1700

1700 A.D.

1700:

The Old English sheepdog, bred to herd and protect sheep, is developed in England.

1702:

Queen Anne style furniture begins to gain great popularity; featuring the graceful cabriole leg, the style remains popular through the 20th century.

1704:

The Boston News-Letter, the first officially sanctioned newspaper in North America, begins publication.

1706:

William Wood [WFT Est. 1689-1718-1706] died in Stafford County, Virginia.

1710:

The hoop skirt, a basket-like framework worn as a petticoat, becomes fashionable in England and France; it displays the fine fabrics and trimmings of the elaborate costume of the era.

1733:

A German farmer produces fish by artificial fertilization, greatly advancing the practice of aquaculture, or fish farming.

1716-1740s:

Passes across the Blue Ridge mountains leading from eastern Virginia into the Shenandoah Valley were discovered. Emigrants from Pennsylvania and New Jersey began to enter the valley.

The Manor of Leeds played a prominent role in the history of Virginia and probably the Wood family. The following article helps explain it.

THE MANOR OF LEEDS

By Jean Stephenson

The crest of the Blue Ridge from Chester Gap to Ashby Gap has associations with many people famous in our history, not only in colonial times, but of more recent days. All this land was part of the Northern Neck grant which ultimately came to the Barons Fairfax of Cameron. The roll of agents for the Fairfax family includes some of the most noted names in Virginia -- Colonel Nicholas Spencer, Colonel Philip Ludwell, George Brent, William Fitzhugh, Colonel Robert Carter (known from his vast possessions and power as "King" Carter), and lastly, William Fairfax and his son, of "Belvoir", the friends of Washington.

Much of the Northern Neck land was sold outright, but a few "Manors" were erected, over which Lord Fairfax, as "Lord of the Manor", retained seignorial rights and privileges. One of the first of these was the "Manors of Leeds", named for Leeds Castle, Co. Kent England, the seat of the Fairfax family. Thomas, Lord Fairfax came to Virginia in 1736, laid out the Manor of Leeds, had it surveyed by John Warner, and then went back to England. When he returned in 1745, he stayed first with his cousin, William Fairfax, who was his agent at Belvoir, in what vies then Fairfax County. However, he felt that the country was too civilized and as the foxes were getting scarce, he built a new home, "Greenway Court", across the mountains in what was then Frederick County, now Clarke County. Here buffalo, elk, deer, bear, foxes, etc., abounded, and here he lived until his death. He had previously granted Greenway Court Manor to his nephew, Thomas Bryan Martin, for a rental, to be paid each Michaelmas, of one buck and one doe, a quaint survival of an old English custom. Now the best fox-hunting country in Virginia is on and to the east of the Manor of Leeds.

[Note: The estate of "Greenway Court" was situated approximately one mile south of what is now White Post, Virginia, near route 277 in Clark County. The original hunting lodge that served as Lord Fairfax's home is no longer standing; but the limestone building used as his land office is still standing. Fairfax never completed a palatial mansion as he had planned. See picture at your right.]

The Manor of Leeds contained 119,927 acres between Hedgeman River on the upper side of Carters Run, on the branches of Goose Creek, on the lower side of the Shenandoah River below Happy Creek, including the Blue Ridge between Happy Creek Gap (now Chester Gap) and Ashby's Gap. In this tract he leased most of the land usually for the life of the lessee and any other two persons, with the privilege of renewal indefinitely; but some lots were leased for twenty-one years at a yearly rental of one shilling, the lessee to have the land surveyed, to build a house twenty feet long, sixteen feet wide, with a stone or brick chimney, and to plant an orchard of a hundred apple trees thirty feet apart.

Later other manors were established nearby, one unnamed covering the land from Ashby's Gap to Williams' Gap (now Snickers Gap), and another, "Gooney Run Manor", between Gooney Run and Happy Creek. After the Stamp Act agitation, Fairfax evidently foresaw trouble, for in 1767 he conveyed these manors and the South Branch Manor to his nephew, Thomas Bryan Martin, who reconveyed them to him, thus giving him a private title as well as a seignorial title to them. The seignorial title ceased with the success of the Revolution, but the private title remained good.

After Fairfax's death in 1781, the title of the lands vested in Denny Martin, although there was much controversy over them. One of decisions that established the jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court over State Supreme Courts arose out of the Fairfax land cases.

But meanwhile, after the Revolution, land speculation was rife Everyone was going to make a fortune in lands. Some did, but more lost all they had. Among the most active speculators was Robert Morris, "the financier of the Revolution", whose daughter married James Markham Marshall. The Marshalls lived near Little Cobbler Mountain, and so were familiar with "Leeds". About 1793 John Marshall, later Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, his brother James Markham Marshall, their brother-in-law Raleigh Colston, and General Henry Lee (Light Horse Harry) formed a syndicate to purchase from Denny Martin and the other Fairfax heirs the Manor of Leeds, Gooney Run Manor, the unnamed Manor reaching to Williams' Gap, and certain other lands. The speculation was almost disastrous, as the title was clouded so they could not sell the land, and it was not until 1806 that it was cleared.

