Dueling 18th Century Virginia Land Plats

I really ought to learn to leave well enough alone, but some genealogy questions just persist and gnaw at you.

It's like the question itself is a fiendish parasite deriving a sinister thrill from the torment of obfuscating every effort to find the truth.

You pick at loose threads hoping to unravel the tightly-wound mystery. Sometimes you luck out, yet other times you come up empty-handed, frustrated, tears rolling down your check, anguished guttural cries into the dark abyss.

That's how I feel about my efforts to locate George William Fairfax's 1700-acre tract of land colloquially known as Poplar Spring.

Fairfax was a member of the landed gentry of Colonial Virginia who was a contemporary and friend of George Washington and owned vast amounts of land in Virginia's Northern Neck, including the elusive Poplar Spring.

Located in modern-day Berkeley County, West Virginia, I've had little success in identifying the exact location of the Poplar Spring property where my suspected sixth great-grandparents Joseph and Sarah Kirk leased 100 acres for 25 years between 1773 and 1798.

What telltale clues would surface during a review of surviving land records?

Two Competing Land Plats

In November 2018, I spent hours in the Family History Library trawling through land deeds for Berkeley and Frederick counties (Berkeley was carved from Frederick County, Virginia in 1772).

I discovered not one but two land surveys conducted by Thomas Rutherford. I knew immediately that he was important to my research because several of the Poplar Spring land transactions that I had previously reviewed cited a survey conducted by Rutherford.

Was this it? Was I looking at Poplar Spring?

A few items initially grabbed my attention about the two maps:

• Both surveys were conducted for George William Fairfax (proprietor of the lands in Virginia's Northern Neck and owner of the Poplar Spring tract);
• Both surveys were conducted by Rutherford on February 20, 1763 (the surveyor cited in later Poplar Spring transactions and surveyed before the 1773 lease by the Kirk family); and
• At a glance, both surveys appeared to survey the same land but with a 600-acre discrepancy between them (one covering 2,680 acres and the second 2,080 acres).

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2680 Acres

Rutherford's 2680-acre map, "surveyed for George William Fairfax Esq.," examined "a parcel of land lying at the dry marsh on the drains of [the] Opequon, including the place which formerly belong to Nicholas Mercer in Frederick County." The survey name drops each of the men whose land borders the property mapped for Fairfax. In total, I counted 12 individuals:

1. Samuel Littler
2. Robert Milburn (deceased)
3. Peter Falkner (deceased)
4. Joseph Parrell 
5. Richard Calbert
6. Benjamin Blackburn
7. Captain Angus McDonald
8. McMachen men: William, John, and Rush
9. George Hollingsworth
10. James Wright
11. Josiah Ballinger
12. John Nickland

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2080 Acres

Rutherford's 2080-acre map, also "surveyed for George William Fairfax Esq," examined a "parcel of land lying at the dry marsh one of the drains of Opequon, including an improvement which formerly belonged to Nicholas Mercer in Frederick County." This survey also named men whose property bordered Fairfax's land. But this time I counted 13 individuals: 

1. Samuel Littler
2. Andrew Milburns, late survey of a 200 assigned to Thomas McClane a major (illegible)
3. The heirs of Roger/Robert Milburn
4. Formerly Peter Falkner
5. Joseph Parcell
6. Richard Calbert
7. Benjamin Blackburn
8. Captain Angus McDonald
9. Henry Hath
10. William McMachen 
11. David Brown
12. Mr. Charles Dick, late survey 400 acres taken off
13. The heirs of John Nickland

Curiously, two men are associated with acreage: Andrew Milburns (200 acres) and Charles Dick (400 acres). In total, that's the 600-acre difference between the two maps. Although I'm unclear why they're "taken off" the survey. 

Bottom line, the border contours and matching names of the neighboring property owners indicate that both maps plat the same area but one includes the combined 600 acres of Milburns and Dick while the other has them "taken off".

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What can I learn from these men that might help me pinpoint the location of the Fairfax land on a modern-day map?

Of course, I could trace land ownership forward in time beginning after the February 20, 1763 survey and see whether any names match neighbors of the Poplar Spring tracts.

Any names that match Poplar Spring ownership would help verify that the above maps encompassed the land where Joseph Kirk lived.

Unfortunately, this search needs to wait until I'm next in the Family History Library since the digitized Frederick County land records are only viewable in a Family History research center or library. It's a time-consuming, tedious research undertaking, but there certainly seems to be promising rewards.

