Advertisement

Fielding Lewis

Advertisement

Fielding Lewis Veteran

Birth
Gloucester County, Virginia, USA
Death
7 Dec 1781 (aged 56)
Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg City, Virginia, USA
Burial
Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg City, Virginia, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
See John Campbell

http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~auntsissie/genealogy/benedictarnold.html

Virginia County Records SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY 1721-1800
WILLS
WILL BOOK E 1772-1798
page 37
LEWIS, FIELDING, St. George's Parish, Spotsylvania Co. d. Oct. 19, 1781, p. Jan. 17, 1782. Wit. George Noble, Benj. Ledwick, John Butler, Gerard Alexander, Will. Booth, William Carpenter. Ex. wife and my sons John, Fielding and George. Leg. wife, Betty Lewis, during life use of all my lands in Spots. Co. except that part rented to my son John; son John, after death of his mother, all my lands in Spots. Co. and in Fredericksburg; son Fielding, 1000 acres of my Frederick Co. lands, on which he lives; son George, remainder of Frederick Co. lands bought of Robert Carter Nicholas, except 1000 acres to my son Lawrence; son-in-law Charles Carter, Esqr; son Lawrence, 1000 acres of land in Frederick Co.; son Robert, one-half of 10,000 acres of land located for me in the Co. of Kentucky by Mr. Hancock Lee, and one-half of 20,000 acres located or to have been located for me by Nathaniel Randolph in the Co. of Kentucky; son Howell, the remaining half of above lands in Kentucky; all my lands purchased at the Land Office except what is already disposed of, to my sons Robert and Howell equally; my share in the Dismal Swamp Co. my lands bought of Marinaduke Naughflett in partnership with Genl. Washington; my lands bought of Dr. Wright and Jones in Nansemond Co., in partnership with Genl. Washington and Dr. Thomas Walker, and the 320 acres of land in Frederick Co. bought of George Mercer's estate, also my share in the Chatham Rope Walk at Richmond to be sold by executors and the money arising to be paid to my six sons before mentioned, in equal portions.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=flager&id=I40180
Event: Appointment MAR 1748/49 Fredericksburg, VA. 8
Event: Trip 1748 Frederick Co., VA. 9 10
Event: Witness DEC 1750 Williamsburg, James City, VA. 11
Event: Court Appearance NOV 1753 Winchester, Frederick, VA. 12
Event: Election 21 MAY 1754 Spotsylvania Co., VA. 13
Military Service: MAY 1756 Winchester, Frederick, VA. 14
Will: 10 DEC 1781 Frederick Co., VA. 15
Probate: 17 JAN 1782 Spotsylvania Co., VA. 16
Residence: ABT 1759 Fredericksburg, VA. - Millbank
Note: Millbank, next to 'Canning', is styled as one of the most 'expensive ediface's' between Williamsburg and Mount Vernon. 17
Event: with Charles Dick and William Fitzhugh for gunnery & ordinance Commission ABT 1775 Fredericksburg, VA.
_ABBR: Paul Wilstach, Tidewater Virginia (TV - NB5) (Indianapolis, IN.: Bobb' 18
Death: AFT 10 DEC 1781 in Frederick Co., VA. 19 16
Event: Appointment NOV 1753 Fredericksburg, VA. 20
Event: Appointment 1761 Williamsburg, James City, VA. 21
Event: Appointment 1774 Williamsburg, James City, VA. 22
Event: Trip 1744 Fredericksburg, VA. 23
Event: Trip 1769 'Mount Vernon', Fairfax, VA. 24
Event: Witness 13 AUG 1755 Spotsylvania Co., VA. 25
Event: Election 1758 Spotsylvania Co., VA. 26
Event: Election 1760 Spotsylvania Co., VA. 27
Event: Election 1770 Fredericksburg, VA. 28
Event: Election 14 DEC 1774 Spotsylvania Co., VA. 29
Residence: BET 1756 AND 1758 Fredericksburg, VA. 30
Note:

Shortly after his 1746 marriage to Catherine, Francis' father John had built a fine residence (possibly on the location of the present Fredericksburg Library) near the Fielding Store for Francis and his new wife. For some time, Francis was initially under the tutelage of his fathers manager John Thornton in the new venture with the Fielding Store. By April of 1747, Francis was established in the Fredericksburg area as is evidenced by reimbursement received from the Council for services rendered during the September 1746 visit by the Lord Proprietor's task force headed by William Fairfax.

It is reported that Fielding played an important role in the feisty and often raucous society of colonial Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County. His integrity and quiet demeanor are reported to have helped on specific occasions to contain the competing factions in both the church and court politics of the area. (Ref: Fielding Lewis and the Washington Family, Paula S. Felder, p. 69). The following references to Fielding's life by no means covers the entirety of his record, but simply offers simply highlights and some examples of his many enterprising and public activities. In the period just after 1748, Fielding purchased 3,078 acres in the fertile area of Frederick County and in about 1753 another 1200 acres in the Dismal Swamp area of Augusta County.

In March of 1750, Fielding filed in the matter of the estate of Mildred Willis. At about the time that he married Elizabeth 'Betty' Washington, Fielding built a mansion just northwest of Fredericksburg that he would call 'Kenmore'. It had ornamental ceilings done in stucco. In 1752, Fielding paid Richard Royston of Gloucester County 861 lbs. for 861 acres of land adjoining his fathers tract near Fredericksburg, and built a mill at Hazel Run. In February 1752, George Washington surveyed the remaining half of the Buckner-Royston Patent for his brother-in-law, and Fielding purchased the tract the following month. (Ref: Fielding Lewis and the Washington Family, Paula S. Felder, p. 77, 101). His purchases included at least 3078 acres that were part of the holdings of Robert Carter Nicholas lying in the Valley in then Frederick County (now Clarke Co.), Virginia. In 1752, Fielding Lewis, George (the President) Washington, John Thornton and Charles Dick were early members of the Masonic Lodge of Fredericksburg. Later, Fielding acquired land along the Chriswell Mine Road, and in 1755, the area that he acquired was referenced as 'Mr. Fielding Lewis' Qtr called the Halfway House'. It was located about half way between the mine at the North Anna River and the Hazel Run wharves located in the town of Fredericksburg.

One of the principal crops that Fielding raised at his Spotsylvania plantation was wheat. As a result he maintained a significant interest in mills and in August of 1752, he petitioned the courts for permission to erect a water grist mill on some of the acreage that he had recently purchased. It is believed that he supplied George Washington with several superior strains that were subsequently produced at Washington's Mount Vernon farm. In 1754, Francis laid off another lot (lot 59) in Fredericksburg, when he sold it to William Waller. (Currently this lot is located at the corner of Charles and George Streets). The same year, he inherited (in his fathers estate) the 400 acre tract on which he was living outside of Fredericksburg which combined with the Royston land to comprise a plantation of more than 1200 acres. The principal result of Fielding's fathers death is that he now came to manage the business in the city of Fredericksburg as well as the Spotsylvania lands on his own. In July of 1755, Fielding was elected to a one year term as treasurer of the organization and would later serve on term as Grand Master. In March of 1756, Fielding was awarded an appointment from Governor Dinwiddie to supply provisions to the Virigina Regiment. About this same time, Francis took up an additional 600 acres in Spotsylvania County. This land evidently came into Francis's possession via his older brother Warner. (Ref: Spotsylvania County Deed Book E., p. 758). In February 1757, Fielding made one of the first major independent decisions regarding the Lewis Store. He sold the one acre business complex for 450 lbs., that had been originally built by his father, to John Thornton. (Ref: Fielding Lewis and the Washington Family, Paula S. Felder, p. 131. Spotsylvania Co. Deed Bk. E., p. 357, 24 February 1757.) On 9 October 1757, Fielding lent his brother Charles 650 lbs. and took a mortgage of Vaux Hall and guaranteed his brother a seven year least on the property. Between 1756 and 1758 Fielding was involved in numerous commercial transactions with James Madison (father of the President) of Montpilier in Orange Co., VA.

