Old Edmund was a son of James Fitzgerald and Mary (O'Brian) Fitzgerald
He was born on the High Seas on the Atlantic Ocean between Ireland and New York.
He was a Lt. in the Virginia Militia in 1781.
Married 1774 in Campbell County VA.
∼The following is quoted from "Stone-Fitzgerald Foundations" (1990) by Rev. Samuel Rollins Stone (1904-2001) and wife Christine Reynolds Stone (1908-2008), pages 41-53 (not quoting several deeds and wills that are quoted between these pages):
THE FITZGERALDS--FROM IRELAND TO "OLD" EDMUND:
"The Fitzgeralds date back to the most ancient of time--the early history of Ireland. They came from Italy, thence to France in the 4th century, and later to Ireland. The Irish pedigrees are perhaps the best preserved of all in Europe [comment by Bryan S. Godfrey: prior to the burning of the Irish Record Office in 1916, that is].
"The progenitor was a nobleman probably of the highest Roman Type. This pedigree was kept in France by that family and this descendant who went to Ireland.
"The name originally was GERADINE--then Geraldine and then Fitzgerald, 'son of Gerald.'
"The Irish Annals were full of the romantic history of the GERALDINES and one name in particular--as a given name was perpetuated from the earliest times--GARROT--found in the families of the Earls of Desmond and of Kildare of Ireland. Both of these families were FITZGERALDS. ..."
(The above information was found in a letter written in 1937 by Miss Lucie P. Stone, a genealogist at Hollins College, to Mrs. F. Kirk Perrow, Sr.)
In another letter Miss Lucie states, "Your Fitzgerald line is a wonderful line in Ireland and England. I run against them at every turn--their long history is a romance from beginning to end."
In "Colonial Families," page 216, Stella Pickett Hardy says, "The Fitzgeralds of Virginia are mentioned and it is stated that Edmund Fitzgerald was a descendant of Sir Edmund Fitzgerald."
Earlier than the coming of Edmund Fitzgerald to Virginia as given in the traditional history, there were Fitzgeralds of Prince George Co., Va.,--in Virginia as early as 1726--living at a place known as Fitzgeralds.
The family is interwoven with the history of Ireland--they held for centuries the highest office--were the greatest and most noted family in Ireland--branches of the family also lived in England. (See O'Gart's Irish pedigree and "Vicissitudes of Families" by Burke).
They have a most wonderful history--quite a number of them lived to a great age--the old Countess of Desmond lived to be 140 years [probably a great legend]. (See "Vicissitudes of Families"--Vol. 2 for a history of the old Countess of Desmond.
Most of the following four paragraphs were gleaned from "Colonial Families of the Southern States of America" by Stella Pickett Hardy and Tobias A. Wright, Printer and Publisher, New York, 1911--page 217.
The Fitzgerald family was originally of pure Irish or Celtic origin, and the name was GERALDINE. They later intermarried with the Normans, and it was after this relationship took place that the Geraldines adopted the prefix Fitz. The Fitzgerald coat of arms: A knight in complete armor on horseback at full speed, his sword and beaver up proper, all tinctured in its natural color. Arms: Ermine, a saltier gules, charged with a cross formac, arg. Motto: "Fortis et Fidelis." (Note: Elsewhere it is stated that the motto is "Shannet a boo" or "Shannet to Victory.")
St. Gerald was a common and favorite name in the eleventh century, being applied to the higher Norman families; and Fitz was early applied to Gerald as Fitz-Gerald, which has passed down the ages unchanged; so we find in the early writs of Parliament, 1302-1316, the name of Gerald Fitz-Gerald, surnamed McCarell, from whom also sprang the extinct House of Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond.
Sir Edmund Fitzgerald, Knight of Clengish, was created a Baronet of Ireland February 8, 1645. He married his cousin Honora Fitzgerald. Sir Edmund Fitzgerald, during the Irish revolution, burned his castle at Clagish to prevent its falling into the hands of the rebels, and raised and maintained a regiment of horses at his own expense for the Royal cause. He then moved to Cork County where he owned large estates as well as in Kerry and Tipperary Counties.
The Virginia family is descended from this branch of the distinguished House of Fitzgerald, though there were many offshoots from the main stem, some of which are early represented in the colonies.
Although there were Fitzgeralds in Virginia as early as the 1600s, our branch of the family seems to have come later. Their story, the early part of which is based on an account by a descendant, Mary Fitzgerald Borden, follows:
James, the son of Lord Edward (or Edmond?) Fitzgerald and wife, Parmolia de Genlia, was born in Ireland. It was the ardent desire of his parents that James should become a Catholic priest, so he was educated for the purpose. [Comment by Bryan S. Godfrey: Is there proof of this connection, or could it be an assumption arising from wishful thinking?]
It was in the year of 1740 that Mary O'Brian came into the life of James Fitzgerald, and James fell madly in love with her. He decided to marry her regardless of his former plans for the priesthood. This caused a great upheaval in the Fitzgerald family, as well as in the Catholic Church. James was disinherited by his family and excommunicated by the Church. Since he had spent most of his life in school, he was ill-prepared to go out into the world and earn a living. What could he do? His wife was very precious to him; some months hence there was to be an addition to this little family.
One evening James came home with news. A ship was going to America and passengers who would become permanent settlers were being sought. But the price of the passage was the big consideration. There was much thinking and talking and praying on the part of James and Mary. Should they dispose of their small household goods, leave their families and native land, and go to a new country to start life again? Mary's father cast the deciding vote by offering to pay the passage for each of them plus a nice sum to be used in getting started in the new country.
Soon they were on the way to America. They were more than a month along when Mary's baby was born--a fine baby boy. True to the family custom and tradition, he was named Edmund. (Note: This Edmund later will be known as "Old" Edmund, a term his family lovingly used to distinguish him from his son, Edmund.) "Old" Edmund was born March 18, 1745.
Little Edmund and his parents came to New York, then moved from there to Virginia where they settled near the Peaks of Otter in Bedford County. Edmund later moved to Pittsylvania County and had a home on the Banister River. But that is later in our story.
(Note: We were unable to find any record of Edmund Fitzgerald's family having been in Bedford County, so we assume their stay there was not long.)
Edmund commenced life as a poor boy, but through economy and safe dealings, accumulated wealth. Tradition has it that he bought a calf, traded it for a colt, which he traded on a piece of land, and continued to make small deals, until he became a large land and slave owner. A strolling fortune teller warned Edmund's mother when he was a baby that he would not live to be seven years old, but he lived to be 103 and was a very strong man. Family tradition says that on one occasion, when walking through the woods, he encountered a bear. Having no weapon with which to defend himself, Edmund picked up a pine knot and killed the bear.
Edmund was accustomed to relate incidents of his life to his children. He remembered seeing the horse that Braddock, the British General, rode when he was killed in 1775. Just where Edmund, now thirty years old, was when he saw Braddock's horse is not told, but the story of Braddock's death may be of interest here. Let me quote from a child's history, "The Story of Virginia," by Willis and Saunders, pages 151-152:
It was decided (by the English government) to send a trained general (to Virginia) to fight the French. General Braddock was sent to Virginia.
General Braddock was a good and brave soldier in the Old World, but he did not know the Indian ways of fighting that the settlers had learned. He thought he could show these Virginians how to defeat the French. ...
After Braddock came, of course Washington was not the head of the army. But Governor Dinwiddie told Braddock how brave and able the young soldier was and General Braddock asked Washington to go with him as one of his aides.
Washington...advised General Braddock to use pack horses instead of wagons to carry baggage and provisions. He told General Braddock how the Indians fought, using bushes as ambush and hiding behind trees. He said that sometimes the Indians even climbed trees and sent flights of arrows from above.
Braddock laughed at such fighting. He said, "Join me at Bell Haven, and we will fight as soldiers should."
Washington joined him and they marched off to the wilderness. Braddock's army was attacked in a ravine and again the French won a victory.
Washington fought bravely and rode from place to place, carrying Braddock's orders to the soldiers. Two horses were shot under him; several bullets passed through his coat, but did not touch him.
General Braddock was badly wounded in the battle. The soldiers tried to carry him in a light wagon back to medical aid. But the jolting over the rough roads caused him so much pain that he could not bear it. So the men took the long wide sash which officers at that time wore around their waists. They tied each end of Braddock's sash to the saddle on a horse. Thus they made a kind of hammock. Braddock was more comfortable in this, but he was too badly wounded to get well. A few nights later he died. While it was still dark, the soldiers buried him in the road and tramped over his grave so the enemy would not find his body and scalp him.
Little is known about Edmond Fitzgerald's childhood and young manhood. This writer wonders if he fought with Washington in the French and Indian War, since he says he saw Braddock's horse. He would have been about the right age and of the right temperament to have been in the action. That is all conjecture.
It is known that Edmond married Millicent (or Mildred) Payne, the daughter of Reuben Payne who is told about elsewhere in this account. Whether the year of the wedding was 1774 or 1776 this writer is not certain. Sallie Stone Gregory, a great-granddaughter of "Old" Edmond, made this notarized statement:
"I was told by my grandfather Edmund Fitzgerald, Jr. that his parents Edmund and Millicent Fitzgerald were married at the plantation home of her father on north side of Banister River, Pitt. Co., Va. There are deeds proving that this place was the home of Reuben Payne, father of Mildred Payne Fitzgerald.