The Sensational Murder Of A Wounded Civil War Veteran, Maybe

Celebrating her 90th birthday in 1899, the Plainville Times wrote that my fourth great-grandmother Mary Ann (Miser) Benedick was immensely proud that, "Her sons were all loyal defenders of the Union during the rebellion."

Wounded Civil War Veteran

Mary's son Samuel Benedick served in the West Virginia Volunteer Infantry. On August 9, 1862, at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, he was injured when Union forces attacked the Confederate regiments under Stonewall Jackson's command. 

Samuel reported that, during this battle, he was shot in the back of his right arm between the elbow and shoulder. He suffered permanent disability as a result, which he used as justification when he petitioned for a military pension. 

Samuel Benedick summarizes his war injuries to justify his pension claim.

After the war, Samuel and his family settled in Guyandotte, West Virginia where he had worked at the American Car & Foundry Company as a lumber inspector before applying for his pension.

He was "held in high esteem" in his community, but that came to a mysterious end in October 1904 - more than a century ago. 

Foul Play Is Suspected

Early in the morning of October 21, 1904, police in Huntington were notified that a drunken man was passed out in an alleyway. Upon arriving on the scene, an officer quickly determined that the man was dead.

The Herald Dispatch reported in their October 21, 1904 edition:

"The officer hurried to the place and when he attempted to wake the man whom he thought was in a drunken stupor, discovered that he was dead. A close inspection was made of the man's position, as he lay in the alley and of the surrounding ground. The inspection revealed the fact that the man had been dragged to the place where he lay, for the ground in the alley showed signs of being plowed up by the heels of the man's shoes, while his coat was wrinkled up under his arms, which indicated that his assailants had a difficult job to drag their victim to the secluded spot."

The coroner examined the body and found no obvious signs of physical injury. Still suspicious, the police chief initiated an investigation because "all indications pointed to the fact that the man was murdered."

A Cast of Curious Characters

The ensuing investigation determined that Samuel had arrived in Huntington on the evening of October 20th. A timeline of the night quickly came together:

• At around 7:00 pm, Samuel was seen in the company of five women sharing drinks at Lou Davis' saloon at the corner of Third Avenue and Eighth Street.

• At 9:30 pm the women reported that they left Samuel and he "was very drunk."

The police chief suspected that poisoning was the culprit and ordered an autopsy to examine the contents of his stomach. Samuel's family refused. The Herald Dispatch wrote that "they were satisfied that Benedict (sic.) came to his death from an over indulgence of whiskey..." and that he "...was in feeble health and that they expected death to overcome him at any time."

Although there was no postmortem, the police investigation continued due to "an air of mystery connected with the death of the man..." The police had a possible motive, which the Herald Dispatch outlined:

"The theory of the police however is that the man was drugged and robbed, as he was known to have between thirty and forty dollars in his pocket last evening when he met the women.

It is believed by the authorities that in drugging the deceased he was given an overdose which resulted in his death. The victim was then dragged to the alley where he was deserted. No money was found in the man's clothing or anything by which he could be identified. This leads police to believe that the man was robbed of his money and other belongings." 

Sensational Developments

In the paper's October 24th edition, it was revealed that the police had expanded the timeline.

"Within the last twenty four hours, evidence has been secured which revealed the fact that the dead man had been seen at midnight on the fatal night, in company with a certain suspicious woman, whose name the police refused to reveal at this time, but on whom they are steadily piling up evidence which, it is stated, will bring out sensational developments and perhaps prove a case of murder against the woman."

 The woman in question, it was revealed, couldn't keep her story straight during questioning.

"It was learned last night that Benedict (sic.) and the woman were seen at the corner of Third Ave. and Seventh St. shortly after midnight and that the woman introduced the deceased to a confederate, who is now under surveillance. The two induced Benedict to go to a restaurant for a bowl of soup, and, after considerable persuasion, Benedict accompanied them to the restaurant..."

There were witnesses who reported seeing the three individuals after their meal around 1:00 am, and Samuel was "sober at that hour."

The Herald Dispatch's October 25th issue is the last I've seen detailing the investigation. In that edition, the police chief remained "hard at work" on the case and was speaking with witnesses "who have revealed considerable important and damaging evidence against two notorious women."

