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Col. John Travers Cooke (1755-1819) was the son of Travers Cooke (1730-1759) and Mary Doniphan.  He lived at West Farm, which adjoined Clifton and Dipple in upper Wide Water on the Potomac River.  For much of the eighteenth century a ferry operated from Cooke’s Bar at West Farm across the Potomac River to the Maryland…

George Mason Cooke (1792-1866) was the son of Col. John Travers Cooke (1755-1819) and Mary Thomson Mason (1762-1806) of West Farm in Wide Water.  George shared business dealings with his father in farming, timbering, fishing, and freestone quarrying on Aquia Creek.  In 1818/19 he built Chelsea, a fine frame home in Wide Water.  Part of this…

Dr. Valentine Yelverton Conway (1803-1881) was the son of John Moncure Conway (1779-1864) and Catherine Storke Peyton (1786-1865).  John M. Conway was clerk of the Stafford Court for nearly fifty years.  In 1824 Valentine Y. Conway married his first cousin, Mary Catherine Washington Henry (1806-1890), the daughter of Edward Hugh Henry (c.1781-1815) and Elizabeth Washington…

Thomas Barrett Conway (1779-1825) was the illegitimate son of Ketura Barret (1746-1794) and Thomas Conaway of Stafford.  His name at birth was Thomas Conway Barret, but he later changed this to Thomas Barrett Conway.  Thomas inherited one of the freestone quarries at Rock Rimmon on Aquia Creek.  He ran this for many years, though he lived…

George Washington Conway (1818-1880) was the son of John Moncure Conway (1779-1864) who was clerk of the circuit court in Stafford for nearly  half a century.  The 1871 land tax records list George as owning 286 1/2 acres on Chappawamsic Run, but he also inherited from his father land near the courthouse.  In 1842 he…

Charles Adams Bryan (1849-1918) was the son of Richard Hughlett Bryan (1821-1906) and Eliza Jennings Cropper (1823-1891) who were originally from Cecil County, Maryand.  The Bryan family came to Stafford around 1858 and settled first at Richards’ Hill (Ingleside) near Falmouth.  They were Unionists and left Stafford during the War Between the States and lost much of…

William Tell Coates (born 1873) was from Washington, DC, but in 1903 purchased a tract of land located between Hope Road (Route 687) and Aquia Creek.  There was a landing here than became known as Tell Coates’ Landing and during the early twentieth century, a considerable amount of timber, cordwood, and railroad ties were shipped…

Taylor Chapman (c.1712-1750) was the son of Jonathan Chapman (died before 1749) and Jane Taylor and the grandson of Nathaniel Chapman (1709-1760) who had been manager of Accokeek Iron Works in Stafford.  Nathaniel owned land in Charles County, Maryland as well as in Stafford, Fauquier, and Fairfax Counties.  Nathaniel’s home plantation in Maryland was directly…

Lemuel Chadwell (c.1800-after 1850) was involved in a number of ventures in Stafford.  In 1830 he paid taxes on 30 enslaved people and 1 horse and seems to have had either business dealings or family connections with the Waller family of Clifton in Wide Water.  He may have been involved in freestone quarrying or fishing.…

Jeremiah Carter’s (c.1810-186_) parentage isn’t known with certainty.  He may have been the son of Jeremiah Carter (c.1784-after 1828) of Stafford and was likely descended from Capt. Thomas Carter (c.1630-1700) of Lancaster County.  Jeremiah was a merchant and kept stores in the village of Aquia, at Stafford Courthouse, and in Fredericksburg.  In 1835 he was living…

James Carter (1697-1743) lived at Palace Green just to the north of Aquia Harbour subdivision.  James was the son of Thomas Carter (1632-1700) and Katherine Dale (1652-1703) of Lancaster County, Virginia.  Researchers believe there may have been a kinship between Thomas Carter and Robert “King” Carter (1663-1732) of Lancaster, though this has yet to be proved.  James…

Charles Carter (1738-1796) was known as “Charles Carter of Ludlow,” which was the name of his plantation in Stafford County.  He was the son of Charles Carter (1707-1764) of Stanstead and Cleve and Mary Walker (died 1742).  He was also the grandson of Robert “King” Carter (1663-1732) of Lancaster County.  Around 1755 the younger Charles…