Courtesy of my cousin Mrs. Ann Ratcliffe Farr Lewis and also Mrs. Andrea Loewenwarter "Historic Resources Specialist" at the Historic Blenheim located at 3610 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax,Virginia.
Captain Rezin Samuel Willcoxon, a veteran of the war of 1812 who, in the early nineteenth century, began to accumulate much land in what is present-day Fairfax, Virginia. At one point, Willcoxon owned over one-thousand acres of land in the area. Rezin married his first wife, Elizabeth DeNeale, in 1805. The couple would have ten children. Elizabeth died in 1845, but in 1851 Willcoxon remarried. His new bride was Fanny Halley Bell. Rezin Willcoxon was farming approximately four-hundred acres of the land he owned. His livestock was estimated to be worth $899, and his farm produced wheat, Indian corn, and Irish potatoes. In April 1854, Rezin’s son, Albert T. purchased a large tract of land from his father. It is assumed at this point he had taken over operation of the family farm and had established residency at the farmhouse on the property. According to the Alexandria Gazette and Virginia Advertiser, fire destroyed the farmhouse early in 1855, and evidence suggests the house which stands on the property today was built to replace it. Since the brick bonding for each of the exterior walls is not consistent with the foundation, the new house may have been built on the foundation of the previous house. When Rezin died in 1855, his property was split among some of his children, but Albert remained in possession of the Willcoxon house and much of the remaining property. On April 20, 1858, Albert married Mary Hunter Eskridge and the couple continued to run the farm, with the help of at least six slaves. Little information is known about them, however. There is a chance that Albert and Mary inherited some of their slaves or received them as wedding gifts from their parents. The names of only three of the slaves are known for certain. Records show that Albert purchased a young man named Charles in 1856. In 1859 he purchased, from his sister, another man named Hanson, who had been in the Willcoxon family since 1806. There are also records of a woman, Maria, whom Albert sold to his sister-in-law, Isabelle K. Eskridge, in 1859. There were most likely two slave quarters on the property. When Albert died in 1889, all his land, which included Willcoxon Place and approximately 367 acres, was split between his children, Harry and Bessie. Harry ran the farm through the start of the twentieth century, and under his leadership the farm prospered. His farm became especially known for its dairy production, and some credited him with providing the best milk in the area. During the year 1903, the earliest use of the name ‘Blenheim’ for Willcoxon Place was recorded in the family obituary for Albert's wife, Mary Eskridge Willcoxon. However, the property continued to be called ‘Willcoxon Place’ throughout the twentieth century. The 1930s found the farm being run by a tenant farmer. In 1939, Harry willed Blenheim to his niece Marguerite (Daisy), and moved to his other farm in Centreville, VA, where he died in 1942. Farm operations at Blenheim continued through the 1950s. An insurance survey of 1950 listed the farm as having two tenant houses, the main house, a privy, chicken house, pump house, machinery shed and workshop, dairy barn and house, calf house, granary, corn crib, house barn, a second machinery and hay shop, a cow shed, and a hog shed. By 1953, the Willcoxon heirs had begun to sell off large parcels of the farm for development, and soon the original landholdings around Blenheim were reduced to twelve acres. Before her death in 1959 Marguerite (Daisy) had given the estate to her daughter, Barbara Duras, who moved into the house with her husband, William in 1962. Barbara died in 1987, followed by William in 1997. The City of Fairfax purchased the site in January 1999. The family cemetery, located next to the house, includes four generations of the Willcoxon family. The Willcoxon family and their descendants never covered the inscriptions in the attic of their home. The attic space was probably used mostly for storage after the war. Many layers of wallpaper were added to the first and second levels of the home through the twentieth century, but the drawings on the walls were never destroyed. Today, the wallpaper on the two main floors has been removed and the inscriptions are visible throughout. In 2001 Historic Blenheim was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Adjacent to the house is the Civil War Interpretive Center, opened in 2008. The Center’s mission is to enhance the educational experience of the site for visitors. A gallery inside the Interpretive Center contains displays which places the Union soldiers who stayed at Blenheim within the larger framework of the American Civil War. Since the second floor and the attic are not accessible by the public, the Center also hosts an exact replica of two-thirds of Blenheim’s attic with life-sized images of the inscriptions. Additional features include an assembly room for school groups, tour groups, lectures and special programs, along with temporary exhibits which are displayed on the walls. The Willcoxon Family had abandoned their home November 1862, the house was then occupied by the union soldiers. It's eventual use as a hospital for the union soldiers. Exterisive writings found on the attic walls. These writings include over ninety names, units, dates,poems and artistic drawings. A family cemetery is located to the southeast of the house and a number of unmarked graves are located to the north of the Willcoxon and Farr families who are buried there. Captain Rezin S. Willcoxon and wife Elizabeth DeNeale had a daughter Margaret Conn Willcoxon(1840-1904) who later would marry Lt. Richard Ratcliffe Farr(I), who was the son of Samuel Ratcliffe Farr and wife Matilda Willcoxon, the cousin to Miss Margaret Willcoxon the name which is mentioned above this story. Matilda Willcoxon was the daughter of Josiah Willcoxon and margaret Conn. Mr. Samuel Ratcliffe Farr and Matilda Willcoxon had seven children listed below. 1. Penelope Farr (1796-1861) 2. Susanna Farr (1798- ) She had married George Millan, the brother of Captain Henry Summer Millan who married Susanna's sister Caroline Matilda Farr. 3. Roger Willcoxon Farr (1800- ) he married Elizabeth Davis. 4. Rezin Samuel Farr (1802-1887), he married Elizabeth Ellandra Broadwater. 5. Richard Ratcliffe Farr (II) (1804-1845), he married Margaret Conn Willcoxon. 6. Caroline Matilda Farr (1806-1888) she married Henry Summer Millan. "The Death Of Margaret Conn Willcoxon" It was February 19,1904 on a very cold Wednesday evening around 9:00pm, when (Golder) John Farr and his brother Rezin A Farr was closing up the Post Office they decided to head over to the Cottage House which is now known as "Grandma's Cottage." When they arrived at the house they had found there Grandmother Mrs. Margaret Willcoxon Farr laying on the ground which she had fallen off her porch and broken her leg. It seems that earlier in the evening she suggested to her daughter-in-law Mrs. Margaret Edith Malone Farr with whom she was leaving to go and see if she could render any assistance to the family of Mr. Frank R. Ford, which was their nearest neighbors in their bereavement and that in the obsense of the younger Mrs. Farr, she walked out on the porch from which she fell as related. Docter Brooks was summoned but she died about 2:00am in the morning on Thursday. She was 84 years old, and was a lady of much inteligence and strong personality. The people amoung whom she had lived during her long life always honored and respected her. After the Civil War, (he) Richard R. Farr began the expansion of what is today known as "Grandma's Cottage". The Cottage was originally built around 1840 and features an 18th century Contruction. The structure combination of log wall construction and rare hewn timber framing with brick in fill between the studs in the oldest portion of the house. The shed roofed log portion was added to accommodate his mother, Miss Margaret Farr who was known to the community as "Grandma Farr". She lived in the Cottage House for nearly 40 years until her death in 1904. In 1962, the Cottage was moved to 3901 Old Lee Highway and was again moved to the Historic Blenheim Estate in 2001. |
Honor Richard Ratcliffe Farr(II) -Confederate Soldier & Public Servant. Dick Farr was born at Farr's Cross Roads (Rt. 123 and Braddock Road) on the family farm. He was the son of Richard R. and Margaret Conn (Wilcoxson) Farr. At the beginning of the Civil War Richard, who was too young to enlist, allegedly shot at some passing Union soldiers from the safety of his home. In retribution the Union soldiers burned down the Farr homeplace. The family took refuge with friends in Fairfax Court House. Richard's mother, a widow, eventually moved the family to Abingdon, VA to escape the violence. Here he attended Dr. Farwell's Academy (Abingdon Academy?). At the age of 18, he enlisted in the famed Mosby's Rangers of the Confederate Army. "Tobe" Pvt., Co. B. Enl. 11-21-63 for the war by William R. Smith in Fauquier Co. Present on Nov. - Dec. 1863 muster roll. Appears on 4th qtr., 1864 clothing receipt roll. WIA 11-18-64 in fight at Myerstown, Jefferson Co., W. Va. Par. 4-20-65 at Winchester. Age 18, 5'- 11", fair complexion, dark hair, hazel eyes. Res. Fairfax. Co. B. 11-30-1845. Lived in Md. prior to the war. D. 10-10-1892. Bur. Fairfax Cem., Fairfax. Brother of Ranger Resin Samuel Farr. He was severely wounded in the thigh by a gunshot, the effects of which he never fully recovered. He returned to duty and served honorably until the end of the war. After the war Richard attended Roanoke College in Salem, VA where he excelled in mathematics. In 1868, he returned to Fairfax and worked as a teacher and a land surveyor. In 1869, he began to read law with Henry W. Thomas, a prominent Fairfax attorney. In 1870, he was elected the first Treasurer of Fairfax County. In 1871, he passed the bar exam and was admitted to practice law in Fairfax County. In 1873, he donated bricks to construct the Fairfax Elementary School (now the Fairfax Museum). He also was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1879 - 1882. He was appointed the Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction (Superintendent of Schools) from 1882 - 1885. In 1886, he was appointed a United States Marshall by President Rutherford B. Hayes. He died of "consumption" Tuberculosis) in 1892 at just 47 years of age.
Washington Times Alexandria Gazette Paper July 16,1890, US Marshal R.R. Farr, who was thrown from his buggy in Fairfax last week and painfully injured, is able to be out again. No bones were broken by his fall, and he was not so seriously hurt as was at first thought. Washington Times October 13,1892 Mr. Farr"s successor. It is thought that President Harrison will not appoint a successor to the late R. R. Farr, United States Marshal for the Eastern district of Virginia, until after the election. There were several persons are mentioned for the office. Dr.Rezin Samuel Farr served in the Confederate Army from 1861 to 1865.
During the last two years of the war, he was a member of "Mosby's Raiders." In 1867, he graduated from the Medical College of Virginia and moved his wife and seven children to Centerville, Texas. He came to Belton in 1879 with his wife and five surviving children. Dr. Farr had a long and distinguished career as a physician and civic leader.1He was known as a striking figure making his medical rounds wearing a black suit with black tie and hat, driving a black carriage with black horses in black harness.Dr. Farr died in 1915 and is buried in the North Belton Cemetery. He was the son of Richard Ratcliffe Farr(II ) and Margaret conn Willcoxon Farr. Captain Richard Broadwater Farr Confederate army
He was taken from his home by the union soldiers and put in Gratiot State Prison, St. Louis, Missouri where he was poisioned and died December 11 1862 He was buried at Veterans Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo. He married Mary Ann Jobe and they had one son named Jefferson Davis Farr he married Capt. Richard B. Farr is buried in cemetery at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis. His name on the tombstone was spelled Furr. When his great-grandson discovered this error a few years ago, he brought it to the attention of the cemetery administration and they agreed to have the name changed on the stone. Whether this has been done as of this date, I don't know. The name is still spelled "Furr, Richard B., d. 12/11/1862, Plot: 66 0 9832, bur. 12/11/1862" The Regimental Field and Staff
and the Rank and File of Company D Muster Roll 17th Virginia/ Company D. Ancestors listed in this book. Broadwater, Arthur Pvt., Co. D, 17th Va. Inf.; b. 10/1/1819; Ship's Capt.; son of Charles Guy and Catherine (Gunnell) Broadwater; m. Catherine Bradley; voted for secession at Fairfax C.H.; enlisted Pvt. date/place; captured at Front Royal 1/16/64; sent to Old Capitol Prison; trans. 2/3/64 to Pt. Lookout, Md.; exchanged 11/1/64; lived on Little River Turnpike (Rt. 123) near Burke's Station Rd. 1879; d. 9/7/1897; bur. Fairfax Cemetery; father of Pvt. Guy B. and Richard Farr Broadwater, Co. A, 43rd Battalion. Va. Cavalry; cousin of Pvt. Charles A. Gunnell. Gunnell, Charles A. (an alias of Philip Alexander Gunnell), Pvt., Co. D, 17th Va. Inf.; b. 3/12/31 in Va.; teacher in 1860; son of George West & Locian (Ratcliffe) Gunnell; voted for secession at Sangster's 4/23/61; enlisted Pvt. 5/23/61 at Fairfax Station, age 30; captured Frayser's Farm, Va. 6/30/62; sent to Ft. Columbus, N. Y. Harbor and then to Ft. Warren, Mass. (Boston Harbor); exchanged, paroled 10/62; present 12/62; captured near Suffolk, Va., 4/23/63; on rolls as a deserter 6/63; d. 1869; brother of 2nd Lt. John R. Gunnell, Co. G, 8th Va. Inf.; Pvt. Joseph C. Gunnell, Co. G, 8th Va. Inf.; Pvt. Orlando W. Gunnell, Co. I, 11th Va. Cavalry; Pvt. Richard H. Gunnell, Co. C, 8th Va. Inf.; 2nd cousin of Pvt. John R. Ratcliffe, Co. D, 17th Va. Inf.; brother-in-law of 2nd Lt., George W. Swink, Co. G, 8th Va. Inf.; and Pvt. Joseph C. Swink, Co. G, 8th Va. Inf. Ratcliffe, John R. Pvt., Co. D, 17th Va. Inf.; son of Francis Fitzhugh & Ann M. McCarty (Lee) Ratcliffe; clerk; voted for secession at Centreville 4/23/61; enlisted Pvt. 8/10/61 at Centreville; age 31; d. 10/29/64 of chronic diarrhea at Chimborazo Hospital No. 1, Richmond; bur. Oakwood Cemetery, (Div. G, Row J, #112), Richmond; name listed on Confederate Dead Monument; Fairfax Cemetery; brother of Confederate Spy, Laura Ratcliffe; 1st cousin of Pvt. Thomas H. Lee, Co. G, 8th Va. Inf.; 2nd cousin of Privates Charles, John, Joseph, Orlando & Richard Gunnell; 2nd cousin of Alfred Moss; 3rd cousin of Thomas Moss; 6th cousin of Gen. R. E. Lee. Ratcliffe-Hanna, Laura Confederate Spy; b. Providence Township (Fairfax City) 5/28/1836; daughter of Francis Fitzhugh & Ann M. McCarty (Lee) Ratcliffe; moved with her mother and two sisters to Frying Pan (Herndon), Fx. Co. following the death of her father; Laura was a friend of Col. John S. Mosby and Gen. J.E.B. Stuart. She provided them with valuable information about Union Army activities in Fairfax County; m. Milton Hanna 1886; d. 8/3/1923 at home Herndon, Fairfax County; obit. F.H. 8/10/1923, p. 3; bur. Hanna Cemetery, 2346 Centreville, Rd., Herndon, Va.; sister of John R. Ratcliffe, Co. D, 17th Va. Inf.; 6th cousin of Gen. R. E. Lee. |
-OUR ANCESTORS IN THE HISTORY OF VIRGINIA-
When man reaches out into space to explore a new planet, his adventure will be comparable in may ways to that of the colonists who braved the space of water in the early seventeenth century to establish their proprietary rights on a strange continent called "America."