In December of 1757, Fielding was commissioned as head of the Spotsylvania Milita as a result of the actions taken by John Thornton against John Spotswood in regard to the march to Winchester, Frederick, VA. in May of 1756. (Ref: Forgotten Companions, Paula S. Felder, p. 214-215). In the latter half of 1760, Fielding sold 32 of his town lots, grossing more than 1000 lbs. (Ref: Fielding Lewis and the Washington Family, Paula S. Felder, p. 138, and Forgotten Companions, Paula S. Felder, pp. 138-139). He became a commissioned a County Lieutenant in 1758, and Commander-in-chief of the County militia in 1761. In May of 1763, Fielding, along with George Washington, Thomas Walker and Burwell Bassett traveled south to inspect the area known as 'the Dismal Swamp'. This effort to drain of 1000 acres of the available land eventually entailed the survey of at least 40,000 acres. (Ref: 'Articles of Agreement of the Dismal Swamp Company, 1763', Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 37 (1929), pp. 64-65). Unfortunately, the project never came to success and the affluent Anthony Bacon (the London factor) would later hold Fielding responsible for his losses and take legal action against him.

By April 1765, Fielding was enlisted to administer a school patterned after the Williamsburg model in Fredericksburg, but it was eventually terminated in 1770. In 1766, Fielding and George Washington were assigned to dispose of the land of George Carter who had died in England. In 1767, Fielding borrowed 1400 lbs. from his friend Gabriel Jones of Rockingham county. (Ref: Forgotten Companions, Paula S. Felder, p. 185). This loan may have been in anticipation of imminent purchases Fielding had in mind. Fielding purchased the Vaux Hall property from his brother Charles. This purchase included 1000 acres on the Ni River and was purchased for about 1000 lbs. (one reference suggests that the sale price was 1500 lbs., Forgotten Companions, Paula S. Felder, p. 205 suggests that the price was 100 lbs. (?)). The Vaux Hall property later passed to Francis's son John. Fielding's life style was not one of extravagant tastes although his income might have allowed it.He did have a 'light post chariot and a good wine cellar. It is reported that Fielding et. al. favored division of the Parish after January of 1768. He was elected to the new St. George's Parish Vestry in 1769.

In 1769, Fielding embarked on a plan to build a plantation manor house just beyond the new limits of Fredericksburg, later to be called Kenmore. In 1769 and in 1770, he imported a total of sixty indentured servants from Liverpool, England for that purpose. In 1769, Fielding and George Washington combined a visit to Lord Fairfax on business, with a stopover at lands (approximately 3000 acres that included at least one mill) that Fielding had recently taken up in Frederick Co., VA.. That land would be ultimately become the location of his son Fieldings residence after his marriage.

Early in 1770, Fielding and Charles Washington were authorized to build a gallery in the addition to the church, where Fielding was a vestryman. In 1770, he was involved as a justice in at least five separate court matters. In August of 1770, he was appointed to the committee overseeing the repair of the Hacel Run Bridge. By 1771, Fielding was actively involved in the effort to build a new home in Fredericksburg. In 1772, he was assigned another administrative chore by an act of the Virginia Assembly when he was appointed to a committee 'to strike a dividing line between the counties of Stafford and King George. In 1773, he was elected as a member of the House of Burgesses. In 1773, Fielding wrote to his brother in law George Washington that he stood to lose at least 200 lbs. due to the indebtedness of Roger Dixon. (Ref: Forgotten Companions, Paula S. Felder, p. 127; also see Kenmore Archives). That same year he mortgaged much of his plantation to the trustees of Fredericksburg for 830 lbs. In about 1775, William, with Fielding Lewis and Charles Dick was responsible for a ammunitions plant that supplied a 'Hundred stand of arms' for the revolutionary war effort in Fredericksburg. Soon, when public funds seemed to dry up, Fielding came to the rescue and lent the state of Virginia every dollar he could raise from his own private fortune.

It is believed that the home of Fielding and his wife Elizabeth was located on lots 83, 84, 85 and 86 on the entire block bounded by Princess Anne, Fauquier, Caroline and Lewis Streets; in Fredericksburg. It is reported that this home was eventually purchased by Edward Carter,a grandson of Robert 'King' Carter in about 1776. (Ref: Forgotten Companions, Paula S. Felder, p. 141) In 1775, Fielding, Elizabeth and their family began their move into the new home, later called Kenmore.

During the Revolution (being unable to enter the army because of bad eyes), he advanced £7,000 for the manufacture of arms at the 'Gunnery', established by the State of Virginia at Fredericksburg. For this outlay, he was repaid in depreciated money which was worth about two Pence on the Pound. Fielding invested his repayment largely in Western lands in the hope of offsetting his losses. During 1776, Fielding attended to local matters and fulfilled his traditional responsibilities such as attending a vestry meeting in February and presiding at the courts held in March through June. In March 1777, Fielding purchased half o the brick warehouse on Sophia Street, on lot 11 of Fredericksburg. This purchase is believed to have been in relation to his purchase of the small sloop, the 'Betsey', which weighted 35 tons. This is reported to have been necessary as a result of the cutoff of goods from England the the ability of the British blockade to effectively stop the trade of larger vessels. Also during March of 1777, Fielding was present for the meetings of the Spring Court. In April of 1778, Fielding advertised cargos from two ships arriving at Fredericksburg, the 'Betsey' and the 'Harleguin'. In November of 1778, Fielding, in the company of Charles Dick and Ebenezer Hazard traveled to Williamsburg. Their trip appears to have been successful as the gun factory in Fredericksburg soon received an infusion of 5000 lbs. by December.

In October of 1779, Francis Thornton and Fielding Lewis were among sixty-five signators on the petition suggesting that the Hunter Family's virtual monopoly of the river crossing between Fredericksburg and Falmouths be overtuirned. (Ref: Virginia State Petitions, The Library of Virginia. Archives Research Services). In 1780, early in the year, Fielding sent his son Fielding Jr. westward to purchase over 30000 acres of land as well as an additional 20000 acres between Pittsburgh and the Green River in Kentucky. Fielding Sr., as he had for the past several summers, departed the Fredericksburg area so as to spend the summer in the area of Berkley Springs. On 11 April 1780, Fielding was named as one of the managers of the Fredericksburg Company. (Ref: Maruy v. Robinson, Fredericksburg Hustings Court of Law (CR-HU-L 1785). By September, he had returned in time to preside at the Fall Court. In November, Fielding was in attendance at the House of Delegates in Williamsburg. Also, in 1780, Fielding had been appointed to receive collections from Culpeper and Orange Counties, but his failing health prevented him from completing his assignment. The increasing inflation as a result of the war, as well as the devaluation of money caused a great financial distress at the gun factory in Fredericksburg. Fielding had suffered financial losses, he had drained his resources So as to try and solve this situation, Fielding began to sell off some of his properties. Toward the end of the year, he sold a town lot and most of his Vaux Hall property These two sales are believed to have netted him about 7000 lbs. These sales resulted with enough funds to supply the needs of the gun factory in 1780. (Ref: Spotsylvania County Deed Book J, p. 594, 612, 615).

During his life, Fielding had been elected to the House of Burgesses twice and elected senior church warden four times by his fellow members of the vestry. In April of 1781, Fielding (in his last letter to his lifelong friend and brother-in-law) wrote to General Washington in regard to the health of his mother Mary (Ball) Washington and did speak of her continuing recovery. In addition to this, he himself had been invalid with tuberculosis and confined to his own home since October of 1780'. (Ref: Fielding Lewis and the Washington Family, Paula S. Felder, p. 286). On 17 May 1781, in his last noted action , Fielding was involved in a trip to the courthouse on the Po River to record the sale of his properties (of the former Warner patent, and subsequently known as Vaux Hall)on the Ni River. The will of Fielding was presented in Spotsylvania Co., VA. on 17 January 1782. He willed the 'Kenmore' mansion to his wife Betty, for the remainder of her life. One of the legacies that he left to his son John was the still unpaid debt too Gabriel Jones of 1767, which by then with interest totaled 2191 lbs.. In addition to that John received all of his fathers land between Far Hill Road and the Rappahannock river. The terms of the codicil of 10 December 1781 set the division of the estate not to begin until December 1782.

