John Stuart (Virginia)
Encyclopedia
Colonel John Stuart was a Revolutionary War
commander and pioneering western Virginia settler. A veteran of the Battle of Point Pleasant
(1774), he surveyed and settled the Greenbrier Valley
and is known locally as the “Father of Greenbrier County”.
("Bonnie Prince Charlie") as king of Great Britain
. They were distant relatives.} Soon after the failure of the Prince's cause at Culloden
(1746) David Stuart immigrated from Scotland to America. He settled in Augusta County, Virginia
on the Shenandoah River
, some distance from the town of Staunton
.
At age twenty, John Stuart became a member of the 1769 survey by Augusta County citizens of the Greenbrier Valley to the west in preparation. The following year, he built the first mill in present day Greenbrier County, at Frankford
. He led a company of Greenbrier militiamen in the 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant
; four years later he was a militia officer when the last Indian raid was made on Fort Donnally, near Lewis Spring (Lewisburg
).
In October 1774, Stuart witnessed the slaughter of four Indians including the Shawnee Chief Cornstalk
, who had come to Fort Randolph to explain the Shawnee poisition. Cornstalk explained that he desired peace, but the young Shawnee wanted war. Conrstalk's brutal murder by a mob was denounced by Patrick Henry and the Virginia House of Burgesses.
Stuart was one of Lewisburg’s first trustees, and in 1780 he became the county’s first clerk. (His office in Lewisburg still exists.) He attended the 1788 Virginia Ratifying Convention
and advocated ratification of the U.S. Constitution. In 1789 he built a large stone house known as “Stuart Manor” at Fort Spring
, near Lewisburg. He donated the land the first county courthouse and the Old Stone Church in Lewisburg stand on.
Stuart corresponded Thomas Jefferson
, and in 1796 he sent Jefferson fossil bones he had obtained from a salt petre cave near his home. These specimens were eventually determined to be prehistoric and to were named Megalonyx jeffersonii
, meaning Jefferson's Ground Sloth.
John Stuart died in 1823 and wa buried in the family cemetery at “Stuart Manor",as was his wife Agatha Lewis Stuart, daughter Thomas Lewis
, a brother of General Andrew Lewis
.
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
commander and pioneering western Virginia settler. A veteran of the Battle of Point Pleasant
Battle of Point Pleasant
The Battle of Point Pleasant, known as the Battle of Kanawha in some older accounts, was the only major battle of Dunmore's War. It was fought on October 10, 1774, primarily between Virginia militia and American Indians from the Shawnee and Mingo tribes...
(1774), he surveyed and settled the Greenbrier Valley
Greenbrier River
The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long, in southeastern West Virginia, USA. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
and is known locally as the “Father of Greenbrier County”.
Biography
Stuart's father, David Stuart, was among the supporters of Charles Edward StuartCharles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
("Bonnie Prince Charlie") as king of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. They were distant relatives.} Soon after the failure of the Prince's cause at Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
(1746) David Stuart immigrated from Scotland to America. He settled in Augusta County, Virginia
Augusta County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 65,615 people, 24,818 households, and 18,911 families residing in the county. The population density was 68 people per square mile . There were 26,738 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
on the Shenandoah River
Shenandoah River
The Shenandoah River is a tributary of the Potomac River, long with two forks approximately long each, in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia...
, some distance from the town of Staunton
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
.
At age twenty, John Stuart became a member of the 1769 survey by Augusta County citizens of the Greenbrier Valley to the west in preparation. The following year, he built the first mill in present day Greenbrier County, at Frankford
Frankford, West Virginia
Frankford is an unincorporated community in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. Frankford is located on U.S. Route 219 south of Falling Spring and north of Maxwelton...
. He led a company of Greenbrier militiamen in the 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant
Battle of Point Pleasant
The Battle of Point Pleasant, known as the Battle of Kanawha in some older accounts, was the only major battle of Dunmore's War. It was fought on October 10, 1774, primarily between Virginia militia and American Indians from the Shawnee and Mingo tribes...
; four years later he was a militia officer when the last Indian raid was made on Fort Donnally, near Lewis Spring (Lewisburg
Lewisburg, West Virginia
Lewisburg is a city in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,830 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Greenbrier County.-Geography:Lewisburg is located at ....
).
In October 1774, Stuart witnessed the slaughter of four Indians including the Shawnee Chief Cornstalk
Cornstalk
Cornstalk was a prominent leader of the Shawnee nation just prior to the American Revolution. His name, Hokoleskwa, translates loosely into "stalk of corn" in English, and is spelled Colesqua in some accounts...
, who had come to Fort Randolph to explain the Shawnee poisition. Cornstalk explained that he desired peace, but the young Shawnee wanted war. Conrstalk's brutal murder by a mob was denounced by Patrick Henry and the Virginia House of Burgesses.
Stuart was one of Lewisburg’s first trustees, and in 1780 he became the county’s first clerk. (His office in Lewisburg still exists.) He attended the 1788 Virginia Ratifying Convention
Virginia Ratifying Convention
The Virginia Ratifying Convention was a convention of 168 delegates from Virginia who met in 1788 to ratify or reject the United States Constitution, which had been drafted at the Philadelphia Convention the previous year.The Convention met and deliberated from June 2 through June 27 in Richmond...
and advocated ratification of the U.S. Constitution. In 1789 he built a large stone house known as “Stuart Manor” at Fort Spring
Fort Spring
Fort Spring is an unincorporated community in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, USA. It is situated along the Greenbrier River within the Greenbrier River Watershed. It was once a substantial portion of the Chesapeake and Ohio railway by way of the Gravel Girtie route from Hinton in Summers...
, near Lewisburg. He donated the land the first county courthouse and the Old Stone Church in Lewisburg stand on.
Stuart corresponded Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, and in 1796 he sent Jefferson fossil bones he had obtained from a salt petre cave near his home. These specimens were eventually determined to be prehistoric and to were named Megalonyx jeffersonii
Megalonyx jeffersonii
Megalonyx jeffersonii, or Jefferson's ground sloth, is an extinct species of giant ground sloth that lived from the Illinoian Stage during the Middle Pleistocene through to the Rancholabrean of the Late Pleistocene . Its closest living relatives are the two-toed tree sloths of the genus...
, meaning Jefferson's Ground Sloth.
John Stuart died in 1823 and wa buried in the family cemetery at “Stuart Manor",as was his wife Agatha Lewis Stuart, daughter Thomas Lewis
Thomas Lewis
Thomas Lewis may refer to:*Thomas Lewis *Thomas Lewis , American football wide receiver*Thomas Lewis , artist and activist...
, a brother of General Andrew Lewis
Andrew Lewis
Andrew Lewis may refer to:* Andrew J Lewis , British comics writer* Andrew L. Lewis, Jr. , American railroad executive* Andrew Lewis , Guyanese boxer...
.
Works
- Stuart, John (1799; 1st published in 1833), Memoir of Indian Wars and Other Occurrences by the Late Colonel Stuart of Greenbrier (Reprinted in 1970 by Ayer Company Publishers [68 pgs] with Charles A. Stuart as editor; Series: Eyewitness Accounts of the American Revolution, No. 3), this memoir includes an account of the Battle of Point Pleasant and of CornstalkCornstalkCornstalk was a prominent leader of the Shawnee nation just prior to the American Revolution. His name, Hokoleskwa, translates loosely into "stalk of corn" in English, and is spelled Colesqua in some accounts...
’s murder.