Book Review of The Richmond Theatre Fire, final part

Here is the final part of the book review.  Thanks to Debra for summarizing this book for us - it has been so fascinating and thought provoking to follow this tragic story of our cousin.  A cousin that we never even knew about until recently.

Also, it would be very exciting for me to read comments on the blog!  So please, add a comment!

Meredith Henne Baker’s book on the fire clearly lays the blame for this tragedy on poor design and  poor construction of the theater house itself.

There were narrow hallways and only one narrow staircase. The terrified people could not get down the stairs and crowded/pushed each other down---and then trampled those who fell.

The only exit door on the bottom floor opened INWARD, so that when everyone was jammed up against it in the packed, panicked lobby, no one could open the door at all. Many who were lucky enough to get to the door died there of carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke inhalation, or fire itself. They were wedged in and trapped.

The original spark came from a light/gas lantern on stage, suspended above the stage itself. A stagehand was supposed to extinguish the flame before raising the prop apparatus. Sadly, he did not put it out before raising the light fixture up into the ceiling. He panicked and ran. There, high above the stage, the flame contacted the various paper and cloth scenery panels, starting a blaze that caught everything it touched on fire. It spread wildly in minutes.

As the flame spread all along the theater walls, those in elite boxes had no exit except the crowded halls and the jammed staircases----death traps for many.  Most of the deaths were adolescent girls and women who could not fight their way down the narrow halls and stairs.

Thus those in the boxes---like Governor Smith and his family---had little chance unless they could fight their way out.

Many people gave up trying to get down the stairs, broke out the windows, and jumped. Some died from those injuries; many were permanently crippled.

Book Review of The Richmond Theatre Fire, Part 2 of 3 parts

Continuing with the review of this fascinating book:

December of 1811 was a momentous month for George William Smith. December 5^th saw him officially sworn in as governor of Virginia, after having served as interim governor for some months. On the day after Christmas, he decided to take his wife, Lucy, and several of his children for a special evening at the theater to celebrate.

So, on the evening of December 26, 1811, “the newly minted governor of Virginia, was among the audience with his family.” Seated in boxes seven and eight with other wealthy dignitaries and bejeweled gentry, the governor was dressed formally “with his tall collar secured with his distinctive stock buckle.”

This stock buckle proved to be important later. After the fire, Governor George William Smith’s body was one of the few identified. A Richmond resident who witnessed what was left of the governor’s body being carried from the smoking ruins wrote, ‘His remains I saw taken from the ruins were a crisped lump.’  The stock buckle he wore helped to identify that crisped lump as what was left of the governor’s body.

“Perhaps the greatest blow in 1811 for Richmond---and for the state of Virginia---was the loss of its leader, Governor George William Smith.”

“A collaborator and peacemaker, the former state legislator from Essex County took firm political stands while leaving ‘not one enemy behind,’ according to his heartfelt obituary.”

“Most accounts concurred that Governor Smith emerged from the fire alive. They also reported that he looked around in search of someone and then reentered the burning building, where he met his death. The person for whom the forty-nine year old father was searching remained unclear.”

Many believe he was looking for his young son and rushed in to save him, but whatever the governor’s reason for going back into the theater, that decision cost him his life.

[Note: The governor’s wife and his children survived the fire.]

“Without Smith’s guidance, the executive branch nearly fell apart in the week after the fire.”  There was much confusion about what to do about a new chief executive and how to proceed in the state government of Virginia.

 “Governor George Smith‘s family did not escape hardship after the fire. His wife Lucy F. Smith was left with eight children from his previous marriage to the deceased Sarah Adams, and she must have found it necessary to obtain an infusion of cash to sustain the household.”

“By January 28, Governor Smith’s valuables were scheduled for auction, as this announcement indicates:

All the Household and Kitchen furniture of the late GEORGE W. SMITH, Esq., consisting of  a tableboard, a Mahogany Settee and Chairs, Bed-steads with Curtains, Tables, Chairs, Table and Tea China, &c, &c. Three family slaves.

“This auction was deemed necessary despite an act of the Assembly passed on January 21 allocating monies to the Smith family---the only example of state aid to victims of the Richmond Theater fire.”

The legislature voted to pay Lucy F. Smith and the children of the deceased governor $1,946 for his earlier service as lieutenant governor and interim governor.

Book review of The Richmond Theater Fire, by Meredith Henne Baker (Part 1)

Hello everyone - sorry for the silence on the blog for the last few months.  But I was very busy painting my house and crafting paper flowers and getting my little girl married off!

Since the wedding ceremony was held at the Virginia Historical Society, Debra and Peggy took the opportunity to each buy a book from the gift shop there: 

The Richmond Theater Fire

By Meredith Henne Baker

This is the fire that we covered in a previous blog post, but this book is definitely worthy of a few more blog posts here on our family ancestry blog.  Debra has summarized the book for us, and over the next few blog posts, we will provide some of that information for you.