"That land was given by 'Old' Edmund Fitzgerald to his son William. It was left by him to his three daughters, Jane, Martha, and Mildred. They left it to their nephew William Fitzgerald who lived there with them until their death. The agreement being to care for them and the property would be his at their death. He married Sallie Motley.
Sallie S. Gregory"
This was notarized by L.J. Blair on October 5, 1933.
"Old" Edmond served as First Lieutenant and Patriot in the Revolutionary War. (See "An Intimate History of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia" by Hurt, page 213.) He is said to have worked with William McCraw, deputy quartermaster at Peytonsburg, to supply troops during the Revolution. An item in the Claims Record notes that he drove beeves four days for state troops. (See the following records: Pittsylvania County Book of Judgments, November Court 1778; Book of Judgments, April Court 1781; DAR Magazine, Vol. 64, page 154--1930).
"Old" Edmond seems to have been comparatively vigorous during his entire life. As late as 1835, when he was 90 years old, he was still involved in civic affairs. It was then that he was named by the General Assembly to serve on a board connected with a project to improve the Banister River for navigation from Meadeville to Clark's Bridge. He was also named trustee for Banister Academy, a school founded near Clark's Bridge near the present site of Sheva. With permission from the General Assembly, a lottery was staged to finance Banister Academy. This school was considered an exceptionally fine one.
After the Revolution, in 1790, "Old" Edmond bought White Falls, the home on Banister River of Colonel Haynes Morgan. He continued to acquire land, giving to each of his sons several hundred acres "for love and natural affection and one silver dollar." The fact that he bought much land is verified by records in the Court House of Pittsylvania County. The Court Order below indicated that the land on which the Edmund Fitzgerald, Jr. house was erected was a grant for services rendered in the Colonial Wars by Haynes Morgan. "Old" Edmond bought this land from Morgan. This writer has often wondered who Haynes Morgan was, and the following partly answers that question:
April Court 1780. Court Order 4, page 308
Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Haynes Morgan, Gent. came into Court and produced a discharge from the 80th British Regiment commanded by Montague Wilmoth, Esq., and signed by James Grunt, Esq. Captain Commandant...part of which said Regiment was raised in the state in the year one thousand and seven hundred and fifty-eight, at which time said Haynes Morgan entered, and that said Haynes Morgan was a Sergeant-Major to the said Regiment, which was reduced in New York in 1764 and also a certificate from General Thomas Gage--then Governor-in-Chief--directed to all the King's Governors in North America, authorized to grant lands to reduced officers and soldiers, and that the said Haynes is a native of Virginia and Hath been an Inhabitant thereof fifteen years since he left the 80th Regiment and made oath that he hath Received a Warrant of Certificate for such Military Service which is ordered to be certified to the Register of the Land Office.
DB 13mo. 329 1803 --January 5 Recorded Jan. 20, 1803
Haynes Morgan to Edmond Fitzgerald for $1000,...paid by said Fitzgerald for three hundred acres, more or less, ...on the north side of Banister River and down the said river...to Crenshaws line and to Anderson's line...to Morgan's line...with all appurtenances. ...(Boundaries given).
Haynes Morgan seal
Elizabeth Morgan seal
On February 1, 1814, "Old" Edmond and his wife, Millicent Payne Fitzgerald, deeded to their son, Edmond Fitzgerald, Jr., "for one dollar and the love and affection they bore their son, the tract of land on the north side of Banister River of three hundred acres, the same land they had purchased from Haynes Morgan January 25, 1803. The deed to this property is included in this article. Later Edmond, Jr. built his home on this property, and the imposing house still stands (1989) in excellent condition, owned by Edmond, Jr.'s great-grandson, Frederick Mahlon Stone. Fred, with his grandson, Aubrey J. Nuckols and family, live in the house built (to the best of the family's knowledge) in 1828. Aubrey's generation are the seventh generation to live in the house.
In DB 22:276 we find that "Old" Edmond and Millicent, his wife, made a gift to their son William Fitzgerald of 500 acres of land on Banister River. This gift was "for love and natural affection and one dollar."
"Old" Edmond continued to acquire land until he had enough to will each of his sons several hundred acres of land "for love and affection and one silver dollar." (See "An Intimate History of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia" by Hurt, page 213.) ...
Another record in the Court House of Pittsylvania County, Virginia is found in the B&S 26:229, made April 23, 1824--from Robert Cook to Edmond Fitzgerald. Could this Robert Cook have been connected with the John Cook whose daughter married Edmond Fitzgerald, Jr. in Kentucky and came to Virginia to live on the Whitefall plantation? This is only guessing.
From "An Intimate History of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia," by Hurt, page 213 we read:
"As late as 1835, (when he was ninety years old) he was still involved in civic affairs. This is when he was named by the General Assembly to serve on a board connected with a project that seems unreal--to improve the Banister River navigation from Meadeville to Clark's Bridge."
Mrs. Clement reports ("The History of Pittsylvania County, Virginia," p. 218),
"In their need of higher education for their children the citizens of the county established in 1802 an academy about six miles east of the courthouse on Banister River, which was known as the Banister Academy. In response to a petition from the inhabitants, the General Assembly enacted in December 1801, that 'Thomas H. Wooding, Edmund Tunstall, William Tunstall, Edmund Fitzgerald, Allen Womack, Thomas B. Jones, John Adams, jun., Armistead Shelton, John White, William Wimbish, Edward Robertson, Samuel Calland, William Clark, Moses Hutchings, William White, Joseph Carter, John Smith, James M. Williams and Rawley White shall be and are thereby constituted a body polite and corporate by the names of the Trustees of Banister Academy, with power to take and hold any estate for use of the Academy.
"2. That said trustees or any five of them shall be a sufficient number to constitute a board and have power to appoint a principal, tutors, etc.
"The school was established at once and Mr. William L. Turner, a Presbyterian preacher from Bedford County, was chosen the first principal. To provide funds for the academy the trustees appealed to the General Assembly for permission to hold a lottery, then a popular means of raising money. On January 12, 1804, the permission sought was granted...
"The academy building was a wooden structure and was situated on the road leading from Sheva to Clarke's Bridge. The school flourished for many years and among its teachers was Mr. Richard Jones, an educated gentleman whose home was nearby, who taught the Greek and Latin Classes. ..."
In 1845 the costs for a student were "$3.00 for last session and $6.00 for this session. ..." A testimony of the merits of a teacher, Mr. Richard Jones, was signed by Dr. Reuben Fitzgerald and Edmond Fitzgerald, among others.
When Old Edmond Fitzgerald was 100 he was a hale and hearty man. He rode down the Banister River about six miles east of Chatham where Clark's Bridge was being built. He tried to make his horse cross the river there, and when the horse refused to cross, Old Edmond ran him to the ford about 400 yards below, whipping him with his cane all the way there. They crossed.
Tradition says that when he was 103 years old he was well and strong. He was caught in the rain on his horse, came home, was taken from his horse with a chill, had pneumonia, and lived only a few days more.
(In a letter in Cousin Betty Perrow's file. Sender and received unknown
"Old" Edmond Fitzgerald died in 1848, having lived one hundred and three years. He was buried in the Fitzgerald cemetery near his home, on a slight knoll about a tenth of a mile from his house.
To get to "Old" Edmond Fitzgerald's home place today, go to the intersection of Pittsylvania County Routes 832 and 640, then east on Route 832 about half a mile to Route 699. Turn south on Route 699 and go to the end of this road. The home is on the right, and the cemetery is about one tenth of a mile beyond the house.
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http://www.relativelyconnected.com/fitzgerald.htm
It is generally presumed that Christopher FITZGERALD was a brother to Edmond FITZGERALD of Pittsylvania County, Virginia and perhaps the son of John Fitzgerald Sr. (this from Bill R. Randolph and Mamie Legard Stafford). John Fitzgerald Sr (1735-1822) is believed to have had 3 wives and 18 children from these marriages.
There is a family tradition among the descendants of Edmond Fitzgerald (who married Millicent Payne) that Edmond was born on the high seas and it is presumed that John, Sr., Matthew, Christopher, and Garrett Fitzgerald of Pittsylvania and Halifax Cos., Va. are brothers or close relatives of Edmond. It is slightly possible this group of Fitzgeralds is descended from Garrett Fitzgerald, Sr. first mentioned in Rappahannock Co., Records (later Essex and Richmond Cos.) as early as the 1680s. There is much that needs to be done on this family, back to the immigrant and down to the present.
This Fitzgerald family has several DODSON marriages and Dodson descendant marriages. In addition there has been and still are regular intermarriages between this family and the Dodson family. The first wife of John Fitzgerald, Senior, is unknown. His second wife, Jane Holloway, was a daughter of James Holloway of Pittsylvania Co., Va. In placing the children it is obvious from deeds, marriages, censuses, etc. where most of them go as far as which wife they belong to, but getting them in order is something else.