Meanwhile, the Marshalls had become heavily involved, and finally, against his inclination, John Marshall was forced to accept an appointment in 1797 as one of the envoys from the United States to France. Writing of this, Thomas Jefferson states, "Had he not been appointed minister to France, he was desperate in his affairs and must have sold his estate". He received about $20,000 for his services (an ambassador's services were evidently valued more highly then than now), and with this and other sums he and James raised, he was able to complete the purchase.

When the syndicate divided the property, Raleigh Colston received the unnamed Manor and "Gooney Run Manor", James the Winchester lots and certain non-manorial land, while John Marshall kept the Manor of Leeds. The two peaks of North and South Marshall below Chester Gap commemorate the Marshall association and ownership.

The old name of Chester Gap was Happy Creek Gap, while Manassas was "Calmese Gap", called after Marquis Calmes who married the daughter of William Waller. Ashby's was first called "the Upper Thoroughfare of the Blue Ridge", but after Thomas Ashby received land on Goose Creek at its junction with Crooked Run (the present site of Delaplane), and later settled near what is now Paris, it became known as Ashby's Bent, and still later as Ashby's Gap. This Thomas Ashby was a prominent citizen both there and in Frederick County where he subsequently lived. His son John Ashby was a noted Indian fighter and bore to the Governor at Williamsburg the dispatches telling of Braddock's defeat and death.

The most distinguished member of the family, however, was Col. Turner Ashby, of Civil War fame, who is so graphically described in John Esten Cooke's "Surry of Eagle's Nest", which, although a novel gives one of the best accounts of the Valley Campaign, and the first two years of the Civil War in the Upper Virginia section. Many of the scenes are laid in the country around the Manor of Leeds and elsewhere in Fauquier County.

And speaking of names, it is interesting to realize that Francis Fauquier, for whom the County was named, received his appointment as Governor of Virginia after coming to the attention of the public and government officials as author of a pamphlet, "An Essay on Ways and Means for raising Money for the Support of the Present War without increasing the Public Debts", in which he advocated a graduated income tax, as any tax on wages or on necessaries is always shifted from the laborer to the employer and will ultimately be paid by the consumer. Thus, it is evident that the problems of income tax versus sales tax and tariffs were worrying the government leaders two hundred years ago and that bright young men were suitably rewarded then as now when their views met with the approval of those in high places. But little did he dream that he would be remembered chiefly because of the country named for him and its fame as the fox hunting country of Virginia. (The foregoing is an historic reprint from the April 1934 Edition of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club Bulletin.)

1740:

William Wood [1689/1718-1743/1803] fathered a son named Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1706]. Dickerson was born in either Fauquier or Stafford County, Virginia sometime between 1740-1747. Some records spell his name as "Dickinson." His mother's identity is not known. Donald Clark, Louisville, Kentucky, opines, "it is quite likely that Dickerson Wood was named for his mother's side of the family, but that has not been established."

Dickerson Wood's [1740/1747-1706] future wife, a woman named Mary _____ [1740- ] was also born in 1740 in either Fauquier or Stafford County, Virginia.

Donald A. Clark, of Lexington, Kentucky, worked on the genealogy a number of years ago. In a letter dated May 25, 1997 Clark wrote to Larita Couch, also researching the Wood family.

Clark's letter to Couch stated:

Dear Larita,
Good to talk with a Wood descendant. Enclosed you will find everything I have been able to develop. Most of this work was done 16 or 17 years ago and added to or corrected as better information has become available. I hoped that Gott or others would produce more books from Fauquier County records, but so far there has been little activity in that area.

As you will see I had information on a Dickerson Wood in Marion County, West Virginia that would now suggest there may be another part of this line or simply be a strange matter of coincidence. It was something I wanted to follow-up on at a later date and never got around to pursuing to a conclusion.

It is known that George Edward Wood went west to Missouri and did correspond with his cousin Monterville S. Clark, son of his sister, Margaret "Peggy" Wood Clark. [Note: There is more about George Edward Wood later.]

I wish there was more to help you with and trust that somewhere in the future we may find out more about this line.

Regards,

Don Clark

Clark enclosed the following with his letter to Couch:

At this time the earliest provable roots to the Wood family in early Virginia are those of Dickerson Wood Sr. (ca. 1740?-1803) who was the father of William Wood who came to Kentucky in May 1816. It is quite likely that Dickerson was named for his mothers side of the family, but this has not been established. [Note: That Dickerson Wood was the father of William Wood is contrary to what I believe is true.]
It is suspected that there is a connection to Edward Dickenson Sr., a planter of Falmouth, St. Georges Parish, Spotsylvania County. There was a William Wood and Elijah Wood of Stafford County who are likely candidates to have married into the Dickenson line and be the father of Dickerson Wood. It should be noted that Dickerson and Dickenson were frequently interchanged and it is not at all clear what was the preferred choice.