These colonists found themselves confronted with the need to feed, house and clothe themselves with unknown and untried materials reaped from a wilderness which hid their enemy, the red man, and housed the dread mosquito which carried the deadly malaria.
Proof of their danger lies in the history of the Jamestown colony. Being attacked by red savages upon landing at the malaria infested Jamestown and inexperienced with survival under wilderness conditions, the colonists were reduced to eating their own dead before help finally arrived. Strengthened by food and help brought by our ancestor Thomas West Lord De La Warr, the colonists eventually set up a government, bought peace with their enemy, and settled down to raise tobacco on the land to which they received proprietary rights. Later they expanded their holdings, developed their resources., improved their government, established churches, schools and colleges gained their independence from their mother country, survived civil strife, and advanced their civilization.
My book, Whispering Notes Of The Southern Families of Fairfax Courthouse Virginia aims to augment that history with a special look at the character of the people who lived that history. Who were they? What were their beliefs? What principles guided their lives?
The Farr and Ratcliffe families....answers these questions in the context of the history of the Fairfax court house area in the period from the founding of the town in the founding of the town in the late 1700's to the dedication of the confederate memorial in 1890.
The true character of the people is seen to emerge from the stresses of those times. Among the early landholders and planters were the Jones, Mason, Ellzey and Fitzhugh families. Among the early planter and lawyer families were the Ratcliffe, Farr, Willcoxon, Gunnell, Moss, and Love.
Our Ancestor Jerimiah Moore, preached the gospel., his ancestors were planters and his descendants were lawyers. Roads and bridges were built, and commerce grew and the people were enjoying proserity, but then the dark clouds came. In 1861 Fairfax Court house and Alexandria became the front line in an invasion by the states from the north. They resisted invasion for four long years., but they were eventually defeated on the field of battle. Than as the bounty of the Northern conquest, they picked up the pieces to rebuild.
Within the constraints imposed by their conqueror, they were able to regain some rights and some degree of self-governance. Fairfax Court House began to re-grow and to flourish.
The book ends with the dedication of the confederate memorial in 1890, but follows some of the descendants of early residents up to the present time. Today, a special feeling of "independence" separates the citizens of the little independent "city of Fairfax Virginia" from the people in the surrounding area... A sparkling jewel of freedom and self-determination, surrounded by the larger setting that is Fairfax County.
The Village of Farr in Scotland was founded by English people who had moved to Scotland. Our Farr/Farrar family migrated from Scotland to Northern Ireland where they lived for years and then to the United States in a town called Charles County, Maryland.
Their was a Colonel William Farr(Farrar) who was born around 1657 and died 1721. He had married Priscilla Baugh and had a son named Colonel John Farr born 1700 and died 1771. He married Susannah Thomas.
Col. John Farr, d. 1770 Charles Co., VA, Will, wife Susannah Thomas, son of William Farr (mentioned in John's Will as father), children: George Thomas Farr 11-19-1770 Will Charles Co, MD(Pharr & Farr by Newton p2), William Farr, Samuel Farr, Susannah Farr. John Farr's son, Samuel Farr d. 1771 m. Anne Susannah Ratcliffe, had one son born after his father's death, Samuel Ratcliffe Farr b. 1771/2. Samuel Ratcliffe Farr had 3 sons: Rezin Samuel Farr, Roger Willcoxon Farr and Richard Ratcliffe Farr, daus: Caroline m. Millan, Lucinda, Penelope.
The account of this estate filed in that year named children: John, George Thomas, William, Samuel and a daughter named Susannah. Colonel John Farr's son Samuel had married Anne Susannah Ratcliffe May 21,1771, daughter of Richard Ratcliffe and Susannah Brooke, both of Charles County, Maryland.
Samuel Farr condensed his will which filed December 2,1771, I Samuel Farr of Charles County, Maryland, November 10,1771, being sick and weak of the body, give and bequeath to my beloved wife, Anne Ratcliffe Farr , and her child if both within 9 months of my being sick, my Servant woman named Lucy and her child named Mary and all the rest of my estate..but if my wife should not bring a child in the above time my will is that she have her third and my brothers and sister the rest.
Samuel lived only a year after his marriage, but he fathered one child who was named Samuel Ratcliffe Farr born March 18,1772 at William and Mary Parish, Maryland. On or before April 1788, Anne with her son and probably her parents moved to Fairfax County, Virginia, near the courthouse. Anne Ratcliffe Farr's brother John Ratcliffe, had a son Richard Ratcliffe who was the founder of Fairfax County, Virginia.
The influence of the example of good men has in every age been esteemed among the most important incitements to virtue which a kind Providence has bestowed upon mankind. Few persons are insensible to it; for though its power be not once perceived or acknowledged, the charm which goodness displays quietly wins the heart to better feelings, and gives the mind an impulse which it is difficult to obliterate, and which time and reflection will often serve to strengthen. Few men have exhibited a happier illustration of this, then Samuel Ratcliffe Farr, the subject of the present sketch.
Notes show that Samuel Ratcliffe Farr had married Matilda Willcoxon who had died February 23, 1833. On July 20, 1818, Matilda Willcoxon Farr and George Millan were listed as guarding of the following orphans:
1. Roger W. Farr
2. Rezin Samuel Farr 1802-1887
3.Richard Ratcliffe Farr
4. Caroline Matilda Farr
5. Lucinda A Farr
Matilda was the daughter of Josiah Willcoxon and Margaret Conn. Her brother Captain Rezin S. Willcoxon had a home their in Fairfax which was called "Blenheim" located westside of Old Lee Highway. The Willcoxon family had abandoned their home November 1862, the house was then occupied by the union soldiers. It's eventual use as a hospital for the union soldiers.
In about 1843, Rezin Samuel Farr had moved his family from Fairfax County, Virginia, to a farm in Monongolia County, what is now north Central, West Virginia. The Farr Family had been established for many years in Fairfax County, Virginia, but this was a time when families were seeking opportunities in the West. Rezin and his wife Elizabeth Ellandra Broadwater, the daughter of Captain Charles Guy Broadwater and Catherine Kate Gunnell. They raised their family of six sons in the Monongalia County until before the breakout of the American Civil War in 1861.
At this time they moved to Canton, Missouri where they remained until the end of the war. According to the 1870 census, Rezin and Elizabeth Farr purchased a farm valued at 4,500.00 and moved to Chenoa Township, Illinois. Living with them at the time was their twenty five year old Samuel M. Farr(My 2nd Great Grandfather.) He was born October 25,1845.
On January 14,1873, Samuel M. Farr met and married Harriet"Hattie" Barfoot a second generation american from Peoria, Illinois. Her parents were William and Charlotte Pierce Barfoot. By 1830, her parents had emigrated from England to New York State and then made their way west to Peoria, Illinois in 1839.
William and Charlotte Barfoot had raised six children, five daughters and one son. Harriet's only brother Eugene had fought and was wounded from fighting for the Union Army in the Civil War with the Company A, 14th Cavalry Regiment Illinois. After the marriage Samuel Farr had moved his young bride to Chenoa County, Illinois, where their first three children were born. Their daughter who was born in 1873 had died in infancy. Ira Joseph Farr was born 1875 and then on August 16,1878 Samuel Bruce Farr was born. Their other children were Mable Elizabeth born 1881 and Guy William born 1884 and finally Hattie Belle who was born in 1887.
Samuel M. Farr continued to engage in farming until his death on February 25,1890 at the age of forty five. His cause of death has not been determined. Harriet was left a widow withb five children to raise on her own, and then shortly after her husbands death she had remarried to a guy named Rev. George Bartlebaugh a traveling preacher for the United Brethren in Christ Church. They were married on March 31, 1892 in Livington County, Illinois.
According to the 1880 US Census Samuel M. Farr and Harriet had moved their young family to a farm in nearby Pleasant Ridge Township, near the town of Wing, Livington County, Illinois.
Her second husband George Bartlebaugh was born March 29, 1830 and died on April 23, 1915. As the searching went on for years, that Harriet and George possibly were siring a number of children. We do know that he did not provide anything in his will for his first family. A child named "Snow" had died between the age of one or two. It is unknown exactly what the fate was of the children of Hattie and Samuel M. Farr.
The census records show that most of their children ended up in Wright County, Iowa. In the late 1800's when a child was orphaned or a single parent could not provide for the family church or organizations would often place needy children with qualified homes. My Great Grandfather Samuel Bruce Farr was born August 16, 1878 in Chenoa, Illinois. In his childhood he learned to play the violin and worked on the family farm until the death of his father in 1890. His education probably didn't go past the 6th grade. At 16 years of age he is listed as a survant boy in the 1895 census.
He had married Angie Adeline Miller and had five children and one being adopted in the family. His name was Marlyn Maurice Farr born in Saskatchewan Regina, Canada.
According to longtime Clarion resident, Maxine Brook Benson stated that Ira Farr was regarded as a very well liked man in the community. He is listed in the 1915 Iowa Census as living in Reeve Township, Franklin County, just south of Hampton, Iowa. By 1920 Ira Joseph Farr moved to Iowa Falls, Iowa where he bought a house at 421 Cedar Street which was still standing at the time of this writing. Ira Farr continued living in that house until his death in 1954.
After the death of Harriet's second husband George Bartlebaugh in 1913, she eventually moved from Peoria, Illinois to Iowa Falls, Iowa to live in her son Ira's new home until her death in 1926 at the age of 77. According to the 1920 census, Ira's 34 year old younger brother Guy William Farr also lived in the same house. Harriet Barfoot farr Bartlebaugh is buried next to her first husband Samuel M. Farr and son Ira Joseph in the Farr Plot in Avoca Cemetery in Lexington,Illinois. Mable Elizabeth Farr was the fourth child of Samuel M. Farr and Harriet Barfoot. She is listed in the 1900 census as a survant for Clarion residents, Edward and Susan Lockwood.
On October 29,1901 at the age of nineteen, Mable married George Turner and they had six children. Their dauhter Hattie Belle Turner(1887-1972) married Walter Tillman.
Richard Ratcliffe's Mount Vinyard Plantation
Richard Ratcliffe (1751-1825). The mansion was on his 600-acre "Mount Vineyard," part of a 1714 land grant of 1,930 acres to George Mason II. In 1798 Ratcliffe donated 4 acres to the east of Mount Vineyard for the Fairfax County Courthouse, built in 1800. Ratcliffe petitioned the Virginia Assembly to establish a town on adjacent property and on January 14, 1805 this town was chartered as "Providence," becoming the City of Fairfax in 1961.
Near the intersection of Ox Road and Braddock Road was a tract of land (the future site of George Mason College, the northern Virginia branch of the University of Virginia) which was owned by the Farr family. The large home on this tract of land was burned by Union forces during the Civil War in retaliation for a very brave act by the young fourteen year old Farr boy. This young boy, knowing that Union troops were located at Fairfax Station waiting to attack the Court House, built a road block of logs across the Ox Road over which these troops had to pass. Hiding himself in the underbrush nearby, he fired so heroically upon the enemy troops, as they approached, that they assumed there was a large group of Confederates waiting for them and withdrew to Fairfax Station. When they learned of the hoax, they returned and burned the Farr home to the ground.
The legacy of the Farr family and the homes they built help tell the story of Fairfax city and add to the distinctive character of our community. The Farr Homeplace, Grandma’s Cottage, and the Wilson Mahone Farr House provide a glimpse into our city’s past and offer unique insights into the lives of one of Fairfax’s leading families.
The story of the Farr family residences begins with an event that led to the destruction of the original Farr house at the beginning of the Civil War. Fourteen year old Richard Ratcliffe Farr lived on the family farm near the intersection of Braddock Road and Route 123 on property that his Grandfather, Samuel Farr, had acquired in 1797 as payment for his service in the Continental Army.
History first took note of young Richard when he discovered that Federal troops were advancing along Ox Road to attack Fairfax Court House so he placed logs across the road where the troops would have to pass. He hid in the nearby underbrush and allegedly fired upon the union soldiers as they approached. The surprised soldiers believed that they had encountered a large group of rebels so they withdrew. When they learned that they had been bested by a single boy, they returned and burned the Farr home to the ground.
Richard eventually joined Mosby’s Rangers and was wounded on November 19, 1864 fighting near Kabletown, West Virginia. Richard Ratcliffe Farr would go on to become one of Fairfax’s most distinguished citizens and served as a Delegate to the Virginia General Assembly, County Treasurer, the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Virginia, and the U.S. Marshall for the Eastern
District of Virginia.
Richard was also instrumental in building two of the Farr residences that enrich modern day Fairfax City. After the war, he began the expansion of what is today known as Grandma’s Cottage. The cottage was originally built around 1840 and features 18th century construction techniques, unique to the Fairfax area. The structure is important because of its combination of log-wall construction and rare hewn timber framing with brick infill between the studs in the oldest portion of the house The shed-roofed log portion was added to accommodate his mother, Margaret Willcoxon Farr who was known to the community as "Grandma Farr." Grandma Farr lived in the Cottage for nearly 40 years until her death in 1904. In 1962, the cottage was moved to 3901 Old Lee Highway and was again moved to the Historic Blenheim Estate in 2001.
Around 1880, Richard rebuilt the Farr Homeplace, also known as “Five Chimneys,” that would serve as the principle residence of the Farr family. He used bricks made from a clay pit on the property, and a large cross design was worked into each of the five brick chimneys. The home is an example of the Georgian style with a two-story colonnaded portico. Today, the Farr Homeplace is a private residence located at 10230 Main Street.
Richard’s sons would follow in his footsteps and serve their community. Wilson M. Farr taught at the old Fairfax Elementary School, was elected Mayor of the Town of Fairfax in 1918, and served as a Virginia Commonwealth Attorney.
