John Lewis (1 February 1678 - 1 February 1762), the founder of the prominent Lewis family in the westernmost part of the Colony of Virginia, was a militia officer, magistrate and pioneering farmer. Born in northern Ireland, he emigrated across the Atlantic Ocean to escape after killing his landlord. He settled in Virginia and, together with his nephew James Patton, became wealthy through land grants and sales during expansion of Virginia's westward frontier.
Lewis and his eldest son Thomas became magistrates upon the creation of Augusta County and helped found Staunton, the county seat and gateway to the west during their lifetime. Thomas Lewis also served in the House of Burgesses, and many descendants would likewise achieve high political office.John Lewis Peyton, History of Augusta County, Virginia, Samuel M. Yost & son, 1882 His second son Andrew Lewis became prominent during the French and Indian War and achieved rank of general in the American Revolutionary War, where he became known for his victory at the Battle of Point Pleasant. His youngest brother, Charles, died in that battle. For many years, the senior Lewis engaged in a heated rivalry with his nephew Patton over land grants, judicial power, and the construction of a parish meeting house. He died at his home in Staunton, Virginia at the age of 84.
Birth and early life
John Lewis was born on 1 February 1678 in County Donegal, Ireland. His parents were Andrew Lewis and Mary Colquhoun, and his father's family reportedly were French Huguenots who had left France for Ireland.
Lewis was forced to flee Ireland circa 1728, allegedly after killing his landlord in an altercation over inflated rent.Irvin Frazier and Mark W. Cowell Jr., The Family of John Lewis, Pioneer, San Antonio, Texas: Fisher Publications, Inc. 1985 According to the family's later accounts, the Lewises leased land in County Donegal from a "proud, profligate and extravagant" man named Sir Mungo Campbell, who tried to coerce his tenants to pay inflated rents. When Lewis protested, Campbell came to his home at night to evict Lewis and his family. He fired a musket loaded with buckshot into the house, wounding Lewis's wife in the hand and killing his disabled brother. Lewis came out holding a shillelagh, and used it to kill Campbell and his steward. Fearful that Campbell's family would take revenge, Lewis, in disguise, and "about thirty of his faithful tenantry" obtained passage on a ship bound for the Kingdom of Portugal. One 19th century account claimed that much later after an investigation, Irish authorities pardoned Lewis and granted land in western Virginia in compensation for the attack on his home.
By 1729 Lewis and at least some family members had arrived in Philadelphia. After a brief period in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, by 1732 Lewis traveled southwest to the Shenandoah Valley where he built a fortified home on Lewis Creek just a few miles south of what became Staunton, Virginia, and where his wife joined him.
Marriage and children
John Lewis married Margaret Lynn (James Patton's maternal aunt) in 1715 in County Donegal. She was born on 3 July 1693 in County Donegal and was the daughter of William Lynn and Margaret Patton. By 1732, Margaret had also emigrated to the Virginia colony, where she gave birth to their youngest son, Charles Lewis. Margaret bore eight children:Joe Nutt, "John Lewis: Patriarch," Shenandoah Sketches, Southwestern Virginia Genealogy, August 1996
1. Samuel Lewis, born 1716 2. Thomas Lewis, 1718-1790, Virginia surveyor, landowner and politician, husband of Jane Strother of Fredericksburg 3. Andrew Lewis, 1720-1781, brigadier general during the American Revolutionary War. 4. Alice Lewis, born 1722 5. William Lynn Lewis, 1724-1812, surveyor and landowner in what much later became West Virginia 6. Margaret Lynn Lewis, 1726-1797 7. Anne Lewis, born 1728 8. Charles Lewis, born 1735 and killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774.Lewis, William Terrell. Genealogy of the Lewis Family in America: From the Middle of the Seventeenth Century Down to the Present Time. Courier-journal job printing Company, 1893.
Homes and properties
Meanwhile, before 1736, King George II of England had already awarded 118,491 acres of land, including the Shenandoah Valley land on which the Lewises had settled, to the Tidewater aristocrat William Beverley, who promised to survey and develop it, but remained near the colonial capital and proposed to sell the land to those already squatting upon it. The Lewises were among the first white settlers in what became Augusta County, Virginia in 1745 (with John Lewis and his eldest son Thomas becoming two of the original justices of the peace). Meanwhile Beverley showed his appreciation for John having built a fort for protection against Native Americans upset with the settlers, as well as for his providing hospitality to the settlers. On April 22, 1738, the Governor's Council of Virginia (on which Beverly sat) acknowledged having received a petition from pioneers in the Shenandoah Valley which mentioned John Lewis as their captain in defending against the natives. In 1738 Beverley hired Lewis as a representative in charge of surveying and selling plots of land from the Beverley Manor. Lewis acquired an official title for his land and mill in Beverley Manor (2,071 acres) on 21 February 1738 at a bargain price of 14 pounds sterling, and for his land on Borden's tract on 20 February 1739.Cowell, Mark W. The Family of John Lewis, Pioneer. Fisher Publications, 1985. By 1751, Lewis owned 9,313 acres in Augusta County.). By the end of the year his eldest sons (Thomas and Andrew Lewis) and three prominent Tidewater gentlemen also received land grants totaling 30,000 acres south and west of the parcel granted their father and Tidewater lawyer Edward Barradall, in what ultimately became Bath County.
