Sunday's Obituary: Benjamin Dyer Merchant

Sun (Baltimore, MD)
18 March 1913

LIEUT. BENJ. D. MERCHANT

The funeral of Lieut. Benjamin Dyer Merchant, 74 years old, who died Friday at the home of his son, Harry, 10 East Twenty sixth street, took place from Trinity Episcopal Church, Manassas, Va., Sunday afternoon, with Masonic ceremonies. Rev. P. A. Arthur, rector of the church, conducted the church services. Burial was in the family lot in the Manassas Cemetery. The pallbearers, all immediate members of the family, were D. W. Fewell, Benjamin N., Richard H., and W. C. N. Merchant, and J. Edward and James Merchant Dunnington.

Lieutenant Merchant was buried in the gray uniform of Company A, Fourth Virginia Cavalry, in which he served. Casket was partly covered with the Confederate flag. The attendance was large and many handsome floral tributes were placed upon the grave.

Sunday's Obituary: Caleb S. Deats

Daily Dispatch (Va)
18 May 1915

CONFEDERATE VETERAN VICTIM OF HIS OWN HAND

[Special to the Times-Dispatch]

MANASSAS, VA., May 17. -- News was received here to-day that Caylor (Caleb?) S. Deats, seventy-seven years old, a Confederate veteran, committed suicide at the home of his son, W. T. Deats, near Orlando, Prince William County, yesterday evening about 7 o'clock. No cause is given. Mr. Deats had seated himself beneath some trees in the yard. He placed a gun in front of him and pulled the trigger with his cane. The discharge of the weapon blew off the top of his head. He was found by members of the household who had gone to a nearby spring for water. Surviving is a son, W. T. Deats; three sisters, one living in Manassas, and two brothers. The funeral services will take place tomorrow at Orlando with interment at that place.

PWCo Items: 15 August 1870

Alexandria Gazette (Va)
15 August 1870

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY. -- The daily attendance of persons at the bush meeting held recently in the grove near Gainesville was between three and five hundred. On last Tuesday 40 converts, varying in age from 12 to 80 years, were immersed.

From the Brentsville Advocate and Manassas Gazette we take the following items.

Mr. Edwin Nelson, of Dumfries Township, met with a painful accident a few days ago, which has disabled him from attending to his business for several days. He was cutting something overhead, when the axe glanced, the edge striking him near the eye, making a severe cut.

The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad Company have advertised for proposals for the gradation and masonry of a branch of their road, to run from Brook's station to a point near Quantico in this county.

The friends of Dr. R. W. Wheat, late of the county, will be pleased to hear that his health has improved, and that he is building up a fine practice in South San Francisco, having concluded to remain there.

A primary meeting of the Conservative voters of Brentsville Township will be held on Saturday next, for the purpose of appointing ten delegates to attend the count convention.

Mr. O. P. Chappell has removed his saw mill from Sprigg's Ford to Manassas, and is also engaged in puting in a planning mill in connection with his other business.

A meeting for the purpose of choosing delegates to attend the Convention, next September court, will be held at Manassas on Saturday, August 27th.

Charles A. Dunnington, Esq., a native of the county, and late a member of Co. A., 4th Virginia cavalry, C.S.A., expects to leave for California this week.

The picnic given by the Stonewall Base Ball Club, of Manassas, last Saturday, was a most delightful affair, and was attended by the elite of the neighborhood.

Mr. J. F. Andrews has sold 50 acres of his land, in the lower part of the county, to Mr. Schlag of the U.S.A.

Mr. Wallace Hixon is building a neat dwelling at Manassas which he intends occupying himself.

The building of Mr. R. W. Merchant at Manassas is going rapidly forward, and will soon be finished.

Mr. A. S. Davis is building an addition to his tin shop, at Manassas to make room for his increasing business.

H. O. Claughton, Esq., of Alexandria, will address the people of the county on Monday (September court day) at Brentsville.

Sunday's Obituary: Captain W. F. Williams

Richmond Times Dispatch (VA)
7 April 1908

Captain W. F. Williams

Bristol, Va., April 6 - Captain W. F. Williams, sixty-six years old a native of Brentsville, Prince William County, Va., died here to-night of pneumonia.  He was captain of Company A, Fourth Virginia Regiment of the Confederate army.  For many years he was prominently connected with the railroads here.  Two sons and three daughters survive.  His only surviving sister, Mrs. Somerville, resides at Manassas.

