• General Notes

  INFO: Billy N. Fussell - Longview, TX
  DEATH: From will
  
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  Edward Eidson Sr.-5-23/101 1 was born in Oct 1680 in Dublin, Ireland. He was christened on 17 Oct 1680 in St. Catherine's Church, Dublin, Ireland. He died on 5 Feb 1732 in Richmond County, Virginia. He was buried in Richmond County, Virginia.
  
      Hannah Boyes, the mother of Edward, had a brother, the Rev. Joseph Boyes (1660-1728) at St. Catherine's Church, Dublin, Ireland, where Edward was christened.
  
      Edward came from the Leeds area of Yorkshire, England and settled in northern neck of Virginia between the Potomac and the Rappahannock rivers.
  
      Penelope's maiden name may have been Kelly????
  
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  Time Line
  
  1593 Will of Christopher Boyes dated January 15, 1593, naming daughter Isabel (Edwards great grandmother) and a son Christopher.
  
  1629 Will of Dionis Eidson, (Edward's great grandfather), proven November 13, 1629, names wife Isabel Boyes. From the York Probate Registry.
  
  1660 Leeds Parish records the marriage of Denys Eidson to Hannah, (Edwards Parents), September 12, 1660
  
  1665 Plague in Leeds, England killed a great number of people.
  
  1680 Christening record of St. Catherine's Parish, Dublin, Dublin County, Ireland .... Edward Eidson, 17 October 1680, son of Dennys and Hannah. St. Catherine's Church at this time was the church of Ireland and was Protestant.
  
  1683 Last known record of Edward Eidson in England is his being dropped from the Leeds Parish Church records.
  
  1696 Edward "probably" first arrived in Virginia.
  
  1706 Tax record for Edward Eidson found in Lancaster County, Virginia.
  
  1708 Record of Edward Eidson in Virginia is his "witness to a will" in Lancaster County, Virginia.
  
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  From “It’s Spelled E-I-D-SON”
  by Wanda Carroll Eidson
  Published by Gregath Publishing Co.
  Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 95-79144
  
  During the Reformation the city of Dublin, Ireland, became Protestant, and, in the English Civil War, its Royalist defenders, after first thinking of joining forces with an armed Irish Catholic confederacy, surrendered the city to Oliver Cromwell's English parliamentary army in 1649. By the end of the Cromwell era (1658) Dublin was a town of only 9,000 inhabitants. The turreted city wall with its eight gates was a shambles, the two cathedrals tottered, and the dilapidated castle was, as Cromwell himself put it, "the worst in Christendom." The growth of Dublin, situated on the Liffey River emptying shortly into Dublin Bay, began toward the end of the 17th C. when thousands of French Hugenot weavers from Europe settled in Protestant Dublin after the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, curtailed their privileges. Flemish weavers followed, and soon the cloth trades, spearheaded earlier by weavers from England, were flourishing. Row houses, with high-gables, predominantely of red brick and with corner fireplaces, surrounded Weavers' Square.
  
  Thus, it would seem that Dennis Eidson, seeking a better life, had moved his family to Dublin where he could follow his trade; and, perhaps, the fast increasing crowding and competition forced him, or at least his sons, to seek their fortunes in New England in America.
  
  Other than the records found in the correspondance of Joseph Boyse, the only record of the Dennis Eidson family found in Dublin was the baptism of the son Edward Eidson. A copy of these records is shown on the next few pages. St. Catherine's church was and is located on the corner of streets now called James and Eckland east down the street from the "old gate" toward the Guiness Brewery. On John Speed's original map, surveyed in 1610, this location, on St. James St., was facing St. Thomas Court (the sight of the execution of Robert Emmet who led the ill-fated revolt of 1803) and was a part of the Liberty of St. Thomas Court, otherwise called the Earl of Meath's Liberty, a "liberty" being a self-governing, independant barony or manor, sometimes raised from an Abby territory, which was exempt from the jurisdiction of the city. St. Catherine's, originally built as a parish church by the monks of St. Thomas' Abbey about 1180, was so named and dedicated to St. Catherine who was apparently the patron saint of successful voyages. The medieval church was demolished in 1765 and the present church, designed by John Smith, was completed in 1769. St. Catherine's barely survived a sad fate in 1971 when the Dublin Corporation widened Thomas St.. The organ has now been restored and the church is used for concerts and exhibits.
  
  Another interesting part of the records of St. Catherine's is the index. One could believe one was reading a list of the families living in the Northern Neck of Virginia in the 18th century. Some names included were Rich. Hawkins, Thomas Beckworth, Barkers, Higginses, Morrises, Bentleys, Sneads, Balls, Matthew Davis, John Bartley, Barneses, Bowerses, Connallys, Garlands, Humphreys, Iredells, Jenningses, Jenkinses, Jeffersons, Joneses (one Penelope), Charles McCarty, Jacob Marks, Samuel and Thomas Morton, Richardsons, Kellys, Mary and Richard Nash, Hills, Willsons, Christophers, Charles and Anne Collins, and Arthurs. As was mentioned earlier, the Eidson family probably switched their membership to the Wood Street Church after Hannah's brother, Joseph, became the minister there. Those records are lost.
  