Additional references for Fielding include:

1.) 'Ancestral Records & Portraits', Vol. 1, compilation of the Colonial Dames of America, 1910, p. 131.
2.) 'William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine', Vol. 10, No. 1. (July, 1901), pp. 48-54.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fielding_Lewis
Fielding Lewis (July 7, 1725 – December 7, 1781) was a Colonel during the American Revolutionary War and the brother-in-law of George Washington. A successful merchant in Fredericksburg, VA, he had a plantation, which later became known as Kenmore. Notable for its Georgian mansion, it was designated as a National Historic Landmark in the twentieth century.

Early life and education

Lewis was born at Warner Hall, a plantation in Gloucester County, Virginia, the son of John Lewis (1694-1754), a merchant and planter, and Frances Fielding (c1702-1731). He was the third of seven children.[1] His paternal uncle, Robert Lewis (1704-1765), became the grandfather of Meriwether Lewis, who would explore the Louisiana Purchase.[2]

His father had a store in Fredericksburg. In 1749 John Lewis had a fine retail building constructed to display his wares and provide space for a selling floor and storage. The sandstone quoins, usually found only on larger mansions, were a sign of his aspirations. His son Fielding joined him in the business, taking it over in the 1750s.

The originally one-and-a-half story building was expanded to two stories in the early 19th century. Despite competition and changing tastes, the handsome building operated successfully as a store for nearly 100 years, until 1820, when it was finally adapted for residential use. Donated to the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation in 1996, the building has been studied and stabilized for restoration. It is believed to be one of the oldest retail buildings in the United States.[3]
Marriage and family

Lewis married Catharine Washington on October 18, 1746. She was his second cousin, the daughter of John Washington and Catharine Whiting, and a first cousin to George Washington. They had three children before Catharine died on February 19, 1750.

A few months later, on May 7, 1750, Lewis married Betty Washington (1733-1797), the sister of George Washington and another second cousin. She was 17 years old. They had 11 children together. Betty outlived Lewis by 16 years, dying in 1797.

Fielding Lewis, II(1751-1803); married Anne Alexander, had issue. Married Nancy Alexander, had issue.
Augustine Lewis(January 22, 1752-1756); died in infancy.
Warner Lewis(June 24, 1755-1756); died in infancy.
George Washington Lewis(March 14, 1757-November 15, 1831); married Catherine Daingerfield, had issue.
Mary Lewis(April 22, 1759-December 25, 1759); died in infancy.
Charles Lewis(October 3, 1760-1793)
Samuel Lewis(May 14, 1762-December 31, 1810)
Elizabeth Lewis(February 23, 1765-August 9, 1830); married distant cousin Charles Carter, had issue.
Lawrence Lewis(March 4, 1767-November 20, 1839); married half-cousin Eleanor Parke Custis, had issue.
Robert Lewis(June 25, 1769-January 17, 1829); married cousin Judith Carter Browne, had issue.
Howell Lewis, Sr.(December 12, 1771-December 26, 1822); married Ellen Hackley Pollard, had issue.

Their son Lawrence Lewis later married Eleanor Parke Custis, George Washington's adopted daughter and step-granddaughter, tying the families closely together.
Career

Lewis was established as a successful merchant before the American Revolutionary War. He was appointed as Commissary General of Munitions during the war, and commissioned at the rank of Colonel.[4]

He and his second wife Betty resided on a plantation (later named Kenmore) in Fredericksburg. Like others in the planter elite, they were supported by the labor of slaves. Betty's mother Mary Ball Washington frequently visited them and had a favorite spot she called her "meditation rock".

In 1769, Fielding and Betty started construction of a large Georgian mansion on their property, which was completed in 1775. It has some of the most refined colonial interior finishes of any surviving mansion. Named by later owners as Kenmore Plantation, it has been designated a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Lewis died in Fredericksburg in 1781 at the end of the Revolutionary War. Before her death in 1789, Mary Washington asked to be buried at her favorite spot at Kenmore, and her daughter Betty arranged for that.

In 1833 a memorial was started at Mary Washington's gravesite, but never completed. Following the United States Centennial in 1889, numerous historic and lineage societies were formed; the Mary Washington Memorial Association held fundraising events and commissioned a memorial for her gravesite. It was dedicated in 1894 at Mary Washington's gravesite in a ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland of the United States.
Legacy and honors

The Lewis mansion and property was later named Kenmore Plantation when purchased before the Civil War by people outside the Lewis family. It is now operated as a house museum, and is open to the public for viewing.
In the late 20th century, the Kenmore Plantation purchased Ferry Farm, the property said to be George Washington's boyhood home, to keep it from being developed.

Lewis' great-granddaughter Catherine Willis Gray married into the Bonaparte family of France. A sixth-generation descendant, Fielding Lewis Wright, served as Governor of Mississippi.

Fielding and his wife Elizabeth "Betty" Lewis are each commemorated with street names in the Ferry Farm subdivision outside Fredericksburg, with Fielding Circle and Betty Lewis Drive.

Ref: Spotsvylania Co. Virginia Deed Book H, 1771-1774 (Spotsylvania County Records, Pg 301)
Decr 25, 1772
JOHN CAMPBELL, ESQR and Mary, his wife, and ALEXANDER SPOTSWOOD ESQR to FIELDING LEWIS and Joseph Brock, Gentl, CHURCHWARDENS OF ST GEORGE PARISH, LEASE
50 acres in St. Geo Parish, Spots Co
315 lbs tobacco
Jno Brock, John Munro, Jona Wilson
no date of record
(he was married to Elizabeth Washington, sister to President GEORGE WASHINGTON. The Lewis' witnessessing some other deeds are most likely their sons)

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mysouthernfamily/myff/d0007/g0000052.html#I17365
http://www.kenmore.org/kenmore/owners.html

http://kenmore.org/education/lesson_plans/economy/tobacco-and-slavery.html
Growing tobacco required lots of land and hard work. Tobacco planters would begin cultivating their tobacco crop in late December or early January. However, many planters began just after Christmas, with the first task of sowing the seed. The entire season of plan planting and harvesting tobacco lasted into August and September, when the tobacco plants were finally cut and dried. Once a tobacco plant was finally ready for sale, it had to be packed inside of barrels called hogsheads before it could be shipped to England. The hogsheads were carried to inspection sites such as the one that was located in Fredericksburg, by wagon, boat or even rolled. Prominent businessmen living along the Rappahannock River such as Fielding Lewis of Kenmore and William Fitzhugh of Chatham probably brought their tobacco to Fredericksburg for inspection. Mr. Fitzhugh owned and operated one of the first slave labor plantations in the Stafford area, where tobacco was the primary crop. Another prominent name in the Fredericksburg area during the 1700s was John Mercer. John Mercer lived in Stafford County along the Potomac Creek, and owned many slave, indentured servants, and tobacco warehouses.

http://www.rbais.com/cfl-vassar/lewis.html
Fielding Lewis represented Spotsylvania County in the Virginia House of Burgesses on at least 12 occasions, and was in attendance when Patrick Henry, "The Voice of the Revolution", delivered his famous Stamp Act speech to those assembled in Williamsburg in 1765. "If this be treason, make the most of it."

He served on the Committee of Safety of Fredericksburg and in 1775 was appointed, along with Charles Dick and three others, to establish and equip a manufactory of small arms for the newly formed government. Virginia's third revolutionary convention contributed the first 25,000 pounds, but most of the operating funds came from the personal account of Colonel Lewis. It was the first such factory in America. Two historical markers have been placed at the site near Walker-Grant Middle School on Gunnery Road.

http://files.usgwarchives.org/va/gloucester/bios/lewis01.txt
14 COL. FIELDING(5) LEWIS, born July 7, 1725, son of Col John(4) Lewis and Frances Fielding, his wife, resided in Spotsylvania county. He was a prominent patriot of the Revolution, and ad- Page 49. vanced L7,000 to carry on the factory for the manufacture of arms at Fredericksburg. His beautiful home, "Kenmore," in Fredericksburg, is an object of great interest to visitors to that historic city.

