Vol3, No2 - Fauquier Historical Society

NEWS AND NOTES
from
The Fauquier Historical Socie ty
Spring 1981
WARRENTO N. VIRGINIA
Indian Trails
Man y Indian tribe s occupied
Fauquier County before th e
coming of the white men. J ohn
Sm ith said the Indians he
encount ered in 1608 on the upper
Ra p p ah ann o ck
w ere
th e
Manah oacs, (Algonquin for "th ey
were mer ry").
The se Ind ian s wer e part of the
Sioux nation whose prehi storic
home was not t he plains of the
Middle West but the foothills of
t he Alleghany mountains, fr om
which they were dri ven by hostil e
tribes. Among these were the
Ir oquois who belonged to the "Fi ve
Nati ons," a confederation formed
about 1570 by the Cayuga,
Mohawk, Oneida, Onandago and
Sene ca of the Lak e Champlain and
Gene see River regions of New
Yor k.
So rapidly did these northern
Indians push their conquests sou th
th at by the middle of the 17th
century the Manahoac countrv
was completely occupied by th'~
Iroquois who looked upon all the
land eas t of the Blue Ridge as their
hun tin g pr eserve.
A tre aty was sig ned in 1684 at
Alban y by the Govern or of
Virginia and the Five Nations who
agreed not t o molest th e
settlement s alr eady established
+
OLD
Map by Susan Nel son
lNOIAN
FAUOUI£12
below th e fall lines of the rivers, in
exchange for t he right to hun t the
area between the mountains and
the falls .
The trails used by the Indian s on
their hunting parties lat er beca me
the main highways of t he 18th
century colonists .
The most fam ous of t hese was
the "Shenandoah Hun ting Path"
which crossed lower Fauquier
County along Elk Run to the ford
on the Rappahannock River below
Goldvein. Because of se ttlers
coming into t hat area in t he ea rly
1700's, the Indians moved th ei'r
path westward and ente red
Fauquier near Greenwich, pas sing
Cedar Run above Auburn and
VA.
proceedin g by way of Casanova,
Ger mantown and Bealeton to
N o r m an's F ord o n t he
Rappahannock.
This later route became known
as the Carolina or J ersey Road and
was one of t he main links between
the northern a nd south ern
colonies. It also acquir ed the na me
of "Rogue's Road" when it becam e
th e thoroughfare of catt le thiev es
and ot her persons of ill repute.
Fin ally, in 1772, by another
treaty at Albany, the Iroquois
transferred their trail to th e
Shenandoah Vallev and Indians
wer e no longer hunting in
Fauquier County.
- Anne Brooke Smith
The F'auqurc r H is tori ca l So cie ty. Inc . is a rllln'pr ll!1t o nra nixa tion incornora u-d und er the la w!'. of th e'
Com monwe alt h of Virgi nia . Dues a nd cont r ibu tions a n" ta x ded uct ible.
Newslett er published hi-monthly beg in ni nl! AUl-,>1J gl 1!-J7H. f' ul l li ~ l1l::'d quart l:'r1y Iw g; n ni n~; Sum me r 1~IK() .
