The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1886-07-08
AMONG THE T.. j.. v.
A Glance at tho Mode of Life OF the Oldest
Virginia Families.
(From the Philadelphia Times.

| Fsom the Philadelphia Timcs)
Virginia's "frst families" can be found
all over the State, but nowhere in such
purity and antiquity rs i'll Stafford coun-
ty, the homo of Governor Lee. The
county is not very largo and by no means
prosperous, but it stands first as the OK
poncnt of all that is conveyed by the ex-
preston "F. L. "" Nearly every fami-
ly here can trace its origin by lineal
descent to the first English settlers,
while not few can speak of thcir great
grcat-grand-fathcrs and grandmothers as
lord and lady so-and-so. The county is
named after the famous earl of Stafford,
and not few of its people are descended
from the family Of that noblcman. 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 splendor
which only wealth can afford.
In the first place, each family has its
little domain, and however small, it has
an imposing English namc, just as if it
were an earldom. Somerset, Richland,
Aberdeen, LcnnoX and Waysidc nro Il
few of the names of small farm houses
nesting i'll 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 moro
carriage drives. One would expect to
see castles when coming in view of the
beautiful lawns and the ccnturied oaks,
and would feel disappointed Mt the little
white houses at the end of the drives;
but there is a sort of rustic harmony in
the picture after all. Seated in the vcran-
dahs Mt evening and looking out on the
oak k-canopicd swards, you would forget
tho absence of the castle, and, if YOU
were an Englishman, fancy yourself
amidst the lime trees on one Of the grand
old estates across the water.
THE HOME OF GOVERNOR LEE.
The former homo of Governor Lee is
called Richland. 1t is like all the estates
III tho county-a two story frame house,
II largo lawn and several hundred acres
of anything but rich land. Hero the
Governors ancestors have lived for hun
drcds of years. OF course, the Lees can
trace their descent to titled Englishmcn;
ut least, oil books of hcraldry make it
out so. At distance of few miles is
Somerset, the home of the Moncurc
family. The present Mrs Moncuro is q
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 it's deceased mem
bcrs arc buried III the graveyard at AQuia
church, and tablet ncar the pulpit con
tains the rather royal inscription
'S&crcd to the memory of the race OF
Moncurc." There arc about one hun
dred and fifty members of the family in
tho county. The women, taken ali in
all, are the most beautiful the writer has
ever seen within the same area. They
seem to have inherited in remarkable
degree the quecnly beauty of Lady
Spotswood and some of them bclr close
resemblance to her portraits.
The Waller family, little further up
ut Waysidc, is related to the Lees and
trace their origin to the same source
The first of the Scots came to Stafford
from England to take charge of Aqua
church. Hc was one of the unfortunate
class known as noblcmcn's sons, and was
assigned, as is usually the case, to the
ministry. One of his descendants is
his boyhood on the Stafford hills. Mr..
Scott has not forgotten his old home
amidst his Pennsylvania millions. 4
few months ago he sent twelve hundred
dollars to the pastor of Aquia church for
the purpose of repairing the old build
ing, and is now contemplating trip to
the home of his distinguished ancestors.
The names of all the families who have
lived i'll the county since the ante -Rcvo-
lutlonary days would fill half column
of the Times, and although they cannot
all claim titled progenitors, they arc the
very first of the "F f. ""
soME NONSENSE ALLEGED.