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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 Widewater 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 a…

Thomas Norman (c.1790-1846) was the son of Edward Norman (1752-1814) and Jane Stewart (c.1756-1814) and resided at Edge Hill in Widewater.  Edward and Jane Norman died during the winter epidemic of 1814/1815.  Thomas’ first wife was Paulina Ficklen (c.1800-1830).  He married secondly Mildred Ficklen Hill (1804-1886).  All are buried at Edge Hill.  In 1816 Thomas was…

Isaac Newton (c.1745-1838) was the son of William Newton (1705-1787).  He married Peggy Strother and resided at Little Falls on the Rappahannock River.  This tract had been patented by the immigrant John Newton, Sr. and was in King George County until the boundary change of 1777 placed it in Stafford.  Little Falls is about 2…

William Mountjoy (1711-1777) was the son of Edward Mountjoy (c.1660-1712), the immigrant.  William lived at Locust Hill near what’s now known as Brooke.  The Mountjoys built a stone gristmill that was later known as Brooke’s Mill.  In 1929 the stone from this building was sold and transported to the National Cathedral in Washington, DC and…