University of Virginia Library

LEWIS.

Three families named Lewis, apparently not related, have
lived in Albemarle. The first of the name entering lands
within its present limits was Charles, of Goochland, who in
1731 obtained a patent for twelve hundred acres on both sides
of the Rivanna, at the mouth of Buck Island. He also entered
nearly three thousand acres in the Rich Cove. As
nearly as can be ascertained, this Charles was the son of
John Lewis and Isabel Warner. In 1717 he married Mary
Howell, and his children were John, Charles, Elizabeth, the
wife of William Kennon, James, Mary, Howell and Ann.
His home was the place that has since borne the name of
Monteagle. To his son, Charles, he transferred his land on
Buck Island in 1766, the son reconveying it to his father and
mother, and the survivor, for life. Charles Jr., purchased,
chiefly from his cousin Robert Lewis, more than eighteen acres
on the north fork of the Hardware, including what is now
Red Hill Depot, which he gave to his son, Isham. He died
in 1782. His wife was Mary, daughter of Isham Randolph,
of Dungeness, and sister of Peter Jefferson's wife, and his
children were Charles Lilburn, Isham, Mary, the wife first
of Colonel Charles Lewis, of North Garden, and secondly of
Charles Wingfield Jr., Jane, the wife of Charles Hudson, Elizabeth,
the wife of Bennett Henderson, Ann, the wife of Randolph
Jefferson, Frances, the second wife of John Thomas,
and Mildred, the wife of Edward Moore. Isham Lewis
died unmarried in 1790, leaving his estate to his two nephews,
John Lewis Moore and Charles Lewis Thomas. Charles
Lilburn married Lucy Jefferson, sister of the President, and
his children were Randolph, Isham, Lilburn, Jane, the wife
of Craven Peyton, Mary R., the wife of Thomas Jefferson Jr.,
Lucy, the wife of Washington Griffin, Martha and Ann M.
Randolph lived on his plantation, Buck Island, on the north
side of the Rivanna, but in 1805 sold it to David Michie, and

moved to Goochland. Lilburn also lived on the north side
of the river, and in 1806 disposed of his place to Hugh Nelson.
His wife was Jane Woodson, by whom he had five
children, among them Mary H., the wife of Charles Palmer,
and mother of Dr. William Palmer, the compiler of the Calendar
of the State Papers of Virginia. All the daughters of
Charles Lilburn Lewis except Jane and Mary, emigrated to
Livingston County, Kentucky.

Robert Lewis, a nephew of the first Charles above mentioned,
lived at Belvoir, on the east side of the South West
Mountain. He was the son of John Lewis and Frances
Fielding, and a brother of Fielding, Washington's brother-in-law.
He married Jane, daughter of Nicholas Meriwether,
the large landholder, and he was himself one of the largest
landholders in the county. In 1736 he entered upwards of
four thousand acres in North Garden, and in 1740 nearly
sixty-five hundred near Ivy Depot. He died in 1765. His
children were John, Nicholas, Robert, Charles, William,
Jane, the wife of Thomas Meriwether, Mary, the wife first of
Samuel Cobb, and secondly of Waddy Thomson, Mildred,
the wife of Major John Lewis, Ann, the wife of another John
Lewis—both of these gentlemen of Spotsylvania and kinsmen
—Elizabeth, the wife of William Barrett, and Sarah, the wife
of Dr. Waller Lewis, of Spotsylvania, son of Zachary Lewis,
and brother of Mildred's husband. John, the eldest son,
received the main portion of his estate in Gloucester.

Nicholas lived at the Farm, adjoining Charlottesville on the
east, a gift from his grandfather, Nicholas Meriwether. He
was a public spirited man, a Captain in the Revolution, a
magistrate, Surveyor and Sheriff of the county, possessed of a
sound judgment and kindly spirit, appealed to on all occasions
to compose the strifes of the neighborhood, the trusted friend
of Mr. Jefferson, and the adviser of his family during his long
absences from home. He married Mary, eldest daughter of
Dr. Thomas Walker, and died in 1808. His children were
Nicholas M., Thomas W., Robert Warner, Jane, the wife of
Hudson Martin, Elizabeth, the wife of William D. Meriwether,
Mildred, the wife of David Wood, Mary, the wife of Isaac