  According to Mr. Francis Leeson, FSG, Director of Research at The Surname Archive in West Sussex, England, there are no emigration records from Ireland until the late 18th. Century. Also, that the possibility of Irish emigrants of the 1690s sailing from Cork was likely, as there was, generally speaking, no organized emigration from Ireland proper until the next century. Ships from England en route to America were more likely to call at Cork on the southern coast than anywhere else and there take on any would-be emigrants either singly or as parties. In Leeson's search of the emigrant index from 1600-1855, he used every reasonable spellings of the surname sound. The only possibility he suggests may be plausable is that of a Tenes Edeson who subscribed (by mark) to the Association Oath of 1696, as a member of the Commonalty of the City of New York (Source No. 61). He wrote that one is tempted to think the forename is a mis-spelling of Dennis or Dionis, however, this can not be considered valid without further evidence.
  
  The Association Oath of 1696, called Source 61, was simply to guarantee loyalty to the Crown. The Earl of Bellomont to Lords of Trade -- NY entries 283 B , 14 Dec 1698, reaffirms his proclamation for administering oaths, tests, and association to all his majesties' males 16 years and upwards. He was told by the king to see that all officials under him do so and he refers to letters previously sent by number explaining what he was doing! These documents were searched by Eunice Russell Bastedo Scribner, G.R.S., New York City, who did not find Denis Eidson listed nor a listing of names. However, in Colonial Laws of State of New York, 1664-1719, Vol. 1 p. 982 "Teunis Ydison is in a list of men to be paid by the Treasurer of the Colony for work performed for the Colony--his pay being 13 oz. 2 1/2'wt of plate by the act of 28 Dec 1717." No further reference to the man, by any variant spelling, was found. From these records one may determine that since Edward would have been, in all probability, just under the age of 16, and most unfortunately, he would not have been required to sign the oath-- that is, IF this "Tenes" was his father, or perhaps even a brother, and IF Edward came to America with him. Timewise, this emigration record does present a good possibility. Tempering this theory is the known fact that Denis signed his oath with his mark and not by writing his name as he had done earlier in the Chimney Tax roll in Leeds. However, in 1696 he would have been about 60 years old and could have developed hand problems making writing difficult. As we know, Edward Eidson of Northern Neck could read and write, and it would seem that if "Tenes" was an older brother, he could also write his name. To date, no other Edeson, Eidson, Eadson--nor Edson--emigration record has been found that would seem in any way related to Edward Eidson.
  
  The conclusion of research is that all of the Eidsons in the United States are co-sanguineous--that is, all can be traced to the one common blood-line or ancestor-- Edward of Richmond Co. There are stories handed down in all branches of the Eidson family is that "two or three brothers came over." An additional story, heard in Georgia, was that all three took different spellings-- Edson, Edison, and Eidson! Most of these stories have been found to relate to the Eidsons who came to one state, and do not go as far back as Richmond County. However the family came, or to which port, the first records are found in Lancashire County in the Northern Neck of Virginia. This area was part of the great Fairfax proprietorship, which was a vast domain of some five million acres lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers and stretching back through the wilderness to the first springs of these rivers--a vastness which was probably not envisioned by Charles II when it was granted. In 1680 Culpepper had become governor of the colony, and failing as governor, returned to England and in 1683 sold to the crown all his rights, except those to the Northern Neck lands. The Fairfax estate, for all lands granted, carried a quit-rent of one shilling per fifty acres.
  
  By the end of the 17th century, the Northern Neck, the long, narrow estuarine peninsula sandwiched between the tidal Potomac River on the north, and the Rappahannock on the South, -- as we now know it, comprising the six counties of Stafford, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond (formed from old Rappahannock), Westmoreland and King George, was seated, for the most part, by people of purely English stock. It had three social classes: the upper class, or gentry, the Cavaliers and gentlemen who established themselves as "planters;" second, a middle class of small land owners known as "farmers"-of which Edward Eidson became a part although occasionally referred to as a planter; and third, the large class consisting of the indentured white servants which included political refugees, apprenticed artisans, kidnapped paupers and children (known as "kids"), and convicts. The Indians had been largely expelled from the Northern Neck by the end of the 17th century, but the Negro slave, first brought to the colony in 1619 by Dutch traders and legalized in 1661, had begun to constitute a sizable part of the population. Tobacco had become the primary staple, and its extensive cultivation supported slavery and the plantation system for more than a hundred years. Immigration into the Northern Neck continued to be chiefly from the other maritime counties of tidewater Virginia and Maryland. In 1700 the population of tidewater Virginia was more than 80,000; 20,000 more had come by 1717 and by 1754, having increased almost 200%, the population was near 284,000. In the late 18th century about half of the population were slaves.
  
  The distinctive speech and dialect of Northern Neck stems from the style and expressions found in Chaucer, Shakespeare, the King James version of the Bible, and in such books as Pilgrim's Progress. Natives eat a "mess" of greens or fish; they say "ocean" rather than "sea;" "I had as lief" is used for "I had as soon;" and "clean" used as an adverb ("...is her mercy clean gone forever?" Psalm Ixxvii: 8.). Being somewhat isolated geographically for many years, much of this characteristic speech was continued into the 20th century and was also carried south and westward with the pioneers. It is said that where someone came from may be determined more by their figures of speech than by their accent; this is certainly true of the speech of the Northern Neck.
  
