James was married in January 1835 in Louisa County, Virginia, with Juliet Morris, and they lived in the old home place until they built a new home, also named Rock Castle [II, or Fontaine Farm] in which they lived for the rest of their lives. Juliet was born in 1817 in Louisa County to Richard Morris, a planter of "Sylvania." James was an introvert and bookish but was also a good businessman. He was devoted to maintaining and expanding his Rock Castle tract, expanding it to twice its original size and increasing its crop output by the Civil War.
The location of Hanover County placed it in the midst of many military operations aimed at defending or capturing Richmond. James and Juliet's plantation was overrun by Union troops and the house ransacked and its contents thrown on a bonfire, including the original 1722 memoirs by the Reverend Jaques Fontaine. A Union officer, Captain G. H. Mendell of the U.S. Engineers, saw the old document on the fire and recovered it, leaving it with the Fontaines' neighbor, Mr. Quarles, asking the neighbor to return it to Mr. Fontaine upon his return. The document was damaging, with the first 69 pages destroyed, and damaged from a saber run through it.
James was introverted and bookish but devoted his energies to expanding Rock Castle. He rarely left his plantation except to visit family members in Richmond and at Beaverdam. He died unexpectedly in January 1875. Juliet lived there many more years with her children, dying in 1907.
(information from Brian Nilsson)
James was married in January 1835 in Louisa County, Virginia, with Juliet Morris, and they lived in the old home place until they built a new home, also named Rock Castle [II, or Fontaine Farm] in which they lived for the rest of their lives. Juliet was born in 1817 in Louisa County to Richard Morris, a planter of "Sylvania." James was an introvert and bookish but was also a good businessman. He was devoted to maintaining and expanding his Rock Castle tract, expanding it to twice its original size and increasing its crop output by the Civil War.
The location of Hanover County placed it in the midst of many military operations aimed at defending or capturing Richmond. James and Juliet's plantation was overrun by Union troops and the house ransacked and its contents thrown on a bonfire, including the original 1722 memoirs by the Reverend Jaques Fontaine. A Union officer, Captain G. H. Mendell of the U.S. Engineers, saw the old document on the fire and recovered it, leaving it with the Fontaines' neighbor, Mr. Quarles, asking the neighbor to return it to Mr. Fontaine upon his return. The document was damaging, with the first 69 pages destroyed, and damaged from a saber run through it.
James was introverted and bookish but devoted his energies to expanding Rock Castle. He rarely left his plantation except to visit family members in Richmond and at Beaverdam. He died unexpectedly in January 1875. Juliet lived there many more years with her children, dying in 1907.
(information from Brian Nilsson)
Family Members
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CPT William Morris Fontaine
1835–1913
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James Fontaine Jr
1838–1852
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MAJ Peter James Fontaine
1840–1908
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Charles "Charley" Fontaine
1842–1868
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Nancy Fontaine
1846–1856
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John Dabney Fontaine
1849–1854
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Susan Watson Fontaine Minor
1849–1933
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Maury Fontaine
1852–1881
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Joseph Morris Fontaine
1854–1915
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Sally Rose Fontaine
1858–1941
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