| Virginia Soldiers of
1776, Vol. II. pp. 735-36, by Louis A. burgess (Richmond 1929);
"Executive Department, August 15, 1834
"Ambrose Lewis, Seaman: Exec. Dept.
Aug. 15, 1834. The heirs of Ambrose Lewis are allowed L.B. (land
bounty) for his services as a seaman in the State Navy. Littleton
Tazewell, Gov.
The undersigned, "the only living
heirs of Ambrose Lewis, who was a sailor and a soldier of the
Revolution" appointed John g. Mosby of Richmond Va. their attorney.
Signed Fanny Lewis (wife of Ambrose) and Hanna Lewis (daughter of
Ambrose). Witnes John Metcalf. 11 Jul 1834.
Corporation of Fredericksburg.
James Chew, clerk of Hustings court, certified that John Wallace was
J. Of P. (Justice of Peace)
Received of the Register, warrant
1082 for 100 acres, issued 20 Dec 1834. signed, John G. Mosby Atty.
Fredericksburg Court, 10 Jul 1834.
Certified that Fanny Lewis and Hannah Lewis are the only heirs of
Charles Lewis, dec'd. Copy teste, James J. Chew, Clerk.
John James Chew, clerk of
Spotsylvania co. certified that Ambrose and Charles Lewis, brothers,
died intestate, 6 Dec 1834.
Children of Ambrose; 660L102 1.
Frances Lewis; 660L103 2. Hannah Lewis: Children of Charles; 660L104
Frances Lewis (aka Fanny Bundy); 2. Nancy Lewis."[2]
________________________________________
2
*
Note: Rodham Kenner, sailor in the Virginia Navy during the
Revolutionary War, left heirs Phoebe Dillon, Cynthia
Lewis, Sally Chew, Ely Chew, and Nancy Chew, who were stated to be
also heirs of Ambrose Lewis.
The above document outlines the
proceedings as they relate to Ambrose and Charles. The heirs'
statements came from Ambrose's wife Fanny and his daughter Hannah and
Charles' daughters Fanny and Nancy Lewis. It is interesting to note
that the ladies went to court in order to receive land bounty for
Charles and Ambrose. They received 100 acres for Ambrose and 100 for
Charles [less than given to whites who served]. From this information
I was able to trace where the documents were and obtain copies of the
originals. The information I found led me to my ancestor Nancy Lewis,
who was the daughter of Charles.
Charles's military career mirrored his
brothers, he served in the naval and land forces along side of
Ambrose. Since Charles did not apply for a pension there is not much
documentation on him. He does have a Military file, however, little
information exists on him after the Revolutionary War. Charles may
have continued as a Seaman on the Dragon ship coming to Virginia
infrequently. The Dragon ship was berthed in Norfolk until it sank in
the early 1800's and many Revolutionary Soldiers continued as sailors.
Charles had at least two children,
according to Pioneer Lewis Families [viii]
: Francis Lewis and Nancy Lewis were his heirs. There is no mention of
who Charles' wife was or the birth dates of the children (Nancy Lewis
was born about 1764).
The documents above were found in the
Courthouse at Fredericksburg [Order books and proceedings], military
records [The Virginia State Library and National Archives & Records].
There was a lot of cross checking in order to accurately document the
information. The difficulty came in knowing that I was tracing my
ancestor since there were so many Charles Lewis's in and around
Spotsylvania County. I solved that problem by cross checking Charles
Lewis with the information I had on Ambrose. Ambrose was identified as
a mulatto, which meant that Charles was also mulatto. When searching
for Charles I crosschecked the people I found in his documents with
the ones I found on Ambrose. That is how I solved the problem and
saved time on my research. Ambrose and Charles lived and died so
closely that they may have been twins.
Rolly Pinn of Lancaster & Amherst
County Virginia:
The Pinn family originated on the
Eastern Shore of Virginia as Yeocomico Indians [part of the Powhatan
Confederation]. Rolly's father is thought to be Robert Pinn I [about
1710-1760] whose wife's name was Margaret, Robert and Margaret had 2
son's Robert II and Rolly. In 1733 Robert I was cited by the Church
Warden's of Wicomico Parish for absenting himself from Church [Wicomico
parish Order Book]. In 1760 he and Margaret were in Lancaster County
and their son Robert was apprenticed out as a Copper. This was
probably the period when Rolly left Lancaster County (possibly as an
apprentice) and settled in Amherst County.
