William Bourne, I

DAR Ancestor #: A012601 (Red Flagged: "FUTURE APPLICANTS MUST PROVE CORRECT SERVICE")

Married Rosanna "Rosa" Jones in 1765

William and Rosa had nine children who raised large families of their own and lived to be quite elderly. The daughters were all widowed at the same time but none remarried. All were said to have managed their estates well.

The children were:

• Patience Bourne born 18 NOV 1770, married Jonathon Thomas, died 29 SEP 1854.
• Milly Bourne born 7 MAR 1773, married Jessie McKinney.
• Charity Bourne born 7 NOV 1775, married John Blair.
• Stephen G. Bourne born 26 FEB 1779, married Patsy Mays, died 29 APR 1849.
• Mary Bourne born 5 JAN 1782, married Martin Dickinson, died SEP 1860.
• Elizabeth Bourne born 20 MAR 1785, married Lewis Hale.
• Frances Bourne born 5 JUN 1788.
• Celia Bourne born 25 DEC 1790, married Robert Johnstone,

died 19 JAN 1863.

William Bourne, Jr. born 4 MAY 1794, married Mary Johnstone.

Rosamond Jones and William Bourne were early settlers of Grayson County, Virginia. Rosa was born in 1750 in Virginia, possibly to Thomas and Elizabeth "Bette" Jones. William was born in 1743 to Stephen and Hanna Bourne of Louisa County, Virginia. William and his brothers Stephen and John -- also Grayson pioneers -- grew up on the original 300 acre land grant obtained by their grandfather, William Bourne II, in the year 1719. The text of this grant appears in the Cutchshaw book and was signed by Alexander Spottswood, the Lieutenant Governor of the Virginia Colony. The property can be found today at the intersections of highways 611 and 635 at the southern tip of Louisa County near the Hanover border.

William and Rosa were married in about 1765. He was 22 years of age and she was just 15. They lived in Louisa County for a least the first 10 years of their marriage because William and his brother Stephen appear in Louisa County tax books up until 1775.

The 1775 tax lists show the brothers as "patrollers" who scouted the region looking for runaway slaves. Stephen was said to have gained the nickname "Devil Steve" because of his work as a slave trader and his willingness to beat his own slaves as well as the slaves of others settlers who didn't have the stomach for the "task."

In 1768, the Iroquois Nation signed a treaty with King George III abandoning all their claims to the Virginia Territory south of the Ohio River and west of the Cumberland mountains thus making this area available for white settlement.

Sometime before 1782 William and Rosa received a land grant from the Commonwealth of Virginia and left their colonial home for the unsettled territory in southwest Virginia. It was said that settlers selected this land along the New River and its tributaries because it was rich with wild pea vine and other vegetation for their stock.

Rosa and William traveled by wagon as far as Fort Chisel and then had to pack their household goods onto horses to cross the Iron Mountains. They chose Knob Fork on Elk Creek near where it empties into the New River as their home site, joining eight other families who had already settled in the region.

Having to travel as they did, it seems unlikely that they were able to bring much in the way of household goods, but surprising among their possessions was a grandfather clock made in Boston by Aaron Willard of Common House Clocks. It was Grayson County's first clock and was anything but common. Made of mahogany with rosewood inlays, it stood at over 8 feet 3 inches. The fittings were of brass including the key in the shape of a "Z." It was wound every eight days and showed the phases of the moon, as well as telling the time. Some years later it served as a model for a local clock maker. The clock remains in the family residing in the home of a sixth generation descendant in Cleveland, Tennessee.

When William and Rosa arrived in the New River country, they built cabins and other temporary buildings and cleared out the best portion of the land for farming. They grew their own grains, vegetables and fruit and their meat came from whatever game they found in the surrounding forest. They wore homespun clothing made from wool, cotton or flax, and wore shoes or moccasins from the leather they tanned themselves.

William became involved in local government and was among those who successfully lobbied the Virginia State Legislature to create Grayson County from Wythe County in 1792. It was named for William Grayson, one of the first senators of Virginia.

