Newspaper Tidbits: Nokesville

The Times (Washington, D.C.) – March 20, 1899

WANTED TO BE A SLEUTH.  His First Case was to Get Swindled Out of $70.

James W. Fultz, the Nokesville, Va., merchant who was relieved of $70 in cash Saturday afternoon by two clever swindlers, left the city yesterday morning over the Pennsylvania Railroad en route to his home.  He was still minus his money and will probably remain so, as the men who secured it are undoubtedly miles away from this city by this time and out of the jurisdiction of the local police.

It was understood yesterday that the object of Fultz's visit to this city was to obtain a position on the police force.  He stated to Detective Sam Browne, who saved him from being ground under the wheels of a railroad train at the Pennsylvania station after the swindle had been perpetrated, that he had recently sold his farm and a quantity of personal effects in Nokesville because he wanted to become a policeman, or, preferably, a detective.  Fultz stated that he felt sure he would make a first-class sleuth because of his wonderful memory for faces.

Harrisonburg Rockingham Register (VA) – May 23, 1905

Mrs. Walter S. Flory and children, of Bridgewater, spent Friday with Mrs. C. C. Lineweaver on East Market Street, while enroute home from Nokesville, Prince William county, where they have been the guests of Mr. and Mrs. James Flory.

Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, VA) - September 24, 1907

The Cedar Run Hunt Club was organized in Nokesville Saturday with thirty members.  It includes some of the best riders in Prince William county and has one of the best fields in the State for fox hunting.  The following officers were elected:  President H. W. Herring, Nokesville; secretary and treasurer, Melvin C. Hazen, Washington, D.C.; executive committee, C. J. Meetz, Bristow; W. J. Green, Nokesville; H. H. Hall, Gainesville; master of hounds, R. L. Adamson, Warrenton; first whip, C. J. Meetze, Bristow; second whip, W. C. Hall.

The Free Lance (Fredericksburg, VA) – January 4, 1910

Mrs. Mary E. Bodine has sold her farm of 101 acres near Nokesville, Prince William county, to Mrs. J. R. Manuel for $4,300.  Possession March 1.

The Free Lance (Fredericksburg, VA) - July 26, 1910

W. R. Free, of Nokesville, died suddenly Thursday.  He was a Confederate veteran.

Will: William Lee, Sr.

WILLIAM LEE SR. Will

Prince William County Will Book L, pg. 343

24 Jun 1820; proved 09 Aug 1820

I WILLIAM LEE SENR. Do hereby make my last will and testament in manner and form following that is to say: 1^st I desire that all my estate or property after my decease my just debts & funeral expenses being paid shall remain in the hands of my beloved wife MARY LEE & her to be in full possession & enjoyment of the same during her natural life.  2^nd To my son WM. LEE I give & bequeath a cow & calf at the death of my wife to come into his possession. 3^rd To my daughter NANCY I give in like manner one heifer be hers at my wife’s decease. 4^th To my son HENRY I give & bequeath a bed which now goes by the name of his to fall to him in like manner at my wifes decease. 5. To my two daughters ELIZABETH & WILHELMINA I give & bequeath all the remaining property over which I now have controul after my just debts & funeral expences are paid and the above items are fulfild after my wifes decease. And lastly I do hereby constitute & appoint my friends Col. GERARD ALEXANDER Sr. & Major CHARLES EWELL SENR. Executors of this my last will and testament hereby revoking all other or former wills or testaments by me heretofore made.  In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand & affixed my seal this 24^th day of June in the year of our Lords one thousand eight hundred & twenty.

WM. LEE SENR.  {seal}

Signed sealed published & declared as & for the last will and testament of the above named WM. LEE SENR. In presence of us

WM. P. DUNNINGTON, JOHN W. PETTY

At a Court of Quarterly Sessions held for Prince William County Aug 9^th 1820 This last will and testament of WM. LEE SENR. Decd was presented to the Court and being proved by the oaths of WM. P. DUNNINGTON and JNO. W. PETTY is ordered to be recorded.

Teste, PHIL. D. DAWE

Newsletter: Brentsville Neighbors

The June 2011 issue of Brentsville Neighbors is out.  Give it a read!

Newspaper Tidbit: Plead with Suffragists (1915)

Manassas Journal
January 8, 1915

PLEAD WITH SUFFRAGISTS. Mrs. C. E. Nicol and her daughters, the Misses Fanny Julia and Marie L. Nicol, were numbered among the 100 democratic women, many of them voters, who visited the White House Wednesday to try again to persuade President Wilson to support the constitutional amendment for nation-wide woman's suffrage. The President told the women he admired greatly their skill and tenacity in the campaign, but he added that he was opposed to granting women suffrage through federal action.

Ben Lomond/Pringle House Civil War Hospital

The weather couldn't have been more perfect for Saturday's reopening of the Ben Lomond Historic Site as the Pringle House Civil War Hospital.