A William Wood and Elias Wood were early arrivals in Fauquier County. They possibly were brothers. It is suspected that Dickerson Wood was a brother with them and they are of William Wood of Stafford County as was a James Wood. The fact that Dickerson Wood named sons, William, Elijah and James along with a Dickerson Jr. suggests again there is a connection to William and Elijah of Stafford County. A 1774 Fauquier County deed transaction refers to land on Buck Run together with "Dickensons pretensions." For now there is little that can be done with these ideas about earlier roots.

The first tangible record of Dickerson Wood is on 1 November of 1771 when he took a standard lease for 100 acres from Lord Fairfax, the Baron of Cameron in Scotland. It called for him to build "or cause to be built a good and sufficient dwelling house" and plant 150 "good apple trees at fifty feet distance in regular order." He was to pay 20 shillings sterling on Christmas Day of each year. Eldest child, Mary was named as successor to the lease. (Fauquier Co. Deed Book 3:41-45).

It is a reasonable assumption that since so many leases were signed around 1771 that there was a concerted effort to open this area of Virginia to the yeoman planter and put the large proprietary grants to productive use. Dickerson Wood and many like him seem to have been drawn to this opportunity very quickly. The proximity to the Rapphannock River was of great interest because it provided a natural transportation corridor to the Falmouth/Fredericksburg and the markets they provided to trade tobacco and other goods. It should be noted that at this time that the northern portion of the Rappahannock above the fork with the Rapidann, was then called the Hedgeman River apparently in honor of Peter Hedgeman, a mill operator.

One of the key neighbors of Dickerson Wood was Richard Corley (Crawley) who was drawn to the Manor of Leeds at this time apparently by the same inducement. Corley lived 1 1/2 miles above Dickerson Wood at the junction of the Hedgeman and Buck Run Creek.

The Woods seem to have lived almost exactly where present day Crest Hill, Virginia is on Route 647. They were probably a little southeast of where the little church and graveyard are today. This location is approximately 2 miles west of where Pipers Church and mill were once located. This is near present day Orlean. Route 747 goes across the river to Flint Hill and the area where the Notley Maddox family lived.

It is quite likely that Dickerson was part of the Colonial Militia and in someway contributed to American independence, however there are no records to support this. In 1778 he appeared on Tripletts tithable list with a slave named Luck. His neighbors were Joseph Smith, John Smoot, William and John Day. The Crims (Crimms) were also neighbors and they later showed up in Henry/Carroll County, Kentucky with the Smoots.

In the 1786 Court Minute book it shows that Dickerson was granted a judgment against Elizabeth Snelling (widow of Benjamin Snelling d. 1774). This was possibly a defaulted payment. At this same time he was appointed surveyor of the road in place of Joseph Barbee. The 1787 tax list of Edward Hunston shows Dickerson with 2 blacks, 6 horses and 7 cattle. Dickerson Jr. was listed separately.

In 1791 Dickerson approved the estate inventory of James Withers. James Withers had earlier witnessed the will of John Maddox (Culpeper in 1782) and Mary Maddox in 1787. They were the parents of Notley Maddox, grandfather of Nancy Corley Wood, the daughter-in-law of Dickerson in 1805. In 1793 Dickerson Wood Jr. married Hannah Withers, the daughter of James.

Dickerson Jr. joined his brother-in-law, Darnold Wood in Culpeper County after his father died in 1803 while his brother, William seems to have stayed at the home place until joining with the many others leaving for Kentucky in ca. 1816. It is not known if any other Woods came to Kentucky. Dickerson Jr. later settled in what became Marion County, West Virginia and there were descendents by his name in the 1880 census.

1750:

1750-1784: Land grants made to the Ohio Company encouraged exploration beyond the Alleghenies. The new area southeast of the Ohio River was organized by Virginia in 1775 as the District of West Augusta, although much of this was ceded to Pennsylvania in 1786.

1759:

May 1, 1759: Fauquier County, Virginia was split off from its parent county, Prince William County. Warrenton is the county seat. It received its name from Francis Fauquier, Governor of Virginia at the time. Its boundaries have remained unchanged since.

The first settlers in the frontier area that became Fauquier arrived in the second decade of the eighteenth century. At that time it was part of the Proprietorship of the Northern Neck, in Stafford and Richmond counties.

Almost all of the land had been granted by the Proprietors through their agents by 1750. Those patents included one for the Manor of Leeds giving Thomas Lord Fairfax, the last of the Proprietors, direct title to 120,000 acres, most of which lay in the foothills of the Blue Ridge in northwest Fauquier. Lord Fairfax began leases -- for lives -- in his Manor in 1753. By the time of the Revolution the population of the half of the county north of the Courthouse village (now Warrenton) exceeded that below it, and the frontier had crossed the Blue Ridge into the Shenandoah Valley and beyond.

1760:

Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803] married Mary _____ [1740- ] sometime between 1760-1765 in Fauquier County, Virginia. Nothing more is known about Mary. It is believed that Dickerson and Mary had eight children:

Mary Wood [1762- ]
Elizabeth Wood [1766- ] in Fauquier County, Virginia
Ann Wood [1769 - ] in Fauquier County, Virginia
William Wood [1770-1819] in Fauquier County, Virginia
Dickerson Wood [1773- ] Fauquier County, Virginia
Elijah Thornton Wood [Abt. 1776-1843] in Fauquier County, Virginia
Isabella Wood [1777-1805/1871] in Fauquier County, Virginia
James Wood [1781-1853] in Fauquier County, Virginia

The first shoe factory opens, in Massachusetts.

