * There is a well-considered policy of a few plotting Catalines to precipitate the cotton states, and ultimately all the slave states, into revolution. It is interesting to note the paralleHsm between the above paragraph and the following e.\tract from a letter written from Lexington, January 1, 1833, con- cerning the proclamation on nullification by President Jackson. The letter was written by Doctor Archibald Graham : In this region it has been received with loud and almost universal applause. A meet- ing was held yesterday in the courthouse, Reuben Grigsby in the chair. I am told they adopted resolutions approving the proclamation. There is a strong feeling in this county against nullification, and a very general disposition to put it down vi et arinis (by force of arms). I believe a strong volunteer company could be raised here, at a moment's warning, to march against them. The editorial further pointed out that secession would work a forfeiture of the interest of the South in the District of Columbia and the public lands, and that the South could not reestablish this interest without going to war. The influence on business of the secession talk is thus sketched in a letter in the Gaccttc: Money has become so scarce that debts can no longer be collected. Slave property has fallen in value from a third to a half. The indebtedness of the citizens of Rockbridge to the banks is not short of $100,000. The costs of goods brought in for sale is about $200,000. How are they to be paid? The flour sold out of the county this year does not exceed 1,000 barrels, worth about $5,000. The proceeds of other commodities except slaves are about $50,000. The slaves sold out of the county the last three years have brought about $400,000. That source of revenue seems at an end. The people must give up their habits of extravagance. Every lady must have a new bonnet every six months costing $20 to $50 apiece. There is doubt if the flour sold in the last twelve months would pay for the bonnets and silk dresses sold here in the same time. A proposed local organization was the "Rockbridge Economical Society." If possible, the members were to attend the Rockbridge fair of 1861 in clothes made in Virginia, to buy in that year no cloth not made in Virginia, to discourage bring- ing in any goods except those of prime necessity, and to promote domestic manu- facturing. 118 A HISTORY OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA It is also significant that the advenising: columns of the county papers con- tain somewhat frequent rc(juests for debtors to "fork over." An extra session of the legislature was called for the purpose of determin- ing "calmly and wisely what ought to be done." This bocrated by secessionists to carry Virginia out of the Union. Ko government such as ours was ever before devised. If we allow it to go down, we believe that with it will go down the last hope of civil and religious liberty. Let us not follow the example of South Carolina, who seeks to put an unanswerable argument into the mouths of des|x)ts. South Carolina has said by her action that a republican government can l>e dissolved at any lime, that it is a government without |)ower, that it is no government at all. Meetings of workingmen at Lexington and Rrownsburg were largely at- tended, and pasiicd resolutions that were "moderate and patriotic." A meeting at the courthouse, January 7th, failed to vote any resolutions, and broke up in disorder, some sixty persons cheering for South Carolina. This element was principally made up of cadets. Many of the citizens were indignant at the rowdyism, and it was denounced in a meeting at Old Monmouth presided over by John Anderson, Sr. The last named meeting resolved that "we refuse to sanction the attempt of any state to secede from the Union, l)elieving that such an .net would be no renudy for the grievances of which wc complain." Another meeting at the courthouse, January 21st, adjourned with three cheers for the Union, after resolving, "that in the opinion of this meeting the plan of adjustment proposed by Hon. J. J. Crittenden, and now pending before the Senate of the United States, is a just and honorable basis for set- tlement of our national difTiculties." The same meeting nominated Samuel McD. Moore and James B. Dorman to represent the county in the convention. Three days later, Mr. Moore and Mr. J. W. Hrockenbrough. another candidate, pub- lished their appeals to the voters. In the event of a dissolution of the Union, Mr. Moore was in favor of Virginia being independent of all the other states. He exj)rc-sseeople of \"irginia." He saw reason to apprehend that a m.ajority of the convention may be elected as disunionists, although a large majority of the voters might be friendly to the Union. Mr. Hrockenbrough