On Saturday, April 25 at 2 p.m. Fort Christanna Historical Site will officially be opened with a gala event at the site. The public is heartily invited to come and see the historic opening of this new Brunswick attraction.
Why is this piece of land hidden on a dirt road in the woods so important? Why will hundreds of people celebrate its existence on the 25th?
In 1714 Virginia was a colony of Great Britain. The area that now is Brunswick County was wilderness, with only a few settlers and with wandering groups of Native Americans displaced from their Tidewater lands. Virginia's governor, Alexander Spotswood, was concerned about the safety of settlers and wanted to provide a safe place for more people to come. He was also concerned about the wandering groups of Indians, known as the Tributary Indians, who were often attacked by their enemies, the Nottoway and Meherrin tribes. He additionally wanted to provide a trading site for the Native Americans of the area. He found the ideal spot on a cliff above a bend in the Meherrin River. The colony's legislature provided funding, and in 1714 the fort was built. At that time it was the farthest western outpost of the British Empire. The fort was five-sided with each side some 300 feet long and made of a palisade of split logs. At each corner small bastion houses held a 1400-pound cannon apiece. Twelve rangers under the command of Captain Robert Hicks were housed in the fort. They were young men who rode around the neighboring settlements to offer some protection to the new settlers. Spotswood built a house for himself about a mile from the fort.
The fort was large, covering over three acres, and probably had many buildings inside, such as a storehouse, a dormitory for the rangers, a blacksmith, stables, and perhaps there were gardens, pig pens and chickens. There was certainly an Indian School.
With Spotswood's encouragement, the Tributary Indians moved to Fort Christanna and banded under the name Saponie. They built a village not far from the fort, described as a circle of buildings. Over 200 Native Americans lived in the village. Governor Spotswood paid from his own pocket to hire a teacher, Charles Griffin, to educate the Indian children who numbered as many as 100 at one time. He taught them the Anglican catechism and prayers as well as the three "Rs". .
"Thunder Over Louisville" is a sign that it is indeed Spring in Kentucky. Thunder kicks off two weeks of events/ parties that lead up to the Kentucky Derby.
It’s time to read up on the horses or if you bet the jockey (like I do), check to see who has the most wins, and if you like the color of his silks, that’s a plus. I’m sure others use a more calculated reason to bet on a horse, but this seems to work for me.
The thoroughbred industry in Kenntucky really took off during the Civil War, when horse breeders in Maryland, the Carolinas and Virginia moved their horses "west" for safety. They discovered that their horses thrived in the Bluegrass, thanks to the rich lime content of the soil, the gently rolling terrain and the favorable weather conditions.
The Thoroughbred is a breed of horse whose ancestry traces back more than 300 years to three foundation stallions -- the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerly Turk. Named for their respective owners -- Thomas Darley, Lord Godolphin and Captain Robert Byerly -- these stallions were imported into England from the Mediterranean Middle East around the turn of the 17th century and bred to the stronger, but less precocious, native mares. Yes thoroughbred race horses can trace their lines to three stallions, amazing if you figure how many there are now.
So what does this have to do with Melungeons?
Mary T. Brewer in her book, Rugged Trail to Appalachia, writes that Eli Boggs was living in Wise County, Virginia, and, “tradition has it that he was implicated in the murder of Alexander Goins, a man of the Melungeon people of southwest Virginia and Tennessee.” According to which side was doing the telling, Alexander Goins was either a horse thief, and worse, who deserved killing (mountain justice), or he was a respectable trader, dealing in fine horses, which he drove from Kentucky to South Carolina to sell. He supposedly lived in what is now Lawrence County KY and operated a race track and breeding farm in Louisa. He also had $9,000. with him the day he was killed, according to some of his descendants. This tragedy occurred around November 1844 at a place on a ridge of Nine Mile Spur of Black Mountain, known as Goins’ Ridge, about 300 yards northwest from where Mud Lick Creek empties into Callahan Creek. Gabriel Church, born 1814, backing Goins’ side, memorialized the event in a ballad named “Poor Goins.”
I can’t trace Alexander Goins, or Eli Boggs back as far as these thoroughbred race horses can be traced, but when Thunder Over Louisville kicks off Derby week, I think of these men. Goins, with his race track must have known Kentucky raised strong horses but I doubt if he knew it was because of lime soil. Boggs was never convicted or even indicted with the murder of Goins, but it had to have a big influence on his life, whether he did it or not. So this year when you attend or watch the Kentucky Derby on television, and while trying to gag down a Mint Julep, tip your hat to Goins and Boggs!