Dues a re as follows:
Individ ua l o r Fam ily l\1('mhpr li;hi p
Contri buti ng .\te mhe rgh ip
Sus tai nin g :\ It' m Lw r~h ip
Business Mpmbe r:o> hip
Stu den t ~le mhe rs h i p
OF FI CE RS
S 10.00 pe r yea r
$ 15.00 pe r yea r
Presid ent . Dr . A. R. An de r so n. .Jr.. Warre nt o n
$25.00 and O V('r per year
S2:l.00 per year
$ :{.OO per year
Vice Pre sident, Charles M. Harri s. War rent on
Sec retary. ;\'l rs. Brag-don H.. Bowlim r . Warren ton
T reasure r . Mrs. Mea do Pal mer , Wu rrr-nt on
HOARD OF DIRE CTORS
J ohn B. Adams. The Plains
Dr. A. R. Ande rson. .l r.. Wa rr en to n
i\'1 ~ . Byr on Bank s. Br oad Run
:\of rs. Ronald Hc rkr-nst ock, Wa rre nto n
Alex C . Beverley. Marsh all
;'tlrs. Bragdo n R . Howling. Warrento n
E dw a rd N . Cooper, Warrent on
"1r::i. Rich a rd M . Cutt s, The Plain s
.lenuiru r s H. Fla ther s, Gainesville
Cha rle s M. Harris. Warrenton
Th omas D. J ones, Warren ton
.1. Willard Line weaver. Warrenton
H. P. Monroe, Goldv ein
Mrs . Robe rt K. 1':('ib on . Warrent o n
"I rs . ~t t: ad ~ Pa lmer . Warrenton
William W. Parkin son . Wa rr en to n
H. ~1. Pearson , Remington
Mrs, Fr ances C. Rit ter. w ar renton
Col. David H. Rurnhough. Warrenton
{)nu).!la ::, R . Sm ith, Warrenton
Mrs: Barba ra R. Stinson, Warrenton
Wallace N . Tiffan y , .Tr., Warrenton
~l rs . C ha rle s G. T ~rTl('r, Thp Plains
Col. Mar shall Wall ach, Warrenton
Corre pondence regarding membership should be d irected to:
The Fauquier H is tor ical Soc iet y
P.O. Box 675
Wa rren ton , Virgin ia.22 186
Newsletter Chairman und Editor: Isabelle S. Pal me r
News let te r Committee: Isab elle S. Palmer . Ava Lee , Anne Brooke Smith . Da vid Lyne.
Bart enste in , Susa n Nelson, J ohn Cot t. Dr. Aileen H. La ing .
P eJQ..~·
Sacerbulm. J ohn H.
Simon Kenton
Simon Kent on, the seventh child
of Mary and Mark Kenton, was
born April 3, 1755, in a small cabin
near the hamlet of Hopewell in
F auquier County, then still part of
P rince William County.
As a youth Simon loved to hunt
and roam the woods and had no
liking for farm work. By the time
he was sixteen, Simon was a
powerful man. He fell in love with
a neighbor's daughter, Ellen
Cummins, but she married William
Leachman, an older and better
educat ed man. Simon , enraged,
picked a fight at the wedding with
William who beat him.
Lat er Simon met William near
his home and challenged him to
another fight. William tried to
convince Simon he wanted them to
be friends with no hard feelings.
Simon wouldn't listen anda second
fight ensued. William was winning
when Simon noticed a small
sapl ing nearby. Working William
closer t o the tree, Simon wrapped
his queue of hair around it. With
his adversary securely tied, Simon
gave him a terrible beating. Simon
tried to revive the unconscious
William but could not. Fearing he
had killed him, Simon ned to the
west.
He cr ossed Ashby's Gap the next
morn ing , April 6, 1771. On the
Western side of the Shen and oah
Valley he joined Jim Johnson fr om
New Jersey on a trip to Ice's F ord
on the Cheat River. About this
time Simon changed his name to
Simon Butler.
At Ice's Ford they separated and
Simon proceeded along the
western slope of the Alleghany
Mountains to Fort Pitt (now
Pittsburgh). Simon then joined
two men named Yeager and
Strader for a two-year trip to the
frontier. Simon received valuable
training from Yeager who had
been raised by Indians in
Kentucky and was now trying to
find his way back to Kentucky.
Simon became very adept at
tracking Indians. He also became
such a good marksman that a
fellow scout, Jacob Greathouse,
call him "Sharp-Eye."
In Kentucky he became a good
friend of Daniel Boone. At
Boonesboro he saved Boone's life
by shooting an Indian who was
about to scalp Boone after he had
fallen with a broken leg. Boone
praised Simon pr ofusely, a rar e act
for the famed fronti er sman .
Upon Boone's recommend ation
Lord Dunmore appointed Simon
chief scout for the expedition
against the Indians in the
Northwest Territory.
Simon and the ether Virginia
fr onti ersmen, called "long knives"
because of their weapons, were
dr eaded by Indians. Simon's
reputation as an Indian fighter
spread along the frontier from
Pittsburgh to what is now
Louisville. He was only captured
once by the Indians who tortured
him. He was saved from being
burn ed at the stake. A trader
named Druillard persuaded the
Indians to let him take Simon to
Detroit to be questi oned by the
British. In Detroit Simon escaped
and made his way back to
Kentucky.
In 1783 he learned his fath er was
still alive and William Leachman,
now a widower, had no grudge
against him. He return ed to
Fa uquier Coun ty and resum ed the
name of Simon Kenton.
