Colonel John Lewis
- Born 1 Feb 1678 in County Donegal, Ireland
Ancestors
- Son of Andrew Lewis and Mary Colquhoun Lewis
- Husband of Margaret (Lynn) Lewis — married 1715 in Donegal, Ireland
- Father of Samuel Lewis, Thomas Lewsi, Andrew Lewis Sr, William Lynn Lewis, MD, Margaret Lynn Lewis Crow, Margaret Lynn Lewis, Ann Lewis Finley, and Charles Lewis.
- Died 1 Feb 1762 in Bellefonte, Augusta, Virginia
John Lewis of Beverley Manor, Augusta County, Virginia was a son of Andrew Lewis and Mary Colquhoun. He was born on 1 February 1677/8 in County Donegal, Ireland and died on 1 February 1762 in Augusta County, Virginia.[1] His parents reportedly were French Huguenots who left France for Ireland. It has been surmised that they did so in 1685, but that date conflicts with John Lewis’s date and place of birth. A more accurate date for his parents’ move to Ireland may be reflected in Howe’s history of Virginia. Howe wrote that the Lewis family fled France during the persecutions that followed the death of the country’s King Henry IV, which occurred in 1610.[2]
In 1715 in County Donegal, Ireland, John Lewis married Margaret Lynn, daughter of William Lynn and Margaret Patton, who was born on 3 July 1693 in County Donegal and died in 1773 in Bellefonte, Augusta County, Virginia.
The children of John and Margaret (Lynn) Lewis have been reported as:
- Samuel Lewis, born 1716 in County Donegal, Ireland (see Lore and Legends… section below).
- Thomas Lewis, born 27 April 1718 in County Donegal, Ireland; died 31 January 1790 in Rockingham County, Virginia.
- General Andrew Lewis, born 24 April 1720 in County Donegal, Ireland; died 26 September 1781 in Botetourt County, Virginia.
- Alice Lewis, born 1722 County Donegal (see Lore and Legends… section below).
- Major William Lynn Lewis, born 17 November 1724 in County Donegal, Ireland; died 1812 in Virginia.
- Margaret Lynn Lewis, born 1726 in County Donegal, Ireland ; died 1797 in Kenturky.
- Anne Lewis, born 1728 in County Donegal, Ireland; died in York County, Pennsylvania.
- Colonel Charles Lewis, born 11 March 1735/36, probably in Orange (now Augusta) County, Virginia; died on 10 October 1774, killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant (now West Virginia).
As to the emigration of John Lewis to America, Peyton relates that he came when he was fifty, placing his emigration about 1728, and further that he lived first in Pennsylvania and awaited the arrival of his wife and children.
After arriving in the Shenandoah Valley around 1732, he was to spend the next 30 years of his life, from 1732 until he died at age 84 on February 1, 1762, as a prominent resident and leader of the expanding and thriving community.
It is reported that the couple’s first homestead was located on Middle River in Augusta County, but that the family soon moved to the property known as Bellefonte – belle for “fine” or “good” and font for “spring”.
In 1732 the area was part of Spottsylvania County, then Orange County after 1734. In 1736, William Beverley received a grant of more than 118,000 acres from King George II of England. William Gooch was governor of Virginia at that time. Lewis, who had been technically a squatter on the land for four years, acquired official title to his lands in 1739. His land comprised 2071 acres at that time, the largest tract in Beverley Manor. The cost was 14 pounds, which was forgiven by Beverley because Lewis served as leader and guide to hundreds of incoming settlers, which often strained his hospitality.
By 1737, perhaps before and certainly after, John Lewis and one or more of his sons, often with other partners, were acquiring grants for large tracts of land outside Beverley Manor boundaries, including the Pastures areas to the west. In 1749 a group including John Lewis acquired lands along the Greenbrier River.
In 1738, Augusta County was established by the Virginia General Assembly, but the county was not incorporated, with sufficient population to sustain county courts, until 1745.
In 1738 or 1739, Lewis hosted the first minister, who delivered the first sermon in the upper Valley in the person of the Reverend James Anderson, Presbyterian minister from the Synod of Philadelphia. Lewis, with others, also secured the services of the first settled, resident minister of the upper Valley, Rev. John Craig, in 1840.
Perhaps as early as 1739, although this is problematic, John Lewis was engaged in the milling trade. The original name of Lewis Creek was Lewis’ Mill Creek.
When the county was incorporated in 1745, Lewis was appointed as one of the original justices of the peace. He served in this capacity, and as a member of the Augusta County Court, until at least 1752.
In 1745, a grant of 100,000 acres was made to John Lewis and his associates under the name of the “Greenbrier Company”. Much of this land was located on the Greenbrier River, a name given to the stream by John Lewis. In 1751, Lewis and his son Andrew would survey the Greenbrier tract.