He was born on the High Seas on the Atlantic Ocean between Ireland and New York.
He was a Lt. in the Virginia Militia in 1781.
Married 1774 in Campbell County VA.
∼The following is quoted from "Stone-Fitzgerald Foundations" (1990) by Rev. Samuel Rollins Stone (1904-2001) and wife Christine Reynolds Stone (1908-2008), pages 41-53 (not quoting several deeds and wills that are quoted between these pages):
THE FITZGERALDS--FROM IRELAND TO "OLD" EDMUND:
"The Fitzgeralds date back to the most ancient of time--the early history of Ireland. They came from Italy, thence to France in the 4th century, and later to Ireland. The Irish pedigrees are perhaps the best preserved of all in Europe [comment by Bryan S. Godfrey: prior to the burning of the Irish Record Office in 1916, that is].
"The progenitor was a nobleman probably of the highest Roman Type. This pedigree was kept in France by that family and this descendant who went to Ireland.
"The name originally was GERADINE--then Geraldine and then Fitzgerald, 'son of Gerald.'
"The Irish Annals were full of the romantic history of the GERALDINES and one name in particular--as a given name was perpetuated from the earliest times--GARROT--found in the families of the Earls of Desmond and of Kildare of Ireland. Both of these families were FITZGERALDS. ..."
(The above information was found in a letter written in 1937 by Miss Lucie P. Stone, a genealogist at Hollins College, to Mrs. F. Kirk Perrow, Sr.)
In another letter Miss Lucie states, "Your Fitzgerald line is a wonderful line in Ireland and England. I run against them at every turn--their long history is a romance from beginning to end."
In "Colonial Families," page 216, Stella Pickett Hardy says, "The Fitzgeralds of Virginia are mentioned and it is stated that Edmund Fitzgerald was a descendant of Sir Edmund Fitzgerald."
Earlier than the coming of Edmund Fitzgerald to Virginia as given in the traditional history, there were Fitzgeralds of Prince George Co., Va.,--in Virginia as early as 1726--living at a place known as Fitzgeralds.
The family is interwoven with the history of Ireland--they held for centuries the highest office--were the greatest and most noted family in Ireland--branches of the family also lived in England. (See O'Gart's Irish pedigree and "Vicissitudes of Families" by Burke).
They have a most wonderful history--quite a number of them lived to a great age--the old Countess of Desmond lived to be 140 years [probably a great legend]. (See "Vicissitudes of Families"--Vol. 2 for a history of the old Countess of Desmond.
Most of the following four paragraphs were gleaned from "Colonial Families of the Southern States of America" by Stella Pickett Hardy and Tobias A. Wright, Printer and Publisher, New York, 1911--page 217.
The Fitzgerald family was originally of pure Irish or Celtic origin, and the name was GERALDINE. They later intermarried with the Normans, and it was after this relationship took place that the Geraldines adopted the prefix Fitz. The Fitzgerald coat of arms: A knight in complete armor on horseback at full speed, his sword and beaver up proper, all tinctured in its natural color. Arms: Ermine, a saltier gules, charged with a cross formac, arg. Motto: "Fortis et Fidelis." (Note: Elsewhere it is stated that the motto is "Shannet a boo" or "Shannet to Victory.")
St. Gerald was a common and favorite name in the eleventh century, being applied to the higher Norman families; and Fitz was early applied to Gerald as Fitz-Gerald, which has passed down the ages unchanged; so we find in the early writs of Parliament, 1302-1316, the name of Gerald Fitz-Gerald, surnamed McCarell, from whom also sprang the extinct House of Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond.
Sir Edmund Fitzgerald, Knight of Clengish, was created a Baronet of Ireland February 8, 1645. He married his cousin Honora Fitzgerald. Sir Edmund Fitzgerald, during the Irish revolution, burned his castle at Clagish to prevent its falling into the hands of the rebels, and raised and maintained a regiment of horses at his own expense for the Royal cause. He then moved to Cork County where he owned large estates as well as in Kerry and Tipperary Counties.
The Virginia family is descended from this branch of the distinguished House of Fitzgerald, though there were many offshoots from the main stem, some of which are early represented in the colonies.
Although there were Fitzgeralds in Virginia as early as the 1600s, our branch of the family seems to have come later. Their story, the early part of which is based on an account by a descendant, Mary Fitzgerald Borden, follows:
James, the son of Lord Edward (or Edmond?) Fitzgerald and wife, Parmolia de Genlia, was born in Ireland. It was the ardent desire of his parents that James should become a Catholic priest, so he was educated for the purpose. [Comment by Bryan S. Godfrey: Is there proof of this connection, or could it be an assumption arising from wishful thinking?]
It was in the year of 1740 that Mary O'Brian came into the life of James Fitzgerald, and James fell madly in love with her. He decided to marry her regardless of his former plans for the priesthood. This caused a great upheaval in the Fitzgerald family, as well as in the Catholic Church. James was disinherited by his family and excommunicated by the Church. Since he had spent most of his life in school, he was ill-prepared to go out into the world and earn a living. What could he do? His wife was very precious to him; some months hence there was to be an addition to this little family.
One evening James came home with news. A ship was going to America and passengers who would become permanent settlers were being sought. But the price of the passage was the big consideration. There was much thinking and talking and praying on the part of James and Mary. Should they dispose of their small household goods, leave their families and native land, and go to a new country to start life again? Mary's father cast the deciding vote by offering to pay the passage for each of them plus a nice sum to be used in getting started in the new country.
Soon they were on the way to America. They were more than a month along when Mary's baby was born--a fine baby boy. True to the family custom and tradition, he was named Edmund. (Note: This Edmund later will be known as "Old" Edmund, a term his family lovingly used to distinguish him from his son, Edmund.) "Old" Edmund was born March 18, 1745.
Little Edmund and his parents came to New York, then moved from there to Virginia where they settled near the Peaks of Otter in Bedford County. Edmund later moved to Pittsylvania County and had a home on the Banister River. But that is later in our story.
(Note: We were unable to find any record of Edmund Fitzgerald's family having been in Bedford County, so we assume their stay there was not long.)
Edmund commenced life as a poor boy, but through economy and safe dealings, accumulated wealth. Tradition has it that he bought a calf, traded it for a colt, which he traded on a piece of land, and continued to make small deals, until he became a large land and slave owner. A strolling fortune teller warned Edmund's mother when he was a baby that he would not live to be seven years old, but he lived to be 103 and was a very strong man. Family tradition says that on one occasion, when walking through the woods, he encountered a bear. Having no weapon with which to defend himself, Edmund picked up a pine knot and killed the bear.
Edmund was accustomed to relate incidents of his life to his children. He remembered seeing the horse that Braddock, the British General, rode when he was killed in 1775. Just where Edmund, now thirty years old, was when he saw Braddock's horse is not told, but the story of Braddock's death may be of interest here. Let me quote from a child's history, "The Story of Virginia," by Willis and Saunders, pages 151-152:
It was decided (by the English government) to send a trained general (to Virginia) to fight the French. General Braddock was sent to Virginia.
General Braddock was a good and brave soldier in the Old World, but he did not know the Indian ways of fighting that the settlers had learned. He thought he could show these Virginians how to defeat the French. ...
After Braddock came, of course Washington was not the head of the army. But Governor Dinwiddie told Braddock how brave and able the young soldier was and General Braddock asked Washington to go with him as one of his aides.
Washington...advised General Braddock to use pack horses instead of wagons to carry baggage and provisions. He told General Braddock how the Indians fought, using bushes as ambush and hiding behind trees. He said that sometimes the Indians even climbed trees and sent flights of arrows from above.
Braddock laughed at such fighting. He said, "Join me at Bell Haven, and we will fight as soldiers should."
Washington joined him and they marched off to the wilderness. Braddock's army was attacked in a ravine and again the French won a victory.
Washington fought bravely and rode from place to place, carrying Braddock's orders to the soldiers. Two horses were shot under him; several bullets passed through his coat, but did not touch him.
General Braddock was badly wounded in the battle. The soldiers tried to carry him in a light wagon back to medical aid. But the jolting over the rough roads caused him so much pain that he could not bear it. So the men took the long wide sash which officers at that time wore around their waists. They tied each end of Braddock's sash to the saddle on a horse. Thus they made a kind of hammock. Braddock was more comfortable in this, but he was too badly wounded to get well. A few nights later he died. While it was still dark, the soldiers buried him in the road and tramped over his grave so the enemy would not find his body and scalp him.
Little is known about Edmond Fitzgerald's childhood and young manhood. This writer wonders if he fought with Washington in the French and Indian War, since he says he saw Braddock's horse. He would have been about the right age and of the right temperament to have been in the action. That is all conjecture.
It is known that Edmond married Millicent (or Mildred) Payne, the daughter of Reuben Payne who is told about elsewhere in this account. Whether the year of the wedding was 1774 or 1776 this writer is not certain. Sallie Stone Gregory, a great-granddaughter of "Old" Edmond, made this notarized statement:
"I was told by my grandfather Edmund Fitzgerald, Jr. that his parents Edmund and Millicent Fitzgerald were married at the plantation home of her father on north side of Banister River, Pitt. Co., Va. There are deeds proving that this place was the home of Reuben Payne, father of Mildred Payne Fitzgerald.