In 1774 Rolly signed on as part of the
Amherst County Militia [Swem Library, College of William & Mary:
Virginia]. When the Militia was disbanded they were ordered to full
service in the Revolutionary War. Rolly served under General Lafayette
until the end of the war [See below]. After the war Rolly settled in
Amherst County with and became a prominent resident there. He and his
wife Sarah were considered spiritual leaders and sometime in the late
1700's founded a church [Fairmount Baptist], which is still in
existence. Rolly's sons James and John Turner followed in his
footsteps and also became prominent farmers on the Ridge.
Below is an article printed in the
News And Advance and chronicling those who served out of Amherst
County Virginia:
THE ADVANCE: [ix]
Thursday, May 22, 1884
Revolutionary Heroes
In every war there are, and have always
been, thousands of privates who suffered or bled or died after
patriotic sacrifice and great individual deeds, whose names as
soldiers are unknown outside the narrow circle of the humble family.
Often these men had nothing to fight for, yet they periled life and
limb and often lost, for their cause, their flag. Our late civil war
had many such, our first revolutionary fields were covered with them.
Soon those so near us will be forgotten as the Revolutionary-great,
unrecognized, have been. The old county of Amherst, then comprising
Amherst and Nelson, furnished many men to face disease and death in
the Revolutionary War, and they came willingly, were patriots-refused
pay by British gold and place and pay, and any one who gathers the
names of such patriots in any war, does a high, patriotic deed.
________________________________________
Mr. Alexandar Brown, of Norwood, Nelson
County, has given much of his time to such labor among old Virginia
records, and he has furnished us a list, as far as he has been able to
make it, of the soldiers of the Revolution from Amherst County. We
recognize many names familiar in the counties of Amherst, Nelson,
Buckingham and Appomattox, among them the great-grandfather of the
writer, "John Whitehead," who served in the cavalry battalion of a
Major Cabel. We have in this list seen the almost exact names of men
who served with and under us the Second Virginia Calvary, and they
will be pleased to find their ancestry in the same service. At any
rate we shall have put these old soldiers in front for the first time.
Revolutionary Heroes
An incomplete list of those who served in the Revolutionary War from
old Amherst County, (the present counties of Amherst and Nelson.)
________________________________________
A
Aaron, Benjamin & William;Adkins,
Absalom; Alcock, Richard & William; Alford, John; Allen, Daniel,
Jesse, Capt. Joh, John, Joseph, Samuel & William; Ampey, William;
Arnold, Benjamin & Hendrick
________________________________________
B
Baddow, Thomas; Bailey, Hezekiah &
William; Ballinger, Capt. Richard; Ballon, David & John; Banks, Reuben
& William; Barnet, Capt. James, John & William; Becknal, James
(killed), John, Micajah & Thomas (killed); Bean, Johnson; Bell, Henry,
Samuel Sr. & Samuel Jr.; Bettysworth, Richard; Byas, John, Larkin &
Obediah; Bibb, Henry, William Sr. & William Jr.; Biggs, John;
Blackwell, David; Blaine, Ephraim; Blair, Allen; Bolling, Edward &
James; Bond, Charles, Nathan & Nathaniel; Bones, John & William;
Bowles, Knight; Bowling, James & John; Bowman, Drury, John & William;
Brady, John; Brett, William; Brickley, william; Bridgewater, Jesse;
Brooks, Benjamin, John & william; Brown, Andrew John Sr., John Jr.,
Morris & William; Bryant, John & William; Bullins, isaac; Burden,
Archibald & Henry; Burford, Capt. David, David, James, John, Nathaniel
& William; Burks, Charles, John & William; Burnet, Isasc; Burrus,
Capt. Charles, Joseph, Lieut. Joseph & Thomas; Burton, James Haile,
Philip & William
________________________________________
C
Cabell, col. John, Capt. Joseph Sr.,
Capt. Joseph Jr., Capt. Nicholas, Col. Samuel Jr., Col. William Sr., &
Col. William Jr., ; Calbraith, William; Call, John; Camden, John &
William; Cameron, Ambrose & Duncan; Campbell, Ambrose, Anthony,
George, Henry & James; Cannady, John; Canterberry, Joseph Sr. & Joseph
Jr.; Carpenter, Benjamin, John, John & William; Carter, Abram, Landon,
Peter & William; Cartwright, John, Matthew, Peter & William; Cash,
Benjamin, Howard, John, Joseph & Peter; Cauthorne, William; Childress,
Abram, Benjamin, Henry & John; Christian, Charles, Capt. Charles.
