Having spent the last few days on the first in a series of ancestral travelers along this dusty trail, I am moving on. Leaving Margaret Lynn and John Lewis isn't easy. I find their story captivating. Speaking of "captivating", the dire circumstance I mentioned yesterday had to do with a kidnapping that left the family temporarily bereft of hope. More on that and on their life in general appears in my Southern Bypass book. My information came solely from the copy of Margaret's journal I found in "the box" mentioned at the onset of this blog. My research to find the original manuscript led to a dead end, but the contents of her diary that relate to early Staunton and to the Lewis family are well-documented.
To complete my coverage of this early tale, I'll use Margaret Lynns' summation of her children as adults. She wrote that Charles, the youngest son, died in battle at Point Pleasant, and William was confined by sickness, but had thirteen sickness. Apparently his sickness came late in life. At the end of her journal she wrote:
"...I feel like a traveler whose way was laid by a devious and uphill road, now in some sweet peaceful day, turns to survey the way he has come... Dear Andrew, who is known as General Lewis, still follows the fortunes of his great chief, Washington...Thomas is in the honorable House of Burgessess."
The fate of dear Alice is somewhat a mystery, but the journal says she married and every now and then, with a far away look, retold the story of her days as White Dove.
The photo is of the clip made from the knee-buckles worn by Andrew Lewis when he served under General George Washington. The description was written by my grandmother. The initials on the clip are EG, Elizabeth Lewis Gilmer, the granddaughter of Margaret Lynn and John Lewis.
Adieu for now to my great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother, Margaret Lynn Lewis. She died in 1773, eleven years after her husband's death in 1762.
Tomorrow, a new member of the cast will be introduced.
To complete my coverage of this early tale, I'll use Margaret Lynns' summation of her children as adults. She wrote that Charles, the youngest son, died in battle at Point Pleasant, and William was confined by sickness, but had thirteen sickness. Apparently his sickness came late in life. At the end of her journal she wrote:
"...I feel like a traveler whose way was laid by a devious and uphill road, now in some sweet peaceful day, turns to survey the way he has come... Dear Andrew, who is known as General Lewis, still follows the fortunes of his great chief, Washington...Thomas is in the honorable House of Burgessess."
The fate of dear Alice is somewhat a mystery, but the journal says she married and every now and then, with a far away look, retold the story of her days as White Dove.
The photo is of the clip made from the knee-buckles worn by Andrew Lewis when he served under General George Washington. The description was written by my grandmother. The initials on the clip are EG, Elizabeth Lewis Gilmer, the granddaughter of Margaret Lynn and John Lewis.
Adieu for now to my great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother, Margaret Lynn Lewis. She died in 1773, eleven years after her husband's death in 1762.
Tomorrow, a new member of the cast will be introduced.
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