Staunton, originally called Beverley’s Mill Place, received its name in 1748, after Lady Staunton, wife of Governor Gooch. Lewis’ leadership in attracting new settlers, and his great sense of civic responsibility, witnessed in his advocacy of schools, new roads, and other community projects, proved of great value.
According to Augusta County deed records, the site of the original Bellefonte (Lewis) homestead was owned successively by William Beverley, John Lewis, then his son, Andrew Lewis. The Lewis family held the land until 1793, when it was deeded to Robert McCulloch. The “stone house” on the property is mentioned in this transaction. McCulloch died about 1806, and the property was acquired from his estate by D. W. Patterson in 1817.
Will and Probate. John Lewis wrote his will on November 28, 1761 and named – in this order – his wife Margaret, son William, son Andrew, daughter Margaret Crow, and son Charles. His eldest son Thomas received no bequest, but he was one of the designated executors, along with his brothers Andrew and William. The will was proved by one witness on November 18, 1762 and by another on February 16, 1763.
Original Will. In the name of God Amen I John Lewis of the County of
Augusta Being reduced by age and Infirmitys to a very low state of
Health Hourly Expecting my Dissolution and Departure of this life I have
thought proper to make the Following Disposition of What worldly good I am
Possessed first Recomending my soul to that being from whom I Received my
Existance firmly Relying on his great goodness that in Jesus Christ he
will receive it graciously my Body to be buried according to the
Discretion of my Executors. It is then my desire that all my just Debt
be paid and this part of my will be performed as soon as possible.
It is my further will that out of what Debts is owing to me and my
Personal Estate a sufficent provision bemade for the Maintainence of
my Dearly beloved wife Margaret. I give and bequeath to my dearly
beloved son William his heirs & assigns that tract or Tenement of Land
with the Mills and Everything thereunto Belonging commonly Called the
Mill place which I hold by a lease of the Late William Beverly Esqr on
the Conditions, hereafter named. I give to my Dear grandson
John son of Andrew the sum of Twentyfive pounds & a horse Called Donald.
I give to my Dearly Beloved Daughter Margaret Crow the sum of
Thirty Pounds. To Each of my children and Each of my Grand
Children of the same name with my self & wife I give Mourning rings.[7]
To my Dearly Beloved son Charles Lewis I give the sum of Ten pounds
to purchase a watch on which my name shall be Engraven on as a
Testimony of my Esteem. It is my further will that if the Debts due me
and my personal Estate should not be sufficient for the purposes above
mentioned that an equal Moiety of the profit of the Mill and lands
above mentioned be apropriated to the Maintenance of my Dear
wife & after her death to the payment of half the legacies to my
daughter Crow and Grandson John in Case my other Effects will
not be sufficient for the above purposes the over plus I give to my Dear
wife to be Disposed of by her as she shall think proper.
It is my further will and pleasure that all my wearing apparal be
given to Patrick Barnet. I further desire that my Executors after
named shall Reward Betty Taylor over and above her wages according
to their discretion for the tender Care she shall Excercise towards [me] in this
my present Illness & that in the same manner & for the same
End to my servant woman Molley. And I do hereby appoint my
sons Thomas, Andrew and William Lewis Executors of this my last will
and Testament declaring this to be my last only will and whereunto
I have caused my seal to be put and signed with my name this 28th day
of November 1761
John Lewis signature and seal
In the presents of
Chas Lewis, Thos. Raferty, Betty Taylor (her mark C)
The stone at his gravesite and monument in Staunton, Virginia, memorializing John Lewis commences with the inscription “Here Lie the Remains of John Lewis Who Slew the Irish Lord Settled Augusta County, Located the City of Staunton And furnished five sons to Fight the Battles of the American Revolution,” and this story of persecution and flight is an important component of the legend of John Lewis.
In 1900, Joseph L. Crowder, a Staunton, Virginia citizen, realized that Lewis’s grave was in a dilapidated state, and the inscription on the monument was even then very hard to read. On 18 November 1900, Mr. Crowder, with great effort, copied this inscription:
” Here Lie the Remains of John Lewis Who Slew the Irish Lord Settled Augusta County, Located the City of Staunton And furnished five sons to Fight the Battles of the American Revolution. He was the son of Andrew Lewis and Mary Calhoun Was born in Donegal County Ireland 1678 and Died February 1, 1762 aged 84 years. He was a brave man A true patriot and a Friend of Liberty Throughout the World. Morta litate Relicta Vivit”
In subsequent years, the citizenry of Staunton saw fit to honor their founder by constructing an obelisk to his memory in Gypsy Hill Park.
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