Lt. Col. Nathaniel Burwell of Carter Hall

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https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Burwell_Nathaniel_1750-1814

Nathaniel Burwell was appointed to the James City County Court, served in the county militia, represented James City County in the House of Delegates (1778–1779), and was elected to the Convention of 1788 to consider the proposed constitution of the United States. The son of Carter Burwell, Nathaniel Burwell spent part of his adulthood at Carter's Grove plantation in James City County. He was a major landholder in the region, owning small industrial operations such as an iron forge and two gristmills. Later he built Carter Hall in what became Clarke County.

Burwell was born on April 15, 1750, an Easter Sunday, at Carter's Grove plantation in James City County, the son of Carter Burwell and Lucy Ludwell Grymes Burwell. He attended the College of William and Mary, beginning in the grammar school, and continued to study past his twenty-second birthday. In July 1772 he received the college's Botetourt Medal for scholarship. His father died when Burwell was six, and when he came of age in 1771 he inherited control of a large landed estate in Tidewater Virginia and in the lower Shenandoah Valley, including his father's Carter's Grove plantation and mansion in James City County. On November 28, 1772, Burwell married his cousin Susanna Grymes, of Middlesex County. They had seven sons and one daughter before her death on July 24, 1788.

During Burwell's management of Carter's Grove the plantation prospered, and he also moved some of his slaves to his Frederick County property and improved production there during the 1770s and 1780s. As the proprietor of a major plantation and a member of a leading family he succeeded to the offices appropriate to his station. Burwell was appointed to the James City County Court on November 6, 1772, was a colonel in the militia by 1774, and served on the James City County Committee that same year. On November 27, 1776, he became county lieutenant, the commander of the county's militia. Burwell represented James City County in the House of Delegates in 1778 and 1779 and served on the Committee of Propositions and Grievances during both years and on the Committee of Religion in 1779. He was elected again in 1782 and served on the Committee of Propositions and Grievances during the short session in May but missed the poorly attended October session. Burwell was also one of the directors of the Public Hospital in Williamsburg.

In 1788 Burwell was one of two men elected to represent James City County in a convention called to consider the proposed constitution of the United States. He did not take an active part in the debates, but his opinions were well known. Burwell voted against insisting on amendments prior to ratification and against reducing the taxing power of Congress, and on June 25, 1788, he voted to ratify the Constitution.

Burwell's wife died scarcely a month after the convention adjourned, and on January 24, 1789, he married Lucy Page Baylor, widow of George Baylor (1752–1784). They had five sons and three daughters. Burwell transferred his seat from James City County to Frederick County not long after his second marriage. By 1790 he owned approximately 8,000 acres of land in the lower Shenandoah Valley. Burwell lived in the portion of Frederick County that in 1836, after his death, became Clarke County. During the 1790s he constructed Carter Hall, one of the largest and most elegant stone mansions in that part of Virginia. Burwell named it in honor of his great-grandfather, Robert "King" Carter (d. 1732), from whom the family had inherited the land. Burwell established a ferry on the Shenandoah River, erected two gristmills, two distilleries, a cooper's shop, an iron forge, a sawmill, and a tannery, and built a school for his children and other local students. Burwell also had a passion for breeding fine horses.

Nathaniel Burwell died at Carter Hall on March 29, 1814, and was buried nearby in the Old Chapel cemetery.

Time Line

April 15, 1750 - Nathaniel Burwell is born at Carter's Grove plantation in James City County to Carter Burwell and Lucy Grymes Burwell.

1771 - Having come of age, Nathaniel Burwell inherits control of a large landed estate in Tidewater Virginia and in the lower Shenandoah Valley, including his father's Carter's Grove plantation and mansion in James City County.

July 1772 - Nathaniel Burwell, a student at the College of William and Mary, receives the college's Botetourt Medal for scholarship.

November 6, 1772 - Nathaniel Burwell is appointed to the James City County Court.

November 28, 1772 - Nathaniel Burwell marries Susanna Grymes, of Middlesex County. They will have seven sons and one daughter.

1774 - Nathaniel Burwell becomes a colonel in the militia and serves on the James City County Committee.

November 27, 1776 - Nathaniel Burwell becomes county lieutenant, meaning that he is the commander of James City County's militia.

1778–1779 - Nathaniel Burwell represents James City County in the House of Delegates.

1782 - Nathaniel Burwell is elected to represent James City County in the House of Delegates.

1788 - Nathaniel Burwell is one of two men elected to represent James City County in the Convention of 1788.

June 25, 1788 - After intense debate among the delegates to the Virginia Convention, the U.S. Constitution is ratified by an 89 to 79 vote—due in part to a promise by the Federalists to consider amendments after ratification. Patrick Henry pushes for a federal Bill of Rights.

July 24, 1788 - Susanna Grymes Burwell dies.

January 24, 1789 - Nathaniel Burwell marries Lucy Page Baylor, widow of George Baylor. They have five sons and three daughters.

