The Family Tree Searcher
Volume 9 - Number 2
December 2005
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Editor’s Page ................................
................................
................................
.......................2
By Roger C. Davis
Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold Has Ties to Gloucester Area................................
................3
By Jennie Stokes Howe
History of The Gloucester - Yorktown Ferry System ................................
.......................10
By H. Leon Hicks and L. Roane Hunt
Local Newspaper Articles Available on Microfilm ................................
...........................29
Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal Library
Will Ashe From A Small Beginning ................................
................................
.....................31
By L. Roane Hunt
Images of Gloucester County - Photographic Essay ................................
.......................39
By David Girard
A Genealogy for Harry Randolph Jordan ................................
................................
..........41
Compiled by Harry R. Jordan
African American Sailors in the Union Navy................................
................................
..... 47
Submitted by Blondell Whiting
Surname Files at Gloucester Library Virginia Room.............................
Inside back cover
Visit the website for Gloucester Genealogical Society of Virginia at
http://www.rootsweb.com/~vaggsv/
Vol. 9, No. 2
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December 2005
The Editor's Page—
Discovery is an exciting adventure, whether it is your first trip
by boat up the York River or learning about the 1607 Settlement
of Jamestown. Given a chance, history is exciting when connected
to your local environs, people, and events that shape local lives
and communities. People create the history of place and so
genealogy and history become an overlapping drama of the times
and legacy of place.
Most of us remember the little jingle, “In 1692 Columbus
sailed the ocean blue,” but how well do you know the stories of
Captain John Smith and his explorations of the Chesapeake Bay in
1608 or Captain Bartholomew Gosnold and his short-term
Roger C. Davis
management of the Jamestown Settlement? All of these
“historical” events took place in our own backyard!
Lord Cornwallis was defeated at Yorktown in 1781 when he could not cross the York
River on a rainy night and escape with his troops. This same spot is rich in history and
local names as described by H. Leon Hicks in his article, “History of the GloucesterYorktown Ferry System from 1867-1952.” Roane Hunt adds to this article with his research
of names of people involved with the Ferry System. Discovery—our own Board Member,
Harry Jordan, served as a Purser! Harry provides us with exerpts of his Jordan family
genealogy, and his manuscript is added to our
Vertical File at the Virginia Room in the Gloucester
Library.
Jennie Howe looks for Gosnold “connections” to
Gloucester and related families, such as Bacon, Smith,
and Burwell. She waits for National Geographic’s
televised documentary, expected this Fall, to report on
the Gosnold DNA studies. I asked David Girard to
share some of his photographic images of Gloucester
with the Journal. Let’s learn about and enjoy history
and our local legacies!
Roger C. Davis, Editor
[email protected]
Jamestown's big 400 th Anniversary Events
May 2007 - Big Anniversary Weekend at Jamestown. England's
Queen Elizabeth II and America's George and Laura Bush are
expected to attend. Follow the events at:
www.jamestown2007.org Click on "Signature Events".
See the just released movie, The New World.
May 12, 2007 - Start of the 1,700-mile journey of Capt. John Smith's
explorations of the Chesapeake Bay (1608) in the 30 ft. replica
shallop (boat built for sail and oars).
Vol. 9, No. 2
2
Queen Elizabeth II is escorted up the
University of Virginia Lawn by President
Frank Hereford, July 10, 1976, during her
first visit to the United States. She is
expected to attend the Jamestown 400th
Anniversary Celebration in May 2007.
photo by Roger C. Davis, 1976
December 2005
Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold Has
Ties to Gloucester Area
By Jennie Stokes Howe
Bartholomew Gosnold, Captain of the Godspeed which landed at Jamestown in 1607,
was the son of Anthony Gosnold and Dorothy Bacon Gosnold of Hessett, Suffolk, England.
His Bacon family kin include Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., (1620-1692; Governor, President of the
Virginia Council, buried at “Ringfield” off Colonial Parkway) and Nathaniel Bacon, Jr., “The
Rebel” (1647-1676; said to have died at “Bacon’s Fort” at Woods Cross Roads in Gloucester,
and secretly buried). There is a marker at “Warner Hall” in Gloucester County, telling of
Nathaniel Jr.’s adventures there during the uprising against Gov. Berkeley and the Indians,
when “The Rebel” and Capt. William Byrd ransacked Warner’s home. Ironically, Bacon was
kin to Gov. Berkeley’s second wife, Lucy Frances Culpeper Berkeley. In addition, the
Yorktown monument is on land originally owned by Nathaniel Bacon (re: “Colonial
Yorktown” by Trudell). Collateral connections to the Bacon and Gosnold kin in Gloucester
include the Todd family of Toddsbury.
Also in this Bacon lineage is Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626, English statesman,
philosopher and essayist, whose death was the result of a “fowl experiment” in cold
storage; he caught cold while stuffing a fowl with snow in order to observe the effects of
refrigeration on the preservation of meat.) There has been interesting speculation that Sir
Francis was actually the playwright William Shakespeare. Fueling the flames of this socalled “Gosnold-Shakespeare
Theory” is the easily-imagined
picture of Bartholomew Gosnold
relating his New World experiences to his distinguished Bacon
kinsman, who, some argue,
authored “The Tempest.” (To
enjoy more of this theory, read
Joseph L. Eldredge’s “Prospero’s
Hen” on the internet through
Humility Press.)
Among the tombs at the
entrance of Abingdon Episcopal
Church (the graves moved there
in 1911 from Fairfield/Carter’s
Creek) in Gloucester Co., Virginia,
is the tabletop tombstone of
Abigail Smith Burwell, another
Gosnold cousin. The daughter of
Mrs. Nathaniel Bacon, Sr. (portrayed by Margaret Pickett),
Anthony Smith and Martha Bacon beside the grave of Abigail Smith Burwell (Bacon’s niece and
Smith, Abigail’s gravestone reads:
heiress) at Abingdon Episcopal Church, Gloucester
Vol. 9, No. 2
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December 2005
Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold Has Ties to Gloucester Area
“To the Sacred Memory of ABIGAILE the Loveing & Beloved Wife of Maj. LEWIS BURWELL of
the County of Gloster in VIRGINIA, Gent. who was descended of the illustrious Family of
the BACONS and Heiresse of Honbl. NATHANIEL BACON, Esqr. President of Virginia who
Not being more Honorable in her Birth Than vertuous in her Life Departed this world the
12th day of November 1692 aged 36 years haveing Blessed her Husband with four Sons and
six Daughters.” As well as being his heiress, Abigail was reared by her uncle Nathaniel, Sr.
and his wife, Elizabeth Kingsmill Bacon. (When portraying Elizabeth at a Gloucester
Genealogy Society meeting on March 28, 2005, Margaret “Peggy” Pickett noted that Abigail
died just six months after her benefactor, Nathaniel Bacon, Sr.)
Children of Abigail Smith (1656-1692) and husband Lewis Burwell (c1647-1710) of
Fairfield/Carter’s Creek in Gloucester include:
*Nathaniel Burwell, who married a daughter of Robert “King” Carter. Nathaniel and
Elizabeth Carter Burwell were grandparents of Rebecca Burwell (who refused the hand of
Thomas Jefferson, instead marrying Jaqueline Ambler, and had daughter, Mary Willis
Ambler, who was the wife of Chief Justice John Marshall).
*Elizabeth Burwell, who married Benjamin Harrison of Berkeley and whose son
married Anne Carter, another daughter of “King” Carter. They were ancestors of two
American presidents, William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison.
*Martha Burwell, who married Henry Armistead (Martha and/or her sister Lucy were
courted by jealous Gov. Nicholson, who caused quite a stir, before he was reprimanded
by the girls’ father and called back to England.)
*Lucy Burwell (b 1683) married Edmund Berkeley (The son-in-law of Joan Stubbs of the
Gloucester Genealogical Society is a descendant.)
Now having many Gloucester, Virginia connections, Bartholomew Gosnold was born in
Suffolk, England by 1572 (when he is mentioned in a will). Otley Hall, the family seat in
Suffolk, was filled with stories of the great voyages of discovery by men such as Giovanni
Verrazano and Sir Humphrey Gilbert. Bartholomew attended Cambridge, studied law at
Middle Temple, and married Mary Golding. They had a daughter, Martha, born in 1602,
and a son, Paul, born in 1605. Mary G. Gosnold was granddaughter of Sir Andrew Judd,
Lord Mayor of London and was also Robert Gosnold , b. abt 1514, d. 1559
a cousin of Edward M. Wingfield
and of Sir Thomas Smythe (founder +m. Mary Vesey
of the East India Company, a leader
Anthony Gosnold , b. abt 1536
of the Virginia Company, and at the
+m. Dorothy Bacon
time, England’s foremost world
Bartholomew Gosnold, b. c 1571, d. Aug 22, 1607
trader). Gosnold and Henry
+m. Mary Golding
Wriothesley (pronounced “Risley”),
Martha Gosnold, b. 1602, d. 1603
the Third Earl of Southampton,
Paul Gosnold, b. 1605
were together at Cambridge and
also read law at the Middle Temple.
Anthony Gosnold, d. Jan 1, 1608/9
Having become entranced with
the idea of exploring the New
World, in 1597 Bartholomew joined
the Earls of Essex and Southampton
on an expedition to raid the Azores.
His first crossing of the Atlantic,
some researchers say, was an
Wingfield Gosnold
+m. Unknown
Mary Gosnold
Ursula Gosnold, d. Jul 10, 1655
Elizabeth Gosnold
+m. 1599 Thomas Tilney
Vol. 9, No. 2
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December 2005
Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold Has Ties to Gloucester Area
unsuccessful attempt to found a colony in Virginia with Sir Walter Raleigh. Others say his
first trip to America was an effort to start a colony farther north, in what became known as
New England. Funded by Raleigh and the Earl of Southampton, Gosnold sailed from
Falmouth in March 1602, in command of the Concord. This group, consisting of one ship
and a total of twenty colonists and twelve sailors, sailed to the Azores, and from there took
a direct westerly route, unusual for the time when it was common to sail much farther
south. They made the crossing in about seven weeks, sighting land at Cape Elizabeth,
Maine. Sailing south in search of a suitable settlement, they anchored just east of York
Harbour on May 14, 1602. The next day, Bartholomew sailed farther south and discovered
the promontory which he named Cape Cod, after the large number of cod they caught in
the area. He named Martha’s Vineyard for his infant daughter, who died the following year.
Elizabeth Island, he named after the queen, or some say for Bartholomew’s sister, Elizabeth
Tilney, (who married a distant relative of Anne Boleyn).
On his father’s side, Gosnold was connected to Bartholomew Gilbert, his co-captain in
the “discovery” of Martha’s Vineyard. Two of the voyage’s “gentlemen adventurers,”
Gabriel Archer and John Brereton, kept detailed accounts of this voyage. They relate that
Gosnold and Gilbert were seeking a place called “Norumbega,” the broad sound and river
harbor that Verrazano had sailed into and named eighty years earlier. They continued to
sail down to Lambert’s Cove where they went ashore and “ambled and gamboled after the
manner of sailors ashore” (re: Gookin). Archer records that they met again “thirteen
Savages…[who] brought Tobacco, Deere skins and some sodden fish.” Records indicate
they were given a guarded but polite reception. The original plan had been to leave
Gosnold and his party of gentlemen adventurers to start a colony, while Gilbert returned
for more supplies. However, after it was learned that Gilbert had already been sparing with
the original provisions, all hands
decided to return to England with
him. The colonists had remained on
Elizabeth Island for three weeks, even
going so far as to build a fort, but had
become disillusioned by the hostility
of the Indians and a scarcity of
provisions. Numbering as few as
twelve by some accounts, they abandoned the colony, stocked up the ship
with cargo of “sassafras, cedar, furs,
skins, and other commodities as were
thought convenient” and returned to
England, arriving in Exmouth on July
23, 1602. Some accounts charge that
Sir Walter Raleigh “who with some
reason thought he owned the New
World, tried to confiscate Gosnold’s
Godspeed was the second largest vessel in the
cargo of cedar and
fleet. She was a typical small merchant trader, but the
sassafras.” (Raleigh was already
age or origin of the original is not known. This ship
importing sassafras from other
now docked at Jamestown was built in 1984, and a
places, and Gosnold’s cargo would
year later sailed across the Atlantic following the route
have flooded his market, destroying
taken by the colonists in 1607 from England to
his monopolistic pricing of a valuable Virginia. Its dimensions: length 68 feet, mast height
60 feet, 40 tons burden.
medical ingredient.)
Vol. 9, No. 2
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December 2005
Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold Has Ties to Gloucester Area
The small town of Gosnold in the Elizabeth Islands of Massachusetts is named for
Bartholomew, and a 70-foot high monument to the explorer stands on the beach.
Back in England, Gosnold next turned his attention to Virginia, and after long effort
succeeded in organizing a company for colonization in that region. Heading the company
were the famous Captain John Smith, Robert Hunt, and Mary Gosnold’s cousin, Edward
Wingfield. On December 19, 1606, Gosnold set sail as vice admiral of a fleet headed by
Christopher Newport, and with a total of 105 colonists aboard. Of the 93 whose names are
known, 59 were listed as “gentlemen” (which explains why the colony initially had difficulty
getting any work done)! Gosnold captained the Godspeed, with 39 passengers and 13 crew.
This was the second-largest vessel in the fleet (including the Susan Constant and the
Discovery) that sailed from England and landed at Cape Henry, Virginia, on April 26,1607.
The voyage took much longer than usual, as a storm held them up just off the coast of
Kent for nearly six weeks, and then they took the southern route which was more familiar
to Christopher Newport. After stops at the Canaries, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Nevis, the
Virgin Islands and Mona, finally the fleet reached the Chesapeake Bay and the mouth of a
river they named “James” after the king.
Disembarking about thirty miles above the mouth of the James in mid May, they left
their ships and went ashore to build Jamestown. Gosnold himself opposed the secluded
swampy sight chosen for the settlement, but he was overruled by Wingfield. Upon landing,
they opened the council list on which Bartholomew’s name was found, and elected Edward
Maria Wingfield as their president. (As an aside, Bartholomew’s uncle had married Ursula
Naunton, whose mother was Elizabeth Wingfield, Edward Wingfield’s great-aunt.)
Gosnold was popular in the colony, and before returning to England, Captain Newport
asked President Wingfield “how he thought himself settled in government,” to which
Wingfield answered that “no disturbance could
endanger him or the colony, but it must be wrought
either by Captain Gosnold, or Master Archer, for the
one was strong with friends and followers, and
could if he would; and the other was troubled with
an ambitious spirit, and would if he could.” After
completing some brief explorations, (and failing to
find the gold he was hoping for) Newport loaded his
ships with wood as cargo and returned to England
on June 22. The colonists had not prepared well
and depended largely on corn obtained by trade
with the Indians. This supply dried up in the
summer, prior to the corn harvest, so provisions fell
short. This, combined with the swampy island the
colonists had settled on, led to a deadly sickness
breaking out. A malaria epidemic in August 1607
took many lives. Of the 105 colonists, fifty died by
the end of the first summer. Among these was
Bartholomew Gosnold. It was reported that he
suffered a three-week illness before dying at Jamestown on August 22, 1607, at about 37 years of age.
This grave was found in 2002, just
outside the Jamestown fort
At his burial, all of the ordinance in the fort
was fired in his honour “with many volleys of small
shot,” as recorded by another colonist, George Percy.
Vol. 9, No. 2
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Is it Bartholomew Gosnold,
Capt. of the Godspeed?
December 2005
Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold Has Ties to Gloucester Area
John Smith, in the midst of bragging of his own exploits, credited Gosnold with being “a
prime mover” behind Virginia’s colonization; and Edward Wingfield, the colony’s first
president, wrote after Gosnold’s death that he was “a worthy and religious gentleman…
upon whose life stood a great part of the good success and fortune of our government and
colony.”
Nearly four centuries after Gosnold’s death, archaeologists, in 2002, discovered a
body shrouded and buried in a casket just outside the western wall of the original James
Fort, aligned with head and feet parallel to the wall. The gravesite was in the middle of
what was later identified as the parade grounds just outside the fort. The shape of the
casket was inferred from the positions of casket nails and of the skeleton in the ground.