  Having been the birthplace of Washington, Richard Henry Lee, James Madison, James Monroe, Robert E. Lee, and even Lincoln's forebears (the Hanks in Richmond County), there has developed a special pride in families who share their roots with these great Americans, and in the same soil of the Northern Neck of Virginia.
  
  Edward Eidson, believed to be the son of Dennis and Hannah Boyse Eidson, baptized 7 Oct 1680 in Dublin, Ireland, at St. Catherine's Church, married Penelope, guessing about 1710 and probably in Cople Parish in Westmoreland County, Virginia, where the Rev. James Breechin served as rector from 1709 thru 1721.
  
  The first record found to date of Edward Eidson in America is in Lancaster County, Virginia, in the southwestern part of the Neck. This county was settled in 1640, formed in 1652, and named after Lancaster County in England--the county adjacent to Yorkshire on the west. It was the home of the Col. Joseph Ball family of Epping Forest whose daughter Mary became the second wife of Augustine Washington and the mother of George. The museum and library in the county are called the Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library in her honor. This library was housed, as late as 1990, in the old jail and Clerk's office buildings on the Lancaster Court House Green in Lancaster, Virginia.
  
  Found in Lancaster County are the tithes dated 4 Dec 1706 and on that list is Edward Edson -- tithed for 6 persons who would have been 6 males aged 16 years or older. This record obviously creates more questions than it answers! At the age of 26, Edward would not have children of that age, so one can only guess that those persons listed were brothers or family or in-laws, or that his was simply the first name on the list of a boarding house.
  
  Also living in Lancaster Co. was one Joshua Edson, but, since he had been on the tithers list from 1653 to 1691 and died there in 1700, he appears unrelated. His age and tenure would indicate he was not a brother nor father to Edward, but it might account for the fact that Edward's name was spelled EDson by the clerk. In Order Book 3C (p. 126) a reference is made to Joshua being disabled and unable to make a living; there was no evidence that he had a family.
  
  The second earliest record of Edward, to date, is also found in Lancaster County where, 21 May 1708, he witnessed the will of Mrs. Amy Nash. The witness was signed by his own hand and spelled Edward EIDson. What with all the variant spellings, the Eidson family is fortunate and must feel grateful that their emigrant was literate! This will was recorded 14 Mar 1710. In her will, Amy left personal gifts and money to her three daughters, Mary, Rebecca, and Elizabeth; the rest of her estate she left to her son William. The other witness to this will was John X Wright. William Nash also moved to Richmond County where he died the same year that Edward did.
  
  In May of 1715, "Edward Idson of Cople Parish, bought 210 acres of land from John and Rester Gower for 9,000 lbs. of good tobacco. This property was located in Sittenbourne Parish in Richmond County.
  
  Edward married Penelope-102 about 1710 in Cople Parish, Westmoreland County, Virginia. Penelope was born about 1683. She died in Richmond, Virginia.
  
      The custom of the times was for a widow to remarry very soon after the death of her husband. The same applied to widowers who usually were left with children to be cared for. Therefore, three or four marriages were quite common. Penelope had not remarried by 8 Aug 1734 when Edward Eidson's estate was presented by Penelope and Edward (Jr.) Eidson for division by Richard Barnes, William Jordan and James Willson. (Richmond County Order Book. 10, 1732-1739, page 74,203 and 204.)
  
      However, living on the property adjoining the Eidsons was Elias Fennell whom Penelope probably married after Edward's death. His will was written 26 Oct 1739 and probated 7 Jan 1739/40. (Richmond County Will Book. 5, page 340.) Of his estate he left: ".... to my loving wife Penelope Feniel all my lands on this side the main road I now live on and all that land on that side the Coach road joining to Richard Barnes during her natural life. I give all the rest of my land on the other side of the Main and Coach Road to John Marks (John Marks is believed to have married Hannah Eidson, daughter of Edward and Penelope) and the above lands after my loving wife Penelope Feniel's (sic) death, to him and his heirs lawfully begotten and for want of such heirs then I give all my lands to Ann Dozier and Frances Thornton to be equally divided between them and their heirs lawfully begotten. ( The will of William. Mark(e)s made 4 August 1735 and proved 3 November, lists his daughters Anne Marks, Frances Marks, and Elizabeth Deane; sons John and Elias; Executor friend Elias Fennel and John Deane; witnesses: William Dickson, Edmond Hazle and Creighton Davis. It seems logical that Ann Dozier and Frances Thornton were the sisters of John Marks.)
  
      "I give to Francis Davis my young Ghray (sic) mare that's now in Mulbery Island forever. I give to BOYCE EIDSON my gun forever. I give to John Marks my Buckenier gun forever. I give to wife Penelophia Feniel (sic) my two negroes Tobey and Jamey to her and her heirs forever and also all my personal estate forever excepting after her death one feather bed, furniture and bed stead and my large Cubard to John Marks. In case my wife should dye before my horse Codey is ded (sic) or my servant man is free named David Man, then I give the said horse and servants to John Marks. My horse Codey I give to wife Penelphia and not to John Marks. His wife to be executor. Witnessed by Richard Barnes, William Brockenbrough and David Twindale." In the inventory of his estate, David Man is identified as a shoemaker, and two other servants were named Philip Thomas and William Woodbern. Apparently Elias had no children of his own. In Nov of 1740, Alex Newman was appointed surveyor of the highway in the "room" of Elias Fennel (Fenner). (Richmond County, Order Book 12, page 188.)
  