thought secession A YEAR OF SUSPENSE 119 would conic, and asserted that "tlie Union that the constitution gave us no longer exists." C. C. Baldwin, a fourth candidate, favored immediate secession if the difficuhies with the North were not settled when the convention met. The short campaign was very animated. An editorial of January 31st urges that the voters insist on a ratification at the polls of the decision of the conven- tion. It remarks that "there is no limit in the law to the powers of the con- vention," which "may bind you against your will to a monarchy or aristocracy instead of a republic." It points out disapprovingly that "an able writer in the Southern press has proposed the adoption of a monarchy," while another, in letters to the English papers, suggests asking for one of Victoria's sons as a king. It further observes that Mr. Spratt, of South Carolina, had come out boldly for an aristocracy, alleging that there is an irrepressible conflict between democracy and aristocracy; that equahty is not a right of mankind in the mass but of equals only. In the election there were 1,869 votes for Dorman. 1.839 for Moore, 293 for Brockenbrough, and seventy-two for Baldwin. There were no votes for Baldwin in six precincts out of the twelve. The result rather upheld the con- tention of the Gazette that there were not more than 250 secessionists in the county. The state convention met February 13th, little more than a fifth of the delegates going to Richmond as avowed secessionists. By a vote of more than two to one the people of the state reserved the right to pass upon the action of that body. By the decisive majority of more than 1,500. Rockbridge declared in favor of submitting such action to the people. The following letter by Alexander II, H. Stuart, of Staunton, throws an interesting light on the atmosphere in which the convention worked. Since the first day of the session, Richmond has been the scene of unexampled e.xcite- ment. The disunionists from all parts of the state have been here in force, and have sought to bring every influence to bear to precipitate Virginia into secession and civil war. * ♦ • Secession is a doctrine of New England origin. It is at war with the whole theory of our institutions, and is subversive of every principle of popular government. * * • In my opinion, there is no natural antagonism between the Northern and the Southern states. They (the sections) are the complements of each other. The present alienation is the work of designing men. I believe that all our wrongs can be most effectually redressed in the Union. Secession, instead of being a remedy, would be an aggravation. It would lead to emancipation, and probably to emancipation in blood. Should the Union be dissolved peace- ably, the policy of the new goveriunent will be shaped by the cotton states. Free trade, and direct taxation for the support of the Federal government, will be the cardinal features of that policy. The expense of maintaining the present government of the United States, ranging from $60,000,000 to $100,000,000 a year, is raised by duties and is voluntarily paid in the form of increased prices by those who buy foreign goods. Under the other systeiu, the tax would be involuntary, and Virginia's part would be about $5,000,000. * » ♦ This would be a very heavy burden. South Carolina's causes of dissatisfaction are financial and not the same as ours. ' 120 A HISTORY OK ROCKDRIDGE COCXTV, VIRGINIA Samuel McD. Moore, a gentleman now sixty- four years of age, of com- manding presence and mature convictions, took a leading part in the proceedings of the convention. He was a member of the Conmiitice on Federal Relations. Jeremiah Morton, of Orange, introduced a resolution declaring against coercion of the seceding states on any pretext whatever, and stating that while \'irginia was ardently dc-iring to restore the Federal Union, she would unite with her sister states of the South if the efTorts then under way should not avail. Mr. Moore, in reply, said the cotton states had not consulted Virginia, and he did not intend to Ik: bound hand and foot by them. He would neither be hurried out of the Union, nor kept in it by precipitate action. I f compelled to go anywhere, he was determined to know first where he was going, who he was to go with, and what was to be his condition after he did go. He was ready to resist sending troops through \'irginia to attack the seceding states, but if the latter thought proper to attack any United States fort, they would have to abide the conse- quences. He would at a proper time undcrt.ike to show that there was a conflict of interest between \'irginia and the cotton states. These five resolutions were introduced by Mr. Moore, February 25th: 1. That in resisting the fugitive slave law, refusing to give up refugees, trying to deprive the South of common territory, in circulating incendiary pamphlets, and furnishing arms to bands of assassins, the South demands full and ample security that these wrongs shall not be repeated. 