The fact that the grave was located outside the palisade walls indicates that the body was
buried in the early days of the settlement, before it was directed that all graves be dug
within the fort’s walls, to keep hidden from the Indians the fact of the weakening numbers
of colonists. The grave was found beneath a pit filled with artifacts that date to the 1630s,
so it was clear the burial dated so much earlier that its existence may have been forgotten.
The well-preserved skeleton was identified as belonging to an Englishman no taller than 5
feet 5 inches, who died in his mid-thirties, with a robust chest and the beginning stages of
arthritis.
A captain’s ceremonial staff had been placed beside the coffin during the burial
ceremony. The staff, with an iron tip shaped decoratively into a cross, is the only
ceremonial object that has ever been discovered in a Jamestown burial. It has been
identified as an accessory used by military captains to lead troops in battle, or that
captains and other luminaries held while reviewing their crews. “Somebody buried this
man and left something here to say, ‘The future will know this man as a captain,’” William
M. Kelso said in 2003, after experts at the British Museum researched the significance of
the staff. If the burial dated to the first year of settlement, the careful interment and the
inclusion of a ceremonial item showed that immense respect had been paid.
Kelso, director of archaeology for the Association for the Preservation of Virginia
Antiquities, which oversees Jamestown excavations, and his staff narrowed the possible
identity of the man who was buried to Gosnold and two others: Capt. Gabriel Archer, the
colony’s first secretary, and Sir Fernando Wehnman, master of the fort’s ordnance. Archer
and Wehnman died in 1610, three years after Gosnold. The colonists, in a false show of
strength to the Indians, would have had to defy orders from England, if they had buried
anyone outside the fort then. “We are confident that the remains…are those of
Bartholomew Gosnold. If we can find matching DNA, we will have done everything possible
to confirm the identity of this great man,” said Kelso.
In that pursuit, after more than two months of detailed consultation, careful plans
were made for two archaeological teams in June 2005, to dig inside two country churches
in the English county of Suffolk. For the first time, church authorities granted special
permission for DNA material to be extracted from a grave to aid a scientific project.
Archaeologists were hoping to unearth the 400-year-old skeletons of Gosnold’s sister,
Elizabeth Tilney, and niece, Katherine Blackerby. Their goal was to compare the English
women’s mitochondrial DNA bone samples with genetic material extracted from the
skeleton unearthed in Jamestown and thought to be Gosnold’s. The required samples are
to be as small as a single tooth or tooth-sized piece of bone, archaeologists have stated.
Other than the samples, no bones were to be removed from the graves. The English and
Virginian archaeologists participating in the excavations were to be joined by Douglas
Owsley, a forensic osteologist from the Smithsonian Institute who initially examined the
Vol. 9, No. 2
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December 2005
Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold Has Ties to Gloucester Area
Jamestown skeleton. Owsley and a colleague were to assist the archaeologists by making
sure they obtained bone samples from remains that are clearly of a woman who died at the
ages of Gosnold’s sister and niece. Gosnold’s sister is thought to be buried at All Saints,
Shelley, a tiny church in the country southwest of Ipswich, with a congregation of “a dozen
or so,” according to a Church of England spokesman. The niece’s grave is at St. Peter and
St. Mary Church (with a congregation of about 60-70), in the town of Stowmarket, about 15
miles northwest of Ispwich, a coastal part of England where the geography is similar to
coastal Virginia.
If everything goes smoothly and the DNA matches, it will indicate that the grave in
Jamestown is indeed that of Bartholomew Gosnold. As Andrew Petkofsky of the
“Richmond Times-Dispatch” further reported on June 12, 2005, “Bill Kelso, leader of the
archaeologists who rediscovered the site of James Fort in 1996 and unearthed the skeleton
in 2002, feels that Gosnold’s importance in founding the New World’s first enduring
English settlement has been lost. He said history is heavily based on accounts by the selfpromoting John Smith and others who lived longer and saw themselves as the heroes…The
whole reason for archeology at Jamestown is to find out the rest of the story.”
That story will unfold to the public when National Geographic reports the DNA test
results in a television documentary expected to air on November 20 and in repeat
broadcasts. Other photographers were not allowed to record the actual excavation because
the NGS was given exclusive rights to photography in exchange for financing the
excavations.
Be on the lookout for this exciting news! Is the grave found at Jamestown that of
Bartholomew Gosnold, the captain with Gloucester connections?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sources include:
Chorlian, Meg, Ed. Cobblestone’s Discover American History, “Bacon’s Rebellion,” 2001
Day, Betty Wrenn, “Godspeed Crew Reunites for 20-year Anniversary,” “Gloucester- Mathews Gazette-Journal,”
30 June 2005
Eldredge, Joseph L., “Prospero’s Hen,” Humility Press, P.O. Box 1595, W. Tisbury, MA
“Encyclopedia Americana,” 1959 edition, vol 3, p. 24; vol. 13, p. 69
Gookin, Warner F. and Barbour, Philip L., “Bartholomew Gosnold: Discoverer and Planter,” 1963, Archon Books,
Hamden, CT
Keith, “Ancestry of Benjamin Harrison,” 1893 (Bacon chart unfolds)
Morello, Carol, “U.K. Excavation May Rewrite U.S. History,” Washington Post, 9 May 2005, from “The Lunenburg
Letter,” Summer 2005
National Geographic News, “Photo in the News: America’s Lost Founding Father?” 31 Jan 2005,
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/01/0131
Neely, Paula, “Gosnold DNA Exploration Gets Go Ahead,” Historic Jamestowne, APVA Preservation Virginia (804)
648-1889
O’Brien, Mattie Gregory, Gregory Family Tree chart
Petkofsky, Andrew, “Historical verdict to rest on dig, DNA,” “Richmond Times -Dispatch,” 12 June 2005
Roberts, Gary Boyd, “Ancestry of American Presidents,” 1995, p. 14 -19, 366
Torrence, Clayton, “Winston of Virginia,” 1927, p. 362, 372 Trudell, Clyde F., “Colonial Yorktown,” 1938, 1971
“William and Mary Quarterly,” vol. 10, no. 4, p. 267-271
Williamson, Gene, author of “Chesapeake Conflict,” 1995 (Gloucester roots)
Vol. 9, No. 2
8
December 2005
Bacon Family Chart
Thomas Bacon m. Anne ____
John Bacon
John Cage
Robert Bacon m.
Isabella Cage
(will probated 1547)
Edmund Bacon m. Elizabeth ____
William Rawlins
Hegesset Hall (will probated 1553)
(London grocer)
Francis Bacon m. Elizabeth Cotton
James Bacon
(d. 1580)
(alderman, fishmonger,
Sheriff of London)
Elizabeth Bacon
married
m.
Margaret Rawlins
Sir James Bacon, Knight
(d. 1618)
Rev. James Bacon
married
(1) ___
Nathaniel Bacon
(d. 1649) Rector
Burgate, England
(1593-1644)
Martha Bacon m. Anthony Smith
(will probate 1667)
Col. Nathaniel Bacon
Thomas Bacon
(1620-1692; Gov., Pres. Council)
m1. Anne Bassett Smith?
m2. Elizabeth Kingsmith Tayloe
(c1624-1691)
Abigail Smith
m.
(1656-1692)
Buried
Abingdon Church
Gloucester, VA
(1647-1676) m. 1670
Lewis Burwell
Elizabeth Duke
(c1648-1710)
of Carter’s Creek
/Fairfield
Gloucester, VA
(Came to VA in 1674;
had two daughters)
Elizabeth Burwell
Nathaniel Burwell
m. Benjamin Harrison m. Elizabeth Carter
Martha Burwell
m. Henry
Armistead
of Berkeley (d. 1710)
Benjamin Harrison IV
m. Ann Carter
Carter Burwell
(built Carter’s Grove)
Gov. Benjamin Harrison
m. Elizabeth Bassett
Nathaniel Bacon, “Rebel”
Lucy Burwell
m. Edmund
Berkeley
Joanna Burwell
m. Wm. Bassett
of Eltham
Lewis Burwell III
m. Mary Willis
Rebecca Burwell
m. Jaqueline Ambler
Lewis Burwell IV
m. Judith Page
(d/o Mann Page of Rosewell)
Pres. Wm. Henry Harrison
m. Anne Tuthill Symmes
Mary “Polly” Willis Ambler
m. Chief Justice John Marshall
John Scott Harrison
m. Elizabeth Ramsey Irwin
Pres. Benjamin Harrison
m1 Caroline Lavinia Scott
m2 Mrs. Mary Scott Lord Dimmick
Vol. 9, No. 2
9
December 2005
History of The
Gloucester-Yorktown Ferry System
1867—1952
By H. Leon Hicks and L. Roane Hunt
H. Leon Hicks was born in 1927 to Paul and Pauline Hicks from Ohio. Paul came to
Gloucester to serve as pastor of the Achilles Friends Church. Leon was employed by the
York River Ferry Corporation in the latter years prior to its closing. He was very proud
of his association with the ferry service and was most familiar with the personnel
employed in those latter years. He compiled his book in 1990, thirty -eight years after
the ferry closing. He states that his list of ferry personnel was a partial list of those that
he was able to recall. The editors have added to his list from other sources. Leon’s
primary sources for his book were the various newspaper articles printed about the
ferry including the complete text of some of the articles. The editors have added a list
of local newspaper articles from an index available in the library of the GloucesterMathews Gazette-Journal office in Gloucester Courthouse. Leon, now deceased,
provided copies of his book to family and co -workers, and his book provides the basis
for this present article. L. Roane Hunt, December 2005
On October 11, 1938, Mr. William T. Ashe died, and the Bank of Gloucester, as
executor for the estate, operated the ferry. The ferry corporation was formed in April,
1940, with the Virginia Conference Orphanage owning two-thirds of the stock and Mrs. W.
T. Ashe the remaining third (Gloucester Gazette, 1949, History and Progress Ed., p.2).
York River Ferry dock and ferry at Gloucester Point
For centuries, ferries of one kind or another have crossed the York River between
Gloucester Point and Yorktown, Virginia. “The York River is narrow at these two points
and the beach is protected and inviting—hence, its popularity as a ferry site.” (GazetteJournal, May 7, 1952, Vol. XV, p.1.)
Vol. 9, No. 2
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December 2005
Gloucester-Yorktown Ferry System
Long before the white man settled at Jamestown in 1607, the Indians paddled the first
ferries across the York River in log dugouts. It is not known when the first white man
crossed the York River on a ferryboat, but the first mention of it occurs in the Calendar of
State Papers, dated January 22, 1690, when Lieutenant Ross was sent to James City, and his
orders state that he was to go by way of the York Ferry. (Gazette-Journal, May 7, 1952, Vol.
XV, p.1.)
William Henry Ashe of Gloucester was the first to operate the Gloucester PointYorktown ferry, on a permit that had been granted to J. Lyle Clarke by the County Court of
Gloucester in March, 1867. Mr. Ashe was later granted a franchise for ninety-nine years by
act of Assembly of Virginia, March 6, 1886. This act granted Mr. Ashe permission to establish the ferry from Gloucester Point to Yorktown, but it specified that the franchise might
be revoked at any time. (Daily Press, Newport News, Va., Coleman Bridge Supplement, May
7, 1952, p 2).
A small flat skiff first served the passengers, and a larger “horse boat,” which was a
big Staten Island skiff, was used for horses and light carriages. Two men with strong
muscles and oars provided the power for this first ferry. Usually, the skiffs tied up on the
Gloucester side of the river and the Yorktown people had to flag them when needed.
(Richmond Times-Dispatch, Sunday, May 4, 1952, p. 4-B).
After the death of the elder Mr. Ashe, his widow, Lucy H. Ashe, rented the franchise to
Clifton Richardson. (Lucy Ashe and Clifton Richardson were first cousins and grandchildren of Joel Hayes, founder of Hayes Store Post Office.) He built the first lighter used in
the crossing. This flat-open lighter had a small boat with a 25-horse engine lashed along
side to provide the first “scheduled” transportation. There were no docking facilities on
either side of the York River, so the boat simply ran ashore at the most convenient spot
and unloaded its passengers and vehicles off a bow ramp. (Daily Press, Newport News, Va.
May 7, 1952, Coleman Bridge Supplement.) This lighter had a car capacity of four.
In 1917, William T. Ashe leased the ferry system from his mother for the sum of fifty
dollars a month, and “the privilege of purchasing it at her death for ten thousand dollars”
according to a contract made in the County of Gloucester on January, 1917. When his
mother died in 1937, he did buy the franchise for that amount.
Ferries Knitted 19th and 20th Century Tidewater
One of the surest roads to success in early Virginia was to operate a ferry across a
busy Tidewater river, or to maintain an inn in a crossroads town or county seat. Then as
now, the state regulated transportation and hostelries for the safety and convenience of
the public. Operators usually did well.
This is the story of how a Gloucester man named William Henry Ashe, in 1886, was
licensed by the General Assembly to operate a ferry service between Yorktown and
Gloucester. The previous franchise had lapsed in May of 1862, after federal forces under
General George B. McClellan had seized Yorktown and Gloucester during his campaign up
the Peninsula to try to capture Richmond. The ferry was a monopoly and did good
business.
I spent a lot of hours, as a boy, on Tidewater bridges and ferries, and they interested
me. I can just remember Mr. Ashe’s son, William T. Ashe, who inherited the York River
ferry in 1917 and ran it until he died in 1938. His heirs sold the operation in 1951 to the
State Highway Department, which replaced it with the Coleman Bridge the next year.
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Gloucester-Yorktown Ferry System
It’s hard to realize now how slow the ferryboats were, back in the days of Captain
Willie Ashe. They shuttled every 20 minutes or so from a dock close to the present Nick’s
Seafood Pavilion in Yorktown (it hadn’t started in Mr. Ashe’s day) to another dock where
VIMS docks its vessels nowadays on Gloucester Point.
On a summer Sunday in the 1930s, Model T Fords would line up for a half-mile from
each ferry dock. I remember them at Gloucester, queued up from the remains of the Civil
War fort now adjoining the Coleman Bridge approach all the way down the hill to the ferry
pier.
It wasn’t a big ferry, but it was a busy one. On his busiest days, Will Ashe kept three
boats running: the Gloucester and York and a third vessel, the Palmetto or Virginia, which
was normally a standby for the others.
After William Ashe died in 1938, the ferries were taken over by a corporation and run
for his widow and the Methodist Orphanage in Richmond, between whom he divided his
estate. (He left no children.) In 1951, the state paid $785,646 for the ferries before opening the bridge and ending ferry service. They transferred the aging ferryboats after that to
other state ferry runs.
Captain Ashe was usually to be seen running the ferries. His top helper was David
Burke of Gloucester, who kept them running after Ashe died. Besides each ferry’s skipper,
it had a half-dozen enginemen and deckhands, who loaded cars aboard, chocked cars
wheels, put up steel gates to keep cars from going overboard, and finally gave the signal
for the ferry to sail. Then it was “All a-b-o-a-r-d” and no stopping for late arrivals, even
though they often came screaming down wharf hill, trying to stop the ferry.
Do you remember Gloucester in those days? The ferry road meandered between
stores, cottages, and hollyhocks. Captain Ashe built his own house, Ashe Villa, near the
ferry dock. He liked to watch the ferries from his house when off-duty.
In those days, the waterfront of Gloucester Point was largely covered in pines. The
Navy, in 1917-18, had rented part of this land from Sarah’s Creek to the Point, as a recreational camp for Atlantic fleet crewmen in World War I. A football field and baseball diamond stood on the bluff, just downriver from the Point.
In the 1920s a group of about 25 Richmond families bought there and developed
Gloucester Banks, a summer colony. A Richmond engineer, Edmund Conquest, just out of
VMI, got building experience cutting and trimming pine trees to build two dozen cottages,
each with three or four bedrooms, for about $3,000 each. Gloucester Banks is still there,
but the cottages are now (1990) assessed at above $40,000 each.