He married twice; first, on October 18, 1746, Catherine, aunt to General Washington and daughter of Major John Washington, of "Highgate," in Gloucester county, and Catherine Whiting, daughter of Col. Henry Whiting, by whom he had issue,
40 John Lewis, born June 22, 1747. His uncle, Mr. John Lewis, and Mr. Charles Dick, godfathers, and Mrs. Mary Washington and Mrs. Lee, godmothers.

17 CHARLES(5) LEWIS, brother of Fielding(5) Lewis, and son of Col. John(4) Lewis and Frances Fielding, resided in Caroline county, where he married Lucy Taliaferro, daughter of John Taliaferro and Mary Catlett*, of Snow Creek, Spotsylvania county, and had issue, 54 John(6) Taliaferro Lewis, 55 Charles Augustine, and 56 Mary Warner Lewis, who married Philip Lightfoot, of Cedar Creek, Caroline county (QUARTERLY, III., p. 107-109). Col. Charles Lewis kept a journal detailing very minutely all the marches and movements of a company of men, commencing October 10, 1755. The detachment was a part of the command of Andrew Lewis. This Col. Charles(5) Lewis died _______________________________________________________________________
*This will of Mary Taliaferro, dated in Spotsylvania January, 1771, names daughter Mary Jones, wife of Joseph Jones, "her present husband," and daughter Lucy Lewis, grandchildren John Taliaferro Lewis, Charles Augustine Lewis, and Mary Warner Lewis. Makes sons Charles Lewis and Joseph Jones exors.

http://www.rbais.com/cfl-vassar/lewis.html

http://www.kenmore.org/genealogy/lewis/fielding_children.html
http://www.kenmore.org/collections/portraits/betty_and_fielding.html
http://www.hffi.org/fieldinglewisstore.html
The Lewis Store is one of the last physical reminders of one of the most basic transformations in American history: the consumer revolution of the second half of the eighteenth century, which changed the American economy and the lives of ordinary people forever. By the middle of the eighteenth century, the economic growth of the American colonies was making manufactured consumer goods – everything from lace tablecloths to brass shoe buckles – cheap enough for ordinary people to buy. Consumer demand skyrocketed, and merchants set up stores in towns like Fredericksburg to meet the growing demand. This consumer revolution was as fundamental to the lives of ordinary people as the more familiar American Revolution. Indeed, it gave tangible meaning to the ideas of the Revolutionary movement, which appealed to the ambitions of ordinary people for economic and social improvement. The Revolution asserted the right of all Americans to the "pursuit of happiness," which, for ordinary people, included the opportunity to acquire things that had once been reserved to their social superiors. The consumer revolution turned the United States into a nation of shopkeepers and consumers, and redefined the idea of equality.
The selling floor, where the merchant displayed his wares, occupied the front of the store. A door in the back of the selling room led into a narrow storage hall – another unusual feature – that divided the selling room from the merchant's counting room, which occupied the back of the building. The half story above — accessible through a narrow interior staircase and a loading door at the front of the store — was used for storage. So was the basement, which was reached through an exterior bulkhead.
The Lewis Store is located at the corner of Caroline Street, Fredericksburg's main shopping avenue, and Lewis Street. The store is on the northern end of the downtown business district, a short distance from the Rising Sun Tavern and the Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop, two popular eighteenth-century attractions, and is directly across from the Fredericksburg library. The adjacent lots on Caroline Street are undeveloped. This gives the grounds of the Lewis Store an open, park-like appearance consistent with the low density of eighteenth-century development in the town.
http://www.kenmore.org/genealogy/lewis/fielding_children.html

Sources: -William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, V. 10, No. 1. Jul., 1901, pp. 48-54 -The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 3, p. 128, Univ. of VA Press, -----Charlottesville, VA. -Washington, by Douglas Southall Freeman, 1985 by Charles Scribners Sons, p. 2.

City of Fredericksburg, Va
Sally Carter; John Carter; Edward Carter; John Vermonett; Jane Vermonett; William Stannard; Elizabeth Stannard; George Carter; William Champe Carter; Hill Carter; Whitaker Carter; Robert Carter; George Carter; Wakelyn Welch; Robert Cary & Co.; Rebecca Backhouse (admrx.); John Backhouse (decd); Henry Fleming; Hodgson & Tate; Laurence Call & Co.; James Currie; Alexander Quarrier; George T. Norton; John Norton & Sons; Daniel L. Hylton & Co.; James Ladd (exor.); John Atkinson (decd); Alexander Trent Emancipation Stepney; Charles Quash (wheelwright); Black Smith Phil; Waggoner Lott; Waitingman Will Estate acct. of Edward Carter est. - Spotsylvania - 1792-1794 Estate I&A of Edward Carter est. - Amherst Co. Estate I&A of Edward Carter est. - Spotsylvania - 1792 Family Sally Carter, mother of Charles Carter Locality Albemarle Co.; Charles City Co.; Amherst Co.; Spotsylvania Co.; Fredericksburg Marriage Samuel K. Bradford -mr- Jane Carter, daughter of Edward Carter Marriage Charles Carter -mr- FNU Lewis, daughter of Fielding Lewis Marriage George Carter -mr- Sally Carter, daughter of Edward Carter Marriage John Varmonett -mr- Jane Bradford Marriage William Stannard -mr- Elizabeth Carter, daughter of Edward Carter Marriage John B. Cutting -mr- Sally Carter, widow of George Carter Overseer Stepney (slave) - overseer of the land of Edward Carter in Albemarle Plaintiff Charles Carter (exor.); Edward Carter (decd); Francis T. Brooke; Polly Champe Brooke; Ann Williams Carter Slave Abba & children Ned, Betsey, Jack & Carroline; Abraham; Aggy; Ajax; Alce; Alcy; Alexander; Amey & children Betty & Nancy; Amherst George; Amherst Will; Amos; Anderson; Anthony; Beck; Bella; Betty; Billy; Cain & wife Hannah & child Billy; Celia; Charity; Charles & wife Betty; Charles (wheelwright); Charles; Cheuner; Chloe; Cooper & wife Eava & child Nathan; Critty; Cyrus; Daniel; Davie; Davy; Dick & wife Nelly & child Sucky; Dick & son of Dick; Dolly; Edmond; Eiddy; Evans & wife Betty & children Sillar, Tom & Elijah; Eve; Frank, Lotts wife; Franky; Gabriel; Gloucester; Grace & children Mary, Chener & Eliza; Hannah & children Jenny & Charlotte; Hannah; Harry; Holiman; Humphrey; Isaac & wife Fillis & children Beck, Sally & Isaac; Isham; Israel; Jack & children Phill & Suky; Jack; Jacob & wife Chener & children Billy & Moses; James & wife Bellar & children Betsy, James, Solomon, Sally, Davy; James Trooper; James; James; Jane & children Anne & Mariah; Janey; Jeane; Jem; Jenny & children Henry, William & Frankey; Jim; Johanna; John Cain; John; Johnney; Joiner Billy; Joseph; Judy; Juno; Kate; Laurence; Lewis; Liddy; Liverpool; Lott; Lotta; Louisa, daughter of James & Bellar; Mariah; Martin & wife Cate & children Randolph, Joice, Mary & Yancy; Martin; Martin; Mary; Matt & children Cain & Zachariah; Matt; Mike; Milly; Mima & children Tabby & Pleasant; Mingo Joe; Minor; Molly & child Charles; Molly & child Sam; Molly; Murvin; Nan & children Nancy, Isbel & Charlotte; Nanny; Ned & wife Ziller; Ned; Nell; Nelly; Nice; Patty; Peter; Phanny; Pheby; Phill; Phillip; Phillis, child of Betty; Polly; Pompey; Rachel; Rose; Sall; Sally & child Weakly; Sam; Sambo & wife Polly & children Mariah, Nancy, Thompson, Matt & Lucy; Samuel; Sarah & child Fanny; Scipio; Squire; Stephen; Suckey; Tempy; Thomas; Tilla & child Amey; Timbo; Toby; Tom; Tony; Unity; Violet; Waterman Dick; Waterman Joe; Will; Winny - property of Edward Carter Tract Cheathams; Blenheim; Habbershams; Dicks & Wheelers; Glosters Will Edward Carter - Spotsylvania Co. - 1792 Citation Record title
Carter &c vs Carter &c Year recorded 1829 Collection CR-SC-H Record ID 72-2
See John Campbell

http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~auntsissie/genealogy/benedictarnold.html