Richard R. “Dick” Farr, served in the Army during World War I, was the Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney General, and also servedas the Mayor of Fairfax from 1936 to 1941. In 1915, Wilson built a new residence, adjacent to the Farr Homeplace, for his bride Edith Wiley. He originally called the home “Ballynahown” after his mother's ancestral home in Ireland. The estate bears notable Georgian and Federal influences, borrowing from the Colonial Revival style, which first emerged in the 1880's as a testament to new pride in America's past.
Beneath the manor's pitched slate roof and pedimented dormers is an elegant facade characterized by six-over-six double hung sash windows, louvered shutters and common bond brickwork.
Wilson Farr was married to Edith Wiley at Ballynahown although the house lacked electricity and heat at the time of
their wedding. The resulting reliance on candles for lighting caused a wedding mishap that would be appropriate for a
theoretical episode of history’s funniest wedding videos. As the story goes, “The poor bride caught fire from one of the
numerous candles and her veil burnt off entirely right to the top, scorching her dress. ”
The Wilson Farr house, located at 10172 Main Street, was renovated in 2001 and currently is utilized as a popular community gathering place. In 1958, Wilson Farr and his daughter Viola Orr, offered the Town of Fairfax 150 acres of land that would become George Mason University located just south of the Town of Fairfax along Route 123, the very location of Richard Ratcliffe Farr’s famed encounter with federal troops. The Town Council voted unanimously to purchase the 150-acre site for $300,000 and offered the site to the University of Virginia, the parent institution of George Mason College.
The Farr family residences remain today and are architectural testaments to the success of this influential Fairfax family. They add distinction to our community and are a direct link to the unique history of Fairfax city.
Historically, the most important house in the town of Fairfax is the Ratcliffe-Logan-Allison House at 10386 Main Street. This little brick house was built in 1805 when the town was founded and the original half meets the specifications of the 1805 Virginia State Legislature. It is sixteen feet square, has a brick chimney, and is "fit for habitation." The Ratcliffe-Logan-Allison House is considered to be in "pristine" form and unchanged from its original condition except for an 1830 addition which is believed to have been built by the same brick mason.
The Richard-Ratcliffe-Allison House is listed on the Virginia Historic Landmarks Register and on the National Register of Historical Places. It belongs to the City of Fairfax and is an integral part of the founding of the town.
The little brick house was the first structure completed when Richard Ratcliffe established his town named Providence (now Fairfax). Henry Logan bought the house and later sold it to Gordon and Robert Allison. They added a large parlor and bedroom to the house and built a stable in the backyard to take care of the horses of their paying guests and possibly those of the Alexandria-Winchester Stage Coach Line.
Richard Ratcliffe's tavern at the northwest corner of the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and The Little River Turnpike was one of the larger houses in Fairfax. Caleb Earp operated a store in the basement of this tavern and the crossroads was known as "Earp's Corner" when George Mason recommended in 1789 that the court house be located at this juncture.
The tavern was extended westward by a Capt. Rezin Willcoxon and subsequently bought by the Allisons. An 1837 inventory shows there was a store, a cellar, a granary, a bar, kitchen, parlour, dining room, tailor's shop, sky parlour, and at least twelve bedrooms in the tavern.
Capt. Willcoxon, who was a relative and friend of Richard Ratcliffe, built the addition to the tavern out of bricks kilned by slaves. The foundation of the Willcoxon home on Route 237 was also built of bricks from the same kiln. This home was named "Blenheim." The name of Union soldiers who occupied the house during the Civil War can be found etched on the walls of its attic.
Although "Blenheim" is still standing today, the Ratcliffe tavern was torn down in the 1920's and the bricks and mantels were purchased by Col. Francis Pickens Miller who incorporated them into the large brick building which is now known as Flint Hill Private School.
Records show that a Richard Ratcliffe came to this country from England in 1637 along with John Bristoe, Robert Turner, Henry Warren, Thomas Clarke and Robert Throckmorton—Lord of the Manor of Ellington. It is assumed that the descendants of Ratcliffe and Throckmorton worked their way into the vicinity of the future town of Fairfax for their names appear often in the records and newspaper clippings.
The Richard Ratcliffe who gave the land for the court house came here from Maryland. He was the son of John Ratcliffe of "Poynton" and "Doyne" Manors, Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland.
He married Lucian Bolling who was from one of the families who had moved into this area from the Jamestown Colony. Her father was Girard Bolling who was one of 18 children and descended from Thomas Rolfe.
Mr. Bolling was a planter and merchant who owned a store in Fairfax. Ratcliffe became associated with his father-in-law in the mercantile business and took over the business after Mr. Bolling(Bowling) died. In Ratcliffe's will he left "the brick store and land lot to his sons for the purpose of keeping store in or on if necessary".
He and his wife had five daughters and four sons. Penelope married Spencer Jackson. Nancy married Stephen Daniel. Jane married Thomas Moss, a future clerk of the court. Patsy married Richard Coleman. Lucian married George Gunnell. His sons were Robert, who was Deputy Sheriff in 1801, Charles, John and Samuel. Two of his sons were evidently a disappointment to him for in his will he speaks of Samuel "having conducted himself badly for several years past" his debts were to be paid by the executors, who were Robert and Charles Ratcliffe, Thomas Moss, Gordon Allison and Roger M. Farr. He also stated that two of his sons had received more than his daughters but he hoped his sons would do better and his daughters would understand.
The Ratcliffe home place, "Mt. Vineyard" will be recalled by older citizens in the town as the Rumsey place, which burned years ago. The family graveyard still exists today. It is located on Moore Street.
Besides owning a great deal of land and a mercantile business, Mr. Ratcliffe owned a race track on the east side of town. Its approximate location was east of Route 237, north of The Little River Turnpike and west of Fairview Subdivision. His personal property was valued at $4445.34. In his will the slaves were divided among his wife and children. Some of the slaves were valued as high as $600 each, while others were valued at a dollar.
In 1836, when Mr. Ratcliffe died and the town had to be surveyed in order for his estate to be divided, John Halley, the surveyor writes: "In laying off I commenced at the northwest corner of Rizin Willcoxon's Tavern House, Robert Ratcliffe having represented that that house was considered when built as being exactly on the corner of the lot on which it stands, and the side and gable ends of said house ranged with the streets. I have therefore taken the ...... of said house as a guide". The tavern was valued at $4000.00 at that time.
Robert Ratcliffe had evidently used the northwest corner of the tavern when in 1805 he laid off the town when An Act of the Assembly established a "Town at Fairfax Court House on the Land of Richard Ratcliffe by the name of Providence".
Laura Ratcliffe Hanna
Miss. Laura Ratcliffe Hanna, Confederate Spy, Great Granddaughter of Honor Richard Ratcliffe, and known as a local beauty; she was a brave and dedicated lady who saved the life of Colonel. John Mosby in 1863. She lived in the area of Frying Pan (Herndon) Virginia, on Centreville Road.
Laura Ratcliffe was born May 28, 1836 at Fairfax City, Virginia to Francis Fitzhugh and Ann McCarty (Lee) Ratcliffe. Following the death of her father, Laura moved with her mother and two sisters to Frying Pan (later Herndon) in Fairfax County, Virginia, just south of Washington, D.C. There were countless raids and encampments in that region, along the Potomac River, which divided north and south.
During the Civil War, Laura met General James Ewell Brown (JEB) Stuart when she and her sister were nursing wounded soldiers at his camp during the winter of 1861. Laura and Stuart quickly became friends. She provided him and his fellow cavalryman, the "Gray Ghost," Colonel John Singleton Mosby, with information on Union troop activity in Fairfax County. General Stuart wrote several personal letters to Laura.
In December of 1862, General Stuart led his cavalry troops on several raids against the Federal forces in Fairfax County. He visited Laura at her home many times. According to several sources, while at the Ratcliffe's, Mosby asked Stuart if he could be left behind with a small detachment of men, so he could continue operations in that area, instead of going into winter quarters. Stuart apparently agreed. When Stuart left on December 30, 1862, Mosby stayed behind with nine soldiers from the 1st Virginia Cavalry.
Mosby sometimes used the Ratcliffe home as his headquarters, and there was a large rock at the top of Squirrel Hill where he and Laura met in secret, and where she concealed messages for him. And when Mosby captured a large quantity of Federal money, she held it for him. Frying Pan Church, near Laura's home, was the site of a skirmish, as well as a hospital and one of Mosby's secret meeting places.
On February 7, 1863, Mosby captured several Federal soldiers who had been looting local citizens. He returned the plunder to its rightful owners. On February 10, James Ames deserted from the 5th NY Cavalry stationed at Fairfax Courthouse and joined Mosby's command. On February 11, Mosby traveled to Frying Pan, where Laura told him that plans for his capture had been leaked by the Yankees. Mosby avoided the trap, and in the process, captured a Union blockade runner.
On Sunday, March 8, 1863, Union Brigadier General Edwin Stoughton and his garrison lay in bed at Fairfax County Court House. Mosby and 29 men slipped through Federal picket lines and entered General Stoughton’s bedroom.
Mosby woke the general, and asked him, “Do you know Mosby?”
The general said, “Yes, have you captured the devil?”
Mosby said, "No, the devil has caught you."
Mosby captured the general, two captains, and 58 horses, without firing a shot. They evaded numerous Federal outposts on their departure. President Lincoln allegedly said that generals were replaceable, but he deeply regretted the loss of so many good horses.
Although it was obvious that Laura's home was the center of much Confederate activity, she was never arrested or charged with any crime. She suffered losses like so many others during the Civil War. Her brother, John Ratcliffe, was a private in the 17th Virginia Infantry. He died of chronic diarrhea at Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond in October 1864, at the age of 31.
There is some disagreement concerning the home Laura lived in during the Civil War. Since the War, an old farmhouse named "Merrybrook" has been pointed out as her home. Other locals say that Merrybrook was her home after the war, built for her by an admiring Union veteran named Milton Hanna, whom she married. That seems to me the most logical answer, since the Ratcliffe's financial situation after the war was pretty grim. The exact location of the house she occupied during the war is still somewhat shrouded in mystery, which I think makes for a better story anyway.
Today, alongside a country highway in Virginia, there is a monument near the rock where Laura and Mosby met, which reads:
This large boulder, located just south of here, served as an important landmark during the Civil War, when Col. John S. Mosby's Partisan Rangers (43rd Battalion, Virginia Calvary) assembled there to raid Union outposts, communications, and supply lines. Laura Ratcliffe, a young woman who lived nearby and spied for Mosby, concealed money and messages for him under the rock. Mosby credited her with saving him from certain capture by Federal cavalry on one occasion. She also was a friend of Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart.
Laura was a very private woman. She never received recognition for her courageous support of the Confederate cause. She died August 8, 1923 at Merrybrook. She was laid out by the front window so that those who knew her could pay their respects. She was the sixth cousin of General Robert Edward Lee.
At the Ratcliffe/Coleman/Hanna cemetery in Herndon, which is surrounded by thick shrubbery, there is a simple plaque which reads: "This is the burial place of the noted Confederate spy Laura Ratcliffe Hanna and her husband Milton Hanna."
Richard Ratcliffe was the son of John RATCLIFFE and of Ann A. SMITH Ratcliffe (both of whose burials are not yet known) and husband of Louisiana ("Locian") BOLLING(Bowling) Ratcliffe (burial as yet unknown), with whom he had nine children.
Last will of Richard RATCLIFFE, quoted from Edward Coleman Trexler, "Endowed by the Creator: Families of Fairfax Court House, Virginia" (Fairfax, VA: James River Valley Publishing, 2003, pp. 24-25:
I Richard Ratcliffe of the County of Fairfax and Common ... of Virginia do make this my last Will and Testament. I desire all my just debts be paid as soon as practicable which are considerable, being occasioned by advances for children, more particularly John. The monies due to me from H. Marshall, John Maddox and James Allison will nearly square off and as it would be difficult for John Ratcliffe to pay me or my estate back the money I have paid for him I release all he owes me, conditioned that my estate never is bound to pay any more for him for defaults of his as deputy sheriff -- my son Samuel being indebted & nothing to pay with, having conducted himself badly for several years past I request that my Executors as soon as they can, by rents of houses, etc. do pay what he owes which I give him, in hopes he will do better hereafter, this I direct conditioned that if he my son Samuel lives until my Excrs. do pay said Debts but if he dies (being an ailing man) first, I do not direct those Debts to be paid, but give the amounts thereof, and the lands I bought of the Nolands to my son Samuel's two sons Richard & Charles Henry, to be equally divided between them or the survivors of them,
in doing this for Samuel and John I am sensible I am injuring their Sisters but I hope they will be satisfied thereto and join me in a hope they will do better hereafter, To all my children who have left me I confirm (if necessary) the gift of what they have had of me.
To my son Charles I give and bequeath my slaves Old George his wife Sisha, their son Henson and their two youngest Children and that he have a bed & furniture and household furniture as his Brothers and Sisters have had of me and all that land whereon I live, (after his mother's death) as far as the Old Courthouses road, supposed as six hundred acres.
I give & bequeath to my daughter Patsey Ratcliffe four young negroes, and to Locian her sister, four young negroes to be divided and allotted as nearly equal as can be with the consent of their mother, with a good feather bed to each with such household furniture as their Brothers & Sisters had when they left me, with a horse, saddle & bridle, two cows & calves & ten sheep each (if not on my property) they are to be purchased for them, & the same stock for Charles.
I give to my dear wife Locian Ratcliffe all the lands I possess excpt that bought of the Nolands & a piece on Accotink together with my negroes until those bequeathed to Charles, Patsey and Lucy are delivered and afterward for her to keep the others to include Tamar and two of the boys with all the rest of my personal Estate, & lands whereon I live until she is willing to let Charles have the part I have left him, also after my just debts are paid, I give to my said wife all the rent of houses at Providence and in Alex. out of which my old friend Mr. James Connelly is to have his board and such clothes as he shall reasonably want,
and I further direct that half a dozen tables and half a dizen [sic] tea spoons (silver) be furnished my two youngest daughters and after my wifes death, I request that what plate I have, & my clock remain with my son Charles Ratcliffe
and that after my said wifes death, my desire is that all the houses & lotts of mine in Providence may be equally divided among my five daughters Penelope Jackson, Nancy W. Daniel, Jane Moss, Patsey Ratcliffe and Locian Ratcliffe, Except the brick store house and lott and Hagues house, & that half his lott next to Payne Street, these houses and parts of lotts I give to Robert, John, Samuel & Charles Ratcliffe for the purpose of keeping store in or on,
if necessary fifty acres of my lands adjoining said now laid off lotts are to be annexed to them on either side as my daughters may choose, the balance of that land on the east side of Ellzeys Church Road & the Old Courthouse Road I give to Robert and John Ratcliffe including the racefield,
the land on Accotink, bought of Stephen Daniel, I request may be sold, and the money applied to discharge in part my debts and Samuel Ratcliffe's.