William Gibson Son of Gideon Gibson and Mary his Wife Born
September IS*'' 1743 Baptised October 9^^ 1743
Sarah Gibson daughter of Gideon Gibson & Martha his Wife
Born July the IQ^'^ 1744/5 Baptized Oct' the 20*'' 1745
Gibson Gidion Son of Gidion Gibson and Martha his Wife Born
March y^ 12"' 1750 Baptized June y« 2^ 1753
Gibson Mary Daughter of Gidion Gibson and Martha his Wife
Born October y*^ 2^ 1752 Baptized June y« 2^ 1753
Gibson Ruben Son of Giddian Gibson and Martha his Wife Born
November y« 29**^ 1751 Baptized May 29*'" 1753
Gibson Gibson Son of John Gibson and Jamima his Wife Born
February y« 25*'' 1749 Baptized May y'' 29^"^ 1753
Gibson John Son of John Gibson and Jamima his Wife Born
February y« 23^ 1751 Baptized May y« 29**^ 1753
Author: Prince Frederick Parish (S.C.); National Society of the Colonial Dames of America; Pringle, Elizabeth W. Allston (Elizabeth Waties Allston), 1845-1921
Published: Huntington, W. Va, Standard PTG. & Pub. Co., 1906
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I
1654-1753
VAST UNEXPLORED DOMAIN WEST OF THE ALLEGHANIES - CROWING AND CROSSING THE
SAME - FIRST WHITE MAN TO SEE NEW RIVER - FIRST WHITE MAN WEST OF THIS RIVER - ORIGIN OF NAME - PORTER SETTLES AT MOUTH OF EAST RIVER - SALLEY, HOWARDS AND ST. CLAIR ON MIDDLE - LOWER NEW RIVER - CLINCHE AND CASTLE IN CLINCH VALLEY PRIOR TO 1748 - THOMAS WALKER AND PARTY CROSS NEW RIVER, 1748 - SAME YEAR DRAPER'S INGLES' SETTLEMENT MADE - ADAM HARMAN AT GUNPOWDER SPRING - 1750 DR. THOMAS WALKER AND OTHERS ON THE HOLSTEIN AND AT CUMBERLAND GAP - CHISTOPHER GIST ON THE OHIO AND VISITS MOUNTAIN LAKE -PHILIP LYBROOK SETTLES AT MOUTH OF SINKING CREEK - JOHN LEWIS AND HIS SON ANDREW ON THE GREENBRIER - JAMES BURKE DISCOVERS BURKE'S GARDEN - SAMUEL CULBERTSON ON CULBERTSON'S BOTTOM - THOMAS FARLEY ON NEW RIVER - BUILDS A FORT - JAMES ELLISON BORN IN FARLEY'S FORT - FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR -WASHINGTON ON THE OHIO - INDIAN DEPREDATIONS.
CHAPTER II
1753-1766
EXPLORING THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY - FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR - WASHINGTON ON THE OHIO - VIRGINIA RAISES TROOPS - COLONEL FRY SICK AND COMMAND DEVOLVES ON WASHINGTON - FORT NECESSITY - GENERAL BRADDOCK DEFEATED ON THE MONONGAHELA - DEPREDATIONS ON THE VIRGINIA BORDER - DESTRUCTION OF DRAPERS MEADOWS SETTLERS - MRS. INGLES A PRISONER - PHILLIP BARGER KILLED - MRS. INGLES ESCAPES - CAPTAIN WILLIAM INGLES AND GOVERNOR DINWIDDIE PLAN AN EXPEDITION AGAINST THE OHIO INDIANS - MAJOR ANDREW LEWIS ORDERED TO RAISE A FORCE FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE INDIAN TOWNS ON THE OHIO - LEWIS MARCHES IN FEBRUARY, 1756, CROSSES NEW RIVER, NORTH FORK OF THE HOLSTEIN, THROUGH BURKE'S GARDEN, OVER THE HEAD OF THE CLINCH AND ON THE SANDY -
VAUX'S FORT DESTROYED - 1756 SETTLEMENTS WEST OF NEW RIVER - JOSEPH HOWE AND OTHERS ON BACK CREEK WEST OF NEW RIVER, 1760 - INDIAN MARAUDING PARTY NEAR INGLE'S FERRY ATTACKED BY INGLES, HARMAN AND OTHERS - CAPTAIN HENRY HARMAN, ADAM HARMAN - HERRMAN - ONE BRANCH OF THE FAMILY FROM NORTH CAROLINA AND THE OTHER FROM VIRGINIA VALLEY - NEW RIVER LEAD MINES DISCOVERED BY COLONEL CHISWELL - INDIAN INCURSION INTO JACKSON'S RIVER, ROANOKE AND CATAWBA SETTLEMENTS - PACK, SWOPE AND PITMAN ON THE NEW RIVER -
CAPTAIN AUDLEY PAUL ON LOWER NEW RIVER IN 1763 - MASSACRES BY INDIANS IN GREENBRIER SECTION IN 1763 - BUTLER, CARR AND OTHERS, HUNTERS ON HEAD OF CLINCH, 1766 - THIS YEAR FAMILY OF JOHN SNIDOW SETTLE AT MOUTH OF SINKING CREEK ON THE NEW RIVER.