Virginia County Records SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY 1721-1800
WILLS
WILL BOOK E 1772-1798
page 37
LEWIS, FIELDING, St. George's Parish, Spotsylvania Co. d. Oct. 19, 1781, p. Jan. 17, 1782. Wit. George Noble, Benj. Ledwick, John Butler, Gerard Alexander, Will. Booth, William Carpenter. Ex. wife and my sons John, Fielding and George. Leg. wife, Betty Lewis, during life use of all my lands in Spots. Co. except that part rented to my son John; son John, after death of his mother, all my lands in Spots. Co. and in Fredericksburg; son Fielding, 1000 acres of my Frederick Co. lands, on which he lives; son George, remainder of Frederick Co. lands bought of Robert Carter Nicholas, except 1000 acres to my son Lawrence; son-in-law Charles Carter, Esqr; son Lawrence, 1000 acres of land in Frederick Co.; son Robert, one-half of 10,000 acres of land located for me in the Co. of Kentucky by Mr. Hancock Lee, and one-half of 20,000 acres located or to have been located for me by Nathaniel Randolph in the Co. of Kentucky; son Howell, the remaining half of above lands in Kentucky; all my lands purchased at the Land Office except what is already disposed of, to my sons Robert and Howell equally; my share in the Dismal Swamp Co. my lands bought of Marinaduke Naughflett in partnership with Genl. Washington; my lands bought of Dr. Wright and Jones in Nansemond Co., in partnership with Genl. Washington and Dr. Thomas Walker, and the 320 acres of land in Frederick Co. bought of George Mercer's estate, also my share in the Chatham Rope Walk at Richmond to be sold by executors and the money arising to be paid to my six sons before mentioned, in equal portions.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=flager&id=I40180
Event: Appointment MAR 1748/49 Fredericksburg, VA. 8
Event: Trip 1748 Frederick Co., VA. 9 10
Event: Witness DEC 1750 Williamsburg, James City, VA. 11
Event: Court Appearance NOV 1753 Winchester, Frederick, VA. 12
Event: Election 21 MAY 1754 Spotsylvania Co., VA. 13
Military Service: MAY 1756 Winchester, Frederick, VA. 14
Will: 10 DEC 1781 Frederick Co., VA. 15
Probate: 17 JAN 1782 Spotsylvania Co., VA. 16
Residence: ABT 1759 Fredericksburg, VA. - Millbank
Note: Millbank, next to 'Canning', is styled as one of the most 'expensive ediface's' between Williamsburg and Mount Vernon. 17
Event: with Charles Dick and William Fitzhugh for gunnery & ordinance Commission ABT 1775 Fredericksburg, VA.
_ABBR: Paul Wilstach, Tidewater Virginia (TV - NB5) (Indianapolis, IN.: Bobb' 18
Death: AFT 10 DEC 1781 in Frederick Co., VA. 19 16
Event: Appointment NOV 1753 Fredericksburg, VA. 20
Event: Appointment 1761 Williamsburg, James City, VA. 21
Event: Appointment 1774 Williamsburg, James City, VA. 22
Event: Trip 1744 Fredericksburg, VA. 23
Event: Trip 1769 'Mount Vernon', Fairfax, VA. 24
Event: Witness 13 AUG 1755 Spotsylvania Co., VA. 25
Event: Election 1758 Spotsylvania Co., VA. 26
Event: Election 1760 Spotsylvania Co., VA. 27
Event: Election 1770 Fredericksburg, VA. 28
Event: Election 14 DEC 1774 Spotsylvania Co., VA. 29
Residence: BET 1756 AND 1758 Fredericksburg, VA. 30
Note:

Shortly after his 1746 marriage to Catherine, Francis' father John had built a fine residence (possibly on the location of the present Fredericksburg Library) near the Fielding Store for Francis and his new wife. For some time, Francis was initially under the tutelage of his fathers manager John Thornton in the new venture with the Fielding Store. By April of 1747, Francis was established in the Fredericksburg area as is evidenced by reimbursement received from the Council for services rendered during the September 1746 visit by the Lord Proprietor's task force headed by William Fairfax.

It is reported that Fielding played an important role in the feisty and often raucous society of colonial Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County. His integrity and quiet demeanor are reported to have helped on specific occasions to contain the competing factions in both the church and court politics of the area. (Ref: Fielding Lewis and the Washington Family, Paula S. Felder, p. 69). The following references to Fielding's life by no means covers the entirety of his record, but simply offers simply highlights and some examples of his many enterprising and public activities. In the period just after 1748, Fielding purchased 3,078 acres in the fertile area of Frederick County and in about 1753 another 1200 acres in the Dismal Swamp area of Augusta County.

In March of 1750, Fielding filed in the matter of the estate of Mildred Willis. At about the time that he married Elizabeth 'Betty' Washington, Fielding built a mansion just northwest of Fredericksburg that he would call 'Kenmore'. It had ornamental ceilings done in stucco. In 1752, Fielding paid Richard Royston of Gloucester County 861 lbs. for 861 acres of land adjoining his fathers tract near Fredericksburg, and built a mill at Hazel Run. In February 1752, George Washington surveyed the remaining half of the Buckner-Royston Patent for his brother-in-law, and Fielding purchased the tract the following month. (Ref: Fielding Lewis and the Washington Family, Paula S. Felder, p. 77, 101). His purchases included at least 3078 acres that were part of the holdings of Robert Carter Nicholas lying in the Valley in then Frederick County (now Clarke Co.), Virginia. In 1752, Fielding Lewis, George (the President) Washington, John Thornton and Charles Dick were early members of the Masonic Lodge of Fredericksburg. Later, Fielding acquired land along the Chriswell Mine Road, and in 1755, the area that he acquired was referenced as 'Mr. Fielding Lewis' Qtr called the Halfway House'. It was located about half way between the mine at the North Anna River and the Hazel Run wharves located in the town of Fredericksburg.

One of the principal crops that Fielding raised at his Spotsylvania plantation was wheat. As a result he maintained a significant interest in mills and in August of 1752, he petitioned the courts for permission to erect a water grist mill on some of the acreage that he had recently purchased. It is believed that he supplied George Washington with several superior strains that were subsequently produced at Washington's Mount Vernon farm. In 1754, Francis laid off another lot (lot 59) in Fredericksburg, when he sold it to William Waller. (Currently this lot is located at the corner of Charles and George Streets). The same year, he inherited (in his fathers estate) the 400 acre tract on which he was living outside of Fredericksburg which combined with the Royston land to comprise a plantation of more than 1200 acres. The principal result of Fielding's fathers death is that he now came to manage the business in the city of Fredericksburg as well as the Spotsylvania lands on his own. In July of 1755, Fielding was elected to a one year term as treasurer of the organization and would later serve on term as Grand Master. In March of 1756, Fielding was awarded an appointment from Governor Dinwiddie to supply provisions to the Virigina Regiment. About this same time, Francis took up an additional 600 acres in Spotsylvania County. This land evidently came into Francis's possession via his older brother Warner. (Ref: Spotsylvania County Deed Book E., p. 758). In February 1757, Fielding made one of the first major independent decisions regarding the Lewis Store. He sold the one acre business complex for 450 lbs., that had been originally built by his father, to John Thornton. (Ref: Fielding Lewis and the Washington Family, Paula S. Felder, p. 131. Spotsylvania Co. Deed Bk. E., p. 357, 24 February 1757.) On 9 October 1757, Fielding lent his brother Charles 650 lbs. and took a mortgage of Vaux Hall and guaranteed his brother a seven year least on the property. Between 1756 and 1758 Fielding was involved in numerous commercial transactions with James Madison (father of the President) of Montpilier in Orange Co., VA.

