Jeremiah Virgin (abt. 1724 - abt. 1791)

Born about 1724 in Prince George's County, Maryland

Ancestors

Husband of Lucy (Dickerson) Virgin — married 1743 in Maryland

Descendants

Died about 1791 at about age 67 in Kentucky, United States [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Stephen Mosier [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Virgin Name Study.

Jeremiah Virgin's biography comes from Virgin Vicissitudes^[1] unless otherwise referenced:

Jeremiah Virgin was probably born about 1724 in Prince George’s County, Maryland, the son of John Virgin and Elizabeth Dickerson, who was the widow of Thomas Hunter.^[2] Sometime before 1750, he married Lucy (maiden name unknown). Lucy has been reported to have been a Dickerson cousin, but that has not been proven.^[3] In 1744, Jeremiah received 100 acres of land on the Patuxent River in Prince George’s County from his uncle John Dickerson’s estate.

Jeremiah and Lucy had eight children:

Brice, b. 1746, d. 1821^[4]

Rezin, b. 1750, d. 1825^[5]

John, b. 1753, d. 1827^[6]

Clara, b. 1756, d. 1818^[7]

Thomas, b. 1760, d. 29 Apr 1822^[8]

Eleanor “Nellie”, b. 16 May 1763, d. 26 Mar 1853^[9]

Lucy, b.17 Sep 1769, d. 1847^[10]

Jeremiah, b. 8 Apr 1781, d. 31 Mar 1848^[11]

In 1759, Jeremiah served on a grand jury in Frederick County, Maryland.^[12] Since Frederick County was created in 1748 by the Province of Maryland from parts of Prince George's County and Baltimore County, it is possible that Jeremiah lived in the part that became Frederick County. He sold his land in Prince George’s (or Frederick) County in 1760. In 1769, Jeremiah’s family is in southwestern Pennsylvania when his first daughter Lucy was born, settling in the area below the Youghiogheny River near Virgin Run. Sometime before 1774, the family moved to the western side of the Monongahela River, where Jeremiah had 200 acres “on the middle fork of Ten Mile Creek” in present-day Washington County, Pennsylvania. At the time, this land was in dispute between Pennsylvania and Virginia, and Jeremiah got his land grant from Virginia. The 1781 Washington County Supply Tax List shows Jeremiah Virgin, with 200 acres, 2 horses, 1 cattle, no sheep, value=108 in Amwell Township.^[13] On 31 Dec 1785, Jeremiah sold his 200 acres of land. He signed his name to the deed, showing that he was able to write. 1791 is the last year that Jeremiah is enumerated in the tithable list (taxable males 21 and over) of Ohio County, Virginia (now West Virginia), and that is the year he probably moved to Bourbon County, Kentucky, where he is taxed that year and listed in the 1791 census for Bourbon County.^[14] The family probably traveled to Kentucky by flatboat, which they could do via the Monongahela River to where it joins the Alleghany and Youghiogheny Rivers at Pittsburgh, thence down the Ohio River and on to the mouth of Cabin Creek in Kentucky. After 1791, nothing is known of Jeremiah. He is believed to have died in 1791 in Bourbon County, Kentucky.^[2]. It is not known where he is buried.

From History of Kentucy: ^[15]

The First White Child, born of American parents, west of the Allegheny mountains — Mrs. Lucy Downs — was a resident of Old Town. Greenup county, for over 40 years. She was the daughter of Jeremiah and Lucy Virgin, born Sept. 17, 1769, in what is now Fayette county, Pa., near Union town, which was then called Beesontown. She removed in 1790, with her parents and brother Brice Virgin, to Limestone, now Maysville, Ky., and thence in 1792 to Cincinnati — where she was married Sept. 20, 1800, under a marriage license issued by Gen. Arthur St. Clair, as governor of the territory of the United States north-west of the Ohio. In June. 1845, part of her regular family at Old Town were her daughter, grand-daughter, and great-granddaughter; she then distinctly remembered Gen. Washington's visit to her father's and a neighbor's in 1773, when surveying what was afterwards called Washington's Bottom.

From the Louisville Courier-Journal:^[16]

ASHLAND.

A monument marking the grave of Lucy Virgin Downs, first white child born of American parents west of the Allegheny Mountains was placed in Oldtown Cemetery, Greenup County, 101 years after her death.

The marker, a plain three-foot tablet, was installed by a great-grandson, Henry K. Odenton, Cincinnati. It bears this inscription: “Lucy Virgin Downs, 1769-1847. Lucy Virgin Downs Was First White Child Born Of American Parents West Of The Allegheny Mountains. – Collins’ History of Kentucky.”