[In the book 4th Virginia Cavalry by Kenneth L. Stiles, William F. Williams enlisted April 23, 1861 at Fairfax Courthouse at the age of 19.  He was discharged July 23, 1862. ~cgl]

Military Monday: Prince William Cavalry, Co. A., 4th Va. Cavalry

Manassas Journal

October 20, 1905

PRINCE WILLIAM'S HONOR ROLL

Prince William Cavalry, Co. A, 4th Va. Cavalry

[Prepared for The Journal by Mrs. Geo. W. Johnson]

Captain, William Willis Thornton

1^st Lieut., P. D. Williams

2^nd Lieut., A. D. Wroe

3^rd Lieut., James M. Barbee

Orderly Sergeant, Thomas O. Thornton

Privates

J. T. Arundell	J. C. Lynn
Amos Benson	A. T. Lynn
Heywood Bridwell	John H. Lee
Albert Bridwell	C. H. Lambert
Monroe Bridwell	Ned Larkin
Lang Bridwell	George W. Larkin
_____ Bruffey	Charles Lewis
Chas. H. Brawner	T. W. Marders
Hammitt Claggett	Benj. D. Merchant
Alvah Cass	Frank Merchant
E. J.T. Clark	Philo Mitchell
James F. Clark	John Miner
Henry Carter	Reuben Miner
Charles L. Cushing	R. B. Lee McCrea [Macrae]
Thomas Cushing	Robert Manuel
Robert B. Cushing	Adolphus Marsteller
J. P. Cross	Y. H. Marsteller
Ham. Cross	Felix Muldoon
William Cockrell	George W. Nutt
George M. Colvin	Horatio Nelson
Clinton C. Colvin	Andrew Norman
Richard Colvin	Fielding Norman
George Colvin	Thadeus Newman
Lucien A. Davis	Lucien L. O’mera
S. S. F. Davis	James M. Peters
J. W. Davis	John S. Powell
R. M. Davis	B. L. Pridmore
Joseph Davis	Benjamin Pridmore
Charles E. Davis	Levi Pridmore
W. H. Dewy	J. D. Payne
Caleb S. Deats	Wm. L. Robertson
John C. Deats	Richard Shirley
Ellis A. Deats	Thomas S. Shirley
C. E. Donehoe	J. M. Shirley
C. W. Dunnington	J. R. Shirley
T. P. Elliott	Sidney Shirley
Maurice Evans	Samuel Sisson
Henry Evans	W. M. Simms
Hiram Eastman	G. A. Selectman
Madison Finch	George Selectman
John W. Fewell	T. B. Selectman
A. H. Finchsel	R. Selectman
Mathew Finegan	William Stone
N. B. Guy	Marshall Stone
J. M. Graham	R. H. Shephard
J. P. Gaines	Joseph Shepherd
Charles A. Graham	Carys Smith
W. S. George	Charles Smith
Adison George	J. M. Sinclair
F. W. Holmes	J. L. Sinclair
M. C. Holmes	W. H. Simms
Monroe Holmes	Robert Towles
John M. Herndon	Vivian Towles
Geo. W. Herndon	William Towles
Haywood Herndon	James Towles
Henry M. Holland	John G. Taylor
Robert W. Holland	Garland Taylor
R. E. Horton	J. N. Tolson
M. W. Horton	J. T. Williams
R. H. Haislip	John Williams
James Hulfish	J. F. Williams
John L. Hamet[t]	Wm. F. Williams
G. H. Hooe	Frank Williams
Ashley Holmes	William Wilkins
Robert Jewell	Jeff. Woodyard
George Jewell	E. V. Weir
Robert King	Robert W. Weedon
C. W. Keys	P. T. Weedon
Henry F. Lynn	Marshall B. Weedon
W. M. Lynn	C. H. A. Weedon
A. A. Lynn	Geo. M. Weedon
J[ohn] H[enry] Lynn	J. F. Wheat
L. W. Lynn	Luther Windsor
George Lynn	W. T. Washington
Benjamin Lynn
J. A. Lynn
Milton Lynn
Luther Lynn
Albert Lynn

At the reorganization of the army in ’62 and election of officers took place resulting as follows:

Captain, P. D. Williams

1^st Lieut., Lucien A. Davis

2^nd Lieut., Benjamin D. Merchant

3^rd Lieut., Goerge Colvin

Orderly Sergeant, P. T. Weedon

2^nd Sergenat, J. Taylor Williams

3^rd Sergeant, Robert Towles

Soon after the reorganization, in the spring of ’63, Geo. Colvin died and officers under him advanced a step, and other elected, as follows:

2^nd Lieut., Robert W. Weedon

3^rd Sergeant, Absolam Lynn

4^th Sergeant, Vivian Towles

1^st Corporal, J. P. Gaines

2^nd Corporal, R. H. Haislip

3^rd Corporal, Amos Benson

4^th Corporal, Andrew Norman

J. Taylor Williams was made Sergeant major of the Regiment by Col. Wickham and served through the Gettysburg Campaign.

William Willis Thornton (the first Captain) was made Major in the Commissary Department of Ewell’s forces and noted in that capacity until the close of the war.

Many members of Co. A were severely wounded.  John W. Fewell lost a leg at Five Forks. Lieut. B. D. Merchant had a long experience of prison live, and was one of those who were sent to Morris Island in Charleston Harbor.  Three died at Point Lookout and several others suffered long terms of prison life:  Charles H. Brawner, at Fort Delaware, and Luther Windsor, twenty months at Elmyra).