To refresh your memory, the governor of Virginia, George W. Smith, who died in this tragic fire was the son of our great-great-great-great-great uncle Meriwether Smith.

“The Richmond Theater . . . was among the largest in America, and its destruction by fire forms one of the striking events of early American history.”       Washington Post, January 3, 1994

 

Excerpt from the book:

“Monumental Church sits . . . like a domed white sepulcher” on the 12^th block of East Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia.

A state-issued historical marker there gives “a few clues to the astounding story of a tragedy that forever transformed the capital of the South.”  The monument’s marker reads as follows:

 

Virginia Governor George W. Smith died here in 1811. Several survivors owed their lives to the bravery of Gilbert Hunt, a slave blacksmith. A committee chaired by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall raised funds for the church’s construction. Designed by Robert Mills and completed in 1814, the octagonal building served as an Episcopal church until 1965.

 

Once this location was the site of the Richmond Theater. On the night of December 26, 1811, the theater became a tomb.

 

In the subterranean vault of the Monumental Church is a crypt, rising as an enormous mound and forming a basement tomb.

The Historic Richmond Foundation used ground-penetrating radar to detect the location within this funeral mound of two oversized wooden coffins.

The contents of these coffins? Nearly a hundred charred bodies “in a cluttered heap, relics of those who attended the Richmond Theater one festive holiday night over two hundred years ago.”

The horribly burned remains of “slave, free, schoolgirl, gentry, governor, Jew, Catholic, father, actress” all mingled in this sad place.

Because it was impossible to separate and identify the ashes and the partial bodies of these fire victims, the decision was made to inter all of them together, on the site of the theater itself.

Here they died together and here they would rest eternally.

EBENEZER ADAMS, CAPTAIN OF THE COLONIAL MILITIA

I am fascinated when I see the names of some of our ancestors, and I realize that those relatives  are the reason some streets and areas in Richmond are named the way they are!  Bremo Road, for example!  That cannot be a coincidence - I don't have any proof, but I just believe they must be connected in some way!

From Debra:
EBENEZER ADAMS, CAPTAIN OF THE COLONIAL MILITIA

OUR 6th GREAT GRANDFATHER

Our sixth great grandfather, Ebenezer Adams, was born in England. According to ship’s records, he arrived in the Virginia Colony in 1714.

In Virginia, he received land grants of 3,983 acres of land in New Kent County and Henrico County.

In 1731, he became Captain of the Colonial Militia in Virginia.

And here is how our family’s history connects to this distinguished early American citizen, Captain Ebenezer Adams:

In 1718, he married Tabitha Cocke, who was the daughter of Richard Cocke the Younger of Bremo and Anne Bowler.

The children of his marriage to Tabitha included a daughter named Anne Adams (1731-1775), who married our Colonel Francis Smith (1705-1760) the Elder.  These two, Francis Smith and Anne Adams, thus became our 5th great grandparents.

Their son, Francis Smith the Younger, is the one who moved from Virginia to Georgia and then fathered Ebenezer Smith, who in turn fathered Reuben Ebenezer Smith, who then fathered Robert Toombs Smith, who fathered Oswell Scott Smith…who married Florine Butler/our Granny Smith…and then the two of them had a child named Margaret Elizabeth Smith. And the rest is history!

So simple, right?

VA Gov George William Smith and the tragic Richmond Theatre fire of 1811

(From Debra)

Attention all of you Virginia family members!

The son of our Fifth Great Uncle Colonel Meriwether Smith was once the governor of your state.
George William Smith (born 1762), son of our great uncle Meriwether Smith, was elected Virginia's 17th governor in 1811.

His story is amazingly tragic, however.

He was elected governor in late 1811.  Three weeks into his term, he and other dignitaries attended an event at the Richmond Theatre on December 26, 1811.

During that event, the Richmond Theatre began to burn, the fire forcing everyone to evacuate.  Governor George William Smith made it safely out of the burning building.
Then he realized that his young son, who had also attended the theatre event that night, had NOT gotten out of the blaze.

The frantic father ran back into the theatre to find his son. Governor Smith never made it back out of the burning building, although his young son did escape the inferno. George William Smith perished there in that burning theatre, along with so many others.

His ashes and those of the other victims are buried underneath a marble monument at Monumental Church in Richmond, Virginia.
 
His term as Governor of Virginia lasted three short weeks.

 

John Smith T. ---- the dueler

(From Debra)

Francis Smith, the Younger or Junior [1749-1812] ---our 4th Great Grandfather----married Lucy Wilkinson.

Their third child was our ancestor----Ebenezer Smith [1779-1837].