The police chief was adamant that he would find the culprits, insisting he would "ferret out this case if it took a year to do it and to bring the guilty parties to trial, notwithstanding the protests made by the family of the deceased."

Who were the women?

Who was the mysterious Confederate with whom Samuel was persuaded to dine and was now under surveillance?

Was the investigation ever solved to the police chief's satisfaction?

The Family's Protests
Why did Samuel's family protest the authorities' investigation into the circumstances of his suspicious death? Were there behaviors his family didn't want surfaced in the newspapers?

Did they really believe he drank himself to death? What about the witnesses who said he was sober at one in the morning?

Samuel's pension file includes a handwritten note from the Huntington Department of Health, which stated - nearly nine months after his death - that he succumbed to heart failure. There was no indication that the wounded Civil War veteran was the victim of a sensational crime.

Huntington, West Virginia Department of Health
certification of Samuel Benedick's death

Was it all much ado about nothing or was something sinister swept under the rug? 

I only have transcribed copies of the Herald Dispatch articles cited in this post. I haven't located digitized copies of the newspaper to follow the investigation to its conclusion.

Future research into the paper's archives will hopefully uncover the final judgment of how Samuel Benedick died. Stay tuned...

Mapping Ancestor Burials: Hitting The Road And Paying Respects

I don't live near my family. Nearly 1,700 miles separate me from the Rocky Mountain home where I grew up.

However, when I put my Family Sleuther deerstalker cap on, I'm much closer to my people. True, they're not living and most of them rest eternally in the ground, but they're closer'ish.

Whether for work or leisure, I'm occasionally on the road. As a family historian, it would be a gross dereliction of duty if I overlooked my ancestors during those travels.

Using Google Maps, I've pinpointed the cemeteries where my ancestors are known to be buried. I reference this map when I'm traveling somewhere new, so I can assess just how close I may be to an opportunity to pay my respects to those that have come before me.

Ancestor burials mapped out using Google Maps

West Virginia: Wild and Wonderful
Last weekend, a quick getaway trip to West Virginia unexpectedly put me in close proximity to my sixth great-grandparents Anthony and Margaret (Messersmith) Rosenberger. They are the closest known ancestral burials to me on the East Coast.

My first stop was to Martinsburg, West Virginia. You may recall that I just wrote a blog two weeks ago about Anthony's public opposition to the presidency of Andrew Jackson. His 19th century viewpoints were only known because of their publication in the Martinsburg Gazette.

Buried in the German Lutheran Reformed Cemetery, Anthony, who passed away in 1853, rests eternally beside his second wife Nancy (not my direct ancestor). After entering the grounds through the wrought iron gate, I wandered among the markers - most of them well over a 100 years old - until I found his stone.

His headstone no longer stands upright, and the engraved text is weathered away, largely illegible. In fact, the only way to identify his stone was by comparing its shape to a copy of a photo that was taken years earlier - when the inscription was still discernible - and uploaded to Find A Grave. It helped, too, that he's buried beside his wife Nancy and her marker is still legible.

German Lutheran Reformed Cemetery, Martinsburg, West Virginia

Anthony Rosenberger (1771-1853)

Anthony's first wife and my direct ancestor, Margaret (Messersmith) Rosenberger, pre-deceased him in 1830. Her Find A Grave memorial mistakenly states that she's also buried in Martinsburg at the German Luthern Reformed Cemetery, but I discovered this is not true.

I noticed a comment online that flagged that she was actually buried about 15 miles away in the Union Church Cemetery in Middleway, West Virginia.

A short drive later and I discovered that, sadly, her headstone is one of the few no longer standing upright - just like Anthony's. I was further disappointed to discover that her stone - facing skyward - is now fractured into several pieces although largely intact. This unfortunate development must have happened since 2008 when a photo uploaded to Find A Grave showed the stone flat on the ground, but still in one piece.

Union Church Cemetery, Middleway, West Virginia

Rebecca Margaret (Messersmith) Rosenberger (1772-1830)

I count myself fortunate that I had my ancestor burial map to remind me that I had family in the area - less than 100 miles from where I live. After seeing firsthand the rapidly deteriorating condition of the stones, I'm very glad I made the visit when I did. Time is brutal to stone markers. Nothing lasts forever.

Don't you think it's time to draft your ancestor burial map and hit the open road (don't forget flowers and to upload photos to Find A Grave!)?