According to the Collins’ History, Lucy was born September 17, 1769, in what is now Fayette County, Pennsylvania, near Uniontown. In 1790 she moved with her parents, Jeremiah and Luch Virgin, to Limestone, now Maysville, Ky. After her marriage she lived for more than 40 years at Oldtown.

Sources

1. ↑ Family History: "Virgin vicissitudes : descendants of John and Elizabeth Dickerson Virgin of Prince George County, Maryland, including families that migrated into Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and points west"
   https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/100389-virgin-vicissitudes-descendants-of-john-and-elizabeth-dickerson-virgin-of-prince-george-county-maryland-including-families-that-migrated-into-pennsylvania-kentucky-ohio-indiana-and-points-west?offset=10 (accessed 6 September 2023)
   Identifier: 151934; Creator: Rutherford, Dolores Crumrine; Language: English; Subject: Virgin family; Extent: 14 [i.e. 24] leaves; Page Count: 26; Owning Institution: FamilySearch Library; Publisher Digital: FamilySearch International; Access Level: Public.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #147902620 (accessed 6 September 2023)
   Memorial page for Jeremiah Virgin (1724-1791); Maintained by dcterri (contributor 47511169).
3. ↑ Marriage: "U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900"
   Source number: 8865.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: JJ2
   Ancestry Record 7836 #1264107 (accessed 6 September 2023)
   Jeremiah Virgin marriage to Lucy Dickerson.
4. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #147904550 (accessed 6 September 2023)
   Memorial page for LT Brice Virgin (1746-1821), citing Clawson Cemetery, Princeton, Butler County, Ohio, USA; Maintained by John Blakemore Sellers (contributor 47059533).
5. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #38833186 (accessed 6 September 2023)
   Memorial page for Capt Rezin Virgin (1750-1825), citing Old Town Cemetery, Oldtown, Greenup County, Kentucky, USA; Maintained by Anastasia L. Topping (contributor 46874247).
6. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #59577141 (accessed 6 September 2023)
   Memorial page for John Virgin (1753-1827), citing Old Town Cemetery, Oldtown, Greenup County, Kentucky, USA; Maintained by Terri (contributor 47258393).
7. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (no image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #213126835 (accessed 6 September 2023)
   Memorial page for Clara “Cloe” Virgin Stewart (1756-1818); Maintained by John Blakemore Sellers (contributor 47059533).
8. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #133577878 (accessed 6 September 2023)
   Memorial page for Pvt Thomas Virgin (1760-29 Apr 1822), citing Locust-Plummer Cemetery, Grayson, Carter County, Kentucky, USA; Maintained by dcterri (contributor 47511169).
9. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #21379617 (accessed 6 September 2023)
   Memorial page for Eleanor “Nellie” Virgin Swearingen-Newhouse (16 May 1763-26 Mar 1853), citing Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, USA; Maintained by Jane Denny (contributor 46932556).
10. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
    Find A Grave: Memorial #8189894 (accessed 6 September 2023)
    Memorial page for Lucy Virgin Downs (17 Sep 1769-1847), citing Old Town Cemetery, Oldtown, Greenup County, Kentucky, USA; Maintained by Dan Blevins (contributor 46568508).
11. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
    Find A Grave: Memorial #43101474 (accessed 6 September 2023)
    Memorial page for Jeremiah Virgin (8 Apr 1781-31 Mar 1848), citing Clawson Cemetery, Princeton, Butler County, Ohio, USA; Maintained by 47117651 (contributor 47117651).
12. ↑ Jury Duty: "This Was the Life, Excerpts from the Judgment Records of Frederick County, Maryland, 1748-1765"
    Original data: Rice, Millard Milburn. This Was the Life: Excerpts from the Judgment Records of Frederick County, Maryland, 1748-1765. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2002
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 49379 #110283 (accessed 6 September 2023)
13. ↑ Tax: 1781 Washington County Supply Tax, Pennsylvania Archives, Series 3, Vol. 22, page 705. https://archive.org/details/3rdpennsylvaniaarch22harruoft/page/704/mode/2up
14. ↑ 1791 Census: "Kentucky, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1787-1890"
    Original data: Jackson, Ron V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp.. Kentucky Census, 1810-1890. Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes
    Ancestry Record 3549 #7870002 (accessed 6 September 2023)
    Jeremiah Virgin in Bourbon, Kentucky.
15. ↑ Book: History of Kentucy, Vol. II, by Lewis Collins, Collins & Co., Covington, Kentucky, 1878. Page 301. https://archive.org/details/collinshistoricav02coll/page/300/mode/2up
16. ↑ Newspaper: The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, Sun, 22 Aug 1948