Welcome remarks were made by Brendon Hanafin, Historic Preservation Division Cheif for the PWCo Department of Public Works; Corey A. Stewart, Chairman, and John T. Stirrup, Jr., Gainsville District Supervisor, PWCo Board of County Supervisors, and a moving key note speech on the importance of Civil War medicine in present-day emergency medical procedures by George Wunderlich, Executive Director of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.

After the official ribbon cutting, the house was opened to the public for tours.  The new exhibits are mostly hands-on furnishings and displays of what the house may have looked like during it's tenure as a hospital for Confederate wounded after the First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run.  In addition to the main house built by Benjamin Tasker Chinn circa 1830, Ben Lomond Historic Site includes a lovely old rose garden, smokehouse and dairy, a kitchen garden, and slave quarters.

The grounds are open to the public from sunrise to sunset every day. Tours are offered Thursday through Monday from May 1 through October 31 from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. or by appointment.

Future events at the site include:

June 12 - Slavery on Sunday Tours (11am - 3pm, $7 per person, free for children under six) - Staff will provide unique hands-on tours and share details about the typical activities of a Sunday for the enslaved community of Ben Lomond.

July 21-24 - Pringle House Hospital 150th Anniversary - (11am - 3pm, $7 per person, free for children under six) - Join site staff and costumed intepreters as the field hospital comes alive once again.  Activities include Civil War-era medical demonstrations, making bandages, and civilian life during the war.

Newspaper Tidbit

Adams Sentinel (Gettysburg, PA)
October 31, 1859

Some Gipseys recently, who had been loitering about the house of Mr. Thomas Holmes, near Brentsville, Prince William county (Va.) it is said, persuaded him to look into the case of a watch in which was chloroform, and, whilst he was laboring under the effects of the inhalation, took from him the key of his bureau and stole therefrom a thousand dollars in gold, with which they decamped.

Ben Lomond: Opening of the Pringle House Hospital Exhibit

21 May 2011 - 22 May 2011
10am-3pm

Ben Lomond Historic Site
10321 Sudley Manor Road
Manassas,VA

Admission: Free

Join us as we re-open the newly refurbished Ben Lomond Historic Site as the Pringle Hospital. The house has undergone a transformation back to July of 1861 when it became a Confederate hospital after the battle of First Manassas. The new exhibits will chronicle the hectic and traumatic experiences of the medical staff, soldiers, and civilians who occupied the hospital.

Program will include living historians, slave life interpretation, medical demonstrations, original medical displays, and hands-on educational tent. Ribbon-cutting ceremony begins at 10:00 a.m.

Will: Cassius Carter

WILL OF CASSIUS CARTER

Prince William Co., VA

Will Book R, Page 525

Will date 27 Dec 1820; Probate date 14 January 1822

Tecumseh Dec 27, 1820

In the name of God Amen I Cassius Carter in mind sound and body healthful, God be praised do declare and ordain this to be my last will and testament to wit.  1. Item, I will leave and bequeath to my brother Edward all my lands in the county of Prince William above the town of Haymarket encumbered or unencumbered in fee forever.  2. Item, I will leave and bequeath to my brother Charles S. Carter my farm called Tecumseh partly lying in the County of Loudoun and partly in the county of Prince William aforesaid. I leave to the said Charles S. Carter all my personal property of every description.  Item 3, I will leave and bequeath to the poor people within 5 miles of my mill the proceeds of the said mill or one hundred barrels of corn at the option of C.S.C. for ten years to be divided by Charles S. Carter.  Item. After the expiration of the ten years I will and bequeath my mill with its appurtenances to the said Charles S. Carter in fee.  Item, My debts are to be paid out of the proceeds of my farm Tecumseh by Charles S. Carter as early as possible. Item, to my brother John H. Carter I leave nothing not that I love him less but because I think he has more property than either Edward or Shirley.  Item, to my dear sister Mary I leave a ring of the first value, diamond to be worn for my sake, Cassius Carter. It is my request that Shirley will be attentive to the happiness of my negroes, to attend himself not to depend on overseers and that he will sell his own before he does those I leave him. That Miller Joe and wife remain where they are forever. That he will retain Joe in the house and etc. and that he will not sell pork for a few dollars but keep it for the negroes. That he will take care of the true and faithful old men on the farm.

C. Carter [signature]

I declare the following a codicil to this my will to wit. Item, In revocation of that part of the foregoing will that relates to Edward E. Carter my deceased brother whose sins I pray the father of all good has forgiven I leave to the first son of my brother John H. Carter all the lands in the above will bequeathed to the late Edward E. Carter aforesaid as likewise all that tract of land left me by my late brother of beloved memory to be held by John Hill Carter aforesaid in trust for his son whom it is my request he will give my name. Item, In default or subsequent death of such issue made then I leave the lands aforesaid given to the first heir male to his 2nd 3rd 4th 5th or 6th son in fee forever. The other parts of the foregoing will to go in full force.