The first Grayson County Court was held in the Bourne barn on May 21, 1793. Later court records of that year mention the court sitting in "Rosa's cabin." William was elected Clerk of the Court, a position he held for 17 years. Some time later other relatives were also appointed to important posts -- Shamrock Greer becoming a Justice of the Peace, and Major Minetree Jones becoming a Magistrate.

Like my ancestor Stephen Hopkins of the Plymouth Colony, William turned his home into an inn. On June 24, 1794 the Grayson County Court fixed these rates to be observed by his establishment and all other "Ordinary Houses."

Shillings Pence

A breakfast with Coffee 1 3 Ditto Without Coffee 1 0 Dinner Warm, if good 1 6 Cold 1 3 Lodging Clean for 1 in bed 0 6 2 in bed 0 4 More than 2 in bed 0 0 West India rum per half-pint 1 0 Gin per Do. 0 8 Whiskey per Do. 0 6 Good Beer per Do 0 6 Small beer 0 4

It appears that lodging was quite affordable if you were willing to eat cold food, drink small beers, and share a bed with strangers.

Eventually William became so successful that he went into partnership with his son William Bourne III and bought 100 acres of land that included the Point Hope Furnace and Forge, gristmill, sawmill and yards, barns, stables, gardens, and houses. The old Point Hope Furnace at the falls on Peach Bottom Creek was Grayson County's first industry. It had been used to process iron ore since before the Revolutionary War.

William also became a member of the Virginia legislature which required yearly trips to Richmond. On one of these trips he attended a slave auction and bought a woman and little girl, apparently a mother and child. The woman's name was Granny Beck and the child's Aimy. In his book, Nuckolls briefly recounts Aimy's story of her kidnaping in Africa and subsequent trip to America on a sailing ship. Granny Beck was put to work tending the cattle on the range and Aimy was the house girl, waiting on her "master and mistress" as long as they lived.

According to Nuckolls, William gave Aimy her freedom in his will stating, "Aimy has been a faithful, good servant and has raised for me 18 children. She is not to be sold or taken in, in the divide." Nuckolls goes on to say "With his children she should be free to go where she pleased."

There has been some debate among the descendants about the meaning of Nuckolls' last sentence and where he obtained this information. The will, as recorded in the courthouse at Independence, does not contain the above passage. Instead, each of the Bourne children is given two slaves and their progeny in addition to $500. While we may never know if these slave children were in fact William's progeny, it certainly wasn't unusual for slave-owners, and often their sons, to have fathered these children.

After William and Rosa's deaths, Aimy went to Old Town to live with Mary Dickenson who owned her daughter Mourning. When Mary died, Aimy went to Elk Creek to the home of Francis Hale who owned Winny, another of her daughters. Aimy died there and is buried in the Hale family cemetery.

Rosa had a reputation for providing well for their slaves. Nuckolls writes, "She was their doctor when sick, their comfort in trouble. When they were ill she'd say, 'You must pray to the Lord for help and I will pray for you and help you all I can.' She was also helpful to her friends and neighbors and would go to them in their time of need."

Nuckolls also tells this story of Rosa's resourcefulness. Each fall William and several of his slaves trekked "over the hollow" to the nearest mill in North Carolina to have their corn ground into meal for their bread. They carried the grain in sacks on their horses, following an old Indian trail through the Blue Ridge Mountains.

One year a deep snow kept them from returning home before the family's food supply ran out. Rosa took matters into her own hands and early one morning roused one of her slaves and told her, "We must hunt for something to eat."

Armed with a rifle and butcher knife, they hiked into the forest looking for prey. They soon found a large deer sleeping in the snow under a tree. Rosa raised her gun and fired, but missed. Fortunately, the startled deer jumped up and struck its head against a limb, breaking its neck. The slave ran and cut the deer's throat, and they drug it back to the house in the snow. The family fed well on venison and hominy while they waited for the men to return with the meal.

