John Lewis (1678 - 1762)

Born 1 Feb 1678 in County Donegal, Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (Lynn) Lewis — married 1715 in Donegal, Ireland

Descendants

Died 1 Feb 1762 at age 84 in Bellefonte, Augusta, Virginia

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Biography

John Lewis was a Virginia colonist.

Origins and Family

John Lewis of Beverley Manor, Augusta County, Virginia was a son of Andrew Lewis and Mary Colquhoun. He was born on 1 February 1677/8 in County Donegal, Ireland and died on 1 February 1762 in Augusta County, Virginia.^[1]

According to the National Huguenot Society, John's grandfather William Lewis (Guillaume Louis) was a French Huguenot.^[2] He and relatives fled France, William traveling to (Northern) Ireland, where his son Andrew was born and married Mary Calhoun (the Huguenot Society source locates his birth in France, but most others in Ireland).^[3] Some sources claim the move to Ireland occurred in 1685, but that date conflicts with John Lewis’s date and place of birth (1677/78 in Donegal). A more accurate date for his parents’ move to Ireland may be reflected in Howe’s history of Virginia. Howe wrote that the Lewis family fled France during the persecutions that followed the death of the country’s King Henry IV, which occurred in 1610 (although this would.^[4] But the chronology is not known with certainty.

In 1715 in County Donegal, Ireland, John Lewis married Margaret Lynn, daughter of William Lynn and Margaret Patton, who was born on 3 July 1693 in County Donegal and died in 1773 in Bellefonte, Augusta County, Virginia.

The children of John and Margaret (Lynn) Lewis have been reported as:

1. Samuel Lewis, born 1716 in County Donegal, Ireland (see Lore and Legends... section below).

2. Thomas Lewis, born 27 April 1718 in County Donegal, Ireland; died 31 January 1790 in Rockingham County, Virginia.

3. Gen. Andrew Lewis, born 24 April 1720 in County Donegal, Ireland; died 26 September 1781 in Botetourt County, Virginia.

4. Alice Lewis, born 1722 County Donegal (see Lore and Legends... section below).

5. Maj. William Lynn Lewis, born 17 November 1724 in County Donegal, Ireland; died 1812 in Virginia.

6. Margaret Lynn Lewis born 1726 in County Donegal, Ireland ; died 1797 in Kenturky.

7. Anne Lewis born 1728 in County Donegal, Ireland; died in York County, Pennsylvania.

8. Col. Charles Lewis born 11 March 1735/36, probably in Orange (now Augusta) County, Virginia; died on 10 October 1774, killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant (now West Virginia).

As to the emigration of John Lewis to America, Peyton relates that he came when he was fifty, placing his emigration about 1728, and further that he lived first in Pennsylvania and awaited the arrival of his wife and children.^[5]

After arriving in the Shenandoah Valley around 1732, he was to spend the next 30 years of his life, from 1732 until he died at age 84 on February 1, 1762, as a prominent resident and leader of the expanding and thriving community.^[6]

Chronology of Life in Virginia

It is reported that the couple’s first homestead was located on Middle River in Augusta County, but that the family soon moved to the property known as Bellefonte - belle for "fine” or “good” and font for “spring".

In 1732 the area was part of Spottsylvania County, then Orange County after 1734. In 1736, William Beverley received a grant of more than 118,000 acres from King George II of England. William Gooch was governor of Virginia at that time. Lewis, who had been technically a squatter on the land for four years, acquired official title to his lands in 1739. His land comprised 2071 acres at that time, the largest tract in Beverley Manor. The cost was 14 pounds, which was forgiven by Beverley because Lewis served as leader and guide to hundreds of incoming settlers, which often strained his hospitality.

By 1737, perhaps before and certainly after, John Lewis and one or more of his sons, often with other partners, were acquiring grants for large tracts of land outside Beverley Manor boundaries, including the Pastures areas to the west. In 1749 a group including John Lewis acquired lands along the Greenbrier River.

In 1738, Augusta County was established by the Virginia General Assembly, but the county was not incorporated, with sufficient population to sustain county courts, until 1745.

In 1738 or 1739, Lewis hosted the first minister, who delivered the first sermon in the upper Valley in the person of the Reverend James Anderson, Presbyterian minister from the Synod of Philadelphia. Lewis, with others, also secured the services of the first settled, resident minister of the upper Valley, Rev. John Craig, in 1740.