In December of 1757, Fielding was commissioned as head of the Spotsylvania Milita as a result of the actions taken by John Thornton against John Spotswood in regard to the march to Winchester, Frederick, VA. in May of 1756. (Ref: Forgotten Companions, Paula S. Felder, p. 214-215). In the latter half of 1760, Fielding sold 32 of his town lots, grossing more than 1000 lbs. (Ref: Fielding Lewis and the Washington Family, Paula S. Felder, p. 138, and Forgotten Companions, Paula S. Felder, pp. 138-139). He became a commissioned a County Lieutenant in 1758, and Commander-in-chief of the County militia in 1761. In May of 1763, Fielding, along with George Washington, Thomas Walker and Burwell Bassett traveled south to inspect the area known as 'the Dismal Swamp'. This effort to drain of 1000 acres of the available land eventually entailed the survey of at least 40,000 acres. (Ref: 'Articles of Agreement of the Dismal Swamp Company, 1763', Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 37 (1929), pp. 64-65). Unfortunately, the project never came to success and the affluent Anthony Bacon (the London factor) would later hold Fielding responsible for his losses and take legal action against him.

By April 1765, Fielding was enlisted to administer a school patterned after the Williamsburg model in Fredericksburg, but it was eventually terminated in 1770. In 1766, Fielding and George Washington were assigned to dispose of the land of George Carter who had died in England. In 1767, Fielding borrowed 1400 lbs. from his friend Gabriel Jones of Rockingham county. (Ref: Forgotten Companions, Paula S. Felder, p. 185). This loan may have been in anticipation of imminent purchases Fielding had in mind. Fielding purchased the Vaux Hall property from his brother Charles. This purchase included 1000 acres on the Ni River and was purchased for about 1000 lbs. (one reference suggests that the sale price was 1500 lbs., Forgotten Companions, Paula S. Felder, p. 205 suggests that the price was 100 lbs. (?)). The Vaux Hall property later passed to Francis's son John. Fielding's life style was not one of extravagant tastes although his income might have allowed it.He did have a 'light post chariot and a good wine cellar. It is reported that Fielding et. al. favored division of the Parish after January of 1768. He was elected to the new St. George's Parish Vestry in 1769.

In 1769, Fielding embarked on a plan to build a plantation manor house just beyond the new limits of Fredericksburg, later to be called Kenmore. In 1769 and in 1770, he imported a total of sixty indentured servants from Liverpool, England for that purpose. In 1769, Fielding and George Washington combined a visit to Lord Fairfax on business, with a stopover at lands (approximately 3000 acres that included at least one mill) that Fielding had recently taken up in Frederick Co., VA.. That land would be ultimately become the location of his son Fieldings residence after his marriage.

Early in 1770, Fielding and Charles Washington were authorized to build a gallery in the addition to the church, where Fielding was a vestryman. In 1770, he was involved as a justice in at least five separate court matters. In August of 1770, he was appointed to the committee overseeing the repair of the Hacel Run Bridge. By 1771, Fielding was actively involved in the effort to build a new home in Fredericksburg. In 1772, he was assigned another administrative chore by an act of the Virginia Assembly when he was appointed to a committee 'to strike a dividing line between the counties of Stafford and King George. In 1773, he was elected as a member of the House of Burgesses. In 1773, Fielding wrote to his brother in law George Washington that he stood to lose at least 200 lbs. due to the indebtedness of Roger Dixon. (Ref: Forgotten Companions, Paula S. Felder, p. 127; also see Kenmore Archives). That same year he mortgaged much of his plantation to the trustees of Fredericksburg for 830 lbs. In about 1775, William, with Fielding Lewis and Charles Dick was responsible for a ammunitions plant that supplied a 'Hundred stand of arms' for the revolutionary war effort in Fredericksburg. Soon, when public funds seemed to dry up, Fielding came to the rescue and lent the state of Virginia every dollar he could raise from his own private fortune.

It is believed that the home of Fielding and his wife Elizabeth was located on lots 83, 84, 85 and 86 on the entire block bounded by Princess Anne, Fauquier, Caroline and Lewis Streets; in Fredericksburg. It is reported that this home was eventually purchased by Edward Carter,a grandson of Robert 'King' Carter in about 1776. (Ref: Forgotten Companions, Paula S. Felder, p. 141) In 1775, Fielding, Elizabeth and their family began their move into the new home, later called Kenmore.

During the Revolution (being unable to enter the army because of bad eyes), he advanced £7,000 for the manufacture of arms at the 'Gunnery', established by the State of Virginia at Fredericksburg. For this outlay, he was repaid in depreciated money which was worth about two Pence on the Pound. Fielding invested his repayment largely in Western lands in the hope of offsetting his losses. During 1776, Fielding attended to local matters and fulfilled his traditional responsibilities such as attending a vestry meeting in February and presiding at the courts held in March through June. In March 1777, Fielding purchased half o the brick warehouse on Sophia Street, on lot 11 of Fredericksburg. This purchase is believed to have been in relation to his purchase of the small sloop, the 'Betsey', which weighted 35 tons. This is reported to have been necessary as a result of the cutoff of goods from England the the ability of the British blockade to effectively stop the trade of larger vessels. Also during March of 1777, Fielding was present for the meetings of the Spring Court. In April of 1778, Fielding advertised cargos from two ships arriving at Fredericksburg, the 'Betsey' and the 'Harleguin'. In November of 1778, Fielding, in the company of Charles Dick and Ebenezer Hazard traveled to Williamsburg. Their trip appears to have been successful as the gun factory in Fredericksburg soon received an infusion of 5000 lbs. by December.

In October of 1779, Francis Thornton and Fielding Lewis were among sixty-five signators on the petition suggesting that the Hunter Family's virtual monopoly of the river crossing between Fredericksburg and Falmouths be overtuirned. (Ref: Virginia State Petitions, The Library of Virginia. Archives Research Services). In 1780, early in the year, Fielding sent his son Fielding Jr. westward to purchase over 30000 acres of land as well as an additional 20000 acres between Pittsburgh and the Green River in Kentucky. Fielding Sr., as he had for the past several summers, departed the Fredericksburg area so as to spend the summer in the area of Berkley Springs. On 11 April 1780, Fielding was named as one of the managers of the Fredericksburg Company. (Ref: Maruy v. Robinson, Fredericksburg Hustings Court of Law (CR-HU-L 1785). By September, he had returned in time to preside at the Fall Court. In November, Fielding was in attendance at the House of Delegates in Williamsburg. Also, in 1780, Fielding had been appointed to receive collections from Culpeper and Orange Counties, but his failing health prevented him from completing his assignment. The increasing inflation as a result of the war, as well as the devaluation of money caused a great financial distress at the gun factory in Fredericksburg. Fielding had suffered financial losses, he had drained his resources So as to try and solve this situation, Fielding began to sell off some of his properties. Toward the end of the year, he sold a town lot and most of his Vaux Hall property These two sales are believed to have netted him about 7000 lbs. These sales resulted with enough funds to supply the needs of the gun factory in 1780. (Ref: Spotsylvania County Deed Book J, p. 594, 612, 615).

During his life, Fielding had been elected to the House of Burgesses twice and elected senior church warden four times by his fellow members of the vestry. In April of 1781, Fielding (in his last letter to his lifelong friend and brother-in-law) wrote to General Washington in regard to the health of his mother Mary (Ball) Washington and did speak of her continuing recovery. In addition to this, he himself had been invalid with tuberculosis and confined to his own home since October of 1780'. (Ref: Fielding Lewis and the Washington Family, Paula S. Felder, p. 286). On 17 May 1781, in his last noted action , Fielding was involved in a trip to the courthouse on the Po River to record the sale of his properties (of the former Warner patent, and subsequently known as Vaux Hall)on the Ni River. The will of Fielding was presented in Spotsylvania Co., VA. on 17 January 1782. He willed the 'Kenmore' mansion to his wife Betty, for the remainder of her life. One of the legacies that he left to his son John was the still unpaid debt too Gabriel Jones of 1767, which by then with interest totaled 2191 lbs.. In addition to that John received all of his fathers land between Far Hill Road and the Rappahannock river. The terms of the codicil of 10 December 1781 set the division of the estate not to begin until December 1782.