There has been a ferryboat at Gloucester Point from Virginia’s early years, for it is the
narrowest point on the lower York. After service lapsed in the Civil War, Judge J. Lyle
Clarke of Gloucester in 1867 granted a county permit to William Henry Ashe, father of the
Captain Ashe, I remember. Actually, Judge Clarke’s order allowed Ashe to operate two
ferries—one a passenger boat, and the other “horse boat,” to permit riders and cart drivers
to get their horses and rigs across the river.
The judge specified the service thus:
“Horse boat...to be eight feet long with round bottom. Four hands with horse boat;
passenger boat to be 16 feet long, two hands to operate. Both boats to be substantially
built.” Passengers paid 25 cents each and vehicle paid 25 cents “per wheel.” Rates
were also given for sheep, hogs, cattle, boxes, barrels, and sacks.
To confirm Ashe’s franchise, the General Assembly in 1886 passed a similar act,
which was in effect until his son’s heirs sold the franchise in 1951.
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In 1867 and afterward, two oarsmen rowed each vessel. The passenger boat was a flat
skiff, while the "horse boat" was a “Staten Island skiff" with room for a cart or wagon. In a
rough sea, horses often became excited. They had to be enclosed to keep them from Jumping over and drowning.
After William Henry Ashe died, his widow rented the ferry franchise awhile to Clifton
Richardson. Richardson in the late 1800s replaced the row-ferry with a motorboat which
pulled a small lighter, lashed alongside. After Ashe’s son, William T., took the ferries over
in 1917, he commissioned the building of a tiny covered ferry, the Cornwallis, which was
followed in service by the larger York, Palmetto, Gloucester, and Virginia.
Traffic across the river greatly increased in 1931 after the highway department hard
surfaced Route 17 as the Tidewater Trail. Soon a bridge was obviously needed, but it took
the state nearly ten years to come to terms with the Army Engineers and the Navy, whose
demands resulted in a high-level draw bridge, whose $9 million cost seemed pretty heavy
in 1952. If the bridge were built today it would cost many times that.
The Ashe father and son were typical of Virginians who for generations held ferry
franchises from the colony or the Commonwealth. Often the ferryman gave his name to
the location as at Barrett's Ferry on the Chickahominy, Ingles’ Ferry on the New River near
Radford, on Light’s Ferry on the upper Potomac, crossing into Maryland.
Captain William T. Ashe has been dead 44 years, but his name is well remembered in
Gloucester. He was a Methodist and a lifelong benefactor of the Methodist orphanage at
Richmond. In his will, he left his wife his estate for her life and then left the remains to the
orphanage. He chose J. Marshall Lewis, late president of the Bank of Gloucester, to handle
the business of the ferries after his death for a nominal $2,500 yearly.
However, Mrs. Ashe renounced her husband’s will in favor of a dower right of a third
of the estate. So, the ferries were operated by a corporation for the joint benefit of Mrs.
Ashe and the orphanage until it was sold to the Highway Department.
Boat Builder—Willis T. Smith
[The following information article was published in the Newport News Daily Press on May 7, 1952.]
There were six ferryboats to serve the Gloucester Point­Yorktown Ferry System after
Mr. William T. Ashe acquired it. The first was the Cornwallis. Its builder, Willis T. Smith of
Achilles, Virginia, gave this account.
“Just like yesterday I remember it. One day late in 1918, Mr. William Ashe came to see
me and told me that he needed a proper ferryboat or the state was going to take over the
ferry service. We talked over the type of boat he would need and then A. J. Brown, who was
working for him, came down and we drew up the plans. It could be operated without a
licensed captain if it was no longer than 65 feet, so we planned it just that length. We cut
the keel on February 6, 1918. On May 26, we delivered her to Mr. Ashe, and she went right
into operation.”
With this new ferry system came proper ferry slips and other docking facilities that
were added to both sides of the river.
When Cap’n Willis Smith, builder of the Cornwallis, was asked in an interview about
the ferry system coming to an end in May, 1952, he made this rather perceptive comment.
“First thing you know, they will have bridges everywhere and just won’t need ferries anymore.”
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Gloucester-Yorktown Ferry System
York ferryboat, built in 1925, Operated until Coleman Bridge opened
The ferries and the men that ran them served their purpose faithfully and well. As I
inch along in traffic on the Coleman Bridge, I look down at the York River and the abandoned ferry slips, and think, “Well done!”
More Ferryboats
The Palmetto, the third ferry to
operate in the system, was an
enclosed double-ender, upper deck
with diesel screw and had a car
capacity of 26.
She was built by Charleston Dry
Dock & Machine Company in Charleston, South Carolina in 1926. “The
York and the Palmetto shared duties
during this time,” commented David
Burke, who went with the ferry
system in 1931. In his 21 years with
the Gloucester Point-Yorktown Ferry
system, he was deckhand, boiler
man, mate, purser, and when the
corporation was formed in 1940, he
became assistant manager and
remained in that capacity the entire
time the corporation existed. “The
York,” continued Mr. Burke, “was
Vol. 9, No. 2
Ferryboat YORK
Ornament for 2004
Sold at Gloucester Museum of History
and Gloucester Information Center
15
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Gloucester-Yorktown Ferry System
used in the winter because she had heat. The Palmetto was used when you didn’t need
heat, ’cause she didn’t have any.”
In 1939, the Palmetto was sold to an English firm and sent to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It
is interesting to note that this little vessel made the trip to South America under her own
power. Captain William Tingey and crew arrived from England to take over the ferry, now
rechristened Cubango. Captain Tingey pronounced the boat, “as sea­worthy as Noah’s Ark”
(Daily Press, Newport News, Va. May 7, 1952, p. 14). The Palmetto left Norfolk, Virginia, on
September 9, 1939, and reached her destination on November 11, 1939. It was an incredible journey for a boat of her size and type! (Daily Press, Newport News, Va. May 7, p. 15).
Miss Washington, a smaller ferry, replaced the Palmetto in 1939. She was built by the
Moon Shipbuilding Company of Norfolk, Virginia, in 1929, for the Rapphannock River Ferry
System. She had an 11-car capacity, and the pilot house was set off-center so that heavy
trucks and buses may be balanced. She was a double-ender, diesel screw with open deck.
She was in service for five years with the Gloucester Point­Yorktown run, and returned to
Rappahannock River duty in 1944. Miss Washington was the first ferry to be used for the
after-midnight run once 24-hour service began. According to David Burke, “She could be
operated on $200 a month—$60 for each of the three crew members and $20 for diesel
fuel.” The officials believed with this small ferry running all night it would provide service
for late travelers as well as emergency traffic. The late night traffic increased to a point
that within a few years this run, too, would be making money for the company. This
twenty-four hour service marked “a first” in Virginia.
The Gloucester, then
named the Cecil May
Adams, was purchased by
the corporation in 1941.
She had, also, been built by
the Moon Shipbuilding
Company in Norfolk and
had been in service on the
Potomac River after being
built in 1932. The
Gloucester stayed with the
ferry system until the
Coleman Bridge opened.
She was a double ender,
with off-center pilot house,
diesel screw and a car
capacity of 22.
Gloucester ferryboat, built in 1932, Purchased 1941 and operated
The Virginia, the last
until Coleman Bridge opened
of the six ferry vessels
arrived on the York River in 1942. She was the largest, fastest, and most modern craft to
serve, and one of the three ferries operating when the Coleman Bridge opened. This 327ton diesel ferry was made of steel, with a car capacity of 32. “She could cross the 1,000
yards of river in three minutes,” beamed David Burke, and she could cross and dock in
seven. She was fast!”
The Virginia was previously called City of Burlington, and was built by General Ship & Engine
Company in East Boston, Mass., in 1936. She was built for service on Lake Champlain before coming
to her new home on the York River.
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The Virginia had an exciting trip down from New York in 1942. At this time the
Atlantic seaboard was threatened by German submarines, and she came on “outside” with
no protection. David Burke made this observation during a personal interview. “There was
little fear of the Virginia being torpedoed by German submarines because the draft of the
vessel was so shallow that the Germans probably would not have used a torpedo on it. If,
however, a submarine had surfaced nearby, the Virginia would probably have been shelled
and sunk and if, of course, the German skipper had believed his eyes when he saw a ferry
with the words written on it, ‘Gloucester Point­Yorktown Ferry,’ many miles out at sea off
the New Jersey coast!”
Actually, the bridges in route from Lake Champlain to New York City proved to be the
real problem. The Virginia had a six foot draft, 40 foot breath, and 28 foot height. The
United States Engineer Office in New York informed Mr. Burke after a great deal of corresponding between the two that, “there are thirty-two fixed bridges crossing the route from
Lake Champlain to New York City having less than the 28 foot vertical clearance required
for the boat in question.” The problem was solved by the superstructure being removed
for the purpose of traveling in the Canal, and her bow and stern were filled with water, so
she would ride lower in the water. “So, at a cost of $180,000, and some anxious times by
her new owners, the Virginia made her uneventful trip alone down the coast to her new
home. She became queen of the Gloucester Point-Yorktown fleet, and rightfully so,”
reflected David Burke.
With the Virginia , York and Gloucester in good condition and active, the ferry
corporation sold the Miss Washington to the Virginia Department of Highways, and she was
returned to service at the same spot from which she had been purchased on the
Rappahannock. From 1944 until May 7, 1952, the York, Gloucester and Virginia were used
on the cross river runs until the Coleman Bridge made the service no longer necessary.
The opening of the Coleman Bridge on May 7, 1952, marked the beginning of an era
and an end of three centuries of ferriage across the York River. It is, however, a success
story, with its greatest growth and gross income increasing 100% between 1938 and 1948.
The securities of the Ferry Corporation were sold to the Virginia Department of Highways
September 14, 1951, for $785,646.40. The Methodist Orphanage, who owned two-thirds of
the corporation received $356,919.21 as its share of the income when the State Highway on
Department bought the corporation.
A great deal of promotional programs were begun by William T. Ashe to attract the
visitors to the Tidewater area. Travel folders, highway signs, and advertisements told of
the Tidewater area, with its ferry system linking Gloucester with Williamsburg, Norfolk and
points south. Mr. Ashe was instrumental in getting the Tidewater Trail, Route 17, from
Fredericksburg to Gloucester Point, roads paved. Up until that time the roads were like a
“sea of mud” (Daily Press, Newport News May 7, 1952, p. 2). A film, “The Colonial National
Park” was also commissioned by Mr. Ashe and is still shown in various states after being
turned over to the Department of Conservation and Development.
Known Ferryboat Personnel
Owners & Operators:
William Henry Ashe, b. 1833, d. 1895, f. Thomas Jefferson Ashe, m. Mary Camp, wf. Lucy
Hayes Hughes
Madison Clifton Richardson, b. 1857, f. Theophilus Richardson, m. Clarissa Hayes
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William Thomas Ashe, b. 1879, d. 1938, f. William Henry Ashe, m. Lucy Hayes Hughes, wf.
Linwood Roane
Manager:
Charles David Burke, b. 1913, f. Charles William Beauregard
Burke, m. Verna Etna Roane, wf. Ella Grey Johnson
Secretaries:
Ida Mae Jenkins, b. 1925, f. Marvin Alonzo Jenkins, m. Ida Sue
Thomas, 1st-h. Joseph Benjamin “Joe” Thomas, 2nd-h. Miles
Hudgins
Margerite Therethia Jenkins, b. 1924, f. Marvin Alonzo Jenkins, m.
Ida Sue Thomas, h. Franklin Neal Postlethwait
Other Office Personnel:
C. David Burke
William Franklin Burke, b. 1919, f. Charles William Beauregard
Burke, m. Verna Etna Roane, wf. Mary Florence Muse
Milton Stephen Hogge, Jr., b. 1927, d. 1990, f. Milton Stephen Hogge, Sr., m. Margaret Mae
Curtis, wf. Joyce Ambrose
George Thomas Armstead Newbill, b. 1912, d. 1985, f. John Thomas Newbill, m. Virginia
Leigh, wf. Elizabeth Bomaster
Hubert Landron Shackelford, b. 1894, d. 1970, f. John Mathew Shackelford, m. Alice Senora
Hogge, wf. Ada Lee Lewis
Ferry Captains:
Samuel Jones Belvin, b. 1891, d. 1972, f. James Thomas Belvin, Jr., m. Emiline Hall, 1st-wf.
Ruth Elaine West, 2nd-wf. Mamie Elizabeth Tillage
Joseph Howard Brooks, b. 1897, d. 1964, f. Josiah R. Brooks, m. Missouri A. Smith, wf.
Nancy Diggs
George Wilson Diggs, b. 1912, d. 1957, f. George Norman Diggs, m. Sadie Belle Minter, 1stwf. Mary Elizabeth Godsey, 2nd-wf. Roselyn Raines
Beverly Eugene Dunston, b. 1903, d. 1989, f. William H. Dunston, m. Marion Caroline
Gwynn, wf. Vernetta Mae Deal
Milton Thomas Harris, Sr., b. 1887, d. 1979, f. Thomas Robert Harris, m. Henrietta Savage,
wf. Marghuerita Lucille Dodd
Charles H. Hopkins, b. 1870, d. 1925, f. John H. Hopkins, m. Mary Susan ?, wf. Mary Lillie ?
William Moss "Willie" Jordan, b. 1896, d. 1949, f. William Palmer Jordan, m. Mary Susan
Lewis, wf. Zela Mae Phillips
Ernest Lee Raines, b. 1885, d. 1970, f. Lewis Raines, m. Virginia ?, wf. Nellie Bassett
William Thomas Robins, Sr., b. 1865, d. 1942, f. James Washington Robins, m. Virginia Ann
Rowe, wf. Nora Lee Nuttall
Harry William Williams, b. 1913, f. Isaac William Williams, m. Virginia ?, wf. Doris Williams
Engineers — Operated the ferry engines:
Alton Jones Brown, Sr., b. 1886, d. 1971, f. William Henry “Bill” Brown, m. Martha Ellen
Thomas, wf. Lela Elizabeth Thomas
Wendel Chaffie, , , wf. daughter of Allen Davenport
Allen N. Davenport, , , Allen N. “Bud” Davenport, Jr., works for VIMS
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John E. Edwards
John Smith Figg, b. 1912, d. 1995, f. Marque “Mark” Columbus Figg,
m. Mary Elvira Brown, wf. Effie Cornelia Rilee
Chief Hopkins
Kenneth Jenkins, b. 1922, d. 1998, f. Marvin Alonzo Jenkins, m. Ida
Sue Thomas, wf. Joyce Lewis
Robert Leslie Lewis, b. 1912, d. 2003, f. John Garland Lewis, m.
Myrtle Henrietta Tillage, wf. Frances Evelyn Marshall
Aylwin J. Perkins, b. 1894, , wf. Dencie F. ?
William Thomas Robins, Jr., b. 1901, d. 1981, f. William Thomas
Liston K. Shackleford
Robins, m. Nora Lee Nuttall, wf. Helen Cooper
Liston Kirby Shackleford, Sr., b. 1906, d. 1979, f. Joseph Henry “Joe”
Shackelford, m. Lucy Truman Williams, 1st-wf. Alice Amanda Graves, 2n-dwf. Rachel
Elaine Lewis
Andrew W. Tillage, b. 1891, f. John William Tillage, m. Mary Jane Phillips, wf. Ruth Garnett
Redding
Thomas Marion "Manny" Tillage, b. 1914, d. 1992, f. Thomas John Tillage, m. Annie Marah
Harris, wf. Ellen V. Atherton
Chief Ward
Oilers:
Micheal “Mike” Dalton, b. 1920, d. 1990, f. ? Dalton, m. Ada Dalton, wf. Marion Virginia
Belvin
1st Mates — Directed deckhands in docking ferry and parking and securing vehicles:
Oscar Hughes Belvin, Jr., b. 1926, f. Oscar Hughes Belvin, Sr., m. Ruby Edna Dunston, wf.
Carrie Enroughty
William Otho Deagle, b. 1904, d.