"That land was given by 'Old' Edmund Fitzgerald to his son William. It was left by him to his three daughters, Jane, Martha, and Mildred. They left it to their nephew William Fitzgerald who lived there with them until their death. The agreement being to care for them and the property would be his at their death. He married Sallie Motley.
Sallie S. Gregory"
This was notarized by L.J. Blair on October 5, 1933.
"Old" Edmond served as First Lieutenant and Patriot in the Revolutionary War. (See "An Intimate History of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia" by Hurt, page 213.) He is said to have worked with William McCraw, deputy quartermaster at Peytonsburg, to supply troops during the Revolution. An item in the Claims Record notes that he drove beeves four days for state troops. (See the following records: Pittsylvania County Book of Judgments, November Court 1778; Book of Judgments, April Court 1781; DAR Magazine, Vol. 64, page 154--1930).
"Old" Edmond seems to have been comparatively vigorous during his entire life. As late as 1835, when he was 90 years old, he was still involved in civic affairs. It was then that he was named by the General Assembly to serve on a board connected with a project to improve the Banister River for navigation from Meadeville to Clark's Bridge. He was also named trustee for Banister Academy, a school founded near Clark's Bridge near the present site of Sheva. With permission from the General Assembly, a lottery was staged to finance Banister Academy. This school was considered an exceptionally fine one.
After the Revolution, in 1790, "Old" Edmond bought White Falls, the home on Banister River of Colonel Haynes Morgan. He continued to acquire land, giving to each of his sons several hundred acres "for love and natural affection and one silver dollar." The fact that he bought much land is verified by records in the Court House of Pittsylvania County. The Court Order below indicated that the land on which the Edmund Fitzgerald, Jr. house was erected was a grant for services rendered in the Colonial Wars by Haynes Morgan. "Old" Edmond bought this land from Morgan. This writer has often wondered who Haynes Morgan was, and the following partly answers that question:
April Court 1780. Court Order 4, page 308
Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Haynes Morgan, Gent. came into Court and produced a discharge from the 80th British Regiment commanded by Montague Wilmoth, Esq., and signed by James Grunt, Esq. Captain Commandant...part of which said Regiment was raised in the state in the year one thousand and seven hundred and fifty-eight, at which time said Haynes Morgan entered, and that said Haynes Morgan was a Sergeant-Major to the said Regiment, which was reduced in New York in 1764 and also a certificate from General Thomas Gage--then Governor-in-Chief--directed to all the King's Governors in North America, authorized to grant lands to reduced officers and soldiers, and that the said Haynes is a native of Virginia and Hath been an Inhabitant thereof fifteen years since he left the 80th Regiment and made oath that he hath Received a Warrant of Certificate for such Military Service which is ordered to be certified to the Register of the Land Office.
DB 13mo. 329 1803 --January 5 Recorded Jan. 20, 1803
Haynes Morgan to Edmond Fitzgerald for $1000,...paid by said Fitzgerald for three hundred acres, more or less, ...on the north side of Banister River and down the said river...to Crenshaws line and to Anderson's line...to Morgan's line...with all appurtenances. ...(Boundaries given).
Haynes Morgan seal
Elizabeth Morgan seal
On February 1, 1814, "Old" Edmond and his wife, Millicent Payne Fitzgerald, deeded to their son, Edmond Fitzgerald, Jr., "for one dollar and the love and affection they bore their son, the tract of land on the north side of Banister River of three hundred acres, the same land they had purchased from Haynes Morgan January 25, 1803. The deed to this property is included in this article. Later Edmond, Jr. built his home on this property, and the imposing house still stands (1989) in excellent condition, owned by Edmond, Jr.'s great-grandson, Frederick Mahlon Stone. Fred, with his grandson, Aubrey J. Nuckols and family, live in the house built (to the best of the family's knowledge) in 1828. Aubrey's generation are the seventh generation to live in the house.
In DB 22:276 we find that "Old" Edmond and Millicent, his wife, made a gift to their son William Fitzgerald of 500 acres of land on Banister River. This gift was "for love and natural affection and one dollar."
"Old" Edmond continued to acquire land until he had enough to will each of his sons several hundred acres of land "for love and affection and one silver dollar." (See "An Intimate History of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia" by Hurt, page 213.) ...
Another record in the Court House of Pittsylvania County, Virginia is found in the B&S 26:229, made April 23, 1824--from Robert Cook to Edmond Fitzgerald. Could this Robert Cook have been connected with the John Cook whose daughter married Edmond Fitzgerald, Jr. in Kentucky and came to Virginia to live on the Whitefall plantation? This is only guessing.
From "An Intimate History of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia," by Hurt, page 213 we read:
"As late as 1835, (when he was ninety years old) he was still involved in civic affairs. This is when he was named by the General Assembly to serve on a board connected with a project that seems unreal--to improve the Banister River navigation from Meadeville to Clark's Bridge."
Mrs. Clement reports ("The History of Pittsylvania County, Virginia," p. 218),
"In their need of higher education for their children the citizens of the county established in 1802 an academy about six miles east of the courthouse on Banister River, which was known as the Banister Academy. In response to a petition from the inhabitants, the General Assembly enacted in December 1801, that 'Thomas H. Wooding, Edmund Tunstall, William Tunstall, Edmund Fitzgerald, Allen Womack, Thomas B. Jones, John Adams, jun., Armistead Shelton, John White, William Wimbish, Edward Robertson, Samuel Calland, William Clark, Moses Hutchings, William White, Joseph Carter, John Smith, James M. Williams and Rawley White shall be and are thereby constituted a body polite and corporate by the names of the Trustees of Banister Academy, with power to take and hold any estate for use of the Academy.
"2. That said trustees or any five of them shall be a sufficient number to constitute a board and have power to appoint a principal, tutors, etc.
"The school was established at once and Mr. William L. Turner, a Presbyterian preacher from Bedford County, was chosen the first principal. To provide funds for the academy the trustees appealed to the General Assembly for permission to hold a lottery, then a popular means of raising money. On January 12, 1804, the permission sought was granted...
"The academy building was a wooden structure and was situated on the road leading from Sheva to Clarke's Bridge. The school flourished for many years and among its teachers was Mr. Richard Jones, an educated gentleman whose home was nearby, who taught the Greek and Latin Classes. ..."
In 1845 the costs for a student were "$3.00 for last session and $6.00 for this session. ..." A testimony of the merits of a teacher, Mr. Richard Jones, was signed by Dr. Reuben Fitzgerald and Edmond Fitzgerald, among others.
When Old Edmond Fitzgerald was 100 he was a hale and hearty man. He rode down the Banister River about six miles east of Chatham where Clark's Bridge was being built. He tried to make his horse cross the river there, and when the horse refused to cross, Old Edmond ran him to the ford about 400 yards below, whipping him with his cane all the way there. They crossed.
Tradition says that when he was 103 years old he was well and strong. He was caught in the rain on his horse, came home, was taken from his horse with a chill, had pneumonia, and lived only a few days more.
(In a letter in Cousin Betty Perrow's file. Sender and received unknown
"Old" Edmond Fitzgerald died in 1848, having lived one hundred and three years. He was buried in the Fitzgerald cemetery near his home, on a slight knoll about a tenth of a mile from his house.
To get to "Old" Edmond Fitzgerald's home place today, go to the intersection of Pittsylvania County Routes 832 and 640, then east on Route 832 about half a mile to Route 699. Turn south on Route 699 and go to the end of this road. The home is on the right, and the cemetery is about one tenth of a mile beyond the house.
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http://www.relativelyconnected.com/fitzgerald.htm
It is generally presumed that Christopher FITZGERALD was a brother to Edmond FITZGERALD of Pittsylvania County, Virginia and perhaps the son of John Fitzgerald Sr. (this from Bill R. Randolph and Mamie Legard Stafford). John Fitzgerald Sr (1735-1822) is believed to have had 3 wives and 18 children from these marriages.
There is a family tradition among the descendants of Edmond Fitzgerald (who married Millicent Payne) that Edmond was born on the high seas and it is presumed that John, Sr., Matthew, Christopher, and Garrett Fitzgerald of Pittsylvania and Halifax Cos., Va. are brothers or close relatives of Edmond. It is slightly possible this group of Fitzgeralds is descended from Garrett Fitzgerald, Sr. first mentioned in Rappahannock Co., Records (later Essex and Richmond Cos.) as early as the 1680s. There is much that needs to be done on this family, back to the immigrant and down to the present.
This Fitzgerald family has several DODSON marriages and Dodson descendant marriages. In addition there has been and still are regular intermarriages between this family and the Dodson family. The first wife of John Fitzgerald, Senior, is unknown. His second wife, Jane Holloway, was a daughter of James Holloway of Pittsylvania Co., Va. In placing the children it is obvious from deeds, marriages, censuses, etc. where most of them go as far as which wife they belong to, but getting them in order is something else.