Perhaps as early as 1739, although this is problematic, John Lewis was engaged in the milling trade. The original name of Lewis Creek was Lewis' Mill Creek.

When the county was incorporated in 1745, Lewis was appointed as one of the original justices of the peace. He served in this capacity, and as a member of the Augusta County Court, until at least 1752.

In 1745, a grant of 100,000 acres was made to John Lewis and his associates under the name of the “Greenbrier Company”. ^[7] Much of this land was located on the Greenbrier River, a name given to the stream by John Lewis.^[5] In 1751, Lewis and his son Andrew would survey the Greenbrier tract.^[4]

Staunton, originally called Beverley's Mill Place, received its name in 1748, after Lady Staunton, wife of Governor Gooch. Lewis' leadership in attracting new settlers, and his great sense of civic responsibility, witnessed in his advocacy of schools, new roads, and other community projects, proved of great value.

According to Augusta County deed records, the site of the original Bellefonte (Lewis) homestead was owned successively by William Beverley, John Lewis, then his son, Andrew Lewis. The Lewis family held the land until 1793, when it was deeded to Robert McCulloch. The "stone house" on the property is mentioned in this transaction. McCulloch died about 1806, and the property was acquired from his estate by D. W. Patterson in 1817.

Will and Probate

John Lewis wrote his will on November 28, 1761 and named - in this order - his wife Margaret, son William, son Andrew, daughter Margaret Crow, and son Charles. His eldest son Thomas received no bequest, but he was one of the designated executors, along with his brothers Andrew and William. The will was proved by one witness on November 18, 1762 and by another on February 16, 1763.

Original Will:^[8][9]

In the name of God Amen I John Lewis of the County of
Augusta Being reduced by age and Infirmitys to a very low state of
Health Hourly Expecting my Dissolution and Departure of this life I have
thought proper to make the Following Disposition of What worldly good I am
Possessed first Recomending my soul to that being from whom I Received my
Existance firmly Relying on his great goodness that in Jesus Christ he
will receive it graciously my Body to be buried according to the
Discretion of my Executors. It is then my desire that all my just Debt
be paid and this part of my will be performed as soon as possible.
It is my further will that out of what Debts is owing to me and my
Personal Estate a sufficent provision bemade for the Maintainence of
my Dearly beloved wife Margaret. I give and bequeath to my dearly
beloved son William his heirs & assigns that tract or Tenement of Land
with the Mills and Everything thereunto Belonging commonly Called the
Mill place which I hold by a lease of the Late William Beverly Esqr on
the Conditions, hereafter named. I give to my Dear grandson
John son of Andrew the sum of Twentyfive pounds & a horse Called Donald.
I give to my Dearly Beloved Daughter Margaret Crow the sum of
Thirty Pounds. To Each of my children and Each of my Grand
Children of the same name with my self & wife I give Mourning rings.^[10]
To my Dearly Beloved son Charles Lewis I give the sum of Ten pounds
to purchase a watch on which my name shall be Engraven on as a
Testimony of my Esteem. It is my further will that if the Debts due me
and my personal Estate should not be sufficient for the purposes above
mentioned that an equal Moiety of the profit of the Mill and lands
above mentioned be apropriated to the Maintenance of my Dear
wife & after her death to the payment of half the legacies to my
daughter Crow and Grandson John in Case my other Effects will
not be sufficient for the above purposes the over plus I give to my Dear
wife to be Disposed of by her as she shall think proper.
It is my further will and pleasure that all my wearing apparal be
given to Patrick Barnet. I further desire that my Executors after
named shall Reward Betty Taylor over and above her wages according
to their discretion for the tender Care she shall Excercise towards [me] in this
my present Illness & that in the same manner & for the same
End to my servant woman Molley. And I do hereby appoint my
sons Thomas, Andrew and William Lewis Executors of this my last will
and Testament declaring this to be my last only will and whereunto
I have caused my seal to be put and signed with my name this 28th day
of November 1761
John Lewis signature and seal
In the presents of
Chas Lewis, Thos. Raferty, Betty Taylor (her mark C)

Probate: Court was held on November 18, 1762 from an earlier continuance. Will of John Lewis "gent dec" was proven by oath of witnesse Betty Taylor, but was continued to February 16, 1763, for further proof. On that day will was proven by oath of Thomas Raferty a witness. Motion of Exparte was granted to Thomas, Andrew, William Lewis and John Madison to obtain probate. "The parties having security entered into bond," and were ordered to pay One Thousand Pounds surety.