1976, f. William H. Deagle, m.
Josephine ?,
Bill Edwards
Overton H. Hall, b. 1910, d. 1967,
f. Hansford A. Hall, m. Margie
Sheppard, wf. Cassie Linden
Joe Hogge
Marion Lee Hogge, b. 1924, d.
2002, f. Norman Franklin
Hogge, m. Mary Virginia
Hogge, wf. Martha Elizabeth
Mattson
William “Willie” Jenkins
Noah Clayton Thomas, b. 1911,
d. 1991, f. Edward Bunion
Thomas, m. Lucy Mae Brown,
Ferryboat York approaching dock.
wf. Helen Jenkins
Vehicle tires were blocked and a chain
extended across the open-ended deck.
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Gloucester-Yorktown Ferry System
Robert Coleman Tillage, b. 1916, d. 1990, f. Thomas Coleman Tillage, m. Ann Virginia
Hogge, wf. Lucille Mae Simmons
Quarter-masters on Ferry — Steered
ferryboat:
Okley Everett Ash, b. 1915, f. Leir Ash, m.
Alice Whiting, wf. Helen Christine Hall
Isaac R. “Ike” Burrell, b. 1908, d. 1986, f.
Isaac Burrell, m. Nancy P. Dudley, wf.
Roberta V. ?
Edison Saunders
Clifton Lee Sparks, b. 1913, f. John Lewis
Sparks, m. Alice Jackson, wf. Virginia
Mills
Maynard Walker, b. 1907, d. 1965, f.
Solomon Walker, m. Mary E. Perrin,
wf. Dorothy Wilson
Deckhands on Ferry — Handled docking
Ferryboat Virginia lightly loaded
lines and parked and secured vehicles:
Enoch “Enox” Graves, b. 1906, d. 1986, f.
Maryus Graves, m. Clara Belle Field
William Thomas Harris, b. 1880, d. 1960, f. William Henry Harris, m. Lucy Ann Wise, wf.
Annie Daisy Lewis
John William "Shorty" Jackson
Alex Snow
William Moss Tillage, b. 1896, d. 1968, f. Charles Whitfield Tillage,
m. Lottie Elena Harris, wf. Daisy May Haywood
Franklin David “Frank” Travers, b. 1900, d. 1966, f. David Travers,
m. Lucy Smith, wf. Mary Elizabeth Wyatt
Marcus Taylor Walker, b. 1920, d. 1990, f. Bernard Walker, m.
Elizabeth Whiting, wf. Mary Bundley
Dave Wilson, b. 1916, f. Joseph “Joe” Wilson, m. Versie Bolden, wf.
Fannie Belle Montague
Hildred E. Wyatt, b. 1908, d. 1964, f. William H. Wyatt, m. Pinkey
Green, wf. Alice Leggett Hardy
Frank Wyatt
John Frank Wyatt, b. 1913, f. William H. Wyatt, m. Pinkey Green,
Shore Gang — Shop and general maintenance:
Horace Oliver Purcell, b. 1918, f. Marion Jones Purcell , m. Lucy Catherine Shepherd Oliver,
wf. Nettie Arlene Jenkins
James Mortiner Rowe, Jr., , , wf. Virginia Mildred Oliver
Pursers & Turnstyle Operators — Collected vehicle and passenger fare:
Isaac Melton “Ike” Anderton, b. 1881, d.1952, f. James Thomas Anderton, m. Sarah
Margaret Elliott, wf. Lucy Etta Lewis
Paul Brown, b. 1921, f. Alton Jones Brown, Sr., m. Lela Elizabeth Thomas, wf. Eloise Miller
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Raymond C. Brown, b. 1906, d.
1959, f. William Cary Brown,
m. Mary Ellen Williams, 1stwf. Ethel Blake, 2nd-wf. Nellie
Vivian Brothers
Herbert I. L. Feild, , f. Richard
Bernard Feild, m. Marion
Lewis, wf. Barbara Cable
Charles Wesley Forrest, Jr., b.
1928, d. 1995, f. Charles
Wesley Forrest, m. Hallie
Sue Thomas, wf. Nancy
Pearl Hogge
Robert Elroy Harris, b. 1877, d.
1969, f. Thomas Robert
Harris, m. Henrietta Savage,
wf. Lucy Jane Lewis
Hubert Leon Hicks, b. 1927, f.
Ferryboat York tied up to Gloucester Point dock.
Robert Paul Hicks, m.
Pauline Agatha Printz, wf. Peggy Ann Deal
Robert Ellis Hicks, b. 1925, f. Robert Paul Hicks, m. Pauline Agatha Printz, wf. Edna Haynes
Hersey Evans Hogge, b. 1929, f. Thomas Jefferson Hogge, m.Sarah Elizabeth Roberts, wf.
Frances Clayton White
James Kenneth Hogge, b. 1927, d. 1989, f. William Addison Hogge, m. Ollie Ruth Brown, wf.
Betty Ann Diggs
Winfred Morris Hudgins, b. 1934, f. John Morris Hudgins, m. Nettie Louise Hogge, wf.
Charlotte Marie Agnor
Harry Randolph Jordan, b. 1926, f. Joseph Henry Jordan, m. Beuna Vista Midgett, wf. Esther
Marie Hall
Roy McKenny
Lewis Franklin Phillips, b. 1900, d. 1991, f. James H. Phillips, m. Eugenia H. ?, wf. Chrystal
Bland Allmond
Lemuel Hammons Proctor, Jr., b. 1909, d. 1990, f. Lemuel Hammons Proctor, m. Laura E.
Burke, wf. Daisy Edith Harris
Lorrimer C. Proctor, b. 1905, d. 1994, f. Lemuel Hammons Proctor, m. Laura E. Burke,
Charles F. Robins, b. 1903, d. 1993, f. William Thomas Robins, m. Nora Lee Nuttall, wf. Mary
Lou Chandler
John Roger Robins, b. 1894, d. 1975, f. Joseph Thomas Robins, m. Sarah Ann Acra, wf.
Estelle Thompson
Archie Willie Rowe, b. 1904, d. 1980, f. Archibald Decatur Rowe, m. Ada Florence West, wf.
Myrtle Virginia Coates
Douglas Page Smith, b. 1929, f. Dr. James Waller Smith, m. Marie Juanita Bridges,
David Carter Sterling, b. 1924, d. 2004, f. John Allen Sterling, m. Clara Belle Deal, wf.
Frances Lee Foster
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John Allen Sterling, Jr., b. 1923, d. 1978, f. John Allen Sterling, m. Clara Belle Deal, wf. Sadie
Elizabeth Pearson
James Bernard Swindeck, b. 1933, d. 1976, f. Stephenson Bernard Swindeck, m. Lois “Lola”
Hall, wf. Merlene ?
Rupert Wilson Thomas, b. 1905, d. 1948, f. Stephen Washington Thomas, m. Bertha Sewell
Shackelford, wf. Mary Roney
Cabot Hayes Williams, b. 1933, f. Preston Cabot Williams, m. Mae Purcell Thornton, wf.
Joyce Ann Belvin
Lee Williams, b. 1927, f. Preston Cabot Williams, m. Mae Purcell Thornton
Roderick DuVal Williams, b. 1924, f. Lloyd Bernice Williams, m. Nolie Clyde Hogg, 1st-wf.
Ann Deal, 2nd-wf. Frances Hall
Boat Builder:
Willis Tyler Smith, b. 1874, d. 1961, f. John William Smith, m. Alice Anna Rowe, wf. Lucy
Goodall T. Rowe
Others:
Tom Armistead, Walden Carmine, Willie Lewis, Leon Redcross, Jack Smith, Jim Wormley
Plans of Personnel at the Ferry Closure
[The following information article was published in the Newport News Daily Press on May 7, 1952.]
Most of the 60 employees of the Gloucester-Yorktown ferries will move away to new
jobs with the discontinuance of the ferry service, but at least two of them plan to retire.
A vast majority of the ferry employees were offered other jobs by the State Highway
Department, some on the new bridge and others with state operated ferries elsewhere in
Virginia. Many of the employees are accepting these jobs, but others have accepted
positions with nearby federal installations or in private concerns.
C. David Burke, who went with the ferry system in 1931 and stayed on to manage it
during the years that it was owned by the corporation and later by the State Department of
Highways since 1951, will be one of the three toll supervisors on the new bridge. George
Newbill who has been office manager and in the employ of the system since 1934, will also
serve as toll supervisor, as will Milton Hogge, who has been with the ferries for the past
eight years.
Capt. E. L. Raines of Mathews County, who has been with the ferries since before World
War II, has decided to retire. “I’ve got myself a piece of oyster ground and I am going to
work that and just stay close to home after the last run,” he said.
He and the rest of the captains as well as engineers were offered positions on the state
operated ferries at the Newport News Municipal Boat Harbor, but it was too far to travel
back and forth he decided.
Capt. S. J. Belvin of Gloucester Point has been with the ferries for a long time, too. He
was with the system first in 1920, but left in 1932 and returned just before World War II
and has been there since.
He’s leaving the ferry service when May 7 comes, but he’s taking a new job that will
keep him over the York River. He is one of the three men who will operate the giant swing
spans for the new bridge and he will work a regular shift high above the bridge in the
glassed-in control tower.
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Capt. G. W. “Pete” Diggs, another Mathews County man, expects to work with other
highway department ferries at the Municipal Boat Harbor, unless something better comes
along in the meantime.
Still another Mathews County man, Capt. J. H. Brooks, who has been with the ferries for
about five years, also plans to switch to the Newport News-Norfolk ferry run.
However, Capt. H. W. Williams of Severn has decided to leave the water entirely and
become a salesman for a Newport News department store.
A. J. Brown, maintenance supervisor for the ferries and probably the oldest employee, is
going to stay to put the three York ferries in tip-top condition for the highway department
after they complete their service at Gloucester Point. But after that, he plans to retire and
possibly build a small boat or two at home.
He has been working for the ferry service for more than 30 years and for the past 27
years of service, which has been continuous, he can’t recall ever missing as much as two
working days for sickness or any other cause.
He has worked on most of the ferries in those 30 years, and served as engineer, but in
recent years he has been ashore as maintenance supervisor, and he’s had a full job keeping
the ferries and other equipment in top condition for round-the-clock operations. No job
has been too small or too large for him…replacing deck planks, completely overhauling an
engine, or replacing a light bulb. All have merely been in the day’s work.
Back in 1919, when William Ashe ordered the construction of the first enclosed ferryboat, Cornwallis, A. J. Brown, with Willis Smith, the builder, decided on the type and size
vessel and drew the final plans for her. He’ll have the three present ferries in top condition
and on their way by July and his job then will be over. The prospects of a few days off
sound good to him, but he admits he’ll miss going down to work with the ferries every day.
“A fellow sorta gets used to it after all these years.”
A. N. Davenport, who went to the York River ferries from Burlington, Vt., with the ferry,
Virginia, is going back to his old job as a chief engineer on the Lake Champlain run. John
S. Frigg of Harcum, T. M. Tillage of Gloucester Point and J. L. Edwards of Reedville, all
engineers, are planing to transfer to the Newport News ferries. W. T. Robbins, Jr., also a
chief engineer, hasn’t decided what he’ll do when the York River ferries stop.
Jimmy Rowe, electrician with the ferry system, will become draw tender supervisor and
Horace Purcell, machinist, and William J. Brown, night mate, will be draw tenders on the
bridge.
The following ferry pursers will be toll collectors for the new bridge: Leon Hicks,
Kenneth Hogge, Charles Forrest, Raymond Brown, Charles Robins, Archie Rowe, Hubert
Shackelford, and James Bernard Swindeck and John R. Robins. The mates, with the exception of W. J. Brown and Robert Robins who will work on the bridge, have not yet decided
where they will work. These include Willie Jenkins, Joe Hogge and W. O. Deagle.
John William Jackson, a Negro, another old employee of the ferry system, has served
as quarter-master, in recent years, going to work on the ferries more than 20 years ago in
1931. He has not yet decided what he’ll do. Frank Travers, known to all his friends as
“Shorty;” deckhand for over 17 years; would like to continue working with the State. Alex
Snow, 10-years service as deck hand, lives at White Marsh; doesn’t like to see bridge open;
no plans for future. Enox Graves, 8 years service with ferry, as deck hand; born in
Gloucester County, lives at White Marsh. He has enjoyed work on the ferry, and hopes to
work for state on Newport News ferries.
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Gloucester-Yorktown Ferry System
In recent weeks, when deck hands and others have been leaving almost daily as they
accept other employment, management of the ferries has been an even greater task than
before, but the three ferries have continued to operate right up to the very last, as one of
the best systems of its kind in the state.
As for the ferryboats themselves, the Virginia is slated for use at Gray’s Point on the
Rappahannock River and the York may go to Jamestown, although new docking facilities
must be constructed there before she can be used for she is a beamier vessel than previous
Jamestown ferryboats. The fate of the Gloucester, the smallest of the three, is
undetermined.
It is not strange that most of the employees who have worked with the ferries for these
long years, hate, in a way, to see them go. It’s more than the thought of moving to a new
job, or even moving with the same boats to a new location. It’s just that year after year in
the same work, regardless of what it may be, one usually develops a feeling of pride in that
work. The ferry employees who have seen long service have that pride in the work to
which they have devoted many years. The ferry service that they have helped build and
maintain has been termed one of the best. They, too, welcome the new bridge which will
speed the traffic along route 17, but it is only natural that they will also be sorry to see the
last ferry go.
Proctor Describes the 1933 Storm
He was there. He was in it. Lorrimer C. Proctor was aboard the York River ferry
Palmetto, which in the peak of the storm couldn’t make a safe mooring, and kept steaming
up and down the river throughout the storm.
Proctor was 28 at the time, and purser aboard the 150-foot double-ended, dieselpowered car ferry which plied between Gloucester Point and Yorktown Wharf.
The second ferry, the York, was being overhauled in another slip and was left hanging
on pilings when the tide went down.
His story reflects the concern experienced by anyone in such a dangerous position,
and also the prevailing attitude of any true mariner— “we’re here, we’ll ride it out.”
Proctor, a native of Gloucester, living in Hampton since 1933, begins with Tuesday,
August 22 of that year.
“I went to work at noon that day. It was blowing up a storm—coming up the coast,
did not strike until midnight that night—the rough began then.”
“The worst come the next morning. It would blow so hard it looked like it was blowing lights out everywhere when the swift of the wind hit.”
“The tide was making up, not down because the wind was blowing so hard. We ran
the ferry until midnight then it was too high to land either place.”
They were able to make a docking and after midnight “we decided to get the stuff out
of the house (behind the ferry dock). We knew something was coming—they’d been talking
on the radio—we knew it was coming our way.”
“The Palmetto’s crew tried to help the York. The sea had raised the overhang so high,
it had punched holes in the deck. The engines were out. We tried to pull her out, but
could do nothing. We had to hurry; if not, we could not have got back.”
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Proctor remembers that ferry employees had left their cars on the hill, thinking them
well out of the storm. When it was over, they found someone had hooked them to a truck
and pulled them higher out of the way. “The sea was so large and heavy when it hit the
beach, it would go all over the cars.”
Meanwhile Proctor’s cousin, C. David Burke, bookkeeper for the W. T. Ashe ferry
company, arrived just before the creeks began to flood. He, Proctor, Frank Wyatt, Capt. W.
T. Robins, mate R. E. Harris, deckhand Gary Stokes, the captain’s son, and chief engineer
Perkins went aboard the Palmetto again.
Records from the wharf office were safe aboard the boat by shortly after midnight,
and the ferry pulled out to seek safety on the water.
As the ferry left, the gangway was jerked into the water, but was not lost because it
was chained. “We started around Gloucester Point and saw the tide had carried Ashe’s
yacht, torn from its anchor, across to Yorktown where it was bobbling on the beach. We
put an engineer on it, tied a line to the stern, tied it to a bight on the yacht and went on up
into Sarahs Creek as far as we could get until the anchors caught to keep the yacht in
place.” “The ferry went back and tied up again near Clopton’s Store on the Point,” he
added.