Old Edmund was a son of James Fitzgerald and Mary (O'Brian) Fitzgerald
He was born on the High Seas on the Atlantic Ocean between Ireland and New York.
He was a Lt. in the Virginia Militia in 1781.
Married 1774 in Campbell County VA.
∼The following is quoted from "Stone-Fitzgerald Foundations" (1990) by Rev. Samuel Rollins Stone (1904-2001) and wife Christine Reynolds Stone (1908-2008), pages 41-53 (not quoting several deeds and wills that are quoted between these pages):
THE FITZGERALDS--FROM IRELAND TO "OLD" EDMUND:
"The Fitzgeralds date back to the most ancient of time--the early history of Ireland. They came from Italy, thence to France in the 4th century, and later to Ireland. The Irish pedigrees are perhaps the best preserved of all in Europe [comment by Bryan S. Godfrey: prior to the burning of the Irish Record Office in 1916, that is].
"The progenitor was a nobleman probably of the highest Roman Type. This pedigree was kept in France by that family and this descendant who went to Ireland.
"The name originally was GERADINE--then Geraldine and then Fitzgerald, 'son of Gerald.'
"The Irish Annals were full of the romantic history of the GERALDINES and one name in particular--as a given name was perpetuated from the earliest times--GARROT--found in the families of the Earls of Desmond and of Kildare of Ireland. Both of these families were FITZGERALDS. ..."
(The above information was found in a letter written in 1937 by Miss Lucie P. Stone, a genealogist at Hollins College, to Mrs. F. Kirk Perrow, Sr.)
In another letter Miss Lucie states, "Your Fitzgerald line is a wonderful line in Ireland and England. I run against them at every turn--their long history is a romance from beginning to end."
In "Colonial Families," page 216, Stella Pickett Hardy says, "The Fitzgeralds of Virginia are mentioned and it is stated that Edmund Fitzgerald was a descendant of Sir Edmund Fitzgerald."
Earlier than the coming of Edmund Fitzgerald to Virginia as given in the traditional history, there were Fitzgeralds of Prince George Co., Va.,--in Virginia as early as 1726--living at a place known as Fitzgeralds.
The family is interwoven with the history of Ireland--they held for centuries the highest office--were the greatest and most noted family in Ireland--branches of the family also lived in England. (See O'Gart's Irish pedigree and "Vicissitudes of Families" by Burke).
They have a most wonderful history--quite a number of them lived to a great age--the old Countess of Desmond lived to be 140 years [probably a great legend]. (See "Vicissitudes of Families"--Vol. 2 for a history of the old Countess of Desmond.
Most of the following four paragraphs were gleaned from "Colonial Families of the Southern States of America" by Stella Pickett Hardy and Tobias A. Wright, Printer and Publisher, New York, 1911--page 217.
The Fitzgerald family was originally of pure Irish or Celtic origin, and the name was GERALDINE. They later intermarried with the Normans, and it was after this relationship took place that the Geraldines adopted the prefix Fitz. The Fitzgerald coat of arms: A knight in complete armor on horseback at full speed, his sword and beaver up proper, all tinctured in its natural color. Arms: Ermine, a saltier gules, charged with a cross formac, arg. Motto: "Fortis et Fidelis." (Note: Elsewhere it is stated that the motto is "Shannet a boo" or "Shannet to Victory.")
St. Gerald was a common and favorite name in the eleventh century, being applied to the higher Norman families; and Fitz was early applied to Gerald as Fitz-Gerald, which has passed down the ages unchanged; so we find in the early writs of Parliament, 1302-1316, the name of Gerald Fitz-Gerald, surnamed McCarell, from whom also sprang the extinct House of Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond.
Sir Edmund Fitzgerald, Knight of Clengish, was created a Baronet of Ireland February 8, 1645. He married his cousin Honora Fitzgerald. Sir Edmund Fitzgerald, during the Irish revolution, burned his castle at Clagish to prevent its falling into the hands of the rebels, and raised and maintained a regiment of horses at his own expense for the Royal cause. He then moved to Cork County where he owned large estates as well as in Kerry and Tipperary Counties.
The Virginia family is descended from this branch of the distinguished House of Fitzgerald, though there were many offshoots from the main stem, some of which are early represented in the colonies.
Although there were Fitzgeralds in Virginia as early as the 1600s, our branch of the family seems to have come later. Their story, the early part of which is based on an account by a descendant, Mary Fitzgerald Borden, follows:
James, the son of Lord Edward (or Edmond?) Fitzgerald and wife, Parmolia de Genlia, was born in Ireland. It was the ardent desire of his parents that James should become a Catholic priest, so he was educated for the purpose. [Comment by Bryan S. Godfrey: Is there proof of this connection, or could it be an assumption arising from wishful thinking?]
It was in the year of 1740 that Mary O'Brian came into the life of James Fitzgerald, and James fell madly in love with her. He decided to marry her regardless of his former plans for the priesthood. This caused a great upheaval in the Fitzgerald family, as well as in the Catholic Church. James was disinherited by his family and excommunicated by the Church. Since he had spent most of his life in school, he was ill-prepared to go out into the world and earn a living. What could he do? His wife was very precious to him; some months hence there was to be an addition to this little family.
One evening James came home with news. A ship was going to America and passengers who would become permanent settlers were being sought. But the price of the passage was the big consideration. There was much thinking and talking and praying on the part of James and Mary. Should they dispose of their small household goods, leave their families and native land, and go to a new country to start life again? Mary's father cast the deciding vote by offering to pay the passage for each of them plus a nice sum to be used in getting started in the new country.
Soon they were on the way to America. They were more than a month along when Mary's baby was born--a fine baby boy. True to the family custom and tradition, he was named Edmund. (Note: This Edmund later will be known as "Old" Edmund, a term his family lovingly used to distinguish him from his son, Edmund.) "Old" Edmund was born March 18, 1745.
Little Edmund and his parents came to New York, then moved from there to Virginia where they settled near the Peaks of Otter in Bedford County. Edmund later moved to Pittsylvania County and had a home on the Banister River. But that is later in our story.
(Note: We were unable to find any record of Edmund Fitzgerald's family having been in Bedford County, so we assume their stay there was not long.)
Edmund commenced life as a poor boy, but through economy and safe dealings, accumulated wealth. Tradition has it that he bought a calf, traded it for a colt, which he traded on a piece of land, and continued to make small deals, until he became a large land and slave owner. A strolling fortune teller warned Edmund's mother when he was a baby that he would not live to be seven years old, but he lived to be 103 and was a very strong man. Family tradition says that on one occasion, when walking through the woods, he encountered a bear. Having no weapon with which to defend himself, Edmund picked up a pine knot and killed the bear.
Edmund was accustomed to relate incidents of his life to his children. He remembered seeing the horse that Braddock, the British General, rode when he was killed in 1775. Just where Edmund, now thirty years old, was when he saw Braddock's horse is not told, but the story of Braddock's death may be of interest here. Let me quote from a child's history, "The Story of Virginia," by Willis and Saunders, pages 151-152:
It was decided (by the English government) to send a trained general (to Virginia) to fight the French. General Braddock was sent to Virginia.
General Braddock was a good and brave soldier in the Old World, but he did not know the Indian ways of fighting that the settlers had learned. He thought he could show these Virginians how to defeat the French. ...
After Braddock came, of course Washington was not the head of the army. But Governor Dinwiddie told Braddock how brave and able the young soldier was and General Braddock asked Washington to go with him as one of his aides.
Washington...advised General Braddock to use pack horses instead of wagons to carry baggage and provisions. He told General Braddock how the Indians fought, using bushes as ambush and hiding behind trees. He said that sometimes the Indians even climbed trees and sent flights of arrows from above.
Braddock laughed at such fighting. He said, "Join me at Bell Haven, and we will fight as soldiers should."
Washington joined him and they marched off to the wilderness. Braddock's army was attacked in a ravine and again the French won a victory.
Washington fought bravely and rode from place to place, carrying Braddock's orders to the soldiers. Two horses were shot under him; several bullets passed through his coat, but did not touch him.
General Braddock was badly wounded in the battle. The soldiers tried to carry him in a light wagon back to medical aid. But the jolting over the rough roads caused him so much pain that he could not bear it. So the men took the long wide sash which officers at that time wore around their waists. They tied each end of Braddock's sash to the saddle on a horse. Thus they made a kind of hammock. Braddock was more comfortable in this, but he was too badly wounded to get well. A few nights later he died. While it was still dark, the soldiers buried him in the road and tramped over his grave so the enemy would not find his body and scalp him.
Little is known about Edmond Fitzgerald's childhood and young manhood. This writer wonders if he fought with Washington in the French and Indian War, since he says he saw Braddock's horse. He would have been about the right age and of the right temperament to have been in the action. That is all conjecture.
It is known that Edmond married Millicent (or Mildred) Payne, the daughter of Reuben Payne who is told about elsewhere in this account. Whether the year of the wedding was 1774 or 1776 this writer is not certain. Sallie Stone Gregory, a great-granddaughter of "Old" Edmond, made this notarized statement:
"I was told by my grandfather Edmund Fitzgerald, Jr. that his parents Edmund and Millicent Fitzgerald were married at the plantation home of her father on north side of Banister River, Pitt. Co., Va. There are deeds proving that this place was the home of Reuben Payne, father of Mildred Payne Fitzgerald.
