joun.NaL oF THE couNTY oo.N:Eoi.L iirsronrcAL socrETY. ~~ ~~~ N?TES & Q~ERIE~! Making a study of the Lewis family, which wa~ quite prominent in the Shenandoah Va1iey of Western Virgin:'.a. dur;ng the 18th and 19th centuries, I came across a curious st<-.ry connec•ted w.ith the emigration of the founder of this family here, John Lewis of Donegal County. Photostati; 2. pagrination 90/91 and also 278/279. As you can see from the enclosed ph:Jtosta.t of a par.tion Olf the memoirs of Mrs. Towles, a granddaughter of John Lewis, this gentleman came to America und.er the sbadow of the unfortunate affair described in it. The date was probia.bly 1729, or withiu a year or two of it. Another accounit of this story tells tbat J<>rin Lewis, after his ftight, wro~e down his e,ccount. and ex,pJ.anation of th~ affair, which he sent to "the pr09er authorities," which afterwards, in 3.nother document, absolved him of guilt in the matter. It has occurred to me that quite pcssibly these two documents or copies of them nri·ght be prnse:rved in the a;rchives of your county They would add a great deal of inrerest to my story of John Lewis and his dtscendants, and l woui'd be greatly obliged to you if you would try to locate th1)S'.; doouments for me, and, if found, send me phoitostJatic or other copies of them. Any expenses incun·ed in this research l ~hall be glad to refund. "There is something so rema.1·koole in my grandfather's coming to this country that I must make you acquainted with it. In those days you know the nobility, as t11ey are called, were great tyrants and looked on honest gentlemen, wiithout titles, as mere vassals. These nobility set out hunting and as they thought they were privileged to do as they pleased they rode through gen,tlemen's farms tearing down hedges and layl!ng everything Wlll.Ste and acted in this H. E. Van Gelder -.~~:.a L a n dscape Designer ~ 5205 SHERRIER PL. WASHINGTON, D. C. .JUNE, 25, 1943 A:>;!) OTHERS \Vay on my grandfather's plantation, rode their swift s~eeds into the yard with great insolence. Samuel Lewis, my grandf.a'.•her's youngest brother, went out and expostulated with them in mild term; and asked them to dies's:t, bu~ he was, treated with sa much indignity and contempt b~ Sir Muw;o C3mpbeli th1:1.;t he resented it immed'.ai~ely and they got to fighting with their small swords and Samuel Lewis feU. Jus.t a.Her he expired my grandfather (Andrew Lewis) came up de'.ermined to :revenge his brothn"s death, fell on h'.s L0rd1::h ip and run him through-he expired in a ,sh:ort t.'me on th; spot. My grandfaihcr took shc!'.cr in a house in Derry until rr vessel was r2adv to sail to America. He was kt d:;wn from an upper window on deck and b'd ad'eu to Erin. He rema'ned i.n Pr·nnsylvania and Virginia three ye1ars before h's family came to this country. My gT'.:' ndfather had four sons-,!ihe oldest Thomas, Andrew, William and Charles. Thomas m~uricd a, Miss Shiothey and Jived in Augusta on the Sihenandoe, Which is now Rvcking!lrnm. He had thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters. Th01IT1as. Lewis was renowned for his w:'sdom and s'.abillty, was Surveyor General of the wes.tr,r.n country and if he had been a mercenary man mi,gl!t have accumulated a princely Jo1tune for himself and children. He was in the first Cbnvention and died shortly nJter my r1"turn home. "Andrew Lewis, the second scn, Was: at a very early period in iife engaged in warfar:" with the Indians; he WRS in Brnddock's defeat. My father was there 8lso. After trot battle Andrew obklined a c8.. ptain's commjssion and was at. the battle" N. 2. "GeQrgc Murray, a well-known Doneg8l poet, born in July, 1834, at Ramelton, on the shores of Loch Swilly, H's fa'her was a schoolmaster, near Derry, and the poet was a teacher for a time in Belfast. ?ie was educa,.ted at the national school of his native place, and after leavin.g h's
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