      A "picture" of the times is found in Criminal Court records (American Legal Records, Volume 10, from March 1710 to 1754, Richmond County, Virginia, page 174-175, case 232) involving a servant belonging to Elias Fennel. The date unsure, but only a few years before his death:
  
      Kelly's Examination: "Whereas Jane Kelly a servant to Elias Fennel of Lunenburg Parish in Richmond County was by virture of a Mittimus from Wm. Jordan, Gent., one of the Justices of this Court committed to this County Goal for Felloniously taking of Sundry fine Shirts, approns, gowns, Stockings, Handkerchiefs & other Goods from the House of the sd Elias Fennell & being Now brought before His Majesty's Justices Here present, and being asked what She Had to Day to what was Said to Her charge, she answered that on the Thirty first day of July last, she took out of the House of Her Master Elias Fennel seven Shirts & Shifts, two pr. of Britches, two Jackets, Two Gowns, one pettycoat, four aprons, two Hats & Several other things.
  
      "Elias Fennel & John Monroe of Lunenburg parish in Richmond Co & John Short of Stafford Co. being sworn saith that on Sunday the last day of July, when Elias Fennel one of the Deponents came Home, He went to bed and soon after John Marks told Him (the other two Deponents being present) He thought Jen'y was going to run away, For that two Servant Men, saw Her with a Pillow bear, upon that the Deponents got up, and the sd Elias Fennel Mist one Pettycoat, upon that the Deponents went in pursuit of Her & Found Her set down by the Road, & brought Her in & being Examined what she Had done with the things she had taken, she said she Hade not taken any of them, upon that the Deponents sent two Servants & a Negroe to Look for them, they found the pillowbear under the Fence, and then sent them again, and they found another bundle under the Fence, and when they were brought in, she confest she putt them there, and being asked what she had done with the two Gowns, Caps & other things belonging to Winifred and Freances Davis, she deny'd that she knew any thing of them, and about an hour & Half after, she went and showed the Deponents where they were, And that there they found, One pair Trousers, in which were two Gowns, two Razors, One Knife & Fork, some Stockins, and other things, and a little Further on, they found two Carolina Hats." ELIAS (X his mark) FENNEL, John Monroe, John Short
  
      "It appearing to this Court upon the aforesaid Examination that there is Just cause for Trying the said Jane Kelly at the General Court for the Crime aforesd, whereof she is accused, It is therefore Ordered that the sd Jane Kelly be remanded to the prison of this County under the Custody of the Sherif, and from thence to be Convey'd to the publick Goal of Williamsburg as the Law in such cases directs."
  
      Fennel's Recognizance: "Elias Fennel of Richmond Co in open Court before His Majesty's Justices acknowledged Himself indebted to our Sovereign Lord the King His Heirs & Successors in the Sum of Ten pounds Sterling to be Levy'd of His Lands &Tennements goods & Chattels with Condition that if the sd Elias Fennel shall Personally appear at the Next General Court on the fourth Day thereof and then an there give such evidence as He knows against Jane Kelly who stands Committed For Fellony, and do not Depart whence without leave of that Court, that then this Recognizance to be Void or Else to Remain in Full Force."
  
      At an unknown date, Penelope did marry Captain Alexander Newman--one might guess about 1741, after the death of Elias in 1739-40. In 1744 John and Edward Jr. requested a division of the property left to them by their father. Proof of Penelope's marriage is found in the suit filed in 1745 in Chancery Court by George Willson and wife Betty against Alex Newman and Penelope, his wife, and Edward Eidson, administrators of Edward Eidson. (Richmond County, Order Book 12, page 740.) Theirs' was apparently not a harmonious union because in 1744 Penelope filed suit against Alexander and was awarded to pay her "1,000 Ibs. of crop tobacco each year by 1 May for her maintenance and sustenance whilst separated." (Richmond County, Order Book 12, page 4, 13, 21, 391, 435.) Elias Willson, presumed to be a relative of sorts, was made surety for payment.
  
      Alex Newman was the son of Thomas Newman Jr. who had been left considerable amounts of property by a kinsman, Captain Alexander Newman who was said to have married the daughter of Elias Wilson who was deceased in 1711. Thomas Jr. died between 1704 and 1707 leaving four sons, Alexander, born 1678, George, John, and Thomas. Alex apparently lived in Lancaster County about 1735 when he leased land in Orange Co. "for three lives--himself and his sons Thomas and James." He also was known to have had a son Elias. Alex. was a member of the grand jury in Orange Co. in 1737, and on a deed in Richmond Co. he is referred to as "Alexander Newman of Orange Co., Planter." (Gleanings of Virginia History by Wm. Fletcher Boogher, pub. Washington, 1803, re Newman Family of America, p. 236 et seq. ) There is a record at Warsaw of a deed, dated 1737, from Alex to Landon Carter, conveying the tract of land devised by Henry Burdett, the elder, to Thomas Newman, and the court order showing the acknowledgement of the deed that Alex was the heir at law of Thomas. Upon this tract Carter built his famous home, Sabine Hall. But, as recorded, Alex was living in Richmond County in 1740. His son Elias lived in Essex County, where he left a will proved in 1750 naming his wife Ann ______ and children Thomas, Elias, Reuben, James, Alexander, Mary Ann, William and George. Thomas and James remained in Richmond County where Thomas married Catherine Dye 3 February 1746 with Avery Dye, Jr. as bondsman. Alex' name appears in the records of Orange County as late as 1760 and showed that he lived in the part of the county that is now Culpepper. He died there, intestate, after that date.
  