1761:

J. B. Delaborde of France invents the first electric musical instrument, an electric harpsichord.

The first steel scissors are produced by English industrialist Robert Hinchliffe. Scissors in various forms had been in use in Asia and Europe since ancient times.

Five-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart begins composing short musical pieces. The child prodigy develops into one of the West's great musical talents.

1762:

The first child of Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803] and Mary _____ [1740- ] is believed to have been Mary Wood [1762- ], born, probably, in Virginia.

1763:

The French and Indian War ended. Great Britain was in total control of North America. Colonel George Washington gained military experience in the campaigns of the war.

1764:

The British Parliament passed the "Sugar Act." The taxation caused a continual state of crisis between Great Britain and the American colonies. This type of thing recurs in history. Governments, by their nature, are always hungry for money. Governments, of course, are run by the aristocracy. The aristocracy required huge sums of money from the "peasants" in order to maintain their life style. The stage was being set for the Revolutionary War.

1765:

May 30, 1965: Patrick Henry delivered his famous "Caesar-Brutus" speech opposing the Stamp Act at Williamsburg, Virginia.

1766:

Elizabeth Wood [Abt. 1766- ], the second child of Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803] and Mary _____-Wood [1740-1815 ], was born in Fauquier County, Virginia.

1769:

Ironically, the magnificent natural harbor of San Francisco Bay is discovered on an overland expedition from the south led by Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolá.

Ann Wood [1769- ], the third child of Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803] and Mary _____ Wood [1740-1815 ], was born in Fauquier County, Virginia.

1770:

William Wood [1770-1819], the fourth child of Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803 and Mary _____ Wood [Abt. 1740-1815], was born in Fauquier County, Virginia.

Dickerson Wood Jr. [abt.1770-1803], sixth child of Dickerson and Mary, was born.

The Wilderness Road opened access across the Cumberland Gap from Virginia into Kentucky during the 1770's. The area that was to become Kentucky was organized as Kentucky County, Virginia, in 1776.

English chemist Joseph Priestly gives the name "rubber" to caoutchouc resin because it can rub out marks.

On November 1, 1770 Dickerson Wood took a standard lease for 100 acres from Lord Fairfax, the Baron of Cameron in Scotland. The lease called for Dickerson Wood to build "or cause to be built a good and sufficient dwelling house" and plant 150 "good apple trees at fifty feet distance in regular order." Dickerson Wood was to pay 20 shillings sterling on Christmas Day of each year. Dickerson's eldest child, Mary, was named as successor to the lease. (Source: Fauquier County Virginia Deed Book 3: pages 41-45).

The indenture from Thomas Lord Fairfax to Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803] can be found recorded in Deed Book 5, at page 45, of the records of Fauquier County, Virginia. It reads:

This Indenture made this first day of November Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and Between the Right Honourable Thomas Lord Fairfax Baron of Cameron in that part of Great Britain called Scotland of the one part and Dickerson Wood of the County of Fauquier and Colony of Virginia of the other part
Witnesseth that the said Thomas Lord Fairfax in Consideration of the yearly Rents and Covenants hereinafter expressed hath demised set and to farm

Let and by these presents doth demise set and to farm Let unto the said Dickerson Wood one messuage tenement and parcel of Land situate lying and being in the said County of Fauquier being part of that tract or parcel of lands called and known by the name of the Manor of Leeds bounded as followeth viz

BEGINNING at the corner of Smootes and Hoppen Lott between a Red Oak white Oak and two Chestnuts thence along the line of the said Smootes Lott (illegible) poles to a white oak and red oak then (illegible) poles to three (illegible) oaks then (illegible) to the said Hoppers Line then along the same (illegible) to the Beginning containing one hundred acres together with all orchards meadows pastures ways woods waters and water courses and all and singular the liberties profits easements and emoluments belonging or in anywise appertaining except as hereafter excepted unto the said Lott to have and to hold the said messuage and one hundred acres of land with all and singular the appurtenances thereunto belonging for and during the natural life of him the said Dickerson Wood and for and during the natural lives of Mary his wife and Mary Wood his daughter and every of them longer living yielding and paying therefore yearly and every year during the said term hereby granted unto the said Thomas Lord Fairfax his certain attorney his heirs executor administrator and assigning the yearly rent or sum of twenty shillings (illegible) at and upon the nativity of our blessed Lord and Saviour (illegible) the twenty fifth day of December and if it shall happen that the said yearly rent or sum of twenty shillings sterling should be behind and unpaid either in the whole or in part by the space of twenty days next after the said twenty fifth day of December which the same ought to be paid as aforesaid being lawfully demanded and no sufficient distress can or maybe found on the premises or hereby the same may be levied that then and from thence forth it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Thomas Lord Fairfax his certain Attorney his heirs executors administrators and assigns into the before demised premises with the appurtenances or into any part there of in the same of the whole to reenter and the same to have again.

