Figure of the Week

William Irvine (c.1806-1887) was the son of John Irvine (c.1766-after 1850) of Ireland and William himself was born in that country.    He married Sinah “Sarah” Davis Conyers (1802-1883), the daughter of his neighbor, John Conyers (1754-1819).  He was involved with the Lee Gold Mine in lower Stafford and resided in the fine brick home called Hartwood that still stands on the southwestern side of the Warrenton Road  (U. S. Route 17).  William served as a magistrate in Stafford in the 1840s, was postmaster at Hartwood Post Office from 1842-1859, and was a county school commissioner during the 1860s.  By 1870 he seems to have been conducting a school at or near his hime.  In 1872 William Irvine was appointed one of the commissioners of the Free Bridge between Fredericksburg and Falmouth.  The Irvines were long associated with Hartwood Presbyterian Church and a number of this family are buried there.