"That land was given by 'Old' Edmund Fitzgerald to his son William. It was left by him to his three daughters, Jane, Martha, and Mildred. They left it to their nephew William Fitzgerald who lived there with them until their death. The agreement being to care for them and the property would be his at their death. He married Sallie Motley.
Sallie S. Gregory"
This was notarized by L.J. Blair on October 5, 1933.
"Old" Edmond served as First Lieutenant and Patriot in the Revolutionary War. (See "An Intimate History of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia" by Hurt, page 213.) He is said to have worked with William McCraw, deputy quartermaster at Peytonsburg, to supply troops during the Revolution. An item in the Claims Record notes that he drove beeves four days for state troops. (See the following records: Pittsylvania County Book of Judgments, November Court 1778; Book of Judgments, April Court 1781; DAR Magazine, Vol. 64, page 154--1930).
"Old" Edmond seems to have been comparatively vigorous during his entire life. As late as 1835, when he was 90 years old, he was still involved in civic affairs. It was then that he was named by the General Assembly to serve on a board connected with a project to improve the Banister River for navigation from Meadeville to Clark's Bridge. He was also named trustee for Banister Academy, a school founded near Clark's Bridge near the present site of Sheva. With permission from the General Assembly, a lottery was staged to finance Banister Academy. This school was considered an exceptionally fine one.
After the Revolution, in 1790, "Old" Edmond bought White Falls, the home on Banister River of Colonel Haynes Morgan. He continued to acquire land, giving to each of his sons several hundred acres "for love and natural affection and one silver dollar." The fact that he bought much land is verified by records in the Court House of Pittsylvania County. The Court Order below indicated that the land on which the Edmund Fitzgerald, Jr. house was erected was a grant for services rendered in the Colonial Wars by Haynes Morgan. "Old" Edmond bought this land from Morgan. This writer has often wondered who Haynes Morgan was, and the following partly answers that question:
April Court 1780. Court Order 4, page 308
Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Haynes Morgan, Gent. came into Court and produced a discharge from the 80th British Regiment commanded by Montague Wilmoth, Esq., and signed by James Grunt, Esq. Captain Commandant...part of which said Regiment was raised in the state in the year one thousand and seven hundred and fifty-eight, at which time said Haynes Morgan entered, and that said Haynes Morgan was a Sergeant-Major to the said Regiment, which was reduced in New York in 1764 and also a certificate from General Thomas Gage--then Governor-in-Chief--directed to all the King's Governors in North America, authorized to grant lands to reduced officers and soldiers, and that the said Haynes is a native of Virginia and Hath been an Inhabitant thereof fifteen years since he left the 80th Regiment and made oath that he hath Received a Warrant of Certificate for such Military Service which is ordered to be certified to the Register of the Land Office.
DB 13mo. 329 1803 --January 5 Recorded Jan. 20, 1803
Haynes Morgan to Edmond Fitzgerald for $1000,...paid by said Fitzgerald for three hundred acres, more or less, ...on the north side of Banister River and down the said river...to Crenshaws line and to Anderson's line...to Morgan's line...with all appurtenances. ...(Boundaries given).
Haynes Morgan seal
Elizabeth Morgan seal
On February 1, 1814, "Old" Edmond and his wife, Millicent Payne Fitzgerald, deeded to their son, Edmond Fitzgerald, Jr., "for one dollar and the love and affection they bore their son, the tract of land on the north side of Banister River of three hundred acres, the same land they had purchased from Haynes Morgan January 25, 1803. The deed to this property is included in this article. Later Edmond, Jr. built his home on this property, and the imposing house still stands (1989) in excellent condition, owned by Edmond, Jr.'s great-grandson, Frederick Mahlon Stone. Fred, with his grandson, Aubrey J. Nuckols and family, live in the house built (to the best of the family's knowledge) in 1828. Aubrey's generation are the seventh generation to live in the house.
In DB 22:276 we find that "Old" Edmond and Millicent, his wife, made a gift to their son William Fitzgerald of 500 acres of land on Banister River. This gift was "for love and natural affection and one dollar."
"Old" Edmond continued to acquire land until he had enough to will each of his sons several hundred acres of land "for love and affection and one silver dollar." (See "An Intimate History of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia" by Hurt, page 213.) ...
Another record in the Court House of Pittsylvania County, Virginia is found in the B&S 26:229, made April 23, 1824--from Robert Cook to Edmond Fitzgerald. Could this Robert Cook have been connected with the John Cook whose daughter married Edmond Fitzgerald, Jr. in Kentucky and came to Virginia to live on the Whitefall plantation? This is only guessing.
From "An Intimate History of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia," by Hurt, page 213 we read:
"As late as 1835, (when he was ninety years old) he was still involved in civic affairs. This is when he was named by the General Assembly to serve on a board connected with a project that seems unreal--to improve the Banister River navigation from Meadeville to Clark's Bridge."
Mrs. Clement reports ("The History of Pittsylvania County, Virginia," p. 218),
"In their need of higher education for their children the citizens of the county established in 1802 an academy about six miles east of the courthouse on Banister River, which was known as the Banister Academy. In response to a petition from the inhabitants, the General Assembly enacted in December 1801, that 'Thomas H. Wooding, Edmund Tunstall, William Tunstall, Edmund Fitzgerald, Allen Womack, Thomas B. Jones, John Adams, jun., Armistead Shelton, John White, William Wimbish, Edward Robertson, Samuel Calland, William Clark, Moses Hutchings, William White, Joseph Carter, John Smith, James M. Williams and Rawley White shall be and are thereby constituted a body polite and corporate by the names of the Trustees of Banister Academy, with power to take and hold any estate for use of the Academy.
"2. That said trustees or any five of them shall be a sufficient number to constitute a board and have power to appoint a principal, tutors, etc.
"The school was established at once and Mr. William L. Turner, a Presbyterian preacher from Bedford County, was chosen the first principal. To provide funds for the academy the trustees appealed to the General Assembly for permission to hold a lottery, then a popular means of raising money. On January 12, 1804, the permission sought was granted...
"The academy building was a wooden structure and was situated on the road leading from Sheva to Clarke's Bridge. The school flourished for many years and among its teachers was Mr. Richard Jones, an educated gentleman whose home was nearby, who taught the Greek and Latin Classes. ..."
In 1845 the costs for a student were "$3.00 for last session and $6.00 for this session. ..." A testimony of the merits of a teacher, Mr. Richard Jones, was signed by Dr. Reuben Fitzgerald and Edmond Fitzgerald, among others.
When Old Edmond Fitzgerald was 100 he was a hale and hearty man. He rode down the Banister River about six miles east of Chatham where Clark's Bridge was being built. He tried to make his horse cross the river there, and when the horse refused to cross, Old Edmond ran him to the ford about 400 yards below, whipping him with his cane all the way there. They crossed.
Tradition says that when he was 103 years old he was well and strong. He was caught in the rain on his horse, came home, was taken from his horse with a chill, had pneumonia, and lived only a few days more.
(In a letter in Cousin Betty Perrow's file. Sender and received unknown
"Old" Edmond Fitzgerald died in 1848, having lived one hundred and three years. He was buried in the Fitzgerald cemetery near his home, on a slight knoll about a tenth of a mile from his house.
To get to "Old" Edmond Fitzgerald's home place today, go to the intersection of Pittsylvania County Routes 832 and 640, then east on Route 832 about half a mile to Route 699. Turn south on Route 699 and go to the end of this road. The home is on the right, and the cemetery is about one tenth of a mile beyond the house.
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http://www.relativelyconnected.com/fitzgerald.htm
It is generally presumed that Christopher FITZGERALD was a brother to Edmond FITZGERALD of Pittsylvania County, Virginia and perhaps the son of John Fitzgerald Sr. (this from Bill R. Randolph and Mamie Legard Stafford). John Fitzgerald Sr (1735-1822) is believed to have had 3 wives and 18 children from these marriages.
There is a family tradition among the descendants of Edmond Fitzgerald (who married Millicent Payne) that Edmond was born on the high seas and it is presumed that John, Sr., Matthew, Christopher, and Garrett Fitzgerald of Pittsylvania and Halifax Cos., Va. are brothers or close relatives of Edmond. It is slightly possible this group of Fitzgeralds is descended from Garrett Fitzgerald, Sr. first mentioned in Rappahannock Co., Records (later Essex and Richmond Cos.) as early as the 1680s. There is much that needs to be done on this family, back to the immigrant and down to the present.
This Fitzgerald family has several DODSON marriages and Dodson descendant marriages. In addition there has been and still are regular intermarriages between this family and the Dodson family. The first wife of John Fitzgerald, Senior, is unknown. His second wife, Jane Holloway, was a daughter of James Holloway of Pittsylvania Co., Va. In placing the children it is obvious from deeds, marriages, censuses, etc. where most of them go as far as which wife they belong to, but getting them in order is something else.