Lore and Legends of John Lewis and Family

As might be expected with a larger-than-life figure such as John Lewis, numerous stories, embellishments, or exaggerations have emerged about his life and origins. More prominent examples include:

Welsh Origins

One old but mistaken family tradition, published in 1893, relates that the family went first to Wales and established the family name there. W. T. Lewis wrote, "All the Welsh Lewises are related, as they sprang from the same original stock."^[11] To the contrary, a search of Welsh births and baptisms at www.familysearch.org reveals 14 persons named Lewis born in either Wales or England between 1541 and 1610.^[12] Clearly, the surname Lewis has multiple origins, as evidenced by the Y-DNA results of FamilYTreeDNA's Lewis project revealing multiple Y-DNA haplogroups.^[13] At the same time, not one Lewis in the rather large project claims a French origin.

Margaret Lynn as "Daughter of the Laird"

Howe described Margaret as a daughter of “the laird of Loch Lynn, who was a descendant of the chieftains of a once powerful clan in the Scottish Highlands”.^[4] Regrettably, however, there are at least two problems with this description. First, the Lynns were entirely a Lowland family and were never a clan nor a sept or family of any clan, the name Lynn being entirely absent from every credible printed history of Scottish clans. Second, a thorough study of about four hundred Scottish historical sources reveals only two Lynn families who were lairds in Scotland and reveals, further, that neither of those family’s properties included a loch. One family were lairds of the minor barony of Lynn in Dalry, Ayrshire, which does include a Lynn Falls but no loch. The other were lairds of the minor barony of Lyne in Peeblesshire, which includes the Lyne Water (a “water” being a stream) but again no loch.

Leaving Ireland

The stone at his gravesite and monument in Staunton, Virginia, memorializing John Lewis commences with the inscription "Here Lie the Remains of John Lewis Who Slew the Irish Lord Settled Augusta County, Located the City of Staunton And furnished five sons to Fight the Battles of the American Revolution," and this story of persecution and flight is an important component of the legend of John Lewis.

There are two somewhat differing accounts about the circumstances under which John Lewis and his family left Ireland. One names Lewis’s Irish landlord as Sir Mungo Campbell and the other as Lord Clonmithgairn. The latter can be easily laid to rest because Clongmithgairn does not exist as an Irish place name in any of the online Irish place name databases, including the site that matches variant spellings with historical versions of place names.^[14] It is thus no surprise that “Charles of Clonmithgairn” first appears in the 1862 work of fiction discussed below.

The name for the landlord as noted by Peyton is Sir Mungo Campbell. Peyton’s account, claimed to be that of Lewis’s son William, asserts that the Lewises leased land in County Donegal from a “proud, profligate and extravagant” man named Sir Mungo Campbell, who devised a scheme to coerce his tenants to pay inflated rents. When Lewis protested, the account continues, the oppressive landlord launched a brutal attack to evict Lewis and his family from premises of which Lewis held a freehold lease. During the attack, Lewis’s wife was wounded, and his invalid brother Edward was killed. Lewis defended his family, slaying the landlord and his steward in the process.^[5]

Advised to flee the country, Lewis, his family, and "about thirty of his faithful tenantry" it is said, all left for America. They landed in Virginia and made their residence in western Augusta County, where Lewis settled on Lewis Creek just a few miles south of Staunton. "After due investigation," Peyton continues, "a pardon was granted to John Lewis, and patents are still extant, by which his Majesty granted to him a large portion of the fair domain of Western Virginia."^[5]

“The Valley Manuscript” Hoax

John Lewis and family, and more particularly his wife Margaret Lynn Lewis, is noteworthy for being the subject of a literary and historical/genealogical hoax which has led many a Lynn and Lewis genealogist up a non-existent family tree.

Under the pseudonym Fanny Fielding, Mary Jane Stith Upshur submitted “The Valley Manuscript” a/k/a “Common Place Book of me Margaret Lewis, nee Lynn, of Loch Lynn, Scotland” not to a Virginia historical magazine but to one in North Carolina. Several historical facts included in the manuscript in fact did not occur until after Margaret (Lynn) Lewis had died. Commenting on the manuscript in a 1948 Richmond news article, Margaret’s direct descendant Judge Lunsford L. Lewis decried it as a hoax, saying “[It] is pure fiction; its spuriousness is apparent on its face, yet very many persons have been deceived by it.”^[15] Upshur showed a wanton disregard for truth or for anyone other than herself, giving no thought to the great disservice her fictitious diary has done to the descendants of John and Margaret (Lynn) Lewis.