Lewis's first homestead was located on the Middle River in Augusta County, but by 1732 he had moved to a property known as Belle-fonte (also Bellefont and other spellings) on Lewis Creek.Cosmos Mariner, "Lewis Creek Watershed," Historical Marker database, May 27, 2019Joe Nutt, "John Lewis Homesite," Shenandoah Sketches, Southwestern Virginia Genealogy, July 1992 He arrived with the first European settlers on Borden's grant,Chalkley, L., Lockwood, M. S., Chalkley, L. Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish settlement in Virginia: extracted from the original court records of Augusta County, 1745-1800. Vol. 2. Rosslyn, VA: The Commonwealth Printing Co. and was probably one of the first settlers on the Beverley grant.Edward Aull, Early History of Staunton and Beverley Manor in Augusta County, Virginia, Clarion Publishing, 2016 In 1738, Lewis's nephew James Patton arrived at Lewis Creek with his family, including the eight-year-old William Preston, after which Patton returned to England for his final voyages as a merchant sea captain.
In February 1747 Lewis applied for permission to build a mill, and in March 1747 he applied for an ordinary (tavern) license.Chalkley, Lyman. Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia: Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County, 1745-1800. Vol I, Augusta County Court Records, order Book No. 1. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1999 The mill was in construction by May 1751, when Lewis went to court to prevent the construction of a second mill in Staunton.Chalkley, Lyman. Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia: Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County, 1745-1800. Vol I, Augusta County Court Records, order Book No. 1. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1965
In 1756 "Fort Lewis," a stockade fort, was constructed by Lewis's son Charles to guard the strategic pass of the Shenandoah Mountain. A large stone mansion, now known as Fort Lewis, was later built nearby, probably by Charles Lewis,J. J. Prats, "Fort Lewis Historical Marker," Historical Marker Database, May 8, 2010 although some sources say that it was John Lewis's home for at least a short time."Fort Lewis, Near Staunton, Va.," West Virginia & Regional History Center, 26 July 2021John Lewis Peyton et el., "A Monument to Colonel John Lewis, Founder of Staunton," Southern Historical Magazine: Devoted to History, Genealogy, Biography, Archæology and Kindred Subjects, vol I, No. 1, January 1892. Charleston WV: V. A. Lewis, 1892 The building has undergone substantial renovation over the years, but the original stone section of the ground floor is still visible.Fort Lewis Lodge & Farm
Religious activities
In 1738 Lewis hosted James Anderson, Presbyterian minister from the Synod of Philadelphia, the first minister to deliver a sermon in the upper Shenandoah Valley.Morton, Oren F. A History of Rockbridge County, Virginia. McClure Company, 1920. The Reverend John Craig arrived in 1740 as permanent Presbyterian minister of the parish.Katharine L. Brown, "John Craig (1709–1774)," Dictionary of Virginia Biography, Library of Virginia, 2006
Military service
On 22 April 1738, the Virginia Council appointed Lewis captain over the settlers in Beverly Manor, where Indians had been stealing items and had killed a farmer. The order states: "Whereas the Inhabitants on Sherrando River by their petition have represented that the Northern Indians frequently passing through their plantations Commit frequent Outrages and have lately killed one of their men, And have prayed for a Supply of Arms & Ammunition for their defense, It is the Opinion of this Board and Accordingly Ordered that His Majesty's Stores there be delivered to John Lewis Gent who is hereby Approved to be a Capt over such of the Inhabitants as live in Beverly Manor, Thirty Muskets & Eight pair of Pistols with a proportionable quantity of Powder & Ball..."
Lewis was, however, ordered not to "offer any Violence to any of the said Indians passing quietly through their plantations nor to any Indians whatsoever unless the said Indians do first Commit Hostilities on the said Inhabitants in which case only they are at liberty to defend themselves and to Act offensively."H. R. Mcllwaine, et al., eds., Executive Journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia, 6 vols; Richmond, 1925-66
John Lewis was appointed colonel of the Augusta County militia on 22 February 1739.
Legal roles
On 3 November 1741, John Lewis was among the first Justices of the Peace appointed for Augusta County, after its formation in 1738.Waddell, Joseph Addison. Annals of Augusta County, Virginia, from 1726 to 1871. Virginia Historical Society, Staunton VA: C. R. Caldwell, 1902. When Augusta County was incorporated in 1745, Lewis was appointed magistrate by Governor William Gooch on 30 October. The first session of the Augusta County Court convened on 9 December 1745.
For several years, Lewis engaged in competition with his nephew James Patton over control of the court. Patton was named Chief Magistrate and President of the county court, but his duties as sheriff initially kept him occupied, and Lewis sat on the bench during 13 out of 15 regularly scheduled court days during the first half of 1746. Then on 14 June 1746, Lewis was appointed sheriff for Augusta County,Wilmer Hall, ed., Executive journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia,, vol V, November 1, 1739— May 7, 1754; Virginia State Library, Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia, 1945 replacing Patton, and from July 1746 to May 1749, Patton took over the court, presiding over forty-five out of fifty-two regularly scheduled court days as well as ten out of eleven additional courts called for individual criminal trials, essentially replacing Lewis entirely as magistrate. Possibly due to his military duties, after June 1749 Patton distanced himself from the court and Lewis presided on twenty-five out of the forty-three court days for the next two years. Lewis served as a member of the Augusta County Court until at least 1752.
Land grants