Map of Virginia showing Fauquier County.

Similar leases signed around 1770 appear to be an effort to open that area of Virginia to the yeoman planter and put large proprietary grants to productive use. Dickerson Wood--and many like him--seem to have been drawn to the opportunity. The proximity to the Rappahannock River was of interest because it provided a natural transportation means to Falmouth/Fredericksburg, and the markets they provided, to trade tobacco and other goods. The Northern portion of the Rappahannock River above the fork with the Rapidann River was then called the Hedgeman River, apparently in honor of Peter Hedgeman, a mill operator.

One of the neighbors of Dickerson Wood was Richard Corley (father of Acquilla Corley) who was drawn to the Manor of Leeds apparently by the same inducement. Corley lived one and one-half miles above Dickerson Wood at the junction of the Hedgeman River and Buck Run Creek.

Dickerson Wood seems to have lived almost exactly where Crest Hill, Virginia is today. He was probably a little southeast of where a little church and graveyard are today. This location is approximately 2 miles West of where Pipers Church and the mill were once located. This is near present day Orlean and Flint Hill, the area where the Notley Maddox family lived. The star in the following Yahoo map shows the location of Crest Hill.

Map of Crest Hill, VA

November 1, 1771:

Deed Book 5, page 45, Fauquier County, Virginia has the following:

...1 Nov. 17__ Btwn Lord Fairfax, one part, and DICKERSON WOOD, County of Fauquier, other part. Land in Fauquier Co. lying in Manor of Leeds...beginning at corner of Smoot's and Hoppins...during natural life of Dickerson Wood, Mary, his wife, and Mary Wood, daughter, and every of them living longest...yearly rent 20 sh: sterling. Wit: John Chilton, John Pepper, Thomas Keith. Recorded: 5th May 1772. (Source: Wood-Woods Exchange, January 1958, Vol. 8.)

1772:

January 19, 1772: Overend Dixon [Abt. 1772- ], who will turn out to be my great-great-great grandfather, was born in England.

1773:

March 12, 1773: The continuing taxation of the colonists by Britain prompted the various colonies to explore coordination of their protests. On March 12, 1773 at Williamsburg, Virginia the House of Burgesses established a Committee of Correspondence to communicate with the other colonies. Virginia was the first colony to propose an inter-colonial link.

Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803] and Mary _____ [1740-1815]'s third and fourth children were sons, Dickerson [1773-1799/1864] and William [1773-1819], both purportedly born in 1773 in Fauquier County, Virginia. Whether they are twins is not known. It appears reasonable to conclude that William was named after his grandfather, William Wood [1689/1718-1743/1803].

A William Wood was on the King George County, Virginia 1773 rent roll. I don’t know whether this is Dickerson’s father or not.

On December 16, 1773 about 340 chests of tea were dumped into the harbor in the "Boston Tea Party" in protest of taxation.

1774:

The year of 1774 was a busy year in the colonies. The colonists were getting fed up with Great Britain.

March 31, 1774 under the Boston Port Act the Parliament, in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, closed the port of Boston until payment was made for the dumped tea.

On May 27, 1774 at Williamsburg, Virginia, the Boston Port Act was denounced by the colonists and one of the earliest proposals in America was made and acted on for a "continental congress."

On June 1, 1774 many Virginians observed a day of fast in support of Boston's action.

June 18, 1774 at Alexandria, Virginia, the Fairfax Resolves were drafted by George Mason and George Washington suspending trade with Britain and calling for a continental congress.

Between August 1-6, 1774 the Fairfax Resolves were adopted. Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison and Edmund Pendleton were elected to represent Virginia in Congress.

The First Continental Congress met September 5, 1774 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Peyton Randolph was elected President.

Donald Clark thinks that William Wood [1770-1819] and Elijah Wood [1776- ] were among the early arrivals to Fauquier County, Virginia. Clark suspects that William [1773-1819], Elijah [1776- ], Dickerson [1773-1799/1864] and James Wood [?-?] were brothers.

1775:

Sometime in about 1775 Dinah Walton [Abt. 1775- ], who will later marry Overend Dixon [1772- ], was born in England.

January 14, 1775: The Crown prohibited the sale of arms to the colonies. Gun control had arrived in North America.

March 23, 1775: At St. John’s Church, Richmond, Virginia, Patrick Henry made his famous "Liberty or Death" speech. The delegates voted to put the Virginia colony "into a posture of defense."

April 19, 1775: the battles of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts occurred.

April 21, 1775: Dunmore ordered the Royal Marines to remove the provincial powder supply from Williamsburg, Virginia.

May 2, 1775: Patrick Henry assembled the Hanover County militia and marched on Williamsburg. Dunmore backed down, offering to pay for the seized powder and gained a truce.

May 6, 1775: Dunmore declared Patrick Henry an outlaw.

May 10, 1775: The Second Continental Congress met at Philadelphia, with Patrick Henry attending. John Hancock replaced the ailing Peyton Randolph as President.