Miller, and Margaret, the wife of Charles L. Thomas. Nicholas
married his cousin, Mildred Hornsby, of Kentucky, and
doubtless emigrated to that State. Robert married Elizabeth
Wood, and removed from the county. Thomas W. lived at
Locust Grove, the northern part of his father's farm. He
was appointed a magistrate in 1791, and died in 1807. In
his will he directed that the families of his servants should
not be separated, and expressed the wish that circumstances
had permitted their emancipation, as according to his view
all men were born free and equal. He married Elizabeth,
daughter of Nicholas Meriwether, and sister of his brother-in-law,
William D., and his children were Nicholas H.
Margaret, the wife of James Clark, Mary, the wife first of
James Leitch, and secondly of David Anderson, Lydia, the
wife of Samuel O. Minor, Thomas, Charles, Elizabeth,
the wife of John C. Wells, Alice, the wife first of George D.
Meriwether, and secondly of John W. Davis, Jane, the wife
first of Walker Meriwether, and secondly of Dr. Richard
Anderson, and Robert W., of Castalia. By far the greater
number of this family emigrated in 1837 to Pike County,
Missouri. In 1804 Mary removed with her husband, Isaac
Miller, to Louisville Ky.

Robert, son of Robert, married a Miss Fauntleroy, and
removed to Halifax County. Charles lived in the North
Garden, where James G. White now resides. He was one
of the first to offer his services at the outbreak of the Revolutionary
War. He was Captain of the first volunteer company
raised in Albemarle, Lieutenant Colonel of the first regiment
formed, and afterwards Colonel of the Fourteenth Virginia.
He died in 1779, while in command of the Guards at the
Barracks near Charlottesville. His wife was Mary, daughter
of Charles Lewis Jr., of Buck Island, and his children Howell,
Charles Warner, who died young, Mary R., the wife of Edward
Carter, Jane, the wife of John Carr, Sarah, the wife of
Benjamin Brown, Ann, the wife of Matthew Brown, and
Susan, the wife of Joel Franklin. Mrs. Lewis was married
the second time to Charles Wingfield Jr., and died in 1807.
Howell lived at the old homestead, and died in 1845. His

wife was Mary, daughter of Thomas Carr, and his children
Thomas Fielding, Howell, of Mechunk, Mary, the wife of
Clifton Harris, and Sarah, the wife of Ira Harris.

William Lewis, son of Robert, lived at Locust Hill, near
Ivy Depot. He was a Lieutenant in the Revolutionary army.
He died in 1780. His wife was Lucy, daughter of Thomas
Meriwether, and his children, Meriwether, Reuben and Jane,
the wife of Edmund Anderson. Meriwether was the famous
explorer of the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Coast, and
while acting as Governor of Missouri Territory, died by his
own hand near Nashville, Tenn., in 1809. Reuben studied
medicine, lived on a part of his father's place, married his
cousin, Mildred Dabney, and died without children in 1844.
Mrs. Lucy Lewis was married the second time to Colonel John
Marks, and with him removed to Wilkes County, Georgia, in
1787. On the death of Colonel Marks, she returned to Locust
Hill, where she departed this life in 1836. By her last marriage
she had one son, John Hastings, who died in Baltimore,
and one daughter, Mary, who became the wife of William
Moore, and lived in Georgia.

The second family of this name sprang from David Lewis,
who, with his brother-in-law, Joel Terrell, in 1734 entered
three thousand acres just west of the University. The next
year his brother, Abraham Lewis entered eight hundred acres,
including the land the University now occupies. These
brothers belonged to Hanover County. Abraham never lived
in Albemarle, but David at once settled on the hinder part of
the present Birdwood farm, so that when the county was organized,
his residence was a well known place in the country.
He was an active man, a captain in the militia, one of the
early magistrates, and bore his part in clearing the roads,
and executing other works of public convenience. He died
in 1779, at the great age of ninety-four. He was married
three times, his first wife being a sister of Joel Terrell, and
his third, Mary McGrath, widow of Dr. Hart, of Philadelphia.
By the first marriage he had eight children, and by
the third three, William Terrell, Susan, the wife of Alexander
Mackey, who lived for a time on Ivy Creek, near the

crossing of the Whitehall Road, Hannah, the wife of James
Hickman, probably the son of Edwin Hickman, second Sheriff
of the county, Sarah, the wife of Abraham Musick, who
lived in the Mechum's Depot vicinity, where his son Ephraim
also lived, and thence emigrated to Kentucky, David, John,
Joel, Ann, the wife first of Joel Terrell Jr., and secondly of
Stephen Willis, Elizabeth, the wife of John Martin, James,
and Miriam, the wife of Gabriel Madison.