CHAPTER III
1766-1774
FORMATIONBOTETOURTCOUNTY FROM AUGUSTA IN 1769 - COOKS, KEENEYS AND
OTHERS ON INDIAN CREEK AND THE GREENBRIER - BUILDING FORTS - COOKS ON
INDIAN CREEK AND KEENEYS AT KEENEY'S KNOBS - FORT AT LEWISBURG BUILT -
JOHN AND RICHARD CHAPMAN AND MCKENSY SETTLE AT MOUTH OF WALKER'S CREEK -
SNIDOWS, LYBROOKS AND CHAPMANS BUILD FORTAT THE HORSE SHOE - ABSALOM
LOONEY FROM LOONEY'S CREEK EXPLORES UPPER BLUESTONE WATERS - OTHER
SETTLERS ON THE HEAD OF CLINCH - JOHN MCNEIL FROM THE VIRGINIAVALLEY
LOCATES AT LITTLE LEVELS - ACCOMPANIES GENERAL LEWIS TO THE BATTLE OF
POINT PLEASANT - CAPTAIN JAMES MOORE, SAMUEL FERGUSON, THE PEERYS AND
OTHERS IN THE BATTLE OF THE ALAMANCE MAY 16TH, 1771 - IN 1772 EVAN SHELBY
AT KING'S MEADOWS, AND JOHN SEVIER FROM THE VALLEY, ON THE NOLICHUCKY -
REFUGEES FROM THE ALAMANCE, FROM FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA, ON THE
WATAUGA - OVER MOUNTAIN MEN - BACK WATER MEN - PEACE MEN - FINCASTLE COUNTY CREATED AND COURTS HELD AT LEAD MINES - DANIEL BOONE, FAMILY AND PARTY FROM THE YADKIN - SQUIRE BOONE A BAPTIST MINISTER, WITH THE PARTY -
ON THEIR WAY TO KENTUCKY ARE ATTACKED BY INDIANS AND PARTY SCATTERED -
DANIEL AND SQUIRE WINTER NEAR CASTLESWOODS - DUNMORE'S WAR BEGINS IN THE SPRING OF 1774 - DANIEL BOONE IN COMMAND OF THE FRONTIER - CAPTAIN WILLIAM
RUSSELL'S COMPANY FROM THE CLINCH - REECE AND MOSES BOWEN WITH RUSSELL -
EVAN SHELBY, HIS SON ISAAC AND JOHN SEVIER ALSO LEAD A COMPANY - SEVIER
FROM NORTH CAROLINA BUT SUPPOSES HE LIVES IN VIRGINIA - GOVERNOR DUNMORE
RAISES AN ARMY AND COMMANDS NORTHERN DIVISION - GENERAL ANDREW LEWIS THE
SOUTHERN DIVISION - MARCH TO THE MOUTH OF THE KANAWHA AND BATTLE OF POINT
PLEASANT - AUGUST 7TH, 1774, INDIANS ATTACK THE LYBROOKS AND SNIDOWS AT
SINKING CREEK - HARMAN'S FORT - SHANNONS SETTLE AT POPLAR HILL, 1774 -
GRANT OF CLOVER BOTTOM TO MITCHELL CLAY.
CHAPTER IV - Part A, Part B
1775-1794
MITCHELL CLAY AND FAMILY SETTLED ON CLOVER BOTTOM - MATHEW FRENCH AND
FAMILY SETTLE ON WOLF CREEK - DECLARATION OF THE FINCASTLE MEN - FINCASTLE
COUNTY ABOLISHED AND MONTGOMERY, WASHINGTON AND KENTUCKYCOUNTIES CREATED
- CAPTAIN JAMES MOORE VISITS ABB'S VALLEY - PETER WRIGHT, THE HUNTER, IN THE NORTHERN VALLEYS OF PETER'S AND EAST RIVER MOUNTAINS - GREENBRIER COUNTY CREATED AND ITS BOUNDARIES - REV. JOHN ALDERSON IN THE GREENBRIER VALLEY - JOSEPH CLOYD SETTLES ON BACK CREEK - THE FAMILY OF COLONEL JAMES GRAHAM ATTACKED BY INDIANS - DONNALLY'S FORT ATTACKED - MOREDOCK O. MCKENSEY AND FAMILY ATTACKED BY INDIANS - CAPTAIN THOMAS BURKE, MICHAEL WOODS, JOHN FLOYD, AND JOHN LUCAS IN COMMAND OF THE FORTS 1777-78 -LYBROOKS, CHAPMANS, SNIDOWS AND OTHERS ON THE FRONTIER - EDWARD HALE AND JOSEPH HARE IN NEW RIVER VALLEY 1779 - TORY UPRISING ON UPPER NEW RIVER SUPPRESSED BY CLOYD, CAMPBELL, CROCKETT AND CLEVELAND - DAVID JOHNSON AND FAMILY, FROM CULPEPER COUNTY, SETTLES IN THE NEW RIVER VALLEY - ILLINOIS COUNTY CREATED - THOMAS INGLES LOCATES IN WRIGHT'S VALLEY AND REMOVES TO BURKE'S GARDEN - IN SEPTEMBER 1779 JOHN PAULEY AND WIFE AND OTHERS ATTACKED BY INDIANS ON EAST RIVER - 1780, JOHN TONEY AND FAMILY, FROM LOWER VIRGINIA, SETTLE AT THE MOUTH OF EAST RIVER - FAMILY BY NAME OF CHRISTIAN SETTLE ON EAST RIVER - JOHN G. DAVIDSON AND RICHARD BAILEY WITH THEIR FAMILIES SETTLE AT BEAVER POND - WILLIAM WILBURN AND DAVID HUGHES, FROM NORTH CAROLINA, AND