Drury, Elijah, George, Capt. Henry, Henry, Capt. John, & robert;
Clark, Benjamin, David, John, Nathaniel; Nat & William; clarson,
James; clement, William; Clough, John; coleman, George, James,
Littleberry & Lieut.____; Conner, James; Coop, Adam; cooper, Abraham;
Cottrell, Gilbert & James; Cos, Archeleus; Crawford, Joel, John,
Nathan, Nelson & Peter; Crawley, Thomas; Creasy, Charles & George;
Crews, Gideon, Joseph Sr., & Joseph Jr.; Crittenden, Richard; Crutcher,
(or Croncher), William
________________________________________
D
Davis, Charles, Joel, Moses, Nathaniel,
Richard, Thomas, William, Sr., & William Jr.,; Dawson, John, Pleasant
& Will; Diggs, Captain John; Dillard, Capt. James; Dinwiddie, (or
Dunwoody), John, Samuel, William & Will; Diver, John; Dixon, William;
Dodd, Josiah; Douglas, George; Duggin, Will, Duncan, Clairborne,
Daniel, Sr., Daniel, Jr., George, Sr., & Jr. & John.
________________________________________
E
Eades, charles & Isaac; edmonds,
Charles & James; Edmondson, Robert & William; Edwards, Joseph, Thomas
& William; Elder, Andrew; Ellis, CharlesJr., & Josiah; Ellison,
Francis; Enix, James; Eubank, John; Evans, Ben & William; Ewers, John
& Thomas.
________________________________________
F
Finnie, John, Timothy & William;
Fitzgerald, James & John; Fitzpatrick, Samuel, Thomas, William &
W_____; Forbush, W______; Fortune, Ben, John & Zachariah; Foster,
James; Franklin, Major James, Joel, Lieut John & Samuel; Frazier,
Micajah; Frayser, Philip; Frost, Joseph, Jr.; Fulcher, Richard;
Furbush, george and Will.
________________________________________
G
Games, Daniel; galasby (Gillespie, and
sometime Glosby), sherod & William; Galding, Julius; Galloway, Ben;
Garland, Thomas; Gatewood, Ambrose, John, Larkin & Richard; Gee, John;
Gibson, Griffith; Gilbert, George, Henry, John Wyatt, Morris & thomas;
Giles, Josiah & Perrion Jr., Gilbland, Hugh; Gilmer, John; Glenn,
Major John; Going, Phil; Gooch, Philip; Goodrich, John; Goodwin,
Micajah & Richard; goolsby, James, John & william; Gosh, Thomas;
Grattan, Robert; Graves, William; Gregory, Edward, John, Fletcher &
Thomas; Griffin, Absalom, John Murray, Reubin & Thomas; Grissum
(Gresham) Jas; Graymes, thomas; Guthrie, Moses & Nathaniel.
________________________________________
H
Hall, John & William; Halliburton,
James; Hambleton, robert; Hamilton, James & william; Hamm, John;
Hansborough, John, Willliam Sr., & William Jr., ; Hardy, Andrew &
John; Hargrove, Hazekiah; Harper, edward, Sr., edward, Jr., & Henro;
Harris Mathew, Capt. William & William; Harrison, Richard & William;
Hartgrove, John; Hartless James; Harvie, Daniel; Hawkins, thomas; Hay,
Charles & James; Henderson, alexander, Ensign James, James, Obediah
&Stephen; Herd, John; Herndon, Owen; Higganbotham, Aron, Ben, Caleb,
Mj. James, Joseph, Capt. Samuel, Sgt. William & Wiliam; Hill, Isaac,
Nat & Williams; Hilley, Thomas; Hilton, George; Hite, John; Hix, John;
Hogg, John; Hollinsworth, Joseph; Holt, William; Hooper, William,
Hopkins, James H; Hopper, Thomas, Horsley, John, Robert, Lieut.
William & William; Houchins, Edward; Houtchins, Charles & William;
Huchstep (?), Samuel; Hudson, Reubin, Juffman, Frederick & Henry;
Hughes, John & Will; Hundley; Nahemiah; Hunter, Titus.
________________________________________
I
Innis, John; Irvine, Christopher; Isham,
Elijah, Ison, Charles & Elijah.
________________________________________
J
Jacobs, John; Johns, John, Robert &
Thomas; Johnson, John, Snelling, Tandy & William; Jone, Ambrose, John,
Josias, Thomas, William & Zachariah; Joplin, Josiah, Ralph, Catp.