Daughter Alice Lewis

Reports of John and Margaret having a daughter named Alice arose from this claim being made in the 1862 "Valley Manuscript" book (see above) that was passed off as the diary of Margaret (Lynn) Lewis but was written in fact by a known southern author of prose and poetry.

Judge Lewis disputed the existence of a daughter named Alice, and she does not appear in W. T. Lewis's 1893 work^[11]or other early genealogies of the families.^[1]

Son Samuel Lewis

Somewhat more contentious are claims of an eldest son, Samuel, allegedly born in 1716 in County Donegal, Ireland. There is no direct evidence that he existed or lived in Virginia, which is somewhat odd, given the prominence of his parents and siblings. A son named Samuel is not mentioned in either Lewis’s will or Howe’s history of Virginia but is mentioned by Peyton, but only in the context that it is "believed" he was buried at the same gravesite as his father.^[5][16] For a time there were claims that he had was a casualty during the Indian Wars (there was someone named Samuel Lewis who died), but historians have concluded that this was a different person.

Legacy of John Lewis

Historians acknowledge the monumental impact that John Lewis had on the region and its development. A paragraph from Peyton’s “History of Augusta County” describes Lewis:

“Lewis, himself, was a man endowed with many noble qualities. Of a martial spirit and heroic courage, he was formed to excel in war; the ardent friend of progress, of public improvements, of trade and commerce, wise in his conceptions and persevering in his plans, he was equally adapted for peace. Irreproachable in his public and private morals; courteous, affable, and eloquent; fond of society and excelling in conversation, he excited the love and admiration of the people who adhered to him and the policy he pointed out, as well from their attachment to his person as because of their respect for his talents and character ... Providence ordained him to become a pioneer of civilization—to erect the standard of the Cross in the wilderness. In the colony which he founded the Church anticipated the town and the county Before either was established the Gospel was preached in the houses of the settlers or under the shade of the trees. In Col. Lewis’ house, indeed, the first sermon ever delivered in the county was preached by Mr. James Thompson in 1739.”^[5]

Despite such accolades, John Lewis did not get along with all men. A feud erupted between him and Col. James Patton, his wife’s relative. An innocent party, Parson John Craig, was stuck in the middle. Craig’s autobiography is quoted in part as saying ...

“So high a Difference happened between Col. John Lewis & Col. James Patton both Living in that Congregation which Continued while they Liv’d Which of them Should be highest in Commission & power which was hurtful to ye Settlement but Especially to me; they were Jealous of my interest with the people to Such a Degree that I Could Neither Bring them to friendship with Each other Nor obtain both their friendshipes at once Ever after; they both had Good interest with ye people of their own party; and one of them always by turns bitter Enemies to me which was very hurtfull both to my peace & Interests, they by turns Narrowly watched Every Step of my Conduct – marred my Support to ye utmost of their power – use their interest with ye people to Drive me from the place or Starve me out for wont of Support but to no purpose, for the people always intertain’d a Good opinion of me. My Character alway Stood Clear, tho they hurt my Estate very much this Continued for 13 or 14 years till Coll. Patton was murdered by the Indians at that time he was at peace with me after his Death Coll. Lewis was friendly to me till he Died.” ^[16]

Summing it all up,

“Even with this fault, John Lewis was without a doubt an extraordinary man perfectly suited for the extraordinary times of the late colonial period. He oversaw the progress of this area from a frontier to a bustling community that was on the forefront of what would become, a decade later, the movement that birthed the United States of America. John Lewis died at the age of 84 in 1762 and was buried atop a hill near Bellefonte.”^[16]

In 1900, Joseph L. Crowder, a Staunton, Virginia citizen, realized that Lewis’s grave was in a dilapidated state, and the inscription on the monument was even then very hard to read. On 18 November 1900, Mr. Crowder, with great effort, copied this inscription:

" Here Lie the Remains of John Lewis Who Slew the Irish Lord Settled Augusta County, Located the City of Staunton And furnished five sons to Fight the Battles of the American Revolution. He was the son of Andrew Lewis and Mary Calhoun Was born in Donegal County Ireland 1678 and Died February 1, 1762 aged 84 years. He was a brave man A true patriot and a Friend of Liberty Throughout the World. Morta litate Relicta Vivit”^[17]

In subsequent years, the citizenry of Staunton saw fit to honor their founder by constructing an obelisk to his memory in a city park, which repeats the inscription show above (sources forthcoming).

