Richard Ratcliffe

From his Find A Grave page:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=91062221

Richard Ratcliffe

• Birth: 1752 - Alexandria City, Virginia, USA
• Death: Sep. 20, 1825 - Fairfax, Fairfax County, Virginia, USA

Son of John RATCLIFFE and of Ann A. SMITH Ratcliffe (both of whose burials are not yet known) and husband of Louisiana ("Locian") BOLLING Ratcliffe (burial as yet unknown), with whom he had nine children.

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Last will of Richard RATCLIFFE, quoted from Edward Coleman Trexler, "Endowed by the Creator: Families of Fairfax Court House, Virginia" (Fairfax, VA: James River Valley Publishing, 2003, pp. 24-25:

I Richard Ratcliffe of the County of Fairfax and Common ... of Virginia do make this my last Will and Testament.

• I desire all my just debts be paid as soon as practicable which are considerable, being occasioned by advances for children, more particularly John. The monies due to me from H. Marshall, John Maddox and James Allison will nearly square off and as it would be difficult for John Ratcliffe to pay me or my estate back the money I have paid for him I release all he owes me, conditioned that my estate never is bound to pay any more for him for defaults of his as deputy sheriff --
• my son Samuel being indebted & nothing to pay with, having conducted himself badly for several years past I request that my Executors as soon as they can, by rents of houses, etc. do pay what he owes which I give him, in hopes he will do better hereafter, this I direct conditioned that if he my son Samuel lives until my Excrs. do pay said Debts but if he dies (being an ailing man) first, I do not direct those Debts to be paid, but give the amounts thereof, and the lands I bought of the Nolands to my son Samuel's two sons Richard & Charles Henry, to be equally divided between them or the survivors of them,
• in doing this for Samuel and John I am sensible I am injuring their Sisters but I hope they will be satisfied thereto and join me in a hope they will do better hereafter, To all my children who have left me I confirm (if necessary) the gift of what they have had of me.
• To my son Charles I give and bequeath my slaves Old George his wife Sisha, their son Henson and their two youngest Children and that he have a bed & furniture and household furniture as his Brothers and Sisters have had of me and all that land whereon I live, (after his mother's death) as far as the Old Courthouses road, supposed as six hundred acres.
• I give & bequeath to my daughter Patsey Ratcliffe four young negroes, and to Locian her sister, four young negroes to be divided and allotted as nearly equal as can be with the consent of their mother, with a good feather bed to each with such household furniture as their Brothers & Sisters had when they left me, with a horse, saddle & bridle, two cows & calves & ten sheep each (if not on my property) they are to be purchased for them, & the same stock for Charles.
• I give to my dear wife Locian Ratcliffe all the lands I possess excpt that bought of the Nolands & a piece on Accotink together with my negroes until those bequeathed to Charles, Patsey and Lucy are delivered and afterward for her to keep the others to include Tamar and two of the boys with all the rest of my personal Estate, & lands whereon I live until she is willing to let Charles have the part I have left him, also after my just debts are paid, I give to my said wife all the rent of houses at Providence and in Alex. out of which my old friend Mr. James Connelly is to have his board and such clothes as he shall reasonably want,
• and I further direct that half a dozen tables and half a dizen [sic] tea spoons (silver) be furnished my two youngest daughters and after my wifes death, I request that what plate I have, & my clock remain with my son Charles Ratcliffe
• and that after my said wifes death, my desire is that all the houses & lotts of mine in Providence may be equally divided among my five daughters Penelope Jackson, Nancy W. Daniel, Jane Moss, Patsey Ratcliffe and Locian Ratcliffe, Except the brick store house and lott and Hagues house, & that half his lott next to Payne Street, these houses and parts of lotts I give to Robert, John, Samuel & Charles Ratcliffe for the purpose of keeping store in or on,
• if necessary fifty acres of my lands adjoining said now laid off lotts are to be annexed to them on either side as my daughters may choose, the balance of that land on the east side of Ellzeys Church Road & the Old Courthouse Road I give to Robert and John Ratcliffe including the racefield,
• the land on Accotink, bought of Stephen Daniel, I request may be sold, and the money applied to discharge in part my debts and Samuel Ratcliffe's.
• My house and lott in Alexandria, I leave to my wife during her natural life to rent out -- after her death it is to be sold and the proceeds divided among my children --
• My road Stock I give to my Grandsons Francis F. Ratcliffe, Richard J. Daniels, Charles Jackson, John Moss, Robert Ratcliffe & Richard Ratcliffe, two shares each and the balance thereof to be disposed of by my wife as she pleases any Stock or household furniture not already disposed of that may remain after my death
• my wife to dispose of as she pleases any negroes not already disposed of after my wifes death are to be equally divided among all my children
• my watch and buckles to Robert Ratcliffe.
• I leave and appoint my sons Robert Ratcliffe and Charles Ratcliffe and my friend Thomas Moss Executors of this my last Will and Testament, Revoking all other wrote by my hand as witness my hand and seal this 29th day of March, 1815.