Thomas & Thomas; Jordan, John, Reubin & William; Joselin, John; Jude,
John
________________________________________
K
Kesterson, John; Key, Rice; King,
Jacob; Knight, Andrew; Knuckolds, Robert.
________________________________________
L
Lamont, John; Landrum, John & Capt.
Young; Lane, Charles Sr., Chas. Jr., John, Joseph, Thomas & William;
Lannum, Benedict; Lavender, Allen, Charles Sr., Charles Jr., &
William; Lawless, Richard; Lawson, William; Lee, Francis & Richard;
Leek, (Leak), Mark & Samuel; Lemasters, Jno; Leslie, Robert ; Levy,
Soloman; Lewis, John; Lively, Mark; Lockhart, Walter; Loving, George;
Lucas, Thomas; Lyon, Edward, Nicholas, Peter & Will.
________________________________________
M
Mahone, Daniel; Mautaply, Nat.
Marksbury, Sam'l; Marshall, Wm. Martin, Azariah, Capt. Azariah, James,
John Sr., John Jr. & William; Masters, James; Matthews, James, John,
Joseph, Thomas Sr., Thomas Jr., & william; Mattox, Notly; Mayfield,
George & John; Mays, Ben, Elijah, James & Robert; McAlexander, Alex.,
James, & John; McAnally, William, McCabe, Elijah, & James; McCann,
James; McCarthur, Robert; McClain, James; McCullock, roderick;
McDaniel, George & Jno; McKnight, John; McNeare, James; Mcnelly,
Michael; Megan, Merit; Megginson, Ben, Samuel & William; Meredith,
Samuel Jr.; Miller, Alex. & Charles; Milstead, Zeal; Mohon (Mahone)
William; Montgomery, David, Lieut. James, James, John & thomas; Moran,
John; Morris, John & Zacheriah; Morrison, William; Morson, B.; Moss,
Philip; Murray (or Murrow) John, Ransum, Richard Sr., & William Jr.;
Murtar, Barnet.
________________________________________
N
Neal, Joseph; Neighbors, Nat; Nevil,
James & Reuben; Nightingale, Matthew; Noel, John; Nowland (Noland,
Nowlin, Nowling) , David & James; North, William.
________________________________________
O
O'Brian, James; Oglesby, Jesse &
Richard; Ownby, Thomas.
________________________________________
P
Page, James & Joseph; Pagett, Edmond;
Pamplin, Capt. James, & Nicholas; pannel (Pannelle), Ben; Parks, John;
Parrock, Charles & David; Parrow, Daniel; Patterson, John & Thomas;
Peacock, Edward; Pendleton, Benjamin, Edmund, John, Reubin, Richard &
William, Penn (Pinn) Gabriel, Capt. George, Philip Sr., Philip Jr.,
Pinn (Penn) Rolly, & Thomas; Perkins, Richard, &
William; Peters, Richard, Samuel & William; Peyton, Charles, Daniel,
George, Henry, James, John Sr., John Jr., Lewis, William Jr.; Philips,
George, Jacob, Jeremiah, John, Leonard Sr., Leonard Jr., & Mat;
Pierce, William (killed); Poe, John; Pollard, Absalom Sr., Absalom
Jr., James, Robert & William; Ponton, Joel; Pope, John Jr.; Powell,
Ben, Edmond, Francis, John Sr., John Jr., Nat, Richard, william, Wyatt
& Zachariah; Pratt, Thomas; Price, Thomas; Prior, David, John Sr.,
John Jr., & Nicholas; Pugh, Willoughby; Pullins, Joseph; Purvis,
George
________________________________________
R
Ramesey, James; Randolph, Henry; Ray,
David Sr., (killed), David Jr., & William; Redcross; John; Reid,
Alexander, George, & Johnathan; Renn (Wren), John; Reynolds, Absalom &
Patrick; Rice, Holman; Ricketts, Matthew; Roach, Henry; Roak, James;
Roberts, Alexander, Thomas & Zachariah; Robertson, Robert, Stephen &
Thomas; Robinson, Thomas; Rodes, Capt. Charles & Charles; Rogers, Ben;
Rose, Hugh, John & Peter; Rosterson, John; Royalty, John; Rucker,
A___, Ambrose, Isaac, John (died in service), John Sr., John Jr., &
Renbin; Ryan, Harris & J____.
