Sidney Fletcher

Sidney Fletcher: the Next Generation at Tusculum

Fletcher's eldest son, Sidney, began managing the Tusculum plantation around 1841 between his various travels after college. Despite his education in medicine from Yale, Sidney Fletcher preferred farming and the property was formally transferred to his ownership in 1849. Elijah remarked in a letter, "Everything looks neat and Flourishes there. The prettiest crop of wheat I have seen anywhere this Spring. Sidney is a first rate manager." Sidney remained at Tusculum until his death in 1898.

In his will Sidney bequeathed the house to his cousin, John Jay Williams (descended from Elijah Fletcher's sister, Lucy, who married into the Williams family). When John Jay Williams inherited Tusculum, he moved in with his wife and five boys. The house remained in the Williams family until 1987, when it was sold to Dr. Clarence "Bud" Edwards.

Source: http://www.tusculum.sbc.edu/Household.shtml

1850 United States Federal Census about Sidney Fletcher

Name: Sidney Fletcher

Age: 29

Birth Year: abt 1821

Home in 1850: Eastern, Amherst, Virginia

Gender: Male

Family Number: 723

Household Members:

Name Age

Sidney Fletcher 29

1860 United States Federal Census about Sydney Fletcher

Name: Sydney Fletcher

Age in 1860: 39

Birth Year: abt 1821

Home in 1860: Amherst, Virginia

Gender: Male

Value of real estate: $68,000

Household Members:

Name Age

Sydney Fletcher 39

Wm Bowles 25

 Bowles 	20

Pompey Bowles 5

Mary Ann Bowles 3/12

1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules about Sidney Fletcher

Gender: Female

Race: Black

Age: 69

Home in 1860: Amherst, Virginia

Name of Slave Owner: Sidney Fletcher

All Slaves Owned:

Age Gender

69 Female

65 Female

45 Female

45 Male

40 Female

40 Male

40 Female

37 Male

37 Male

35 Female

35 Female

34 Female

33 Female

27 Female

26 Female

21 Male

20 Female

18 Female

15 Male

13 Female

21 Female

10 Female

10 Female

16 Female

10 Male

9 Female

10 Female

8 Female

8 Female

5 Male

1 Male

1 Male

10 Male

Confederate Applications for Presidential Pardons, 1865-1867 about Sidney Fletcher

Name: Sidney Fletcher

State: Virginia

Year: 1865

1880 United States Federal Census about Sidney Fletcher

Name: Sidney Fletcher

Age: 59

Birth Year: abt 1821

Birthplace: Virginia

Home in 1880: Temperance, Amherst, Virginia

Race: White

Gender: Male

Relation to Head of House: Self (Head)

Marital Status: Single

Father's Birthplace: Virginia

Mother's Birthplace: Virginia

Occupation: Farming

Household Members:

Name Age

Sidney Fletcher 59

Thomas Turner 67

Harst Edwards 24

Andrus Edwards 16

Lesley Edwards 3

Earnest Edwards 2

Eldest son of Elijah and Maria Antoinette Crawford Fletcher.

Sidney graduated from Yale University in 1841, briefly attended medical lectures, and returned to Amherst in 1842. Sidney decided that his medical degree transformed him from “a good farmer into a shabby gentleman” and he soon returned to farming. Although never formally married, it is believed that Sidney had two children (Leslie Edwards and Ernest Edwards) with the "mulatto woman" who lived in his house, Harriet Edwards. In 1883, Sidney deeded 70 adjacent acres to Harriet and her two sons, but did not demonstrate the same generosity with any of his other servants or their families.

Sidney Fletcher in his will left his farm, Tusculum, to his cousin, John Jay Williams. Mr. Williams and his family lived in Chatham, New York. Before Sidney died, John Jay Williams wrote from Chatham to ask Sidney if he needed help. Sidney wrote back that he and Indiana needed help and John Jay and his wife came down to Virginia soon thereafter, around 1897. They first went to live at the Silk Farm (one of Sidney's properties). Six or seven months later Sidney died and left them Tusculum in his will. One of their sons was born the November after Sidney died and was named after his deceased uncle, Sidney Fletcher Williams. Mr. Williams and his wife raised five boys before divorcing in 1935. John Jay Williams was a descendant of Lucy Fletcher (Elijah's sister).

Despite his brother Lucian's long-standing estrangement from the family, Sidney allowed Lucian to be buried in the Crawford Family Cemetery at Tusculum.

A few years after Lucian's death, Sidney passed away in his sleep while resting, following a 10-mile drive to one of his farms.

NOTE: Credit and gratitude go to Lynn Rainville, who researched and published much of the above information.

Source: http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2061&cont... http://sbc.edu/tusculum-institute/williams-family-tree https://books.google.com/books?id=0Gw_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1341&lpg=PA1341... http://tusculum.sbc.edu/Household-Williams.shtml Inscription: In Loving Remembrance of Sidney Fletcher, departed this life, April 12, 1898, At Rest

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Apr 1 2018, 20:49:01 UTC