1790 - By this time Nathaniel Burwell owns approximately 8,000 acres in the lower Shenandoah Valley.

1790s - Nathaniel Burwell constructs a stone mansion he names Carter Hall, in part to honor his great-grandfather, Robert "King" Carter.

March 29, 1814 - Nathaniel Burwell dies at Carter Hall. He is buried nearby in the Old Chapel cemetery.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burwell_Family_of_Virginia#Lt._Col._Na....

Lt. Col. Nathaniel Burwell, 7th child and 1st son of Carter Burwell and his wife, Lucy Ludwell Grymes, of Brandon, Middlesex County, was the first entailed owner of “Carter’s Grove” on the James River. His mother was the eldest daughter of Robert Carter of Coratoman,” who by will left this plantation to her for life, “then to go to the eldest son of her body, lawfully begotten.” Nathaniel graduated from William and Mary College with a B.A. degree, an infrequent accomplishment in those days, and won the Botetourt Medal for The Natural Sciences, the future Bishop Madison winning the similar medal for Belle Lettres. Col. Burwell’s medal is now in the Bank of Clarke, the property of his great grandson, J. T. Burwell.

Lt. Col. Nathaniel Burwell, owner of the Millwood Mill - photo courtesy Clarke County Historical Association

Col. Burwell commanded the James City County Militia in Gen. Washington’s Army during the Siege of York Town. Here he may first have known Gen. Daniel Morgan, who had commanded a prisoners- of-war camp near Winchester composed of the Hessian prisoners captured at the Battle of Saratoga, but who had gone back into combat as Brigadier General in time to command the Revolutionary force at the Battle of The Cowpens, helping to drive Gen. Cornwallis back into York Town.

Col. Burwell was recommended to Mrs. Lucy Ludwell Paradise by his contemporary Thomas Jefferson while Minister to France, as the most experienced and successful tobacco planter and the best choice to manage her Green Spring Plantation near Williamsburg, which she had inherited from her ancestor, Lord Berkeley, an unexpected compliment, as the two men differed on many topics. Mr. Jefferson was the founder and leader of the Democrats while Col. Burwell, as a follower and ardent admirer of Gen. Washington, was a staunch Federalist. He used to speak of Mr. Jefferson as “that young atheist from Albemarle, who despoiled The Church of its glebe lands.”

At any rate, Col. Burwell was among the first to discover that the day of the big tobacco planter was nearly over, that the market was most undependable and the James River soil much depleted from this use. Fortunately he owned about 5,000 acres of fertile limestone-day soil in the Great Valley, a portion of the quit rent grant from Lord Fairfax to the eight sons and grandsons of Robert Carter made in 1730. This would require time and expense to convert to grain and grazing, but seemed to be the best way to prepare for the conversion, which had to be faced, sooner or later. It had required several lifetimes to equip for tobacco raising and marketing, but would probably not require so long for corn and wheat. Nathaniel Burwell made the trip to inspect his valley land in 1771, the year of his coming of age. Encountering both encouragements and discouragements, he laid out his plans, of which the erection of the Millwood flour and grist mill was among the first. When it came time to execute these plans, Gen. Morgan was fortunately available. Just what the bargain was we do not know; but here was a man of action with more than 500 good German workmen at his disposal. Work was started on this mill in 1782, the year after York Town and the year before the treaty of Paris which would set the Hessians free.

Carter Hall built by Nathaniel Burwell in 1790 - Post card image courtesy Clarke County Historical Association The mill was located on land belonging to Col. Burwell and his father since 1730. In 1805 it was insured in Col. Burwell’s name. After his death in 1814 it was appraised in his estate, and in 1837 it was sold by one of his heirs. The water for power came from springs mostly on his land. General Morgan furnished the Hessians for the first year of construction and for most of the second year. In 1785 it advertised as a Merchant Mill. It was old fashioned, but still working when I remember it in 1912, owned and operate.d by the Garvin family.

Text and images published by permission of the Clarke County Historical Association

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Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots about Nathaniel Burwell

Name: Nathaniel Burwell

Cemetery: Vermont Place Cem

Location: King William Co VA 55

Reference: Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots, Vol.1, p. Serial: 11912; Volume: 4

Source Information:

Hatcher, Patricia Law. Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.

Original data: Hatcher, Patricia Law. Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots. Vol. 1-4. Dallas, TX, USA: Pioneer Heritage Press, 1987.

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Christ Church Parish, Virginia Marriages, 1653-1812 about Nathaniel Burwell

Name: Nathaniel Burwell

Spouse: Susanna Grymes

Marriage Date: 28 Nov 1772

Source Information:

Ancestry.com. Christ Church Parish, Virginia Marriages, 1653-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000.

Original data: National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Parish Register of Christ Church, Middlesex County, Virginia from 1653 to 1812. Richmond, VA, USA: Christ Church, 1897.