Rd. Ratcliffe

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Obituary published 27 September 1825 in Alexandria, VA Gazette:

[He] left a widow, eight children, forty grandchildren, five great-grandchildren.

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Copy of a speech presented to the Henry Clay chapter of the DAR:

• 03 April 1993
• by Constance K. Ring
• Archivist
• Fairfax Circuit Court
• Fairfax, Fairfax CO, VA, USA

RICHARD RATCLIFFE -- Fairfax County's Unsung Hero

My purpose in speaking to you today is to support a motion made more than a year ago by Margaret Peters, a member of this chapter, to place a plaque on the Fairfax County Courthouse in memory of her ancestor Richard Ratcliffe.

A genealogy of the Ratcliffes by June Ratcliffe McReynolds traces the name in Britain to the early 1400's.[1] There was a Richard Ratcliffe who was a friend of King Richard III and died on Bosworth Field in 1485 defending the king.[2] Although Ms. McReynolds does not give us the lineage of the Richard we are discussing today, it seems likely that some descendants of that early British family came to Charles County, Maryland, and then to Fairfax County, Virginia.[3]

There are more than 500 references to Richard Ratcliffe in the Fairfax court records. He first appears in 1771 being sworn a deputy sheriff.[4] This was the first of an unbroken chain of public service positions which he held for 54 years. He served as sheriff, coroner, justice, patroller, courthouse lot commissioner, overseer of roads and the poor, jail inspector, superintendent of elections, poorhouse and tax commissioner, and master commissioner of the court.[5]

Richard was the son of John Ratcliffe,[6] a merchant who signed the 1770 non-importation broadside, an agreement among merchants not to import British goods. John was the son of an earlier Richard of Charles County, Maryland.[7] The identity of Richard Ratcliffe's mother is speculative. John Ratcliffe married Anne, the widow of Thomas Moxley, in the early 1750's.[8] Richard was born about 1752.[9] He married Louisiana Boling, daughter of Gerrard Boling, a descendant of Pocahontas, by 1779.[10] They had 9 children, 4 sons and 5 daughters.[11] Through his own marriage and those of his children, Richard became allied to some of the most prominent families in Fairfax County: the Bolings, Gunnells, Jacksons, Daniels, Mosses, Fitzhughs, and Lees.[12] He was certainly known to George Washington, who noted in his diary for November 11, 1797, "Mrs. Ratcliffe and her son came to dinner."[13]

Richard owned and leased several lots in Alexandria and probably resided there for convenience to the courthouse where he attended to the duties of his offices.[14] But he began buying land in the area of present-day Fairfax City in 1786. By 1797 he had acquired more than 1600 acres.[15] While researching, I wondered why someone who spent most of his time in Alexandria would buy land 13 miles west of town. There wasn't much out there. The Little River Turnpike whch today bisects the city of Fairfax wasn't completed until 1806 and was a dirt track even then. Braddock Road came through to the south, but the area was hardly a population center. I think the answer is that Richard was visionary as well as practical. He was a man of his time. The Revolutionary War was just ending and the Virginia Legislature in 1789 ceded 40 square miles of eastern Fairfax County from Loudoun County on the west, shifting the boundaries of the county westward. If one looks at a map it is readily clear that the land Richard was buying was dead center.