William Terrell Lewis kept a tavern on the Staunton Road,
about three miles west of Charlottesville, called at first Terrell's
and subsequently Lewis's Ordinary. He married Sarah
Martin, and had eleven children. All the family emigrated
to North Carolina, and later he himself went to Nashville,
where he died in 1802. Three of his sons, Micajah, Joel
and James, were in the battle of Kings Mountain, and Micajah
was killed at Guilford C. H. A great, great granddaughter,
Mrs. Patty L. Collins, has in these last days been in the
Dead Letter Office at Washington, where she is held in high
repute for her marvellous skill in deciphering bad chirography.
David Jr., was a man of great enterprise and ability.
He owned numerous parcels of land in the Mechum's Depot
section, and carried on a brisk mercantile business in that
vicinity. He also removed to North Carolina just before the
Revolution. Though twice married, he seems to have left
no sons, as in the final settlement of his affairs in Albemarle
in 1794, his legatees all bore other names. John was twice
married, first to Sarah Taliaferro, and secondly to Susan
Clarkson, no doubt a sister of Peter Clarkson. He had
twelve children, among whom were Taliaferro, a brave soldier
of the Revolution, Charles C., whose descendant, William
T., a resident of Louisville, Miss., compiled a history
of the family, Jesse P., and David Jackson, who was a man
of commanding presence, measuring six feet, four inches, was
a soldier in the Whiskey Insurrection of 1794, an active magistrate
of the county, and the father of eleven children, lived
north of the Rivanna, on the Hydraulic Road, and in
1818 removed to Breckinridge County, Kentucky.

Jesse Pitman was also a soldier of the Revolution. His

wife was Nancy, daughter of Manoah Clarkson. His home
was on the Staunton Road, above the University. He died
in 1849, and with him the name of old David Lewis's line in
the county passed away, as he left only daughters. These
were Jane, the wife of Nelson Barksdale, Mary, the wife
first of Julius Clarkson, and secondly of John H. Craven,
Elizabeth, the wife of Reuben Maury, Sophia, the wife of
Michael Johnson, and Sarah, the wife of Alexander St. C.
Heiskell.

James Lewis, son of David Sr., was in his day a figure of
great prominence in the county. He was a gallant soldier of
the Revolution, a magistrate, a contractor, a large landholder,
the owner and keeper for some years of the old Stone Tavern
in Charlottesville, the agent of President Monroe, and much
employed both by the Courts and his fellow citizens in the
appraisement and division of estates. His first residence
was doubtless the homestead, the home of old David. He
married Lucy, daughter of John Thomas, by whom he had
eleven children. In 1818 he emigrated to Franklin County,
Tennessee. In 1826 he returned on a visit to Albemarle, and
married the second time Mary, daughter of Peter Marks, and
at last finished his course in Tennessee at the advanced age
of ninety-three.

The head of the third family of the name was John, who
was one of the earliest settlers in the county. He entered
land on Totier Creek in 1741. When the location of the old
courthouse was fixed, he obtained a license to conduct an
ordinary at the place. He seems to have married a daughter
of Samuel Shelton, and had two sons, and a daughter, Jane,
who became the wife of Richard Davenport, and removed to
Georgia. John, the elder son, died in 1804, and left three
children, Sarah, John Waddy, who died in 1824, and Elizabeth.
Owen, the other son, died in 1805, and his children
were William, John, Hardin P., Howell, Robert, Nicholas,
Daniel P., Zachariah, and Sarah, who was the wife of Jacob
Tilman, and removed to Tennessee. Most of the sons were
considerable land owners in the southern part of the county,
particularly on the lower Hardware. Some of them also

transacted a lucrative business in transporting freight on
James River, and the canal. Hardin P. emigrated to Alabama.
In 1821 Robert in a quarrel fatally stabbed Thompson
Noel, a tavern keeper in Scottsville, and fled the country.
It is said he went to Memphis, Tenn., and in course of
time acquired a large fortune. A great granddaughter of the
first John Lewis was the first wife of the late Christopher
Gilmer, and a great grandson, Zachariah, recently died in
Nelson County, immediately above the mouth of Rockfish
River. A similarity of names suggests a relationship between
this family and that first mentioned.