Ar ound
1794 h e
wa s
commissioned a Major and put in
co mma nd of one hundred
experienced scouts to guide and
guard General Anthony Wayne's
army from attacking Indians.
In 1802 Simon moved to the
vicinity of Zane sville, Ohio (near
the scenes of his tortures by the
Indians) and was made a Br igadi er
General of the Ohio Militia.
In the War of 1812 Simon
Kenton joined the command of
General Shelby in th e Canadian
campaign. Simon's knowledge of
the country and experience in
Indian fighting led to th e success
of the campaign. He participated
in the Battle of the Thames where
Tecumseh was killed and th e
Indians and British were soundly
defeated. A age., fifty.-eigh h." ,--_
fought the Indians for the last
time, nearly forty-two years after
their fir st attack on him at t.he
Great Kanawha River.
Simon married his firs t wife in
1787, but she died a young woman.
He later married one of her
cousins. There were children by
both marriages. At one time he
was a large land owner but land
sharks cheated him, leaving him
only a few undesirable lots. Finally
he was given a small govern ment
pen sion and some of his friends
helped him acquire a littl e more
land.
It is said that Simon was the fir st
white man to see the Blue Grass
Region of Kentucky. He and his
friend s Strader a nd Yeager
Continued on page 3
April in Paris
On Saturday, April 25th, The
Fauquier Hist orical Society a nd
t he village of Pari s will host a
celebration comme morating the
200th anniversary of the Marquis
de Laf' ayette's participation in the
Battle of Yorktown as well as t he
naming of the village in his honor.
It IV wa s
or igi na lly
n am ed
Pur kinville.
Honor ary Chai rman is C. Reed
Thomas . Mr s. J ohn M. Miller is
Chairman and Mr s. Edgar G.
Slack is Vice-Chair man. Honor ary
pa tron s are Sen ators Harry Byrd
a nd J ohn Warner. Willard Scott, a
resident of Delaplan e. has offered
to publicize the celebration on the
Today Show and will be in Pa ris to
help.
Paris is a lovely town, rich in
both Revolutionary and Civil War
hist ory. The events and activities
scheduled for the day are th ose
which may have occurre d at that
ti me and several will be loca ted on
t he la nd where t hey were
originally founde d during the late
1700's.
E arl y art s and cra ft s will be
demonstrated and some of the
homes will be ope n to visito rs .
There will be a coac hing exhibition
as well as a demonstrat ion of horse
shoe ing . Gosp el a nd tave rn
singe rs, dan cers and st ro lling
minstrels will participate . A
puppet show and drum and fife
cor ps are planned . The General
Sto re is being ope ned for the day
_ _ ,__ a nd will contain some of th e crafts
for sa le.
The celebration will begin at 10
o'clock a .m. with a John Wesl cv
Service at the Meth odis t Church
conducted by Th e Reveren d Mr.
Louie Timmons.
A general admiss ion fee will be
cha rge d which will include th e
viewing of all acti vitie s and entry
to the designated parking areas
outside t he village . Picni c parking
for viewing the coac hing will be an
extra cha rge. The celebration will
conc lude at 5 o'clock p.m.
Anyone interest ed in helping or
in participating in th e ac t ivities
may call Mrs. Miller, 592-:3629 or
Mrs . Slack , 592-3827. Warrenton
residen ts may call J e nning s
Flath ers, 347-7386.
Br ing you r family and friends
a nd enjoy a day in April in Paris.
Simon Kento
Sketches by Susan Nelson
Plea se Return To:
The Fauquier Hist or ical Society. Inc.
P. O. Box 675
Warren tun, Virginia 22186
Name:
Address:
Phone:
Check appropr iate membership category:
( )- Individualo rfamilv - $10
( )- Contrihuting - $15'
I[ow would you be willing to help the Society this yea r?
Photn hv Jennings ria hE' f'S
Roy Legg of Upperville will
demonstra te hi 'kill a t b: skct
weavin g and
lacir g split
bottoms in chair . Mr. Legg
who has been blind for m n
years a lso repairs a nd refinishes
furnit ure.
)- Susta ining -$25 and over
)- Student-Sa
)-Busines s - S25
Cont inued rro m page 2
planted the fir st corn near t heir
cabin and harvested th e first crop
grown by white men in Kentucky.