In 1789 the Virginia legislature mandated that the new Fairfax County courthouse should be within 1 mile of Price's Ordinary[17] located at the present intersection of Backlick and Braddock Roads, 6 miles west of Alexandria. The justices felt that the location was "in the woods" and nothing was seriously done about relocating the courthouse for almost a decade. In 1798 Richard Ratcliffe offered them 4 acres of his central Fairfax land as a site for the new courthouse. Though the site he offered them was 7 miles west of Price's, the justices, at that point in time, were in no position to refuse.[18]

The deed for the 4 acres is somewhat mystifying. In fact, there were 2 deeds, the first not recorded, and the second, which was, states that it was written to correct errors in the first. The deed is several pages long, all 1 sentence, and the wording is confusing. I believe that what Richard Ratcliffe meant to say was that if the property ever ceased to be used for the purpose of holding court, then the trustees could sell it. But again, the wording is vague and contradictory and open to interpretation.

The initial architect selected to design the courthouse was, evidently, Clotworthy Stephenson. A notice in the Alexandria Advertiser May 23, 1789, placed by the commissioners appointed to let the contracts for the erection of the building, states that the plans were on view at the office of Captain George Deneale, county clerk, and that architect Clotworthy Stephenson would be available for explanations.[19] A month later, another notice appeared in the Advertiser stating that the architect was Mr. Wren.[20] Why Stephenson was out and Wren was in is a matter of conjecture, but it might have had something to do with the fact that James Wren was a member of the selection committee and also an architect. In any event, the courthouse was completed in 1800 and Richard Ratcliffe's tavern just across the road offered refreshment for those attending court.[21]

The courthouse and nearby tavern provided the nucleus for the village which would become the county seat. In 1805, with the help of his son Robert, a deputy surveyor, Richard laid out 19 half-acres lots on 14 acres,[22] part of the northwest corner of the Ravensworth tract which Richard had purchased in 1797.[23] The streets were to be 50 feet wide. Had he named the town "Ratcliffe's Crossroads" Richard would be a much-better-known historical figure, but he named it "Providence" perhaps because he felt a need for divine guidance in planning the town, or perhaps because he hoped it would prosper and bring him financial success. Richard had serious concerns about the solvency of his children. To insure their futures, he intended to lease the lots on ground rent forever rather than to sell outright, thereby providing them with a steady income. We see from his will, written in 1815, that Richard felt his children were financially irresponsible.[24] He wrote:

"I desire all my just debts be paid as soon as practicable which are considerable, being occasioned by advances for children, more particularly John ... as it would be difficult for John Ratcliffe to pay me or my estate back the money I have paid for him, I release all he owes me, conditioned that my estate never is bound to pay any more for him for defaults of him as Deputy Sheriff -- my son Samuel being indebted & nothing to pay with, having conducted himself badly for several years past I request that my executors as soon as they can, by rents of houses, etc., do pay what he owes, which I give him, in hopes he will do better thereafter..."

Richard's son John, evidently, was a gambler.[25] Samuel was in poor health and beset by creditors. His daughters' properties had to be sold by their heirs to pay the debts of the estates.[26] With these worries, Richard hoped that Providence would be an overnight success, that it would very quickly become another Alexandria. He probably never realized his vision, but the fact that he was able to get the courthouse and the county seat built on his own land was a political achievement of some magnitude. It speaks eloquently of his influence among lawmakers in Fairfax County and Richmond and of their respect and high regard for him.

My belief that Richard was disappointed in the growth of Providence is supported by an ad which he placed in the Alexandria Gazette on May 4, 1819, 14 years after the town was laid out and when Richard was about 67 years old. He addressed the ad to tradesmen of all types: wheelwrights, blacksmiths, tanners, saddlers, harness-makers and the like:[27]

"Believing as I do, that Providence, at Fairfax Courthouse, would be a suitable situation for mechanics of the above description, I offer to such, lots in that village for sale, on ground rent forever -- will build and furnish suitable houses and rent to them, or furnish brick to them to build with; and invite any who feel disposed to settle there, for the purpose of carrying on their respective trades to advantage, to come and view the situation. It is a very public place, the centre of the county, where the superior and county courts are held. The Little River Turnpike Road passes thru this little town from Alexandria westward, and where all the public meetings for the county are held and where trades of the aforesaid description being carried on, would meet with great encouragement, and be a public convenience to the country around. No situation can be more healthy -- good water, and fire wood cheap."

