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John Gray (1809-1848) was the son of John Gray (1769-1848), a Scottish merchant and owner of Traveler’s Rest on the Rappahannock River east of Fredericksburg.  The Grays owned and operated the old Newton’s Mill on which was “fixed one of Davidson’s Cotton Gins, with 51 saws.”  William Walker ran the mill and John Gray advertised…

Henry Tyler Garrison (1842-after 1914) was the son of Robert Garrison (c.1808-c.1852), a merchant in the upper part of Stafford County.  During the War Between the States, Henry T. Garrison served with the 9th Virginia Cavalry.  He married Susan Ann Ransdell (1842-c.1903).  The Stafford court records include the following, “Ordered that H. T. Garrison, an…

Col. William Garrard (c.1715-1787) owned Garrard’s Ordinary across U. S. Route 1 from the present Stafford Courthouse.  It was located about where the Valero convenience store now stands.  He was the son of Nathaniel Garrard of Westmoreland County, Virginia.  William’s first wife was Mary Lewis (c.1721-c.1748).  He married secondly Mary Naughty (c.1721-c.1762).  In the 1750s…

Alexander Gaddess (c.1767-1815) was the son of Alexander Gaddess (died 1785), both of whom resided at Palace Green on the border of Widewater and modern Aquia Harbour subdivision.  The surname sometimes appears in the early records as “Gaddis” but a branch of the family that moved to Baltimore, Maryland used the “Gaddess” spelling.  The elder…

Thomas Fristoe (1767-1815) was the son of Daniel Fristoe (1739-1774), a minister at Chappawamsic Baptist Church in northern Stafford.  Several of the Fristoe family were well-respected leaders in the early Baptist Church.  Thomas served in the War of 1812 as a captain in the 45th regiment of Virginia militia (Stafford County).  In Missouri there is…

John Fox (c.1770-1843) was the younger half brother of Nathaniel Fox (1748-1819) who appears in late eighteenth century Stafford records.  From 1791 to 1794 John served as Deputy Clerk of Court for Stafford County.  He married Nancy “Ann” Threlkeld (1772-1828), the daughter and only child of Elijah Threlkeld (1744-1798).  By means of this marriage he acquired Coal…

Capt. William Ford (1788-1834) was the son of James Ford (1768-1863) and Elizabeth Taylor of Stafford.  His first wife was Deborah Thompson Duncan (died 1813) of Baltimore, Maryland.  He married secondly Elizabeth Allen Hore (1791-1822), the daughter of Elias Hore (1748-1852) and Theodosia Waller (1753-1829), also of Stafford.  During the War of 1812, William Ford…

Murray Forbes (1782-1863) was the son of Dr. David Forbes (1751-1789) and Margaret Sterling (1754-1806), the daughter of the last Laird of Herbertshire.  Murray was born in Dumfries, Prince William County, but decided upon a mercantile career rather than medicine.  He moved to Falmouth and in 1815 married Sallie Innis Thornton (1799-1885), the daughter of Francis…

Robert Lawrence Flatford (1852-1898) was the son of Robert Flatford (c.1810-1892) and Eliza Jane Harding (c.1812-after 1892) of Loudoun and Stafford Counties.  The elder Robert was a blacksmith by trade and lived in a log house across Garrisonville Road from modern North Stafford High School.  That house remains standing, though it has been covered with…

Dr. Alexander H. Fitzhugh (1786-1847) was the son of Thomas Fitzhugh (1760-1820) of Boscobel, Stafford County.  He was born on that farm and in 1815 married Eliza Gibbs Clare of Clarke County, Virginia.  During the 1840s, Alexander operated a blacksmith’s shop in Falmouth.  One of his advertisements reads, “The Subscriber will carry on the Blacksmith…

Ernest E. Fisher (1880-1969) was a Baptist minister and came to Stafford in 1922.  He was highly involved in the court system, serving as a federal commissioner for the U. S. courts, as an associate judge for Stafford, and was also the county’s juvenile court judge.  According to his obituary, “For a long time he…

Walter Harry Finnall (1799-1861) was the son of Robert Monteith Finnall (1776-1847) of Stafford.  He was a slave trader and broker in the 1830s and also operated the Tump Fishery near Aquia Landing for many years.  Walter H. Finnall married Elizabeth F. Bridwell (1805-1875).  His son, Morgan Lewis Finnall (1830-1901), continued the Tump Fishery after the…