JOHN AND BENJAMIN WHITE, FROM AMHERST COUNTY, VIRGINIA, SETTLE ON SUGAR RUN - MAJOR JOSEPH CLOYD IN OCTOBER 1780 LEADS TROOPS TO NORTH CAROLINA AND FIGHTS BATTLES AT SHALLOW FORD OF YADKIN, CAPTAIN GEO. PEARIS WOUNDED - BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN, PART OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY MEN KILLED IN THIS BATTLE UNDER LIEUTENANTS REECE BOWEN AND JAMES MOORE, BOWEN KILLED IN ACTION - BATTLES OF WETZEL'S MILL AND GUILFORD COURT HOUSE - CAPTAIN THOMAS SHANNON LEADS A COMPANY OF NEW RIVER VALLEY MEN IN THESE BATTLES - CAPTAIN GEO. PEARIS SETTLES ON NEW RIVER IN THE SPRING OF 1782 - ADAM CAPERTON KILLED AT ESTILL'S DEFEAT - THE COUNTRY ALARMED BY THE ATTACK ON THOMAS INGLES, MILITARY CALLED OUT - SWARMS OF EMIGRANTS CROSS THE ALLEGHANIES IN 1782-3-4 AND SETTLE IN PART IN NEW RIVER VALLEY, AND OTHERS GO TO KENTUCKY - PETERS, WALKER, SMITH, STOWERS AND OTHERS COME IN 1782 - INDIAN RAIDING PARTY PENETRATE THE BLUESTONE AND UPPER WOLF CREEK SECTION, STEAL HORSES AND ESCAPE - MITCHELL CLAY'S FAMILY ATTACKED BY INDIANS AT CLOVER BOTTOM IN 1783 - CAPTAIN GEO. PEARIS KILLS AN INDIAN ON NEW RIVER - JAMES MOORE, JR., CAPTURED BY INDIANS IN ABB'S VALLEY - NEW STATE OF FRANKLIN, EFFORT TO ENLARGE ITS BOUNDARIES BY CAMPBELL AND OTHERS - "RUSSELL COUNTY CREATED IN 1785 - CAPTAIN JAMES MOORE AND HIS FAMILY ATTACKED BY FORTY SHAWNEE INDIANS IN 1786 AND KILLED, CAPTURED AND DESTROYED - 1787, FEDERAL CONVENTION ASSEMBLES IN PHILADELPHIA, FRAMES A CONSTITUTION AND SUBMITS IT TO THE STATES - 1788, NOVEMBER 12TH, CAPTAIN HENRY HARMAN AND HIS SONS FIGHT A BATTLE WITH THE INDIANS ON THE BANKS OF THE TUG - HARMAN'S BATTLE SONG - 1789, WILLIAM WHEATLEY KILLED BY INDIANS - FAMILY OF JAMES ROARK DESTROYED - 1789, OCTOBER, MRS. VIRGINIA WILEY CAPTURED - INDIAN MARAUDING BAND ON HEAD
OF CLINCH AND BLUESTONE IN 1790 - BIRTH OF JONATHAN BAILEY - WYTHECOUNTY
CREATED - FAMILY OF ANDREW DAVIDSON CAPTURED BY THE INDIANS IN 1791,
DAVIDSON'S LONG SEARCH FOR HIS WIFE AND HER RESCUE - UPPER CLINCH AND
BLUESTONE RAIDED BY INDIANS IN JULY, 1792 PURSUED BY MAJOR ROBERT
CROCKETT, GILBERT KILLED AND LUSK CAPTURED - LUSK AND MRS. WILEY ESCAPE IN
THE FALL OF 1792 - JOHN G. DAVIDSON MURDERED BY INDIANS AND A WHITE MAN,
ONE RICE, ON THE 8TH DAY OF MARCH, 1793 - INDIANS PURSUED, OVERTAKEN AT
ISLAND OF GUYANDOTTE, SKIRMISH FOLLOWS - PETITION OF ROBERT CROCKETT,
JOSEPH DAVIDSON AND FIFTY OTHERS TO THE GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA - ALARM IN THE NEW RIVER SECTION AND GOVERNOR CALLS OUT A MILITARY COMPANY UNDER CAPTAIN HUGH CAPERTON WHICH IS STATIONED ON THE KANAWHA, DANIEL BOONE THE
COMMISSARIAT - MARAUDING PARTY OF INDIANS IN 1793, THE LAST ON THE WATERS
OF THE UPPER CLINCH AND BLUESTONE - WAYNE'S GREAT VICTORY OVER THE UNITED
INDIAN TRIBES IN OHIO ON AUGUST THE TWENTIETH, 1794, BRINGS PEACE TO THE
VIRGINIA BORDER - SWARMS OF LAND SPECULATORS AND SURVEYORS ON THE OHIO
WATERS, NORTH AND WEST OF THE SETTLEMENTS - NUMEROUS AND LARGE GRANTS OF
LAND TO ROBERT MORRIS, THE PATRIOT AND FINANCIER - GRANTS TO POLLARD,
HOPKINS, YOUNG, MCLAUGHLIN, MOORE AND BECKLEY, BLISS, DWIGHT AND GRANGER,
RUTTER AND ETTING, DR. JOHN DILLION, DEWITT CLINTON, ROBERT MCCULLOCK,
WILSON CARY NICHOLAS, WILSON, PICKETT, SMITH AND OTHERS - MANNERS AND
CUSTOMS OF THE BORDER PEOPLE, THEIR RELIGIOUS LIFE - EARLY MINISTERS.