      The Richmond Co. records do not reveal what happened to Penelope.
  
      The division of the property left by Edward to his sons, Edward Jr. and John, in 1744, and recorded 3 March 1745, has enabled us to find the exact locations of the original Eidson homesteads. It seems that Edward Jr. had in mind to sell his property which may have been the reason for the survey to be made. This survey was drawn out in Richmond County Account Book 1, page 226. Accompanying the survey was the following account:
  
      "Surveyed for Edward Eidson and John Eidson a Certain tract of land Left to them by their Dec'd Father Edward Eidson and by order and consent of Mr. Wm. Jordan, one of the Persons appointed by the said Edward Eidson, Dec'd to divide said land and is Bounded as Followeth (Viz't.) Beginning at a large Read oak at Thomas Bartletts Corner and Running thence So 4 degrees East 60 poles (One pole = 16½ feet or 5½ yds ; 16 sq. poles = 1 sq. chain; 10 sq. chains = 1 acre) crossing the Main Road to a Dich thence So 7 degrees West 44 Poles thence South 30 poles thence So 10 degrees East 32 poles To a Stake in the Clearground abought a Chains length on the West Side of a Corner Read (sic) Oak Stand by the Main Road Side Thence North 71 degrees West 97 poles to a Hickory Corner tree standing in Edward Eidson Clear ground thence along a Line of Marked trees of John Marks So 16 degrees 30 minutes West 190 poles to a Hickory Corner tree to Mr. Churchills thence along the said Churchwells Line North 3 degrees East 78 poles to a Large Read oak thence North 8 degrees West 160 poles to a Read oak, Joseph Edeson corner thence along the said Eidson and Thomas Bartletts Line North 82 degrees 176 poles to the First Place and Stand of Beginning Containing one hundred and Eighty Nine acres of land which said Land is Divided into Two Equall Parts By the Bounds Following (Viz't.) Beginning at Thomas Bartletts Read oak Corner tree Running thence So 4 degrees East Crossing the Main Road 60 poles to a Dich Which is North 72 degrees _______ Running in the said Land To the Line of Mr. Churchwell which Line makes a Equall Division Surveyed March 1744/5 by me." Elias Davis
  
      "I have agreed to the Division as above Provided no Mistake but think it Advisable to Consult Mr. Richard Barnes a Gentleman appointed by Mr. James Willson Dec'd. and my Selfe thereon."
      William Jordan
      23 Sept 1745
      Richard Barnes
      Witnesses: Charles Hammond, Humphrey Pope, and David Twindale.
  
      The area in which all the Eidsons lived in Richmond County is called Newland in the Stonewall District of the county and is located 12 miles north-west of the county seat, Warsaw, on Secondary Highway Route 624 and 638 which leads to what is now called Jones Landing on the Rappahannock River. Newland once consisted of a general store, a high school, and a Post Office originally called Oak Row. but changed to Newland in 1872. The post office was discontinued in 1944.
  
      The church that the Eidson family most likely attended in the 18th C. was the Upper Church in Lunenberg Parish, which was located about half a mile from Reamy's Fork in the Stonewall District, on State Road 685 about 250 yards from Route 637. The accepted date for this church is 1707 and a corner stone in the cemetery bears the date 1760. The church itself had "long been in ruin" wrote Bishop Meade in 1857. At one time there was an abundance of old hand-made bricks, but in 1978 the entire area was overgrown with honeysuckle and only a few broken bricks were found. According to tradition, the church was abandoned after the Revolution and most of the bricks were used to build chimneys in the neighborhood. King George of England was on the throne at the time this church was established and he had dominions in his native Germany as well as in America. Lunenberg is one of the several Virginia place names reminiscent of this German connection. (A history of the county called Richmond County Virginia, Edited by Elizabeth Lowell Ryland, was published in 1976 by the Richmond County Board of Supervisors, Library of Congress Card Number 76-42019, printed by Whittet & Shepperson, Richmond, Virginia.) The descendants of Edward's son Joseph have preserved their families' Episcopal Prayer Book which was printed in London in 1766.
  