June 15, 1775: The Second Continental Congress unanimously selected George Washington to be Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.

June 17, 1775: The Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed’s Hill) took place in Massachusetts.

July 15, 1775: Captain Daniel Morgan’s rifle company was en route to George Washington’s camp in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Captain Hugh Stephenson and his company left on July 17. The two units were the first Continental troops recruited in Virginia.

July 16, 1775: Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first Postmaster General. (Note: Wonder how much postage cost back then.]

In the fall of 1775 Virginia established a manufactory of arms at Fredericksburg.

Between October 25-26 Dunmore unsuccessfully attempted to burn Hampton.

November 15, 1775: Dunmore fortified Great Bridge. The British routed the patriots at Kemp's Landing in the first armed encounter in Virginia and the South.

November 23, 1775: British forces, under Dunmore’s command, occupied Norfolk, Virginia. That same day, the Patriots, led by Colonel William Woodford, defeated the British at Second Great Bridge.

December 14, 1775: Both the Virginia and North Carolina militia occupied Norfolk, Virginia.

December 31, 1775: New Years Eve the Colonists assaulted Quebec, led by General Richard Montgomery and Colonel Benedict Arnold and were disastrously repulsed.

1776:

January 1, 1776: New Years Day, Dunmore ordered the British fleet to open fire on Norfolk. Most of the town burned.

February 28, 1776: Patrick Henry resigned when he was not promoted to brigadier general.

May 15, 1776: At Williamsburg, the Virginia Convention unanimously voted to instruct the Virginia delegates in Congress to introduce a resolution for independence from Great Britain.

May 22, 1776: The Virginia Committee of Safety sent an expedition West to buy powder from the Spanish.

1776 June 12: At Williamsburg, Virginia, the first Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in America. Written by George Mason, the document later had widespread influence and became the model for the Federal Bill of Rights.

June 19, 1776: The First Virginia Constitution, largely the ideas of George Mason and Thomas Jefferson, was adopted.

July 4, 1776: The Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson, was adopted by the Continental Congress at Philadelphia.

August 27, 1776: The British, under command of General Howe, defeated the colonists in the Battle of Long Island.

September 15, 1776: The British occupied New York City.

November 16, 1776: The British captured Fort Washington, New York.

December 25, 1776: Christmas Day George Washington crossed the Delaware and in a surprise attack on the British, took Trenton.

William Wood [1689/1718-1743/1803] was on the Dunmore County, Virginia rent roll in 1776.

Elijah Wood [1776- ], second son of Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803], was born.

1777:

January 3, 1777: George Washington won a victory at Princeton.

August 16, 1777: The Patriots crushed the Hessians at Bennington, Vermont. But, on September 11 the British won at Brandywine Creek, Pennsylvania.

September 19 and October 17 the battles of Saratoga, New York ended with Burgoyne’s surrender of British forces.

October 4, 1777: The British repulsed Washington at Germantown, Pennsylvania. The British captured the Virginia 9^th Regiment.

December 19, 1777: Washington’s army began the winter at Valley Forge. While there Baron von Steuben drilled the soldiers in military tactics.

Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803] was listed in 1777 on the rent roll as a Tenant of the Manor of Leeds in Fauquier County, Virginia. (State: VA Year: 1777, County: Fauquier, County Record Type: Rent Role, Township: Leeds Manour Page:, Database: VA Early Census Index at www.ancestry.com.)

1778:

Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803] may have been a part of the Colonial Militia and in some way contributed to American Independence. But no known records support this possibility. In 1778 Dickerson appeared on Triplett’s tithable list with a slave named Luck. His neighbors were Joseph Smith, John Smoot, William and John Day. The Crims (Crimm?) were also neighbors and later showed up in Henry/Carroll County, Kentucky with the Smoots.

Isabella Wood [1778-1805/1871], alleged to be the sixth child and second daughter of Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803] and Mary _____ [1740-1815], was born in 1778 in Fauquier County, Virginia. She lived part of the time in Culpeper County, Virginia.

Many of the inhabitants of Fauquier County, Virginia, after the Revolution, had "itchy feet" or at least their younger children did.

Thomas Jefferson raises tomatoes at Monticello, Va. A native of South America, the fruit is introduced to North America from Europe.

1779:

Young Napoleon Bonaparte, arrives at the military school of Brienne in France and is subjected to hazing and humiliation. He later conquers much of Europe.

1780:

December 4, 1780: Mary Wood [1762- ], daughter of Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803] and Mary _____ Wood [Abt. 1740-1815], at age 18, married John Carter [ -Bef. 1795] in Fauquier County, Virginia. I don't know if they had children or not.

1781:

Samuel Morrow [1781-1871], Lillie's great-grandfather, was born in Clonquish Parish, Longford, Longford County, Ireland. He later married Susannah Sadlier [1791-1878], the daughter of a Squire. Samuel became a member of the Grenadier Guard which guarded the King.

This is a map of Ireland.

This is a parish map of Ireland showing the location of Clonquish Parish.