Additional references for Fielding include:

1.) 'Ancestral Records & Portraits', Vol. 1, compilation of the Colonial Dames of America, 1910, p. 131.
2.) 'William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine', Vol. 10, No. 1. (July, 1901), pp. 48-54.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fielding_Lewis
Fielding Lewis (July 7, 1725 – December 7, 1781) was a Colonel during the American Revolutionary War and the brother-in-law of George Washington. A successful merchant in Fredericksburg, VA, he had a plantation, which later became known as Kenmore. Notable for its Georgian mansion, it was designated as a National Historic Landmark in the twentieth century.

Early life and education

Lewis was born at Warner Hall, a plantation in Gloucester County, Virginia, the son of John Lewis (1694-1754), a merchant and planter, and Frances Fielding (c1702-1731). He was the third of seven children.[1] His paternal uncle, Robert Lewis (1704-1765), became the grandfather of Meriwether Lewis, who would explore the Louisiana Purchase.[2]

His father had a store in Fredericksburg. In 1749 John Lewis had a fine retail building constructed to display his wares and provide space for a selling floor and storage. The sandstone quoins, usually found only on larger mansions, were a sign of his aspirations. His son Fielding joined him in the business, taking it over in the 1750s.

The originally one-and-a-half story building was expanded to two stories in the early 19th century. Despite competition and changing tastes, the handsome building operated successfully as a store for nearly 100 years, until 1820, when it was finally adapted for residential use. Donated to the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation in 1996, the building has been studied and stabilized for restoration. It is believed to be one of the oldest retail buildings in the United States.[3]
Marriage and family

Lewis married Catharine Washington on October 18, 1746. She was his second cousin, the daughter of John Washington and Catharine Whiting, and a first cousin to George Washington. They had three children before Catharine died on February 19, 1750.

A few months later, on May 7, 1750, Lewis married Betty Washington (1733-1797), the sister of George Washington and another second cousin. She was 17 years old. They had 11 children together. Betty outlived Lewis by 16 years, dying in 1797.

Fielding Lewis, II(1751-1803); married Anne Alexander, had issue. Married Nancy Alexander, had issue.
Augustine Lewis(January 22, 1752-1756); died in infancy.
Warner Lewis(June 24, 1755-1756); died in infancy.
George Washington Lewis(March 14, 1757-November 15, 1831); married Catherine Daingerfield, had issue.
Mary Lewis(April 22, 1759-December 25, 1759); died in infancy.
Charles Lewis(October 3, 1760-1793)
Samuel Lewis(May 14, 1762-December 31, 1810)
Elizabeth Lewis(February 23, 1765-August 9, 1830); married distant cousin Charles Carter, had issue.
Lawrence Lewis(March 4, 1767-November 20, 1839); married half-cousin Eleanor Parke Custis, had issue.
Robert Lewis(June 25, 1769-January 17, 1829); married cousin Judith Carter Browne, had issue.
Howell Lewis, Sr.(December 12, 1771-December 26, 1822); married Ellen Hackley Pollard, had issue.

Their son Lawrence Lewis later married Eleanor Parke Custis, George Washington's adopted daughter and step-granddaughter, tying the families closely together.
Career

Lewis was established as a successful merchant before the American Revolutionary War. He was appointed as Commissary General of Munitions during the war, and commissioned at the rank of Colonel.[4]

He and his second wife Betty resided on a plantation (later named Kenmore) in Fredericksburg. Like others in the planter elite, they were supported by the labor of slaves. Betty's mother Mary Ball Washington frequently visited them and had a favorite spot she called her "meditation rock".

In 1769, Fielding and Betty started construction of a large Georgian mansion on their property, which was completed in 1775. It has some of the most refined colonial interior finishes of any surviving mansion. Named by later owners as Kenmore Plantation, it has been designated a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Lewis died in Fredericksburg in 1781 at the end of the Revolutionary War. Before her death in 1789, Mary Washington asked to be buried at her favorite spot at Kenmore, and her daughter Betty arranged for that.

In 1833 a memorial was started at Mary Washington's gravesite, but never completed. Following the United States Centennial in 1889, numerous historic and lineage societies were formed; the Mary Washington Memorial Association held fundraising events and commissioned a memorial for her gravesite. It was dedicated in 1894 at Mary Washington's gravesite in a ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland of the United States.
Legacy and honors

The Lewis mansion and property was later named Kenmore Plantation when purchased before the Civil War by people outside the Lewis family. It is now operated as a house museum, and is open to the public for viewing.
In the late 20th century, the Kenmore Plantation purchased Ferry Farm, the property said to be George Washington's boyhood home, to keep it from being developed.

Lewis' great-granddaughter Catherine Willis Gray married into the Bonaparte family of France. A sixth-generation descendant, Fielding Lewis Wright, served as Governor of Mississippi.

Fielding and his wife Elizabeth "Betty" Lewis are each commemorated with street names in the Ferry Farm subdivision outside Fredericksburg, with Fielding Circle and Betty Lewis Drive.

Ref: Spotsvylania Co. Virginia Deed Book H, 1771-1774 (Spotsylvania County Records, Pg 301)
Decr 25, 1772
JOHN CAMPBELL, ESQR and Mary, his wife, and ALEXANDER SPOTSWOOD ESQR to FIELDING LEWIS and Joseph Brock, Gentl, CHURCHWARDENS OF ST GEORGE PARISH, LEASE
50 acres in St. Geo Parish, Spots Co
315 lbs tobacco
Jno Brock, John Munro, Jona Wilson
no date of record
(he was married to Elizabeth Washington, sister to President GEORGE WASHINGTON. The Lewis' witnessessing some other deeds are most likely their sons)

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mysouthernfamily/myff/d0007/g0000052.html#I17365
http://www.kenmore.org/kenmore/owners.html

http://kenmore.org/education/lesson_plans/economy/tobacco-and-slavery.html
Growing tobacco required lots of land and hard work. Tobacco planters would begin cultivating their tobacco crop in late December or early January. However, many planters began just after Christmas, with the first task of sowing the seed. The entire season of plan planting and harvesting tobacco lasted into August and September, when the tobacco plants were finally cut and dried. Once a tobacco plant was finally ready for sale, it had to be packed inside of barrels called hogsheads before it could be shipped to England. The hogsheads were carried to inspection sites such as the one that was located in Fredericksburg, by wagon, boat or even rolled. Prominent businessmen living along the Rappahannock River such as Fielding Lewis of Kenmore and William Fitzhugh of Chatham probably brought their tobacco to Fredericksburg for inspection. Mr. Fitzhugh owned and operated one of the first slave labor plantations in the Stafford area, where tobacco was the primary crop. Another prominent name in the Fredericksburg area during the 1700s was John Mercer. John Mercer lived in Stafford County along the Potomac Creek, and owned many slave, indentured servants, and tobacco warehouses.

http://www.rbais.com/cfl-vassar/lewis.html
Fielding Lewis represented Spotsylvania County in the Virginia House of Burgesses on at least 12 occasions, and was in attendance when Patrick Henry, "The Voice of the Revolution", delivered his famous Stamp Act speech to those assembled in Williamsburg in 1765. "If this be treason, make the most of it."

He served on the Committee of Safety of Fredericksburg and in 1775 was appointed, along with Charles Dick and three others, to establish and equip a manufactory of small arms for the newly formed government. Virginia's third revolutionary convention contributed the first 25,000 pounds, but most of the operating funds came from the personal account of Colonel Lewis. It was the first such factory in America. Two historical markers have been placed at the site near Walker-Grant Middle School on Gunnery Road.

http://files.usgwarchives.org/va/gloucester/bios/lewis01.txt
14 COL. FIELDING(5) LEWIS, born July 7, 1725, son of Col John(4) Lewis and Frances Fielding, his wife, resided in Spotsylvania county. He was a prominent patriot of the Revolution, and ad- Page 49. vanced L7,000 to carry on the factory for the manufacture of arms at Fredericksburg. His beautiful home, "Kenmore," in Fredericksburg, is an object of great interest to visitors to that historic city.

He married twice; first, on October 18, 1746, Catherine, aunt to General Washington and daughter of Major John Washington, of "Highgate," in Gloucester county, and Catherine Whiting, daughter of Col. Henry Whiting, by whom he had issue,
40 John Lewis, born June 22, 1747. His uncle, Mr. John Lewis, and Mr. Charles Dick, godfathers, and Mrs. Mary Washington and Mrs. Lee, godmothers.