My house and lott in Alexandria, I leave to my wife during her natural life to rent out -- after her death it is to be sold and the proceeds divided among my children --
My road Stock I give to my Grandsons Francis F. Ratcliffe, Richard J. Daniels, Charles Jackson, John Moss, Robert Ratcliffe & Richard Ratcliffe, two shares each and the balance thereof to be disposed of by my wife as she pleases any Stock or household furniture not already disposed of that may remain after my death
my wife to dispose of as she pleases any negroes not already disposed of after my wifes death are to be equally divided among all my children
my watch and buckles to Robert Ratcliffe.
A genealogy of the Ratcliffes by June Ratcliffe McReynolds traces the name in Britain to the early 1400's.[1] There was a Richard Ratcliffe who was a friend of King Richard III and died on Bosworth Field in 1485 defending the king.[2] Although Ms. McReynolds does not give us the lineage of the Richard we are discussing today, it seems likely that some descendants of that early British family came to Charles County, Maryland, and then to Fairfax County, Virginia.[3]
There are more than 500 references to Richard Ratcliffe in the Fairfax court records. He first appears in 1771 being sworn a deputy sheriff.[4] This was the first of an unbroken chain of public service positions which he held for 54 years. He served as sheriff, coroner, justice, patroller, courthouse lot commissioner, overseer of roads and the poor, jail inspector, superintendent of elections, poorhouse and tax commissioner, and master commissioner of the court.[5]
Richard was the son of John Ratcliffe,[6] a merchant who signed the 1770 non-importation broadside, an agreement among merchants not to import British goods. John was the son of an earlier Richard of Charles County, Maryland.[7] The identity of Richard Ratcliffe's mother is speculative. John Ratcliffe married Anne, the widow of Thomas Moxley, in the early 1750's.[8] Richard was born about 1752.[9] He married Louisiana Boling, daughter of Gerrard Boling, a descendant of Pocahontas, by 1779.[10] They had 9 children, 4 sons and 5 daughters.[11] Through his own marriage and those of his children, Richard became allied to some of the most prominent families in Fairfax County: the
Bolings, Gunnells, Jacksons, Daniels, Mosses, Fitzhughs, and Lees.[12] He was certainly known to George Washington, who noted in his diary for November 11, 1797, "Mrs. Ratcliffe and her son came to dinner."[13]
Richard owned and leased several lots in Alexandria and probably resided there for convenience to the courthouse where he attended to the duties of his offices.[14] But he began buying land in the area of present-day Fairfax City in 1786. By 1797 he had acquired more than 1600 acres.[15] While researching, I wondered why someone who spent most of his time in Alexandria would buy land 13 miles west of town. There wasn't much out there. The Little River Turnpike whch today bisects the city of Fairfax wasn't completed until 1806 and was a dirt track even then. Braddock Road came through to the south, but the area was hardly a population center. I think the answer is that Richard was visionary as well as practical. He was a man of his time. The Revolutionary War was just ending and the Virginia Legislature in 1789 ceded 40 square miles of eastern Fairfax County from Loudoun County on the west, shifting the boundaries of the county westward. If one looks at a map it is readily clear that the land Richard was buying was dead center.
In 1789 the Virginia legislature mandated that the new Fairfax County courthouse should be within 1 mile of Price's Ordinary[17] located at the present intersection of Backlick and Braddock Roads, 6 miles west of Alexandria. The justices felt that the location was "in the woods" and nothing was seriously done about relocating the courthouse for almost a decade. In 1798 Richard Ratcliffe offered them 4 acres of his central Fairfax land as a site for the new courthouse. Though the site he offered them was 7 miles west of Price's, the justices, at that point in time, were in no position to refuse.[18]
The deed for the 4 acres is somewhat mystifying. In fact, there were 2 deeds, the first not recorded, and the second, which was, states that it was written to correct errors in the first. The deed is several pages long, all 1 sentence, and the wording is confusing. I believe that what Richard Ratcliffe meant to say was that if the property ever ceased to be used for the purpose of holding court, then the trustees could sell it. But again, the wording is vague and contradictory and open to interpretation.
The initial architect selected to design the courthouse was, evidently, Clotworthy Stephenson. A notice in the Alexandria Advertiser May 23, 1789, placed by the commissioners appointed to let the contracts for the erection of the building, states that the plans were on view at the office of Captain George Deneale, county clerk, and that architect Clotworthy Stephenson would be available for explanations.[19] A month later, another notice appeared in the
Advertiser stating that the architect was Mr. Wren.[20] Why Stephenson was out and Wren was in is a matter of conjecture, but it might have had something to do with the fact that James Wren was a member of the selection committee and also an architect. In any event, the courthouse was completed in 1800 and Richard Ratcliffe's tavern just across the road offered refreshment for those attending court.[21]
The courthouse and nearby tavern provided the nucleus for the village which would become the county seat. In 1805, with the help of his son Robert, a deputy surveyor, Richard laid out 19 half-acres lots on 14 acres,[22] part of the northwest corner of the Ravensworth tract which Richard had purchased in 1797.[23] The streets were to be 50 feet wide. Had he named the town "Ratcliffe's Crossroads" Richard would be a much-better-known historical figure, but he named it "Providence" perhaps because he felt a need for divine guidance in planning the town, or perhaps because he hoped it would prosper and bring him financial success. Richard had serious concerns about the solvency of his children. To insure their futures, he intended to lease the lots on ground rent forever rather than to sell outright, thereby providing them with a steady income. We see from his will, written in 1815, that Richard felt his children were financially irresponsible.[24] He wrote:
"I desire all my just debts be paid as soon as practicable which are considerable, being occasioned by advances for children, more particularly John ... as it would be difficult for John Ratcliffe to pay me or my estate back the money I have paid for him, I release all he owes me, conditioned that my estate never is bound to pay any more for him for defaults of him as Deputy Sheriff -- my son Samuel being indebted & nothing to pay with, having conducted himself badly for several years past I request that my executors as soon as they can, by rents of houses, etc., do pay what he owes, which I give him, in hopes he will do better thereafter..."
Richard's son John, evidently, was a gambler.[25] Samuel was in poor health and beset by creditors. His daughters' properties had to be sold by their heirs to pay the debts of the estates.[26] With these worries, Richard hoped that Providence would be an overnight success, that it would very quickly become another Alexandria. He probably never realized his vision, but the fact that he was able to get the courthouse and the county seat built on his own land was a political achievement of some magnitude. It speaks eloquently of his influence among lawmakers in Fairfax County and Richmond and of their respect and high regard for him.
My belief that Richard was disappointed in the growth of Providence is supported by an ad which he placed in the Alexandria Gazette on May 4, 1819, 14 years after the town was laid out and when Richard was about 67 years old. He addressed the ad to tradesmen of all types: wheelwrights, blacksmiths, tanners,
saddlers, harness-makers and the like:[27]
"Believing as I do, that Providence, at Fairfax Courthouse, would be a suitable situation for mechanics of the above description, I offer to such, lots in that village for sale, on ground rent forever -- will build and furnish suitable houses and rent to them, or furnish brick to them to build with; and invite any who feel disposed to settle there, for the purpose of carrying on their respective trades to advantage, to come and view the situation. It is a very public place, the centre of the county, where the superior and county courts are held. The Little River Turnpike Road passes thru this little town from Alexandria westward, and where all the public meetings for the county are held and where trades of the aforesaid description being carried on, would meet with great encouragement, and be a public convenience to the country around. No situation can be more healthy -- good water, and fire wood cheap."
Richard's disappointment and the evident failure of his plan to achieve financial security for his children through the rental of his properties affected his personality in later years. In his sixties, he was charged several times with drunkenness.[28] On at least 1 occasion the clerk noted in the court minutes that commissioner Ratcliffe was drunk while performing his duties.[29] Richard was sued several times for debt, and judgments were obtained against him.[30] In October, 1820, at age 68, he was charged with assault and battery, although he claimed that the other fellow hit him first.[31] On September 20, 1825, the clerk noted in the minutes that
commissioner Ratcliffe was extremely ill. In fact, on that day he died.[33] His wife followed him less than a year later. The 2-acre Ratcliffe family cemetery in Fairfax City, about a half mile from the courthouse, is abandoned, overgrown, and all the stones are gone.
Richard Ratcliffe, sheriff, overseer, coroner, justice, town planner, and master commissioner of the Faifax County court, deserves a much more detailed study than this one. He deserves to be remembered as a public figure and a major contributor to the settlement and growth of central Fairfax County. After all, the courthouse, and the city around it, are there because of him.
Charles H. Ratcliffe(1793-1835) son of Honor Richard Ratcliffe.
Last will of Charles H. RATCLIFFE, quoted from Edward Coleman Trexler, "Endowed by the Creator: Families of Fairfax Court House, Virginia" (Fairfax, VA: James River Valley Publishing, 2003, pp. 28-29:
In the name of God, Amen, I Charles Ratcliffe of the County of Fairfax and Commonwealth of Virginia, Mindful of the uncertainty of Life and feeling desirous to dispose of such Estates as God has blessed me with do give and bequeath the same in manner following.
First I desire my debts to be paid promptly.
Secondly, If my beloved wife Ann Maria Ratcliffe should not again marry but remain single the rest of her life then I give and bequeath her all my Estate Real and Personal during her natural life, and at her death my Said Estate to be divided among my children John Richard Ratcliffe, Mary Bayard Ratcliffe, Jane C. Ratcliffe, Ann Maria Ratcliffe, Charles Theodore Ratcliffe and George William Ratcliffe in such proportions as my said wife may direct by Will. Or otherwise in writing unless She may feel disposed to give to any of Them at any period during her life.
Thirdly, In case my said wife Ann Maria Ratcliffe should never marry, as aforesaid, then I appoint her my Executor of this my last Will and Testament and desire that she give no security for the Administration of My Estate. In doing what I now do, I am aware of confiding a great deal, but fervently hope and trust her actions may prove her worthy of trust.
Fourthly, If contrary to my confident hope and belief my said wife Ann Maria Ratcliffe should again marry, Then in that event, I give and bequeath unto her Five Dollars only and give and bequeath my Estate to be equally divided between my children aforenamed.
Fifthly, In the event of my wife Ann Maria Ratcliffe marrying again as aforesaid, Then I desire that the County Court of Fairfax County appoint some honest, discrete man (if such can be found) to administer my last Will and Testament.
The historic Ratcliffe Cemetery located between Oliver and Moore Streets will not be purchased by City Council. However, this historic cemetery will continue to be preserved under an "abandoned cemetery" statue [sic] as it was before being considered for purchase. The City will continue to maintain the cemetery.
Children:
1. Elizabeth Locian Ratcliffe (1816 - ____)*
2. John Richard Ratcliffe (1818 - 1884)*
3. Mary Bayard RATCLIFFE Helm (1820 - 1853)*
4. Jane Critcher RATCLIFFE Buckner (1822 - 1888)*
5. Anna Maria RATCLIFFE Buckner (1825 - 1857)*
6. Charles Theodore Ratcliffe (1827 - 1887)*
7. George William Ratcliffe (1832 - 1868)*
1. First child of Charles H. RATCLIFFE (buried with no extant marker in the Ratcliffe Family Cemetery, Fairfax, Fairfax, VA) and of Ann Maria COLEMAN Ratcliffe (burial as yet unknown).
She had died before 24 November 1833, because she is not mentioned in her father's testament, which was written at that date.
3. Mary Bayard RATCLIFFE Helm, Daughter of Charles H. RATCLIFFE (buried with no extant marker in the Ratcliffe Family Cemetery, Fairfax, Fairfax, VA) and of Ann Maria COLEMAN Ratcliffe (burial as yet unknown) and first wife of Meredith Ambrose HELM (buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Athens, McMinn, GA). They had no children.
4. Jane Critcher RATCLIFFE Buckner, Daughter of Charles H. RATCLIFFE (buried with no extant marker in the Ratcliffe Family Cemetery, Fairfax, Fairfax, VA) and of Ann Maria COLEMAN Ratcliffe (burial as yet unknown) and wife of George BUCKNER Jr. FAG # 88316408 (buried in the same cemetery with her), whom she married on 15 September 1842 in Hopkinsville, Christian, KY, and with whom she had twelve children.
5. Anna Maria RATCLIFFE Buckner,
Daughter of Charles H. RATCLIFFE (buried with no extant marker in the Ratcliffe Family Cemetery, Fairfax, Fairfax, VA) and of Ann Maria COLEMAN Ratcliffe (burial as yet unknown) and wife of Robert William BUCKNER (born 07 Oct 1823, died 19 Jul 1855) FAG #88316429 (buried in the same cemetery with her), whom she married on 18 December 1846 in Hopkinsville, Christian, KY, and with whom she had four children.
6. Doctor Charles Theodore "Charlie" Ratcliffe, Sr, he had
Children:
Charles Theodore Ratcliffe (1852 - 1875)*
Kate Ratcliffe (1855 - 1859)*
Richard Ratcliffe (1857 - 1858)*
Edwin Edmunds Ratcliffe (1859 - 1860)*
Anna Ratcliffe (1861 - 1891)*
George McAfee Ratcliffe (1863 - 1909)*
America E. RATCLIFFE Simonin (1865 - 1950)*
Henry Edmunds Ratcliffe (1867 - 1906)*
Mary RATCLIFFE Zoder (1870 - 1966)*
Jennie Carroll RATCLIFFE Vinson (1873 - 1935)*
Mattie Ratcliffe (1877 - 1880)*
6. George McAfee Ratcliffe, Sr, Son of Dr. Charles Theodore ("Charlie") RATCLIFFE Sr. and of George Anna ("Georgie") McAFEE Ratcliffe (both of whom are buried in Methodist Cemetery, Pineville, Rapides, LA) and husband of Susie HETHERWICK Ratcliffe (buried in the same cemetery with him, both without extant markers), with whom he had seven children.
7. America E. "Mec" RATCLIFFE Simonin, Daughter of Dr. Charles Theodore ("Charlie") RATCLIFFE, Sr. and of George Anna ("Georgie") McAFEE Ratcliffe (both of whom are buried in the old Methodist Cemetery, Pineville, Rapides, LA) and wife of Arthur Frederick SIMONIN (burial as yet unknown). Mother of two children: Arthur Henry SIMONIN and Georgia Carroll Eugenie Louise ("Georgie") SIMONIN Heffron (both of whom are buried in the Garden of Memories Cemetery, Metairie, Jefferson, LA).