He was born on the High Seas on the Atlantic Ocean between Ireland and New York.
He was a Lt. in the Virginia Militia in 1781.
Married 1774 in Campbell County VA.
∼The following is quoted from "Stone-Fitzgerald Foundations" (1990) by Rev. Samuel Rollins Stone (1904-2001) and wife Christine Reynolds Stone (1908-2008), pages 41-53 (not quoting several deeds and wills that are quoted between these pages):
THE FITZGERALDS--FROM IRELAND TO "OLD" EDMUND:
"The Fitzgeralds date back to the most ancient of time--the early history of Ireland. They came from Italy, thence to France in the 4th century, and later to Ireland. The Irish pedigrees are perhaps the best preserved of all in Europe [comment by Bryan S. Godfrey: prior to the burning of the Irish Record Office in 1916, that is].
"The progenitor was a nobleman probably of the highest Roman Type. This pedigree was kept in France by that family and this descendant who went to Ireland.
"The name originally was GERADINE--then Geraldine and then Fitzgerald, 'son of Gerald.'
"The Irish Annals were full of the romantic history of the GERALDINES and one name in particular--as a given name was perpetuated from the earliest times--GARROT--found in the families of the Earls of Desmond and of Kildare of Ireland. Both of these families were FITZGERALDS. ..."
(The above information was found in a letter written in 1937 by Miss Lucie P. Stone, a genealogist at Hollins College, to Mrs. F. Kirk Perrow, Sr.)
In another letter Miss Lucie states, "Your Fitzgerald line is a wonderful line in Ireland and England. I run against them at every turn--their long history is a romance from beginning to end."
In "Colonial Families," page 216, Stella Pickett Hardy says, "The Fitzgeralds of Virginia are mentioned and it is stated that Edmund Fitzgerald was a descendant of Sir Edmund Fitzgerald."
Earlier than the coming of Edmund Fitzgerald to Virginia as given in the traditional history, there were Fitzgeralds of Prince George Co., Va.,--in Virginia as early as 1726--living at a place known as Fitzgeralds.
The family is interwoven with the history of Ireland--they held for centuries the highest office--were the greatest and most noted family in Ireland--branches of the family also lived in England. (See O'Gart's Irish pedigree and "Vicissitudes of Families" by Burke).
They have a most wonderful history--quite a number of them lived to a great age--the old Countess of Desmond lived to be 140 years [probably a great legend]. (See "Vicissitudes of Families"--Vol. 2 for a history of the old Countess of Desmond.
Most of the following four paragraphs were gleaned from "Colonial Families of the Southern States of America" by Stella Pickett Hardy and Tobias A. Wright, Printer and Publisher, New York, 1911--page 217.
The Fitzgerald family was originally of pure Irish or Celtic origin, and the name was GERALDINE. They later intermarried with the Normans, and it was after this relationship took place that the Geraldines adopted the prefix Fitz. The Fitzgerald coat of arms: A knight in complete armor on horseback at full speed, his sword and beaver up proper, all tinctured in its natural color. Arms: Ermine, a saltier gules, charged with a cross formac, arg. Motto: "Fortis et Fidelis." (Note: Elsewhere it is stated that the motto is "Shannet a boo" or "Shannet to Victory.")
St. Gerald was a common and favorite name in the eleventh century, being applied to the higher Norman families; and Fitz was early applied to Gerald as Fitz-Gerald, which has passed down the ages unchanged; so we find in the early writs of Parliament, 1302-1316, the name of Gerald Fitz-Gerald, surnamed McCarell, from whom also sprang the extinct House of Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond.
Sir Edmund Fitzgerald, Knight of Clengish, was created a Baronet of Ireland February 8, 1645. He married his cousin Honora Fitzgerald. Sir Edmund Fitzgerald, during the Irish revolution, burned his castle at Clagish to prevent its falling into the hands of the rebels, and raised and maintained a regiment of horses at his own expense for the Royal cause. He then moved to Cork County where he owned large estates as well as in Kerry and Tipperary Counties.
The Virginia family is descended from this branch of the distinguished House of Fitzgerald, though there were many offshoots from the main stem, some of which are early represented in the colonies.
Although there were Fitzgeralds in Virginia as early as the 1600s, our branch of the family seems to have come later. Their story, the early part of which is based on an account by a descendant, Mary Fitzgerald Borden, follows:
James, the son of Lord Edward (or Edmond?) Fitzgerald and wife, Parmolia de Genlia, was born in Ireland. It was the ardent desire of his parents that James should become a Catholic priest, so he was educated for the purpose. [Comment by Bryan S. Godfrey: Is there proof of this connection, or could it be an assumption arising from wishful thinking?]
It was in the year of 1740 that Mary O'Brian came into the life of James Fitzgerald, and James fell madly in love with her. He decided to marry her regardless of his former plans for the priesthood. This caused a great upheaval in the Fitzgerald family, as well as in the Catholic Church. James was disinherited by his family and excommunicated by the Church. Since he had spent most of his life in school, he was ill-prepared to go out into the world and earn a living. What could he do? His wife was very precious to him; some months hence there was to be an addition to this little family.
One evening James came home with news. A ship was going to America and passengers who would become permanent settlers were being sought. But the price of the passage was the big consideration. There was much thinking and talking and praying on the part of James and Mary. Should they dispose of their small household goods, leave their families and native land, and go to a new country to start life again? Mary's father cast the deciding vote by offering to pay the passage for each of them plus a nice sum to be used in getting started in the new country.
Soon they were on the way to America. They were more than a month along when Mary's baby was born--a fine baby boy. True to the family custom and tradition, he was named Edmund. (Note: This Edmund later will be known as "Old" Edmund, a term his family lovingly used to distinguish him from his son, Edmund.) "Old" Edmund was born March 18, 1745.
Little Edmund and his parents came to New York, then moved from there to Virginia where they settled near the Peaks of Otter in Bedford County. Edmund later moved to Pittsylvania County and had a home on the Banister River. But that is later in our story.
(Note: We were unable to find any record of Edmund Fitzgerald's family having been in Bedford County, so we assume their stay there was not long.)
Edmund commenced life as a poor boy, but through economy and safe dealings, accumulated wealth. Tradition has it that he bought a calf, traded it for a colt, which he traded on a piece of land, and continued to make small deals, until he became a large land and slave owner. A strolling fortune teller warned Edmund's mother when he was a baby that he would not live to be seven years old, but he lived to be 103 and was a very strong man. Family tradition says that on one occasion, when walking through the woods, he encountered a bear. Having no weapon with which to defend himself, Edmund picked up a pine knot and killed the bear.
Edmund was accustomed to relate incidents of his life to his children. He remembered seeing the horse that Braddock, the British General, rode when he was killed in 1775. Just where Edmund, now thirty years old, was when he saw Braddock's horse is not told, but the story of Braddock's death may be of interest here. Let me quote from a child's history, "The Story of Virginia," by Willis and Saunders, pages 151-152:
It was decided (by the English government) to send a trained general (to Virginia) to fight the French. General Braddock was sent to Virginia.
General Braddock was a good and brave soldier in the Old World, but he did not know the Indian ways of fighting that the settlers had learned. He thought he could show these Virginians how to defeat the French. ...
After Braddock came, of course Washington was not the head of the army. But Governor Dinwiddie told Braddock how brave and able the young soldier was and General Braddock asked Washington to go with him as one of his aides.
Washington...advised General Braddock to use pack horses instead of wagons to carry baggage and provisions. He told General Braddock how the Indians fought, using bushes as ambush and hiding behind trees. He said that sometimes the Indians even climbed trees and sent flights of arrows from above.
Braddock laughed at such fighting. He said, "Join me at Bell Haven, and we will fight as soldiers should."
Washington joined him and they marched off to the wilderness. Braddock's army was attacked in a ravine and again the French won a victory.
Washington fought bravely and rode from place to place, carrying Braddock's orders to the soldiers. Two horses were shot under him; several bullets passed through his coat, but did not touch him.
General Braddock was badly wounded in the battle. The soldiers tried to carry him in a light wagon back to medical aid. But the jolting over the rough roads caused him so much pain that he could not bear it. So the men took the long wide sash which officers at that time wore around their waists. They tied each end of Braddock's sash to the saddle on a horse. Thus they made a kind of hammock. Braddock was more comfortable in this, but he was too badly wounded to get well. A few nights later he died. While it was still dark, the soldiers buried him in the road and tramped over his grave so the enemy would not find his body and scalp him.
Little is known about Edmond Fitzgerald's childhood and young manhood. This writer wonders if he fought with Washington in the French and Indian War, since he says he saw Braddock's horse. He would have been about the right age and of the right temperament to have been in the action. That is all conjecture.
It is known that Edmond married Millicent (or Mildred) Payne, the daughter of Reuben Payne who is told about elsewhere in this account. Whether the year of the wedding was 1774 or 1776 this writer is not certain. Sallie Stone Gregory, a great-granddaughter of "Old" Edmond, made this notarized statement:
"I was told by my grandfather Edmund Fitzgerald, Jr. that his parents Edmund and Millicent Fitzgerald were married at the plantation home of her father on north side of Banister River, Pitt. Co., Va. There are deeds proving that this place was the home of Reuben Payne, father of Mildred Payne Fitzgerald.