LONGFORD This county lies nearly in the centre of Ireland, and is bounded on the east and south by Westmeath, on the north by Cavan, on the north-west by Leitrim, and Lough Ree separates Longford from Roscommon on the south and west. The form of the county is oblong, extending from north-east to south- south-west; measuring about thirty miles between those points, and fifteen miles in breadth from south-east to north-west. Its area comprises 269,409 acres; of which 191,800 acres are arable; 4,600 plantations; 360 occupied by towns; 13,600 covered by water, and the remainder, nearly 58,000 acres, irreclaimable or uncultivated land. The general outline of the county presents little to attract the eye: it is for the most part flat, and in many places overspread with large tracts of bog; while towards the north, on the borders of Leitrim, the surface rises into bleak and sterile mountains. The soil of the county, like the surface, is exceedingly various, changing from a light thin mould to a deep loamy clay. The elevated districts between Edgeworthstown and Longford have a good soil which yields abundant crops of grain; but the land in many parts is so much encumbered with surface water, as to present a serious impediment to the agriculturist. The average rent of land is 12s. 3d. an acre. Large crops of oats and flax are annually raised in this county, and the produce of the dairy, in butter especially, is extensive; the chief market for these commodities is Drogheda. Many females are occupied in spinning, and the linen manufacture prevails to some extent. The mineral treasures of Longford are few; lead ore has been found in several of the limestone quarries, likewise in some of the mountain streams, and it has even been turned up by the plough, but no efforts have yet been made to trace or work the veins. Ironstone of a good kind exists near the shores of Lough Gownagh; coal-slate in more than one locality; ochres, of various colours, in different districts; limestone and marble is plenteous in many parts; jasper in the barony of Moydow, with fine slate in the barony of Ardagn. The principal rivers that water the interior of the county are the Camlin and the Kenagh; while the Shannon forms its western boundary, and the Inny benefits a part of the southern district; and there are many streams, tributary and otherwise, by which the county is ornamented and irrigated. The lakes are numerous, and some of them of considerable extent; the largest one, Lough Ree, on the south and south-western boundary of the county, and Lough Gawnagh, in its north-eastern quarter. The Royal Canal, with its branches traverse a large extent of Longford, presenting a facile means of bearing the produce of the county to other parts. in September, 1843, there were thirty national schools in operation in the county, attended by four thousand children or more. [From Pigot's and Slater's Topography of the British Isles.]

1782:

James Withers, father of Hannah Withers [Abt. 1780- ] (who later married Dickerson Wood [1773-1799/1864]), witnessed the will of John Maddox, Culpeper County in 1782. John Maddox and his wife, Mary Maddox, were the parents of Notley Maddox, grandfather of Nancy Corley [1786-1860], who later married William Wood [1770-1819], and became the daughter-in-law of Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803] in 1805.

1784:

In 1784, Virginia formally ceded its claims north of the Ohio River to the United States.

1786:

September 3, 1786: Dickerson Wood [1773-1799/1864] married Hannah Withers[1780- ], daughter of James Withers and Elizabeth Rosser, in Fauquier County, Virginia. Dickerson and Hannah had five boys and 4 girls. All the boys, except Gabriel Wood [1797- ], went to Nakomis, Montgomery County, Illinois.

A 1786 Court Minute Book shows Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803] was granted a civil judgment against Elizabeth Snelling (widow of Benjamin Snelling who died 1774). It was possibly a default judgment. At the same time Dickerson was appointed surveyor of a road in place of Joseph Barbee.

1787:

The 1787 tax list of Edward Humston shows Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803] with 2 blacks, 6 horses and 7 cattle. Dickerson Wood [1773-1799/1864] was listed separately.

1788:

Robert Muir [1767-1820/1830] married Jane Vallandingham [1771-1828] in about 1788. Robert and Jane will become the grandparents of Nancy Jane Batts [1823-1905], one of my grandmothers.

In 1788 Virginia ratified the United States constitution to become a state.

1791:

Thomas Burchett Batts, Jr. [1791-1871], future father of Nancy Jane Batts [1823-1905], was born in 1791 in Kentucky.

James Withers [1755-1784], father of Hannah Withers [1780- ], died in 1791.

Susannah Sadlier [1791-1878] was born in Ireland. Susannah, the daughter of a Squire, will ultimately marry Samuel Morrow in 1808.

1792:

Kentucky became a state.

January 5, 1792: A Marriage Bond was issued for the marriage of John Withers [1769/1770-Aft. 1828] and Ann Wood [1769- ], age 23, the third daughter of Dickerson Wood [1740/1747-1803] and Mary _____ Wood [Abt. 1740-1815], in Fauquier County, Virginia. ("Wood-Woods Exchange,", a Quarterly Devoted to Southern Wood and Woods Families, Volume Eight, January 1958, Number 1, page 16.) [Note: In earlier times, a marriage bond was given to the court by the intended groom prior to his marriage. It affirmed that there was no moral or legal reason why the couple could not be married and it also affirmed that the groom would not change his mind. If he did, and did not marry the intended bride, he would forfeit the bond. The bondsman, or surety, was often a brother or uncle to the bride, not necessarily a parent. The bondsman could also be related to the groom, or even be a neighbor or friend, but those situations occurred less often.] I don't know whether Ann and John Withers had children.