2. \*irginia can never join a confederacy with the African slave trade. 3. Virginia refuses to endorse government by direct taxation. 4. Approval of the Crittenden program. 5. "H such amendments arc not adopted, \'irginia will enter into a compact with such states as will agree to adopt them, whereby the present government of the United States will be dissolved as to the states so agreeing." Mr. Dorman introduced an additional resolution to the efTect that the Federal Union can rightfully lie dissolved only by the power that made it, and that Virginia should work for a vote in all the states upon the decision of the Peace Conference. Several speeches were made on the Moore resolutions. A b.iiid of fifty to sixty men serenaded the seccessionists who had replied to Moore, anecn brought under control by Colston. Besides the militia, there were some experi- enced marksmen in the town who had gathered in from the mountains. Had firing once Ix-gun it would have been well aimed. Francis T. Anderson, who was to speak at the raising of the Federal flag, was slow to appear and was sent for. His son found him in a law office closeted with perhaps twenty-five of the citizens. One of the number had received a tele- gram fmm Richmond with the news that Lincoln had called on each of the un- seceded states for a quota of men to put down the secession movement. .Ml the persons in the room had a very grave air and were engaged in earnest con- versation. Their conclusion was that there was only one thing to do, and that was for \'irginia to take her stand with the South. Mr. .Anderson presently went out upon the courtyard, and said in substance as he stood by the flagpole: "I love that flag. I-'or eighty years it has been the flag of my country. Under its folds, that country has grown rich and prosperous. Hut, fellow-citizens, that flag is now in the hands of our enemies." At this point the speaker was hissed, no inkling of the telegram having yet reached the throng. Rut after he had related the import of the message, and had given his view of its significance to the Southern people, he was cheered to the echo. Unionism had come to a sudden end in Rockbridge. May 2^T(^, the people of N'irginia voted on the ordinance of secession that had Inrcn adopted by the convention. In Rockbridge there was only a single negative vote in a total of 1,728. In reviewing the momentous year that came to such a well-defined close, it remains clear that the jh-o])1c of Rockbridge felt no general enthusiasm in the doctrine of secession; that they deeply disapproved the contluct of the cotton States ; that their aflfection for the Union was sincere ; and that they took up arms against the Federal government with regret. Hut their heritage of political thought taught them that the Union of their fathers was founded by consent and could not rightfully lie maintained except by consent. The coercion of a state by the central government was therefore foreign to their creed. They felt that the Union was virtually dissolveout sixty strong. The destination of these commands was Harper's Terry. The officers of the Rifles were these: Captain, S. H. Letcher; First Lieutenant. Iv F. Paxton; Second Lieutenant. J. K. Ldmon. 185'', by Capt.iin L. V. Davidson. The Lil>erty Hall Volunteers — Company I of the 4th \'irginia Infantry — were organized at Washington College and served in the Stonewall Brigade. The company was in thirty-two battles and lost 146 men, one of whom — .\. B. Ramsay — was wounded on four different occasions. At First Kcmstown the \'olunteers were almost annihilated. -At Sharpsburg they lost three out of the five who were engaged. At Chancellorsville they lost nineteen out of twenty- eight, and after the engagement of May 12, 1864, at Spottsylvania, only two men were left. Company II of the 25th \'irginia Infantry, organized at Wilson's Springs, won fame as good marksmen and hard fighters. In the battle of McDowell, it lost twenty men out of thirty-five, every commissioned officer Iwing put out of action. The Rockbridge Greys of the Stonewall Brigade came principally fron) within a radius of five miles around Buffalo Forge. They were armed at the start with the very light cadet nnisket, but later with the Enfield. Their first battle was I-"irst Manassas, where they lost nineteen men out of sixty-four. Company E of the- 52nd Virginia Infantry was composed entirely of Rock- •r**- Sinry of a Coninetween the Confederate commands and escaped by way of Covington. These o|>crations covered one week, which was a time of cold rains an