“We went to the hotel (on the Point) to see if they needed help. The soda fountain
fellow came out to give us a handful of candy, the piccolo was playing “Swanee River”—he
had no more got out of the door then the sea swept him and the candy in the water and the
music stopped. The wreckage was so bad, we had to move the boat.”
“Then we saw the tidal wave. When it hit, it covered the oil tanks (on the Point) and
mashed them all over on the beach.”
“The ferry left and went to Carmine’s Island to see if anyone was in the house. The
tide was at the second floor. We blew the horn on the boat—no one there—we could have
picked them up.”
“As the tidal wave went up the river, all buildings on the beach at Yorktown went. The
seas were beating over Yorktown hill till the wind shifted. We had to stay out of the way
until the wreckage was gone.”
Were the men on the Palmetto frightened? “We built up with it and were expecting
most anything till that hit. You couldn’t see Gloucester Point from the top of the hill down
with all the water.”
Proctor says the storm raged about 15 hours before the real damage started.
The last vehicle on the ferry was a bread truck going to Newport News. “We couldn’t
get him off in Yorktown” so stale bread and all, the truck rode on the ferry until the storm
was over.
When the wind stopped, the storm ended quickly. “In less than two hours after the
wind stopped blowing heavy, the tide had gone. Except for the wreckage you wouldn’t
have known there was a storm.”
Except, as Proctor says, for the wreckage. The sun came out Wednesday and shone on
the debris of houses, boats, oil barrels, dead animals. Some animals survived, including
two 300­pound hogs belonging to Marion Robins.
Proctor said the tide took the hogs into the river and “they had sense enough to get on
the wreckage and they didn’t budge. We didn’t see them again until about 7 p.m. Wednesday coming down the river on the wreckage. We put a boat down and got them. They lied
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Gloucester-Yorktown Ferry System
right flat in the bottom and when they got back on to the sand, that’s when they hollered
and they went...they came back later.”
Two lucky hogs, and a lucky crew aboard the ferryboat; these are the legends that
made the Storm of ‘33 famous.
Cap’n Roy Harris Recalls “Good Old Days” of Ferries
[May 1952 Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal Article]
Captain Robert Elroy Harris, retired employee of the ferry
company, remembers when the ferry across the York was a skiff.
He also remembers many other things of interest about the
ferries, the people of Gloucester and Mathews and the “good old”
days when he was very much younger.
Captain Roy was master of the first ferry to use power. It
was a lighter with a power boat lashed alongside.
He worked for the ferry when William Henry Ashe got the
first lease for the ferry. He remembers the death of Mr. Ashe and
the days when the ferry was operated by Clifton Richardson and
then when the younger Mr. Ashe took charge.
Robert Elroy Harris
He has seen good times and bad on the York and James
Rivers and the areas adjacent to them. And he can tell you about the days when Tom
Armistead and Jim Wormley rowed a skiff across the York, taking vehicles which overhung
the water. In good weather it took half-an-hour to cross the river; in bad weather you could
not cross at all, unless you were as resourceful as Captain Harris.
“I remember that back as a young man, one time I went over to James River to work in
oysters,” Cap’n Harris related, “and things were pretty tough. One day I decided to come
back home. When I got to the bank of York River, Jack Smith and Willie Lewis had just
arrived there with passengers in the flat skift, but the water was so bad they decided not to
go back. I told them I wanted very much to go across despite the storm. They said, however, that It was too bad. I told them that I was going up to George Washington’s to rent a
skiff and row across myself and not pay the ferry fare. That was enough for Jack. He said
to come along and we would go, so long as I would help with the oars, because it was a
hard job against the wind and the storm.”
“We got in with three more men waiting to go across and started. The wind and seas
were so bad that we landed way below the Gloucester Point landing, which meant we could
not get ashore without getting wet. I was the only one wearing gum boots.”
“These men,” Cap’n Harris continued, “then asked me if I would carry them on my
back. I had about fifty yards to go to dry land and I said I would. I carried two of them in,
and when I came back for the third one he looked at me in a sort of funny way. He was a
big man, about two hundred pounds, and he had been mad at me for some time and hadn’t
spoken to me.”
“But when he saw he might get wet, he thawed out and I took him ashore.”
The Captain says that there were no holidays for him in those days. He worked 365
days a year and often ate his Christmas dinner aboard the ferry.
Captain Harris says he is going to miss the ferry. He retired last fall after more than
34 years service on the ferries, and he now takes things easy at his home down at Tide Mill
in the Gloucester Point area.
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He recalls when he dodged icebergs on the York River and when he and others
thought nothing of walking from the James River, where they were oystering, to Yorktown
to catch the ferry. It was on one of these trips that he had to tote the ferryman ashore.
Rough Waters Halted Ferries In Early Days
[May 7, 1952 Newport News Daily Press]
“Ferry service in the early 1900s wasn’t quite so dependable as it has been in recent years,” B.
B. Roane, County Clerk of Gloucester for the past 40 years, recalled this week.
“It must have been about 1911 or 1912,” he said, “I don’t remember the exact year, but John
Thruston and I set out for Richmond one morning. We took the steamboat up to West Point and
then went by train to Richmond. Coming back, we missed the train to West Point so we went on to
Williamsburg by the C&O.”
“Arriving in Williamsburg, we hired a buggy and driver to carry us down to Bigelow’s ferry.
That was the one that ran from a point near Williamsburg to Cappahosic. It was windy that day and
the men on Bigelow’s ferry wouldn’t make the trip because the water was rough, so we continued on
to Yorktown, thinking that surely the ferry there would carry us across.”
“They had a little barge then with a small gasoline powered boat tied alongside, but they
weren’t running either because the waters were quite choppy.”
“It really wasn’t so rough though, according to his recollections, but in those days, they weren’t
anxious to take any chances despite the fact that someone urgently wanted to cross the river.”
The county clerk recalls trying repeatedly to get the men in charge of the ferry to make the
trip, but without success. “Finally,” he said, “the man operating the ferry told me that he wouldn’t
carry the ferry across, but he would take us in a small canoe-like boat that he had a small engine in,
if we weren’t afraid to make the trip. We weren’t that worried about a little bit of choppy water, so
we took him up on it and he carried us over to Gloucester Point.”
This Gloucester County native has seen many changes in transportation methods in his life.
Traveling anywhere in the early 1900s was a problem, he will tell you, but nevertheless he has many
enjoyable memories of incidents which took place during that period.
Addendum by L. Roane Hunt
The original report by Leon Hicks was the only
attempt to document the history of the York River Ferry,
other than the series of newspaper articles. The full
history of the ferry is yet to be told, and this includes
the present article. The most recent history by Martha
W. McCartney, With Reverence for the Past: Gloucester
County, Virginia, gives only a brief mention of the ferry.
In the section, “Cruising Gloucester’s Waterways,” she
writes, “In 1917 the son of William Henry Ashe, who had
the ferry franchise at Gloucester Point, had a large
ferryboat built. Ashe’s ferry, the Cornwallis, was sturdy
enough to transport automobiles across the York River.”
Later, under the section, “The Ferry Yields to the
Cornwallis ferryboat built by
Construction of the Coleman Bridge,” she writes, “The
Willis
T. Smith in Guinea in 1918
Gloucester-Yorktown Ferry, Inc., a private corporation,
operated a ferry that for many years plied the waters of
the York River.” This brief mention in Gloucester’s official history is not a true indication
Vol. 9, No. 2
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of the ferry’s importance. Nothing was more critical in its development from 1917 to 1952
than the ferry, and its full story should be documented.
In his book, Leon Hicks mentioned repeatedly that he could only recall some of the
ferry workers, and we learned from various members of the GGSV that there were others
that came before him that he did not know. Therefore, we can only present a partial list of
ferry personnel. This list includes both career and temporary workers that worked during
their years of education or until they could obtain employment with greater pay. In all our
discussions of the ferry days with a few former employees or descendents of employees, it
is obvious that all express pride in the contributions made by those ferry workers. There is
an unofficial fraternity or family of former York River Ferryboat Workers.
In researching the genealogy of former ferry workers, it is clear that there were many
real family connections between many of the workers. To begin, the ferry franchise was
passed from William H. Ashe to his wife Lucy, and then to her son William T. Ashe. Before
leasing the franchise to her son, she had leased it to her first cousin, Clifton Richardson.
Also, David and Billy Burke were great-nephews of Linwood Roane Ashe, wife of William T.
Ashe. The Burke brothers were first cousins to Lorrimor and Lemuel Proctor. Lemuel
Proctor married Daisy Harris, a cousin of Capt. Milton Harris, who was brother of Roy
Harris. Actually, there are so many relationships of families such as Harris, Tillage, and
Jordan that it would be a major project to recount them all. Harry Jordan, who worked on
the ferry during his school days, is a nephew of William Moss Jordan, a ferry captain.
Numerous ferry captains from Mathews County are also related. First, Capt. Ernest Raines’
daughter, Roselyn, married Capt. G. Wilson Diggs. His Aunt Nancy married Capt. J. Howard
Brooks. David Burke said that at one time, five captains were from Mathews. One of the
early captains, William T. Robins, had two sons that were career workers: William, Jr., was
an engineer, and Charles was a purser. Also, the Sterling
brothers, John and Carter, were pursers. These relationships are
merely examples of the many family ties that helped solidify the
ferry team of workers.
In many cases, the career employees served in numerous
tasks or positions as they advanced or as age required. Robert
Elroy Harris is a good example of this. He was known as Capt.
Roy Harris and may have served as a real captain of the ferry
some time in his many years of service. Leon listed him as a
purser, and this was probably the case in those latter years of
the ferry. However, in the article about the 1933 storm, Capt.
Roy was listed as the [1st] mate when the crew rode out the
storm on the Palmetto. Also, it would be reasonable to assume
that many of the ferry crew would have worked as part of the
shore gang helping with maintenance. Many of the jobs were
closely related and versatility would be important for smooth
operating and emergency problem-solving.
Henry Holmes, my neighbor, was an independent
entrepreneur and filled a unique position with the ferry during
his student years. He shared with me how he would get rides
from local ferry workers, and he would shine shoes and sell
newspapers to passengers aboard the ferryboats. He still has
his shoe-shine box and plans to offer it to the Gloucester
Museum. Like many others, he left his work with the ferry to
Vol. 9, No. 2
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Henry Holmes and his
retired shoe-shine box
December 2005
Gloucester-Yorktown Ferry System
accept Civil Service employment, first with the Cheatham Annex south of the York River,
later at Langley Air Force Base, and then at Fort Monroe. In retirement, Henry has been a
faithful volunteer at the hospital and a regular election poll worker. He is very proud of his
two sons, Henry, Jr., who was recently chosen for the Gloucester Sports Hall of Fame, and
Bradley, who is a retired army officer and serves as a local pastor.
The Gloucester-Yorktown Ferry System fulfilled a critical role in the development of
Gloucester County, and its personnel received many commendations for the smooth ferry
operations.
Local Newspaper Articles Available on Microfilm
A list of news articles about the York River Ferry is available on microfilm in the
library of the Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal. An index is also available to search a
given topic. The present list of articles covers the York River Ferry. Symbols are used for
newspaper names as follows: MJ—Mathews Journal, GG—Gloucester Gazette, FP—
Gloucester Free Press, and GJ—Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal.
yr/mo: 1916/08 in MJ, Article: DROWNINGS AND NARROW ESCAPES--SIMON BILLUPS, FERRYMAN
yr/mo: 1916/12 in MJ, Article: AUTO ACCIDENTS--W&M STUDENTS ROLL OFF FERRY
yr/mo: 1916/12 in MJ, Article: DROWNINGS AND NARROW ESCAPES--6 W&M BOYS ROLL OFF FERRY,
ESCAPE
yr/mo: 1916/12 in MJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--W&M STUDENT'S CAR ROLLS OFF
yr/mo: 1919/02 in MJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--W. T. ASHE, OWNER, PLANS POWER LIGHTER
yr/mo: 1919/03 in GG, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--CONTEST FOR BOAT NAME
yr/mo: 1919/04 in GG, Article: THORNTON, CORNELIA--NAME SUGGESTED FOR YORK RIVER FERRY
yr/mo: 1919/04 in MJ,GG, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--CORNWALLIS IS NAME OF NEW BOAT
yr/mo: 1919/06 in GG, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--CORNWALLIS LAUNCHED
yr/mo: 1919/12 in MJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--CORNWALLIS PLACED IN SERVICE
yr/mo: 1920/09 in MJ, Article: ANIMALS--HORSES PLUNGE OFF FERRY
yr/mo: 1920/12 in GG, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--TRUCK LOADED WITH HOLLY ROLLS OFF
yr/mo: 1921/03 in GG, Article: TOURISM--VISITORS USING GLOUCESTER ROAD, POINT FERRY
yr/mo: 1921/03 in GG, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--20,000 AUTOS IN FOUR MONTHS
yr/mo: 1921/07 in GG, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--SIGNS MARK TIDEWATER TRAIL
yr/mo: 1922/06 in GG, MJ, Article: CRIME--H. JAMES MURDERED ON FERRY
yr/mo: 1923/06 in GG, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--RATES ADVERTISED
yr/mo: 1924/01 in MJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--YORK BOARD ASKS STATE TAKEOVER
yr/mo: 1924/02 in MJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--GLOUCESTER BOARD SAYS NO TO TAKEOVER
yr/mo: 1925/04 in MJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--25-30 CAR FERRY BEING BUILT
yr/mo: 1925/08 in MJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--STATE PLANS WON'T CHANGE ASHE
yr/mo: 1925/09 in MJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--NEW BOAT YORK IN SERVICE. DETAILS
yr/mo: 1925/10 in MJ, Article: DROWNINGS AND NARROW ESCAPES--CAPT. CHARLES HOPKINS
FROM YORK FERRY
yr/mo: 1926/11 in MJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--MR. ASHE HAS GLOUCESTER COURT GREEN
PLANS
yr/mo: 1931/05 in GG, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--PALMETTO ADDED TO RUN
yr/mo: 1932/03 in GG, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--CAN'T DOCK DURING NORTHEAST GALE
yr/mo: 1933/08 in GG, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--SLIPS DESTROYED, FERRIES DAMAGED
yr/mo: 1938/10 in GJ, Article: ASHE, WILLIAM T.--DIES, AGE 58
yr/mo: 1938/10 in GJ, Article: ASHE, WILLIAM T.--ESTATE LEFT TO METHODIST ORPHANAGE
yr/mo: 1938/10 in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--W. T. ASHE DIES
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1939/10
1939/12
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1941/07
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1942/07
1942/12
yr/mo: 1942/12
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yr/mo: 1943/02
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yr/mo: 1943/05
yr/mo: 1945/04
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yr/mo: 1952/05
yr/mo: 1952/05
yr/mo: 1952/12
Vol. 9, No. 2
in FP, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--FERRY CASE POSTPONED (FILM ONLY)
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--KINSMEN FILE FOR FRANCHISE
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--W. A. ROBINSON SEEKS FRANCHISE
in GJ, Article: ASHE, WILLIAM T.--LONG BIO, HISTORY OF FERRY
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--COURT DEFERS ACTION
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--A HISTORY OF THE FERRY
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--CUT RATE ROUND TRIP FARE
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--RULING ON FRANCHISE DEFERRED
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--RESOLUTION URGES STATE TAKEOVER
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--PALMETTO SOLD TO S. AMERICAN FIRM
in GJ, Article: ASHE, WILLIAM T.--MRS. ASHE CHALLENGES WILL
in FP, Article: ASHE, WILLIAM T.--FERRY CASE POSTPONED
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--TRIAL OF FRANCHISE SUIT DELAYED
in FP, Article: ASHE, WILLIAM T.--FERRY CLAIM WITHDRAWN
in FP, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--ASHE FERRY CLAIM WITHDRAWN (FILM ONLY)
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--FRANCHISE APPLICANT WITHDRAWS
in GJ, Article: ASHE, WILLIAM T.--MRS. ASHE LEAVES TO CHARITY
in GJ, Article: WEATHER--FERRY HAND STRUCK BY LIGHTNING
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--BOAT ADDED TO FLEET
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--PIX OF NEW FERRY VIRGINIA
in GJ, Article: AUTO ACCIDENTS--ONE DIES WHEN BUS PLUNGES OFF YORK RIVER
FERRY
in GJ, Article: DROWNINGS AND NARROW ESCAPES--BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WARE,
FROM YORK RIVER FERRY
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--MAN DIES AS BUS PLUNGES FROM FERRY
in GJ, Article: DROWNINGS AND NARROW ESCAPES--DRIVER RESCUED, TRUCK OFF
FERRY
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--TRUCK GOES OFF. DRIVER RESCUED
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--PASSENGER FARES REDUCED
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--HELPS FIGHT FIRE AT GLOUCESTER POINT
WHARF
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER BRIDGE--FERRY TRAFFIC JUSTIFIES CONSTRUCTION
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--DAILY TRAFFIC IS 1,183
in GJ, Article: FIRE--DAMAGE IN FERRY HEADQUARTERS
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--OFFICE FIRE, $5,000 DAMAGE
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--UNION REPRESENTATION DISPUTE
in GJ, Article: ASHE, WILLIAM T.--HISTORY OF WILLIAM T. ASHE
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--HISTORY AND PHOTO
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--WILLIAM T. ASHE HISTORY
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--GLOUCESTER POINT WHARF HISTORY
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--STATE WILL PURCHASE THE FERRY
in GJ, Article: FERRIES--YORKTOWN TO CAPE CHARLES EFFORT DROPPED
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--DOUGLAS SMITH PRAISES WORKERS
in GJ, Article: ASHE, WILLIAM T.-- BIO 5-8-52
in GJ, Article: HARRIS, CAPT. ROY--MEMORIES OF YORK RIVER FERRY 5-8-52
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--RECALLED IN SPECIAL SECTION 5-8-52
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--EDITORIAL: HAIL AND FAREWELL
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--OPERATED FOR CHARITY AFTER ASHES'
DEATHS
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--MEMORIES OF CAPT. ROY HARRIS 5-8-52
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--PHOTOS OF PERSONNEL 5-8-52
in GJ, Article: YORK RIVER FERRY--HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT TO REMOVE SOME OF
DOCKS
30
December 2005
Will Ashe From A Small Beginning
By L. Roane Hunt
Young William “Will” T. Ashe began his apprentice training in 1892 at the age of
twelve according to the “Roane family lore.” He left his home at Gloucester Point to work
and live at the newly established Roanes Post Office and General Merchandise Store in the
Wilson Creek area of
Gloucester County. His
employer, Richard A. Roane,
my grandfather, also owned
a second store at Seldens
and the Roanes Wharf on
the Ware River. Will learned
the business well, and in
nine short years, 1901, he
married Linwood Roane, the
youngest sister of Richard
Roane. The couple made
their home with Richard in
the house attached to the
Roanes Store. Also, at this
time, the partnership of
Roane & Ashe was formed
between Richard Roane and
William T. Ashe
Linwood Roane Ashe
Will Ashe. By 1906, at the
1879-1938
1870-1941
age of twenty-six, enterprising Will Ashe owned a building site on the Wilson Creek and had purchased half ownership in the Roanes Wharf from
Thomas J. Meredith, owner of the Wilson Creek Farm. When Richard Roane married Elva
Maude Worrell in 1909, the Ashes moved to their new home on the creek, less than two
miles south of the Roanes Store and was their primary residence, at least until 1933. The
Roane & Ashe partnership was dissolved in 1917. At the age of thirty-eight, Will Ashe
turned his attention to the modernization of the Yorktown-Gloucester Ferry service and a
wide assortment of farm and business ventures to the benefit of Gloucester County.