Children:
Arthur Henry Simonin (1890 - 1975)*
Georgia Carroll Eugenie Louise SIMONIN Heffron (1891 - 1981)*
8. Henry Edmunds Ratcliffe,
Obituary taken from the Alexandria Daily Town Talk of 22 October 1906:
DEATHS:
RATCLIFFE - In New Orleans, La., on Saturday, Oct. 20th, 1906, at 1 p.m., Henry Edmunds Ratcliffe, aged 37 years. The remains were brought to this city on the afternoon train of the Texas and Pacific railroad on Sunday and interment was made in the Methodist Cemetery, Pineville, the Rev. B. L. Price of the First Presbyterian Church officiating. The deceased was the son of Mrs. C. T. Ratcliffe, formerly of this city, but now residing in New Orleans. He leaves three sisters and a brother to mourn his demise. They are Mrs. A. F. Simonin of New Orleans, Mrs. Henry Geiger and Miss Jennie Ratcliffe of this city, and Mr. George M. Ratcliffe of Natchitoches. The bereaved family have the sympathy of a large circle of friends here. The deceased was for a number of years in the drug business here, being the proprietor of the City Drug Store and afterwards of the Red Cross Drug Store.
Article taken from the Alexandria Weekly Town Talk of 06 July 1889:
DIFFICULTY AND HOMICIDE
It has been nearly five years since the TOWN TALK was called upon to chronicle a homicide within the corporate limits of Alexandria.
On last Monday afternoon, the 1st inst., at about 2:20 o'clock, the report of a gun was heard from the direction of Fourth street. It was heard by a number of people, many of whom thought that the City Marshall had shot a dog. Soon a crowd had collected at the scene of the shooting, on Fourth street, in the rear of Mrs. Ratcliffe's residence, and M. W. Cockerille was found lying on the ground, suffering from a gun shot wound in the small of his back, near the termination of the spine.
It was soon generally known that Henry Ratcliffe had done the shooting, the weapon used being a shotgun loaded with buck-shot, and his brother George Ratcliffe was accused of being a party to the killing.
Montfort Cockerille was taken to his home on lower 4th street on a cot, and after about 1 1/2 hours of intense suffering, passed away. Three physicians were in attendance, but the wound was necessarily fatal, and their skill was of no avail.
Henry Ratcliffe surrendered immediately to the Sheriff, and as soon as an affidavit was made against George Ratcliffe, he also surrendered.
Judge Blackman being related to the deceased young man by marriage he recused himself, and Judge Coco was summoned from Marksville to hold the preliminary examination.
The preliminary trial commenced about 3 o'clock p.m. on Wednesday and continued till 8 1/2 o'clock that night. It was resumed on Thursday morning, the 4th, by consent of the State and defense, and was concluded about 10 o'clock a.m. Judge Coco allowed the accused bond in the sum of $2500 each, which they readily furnished.
About 40 witnesses were summoned. The principle witnesses for the State were Dr. John Casson, coroner; W. J. Calvit, S. L. Cockerille, Miss Eliza Holt, Oliver Bassett, Francis Carr and Mrs. Richardson.
The principle witnesses examined for the defense were Mrs. E. B. Price, Miss Jennie Ratcliffe and Joseph Smith.
Knowing that all our readers are interested in this sad affair, we give below some of the evidence of important witnesses at the preliminary trial:
S. L. Cockerille testified that as he and his brother Montfort were passing along Fourth street, in the rear of the residence of Mrs. Ratcliffe, that George Ratcliffe opened [several words illegible here] toward him, and said: "I received your letter." Cockerille then says he made a reply, whereupon George Ratcliffe struck him on the head with a walking cane, simultaneously Henry Ratcliffe fired the gun which killed his brother. That his brother did not have even a stick in his hand, and that both of them were in their shirt sleeves. That Henry Ratcliffe was just within his mother's back gate, when the gun fired. That George Ratcliffe ran him (Lee Cockerille) some distance striking him with a stick, and that after George Ratcliffe had ceased striking him that he returned to where his brother was lying on the ground, and that he did not touch him. He believes the only person he saw when he returned to his brother was Henry Ratcliffe. That the reason he, S. L. Cockerille, ran was because he thought Henry Ratcliffe was going to shoot him with the other barrel of the gun.
In the evidence the following was brought out: It seemed that a few days previous to the homicide S. L. Cockerille sent a colored boy to Geo. Ratcliffe, and that the boy returned to Cockerille with a verbal message from George Ratcliffe. S. L. Cockerille when he received that verbal message wrote a letter and sent it to George Ratcliffe. Cockerille admitted in his evidence that he had said in his letter that, if he, George Ratcliffe, had made certain assertions that the colored boy said he had, that he, George Ratcliffe, "was a
willful, malicious liar and the truth was not in him: I (Cockerille) throw down the gauntlet and if you choose you can pick it up."
One of the principle witnesses for the defense was a man named Joseph Smith, who lives on the Heyman place. He says he saw the entire difficulty. He admitted having gone out of town hurriedly to keep from being a witness. That he had only told one person, confidentally, he had seen the killing. His testimony reduced was that he had seen Montfort Cockerille change a stick from his right hand to his left hand and then put his hand behind him as if to pull a weapon. Just at that moment, and before the gun was fired, he heard some one say: "Don't shoot my brother."
It was brought out in the testimony of Wm. Hill that George Ratcliffe had recently bought a new shot-gun, that he had told him (Hill) and other friends that he intended to try it with buckshot to see if it acted well. Also by other witnesses that Henry Ratcliffe and A. L. Miller were to leave for White Sulphur Springs on Monday evening, and that Henry Ratcliffe was to borrow the shot-gun, and at the time the difficulty took place George and Henry Ratcliffe were on their way to the back of town to try the gun with buckshot before Henry left for the Springs, the hour for leaving being about 8 o'clock, p.m.
The dying statements of Montfort Cockerille to his mother and Mrs. Nettie Calvit were to the effect that he had been shot for nothing, that he had done nothing nor said nothing [sic] to be killed for.
Mr. E. G. Hunter is counsel for the accused; and District Attorney Andrews looked after the State.
Montfort and S. L. Cockerille are the sons of the late Dr. A. Cockerille. Montfort at the time of his death was about 30 years old and was keeping a grocery store on upper Third street. His brother kieeps a saloon on the same street.
George and Henry Ratcliffe keep a grocery on Second street. They are the sons of the late Dr. Ratcliffe, who practiced medicine in this parish for several years, but came here with his family about eight years ago from Hopkinsville, Ky.
The marker has a mistake in the spelling of the middle name. It should read EDMUNDS, not EDMUNDE. (Edmunds was his maternal grandmother's maiden name.)
9. Mary RATCLIFFE Zoder,
Spouses:
William Henry Patrick Geiger (1868 - 1906)*
Pleamon Lafayette Etheredge (1875 - 1919)*
John Edward Zoder (1889 - 1939)*
Children:
Charles Edward Geiger (1892 - 1956)*
William Henry Geiger (1897 - 1965)*
Robert Lee Randolph Geiger (1901 - 1981)*
Casson Clifton Geiger (1903 - 1982)*
10. Jennie Carroll RATCLIFFE Vinson, Daughter of Dr. Charles Theodore ("Charlie") RATCLIFFE Sr. and of George Anna ("Georgie") McAFEE Ratcliffe (both of whom are buried in the same plot next to her) and wife of Jackson Douglass ("Bonnie") VINSON (burial in Oakwood Cemetery, Jefferson, Marion, TX). They had no children.
When man reaches out into space to explore a new planet, his adventure will be comparable in may ways to that of the colonists who braved the space of water in the early seventeenth century to establish their proprietary rights on a strange continent called "America."
These colonists found themselves confronted with the need to feed, house and clothe themselves with unknown and untried materials reaped from a wilderness which hid their enemy, the red man, and housed the dread mosquito which carried the deadly malaria.
Proof of their danger lies in the history of the Jamestown colony. Being attacked by red savages upon landing at the malaria infested Jamestown and inexperienced with survival under wilderness conditions, the colonists were reduced to eating their own dead before help finally arrived. Strengthened by food and help brought by our ancestor Thomas West Lord De La Warr, the colonists eventually set up a government, bought peace with their enemy, and settled down to raise tobacco on the land to which they received proprietary rights. Later they expanded their holdings, developed their resources., improved their government, established churches, schools and colleges gained their independence from their mother country, survived civil strife, and advanced their civilization.
My book, Whispering Notes Of The Southern Families of Fairfax Courthouse Virginia aims to augment that history with a special look at the character of the people who lived that history. Who were they? What were their beliefs? What principles guided their lives?
The Farr and Ratcliffe families....answers these questions in the context of the history of the Fairfax court house area in the period from the founding of the town in the founding of the town in the late 1700's to the dedication of the confederate memorial in 1890.
The true character of the people is seen to emerge from the stresses of those times. Among the early landholders and planters were the Jones, Mason, Ellzey and Fitzhugh families. Among the early planter and lawyer families were the Ratcliffe, Farr, Willcoxon, Gunnell, Moss, and Love.
Our Ancestor Jerimiah Moore, preached the gospel., his ancestors were planters and his descendants were lawyers. Roads and bridges were built, and commerce grew and the people were enjoying proserity, but then the dark clouds came. In 1861 Fairfax Court house and Alexandria became the front line in an invasion by the states from the north. They resisted invasion for four long years., but they were eventually defeated on the field of battle. Than as the bounty of the Northern conquest, they picked up the pieces to rebuild.
Within the constraints imposed by their conqueror, they were able to regain some rights and some degree of self-governance. Fairfax Court House began to re-grow and to flourish.
The book ends with the dedication of the confederate memorial in 1890, but follows some of the descendants of early residents up to the present time. Today, a special feeling of "independence" separates the citizens of the little independent "city of Fairfax Virginia" from the people in the surrounding area... A sparkling jewel of freedom and self-determination, surrounded by the larger setting that is Fairfax County.
The Village of Farr in Scotland was founded by English people who had moved to Scotland. Our Farr/Farrar family migrated from Scotland to Northern Ireland where they lived for years and then to the United States in a town called Charles County, Maryland.
Their was a Colonel William Farr(Farrar) who was born around 1657 and died 1721. He had married Priscilla Baugh and had a son named Colonel John Farr born 1700 and died 1771. He married Susannah Thomas.
Col. John Farr, d. 1770 Charles Co., VA, Will, wife Susannah Thomas, son of William Farr (mentioned in John's Will as father), children: George Thomas Farr 11-19-1770 Will Charles Co, MD(Pharr & Farr by Newton p2), William Farr, Samuel Farr, Susannah Farr. John Farr's son, Samuel Farr d. 1771 m. Anne Susannah Ratcliffe, had one son born after his father's death, Samuel Ratcliffe Farr b. 1771/2. Samuel Ratcliffe Farr had 3 sons: Rezin Samuel Farr, Roger Willcoxon Farr and Richard Ratcliffe Farr, daus: Caroline m. Millan, Lucinda, Penelope.
The account of this estate filed in that year named children: John, George Thomas, William, Samuel and a daughter named Susannah. Colonel John Farr's son Samuel had married Anne Susannah Ratcliffe May 21,1771, daughter of Richard Ratcliffe and Susannah Brooke, both of Charles County, Maryland.
Samuel Farr condensed his will which filed December 2,1771, I Samuel Farr of Charles County, Maryland, November 10,1771, being sick and weak of the body, give and bequeath to my beloved wife, Anne Ratcliffe Farr , and her child if both within 9 months of my being sick, my Servant woman named Lucy and her child named Mary and all the rest of my estate..but if my wife should not bring a child in the above time my will is that she have her third and my brothers and sister the rest.
Samuel lived only a year after his marriage, but he fathered one child who was named Samuel Ratcliffe Farr born March 18,1772 at William and Mary Parish, Maryland. On or before April 1788, Anne with her son and probably her parents moved to Fairfax County, Virginia, near the courthouse. Anne Ratcliffe Farr's brother John Ratcliffe, had a son Richard Ratcliffe who was the founder of Fairfax County, Virginia.
The influence of the example of good men has in every age been esteemed among the most important incitements to virtue which a kind Providence has bestowed upon mankind. Few persons are insensible to it; for though its power be not once perceived or acknowledged, the charm which goodness displays quietly wins the heart to better feelings, and gives the mind an impulse which it is difficult to obliterate, and which time and reflection will often serve to strengthen. Few men have exhibited a happier illustration of this, then Samuel Ratcliffe Farr, the subject of the present sketch.
Notes show that Samuel Ratcliffe Farr had married Matilda Willcoxon who had died February 23, 1833. On July 20, 1818, Matilda Willcoxon Farr and George Millan were listed as guarding of the following orphans:
1. Roger W. Farr
2. Rezin Samuel Farr 1802-1887
3.Richard Ratcliffe Farr
4. Caroline Matilda Farr
5. Lucinda A Farr
Matilda was the daughter of Josiah Willcoxon and Margaret Conn. Her brother Captain Rezin S. Willcoxon had a home their in Fairfax which was called "Blenheim" located westside of Old Lee Highway. The Willcoxon family had abandoned their home November 1862, the house was then occupied by the union soldiers. It's eventual use as a hospital for the union soldiers.
In about 1843, Rezin Samuel Farr had moved his family from Fairfax County, Virginia, to a farm in Monongolia County, what is now north Central, West Virginia. The Farr Family had been established for many years in Fairfax County, Virginia, but this was a time when families were seeking opportunities in the West. Rezin and his wife Elizabeth Ellandra Broadwater, the daughter of Captain Charles Guy Broadwater and Catherine Kate Gunnell. They raised their family of six sons in the Monongalia County until before the breakout of the American Civil War in 1861.
At this time they moved to Canton, Missouri where they remained until the end of the war. According to the 1870 census, Rezin and Elizabeth Farr purchased a farm valued at 4,500.00 and moved to Chenoa Township, Illinois. Living with them at the time was their twenty five year old Samuel M. Farr(My 2nd Great Grandfather.) He was born October 25,1845.
On January 14,1873, Samuel M. Farr met and married Harriet"Hattie" Barfoot a second generation american from Peoria, Illinois. Her parents were William and Charlotte Pierce Barfoot. By 1830, her parents had emigrated from England to New York State and then made their way west to Peoria, Illinois in 1839.