CHAPTER V
1795-1836
MARRIAGES, BY WHOM CELEBRATED PRIOR TO THE PASSAGE OF TOLERATION ACTS -
REAL CIVILIZATION BEGUN - MONROECOUNTY CREATED, ITS BOUNDARIES, BRIEF
HISTORY OF - FORMATION OF TAZEWELLCOUNTY, ITS BOUNDARIES, BRIEF HISTORY
OF - FORMATION OF GILESCOUNTY, ITS BOUNDARIES, AND BRIEF HISTORY THEREOF.
CHAPTER VI
1837-1861
FORMATION OF MERCER COUNTY - ITS BOUNDARIES, ETC. - COURTS ORGANIZED -
FIRST GRAND JURY EMPANELLED - POPULAR ELECTION - INCLUDING ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF SECESSION CONVENTION.
CHAPTER VII Part A, Part B, Part C, Part D
1861-1865
THE ORGANIZATION OF MILITARY COMPANIES - THE CONCENTRATION OF ARMIES - THE
WAR BEGINS - GREAT UNION UPRISING IN NORTHWESTERN VIRGINIA - RESTORED
GOVERNMENT OF VIRGINIA - FORMATION OF WEST VIRGINIA - VARIOUS BATTLES AND
ENGAGEMENTS - CAMPAIGNS OF 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865 - THE WAR ENDS -
PEACE RESTORED - RECONSTRUCTION IN MERCERCOUNTY.
CHAPTER VIII
1866-1905
RECONSTRUCTION IN MERCERCOUNTY, W. VA - CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
DISFRANCHISING CONFEDERATES - REGISTRATION LAW - COUNTY SEAT AGITATION -
THE "COMMITTEE OF SAFETY" - THE CREATION OF SUMMERSCOUNTY - THE
RESTORATION OF THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE - INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT - THE FLAT
TOP COAL FIELD - RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION - THE CITY OF BLUEFIELD.
APPENDIX A
THE COURTS, JUDGES, MAGISTRATES, ATTORNEYS, ETC.
APPENDIX B
COUNTIES IN VIRGINIA AND WEST VIRGINIA FORMED OUT OF THE TERRITORY
OF AUGUSTA AND FREDERICK, AND HOW OR FOR WHOM NAMED.
APPENDIX C - PART A, PART B
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
APPENDIX D
ELECTED OFFICIALS
APPENDIX E
A LIST OF ATTORNEYS FOR THE COMMONWEALTHFORGILESCOUNTY FROM 1806
Folks, this is just about the coolest thing I've seen lately. The Virtual Jamestown website has a ton of information, but a most interesting thing is where students at Salisbury State University used a technique to put the Indian towns on Google Earth. This is from their site:
Indian Groups/Towns
The towns or Indian groups (usually having the same name) located on this map were taken from John Smith’s Map of Virginia. Smith created the map in 1608 from two voyages he took up and down the rivers that feed the Chesapeake Bay.
Working under contract to Virtual Jamestown, geographer Mike Smith and students at SalisburyStateUniversity employed a “rubber sheet” technique to fit the towns onto a modern map of Virginia. During the 2007 fall semester, students in Crandall Shifflett’s undergraduate research history class at Virginia Tech collected data on 16 Indian groups or towns: Accomack, Accohannock, Arrohateck, Chesapeake, Nansemond, Kecoughtan, Kiskiack, Monacan, Mannahoac, Nottaway, Meherrin, Patawomeck, Powhatan, Rappahannock, Weanock, and Werowocomoco.
Towns were chosen primarily on the basis of the quantity of data available on Smith’s towns. Students used research data from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and secondary sources. In addition, courtesy of a special Google Earth (GE) Education Initiative (GE provided each student in the class with a license to Google Earth Pro), students could add their findings to the map. GE Pro allowed students to create pop-up windows of information on their assigned group according to a template with the following features: name, alternative names, meaning of name, geographical coordinates, distance from Werowocomoco, population with dates and sources, language group, link to report, and notes.
