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John P. Schooler (1812-1875) was the son of Abner Schooler (1774-after 1870) of Stafford.  His middle name may have been Peyton.  John lived at Orchard Field on the south side of Aquia Creek and conducted the Gourds Fishery nearby.  He married Laurinda Jones (1815-1874) of Stafford.

John Savage (1706-c.1743) was one of the surveyors chosen in 1736 to ascertain the boundaries of the Northern Neck Proprietary.  My mid-October of that year, then party of surveyors and their assistants were deep inside the Virginia wilderness and were short of food.  Col. William Byrd wrote that the party was “almost reduced to the…

Kenaz Ralls (1763-1845) was the son of Edward Ralls (1725-1785) and Mary Rawleigh (died c.1804) of Stafford County, Virginia.  Most of the Ralls family lived in the northern part of Stafford on land that’s now part of the Quantico Marine Corps base.  During the American Revolution, Kenaz served as a substitute in Capt. Warren’s company…

Thomas Porter (c.1673-c.1740) came to Stafford County, Virginia from Maryland.  He married Anne Howson Calvert (c.1691-after 1742).  Their sons cut freestone from the quarries on Aquia Creek for many years.  Thomas and his family lived near their quarry on Rock Rimmon on the north side of Aquia Creek.  Some of this area is now occupied…

Mason Pilcher (1742-1790) was the son of Moses Pilcher of Stafford County, Virginia.  Mason was a tobacco inspector at the Falmouth tobacco warehouse from at least 1778 to 1781.  He was mentioned in the British Mercantile Claims (May 1801 – May 1802) as owing £41.18.21 to a Fredericksburg store.  The notation in the claim read, “He…

Moses Phillips (c1736-1811) operated an ordinary to the immediate south of the present Stafford County Courthouse.  The Stafford court granted him licenses to keep the ordinary in 1780 and 1785 and possibly during other years, as well.  Moses is thought to have been the son of William Phillips who emigrated from Wales to Philadelphia.  In…

Yelverton Peyton (1735-c.1782) was the son of John Peyton (1691-1760) of Stony Hill.  Part of this farm is now occupied by Aquia Harbour subdivision.  Yelverton served as sheriff of Stafford County in 1776.  He married Elizabeth Heath (born c.1739), the daughter of Samuel Heath and Anne Johnston Gerard.  He seems to have resided on a…

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…

Henry Peyton (1744-1814) was the son of Yelverton Peyton (1735-c.1782) of Stafford County.  Yelverton operated Peyton’s Ordinary, which stood on or near the site of modern St. William of York Catholic Church on U. S. Route 1.  Henry spent part of his adult life in Prince William County where he served as sheriff.  From 1796…

Many enslaved people lived in Stafford, but the names of most have been lost to history. A number of those who were able to leave the county and get to Washington or elsewhere became successful. Fountain Peyton was one such man. Born enslaved in Stafford, he became a successful attorney in Washington, DC. This article…

John Peden (1820-1892) was the son of David Peden of Baltimore County, Maryland.  He was a millwright by profession and lived on Warrenton Road (U. S. Route 17) north of Falmouth.  He married Louisa E. Curtis (1829-1915), the daughter of Fielding Curtis (1793-1844) and Anne C. Leach (c.1798-after 1860).  Following the War Between the States,…

William M. Norman (c.1838-1918) was the son of Thomas Norman (c.1790-1846) and Mildred Ficklen Hill (1804-1886) of Edge Hill in the Wide Water area of Stafford County, Virginia.  During the War Between the States, William served with the 9th Virginia Cavalry.  In April 1862 he was held in Falmouth as a prisoner of war.  For…