Figure of the Week

Dr. Valentine Peyton (1756-1815) was the son of John Peyton (1691-1760) and Elizabeth (Rowzee) Waller (c.1715-1782) of Stony Hill, Stafford County.  During the American Revolution, Valentine served as a surgeon.  Around 1780 he married Mary Butler Washington (1760-1822), the daughter of Bailey Washington (1731-1807) and Catherine Storke (1723-1805) of Windsor Forest in Stafford.  Valentine and Mary lived at Tusculum, which is now part of the Marine Corps reservation.  Nearby was Peyton’s Mill that ground corn and wheat for local farmers.  After the Revolution, Valentine operated a boarding school at Tusculum.