We have compiled them into a single kmz file (Google Earth file).
In November 1682 the Virginia assembly enacted legislation specifying that
. . . all servants except Turks and Moores . . . whether Negroes, Moors, Mollattoes or Indians, who and whose parentage and Native country are not Christian at the time of their first purchase of such servant by some Christian, although afterwards, and before such their importation and bringing into this country they shall be converted to the Christian faith; and all Indians which shall hereafter be sold by our neighbouring Indians, or any other trafiqueing with us as for slaves are hereby adjudged, deemed and taken to be slaves to all intents and purposes, any law, usage or custom to the countrary [Hening 1809-1823:II:491-492]
Thus, all who were sold as slaves were considered slaves, whether or not they had been converted to Christianity. Moreover, Indians and other non-whites were considered slaves if they had been imported or sold as such. The new law also declared that Indian maid servants who were age 16 or older were considered tithables, i.e., they were considered taxable personal property.
Those who are serious Lincoln scholars probably already knew and the rest of us who watched "The Plot to Steal Lincoln's Body" last night on the History Channel now know that Lincoln's body is buried under 10 feet of concrete. This was done after a serious attempt to steal his body which could have succeeded and following many years of subsequent paranoia and anxiousness on the part of the custodians of his remains. Therefore one would assume that his DNA is safe from a prying public whose inquiring minds want to know. But that is not the case. Not all of Lincoln's earthly remains lie under those tons of concrete.
Quite a bit of Abraham Lincoln's DNA was left behind if it can only be retrieved. There is blood, hair and bone fragments capable of yielding their secrets if approached in the right way. And if today's technology isn't up to the job, tomorrow's probably will be. Of equal importance to learning whether or not Lincoln actually suffered from one or more of the three serious genetic diseases long suspected, is the possible answer to two other enigmas. What was his ethnic origin and who really was his father? Many have refused to believed a lowly uneducated farmer such as Thomas Lincoln could be his biological father. While others have speculated that the Lincoln surname and his grandfather's given name, Abraham, suggest the paternal line was Jewish. Maybe the questions will all be answered in the future, if not soon, then later.
The Secrets of Lincoln's DNA
Come along with me, past all the bicentennial hoopla, to a quiet place north of the White House. Here, at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, you'll find a glass case housing the most incredible Lincoln memorabilia on the planet: the man himself. His blood on the cuff of a surgeon's shirt. Snippets of his chocolate brown hair. A handful of bone fragments removed from his skull.
Yes, Lincoln! Guess what that might mean? Lincoln's DNA! Scientists have been speculating about the president's health for decades. It's believed he had malaria, smallpox and depression. Syphilis has been debated. And there are hypotheses about three rare genetic disorders—Marfan syndrome, spinocerebellar ataxia 5 and multiple endocrine neoplasia 2B (MEN 2B). If scientists had access to Lincoln's DNA, might they be able to clarify the medical history of one of the world's greatest historical figures? Could they also sequence his entire genome, and perhaps trace his genealogical roots back to their origins? Should the 16th president's mortal remains be put to the test?
I'm not the first person to ask this question nor am I the first to think it's a very intriguing idea. As far back as 1991, a panel of experts gave scientists a "qualified green light" to test Lincoln's DNA for Marfan syndrome—decades after a physician proposed that the president might have had it. At the time, researchers decided it wasn't technically feasible to move forward, but genetic testing is far more sophisticated today.
Experts say it might be possible to extract chopped-up bits of DNA from these museum remnants, assemble them into the gene they're looking for, then make a diagnosis. There are, of course, considerable challenges: nobody knows whether there's enough DNA in good enough condition to do a gene test, or to do one conclusively. As for sequencing Lincoln's entire genome, "I don't think it's doable," says Dr. Philip Reilly, author of "Abraham Lincoln's DNA," because there are such small pieces left and there would likely be large gaps.
If Lincoln had ataxia 5, a neurological disorder, he'd have something in common with 90 relatives descended from his paternal aunt and uncle. University of Minnesotagenetics professor Laura Ranum says there's a 25 percent chance. If so, the president would be a great example of somebody overcoming physical challenges to achieve greatness, she says. She'd love to see a test. So would Josephine Grima, of the National Marfan Foundation. "It would help raise awareness exponentially," she says. "Like what Roosevelt did for polio."
It is critical that this region's history be portrayed accurately. Please sign the petition! JC
Published by Philip Parker on Feb 13, 2009 Category: Television Region: United States of America Target: East Tennessee and the surrounding area Web site: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=125590765531&ref=mf Background: On February 12, 2009, WBIR TV in Knoxville, Tennessee announced it will stop production of "The Heartland Series" in September. "The Heartland Series" is a long running show that highlights the history, and lore of East Tennessee and it's surrounding states and regions. The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that after more than a quarter century, WBIR will stop production of The Heartland Series. The series highlights local color and reenacts local historical moments. Per the article, the show has been a ratings booster for WBIR for quite some time, sometimes garnering as much as a 7.0 plus rating! Host Bill Landry and videographer Doug Mills will be with the show through it's conclusion and per WBIR, will then "look for the next step in their careers."
by Janet Crain In an area where the people have been exploited time and time again, was the 20/20 documentary: Hidden America; Children of the Mountain with Diane Sawyer just another exploitation?