June 25, 1792: Dickerson Wood approved the estate inventory of James Withers. James Withers had earlier witnessed the will of John Maddox (Culpeper County, VA in 1782) and Mary Maddox in 1787. John Maddox and Mary Maddox were the parents of Notley Maddox, grandfather of Nancy Corley, the daughter-in-law of Dickerson Wood in 1805.

Mary Muir [1792-1830], future wife of Thomas Burchett Batts [1791-1871], was born in Kentucky.

1793:

December 24, 1793: A Bond of Marriage for Dickerson Wood Jr. [1773-1864] and Hannah Withers [1780- ] was executed and delivered by John Withers, Hannah's father, to Henry Lee, Esquire, Governor of Virginia. ("Wood-Woods Exchange,", a Quarterly Devoted to Southern Wood and Woods Families, Volume Eight, January 1958, Number 1, page 16.)

The marriage bond reads:

Know all men by these Presents, That we Dickerson Wood and John Withers are held and firmly bound unto his Excellency Henry Lee, Esq. Governor of Virginia, in the just and full sum of one hundred fifty dollars, current money, to which payment well and truly to be made, to the said Governor or his successors, we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors, and administrators, jointly and severally, firmly by these Presents: Sealed with our seal, and dated this 24 day of December 1793.

The condition of the above obligation is such, that, whereas there is a marriage suddenly intended to be solemnized, between the above bound Dickerson Wood and Hannah Withers now if there be no lawful cause to obstruct the said Marriage, then the above obligation to be void and of no effect, otherwise to remain in full force and virtue.

Sealed and delivered in presence of (illegible)

/s/ Dickerson Wood

/s/John Withers

Dickerson Wood [1773-1799/1864] thereafter married Hannah Withers [1780- ], daughter of James Withers [1755-1784] and Elizabeth Rosser Withers [ - ], in Fauquier County, Virginia. Dickerson and Hannah had eight children: (1) Gabriel, (2) Elizabeth, (3) Polly, (4) Malinda (5) Amelia, (6) Fred, (7) Elias, and (8) Absolam. All the boys, except for Gabriel, went to Nakomis, Montgomery County, Illinois.

Thomas Burchette Batts [1791-1871], father of Nancy Jane Batts [1792-1739], settled at "Tom-Tom Town" in Carroll County, Kentucky, on the South fork of Mill Creek. He operated a mill there.

1795:

February 8, 1795: Overend Dixon [Abt. 1772- ] and Dinah Walton-Dixon [Abt.1775- ] were married at the Calverley Church, Calverley, Yorkshire, England. They will ultimately have a child they named John Dixon [ - ].

December 10, 1795: A Marriage Bond was issued for the marriage of James Payne [1771-1857] and Elizabeth Wood [1766- ], age 29, daughter of Dickerson Wood [1740-1747-1803] and Mary _____ Wood [Abt. 1740-1815], in Fauquier County, Virginia. ("Wood-Woods Exchange,", a Quarterly Devoted to Southern Wood and Woods Families, Volume Eight, January 1958, Number 1, page 16.) Elizabeth and James Payne had nine children:

Armstead Payne [ - ]
Berryman Payne [ - ]
Elizabeth Payne [ - ]
Frances Payne [ - ]
James Wood Payne [ - ]
John Wood Payne [ - ]
Joseph William Payne [ - ]
Mary Payne [ - ]
William Wood Payne [ - ]

December 28, 1795: A Marriage Bond was issued for the marriage of David Cunnagy and Mary Wood, daughter of Dickerson Wood [1740-1747-1803] and Mary _____ Wood [Abt. 1740-1815], in Fauquier County, Virginia. ("Wood-Woods Exchange,", a Quarterly Devoted to Southern Wood and Woods Families, Volume Eight, January 1958, Number 1, page 16.)

English surgeon Edward Jenner successfully inoculates eight-year-old James Phipps against smallpox, introducing the era of vaccination.

1796:

Edward Jenner inoculates an eight-year-old boy with smallpox matter, resulting in the development of a vaccine against the disease.

1799:

Henry County, Kentucky was formed in 1799 from Shelby County. It is located in the Outer Bluegrass region of the state. It was named after the famous Virginian, Patrick "Give me liberty or give me death" Henry. In 1824, a portion of Henry County became part of Oldham County and, in 1837, another portion became part of Trimble County. The elevation in the county ranges from 425 to 950 feet above sea level. In 1990 the county population was 12,823 in a land area of 289 square miles, an average of 44.4 people per square mile. The county seat is New Castle.

February 19, 1799: A marriage bond in Fauquier County, Virginia was issued for the marriage of Darnold Wood [1753/1779-1804/1866] and Isabella Wood [1778-1805/1871]. ("Wood-Woods Exchange,", a Quarterly Devoted to Southern Wood and Woods Families, Volume Eight, January 1958, Number 1, page 16.) I'm not sure of the identify of Darnold Wood's parents. He and Isabella may well have been cousins.

This page last modified on Tuesday October 15, 2002