William and Rosa had nine children who raised large families of their own and lived to be quite elderly. The daughters were all widowed at the same time but none remarried. All were said to have managed their estates well. The children were:

• Patience Bourne born 18 Nov 1770, married Jonathan Thomas, died 29 Sep 1854.
• Milly Bourne born 7 Mar 1773, married Jessie McKinney.
• Charity Bourne born 7 Nov 1775, married John Blair.
• Stephen G. Bourne born 26 Feb 1779, married Patsy Mays, died 29 Apr 1849.
• Mary Bourne born 5 Jan 1782, married Martin Dickinson, died Sep 1860.
• Elizabeth Bourne born 20 Mar 1785, married Lewis Hale.
• Frances Bourne born 5 Jun 1788.
• Celia Bourne born 25 Dec 1790, married Robert Johnstone, died 19 Jan 1863.
• William Bourne, Jr. born 4 May 1794, married Mary Johnstone.

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• Updated from MyHeritage Family Trees via son Stephen G. Bourne by SmartCopy: Jan 26 2015, 21:41:30 UTC

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• Updated from MyHeritage Family Trees via daughter Charity Blair (born Bourne) by SmartCopy: Jan 22 2015, 17:36:40 UTC

William Bourne ... At the time William Bourne settled here [Grayson County], there were no mills nearer than over the Blue Ridge in North Carolina,at the foot of the mountain, then called "Over in the Grayson County, Va. Hollow." The grain to be ground for bread had to be carried in sacks on horses. There was only a bridle path across New River and the mountain—frequently on the old Indian trails. Wm. Bourne would make these trips with his Negro men, each with a sack of grain to have ground for bread (mostly corn). At one time, on their return from the mill, one man caught his sack of flour against a limb near the path on the mountain, tore the sack,and spilled some flour. From that circumstance, the place was called Flour Gap. It still bears that name. It is near the crossing of the Blue Ridge at Pipers Gap. For years the Flour Gap was the only place for crossing the Blue Ridge. The first road across that part of the Ridge was at this place; trimmed out in a straight course up and down the mountains. [Nuckolls, p. 23- 24 Pioneer Settlers]

At one time, William Bourne, when he was a member of the Legislature in Richmond, went down in a wagon loaded with fur skins and sold them. A Negro woman and little girl were put on the block for sale; he bought them, paid for them, and sent them back home in the wagon. The woman's name was Granny Beck.The girl's name was Aimy. I have heard Aimy say that she and her mother were sent for one evening to go and stay all night with a woman. Sometime after dark,someone came to the door and called. This woman told her to open the door; she did so, and two men came in and caught her and her mother, tied cloths over their mouths, carried them off and put them in a ship, and brought them over the ocean. They came from Africa and proved to be very valuable servants. Granny Beck, after she came here, took charge of the cattle and stock out on the range; salted and watched after them. She could not count the number, but if one of them were missing she could tell it. She would describe its colour or its size, etc., and would hunt until she found it. Aimy was the house girl, waited on her master and mistress as long as they lived, and was very much attached to all the family. William Bourne, in his last will stated that "Aimy has been a faithful, good servant, and has raised for me 18 children. She is not to be sold or taken in, in the divide. With his children, she should be free to go where she pleased." She came to Old Town (then Grayson C. H.), and lived with Mrs. Mary Dickenson. Mis. Dickenson owned "Mourning," one of the 18 children. After Mrs. Dickenson's death, Aimy went to Elk Creek to my grandmother, Frances Hale, who owned "Winny", who was also one of the 18 children. Aimy died there, and is buried in the Hale family cemetery.

His land estate was inherited by his youngest son, Wm.Bourne, Jr., who, having brought up his family there, sold 2700 acres to Dr. Gage. Since then his home has been owned by some of his descendants, and is now held by Prof. F. R. Comett, and son, Glenn, whose wife, Agnes Phipps, daughter of Columbus Phipps, is a direct descendant of Patience Bourne. [Nuckolls, p. 20]

• Updated from WikiTree Genealogy by SmartCopy: Feb 13 2015, 17:41:30 UTC

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Virginia, Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1983 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,9085::0

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Will Books, 1796-1869 ; General Index to Wills, 1796-1953; Author: Virginia. County Court (Grayson County); Probate Place: Grayson, Virginia 1,9085::1102527

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1830 United States Federal Census Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,8058::0

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