Report on the 2010 First Colony Tour:

This sold out tour proved to be a great experience for those lucky enough to get tickets.  The bus, laden with happy passengers, pulled out of the Best Western Hotel in Culpeper at 9:00 a.m. on Friday July 16, headed for a day of friendship, history, education, and a little wine!

ELK RUN CHURCH

The first stop was the Elk Run Church, whose first minister, the Reverend James Keith, a Scot, married Mary Isham Randolph. The original building, a handsome brick cruciform (cross-shape) structure, survived into the early 19th century and then was abandoned and its fine building materials probably scavenged by local farmers for use in their houses and barns.
 
Local volunteers, assisted by professional archaeologists, discovered the stone foundation of the original church, giving us a glimpse into the past. An original corner is exposed with a small brick cruciform structure built over it to serve as a museum.

Stone Foundation of Elk Run Church	Ed Dandar shares his knowledge

The area around the Elk Run church was formerly part of the Hamilton Parish of the Church of England.  By Virginia law, all persons living in the parish were required to attend the parish church at least once every two months.  Our Germanna ancestors, living at Germantown, necessarily attended this church.  It may be here that some of them met the young English men and women whom several of the Germantown residents later married.

Documentation exists establishing that many Germanna individuals lived in the area. For example, several of them are represented in the 1751 List of Taxpayers for Hamilton Parish.  Those on the tour received a handout listing the individuals which included the following names: Buttons, Danl.; Fishback, Harmon; Holtsclaw, Jacob; Hitt, Peter; Hoffman, Phil; Hitt, Jos.; Hitt, Herman; Martin, James; Martin, Henry; Rector, Jacob ; Rector, Henry; Spilman, Henry; Spilman, Jacob; Weaver, Peter; Spilman, Jacob.

Ed Dandar, our host at the Elk Run Church site, and Madison Brown

For the third consecutive year, our First Colony Tour participants were welcomed by Ed Dandar, who heads Elk Run restoration project. Ed shared his considerable knowledge while guiding the group through the museum, the cemetery location, and then discussing the artifacts uncovered in the dig.

German pottery shards that were found at the Elk Run Church site and what the pottery may have looked like:

The Reverend and Mrs. Keith had a daughter, Mary Randolph Keith, who married Thomas Marshall. Thomas Marshall and his wife Mary purchased land at Germantown from one of the First Colony families and lived there. Their eldest son, John Marshall, was born at Germantown. He served as a Revolutionary soldier, became a prominent lawyer, and served more than three decades as the most important Chief Justice of the  Supreme Court of the United States.

Chief Justice John Marshall	Elk Run Museum

 
ROGERS FORD WINERY

After leaving Elk Run, we traveled the Old Carolina Road to Rogers Ford Winery.  Stepping back into the antebellum south, we strolled through the 55-acre historic farm which dates from 1825 and overlooks the Rappahannock River.

Vineyard at Rogers Ford Winery	Relaxing at the Vineyard

Wine and history proved to be a great combination with wine tastings in the intimate tasting room and Civil War buffs hearing the intriguing history behind Roger's Ford.  Jim Flanagan regaled the tour participants with many historical gems about the area while on the bus and upon arrival at the winery, where the owners, the delightful John and Carlotta Plunkett, greeted the group as if they were family.

George Kemper Home

 
The winery is located in a beautiful area of southern Fauquier county known as Sumerduck. The home of George Kemper, built in 1825, is located there and now occupied by John and Carlotta’s son, and his family. George Kemper was a descendant of John and Alice/Ailsey (Otterbach) Kemper, the 1714 immigrants. His ancestry is as follows:

Carlotta Puckett addressing the Germanna group

Carlotta revealed some fascinating letters from a Civil War soldier who had been stationed in the area for about six weeks: the soldier described in picturesque detail the grapes that were growing there at the time and many other elements that transported us all back into time.

After a most delicious lunch and imbibing of superb quality wine from the Rogers Ford Winery, we boarded the bus for Rectortown but only after unanimous agreement that in future tours, more time must be allotted for the Rogers Ford Winery stop!

MOVING ON DOWN THE ROAD

Along the way to the next stop, we gave our travelers a map of Germantown and discussed their living arrangements there. We also discussed the members of the First Colony and how many there were. Records taken from DeGraffereid’s “Relation of my American Project” state the following:

During the approximately one hour drive to Rectortown, the group delved into a most interesting discussion addressing the purpose for which the First Colony immigrants came to America. A map of the Siegerland with all of the known mines, furnaces and hammers was distributed to the group with no less than 40 mines in existence in the Siegerland, some dating to 1249! The Siegerland is known for its mining industry and that’s why Johann Justus Albrecht was sent there to recruit miners by the Georg Ritter Company.