      The grandchildren of Edward and Penelope were coming into adulthood about the time the Revolutionary War was in its beginning. Many of the Richmond County men seem to have served in units from Westmoreland County, especially in the War of 1812. Through the revolutionary period there were two levels of county government. First, there was the County Court which usually consisted of 8 "most able, honest and judicious persons of the county" called "justices," who provided for grand juries, trials by jury, authority to lay and collect fines, etc. They chose one of their number as Sheriff, then the most important and lucrative office in the county, who not only handled civil and criminal affairs, but also made assessments and collected taxes. Second, there were the vestries of each parish in the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England, whose duties included assessing and collecting a levy sufficient to provide "a church decently built in each parish" and keeping it in repair. This changed after the Act of 1759 after it became obvious that many vestrymen were joining dissenting congregations. By 1788 all vestries had been abolished and their duties transferred to the Overseers of the Poor (Richmond County, Virginia, Edited by Elizabeth Lowell Ryland, 1976.) As far as history is concerned, the Clerk was, and remains, the most important office in the county. The office of Tobacco Inspector, held at times by Eidsons, was particularly important during colonial times.
  
      The records concerning roads give tremendous information about the families and where they lived. In 1771 there was an order written regulating the roads in the upper precinct of Lunenburg Parish which gives this beginning description: (Richmond County Deed Book. 13, page 353-356)
  
      "From Rappahannock Bridge to the crossroads, then the road leading over Ports Swamp to Gordon's Rd., Joshua Willson, Overseer, John Wilson, James Frairy, Elias Wilson, Joe Scates, Griffin Fauntleroy, JOHN EIDSON, (this John Eidson was the son of Edward and Penelope. He d. in 1774) Wm. Pegg, Wm. Jones, Ben Burrass, Matthew Kelly, Morton Wilson, Christopher Collins, Geo. Newman, Wm. Pratt, Jesse Pully." Other roads described were "From Naylor's hole to Porridge Pot, From the road making out of Nailor's hole road over Mr. Beckwith's Mill into the County road of the Coachroad coming into Nailor's hole road above Marks, and From Porridge Pot to the Beaverdam and the road round the Beaverdam."
  
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      The following information is from the Eidson Newsletter, Number 34, October 1992. This was originally printed by The Northern Neck News in June of 1992 as part of the 300th. anniversary of Richmond County, Virginia. As this text deals with the people and lifestyles of early Virginia as well as the history of our nation it helps us to gain a better understanding of the Eidson family and our nations history. Our ancestor, Edward, was in Lancaster County, Virginia in 1706, in Westmoreland County in 1715, and bought a farm in Richmond County where he lived until his death in 1732.
  
      Historic Ties To Richmond County
      Excerpts from the speech of Charles H. Rylander
      County Historian
  
      This morning we gather at Sabine Hall, one of the most historic places in Virginia, and it is my particular pleasure to address you on the significance of the tercentenary of Richmond County.
  
      The beginnings of our County started much earlier than 1692. The people who lived in Richmond County were, of course, the indians, and the chief tribe of this area when the first settlers arrived were the Rappahannocks. Their small tribe, with others in the Rappahannock Valley, belonged to what is generally known as the "Pawhatan Confederacy," a fairly strong group on the East Coast. Their influence did not extend beyond Piedmont and there were probably not over five thousand indians inhabiting the entire area of the valley between the falls of the River and the Chesapeake Bay.
  
      There remains little today of their influence but the names -- Totuskey, Menokin, Morattico. Indian Banks, and Indian Field. These names are testimony of these having been the first families of our County.
  
      The first county to be formally organized in the Northern Neck was Northumberland -- in 1648. From Northumberland came Lancaster three years later in 1651. Then from Lancaster came our own Old Rappahannock County in 1656. Rappahannock was an unusual County geographically since it lay astride the Rappahannock River. It lasted 36 years and its demise was occasioned primarily by the insurmountable problems of administration caused by the great river which flowed between its two halves and so, its representatives in the House of Burgesses introduced a bill for dividing it into two counties.
  
      The bill being favorably reported by the Committee on April 16, 1692, it was laid before the House on April 18th., read for the first and second time on April 19th, and passed that same day. So, there came into being a Richmond County, named for His Grace, the First Duke of Richmond, who was cousin to both King William and Queen Mary.
  
      The earliest record of a visit by an Englishman to this are was the expedition of Captain John Smith from Jamestown. While exploring the Chickahominy River with a small company in the winter of 1607-08, Smith was surprised by a large force of Indians and made Prisoner. He was carried from one Indian settlement to another, being led to the town of the Tobagoes on the Rappahannock and then across the Rappahannock through what is now Richmond County to a place lying on Nomini Creek in Westmoreland County. He was then taken to the seat of King Powhatan in Gloucester County where he was sentenced to death, and the story of Pocahontas takes up at this point in securing his deliverance.
  
      The following summer he (Captain Smith) undertook an exploration of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries in a small open boat with 14 companions, equipped with oars and a small sail. After a trip of six weeks exploring primarily the Potomac and areas of the Bay, he returned to Jamestown and later that same summer set out with 12 men to explore other rivers. It was on this expedition that he ascended the Rappahannock to the falls where Fredericksburg is today, and on his return down the river, his account tells of being on the Essex side of the river and crossing over to this side to visit the Rappahannocks. He states ".... and so crossed to the Rappahannocks .... There were some 12 or 16 standing on the shore .... directed us to a little narrow creek where there were good landing accommodaties for us, with three or four canoes, which we saw there." I like to think this was the mouth of Cat Point Creek.
  