Cassius Carter [signature]

Tecumseh Oct 12th 1821

Date as above

Item, In default of all such issue then I leave the lands as above specified to the first heir male of my brother Shirley and as above to the 1st 2nd 3rd en etc. then to the issue of my sister after the foregoing manner.

Cassius Carter [signature]

TESTE

Gilbert Edwards

Jasper Spencer

At the Court held for Loudoun County Jan 14, 1822

This last will and testament of Cassius Carter deceased was produced to the Court and proved according to law by the oaths of Gilbert Edwards and Jasper Spencer the subscribing witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded and on the motion of Charles S. Carter who made oath thereto and together with T. Turner his security entered into and acknowledged their bond with penalty of $24000 conditioned as the law directs. Certificate is granted the said Charles S. Carter for obtaining letters of administration on the said decedents estate with his will aforesaid annexed in due form.

A Copy

TESTE

Chas. P. Janney C.C.

At a quarterly court continued and held for Prince William County June 9th 1869. This Certified Copy of the last will and testament of Cassius Carter was presented to the Court and ordered to be recorded.

TESTE

John C. Poor, Clerk

Newsletter: Brentsville Neighbors

If you're researching Brentsville ancestors, I highly recommend Morgan Breeden's newsletter, Brentsville Neighbors: Preserving Brentsville's History.  Each issue is chock full of information that can include, among other things, family histories, photos, flashbacks, local color, and upcoming events in Brentsville, the Prince William county seat from 1820 to January 1, 1894.

Brentsville Neighbors - April 2011
Brentsville Neighbors - May 2011

To subscribe, please email Morgan at the address on the newsletter and ask to be added to the mailing list.

Speaking of Brentsville

Free Lance Star (Fredericksburg, VA) - July 25, 1899
Among the friends The Free Lance representative met at the Manassas Horse Show was Mr. Thacker S. Bradshaw, formerly of this city.  Mr. Bradshaw's home is at Brentsville, but he is one of hte most efficient chief clersk in the U.S. railway mail service.  He has served for fifteen yars and was appointed through the late Senator John S. Barbour, of this state.

The Free Lance (Fredericksburg, VA) - December 29, 1900
Mr. Andrew J. Davis formerly of Prince William county, died in Washington last week at an advanced age.  His remains were taken to Brentsville for interment.

The St. Paul Globe (St. Paul, MN) - June 10, 1902
A letter of Gen. Robert E. Lee to Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, dated Headquarters A. N.Va., Jan. 31, 1863, and complimenting "Sergeant Mickler and his party" for gallantry "in a skirmish in the streets of Brentsville on the 9th inst." sold for $5.

The Colored American (Washington, DC) - September 20, 1902
Miss Estelle V. Hedgeman, of Brentsville, Va., has returned home after spending a few days in the city with friends.  She will shortly resume her residence here. Miss Hedgeman was formerly employed in the Census, and is the owner of a farm near Brentsville.

Alexandria Gazette (VA) - January 23, 1905
Joseph B. Reid, of Brentsville, died at Providence Hospital, Washington, on Friday evening, aged seventy-one years.  Mr. Reid was a Confederate veteran, having served in Company H, Fifteenth Virginia Cavalry, throughout the civil war.  He represented Prince William county in the legislature in 1887-88, and had long been in the hotel business.  After brief services at the residence of hsi son, Henry W. Reid, in Washington Sunday the remains were taken to Manassas for the funeral and interment.

Richmond Times Dispatch (VA) - December 17, 1911
George C. Round, of Prince William county, has in his possession two interesting relics of the early days of that county.  One is the keystone of the first financial institution founded inPrince William county, the ank of Dumfries, located at old Dumfries near Quantico.  The slab bears the inscription, "William Waite Fecit, 1775."  The other relic is a slab from the first courthouse in Prince William county, which was built in 1731 at Dumfries which was then the county seat.

Brentsville Civil War Weekend

Saturday was a beautiful Spring day to spend at Brentsville Courthouse Historic Center.  The weather cooperated with sun and warm winds, making it a comfortable day for both spectators and reenactors/performers.  Brentsville was the first stage in the official opening ceremonies for the new exhibit at the Manassas Museum, They Rode from Brentsville: Co. A, 4th VA Cavalry.

The Brentsville Courthouse, School, and Jail were open to the public, with ordinance demonstrations (artillery), period musicians, a Civil War encampment, and a reenactment of the Prince William County's debate whether to join Richmond in seceding from the Union.  Possibly the highlight of the day was the appearance of Co. H, 4th VA Cavalry (The Black Horse Troop), who treated the crowd to a number of maneuvers as well as making themselves (and their mounts) available for questions.  The Black Horse Troop later rode from Brentsville to the Manassas Museum to portray Co. A in the exhibit opening.

Most of the men in Co. A were from Brentsville and Independent Hill in the middle of Prince William County.