Many of the members of the First Colony had experience in the mining industry and we know that Jacob Holtzclaw’s ancestors and the Fishback’s ancestors experience dated back to at least the early 1400’s. We next discussed the area of Virginia where the First Colony settled, Essex County and Stafford County, both well known for mining and minerals. There were no less than 10 mines in the area at the time of our ancestors.

The First Colony lived in an area in Germany filled with mines and the mining industry, then they move to the Germantown area in Virginia that also has mines and mining…..hmmmm….

RECTORTOWN

At Rectortown, Katharine Brown delivered a superb lecture on the history of the area.  Some of the highlights of her comments were:

Rectortown is significant on a local level in the area of transportation as an example of an 18th century rural crossroads that evolved into a local rail center during the mid-19th century with the arrival of the Manassas Gap Railroad (now the Norfolk-Southern Railway).  

Its military significance is on a statewide level. During the Civil War, it became the center of Mosby's Confederacy, the talented band of Confederate rangers led by the flamboyant officer, John S. Mosby, who wreaked havoc on Union forces throughout the area in 1864 and 1865.

Rectortown was also the place where General George McClellan, commander of all federal forces in the early years of the Civil War, received orders from President Abraham
Lincoln officially relieving him of those duties.

Although Maidstone was the official name of the village as early as 1781 and actually continued to appear in the official records of the county as late as the late 19th century, Bishop Francis Asbury in his journal entry of May 22, 1781, refers to the settlement as "Rectortown." His journal entry states:

''We set off for Rectortown, being informed it was about twenty-two miles; we found it nearly thirty (from Leesburg). I reached there, weary and dispirited, about half past two o'clock; I spoke for an hour with great assistance, both loud and clear, to an apparently unconcerned people.” 

It would appear that his reception in Rectortown was not what he would have wished, and it was relayed to us by Ellis Hitt that the Bishop did stay many times with his ancestor, Harman Hitt.

Another prominent visitor to Rectortown in the 18th century was George Washington. Again, there is no specific documentation that Washington lodged in the town, but, in 1786, he wrote to his nephew Fielding Lewis admonishing him for purchasing a lot in Rectortown, indicating that he was familiar with the village and had definitely visited there at some point prior to penning the missive. Washington said:

"Altho' your disrespectful conduct toward me, in coming into this country and spending weeks therein without ever coming near me, entitles you to very little notice or favor from me; yet I consent that you may get timber from off my land in Fauquier County to build a house on your lot in Recter [sic] Town. Having granted you this, now let me ask what your views were in purchasing a Lott in a place which I presume, originated with and will end in two or three Gin Shops, which probably will exist no longer than they serve to ruin the proprietors, and those who make the most frequent applications to them."

Washington clearly had little confidence that "Rectortown" would survive beyond a few years. He would be proved wrong and the town thrived throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. It remains a charming rural village.

The district contains six properties with resources that date from the 18th century, several of which would have been in place prior to Asbury's and Washington's visits. One of them is the home of Harman Hitt, still standing although not occupied. Ellis Hitt told us that Harman Hitt died at the age of 99 while rocking in his rocking chair on the porch! We did see the Hitt house along with the Halley-Hitt house, located across the street, the home of Benjamin Hitt, all Germanna descendants.

Halley-Hitt House

We were welcomed at the  Caleb Rector House by none other than Mrs. Caleb Rector, aka Judy Reynolds, Executive Director of the Mosby Heritage Association. Judy's knowledge of the history of the area was impressive  indeed and she shared her vast treasures of information with us.

Caleb Rector House	Mrs. Caleb Rector aka Judy Reynolds

      
After leaving Rectortown, we traveled back to Culpeper through the historical town of Marshall and traveled the back roads to our destination. Information was shared about the Spring Valley District, the home of Joseph Holtzclaw.  Also, we discussed the historic home Ashland/Ashlawn consisting of 327 acres, once thought to be on land owned by Jacob Holtzclaw, but this land was actually bought by Joseph Martin in 1727 for his two young children, Henry and Mary Martin. John Kemper purchased the tract next to it for his two young children on the same day and it too consisted of 327 acres! 

       
Everyone on the tour left enriched and enlightened. There is so much more to learn and to do that some of these stops warrant a return trip next year.  Mark your calendars and plan to attend the July 15 - 17, 2011 Germanna Conference and Reunion. And plan to get your tickets early to next year's First Colony Tour as it will certainly sell out too after the great success of this year's event!