Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1895-06-21

L lie IOcuSG DlOOm was very dUunuduO tuAS
year-said to be sign OF big corn crop.
The Scotch Irish Of the Valley.
Their First Appearance in The Valley and in
Stanton Their First School Their First
Churches.
&C., &C., &c.
Lexington letter in Richmond Dispatch of
June 49,
About the year 17OO, swarms of these people,
the Scotch-lrish, began to come from the pro-
vince of Ulster in Ireland to America. and
the descendants of these people filled up the
mountains and mountain valleys OF Pennsyl-
| vania. Virginia, and the Carolinas. These
early settlers landed principally at the ports
of Philadelphia and Charleston. They imme-
diately pushed through the settlements along
the seacoast, and at once took up their abode
at the foot OF the mountains and became at
once the out-posts of civilization. From
Pennsylvania, where the majority had landed,
they gradually drifted along the foothills to
the South until they met their bretheren who
had come northward from the Carolinas. By
pushing past the settled regions and plunging
into the vast wilderness as leaders of the ear
ly settlers, they proved that they were hardy
and bold race, and besides they kept on push
ing westward, leading, the others following
in their wake. With the backwoods axe and
the rifle they fought for the land upon VIII ich
they built thir homes and protected their
wives and children from the savages, who at
all times were ready to swoop down on them.
These early Scotch-lrish settlers paid but
little attention to schooling, and but few boys
and girls learned anything but reading and
writing or went further than the rule OF
three in arithmetic.
LEWIS AND BURDEN.
The first OF the hardy ScOtch-Irish to settle
in this section OF the Valley was John Lewis.
who settled permanently near the twin
hills at Staunton known by the names OF
"Betsy Bell and Mary Gray" In 1876 Ben
jamin Burden visited Lewis in his new home
in the Valley, and in 1877 Burden brought up
wards of hundred families to settle upon
lands granted to him.
Some authoriti es state his emigrants came
from Pennsylvania, while others say from
Britain, but it matters not, as they were
Scotch Irish and nearly all of the same Pres
byterian stamp.
NUMEROUS POsTERITY.
Among the primitive emigrants to Burden S
grant we meet with some who have l eft a
numerous posterity such as Mcdowell, AL
exander, Patton, Moore. and Mathews, and
in oda 70 fhora q fhQ m or III q ~
Gus and well-known names Of the county at
present-the Prestons, the Paxtons, the Pat
tersons, the Lyles, the Grigsbys, the Stuarts,
the Wallaces, the Wilson's, the Campbells,
the Meetings.. the McClures, and the Nc.
Gowns, etc., etc. Rochbridge county was
established by act Of the Assembly in 1777,
and taken from the counties of Augusta and
Botetourt.
The town of Lexington was legallzed and
named before it existed OF had a local hab-
itation. The act of Assembly which estab.
lished the county, provided that sat the place
which shall be appointed for holding courts
in the said county of Rockbridge, there shall
be laid off town to be called Lexington,
1900 feet in length and 800 in width The
county received its name from the celebrated
Natural Bridge in the southeast part.
FIRST sCOTCH-IRIsH SCHOOL.
The Hanover Presbytery, then the only
presbytery in Virginia. agreed, in the year
1774, to establish and patroniZe public
school, which was to be confined to Augusta
county, and to be located at Staunton, for the
benefit of those who were unable to attend
the northern college. Agents were appointed
to solicit and receive donations, and trustees
were appointed to carry the plans into eXecu-
ton, but the loca ton was changed because
there was no one to assume the management
at the place first agreed On-Staunton-and,
more for an experiment than any thing else,
the tru stees erected a log building on the
summit of a hill, in grove, on Timber Ridge.
about mile northwest of the present village
of Fairfield. The building WAS situated in a
populOus district, and it afforded plenty OF
tirewood, timber for building purposes, and a
fine spring of water flowed from the hillside,
and the students had view OF the country
below, and the Blue Ridge mountains. The
school was appropriately named Mount Pleas
ant Academy. This was the first germ of
Liberty Hall, Washington College now Wash
ington and Lee University.
The school was under the inspection of Rev.
John Brown pastor of Providence church, in
the northern part OF this county-Rockbridge
and it was managed by William Graham,
who was born in Pennsylvania. of Scotch
Irish parents, in 1746. He was graduate Of
Nassau Hall. and he came to this part of the
country with the character OF a gentleman of
genius. scholarship, and piety, which char
acter he supported through life. The
academy remained at its first location for a
few years only when land was donated for
its removal by Samuel Houston (the father
of the eminent General, president, and SEN
ator Samuel HOuSton), and Alexander Stuart
Gather of Judge Archibald Stuart, and grand
father of the Hon. A. IL. II. Stuart). This
land consisted of 80 acres, and was about six
miles south of Mount Pleasant Academy, at
Timber Ridge westinghouse, which is six
miles north Of Lexington, The name of the
school was now changed to Liberty Hall, and
the building was considerably larger than the
one at Mt. Pleasant. Mr.. Graham travelled
North as far as Boston to solicit donations,
and with these donations a number of in
strumentS and books. the beginning ola lib
rary, were purchased. In the year 1779 Lex
ington was established the county seat of
Rockbridge county. and soon after the acad
envy was removed to a situation one mile
northwest of the town and a frame building
was erected, and the usual instructions were
continued for number of years.
During the Revolutionary war, Mr.. Ora
ham, clergyman, as we'll as principal of
Liberty Hall. volunteered his services on a
pressing occasion, and in concert with other
volunteers, who, being without officers. APP
pointed him captain and marched to meet the
enemy. The students of the academy were
called forth in common with the other militia.
and were led to battle. After the close of
the war the number of students increased,
and large stone bui lding was erected, which