      This little County on the Northern Neck, its population just over 7,000 people, but containing 203 square miles, composed of fields, farms, forests, streams, marshes, homes and small businesses, its ancient County seat and colonial Court House -- a quite place, a safe place, it is a unique place in modern America. It was part of the Grant by Charles II in exile to five of his Nobles which became known as Fairfax Proprietorship. The last Lord Fairfax was a friend and benefactor of the youthful George Washington.
  
      At the risk of overlooking the names of many who served the county so well, Mr. Rylander selected four:
  
      Landon Carter, the son of Robert (King) Carter of Carotoman was born in 1710 and was sent to England at the age of nine for his education, returning at the age of sixteen to be trained by his father in Plantation management. At his father's death in 1732 (the same year his neighbor Edward Eidson died), he settled on his lands in Richmond County and shortly thereafter constructed this home, Sabine Hall. He was a student of law and a Justice of Richmond County for more than 40 years. He was an Agricultural Scientist whose writings gained him admission to the American Philosophical Society. He spent 44 years in public life and after 1763 constantly opposed British encroachment upon American rights. He claimed to raise the first alarm against the Stamp Act in the House of Burgesses and is said by competent authority to have had as much to do with the repeal of the Stamp Act as any man in the colonies. He was the most prolific and most published author of his generation in Virginia. He was a close friend of many leaders of the American revolution and his correspondence remains as a testimony of his concern for that dark hour in our history. He is perhaps the only man in America who addressed George Washington as "Dear Chum."
  
      (Wanda Eidson notes that in and around 1757, Landon Carter kept a diary. This diary is the source of information proving that Boyse Eidson worked as an overseer on some of Carter's property in Prince William County.) The second man of distinction chosen by Mr. Rylander was John Tayloe:
  
      The second of these four men requires a little introduction: The enactment and enforcement of Governor Gooch's Tobacco Inspection Law of 1730 inaugurated in the Colony of Virginia an era of prosperity and consequent extravagance, the like of which had never been known before. It in this period that the local magnates abandoned their plantation houses, erected "after the Virginia manner of building," of which Tuckahoe survives as an example, to construct mansion houses in the English tradition, such as Westover and Mt. Airy, Sabine Hall and many others -- to import and use "chariots" for occasions of ceremony -- to drink imported madeira, ride formally to the hounds -- and to keep horses for racing only. With this era came the importation of Proven strains of Arabian race horses.
  
      No place in America was more noted in this regard than Mt. Airy. In the stable still standing have been quartered the famous race horses of the colonial and post-colonial era: two of the John Tayloes of this place, whose lives span the period from 1721 to 1828, imported and kept here the finest race horses in America. In the annals of American Horse Racing no place is more sacred than those grounds and the blood lines from this stable are found to this very day upon the famous race tracks of the world.
  
      It was the second John Tayloe who, although educated at Eaton and Cambridge, proved himself a practical example of the early American captain of industry. Not only did he produce thirty thousand bushels of wheat in one season on the low ground of his farm, but he was a successful iron master, bank director, and pioneer organizer of transportation. He was the builder of the Octagon House in Washington and set the tone of the social life of his time.
  
      The third son of Richmond County, of whom I would make special mention, is Cyrus Griffin, one of the important men of the early life of this republic. He was born in 1748 in the home of his father, Captain Leroy Griffin, on the banks of the Rappahannock River below Downings on property now owned by the Mothershead family. At the age of 18, his father having died, he took his share in his fathers estate and studied for three years at Edinburg University. While abroad, he married Lady Christina, the daughter of Lord Linton, in 1770. In 1775 he returned to Virginia with his family and made for himself in subsequent years a firm place in our history.
  
      Returning to London in 1775, he attempted to interest Lord Dartmouth in his proposed "Plan of Reconciliation" between England and the colonies. This failed and he returned to Virginia and in 1776 was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. Thus began a life of public service that continued for more than thirty years. He served on the Committee of Courts of Justice of the House of Delegates, along with other distinguished members, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. In 1778, Griffin was one of seven delegates elected by the Virginia Legislature to the National Congress. For a time, he served both the House of Delegates and the Congress.
  
      The Congress created a Court of Appeals in case of capture. Cyrus Griffin was named as one of the three judges. The success of this Court has caused some historians to say that it was the Predecessor of the United States Supreme Court. And in 1789, Griffin was elected President of The Congress and his title was President of the United States in Congress Assembled. He was referred to as President Griffin and was, in fact, George Washington's immediate predecessor as President, since Griffin held his office under Articles of Confederation and not under our Constitution.
  
      The fourth son of Richmond County named by Mr. Rylander, William Akinson Jones, was from a later period of time. He was born 21 March 1849 in Warsaw, the son of Thomas Jones and Mary Lee, the daughter of Richard Lee of Westmoreland County and a first cousin to Richard Henry Lee. He studied law at the University of Virginia and was admitted to the bar in 1870, was elected to Congress of the United States in 1890. He took a leading role in removing Virginia from the Readjuster movement. He became the acknowledged leader of the Progressive Wing of the Democratic Party in Virginia and led the fight in Virginia for the direct Primary and the popular election of United States Senators.
  