17 CHARLES(5) LEWIS, brother of Fielding(5) Lewis, and son of Col. John(4) Lewis and Frances Fielding, resided in Caroline county, where he married Lucy Taliaferro, daughter of John Taliaferro and Mary Catlett*, of Snow Creek, Spotsylvania county, and had issue, 54 John(6) Taliaferro Lewis, 55 Charles Augustine, and 56 Mary Warner Lewis, who married Philip Lightfoot, of Cedar Creek, Caroline county (QUARTERLY, III., p. 107-109). Col. Charles Lewis kept a journal detailing very minutely all the marches and movements of a company of men, commencing October 10, 1755. The detachment was a part of the command of Andrew Lewis. This Col. Charles(5) Lewis died _______________________________________________________________________
*This will of Mary Taliaferro, dated in Spotsylvania January, 1771, names daughter Mary Jones, wife of Joseph Jones, "her present husband," and daughter Lucy Lewis, grandchildren John Taliaferro Lewis, Charles Augustine Lewis, and Mary Warner Lewis. Makes sons Charles Lewis and Joseph Jones exors.

http://www.rbais.com/cfl-vassar/lewis.html

http://www.kenmore.org/genealogy/lewis/fielding_children.html
http://www.kenmore.org/collections/portraits/betty_and_fielding.html
http://www.hffi.org/fieldinglewisstore.html
The Lewis Store is one of the last physical reminders of one of the most basic transformations in American history: the consumer revolution of the second half of the eighteenth century, which changed the American economy and the lives of ordinary people forever. By the middle of the eighteenth century, the economic growth of the American colonies was making manufactured consumer goods – everything from lace tablecloths to brass shoe buckles – cheap enough for ordinary people to buy. Consumer demand skyrocketed, and merchants set up stores in towns like Fredericksburg to meet the growing demand. This consumer revolution was as fundamental to the lives of ordinary people as the more familiar American Revolution. Indeed, it gave tangible meaning to the ideas of the Revolutionary movement, which appealed to the ambitions of ordinary people for economic and social improvement. The Revolution asserted the right of all Americans to the "pursuit of happiness," which, for ordinary people, included the opportunity to acquire things that had once been reserved to their social superiors. The consumer revolution turned the United States into a nation of shopkeepers and consumers, and redefined the idea of equality.
The selling floor, where the merchant displayed his wares, occupied the front of the store. A door in the back of the selling room led into a narrow storage hall – another unusual feature – that divided the selling room from the merchant's counting room, which occupied the back of the building. The half story above — accessible through a narrow interior staircase and a loading door at the front of the store — was used for storage. So was the basement, which was reached through an exterior bulkhead.
The Lewis Store is located at the corner of Caroline Street, Fredericksburg's main shopping avenue, and Lewis Street. The store is on the northern end of the downtown business district, a short distance from the Rising Sun Tavern and the Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop, two popular eighteenth-century attractions, and is directly across from the Fredericksburg library. The adjacent lots on Caroline Street are undeveloped. This gives the grounds of the Lewis Store an open, park-like appearance consistent with the low density of eighteenth-century development in the town.
http://www.kenmore.org/genealogy/lewis/fielding_children.html

Sources: -William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, V. 10, No. 1. Jul., 1901, pp. 48-54 -The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 3, p. 128, Univ. of VA Press, -----Charlottesville, VA. -Washington, by Douglas Southall Freeman, 1985 by Charles Scribners Sons, p. 2.

City of Fredericksburg, Va
Sally Carter; John Carter; Edward Carter; John Vermonett; Jane Vermonett; William Stannard; Elizabeth Stannard; George Carter; William Champe Carter; Hill Carter; Whitaker Carter; Robert Carter; George Carter; Wakelyn Welch; Robert Cary & Co.; Rebecca Backhouse (admrx.); John Backhouse (decd); Henry Fleming; Hodgson & Tate; Laurence Call & Co.; James Currie; Alexander Quarrier; George T. Norton; John Norton & Sons; Daniel L. Hylton & Co.; James Ladd (exor.); John Atkinson (decd); Alexander Trent Emancipation Stepney; Charles Quash (wheelwright); Black Smith Phil; Waggoner Lott; Waitingman Will Estate acct. of Edward Carter est. - Spotsylvania - 1792-1794 Estate I&A of Edward Carter est. - Amherst Co. Estate I&A of Edward Carter est. - Spotsylvania - 1792 Family Sally Carter, mother of Charles Carter Locality Albemarle Co.; Charles City Co.; Amherst Co.; Spotsylvania Co.; Fredericksburg Marriage Samuel K. Bradford -mr- Jane Carter, daughter of Edward Carter Marriage Charles Carter -mr- FNU Lewis, daughter of Fielding Lewis Marriage George Carter -mr- Sally Carter, daughter of Edward Carter Marriage John Varmonett -mr- Jane Bradford Marriage William Stannard -mr- Elizabeth Carter, daughter of Edward Carter Marriage John B. Cutting -mr- Sally Carter, widow of George Carter Overseer Stepney (slave) - overseer of the land of Edward Carter in Albemarle Plaintiff Charles Carter (exor.); Edward Carter (decd); Francis T. Brooke; Polly Champe Brooke; Ann Williams Carter Slave Abba & children Ned, Betsey, Jack & Carroline; Abraham; Aggy; Ajax; Alce; Alcy; Alexander; Amey & children Betty & Nancy; Amherst George; Amherst Will; Amos; Anderson; Anthony; Beck; Bella; Betty; Billy; Cain & wife Hannah & child Billy; Celia; Charity; Charles & wife Betty; Charles (wheelwright); Charles; Cheuner; Chloe; Cooper & wife Eava & child Nathan; Critty; Cyrus; Daniel; Davie; Davy; Dick & wife Nelly & child Sucky; Dick & son of Dick; Dolly; Edmond; Eiddy; Evans & wife Betty & children Sillar, Tom & Elijah; Eve; Frank, Lotts wife; Franky; Gabriel; Gloucester; Grace & children Mary, Chener & Eliza; Hannah & children Jenny & Charlotte; Hannah; Harry; Holiman; Humphrey; Isaac & wife Fillis & children Beck, Sally & Isaac; Isham; Israel; Jack & children Phill & Suky; Jack; Jacob & wife Chener & children Billy & Moses; James & wife Bellar & children Betsy, James, Solomon, Sally, Davy; James Trooper; James; James; Jane & children Anne & Mariah; Janey; Jeane; Jem; Jenny & children Henry, William & Frankey; Jim; Johanna; John Cain; John; Johnney; Joiner Billy; Joseph; Judy; Juno; Kate; Laurence; Lewis; Liddy; Liverpool; Lott; Lotta; Louisa, daughter of James & Bellar; Mariah; Martin & wife Cate & children Randolph, Joice, Mary & Yancy; Martin; Martin; Mary; Matt & children Cain & Zachariah; Matt; Mike; Milly; Mima & children Tabby & Pleasant; Mingo Joe; Minor; Molly & child Charles; Molly & child Sam; Molly; Murvin; Nan & children Nancy, Isbel & Charlotte; Nanny; Ned & wife Ziller; Ned; Nell; Nelly; Nice; Patty; Peter; Phanny; Pheby; Phill; Phillip; Phillis, child of Betty; Polly; Pompey; Rachel; Rose; Sall; Sally & child Weakly; Sam; Sambo & wife Polly & children Mariah, Nancy, Thompson, Matt & Lucy; Samuel; Sarah & child Fanny; Scipio; Squire; Stephen; Suckey; Tempy; Thomas; Tilla & child Amey; Timbo; Toby; Tom; Tony; Unity; Violet; Waterman Dick; Waterman Joe; Will; Winny - property of Edward Carter Tract Cheathams; Blenheim; Habbershams; Dicks & Wheelers; Glosters Will Edward Carter - Spotsylvania Co. - 1792 Citation Record title
Carter &c vs Carter &c Year recorded 1829 Collection CR-SC-H Record ID 72-2

Gravesite Details

There is no known record of Fielding's burial and lore has it that his grave is located within the foundation of the St. George Church.



Advertisement