The show has angered many and prompted strong, too strong perhaps, denial that these conditions of poverty and neglect exist, by many other present or former residents of the central Kentucky region. Some others from outside the region have expressed much symphathy, others dismiss the Appalachian people as shiftless, drunken, drug addicted Hillbillies. They forget or never knew that these people's parents and grandparents contributed mightily to the defeat of Hitler and the Nazis. Signs were posted in the coal company stores, with a picture of Uncle Sam and the words; "Don't be a slacker, the country needs coal!"
And the older men and rejects from the draft board labored underground 12 to 16 hours a day in a mighty effort to meet that need. While their healthier sons and brothers died in greater numbers in battle than from any other region in WWII.
First the timber was sold off by people who had no idea of its value beginning back in the 1880's. And hard rains then washed away the topsoil making it much harder to earn a living by farming. The people were glad to see the coal mining come in and worked very hard for a few dollars a day. Most of their wages ended up in the company store and they drew little hard cash. Many have been on the "dole" and prescription painkillers for over fifty years through no fault of their own.
Company doctors were unskilled and behind the times and begain the drug problem by dispensing pain killers for the slightest symptoms. Depression was the main illness from living in a dreary coal camp where women soon learned the futility of trying to keep their house clean. The company doctor would prescribe pain killers for "nerves" to dull their misery. Later when good doctors were brought in during the boom times when the industry was doing really well, they refused to prescribe the precious pills and the people would not go back to them. If they needed something serious like surgery they would go to the company hospital, but sought out the old doctors for their everyday complaints.
So you see the dependency started early. And just got worse. The land and the people have been exploited over and over again and I just don't know how this situation could be made better. But the young people are their treasure, if only their lives could be made better
Yes, many have excelled and prospered. And for many years in a row, only about 5% of High School graduates stayed in Appalachia. The region contributed their natural resources and their best and brightest young people to the rest of the nation and received very little in return.
How many times can your heart be broken until you just simply give up?
A wiser person than I once told me, "Just remember, there but for the grace of God go I."
From 1729 to 1749, the dividing line between Virginia and North Carolina was based on the 1728 survey "from the Sea to Peters Creek" by the Honorable William Byrd, William Dandridge and Richard Fitzwilliams, Commissioners, and Mr. Alexander Irvine and Mr. William Mayo, surveyors. During this period, white settlements on both sides of the line had already extended much further west than Peter's Creek as is shown in a map drawn by Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson in 1751 which included Mulberry Fields on the Yadkin River in present-day Wilkes County, North Carolina, executed after "The Line between Virginia and North Carolina, from Peters Creek to Steep Rock Creek, being 90 Miles and 280 Poles, was Survey'd in 1749 By William Churton and Daniel Weldon of North Carolina and Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson of Virginia." Steep Rock Creek is present-day LaurelCreek in Johnson, Tennessee's northeasternmost county, and stopping there was clearly short-sighted given Colonel James Patton's 1,946 acre Virginia grant of 1744, which included the Sapling Grove tract that is today part of Bristol, Sullivan County, Tennessee.
By Ruthe Winegarten Janet G. Humphrey & Frieda Werden, consulting editors
Mary Madison's Galveston neighbors considered her "a very valuable citizen, in a variety of ways: especially in the capacity of a nurse." Eighty-two of them, many of whom had probably "experienced her kindness, her attention and watchfulness," signed a petition in 1850 for her to remain in the state and enjoy the "little property" which she had accumulated. Her request was one of the few granted by the Texas legislature.
Mary Madison's petition is a sample of the rare documents that preserve scraps of information about the lives of free women of color in Texas before the Civil War. She was one of many courageous women who resisted the law and struggled to protect themselves and their families. They used a variety of strategies, including the right of petition and the judicial process, to avoid being sold into slavery or banished from their homes. Many defied the law; when their petitions were denied, they remained anyway. Some women purchased their own freedom; some were purchased by their black husbands. Others married or became the concubines of white men or served so loyally that they were emancipated by their owners. This theme of resistance by black women would resonate through the history of the state.
Although the numbers of free blacks were much more significant in the Old South, Texas had enough to count. At the time of the Texas Declaration of Independence, an estimated 150 free blacks lived in the new republic. (Most antebellum African-Americans were, of course, slaves.) The 1850 census reported 394; ten years later, the figure was 355, including 174 women living in forty counties. Historian Randolph Campbell believes that the actual number of free people of color was probably double that counted by the census.