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Frazier, Irvin; Cowell, Mark W. Jr.; and Fisher, Lewis F. (1985). The Family of John Lewis, Pioneer. San Antonio, TX: Fisher Publications, Inc. 1985. Pages 1-6. Described as “the latest, most comprehensive work and definite starting point for researchers and descendants of this family.”
2. ↑ William Lewis/Guillaume Louis. [QHA-331}. Qualified Huguenot Ancestors. Link
3. ↑ Kallal, Jeannine S. 2012. Register of Qualified Huguenot Ancestors of The National Huguenot Society. Fifth Edition. Page 331. San Antonio, Texas. 2012.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Howe, Henry (1845). Historical Collections of Virginia. Charleston, SC: Babcock & Co. 1845. Pages 181-3.Link
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5} Peyton, J. Lewis (1882). History of Augusta County, Virginia. Staunton, VA: Samuel M. Yost & Son. 1882. Pages 23-31. Link
6. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #8881752
7. ↑ Bailey, Kenneth R. "Greenbrier Company." e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, 30 Sep 2013. Web, 4 Dec 2016. Link
8. ↑ Family Search. Augusta Virginia Will books, 1745-1871; index to wills, 1745-1903. Will books, v. 3-4 1761-1772. Film # 007643867. Images 142 & 143. Link
9. ↑ Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2021. Link
10. ↑ Mourning rings. Wikipedia Link
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Lewis, William Terrell (1893). Genealogy of the Lewis Family in America, from the Middle of the Seventeenth Century Down to the Present Time. Louisville, KY: Courier-Journal Job Printing Co. 1893. Pages 5-13. Link
12. ↑ Search Results for Lewis Births and Baptisms 1541-1610 Link
13. ↑ Y-DNA Results of the Lewis Project Link
14. ↑ Internet search for Clonmithgairn. Link
15. ↑ Layman, Loretta Lynn (2019). "Margaret (Lynn) Lewis, The Valley Manuscript, and The 'Laird of Loch Lynn.'" Revised 24 April 2019. Link
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1 16.2} Dollack, Bill. "Augusta Colonial Founders: John Lewis." Christian History Society. Link
17. ↑ Scots-Irish of Early America Blog. Article on "John Lewis (1678-1782)" by A. Walker. October 30 2007. Link

Additional Sources

• Howell, Margie Ellis (Mrs. Roy) : “Kinfolks of William Parke and Synah Perry & Josiah Wilson and Margaret Crow. Including the Related Families of Hammonds, Lewis, Stephens, Wheeler, Estes, Lynn, Hopper, Ficklin, Ellis and Others” (1967).
• Pecquet du Bellet, Louise : “Some Prominent Virginia Families”, Lynchburg, VA (1907), vol. 2, p. 620.
• WeRelate.org Contributors. Article on "John Lewis & Margaret Lynn." Link
• Page 120 The LEW I S Fam i 1 y extracted from the Bassett Genealogy (1926) https://occgs.com/projects/rescue/family_files/files/LEWIS%20Family.pdf

Sons of the American Revolution

I, Robert B. Christian, being 44 yrs old descend from Andrew Lewis (Ireland 1720-Virginia 1781).

I was born town of Tuscumbia, Franklin (now Colbert) County, Alabama, 3 Feb 1850

Son of Archibald S. Christian and Pauline Cabell Lewis

Grandson of William Lewis born Virginia and Nancy McClenahan

Great-grandson of Andrew Lewis born in Ireland 1720 and Elizabeth Givens

Gggson of John Lewis born in Ireland and Margaret Lynn

Ggggson of Andrew Lewis born in Ireland and Miss Calhoun

Gggggson of William Lewis fr[om] France in 1685 and Miss McClelland

The said Andrew Lewis born 1720 was Brigadier General in Virginia U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Lewis-3344 created through the import of pshinn geneology 2011-6-7.ged on Jun 11, 2011 by Paul Shinn.
• Edits outlined at Changes page.
• The original John Lewis will was located by Eileen Bradley in the Family Search Catalog, and then transcribed by her as written, without correcting grammar, punctuation, capitalization or spelling. Limited changes were made by Jeff Lewis based in part on transcription printed in Frazier.