Simon Kenton died on Ap ril 2<,
1836 a t his cabin nea r Za nesville ,
Ohio and was bur ied in a small
cemetery nearby. In
vember
1865 he was reinterred at th
Oakd ale Ce metery in Ur ba nna ,
Ohio. A county in Kent ucky and a
city in Ohio were na med in his
honor and his wif was asked to
name a town in Ohio which she
christe ned Sp ringfield.
Alth ough Simon Kenton was
born in Fauquier County a nd spe nt
his ea r ly youth here, most of his
life was spen t in th fr ontier west
of th e Allegh an y Mounta ins. He
had little for mal edu ati on, but his
knowledge of frontier scouti 19, hi
na tural cunning , a nd his Indir n
figh ting ability made him an
outstanding citizen of the la te
colonial peri od an d th e earl year s
of t he American Repu blic.
- Anne Brooke Smith
Can You
Help?
N ews and N otes urill contain. in
each issue a list. ofas many persons
as possible who are conducting
qenealoqicol or historical research
on persons 0'/' places related to
F auquier County. To be included
in. this column iori te The Fauquier
Historical Societu, P. O. Box 67.5,
Wa.rrenton, VA 22186.
MORROW. Mr. Wa yne T .
Guthrie. 4828 Oakwood Ave .,
D owne~s Grove , IL 60515 seek s
information on J ames Morrow and
his wife Mary wh o emigrated fr om
Gla sgow, Scotland to Alexandria,
VA in 1820. In 1825 moved t o
Eppingham Farm "about 12 miles
fr om Warrenton." He wants t o
kn ow where E ppingham Farm
was located and if there still are
descendants of James and Mary
living in Fauquier.
Richard; Joan m. - Wicks. Edward,
Sr., had a grandson Rhodam
TULLO S Lawran ce wh o is
mention ed in the will of Richard
Tull os .
THAYER. Joel Hope , RD 2,
Dushor e, PA 18614 wants any
information about th e Thayer
plantation which wa s owne d by his
grea t-gr ea t -grea t- g r an d fa ther
Albe rt ,I. Thayer. His g re at-g reat
grandfather was Madi son Thayer.
He would appreciate information
on an y documents and pictures
regarding the plantation and th e
house.
MARTIN. Mr. Elli s Kimbel Jr. ,
132 S. Cre stm o or Ave.,
Louisville, KY 40206 is looking for
the marriage bond of Reuben
Martin and Joanne (?). Were
married before 1755 . In 1781
Reuben deeded land to Benjamin
Martin. Also anything on his son
Samuel who married Sarah
Robinson.
LAWRANCE . Mrs. Draper
Sircy,
504
Jackson
Ave.,
Carthage, TN 37030 is seeking
information on Edward Lawrance,
Sr., who lived in Hamilton P arish;
will probated 1787 in Fauquier.
Believes his residence wa s in that
part of Prince William that was
later includ ed in Fauquier. He had
the following childr en : John; Peter
m. Ann Murray; Edward, Jr. , m.
possibly Mary Moorehead (?),
m oved to Shenandoah Co., 1787;
Sarah m. - Priest; Susanah m. ­
Catlett; Winnefrid m. - Luttrell;
Journey
In Time
At the dinner meeting at Airli e
on March 4th more than 115
members and g u e sts were
delighted with a narrated color
slide show ent it led "F a uquier
County, a J ourney in Tim e,"
pre sent ed by Bob Jacobs,
Mr. Jacobs , ch a ir m a n of
Fauquier High Sch ool's socia l
st ud ies department says he started
the slide program when he found
th at most of his students were not
natives of Fauquier and often not
of Virginia. When discussing areas
of the county they could not
visualize the lan dscape. Duri ng th e
s ho w he ga ve a sparkling
commenta ry of historical tid bits
and literary quotations.
An excellent ph otographer, Mr.
Jacobs has captured the beauty of
Fauquier in all its seasons.
Museum Opens
The Old Gaol Museum will open for the 1981 season on
Wednesday, April 22 . Museum hours are Wednesday and Saturday
from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Museum phone: 703-347-5525.
Mrs. Frances Ritter will continue in charge and will arrange special
tours upon request. Volunteers are needed to serve as docents . If you
can help please call Mrs. Ritter.
The Fauquier Historical Society
P . O. Box 675 . Warrenton. V A 22186
Nonprofit Org .
U . S. Postage
PAID
Warrenton . Va .
Permit No 109