      Downing Bridge
      For over 240 years, the only way to reach the town of Tappahannock from Warsaw was by ferry. This was the reason that people in the Northern Neck formed earlier ties with Washington, which they could reach by traveling up-river by boat, than they formed with Richmond which lay to the west across the Tappahannock River and, in early times, non existent roads. It was not until 1927, with the completion of the Downing Bridge, named after Thomas J. Downing, spanning the Rappahannock, that roadway transportation into and out of the "Neck" increased. No longer was the Northern Neck removed from the rest of the state and the city of Richmond. Prior to the opening of the bridge, Baltimore was the major city frequented by residents of the Northern Neck. Richmond then became part of the trade and commerce of the Northern Neck with the assistance of the import job of Bridge tender who had the responsibility of keeping commerce flowing smoothly both across and under the bridge spanning the Rappahannock.
  
      Naylors Hole
      Today, Naylors, located on the Rappahannock River between Cat Point Creek and Doctors Creek, is a quite, residential area that comes alive in warm weather with the influx of summer people and beach goers. However, 300 years ago, Naylors was a bustling port of entry and the first county seat of newly formed Richmond County.
  
      Naylors was supposedly named for John or Avery Naylor who settled in that area in the late 17th. century. John Naylor, a merchant who dealt with firms in Liverpool, was an early settler in Richmond and King George Counties. At that time, the point of land where Cat Point Creek met the Rappahannock River was called Cat Point. The name was changed to Naylors Point, and the area nearby was called Naylors Hole. The family name Naylor is now extinct in that area.
  
      The most distinguished resident of Naylors, however, was Moore Fauntleroy who came to the Northern Neck about 1650 during the Cavalier migration from England. At first, he lived in Lancaster County (as did Edward Eidson), which was formed from Northumberland County in 1751. In fact, the first court in Lancaster County was held in his home in 1652. Elizabeth Combs Pierce in the Northern Neck Historical Magazine in December 1951 wrote "Before the first courthouse was built, Court was held in the home of the justices and the first recorded session was held in the home of Col. Moore Fauntleroy on January 1st."
  
      In April 1651, Fauntleroy purchased from the Rappahannock Indians a tract of land that extended from the Rappahannock River to the Potomac and from Rappahannock Creek (now Cat Point Creek) to Marattico Creek (now Morattico), virtually all of the present-day Richmond County. The agreement was signed by Accopatough, king of the Rappahannock Indians. He, Fauntleroy, settled on this property and eventually built a mansion on the bluff above the river where the present Naylors Beach is. After Fauntleroy settled at Naylors, a wharf was established, and from 1682-1778, Southin's Ferry ran between Naylors Point (then called Cat Point) and a place called Hobbes Hole Daingerfield Landing. Moore Fauntleroy's son, William, later sold some land to William Tayloe whose son John lived in what was known as "Old House" which had been built in 1683. John Taylor, who succeeded his father on County Court in 1710, occasionally held Court sessions there. He built Mount Airy between 1748 and 1758.
  
      (Wanda Eidson notes that in 1768 John Eidson was the Tobacco Inspector at Cat Point and Beckwith warehouse. This position was usually held for life and in John's will he is designated as inspector. The diary of Landon Carter in 1758 notes that wheat was sold to Col. Fauntleroy, Charles Carter, J. Beckwith, and John Eidson who, in a footnote, was identified as a small planter in Richmond County who died in 1774.
  
      Death and Taxes -- And Politics
      Often called the only certainties in this life are Death and taxes; perhaps we should add Politics! In this election year it might seem appropriate to recall an unusual roll played in Richmond County following the Civil War. While many Republicans may have come to the Northern Neck following the Civil War, some had probably always been there due to the closer ties it had to Washington, DC.
  
      As blacks became voters after the Civil War, they naturally voted Republican, the party of Abraham Lincoln; and by 1876 the numbers of voters in each of the Northern Neck Counties had doubled, largely due to these black voters. The Republican Party also gained strength during the late 1870's by aligning itself with the Readjusters.
      General Billy Mahone, who had been passed over for his parties nomination for governor in 1877, bolted the Virginia Conservative Democratic party and organized the Readjuster Party after the Conservative Democratic Party committed itself to complete repayment ("funding") of the state debt, most of which had been accumulated by state funding of antebellum railroads, most of which were owned by Northern and foreign bondholders.
  
      The Readjuster Party promised to scale down the debt, increase school expenditures, repeal the poll tax (enacted in 1876 by Conservatives with hopes to avoid the rule of an elected Radical government), and carry out a generally liberal program. Many Conservative Democrats considered repudiation of the debt to be dishonorable, but there were also a number of Democrats who became Readjuster/Republicans during this time. Gradually joining with the Republicans, the Readjusters took over the legislature in 1879, the Governorship in 1881, and kept their promises, increasing poll tax repeal.
  
      There was also a strong movement to defend this new Readjuster/Republican Party and to this end a local newspaper, The Northern Neck News, was born in 1879 as an opposing political force published mainly to get its founders viewpoint across. The Readjuster Party faded away, but the Northern Neck has remained a two-party area and in 1978 Richmond County Republicans sent a full slate of delegates to the State Convention.
  

Details of Edward's family with Penelope Kelly