William and Charlotte Barfoot had raised six children, five daughters and one son. Harriet's only brother Eugene had fought and was wounded from fighting for the Union Army in the Civil War with the Company A, 14th Cavalry Regiment Illinois. After the marriage Samuel Farr had moved his young bride to Chenoa County, Illinois, where their first three children were born. Their daughter who was born in 1873 had died in infancy. Ira Joseph Farr was born 1875 and then on August 16,1878 Samuel Bruce Farr was born. Their other children were Mable Elizabeth born 1881 and Guy William born 1884 and finally Hattie Belle who was born in 1887.
Samuel M. Farr continued to engage in farming until his death on February 25,1890 at the age of forty five. His cause of death has not been determined. Harriet was left a widow withb five children to raise on her own, and then shortly after her husbands death she had remarried to a guy named Rev. George Bartlebaugh a traveling preacher for the United Brethren in Christ Church. They were married on March 31, 1892 in Livington County, Illinois.
According to the 1880 US Census Samuel M. Farr and Harriet had moved their young family to a farm in nearby Pleasant Ridge Township, near the town of Wing, Livington County, Illinois.
Her second husband George Bartlebaugh was born March 29, 1830 and died on April 23, 1915. As the searching went on for years, that Harriet and George possibly were siring a number of children. We do know that he did not provide anything in his will for his first family. A child named "Snow" had died between the age of one or two. It is unknown exactly what the fate was of the children of Hattie and Samuel M. Farr.
The census records show that most of their children ended up in Wright County, Iowa. In the late 1800's when a child was orphaned or a single parent could not provide for the family church or organizations would often place needy children with qualified homes. My Great Grandfather Samuel Bruce Farr was born August 16, 1878 in Chenoa, Illinois. In his childhood he learned to play the violin and worked on the family farm until the death of his father in 1890. His education probably didn't go past the 6th grade. At 16 years of age he is listed as a survant boy in the 1895 census.
He had married Angie Adeline Miller and had five children and one being adopted in the family. His name was Marlyn Maurice Farr born in Saskatchewan Regina, Canada.
According to longtime Clarion resident, Maxine Brook Benson stated that Ira Farr was regarded as a very well liked man in the community. He is listed in the 1915 Iowa Census as living in Reeve Township, Franklin County, just south of Hampton, Iowa. By 1920 Ira Joseph Farr moved to Iowa Falls, Iowa where he bought a house at 421 Cedar Street which was still standing at the time of this writing. Ira Farr continued living in that house until his death in 1954.
After the death of Harriet's second husband George Bartlebaugh in 1913, she eventually moved from Peoria, Illinois to Iowa Falls, Iowa to live in her son Ira's new home until her death in 1926 at the age of 77. According to the 1920 census, Ira's 34 year old younger brother Guy William Farr also lived in the same house. Harriet Barfoot farr Bartlebaugh is buried next to her first husband Samuel M. Farr and son Ira Joseph in the Farr Plot in Avoca Cemetery in Lexington,Illinois. Mable Elizabeth Farr was the fourth child of Samuel M. Farr and Harriet Barfoot. She is listed in the 1900 census as a survant for Clarion residents, Edward and Susan Lockwood.
On October 29,1901 at the age of nineteen, Mable married George Turner and they had six children. Their dauhter Hattie Belle Turner(1887-1972) married Walter Tillman.
Richard Ratcliffe's Mount Vinyard Plantation
Richard Ratcliffe (1751-1825). The mansion was on his 600-acre "Mount Vineyard," part of a 1714 land grant of 1,930 acres to George Mason II. In 1798 Ratcliffe donated 4 acres to the east of Mount Vineyard for the Fairfax County Courthouse, built in 1800. Ratcliffe petitioned the Virginia Assembly to establish a town on adjacent property and on January 14, 1805 this town was chartered as "Providence," becoming the City of Fairfax in 1961.
Near the intersection of Ox Road and Braddock Road was a tract of land (the future site of George Mason College, the northern Virginia branch of the University of Virginia) which was owned by the Farr family. The large home on this tract of land was burned by Union forces during the Civil War in retaliation for a very brave act by the young fourteen year old Farr boy. This young boy, knowing that Union troops were located at Fairfax Station waiting to attack the Court House, built a road block of logs across the Ox Road over which these troops had to pass. Hiding himself in the underbrush nearby, he fired so heroically upon the enemy troops, as they approached, that they assumed there was a large group of Confederates waiting for them and withdrew to Fairfax Station. When they learned of the hoax, they returned and burned the Farr home to the ground.
The legacy of the Farr family and the homes they built help tell the story of Fairfax city and add to the distinctive character of our community. The Farr Homeplace, Grandma’s Cottage, and the Wilson Mahone Farr House provide a glimpse into our city’s past and offer unique insights into the lives of one of Fairfax’s leading families.
The story of the Farr family residences begins with an event that led to the destruction of the original Farr house at the beginning of the Civil War. Fourteen year old Richard Ratcliffe Farr lived on the family farm near the intersection of Braddock Road and Route 123 on property that his Grandfather, Samuel Farr, had acquired in 1797 as payment for his service in the Continental Army.
History first took note of young Richard when he discovered that Federal troops were advancing along Ox Road to attack Fairfax Court House so he placed logs across the road where the troops would have to pass. He hid in the nearby underbrush and allegedly fired upon the union soldiers as they approached. The surprised soldiers believed that they had encountered a large group of rebels so they withdrew. When they learned that they had been bested by a single boy, they returned and burned the Farr home to the ground.
Richard eventually joined Mosby’s Rangers and was wounded on November 19, 1864 fighting near Kabletown, West Virginia. Richard Ratcliffe Farr would go on to become one of Fairfax’s most distinguished citizens and served as a Delegate to the Virginia General Assembly, County Treasurer, the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Virginia, and the U.S. Marshall for the Eastern
District of Virginia.
Richard was also instrumental in building two of the Farr residences that enrich modern day Fairfax City. After the war, he began the expansion of what is today known as Grandma’s Cottage. The cottage was originally built around 1840 and features 18th century construction techniques, unique to the Fairfax area. The structure is important because of its combination of log-wall construction and rare hewn timber framing with brick infill between the studs in the oldest portion of the house The shed-roofed log portion was added to accommodate his mother, Margaret Willcoxon Farr who was known to the community as "Grandma Farr." Grandma Farr lived in the Cottage for nearly 40 years until her death in 1904. In 1962, the cottage was moved to 3901 Old Lee Highway and was again moved to the Historic Blenheim Estate in 2001.
Around 1880, Richard rebuilt the Farr Homeplace, also known as “Five Chimneys,” that would serve as the principle residence of the Farr family. He used bricks made from a clay pit on the property, and a large cross design was worked into each of the five brick chimneys. The home is an example of the Georgian style with a two-story colonnaded portico. Today, the Farr Homeplace is a private residence located at 10230 Main Street.
Richard’s sons would follow in his footsteps and serve their community. Wilson M. Farr taught at the old Fairfax Elementary School, was elected Mayor of the Town of Fairfax in 1918, and served as a Virginia Commonwealth Attorney.
Richard R. “Dick” Farr, served in the Army during World War I, was the Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney General, and also servedas the Mayor of Fairfax from 1936 to 1941. In 1915, Wilson built a new residence, adjacent to the Farr Homeplace, for his bride Edith Wiley. He originally called the home “Ballynahown” after his mother's ancestral home in Ireland. The estate bears notable Georgian and Federal influences, borrowing from the Colonial Revival style, which first emerged in the 1880's as a testament to new pride in America's past.
Beneath the manor's pitched slate roof and pedimented dormers is an elegant facade characterized by six-over-six double hung sash windows, louvered shutters and common bond brickwork.
Wilson Farr was married to Edith Wiley at Ballynahown although the house lacked electricity and heat at the time of
their wedding. The resulting reliance on candles for lighting caused a wedding mishap that would be appropriate for a
theoretical episode of history’s funniest wedding videos. As the story goes, “The poor bride caught fire from one of the
numerous candles and her veil burnt off entirely right to the top, scorching her dress. ”
The Wilson Farr house, located at 10172 Main Street, was renovated in 2001 and currently is utilized as a popular community gathering place. In 1958, Wilson Farr and his daughter Viola Orr, offered the Town of Fairfax 150 acres of land that would become George Mason University located just south of the Town of Fairfax along Route 123, the very location of Richard Ratcliffe Farr’s famed encounter with federal troops. The Town Council voted unanimously to purchase the 150-acre site for $300,000 and offered the site to the University of Virginia, the parent institution of George Mason College.
The Farr family residences remain today and are architectural testaments to the success of this influential Fairfax family. They add distinction to our community and are a direct link to the unique history of Fairfax city.
Historically, the most important house in the town of Fairfax is the Ratcliffe-Logan-Allison House at 10386 Main Street. This little brick house was built in 1805 when the town was founded and the original half meets the specifications of the 1805 Virginia State Legislature. It is sixteen feet square, has a brick chimney, and is "fit for habitation." The Ratcliffe-Logan-Allison House is considered to be in "pristine" form and unchanged from its original condition except for an 1830 addition which is believed to have been built by the same brick mason.
The Richard-Ratcliffe-Allison House is listed on the Virginia Historic Landmarks Register and on the National Register of Historical Places. It belongs to the City of Fairfax and is an integral part of the founding of the town.
The little brick house was the first structure completed when Richard Ratcliffe established his town named Providence (now Fairfax). Henry Logan bought the house and later sold it to Gordon and Robert Allison. They added a large parlor and bedroom to the house and built a stable in the backyard to take care of the horses of their paying guests and possibly those of the Alexandria-Winchester Stage Coach Line.
Richard Ratcliffe's tavern at the northwest corner of the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and The Little River Turnpike was one of the larger houses in Fairfax. Caleb Earp operated a store in the basement of this tavern and the crossroads was known as "Earp's Corner" when George Mason recommended in 1789 that the court house be located at this juncture.
The tavern was extended westward by a Capt. Rezin Willcoxon and subsequently bought by the Allisons. An 1837 inventory shows there was a store, a cellar, a granary, a bar, kitchen, parlour, dining room, tailor's shop, sky parlour, and at least twelve bedrooms in the tavern.
Capt. Willcoxon, who was a relative and friend of Richard Ratcliffe, built the addition to the tavern out of bricks kilned by slaves. The foundation of the Willcoxon home on Route 237 was also built of bricks from the same kiln. This home was named "Blenheim." The name of Union soldiers who occupied the house during the Civil War can be found etched on the walls of its attic.
Although "Blenheim" is still standing today, the Ratcliffe tavern was torn down in the 1920's and the bricks and mantels were purchased by Col. Francis Pickens Miller who incorporated them into the large brick building which is now known as Flint Hill Private School.
Records show that a Richard Ratcliffe came to this country from England in 1637 along with John Bristoe, Robert Turner, Henry Warren, Thomas Clarke and Robert Throckmorton—Lord of the Manor of Ellington. It is assumed that the descendants of Ratcliffe and Throckmorton worked their way into the vicinity of the future town of Fairfax for their names appear often in the records and newspaper clippings.
The Richard Ratcliffe who gave the land for the court house came here from Maryland. He was the son of John Ratcliffe of "Poynton" and "Doyne" Manors, Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland.
He married Lucian Bolling who was from one of the families who had moved into this area from the Jamestown Colony. Her father was Girard Bolling who was one of 18 children and descended from Thomas Rolfe.
Mr. Bolling was a planter and merchant who owned a store in Fairfax. Ratcliffe became associated with his father-in-law in the mercantile business and took over the business after Mr. Bolling(Bowling) died. In Ratcliffe's will he left "the brick store and land lot to his sons for the purpose of keeping store in or on if necessary".
He and his wife had five daughters and four sons. Penelope married Spencer Jackson. Nancy married Stephen Daniel. Jane married Thomas Moss, a future clerk of the court. Patsy married Richard Coleman. Lucian married George Gunnell. His sons were Robert, who was Deputy Sheriff in 1801, Charles, John and Samuel. Two of his sons were evidently a disappointment to him for in his will he speaks of Samuel "having conducted himself badly for several years past" his debts were to be paid by the executors, who were Robert and Charles Ratcliffe, Thomas Moss, Gordon Allison and Roger M. Farr. He also stated that two of his sons had received more than his daughters but he hoped his sons would do better and his daughters would understand.
The Ratcliffe home place, "Mt. Vineyard" will be recalled by older citizens in the town as the Rumsey place, which burned years ago. The family graveyard still exists today. It is located on Moore Street.
Besides owning a great deal of land and a mercantile business, Mr. Ratcliffe owned a race track on the east side of town. Its approximate location was east of Route 237, north of The Little River Turnpike and west of Fairview Subdivision. His personal property was valued at $4445.34. In his will the slaves were divided among his wife and children. Some of the slaves were valued as high as $600 each, while others were valued at a dollar.
In 1836, when Mr. Ratcliffe died and the town had to be surveyed in order for his estate to be divided, John Halley, the surveyor writes: "In laying off I commenced at the northwest corner of Rizin Willcoxon's Tavern House, Robert Ratcliffe having represented that that house was considered when built as being exactly on the corner of the lot on which it stands, and the side and gable ends of said house ranged with the streets. I have therefore taken the ...... of said house as a guide". The tavern was valued at $4000.00 at that time.
Robert Ratcliffe had evidently used the northwest corner of the tavern when in 1805 he laid off the town when An Act of the Assembly established a "Town at Fairfax Court House on the Land of Richard Ratcliffe by the name of Providence".
Laura Ratcliffe Hanna
Miss. Laura Ratcliffe Hanna, Confederate Spy, Great Granddaughter of Honor Richard Ratcliffe, and known as a local beauty; she was a brave and dedicated lady who saved the life of Colonel. John Mosby in 1863. She lived in the area of Frying Pan (Herndon) Virginia, on Centreville Road.
Laura Ratcliffe was born May 28, 1836 at Fairfax City, Virginia to Francis Fitzhugh and Ann McCarty (Lee) Ratcliffe. Following the death of her father, Laura moved with her mother and two sisters to Frying Pan (later Herndon) in Fairfax County, Virginia, just south of Washington, D.C. There were countless raids and encampments in that region, along the Potomac River, which divided north and south.
During the Civil War, Laura met General James Ewell Brown (JEB) Stuart when she and her sister were nursing wounded soldiers at his camp during the winter of 1861. Laura and Stuart quickly became friends. She provided him and his fellow cavalryman, the "Gray Ghost," Colonel John Singleton Mosby, with information on Union troop activity in Fairfax County. General Stuart wrote several personal letters to Laura.