As a grandson of Richard Roane, I wondered for many years about the rise of Will
Ashe and his contribution to my family and Gloucester County. How did it happen that
this twelve-year-old boy came to live with a fifty-year-old man who had no children of his
own in his first marriage? What was his role in the success of Richard Roane in his
mercantile business? When Will finished his partnership in 1917, he accomplished great
things in the economic development of Gloucester County. However, he had no descendants to hold his legacy in memory other than cold statistics and records buried in dark
safe places. I consider his story for this article from the view point of my Roane family.
Vol. 9, No. 2
31
December 2005
Will Ashe From A Small Beginning
Family of William Henry Ashe
William Henry Ashe, b. 1833, d. 1895
+m. Lucy Hayes Hughes, b. 1856, d. 1937
Martha Clayton Ashe , b. 1874, d. 1953
+m. Charles H. Hughes , b. 1854
Mary Esther Ashe , b. 1876, d. 1969
+m. George Theodore Mersereau, b. 1857
Lucy Marion Ashe , b. 1878, d. 1924
William Thomas Ashe, b. 1879, d. 1938
+m. Linwood Roane, b. 1870, d. 1941
Infant Son , b. 1904, d. 1904
Wilford Ashe , b. 1906, d. 1910
Avery Hughes Ashe , b. 1882, d. 1883
Sarah Ruby Ashe , b. 1884, d. 1959
+m. Mr. Gates
Fanny Lou Hill Ashe , b. 1886, d. 1943
+m. William Hunter Catlett
Lillie Biddle Ashe, b. 1887, d. 1978
+m. John Andrew Blake , b. 1880
Georgie Edna Ashe , b. 1890, d. 1985
+m. Samuel Jester Smith , b. 1891, d. 1988
James Dallas Ashe, b. 1892, d. 1963
Painting of Roanes Store
Now known as the old-store building
on T. C. Walker Road
In 1892, Will Ashe was the only son of the
eight children of William Henry Ashe and Lucy
Haynes Hughes. (See chart above.) His father was
listed as a huckster in the 1870 and 1880
censuses, which meant he bought and peddled
certain items for profit. He also had the lease to operate a ferry service for the York River
Crossing at Gloucester Point. I understood from my family that the Ashes were experiencing hardship during this time. Mr. Ashe died in 1895, and it is possible that he was in ill
health and unable to properly support his family, thus contributing to young Will’s leaving
home to seek employment.
Richard Roane, like most proprietors of country stores, hired young clerks and gave
them room and board. This was an apprentice experience for these young men. Roanes
Store was nine miles north of Gloucester Point, but both locations were in the Abingdon
District and within the territory of Bethlehem Methodist Church at Bena. The Ashe family
probably knew Richard Roane through their church activities. Also, Richard Roane and the
elder Ashe served in the local 24th Cavalry, which was formed to patrol the Gloucester,
Mathews, Middlesex, and King and Queen Counties after the 26th Va. Inf. left Gloucester
Point to defend Richmond in 1862. Surely, these men became well acquainted with one
another during those years. [1]
Roane-Meredith Invasion of Wilson Creek Community
In the latter part of the nineteenth century, many families migrated from King and
Queen County seeking better economic opportunities. Three Roane brothers, Luther,
Richard, and Charles, were among them, as described in a previous issue of The Family
Tree Searcher. They were able to purchase prime land at the junction of the Wilson Creek
and Ware River, a portion of Level Green Farm in bankruptcy. Also, Richard acquired a
store location in the subdivision of the Wilson Creek Farm. Thomas J. Meredith, of
Maryland, purchased the cultivated portion of the farm, and he continued operation of the
farm. [2]
Vol. 9, No. 2
32
December 2005
Will Ashe From A Small Beginning
Richard Roane and Thomas Meredith
Family of Charles Alexander Roane
formed a very successful alliance of farm
and commerce. First, they constructed the Charles Alexander Roane, b. 1817, d. 1875
+m1. Sarah Rebecca Roane, b. 1821, d. 1849
Roanes Wharf on the Ware River from an
Luther Major Roane , b. 1839, d. 1897
acre of land purchased from Luther Roane
+m. Demarious Ann Elizabeth Fary , b. 1850, d. 1901
that was included in the Steamship
Richard Alexander Roane , b. 1842, d. 1920
network that emanated from Baltimore,
+m1. Lucy M. Bowden , b. 1848, d. abt 1908
Maryland, and served all shores of the
Chesapeake Bay. The 1901 accounting
+m2. Elva Maude Worrell , b. 1890, d. 1973
books of the Roanes Store reveal the close
Maria Louisa Roane, b. 1845, d. 1936
cooperation of the farm, store, and wharf
+m. John Henry L. Adams , b. 1841, d. 1917
in support of each other. Farm workers
Charles Edward Roane , b. 1849
were paid by Meredith with store credit,
+m1. India Letetia Roane , b. 1858, d. 1887
and he purchased the farm supplies
+m2. Eugenia Virginia Roane , b. 1852, d. 1933
through the store. Roanes Store was like a +m2. Matilda Frances Mitchell, b. 1835, d. 1915
company store for the Wilson Creek Farm,
Alton Lee Roane , b. 1855, d. 1927
and the wharf handled the exports and
+m. Reverdy Johnson Lively , b. 1850, d. 1894
imports with regularity and reliability.
Charles R. Lively , b. 1881, d. 1979
“Success breeds success,” and it seems
Hamilton Mitchell Roane , b. 1857, d. 1931
other local farms were encouraged to use
+m. Annie Margaret Farrar , b. 1860, d. 1943
the Roanes Store-Wharf services.
Elva Coles Roane, b. 1860, d. 1921
+m. Charles Henry White , b. 1851, d. 1921
Will Ashe and others were a large
Floyd L. Roane, b. 1861, d. 1957
part of the success of Richard Roane in his
+m. Emma Elizabeth Shackelford , b. 1865
business ventures through their loyal
support. Initially, Mr. Roane’s support
Carroll Aubrey Roane , b. 1867, d. 1926
came from his brother’s children, Willie
+m. Miriam Peach , b. 1876, d. 1969
Roane and Maude Roane. Their father,
Linwood Roane, b. 1870, d. 1941
Luther, had operated a store in the vicinity
+m. William Thomas Ashe, b. 1879, d. 1938
Infant Son , b. 1904, d. 1904
of Level Green or Selden area as early as
Wilford Ashe , b. 1906, d. 1910
1870. Maude seems to have been her
Uncle Richard’s most loyal
supporter. At the age of
seventeen, it appears that
she was manager of the
Roanes Store operations,
when Will Ashe came in
1892. Willie Roane managed
the daily operations of the
Selden Store, and when Will
Ashe became a partner with
Richard in 1901, Maude
moved to the Selden Store to
share the work with her
brother. It appears that
Richard maintained independent ownership of the
Selden Store, but the Roanes
Store business was now
Roanes Wharf painted by Lois Brame from classic
owned by Roane & Ashe with
photograph of the Herman Hollerith Collection
Vol. 9, No. 2
33
December 2005
Will Ashe From A Small Beginning
the daily operations managed by Will Ashe. This partnership allowed Richard Roane to
pursue his interest in religious causes.
During the Roane & Ashe
partnership years of 1901 to
1917, Will Ashe should be
credited for the economic
success of the business. It
was in these years that
Richard spent much of his
wealth in local religious
crusades and in world
mission support. He believed
that he was to remarry and
have children in his old age,
much like the biblical
Abraham. This was the
subject of some of his
writings left to his family. [3]
At the age of sixty-six, he
married my grandmother,
Elva Maude Worrell, who was
nineteen years of age. They
had five children with only
three of them reaching adulthood. Although Will Ashe
was accomplishing great
economic success at the
Roanes Store, the added
family responsibilities of his
partner as well as the monies
that were being given to
religious causes probably
caused some strain in their
relationship. My grandmother related a story she
heard that Will had “told on”
his partner when a post office
official visited the store. Will
told him that Richard, the
postmaster, was not signing
the official reports. This
Ancestors of Wilford Ashe
Thomas Jefferson Ash
b. 1805
m. abt 1831
d. 1860
William Henry Ashe
b. Jun 4, 1833
m. 1871
d. Aug 26, 1895
Mary Camp
b. 1820
d. abt 1835
William Thomas Ashe
b. Dec 18, 1879
m. 1901
d. Oct 11, 1938
Thomas H. Hughes
b. 1821
m. Nov 25, 1847
d. Jun 8, 1860
Lucy Hayes Hughes
b. Mar 14, 1856
d. Mar 6, 1937
Juliette Esther Hayes
b. Jan 9, 1830
d. Dec 23, 1886
Wilford Ashe
b. 1906
d. 1910
probably led to the change where
Will became the postmaster of
Roanes on March 7, 1907. Also,
this is a hint that he was doing
the home work as his partner
was traveling. One of Richard’s
mission trips has him as far
away as the St. Charles area of
Louisiana.
Charles S. Roane
b. Oct 14, 1776
m. Jan 31, 1801
d. Jul 7, 1858
Charles Alexander Roane
b. Aug 7, 1817
m. Feb 16, 1854
d. May 25, 1875
Frances Guthrie
b. Mar 24, 1775
d. Dec 23, 1886
Linwood Roane
b. Jan 13, 1870
d. Jan 19, 1941
William DuVal Mitchell
b. 1795
Matilda Frances Mitchell
b. Feb 23, 1835
d. Jul 9, 1915
Frances Smither
b. 1798
d. Sep 24, 1853
Vol. 9, No. 2
34
December 2005
Will Ashe From A Small Beginning
As mentioned earlier, Will Ashe married Linwood Roane in 1901. They moved to their
new home on the Wilson Creek in 1909, and it remained their primary residence until after
the 1933 storm, and then they established their residence adjacent to the ferry dock at
Gloucester Point. They had two sons, but both died young. The second son, Wilford, died
in 1910.
Clearly, Will Ashe was
the young, energetic, and
aggressive manager of the
Roane & Ashe partnership.
He was probably responsible
for their advertisement in the
1912 Gloucester Fair, where
the new gasoline engines
were promoted for farm use
to pump water, etc. Another
example was the small card
used to promote the use of
special containers to ship
fresh eggs to market. In
1912, Will was probably
behind the Roane & Ashe
purchase of nearly 1000
acres of South White Marsh.
This was an investment to
cut the timber to sell in
Baltimore, Maryland. Family stories
indicate that this failed when potential
buyers claimed the lumber shipped to
them was incorrectly sawed. In 1915,
Richard Roane and Will Ashe began to
dissolve their partnership with the sale
of the Roanes Store business. In 1916,
the railroad purchased the Roanes
Wharf, options for a right-of-way
through the South White Marsh
property, and land on the main road
for a railroad station. Apparently, the
tentative plan was to connect the
steamship lines to Baltimore with the
rail lines that served the interior of Virginia. Obviously, these options were never utilized
and Gloucester remained free of railroad lines. In 1917, Richard and Will sold 834 acres of
South White Marsh to H. N. Baruch for $16,680. This was probably the last business of the
Roane & Ashe partnership.
The business of the Roanes and Selden Stores were sold to the sons-in-law of
Richard’s brother, Luther Roane. The Roanes Store business was sold to Thomas Jefferson
Woodland, husband of Magnolia Coles Roane. It was renamed, Woodland & Son, and
Bernard Roane Woodland operated the store until 1950. The store property has remained
in Richard Roane’s family and is presently owned by his great-granddaughter, Janice Jones,
Vol. 9, No. 2
35
December 2005
Will Ashe From A Small Beginning
who hopes to open it again in a business venture. When Richard died in 1920, Selden Store
was being operated by Charles W. B. Burke, husband of Verna Etna Roane. He purchased
the business and store properties from the Roane Estate in 1920. Later, their son, David
Burke, operated the store until it closed. The Selden Store property is now The Willows Bed
& Breakfast located at 5344 Roanes Wharf Road. David Burke began a long distinguished
career in service to Will Ashe as his trusted business manager. He also managed the ferry
business after Will’s death until the ferry was closed in 1952. David was then elected as
Treasurer of Gloucester County and served from 1954-76.