Richard's disappointment and the evident failure of his plan to achieve financial security for his children through the rental of his properties affected his personality in later years. In his sixties, he was charged several times with drunkenness.[28] On at least 1 occasion the clerk noted in the court minutes that commissioner Ratcliffe was drunk while performing his duties.[29] Richard was sued several times for debt, and judgments were obtained against him.[30] In October, 1820, at age 68, he was charged with assault and battery, although he claimed that the other fellow hit him first.[31] On September 20, 1825, the clerk noted in the minutes that commissioner Ratcliffe was extremely ill.[32] In fact, on that day he died.[33] His wife followed him less than a year later.[34] The 2-acre Ratcliffe family cemetery in Fairfax City, about a half mile from the courthouse,[35] is abandoned, overgrown, and all the stones are gone.

Richard Ratcliffe, sheriff, overseer, coroner, justice, town planner, and master commissioner of the Faifax County court, deserves a much more detailed study than this one. He deserves to be remembered as a public figure and a major contributor to the settlement and growth of central Fairfax County. After all, the courthouse, and the city around it, are there because of him.

NOTES

• 1. June Ratcliffe McReynolds, Our Ratclyffe Heritage: a History of the Ratcliffe Family in England and Virginia. Roanoke, VA, 1975:7.
• 2. Winston S. Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples: the Birth of Britain. Dorset Press, New York: 499.
• 3. Bond from Barbary Ratcliffe to Elizabeth Steele, 1788. Fairfax Circuit Court Archives.
• 4. FCOB 1770: 202. (Fairfax Court Order Book)
• 5. FCOB 1783: 190; 1797 (March 21, 1797: E); 1797 (August 22, 1797: F)'; 1799: 523; 1802: 44;1813: 87, 254, 337; 1816: 171.
• 6. FDB Z1: 470. (Fairfax Deed Book)
• 7. Bond ..., op. cit.
• 8. FDB D1 pt. 1: 388.
• 9. Obituary, Alexandria Gazette, September 27, 1825: 3.
• 10. FWB D1: 160. (Fairfax Will Book)
• 11. FCFF #63w (1833) Moss, etc. vs. Rattcliffe's exr. (Fairfax chancery final file)
• 12. Ibid.; FCFF #78m (1843) Ratcliffe's admr. vs. heirs; FCFF #84b (1854) Stewart vs. Fitzhugh; FWB W1: 151.
• 13. Washington, George (1732-1799), Diaries. Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, editors. University Press of Virginia, 1972.
• 14. Alexandria DB O: 129; Alexandria DBD: 166, 172; Alexandria DB E: 217; Ethelyn Cox, Historic Alexandria, Virginia, Street by Street. Historic Alexandria Foundation, 1976: 160; FDB F1: 69, 73; P1:192.
• 15. FDB U1: 316; X1: 397; A2: 370; Record of Surveys: 247.
• 16. Alexandria Advertiser, May 23, 1789: 3.
• 17. FCOB 1788: 290-293; Hening, op. cit.: 79.
• 18. FDB B2: 373; Record of Surveys: 215.
• 19. Alexandria Advertiser, May 23, 1798: 3.
• 20. Ibid.: June 20, 1798:3.
• 21. Record of Surveys: 231.
• 22. FDB M2: 137; Acts of Assembly: 1804, December Legislative Session, chapter 69:44.
• 23. FDB A2:370; Beth Mitchell, Beginning at a White Oak, Fairfax CountyOffice 1977: 168.
• 24. FWB O1: 57.
• 25. FCOB 1809: 387.
• 26. Alexandria Gazette, December 13, 1837; FCFF #52ll (1837) Jackson vs. St. Clair; FCFF # 98cc (1848) Turley vs. Coleman; FDB F3: 161, 201, 353; G3: 13, 15, 253; I3: 87, 88, 406; J3: 59; K3:403; T3: 499; X3: 358.
• 27. Alexandria Gazette, May 4, 1819: 1.
• 28. FCOB 1813: 171; 1819 Superior Court: 274.
• 29. FCOB 1819 Superior Court: 294, 311, 314.
• 30. FCOB 1819 Superior Court: 118, 136, 143, 227.
• 31. FCOB 1819 Superior Court: 105.
• 32. FCOB 1824: 116.
• 33. FCFF #63w, op. cit.; obituary, op. cit.
• 34. Ibid.
• 35. FDB X2: 358.

Family links:

Children:

• Charles H. Ratcliffe (1793 - 1835)

Burial: Ratcliffe Family Cemetery, Fairfax, Fairfax County, Virginia, USA, Plot: no extant marker

• Created by: Innominato
• Record added: May 31, 2012
• Find A Grave Memorial# 91062221