________________________________________
S
Sandige, William; Satterwhite, Francis;
Saunders, Ben & David; Savage, James; Scott, Wm.; Scruggs, Daniel &
William; Seay, Abraham, Jr.: Shelton, Clough, D___, & David; Shields,
Will; Shoemaker, John, William & Ledekiah; Simmons, James; Simpson,
David; Sims, Charles; Slatter, Tyree; Slead, Will; Smith, Alex, or
Austin, Elleck, James, John, Johnson, Obadiah, Thomas, "Thomas of
Maryland," Thomas, Jr., & william; Spencer, Samuel & William; Staples,
Lieut. Joseph, Joseph & Samuel, Jr., Staten, Will; Stevens, James,
John & Thomas; Stonham, Richard; Stovall, James, Joseph & Thomas;
Stratton, Isaac & John; Stuart (or Stewart) Chas., James, Capt. John,
John, Swinney, (or Swaney), John.
________________________________________
T
Taliaferro, Ben, Charles, Capt. Richard
& Richard; Tate, William Jr.; Taylor, George, Jesse, John, John,
William & Zachary; Tennison, Ignatius; Thomas, Cornelius & John;
Thompson, James; Thurman, Guthridge, John, Philip & William; Thurtless,
James; Tilford, David & James; Tinsley, Isaac & James, "son of
William"; Tomlinson, Ambrose; Trent, John; Trott, Joseph; tucker,
Charles, Daniel, Jesse, John, Joseph, Matthey, Thomas & Capt. William;
tuggle, Charles, Henry & Joshua; Toly, (or Tooley) Charles; Tunget,
Fielding; Turner, Henry, John & William; Tyler, John; Tyron, Zachariah.
________________________________________
U
Upsher, John & Leroy; Upton, Thomas Jr.
________________________________________
V
Vaughn, John & Leroy; Upton, Thomas Jr.
________________________________________
W
Wade, Pierce; Walker, Jeremiah; Walton,
Tilman & William; ware (Weir), James & Mark; Warren, Burrus & James;
Warwick, Abraham & William; Waters, Francis & Moses; Walkius, Spencer;
Watson, Edward, Lt. , John & John; Watts, Caleb T. & Thomas; Webb,
Thoe Jorick (?); Webster, William; Welch, Will; Wells, James; West,
Bransford, Francis & John; Whitehead, John; Whitelor, John; Whitten,
Jeremiah, John & William; Wilcox, Edmond & Thomas; Willburn, Richard &
Will; Williams, John; Williamson, William; Willis, John; Wilson,
Mathew; Wingfield, John; Witt, Abner, Elijah, George, John, Lewis,
Littleberry & Will; Wood, Jesse, James, John, Robert, Silas, William;
Woodrof (Woodruff), David, Capt. John & John; Woods, Josiah; Woody,
George; Wrenn, John; Wright, Achilles, Andrew, Charles, Ellis,
Francis, George Sr., George Jr., James, Jesse, John, Menos, Moses,
Robert, Thomas & Will.
________________________________________
There is a book called The Buffalo
Ridge Cherokees: Remnants of A Great Nation Divided, written by
Dr. Horace Rice [Heritage Press 1994]. The book chronicles the
struggles of those who settled on the ridge. Rolly Pinn's family was
made up of "Free Persons Of Color" who were never slaves. They
attempted to live in peace with their white neighbors and found that
these people were war like. Eventually Rolly died and passed the land
on to his children. By the time my ancestor Robert Pinn IV came along
the land was lost and having no reason to stay there he migrated to
Fredericksburg.
Robert Pinn IV married the Great-Grand
daughter of Charles Lewis, Elizabeth Jackson in 1839. As a gift Robert
and Elizabeth were given land by her parents. Later, Robert and
Elizabeth purchased more land in Fredericksburg. In the 1840 census
Robert list his occupation as a minister, a bold move for a brother
during those times. Robert was a Baptist Minister during the time that
Baptists were considered the enemy of the Church of England. The
Baptists were ministering to slaves and telling them not to be content
being slaves. By 1850 Robert and Elizabeth had sold their land and
were living in Pennsylvania. Robert and Elizabeth Pinn were my last
direct ancestors to live in Virginia.
The information I chronicled above was
submitted to the Daughter's of The American Revolution (DAR) and they
have accepted my application. My reason for starting the research was
to complete the story my mother started
- but I found so much more. Not only my ancestors but also many
African-Americans and People of Color gave their lives for this
country during, prior to and after the Revolutionary War. Their
stories are buried in books and documents that are yet to be found. It
is the task of those of us who know to find this information and teach
it to our children. Most people are not interested in a history that
excludes them. We must make it our mission to take our true history to
the next generation. |