War and Changes for Gloucester
For decades, major developments had occurred south of the York River with the
creation of the city and shipyard of Newport News. [4] Collis P. Huntington, the railroad
tycoon chose this location on the James River for his shipyard, and he purchased all the
land needed to build it and the city around it. Therefore, he had complete control of the
city’s development. In 1917, he worked with the US Army to build a reservoir and water
treatment facility at Lee Hall to serve his city and the rest of the peninsula. Also, the war
brought increased activity to the army and navy installations on the peninsula, including
Langley Field in Elizabeth City County. Many Gloucester citizens had moved to the lowerpeninsula to take advantage of these great business opportunities. One of Gloucester’s
sons, Maryus Jones, moved to Newport News to practice law and was later elected to be its
mayor. Claude Roane, first pastor of Achilles Friends Church and a close relative of
Richard Roane, opened a rescue mission in the new city, and eventually it became the First
Friends Church of Newport News. These are only a couple of examples of the ties that
would bind Gloucester to the lower peninsula.
The many opportunities that were opening up on the lower peninsula produced a
great need for improved transportation across the York River. Gloucester residents could
take advantage of job offers across the river and commute from home. It would also make
it easier for family members to visit one another and maintain close relationships. At this
critical point in 1917, Will Ashe was granted the ferry lease from his mother who had
inherited the ferry rights at the death of her husband in 1895. The ferry consisted of a
small flat barge pushed by a small motorboat. In addition to his retail merchant experience, Will was co-owner of the Roanes Wharf for at least ten years, and he was acquainted
with the business of passenger and cargo transportation on powered watercraft. Now, at
the age of thirty-eight, he knew what was needed and who could do it.
From Leon Hicks’ account, Will Ashe hired Alton Jones Brown, Sr., as chief engineer
and superintendent of maintenance, a position he would hold for the next thirty years. (See
article by Leon Hicks in this issue of FTS.) In late 1918, they hired Willis Tyler Smith of
Guinea to build a ferryboat that would meet minimum regulations and satisfy the immediate needs of the ferry service. I am told by Kenneth Hogge that Captain Smith went into
the Guinea woods and selected the tree for the ferryboat keel. This first powered ferryboat
was built locally, and newspaper articles describe a contest for the name selection. One
favorite suggestion was after Cornelia Thornton, an army nurse and a native of lower
Gloucester who had recently died in the war effort. However, the name Cornwallis was
chosen for this first ferry, and it was launched in June 1919. This is only two years after he
left the mercantile business. Will Ashe continued modernization with the procurement of
two more ferryboats before his death in 1938. These boats had increased capacity and
capability.
Vol. 9, No. 2
36
December 2005
Will Ashe From A Small Beginning
The efforts of Will Ashe extended
beyond the business of ferry modernization. In the process of promoting northsouth travel through Gloucester County
and his York River crossing, he was
instrumental in getting the first road in
Gloucester paved by the state. Together
with Leslie R. O’Hara of York County, he
invested in numerous local companies
including the Yorktown Ice & Storage
Company that also operated a store in
Gloucester County. He owned Tidewater
Construction Company, and sold it to
Noland of Newport News a few weeks
before his death, according to David
Burke. He was credited for assisting
Leslie R. O’Hara in the preservation of the
Yorktown Battle Grounds of the Revolutionary War. This land was proposed for
development with small row-houses
including a golf course, but the project
failed during the depression of the 1930s.
O’Hara and Ashe were instrumental in
getting the Federal Park Service to purchase this land for its preservation.[5]
Needless to say, in the brief twenty-one
years after partnership with Richard
Roane, Will Ashe was a great success in all
his businesses. The ferry system modernization that began in 1917 was one of
the major events that shaped all of life in
Gloucester County in the years that
followed. It was similar to later events
like that of the bridge constructed in 1952
to replace it.
Ashe
newlyweds
Mr. and Mrs. Ashe during prosperous days.
Resolution of the William T. Ashe Estate
A primary source to indicate the monetary investments and activities of Will Ashe is
his will and subsequent inventory and accounting of his estate after his death in 1938.
Further information is recorded for his wife’s estate after her death in 1941. In all, there
are about thirty large pages of documentation available in the Gloucester County Clerk’s
Office. It appears that Will Ashe amassed a considerable fortune for his day. He willed a
large amount to the Methodist Orphanage in Richmond. Linwood Ashe also made provision in her will for the orphanage as well as other benevolent interests. Their contributions
in this life went beyond this community to orphanages, hospitals, colleges, churches and
individual ministers. Some members of their extended families received some of their
estate. This author’s mother, a niece of Will Ashe, received a small amount that went
towards the down payment on her first home in Hampton, VA.
Vol. 9, No. 2
37
December 2005
Will Ashe From A Small Beginning
Gloucester County and the Tidewater area of Virginia benefited greatly from the work
and generosity of Will Ashe. He demonstrated how a young boy in poverty, informally
educated, can be successful. While accumulating much wealth, he provided services and
economic opportunities for many. This is a son of whom Gloucester can be very proud.
End Notes:
1 Holland, Darryl, 24th Virginia Cavalry, H. E. Howard, Lynchburg, VA, 1997.
2 Hunt, L. Roane, Post Civil War Development of the Wilson Creek Community, FTS, v. 8, n. 1, June
2004. Pg. 40-47.
3 Hunt, L. Roane, The Writings of Richard A. Roane, A Sanctified Believer, January, 1995.
4 Newport News 325 Years, 1946.
5 Manley, Kathleen, Images of America, Yorktown, Arcadia Publishing, 2004, p. 105.
Ruth Smitt Leaves Gloucester
Our long-time (1996 to 2003) Secretary “extraordinaire” has decided to leave her
house at Cardinal and move closer to her son at Hartsville, S. C. 29550.
Ruth is a Charter Member of our Society and has faithfully recorded our meetings in
elegant fashion since our beginning in 1996 until last year when Martha Morton relieved
her. Plans are well underway to publish her transcribed copy of the minutes in a "Limited
Edition" for Society members. Her minutes have recorded the true essence of our meetings
and record the details of our growing Society. I hope many of you will secure a copy when
it is published and enjoy reflecting on our Society activities.
Ruth was born August 4, 1917, at Richmond, VA, to Marcus D. Renfree and Edith
Cameron Holdman. On March 4, 1939, she married Olof Smitt at Lafayette, IN.
It has been a special pleasure for me to work with Ruth during the years that I served
as Vice-president and President. My warm and personal thanks to you, Ruth, for a job well
done. On behalf of our Society I express gratitude and praise for your efforts. You carry
our good wishes to South Carolina as you start this new phase of your life. Best of luck
and God bless!
You can reach Ruth at:
Ruth Smitt
411 Deerwood Drive
Hartsville, SC 29550
(843) 857-3922
Sincerely,
Roger C. Davis
[email protected]
Vol. 9, No. 2
38
December 2005
Images of Gloucester County, Virginia — by David Girard
DSCO1266.tif
The Ruins of Rosewell
DSCO2328.tif
WALL-03.tif
Horse mounting steps at Abingdon Church
Entry Door to Abingdon Church
Vol. 9, No. 2
39
December 2005
Images of Gloucester County, Virginia — by David Girard
Church04.tif
Abingdon Episcopal Church
MONU-01.tif
Debtor-2.tif
Debtor’s Prison
Confederate Monument at the Old Court House
Vol. 9, No. 2
40
December 2005
A Genealogy for Harry Randolph Jordan
Interview by Roger C. Davis
Genealogy by Harry R. Jordan
Harry is a long-time resident of Gloucester County. He was born in 1926 to Joseph
Henry Jordan (1892-1964) and Beuna Vista Midgett (1898-1978) when they lived at “Little
Richmond” at Gloucester Point. Joseph was one of the carpenters for the twenty-one
cottages built there.
Harry has done extensive research on the cemeteries of Gloucester and published two
books on his results, Cemeteries of Lower Gloucester and More Cemeteries of Gloucester.
He has served well with The Gloucester Historical Society and Gloucester Genealogical
Society of Virginia. He is currently a member of both
organizations and also on the Gloucester Historical
Committee, an advisory group to The Board of
Supervisors. He has also been associated with The
Tidewater Genealogy Society at Hampton, Virginia.
On November 23, 1946, he married Esther Marie
Hall, and they raised two daughters. Since 1952, they
have lived on Azalea Point Road on the shores of
Sarah’s Creek where they have watched development
engulf the creek area. Harry and Esther built the
house themselves!
Harry and Esther have been a part of Gloucester
County history since their childhood and have many
interesting stories to tell. Their genealogy chart shows
relationships to many of the local families that live
here today. Harry is related to J. H. Jordan (his father)
but not W. M. Jordan, the building contractor.
Jordan Marine was originally owned by J. O. Hall,
Esther’s father, and located at Perrin Creek. Joseph
Jordan bought the business about 1942, and moved it
Harry and Esther Jordan
to Sarah’s Creek where Harry ran the Marina after he
came out of army service.
Family of Harry Randolph Jordan
In 1942, Harry was working for Mr.
C. David Burke at the ferry terminal as a Harry Randolph Jordan, b. Dec 13, 1926
+m. Esther Marie Hall, Nov 23, 1946 b. Aug 13, 1929
Purser. He would walk the aisle of the
Norma Sharon Jordan , Jun 4, 1952
buses collecting the ten cents fare from
+m. Kris K. Baker, Jun 4, 1974, b. May 23, 1951
the workers going to the shipyard.
Jordan Tivoli Baker, b. Feb 7, 1981
Harry said he was on the bus the day
Karter Kent Baker , b. Apr 27, 1983
the mishap occurred and the bus fell
Harriet Marie Jordan , b. Dec 15, 1959
overboard as the ferry left the slip. It
+m. Samuel Jay Closkey, Dec 14, 1996, b. Feb 28 1942
Vol. 9, No. 2
41
December 2005
A Genealogy for Harry Randolph Jordan
seems the landing apron
on the dock got hooked
under the bus bumper and
as the ferry backed out
the apron just pulled the
bus off the ferry, almost
in slow motion. The bus
just rolled to its side and
into the water. Harry
opened the back door and
sounded the alarm to exit
the bus. Benjamin
Franklin Ware, an elderly
black man, drowned.
Harry said Benjamin never
left his seat right by the
rear exit door and was
found under water still
sitting in the seat. Harry
dove into the very cold
water to help save the
forty some people in the
water. Mr. Ware was the
only fatality.
Ancestors of Harry Randolph Jordan
William “Willoughbey” Jordan
b. 1823
m. Mar 28, 1842
d. 1864
William Palmer Jordan
b. Apr 4, 1854
m. May 11, 1885
d. May 27, 1907
Maria Jane Oliver
b. 1819
d. 1880
Joseph Henry Jordan
b. Jul 20, 1892
m. Jul 23, 1912
d. Apr 26, 1964
William James Lewis
b. Feb 19, 1819
m. 1840
d. Feb 27, 1865
Mary Susan Lewis
b. Sep 7, 1864
d. Jun 29, 1930
Lucy Ann Tillage
b. Mar 7, 1820
d. Sep 1884
Harry Randolph Jordan
b. Dec 13, 1926
Beuna Vista Midgett
b. Apr 18, 1898
d. May 8, 1978
Harry went to VPI
after the war and got
degrees in Mechanical and
Electrical Engineering in
1949. He later worked at
the Naval Weapons Station for thirty-five years as General Engineer and retired as Director
of Engineering Labs in 1984.
The genealogy shown here was taken from a more extensive copy prepared by Harry
and now placed at the Virginia Room of the Gloucester Library.
Descendents of Edward Jordan
First Generation
1. Edward Jordan was born about 1787. He died about 1843.
Edward Jordan had the following children:
2
3
+4
Vol. 9, No. 2
i. Sally Jordan was born in 1813.
ii. James Jordan was born in 1820.
iii. William “Willoughbey” Jordan was born in 1823.
42
December 2005
A Genealogy for Harry Randolph Jordan
Second Generation
4. William “Willoughbey” Jordan was born in 1823 in Pine Swamp, Gloucester, VA. He died in
1864.
William “Willoughbey” Jordan and Maria Jane Oliver were married on Mar 28, 1842. Maria Jane
Oliver (daughter of William P. Oliver and Susan A. Walker) was born in 1819 in Gloucester Co., VA.
She died in 1897. William “Willoughbey” Jordan and Maria Jane Oliver had the following children:
+5
+6
+7
+8
+9
+10
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
James Thomas Jordan was born in 1847.
George W. Jordan was born in Oct 1850.
William Palmer Jordan was born on Apr 4, 1854.
Joseph Andrew Peterson Jordan was born on Aug 7, 1857.
Emily Jane Jordan was born on Feb 2, 1860.
Susanna Jordan was born in May 1863.
Third Generation
5. James Thomas Jordan was born in 1847 in Gloucester Co., VA. He died on Jul 25, 1888, in
Gloucester Co., VA.
James Thomas Jordan and Margaret Ann James were married on Apr 19, 1869, in Gloucester Co.,
VA. Margaret Ann James (daughter of John B. James and Isabella ?) was born in 1843.
6. George W. Jordan was born in Oct 1850.
George W. Jordan and Mary Ellen Virginia Newton were married on Dec 30, 1880. Mary Ellen
Virginia Newton was born on Feb 8, 1860. She died in Mar 1937 in Poquoson, VA. George W.
Jordan and Mary Ellen Virginia Newton had the following children:
+11
12
13
14
15
16
17
i. Catherine Elizabeth Jordan was born on Oct 14, 1881.
ii. Mary Lillie Jordan was born in 1883 in Poquoson, VA. She died in 1900 in
Poquoson, VA.
iii. James A. Jordan was born on May 10, 1887.
iv. Charles Eskridge Jordan was born on May 19, 1890, in Poquoson, VA. He died
on May 29, 1973, in Poquoson, VA.
v. Elijah Thomas Jordan was born on May 15, 1892.
vi. Olive Maude Jordan was born on Jun 28, 1895.
vii. Mary Lettie Jordan was born in Oct 1902.
7. William Palmer Jordan was born on Apr 4, 1854. He died on May 23, 1907.
William Palmer Jordan and Mary Susan Lewis were married on May 11, 1885, in Baltimore, MD.
Mary Susan Lewis (daughter of William James Lewis III and Lucy Ann Tillage) was born on Sep 7,
1864, in Gloucester Pt., VA. She died on Jun 29, 1930, in Gloucester Pt., VA. William Palmer Jordan
and Mary Susan Lewis had the following children:
18
+19
+20
+21
+22
23
Vol. 9, No. 2
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
William Palmer Jordan Jr. was born on Feb 11, 1887. He died on Sep 28, 1895.
James Edward Jordan was born on Dec 4, 1889.
Joseph Henry Jordan was born on Jul 20, 1892.
William Moss Jordan was born on Aug 9, 1896.
Lucy Clementine Jordan was born on Jun 13, 1899.
Mary Alice Jordan was born on Nov 4, 1905, in Gloucester Pt., VA. She died on
Oct 1, 1989, in Norfolk, VA.
43
December 2005
A Genealogy for Harry Randolph Jordan
8. Joseph Andrew Peterson Jordan was born on Aug 7, 1857, in Gloucester Co., VA. He died on
Jun 9, 1909, in Gloucester Co., VA.
Joseph Andrew Peterson Jordan and Mary Susan Belvin were married on Nov 18, 1880, in Gloucester
Co., VA. Mary Susan Belvin (daughter of John Belvin and Susan Ann Tillage) was born on Aug 9,
1859. She died on Jun 5, 1904. Joseph Andrew Peterson Jordan and Mary Susan Belvin had the
following children:
24
+25
26
i. Josephine Pearl Jordan was born on Mar 1, 1881. She died on Sep 18, 1956.
ii. William Andrew Peterson Jordan was born on Sep 24, 1885.
iii. Susan Maria Jordan was born on Sep 25, 1889. She died on Jan 5, 1966.
9. Emily Jane Jordan was born on Feb 2, 1860, in Gloucester Pt., VA. She died on Dec 1, 1939, in
Gloucester Pt., VA.