However, the second child of their marriage was the interesting one:  John Smith T.
John Smith T.----that is the way he wrote his name, as a way of distinction, as he called it----had quite a reputation.

John Smith T. was a noted duelist and is said to have killed 12 or 13 men in his various personal encounters.

In John F. Dabney's Personal Recollections, there is supposedly a sketch of him, along with the story of his dueling mastery.

He had extensive land grants, according to United States Land Grant Records, in Missouri, where he lived and died.

By the way, he evidently won every duel, because he died in his bed as an old man on his estate just below St. Louis, Missouri.

So, that means our 4th Great Uncle was a duelist.

Francis Smith, Last Will and Testament, Part 2 (final part)

There is actually a little bit more in this will, but I'm selectively posting here.  This post will be the last regarding this will.  This was all handwritten, of course, and Debra typed it all up for us.  I found it extremely difficult to read the written text.

(Coninued)
Item, I give devise and bequeath to my son William Smith all my Land in the Neck adjoining the Land wherein I now live, beginning at White Oak Corner on the Lower Five of the Road heading to Lowry’s Ferry, and parting my Land and that of George Clayton’s, thence down the road to a forked Red Oak, another corner between my Land and said Clayton’s, thence along a line of Trees marked by myself in the presence of my two sons Meriwether and William, Mr. Thomas Adams, Mr. Henry Vaps, John Edmondson, Jr., and John Webb to a White Oak at the Head of a Branch where the road crosses, thence down the said Branch, according to its Meanders, into the Beaver Dams, to the line between Lowry’s and myself, thence down Lowry’s Line to Young’s Line, thence along Young’s Line to Cauthorn’s Line, thence along Cauthorn’s Line, the several courses to the Lands of William Young, and from thence up Young’s and Clayton’s Line, to the White Oak began at, to him and his Heirs for Ever

Item, I give to my friend Thomas Adams, a Mourning Ring of the price of two guineas.

Item, I give my Books to be equally divided among my three sons Meriwether, Francis, and William.

Lastly, I constitute and appoint my Loving Wife Executrix and my son Meriwether Smith and my Friend Thomas Adams to be Executors of this my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking all Other Wills by me heretofore made, and do declare this my Last Will and Testament.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my Hand and affixed my Seal this fifth day of March, Anno Dom. 1760

Signed, sealed and declared by the Said Francis Smith as his Last Will and Testament in the Presence of

Rob. Grier

John Well

Fra. Jones

John Doby or Daily

At a court held for Essex County at Tappahannock on Monday the 15^th day of March, 1762.

This will was presented in Court by Meriwether Smith and Thomas Adams, gent., the Executors therein named who made Oath thereto according to Law, which being also Proved by the Oath of Francis Jones and John Daily, two of the witnesses thereto it is admitted to record and on the motion of the Said Executors and their performing what the Laws in the Like cases require, Certificate is Granted them for obtaining a Probate therein in Due Form.

Francis Smith - Last Will and Testament, part 1

Reading wills

Legal language today is sometimes hard for the layman to follow.  Reading wills from the 1700's is hard for a modern day person to follow.  Oh my goodness, the details they wove into their stories!  Over the next few days I will share excerpts from the will of Francis Smith (senior), who was our 5th great grandfather.  

FRANCIS SMITH LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

Virginia Wills and Probate:  The Will Book, Volume II (1757-1762)

In the name of God, Amen.

I Francis Smith of the County of Essex of Parish of South Farnham [Virginia], being in perfect sense and memory, do make known, constitute and appoint this my last Will and Testament, in manner following.

I desire my body be buried in a decent way, at the discretion of my Executors, herein after named, trusting to the merits of my blessed Saviour for the salvation of my soul.

Lend to my loving Wife Ann Smith the use of half of all my Lands, at the Lower Church in South Farnham Parish, to be laid off for her on the North side the main road running thro’ the said Land, and the following Slaves (to wit): Sambo, Harry, Will, Dorus, Lance, Judy, Will the Son of Judy, Phebee, Rose, Sarah Daughter of Rose, and Chloe Daughter of Old Phebee.I also give to my said Wife, the use of my riding chair and Horses, also my young horse called Buck, and my Sorrel Mare, thirty head of cattle, my Cart and four Oxen now in use on the Plantation, twenty head of Sheep, all my flock of Hoggs on the said Plantations at the Church, my Looking Glass in the Chamber over the Hall, a Dressing Glass which stands in the Lower Chamber, two of my best Beds and Furniture, two Black Walnut Tables, one dozen Chairs now standing in the Hall, all my Plates and China, half the Kitchen Furniture, and my Black Walnut Desk, also my share and part of the reversion of the Estate now held by Mrs. Adams in New Kent County, in lieu of her Dower in the Estate of her late Husband Mr. Ebenezar Adams late of the said county deed for and during her natural Life in full Satisfaction and Compensation of her Right of Dower in my Lands, Slaves, and Personal Estate, and after her Decease, I give and devise the Slaves abovementioned, and their future Increase, Horse, etc., to be equally divided among my three children Francis, William , and Ann, and their heirs for Ever.

