The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1886-07-07
AMONG THE +. r. '.
\ Glance Mt the Mode OF Life Of the OiI:st
Virginia Families
(Fsom the Philadelphia Timcs.)

\ Glance nj the Mode Ol LHc oi the Utl:S
Virginia Families.
(Fson the Philadelphia Timcs.)
Eirginia's s'frst families can he fonnt
all over the State, but nowhere in sucl
purity and antiquity as in Stafford coun
ty, the home of Governor Lee. Tho
county is not very large and by no mean:
prosperous, but it stands first as the ex
poncnt of al that is conveyed by the cx.
preston ''F. T. V" Nearly every fami
ly here can trace its origin by Inca,
descent to the first English settlers,
while not few can speak of their great
great cat-grand-fathcrs and srandmothers as
lord and lady so-and-so. The county is
named after the famous carl of Stafford,
and not a few OF its people are descended
from the family of that nobleman. Be.
fore the war these people lived in the
style of nobility, if without its name,
and now that the course of events has
reduced their means they preserve Eng
liSh customs in all except the splcndor
which only wealth can afford.
In the first place, each family has its
little domain, and, however small, it has
an imposing English name, just as if it
were an earldom. Somerset, Richland,
Aberdeen, Lennox and Wayside arc q
few of the names OF small farm houses
nesting in the Stafford pines and sur
rounded by thousands Of acres Of par
tally cultivated lands These houses are
frame, generally two stories high, and
the poorest of them is surrounded by a
lawn, through which runs one or more
carriage drives. One would expect to
see castles when coming in view of the
beautiful lawns and the centrried oaks,
and would feel disappointed at the little
white houses at the end of the drives;
but there is sort Of rustic harmony in
the picture after ALL Seated in the veran-
dahs at evening and looking out on the
oak-canopied swards, you would forget
the absence of the castle, and, if You
We're an EngGsnr4an, fancy yourself
amidst the lime .tees on one Of the grand
old estates across the water.
THE HONE OF GOVERNOR LEE.
The former home of Governor Lee is
called Richland It is like all the estates
in the county-a two story frame house,
large lawn and several hundred acres
of anything but rich land. Here the
Governors ancestors have lived for hun
dreds of years Of course, the Lees can
trace their descent to titled Englishmen;
at least, all books of hcraldry make it
out 50. At a distance of a few miles is
Somerset, the home Of the Moncure
family. The present Mrs. Moncurc is a
granddaughter of the famous Lady
Spotswood, whose portrait hangs in the
capitol at Richmond. This family has
lived in Stafford county for nearly two
hundred years. All its deceased mem
bers are buried in the graveyard at Aqua
church, and tablet near the pulpit con-
tains the rather royal inscription:
"Sacred to the memory of the race OF
Moncrue." There are about one hun
drcd and fifty members Of the family in
the county. The women, taken all i'll
all, are the most beautiful the writer has
ever seen within the same area. They
seem to have inherited in a remarkable
degree the queenly beauty of Lady
Spotswood and some of them bear close
resemblance to her portraits.
The Waller family, a little further up
at Waysidc, is related to the Lees and
trace their origin to the same source.
The first OF the SCOTS came 10 Stafford
from England to take charge OF Aqua
church. He was one of the unfortunate
class known as noblemen's sons, and was
assigned, as is usually the case, to the
ministry. One of his descendants is
Congressman W. L. Scott, who passed
his boyhood on the Stafford hills. Mr..
Scott has not forgotten his old home
amidst his Pennsylvania millions. A
few months ago he sent twelve hundred
dollars to the pastor of Aqua church for
the purpose of repairing the old build
ing, and is now contemplating a trip to
the home of his distinguished ancestors.
The names of all the families who have
lived il the county since the ante-Revo-
lutionary days would fill half column
of the Times and although they cannot
all claim titled progenitors, they arc the
very first of the "F. T. v"
SOME NONSENSE ALLEGED,
A great deal of nonsense has been
written about these ssfrst families. They
are usually represented as thriftless, vain
and scornful to all outside the magic cir
Gle of their society They lack, it is
true, much of the energy and goaheadi-
tiveness of the Northern man, but it
must be remembered that most Of those
yet living were brought up under condi-
lions that paralyzed energy. With large
estates and hundreds of slaves they had
no motive for exertion,, and now that the
war has swept away all their wealth, they
must change their very natures before
they can become the pushing business
men who build up communities. The
new generation is growing up quite diff
ferent, and it is more than likely that
when they come to the fore the Virginia
farmer viii no longer let his acres lie
useless or half cultivated. The fact is
that the landholders in Stafford county
are yet in dazed state over the results
of the war. They can hardly realize the
change, or if they have they think it is
too late in life to start ont afresh.
AS to the proud scornful women of
the 'sF. F. V, it is a pity to strike a
blow at the pictures which have been
drawn by imaginative writers, and which
have long been regarded as genuine in
the North, still the pictures have no
prototypes in real life. Everyone has
read those fanciful stories about rich