List of Dead of Co. A., 4^th Virginia Cavlary

Captain P. D. Williams, killed at Raccoon Ford

George Colvin died of disease

J. T. Arundel, killed near Dumfries, by two negro prisoners

S. S. T. Davis, killed near Dumfries, by two negro prisoners

L. Bridwell, died of disease

W. S. Robinson, died of disease

Henry Evans, died of disease

Mathew Inegan, died of disease

D. C. Norman, died of disease

Thomas Cushing, killed near Warrenton

C. L. Cushing, killed at Appomattox

William H. Cockrell, killed at Raccoon Ford

Ellis A. Deats, killed at Aldie

T. P. Elliott, killed at Travillyan Station

A. A. George, died of disease

L. Lynn, died of disease

John H. Lee, killed at Fairfax

J. P. Monroe, died in prison

Thomas W. Marders, killed at White

W. S. Moore, killed at Spotsylvania

Horace Nelson, killed at Jack’s Shop

W. H. Selectman, killed at Jack’s Shop

Thomas S. Shirley, died in prison

William Stone, died in prison

Frank Williams, killed

Vivian Towles, killed at Travillyan Station

James Towles, killed at Spotsylvania C.H.

Current Affairs: Graves on School Construction Site Belong to Lynn Family

In late August of this year, InsideNova published news of the graveyard found at the 12^th High School construction site in the Coles District of PWCo.  On that day, I visited RELIC at the Bull Run Library to ask if they knew whose family was buried there.  At that time, they did not – nor did the County School Board seem to be making any effort to identify the family.  Upset that the identities seemed to be of little concern to The Powers That Be, I remember pointing to the aerial map of the site and remarking “Look at where that is!  It could be a Lynn cemetery!”

Now, isn’t that ironic? 

On Saturday, November 19^th, after sleuthing through deeds and chancery records, Don Wilson and the phenomenal staff at RELIC identified the cemetery as that of William Lynn and his wife, Cordelia (Keys) Lynn.  It is a Lynn cemetery after all and, as fate would have it, William and Cordelia are my third great-grandparents.

How do I feel about this?  I’m understandably upset but also somewhat elated.  One of my brick walls had been my 2^nd Great Grandfather, John Henry Lynn.  He served during the Civil War in Co. A of the 4^th Virginia Cavalry, survived the war, was married and had children, and died in 1884.  Unfortunately, I was never able to discover where he was buried; there were no obituaries for him – only the County death record – and he is not interred with his wife Edna Ann (Cole) Lynn and their daughter Martha.  So where did he go?  Very probably to be buried with his parents, in the site that is now being disinterred by archaeologists of Wetland Solutions on behalf of the County School Board.

I spoke with NBC-4 yesterday as well as with reporters for InsideNova and the Potomac Local News about the issue.  (And many thanks to the local news media for keeping this topic in the public eye!)

No, but really – how DO I feel to learn that one, and possibly two, generations of my ancestors are being disinterred from their resting place to make way for a high school football stadium?  Frustration, disappointment, anger, and most of all helplessness.

Why can’t the County School Board adjust their plans to accommodate the cemetery, as previous county schools have done in the past?  And if the cemetery must be moved (which is in process even as I write this), where are the remains to be reinterred – and as a blood relative, do I have any say in the matter?

Sunday's Obituary: John Gaines

Manassas Journal
January 17, 1913

DEATH OF MR. JOHN GAINES

Member of Co. A, Fourth Virginia Cavalry, Dies in His Home Tuesday Night

Mr. John Gaines, 76 years old, a member of Co. A, 4th Virginia Confederate Cavalry, and one of the best known citizens of the upper portion of Prince William county, died after a brief illness in his home near Hickory Grove, at an early hour Tuesday night of pneumonia.  The funeral took place from the home yesterday afternoon, Rev. W. E. Gibson, formerly pastor of the Middleburg church, officiating, and interment was made in the family burial ground near his former home.

The deceased, who was an honorable and upright citizen, kind neighbor, devoted husband and father, and a brave soldier who followed Lee and Jackson through many hard fought battles, is survived by his widow, three daughter, Mrs. George Galleher, Mrs. John Brawner, and Miss Lucy Gaines, and by an only son, Mr. Latham Gaines.

Thriller Thursday: Arundel and Davis Murder (4th Virginia Cavalry)

Alexandria Gazette
February 10, 1864

John T. Arundel and Samuel Davis, of Prince William county, privates in the 4th Virginia cavalry, were murdered one night last week in Dumfries, by a negro man while asleep.  They were guarding from negroes, whom they had captured, and falling asleep one of the negroes murdered both, by knocking them in the head, with an axe.  The Richmond Examiner of Monday last contains the following:  "We learn that on Friday last two members of the Prince William cavalry, named Davis and Arundel, succeeded in capturing four negroes in the Yankee service, belonging to the "Home Guard" of Fairfax county.  The cavalrymen took the negroes to Dumfries, and on Friday night placed them in an unoccupied house.  Having imprudently fallen to sleep, the cavalrymen were attacked and overpowered by the negroes, their skulls cleft by some sharp instrument, and their bodies, mutilated in the most horrible manner.  They were found next morning weltering in their blood, and lived only long enough to relate the circumstances of the terrible tragedy which had befallen them."

Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, VA)
February 10, 1864