In December of 1862, General Stuart led his cavalry troops on several raids against the Federal forces in Fairfax County. He visited Laura at her home many times. According to several sources, while at the Ratcliffe's, Mosby asked Stuart if he could be left behind with a small detachment of men, so he could continue operations in that area, instead of going into winter quarters. Stuart apparently agreed. When Stuart left on December 30, 1862, Mosby stayed behind with nine soldiers from the 1st Virginia Cavalry.
Mosby sometimes used the Ratcliffe home as his headquarters, and there was a large rock at the top of Squirrel Hill where he and Laura met in secret, and where she concealed messages for him. And when Mosby captured a large quantity of Federal money, she held it for him. Frying Pan Church, near Laura's home, was the site of a skirmish, as well as a hospital and one of Mosby's secret meeting places.
On February 7, 1863, Mosby captured several Federal soldiers who had been looting local citizens. He returned the plunder to its rightful owners. On February 10, James Ames deserted from the 5th NY Cavalry stationed at Fairfax Courthouse and joined Mosby's command. On February 11, Mosby traveled to Frying Pan, where Laura told him that plans for his capture had been leaked by the Yankees. Mosby avoided the trap, and in the process, captured a Union blockade runner.
On Sunday, March 8, 1863, Union Brigadier General Edwin Stoughton and his garrison lay in bed at Fairfax County Court House. Mosby and 29 men slipped through Federal picket lines and entered General Stoughton’s bedroom.
Mosby woke the general, and asked him, “Do you know Mosby?”
The general said, “Yes, have you captured the devil?”
Mosby said, "No, the devil has caught you."
Mosby captured the general, two captains, and 58 horses, without firing a shot. They evaded numerous Federal outposts on their departure. President Lincoln allegedly said that generals were replaceable, but he deeply regretted the loss of so many good horses.
Although it was obvious that Laura's home was the center of much Confederate activity, she was never arrested or charged with any crime. She suffered losses like so many others during the Civil War. Her brother, John Ratcliffe, was a private in the 17th Virginia Infantry. He died of chronic diarrhea at Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond in October 1864, at the age of 31.
There is some disagreement concerning the home Laura lived in during the Civil War. Since the War, an old farmhouse named "Merrybrook" has been pointed out as her home. Other locals say that Merrybrook was her home after the war, built for her by an admiring Union veteran named Milton Hanna, whom she married. That seems to me the most logical answer, since the Ratcliffe's financial situation after the war was pretty grim. The exact location of the house she occupied during the war is still somewhat shrouded in mystery, which I think makes for a better story anyway.
Today, alongside a country highway in Virginia, there is a monument near the rock where Laura and Mosby met, which reads:
This large boulder, located just south of here, served as an important landmark during the Civil War, when Col. John S. Mosby's Partisan Rangers (43rd Battalion, Virginia Calvary) assembled there to raid Union outposts, communications, and supply lines. Laura Ratcliffe, a young woman who lived nearby and spied for Mosby, concealed money and messages for him under the rock. Mosby credited her with saving him from certain capture by Federal cavalry on one occasion. She also was a friend of Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart.
Laura was a very private woman. She never received recognition for her courageous support of the Confederate cause. She died August 8, 1923 at Merrybrook. She was laid out by the front window so that those who knew her could pay their respects. She was the sixth cousin of General Robert Edward Lee.
At the Ratcliffe/Coleman/Hanna cemetery in Herndon, which is surrounded by thick shrubbery, there is a simple plaque which reads: "This is the burial place of the noted Confederate spy Laura Ratcliffe Hanna and her husband Milton Hanna."
Richard Ratcliffe was the son of John RATCLIFFE and of Ann A. SMITH Ratcliffe (both of whose burials are not yet known) and husband of Louisiana ("Locian") BOLLING(Bowling) Ratcliffe (burial as yet unknown), with whom he had nine children.
Last will of Richard RATCLIFFE, quoted from Edward Coleman Trexler, "Endowed by the Creator: Families of Fairfax Court House, Virginia" (Fairfax, VA: James River Valley Publishing, 2003, pp. 24-25:
I Richard Ratcliffe of the County of Fairfax and Common ... of Virginia do make this my last Will and Testament. I desire all my just debts be paid as soon as practicable which are considerable, being occasioned by advances for children, more particularly John. The monies due to me from H. Marshall, John Maddox and James Allison will nearly square off and as it would be difficult for John Ratcliffe to pay me or my estate back the money I have paid for him I release all he owes me, conditioned that my estate never is bound to pay any more for him for defaults of his as deputy sheriff -- my son Samuel being indebted & nothing to pay with, having conducted himself badly for several years past I request that my Executors as soon as they can, by rents of houses, etc. do pay what he owes which I give him, in hopes he will do better hereafter, this I direct conditioned that if he my son Samuel lives until my Excrs. do pay said Debts but if he dies (being an ailing man) first, I do not direct those Debts to be paid, but give the amounts thereof, and the lands I bought of the Nolands to my son Samuel's two sons Richard & Charles Henry, to be equally divided between them or the survivors of them,
in doing this for Samuel and John I am sensible I am injuring their Sisters but I hope they will be satisfied thereto and join me in a hope they will do better hereafter, To all my children who have left me I confirm (if necessary) the gift of what they have had of me.
To my son Charles I give and bequeath my slaves Old George his wife Sisha, their son Henson and their two youngest Children and that he have a bed & furniture and household furniture as his Brothers and Sisters have had of me and all that land whereon I live, (after his mother's death) as far as the Old Courthouses road, supposed as six hundred acres.
I give & bequeath to my daughter Patsey Ratcliffe four young negroes, and to Locian her sister, four young negroes to be divided and allotted as nearly equal as can be with the consent of their mother, with a good feather bed to each with such household furniture as their Brothers & Sisters had when they left me, with a horse, saddle & bridle, two cows & calves & ten sheep each (if not on my property) they are to be purchased for them, & the same stock for Charles.
I give to my dear wife Locian Ratcliffe all the lands I possess excpt that bought of the Nolands & a piece on Accotink together with my negroes until those bequeathed to Charles, Patsey and Lucy are delivered and afterward for her to keep the others to include Tamar and two of the boys with all the rest of my personal Estate, & lands whereon I live until she is willing to let Charles have the part I have left him, also after my just debts are paid, I give to my said wife all the rent of houses at Providence and in Alex. out of which my old friend Mr. James Connelly is to have his board and such clothes as he shall reasonably want,
and I further direct that half a dozen tables and half a dizen [sic] tea spoons (silver) be furnished my two youngest daughters and after my wifes death, I request that what plate I have, & my clock remain with my son Charles Ratcliffe
and that after my said wifes death, my desire is that all the houses & lotts of mine in Providence may be equally divided among my five daughters Penelope Jackson, Nancy W. Daniel, Jane Moss, Patsey Ratcliffe and Locian Ratcliffe, Except the brick store house and lott and Hagues house, & that half his lott next to Payne Street, these houses and parts of lotts I give to Robert, John, Samuel & Charles Ratcliffe for the purpose of keeping store in or on,
if necessary fifty acres of my lands adjoining said now laid off lotts are to be annexed to them on either side as my daughters may choose, the balance of that land on the east side of Ellzeys Church Road & the Old Courthouse Road I give to Robert and John Ratcliffe including the racefield,
the land on Accotink, bought of Stephen Daniel, I request may be sold, and the money applied to discharge in part my debts and Samuel Ratcliffe's.
My house and lott in Alexandria, I leave to my wife during her natural life to rent out -- after her death it is to be sold and the proceeds divided among my children --
My road Stock I give to my Grandsons Francis F. Ratcliffe, Richard J. Daniels, Charles Jackson, John Moss, Robert Ratcliffe & Richard Ratcliffe, two shares each and the balance thereof to be disposed of by my wife as she pleases any Stock or household furniture not already disposed of that may remain after my death
my wife to dispose of as she pleases any negroes not already disposed of after my wifes death are to be equally divided among all my children
my watch and buckles to Robert Ratcliffe.
A genealogy of the Ratcliffes by June Ratcliffe McReynolds traces the name in Britain to the early 1400's.[1] There was a Richard Ratcliffe who was a friend of King Richard III and died on Bosworth Field in 1485 defending the king.[2] Although Ms. McReynolds does not give us the lineage of the Richard we are discussing today, it seems likely that some descendants of that early British family came to Charles County, Maryland, and then to Fairfax County, Virginia.[3]
There are more than 500 references to Richard Ratcliffe in the Fairfax court records. He first appears in 1771 being sworn a deputy sheriff.[4] This was the first of an unbroken chain of public service positions which he held for 54 years. He served as sheriff, coroner, justice, patroller, courthouse lot commissioner, overseer of roads and the poor, jail inspector, superintendent of elections, poorhouse and tax commissioner, and master commissioner of the court.[5]
Richard was the son of John Ratcliffe,[6] a merchant who signed the 1770 non-importation broadside, an agreement among merchants not to import British goods. John was the son of an earlier Richard of Charles County, Maryland.[7] The identity of Richard Ratcliffe's mother is speculative. John Ratcliffe married Anne, the widow of Thomas Moxley, in the early 1750's.[8] Richard was born about 1752.[9] He married Louisiana Boling, daughter of Gerrard Boling, a descendant of Pocahontas, by 1779.[10] They had 9 children, 4 sons and 5 daughters.[11] Through his own marriage and those of his children, Richard became allied to some of the most prominent families in Fairfax County: the
Bolings, Gunnells, Jacksons, Daniels, Mosses, Fitzhughs, and Lees.[12] He was certainly known to George Washington, who noted in his diary for November 11, 1797, "Mrs. Ratcliffe and her son came to dinner."[13]
Richard owned and leased several lots in Alexandria and probably resided there for convenience to the courthouse where he attended to the duties of his offices.[14] But he began buying land in the area of present-day Fairfax City in 1786. By 1797 he had acquired more than 1600 acres.[15] While researching, I wondered why someone who spent most of his time in Alexandria would buy land 13 miles west of town. There wasn't much out there. The Little River Turnpike whch today bisects the city of Fairfax wasn't completed until 1806 and was a dirt track even then. Braddock Road came through to the south, but the area was hardly a population center. I think the answer is that Richard was visionary as well as practical. He was a man of his time. The Revolutionary War was just ending and the Virginia Legislature in 1789 ceded 40 square miles of eastern Fairfax County from Loudoun County on the west, shifting the boundaries of the county westward. If one looks at a map it is readily clear that the land Richard was buying was dead center.
In 1789 the Virginia legislature mandated that the new Fairfax County courthouse should be within 1 mile of Price's Ordinary[17] located at the present intersection of Backlick and Braddock Roads, 6 miles west of Alexandria. The justices felt that the location was "in the woods" and nothing was seriously done about relocating the courthouse for almost a decade. In 1798 Richard Ratcliffe offered them 4 acres of his central Fairfax land as a site for the new courthouse. Though the site he offered them was 7 miles west of Price's, the justices, at that point in time, were in no position to refuse.[18]
The deed for the 4 acres is somewhat mystifying. In fact, there were 2 deeds, the first not recorded, and the second, which was, states that it was written to correct errors in the first. The deed is several pages long, all 1 sentence, and the wording is confusing. I believe that what Richard Ratcliffe meant to say was that if the property ever ceased to be used for the purpose of holding court, then the trustees could sell it. But again, the wording is vague and contradictory and open to interpretation.
The initial architect selected to design the courthouse was, evidently, Clotworthy Stephenson. A notice in the Alexandria Advertiser May 23, 1789, placed by the commissioners appointed to let the contracts for the erection of the building, states that the plans were on view at the office of Captain George Deneale, county clerk, and that architect Clotworthy Stephenson would be available for explanations.[19] A month later, another notice appeared in the
Advertiser stating that the architect was Mr. Wren.[20] Why Stephenson was out and Wren was in is a matter of conjecture, but it might have had something to do with the fact that James Wren was a member of the selection committee and also an architect. In any event, the courthouse was completed in 1800 and Richard Ratcliffe's tavern just across the road offered refreshment for those attending court.[21]
The courthouse and nearby tavern provided the nucleus for the village which would become the county seat. In 1805, with the help of his son Robert, a deputy surveyor, Richard laid out 19 half-acres lots on 14 acres,[22] part of the northwest corner of the Ravensworth tract which Richard had purchased in 1797.[23] The streets were to be 50 feet wide. Had he named the town "Ratcliffe's Crossroads" Richard would be a much-better-known historical figure, but he named it "Providence" perhaps because he felt a need for divine guidance in planning the town, or perhaps because he hoped it would prosper and bring him financial success. Richard had serious concerns about the solvency of his children. To insure their futures, he intended to lease the lots on ground rent forever rather than to sell outright, thereby providing them with a steady income. We see from his will, written in 1815, that Richard felt his children were financially irresponsible.[24] He wrote:
"I desire all my just debts be paid as soon as practicable which are considerable, being occasioned by advances for children, more particularly John ... as it would be difficult for John Ratcliffe to pay me or my estate back the money I have paid for him, I release all he owes me, conditioned that my estate never is bound to pay any more for him for defaults of him as Deputy Sheriff -- my son Samuel being indebted & nothing to pay with, having conducted himself badly for several years past I request that my executors as soon as they can, by rents of houses, etc., do pay what he owes, which I give him, in hopes he will do better thereafter..."
Richard's son John, evidently, was a gambler.[25] Samuel was in poor health and beset by creditors. His daughters' properties had to be sold by their heirs to pay the debts of the estates.[26] With these worries, Richard hoped that Providence would be an overnight success, that it would very quickly become another Alexandria. He probably never realized his vision, but the fact that he was able to get the courthouse and the county seat built on his own land was a political achievement of some magnitude. It speaks eloquently of his influence among lawmakers in Fairfax County and Richmond and of their respect and high regard for him.
My belief that Richard was disappointed in the growth of Providence is supported by an ad which he placed in the Alexandria Gazette on May 4, 1819, 14 years after the town was laid out and when Richard was about 67 years old. He addressed the ad to tradesmen of all types: wheelwrights, blacksmiths, tanners,
saddlers, harness-makers and the like:[27]
"Believing as I do, that Providence, at Fairfax Courthouse, would be a suitable situation for mechanics of the above description, I offer to such, lots in that village for sale, on ground rent forever -- will build and furnish suitable houses and rent to them, or furnish brick to them to build with; and invite any who feel disposed to settle there, for the purpose of carrying on their respective trades to advantage, to come and view the situation. It is a very public place, the centre of the county, where the superior and county courts are held. The Little River Turnpike Road passes thru this little town from Alexandria westward, and where all the public meetings for the county are held and where trades of the aforesaid description being carried on, would meet with great encouragement, and be a public convenience to the country around. No situation can be more healthy -- good water, and fire wood cheap."