Emily Jane Jordan and Leroy Rosser Peterson Lewis were married on Jul 5, 1878, in Gloucester Co.,
VA. Leroy Rosser Peterson Lewis (son of William James Lewis III and Lucy Ann Tillage) was born on
Aug 8, 1856. He died on May 20, 1931. Emily Jane Jordan and Leroy Rosser Peterson Lewis had the
following children:
+27
28
+29
30
31
32
33
34
35
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
Lucy Jane Lewis was born on Sep 4, 1880.
Alice M. Lewis was born on Nov 8, 1882. She died on Aug 18, 1885.
Annie Daisy Lewis was born on Jan 29, 1885.
Alberta Mae Lewis was born on Mar 28, 1888.
Emily Alice Lewis was born on Feb 14, 1889.
Fleta Myrtle Lewis was born on Jan 27, 1892.
William Lorian Lewis was born on Sep 18, 1895.
Leroy Peterson Lewis was born on May 27, 1899.
Alta Carroll Lewis was born on May 18, 1902. He died on Jun 1, 1962.
10. Susanna Jordan was born in May 1863 in Gloucester Pt., VA. She died in Apr 1926.
Susanna Jordan and Joel Thomas Teagle were married on Aug 13, 1882. Joel Thomas Teagle (son
of John A. Teagle and Martha Ellen Hall) was born in 1854. He died on Dec 13, 1893. Susanna
Jordan and Joel Thomas Teagle had the following children:
36
37
+38
+39
40
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
John William Teagle was born on Sep 11, 1884.
Rosetta Teagle was born on Mar 3, 1887.
Mary Jane Teagle was born in 1889.
Martha Anna Teagle was born on Dec 18, 1889.
James Thomas Teagle was born on Jul 31, 1892.
Susanna Jordan and Willie Croswell were married on Dec 27, 1903. Willie Croswell was born in
1858.
Fourth Generation
11. Catherine Elizabeth Jordan was born on Oct 14, 1881, in Poquoson, VA. She died on Jul 10,
1956, in Poquoson, VA.
Catherine Elizabeth Jordan and Peter James Insley were married on Aug 31, 1897, in Poquoson, VA.
Peter James Insley was born on Apr 27, 1878, in Poquoson, VA. He died on Feb 15, 1968, in
Poquoson, VA.
Vol. 9, No. 2
44
December 2005
A Genealogy for Harry Randolph Jordan
19. James Edward Jordan was born on Dec 4, 1889, in Gloucester Co., VA. He died on Apr 21,
1964.
James Edward Jordan and Sarah E. Belvin were married on Nov 1, 1916. Sarah E. Belvin was born
on Nov 1, 1896. She died on Oct 15, 1981. James Edward Jordan and Sarah E. Belvin had the
following children:
43
44
i. Clarence Jordan was born on Jan 15, 1918. He died on Apr 20, 1987.
ii. Mildred E. Jordan was born in 1922.
20. Joseph Henry Jordan was born on Jul 20, 1892. He died on Apr 26, 1964.
Joseph Henry Jordan and Beuna Vista Midgett were married on Jul 23, 1912. Beuna Vista Midgett
was born on Apr 18, 1898. She died on May 8, 1978. Joseph Henry Jordan and Beuna Vista Midgett
had the following children:
45
46
47
i. Joseph Lionel Jordan Sr. was born on Oct 1, 1914, in Gloucester Pt., VA. He
died on Jun 27, 1972, in Gloucester Pt., VA. Joseph Lionel Jordan Sr. and Linda
Marie Foster were married on May 28, 1936. Linda Marie Foster (daughter of
Benjamin Woodland Foster and Stella Mae Lewis) was born on Jun 26, 1918, in
Mathews Co., VA. She died on Oct 4, 1997, in Gloucester Pt., VA.
ii. James Byrd Jordan was born on Dec 31, 1818, in Gloucester Pt., VA. He died on
Jan 24, 1993, in Newport News, VA. James Byrd Jordan and Audrey Lorraine
Sunday were married on Jun 13, 1941, in Richmond, VA. Audrey Lorraine
Sunday was born on Jul 30, 1922, in Richmond, VA. She died on May 31, 1994,
in Newport News, VA.
iii. Harry Randolph Jordan was born on Dec 13, 1926, in Gloucester Pt., VA. Harry
Randolph Jordan and Esther Mae Hall were married on Nov 23, 1946. Esther
Marie Hall was born on Aug 13, 1929.
21. William Moss Jordan was born on Aug 9, 1896. He died on May 4, 1949.
William Moss Jordan and Zela Mae Phillips were married on Jul 11, 1917, in Gloucester Pt., VA. Zela
Mae Phillips (daughter of Alampra Phillips and Jane Gordon “Jennie” Cameron) was born on Jul 1,
1899. She died on May 7, 1992. William Moss Jordan and Zela Mae Phillips had the following
children:
48
49
i. Robert William Jordan was born on Oct 11, 1919.
ii. Mary Katherine Jordan was born on Dec 22, 1922.
22. Lucy Clementine Jordan was born on Jun 13, 1899, in Gloucester Pt., VA. She died on Mar 13,
1966.
Lucy Clementine Jordan and Linwood Arthur Hammond were married on Mar 3, 1921.
25. William Andrew Jordan was born on Sep 24, 1885. He died in 1968.
Beulah Foxwell (daughter of Andrew B. Foxwell and Emmeline Jackson Oliver) was born in Mar
1889. William Andrew Jordan and Beulah Foxwell had the following children:
50
51
52
Vol. 9, No. 2
i. Mary Emily Jordan was born in 1910.
ii. Sarah Louise Jordan was born on Oct 15, 1911.
iii. Elsis Amanda Jordan was born in 1914.
45
December 2005
A Genealogy for Harry Randolph Jordan
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
xi.
Avis Lucinda Jordan was born in 1917.
Vivian Catherine Jordan was born in 1919.
William Andrew Jordan Jr. was born in 1921.
James Hilton Jordan was born in 1924.
Kurnan Maxwell Jordan was born in 1925.
Ella Mae Jordan was born in 1928.
Beulah Marie Jordan was born in 1930.
Grayson Boothe Jordan was born in 1931.
27. Lucy Jane Lewis was born on Sep 4, 1880. She died on Jun 1, 1954.
Lucy Jane Lewis and Robert Elroy Harris were married on Nov 5, 1902. Robert Elroy Harris (son of
Thomas Robert Harris and Henrietta Savage) was born on Apr 6, 1877. He died on May 12, 1969.
Lucy Jane Lewis and Robert Elroy Harris had the following children:
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
Gladys Harris was born on Jan 23, 1904.
Thomas Robert Harris was born in 1905.
Bernard Ray Harris was born in 1907.
Linwood Vincent Harris was born in 1912.
Marion Everett Harris was born in 1916.
Arthur Royal Harris was born in 1920.
Lucy Gwendolyn Harris was born in 1925.
29. Annie Daisy Lewis was born on Jan 29, 1885. She died on Oct 9, 1966.
Annie Daisy Lewis and William Thomas Harris were married on Dec 17, 1908, in Gloucester Co., VA.
William Thomas Harris (son of William Henry Harris and Lucy Ann Wise) was born on Oct 15, 1880.
He died on Jun 7, 1960. Annie Daisy Lewis and William Thomas Harris had the following children:
68
69
70
71
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
William Thomas Harris Jr. was born in 1911.
Daisy Edith Harris was born on Nov 18, 1912.
Robert Edward Harris Sr. was born on Jan 19, 1922. He died on Apr 27, 1976.
Mary Roslyn Harris was born in 1927.
38. Mary Jane Teagle was born on Dec 18, 1889. She died in 1959.
Thaddeus Moore Robins Jr. (son of Thaddius Morgan Robins and Martha E. Dunston) was born on
May 8, 1884. He died on Nov 6, 1964.
39. Martha Annie Teagle was born on Dec 18, 1889. She died on Jun 19, 1973.
Martha Annie Teagle and Willie Cleveland Seawell were married in 1909. Willie Cleveland Seawell
(son of Jasper Seawell and Medora J. Wilburn) was born on Jan 9, 1885. He died in 1967. Martha
Annie Teagle and Willie Cleveland Seawell had the following children:
72
73
74
Vol. 9, No. 2
i. Healy Clements Seawell was born on Oct 18, 1910. He died on Dec 28, 1988.
ii. Willard Wilson Seawell was born on Sep 26, 1917. He died on Jun 23, 1998.
iii. Lucy Virginia Seawell was born on Jan 23, 1922.
46
December 2005
African American Sailors in the Union Navy
http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/sailors_index.html
Name, Age, and Occupation are listed
Submitted by Blondell Whiting
Gloucester Co., Virginia
Banks, William, AGE: 20, OCC: Farmer
Boerum, Charles H., AGE: 22, OCC:
Waiter/Fieldhand
Brown, Joshua, AGE: 25, OCC: Laborer
Casey, Edmund, AGE: 21, OCC: Oysterman
Casey, William, AGE: 23, OCC: Oysterman
Cook, James R., AGE: 30
Cook, Robert H., AGE: 18
Cook, William, AGE: 19, OCC: Laborer
Dedman, Moses, AGE: 18, OCC: Laborer
Dudley, Philip, AGE: 38, OCC: Slave
Jackson, Thomas, AGE: 16, OCC: Laborer
Jones, Beverly, AGE: 16, OCC: Waiter
Jones, Robert, AGE: 18, OCC: Laborer/Farmer
Macanie, George, AGE: 16, OCC: Waiter
Maxwell, Joseph, AGE: 21
Peyton, John, AGE: 36, OCC: Cook
Randal, George, AGE: 15
Randolph, Frank, AGE: 48, OCC: Barber
Ransom, George, AGE: 15, OCC: Farmer
Ransom, Joseph, AGE: 24, OCC: Farmer
Reid, Ned, AGE: 20, OCC: Waiter
Robinson, Peter, AGE: 22
Rone, Francis, AGE: 23, OCC: Waiter
Scott, Samuel, AGE: 25, OCC: Waiter/Oysterman
Smith, Gadewood, AGE: 21, OCC: Mariner
Smith, Leroy, AGE: 22, OCC: Mariner
Smith, William, AGE: 24, OCC: Oysterman
Thomas, F., AGE: 24, OCC: Fieldhand
Travis, John, AGE: 20, OCC: Laborer
White, William, AGE: 20, OCC: Waiter
Whiting, Frank, AGE: 42
Willson, William, AGE: 23, OCC: Farmer
Mathews Co., Virginia
Billops, Alexander, AGE: 24, OCC: Laborer
Billows, John, AGE: 19, OCC: Farmer
Brooks, Daniel, AGE: 19
Brooks, Humphrey, AGE: 27
Brooks, Richard, AGE: 32, OCC: Ship Timber
Cutter
Brooks, Richard, AGE: 21, OCC: Fisherman
Brooks, Richard, AGE: 20, OCC: Slave
Brooks, William, AGE: 25
Brooks, William, AGE: 20, OCC: Slave
Bullups, Frank, AGE: 30, OCC: Laborer
Cook, James, AGE: 23
Deigs, John, AGE: 24, OCC: Shoemaker
Deigs, Washington, AGE: 25, OCC: Coachman
Dickson, James, AGE: 34
Diggs, John O., AGE: 22, OCC: Farmer
Diggs, Phelan, AGE: 21, OCC: Farmer
Dix, Gabriel, AGE: 16, OCC: Waiter
Dix, Michael, AGE: 15, OCC: Waiter
Foster, Caesar, AGE: 27, OCC: Laborer
Foster, Raphael, AGE: 20, OCC: Farmer
Garnett, John, AGE: 19
Hayes, Parker, AGE: 17
Hooks, George, AGE: 19, OCC: Waiter
Hugen, Simon, AGE: 28, OCC: Farmer
Vol. 9, No. 2
Kelley, Matthew, AGE: 26
McDonald, Alex, AGE: 12, OCC: Farmer
Miller, Oscar, AGE: 12, OCC: Farmer/Farmhand
Morse, John, AGE: 30, OCC: Oysterman/Boatman
Morse, John H., AGE: 25, OCC: Sailor
Moses, James M., AGE: 26
Moses, Thomas W., AGE: 37, OCC: Laborer
Payton, Lewis, AGE: 22
Peterson, Richard, Jr., AGE: 17
Peterson, Richard, Sr., AGE: 64
Phelps, Forbes H., AGE: 14, OCC: Fieldhand
Piankatank, Simon, AGE: 22, OCC: Oysterman
Smith, Albert, AGE: 19, OCC: Farmer/Steward
Smith, Isaac, AGE: 17, OCC: Farmer
Smith, James, AGE: 30, OCC: Laborer
Smith, James, AGE: 36
Smith, John, AGE: 21, OCC: Farmer
Smith, Thornton, AGE: 21, OCC: Farmer
Templeton, Albert, AGE: 22, OCC: Laborer
Washington, George, AGE: 17, OCC: Teamster
Washington, Isaac, AGE: 31, OCC: Farmer
Whiting, Frank, AGE: 26
Williams, George, AGE: 26
Williams, Joseph, AGE: 24, OCC: Laborer
Williams, Larkin, AGE: 19
47
December 2005
African American Sailors in the Union Navy (Continued)
Middlesex Co., Virginia
Boyle, Henry, AGE: 26
Braxton, Carter, AGE: 26, OCC: Shoemaker
Fields, Fielding, AGE:
Grimes, James, AGE: 18
Harris, David, AGE: 20, OCC: Oysterman
Harris, Samuel, AGE: 28, OCC: Farmer/Boatman
Hayden, William J. King, AGE: 19, OCC: Farmer
Hunks, Peter, AGE: 20
Hunter, Miles, AGE: 40
Hunter, Peter, AGE: 19, OCC: Farmer
Jackson, Andrew, AGE: 23, OCC: Farmer
Jackson, Daniel, AGE: 40
Johnson, Henry, AGE: 16, OCC: Farmer/Laborer
Jones, R. H., AGE: 23, OCC: Laborer/Farmer
Lindsey, John, AGE:
Miles, Henry, AGE: 19, OCC: Laborer
Newman, Webster, AGE:
Palmer, Frank, AGE: 30, OCC: Boatman
Peterson, Philip, AGE: 41, OCC: Farmer &
Boatman
Power, George, AGE: 20, OCC: Farmer
Thornton, James, AGE: 18, OCC: Farmer
Upsher, Isaiah, AGE: 18, OCC: Farmer/Teamster
Washington, Richard, AGE: 20, OCC: Farmer
Whiting, Samuel, AGE: 21
Wormley, Christopher, AGE: 20, OCC: Farmer
Wormley, Solomon, AGE: 21, OCC: Laborer
Wright, George, AGE: 12, OCC: Farmer
James City Co., Virginia
Carter, James Henry, AGE: 20
Mickens, Washington, AGE: 23
Moore, George, AGE: 20, OCC: Farmer
Young, Archey, AGE: 20
York Co., Virginia
Allen, William, AGE: 37, OCC: Sailor
Bailey, Thomas, AGE: 28, OCC: Cook
Banks, James, AGE: 21
Burrows, William, AGE: 24, OCC: Farmer
Carey, Moses, AGE: 40
Dudley, Andrew, AGE: 16
Dunger, Joseph, AGE: 23, OCC: Cook/Printer
Gibbs, Francis, AGE: 25, OCC: Waiter
Harris, John R., AGE: 19, OCC: Laborer
Hobson, Abner, AGE: 33, OCC: Farmer
Howard, Robert, AGE: 18
Johnson, Isaac, AGE: 20
Vol. 9, No. 2
Lee, Humphrey, AGE: 19
Lee, Philip, AGE: 31, OCC: Farmer/Laborer
Lester, Alexander, AGE: 25
Mutter, John, AGE: 25, OCC: Waiter
Ormthede, Warren, AGE: 24, OCC: Sailor
Robinson, Daniel, AGE: 26
Robinson, William, AGE: 20, OCC: Fieldhand
Sampson, George, AGE: 20
Shields, John T., AGE: 20, OCC: Servant/Steward
Slaughter, Sylvester, AGE: 26, OCC: Porter
Smith, London, AGE: 18, OCC: Oysterman
Smith, Silas, AGE: 20, OCC: Cook
48
December 2005