"That land was given by 'Old' Edmund Fitzgerald to his son William. It was left by him to his three daughters, Jane, Martha, and Mildred. They left it to their nephew William Fitzgerald who lived there with them until their death. The agreement being to care for them and the property would be his at their death. He married Sallie Motley.
Sallie S. Gregory"
This was notarized by L.J. Blair on October 5, 1933.
"Old" Edmond served as First Lieutenant and Patriot in the Revolutionary War. (See "An Intimate History of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia" by Hurt, page 213.) He is said to have worked with William McCraw, deputy quartermaster at Peytonsburg, to supply troops during the Revolution. An item in the Claims Record notes that he drove beeves four days for state troops. (See the following records: Pittsylvania County Book of Judgments, November Court 1778; Book of Judgments, April Court 1781; DAR Magazine, Vol. 64, page 154--1930).
"Old" Edmond seems to have been comparatively vigorous during his entire life. As late as 1835, when he was 90 years old, he was still involved in civic affairs. It was then that he was named by the General Assembly to serve on a board connected with a project to improve the Banister River for navigation from Meadeville to Clark's Bridge. He was also named trustee for Banister Academy, a school founded near Clark's Bridge near the present site of Sheva. With permission from the General Assembly, a lottery was staged to finance Banister Academy. This school was considered an exceptionally fine one.
After the Revolution, in 1790, "Old" Edmond bought White Falls, the home on Banister River of Colonel Haynes Morgan. He continued to acquire land, giving to each of his sons several hundred acres "for love and natural affection and one silver dollar." The fact that he bought much land is verified by records in the Court House of Pittsylvania County. The Court Order below indicated that the land on which the Edmund Fitzgerald, Jr. house was erected was a grant for services rendered in the Colonial Wars by Haynes Morgan. "Old" Edmond bought this land from Morgan. This writer has often wondered who Haynes Morgan was, and the following partly answers that question:
April Court 1780. Court Order 4, page 308
Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Haynes Morgan, Gent. came into Court and produced a discharge from the 80th British Regiment commanded by Montague Wilmoth, Esq., and signed by James Grunt, Esq. Captain Commandant...part of which said Regiment was raised in the state in the year one thousand and seven hundred and fifty-eight, at which time said Haynes Morgan entered, and that said Haynes Morgan was a Sergeant-Major to the said Regiment, which was reduced in New York in 1764 and also a certificate from General Thomas Gage--then Governor-in-Chief--directed to all the King's Governors in North America, authorized to grant lands to reduced officers and soldiers, and that the said Haynes is a native of Virginia and Hath been an Inhabitant thereof fifteen years since he left the 80th Regiment and made oath that he hath Received a Warrant of Certificate for such Military Service which is ordered to be certified to the Register of the Land Office.
DB 13mo. 329 1803 --January 5 Recorded Jan. 20, 1803
Haynes Morgan to Edmond Fitzgerald for $1000,...paid by said Fitzgerald for three hundred acres, more or less, ...on the north side of Banister River and down the said river...to Crenshaws line and to Anderson's line...to Morgan's line...with all appurtenances. ...(Boundaries given).
Haynes Morgan seal
Elizabeth Morgan seal
On February 1, 1814, "Old" Edmond and his wife, Millicent Payne Fitzgerald, deeded to their son, Edmond Fitzgerald, Jr., "for one dollar and the love and affection they bore their son, the tract of land on the north side of Banister River of three hundred acres, the same land they had purchased from Haynes Morgan January 25, 1803. The deed to this property is included in this article. Later Edmond, Jr. built his home on this property, and the imposing house still stands (1989) in excellent condition, owned by Edmond, Jr.'s great-grandson, Frederick Mahlon Stone. Fred, with his grandson, Aubrey J. Nuckols and family, live in the house built (to the best of the family's knowledge) in 1828. Aubrey's generation are the seventh generation to live in the house.
In DB 22:276 we find that "Old" Edmond and Millicent, his wife, made a gift to their son William Fitzgerald of 500 acres of land on Banister River. This gift was "for love and natural affection and one dollar."
"Old" Edmond continued to acquire land until he had enough to will each of his sons several hundred acres of land "for love and affection and one silver dollar." (See "An Intimate History of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia" by Hurt, page 213.) ...
Another record in the Court House of Pittsylvania County, Virginia is found in the B&S 26:229, made April 23, 1824--from Robert Cook to Edmond Fitzgerald. Could this Robert Cook have been connected with the John Cook whose daughter married Edmond Fitzgerald, Jr. in Kentucky and came to Virginia to live on the Whitefall plantation? This is only guessing.
From "An Intimate History of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia," by Hurt, page 213 we read:
"As late as 1835, (when he was ninety years old) he was still involved in civic affairs. This is when he was named by the General Assembly to serve on a board connected with a project that seems unreal--to improve the Banister River navigation from Meadeville to Clark's Bridge."
Mrs. Clement reports ("The History of Pittsylvania County, Virginia," p. 218),
"In their need of higher education for their children the citizens of the county established in 1802 an academy about six miles east of the courthouse on Banister River, which was known as the Banister Academy. In response to a petition from the inhabitants, the General Assembly enacted in December 1801, that 'Thomas H. Wooding, Edmund Tunstall, William Tunstall, Edmund Fitzgerald, Allen Womack, Thomas B. Jones, John Adams, jun., Armistead Shelton, John White, William Wimbish, Edward Robertson, Samuel Calland, William Clark, Moses Hutchings, William White, Joseph Carter, John Smith, James M. Williams and Rawley White shall be and are thereby constituted a body polite and corporate by the names of the Trustees of Banister Academy, with power to take and hold any estate for use of the Academy.
"2. That said trustees or any five of them shall be a sufficient number to constitute a board and have power to appoint a principal, tutors, etc.
"The school was established at once and Mr. William L. Turner, a Presbyterian preacher from Bedford County, was chosen the first principal. To provide funds for the academy the trustees appealed to the General Assembly for permission to hold a lottery, then a popular means of raising money. On January 12, 1804, the permission sought was granted...
"The academy building was a wooden structure and was situated on the road leading from Sheva to Clarke's Bridge. The school flourished for many years and among its teachers was Mr. Richard Jones, an educated gentleman whose home was nearby, who taught the Greek and Latin Classes. ..."
In 1845 the costs for a student were "$3.00 for last session and $6.00 for this session. ..." A testimony of the merits of a teacher, Mr. Richard Jones, was signed by Dr. Reuben Fitzgerald and Edmond Fitzgerald, among others.
When Old Edmond Fitzgerald was 100 he was a hale and hearty man. He rode down the Banister River about six miles east of Chatham where Clark's Bridge was being built. He tried to make his horse cross the river there, and when the horse refused to cross, Old Edmond ran him to the ford about 400 yards below, whipping him with his cane all the way there. They crossed.
Tradition says that when he was 103 years old he was well and strong. He was caught in the rain on his horse, came home, was taken from his horse with a chill, had pneumonia, and lived only a few days more.
(In a letter in Cousin Betty Perrow's file. Sender and received unknown
"Old" Edmond Fitzgerald died in 1848, having lived one hundred and three years. He was buried in the Fitzgerald cemetery near his home, on a slight knoll about a tenth of a mile from his house.
To get to "Old" Edmond Fitzgerald's home place today, go to the intersection of Pittsylvania County Routes 832 and 640, then east on Route 832 about half a mile to Route 699. Turn south on Route 699 and go to the end of this road. The home is on the right, and the cemetery is about one tenth of a mile beyond the house.
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http://www.relativelyconnected.com/fitzgerald.htm
It is generally presumed that Christopher FITZGERALD was a brother to Edmond FITZGERALD of Pittsylvania County, Virginia and perhaps the son of John Fitzgerald Sr. (this from Bill R. Randolph and Mamie Legard Stafford). John Fitzgerald Sr (1735-1822) is believed to have had 3 wives and 18 children from these marriages.
There is a family tradition among the descendants of Edmond Fitzgerald (who married Millicent Payne) that Edmond was born on the high seas and it is presumed that John, Sr., Matthew, Christopher, and Garrett Fitzgerald of Pittsylvania and Halifax Cos., Va. are brothers or close relatives of Edmond. It is slightly possible this group of Fitzgeralds is descended from Garrett Fitzgerald, Sr. first mentioned in Rappahannock Co., Records (later Essex and Richmond Cos.) as early as the 1680s. There is much that needs to be done on this family, back to the immigrant and down to the present.
This Fitzgerald family has several DODSON marriages and Dodson descendant marriages. In addition there has been and still are regular intermarriages between this family and the Dodson family. The first wife of John Fitzgerald, Senior, is unknown. His second wife, Jane Holloway, was a daughter of James Holloway of Pittsylvania Co., Va. In placing the children it is obvious from deeds, marriages, censuses, etc. where most of them go as far as which wife they belong to, but getting them in order is something else.
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