Richard's disappointment and the evident failure of his plan to achieve financial security for his children through the rental of his properties affected his personality in later years. In his sixties, he was charged several times with drunkenness.[28] On at least 1 occasion the clerk noted in the court minutes that commissioner Ratcliffe was drunk while performing his duties.[29] Richard was sued several times for debt, and judgments were obtained against him.[30] In October, 1820, at age 68, he was charged with assault and battery, although he claimed that the other fellow hit him first.[31] On September 20, 1825, the clerk noted in the minutes that
commissioner Ratcliffe was extremely ill. In fact, on that day he died.[33] His wife followed him less than a year later. The 2-acre Ratcliffe family cemetery in Fairfax City, about a half mile from the courthouse, is abandoned, overgrown, and all the stones are gone.
Richard Ratcliffe, sheriff, overseer, coroner, justice, town planner, and master commissioner of the Faifax County court, deserves a much more detailed study than this one. He deserves to be remembered as a public figure and a major contributor to the settlement and growth of central Fairfax County. After all, the courthouse, and the city around it, are there because of him.
Charles H. Ratcliffe(1793-1835) son of Honor Richard Ratcliffe.
Last will of Charles H. RATCLIFFE, quoted from Edward Coleman Trexler, "Endowed by the Creator: Families of Fairfax Court House, Virginia" (Fairfax, VA: James River Valley Publishing, 2003, pp. 28-29:
In the name of God, Amen, I Charles Ratcliffe of the County of Fairfax and Commonwealth of Virginia, Mindful of the uncertainty of Life and feeling desirous to dispose of such Estates as God has blessed me with do give and bequeath the same in manner following.
First I desire my debts to be paid promptly.
Secondly, If my beloved wife Ann Maria Ratcliffe should not again marry but remain single the rest of her life then I give and bequeath her all my Estate Real and Personal during her natural life, and at her death my Said Estate to be divided among my children John Richard Ratcliffe, Mary Bayard Ratcliffe, Jane C. Ratcliffe, Ann Maria Ratcliffe, Charles Theodore Ratcliffe and George William Ratcliffe in such proportions as my said wife may direct by Will. Or otherwise in writing unless She may feel disposed to give to any of Them at any period during her life.
Thirdly, In case my said wife Ann Maria Ratcliffe should never marry, as aforesaid, then I appoint her my Executor of this my last Will and Testament and desire that she give no security for the Administration of My Estate. In doing what I now do, I am aware of confiding a great deal, but fervently hope and trust her actions may prove her worthy of trust.
Fourthly, If contrary to my confident hope and belief my said wife Ann Maria Ratcliffe should again marry, Then in that event, I give and bequeath unto her Five Dollars only and give and bequeath my Estate to be equally divided between my children aforenamed.
Fifthly, In the event of my wife Ann Maria Ratcliffe marrying again as aforesaid, Then I desire that the County Court of Fairfax County appoint some honest, discrete man (if such can be found) to administer my last Will and Testament.
The historic Ratcliffe Cemetery located between Oliver and Moore Streets will not be purchased by City Council. However, this historic cemetery will continue to be preserved under an "abandoned cemetery" statue [sic] as it was before being considered for purchase. The City will continue to maintain the cemetery.
Children:
1. Elizabeth Locian Ratcliffe (1816 - ____)*
2. John Richard Ratcliffe (1818 - 1884)*
3. Mary Bayard RATCLIFFE Helm (1820 - 1853)*
4. Jane Critcher RATCLIFFE Buckner (1822 - 1888)*
5. Anna Maria RATCLIFFE Buckner (1825 - 1857)*
6. Charles Theodore Ratcliffe (1827 - 1887)*
7. George William Ratcliffe (1832 - 1868)*
1. First child of Charles H. RATCLIFFE (buried with no extant marker in the Ratcliffe Family Cemetery, Fairfax, Fairfax, VA) and of Ann Maria COLEMAN Ratcliffe (burial as yet unknown).
She had died before 24 November 1833, because she is not mentioned in her father's testament, which was written at that date.
3. Mary Bayard RATCLIFFE Helm, Daughter of Charles H. RATCLIFFE (buried with no extant marker in the Ratcliffe Family Cemetery, Fairfax, Fairfax, VA) and of Ann Maria COLEMAN Ratcliffe (burial as yet unknown) and first wife of Meredith Ambrose HELM (buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Athens, McMinn, GA). They had no children.
4. Jane Critcher RATCLIFFE Buckner, Daughter of Charles H. RATCLIFFE (buried with no extant marker in the Ratcliffe Family Cemetery, Fairfax, Fairfax, VA) and of Ann Maria COLEMAN Ratcliffe (burial as yet unknown) and wife of George BUCKNER Jr. FAG # 88316408 (buried in the same cemetery with her), whom she married on 15 September 1842 in Hopkinsville, Christian, KY, and with whom she had twelve children.
5. Anna Maria RATCLIFFE Buckner,
Daughter of Charles H. RATCLIFFE (buried with no extant marker in the Ratcliffe Family Cemetery, Fairfax, Fairfax, VA) and of Ann Maria COLEMAN Ratcliffe (burial as yet unknown) and wife of Robert William BUCKNER (born 07 Oct 1823, died 19 Jul 1855) FAG #88316429 (buried in the same cemetery with her), whom she married on 18 December 1846 in Hopkinsville, Christian, KY, and with whom she had four children.
6. Doctor Charles Theodore "Charlie" Ratcliffe, Sr, he had
Children:
Charles Theodore Ratcliffe (1852 - 1875)*
Kate Ratcliffe (1855 - 1859)*
Richard Ratcliffe (1857 - 1858)*
Edwin Edmunds Ratcliffe (1859 - 1860)*
Anna Ratcliffe (1861 - 1891)*
George McAfee Ratcliffe (1863 - 1909)*
America E. RATCLIFFE Simonin (1865 - 1950)*
Henry Edmunds Ratcliffe (1867 - 1906)*
Mary RATCLIFFE Zoder (1870 - 1966)*
Jennie Carroll RATCLIFFE Vinson (1873 - 1935)*
Mattie Ratcliffe (1877 - 1880)*
6. George McAfee Ratcliffe, Sr, Son of Dr. Charles Theodore ("Charlie") RATCLIFFE Sr. and of George Anna ("Georgie") McAFEE Ratcliffe (both of whom are buried in Methodist Cemetery, Pineville, Rapides, LA) and husband of Susie HETHERWICK Ratcliffe (buried in the same cemetery with him, both without extant markers), with whom he had seven children.
7. America E. "Mec" RATCLIFFE Simonin, Daughter of Dr. Charles Theodore ("Charlie") RATCLIFFE, Sr. and of George Anna ("Georgie") McAFEE Ratcliffe (both of whom are buried in the old Methodist Cemetery, Pineville, Rapides, LA) and wife of Arthur Frederick SIMONIN (burial as yet unknown). Mother of two children: Arthur Henry SIMONIN and Georgia Carroll Eugenie Louise ("Georgie") SIMONIN Heffron (both of whom are buried in the Garden of Memories Cemetery, Metairie, Jefferson, LA).
Children:
Arthur Henry Simonin (1890 - 1975)*
Georgia Carroll Eugenie Louise SIMONIN Heffron (1891 - 1981)*
8. Henry Edmunds Ratcliffe,
Obituary taken from the Alexandria Daily Town Talk of 22 October 1906:
DEATHS:
RATCLIFFE - In New Orleans, La., on Saturday, Oct. 20th, 1906, at 1 p.m., Henry Edmunds Ratcliffe, aged 37 years. The remains were brought to this city on the afternoon train of the Texas and Pacific railroad on Sunday and interment was made in the Methodist Cemetery, Pineville, the Rev. B. L. Price of the First Presbyterian Church officiating. The deceased was the son of Mrs. C. T. Ratcliffe, formerly of this city, but now residing in New Orleans. He leaves three sisters and a brother to mourn his demise. They are Mrs. A. F. Simonin of New Orleans, Mrs. Henry Geiger and Miss Jennie Ratcliffe of this city, and Mr. George M. Ratcliffe of Natchitoches. The bereaved family have the sympathy of a large circle of friends here. The deceased was for a number of years in the drug business here, being the proprietor of the City Drug Store and afterwards of the Red Cross Drug Store.
Article taken from the Alexandria Weekly Town Talk of 06 July 1889:
DIFFICULTY AND HOMICIDE
It has been nearly five years since the TOWN TALK was called upon to chronicle a homicide within the corporate limits of Alexandria.
On last Monday afternoon, the 1st inst., at about 2:20 o'clock, the report of a gun was heard from the direction of Fourth street. It was heard by a number of people, many of whom thought that the City Marshall had shot a dog. Soon a crowd had collected at the scene of the shooting, on Fourth street, in the rear of Mrs. Ratcliffe's residence, and M. W. Cockerille was found lying on the ground, suffering from a gun shot wound in the small of his back, near the termination of the spine.
It was soon generally known that Henry Ratcliffe had done the shooting, the weapon used being a shotgun loaded with buck-shot, and his brother George Ratcliffe was accused of being a party to the killing.
Montfort Cockerille was taken to his home on lower 4th street on a cot, and after about 1 1/2 hours of intense suffering, passed away. Three physicians were in attendance, but the wound was necessarily fatal, and their skill was of no avail.
Henry Ratcliffe surrendered immediately to the Sheriff, and as soon as an affidavit was made against George Ratcliffe, he also surrendered.
Judge Blackman being related to the deceased young man by marriage he recused himself, and Judge Coco was summoned from Marksville to hold the preliminary examination.
The preliminary trial commenced about 3 o'clock p.m. on Wednesday and continued till 8 1/2 o'clock that night. It was resumed on Thursday morning, the 4th, by consent of the State and defense, and was concluded about 10 o'clock a.m. Judge Coco allowed the accused bond in the sum of $2500 each, which they readily furnished.
About 40 witnesses were summoned. The principle witnesses for the State were Dr. John Casson, coroner; W. J. Calvit, S. L. Cockerille, Miss Eliza Holt, Oliver Bassett, Francis Carr and Mrs. Richardson.
The principle witnesses examined for the defense were Mrs. E. B. Price, Miss Jennie Ratcliffe and Joseph Smith.
Knowing that all our readers are interested in this sad affair, we give below some of the evidence of important witnesses at the preliminary trial:
S. L. Cockerille testified that as he and his brother Montfort were passing along Fourth street, in the rear of the residence of Mrs. Ratcliffe, that George Ratcliffe opened [several words illegible here] toward him, and said: "I received your letter." Cockerille then says he made a reply, whereupon George Ratcliffe struck him on the head with a walking cane, simultaneously Henry Ratcliffe fired the gun which killed his brother. That his brother did not have even a stick in his hand, and that both of them were in their shirt sleeves. That Henry Ratcliffe was just within his mother's back gate, when the gun fired. That George Ratcliffe ran him (Lee Cockerille) some distance striking him with a stick, and that after George Ratcliffe had ceased striking him that he returned to where his brother was lying on the ground, and that he did not touch him. He believes the only person he saw when he returned to his brother was Henry Ratcliffe. That the reason he, S. L. Cockerille, ran was because he thought Henry Ratcliffe was going to shoot him with the other barrel of the gun.
In the evidence the following was brought out: It seemed that a few days previous to the homicide S. L. Cockerille sent a colored boy to Geo. Ratcliffe, and that the boy returned to Cockerille with a verbal message from George Ratcliffe. S. L. Cockerille when he received that verbal message wrote a letter and sent it to George Ratcliffe. Cockerille admitted in his evidence that he had said in his letter that, if he, George Ratcliffe, had made certain assertions that the colored boy said he had, that he, George Ratcliffe, "was a
willful, malicious liar and the truth was not in him: I (Cockerille) throw down the gauntlet and if you choose you can pick it up."
One of the principle witnesses for the defense was a man named Joseph Smith, who lives on the Heyman place. He says he saw the entire difficulty. He admitted having gone out of town hurriedly to keep from being a witness. That he had only told one person, confidentally, he had seen the killing. His testimony reduced was that he had seen Montfort Cockerille change a stick from his right hand to his left hand and then put his hand behind him as if to pull a weapon. Just at that moment, and before the gun was fired, he heard some one say: "Don't shoot my brother."
It was brought out in the testimony of Wm. Hill that George Ratcliffe had recently bought a new shot-gun, that he had told him (Hill) and other friends that he intended to try it with buckshot to see if it acted well. Also by other witnesses that Henry Ratcliffe and A. L. Miller were to leave for White Sulphur Springs on Monday evening, and that Henry Ratcliffe was to borrow the shot-gun, and at the time the difficulty took place George and Henry Ratcliffe were on their way to the back of town to try the gun with buckshot before Henry left for the Springs, the hour for leaving being about 8 o'clock, p.m.
The dying statements of Montfort Cockerille to his mother and Mrs. Nettie Calvit were to the effect that he had been shot for nothing, that he had done nothing nor said nothing [sic] to be killed for.
Mr. E. G. Hunter is counsel for the accused; and District Attorney Andrews looked after the State.
Montfort and S. L. Cockerille are the sons of the late Dr. A. Cockerille. Montfort at the time of his death was about 30 years old and was keeping a grocery store on upper Third street. His brother kieeps a saloon on the same street.
George and Henry Ratcliffe keep a grocery on Second street. They are the sons of the late Dr. Ratcliffe, who practiced medicine in this parish for several years, but came here with his family about eight years ago from Hopkinsville, Ky.
The marker has a mistake in the spelling of the middle name. It should read EDMUNDS, not EDMUNDE. (Edmunds was his maternal grandmother's maiden name.)
9. Mary RATCLIFFE Zoder,
Spouses:
William Henry Patrick Geiger (1868 - 1906)*
Pleamon Lafayette Etheredge (1875 - 1919)*
John Edward Zoder (1889 - 1939)*
Children:
Charles Edward Geiger (1892 - 1956)*
William Henry Geiger (1897 - 1965)*
Robert Lee Randolph Geiger (1901 - 1981)*
Casson Clifton Geiger (1903 - 1982)*
10. Jennie Carroll RATCLIFFE Vinson, Daughter of Dr. Charles Theodore ("Charlie") RATCLIFFE Sr. and of George Anna ("Georgie") McAFEE Ratcliffe (both of whom are buried in the same plot next to her) and wife of Jackson Douglass ("Bonnie") VINSON (burial in Oakwood Cemetery, Jefferson, Marion, TX). They had no children.