(To be continued)

Calfpasture, Cowpasture, and Bullpasture, Virginia

In my post about Thomas Adams, I said that he lived in an area called Calfpasture in Virginia. It s interesting how the area got its name.

From wiki:

The Indians had named the river Walatoola, which means "winding waters", describing the great bends in the river. However, when British settlers arrived in the 1720s they named it the Cowpasture.

There is an interesting story about how the Cowpasture and neighboring rivers the Bullpasture River and Calfpasture River came to be so named. It is said that the Indians once had stolen a herd of settlers' cattle and were driving them westward into the mountains. The calves naturally tired first; they were left behind at the river which is now the Calfpasture. The cows were driven on farther, but they, too, had to be abandoned, the valley in which they were left became the valley of the Cowpasture. The bulls, being somewhat hardier, were still able to continue westward; they finally were left at the river which is known as the Bullpasture.

6th Great Uncle Thomas Adams

We believe that Thomas Adams was our 6th Great Uncle. An important man of his time, Thomas Adams was a signer of the Articles of Confederation.  He lived in Virginia, in what was called "the Calfpasture". He had no children, and his place of burial is unknown. We want to find it, though. I'm on the case. 
Here is a drawing of Thomas, and a photo of our grandfather, Oswell Scott Smith.

German G7 grandfather

Excerpt from Debra's email:

The is the forefather of Comfort Delilah Prather, the woman who was our great grandfather Smith's mother.)

Here is the story of how this great x 7 grandfather of ours got his name. You will LOVE this!

A family named WEISSGERBER sailed from Nassau Siegen, Germany, and arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 31, 1750.
They settled in Culpepper County, Virginia.

Since no one in the American Colonies could spell or even understand the pronunciation of the name WEISSGERBER, his name was recorded as "WHITESCARVER."

So he is one of the reasons our DNA test shows we have German blood. His wife, our G-7 Grandmother, was German, also----Anna Catharina Wuest.

From WikiWorld:

Tillman Whitescarver

Tillman Whitescarver migrated to America from Germany August 31,1750, bringing with him his wife Anna Cuntz and children, Anna Maria, Harman, and Anna Cathrine. They came from Niederndor, Nassau-Siegen, Germany and landed at Philadelphia. From there they went on to Culpeper County, VA. His German name was DILMANUS WEISSGERBER and he was born March 20, 1713. Upon arrival in American, his name was changed to an English-sounding name Tillman Whitescarver; On May 13, 1752, he was granted 329 acres of land in Culpeper County, VA, on the fork of the Crooked Run. Tillman died in Culpeper County in 1782.

10 children under the age of 12

Here is an excerpt from an email that Debra sent out recently, in case you missed it:

Recently, as I continued my never-ending ancestry search, I came across an 1870 federal census with some interesting info about George Snelling Butler, our Great Great Grandfather (Mama's Grandpa Butler's father).

For all of us parents who have at times felt exhausted by having and raising our children, check this out:

Great Great Grandfather George Snelling Butler (age 50) married a 20 year old woman, Mary Ann Richards. Their wedding was in 1856. Just 14 years later, here are their children and the children's ages as listed on the 1870 census:

David Edward (Ned) Butler     age 12

Elizabeth Butler                       age 11

Patrick Henry Butler                age 10

Ellen Augusta Butler               age   9

James Thomas Butler             age   7 (our great grandfather)

Simeon Clayton Butler            age  6

Joseph Butler                           age 4

Martha Butler                            age 2

Benjamin Franklin Butler         age 1

Susan Butler                             age 4 months

Lemon pie!

This was one of the sweetest things I've come across. It's a book with a lemon pie recipe from one of mother's ancestors.   As I told Debra and Peggy, now we know where mother got her lemon pie talents from!
 Click here for lemon pie recipe

Our first post

Welcome!  Those who come here are interested in finding out how we got here!  Debra has already done so much research on our ancestry. But I know there is much more to be done. I am her private detective.  Make no mistake tho, she is the boss and the genealogical brain of this process. (I am the boss in everything else, so, haha!)

Peggy suggested that we create a blog. I thought about a private Facebook page..... but then realized that a blog would make this easier to follow, and also might be a little more accessible to the family.  As we find out interesting little tidbits about our ancestors, we can post a short blog entry to tell you. You can come and read all of the posts whenever you want to.   You can make a comment on a post and ask questions or give your thoughts anytime.  

Debra continues to map out our lines. It is fascinating and the detective part of it has me hooked!