The rights of free women of color in Texas varied with the flag. Some free people of color were drawn to colonial Texas by the antislavery position of Mexico, the lure of the land, and the greater freedom of the frontier. The women employed their domestic skills as nurses, laundresses, cooks, house servants, seamstresses, boardinghouse keepers, stock farmers, and milk women. Some used their earnings to become prosperous business women, property owners, and even slaveholders. Since children took their legal status from their mothers, the children of free women were also free.
Despite their contributions as pioneers, free people of color were legally unwelcome from the days of the Republic of Texas. Slaveholders were apprehensive because free people of color constituted a threat to some of their most cherished assumptions—that whites were racially superior and that blacks were incapable of self-government. TheMarshall Texas Republicaneditorialized that "free Negroes are certainly a most obnoxious and dangerous population ."4 Whites feared that free people of color might entice slaves to run away or rebel, but scholars have found no evidence of this.
Under Spanish and Mexican Rule
Among the first Africans in Mexico were men who arrived with the Spaniards in the mid-1500, like the famed Esteban, a slave who was the translator for an early expedition which included Cabeza de Vaca. They often married or took as mates Native American and Spanish women. As sovereignty over Texas passed from Spain and Mexico to the Anglos, some slave and free black Spaniards and mulattoes and their descendants lost their identity in the census records and were absorbed into history as persons with Spanish surnames. Among the earliest colonists were free women of color. An official Spanish census of Texas in 1792 counted 167 female mulattoes and nineteen female Negroes, a mixture of slaves and free citizens.
Since Spain recognized free people of color, Mexican Texas became a haven for runaway and freed slaves from the nearby United States South. This kind of immigration was fueled by word of mouth and continued even after Texas independence. Felipe Elua, a Louisiana creole and slave, purchased himself and his wife, Mary Ortero, a mulatto, and their children. In 1807, they settled in San Antonio to become landowners and farmers, educating their children in Spanish and French. Another fifteen male and female Negroes were recorded in Nacogdoches in 1808, where they had fled from North American masters.
Antislavery sentiment and equality for all people surfaced as major issues when the multiracial Mexican populace rebelled against Spain. In 1821, Mexico negotiated a treaty of independence that promised citizenship along with equal rights and opportunities for all Mexican people, even though it also made Catholicism the official and only tolerated religion. For the next fifteen years, Mexico (including the state of Coahuila and Texas) passed a number of ambiguous and contradictory measures relating to the legal status of slaves. Nevertheless, opportunity for free black immigrants from the United States in Texas reached its peak during Mexican sovereignty.
The main attraction of Texas—cheap and good land—convinced many Anglo colonists to brave a few legal problems with regard to slaves. The new colonists were skillful in negotiating the everchanging legal system. In 1823, Stephen F. Austin received approval from the newly independent Mexican government to bring settlers and their slaves from the United States. The "Old 300" colonists included slaveholders and slaves, but also a few free people of color: Lewis B. and Sarah Jones, Samuel H. Hardin, and Greenbury Logan. Lewis and Sarah Jones emigrated to Texas in 1826 from Mississippi, along with their two daughters. The barber Samuel H. Hardin married Tamar Morgan in 1838. She came to Texas as a slave in 1832, but purchased her own freedom with the proceeds of her labor. By 1840, this industrious Brazoria County woman had accumulated four town lots, one hundred acres, and four slaves. Greenbury and Carolyn Logan were another Brazoria County couple. He came to Texas in 1831 and purchased Carolyn's freedom with earnings from his blacksmith shop. He was granted legal title to land in Brazoria County. After he was wounded fighting for Texas independence, the couple operated a tavern, boardinghouse, and retail store in Columbia, the first capital of the Republic.
Some free women of color were married to whites. In 1828, David Towns moved from Louisiana to Nacogdoches with his wife, Sophia, and his family, who were also his slaves. He manumitted them, and they lived together in harmony, alongside their Mexican neighbors. Other white husbands manumitted their slave wives (or concubines) in their wills.
Celia Allen sought the legal assistance of William B. Travis, later a hero of the Alamo, to help protect her status as a free woman in 1833. Her owner had emancipated her along with her four children, but a prominent pioneer, William H. Jack, claimed her as a slave. With Travis's help, she won the case and lived free until her death in 1841. Her estate at that time was valued at $214.65 and included two horses, seven head of cattle, several pigs, two feather beds, and kitchen utensils.
Some single women came to Texas already free. The most famous, Emily D. West, is better known as Emily Morgan, "The Yellow Rose of Texas." A native of New York, she came to Texas with Mrs. Lorenzo de Zavala in 1835. When General Santa Anna was on his way to fight Sam Houston's forces in 1836, Emily took refuge with the de Zavalas at James Morgan's home. There the general captured her. Texas myth credits her with ensuring Houston's victory during the Battle of San Jacinto by sending word of Santa Anna's whereabouts and "distracting" him while his enemies approached. Her passport application to return home stated that she had lost her freedom papers on the San Jacinto battlefield. She is said to have returned to New York in 1837. Few academic historians credit the myth, although there was an Emily D. West who applied for a passport back to New York.
